[sup]I generally consider myself an intelligent person. I have a basic understanding of Einstein’s theories of relativity (general and special) and have done a great deal of self-education on a variety of topics. There is, however, one area where I continually find myself saying “Oh? I never had a clue.”[/sup]
[/quote]
I was just sitting around thinking the other day, when it occurred to me that of all the famous gay people in the world, I never had a clue until it made headlines or someone pointed it out to me. Sure, Rock Hudson had just about everyone fooled, but I was surprised when Liberace died of AIDS. Caesar Romero? Not the Joker, too!? Eve Arden? Barbara Stanwyck? Them too, or so I’m told. In the Rock Hudson/Doris Day movie Lover Come Back, Rock Hudson portrayed a character who was acting according to the gay stereotype of the times (early 1960s). I had seen this movie many times (I like the DD/RH movies) and never knew that until they pointed this out on an episode of Biography.
It’s just as well that I’m straight, because I have no “gaydar”. One of my best friends from high school was gay. I didn’t know until he told me (we stayed friends anyway – car freaks have to hang together). There was a young man at a base I was stationed at in South Carolina. He was stereotypically feminine. He lisped. He had more fashion sense than Christian Dior. What threw me was the fact that in the pre-dont-ask-don’t-tell Air Force, I couldn’t imagine anyone would be that obvious. I thought it was a ploy to attract women. It sure looked that way, because they all thought he was just darling. I was the only one in my squadron who was surprised when he was caught smoking someone else’s sausage in the showers. Heck, I had to be told about Janet Reno, and I was sort of surprised to hear about Nader.
So tell me… Does this blind spot mean I’m stupid or just oblivious? What other public figures are gay (apart from Ellen – I’m pretty sure she’s gay)?
~~Baloo