Atlanta's gay rag, Southern Voice, has an article on bottom stigma! Well how fabulous! It's an interesting (if fairly short) piece that brings up a number of important issue. I like that they begin with a femme top's story who get's assumed to be a bottom because of his sissy gender performance, and interestingly a versatile guy who identifies as vers to avoid the stigma associated with bottoms:

Even in a city with a gay population as large as Atlanta’s, so many aspects of gay sexuality continue to be marginalized or derided. And although many gay men in Atlanta enjoy being penetrated during sex, the term “bottom” is often used as a slur the same way that “gay” is used on school playgrounds.

“They think you’re soft, or femme, or you don’t know how to use your dick,” said a 31-year-old Atlanta resident who asked to be identified as “Greg.”

“I know that’s not what all bottoms are, but that’s what people think,” said Greg, who is usually the receptive partner during anal sex, but doesn’t identify as a bottom. “I am versatile, and I do know how to use my dick, so I’m not lying. But saying I’m versatile might keep people from assuming all these other things about me, just because I like to get fucked.”

They also talk about intersections with race, and in particular how stigma around bottoming in African-American culture is particularly acute. It's provocative stuff! Read it!

(Via LifeLube)