Out This Week: The NBA Edition

Tags

Coming Out

Jason Collins scores a record that Kobe will just have to live with.

With the NBA playoffs in full swing, it’s timely that yesterday, Jason Collins, a 12-year NBA veteran, became the first male U.S. athlete in a major professional American team sport to come out as a gay during his playing career, doing so to Sports Illustrated in a major cover story for the magazine’s most recent issue. Collins, who played center this season for the Washington Wizards . . . oh wait. The Wizards. Never mind.

Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

Out This Week: Cruzin’ For A Bruisin’

Out This Week: The Keeping Them Honest Edition

Out This Week: Francisco Lachowski

Out This Week: Cruzin’ For A Bruisin’

Tags

Coming Out

WBO Featherweight Orlando Cruz has announced that he is gay.

While the NFL continues to be split on how to tackle the issue of gays in sports (and it’s interesting to note supporters are all hot hunks while the homophobes would be safe even in a room full of blind gay men), the arena where homosexuality was least expected to make an appearance, professional boxing, now has its very own internationally ranked gay boxer. Featherweight Orlando Cruz came out via a press release late Wednesday night, becoming the first professional boxer to acknowledge that he plays for the pink team.

Rumors about the sexuality of professional boxers are nothing new. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Lennox Lewis, Fernando Vargas, Hector “Macho” Camacho, and Juan Manuel Marquez have all been called out for being gay, sometimes as a homophobic slur by opponents, sometimes because fans believe the stories are true. But in a sport where calling your opponent a faggot hardly inspires even the blink of an eye, actually admitting to being gay is not considered the path to fame, fortune, and riches. Golden Boy Oscar Dela Hoya chose to blame a series of photo of him in drag on drug use rather than confirm the rumors about his sexuality that have followed him throughout his career. Perhaps with Cruz’s announcement the inability of professional boxers to openly be who they really are that will change.

In his press release Cruz, much like fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin in his coming out statement, said he is proud to be a gay man. Unlike Martin, Cruz has acknowledge his preference for men while at the peak of his career: he is trying to make a run at a world title.

A former Olympic Boxer, Cruz’s career is on an upward trajectory. His personal life just took a step toward the better too.

Currently ranked as the #4 featherweight by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), the 31-year-old Southpaw represented Puerto Rico at the 2000 Olympics as a Bantamweight (now adding to that Games gay athlete count and making it the gayest games in history). He began his professional career in late 2000 with a 16-0-1 record and did not lose a match until 2009. Today Cruz is 18-2-1 with nine career knockouts. Nicknamed ‘The Phenomenon’, Cruz is scheduled to fight Jorge Pazos on October 19th in Florida.

”I’ve been boxing for over 24 years and as I continue my upward career, I want to be true to myself. I try to be the best example I can be for children who see boxing as a sport and as a career,“ Cruz said in his press release, adding his announcement was due to him being tired of hiding who he really is. “I have always been and will remain a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and will remain a proud gay man. I do not hide any of my identities. I want people to see me for the man I am. I’m a professional athlete who always brings his best to the ring. I want people to continue seeing me for my skills in boxing, my character and good sportsmanship.”

How his sport responds will be interesting. Cruz is not a major figure in boxing, although he’s not unknown, either. In 2009 he fought on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez pay-per-view match, gaining some international recognition, and again appeared on HBO in his match against Daniel Ponce De Leon. The 5’4” Latino has knocked out nine other men to get where he is in his career today, so his announcement can not be viewed as some unqualified no-name pugilist trying to get attention. His next few fights will be instrumental in determining his future, both by whether he wins those matches or not and which other ranked boxers are willing to sign to fight against him. Homophobia within the boxing world could prevent Cruz from a shot at the title regardless of how he performs. It remains to be seen if his fellow boxers are manly enough to fight against an openly gay boxer.

Now the question is which professional boxers will man up and accept the risk of being knocked out by a gay boxer.

Other Posts You Might Enjoy:

Out This Week: Matt Bomer

Gay Of The Week: Jeremy Renner

Out This Week: The It’s Raining Gay Men Edition

Out This Week: The It’s Raining Gay Men Edition

Tags

Coming Out

Regardless of how your coming out is received, the act is a traumatic one, the decision to do so requiring an incredible amount of internal fortitude and bravery. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper did so this week, or at least he made his homosexuality official. Even though it was a forgone conclusion, his act of revealing himself to the world too took balls. But what if you had to do it not once, but twice? And then thanks to the reaction of your peers within your chosen industry, had to do it a third time?

I’m not knocking AC’s coming out efforts. Because I’ve already done so. But I do have to note that it must have been comforting for him to sit back and watch the reaction his fellow CNN anchor Don Lemmon’s coming out had. It reminded me of two young men standing on the edge of a potentially chilly lake with the older one goading his friend, “You go first.” It’s always nice to have someone test the waters for you.

R&B artist Frank Ocean came out (again) on the 4th of July. Not only did he not have another chart-topping R&B singer pave his way for him, but he works in an industry that embraces homophobia within its artform. Considering the two celebrity’s respective fan bases, Ocean’s announcement has the potential to effect opinion to a far greater degree. He deserves the gay community’s support for having come out, and for having to have done so twice.

Both Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly have recently done pieces on the new way celebrities are coming out. Rather than make some grand pronouncement carefully crafted by an agent many are taking a nonchalant approach instead. Ocean did so with the pre-release of his debut album, Channel Orange, using the male pronoun ‘him’ instead or ‘her’ on the songs ‘Bad Religion’ ‘Pink Matter” and ‘Forrest Gump’ . Too subtle for the hip hop community, instead of acknowledging the act industry commentators began circulating rumors of the singer’s homosexuality. Those that couldn’t stomach using gay went with bi-sexual instead.

Ocean responded by readdressing the issue in a more forthright manner on his Tumblr page, eloquently telling of his love affair with another man that began four years ago when Ocean was nineteen. It is a poignantly told tale of self-discovery and his journey to self-acceptance that is in stark contrast to Cooper’s statement, in which he never even mentioned the man he has been living with for quite some time now.

“4 summers ago, I met somebody, I was 19 years old; he was too,” Ocean writes. “ We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. It was no escaping, no negotiating with the feelings. No choice. It was my first love. It changed my life.”

“In the last year or 3 I’ve screamed at my creator,” he writes, acknowledging the difficulty he had in coming to terms with his sexuality and the pain of falling in love. “ I screamed at clouds in the sky. For some explanation. Mercy maybe. For peace of mind to rain like manna somehow.”

Ocean goes on to describe his realization of his sexuality as like being thrown from a plane, his affair with another man being “too much, too quickly.” He then relates how he told his friend of his feelings, and his friend’s reaction of not being able to admit to the same.

“He wouldn’t tell me the truth about his feelings for me for another three years,” he says. “I felt like I only imagined reciprocity for years. Now imagine being thrown from a cliff. No, I wasn’t on a cliff. I was still in my car telling myself it was gonna be fine and to take deep breaths. I took the breaths and carried on. I kept up a peculiar friendship with him because I couldn’t imagine keeping up my life without him. I struggled to master myself and my emotions. I wasn’t always successful.”

Ocean talks about the support he received from family and friends in coming out to them, and then thanks his unnamed lover. “To my first love, I’m grateful for you. Grateful that even though it wasn’t what I hoped for and even though it was never enough, it was. Some things never are…and we were. I won’t forget you. I won’t forget the summer. I’ll remember who I was when I met you. I’ll remember who you were and how we’ve both changed and stayed the same. I’ve never had more respect for life and living than I have right now.”

Anderson came out and the reaction was, “That’s news?” Ocean is experiencing a slightly different tale. While many news sites and blogs acknowledge his coming out, many that specialize in the hip hop world have gone with the bi-sexual label instead claiming the poetic language used in his coming out statement is “ambiguous, seeming to potentially suggest that he is bisexual.”

