Did we really need to know

[Anonymous]

that Ian Thorpe is gay?

It was front page news on one paper I saw at the shop this morning.

why do we need to know? what did it matter? we don't have headlines saying people are het?

Poor guy has been hounded for years over his soxuality, I hope he finds some peace and happiness now.

[cherry*135]

I don't know why he thought it was necessary to deny in print (in his book) that he was gay, just 2 years ago. If he had considered in his head pre writing a book, that one day he will make a public announcement he is gay, putting the denial in his book (a total lie) was a strange thing to do.

[cherry*135]

Was it general public backlash or not getting sponsors in the past that was an issue?

[lurker172602]

I think Tom Ballard expressed it well in this mornings paper.  He wrote (amongst other things😞

No one knows how difficult it’s been for Thorpe to come out as gay other than Ian Thorpe. He should be sent nothing but love and support ...

For those who've heard this news and shrug and casually asks "who cares?", I'd simply answer "15-year-old closeted me". Scared, little, questioning Tom Ballard would have cared a lot if nine years ago he'd seen swimming champion and national treasure Ian Thorpe on the news, proudly identifying as a successful sportsman and a bloke who liked blokes.

...

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that Thorpey didn't feel he could do this years ago. I'm disappointed that in 2012 he felt he could write an autobiography that was brutally honest about his suicidal thoughts and alcohol abuse yet blatantly untruthful when it came to his sexuality.

...

Nobody likes lying, but it's not just about that. I don't think queer people in the public eye have a "responsibility" to come out as Thorpe has done, but I think they have an opportunity – an opportunity to use their profiles to make things better for their fellow rainbow humans.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about it being a small minority- we voted a far right  zealot in?

And Magda isnt really an Aussie icon like Thorpy is she? she's probably best known for her role in Babe, that's not the same as being a Olympian and a household name.

[i-need-a-martini]

Thanks for the link Lurker. That article is pretty much mirroring my thoughts and comments. And I imagine the thoughts of many gay people around the country.

[i-need-a-martini]

Another article from another gay man. Excerpts only:

As a gay man, I couldn’t be happier for Ian Thorpe. As a journalist, I have misgivings of his outing as a homosexual with legendary interviewer Michael Parkinson, and its timing.

It does not rest well that Thorpe has decided to talk publicly about his sexuality as part of a reported $550,000 deal with Channel Ten that will see him call swimming at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this month.

His message from the Parkinson interview has been cheapened by the fact it is part of a lucrative deal - and comes following reports in recent years of Thorpe’s financial troubles.

The chance to set the truth free, with dignity, has been there for Thorpe for years.

The myth of Thorpe's heterosexuality was also perpetuated by many of his minders at that time. They fed the line that Thorpe was very much a ladies' man, in every sense, and laughed at suggestions otherwise.

Maybe those minders were protecting the pot of gold otherwise known as Thorpe Inc. 

Thorpe told Parkinson the fear of commercial reprisals stopped him, in part, from coming out sooner.

He is right.

Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham is right: Thorpe’s public declaration will save lives. It will make it easier for those who are struggling to come to terms with who they are and where they fit in this world. 

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/money-aside-thorpes-revelation-will-pay-dividends-20140714-zt6t...

[*pepe]

the poor guy can't win - for years his personal life has been the subject of public speculation and scrutiny and now that he has given the busy bodies what they wanted and declared his sexuality he is now being cast as a bad guy for not being the idol teenage gays needed him to be.

tall poppy syndrome at its finest.

[i-need-a-martini]

It's only been news for one day. By the end of a couple of days no one will care.

Perhaps if the whole thing had been handled differently, it would have died a death even quicker.

[sandypas]

Nobody likes lying, but it's not just about that. I don't think queer people in the public eye have a "responsibility" to come out as Thorpe has done, but I think they have an opportunity – an opportunity to use their profiles to make things better for their fellow rainbow humans.

That's nice - my daughter is gay and I don't think she's queer and this from a journalist??

[i-need-a-martini]

Sandy - the word queer is used by gay people to describe their culture. It's used by gay people in creative fields generally - arts, music, film.