Have you been paying attention to pop culture lately? Well, if you are under the age of 25 and have a pulse, then you’ve probably heard or seen the news about Lindsay Lohan. Nope, she didn’t crash her car. What’s that? No, she isn’t back in rehab. Her father isn’t back in prison. She hasn’t been found passed out due to a night full of clubbing…well, at least lately.

The tabloid princess is back on the covers of US Weekly, Star and all the other celebrity gossip magazines for another reason. If the rumors, obvious displays of affection and quotes by Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson themselves are true, then Lindsay is currently in a lesbian relationship.

“So what?,” you might say. Well, I agree that people’s personal lives are their business. However, now that everyone does know about her homosexual relationship, look at the stark contrast and aftermath of Lindsay’s gay ‘outing’ and that of Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen Degeneres

Lindsay’s relationship with Samantha Ronson is portrayed by the media as more fun and exciting than it is controversial. In my opinion, that’s great. I think a lesbian relationship should be treated as any other run-of-the-mill heterosexual relationship, but this neutral and seemingly positive media response is far from what publicly ‘coming out’ used to be. What’s changed?

Do you remember when Ellen Degeneres came out of the closet? It was back in 1997 on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the world was shocked. My parents refused to watch her show and her name, which used to be associated with elation and laughter, turned into something ugly and disgraceful. References to Ellen Generate where thrown around to degrade the talented comedian for showing her true colors. At my home, it was bad news that caused my parents to tune out. This response was common around the nation, and only one more season of the sitcom ‘Ellen’ ran until being cancelled from a large decline in ratings.

Let’s not forget Rosie O’Donnell, who came out in 2002, announcing that she was a lesbian. The media backlash wasn’t at all positive and just two months later her show went off the air. Rosie has become a very vocal activist for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) issues like same-sex couple adoption. As we all know, Rosie is vocal on just about everything which has made her an even more controversial figure as time has gone on.

Lindsay Lohan’s relationship doesn’t seem to be slowing her down a bit. The drugs, alcohol and family issues might have, but being gay isn’t one of those factors that prevents her from getting work. Lindsay is about to come out with her third studio album, “Spirit in the Dark,” she is working on the set of Ugly Betty as a guest star, she has a movie coming out and she seems to be more stable and successful than ever.

Why didn’t Lindsay’s career fall apart after ‘coming out?’ I believe it is for a number of reasons. First and foremost, times have changed. People are more accepting in this country than they were ten years ago. Some of that is due to social awareness and mandated laws that ban discrimination.

Another point is that Lindsay Lohan is young, very young. She has just turned twenty-two and markets herself to a younger and more open minded audience. If there is one word to describe Lindsay, it’s rebel. She gets what she wants on her own terms, which leads me to another point.

Lindsay doesn’t have a regularly airing TV show like Ellen and Rosie did. The opportunity for the public to respond to Lindsay’s homosexuality isn’t as observable as it is for TV. For Ellen and Rosie, ratings dipped and they were taken off the air. Lindsay hasn’t come out with anything substantial since her ‘outing’ and we’ve yet to see the public’s response.

One more reason for the lack of shock and horror is that people just don’t take Lindsay seriously anymore. She has ruled public attention for so long that anything she does gets published everywhere. I know more about Lindsay Lohan than I do some of my own siblings, which is sad. Many see this as a stunt for more media attention. Only time will tell.

Hopefully, this will open the doors a little more for gay entertainers to reach the top of the Hollywood totem pole without shame and retaliation from their peers and consumers. As for me, I hope it’s not a stunt, and that she is living a genuine life that shows it’s okay to be gay, successful, and the hottest thing in young Hollywood.

Brent Paxton is a senior international relations and political science double major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].