Bill Maher has been doing a recurring bit on his show called Dispatches from The Bubble which he uses to show Republicans live in a make-believe world that has little to do with reality. In doing so he often shows Democrats and liberal are equally as guilty of the bubble life, but being enveloped in one himself doesn’t realize that. Regardless, it’s nice to see there is a R&B bubble firmly at work too.

Many of us have travelled a similar path to Ocean’s. Raised in a heterosexual world, as we mature into our sexuality that is our point of reference, that is where we start. Our ‘first’ – even if that only means holding hands or a kiss – is often with a girl. At some point our attraction to men instead becomes evident. That doesn’t make us bisexuals. Ocean sums up this road of self-discovery beautifully:

“Back then, my mind would wander to the women I had been with, the ones I cared for and thought I was in love with. I reminisced about the sentimental songs I enjoyed when I was a teenager. The ones I played when I experienced a girlfriend for the first time. I realized they were written in a language I did not yet speak.”

It seems an industry that collectively can agree that It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp has a problem with accepting a openly gay man in its ranks and clutches to a brief mention of women in his coming out statement to bolster their claims of his bi-sexuality instead. Others touch on the G word, but note that Ocean’s love affair with a man was a singular experience, as though a young gay man wrapped up in a four year affair of the heart should have been out hittin’ male booty in order to establish his gay cred. It seems that Ocean may be in the unusual spot of having to come out publicly for a third time.

It is admirable that Ocean, a protege of Kanye West and a member of the hip hop collective Odd Future who was highlighted by MTV as one of the artists to watch for in 2012, has decided to come out at the beginning of his career, though that act should not be viewed as a cheap grab at publicity to jump start his claim to fame. Though Channel Orange is his debut album, he already has received critical acclaim for his inaugural mix-tape release, two singles from which achieved chart success. Ocean has also appeared at both Coachella and Lollapalooza and was signed as the opening act for Cold Play’s European tour for their July and August shows.

Ocean began his career as a ghost-writer for artists such as Justin Bieber, Bridget Kelly, and John Legend, as well as Beyonce, who included one of his tracks on her list of favorite songs of 2011. In mid 2010, he became a member of OFWGKTA, premiering on Domo Genesis’ track, SteamRoller, and was featured on Kanye & Jay-Z’s No Church In The Wild. His music, which focuses on interpersonal relationships, personal reflection and social commentary, has been described as setting him above the pack of hip hop artists and Jonah Weiner of Rolling Stone called Ocean a gifted avant-R&B smoothie.” The hip hop community is just having a problem with calling him gay.

Some, however, have no problem with calling a . . . . oh, wait I guess I shouldn’t use that one. Los Angeles Times music writer Gerrick D. Kennedy said, “Ocean’s coming out is nearly unprecedented in the R&B world,” calling it the glass ceiling moment for music and noting hip hop has long been in desperate need of a voice like Ocean’s to break the layers of homophobia.

And Ebony made a valid point in explaining why Frank Ocean’s Coming Out is More Significant than Anderson Cooper’s.

“Ocean is a rising star in hip-hop— where perceptions of Black masculinity are dominated by hyper-sexuality, thug swagger and a deep homophobia. Neither hip-hop nor R&B has ever boasted an openly gay or bisexual mainstream male star.”

“”Black audiences have been conditioned to understand Black gay men in only two ways: either on the “down low” or as the flamboyant queens on so-called ‘reality’ television,” cultural critic and hip-hop scholar Seth E. Davis told Ebony. Davis is an instructor at Syracuse University, and has researched Black identity and sexuality in popular culture. “Ocean tells the story of his first ‘love.’ Black people tend to focus on the sexual part of same-sex relationships. Now we’re talking about a relationship.””

Hopefully, Ocean will not just become ‘that gay singer’ and instead will gain even more fans thanks to his display of personal courage and honesty. And I’m waiting to pull up to a stop light next to a car full of young men, music blaring from open windows, to hear them singing along to Ocean’s Thinkin Bout You:

“My eyes don’t shed tears, but boy, they bawl when I’m thinkin’ ‘bout you.”

Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

Out This Week: The Keeping Them Honest Edition

Out This Week: The Early June Edition

Gay Of The Week: Dakota Cochrane (And The UFC)

Out This Week: The Keeping Them Honest Edition

Tags

Coming Out, Movies & Television

Anderson Cooper, who it was always assumed was out on a date in this photo, admitted this weekend that he was instead actually on a journalism assignment.

Over the weekend, talk show host Anderson Cooper quietly came out of his closet as a journalist. In a letter to The Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan, Cooper made the unexpected announcement, stating his underlying pride in his up until now well-hidden career choice was the reason he decided to out himself as a reporter:

“Recently, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something – something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.”

Previously Cooper, who was ranked in the #2 spot of the ‘Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America’ by Out Magazine, has made vague references to being a reporter and has even gone as far as to claim being a self-described news junkie, having been one “since I was in the womb,” but this weekend’s announcement is the first time the entertainer has publicly admitted to his journalistic leanings.

As a young gay man attracted to the world of entertainment, Cooper appeared on the television show ‘To Tell The Truth’, which he later bastardized for the title of a segment on his nightly talk-show.

Sullivan, a gay British citizen living in the U.S. who has journalistic aspirations himself, asked Cooper to comment on a recent article in Entertainment Weekly about an emerging trend: gay people in public life who come out in a much more restrained and matter-of-fact way than in the past. In his written email reply Cooper acknowledged his own homosexuality so that he could branch off into making the surprising announcement that he is in fact a journalist, has always been one, and always will be one.

The son of socialite and 1%-er Gloria Vanderbilt , Cooper, who lives with his long-time boyfriend, gay club owner Ben Maisani, in a converted firehouse in New York’s gay ghetto Greenwich Village, began his closeted journalistic career at the age of ‘still-a-blubbering-ball-of-fat’ with an appearance on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, followed several years later with a guest shot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, his first appearance on a medium he would use later in life to hint at his deeply hidden secret of being a reporter. Six years later he surfaced again as a guest on To Tell The Truth at the age of 9, followed by several years of working for the Ford Modeling Agency and appearing in advertisements for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Macy’s department store, a career path many young gay men take.

As this story is still unfolding, it is not yet known if Cooper had previously admitted his secret life as a journalist to his longtime boyfriend, Ben Maisani, seen here with Cooper during happier times.

Years later, after graduating from Yale, Cooper dabbled with journalism as many college age young men do while trying to find themselves. Donning reporter drag, Cooper secured a fake press pass, bought a video camera and headed to Burma on his own to cover a student uprising against the ruling military dictatorship. He was ultimately able to sell his home-made news segments to Channel One, which produces a youth-oriented news program that is broadcast to many junior high and high schools in the United States.

Fortunately his brief foray into the underbelly world of reporting passed almost unnoticed, written off as an impetuous act of youth. Still, Cooper’s true colors were plainly evident and he suffered through several years working as a known reported for ABC News before he was able to escape back into his closet thanks to his two-year stint on the reality show The Mole, which worked well in his attempt to quell the rumors that he was a practicing journalist.

While experimenting as many young men do, Cooper used this fake press pass to dabble in the seedy world of journalism.

But as many closeted journalists have found, keeping your secret while in the media’s eye can be a difficult chore. Cooper has steadfastly tried to his natural inclinations while skirting the edges of the journalistic world. While the news is what spoke to his soul, Cooper hid that part of himself from the public, instead making a name for himself with an appearance of Celebrity Jeopardy and as guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Even today when most Americans assume rumors of Cooper being a journalist are true, he has hidden his true calling behind the mantle of celebritydom, appearing in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and tempering his obviously journalistic appearance as an anchor on CNN with his completely irrelevant daytime talk-show.

