I waste a lot of time playing games on Facebook — mostly spelling games because that’s who I am. But my favorite game is testing my retroactive gaydar. The tomboyish girl I was friends with in junior high? Check. The sporty girl I played softball with in high school? Check. The boy whom everyone thought for years was my boyfriend? Check.
Some of the who’s-gay-now revelations are more surprising. There’s the nice but seemingly straight, sorority girl who, unbeknownst to me, viewed me as a role model when we worked together in college. And my favorite revelation lately is learning that a sweet, dorky, funny guy I knew in college not only came out, but also became a television writer who, among other things, wrote the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Tara and Willow reunited.
Drew Greenberg is the type of guy I would have dated had I still been dating boys when I met him. (I was decidedly not still dating boys when I met him … but I did accidentally go on a date with a straight-guy friend of his.) And I love that he’s grown up to write stories about kick-ass women. (Did I mention that I was a formative lesbian role model for him? I’m just saying.) His latest kick-ass women offering is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Issue #23 — available today wherever comic books are sold.
I went to UCLA, so I know a bunch of people in the entertainment industry. But I particularly love Drew’s success because he’s always been a guy who likes and respects women. And more importantly, he’s a gay man who likes lesbians. So I like him. And, although I’m mildly chagrined to admit that the only show of his that I’ve watched is Queer as Folk, I have felt compelled to discuss Buffy with him a bit as we’ve reminisced.
Not surprisingly, he’s loved working with Joss Whedon and described what he thinks is so great about the show:
The whole premise of Buffy as Joss formulated it is that the girl you think is going to be weak, the girl you think is going to get killed, the girl you think can’t take care of herself … THAT’S the girl who’s going to stand up, kick ass, save YOUR life … and, by the way, be incredibly hot not in spite of it, but because of it.
It does seem odd to me that I never watched this show.
And he gave me the rundown on the new comic. (Possible SPOILER ALERT.)
