I'm a man and I've only ever been in relationships with men. I'm not gay. I don't relate to "gay". I don't like what "gay" is in the western world. I see things more like how the non-western countries do... without labels. The ideal relationship model according to the gay world is not suitable for me. It's part and parcel with the narcissistic, sociopathic relationship model that is now pitched in the modern world.
I too have become bitter. Most of my relationships are not lasting because people don't have enough self-awareness to do relationship practices beyond the lust phase. It's about what you can get without trying, and once you have to try you move on to the next desire. I believe this is universal, it's not just a man/man thing.
I am so, so tired of the so-called polyamorous culture I'm seeing. It's toxic. It rarely ever ends well. It dilutes people's energy across many people and there's no containment. I am not necessarily in favor of 100% monogamy forever, but I believe in loyalty, accountability, commitment and compromise. I have stopped sharing this view with people because every time I do, liberally minded people call me possessive, or start ranting about marriage is a sham. It seems like people are either too lazy or too self-preoccupied to truly negotiate relationships anymore. The word "monogamy" makes people's heads spin. It's in vogue to hate the traditional way of life; and although I don't think the traditional life was all hunky dory, I think there's some truth in it. We have just become too bourgeoisie to recognize it.
Humans have blown security out the window while telling themselves that it's part of what being free and individual means. I don't like going downtown anymore because the rampant individualism on display sickens me. I'm a liberally minded person in most cases and quite live and let live. What I am seeing is so selfish, so out of touch with reality, so "plugged in", that I am worried for the future of our civilization. This has led to a myriad of highly dysfunctional and sociopathic behaviors in our society. It's not like human psychology or our genome has suddenly changed in the last 60 years of consumer capitalism. We are still being driven by those same impulses, they are just now being channeled into artifice and delusional ideology.
I've given up on having normal relationships. The second I call someone boyfriend or partner, they run for the hills, even though all the ingredients are there. I don't know where people's heads are at anymore. Certainly not in their hearts. Like others in this thread, I have taken the struggle inward and worked on progressing myself. But I am finding, with time, that a life unshared just isn't the same. I don't need someone else to complete me. I don't need a "better half". I just don't want to be alone forever. I have felt joy, love and expansiveness through my relationships. My lament is that they never have any staying power. Previously it was due to my relationship patterns and choices of partners. Now I see it's very much a modern cultural problem.
Ever notice how everyone is complaining about how hard it is to date these days, yet everyone espouses the same divisive ideologies that are causing the mating game to be futile? Yeah... we are fucked up.