Its because everybody knows it was Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell

Point 2) Limpr wristed fairies…well in my view as many people hide their real personality behind the mask of campness and effete mannerisms as hide in a closet. As has been beautifully stated higher up in these comments let’s get used to tolerating anybody for how they choose to be – as long as that is an honest choice.

Point 3) Let’s have a coming out date where all the sports and public figures who haven’t come out just do it – all on the same day. The media won’t know where to turn first and we’ll all get over it pretty quickly – job done.

No, REAL diversity is being whatever you WANT to be. I do not ´respect campness as the highest form of gayness´, I respect campness as ANOTHER form of gayness.

We cannot really expect others to stop discriminating until we are ourselves can.

Stewart, so talk me though Simon’s embracing of those gay people in the closet then …. and when you’ve finished you can maybe talk me though his embracing of gay Tories.

Bit of selective reading there mate if ever I saw it!!

One is camp, the other is not.

It is really offensive to suggest that some gay men are ‘letting the side down’ by being naturally camp.

They are both as worthwhile as each other.

Straight society creates the ‘stereotype’ of the the camp gay man. Don’t blame them for some other people’s attitudes. And certainly don’t be so stupid to agree to the view that camp guys are ‘bad’ gays.

Gareth Thomas and Alan Carr both like the penis. Therefore in the bedroom they are as gay as each other. And neither 1 is better than the other.

People are so quick to defend that limp-wristed, feminine types who have a ‘right’ to be ‘gay’, rah rah diversity, blah blah blah. It’s so 1980′s! What next, relaunch the village people?

To those that support gayness as a steretype …. get real! – stereotypes are never good and should not be defended in the name of diversity. They are anti-diversity. REAL diversity is not being a stereotype.

Stereotypes typically exist out of the loathing of others or self-loathing – a quick heuristic to reduce an entire people to one aspect and nothing more, to dehumanise – upholding stereotypes is not diversity.

Ultimately, I get the impression certain types of gay men are very threatened by men like Gareth Thomas.

A gay man is a man first and formost. Why not be just a man, a person, a humanised human being…. instead of feeling the need to be reductively be a ‘gay’ man. It’s holding us back. Ridiculous I know, but go with me:- where would black people be if they celebrated B&W minstrels. Think it over!

Abi1975 – I spat my tea out laughing out loud. Bloody funny.
I agree with your last comment. This needs to be kept in proportion in relation to what got him here in the first place – namely, the rugby. By the sound of his tweets today, he is aware of that. Unfortunately, he is such a novelty (openly gay man in macho sport) that the media can’t resist reporting his every move. I hope for his sake that it dies down and soon otherwise he is going to become cannon fodder like rooney and beckham etc etc. I dont want that for him.

Taking your argument, the Tory party need not show you any tolerance because you are not prepared to show them any. We then get into circular chicken and egg arguments, who didn’t show who what first.

Treat others as you would hoped to be treated yourself mate and you get far more out of life.

I don’t know when you decided to set yourself up as judge and jury over the behaviour of others, but it suggests you consider yourself to be superior to the rest of us.

Its just a form of bullying Simon – and that isn’t big or clever in whatever from it comes.

I believe that people deserve tolerance only so long as they are willing to reciprocate it.

Neither the Tory Party or Mike from post number 2 are tolerant.

Therefore they can go swing, if they think their stupid homophobia deserves anything but contempt.

Bullet point number 2 which currently quotes -

“Repealing civil partnerships and implementing full and equal civil marriages that are in-line with heterosexuals and”.

OMIT.

Put instead -

“Keep civil partnerships intact and allow two people of the opposite sex to enter into a civil partnership in-line with same sex couples. Keep civil marriage in-tact and allow two people of the same sex to enter into a civil marriage in-line with opposite sex couples and”

AS AMENDED.

* Signed by me.
* Effective now.

Apologies for not fitting in with your world view, but if we could maybe stick to the topic, which isn’t actually anything whatsoever to do with your voting intentions, mine, or even Gareth Thomas’.

Gay, bi, lesbian, transgendered, butch, effeminate, the very young to the very old, heterosexual youths.. It´s about celebrating diversity here… Not a bad aim to aspire to?