No hating here, just starting a new segment on the podcast called 'Things That Didn't Age Well.' This first installment is the feud between "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis. Chad and I explore the way WWE handled a homosexual character and why in 2018 Adonis would have been the good guy. Listen here and please share your 1-2-3 cents on the subject. You can also suggest future episodes.
I debated writing this blog, because I wasn't exactly sure what the point of it was going to be. But after I started writing it, I realized what I want you to learn from it. Think before you speak, whether it's a racial slur, comment about someone's sexuality, or an insensitive comment. It might be just a word to you, but it can destroy the self esteem of the person you're saying it to. There needs to be more uplifting in the word and less tearing down. Parents, we owe it to our kids to lead the way. Long before Jerry Seinfeld tackled the subject of homosexuality with the now famous phrase "Not that there's anything wrong with that.", I found myself saying it and quite a bit. If you haven't seen the episode in question, it's called "The Outing", and you can read a review of it here. Long story short, a reporter overhears Jerry and George talking and comes to the conclusion that the friends are actually partners. Things are taking out of context and it just adds to the hilarity of the situation.
Interviewing Buff Bagwell
I'm 41 years old, married with three children. People still ask those who know me if I'm gay. It doesn't bother me anymore, but back in the day it did. I guess I understand why someone who didn't know about my family might question my heterosexuality. I'm obsessed with a sport that involves muscle bound guys covered in baby oil and rolling around in skin tight shorts. Heck, I've even done it myself. Then there's my love for The Golden Girls and don't forget that I never missed an episode of Desperate Housewives during its run on ABC.
8th grade... WOW
The questioning of my sexual preference started in the 8th grade and by someone who might surprise you. It was a teacher who made a comment to me in front of the class questioning whether I was gay. Some of my classmates laughed at the statement, which I can't even remember anymore. What I do remember I was embarrassed and humiliated and couldn't wait for the bell to ring. I also remember the kind words of the girl who sat in front of me in that class. She told me not to listen to the teacher or the laughter.
The college years...
All through high school I had several classmates and coworkers ask me if I was gay, despite the fact that I had a crush on several girls and made my infatuations obvious (I'll refer you to this blog) Looking back on it now, I'm not bothered by the fact that people assumed I was gay. It bugs me that it bothered back then. Like Jerry and George said, there is nothing wrong with being gay. But to a teenager with an already poor sense of self and fragile ego, being different, even when you're really not can be devastating.
This may not help my case...
Fast forward to adulthood. I've lived in this community for more than a decade. Recently, a friend told me a mutual acquaintance thought I was gay when we first met. I laughed about it and made an inappropriate joke, but it was okay, because we were with a friend who really is gay. That makes it better, right? Another friend refers to me as the gayest straight person he knows. Twenty years ago, that would have bothered me, but today I take it in stride. Kids (back then and today) hurl insults at our friends, calling them "gay" or worse. While we didn't think the person in question was really gay, it was certainly meant to be an insult. The thing I still don't get is, WHY is being gay an insult? Do homosexuals call each other "hetero" or "straight" when they're fighting?
By now, you've likely read that WWE Superstar Darren Young has told TMZ that he is gay. The website sent out an email overnight spelling out the details and linking to a video of a conversation Young had with a photographer at the airport. You can click hereto see the interview.
In the hours that have followed Young's coming out, his peers and superiors, as well as fans have praised the superstar's bravery. I too will echo those sentiments. I have several openly gay friends, who kept their sexuality a secret for years though, because they were afraid of how friends and family would react. Young being in the public light has even more people judging him.
Courtesy: WWE
Some may ask the question why does it matter, or why should we care? My response: I have no doubt that Young's decision to go public has impacted someone who is struggling with their own sexuality. I believe when celebrities come out publicly it helps chip away at the stereotypes and negativity associated with homosexuality. When teenagers and young adults stop killing themselves because they're being tormented by bullies just because of their sexual orientation, or gay men and women stop hiding their true selves because of the backlash at home or work, then these public outings will stop being a big deal. I know it wasn't easy for him to do this, but I think there are millions of people who appreciate what Darren Young has done.
