Who can we "out" today?

I had to laugh when I read that Oprah denied she was in a lesbian relationship with her best friend Gayle. Was it a slow news day or what? First of all,people don't understand close female relationships anymore. There must be something more to it than "friendship",right? Wrong! Why can't people just mind their own business?

My second thought is this,what if they were gay? Who cares? It's 2006!! Are we taking giant steps backwards? Remember when Ellen Degeneres was outed? Ooooooh! Big freakin' deal. She's gay. Tell me again how that totally changed my life. Oh wait,it didn't! She is funny,kind and loving and has a popular talk show. Does being gay make her unfunny? unkind? unloving? I don't think so.

Not too long ago,the world tried to "out" Sponge Bob Square Pants! Are you kidding me? He's a cartoon sponge!

I have a friend who I will call "B." We have been friends since high school although I was in love with him when I was in 4th grade and he was in 6th. We became the best of friends in our teen years when we actually knew what true friendship was. At that time,I didn't know he was gay and neither did he. Long story short:he figured it out in college.

I had a hard time dealing with it at first because this was 1981 and being gay was taboo and there was very little information about being gay. I was so innocent and ignorant about this subject. I always loved "B" because he was and is a wonderful person. Although I had a tough time understanding it all at the beginning,I finally realized that being gay was just a part of who "B" was and it didn't change him in any way.

We are still friends to this day. He is the same friend to me as he was in high school. Just the same old "B." Do I think of him as my gay friend? Not any more than I think of him as my friend who wears glasses and contact lenses. Neither one has anything to do with our friendship. I believe that certain souls recognize one another and "B" and I have always had that connection.
Could it be the same for Oprah and Gayle? A friendship is a heart connection,no matter what the sex of the friend is.

I wish people would stop trying to "out" everyone. It's the least relevant thing I can think of.