Apple's Tim Cook profiled as "most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley" - Page 6

Not to mention completely unimportant. Really, I'm a shareholder and I could care less.

In a perfect world it would mean nothing, however in this world it is a means to oppress a minority, discriminate against a group, make people feel like they are half citizens in a country that claims all men are created equal and entitled to the same rights. There are still a lot of people that hate others just because they are gay and feel justified to use violence and legislation to keep them down. Does that answer your question?

Only interested in tech news? Not interested in stuff that gets published by Appleinsider because it's not tech news?

We've now commented more on a topic about mentioning someones sexual preference then we have on a change of leadership at Google, and probably the vast majority of tech related articles.

Clearly those people who don't want to talk about who is gay and who is straight are in the minority here, Appleinsider currently is all about this article and people just keep feeding it.

This at least makes one thing obvious, it does matter, how do I know this? Because you all would have just shrugged and commented on another article if it didn't.

My goodness, there's a whole lot of huffing and puffing about this article. I have a few thoughts:

1) "Gossip" usually deals with something negative or scandalous. It appears that Tim Cook is already "out", so there's nothing gossipy about this article. More importantly, this article is actually saying good things about Tim Cook, rather than some coming off as some sort of salacious expose about his lifestyle or something.

2) My immediate reaction when I read the headline was "wow, cool!"

3) I agree that a person's sexual orientation is very personal, and should be a non-issue. Unfortunately, we still live in a world where people who are "different" are all too often pushed to the margins. So, articles like this one are important, even if seemingly irrelevant, because they help to nudge marginalized folks back to the mainstream. If stories of gay people were only talked about in gay publications, it wouldn't do much to help "normalize" them--they would remain in the margins; they would remain "they".

4) This article is important for closeted gay people who are concerned about the repercussions of coming out. The more stories like this they read, the more they can feel like there's nothing wrong with being who they are.

5) Those who have chosen to be offended by this article are revealing more about themselves and their prejudices than anything else.

Agree 100%. Drivel like this you can expect at Gizmodo but not at AI!

I was reading this thread, and most of the comments seem logical, and then I see this:


Whoa.

First of all, what is 'that?' Is 'that' anal sex? Or oral sex? I hate to break it to you, but it's not an exclusively gay thing. Neither is it a sign that a person is irresponsible or immoral, someone who would 'harm your company.' This fear is so illogical and absurd, that it really is homophobic.

Which is also the word to describe people who are unhinged by 'gayness', but reconcile this fear with their feelings about actual gay individuals by thinking that it's not their fault.

No worries? On the contrary. People like this make me nervous. They have deep-seated fears that, when encountered in the real world, are suppressed by the flimsiest of rationalizations. This is a recipe for hatred and violence. Often people ask, why do gays speak of bashers as being 'phobic?' It's because it's in human nature to hate what we fear.

Exactly.

AI,
Ryan Tate operates a sleazy enough distribution without your regurgitation of their trash. What are you doing?

How could you be misunderstood?

I have to say that Daniel did rein himself in a bit... the headline could have read...

Tim Cook Outed As A Poof!

I'm sure we'd be up to 400 comments by now...

The only question I have for Tim is whether he likes Judy Garland in Easter Parade more than Bette Midler in Beaches...

C'mon, gay haters. Just ADMIT. IT. ALREADY.

It's not the fact that a man likes other men. It's gay sex, and the knowledge that it exists, that disgusts you.

The gay haters will NEVER admit that, although that is the entire reason they hate gays...

This article is proof that some humans (the article authors and AI's choice to publish) have not evolved much past apes ... with all due respect to our simian ancestors. This article belongs in the dumpster.

I just want to point out...nobody KNOWS that he is gay. It is based on speculation and two unverified sources.

Not to argue he isn't, but, to put it in perspective, this is GOSSIP people.

Care to explain why this article belongs in the dumpster?

mstone, i have had a lot of respect for you.

wouldn't it be much better that he "reveals" it on his own terms?

as far as caught in some "tryst." he wouldn't be cheating on someone. unless he solicited a prostitute, how would being involved with someone merit a scandalous term like "tryst?"

Exactly. If people are ok with homosexuality then it's ok to talk about it and there's nothing wrong with someone being gay. A surprising amount of people seem to not like hearing someone being described as gay.


Is that where you left your sense of humour? The article wording could have been better sure but it's just descriptive. I think people are being a bit too over-sensitive. As mentioned previously, if the description was 'most powerful black man', no one would care. The description is given because despite the prejudice that exists against racial or sexual groups, people can overcome those prejudices to do great things.

I also don't get why we have to wait on official announcements from homosexuals before it's ok to talk about it but don't for anyone else. He's 51 years old. It's not like it's going to make any difference.

Now fair enough, you may say how is him being gay relevant to his profile of work at Apple. Well, what if we had to assume he was a lonesome workaholic? I wouldn't call that healthy. You can assess him by his work alone but it's nice to know the people behind the icons. It's good to know that Steve has a wife and kids as well as Scott Forstall and Jonathan Ive. It most certainly impacts on their work too. One of Steve's replies about the company stance on pornography was 'if you've got kids then you'd understand' or something to that effect.

This profile hasn't just come out of the blue either. Remember, Steve has just taken leave so Tim is now acting CEO.

I agree with you, it's private.

I do still want to take the opportunity to make the reminder that this is gossip, and nobody here "knows" if he is gay.

So I read Wizards bigoted diatribe.

WOW.

Being gay by definition is "defective"? Implying that being a gay man is synonymous with a woman who habitually gang bangs?

The typical right wing extremist shot at Obama?

Wow.

As one poster said afterwards, his kind is becoming more and more the minority. And sure enough, he sure doesn't seem to be getting much support on here.

