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An open letter to "Out" magazineDear Out magazine, Hi, remember us? Yeah, we’re women. We’re gay women. Look, I know you don’t normally like to think about us because we’re all icky and girly and you prefer men — hence the gay thing. But we are a part of your community. We exist. I know that last part is also hard for you to believe, since no gay women were featured on your cover during all of 2008. In fact, only four women (all straight, naturally) made your cover in 2008 total, and that’s being generous and including your December 2007/January 2008 double issue. Otherwise it would just be two — two women in 12 months.
But, hey, I understand. You are a magazine that largely caters to gay men. We get that. We’re used to it. And yet, when I looked at your Out 100 December cover I couldn’t help but see red. As in all the blood rushed to my head and started to boil and then started to churn and then started to explode red. You picked Katy Perry as the female representative of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people of the year? Katy Perry? Katy “I Kissed a Girl” Perry? Straight Katy Perry whose song has become an anthem for drunken straight girl-on-girl hook-ups at a frat party everywhere? Seriously? That Katy Perry?
You see, it’s not that I have a problem with her inescapably catchy song, per se. I mean, it does irk me when she sings that she hopes her “boyfriend don’t mind” and that it’s an “experimental game” and “not what good girls do.” Yes, I know she is joking. She really loves the gays even if she has never actually kissed a girl or anything truly gay like that. Still, just because the religious right doesn’t like the song either doesn’t mean we have to automatically embrace it. In fact, it feeds into the worst stereotypes about what it means to be gay, namely an experiment on the road back to heteroville. But who cares, right? As your editor, Aaron Hicklin, responded to Gawker’s criticism of your cover choice, “I Kissed a Girl” has a beat and you can dance to it and “sometimes that's all I want from my music.” No, what I really have a problem with is that there were plenty of actual gay women in the world, let alone on your Out 100 list (which inexplicably has 109 people on it instead of 100), who would have made better, more representative cover girls. Take Rachel Maddow (who you claim was unavailable), or Tegan & Sara or Heather Matarazzo or Missy Higgins or Jane Lynch any of the other 24 gay and transgendered women on your list. Heck, even Lindsay Lohan would have been better since she will at least admit to being in a relationship with a woman. Political commentator Rachel Maddow, mayor Denise Simmons, But then I guess you would have to be thinking about gay women and their representation. You know, the icky girly stuff. I can tell you don’t like to think about that because of the pathetic percentage of women — gay or straight — on your list of 109 people. A scant 22 percent of your honorees were women. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, well, we’d be here all day. Of the 56 portraits taken of the listmakers, only 9 were of women alone or with other women. That means that 84 percent of the time your photoshoots were men only or women coupled with men. I guess you’ve got to have something to look at, huh.
Musicians Tegan & Sara, Amanda Palmer and Amy Cook Look, Out, we’re not looking for a full-scale lezzie takeover of your magazine or anything. We realize we’ll never be your main focus. But we want to be in at the very least considered seriously when it comes time to put together what is meant to be a comprehensive list of the biggest LGBT movers and shakers of the year. We deserve better than 22 percent. And we definitely deserve better than Katy Perry. Sincerely (someone who has actually kissed a girl), Ms. Snarker Submitted by on November 13, 2008 - 5:00pm. |
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Well said!
OUCH!
Hey OUT
What the title of the mag should be...
OUT gay men.
I think I bought this mag...
Once...
When I first came out in 95'
But since then I do not bother... I mean why would a dyke buy a mag where there might be one lesbian mentioned in an average issue???
Oh, Dorothy
Sincerely (someone who has actually kissed a girl),
Ms. Snarker
Oh, Ms. Snarker. you've done it again. (made me laugh, i mean. Not kissed a girl. But hopefully that, too.)
thanks Ms. Snarker for
thanks Ms. Snarker for always being a well spoken (or rather well written) voice of reason in our community.
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My Photography
Gay men don't like lesbians?
