My Weekend Crush

Should we just rename it Carolflix? “Carol” has officially come to Netflix this week. So if some inconceivable reason you have not watched the best lesbian romance to ever grace the big screen, small screen or smartphone screen – seriously, what is wrong with you? Regardless, here is your chance to catch it for the first time, or – if you’re like me – watch it again (and again and again and again and again) with the same wonder as the first time. Happy weekend, dearest.

Our Wild and Precious Lives

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

This quote by the poet Mary Oliver is equal parts call to joy and call to action. And if that’s the only thing you take away from Edie Windsor’s life and death it is still really quite a thing. Last Friday the memorial service for the LGBT rights hero was held in New York. And, wouldn’t you know it, the woman who actually won the popular vote made a surprise appearance to give a eulogy. Meanwhile the man we inexplicably call president has yet to even mention her passing at all. But, hey, he found the time to tweet about the Emmy ratings, so there’s that. When you have the time today, or in the next few days or whenever you can, I highly recommend you listen to Hillary beautifully memorialize Edie. Two great women, two determined women, two women who have left an indelible impact on this nation. And, yes, I know – Hillary isn’t perfect which everyone somehow feels the need to point out every single time her name is mentioned even though literally no one on fucking Earth is perfect. So, with Mary Oliver’s words ringing in my ears and Edie’s courage warming my heart, I vow to quit apologizing for complex women from here on out. And I vow to never postpone joy. Thank you, Hillary and Edie.

Crofting New Heroes

Right, so let’s get into this new “Tomb Raider” trailer. When the reboot of the action franchise was announced I was a big, “M’k. I guess.” I also thought Alicia Vikander was a tad slight to fill Angelina Jolie’s combat boots. But then I saw her abs and I was like, “K. Give it a chance.” And now that I’ve seen the first trailer I’m like, “OK. Imma probably see this.”

It’s not necessarily that seeing Alicia Katniss Everdeening her way through the jungle in a tank top has sold me. I mean, it’s not terrible. This looks like your pretty standard action-adventure, world-saving, evil-defeating storyline. But with one, make that two, very important differences that make it not standard in the least. One, of course, is that it is an action-adventure, world-saving, evil-defeating storyline centered around a female lead. This is Lara Croft’s story, yet Lara Croft is among only a handful of female action hero franchises to make it to the big screen – period. Ripley from “Aliens,” Sarah from “Terminator,” Selene from “Underworld,” Alice from “Resident Evil,” Katniss from “Hunger Games,” Rey from “Star Wars” and Furiosa from “Mad Max” (dear movie gods, please, more Furiosa, please…), deserve more sisters. So if we want more of them, we should support the ones we have.

And, on secondary note, it’s nice to see her male sidekick (secondary hero?) is an Asian actor. Not too many of those in major American film franchises either. Create a more diverse array of heroes, create more interesting array of stories – period.

So bring on the new Lara Croft. Long may she run, jump, punch, kick, shoot, swing and reign at the box office. And may many, many, many, many more ladies who do the same come behind her.

p.s. I’ve included a little video of Alicia Vikander training to get into Lara Croft fighting shape. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing. Ahem.

SGALGG: Emmys Edition

To be honest, at this year’s Emmys there were so many Gay Gals Acting Like Gay Gals at the Emmys we hardly need a Straight Gals Acting Like Gay Gals. Plus we’ve got Straight Gals Acting Like Gay Gals With Gay Gals. Hell, at this point it’s just one big gay jumbles and I’m here for all of it. Though, if any of this smorgasbord of sexuality is causing any lingering confusion, please allow me to clear things up.

SGALGG: Mackenzie Davis & Gugu Mbatha-Raw

San Junipero forever (like, literally, forever).

GGALGG: Lena Waithe & Alana Mayo

Thanking your girlfriend in your Emmy speech is like 1 million Girlfriend Points, no?

SGALGGWGG: Sarah Paulson & Thandie Newton

No one tell Holland.

GGALGG: Samira Wiley & Lauren Morelli

Happily married photogenic couple is happily married and photogenic.

SGALGGWGG: Samira Wiley & Oprah

No one tell Gayle.

SGALGG: Anna Chlumsky & Ellie Kemper

My Girl is Unbreakable. Sorry, they can’t all be winners.

GGALGG: Evan Rachel Wood

I lied. Evan Rachel Wood and her vests can always be a winner.

SGALGG: Zoe Kravitz & Tessa Thompson

Unfortunately, rainbow dresses don’t actually make you gay – yet.

