All posts tagged: olympics

6 Queer Athletes Who are Totally Winning (Medals) at Rio 2016

Published by thequeerav

So it turns out the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics holds a record number of publicly out LGBTI athletes, approximately 50, depending on which publication you read. There’s no doubt this number will continue to grow in coming Olympic Games as the stigma of being LGBTI in sports and in life generally continues to decrease. In honour of this record number, we’ve decided to compile a list of all the queer athletes who are winning medals at Rio 2016, so far anyway! We’re sure there’s more to come! 1. Rafaela Silva (Brazil) – She defeated Mongolian Sumiya Dorjsuren to win gold in the judo 57kg weight division. 2. Carl Hester (Great Britain) – Won a silver medal in equestrian team dressage alongside Fiona Bigwood, Charlotte Dujardin and fellow out athlete Spencer Wilton. Germany won gold while the USA took bronze. 3. Spencer Wilton (Great Britain) – Won a silver medal in equestrian team dressage alongside Fiona Bigwood, Charlotte Dujardin and fellow out athlete Carl Hester. Germany won gold while the USA took bronze. 4. Rachele Bruni (Italy) – Won silver in …

Ian Thorpe: "I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man"

Published by thequeerav

Ian Thorpe, former Australian Olympic swimmer, has come out as gay in an interview with Michael Parkinson. If you haven’t heard already, you’ve probably been living under a BIG GAY rock. “I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man and I don’t want young people to feel the same way that I did,” said Thorpe, who also discussed his battle with depression and suicidal ideation. “You can grow up, you can be comfortable, and you can be gay.” Thorpe has been in the spot light from a young age, and has been asked about his sexuality right from the get go. “I concealed this and I think that I’ve held this as such a weight and there’s so much pain in this,” he said. “I had anger around this because I felt like I shouldn’t have been asked about it. If I wasn’t asked I feel as though I would have been much younger when I came out as being comfortable about this.” I think a lot of people would agree, coming out shouldn’t be this …

Art Speaks Louder than Words

Published by thequeerav

Anna Goodson, CEO & Founder of the Anna Goodson Illustration Agency, called for illustrations from the group recently after being disturbed by sexuality based discrimination in Russia. President Vladimir Putin signed a law at the end of June, banning the distribution of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors. With Russia hosting the Winter Olympics, major concerns have been raised for the safety of athletes and tourists alike. “We are often asked to create images for clients but here was an opportunity for them to create something meaningful, personal and from the heart,” said Goodson. “We believe that Art Speaks Louder Than Words and we wanted to show the world that our agency and illustrators don’t support discrimination and violence of any kind, regardless of Religion, Race or Sexual Orientation.” Check out some of the amazing submissions!