Michelle Cottle, of The Daily Beast dicusses Michelle Bachmann's gay problem: apparently, the virulently anti-gay presidential candidate is married to a man many people suspect of being gay. To add intrigue, though not surprise, to the story, Marcus Bachmann is also virulently anti-gay, and even runs a program designed to "untrain" gay youth. Cottle focuses on the problem from Bachmann's perspective -- how she might counter the political effects of her husband being ridiculed as gay when she is so angrily anti-gay.
I'm more interested in the tension inherent in making fun of the guy because he's gay in the name of defending gay rights. Cottle refers, in particular, to a bit on the The Daily Show, in which Jon Stewart skewers Bachmann for hypocrisy. It's clear where Stewart's sympathy lies: he says repeatedly that the "gay repression therapy" Marcus Bachmann practices is "harmful to real people," and even brings in Jerry Seinfeld to extend the skit and reinforce the point. He then uses the opportunity, though, to spout a string of one-liners about gays. ("He's so gay he buys Brawny paper towels just for the label." Or, "He's so gay he refers to Top Gun as that beach volleyball movie."
These are not homophobic jokes, per se. They are jokes based on stereotypes, but so is just about everything Stewart does. The larger question, though -- and I really do not know the answer for sure -- is whether we advance gay rights by making fun of the guy for being gay.
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