A lot of people don't seem to understand why I posted the Sullivan contrast. For some, it seems that simply posting his own words, which was all I did, is off limits.
Like everything else he writes about, Sullivan's imaginings of the "gay image" has evolved over time. He never acknowledges that his opinion has changed, and more importantly he's always on the attack. Once upon a time he attacked "muscle queens" until he became one. He attacked "leather queens" until he became one. And, he's always barking about the media image of gay people - not to make some reasonable general point about stereotypes, but simply because it doesn't conform to what he is at that moment.
It's dishonest narcissism posing as social commentary. It's how he is on every issue. Once upon a time (and still does) he blasted certain media people for violating people's "sexual privacy" by outing them, and then one day he himself outed a few public figures in a NYT Magazine article.
It's fair to change your mind, but when you do it's reasonable to acknowledge that you have...and more reasonable to not adopt the strident tone you previously took as if you were never on the other side of the issue.
All this wouldn't matter one bit if Sullivan weren't the media Spokesperson for Gay America, but he is.
