Ask Any Question, part 2

[dani]

I have been skating since last year January and I am up to 4 pair!!!! Mr. Spiteri and I are hoping these will last me until nationals though.

Any ideas how we can get more guys to skate?

[SDFanatic]

I wasn’t going to reply to this since I’m a guy and I do skate, but I decided I would like to comment on it.

I think it comes down to that it’s not macho enough for most men, it’s not a team thing, or something where someone is trying to make points and such. Almost everyone I’ve talked to assumes that males in figure skating and ballet are gay, as only gay men would show that kind of softness instead of masculinity. Even before I started skating people thought I was gay because of my interest in it, and more so after I started. I honestly think a lot of the ladies are not afraid of me because they think I’m gay (as guys hit on them) the ones who are are usually Christians. Being gay is not allowed in their beliefs, and they unfairly judge me as being gay since I’m not traditional. And last but not least is the moms and dads of the kids who skate, sometimes they are a bit put off by me skating around their kids, but I usually have a blast with the kids.

It’s also I think, one of those silly things that society says that men are not supposed to do, like making dinner, washing clothes, cleaning the house, etc etc. I’m overly soft myself, and it’s held me back a good deal in that aspect, but I’m also thankful that I’m not a stereotypical guy either.

So all in all, I’m not sure how you would get more guys into skating, so I leave the question to the next person,

Any ideas how we can get more guys to skate?

Steven

[Sk8Bunny]

Originally posted by SDFanatic
I honestly think a lot of the ladies are not afraid of me because they think I’m gay (as guys hit on them) the ones who are are usually Christians. Being gay is not allowed in their beliefs, and they unfairly judge me as being gay since I’m not traditional Steven

Sorry this is off-topic, but i HAD to reply to this statement. I am a Christian and I have never unfairly judged gay people before. In fact, one of my closest friends is gay and even tho I dont like him being gay and think it is wrong, I respect him and treated him fairly and equally, just as I do everyone else. This stereotype you made is really not nice at all, or even true for that matter. Im not denying that some people, yes even if they were Christians, have unfairly judged you. I dont think that is right and I am sorry for you, I really am. But to group all Christians into this stereotype is very wrong. Heres my philosohpy- We dont have to agree or be happy about gayness or being straight, or whatever someones choice is- But, people, christian or not, should respect gay people and treat them fairly, and vise versa, gay people need to treat straight people with respect to their beleifs and concerns. So please dont so harshly put down a religious group, especially when a stereotype is involved. Thats all im asking of you. Thanks.
Ok, back to the main thread now. If a moderator disagrees with my opinion and wants to erase this, that is fine, but I hope my post helps the people who see this post be more aware of all the stereotypes that are used, even if unintentional. Stereotypes are bad-dont use them people! thanks!!

[SDFanatic]

Yikes! Sorry Sk8Bunny, I didn't mean to say every Christian is this way. At my rink I know of three devoted Christians, one avoids me pretty much completely, not even saying hi. Another one did make an effort to talk to me, but she doesn't listen to the words I say, and would rather distance herself also. The third one however is fine with me, we talk all the time and I even play games with her daughter.

There are a number of other people who skate there, many who i talk to with no problems, and there are those others who I obviosly cause some distress to.

I'm sorry about that sentence, I made a bit of a mess with it, I am already pre-judged by a number of people since I was a guy who skated, showing my non-traditional taste in clothing has also re-inforced peoples opinions about male figure skaters being gay.

Steven

[dani]

I have to jump in and agree with Stephen that people (unfairly?) lump his type of "weirdness" and softness in general in men as gay. And they do lump figure skating etc in that category anyway. But I also have to agree with sk8bunny that return lumping is just as wrong!

I think we do all know that the stereotypes exist but how do we get around that? All four of the male coaches at both of my rinks are straight. 3 of them are currently married with kids. Of course they are all foreign too. I also have several male friends that do skate. Of those that I know their orientation, 3 are gay while one is straight. The straight one is foreign born and the others were born in America.

While we probably all know lesbian skaters, we may not realize that they are gay because we aren't looking for it. But we also all know that this is a great sport regardless of ones particular queerness!

I guess this is jumping outside the scope of things, sorry for the topic diversion.

