• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Anderson Cooper: "The Fact Is, I'm Gay."

Status
Not open for further replies.
I remember seeing him a year ago and how he had to tip toe around being gay when talking about his home/personal life. Good for him that he was finally able to come out officially.
 
Our society treats almost everything to do with sex as more private than race, religion and politics.

Why is he forced to discuss his sexual attraction to, well, anything? Just because one of those things includes men? Because he is famous and gay? I don't understand the logic here. No one else is forced to discuss their sexual orientation at all, nor any of their sexual attractions. Why should he be?

Your claims of homophobia as the cause of his behavior are nebulous at best, and your vague assertions of some negative effect of him doing so which props up anti-gay sentiment are even more insubstantial. Please substantiate with academic sources that this is a real thing and has an adverse effect, otherwise you are simply quoting some blogger because what they're saying sounds like something which might be true and is convenient, even though they're simply using the same old tactics of armchair psychologists everywhere ("hey this is vaguely analogous to arguments about W, let's pretend that all actions X give negative meanings to word Y and concept Z! We need to stop people from doing so because I've just said so!").

Maybe he's just a private guy. You're putting an absurd burden of what is acceptable behavior on him, just because he's not acting in the way that you'd like, and because essentially he's gay.

It isn't entirely accurate to say that we keep sex private, at least not in this context. We might keep what we do private, but for straight people who are in relationships, they certainly don't keep who they are doing private.

If he were straight, his refusal to even acknowledge his significant other of many years and their relationship would be seen as bizarre. Equally bizarre would be the sort of "glass closet" surrounding this relationship, where everyone in the industry knows but nobody talks about it.
 
Lord, to be the filling in that sandwich.

american-golden-oreo-cookies-439g-pack-15728-p.jpg
 
Our society treats almost everything to do with sex as more private than race, religion and politics.

Why is he forced to discuss his sexual attraction to, well, anything? Just because one of those things includes men? Because he is famous and gay? I don't understand the logic here. No one else is forced to discuss their sexual orientation at all, nor any of their sexual attractions. Why should he be?

Your claims of homophobia as the cause of his behavior are nebulous at best, and your vague assertions of some negative effect of him doing so which props up anti-gay sentiment are even more insubstantial. Please substantiate with academic sources that this is a real thing and has an adverse effect, otherwise you are simply quoting some blogger because what they're saying sounds like something which might be true and is convenient, even though they're simply using the same old tactics of armchair psychologists everywhere ("hey this is vaguely analogous to arguments about W, let's pretend that all actions X give negative meanings to word Y and concept Z! We need to stop people from doing so because I've just said so!").

Maybe he's just a private guy. You're putting an absurd burden of what is acceptable behavior on him, just because he's not acting in the way that you'd like, and because essentially he's gay.

Right with your first sentence, you're doing exactly what I criticized, which is conflating sexual orientation with sex. Thanks. I never said he should be "forced" to do anything, so I have no idea what you're talking about there. As for the rest, Mumei has it pretty well tackled. There's a certain type of "privacy" that only semi-closeted gay celebrities seem to demand - why do you think that is? You really don't think homophobia has anything to do with it?
 
Right with your first sentence, you're doing exactly what I criticized, which is conflating sexual orientation with sex. Thanks. I never said he should be "forced" to do anything, so I have no idea what you're talking about there. As for the rest, Mumei has it pretty well tackled. There's a certain type of "privacy" that only semi-closeted gay celebrities seem to demand - why do you think that is? You really don't think homophobia has anything to do with it?

As Anderson said, it's different with journalist. There's a certain distance that they like to maintain. They view themselves as simply the acolytes of news and nothing else.

And by and large, nobody even cares. Nobody cares that Andrew Sullivan, Sam Champion, Don Lemon, and even the "glass closeted" Shepard Smith (along with an metric ton of other journalist) are gay. The only time people ever seem to care is when they're attractive like Anderson, there's a good story like with Katie Couric, or they're manwhores like Matt Lauer.

But don't get me wrong, while this won't matter to 90% of the population, it's a great thing for everyone that will be impacted by this. It's always great when someone like Anderson steps up and just says, "You know, I'm gay, too. And it's okay, it doesn't effect how I do my work."
 
