Archive

Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (January 16, 2009)

Note: There are NO spoilers for the final season of The L Word revealed below except who is killed (which has already been revealed in Showtime’s promos). But if you want to skip this section, click here to go directly to the next section.

THE L WORD AT THE TCA WINTER PRESS TOUR Ilene and co. talked about the sixth season of The L Word on a panel at the TCA Winter Press Tour earlier this week, which featured Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Katherine Moennig, Pam Grier, and Ilene Chaiken, and AfterElton.com‘s Michael Jensen gave us the run-down.

Much of the information imparted during the panel confirmed information we already knew – that Lucy Lawless is guest-starring, for example – but Chaiken and the actors offered some interesting opinions about various aspects of the series, and provided some details around the decisions made on the show. Here are some of the interesting excerpts from the panel:

On whether the murdery-mystery subplot of the final season reflects will be too different for viewers

Ilene Chaiken: I wouldn’t call it an overarching plot. It’s one story among many, and by far not the dominant storyline. It’s a story that gives us a framework for the whole season, but the season is about these lives, these characters, their relationships, life goes on.

And the tone of the show actually hasn’t changed. It’s very much as it always has been, a drama with some humor about life and love and career and everything in between. And the so-called murder mystery storyline, I think, will finally put a few things into place. More than anything it gave us just another metaphor for our storytelling.

On choosing which character to kill off in the sixth season

Ilene Chaiken: … we didn’t say, “We’re going to kill someone. Who should we kill?” We said, “What’s the story that we’re going to tell this year?” And the decision to tell that story came out of a lot of things, but in part it was the stories that we’ve been telling, and the trouble that Jenny’s gotten into over the years, the fact that she’s just provoked everyone to that point at one time or another, and there’s no question.

And I couldn’t deny that all of the dialogues that go on around the show, the passionate viewer reactions, the online conversations, the things that journalists and fans say to me in the course of all of the events that we do were probably resonating in there somewhere.

Jenny has a lot of the very devoted fans, people who love her and think that she’s the best thing that ever was, and she is the character people loved to hate, and she provoked rage among lots and lots of people, and it made it interesting to tell that story.

On Showtime’s decision to give away the identity of the murder victim in the promos

Ilene Chaiken: …the way that the season is framed, we open the first episode with flash forward and then we go back and begin seamlessly telling our stories from where we left off at the end of Season 5. And so I would venture that the folks at Showtime who do the incredible job of promoting our show felt that they weren’t giving anything away. They were taking the opportunity to build interest off of something that happens in the first 20 seconds of the show.

Jennifer Beals: Also I have to say that people tend to find out online. The show has such an incredible audience online that they all talk to one another and somehow they know more than I do usually. A guy would go to the boards to find out information from them because they get footage in advance. They know so many of the storylines in advance. It’s very hard to keep things from them I think too.

On why The L Word has straight male viewers

Jennifer Beals: Well, it’s pretty obvious. (Laughter.) God bless them. Hope they’re learning something.

Pam Grier: A lot of straight women have been watching it, and it’s enhanced their libidos, you know. I’ve been getting great comments about that.

On shooting most of the series in Vancouver, B.C.

Ilene Chaiken: I think when we first started the show, we went to Canada because that’s what was done. That was how Showtime made television back then, and many other people did, as well. I think that it was a blessing for us because it was a rarefied situation. We were all up there together. It’s like working in a laboratory. You focus. You concentrate. You become closer. You become collaborative in a way that you wouldn’t if you were lost in the big city and leading your lives.

Leisha Hailey: I think the fact that we relocated up there – we really only had each other. We didn’t know anyone else. So I think that bonded us very quickly, and if we had shot down here, we would have maybe never gotten to know each other so well. I’m just going to miss these guys (indicating the rest of the cast).

Kate Moennig: [Vancouver] is so accessible in a way that [L.A.] isn’t. You can ride your bike … you’re able to run your errands by foot. It’s like, a small town sensibility in a big city essentially. I’m going to miss that because there’s a really cozy element to that town that you don’t see everywhere. Pam Grier: I live in Colorado. So coming to Los Angeles and Hollywood and sharing the lives with my colleagues was always exciting and being in Vancouver is like a shore, an ocean – it’s very much like Denver in Colorado except for it has the sea, and we have the mountains. I just thought that we could focus on other things … I would write, and on the end here (indicating Ilene), she’s a conspirator. She talked me into writing my memoirs – yeah. Don’t even start – I’m going to need therapy because of it.

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE: fans, favorite seasons, and that “fin” cast photo.

(continued from the previous page)

On the L Word‘s fans

Kate Moennig: One of the great things about the show is the loyal fan base that we have. I believe they’ve stuck with us from day one, and even when they’re discouraged about the storylines, they still stick in there, and they have such love.

I find I think the most profound moments are when you get a letter or you meet someone where they say the show helped their lives change. They were able to come out or they were able to accept themselves for who they are. They were no longer scared. That’s the power of television, and I think we’re lucky enough to be on a show that can deliver that strong message.

Leisha Hailey: I feel like the fans have kept this show alive. Without them, I don’t really know the life of the show. I think we sort of reflect them and vice versa, and it’s just this ongoing sort of dialogue between the show and the fans, and I think that’s been a really wonderful experience for all of us.

