I confess, I have told a lot of gay jokes in my day. For six years I worked in place with about 19 people. For 5 1/2 of those years there were no women so you can imagine the jokes flying there. The funniest episode of Northern Exposure ever is the one where two guys explore moving into Cicely and developing it commercially. Which is all OK for man's man Maurice Minnifield. Former fighter pilot and astronaut. He discovers that the guys love what he loves, show tunes and gourmet cooking. Then he finds out that they met at a party where one of them was dressed up as Barbara Streisand and they are dog groomers.
Now is not one of those times for gay jokes. I chose to write about this for several reasons. Asked myself why in these times do people (celebs) who are "overtly gay" hide it or not make it "official"? It seems to me, these guys telling you they are not gay or keeping quiet about it is similar to me telling you that I rarely have opinions on anything, specially sports.
First of all, full disclosure. I do not watch American Idol at all. I barely know this guy , yet from what I gather Clay's story is similar to Johnny Weir which I have included below. You people who are more familiar with Clay can read the article and draw your own conclusions.
This may not be the place to get into the whole morality thing but I will say this: I believe God makes gay people. I once had a doctor friend who told me that seven year olds know they are gay. A decade ago we knew this guy who was popular with the women. He had girl friends that we knew. One day we found out he was gay. It did not throw me for a loop but it did surprise me. I had a friend in college, who was married to a guy for a year then left the marriage, turns out the husband was gay.
I hope you are not reading this for quick answers. In fact I hope you leave here with more questions.
Consider the following:
1) The President of an entire country addresses an elite American academic institution that he believes no gay people exist in his country.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/26/iran.features11
2) Dan Wetzel on Johnny Weir
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/torino2006/figure_skating/news?slug=dw-weir021606&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
(oddly enough Jimmy MacElroy 's costumes were based on Weir's)
3) Another link exploring why some visible gay athletes officially stay in the closet
http://outsports.com/olympics/2006torino/2006dailynotebookfeb17.htm
4) Clip below from In & Out .
5) The paradox that is Roy Cohn.
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/roy-marcus-cohn-cri/
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=796
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/masterscans/l120.html
No matter how you are reading this, clips and pics available in
http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal
The closet is a fascinating place. Because society seems to dictate to some people how long they should stay in there. Yes, personal agenda has something to do with it too. Still the case of Clay matters because denial is not just a river in Egypt. If this topic makes some of you uncomfortable, don't worry. I have been there before. Sometimes opening your mind and seeing different viewpoints can take you out of your comfort zone, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Ed
Clay Aiken: "Yes, I'm Gay"
Posted Tue Sep 23, 2008 4:57pm PDT by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks
Guys, I know this is going to come as a bit of a shocker, so I hope you're sitting down before you continue reading. But (deep breath, now)...Clay Aiken has confirmed, in an interview featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of People magazine and first leaked on Perez Hilton's site, that he is indeed (wait for it), homosexual.
All right, all right...so this isn't the biggest news scoop in tabloid history. This is sort of akin to reporting that Chris Daughtry is bald, or that David Cook uses hair gel, or that Ruben Studdard shops at Big & Tall For Men. It's always been that obvious. But this is the first time Clay's actually admitted it, so I for one am thrilled that he has set the record straight (no pun intended).
For years, practically from the minute he reared his bespectacled head on season 2 of American Idol, Clay has skirted (again, no pun intended) around this issue--even telling Diane Sawyer herself that she was "really rude" to grill him about his sexuality in a 2006 Good Morning America interview. He always made a big point of keeping his private life just that--private--but it seemed the quieter he remained, the louder all the gossip (and snarky jokes) became.
Of course, promo photos of Clay's new look (frosty blonde highlights, inch-thick pancake makeup), or news than his son was conceived via medical intervention with his 50-year-old "best friend," didn't help matters. But Clay still kept mum, perhaps out of fear of alienating his adoring, mostly female fanbase.
But now Clay has finally come out, in a People article accompanied by the first published photos of his new bouncing baby boy, Parker Foster (who apparently was his inspiration for telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth here, as he told the mag, "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things"). Kudos to Clay for being an honest role model for his child, and I'm certain that any worries Clay--or, probably more specifically, his handlers--had about him losing fans after such a confession will prove totally unfounded.
************************************************************
He's here, he's Weir
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports | February 16, 2006
TURIN, Italy – Ah, let's see, how should I phrase this one without getting into trouble?
OK … so, if there was, per chance, the need for a closet to be involved in Johnny Weir's personal life (hypothetically speaking, of course, although, judging by 99 percent of the American public's perception of him there would not be said need) don't you think it is rather remarkable that he has never come out of it?
