Everybody is a comedian until they're not.
And what some people think is appropriate party chatter can leave much to be desired.
These days that old adage of "Know your audience" has never been more prevalent.
A few testy back and forths, no matter how well intended, can really bring down the mood.
Case in point...
Redditor Aging_gay_man wanted to discuss his experience and get some feedback. So naturally, he came to visit the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subReddit.
He asked:
"AITA for answering a rude question with a rude question?"
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"I'm a happily married gay man and, yesterday I and my husband were at a friend's house celebrating their birthday."
"At the end of the party a small group of people were sitting around the fire talking sh*t when a woman, who I don't know (friend of a friend type of thing) asked me and my husband straight to our faces, 'So do you like being f**ked up the a** or is it your husband?'"
"And before you all ask, no, she wasn't drunk. She was the designated driver. I replied, 'Do you like to f**k on all fours or on you're back?'"
"She got mad and stormed off, calling me a pr*ck."
"At the time everyone there laughed (most were drunk) but the woman was my friend's girlfriend's relative of something and, now he and his girlfriend are getting some backlash."
"He's mad at me now because even though what she said was offensive, I didn't need to stoop to her level."
"I'm starting to feel bad about it. The last thing I wanted was to cause trouble for my friend."
"So AITA?"
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA:
- NTA - Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH - Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared OP was NOT the A**hole.
"NTA. She set the tone for the conversation, and you followed her lead."
"She couldn't possibly expect a serious response to her offensive question."
"Kudos to you for your quick response that put everyone at ease." ~ Thingsdatmakeugohm
"OP Asked her essentially the same question why is it wrong for him but not her? Wow!"
"The audacity of that woman and those people reacting need to be reminded of the fact that OP just reframed the question for her sexual identity." ~ mortgage_gurl
"All they can think about is the sex, and they see sex in an outdated, binary way."
"Men are dominant, and women are submissive."
"Their brains short circuit when it's two people with the same parts because they assume one has to be dominant over the other."
"This is often the case, but non-cis-het are typically much freer to switch."
"But they feel the need to have someone they can address as the dominant/masculine person in the duo because of how subconsciously need to give a certain amount of respect to the person filling the more traditional role for their gender." ~ Cosmic_Quasar
"Partly because they can't comprehend that homosexual also means homoromantic."
"They fixate on the 'sexual' part of the descriptor in a way they don't heterosexual."
"In large part, because they never think 'heterosexual,' they think 'normal' or 'straight.'"
"It never occurs to them that being gay means feeling the same feelings of romantic love for their partners that straight people feel for their own."
"As for 'top and bottom,' I blame that entirely on the fetishization of gay and bi relationships by straight people in niche online communities spilling over into the public via social media." ~ Beneficial-Yak-3993
"As an asexual, people question me a lot on my experiences."
"I've had coworkers learn from others about my asexuality and straight up come over and ask if I masturbate or if I've had sex before."
"Some people even feel it's acceptable to ask if I became asexual after being sexually assaulted or if I just had a traumatic break-up and swore off men."
"If you're anything other than the norm, people find it okay to ask you offensive sh*t like you aren't entitled to privacy or like you don't have feelings, too." ~ OverlyCheerfulNPC
"A coworker of mine was once talking about a celebrity gay couple and speculated on which one was 'the wife' (referring to their roles in their marriage, not their sex lives, I think - she's not usually the type that would talk about that at work)."
"My boss and I just looked at each other, and then I told her, 'Actually, they're both 'the husband.'"
"That's kind of the point!"
"She just looked shocked for a while, as if that thought had literally never crossed her mind before."
"Like, I don't think she's anti-marriage equality, but it shook her entire worldview that a marriage between two men wouldn't follow traditional gender roles, with one guy taking on what she sees as the wife's role automatically (completely ignoring that a lot of hetero marriages don't follow those roles, either)."
"Heteronormativity is a hell of a drug."
