Theory on Flamboyance

I recently met a couple of gay guys through friends. They were in short, "flamers." I'm pretty far from ever being called a flamer, and this obvious difference sometimes make me feel like an outcast in my own society.

I feel like you never see as many older flamers. Is being excessively flamboyant a stage? I'm starting to think it is. I started thinking about what the major differences between the 20 somethings and the 30+ somethings are.

One thing that stands out is that those that are 30+ are often more professional stabile. When I think back to the two guys I met there was a distinct commonality they shared. At one point they both made it clear that they were proud of where they were in life. They didn't like their current jobs, weren't meeting the goals and such.

Could the flamboyance be an act? People have always coupled homosexuality with flamboyance. But what if flamboyance was a defense mechanism to come off more confident than they actually felt. This could be a defense mechanism that is specific to homosexuals, as opposed to a standard trait specific to homosexuals.

Hell, this defense mechanism may not be specific to homos at all. I think straight men, women, lesbians probably all put this front up in one way or another. They like to go out and be the center of attention and pretend like nothing bothers them. They try to make it look like they are totally cool with where they are in life, who they are, etc. Maybe this pumped up faux-confidence just turns the volume up on the already present feminine/flamboyant qualities of homosexuals.

Of course I'm speaking in general terms. I'm sure there are some people that truly are that confident, and THAT GAY.