What's up with that? I know someone from AE mentioned that a few weeks ago, Perez Hilton doesn't seem to like lesbians at all (apart from Ellen, maybe), then there was this one gay guy who made fun of Lindsay's bisexuality and was just downright mean and now this? what is up with gay guys that they don't seem to like and/or even respect us?
this is exactly what we need right now, disrespect WITHIN the lgbt-community! really awesome, OUT magazine, thanks for representing!
http://babydyke.blogspot.com/ - my take on all things lesbian
for what it's worth, two of
Wonderful!!!
I loved this letter! I felt the exact emotion after I saw the cover!
OMG!!!! F$#king Katy Perry!! The chick aint even gay and she is supposed to be representing me, who actually identify as a lesbian! Who love kissing women, not for the entertainment of straight men...ugh!! but because I simply love women and like nothing more that to kiss the woman I have feelings for!! I hate that dam song too!!
Anyways, thanks Ms. Snarker (another woman who actually kissed a girl, and Im sure you LOVED it) Wonderful letter :)
~Yan~(another someone who has kissed a girl)
Not surprised
geeez only
geeez only 22%
thanks..
haha
as for katy perry
i love her but she really should not be on the list
LET ALONE the front cover
eugh
though i have to say that t&s pic with amanda palmer and amy cook is very
very
nice :D
Agreed
Very Very Very Very nice.
And Katy Perry + 22% = suckage.
-------------------------------------------
They told me I should just concentrate and breathe
With little lungs I
Breathe
Damn Crooked!
Dang You Katy Perry!
*sits in a big leather
*sits in a big leather chair with a monocle, shaking fist*
"Curses!"
sick
What the f%*& were they
Tegan and Sara...
Why did they even bother publishing a list like that?? It's rediculous!
On a lighter note though, i'm LOVING Tegan and Sara in that picture!!!!!! :D
Hell yeah!
I like it, too. They look like a Greaser gang from the 50's, except sexier...
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Sorry for the gravity...
Disappointed but not shocked
Katy Perry - nice pick for the cover. What, Rachel Maddow has absolutely no time? Or just not the ten second notice you pondered giving her?
I don't like the "I Kissed a Girl" song, but I could live with it. But putting on the cover a woman that uses the word Gay as a putdown ("You're so Gay) is insulting to the entire community. Absolutely sick!
"That which you believe becomes your world."
I only saw the list today
I only saw the list today because someone linked me to the page with Jeff and Hunter from [title of show]. I ADORE those guys! I'm a total [tos] junkie. I was also excited to see Cheyenne Jackson. Love him. I guess I wasn't too upset about the list. Out magazine is pretty much an allegory for my life. As a theatre major in a smaller city, my gay community is only gay men. No lesbians, except for me of course. I've heard people talk about some disharmony between gays and lesbians, but I haven't experienced it. I love my friends and gay men in general. If it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be out.
HOWEVER, I absolutely agree about Katy Perry. Yuck! I think U R So Gay is probably one of the worst songs ever written. I Kissed a Girl was fun the first few times, but once I really listened...
[TITLE OF SHOW]!!!!!! This
[TITLE OF SHOW]!!!!!! This is the first time I've seen anyone mention it outside the[tos] forums, which is actually quite sad -- the internet doesn't know what it's missing. I'm so happy for Jeff and Hunter! Did you get to see [tos] before they closed it? I saw it a reasonably ridiculous amount of times in four days and then had to fly back home where I may never see it again. Don't talk to me about life.
Also, am with you the gay men front -- they're the reason I'm out too. But Katy Perry? Nah, they can all get fucked.
No, I didn't get to see
No, I didn't get to see it! My friend and I wanted to go sooooooo badly. We've been obsessed with the cast recording and the [title of show] show for qute a while now. It just so happened that I was in NYC a month before it opened and just didn't have the cash to go back. I really hope they tour or something. Like a 9 People's Favorite Cities kind of thing? :)
A lot of my gay male friends love Katy Perry. I just don't get it.
They mixed up Tegan & Sara
I fucking love that picture of them, but in Out's article they mixed up who is who, haha.
http://www.out.com/out100/nominees_52.asp
You can tell by their tattoos...