Jennifer Beals: I have two very specific examples that have always been really moving to me over the year, and sometimes really helped me get through the day when it’s very difficult at work, when I’m tired.

I think of these two occasions … a couple that came to visit us on set who won a walk-on as an auction item [in their 60s, who’d been together for 30 years] … told us that from watching the show, they were able to have the courage to come out to their friends and their family and people at work.

… [The second one is] I recently got a letter from a young woman who told me she had just come out. She was 16 years old, and she said it was the loneliest time of her life, and she said by watching the show, the show had saved her life because she had contemplated killing herself. And by realizing that there were other people out there who were like her, and that there was a larger community to which she belonged and that one day she might be able to take part in, she was encouraged. (Beals tears up here) …when we started the show, really early on, I said to Ilene, you know, “I want this show to change the world.” And she’s like, “Calm down. It’s a TV show.”

I said, “I want this show to be more about that young girl that might be living in the middle of nowhere who discovered that she’s gay and wants to come out but has no immediate community and is afraid to come out to her family, and I want her to be able to turn on the television and see her most fabulous resourceful aspect of herself represented back to her.”

On which season is their favorite:

Jennifer Beals: For me I think I was most proud of my work in the second season because I was given so many challenges. But then saying that, I have to say that with each subsequent season there were moments that I really loved, and certainly our storyline in the sixth season I really like a lot … So it moves. It’s malleable.

Laurel Holloman: I agree with Jennifer. It just keeps changing, and it depends on what your character was going through for that season, and you could probably go across and everybody would have their favorite seasons. Like for me, the very first season was a great challenge, and then Season 5 was a little bit of a bookend for my character because she was so drastically different. But then I got to elaborate on it in Season 6, which I didn’t know was going to happen. And,

again, our relationship went through all these changes.

Ilene Chaiken: My feeling is we had our ups and our downs, and we hit our stride in our sixth season. The show just kept getting better and better, and hopefully we will go out on a high.

On the series finale photo of the cast all in black:

Jennifer Beals: I think the biggest stir that that photograph has caused is Kate in a dress.

Kate Moennig: Yeah.

Pam Grier: You looked adorable.

Leisha Hailey: You looked great, Kate.

Laurel Holloman: They’re blogging about it all the time, you in a dress.

Kate Moennig: I like it. I mean, the shoes were really painful, but I loved the dress. by Sarah Warn

MELISSA GEORGE LEAVES GREY’S ANATOMY Yep, Melissa George has confirmed that she is hanging up her scrubs and parting ways with Seattle Grace.

“It was my choice,” she told E!’s Michael Ausiello. “I love the show so much. I’ve made some beautiful friends. I love T.R. Knight. I love Patrick Dempsey, Justin Chambers … I adore Ellen Pompeo. I think she’s a strong, incredible woman. And Katherine Heigl is the most beautiful creature on Earth.”

That’s quite a different song than the noise of discontent we usually hear from the Grey’s set. Maybe it’s because her story only lasted eight weeks.

A Grey’s insider told Ausiello, “Melissa’s arc came to a natural end. Everyone at the show adores her. We’re genuinely sad to see her go.” A natural end? Genuinely sad to see her go? You mean she’s not being banished to the Parking Lot of Post-Sexual Discovery, never to be seen or heard from or mentioned again? Gosh, that must be nice.

You probably remember that George’s character, Dr. Saddie Harris, was originally written to be bisexual, but aside from some ambiguous comments about her past with Meredith and some mild flirting with Callie, nothing ever came of it.

George admits that even by Seattle Grace’s warped measuring stick, Sadie was dark and twisty, and that her addition to the cast after the unceremonious departure of Dr. Hahn kind of made her a doomed character.

“She was very difficult to root for,” George said.

It’s not just Sadie who’s hard to root for; Grey’s Anatomy on the whole is a shell of its former self. When ABC brings in Private Practice to boost your ratings, you’ve got a serious problem.

– by StuntDouble

LESBIANISH QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It’s a marketing strategy for the film, and I don’t mind.”

– Actress Konkona Sen-Sharma to Bollywoodhungama.com, on the persistent rumors in the press that she will play a lesbian in the upcoming film The President Is Coming. (The character is actually straight, but “pretends to be a lesbian to get her own way.”)

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE SKETCH: RACHEL MADDOW IS GAY! ISN’T THAT FUNNY?! Hey, SNL: the 1990s called and they want their lame gay jokes back!

Saturday Night Live (NBC) opened this weekend with a skit in which Abby Elliott impersonated Rachel Maddow interviewing the recently impeached Illinois Gov Blagojevich, and his Senate pick, Roland Burris, on her MSNBC talk show.

Rachel has clearly arrived on the public stage if SNL is spoofing her. But Elliott’s impersonation of Maddow wasn’t very good, neither were the impressions of Burris and Blagojevich (although the impersonation of Blagojevich’s hair made me laugh), and the skit was too long and too boring.

Watch the sketch here (or on NBC.com): When SNL wrote a sketch starring Ben Affleck as Keith Olbermann, Maddow’s friend and fellow political talk show host, they made fun of Keith’s mannerisms, his over-the-top presentation style, and the extremity of his opinions.

The only thing the writers could come up with to make fun of Rachel Maddow about is the fact that she’s openly gay.

That’s it, that’s the punchline. It’s 2009, and apparently, just being gay is still funny.

