Quote:
Originally Posted by DubaiSis
I heard on the news "Ellen Page has big announcement" or something equally as annoying for a teaser. I knew immediately what the big surprise was gonna be and my first thought was, and in other news, water is wet and it's dark at night.
But I do try to be supportive. On one hand I feel like we seriously have moved beyond this and we don't need to know every single celebrity's sexual orientation. It doesn't impact my perception or acceptance of an actor or athlete's talent. But I do accept that these moments of famous people outing themselves gives a little boost of hope for those teenagers who are thinking about committing suicide because they can't bear the thought of living the rest of their lives as they are currently living.
I did notice in the Olympics, with the discussion of gay athletes and all the Russian hubbub that the figure skaters have stayed completely out of it. At least one of the male skaters is straight and I only know that because in a completely separate issue it was mentioned that the ice dancer's girlfriend is competing or something. That was the full extent of the discussion. It easily could have been news that we actually have a straight skater. Or him feeling defensive or needing to prove to the world that he's straight. Now, if his girlfriend is in the stands for his performance tonight, it will probably be brought up. The NBC figure skating commentators are terrible and will probably make an issue of it. I'm WAY preferring Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinsky on NBC Sports Network. They are more fun to listen to, more insightful and way less schmaltz. But that's a different discussion...
|
Gay people come out for themselves. And for someone in the spotlight, they, whether they like it or not, come out for other people. They are seen as an advocate, a defense, another person to add to a long list of strong people who not only announced to their friends and family that they're gay, but to the world.
And what do you suppose would happen if (prior to her giving this speech) Ellen Page was seen walking down the street hand-in-hand with a woman? Or if (prior to his coming out) Michael Sam invited the same guy to watch him in every game and practice? It would be blasted all over the news and every social media site, and the whole country would be talking about it.
I think by Page announcing it, she's actually made it a non-issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
Can I ask how some of you already knew Ellen Page is a lesbian?
|
I have no clue. But I also don't pay attention to celebrities' lives unless a story ends up in a major national news source (like this story did), so maybe she's alluded to it before?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jen
She isn't coming out for straight people. Her coming out is meant to help both herself and hopefully those still struggling. It doesn't matter if a straight person wants to know or not - it matters that someone struggling with coming out or their own sexuality has people in the public eye to look towards. It matters that people see and know gay people are part of society. Until coming out and being gay is a process with little possibility of retribution from society, it will be necessary.
|
This.