Wednesday, March 28, 2012

An open letter to Kathryn Lehman

Dear Ms. Lehman,

Shut up.

Your story is neither brave nor cute. You are, frankly, dangerous — I hope less so now that you're lobbying on the side of angels, but frankly, I am uncertain of it. And your worldview is wrong, no matter how much you believe in it.

Specifically:
  • I was an out queer in 1996. There were plenty of "regular" LGBTQ folks around (as evidenced, probably, by the reception you got from your Republican friends). 
  • Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris were not the image of Our People in 1996, but you know who was? Billy Jean King. Martina Navratilova. Barney Frank. Are you suggesting that you needed more comedians, specifically, to make it worthwhile to not legislate depriving people of their civil rights?
  • Just because you have all kinds of internalized homophobia doesn't mean it's OK to externalize that homophobia. The rest of us homos don't like it.
  • HRC definitely meets with Republicans and conservatives — historically panders to them, some would say.
  • As my friend pointed out when he shared this story, all chaps are assless; otherwise, they're leather pants.
  • Also, nobody gets married in them. Anymore. What is this, 1954?
Yours in sisterhood,
bzzzzgrrrl

P.S. Shut the hell up.
P.P.S. No, wait. Apologize. Then shut up.


[In case you don't know what I'm talking about, and missed that link up top, I'll give it to you again. This sentence is a link.]

3 comments:

Jennifer O'Boyle said...

Wow. I'm glad she's changed her mind, and still think her view is pretty limited.

and, um, how can there have been no 'normal' gay people, AND Barney Frank was around. Did he not count?

bzzzzgrrrl said...

Barney Frank never counts. Sissy.

Heath said...

Oh my gosh, this cracked me up. I was wondering when I read about her this morning where she was hanging out in 1996. Because those of us who were out there have no idea what parties she was going to back then.