TV

Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (March 13, 2009)

LESBIAN QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 1

Jack: Let’s cut the lesbian scene.

Jenna: But the Oscars love that kind of thing!

– “The Funcooker” episode of 30 Rock (NBC)

THIS WEEK IN QUEER WOMEN ON TV

Note: There are no spoilers about future episodes, just updates on what has already aired, but click here if you want to skip these updates and go directly to the next page.

Show/Episode: Guiding Light – CBS, drama

What happened: Olivia overhears Frank proposing to Natalia, and promptly goes to a gay bar, where she babbles to the bartend ar about how she isn’t gay, but she’s attracted to another woman who’s “religious.” The bartender tells her to “walk away – she’s gonna break your heart.” Olivia starts to storm out of the bar, and promptly runs into…Doris! The town mayor who publicly “outed” Olivia and Natalia’s alternative living arrangement on local television. She defends her hypocrisy to Olivia by saying staying closeted is necessary for her political career, because “Nobody wants to be different, people are afraid of different.” Back home, Natalia frets to Olivia over whether to marry Frank even though she doesn’t really want to, and wonders what God wants for her, asking, “Am I supposed to be alone for the rest of my life? Or maybe God has someone for me and it’s just not who I expected?” After talking things over more, Olivia encourages Natalia to marry Frank “if you think Frank has everything you need.” But neither woman looks happy at that prospect.

What else you need to know: The Advocate published an in-depth, spoilery interview with the actresses this week that hints at good things to come.

Show/Episode: Los Hombres de Paco – Spain, drama

What happened: Pepa returns after a week of absence and Silvia tells her that there is no reason to be awkward and they should be friends. A surprised Pepa says fine but then tries to make Silvia jealous by telling Silvia she’s having an affair with a guy from the Police Station whose name she doesn’t want to give. And she tells Silvia she’s pregnant. Then Pepa flirts with their (male) colleagues, and kisses another one in front of Silvia. Finally, Silvia tells Pepa she has figured out who the guy is, and that she doesn’t think Pepa’s relationship with him is a good idea. Pepa calls her out on this, saying that if they are really just friends, Silvia would be happy for her.

Finally, Pepa tells her that she will either be her girlfriend, or nothing at all, and then tells her, “by the way, I’m not pregnant; I would only have a child with you” and walks away. Silvia looks moved.

Thanks to: Maria and Ines!

Show/Episode: Grey’s Anatomy – ABC, drama

What happened: In the last few minutes of the episode, Arizona apologizes to Callie in the elevator for turning her down last week, and asks her out to dinner. Callie tells her she’s very busy and she’ll have to check her schedule, walks out of the elevator leaving a confused Arizona, then comes back at the last minute and asks Arizona “How about tomorrow?” The elevator door closes with both women smiling.

What else you need to know: out filmmaker Donna Deitch (Desert Hearts) directed this episode.

Show/Episode: Hospital Central – Spain, drama

What happened: The series returned for its 17th season last week with Maca at Esther’s house trying to win her back, but Esther’s having none of it. This week, Maca’s former lover Vero leaves the hospital for a new job somewhere else, and tries to convince Maca to come with her, but Maca says no because she’s still in love with Esther. Vero wishes them both well.

Thanks to: Jennifer and Marcela

Show/Episode: Skins – U.K, teen drama

What happened: Not much, just a small scene of Emily and Naomi “wriggling.”

What else you need to know: Skins has been renewed for a fourth season.

Show/Episode: Hollyoaks – U.K, drama

What happened: Out lesbian Lydia shows up, becomes friends with Sarah, and gets punched by Amy (who doesn’t realize Lydia is gay and thinks she’s flirting with her husband).

Then Lydia hangs out with Sarah at a club, where she gets hit on by one of the guys, and promptly throws a drink in his face. (Lydia is clearly not having a very good week.)

Show/Episode: All My Children – ABC, drama

What happened: Kendall finally realizes Reese doesn’t have bad intentions re: Zach or Bianca. She tells Zach to help Reese – who is upset at being blind, and lashing out at everyone – and then Kendall calls Bianca in France and tells she should come back to Pine Valley to help Reese.

