Jodie Foster and the speaking of love’s name

You read the reports, now see it for yourself. Jodie Foster’s thanking of “my beautiful Cydney” heard around the world now have video. And from CNN, no less. It’s been quite interesting to see how Jodie’s pseudo self-outing has played out in the mainstream press these past 10 days. While it’s impossible to say for sure whether Jodie’s thanking of her heretofore unpublicly acknowledged longtime partner Cydney Bernard was a deliberate coming out, but I tend toward yes since she is too smart and too savvy to not realize the reverberations it would have. And now that CNN has a hold of the story, I think we can safely say that closet door is off its hinges.

Of course, it was the gay press that first picked up on her simple thanking of “my beautiful Cydney who sticks with me through all the rotten and the bliss.” From the first reports in the LA Daily News, to the gay sites, to the gossip sites, to the tabloids and now CNN. And, for the most part, reaction has been positive and a bit like, “Duh.” Which is a good thing. Call it progress. Call it acceptance. Call it the world not ending if the public finds out that a respected, acclaimed and influential superstar is gay. I think one of the best things we can take away from all of this is how extraordinary the mundane act of thanking the person you love can still be. The love that dare not speak it’s name is no more. Which, after all, is how it should be.

[Hat tip, Cappuccino Girl, Cailean and Ace!]