Last night was the first time a TV show with a principal Asian cast took on gay issues. That may not sound like a lot, but stop and digest that. There have only ever been two shows about Asian-American families, ever, on TV. Until last night, they have never directly addressed gay people or gay issues.
For Bessie Smith to be so boldly queer as a celebrity and especially a woman of color in the early 20th century was powerful. To celebrate her for everything she was now – every last drop of her boisterous, promiscuous, defiant person – could still change everything.
So is this outcry (and the looming threat of financial impact) why Pence is now backpedaling? Seems likely.
What’s going on in Indiana? Rachel’s got the scoop.
For me, one of the most beautiful and empowering parts about choosing to live as an out trans woman is knowing that I’m helping to dismantle the deeply fucked up power structures that have plagued us since we first gained access to transition in the middle of the 20th century.
I learned that I liked cats a lot. And definitely intimacy. And being honest. And sharing close quarters and time with people.
When you’re dating one person, does every other person instantly become unattractive to you? Do you transition from being straight, gay or lesbian to being a Sandra-sexual, Matt-sexual, or Alanna-sexual? I didn’t think so. In my current relationship, I am having the best sex of my life, and I am still attracted to women. There are still women on the street who catch my eye. That doesn’t mean I’m in hiding from my true inner lesbian; it means I’m a living, breathing, queer human.
I’ve recapped more episodes of this show than any other show in the history of shows — 71 altogether — which’s weird, ’cause I don’t think I’d even call it one of my favorite shows, but I can’t deny that this show broke the ground right open and it did so very, very, very queerly. It changed the game.
In our recent Autostraddle Grown-Ups Survey for readers over 29, we asked “who was the first lesbian or bisexual celebrity or public figure you remember being aware of?” These were your answers.
Though trans people are enjoying a significant rise in visibility in many spheres, finding any movie with a trans actress playing a trans woman feels like cause for celebration. When it happens to be the lead role in a romantic comedy, it become a ground-breaking moment for trans media representation.
Now, thanks to the work of so many great organizations, we live in a world where when you say the word ‘family,’ you aren’t thinking of the Cleaver family anymore… you’re not thinking of a nuclear family with a white mom and white dad and 2.3 children… every family is unique.
