The Gay Thread

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Tokyo Disneyland Hosts Lesbian Wedding

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I'm a little surprised he came out. I'm not even remotely surprised he's gay.

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Heterosexual wedding couple's First Dance opened/dedicated to their LG friends who can't legally marry

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Come Out As Gay With George Takei

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I'm sure I'll be excoriated for posting this, but here goes...

"I don't even think of you as gay." Well, you should.
Why Coming Out, and the Fact that Public Figures Such as Jodie Foster Go Public With their Sexuality, Still Matters

by George Takei

When Jodie Foster spoke at the Golden Globe Awards about her long-time partner, and the kids they had together and the family they built, many people gave a collective shrug of "so what." In some ways, it is heartening to see society greet an actor's coming out as a non-event. It means we have made progress. At the same time, actors such as myself who spent years in the Celluloid Closet know what a big step it is, and continues to be.

For straight people, sexuality isn't something that needs to be proclaimed or distinguished, it simply is a part of their daily lives. For example, straight people generally never worry about losing their jobs or families because of who they love, or ever consider, let alone are asked, when they "chose" to be straight. To sexual minorities, however, it is often a daily fight, and an internal conflict that is years if not decades long.

Thousands of kids today still try to kill themselves, and often tragically succeed, out of despair that they will never find love and acceptance from their families or communities. Millions of otherwise well-adjusted adults still hide their sexuality for fear they will lose their livelihood or place in the community. Indeed, it is still legal in many states to fire someone simply because of his or her sexual orientation, nothing more.

So role models matter, yes. They are examples to those struggling to find identity and self-confidence. So when you think about people like me, I want you to remember that I am gay. It is an integral part of who I am, and is something that matters a great deal to me. It is part of what I struggled with for so long, and finally came to accept within myself before finding the courage to tell others.

Jodie Foster also chose to include in her speech a plea for privacy, and we should respect that. (If you'd like to see my remarks on this on Showbiz Tonight, click here.) Remember that this is someone who has spent all of her life in the public eye, and even had a stalker try to kill a president just to impress her. Until we have walked in her shoes, we cannot know her heart. So often in the LGBT community we want our heroes to be superhuman, and to do what millions still are unable to do, which is to live openly and proudly with their own identities, even with all cameras rolling. Most of us can relate to how difficult it was to come out even to our own friends and families; imagine then, if you will, how much courage it takes to face the judgment of the world. So before we rend apart our own with much wringing of hands and gnashing of our collective teeth, and ask why someone like Jodie Foster could not simply say the words, "I am a lesbian" on the night of her acceptance speech, let us instead each do our own part.

Here's how: If you are straight, consider that it isn't helpful to believe or announce that it "doesn't matter" whether someone else is gay. Of course it matters. That person has likely suffered internal conflict, social opprobrium and personal pain that you have never experienced. So long as there is prejudice and inequality, it will continue to matter. If you have gay family members, friends or colleagues, recognize that they have faced demons and come out stronger, and that they are very brave to be open, even today. It does matter.

And if you are gay, don't simply believe that others will carry the fight forward for you. We each must tend to our own gardens, so to speak, and do what each of us thinks is best for ourselves and our loved ones. Coming out is always a personal step, and one that is as different for each of us as our very life experiences are.

Thanks for listening, friends. And remember, it's OK to be Takei.

–George

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from So Let's Talk About.com

I was on my way to work, zoned out listening to some old school Shania Twain to get my life right, when two construction worker types got on the train at Penn Station. They were both middle-aged white guys with Long Island accents, mustaches, dirty jeans — the type of guys you’d expect to see on a building site. I caught a piece of their conversation when the music died before the song changed, and I decided to record them.

Normally, boring people and their boring conversations don’t interest me in the least, but the music dropped out right when Guy #1 said “My wife wants me to get fixed like a dog but I don’t see why she can’t just keep taking the pill.” That in itself isn’t inherently interesting, but the fact that he was openly discussing it on a public subway train made me hit the record button real quick to see what else would come out. I’ve been doing this for about 6 months now, trying to catch interesting things on the subway, but I haven’t had any luck so far because I ride boring trains.

Today was good though.

Guy #2: No more kids for you two?
Guy #1: No, she figures we’re both getting too old for a baby.
Guy #2: How is your boy anyway? Haven’t seen him in awhile.
Guy #1: Oh John’s good, pitching this year varsity.
Guy #2: He’ll definitely have the girls hanging around him now.
Guy #1: Yeah if he had any time for them.
Guy #2: Focused on baseball?
Guy #1: Focused on boys.
Guy #2: You’re ****tin me!
Guy #1: I kid you not. Came out to me and Mary Ann bold as daylight last year.
Guy #2: Well I’ll be damned! I’m not supposed to know it but I overheard Patrick Junior tell his sister he might be gay not two months ago.
Guy #1: We all saw that coming though.
Guy #2: You’re the second person to say that. How’d everybody see it but me?
Guy #1: It was just a feelin Pat. He was always a little soft, ya know?
Guy #2: I guess you’re right. But damn Charlie, we both have gay kids. What do we do now? Both our sons are gay.
Guy #1: We don’t do anything. We let em be gay and if some kid calls em a faggot we go to their house and raise hell with the parents like normal.
Guy #2: Well I guess John and Lucinda won’t be getting together like we thought awhile ago.
Guy #1: Guess not.
**long pause**
Guy #2: Hey Charlie, you thinkin what I’m thinkin?
Guy #1: I was for about half a second then it got weird and I started thinkin about somethin else instead.

By that point I was holding back a little tear, but they changed the conversation to something about a building code. I thought about posting the video but I don’t know how to blur people’s faces. Still, I thought this little exchange should be broadcast to the Internet.

And filed away under The Future of Dads with Gay Sons.

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How Sam got a copy of "Sophia the First" on DVD

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Gays Beware with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and George Takei
be sure to watch the whole thing

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This may be more related to my inner geek than my outer gay, but it nonetheless made me smile.

Some Klingons Are Gay. Get Over It!

Stonewall's iconic "Some People Are Gay. Get Over It!" campaign is now in its sixth year and is set to reach a new milestone. The famous posters have appeared across Britain on buses and billboards, and have been seen in countries worldwide as part of the charity's international campaign against state-sponsored homophobia. Now Stonewall is boldly going where no charity has gone before, by translating the campaign into Klingon.