Adam speaks his mind on US leader chosen for the Oympic delegation

Here's a clip from Kelly Rippon's phone interview with Chris Cuomo earlier today: https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/961644128927850496

I posted the link to a brief AP news item late last night -- here's a Reuters article: Gay skater Rippon open to meeting Pence - after Games
Rippon declined to confirm if Pence had in fact reached out to him, referring queries to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
“I don’t want to distract from the competition or make this too much for my competitors and my teammates,” he told reporters after a practice session.
“After the competition I‘m open to meeting him and having an open conversation, but opening ceremonies are tomorrow and I’ve been really focused,” Rippon, who is taking part in his first Olympics, added. <snip>
“I’ve been waiting 28 years to be here and I want to do everything I can to stay focused and ready for this opportunity,” he said. “It’s my opportunity to show the world what I’ve got and represent my country the very best that I can.”
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Skittl1321 said:
There likely is difference in men and women. Generally LGBTQ women in the Olympics either don't get mentioned as being so or are mentioned just in passing. From my time at a very conservative college, I would surmise to say that's because (a hopefully small subset) some men think of lesbians as desirable, as if they exist for their fantasies, but being a gay man is disgusting.

It is also probably a societal thing. The US is completely hung up on this, whereas the Dutch and Swedish probably aren't- or maybe they are for men? I don't really know. But because the US has such a religious culture, there are so many people, many in our government, who think being gay is WRONG.

Also, in general, gender non-conforming women are accepted in US society, when gender non-conforming men are less so. We hear a lot about where trans-women should be going the bathroom. No one seems to care about the trans-men (mostly in that they don't think about it. Probably the same people would think that is "icky"). We hear tons about how little girls can play with trucks, and should be outdoorsy and rough and that's awesome and great; little boys are rarely encouraged to play with Barbies or have dance parties in tutus.
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It's better for women to show masculine traits than for men to show feminine traits. Because being a stereotypical woman is worse than being a stereotypical man.

Homophobia and sexism often go hand-in-hand.
 
Anita18 said:
It's better for women to show masculine traits than for men to show feminine traits. Because being a stereotypical woman is worse than being a stereotypical man.

Homophobia and sexism often go hand-in-hand.
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It depends on the situation and the trait. the Williams sisters are slammed for being "masculine" i.e having muscles. Remember that French commentator that complained about women swimmers having unfeminine bodies. People also complain when women speak for a couple or seem less traditional. I think people are fine with women adopting male traits in a minor role but not when it means athletic domination or it comes as a threat to male dominance.
 
Frida80 said:
It depends on the situation and the trait. the Williams sisters are slammed for being "masculine" i.e having muscles. Remember that French commentator that complained about women swimmers having unfeminine bodies. People also complain when women speak for a couple or seem less traditional. I think people are fine with women adopting male traits in a minor role but not when it means athletic domination or it comes as a threat to male dominance.
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Definitely true as well.

Homophobia ~ Sexism ~ Toxic masculinity. I think we've hit the trifecta? :shuffle:
 
Skittl1321 said:
We hear tons about how little girls can play with trucks, and should be outdoorsy and rough and that's awesome and great; little boys are rarely encouraged to play with Barbies or have dance parties in tutus.
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That really depends on where you live, local social standards, and your immediate surrounding. In the immigrant communities from "Old World" girls are NOT encouraged to play with trucks or be rough or to break established gender roles too much. At the same time, what is projected in the "mass media" for the last two decades, in various forms are, "the sensitive men" who cry, feel insecure, show "hurt", and like many same things as women. There are so many films and sit-coms presenting and almost obviously encouraging the "sensitive men", with dialogues between men on the subjects originally associated with "women"...
 
Tinami Amori said:
At the same time, what is projected in the "mass media" for the last two decades, in various forms are, "the sensitive men" who cry, feel insecure, show "hurt", and like many same things as women. There are so many films and sit-coms presenting and almost obviously encouraging the "sensitive men", with dialogues between men on the subjects originally associated with "women"...
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I wouldn't expect you to understand why that's such a good thing. The toxic masculinity that states that "boys never cry" and so on is incredibly damaging to men's mental health. So many men die of problems that could have been sorted out earlier if they hadn't been raised in a mindset that "men are tough, just suck it up". So many men commit suicide because they thought they would be seen as "weak" if they spoke about their problems.

We need to encourage men and boys to express their feelings. It's okay to cry. It's okay to feel unwell, to go to the doctor. It's okay to need some help.

Toxic masculinity is also linked with domestic violence and rape, so we should be quite eager to help out with this one. Naturally, you'd think otherwise.
 
snoopy said:
It is being mis-reported/mis-represented. The original reports say Adam is the first openly gay *US* Olympic athlete.
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I think some are now specifying the first openly gay US Winter Olympics athlete, although I'm not sure who the Summer Olympics athlete might have been.
 
It's sort of of a hard thing to define as well because who knows how many Olympians were actually out but didn't have an agent or receive media attention or the publicity to make have the media ask that athlete about it, even with all the conditions they're adding on to it?
 
Judy said:
As a Canadian I say good for you Adam.

Being gay is much more than sex.
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Agreed. Just the very thought of 'sex' freaks some people out. At the end of the day, we're all just bits and bobs.

