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The Best Celesbian Moments of 2017

As we pop those bottles and strap on our most sparkly swag, we can’t help but take a look back on what will probably be seen as a pivotal year in LGBT history. In response to Donald Trump’s election, more women than ever stepped out, stood up, came out, and made a stance for our future.

Let’s celebrate the close of 2017 by remembering 10 of the best gay girl moments of the year. Battle of the Sexes Celebrated Billie Jean King’s Triumph, and Sexuality The release of the film Battle of the Sexes brought some much needed exposure to the legendary tennis star and not only her historical win and battle for gender equality, but also her struggle with being a closeted lesbian during the height of her tennis career. The movie doesn’t shy away from the exploration of Billie’s relationship with Marilyn Barnett.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 09: Emma Stone and Billie Jean King pose during a press conference for the upcoming film “Battle of the Sexes” on Day Thirteen of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

In an interview with AARP Bulletin, Billie Jean King discusses how the Battle of the Sexes match changed America, her passion for promoting equality and her daily inspiration.

On Gender Equality

“Girls are taught to be perfect. Boys are taught to be brave-“Stop crying.” That’s why girls never think they are good enough; it’s the message we get from the day we’re born. It drives me insane the way we’re socialized. The most important thing is to be your authentic self. Meritocracy is important. That’s one great thing about sports-it is objective. You either win or lose.”

On Beating Bobby Riggs

“The reason I beat him is because I respected him so much. Everybody in the world thought a guy-any guy-could beat any girl. That got me irritated. When I played Bobby, this is what I wanted out of it: I wanted everyone to come together. I wanted to start changing the hearts and minds of people.”

King also talks with AARP about her lifetime passion for racial equality, Bruce Jenner in the 1970’s (Caitlyn Jenner), how her game is holding up today, and what inspires her. You can read the full interview in the September issue of AARP Bulletin.

Also take a look at this exclusive clip from earlier this year.

https://youtu.be/G3LIHUivMjc Wonder Woman Dominated Our Hearts and the Box Office Wonder Woman has already made a lasting impact on Hollywood, but now it’s name will officially go down in superhero-movie history. The movie has surpassed the original Spider-Man as the highest-grossing superhero origin story ever. The Patty Jenkins-directed blockbuster film has grossed $821.749 million worldwide, pushing it past the $821.708 million record set by Spider-Man. This comes as no to surprise to us, of course.

AE writer Karen Frost reported earlier this year that people are craving more female superheroes (superheroines) on the big screen, as evidenced by the success of Atomic Blonde. And we are bold enough to say as well, the world is specifically ready for more lesbian superheroes — beyond just subtext, also as evidenced by the success of Atomic Blonde.

“Although it’s not really expressed in the “Wonder Woman” movie (aside from an evidently ad-libbed comment by Wonder Woman that men are unnecessary for sexual pleasure on Themyscira), the Wonder Woman comics are gay as heck and Themyscira is basically a lesbian paradise.” — Karen Frost

In other Wonder Woman news, Gal Gadot gave Warner Brothers the ultimate ultimatum when she refused to to do another film in the franchise unless Brett Ratner was left completely off the project. Now the actress has confirmed that Ratner has been dropped from the upcoming Wonder Woman sequel following several sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Gadot confirmed the news on the Today show. When asked about the Page Six report that she would exit the sequel if Ratner remained involved, Gadot clarified: “The truth is there are so many people involved in making this move. It’s not just me. And they all echoed he same sentiment. Everyone knew what was the right thing to do but there was nothing for me to actually come and say because it was already done before the article came out.”

JAY-Z Reveals His Mom Is A Lesbian

Photo: Tidal

The release of JAY-Z’s new album took the music world by storm this year, garnering seven Grammy nominations with his always slicing, thought provoking lyrics that feature personal points of view about everything from his infidelity to his mother’s sexuality.

Shawn Carter’s mom, Gloria Carter, came out as a lesbian came out to the world as a lesbian in the song she collaborated on called “Smile.” The lyrics about Gloria are as emotional as you’d expect, and refreshing and enlightening to see the rapper tackling something so real and honest in his music.

Jay’s lyrics:

“Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian/Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian. Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take. Cried tears of joy when you fell in love/Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her,” Jay-Z rapped. “I just wanna see you smile through all the hate/Marie Antoinette, baby, let ’em eat cake.”

If you’re not crying already, prepare yourself for Gloria’s a spoken-word verse about her sexuality:

“Living in the shadows. Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live? In the shadows people see you as happy and free. Because that’s what you want them to see. Living two lives, happy but not free. You live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you love. The world is changing and they say it’s time to be free. But you live with the fear of just being me. Living in the shadows feels like the safe place to be. No harm for them. No harm for me. But life is short, and it’s time to be free. Love who you love, because life isn’t guaranteed. Smile.”
Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle Melton Tied the Knot 2017 was a phenomenal year for ladies who found lasting love with other ladies. Last year, blogger and bestselling author Glennon Doyle Melton came out by announcing she had fallen in love with lesbian soccer legend Abby Wambach. These two had an incredibly romantic, whirlwind romance that we got to watch unfold on their respective Instagrams, and they surprised us all by announcing their intimate, incredibly stunning wedding back in May.

Here are a few of the photos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUH5azelMjp/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUH5amgldaD/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUN2ECdlUZY/

Glennon, always a poet with her words, wrote an exquisite caption about conquering her fears and choosing joy:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUJ6n4Qhyp1/

After the wedding was announced, many media outlets covered the event by describing Glennon as a “Christian Mommy Blogger” who married the soccer star. In response, Abby posted this gem:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUHaLZAFUdo/

Keep an eye on these two, as their activism has been taking the world by storm in 2017, and their “Together Rising” movement is only building momentum for 2018.

Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli’s Beautiful Wedding Speaking of wedded bliss and surprise lesbian nuptials, Martha Stewart Weddings had been planning the wedding for one of our favorite couples right under our noses! This stunner of a wedding was dropped by the magazine, and we’re all still drooling.

Samira and Lauren got hitched in Palm Springs, the same place where they got engaged in October of 2016.

Guests: a small group family and close friends attended the 3/25 ceremony. In a cute twist, Wiley’s parents officiated the outdoor nuptials.

Wedding fashion: Project Runway alum Christian Siriano designed Wiley’s custom silk top with a ball gown skirt and Morelli’s custom silk jumpsuit with a detachable pearl and diamond encrusted cape.

Siriano joked about the OITNB star’s look, commenting:

“Having spent years in an orange jumpsuit, Samira really wanted to have her fairytale wedding moment and therefore opted for a more traditional look.”
Sweet Details: The theme centered around the lesbian couple’s mutual love for Funfetti cake. Not only did the duo serve Funfetti to their guests for dessert, but a blast of confetti marked their first dance.

Music: Hits included This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan and Justin Bieber’s Baby. Classic.

Honeymoon: Disneyland! On Thursday, Samira shared a shot of her personalized Mickey Mouse ears featuring her new moniker— Mrs. Morelli.

Check out all the posts on the Lauren and Samira’s special day below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSHOl9QhVEz/?taken-by=lomorelli

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUufQ4MB8ON/?taken-by=lomorelli

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV0y58qAkQc/?taken-by=whododatlikedat

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSMK1WKAd-Y/?taken-by=whododatlikedat Kristen Stewart Was “So Gay” on SNL

 

The Twilight star mocked Donald Drumpf, for being obsessed with her- during her opening monologue on SNL— before saying: “The president is not a huge fan of me, but that is so OK. And, Donald, if you didn’t like me then you’re really probably not going to like me now ’cause I’m hosting SNL and I’m, like, so gay, dude.”

She had previously clarified that she was bi, saying: “You’re not confused if you’re bisexual. It’s not confusing at all. For me, it’s quite the opposite.”

This SNL burn was my own personal favorite celeb moment of the year, because nobody drops a line like that like K-Stew can. Demi Lovato Comes Out as Bi In Her New Documentary Demi Lovato has finally confirmed she is indeed, one of us. Lovato has been open about some intimate details and experiences of her life, including her history of addiction, bipolar disorder, and self harm. The singer has been clean for the last five years. However, one aspect of Lovato’s personal life that’s suffered from severe scrutiny over the years is her sexuality. She’s refused to label herself, working as a huge ally for the LGBT community without confirming whether or not she was indeed a member.

Several celebrities have sparked feuds with her over this secrecy, including Ruby Rose and Halsey, but now she’s decided to acknowledge her love for both men and women on her own terms.

When discussing her presence on the dating app Raya, Lovato says:

I am on the dating app with both guys and girls; I’m open to human connection, so whether that’s through a male or female, that doesn’t matter to me.
If you want to know more, Simply Complicated is now available to stream for free on YouTube.

Lena Waithe Wins an Emmy Lena Waithe shattered a pivotal glass ceiling and won the Emmy for best writing in a comedy series alongside her co-writer Aziz Ansari, for the Master Of None episode called “Thanksgiving.” The episode is a fictionalized version of Waithe’s real coming out process. She made history by being the first lesbian and African American woman to win in that category, which felt beautifully self-affirming.

AE writer Andrea Ngeleka had the following to say about this vital moment for women, particularly those in the lesbian community:

Beyond breaking that seemingly impenetrable glass ceiling, it felt like something shifted. Because she won for that episode, and she was wearing a full face of makeup with a tailored suit and her dreads tied up, it felt like the landscape moved beneath me. It was almost like a wake up call. We don’t have to chose femininity or masculinity. We don’t have to choose race or gender or sexuality. We don’t have to chose which of our identities we want to fight for. We can be complex and eternal and normal. We can just exist.
She also went on to say:
There’s nothing quite as dehumanizing as asking someone to justify her humanity. And that’s what it feels like being a gay black woman in the world every day. What Lena Waithe did wasn’t just unprecedented; it was impossible. We were never meant to thrive. We were never even meant to survive. That Emmy isn’t going change much in the world as a whole. The structures that be are still intact. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that it’s saving lives. Because I know for a fact, that it’s saving mine.
You can watch Lena’s Emmy acceptance speech here:

Thank you Lena Waite, and Congratulations! The L Word Announced It’s Coming Back! The cast and crew of Showtime’s genre defining, boundary breaking, trailblazing lesbian-centric series spent the first half of 2017 teasing us with hints of the revival we’ve all been begging for since the show’s controversial conclusion. Finally, back in July, we got the confirmation.

Here’s a look back at the reveal:

 

 

  We at AE celebrated by taking a look back at our favorite show. We defended one of the most polarizing characters of all time, and we sat down and had a chat with Shane. Ellen DeGeneres Saved Elephants with a Hashtag

Our favorite celesbian of all started a Twitter campaign using the hashtag ‘#BeKindToElephants’ following Trump’s ending the ban on imported elephant trophies from Zibabwe and Zambia.

“I want to talk about the elephant in the room,” the talk show host/lesbian icon/comedian/best person ever said of the campaign. “Literally, I want to talk about elephants. Elephants show compassion, sympathy, social intelligence, self awareness. They’re excellent at learning abilities. All the things I have yet to see in this president. They’re worth fighting, for and we owe it to them to protect them.”

Ellen won 2017.

What were some of your favorite lesbian/bi celebrity moments this year?

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

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