I’m sure if you’ve landed on this blog, that you’ve seen the cover heard round the world, or at least the fandom. It’s a sweet picture on the cover of PEOPLE Magazine of Clay Aiken and his son Parker with Clay announcing that he is gay.Reactions were all over the place within the fandom with the vast majority showing support for Clay. It was a very brave thing for him to do and a decision that he likely didn’t reach easily. I also admire Jaymes Foster for loving Clay so much that she put her 50 year old body through the preparation for IVF, when he could have adopted or used a surrogate. I am comforted that he has someone that he loves and trusts and who loves him back as they raise their son together in the glare of the public eye.
I do not have family members who have identified as gay and I didn’t meet an openly gay person until I was thirty. Contrasting that, my daughter has two classmates, one male and one female, who have been openly gay since they were 14. But in talking to others who have gay family members, friends or coworkers, it is an intensely personal process of self discovery and it differs for each and every person. It has to be a thousand times harder when you are a celebrity.
I hope that for Clay this process of self discovery and openness with the public will actually gain him the respect deprived from him from our tabloid society, with writers and comics who act like 13 year old boys. Let him live his life, let him flourish in his career. He’s an entertainer for the ages, maybe now people will pay attention to THAT.
What does this mean for me and my fandom? Nothing. He’s still the best voice I’ve ever heard, he’s still the best concert I’ve ever attended, he’s still one of the funniest entertainers that I’ve ever enjoyed and his good works with UNICEF and his own Bubel/Aiken Foundation have opened my eyes, my wallet and my heart to issues that I should have been paying attention to long ago.
And I’m still extremely excited to return to New York City next month to see him again in Spamalot. As Broadway.com said ‘He’s pretty darn amazing.” Today? In more ways than one.
Technorati tags:
Clay Aiken,baby,Jaymes Foster,David Foster,PEOPLE Magazine,Spamalot,gay,fan reaction,father,Broadway
10 comments:
You are right, he is pretty darn amazing. Thank you for a beautiful, heartfelt blog.
Brava Corabeth! You've said everything that is in my heart this morning. A new day dawns in the fandom and it's the first day of the rest of Clay Aiken's career. He's the best voice I ever heard, too.
Thank you Corabeth for your words. Love has a profound effect on us all and Clay will always be a teacher. I'm proud of him for taking this step - but as my darling husband said "fine - now can we get on with his music?"
I agree, Clay is the best voice I've ever heard and I love seeing him in concert.
I'm glad that he has reached a point in his life where he is comfortable taking this step. My wish for Clay has always been that he has the happiness in his life that he deserves. I'm glad that he has Jaymes and Parker to bring him that happiness.
Ditto! You said it so well! I wish him every happiness in the world! May the next concert be 'soon'! I have never left one of his concerts without a few laughs, a smile and being happy!
Amen, Corabeth!
I love this amazing and courageous man . Always and forever .
I believe that in order to love and be loved, you have to "love" yourself. I hope that Clay is feeling the love. He is so deserving of love.
Clay, Jaymes and Parker are so blessed to have each. And, Parker will grow up cherished by his fabulous daddy.
I've always felt that Clay was special. Now, I know just how special!
Signed:
OneIdolWoman
Sorry, but i'm still struggling with it a bit. Don't get me wrong, i still love Clay. I still think he got a great gift with a heart of gold. However, i can't deny that i am a bit disappointed. I was so happy when i thought we actually had an artist in the secular industry who still holds good values, who have so much love in his heart and is not afraid to show it, who is sincere, who stood up to what he believe to keep his music and video 'G-rated' - and is still straight. He got alot of grief because lots of people speculated that he is the way he is because he is gay and a lot of his fans, including myself, defended him over this. Not that now i see him any less than what he is, but i was hoping that we can actually have a straight guy with such a beautiful soul in the industry because we definitely need one.
I would think the beautiful soul, good values and love in his heart trumps gay or straight in a thousand different ways.
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