A Surprising Number of Parents Are Googling “Is My Son Gay?”

Parents are Googling “is my son gay” 28x more often than “is my son a genius”, and more than twice as often as they’re Googling similar questions about their daughters.

In fact, people Google the same question about their husbands, uncles, fathers, and the other men in their lives way more than they ask about their daughter’s sexuality, according to multiple studies.

Sociologist Tristan Bridges, who studies gender identity, took a deep dive into the historical and social reasons these results may seem surprising, but actually aren’t. Really everyone raising and/or loving a member of the male sex should stop and evaluate their feelings when it comes to male sexuality – cause we’ve got a big ol’ double standard here.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Our society connects gender expression to sexual orientation, and when boys do things outside their gender “norm,” like crossdressing, playing with dolls, or befriending girls more often than boys, more often than not they do actually grow up to be gay or trans.

However, predicting homosexuality is not at all simple, and averages are almost never applicable on the individual level, which means that Googling “is my son gay” when he is young is not only useless but also potentially stigmatizing. Experts maintain that there is only one sign of homosexuality that parents should really be looking out for, and it’s when their child says, “I’m gay.”

Sociologists Monica Caudillo and Emma Mishel told Fatherly that they’d found the same gender gap during their 2016 research.

Image Credit: Pixabay

“We find that people ask Google whether their sons are gay about twice as commonly as whether their daughters are gay or lesbian. To really understand the patterns in Google search behavior we discovered, you need to understand the ways three interrelated theories of gender and sexual inequality overlap and work together.”

American culture values a strong link between masculinity and heterosexuality that is reinforced by boys calling other boys “gay” when they don’t act “manly” enough as a child. Therefore, masculine conformity is policed from a young age, while anything associated with females or femininity is simultaneously devalued.

Similarly, as a society we tend to question men’s heterosexuality more easily than women’s – females who have same-sex sexual encounters are free to maintain a heterosexual identity without trouble, while men who admit a single same-sex experience may be immediately labeled gay or bi-sexual, even if they don’t identify that way.

The data is pulled from anonymous Google searches, and the fact that researchers have no information on the searchers is both good and bad, scientifically. On the one hand, there’s no way to know if the people Googling are dads or moms, conservatives or liberals, etc. There’s no way to break down the results by demographic.

Image Credit: Pixabay

On the other, no one who’s data was studied knows they’re being studied, either, and there are advantages to that. According to Bridges,

“While people might, for instance, hesitate before checking “yes” on a survey asking whether they have ever questioned their children’s sexualities before, they might not have the same hesitancy in regards to asking Google questions.”

The sociologists all agree on one point, and it’s that the searches don’t necessarily mean parents are homophobic. They should, however, serve as a reminder that we all live in a society more unforgiving of boys who violate masculinity norms. Good parents have a duty to encourage boys as well as girls to be themselves.

Also, remember – Google doesn’t have answers, it only has information. What you choose to do with it is up to you.

The post A Surprising Number of Parents Are Googling “Is My Son Gay?” appeared first on UberFacts.

April 24, 2019

12 Guys Openly Share Secrets About Dating That Most People Wouldn’t Guess

The dating experiences for men and women can be VERY different.

Gender roles. Societal expectations. Basic sexual attraction. They all play a big role in who we date and what we expect. And keeping up with it all can be complicated and exhausting.

Photo Credit: Whisper

Learn anything new?

Hope so!

The post 12 Guys Openly Share Secrets About Dating That Most People Wouldn’t Guess appeared first on UberFacts.

April 23, 2019

Asian Supermarkets are Wrapping Products in Leaves Instead of Plastic to Wrap Products

Our world is pretty sharply polarized these days, but if there’s one thing we can agree upon, it’s that we all need to be doing whatever we can to reduce waste. The single biggest thing we can do? Eliminate our dependence on plastic.

More and more businesses are jumping on board with sustainable and recyclable products and packaging, and here’s another great idea that will hopefully spread across the globe.

Posted by Perfect Homes Chiangmai on Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The photos in this article come to us from a supermarket in Thailand that has ditched plastic wrapping for their produce in favor of leaves. This means that more plastic that would be discarded to end up in a landfill is being eliminated from the environment.

