Comparing Anderson Cooper And Frank Ocean's Respective Coming Outs
In case you're just joining us, it was a big week for coming out.
Both journalist Anderson Cooper and singer Frank Ocean did the deed, causing a flurry of news stories and commentary within seemingly disparate cultures.
Looking at the impact, however, journalist and MSNBC commentator Touré says he believes Ocean's honesty will have a more monumental impact on a culture in which homophobia often runs rampant.
From Touré's article in Time:
…For me and many others, the popular young singer Frank Ocean’s coming out this week on his Tumblr was even more powerful, courageous, seismic — and totally unexpected... But his coming out is no marketing ploy or attempt to grab attention; it’s a spiritual and personal release. “I don’t have any secrets I need kept anymore,” he wrote. “I feel like a free man.”
Ocean is an effortless heartthrob who sings in a hip-hop idiom. Hip-hop culture is notoriously homophobic, and asking the community to be nuanced on the issue of sexuality is like asking a middle-schooler to discuss metaphysics. Hip-hop is a parade of alpha men who use the dominance of women to enhance their manhood and seem to know nothing of the concept of anima, the feminized part of masculinity.
There's little doubt that Ocean's coming out will have an impact on a different population than Cooper's, but either way you cut it, both events will have a positive effect on American culture at large, because in the end, for all our sub-cultures or varied interests, we're one nation.
Why do we have to compare the two? why can't we appreciate each for what they are?
Posted by: Red Velvet | Jul 6, 2012 5:57:34 PM
This is lame. BOTH being open and out is tremendous and helpful. Doing this is just pinning one against the other which is counter productive. There is no "best way to come out"...only ONE way to come out.
Posted by: AJ | Jul 6, 2012 5:58:33 PM
Of course the bisexuals are going to strictly cheer on the coming out of Frank Ocean. Bisexuals are intensely homophobic and see the outness of gay men, and the presence of gay men as a threat to them.
Posted by: TruthSeeker | Jul 6, 2012 5:59:31 PM
Why compare?....seriously? Other than trying to dictate how someone should come out in the future? Shouldn't the overall goal be coming out in the first place and encourage more LGBT to be out, as opposed to the "correct" way to be out?
Posted by: USC Trojan Fan | Jul 6, 2012 6:00:37 PM
I echo the sentiments of others preplexed in this fixation the gay community has on HOW someone comes out. Stop judging those who are very vocal in coming out. Maybe it's a freeing experience for them and they want to be as open, out, and loud about it as boldly possible. They have that right and should have our support, because at the end of the day, the silver linning is we have another honest & open ally who is proud to be themselves.
Posted by: IonMusic | Jul 6, 2012 6:02:08 PM
This could possibly change Anderson's entire way of working. If you were him, would you feel safe going to many countries where just being himself is illegal? Anderson's situation is completely different from most coming out stories. He is an international journalist. He DOES have a lot to lose.
Posted by: Larry | Jul 6, 2012 6:21:55 PM
not everything is a competition, nor should it be. SUPPORT not snark
Posted by: mododavid | Jul 6, 2012 8:10:55 PM
There is no single correct way to come out; everybody is different.
Posted by: ratbastard | Jul 6, 2012 8:32:59 PM
Truthseeker, "Bisexuals are intensely homophobic", really? A sweeping generalization isn't it. Doesn't sound very truthful either, maybe your perception, but that doesn't make it the truth. Sounds to me more like your biphobia casting prejudice to me. Sorry, but isn't getting away from sweeping statements that put all who are "different" into boxes and diminishing them as people the sort of thing that champions of equality and tolerance should avoid?
Posted by: Bob | Jul 6, 2012 9:17:38 PM
Shouldn't be made in to some kind of race or contest.
@furyoffirestorm: TV journalism is not "a very gay-friendly business" when it comes to on air talent coming out publicly. Much like Hollywood, a lot of gays working in the industry has never translated to enthusiasm for hiring out gays for on screen or having on screen employees come out. You honestly think the music industry including hip hop doesn't also have a lot of gays working behind the scenes? A huge amount has changed in a recent years, and Anderson's career started twenty years ago before even Ellen was out. The younger generations are coming up under different norms.
Posted by: greg | Jul 6, 2012 10:38:51 PM
The sentence that resonated with me from Ocean's writing was "I feel like a free man." This is a telling statement. In my mind it equated being in the closet with slavery. Slavery to fear, the Master(society, laws, etc) which wants to keep gay people out of sight and in their place . Kudos to both Cooper and Ocean. They both faced down homophobia. Homophobia is homophobia, whether you are established and wealthy, or young and up and coming. It feeds on fear, and both men, in their own ways, dealt with it and came through it. Good for them! Nothing but admiration and respect is their due!
Posted by: kodiak | Jul 7, 2012 9:59:44 AM
Look at their respective audiences: each one of these figures will have a sizable impact on the worlds they touch, but Frank Ocean's audience is by FAR more lacking of anyone who's out, proud and easily identifiable. This young singer has amassed nearly a million Twitter followers, a HUGE Tumblr audience, sold out concerts at Coachella and Lollapalooza, all before releasing a single commercial album. His free self-released mixtape and guest appearances with Kanye West & Jay-Z on "Watch The Throne" have earned him the attention of a very young, very urban, very non-white audience; how many out & proud LGBT figures can you name from that community? We live in a world where nearly a quarter of LGBT youth are kicked out of the home after coming out; that's especially true in urban minority communities. Anderson Cooper's coming out is undeniably helpful, but Frank Ocean's visibility will impact a segment of our population that desperately needs positive role models with whom they identify. This is a major deal.
Posted by: GMB | Jul 8, 2012 12:12:26 AM