Closeted Gay Media Figures

Great Debates
1

I know this is a hot one…

I am gay and feel that it is NOT the duty of every media figure to come out.

That said, I do feel many are setting us back. Our best and brightest that could do so much are cowering in the closet. People who are of such stature that they would be relatively unscathed by coming out.

Alas, many in the media are out for money and status and are afraid, but if they did come out and had a less shameful view of themselves than their own fans and most of America do - the issue of orientation would be moot.

Why? There are some BIGGIES who are gay/lesbian, to such an extent that if someone wanted to be a persistent homophobe, the’d have to skip just about everything on TV and the movies if they didn’t want to see any gays on either screen.

Also curious is the phenomenon of white gays who are totally out of touch with black (closeted) media figures. Well known in the African American community, they are perceived to be straight among whites.

We can get into naming names here - but it’s not the point. Do the math - where are the 10% of artists/actors who are gay? How are these people known?

There should be hundreds known to us and all we can see are a few.

I think their reticence sends a message that it IS shameful.

You can’t blackmail (or spread dirt) about people who don’t have secrets.

Again, I think it is their right, but it would be nice…

2

Remember the guy who was the spokesman for the Pentagon during the Gulf War…Pete something or other. The Pentagon was pretty upset when he got outed.

Famous people ought to come out of the closet. Substitute the word Jew or Black for gay and ask the same question. Then ask what the response would be if a Jew denied he was a Jew just so he could keep his career. Sure it was done in the past, but now a days it would be unacceptable.

It’s really laughable when you have people like Liberace denying it. He made his career out of gay camp. It wouldn’t have hurt him.

3

RobRoy: Fear. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing. I am afraid of guns, I avoid them whenever I can, therefore I probably won’t get shot. But am I afraid of being known for what I am? No. I think people in high profile jobs might be right to hide if they want to keep their jobs. The “religious right” can make a big stink about things like that and a straight would take your job in a heartbeat. What would I<-bold do if I were in their position? I have no idea. If I was an actor I would declare, if I were a news broadcaster? I don’t know.

I hope you get a lot of good posts!

HUGS

Ken

4

Am I the only person left in the entire country who doesn’t want to know the sexual orientation of people I’m not contemplating having sex with?

What the hell happened to privacy? Is modesty a crime, now days? Is it absolutely out of the question that people might just shut the hell up about who is fucking whom?

I think it is important to know who you are having sex with under exactly two conditions. You are you, or you are the person which whom you are having sex. If neither of those is true, pardon me, but it is not newsworthy. It is boring, and tedious.

<P ALIGN=“CENTER”>Tris</P>

“The other night, I was laying in my bed, looking up at the stars, when I wondered… ‘Where the fuck is my roof?!’” – ** Anonymous **

5

I find myself agreeing with Tris, but then again, I’ve had a couple of beers.

Who cares anymore who’s gay and who’s not? (Answer: The Fundie Right, but I ignore them.) But, please, don’t tell me Natalie Allen is a lesbian. I have daydreams about being stranded on an island with her.

6

I agree that is not important who is gay and who is not, but that is not what RobRoy is saying. He is saying it would be helpful for gay people if gay celebrities would come out - because overnight millions of people would realize that they were a fan of someone who (surprise!) is gay - and maybe gay people aren’t so bad after all. Sort of like the person who finds out their kid or their best friend is gay - it can change attitudes. Not always, but it does happen.

7

I agree with Tris…I don’t particularly care to know a person’s sexual preferences…it’s more their character and such…

I’m not sure it would make a great deal of difference in the gay movement for famous people to come out of the closet. It might actually do more harm than good. People probably have a good idea of who is and who isn’t…no one can completely cover it up. Rather than “rock the boat” and cause dissention…it is kept quietly undercover…and people continue to admire these people for who they are and not their sexual choices.

“Do or do not, there is no try” - Yoda

You wanna know something about me…ask me…not my friends…

8

Except, of course, that’s not likely to be what would happen.

Those that don’t care whether the person’s gay would simply shrug, and go on with their lives.

Those whose attitudes need to be changed on the matter would more likely suddenly cease to be a fan of the celeb who just outed themselves.

Coming out could kill a carreer a lot easier than helping the cause.

Eschew Obfuscation

9

Well, if there are any closeted gay media figures left, we won’t know about it, 'cause they’d still be in the closet.

10

Whom a person is sexually attracted to its not my concern, unless I personally am on that list.

If someone feels like telling this information - celeb or layman - more power to him or her. Doesn’t change my opinion at all either way.

Now, as for whether they SHOULD as some sort of obligation - I would say, no. A person is obligated to be honest with themselves, especially on something as personal as this, not the entire fucking planet.

Yer pal,
Satan

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11

Well thats a clever bit of rhetoric. Any evidence for it? It seems to me, that everyone who has an attitude that doesn’t ‘need to be changed’ likely gained it by being acquainted with someone who is gay. I have no evidence for this either - but to me it seems just as reasonable.

12

Nah… you want to fix [no pun] the problem of anti-gay behavior ?