Show/Episode: Make Me a Supermodel – Bravo, reality competition

What happened: Everyone posed as candy; bisexual-model-with-a-bad-attitude CJ barely escaped elimination – again; Tabatha Coffey showed up to give everyone a makeover..

What else you need to know: read Dara’s mini-recaps of the show here.

Show/Episode: Plus Belle La Vie – France, drama

What happened: After many discussions, Virginie agrees have a baby with Céline (Céline suggests they both get pregnant, but Virginie thinks it’s better to have just one child). They ask to their gay friend Thomas to become their child’s father by insemination, but Thomas doesn’t want to do it. The two women look for a donor on the internet. But Thomas’ father convinces Thomas to change his mind, and he goes to Céline and Virginie’s home to tell them he wants to be the father. They’re excited and ask him if he’s absolutely sure, and he says yes.

Thanks to: Dominique

Show: Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love) – Germany, drama

What happened: Carla invites Stella to go horseback riding with her. Stella forgets all about their date when Charlie drops by her new apartment to help her unpack. To make it up to Carla, Stella takes her out to a club. At the end of the night they share a kiss, complete with tongues, slow-motion and violins on the soundtrack.

What else you need to know: There were a lot of conflicting signals on this week’s episodes. Stella and Charlie bond over a stack of records, as did Carla and Hannah way back when, and later Stella and Carla pretend to be a couple to get rid of an annoying man at the club, just like Carla and Hannah did before they got together.

Thanks to: Annelies

Show/Episode: The L Word – Showtime, drama

What happened: Nothing. OK, technically it was the finale of the whole series, but seriously – nothing.

What else you need to know: Read Scribegrrrl’s recap, and StuntDouble’s Facebook recap.

That wraps up this week’s rundown of lesbian/bi women on TV – international readers, please email me at [email protected] short rundowns of the lesbian/bi storylines on your favorite shows on Thursdays. Thanks!

– by Sarah Warn

“STRAIGHT” GIRLS, GAY CRUSHES ON THE TYRA BANKS SHOW

According to Tyra Banks, “Across America, more and more straight girls are getting gay crushes.”

Well if Tyra says it, it must be true. And not only is Tyra saying so, she devoted an entire episode of her talk show to the phenomenon.

This week on The Tyra Banks Show, Tyra talks to different women who identify as heterosexual yet still find themselves falling for lesbians. In the preview video on show’s official website, one of them tells her, “Every woman is interested in being with another woman.”

Really? Every woman? Even Tyra? While I’d love to hear her address those rumors, I’m not betting on it.

Instead, I think she’ll just trot out a few other women willing to talk about their own experiences in that department.

The promotional materials for the episode read:

Is everyone a little bit gay? Women who insist they’re straight admit to having crushes on other women. Is it possible to be straight, but have a crush and be sexually attracted to another person of the same sex? Meet guests who confess their secret gay crushes — and some who are already involved in lesbian love affairs! Then the Tyra Show cameras follow a female pick-up artist who says she is on the prowl for “straight” women to date.

The L Word has only been gone for a couple of days, but has Shane already found new work?

In the preview video for the episode, Tyra bullies convinces a straight woman to ask a lesbian that she’s interested in if she’d like to be in a relationship with her.

It’s a televised request, but no pressure Ms. Sweater-Vest-Wearing-Lesbian. No pressure at all.

Tyra also tells us that “women everywhere” are losing their minds over Work Out star Jackie Warner. Warner stops by to talk about her own irresistibility, and Tyra asks her to spill the beans on which “straight” celebrities have hit on her

Will Jackie Warner really name names? Will Jackie’s ex-girlfriend Mimi make an appearance and bite Tyra? Will anyone bring up the concept of bisexuality?

POST-SHOW UPDATE: As I suspected, the episode was less titillating than I expected it to be.

