THEGAYUK

Author: Will Hillier

  • Former Aston Villa Football Player Comes Out As Gay

    Thomas Hitzlsperger, German-born former Aston Villa and West Ham player, has announced that he is gay.

    The 31 year old, who retired from professional football four months ago, made the announcement in the German newspaper, Die Zeit.

    Speaking to Die Zeit, Hitzlsperger, who has played for Germany 52 times, said that he had come out because he wanted to “further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals.”

    He justified his silence on the matter until after his retirement from the sport, saying that homosexuality would “simply be ignored” in football. Nonetheless, he stated that he had “never been ashamed” of his sexuality, although he admitted that it had been “a long and difficult process” coming to terms with his sexuality.

    Although Hitzlsperger is the highest profile footballer to come out as gay, to date, he is only the fourth footballer to do so.

    Hitzlsperger’s coming out coincides with an upsurge in movements aimed at wiping out homophobia in football. Kick It Out, which was initially founded in 1993 to tackle racism in the sport, now encompasses all types of bigotry in football. And in 2008, the Justin Campaign was created in memory of Justin Fashanu, the first openly gay football player, who committed suicide in 1998.

    However, campaigns to stamp out homophobia in the sport have met with debatable success. The most recent example in the UK is Stonewall’s ‘Right Behind Gay Footballers’ campaign, which was slammed for its links with betting company Paddy Power and for relying on gay stereotypes.

  • OPINION: Rylan has every right to play down Tom Daley’s coming out

    OPINION: Rylan has every right to play down Tom Daley’s coming out

    This week, former X-Factor contestant Rylan Clark openly criticised the public reaction to Tom Daley’s coming out, saying: “It is still hard to come out… but what about people like Alan Carr, Gok Wan, Graham Norton and me – people who are on TV who have never hidden their sexuality? What do we get? We don’t get recognition.”

    Oh Rylan, I thought, you’ll do anything for a headline. After all, in the formulaic industry of reality TV, Rylan’s whole purpose on the X-Factor was to get headlines. He was the comic relief; the weirdo with no talent; the guy who entertained us with his delusions of grandeur… Rylan garnered tabloid headlines, promoted the show and kept people watching. That was his job.

    And yet, while Rylan was supposed to be flavour of the week, for some reason, he seems to have endured beyond his natural shelf life. In turn, our fascination with this fact has kept him in the public eye. So what is it that has kept Rylan Clark in the limelight? And does the fact that he is a camp, talentless caricature invalidate his right to speak about matters that don’t involve the X-Factor or Celebrity Big Brother?

    Ok, so let’s get the unpleasantness out of the way. Yes, Rylan is exhaustingly narcissistic, shamelessly desperate for attention, and has, as yet, failed to exhibit any discernible skills or talents which justify his level of fame. Indeed, he said himself: “I wanted to be famous. I didn’t care what for.” And you sort of have to respect his honesty. But as was insightfully observed in the Guardian, Rylan Clark isn’t just the questionable token comedy act. His campness might be loud and glitzy, but it hasn’t managed to conceal the fact that he has a quick wit and intelligence to go with it.

    This is exactly why, when I heard Rylan criticise the response to Tom Daley’s coming out, that I paused and found myself thinking, doesn’t he have a point? Of course, it’s great news that Tom Daley feels comfortably sharing his sexuality with the world. He’s a popular role model; kind, considerate and friendly, scandal-free (so far) and in touch with many people, especially younger ones. But the cynic in me also questions whether there would be nearly so much fuss if he looked less like Tom Daley, Olympic athlete and gay icon, and more like… well, Rylan Clark.

    But despite Rylan’s valid point, headlines are subtly loaded against him; even within the gay media. I saw one which read: Rylan wants same attention as Tom Daley for being gay. But what he actually said is that he didn’t get that kind of attention, so why should Tom Daley? It’s a subtle difference, but it’s an important one; the first suggests jealousy, the second nods to a desire for a different kind of equality. The fact that Rylan is ridiculed (even indirectly) for speaking his mind, should tell us that even within the gay community, we are not always happy for people like Rylan to perform outside their predetermined roles.

    The narrow-minded stereotypes we are fed by the mainstream media about how gay people are supposed to look and act is so pervasive that even the gay community itself cannot shake it. And the reason nobody dishes out congratulations to the Gok Wans, the Alan Carrs and the Rylan Clarks out there is because they fit perfectly with the flamboyant, bitchy gay trope. It’s precisely because they’re open with their sexuality that they will never receive the same kind of adulation for it as somebody less flamboyant, less ‘typically gay’, like Tom Daley. And that’s not right. It also hints that, after years of speculation about his sexuality, the world isn’t really that bothered by Daley’s coming out. Although they might be saying ‘well done’, I’m starting to think that what they really mean is ‘I told you so’.

    It is tempting to suggest that Rylan’s remarks about Tom Daley are nothing more than a jealous cry for attention, but that would be too easy. Perhaps, from the self-proclaimed fame monster, there is an element of truth to this, but it’s hardly enough of a reason to invalidate his opinion entirely, even if it is just with subversive, undermining headlines.

    But when Rylan says: “I’m just upset that in 2013 someone coming out is still such big news.” he’s right. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read: ‘brave Tom comes out’ and frankly it makes me wince. Perhaps it was brave for him to come out, but to define it by its bravery rather alone suggests that there is something shameful in it, and there isn’t.

