CURRENT EVENTS: Tom Daley and the spectacle of the closet

We are all born in closets. This truth, for many, is immutable. The absolute of the closet today is seen as a less of an obstacle of blatant inequality, and more and more a gauntlet of personal will – hardwood paneling – a self-imposed tomb only you can muster the courage to escape from.

Tom Daley’s recent coming out video took the media by storm – headlining newspapers, trending Twitter, and becoming a general overnight event. It eclipsed even the catastrophe of the Philippines, elevating it to the status of a sublime point de capiton – momentarily colouring the entire spectrum of daily political activity.

Banal responses to the story ranged from confusion as to why a celebrity’s “private life” still ought to be public spectacle in the year 2013, to frantic celebration, emphasising how the outing of a celebrity paves the way for a younger generation to embrace their own confessional narratives.

The double-bind here, between two modes of ‘support’ for Daley and his bravery in staging a public address, of course misses the third crucial option. Why is “coming out” today is seen as the only way for LGBT people to live authentic public lives?

On Bisexuality, self-identity, and a palpable future for LGBT

Today is a time for reflection on the role and integrity of LGBT in mainstay culture. The junction we face is one of dynamic postmodern shifts in ideological praxis – same sex marriage, the rights for adoption, and the integration of non-binary identity into the prevailing symbolic order.

And yet, still – here we are – obfuscating the true path for equality with fussy splintering and excessive pedantry. Perhaps the real roadblock we face in coming to terms with social acceptance is ourselves – infighting, political correctness, and over-sentimental hysteria. Then again, perhaps not.

Perhaps the real threat LGBT faces today is the exact opposite. What if the thing holding us back is not the radical-subversive kernel which separates us, but the all-intrusive ‘tolerance’ ethic itself? Is it not fair to say that the last thing one wants is to be tolerated? Is it not that the so-called ‘important issues’ such as same-sex marriage and the rights for adoption are but themselves political obfuscations?