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Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (October 15, 2010): “Lip Service” rocks, “Essence” gets it right and Jillian Michaels gets dissed

Avalon Media. The publishers of lesbian magazines Bound and LOTL have purchased Curve. Congrats all around!

KT Tunstall. The vocalist said she won’t define herself sexually because “you love who you love.” And we love her.

Jeanette Winterson. The lesbian author has two upcoming projects we can’t wait to know more about: a memoir and a horror novella. Now think of what that could be if you put the two together!

Marie Claire. The woman’s publication ran a great coming out piece this week featuring a woman who didn’t want to let her beauty queen mom down. (And she didn’t!)

Rachael Cantu. The out songstress teamed up with Anyone But Me to make a dramatic music video.

Lip Service. The premiere episode drew 580,000 viewers and the sex scenes are already making straight people scowl and shake their heads. Win!

Glee. Ryan Murphy lived up to his promise and gave us some Sapphic smooching between Brittany and Santana. The scissoring dialogue was an added bonus.

Cynthia Nixon. The actress was brilliant as Laura Linney’s estranged best friend from college on The Big C this week. She even played straight convincingly, yet again. Did you see that, Newsweek?

Heather Matarazzo. The actress has spoken about how out and proud she is this week, and also has two new films coming out soon. Again, Newsweek, are you paying attention?

Essence magazine. The web edition has featured its first ever married lesbian couple, Aisha and Danielle Moodie-Mills, in a section called Bridal Bliss. Yet another case of ladymags finally realizing gay women also read their publications.

Saturday Night Live. While Jane Lynch did her best, the show did not give last week’s host enough good material to work with. We’re throwing a virtual slushy in their face.

Gossip Girl. The show has already done its fake girl-on-girl kiss, so now they’re resorting to featuring bit characters who are offended when mistaken for lesbians. Doesn’t it just sound ridiculous?

Hellcats. The show’s lesbian cheerleader was MIA this week on an episode that featured flag football and the volleyball team in underwear. Missed opportunity, CW.

Bumpy lesbian relationships on TV. Spoilers indicate that our favorite (read: only) American lesbian couples (Calzona on Grey’s Anatomy, Emily and Maya on Pretty Little Liars) will have some issues this year. No word yet on the scripting of make-up sex.

The L.A. Times. The paper’s piece about Jillian Michaels called her a fitness fraud that merely acts like a trainer on TV. Ouch. It was written by a personal trainer, which gives us the idea someone’s a little jealous. And, yes, Michaels is planning to take legal action.

The cruel hand of fate. There’s a fourth book in the Stieg Larsson Millenium series, but it will probably never be released because the late Larsson’s family and girlfriend won’t allow it. We’re assuming book four is the one in which Lisbeth marries her partner and tries to find a suitable sperm donor.

Perez Hilton. We’re glad he’s acknowledging how jerky he is, but we still would like to see him follow through on his promise to tone it down before we prematurely applaud him.

The Dilemma. Apparently no one involved with the making of this movie questioned the use of “that’s gay” within the first minute of the trailer. Yet another reason more lesbians are needed in Hollywood. Star Vince Vaughn wants to keep the joke in the movie, explaining “joking about our differences breaks tension and brings us together.” Are you feeling the togetherness?

Homophobic Yankees fans. The team will no longer allow the oft-sung lyrics “Why Are You Gay?” during the “Y.M.C.A.” at games. First question: Why was it allowed in the first place?

Carl Paladino. The New York Republican gubernatorial candidate said he didn’t march at Gay Pride this year because “there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual.” The anit-porn (and anti-“pervert”) politician also emailed an “awesome” lesbian porn video to his friends. Now there’s something to be proud of.

KATE MCKINNON FACES LESBIAN DRAMA AT VAG MAG

Ever wonder what would happen if a group of feminists used their profits from selling reusable maxi pads on Etsy to buy a fashion magazine? Neither did we, but we’re glad Caitlin Tegart and Leila Cohan-Miccio did. They are the women who took that idea and turned it into the hilarious new webseries Vag Magazine. The series, which debuts Monday October 18 at vagmagazine.tv, also stars out comic/actress Kate McKinnon (The Big Gay Sketch Show) and a group of talented improv actors who just happened to collaborate on a sketch show about Smith College at the Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre.

We caught up with series creators Caitlin Tegart and Leila Cohan-Miccio who told us about the inspiration behind the series, working with McKinnon, and validating the importance of feminism by making fun of it.

AfterEllen.com: How did you end up working together?

Caitlin Tegart: We met in an improv class at Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre in 2008 and we’re both placed as writers on house sketch teams over the next year. Then I directed the stage sketch show This Is About Smith, which Leila wrote, so we got to know each other and found we shared a lot of the same views and interests, specifically being feminists but also laughing at feminist culture. Also, enjoying The Hills, but never laughing at that. That’s serious.

AE: What was the inspiration behind the series?

CT: I wanted to carry the bond that Leila, the cast and I had developed during the stage sketch show This Is About Smith over to a bigger projects. And I knew that a feminist magazine would be a great place to set a comedy because both feminism and magazines attract smart, assertive and sometimes loony people. It was a place where female characters could be aggressive and weird.

