Because of what's going on with the economy I think women are realizing that maybe they don't need a closet full of clothes. They just need the right clothes.
It was difficult being a teacher and out of the closet in the '50s. By the time I retired the English department was proud of having a gay poet of a certain minor fame. It was a very satisfactory change!
It's a wonderful side effect of what we're doing to give someone the strength to come out of the closet to their family or simply present themselves aesthetically in a way they feel happy with whether or not their friends are going to be allowed to like them anymore.
I actually have more respect for people who are in the closet. You end up exposing so much of yourself because you have to talk about your sexual life. You shouldn't have to talk about it.
For me living in the closet corroded my ability to have an honest open relationship with my God my loved ones my constituency and myself.
But being in the closet uniquely assisted me in politics. From my first run for the state legislature until my election as governor all too often I was not leading but following my best guess at public opinion.
Inauthenticity is endemic in American politics today. The political backrooms where I spent much of my career were just as benighted as my personal life equally crowded with shadowy strangers and compromises truths I hoped to deny. I lived not in one closet but in many.
I like my money right where I can see it... hanging in my closet.
I'm a mom so I have to be comfortable. Jeans are a staple - I have way too many in my closet! It's warm in Florida so I wear jeans and a tank top every day. I love my True Religions my Rich and Skinny and Citizens of Humanity. But I also love getting dressed up!
Gay marriage has jumped out of the closet on to the front page. Everyone from the president of the U.S. to retired four-star general Colin Powell is embracing the issue now supported by most Americans. Still a few people like former First Lady Laura Bush appear to be conflicted.