I’ll admit, I chuckled at the beginning – I can appreciate the occasional well-placed Ellen or Billy Jean King reference as much as the next person – but by the fourth or fifth gay joke (“I’m stuck here like a dutch boy with his thumb in a dike”), I wasn’t laughing anymore.

“Dike” = Dyke, get it? And “Chachi” = that dumb guy on Happy Days = Rachel looks like a guy. Rachel is gay! And butch! And gay! Isn’t that hilarious?!

The SNL writers found plenty to skewer in the Suze Orman sketch earlier this season besides Suze’s sexual orientation, and the Ellen Page “primo lesbian” sketch last March included some lesbian stereotypes, but it was funny and subversive, too.

I can think of a few things just off the top of my head to make fun of Rachel Maddow about (in a good way), besides her sexual orientation: How about her geeky jokes? Her “because someone has to do it” introduction to the Lame Duck Watch segment? Her infamous smackdown with David Frum? Or the fact that she only has three outfits (and doesn’t care)?

But instead, we got one long “she’s so gay!” sketch. Which is so 16-year-old-boy, and makes me wonder if the SNL writers have ever actually watched her show.

Is the Rachel Maddow skit homophobic? Eh, that’s debatable. Is it boring, juvenile, and one-dimensional? Definitely.

But I suppose the skit’s lameness is a testament to Maddow: when the only thing an entire team of comedy writers can spoof about you is your sexual orientation, keep doing whatever you’re doing – you’re clearly doing it right!

On one hand, I want to see women turning the tables to see how their boyfriends respond: “Hey John, do you what would be really hot? If you hooked up with Chad.” Or “I’ve never been with two men before. Is that something you’d be into?” But, then it might turn out just as poorly. Ideally, wouldn’t it just be great if guys realized there’s a reason they’re called “fantasies” for a reason? And really, if she “turns gay,” it really means she’s been gay all along. Sorry, Charlie.

– by jamie murnane

WTF NIP/TUCK? This week on Nip/Tuck, longtime lesbian anesthesiologist Liz (Roma Maffia) had sex with Christian (Julian McMahon). For those of you still counting, that brings the number of TV Lesbians Who Sleep with Men to … too many to count.

I should rant here about this is just one in a long line of recent examples of lesbians (and bi women) getting screwed over on American TV, but I’ve written on this topic so many times lately you’ve all probably memorized it by now. (If you need a refresher, read The Disappearing Lesbian on Primetime Broadcast TV.)

Back to Nip/Tuck: Liz is now apparently questioning her sexuality – because who wouldn’t, after a night with Christian? His charm is so great he’s even able to seduce lesbians! Here’s an excerpt of the conversation between Liz, Christian, and Christian’s business partner Sean (Dylan Walsh) the morning after their sexual encounter:

Sean (shocked): You and Liz had sex? Liz: (vehemently shaking her head no) Christian: Yes! So? She was there for me. She spread her legs and made me feel good. Liz: You were awake?! Christian: Yep. Got my mojo back. Liz (panicked, to Sean): It just happened. I was practically asleep, and I thought that he was asleep – Christian: Whoa, whoa, whoa Practically asleep? Nobody orgasms like that if they’re practically asleep.
Don’t you just hate it when you’re only half-awake and mistakenly have sex with the guy next to you? I guess sleep deprivation really is bad for your health!

LIZ AND SHANE GO ON A DATE On Monday, Liz Feldman‘s kitchen table talk show This Just Out with Liz Feldman returns with the first episode of its third season, with The L Word‘s Kate Moennig making a return visit (watch her first guest appearance on the show here).

Here’s a promo of Liz with Shane Kate which hints at more awkward moments to come: LIVE TWITTERING THE L WORD Last weekend, I invited readers to twitter their comments and reactions to @afterellen_live during the Golden Globes, and I created a feed to show the tweets on AfterEllen.com at afterellen.com/tweets. (If you don’t know what twitter is or don’t have an account, go to twitter.com to sign up – it’s free.)

The result is a live blog of the show/episode, but by AfterEllen.com readers and staff.

I worked out a few of the kinks from that experiment (e.g. figured out how to increase the refresh rate), and now I want to invite American readers to help “live twitter” the new episode of The L Word on Sunday, which airs at 9pm PST/EST.

All you have to do is twitter a message starting with @afterellen_live from your phone while you’re watching the L Word episode on Sunday, and it will show up on afterellen.com/tweets, where all the other AfterEllen.com readers can read it! I’ll post a note on the homepage on Sunday directing readers to that page, and those readers who don’t want to be spoiled, just don’t go there.

For more info, visit afterellen.com/tweets. You can also sign up to follow the main AfterEllen.com twitter account (for AfterEllen.com headlines and alerts), and my personal twitter account (for random commentary).

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Private Practice (ABC) featured an older lesbian couple on last night’s episode. (Thanks to AE reader Hannah for the tip!)

Popular lesbian U.K. teen drama Sugar Rush debuts in the U.S. on here TV on Feb. 6.

Cherry Jones (currently the President of the United States on the Fox drama 24) underwent gall bladder surgery this week.

Jennifer Beals (The L Word) will appear on The Bonnie Hunt Show today on NBC, 2 pm EST. (Thanks for the tip, Explorergal!)

The eagerly awaited (at least by all of us here at AfterEllen.com) B-movie exploitation romp Bitch Slap opens in Los Angeles this week.

