I've been a big Howard Stern fan for over a decade now, since first hearing him sitting in my car, waiting for classes to begin at Cleveland State University back in early '90s. It's tough being a gay Howard fan, because it seems so few other gays seem to get it. I find the most vocal of his haters toss around words like "homophobic", "mean", "hates gays", etc., but when pressed they almost always to a fault admit to "never listening" to him.

"I don't need to listen to him to know he's awful!" they cry.

Well, yeah, in this case, you kinda do. It's one thing to be like, say, Baby Chutney and not care for Howard because of the constant farting and poop humor (love it!), but to call the guy a homophobe is a bit ignorant, since Stern is probably one of our biggest straight male celebrity supporters. The facts:

• Featured gay dating games on his show since the '80s, before gays even existed!
• Not only supports gay marriage, but is genuinely passionate about it in a way that can't be faked
• When gay celebs like comedian Ant or Sandra Berhhard visit, Stern isn't shy about asking questions about their dating & sex lives - and does it without disdain or any "Eww, that's gross" - he's genuinely curious.
• He refuses to treat gays with PC kid gloves, giving us the same shit he gives borderline-retarded strippers - in other words, we're treated as equals (trust me, that's not as fucked up as it sounds)
• Employs Richard Christy, the biggest closet faggot ever (that's an inside joke for you regular listeners)

I know I'm not the only gay Howard fan out there, and on several ocassions, I've tried to write a post defending the guy, but after reading PlanetOut.com Jenny Stewart's excellent break down on why gays should support Howard, and her analysis of a recent frank discussion about his fiancee' Beth's girlcrush on an "L Word" castmember, I figured she covered it much better than I could. Check 'em out, excellent reading.

And F Jackie!

Labels: bathroom humor, gay rights, howard stern