Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (March 9, 2007)

BOB HATTOY, JOHN INMAN, AND ANN COULTER
No, that's not the answer to the question, “Name an activist, an actor, and an abomination against nature.” But all three have been in the news this week: Hattoy and Inman because they are dead, and Ann because she personifies the soulless, living dead. Actually, my favorite description of Ann comes from my very own partner Brent who describes her as “a vinyl skin encasing a mass of writhing snakes and spiders” (he's not a novelist for nothing!).

Hattoy was the gay rights and AIDS activist who gave a stirring prime time speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention; Bill Clinton had asked him to address being a gay man living with AIDS. This year Hattoy had been hospitalized with pneumonia, but had returned home where he died suddenly. No cause of death has been determined, but cardiac arrest is suspected. Bob will be greatly missed.

Many folks in the US are likely unfamiliar with openly gay British actor John Inman, but in the UK he starred in the sitcom Are You Being Served and was one of those television fixtures that everyone knew. Think Don Knotts (The Andy Griffith Show) or Bob Denver (Gilligan's Island). Inman died this week from complications of Hepatitis A leaving behind his partner of thirty five years.

Inman played Mr. Humphries, a fussy, mincing character who worked in a department store. While Humphries was clearly written as gay, he was never allowed to actually be gay (they even paired him up with a woman once), so he was constantly played for stereotypically gay laughs. We wrote about Inman's character in an article about campy British characters last year which documented how Inman and others involved with the show tried to claim Humphries wasn't gay. Here is a clip for you to judge yourself:

Not too many folks bought that Humphries was straight, but I do think there is some merit in the idea that back in the 70's and early 80's, any gay visibility was an improvement. And it's not like any television shows today— cough The Class cough —are trying to foist these same sort of gay characters— cough Perry Pearl cough —onto viewers. Here is one gay Brit's take on what Inman's character was all about and whether it should be celebrated or not.

As for The Bride of Satan, I mention her because it seems she might finally be paying a price for the outrageously bigoted words that pour from her mouth like rain from a monsoon. Calling John Edwards a “faggot,” then trying to say “It's just a joke!” and “It doesn't have anything to do with being gay.” Of course it's a joke: a nasty, bigoted one designed to suggest that Edwards is something less than a “real” man. But honestly, why is anyone surprised? Remember Coulter's comments about the 9/11 widows, slaughtering Arabs, and, well, I don't have all day to document the multitude of stupid things she's said.

But thanks to the changing societal view of the new “F” word (driven in no small part by the gay blogosphere) Ann has landed in hot water for tossing the word around like rice at a wedding. (Did you know she used it while speaking in a church to a religious group? Classy.) Corporate sponsors and advertisers including Net Bank, Verizon, Washington Mutual, AT&T/Cingular, and Dollar Rent-A-Car. have started to ditch her, as have some newspapers. We'll have to wait and see if they stay away for good.

The interesting question in my mind will be the response by conservatives, among whom Coulter holds something like rock-star status. But in my mind, it's win-win: either they do the right, responsible thing and reject her brand of abrasive bigotry, or they continue to lionize her, clarifying exactly what today's Republican party really stands for.