Best. Gay. Decade. Ever. (December 23, 2009)

IT'S OVER ALREADY? SERIOUSLY? DID I MISS ANYTHING GOOD?
As hard as it might be to believe, the first decade of the 21st century wraps up in a little more than a week. I know — gulp. And I totally meant to finally read War and Peace and finally shower before noon at least once this decade! And weren't we just dealing with the dreaded Y2K problem and buzzing about an impossibly boyish Matt Damon's gay turn turn in The Talented Mr. Ripley?

I'm sure it'll come as no surprise that the end of this decade has me looking back over the past ten years pondering what I've done with my life and why I haven't yet got my own reality show. Well, that and what's changed for better and worse when it comes to gay visibility in this weird thing called "pop culture." 

Here are just a few things to consider about how things were in 2000 before we get started with all this reminiscing:

• Kathy Griffin's supporting role in Suddenly Susan ended and her career highlights over the next four year's included single episode appearances on Crank Yankers, Stripperella, What's New Scooby Do? and two episodes on Spiderman. Talk about rallying for a strong finish!

• Will & Grace was in its third season, but other than a pretend kiss with Jack, Will wouldn't lock lips with a guy for real until 2005. And that was hardly unusual for gay characters on network TV.

• Just to make you feel a little older if you're already over thirty, Adam Lambert was 17, Scott Evans was 16 and Chris Colfer was ... 10.

• Brokeback Mountain was a short story almost no one had heard of.

• AfterElton.com, Towleroad and Joe.My.God weren't even twinkles in anyone's eyes. 

• Queer as Folk debuted on Showtime December 3rd, 2000.

Now ponder everything that has happened over the past ten years. It makes your head spin doesn't it? 

So pull up a chair, relax and sit back while we take a look back at what changed — or maybe didn't change — to make the past decade great and at times not so great. Oh, and don't worry that it's just going to be me droning on and on without you getting in a word (only the Flying Monkey has to deal with that!) because I'm also going to give your chance to weigh in on a variety of topics.

BECAUSE VISIBILITY REALLY DOES MATTER
It's practically become an article of faith that the only way things get better for the GLBT community is when GLBT people come out and let straight folks know who we are. We've all heard the results of those studies: heterosexuals who actually know us gay and bi guys are much more likely to support our civil rights.

And for better or worse, part of that visibility comes when high profile actors, singers, writers, politicians and so forth come out to the general public. Not only do those celebrities help change the perception of the folks who watch them on TV or in the movies, but those gay/bi celebrities also become role models for some bisexual kid in Colorado or some gay guy being pressured to marry a woman in Mississippi. (They also give certain editors great articles to write, but that's totally a secondary benefit.)

What's that? Has coming out changed over the past ten years for those in the public eye? If so, how? And what are my brilliant, witty observations on the topic? Funny you should ask!

Next page! Can I deliver the witty? Don't hold your breath! It's the end of the year after all.