Hey, I'm new and I just wanted to join the conversation.

The reactions to this article are a little funny. You all seem be angry at or at least disagree with the article. You feel like you need to defend Johnny against it. But the article wasn't really about Johnny at all. It was making a much broader point: the media are invasive and gossipy about every heterosexual aspect of celebrity life; why should a suspected homosexual celebrity be treated any differently?

Let me emphasize that I don't want Johnny (or anyone) to get stalked, or to have their private life published in a tabloid. In fact, I really appreciate figure skating because that doesn't happen, as opposed to Hollywood.

But Johnny loves stirring up controversy, and the media loves him for it. it gives them something to talk about. it fills airspace and attracts viewers. Why do his fans get so upset about this? Because you think it's too personal?

If Johnny didn't want anyone to think he was gay, don't you think he'd act differently? Do you seriously think he isn't in full control every second that he's on camera? Johnny knows exactly the sort of reactions he's going to get. He is leading the media by the nose every step of the way. So are you really worried about Johnny's health and reputation?

Or do you just think this isn't the sort of thing that shouldn't be discussed in polite conversation?

The article was addressing a larger issue in our society, one that *needs* to be addressed. The public needs to stop acting like gays and lesbians are somehow "special." We aren't. We go to school, to work, we get married and fall in love, we fall out of love, we raise families. We sit next to you on the bus. We sit in the *front* of the bus.

The most difficult part of the GLBT civil rights movement now is its invisibility. Our skin is not rainbow colored. Unless you've got a good "gay-dar", you can't pick us out in a crowd. So everyone who isn't completely comfortable with homosexuals can pretend they don't exist and refuse to face the issue. Homosexuals themselves can refuse to face it. They stay in the closet and refuse to support the other people who are out there taking the hits. Those people are looking around and thinking, "I *know* there are more gay people in the world than this. Why am I alone?"

I'm not blaming people who are in the closet-- it's very difficult to be openly gay. And it's going to remain difficult until the issue is addressed openly. But the world will get there, I'm confident. That's part of human progression. After all, inter-racial marriages are legal now. African-Americans can vote. The thing is, though, it's hard to ignore people with different skin color. But you can ignore a homosexual, and that is what's holding America back right now.

The article had it exactly right: "... By refusing to simply ask whether or not someone is gay perpetuates the notion that answering affirmatively is the ultimate shame."

'Cause when homosexuality does enter the public eye, it's sexy, it's tantalizing, it's scandalous. The media has turned Johnny and other celebritys' orientations into a sleazy insinuation. But if the media and by extension the public could seize the situation by the horns and stop giggling or getting red in the face everytime someone says "gay," then we could get through this issue. And then I could marry the person I fall in love with, just like a straight person can.

I just wanted to put that out there.