Perez Hilton Is A Little Man

I've tried to avoid to hoo-hah over Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr's behavior at the Miss USA 2009 contest. Part of the reason is because I think Donald Trump, who owns the contest, put Perez Hilton (as he calls himself) up to it, on the theory that any publicity is good publicity. Another reason is that I don't think much of these kind of contests, fixating as they do the most epheremal of qualities-- physical beauty.

There is an old saying that "what Jack says about Jill tells us more about Jack than Jill." Here is the question that Jack asked Jill:

“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

Carrie Prejean responded thusly:

“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you.”

These aren't my opinions, and when the issue made the ballot last year, I voted in favor of wording to support gay marriages. I am also a free speech absolutist, in so far as fringe opinions, including the opinions of social and religious conservatives, need to be protected as a fundamental right. Also, these contests, as silly as they are, do test contestents on personality and poise. Political debates and job interviews always have these kind of questions, and it takes a certain mental agility to turn a difficult question to an answer in your favor without walking from core beliefs. Miss Prejean could have answer that question better.

That said, Hilton's subsequent hissy fit is no victory for gays. Just as right-wing commentators in their outrageousness play to the stereotypes that large number of people have of them, so too did Hilton's comments play to negative stereotypes about gays. He may indeed see himself as on the vanguard of homesexual civil rights, proudly marching under the flag of faggotry. But what he is really doing is inciting homophobia. Editor of The Advocate Corey Scholibo perhaps said it best: "I have to question the character of a man who attacks others on such deeply personal levels, without provocation and for self-benefit, monetary or otherwise."

The Bible's View of Marriage

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

The Religious Case for Gay Marriage (Newsweek)

The textual counterpoint used by religious conservatives is that the Bible lays out a prescription for opposite-sex marriages, from Genesis 2, where God pairs Adam and Eve, through Ephesian 5, where the apostle Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife to the relationship between Jesus and the Church. My view is that the bias within the Bible is to marriage as we traditionally understand it, although the definition of marriage is implied rather than defined. However, as Newsweek notes, the Bible taken as a whole is more pluralistic than what most conservatives would allow. It is interesting that many of these same conservative would consider wine drinking sinful. And yet wine was the central element in the Wedding at Cana as well as at the the Last Supper. This again is an example where the Bible is used to support cultural and social biases rather than to illuminate spiritual truths.

Disney Marries Mr. Smee and Captain Hook

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Starting at $8,000, Disney is now offering same-sex couples a fairy-land wedding, complete with a Cinderella coach and Disney characters mingling with the guests.




(I took this picture of Mr. Smee, Captain Hook, and a nose-picking Cinderella on the SS Disney Magic in 2004.)

I've always been impressed with Disney and I use the catch-phrase "Disney quality" to encourage my kids to do their very best. I'm sure likewise such wedding will also be Disney quality. But I do think that gay day events are pushing the envelope. As gay blogger Pete Werner writes, such displays have degenerated in recent years into "a vile spectacle of self-indulgence and indeceny."

"I can’t help but think of, and feel sorry for – the unsuspecting family who saved for years for a once in a lifetime trip – only to arrive and find that Disney had in fact, been invaded by he-women and shaved down muscle boys. By itself that would not be a problem, but the sheer number of people who seem to go out of their way to rub their sexuality in everyones face during this ‘event’ is nothing short of disgraceful. Is the Magic Kingdom REALLY the place for a 5 year old to ask his father why those two men are kissing? Is it really up to any person to decide for that parent when, or if, they will have that conversation with their child? I don’t like it when I hear pompous windbags telling me I’m going to burn in hell for being gay, and I’m sure most of the free world would appreciate a visit to Disney World that did not include the vision of grown men in go-go shorts, and ads for lubricant prominently displayed throughout the host hotel. "

I have to agree with Mr. Werner. There is everything wrong with that.