Didn’t want to clutter the memorial thread with this, but it struck me as odd, and I wanted to get some opinions (this is from the Huffington Post):
Now, I want to preface this by saying I have the utmost respect for Dr. Ride and her career and accomplishments, and do not intend to detract at all from her legacy.
What I’m wondering about is the usage here of “openly gay” and the apparent inspiration she will now serve to the LGBT community. Is this really an inspiration? Can you legitimately call someone “openly” gay who comes out after death? Certainly she was not openly gay when she became the first American woman in space, and she was also actually married for a time. It just seems to me that she was anything but “openly” gay. If I were more of a curmudgeon, I might insist she serves as an example of what gays should not do; i.e. be completely secretive about their orientation. But then, I also understand she was not much of a public person anyway (apparently very very few knew she was ill). So I’m just confused; I’m not gay myself, so the revelation of her sexuality actually strikes me as neither here nor there. How do you feel about it? If you are a member of the LGBT community, do you now consider her a personal hero?