Thank you, Ellen Page, for coming out.

The fact that people are reporting on this and the fact that I feel like I need to write this article shows how far society is from accepting gays. It’s sad, really. We’re all human beings and we all have our own ways of living, and it makes me angry that we can’t respect others’ privacy.

However, thank you, Ellen Page, for coming out as gay. We still live in a world that is full of intolerance, full of ignorance, full of hate. We still live in a world with a countless number of kids who are too afraid to come out and be who they are. We still live in a world where people look down on other human beings just because of their sexual orientation.

Frankly, people need role models, others who they look up to and admire. Ellen Page could be one of them, a fairly well known, young, Academy Award-nominated film actress (most others who have come out are TV stars, and I’m not saying they’re insignificant; I’m saying Page signals a shift to a wider scope). Hopefully people see this beautiful speech and are encouraged to either come out or work to protect the rights of gay people; for those wondering why this story is news, it shouldn’t be. Yet, you can’t deny that millions will see this and be inspired, and that’s all we can ask for in a world filled with hate. I long for a day when we don’t need to give these huge speeches to come out, when we don’t need to view coming out as an obstacle, an impediment preventing us from living our lives. I long for a day when “I’m gay” doesn’t surprise anyone, doesn’t make anyone recoil or spew vitriol.

That day hasn’t arrived yet, but thank you, Ellen Page, for being courageous and being another step on the way there. Coming out should not be this difficult, but our world has made it so. Hopefully, this speech will make it a little bit easier.

When something like this is no longer deemed newsworthy, then we’ll know we’ve truly evolved as a society.

I leave you with this:

“I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered, and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain. I am young, yes, but what I have learned is that love, the beauty of it, the joy of it and yes, even the pain of it, is the most incredible gift to give and to receive as a human being. And we deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise.”

Watch the whole thing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hlCEIUATzg

Full transcript here: http://www.towleroad.com/2014/02/actress-ellen-page-comes-out-video.html

Also, my chances of getting together with Ellen Page are now zilch. Oh well.

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