Is Trent Lott Gay? Who Cares? The Believability of the Story Speaks Volumes

Recent rumors of a relationship between prominent GOP Senator Trent Lott — who announced his retirement today — and gay escort Benjamin Nicholas have been roiling the blogosphere all afternoon. The Stranger’s Slog has a a great round up of the discussion.

The back and forth in the blogosphere is starting to sound a skeptical note. Both the escort in question and the blog that broke the story have had credibility issues in the past. But from a gay rights perspective, whether or not Lott actually had a liaison with Nicholas isn’t the most relevant detail of this story. It’s the familiarity of the storyline.

How often have we seen rabidly anti-gay leaders outed for their backroom dealings with gay escorts? It happens in every state and at every level of government. Homophobia is often homosexuality waiting to come out of the deepest, darkest, smelliest regions of the closet.

I hope that anti-gay crusaders will wake up one day and recognize that their leaders are wasting their time and energy on a self-hating wild goose chase. True or not, the Trent Lott story brings us closer to that day.