futureidol wrote:
The only reason Johnny has not come out officially is because he wants people to see him as a person and a skater, not as "the gay skater". But you are right perhaps I shouldn't have said the word gay, but I didn't know how to argue against Clutz's transgendered assertion without doing so.
Also I never said that ALL gay men are flamboyant, I just sited Johnny as someone who is. People lie within the whole spectrum of masculinity and femininity whether they are gay or not. Look at that Rugby player that just came out. He is one scary looking dude with missing teeth, no one would have guessed in a million years that he was gay. So no you can't pick out gay people just by associations and looks. However when a man is as fabulous as the likes of Johnny, Elton John, or even Christian from Project Runway, do you really need to ask? It's just plain as day.
I do not think Johnny is offended by the assumption that his is gay, his documentary played at a gay film festival and he has talked numerous times about homophobia in the sports world. He's as out as you can get without actually having to say the words. Besides Johnny has been celibate for a long time so it doesn't really matter at the moment. He doesn't have time for romance.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
I do think that homophobia is huge, really huge, gigantically HUGE issue in the sport of figure skating.
One of the big problems we have in the U.S. is getting boys involved with the sport. I know of no official study (who would fund such a study?), but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that one of the most common reasons why parents do not get their boys involved with the sport is that they are afraid of "gay." I'm not exactly sure what they are afraid of. I'm not sure THEY are sure what they are afraid of. But they will admit (in private with close friends or relatives) that they don't want their children, especially their sons, associated with a sport that has a reputation, accurate or not, for attracting gay men.
My husband and I have our 6-year old nephew involved with the sport. His father makes no secret of the fact that he doesn't like his son involved with a "gay" sport. Thankfully his mother stands her ground and tells her husband that he is being ridiculous. And thankfully, we have enough experience with the sport to know that the father's "fears" are vague and not grounded in reality. The boy is well-suited physically and mentally for the sport. He's no prodigy, but he is progressing and most importantly, he enjoys it.
Like I said, I really don't get this. Every man I've ever seen in our city who is a figure skater is extremely straight, and most of the national and international stars are straight. Homosexuals are a minority; statistically speaking, there is no way that the sport will have more gay men than straight men, just as it doesn't have more black men than white men (because black men are a minority in the U.S.).
I've heard speculation about the likelihood that boys will be"groomed" by gay men in the locker rooms. ???? I don't know enough to know if this is a possibility. I think it's just as likely that a child of either sex could be molested by a person of either sex and either orientation. Attraction to children is a perversion that is present in both gay and straight people.
However, the problem is easily solved. For most young children, moms or dads are present at all the practices because someone has to drive the child to the rink, and then that driver usually hangs around just in case there is an injury. Many rinks will accomodate a family if they ask for a place where the child can change clothing with a parent present. (Our does.) Or just bring the child to the rink ready to skate.
But all this is speculation. I hope people won't attack me for bringing up the issue. I think that biggest problem we have in the U.S. is that everyone hushes it up for fear of being politically incorrect. I think the best thing that could happen in the sport is that all these issue come out into the open and get discussed openly and honestly. The truth always dispels fears and phobias.
I wish with all my heart that someone would do a credible study of this subject. Not having men in the sport makes it difficult to develop this sport in the U.S. Many girls in the sport are much better suited (physically and mentally) to ice dancing than singles or even synchro, but if there are no male partners, these girls can't do ice dancing. Also, there are many women who are physically suited for pairs, but again, no men, no pair. So these women languish in the singles discipline and usually end up quitting when they can't land all their triples.
For many girls, even testing for ice dancing is terribly expensive because they have to fly in a man to test. This is great money for the man! But it's not good for families to have to hand this money over to a person just because he is of the male sex! (I'm pretty certain that it's in the rules that girls are allowed to test with female coaches now.)
I've always been a big supporter of same-sex ice dancing. I see no reason why an ice dancing team has to be male and female. Same sex dancing is common in many cultures. I'm just grateful that the ISU governing body isn't stupidly requiring synchronized skating teams to consist of equal numbers of men and women. I'm willing to guess that they considered this at one point, but realized that precision skating would never happen if this requirement were imposed!
I guess this is one reason why I am interested in Johnny Weir's career. Straight or gay, he brings the issues into the open and talks about them and challenges all of us to re-think our stand and talk things over instead of hiding and being quiet. I fear that sometimes, he sacrifices his skating for the sake of a "higher good"--case in point is PSOI. I haven't seen the special (we don't have cable), but it sounds like it is a provoker of discussion and that's GOOD. I am grateful that Weir is part of the sport.