For the sake of LGBTQ folks, I'm glad he came out. But now I'm worried that he won't be able to go to countries like Iran for fear of getting harassed/injured/etc by local extremists. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, they better not touch one silver hair on that magnificent head.
 
It isn't entirely accurate to say that we keep sex private, at least not in this context. We might keep what we do private, but for straight people who are in relationships, they certainly don't keep who they are doing private.

If he were straight, his refusal to even acknowledge his significant other of many years and their relationship would be seen as bizarre. Equally bizarre would be the sort of "glass closet" surrounding this relationship, where everyone in the industry knows but nobody talks about it.

I firmly disagree. Many people keep their significant others in the closet and do not discuss them in public for various reasons.

I had a professor who only preferred showing the class his children but opted to avoid showing everyone his wife's face. Many co-workers post photos of their children in their offices but never their spouses.

I for one never make it a point to discuss my personal life with my co-workers, friends or family, which is here far less than what Cooper has done, and I'm straight.

To cite homophobia as an influencing factor requires evidence, which in this case requires an admission from the party involved. Based on Anderson Cooper's attitude on personal disclosure overall, he admits to being the type of person that prefers his private life to be private.
 
To cite homophobia as an influencing factor requires evidence, which in this case requires an admission from the party involved. Based on Anderson Cooper's attitude on personal disclosure overall, he admits to being the type of person that prefers his private life to be private.

As FoneBone pointed out, it is typically only a particular type of glass closeted celebrity who tries to insist upon never commenting publicly on their significant other (e.g. "I'd like to thank _____" at an acceptance speech), while simultaneously living openly outside of it. You don't see other straight celebrities pretending that they aren't in long-term (in the short-term, certainly) relationships or acting as if the woman or man they are seen with is "just a friend."

And your examples are exceptions to the rule; they aren't a rebuttal. The idea that heterosexuality is something that we keep private and hidden simply doesn't make sense. There might be some individuals who don't talk about their personal life - you, for instance - but I suspect that if you were married, you would at least wear a ring.
 
\The idea that heterosexuality is something that we keep private and hidden simply doesn't make sense. There might be some individuals who don't talk about their personal life - you, for instance - but I suspect that if you were married, you would at least wear a ring.

This. It'll be like people asking a straight person if he's straight and he says he's not going to tell you because it's private.

It's adorable when he starts giggling uncontrollably on air.

Also, good for him.

His giggling is just so fun to watch XD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juv0BOhUTcc
 
You're confusing sexual orientation and sexual behavior. "I'm gay" is hardly the same as "I'm fucking [Person X]", and to treat it as something more private than race, religion, et cetera is to give in to homophobia.

I personally don't see how not announcing you're gay, even if you're a celebrity, is giving in to homophobia. These newer "glass closet" celebrities are not going around with beards, or otherwise pretending to be straight.

Unless someone is directly asked the "are you gay" question and refuses to answer I don't see how a person that is otherwise living their life openly is treating their sexual orientation as something that should be more private than race or religion.

Personally I never really say "I'm gay" to anyone really. I assume most people are smart enough to figure it out eventually through my normal behavior. Occasionally I am asked if I'm gay, and I'll answer "yep" or "yeah" or something similar.... wait I do sometimes say "I'm gay" to women that are coming on to me

It isn't entirely accurate to say that we keep sex private, at least not in this context. We might keep what we do private, but for straight people who are in relationships, they certainly don't keep who they are doing private.

If he were straight, his refusal to even acknowledge his significant other of many years and their relationship would be seen as bizarre. Equally bizarre would be the sort of "glass closet" surrounding this relationship, where everyone in the industry knows but nobody talks about it.

As FoneBone pointed out, it is typically only a particular type of glass closeted celebrity who tries to insist upon never commenting publicly on their significant other (e.g. "I'd like to thank _____" at an acceptance speech), while simultaneously living openly outside of it. You don't see other straight celebrities pretending that they aren't in long-term (in the short-term, certainly) relationships or acting as if the woman or man they are seen with is "just a friend."