"Add that to the weird ideas a lot of people have about gay men's sex lives, and they lose all sense of restraint and common decency about what you're allowed to ask a stranger." ~ Ok-Rabbit1878
"She herself ruined it by storming off and calling him a prick."
"If she just chuckled and responded with a similarly sarcastic response, the conversation likely would've ended there."
"She gave it out but couldn't take it in return."
"She likely wouldn't have gotten any backlash for what she said if she laughed it off since it would've given the impression she wasn't asking seriously and that the conversation was humorous."
"To begin with, her calling him a prick for not answering it seriously made it clear she was asking seriously." ~ mj561256
"NTA. You just turned the tables on her and showed exactly how inappropriate she was being."
"Also, what you did was not the same as what she did."
"She was not just asking an inappropriate question about your sex life. She was actually trying to bully you for being gay in front of others."
"Your friend should be apologizing to you, not mad at you." ~ Kindly_Egg_7480
"Exactly. Because sadly, I don't think he could ever effectively bully her for being straight the same way people could bully you for being gay."
"I mean, I don't think a straight person could ever be as bullied or insulted for being straight as a gay person could be."
"So his turnabout was very fair play there." ~ NSFWies
"Oh my God, what a weird and rude woman."
"Your answer was very appropriate."
"In my opinion, I probably would never say anything like this myself."
"I know that some people are open to talking about things like this, but not all of them, and not everyone is comfortable talking about stuff like this."
"And I definitely think that most people don't like being asked such things. You are definitely not in the wrong here." ~ Ace-2_Of_Spades
"NTA and fellow LGBT+ person here."
"People of a certain... belief.... often feel entitled to ask questions and know about our genitals, our sex life, our sexual preference, the details of how we have sex and all manner of intrusive things."
"Things they wouldn't dream of asking a cishet presenting person they don't know in a million f**king years."
"These people absolutely deserve the shame of turning it around on them."
"Perhaps she will think twice before asking such reprehensible questions of a stranger again, just because they happen to be LGBT." ~ LemonDeathRay
"Well said - from a bit of an old cis female bat (old git, and from the U.K., so some terms may be slightly different)."
"And I'm not entirely sure I know the correct terms for everyone/but willing to listen and learn)."
"Two of my best friends are a married male couple - I would never ever dream of asking them about their sex life. Ever."
"It's so very wrong on so many levels to ask such things."
"Of anyone - but especially what was asked of OP."
"That's just vile. And OP is completely NTA." ~ fibrofatigued
"NTA. Sometimes, it's appropriate to give back the same energy that we receive."
"This is one of those times."
"I don't understand why she thought that was an acceptable question to ask you, a stranger to her."
"No need to feel bad about this."
"This lady's behavior was out of order." ~ HammerOn57
"NTA!! A dose of her own medicine to show her how incredibly rude and vulgar she was being is EXACTLY what she needed."
"Clearly no one has ever called her out on behavior like that before."
"This is a lesson she won't soon forget... and that's a good thing for certain."
"Your quip back was perfect. Spot on. And deserved."
"And definitely something I would have said... BRAVO."
"Side note: this is part of the problem in general with homophobes."
"They don't see Love when they see a gay couple."
"They see 'how does sex work?'"
"But it's no one's business... not in ANY relationship they're not involved in."
"If people just saw LOVE, they would be far less likely to hate blindly." ~ SwtIndica
"NTA and fantastic comeback Sir." ~ RAnA**hole
Well, OP, sounds like Reddit is with you.
She dished. You served a killer come back without missing a beat.
And it seems your serving may have been too hot for her to handle.
When questioning strangers, one should always come prepared.
Don't be too worried.















Trans Man Considers Breaking Off Engagement After Fiancé Wants Him To Wear A Dress For Wedding
KimJane Photography/GettyImages
A lot of people often say, "Believe people when they tell you who they are the first time."
It's one of life's truest (and ignored) sayings.
Believe a person when they are drunk and spew words as well.
Often, a few drinks will help a person let loose on how they really feel.
