Other Lesbians in the Media

[tyche]

Apparently Jennifer Lopez will be guest starring on SatC, and she gets to have a 'lesbian love romp'. Hmm. Can you begin to say 'ratings stunt'? The link to the actual story was much too long to post, but if you go to the page below, it's the featured story.

www.msn.co.uk/entertainment/default.asp

[Willow] should have taken time out for a few minutes to slowly torture Xander for sounding like a Hallmark card on crack. - My fiance's review of the 'yellow crayon' speech.

[Mrs Vertigo]

Good news for all Israeli kittens:

Ellen Degeneres is returning to our small screen with a new sitcom, previously unaired in our little neck of the woods (no old Ellen reruns from channel 1). It’ll be on the Family Channel (channel 3), probably not too late at night. The promos are all over the prime time commercial breaks.



I’m guessing this show has already aired in the US or UK, because stuff usually do, so I’m just giving all the Israelies heads up



Cheers to us!



And jeeze, Jeniffer Lopes as a lesbian? *coughYUCK!cough* I really hope she remmebers to cut those nails before doing the shoot. They look potentially painfull.

---
“You know, if you weren’t such a bitch-queen from hell you and I would’ve gotten along just fine...” – Me making with the friendly at Glory, in a dream where I was Buffy and she was crucifying me.

[themagicpixie]

Sophie Ward was indeed in The Young Sherlock Holmes film. She later played a married woman who has an affair with another woman in "A Village Affair" (based on the pretty rubbish book by Joanna Trollope). At the time of the TV series she wanted to come out as a lesbian (she had left her husband for her girlfriend) but was advised it might seem a bit tacky or something, so waited a while!



She is the daughter of respected British actress Simon Ward. I saw her interviewed on the UK TV show "Gaytime TV" a while back and she explained that she used to think she was bisexual. Her husband was well aware when he married her that she liked women, and she had had relationships with women before. However she eventually decided she was gay and the last I heard she was living with her girlfriend and her two sons (from her marriage) in the English countryside!



"Tipping the Velvet" is a truly AMAZING book, not only for its portrayal of lesbianism (in Victorian London, no less!) but also for the sheer breathtaking quality of writing. Sarah Waters has to be one of the most talented writers I've ever read, and I really would urge anyone out there who hasn't read "Tipping the Velvet" or her later books "Affinity" and "Fingersmith" to get hold of copies and read them! The later two aren't sequels, but stand-alone novels, and all are incredible. I have never read anything like it in my life!



I would tape Tipping the Velvet but I don't think my videos would play on US video machines!

[Killin Joke]

I bought two new DVDs recently: "Things you can tell by just looking at her" and "John Carpenter's Ghosts from Mars".

The first one because it featured Callista Flockhart as a lesbian, not that I particularly like her, but hey, you take what you can get. The other actress who played her lover looked extremely familiar too: can't remember her name, but I think she played Jane on the Tarzan show. Yeah, the fact that I know this, probably makes me a sick person. LOL

Anyway, Christine (Callista) had to take care of her girl, Lilly, who was severely ill (aids or cancer, I guess). It was a sad story, and we're left with the suggestion that her sweetheart will die. Why am I not surprised ? Memorable: moment where ill girl strokes away Christine's hair and they kiss, two flashbacks of them in better times, sharing their first kiss, moment where Christine massages Lilly's back (quite sensual, but that might be just me). Dialogue is quite touching, recalling memories how they first met, etc. Not too shabby, if it wouldn't be that damn depressing... /shakes it off/

Off to the next movie, I solely bought for cutie Clea Duvall. It's a kind of sci-fi horror flick, nothing special: loads of action, not that much of a story, BUT there were a few elements I found extremely interesting. First of all: in 2025 society is ruled by a matriarchy: for instance, there's a woman at the head of the supreme court. Natasha Henstridge's character's rights are protected by the matriarchy. We later find out "breeders", men "equiped" to reproduce, are rare, which leads me to the following conclusion: lesbians are rather common in that day and age. The female Commander for instance is a lesbian, and it shows. At one point she caresses 'Natascha''s arm, saying she needs her sober (she was high from taking some kind of pills). Natasha replies tongue-in-cheek, with a smile, that she's as straight as can be or something. Commander continues that she had hope to have a big girl as the new rookie. In stead it's Bashira (Clea). Hey, how can she possibly complain ? LOL Next thing you know, we see the male macho of the crew trying to seduice 'Natascha', commenting on how he noticed the Commander making her move, to what 'Natasha' jokes about climbing the social ladder, but she's not interested in a higher function. Guy thinks he's really something just because he can procreate. Ah well, I tried not to let it get to me: he dies anyway.

