Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (December 12, 2008)
GOING OUT IN STYLE
Tonight The N airs the final episode of South of Nowhere, the teen show that was technically an ensemble drama but was really all about the relationship between Spencer (Gabrielle Christian) and Ashley (Mandy Musgrave) as they progressed from friends to lovers, to ex's, to lovers again. Throw in a homophobic-turned-accepting mom (Maeve Quinlan), an ex-boyfriend to stir things up (Matt Cohen), and siblings with issues, and you have all the makings of a good angsty teen lesbian romance.
The show definitely jumped the shark in the third season (if not the second), but for awhile there, we actually had an interesting, edgy show about a lesbian teen relationship, and it was good.
Thanks to all the showrunners, writers, producers, directors, and actors who made the world a little better for queer teens.
Given the finale, it's fitting that GLAAD should roll out its new PSA today, starring Gaby and Maeve (and Lauren Collins and Adam Ruggiero from Degrassi: Next Generation) talking about the importance of being friends with gay people (well, that's not exactly what it says, but you get the idea).
This PSA is one of 22 new spots which will appear on national cable networks and local affiliates throughout 2009.
Watch it here now:
The style is a little too formal for my taste, but the sentiment is terrific. I wish there had been PSAs on TV like this when I was a teenager! But I just got images of eggs sizzling in a skillet with an ominous voice saying, "this is your brain on drugs." If Maeve and Gaby had been frying the eggs, I might have paid more attention.
LESBIAN QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 3
"...that was some really good work that happened there."
— Mandy Musgrave (South of Nowhere) on her "make-out, throw-her-down-on-the-table scene" with Gabrielle Christian in a yet-to-be-seen episode of Angela Robinson's web series Girltrash, in her AfterEllen.com interview.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
Bravo has renewed Tabatha's Salon Takeover.
Showtime is developing a reality show about coming out.
Rachel Maddow's recent interview with Huckabee is generating some discussion among bloggers about her responsibility when it comes to covering gay issues. Read these thoughtful and divergent takes on the topic: Pam's House Blend, Feministing, Tami's blog.
As chair of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley will be the first high-level openly gay official appointed by Barack Obama.
We'll be posting a new Zurich episode of You Can't Take Them Anywhere! later this afternoon (Friday), but first, look for a Very Special Episode of Cat on the Prowl with Very Special Guest: she's one of this year's Golden Globe nominees; she's had more than one woman fall in love with her on screen (and probably off-screen, too); and I realized I was gay while watching one of her movies. Commence guessing in the comments! It's Mary-Louise Parker!
— by Sarah Warn
That's it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at afterellentips@gmail.com. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.
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If Tina Fey or Julia
If Tina Fey or Julia Louis-Dreyfus is on Cat on the Prowl, I may just pass out!
BTW, is it just me, or did this week seem to be fairly full of lesbian entertainment news? Gays go on strike and all of a sudden we're everywhere!
"The quick to think are never sure"
--Tiresias, Oedipus Rex
Not just you
Because this is all I care about...
Callie. I'm just sayin. I think sh'es just sluttin it up with all these lesser blonde whores cuz she misses Dr. Hahn. I'm sure there were more important things in this best week ever but..we all know where my priorities lie.
I got a dick like a mule...with a big dick.
Gaby's hair
Gaby
cat's guest
way to go Jon Stewart. and
way to go Jon Stewart. and as for the Jay Leno comment... Wanda Sykes said something about only affecting a straight marriage if she and her partner had sex in their living room or something. to which Jay then replied with his not-so-much-loved comment. I'm sorry, but after what Wanda said how can one as a comedian not say something obviously stupid like that? Imo it was more pointing out the stupidity of that thinking, which is what I think Jay was going for.
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My Photography
Jon on Religion
(Jon's response is an innovative one — that religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality is, and religious folks gets lots of rights and protections.)
