Topics We Probably Shouldn’t Touch…

Couple of e-mails on the topic of Darren Young this morning…

So, gay people simply want to be treated equally and no differently than straight people, right?

Great! I’m all for that (including making gay marriage perfectly legal everywhere). But then what’s with all the hoopla and press releases, and Twitter flood “congratulating” him as if announcing that he’s gay is some big accomplishment akin to winning the Olympics?So Darren says “I’m gay” “Fine. I’m glad you’re happy with your partner, but beyond that, so what?” says I. The WWE, the media/social media, and the wrestling fan universe is treating this as if it’s some kind of big accomplishment that he happens to be gay. If being gay is ever to truly be normalized in society, we need to stop these meaningless celebrations that amount to people congratulating him based on who he’s sleeping with, simply so they can feel smug about how accepting and tolerant they are. I just think it’s odd and patronizing behavior on WWE’s part.But besides that, he’s in a business that is still very much a few decades behind when it comes to defining what a gay person is. In the wrestling world, a gay person is either a cross-dressing hypersexual pervert (Goldust), or a mincing, lisping, ultra-effeminate stereotypical queen. Either character plays to the audience for the sole purpose of alienating the audience in some way or another, and playing on their pre-conceived notions of what being gay is all about. It was only 11 years ago that we had the Billy And Chuck characters (who I would hardly call positively-portrayed gay characters) and even then the WWE flaked out on the “wedding’ with the swerve angle. I’m not blaming Darren himself for coming out, I’m blaming the way the WWE (and the wrestlers/staff) are handling this entire situation. They’re in such a hurry to show how tolerant they are, that they don’t realize that they’re handling this situation entirely differently than if (say)  he announced that he was getting married to a woman. In other words, they’re discriminating against him by treating him differently (good intentions aside). Which is kind of ironic…

WWE doing something weird and patronizing?  Perish the thought. And then this one…

Now that Darren Young is on the receiving end of so much positive mainstream attention, do you think he’ll get the proverbial rocket strapped to his ass? (probably a bad choice of metaphors, I know…)   I predict a belt around his waist within 21 days and dare anyone to bet against it. 

Geez, the guy comes out of the closet and now you want to punish him by making him a secondary champion in WWE?  Are you TRYING to destroy his career or something?  Being gay can easily be turned into a positive in the media, but once you get the IC title, you might as well pack it in.