Amber Glenn: What Pride Month Means To Me As An Out Athlete

[Sylvia]

FIGURE SKATER AMBER GLENN: WHAT PRIDE MONTH MEANS TO ME AS AN OUT ATHLETE (June 11, 2021) via TeamUSA.org:

https://www.teamusa.org/News/2021/June/11/Figure-Skater-Amber-Glenn-What-Pride-Month-Means-To-Me-As-An-Out-Athlete

Excerpts:

To have opportunities now that so many people fought for, like gay marriage, is something that should be celebrated. That’s the goal of Pride Month. While it’s great to see everyone wearing rainbows and having fun, Pride Month is about celebrating the progress we’ve made while striving to make even more. We need to keep pushing boundaries in the hopes that down the road things can become even more accepted, and eventually normalized.
For me, the message I hope to share as an out athlete is that you can accomplish anything in life — and in sport — no matter your sexuality or what gender you identify with. No matter what pronoun you use, you should be able to go after whatever it is that you’re passionate about. It makes me proud knowing that I can help someone realize that it’s okay to be you. Don’t hide your true self!

I remember at [2020] nationals not long after, a young girl came up to me crying saying that after years of struggling with her gender identity she was finally able to be honest with her mom. Her mom was with her and thanked me, saying her daughter was in a dark place before that and I inspired her to come out. I started crying too and the three of us were in a hotel lobby bawling.
That means a lot to me because from a young age I’ve struggled with my own mental health, and I try to send out the message that it’s okay to struggle — as long as you keep pushing through those struggles. Don’t ever give up.

Re-posting here from Amber's fan thread:
Queerty is honoring 50 individuals who made a positive impact in the last year and who are helping to lead the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all queer people. Article by Dan Clarendon (June 15, 2021):

Figure skating champ Amber Glenn brought pansexual visibility to the podium - Queerty

"Being perceived as ‘just a phase’ or ‘indecisive’ is a common thing for bisexual/pansexual women. I don’t want to shove my sexuality in people’s faces, but I also don’t want to hide who I am."

www.queerty.com

The Queerty article references this article that @layman originally posted in the U.S. Ladies thread back in March:

Amber Glenn: America's pansexual skating star on coming out and breaking through

Since coming out as pansexual, the US national silver medalist has thrust herself into the conversation for next year’s Olympics

www.theguardian.com

 

[Sylvia]

Eliot Halverson will chat live with Amber today (Thursday, June 17) at 6 pm Eastern time on USFS' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQMnK0gMh7S/

Edited in the link to their IG Live replay video (16 mins.): https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQPOfQtDL1p/

 

[Sylvia]

IN COMING OUT, AMBER GLENN INSPIRES FANS ACROSS THE GLOBE (June 16):

In Coming Out, Amber Glenn Inspires Fans Across the Globe | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

Excerpt:

But having even one out female skater helps enormously, she says, and means only good things for the future of diversity within the sport.
“It means there is more acceptance within the sport, and more room for females in the sport,” Schagunn said. “Females of color, females who identify as anything other than straight, whatever. That the governing body of U.S. Figure Skating recognizes that someone that is not a straight, white woman can succeed in the sport. It means that a lot of girls who are struggling with their sexuality can kind of relax and know that it doesn’t matter, that they can just focus on their skating and let the skating speak for itself.
“Who you love off the ice should make no difference in how you’re judged, or what competitions you get to do. That you don’t quit the sport because you don’t feel that you fit in. That there is a place for you.”

 

[Sylvia]

Local Dallas TV news article & embedded video featuring Amber and teammates Cain-Gribble/LeDuc for Pride Month:

North Texas natives, Olympic figure skating hopefuls take pride in their identity off the ice

"After I came out, I felt so much more free. I was able to be free," said Amber Glenn, of Plano.

www.wfaa.com

Glenn was a silver medalist in the 2021 national championships. Any athlete who has accomplished anything has been through their share of ups and downs, and Glenn is no exception. Several years ago she actually left figure skating.
"I wasn't skating because I loved it. I was doing it, because that's all I knew," said Glenn. [...]
Glenn does not like labels but identifies as pansexual. The textbook definition for pansexual is "not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity."
"I like a person for who they are...and if I get along with them," said Glenn.

 

[Sylvia]

LeDuc excerpt from the article linked above:

LeDuc identifies as queer. And yes, pride month to him is a celebration but so much more.
"Pride is a protest. It started as a protest in the 60s," said LeDuc.
Both are openly LGBTQ athletes in an arena where pressures to perform and conform are real.
"[I want people to know] really that a champion of the sport can be a queer person, that a champion of a sport doesn't have to change something about themselves in order to be at the top," said LeDuc. [...]
"Yes, we can celebrate during Pride Month, but the work isn't done," said LeDuc.

Copying over these relevant posts from the U.S. Pairs thread:

Timothy LeDuc mentioned in his IG Live conversation with Eliot Halverson [on June 10] (at 7:30 in USFS' IGTV video linked here) ... that he identifies as a "non-binary person" and his "pronouns are they/them" after the 6-min. mark of the chat.

I also really liked their discussion about the heavily gendered roles in skating. Timothy said they prefer to refer to themself as the "lifting partner" when discussing their role in the pair. I loved that.

 

[skylark]

Local Dallas TV news article & embedded video featuring Amber and teammates Cain-Gribble/LeDuc for Pride Month:

North Texas natives, Olympic figure skating hopefuls take pride in their identity off the ice

"After I came out, I felt so much more free. I was able to be free," said Amber Glenn, of Plano.

www.wfaa.com

At 2:36, it looks like the catch of a twist, where Timothy catches Ashley with one hand at her waist and one hand under her left leg. I've never seen them do a twist catch that way, and I like it. I was wondering whether that's within the requirements of the twist, to catch that way? Or is he just flipping her at the end of a lift?

 

[tony]

At 2:36, it looks like the catch of a twist, where Timothy catches Ashley with one hand at her waist and one hand under her left leg. I've never seen them do a twist catch that way, and I like it. I was wondering whether that's within the requirements of the twist, to catch that way? Or is he just flipping her at the end of a lift?

That's the dismount from a lift

 

[skylark]

That's the dismount from a lift

Thanks ... I thought of that after I posted. Guess I should've deleted it.

But as long as I'm here, I'll say how much I enjoyed that video interview. There were some wonderful clips of all three, but especially Ashley and Tim. It's well worth watching.