Gender Fuck Thursday: Dapper Ladies Edition

It’s my Thursday, and I can post women looking dapper as fuck in traditional men’s wear if I want to. So I will. And they do, look dapper as fuck. I mean, look at Kate McKinnon striking her best Katharine Hepburn – and pulling it off. Plus after the entire year that the first – checks calendar – 12 days of March have been, we deserve this. We truly do.

Tatiana Maslany

A long lost dapper clone, no doubt.

Evan Rachel Wood

Sad-yet-glam dapper is still dapper.

Tessa Thompson

Casual going to South Beach for a weekend getaway dapper.

Sarah Silverman

Still, when in doubt of how to dapper, you can’t go wrong with a tux.

Megan Rapinoe

Fine, dapper looks easier for some of us than others.

Ellen Page

Casual dapper is hard to pull off, but clearly not impossible.

Tina Fey

If you were ever to get me a singing telegram, Hot Dapper Nerd in Suit (who is also my Fake TV/Movie Wife) is exactly my type.

Jennifer Beals & Kate Moennig

O.G. Lesbian TV Legends dapper.

Suranne Jones & Sophie Rundle

What? Historical dapper is very much a thing. Very much.

Fuck ’Em

For no reason in particular, fuck the GOP. Fuck everyone in the Trump administration who promotes his endless racism, stupidity and corruption. Fuck those 52 Republican senators who abdicated their duty to protect the Constitution and perform necessary checks on the Executive Branch’s powers. (Mitt Romney can stay, but is it really heroic to not actively contribute to the destruction of our democracy and actually do your damn job?) Fuck the MAGA crowd whose only joy is causing pain. And fuck this infernal election year which is only 37 days old but already feels like 37 years. Or, if all this is tl:dr, please allow these lovely Betty White and others to express my sentiments exactly. I guess a picture really is worth a thousand fuck yous.

Lena Headey

Cersei flipping her own High Sparrow.

Ellen Page

Tiny Canadian FU.

Gillian Anderson

The fuck you is out there.

Regina Hall & Tracee Ellis Ross

BFFFUS

Katherine Barrell

Office Haught says you have the right to fuck off.

Kristen Stewart

K-Stew actually looks happiest when she’s flipping someone off.

Lucy Liu

Fucking off is elementary, dear Watson.

Diane Warren & Helen Mirren

That’s Dame Fuck Off to you.

Carrie Fisher

Nothing but respect for my Princess/General.

My Pride Weekend Crush

More than 30 years after it was published, @ArmisteadMaupin's Letter To Mama is still so powerful that Laura Linney, @EllenPage, @_CharlieBarnett, and their #TalesOfTheCity co-stars can barely get through reading it without crying pic.twitter.com/2HIR4bmtym

— See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) June 12, 2019

On this the final weekend of Pride Month, please remember that while Pride started as a riot on the streets, the most important riot will always be the one inside of our hearts. The riot that starts when we realize and to admit to ourselves our own differentness and ends when we embrace and acknowledge that very same differentness to the world. Coming out is always a personal choice. And no one should be forced out before they are ready. The goal will always be to create a world where every LGBTQIA person feels safe and protected and loved enough to come out whenever she, he, they, them want. Yes, you – you right there – you are a person. May standing together underneath this big umbrella of sexual orientation and gender identity otherness be the light and joy of all of our lives. So get out there, kittens, and celebrate the hell out of all of our beautiful differentness. Have yourself a gay old riot, kittens. Happy Pride Weekend, all.

Telling Tales

Nostalgia for beautiful things is natural. I was never a huge “Tales of the City” fan. It was a bit before my time and it always felt kind of sudsy to me. But there’s something sort of sleepily sweet about the nostalgia the new “Tales of the City” series is peddling. While I’m not necessarily personally invested in these characters, I welcome new LGBTQ stories. I welcome the beautiful diversity of our community and embrace all of our magnificent differences. More, better stories always. Now, isn’t that beautiful?

p.s. Also Ellen Page kissing the girl who talked really fast from “Girls” is pretty OK, too.

Tales of the Tales

“Tales of the City” will live on (and on and on and on and on) as one of the seminal gay book and television series in American history. The original miniseries aired in 1993 on PBS and could be considered the first-ever gay soap opera. So the question is now how does a 90s soap grow into a relevant 2019 story? Well, Netflix is about to find out with its continuation of “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of The City.”

