The problem is that flaunting is in the eye of the beholder.

The word "flaunting" is a hot button word, because it's often used by conservatives as an excuse to accuse gay people of attempting to "convert" children or, at least, of trying to introduce gay sex into everything.

The specific reason I answered the original comment was to point out that one person's flaunt is another person's normal daily life. I'm unsure of how movieseeker123 or DaTScientisT understand the issue.

When I think of flaunting, I think of how a young adult often acts when they first are able to come-out. What often happens is that person covers themselves in gay pride regalia and might even take on artificially dramatic behaviors, make non-stop inappropriate jokes or do other extroverted actions solely because they FINALLY have the freedom to not be ashamed or repressed. To everyone else, this behavior can be funny, cute, or just plain annoying.

Eventually, the joy of being free develops into a natural comfort and there is no longer a pressing need to establish self-identity as queer unless the person again experiences pressure to be repressed. So to everyone who has a friend who just came out of the closet and THEY JUST WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT. Give them time. They'll calm down.

On the other hand, the term "flaunting" gets used frequently by conservatives as a label for anything that a queer person might ever say or do that would remove the assumption that they are hetero. For example, I have specifically heard it said "we don't want gay teachers in the classroom because they will flaunt their homosexuality". The example brought up was that the teacher might mention in the classroom about going to the movies with their partner.

In the past, I've had a heterosexual teacher who was more happy to talk about her husband and children's family vacation (complete with photos) than actually teaching her class. But in that case, to conservatives, she's just sharing a heartwarming story of traditional family values; she isn't "flaunting" her heterosexuality by shoving photos of her opposite-sex life-partner and her heterosexual marriage down students' throats for forty minutes.

So, for you, vi_sucks, your definition of flaunting makes perfect sense. It helps to understand the other person's motivations. Maybe something in the conversation did connect for them. Maybe they just came out and have that necessary, if annoying, need to establish their identify. Or, they may just be big attention whores and saying "I'm gay!" is a great way to get the conversation to be about them. If that's the case, just say "good for you!" and go on with the conversation. They'll get the point.