Sony PlayStation has banned the use of the words “gay,” “lesbian,” “bi-sexual” and “Jew” from their video games.

Rosie O’Donnell and Lindsay Lohan will be among the celebrities interviewed in the new documentary, Teenage Paparazzi, to be directed by Adrian Grenier (Entourage).

Friday Night Lights starts a new season tonight on NBC, complete with a new minor (for now) lesbian character, Devin.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

I never thought I’d say it, but I think I prefer Cosmopolitan.

– by Trish Bendix

DETAILS GIVES MEN THE CONS OF HAVING THEIR GIRLFRIENDS HOOK UP WITH OTHER WOMEN It’s no surprise that seeing two women together is one of the biggest male fantasies. We see it everyday: in advertising, on film and TV and online (of course online). A lot of guys are OK with women being gay, as long as they’re not too gay (we are) and are open to including them (we’re not).

Finally, a story in a men’s magazine addresses this issue without sounding like a conversation at a frat party. (Coincidentally, it was written by a woman.)

In the January/February issue of Details, Kate Hahn wrote “Flirting With Disaster,” a piece with good examples on why it might not be such a great idea for men to have their wives or girlfriends fulfill their threesome fantasies. She talks to various men who had been previously gung-ho on girl-on-girl, but faced some unexpected consequences.

When Owen, a 37-year-old from Arizona and his wife, whom he met at 19, became friends with a lesbian couple, he began to wonder if his wife would ever consider exploring – you know, with a woman. Turns out, she did, she really did. And then she eventually realized she was actually gay and they got a divorce.

Hahn writes:

Although it takes more than sexual experimentation to make a woman gay, there’s a

particularly cruel irony when a lesbian-obsessed guy gets ditched for another woman. … As their mates dirty-dance to Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” fixate on the latest LiLo and SamRo pics, and rave about Vicky Cristina Barcelona, even the most sensitive guys are apt to cast them in a few scissor-sister scenarios. The problem is, most men are unprepared for what happens after their wives or girlfriends do a shot of the Tila Tequila punch.
Of course, there’s also the flip-side, which Hahn explores, too. What about when a woman’s not that into the idea of acting out her guy’s L Word fantasies (because you know straight men are all about that show), but does it anyway because they’re feeling pressured or eager to please? One couple in the article ended up in counseling after such experimentation, because the woman felt used and exploited, even guilty, as if she cheated on her boyfriend, even though she was just going along with him.

On one hand, I want to see women turning the tables to see how their boyfriends respond: “Hey John, do you what would be really hot? If you hooked up with Chad.” Or “I’ve never been with two men before. Is that something you’d be into?” But, then it might turn out just as poorly. Ideally, wouldn’t it just be great if guys realized there’s a reason they’re called “fantasies” for a reason? And really, if she “turns gay,” it really means she’s been gay all along. Sorry, Charlie.

– by jamie murnane

WTF NIP/TUCK? This week on Nip/Tuck, longtime lesbian anesthesiologist Liz (Roma Maffia) had sex with Christian (Julian McMahon). For those of you still counting, that brings the number of TV Lesbians Who Sleep with Men to … too many to count.

I should rant here about this is just one in a long line of recent examples of lesbians (and bi women) getting screwed over on American TV, but I’ve written on this topic so many times lately you’ve all probably memorized it by now. (If you need a refresher, read The Disappearing Lesbian on Primetime Broadcast TV.)

Back to Nip/Tuck: Liz is now apparently questioning her sexuality – because who wouldn’t, after a night with Christian? His charm is so great he’s even able to seduce lesbians! Here’s an excerpt of the conversation between Liz, Christian, and Christian’s business partner Sean (Dylan Walsh) the morning after their sexual encounter:

Sean (shocked): You and Liz had sex? Liz: (vehemently shaking her head no) Christian: Yes! So? She was there for me. She spread her legs and made me feel good. Liz: You were awake?! Christian: Yep. Got my mojo back. Liz (panicked, to Sean): It just happened. I was practically asleep, and I thought that he was asleep – Christian: Whoa, whoa, whoa Practically asleep? Nobody orgasms like that if they’re practically asleep.
Don’t you just hate it when you’re only half-awake and mistakenly have sex with the guy next to you? I guess sleep deprivation really is bad for your health!

LIZ AND SHANE GO ON A DATE On Monday, Liz Feldman‘s kitchen table talk show This Just Out with Liz Feldman returns with the first episode of its third season, with The L Word‘s Kate Moennig making a return visit (watch her first guest appearance on the show here).

Here’s a promo of Liz with Shane Kate which hints at more awkward moments to come: LIVE TWITTERING THE L WORD Last weekend, I invited readers to twitter their comments and reactions to @afterellen_live during the Golden Globes, and I created a feed to show the tweets on AfterEllen.com at afterellen.com/tweets. (If you don’t know what twitter is or don’t have an account, go to twitter.com to sign up – it’s free.)

The result is a live blog of the show/episode, but by AfterEllen.com readers and staff.

I worked out a few of the kinks from that experiment (e.g. figured out how to increase the refresh rate), and now I want to invite American readers to help “live twitter” the new episode of The L Word on Sunday, which airs at 9pm PST/EST.

