The Dirty Bird: LGBT & the media?

As you may or may not be aware, last week's episode of "Glee" featured the openly-gay Kurt getting a passionate smooch from his openly gay mentor, Blaine. There was much buzz, gay and non-gay, about this, and on YouTube Gleeks' posted their joyous reaction to the long (11 seconds!) and long-anticipated liplock, reports the Daily Cardinal.

Well, we hate to rain on the pride parade, but we've got to ask: How much progress does this really signify for queer communities?

Do not get us wrong. We are beyond pro-boys-kissing-on-TV. We like it, we like watching it and we like watching other people watch it. Nonetheless, we're leery of declaring this a "big moment in every way", as Sandra Gonzalez proclaimed in Entertainment Weekly.

The number of queer characters (and queer people) on television and in film is undoubtedly at an all-time high. In addition to "Glee," we've seen shows like "Modern Family" incorporate gay characters into their storylines. Lady Gaga's "Born this Way" is all over the radio. Films like "The Kids Are All Right" have generated much publicity and revenue. Openly lesbian women like Ellen DeGeneres and Rachel Maddow are high-profile names. "These works," says UW alum Joe Erbentraut in "Have We Reached a Post-Gay America?", "showcase queer people doing, by and large, ordinary things … these projects all showcase a certain symbiosis or symmetry, even, between gay and straight."

Visibility is a key part of the acceptance of any social justice movement. When individuals outside the movement begin to see and become outraged by the struggles, when the humanness of marginalized people begins to become undeniable and beautiful, then allies are formed and the movement expands. Thus, we are not complaining about Kurt and Blaine kissing on TV—in fact, we hope they do it more.