I wonder how differently gay people would be treated if they were defined by a love for tofu?
 
essence_of_soy said:
I wonder how differently gay people would be treated if they were defined by a love for tofu?
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As a vegetarian I can tell you that they would probably be bombarded with comments about how bland and icky tofu is and how can they possibly survive without eating healthy food like beef :rolleyes: Sadly I think some people will always find a reason to diss on someone who doesn't meet their ideas of "normal".
 
overedge said:
As a vegetarian I can tell you that they would probably be bombarded with comments about how bland and icky tofu is and how can they possibly survive without eating healthy food like beef :rolleyes: Sadly I think some people will always find a reason to diss on someone who doesn't meet their ideas of "normal".
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Haha. When I became a vegetarian, my parents hoped it would only be a phase. That was almost 30 years ago.

A friend of mine said she tried vegetarianism, but gave up because she always felt hungry.
 
overedge said:
I think some are now specifying the first openly gay US Winter Olympics athlete, although I'm not sure who the Summer Olympics athlete might have been.
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As far as Team USA goes, it was likely David Pichler at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney (9th, platform).
 
rhapsody said:
I was going to point this out before I saw your post. Lesbians are gay people too. :respec:
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:D I always wondered why the term "gay" is used. lives of people with different orientation was/is hardly "gay" (cheerful and carefree)... and the fact that heterosexuals think that same-sex relationships are "gay" brings a question: "gay" as opposed to what? sulky and dreary missionary style sex?

When the LG movement started in USSR/Russia in the late 1980's, the terms were "Blue" for men, and "Pink" for women, and called "Blue-Pink Movement".... but that's also not "official" descriptions.

All the current terms for LGBT community (except for term LGBT) are still colloquialisms. Wondering if people will soon come up with formal or literary (respectable) terms....
 
Japanfan said:
And I agree with you to a certain extent that celebrities can be hypocritical when they speak out against poverty or other things at the Academic Awards, wearing gowns that could feed a family for six months.
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First off, fabulous post! ITA that people need to speak up and people with large platforms need to speak because they can make a difference.

As for quoted part, this is a sentiment I have never understood. Somebody had to design that gown, make the gown, make the fabric. People work for those people who do those things: accountants, janitors, salespeople, assistants, etc etc. If you have enough money to buy a gown like that, please do. It employs people. Many of the people who buy those gowns also give to charity and support charities with volunteer hours. Giving and supporting charities is important, but so is creating jobs so people can make their own money. Yes, we could all just wear sacks, but that would put a lot of people our of work.
 
AxelAnnie said:
Imagine La Leche League parading through a city...boobs out babies latched on to emphasize how natural breast feeding is.
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I am confused, wouldn't this be a good thing? That is what women’s breasts are for afterall. Now I am in the “Fed is best” camp, but I also believe that in enlightened countries with extended maternity leave breast feeding is a good thing for both mom and babe. There just needs to be lots of support without shaming those for whom it doesn’t work.
 
Here's Chris Cuomo speaking with Christine Brennan to clarify the details of what happened from the beginning after Adam spoke out upon being aked a question about Mike Pence leading the U.S. delegation to Pyeongchang. V.P. and his office are the ones who look bad and FAKE in all of this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOlDN9afEYM

Keep going Adam! We all got your back!!! Check out Adam's fan thread for links to all the supportive tweets he's received from so many people including high profile athletes, journalists, etc: James Blake, Chelsea Clinton, Philip Rucker, Leslie Jones, et al
https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/the-adam-rippon-good-news-thread.90289/page-17#post-5286539

The support shown to this tweet by Adam is priceless!!! I corrected the link
https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/963402728704638976
Adam's tweet :cheer2:
"To all those who tweet at me saying that they “hope I fail”, I have failed many times many times in my life. But more importantly, I’ve learned from every setback, proudly own up to my mistakes, grown from disappointments, and now I’m a glamazon bitch ready for the runway."

YOU GO ADAM!!! :cheer2: :encore: :kickass:

Adam interviewed on Good Morning America, after winning Team event bronze medal. I like Adam's witty and gracious responses, and the way he carries himself so proud and strong! Slay that rink Adam! :cheer2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eadJo9DoafE

The View talks about Pence's reprehensible attitudes and beliefs coming back to bite him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH9Jkiq21wg

Adam doesn't need to meet with Pence and his staff, because they are users, and totally fake. Pence is self-interested in suggesting a meeting with Adam. Kudos to Adam for being smart enough to realize Pence is being petty, and not really wanting to reach out in genuine openness. Pence wants to use it as a photo-op, and Adam doesn't need that. Whoopi is right in how she sees it.
 
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Rippon said Pence needed to go to church to learn to be a better Christian and learn about Christianity but he is just being awful to Pence. Totally unchristian behavior for a devout and evangelical Christian.
 
^^^ caseyedwards is paraphrasing Adam incorrectly. His exact quote in Christine Brennan's 1/17/18 column is:
“I don’t think he has a real concept of reality,” Rippon said of Pence. “To stand by some of the things that Donald Trump has said and for Mike Pence to say he’s a devout Christian man is completely contradictory. If he’s okay with what’s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called ‘shitholes,' I think he should really go to church."
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VP Pence tweeted directly at Adam before he arrived in Pyeongchang but the tweet has since been deleted from his Twitter timeline. However, it will live on, having been cited in many articles, such as this one: https://mashable.com/2018/02/08/mike-pence-gay-olympics-rippon/#WP2o5GxZAkq4
 
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