This has become fast news, with everyone wanting to voice an
opinion, whether it be a message of respect for his bravery in coming out, or a
crass joke of the “about bloody time” or “no shit Sherlock” nature. Every news
site seems to be covering it; it’s clearly a huge deal.
And that makes perfect sense. It’s 2013; homosexuality is
exceedingly rare, almost no one seems to be doing it, and even less commonly
out in the open, publicly. Who would dare? It’s shocking, people are shunned
for it, clearly wrongdoers and anomalies. And for a public figure to be gay?
Well no one would ever dream such a thing could happen; he’s clearly the first,
the only one even.
Oh wait. It’s 2013; that’s bullshit. We’re a fairly open
society, reasonably understanding and accepting, certainly much more so than in
previous eras. There are a number of gay celebrities, many very openly so.
Social attitudes are more or less around the point that no-one cares if you’re
gay or not, it doesn’t really matter; we won’t shun you because of it.
 |
| straight? |
Yes, it’s not a perfect society, some people still do take
an issue with it, but a lot more people take issue with them. Every year there
are more and more stories of acceptance and breaking down of barriers. It’s all
moving in the right direction, and we’re getting pretty close.
So why is Tom Daley’s sexuality such big news? Why is it
news at all? He’s not even the first openly gay Olympian; there have been
others before him, some who’ve come out to take a stand, rather than just for
media attention.
To wrap up, it’s not a big deal, it didn’t need to be news.
And I’d like to be the first to offer Mr Daley a hearty “meh”.
Words by Ari Carrington
