Kévin Aymoz Comes Out

[Minz]

Kévin Aymoz has officially come out

From Aymoz’s Twitter

Good for Kévin!

Happy Pride Everyone!

 

[Weathergal]

Happy for Kevin and wishing him a wonderful Olympic season!

 

[el henry]

Félicitations, Kevin, et bon Mois des Fiertés.

Unless I'm missing something, it looked like Jackie only translated one sentence? If the entire post was translated and I didn't see it, feel free to skip the next part.

Kevin starts out talking about a French documentary I would love to see "Faut qu'on parle" (we need to talk)

When the documentary makers first approached him "I didn't feel the need to come out in public. But I had this need to speak freely to help future generations and to blossom [I would say reach my potential, go further] in the world of sport.

He thanks many people, including his companion of two years who "supported me in each of my stages" andhis family "who accepted him as he was"

There is more, but I won't do it in case Jackie really did translate the whole thing. So happy for Kevin and looking forward to his unique skating!

 

[Idiote]

Moooh Kevin ! Je suis tellement heureuse pour toi, bravo pour ton courage de participer à ce documentaire !

Happy Pride month to each and everyone

 

[ladyjane]

Dear Kevin! So happy for him.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Am I the only one who is really looking forward to the day when this just isn't necessary? Kevin's statement made it quite clear that he didn't really want to have to publicly "come out" and I feel very sad that he was pressured into it. Peoples' private lives should be permitted to remain just that, private. Maybe I'm a cock-eyed optimist, but I hope that one day in the not too distant future, the world gets over this obsession with gender and sexuality labels and starts seeing and treating everybody as equals and worthy of both celebration and/or anonymity as they each desire.

 

[soccerjc77]

Am I the only one who is really looking forward to the day when this just isn't necessary? Kevin's statement made it quite clear that he didn't really want to have to publicly "come out" and I feel very sad that he was pressured into it. Peoples' private lives should be permitted to remain just that, private. Maybe I'm a cock-eyed optimist, but I hope that one day in the not too distant future, the world gets over this obsession with gender and sexuality labels and starts seeing and treating everybody as equals and worthy of both celebration and/or anonymity as they each desire.

I agree. I wish that someday no one need to publish their sexual statue to all the world.

Just for an example, imagine if all people heterosexual need to publish : Hey I'm heterosexual ! Respect me in my heterosexuality !

To me if you are hetero or gay, this information is a private information and the world doesn't need to know this information.

I wish a world that sexuality is private and that everyone see everyone as we are human person and that's it !

 

[Minz]

I think that a lot of these athletes are coming out for the next generation.

So that other skaters who are gay know that there are people like them it this sport, and that you can still be successful.

 

[yelyoh]

I agree. I wish that someday no one need to publish their sexual statue to all the world.

Just for an example, imagine if all people heterosexual need to publish : Hey I'm heterosexual ! Respect me in my heterosexuality !

To me if you are hetero or gay, this information is a private information and the world doesn't need to know this information.

I wish a world that sexuality is private and that everyone see everyone as we are human person and that's it !

This is naive. If a gay couple is together they are announcing it just by virtue of their being together. Are you suggesting we all go back in the closet so that nobody has to know we are who we are? If a straight couple walks down the street holding hands should I not be able to with my partner? Heterosexual people do have not to announce they are straight because that has historically been seen as normative. For decades we have had to hide who we were or suffer severe consequences in EVERY facet of life. The closet was a very crowded place. In some countries you can be put to death for being gay still today. In The Pulse nightclub in Florida Queer people were gunned down because they just existed. Kids today are still kicked out of the homes and rejected by their families. Coming out is a brave and defiant act. It IS necessary because it sends a message that we exist and we are not ashamed.

 

[el henry]

I am finding the "Can't the world just all get along and can't we just all live our private lives and why is this important" in every thread where a skater comes out to be, well, besides the point.

"Don't ask, don't tell" has never worked for everyone and I find it extraordinarily puzzling that a discredited theory from 30 years ago still appears extant ETA: as though every person should follow it whether or not they want to. They are coming out for the next generation of skaters, and bravo

Kevin is not revealing his private life, at least not in this post. We know diddly squat about his private life. We know he is French, we know he does a mean cartwheel, and we know he is gay. We know nothing about his romantic life, Everyone here (ETA: well those who read my posts which may be a tiny subset) knows I'm married to opposite gender Spousal Unit, and thus straight. You know nothing about my private life. Since when is gender identity and or orientation the same thing as private life?

And reading the original post (in French) I did not see where Kevin felt "forced" at all? That just didn't come across to me at all

 

[sadya]

I read the comment of soccerjc77 not as disliking it when people come out, but as hoping that everybody will be accepted as who they are and being who they are should all be normal (but correct me if I misunderstood that comment).

I've had discussions with haters who don't want LGBTplus (sorry, I always forget the latest term, plus is easy for me to include everyone) people coming out. These discussions always exhaust me and I'm straight. Imagine what it's like for LGBTplus people then! Having to explain yourself, your being, over and over and over and over etc. For many straight people this is just a topic once in a while, but for LGBTplus people this is daily life.

