Unless you’ve been asleep for the past week, you’ll be all too aware of Olympian Tom Daley’s announcement about his sexuality via a ‘selfie’ YouTube video. The reaction has been incredible – from the media and the public alike (though inevitably more so from the public as a direct result of the media coverage). It’s taken Tom himself by surprise, and the support has been overwhelming and (thankfully) vastly counteracts the remarks of the internet trolls who’ll say anything vitriolic and talk about “all gays going to hell” just to get a rise out of people.
But the extensive media coverage of Tom’s announcement did make me wonder one: does it matter? And, in the nicest possible way…who cares?
The weight on the shoulders of sportspeople is unquestionably heavier than ever before. No longer are they individuals or members of teams simply competing to win a medal or a trophy. Now the highest-profile competitors in more or less every sport are icons of something or other. Look at Brand Beckham, possibly one of the highest paid male models in the world. He’s certainly one of the biggest earners in terms of advertising. Roger Federer has his own signature line of tennis clothing, whilst simultaneously being the ‘face’ of Gillette alongside Tiger Woods.
As for the Brits, Andy Murray has been forced to come a long way from the dour Scotsman who grumped away at cameras and press conferences alike to becoming the Wimbledon-winning Brit who actually has quite a nice smile when he can be bothered. And let’s face it, everybody is slightly in love with Jessica Ennis. People love a hero.
As for Tom, one argument put forward to explain why his announcement was brave is that he may consequently lose out on endorsements and advertising revenue. I don’t believe that will be the case. Because, to come back to my above point (and again, in the nicest possible way), who cares about Tom Daley’s sexuality?
I would imagine that (not exclusively, but by and large) gaggles of teenagers might care, but I honestly don’t think that many other people do. Because haven’t we moved on by now? It’s the 21st century, people!
Not so long ago, Halle Berry became the first black actress to win an Academy Award. There she stood at the microphone, to a rapturous standing ovation, clutching her Oscar in disbelief and gasping for breath. This was a breakthrough event, we were told. Can you believe it? The first BLACK actress to win an Oscar? Amazing!
I can’t have been the only one thinking, “Er, hello, America…? Yeah, hi, ‘scuse me… Sorry, don’t mean to be rude, and terribly sorry to make a fuss or anything but…isn’t that just a tiny bit patronising? And aren’t you about 50 years out of date?”
In this day and age, why on earth SHOULD it be a landmark moment that a black person won an Oscar? Perhaps I’m deluded, but I like to think that, had it been a Bafta, there would not have been the same reaction. Do people look at Lewis Hamilton and think how amazing it is that he was the first black Formula 1 world champion? Mind you, he’s mixed race, so it actually slightly annoys me that people call him black. Likewise Barack Obama. You might as well call me French, in that case, given that my mother is.
So linking this with Tom Daley, I confess that I’m actually slightly baffled by the media coverage. From BBC Breakfast to phone-ins to a seemingly extra long slot on Jonathan Ross, we’re all told how amazingly brave it was of him to announce his current relationship with a man. I sing in a choir where I would guestimate that about half of the men are gay – possibly more. I haven’t taken a census, but I would say that maybe a third to half of my friends are gay too. Granted, these people aren’t necessarily national heroes with millions of pounds of sponsorship resting at least partially on their image. But in this day and age, is Tom coming out as bisexual really going to make the slightest bit of difference to anyone other than him...and, at a stretch, those closest to him?
Call me naïve but I’m going to say a qualified no. I don’t dispute for a second that it was important to him personally, and hats off to him for making the statement, but headline news on the BBC? Really? To me, I imagine the greatest impact is going to be on those youngsters around the same age, probably younger, who are still struggling to either come out or come to terms with their sexuality.
Yes indeed, Tom may have done them a massive service, enabling them to come out to their own friends and family (although significantly, some of Tom’s own friends and family advised him against it). But really, the media storm that has surrounded this is out of all proportion and seems to me more than a little out of step with the times. It’s as if the whole gay marriage reform never happened – as if being gay is something we don’t talk about. Sorry, have these people never heard of Gay Pride? Do they look away when Sir Ian McKellan appears on the telly?
And it’s all been done before anyway. Will Young came out at the height of his fame after winning Pop Idol in the early 2000s – to a rather muted wave of disinterest.
Having straw-polled a few Facebook friends, the feedback has ranged from indifferent to broadly positive. And, interestingly, it comes from both straight and gay friends. All have praised Tom for his announcement. Some have called it a shrewd move – making the announcement before the media does it for him. Some have just praised his honesty. But some – and this is where I’m in total agreement – are slightly bemused by the fact that it’s headline news, even taking into account the fact that the media might revel in outing somebody against their will.
“I did not watch any of the interviews Tom did post-'coming out' as I felt there was no need to watch it,” says N. “He came out, yay... Now get on with another story.”
As for Tom Daley “the brand”, will it have done him harm or good? Well, as they say, there’s only one thing worse than being talked about: not being talked about. And Tom is eminently marketable. So actually, his announcement will really only be doing him good rather than bad. I bet it will blow the viewing figures for his new reality TV show “Splash!” out of the water for a start…
Oh, look – I’ve just written a news article which more or less states that this isn’t a newsworthy subject. No, the irony isn’t lost on me…
Ashley is a copywriter, editor and blogger
Follow him on Twitter