All you have to do is twitter a message starting with @afterellen_live from your phone while you’re watching the L Word episode on Sunday, and it will show up on afterellen.com/tweets, where all the other AfterEllen.com readers can read it! I’ll post a note on the homepage on Sunday directing readers to that page, and those readers who don’t want to be spoiled, just don’t go there.

For more info, visit afterellen.com/tweets. You can also sign up to follow the main AfterEllen.com twitter account (for AfterEllen.com headlines and alerts), and my personal twitter account (for random commentary).

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Private Practice (ABC) featured an older lesbian couple on last night’s episode. (Thanks to AE reader Hannah for the tip!)

Popular lesbian U.K. teen drama Sugar Rush debuts in the U.S. on here TV on Feb. 6.

Cherry Jones (currently the President of the United States on the Fox drama 24) underwent gall bladder surgery this week.

Jennifer Beals (The L Word) will appear on The Bonnie Hunt Show today on NBC, 2 pm EST. (Thanks for the tip, Explorergal!)

The eagerly awaited (at least by all of us here at AfterEllen.com) B-movie exploitation romp Bitch Slap opens in Los Angeles this week.

Sony PlayStation has banned the use of the words “gay,” “lesbian,” “bi-sexual” and “Jew” from their video games.

Rosie O’Donnell and Lindsay Lohan will be among the celebrities interviewed in the new documentary, Teenage Paparazzi, to be directed by Adrian Grenier (Entourage).

Friday Night Lights starts a new season tonight on NBC, complete with a new minor (for now) lesbian character, Devin.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

 

– by Trish Bendix

MARIE CLAIRE TAKES ON LESBIAN SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS Journalist Margeaux Watson has a first-person piece in this month’s Marie Claire where she talks about her relationships with women. From the title alone (“I Kissed a Girl”) I was skeptical. And then it started like this:

It all started 10 years ago with a drunken kiss, which quickly led to drunken sex.
Admittedly, that was her first experience, and I’m sure we’ve all had those kinds ourselves. I was just nervous because the majority of Marie Claire readers most likely have not, and equating lesbian sex with drunken sex is pretty much like calling it a mistake. The story took a bit of an unexpected turn, however, when Watson started discussing her body image, and how her future experiences with women made her feel self-conscious about her “robust … large breasts, tiny waist, and curvaceous hips.” (Yeah, I know – how awful to have those attributes.)
Naively, I assumed that connecting with women would feel even more comfortable, like coming home… Given that our bodies were so similar (shapely, supple, soft), it was like having sex with a distorted mirror image of myself. Not only could I see what I looked like from a multitude of angles and positions, I also saw all of my flaws, reflected, in a sense, in hers (stretch marks, cellulite, jiggly bits).
This was not the piece I expected. Even in a magazine for women who are concerned about the latest products to hide wrinkles before they’ve sprouted and how to smother imaginary fat rolls, I didn’t think the idea of lesbian sex would present itself as yet another experience in which women would compare themselves. I’m quite sure the women she was with were incredibly concerned with all of their differences in those moments.

I so envied [my girlfriend] Taylor’s nonexistent hips and delicate, dimple-free legs that I couldn’t really appreciate how much she turned me on. The relationship lasted just four months.
Following the break-up, she beds several women of all shapes and sizes, and gains twenty some pounds out of depression. (Such an uplifting piece on lesbian relationships. I hope the readers are getting a lot out of this.)

Luckily, the piece does not end on a sour note of “lesbians just compare bodies in bed because they are truly narcissists.” Watson met a “tomboy” whom she fell for, and confessed her body image issues to. And now, she’s lost 42 pounds.

Wait, so is the moral of this story that lesbian relationships help you lose weight? I’m confused, conflicted, and hoping no one really reads Marie Claire anyway. If anything, the female side of the LGBT community is one of the most accepting, at least in my experience – which was not all drunk or a vain attempt at pointing out all my own flaws.

Perhaps I’m being too hard on Ms. Watson, but with the little coverage lesbian and bisexual women get in mainstream women’s publications, I’d like to think we could have a more positive representation, even if it has to be titled “I Kissed a Girl.”

I never thought I’d say it, but I think I prefer Cosmopolitan.

– by Trish Bendix

DETAILS GIVES MEN THE CONS OF HAVING THEIR GIRLFRIENDS HOOK UP WITH OTHER WOMEN It’s no surprise that seeing two women together is one of the biggest male fantasies. We see it everyday: in advertising, on film and TV and online (of course online). A lot of guys are OK with women being gay, as long as they’re not too gay (we are) and are open to including them (we’re not).

Finally, a story in a men’s magazine addresses this issue without sounding like a conversation at a frat party. (Coincidentally, it was written by a woman.)

In the January/February issue of Details, Kate Hahn wrote “Flirting With Disaster,” a piece with good examples on why it might not be such a great idea for men to have their wives or girlfriends fulfill their threesome fantasies. She talks to various men who had been previously gung-ho on girl-on-girl, but faced some unexpected consequences.

When Owen, a 37-year-old from Arizona and his wife, whom he met at 19, became friends with a lesbian couple, he began to wonder if his wife would ever consider exploring – you know, with a woman. Turns out, she did, she really did. And then she eventually realized she was actually gay and they got a divorce.