Posted by Perfect Homes Chiangmai on Tuesday, April 2, 2019

These photos come from a place called Rimping Supermarket.

Posted by Perfect Homes Chiangmai on Tuesday, April 2, 2019

I love this idea! Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it catches on everywhere (here me, Kroger??)

The post Asian Supermarkets are Wrapping Products in Leaves Instead of Plastic to Wrap Products appeared first on UberFacts.

April 23, 2019

Remember That the Bell-Ringing Shame Nun Septa Unella from “Game of Thrones?” She’s a Smokeshow in Real Life.

Because the people on Game of Thrones are not real and are actually played by a special subset of superior humanity called “actors” and “actresses,” the impression the show may have given you of Septa Unella is not actually reflected in her daily life.

The smallfolk are dirty, so very dirty.

Photo Credit: HBO

Unlike the dour Septa Unella, all actresses are gorgeous, with pretty much no exceptions. That’s a great example of sexism, since John C. Reilly is a famous actor and he looks like a mountain goat. But the point here is that Septa Unella is a beautiful woman when going by her human name, Hannah Waddingham.

@davidfynn @thedebbiekurup #15secondshakespeare I nom @davidwalliams @MazzWoman @LouiseDearman pic.twitter.com/rHtjutAmWu

— Hannah Waddingham. (@hanwaddingham) September 20, 2015

She’s not constantly following Queen Cersei around ringing a bell to call the peasants’ attention to her sins, and she’s not always wearing a baggy habit.

Photo Credit: Twitter, @hanwaddingham

As the Daily Caller writes in words that are much more frank and weird than necessary: “The Actress Who Plays Septa Unella in ‘Game of Thrones’ Is Actually A GORGEOUS SMOKESHOW.” Nice, real classy. (They should have gone with Lord of Bones, right?)

Photo Credit: Twitter, @hanwaddingham

It just goes to show you can never judge an actor’s appearance based solely on a role they played.

Photo Credit: Twitter, @hanwaddingham

Who knew?

The post Remember That the Bell-Ringing Shame Nun Septa Unella from “Game of Thrones?” She’s a Smokeshow in Real Life. appeared first on UberFacts.

April 23, 2019

15 Inconveniences That Are Basically Level 1 Bad Guys

Remember when you played video games as a kid (or even more recently, if you’re like me), there was always the Big Bad Guy that you had to beat who was almost impossible to beat.

Before you get to that Big Bad, however, there’s a series of less difficult sub-bosses to get through, who each get progressively harder as you progress towards the last boss. So, the Level 1 boss is basically just a minor inconvenience.

What is the real-life equivalent?

The 13+ people below have some suggestions, and it’s hard to argue!

#1. Everyone knows.

Kid tries to punch me and take my food then cried when his hand aches from hitting the bone in my back. Everyone know that if you wanna hurt a man, you need to kick the crotch.

#2. People.

People who stare at you and make you look away.

#3. A goose at the park.

That goose at the park that I tried to do karate at when I was five

#4. Slow and go.

The guy who does a “slow and go” at a 4 way stop when you were there first.

#5. That won’t stop.

A fly that won’t stop bugging you

#6. That little mini-stumble.

The curb that’s one inch higher than you expected so you do that little mini-stumble thing

#7. Back in middle school.

The Hall Monitor from back in middle school. The parking meter checker for adults.

#8. A thief.

Workplace lunch thief

#9. Not the grapes.

People who steal/eat grapes from the supermarket

#10. That dude.

That dude who keeps asking the introvert why he doesn’t speak

#11. Someone you could easily punt.

Kids from rough neighborhoods that try and rob you. Btw, by kids I mean like <13, so someone you could easily punt across the fucking moon.

#12. Just ants.

Generic ants. Not bullet ants or anything; just ants.

#13. 200+ followers.

A middle schooler making fun of you for not having 200+ followers

#14. The kid who won’t share the swing.

In the first year of elementary school, just after the tutorial, there’s a kid who won’t share the swing and keeps it all recess.

#15. Seeing you in doubles.

The alcoholic threatening to beat you up while not being able to stay on their feet and always swinging to the left/right of you because he’s seeing you in doubles.

