Clay Aiken: 2 time reality show loser and now dating a midget. in American Idol Past Seasons Forum

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Clay Aiken: 2 time reality show loser and now dating a midget.

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glitterbabies		#21	[-]
Posts: 14306 10/19/11 12:57 PM More Recent Posts	grumpypuppy wrote: Where is he hiding? He has been out and about living his life- just not in L.A. in front of the papparazi. He has been active with Broadway Cares, GLSEN, wegiveadamn.org. He discussed some of his issues with growing up gay in his book. It was on the New York Times bestsellers list so I imagine there are a few copies out there if gay youth are interested enough in his story to look it up. How much real depth have other gay singers/artists(other than Rufus Wainwright) gotten into? Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life - published November 16, 2004 Clay Aiken: I'm a Gay Dad - People Magazine - published August 2008 How did he discussed his issues with growing up gy in his book when his book was publised prior to him coming out? That makes ZERO sense grumpy.
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love4mypets		#22	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:06 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	grumpypuppy wrote: He discussed some of his issues with growing up gay in his book. No he didn't. He didn't address a thing about being gay in his book, since he had not yet come out publicly. While he did address being bullied, he made no connection to being gay at all, just being nerdy looking in the way he dressed in his younger years, for example. While the book may be of some general benefit to youth struggling with being bullied, which many gay youth are, the book would be of little use in any kind of direct manner in helping any struggling gay youth wondering whether or not they should come out to family/friends. It's this kind of embellishment done by Claymates that is barf-inducing.
love4mypets		#23	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:08 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	glitterbabies wrote: grumpypuppy wrote: Where is he hiding? He has been out and about living his life- just not in L.A. in front of the papparazi. He has been active with Broadway Cares, GLSEN, wegiveadamn.org. He discussed some of his issues with growing up gay in his book. It was on the New York Times bestsellers list so I imagine there are a few copies out there if gay youth are interested enough in his story to look it up. How much real depth have other gay singers/artists(other than Rufus Wainwright) gotten into? Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life - published November 16, 2004 Clay Aiken: I'm a Gay Dad - People Magazine - published August 2008 How did he discussed his issues with growing up gy in his book when his book was publised prior to him coming out? That makes ZERO sense grumpy. GMTA. ;-)
grumpypuppy		#24	[-]
Posts: 3063 10/19/11 01:10 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	How did he discussed his issues with growing up gy in his book when his book was publised prior to him coming out? That makes ZERO sense grumpy. Read the book. He goes over the bullying that happened growing up, being called a "#+%", his poor relationship with his birth father due to his dad not being able to accept a son who wasn't as masculine as he would have liked. It is his story about not fitting in and finding a way to cope. How is it not a story about growing up gay?
love4mypets		#25	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:12 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	grumpypuppy wrote: How did he discussed his issues with growing up gy in his book when his book was publised prior to him coming out? That makes ZERO sense grumpy. Read the book. He goes over the bullying that happened growing up, being called a "#+%", his poor relationship with his birth father due to his dad not being able to accept a son who wasn't as masculine as he would have liked. It is his story about not fitting in and finding a way to cope. How is it not a story about growing up gay? It's not a story about growing up gay, because no reference is made to growing up gay.
love4mypets		#26	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:19 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	BTW, plenty of straight sons have no interest in playing sports and/or "being masculine," much to the chagrin of their "masculine" type fathers, and that's the basic "story" presented in Clay's book; and, again, with no mention of "gay" at all. Any struggling gay youth would have to intense reading-between-the-lines in order to gain any benefit from Clay's story as told in his book. His book is essentially useless to gay youth, except from the standpoint of demonstrating how it's possible to overcome bullying, by finding some kind of deflection method as Clay did by coming out of his shell to sing. The book is far from being any kind of beneficial guide to gay youth who are struggling with the essential issue of figuring out whether or not to come out to everyone.
grumpypuppy		#27	[-]
Posts: 3063 10/19/11 01:29 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	Why does the word "gay" have to be mentioned to validate Clay's experiences? In reading the book, it seemed quite clear to me that Clay was gay without too much reading between the lines. If he didn't really accept or act on his sexuality until a young adult how can he write about experiences that didn't happen as a child/tween/teenager other than the feeling of not fitting in/being bullied. Why does Clay have to write a textbook about coming out? I wouldn't expect that of any gay celebrity. All he can do is discuss his own experience and how he muddled through before reaching the point where he felt comfortable making his sexuality "public" - which he did in the People interview. If I were a conflicted teen I wouldn't expect any celebrity to discuss intimate details of their life just to make me feel more normal/comfortable.
