Just to reply to your opinion, as part of being a human being, we change our minds and thats what makes us human. Thats why in america we have a choice.

I dunno. All those blonde chicks look alike to me.

In the last days both sexes will go their own way. Having nothing to do with the Father of all living. Prophesy.

American: What?? What about the Mother? She is the one who gives birth, not the father.

Donna-467844, I think it is ridiculous to fail to acknowledge the enormous pressure on people to be straight and the denial that fosters. I also think it is ridiculous to underestimate the fear factor, caused by the extremely negative effects it can have on family and career to come out.

There is no support in our culture at any point in personal and social development for people who are gay. From the time you are a child (it's just a phase) to the time you are an adult, you are discouraged from even considering it as a possibility. Denial of homosexuality is fostered and enforced by every social institutions, including religions and schools.

If you do manage to come out of denial and come to terms with being gay, then you have to worry about the impact on your personal life, your career and on your family.

You also have to be concerned about the sometimes unrestrained hatred and sometimes violence that will be directed at you from the bigots our religious and educational institutions carefully cultivate.

It is the last minority in the US to be denied civil rights, the last vulnerable to job action and to being singled out for negative treatment with no legal recourse or protection.

Despite all of this, there will always be those who insist on being who they are (once they know what that is) and I applaud them. I certainly do not condemn anyone for trying to protect themselves from all of the negative garbage that family, friends, employers and neighbors can throw at them with impunity.

JustAThought08 you are so right. A lot of times, they try to fight the fact they are gay and force themselves to try being in heterosexual relationships, thinking (mistakenly) they can change their sexual orientation, as they do not want the discrimination that being gay can bring upon them. Some families disown their children for being gay, and the emotional impact can be tremendous. Sometimes, gay people know all along that they are gay (since childhood), but other times, due to confusion, only by process of elimination can they realize which gender they are meant to be with.

@ Donna: This comment is simply stunning for it's lack of awareness... It is generally agreed upon that people are, or are not, gay/ lesbian... It's not at all a "choice"... I'm not sure what, if anything, it has to do with "taking responsibility" or "wanting a particular lifestyle"... Identity development is a complex thing... Many people know on some "gut level" that they are gay but for a wide range of reasons (e.g. being oppressed/ marginalized by friends/ family/ society) they have trouble accepting this about themselves or admitting it to others... So, in summary, get a clue...

AmericansAtWar

In the last days both sexes will go their own way. Having nothing to do with the Father of all living. Prophesy.

The Word according to AmericansAtWar.

Donna-467844

I think it's ridiculous how people bounce around their gender preferences. Just say it like it is and take responsibility to admit you wanted a particular lifestyle.

Okay; I wanted that particular lifestyle; whatever that was. At my age, I forgot.

"Just say it like it is and take responsibility to admit you wanted a particular lifestyle."

Yeah, like all those born-agains who started out NOT born again and then POOF...suddenly, there they are, choosing to turn religious...

hmmm?

Donna, You seem to have some repressed feeling for women. It is not too late, you can convert too.

JustAThought

My thought is - did you ever think that being gay is an aberration? I DO.

I DO NOT believe it is so prevalent as so many like to profess.

I truly believe it is a sexual gratification preference more than anything else. PERIOD.

I also do not agree that gay people should be able to get married as straight people do.

And before you spout off at the mouth that I don't really know any gay people, let me assure you that working in Hollywood, I certainly do, and I still feel this way.

Karen: having had a cousin who was gay, I understand how you feel--but I honestly believe that gays are just gay. Maybe for some people (like wannabe gays/bi-curious) it's a fad, but for others, it's just who they are--like my cousin.

He was a wonderful man, had a loving partner for over 20 years, until he passed a year or two ago.

And while we disagree on this issue, I totally respect your opinion. :)

As for Ms. Baxter, congratulations to her on living life and releasing such a statement to the public on her own terms--not that anyone should've cared!

Karen in Los Angeles

JustAThought

My thought is - did you ever think that being gay is an aberration? I DO.

Kind of like being ignorant or stoopid; outside the norm. As a legal scholar, you are well aware that aberration, ignorance or stupidity aren't criminal in any state.

It's not about being 'gay,' but about pushing boundaries and doing exactly what you want to do. I believe it's all a choice.

Really? When did you choose to be heterosexual?

WHAT?!?!?!?!!....You mean Bridget doesn't love Birney anymore? Now I KNOW this world is going to hell in a handbasket.

I'm so glad that Ms. Baxter choose to "come out". She was basically telling my story in that interview, which was an excellent interview by Matt Lauer, and was truly courageous in doing so. I've always liked her as an actress and I respect her as a person as well.

For those in this group of commentors that believe that this is a choice, I really wish you would begin to educate yourselves with something other than ultra right wing literature. This is not a choice, this is who we are, just like eating, breathing, sleeping, etc. is part of who we are.

For those of you in the "not a choice" club can you please explain to me what responsibility the newly outed have to the family members whose lives are turned upside down due to these new "revelations"? - in this case the three (3) husbands and the five (5) children.

