Is this an ethical way to stage a magazine cover?

A national gay and lesbian magazine put likenesses of Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper, who they say live in a "glass closet", on the cover of its Gay Power List issue. Foster and Cooper have not publicly declared they are gay.

View the cover image:
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2007/04/most-of-the-celebrities-and.php

And read the Out magazine story:
http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=22392

 

It would be more fun if it were Wilbon and Kornheiser behind the masks.

Pretty ballsy move by Out. I guess they don't have a no-outing policy.

 

It's dispicable that Foster and Cooper were outed. It's not for these magazines to out someone because they have a political agenda to advance. It's the same as calling them a homosexual slur in my book.

Anyway, on staged covers, I think the covers are fine as long as they don't make news. If they are artistic shots or it is done to help you get drawn into the story, that is fine. But what they can't do is become a news story. Once that is done, it has stepped over its journalistic grounds and into something else.

 

Incredibly immature and sophomoric to do that.

Jodie Foster, who seems to be a truly beautiful person, has always wanted nothing but the freedom and privacy to live her life, whatever it might be.

No wonder she distrusts the media, and that's probably why she doesn't make that many movies anymore.

 

I belive their stance is that if more celebs would announce that they are gay, that the millions of others who are gay would take heart in that, have a role model, find it less shameful, etc.

 

Or to take it a step further ... The more famous people come out, the more it will make homosexuality acceptable in society.

There are millions out there who think Jodie Foster or Anderson Cooper is a talent but have no idea either is gay (my wife refuses to believe Cooper is gay). If they were to come out of the closet, it would knock down barriers by showing some otherwise intolerant people "Look, these people you enjoy are gay. Therefore, gay people are OK. Don't be afraid of them. Don't hate them."

I think the gay community's frustration over people who live in the glass closet is tantamount to the African-American population's frustration that Tiger Woods refuses to take up causes to help the black community. These are people who can spark substantial change in the way people think and, perhaps in the process, ease the burdens of millions who suffer from prejudice. Yet they choose to do nothing, which is their right ... but Out magazine is an advocate for breaking down barriers for millions of people, not respecting the privacy of two celebs.

 

Why is being gay even an issue anymore?

 

It's an issue for he same reason being black still is an issue. ... Because as long as people hate them for being them, it's a major concern.

Our president wouldn't have gotten re-elected if people weren't so upset that gay people might want to marry each other.

 

I hear some people have a problem with it.

 

I never knew or heard anything about Anderson Cooper. I'm still trying to figure out how he got a deal with 60 minutes and CNN at the same time.

 

Let's all hope the subject line doesn't interest Yawn, because if he finds this thread ...