Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Publicity Stunt?... or Something Admirable?
Lately the media has been drowning in coverage on gay men and women coming out. Bring in the parades! Bring in the confetti! We have got a real shocker this time! I mean, come on, acting like every expression of sexuality is front-page news is getting real old. In my opinion, these twisted, celebratory headlines are prolonging the progressive movement to attain equal rights. If the media continues to sardonically deliver these stories as incredible, landmark, and influential, then the beauty of unprovoked sexual expression will undoubtedly collapse. America doesn't need to throw a party every time a celebrity, musician, athlete, etc. comes out. The idea of being gay shouldn't even be shocking to our psyches, in this day and age. Anyways, I was compelled to spark this topic after noting that every media outlet I watched or visited today had a story on Jason Collins, an NBA player, coming out. His face is plastered on every news site and show. Here's The Washington Post's article. Oh, and here's USA Today's article. The story is everywhere. So why, now, did Collins decide to make this a public affair? I guess I can't help but mention that the player is set to become a free agent this summer. Now my sweeping assumption may seem to demean the whole process, but I have continuously seen a pattern in the timing of celebrities coming out. I'm sure everyone remembers Frank Ocean last year? He came out through a blog post... six days prior to the release of his album Channel Orange. Coincidence?! I think not! But really, I'm not trying to denote either of these gentlemen (this guy, however... he's pissed.) I simply do not see the necessity in having dramatic media coverage on every person, with the faintest amount of fame, that decides to come out. We get it already! It's not surprising anymore, it's just sexuality.
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Agree! Seems like timing is everything if you ask me. A lot of the news/sports channels were playing up the racial card too. Saying that he's the first African American athlete to come out. Coming out should not be a huge public ordeal anymore, we should be past that by now!
ReplyDeleteDo you think that although the publicity benefits the subjects, it may bring comfort for LGBTQ youth? The fact that you can be gay AND and athlete hasn't really been demonstrated in the U.S., this news helps challenge traditional stereotypes of gay men in media. The support of his teammates and much of the NBA community might positively influence fans to be more supportive and accepting in their personal lives. Also, this news probably helps to fight racial stereotypes and bring visibility to LGBTQ People of Color. Even if the timing was mainly for publicity, I don't think Collins' coming out should be disregarded just because it generated publicity for him; it takes a lot of courage to come out, I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to come out in front of the whole world. Even though people should be past it, it is clear that many Americans are not. More and more celebrities coming out might make it more common place and easier for others to come out. Overall, I think the positive outweighs the negative.
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