I agree that it's a really innovative argument. And I think it's a good one. But it's interesting that I actually have equated my faith and my sexuality before. Both, I feel, are not a choice. Just like I could choose not to be in a relationship with a woman, I could choose not to practice my faith. But no matter my actions, I could never stop being gay. And I could never stop believing what I do. My experience of God and my faith community is so fundamental to who I am...I didn't choose it, but I cannot escape it (and, for me, that's a good thing). Now, many of us think being gay is biological, and i wouldn't argue that one's faith is. But, still, it's nothing I could change. Others would and will disagree with me on this, and probably point out the many people who have moved from Jewish to Agnostic to Atheist to Buddhist in their life (for example). I honor that experience, but mine is different. And in my experience, I don't think I'd could ever call my faith something I chose.
That being said, Jon Stewart does always bring such a fresh and logical approach to his interviews. He is able to really ask some fairly tough questions (especially for a comedy show) without the yelling or grandstanding of so many 'real' cable news interviewers. I'm always impressed with his style.
One last note: Huckabee comparing banning gay marriage as the same as (or even similar to) banning religious folk from burning people at the stake was one of the most absurd, ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Last time I checked, gay marriage didn't require a human shishkabob.
Well, both sexual
Well, both sexual orientation and religious identity has been called a "preference" but I tend to believe that one's religion is more of a "preference" than sexual orientation. I grew up very religiously and was baptised as an infant, and like you, even if I wanted to, I could not change the fact that I do believe in God and I struggle in my relationship to Him. There were times when I actually thought my life would be so much easier if I didn't believe in God. At 14, I got pregnant and I was so scared. There are only two reasons why I didn't have an abortion 1. I could not reconcile that action with my religious beliefs and 2. I didn't know how to go about getting one, lol/ But honestly. it was the first reason that made me NOT aggressively figure it out, and my husband (who was my boyfriend then) could have easily helped me arrange it. Anyway! I had five children before the age of 30, none of whom came during the right times in my life and each time I thought "oh my GOD, another baby? Who told me to have so many kids?!" And with each kid, I've actually tried to remove religion from them, in some well-intentioned but retarded attempt to have them choose their own. And of course, in that time, my religious views evolved. My daughter, born in 1990 when I was 15, was baptised as an infant, as was my son, born three years later. But my three youngest children, who are 10, 8 and 5 were born after I rejected the idea of infant baptisms. Point is, my religious views changed and developed significantly and it was by choice. There was some core part of the religious part of me that couldn't be changed but that was because of the environment I grew up in. Nurture over nature, so to speak. If I'd had different parents, I would have probably developed a different religious "base"
But no matter WHO my parents were, I still would be bisexual. Have I had some changes in that? Sure. I mean, jeez, I was a pregnant 14 year old who kept having more kids. At 16, I came out to myself and finally accepted that I liked girls, too. I dated a couple girls very casually while still dating other boys and my now- husband. Between 19 and 21, I dated women almost exclusively and had one very intense short-term relationship with a woman and one very intense, long-term relatoinship with another woman. Then a couple years of restless dating before I finally married my husband when I was 23. Sometimes, I was more attracted to women, sometimes I was more attracted to men, sometimes I wasn't picky, sometimes I was just slutty and of course there were times I was immature and just wanted to get back at my boyfriend (now my husband). Point is, none of that could significantly change who I was when I identified as bisexual. When I rejected the idea of infant baptisms, it was a pretty significant religious change.