Hahn writes:

Although it takes more than sexual experimentation to make a woman gay, there’s a

particularly cruel irony when a lesbian-obsessed guy gets ditched for another woman. … As their mates dirty-dance to Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” fixate on the latest LiLo and SamRo pics, and rave about Vicky Cristina Barcelona, even the most sensitive guys are apt to cast them in a few scissor-sister scenarios. The problem is, most men are unprepared for what happens after their wives or girlfriends do a shot of the Tila Tequila punch.
Of course, there’s also the flip-side, which Hahn explores, too. What about when a woman’s not that into the idea of acting out her guy’s L Word fantasies (because you know straight men are all about that show), but does it anyway because they’re feeling pressured or eager to please? One couple in the article ended up in counseling after such experimentation, because the woman felt used and exploited, even guilty, as if she cheated on her boyfriend, even though she was just going along with him.

On one hand, I want to see women turning the tables to see how their boyfriends respond: “Hey John, do you what would be really hot? If you hooked up with Chad.” Or “I’ve never been with two men before. Is that something you’d be into?” But, then it might turn out just as poorly. Ideally, wouldn’t it just be great if guys realized there’s a reason they’re called “fantasies” for a reason? And really, if she “turns gay,” it really means she’s been gay all along. Sorry, Charlie.

– by jamie murnane

WTF NIP/TUCK? This week on Nip/Tuck, longtime lesbian anesthesiologist Liz (Roma Maffia) had sex with Christian (Julian McMahon). For those of you still counting, that brings the number of TV Lesbians Who Sleep with Men to … too many to count.

I should rant here about this is just one in a long line of recent examples of lesbians (and bi women) getting screwed over on American TV, but I’ve written on this topic so many times lately you’ve all probably memorized it by now. (If you need a refresher, read The Disappearing Lesbian on Primetime Broadcast TV.)

Back to Nip/Tuck: Liz is now apparently questioning her sexuality – because who wouldn’t, after a night with Christian? His charm is so great he’s even able to seduce lesbians! Here’s an excerpt of the conversation between Liz, Christian, and Christian’s business partner Sean (Dylan Walsh) the morning after their sexual encounter:

Sean (shocked): You and Liz had sex? Liz: (vehemently shaking her head no) Christian: Yes! So? She was there for me. She spread her legs and made me feel good. Liz: You were awake?! Christian: Yep. Got my mojo back. Liz (panicked, to Sean): It just happened. I was practically asleep, and I thought that he was asleep – Christian: Whoa, whoa, whoa Practically asleep? Nobody orgasms like that if they’re practically asleep.
Don’t you just hate it when you’re only half-awake and mistakenly have sex with the guy next to you? I guess sleep deprivation really is bad for your health!

LIZ AND SHANE GO ON A DATE On Monday, Liz Feldman‘s kitchen table talk show This Just Out with Liz Feldman returns with the first episode of its third season, with The L Word‘s Kate Moennig making a return visit (watch her first guest appearance on the show here).

Here’s a promo of Liz with Shane Kate which hints at more awkward moments to come: LIVE TWITTERING THE L WORD Last weekend, I invited readers to twitter their comments and reactions to @afterellen_live during the Golden Globes, and I created a feed to show the tweets on AfterEllen.com at afterellen.com/tweets. (If you don’t know what twitter is or don’t have an account, go to twitter.com to sign up – it’s free.)

The result is a live blog of the show/episode, but by AfterEllen.com readers and staff.

I worked out a few of the kinks from that experiment (e.g. figured out how to increase the refresh rate), and now I want to invite American readers to help “live twitter” the new episode of The L Word on Sunday, which airs at 9pm PST/EST.

All you have to do is twitter a message starting with @afterellen_live from your phone while you’re watching the L Word episode on Sunday, and it will show up on afterellen.com/tweets, where all the other AfterEllen.com readers can read it! I’ll post a note on the homepage on Sunday directing readers to that page, and those readers who don’t want to be spoiled, just don’t go there.

For more info, visit afterellen.com/tweets. You can also sign up to follow the main AfterEllen.com twitter account (for AfterEllen.com headlines and alerts), and my personal twitter account (for random commentary).

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Private Practice (ABC) featured an older lesbian couple on last night’s episode. (Thanks to AE reader Hannah for the tip!)

Popular lesbian U.K. teen drama Sugar Rush debuts in the U.S. on here TV on Feb. 6.

Cherry Jones (currently the President of the United States on the Fox drama 24) underwent gall bladder surgery this week.

Jennifer Beals (The L Word) will appear on The Bonnie Hunt Show today on NBC, 2 pm EST. (Thanks for the tip, Explorergal!)

The eagerly awaited (at least by all of us here at AfterEllen.com) B-movie exploitation romp Bitch Slap opens in Los Angeles this week.

Sony PlayStation has banned the use of the words “gay,” “lesbian,” “bi-sexual” and “Jew” from their video games.

Rosie O’Donnell and Lindsay Lohan will be among the celebrities interviewed in the new documentary, Teenage Paparazzi, to be directed by Adrian Grenier (Entourage).

Friday Night Lights starts a new season tonight on NBC, complete with a new minor (for now) lesbian character, Devin.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

P.S. Hey, SNL: when the only thing an entire team of comedy writers can spoof about a public figure is their sexual orientation, stop doing whatever you’re doing – you’re clearly doing it wrong. It’s time to fire the writing staff and just start over, this time with fewer people who write like Chachi, and more who write like Ellen.

