I will never forget where I was when Ellen DeGeneres came out. I had just come out myself six months earlier on National Coming Out Day at a rally at the University of Texas. I was with a group of gay friends in a small off-campus apartment watching the landmark episode on a 17-inch screen. When Ellen uttered the words “I’m gay!” over the airport intercom, we all cheered. We really felt like we were experiencing her coming out right along with her. It was no longer just a TV show, but a milestone in our lives as LGBT people.

Her coming out was heartfelt and honest, and mirrored many of my own experiences, even though the comedy ignored most of the negative personal and professional dramas most LGBT people endure. By broadcasting that experience to the nation and the world, it became more than just another classic TV moment. It cemented a place in LGBT media history.

But perhaps what made Ellen’s coming out so poignant was that it was also Ellen the person, not just the character. And while many characters in television, film, radio, print and even the Internet have come out since, the people themselves remain steadfastly in the closet. This is even true for local Austin media. Some of the LGBT people working in Austin’s public eye declined to participate in an article about local media in this magazine. Are we as a city comfortable with our public figures feeling excluded from the open and accepting culture we celebrate? Austin can do better.

But does it really matter? In the 10 years since Ellen’s revelation, more and more gay people have appeared in the media. Many of those shows even have received critical acclaim. However, critical acclaim and mainstream ratings do not equal a societal shift.

While I don’t intend to claim that the media have a responsibility to encourage an open and accepting culture, it is also foolish to assume that it will. It is important to remember that the representations of LGBT people in the media have real and sometimes unintended consequences on the gay community and society at large. Without real people backing up those creative interpretations, we are subjected to definition by fad and fashion. The LGBT community is not a construct of pop culture, and we should not stand for that to be our only measure.

A friend of mine recently moved to Austin from a small Texas town to go to college. He told me that his favorite TV show was “Queer as Folk,” and he thought it sounded like a great life. He’d never been to a gay bar and had only a few gay friends. He truly thought that being gay meant wild nights at the club, and drunken escapades with random people with few consequences. He didn’t know that only one of the main actors was openly gay.

Ultimately, the media as a whole have no responsibility but to provide entertainment and journalism. However, the privilege of being a respected member of the media comes with the individual responsibility to one’s impact on the viewers, listeners and readers. And that impact can truly shift a culture when it’s heartfelt, honest and fearless.

Lest we think the battle hopeless, there is more to culture than just what the media show. The members of the AGLCC are the reality of who we are – the places we work, shop, hang out, volunteer and live our daily lives. Supporting the AGLCC is more than just supporting gay businesses. Supporting AGLCC members is how we as a community can enact real cultural growth by spending our time and money with those who support us.

Fall 2007

A Letter from the President