love4mypets		#28	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:39 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	grumpypuppy wrote: Why does the word "gay" have to be mentioned to validate Clay's experiences? In reading the book, it seemed quite clear to me that Clay was gay without too much reading between the lines. If he didn't really accept or act on his sexuality until a young adult how can he write about experiences that didn't happen as a child/tween/teenager other than the feeling of not fitting in/being bullied. Why does Clay have to write a textbook about coming out? I wouldn't expect that of any gay celebrity. All he can do is discuss his own experience and how he muddled through before reaching the point where he felt comfortable making his sexuality "public" - which he did in the People interview. If I were a conflicted teen I wouldn't expect any celebrity to discuss intimate details of their life just to make me feel more normal/comfortable. You said that "he discussed some of his issues with growing up gay in his book." If, as he says, that he didn't know that he was gay until out of his teens, then how can his book be one that relates to "growing up gay"? He wrote the book during a time when he was working hard to try to "be straight" (primarily to fans obviously), so the book essentially is a "story" of a straight individual simply having had a rough time being bullied while growing up. Nowhere in the book is there any reference to struggling with being gay, and that's the point in this discussion that has ensued as a result of the statement you made.
EllieTay		#29	[-]
Posts: 7721 10/19/11 01:46 PM Registered user More Recent Posts	love4mypets wrote: If, as he says, that he didn't know that he was gay until out of his teens, then how can his book be one that relates to "growing up gay"? He wrote the book during a time when he was working hard to try to "be straight" (primarily to fans obviously), so the book essentially is a "story" of a straight individual simply having had a rough time being bullied while growing up. Nowhere in the book is there any reference to struggling with being gay, and that's the point in this discussion that has ensued as a result of the statement you made. Clay was gay his whole life whether he could acknowledge it or not. Any gay kid reading the book knows that this was a gay man's experience coming to terms with being different and not being accepted. It is a testament to "It Gets Better" and it illustrates the very real possibility that a nerdy gay kid can grow up to be a Superstar.
love4mypets		#30	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:48 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	iow, Clay's story as told in his book is him offering general opinions as to how he personally overcame being hurt by being bullying, so, for that, it's a nice general guide for anyone who suffers from bullying. It offers nothing whatsoever in relation to "growing up gay" other than addressing being bullied. It's a story that could be of help to anyone who has been bullied in their youth, whether it's because someone is ugly, fat, stinks, is stupid, gay, etc.; but, it's not a book about "growing up gay." Period, end of story.
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love4mypets		#31	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:51 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	It's a story about being bullied as a child and learning how to overcome, in some way, the hurt of being bullied, simple really. Not all gay youth are effeminate, for example, and are not bullied at all, so how does his book relate to someone like that who is "growing up gay"?
love4mypets		#32	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 01:59 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	I wrote "it's a story that could be of help to anyone who has been bullied in their youth, whether it's because someone is ugly, fat, stinks, is stupid, gay, etc." Since many if not most youth may not understand/know that they're gay, I should have said: "...someone is ugly, fat, stinks, is stupid, too smart, an effeminate type male, a masculine type female, etc." iow, anything that, unfortunately, is somehow odd/different/etc from the general realm of what is considered to be normal, "cool," "right," etc., that brings on being bullied.
grumpypuppy		#33	[-]
Posts: 3063 10/19/11 01:59 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	Clay is gay. He talks about his experience growing up- a lot of which sounds like what I expect a child who is gay might experience. Maybe I'm making assumptions. How are these not experiences of someone growing up gay? Nowhere in the book is there any reference to struggling with being gay, and that's the point in this discussion that has ensued as a result of the statement you made. I guess people like you need everything spelled out for them. Sorry, I expected maybe you were smarter than that. If Clay rewrote the book and inserted the word gay every once in a while would you be better able to accept that maybe Clay was bullied because people around him sensed that he was of a different sexual orientation and were not willing to accept that which they felt was different. Would it validate his experience with his natural father as that of a gay child not being accepted if he had used different terminology for you? Teenagers generally just try to fit in and that seemed to be what Clay tried to do.
