Monday, September 13, 2010

Tim Gunn is Asexual?!

News!

Thanks to Karli for pointing out this video, in which Tim Gunn (the dude from "Project Runway" who says "make it work!" a lot) discusses his "suicidal past". It seems like this was one reason why he felt so badly during his teen years:

"For a long time, I didn't know what I was. I knew what I wasn't. I wasn't interested in boys. But I really wasn't interested in girls." He says (in a People magazine article) "I've always been kind of asexual" and "I really am happy alone", claiming that he hasn't had sex since 1982.

Well I'll be! I'm jazzed that Tim Gunn is "kind of" one of us. Obviously I don't know him, but his television persona is just so benevolent (well, except towards Gretchen). Although I'm pretty sick of Project Runway at this point, when I think about it...On "What Not to Wear", Clinton and Stacy (the hosts/fashionistas) were always talking about how "sexy" various clothing items were. Has Tim Gunn ever gushed about the sexiness of a garment? Not that I can recall. Hmm.

We're here for ya, Tim...how about some invisible fashion-industry cake?

8 comments:

annwyl_cariad said...

*flails*

I LOVE TIM GUNN. My roommate last year turned me on to Project Runway and...gah. He's one of my favorite people ever. It's exciting any time someone in the public eye comes out as ace (or even "kind of" ace). I can totally get behind him as an asexy role model.

Eli said...

That makes me so happy, oddly. I hope every celeb who declares they're ace is as nifty and talented. I don't watch Runway, but I do adore Tim Gunn. His column in marie claire is always a win. Marie Claire's the magazine where I first read about asexuality, too. Hmm...

Charles said...

I saw this the other day and was pleased but not wholly surprised - it fits his persona.

And ff I didn't have a Thing with him (various comments he has made have rankled me), I would be pretty thrilled.

tomatl said...

Wow, yea! This made my day. I don't know that much about him, except he seems nice (not an axe murderer like the character dexter, a plus!) and I love the phrase "make it work".

I hope he hasn't been terribly offensive Charles, because I really want to like him even more now!

Madeline said...

yay tim! it's great to see someone talented and famous not being ashamed or something to say they're asexual :)
also, if you type in "tim gunn asexual" into google, you're blog is the second link to come up ;) just thought that was cool ha

Ily said...

Wow, a #2 Google result for something...I feel special! :-)

Although I think we're a lot more excited about Tim Gunn's asexuality than he is ;-) Unless you're Keri Hulme, celebrities who "come out" (I put it in quotes because sneaking in the word when you think no one's looking seems to be the usual MO) don't seem very emphatic about it. In Gunn's article, he doesn't exactly sound thrilled with it, since his lack of interest in sex led to the breakup of an important relationship. As far as I know, Hulme is still the only famous person to talk about asexuality as really being an identity.

tomatl said...

I agree, we do seem more excited than he does. It is exciting to have someone a bit more 'pop' famous if not as emphatic. I think it is understandable for him not to be thrilled at first, it can be hard to lose a relationship. Maybe with time and understanding he will have more to say. He did say he was happy. But more importantly, I wonder how he feels about tweed!

Anonymous said...

I don't watch Project Runway but I have seen Gunn before and was so happy when I read this on your blog.

The video doesn't work anymore so I went looking on Google for an article about it and found this one (http://greginhollywood.com/tim-gunns-revealing-people-interview-when-i-was-seventeen-id-made-a-serious-suicide-attempt-37239)

The best bit is the quote:

"Much of my boyfriend’s “I’m over this” was about sex. I’ve always been kind of asexual. That breakup was a cold shower to last a lifetime. When people hear I haven’t had a boyfriend since 1982, they often whisper, “Does he not have sex?” That’s right! Could I get Psychiatric help? Probably. It’s a little late.”

Absolute Gold. xx