What I can remember from the original series and books is it was overwhelmingly white and male in regards to its gay storylines. But a new, out female showrunner in “Orange I sthe New Black” writer (and Samira Wiley’s wife) Lauren Morelli could help change that.



The new “Tales of the City” is a continuation, not a reboot, of the original. Considering the show has already had an original run, and two subsequent sequels (in 1998 and 2001, respectively). This return to the fictitious shenanigans of Barbary Lane comes 20 years after formerly naïve and wide-eyed Ohio girl Mary Ann (Laura Linney) left to pursue her best life. She returns to celebrate the 90th birthday of her old landlady Anna Madrigal (played by a returning Olympia Dukakis) and reunite with her daughter Shawna (played by Ellen Page who is new to the series, but not Netflix shows (see: The Umbrella Academy).

The new cast features “Looking” daddy Murray Bartlett as Mary Ann’s loveable BFF “Mouse” (who was played by two different actors in the original miniseries and its two previous sequels) and Zosia Mamet of “Girls” fame as someone who sits cross-legged on top of tables and stares deeply into Ellen Page’s eyes. Also she’s a documentary filmmaker who is obviously gonna hook up with our girl Shawna. The show also cast nonbinary actor Garcia who plays Anna’s trans/nonbinary caregiver. There is a lot more diverse LGBTQ talent in-front and behind the camera as well, which is a relief.

Here’s hoping for good things from this show that was one of the first to explain what our chosen families means in the LGBTQ community. Which is, you know, just about everything.

Love In A Hopeless Place

Did you know Ellen Page and Kate Mara are in a movie together about love and execution and smoochies? Because they are. It’s called “My Days of Mercy” and it seems intense. Like, life or death intense. Like let’s make a movie about the death penalty and the ethicality of state-sponsored murder, but also with some lesbian love thrown in.

Obviously, I plan to watch this because it has ladies being gay and all. It has great queer DNA what with Ellen and is being produced by Christina Vachon’s Killer Films (“Go Fish,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Carol”). And Kate Mara is Rooney Mara’s older sister – so playing gay ladies on screen is obviously a hereditary trait. Obviously.

You may recall Ellen and Kate’s previous onscreen work, “Tiny Detective,” which had more pantsuits but less kissing.



So, thoughts? The good news is – at least based on their previous “Tiny Detective” work – Ellen and Kate seem to have more chemistry than Ellen and Julianne Moore had in “Freeheld.” Bless their hearts, they sure tried. But here’s hoping Lucy and Mercy find love in a hopeless place.

The Other Ellen

You might have seen the short, two-minute clip that went viral last week of Ellen Page talking with Stephen Colbert about the deeply personal assault on LGBTQ rights happening right now in our country. It’s exactly the kind of clear, impassioned, unequivocal talk we need from not just our celebrities, but everyone. This administration hurts people – on purpose. The cruelty is the point.

But what you might not have seen the entire nearly 10-minute clip of her appearance with Colbert. Ellen reminds us that politics is always personal, and that those of us with the privilege and opportunity to speak out should do so whenever we can – particularly in support of the most marginalized groups among us. That includes people of color, indigenous people, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities and immigrants.

The world has too many Trumps and Pences and Bolsonaros already. May there always be more like Ellen to fight them and lay bare the pain and suffering they cause and fight for a fair and free future for all of us, and this crazy blue marble we call home.

Under My Umbrella

Look, I don’t know fully what “The Umbrella Academy” is all about. But I know it has supernatural events, Ellen Page and Mary J. Blige as a suit-wearing assassin all together in a new show. So, yep I’m in. This totally seems like something to get excited about for 2019. Now, what’s this all about again?

Gender Fuck Thursday: Women in Black Edition

Time for some classic black suits. Single breasted. Double breasted. With a pinstripe. With a tuxedo cut. With a tie. Without a tie. Without a shirt. They’re all good. They’ve all very good on women. Very, very, very good. But don’t take my and Ellen Page’s word for it. Please witness my irrefutable proof.

Jameela Jamil

I am so behind on “The Good Place” and I feel terrible about it. Further proof we’re living in The Bad Place.

