Tim Cook Should Confirm his Sexuality

I was annoyed to see this report today via Mike Elgan’s G+ feed regarding rumours about Tim Cook’s sexuality.

Elgan says, rightly, that:

“Whether Tim Cook is straight or gay shouldn’t matter to the press or the public, and we should respect his and everyone’s right to choose whether to talk about their sexual identity…”

However, given Cook is the CEO of one of biggest corporations in the world, Elgan’s opinion is rather idealistic if we really want to see a change in attitude to homosexuality. I would say instead that you have a duty to be open about your sexuality, if required. You don’t have a duty to tell people about it pro-actively, but if they ask, the right and proper response must be confident and unambiguous: “I am gay, and what of it?”

Today is London’s Gay Pride. The sooner sexuality is as controversial as your shoe size, the better. Cook’s evasion – if he has ever been evasive about his sexuality – is a problem. There is nothing wrong with being gay. Cook must not make it appear as if there is.