Jackie Warner did not name names, Mimi did not show up (and, therefore, did no biting… at least not that day on The Tyra Banks Show) and bisexuality was not discussed.

So what did happen?

Tyra introduced Jackie to a very excited straight female fan, and Jackie bragged about a fan who left a “ten-minute orgasm” message on her voicemail at Sky Sport.

Straight guest Daphne told Tyra all about her short-lived but unforgettable affair with lesbian Lilly, right down to the spine-tingling details of their first kiss. Tyra then brought Lily out and let Daphne ask her if she would consider rekindling their affair from three years ago. After a lot of hemming and hawing, Lily gave a definite maybe and kissed Daphne, who could barely contain her excitement.

Tyra introduced us to Lisa, a lesbian pick-up artist specializing in straight women. The TBS camera crew filmed her harassing random women in New York City into giving her their phone numbers, and even followed her on a subsequent date with Aj, one of her lucky “targets.” (Tyra’s word, not mine.)

Lisa then joined all of her “targets” onstage and trumpeted, “I’m sure you all felt a little flattered that I gave you some compliments.” Then they collectively let the ensuing silence pass like a bad storm instead of using the moment as an opportunity to tell Lisa that The L Word is a fictional show and that “Shane” is not a real person. (And that she is not Shane.)

Finally, Tyra brought out another straight guest, Lauren, who came on the show to announce her crush on lesbian co-worker, Tiffany. When Tiffany joined her on Tyra’s couch, Lauren confessed her feelings and asked her for a kiss. Tiffany obliged.

Immediately after, Tyra pressed Lauren to describe the kiss to the audience, then pressed Tiffany to say whether or not she’d consider dating Lauren. Throughout the whole ordeal, Tiffany somehow managed to look shocked and bored all at the same time and Lauren giggled nervously.

If what I’ve described sounds a little awkward and uncomfortable, then I haven’t done it justice. It was painfully awkward and uncomfortable.

At the end of the episode, Tyra announced that while her show was regularly acknowledged for being good to the gays, it had not been as successful with the lesbians. She congratulated herself for doing a good show for the lesbians, and Jackie Warner thanked her on our behalf. Yes, thank you, Tyra.

If what I’ve described sounds a little over-hyped and ridiculous, then I haven’t done it justice. The entire show was painfully over-hyped and ridiculous.

– by Karman Kregloe

A LESBIAN ROMANCE ON HOME AND AWAY

Back in December, we told you that Australian soap Home and Away‘s policewoman Charlie Buckton (played by Esther Anderson) was about to come out of the closet.

According to the official website for the show, Buckton will soon be developing a romance with recurring character Joey Collins (played by Kate Bell).

The Home and Away site even has a special page devoted to the couple, with the following commentary:

Joey has been keeping her sexuality secret, especially from her older brother Brett and after being sexually attacked by lowlife Robbo, she is terrified that details of her personal life will become public. Police Officer Charlie Buckton is determined to make Robbo pay for his actions and takes Joey under her wing.

Charlie has not had an easy run with boyfriends recently, so she is very confused when she realizes that Joey’s friendship is developing into something more meaningful.

Let us know if you think this storyline is too controversial, or if you think it is good that Home and Away tackles a wide range of issues. Write to the Got Something To Say page.

The reader comments on the page are positive (and include several by LGBT viewers), but some conservative groups are, naturally, not happy about the storyline.

The Herald Sun recently ran an article quoting Pro-Family Perspectives director Angela Conway as saying, “They (Home and Away) continue to market to kids and they continue to develop quite sexualized plot lines. The plot lines that young kids and teenagers should be presented with should be about really authentic relationships that are not just sexualized.”

Apparently, her objection is aimed at the consensual relationship between Buckton and Collins, not at the sexual assault of Collins by “lowlife Robbo.” Go figure.

Star Anderson is defending the storyline, and is quoted by the Herald Sun as saying that the lesbian kissing scene “wasn’t that big a deal.”

