Afternoon Delight: Sara Gilbert to host L.A.’s “View,” Margaret Cho talks meaningful music, Marion Cotillard dresses in drag

Don’t know what to do with your Wednesday night? I’ve got an idea for you: Celebrate Sarah Waters birthday with a Tipping the Velvet/Fingersmith movie marathon!

CBS confirmed today that they’ll be replacing As The World Turns this fall with an L.A.-based version of The View. Well, they didn’t say the part about The View, but it will be a daytime panel-style talkshow hosted by Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen, Leah Remini, Sharon Osbourne and Marissa Jaret Winokur. A lesbian instead of Elisabeth Hasselbeck! My prayers have been answered!

Scissor Sisters’ lead singer Ana Matronic told the the UK weekly Shop Hopper that she identifies as queer:

Ana and the Scissor Sisters share GaGa’s love of the theatrical, as well as a fetish for gender bending – a passion which clearly stems from the band’s origins in the New York gay scene.

Even the name of the band is a cheeky reference to a lesbian sexual position.

She said: “I identify myself as queer, even though I am married to a man. The gay community is very important and inspiring to all of us. It’s where we come from and it’s where we return to.”

After praising her new album Cho Dependent – “damn fine tunes for [a] damn fine voice” – New York Magazine caught up with Margaret Cho at New Music Seminar to ask her about the songs that marked turning points in her life. Here are a few of her top picks:

“Vacation,” the Go-Go’s: I think I was 14 when I first saw the Go-Go’s. They were so cool, and they could play, and they were great. It showed me that girls could do everything. I was so moved by that.

“Criminal,” Fiona Apple: I was probably in my early 30s and I think that was the first time I really understood the power of female sexuality and that we can kinda really control people with our own femininity as opposed to just brute strength. That it [femininity] was something that was so powerful, womanly. And that was just a very, very important song for me.

“Erotic City,” Prince: That was the first song that I understood was really about sex. It was a big deal because it was a dirty song, but you could still hear it on the radio. It was this idea that you could actually talk about things that people weren’t talking about. It just made a huge impact.

I’ve got a Pretty Little Liars recap coming your way first thing tomorrow, and here’s something told hold you over in the meantime: a preview clip from next week’s episode. Emily and Maya are going on a date!

CherryGrrl posted an hilarious list of lesbian reality shows she’d like to watch. Number 5 is my favorite because it’s so true:

Portia & Ellen – This would never happen, because Portia and Ellen are far too smart and private to participate — but is anyone else insanely curious about their home life?

They’re the perfect couple, and the de facto First Lesbians of America, but damn them for being so clandestine about their lives. I am consumed with questions about them. Do they use real butter, or the fake stuff? What time do they wake up on Saturdays? What’s on their DVD shelf? Do their socks get dirty when they walk around the house in them, or do they glide a few inches above the ground as I suspect?

I would actually pay to see this one. They could sit around reading the newspaper and drinking coffee and I’d be completely enthralled.

Oh my god, Ellen burned her toast! I just burned mine this morning!

Seriously, read the whole list.

Don’t forget the Anyone But Me web-a-thon that’s coming up! Here’s the fan-made poster of the day!

You’ve probably heard by now that AfterEllen is teaming up with One More Lesbian and eurOut to bring you the Gay Games. Bridget McManus will be hosting the event. Check out our forum for more information and let us know if you plan to attend!

This month’s Vogue has a fascinating piece about Inception star Marion Cotillar in which she talks about dressing in drag and touring Europe as a male musician for two months in 2009:

“I play the bass guitar, keyboard, and tambourine-I’m their one-woman band and all-purpose maid,” Cotillard explains. She’s taken to appearing with Yodelice on tour, dressed as a man, under “Simone,” the name of her maternal grandmother. “It’s pretty refreshing to be in a situation where the spotlight is on someone else,” she says.

She talks about it even more with Nicole Kidman in the latest issue of Interview. Somehow, just reading her words on paper is sexy. I can’t explain it.

But I can explain this: Today’s Afternoon Delight is brought to you by Ms. Cotillard (and Dorothy Snarker, who provided the photo).