I have recently -- and you are probably going to laugh after reading this -- admitted to myself that I am a lesbian. Before, I used to say I was bisexual, or even a five in the Kinsey Scale. One way or the other, I never thought of myself as "gay". I guess the term was a bit too strong for me, and I couldn't really deal with the notion.

Fact is, I prefer girls a thousand times over boys, and there are very few boys indeed to whom I feel attracted. Yet, I think it was only after I've started watching The L Word that I really began to identify myself as a lesbian -- despite the fact that my friends had been doing so for a long time.

During the second half of 2006, I have started taking greatest interest in the subject than I had in the past: I've looked for movies, series, sites, LJ communities, and bought an amazing book -- Reading The L Word: Outing Contemporary Television -- in which various lesbian writers and columnists discuss the issue of representation, heteronormativity, sex and general behaviour of the characters in the said TV show.

The reason I've decided to make this post in the first place was to give you, my dear readers, some recent news on the lesbian world, and also some tips of what to watch.



Ellen DeGeneres will host the 79th Annual Academy Awards.

Even though the news have been going around for a while now, it was only in the past weeks that I've read about this. For those of you who don't know, Ellen DeGeneres is considered a major symbol in the lesbian community: she was one of the first actresses to openly come out, and, back in 1994, had TV show, Ellen, in which she played a lesbian. The series was canceled after four seasons. Looks like viewers ended up seeing more than they payed for.

The actress is so huge in the dyke world, that one of the biggest sites about lesbian representation on TV is named after her (Afterellen.com), as if her coming out was a mark in the history of gay TV (which it, in fact, was).

She was also in If These Walls Could Talk 2 -- an excellent gay movie that tells three short stories about lesbians -- in which her character, Kal, is in a long-term relationship with Fran (portrayed by Sharon Stone) and they're trying to make a baby.

Nowadays, Ellen hosts her own talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is aired for a whole hour, five days a week, and has snatched many Emmys, including "Outstanding Talk Show" and "Outstanding Talk Show Host".

A little trivia: the actress plays Dory, in Finding Nemo.

Source: Oscars.org


Ana Lucia is, after all, a lesbian.

Well, at least in real life. Kristanna Loken, an actress who recently outed herself as bisexual (and will be a guest star in The L Word's upcoming season), implicitly declared that she and Lost's Michelle Rodrigez -- co-stars in BloodRayne -- started going out during the shooting. Though the declaration is ambiguous, pictures and the way things were said seems to leave no doubt when it comes to the American media.

I thought this piece of news ironic, in the least. People were complaining about the lack of gays in Lost, and much was said about Ana Lucia's sexual orientation. Actually, I would start thinking J.J. Abrams has something against gay people -- since in Alias no one is really queer, either -- were it not for his affair with Greg Grunberg, a.k.a. Weiss (this actor worked in every single thing Abrams ever shot. Don't tell me they haven't shagged).

On a side note, talking about lesbian actresses, I've read that Sex and the City's Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) came out. Of course, during the series she always emanated that "lesbian vibe", but I guess seeing her with Steve just made me believe she was straight. Oh, well.

Source: afterellen.com


Exes and Oh's.

Apparently, after the L Word's wave, new gay series will start coming out. Exes and Oh's, a half-hour comedy series about a group of lesbian friends, will make its début in 2007. The show was based on a an excellent short-film entitled The Ten Rules: a Lesbian Survival Guide, which is available on YouTube, and really is worth seeing. The first part can be watched below:

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The other three parts are linked, respectively, here, here and here.

Source: afterellen.com


The everlasting Jodie Foster dicussion.

I had no idea people suspected Jodie Foster was gay. Apparently, that is a big polemic issue between American lesbians. The question is not really whether she's gay or not -- there seems to be a general consensus that Cydney Bernard is her life partner, and not just a good friend -- but whether she should uncloset herself. I've recently read a very good column, by Kim Ficerain which the matter is discussed:

"Half of the women in the room will defend Jodie's decision to keep her personal life as private as she can. Perhaps each of the women on that side of the argument enjoys a somewhat “private” life (read: closeted life) of her own; perhaps each simply respects Jodie's choice on a professional level. Lord knows that out Hollywood actresses don’t get the work that closeted actresses do. (...)

The other half will, like Westenhoefer, argue that Jodie should come out of the closet because of what she could do for the lesbian and gay community. Jodie's clout, the respect she commands, her charming personality and warm, soft-spoken manner, they believe, will help make the world a more welcoming place for lesbians. These folks are likely out themselves and want some very famous company. Or, perhaps their desire is more selfish. Maybe they think they’re owed something in return for supporting Jodie over the years. Maybe, just maybe, they simply want to be right."

I guess we'll have to wait and see what Foster will do. Lately she has been more open about the matter, even though the words "I'm a lesbian" never came out of her mouth.

Source: afterellen.com

The more I read, research and watch, the more I know that I don't really know much about this so-called "L World", and the more I want to read, research and watch. Looks like I've found another subject to obsess about and I'd say it might actually stick for a while. After all, this is not a brilliant series, or an amazing book; this is linked to my very own identity as an individual.