Gay gymnasts

By Joey Bonanno

When you envision a foremost athlete, the descriptive words that might come to consciousness include strength, authority, masculinity and grit. Every young competitor aspires to include these qualities. But when you’re plagued with stereotypes and stigmas of what it means to be gay, many young athletes change into scared to be who they are, to follow their dream. I trust the fear of non-acceptance from one’s family and team; along with the desire to shield the reputation of one’s sport is a driving press behind the hesitance of gay athletes to come out.

I remember the sunlight I asked my mom to subscribe me up for gymnastics. I was doing cartwheels and running around my mom’s dance studio. I had an obsession with backflips and was determined to learn one. Little did I know my need to learn a backflip would soon turn into so much more. It soon became my life, my infatuation and the essence of who I am today. I come from a family of four, born and raised in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. I was blessed with incredible parents, my mother, a dance studio owner and my father, a musician. With the influence of an artistic family, the value of passion was always in my blood. Growing up in one of the most diffic