What if Michael Phelps were gay?

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I received a curious email from a straight friend of mine. She asked if Michael Phelps were gay. A friend of hers is sure he is.  I did a little quick research and noticed that Michael's fan page on Facebook has a discussion going on this and saw a few other Internet rumors.  But I wondered what would happen to Michael if he were gay and did come out.

I loved watching Michael Phelps last week. My favorite was the warm-up before he entered the pool where he'd spread his arms like a condor and shake them as if about to take flight.  I also liked watching his endearing smile after he won and was interviewed.

But the question has haunted me for the last few days.  What if Michael were gay?

Would 8 gold medals win out? Or would homophobia win out?  I'm guessing it would be a draw.  He'd become the darling of the gay world (if he isn't to some degree already, since he is everywhere else) and many folks would pretend not to notice or talk about.  How often would we hear then "All Michael does it eat, sleep and swim" and would we hear that more or less if he were out?

There would also be a backlash.  And I really wonder in the 20-30 million dollars worth of his endorsements he's likely to get, who would stick by him and who wouldn't.  How many new focus groups would discuss if whether or not the luster is still there for a "gay" Michael Phelps to get the sponsors the money they thought they'd bring in from his endorsements.

I do think his window of fame would be shorter if he were gay in larger society--though it would last for years more in the LGBT communities.  The jokes would be inevitable from both communities, though the ones from our community would be a lot more fun.

Would 4 years from now the cameras pan to his mother and new boyfriend as he swam for gold in London?  Would other athletes come out if he came out and was well-received?  Would his relay teammates still hug him while wearing those tight suits and the cameras were upon them?  And would there be a special reunion of Will and Grace so that he could make a guest appearance as himself? Would he change the world if he were out?  Or would the world change him? 

And what would happen if he said he were bisexual or heteroflexible? 

I ended up telling my friend I didn't know if he were gay but it gave me a lot to think about.   And if Michael is gay, I'm sure it gives him more.

Comments

[jp]

If Michael is Gay... more power to him... just goes to show gays are not just some lackey group.... we are just as powerful as the next one

[jp]

and if Michael is gay... I would love to have him swim in mine own pool anyday!!!

[jp]

I think we all hope in our own hearts....lol... but, fi he is straight.... he is still our favorite... to say the least

[jp]

he certainly handsome from this man's point of view!!!

[Me]

He can't be gay! He's butt ugly! Um... I'm not so sure about Ryan Lochte tho! Somebody needs to look into that! Please!

[Topher]

While it would certainly make a huge impact on the view of what a gay man is, I doubt highly that he would throw away the reward society offers to be closeted.

I think he most likely isn't gay. I have gay friend (SHREAK...NO, lol) that say their gaydar is going off when they see a hot guy, but I rarely hear them say it when there is a guy they aren't attracted too. (unless that guy is "annoyingly" gay) So, I would say the same principle of projecting is being utilized in this case as well.

CLARIFICATION: “annoyingly” gay could mean many things to many people. The reference used was based on situations with multiple friends that include a guy drawing attention to us when we didn’t want to be noticed, a guy that was hitting on a friend when the friend was not interested, a guy that was a real jerk or bad person and left those around us viewing all gays as being a real jerk or bad person.

[Smegma]

What if he fucks goats?

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[me]

if..?

[Brian in PA]

The guy is not gay!!!

Turn off the Gaydar!

It gets really tiring when I go out with gay friends and the entire discussion centers around all the guys in the room (straight bar) who they think are gay. They are not!!

And neither is Michael Phelps!!

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[srbin]

i don't care whether he is fag or not - i would be interested in knowing what kind of illegal dope he uses to swim like he does?