Voting Incentive: Blog Posts

Author's notes: These were sample blogs I wrote as a submission for a position a gay pop culture website was advertising. I didn't get the job, but thought you guys might find these interesting, anyway.

Oh, probably not for the politically faint of heart.

Family Values Politico’s Credibility Drips Away

Did someone pass a law mandating sexual scandal as an eligibility requirement for political office while I wasn’t looking? It certainly seems that way, with John Ensign, Mark Sanford, John Edwards, and Larry Craig just to name a few.

Joining the ranks is Michael Duvall, a conservative Republican known for his anti-gay, traditional "values" stance. He was caught on tape bragging about his affair. Not just any tape, but the microphone that the feeds the legislature’s in-house TV station. It takes a special kind of stupid to talk trash right in front of a live mic in a room full of live mics.

Perhaps the most hilarious thing about this scandal is the level of detail Duvall went into while describing his illicit liaison—from his mistress’s underwear, to his enjoyment of spanking, and even discussing the first woman with his second mistress. Stay classy, GOP.

But above the private missteps, there are more pressing professional concerns. An Orange County weekly publication identifies the woman as Heidi DeJong Barsuglia, a lobbyist for Sempra Energy. Duvall sits as vice chair on the Utilities and Commerce Committee. Conflict of interests, you betcha. Alternative weeklies aren’t the best source of information, true, but it’s a troubling detail if accurate.

It’s enough to make one wonder what the world is coming to. It was a lobbyist Duvall was bragging about walking around with his semen. Any kid these days would know better—he should have used protection.

Perez Hilton—Gay Rights Pioneer? Oh, boy.

Perez Hilton is fairly well known in entertainment circles. It would be hard for him not to be, as he goes out of his way to garner attention. He first came to fame in the wider public-eye for his celebrity gossip shock-blog, then for his outspoken antics, and striking hair colors. If he hadn’t made the changeover to household name before, he certainly did with the Miss California “scandal.”

But a recent article on CNN.com contends that there’s more to him than meets the eye. Indeed, it paints him as a role model in the gay Latino community. Color me surprised. I didn’t even know Hilton was Latino.

Be that as it may, the article brings up some points worth discussing. Not many gay Latinos are out publicly, and whatever else exists to be said about Hilton, it cannot be said he minces words about gay issues. Even a figure as controversial as Hilton can help struggling Latino youths come to terms with their sexuality. Just knowing there is such a thing as an out Latino gay male helps raise visibility, and surely that beats the alternative.

Calling him a gay pioneer, though? Maybe that’s going a little far. It seems to me that Hilton makes headlines far more often for the fights he’s picked this week than for his activism in the community. I can’t help but wonder how many people, like me, didn’t realize Hilton’s background at all.

Certainly, it’s an interesting issue, and one that bears thinking about it. Gay men of color are an underrepresented population that often face discrimination not only from mainstream culture, but their own ethnic groups. So maybe Hilton’s not ideal, but his coming out will pave the way for others to come out. And that can only be a good thing.