Carey Mulligan Michelle Williams

Chuck Taylors + a delicate pinstripe + a loose tie = the best maths.

*In my defense, many blonde white women with pixie cuts look alike.

Diane Lane

Shirts are overrated anyway.

Janelle Monae

Jaunty hat game on point. As, of course, is everything else.

Pink & her daughter Willow

Yes, start them young on the path towards suits.

More Tales, More Gays

Hey, remember yesterday when I said it was exciting we were going to be seeing more of Laura Linney. Yeah, well, it’s pretty exciting to see a bunch of cool people like Laura, Ellen Page and Olympia Dukakis sign on for the new “Tales of the City” sequel. Adding to the excitement, the show is being helmed by out writer Lauren Morelli (most recently of “Orange Is the New Black,” where she met and married her lovely wife Samira Wiley), who will act as showrunner. I know, like I keep saying, exciting.

Netflix has picked up the 10-episode sequel that will see the return of Laura as the formerly naïve San Francisco newcomer Mary Ann and Olympia as the perennial quirky landlady Anna Madrigal of 28 Barbary Lane. In the new series, Page will play Mary Ann’s daughter, Shawna.

Now, if you know anything about the original books you’ll know they were a landmark in LGBTQ fiction and their subsequent TV miniseries in the 1990s were among some of the first positive representations of gay people on television. So we can only hope – and with at least two out stars in its cast and crew actually expect – that the new series will continue that out and proud tradition. In short, fuck yeah, this is gonna be hella gay.

p.s. Hey, I just realized both Lauren and Samira are now with shows that have “Tale” in them – “Tales of the City” and the “Handmaid’s Tale.” And both appear to be quite gay. Now that's what I call big queer kismet.

Out of the Woods

At long last, is it finally Woody Allen’s moment in The Reckoning? A tiny trickle has become a steady stream of actors who have worked with the filmmaker in the past and are now denouncing, and apologizing, for their involvement with him.

They include Ellen Page, wonderful and brave Ellen Page, who posted in November about her own experiences with sexual harassment and called working with Allen “the biggest regret of my career.” Then this week alone there was Greta Gerwig, Mira Sorvino and Rebecca Hall. Lest you think it’s only ladies, two men have also stepped up – actors Griffin Newman, David Krumholtz, and Timothée Chalamet.

This matters, this really does, and I truly hope more actors and actresses who I admire and respect greatly, but have worked with Allen in the past step up. (Please, Cate, please please please, Cate.) We need them. Plus we need a lot more dudes to start stepping up, too.

If you want to familiarize yourself with why we need all their voices please refer to the two open letters Allen’s daughter, Dylan Farrow, has written about her father’s sexual abuse of her as a child. The first was in 2014, which brought the long-simmering allegations of abuse back to the vivid and horrifying forefront. Then she wrote an op-ed just last month wondering aloud why The Reckoning had not touched her abuser yet.

Her accounts of what he did to her have not changed. Not for decades. What has appeared to have changed is the public acceptance of the industry’s lame excuse that this was a purely “family dispute” not to be waded into out of a false sense of decorum.

I hope the full force of The Reckoning finally sweeps Allen, and all of his ilk, into the murky depths where they belong – never to heard from or lauded again. And if, by chance, you don’t think speakingout after the fact means much, please refer to Dylan’s own heartfelt response. It matters. We need them, we need more of them. It matters.

There have been some brave and bold women who have taken a stand with and for me in the past few days. I want to acknowledge their integrity, their courage, and their exemplification of a new way forward. Thank you, it means the world. #TIMESUP

— Dylan Farrow (@realdylanfarrow) January 13, 2018

My Weekend Crush

Congratulations to Ellen Page and Emma Portner, who announced their marriage on Instagram this week. Also, condolences to all the queer ladies who will now never realize their dream of marrying Ellen Page. I have to give Ellen mega gay props for not only marrying someone with a very similar sounding name (Ellen/Emma), but also the exact same initials. May Ellen and Emma live a long, happy and gay life together. Mazel tov, ladies. Happy weekend, all.

A Reckoning

This seemingly endless parade of Bad Men being finally exposed is a reckoning. After thousands and thousands of years living under the patriarchy, perhaps women have at long last had enough. Perhaps women have, at long last, decided they cannot stomach the subjugation one second longer. Perhaps women have, at long last, decided men – yes all men, not just the abusers and the assaulters – must aknowledge this awfulness once and for all.

