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Why celebrities come out

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sp1814 | 20:51 Mon 28th Feb 2011 | News
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I would like to take this opportunity to address some rather ill-informed posts on the recent thread on the gay cricketer who came out.

Does it matter? Yes - it does, because gay kids need to have a variety of role models. It makes them feel better about themselves.

Why do gay people feel the need to announce their sexuality? Well, why do straight people do the same? Think about it! Every wedding you've ever been to ha been a declaration of heterosexuality. Every time a bloke picks up a copy of FHM and points out how much he fancies Cheryl Cole - isn't he shouting about his sexuality?

Please continue to raise questions on sexuality, but try to think before writing, because some posts come across as the product of extreme stupidity.
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Back to the question..

"Does it matter? Yes - it does, because gay kids need to have a variety of role models. It makes them feel better about themselves".

No, kids think it is wrong to be gay, my son is 9 and has a gay headmaster, no-one has has told my son what is right or wrong but it he knows this is not normal for a man to fancy another man.

Just because celebrities out themselves it doesn`t make it ok to be gay

Most gays suffer from some sort of depression in their lives so something isn`t quite right in their heads
Ouch - sorry - wrong thread!
<<it is not normal for a man to fancy another man.

Just because celebrities out themselves it doesn`t make it ok to be gay>>

Sorry. That all seems a tad confused.

It isn't 'normal' to be homosexual - only a small minority of us (and many other species) are 'gay'

However, it doesn't follow that being gay is not 'ok'.

Being 7' tall isn't normal, or double jointed, or hairless but they are all 'natural' states for some people.

Your son is, like most of us, heterosexual; so homosexuality seems odd to him and that's fine. Knowing about homosexuality won't change his orientation, but if he was homosexual, observing others - especially high achievers and prominent people - would be enormously reassuring.


Most gays suffer from some sort of depression in their lives so something isn`t quite right in their heads
cont/

<<Most gays suffer from some sort of depression in their lives so something isn`t quite right in their heads >>

Lots of people suffer from 'depression' - a condition with many different definitions. Do you have a link to the medical study that shows gays are statistically more likely to suffer from this than straight people?
.
ELVIS68 - “...no-one has has told my son what is right or wrong but it he knows this is not normal for a man to fancy another man.” and “Most gays suffer from some sort of depression in their lives so something isn`t quite right in their heads”


Let's start with the word 'normal'. I assume that you are a heterosexual male. What's 'normal' for you is walking down the beach, hand in hand, enjoying the company of your lovely lady partner by your side. That's normal for you. To a homosexual man, 'normal' is doing exactly the same but with another man. And to a lesbian woman, doing the same but with a female partner.

'Normal' is a relative word. What's normal to you isn't necessarily 'normal' to another person.

As for homosexuals suffering from depression, where's the evidence? It's easy to make glib statement and say there's a study to support your assertions. If so, post it or a link to it.
Aww Elvis :-(...Your sons are typical of the school "system"...but you should be better than that!!..Not a decent reply from you regarding "normal" behaviour.:-(..Not the Elvis I remember and respected :-(
I do seem to remember that Stonewall found in its School Report a few years ago (2006ish?) that depression was more prominent about young gay teens. It also found that gay teens were far more prone to suicide. If I remember right, that's where most of the evidence for greater depression comes from.

Alongside all this, it also found significant and systematic bullying in schools against young gay people, including in some rare cases violence and sexual assault. But no, it's obviously that they're wrong in the head - that's why they're depressed...

Still, it's uncanny that if you take 2 gay people and compare one from a background where they've been accepted or had to struggle less with who they are, and one from a background where they've been bullied and abused for what they are that it's typically the latter who turn out depressed.

Funny, that.
Can we really be surprised that the incidence of depression is higher among homosexuals than the heterosexual population?

As a general rule, gay people are far more sensitive individuals, more caring and empathetic. Little wonder then that they feel that sensitivity to be constantly bombarded by the homophobia, both discreet and rampant that still infects out modern soceity. It's enough to make anyone feel isolated and 'different', and more importantly, as developing adults, unable to access sympathetic and suitable means of support around them.

heading for the big '400' sp!
I don't know if it's accurate to say that gay people are more sensitive than anyone else (particularly not these days when young straight guys of my generation are getting a lot more emotionally expressive), but certainly there's plenty of evidence to suggest they're still prone to getting more abuse from people...
Also, I think it was clear about 150 posts ago that SP had created a monster.
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ELVIS68

Your post reads as if all kids think that being gay is wrong (statistically incorrect). It's also completely bogus to assert that gays have some sort of mental handicap/illness because of this strange 'most' adverb you use.

I'm happy to be proven wrong. Are there any medical studies which link homosexuality to mental disorders? Or could it be possible that you're mixing up what you believe with what is true?
Question Author
ELVIS68

Another point. You wrote:

"Just because celebrities out themselves it doesn`t make it ok to be gay"

You're correct. There are a whole host of other social changes which make it okay to be gay. The equalisation of the age of consent, the visibility of gay men and lesbians in all walks if life, the Pride marches, the introduction of civil partnerships etc etc.

It's not just one thing - but the self-outing of gay celebrities ESPECIALLY people like Gareth Edwards and Steve Davies is a bit brilliant, because it gives the next generation a wider range of role models.

Pretty excellent in my view.
Gareth THOMAS or do you know something we don't SP :-)
Zeuhl - one thing that bugs me that you said is this "Your son is, like most of us, heterosexual". He's 9 years old ! Unless I've got something drastically wrong, I don't believe a child of this age has any real idea which way they lean / will lean and usually any opinions they express in this area are 'learnt' from their nearest and dearest.
AP...do you have kids?
Not that I know of ...fnarr fnarr.
So ... ?
Just that my cousins said they knew from a very young age. My Aunt said she had an idea from when he was about 6.
Question Author
Davethedog

Thank you!!

Don't want to get involved in a libel case.

Odd actually...I don't even know who Gareth Edwards IS!

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