5 ms·

While everyone already knew, the act of public announcement is one of great meaning and catharsis. Coming out is an important event for a gay person, and for a

by s_q_b 12y ago

While everyone already knew, the act of public announcement is one of great meaning and catharsis. Coming out is an important event for a gay person, and for a prominent person such as Tim Cook, for our society as well. As an ally, congratulations for having the courage to be who you are.

flexie 12y ago
Everyone except me, apparently :-)
- untothebreach 12y ago
  And me!
  - antjanus 12y ago
    Me too!
  - dhimes 12y ago
    Me three. Mostly because I just don't give a fuck about people's personal lives. Even celebrities. I see people in commercials that everybody seems to know and I have no clue. I guess I live under a rock. Good thing I get HN under here.
    - untothebreach 12y ago
      Yea, I can tell I am getting old by how few people I recognize on the covers of the magazines in the grocery store checkout line. (I think that is a not-so-funny version of a joke a comedian told, but I can't for the life of me remember which one...)
- goatforce5 12y ago
  You subscription to Out magazine must have lapsed. He was their #1 most powerful gay man or woman in American last year: http://www.out.com/out-exclusives/power-50/2013/04/10/power-list-2013?page=0,4 http://www.out.com/out-exclusives/power-50/2013/04/10/power-... I think it was one of those things where everyone knew it, but no one talked about it because it just wasn't that big a deal.
  - 27182818284 12y ago
    OK, thanks for posting this, because I thought I was going crazy for a second. My thought was, "Yeah what? Of course he is gay. Everyone knows that? He might be the first gay CEO of a trillion-dollar valuated company!" At least I know I'm not crazy now and that it was in magazines and such at least a year ago.
  - s_q_b 12y ago
    Because it isn't a big deal! I'm glad we're coming around to the reaction to a major public figure coming out is "meh." Injustice won't be over the day little black boys and girls and little white boys play together. It will be over the day anyone even thinks anything of it. Unfortunately, we have both overt and covert (even accidental) discrimination still to deal with. But our grandparents faced firehouses and dogs, while we face op-eds and Twitter feeds. For the first time in history we have the communications technology to bind humanity together into a single global people. Someday there will be a gay president. Someday there will be a black female president. I hope that by the time that day comes, it will be little noted nor long remembered.
    - goatforce5 12y ago
      > Because it isn't a big deal! Agreed. But I think his message is aimed at younger people. "I'm a mellow kinda guy who is respected in the world of business. And i'm gay." You don't have to fit the stereotype of being flamboyant , out, loud and proud to be gay. You and I know that. Any functioning adult in a largish city knows that. Maybe some kids in isolated communities without personal role models (family, family friends, teachers, etc., who are gay and run-of-the-mill kinda people) don't know that. Edit: The top comment says it better than I can: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532962 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532962
  - scintill76 12y ago
    > You subscription to Out magazine must have lapsed. Heh, I thought this was a joke at first. It's kind of funny that lots of people didn't know, yet he has literally been featured as #1 in Out Magazine. I guess it does still fit, that he hasn't personally, publicly acknowledged it, even if others have acknowledged it publicly.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
singletonaccnt 12y ago
Coming out is an important event for any minority -- at least in the cases where the membership of the minority can be (or has to be) kept a secret. Not being able to tell anyone your true feelings can feel like an enormous burden, driving some people even to the point of suicide. And like you say, it takes courage to be who you really are. To not feel the weight of your mask every day. For myself, I think it would be false courage in this day and age to 'come out' as a pedophile. 'Pedophile' here means that I feel emotionally and sexually attracted to children, just as gays have that attraction to men. A lot of people are immediately repulsed by that word, and just assume you are a monster and a child abuser/rapist. I think those stereotypes mainly exist because pedophiles are invisible in our society. It is very likely that everybody knows somebody with that orientation, but because it is so risky to 'come out' nobody recognizes that pedophiles are very regular people too. I have come out to some very close friends and my parents, who luckily all accepted that I am who I am (I live in a European country, so that might help). I'm a bit gay as well, and I have a 5+ year relationship with my boyfriend, who also is a pedo (and somewhat more gay than I am). Still, every time when I receive a compliment or encouragement from someone, a thought flashes through my mind: what if they knew who I 'really' am?

