tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/ian-thorpe-11476/articlesIan Thorpe – La Conversation2014-07-17T19:58:53Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/292212014-07-17T19:58:53Z2014-07-17T19:58:53ZSexuality and swimmers: why Thorpe’s story made a splash<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54066/original/nd2kwdyg-1405563526.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ian Thorpe in 2012. In 2014, do sponsors still only back certain sporting stereotypes that support social norms? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/ Ben Macmahon</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ian Thorpe is unpopular with some critics, despite a largely <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-openly-gay-public-figures-like-ian-thorpe-matter-they-sure-do-29149">positive reaction</a> when he came out last weekend. The issue is money. </p>
<p>Stories are <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/deal-or-no-deal-why-thorpe-kept-quiet-20140713-3bv2m.html#ixzz37PBSzSzu">circulating</a> that he was warned prior to the 2000 Olympic Games about the financial impact on the Canadian swimmer Mark Tewksbury, who came out in 1998 (six years after he won gold at 1992 Olympics) and lost a “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/deal-or-no-deal-why-thorpe-kept-quiet-20140713-3bv2m.html#ixzz37Y5aM0tT">six-figure speaking contract</a>”. So Thorpe stayed where he was. </p>
<p>When Thorpe resumed training in the hope of selection for the 2012 Olympics, his fellow swimmers <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/more-sports/australian-swimmers-angry-at-money-spent-on-comebacks-of-ian-thorpe-michael-klim-and-libby-trickett/story-e6frf56c-1226296133329?nk=4853ec0d880d74bb9beaa6241b16e810">allegedly demanded</a> their governing body reveal the payment involved in this comeback amid rumours of “six-figure handshakes”.</p>
<p>Swimming Australia was in a tight spot, with ratings drooping and prime-time TV coverage imperilled. So if payments were made, they were presumably an investment in star power to <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/a-pool-full-of-sponsor-gold-for-ian-thorpe/story-e6freuy9-1226298572500">regain media attention</a> and boost revenues.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54068/original/nyf88gj4-1405564444.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Michael Parkinson and Ian Thorpe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/ Network Ten</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Much of the frenzy surrounding last Sunday’s <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/search-results?q=ian%20thorpe&type=&show=">television interview</a> with Michael Parkinson has also been to do with dollars as Ten Network, who screened it, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/did-early-start-to-ian-thorpe-interview-cost-channel-10-20140714-zt6nr.html">apparently agreed</a> to hire Thorpe as a commentator on the Commonwealth Games as a <em>quid pro quo</em>.</p>
<p>So how badly has Thorpe jeopardised sponsorship opportunities with his coming-out announcement?</p>
<p>The stakes are considerable. By 2005, US celebrity endorsements amounted to <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mar.20205/abstract">over a billion dollars</a>. Such investments are predicated on the assumption that audiences imagine they can <a href="http://hij.sagepub.com/content/13/4/362.refs">magically transfer</a> star qualities onto themselves by purchasing commodities associated with their idols, from shoes to supplements.</p>
<p>Inevitably, though, things go wrong with a system based on tests of desire, denial and physicality. There is an almost taken-for-granted oscillation between athletes’ good and bad conduct: high-performance dietary supplements versus illegal drugs, sexual display in advertisements as opposed to extra-marital affairs in private, club loyalty and disloyalty. </p>
<p>Because the body is the currency of sport, its passions and unreliability mark it out for disappointment and excess as much as fulfilment and success. And bodies become old, creaky and uncompetitive.</p>
<p>We know almost too much about sporting celebrities, most notably what their bodies look like <em>in extremis</em>: dirty, sweaty, teary, demoralised, undressed, furious, joyous, unguarded, unconscious and otherwise injured. Athletes’ vulnerabilities grow all too apparent, magnified with each replay and diagnosis.</p>
<h2>Sexuality in the pool</h2>
<p>Thorpe’s situation intersects with the historic identification of swimming with homoeroticism, as per English artist Duncan Grant’s famous 1911 painting <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/grant-bathing-n04567">Bathing</a>, which shows young men frolicking naked in the waters. </p>
