Comments on: John Amaechi, former NBA player, comes out

By: ken

ken — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:19:23 +0000

Here’s an article where an NBA player says he “hates gay people” in response to a question about working with Amaechi.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2766213

By: Jim Burroway

Jim Burroway — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:26:23 +0000

Well this certainly brings up another interesting point. I don’t have any good arguments against the “Sissy Boy Syndrome” as a possible indicator of later male homosexuality, but I think we can all agree that perhaps a little too much has been made of it.

We know we have gay soldiers in combat who are able to pass the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” test. They are also able to duck the Pentagon’s very aggressive attempts to root out gays in the military, often in violation of the spirit of “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell”

We also know we have gay male athletes in some very serious and physically demanding team sports. And of course, there are the dockworkers, policemen, construction workers, and so on and so on…

And don’t forget the gay rugby teams that are springing up all across the country.

So have we made so much of the “Sissy Boy Syndrome” merely because these gender-variant behavior boys were visible and couldn’t remain hidden no matter how hard they tried? It’s been my experience that those who want to remain closeted are much more successful at remaining closeted when their mannerisms, interests, talens and favorite leisure activities don’t draw suspicion.

And as long as so many men and women remain hidden from view simply because they can, it’s interesting to consider the possible ramifications this has for social science research that is dependent upon finding gay men and women who are willing to be found.

By: Warren

Warren — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:19:25 +0000

What makes this interesting for me, other than the general interest in sports that I have always had, is the violation of the stereotype that Mr. Amaechi and other gay athletes represent. I think the theory that has the best support is one that stresses gender atypical preferences in early adolescence. Mr. Amaechi did not play until he was 17, I believe. He may fit in with the theory but even if so, his transformation into an NBA level athlete signals that reversing the process does not change sexual attractions, at least for him.

Many approaches in the conservative world stress masculinity and then provide some kind of stereotypical masculine intervention (JIM weekends, Gatorade, etc), but this does not often lead to radical change. Such interventions may be good for other reasons but they do not of necessity lead to the predicted change.

By: Norm!

Norm! — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:37:24 +0000

Warren's " (â€¦raised by his mother, you know what that meansâ€¦)" comment really irked me too and I was about to leave a shrill comment. However, I'm glad to know it was tongue-in-cheek. After all, I probably would have made the same joke. Contrary to last weeks' over-the-top outcry against the Snickers commercial, gays (and ex-exgays) do have senses of humor. Bussee: ". . .Next youâ€™ll be telling me that there are gay soldiers and truckdrivers and construction workers and policemen and dock workers and . . ." I assume you're excluding the Village People. :-) I think it's great that pro athletes like Amaechi are coming out about their sexuality. I even wish more "ex-gays" would be more willing to come out publically (although Ted Haggard's claim last week seems a little too soon to be believeable). It seems silly that it's such a big deal, but it makes it a little easier for the next gay/ex-gay/questioning athlete or public figure to know that it's normal and not really noteworthy.

By: Rich

Rich — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 03:14:48 +0000

I was a gay soldier, Us Army . There are many gay soldiers, just that most adhere, to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. I am sure there are many more pro athletes that are gay and closeted. I think it will take a jackie Robinson type, to openly admit that he is gay.