T.R. Knight and Mark Cornelsen Have Split

T.R. Knight, of Grey's Anatomy fame, is openly gay, which is rare in Hollywood, where gay male movie and television stars have often been cast in hyper-masculine movie roles and then paired with women on the red carpet. As much as Knight's homosexuality seems relatively normalized within the press, I never expected that his love life would be reported in the same way as straight celebrities, that it would not still be treated as less valuable. Well, my expectations have been surprisingly and pleasantly blown.

The press has reported that T.R. Knight, 36, and his boyfriend of two years, Mark Cornelsen, 20, have split. This surprising revelation comes just weeks after Knight's confession that he wants to adopt a baby.

"It just came to a natural end, no hard feelings. They still care about each other very much," a friend said.

I am well aware that their relationship has been openly covered in the media for some time, so in that way it is not strange at all that reports of their breakup are out there. What surprises me is that it is largely  being reported in the same way as straight relationships. Homosexual relationships are often presented as trysts, as sexual indiscretions, and not as the full and deeply emotional kinds of relationships that we publicly attribute to heterosexual couples, but reports of this particular couple's end have anything but sensationalized their otherness.

I realize that my continually pointing out their homosexuality in this article probably goes against what I am saying is so wonderful in other articles about the same subject, but having witnessed Rock Hudson's treatment by the press following his AIDS-related death in 1985, it is a thrill to see that the rise and fall of relationships other than heterosexual ones can finally be acknowledged without derisive judgment or devaluation.

[source]

Comments

[cIII]

Amen to that, lady. It's about time that we get to a "jumping off point" regarding Love being non-gender specific.