What the Weinstein story broke was a dam that supported the status quo of abuse, assault, harassment and horrible behavior of Bad Men. We seemingly allowed this abuse because said men were rich, powerful, important, brilliant, et al. But, truth be told, men don’t need to be any of those things to get away with abusing women (and other men, because both women and men fall victim to toxic masculinity). They just needed to be men. And for women (and, again, other men) the price of existence in this society was absorbing the daily indignities, humiliations, objectifications and abuses that they doled out. That’s show business. That’s [insert work field here]. That’s just life. Suck it up. Deal with it.

I don’t know what the ultimate outcome of this unveiling of the awfulness of far too many men will be. Will we move forward as a society in a way that treats women as more than just sexual objects or secondary life forms? The cynical part of my brain says any purge this successful will be met with a backlash twice as ferocious. The status quo hates to be threatened.

But in other ways I am encouraged. Over the weekend Ellen Page wrote a searing post on Facebook about her own experiences with homophobia and harassment in Hollywood at the hands of serial harasser and all-around asshole Brett Ratner and others. She also apologizes for her past work with Woody Allen and calls it “the biggest regret of my career.” The remarkable piece also takes note of her own privilege in the industry, as a rich, successful white actress. We are hearing these and believing so many of these stories now because the women who are telling them have power. Many of them are incredibly famous and highly acclaimed actresses. But think of the truly countless number of stories women whose names we don’t already know have to tell about these men. The waitresses. The assistants. The clerks. The service workers. Poor women. Women of color. Queer women. The truly voiceless.

If the most famous women in the world didn’t feel comfortable speaking out until now, think of all the other women who still live in fear. We all have to work harder to create a world that believes women. And we have to end the stigma associated with sexual abuse and assault that assumes women were somehow asking for it by simply existing.

This takes standing up for what is right and using our power to lift up other women and root out Bad Men. Also over the weekend we saw this start as it was revealed that Gal Gadot, a.k.a. Wonder Woman herself, will only sign up for the sequel if Ratner and his production company are out. You see, when Warner Bros. signed her as Wonder Woman they did so for three films: “Batman vs. Superman,” the standalone “Wonder Woman” movie and the upcoming “Justice League.” Unlike most male superhero franchise stars they failed to sign her up for a stand-alone sequel to “Wonder Woman,” for reasons one can only assume have to do with her double X chromosomes.

So now what is she doing with the considerable clout she has earned by her massive success as Diana of Themyscira? Using it to make the playing field more fair and remove a stain on the industry. How truly super. Then maybe, just maybe, the time of the Brett Ratners and Harvey Weinsteins and Louis C.K.s of the world will truly be over.

p.s. While Hollywood does a long overdue house cleaning, it would be nice if politicians would read the fucking room. How much courage does it take to denounce a man who had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl and other teenagers as a 32-year-old man? None, it takes no courage. It just takes being a decent human being. While they have long lost the so-called moral high road, if the Republicans elect Roy Moore next month they truly stand for nothing but clinging to power. And, yeah, I know – don’t get me started on that fucking repugnant pussy grabber in the White House. The reckoning can’t come soon enough.

My Moving Crush

You guys, I am so incredibly tired right now. So tired. Here is Ellen page is a suit. I’m still tired, but at least there is now Ellen Page in a suit.

Another Gaycation

Everyone’s favorite tiny Canadian is back and as gay as ever. Ellen Page’s documentary series “Gaycation” returns for its second season. While it’s glib name, it’s actually a pretty fascinating and often quite moving look at gay culture around the world (and a little closer to home). The new season includes a special episode dedicated to Orlando and the Pulse Nightclub shooting. I won’t lie, it’s hard to watch. But it’s also worth watching. And, you can watch the whole thing right now because it’s available to stream right now. The season kicks off in earnest Sept. 7 on Viceland.