Fag hag Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Cooper’s BFF, shown with Cooper above, appeared regularly on his daytime talk-show to quell rumors that he was a practicing journalist.

As Cooper’s career as a celebrity, talk-show host, reality television star, and talking head skyrocketed, he frequently came under criticism for hiding his private passion for the news. “You know, I understand why people might be interested. But I just don’t talk about my personal life. It’s a decision I made a long time ago, before I ever even knew anyone would be interested in my personal life,” he said while telling amusing stories such as the time his mother asked him to proofread her tell-all memoir in which at the age of 85 she described the guy she was dating as the “Nijinsky of cunnilingus.”

Rumors of Cooper playing for the news team have circulated for years and many assumed when his daytime talk show premiered in September of 2011 he would use it as a vehicle to announce that he was in fact a reporter as many suspected. But instead Cooper continued to entertain from the closet, muddying the journalism waters by having personalities such as Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Cooper’s close fiend, BFF, and own fag hag Kathy Griffin appear on his show. Even today, a mere twenty-four hours after admitting he was a journalist Cooper still turned to the safety of entertainment with a segment on Tips for Finding Storage Auctions instead of covering a real news story.

During his career with CNN, Cooper has toyed with the world of journalism, interviewing some of the world’s most powerful leaders.

In his coming out declaration Cooper shared with The Daily Beast the reasoning behind his bold move. “I’ve been reminded recently that while as a society we are moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible’” he wrote. “I believe there is value in making clear where I stand.”

As for the years he has spent in the closet hiding his true identity as a journalist he said, “I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don’t give that up by being a journalist.”

Cooper has often denied his journalistic leanings, citing pictures such as the one above while asking, “Would any self-respecting journalist appear on TV like this?”

Reaction from the news community on Cooper’s brave move have been nil as we’ve recently come to realize their are no true journalists left in the world.

That’s the way it is.

Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

Out This Week: Francisco Lachowski

Out This Week: Mr. Spock

Gay Of The Week: Golan Yosef

Out This Week: U.S. Gymnast Joshua Dixon Goes Gay For The Gold

Tags

Coming Out, Olympics

U.S. Gymnast Joshua Dixon will now compete as an openly gay man.

The pool of potential openly gay athletes competing at the 2012 London Olympics just increased by one. Yesterday, American Gymnast Josh Dixon from Stanford University came out during an interview on the internet site OutSports. Dixon has not yet landed a berth on the U.S. Olympic team, but his performance at the U.S. Men’s Qualifier on Saturday in Colorado Springs, where he finished second overall out of 72 competitors, puts him on the fast track to wining a place on the team headed for London in July. Final qualification for the team will be held at the end of June at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, currently Dixon’s home town.

Despite the assumption by many that the ranks of male gymnasts are filled with gay men – which inadvertently provides a few laughs when headlines appear such as the recent “Dalton Tops Leyva” – if Joshua continues performing well he could be the first out gay male competing gymnast in Olympic History. (Openly gay Dutch gymnast Jeffrey Wammes’ Olympic future is hanging in the balance; whether he or teammate Epke Zonderland will fill his country’s sole gymnastics spot at the Olympics will probably be decided at the European Championships later this month.)

Josh Dixon may become the first out gymnast in Olympic history.

Male gymnastics has always been considered by many to be a gay sport. Athletes who compete in the events, both straight and gay, are mindful of their chosen sport’s rep and few elite gymnasts have been open about their sexuality. Australian Ji Wallace, the silver medalist in trampoline at the 2000 Games, did not feel comfortable about coming out until five years after his participation at the Olympics. But since then Wallace says he has encountered nothing that has hurt him or made him feel alienated.

“You hear stories all the time about hatred and problems,” he says. “But nothing has been said about me. At least I haven’t heard anything, and there hasn’t been an incident I would consider homophobic.”

Brandon Triche, a former nationally ranked gymnast and author of The Life of a Gay Gymnast, says the public perception of male gymnasts as more likely to be gay arises, “because any time a male’s wearing a leotard they think ‘feminine.’” The result, he said, is that among straight gymnasts in the locker room “there’s so much chick talk because they’re afraid they might be perceived as being gay.”

Australian Ji Wallace is the only openly gay Olympic male gymnast, though he did not come out until five years after winning his silver medal.

This ultra-macho posturing even extends to the gymnasts who are gay, he said. “A lot of people who are gay pass themselves off as straight.”

There are probably no more gay males in gymnastics than in the general population, in Triche’s estimation. When he decided to come out to his teammates and family, he says what was striking was that it was a non-issue. It’s generally been no big deal for the team,” Triche said. “Maybe it’s because I’m so vocal about it. I don’t hold back for anybody. ”

But Triche also says that many within the sport remain closeted, fearful of the reception they may receive by announcing their homosexuality. ”They’re so scared to come out,” Triche said of one fellow gymnast and closeted athletes in general. ”They don’t realize a lot of people don’t care. If you’re 100% honest and don’t show any fear, they’ll be 100% cool with it.”

Now that he is out, Josh needs to work on his beefcake shots!

While those gymnasts who have in the past come out without facing a backlash, doing so at the level of competition Dixon performs at is still a big step. But then for Dixon, who says he has had crushes on men since he hit puberty, his sexuality may not have been that big of a secret. When asked a series of “Get To Know Joshua” questions for his Stanford Team bio page he replied ‘Morgan Freeman’ as to his favorite actor. His favorite actress was a bit more difficult to pin down, “I’m not quite sure,” was his response. And his sole participation on Twitter about this year’s Super Bowl was that Tom Brady was better looking than Eli Manning.

But then by his sophomore year at Stanford he’d already started opening up about his preference for men. That year one of his best friends, a gymnast from The University of Illinois, came out to Josh and Dixon reciprocated. The following year he began dating another gay varsity athlete at Standford and when his teammates took notice of the pair, Dixon did not attempt to hide his relationship. He says his teammates were totally cool with him being gay. Josh feels his willingness to talk openly about his sexuality is what his teammates respond to.

Dixon is a lean, mean gymnastics machine.

It didn’t take long for the word to spread. “A lot of guys in the gymnastics community talk,” says Dixon. His roommate at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs last winter asked him if the rumors were true, and when Dixon confirmed that he was gay his fellow gymnast’s only response was, “That’s cool.”

The 21-year-old says he has not had a single negative response “in any way, shape or form” to his being openly gay. If anything, the only homophobia he has encountered has been from within himself. Dixon believes his sexual orientation is a plus, as it now makes him stand out more at the elite level. While he stands out, he isn’t the only gay gymnast he says. Josh knows of at least three more still competing in college, and that he is not the only elite-level American gymnast who is gay either.

Josh and fellow gymnasts at the 2011 Winter Cup Challenge

There is, however, some concern he might be judged for his sexuality more than for his performance during competitions. Like with ice skating and diving, gymnastics are based on judge’s scores. Some feel the perceived sexual orientation of figure skater Johnny Weir hurt him at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Others point to openly gay diver Matthew Mitcham, who posted the highest-scoring dive in Olympic history at the Beijing Games. But Dixon is not concerned. “This would never affect how I’m judged or my position on the U.S. Olympic team,” he says.

As a seven-time All American and four-time member of the USA Junior National Team, Dixon’s performances over the coming two months should alone be enough to earn him a coveted spot of the U.S. Olympic Team. He already has been named to the National Team after placing sixth in the all-around at the 2011 Winter Cup Challenge held in Las Vegas a year ago in February. Josh was one of four gymnasts to be added to the team at that competition. And as he often does, he passed the credit on to his teammates.

Dixon in perfect form on the rings.

“Really, day two of competition was a highlight in itself,” Dixon said. “Our Stanford group had an entire rotation to itself, and we were nailing routine after routine . . . We really had the luxury of treating it like a team-format competition simply because we had the numbers and we were all familiar with the guy going before and after us. In such an ‘individual competition,’ having a group of teammates around you is a major advantage.”