GGALGG: Kate McKinnon

Gay Lady World Domination Tour starts here.

SGALGGWGG: Kate McKinnon & Nicole Kidman

I see Kate’s already attracting tour groupies.

SGALGG: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern & Zoe Kravitz

I may or may not have cropped Shailene Woodley out because she had the gall to brag about not owning or watching television on the red carpet of a television award show where she was nominated for acting on a television show to a reporter broadcasting it on a television show. Also I’m pretty sure she voted for Jill Stein.

SGALGGWGG: Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton & Jane Fonda

Legends only.

Emmys Loves the Gay Ladies

Well, now that didn’t suck. The Emmys were an unmistakable win for us gay ladies. San Junipero. Kate McKinnon. Lena Waithe. The Handmaid’s Tale. It was like lesbian Christmas and New Year’s rolled up into one very well-dressed night. So let’s go through our big wins one by one.

San Junipero

I was shocked – in the best possible way – that my favorite episode of television in the past year (and perhaps in the past several years) not only earned the recognition it did but actually won. Twice. This unusual show, this singular episode, this tale of eternal love and this redefinition of a happy ending. This totally and completely gay romance won for both Outstanding Television Movie and for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special. Twice. It won twice. Heaven is a place called Emmys.

Kate McKinnon

Kate the Great takes home her second straight Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. And even though it all went wrong and were robbed of four more years of her playing Hillary Clinton on SNL, she did her best. And in her acceptance she also said, “on a very personal note I want to say thank you to Hillary Clinton for your grace and grit.” Now the only question left to answer is who was the short-haired lady sitting next to her at the Emmys?

Lena Waithe

Lena become the first black woman to win for writing for a comedy series. The out queer writer took home the trophy for the “Thanksgiving” episode of “Master of None” along with show creator Aziz Ansari. And in her acceptance she said, “And last, but certainly not least, my LGBTQIA family. I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different, those are our super powers. Every day, when you walk out the door and put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world — because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.” Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear dapper-ass shiny suits.

The Handmaid’s Tale

Granted, while it’s not an exclusively gay story (though it does have two prominent lesbian characters, one played by an out queer woman) “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a searing indictment of our worst human inclinations. But the the most disturbing part of this dystopian world ruled by an authoritarian government that strictly controls women’s bodies in the name of some conservative moral zealotry doesn’t feel all that fictional in this day and age.

Other Emmy 2017 highlights: First South Asian man to win an acting Emmy (Riz Ahmed for “The Night Of”), first black person to win an Emmy for comedy directing (Donald Glover for “Atlanta”), the first black actor to win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy since 1985 (Also Donald Glover for “Atlanta”), first black actor to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Dram since 1998 (Sterling K. Brown for “This Is Us”), and first woman to win Outstanding Director in a Drama since 1995 (Reed Morano for “The Handmaid’s Tale”). Three cheers for inclusiveness, three cheers for gayness.

p.s. The one thing about the Emmys that definitely did suck was the “Aw, Shucks” treatment of Sean Spicer. He was paid to lie to the American people every.single.day for a racist, sexist, xenophobic bigot. He does not get to fail up and redeem himself on national television. Nope to that bullshit forever.

My Weekend Crush

Sorry, again, to keep sharing videos from that hair tousle, but it’s not too often you get not only one but two lesbian guests on late night television. So here is Tig Notaro and Sarah Paulson kind of cracking each other up. Just pretend Jimmy’s not there, I know I do. And feel free to steal these party bits. As an natural introvert I appreciate any help at large social gatherings I can get. The dog one in particular seems like a great way to meet other lesbians – though you might want to switch it to a cat, depending on the crowd. Happy weekend, all.

Spit Take

“Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams Have Incredible Sex in Disobedience”

Well, hello – now there’s a headline. It’s almost enough to set the Lesbian Bat Signal up to “Carol” levels of anticipation. I’ve written about their new film “Disobedience” before. The pair play childhood friends from an Orthodox Jewish community who rekindle their illicit relationship as adults. And now that it has premiered at Toronto the reviews have started to come in, and they’re good. And then there’s that headline, which certainly makes every gay gal I know want to click the link. If you don’t want spoilers for the plot, stop reading now. If you want to know what qualifies as “incredible sex,” read on:

Apparently the two women (Rachel Weisz as Ronit, a photographer who has left her conservative upbringing to live in New York, and Rachel McAdams as Esti, a schoolteacher who remains in the orthodox community and is married to a man), finally hook up in a hotel where the “mind-blowing meeting of the Rachels can finally be released.” And I quote:

The two drink each other in again, but this time with unhindered relish, McAdams’s Esti groaning as Weisz’s Ronit undoes the crotch of her bodysuit with her teeth, Esti searching every contour of Ronit’s mouth with her tongue, then the ecstasy as they each reach inside the other’s underpants. They are simultaneously ravenous and exquisitely thorough. Though the moment almost everyone will be talking about will be when Weisz straddles McAdams and gently spits into her mouth, as McAdams eagerly receives it and asks for more, and more again.

