04 January 2007

Perez Hilton: Yey or Ney?

Perez Hilton is in "beeg traable for moose and squirell" now that everyone is suing him for a zillion dollars. It would seem that, among other things, some celebs are unhappy at being chased out of the closet.

Do celebrities, by virtue of being public figures, give up their right to privacy? While I think celebrities do deserve privacy, I'm conflicted on this topic however, when it comes to outing. There are two reasons for this; the first is visibility. When I was young, if I'd had gay role models to look up to other than Mr Humphries and Svend Robinson, I'd probably have ended up a lot less weird than I am now. If high school has taught me anything, it's that three-quarters of all boys in drama class are homos. It would therefore stand to reason that you couldn't swing a last-season Prada bag in Hollywood without hitting a poofy bender. But instead we have a dearth of fey fairy princesses and a cavalcade of rumours (which are all true). What ever happened to strength in numbers? C'mon, homo solidarity people!

The second reason is that I don't really understand why being gay is considered something "private." I mean, being Jewish or Black isn't considered "private," so why is being gay? Is it perhaps because we're somehow ashamed, and want to keep it hidden and secret?

I know there is the whole issue of gay actors being able to get good roles, but really, haven't we moved beyond that already? Aren't all the closeted actors the ones perpetuating this stereotype more than anyone else? And even if that were that case, I'll be *so* upset if Jake Gyllenhal isn't able to make 17 million dollars a movie anymore and won't be able to ride his diamond-encrusted albino elephant to the money factory. Boo-hoo-hoo! Time to gather up your cajones and come out boys. I know it took a long time to get there, but Black actors now play roles that don't have anything to do with being Black; I think studio execs would come around pretty quickly when they realise that, holy crap, everyone in Hollywood is a raging homo.

In early anticipation of National Coming Out Day (11 October), the following people are gay:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Hayden Christensen
Jessica Alba
Tom Cruise (woops! How did he get in there?)
Ricky Martin
Jake Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Lance Armstrong
Jimmy Fallon
Elijah Wood
Sherlock Holmes
Sally Struthers
Lunchlady Doris
Mary Queen of Scots
Jeff Probst
Helen Keller

Okay– so some of those people probably aren't gay (yeah, they're air-quote "bisexual"). The point is I fully support Perez Hilton's stated goal of outing everyone in Hollywood. Who's with me?

6 comments:

jolie-chan said...

i agree with perez's outings because nothing will change unless people talk about this stuff and people wont unless forced to do so....look at rock hudson to name one...however i do not necessarily agree that celebs have a right to privacy...im not saying that people hiding in trees by their homes is appropriate or that sorta crazy princess di stalkings are cool...but these photogs and even perez are the reason these people can afford the very stuff they claim they dont need when they have it (its funny how when u have money its so easy to say u dont need material possessions all u need is your family and love- again not disputing it - but theyd prolly feel different if they were poor with children to raise) So really if u dont want to be famous never take a film or tv job u can still act and make money....

Jennifer said...

I have difficulty getting past the idea that talking about your sexuality is kind of weird. If someone isn't a good enough friend that I'd tell them a story that involved me and sex, then I also don't feel comfortable talking about my sexuality with them.
This especially goes with my family. No one talks about sex in my family. No one. I can't blame them, I think it's kind of weird. I wouldn't tell my family about my straight sex life, so why would I tell them about my gay sex life?
I think a lot of people who are homophobic wouldn't be if someone they admired from TV came out.
I've known several people who have changed their tune on homosexuality after making a gay friend.
I don't know if it's kosher to out people, but that's what I'm thinking.

Tokyo Tintin said...

jenni-

so you agree that since famous people coming out would reduce homophobia, all hollywood celebs should be outed?

good. i'm glad we're in agreement.

as for sex and sexuality (which to me are not necessarily related; sex is an act, homoness is an identity), i think keeping this topic "private" causes a lot more harm than good. things that are out in the open and public are much easier to deal with than things which must be tippytoed around the bush on eggshells. the more open everyone is, the more relaxed and happy we can all be.

besides, you seem to have no problem whatsoever talking about poo, what's your big deal with the sex?

Tokyo Tintin said...

jolie-kun-

i also think that celebrities who complain about bad press should shut the hell up. --if you don't want all the attention, why on earth did you become a movie actor/rock star? if you don't like all the media buzz and crazy stalkers, it's easy; stop making movies, move to wisconsin, marry someone boring and spend the rest of your life as a normal person. simple as that.

Tokyo Tintin said...

Wait a minute, Helen Keller isn't gay — she's deaf. Dammit, I'm always getting those two mixed up!

Also gay:
Hugh Jackman
Superman
Wentworth Miller
Lukas Rossi

Oh, and when I said Jessica Alba is gay, I actually meant Michelle Rodriguez, but whatever, they're both gay.

Jennifer said...

Yeah but why talk about your sexual identity at all, makes me wrinkle my nose at the thought of telling my parents about my sexual preferences. I don't even really feel comfortable introducing them to boyfriends. 'Mom, dad, this is the person with whom I have nasty hot sex!"