If you have been anywhere near the internet today, you will not need me to tell you what all the fuss is about...
Team GB Medallist, Tom Daley, has announced that he is in a relationship. A relationship with a man.
Almost as soon as Daley had tweeted the link to his video announcement, choruses of 'I told you so!' and 'I knew it!' could be heard from miles around. Despite the fact that he never once labelled himself within the video, it has been decided: Tom Daley is gay.
Firstly it should be recognised that he has not, come out as gay. He has come out with the news that he has fallen for someone and that someone just so happens to be male. He has admitted he still fancies girls, which would make him Bisexual and bisexuality is not something that should be shrugged off as 'not a thing'. It should be accepted just the same way being singularly attracted to girls or singularly attracted to guys is.
Tom's confession, although not really that much of a big deal (I mean, surely he is allowed to love whoever the hell he wants, right?) has left many people wondering why he even needed to bring it up anyway. It is 2013 and this is modern Britain. The fact that one of UKs most beloved and cherished sports stars is in a gay relationship should have nothing to do with how we view him as a human being. It should not still be 'a thing' when a person 'comes out'. It saddens me that we still live in a world a person is distinguished by who they fall in love with.
Daley's actions today were, without a doubt, brave... and this is someone who throws themselves (gracefully) head first into a pit of water from 10m up. Despite the fact that I am straight and would never claim to fully understand the fear a person must feel in the years, months, weeks and days leading up to telling the people around them that they are gay, I will say this; admitting you have fallen for someone is TERRIFYING.
The first time I was really honest about my feeling towards my boyfriend, it made me feel almost sick. Its just not the kind of thing you can take back. Once you admit to falling for or loving someone, once you put that out there into the universe, you cannot have it back. I cannot imagine what it must feel like then, to face the fact that you are in love alongside the fact that there are going to be people condemning you for having those feelings at all. Even Daley admitted that, upon telling his wider family, it created a mixed reaction.
It is wonderful, that in a society that still sees such high levels of homophobic bullying, a young, talented star has been brave enough to step forward and say 'This is who I am'. We need more people like Daley to step up and say 'it's ok to fall for someone who makes you feel happy and safe, even if they are the same sex as you', so that young people all over the world have role models they can look up too. Being a teenager is hard enough without limitations being put on who we are expected to fall in love with.
Fact of the matter is, Daley's news in no way changes the fact that he is a credit to our nation as a sports personality nor it does not affect his ability to leap and flip through the air into diving pools and countless medals in sporting events around the world. We should still want him to get to Rio 2016 and bring back medals. As a nation we should support him as an athlete because that is what he works so God damn hard for.
I hope you're relationship is a happy one, Tom. Falling in love is such a special and momentous thing, and I for one, am happy to support love in a world that appears so filled with hate.
- xo
If you haven't seen his video, check it out here.
