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Bearse
moved to Hollywood in 1981 from New York after a childhood
in Winter Park, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly after she
arrived, she began dating Sandra Bernhard and later moved in with
her; their relationship lasted two and half years. She now lives
in L.A. with her partner Amy Shomer, who produces TV commercials,
and their daughter Zoe.
Bearse
is very much a pragmatist, citing as one of the reasons for coming
out to make it "safer...for even more people to come out."
When asked in the Advocate interview "What do you
think the chances are for a lesbian or gay character on prime-time
TV?" Bearse responded:
Very good. Look at Roseanne. I think having Sandra and
Morgan Fairchild just pushed the ratings through the roof. If
it sells, it sells. The people that run television only care about
people tuning in. The bottom line is money, and if lesbians on
TV make money for the network, Hollywood is ready.
At
the time she said this in 1993, Norma Dunn's character on Sisters
and Beth on The Real World: Los Angeles were the only recurrent
lesbian characters on television; the former was a fairly minor
character and the latter on a show that was only beginning to take
off. Although the lesbian couple Carol and Susan would be introduced
on Friends the next year, it would still be another few
years yet before there were any recurring lesbian characters with
significant screen time.
When
Bearse came out in the Advocate in '93 (four years
before Ellen Denegeres came out), it was an extremely
risky move because no primetime actress had ever
done it before, and certainly not in the middle of her acting career.
But although the personal risk was great, the risk to the series
itself was minimal, since Bearse was not the "star" of
the show, so any resulting negative publicity from her coming-out
was unlikely to hurt the ratings--and Married With Children
was used to severe public criticism anyway. This was very different
than Ellen's situation a few years later in which the success or
failure of her sitcom depended on the public acceptence of her sexuality.
Fortunately,
the show's ratings actually improved after Bearse came out, at least
for a little while. Bearse counts the support she received from
her coworkers as one of primary importance to her during the coming-out
process, saying:
I’ve
been very fortunate. I’m supported by the people I work
with. I’m on a hit show. I just renegotiated my contract:
It was completely up, and this was a time when they could have
easily cut me loose. Fortunately I’m valued there as a person,
as an actor, and as a director. Being lesbian is a nonissue on
the show.
The
positive acceptance she experienced on Married With Children
contrasts sharply with the severe criticism the show received by
many feminists for its stereotypical and negative portrayal of women
(and others).
With
lesbian directors like Bearse behind the camera, it is
all the more likely that there will be more lesbian or lesbian-friendly
characters and storylines in the future. The fact that Bearse's
directing career didn't take off until after she came out
as a lesbian is also encouraging, since it means coming out doesn't
necessarily derail your career in Hollywood.
None
of the series Bearse has directed has featured a lesbian character,
however, proving that more lesbians behind the camera don't necessarily
correlate to more lesbians in front of the camera. But it's a start.
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