Hi, not quite sure where to post this, I just noticed something and wanted to let the moderators know.
In the thread on Tanith and Evan in The Edge section, someone asked why Tanith and Ben were never a couple, and I wrote in a response that maybe he already had a girlfriend, or maybe he was gay. I said in my response I wasn't sure if I could say that, because I know it's against the rules to speculate about a skater's personal life. But I thought what I said might be ok, because if he's one he can't be the other, they're two binary things, so I thought I wasn't making any definitive insinuations about his private life. But I wasn't exactly surprised when my comment got deleted. Now, the thread's discussion has moved on to discussion of his apparent girlfriend. These posts on his girlfriend have NOT been deleted. Aren't they also speculation on his private life? Why is it ok to question whether a male skater has a girlfriend, and who she is, but it is apparently NOT ok to wonder aloud if a skater might be gay. The only reason I can think of, is that the author of these forums' rules think that it is NOT ok to be gay, and that if skaters are, they should def. keep it a secret, and we should never speculate or discuss it, lest it damage forever a skater's career. I mean, Brian Orser stayed in the closet all those years because, by his own admission, he thought being gay would ruin his career. To me, the rules of these forums seem to continue that way of thinking.
I am THIS close to leaving this board all together, because people keep saying if you don't like the rules, don't come here (and I really don't like that rule, it seems homophobic to me, and a homophobic skating fan makes about as much sense as a homophobic broadway choreographer, really...). But I thought before I left, I would air my grievance and see what the forum moderators have to say? Don't you think the implementation of the no private life speculation rule is homophobic?
In the thread on Tanith and Evan in The Edge section, someone asked why Tanith and Ben were never a couple, and I wrote in a response that maybe he already had a girlfriend, or maybe he was gay. I said in my response I wasn't sure if I could say that, because I know it's against the rules to speculate about a skater's personal life. But I thought what I said might be ok, because if he's one he can't be the other, they're two binary things, so I thought I wasn't making any definitive insinuations about his private life. But I wasn't exactly surprised when my comment got deleted. Now, the thread's discussion has moved on to discussion of his apparent girlfriend. These posts on his girlfriend have NOT been deleted. Aren't they also speculation on his private life? Why is it ok to question whether a male skater has a girlfriend, and who she is, but it is apparently NOT ok to wonder aloud if a skater might be gay. The only reason I can think of, is that the author of these forums' rules think that it is NOT ok to be gay, and that if skaters are, they should def. keep it a secret, and we should never speculate or discuss it, lest it damage forever a skater's career. I mean, Brian Orser stayed in the closet all those years because, by his own admission, he thought being gay would ruin his career. To me, the rules of these forums seem to continue that way of thinking.
I am THIS close to leaving this board all together, because people keep saying if you don't like the rules, don't come here (and I really don't like that rule, it seems homophobic to me, and a homophobic skating fan makes about as much sense as a homophobic broadway choreographer, really...). But I thought before I left, I would air my grievance and see what the forum moderators have to say? Don't you think the implementation of the no private life speculation rule is homophobic?