Further in the movie when 'Desolation' Williams (Ice Cube) takes Bashira hostage, he makes some nasty comment to back of or he's gonna kill the dyke. Whether Bashira is or not, we don't know. Doesn't matter really coz she gets killed near the end of the movie, as could have been expected. BTW, the Commander gets killed in the beginning: yet another one for your dead lesbian cliché: gods, I get so sick and tired of that one. From the feminist point of view it's an interesting aspect in the film, quite a welcome change from John Carpenter's Vampires, that I found rather boring, not to mention women-unfriendly.

"Visions dance throughout the night in the pale moon light in the witching hour" (Symphony X)

[purplesky175]

I saw that episode! Lol...it was pretty funny because she was pretending like Rachael was crazy and she wasn't really coming on to her. Then, at the end, Phobe kissed Rachel..lol



Good Stuff.

"One life, One love, One happiness...."

"I am you know" "What?" "Yours.."

[Killin Joke]

About Lopez as lesbian... I do remember an extremely touching hurt/comfort moment between her and another actress in the movie Anaconda. Girl's boyfriend has just been eaten by a giant snake, and Jen's character tries to calm down the hysterical woman. Quite a cute scene... granted: sad as hell, but I'd rather see two hugging women, than some guy preaching about love and giving ridiculous speeches about something trivial like yellow crayons...

"Visions dance throughout the night in the pale moon light in the witching hour" (Symphony X)

[walker]

Thanks Tasha and tyche for the links for tipping the velvet. I was wondering how they were going to handle part two of the novel given its high sexual content. There's an article in the Daily Mails Weekend supplement by the man who adapted it for television (Andrew Davies). Apparently he knew he had to make this into a T.V. programme after reading the section where Nan is first in Diana's house wearing the red Guardsman's uniform tunic, black boots and nothing else. Given this comment and the articles linked to in this thread I'm beginning to think that the dildo scene from the book is going to be left fully intact. Which will just be jaw dropping if they actually have gone through with it.



The other interesting part of the article was that Andrew Davies mentions that Sarah Waters wasn't actually that keen on having it adapted for television. She wrote it very much with a lesbian audience in mind and was woried that if it was adapted it's message would be softened or bowdlerised. But in the end she was happy with what he produced.



I'm now getting really excited about this being shown. When I first heard it was being made for BBC 2 I thought they'd rip the novel to shreds but that doesn't seem to be the case. So a big woo-hoo from me.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing." - Ted Hughes. when asked what possessed him to holiday in West Scotland.

[prisstina]

hey everyone,

I caught this late night artsy review programme on BBC2 a couple of nights back (can't remember its name) and to my suprise they had a review of the first part of the tv version of tipping the velvet (hurrah!!) - complete with clips, and it looks pretty good. The women playing Nan and Kitty look really good in suites (or maybe that's just me with a thing for women in suits...) According to the reviewers, the sex looks like the actresses are 'having fun' and there is a dildo in the next part (which they didn't review) but I'm not sure if they do the scene with the guards jacket exaclty as in the book, coz the reviewer people didn't know either.



**takes deep breath**



ok, so that's all I can remember, I think there may have been other stuff, but I got kinda distracted by the scene they showed of Keely Hawes (kitty) going down on Rachel Stirling (Nan), even if it was from under a blanket...

and with that image I'm off to bed,

night night, Amy

[Mrs Vertigo]

Ok, about that new Ellen show... I’d like you all to just, uh, scratch everything I said? There’s something about it need to know... I’ve only seen a few minutes from the first ep but, should you ever come across it, on tv, just, uh, run for your lives!



It’s bad. Real bad. I’ve watched Ellen before, the old show, and it’s nothing like it. It’s horrible. Tactless, tasteless, redundant, annoying, not funny, idiotic; just, ya know, you name it – they’ve done it wrong. Save yourselves the pain… don’t watch it.

