the linster's blog

The novel Middlesex, by Jeffery Eugenides (who also wrote The Virgin Suicides), was my first literary encounter with the concept that gender identity is a bit more complicated than what parts are in your pants.

Well, not exactly the first, since it explores some of the same themes as The Well of Loneliness. But Middlesex was more contemporary — and, for me at least, a more readable story.

In the novel, the narrator tells the story of being born with a recessive gene that resulted in being male, chromosome-wise, but without a penis (I’m way oversimplifying). The protagonist was misidentified and raised as a female, Calliope/Callie, but later — after an accident — learned his true gender identity and became Cal.

Part of the trick of the novel, from a writer’s perspective, was getting the voice right. The perspective of a narrator that was raised as a girl but was really a boy is not exactly intuitive. Whether Eugenides pulled it off was the subject of many a literary article when Middlesex was published. I’m not sure what I think, since Cal was telling the story as a man and even the flashbacks were his memories of living like a woman who was a man all along — well, you see the problem.

All together now: Whew!

EW.com reported welcome news for Grey’s Anatomy fans yesterday: Chandra Wilson has signed on the dotted line to continue playing Dr. Miranda Bailey.

I’m not sure why Shonda Rimes and company waited so long to finalize the deal, since Dr. Bailey is the most entertaining character at Seattle Grace. I mean, please — the woman brought “va-jay-jay” into our consciousness. The word, I mean.

Wilson also is about to become the first Grey’s cast member to direct an episode. No word yet on story details, but this will be the actress’ directorial debut. If Wilson directs anything like Bailey commands the hospital, we should be in for a treat.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been a little disconsolate about Anyone But Me being over for the season.

But Faye Hughes’ Inner Sanctum production company may be about to rescue us from the no-lesbians-on-screen doldrums with a new UK online lesbian TV series, Far Out.

Far Out tells the story of a group of friends living in London. Hughes set out to develop a show about contemporary lesbian life featuring ordinary lesbians in realistic situations.

If anyone was born to be on 90210, it’s Rumer Willis.

The CW has confirmed to Access Hollywood that Willis will play a lesbian in at least one episode of the show’s upcoming season, which starts September 8.

Her character, Gia, is “a punky cute lesbian who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.”

Gia will be a part of the Blaze News crew with 90210 regulars Navid (Michael Steger), Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) and Silver (Jessica Stroup).

Andrea Zuckerman would be so proud.

If you don’t watch Saving Grace, you probably think the show already has a lesbian character.

Or two.

But, alas, Holly Hunter’s Grace is very, very straight. She loves men and she loves sex with men. And she is not shy about doing what — and whom — she loves.

Thanks to AfterEllen.com reader indie, we know that a few women-loving women are going to show up on Grace (heh) in August. A casting call for an episode entitled “Looks Like A Lesbian Attack To Me” leaked last week and among the characters are three lesbians.

I was pretty lucky in the parent department, but I have to admit that this thought gave me pause. Imagine having Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as your moms.

According to a tip by AfterEllen.com reader indie, we’re going to get to see what that would be like, at least onscreen. Here's the official synopsis of The Kids Are All Right:

Now we have one more thing to celebrate this holiday weekend. Olivia will return.

By “Olivia,” I mean Mariska Hargitay, of course, and by “return,” I mean she will be back on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit for at least two more seasons. Hargitay and her partner in crime fighting, Christopher Meloni, finally signed their contracts this week.

The two stars, who have been with SVU since the show started in 1999, have been holding out for more cash, which NBC wisely decided to give them. No details, of course, but the all-knowing “sources” report that Hargitay and Meloni will get $400,000 per episode. I think Mariska and I could live quite happily on that.

As Trish Bendix reported a few weeks ago, the film about The Runaways, Cherry Bomb, has found the actress to play guitarist Lita Ford — only it’s not who we thought.

Apparently, the deal with Alessandra Torresani fell through, because this weekend Variety reported that the role belongs to Scout Taylor-Compton. (Thanks to astifledchance for the tip!)

Taylor-Compton herself confirmed the news on her MySpace page:

I have some pretty exciting news! I have recently been filming my ass off on my newest project The Runaways!! So far the process has been amazing, I am so lucky and honored to be able to portray the guitar icon Lita Ford!

I need to show y’all something.

This is Michelle Pfeiffer, in 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons.

This is Michelle Pfeiffer in Chéri, which opens today.