Leila Cohan-Miccio: What Caitlin said! There was also an element of frustration Caitlin and I felt with a lot of third wave feminism and feminist magazines specifically. If you didn’t know anything about gender and you picked up an issue of Bust, you’d think the biggest issues facing women today are where to buy high-quality organic yarn so you can knit a cozy for your boyfriend’s penis (this was a real One Handed Read in Bust!) and what the best vegan Thanksgiving recipes are. I like crafts and tofu turducken as much as the next girl, but come on.

AE: What kind of reaction are you getting so far?

CT: We’re getting a very positive reaction both from the media and fans on Twitter and Facebook. I think people are happy that this subculture is getting a voice and the archetypes we know and love are finally getting poked fun at – like the rich girl-bohemian Sylvie, whose dad basically sponsors Vag by buying the reusable Hello Kitty menstrual pad she designed on Etsy for $100,000. When you’re parodying something, you’re also validating its importance and we definitely think feminism is important!

LCM: The reaction so far has been totally amazing and overwhelming. The craziest thing to me is that we’ve been getting emails and tweets from around the world, not just the U.S.! Feminist skirts are, as it turns out, an international concept.

AE: Since Vag is a feminist organization, it’s safe to assume that there may be some lesbian drama afoot. Can you give us any hints about said drama?

CT: Without giving too much away, Kate McKinnon’s character Bethany’s ex, Jaybird, turns out to be the editor of their rival magazine, C–t (played by Shannon O’Neill), so there’s a personal-professional drama that unfolds in the second half of the season.

AE: Can you tell us a bit about casting Kate McKinnon? How did she get involved with the project and what has been your favorite thing about working with her?

CT:Kate McKinnon was on the UCB house sketch team, High Treason, with Leila and was a cast member of This Is About Smith, so she was one of the original cast members we knew we wanted. My favorite thing about working with Kate is that she dives into her characters and commits as hard as anyone I’ve ever worked with.

LCM: I think one of the things that really makes Vag Magazine work well is that the cast gets along so well and that chemistry comes across on screen. Kate’s definitely a huge part of that – she’s just such a kind, funny, weird person to work with

AE: In an ideal world, what would be the result of creating the Vag Mag? Such as Vag Mag: The Movie? Vag Mag: The TV Series? Vag Mag: The Video Game?

CT: All of the above! The video game would just be The Sims: Third-Wave Feminist Magazine. To start, players would be given $800 and a culture that doesn’t value print journalism.

LCM: Vag Magazine the TV series, would probably be our ultimate dream. When we wrote the first season, we knew we wanted to write something that worked both as standalone episodes and, if it were recut, as one sitcom length pilot episode. I think there’s a real niche open right now for a comedy that’s about a group of women with more on their minds than dudes or dieting.

I think the concept lends itself to a serial like a sitcom, I really believe in this show and I think it could adapt to any format because ultimately it’s character-driven and about relationships which crosses media boundaries – I hope!

Watch teaser clips from the series below:

Vag Magazine debuts Monday October 18 at vagmagazine.tv. For more info, follow them on Twitter, and check out their Facebook and Tumblr pages.

– by Karman Kregloe

Haven’t you always wanted to go inside Brittany’s bedroom? Now’s your chance, as Heather Morris gives us a tour.

Sick of Sarah’s new album 2205 is available for pre-order on iTunes in the US and Canada. It’ll be released on Nov. 16.

Lesbian fitness trainer Lacey Stone appears on the Friday episode of Made, where she helps transform an overweight teen named Taylor.

Hillary Clinton praised Serbia this week for hosting their first ever gay pride parade.

The Nation’s web editor Emily Douglas covered last weekend’s CUNY conference In Amerika They Call Us Dykes: Lesbian Lives in the 1970s for The Bilerico Project.

Ms. Magazine celebrated Coming Out Day this week with several blog posts, including a piece on the late Jill Johnson.

HBO has picked up Lip Service to play in South America. Details are forthcoming.

Popeater.com asked a TV insider if they thought Ellen DeGeneres would help promote The Dilemma despite the trailer’s use of “That’s gay.” The insider said it’s not likely.

The Gay and Lesbian Humanism Association (GALHA) vice president Claire Rayner has passed away. The organization remembers her fondly over at QueerUK.net.

Lady Gaga was on The Sopranos when she was a teenager. Check out the clip over at E!

Jen Foster has recorded a song in response to the gay bullying and suicides. It’s called “This is Me” and is available for free download on jenfoster.com.

Erin Foley’s new series Dishin’ It Up! with be showing at the Beverly Hills Film, TV and New Media Festival on Sat., Oct. 23. It can also be seen starting next week on AfterEllen.com.

Leslie Feinberg has made her speech from Butch Voices LA public. She was honored at the conference last week with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Both red-headed lesbians Kayla and Hayley from America’s Next Top Model and X-Factor Australia have survived another round of their respective reality contests this week.

Check out new episodes of This Just Out and The Rules.

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.

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