Gay figure skater
LGBTQ Figure Skaters
Figure skating is one of the most iconic of winter sports, as evidenced by its popularity as an Olympic competitive event. There is an abundance of talented LGBTQ individuals in the sport, though the list of prominent individuals is entirely populated by gay men. The list is long, but it is only recently that figure skaters have declared their sexual orientation while competing - most have waited until retirement and fought public recognition of their sexual persona. Skaters still comment on the pressure to remain in the closet while competing and to avoid speaking out about LGBTQ rights, though it is also considered one of the gayest sports.
Britain's same-sex attracted Captain Robert Jones popularized the sport of figure skating back in with his highly famous book 'A Treatise on Skating'. The book was reissued with engravings in ; a second edition printed in with a modern song 'The Skater's March'; and many other editions printed including , , , , and more. Skates manufactured to Jones' plan could be obtained at Riccards Manufactory in London.
These individua
This is not a knock on Adam - he had an amazing skate last night (judging issues aside). I just can't help but go to youtube and watch some of the ones that came before Adam. They in many ways paved the way. Point being: without the ones that came before, Adam most likely could not hold broken down that last barrier. I don't consider we'd be seeing him stick his tongue out suggestively at the judges in an Olympic season without the likes of Boitano, Galindo (who did not make it to the Olympics, but certainly deserves credit), Goebel, Savoie, and of course Weir.
I'm not going to list all of them, and since the media is focused on him organism the first US guy, I'll just share a few of my favorite Olympic moments by recognizable (out) gay men because I think they depend on a shout out.
Probably most notable is our Olympic Champion Brian Boitano. If you grew up with skating in the 90's you know who Brian is. Brian only came out in , but I'm fairly certain most fans "knew". It just wasn't something we cared about. As Brian said in a recent interview it is a part of who he is, but it's only a part. H
By: Jimmy Morgan, Professional figure skater and Athlete Ally Ambassador
“You’re a figure skater? What, are you gay?” Older hockey players laughed as I walked down the hall to practice. I was an year-old kid wondering why figure skating made me lgbtq+ and why hockey players start that so funny.
This made me think being gay was terrible. As I grew older, I had been laughed at and called gay so many times, that I hoped to never be gay.
To my dismay, I started realizing I was attracted to men. Since my animation had taught me that entity gay led to being made fun of, I suppressed those feelings and started to convince myself that I was vertical. On top of that, I didn’t want to represent further proof that every male figure skater is gay. I didn’t want those hockey players to be right.
When I was 16, I started pairs skating. I thought it was so chilly to be part of a team and to be proficient to perform lifts and tricks impossible for solo skaters.
But now, I was expected to act with my partner, Alex Shaughnessy, and I was told by coaches and judges that our performance would be partially s
Figure skater Adam Rippon gives LGBTQ community athlete they can relate to
Adam Rippon isn’t a hulking football player like Michael Sam. He’s not a 7-foot basketball center like Jason Collins. He’s dissimilar from Robbie Rogers, a soccer player whose recent retirement from MLS left zero openly gay men in major professional sports in the U.S.
The fact that he happens to have arrive out as gay and did so as an active athlete is about the only thing that links Rippon to some of the more “masc” sports figures who courageously came out over the years — and that’s part of his appeal.
“I think it’s huge that he does not project the way other professional athletes hold when it comes to masculinity,” Anthony Nicodemo, a high school basketball coach in New York and LGBTQ activist, told USA TODAY Sports. “He marches to the beat of his own drum the way somebody like Michael (Sam) and Jason (Collins) didn’t. They fit that piece of masculinity we have come to await in sports being vast and strong. Adam doesn’t fit into that box.”
Rippon became the first openly gay U.S. figure skater to com