– by Sarah Warn

THE SUNDANCE QUEER LOUNGE IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS This week marked the beginning of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and several lesbian filmmakers will be in Park City, Utah, to represent their films. The Absolut Queer Lounge will play host to the festival’s gay-themed films as well as films made by LGBT directors and producers.

Sundance is where many films hope to find distribution deals and garner buzz for the next year when they are likely to make it to theaters (or at least to DVD) on a national scale. It’s where movies like Brokeback Mountain and Boys Don’t Cry secured deals so they would eventually become widely-watched Oscar winning films.

Here are this year’s top queer films to keep an eye out for in 2009: Starring Sandra Bernhard, Ana Gasteyer and Emmy Rossum, Dare is the story of three high schoolers who become involved with one another in a twisted love triangle. (Bernhard does not play one of the teenagers.)

The film itself is not gay-themed (it follows Uma Thurman as a mother trying to throw her daughter a birthday party), but has out producer Christine Vachon at the helm. She’s usually got great taste, so I’ll trust her on this one. With a cast including Paula Patton, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey and Sherri Shepherd, it sounds like an eccentric comedy. However, the description (which says the movie follows a depressed, overweight, sexually abused teen who turns to a lesbian teacher to help her turn her life around), leads me to believe it’s a little more serious – at least more serious than Glitter. This film stars Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch, Amber Tamblyn and Jane Lynch. Do you really need to know more?

Also part of this year’s Queer Lounge is the Jenni Olson short 575 Casto St. (which you can watch below) and Coley Sohn‘s 10-minute dark comedy Boutonniere about a teenage girl attending her prom, despite her mother’s attempts to take over the experience for herself. (Which, to some lesbians, would be the truest expression of motherly love.)

 

– by Trish Bendix

MARIE CLAIRE TAKES ON LESBIAN SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS Journalist Margeaux Watson has a first-person piece in this month’s Marie Claire where she talks about her relationships with women. From the title alone (“I Kissed a Girl”) I was skeptical. And then it started like this:

It all started 10 years ago with a drunken kiss, which quickly led to drunken sex.
Admittedly, that was her first experience, and I’m sure we’ve all had those kinds ourselves. I was just nervous because the majority of Marie Claire readers most likely have not, and equating lesbian sex with drunken sex is pretty much like calling it a mistake. The story took a bit of an unexpected turn, however, when Watson started discussing her body image, and how her future experiences with women made her feel self-conscious about her “robust … large breasts, tiny waist, and curvaceous hips.” (Yeah, I know – how awful to have those attributes.)
Naively, I assumed that connecting with women would feel even more comfortable, like coming home… Given that our bodies were so similar (shapely, supple, soft), it was like having sex with a distorted mirror image of myself. Not only could I see what I looked like from a multitude of angles and positions, I also saw all of my flaws, reflected, in a sense, in hers (stretch marks, cellulite, jiggly bits).
This was not the piece I expected. Even in a magazine for women who are concerned about the latest products to hide wrinkles before they’ve sprouted and how to smother imaginary fat rolls, I didn’t think the idea of lesbian sex would present itself as yet another experience in which women would compare themselves. I’m quite sure the women she was with were incredibly concerned with all of their differences in those moments.

I so envied [my girlfriend] Taylor’s nonexistent hips and delicate, dimple-free legs that I couldn’t really appreciate how much she turned me on. The relationship lasted just four months.
Following the break-up, she beds several women of all shapes and sizes, and gains twenty some pounds out of depression. (Such an uplifting piece on lesbian relationships. I hope the readers are getting a lot out of this.)

Luckily, the piece does not end on a sour note of “lesbians just compare bodies in bed because they are truly narcissists.” Watson met a “tomboy” whom she fell for, and confessed her body image issues to. And now, she’s lost 42 pounds.

Wait, so is the moral of this story that lesbian relationships help you lose weight? I’m confused, conflicted, and hoping no one really reads Marie Claire anyway. If anything, the female side of the LGBT community is one of the most accepting, at least in my experience – which was not all drunk or a vain attempt at pointing out all my own flaws.

Perhaps I’m being too hard on Ms. Watson, but with the little coverage lesbian and bisexual women get in mainstream women’s publications, I’d like to think we could have a more positive representation, even if it has to be titled “I Kissed a Girl.”

I never thought I’d say it, but I think I prefer Cosmopolitan.

– by Trish Bendix

DETAILS GIVES MEN THE CONS OF HAVING THEIR GIRLFRIENDS HOOK UP WITH OTHER WOMEN It’s no surprise that seeing two women together is one of the biggest male fantasies. We see it everyday: in advertising, on film and TV and online (of course online). A lot of guys are OK with women being gay, as long as they’re not too gay (we are) and are open to including them (we’re not).

Finally, a story in a men’s magazine addresses this issue without sounding like a conversation at a frat party. (Coincidentally, it was written by a woman.)

In the January/February issue of Details, Kate Hahn wrote “Flirting With Disaster,” a piece with good examples on why it might not be such a great idea for men to have their wives or girlfriends fulfill their threesome fantasies. She talks to various men who had been previously gung-ho on girl-on-girl, but faced some unexpected consequences.

