Sara Gilbert and Cat Cora don't agree
with Cynthia Nixon's assertion that being gay could be a choice.
The 45-year-old Nixon, who is best
known for playing Miranda Hobbes on the HBO series Sex and the
City, created controversy with comments she gave to The New
York Times.
After a 15-year
relationship with Danny Mozes, with whom she shares custody of two
children, Nixon began dating education activist Christine Mariononi,
with whom she is now engaged to be married.
“I totally reject
that,” she said of those who have questioned her switch in sexual
orientation. “I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a
gay audience, and it included the line 'I've been straight and I've
been gay, and gay is better.' And they tried to get me to change it,
because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And
for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it's not,
but for me it's a choice, and you don't get to define my gayness for
me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not
be seen as a choice, because if it's a choice, then we could opt out.
I say it doesn't matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters
that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make
litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.”
Speaking on The
Talk, co-host Gilbert, who is openly gay, noted that Nixon is
“probably closer to bisexual. I think that in an ideal world it's
okay for her to say that it was a choice for her, because it was a
choice for her, I guess, to be with a woman now.”
Celebrity chef Cora
said in a later cooking segment: “I'm gay and I was born this way.”
“I think it was
dangerous and irresponsible of Cynthia in this environment today,
especially when so many young people are taking their lives,” she
added.