Man, I'm irritated right now.

You there, in all of those gay-marriage amendment states (those of you who voted "NO" are exempt), you are no longer allowed to watch Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, The L Word, or Queer as Folk, and you are also not allowed to talk about how much fun your gay hairdresser is.

The backlash against gay marriage we witnessed in this last election is profoundly embarrassing for this country, given the strides ahead we have made in the past few years (i.e., removing sodomy laws, allowing gay marriages in San Francisco and Massachusetts). Co-opting gayness has become hip in mainstream America; nearly everyone you ask claims to have a gay friend. But it's clear that the same people who gush over their adorable interior decorator are the ones who decided that he can't get married to his partner of fifteen years. How do they miss the hypocrisy of this? It reminds me of the people (not so long ago) who spoke in sugary, condescending tones about their African-American housekeepers. "She's just a doll, and so smart!" But would they have wanted the housekeeper to attend the same school as their sons, or—gasp—get married to one of them? No, because deep down they were just as bigoted as the folks in white robes and pointy hats.

Did I mention I'm irritated?

This is what's going on with the topic of homosexuality in this country, and I have just now realized it. The veil of perception has fallen from my eyes and I can see Middle America in all her naked provincialism. (Grant me a little latitude for this naivete; I live in a very liberal town.) All this time, I really thought things were improving. But what's happening now is even more insidious than out-and-out Jim Crowism, because now people are not even acknowledging their prejudices—they are merely paying lip service to a fashion trend. Gay culture in the mainstream is the social equivalent of flared jeans, and who knows where those will be next season? I'm telling you, we're due for another civil rights movement, and this one will be a doozy. I think it will come soon, too, because the kids of today are far more tolerant and enlightened about homosexuality than most of their elders. But I hope we can do some soul searching even before then, and do the right thing because we know it's right, and because we've made a conscious decision not to be intolerant idiots anymore. I hope, I hope, I hope.

So in Karen's New World Order, will you be allowed to go to a Broadway show if you voted for the gay-marriage amendment? Nope. Watch The Birdcage or Victor/Victoria? No way. You don't deserve it. Come back when you have something besides hatred to offer the country. You can maybe be the housekeeper.