Did Lance Bass admit or reveal that he is gay?

[dsc]

Unless you have been studiously avoiding certain threads on DU you know that Lance Bass is gay. For the moment lets leave that fact alone and instead look at word choice. Several threads were posted about Bass here and some used the word revealed and others used the word admit. I find that more interesting than the fact he actually is gay. I read the original article on people's website and it doesn't use either word. They also weren't used in the second hand accounts that were linked. Thus in these cases it was the judgement of DUers that informed the use of those words. I prefer reveal to admit given the connotations of both words. I look forward to seeing the coverage of this over the next few days and seeing which meme gets the most play. That of a man admitting to a potential flaw, or a man revealing a deeper truth. Lance apparently, despite what can't have been a great gay friendly upbringing, isn't ashamed but rather relieved to be honest. I hope that attitude spreads.

[northzax]

1. this is a very good point

the only time I would use 'admit' in this circumstance is if he had vehemently denied being gay in the past (which I don't think is the case) Frankly, I don't even really see why this is news at all, certianly not worth all the threads on it. I mean it's nice that he feels comfortable enough talking about his private life, and it's nice to be a role model, but really, 20+ threads because someone said they are gay? although to be fair, there would probably have been this many threads if he had announced his engagement to a woman, as well, so I may be reading too much into it.

[dsc]

5. in fairness it is a fairly big deal

the music industry has yet to see a true male superstar who was gay from the get go. Elton John came out a decade after he really hit it big, ditto with George Michael. Only REM's Stipe, who is apparently bi, is really an exception to that rule, as he came out about a year after REM hit it big. But the most conservative part of music marketing is that of boy bands. They depend upon the notion of availabilty toward young women and Bass being gay would eliminate that. I hope Bass's sitcom does well, but I really hope that some future boy band will be able to have a gay member from the get go.

[northzax]

13. I would think that you are unlikely

to have a boy band marketed in the traditional manner with an openly gay member, simply because the whole marketing is, as you say, selling romance and sex to teenage girls. You'll never see a married boy band member (at the start at least) for the same reason, if you aren't perceived as being avaliable, then you aren't marketable in that way. teenage girls aren't going to en masse put posters of someone on their wall who's not avaliable to them, for whatever reason. now a gay American Idol winner? that I could see, or a pop star, but not someone who is selling sex appeal and romance to teenage girls, it simply won't work, unfortunately.

[dsc]

14. Well, there already has been the gay second place Aiken

though he still won't say he is gay, pretty much everyone knows he is.

[northzax]

16. if you say so

I didn't watch that season, so I wouldn't know (and I don't recall reading anything on the subject, or honestly even thinking about it at any time, Clay Aiken doesn't really occupy much of my mental space)

[dsc]

17. I only know due to living in Raleigh which is his hometown

Trust me go to any gay bar here and you find out when one of his songs comes on the sound system.

[northzax]

30. is is an example of why boy bands...

need straight boy marketing...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601994.html?nav=hcmodule

[dsc]

32. yet gay boys have crushes on presumedly straight

actors and muscians all the time. I fell hard for Michael J Fox on family ties for example. Yet I wasn't devestated when he was straight.

[Olney Blue]

7. Yes, he was the only one in that group whose name I knew!

So, there would be interest with any "announcements" from him, you're right.
I look forward to the day when being gay is not news at all.

[RagingInMiami]

2. No matter what the headline said

He had no shame in it.

[meisje]

3. When I start giving a shit about Bass, I will know I'm fucked in the head

no pun intended

Now say that in your best Lewis Black voice

[Bluebear]

6. 'no pun intended' - none taken

[Egalitariat]

4. The whole world has known he was gay for at least 5 years now

and he had been denying it the whole time. At least anyone who had been paying attention.

I would call it more of an admission (Admit) than a revelation (Reveal).

