Gal Pals: Rumer Willis joins "90210" as a punky lesbian and Samantha reconnects with Lindsay on her birthday (Episode 11)

Straigt women playing gay:

A lesbian role may still seem to be edgy, and not quite mainstream.  For some, it could be a launching pad, or something great for the portfolio

Some straight women are the male fantasy of what a lesbian may look like - so gay vibe not required.

Others may get cast based on their draw.  If you don't have that perceived mainstream audience then no one would watch the show/movie right?

 

Lesbians not playing gay:

I think there may be a fear of being type cast  If you play a lesbian being a lesbian, that's all you can play may be the perception

If I were an actor, I think playing straight (especially intimately) would be one of the hardest roles to pull off.  What better way to show your talent eh?

 

Oh and thanks for the vlogs :)

 

Thank you for bringing up Deak again. She is insanely hot. She's been great in everything I've seen her in, as well. We need to see her in more things, for sure.

I think personally (knowing that this may be controversial to say the least) that a lot of lesbian film and television are a pile of bollocks and the stuff that isn't crap is very carefully calculated to be either sexually ambiguous or (in the words of Hannah Blilie) 'boner dyke' in its presentation, or both, which is the reason why such specific actresses are selected to play lesbian roles.

Take for example, the L Word. All the characters featured are either gay, genderqueer or bisexual which is universally groundbreaking for television, but the casting, a decision which will affect both the funding, the publicity and (for arguments sake) the acting talent within the group is evenly spread between straight and gay, despite the homosexual themes of the show. The L Word was successful because it was glossy, beautifully shot, glamerous and still dealt with important gay issues (although a key for us, more an interest for characters like my housemates) and this could only be provided by substantial funding - which would mean a certain level of executive control in casting. An exclusively homosexual cast would have isolated various key populations required for success: 

E.g. the 'boner dyke' contingent;  the male population's participation in the show is accomodated for by actresses like Jennifer Beales, who although playing a lesbian is straight in real life so is a realistic target to be fantasized over by a sizeable chunk of the male television watching community. Equally, as another example, Queer as Folk had a high population of housewives tuning in, to see glistening, toned, (if gay) male bodies seductively shot, Women loved the Brian Kinney character. Characters who are played by straight actors or presented superficially as straight, reach target audiences who watch a lot of television which means hyper success of show. The L Word and Queer as folk appealed to lots of people in this way. 

As for the sexually ambiguous contingent: Actresses like Katherine Moennig who still won't reveal her sexuality, is undoubtedly very attractive to both sexes but her androgeny means that she isn't threatening to the housewives or male university students tuning in. Rumer Willis and Ellen Degeneres have this as well, a certain level of chapstick lesbianism that is both appealing and distanced so they can be cast in these roles freely, even if they have trouble playing straight girl roles for the same reason.

Now, equally, if actresses fit either one of these catagories, they could be marketable in anything. Clementine Ford could play a straight girl as well as a gay one because her look is appealing to both men and women and not threatening either to the male population or to other women, whereas in numerous lesbian films I have watched, the sense of reality and the threat to watchers who are not in the lesbian community isolate them, I consider myself nearly fully gay and I couldn't stomach some of the actresses, cinematography or lack of accessiblity displayed in some of these films. And, for me at least, watching movies or television is a form of escapism which is why gloss, glamour and good acting would be a reason I would tune in again. Having a mixed cast for the very best actors for the roles seems a sensible choice.

Which, is why after this long fangled explanation, I think that to be cast as a lesbian, you need to be chapstick or boner dyke/lipstick to get anything, aside from Hollywood prejudices against gay actors.

 

I had a really good, intelligent, comment to say to this, then COMPLETLY lost it when you mention Clea Duvall, not only do I love her (not in a stalkerish way lol) but I have been watching loads of 'But, I'm a Cheerleader' and 'The Faculty' (yes, I know she WASN'T gay in that one, but come on! For 99% of the film she sooo could have been and looked fab!) so I unfortunatly got destracted, watched 'But, I'm a Cheerleader' again, and can't for the life of me remeber what the hell I was going to say....obviously wasn't that important lol, so all I'm gonna say is that you guys rock!

 

Oh a Trish, I totally boss people around 3mm away from their face....doesn't every good, card carrying lesbian/bi women :P lol

Great as always guys!

Why are mostly only straight women getting cast to play gay women in mainstream TV and film rolls?

Cross~Sex-Appeal prehaps? But mostly the main reason is because of homophobia. Producers are afraid that if they cast a gay woman to play a gay female character that the audience would think that they're watching a gay film and or TV show and not watch it.  

 

Oh and please I highly doubt all these straight holywood women are truely straight. please. ;)

 

 

When it comes to type casting don't you think that auditioning plays a good part in these actors playing gay characters or straight characters? They audition for parts that interest them, right? And there's something about them that makes them the best actor for the position. Other than that, I think people prefer actors who please both crowds/genders or transcends one label. For example, Ellen Degeneres - almost everyone loves her and so if I were disney, I'd want her to voice characters or be in my films. If it doesn't have to do with plain ol' auditioning I'm sure that the actors influence plays a huge part.

I wonder with straight actresses such as Mischa Barton and Evan Rachel Wood if it's that they have a reputation for being comfortable playing lesbian roles based on parts they've taken in the past, so if they even sort of fit the criteria for an upcoming (lesbian) part they'll get asked to audition?     

really great video
and yeah.. clea duvall where ARE you at?!

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well i don't know about you guys but i've always gotten this vibe from Rumor, my gaydor goes off the charts with her

as for straight girls playing gay roles everyone is straight until they're not, its doesn't look like they mind playing gay roles in fact it looks like they enjoy them.

"smile because it's the second best thing you can do with your lips"

Emily looks so gay. Trish, your friends are right, you look TOTALLY straight.

‘This is mine. I’m gonna pee on it. I’m gonna put all these pictures of it online so that you can know that it’s mine. Just in case you were wondering, she’s mine.’

Did you guys see her Tweet to Sam's friend a few days ago. Her friend whose in a band who said she wants to see her and Lindsay tweeted back 'Enough'. Girl is sooo possessive. 

I don't understand what criteria they use when casting gay roles, honestly. 

I thought it went off the air due to low ratings. I havn't watch this in months.

http://www.afterellen.com/node/53055

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