I just think that religion IS a choice, and it was more to do with how you're raised.It absolutely becomes an integral part of you, and I recognize that. But I think that when we think about our religous preferences, we can accept that a lot of it has been shaped by our experiences and how we're raised. NOT how we're born. I wasn't born Protestant, and I was raised CAtholic anyway. But it was close enough that I could reconcile the core beliefs with my new beliefs. Any other religious upbringing would have created its base, and I'd prbably have a religous preference closer to that hypothetical other religous upbringing (like Judais,Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, etc) But I was born bisexual and even having FIVE children before the age of 30, several crazy ex-girlfriends, a homophobic family (who rejected fornicator me anyway), and marrying the boy who got me into this whole dating mess in the first place, STILL didn't change the fact I was bisexual. AND BELIEVE ME, if sexuality could be changed, it wuold have spared me a lot of grief to have gone fully one way or the other. But I couldn't
Not sure if religion is so
Not sure if religion is so much of a choice. It's inherited. Yes I agree you can change your religion but I don't think that's much of a choice for most people. They run the risk of being disowned by their families. I know my family would be pissed.
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Choice
The premise that we cannot choose our beliefs just blows my mind.
If we accept the idea that we cannot change or choose what we believe, then we cannot criticize Huckabee and other homophobes because they cannot change their homophobic beliefs!
The idea leads to ridiculous extremes and it's all because people put religion up on a pedestal and claim that it is different to everything else and deserves to have different rules applied to it.
_____
Life is like tentacle porn: it isn't for everybody.exactly
thank you for pointing this out. honestly i think taking the free will part out of religion kind of defeats the purpose anyway. but this is typical of our culture that loathes critical thinking and teaches blind obedience to "authority" from kindergarten onward.
for the record, people have rejected the religious beliefs they were raised in since cain slew abel. i, for one, am a more recent and less mythic example (although i never murdered my brother).
and your point about, "it's all because people put religion up on a pedestal and claim that it is different to everything else and deserves to have different rules applied to it" was exactly stewart's point about religion and religious people having special legal protections.
Sexuality and Religion
Hannah, I believe you've touched on a very important distinction with:
"... I could choose not to practice my faith."
"Faith" and "Religion" are two entirely different things. Religions, at their worst, have sought to stifle and control with mistranslated texts and later additions (as well as excisions) to dogma. Faith eliminates the "middle man" of the human controlled church and is a one-on-one relationship with the divine/spiritual. Which, if one reads the un-revised texts, is what Jesus wanted in the first place. That is the true irony of many Christian religions, the propogation of a religious movement that has committed some utterly heinous acts in the name of a person who wanted to do away with organised religion and encourage instead a personal, loving relationship with the divine.
faith and religion
I think you have an interesting point, and certainly one that resonates with many other people. But my faith is a calling to be in community with others. I actually disagree that Jesus taught a one-on-one relationship with God that is separate from organized religion. For sure, Jesus was antagonistic to the Jewish leadership. But he never sought to separate himself from Judaism. For that matter, neither did the Apostles. When Jesus began his ministry, he called people to be in community with him. It is essential to have the support of others.
Could I practice my faith outside of a traditional church structure? Sure, and I think that is part of the appeal of non-denominational churches and what causes new movements in all religions. But I could not practice my faith alone. It is my community of faith that teaches me and helps me how to journey with God.
And, of course organized religion has commited atrocities. That's pretty impossible to deny, When given a position of power, people tend to abuse it. I don't think it is the mark or teaching of any religious tradition to be so harmful and abusive, I think it is the mark of the flawed nature of humanity. Of course, that doesn't lessen the tragedy of the pain that is caused.
Interesting one this.
Interesting one this. Surely religion must be a choice, otherwise people wouldn't be good (in the eyes of their religion) for choosing their particular religion. If religion wasn't a choice, then what would be the point of being born again? If someone preached their religion then surely they are saying, 'I believe there is a choice, I want you to choose my way of following God'. If there was no choice, people wouldn't bother.
As I understand it it is the very choosing of it that people encourage. Missionaries who go to non Christian countries and explain the bible are hoping that non Christians will choose to turn their life to Christ.
Surely if it wasn't a choice then it wouldn't be a sacrifice? As I understand it, many religions belive that it is the difficulty of overcoming choice that makes someone a good person. Eg, I can choose to have an extra marrital affair, or I can choose to keep my money to myself, but because of my faith in God, I will remain faithful, and I will donate my time and money to the homeless.
