Blog - All posts tagged 'olympics'
Thursday, August 9, 2012

Olympian comes out as HIV-positive

Australian trampoline gymnast Ji Wallace has not only come out as gay- but has also revealed that he is HIV-positive. 

Wallace won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and told The Star Observer that he was inspired to disclose his HIV status after watching an interview with Greg Louganis, who came out as HIV-positive in 1995, and the recent coming out of Anderson Cooper.

"I have never publicly disclosed this before but felt inspired by [the] interview and by Anderson Cooper's coming out letter last month describing 'value in being seen and heard' in the face of disturbing violence, bullying, persecution and condemnation by peers, colleagues, government officials and worst of all my family and friends."

Wallace went on to say, "Being seen does have value. A voice does have value. I have the support of my boyfriend, my great friends and my loving parents. Many do not and this is, in part, for them." 

Wallace is currently in London to cheer on his Aussie teammates.

Interview on Gaydar radio Bookmark and Share


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Pop-culture questions after the Olympics opening ceremony

The verdict on yesterday's Olympic Games opening ceremonies has been mixed, with some describing the spectacle as quirky, while others are calling London's kickoff party cringe-worthy. Detractors say it was simply too British, with Kenneth Branagh's chimney-sweep soliloquy and Mary Poppins chasing foot-and-mouth diseased demons away with her umbrella. From what I saw, there were more pressing pop-culture problems with the pageant than the over-utilization of the Union Jack.

A snippet of the Sex Pistols' 'God Save the Queen'?

In the first few moments of the pre-ceremony movie, a very brief snippet of "God Save the Queen" was played. While the Sex Pistols are British icons and the song is exceptional, its lyrics are not favourable toward the monarchy ("fascist regime") or the English people ("there is no future in England's dreaming"). Johnny Rotten has said he penned the classic track as a love letter to his home country; however, art is subjective and this once BBC-banned song will always be viewed as an English kiss-off. Another Pistols' track, "Pretty Vacant," was also used. Again, I always thought the subject of the song was the British people; perhaps the organizers couldn't locate songs that portrayed their own subjects in a positive light?

The Exorcist theme? The Cosby Show? Shrek?

I thought I was hearing things when The Exorcist theme played during the Peter Pan/Mary Poppins sequence. I get it that the kids were in their beds, alluding to Linda Blair's possessed imp in the 1973 film, but nothing about The Exorcist is British. The author of the original work and director of the movie are both American. Maybe the opening ceremony wasn't too British after all, as I also saw clips of The Cosby Show and Shrek. I can't believe they couldn't find clips to represent what they wanted to convey sourced from British works. I'll just put on a loud sweater, have a pudding pop and let it slide. 

Was Paul McCartney lip-synching at first?

When living legend McCartney played out the ceremonies, I could have sworn that before his crystal-clear rendition of "Hey Jude" chimed over the Olympic Stadium, I heard a garbled mess. Did the pre-recorded track fail, forcing McCartney to bail on the planned course of events? McCartney took to Twitter: "There was some talk of maybe being to playback but we decided against it and went live, live, live!" Damage control or not, the addition of McCartney was the crowning jewel of the shindig.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Trans derby girl featured in Pet Shop Boys video

Forget about perennial gay favourite Personal Best; there's a new counterpart for the upcoming London Olympics that will have queers cheering.

The Pet Shop Boys' new video for their single "Winner" features real-life transgender roller girl Dirty Diana. The song is true to PSB's poppy roots and is sure to become an anthem for queers competing in the 30th Summer Games.

The video takes on a documentary feel, and Diana's roller derby wife, Sharon Scott, says, "I want to help her grow into herself a little more while she's playing roller derby and help her gain more confidence so she can develop into the woman she's meant to be." 

Now if only we can push for roller derby to be included in the next Summer Olympics. Watch the inspiring video below.

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Xtrapolate

Bradley Turcotte 

Xtrapolating on
queer interests;
from happenings in
Ottawa to pop
culture and beyond.

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Bradley Turcotte

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