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He discussed it on at least one of his shows. He’s also had his mother on the show.</p>
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<p>Thanks, jym. So parent1986 said “RL is -----”. I just find it odd that in this day and age, on this thread, she didn’t say “Ralph Lauren is gay.”</p>
<p>I think more people would be surprised to know Ralph speaks with a New Yawk accent and was born Ralph Lipschitz in the Bronx. It’s not a secret but most people don’t know it.</p>
<p>With regard to the friend’s comment referenced in post no. 93 'there are only two things which could not be forgiven [by God…]"</p>
<p>Every time I ask God something important, he typically snickers and retorts “Well, what do YOU think?” And I think that in the overall scheme of things the significance of A. Cooper being gay is somewhat similar in signifcance to the fact that rainwater is wet.</p>
<p>I am extremely proud that Anderson Cooper decided to write this letter. It is beautifully written in response to Entertainment Weekly’s cover of out gay celebrities. </p>
<p>If you haven’t read the response that Kathy Griffin wrote you should really check it out. She talks about her relationship with Anderson and how mainstream media should never out someone because of the damaging effects it could have. I don’t have a link to it so Google is your friend here. </p>
<p>Lastly, Anderson being gay was not a surprise to me. It surprised me that he is one of the biggest anchors on TV right now. He can be a beacon for kids who want to go into journalism and who are gay. His message within his letter was beautifully written.</p>
<p>I am uncomfortable when people make comments about a persons sexual orientation when it is different than the one they are presenting to the public. Ralph Lauren, Tom Cruise and John Travolta are married with children. To speculate that they are gay is disrespectful to their wives and children. If they were gay why would they hide it? No one who likes RLs clothes is going to suddenly stop buying them because he is gay. The same is true for the movies w/ Cruise or Travolta. The fashion and film industries have been very accepting of gays for decades.</p>
<p>I could care less and never really think about a persons sexual orientation and I think 99% of Americans feel the same.</p>
<p>Lergnom-
I hear a slight articulation issue (lisp) but not a real classic New Yawk accent… [How</a> Ralph Lauren Began His Fashion Career - Video - Oprah.com](<a href=“Oprah.com”>http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/How-Ralph-Lauren-Began-His-Fashion-Career-Video)</p>
<p>Interesting story about his name change on his wiki page [Ralph</a> Lauren - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Lauren]Ralph”>Ralph Lauren - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>TutuTaxi- Unfortunately, many people feel that they must hide being gay. We aren’t quite there yet.</p>
<p>Ok, back when I read post #5, I waited to see if anybody was going to comment on why the person who wrote it thought that remark was amusing. Now I see that people who said they are not concerned about others’ sexual orientation are making remarks about Ralph Lauren - on the basis of a “google search”, something mentioned in the “dressing young” thread (it may be an authoritative source, but I’m not going through 40 pages of posts to find out), and now a mention of a slight articulation issue - “lisp.” From what I have read, RL has been married to the same woman since 1964 and they have 3 grown children. I don’t want to add to any debate about RL, just wanted to say that I don’t understand how people who are truly unconcerned about others’ sexual orientation would move the discussion in the direction it seems to be going. </p>
<p>And I don’t mean to say that being married means a person is not gay or bisexual. What I am saying is that I don’t understand why people who say they are so unconcerned about others’ sexual orientation would like to make gossipy remarks speculating about who might be gay or make innuendos (?) about things like a lisp.</p>
<p>jym626, Ralph sounded more NYC when he was younger. Doesn’t matter though. I just find it humorous that a prime maker and shaper of classic “WASP” taste, mixed with Europe of course, is not that at all. I enjoy those things. Like the author of God Bless America being Israel Baline. Makes me appreciate things.</p>
<p>If sexuality is a spectrum, it’s certainly possible that some are on one side of the spectrum when they are twenty, and farther down when they are forty.</p>
<p>It can also depend on who they fall in love with.
My daughter came out when she was in high school,dated women in college, but after college dated a roommate ( male) and has been in a serious relationship with her BF for about five years. (since she has flown to the other side of the country 4 or 5 times to spend holidays with his family, that seems fairly serious to me).</p>
<p>I don’t think it is probably accurate to describe people who have a same sex partner at one point, if they had an opposite sex partner either before or after as" gay".
