Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (August 27, 2010) Lesbian Scientistics, Rachel Maddow, Wanda Sykes and more!
10. Vivian Leigh.
A new bio reveals that the two-time Academy Award-winning actress was bisexual, meaning that she relied upon the kindness of two types of strangers.
Margaret Cho. The comic’s debut album, Cho Dependant, was released this week to strong reviews. We’re hoping she experiences a “Lesbian Escalation” in sales.
Hotties in creepy movies. Anna Paquin will be making a cameo in Scream 4 (along with Kristen Bell) and Amber Heard stars in the upcoming John Carpenter flick The Ward. Miley Cyrus will actually be kissing a girl in her new movie called LOL: Laughing Out Loud. (OK, so she might not be a hottie by your definition, but the movie is still likely to be creepy.)
Missy Higgins. The out singer/songwriter will now be a passenger on Jillian Michaels‘s Ultimate Wellness Cruise to the Bahamas in October. Your signing up RIGHT NOW for all the healthy food and exercise, aren’t you? Yeah, that’s it.
Cowgirl Up. South of Nowhere showrunner Nancylee Myatt is partnering with TelloFilms to produce a new subscription-based webseries, Cowgirl Up, starring Mandy Musgrave (SON‘s Ashley!), Maile Flanagan (Reno 911), and Marnie Alton (Exes & Ohs). They’re looking for investors, so go here to contribute. Yeehaw!
The WNBA playoffs. It’s Liberty vs. the Fever and San Antonio against Phoenix. So much women’s basketball, so little time. As far as we’re concerned, everyone wins.
Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. The out composers/musicians (aka Wendy and Lisa) won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for their work on Nurse Jackie. Wendy, is our career warm enough? Yes, Lisa.
Tina Mabry and Morgan Stiff. The partners and Mississippi Damned creators have been selected for the 11th annual Screenwriters Lab. Does this mean their new project, County Line, is on the fast track to getting made? We hope so!
Chely Wright. The out singer and activist plans to open chapter of GLSEN in her hometown of Wellsville, Kansas, causing local homophobes to declare, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
Wanda Sykes. On Larry King Live she talked about becoming a comedian, falling for her wife and the ongoing process of coming out to her family. Just when we thought we couldn’t love her any more …
Michelle Rodriguez. The butch actress is annoyed because she constantly has to wear “butch outfits” in her films. She says she just wants to “be hot for once.” Seriously? Millions of lesbians can’t be wrong.
The Bad Girls Club. The Bad Girls Club went gay this week. Gay, but super angry.
Heidi Montag. The reality star has allegedly made a “lesbian sex tape.” We will pay them not to release it.
eHarmony. CEO Greg Waldorf recently explained to the Huffington Post why the company has a separate site (Compatible Partners) for gay couples and why they don’t measure the marriage rate for gay couples. Separate but equal, right? Riiiight.
Snooki. In a recent episode of Jersey Shore, the star explained that “the lesbian rate is going up in this country” because men don’t know how to treat women. We think her make out sessions with other women are actually driving the rate down. Whoever said that there’s no such thing as bad publicity never watched Snooki get drunk and slobber all over Ryder in the hot tub.
Cat. The trashy video for the Danish pop star’s new single “Girl Crush,” includes “girl-on-girl” action with her friend Donna Marie. Has Cat ever worked with Heidi Montag?
Danielle Staub. With the help of alleged “girlfriend” Lori Michaels, the reality star continued her assault on our ears, eyes and souls this week with a live performance of “Real Close” on a New York morning news show. We wish she had been tardy to that party.
Perez Hilton. The blogger bragged to The Voice that he makes fun of Oprah and say she’s a lesbian in a pitiful attempt to get her attention. Yeah, that’ll work.
USA Today. The paper ran two extensive articles on gay visibility in film and television and barely included lesbians. So meta.
Ken Mehlman. The former RNC chair and Bush campaign manager came out this week via a post by Atlantic blogger Marc Ambinder. Not only does he have a checkered political past when it comes to gay rights, he’s also still donating to anti-gay politicians. Our suggestion for Mehlman: Money, meet mouth.