If only every defeat was so easy!

The post 15 Inconveniences That Are Basically Level 1 Bad Guys appeared first on UberFacts.

April 20, 2019

15 Times Things Went WAY Better Than They Should Have

“Well, isn’t that convenient?” How many times have you said that in your life?

Sometimes the universe just seems to be looking out for you. These AskReddit folks shared the most convenient things that ever happened to them.

1. That worked out

“Was overseas for a conference and I had taken a tour on the weekend before it, and met some peeps. One was a group from America and the other a girl from Germany. As the tour wound down I gave out my email address and told them to contact me so we could do something the following day.

The next day I go have lunch with the Americans first, and I’m on a train back in the direction I’m staying in, but wasn’t too sure around public transport at the time. I get a call from the German girl who asks if I’d like to have coffee with her in a certain suburb. As she says that I look up, the train door opens and it has the suburb name on the wall. I climb off the train, walk out the station and she’s right there.”

2. Cruisin’

“In 2010 my dad was at a hotel across the state. Two things you need to know about my dad: he is always hot, and he is very stubborn. So he goes to open the window in his hotel room but it was jammed and wouldn’t open. So he yanked on it until he popped a tendon in his arm. He went to the hospital and got rushed back to our city, it was a big deal because if he didn’t have surgery within 72 hours he would likely lose use of his arm.

But he got the surgery, workman’s comp paid for it because he had been on a business trip, and all was well. But then the hotel called, saying they wanted to compensate him so that he wouldn’t sue. My dad assured them he is not the suing type, he recognized it was his own fault, etc., and even offered to sign something saying he wouldn’t sue, but they were insistent on providing compensation. So finally, my dad told them he wouldn’t even know what to ask for.

The hotel, who was affiliated with Holland America Cruise Lines, replied and said: “how about a free cruise for four anywhere Holland America sails, and $10000 to get you to the location of the port?” So he said… yeah okay.

So the summer before my senior year of high school, me, my parents, and my best friend went on a Mediterranean cruise that went through Spain, Monaco, Italy, Greece, and Croatia, and the cruise/travel cost us nothing. It was f*cking amazing.”

3. I believe

“Once I was about to get a haircut which would have cost me £9, however I only had £7 as I spend £3 earlier that day. Now I had to get this haircut otherwise I would have been killed by my mum as she is the one who gave me the money for that specific reason.

So there I was sitting and hoping I would be able to negotiate something, with each passing minute I was getting more nervous. When a miracle happened. A man approached me and told me that he is in a hurry and will pay for my haircut if I give him my space. And on that day for a minute I believed in God.”

4. Rolled on in

“I ran out of gas on a long one lane bridge with a gas station at the end on the left side of the road. Had enough momentum to get over the bridge, had a large enough break in traffic to turn left without braking, and saw that one pump was open on the correct side of my car. Rolled into the station and didn’t even need to touch the brake to stop at the pump. I should also mention the bridge was flat so I didn’t have any hills to help me out.

I’m pretty sure my lottery chances are shot with all the luck I blew in that one minute.”

5. Right person at the right time

“I got on the wrong bus and didn’t even realize until it made the first stop. I got off there and was in a panic of what to do since I had to be somewhere at a certain time. The first stop was a college campus I had never been to. I saw somebody going out to her car, who turned out to be a professor, and I went to ask her about a bus that ran from the school. She just asked where I needed to be and she gave me a ride to the place for free. I ran into the right person at the right time.”

6. Boom!

“I started a new job and about 2 months later they announced that everyone was getting laid off as they were moving the billing office to another branch in a different state in a few months.

As an incentive they offered up to $2,000 bonuses for the people who remained the longest to clear up all remaining balances to make the transition more easy. I ended up convincing my old manager at my previous job to re-hire me a few weeks after the announcement.

Months later after I had left I ended up getting a check in the mail for the full bonus amount which I cashed ASAP.”

7. On vacation

“When I was maybe 15 or so, my mom told me to go to the doctor to get health report (for some documentation, it’s a long story). I didn’t want to go, so I lied that I went and the doctor was on vacation. Later, she comes into my room saying, “So, I called the doctor to make sure…”, and I’m like “OH SH*T”, and then she continues “So, you were right, she is on vacation indeed.”

