Olympic Silver Medalist Skier Gus Kenworthy Comes Out

I

 have often said that coming out is one of the most powerful acts of activism that one can do.  It is a way of smashing stereotypes and forcing bigots to hopefully rethink their prejudices.  Of course, in addition to helping bring much needed social change, coming also is an incredibly liberating feeling as the need to live a lie or a stage role assigned to you by others suddenly goes away.  Today, American free style skier Gus Kenworthy came out as gay in an interview with ESPN.  Kenworthy won the silver medal in his event for Team USA back in 2014 at the Sochi Olympics in Russia.  Note how he admits that he has known the truth about himself for a long time, but felt he had to hide the truth as he wrote on Facebook afterwards:

I am gay.  Wow, it feels good to write those words. For most of my life, I’ve been afraid to embrace that truth about myself. Recently though, I’ve gotten to the point where the pain of holding onto the lie is greater than the fear of letting go, and I’m very proud to finally be letting my guard down.

My sexuality has been something I’ve struggled to come to terms with. I’ve known I was gay since I was a kid but growing up in a town of 2,000 people, a class of 48 kids and then turning pro as an athlete when I was 16, it just wasn’t something I wanted to accept. I pushed my feelings away in the hopes that it was a passing phase but the thought of being found out kept me up at night. I constantly felt anxious, depressed and even suicidal.

Looking back, it’s crazy to see how far I’ve come. For so much of my life I’ve dreaded the day that people would find out I was gay. Now, I couldn’t be more excited to tell you all the truth. Maybe you’ve suspected that truth about me all along, or maybe it comes as a complete shock to you. Either way, it’s important for me to be open and honest with you all. Y’all have supported me through a lot of my highs and lows and I hope you'll stay by my side as I make this transformation into the genuine me - the me that I’ve always really been.  

It is sad that people still have to live in fear and with self-loathing all because the ignorant and bigoted cling to the writings of Bronze Age herders rather than have the courage to think for themselves and admit that they were indoctrinated with lies.   Kudos to Kenworthy.  I wish him much future happiness and success.  More over, I hope he is an inspiration to young LGBT individuals who need a positive role model, especially those living in emotionally and psychologically abusive "Christian" homes.   And yes, Gus is a hottie!

NOH8 Campaign Photo Shoot

Last October the boyfriend and I posed for Adam Bouska and the NOH8 team when they came to Old Dominion University for a photo shoot.  We just received our photo.  What do you readers think?

Russia Capitulates and Amends Olympic Truce to Include Sexual Orientation

I cannot help but wonder if Vladimir Putin is regretting prostituting himself to the reactionary, gay hating elements of the Russian Orthodox Church but jumping on board the anti-gay laws pasted by the Russian Duma.  In addition to a constant drum beat of negative publicity, fears that American sponsors may reconsider their involvement with the 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia has now been forced to sign an Olympic Truce that guarantees non-discrimination on any basis, including sexual orientation.  The New York Times has coverage.  Here are details:

Every two years, the United Nations adopts a resolution called the Olympic Truce, a perfunctory statement that invokes the ancient Greeks and celebrates friendly competition and “the cause of peace.” 

It usually passes with little deliberation. But not this year. 

While world leaders grappled with the crisis unfolding in Syria, a lesser debate was unfolding at the United Nations over the truce . . .

The controversy was over a rough draft of the truce that mentioned a promise to include “people of different age, sex, physical capacity, religion, race and social status,” according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. It made no mention of gay or transgender people, a particularly sensitive omission given the uproar in the West over a Russian law that has been criticized as antigay.

 

United Nations representatives from around the world spent weeks pushing Russia to amend the language to include gay people, according to interviews with representatives from eight countries. This week, after extensive negotiations behind the scenes, Russia altered the truce’s language to say that it would “promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind.”

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said recently that the truce “may sound like something from the distant past that has no place in our times.” But he maintained that it was still relevant. 

Past truces, including the one that Britain sponsored for the 2012 London Olympics, did not mention gay or transgender people. But this year, with global attention focused on the matter, countries are aiming to set a precedent of inclusion. 

“Along with like-minded partners, the United Kingdom is keen to see principles of nondiscrimination included in the Olympic Truce resolution,” said Iona Thomas, a spokeswoman for the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations. 

Russia’s law, signed by President Vladimir V. Putin in June, bans “propaganda on nontraditional sexual relationships.” It led to calls for protests and even some boycotts of the Sochi Games. The International Olympic Committee said it had received “strong written reassurances” from the Russian government that all would be welcome at the Sochi Games, regardless of their sexual orientation.

The United Nations is likely to vote on the truce in the coming weeks. 

Overall, this should count as a much deserved major humiliation to Putin and Russia.