For example, once my son was organising a 'purple Friday' in his school (a marketing and communications degree) and his school was supportive and even helped him. Purple Friday is a national day of talking about LGBTplus topics in schools in the Netherlands, not all schools participate yet, but it gets better every year.

The support of the school of my son gave me the feeling that everyone supports these issues now. At work however my colleague said nasty things about purple Friday. He didn't see the need for schools to participate in this topic and why did people come out and "sexualise society with coming out stories" and bla bla bla. Just recently a gay couple was beaten up, because people saw them holding hands. I used to explain why something like purple Friday might be important. And hetero people are "sexualising society" more than any LGBTplus person would, look at adverisements, magazine covers, etc. My colleague was in his 20s, so I thought his modern young mind would understand. But he replied it was better for gay people not to hold hands in public then and he didn't think children should learn about LGBTplus. I asked him if he would stop holding hands with his girlfriend. Then our lunchbreak was over, so he never answered that question.

It's disturbing that in our century this topic is still an issue. People at work, on tv, on internet, everywhere, are comfortable saying nasty things about LGBTplus people and don't think it's wrong to even take away their basic human rights. There is also the topic of LGBTplus people who are a minority, so they already deal with racism because of their ethnicity/religion and then there is the added discrimination of them also being part of LGBTplus.

As long as society doesn't react normal to natural ways of life, which is not just hetero but also LGBTplus, then yes, coming out will remain important and those able to do that in public help many people and probably save lives by speaking up. I'm grateful to celebrities who come out, because they help the conversation along.

I like the skating of Aymoz, am disappointed though that Fontana is still his coach, but then again, I don't know what their relationship is really like, am not suprised about his coming out and hope that all the athletes who came out recently will help the skating world finally cross over and join the 21st century.

 

[fallingsk8er]

Yay for Kevin. He's one of my favorite skaters. Be your authentic self in everything you do!

 

[yelyoh]

I read the comment of soccerjc77 not as disliking it when people come out, but as hoping that everybody will be accepted as who they are and being who they are should all be normal (but correct me if I misunderstood that comment).

I've had discussions with haters who don't want LGBTplus (sorry, I always forget the latest term, plus is easy for me to include everyone) people coming out. These discussions always exhaust me and I'm straight. Imagine what it's like for LGBTplus people then! Having to explain yourself, your being, over and over and over and over etc. For many straight people this is just a topic once in a while, but for LGBTplus people this is daily life.

For example, once my son was organising a 'purple Friday' in his school (a marketing and communications degree) and his school was supportive and even helped him. Purple Friday is a national day of talking about LGBTplus topics in schools in the Netherlands, not all schools participate yet, but it gets better every year.

The support of the school of my son gave me the feeling that everyone supports these issues now. At work however my colleague said nasty things about purple Friday. He didn't see the need for schools to participate in this topic and why did people come out and "sexualise society with coming out stories" and bla bla bla. Just recently a gay couple was beaten up, because people saw them holding hands. I used to explain why something like purple Friday might be important. And hetero people are "sexualising society" more than any LGBTplus person would, look at adverisements, magazine covers, etc. My colleague was in his 20s, so I thought his modern young mind would understand. But he replied it was better for gay people not to hold hands in public then and he didn't think children should learn about LGBTplus. I asked him if he would stop holding hands with his girlfriend. Then our lunchbreak was over, so he never answered that question.

It's disturbing that in our century this topic is still an issue. People at work, on tv, on internet, everywhere, are comfortable saying nasty things about LGBTplus people and don't think it's wrong to even take away their basic human rights. There is also the topic of LGBTplus people who are a minority, so they already deal with racism because of their ethnicity/religion and then there is the added discrimination of them also being part of LGBTplus.

As long as society doesn't react normal to natural ways of life, which is not just hetero but also LGBTplus, then yes, coming out will remain important and those able to do that in public help many people and probably save lives by speaking up. I'm grateful to celebrities who come out, because they help the conversation along.

I like the skating of Aymoz, am disappointed though that Fontana is still his coach, but then again, I don't know what their relationship is really like, am not suprised about his coming out and hope that all the athletes who came out recently will help the skating world finally cross over and join the 21st century.

Great post!!

 

[4everchan]

Someone said it already. Please keep in mind that not everyone lives in Montreal or San Francisco. It is much harder to grow up as a gay kid in small towns and some countries still have laws that punish homosexuality. Closer to us, remember the Sochi 2014 Olympics?

So yes, maybe the number of threads about each skater coming out gets a bit much... but if it's there, it's because it is still necessary and relevant. Today, the NFL saw its first openly gay player, Carl Nassib.
There is still a lot of work to be done before there is no longer a need to share these. Nassib speaks very eloquently about WHY he is coming out. A very handsome man, if you will allow me

 

[el henry]

Someone said it already. Please keep in mind that not everyone lives in Montreal or San Francisco. It is much harder to grow up as a gay kid in small towns and some countries still have laws that punish homosexuality. Closer to us, remember the Sochi 2014 Olympics?