Undoubtedly being on a medal winning team does much toward boosting your confidence and skill levels. Stanford University has won the NCAA team Championships in both 2009 and 2011. And in 2010, Dixon himself was the champion in the men’s floor exercise. At last weekend’s Qualifier he tied for a win in that event and also on the high bar, as well as finishing second all-around.

Joshua tears up after his team wins the 2011 NCAA Championships.

Dixon began his career at the age of six. “Both of my sisters did gymnastics in their early years and I just couldn’t resist the temptation to try a little of what I saw them doing in practice It was usually in the backyard on the grass and would make my parents pretty nervous,” he says. “ Then came enrollment in early team classes and things just progressed from there.”

Dixon and his two sisters, Kira and Mikka, who share the same mother though they have never met her, were all adopted at birth by Michael and Kathy Dixon. Josh is half-black and half-Japanese, while his father Michael is white and his mother Kathy is Japanese. His family’s involvement in the sport led Josh to his first medal win in 2002 at the Future Stars Championship, a mere five years after he began training. Every year since then he has been a winning competitor in national gymnastic events, frequently placing at the top of the podium in the floor exercise as he did at last weekend’s competition. Now, the Olympics are in his sight and making the Olympic team is his goal.

. . . and I’m head over heels in lust with those thighs!

“The number of guys who make the team is less than what it was before and the format in team finals places importance on being really good on several events,” he says. “For now, the most important thing would be to stay healthy and keep training hard/smart for the next year.”

Despite an injury to his Achilles tendon last spring, Joshua’s performances are on the rise. His efforts last weekend places him and 14 of his competitors in line for the next qualification round at the 2012 Visa Championships in St. Louis – a championship he has consistently done well at in previous years. Should he prevail there he’ll move on to the Olympic Trials in San Jose, from which a five-man Olympic team will be announced.

Super Dixon

The 5’9” hottie is currently majoring in Science Technology & Society, though he has a strong interest in sports medicine and says it is his favorite subject at school. “After gym I want to attend medical school,” Dixon says. “ I had been going back and forth with that decision for a while; however, now I know that’s what I want to do. Sports medicine is something that I love but I’ve got some work to do to finish the pre-med curriculum.”

With the Olympics less than 100 days away, however, it’s all “Eat, sleep, train and do homework,” say Joshua. But that’s not new. Since taking up the sport, gymnastics has been the constant in his life. “Gymnastics was my number one priority,” he says of his early years, adding, “and if something got in the way of that I had to push it aside.”

Dixon expects that no one will flip out over his coming out.

Today, his favorite pre-meet rituals are routine visualization and listening to his iPod. Joshua says the best advice he’s ever received is: The pain of regret is worse than that pain of hard work. Coming out in the midst of Olympic qualifications is a big step, one that hopefully Josh will not regret. Regardless, his hard work may well pay off and we’ll get to watch him compete in London come July.

——————– UPDATE ——————–

oshua competed for a spot on the Olympic Team at the Trials held the last weekend in June. He placed 13th overall and was not selected to represent the USA in London. But he sure was looking fine:

[‘The XXX Games’ are a series of posts about hot Olympians, gay competitors - both present and past - and general articles about the 2012 London Olympics of interest to gay men. So, yeah, lots of hot male eye candy. Click the XXX Games graphic below for additional news, stories, and pictures.]

Gay Coverage of the XXX Games of the Olympiad

Out This Week: Matt Bomer

Tags

Coming Out, Movies & Television

Matt Bomer is finally gay.

Formerly not gay television actor and soon to be male stripper Matt Bomer finally opened his closet door last weekend. It only took a small push outward, up until his announcement Bomer’s closet pretty much had an open door policy; his sexuality was a well known and accepted fact in Hollywood. Not in the everyone knows Tom Cruise is gay way, but rather in the everyone knows Kevin Spacey is gay mode. Bomer making it official by publicly recognizing the man he has been involved with for several years and with whom he is raising children, however, is still a big step.

And score another hottie for our team.

Every gay man should be allowed to come out – or not – on his own terms and at his own time. Celebrities, however, are not ‘every’ gay man. When you make the decision to earn your living in the public spotlight, you don’t get to determine where that light will shine. In the past, Matt has been one of those celebrities willing to talk about the most intimate and detailed aspects of his life until the ‘who are you doing’ question hits the table. Then it’s all about how his private life is personal and should be of no interest to anyone. To those whose gaydar has been pinging, that’s the equivalent of announcing you are dating Rene Zweigler.

When everyone already knows you are gay, coming out isn’t all that. Still, Bomer should be commended for doing so both for his timing and the manner in which he did so. Most celebrities out themselves only after their career has taken a nose dive. In many cases their announcement is met with, “Oh, him. I kinda remember who he is.” Far too often the step to publicly announce they play for the pink team is part of an over-all publicity scheme to promote a book they’ve just had published. Bomer has no book joining him on his coming out tour, and his career is far from over. In fact, it may just be getting ready to really take off.

It is that career that the Texas-born actor was concerned over during a 2010 Details magazine interview during which he refused to talk about the rampant speculation about his sexuality. While neither confirming nor denying the rumors, Matt did say the reason he did not want to talk about it was “I have a network and a show riding on my shoulders.”

Matt evidently was troubled that Ramin Setoodeh was right and the general public could never accept a gay man playing a straight role. That’s a bit of a homophobic thought; it really means an ‘openly’ gay man can not find acceptance. ‘Cuz you are in fact gay whether you’ve announced it to the world or not. It’s also ironic that a straight actor taking on a gay role usually garners an Oscar nod, but the reverse is unthinkable and would lead to the demise of the actor’s career. But it’s Matt’s career, it’s his choice, and it was his bogeyman to defeat.

As the male lead of the television series White Collar, Bomer plays a con artist turned FBI crime consultant. His script writers probably could have helped him pull his ‘I’m not gay’ con off a bit more successfully in real life. Nonetheless, his coming out while being the leading man on a popular TV series is a first. Well, yeah Ellen actually called dibbs on that honor, but then she was playing the leading man on a comedy series, not an drama/action show. Then again on the ‘how big you are in Hollywood scale’, being the leading man on a TV show airing on the USA channel is just a step above being a waiter. So maybe it’s better to give Matt brownie points for braving the possible screw up of his movie career.

The hunky 34-year-old is currently involved in two films which might finally get Hollywood’s attention. He’s part of Ryan Murphy’s upcoming movie, The Normal Heart, the film version of Larry Kramer’s tale of a gay journalist who contracts HIV. Huh. Okay then, he’s one of the leads in the soon to be released Magic Mike in which he plays a male stripper. Huh again. No, wait, those could all be straight male strippers, right Matt?

“I think there will be several scenes that will… I think the gay fans will be very, very happy with several of the scenes that occur in the film’ Bomer reported when asked about gay themes in the movie. “But, yeah, there is one scene in particular where definitely those boundaries are blurred. Yeah.”

Okay but those are movies already in development; possibly it was future movie roles that audience’s would have trouble excepting an openly gay man playing a straight man in. “I would love to do a Montgomery Clift biopic,” says Bomer.

Okay then, we instead should look at his stage career. The stage is after all where serious actors practice their craft. That surely is where the damage to his career would be inflicted. Next month Matt will appear in a star-studded stage reading of Dustin Lance Black’s “8” in a Hollywood theater. Bomer will appear with fellow thespians George Takei and Chris Colfer in the stage production about Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

Uh, never mind.

Okay, fine. Bomer’s true milieu is the small screen anyway, so his concerns were no doubt about the effect his coming out would have on future television roles, possibly on a show that is popular and has an audience? Matt recently signed on to play Darren Cross’s older brother on upcoming episodes of Glee.