Gays in Russia Find No Haven, Despite Support From the West

A piece in the New York Times provides a good overview of the war on gays in Russia - and also the reality that concern and outrage in the western world has to date done little to end the plight of gays in Russia where anti-gay violence seems to be escalating in a chilling pattern reminiscent of Nazi Germany's onslaught against the Jews.  While the plight of gays in Russia has the attention of western powers, more needs to be done to end the anti-gay pogroms.  What's happening is also chilling because the Russian offensive against gays is precisely what American Christofascists would bring to this county if they were allowed to do so.  Here are article highlights:

The law, signed by President Vladimir V. Putin in June, has ignited international condemnation and blindsided the Kremlin with the sort of toxic political controversy that officials had desperately hoped to avoid ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. The last Olympics on Russian soil, in 1980, was marred by the boycott over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 

The furor includes a boycott of Russian vodka in gay bars throughout the West and some calls for a boycott of the Sochi Games altogether. Beyond putting organizers on the defensive, it has cast worldwide attention on the cruel circumstances in which most gay people live in modern Russia.

Despite the breathtaking wealth and vibrant culture in the metropolises of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia remains a country where discrimination and even violence against gay people are widely tolerated. 

“What is going on now in Russia contradicts its place in the world,” said Anton Krasovsky, a television anchor who was immediately fired from his job at the government-controlled KontrTV network in January after he announced during a live broadcast that he is gay, saying he was fed up with lying about his life and offended by the legislation. 

Few gay people in Russia openly acknowledge their sexual orientation, and those who do are often harassed. When some gay people protested the propaganda law by kissing outside the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, police officers stood by and watched as the demonstrators were doused with water and beaten by antigay and religious supporters of the bill.

Last month, Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, called same-sex marriage “a very dangerous sign of the apocalypse.” 

Mixed signals from senior Russian officials over how the propaganda law might be enforced during the Games have undercut assertions by the International Olympic Committee that gay athletes and spectators have nothing to worry about, and have left organizing officials facing harsh criticism and demanding clarifications from the Kremlin. 

There have been comparisons to Nazi Germany as host of the 1936 Olympics inside and outside Russia, including one by Jay Leno during an interview with President Obama last week on “The Tonight Show.” 

“Something that shocked me about Russia,” Mr. Leno told the president. “Suddenly, homosexuality is against the law. I mean, this seems like Germany: Let’s round up the Jews. Let’s round up the gays. Let’s round up the blacks. I mean, it starts with that.” 

Russian officials say the criticism is unfair and inaccurate. In 1993, Russia repealed the Soviet-era law that made gay sex a crime.  

Gay rights advocates disagree, saying the law is vague and can be used to arrest anyone who appears to support gay rights.

Russian gay rights advocates said the outrage in the West was providing new energy and financial support to their still relatively young movement. It is also raising pressure, including fears of increased violence. 

“It’s not only a question of the period of the Olympic Games; here, there should be no law like this,” said Kirill Kalugin, 21, who was beaten by counter demonstrators at a gay pride event in St. Petersburg last month and then detained by the police. “I feel very offended that I am being presented as an enemy of my own people.”

Rights advocates said that Russia was growing more dangerous for gay people. This year, there have been at least two killings motivated by antigay bias in the country, including the savage beating death in May of a young man in Volgograd who was also sodomized with beer bottles. 

Mr. Smirnov said that even in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, where there are large gay populations, as well as a thriving and visible gay night life that includes several gay bars and clubs, bias was inescapable.

It's a frightening phenomenon and behind it all over and above Putin's quest to retain power is one of the great evils of the world: religion.   As for the 2014 Winter Games, I want to see them moved from Russia.

CNN Op-Ed: Make Olympics in Russia the Gayest Ever

Not to beat a dead horse, but I would like to see the International Olympic Committee ("IOC") move the 2014 Winter Games out of Russia and leave Vladimir Putin and his fellow Neanderthals with a show place venue that no one ever sees.  The chances of the IOC actually having the spine to make such a move are probably remote - a bowl of Jell-O has more backbone - since this is the same committee that allowed Hitler to propagandize the 1936 Olympics.  So what should one do?  One CNN columnist is urging athletes to rub Putin's face in it if you will by making a major pro-gay scene at the opening ceremonies and throughout the games to underscore world disapproval of Russia.  It would be precisely what Putin doesn't want: either athletes are arrested creating a major stink and negative media coverage or he's humiliated by the deliberate flouting of Russia's hate motivated anti-gay laws.  It would be a lose, lose situation for Putin and his henchmen in the Russian Duma.  Here are column highlights:

You don't have to be gay or even Russian to feel the wrath of the Russian government's homophobia. You could go to jail if you are "pro-gay," whatever that means. And that's under just one of a growing number of hate-infused bills becoming law at a time when, as it happens, Russia is preparing to host the world in the next Winter Olympics.