In case your math skills are like mine, 21 years have passed between those two pictures. And Pfeiffer is more stunning than ever.

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has unleashed a new wave of sexism, ranging from the blatancy of G. Gordon Liddy's comments to more subtle questions about the judge’s “temperament.”

The Women’s Media Center, founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, exists to address such issues of sexism in the media and to find ways to make sure women’s stories are told. Last week, the organization held its first awards ceremony to honor women who are “making a difference in media.”

Besides honoring traditional print and broadcast journalists like Christiane Amanpour (CNN), Helene Cooper (New York Times) and Candy Crowley (CNN), the WMC recognized two women from the online world: Rebecca Traister from Salon.com and Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend.

I have a crush on Kristen Wiig.

I know I’m not alone. Her Saturday Night Live characters like the Target Lady and Penelope have made her one of the most popular SNL players in recent years. In fact, Wiig has appeared in more sketches this season than any other cast member.

Her impressions are spot-on as well. Wiig’s Nancy Pelosi has gotten the most airtime, but my personal favorite is her take on Suze Orman.

For now, Wiig’s roles outside of SNL have been limited, but I make space on the DVR whenever I see her name. So I’m delighted to see her in the teaser for HBO’s new comedy, Bored to Death.

While ABC is airing the last episodes of some shows we’re sad to see go, the network decided to remind us that it hasn’t lost its mind completely by airing new installments of Better Off Ted, starting tonight.

The workplace comedy, which features No. 1 AfterEllen.com hottie Portia de Rossi as the ultimate no-nonsense boss, didn’t wow me at first, but I kept watching out of a sense of lesbian loyalty.

I’m glad I did because once I got past Ted himself (I still don’t much care for him) I loved it. Better Off Ted is surely one of the funniest comedies on summer TV.

Here’s the latest trailer:

Lest you think that Twitter has no redeeming value, this news is courtesy of the most excellent Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog alum, @feliciaday.

In fact, Day came up with the perfect tagline for AMC’s new B-Movie Classics (BMC) Web site: “Streaming old trashy goodness is a good idea.”

I have to tell ya’, I didn’t even know I wanted to see Raquel Welch’s first movie, A Swingin’ Summer.

But I couldn’t resist the description: “This ‘60s beach party musical features Racquel [sic] Welch in her film debut as a bespectacled bookworm who learns to loosen up and groove with the best of them.” Mm-hmm.

If you’ve never watched The Year of Living Dangerously, add it to Netflix. It’s a beautiful and touching movie, with wonderful performances by Sigourney Weaver and Mel Gibson (when he was still a pretty face instead of an ugly mouth). But no character was played as brilliantly as photographer Billy Kwan.

Linda Hunt won an Oscar for the performance. I wasn’t familiar with Hunt at the time and honestly was amazed that Billy was played by a woman. With the award, Hunt became the first actor to win an Academy Award for portraying a member of the opposite sex.

Hunt has been a staple in Hollywood ever since — who could forget her as Alice B. Toklas in Waiting for the Moon?

Oh, Grey’s Anatomy. Every time I think I have quit you, you pull me back in.

StuntDouble shared the rumor a few months ago that Jessica Capshaw was in final negotiations to become a regular cast member on Grey’s Anatomy.

Yesterday, Ausiello confirmed that this time, Callie’s girlfriend will be around for a while. Capshaw just signed on to be a full-fledged series regular.

When I was cleaning out my mother’s apartment after she died, I came across a yellowed, dog-eared piece of paper with the heading “My Daughter is a Lesbian.” Written by a mother whose heart was broken because of her daughter’s sexual orientation, the poem/prayer spoke of her grief, her prayers, her anguish — “What did I do wrong?” the mother wrote.

I was devastated. Not that I thought my mom had embraced my sexuality — she was a lifelong Southern Baptist, after all. But I thought we had come to a place of understanding. At least she had stopped trying to find me a husband. But she had never stopped praying that I would see the error of my ways.

Paige Williams has experienced the same kind of heartbreak from Christian parents who cannot accept her sexuality. She explores her feelings — and those of her folks Jerry and Judy — in her documentary Mississippi Queen.

In Williams’ case, her parents inability to accept their daughter’s “lifestyle” led to involvement with the ex-gay movement and eventual founding of In His Time, the only ex-gay ministry in Mississippi. They pray continually that God will deliver their daughter from sin. Paige, in turn, prays for her parents to realize that God loves her just as she is.