    Nonetheless, congratulations Tom Daley, we’re very pleased for you. But give Rylan his dues too; if not for being gay (after all, who cares?) then for having the guts to say what he thinks without sugar-coating it. He might be a fame-hungry media whore, but at least he’s a fame-hungry media whore with a pair of balls and, I’m starting to suspect, a brain to go with them.

    @WillHillier

     Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • OPINION: Why James Arthur Deserves Our Compassion, Not Our Outrage

    Ridiculous remarks spilling from the mouths of X-factor contestants is nothing new, so I was hardly shocked to hear that last year’s winner, James Arthur, offended the gay community this week by referring to an underground rapper, in a rap battle, as a “f*cking queer”.

    Along with most, my initial lack of surprise was soon replaced by irritation at James Arthur’s ignorance and his homophobic comments. There is always more to the story, however, and I was compelled to read Arthur’s tweets to see what other contentious things he might be saying. But upon doing so, my irritation was soon jolted by a far softer sentiment: pity.

    The pressures of fame

    As laymen, it is easy for us to overlook the fact that being thrust into the public eye is a cruel cross to bear. The pressures of shooting to fame can only be understood by the relatively limited number of individuals who have gone through the same thing. And yet, from the resentful perspective of the rest of us, these people have been handed everything on a plate.

    Before straight-to-stardom reality TV shows came along, the road to fame was a gradual one. It allowed travellers to gradually acclimatise to the changing conditions. This may have been a gentler route for the stars themselves, but not a quick buck for record producers, like Simon Cowell, who soon discovered that they could sell greater quantities of records much more quickly if they engineered a machine that creates fame overnight.

    In case it’s not obvious, the machine I’m referring to is shows like the X-Factor. In the end, it doesn’t matter who wins the ‘competition’. It’s simple; those who are popular will make money and be signed, those who aren’t, won’t. While some contestants cope with the atmospheric adjustment far better than others, the real winners will always be the record labels.

    If in doubt, shout louder

    James Arthur is a man wracked by insecurity. Many of his interactions on Twitter are retweets from fawning fans, shouting about how much they love him. In equal measure, he rises to small jeers from ‘haters’, biting back in self-defense where he would be better advised to grow a thick skin and leave well enough alone. In both cases, he is trying to affirm his self-confidence to the outside world, but his actions have quite the opposite effect.

    Even Arthur’s apology for his comments reeked of doubt, as he used it to further slam the rapper Micky Worthless: “I just have to say I’m extremely disappointed in myself for being so naive with the diss track I made for an unknown rapper recently.” This is in equal parts an apology and a vehicle with which to affirm the ‘unknown’-ness of Worthless. And no doubt, mixing the two will spark more outrage, but it shouldn’t. It should spark sympathy.

    Though Arthur is obviously trying to fix his mistake, his lack of enlightenment comes through so clearly that I cannot help but pity him. Rather cringeworthily, he says: “…Rylan (Clark) is one of my best mates and he is as gay as they come!”
    Ouch. This is obviously well-intended, and yet, it misses the mark so catastrophically that it only demonstrates further Arthur’s narrow-minded view of what it means to be gay. And is this his fault? In part, yes I suppose it is. But not entirely.
    James Arthur’s comments are ridiculous and ill-judged, no question, but we should not be too quick to shame him for it… his comments point, broadly, to a poor understanding of what it means to be gay in the 21st century. More directly, it points to a man lacking support from his management. This is not demonstrative of somebody enjoying his success, but someone buckling under the weight of it.
    Ill-equipped to cope
    As with many reality TV stars (Susan Boyle being the most obvious example) Arthur is just one in a long line of vulnerable individuals succumbing to the temptations of fame thrust upon them by greedy record labels who promise a shortcut to success. But like many others, Arthur also lacks the inherent tools necessary to cope with this new, upside-down lifestyle. It is very easy for us to recline into our sofas and say “Bad man; homophobic James Arthur.” But let’s face it; he made a mistake, and if we weren’t all looking at him, nobody would have noticed it.
    The real ones to watch here are those behind the scenes; those raking in the cash, with none of the public fall-out. Do they give their James Arthurs and their SuBos effective media training? Clearly not. In this case particularly, Arthur is drowning in insecurities. And his record label is not only allowing it, but encouraging it.
    Indulge me in a quick dissection. Syco Music (the label to which Arthur is signed, and Simon Cowell’s cash cow) has allowed him to tweet on his own behalf, clearly without enforcing any sort of social media guidelines. They then let him rise to the bait of many ‘haters’, like Worthless, with contentious, homophobic remarks. Finally, they permit him to release a poorly worded apology, sparking further outrage, and only once all this is done do they withdraw his Twitter privileges, like a naughty child. Bad James.
    But is all of this oversight or intention? It’s almost as though Syco Music are deliberately allowing Arthur to dig himself into a hole. After all, no PR is bad PR, right?
    Don’t be too quick to bite
    James Arthur’s ignorance seems to stem from a lack of common sense, this is obvious. But it is not cause for outrage; it simply highlights that, as a community, gay people still have a lot of work to do. While indignation is the knee-jerk reaction, instead we should be inspired to educate the ignorant.
    Rather than wasting energy on the benign idiocy of reality TV show contestants who don’t know any better, we should perhaps be more mindful, and reserve it for the real acts of injustice out there. I’m talking about right-wing policies in government, homophobic attacks on gays in Russia or money-hungry record producers; those who exploit vulnerable individuals, laughing all the way to the bank while the rest of us, blind to their wealth, react too quickly and tear their helpless scapegoats to shreds.
    @WillHillier

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.