Ellen Page reveals she is a lesbian

[ASTalumna06]

Good for her!

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...lesbian-n31091

“I suffered for years because I was scared to be out,” she said during the Las Vegas meeting for counselors who work with teenagers who identify as lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual or queer. “My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationship suffered.”

“We deserve to experience love fully equally without shame and without compromise. There are too many kids out there suffering from bullying, rejection or simply being mistreated because of who they are,” the 26-year-old said. “Too many dropouts, too much abuse, too many homeless, too many suicides.”

I hope that very soon, we can all learn to love, and at the very least, accept and respect each other.

[SoCalGirl]

Ever since Juno there's been wide spread rumors of her being gay. It's not exactly shocking.

[DrPhil]

This isn't about being "shocking." This is about people (celebs and noncelebs) not being forced to hide themselves in a heterocentric world.

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I hope that very soon, we can all learn to love, and at the very least, accept and respect each other.

We can't force acceptance and respect but we (through social dynamics, policies, and laws) can tell heterosexual naysayers that their viewpoints can no longer silence and oppress other people.

Reverend Al Sharpton's brilliant self was on a show I was watching. I can't find a link to the show but here's one of Reverend Sharpton's much needed articles:
http://thegrio.com/2013/03/27/rev-al...udes-everyone/

(read the comments section of the above article )

[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...

[DrPhil]

Can I ask how some of you already knew Ellen Page is a lesbian?

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Can I ask how some of you already knew Ellen Page is a lesbian?

She kept her fingernails short.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

She kept her fingernails short.

LOL. Hush.

I don't like long nails and keep my finger nails short. I once went to the nail salon for a French manicure and she said "bitch, please."

Does that mean...could it mean...possibly....

[sugar and spice]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Can I ask how some of you already knew Ellen Page is a lesbian?

If you follow celebrity gossip sites at all, it was fairly widely speculated. She was outed by a gossip site as being bisexual a while back. She apparently was essentially out already in her hometown--lots of people had stories about seeing her out with women. And I don't think she and Drew Barrymore tried very hard to hide the fact that they'd hooked up during the filming of Whip It. People just chose to see what they wanted to see.

I don't think it really matters if people are surprised by it or not--it's not about that. It takes a great deal of bravery to admit it whether people already knew or not (and certainly most people didn't), and even though Hollywood is more liberal than a lot of America, she's still risking plenty. Openly gay or lesbian actors still don't get leading roles. Hopefully this is one of the things that starts to change that.

[whiteviolet]

If you haven't already, listen to her speech. It's beautiful. She doesn't even mention her own sexuality until around the 6 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTAjZxTyAQI

[DubaiSis]

I just already assumed she was gay. I can't explain gaydar, but it's there. I can give you some symptoms, but they wouldn't define her gayness. I can say she always seems to look uncomfortable in girly clothes and seems to have a kind of butch presence about herself. Does that make her gay? No. But it made me assume she is. If she got married, had a baby, or other things that would seem to mean she's straight, I'd have said who knew? But it's no skin off my arse in any case.

I do think that once you are a known entity by people who don't know you, MANY areas of your life are open to retribution. "Come Out" as a Democrat, Republican, Vegetarian, dog lover, gas guzzler or hybrid driver, religious/unreligious, many people will pick sides and choose to love you or hate you as a result. I personally put gay/straight in these same categories. Some people will choose to love or hate you on that simple point of your entire person, but not worse than being a Republican in Hollywood. We can hope that people won't be all militant about it, but assuming that anything you say or do in public won't cause them to boycott you at the drop of a hat - not gonna happen.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

I just already assumed she was gay. I can't explain gaydar, but it's there. I can give you some symptoms, but they wouldn't define her gayness. I can say she always seems to look uncomfortable in girly clothes and seems to have a kind of butch presence about herself. Does that make her gay? No. But it made me assume she is. If she got married, had a baby, or other things that would seem to mean she's straight, I'd have said who knew? But it's no skin off my arse in any case.

I do think that once you are a known entity by people who don't know you, MANY areas of your life are open to retribution. "Come Out" as a Democrat, Republican, Vegetarian, dog lover, gas guzzler or hybrid driver, religious/unreligious, many people will pick sides and choose to love you or hate you as a result. I personally put gay/straight in these same categories. Some people will choose to love or hate you on that simple point of your entire person, but not worse than being a Republican in Hollywood. We can hope that people won't be all militant about it, but assuming that anything you say or do in public won't cause them to boycott you at the drop of a hat - not gonna happen.

Symptoms. Oh.

The only Republican celebrity I recall receiving backlash is Stacy Dash, which is hilarious, because I didnt think anyone cared that much about a celebrity's politics.

Let Ellen Page live. I didnt have any feelings towards who she loves anyway. Still, good for her!

[tuco99]

Hollywood is actually homophobic. That is why entertainers usually wait until they are millionaires before they come out of the closet.

[tuco99]

That leaves Kevin Spacey, Levarr Burton, Hal Holbrook, Hugh Heffner, Magic Johnson, John Travolta and Isiah Thomas.

[Psi U MC Vito]

There is also a big assumption that a celebrity is gay if he or she isn't known to be in a relation with somebody of the opposite gender, and it's very very difficult for them to keep private relationships actually private. I like the context in which she came out especially. She was speaking as a young lesbian at an event for young gays and lesbians.

[DrPhil]

tuco99, what in the orca are you talking about in your second post?