Damn! Ah! The record! Bomer’s concern was over his career and protecting the integrity of the roles he has played in the past! Matt says, “My big break was Guiding Light, nine years ago. I played a trust-fund baby who became a male prostitute”

Ummmmmmmm, then maybe he does have a book coming out? Nope, but Matt did appear on the cover of Alex Sanchez’ landmark 2001 gay teen novel Rainbow Boys.

Bomer’s announcement was handled mater of factly in a one-two punch that casually mentioned his longtime partner and their kids. Last week in GQ Italia, the mention was routine, almost an afterthought and would probably have gone unnoticed if not for Bomer’s inclusion of his husband and kids in his acceptance speech of the New Generation Arts and Activism Award at the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards ceremony in Palm Springs where he was honored for his work with HIV/AIDS.

“I’d really especially like to thank my beautiful family: Simon, Kit, Walker, Henry,” he said referring to his publicist partner Simon Halls and their three children. “Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is. You will always be my proudest accomplishment.”

So maybe it’s not that Bomer has come out that should earn him accolades, or that he braved the possible negative effects doing so might have on his career. That he recognized what is truly important in life, the love of his partner and the example he sets for his children, and being true to himself rather than being concerned about what others think, is a far greater achievement. And for that, he deserves a big thumbs up.

Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

Out This Week: Francisco Lachowski

Out This Week: Mr. Spock

Gay Of The Week: Golan Yosef

Out This Week: Francisco Lachowski

Tags

Coming Out, Nude Dudes

Francisco Lachowski: a little hottie, and newly minted gay boy.

I never thought to consider the ranks of international male models as a base for those who will be coming out in 2012. Their sexuality always seemed to be a given. But evidently, like Olympic male ice skaters, the majority claim to be straight and homophobia looms large within the industry. Huh. Homophobia in the world of fashion. Right.

Makes you want to just wrap him in your arms. And tongue him dry.

Be that as it may, the first celebrity to open the closet door in 2012 is Brazilian model Francisco Lachowski. Yeah, I know, Kristy McNichol, blah, blah blah. But she’s a has been who can’t even get a spot on Dancing With The Stars, and fish too boot.

Not sure what that is on his head, butt I like the rest!

The 20 year-old little hottie started his career in 2009 after winning a modeling contest in São Paulo. Currently ranked as the hottest Brazilian male model and 16th of the 50 Top Male Models, Francisco has worked for designers such as Gucci, Dior Homme, Armani, Mugler, and more. He’s become a familiar cover model and has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue, and FHM, as well as in campaigns for DKNY, Armani Exchange, and D Squared.

Bad cropping!

Rumors about Francisco’s sexual orientation have circulated since his career in modeling took off, and he finally made it official during an interview with the Advocate magazine which will appear in their February 2012 issue.

Francisco, who is gay, and four other Brazilian models who have not yet opened the closet door.

Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

Out This Week: Mr. Spock

Out This Week: The Early June Edition

Gay Of The Week: Golan Yosef

Out This Year

Tags

Coming Out, Ladyboys, Movies & Television, That's Gay

Maybe I should have gone with my initial instinct and posted a ‘Year in Rearview’ article instead?

The last week of each year is a popular time for just about everyone involved in the media to publish a retrospective of the year’s events. Top Ten lists are a popular way of hitting that mark. But way too limiting. I thought maybe a ‘rearview’ of the year could be fun, but then I’d want to post new pictures of bodacious male butt rather than re-post those I’ve already shown you. And that’s kinda cheating. I thought a review of the world’s leading terrorists Obama’s killed off over the last year might be a nice political ending for the year too. But, he’s got another year before the end of his term and many other bad guys to assassinate, so we’ll leave that one for next year. Ditto for the republican party crazies vying for the top nutter position; but they all spent the year assassinating themselves and with the election less than a year away there will be plenty of opportunities to delve into that little ball of freakdom, so no reason to do so now.

Stumped, I suddenly remembered as a youth one of my favorite annual articles in the local newspaper was Jeane Dixon’s predictions for the upcoming year. I don’t know that I ever tracked her forecasts during the year to see if she was as good as she thought she was, but do remember going back to check if she’d got that one the year she died. Nope. Seems to me any psychic worth her salt should at the very least be able to predict when her time would be up. But there ya go.

In any case, Ms. Dixon’s annual list of predictions saved me from being late with a year-end wrap up by offering a chance to post the same info as a forecast for 2012 instead.

2011 was a big year for celebrities deciding to finally come out of the closet. So many so that you may have missed or forgotten some of the more recent additions to our tribe. And really, who is and who isn’t gay in Hollywood is of far greater importance than whose turban Obama knocked off at neck level. Quite a few fresh from the closet have been lesbians this last year, but other than Justin Bieber, when a woman announces she’s gay it’s not really news that gay men care about. Newly minted lesbians do tend to get breeders quite hot, but gay guys, not so much.

Any celebrity of note who came out or was outted got major press. The lesser stars – and lesbians – got but an honorable mention. But that’s yesterday’s news. Rather than re-trash the list of notables who joined our team in 2011, I thought I’d steal a page from Jeane Dixon’s book and cover those who will be coming out in 2012. Jeane used an ouija board for her predictions, I rely on a much more reliable source: Google and its auto suggestion predictive algorithms. And I gotta tell you, it’s shaping up to be a very pink year.

So here are my predictions of the famous men who will open their closet doors in 2012:

For an obvious bottom, Mario looks to be packin’ some heat!

Mario Lopez:

Yeah, I know. I thought he’d come out years ago too. While Mario is still a hottie, age is quickly creeping up on him so we can expect 2012 to be the year he makes it official so that he can snag a husband – or at least a room full of tops – and make his life complete.

Mario tried to follow the route many other celebrities have taken out of the closet by having a baby last year. Unlike others, he announced who the mother was but she quickly faded into oblivion and it was soon all about Mama Mario and his little bundle of joy. But Hollywood snored through that act. Been there, done that, way too many gay guys with kids now to pay any attention to yet another one. So Mario tried a different tack, by shining the light on a different little bundle of joy.

Because it’s what all straight celebrities do (wink-wink), Mario has just released his own line of mens underwear. And decided to not only be the designer and spokesperson for M wear, but its model too. Thanks Mario! And I have to say, for an obvious bottom, Mario looks to be packin’ some heat!

Mario says a prayer that Greg brought his double headed dildo with him.

Lopez teamed up with online retailer FreshPair.com for his underwear venture. As quoted on the waistband of his undies, it’s “For manful men and their very special guests.” When asked what the “M” stood for, the Hollywood Hottie and all-around media whore replied, “the ‘M’ stands for masculine, modern, Mario… make it whatever you want it to be.” Um, could that also be ‘Might be gay’? Or should we just go with the traditional ‘‘Mo’.

Why Mario felt he had to dip into the world of fashion to establish his pinkness is beyond me. His greatest hits of gay moments read like a salute to Charles Nelson Reilly. Decades ago he took on the lead role for the made for television biography of Greg Louganis, Breaking The Surface and was so convincing in the sex scenes that his closet door should have swung firmly opened. Instead the world politely waiting for Mario to make the announcement of what we all all ready knew. Granted Greg was pure hotness in those days and I’d kill for a video of Mario and Greg getting it on, but when the two met they faced the age-old dilemma of many gay men: what do you do when you are both bottoms?

Mario Lopez may not be gay, but his ass is.

Mario also tried the Kenny Chesney ‘ I’m not gay so don’t ask me why my marriage only lasted two weeks’ route, but Bradley Cooper beat him to that one and again the world waited for the little gay boy to tell us he was. Mario then went for the ‘I’m gay AND a bottom by playing gay while his naked ass played the bottom role in a guest stint on Nip N Tuck, but that too failed to justify his closet door being opened for him. He followed that attempt up by playing gay again on Dancing With the Stars, and still no bites.

