AK Soufflé: Exercising, my rights

I was seeing the doctor for a regular check up, the annual one that men of my stately age get called in for. It was a GP that I had never seen before, but what of it, the service is stretched way beyond its strangulated means so I was not for complaining.

He did all the usual stuff and then sat back, put down his pen and came out with rather a surprising line. “Do you go to a gym?” Well I don’t think you need a degree in medicine to see that I do not, so the question was somewhat rhetorical. He followed on with this; “You must be the only gay man in Brighton that does not go to the gym.” I was rather taken aback as I had never met him before and could only assume that he was making an assumption.

Of course I realise that as well as clearly not going to a gym I am probably fairly obviously gay, but the assumption was, to me, rather annoying. As was the attitude that all gay men go to the gym, like saying that all lesbians own a cat.

I realise that as well as clearly not going to a gym I am probably fairly obviously gay

It’s strange how people love to allocate labels to us all. A few weeks back I talked about tribalism, and now I am questioning whether people really need to define you by your sexuality. I’m sure he would never suggested that I was the only man in Brighton not to go to a gym.

One of the things I love about modern society – and my own life, is that I do not conduct it by adhering to a set of rules laid down by my sexual preferences. I am equally likely to spend an evening in the local pub as in a gay bar. Actually that is not true, I am far more likely to spend my evening in the local pub than in a gay bar. My group of friends is all encompassing, men and women, straight, gay, trans, uncertain, dare I say it – willing to help out of we get busy…. I am of course joking, what I am saying is that it is really wonderful that here in Brighton I do not need to hide away or change the way I behave or the way I dress, pretend to be younger or older even.

As for the doc, well let me put it like this: I know I should try to lose some weight, should endeavour to do more exercise and get more sleep even. But these will be my choices and are certainly not based on my sexual preferences, so go spin! To use a cliché, I am what I am!