Ricky Martin reveals he is gay. But why do we care about his sexuality?

The media are loving it. Latin lover Ricky Martin is getting out of the closet. But why do we care?

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Here is a man who has conquered the world with his charm and his voice. A man who has commited himself to promoting human rights. And yet a man who has lived 38 years of his life hiding from the world who he truly was.

Ricky Martin has finally decided to come out of the closet. “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man,” Martin revealed on his website today. Convinced by his entourage that it would destroy his carreer, it took him time but he is now ready to confirm “I am very blessed to be who I am.”

Ricky Martin hid his sexual orientation to maintain his sex appeal

Throughout the 1990’s Ricky Martin has reached the status of sex symbol. Adored by thousands of young girls who swore by his sex appeal, Martin didn’t want to disapoint and feared loosing his fans.

But questions arose in my mind as I thought about this. Why would his sexual orientation change his sex appeal? Can’t a woman appreciate a gay man’s sex appeal? Don’t men ever find lesbians sexy? The online magazine AskMen informs that “surveys reveal that the majority of men […] enjoy watching two women engage in a passionate interlude”.

So nowadays, why should any artist be scared of loosing his fans because of his sexual orientation? I’m letting you answer this question…

The media reacts to Ricky Martin’s coming out

As decades pass by, more celebrities reveal their homosexuality. In western countries, we have come a long way from the times when homosexuality was seen as a crime (fyi: homosexuality remains illegal in more than 80 countries throughout the world). But homosexuality continues to shock.

It is that shock value that puts Ricky Martin back on the front page of People magazine today. The word “shock” also comes back in a number of articles throughout the web.

But others reacted quite positively to Martin’s announcements. In addition to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) who congratulated him, the british entertainment magazine Heat also applauded his declaration. The notorious Perez Hilton also expressed his happiness for Ricky on his blog.

But no matter what your response is to Ricky Martin’s sexuality, I still have so many questions regarding this affair. Why do you even care? Why do you mind who he loves most? How does who he sleeps with matter to his art and skills?

And, really, why do we even write about it as journalists? In the end, could we even consider publishing such stories ethical?

Is Transexualism a Mental Illness?

Have you ever though transexuals were psychologically retarded? Well, in every country, transexuals are scientifically recognised as mentally ill. The good news is: not in France anymore.

[picapp align=”right” wrap=”false” link=”term=transexual&iid=309212″ src=”0305/0000305939.jpg?adImageId=10999398&imageId=309212″ width=”234″ height=”312″ /] Until the begining of the 70’s, homosexuality was viewed by psychologists as a mental illness in most countries. Back then, as we all know, the gay rights movement arose and could move things forward.

As of today February 10th, 2010, transexuals are still considered mentally ill everywhere in the world, except in France.

A “symbolic victory”

According to the Trans World secretariat,

“numerous personalities including first secretary of the Socialist Party Martine Aubry, the communist Marie-George Buffet, Green (party member) Daniel Cohn-Bendit and even Nobel Prize winners such as Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (medicine) and Elfriede Jelinek (literature), asked the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘to no longer consider transsexuals as being affected by a mental disorder'”.

One should remember that it is

“because the WHO decided on the 17th of May 1990 to remove homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses, that this date has been retained for the International Day Against Homophobia and transphobia, celebrated Sunday, starting Saturday in many places. It is therefore symbolic that France chose this time and date”.

By removing transexualism from its list of mental disorders, the French pride themselves for being the initiators of a state-level open-mindedness toward transgenders. They are indeed pioneering an evolution in the moral values of societies which tend to classify indivuals on their variable degrees of conformity.

But…is France truly accepting Transexuals?

However groundbreaking the news might be, many transexuals still say France is a long way from being a “paradise for transsexual citizens“.

As Gaelle Faure, from the Time Magazine online, notes:

“in practice, the declaration will do little to improve their legal or medical rights in the country.”

Today, men who identify as women in France can’t be legally recognised as women unless they have undergone a sex change. However, many transexuals struggle to get an operation in France. They don’t have the choice of their surgeons and the hospitals are often under-equipped for such operations.

Hence, laws in France make transexuals loose their identity if they refuse to be considered something that they are not.

Other countries are one step ahead in legal terms. As Times Magazine points out:

“Spain requires transsexuals only to undergo some form of hormonal treatment to modify their physical appearance before it will issue new documents, while the British simply ask applicants, with recommendations from their doctors, to promise to live out the rest of their lives as their chosen sex.”

France might therefore be taking a step forward but there is a lot left to do.