Actress Ellen Page publicly came out as gay Friday evening, while giving a speech at Time to THRIVE, a national LGBTQ youth conference held in Las Vegas.
"I'm here today because I am gay," Page told the assembled crowd, which responded with a standing ovation and a long chorus of cheers.
"Whoo!" said Page, before continuing:
Originally Posted by :
"And because maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.
I also do it selfishly because I'm tired of hiding and I'm tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered, and my relationships suffered. And I'm standing here today with all of you on the other side of that pain."
Page is most famous for becoming pregnant by her awkward classmate Michael Cera, and for invading the dreams of a stranger alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, neither of which happened in real life, because she is an actress.
After her speech, the Human Rights Campaign, which organized the conference, congratulated Page on the front page of its website for "her brave decision to live openly and authentically." [Reply]
Originally Posted by patteeu:
That's what they are saying. I'm sorry you don't like the words they chose, but I'm not having any trouble understanding them.
It really isn't a question of liking or disliking the words. It's a question of the words being accurate. But, I realize that I'm somewhat of a stickler when it comes to that.
In the big scheme of things, another announcement like this doesn't change anything, other than now everyone who has heard about it knows that she's homosexual. I doubt that anyone's opinion on the subject is going to be altered in the slightest. The people who approve of homosexuality are going to cheer. The people who are ambivalent will remain ambivalent. Those who disapprove are going to continue to disapprove. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
Like I said, it's not an accomplishment. It's just who they are. I can see some of the logic of being proud to announce their sexuality to the world (kind of), but not "I'm gay and I'm proud of it!"
Graduating from Harvard? Sure, that's an accomplishment.
Winning a playoff game? Yes.
Getting a promotion at work.
What do they want me to say?
Congratulations! You suck cock and take it up the ass! [Reply]
this article makes it kind of sound like she felt persecuted or something for being gay. She's a hollywood movie star for goodness sake, she doesn't have to "hide" anything if she doesn't want to, especially her sexuality. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
Meh, I've gone over it enough. I don't really want to do it all over again. If you want, go into the DC thread about Michaels.
Originally Posted by Donger:
It really isn't a question of liking or disliking the words. It's a question of the words being accurate. But, I realize that I'm somewhat of a stickler when it comes to that.
In the big scheme of things, another announcement like this doesn't change anything, other than now everyone who has heard about it knows that she's homosexual. I doubt that anyone's opinion on the subject is going to be altered in the slightest. The people who approve of homosexuality are going to cheer. The people who are ambivalent will remain ambivalent. Those who disapprove are going to continue to disapprove.
As others have said: the point is probably not to change anybody's mind, but to affect the emotions of those who haven't figured it out yet.
Assuming that an undecided person respected her prior to her announcement:
If they're even possibly gay, there's a chance that her announcement makes them feel more comfortable with themselves (instead of acquiescing to the decreasingly popular opinion that they are abominations). They'll feel more enabled to live their lives in a way that makes them happy.
If they're definitely not gay, they may develop the opinion that sexuality is not a defining factor in a person's life or career, and will be less likely to judge an individual on that information. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Canofbier:
As others have said: the point is probably not to change anybody's mind, but to affect the emotions of those who haven't figured it out yet.
Assuming that an undecided person respected her prior to her announcement:
If they're even possibly gay, there's a chance that her announcement makes them feel more comfortable with themselves (instead of acquiescing to the decreasingly popular opinion that they are abominations). They'll feel more enabled to live their lives in a way that makes them happy.
If they're definitely not gay, they may develop the opinion that sexuality is not a defining factor in a person's life or career, and will be less likely to judge an individual on that information.
Undecided? About how they view homosexuality? [Reply]
Originally Posted by houstonwhodat:
Would it be OK with you if your kids daycare person was gay whether a man or woman?
Know that they may be changing diapers or clothes or whatever?
Are they also pedophiles? If not, then it shouldn't make an ounce of difference.
I've written out a number of responses to this and Sam's thread only to delete them, but these sorts of attitudes are toxic.
Those sorts of questions are on-par with the following:
"You don't trust him to write your code, do you? He's just a dumb nigger! He'd be better off picking cotton, haha!"
"Please, you think she could lead the design team? Women just don't have what it takes to be a leader of men."
"Look, you might want to find a different banker...you can't trust Goldstein. If you stop paying attention to your account for a week, he'll Jew you out of every penny that he can."
It's disgusting, and I don't think you'll be able to convince me otherwise. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
It really isn't a question of liking or disliking the words. It's a question of the words being accurate. But, I realize that I'm somewhat of a stickler when it comes to that.
Then maybe you should consult a dictionary and find out what the word means. Let me know if you still think you're right.
Originally Posted by Donger:
In the big scheme of things, another announcement like this doesn't change anything, other than now everyone who has heard about it knows that she's homosexual. I doubt that anyone's opinion on the subject is going to be altered in the slightest. The people who approve of homosexuality are going to cheer. The people who are ambivalent will remain ambivalent. Those who disapprove are going to continue to disapprove.
I think something does change in the big scheme. If no one ever admits being gay the world is a much different place than if it's a common occurrence. On drip of water doesn't look like it changes the rock it lands on, but eventually, if those drips continue, they do change the rock. [Reply]