Mars Thera Pope
It’s 1997. Bill Clinton is president, Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” is the No. 1 song of the year, and Ellen DeGeneres, a famous actor on the sitcom “Ellen,” announces she’s gay.
Now, 20 years later in 2017, Donald Trump is president, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” is the No. 1 song, and many strides for the LGBTQ community have been made, partially in thanks to the courage and joy DeGeneres has spread since coming out. Earlier this week on her current talk show, she celebrated the anniversary of her coming out with her costars from the sitcom “Ellen” and Oprah Winfrey, who she asked to break the story.
The 20-year mark is a great moment to be celebrated, specifically because of how much things have changed. In 1997, Oprah received copious amounts of hate mail in response to DeGeneres talking about her sexuality on the show, and DeGeneres received a fair number of death threats, which ultimately led to dogs needing to sniff out the set for bombs before filming takes. The majority’s response to DeGeneres’ coming out was not a welcoming one, and that she has been able to jump-start her career and continue to bring joy and laughter to thousands of homes is quite impressive in itself.
It can be easy to forget how hard it was for anyone to come out then, especially for celebrities who would risk their career by sharing who they are. Not only that, but people can get lost in the progress American society has made and neglect the areas that still need to be improved. Gay marriage is now legal, and that is a huge step that may have not been made possible if it weren’t for people such as DeGeneres who let people know it was and is OK to be a proud gay individual.
However, conversion therapy, a psychological treatment meant to change one’s sexuality from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual, is still legal in Iowa as well as many other states. It’s shocking that conversion therapy is legal despite typically ending with the patient committing suicide or developing serious depression.
Some legal battles have been won, while others have yet to be fought. However, social progress has been made in just the last 20 years. Many high schools now have Gay Straight Alliances, gay characters are frequently portrayed on TV and in movies, and the negative stigma around being gay is slowly eroding. Still, sex education for gay students is nearly unheard of, and some families still reject their gay child, leading to a spike in the LGBT homeless population.
DeGeneres reaching her 20-year anniversary of coming out as a gay woman marks an important time for all gay citizens in America. There is a lot to reflect on in the last 20 years and to look forward to some victories and some battles that will hopefully be won in the upcoming years. Combating homophobia is different from other equal-rights movements in the sense that being gay is not a physical difference but a difference that can be hidden. The movement is to protect gay individuals from being discriminated against as well as creating an environment in which they may live life as their true self, just as the rest of the world has the privilege of doing. Thank you, Ellen, for being one of the first influential people to say, it’s OK to be gay.