As for corrupting young viewers with lesbian content, Anderson also said, “You learn pretty much everything at school. I don’t think it’s like I’m lifting the lid on something they don’t already know about. To me there’s no difference – love’s love. The fact that your partner’s the same sex is no different. You just want to be loved.”

The paper also reports that Buckton and Collins will “share a dance and a kiss, and over the following five weeks their relationship blossoms into love.”

But will the relationship last beyond five weeks?

AE reader Morgann reported to us that Home and Away producer Cameron Welsh told the Australian magazine TV Week that a “loved central character” would have a controversial same sex love affair, and that the character would eventually settle into a happy long-term relationship.

But will that relationship be with a same sex partner? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.

Welsh told TV Week, “Sometimes you can have a gay character or something that is a little salacious. But this isn’t going to be like that. It will be very honest storytelling.”

by Karman Kregloe

THE WOMEN OF LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS

This week, Lesbian Vampire Killers debuts in America a the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

The comedic horror film has been receiving a lot of buzz, as its male stars are UK television stars, and also because of the women featured in the film.

Total Film Magazine recently profiled the women who play the lesbian vampire killers, asking them their favorite vampire movies (besides the one they’re in, of course) and the making of the film.

Let’s meet them:

Favorite vampire film: From Dusk Till Dawn

On her character: “She’s one of four Swedish tourists, we’ve all been studying myths and legends in Stockholm and we’ve come over to investigate vampires in our VW. So, we’re basically fun-loving Swedish students looking for a good time.”

Favorite vampire film: Van Helsing

On her character: “I am the leader of the pack I am the lesbian vampire queen. Top of the rank, I get all my girls to do their dirty deeds. I’ve been separated from my long lost love for one century too many, so when I’m resurrected I’m very keen to get back to her, and to get back at the people who have separated us.”

Favorite vampire film: Shaun of the Dead

On her character: “She’s a modern-day stoner, so I am stoned a lot — but not for real (laughs). My character is stoned a lot! She’s a bit wild, she’s a bit of a party animal.”

The other two girls have yet to be profiled, but are still worth a look.

I’m guessing their favorite vampire film is probably Vampyros Lesbos. I mean, someone’s has to be.

– by Trish Bendix

CAT CORA AND PARTNER ARE PREGNANT

Aside from writing books, starring in a television show, spearheading charity projects and launching a new restaurant, lesbian Iron Chef Cat Cora has also managed to get pregnant.

Cat, who has been with her partner Jen Cora for more than 10 years, is four and a half months pregnant with a boy. Jen is also knocked up, and is slated to give birth to a baby boy in April.

The pregnancy is Cat’s first, and the couple already have two sons, Zoran and Caje, that Jen carried. Cat and Jen did some serious embryo-swapping that took me a minute to grasp, according to a press release she issued today:

The Coras share a unique family story in which both women have carried the other’s biological child. Cat’s pregnancy is a result of in-vitro fertilization with Jennifer’s embryo. The couple’s sons, ages 5 years and 23 months, were both carried by Jennifer. She was artificially inseminated for her first pregnancy, but the second she carried to term using Cat’s embryo. In Jennifer’s current pregnancy, both women’s embryos were implanted, so the biological mother is unknown. They do not to plan to conduct DNA testing to determine the baby’s biological mother.

The boys also all share the same anonymous (and generous) sperm donor, making them all biological brothers. Cat will give birth in July, and the Cora’s lucky for sons will surely be eating delicious food daily.

“Jennifer and I are thrilled to go through the wonderful experience of pregnancy together. We started the in-vitro process five years ago,” Cat said in a statement. “This has been a miracle for us and we’ll now have four beautiful children.”

Cat, who was awarded the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award in 2008, has always spoken openly about her family and we couldn’t be happier for her and Jen.

“Jen and I have never hidden the fact that we’re together,” she told foodie Carolyn Jung in November. “Our kids are important to us, and we want them to know we’re proud to be their mothers. You have to stand up for who you are, because you are basically standing up for them. We’re just an all-American family living the all-American dream.”

