The Simtropolis Closet Thread - deux!

[Duke87 1,070]

bipartisan curiousquote>

oh i c wat u did thar

(Ow. It hurts when I do that.)

[s.i.X 13]

Haha, I love giraffes!

[Zelgadis 638]

Ricky Martin is finally out of the closet.

ISF

 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Considering the popularity of Mambo No. 5, this is quite a turnaround.  Gay or straight, he is a very good artist.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

Considering the popularity of Mambo No. 5, this is quite a turnaround. quote>

That was Lou Bega.

[s.i.X 13]

Don't remind us. Please.

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Took him long enough.

[Wrightguy0 40]

1,2,345. salt in the wound i got the tune stuck in my head, but i don't remember the words ._.

though that may be a good thing

[Meg 368]

Is there some reason I should care about celebrities' sex lives?  How is it my business?

Just for clarification, I don't mean why are people talking about it here.  I mean, why is it on the news?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Originally posted by: Meg

Is there some reason I should care about celebrities' sex lives?  How is it my business?

Just for clarification, I don't mean why are people talking about it here.  I mean, why is it on the news?

quote>

Because it is a "soft" news day, and there is nothing to write about.  So the media attacks some poor celebrity as being a soft target.  The modern habit of delving into the private lives of famous/infamous persons is salacious at best and an obscene at worst.  In America, I think it all goes back to congressional hearings digging into the lives of appointees in public.

The whole business disgusts me.

[Zelgadis 638]

Originally posted by: Meg

Is there some reason I should care about celebrities' sex lives?  How is it my business?

Just for clarification, I don't mean why are people talking about it here.  I mean, why is it on the news?

quote>

A common misconception.  What's important to remember is that sexuality and sex are not the same thing.  So far, not a thing has been mentioned in this thread or in the article I linked about Ricky Martin's sex life.  I do not care about celebrity sex lives either and would not be interested in knowing Ricky Martin's dating history.  

Microsoft made a similar excuse when they basically banned the use of the word "gay" from the Xbox Live profiles (they have recently backed off that).  They claimed that it violated decency standards assuming that sexuality and sex were one in the same.  They are not.  Being gay is simply another piece of who I am, albeit a significant one. Homosexuality is a very complex combination of attraction, behavior, and way of thinking that is not yet fully understood and manifests itself differently in each person.  If you don't know I'm gay, quite frankly, you don't know me.  

ISF

[s.i.X 13]

You might not care, Meg, but millions of Americans eat that stuff up. You've been to the grocery store! You know how it is. I know far more about John and Kate than I could ever care to.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Homosexuality is a very complex combination of attraction, behavior, and way of thinking that is not yet fully understood and manifests itself differently in each person.  If you don't know I'm gay, quite frankly, you don't know me.  quote>

I can understand that.   and I do know you . . . well, okay, we haven't meet in RL but I talk with you more these days than many of my cousins and I do know you better than I know some of them.  and, yeah, I know you're gay.  and I can see how conversation could be awkward if I didn't know that.

But I don't know Ricky Martin.  I'm never going to meet him and the details of his personal life, whatever they happen to be, are his business and not mine.   Why is this making headlines?  Contrary to what NOB said, it wasn't a slow news day.  There are all sorts of things going on in the world that I'm not hearing about.

And, yes, I do understand that it is a big deal to the person involved.  For those who haven't read it, I recommend "Breaking the Surface" by Greg Louganis.

But I agree with s.I.X; I know more about John and Kate than I care to.  and, if I hear that one more mistress of one more famous guy comes crawling out of the woodwork to grab her 15 seconds of fame, I'll put that so-called news station on my do-not-watch list.

Sounds like my real objection is to news sources that provide things that aren't news.   Which is beyond the topic of this thread.

Never mind . . . 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Meg, you seem to be setting a personal standard, which is commendable considering your long experience.  I, too, fail to find any mention of any aspect of the personal lives of anyone to lack newsworthiness.  It is not particularly interesting, as Ian says, that he is gay.  I think we all have known that fact for a long time, and accepted it as one of the characteristics of his personality.  His orientation is just something you keep in mind when you are talkting to or about him.  It is simply a matter of respect. 

Sexual orientation is about as newsworthy as the kind of milk you drink.  The press ignores or plays this up in ways unfathomable to me and many of us.  For instance, the world fighure skating championships just ended.  Did the press note that one of the coaches of at least one world championship winners is gay?  That aspect of his life was hot in the press a few years ago, but has now died completely.

[Shadow Assassin 336]

The worst bit is well... the media knows just how much money they can make out of that sort of thing. And they exploit it as much as possible.

If this weren't the case, we wouldn't see marauding bands of paparazzi all over the place.

[CHR 2]

To give a different perspective on this, I think that the media should be allowed to report on things like this, as fundamentally, I think the news is around to provide information to people on current topics that interest them.

While I myself don't care at all about all this - the who is going out with who or who went to which party and ate what - there are plenty of people who do. The more "newsworthy" topics, say an earthquake on the other side of the world, are of little interest to many of the people I know - they would rather talk about various celebrities lives, simply because these are the topics that they know about and can talk to others over. 

Indeed one could argue that reports on things such as crimes or even disasters in foreign lands are irrelevant to the vast majority of people, because it simply doesn't concern them. The only use for the information is to have something to discuss, or to enhance your knowledge of the world - which is exactly what these celebrity things do for the people who want to know about that.

Personally, I think the news would be far more interesting if this celebrity stuff was not included, but as a large number of people are genuinely interested in these kinds of stories, and if no one is being harmed (especially in this case, considering he was the one who told everyone), then I see no reason why the news should not include it.

