Apparently she has a blog...
http://atheism.about.com/b/a/115328.htm
September 28, 2004
Alan Keyes' Daughter a Lesbian?
Alan Keyes has made a name for himself by being farther to the right than most other Republicans and he is especially well known for speaking out on issues like abortion and homosexuality. He's called homosexuality selfish hedonism and would apply that label even to Mary Cheney, daughter of the vice-president. Is it coincidence that his own daughter is gay?
Modern Vertebrate quotes from the blog:
"...My aunt said something about him being the "voice of America" re: gay rights and he has been one of gay marriage's most outspoken critics, campaigning round-the-clock to make sure that people like yours truly will never be able to enjoy the same benefits he already has. Sometimes I cannot believe I am related to this man. Haha though I'm sure he feels the same way about me."
"my parents and I were seriously not getting along and so we needed some time off from each other; the idea was that after a year of being a wonderful good helping-the-poor type person they would once again like me and therefore be willing to pay for my college I'm not so sure that part of it will work; despite the fact that I'm all about working for global justice THEY don't care about that, THEY only care that I am an evil dyke. And even if I am a charitable dyke I am still a dyke who KISSES GIRLS and especially with the gay marriage thing going on now that's at the front of their minds."
There was also:
"I remembered pieces of some of my (numerous) conversation/arguments with my parents on the subject of homosexuality. My father, in the middle of explaining why queers are all intrinsically awful people, no matter how lovely they may seem … in the end his argument came down to basically, It’s inherently selfish to be queer because no matter if we say we’re in love it’s only for selfish reasons (read: we just want to hump like bunnies and don’t really care about anything else but physical pleasure) because we don’t have CHILDREN like the beautiful selfless heterosexuals. Ergo, queers live only for self-gratification and no matter what else goes on in their lives, ultimately (consciously or subconsciously) our entire existence is directed towards the purpose of self-seeking pleasure; queers are not capable of anything but selfish actions whether we know it or not. Along the same vein, my mother, after meeting on one of my friends (one of the sweetest, smartest, politest boys I know; someone who would be great to bring home to parents. Any parents but mine.) who she couldn’t help but like, took a while to think of something disparaging to say about him because it is against her principles to actually like any of my friends and finally decided that she didn’t, after all, like him because he had a weak mouth as a result of being one of those homosexuals. She says that homosexuals are all inherently weak people, just as they are all inherently selfish people, because they don’t know how to deny themselves anything."
Are these really from Maya Keyes? I've seen the pictures that have since disappeared and, to be quite honest, they look like her. All the evidence I have seen points to this being genuine. If it is genuine, it's unfortunate that her private like is coming out to the public in this manner, but then again she did put it all up on a public blog — complete with photos, no less. No one else is publicizing this, they are simply drawing attention to what was already made public by her and made a matter of public concern by her father.
Atrios comments:
We live in a world where the political party in power tries to maintain that power in part by trying to maintain 2nd class status (legal, economic, and social) for a substantial chunk of our population for no other reason than who they have romantic feelings for. We live in a world where the Republican candidate for Senate from Illinois calls the daughter of the Vice President a "selfish hedonist" simply because of who she has decided to make her life partner. We live in a world where a steady stream of homophobic rhetoric is commonplace and accepted as normal, not just from AM hate radio hosts, but from people who are in the highest levels of government.
In a just world this would be "news" in the same way that personal profiles of public figures which regularly include information about their families are "news" -- in the same way that "Chelsea Clinton has a new boyfriend" was always news. But, right now we're in a world where an anti-gay moralizing family vales politician no problems calling other people's kids "selfish hedonists" simply because they're gay. I think it's fair to ask what kind of world Alan Keyes, who wants to be one of 100 senators, wants to create for his daughter.
Atrios is 100% correct here. In an ideal and just world, the person who Maya Keyes is dating would rank pretty low on the list of things people should be wondering and talking about. This, however, is not a just world and people like her father want to make it even more unjust — especially for people like Maya, sadly enough. The fact that she has relationships with other women is not "news" in and of itself but, rather, because it makes the question raised by Atrios all the more pressing and relevant: what sort of society does Alan Keyes want to create for gay Americans, including his own daughter?
Beyond that question, her private life should remain her own. I hope this doesn't cause too much difficulty for her, but I also hope that it inspires reporters to ask more pointed questions of her father.