I still can’t believe this happened.”

8. Helping hand

“I was cycling in a very isolated area, exploring my province, when one of my tires blew. I wasn’t even carrying any repair tools with me, so I was left with the only option to walk back 20 miles to the nearest village and either look for help or cancel my trip and take a bus back home. Not 1 minute after I started walking two cyclists appeared on the horizon. They happily fixed my tire and I was able to complete my ride. Montreal – Percé.”

9. Lemme, lemme upgrade

“One time I got into the wrong line when boarding a plane, but the attendant said “go on ahead” and instantly upgraded me to first class.”

10. Might have starved

“Went island camping with a friend of mine on a little sail boat. We did not have a gas stove to heat our food in, we instead had a metal frame that used firewood. Unfortunately, where we landed was void of any sort of wood. I’m convinced this was Deus ex machina at play here , but we conveniently found a store-bought log of firewood in this tiny island. Would have starved without it.”

11. That’s always nice

“Back in 2003 when you could fill at the pump then pay, I filled my car and went in to pay. The guy said that pump didn’t register a sale. Told me to have a nice day. I got around $38 worth of free gas.”

12. That was quick

“Bought a car for $2000. Picked it up and drove it 3 blocks home. Guy across the street sees the for sale sign and asks how much. Tell him I just bought it and he offers me $4500. He goes and gets me cash, I sign it over to him. $2500 bucks made in 30 mins.”

13. Lazy and happy

“Married the girl next door. We were friend and neighbors for almost a decade. We were frustrated being single and did the “hey! wanna date.” After we got married moving her in was a friggin dream! We kept the 2nd apt for 2 months, that was fun too. She didn’t have to change her address. Now that I think about it. We might be the laziest happily married couple.”

14. Easy!

“I had an AMEB piano exam coming up and I was supposed to have prepared two extra pieces, one of which the examiner would ask me to play (but you don’t know which one they’ll pick of course).

One, I had nailed. The other, from the very beginning, was a piece I never really liked much and I’d only learnt the first couple of pages – the rest of the piece would probably sound like someone playing it for the first time. Honestly, I didn’t give that piece nearly as much time as I should’ve.

So I went into that exam just HOPING the examiner would pick my good piece. Exam day came around and the examiner picked the piece I could only half play. CRAP.

Then, by some incredible alignment of the stars, she says ‘I’ll just get you to play to the end of the second page.’

Yes, of course Mrs Examiner, easy!”

15. A dream

“The job description literally was “off-role job, you have been notified”

I thought it was a joke, I applied on it anyway. Turns out Its one of the biggest Automobile giants in world desperately needing a graphic designer who is ready for an off-role job.

Its EXACTLY 12 minutes ride on Motorbike to and 17 minutes fro.

Got a chill boss who’s barely 9 years older than me and completely fine with me showing up 45 minutes late to work EVERYDAY as long as the work is done before I leave ON TIME.

When asked about the funny job description, she grilled the HR dept about funky job description.

some perks of my job

An hour late on job is acceptable EVERDAY. (due to my boss’s designation)
Mostly leave on time 5 minutes give or take extra
A less polite conversation makes my boss thinks she is scolding me and 5 minutes later she politely but professionally apologizes for ‘yelling’ at me. LOL
Can take up to 3,15-20 minutes break excluding lunch break
Company has an agency already hired who does half of my work. (I’m there for emergency creatives)
This is absolutely a dream job for a second job.”

The post 15 Times Things Went WAY Better Than They Should Have appeared first on UberFacts.

April 20, 2019

15 Singles Discuss What They Love Most About Their Lifestyle

These days, I’m quite happily married, but it wasn’t that many years ago that I was living the single life. While I’m definitely happier today than I was then, there are definitely some parts of the single life that were pretty great.

There are a lot of perks, as these 15 people are quick to point out.

#1. My entire social battery.

I can do what I want whenever I want!
Well, actually I still gotta help my family and go to work and that pretty much drains my entire social battery.

#2. Not getting dragged into lame events.

