Why is it so important to know who public figures are having sex with? The media seems obsessed with it. Now that Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has resigned in scandal (he's a Democrat, though you won't see that widely reported), he will be replaced by Secretary of State Kate Brown. And what are all the headlines saying about Brown? Check out the Washington Post:

This woman will soon become the first openly bisexual governor in American history

I really don't need to know this. I'd like to know her positions, and her policies, but I don't want to know what kind of sex she has.

I don't even really know what bisexual means. She's married to a man named Dan Little (really, his name is Little, I am not making that up!). Does being bisexual mean that she can't be fully satisfied with a man, but also needs the company of a lady friend, much like a person who likes home-cooked meals occasionally needs Chinese takeout for variety? Or is she more like a thermostat who has a choice between two settings, hot and cold, but can choose to stay on one of them?

You're going to hear nothing but the "B" word for the next few weeks as the media uses this as yet another opportunity to propagandize in favor of alternative lifestyles.  When Susanna Martinez was elected governor of New Mexico or Nikki Haley was elected Governor of South Carolina, I don't remember glowing pieces about their heterosexuality. You'd never read, "Nikki, the newly elected governor of South Carolina, enjoys the romantic company of other men, and is a role model for heterosexual women across America!"

I wish the media could get off this obsession. We don't need to know that Tim Cook is homosexual in order to understand a story about Apple; we don't need to know who Anderson Cooper sleeps with to find out why CNN has low ratings; and we don't need to know who football player Michael Sam sleeps with to know he plays poorly. Recently, I saw an article which proclaimed that Sally Ride was the first lesbian in space. Why do we need to know that? Did Angelina Jolie go up with her and together did they do another historic first?

This is nothing new, of course; for years articles about politicians have been prefaced by "black", "Hispanic", "women", etc. If a person gets elected insurance commissioner in Oklahoma, that's hardly news, but if it's a woman, and she's the first woman to hold that post, well, that's a front page story!

I dream of a future where we can get away from identity politics. But then, I dream about a lot of things that will never come true.

Pedro Gonzales is editor of Newsmachete.com, the conservative news site.