There’s an important experience that straight women and gay women have in common — and no, I don’t mean lusting after Angelina Jolie. Falling in love with literary heroines seems to me like something that transcends sexuality, mostly because it isn’t really about sex. The best literary heroines are a mixture of what you can identify with — what you’ve felt and experienced — and what you’d like to be. They are usually smart, strong and not the most beautiful girls in the room; yet somehow they have a charm that puts the most beautiful girls in the shade. Sometimes they don’t even have that outward charm, but because of the internal focus of novels, the reader can still see, and love, their integrity and wit.

Growing up, I liked reading about Jo March in Little Women and Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Little House books. I loved Sara Crewe from A Little Princess and Matilda from the Roald Dahl story. There was Emily Byrd Starr from Anne of Green Gables author L. M. Montgomery’s lesser-known Emily books, and the strange, moody Fuchsia Groan from Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy. There was shy, secretive, angry Beth Ellen from lesbian Harriet the Spy author Louise Fitzhugh’s The Long Secret.

Here are my 5 favorite literary heroines as a grownup:

1. Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813)

Jane Austen wrote of her Lizzy that “I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print,” and she will hear no disagreement from me. As well as reading the book, I’ve also watched three “lively and determined” Elizabeths play out the drama on screen: Greer Garson in 1940, Jennifer Ehle in 1995, and Keira Knightley in 2005.

While I like Keira Knightley, I have to say that her performance was lacking something crucial that the two others conveyed to me: Elizabeth’s maturity, her full understanding even at a young age of how degrading it would be to have an unequal marriage like her parents’. Over the course of the book, Elizabeth discovers that her strong moral judgments are not always right: She is mistaken about Mr. Wickham, mistaken about Mr. Darcy. But she still has an intelligence and strength of character that sets her apart from all other heroines for me — and I can never get enough of her telling off Lady Catherine. … continue reading

When it comes to authors that every gay girl should have on her shelf, there are certain names that come readily to mind. Sarah Waters, for one. Maybe Radclyffe Hall — who kick-started modern lesbian fiction with The Well of Loneliness in 1928 — and Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Jeanette Winterson seems a popular choice, as do Fannie Flagg and Rita Mae Brown. I don’t think that many people’s first — or second, or third — suggestion would be Ernest Hemingway.

But many people would, in my opinion, be missing something. Hemingway is a fascinating author for queer women to read — mostly because he seems to have been so fascinated by queer women. A film of one of his last unfinished novels — The Garden of Eden, starring Mena Suvari and former Bond Girl Caterina Murino — is due out in the U.K. this year. And although I’m worried for various reasons that it may succumb to Bad Lesbian Movie syndrome, the book did at least provide a template for the filmmakers to create a wrenching portrait of a woman trying to understand her gender and her sexuality.

The sprawling, unfinished manuscript of Garden was first published, in severely edited form, in 1986. It tells the story of David and Catherine Bourne, a young couple on honeymoon in France in the 1920s. Although at first they appear idyllically happy, cracks appear in the marriage as Catherine (who will be played by Suvari, pictured above) becomes obsessed with androgyny and gender role reversal, cutting her hair short and persuading her husband to cut and dye his hair so that they will look alike. Then she tries to bring another young woman, Marita (who will be played by Murino, pictured below), into the relationship. Catherine becomes increasingly open about her desire to explore her feelings for women. … continue reading

Not too long ago, I went out with a bunch of friends and tied one on. As I wasn’t saddled with designated driver duties, I really tied one on, imbibing enough vodka crannies to keep an Ocean Spray shareholder happy. Believe me, I’m not trying to be cool here — I’m just setting the scene, putting you right in the heart of the action!

Around 2 a.m., we made our way to a Trendy Hollywood Eatery for a bite. We all settled in and placed our orders, and I was inordinately excited about the omelette that would soon be mine, all mine! Glancing over at the large party to my left, I spotted actress Mena Suvari having some late-night (or is that early-morning?) chow as well. I immediately whispered to all my friends, “Omigodyouguysh look look looklooklook no don’t look! I think tha’sh Mena Shuvari aaahhh she can shoooooo effing rock that buzzhcut!” Of course, my tongue felt as large as a Nerf football and I’m sure I was “whispering” a bit too loudly. But no matter! Have you seen the buzz cut? I mean, come on.

At any rate, my food arrived just in time to create a much-needed diversion, and my friends all assure me that I only embarrassed myself a bit that evening by going on and on…and on about how my eggs were the most awesome eggs in the history of ever. The point of all this is that had I been aware of the movie Stuck during this near encounter, I don’t think even the mighty power of eggs could have prevented me from ... well, from making a complete fool of myself.

Stuck, you see, has Mena teaming up with veteran horror director Stuart Gordon, the man behind genre classics such as Re-Animator and From Beyond, to tell the fictionalized tale of Chante Jawan Mallard. … continue reading

Ahhh, lesbian hair. That much-maligned subject of punch lines everywhere. Historically, gay women’s hairstyles haven’t always had the best reputation. And I’m not even going to mention the dreaded M-word. While I have no problem with business in the front, party in the back when it comes to your personal life, I refuse to accept it on your head. But I believe we’ve turned a corner here in the hair club for women. Why else would so many stars be rocking the lesbian hair of late?

I’m not just talking seventh-grade-gym-teacher hair either. I speak of all the chic, often cropped cuts the ladies of TV and film have been sporting everywhere. It’s gotten to the point that even seemingly straight stars have started suffering from lesbian twin syndrome. I’m dying for Women’s Murder Club and Bionic Woman to do a crossover episode so these two can scream: “Lesbian Twins activate! Form of — haircut!”

So with that, let’s examine, and of course rate, the trend of lesbian locks. … continue reading

Friday is always a good day to take stock and reflect. As I reflect on my week, I realize that things could have been a whole lot worse. I mean, I could have worn any of this stuff. Shudder.

Jennifer Lopez: This reminds me of a candle I had in college. It was shaped like a mushroom and covered in a hippie motif. But when I lit it, it stunk, so I threw it out. The moral of this story is this: Stinky candles make stinky outfits. The end.

Suze Ormond: She looks like a deconstructed Chester Cheetah. Spots here, orange there. It’s not easy being cheesy. … continue reading