I cant beleive it...
I have to say, I'm finding
I have to say, I'm finding it awfully hard to care about any of this after seeing that picture of Amanda Palmer (and Tegan and Sara). Good grief. I already love her to bits and that picture is HAWT.
www.myspace.com/stopstartstall - acousticy music type stuff.
That was my exact reaction.I
That was my exact reaction.
I was reading the article and not the least bit surprised (isn't "out" aimed towards men?) but a little bit annoyed.
But then I saw the picture of Amanada Palmer (with Tegan and Sara) and my thoughts were "oooo. . . Amanda Palmer. Pretty Picture. Nice. I do not really care anymore." And thus I realized I have the attention span of a magpie.
and i just had to blast them...
i was so shocked after seeing/reading this article...wtf??? Katy Perry??? are they retarded??? so, yes...i sent off my own opinion to their ad department and general contact email...
www.myspace.com/wickedanomaly
www.allfuqdup.blogspot.com
Ugh.
Insult to injury...
When I heard about the cover, I was almost as pissed as Ms. Snarker. First, I hate that song and the intangible need for every straight person to sing it at a nearby lesbian, if timing and company coincide. Last month, after trying my hardest to avoid hanging out at straight bars with my so-straight-they-pride-themselves-on-it teammates, a friend's birthday drew me out of my hibernation and what did they do when the DJ happened to play that song...? Well, I'm sure you could guess. And that was far from the first time.
Reasons 2 thru 10 why I detest that song were all stated above so...who's got a plan where we just wake-up six months in the future, when that insipid fad/song/singer is over?
Leisha Hailey.
Leisha would have made a mighty FINE cover girl...but I guess they never heard of her.
*sigh*
I really have no issues with Katy (besides the fact that I need to stay away from that song otherwise it stays in my head on average for 5 days.)
But I do have an issue with her being on the cover of this particular issue...when there are women who would have been a much better choice.
I am guessing Katy was picked because in an interview she admitted to having a little gay man inside of her. And I guess Out wants him to come out too.
Out contact info
Gay men love straight women
Brilliant!
You summed it up well.
Unfortunately, Out has always been this way. It won't ever change. I won't even open the cover of that magazine. More then anything I'd just like to have a quality diverse magazine for the GLBT community. Even the lesbian magazines are trash.
_________
http://www.liveleak.com/user/Harpy
For a Lesbian/Bisexual Women's Magazine, try She
For a Lesbian/Bisexual Women's Magazine, try She. It's based in South Florida, so I'm not sure if you can get it where you live,
-----of course I'm biased since I write for them-)
Thank you
Before I even started reading...
I saw the picture of Katy Perry and got sooooo mad. Then I read and laughed out loud!
"Katy Perry? Katy “I Kissed a Girl” Perry? Straight Katy Perry whose song has become an anthem for drunken straight girl-on-girl hook-ups at a frat party everywhere? Seriously? That Katy Perry?"
It almost made the blow bearable....
Quote:Straight Katy Perry
Haha. Obviously that's why they chose her. Honestly, I really don't care about silly faggy mags anyway! I don't have much in common with gay guys . Does OUT magazine present itself as a "community" mag or just a gay guy magazine?
How rubbish
How rubbish!!!
There are so many others girls ‘that actually like girls’ that they could have used but didn't!
Utter pants (to put it mildly).KATY PERRY?
I felt the energy and emotion coming from your letter. Igree with you. My hetero roomie doesn't understand why "I Kissed A Girl" is offensive for some lesbians, and bisexual women.
I do believe that Katy Perry was wrong for the cover. I'd feel a little better knowing that putting her on the cover was a marketing strategy in order to generate magazine sales from her many fans and not that she is on there as a representative of the lgbtq community.
Maybe lesbians should just STOP buying it?
That's what I do these days ... vote with my feet (or my wallet). Money talks!
Just because something is 'gay' does not mean we should feel obligated to support it ... especially if they are doing a bad job.
I never go on Perez Hilton for that very reason ... he is the main driver of hatred in the straight community, towards lesbians (particularly Samantha Ronson) whom he calls "Sa MAN tha".
