Homosexuality in Society

I was watching the Game Show Network earlier tonight, and saw a commercial for a special celebrity edition of Newlyweds. This episode is special for two reasons... one, because it is a celebrity edition and two, because it features "Mr. Sulu" from Star Trek (The actor's name escapes me, and I really am too lazy to look it up at 1:44 AM) and his husband. This will be the first gay couple to appear on the show.

Here is an article about it.

My first reaction was, "Wow, I'm surprised they allowed a gay couple to be on the show!" Then I realized how this proves that the acceptance of homosexuality by society has increased over the years. Several years ago, even mentioning gayness on TV would have caused a controversy. Of course, there are still many individuals and groups who find homosexuality to be "wrong." However, society has "tapped the glass" enough for a gay couple to appear on a game show that for years has been dedicated to stereotypical man-woman unity.

One most also consider, however, that "Mr. Sulu" is a famous character. Perhaps the producers of Newlyweds allowed him and his husband to appear on the show because of the celebrity status. We do not know if they would have allowed an "ordinary" gay couple to participate.

I just found this interesting and wanted to post about it because it relates to what we have been talking about in class. If gayness can be found all over the media (this case as an example), it should be discussed in schools. Should a child watch this episode of Newlyweds [which of course I would not advocate because of sexual content, but I'm sure some kids have seen it] he or she might automatically assume that the gay marriage is weird, abnormal, or wrong because they have not had the concept explained to them in an unbiased manner at school. At least if a child WERE to have those opinions after having discussed them in school, the opinions would not be based on ignorance.

Just some thoughts... let me know what you think.