There is so much choice. There are so many religions. You may not feel any desire to be a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, but you may feel you have found your path to following Christ. And you may (or may not) have decided that Catholicism was the path for you, or that you are a Methodist. And you activily seek out teachings to help you in that path, these are your choices. And far from that being a bad thing, that is probably what has given you the faith you have today. Because it was your choice. And (and forgive me if I am wrong) you probably are proud you have your faith and you feel that you have worked hard with your faith, with your choices.
Surely that is the whole point of religion? Those with faith pride themselves on having overcome obstacles and having chosen their religious path. As a lesbian, I did not choose my sexuality, but I chose to come out. But even if I didn't choose to come out, I would still be a lesbian.
Huge kudos to Jon Stewart
He was great!
Perhaps your belief in God is not a choice as you see it, but the question about a religious lifestyle is about choice. What is a lifestyle and what makes it a choice as opposed to being born with a particular sexual orientation? Participation in specific religious rituals is about choice, but that does not mean your basic belief in God is being questioned. A religious denomination is the grouping of a set of ideas, beliefs and customs. Even if we are nurtured in the environment of those particular prayers, commandments, religious laws and customs, it doesn't mean that they are literally in our DNA. In a similar fashion your sexual orientation is not a choice, but the manner in which you express it is. For instance, going to bars and clubs is a lifestyle choice, but being attracted to certain people is not.
I think Stewart was making the point that something like polygamy is a lifestyle choice, while sexual orientation is not. The Bible shows lifestyle changes in marriage customs over time. The Old Testament illustrates numerous people living as polygamists with wives and concubines such as Abraham. Moses had a mongamous reltionship with Zephora. In the New Testament Jesus and his apostles appeared to live a celibate lifestyle. Potentially we can live each of these lifestyles regardless of sexual orientation, but again the sexual orientation is not a lifestyle choice.
I would go further to say that much of the Judeo-Christian Bible is about choice. In Genesis Adam and Eve had free will, and given the choice in the Garden of Eden between blissful ignorance and knowledge with hardship, they chose knowledge. In the Gospels Jesus is constantly challenging people about their lifestyle choices. It is a spiritual choice to follow the way of Jesus. He challenged people to live by his example.
There's a whole lot more that could be said, but I think Stewart made an important point that could be used more in our struggle for civil rights.
Cat's Guest
Hopin' for Angie, excited because I think it's Christina Applegate.
Woo! :)
Ooopsy!
*crosses fingers*
...for Mary Louise Parker...
And, yay for YCTTA!
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~It means pride.~
Very Special Guest...
Mary Louise Parker!
this is the easy one for those of you who've been visiting the site for awhile — I realized I was gay while watching one of her movies.
Mary Louise Parker! Unless there's someone else from Fried Green Tomatoes who is nominated for a Golden Globe . . .
Also, Anyone But Me looks like it's off to a really good start! I look forward to seeing the next episode.
Mama C did the understudy with a candlestick
(Did I get that right Miss D?)
L-Word season six. Yawn.
***** dies. Yawn.
Mama C in a publicity still. Yawn.
Lackluster opening scene. Yawn.
Reality stretched, drama deflated. Yawn, yawn.
Scribegirl returning. Yaw....WHAT!!??? Wait a second. Read that again:
Though, as our returning TLW recapper Scribegrrrl aptly quipped, “You can't spoil what is already ruined.”
Scribe is returning? Dorothy Snarker! You know better than to drop a surprise like that on an elderly lady like me. I was in danger of spilling my gin. This calls for a bottle of Gordons and fresh tray of ice, my dear! Someone hand me my lemon.
Not Only But Also
Whoa, what?
This is what I get for trying to remain spoiler-free, I almost missed the news! How was Scribegrrrl's return not the FIRST thing mentioned, before the skip-ahead-of-the-spoilers link?
