"Openly Gay"

[Lankypeters]

Today's NYTimes Oscar story identifies the AA winning screenwriter of "Milk" as "openly gay." I find this term as loaded as "male prostitute" (see Rupert Everett thread). "Open" in spite of what? Prejudice? Disapproval? It's time to be open about gays and drop the "openly." Just "gay" is fine -- when it's relevant.

 

 

Lankypeters

[Guest Jocoluver]

Nevertheless. he made a beautiful and moving and heart-warming acceptance speech for us all.

[KMEM]

LP-

 

I agree and feel the same way about "blacks" but when will things change? I am not holding my breath.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[Lankypeters]

>LP-

>

>I agree and feel the same way about "blacks" but

>when will things change? I am not holding my breath.

>

>Best regards,

>KMEM

 

About the time they start identifying people as "openly straight."

 

 

Lankypeters

[Guest]

>Today's NYTimes Oscar story identifies the AA winning

>screenwriter of "Milk" as "openly gay."

>I find this term as loaded as "male prostitute" (see

>Rupert Everett thread). "Open" in spite of what?

>Prejudice? Disapproval? It's time to be open about gays and

>drop the "openly." Just "gay" is fine --

>when it's relevant.

>

>

>Lankypeters

 

It makes a world of difference to me whether someone is openly gay or just gay. The term "openly gay" indicates someone who not only is gay, but also who acknowledges it to the public. Gay public figures who either vociferously deny their sexual orientation (i.e. Sen. Craig or Tom Cruise), or who even simply refuse to discuss it (i.e. Anderson Cooper) hurt the cause of gay equality to a greater or lesser extent due to their denial. A large chunk of the public has no idea how many people they admire are gay. I feel pretty sure that if all of the people who are gay were also openly gay, Proposition 8 would not have passed, and equal rights would come to us much more quickly.

So to answer your question of "Open in spite of what," it means open in spite of perceived (and often real, of course) barriers to career and social advancement. The fewer people who are openly gay, the longer it will take for these barriers to come down. So I will take Ellen Degeneres or T.R. Knight over Anderson Cooper any day.

As for the term "male prostitute," the word "male" is simply silly and redundant, unless the person in question has undergone a sex change operation. If someone has always been male, there is no function to the qualifier "male" added to "prostitute."

[Guest]

He's so handsome, too!

 

Way to go, Dustin Lance Black!

 

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/defamer/2009/02/lancesmaller.jpg

[Guest zipperzone]

I totally agree with Unicorn.

 

However I would caution him about being too vocal about T.C. who has lawyers standing by ready to initiate a lawsuit at the slightest nod.

 

Also with regards to A.C. I recall that he has discussed this publicly quite a few years ago. The fact that he no longer does is probably due to contractual agreements with CNN. One can't blame him for not wanting to risk a hefty seven figure pay check.

[Lankypeters]

You bring out a more positive sense of the term than I had considered.

 

Still there may be as well a gram of shock value or sensationalism in saying someone is "openly gay." But your argument is convincing.

[Guest jeffOH]

"Practicing Homosexual". Have they finally stopped saying that?

[Rick Munroe]

>"Practicing Homosexual". Have they finally stopped

>saying that?

 

I hope not, because I need lots more practice. :9

[Guest TBinCHI]

>>"Practicing Homosexual". Have they finally

>stopped

>>saying that?

>

>I hope not, because I need lots more practice. :9

 

And I'm always more than happy to be your practice partner!!

 

This is an interesting topic to me as over the last 5 years I have gone from being in denial about my sexuality to accepting the fact that I am gay to coming out to family and friends. Timing is always ironic, as just today I came out to a group of high level colleagues at work, making significant strides to being openly gay in all aspects of my life. Ultimately, until one's sexuality becomes irrelevant to one's career, the term openly gay needs to continue to have the relevance described so eloquently by the posters here.

[+ Axiom2001]

RE: He's so handsome, too!

 

>Way to go, Dustin Lance Black!

>

>http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/defamer/2009/02/lancesmaller.jpg

 

 

Dustin Lance Black (known as Lance in high school) attended North Salinas HS in Salinas, CA (John Steinbeck territory) and was on the school's swim team. Because I taught English at this institution and thought that Lance possibly had been one of my former students, I got out the old 1992 yearbook last night and checked. No, he was not one of my former cherubs, but he was a student of one of my very good friends and colleagues in the school.

 

Yesterday and on Monday, the local newspaper "The Salinas Californian" had wonderful front page articles about Lance and another student at the school and one of my former students who had received prized recognition and acknowledgements at this year's Academy Awards.

 

<Way to go, Dustin Lance Black!> INDEED!