Why are figure sakters unifeorms so gay

Bringing men up on "morals charges" and tarnishing their names in the press was a typical tactic of the time to 'shame' young men into 'going on the straight and narrow'. This world often pressured Ryan to present as a skater he didn’t want to be.

Gelien went on to star in over forty films under the stage name Tab Hunter. Jackson Haines.

Ilia Malinin stirs tensions

In a interview, Bob recalled, "Bobby was very, very gay and never tried to hide it. Champion Bobby Specht joined the cast of the Ice Capades. Photos courtesy University Of Pennsylvania Archives. Haines' flamboyant performances, coupled with the fact he left his wife and children behind in America, have led some to ponder his sexual orientation.

And the world adjacent to or outside of figure skating was also hostile. I don't know about you, but I think doing Axels in drag is fabulous enough to make the cut. Recent comments by Ilia Malinin show the conversation around the sexuality and perceptions of men in figure skating isn't likely to end anytime soon.

Explore the complex reasons behind the perception of male figure skating as "gay" and its impact on athletes and sports culture. You could be harassed by police, institutionalized, chemically castrated or jailed. This kind of invented scandal would have no doubt generated a great deal of rink locker room gossip and unpleasantness at the time.

Created inSkate Guard is a blog that focuses on overlooked and underappreciated areas of the history of figure skating, whether that means a topic completely unknown to most readers or a new look at a well-known skater, time period, or event. Bob Turk got his start with the tour as Bobby's understudy and went on to work as a producer and choreographer for the show.

In his autobiography, he discussed his relationship with Olympic Silver Medallist Ronnie Robertson. Tab Hunter. It's quite ironic that figure skating is considered as an effeminate sport when in reality, competition was open solely to males during the sport's early days.

Coaches and judges steer skaters toward music, costumes, and choreography that codes masculine. Many were very much out for years before their sexuality ever came to the attention of the media or general public; many more simply couldn't come out for a host of reasons.

Inwriter Kenneth Caldwell recalled his time working for Rodriguez and his partner Harry. Follow Skate Guard. Want to learn more about figure skating history? When did male figure skaters start to be perceived as gay? Freddie Tomlins as 'The Blonde Bombshell'.

Boys and men— both straight and gay—are pressured to present as masculine. There's plenty to explore, so pour yourself a cup of coffee and get lost in the fascinating and fabulous history of everyone's favourite winter sport! Boitano said that because figure skating is a sport measured both athletical­ly and artistical­ly, with abundant attention paid to the music skaters perform to and the outfits they wear, there’s a natural inclinatio­n for male skaters, gay or straight, to defend the athletic side of their sport.

A memoir penned by Gordon Crosland recounted a liaison between the two skaters. You are in the right place!

Figure Skating’s LGBTQ Community

Was it always this way, or did it start at some point in the sport's history?. He and Alan Konrad were sort of lovers for a time, but he never really had a lover until the end of his life He was the sweetest person in the world. Whether or not a skater came out publicly during their career is not any sort of 'measure' of their courage or relevance, nor is who came out first a competition.

Bobby Specht. During his reign as King of Sweden, Gustav V was embroiled in a scandal when the Royal Court paid off a man who claimed he was the King's lover. A benevolent judge found Donald and his friend not guilty.