Not getting dragged into lame events with her family that essentially ruin my weekend.

“Oh no, I totally want to drive three hours and hangout with your family this weekend. I had these crazy plans to relax, maybe go for a bike ride, have some beers by pool, go to a movie with our friends, etc. But you’re right, lets drive three hours away to listen to your family argue about politics, eat bland food, and sleep on a futon. Sounds great.”

#3. What I love about being single.

All of my shit is exactly where I left it when I get home.

My bed is still made, my dishes are still done, my food is still there, my clothes are still clean, and nothing is missing from my cash stash.

If I want to stay up late and watch movies or listen to music, I can.

If I want to go to bed early, and use the whole damn bed, I can.

If I want to go out and have a few drinks with my friends, I can.

I never have to laugh at unfunny memes’ found on FaceBook, or explain why I’m laughing so hard at anything.

I never have to justify my joy.

I’m my own person. Full, complete, and content.

And no one can drain that from me.

This is what I love about being single.

#4. So much space!

Being able to sleep diagonally across my bed, so much space !

#5. The same goes for me.

No one has to deal with my shit, and the same goes for me. Dunno how I’d handle that.

#6. Free of the constant anxiety.

I’m free of the constant anxiety of if I’m being a good boyfriend.

#7. No obligations.

the fact that I have no obligations to anyone on a daily basis (outside of my family and shit). all I gotta do is worry about myself. also I get to use all my money for me

Edit: Thanks for the silvers and all the replies, even the ones who disagree, I enjoy hearing your perspectives.

#8. When you put something somewhere.

No longer single but the fact that when you put something somewhere IT FUCKING STAYS THERE!!!

Edit : thank you for gold and silver!

#9. The thing I miss most.

married father here chiming in.

The thing I miss most about being single is the ability to act purely in your own self-interest without having any sense of guilt or responsibility to another person. And I’m not even talking about something with high stakes — I’m talking about something as simple as wanting to eat an entire bag of skittles without sharing with another person.

Don’t get me wrong, I love sacrificing for my family and sharing any and every thing I have with my wife and kid, but when you’re single, you have the ability and right to make every tiny decision based on your own self-interest or selfishness, and that’s something I sometimes miss on a very simple rudimentary level.

#10. Not worrying about their success.

I enjoy not worrying about their success. Life can be difficult, so supporting an SO and putting personal struggles on the back burner to do so can be exhausting.

Overall, a healthy relationship is still my favorite… but single is much better than an unhealthy one.

Obligatory Edit: Holy karma! Thank you everyone! I’m so happy that so many of you found some value in this post. I’m in the middle of a divorce and had been habitually putting myself second to my wife, so I’ve really been trying to convince myself this is true. All these fake internet points reassure me in my thinking and make me feel pretty great, so I really appreciate you all. Please stay awesome!

#11. Delightfully selfish.

I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I can spend money on myself with zero regard for what anyone else thinks. I don’t have to factor anyone else into my plans or life decisions.

It can be lonely sometimes, but it’s also delightfully selfish.

#12. I don’t have to choose.

i don’t have to chose between hanging with my friends or my SO.

#13. Best of all…

Not having to share a bed.

Not having to share your food.

Your space. Your free time. Your time out with friends.

But best of all …

Not having to have unnecessarily long discussions on where to eat.

#14. Stuff can just happen.

That stuff can just happen. If I want to change my entire weekend plans, bam – done. If I stumble upon a thing that happens and want to participate, boom – done. If I don’t want to talk to anyone, ka-blam – done.

#15. Exactly where it should be.

Everything in my car and apartment is exactly where it should be.

Try not to be jealous, coupled people. We have perks, too.

Just not the same ones.

The post 15 Singles Discuss What They Love Most About Their Lifestyle appeared first on UberFacts.

April 19, 2019

When His Wife Refused to Vaccinate Their Child, This Desperate Dad Turned to the Internet for Advice

The list of things to go over with any potential spouse before tying the knot seems to be getting longer and longer these days. For some inexplicable reason, there’s a new one to add to the list: if you’re looking to procreate someday, you might want to find out what your potential spouse’s views are on vaccinating your future children.