---
Monkeys are wildly overrated. Ahem.

[xita]

I watched Gaudi Afternoon, Lesbian fun content -2 a kiss from a far and one quick meaningless peck at the end. bleh

- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tara and Willow

Accept NO subsitutes

[tommo]

Six new eps to be shown next year. Apparently there's a gay wedding for the lesbian daughter in one of them, heh. But also, a main character dies unexpectedly. I really hope nobody else is making the same assumptions that I am.

Edited by: xita  at: 9/30/02 6:57:08 pm

[BoredNow99]

Oh god, I hope it's not Virginia. She's brilliant...and she's from Birmingham, which, y'know, is doubly good

Willow...It's Glenda in a bubble power, not Margaret Hamilton on a bicycle power

[Zippy]

If she's marrying the cute red head then things won't bode to well for Virginia, 'cause we all know what happens to happy lesbian red heads on TV.



Their lover dies & they go mad.

"Excuse me, does my bum look big in this? " Arabella Weir

[SJ]

I read in the TV Times it was Megan.

[AutumnT]

Quote:

---

I watched Gaudi Afternoon, Lesbian fun content -2

---

That's really too bad, I so enjoyed that book. Was the movie any good?

Autumn

-----------

Buffy Season 6: It grated, like something forced in where it doesn't belong.

[Killin Joke]

Dunno if this is the right thread to post this... If there's a "Possible lesbians in music video's" thread, feel free to move this, mods

Just discovered David Charvet's new music video today. Who the hell is... Yeah, I read ya: my one lil indiscretion, exception to the rule. Anyway, if you ever catch "Teach me" (or whatever the song is called: not acquainted with the title yet, and there's a French version too: Apprendre à aimer) watch out for the following. I spotted two girls walking closely together in the desert: ok, so it doesn't mean anything. Later on, I saw a close-up of two female hands entwining. Again, no biggie, I'm well aware, but I listened to the comment of the making of, and David was talking about the lyrics, how he's walking into the desert, searching for his "soulmate" (his words) and how he passes all these people, doing the same. He finally finds this girl, but she evaporates, vanishes into the thin air right before his eyes. It just struck me as being honest, how cheesy it may sound. He was talking about how every one at some point in their life went in search for their soulmate. He played the pronoun game too. Interviewer asked him question. He answered by: I meet this person. Guy is far too cute to be straight... Oops: sheesh, coming from me -> twisted: pay no attention. Either way: asset for straight/bi gals,gay/bi guys. Felt really good to find out he made this friendly vid, with such a universal theme: people on this journey of self-discovery, trying to know how they are, thanks to the ones they meet on their way, and hoping they meet that someone special, the chosen one...

"Visions dance throughout the night in the pale moon light in the witching hour" (Symphony X)

[tyche]

Full article:

www.guardian.co.uk/tv_and_radio/story/0,3604,801426,00.html

Quote:

---

Mark Lawson

Monday September 30, 2002

The Guardian



The scriptwriter Andrew Davies has made his reputation in the genre of costume drama - Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch etc - but his distinction has been an eagerness to get those costumes off. Previously, he was generally inserting sexual or naked moments from which Miss Austen and others had been restrained by the mores of the time.

Now, though, Davies has come to a modern Victorian novel. Published in 1999, Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet (October 8, 9pm, BBC2) is very post-Dickens in period but extremely post-Chatterley in content. Davies has joked it's the first time he has had to tone the sex down. A different kind of source for Davies; and also a different kind of sauce.



Waters' books are classified by Amazon.com as "lesbian Victoriana", a definition she accepts and enjoys. However, comments by Davies suggesting a certain relish in dramatising girl-on-girl action have offended some gay commentators. A series such as Babyfather was made to expand the racial range of TV drama and appeal to a largely ignored black audience.



After the scriptwriter's remarks - and snatched stills from the series splashed in the News of the World - the risk with Tipping the Velvet was that it would be a lesbian drama for heterosexual men. The drama begins, in a very Victorian way, with hints and parallels. Specifically, oysters stand in for the vagina. Nan (Rachael Stirling) is an "oyster girl" in Kent, opening the salty triangles to expose the shiny nub within. Visiting the music hall, she's drawn to Kitty (Keeley Hawes), an artiste who dresses as a man. When Nan's suddenly shiny eyes keep wanting to see more of Kitty, her family archly ask if she realises it's not really a fella.



During a day at the beach, Nan shows Kitty how to open and slurp an oyster. Ultimately, they become a double-act both on and off stage, posing as brothers for the music-hall boards and as room-mates for 19th-century society. Halfway through, the oyster imagery is dropped for bedroom scenes. The erotic content is unexceptionable by television drama standards: the only novelty is that there are two pairs of breasts for the camera to slaver over.



Paradoxically, given the fuss about it, lesbian sex is easier for television to show because the last great visual taboo - an erect penis - is never going to arise, though the News of the World promises a leather dildo in a subsequent episode. In part one, the naughtiest scene is the camel-hump between the legs of one lover caused by the other crouching beneath the bedcovers, but the heterosexual equivalent of this has become a regular post-watershed event. In fact, the problem with the adaptation is not that the sex is lascivious but that the psychological narrative is too explicit. Davies and his director Geoffrey Sax employ long stretches of voiceover by Nan. This stand-by of literary adaptation is understandable because the authorial voice is what disappears when writing is brought to the screen. The drawback of the device is that it forgets the balancing rule that actors are what books don't have.



On too many occasions, Rachael Stirling has been asked to record on the soundtrack confessions - "But I didn't want to be her sister!", "I did mind - but what could I do?" - which she has already communicated with her face. It's good to remember that the story is from a book, but it's equally important to recall that there are actors on your payroll.

---

[Willow] should have taken time out for a few minutes to slowly torture Xander for sounding like a Hallmark card on crack. - My fiance's review of the 'yellow crayon' speech.

[Killin Joke]

Well, woo and hoo ! Mummy dearest was kind enough to buy me a "Humo" (Belgian more intellectual magazine, but it does contain tv programmes ) And behold ! What do I read on Wednesday, 9 October (a week earlier, but you won't hear me complaining about it, but I just thought I'd tell, so that no kitties miss the first ep). Ok, it's on BBC2, as you already know, at 22:00. Roughly translated:

Mini series by Geoffrey Sax based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Waters. (1/13) With: Rachael Sterling (Nan Astley), Keeley Hawes (Kitty Butler), Hugh Bonneville (Ralph), John Bowe and others.

England during the years 1890. The young Nan lives with her parents in the quiet Whitstable. She's attracted to other women, hence she is very impressed by the act of Kitty Butler, a woman in men's clothes...



Ooh, I'm so taping this ! VCRs, don't bail me now !



Furthermore, I was also happy seeing the cutiest lil pic (close-up of her face) of Amber Benson in the Humo for tonight's episode "Life serial. Next to SMG and Marsters, they mention her as Tara, and Richard Ruccolo (Pete Dunfille) -> huh ?

Anyway, no mention of Aly (sadly) but no Nick, etc. either: heh ! Ok, so I'm a bit thrilled by every credit Amber gets: can you blame me ?

Translation goes as follows: Buffy goes along with Willow and Tara (that's right, baby ! -> that was just me) to university. A bit later it seems as if time passes faster only for her. When she, just like Xander, begins to work for a construction company, she sees demons nobody else seems to see.



Oh, and next week: adorable pic of Alyson Hannigan (I luv this mag), looking kinda serious, wearing something red. Next to SMG, James, Anthony, Aly's mentioned as Willow, but also Seth Green as Oz: what the hell ? Over much ! Hello, past ! Ah well, I'll let one typo slip, because I have two sweet pictures to look at the coming weeks

Anyway

"Visions dance throughout the night in the pale moon light in the witching hour" (Symphony X)

[Hanki]

There's a big article aout Tipping The Velvet in the Radio Times (5-11 October), i'll type it up later and also the website... http://www.bbc.co.uk/tipping (forgive me if that's been posted before i only read the last page before posting)

~ Han ~

Ravenshill ~ an original web series, a group of teen witches fight evil in an English town.

[EffieBlue]

LOL.. Bored99 that's cos y'know....Lesbians from Birmingham..are doubly good....Heheheee

[xita]

Against everything I expected, I liked it. Maybe because I went into it knowing they wouldn't stay together. It just wasn't that story. I am on record as saying I hated Chasing Amy, mostly because of the fact she said she was gay and then wasn't. Don't like the message there.