So even though Mario has still not made it official, it’s time we throw him a bone and call it a done deal. Or wait for the photographic proof sure to surface in 2012. Mario is gay, and unless it means him showing off his naked ass again, we need not hear any more on the subject.

Because all straight guys like to show off their small peni and dyed pubes.

Oscar de la Hoya:

Maybe it’s old news now, but a recent post I did about a muscle stud at Tawan who is a ladyboy at heart prompted a quick trip down memory lane of hunky Latino Oscar de la Hoya and the photos of him from 2007 wearing a wig, lingerie, and fishnet stockings. At the time Oscar said they were fake, but late in 2011 he admitted they were in fact real. Turns out the golden boy of boxing is more of a golden girl. But according to Oscar, it was the drugs he was taking, and not his preference for cock that made him don his gay apparel. Sorry, Oscar, but “The devil made me do it!” didn’t really work for Flip Wilson, and your rep precedes you.

Of course the ladyboys of the world would argue dressing in drag does not mean you are gay. So perhaps using those photos as proof that Oscar plays for the pink team is unfair. At best, he fessed up to being Oscar De Lady Boya. On the other hand, when Googling your name and the first predictive result the Google wizard offers you is ‘gay’ you might just consider that the word is out and admit it.

Thailand’s ladyboys have nothing to worry about over Oscar’s fondness for drag

The world of professional boxing is a difficult one to be out in, but considering that three or the last four men Oscar met in the ring all publicly referred to his gayness, it would seem his secret really isn’t. Since there are no more ranked boxers willing to accept money to use Oscar as a punching fag, expect his next opponent to be his flimsy closet door.

Will and an unidentified gay man out on the town.

Will Smith:

It’s a bitch being on the down low when you’ve hit an age where once you get down it’s problematic getting back up. Will Smith is another one of the unsung gay heroes of Hollywood who is quickly approaching an age where when he finally announces he favorite color is pink, no one will care. For years Hollywood insiders have referred to Will’s overly large ears as love handles. Marrying a boyish looking woman did little to quell the rumors that rang true especially in light of a notorious Hollywood Madame’s declaration:

“The first time I spoke with Smith, I had to reassure him over and over that I could guarantee discretion. Once I convinced him I could, he placed his order. It was for a man. You’d be surprised at how many Hollywood stars requested the services of the guys.”

Well, no, actually we wouldn’t be surprised. John Travolta has to do something with all that money he makes. But Will hasn’t always needed to fork over cash for his man meat. Actor Duane Martin was allegedly Will Smith’s gay lover in the past. He recently divorced TV actress Tisha Campbell after exposing himself as gay.

More recently, the Jizzy Fresh Prince has been busy with R&B singer Trey Songz. For years rumors have been constant, claiming Trey has had numerous gay relationships with men in the music industry. The 26-year-old Grammy-nominated artist has repeatedly denied that he is gay. Because straight guys always have to repeatedly deny they like cock.

Trey Songz is not gay. And is not Will Smith’s gay lover. And is not a bottom. And does not wear Jada’s clothes when she is not in town.

In a recent interview, Troy Taylor, a record company executive and mentor to the singer said, “I know that Trey and Will have been friends for a very long time, but I can’t speak to the nature of their relationship. It’s none of my business.”

Huh. That’s almost as good as being damned by faint praise. Will attempted outing himself last year with rumors that his sham marriage was over. And it’s not like Will acts gay, I mean, definitely not Nathan Lane gay, and not even Kevin Spacey gay. But Tom Cruise gay for sure. On Google’s Out Meter, Will gets a big #4., so expect him to announce he really plays for the Men in Pink in 2012.

Um, sorry, but that’s not a headline.

Taylor Lautner:

Taylor is so gay and so out he not only made it on this list but was a featured Gay of the Week earlier in the year. So I really don’t need to list all of his gay points here. But then one look at Taylor is all it should take to know that he plays on our team. Even if it is on the girl’s side.

He made today’s post, however, thanks to a fake People magazine cover that made it’s way around the internet last week. The cover quickly went viral and that People had to issue a statement denying its validity should tell you – and Taylor – just how out the boy really is.

The word is Taylor won’t be making it official until he has established himself as a major star. 2012 will be the year for reality checks and recognizing he’ll soon be slated for a run on Dancing With the Stars, expect Taylor to admit the line of boys waiting to do him will always outnumber the line of guys waiting to see his next flick. Unless he goes the gay porn route.

Rob Kardashian requires that a photo of his ass accompany any other published shots of him.

Rob Kardashian:

I know. The Kardashian ugly little sister isn’t even D List material, but the poor boy deserves to be thrown a bone. And you know that any supposed straight man who refers to his ass as ‘his secret weapon’ is dreaming of just how big that bone might be.

Not everyone involved with Hollywood is a celebrity or a star. Some only rank as a personality, and while none of the Kardashians actually have a personality, this last year Rob followed the lead of so many other out gay has-beens by shaking his booty on Dancing with the Stars. Jealous of sister Kim’s butt implants, Robbie boy made sure his most valuable asset was featured weekly, referring to the prodigious mounds of hotness as ‘his secret weapon.’

Um, let me guess: bottom?

Rob outted himself via Twitter (because that is what media whores do these days) with a series of drunken posts. The first one read: ‘I love men’s private parts.’ Followed by: “Yum yum yum.” Rob then started writing about his attraction to one of his skank sister’s husband, Lakers star Lamar Odom. “I love my brother-in-law. He is so big and sexy.”

You may feel that qualifies as being out, especially as saying three letter words is a difficult task for any Kardashian, but like the rest of his family, Rob is a media whore, so as soon as he learns a new “G” word, you can expect him to try and make the news in 2012.

Don Lemon undergoes medical tests to determine if he is in fact black.

Don Lemon:

CNN’s Don Lemon decided to be the news instead of reporting it in 2011r, but the shocker wasn’t his announcement that he was gay (it’s not news when everyone already knows about it), but that he was black. Don’s announcement this last year that he was gay didn’t work because everyone thought it was Anderson who was opening his closet door, so he followed up by announcing he is black.

Granted, his race was of more of a question than his sexual preference, but it turns out he needed to qualify the former thanks to his memoir in which he gushes over Ronald Reagan and speaks so sweetly about Bill O’Reilly you’d think he was trying to get into the FOX News pundit’s pants. Or vice versa. On hearing about Don’s conservative leanings, his white boyfriend of four years, Ben Tinker, said, “Don’s black????”

And Anderson will announced this year that he is not black. (Pictured: Anderson Cooper & boyfriend Benjamin Maisani. Cooper is the one on the bottom. Oh. You already knew that.)

Anderson Cooper:

Not news either, but you really can’t mention CNN and gay in the same post and not give a shout out to Anderson who spent the year trying to make Andy Dick look straight.

Jealous of the mantle worn by Ellen as “gay but still acceptable to the breeders who have no life and spend their days watching television”, Anderson threw a hissy fit until someone gave him his own talk show this last year. Gay men used to have fag hags, now being BFF with a talentless skank seems to be all the rage and Anderson claimed MTV’s Jersey Shore’s Skank Snooki as his gay not-beard, joining her on-air tanning themselves orange.

Anderson, really, I know it’s an open secret but come on. The girlish giggle is enough of a clue already, do you have to go the full queen route to boot? CNN’s ratings have been dropping, and along with his pants, Anderson’s talk shows have been bottoming out too. Nothing gets a Neilson rater hotter than a celebrity announcing he is gay, so expect Anderson to take one for the team in 2012.

Was this cover to show how dumb these guys are, or that they are gay? Oh, got it: both.

