Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Midweek Rumble: The Ricky Martin Ho-Hum Thing

I am glad to see that I am not the only person on the planet who just assumed Ricky Martin was gay and stopped thinking about it. When someone used "Ricky Martin" and "gay" in the same sentence the other day, I missed it that this was a Historic Moment For We Homosexuals.

It was only when two or three other people said something like: "Ricky Martin word, word, word, word GAY!" that I came to understand that this was a news item. And it's not as if I am so jaded that I simply don't pay attention anymore. If anyone had said that Vladimir Putin or Colin Powell was gay, I would have snapped to.

Although Ricky himself feels "fortunate" and "blessed," and testifies that his "years in silence and reflection made me stronger" (and richer!) "and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within," not everyone is happy about this. New Media America reports: "Karen Rodriguez, a reporter and producer of 22 years, said, 'We will continue going to his concerts and playing his discs, but it hurts to have lost such a beautiful man.'" He's still a man last time I looked. Or maybe what you meant is that he is "lost" to women? To heterosexuality? Or socially dead to Latino music?



Karen's response seems to be the exception, although not so many celebrities have commented, perhaps for fear of being thought gay if they are supportive and homophobic if they are not. Oh what a tangled web we weave. But the fans are fine with it. Skimming blogs and the comments sections of the various media who reported this non-story, I am happy to say that for once I am in the mainstream by responding with a big "So What?" As "Energon" at the Guardian grumps, "Flamboyant singer of one of the most irritating songs of the last 20 years publicly announces he likes men's bottoms. Quite frankly, who gives a monkeys [arse]? I'm an unfortunate heterosexual man who had to listen to that dreadful song played repeatedly throughout the late 90s. What has Ricky Martin got to say about that?"

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Despite him being outed several times by popular press, he still deserves to own his sexual identity and speak for it himself. It increases psychological health. Are we surprised, no. Am I happy he made a personal and political choice to end speculation (albeit little) and confirm his identity? Indeed.

psycademic said...

Echo.

Psycademic said...

To clarify: Echo blog post AND comment.
I'm glad that LGBT celebrity "outings" are no longer newsworthy (or at least not garnishing much attention from the [real] press anymore). It shows progress toward equality. After all, I never hear of celebrities giving press conferences about -finally- admitting to hir heterosexuality.

FrauTech said...

That reporter's comment reminds me of a male coworker who mentioned a "beautiful, gorgeous" woman he used to work with and how he was "so disappointed" when he found out she was gay, how that was just "so sad." I see this attitude so often, it's like somebody owns other human beings, nevermind if they are married or just not interested. Somehow being married or not interested is not seen as a big deterrant, somehow with these people they think they "still have a chance" or some BS. Very irritating. I wholeheartedly agree with Anonymous's comment as well.

Acilius said...

Yes, the news isn't that Martin came out of the closet, but that he had been under the impression that he was in the closet. I suppose it's still a closet even if it has a transparent door, but really.

Tenured Radical said...

That would be like a stall shower.

Comrade PhysioProf said...

I couldn't give less of a shit who he's boning, but his hair style in that picture is extremely disturbing. It is really bizarre that anyone cares about this kind of thing at all. If you're not boning me, then what possible interest could I have in who you are or aren't boning?

Tenured Radical said...

Comrade:

I think the verb "to bone" is one of the finest in the colloquial English language. I'm just saying. It goes along with that fine, metaphorical command, "Oh, GROW A PAIR!" which to my mind is a useful putdown for men and women alike.

Yes, the Hairstyle is disturbing, and I'm glad someone finally said something (although this was a topic of discussion yesterday during lunch at the humanities center where I am in residence.) It is second only to that weird English thing made famous by Prince Harry, where you gel it, comb it all forward, and then flip the bangs back as if struck by a sudden breeze,

Comrade PhysioProf said...

It goes along with that fine, metaphorical command, "Oh, GROW A PAIR!" which to my mind is a useful putdown for men and women alike.

I am partial to "sack up" or, when extra oomph is warranted, "sack the fuck up".

The most disturbing aspect of Martin's hairstyle--which he probably paid ~150 fucking bucks for--is that the stylist spent so much time and effort on the stegasaurus shit on top and totally blew off the bangs.

viagra online said...

I love Ricky Martin because he has excellent music and his movements on the stage are incredible, so I was a little bit disappointed with him since he jumped out to the closet.m10m