[Zelgadis 638]

Correct me if I'm wrong, Meg, but aren't you the one who spread the news all over the forums that what's-her-name from Family Ties is a lesbian?  

Anyway, as for such kinds of news, I think it's relevant up to a point.  I like to know what makes artists tick and it helps to know a bit about them.  Knowing that Tom Cruise is completely nuts explains a lot about why he almost always plays such pompous, I'm-the-best characters in his movies.  

Confirming that Ricky Martin is gay pretty much explains why his love ballads, while good, never really soared.

When I write my stories, I think it gives my audience a little better connection when they understand a little of who I am and why I write the way I do.

On the flip side, a little mystery is good too.  Yes, I would like to understand who you are as an artist.  No, I do not need to know what parties you go to or with whom you've been sleeping.

ISF

 

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Correct me if I'm wrong, Meg, but aren't you the one who spread the news all over the forums that what's-her-name from Family Ties is a lesbian?  quote>

  You do have a point there.

As I recall, a teenager here was a bit frustrated that it was taking so long to figure it out and I was pointing out that sometimes it takes decades.

Anyway, as for such kinds of news, I think it's relevant up to a point.  I like to know what makes artists tick and it helps to know a bit about them.  Knowing that Tom Cruise is completely nuts explains a lot about why he almost always plays such pompous, I'm-the-best characters in his movies.  quote>

Whereas I would prefer it if he did not subject the rest of us to his nutjob ways.    He was jumping up and down on Oprah's couch to get attention.   and the media complied and gave it to him.   I would rather they give attention to people who actually accomplish something.

While being gay (or part of a racial or ethnic group) may a significant factor in a person's identity, it is not an accomplishment.   We are all born with certain demographics (male, female, straight, gay, bi, black, white, hispanic, and so forth).   Often those demographics are a bit muddled together and it can take a while to sort out.  But I see that as a personal journey, not a public one.  Talking with friends and various support networks is one thing.  Making the news is another.

If you read Greg Louganis' book (it is a good recounting of a public figure coming out), you can see that, for a long time, he was terrified that people would find out and that would somehow negate his accomplishments.   It didn't.  He is still the greatest diver who has ever lived.   and many people kinda already knew anyway.  The fact that people kept sending him teddy bears might have been a clue.

I can see the need to have a "poster boy" to bring certain demographics into public awareness.  For instance, Ryan White became the face the AIDS epidemic.    At a time when many thought that AIDS was a consequence of improper behavior, here was a grade school kid who had done nothing but have hemophilia.

Apparently Ricky Martin is now the poster boy for gay Latinos.  I would have thought there had already been one by now but I guess not.

I have basically the same reaction when I hear that we have the first black this, the first latino that, or the first female whatever.   As long as we are making an issue about a person's basic demographics, we are still a society where a person's demographics are an issue.   Can't we move past that?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Good point.  We will never have a "new world order" until we become completely color blind and insensitive to personal traits.

[Vahr 341]

Novus Ordo Seclorum

(Or something like that)

Anyways, I just don't get why people are so interested in celeberties, but oh well. (maybe because I can't spell it lol)

[Chptrk 86]

Originally posted by: Blue Lightning

Anyways, I just don't get why people are so interested in celeberties, but oh well. (maybe because I can't spell it lol)quote>

1. Because soom people want to take a break from their lives and see the messed up lives of other people.

2. Cuz some celebrities, are hot.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

Good point.  We will never have a "new world order" until we become completely color blind and insensitive to personal traits.

quote>

I'm not advocating being insensitive.  But can we stop going "ZOMG!" every time we encounter someone from a different demographic?

When I was a kid, and we had forced busing to integrate the schools, it was "ZOMG!  It's a black person!"   (well, okay, we didn't say ZOMG back then.)

Nowadays, it's "ZOMG!  It's a gay person!"

I'm just tired of ZOMG!ing.

[Wrightguy0 40]

me too, there are other things more worthy of my attention than who likes dating who. nuff said

[Vahr 341]

1. Because soom people want to take a break from their lives and see the messed up lives of other people.

2. Cuz some celebrities, are hot.

quote>

True, true. But yeah, I could care less about what they do. They got a dog? So what, I don't need my nightly news covered with that.

[CHR 2]

True, true. But yeah, I could care less about what they do. They got a dog? So what, I don't need my nightly news covered with that.quote>

While you don't feel the need to have your news covered with that recent pet acquisitions, many other people do. I would suggest the only fair way to determine the newsworthiness of a story is what the majority or people want to learn about. 

I find that I mostly don't watch TV news, because I can find out everything I want (and not the stuff everyone else wants) in a fraction of the time and in greater detail on the internet. Even for the stuff I am interested in, I find that TV generally tries to bombard you with shocking pictures, and doesn't actually present as much in the way of informative facts.

[Timmystwin 201]

Im not interested as, TBH, it doesnt affect me in any way. Wow someone has a dog, wow they are actually human instead of some form of god. If its something that is interesting, like theyve had a child then thats ok but saying people have gone shopping with relatives? Why?. Although at the min the iceland thing is helping to buff out the news.

[dev 47]

Guess who is no longer a repressed conservative and is finally out of the closet...?

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: dev

Guess who is no longer a repressed conservative and is finally out of the closet...?quote>

Dev?  Is that you?

[fukuda 351]

Welcome back, dev

[Zelgadis 638]

If you'll excuse me for  second, I have to go apologize to the neighbors.  My jaw just fell clean through the floor and into their living room downstairs...  

ISF