Yeah, I know. It was all going so well until the whole “spits into her mouth” thing. Seriously, spits into her mouth? What? No. More and more again? No, again no. Is this some hot new lesbian trend I just don’t understand? Because imma NOPE out of that right quick.

I hope, sincerely, that it’s something less gross than actual just spitting into each other’s mouth. That this is some kind of failure to properly describe an erotic act on the author’s part. The writer also calls the scene as “sexy and gorgeous,” which I have never associated with the word “spit” in my entire life. So, yeah. The scene is then also described as “a tad male-gaze-y” which, come on guys. Can’t lesbians have one thing? And can that one thing please not involve spitting?

But, then it redeems itself somewhat by saying:

“Most of all, though, it’s moving, and very different from the coming-of-age lesbian scenes of ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ and ‘The Handmaiden.’ Here are two grown women who’ve done this before and are well past the discovery phase. Their only desire is to give pleasure to and receive it from one another, and they’ve been stymied for so long by circumstances…”

Yeah, that’s more like it. That I like. That gets me cranking up the old Lesbian Bat Signal again. Just, you know, keep the spit to yourselves, please.

Rest In Pride

If you ever doubt that one person can change the world, think of Edie Windsor. One singular woman, one timeless love, one righteous fight. They all came together in Edie, who undeniably changed the world for the better. Her death yesterday at age 88 is a reminder that no matter how small and helpless we feel, we should never doubt our power to do what is right. Hers was an unlikely journey to LGBT rights hero and icon. You might not think an octogenarian who had lived a quiet and loved life with her wife, Thea Spyer, for four decades would make history. But when Thea died in 2009 and the government refused to recognize their union (to the tune of a hefty six-figure federal tax bill), she fought back. For Thea, for all of us. And, wouldn’t you know it, she won. Edie slayed the Goliath. In 2013 the United States Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in 2013 (United Sates v. Windsor). And that paved the way two years later in 2015 for the Supreme Court’s to declare same-sex marriage legal across the entire United States (Obergefell v. Hodges). Upon her passing Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were among the outpouring of people offering words of condolences and homages to her place in history. Love, indeed, trumps hate. And love, like that between Edie and Thea where you dance a hole into your stocking together the first night you meet, can truly change the world. Thank you, Edie. Thank you from the bottom of our big gay hearts forever.

p.s. Hey, here is an idea, replace all Confederate monuments with a statue of Edie just like this. For one, she actually won her war. And for another, she actually made America greater. Radical idea, I know.

Your Best Paulson

Sarah Paulson continues to be an endless delight and someone we all wish was our lesbian BFF (no offense to my real lesbian BFF, but she is better at impressions that you – that’s a fact). I’m always so pleased when she has a new project coming out (even though I still feel very “Too Soon” about “American Horror Story: Cult” and its Election 2016 overtones). But I am pleased because that will mean more talk show appearances. Here she is slaying (naturally) her impressions. The Holly Hunter and the sunflower seeds thing almost made me spit out my drink. (I know, I know – I still have a hard time watching Jimmy because of the whole hair tousling/enabling a monster/our next president thing). But stick it out for Sarah because it’s worth it.

Also, here is Sarah explaining that amazing fangirling red carpet photo. Like I said, excellent lesbian BFF material.

We Got Weather

We have had some, shall we say, inclement weather here in the United States. Hurricanes, floods, wildfires. My thoughts, of course, are with all those who lost loved ones, their homes, their worldly possessions and all else the full force of our climate run amok has taken from them. (Also, dude, climate change is so fucking real.) So with all due respect to the insane power of Mother Nature, here is the most ridiculously insane scene from the weather disaster classic “Twister.” It’s also an early Tank Top Tuesday, because I’m sure Helen Hunt in that white tank is more than a few of your roots. We’ve got cows, kittens.