Cat recently opened a barbecue restaurant, CCQ (Cat Cora’s Que), in Costa Mesa, Calif. and is still the only female on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. She also founded Chefs for Humanity, a charity that aims to provide “nutrition education, hunger relief, and emergency and humanitarian aid to reduce hunger across the world.”

Obviously, Cat is quite the multi-tasker. Pardon the pun, but she seems to have the woman-who-has-it-all recipe down.

– by Jen Sabella

VIRGINIA WILLIS COULD BE OUR NEXT CELEBRITY CHEFBIAN

If you ever asked yourself, “Self, what makes TheLinster happier than most anything?” today you will find the answer. It’s fried chicken. Not the Church’s, KFC, deep-fryer kind. I want the slathered-in-flour, pan-fried, perfectly crisp kind. One of the best things my mother ever did for me was give me two fried chicken drumsticks in my lunch every day for as long as I can remember. I miss my mother.

All that is to say that I judge a cook by her fried chicken. If I can’t get an actual sample, I look at her recipe to see if she knows what she’s doing.

Virginia Willis, out lesbian and author of Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking, knows what she’s doing.

Willis not only has a perfectly simple, perfectly perfect fried chicken recipe (except for adding cayenne pepper, which I will excuse since she’s from a different part of the South than I). She also suggests a gravy ingredient that solves my eternal problem of never quite having enough for all the mashed potatoes I can eat. Chicken stock! So simple, yet so brilliant.

I heard of Willis from the fine gentlemen of Gay List Daily, who are quite particular about what goes in their mouths (within reason, of course). The line from Bon Appétit, Y’all that won their hearts: “I’m here to tell you that a bag of little smokies, a bottle of ketchup and a jar of grape jelly combined in a slow cooker, served with a box of toothpicks on the side, is not an hors d’oeuvre.”

This is a woman you want at your next lesbian potluck.

At 41, Willis is, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, poised to become the next celebrity chef. She is talking to at least three production companies about creating her own TV show and Bon Appétit, Y’all has just been nominated for an International Association of Culinary Professionals award.

The cookbook is more than a collection of family recipes. It’s a tribute to refined Southern cooking, an exhibition of luscious food photography – and a damn good read. Willis is a great writer and more than once I found myself teary-eyed at the memories of my grandmother’s kitchen invoked by her stories. And just try to read her recipe for Old Fashioned Yeast Rolls without practically smelling them fresh from the oven.

Willis earned her place in the professional kitchen with degrees from L’Academie de Cuisine and Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne plus a résumé that includes training with Southern cooking icon Nathalie Dupree, French country chef Anne Willan and the inimitable Julia Child. She even survived a three-year stint as kitchen director for Martha Stewart’s first TV series in New York – and came full circle when she recently appeared as a guest on Martha.

Although Willis has always been a wizard in the kitchen, having learned the secrets of good cooking at the elbow of her grandmother Meme, she didn’t expect to be a professional chef. Her partner of 20 years, Becky Minchew, is the one who suggested she attend culinary school when the two lived in Charleston, S.C., after graduation from University of Georgia.

“She wasn’t interested in pursuing it as a career choice,” Minchew said. “Back then it wasn’t as glamorous as it is now. It was considered a trade. If you weren’t smart enough for college, then you went to cooking school.”

After traveling the world and cooking for folks like Bill Clinton, Aretha Franklin and Jane Fonda, Willis returned to Georgia, where she and Minchew bought a house, built a chicken coop and planted a vegetable garden. Since then, Willis has been working for herself and, with the success of Bon Appétit, Y’all, is ready for the next stage of her career.

“I’m comfortable with who I am now, and I’ve worked hard and worked with the best,” Willis told the AJC. “I know what I’m doing.”

I hope that one of these days I’ll get to find that out in person over a plate of Meme’s fried chicken and gravy.

– by the linster

DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL DOCUMENTARY EXPLORES GAYS IN THE MILITARY

After watching Tasha deal with some serious homophobes on The L Word, where she dealt with the effects of the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I couldn’t help but agree with what Alice had to say: “You’ve worked your whole life to just deny who you are?”

