Howard Bragman (photo via Facebook)
CBS News on the evolution of coming out
CBS News This Morning takes a look at the reaction to Anderson Cooper’s coming out and what is says about our changing society.
Much is different in the 15 years since Ellen DeGeneres risked her career by coming out to the world, according to the report.
Since Ellen came out, US households have gotten to know other TV gays on shows like Will & Grace, Modern Family and Desperate Housewives. I think the open portrayal of these characters has helped Americans grow more comfortable with gays in daily life.
Cooper’s announcement on Monday was hardly a surprise to anyone, and his career will likely not take a hit because of it.
Hillary tweets Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper comes out
“The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud,” Anderson Cooper writes in an email that he agreed to have published on The Daily Beast.
Cooper’s acknowledgment comes in response to a conversation with his longtime friend blogger-commentator Andrew Sullivan about Entertainment Weekly‘s recent cover story about the matter-of-fact way people in the public eye reveal their homosexuality these days. Cooper writes that despite being a public figure he’s tried to maintain a level of privacy for professional reasons. A journalist shouldn’t be the story, he’s long said.
“Recently, however, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle,” he tells Sullivan. “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.”
EW: The New Art of Coming Out
Only a short excerpt of this week’s cover story is online:
Fifteen years ago, when Ellen DeGeneres decided to come out of the closet, it was big news. Not just big: It was the cover of Time magazine, and a major story on Oprah, Primetime Live, and CNN. Last month, another star of a popular TV comedy went public with his homosexuality. But the news that The Big Bang Theory’s Emmy-winner Jim Parsons is gay was reported with such matter-of-fact understatement that many people’s first reaction was a quick Google search to see if maybe he was out already and we’d all just failed to notice.
Via Boy Culture.
Olympic hopeful Josh Dixon comes out
The United States has never had a publicly out male gymnast participate in the Olympics. Josh Dixon hopes to be the first.
The Stanford grad took a big step toward that goal at the U.S. Men’s Qualifier on Saturday in Colorado Springs, finishing second overall out of the 72 competitors. He also tied for wins in two events: floor exercise and high bar. It was a game-changing come-back performance for Dixon, who tore his Achilles tendon last spring.
Now Dixon is talking about his personal life and sexual orientation publicly for the first time. Like charging at the vault, he’s coming at it at full speed.
Even as he gets closer to his Olympic dreams, and his focus narrows more than ever on his training and competition, Dixon is ready to talk about his sexual orientation.
In his sophomore year at Stanford, one of his best friends on the gymnastics team at the University of Illinois came out to him. Dixon reciprocated the revelation; Instantly, they had a mutual support structure with another gay collegiate athlete.
When he started exploring his sexuality in his junior year, he quickly learned he wasn’t the only gay male athlete at Stanford, as he was soon dating another varsity athlete. When some members of the gymnastics team noticed Dixon was spending a lot of time with one particular friend, Dixon said they were quite comfortable bringing it up.
“Who’s this guy you’ve been hanging out with?” One of them asked.
Josh told them he was dating the other male student.
“Oh that’s cool,” was the response.
In fact, Dixon said he has not had a single negative response “in any way, shape or form.” If anything, the only homophobia he has encountered has been from within himself. He acknowledges he once felt internal pressure about being a gay man in what some label the “gay sport” of gymnastics. He didn’t want to fall into a stereotype. But he’s come to embrace it, and he says his sexual orientation now makes him stand out more at the elite level. While he stands out, he isn’t the only one. Dixon knows of at least three more still competing in college, and he says he is not the only elite-level American gymnast who is gay.
(via outsports.com)
Kristy McNichol comes out
Best known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Buddy Lawrence in the ’70s show Family and later as Barbara Weston in Empty Nest, Kristy McNichol left it all behind when she dropped out of Hollywood to focus on her health.
McNichol, 49, who has lived with her partner Martie Allen, also 49, for the past two decades, decided to make a statement about her sexuality and share this photo because she is “approaching 50” and wants to “be open about who I am.”
She “is very sad about kids being bullied,” her publicist Jeff Ballard tells PEOPLE. “She hopes that coming out can help kids who need support. She would like to help others who feel different.”
Done with acting, McNichol spends her time focusing on tennis, yoga, travel and raising her beloved miniature dachshunds. “She is very happy and healthy,” says Ballard. “And she enjoys living a very private life.”
Airman Randy Phillips says “Merry Christmas”
Airman Randy Phillips, who famously chronicled his coming out on youtube while in the US armed forces while stationed in Europe, sends holiday wishes.
Jaymes Vaughan in QVegas Magazine
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Very proud to have written the cover story for this month’s issue of QVegas Magazine featuring The Chippendales’ Jaymes Vaughan and his coming out story.
Here’s an excerpt of the article:
Vaughan recently released his first single – “Vampire” – as a solo recording artist. Out of several songs he’s written, he chose this song to be his first for a few reasons. “First, deep down inside, I’m like a five year old boy and I want to play a vampire. I’ve always loved vampire movies and vampire TV shows. So I’m thinking there would be a music video and I’ll get to play a vampire. And I did. For three days I was on the set of my upcoming music video with 72 people running around being a vampire.”
“Second, the song is about being in a situation where you can’t be yourself; where you can’t live a part of your life in the daylight; being in a relationship that I can’t share with my family.“
“Living in the light” is a concept that has recently played itself out in Vaughan’s real life the past few months. He recently came out to his family, and their acceptance coupled with the experience of hosting Las Vegas Pride this year, led him to make the decision to live his life in a more open manner, both personally and professionally.
“Hosting Gay Pride in Las Vegas this year, it was the first time I ‘got it.’ I got up on stage and finally understood what “pride” was about. It’s about being proud of your self and encouraging other people to be proud of themselves. The best, most reassuring thing that happened to me at Pride this year: when I came off stage, a little 12 year old boy came up to me and said ‘I want to do what you do.’ And I was like, that was all I wanted when I was a kid. I wanted someone to look up to.”
“I’m really excited about the possibilities of inspiring someone; the possibilities of changing perceptions. I hope to be able to take advantage of a platform so that my fourteen-year-old self that was sitting in Chesterfield County, Virginia, might find some hope. The fourteen year old that had no one to look up to; whose mama told him he better not be gay; whose church told him he was going to hell; whose best friend killed himself because he didn’t “fit in.” Because he didn’t have any hope. I thought for so long you had to cover up who you were to be successful. I’ve realized you can be more successful by being yourself.”
To read the rest, go to QVegas Magazine – THE source for LGBT news and information in Nevada.
Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Heroes) comes out on his blog
Zachary Quinto blog: “when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself – i felt deeply troubled. but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life – i felt indescribable despair. i also made an it gets better video last year – in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time.
but in light of jamey’s death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country. gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying. parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance. we are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world.
we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government. i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society – and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action. jamey rodemeyer’s life changed mine. and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner – i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me. now i can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world. that – i believe – is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.”