[dsc]

8. In all honesty I am very long in the tooth to be an expert on Bass

or any other member of N Sinc. By the time they hit it big I was out of college. So if he has been denying rumors, as opposed to simply not answering questions, then your point would be well taken. I honestly don't know.

[NNadir]

9. Excellent point.

While I admit to being heterosexual, I am glad you have revealed this truth about language.

[Solly Mack]

10. excellent observation

choice of language used can be very revealing

[TimeChaser]

11. Interesting,

I posted a thread with a similar question in the Lounge a few hours ago.

[dsc]

12. Sorry I don't often go there

I will have to look at your thread.

[dsc]

15. I saw your thread

interesting responses.

[Imajika]

18. I wonder why people care?

I had absolutely no idea who he was, but why does anyone care if the guy is gay? I just don't understand why a person's sexual preference is so terribly interesting for so many people. There is not one person on this earth that I judge based on their sexual preference. There is no musician, actor, politician, etc, that I think either less highly or more highly of because of their sexual preference. I simply don't care. I can not fathom why so many find this so captivating.

Why do people care so much about this?

[dsc]

21. Imagine for a second

that you grow up in a world in which apparently no one is like you. You wake up one day and find yourself attracted to the wrong sex and no one is like you. No actors, no muscians, no politicans, no sports people, no one. That is why it is a big deal. People need role models, they need a culture and a history.

[Democrats_win]

19. Lance Bass is truly the "boy next door." Did you see him on Match Game?

The recent CBS Game show marathon included Match Game. Match Game requires that you give risque, or off-color answers. The fact that the question requires a certain off-color answer is obvious yet Lance didn't go there. It was almost as if he is so innocent that he didn't even know the correct, yet off-color, answer.

[Mojambo]

22. Well, he's also known as not being terribly bright

It may not have been innocence as much as it was just plain dullheadedness.

[Make7]

20. Who is Lance Bass? ( n/t )

[Blue Belle]

23. I honestly don't care whether Lance Bass is gay...

I just wish my stupid home page would quit propegating this, as well as Pamela Anderson's impending nuptuals to yet another loser, and Angelina Jolie's kid imortalized in wax as actual BREAKING news. Bravo for Lance, I hope he finds happiness... but please get his picture off my screen every 5 minutes.

[Warren DeMontague]

24. i don't even know who "Lance Bass" IS. nt

[Cocoa]

25. he confessed

let's hope he repents. :sarcasm:

[Catherine Vincent]

26. When I opened Yahoo's main page this was the top headline.

Whoopdeedoo! :eyes:

[rucky]

27. Can be taken another way:

Reveal=unsolicited
admit = responding to a rumor?

:shrug:

[ruggerson]

28. Obviously this is the smartest PR move he's ever done

Since most of the world, except for teenage girls, had no clue who Lance Bass was before today.

[dsc]

29. actually more like 20 something women

Those teens are all grown up.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

31. I think it's pretty clear that we live in a fairly homophobic society, so

this kind of language is to be expected. The fact that related issues are flogged every election cycle for "points" pretty much tells the story.

The fact that so many people live officially closeted existences, even when in many instances it's obvious to everyone they know what their orientation is, speaks to the fact that we're not particularly close to a society where there is acceptance of this. Hence when someone closeted "comes out" it's an "admission".

I agree that "admit" speaks to a pejorative connotation. What do you think is a better phrasing for this? "Reveals"?

On Edit: LOL reread your post and saw that you had the word "reveal" which I must have missed the first time. Never mind.

[MadHound]

33. Frankly I view this like I view most other human interest stories

Especially in this day and age, diversion, diversion, diversion. I'm happy for the guy, apparently he is now much more at peace with himself, and I suppose that this is of interest to N'Sync fans. But in my opinion stories like this and other pabulum is wasting entirely too much space and time when there are other, much more important stories that are either not getting reported or are drastically underreported. And frankly, I think this is a deliberate ploy on the part of the corporate media to keep the people unaware and uninformed as their country and world go to hell around them:shrug: