Like many here, I've come out in numerous ways over the years--among them, lesbian, bisexual, FtM, and queer--and like many, I realize that coming out is an ongoing, constant, life-time process. It never ends.
But today on Coming Out Day, 2008, I'm going to veer off in a different direction.
I'm going to come out as...having a massive crush on the totally awesome Rachel Maddow!
This won't come as a complete surprise to regular readers, as I've praised Maddow before--she's one of my heroes. Well-informed and extraordinarily intelligent, she is so smart, in fact, that (as a Cal alumnus) I'll even forgive her for graduating from Stanford- which according to Wikipedia she did in 1994, earning a degree in Public Policy! She then went on to become the first openly gay American to win a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in the UK-- you know, the same scholarship Bill Clinton earned? She obtained a PhD from Oxford in political science.
Not only wonderfully smart- Dr Maddow is funny! Her flashing smile, infectious laugh, and sense of humor allows her to score hard-hitting points against conservative pundits without ever getting nasty, transforming people like Pat Buchanan from despicable to almost likeable in the process. Remember: Buchanan was the guy who, referring to AIDS, wrote in 1983 that gays "have declared war upon nature, and now nature is extracting an awful retribution." He called gay sex "filthy" and urged several successive New York mayors to cancel the city's gay parade.
Yet on Maddow's show, Buchanan appears almost human as Maddow refers to him as her "pretend uncle" and humorously reveals the fallacies of his position. It's magical- the way Maddow, with her light touch, can expose the Right's distortions and lies without losing her wit nor dropping her smile.
And while you might expect someone as all-around dazzling as Maddow to be vain and arrogant- she's not. She comes across as disarmingly self-effacing- humble, even.
As a matter of fact, Maddow has been quoted as disparaging her own good looks. This simply cannot be left to stand unchallenged. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds her drop-dead gorgeous in a butch, geeky, fabulous way. I swooned when I saw her clip from the Tonight Show this week- dressed all in black but for the flash of white on her shoes, with that cool button-up Western shirt and those stunning heavy, dark-framed glasses.
Wow.
She revealed to Jay Leno that her parents found her at age 4 reading the newspaper after, unbeknownst to them, she'd taught herself to read.
How utterly revealing! Of both her genius, and her future calling.
Maddow, you've won my heart!
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5 Comments
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Brynn- I am so mad at you! I was totally going to do a "I love Rachel Maddow" post!! You totally stole my thunder! :)
I agree completely- she is amazing!!
Waymon Hudson | October 12, 2008 11:19 AM
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Aw, Waymon, when I saw her looking so totally irresistible in those awesome glasses on TTS, my fate was sealed. Smart, articulate, politically involved, courageous, AND CUTE! What more could a person ask for?
I'm so happy she's getting the recognition she so rightly deserves.
Brynn Craffey | October 12, 2008 12:19 PM
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Hey. Aren't I cute?
MonicaHelms | October 12, 2008 2:37 PM
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Get in line, Brynn...I was hot for her first! :)~
She really is amazingly good, and as an added bonus she's (often) gender-variant. I think that, in and of itself, is important. I don't think Rachel Maddow, as good as she is, could get a television show even as recently as a year or two ago because as a woman she doesn't fit the perfectly coiffed and femininely made up news channel type.
The fact that not only did she get her own show, but it's already pretty successful after only a month on the air, even beating Larry King some nights, is quite a testament to how far we've come in terms of cultural acceptance overall. Think about it: With the exception of a few on the far right, who's been making Rachel Maddow's sexuality and gender expression an issue? US!
Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with that. She's openly gay and on MSNBC and that's great. She's gender-variant to at least some degree and that's cool, too. What's most important however, that Joe and Jane Average Viewer don't care about any of that. They're tuning in because The Rachel Maddow Show kicks ass. That rest of it really doesn't matter, or at least it doesn't matter much.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of fanfare around this, but Rachel Maddow is quickly and quietly breaking down barriers. The bigger a star she becomes, the more important her openness and honesty about who she is becomes as well. I only hope she's blazing a trail others will follow.
Rebecca Juro | October 12, 2008 8:29 PM
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I totally love Rachel; I totally love that she came out on Jay as her butch true self. I love that she's so smart, so talented, and so accomplished. And yes, she is very good looking.
She's definitely a pioneer, and I love that the right wing has gotten their panties in such a wad at having a LESBIAN (oh, the humanity!) political commentator to whom they have to respond. BTW, I'm hard pressed to think of another woman who has a pundit show, gay or not.
Not only has she been given the exposure of The Tonight Show, she was also featured in TV Guide. That's pretty friggin' mainstream.
Rory | October 13, 2008 7:27 AM
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