The enigmatic lunch lady.

Keeper of mystery meat.

Creator of apple-cheese surprise.

Nightmare fodder.

(That was awesome.)

When Meryl Streep accepted the SAG best actress award for Doubt this year, her thanks to fellow cast members culminated in a shout out to, “the gigantically gifted Viola Davis — my God, somebody give her a movie!”

My thoughts exactly.

Davis’ portrayal of Mrs. Miller, mother of the alleged abuse victim in the film, finally brought her the recognition on screen that she has on stage – acclaim that includes a Tony Award for best featured actress for her 2001 role in King Hedley II.

Law and Order: SVU fans — and everyone else who enjoys the magnificence of Mariska Hargitay — have been on pins and needles waiting to hear whether she is returning next season.

Although negotiations are still in progress with Hargitay and costar Chris Meloni, Michael Ausiello delivered some SVU news Thursday that will keep me tuning in: Stephanie March has signed a new contract that brings the world’s hottest ADA, Alex Cabot, back for at least 10 episodes.

Just in case you missed the memo, this is the same Stephanie March who told reporters in February that Alex might not be a “men only” kind of woman. March caused many of us to feel that telltale little tingle with her answer to the question of whether Alex and Olivia (Hargitay) are in love: “I’m not saying we’re not… I’m not saying we’re not in love.” (Read Sarah Warn’s blog about it here.)

If one series could be blamed for my addiction to television, it would be thirtysomething. As a Baby Boomer working in an ad agency, I related to so much of the show that I felt like it was real. (Not that other TV isn’t real, Virginia.)

Perhaps at some level, I knew that a lesbian was on board. Susan Miller, who produced and wrote for the first season of The L Word and is one of the creators of Anyone But Me, was a story editor for thirtysomething. I don’t recall any lesbian content, but I’m sure the vibe was there.

The show has been on cable now and then, but never at a time I could watch. But finally, thanks to Shout! Factory, the first season of thirtysomething will be released on DVD on August 25, with the other seasons to follow in six-month intervals.

Let’s play Lesbian Password. The clue is “Cagney.”

If your response was anything but “Lacey,” your lesbian cred is in serious jeopardy.

Let’s reminisce.

In the 25-plus years since Cagney and Lacey were our dream cops, Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless have both stayed busy.

One of our favorite lesbian moms alerted us to one more reason to watch the new Showtime series, Nurse Jackie, which premiered last night.

Turns out that one of the regular characters, Dr. Fitch “Call Me Coop” Cooper (Peter Facinelli) has two mommies.

Best of all, the lesbian moms, who first appear in Episode 6, are played by Swoosie Kurtz and Blythe Danner.

Finally, a list of powerful celebrities that puts women in their place. And number one is one of us.

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Angelina Jolie tops (heh) the Forbes “Celebrity 100” list this year, bumping Oprah Winfrey to No. 2. Look out Angelina — I think Gayle could take you.

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The Celebrity 100 ranks film and television celebs based on earnings and media coverage over the past year. Although Oprah’s annual income is $275 million — as opposed to Angie’s paltry $27 mill — Jolie certainly outranked the Big O in, um, exposure.

Not long after I came out, I was invited to a gay friend’s house to watch a movie that he said would have me laughing so hard that I’d pee my pants. How could I resist an invitation like that? The movie was Without You I’m Nothing, based on out comedian Sandra Bernhard’s much acclaimed one-woman-show of the same name.

I didn’t get it.

Bernhard ranted and raved and did odd non-impressions of celebrities and fake interviews with people I didn’t recognize, being a shiny new lesbian and all.

The tape ended with Bernhard draped in an American flag wearing nothing but a patriotic g-string and pasties, dancing to Prince’s Little Red Corvette. Not only were my pants dry, but I also felt totally stupid surrounded by gay men doubled over in laughter tears.

All these years later, Bernhard still confounds me much of the time. She often seems to be one step over the line between funny and not. Other times I think she’s brilliant and hilarious — and I revel in her outrageousness.

Finally, a reason to celebrate allergies.

Responding to a recent interview in More magazine that gave the impression that Mary-Louise Parker is bitter about having to do a nude scene last season in Weeds, she told TV Guide:

If you know me, it's like, someone sneezes and I take my clothes off. I'm naked in Esquire in August. I was naked on the set the other day. I'm always naked. I'm naked right now, in fact.

Bless you.