Gay couple's photo offends many
On Christmas Day and again on Jan. 7, the Daily Herald included a photo and blurb (Back Page section) about homosexuals Lindsay Lohan and her lover Samantha Ronson. Publicizing the couple's news was a multiple-prong offense against many.
The December inclusion occurred on what is predominantly a day centered around the family. Given that homosexual relationships are a truculent contrast to the traditional family unit, the photo and blurb essentially mocked the values of a large swath of Daily Herald readers. The newspaper's offense was determinedly underscored by its treatment of this relationship as normal and acceptable. Homosexual relationships are indisputably abnormal, and their acceptance is refuted by the controversy that envelops them. Having codified the homosexual couple's news in the same section as heterosexual couples' news was like commingling reports of depravity with stories of Boy Scouts and making no distinction between the two.
Yet homosexual relationships are not like heterosexual ones: one defies nature, is anatomically incongruent, and it contravenes societal mores in every country. The other conforms to nature's intent, is a perfect physical match, and is a universally accepted practice. The newspaper's juxtaposition of the two types, therefore, was a specious comparison and an insult to heterosexuals.
Including the couple's news also extended legitimacy to this sexually disordered type of relationship. Legitimacy in relationships that rankle mainstream sensibilities is, however, difficult to find. This couple's news, presented as it was in an untainted light, served to reframe sexually disoriented relationships as being respectable. Such reframing showed a disregard for convention, it was inappropriate, and it was cause for indignation.
Ken Libowicz
Hoffman Estates