I don't know how many of you saw the recent episode of
MTV True Life: I'm a Gay Athlete. It was about 2 college athletes who are in the closet & struggling to come out to their family and teammates because they don't want their sexual identity to effect their athletic achievements. One of the athletes is a collegiate cheerleader named Desiree attending Savannah State University. Her story had me in tears because I had so many of the same fears and faced a lot of the same challenges with coming out. It's hard coming out no matter who you are, but I've never met a femme lesbian cheerleader who was my age, cheering at my level, and coming out during the same time/stage of her life & cheering as me. I've actually never met another lesbian cheerleader before. Okay, online I have. But this is different. Watching her story was like watching my own story in so many ways. She made me feel like my fears about coming out were totally valid. This quote from her mother really stuck with me:
"My daughter's a cheerleader. She's not gay. My daughter loves to cheer. She wears skirts. She flips. She keeps her hair long and pretty." At the end of the episode Desiree is kicked off the squad and asked not to try out for next year. There was no explanation as to why. There has been some speculation about whether or not it's because she's gay, or for another reason altogether. I'm looking into it. She decided to transfer to a different school and has already made the cheer team.
Here's a clip of her coming out to her mom.
I really suggest you watch it if you have a minute.
http://gawker.com/mtv-airs-young-womans-excruciating-depressing-coming-o-1573488201
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You can watch the episode for free on mtv.com. Here's the link
Full Episode