“My position is that if you are a politician or a celebrity, you're making a choice to live your life in the public arena. And when you're a public figure, you need to be prepared for the public's talking about you. … In my own subservient way, whether people agree with me or not, I'm trying to make the world a better place.”
— Gay gossip hound Perez Hilton to the Chicago Tribune on Nov. 19, 2006

“Seriously, this is sad. Do you really believe you're some kind of Rosa Parks of the gay movement? … You forcing people out of the closet isn't heroic, in fact, you're just as bad as the people who want to force gays and lesbians to stay in the closet!”
— A post on perezhilton.com in response to a blog entry by Hilton in which he listed celebrities whom he believes are gay.

Perez Hilton, the gay blogger whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, is trying to better the world for his queer brothers and sisters. His endeavor is noble. The world could certainly use a big, gay makeover with regard to the treatment of gays and lesbians. In some countries, such as Iran, gay men are routinely executed.

But does his digitally drawn dribble of semen on Clay Aiken's face really make a positive, global impact on those who refuse to see the rainbow light? Or do Hilton's shock-and-awe outing methods merely reinforce the stereotypical belief that queers are selfish, spiteful folks who live and play in an outhouse?

I doubt that anyone, including Hilton, believes he has the power to transform the world. But I don't doubt that the 28-year-old Cuban American has power, because he is already abusing it. And like the most notorious abusers, he mistreats under the guise of benevolence.

In his efforts to get the closeted in Hollywood to come out and pave a Great Gay Way for others, Hilton humiliates while dishing the daily dirt in his popular blog, PerezHilton.com. Along with the more-often-crude-than-not commentary on his favorite and not-so-favorite celebs, he posts pictures (some of which he's been accused of stealing) that he's digitally doctored. He routinely draws beards on photos of the wives of actors whom he suspects are gay. And on the actors themselves he simply scrawls, “I'm gay.” Sometimes he writes those words on an actor's crotch.

To the actresses he believes are lesbians, Hilton is somewhat kinder. He's also much less prolific. But I sense that's just because he's too busy reporting that Lindsay Lohan cuts herself and Britney Spears doesn't wear underwear. Unfortunately for Jodie Foster and Cydney Bernard this week, however, Hilton must have some time on his hands. On Monday he asked readers to choose nicknames for the pair. Choices include “Dirty Barnyard Dykes” and “Silence of the Clams.”

No one would call Hilton mature or gracious, that's for sure. His scribbles and frequently vulgar prose suggest that he's rather childish and bitter. Sill, if you haven't yet been to his site, it's likely that you'll be amused on your first visit. I was; his gall is initially hilarious and somewhat freeing. But if you're anything like me, you'll find his act similar to that of a comic who demeans and insults for laughs because that's all he's got. You'll tire of it quickly, because the absence of proper wit on his blog is as apparent as the presence of hostility.