But there seems to be a stigma in the GLBT community in some areas about being bisexual.</p>
<p>alborada,
You appear to totally misunderstand several posts, so the pontificating isn’t really necessary. Some posts here in this thread are follow-ups to posts in other threads that were taken out of context. The reference to reading the “dressing young” thread was that it was where I saw that the abbreviation “RL” stood for “Ralph Lauren” (in response to someone’s question as to who/what the abbreviation stood for) and yes- he HAS A LISP, an articulation issue that I heard when listening for the NY accent in the think that was linked. There is nothing wrong with that- it is what it is (his lisp). It was merely a comment that thats what I heard moreso than the remnants of the NY accent. No need to make it something it is not. Really now.</p>
<p>I do not want to argue about this. But getting back to what I was saying in the first place, in a discussion about Anderson Cooper announcing that he is gay, there is a joke to that “Good! He can go hang out with John Travolta and Tom Cruise! (jk)” I said I was surprised no one mentioned how that was not funny, even if it had a relationship to another thread. </p>
<p>i guess you didn’t notice that on the previous pages, including posts #79 #88 and #90, RL was mentioned in the context of being someone who might be gay. I guess you didn’t see those, and were unfamiliar with the tired stereotype of the “gay lisp” when you described the speech pattern of RL in that context. Sorry if I offended you.</p>
<p>One more thing, emeraldkity4 I thought what you had to say was very important, thanks for posting that.</p>
<p>If you dont want to argue, you sure are making it look like you do. Your comments are off the mark, and a classic straw man argument. He has a LISP, as do many people. Whats your problem? Spending too much time in Kansas? The only one associating a lisp with being gay is YOU. I am embarassed for you.</p>
<p>I’ve heard people talking about the “gay lisp” before. It’s a very strange stereotype that I don’t really understand, but it is a stereotype. Or a belief that gay people intentionally speak a certain way? Like I said, I don’t get it, but it’s out there.</p>
<p>Well apparently alborata is a believer in such stereotypes. It hadn’t even crossed my mind when I listened to the Oprah vignette. I was listening for the “New Yawk” accent.</p>
<p>According to this book on RL (ironically written by a college freind of mine) [Book</a> review: Unauthorized bio of Ralph Lauren relies too heavily on hearsay](<a href=“http://old.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20030302cloudlauren3.asp]Book”>http://old.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20030302cloudlauren3.asp), </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060199040/qid%3D1046485583/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/002-5871196-3259249[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060199040/qid%3D1046485583/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/002-5871196-3259249</a> RL is also short and has a lazy eye. Should someone equate those attributes with some stereotype any more than his speech issue?</p>
<p>Why is his still a top thread??</p>
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<p>I’m not sure that’s true. I’ve read more than one interview with (openly) gay actors – especially men – who believe that coming out hurt their careers, because producers are afraid to cast them in leading roles. Maybe it wouldn’t matter, and it certainly shouldn’t matter, but when you’re talking about investments of millions of dollars, people don’t necessarily want to take a chance of an adverse impact on the box office. One would hope that this will change as the years go by and more actors come out, including certain other leading men who are the subject of persistent rumor. (If, that is, they really are gay.) </p>
<p>It isn’t only men. The fact that she got older wasn’t the only reason that Jodie Foster stopped being cast in roles involving heterosexual romantic interaction.</p>
<p>As far as fashion is concerned, though, I think most people are surprised to find out that any famous male fashion designer is straight. So few of them are. So I can’t imagine that Ralph Lauren’s brand would be damaged if he came out. And I have no idea if he’s gay or not. It never hurt Calvin Klein, so far as I know, or anybody else.</p>
<p>But I thought everybody knew about his original name and background, and the contrast with the WASPy image!</p>
<p>I agree that while an actor may be able to come out, and action hero may not. Travolta and Cruise are manly men, taking on roles where men identify with them and pay to see them in action movies. I could see problems with both of them. </p>
<p>Furthermore, both of those mean have chosen to different degrees to feed the paparazzi machine. Neither are reclusive actors, taking full advantage of the Hollywood machine, including glamorous friends and living their life in the public eye. Many actors don’t court the press that way and so don’t have to project an image to please the entire world. </p>
<p>Kevin Spacey has never really been out, but he also lives outside the limelight, letting his work be the main focus, not his relationships. While Cruise does some good films, we don’t just see pictures of him during press. He is part of the machine and reaps the rewards, listed as 2011 top paid actor.</p>
<p>What bothers me is stuff like this: I read in a British paper about a performer - Frank Ocean - who has essentially come out as gay but has been performing in a group which uses homophobic and misogynist lyrics. The group is a collective known as Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All - usually by the initials, I guess. They were stopped from perfuming in an NZ festival because of their repeated use of the “f*****” word for gays. </p>
<p>One can usually make arguments about how the use of a word is meant to change it and all that or how the song is about a character who hates but I don’t accept that. I think it’s done to sell records and tickets and get attention. I think it’s a tremendous cop out to be like Eminem and say that the hate in his lyrics reflect the f’d up crap in his head. It gets attention and sales.</p>