When I worked at the local KFC one summer between my freshman and senior years, when I had just come out to myself as bi, I once scared the heck out of a manager... He informed me, after a "stereotypically gay" man had left the restaurant, that he could "always tell that kind." I smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, really? Would you have guessed me?" I think I made him choke. I don't think he ever believed me.
Your story is pretty funny, and you've reminded me of something else. The project manager with the conviction that he'd never met a gay person was from Romania. Maybe that had something to do with his attitude? I would guess that it was pretty oppressive towards gays, especially in the 60s and 70s, when he lived there. Just thinking about this project manager being from Romania, however, reminded me of how the topic of gays ever came up in the office. We learned that a new guy was going to join our project, and his first name was -- I kid you not -- Dyke.
The first couple of times the project manager mentioned the new person's name (before Dyke actually started working on the project), most of the other people on the team couldn't help expressing disbelief over the name ("Dyke? Did you say Dyke?" *snerk*), in part because the project manager obviously had no idea what the word meant. Finally, he asked us, "What? What's so funny about that name?" I thought he was going to pass out when we told him. He turned bright red. After that, he almost couldn't say Dyke's name, tentatively stuttering it out every time he had to say it.
(For the record, Dyke turned out to be a tall, married black man from Africa, arrogant, and a terrible co-worker)
Re:
He informed me, after a "stereotypically gay" man had left the restaurant, that he could "always tell that kind." I smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, really? Would you have guessed me?" I think I made him choke. I don't think he ever believed me.
Re:
The first couple of times the project manager mentioned the new person's name (before Dyke actually started working on the project), most of the other people on the team couldn't help expressing disbelief over the name ("Dyke? Did you say Dyke?" *snerk*), in part because the project manager obviously had no idea what the word meant. Finally, he asked us, "What? What's so funny about that name?" I thought he was going to pass out when we told him. He turned bright red. After that, he almost couldn't say Dyke's name, tentatively stuttering it out every time he had to say it.
(For the record, Dyke turned out to be a tall, married black man from Africa, arrogant, and a terrible co-worker)