Individuality: Ellen Degeneres and Sexual Preference

Stay True to Yourself SaRaya V. Woolridge Towson University Abstract In order to be successful in any aspect of life you must be an advocate. As stated by dictionary. com, an advocate is to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly. Everyone by nature is an advocate for something whether it is being something as minimal as being an advocate for a promotion from your job or an increase in your allowance from your parents. There’s at least one topic that you feel strongly about and you feel should change.

For me that topic is individualism. I believe that being your own person and staying true to yourself in any situation will lead you to ultimate success. Often in society people who are “different” from the norm are deemed weird and often looked down on. Straying from the norm doesn’t make you weird or any less good than the next person. A man who wears hair down to his ankles and shorts all year round with hoodies or someone who is homosexual and decided not to hide their sexual preference just to fit in with what society accepts.

Every single person is different from the next no matter their race, age, background or even physical appearance. No two people are the exact same. And with this being said I never understood exactly why everyone is so hell bent on “Fitting In”. I believe that everyone should embrace every little thing that makes them special and use it to their advantage and become successful. There are many famous people right now that are successful right now that only were able to reach their full potential by embracing the very thing that made them unique and “different”.

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Ellen Degeneres revealed she was a lesbian, a rap group out to Brooklyn, NY by the name of “Flatbush Zombies” embraces their “weirdness” in rapping and sense of style and the good girl gone bad Rihanna expresses herself through body art and hairstyles. All three used made them special to get where they are in life. Homosexuality is very common in our society today, so common that the rights for gays are a big campaign topic. There was once upon a time that the people in the limelight whom we often look up to would hide their sexual preference to gain and maintain social acceptance.

But more recently there have been more and more people “coming out the closet”. Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O’Donnel, Lance Bass of N’Sync and Ricky Martin to name a few all are celebrities who have over the years embraced their sexuality. Most of the stars who revealed their sexual preference didn’t come as a surprise. But all can conclude that it made their life much easier and contributed to their career’s success. Ellen Degeneres said in an interview “"I never wanted to be 'the lesbian actress. ' I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth. Ellen also went on to find love and marry a woman.

This also caused a big stir because of the ongoing debates of same sex marriage. A lot of people do not agree with this and being a talk show host this could have easily harmed her ratings. But she did not let any of this stop her from being one of the top talk show hosts and gaining endorsements from companies such as cover girl. Also on the same website Elton John was quoted saying “[Coming out] gave me the freedom to be who I was for the rest of my life. I don't have to hide around corners. The worse thing is to be afraid of who you are -- it's horrible. They both concluded that ever since revealing their sexuality their life has been easier. And when your life is stress free your success comes with ease because all your focus is on you and not hiding who you are. Another person who has gained much success through being an advocate for individualism is pop star Rihanna. Starting out with a good girl island girl image with her debut song “pon de replay”, no one would ever think she would be the hardcore, slick mouthed tattooed girl she is today. Often tweeting and posting pictures smoking weed and cursing at critics.

Some people think that this is all a mechanism to cope with the domestic violence dispute she was involved in but Rihanna is very adamant about this being exactly who she’s been all along. Now that she’s made her mark and established a very loyal following, she’s able to really embrace her wild side without the concern that she will not be socially accepted. Rihanna has showed her “I Don’t Care” attitude through vulgar tweeting, tattoos and wild hairstyles. Over the years she’s chopped her hair all off, shaved her sides and dyed her hair outrageous colors such as fire engine red. She has also gotten tattoos f miniature guns and a quote on her knuckles that say “Thug Life”. Tattoos often communicate something negative in the public eye especially when it is in a spot that is very visible. (Doss and Ebesu-Hubbard, 2009) Most people would think her blatant disrespect and good girl gone bad persona would make her lose fans but ever since she’s done this her fan base has grown and her record sales have sky rocketed. She’s since been labeled a style icon and been making #1 hit records. Last but not least, there is the demonic crazily dressed duo Flatbush Zombies out of Brooklyn, New York.

This group is compiled of two underground rappers with a theme and a dream. Piggy backing off of what the media named the “Zombie Attack” the duo has made quite a name for themselves, particularly for their style of dress and rap. They usually dress in loud non matching colors, mixing up prints and even dying their hair outrageous colors. One member of the group by the name os Juice had his hair dyed red at the top and gold on the sides. This was following the previous cheetah spotted hair. They take their “weirdness” and use it to their advantage.

They dress weird, they dye their hair, they do drugs and rap and they don’t care who has a problem with it and it has only contributed to their rising success from underground rappers to mainstream. These are just a few examples of the “weird” and “different” people in the world that I admire for staying true to what makes them different. I personally have always had a very different style and I know people stare at me and talk about me but at the end of the day I’ve made a lot of networking connections being exactly who I am.

As have many other famous people. This may sound cliche but I never want to be the girl who is trying to fit in when I was born to stand out, because when you try to fit in with the norm you’ll be washed away and blended in with everyone else. All in all, I believe that being an advocate for individuality is very crucial to success. All of the people in my paper as well as in the world who are successful Work Cited De Boer, S. (February 2009). Stars who came out of the closet, Wonderwall. Retrieved September 23, 2012 from

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