Some people insist that Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts acknowledging her girlfriend of 10 years in a Facebook post isn't news at all.
Roberts reportedly was open in her personal life about her sexual orientation. And she has survived two high-profile cancer struggles with partner Amber Laign at her side; so a holiday message expressing gratitude for lots of things including "my longtime girlfriend Amber" seemed appropriate.
When GMA's former weatherman Sam Champion announced his engagement and marriage to partner Rubem Robierb in 2012, ABC News sent out a news release and a photo of the happy couple.
And celebrity revelations of same-sex relationships have moved from the covers of best-selling magazines to offhand comments in Facebook posts and lines buried deep in New York Times profiles (never mind that ABC News and first lady Michelle Obama both sent supportive messages as word spread of Roberts' post, ensuring further coverage).
But at a time when the A&E network essentially had to back down from its effort to punish Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for giving an interview where he compared homosexuality to bestiality and promiscuity — suspending him and then reinstating him without really affecting the show's filming — it's obvious America remains at a crucial tipping point on this issue.
In the same way media always mirrors society, it has thrown up a reflection of this. Our fragmented media culture showcases one area, daytime talk, which has welcomed gay anchors and stars with open arms, while also offering an example of unrepentant homophobia from one of cable TV's most successful names.
It seems similar to the atmosphere of the mid-1960s, when laws upholding racial segregation and barring interracial marriage were struck down, even as opinion polls revealed Americans were hardly settled on these issues.
The 'Glass Closet'
Back in 1968, when the Supreme Court invalidated laws against interracial marriage, a Gallup poll indicated 72 percent of Americans disapproved of such unions. This year, Gallup found 87 percent of Americans approved of interracial marriages — 96 percent among black people — while a different poll from the company found 53 percent of Americans approved of gay marriage.
If anything, perhaps we've reached a point where the show business "glass closet" is collapsing.
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