A craze has swept over some of the straight female population for quite some time now in relation to gay men and the friendships we have together. Being the GBF (gay best friend/ gay boyfriend) to my girlfriends is a title that, I’m sure, is not set up to offend, but ultimately does. I am not the only gay male who thinks this. I have lost count of the number of times that some girl wants to make me her sassy gay friend based simply on the mention of my sexual orientation. So, there are a few things that I feel need to be cleared up.

First, not every gay male wants to be a shopping buddy.

Although I personally am a proponent of retail therapy when my budget allows it, it is important to recognize that not all of us have impeccable fashion sense and a desire to shop until we drop.

Also, we aren’t all obsessed with pop divas. I personally am not one of GaGa’s little monsters, and although I enjoy a little Britney every now and then, my music tastes are varied and not entirely superficial like a lot of pop music is.

We aren’t substitutes for your boyfriend when he doesn’t want to accompany you to a performance or event that he isn’t into. I don’t think I would ever be able to sit through an entire ballet or opera without falling asleep, and not every gay male is into musicals.

Gay men are not fashion accessories. By being referred to as a GBF, it makes it seem that we are only your friends because our sexual orientation makes us seem that we are all of these things. We are not.

As I have said before in my column, gay men come in all different kinds of shapes, sizes and gender expressions. Some are masculine, while others embrace femininity a little more. By boxing gays into the stereotypes that the mainstream media pushes forward, we limit ourselves in the way we see gay people.

The main point that I want to get at is that I am not a gay best friend. I am not a gay boyfriend either. I am a friend, that is all, and my sexuality shouldn’t determine how I am treated by you. At the end of the day we are all people, and nobody deserves to be made to feel like a novelty product.