And then take note.
Redditor dude-e23 wanted to discuss his experience and get some feedback, so naturally, he came to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subreddit.
He asked:
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"Hi, I'm sorry for the potentially bad English; it's not my first language anyway."
"I'm a 26-year-old male who recently got engaged to my fiancè, a 28-year-old male."
"For the sake of the story, I'm going to call him Mark."
"I'm a trans man, and this will be relevant to the story."
"Mark and I have been going out for 4 years, and I wasn't on testosterone when we met, and only started recently."
"Mark had never had any issues with my gender identity; he always respected my pronouns and my gender, or so I thought."
"Recently, we were over at his parents' when the topic of the wedding planning came up."
"His mom asked about our wedding outfits, and Mark, who was a bit drunk at this point, said, 'I want to put (my name) in a dress so SHE can be prepared for HER future wifey duty.'"
"I was stunned, and I could see how uncomfortable his mom was."
"I said we were leaving and took Mark home."
"It happened yesterday, and I'm genuinely thinking of breaking it off."
"I've struggled a lot with my identity, and a big part of my family cut me off after my coming out."
"Right now, Mark is at work, and I pretended to be asleep when he left, but now I can't stop overthinking small details like how he used some feminine term in bed or how he always hated when I cut my hair short."
"But maybe he thought it was funny, and he was too drunk to realize what he was saying."
The OP was left to wonder:
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed in on some options to the question, AITA:
Redditors declared that OP was NOT the A-hole.
"Yeah, so it turns out that this isn't the case."
"Please don't marry him."
"He fundamentally doesn't respect who you are."
"And to be honest, this would be a disturbing enough statement if you were a woman."
"You can't tie yourself down to this person." ~ HighRiseCat
"Yes! It would still be icky and questionable for him to say this if OP presented as a CIS female - but the fact that OP is a trans man makes it horrifying. WTF?!" ~ MarionberryOk2874
"NOR. I'm a cisgender, heterosexual married woman, so my experience with dating is very different from yours, but if my fiancé said 'She will be wearing a modest dress to get used to life as a married woman' or 'She needs to wear a low cut dress, so I can see what I'm buying' or anything along those lines, I would have called it off quickly."
"The dismissal of your identity is problematic as hell, but so is the little hint that married life will be radically different and not in a lovely, better way."
"Your wedding attire should reflect you, your identity, your values, comfort, and inspire confidence."
"You deserve that."
"Everyone deserves that." ~ ankareeda
"NOR, have a direct conversation with him about this, and don't get legally entangled with him."
"He shouldn't be thinking this is funny anyway; drunkness is not an excuse here, you're his partner of many years." ~ Fit_Square1322
"If these things that he says are coming out when he's drunk, that probably means he's thinking about these issues of your gender presentation, but he's not telling you what he's thinking."
"He sounds very emotionally immature and not ready for marriage." ~ GreenDirt2
"Bro, drunk words are sober thoughts with the volume turned up."
"Thought it was funny isn’t a defense."
"It’s a confession."
"He told his mom who he actually thinks you are."
"You survived your family cutting you off to live as you."
"You don’t owe anyone a second round of that grief because your fiancé can’t handle pronouns after 4 years." ~ BabydolllVibess
"Oh, my God??!!"
"Dude, that’s crazy. Please dump his as*."
"He clearly doesn’t see you as a man, and if you marry him, you’re resigning yourself to a life of being misgendered, and he’s probably gonna try and detransition you or feminize you (seeing as he wants you to wear a DRESS)."
"Also, I’m a trans dude, and I think it’s important that you hear a fellow trans man say this."
"You need to leave."
"You’re a man, and it’s insane that he’s trying to make you feel like you aren’t."
"The breakup will probably suck, but if you stay with him, it’ll be 100x worse." ~ mothmn_9
"NOR, I’ve learned drunk people usually speak more honestly than they mean to."