<p>Swimming is regarded as masculine because of its self-sufficiency and demands for fitness, strength, and skill. But the sport’s lack of violence <a href="http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1571_reg.html">marks it out</a> from body-contact games.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54069/original/vyxbgwd6-1405564630.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Olympic swimmers diving into the pool in London, 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Atos</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Elite male swimmers are outlined in form-hugging briefs or bodysuits, hair trimmed for minimal drag, lean, leggy, ducking, diving, turning, and speeding, seemingly oblivious to the gaze of others and the actions of fellow-competitors. Bug-eyed in goggles, their muscles strain with each eruption from the water.</p>
<p>The uncomfortable sense of the male body straining while almost naked can lead to some interesting practices of compensation in the media. </p>
<p>In the past, the BBC has seen the perils to conventional masculinity <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Television_coverage_of_sport.html?id=4SMMAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y">incipient here</a>: instructions to its camera operators for the 1976 Games emphasised the need to capture swimmers’ “straight lines” in order to suggest “strength, security, vitality and manliness” rather than the “grace and sweetness” of “curved lines”.</p>
<p>And gay men in the pool?</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54070/original/x39m77fc-1405564955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greg Louganis (right) with his companion arrive to the AIDS Solidarity Gala in Vienna, Austria, 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/ Georg Hochmuth</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>American Bruce Hayes, an “out” swimmer who won relay gold at the 1984 Olympics, was a key figure in Levi Strauss’ 1998-99 dockers campaign. The champion diver Greg Louganis did not lose support from Speedo or other sponsors when he came out. </p>
<p>Just this week, prompted by Thorpe’s interview, the ASB Bank in New Zealand announced that its sponsorship contracts will all now <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10265419/ASB-adds-diversity-clause">guarantee diversity</a>.</p>
<p>But the issue of sexuality and sponsors is multi-sided. This year’s Sochi Winter Games faced controversy because of host country Russia’s ban on public discussion of gay rights. Human Rights Watch and many other non-government organisations, such as Amnesty International and the Russian LGBT Network, <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/31/russia-pressure-escalates-sochi-corporate-sponsors">wrote a letter</a> of complaint to the ten key Olympic sponsors, most of whom met with them. </p>
<p>But with over 80% of Russians supposedly in favour of the law, this <a href="http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/01/06/Olympics/Olympics-activism.aspx?hl=sponsorship%20gay%20athlete&sc=0">presented difficulties</a> to corporations that saw a large emergent consumer market and felt overwhelming greed.</p>
<p>So Thorpe, the closet, and money have quite a history. Their future may be much shorter. Part of that — an end to secrecy — he will no doubt welcome. The other part — financial uncertainty — he may not. But ultimately, sponsorship issues could arise from Thorpe being yesterday’s hero rather than being gay. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toby Miller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ian Thorpe is unpopular with some critics, despite a largely positive reaction when he came out last weekend. The issue is money. Stories are circulating that he was warned prior to the 2000 Olympic Games…Toby Miller, Professor of Cultural Policy Studies, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/291582014-07-14T04:57:08Z2014-07-14T04:57:08ZIan Thorpe came out, but not in Australia – a wise decision<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53723/original/f6q4ygnx-1405311806.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You don’t have to look too far to find homophobia, hostility and discrimination against LGBTI people.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Network Ten/ AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Few who watched Ian Thorpe’s <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/sport/2014/7/13/ian-thorpe-the-parkinson-interview-part-1">“coming out” interview</a> with British interviewer Michael Parkinson on Sunday night could haved failed to be moved by his story. The anxiety and turmoil he felt in telling the world he is gay was apparent for all to see. </p>
