XPost: alt.politics.homosexuality, sac.politics
During the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, it's been fun to watch
Kristin Armstrong hug her son or fawn over Michael Phelps's son,
Boomer. But the human-interest stories covered during the
worldwide event can also be problematic. Fox Sports caused
controversy with its debate about Olympian makeup, while other
commentators gave credit to the husbands of female Olympians who
won medals. And perhaps most egregious, one journalist posed as
a gay man to gain insight on the hookup culture in the Olympic
village. The article revealed long-standing and troubling
attitudes toward gay men that still persist, even in 2016.
On Thursday, The Daily Beast published a story chronicling one
straight, married man's attempts to secure a date in the Olympic
village. In the piece, reporter Nico Hines cites having made
attempts on multiple dating apps including Bumble and Tinder but
quickly shrugs off the others in favor of discussing one in
particular: Grindr. If you're not familiar, Grindr is a location-
based dating and hookup app for gay men. The original article
not only described Hines's deceptive way of securing these so-
called "dates" with gay men but also offered enough contextual
details to identify most, if not all, of the Olympians who were
targeted. These details included general stats about appearance
and each Olympian's country of origin. After initial backlash,
the story was heavily edited, then eventually taken down. This
isn't just an editorial oversight. It's not just offensive to
the LGBTQ community, and it's not just problematic, either. It's
actually incredibly dangerous.
According to The Washington Post, homosexual activities are
illegal in 75 countries. In 10 of those countries, homosexual
behavior is punishable by death. At a global event such as the
Olympics, encountering a closeted athlete is likely inevitable.
As consenting adults, Olympians should feel free and safe to
seek sexual encounters. The act of downloading Grindr as a
straight, married man is inherently dishonest, as the app was
designed for gay men who wish to connect to other gay men. But
taking it a step further and potentially outing closeted
athletes — individuals who could potentially be put to death for
their identity — is more than just dishonest. It's reckless.
The Troubling Effects of Outing Someone
Regardless of whether or not it poses a dangerous threat to a
person's life, there's never a good reason to push an individual
out of the closet. Former *NSYNC member Lance Bass nailed it
when he appeared on Bethenny Frankel's talk show back in 2013.
When asked about outing closeted gay celebrities in Hollywood,
he said, "I know tons of celebrities that are in the closet
right now. But it's up to them to decide if they want to come
out or not. And I will support any decision they make." Coming
out is a deeply personal, difficult decision that must never be
taken lightly. It's singularly up to the person in question to
determine when the timing is right. For someone who's not openly
gay, Grindr can be a somewhat safe place. It allows them to be
as authentic as they want, to meet their needs without the
sometimes grave consequences. When a straight, married man
infiltrates that community, though, it shatters.
Outing someone can be traumatic. It's like pushing someone into
a pool, or pulling a rug out from under them. There's an
undeniable devastation when you feel like you've lost control of
your own story and personal narrative.
Slut Shaming the Gay Community With Tired Stereotypes
In addition to its disregard for the privacy and safety of
Olympians, the article also subscribes to the narrative that gay
men are too promiscuous. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on
the fact that one gay man wanted "a sex foto" and that our
straight, married narrator had a picture "just of [his] face,"
as though to suggest any other kind of photo might be unsavory
or immodest.
For what it's worth, The Daily Beast replaced the post with an
apology, which essentially boiled down to: "We were wrong. We're
sorry." What I find most troubling is that the results were
presented as such a monumental discovery in the first place.
That Grindr became more of a game than a means of connecting to
like-minded people. It was never about the subtleties of sex and
dating in the Olympic village, it was about hunting and
demoralizing homosexual men. It was about securing three dates
in one hour, as though it were some kind of trophy. And now, the
lives of a handful of brave Olympians could be in danger. Now, a
sex-positive community must find itself plagued with betrayal
and distrust. Those are the kinds of things you can't take back.
Homosexuality is NOT sex-positive. It's a mental disease.
http://www.popsugar.com/news/Daily-Beast-Report-Grindr-Olympics-
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