Scribe is returning? Dorothy Snarker! You know better than to drop a surprise like that on an elderly lady like me. I was in danger of spilling my gin. This calls for a bottle of Gordons and fresh tray of ice, my dear! Someone hand me my lemon.
*hands you a lemon* or, no, wait, your lemon? Is it a special lemon? Maybe a Liz Lemon?
YCTTA!!
FINALLY!!!! You'll have me glued to my computer screen the whole next week because of this! I'll HAVE HAVE HAVE to watch both Cat on the Prowl and YCTTA like, 10 times once they're up :D :D
You didn't even take your clothes of, yet you've never looked more naked.
Ellen and Jon, FTW!
*Sigh* seeing Ellen in those ads reminded me how much I love her - cus I'd forgotten for all of 4 seconds or so.
Also how frickin frackin AWESOME is Jon Stewart??!!!! Really frickin frackin awesome, that's how much.
I just love how he's able to call people on their BS and still remain likeable and respectful. Awesome, just awesome.
Anyone But Me...
...there's something very real about these characters, they seem so genuine and comfortable together...looks very promising!!
can't wait for the next episode
is it just me?
I dont' know maybe I just love watching Angelina Jolie so much that I'm thinking Nicole Pacent looks like her in certain angles
Angelina and Nicole
I third that! &there ain't
Mary Lou! Mary Lou!
Mary Lou! Mary Lou! Mary Lou!!!
I think I am about to hyperventilate from the merest suggestion that MLP could be on Cat on the Prowl!! And will clearly be distraught now if she is not!! But that is where I'm putting my money!!! :D:D
BLWE
Dear Staff,
I know that you recycle material from the week past to use again, but for regular visitors, this gets a little bit repetitive. Please, couldn't you make at least half of the material you put in BLWE be new, or at least rewritten..
"Another life saved by girl-on-girl action"
- House
I actually like it
I read AE almost every day, but not always word for word. Even when I do, I like that all the queer news is summed up again weekly so I remember what has happened.
You don't have to read BLWE, you can just forward to the last page. However, then you would miss out on awesome quotes like this one:
LESBIAN QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 2
"Being topped in a hard-core sex scene by Ann Coulter and Cindy McCain — all the while being watched by a mime in clown makeup playing the flute."
- - - - - - - - - -
-Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
I blog, therefore, I am
I don't mind...
But I usually skip forward to the last page first, and then quickly click through the earlier ones for the quotes.
I would love it if all the additions and the quotes was gathered in one place, though, since I'm a pretty thorough reader of the blog-posts throughout the week.
Jessica Capshaw
I finally figured out why that name was *so* familiar. Christina Cox briefly played a character by the name of Detective Jessica Capshaw on that Crow-spinoff TV Show years ago... Not the best of shows, but it certainly had its cute moments.
Looking forward to Cat on the Prowl and YCTTA later!!
I think the guest will be
I think the guest will be Jessica Lange (WGN Episode 10 - Maile Flanagan).
Great BLWE. No mention of Colin Powell though, too political? He thinks the "Don't Tell, Don't Ask" policy in the military needs to be done away. "It's not working".
**Xmas shopping this weekend** :(
----Jasmeen's Signature---
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YAY! Finally!
Have been waiting for MLP on cat on the prowl since i read her interview again. WOHO!!
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Lucy and Rachel
During that entire L Word clip, I couldn't help thinking how weird it was to actually see Lucy Lawless and Rachel Shelley in the same room. They've always reminded me SO much of each other, and it's just kinda weird to see them together. Weird, but good! Lucy looks so hot, it almost makes me not care that Jenny is a goner.
Anyway...I'm kinda feeling that this final season of TLW will suck...
*I need buddies!*
Mike Huckabee
Did anyone else hear him say that the the religion folk want to burn people at the stake...
does he want to burn people at the stake?
This took me a little off guard and I have to say not that I ever thought politicians were sane but this is going absolutely nuts!
