lol im REALLY liking this topic
clumber im sorry you met the rude gays, they can be a pain in the ass please dont think that they, in any way shape or form, represent the "gay culture" thats why i like the club i go to (when i go out) EVERYONE is welcome there, from the skin heads to the rednecks in their sh*t stomping boots, and we all get along and intermingle, which is interesting because you meet some very strange individuals that you realise you really like, that you wouldnt have glanced twice at on the street.
maybe thats one of speech pattern things, we're (usually) pacifists, and try to make sure arguments dont get out of hand, so we use less confrontational words or something.
we tend to be more discriptive when talking about things. ive noticed my straight friends, when talking about a girl will always say, as their first discription "she's f*ing HOT man" while i and my gay friends tend to go in to specifics right from the start "did you see how dark and smoldering his eyes are?"
kev sweetie , dude and man ARE endearments , its all about the emotion behind the words.
leshwar i LOVE your sig!! wallpapering the sistine chapel but you are right i suppose, although i DO swear, i tend to censor which words i use depending on the situation