We noticed most of the local media coverage of the Gay Games in Chicago seems to assume that most people are okay with it or think it's a good idea, but is that accurately reflecting what most of you really think?
This event was originally supposed to be held in Montreal. Chicago Mayor Dick Daley, who is doing everything possible to distract everyone from his massive corruption scandal, is a big supporter of the event. His director of marketing is apparently a gay activist.
Is having an athletic competition around sexual orientation or "lifestyle" right or wrong?
22 comments:
This may be politically incorrect to say, but I think the Gay Games are improper.
Under their basis of "inclusion" and whatever else, we could have "former sex offender games" for a certain group.
The comment comparing the Gay Games to an event for "former sex offenders" is both hateful and ignorant. Regardless of what one's personal perspective on homosexuality is, there is simply no comparison between a romantic relationship between two consenting adults and the forcing of unwanted sexual behavior on a unwilling victim.
Perhaps "anonymous" is simply disappointed that there is no "Ignorant Bigot Games" in which he or she may participate.
I do not think that a persons sexual orientation should be a prerequisite for any athletic competition. Anymore than their religious preferences. Or their skin color.
The entire point of the Gay Games is that there ARE no requirements for inclusion. Gay or Straight, Man or Woman, Black or White, it doesn't matter.
They enfore a policy of no exclusion and no bigotry. I think most folks are simply afraid of the word "Gay"
i must have misunderstood the whole concept. I did not look carefully enough and once again assumed the wrong thing. If it is indeed how u say it is michael, then i have no problem with the gay games. it matters not what they call it if every1 is invited to parcipitate
There are gay people who participate in normal athetic competitions. Greg Louganis, the Olympic diver, comes to mind. The Olympics don't exclude gay people, so why do we need a separate event that specifically says "Gay Games" if it's supposed to be for anyone?
The vast majority of people are not gay. Are the vast majority of Gay Games participants gay or not? If they are gay, then it's not "inclusive" as being claimed.
I personally don't care if someone is gay or not, but I see no reason for a Gay Games. Under the logic of two consenting adults, you could have the INCEST GAMES. Would that be okay since if its consenting adults?
Yes, there are gay athletes in the Olympics, but most of them are forced to remain closeted in order to compete without harassment. Louganis, for example, did not come out until after his Olympic career. Some of his fellow divers, however, knew that he was gay, and most of those who knew were not accepting, to say the least.
If you bothered to actually read the information about the Gay Games, you would know that 5% of the participants identify as straight. Furthermore, the Gaymes include senior athletes and those with physical challenges. There is NO other athletic forum that is as inclusive as the Gay Games.
Since you compare being gay to incest, I seriously doubt your statement that you don't care about others' sexual orientation. (Just like whenever you hear the phrase, "Now I'm, not racist but..." you can be sure that a racist remark is about to follow, homophobes generally seem to try to disavow their prejudice as well.)
If you bothered to learn anything about self-concept, you would know that there are four generally-accepted primary identities: gender, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic. Being gay isn't about a specific sexual act (which incest is). Sexual orientation -- gay or straight -- is instead a principal, defining element of an individual. And as long as society as a whole discriminates against members of the GLBT community, there will be a need for events like the Gay Games, pride parades, and other GLBT-centered activities. And unless you are a member of a minority group, then I doubt if there is any way you can truly inderstand the function such events serve.
It is finewith me as long as Twister and Buck/Buck are not included
If it is so inclusive, why call it Gay Games? I'm so tired of all the diversity and factions that are only serving to separate people from one another. What ever happened to the "melting pot?" Does everybody have to belong to a group now? What happened to our independence?
Doesn't "independence" mean that we are free to be who and what we are? There is no idependence if we all must become clones, conforming to some national standard.
Today it seems so many people gripe about the lack of unity compared to the past. Well there was no genuine unity in the past! The male, heterosexual European American dominant culture simply excluded all minority groups from the public arena. Women weren't allowed to have careers. Racial and ethnic minorities didn't have equal educational and professional opportunities; television and movies presented a lily-white world where people of color simply didn't exist. Gay people were expected to remain closeted. Oh, sure, everything was just "dandy" as long as minority groups "knew their place." It was not a "unified" culture; it was one in which minorities were ignored and excluded.
Diversity is not what is separating us as a culture. Failing to accept diversity is what is separating us. Having large, proud African American, Latino, and Asian American communities is only a problem if you are racist. I am not a member of any of those communities, but I am in no way threatened by their co-cultural celebrations and traditions. My being a proud, openly-gay man does not separate us unless YOU are homophobic.
Oh, and to answer your first question, my guess it that it is called the Gay Games because it was intended to serve primarily the GLBT community; however, we -- unlike much of the straight world -- don't discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, so any interested heterosexual may participate as well.
I think if everyone is having fun, then there is no problem with it. Name it what you want, enjoy the beautiful day and enjoy life. It is too short to fret about "gay" or "not gay"
Homosexuality is a SIN!
Choosing to live life that way is simply wrong!
The reason for the 'Gay Games' and much of the gay leftist agenda is 2 fold. One to try and make them a legtimate minority which they are not & at the same time give them 'Special' attention.
All real minorities, people of Biblical faith, and non Gay athletes should be appaulled!
Gays get over it you are not Special. You are just as sinful as the next man or woman.
Stop pushing your immoral and replusive behavior in our faces.
I don't go around practically having sex with my wife in public at a park and not get looks of disapproval why should you and expect to be seen as 'normal'
The whole 'we are gay love us we are special ' thing is so tired get over yourself, you are not special your are human like the rest of us. Life isn't fair deal with it!
Get some self control already!
This is a very interesting question and I must say that I've been quite surprised at how the media has just "assumed" everyone is okay with having the Gay Games.