The big ol’ mess that is “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” technically started in 1993, when Bill Clinton became a thorn in the proverbial gay side after promising to allow people of all sexual orientations to serve in the military – only to approve a ban on gays in the military after he was elected.

Dubya signed off on the official “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” bit when he took office in 2001, and the gist of the law is this: Sexual orientation will not bar anyone from serving in the military, unless you’re gay. If you’re gay, you’re outta there.

Rightfully, the policy has been widely criticized for more than 15 years, and President Obama reportedly started working to lift the ban last week.

Unfortunately, the policy that asks those willing to die for their country to deny who they are is still alive and kicking, and acclaimed filmmaker Johnny Symons’ latest documentary, Ask Not sheds some light on queer soldiers affected by the policy.

Symons has been tackling LGBT issues through film for years, and the documentary, slated to air on PBS June 16, has some critics saying it should be required viewing.

The clips alone from the film beg the questions: Who thought this was a good idea? How in the world is this justified?

The film shows a group of military men, including former secretary of state Colin Powell, saying that homosexuality is “not compatible” with military service. Because, you know, when you are fighting wars, the most important thing is your sexual orientation.

Another clip tells the story of a soldier’s struggle in Iraq. It doesn’t mention whether the soldier is gay, but it shows him asking bigger questions: “Will I come back alive? Will I come back with all my limbs? Will I see my friends again or my family?”

Through the documentary, Symons aims to show how the U.S. military should not claim to represent democracy and freedom while denying a willing and able segment of the population the right to serve.

Symons’ documentary is a needed reminder for us to stay on Obama when it comes to overturning this ludicrous policy. Watch clips of the film here.

– by Jen Sabella

TWITTERWATCH: ELLEN DEGENERES, MARTHA STEWART, CAT CORA, MEGHAN MCCAIN

There are so many fun, funny, or just plain interesting tweets being sent out every day, I thought I’d round up some of the recent lesbian/bi-related tweets about or by famous or not-so-famous people. Let me know in the comments if you like this feature, and if you do, we’ll do it more often.

First up: John McCain’s daughter Meghan McCain is a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show tonight talking about the recent blog post she wrote on The Daily Beast denouncing right-wing homophobe Ann Coulter as “offensive, radical, insulting and confusing all at the same time.”

After she was finished taping her interview with Rachel Maddow (@maddow) today, Meghan tweeted about it (@mccainblogette).

Yesterday, Martha Stewart (@marthastewart) tweeted about Ellen DeGeneres sending her flowers after her dog died in a tragic kennel fire.

Ellen, who just created her twitter account this week (@theellenshow), sent out a tweet earlier today trying to get as many followers as possible before her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight.

A few minutes ago, Ellen tweeted about playing poker before the show:

…and here’s the photo she linked to:

Out fitness guru/dietician Susan Powter (@susanpowter) tweeted about her unhappiness with the weather.

Iron Chef Cat Cora (@catcora) tweeted about her pregancy on Monday.

And finally, here’s a random tweet I found when searching on the word “lesbian” that I thought you’d find amusing:

Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) also tweeted today about it not being cool to use the words “gay” or “fag” as slurs – read about that here.

If you find other interesting tweets about/by famous/semi-famous lesbian or bi women, feel free to forward them to us at @afterellen, and we might include them in future TwitterWatch installments.

UPDATE: Read more TwitterWatch here

– by Sarah Warn

LESBIAN QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 2

“Just because I’m single and don’t date a lot, that doesn’t make me a lesbian.”

Kelly Clarkson to Entertainment Tonight

LIKE THE OLD RADIO MYSTERY SHOWS, BUT QUEER!

I recently stumbled upon O Line Mysteries, an original audio show told in the fashion of radio serials from the 1920’s-1950’s, but featuring a lesbian lead character:

Plopped down in the middle of the San Francisco Bay sits Ohlone Island, with its quiet streets, Victorian homes, and well behaved Palm Trees – a positively idyllic setting teeming with mystery.

