

Felix Salmon explained why Tim Cook's sexuality wasn't common knowledge (2011) - mkr-hn
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/08/25/dont-ignore-tim-cooks-sexuality/

======
coldtea
> _For a better and more heartfelt version of this post, read Joe Clark from
> back in February: “When you tell us it’s wrong to report on gay public
> figures,” he writes, “you are telling gays not to come out of the closet and
> journalists not to report the truth.”_

I think that even if you are straight, e.g under no real threat from revealing
your sexual orientation, you should have a right to privacy. That's your
fucking (no pun intented) matter, not of the press.

And being famous (e.g a top CEO) doesn't change that.

The line about respecting that is like saying to "journalists not to report
the truth" is totally BS. Journalists shouldn't report on private issues,
period.

They are supposed to report on NEWS, stuff about public matters, policy,
uncover scandals (scandals that affect the life of people, e.g with regards to
corruption etc, not "x is gay" or "y commited adultery" and such things).

That we accept this "gossip" and even support it with "the public has a right
to know" distracts from the true role of the press.

------
sz4kerto
I disagree with the article. Tim Cook is not a gay role model but he should
not be one: it's great that he is judged based on his performance, not on
other factors. So let's celebrate that sexual orientation can stay as a
private thing, detached from business and career. It's ok that people know
he's gay, it's also ok that it's not brough up all the time.

------
Poiesis
This isn't a spectacular article. I, for one, think the status quo in this
case is kind of great: it's not reported on because it's not newsworthy.

Now, I know that isn't really true: in 2014 it's still somewhat remarkable,
sadly, for him to be in that position. But things are looking up! I look
forward to the day when a CEO's sexual preference is reported with the same
fervor as his or her preference for chocolate ice cream vs. vanilla: not
necessarily secret but irrelevant to performance and frankly not very
interesting.

------
mkr-hn
I could have used some geeky gay role models growing up. This matters to me.
Things are a lot better almost three years later, but we still have a long way
to go.

The article linked at the bottom is also worth a read:
[http://blog.fawny.org/2011/02/02/gaylives/](http://blog.fawny.org/2011/02/02/gaylives/)

~~~
theforgottenone
I only needed one.

------
acjohnson55
Wow, I didn't know this even now.

As much as we'd like to say these things aren't big deals because we're
[sexuality|color|gender]blind, society is still struggling with the fact that
old barriers are coming down. Ironically, open opposition isn't the only
reactionary response; people also try to react by hushing it up.

------
jiggy2011
Tim Cook has as much right to a private life as anyone else, I think that his
sexuality being too boring a topic to be worth commenting on is probably a
good indicator.

~~~
mkr-hn
edit: HN won't let me post any comments. I'm sick of being rate limited every
time I get into an interesting and worthwhile conversation. This story has
already been flagged off the front page (was #3). This is ridiculous. E-mail
me or PM me on Reddit if you want to know why most of the replies here miss
the point.

How everyone in Silicon Valley reacted to this tells me you still have a long
way to go before you can justifiably call it an accepting environment.

\--------------------------------------------------------

You wouldn't realize this, but it's very helpful to people who are closeted or
questioning to have real-life examples of gay people they can relate to. I
live in a very sports-centric region. I didn't feel safe until Michael Sam
came out and I could see that friends and family reacted positively. People
around here just plain didn't discuss it before, so people like me had to take
a big risk to live an authentic life in the open.

Straight people don't realize how much they reference their sexuality. You
probably do it all the time in ways that are subtle and invisible to you. It
doesn't make you a bad person. It just means you don't realize how goofy this
sounds:

> _I think that his sexuality being too boring a topic to be worth commenting
> on is probably a good indicator._

~~~
crucialfelix
Exactly. So many young people are terrified that if they come out that their
whole life is going to be about being gay. Everybody will interact with you
through the lense of the dominating fact that you are gay.

The message people get is that it's okay to be gay as long as you act
reasonably straight or are funny enough to be on TV. Same message being sent
to blacks. No problem as long as you act normal aka white.

------
throwaway24345
I have huge respect for people who think about computing such as Peter Thiel
and Alan Turing.

That they are gay is not relevant.

I am not saying this to support people 'coming out', although that is all well
and good. I'm saying it because it is a fact that way too many people focus
excessively on their 'lifestyle' as defining them as a person. It doesn't
matter if you are a swinger, a gay, a transvestite, or straight. Outside of
the "heat of the moment" for a person, your sexuality is not that interesting
and probably should not define you as a person because that is a great way to
waste your time in pursuit of pointless objectives like validation by society.

Sexuality is transitory, it does not last. It is not an accomplishment. I am
as liberal as it gets when it comes to sex, but too many people waste time
here.

~~~
taylodl
I agree. Beyond being gay these people are human beings and have accomplished
great things, and as such should be defined by their accomplishments rather
than their sexual orientation. Until I read this article I didn't know Tim
Cook was gay. and until I read your comment I didn't know Peter Thiel was gay.
I know these men by their accomplishments, not their sexual orientation. Now
that I know their sexual orientation, who cares? As someone pointed out it's
as trivial as knowing the name of Tim Cook's dog, if he has one.

------
cliveowen
I find it appalling that these "journalists" take the liberty of discussing
private matters in a very public setting. Sexuality, like health and other
personal subjects, shouldn't neither be discussed nor be part of the judgement
of a professional figure.

------
frozenport
The lack of interest shows just how boring Tim Cook really is. Now if Jobs was
Gay, then Wow.

------
ursodum
I feel like Tim Cook's sexuality is trivia not news. Like knowing his dog's
name or what he collects.