This was a story of 2 "straight" girls and their path at finding love. I mean, they were 2 different people that a smilar experience and walked away better for it but different. They both found what they need it and it came from the love of a woman. I think that's cool. I appreciated the way they developed the relationship, i will say i am disappointed at the lack of a sex scene but otherwise I enjoyed it. I was also impressed the 2 actresses wrote the movie. That was something of a pleasant surprise.





Autumn about Gaudi afternoon, I can't really say because I was half watching but Judy Davis' Spanish got on my nerves, she sucks at it. And the movie was supposed to be quirky but it had this weird energy going on, I can't explain it other than it was just.. not funny. And for some reason Lily Taylor was getting on my nerves and that's unusual.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tara and Willow

Accept NO subsitutes

[Indygo]

Quote:

---

And for some reason Lily Taylor was getting on my nerves and that's unusual

---

You know Xita, I had the same response, and I *adore* Lily Taylor. At last years' a Gay and Lesbian film festival in Sydney we had two films on the bill with Lily Taylor playing a lesbian, "Gaudi Afternoon" and "Julie Johnson". Inthe first she annoyed me and in the second I was too busy being annoyed at Courtney Love to really appreciate her, so I'm going to chase that one up again. And then there was her angry feminist lesbian from 'I Shot Andy Warhol"...



Lily just seems to not mind going where no other actress would even consider going, so even if I don't like what she does in any movie, I always come away feeling admiration for her that she tried.



Indygo

[lelak]

I'm sorry. I missed the rest of the film. Lili Taylor was on screen... *sigh, swoon, etc*

[tyche]

Quote:

---

And for some reason Lily Taylor was getting on my nerves and that's unusual.

---

Ah, sorry to nitpick, but her name is spelled Lili Taylor. I think she's a great actress and I really like her work. (Anyone remember her turn in the X-Files as a blind woman a few years ago?)

[Killin Joke]

Ooh, Lili Taylor... Luv her, because you can't exactly pin her down. She's done it all: from more commercial flicks (The Haunting: when I saw the subtext between her character and Catherina Zita-Jones: put a giddy smile on my face) to more alternative films. There's "Dogfight" with River Phoenix, "Pecker" (?) with Edward Furlong and Christina Ricci... And I saw this really weird vampire movie once, on the small tv of our hotelroom, when we were away on holidays. Don't know the name, but I'd sure want to find out: filmed in black and white. Added by: wowie, I didn't know she played that many lesbians, ambiguous characters... Haven't seen Kissing Jessica Stein en the Andy Warhol stuff yet. Good to know. Again: thanks once more for the info, precious kitties

"Visions dance throughout the night in the pale moon light in the witching hour" (Symphony X)

[tyche]

Quote:

---

... And I saw this really weird vampire movie once, on the small tv of our hotelroom, when we were away on holidays. Don't know the name, but I'd sure want to find out: filmed in black and white.

---

I'm fairly sure this film is Abel Ferrera's 'The Funeral'. Never seen it myself, but I've always wanted to...

[Willow] should have taken time out for a few minutes to slowly torture Xander for sounding like a Hallmark card on crack. - My fiance's review of the 'yellow crayon' speech.

[xita]

Hey tyche I love lili but have you seen this movie? She can't do butch.. which to me was a huge surprise. She got on my nerves for the first time ever.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tara and Willow

Accept NO subsitutes

[emma peel]

I had forgotten about that godawful boring vampire movie with Lili Taylor, and I normally love her. I just googled and found the name of the film, "The Addiction." (hehe). Christopher Walken is in it.

It was so boring I nearly fell asleep.

Janice

[Killin Joke]

O... kay... So it's either "The Funeral" and then I should be curious. Thanks, tyche Or "The Addiction", if I suffer from insomnia again. Thank you, Janice

"Visions dance throughout the night in the pale moon light in the witching hour" (Symphony X)

[bakos2002]

Hey, awhile back someone posted about an internet site that was a show about 4 lesbian women in an apartment complex and the search for love. Despite my best efforts, I can't find that link now. Anyone?



And also, a related "lost link" note... does anyone know the fate of the "Drop the Chalupa" site?