I could just ask an easier question:

If you could skate a competition anywhere in the world, where would it be?

[Sk8Bunny]

Italy! Why? So that when I am done competiting, I could eat all their good food(like the pasta!) that they have there!!! hehe.

If you could live a day as another skater(a famous/semi-famous one), who would it be?

P.S. As a side note, SDFanatic, I certaintly didnt mean to jump all over you, I just have this thing about stereotypes and I just wanted to make people aware that stereotypes are often very un-intentional, like yours most likely was, but that they hurt people, so its better not to use them. Hope i didnt offend you either *hand shake* ok were good. lol. Back to skating....

[dancing_queen]

defenatly shae-lynn bourne!!

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have you ever gone to a natioanl figure skating compeption?

[CanAmSk8ter]

As a spectator or as a competitor? I went to the Senior CDs and FD when Nationals were in Boston in 2001. I've never skated in a national competition, but next week I'm doing ISI Adult CHAMPS on Cape Cod. It's not a qualifying competition- ISI doesn't do that b/c it's only recreational- but it is technically a national championship I think. You get one of those cool silver plate things if you win ;)

What's the biggest audience you've ever skated for? I once skated in a group number in a Christmas show for Toys For Tots that sold out our local civic center. The crowd was almost 15,000. Yes, that is the right # of zeros. For a solo, my largest crowd was probably a couple hundred.

[SDFanatic]

No problem Sk8Bunny, as I said, I made a mess of that sentence, after I read it again I noticed I put at least three sentences worth of comments into half a sentence. I honestly didn't mean to stereotype, I just didn't properly word and finish that sentence.

As you say, LETS GET SKATING!

Steven

[Mrs Redboots]

I've skated in front of the usual sort of audience we get for Opens and/or local competitions - a couple of hundred or so. Nothing bigger, thankfully!

What is your favourite time of day to skate?

On a side note, in this country being a male figure skater doesn't automatically imply you are gay; most aren't. You can persuade men to take up ice dance quite easily, by pointing out how many beautiful women and pretty, sexy girls are just longing to dance with a man, any man.....

[StarshineXavier]

I love skating in the afternoon or late at night. Thankfully, my campus has a double rink arena with loads of afternoon and evening skates, which will make me very happy once they start next week.

What's your least favourite time of day to skate?

On a side note as well, my friend's roommate is a guy and he used to skate, and he is the farthest thing from being gay. I hate when people just automatically assume that guys who skate are. As I've learned, if they don't tell you they are indeed gay, keep your mouth shut. Don't let ignorant people get you down Steven. They're not worth it.

[icenut84]

I like to skate in the morning (although I haven't done that for ages).

OT - I agree Annabel, the gay stereotype doesn't exist in this country anywhere near as much as it seems to in America. At any public or practice session I go to, there's always lots of boys and men skating - not usually more than girls/women, but I have seen more guys on a session than girls before. There's also often groups of teenagers on public ice - including many teenage boys. If you think about it, when Torvill & Dean were competing and were very high profile in Britain, the assumption by the media was always that they were together. There was never an assumption that Chris was gay, just because he was a skater. Maybe that was because of the way they skated, I don't know, but I don't remember ever reading someone wonder about Chris's sexuality the way that people wonder about skaters now, particularly, it seems, skaters in America.

Back to the thread :)

Who are you hoping will win the next World championships in each discipline?

[icenut84]

Posted at the same time -

My least favourite time of day to skate? I'm not sure. I don't think I'd like to skate really early in the morning or really late at night.

I'll keep mine the same.

[Mrs Redboots]

I think 14 pages is more than enough for people with slow browsers, or who haven't broadband access, so I'm going to start a new thread with that question (I can't answer it myself as I honestly don't know who is likely to be going).

[SDFanatic]

I love this thread, it's so active! I'm sorry to add onto it though, but would like to make one last comment before it goes into the archives.

Thank you all for your support and comments, it deffinitly can be trying to be myself and skate, I have let others annoy me, but it is often short lived. I usually come back even stronger then before with even more resolve to just be me, Steven, and not what others say I should do.

Who knows, maybe one day I will be able to squash the assumptions that some people typicaly place on someone like me.

Till then, keep an edge on!

Steven

[Arsenette]

Just locking this one so the new ones can get the latest questions ;)