Extended metaphor on the term "straight?"

[TopHatCat]

Alright, poking around the internet I've found the majority definition of "straight" to mean heterosexual. However, given that this community in particular (I believe) has distinguished romantic and sexual attraction as independent entities, then I think we can say that the term stretches to mean "heteroromantic heterosexual." I don't know whether this term's definition could be further stretched to "cisgendered heteroromantic heterosexual," but my focus is something else.

Is there a particular metaphor that the term "straight" refers to? I've only ever heard homosexuals say of themselves that they're "not straight" but would that suggest they're curved or oblique in some fashion? Furthermore, where would aces fit in? Is there an allusion to some metaphor such as a pathway or road?

For example, whether it was like this initially or not, the phrase "I don't swing that way" has the variant "I swing both ways," and more recently there was an asexual option of "I'm not even on the swing."

In all probability of there being no central metaphor for this, what could one be?

[Lord of the nerds]

Perhaps asexuals are a single, zero-dimensional dot.

Or maybe straight is just an old term that takes less effort to say than "heterosexual"

[TopHatCat]

Wait, what if it's a charged particle?

[Lord of the nerds]

Or a string

[touching-not-so-much]

Flat? I've also read "stone" somewhere but that might refer to something else, I'm not clear on it.

The terms gay and straight already aren't really symmetrical, so you might as well call asexuals oranges, for all the way it all fits together. I would like some other term to use other than "asexual" because it has "sexual" right there in the title, which kind of defeats the whole purpose and makes sex seem important in the orientation (I mean it IS, or lack of it is, well you know what I mean). Plus, what's the best way to make people think about an elephant? Say "don't think about an elephant"!

Ace is "alright" but it's just shorthand for asexual so its barely a half-step improvement. I wouldn't mind "flat". Stone seems somehow ill-fitting. Something like "the opposite of horny", but "dead from the waist down" is probably too long to fit in a tumblr handle (sorry I had to take a cheap shot). Something that means "nah" maybe? Gay, straight, bi and nope? Hmm...

[scarletlatitude]

Gay, straight, bi and nope?

^ :lol: I support this.

I don't know if "straight" ever meant anything... *goes to consult Google*

EDITS: Well, so far all that I've found is how "straight" can be very confusing to people who don't speak English. "Homo" means the same, and "hetero" means different, so some people reason that straight = same = homo. Hmm.

[Guest]

AFAIK, "straight" was coined as the opposite of the already existing, and rather offensive, British term "bent" for homosexual.

I've also read "stone" somewhere but that might refer to something else, I'm not clear on it.

The term "stone" comes from Lesbian subculture, and means you want to be the active giver ("top"), never the passive recipient ("bottom") during sex. It's closely related to what gets called lith(o)sexual on here (and that term directly references the identity of "stones": lithos (gr.) = stone, rock).

[fellCas]

Interesting to think about this stuff, Ace definitely works for me but finding a term that better fits the construct of without sexual attraction has piqued my interests. As Mitosis said flat seems well flat and doesn't fit and the only terms that could define all of this are in relation to something sexual. Blank? Clear?

[sir octepus tea]

I thought stone was a lesbian word for demisexual? either way, if we're using any kind of metaphor for asexuality I prefer ace. it's widely recognized, only one syllable so good for shorthand. but I personally don't care much for "nicknames" for orientations unless they describe the exact nature of it in a shorthand way.