Ellen, too funny?

A few class periods ago we discussed the topic of Ellen Degeneres, and the way in which she decided to come out of the closet as a lesbian. There was some concern that the manner by which she exposed that aspect about herself was inappropriate because she used humor instead of making it a serious event. There were a number of classmates who were put off by this because they felt that it was making fun of the entire process, and could be seen as a type of slight to the homosexual community who might feel as though she was making light out of a situation that can be quite daunting to some. However, I disagree with this view on her coming out story. I believe that Ellen used humor to come out because that was just how Ellen is. Not once did she say that what she was doing was in anyway easy. In fact, she mentioned more than one time that it was really hard for her to decide to do, and that she was afraid of how people would react. I believe that she employed the use of humor because that is what she is comfortable with. Not only do I think it was right for her to use humor because she was used to it, but by making it funny she also gave people who were not so comfortable with the idea of homosexuality an avenue to which they could relate. Every single person who comes out does it in a different way, and has different reactions. It is probably never an easy thing to do for anyone with that fear of being rejected for a part of them they have no control over, but every person will do it how they feel most comfortable. The major concern was that Ellen make a joke out of coming out, but by saying that she did it wrong is belittling her coming out story. No one’s coming out story is wrong, they are all just different.