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Let's suppose that what you say is true about the coming out part. How can you explain the "pride" movement? Why do gay people believe they are above having a little humility?
Well, put yourself in their shoes. Because of social sanction - where you risk being ostracized by your family, friends, or can lose your job, even suffer physical harm. For that reason, a lot of LGBT people stay in the closet, but they pay a very high psychological price for it.
Pride can mean simply just being able to acknowledge one's self and identity in a hostile society, which is no small thing.
As for the OP, why "come out?" Why not? People ask questions, particularly of people in the public eye. If someone is getting a lot of media attention, it seems inevitable that questions regarding one's personal life are going to come up.
I remember when Matt Bomer thanked his partner at an awards show and the next day the media was filled with headlines stating that he had "come out." Well, he didn't actually "come out" because he was never not out.
For whatever reason, it was treated like he was keeping some deep dark secret from the rest of society when what he was doing was simply living his life.
Until we get to the point as a society when it really doesn't matter and the assumption is no longer that everyone is straight, every time someone introduces or thanks or just goes out to dinner with a same-sex partner that will be construed as "coming out."
Last edited by Ibginnie; 02-24-2014 at 10:28 PM..
Reason: deleted quoted post
If you have ever had any work experience in Hollywood or know anyone who does they will tell you the same things. '' Coming Out '' is celebrated there, you will get plenty of attention among the other liberal elites who work there and your career will benefit. Same reason why lots of other actors take up all sorts of liberal causes, it's the easy way to go in Hollywood. Being openly gay in Hollywood makes you popular to the liberas there.
One thing you rarely ever see in Hollywood is an openly Christian conservative or Bible Believer. Someone like Tim Tebow would find it hard to work in Hollywood, if he was interested in it anyway. Those kinds of people are often mocked or black balled in the industry. It's different though if you are well established, then you can get away with pretty much anything.
Also, who is '' you guys ''? What's with this collectivist thinking?
Really? Please source a mainstream publication where ANYONE notes that being gay gets you more roles and opens up your job opportunities in Hollywood.
For example: Matt Bomer, who was torpedoed for lead in 50 Shades of Grey.
For decades actors hid in the closet. It's only very, very recently that they're comfortable coming out. This idea that coming out gets one MORE roles is a fantasy. Most people have this bizarre need to think that the actor playing a romantic lead is actually the orientation they are playing on TV. This goes for people criticizing straight actors for playing gay roles, and gay actors for playing straight roles. Many producers/directors believe they can't sell a gay guy in a straight romantic lead.
The how I met your mother is gay, he's doing just fine.
He's not a leading man actor really. His original fame came from Dougie Houser, long before he was out and a lot of his success came from Broadway. Neil Patrick Harris is also well respected, even among most straights. He's the poster child for cool gay guys.
I'm talking Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt type actors. People were worried about Matt Bomer coming out, because White Collar rested on his shoulders, and critics were concerned viewers (especially women) wouldn't like the show's leading man to be gay.
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So is Ellen Page.
Lol, Ellen Page isn't exactly a leading hollywood actor and she's female. Lesbians get less flack in most cases anyway. If someone like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Sam Worthington, Leonardo Dicaprio, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Chris Pine, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, etc. came out as gay, they're would likely be some backlash to their career.
If Daniel Craig were openly gay, do you think he would have landed the role of James Bond? I don't.
He's not; the mere perception that he was anti-gay was enough to get the gay hate machine cranked to 11.
No, it was more so that his comments were offensive and rude that caused the backlash. Making slurs against minorities on public television isn't very smart, regardless of your actual stance on the issue.
I know straight women who in their late teens and early twenties had more gay sex than many so called "gay" women. All the gay women I currently know were once married. Many have children from when they were married. WTF. Jason Collins lived 99% of his life as a straight man and was engaged to be married... to a woman. I'm not anti-gay, I'm not pro-gay. I'm for clarity. I'm for common sense. The labels don't mean anything anymore. It will not end well. Humanity didn't get to the top of the food chain by being sloppy about the small details. The bar for what it means to be gay is so low that someone after a few gropings at a highway rest stop can proudly come out as gay and just walk away from years long relationships with the opposite sex, children conceived in Holy Wedlock, hundreds of hours of opposite sex concupiscence. WTF. Really, what the hell is going on?
I know straight women who in their late teens and early twenties had more gay sex than many so called "gay" women. All the gay women I currently know were once married. Many have children from when they were married. WTF. Jason Collins lived 99% of his life as a straight man and was engaged to be married... to a woman. I'm not anti-gay, I'm not pro-gay. I'm for clarity. I'm for common sense. The labels don't mean anything anymore. It will not end well. Humanity didn't get to the top of the food chain by being sloppy about the small details. The bar for what it means to be gay is so low that someone after a few gropings at a highway rest stop can proudly come out as gay and just walk away from years long relationships with the opposite sex, children conceived in Holy Wedlock, hundreds of hours of opposite sex concupiscence. WTF. Really, what the hell is going on?
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Two explanations. One, it demonstrates the power of suppressing one's innate orientation in the face of social and religious pressure. Hence why so many anti-gay Republicans get caught in gay scandals.
Two, they could be bisexual. Freud and Kinsey believed most humans are innately bisexual, but lean in one direction and often suppress one side of their attractions. Would certainly explain the prevalence/acceptance of same-sex behavior among the Ancient Greeks (Spartans for example).
In the media and government policy, it reflects the liberal push for admiring diversity in all forms, as well as the condemnation of any type of social censure for behavior that is outside the norm.
On an individual level, it is a result of the basic human need to feel accepted by a society that has traditionally vilified homosexuality. When more and more celebrities publicly identify themselves as gay, it is much harder for society to condemn it (after all, celebrities are people we admire!). It is easy to condemn a group that is extremely small; nobody is likely to get offended, you probably don't know any related to anyone in the group, and you won't hear any defense from those in the group. But when even a small gathering is likely to contain at least one member of the despised group, you won't get approval if you voice your negative opinions. You'll get a fight, and if the member of the group is more popular than you are, you'll likely be socially censured in the future.
And as children grow up in a society where nobody says anything disparaging about gays, but many gays openly defend it, society ends up no longer having those negative preconceptions.
Gays have done a good job making people think homosexuality is pretty common in the population: polls show that Americans think about 21% of men are gay, and 22% of women. However, the vast majority of scientific estimates show that only about 10% of the population is homosexual (What Percentage of the Population Is Gay?). Of course, even a 10%, a group of ten would likely have one gay member--and that's enough to stop public voicing of disapproval of the group.
Coming out will be a never ending process until admitting to being attracted to the same-sex or being in a same-sex relationship makes no one bat an eye anymore than a straight guy talking about his wife.
Anti-gays don't get the psychology behind the so called "coming out" process. For public figures, it's a bigger deal due to risk to their careers and their potential influence.
But isn't that the problem? How are we ever going to stop ever "batting an eye" about it, when the media goes on and on about so-and-so coming out, and washed-up basketball players are getting 10-day contracts because of their sexuality and not their basketball skills?
How are the rest of us ever going to think of the gay lifestyle as normal if the media continues to flaunt it?
Personally, I find myself subconsciously tolerating gays less and less. But my intolerance, unfortunately, stems from me being completely and utterly sick of the media flood of gay celebrity news, rather than any intolerance to the people themselves. I am completely sick of and can no longer stand Jason Collins, because ESPN Radio has talked about him for well over half of their air-time today. Sorry, Jason. I'm sure you're a great guy, but that's just the way I feel because of the damn media.
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