– by Karman Kregloe
– Rachel Maddow on odd jobs, glasses and joining the military (via Daily Beast)
– Feminist Hulk (via Twitter)
– Exodus International president Alan Chambers, announcing that some of his “ex-gays” are now unemployeed (via JoeMyGod)
– “Jo Calderone” on “his” relationship with Lady Gaga (via EW)
– Michelle Rodriguez on Machete co-star Lindsay Lohan’s chance chance to rekindle her movie career (via People)
– Wanda Sykes on her wife, Alex; their sperm donor; and radio personality Doctor Laura (via CNN)
THIS JUST IN: LESBIAN SCIENTISTICS, MARRIAGE EQUALITY EDITION
With Prop. 8 in judiciary limbo in California and the November midterms just around the corner, marriage equality is at the front of all our minds. Depending on which poll you consult, somewhere between 45 and 55 percent of Americans are still opposed to same-sex unions. Like you, our natural inclination is to call these people “religious zealots” – or possibly “morons.”
There are studies that show how marriage equality would benefit the economy, studies that show how effective gay couples are at parenting, and dozens of examples of countries where citizens are happier and more tolerant once marriage equality has been achieved.
So what gives? Why are 45 percent of Americans still so ignorant? We can only assume that they are confused by words. And so we’ve constructed a handy visual argument: Five Easy Steps to Make the Case for Marriage Equality.
STEP ONE: Reframe the argument.
Only five American states allow same-sex marriages. But twenty-six states allow marriages between first cousins.
STEP TWO: Introduce a first cousin lover.
For example: “This is Karen Smith.”
Next page: Cousin lover mentality and consequences of gay marriage!
STEP THREE: Illustrate the mentality of a cousin lover.
Feel free to verbally compare gay people and cousin lovers during this third step. “No gay person I know has ever tried to swallow her own fist.” Or, “Lesbians know ESPN is actually the softball channel.”
STEP FOUR: Examine the consequences of marriage equality.
Explain that over half the states in America allow marriage between first cousins. Reiterate what we’ve learned about first cousin lovers. Now, make this point: If marriage between family members has not ripped the fabric of society in half, how in the world can you think marriage between two intelligent, non-related, consenting adults of the same gender will cause any kind of social harm?
STEP FIVE: Visually juxtapose
Boom! Gay marriage: Science-ed!
– by Heather Hogan
Meet Kayla, the new lesbian contestant on ANTM. Let’s hope she does more for rolling back gay stereotypes than she has for those about blondes.
Lesbian Detective Diana Lancing is finally back on White Collar next week.
Lena Katina of t.A.T.u. will be launching her solo career at a performance in San Francisco on Sept. 17.
A new documentary in China, Cream of the Queer Crop, profiles the top 10 leaders of China’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The gay women featured include Les Plus magazine founder Sam, activist Xu Bin and oral historian Xiangqi. Check out queercomrades.com to find out how you can see the film.
Jennifer Aniston is going to be getting down in a threesome with two women in her upcoming film Wanderlust.
On Big Brother Africa, housemates Sheila and Meryl kissed on a dare.
Katee Sackhoff. The Battlestar Galactica alum will make another guest appearance on Big Bang Theory this season. Could she please be in character as Starbuck? Suddenly roughing up a bunch of geeks doesn’t just seem fair, it sounds sexy.
Lindsay Lohan is out of rehab and back on Twitter.
Angelina Jolie is screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie‘s top pick for the starring role in the upcoming film Unforgiven. Based on a 2009 British miniseries, the film is about a woman who kills two police officers, goes to prison, is paroled and then targeted for revenge by the sons of the murdered cops. Doing a movie like this only strengthens the theory that Jolie is the new Clint Eastwood.
Out comedian Rhona Cameron went on BBC Radio Scotland show If I Knew Then today and discussed being bullied while she was in high school and how she faced the bullies at her high school reunion.
he Telegraph has an in-depth interview with Alison Goldfrapp in which she talks about touring and her girlfriend, Lisa Gunning.
In a new interview with Latina magazine, Sara Ramirez says she thinks Callie and Arizona need to shake it up a little – maybe even bring in a third party.
That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.