Lorna Tollison, a recent addition to the island from the East Coast, is a internet writer with A LOT of time on her hands. Her unruly curiosity about Ohlone Islands insular society and its locals pulls her into the absurd and seedy underbelly of this quaint island city.

Each week, the scripted audio podcast finds Lorna, her partner Sally and their friends deep into a mystery that boils up into a smoldering confrontation pie with the local inhabitants.

There are already 21 episodes available, which means lots of mysteries for Lorna and her partner to solve – so start listening!

ELLEN ON LENO

Ellen DeGeneres stopped by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week to help promote the premiere of Portia de Rossi‘s hilarious new ABC comedy Better Off Ted (seriously, I love it)which debuts next Wednesday and to show off her new Cover Girl ad.

Here’s a clip of Ellen talking to Jay about the challenges of being a model, how she hangs out with Giselle and Twiggy, and why she should be on the cover of Oprah’s magazine:

If you’re in the U.S., you can watch the whole episode on Hulu, which includes Ellen talking about being nervous about having Portia as a guest on her talk show on Monday, for the first time ever. I predict awkward hilarity!

ROCKING THE DINAH

The annual Palm Springs lesbian Spring Break event known as The Dinah is coming up the first weekend in April, and this year, we’re hosting an AfterEllen.com Rock Band “Battle of the Bands”!

Naturally, with all their Rock Band experience, we’ve asked Dara Nai and Karman Kregloe to judge the competition. (And yes, they’ll also be back with new episodes of Dara & Karman’s Hit List soon!)

Winners will be recognized in categories like:

Top Performing Band (best Rock Band score)

Best Style (rock attire + sensibility)

Biggest Attitude Problem (most over-the-top band – in a good way)

Most Likely to Have Girls Throwing Panties on Stage (sexiest band)

Don’t Quit Your Day Job (worst performance)

Prizes will include DVDs, copies of the Rock Band game, and a gaming console – courtesy of Rock Band, who is sponsoring this event.

Prior to the Rock Band competition, there will be a Celebrity Jam Session where you can play Rock Band with AfterEllen.com vloggers, bloggers, and friends, which so far includes Bridget McManus, Jenn and Dee, Cat Davis, Nat and Meg, Jennie McNulty, Pat Branch, Briana Stockton, Nisha Ganatra, the women of Cherry Bomb, and me, with more names to be announced later.

We’ll provide more details as we get closer to the event, but for now, all you need to know is that a sign-up sheet for the Jam Session and the Battle of the Bands will be in available shortly before the event begins in the Logo Lounge in The Riviera Hotel on Saturday, April 4 (exact time TBD).

All skill levels are welcome, so grab some friends and bring your best rock outfits!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

One of the reasons lesbians have so much difficulty getting sponsors for events, web series, blogs, etc. is because most of the research has been done on gay men, not queer women. Gaywheels.com recently launched the first survey of LGBT car owners, and they tell us that so far, the vast majority of respondents (over 90%!) have been gay men. They’re going to be reporting on the results starting early next week, so take the survey today to help ensure the desires of lesbian/bi women are represented in the data (which may lead to the automotive industry sponsoring more lesbian events/shows/websites).

The L&O:SVU official production blog asks readers this week, “Is Benson Gay? What do you think?” (I think this a great ploy to drive traffic to/comments on their blog, without any real intention to explore that idea – but maybe I’m just too jaded these days.) Thanks to dj shiva and ek.loves.callizona for the tip!

Spanish series Cuestion de Sexo has introduced a lesbian couple in its third season, which premiered this month (thanks to Rogue for the tip!)

Bitch Magazine writes about what it means that the media is going “Gay for Rachel Maddow.”

Bay Windows examines “Post-Queer Theory.”

If you missed the lesbian visbility discussion on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” this week, you can listen to it here.

This Thursday, March 19 at 6pm PST/9pm EST, we’ll be hosting the live chat with executive producer/writer Jane Espenson – get your BSG/Buffy/Dollhouse questions ready!

– by Sarah Warn

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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