“我是同性恋我自豪”，蒂姆·库克骄傲出柜

“我是同性恋我自豪”，蒂姆·库克骄傲出柜

Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said he was “proud to be gay” in an essay published early Thursday, becoming by far the most prominent executive of a public company to come out.

本周四早上，苹果公司首席执行官蒂莫西·D·库克(Timothy D. Cook)发表文章，称“我很自豪我是同性恋”，从而成为了迄今最著名的已出柜上市公司高管。

“Let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” Mr. Cook wrote in the essay, published by Bloomberg Businessweek.

“我想在此阐明：我很自豪我是同性恋，我认为身为同性恋是上帝赐予我的最好礼物，”库克在《彭博商业周刊》(Bloomberg Businessweek)登出的一篇文章中写道。

Mr. Cook, 53, has never spoken publicly about his sexual orientation in the many years he has worked in the spotlight at Apple.

库克现年53岁，在苹果公司引人瞩目的位置上工作的很多年中，他从未公开谈及过自己的性取向。

In his essay, Mr. Cook also noted that he had spent much of his life trying to keep his personal matters private, which is why he had not previously spoken in public about his sexual orientation.

在这篇文章中，库克还表示，他长期努力维持自己的个人隐私，所以之前没有公开声明过自己的性取向。

“Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world,” he wrote, “and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.”

“苹果业已是全球最受关注的企业之一，”他写道，“我希望人们持续重点关注我们的产品，以及我们的客户利用苹果产品所实现的杰出成就。”

While he has never talked about it publicly, Mr. Cook’s sexuality has been a widely open secret in Silicon Valley. In private forums, he has alluded to facing difficulties growing up as a young man in Alabama, where he was raised for much of his childhood. He has said that human rights and dignity are values that need to be acted upon.

虽然库克以前没有公开谈论过自己的性取向，但在硅谷，这其实是个非常公开的秘密。在私人论坛里，他提到过自己年轻时，在阿拉巴马州遇到的困难。库克童年的大部分时光都是在那里度过的。他说过，人权和尊严是需要通过实际行动去维护的。

With his essay, Mr. Cook becomes the most prominent gay man in the corporate world, joining a very short list of openly gay executives at public companies. He also defies corporate sexual identity norms; 83 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual people hide aspects of their identity at work, according to a Deloitte report.

上市公司高管已经出柜的男同性恋者并不多，而随着这篇文章的发表，库克成为了企业界最著名的男同性恋者。德勤(Deloitte)的一份报告曾显示，83%的同性恋和双性恋者都会在职场上隐藏自己的性取向;库克此举打破了公司里的这种常规做法。

Silicon Valley, and technology companies in particular, have taken largely progressive stances on gay rights and advancement in the workplace. Companies like Google, Facebook and Apple participate regularly in San Francisco’s annual gay pride parade. And many of these companies, including Twitter, Intel and Apple, offer more inclusive health benefits packages to gay employees and their partners.

对于在职场中维护同性恋者的权利和升迁机会方面，硅谷已经采取了一种相当进步的态度，科技公司尤为如此。像谷歌、Facebook和苹果这样的公司，通常都会参加旧金山一年一度的同性恋骄傲游行。很多公司，包括Twitter、英特尔和苹果，都为同性恋员工及其伴侣提供了更具包容性​​的健康福利。

Congrats to 5000 Apple employees/families who attended today’s Pride parade.Inclusion inspires innovation.#applepride pic.twitter.com/4DncX8F6fO

库克今年6月在Twitter上写道，“祝贺参加了今天同志游行的5000个苹果员工/家庭。包容激发创新。#applepride” pic.twitter.com/4DncX8F6fO

Activist groups were quick to praise Mr. Cook for his essay, while lauding Apple’s progressive history. “Tim Cook’s announcement today will save countless lives,” the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group, said in a statement. “He has always been a role model, but today millions across the globe will draw inspiration from a different aspect of his life.”

活动人士团体迅速做出反应，称赞了库克的这篇文章，以及苹果公司一直以来在这方面秉持的进步立场。“蒂姆·库克今日宣布的消息将拯救无数人的生活，”美国最大的女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和变性者(以下简称LGBT)民权组织“人权运动”(Human Rights Campaign)在一份声明中说。“他向来都是一个榜样，但今天，全球数以百万计的人们将从他生活中的另一个方面获得启迪。”

As Apple’s chief executive, he has publicly pushed for marriage equality in its workplace, and had consistently enacted progressive policies to encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates to work for the company.

作为苹果公司的首席执行官，库克曾公开在公司里推动婚姻平权活动，并且一贯推行开明的政策，鼓励LGBT求职者来苹果工作。

Apple has publicly supported a workplace equality bill in California, site of the company’s headquarters, and spoke against a bill passed in Arizona which Apple said discriminated against the gay community.

苹果公开支持其总部所在地加州的一项职场平权法案，并对亚利桑那州通过的一项法案表示了反对，因为该公司认为，这项法案含有歧视同​​性恋群体的内容。

Mr. Cook recently gave a speech in Alabama, in which he denounced his home state’s history of human rights and addressed its record of inequality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. “As a state, we took too long to take steps toward equality, and once we began, our progress was too slow,” he said at the event, where he was inducted into Alabama’s Academy of Honor, the highest praise the state can give one of its natives.

库克最近在阿拉巴马州发表讲话时，批评了家乡的人权状况和LGBT人士遭受的不平等待遇。“作为一个州，我们迟迟没有采取平权措施，而且开始采取这些措施之后，我们的进展又太缓慢了，”他在成为阿拉巴马州荣誉学院(Academy of Honor)成员的仪式上说。进入该学院是阿拉巴马州对当地人给予的最高褒奖。

“Too slow on equality for African-Americans. Too slow on interracial marriage, which was only legalized 14 years ago. And still too slow on equality for the L.G.B.T. community,” he said, noting that workers in Alabama can still be fired based on their sexual orientation.

“非裔美国人平权进展太缓慢了。直到14年前才变得合法的跨种族婚姻，进展太缓慢了。LGBT社区的平权进展也太缓慢了，”他表示，并指出在阿拉巴马州，雇员仍然可能会因为自己的性取向而遭到解雇。

Arthur D. Levinson, chairman of Apple’s board, issued this statement, saying, “Tim has our wholehearted support and admiration in making this courageous personal statement.”

苹果董事长亚瑟·D·莱文森(Arthur D. Levinson)针对文章发表了一个声明，他说：“我们全心全意地支持他，并赞赏他发表这则个人声明的勇气。”

Mr. Levinson added: “His decision to speak out will help advance the cause of equality and inclusion far beyond the business world. On behalf of the board and our entire company, we are incredibly proud to have Tim leading Apple.”

莱文森还说：“他公开宣布出柜的决定，有助于把平等和包容事业推动到远比商界更广阔的领域。我代表董事会和整个公司表示，我们非常自豪是由蒂姆来领导苹果。“

In the essay, Mr. Cook cited Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose framed photos are on his office wall, as his inspiration for publishing his essay on Thursday.

在这篇文章中，库克提到了罗伯特·肯尼迪(Robert F. Kennedy)和牧师小马丁·路德·金博士(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)，说他们是他本周四发表这篇文章的灵感来源。两人的照片都挂在库克办公室的墙上。