Sasha Mallory comes out as lesbian - So You Think You Can Dance

Sasha Mallory, runner-up on So You Think You Can Dance, comes out as a lesbian in a recent interview with After Ellen.

She echoed Nigel Lythgoe's own assertions on gay contestants that "It’s not important for America to know that personal side of me" and yet in the same breath contradicts herself and says: "I’m not afraid to tell people I’m gay. I’m proud all over the place."

Oh really? Is she saying that it's not important while she's on a reality show competing for votes -- but she's actually an out and proud lesbian in real life and not ashamed of it? Then why hide it? Her "personal story" would have been so much more layered and interesting.

I echo Andy Dehart's sentiments here when he says on reality blurred that straight contestants on the show talk about "their straightness" all the time when they speak about who they have a crush on, or who's sexy, etc:

... identifying one’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with talking about sex or who she’s sleeping with. Look at straight contestants: they do it all the time, and not by referencing sex, like when a male makes an offhand comment about a wife or girlfriend or how attractive a female is.

So why shouldn't gays and lesbians have the same benefit? When males talk about having a crush on another male on these shows, it's always in a context of a joke. When will it be something cute and precious?

All gays and lesbians who join these reality shows should take note of The Voice: You can come out as gay and be NORMAL.

From AfterEllen:

AE: Have you heard about the recent brouhaha about people being out on reality shows like American Idol and The Voice? SM: Yeah.

AE: What was your experience on So You Think You Can Dance like since you didn’t put your personal life out there?
SM: It’s not important for America to know that personal side of me. They just needed to know if I could dance and if I had a personality. They didn’t really need to know if I was gay or straight. Who I’m sleeping with is not important. This is my craft, my art, it’s what I do and who I sleep with doesn’t really change that, I don’t think. I’m not afraid to tell people I’m gay. I’m proud all over the place. Ask anyone! [laughs] It’s just something that never needed to come up because it would just take the focus off of my dancing and it will put it into "I'm gay," ya know? But I’m happy to talk about it. I’m totally open about it and I’m a very open person.

AE: Also, you would think in the field of dance, it’s a pretty common thing to have a lot of gay dancers, right? It just comes with the territory.
SM: It’s a lot more on the male side than the female side in dance. I actually haven’t been around a lot of girls that are gay in dance. Well, actually, I might have but maybe I didn’t notice. I used to have a really bad gaydar but it’s gotten a lot better. [laughs] It’s a lot better now but I don’t even think about being gay or straight or anything. I just think about being with whoever makes me happy. I’m attracted to girls and that’s what’s going to make me happy. I don’t even like to label myself. I’ve flirted with guys before and I’ve done stuff with guys before. I’ve actually had two boyfriends but I know at the end of the day who I want to come home to and it’s going to be a girl. That’s what I like.