I find that those commenting that the "majority know that this is not a choice" to be insulting; everybody I know believes this to be a choice - this includes six (6) lesbians.

Fact is that those who chose to be homosexual do not want to be held accountable for the choices they make. If homosexuals are a minority then so to are children. pregnant women, alcoholics, drug users, pedophiles, etc.

Choosing an alternate lifstyle does not qualify you for minority status.

JDexter.....great post! Glad Meredith is happy. Everyone should mind their own business, and let her live her life!!

Obviously, not every bigot will be affected. You are just a case in point.

Hey, she's not black.

Bruce, got a little Jungle Fever there?

You'd probably get about 150 offers for a date in just a few minutes.

I think she was pretty clear about it. If tabloid editors feel it will sell their rags, then it is obviously something that people who don't know any better think is news. She is reacting to those photos and the accompanying news article, by taking ownership of the "news" and talking about it openly, on her own terms. It is her life, after all.

And I suppose that if society turned being heterosexual into the shameful secret it has manufactured for homosexuality, you would be too afraid to say anything about it on the news.

She didn't want to announce her sexual preference, but she had no choice when photos emerged of her with her partner. If you read the article, she wanted to keep her private life private -- and she did just that, for several years -- but Perez Hilton outed her. She was just clarifying and confessing to her fans what the pictures showed, and there is nothing wrong with that. I'd rather she be honest and say "yes, I am gay" than lie and claim it wasn't her in the photos or something like that.

Why is a person's private life any of my business? Why is this "news?" Why should I care if someone is gay, staight, lesbian or bi? It's none of my business! I'm happy if whomever is happy. Leave it at that. Don't make it into a national project. One of the major problems in this country is that we are way too nosy for our own good. And we think "celebrities" and what they think and do is really important. Excuse me, I have more important things to do, like sweep the porch and water my flowers.

"- why do people feel the need to make these pronouncements? ."

I guess for the same reason people feel the need to proclaim that they are born again christians...or christians, period. Who the hell cares? Keep it to yourself.

They are insecure; it makes them feel a little less small and insignificant if they think they can condemn someone else and make the other person feel smaller and more insignificant.

If you don't like gay announcements then can we also do away with straight wedding newspaper announcements. Why should I care about two heteros getting married, it's non of anyone's business, why should I care, keep it to yourself.

If you don't like gay announcements then can we also do away with straight wedding newspaper announcements.

Those aren't published for your entertainment or edification. They're published as a matter of public record, same as death notices or bankruptcy proceedings.

Fail.

Actually NOT. They aren't published for public record. Like the obituaries, people can CHOOSE to have them published.

FAIL

Rob you put to words exactly what I was thinking. About the skin care line, about Perez and about her being a Lesbian. Good post!

I don't know much about her lifestyle, but several things can make your skin wrinkle, such as a hard life, sun exposure, drug usage...at least she's not injecting Botox and trying to look like a 30 year old like other women her age.

Then what are skin care products for if not to help ease the effect of all of those?

Perez Hilton is probably the most plastic person I can think of. He is SO insecure that he has to "smite" everyone he thinks should be "smited" (like his opinion really MEANS something...). Sounds an awful lot like the likes of Jerry Falwell and Fred Phelps to me...

bckm, bigots come in all colors, sexual proclivities and religious preferences. Just look at all the religious bigots that can't resist posting their vitriol despite the fact that the article has nothing to do with Christianity.

Or those who insult Christians even though the article has nothing to do with Christians.

PistOff08, I meant the posters who are bigoted against Christianity. Sorry for the confusion.

Perez Hilton is nothing but a bully and a whore. If people want to live openly or not it should be their business.

Very well said JenT!

Nicely put, Jen. I've never understood this whole "it's a choice" thing. First, who would choose to be ostracized and live in fear - to be told their behavior is an abomination, and have to hide love for a partner? Second, of course, who cares? I am disgusted by people who presume to tell other people how to live and who to love. Even if it were a choice, it wouldn't affect the vast majority of people who take it upon themselves to make people feel bad about it. Congratulations to Ms. Baxter for her honesty in the face of people's tiny-minded condemnation.

Great post Jen and well said. Being gay is NOT a choice. It is similar to being left handed, red haired or tall or short. No rhyme or reason. People can spout their opinions but its a waste to rant about issues they obviously know nothing about, if they are not in that persons shoes. Some religions will always use being gay as another way to skew those who do not fall into their discriminatory logic. God has created us as we are meant to be, so I think its shameful for the religious nuts to question the Lord. Isn't it sacrilige to question Him anyway? People, if you are gay or lesbian, don't hide from it. Be proud and be free to be who you are! Hiding will only put more pressure on yourself. If friends and family truly love you, they will accept and love you as you are. If not, then maybe those are people and their negative influences aren't things that you need in your life anyway. The truth will set you free !!!

Ditto!

