As a kid, I was especially intrigued by the (cis) female body. I was unable to decide whether or not my intrigue with the female body was “normal,” because what I had always seen and been taught was heteronormative — boys like girls and girls like boys. I understood that, but I couldn’t whole-heartedly agree. I needed to understand why what I was being taught was different from what I felt. Was it okay for girls to like girls? And if so, why didn’t I ever see it or hear anyone talking about it? There had to be some kind of explanation! So I decided to ask my mom. I purposely tried to formulate my inquiry in a way that would be general enough to keep her from feeling alarmed, but also specific enough to make her aware of my thoughts and curiosities. So I asked her, “Is there something wrong with looking at women’s bodies?” And without hesitation, my mom replied, “There is nothing wrong with the human body — it is beautiful. It is the perversion of the world that tries to make it a shameful, dirty thing.” Welp! I took that and stuck it in my back pocket. That was a green light of sorts for me. A confirmation, if you will, that I was okay, that my interest in the female body was okay.
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Leo and I were super into having this intergenerational queer connection. We wanted it to feel like this really affectionate, connecting moment where Max is encouraging and moved by Micah. This is how it is for queer people. We are each other’s family and sometimes pretty quickly you can have these bonds. That was really special. And also to show Max in this beautiful relationship with their partner which we didn’t see a lot of it in the past. I was very happy with the casting of Armand Fields and the way it felt with us all on set with Em. Everyone was so committed to this moment. At one point, Armand said, “Welcome back to your franchise” as if it’s Marvel or something. And I realized so much of what I experienced in the past was trying to prove I was a part of something because they always tried to make it very clear that I wasn’t really a cast member because I wasn’t a woman.
But these people — Em, Nova, Armand, Jillian, Leo — they all just made it really clear that they were happy I was back. It was a dream.
Jacqueline Toboni Talks Going Full Magic Mike on Generation Q
Sa’iyda: I was so enraptured by it that it didn’t even register to my brain that like, “Oh, you have to ask about that.”
Jacqueline: It’s actually an interesting story. So Em, who’s our director, they’re awesome, and they were like, “Well, we’re doing a demolition scene. I want to do a little montage.” We’re like, “Okay, what do you mean? Where’s the camera?” You’re asking these technical questions. And they were like, “It’s going to be Magic Mike.” And we were like, “Okay.” And then Kate jokingly said, “Can we play Pony over the speakers?” And Em was like, “100%. We’ll make that happen.” She’s just delighted that we’re even interested in this idea. And so we go outside while they’re setting up and decide to look at a YouTube video of Jenna Dewan doing it on that show where they did—
Sa’iyda: Oh, Lip Sync Battle.
Jacqueline: Lip Sync Battle! And then we watched the original scene and we were like, “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it.” So then we just started doing it and we thought there was no chance it was going to make the episode because it’s so outrageous. We were like, “Whatever. They’ll use it for promo.” It was basically just Kate and I having a lot of fun, and then they worked it in. And I can’t believe it.
(via Jacqueline Toboni Talks Rosie, Role Models, and Going Full Magic Mike in Gen Q)
via Aubrey Plaza’s Movie Performances, Ranked, by Shelli Nicole
But as I continue to ask myself the question, “Can this be enough?” that resignation has started to shift into an acceptance, which on occasion is even joyful. As many have written before me, there are some serious perks of being single. I live my life on my terms, filling up my days however I want and doing the mundane things in life according to my own particular habits.
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