I chose to write about the news of Ellen Page, "Juno" and "X-men" actress, coming out at a Time to Thrive conference. I found an article on the Hollywood Reporter website, complete with the video of Page's moving speech. The article started out giving the 5 W's; Ellen Page; coming out; Februrary 14th; Las Vegas at a Time to Thrive conference, which promotes the welfare of youths in the LGBT community; because she was tired of hiding, and lying by omission. It then spews out a few key quotes from Page's speech, summing it up quickly. For seven minutes, Page talks about how the LGBT community has suffered, and hints at how weird it is for her to be making a speech, only then to reveal that she herself is gay, and that she is ready for change. Change, not only in herself, but in the world. Page also admits that, "It's weird because here I am, an actress, representing -- at least in some sense -- an industry that places crushing standards on all of us. Not just young people, but everyone. Standards of beauty, of a good life, of success -- standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me." Th article then points out one of the most stand-out facts, at least to me, of Page's speech, which is that when Page sometimes reads about herself in the news it can be a trying ordeal. In her speech, she mentions that a paparazzi commented on a photo of her leaving the gym in sweatpants, asking "Why does this petite beauty insist on dressing like a massive man?" to which Page replied "Because I like to be comfortable." Not only does Page point out the stereotypes and critisim people are put under, but she also acknowledges the discrimination toward people of the LGBT community. The article wraps up nicely by saying that Page has not submitted to any interviews, but she did post a few short tidbits on Twitter. She replied to "House of Cards" star Kate Mara who asked Page to "be my Valentine" with a simple "yes please."
Not only is this a huge deal to youths in the LGBT community who are scared to come out because of the way society looks down on being gay, but it is also a step further in the direction toward equality. What makes it an even bigger deal is that all of this is because of a celebrity. The article was informative, but all it really did was quote Page's speech and recycle what she had talked about. The video, however, was a welcome addition to the article not only because it served as a source so readers knew what they were talking about, but it was just a very heart-warming, tear-jerking, overall moving speech. And I think, moving forward, things will look better for more and more youths of the LGBT community.
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