My Weekend Crush

First things first, let’s all go out and buy an axe. It’s both essential tool in any pending apocalypse and, until then, great to grind while fighting the patriarchy. Fetch me my axe, I’ve got some grinding to do. But, of course, not about this trailer. Our first look at the new Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood film “Into the Forest” does not disappoint. The pair play sisters who must survive after the power grid goes down and humanity goes a little mad in what appears to be the not too distant future. The film was written and directed by out filmmaker Patricia Rozema (of “When Night is Falling,” “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing” and “Mansfield Park” fame) based on the novel by Jean Hegland. I cannot overstate the awesomeness of a film by and starring three out queer women. Granted, I don’t think anything particularly gay happens in the move (they’re sisters, people, please). But still, it’s pretty great. And, yes, definitely makes me want to invest in an axe. Happy weekend, all.

My Weekend Giveaway Crush

“Freeheld” was a good movie. It was a moving story earnestly told by some fine actors. To be honest, one of the movie’s biggest flaws “Freeheld” had was being released the same year as a beautiful piece of art like “Carol.” It’s basically impossible to compete with the exquisite swooniness of that film. But “Freeheld” is well worth watching. It’s solid and serious and sincere. Sure, perhaps it doesn’t have the most scintillating on-screen chemistry you’ve ever seen between its leads. And, yes, perhaps its good-triumphs-over-evil storytelling feels a bit conventional and made-for-TV-movie-ish. But sadly these kinds of – in this case all-too-true – stories of fighting injustice still need to be told. And I applaud its star, Ellen Page, and her seven-year struggle to put the lives of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree on the big screen. This was a passion project for her, which also coincided with her coming out herself. Which is yet another reason to be thankful for this film. It helped to give us our favorite out tiny Canadian.



All of this is a long way to go to say that, guess what, I have a copy of “Freeheld” to give away to one luck reader. I got sent an extra copy of the Blu-Ray, which along with the DVD goes on sale to the public Tuesday. So I am passing it on to you, kittens. So if you’re interested leave your email (feel free to spell it out without @ -signs to avoid spam, etc) in the comments. I’ll select one winner at random who will be announced on Tuesday. Good luck and happy weekend, all.

p.s. Also, just a reminder, please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. What? It never hurts to butter up the host.

p.p.s. Oh, also, if you don't mind, add where you're reading from (state or country). I always love to know where folks are from. Makes the world feel smaller. 

p.p.p.s. Thanks, all, for entering. The lucky winner is btvsobsessed623.

Gaycation All I Ever Wanted

Well doesn’t this look interesting. While here in some parts of the U.S. discussion of LGBT acceptance seems almost passé (though, let’s be real – it totally isn’t when you can still legally get fired in 31 states across the United States for being LGBT), the question of LGBT acceptance across the globe remains a somewhat unexplored one. So it seems Ellen Page and friend Ian Daniel have found a font of material to cover in their new Viceland series “Gaycation.” But even if you’re already an expert on LGBT acceptance and culture across the globe (and 10 points for Gryffindor for you), the show is a lovely excuse to follow Ellen Page around and watch her do a bunch of gay stuff. Come to think of it, they probably should have led with that.

My Weekend Crush

So today is a momentous no matter how you look at it. First, it’s a Friday, and that’s always a good thing. And second it’s the day “Freeheld” opens. Granted, it’s only in Los Angeles and New York right now. But it will open across this great country later this month. A high-profile lesbian movie is reason to celebrate in and of itself, but a high-profile lesbian movie starring an out lesbian actress is quite another. So no matter how the film does and is received – and I hope it is very well on both points – we should celebrate this momentous step for our community. Congratulations, Ellen Page and Julianne Moore (who, after so many queer roles, is basically an honorary lesbian at this point). I can’t wait to see your movie. Happy weekend, all.

Free Time

Another day, another new trailer to get excited about. Look, this is the first year we’ve got two potentially mainstream movies focusing on lesbian relationships. If I got a little crazy with the posts, so be it. We’re due. Now, I’ll admit that the “Freeheld” trailer has less sophisticated appeal than the “Carol” trailer. That trailer was a work of atmospheric art. But what “Freeheld” does have is earnest straight forwardness. It’s clearly more of a direct crusade movie than “Carol.” But it’s still something so rare. It’s a film about a lesbian relationship featuring an out lesbian star.

Like, how cute is this scene? Yeah, that gets me more excited than all the trailers.



You know what else is exciting? Ellen bringing her girlfriend to the “Freeheld” premiere. For all of our advances, that simple act still speaks volumes. May we see so much more of such happiness in the future.