Stereotypes about gay men being hypersexual create confirmation bias that reinforces limiting beliefs.

Confirmation bias is noticing only what supports your beliefs, and dismissing what doesn’t.

The media's single story about gay men becomes the lens through which we view our worth.

This week, Wired published an article titled "Inside the Gay Tech Mafia," profiling the network of gay men in the tech industry.

Beyond documenting professional influence, the piece emphasized stereotypes about gay men, including gossip, cattiness, and drama.

The illustrations accompanying the piece depicted gay men as exaggerated stereotypes, including two limp wrists reaching out to give a handshake coming out of the zipper of their pants. As if the only way gay men greet one another is through our penises.

The visual language reduced gay men to limiting stereotypes, which struck a nerve across social media. It demonstrated how even progressive publications default to a single narrative about who gay men are.

Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie gave one of my favorite talks, "The Danger of a Single Story," where she explores stereotypes and the consequences of using one narrative to define a group or person. She draws on her own experience as a woman from Nigeria attending college in the United States.

She recalls visiting Guadalajara, Mexico, and suddenly noticing people all around her simply living—walking, shopping, and dining—and feeling a wave of shame. She realized she had........

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