Did you know that Johnny Weir is GAY?
I just realised this year, though I probably should have already known, that male figure skating is full of hetero-sexist bullshit. See one Stojko, Elvis, in an interview with Salon.com: There’s been a lot of discussion about masculinity and figure skating recently. Do you think the discussion has been productive?
It basically started about one year ago, when Skate Canada said that they weren't getting enough young boys enrolling in skating. People tiptoe around the topic, and I was like, "You know, I'm just going to say it: Effeminate men's skating is not my style of skating. In men’s skating I like to see power and strength."
Yeah. You see, gay men cannot be powerful and strong, and gods forbid straight men should look "effeminate", whatever the fuck that means.
Oh, but it gets better!People in the gay community have to realize they’ve got to take themselves out of it. It's not against anybody. I've been getting heat for this, but there are people behind me saying that they appreciate it. It's about what people can identify with when they're watching the sport. It doesn’t have anything to do with gayness. Effeminate men can identify with effeminate skating. Masculine men can't identify with that. When I watch it, I can't identify because I don't move like that. My consciousness doesn't feel like that.
Thank you SO MUCH, Elvis, for your advice to the queer community! That was SO THOUGHTFUL of you to tell people to get the fuck over it! However, before we go with your advice, let's briefly adjourn to AfterElton.com:Here is another notion, Elvis. Maybe rather than changing skating, we need to change people's belief that masculine is better than feminine, or that someone can't be both at the same time, or that there isn't room in skating for each.
And one more thing: To steal a line from my boss, I love it when a straight guy tells gay people what to do when faced with bigotry.
For the record, Elvis, straight people do not get to tell gay people they need to stop being so sensitive. Straight people get to tell other straight people to stop dressing their bigotry up as looking out for the sport/children/cause-they’re-promoting.
Hmm. Y'know what, Elvis? I think I like their perspective better, so you can shove your internalised homophobia up your ass. Oh, and stop dressing your bigotry up as looking out for the sport or the children or whatever the hell it is you're babbling about.
And now for a much more amusing, though still infuriating, take on the whole thing, check out InfoMania's "That's Gay!" spot on the "always flamboyant" Johnny Weir:
It basically started about one year ago, when Skate Canada said that they weren't getting enough young boys enrolling in skating. People tiptoe around the topic, and I was like, "You know, I'm just going to say it: Effeminate men's skating is not my style of skating. In men’s skating I like to see power and strength."
Yeah. You see, gay men cannot be powerful and strong, and gods forbid straight men should look "effeminate", whatever the fuck that means.
Oh, but it gets better!People in the gay community have to realize they’ve got to take themselves out of it. It's not against anybody. I've been getting heat for this, but there are people behind me saying that they appreciate it. It's about what people can identify with when they're watching the sport. It doesn’t have anything to do with gayness. Effeminate men can identify with effeminate skating. Masculine men can't identify with that. When I watch it, I can't identify because I don't move like that. My consciousness doesn't feel like that.
Thank you SO MUCH, Elvis, for your advice to the queer community! That was SO THOUGHTFUL of you to tell people to get the fuck over it! However, before we go with your advice, let's briefly adjourn to AfterElton.com:Here is another notion, Elvis. Maybe rather than changing skating, we need to change people's belief that masculine is better than feminine, or that someone can't be both at the same time, or that there isn't room in skating for each.
And one more thing: To steal a line from my boss, I love it when a straight guy tells gay people what to do when faced with bigotry.
For the record, Elvis, straight people do not get to tell gay people they need to stop being so sensitive. Straight people get to tell other straight people to stop dressing their bigotry up as looking out for the sport/children/cause-they’re-promoting.
Hmm. Y'know what, Elvis? I think I like their perspective better, so you can shove your internalised homophobia up your ass. Oh, and stop dressing your bigotry up as looking out for the sport or the children or whatever the hell it is you're babbling about.
And now for a much more amusing, though still infuriating, take on the whole thing, check out InfoMania's "That's Gay!" spot on the "always flamboyant" Johnny Weir:
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