love4mypets		#34	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 02:08 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	grumpypuppy wrote: Clay is gay. He talks about his experience growing up- a lot of which sounds like what I expect a child who is gay might experience. Maybe I'm making assumptions. How are these not experiences of someone growing up gay? Nowhere in the book is there any reference to struggling with being gay, and that's the point in this discussion that has ensued as a result of the statement you made. I guess people like you need everything spelled out for them. Sorry, I expected maybe you were smarter than that. If Clay rewrote the book and inserted the word gay every once in a while would you be better able to accept that maybe Clay was bullied because people around him sensed that he was of a different sexual orientation and were not willing to accept that which they felt was different. Would it validate his experience with his natural father as that of a gay child not being accepted if he had used different terminology for you? Teenagers generally just try to fit in and that seemed to be what Clay tried to do. I'm not disagreeing with you on why Clay was bullied. It was because he leaned more towards being effeminate, nerdy, awkward as a child into middle school (as I recall). Again, the story itself revolves around being bullied, not "growing up gay." If all his story ultimately says is that it's best to try to "fit in" in some manner, then that in no way addresses "growing up gay." Clay's way of finally "fitting in" was to showcase his singing abilities, which, ultimately, helped him "fit in" causing the bullying to slow down, if not completely stop. How is that story going to help any gay youth who are struggling with their sexuality, other than finding some way to mask it?
EllieTay		#35	[-]
Posts: 7721 10/19/11 02:11 PM Registered user More Recent Posts	How is that story going to help any gay youth who are struggling with their sexuality, other than finding some way to mask it? You are as thick as a brick. Any gay kid reading the book knows that this was a gay man's experience coming to terms with being different and not being accepted. It is a testament to "It Gets Better" and it illustrates the very real possibility that a nerdy gay kid can grow up to be a Superstar.
love4mypets		#36	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 02:14 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	"causing the bullying to slow down, if not completely stop at least while he was in high school." Obviously, when he got out in the "real world" and became somewhat of a public figure, the cycle of bullying started all over again to a certain degree, because to many, if not most, people, he came across as someone who was desperately trying to cover up who he was in reality. Clay was reborn when he finally came out publicly, but that doesn't mean the book he wrote in 2004 (2003?) is one that addresses "growing up gay," because what it essentially addresses is the problem of bullying and how he overcame it. Damn, I keep repeating myself, but you don't seem to be grasping what I'm saying, Grumpy, so I guess I'm done...unless you write something that I deem worthy of a reply, lol.
love4mypets		#37	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 02:18 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	EllieTay wrote: How is that story going to help any gay youth who are struggling with their sexuality, other than finding some way to mask it? You are as thick as a brick. Any gay kid reading the book knows that this was a gay man's experience coming to terms with being different and not being accepted. It is a testament to "It Gets Better" and it illustrates the very real possibility that a nerdy gay kid can grow up to be a Superstar. No, the "testament" in the book is that if you find something that can deflect others from bullying you (regardless of the source of why you're bullied), then your life may, and can, get better. If you're fat, you can lose weight and maybe get into modeling and/or finally get a date or stay fat and become a jolly fat person and try your hand at standup comedy, for example. The book doesn't address "growing up gay." It.just.does.not.
EllieTay		#38	[-]
Posts: 7721 10/19/11 02:20 PM Registered user More Recent Posts	love4mypets wrote: The book doesn't address "growing up gay." It.just.does.not. Told ya! Dumber than a bag of hammers!
love4mypets		#39	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 02:23 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	EllieTay wrote: love4mypets wrote: The book doesn't address "growing up gay." It.just.does.not. Told ya! Dumber than a bag of hammers! Perhaps, if being a realist and not a deluded Claymate is being dumb. Shrug.
love4mypets		#40	[-]
Posts: 2398 10/19/11 02:29 PM Registered User More Recent Posts	BTW, Clay Aiken is not a "superstar." He never has been a true "superstar," because most of his accolades, CD sales numbers, etc. are bogus, based on his having presented himself to "the world" as something he was not. He's an individual who stumbled into becoming a "celebrity," and who also said that he'd ease out of it if the day ever came when he thought he was becoming desperate in his attempts to stay relevant/famous/whatever. Ooops, guess he just likes that limelight too much, eh? lol Oh well. At least, he did figure out that he ain't no RECORDING "superstar."
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Clay Aiken: 2 time reality show loser and now dating a midget.