In the past month, Will and Grace star Sean Hayes (love him!!!) and Ricky Martin have each appeared on the cover of The Advocate, publicly coming out to the world.
First of all, let me say these stories did not belong on the cover of The Advocate; aren't they supposed to be reporting actual news important to the gay community? These two comings out belonged on the cover of Duh! and Duh'rer, rather than a news mag. Don't get me wrong, Sean Hayes is a gifted actor and I've loved most everything I've seen him in and Ricky Martin contributed a lot to pop music in the late '90s/early 2000s. Let me ask you this question, though? Did either of these coming out stories shock you? I mean, are these any more shocking that when Elton John and Lance Bass came out? We all already assumed and didn't really care that much.
As a gay man I know that coming out is an important step in self-acceptance ... to a point. I came out to my friends and family, the people who mattered most in my life. Had I walked into a crowded restaurant and shouted "I'm gay!" I'm pretty sure everyone would have said something along the lines of "Sit down we don't give a fuck!" And why should they?
Obviously, celebrity carries a lot more weight especially here in America. But when I think about celeb comings-out, I just don't think it matters that much anymore. When Wanda Sykes publicly came out in 2008 (she had been out for years to friends and family, and was even married to a woman) it was only in protest of Prop 8. When Adam Lambert and Neil Patrick Harris came out (again, they were never really in they just weren't public about it), they already had successful careers and were working so it didn't really do much to or for their statuses.
I can remember when Ellen DeGeneres came out in 1997 on her sitcom it was a big deal. It was equally huge when singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge came out in 1993 and when Comedian Margaret Cho came out as bisexual in the early 90s. Celebrities coming out in the 1990s carried much more clout than they do today, mostly due to the difference in political climate in the 1990s. Pop culture has been so deluged with everything gay that it's not a big deal.
Coming out to the world didn't really do much for Rosie O'Donnell, Lance Bass, Elton John, or Clay Aiken, and I suspect it will be the same for Sean Hayes and Ricky Martin. Announcing their homosexuality to the world won't revive their careers.
Every celebrity I've mentioned was already out to their friends, family, and everyone involved in their personal lives. I think that if celebrities want to come out publicly, that's fine, that's their choice but they should not expect it to boost their fame. We need political clout, we need celebrities who are out to use their fame to actually fight for our civil rights, not magazine covers. I wouldn't mind reading a story on Sean Hayes, where he admits he's a homosexual, as long as that were not the main point of the article. If one of these guys were being interviewed for their work in helping underprivileged or abused gay teens, then I would not mind a "Oh yeah, me and my boyfriend do this" side blurb.
Just sayin' ...
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