So yes, maybe the number of threads about each skater coming out gets a bit much... but if it's there, it's because it is still necessary and relevant. Today, the NFL saw its first openly gay player, Carl Nassib.
There is still a lot of work to be done before there is no longer a need to share these. Nassib speaks very eloquently about WHY he is coming out. A very handsome man, if you will allow me

My fandoms collide.

Carl Nassib is not, and never has been an Eagle, but he is from a Philadelphia suburb. Being the first out currently active player in the NFL is a BFD and takes a great deal of courage. NFL fans sadly are IME more inclined to be openly homophobic wingnuts (oooh, yuck, why can't you just keep it to yourself, and those are the mild ones).
Of course, since Carl is 6'7" and 270 pounds, I would pay good money to see those wingnuts say it to his face

And Carl said it as well, for why it is important, and why an athlete would not want to keep it to him or herself:

Studies have shown that all it takes is one accepting adult to decrease the risk of an LGBTQ kid attempting suicide by 40%. Whether you're a friend, a parent, a coach or a teammate -- you can be that person.

Cheers to the skaters who have chosen to come out in Pride Month and cheers to Carl Nassib.

 

[soccerjc77]

Sexuality is not necessary to be happy and isn't a factor to success in a sport. A person without sexuality can be happy and success in a sport. I wonder why those athletes needs to bring the attention to them for their sexuality ? It probably a marketing thing for the media to influence people ... I continue to say that those media news in sexuality isn't necessary. Sexuality should be private even if your are straight or gay.

 

[el henry]

Sexuality is not necessary to be happy and isn't a factor to success in a sport. A person without sexuality can be happy and success in a sport. I wonder why those athletes needs to bring the attention to them for their sexuality ? It probably a marketing thing for the media to influence people ... I continue to say that those media news in sexuality isn't necessary. Sexuality should be private even if your are straight or gay.

I'm afraid this opinion shows exactly *why* athletes choose to come out publicly. Have you even read any of the posts? Kaitlyn's, Jason's, Paul's interview, Kevin's post? Because unfortunately this conjecture is not supported by what the athletes have written.

A statement of pride is also not a statement about their sexuality. It is their *identity*. You, or I, have no clue about the romantic life of any of these skaters, they have not shared that with us. They have shared their identity.

These posts have Jackson B Squat to do with marketing, which is abundantly clear when reading the posts. Given the homophobia still present in our world, I doubt anyone would consider it a marketing tool.

If these posts help just one young skater struggling with their identity and whether they can express their identity, then they are abundantly worth it.

Happy Pride

 

[Mathman]

Sexuality is not necessary to be happy...

True. Look at Sheldon Cooper, for instance. He has no sexuality, but he won a Nobel Prize.

It probably a marketing thing for the media

I would say, probably not, actually.

 

[Clairecz]

I'd just like to point out that these posts are not helping only to young skaters but it can be skating fans too. And while the coming out messages are similar, every single one of them is important. For the skater concerned of course - and also for others. Everyone can be inspired by different things. Some will identify more with Jason's "love is love" message, others with Adam's out and proud unapologetic approach.
While I've been happy for all these skaters, it was Kaitlin's post that made me cry. It says to me that it's ok to be a grown-up woman and to question, to struggle with your orientation and that it doesn't have to be like this forever.

Just a note: there's not such a thing as "no sexuality". It's called asexuality, it's as valid a sexual orientation as any other, it's what the A in the LGBT+ acronym stands for (it's not /only/ for "allies"). Asexuals face many similar situations and obstacles as other LGBT+ members, including being in the closet, feeling odd and broken, left out etc. etc.

 

[4everchan]

I’m going to tell you a story.

Somewhere in a rink in France there is probably a young boy. This boy happens to identify his sexuality as gay. Maybe he gets teased by his friends and is scared to tell his parents because he knows that they won’t support him. And one day he‘s looking online and sees that his idol, Kévin Aymoz, has come out. Now he feels different, because he knows that being gay doesn’t have to hold you back, and that it’s ok to be gay (regardless of whatever his parent/friends have told him).

So imagine what the two seemingly simple words, ”I’m gay” can do for someone.

Visibility is important because not everyone will identify to the gay role models that are out there. I do not want to name anybody, but when I was growing up, there were some people out there who were out, but I couldn't identify to them...it actually made me stay in the closet even longer LOL.... and this is why I appreciate so much the effort of Carl Nassib for instance. At one point, I met some gay guys with whom I could relate... it was much later for me and only when I moved to a bigger city, got to university... so kuddos to Kévin, he can be a role model for some young guys, and thanks to everyone who is coming up with their stories....figure skaters are not popular mainstream athletes as much as those in the big professional leagues or tennis players for instance. We need more of these guys to come out.