I completely agree. I'm straight, but I don't at all remember a point in my life where I was thinking there was a choice, it just was. I could never say that someone else doesn't feel the same way about who they're attracted to.

Clearly you don't care since you took the time to post on here about it.

People can just as easily say that about you.

But he didn't say he didn't care.

amen, AI616, I couldn't agree more.

Shelly,

I don't hate her and I don't hate you if you do proclaim to be gay. I find it someone odd that you want acceptance for the gay life style, you don't want people of faith to bash your life style and at the same time you sit there and call religious people nuts. It sounds a bit hypocritical. I personally don't agree with the life style. I do believe it is a choice as much as a person can choose to be a pedophile. It doesn't make that any more right. I really think that what Meredeth Baxter is proclaiming doesn't matter and it doesn't merit a public proclamation.

Respectfully,

Me

you don't want people of faith to bash your life style...

because they have enough to tend to with everyone screwing everyone else's spouse in the congregation.

and at the same time you sit there and call religious people nuts.

There are exceptions, some my dearest friends, but generally they are.

"I really think that what Meredeth Baxter is proclaiming doesn't matter and it doesn't merit a public proclamation."

Neither does your annoying religious affiliation.

There are plenty of extremely tolerant, open-minded religious people. There are also plenty of intolerant gay people. I am an atheist, yet I have never told anyone that they should "convert" to atheism, and I am completely fine with religious people livig their lives according to some old man in the sky; as long as they respect my right to make up my own mind, I'll do the same for them.

"Being gay" is no more a "choice" than being left-handed. It is a simple fact. Religious folks need to recognize this reality and move on.

So is being heterosexual a choice? Merideth obviously chose to live a heterosexual lifestyle for well over fifty (50) years.

New definition for the word Hypocrite: see Homosexual.

It is a well known fact that the only chance the Homosexual groups have of winning preferential status is by convincing the public that their lifestyle is not choice; which is probably why you see so many members of the Gay mafia in here professing this absurdity in their posts.

Yeah, or coming out as a "born again" like Kirk Cameron or some of these others!

WTF

Completely agree with your observation. Homosexuals have taken over the entertainment industry and it is a well known fact that homosexuals discriminate against those who do not embrace their perversion.

Or if you live in a bigoted society where one is forced to hide who he or she is.

See, as for me, I would have lost respect for her had she come out as a born again Xian.

@ nodomestic4evr... can you say a little more about why her being gay would cause you to lose interest/ respect in her????

That's ok, the more people you declare this opinion to, the more who will lose their interest and respect for YOU, so I encourage you to keep it up :)

I too encourage you to continue to profess the truth; homosexuals and their supporters hate the truth because the truth does not get them what they want.

Randy K., care to explain your idiocy?

I'm with you "Canudigit", no one cares. When is the last time she appeared in something?

Good question, canudigit. Everyone wants to say that sexual preferences are my business, my body, my affair, blah blah blah, yet they insist on "coming out" and shouting from the rooftops that they're gay.

If it is their own business, why isn't it kept that way? Nobody wants to hear about it, so shut up. Nobody wants to hear about hetero affairs--and in the workplace, such discussions are sexual harassment--but blow your horn and go on about being gay, and that's all of a sudden laudable. What the hell?

(Two lesbians I worked with insisted on talking about their sexual conquests in front of me, but when I asked them to stop, I was "volunteered" to go to "sensitivity training." Anyone care to take a guess what would happen to me if I discussed my wife or exes in the same earthy terms? Yeah. Not much of a double standard, is it?)

If someone's gay like Ian McKellen, George Takei, Rob Halford, or whoever, let them be. It doesn't take away from their talent, but it does make them annoying. Did anyone watch "The Lord of the Rings" to watch a gay man play Gandalf? Do Trekkies adorn their walls with posters because Sulu's gay? No. They like the talent on display and aren't in it for the sexual preferences. (Mostly.)

Shut up and be gay. Go on with your life and be happy. But if you're tired of the anti-gay responses, that's your problem. Maybe you should respect other people's viewpoints even if they don't agree with yours (just like you tell everyone else, right? Right?)

Start telling all your friends and family, your neighbors and your church that you're gay and get back to me.

I think she was pretty clear that she had no interest in going public until the paper came out with pictures and an article. It is her life, she has the right to tell her own story, not some tabloid.

It's not front page news. It is in the Today magazine. Not front page.

Ms. Baxter should learn what "rights" are, Homosexuals have all the rights that everyone else has

With several noted exceptions: the right to be free of harassment, the right to work without discrimination in the work place, the right to be free of discrimination in some areas of housing, the right to serve in the military, and the right not to be judged by all those Family Values folks.

"Ms. Baxter should learn what "rights" are, Homosexuals have all the rights that everyone else has, just not the "right" to break laws they don't like."

Just remember that next time a christian is screaming about wanting their rights to preach, etc. they have all the rights everybody else has...and when it comes to abortion, birth control, school prayer, etc., xians don't have the right to break laws THEY don't like, either.