"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

How Times Have Changed, Again

I may have to make this a department. First it was the same-sex wedding at West Point picked up by the mainstream press, and now this story on an interview with Gus Kenworthy:

Gus Kenworthy spoke to the Washington Post in a video profile recently and talked about where he is today as compared to Sochi four years ago.

“For me being in the closet I guess I just didn’t picture another life for myself. I thought that’s kind of like how it had to be and after skiing was done I’d be able to like have a boyfriend, have a husband, be out, be proud, but it was gonna be after everything else. It just got to the point where the pain of lying and holding on to it…I’d always feel like I was avoiding answers and never getting to be myself was just so painful.”

This isn't really so unusual -- a lot of us have been there. But what struck me is this:

He had a handful of small deals in Sochi, but he’ll head to Pyeong­Chang with corporate backing like few others with several big-name companies on board, including Visa, Toyota, United, Procter & Gamble, Ralph Lauren, Chobani, Samsung and Deloitte. Kenworthy being gay didn’t scare them away; it only seemed to make him a more attractive spokesman.

There have been other gay Olympians, most of whom came out after the fact. And they didn't get the corporate sponsorships that Kenworthy has picked up.

The interview, in the Washington Post, no less, is here.

And of course, there's video:




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