Getting Older As Gay, Start Doing These Things

Getting Older As Gay, Start Doing These Things

Being young is celebrated in gay culture. There's always such a stigma about getting older, and many of us spend so much of our time filling our faces with chemicals or killing ourselves going to the gym or trying the latest holistic anti-aging regimen. Some of us spend so much time trying not to get older that we miss the benefits of getting older, and we are exhausted from doing so and end up looking ragged anyway. As some of us on our team have started entering a different age bracket, we reflect on how life as a gay man changes as you stop caring about pressures put on us by our own community, and you actually start to enjoy different things more. Here is some quick advice from us to enjoy getting older.

Be Yourself

This should go without saying, but many of us gay men have problems with this one. Just be yourself and eff the rest of the world. No one else is paying your bills, no one else is taking care of your career, no one else is guaranteeing your comfort in later years, so why do we spend so much time conforming to certain gay ideals? So you aren't a twink anymore, so what? Embrace it. You want to wear loafers? Go ahead. You don't owe anything to anyone else but yourself. You want to be 60 years old at a rave? Go ahead. This is your time. We never know how much time we have on this planet, and the older we get, the more we feel that and appreciate the time we do have. So don't waste that time being something you aren't, or holding you back from things you are.

Reshape Your Friendship Circle

We aren't in school anymore. We can hang out with people outside our age circle. As you get older, you should be expanding your horizons with your friendship circle. Do different activities outside of your norm to meet new friends you might not come in contact with in your normalized bubble. This doesn't just have to deal with age, but it also goes for career and racial circles. Do all your friends look and act the same? Time to mix it up. Having a diverse range of friends adds so much spice to life, and you can learn things and appreciate different outlooks on life by having a grab bag of friends. It also makes for a lively game night.

Sexy Time

There's some crazy assumption that as we get older, our sex drive decreases or that we should be calming our kinks down. Nope. Getting older in the gay community means we can grab sex by the neck and fuck the hell out of it. We have years of experience hooking up, and we know what to do in the bedroom. So it's time to turn those years of experience into alpha energy and say yes to sex. Always wanted to try a certain kink? Well, what are you waiting for? Just do it. Get rid of any ideas of slut shaming or judgment on casual or spontaneous sex. Again, time is too precious. This also means that you should be saying yes to more in terms of type. Have you always dated twunks? Mix it up, bitch! Stop waiting for the perfect specimen and start exploring different body types and age ranges. Don't play it safe when it comes to your type. You never know what you are missing.

Put Your Phone Down

Remember when Candy Crush was all the rage? Did anyone really benefit from all that time spent on the phone? Take a look at the next time you are at a gay bar and notice how many guys are glued to their phones rather than looking up and connecting with someone right in front of them. Unless you are running the country or a newsroom, you don't need your phone next to you at all times. You don't have to share every reel, laugh at every meme, like every thirst trap on your phone. Put the phone down, and - gasp! - try leaving it at home sometimes. When you go out to dinner with friends or your boo, encourage everyone to put their phones away. Lead by example and be present. You will quickly see how much time you spend with your face buried in the screen. What are you missing with all that time wasted? Pay attention to the present. You will appreciate the smaller moments in life, like a nice sunset or fun conversation over a drink. Cut out the noise, and listen to life.

Health

It is no joke that hangovers just ring differently as you get older. We used to be at the club till 3 am and be at work at 6 am with no issues. Now, we have to recover in a cave after a night at the gay bar. It used to be cute to do lines in the bathroom with your friends in between dance floor breaks. Well, our older gay bodies just can't handle certain impurities like they used to. Your health as you get older is 100% a priority. Your body may be physically unable to heal from certain activities. It may be time to look at your cocktail and substance consumption. It doesn't sound fun, but the alternative isn't either. Start going to the gym more or doing more physical activities. You can't rely on your metabolism of yesteryear. Sucks, but it's true. When your body starts to age, your whole outlook on life will start to age, too. Take care of your body, it will determine how much fun you can have until that final day.

Does some of this sound cheesy and cliché? Absolutely! But have we learned that these ring true as we get older? 100%.