<p>Thorpe <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/deal-or-no-deal-why-thorpe-kept-quiet-20140713-3bv2m.html#ixzz37PfgsdzL">told</a> Parky:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m ashamed I didn’t come out earlier because I didn’t have the courage to do it … I wanted to make my nation proud of me. I didn’t know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay. I am telling the world I am.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So is it really that hard for people to come out in Australia? </p>
<p>After all, we have out gay politicians (Penny Wong and Bob Brown), High Court judges (Michael Kirby), tennis players (Casey Dellacqua) and even an Olympic gold medallist (diver, Matthew Mitcham). So why was Thorpe so worried about coming out in Australia?</p>
<p>The fact is that, you don’t have to look too far to find homophobia, hostility and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Australia. Even though homosexuality was decriminalised in all Australian states and territories last century, prejudice remains.</p>
<p>It is somewhat ironic that the very weekend when Thorpe declared himself to be a proud gay man, an Australian sports commentator, Brian Taylor, called a Geelong football player a “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/despite-ian-thorpes-announcement-poofter-remark-from-commentator-shows-how-far-we-have-to-go-20140713-zt5sk.html">big poofter</a>” during a TV broadcast. The consequences for the broadcaster is that he must undertake “<a href="http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-07-13/bt-counselled-over-slur">some quite serious counselling</a>”. One can only speculate what the consequences might have been if he had made a racist taunt rather than a homophobic one.</p>
<p>The media is replete with examples of LGBTI people being made to feel less than comfortable about disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying he feels “<a href="http://www.samesame.com.au/news/5160/Tony-Abbott-Threatened-By-Gays">threatened</a>” by gays</li>
<li>Victorian upper house Liberal MP Bernie Finn saying he <a href="http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/local-news/victoria-news/calls-for-premier-napthine-to-condemn-mp-over-same-sex-adoption-remarks/123518">would rather join the cheer squad</a> for the Collingwood Football Club (he is a Richmond Tiger supporter) than support same-sex adoption </li>
<li>Liberal senator Corey Bernadi <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-19/controversy-over-cory-bernardi-bestiality-comments/4269604">likening same-sex marriage to bestiality</a></li>
<li>Radio host Jackie O, saying that she did not like her name middle name, Ellen, any more because it “<a href="http://www.digitalspy.com.au/media/news/a361151/australian-radio-host-jackie-o-slammed-for-apparent-homophobic-slur.html#%7EoJXsssijDEP93D#ixzz37Pb8ljey">sounds a bit lez</a>”.</li>
</ul>
<p>So was Thorpe right to be concerned about telling Australians he is gay? Sadly, the answer would seem to be “yes”. While <a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013A00098">we have laws</a> protecting people against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, these laws only came into effect last year. </p>
<p>Compare this to when Australia enacted laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race (1975), gender (1984), disability (1992) and age (2004). Why do LGBTI people lag so far behind in achieving legal protection from discrimination? The answer would seem to be ongoing prejudice.</p>
<p>Thorpe chose to do his coming out interview in the UK. That was probably a wise decision. Comparing the legal environment for LGBTI people in the UK to Australia, we see stark differences:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53752/original/7cr577tv-1405318400.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation/Paula Gerber</span></span>
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<p>There is a strong correlation between law and societal attitudes. If governments say that LGBTI people are not deserving of equal protection, this sends a message to society that it is okay for them to also treat people differently based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. </p>
<p>When our federal government says same-sex couples are not allowed to marry, it sends a message to society that same-sex relationships are of less value and are less deserving of our respect.</p>
<p>That is not to say that enacting anti-discrimination laws or marriage equality will result in an overnight change in Australians’ attitudes to homosexuality. It is a process that will take time. But the UK is well along that journey, while Australia is still in the starting blocks. </p>
