The lover's gay; no, he's straight; no, he's gay...It was a feather-bedding quid pro quo; no, it was sexual harassment. What it is, indisputably, is a big juicy mass media sex scandal, generating lots of cheap copy and, here and there, some thoughtful analysis about gays, marriage, and the closet. In addition to Jonathan Rauch's valuable insights, posted herein, Salon has run a clever piece by Dan Savage, who writes:
If it does nothing else, the McGreevey marriage highlights the chief absurdity of the anti-gay-marriage argument: Gay men can, in point of fact, get married - provided we marry women, duped or otherwise. The porousness of the sacred institution is remarkable: Gay people are a threat to marriage, but gay people are encouraged to marry - indeed, we have married, under duress, for centuries, and the religious right would like us to continue to do so today - as long as our marriages are a sham. ...
But how does this state of affairs protect marriage from the homos, I wonder? If an openly gay man can get married as long as his marriage makes a mockery of what is the defining characteristic of modern marriage - romantic love - or if he marries simply because he despairs of finding a same-sex partner, what harm could possibly be done by opening marriage to the gay men who don't want to make a mockery of marriage or who can find a same-sex partner?
Despite the sensationalism, it's possible the McGreevey affair
will lead more straight people to think the issue through, and then
come to the right conclusion.
Jenna and Barbara Get an Invite.
A New York Daily News gossip item has it that "Bush
Gals to See Gay Vows." In other words, the first daughters have
reportedly been invited to the same-sex wedding of their beautician
and his long time partner (though the marriage won't be recognized
by the state, or their father). The item says Jenna and Barbara are
ethusiastic about attending, but whether they go or not (and I'm
betting NOT, even if the story is legit), it points out how stark
the generational contrast is on the issue of gay marriage. The
future is ours, but it's not here yet.