by s_q_b 12y ago

flexie 12y ago

Everyone except me, apparently :-)

untothebreach 12y ago
And me!
- antjanus 12y ago
  Me too!
- dhimes 12y ago
  Me three. Mostly because I just don't give a fuck about people's personal lives. Even celebrities. I see people in commercials that everybody seems to know and I have no clue. I guess I live under a rock. Good thing I get HN under here.
  - untothebreach 12y ago
    Yea, I can tell I am getting old by how few people I recognize on the covers of the magazines in the grocery store checkout line. (I think that is a not-so-funny version of a joke a comedian told, but I can't for the life of me remember which one...)
goatforce5 12y ago
You subscription to Out magazine must have lapsed. He was their #1 most powerful gay man or woman in American last year: http://www.out.com/out-exclusives/power-50/2013/04/10/power-list-2013?page=0,4 http://www.out.com/out-exclusives/power-50/2013/04/10/power-... I think it was one of those things where everyone knew it, but no one talked about it because it just wasn't that big a deal.
- 27182818284 12y ago
  OK, thanks for posting this, because I thought I was going crazy for a second. My thought was, "Yeah what? Of course he is gay. Everyone knows that? He might be the first gay CEO of a trillion-dollar valuated company!" At least I know I'm not crazy now and that it was in magazines and such at least a year ago.
- s_q_b 12y ago
  Because it isn't a big deal! I'm glad we're coming around to the reaction to a major public figure coming out is "meh." Injustice won't be over the day little black boys and girls and little white boys play together. It will be over the day anyone even thinks anything of it. Unfortunately, we have both overt and covert (even accidental) discrimination still to deal with. But our grandparents faced firehouses and dogs, while we face op-eds and Twitter feeds. For the first time in history we have the communications technology to bind humanity together into a single global people. Someday there will be a gay president. Someday there will be a black female president. I hope that by the time that day comes, it will be little noted nor long remembered.
  - goatforce5 12y ago
    > Because it isn't a big deal! Agreed. But I think his message is aimed at younger people. "I'm a mellow kinda guy who is respected in the world of business. And i'm gay." You don't have to fit the stereotype of being flamboyant , out, loud and proud to be gay. You and I know that. Any functioning adult in a largish city knows that. Maybe some kids in isolated communities without personal role models (family, family friends, teachers, etc., who are gay and run-of-the-mill kinda people) don't know that. Edit: The top comment says it better than I can: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532962 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532962
- scintill76 12y ago
  > You subscription to Out magazine must have lapsed. Heh, I thought this was a joke at first. It's kind of funny that lots of people didn't know, yet he has literally been featured as #1 in Out Magazine. I guess it does still fit, that he hasn't personally, publicly acknowledged it, even if others have acknowledged it publicly.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

singletonaccnt 12y ago

Coming out is an important event for any minority -- at least in the cases where the membership of the minority can be (or has to be) kept a secret. Not being able to tell anyone your true feelings can feel like an enormous burden, driving some people even to the point of suicide. And like you say, it takes courage to be who you really are. To not feel the weight of your mask every day. For myself, I think it would be false courage in this day and age to 'come out' as a pedophile. 'Pedophile' here means that I feel emotionally and sexually attracted to children, just as gays have that attraction to men. A lot of people are immediately repulsed by that word, and just assume you are a monster and a child abuser/rapist. I think those stereotypes mainly exist because pedophiles are invisible in our society. It is very likely that everybody knows somebody with that orientation, but because it is so risky to 'come out' nobody recognizes that pedophiles are very regular people too. I have come out to some very close friends and my parents, who luckily all accepted that I am who I am (I live in a European country, so that might help). I'm a bit gay as well, and I have a 5+ year relationship with my boyfriend, who also is a pedo (and somewhat more gay than I am). Still, every time when I receive a compliment or encouragement from someone, a thought flashes through my mind: what if they knew who I 'really' am?