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Original poster

Gladiators grumble

37 replies

Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 16:27

I can't tell if I'm just being a grumpy cow. Was anyone watching Gladiators last night, and did anyone else feel a bit irritated by Ash's "I'm doing this for all the LGBTQ+ kids out there" speech? He clearly failed to notice that the winning woman was a lesbian! He's absolutely right that gay men are underrepresented in sport, but actually there are a fair few high profile lesbian elite sportswomen - several women footballers, for starters. He clearly doesn't feel represented by them, so he shouldn't presume to represent them either, iyswim. I suspect he just hasn't bloody noticed them at all, because who notices women in sport. Grr.

OP posts:
AuContraire · 03/03/2024 17:16

Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 16:27

I can't tell if I'm just being a grumpy cow. Was anyone watching Gladiators last night, and did anyone else feel a bit irritated by Ash's "I'm doing this for all the LGBTQ+ kids out there" speech? He clearly failed to notice that the winning woman was a lesbian! He's absolutely right that gay men are underrepresented in sport, but actually there are a fair few high profile lesbian elite sportswomen - several women footballers, for starters. He clearly doesn't feel represented by them, so he shouldn't presume to represent them either, iyswim. I suspect he just hasn't bloody noticed them at all, because who notices women in sport. Grr.

Yes, it jarred. Kerry on the other hand just got on with it.

I am also getting seriously fed up with gay/bi male contestants talking about how hot the male gladiators are and how nice it is to be wrapped in their legs.

Just stop fucking making a child's television programme about sex.

It wouldn't be acceptable at all for a straight male contestant to say how much he'd love to have one of the female Gladiators legs wrapped round them, so it's not OK when the men are gay either. The male gladiators are always very respectful/unsexual about it, and the female contestants and gladiators are also both respectful of each other.

Just fed up with it now.

RichardsGear · 03/03/2024 17:15

Give him a break 😆 - the poor bugger had just lost, he was knackered and more than a bit emotional so the finer details probably didn't occur to him at that particular moment.

Original poster
Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 17:13

Maybe it's because there seems to be such squeamishness these days about singling out any part of LGBTQ, like the rainbow is sacrosanct and it's backwards and wrong to acknowledge the different groups within it.

OP posts:
MsGoodenough · 03/03/2024 17:10

I agree he used LGBTQ+ when he should have used gay. There is loads of great lesbian representation in sport, but he clearly hasn't noticed.

Original poster
Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 17:10

Glenthebattleostrich · 03/03/2024 17:04

My 13 year old daughter rolled her eyes at his speech and pointed out that there were loads of lesbian sports women. She's really starting to notice that boys / men are treated differently and is actively pushing back against the be kind girls message so is probably grumpy too!!!

I'm really glad at least your daughter agrees with me!

OP posts:
Original poster
Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 17:10

TheLeadbetterLife · 03/03/2024 17:07

In some ways he has a point doesn't he? Lesbian representation is strong in women's sport, but a lot of male sport has a toxic masculinity problem.

That's exactly my point though - if he'd said "gay men" instead of "the LGBTQ+ community" he'd have been 100% right.

OP posts:
TheLeadbetterLife · 03/03/2024 17:07

In some ways he has a point doesn't he? Lesbian representation is strong in women's sport, but a lot of male sport has a toxic masculinity problem.

Glenthebattleostrich · 03/03/2024 17:04

My 13 year old daughter rolled her eyes at his speech and pointed out that there were loads of lesbian sports women. She's really starting to notice that boys / men are treated differently and is actively pushing back against the be kind girls message so is probably grumpy too!!!

Original poster
Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 17:02

I probably am just being grumpy. Men are making me grumpy this week, for various reasons. As you were!
*Edited for embarrassing grammatical error

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Original poster
Tarmacadamia · 03/03/2024 16:58

IncognitoUsername · 03/03/2024 16:52

I didn’t see the episode but from what you have said I think you are being a bit grumpy! So the male contestant wanted to be seen as a role model but you are cross because the female contestant wasn’t seen as one - is that right? Maybe she said something similar but it didn’t make the edit? Im going to have to go and watch it now!!

No, that's not really what I meant. If he's said that gay men and boys have very few role models in sport, and that seeing him on TV could make a difference to young gay viewers, I've had wholeheartedly agreed. But he was talking about lack of representation for all LGBTQ people, which made me think he hadn't noticed the lesbian doing very well in the same tournament, or the number of high profile lesbians currently in British sport.

My grumble isn't about LGBT representation, it's about how many men just don't notice women's sport at all, or don't think it really counts. This is something I'm quite sensitive to so I might be reading it wrong.

OP posts:
IncognitoUsername · 03/03/2024 16:52

I didn’t see the episode but from what you have said I think you are being a bit grumpy! So the male contestant wanted to be seen as a role model but you are cross because the female contestant wasn’t seen as one - is that right? Maybe she said something similar but it didn’t make the edit? Im going to have to go and watch it now!!

Bobbotgegrinch · 03/03/2024 16:45

Think you might be a bit grumpy on this one.

I don't see why a gay guy trying to represent his community means that he thinks the the lesbian in the same episode somehow is doing so less.

And he probably had no idea she was gay anyway, I doubt the contestants are out there listening to each others events and interviews, they're likely in the dressing room trying not to die from the pugil stick beating they've just had themselves!