When Owen, a 37-year-old from Arizona and his wife, whom he met at 19, became friends with a lesbian couple, he began to wonder if his wife would ever consider exploring – you know, with a woman. Turns out, she did, she really did. And then she eventually realized she was actually gay and they got a divorce.

Hahn writes:

Although it takes more than sexual experimentation to make a woman gay, there’s a

particularly cruel irony when a lesbian-obsessed guy gets ditched for another woman. … As their mates dirty-dance to Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” fixate on the latest LiLo and SamRo pics, and rave about Vicky Cristina Barcelona, even the most sensitive guys are apt to cast them in a few scissor-sister scenarios. The problem is, most men are unprepared for what happens after their wives or girlfriends do a shot of the Tila Tequila punch.
Of course, there’s also the flip-side, which Hahn explores, too. What about when a woman’s not that into the idea of acting out her guy’s L Word fantasies (because you know straight men are all about that show), but does it anyway because they’re feeling pressured or eager to please? One couple in the article ended up in counseling after such experimentation, because the woman felt used and exploited, even guilty, as if she cheated on her boyfriend, even though she was just going along with him.

On one hand, I want to see women turning the tables to see how their boyfriends respond: “Hey John, do you what would be really hot? If you hooked up with Chad.” Or “I’ve never been with two men before. Is that something you’d be into?” But, then it might turn out just as poorly. Ideally, wouldn’t it just be great if guys realized there’s a reason they’re called “fantasies” for a reason? And really, if she “turns gay,” it really means she’s been gay all along. Sorry, Charlie.

– by jamie murnane

WTF NIP/TUCK? This week on Nip/Tuck, longtime lesbian anesthesiologist Liz (Roma Maffia) had sex with Christian (Julian McMahon). For those of you still counting, that brings the number of TV Lesbians Who Sleep with Men to … too many to count.

I should rant here about this is just one in a long line of recent examples of lesbians (and bi women) getting screwed over on American TV, but I’ve written on this topic so many times lately you’ve all probably memorized it by now. (If you need a refresher, read The Disappearing Lesbian on Primetime Broadcast TV.)

Back to Nip/Tuck: Liz is now apparently questioning her sexuality – because who wouldn’t, after a night with Christian? His charm is so great he’s even able to seduce lesbians! Here’s an excerpt of the conversation between Liz, Christian, and Christian’s business partner Sean (Dylan Walsh) the morning after their sexual encounter:

Sean (shocked): You and Liz had sex? Liz: (vehemently shaking her head no) Christian: Yes! So? She was there for me. She spread her legs and made me feel good. Liz: You were awake?! Christian: Yep. Got my mojo back. Liz (panicked, to Sean): It just happened. I was practically asleep, and I thought that he was asleep – Christian: Whoa, whoa, whoa Practically asleep? Nobody orgasms like that if they’re practically asleep.
Don’t you just hate it when you’re only half-awake and mistakenly have sex with the guy next to you? I guess sleep deprivation really is bad for your health!

LIZ AND SHANE GO ON A DATE On Monday, Liz Feldman‘s kitchen table talk show This Just Out with Liz Feldman returns with the first episode of its third season, with The L Word‘s Kate Moennig making a return visit (watch her first guest appearance on the show here).

Here’s a promo of Liz with Shane Kate which hints at more awkward moments to come: LIVE TWITTERING THE L WORD Last weekend, I invited readers to twitter their comments and reactions to @afterellen_live during the Golden Globes, and I created a feed to show the tweets on AfterEllen.com at afterellen.com/tweets. (If you don’t know what twitter is or don’t have an account, go to twitter.com to sign up – it’s free.)

The result is a live blog of the show/episode, but by AfterEllen.com readers and staff.

I worked out a few of the kinks from that experiment (e.g. figured out how to increase the refresh rate), and now I want to invite American readers to help “live twitter” the new episode of The L Word on Sunday, which airs at 9pm PST/EST.

All you have to do is twitter a message starting with @afterellen_live from your phone while you’re watching the L Word episode on Sunday, and it will show up on afterellen.com/tweets, where all the other AfterEllen.com readers can read it! I’ll post a note on the homepage on Sunday directing readers to that page, and those readers who don’t want to be spoiled, just don’t go there.

For more info, visit afterellen.com/tweets. You can also sign up to follow the main AfterEllen.com twitter account (for AfterEllen.com headlines and alerts), and my personal twitter account (for random commentary).

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Private Practice (ABC) featured an older lesbian couple on last night’s episode. (Thanks to AE reader Hannah for the tip!)

Popular lesbian U.K. teen drama Sugar Rush debuts in the U.S. on here TV on Feb. 6.

Cherry Jones (currently the President of the United States on the Fox drama 24) underwent gall bladder surgery this week.

Jennifer Beals (The L Word) will appear on The Bonnie Hunt Show today on NBC, 2 pm EST. (Thanks for the tip, Explorergal!)

The eagerly awaited (at least by all of us here at AfterEllen.com) B-movie exploitation romp Bitch Slap opens in Los Angeles this week.

Sony PlayStation has banned the use of the words “gay,” “lesbian,” “bi-sexual” and “Jew” from their video games.

Rosie O’Donnell and Lindsay Lohan will be among the celebrities interviewed in the new documentary, Teenage Paparazzi, to be directed by Adrian Grenier (Entourage).

Friday Night Lights starts a new season tonight on NBC, complete with a new minor (for now) lesbian character, Devin.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

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