The perverse anti-gay legislation is inflaming an atmosphere of persistent intimidation and at times deadly violence against Russian gays and lesbians.  The question now is: What should the rest of the world do?

The world has an opportunity to let Putin -- who signed all the laws -- and the politicians he dominates know just how repulsive their actions are. There is a chance of helping Russia LGBT activists persuade the government to reverse the most offensive legislation.

An Olympic boycott might not be the best way to go. Instead, let's turn the Winter Games into the gayest games in history.

Let the Russian police, if they want, arrest every athlete, every coach from Europe, North American, Australia and other forward-looking countries -- that includes you, Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. The teams should march during the opening ceremonies brandishing rainbow flags, holding hands, proclaiming that every one of them supports equal rights for gay and lesbians -- in Russia and everywhere else. Make it an "I am Spartacus" moment for the world.

Let Putin arrest them all.

And as for going as a tourist to the Sochi Olympics: Forget it. Russian lawmakers are making that boycott a no-brainer.

Olympic sponsors NBC, Visa, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble and others also have a responsibility to push against these blatant violations of human rights.

Keep in mind that Russian laws are encouraging vigilante "justice" against gays and lesbians.

Just imagine the sweeps of athletes, trainers and tourists, rounded up and sent to Russian prisons because they believe gays and lesbians should be treated like everyone else.

Some think the witch hunt against gays shows Putin is trying to deflect attention as the economy slows down and perhaps playing defense against opposition accusations that his friends have stolen as much as $30 billion in money earmarked for the Olympics.

The columnist has a point.  If done right, making the Olympics super gay would be a PR disaster for Putin who would face a populace that would have seen their country humiliated.  And the fingers would be pointing to Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church as the parties responsible.  I like the idea, provided athletes and better yet, entire teams would have the courage to give Putin the equivalent of the middle finger.  

Russian Sports Minister: Olympic Athletes Will Be Subject To Anti-Gay Laws

I continue to argue that rather than have people and nations boycott the 2014 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee needs to find a backbone and simply announce that the venue for the games will be moved in light of anti-gay Russian laws that violate both the Olympic ideal of non-discrimination, but also international conventions to which Russia is a member.  The IOC has tried to dodge facing the reality that it is acting like it did in 1936 by not forcefully telling Russia to repeal the laws or the games will not be held in Russia.  New statements by the Russian Sports Minister (pictured at left) underscore that athletes and tourists will likely be arrested if they attend the games in Sochi.  Here are highlights from AFP:

MOSCOW — Gay athletes are welcome to participate in Russia's 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi but must obey a new law banning "homosexual propaganda", the country's sports minister said Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in June signed into law legislation that punishes the dissemination of information about homosexuality to minors but which activists say can be used for a broad crackdown against gays.

The comments by Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko appear to contradict assurances from the International Olympic Committee last week that no athlete attending the games would be targeted by the law.

"The law talks not about banning a non-traditional orientation but about other things, about propaganda and implicating minors," Mutko told the R-Sport news agency.

"No one is banning a sportsman with a non-traditional sexual orientation from going to Sochi. But if he goes out onto the street and starts to make propaganda, then of course he will be brought to responsibility.

Foreigners found guilty of violating the law can not only be fined up to 5,000 rubles ($156, 114 euros) but face administrative arrest of up to 15 days and eventual deportation.

Russian officials rarely use words like "gay" and "homosexual" and prefer to use the phrase "non-traditional sexuality" to describe same-sex love.

The law has aroused concerns among activists about whether Russia is fit to host the Games, the biggest sporting event it has held in its post-Soviet history, and even calls for a Cold War-style boycott.

Mutko's comments infuriated activists, coming after the IOC said last week it had received assurances at the "highest level" within the Russian government that the legislation would not affect those attending the games.

"Russian sports minister confirmed gay propaganda law WILL be applied at Olympics in Sochi! As I said Russian guarantees to IOC are b(expletive)!" leading Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev fumed on Twitter.

Russia last week banned four Dutch nationals from entering the country for three years after accusing them under the controversial new law of spreading of "gay propaganda" to minors,

The solution again is easy: move the games.  Putin wants a self-congratulatory display via the games.  Give him a major humiliation instead. Moving the games might be complicated, but it could be done by returning to a past venue that has many of the needed facilities already in place.

Head Of Russian Orthodox Church Says Same-Sex Unions Are Portents Of Doom

UPDATED:  BuzzFeed has a compilation of photos here of what is being done to gays in Russia that is must viewing.