[switch to Boris Badunov voice] Using latest in disinformation techniques, ve vill conwincingly out people who veren’t gay to begin vith: starting with John Rocker - in one shot, teach him humility, and force a little tolerance on surprised occupants of double-wide trailers throughout “free” world.

13

I started a similar thread long ago (I’d reference it if the search engine was working). Someone (might have been matt_mcl) mentioned that it would help the many gay teeneagers who commit suicide every year if there were media figures publicly gay to show that it isn’t such a horrible thing.

I would say that in light of this, they do have something of a moral obligation to come out, which might be more important than their right to privacy.

14

Steve Kmetko of E!. His SO is/was Greg Louganis.

Max Robinson of ABC was rumored to be. Don’t know if it’s true, but he did die of AIDS.

Pete Williams has already been mentioned.

Pretty short list, though.

15

Deciding to Come out is an individual choice. But some have done it better than others. It’s like being an athiest, it is not a religion. You come out. You get on with life.

Ellen Degeneres came out in a bad way. Making a big show of it, then bitching about the low ratings of her show after she came out. Hey, five years is a long time for a show> Quit whining.

Billie Jean King came out in a bad way. Holding a press conference!!

Martina Navatrola? Up front from the start. No problem.

Melissa Ethridge? She took Lou Diamond Phillips wife, but otherwise kept rocking. I still have the hots for you Melissa, but Brad Pitt may be the only man lucky enough to taste her.

16

Good comments all, thanks.

To skate over a lot of them (sorry) and address the “if you were black or Jewish”, etc. comment. Very much to the point.

I don’t care if you are Jewish or not, I don’t care if you are Orthodox or Reformed. It would be nice if you didn’t have to tell me that you were really a Christian, tho if you are Jewish. Imagine all of the incredibly talented people, many of whose talent, while not because of their Jewishness, may be a distinctly Jewish flavor.

To wit - the comedians, Groucho, Radner, Wilder, Perlman, Brooks, etc. While all their comedy is not Jewish, much is and all the better for it. Imagine them having to deny their Jewishness, not just saying they were Christian, but loosing that edge that comes from excluding all that great material that comes from a life lived in a certain sensibility.

I believe people have the right to be discreet, I respect that very much. And some people feel it is kind to say “they do not care” so “don’t tell”, the problem is not that we want to tell you about our sex lives - we want to tell you about our lives. The funny, the absurd, the cool things about this sub-culture that have NOTHING to do with who is sticking tab a into slot b.

Homosexuality is about who you have sex with. Being gay is a whole cultural mix from Wilde to Little Richard and all the wonderful craziness in between.

Let’s open the flood gates - you might have a laugh.

Also, as far as the “attitude adjustment” factor of people coming out, believe me, there are people who are gay that would rock America big time. I could list a few - although I don’t believe in outting, and spend the rest of the strip arguing that they are gay (and proving the point about how it rocks people’s reality).

Do the math - 10 TV talk show hosts, one is gay, and it does inform her sensibility - she more than any other could abolish a lot of prejudice - it IS done with the help of charismatic individuals.

10 top 40 recording artists, and one of them has told her fans in not so many words - come out and help your sisters to get ahead!

10 senators - 1 is gay and could stand up, even as a lame duck and speak up in the house.

10 entrepenuers - 1 could come out, and if his employees don’t like it, too bad, he’s in charge.

OOpps I was delusional there - it was just a dream :slight_smile:
None of this is about the bedroom. It’s about being able to bring your “friend” to the table, add them to your insurance policy, buy a house together.

One of the problems is that people think being gay is just about sex. In contrast, being straight is about soccer moms, social clubs, corporate luncheons, dating, in-laws, etc. etc. Imagine trying to hide any aspect of your life that included your mate. Not what you do in the bedroom. Just that you have a mate, you had a mate, who that person is, what they llok like etc. Imagine it foryourself. Kinda uncomfortable.

Gay people already hide these simple things to a degree that would be unnacceptable to most straight people - would be considered a violation of their civil rights.

17

My first post - please be kind. :smiley:

One of the things about this topic that always amazes me is the actors who are already out, but no one seems to know (or they still suspect, but don’t realize that he/she has actually come out for real). I don’t remember seeing big headlines when Nathan Lane finally came out (and a Disney star, no less). And who here knows that Tom Hulce, star of “Amadeus,” has been out for years? For all the “big deal” it’s supposed to be, sometimes it’s not.

Next time I want your opinion I’ll beat it out of you.

18

I was disappointed when I heard Ernest Hemingway was gay, mostly because he projected the big he-man macho image. I feel there is something deceptive about that. I consider some one who is gay but pretends to be straight for hetero TV or movie roles to be the same as somebody who is bald but wears a rug to disguise/conceal the fact. Somebody like Rock Hudson deceived the public. Big Bird, on the other hand is a flamer, and in a way I guess I have to respect him for his honesty.

19

mjollnir wrote:

He has? Where?

(Not in this thread he wasn’t, that’s for sure.)

20

tracer,

Right here:

by Markxxx