Giving new freight to the phrase “the personal is political,” Andrew Sullivan writes:

:

“I’m delighted that Jonah Goldberg and his wife, Jessica Gavora, have such a cute kid who’s the spitting image of her dad. I’m delighted that many NRO readers are equally chuffed. But next time I mention my boyfriend, would you please spare me the emails telling me I’m pushing my sexual orientation in your face? What has Jonah just done but declare his heterosexuality loud and clear? And good for him. But what’s sauce for the, er, well, you can fill in the rest of the metaphor yourselves.”

Now as a Goldberg (and Gavora), I’m sure LT will have no problem suiting up for the culture wars. Still, it would be nice if she could learn how to tie her own shoes first. Beyond that, I’m not sure what to say. I’m not sure Lucy is a declaration of my heterosexuality — gays aren’t genetic mules after all — but this, too, takes things in a direction I care not to travel. I do think Andrew makes a perfectly legitimate point. Conservatives who say gays “flaunt” their homosexuality often say so in response to remarkably prosaic comments. If a gay guy has a picture of his boyfriend on his desk at the office he’s accused of flaunting his orientation. I can say I went to the movies with my wife and no one thinks twice. If I said I went to the movies with my husband, look out. But to agree with Andrew on this point — and I do agree with him — simply concedes the obvious. There is less social space for homosexuality than there is for heterosexuality. How much and what kind of social space there should be for homosexuality is the crux of the debate. That’s a debate I’m willing to get into — another time. I’d just rather not use my munchkin as the icon for it. Now, if somehow we could make Cosmo the center of a controversy — “Leash Laws: What Price Freedom?” for example — I’d be all for it.