<p>Thorpe made the right decision to tell his story to Parky in the UK. Although Australia is well ahead of the <a href="http://antigaylaws.wordpress.com/">80 countries</a> that continue to criminalise homosexuality, we still have a way to go before we can say that LGBTI people enjoy complete equality and respect from the Australian government and people. </p>
<p><br>
<br>
<strong>See also:</strong><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-openly-gay-public-figures-like-ian-thorpe-matter-they-sure-do-29149">Do openly gay public figures like Ian Thorpe matter? They sure do</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homophobia-is-a-health-hazard-not-just-for-ian-thorpe-29148">Homophobia is a health hazard, not just for Ian Thorpe</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paula Gerber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Few who watched Ian Thorpe’s “coming out” interview with British interviewer Michael Parkinson on Sunday night could haved failed to be moved by his story. The anxiety and turmoil he felt in telling the…Paula Gerber, Associate Professor, Human Rights Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/291492014-07-14T03:26:15Z2014-07-14T03:26:15ZDo openly gay public figures like Ian Thorpe matter? They sure do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53710/original/6v96s7ym-1405306926.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows that high-profile gay and lesbian people have made a real difference to the lives of others.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Paul Miller</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In his unassuming way, Ian Thorpe is probably quite accustomed to making history. His swag of Olympic medals and world records makes him Australia’s most successful swimmer. Last night, when <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/sport/2014/7/13/ian-thorpe-the-parkinson-interview-part-1">he told interviewer Michael Parkinson</a> he is a gay man, he made another kind of history – by becoming the most high-profile gay sporting figure in Australia. </p>
<p>As a 31-year old man, Thorpe would have seen significant changes in attitudes towards homosexuality over the course of his life. During his interview with Parkinson, he spoke of the casual homophobia that existed at his all-male high school and the impact that this had on him as a young man. He also spoke of being the target of homophobic verbal abuse – well before he identified as gay. </p>
<p>Thorpe’s public announcement last night that he is a gay man suggests he believes that Australian society has evolved considerably in recent years.</p>
<p>Perhaps the Twitter comment by conservative politician Reverend Fred Nile, famous for praying for the Sydney Mardi Gras to be rained out in the 1980s, <a href="https://twitter.com/frednile/status/487938729625939968">stating simply</a>, “You are champion, that is all that matters,” indicates he is correct.</p>
<h2>Do openly homosexual public figures matter?</h2>
<p>Along with a team of other academic researchers and the National Library of Australia, I am involved with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-the-lives-of-gay-and-lesbian-australians-25270">Australian Lesbian and Gay Life Stories</a> oral history project. We are interviewing 60 gay men and lesbian women across Australia in order to investigate what it has been like to live a gay or lesbian life at a time when social attitudes towards homosexuality have shifted significantly.</p>
<p>As the interviews progress, we have come to realise just how important openly homosexual public figures have been for many of the gay men and lesbian women we have spoken to.</p>
<p>Many older Australians, particularly those born before the 1940s, have described growing up feeling isolated, with homosexuality being largely hidden from public view. When asked about the biggest changes that they have witnessed in their life with regard to homosexuality, almost all of these interviewees mention the growing number of public figures who are prepared to identify as gay or lesbian and the growing inclusion of homosexuality across popular culture.</p>
<h2>Generational change</h2>
<p>Those participants born after the 1960s have come of age at a time when there has been a dramatic growth in the visibility of lesbian and gay people in popular culture. </p>
<p>A significant number of lesbian interviewees, including those in rural towns, made reference to the public coming-out of <a href="http://www.ellentv.com/">Ellen DeGeneres</a> in 1997 and her continued popularity among mainstream television audiences as being important in increasing social acceptance of homosexuality. </p>
<p>The younger participants we have interviewed, particularly those born in the 1990s, have brought a very different understanding to the project. </p>