The WWE has issued a statement to, supporting Young. You can read it here. I applaud their support too. I won't get into the politics of the situation, but I think most of you will know where I'm coming from.
I do wonder though why the TMZ reporter/photographer approached Young in the first place. The cynic in me (and lots of others, I assume) suspects this was something that was in the works. I have no doubt that Young really is gay, but the timing of the reveal is a little suspect. None the less, the real story here is that Darren Young has made a courageous move by coming out. I will be curious to see how this will develop and if the WWE turns it into some sort of storyline.
Last year I did a YouTube video on gay wrestling gimmicks. Check it out. As always, thanks for reading and watching!
Kevin did a video post about this the other day and if you listened to From the Rafters Radio on Thursday, there was a round table discussion on the topic. I didn’t get to partake in that group discussion due to work commitments and when asked later if I had anything to add, I declined. I passed on making any comments due to the show being towards the end and they had already talked for around 30 minutes on the subject so I didn’t feel the need to add more time to the discussion. After the show I got to thinking about it and realized I did have something to say on the subject. Thankfully I have this blog to use as a way to get my thoughts out there.
At the bare basic of the idea of stereotypes in wrestling, I think the evil foreigner, the dimwitted baby face, etc. is the result of lazy character development. If a character can be defined in one sentence, then there’s probably not a lot to the character. When a character is barely one-dimensional the shelf life isn’t going to last too long. There are probably some examples, which would disprove this theory, but I don’t feel like racking my brain trying to think of an example.
"Adorable" Adrian Adonis
The big chunk of the discussion and Kevin’s video was the use of gay characters in wrestling. It was brought up that most wrestlers who have had a blatant or borderline homosexual personality have been presented as bad guys. One of the major points of debate was could a gay wrestler be a face and would the fans get behind (maybe that’s not the right phrasing) him?
I think there will be a gay wrestler on the national level who is a face within the next few years. However, there’s a catch. While the public perception seems to be transitioning to be more tolerant of homosexuality, I don’t think a full-blown gay character will be accepted. I look at it like this, most people don’t have any issues with a gay male if they don’t know he’s gay or if they know he’s gay but isn’t overly feminine. If Gay Wrestler comes out looking like every other wrestler, even if he tells the fans he’s gay, and if he hugs guys instead of girls on the way to the ring, fans would cheer him. Assuming he had personality and can be entertaining in the ring. BUT if Gay Wrestler comes out in Shawn Michaels referee style booty shorts and being for lack of a better term, obnoxiously gay, I think the crowd would boo and/or be offended.
As I was thinking about this, I remembered Chris Kanyon. Kanyon had a moderately successful wrestling career in the late ‘90s/early 2000s before briefly retiring in 2004. In 2006, Kanyon publicly announced he was gay. Granted few, if any, fans knew Kanyon was gay while he was wrestling but I don’t remember any backlash towards him because he was gay after he made the announcement. There was some backlash due to the way Kanyon tried to present himself as the first openly gay wrestler.
Orlando Jordan (TNA)
When Orlando Jordan was in WWE, even when there were rumors of his sexuality floating around the internet, there wasn’t any backlash towards him as a wrestler. When he showed up in TNA and was squirting lotion on his chest and being overtly sexual there was an outcry of protests. I don’t feel it was because Orlando was bi-sexual. I think it was more due to the stories weren’t good and the wrestling was even worse.
Some may feel my reasoning shows wrestling fans won’t really accept a gay wrestler because they’ll say if the wrestler can’t really be flamboyantly gay then he isn’t really a “gay” wrestler. Maybe I’m wrong, but as I said earlier, I don’t think it’s so much a wrestler’s sexual preference as much as it is the presentation. Much of the population is okay with homosexuals as long as they don’t have to be subjected to it. I feel the same way towards heterosexual guys who try to brag about how many women they’ve bedded. That aspect of a person’s life doesn’t need to be on public display.
Have I made sense? What do you think? Share your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter. Only request is to keep your comments civil.
