Lesbian daughters appear to be the accessory of choice for politicians these days. A few years ago, there were virtually no politicians with openly gay daughters—at least, not according to the press—and now it seems like every time you turn on the TV or open a newspaper, you're reading about some political candidate's lesbian daughter and how he, or his detractors, feel about it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that—in fact, quite the contrary. But this sudden increase in focus on politicians' lesbian daughters does raise some interesting questions about the media, politics, and gay rights.

The most visible lesbian daughter in politics is Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne. In this week's televised vice presidential debate, Democratic candidate John Edwards praised Vice President Cheney and his wife for their support of their daughter:

Although he visibly stiffened at the reference to his daughter's sexuality, when given a chance to respond, Cheney said simply, "Let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."

Mary Cheney has been a controversial figure, both within the Republican party (for being openly gay) and within the gay community (for being openly Republican, and not the Log Cabin kind). She has been unable to escape the public eye despite repeated attempts to keep a low profile, and her sexuality seems to be a lightning rod for both Democrats and Republicans, as evidenced by conservative Illinois Republican Alan Keyes's recent description of Mary Cheney as "a selfish hedonist" on a radio talk show.

Keyes may be regretting his words now that the candidate for U.S. Senate is currently dealing with a lesbian daughter situation of his own. The internet and even some traditional news outlets have been buzzing for days with the assertion that Keyes's 19-year-old daughter Maya is a lesbian, based on a blog she has reportedly published for three years on the web detailing her relationship with another young woman.

While neither Alan nor Maya Keyes has confirmed the rumors, they have not denied them, either—and for the usually blustery Keyes, that speaks volumes.

In Portland, Oregon, ex-police chief and current mayoral candidate Tom Potter is beating his opponent Jim Francesconi soundly in the polls so far—in part, according to a recent survey, because of Potter's public support for his lesbian daughter, Katie. Potter marched in uniform in gay rights parades to support Katie, a Portland police officer, and he explicitly sought to recruit gay and lesbian candidates to the police force during an appearance on a Portland cable station—both actions which raised the ire of fellow police chiefs, according to Potter, but which seem to strike a positive chord with many Portland voters.

Meanwhile, openly gay Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of Missouri congressman (and former Democratic presidential candidate) Dick Gephardt, continues to be an outspoken advocate for gay rights for a long time, and was recently in the spotlight as a contestant on Showtime's reality show American Candidate.

There have always been politicians with gay daughters, of course. But never this many with daughters who are openly gay—at least, not to the general public's knowledge. Which begs the question: is this trend a reflection of lesbians being more open about their sexuality, society being more tolerant of lesbianism, or simply of journalists being more willing to report on sexuality?

Most likely, it's a combination of all three. Society clearly has become more accepting of alternative sexuality (although exactly how much more accepting is open to debate), which has prompted more lesbians to come out, which in turn makes mainstream news outlets feel more comfortable reporting on it. This increasing factual (rather than lurid) reporting of lesbian sexuality in the media contributes to de-sensationalizing and normalizing the topic for Americans, and thus the cycle starts all over again.

It is also a reflection of the increasing intrusiveness of the media, who no longer adhere to the belief that children of public servants (especially adult children) are off-limits, and of the fact that gay rights is a particularly hot topic right now given the gay-marriage legislation in progress.

Not all visibility is good visibility, and simply the fact that there are more lesbians in the news these days doesn't spell victory for gay rights (as recent legislative setbacks attest). But having gay children personalizes the issue for those in power, and puts a human face on gay rights for many Americans.

So while we deride the hypocrisy of Alan Keyes, debate whether Dick Cheney is just supporting his daughter to attract the moderate vote, or marvel that Portland may soon elect such an openly gay-friendly mayor, let's wonder for a moment at the fact that elected politicians, and the rest of America, are openly discussing their gay daughters at all.