rockstaryuzu

I was a figure skating fan during that era too, I remember all that. Strangely, despite all his protestations about masculinity etc, for some reason, at the time EL was the one who gave me the impression that he, well, wasn't straight...ironic, no? Whereas J*hnny just seemed like a guy who made strong artistic choices and had a point of view...I was not expecting him to come out and was surprised when he did. All that's neither here nor there except to say that sometimes figure skating audiences aren't concerned with or focusing on this issue, we just want to see interesting skating. So the conversation that seems to be going on, internal to the sport, in regards to that issue, maybe misses the point. Instead of panicking about trying to attract an audience through over-emphasized masculinity, maybe the skating world should take some time to understand the audience they already have and why they watch, and build on that information.

Oh, right. If I recall there was some apology issued over that. I mean, there's no glossing over the fact that the past history between Korea and Japan is extremely fraught, to say the least. On the other hand, BTS has a massive Japanese fandom and easily sells out all the biggest stadiums every time they tour there, so it's not like they're complete anathema to the Japanese. People need to leave Yuzu to make up his own mind about those things and stop trying to drag him in the direction of whatever axe they themselves have to grind. Re Naomi Osaka: my understanding is that she's quite proud of her Japanese heritage even if she can't speak Japanese well. And she chose to represent Japan as an athlete, when she could have chosen the US instead. I think that demonstrates quite a bit of commitment to Japan on her part, especially knowing the way she might be regarded in Japanese society due to her appearance. I think she very well exemplifies the Olympic spirit. But given how controversial these Games have been, I'm very satisfied that Yuzu is well out of it.

I'm not quite sure that's what Nathan was trying to do, but even if it was, that's problematic. The fact that this scenario is regrettably common and many male figure skaters have been hit with it from non-FS interviewers over the years is a problem too. Yes, Nathan could have had the presence of mind to answer in a less unfortunate way, and him not doing so shows that he still has some work to do to grasp the concept. I don't think he needs to be dragged backwards through the mud of Twitter commentary to teach him that lesson, but what do I know? What I don't like is that this kind of attack on the sexuality of all figure skaters is still going on, just because they happen to be figure skaters. The men get it coming and going: if they're not gay, they get backed into a corner with all the 'oh, you're a figure skater, you MUST be gay' comments and end up feeling like they have to prove something*. If they're gay, they get attacked for being gay and suffer harm, more often than not. The constant, continual message, over and over, is that figure skating is not a sport acceptable for men of any sexual identity to do, and that's just sad. In fact it's beyond sad. When are we going to free our minds from this 💩? What's so threatening and wrong about men skating, anyway? * Yes you could argue that no one should feel threatened or insulted by being called gay and you'd be right; however the current reality is what it is. One day it will change.

He's definitely speaking in early 21st century California teenager, that's for sure. It's so discombobulated.

Actually, they can pick literally anyone, it's up to the organizers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_torchbearers_who_have_lit_the_Olympic_cauldron I mean, it's usually an athlete but not a given that it has to be.

I suspect that if Yuzu requests it, Ghislain, Brian, Tracey, and probably anyone else at TCC would gladly come to Japan. However, what are the Japanese travel restrictions at the moment? Maybe international travellers can't freely enter Japan either. Just because athletes have been doing for sports events, doesn't mean everyone can come and go. I think the situation is going to stay as it stands for quite some time, guys.

Ugh...whhyyyyyyyyyy....I know BTS has their haters as well because K-Pop fandom is just like that, but still. Yuzu can like and enjoy whatever performer he wants, and BTS are literally the Hanyu of the pop music world right now.

So now we can say we've been 'killed by dekodashi' every time he decides to dazzle us with this glorious hairstyle...

Agreed. I see Yuzu being himself in those programs.

May you be completely right!

@Geo1, thanks so much for sharing. Your experiences track with what I experienced as a teen swimmer the one and only time I qualified for a regional championships. We were younger so the activities were not in any way risqué, but the desire to have a good time was absolutely the same. Also, for some reason now I've got Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like A Lady" stuck in my head....

But once their events are done, a lot of them have nothing to do but watch other events and socialize. And they probably feel like relaxing and enjoying life after reaching the end point off all that focus and hard work

And since the topic of the cardboard beds was raised... https://twitter.com/RachLynch27/status/1417390088309280768?s=20

So is it true that the ISU has permanently banned plushie tossing? Or is that only for the duration of the pandemic?

Just as long as they remember to put the sock on the doorknob before starting, and lock the door, so as to warn any roommates not to come back for a while... ...are we being terrible human beings by saying such things?

You put that many young, healthy, mainly attractive , usually confident, people together in a festival atmosphere for a couple of weeks, and the results are fairly predictable. That being said, now I wonder how many babies there are in the world who can trace their origins back to an Olympics.

But I do believe Champéry itself ( where Stephane's rink is) is literally in the mountains, no? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champéry which would mean lots of opportunities for good hiking for weight loss. so in this case, less of a stereotype and more of a reality, I would think.

And thank God for that, it was the dumbest idea I'd heard of in sport up until they decided to go ahead with the Tokyo Olympics in the teeth of a pandemic

Wow, he looks great! Mountains are the place to be, it seems.

I keep getting reminded that my only chance to see Yuzu live this year is probably Worlds, if he decides to go...

It must be frustrating for him to be so close and yet so far. Imagine how he'll feel when he finally lands it.

Hey come on now! He already knows how to make perfectly amazing hot chocolate confections!

I spent 9 years of my life making my living by lifeguarding and teaching other people to swim. Based on my experience, someone with Yuzu's apparent body composition will have an extremely difficult time learning to float comfortably. Their legs and arms will sink more easily, forcing them into a more vertical position in the water from the start. If not taught how to compensate for this by an instructor with a thorough understanding of human buoyancy and the lack thereof, it's simply harder for a very lean and muscular man to learn how to swim, because they're fighting their body's own physics. Also, men and women have completely different buoyancy. Females, even very skinny ones, still have a different distribution of body tissue, including fat, which naturally helps them to float in a more horizontal and relaxed position, which facilitates learning to swim. You simply can't compare the challenges, it's two different beasts. That doesn't mean it's impossible. Just that it makes things harder than for, say, someone with the physique of a baby seal. Understand that I have personally taught a good few hundred people how to swim in my lifetime - many from scratch. I have witnessed the phenomenon I describe multiple times. It's my best, educated, guess that this might be one of the difficulties Yuzu has with swimming, but I can't say for sure as I have never taught him to swim. I think it's totally cool that Yuzu tried swimming for a way to improve his 4A. Even if it didn't work, now he knows a way that doesn't work - like Thomas Edison and the ways to make a light bulb. That's terrible. I hope the rain stops for you soon!

As any lifeguard will tell you, there are definitely people out there who can take 10minutes to go 25m...but they're usually chatty old ladies who have draped themselves over flutterboards and are having a leisurely talk with a friend as they paddle along.

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