Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it definitely helps to have gay culture and gay icons just out there in the world, melded seamlessly with the rest of society. On one hand I agree, but it's never been sufficient. There have been gay icons for a long time (probably forever); Oscar Wilde springs to mind, and Alan Turing (though I don't know if he was well-known to the public). And even with their status, they were still persecuted and ruined.
But it's another thing to be on Fox (the television channel) and on top of mind for young people. Gay is just an adjective to them, not this twisted idea with hateful baggage. Oh, she has red hair and he's gay. Moving on. It's not really the gay icons as much as it is the gay banality. Having gay just exist in plain sight.
On the other hand, I recently saw a survey of Americans that tried to determine how their personal relationships with gay people affected their views of gay marriage. IIRC, around 30% responded they didn't know anyone who is gay. That said it all! (EDIT: I should be clear: My point is that there is no way 30% don't know a gay person; I doubt that's true of 1%. They are just in denial.)