The Girls of Jersey Shore:

As long as we’re on the subject of not hot guidos, the interchangeable cast of Jersey Whores will all step through the closet door in 2012. Though they may have done so last year, or whenever these guys first started appearing on television. A friend – who is now an ex-friend – suggested I watch the show telling me it was like watching a train wreck about to happen. The episode I caught was about one of the gay guidos running his head into a cement wall because, um, I’m not sure there was a reason. So really the train wreck part of the show is a done deal. Guessing whether any of the ugly male cast members is gay is too. And isn’t ‘gay guido’ an oxymoron anyway?

But it’s nice that MTV continues its tradition of including gay guys in its ensemble casts. This one has four little gay boys in it: the ugly one who thinks he has great abs, the ugly one who has incredible muscles and an ass I call dibbs on, and the other two ugly ones who might as well be straight ‘cuz no gay man would ever be interested in them.

There are an equal number of fish in the show, but the entire gang spend their days sharing make-up tips, plucking their eyebrows, and drooling over each others’ boyfriends. So which have peni and which only act like they do doesn’t really matter. Come to think about it, none of them really matter anyway, but it’s always a good thing to have gay men represented on TV.

Ah, and now we know the true meaning behind the Tricky Dick nickname.

Richard Nixon:

I guess along with so many other things, Tricky Dick was wrong: we still have Nixon to kick around. A recently publish biography about America’s most infamous president by journalist Don Fulsom claims Dick liked dick. And had a lot better taste in boyfriends than he did in wives.

Nixon’s Darkest Secrets is based on Fulsom’s reporting during the Nixon administration, along with interviews with members of Congress, former White House staffers and others from the 37th President’s inner circle. According to Fulsom, Nixon had a gay love affair that spanned multiple decades with Cuban-American businessman Charles ‘Bebe’ Rebozo.

In his book he states, “Nixon and Rebozo, who the feds believe laundered money for mob kingpins in Florida and Cuba, swam, sunbathed and dined together during guys-only vacations in exclusive Key Biscayne, FL., and were once spotted holding hands under the table during a dinner with K Street power brokers.”

Another reporter told Fulsom that he once caught a tipsy Nixon nuzzling Rebozo “the way you’d cuddle your senior prom date.” The fact that the two were pals was no secret to Washington officials, and whispers often floated around about the two being a possible item right up until Nixon’s death in 1994.

As for Nixon’s beard – and possibly not the first first lady to take on that role – according to Fulsom, Dick and Pats’ relationship was a platonic one and Nixon was even given kissing lessons to help his relationship seem valid in the public eye.

Being dead makes it a bit more difficult for Nixon to come out, but this story will grow legs in 2012 and maybe then we’ll finally know what was on those 18 missing minutes of tape.

P Diddy released a cologne this year marketed for the world of rap.

Some Rapper:

Okay, maybe that should be all rappers. I’d pay more attention to the gay hotties of the rap world, but most are just plain thug-ugly. The world of rap has a rep for being homophobic, but it turns out all those nasty lyrics about fags are really all love songs.

Ice Cube got his nickname for kneeling in worship to Vanilla Ice, it’s no secret that 50 cent is 100% in favor of his homies, P Diddy’s old moniker, Puffy, was about his skills playing the skinflute, and Dr. Dre only likes to play doctor with the boys. Then there’s the drag queen known as Queen Latifah. Add Tyrese, Busta, Redman, Method Man, Puffy, Russell Simmons, Ray J, Soulja Boy, Deadlee (though he’s already officially out), Eminem, Kanye, Q-Tip, Sisqo, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne, Ludacris . . . do I really need to go on?

The world of rap music may not be your thing, but damn is it gay! Several well-known rappers have admitted over the last year that there’s a ‘gay mafia’ that runs the rap music world, and that the only way anyone gets the industry behind them is to, well let the industry get behind them. The east coast / west coast rivalry has been done to death (literally) so expect the new battle front for 2012 to be the gay / straight rapper wars. Though it appears finding a rapper to play on the breeders’ team will be a difficult one.

Out This Week: Mr. Spock

Tags

Coming Out, That's Gay

Mr. Spock dons a pink uniform.

Kirk: Spock?
Spock: Yes, captain?
Kirk: Be one with the horse.
Spock: Yes, captain.

This week, the world’s most famous Vulcan boldly went where no man has gone before – okay Ricky Martin went there first, but that hardly counts since he’s a bottom. Mr. Spock finally admitted what we all knew all along: he’s a ‘mo.

Kinda gets your ears hard just thinking about it.

The gay Vulcan goes shirtless.

Rumors about the half-human‘s willingness to explore strange new worlds have been around for light years. But with Starfleet Command’s recent abolishment of its Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy, what was once fiction has become fact. Though many fans’ gaydar pinged into the red over Spock’s life-long interest in art, music, literature and poetry from many worlds, as well his mastery of the Vulcan lute and harpsichord, a good deal of the assumption about Spock playing for the pink team has always been due to his heavy bromance with the man he affectionately calls his captain. Few ever doubted that they two shared more than Vulcan mind-meld moments of intimacy.

Witness Kirk and Spock’s tear-streaked confrontation in The Naked Time, Kirk’s tantrum when Spock takes up with a woman in This Side of Paradise, Spock’s jubilation at seeing “Jim” alive in Amok Time, and Kirk sacrificing his career, his ship, and his son to have Spock back at his side in The Search for Spock. Less specifically, the countless moments the two share significant looks has always been all the proof anyone needed that Spock and Kirk were in fact a couple. That proof of the obvious has always been referred to but seldom chronicled is undoubtedly due to Spock’s reticence with showing human emotions – especially ‘those’ kind – as demonstrated in The Final Frontier, where Kirk moves to hug his friend, and Spock says, “ Not in front of the Klingons.”

No, THIS is the voyage of the starship Enterprise.

“Spock’s lips beneath his were warm and yielding; his breath, intoxicating. Kirk held himself quiet, drawing away after only a moment, but immediately the dark eyes opened and a small sound came from the back of the Vulcan’s throat. His captain captured it, swallowed it, pressing their mouths together once more-”

The chemistry between Kirk and Spock has always been a given and took off at warp speed into the world of gaydom through the creation of ‘Slash Fiction’ back in the 1970s. The ‘love that dare not speak its name’ morphed into a blabber-mouth as more and more writers began providing a glimpse into the love – and photon torpedoes – shared between the two. Their bromance that blossomed into something more was even acknowledged in the 1979 novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Captain Kirk mentions their romantic relationship in the book’s forward and twice in the novel Spock refers to Kirk as ‘T’hy’la’, a term that a footnote explains means friend/brother/lover.

Captain My Captain

Chris Pine, one of Captain Kirk’s alter egos used when visiting the planet Earth explains, “It’s a relationship between two men that spend a lot of time together in space. It is very much a story about two men learning really to love one another.” And the hunkster Pine should know. His preference for outies has been an accpeted fact in Hollywood ever since his adorable face shot onto the scene.

Spock: Captain.
Kirk: Spock, we’re on leave you can call me ‘Jim’.
Spock: Jim.
Kirk: Yes, Spock?
Spock: Life… is not a dream.
Kirk: Go to sleep, Spock.

Spock is not the first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise to open the closet door. Chief Helmsman Lt. Sulu transponded out of the pink ether in 205. But Asians don’t age as well as Vulcans do and the world let out a collective, “Eh” not indifferent about his coming out so much as rather aghast at the mental image of the 58 year-old Asian acting out his new-found freedom to engage thrusters on full. But Sulu opened the closet door, allowing Spock to own up to his own gayness, and to perhaps finally accept his deep love for his favorite captain. Possibly it was the wise words of Spock Prime (the old Spock) telling his younger self, “ I could not deprive you… of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize.”

Live long and prosper, indeed.

What Are Little Girls Made Of? Uh, no Jim, that’s not quite it. But thanks for putting the rumors to rest.

