In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Tuesday I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.) Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
Tom Daley winning his first Olympic Gold medal matters. He is a symbol of hope and love that resonates with LGBTQ people all over. And Daley knows it. In a statement delivered on Monday he laid it out by saying, “I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone.” He followed that up with, “You can achieve anything and there is a whole lot of your chosen family out here, ready to support you.”
Most of Twitter and online support is for Daley and his win. He represented Team Great Britain with pride and we love that he is open about his life, love, and family. That’s to be celebrated and then some. But there are always those who question why Daley even had to bring up LGBTQ people at an Olympics event. The simple answer is that the Olympics is a collective that brings together people from all over the world who might not share the same political beliefs when it comes to queer people.
The more complicated answer is that Daley was sitting side by side with his Chinese and Russian competitors. And since they also took medals at the Olympics that means that the broadcast would be airing in both countries where sam sex marriage isn’t allowed. So Daley took that opportunity to make a stand and let anyone watching know that they aren’t alone and that they can achieve their dreams while living their most honest queer lives. It doesn’t just have to be a dream. It can be real.
Daley is one of the estimated 142 LGBTQ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. He came out as gay in 2013, married Dustin Lance Black in 2017, and had their first child in 2018. Now he’s an Olympic Gold medalist and champion to those who look up to him. And we’re not the only one who appreciate his words or what he stands for. Here are our favorite Twitter responses about Tom Daley’s win!
Queerly Not Straight posts every Tuesday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)
