SoldierHawk wrote:

Josh and Ice, the skater you're trying to think of is Johnny Weir. Unlike most male figure skaters, he *deliberately* embraces that...overly feminine/androgynous thing. What the commentators said really WAS nasty, and in very poor taste, and also, Weir wasn't criticizing them for insulting him (he loves controversy and loves trying to shock people), rather, he was criticizing the way they were making it sound like it was a band thing to be and/or act gay. And I agree with him wholeheartedly on that. If you're not comfortable with him, recuse yourself from commenting on his skating. Don't make comments (in a globally broadcast Olympic competition no less!) that make you sound like a homophobic asshole. I never did understand why people find figure skating to be specifically feminine/gay though. Honestly. (I mean, Weir doesn't count because he does that stuff deliberately just...because he can, I guess.) I know, especially in the past, that a lot of the guys' costumes have been a bit flamboyant by male clothing standards, but good grief. The jumps they do require ridiculous amounts of strength, as do the spins, and the footwork is ALL technique. Its also exceedingly rare to see a male figure skater execute a traditionally feminine type of spiral (glide) or spin, because most just don't have the flexibility for it. I dunno. Maybe I've just watched it for so many years I've just lost touch with how the non-obsessives see it. But I very rarely watch a man skate and think, "dude, he's moving like a girl." (In the same way I very rarely watch women's hockey and think, "dude, she's acting like a man.") *shrug*

I certainly understand and respect the amount of skill that it takes to be an Olympic figure skater. But the imagery of the costumes and the routines they do just isn't for me. The jumps are very impressive, for sure. But the rest of the routine is essentially just dancing on ice, and doesn't display any true athleticism as I see it. I'm not saying it's easy, but at it's core it's just a rehearsed dance routine. I'm not interested in Dancing with the Stars, either......I suppose that watching men dance just isn't something that can get in to.

Just to round out my argument, I'll bring up Men's Gymnastics.....another sport that you'll hear people say is "gay." Personally I love watching both men and women compete in gymnastics, because they are so obviously incredible athletes. They do things that very few other people can do. It's not an apples to apples comparison, but IMO gymnasts are 1000X more athletic than figure skaters.