Gossip isn't inherently negative; it's just that gossip tends to be salacious, and often ends up with someone being hurt.

I thought it was cool as well, until i realized that it's not a verified fact.

It is personal, which is the key to the whole argument. There are people who would trash him for being gay. He would have to face his friends and family if he hasn't already. there's a lot of complexities to it. And he hasn't made the decision to address those in a business setting.

If he is gay, he deserves the respect and decency to announce it on his own terms, not to be forced to address the subject by gossip.

It's just a humorous observation, that gay people want others to be happy.

Or are you unaware that back around 50 years ago "gay" meant happy?

So, you care then? If you don't care, then why wouldn't you say "I couldn't care less" like the expression?

It's only purpose is sensationalizing and is not based on actual facts ... further, how many articles do we see titled "Company's Bob Smith profiled as most powerful non-gay man in Silicon Valley".

If this is newsworthy, fine. It's not. So hence, dumpster.

yes, grammar is the outrage here

Good points. Having just read the linked article, it seems that it's more of a "rag" than anything else, so I have to agree that its angle appears to be more gossipy than something designed to actually enlighten us. It would have been more appropriate to report on his gayness if he had been the one to talk about it--even if only to say, "Yeah, I'm gay, but really, my sexual orientation is very personal."

I have to say now, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I stand by my original statement that gay issues are important, and should be "out" in the mainstream. And yet, there are few issues more personal than one's sexual orientation, and it's not really appropriate to make an issue about it if the person profiled doesn't want to discuss it. But, the article isn't clear about whether he is "in the closet", or whether he's just being quiet and reserved, because it talks about how he is "as reticent to acknowledge his sexual orientation as he has his prowess in overseeing the company supply chain."

One of the side effects of being among the leadership of one of the most successful companies in the world is that you're a public figure. And, for better or worse, people are gonna want to know what makes you tick, professionally as well as personally.

There's nothing wrong with being gay, straight, or something in between. Tim Cook seems to be a good guy. I just hope that he is okay with how the article portrays him.

lmao!

Sorry, I was not aware of the scandalous connotation of the term. If you are ok with him having a gay lover then there should be no problem with a rendezvous. Just thinking stockholders may not be as open minded.

I agree. Should Mr. Cook choose to take a stand as a public gay figure, I think it would be GREAT. But he hasn't made that decision yet (he may not even be gay!)

I agree with your criticism of the article's "sensationalizing" angle. But, highlighting a person as "the most powerful non-gay man in Silicon Valley" is a non-issue, because non-gay, aka: straight, is considered "normal". Gay/Bi/Lesbian/etc. is still considered "alternative", and, as I said earlier, I'm very much in favour of moving them from the margins to the mainstream.

I like rainbows.

hmmmmm... let me check my calendar... nope, still says 2011.

Whew! I thought I was having a 60s flashback!

not to mention the only candidate backed by the kennedys in the last 50 years... cough cough.

Excellent point.

hold on now. nobody said there's a problem with a powerful woman in business being gay, just as long as she's hot.

/sarcasm

I thought it was a great article. As a gay man I enjoy reading about people being successful in the traditionally homophobic boys club of big business. Cook has had such success in his personal and corporate life that it would be hard to see him being upset by this overwhelmingly positive discussion. And it is relevant because it speaks to the corporate culture at Apple where people are celebrated for their performance and their ideas.

If I could suggest one improvement it's that the word "preferences" (as used in this article) is a very loaded term. "Orientation" is a better fit, at least while there are still those whose minds have been twisted into a knotted snarl, espousing, against all human experience and a body of scientific evidence that it is a choice.

Clearly, you "don't get it". The majority of the comments are not about who is gay and who is straight , but rather, if AI was correct in publishing what amounts to nothing more than gossip without even trying to do the right thing by contacting Tim Cook and see if he was OK with the article. Any reputable news organization would have done so, but as we all should know by now .... AI is only concerned with eyeball count ..... at the expense of anyone. I doubt that they even know the meaning of "reputable".

Right. You can continue to check your calendar from now until we have an openly gay US president and the result it is unlikely to be any different.

High profile public figure caught with gay lover = 6 o'clock evening news lead story, national newspapers and tabloids front page, and if that figure is the CEO of a publicly traded company expect the stock to sell off sharply.

Has nothing to do with my personal opinion, just a reality check.

LOLz

Some gay activists make it their life's work to "out" other gay people, as a way to further their activist agenda. It doesn't make it right.

Homophobia can only flourish when aided and abetted by ignorance. The stigmatization of homosexuality is a double edged sword-- it constrains the lives of those so stigmatized, while allowing the larger to culture to project its fears and sexual anxieties on a blank canvas. If you can keep people from freely acknowledging their sexual orientation, you can suppress the fact that most gay people (like most everybody) are fairly boring and contrary to stereotype.

Even better, those individuals with a penchant for public acting out and exhibitionism (as exist in every community) can be made to serve as synecdoche for gayness at large (as in the case of the endlessly circulated videos of Gay Pride day parades featuring drag queens or leather boys).

The secret shame of fabulous gay land is that it looks a lot like the rest of America, it's just that some of America hasn't quite figured that out yet because they're strenuously pretending that it isn't so.

Gay lover??!! If he's gay then he'd have a gay partner!!

Oh what's the use...

These days, the only time this kind of thing makes news is if the "high profile figure" is a "family values"-touting politician who has gone on record as being "morally opposed" to homosexuality. It's the hypocrisy that puts them on the news, not simply that they were caught with a gay lover. There are plenty of openly gay public figures whose "gay lifestyles" never make the news--because their lifestyles are more or less consistent with their stated orientation/beliefs/choices.

I believe I read that Steve is still acting CEO, he’ll just be working from home. IOW, Cook did not blow jobs from his CEO chair.