Proving again that (i) American Christofascists do not have a monopoly on insanity and (ii) the fruits of religion are most often hate and bigotry, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill, said on Sunday that the recognition of same-sex unions by Western countries is a portent of doom.  Little has changed in the Russian Orthodox Church which has for centuries sought to support the rights and luxuries of the few over the rights and welfare of the many - i.e., previously the Tsars and the aristocracy and now Putin and his circle - and often whipped up pogroms against Jews in Russia.   Huffington Post looks at Kirill's evil and dangerous hate mongering.  Here are excerpts:

Russia has been cracking down on gays and lesbians lately, with harsh legislature making it potentially dangerous to be LGTB-identified in the country. President Putin has signed three anti-gay bills into law, with more to come.

He is supported in his anti-gay mission by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who thinks that the recognition of same-sex unions by Western countries is a portent of doom. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill said on Sunday after the service in Red Square's Kazan Cathedral, "This is a very dangerous apocalyptic symptom, and we must do everything in our powers to ensure that sin is never sanctioned in Russia by state law, because that would mean that the nation has embarked on a path of self-destruction."
The religious leader called on Russians to block the passage of marriage equality laws, stating, "We face enormous temptations when countries start approving sin and codifying it into law in order to justify it." Putin seems to share his views, as the President has embarked on a shocking campaign against gays and lesbians living in Russia, as Harvey Fierstein explained in a New York Times op-ed on Sunday.  Fierstein comments:

Mr. Putin’s campaign against lesbian, gay and bisexual people is one of distraction, a strategy of demonizing a minority for political gain taken straight from the Nazi playbook. Can we allow this war against human rights to go unanswered? Although Mr. Putin may think he can control his creation, history proves he cannot: his condemnations are permission to commit violence against gays and lesbians.

On July 3, a law banned the adoption of Russian-born children to gay couples as well as all couples or single parents living in countries where marriage equality exists. Despite the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics, Putin signed another law allowing police officers to arrest foreign nationals and tourists they suspect of being gay, lesbian, or "pro-gay," and detain them for up to two weeks. The worryingly vague language suggests that anyone simply accused of being gay, including Olympic athletes, can be thrown in jail.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are scheduled to be held in Sochi, but these new laws are worrying to many who plan to visit Russia in order to see the Games. Human Rights Watch published a letter to the Director General of the International Olympic Committee expressing its reservations about the harsh legislation, stating, "This draft law is clearly incompatible with the Olympic Charter’s promotion of “human dignity,” as well as a blatant violation of Russia’s international legal obligations to guarantee non-discrimination and respect for freedom of expression."

I for one support moving the 2014 games from Russia.  It would be a much needed public rebuke of Putin and his regime.  Russians have a history of wanting to be accepted as a western country and losing the Olympic Games would make the average citizen view Putin's anti-gay agenda as a national embarrassment. 

Gay Tourists in Russia Could Now Face Two Weeks in Jail

Throughout the recent severe worldwide recession one of the most reliable tourism market segments has been the LGBT travel niche.  Many cities and countries have actively sought to boost their desirability as a destination for LGBT travelers.  Not Russia.   With the recently enacted anti-gay law signed into law by Vladimir Putin - in an apparent attempt to bolster his support from the reactionary elements in the Russian Orthodox Church - LGBT tourist should think twice above traveling to Russia.  Personally, I find it most unfortunate that the International Olympic Committee has not canceled plans for the 2014 Olympics to be held in Russia.  Shift Travel IQ looks at the risk of jail time now faced by LGBT tourists in Russia.  Here are highlights:

This is a warning for visitors and tourists wanting to travel to Russia. Anything considered pro-gay, from gay-affirmative speech, to gays holding hands in public, to even wearing rainbow suspenders is now illegal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law yesterday one of the most draconian anti-gay laws on the planet.

The new law, coming only seven months before Russia is to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi expecting visitors and tourists from around the world.

The law also contains a provision permitting the government to arrest and detain gay, or pro-gay, foreigners for up to 14 days before they would then be expelled from the country. That provision ought to send chills to anyone gay, lesbians, bisexual or transgender who is planning to attend or participate in the Winter Olympics.

It is now literally illegal in Russia to say that you are gay. It is illegal to kiss your partner in public – say, after you win a gold medal. It is illegal for a gay athlete to wear the rainbow flag. Or even to acknowledge during an interview that they are gay – or for the foreign press to acknowledge it – unless they mention that gay sexual orientation in a negative way.

Then there’s the seemingly officially-sanctioned violence against gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Russia. It’s been made clear for years now that Russian government will turn a blind eye towards anti-gay violence, and many have alleged that the Russian government is actually behind such violence. Will gay Olympic athletes and gay Olympic fans be targeted for violence while in Russia? No one knows.

What we do know is that the International Olympic Committee’s response to the growing threat of violence against gay athletes and gay Olympics fans has been rather anemic to date.
More importantly, anyone thinking of attending the Olympics in Russia, a country that appears to be sinking fast into its old authoritarian ways, should stay home.