OK - so. Here's a video that a lot of people have seen. First Kudos to Ellen Page. I've always liked her as an actress. I like her even more now. But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about some of the things I've been hearing after Ms. Page came out. Basically. "Ya know. If you stop making it such a big deal when people come out.... "
So with all due respect folks, unless you're gay, lesbian, bisexual or tans...just be quiet. Honest. Shhh.
But here's the thing. I agree with you in principal. Yeah it would be great if people coming out didn't cause such a media storm. But you know what? It would also be great if we could look at people's sexuality the way we look at their food preferences. When was the last time you saw a church picketing a solider's funeral because someone likes sushi? Or a family kicking their son or daughter out of the house and calling them vile names because they don't like bacon?
So bottom line. When will people stop coming out? When kids don't have to hear taunts of fag or queer or dyke or lesbo or trannie. When will it stop being a big deal? When the world makes it not. When someone like Ellen Page or Michael Sam, or your neighbor doesn't feel like if they do announce who they really are that it might save a life of someone struggling.
And one last thing - remember who she was talking to. She was talking to people that work with GLBT youths. She was talking to people who are trying to help. And in her coming out she was also helping. She didn't go on Late Night or leak it to Perez Hilton. Listen to her speech folks. Her coming out was such a small part of what she had to say.
One day I hope that people will look on this video clip and not understand it. One day I hope people will look back upon these times like we do the middle ages, wondering how we were so ignorant. One day I hope gay will once again mean happy, fag again mean a bundle of wood, dyke mean a small dam, lesbo be the name of an island and trannie go back to being a transmission. That day will come. And it will come a lot faster because of people like Ellen Page.
