You go Sulu.By Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies, has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community.
Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role as psychologist Martin Dysart in "Equus," helped inspire him to publicly discuss his sexuality.
Takei described the character as a "very contained but turbulently frustrated man." The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured a story on Takei's coming out.
The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's disclosure, he said.
"The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay," he said. "The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young."
The 68-year-old actor said he and his partner, Brad Altman, have been together for 18 years.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.
"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said.
Takei joined the "Star Trek" cast in 1966 as Hikaru Sulu, a character he played for three seasons on television and in six subsequent films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986.
A community activist, Takei ran for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973. He serves on the advisory committee of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and is chairman of East West Players, the theater company producing "Equus."
'Star Trek' Actor George Takei Comes Out
'Star Trek' Actor George Takei Comes Out
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Richard Cranium
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CDN_Merlin
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I don't know British-isms, but I think that one comes through loud and clear regardless. 
My first thought when hearing about this was, "Ooooookaaaay..." My second thought was that this really explains some of the outfits that Takei has worn during public appearances. My most recent thought is that this can be directly attributed to the space-pimpage of James T. Kirk.
My first thought when hearing about this was, "Ooooookaaaay..." My second thought was that this really explains some of the outfits that Takei has worn during public appearances. My most recent thought is that this can be directly attributed to the space-pimpage of James T. Kirk.
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Mr. Perfect
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Flabby Chick
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to be gay or not to be gay. that is the question. whether tis nobler in the mind to nobble some sausage and suffer the insults and name calling of others or to munch some carpet or poke some hole and by impregnating some woman create a new being to ponder this problem.
me. i don't make my sexuality the center of my being and i'd rather not know other people's sexuality unless it becomes important to me to know. i believe that the repugnance many people have against gays is derived from a 'continuation of the species' instinct that recognizes if we all become gay, that's it. no more humans with all our +/-'s. last man/woman please turn off the lights on the planet.
don't we have better things to try to fix/fight in this world? gays demand that everyone accept that their lifestyle is equivalent to heteros. it's not.
racism btw is worse as you can't hide your ethnicity/skin color.
me. i don't make my sexuality the center of my being and i'd rather not know other people's sexuality unless it becomes important to me to know. i believe that the repugnance many people have against gays is derived from a 'continuation of the species' instinct that recognizes if we all become gay, that's it. no more humans with all our +/-'s. last man/woman please turn off the lights on the planet.
don't we have better things to try to fix/fight in this world? gays demand that everyone accept that their lifestyle is equivalent to heteros. it's not.
racism btw is worse as you can't hide your ethnicity/skin color.
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Flabby Chick
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correction: i don't make my sexuality the center of my outward persona. i.e. the person i present to the world at large. of course one's sexuality is central to the sense of self. physically, emotionally and mentally we are shaped by our sex, by how we satisfy the sexual drive and by how society at large perceives what we do to satisfy this urge. society can be cruel in this way or protective. i think that how we are perceived by our society does have an impact on our self perception and those who are at the fringes or beyond are perceived as "not normal" so i can understand how this could affect gays. but to attempt to make people believe that being gay is just as socially useful as being straight is a waste of energy. society doesn't like unmarried people either. they are perceived with suspicion and concern because of the possibility of pedophilia. this scorn by society is not as strong as the scorn for gays, but it's not pleasant.
the society at large will act similar to a hive. i.e.
those who are not of the hive are a danger to the hive and need to be isolated and if necessary destroyed or driven out. look at an ant colony or a troop of baboons. strangers, even if they are of the same species, are driven away or killed more often that not.
the society at large will act similar to a hive. i.e.
those who are not of the hive are a danger to the hive and need to be isolated and if necessary destroyed or driven out. look at an ant colony or a troop of baboons. strangers, even if they are of the same species, are driven away or killed more often that not.
