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Lesbros: Dallas Green

The trusty website, UrbanDictionary.com, has several definitions for the term lesbro:

1. A man who has more friendships with lesbians than other women or men.

2. The male equivalent of a fag hag.

3. A heterosexual man who is either one or both of the following: a brother to one or more lesbian sisters, or, friends with a disproportionate amount of homosexual women. “Wow, your brother really only hangs out with gay girls, doesn’t he! And you’re a big gay yourself, sister! What a lesbro you’ve got there!”

To us, a lesbro is a little bit of all, but at his core, a lesbro is a male friend to at least one, but possibly several, lesbians. This column shares a little bit about some famous lesbros that we love.

This week’s Lesbro: Dallas Green. Musician Dallas Green plays under the moniker City and Colour. He is also a proud Canadian who loves flannel and hugs.

AfterEllen.com: Which of the above definitions of a Lesbro do you think you are?

Dallas Green: I’d have to say three, just because I feel like I am a brother from another mother to the girls – Tegan and Sara. Do you know what I mean?

AE: Sure, but you should explain it to our readers!

DG: Well, the girls, Tegan and Sara are my girls and I’m born 10 days after them and I feel like we are – even though we’re not – related. I feel like when I talk to them, if I talk to either of them that I am talking to my friend, I feel like I am talking to my sister. Do you know what I mean?

AE: Totally!

DG: I kinda feel that way when I am talking to you! When I hug you I don’t want to hug you like a pal I want to give you a hug like a nurturing, like I’m caring about you, this is a caring hug.

AE: I feel that, for real I do! Let’s go for the next question. What is the best thing about your lesbian friends, and I imagine you have more lesbian friends than just your sister.

DG: Well, I don’t know. You know what’s a good thing about it? My wife doesn’t care that I’m friends with girls. I can have friends that are girls that my wife doesn’t care, doesn’t worry about, me having friends that are girls. That’s nice.

It’s non-threatening to my wife, which is good being that I am a guy that tours and it can be troublesome at times when you are like, “Oh I met this girl she’s really nice and your wife’s like “What’s her deal?” Whereas you guys, I feel like I always tend to be more friends with girls then I am with dudes. Maybe that’s because I’m like pretty confident in myself just as a person and some guys find that threatening. You know they think or feel that I’m egotistical or something. Whereas I’m just like “I’m me, you know me” – I’m like, whatever. Girls have always just been like “Aw, it’s Dal.”

AE: Do you have sisters? Do you think that has something to do with it?

DG: Yeah, I have one older sister. Maybe it does. And I’m really close with my mother! Not that I’m not close with my father but I’m very close with my sister and mother.

AE: Well you’re a sensitive guy!

DG: I’m a bit of a sensitive guy – a bit of a sap! A bit of a sappy guy.

AE: I always ask this question but people don’t seem to understand it. I ask this to the Lesbros because I want to give them an opportunity to talk about their own sexuality. Are you familiar with the Kinsey Scale?

DG: The what? No.

AE: It’s basically a scale from zero to –

DG: Kinsey?

AE: Ha! No the Kinsey scale is an attempt to describe a person’s sexual orientation using a scale or zero to six. Zero being exclusively homosexual and six being exclusively heterosexual.

DG: Oh yeah, absolutely. I was just talking, before you got here, about how my one friend Nick I find him very attractive. Like when I’m talking to him, I just feel like he is a really attractive man. There are a lot of guys who can’t say when a guy is attractive.

So yeah maybe, I would say sure. I have very close relationships with my friends as well. Me and my male friends, you know there are some guys who are just like “Oh hey bro!” Friends are big huggers I am very comfortable with who and what I am. Oh I’m probably like a three or a two, or three, or whatever. AE: What stereotypes about lesbians do you find to be false?

DG: The whole flannel thing is a stupid stereotype. And the man hater thing.

AE: What do you think it is that specifically draws you to these friendships?

DG: I think it is probably that I am pretty non-prejudiced towards anybody that’s not an a–hole. I have kind of always lived my life that way. I don’t care what you are or do as long as you are a nice person. If you are an a–hole whether you are gay, straight, black, white, religious, satan-worshiper – if you’re an a–hole then I’m probably not gonna like you. If you are a nice person and believe strongly in what you believe in, I’m probably going to give you the benefit of the doubt.

AE: As a Canadian touring musician and same sex marriage is legal in your country, when you come to the U.S. can you see and feel the oppression. Does it feel different?

DG: Oh yeah, especially the time when I came to California, when they had legalized it and then they took it away.

AE: Yes you were on tour with Tegan and Sara right before the 2008 elections. That was really intense, I mean we were going through a lot of the red states.

DG: Yeah, so I remember being here when it was looking like everything was going to be OK here in California and then when it had been revoked and I just remember feeling so gross. And there’s a lot of things being not American makes you wonder about when you come to America.

AE: Like what types of things?

DG: Well just things like health care – so many things you know. And being Canadian and touring the world and having so many people assume you are American because if the way you speak, and I’m very defensive about it. When people ask me what part of America I’m from I’m like “I’m Canadian!”

But I was just disappointed. It’s like, we are in the future ladies and gentlemen. I just can’t wait for all the old people to die. I really can’t because I feel like there are enough younger people that, by the time that all the older idiots who can’t get over themselves die, I feel like we will all be able to sit down together and say “OK, what works and what doesn’t work?” Do you know what I mean? It seems so easy on paper. But then I drove by the huge Church of Scientology today and was like “What the f–k?” It looks like an amusement park.

AE: You’ve toured with lots of different bands for many years. Are there any female fronted bands that you were on tour with that you really enjoy?

DG: Well, obviously, Tegan and Sara. Girl in a Coma was on that tour. But you know, touring so much with Alexis on Fire there wasn’t a lot of female-fronted hardcore at the time, where now there are a lot more girls screaming and stuff which is really cool. And there’s like Paramore stuff, like that that pop emo, stuff like that.

I did take this girl on tour, Lissie, the last time I played here. She’s great and has a beautiful voice. Oh my God Adele – I wish I could just sing with her! Her new record is so good. I love Hayley from Paramore. I think she has such a beautiful voice. Me and Hayley are buds!

The City and Colour is on tour now.

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