[1] Lance Bass is gay. When I read the article online I thought to myself ‘Wow. How cool is that? Someone who based their career on being a pop-music heartthrob to millions of teenage girls had the courage to come out of the closet.’ Career (or what’s left of it) be damned. I was awed, although not really surprised at his revelation.

Then I read a little bit further down… “He is in a “very stable” relationship with model-actor-Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl, 32, [sidenote: [2] total freaking hottie!] and is developing an Odd Couple-inspired sitcom pilot with [Nsync bandmate Joey] Fatone in which his character will be gay.” Thankfully for Lance, the acting won’t be too much of a stretch… unless of course, he’s a playing a top.

Seriously? WTF?! So for Lance it’s really not about courage, or about being true to yourself for YOU and disregarding what others may think; it was about publicity. Coming out as a trendy way to generate some buzz about a sitcom you’re developing where your character is [Gasp!] Gay!

Is it just me, or are other people getting [3] Ellen flashbacks? Her show was quirky and funny, then she came out and you could feel the comedy being forced out of the room by one Lesbian Agenda episode after another. Is it that hard to be funny when you’re standing on the soapbox? Apparently she’s learned her lesson. Her next foray into sitcom television will feature her character as a lesbian, [4] but not feature that as the main focus. “I don’t think we’re focusing on it as much,” DeGeneres said. “‘Will & Grace’ is about what that life is.”  So it’s gay, but not THAT gay. [Sidenote: IMHO, W&G was far more entertaining than Ellen. It tackled tough issues, yet still remembered it was a sitcom and remained funny.]

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I don’t feel ‘coming out’ as a device in which celebrities can extend their 15 minutes of fame and promote their new book/tv show/movie deserves as much praise and fanfare that we as a community give it. I’d have a hard time calling someone making a PR move, even one that bold, a positive gay role model. I don’t see your average, everyday, closeted homosexual saying “Gee! Lance did it and I can too!”

I have far more respect for people like [5] Sir Ian McKellan, [6] Freddie Mercury or [7] Elton John who did it just for themselves; more as a declaration of “This is me, like it or not. I’m going to be true to myself and don’t care about what other people think.”

THAT is inspirational, and THAT is what makes a role model.