<p>While it is important to note that homophobia is still a force in Australian society, Australians born after 1984 have come of age at a time when there are considerable numbers of publicly open gay and lesbian public figures. Furthermore, the internet has allowed for easy connection to a global gay and lesbian culture. </p>
<p>Indeed, many of our younger participants tell us that they were aware of gay and lesbian celebrities before they ever met a gay or lesbian in their daily life.</p>
<p>What has been particularly interesting to hear from many younger participants has been the way that being aware of gay and lesbian public figures has made their life course easier. The sense of isolation that marked the adolescence of many gay or lesbian people growing up in the 1950s has been supplanted to an extent with the understanding that it is possible to live an open and happy gay or lesbian life.</p>
<p>While the interviews we have conducted appear to suggest that Australian attitudes towards homosexuality have evolved rapidly and positively over the past 30 years, it is evident that the journey has not always been easy for many lesbian and gay individuals and that homophobia is still a problem for many.</p>
<h2>Thorpe’s world</h2>
<p>As a man born in New South Wales in 1982, Ian Thorpe started life at a time when sexual intercourse between men was still criminalised. </p>
<p>Before he started training with his first swimming squad, the HIV/AIDS epidemic increased homophobia among some segments of Australian society. As his profile increased as a teenager, and before he was even aware of his own sexuality, he faced continued invasive and inappropriate homophobic questioning.</p>
<p>Thorpe’s decision to come out last night will do at least two things. </p>
<p>First, young Australians now growing up will see the further dismantling of homophobic stereotypes surrounding gay and lesbian people. Ian Thorpe, long considered one of Australia’s most popular and iconic heroes, is probably the most famous Australian to identify as a gay man. </p>
<p>Secondly, his visibility will challenge homophobia in the sporting arena, which long has had a reputation for problematic attitudes towards gay and lesbian people. </p>
<p>Although Ian Thorpe’s decision to come out publicly was clearly not an easy one for him to make, his decision marks a milestone, not only for him on a personal level but also for Australia. His announcement reveals a personal comfort with his sexuality. Let’s hope that this comfort is also reflected across the nation and that together we can recognise the rich contribution of gay and lesbian citizens to our public life.</p>
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<strong>See also:</strong><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homophobia-is-a-health-hazard-not-just-for-ian-thorpe-29148">Homophobia is a health hazard, not just for Ian Thorpe</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirleene Robinson receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a Linkage Grant on "Australian Lesbian and Gay Life Stories".</span></em></p>In his unassuming way, Ian Thorpe is probably quite accustomed to making history. His swag of Olympic medals and world records makes him Australia’s most successful swimmer. Last night, when he told interviewer…Shirleene Robinson, Vice Chancellor's Innovation Fellow, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/291482014-07-14T03:11:38Z2014-07-14T03:11:38ZHomophobia is a health hazard, not just for Ian Thorpe<p>Ian Thorpe coming out as gay during an interview with Michael Parkinson last night was both the most ordinary of stories and the most extraordinary. It also showed how deeply homophobia is ingrained in Australian society. </p>
<p>It was ordinary because, over the last 20 years, my colleagues and I have documented stories just like it. And it was extraordinary because Thorpe felt he was unable to come out earlier despite his high profile.</p>
<p>There’s no question that homophobia is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10615806.2014.887071#.U8NMmqik2qQ">a health hazard</a> and one that we’ve been slow to address. The depression and despair so powerfully described by Thorpe prevents young people from reaching out for help, out of fear of losing their attachment to family and friends, which they feel may be conditional on ignorance about their sexuality.</p>
<h2>An ordinary story</h2>
<p>In <a href="http://www.glhv.org.au/files/PrivateLives2Report.pdf">two recent surveys</a>, high levels of depression and suicide ideation were found to be part of the history of gay people of all ages and very much related to their shared history of everyday abuse and violence. </p>
