Should Public Figures Who Are Gay Stay In the Closet?
Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2010
by Carolyn Tytler
From a purely personal point of view, I wish that gay public figures would stay in the closet. I have no burning desire to know their favorite food, every detail of their past medical history, what they wear to bed or their sexual preference.
I am interested in their intelligence, their emotional stability, their moral outlook, and what they are willing and able to contribute to the welfare of their fellow human beings, world peace and environmental improvement. These are the areas of their personality which will affect me. In all probability, I will not be on close enough terms with any of them to need to know their sexual orientation.
I believe, however, from the viewpoint of the gay person who is, or who is about to become a public figure, it would be wise to disclose their sexual preference as early as possible. The press is certain to route out every secret on the family tree for at least the past five generations!
If a gay entertainer stays in the closet, he risks his future career being sidetracked by the "shocking" disclosure when he is at the height of popularity. His talent, as outstanding as it may be, could become a secondary issue to interest the covert areas of his personal life.
In the case of a politician, some important legislation which he is introducing or promoting could be shelved or defeated solely because of the latent homophobic attitudes of some of his fellow legislators. During strategic periods in a public figure's career, it's vital that there be no shocking revelations about his private life to upset the apple cart.
More important than sexual orientation, to me and to many people, would be the day-to-day activities, dignity and behavior of the public figure in question. Were he to appear nearly naked, cavorting lewdly and loudly on a float in a Gay Pride Parade, he would forfeit any respect, devotion, or loyalty I had previously felt for him.
Come to think of it, if he were straight and carried on in that way, the end result would be the same.
Any individual, gay or straight, in the public eye may not be able to control his food preferences or his medical history, but he can and must be in control his behavior when he's on the job or out and about.
Those celebrities who are wish to be admired and to endure, must present acceptable images of themselves to all people: men, women, teens and young children if they hope to remain for long near the top of popularity polls.
My advice to gay figures in public life: come out of the closet early in a straightforward manner , then get on with your life. Practice honesty, self-respect and discretion. Conduct all matters in such a way that, when your life is over, you' ll leave the world and its people a little better off because you lived.
Come to think of it, that's not a bad life plan for all of us.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Thank you for reading and commenting, Gregory. I guess honesty is the best policy. In most of our human interactions, sexuality is not a major issue anyway. Friendship should not be dependent on one's sexual orientation.
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