ER
Girltrash!
wow
Mixed week
Well i am sad and gutted about Angela and Roxie they clearly have chemistry and would make for a great couple. And these days we really need that.
I loved the Jon Stewart interview, he totally rocks big time.I have a straight male friend who stands up for gay and lesbian rights and has same attitude as Jon. Also cool news is Ellen being the face for covergirl I love Ellen she is totally awesome.
BLWE
3 things
1. L Word--am I the only one already feeling sad & nostalgic that this is the last season. Maybe I am way too attached to the show lol but I felt myself tearing up watching the preview. Don't mind me, the same thing happened when Dana made her guest appearance in Season 4. You would have thought I was seeing a long lost friend. Anyway regardless of all it's inconsistincies, losing beloved characters, etc....I still love the L Word and I am not ashamed to say it! So I am bittersweetly looking fwd to the last season. & I was going to write something else but was worried it might be spoiler-ish so just in case there is ANYONE left who doesn't know who dies(which seems unlikely w/ the latest promo but still)...I took it out. So onwards & upwards...
2. I already loved Wanda Sykes before she came out but now I love her even more.
3. Jon Stewert...I've always loved him as well, in fact he is one of the few male celebs I have found attractive & even made a fool of myself telling him I had a crush on him once when he came into the restaurant where I used to work lol...but I digress! He just keeps getting more & more awesome. What struck me in the interview(well one of the things)...was at one point Huckabee said something about marriage being about a man and a woman and that was how we procreated, like somehow implying if gay ppl were allowed to marry that procreation would stop? Maybe I was reading too much into that but that was how I took it, & I was just thinking, um hello there are already more children in the world then there are homes for them & if gay ppl were allowed to marry maybe there would be more adoption and thus more homes for unwanted children. & wouldn't Christian or religous ppl rather children go to homes where the parents are married? Just a thought. But I thought all of Jon's points were so spot on, I loved when he brought up the "redefining marriage" thing as semantics, b/c it totally is. As has been pointed out by many marriage has been "redefined" over & over again through the yrs. & how ironic that Huckabee's book is called "Do the Right Thing". Indeed.
"she's had more than one
"she's had more than one woman fall in love with her on screen"
What other movie besides Fried Green Tomatos has Mary Loise Parker's character had another woman fall in love with her? What am i missing out on!?
Boys on the Side
Whoopi Goldberg was madly in love with her in Boys on the Side. And yes, I have seen way too many obscure lesbian movies. :)
Sarah..
that movie was hardly obscure! And I don't think the lesbian subtext was all that sub-. It really was a beautiful movie, and the soundtrack was awesome too. It might be obscure to some of the younger members, but I'm sure more than a handful of us have seen it...>.<
~Without risk, there can be no innovation. Without innovation, there can be no advancement. ~
You're right
love obscure movies
I had seen it a good few years ago and had to argue with my friends about the true relationship between these two characters - yes only me, the one who turned out to be gay, picked up on it :P
Funnily enough it was on TV just a few weeks ago and I watched it again.
Speaking of obscure lesbian movies, have you ever seen Listen (1996)?
I have never seen any website talk about this when listing lesbian movies. This was actually the first movie that made me question my sexuality and therefore I think a lot of it.
I would also like to add
I would also like to add that one of my favourite movies since childhood has been Fried Green Tomatoes. My sister and everybody else that I know, are unaware of the two chataracters true relationship. I guess that is largely due to the fact that this was donwplayed enormously for the movie, as the book clearly identifies a lesbian relationship.
However my all time favourite movie is Beaches.
There must have been something about the close friendships that I felt drawn to in childhood.
.... Hindsight really is 20/20 :P
" — Mandy Musgrave
" — Mandy Musgrave (South of Nowhere) on her "make-out, throw-her-down-on-the-table scene" with Gabrielle Christian in a yet-to-be-seen episode of Angela Robinson's web series Girltrash, in her AfterEllen.com interview."
Now I can't wait to see that! :O
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