Kaitlyn Weaver comes out

[ladyjane]

Some lovely positive news today from Kaitlyn Weaver.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/...s-figure-skating-s-female-archetype-1.6061918

Although it's a pity she didn't dare do it earlier (though I realise why), I am really happy for Kaitlyn she is now feeling to be herself all around.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Yay Kaitlyn!

I was wondering - there don't seem to be many openly queer women in competitive figure skating. Besides Kaitlyn, I've only heard of Amber Glenn and Karina Manta. But out of the LGBTQA+ skaters that I know personally (grassroots level, mostly adult), they are fairly evenly distributed between male/female/other. The prejudice that gay male skaters receive from from judges, media and society is well-established, but how is the situation for skaters of other genders?

Of course, there's a conventional judging preference for ladies to be 'feminine', but that's a slightly different issue since it's more about the judges having a blinkered definition of how women should look.

 

[4everchan]

 

[ice coverage]

... Besides Kaitlyn, I've only heard of Amber Glenn and Karina Manta. ...

Rachel Parsons is another.

I am in the middle of watching Kaitlyn's CBC interview about coming out -- published today on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/TZkpbCHGWIo (27:08)​

And Kaitlyn made the announcement also via Instagram today:

 

[el henry]

Hooray for Kaitlyn

How much better our sport will be when men and women don't need to feel the constraints that Kaitlyn did:

"We are in a judged sport. We're afraid to put one toe out of line for fear of what people will think about us," Weaver said. "Coming out was never something I considered. It was not on the table for me. Fear. It was not even a real conversation I could have with myself."

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Besides Kaitlyn, I've only heard of Amber Glenn and Karina Manta.

Karina has tweeted a lovely message of support for Kaitlyn: https://twitter.com/KarinaMantras/status/1403405202980409345

I'm really happy that younger or up-and-coming LGBTQA+ skaters have such great role models in the sport.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

It must be so hard to be LGBTQIA and a skater, because so many of the competitions internationally take place in countries that are extremely homophobic and/or ignorant. I have so much respect for Kaitlyn for coming out, and I hope that others can follow in her footsteps.

 

[LutzDance]

Yay Kaitlyn!

I was wondering - there don't seem to be many openly queer women in competitive figure skating. Besides Kaitlyn, I've only heard of Amber Glenn and Karina Manta. But out of the LGBTQA+ skaters that I know personally (grassroots level, mostly adult), they are fairly evenly distributed between male/female/other. The prejudice that gay male skaters receive from from judges, media and society is well-established, but how is the situation for skaters of other genders?

Of course, there's a conventional judging preference for ladies to be 'feminine', but that's a slightly different issue since it's more about the judges having a blinkered definition of how women should look.

I agree. While the earliest coming out story I've heard of a male skater is John Curry in 1976 (well, he was more outed than coming out voluntarily, and that was the end of his competitive career so professional repercussion was limited), I'm not aware of any female skaters who identified as queer prior to 2018. I'm sure most people on this forum understand that 1) all else being equal, whether a female skater looks "feminine" or not should not affect how she is judged and 2) one's sexual orientation has nothing to do with whether one looks masculine/feminine or not, but it's sad that figure skating judges are less open-minded about it.

Anyways, congrats and much love to Kaitlyn!

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Well, you can add another queer skater to your list: Paul Poirier comes out as gay in an interview with Globe Magazine

Today has been such a rollercoaster of emotions in the skating world. I'm very happy for him and that such a prominent skater is coming out, and I hope him and Kaitlyn are just the first few of many out and proud skaters.

 

[apgold]

Happy for Kaitlyn and her comfort level to share this news with the skating world. More representation is needed.

I've said this many times before to people who don't care or want to know about a skater's sexuality. If being "out" helps them be more authentic and confident, it will come out (no pun intended) how they perform on the ice and that can only be a positive thing.

I always think of Adam Rippon - how he used to skate scared but after he came out, his confidence on the ice was palpable and he made it to the Olympics. Also, Amber Glenn had a good season last year, finally getting on the podium at Nationals.

 

[saturdaysun]

Oh, I saw Amber make a vague story on IG about Kaitlyn earlier and didn't know this is why - this is wonderful. I'm tearing up a bit for Kaitlyn and Jason and Paul.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Well, you can add another queer skater to your list: Paul Poirier comes out as gay in an interview with Globe Magazine

Today has been such a rollercoaster of emotions in the skating world. I'm very happy for him and that such a prominent skater is coming out, and I hope him and Kaitlyn are just the first few of many out and proud skaters.

Great interview! Paul seems to keep a fairly low public profile in general, but when he does speak, I'm struck by how articulate and thoughtful his responses are. A philosophical guy

I always think of Adam Rippon - how he used to skate scared but after he came out, his confidence on the ice was palpable and he made it to the Olympics.

Yes, and his programmes got more interesting and fun! All the iconic ones (Birds, Beatles, Let Me Think About It) happened afterwards. I wonder maybe if earlier he was reluctant to be too unconventional for fear of standing out too much...

This isn't to say that straight skaters are less creative or original - Torvill/Dean are prime examples - just wondering if maybe some overcompensation comes into play if you aren't straight and feel the need to conform to gender norms to hide it

 

[LittleLotte29]

Wait, does that mean that I'm really truly free to marry Andrew Poje now? That's indeed the best news of the day!

On a serious note though, how sad is that coming out can jeopardise one's entire career but being a predator or abuser is completely fine and acceptable?

 

[karne]

Congratulations, Kaitlyn! So happy for you!

 

[ladyjane]

I'm straight myself (although I hate that word, as if being queer is being warped, while I realise some people who are straight can be even more warped) and I actually don't like the notion one has to 'come out' if one isn't. It should be normal: 10% of any population does not fit the hetero norm bill after all. That's a lot of people! But I am happy to see these people being role models for others. Yay! It's still necessary.

I am so happy these skaters do dare to come out because it is necessary. It's been acceptable in many countries to be gay/queer/lesbian/bisexual/trans/gender fluid but there are so many countries where it still isn't, where it's even forbidden. There are also countries where it was acceptable 20 years ago and the acceptance rate regrettably is declining. I remember being at school in the 70s-80s and there was no issue at all in my adolescence (in fact I went to Gay bars all the time because it felt safe to dance with gay guys - no risk of them being predatory to me) but currently two guys holding hands in the streets has become dangerous again. Even in my so-called liberal country where gay marriage has been around for ever. So please continue coming out, whenever you feel safe to do so. But I still think it shouldn't be necessary. Being gay/bisexual/trans is not something odd or strange, it's just as normal as being straight.

 

[mrrice]

Good for Kaitlyn! She could have kept this to herself and her close family and friends but, this will mean so much to so many young people both Women and Men.

 

[bookofcharms]

I remember being at school in the 70s-80s and there was no issue at all in my adolescence (in fact I went to Gay bars all the time because it felt safe to dance with gay guys - no risk of them being predatory to me) but currently two guys holding hands in the streets has become dangerous again. Even in my so-called liberal country where gay marriage has been around for ever.

Sorry to go on a tangent, but is this the Netherlands you are referring to? What has happened to change things?

 

[noskates]

For anyone who wants to live their true self -

 

[Skater Boy]

It is sad that this is even an issue in our world. Kaitlyn is beautiful inside and out. I wish her well. She and Andrew still are a beautiful underrated ice dance team.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Congrats to Kaitlyn! Between her and Paul Poirier I’m loving these ice dancers (and Jason!) coming out and living their truth! Also their interviews provide a lot of great insight into what needs to change in the sport and the struggles and concerns they’ve had in the past. Happy Pride!