JOHN WATERS

I enjoyed the article on John Waters (“Still Waters,” by Margy Rochlin, April 8). While it was rather informative, I was puzzled that there was no mention of the fact that he’s gay. I’m not exactly “outing” him when you notice that he is the cover story of “The Advocate” (the national gay news magazine--April 24), which also emblazons on its cover “Director John Waters Discusses Life After Divine, Going Hollywood, and Being Gay.”

Why do I make so much of this? Because the usual story about gay people in the news is one of the following: the horrors of fag-bashing, the horrors of AIDS, the horrors of a peaceful demonstration turned ugly by insensitive police (my slant on the latter). And here, for a change, we have a living, breathing, getting-to-be-pretty-famous-and-successful gay man, and I thought it might be nice for gay people to know something like this (not to mention how enlightened the rest of your readership might become).

A person can be both gay and happy. Those words can be synonymous once again. A couple of role models might be nice.

MICHAEL KOHL, Los Angeles