<p>Gay men, in particular, are exposed to violence and the messages that accompany it as part of a rigorous policing of masculinity that begins in schools and may continue throughout their lives. </p>
<p>Research shows <a href="http://www.glhv.org.au/files/wti3_web_sml.pdf">harsh and neglectful school environments</a>, where homophobic abuse flourishes and large numbers of same-sex attracted young people experience anxiety, depression and suicide ideation. In fact, suicide contemplation rises <a href="http://www.glhv.org.au/files/wti3_web_sml.pdf">in exact proportion</a> to the amount of abuse suffered. </p>
<p>Move all this into the hyper-masculine sporting arena and no wonder Ian Thorpe felt part of his essential self had to be hidden to ensure his safety, perhaps even annihilated to prevent public disgrace. </p>
<p>He would have been under no illusion that the constant media badgering for confirmation of his sexuality would not have been to celebrate it, but rather to create a scandal. </p>
<h2>An extraordinary story</h2>
<p>But this is also the most extraordinary of stories because Ian Thorpe offered the Australian public so much, in the highly revered area of sporting accomplishment. Surely, he, of all people, should have felt the Australian people would forgive him this one thing. </p>
<p>I use the word forgive deliberately because despite the somewhat ho-hum reaction to Thorpe’s revelation in the press and social media today, it’s still difficult to escape the prevailing notion in Australia that being gay is bad news, that it is evidence of being somehow lesser.</p>
<p>Consider the related story of football commentator Brian Taylor’s casual description of Harry Taylor as “a big poofter”, which is at least as big a story this morning as Thorpe’s coming out. </p>
<p>His rap on the knuckles (being sent home to watch the football rather than to call it) is a sign that these days we understand it’s not okay to publicly berate gay people. Still, it was only a little rap, because most Australians also assume he didn’t mean to hurt anyone.</p>
<p>But hurt he would have, as gay people everywhere would have seen it as confirmation of this society’s deeply-held belief that nobody wants to be gay. Thorpe can be forgiven for not reading such remarks any differently.</p>
<h2>Looking up</h2>
<p>Today, the landscape for same-sex attracted young people is not nearly as bleak as it was in Thorpe’s youth. Social media has thrown closeted young people a lifeline that puts them in touch anonymously with others having, and working through similar doubts and fears. </p>
<p>It creates a rich virtual world to counteract the loneliness and hostility of their physical communities and helps them feel safe until they’re old enough to risk exposure. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.glhv.org.au/files/wti3_web_sml.pdf">Government funded anti-homophobia programs</a> in schools are having a demonstrable impact on the mental health of young people who are not straight. But <a href="http://www.fya.org.au/initiatives/safe-schools-coalition-australia/">these initiatives</a> are fragile and under constant attack. </p>
<p>Ian Thorpe’s revelation will have an impact. Hundreds of young people will relate to his story and draw on it to shape their own destinies. It certainly matters that he has a high profile and that the world didn’t end when he spoke up. </p>
<p>Just as he has inspired a generation of young swimmers to go swifter, higher, stronger so will his openness inspire other young people to work towards an authentic self. </p>
<p>The challenge for us as a society is to move beyond the big-hearted, open-minded response of “it doesn’t matter to me if he’s gay, he’s still a great sportsman” to a response of genuine celebration. By coming out, Thorpe has given more of himself as a gift to the Australian public, and shown leadership he was afraid to embrace in the past. </p>
<p>Nothing will land in the trophy room to recognise this achievement, but lives will be saved. And it will be step towards Australia becoming a nation where that matters. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-openly-gay-public-figures-like-ian-thorpe-matter-they-sure-do-29149">Do openly gay public figures like Ian Thorpe matter? They sure do</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29148/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Mitchell is the chair of the steering committee of the Safe Schools Coalition of Australia. She has a grant from beyondblue. </span></em></p>Ian Thorpe coming out as gay during an interview with Michael Parkinson last night was both the most ordinary of stories and the most extraordinary. It also showed how deeply homophobia is ingrained in…Anne Mitchell, Professor Emeritus, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.