Yesterday, three people messaged me in three separate ways to let me know the news: Zachary Quinto had come out. At first, it was just a rumor, but then Zach himself posted a blog on the subject confirming every fangirl’s fears. Yes, my lady parts moped for the rest of the day, and yes, the fangirl within me that once spent three hours looking at pictures of him on Tumblr was disappointed, but the human being in me was proud and humbled by his bravery.
During an interview right around the time Star Trek came out, Zach talked about how he’s kind of a boring person in general, and sometimes when he’s just walking his dog on the street, he reflects on how disappointing he’d be to the tabloids. He’s a private guy, and he’s not interested in being a celebrity, really. So to come out, I’m sure, took a lot of thought and reflection, and I absolutely respect that. Here’s what he actually said:
10.16.11.
                                                                                                                                    nyc…
when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself – i felt deeply troubled. but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life – i felt indescribable despair. i also made an it gets better video last year – in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time. but in light of jamey’s death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country. gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying. parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance. we are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world. we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government. i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society – and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action. jamey rodemeyer’s life changed mine. and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner – i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me. now i can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world. that – i believe – is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.
My ovaries may have cried a little in despair, and the writer in me may have cringed at his absolute lack of capitalization, but damn was that well done. I don’t think I’ve ever read classier coming out rhetoric. That was truly inspiring.
I made an It Gets Better video at the end of last year as well. It’s on the collab channel Craig and I started, so it’s sort of lost to the world now, but the point is that I believe in that as a catalyst for change. I believe in people coming together and using rhetoric and personal accounts to give hope to the kids that get picked last or not at all for sports teams, to the kids confused about their sexualities, to the kids afraid of their sexuality, to the kids who don’t quite look like everyone else, and to the kids who just feel alone. I never had to come out as anything, but I can completely relate to being bullied for things I have no control over. Although I never came to the point where I thought the only option was to end my own life, I understand feeling completely and absolutely alone. I understand hating myself and hating everyone else. I understand being deeply unhappy and lost. I wish the It Gets Better project had existed when I was in middle and high school.
Zachary Quinto coming out was brave and noble, because in a perfect world, none of us would give a damn. He had no obligation to let the public know about his personal affairs and, frankly, we shouldn’t need to know those things. So the fact that he revealed this part of his life in order to possibly save someone else’s makes me love him even more, just on a human level if not on a romantic one. Not only is this man a fantastic actor and humanitarian, but he is also just a fantastic human being, and whether or not he could be hypothetically attracted to me doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Besides, there’s always Liam Aiken.