Kirk: Damn it Spock, goddamn it!
Spock: Captain, what I have done?
Kirk: What you have done is betrayed every man on the ship.
Spock: Worse, I have betrayed you. I do not expect you to forgive me.
Kirk: Forgive you? I ought to knock you on your goddamned ass.
Spock: If you think it would help?

This mean that Master Spock’s personae he uses when visiting Plant Earth, Zachary Quinto, is also gay, though as Quinto, Spock has refused to discuss his preference for men in the past. But has acted pretty gay in an off-Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America at the Signature Theater in New York, playing Louis, the gay word-processing court employee with lofty political critiques and a lover dying of AIDS, who he cheats on with a closeted Mormon, and more recently on TV in he new sci/fi series, American Horror Story.

Spock and Kirk anxiously wait for their turn before a Justice of the Peace in New York.

Quinto announced his homosexuality during an interview in New York Magazine, while promoting his film Margin Call, a financial-crisis thriller in which he co-stars alongside Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci, and Jeremy Irons . . . wait! Kevin Spacey?

Ouch!

That must be a bit uncomfortable. Time to seek out a few final frontiers yourself there Kevin?

Out This Week: The Early June Edition

Tags

Coming Out, That's Gay

The Congressional Member

Who’da thunk that ‘Out This Week’ would become a recurring post? But then who’da thunk we’d have spent the last five days talking about a Congressman’s penis? Yeah, I know, other than the penis part, there’s nothing gay about the story, but it does qualify as a coming out tale in its own right. Unless you spent the weekend with your head buried between Lindsay Lohan’s thighs, I’m sure you’ve already heard about Rep. Weiner’s rise to the tip of the news cycle.

Regardless of whatever drugs it was you ingested that made you think, “I’m going to become a politician” if your last name is Weiner, you know that there is going to be a penis scandal sometime in your future. It’s not like it’s a proud name with a long historical record, Weiner should have changed his name before entering the political fray. A simple circumcision, a quick snip of the last two letters, and Rep. Wein would not be facing all the puns he is today. Or if size matters, he could have changed it to Winner; trust me the caption ‘Winner’s Penis’ accompanying that meaty photo would have had a much more positive effect on his political career.

Politicians in this country are too far removed from the voter base. President Obama looked like a fool this week sipping a mug of beer when everyone knows you chug beer, not sip it. Sarah Palin, on her magical mystery tour, sat down to a pizza dinner to show her affinity with the common folk, and pulled out a knife and fork to eat it with. Come on Sarah, it’s pizza. You should have been deep throating that slice like it was the first dude’s dude.

And our beloved Tony the Dick ignored the example set by what is becoming a long list of male rappers showing their tunes, turning to Twitter to show off his best feature and blew it: Dude, you do not peter tweet a photo of your little buddy dressed in a pair of cheap J.C. Penny’s boxer briefs. I mean it looks like you could give Chris Brown a run for his money shot, no reason to be shy when you’re packing something like that. But then not having the balls to let it all hang out is a problem the entire Democratic party seem to have. They come up with some good ideas, but just can’t commit 100% to the effort and end up looking like a bunch of limp dicks.

Political War Chests

Some stupid French woman on Bill Maher’s panel last week said that once again Europe is laughing at us thanks to our most recent political penis scandal. First, the French have no right to laugh at anyone. More importantly, thinking the issue at hand is all about dick is wrong; Europeans just don’t understand the American political process. We are quickly coming up on a presidential election year and the Democrats and Republicans are jockeying for position. Weiner’s peter tweet was not an accident, nor was its release by happenstance. The Democrats were putting their best foot-long forward, raising the stakes on a political move started by the Republican party.

Weiner was going chest to chest with Republican Congressman Chistopher Lee who already made the news by posting a shirtless photo of himself on Craig’s List. While both of the New York Reps like to think they sport nicely ripped chests, the powers that be were not sure that Weiner’s would win the day so they upped the ante by having him also post a picture of his monster, a savvy political move that must be hard to beat. Give it a week or so, the Republican Party is sure to respond with an even more massive effort and Herman Cain’s inclusion as a possible Republican presidential candidate will suddenly make sense. It was, after all, Republican President Teddy Roosevelt who advised, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock’s photo spread.

Both parties prefer dirty politics, hence their use of cyber world porn pix to further their candidates’ agendas. Leaked photos sent to dubiously aged women will always get the most press. Taking the high road, Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock showed off his six pack on the cover of June’s Men’s Health magazine and even though his is a much more smokin’ bod, with no scandal involved, his efforts went largely ignored. Mainstream beefcake just doesn’t cut it in American politics.

Meanwhile, Sarah Palin outted herself as a blithering idiot this week. Once again. She’s been touring the New England states on a bus and attempted a bit of political one upmanship of her own. Noting that President Obama got good press while visiting England, and figuring it was but a short bus trip away, she contacted former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to schedule her own version of pressing the flesh (Sarah is anti-gay and didn’t want to have anything to do with some damn queen, turning instead to a British politician she felt had a big of set of balls as hers). Lady Thatcher’s aides nipped that idea in the bud, stating, “Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.”

The word is Ryan Kwanteen may be a fairy, too.

Moving away from the story of a big dick, and beyond the congressional penis record  too, there is a real gay coming out story to report this week. Kinda. The word from Perez Hilton, a blogger respected all around the world for his high standards of journalistic integrity, is that now that everyone knows True Blood’s Sookie Stackhouse is a fairy, one of her male costars is planning on making the same claim in real life. Hunky Ryan Kwanteen, whose cute ass plays Sookie’s brother Jason on the show, is set to make the big announcement that he is gay. I wouldn’t kick the hot little Aussie out of bed, but there are numerous other Hollywood Ryans I’d rather see join our team.

Ryan Seacrest is almost there; even his girlfriend thinks he’s gay. But then I would kick Ryan Seacrest out of bed. Ryan Phillippe is inching closer to gaydom having dumped Reese Witherspoon (and seriously, could you find a more obvious beard?). Thanks to type casting, Ryan played gay on TV back before it was a popular career move. More recently he starred in Stop Loss with previous Gay of the Week honoree Channing Tatum in which Chan, and his penis, and Ryan Phillippe spend a lot of time gazing into each other’s eyes with passion, then get into a fight and have this dialogue:

Ryan: You wanna fuck me?

Channing: No… Kinda.

Ryan and Chan, Penis to Penis

And we are all waiting for Ryan Reynolds to make his big announcement. Ryan played gay in the movie The Nines, and played straight in real life by marrying Scarlett Johansson (because the more obvious beard, Reese Witherspoon was already taken). But he’s traded in the color red for a run at the pink, being voted the celebrity gay guys would most likely cheat on their partner with in a sex survey conducted by Out Magazine. Ryan blew away the competition, winning hands down (and up, and down, and up and down . . .)

Even straight guys want a piece of Ryan’s ass. A Facebook fan group, “I’d Go Gay for Ryan Reynolds” has been in existence since 2006. It’s a site dedicated to straight guys who swear they are not gay, but would drop to their knees in a second to pay homage to Ryan.

And who wouldn’t go gay for Ryan Reynolds?

But beggars can’t be choosers so for now we’ll have to wait with baited breath for Kwanteen to lead the Ryan pack out of the closet. Though admittedly this may be nothing more than Hollywood hype with the new season of True Blood just weeks away. Series producer Alan Ball has made sure that Ryan took care of his gay fans over the last three seasons by frequently appearing nude in the show. That trend should continue in the new season.

Though Ball plays loose with the storyline from the Sookie Stackhouse novels, from last season’s events it appears that he will remain true to Jason’s story and we can expect to see Kwanteen’s character being bit by a werepanther this season, turning into a furry little naked ball of hotness himself. Ooops. Was I suppose to provide a Spoiler Alert before I said that? My bad.