In March, we told you about Gillian Anderson‘s Out interview in which she talked about her past affairs with women. At the time, we weren’t certain whether Anderson thinks of the relationships as experimental or if she considers herself bisexual. This weekend, in an interview with The Sunday Times, she was very clear that for her, sexuality is not about labels, but about fluidity. But she felt the time was right to talk about being with women because the death of a female lover was on her mind.
“I was talking to Out about gays and choice and the view that you can just choose not to be gay in some way. I decided to talk about it now because someone with whom I was in a relationship a couple of decades ago – a woman – passed away about a year ago.
“I was talking about her and in the context of the gentle conversation we were having I thought I would say that I have had a couple of relationships with women, but my experience was different because I did have a choice. I still liked boys.
“I never identified 100% with being gay because I knew for me it wasn’t the only way. I haven’t spoken up about it before, [but] there isn’t the same fear and stigma – not that there was [in the past]. But she had just passed and I wanted to speak about it in a matter of fact kind of way.”
During London Pride, Anderson went to the Tatler’s “lesbian ball,” a gathering of Britain’s most successful women. Although the party isn’t exclusively for lesbians, her attendance was a bold move considering how much she hates red carpet events and publicity. The Times asked if she was creeping out of the closet a bit more.
“Anderson laughs, her tiny frame lighting up with merriment, her chameleonic grey-blue eyes sparking. ‘I just thought, what the heck! I laughed so much that night; it was just pure joy. It was entirely women, which was fun; the atmosphere was great; there were the most delicious hors d’oeuvres; I had some wonderful conversations. I spent most of the party laughing and standing out on balconies while people were smoking cigarettes. It was nice.’ ” Her friend Emma Freud (who is not a lesbian) invited her. The two are working on Anderson’s screenplay, Speed of Light.
“She’s put a chunk of really generous time into [the play]. So when she kept saying, ‘Come on, it’ll be fun,’ I thought well, I am about to leave town for seven or 8 weeks, so why not?”
And Anderson could care less if people associate her with the “society Sapphic sisterhood.”
“(Laughing) I don’t mind that at all, but I didn’t know there was any fuss about any of it. I wasn’t trying to tell anyone anything. I was just hanging out with friends.” Anderson’s more serious message is about the need to be open about sexuality. She’s an avid supporter of The Trevor Project, and understands that her experience is much different that that of most gay teenagers.
“I can’t even imagine what it’s like growing up knowing you will be rejected by your parents or closest friend if you come out.”
Later this year, Anderson will star in the BBC thriller The Fall as a police detective hunting a serial killer (no word on if/when it airs in the U.S.) and returns to the sci-fi arena an the horror film I’ll Follow You Down. (I know; my mind went there, too.)
Does this latest interview make you love Gillian Anderson more? Is that even possible? What are your thoughts on her comments about sexual fluidity?