If, of course, there even is a closet. Oh, and, for the record, not that there is anything wrong with that. Or anything else. But, well, ah, let's just say …
"If Johnny Weir isn't gay, then I'm not gay," said Jim Buzinski, founder of outsports.com, a gay sports web site, on Thursday.
Thank you, Jim, for bailing me out here. (For the record, Jim is gay.)
Johnny Weir has rocketed to become the most popular and talked-about male figure skater in years. And it is not just because of his skating – which, unfortunately, he didn't display in a poor performance here Thursday where he finished fifth.
He's a national phenomenon because of his flamboyant ways, even if he isn't officially gay. Few people seem to care what he really is; they just like the showmanship that makes Elton John look straight.
It's the dandy outfits. It's the rhinestones. It's the Louis Vuitton bags. It is the prancing ways. It's the fact he describes himself as "princessy," says things such as "I felt like the prettiest flower at the pond" and wears a single red glove.
"I call my glove 'Camille,' " he said at the national championships. "Two Ls."
Know any straight men who would say that? How about admitting Christina Aguilera is their idol? I am less convinced Wilt Chamberlain was straight than I am that Johnny Weir is not.
"NBC's segment was titled, 'He's Here, He's Weir," noted Buzinski, a pun off the "we're here, we're queer" gay rights slogan. "Wonder what they were trying to say?"
Buzinski notes that you'd have to have the worst "gaydar" on earth not to sniff this one out. The beauty of it all is that the lack of subtlety is why he so popular.
"He's hysterical," said Buzinski, whose website has been overrun with Weir talk. "He's so out there. Gay people love the guy the way they always love divas."
Straight people do too. I (since we are discussing it) am heterosexual, but feel quite comfortable saying I love the guy. He's colorful, fun, entertaining. We need more characters like him in sports.
"Tony Kornheiser, who is the least gay human being on the planet, loves the guy for who he is," said Buzinski.
But, why, then is Johnny Weir not officially gay? He's declined to answer the question, even on his personal website.
"I don't feel the need to express my sexual being because it's not part of my sport and it's private," Weir writes. "I can sleep with whomever I choose and it doesn't affect what I'm doing on the ice, so speculation is speculation.
"I like nice things, and beautiful things, so if that is the only way people are determining that I swing one way or the other, then to me, that's sad. You can't judge a book by its cover, ever. I am who I am, and I don't need to justify anything to anyone."
This would be a reasonable explanation, except on every other subject Weir is like a 13-year-old girl at a slumber party – no secrets. He talks about everything. He says anything. He seems to relish it.
"He can't [come out] because he will deal with repercussions from judges," claims Jon Jackson, a former skater and Olympic-qualified judge, who is the author of the book "On Edge: Backroom Dealing, Cocktail Scheming, Triple Axels and How Top Skaters Get Screwed."
"I've seen it," Jackson said Thursday, "And it goes beyond (prejudice) from straight judges. (It includes) gay male judges who have their own sexual identity threatened if a gay skater does something feminine."
Jackson, who again for the record, is also gay, says the figure skating establishment in the U.S. encourages skaters to stay in the closet by making it known they want their athletes to be straight because it believes that is what the public wants.
He estimates that 30 to 40 percent of elite male American skaters are gay. But in what Buzinski calls "the gayest sport," there hasn't been an openly gay American skater since Rudy Galindo came out in 1996.
"It is U.S. Figure Skating's mindset that it is not good for skating," said Jackson. "It is what Tonya Harding dealt with. If you are not a perfect lady, it hurts figure skating's image. If you are not perfectly manly, it hurts figure skating's image. But if there was ever a sport [where] it wouldn't matter, it is this one."
U.S. Figure Skating denies those accusations.
"We are not commenting on the book because it so baseless," said Lindsay DeWall, spokesperson for the organization. "I don't think [sexual orientation] is any of our business. A skater is free to be whoever they want to be publicly and privately."
This brings us back to Weir, who despite missing out on a medal, will return to the States as one of the Olympics' most popular and publicized athletes. He is a hero to the gay community – "We love him," said Buzinski. He is popular in much of the straight one, too.
He seems like a natural for Leno, Letterman and who knows what else. He may not get mainstream endorsement deals, but he isn't likely to fade away. Besides, he is only 21 and promises to be back for the next Olympics.
By then, perhaps, we will have gotten to the point where closets, if there are any, no longer matter. Although, judging by the Weir phenomenon, I think mainstream America is closer than ever.
Either way, here's hoping Johnny Weir, whatever he is, hasn't changed one single bit.
Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist and author of "Resilience: Faith, Focus, Triumph" with the Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning. The book details Mourning's rise from foster care to NBA stardom before kidney disease changed everything. Send Dan a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
http://outsports.com/olympics/2006torino/2006dailynotebookfeb17.htm
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment