The moment Amber Glenn stepped onto the ice at the Figure Skating World Championships, fans began waving American flags from the lowest rows at TD Garden to the highest rafters, where jerseys of Boston sports greats were hung in honor.
It seemed like a fitting backdrop for her show: Glenn is a three-time defending U.S. champion, one of the new faces of figure skating, and as the daughter of a police officer and a proud Texan, patriotism runs through her as thick as oil.
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The Stars and Stripes weren’t the only flag flying that night, however.
At the last few World Championships before the Olympics in Cortina, Milan, the same eye-catching rainbow flags that have symbolized the pride of the LGBTQ+ community for nearly 50 years were scattered among the sold-out crowds. They started showing up at Glenn’s games a year ago, when she carried one on her shoulder to celebrate her national championship.
“I saw them,” Glenn admitted long after the performance, “and I felt proud to see those two flags flying.”
Glenn identifies as pansexual and has never sought to become an icon within the queer community.
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In fact, it wasn’t until she went through pain, including periods of depression, anxiety and an eating disorder in a mental health facility, that she began to confront her sexuality. Glenn didn’t come out publicly until an interview six years ago, and then thought to her horror: “I haven’t even told my Catholic grandma yet!”
Yet when the 26-year-old Glenn reflected on her journey in an interview with The Associated Press, she expressed deep gratitude for the experiences she’s had in the tight-knit world of figure skating. For decades, the movement has provided a safe space for progress for people in the LGTBQ+ community, some of whom may still be struggling to realize their authentic selves.
“I’m very, very grateful that I grew up skating because I grew up in Texas, and luckily that’s Dallas, which is still a little more advanced,” Glenn said. “Also, I was homeschooled. So I had to figure out a lot of things on my own within that context.
“But when I ventured out of Texas to compete, you know,” Glenn continued, “I ended up seeing this community and these people around me, who are some of the top coaches and really good skaters. I was like, ‘Oh, okay. That’s OK.’ It made me realize, ‘OK, there are people who are fans of mine who might feel a little more connected if they saw people like them.'”
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long and winding road
That’s not always the case in figure skating, a sport where success and failure are literally a matter of judgment and appearance, attitude and demeanor all matter in scoring. Throughout the 1900s, and even into the 1980s and 1990s, women were often encouraged to become more feminine, while men were told to embrace their masculinity.
It wasn’t until Rudy Galindo published a book shortly before he was crowned U.S. champion in 1996 that the walls began to come down. Three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir, now a lead analyst on NBC’s Olympic coverage, later said Galindo gave him the confidence to come out in 2011 and ultimately accept himself both on and off the ice.
Eventually, other famous skaters came forward, some of whom had never publicly acknowledged their sexual orientation. Everyone has their own reasons, whether it’s personal, political or just a desire to give back to the community.
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As Team USA prepared for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, former Olympic champion Brian Boitano was selected to be a member of the delegation. At the time, the Russian government was under criticism for an anti-gay “propaganda” law passed in June 2013, and Boitano told The Associated Press that he had never considered coming out before being elected to represent Russia again.
“They know what a private person I am,” Boitano said, “and this is a big move for me.”
Success on the big stage
While LGBTQ+ athletes compete in nearly every sport, what’s unique about figure skating (at least for now) is their success on the biggest stages, whether it’s international competition, world championships or the Olympics.
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In 2018, former U.S. champion Adam Rippon not only became the first openly gay man to make an Olympic team, but also the first to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, taking bronze in the team event. Four years later, Timothy LeDuc became the first non-binary Olympic athlete when he teamed up with Ashley Cain-Gribble in the synchronized event at the Beijing Olympics.
“I grew up in a very conservative environment,” explained Leduc, a two-time U.S. champion who took up coaching after retiring from competition. “Sometimes you just need to feel comfortable just seeing people like you in that community. That continued in my journey where I saw a lot of queer people in my life.
“Even in high school, there were one or two queer people,” Leduc said, “but I always found my community in figure skating.”
status quo
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Glen had just won her first Elite Grand Prix in Angers, France, in November 2024, when Donald Trump won the US presidential election. She remembers watching the results scroll across the television screen.
Glenn’s heart sank, thinking about what this meant for the LGBTQ+ community.
Two months later, Trump signed an executive order defining “sex” in federal policy as a binary biological concept that cannot be changed from birth. It is the first move by a government accused of targeting the rights and recognition of LGBTQ+ people, such as rolling back protections in education, healthcare and housing. The government sees the changes as a way to protect women from “gender extremism”.
“Both of my grandfathers served in the military. I grew up in Texas and am a proud American,” Glenn told The Associated Press. “It’s so frustrating. It makes me feel closer to the community around me because we have to come together and try to protect ourselves.”
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Many people in the LGBTQ+ community still feel that way.
Five years ago, two-time Olympian and fan-favorite Jason Brown posted on Instagram, one of the reasons being to offer support to those who might be feeling uncomfortable — skaters, of course, but also coaches, choreographers and even fans.
“I hope I can make the sport better for the next athlete or make some people feel more comfortable coming forward and being themselves,” Brown said. “There are a lot of people who love and support this community and they want them to feel safe and seen and accepted. I think my most important message is, ‘Know how much support you have.'”
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