I personally don't care if someone is gay or not. I don't need to know everyone's sexual preferences, but I think it's extremely offensive to me as an athlete to think gay people need to have a competition separate than a competition for anyone.
The irony is the Gay Games discriminate against the general population.
10:33 has nailed a big part of this.
It is not the "happy and carefree games" it is the "HOMOSEXUAL sex acts games."
As to 3:20: A friend of mine did some research back in the late 80s. It seems that homosexuality was removed from the accepted list of mental disorders back in the early 80s only after homosexual activists threatened to start "outing" psycologists and psyciatrists. It has been my experience that much of the "generally accepted" information since then has been invented out of "hole cloth."
Boy, the homophobes are just coming out of the woodwork! All the bigotry expressed on this page simply testifies to the need for the Gay Games.
And by the way, you might want to do some more recent "research" about sexual orientation -- not only because anything from the late 80s is about two decades old but also because your "friend" obviously didn't research very well.
Both APAs removed homosexuality from their lists in the early 1970s as the result of scientific studies. All other legitimate health and medical professional associations also agree that homosexuality is not an illness of any kind. The ONLY people who think it is are the rightwing religious wackos who ignore any scientific evidence which doesn't support their "faith."
By the way, the set of primary identities I referenced earlier was pulled from a college textbook used in a course I teach...and I would defy you to argue that the four listed are not primary human identities.
I'm not sure why the poster was so proud about not having sex in public with his wife. As a gay person, I've never had sex in public either. I have, however, held hands with my boyfriend in public -- an act in which any heterosexual would engage without thought, but it brought a few disapproving stares when we did it. Their homophobia is their problem, however, not mine.
No gay person I know goes around arguing "love us we are special." The GLBT movement simply demands EQUAL treatment under civil law. Quite frankly, I don't care if you like me or think I'm going to burn in hell -- that's immaterial. I think you are a hateful, ignorant bigot, but I'm not out there arguing that you shouldn't have the right to get married or be covered by laws prohibiting discrimination in employment or housing. We don't have to like each other to respect the other's civil rights.
And a number of you seem to have reading comprehension problems, as you keep insisting that the Gaymes discriminate. What about the Gay Games' policy that states ANYONE can participate regardless of sexual orientation and the fact that 5% of this year's participants identify as straight can you not wrap your tiny minds around? Is it that you can't grasp the notion of non-discrimination at all?
Anyone can participate in the Olympics or other sports activities.
IF the Olympics prohibited gay people, THEN I could understand why there may be a need for a gay games.
I am a medical professional and strongly disagree we have "concluded" anything and the only people who think there's a problem with being gay are religious wackos.
I find it interesting gay people say they are gay "just because" but then call it a "movement." That's hypocritical.
4:09
I am not a homophobe nor Am I a bigot.
TO be a homophobe would mean I am scared of gay people I am not.
To be a bigot would mean I think that I am better than you and I don't .
We are equally filled with sin that we need to be forgiven of.
In my field I work with gay folks all the time It does not bother me that they are gay only that they could be going to hell because they have not asked for forgivness of their sins. This the same that bothers me when working with Heteros as well.
OK, so I had the APA incident date incorrect- my friend's research took place in the mid-80s.
However, "studies" of prison inmates and assertions by organizations like NAMBLA do NOT reflect the population at large.
And why can you not "wrap your tiny mind around" the fact that most of us have been around long enough to see through the semantics of a "written policy of non-discrimination" for an event celebrating homosexual sex as a "principal part of (its) identity?"
On a less terse note, thank you to 7:54 and 7:57 for your more even tempered contributions.
PS: Following your logic: if I use the Holy Bible (KJV just to keep it interesting) to teach a class then it then becomes unquestionably true.
LOL...homphobes always deny they are homophobic, just like racists all deny their hatred as well. (And using your religion as an "excuse" doesn't justify bigotry; Southern fundamentalists have used the bible for decades to justify their racism.)
Perhaps the "medical professional" should read the studies and policies of the medical professional associations to educate him/herself about sexual orientation. And if you are using NAMBLA as a source about the GLBT community, you are way off base. NAMBLA no more represents gay men than pedophiles who target girls represent the straight community.
Of course use of a book as a college text doesn't automatically mean it is 100% true. In fact, two bible courses I was required to take as an undergrad used the KJV as a text; it was like studying any book of fiction. I, however, didn't just decide to use any book at random. This text was actually selected by two of my straight colleagues and is widely used to teach this course throughout the country. As I have reviewed almost every text available for this course (in past text selection processes), I can tell you that they all reflect the same ideas about self identity and its primary components -- thus my earlier reference to their "general acceptance."
The negative posts on this board show exactly why the Gay Games need to exist. They do not celebrate "homosexual sex"; sexual orientation is about far more than a mere sex act. If that is all you reduce your orientation to, then I feel sorry for you.
If you don't like the Gaymes, then don't go -- its just that simple.
The reason for the Gay Games is that we as gay people do not feel safe to come out when competing in sports. That is because of the rampant homophobia in sports. Ask any gay person who has participated in sports and you will hear the same stories. Please do not belittle anyones intelligence including your own by claiming otherwise. Read the news.
We are not discriminating to anyone who wants to participate in the Gay Games, anyone can participate.
Christians often say that gays will burn in Hell. I thought that Christian doctrine teaches that anyone who does not accept Christ goes to Hell. So, if you don't accept Christ, what diffenece does it make if you are gay or not?
I guess I don't get this whole issue as I have never cared about other peoples orgasms. I would not tell anyone about my sexual preference if I wanted to participate in games.
Yes, I prefer "don't ask, don't tell."
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