slammerkinbabe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
slammerkinbabe) wrote2007-06-01 07:22 am
slammerkinbabe) wrote2007-06-01 07:22 am
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This post is not at all colored by the fact that I'd do Mr. Pierce in a heartbeat, gay or no gay
Aww, David Hyde Pierce! I love him so much. He "outed" himself recently (which term I put in quotes because he never exactly wasted a lot of energy over keeping himself "in") in what, for my money, was a perfectly brilliant way of handling it: a casual reference to his partner in a standard bio for a press release. Check out the link: I love that link because the headline is all "DAVID HYDE PIERCE COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET!" and then there's this complete cognitive disconnect while you read an entirely unrelated story about Curtains. So by the time you get to the reference to his partner, you're like "...that's it?" And, yes! That's it! Some of us have partners! THE NEWS, SHE IS NOT SHOCKING. And I really like that David Hyde Pierce, who previously basically responded to queries about his sexuality with an archly raised eyebrow and commentary along the lines of "If you can't figure it out you're mighty obtuse I'm not going to tell you," has now taken to referring to his partner in the media in precisely the same way that any other celebrity with a non-famous spouse would refer to theirs.
It is often good to make a big damn deal out of sexuality, to go shouting who we are and our rights as citizens from the rooftops; to make sure our voices are heard and to insist on visibility and acceptance. But it is good in a different way *not* to do that - to live your life just as if your sexuality were a basic part of who you are, with the attitude that you needn't be ashamed of it nor spend a lot of energy defending it. In all honesty, it's how I'd prefer to go about things. The social activist runs strong in me and all, but in my relationship with λ, I feel a lot less like a person Doing a Transgressive Thing Of Great Cultural Controversy, and more like, you know, a person in love with another person. I feel really incredibly privileged to live in Massachusetts, where I can mostly act that way. And I really love David Hyde Pierce for being the first celebrity that I can remember hearing of who "outed" himself in a manner that said, quietly but firmly, that this is not the front-page-of-the-tabloids Big Deal that everyone makes it into. It's a tactic that wouldn't work if it were the only one used, but it's an important complement to more conventional activism, I think. And, in the end, he's got the right to live his life however he wants to and say as much or as little about it as he chooses. It's a neat thing for him to reaffirm that this way.
It is often good to make a big damn deal out of sexuality, to go shouting who we are and our rights as citizens from the rooftops; to make sure our voices are heard and to insist on visibility and acceptance. But it is good in a different way *not* to do that - to live your life just as if your sexuality were a basic part of who you are, with the attitude that you needn't be ashamed of it nor spend a lot of energy defending it. In all honesty, it's how I'd prefer to go about things. The social activist runs strong in me and all, but in my relationship with λ, I feel a lot less like a person Doing a Transgressive Thing Of Great Cultural Controversy, and more like, you know, a person in love with another person. I feel really incredibly privileged to live in Massachusetts, where I can mostly act that way. And I really love David Hyde Pierce for being the first celebrity that I can remember hearing of who "outed" himself in a manner that said, quietly but firmly, that this is not the front-page-of-the-tabloids Big Deal that everyone makes it into. It's a tactic that wouldn't work if it were the only one used, but it's an important complement to more conventional activism, I think. And, in the end, he's got the right to live his life however he wants to and say as much or as little about it as he chooses. It's a neat thing for him to reaffirm that this way.
no subject
Personally I'm not patting myself on the back at all... I just wanted to comment on the fact that our society has come so far that someone can slip something small into a press article and have that be it. I think it shows progress, and a great step forward, and I fully acknowledge and appreciate the people who had to go through a lot of shit to get it this way. Maybe our generation is spoiled and can't truly appreciate what it was like... but we can realize how lucky we are to live now and see these signs of change for ourselves.
In no way do you have to praise DHP if you disagree with his course of action, but just because he took the slower, quieter road does that make him a bad person? He's a celebrity, yes, but also a regular guy, and who can really blame him for that? I guess I respect any statement, no matter how small or belated, of 'this is how I am'. I'm happy for him, and I do think it's classy and awesome for him to finally say something instead of living his whole life without saying anything.