Swimmer Ian Thorpe Comes Out As Gay - Not A Single Australian Is Surprised. - Polidicks

[QUOTE][QUOTE][IMG]http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/1926662-3x2-340x227.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]Following years of scrutiny from the Australian public, Ian Thorpe is reportedly set to reveal he is gay in an interview with Sir Michael Parkinson. The champion swimmer reportedly makes the admission in a tell-all interview that will air on Channel Ten tonight. He also reportedly discusses his battle with depression. Thorpe has always denied that he was gay, and in his 2012 autobiography said he was attracted to women. Source: [URL]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-13/ian-thorpe-to-reveal-he-is-gay-in-michael-parkinson-interview/5592626[/URL][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Here's the Thorpedo at the Sydney 2000 Olympics (I can't believe how long ago this was?!) [video=youtube;EaneChQkX3w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaneChQkX3w[/video][/QUOTE]

Otters da best

Title is wrong, my mother is convinced he is not gay. Somehow.

Maybe he likes both genders or did at one time? [sp]Also I think my avatar fits perfectly.[/sp]

Please, we have known he is gay since forever.

It's really dumb that a lot of his depression was driven by media claims about his sexuality, then he comes out and the media is all reporting about it once again, BEFORE it has even been properly released. Hold your horses you big silly media peoples.

[QUOTE=gerbe1;45373208]It's really dumb that a lot of his depression was driven by media claims about his sexuality, then he comes out and the media is all reporting about it once again, BEFORE it has even been properly released. Hold your horses you big silly media peoples.[/QUOTE] Not to mention that Australian media has this REALLY terrible habit of cutting adverts for things in such a way that it looks like they're building something up really strongly in a certain way and then when you watch the actual show... [I]... the exact fucking opposite thing happens.[/I]

He's front page on the Courier mail idk why [editline]13th July 2014[/editline] [t]http://i.imgur.com/tVV6f6e.jpg[/t] Whoop-de-doo?

Daily reminder "gay face" is a real thing: [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24132775[/url] lmao

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;45374232]He's front page on the Courier mail idk why [editline]13th July 2014[/editline] [t]http://i.imgur.com/tVV6f6e.jpg[/t] Whoop-de-doo?[/QUOTE] Oh yeah we were selling those at work today, or trying at least. Every person going through checkouts started a conversation along the lines of "we already knew", "who cares" or "he's an attention whore"

An attention whore? Seriously who says that? All he wanted was to be left alone by the media.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;45374232]He's front page on the Courier mail idk why [editline]13th July 2014[/editline] [t]http://i.imgur.com/tVV6f6e.jpg[/t] Whoop-de-doo?[/QUOTE] It's good for representation, better that he's actually publicly owning it himself. Should've done it years ago for his own sake, though understandably it's only recently that a lot of sports-figures have started being open about it.

thorpey says being gay is fully sick

i'm not really surprised, but man i must've been living under a rock for years or something, i missed the whole "IS THORPEY GAY??" thing so i thought him coming out was just a random unprovoked thing

[QUOTE=TacticalBacon;45374761]i'm not really surprised, but man i must've been living under a rock for years or something, i missed the whole "IS THORPEY GAY??" thing so i thought him coming out was just a random unprovoked thing[/QUOTE] it was never a "is he gay", it was "he's gay but refuses to say it"

I've got the interview on right now, not really sure if I'm surprised.

The media are going crazy about this, who gives two flying shits who's gays and who's not, celebrity gossip isn't news. Goddamn our media is shit The dude has a flower named after himself for christ sake, if that didn't give it away then I don't know what will

[QUOTE=mr apple;45375106]The dude has a flower named after himself for christ sake, if that didn't give it away then I don't know what will[/QUOTE] It's worth stating that flowers are not exclusively feminine, in the same way that gay men are not exclusively feminine. Thorpe having a flower named after himself means absolutely nothing.

Parky has a show in Austrailia? [img]http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/michael_parkinson_approved_image.jpg[/img]

Why the hell does his sexuality matter. All that does matter is his performance in his job.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45375448]Why the hell does his sexuality matter. All that does matter is his performance in his job.[/QUOTE] and his fit body, fwoah!

uh didn't he come out as gay a year ago? i'm positive i already knew this

He specifically said (I have heard) in the interview that it was exactly the kind of "we all already knew lol" stuff that people have repeated in this thread and right across the interwebs that kept him from coming out on his own terms. No one wants to be forced to do that. You want to be able to make that announcement on your own terms in a comfortable environment, which he has finally done. His sexuality may not matter but now he's a role model for australian sportspeoples etc etc and so he does deserve support for that. The "who cares" attitude doesn't help either. [QUOTE=Rusty100;45375484]uh didn't he come out as gay a year ago? i'm positive i already knew this[/QUOTE] He's denied it until now. Often been accused of it in the media. This kind of thing drove him to depression. I only know this based on my reading from today really. [QUOTE=Impact1986;45375448]Why the hell does his sexuality matter. All that does matter is his performance in his job.[/QUOTE] Australians in sport are especially homophobic, it's considered brave to be out and a sportsperson. The fact that that is the case means that there is still a homophobic attitude out there. Even the day he came out (yesterday now) a sports commentator was in trouble for calling someone a poofter.

[QUOTE=Rusty100;45375484]uh didn't he come out as gay a year ago? i'm positive i already knew this[/QUOTE] We all already knew it, it's just confirmed now.

So if famous sportspeople are open about their sexuality it's better and easier for younger generations. Ian Thorpe spent more than a decade having to deny his sexuality because of this kind of thing, that is about a decade of his life having to pretend to be someone he isn't. Hopefully now that he's made the decision to come out it can inspire other people to feel comfortable and not be put under the same pressure he was. [editline]14th July 2014[/editline] Ok I read some more and I think I figured it out. He was "accused" of being gay earlier than he was ready to himself, so he denied it; then he started having to deny it so much he ended up in a spiral of lies and he was concerned about his integrity so he kept it going. Illogical perhaps but it's not his fault at all. It's precisely because people seemed to care what his sexuality was that caused the trouble. No one would be asking or insisting "oh it's obvious" if they didn't care. That weighed on him, and it messed him up. Lesson (and TL;DR): Don't accuse people of being gay, don't say "I already know you're gay so you can just tell me" don't do any of that. If sexuality doesn't matter then wait for them to tell you, it won't harm anyone that way.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;45374232] [t]http://i.imgur.com/tVV6f6e.jpg[/t][/QUOTE] [video=youtube;VZDeAMNIXg8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZDeAMNIXg8[/video] its amazing how relevant this video is like 15-20ish years after it was made

This. Changes. Everything. Now if I ever meet him in a bar I'll have to say, "One gay beer for my gay friend, and a normal beer for me since I'm normal." B/c obviously it's not completely normal and unremarkable to be gay.... /rollseyes

[QUOTE=Lurklet;45380930][video=youtube;VZDeAMNIXg8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZDeAMNIXg8[/video] its amazing how relevant this video is like 15-20ish years after it was made[/QUOTE] It's not relevant at all. He wasn't shoving it in everybody's faces, the media was.

[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;45381610]It's not relevant at all. He wasn't shoving it in everybody's faces, the media was.[/QUOTE] I know the media was. That was what I was talking about.

[QUOTE=Lurklet;45381682]I know the media was. That was what I was talking about.[/QUOTE] Given the video, it came across as though you were suggesting it was Thorpe. Apologies.