"I’d guess his mask slipped off; this is certainly grounds for leaving if he can’t accept who you are as you are." ~ Defiant_Tea_8722
"You’re not overreacting."
"I don’t think he actually respects you and who you are as a person."
"He called you feminine things all throughout your relationship."
"Maybe he never accepted you, and I’m sorry."
"I know that's a lot, but I know you will find someone who actually respects you and cares for you truly." ~ Due_Classic_4090
"Some people would tell you that people say things they don’t mean when they’re drunk. I think that’s BS."
"In my experience, it just removes their filter, and everything they say has an underlying truth to it."
"Knowing your gender identity and what you prefer, his words seem very disrespectful towards you and inconsiderate of your feelings, and being drunk isn’t a good enough excuse."
"If you have doubts, don’t just brush them off; trust your gut." ~ Kitchen_Process_8351
"NOR."
"I’m a cis woman, but my first serious relationship was with a trans man."
"Frankly, he was abusive, and I don’t even like or respect him, but still I would NEVER misgender him, because I sincerely understand that he’s a man."
"And I’m not an a**hole."
"Your partner is an a**hole." ~ tigalicious
"NOR. That’s a major breach of trust."
"Your relationship has gone on long enough for him to know that sh*t isn’t cool and is not a matter to joke over, even if he’s drunk (unless he has a drinking problem, in which case he needs to address that before marriage and work to make amends)." ~ Moist_Drippings
"NOR. It sounds like he might be counting on your gender identity to be 'just a phase' and that after the marriage, he’ll expect you to embody the 'wifely' role fully."
"He isn’t taking you seriously as a man, and it doesn’t sound like he’s actually on board for a homosexual marriage."
"Get out of there!" ~ Amwfgoddess
"NOR. My biggest concern is the potential for abuse - wifey duty?"
"Not even a conservative man says something like that."
"It's a pure trash statement."
"My first marriage was to an addict... 'DRUNKEN WORDS ARE SOBER THOUGHTS!'"
"😔 I'm so sorry. 🫂" ~ pashinates
OP returned with an UPDATE:
"I dont know if this is how you update, but anyway..."
"Mark and I are done."
"He came home from work an hour and a half ago, and I made him dinner so we could eat and talk."
"I told him what he said deeply hurt me, that I felt like he didn't respect me and saw me as a woman."
"He said that until recently he always saw me as a man, even though I'm the more feminine side (whatever that means), but since I've started taking testosterone, he realized he was less attracted to me and started to resent me."
"Which is f**king weird because my appearance didn't even change that much, and that he needed to take the 'lead' of the relationship again."
"By then, I had heard enough."
"I made it clear we were done and that this type of behavior was not okay and that it'll never be okay."
"That he had to go to therapy and work on his insecurities, but that I couldn't stay with him."
"At this point, he was apologizing and almost pleading with me to stay, but I really did not want to stay, so I took all my essentials and called my friend."
"I'm currently waiting for her to pick me up."
"I'm so confused about how someone I loved so much could betray me like that."
"I'll ask my friend and her husband if they can go back to take my other stuff later on because I really don't want to see him."
"I'm safe, my friend set me up in the guest bedroom, and I'm so grateful I have her."
"Mark and his family have been blowing up my phone."
"His mom, bless her heart, has only asked how I was and said that no matter what, she'll always see me as her son and that she's sorry about Mark's behavior, but his dad and brother have been sending me very insulting texts that included slurs."
"Mark threatened to 'go get me,' but luckily, he doesn't know where my friend lives."
"Honestly, I don't even recognize the man I was with."
"I'm thinking about moving to another city where I could live with my cousin until I'm back on my feet, but that's a whole other story."
"I'm planning to keep in contact with Mark's mom, and I'll be meeting up with her on Thursday."
"Thank you so much for opening my eyes and for making me realize Mark's behavior was not normal."
This is such a heartbreaking story.
So sorry you had to go through this, OP.
Reddit is loudly 1000% with you.
It's wonderful that you have love and support.
Stay strong.