According to the CDC, rates of vaccine refusals for non-medical reasons are on the rise, and we’re seeing outbreaks of previously all-but-eradicated diseases because of it.

The issue is more and more relevant, and, as this new dad found out, you’d better not assume the person you walked down the aisle with shares your views on the subject.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Title says it all. We’ve been married for 3 years now. She’s always been one for quirky, “against-the-grain” thinking and interests. However, it’s not just harmless things like believing there’s no gold in Ft.Knox, taking pictures of trash in “aesthetic poses”, or doodling interesting little paintings of naked women laying with trees, anymore… No, it was little things like that which made me fall in love with her. But now there’s this anti-vax bullshit.

She got sucked into one of those anti-vax Facebook indoctrination camps by one of her brain dead friends who takes pride in the fact she’s worked at a fucking Wawa for 10 years. She messaged my wife shortly after she posted pics of our newborn on Facebook.

I love my wife but she somehow manages to be the most stubborn individual on the planet while simultaneously being the most gullible and malleable. Shortly after birth (because this was pre-brainwashing) our child received her Vitamin K shot, and the Hep-B vaccine. However, now She’s refusing to give our child any of the other vaccines.

I know that in her mind, she’s coming from a place of love for our child but as you can imagine, this has caused a considerable amount of strain and we’ve had a number of arguments already. All her arguments/counter-arguments follow the same general outline.

“Oh well if you look this graph you’ll see that the numbers of cases for <X disease> have risen alongside the increased use of <Y vaccine>”

“I’m the mother here, this is a mothers instinct, I know I’m right, a mother knows best, etc etc etc…”

I’ve tried explaining to her the basic idea of “correlation doesn’t equal causation.” By showing her that as ice cream sales increase, so too do the murder rates. She followed that one up with “We aren’t talking about ice cream and murder, we’re talking about vaccines and debilitating diseases! They’re completely different!”

I’ve tried showing her the statistics detailing the infant mortality rates in lesser developed countries where vaccination isn’t as pertinent and that vaccines are effective. She follows that up with “Those statistics are created by think tanks funded by the government and “big-pharma”

She won’t budge and hasn’t budged for weeks now. Our arguments are devolving into the same tired routine over and over again and I’m worried that the only thing which will wake her up is our child being afflicted by some horrible disease like measles which could’ve been easily avoided.

I am in Florida. Is there anyway I can sneakily just bring my child to the doctor and have her vaccinated without my wife’s knowledge? What are my options here? Legally speaking, what kind of leeway do I have? I don’t want this to lead to divorce but I just feel quite lost at the moment.

He’s tried convincing his wife that vaccines are the way to go but she refuses to listen to logic and/or science, and he was looking for advice on whether he could get his child vaccinated on his own and, maybe, how to avoid getting a divorce in the process.

r/legaladvice had plenty to say on the first point – in sum, yes – and not much to say on the second.

Photo Credit: Reddit

I mean, he asked the legal advice subreddit for help – not r/relationships – and I think they handled it nicely.

And if he takes off the Band-aids after it’s all said and done, she’ll probably never know the difference, and the kid won’t become another unfortunate statistic.

What do you think?

The post When His Wife Refused to Vaccinate Their Child, This Desperate Dad Turned to the Internet for Advice appeared first on UberFacts.

April 19, 2019

Muslim Man Tweets About His Jewish Co-worker – But It’s Not What You Think

Getting along with your co-workers can often prove to be a challenge, and that goes double when we work with people who are very different from ourselves – different experiences, different upbringings, different backgrounds, different faiths, different whatever. But given that none of us want to end up on the street without a paycheck, getting along is the best (and only) option.

That said, when Muslim man Umar started a Twitter thread about how his Jewish co-worker treats him on the job, people everywhere were holding their breath.

Spoiler alert: It turned out to be for naught.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Umar told Bored Panda that not only was his co-worker, Elliot, super knowledgable about Islam and its rules, but that he genuinely cared about others and looked out for their best interests.

Photo Credit: Twitter

We should all aim to be a bit more like these two, who quietly respect their’ differences and work to ensure everyone can live the life they choose without interfering with other people’s right to do the same.