The Hull House Museum of Chicago has decided, apparently, to make the sexuality of Jane Addams, the famous social reformer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, into a kind of contest. The Chicago Tribune (2/6) tells us visitors are being asked to come up with captions for a painting of Mary Rozet Smith, Addams’ close friend of 30 years, as to whether Smith was a ‘… companion, partner or life partner’of Addams. It is true enough that Smith and Addams had what was called a ‘Boston Marriage,’ traveled together and owned a home in Maine. But asking tourists basically to vote on whether someone was a lesbian is a bit odd. Whether the relationship had an erotic side to it is an important historical question, but it is a question reseachers, archivists and scholars should answer—not folks in off the street.

The same page of the Trib reviews Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life, a documentary film of the Black, gay jazz musician. The New York Times (2/6) also reviews it. The film appears to be a toss-up between two theories for Strayhorn’s obscurity. One theory is that Duke Ellington & his huge ego lorded over Strayhorn, taking credit for most of Strayhorn’s compositions—even ones written before the two met. The other theory is that Strayhorn was so traumatized by his own homosexuality that he acquiesced to anonymity. Whatever else, Take the ‘A’ Train; the score for Otto Preminger’s film Anatomy of a Murder; the symphonic work Black, Brown and Beige; and the musical Jump for Joy were mostly Strayhorn’s, but ‘Ellington … enjoyed the accolades.’

You’ve all heard of the gay sheep controversy (something like 8 percent of all male sheep are gay) and in The New Yorker (3/12) Troy, a gay sheep, tells all: it’s ‘… just a simple biological fact, like … bleating… or getting aroused whenever you see a bulky turtleneck sweater.’ His dad, a straight old ram, found him with his best friend Rick in a compromising situation, and told him he’d end up ‘… as a cheap Peruvian cardigan worn by a truck-stop hooker in Alaska.’ Troy ran away—slept with bulls, mules and the three little pigs. He made an adult film, Hoof and Mouth, but then recovered; he then met Doug, his partner (a black sheep) and they’ve been together ever since. Gathering wool, no doubt.

If you saw the Super Bowl you no doubt saw the commercial for Snickers where two straight men accidentally kiss trying to get the last bit of the candy bar and then, commit, ahem, violence because of mutual disgust. The spot has been removed from TV because of a complaint from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation that the ad was homophobic, according to the New York Times (2/6). Homophobia & violence at a football game? What’ll they think of next?