Talk:Johnny Weir/Archive 1

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Does anyone know his sexual orientation? Not a derogatory question, I was just curious. 24.71.223.140 22:38, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

[1]

Princess-y? What does that mean. Whether or not he is gay, which he probably is is irrelevant. It's his diva attitude that is not warranted. He stormed out after the long program scores as if he didn't deserve them , come on, you choked big time.


A couple of factual corrections and clarifications: 1--Weir used the word "princessy to describe his feelings about the spartan Olympic Village in Turin. It happened at a news conference in Turin just before the start of the Games. It is extremely well-documented. 2--The article says that Weir was questioned about his sexual orientation after the short program. That did not happen. It was Valentine's Day, and he was asked about how he would celebrate it (as were many other athletes.) Between the short and long programs, the Chicago Tribune reported Rudy Galindo's remarks. Weir was asked about a poll the Tribune ran (which asked whether people cared about Weir's sexual orientation) and he said he thought it was funny that people speculated on his sexual orientation. This happened after the long program, which means that any such questions could not possibly have influenced his performance, as the Wikipedia article foolishly suggets. ----LucyVanPelt


I added the princessy reference to capture soem of his attitude and personality-not to define his intimate life. I heard the word used on NPR by a reporter who heard it from Weir himself. Time magazine this week (2/20-2/25) uses the word in relation to Weir himself and states that the source of the adjective is with Weir himself. Im sorry that the forces of political correctness took the sentance out of the original article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Markp6 (talk • contribs)

Contents

sigh

lots of ... specious comments here. there are plenty of fora out there where people are chatting to their heart's content about weir. feel free to locate them.

for the record, weir has not made any statement about his sexual orientation, and so neither should the wpedia.

i removed the sentence about the olympic village--he did stay there, see [2]. even aside from that factual error, picking out the princess-y comment to fit in this short article seems like trying to make a point to me, although i could imagine a better way of talking about the hubbub over his comments this week that would not be terribly out of place. there is already a note about his 'outrageous manner', which probably ought to be sourced to avoid looking like original research. certainly anything else about these statements needs to be well sourced and to reference the stated opinions of others, not make opinions.

i also removed the note about his not medaling despite good effort, as his record in these olympics is already noted and there was no source for the claim about his effort.

it is our responsibility to report facts and statements made by others, not judge or make inferences, no matter how obvious they may seem or how out of the mainstream the subject is.

Burgher 06:23, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

I agree this shouldn't get into subjective things or whether he's gay. (Although for the record I think he's a rare case that if he's not gay it's likely harder for him than if he is. He acts very stereotypically flaming) Just stick to the facts as known. At the same time figure skating is a bit about persona and image, a bit like boxing that way, so a bit about that could be acceptable and then the reader can draw his/her own conclusions.--T. Anthony 07:39, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

there is unquestionably room for expansion on his mannerisms and public statements, especially given all the talk about him since the little promo piece aired. we must aim, however, to inform as to what has occurred and possibly what others (preferably media organizations or notables) have said about it. recently i have seen only wikipedians attempting to inform the world as to the impression they themselves got from him.

i dont object to the article containing things like his "princess-y" thing but not only must it be sourced, it must not look like someone just wanted to make sure everyone who read this page knew he was gay (or as you say, flaming). a short article on aaron McGruder which "just happened" to mention his alleged "try these nuts" comment (referenced in the New Yorker) would seem a disingenuous way of showing what the editor thought the reader should know about mcgruder's mannerisms and demeanor.

you are right that persona and image are a big part of his sport, and the boxing analogy is insightful. i am not concerned about protecting weir or hiding information about him--he seems to be trying to stir things up and get himself in papers and can clearly take care of himself. i am concerned that the wpedia will undermine the trust of the reader by not staying above these opinion games. we do not want someone, new to here, reading the weir article and determining that we are judging him as so many this week have done. we only want them to learn about his statements and the ensuing judgement frenzy.

i appreciate your discussion of this, User:T. Anthony.

addendum: incidentally, if we are looking for a way to show how the US is reacting to him, this jim caple op-ed from espn.com seems like a decent place to start. i personally find caple's article fairly repugnant, but that is neither here nor there.

Burgher 08:06, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

My impression there is just my impression. I did add things that may hint at gay-ness, fashion design or Aguilera fandom, but those are factual and also seem important to the image he wants. What that image means would be subjective and open to interpretation so I'll do my best to avoid anything like that.--T. Anthony 08:20, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

not to imply that my approval is needed for edits to this page, but i think what you have added is quite acceptable. thank you again for your candid reasonableness. i especially agree with your point about the image he is trying to present and leaving things open to interpretation. Burgher 08:24, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

height in cm

Is there any reason why his height is listed in cm even though he's an American?

He is an Olympic athlete and I believe the Olympics goes by metric. Although his heigth in inches should likely be mentioned as well.--T. Anthony 20:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

myspace and reality

It's not actually his MySpace profile. See his website for more details.


Actually, his myspace profile says that he's bisexual. Not that I believe him, but that's enough proof that he's LGBT.

I think you should give the link on that and it's credibility first. Although he's clearly LGBT I think there's way too much putting of LGBT categories on people based on speculation or who just may not fit.--T. Anthony 22:22, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
thats enough proof that someone who wanted to create a myspace account claiming to be him says he's bi. surely you are aware that the probability of it actually being him is approximately 0.03%. linking to this profile would be non-encyclopedic. Burgher 23:34, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

The Gay Icon category

I saw this added and in this case I decided not to remove it. Because being a Gay Icon doesn't require the person be gay or even bisexual. Judging by several gay commentators blogs or editorials I'd say he did become, a likely temporary, "icon" in that world. I also think he likely accepts that to some degree.--T. Anthony 11:10, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

He considers Newark, Delaware to be his hometown so I added a Delaware category. I don't find anything linking him to Queens though, I think the place he trains is in Lower Manhattan. (Feigning naivete here)--T. Anthony 11:46, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Bias

The sentence about Rudy Galindo's "clumsy" skating style and his accusations of Weir being "laughed off by skating aficionados everywhere" is obviously skewed and should be changed.

Johnny Weir: A Rising Star

Please keep the Johnny Weir: A Rising Star link. It is a semi-official fan site. Weir has done interviews and Q&As there and contributes some of the content. Kolindigo 04:52, 4 September 2006 (UTC)