I wasn't going to write this post

But it seems I should.

It started with this post by Timothy Kincaid at BTB:

In the past four years we have witnessed a number of highly respected and influential black men – politicians, writers, sports legends, musicians, spiritual leaders, and even the President- have expressed their support for gay equality. The most established symbols of masculinity have made it clear that they do not see gay people as weak or inferior or less a part of the authentic black experience.

And it has impacted the community.

In the past, any suggestion that a rap artist might be gay put him outside the mainstream. If not totally ostracized, he was relegated to a niche and ignored (women have fared better, but only if they stayed semi-closeted). But when Frank Ocean released a statement revealing that his first love had been another man, the response has been noticeably different.

That led me to reflect on how acceptance of GLBTs has spread through popular culture -- think about it: ten years ago, do you think a sports figure would have been fined $50,000 for making a homophobic remark? And look at the resounding flop of NOM's "Dump Starbucks" campaign.

My first thought, of course, was comics, specifically superhero comics. Offhand, can you think of anything more heterocentric? Yes, I know there's always been a gay element -- I mean, come on, big muscular guys in tights and skimpy shorts? -- and the first gay characters made their appearance in the late '80s, but there was a certain element of tokenism there. In the past few years it's moved way beyond that. In the current Astonishing X-Men series, in which Northstar and Kyle get married, writer Marjorie Liu has taken the time to work in an up-close examination of their relationship. Here's one of the lighter moments:

It echoes something I noted about the relationship between Hulkling and Wiccan in Young Avengers: it's normal. It's perfectly normal, and it's accepted by their peers. The problems are the problems that any young couple has in learning to deal with each other.

So, while thinking these thoughts, I ran across this article:

The effects of such publishing milestones are palpable at Comic-Con, which is seeing more gay-themed panels, parties, signings and off-site events than ever before, notes Justin Hall, author of the just-released “No Straight Lines,” a retrospective of LGBT comics.

“Queer fandom is absolutely galvanized by seeing more accurate representations of ourselves,” he says. “There’s a snowball effect.”

“It’s always been going on under the surface, but now there’s a real queer presence,” adds Love Ablan, a self-described pop culture nerd who’s bisexual. “Even among non-queer fans. My super-straight guy friend is totally into this comic about queer bears.”

We're seeing the same sequence of events across the spectrum of popular culture, to the extent that it's strange if there's a soap opera that doesn't have a gay character. Sports clubs and leagues are taking active measures to penalize expressions of homophobia and both players and fans. And now we're seeing more musicians, especially in hip hop and rap, supporting the gay community.

It's inevitable, and I can hardly wait for the heads to start exploding on the right. (Yes, I know I'm not being nice, but then, they're not being nice to us.)

(Note: this one's been pretty much off the top of my head. When and if I have time and inclination, I'll go back and hunt up some links to the relevant stories.