In fact he seems to hate gay people in general.
Out putting Katy Perry on the cover is a slap in the face to US.
I take offense.
It is such an insult that they picked Katy Perry to represent me, or you, or you, or you. Jesus Christ. I'd like to think that I'm a tad more promising than some one-hit wonder.
This further proves my theory that male homosexual demographic is constantly pervaded with the same elements of entertainment hunger that the heterosexual paradigm is. How many female singers out there have ambiguous lyrics? Tons. KT Tunstall, Regina Spektor...that just shows how they've opted to skim the surface imagery rather than dig a little deeper.
Grr. My internal tiger is discontent with Out. If I were a famous lesbian, I would've been "unavailable", too.
My name is Tender. Tender Forever.
http://www.fonfreaka.blogspot.com
Not surprised
Katy Perry and that stupid song of hers seriously annoy the heck outta' me!! Nonethelss, OUT magazine has always seemed very male-centric to me, so I guess I'm not surprised at their choice.
As for Amanda Palmer in that black & white photo w/ Tegan & Sara= wayyyy hot!
"Ayo! I'm tired of using technology...I need you right in front of me."
picture
damn
This is the second time I've unsubscribed from the Advocate RSS feeds to minimize advertising dollars to its owners, and I think the last time was because of something stupid in Out too.
Katy Perry = everything that's wrong with our society's views on f/f relationships. I can't listen to that song without feeling physically ill.
--
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always boom tomorrow.
--Susan Ivanova tells it like it is
Nicely Said
Take Rachel Maddow (who you claim was unavailable) ...
Maybe she hates Out magazine too.
Thanks, Dorothy Snarker.
I let my subscription to The Advocate run out when I realised how gay (male)-centric they were -- but this really is ridiculous. Gay men can be just as sexist (and often downright misogynist) as their straight counterparts and I guess we can add this to the pile of evidence.
Katy Perry = everything that's wrong with our society's views on f/f relationships.Yep.
i would comment on how much i hate katy perry
but i was distracted by the awfully hot pic of tegan & sara, and amanda palmer there at the bottom.
hotness.
No more "OUT"
I'm an OUT subscriber for many years now. I subscribed at times when gay women were featured fairly often and there were even model shoots & pictures with females.
Since quite some time now I've been not very happy with the direction that the magazine takes. As Dorothy states they are a magazine that largely caters to gay men and I knew that before I subscribed but if that means that lesbians are not featured at all on 58% of the pages (40% is ads anyway), I'm not interested to read it anymore.
So my subscription will run out and not be renewed. I would like to subscribe to a good lesbian magazine but I don't know to which. Any ideas of any of you AE readers? Recommendations are welcome ;)
Dorothy:
You go girl! Rachel Maddow should have been the cover girl. I've never read OUT magazine since I don't live in the US but it is a shame that a self-proclaimed gay magazine mainly depicts men and not women, And when they do show a woman she's not even gay or bisexual or bi-curious for that matter. Katy Perry..tssss unf*ckingbelievable...
I felt exactly the same way
I felt exactly the same way yesterday when I saw the cover, and I was wondering did I miss something? Am I the only one who feels offended by this song? I'm in France so I don't feel Out mag chose Katy Perry to represent me, but still…
Just so you know, I wrote about your letter on Yagg, France's new LGBT website. You can read it here: http://www.yagg.com/2008/11/tous-les-ans-le.html
http://judeinthesky.blogspot.com
http://www.yagg.com
http://www.bope.fr
experimental list
Apparently Ellen Degeneres and all her awards don't even come close to Kate Perry. Hope my stomach don't mind it.
Why not even Portia??? Come
I understand the need for a pretty feminine female on the cover...
Why not even Portia??? Come on, she's a blonde bombshell, and gay too! She even played that man-eater on that lawyer show!
Weird. That.
Ps: I'd rather even have Angelina Jolie - even though she's with Brad Pitt now. At least they donated money to help the fight against Prop 8, and she was with Jenny Shimizu before.