When Ellen came out on her former sitcom, many people were celebrating how far America has come in accepting gays and how greatly they thought her declaration would increase gay visibility on television. Almost a decade later, not much has changed. Yes, Queer Eye For the Straight Guy and many a home design show has brought queers into the homes of mainstream America in a way that they can handle. So long as they’re teaching straight men to dress well and homemakers to decoupage they’re okay. Oh, and there’s the L Word of course, which at least paints the picture of all Lesbians being wealthy and fabulous. That’s cable though.

Will and Grace is the perfect example of the touch-and-go nature of gays depicted on network television. Do you ever really see Will or Sean Hayes’ character in the same sort of in-depth and ongoing relationships as Debra Messing’s character Grace? This week’s episode has guest star Taye Diggs kissing Will, which is considered by some a major breakthrough. While the kiss certainly isn’t receiving the same attention as Ellen’s coming out episode, two men kissing on television still being so out of the ordinary is a good litmus test for the homo/transphobic climate of the U.S. today.

Looks like LGBTQ is still consigned to the ranks of independent film and talk shows. Speaking of which, Tyra Banks is having a true Brokeback stories episode being sure to ride the gay wave as far as it will go. But Time Out New York’s Beth Greenfield reminds us of how awesome public access in NYC has been for gays (Dyke TV, ADD TV, etc) and how the FCC may soon change that.

In more exciting news, Jude Law will be taking that oh so risky but career making move to play gay in the role of the former Beatles manager. I wonder if gay actors will ever get a crack at career advancement for playing gay. Lord knows they don’t get kudos for playing straight roles.