Maybe not as common in normal everyday life. While certainly not most, many MANY famous and even semi-famous heterosexuals do keep their long term SO, or even just relationship status private from the public... I even gave a few examples in my previous post. Yes some even still try to keep it private EVEN AFTER they are married... but that is exceptionally rare and usually involves the SO being a normal unfamous person and wanting to stay that way.

Have any of the recent glass closet celebrities used the "just a friend" excuse? Maybe Lance Bass from nsync did... I can't remember... Maybe Wentworth Miller? I'd say if you're using the just a friend excuse, you're not in what I'd call the "glass closet", you're just in the closet.
 
As FoneBone pointed out, it is typically only a particular type of glass closeted celebrity who tries to insist upon never commenting publicly on their significant other (e.g. "I'd like to thank _____" at an acceptance speech), while simultaneously living openly outside of it. You don't see other straight celebrities pretending that they aren't in long-term (in the short-term, certainly) relationships or acting as if the woman or man they are seen with is "just a friend."

And your examples are exceptions to the rule; they aren't a rebuttal. The idea that heterosexuality is something that we keep private and hidden simply doesn't make sense. There might be some individuals who don't talk about their personal life - you, for instance - but I suspect that if you were married, you would at least wear a ring.

It's also because as the assumed norm someone doesn't have to ever keep heterosexuality a secret. And the idea that it's hidden is hilarious, wedding rings in various states? Statements of "so and so is attractive", and various other clues tell you right away that someone is a heterosexual without them directly saying so.
 
This is the best piece I've seen on this.

Mr. Cooper insisted that his concern was privacy. “As long as a journalist shows fairness and honesty in his or her work, their private life shouldn’t matter,” he wrote to Mr. Sullivan. “It is not part of my job to push an agenda, but rather to be relentlessly honest in everything I see, say and do. I do not desire to promote any cause other than the truth.”

What’s interesting is the assumption that simply being known to be gay could be considered pushing “an agenda”: by whom? Nobody thinks that straight journalists are pushing a straight agenda. The mere use of the word “agenda” smacks, unfortunately, of the substanceless rhetoric of the cultural right, with its paranoid fantasies that gay teachers are trying to convert straight children to homosexuality (as if such a thing were possible) as part of a gay agenda.
...

But all this talk about privacy reveals deep and troubling assumptions. Mr. Cooper compared disclosure of one’s homosexuality to revealing “who a reporter votes for” or “what religion they are,” but in a post-Freudian age in which sexuality is seen as a core aspect of identity, this comes across as disingenuous. If you’re really “happy, comfortable ... and proud” to be gay, as Mr. Cooper says he is, the simple fact of being gay should be no more a “privacy” issue than being straight is for straight people. It’s just who you are. (“Privacy,” on the other hand, would cover, say, whom you’re dating or hooking up with — nobody else’s business.) You can’t claim to be comfortable with being gay while trying to keep it a secret: When you conceal your sexuality, you’re buying, however unconsciously or reluctantly, into the notion that there is, at some level, something wrong with it.


Unless someone is directly asked the "are you gay" question and refuses to answer I don't see how a person that is otherwise living their life openly is treating their sexual orientation as something that should be more private than race or religion.
You don't seem to be very familiar with what the glass closet is and what it entails... every single one of the celebrities in question has dodged the question when asked point-blank ("I don't talk about my personal life"). That's part of the definition of the glass closet.
 
I'm still not sure why Anderson Cooper specifically gets strung up on his toes for this. He's a reporter. He doesn't have an obligation to talk about anything with this with regards to his life outside of his job. He's not supposed to be in the tabloids or in the news cycle like actual celebrities. He doesn't even have a partner or anything (he and that guy on the last page broke up a little while ago). I think it's a little bit much to insinuate that he was hiding himself for some nefarious reason.
 
^^^^^ LOL


@ lenovox1 He has a Talk Show now for a while. He is by default supposed to get coverage in the media
 
^^^^ He has a Talk Show now for a while. He is by default supposed to get coverage in the media

Yeah, things are quite a bit different now that he has a daytime talk show. But there's always been a little too much hate for my liking for stuff he decided not to do in the past.
 
The talk show ruined him for me. I'm supposed to take you seriously when your other show is maybe a half notch above Maury?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom