Movie Article! It is a truth universally acknowledged that most lesbian movies are not so good. But we thought of Ten Really Good Lesbian Movies. Really Papi, Really!
If you feel like enjoying additional lists check out some Top Tens from the archives: Top 10 Lesbian Fashion & Style Icons, Top Ten Lesbionic Theatrical Experiences, Top Ten Feats of Lesbian-Storyline-Television Endurance, The L Word’s Top Ten (okay, 15) Best Sex Scenes Of All Time and our greatest achievement since launching, The Autostraddle Hot 100: Smokin’ Sizzlin’ Great Balls of Fire.
Other New Articles! Also there’s the Epic Tuesday Televisionary and Katrina goes to Kaki King’s Art Show.
+Top Stories
OBAMA FLIP FLOPS ON GAY MARRIAGE: We heart the gay agenda & media, but stories in magazines like TIME, even when penned by gay authors, generally offer a more solid sense of where we truly stand with the “mainstream.” So this week TIME’s John Cloud has a top e-mailed story outlining Obama’s flip-flopping behavior on gay marriage. On Obama’s most recent move to say he opposes DOMA but is forced by law to uphold it, Cloud writes: “Legalistically speaking, the tradition argument is true, but it’s yet another Obama dodge. The Administration could easily decline to defend the anti-gay law on discrimination grounds.”
At this point, we’ve given up on forming an opinion about Obama’s opinion on us, like when you realize a complicated girl you’ve tried desperately to “figure out” is actually just crazy, point blank. It’s confusing for sure, but it’s not like everything is hopeless without Obama’s explicit support and immediate actions. Our work is local, like it used to be before we started thinking that politicians are just as likely to be on our side as against it.
So in lieu of any clues for unlocking the Obama Gay Code, we’re gonna try to push locally towards increased visibility via avenues we do have control over; our families & friends, our workplaces, our voices and our pride. Also, we’ve been told the haters will die soon. (@time)
I LIVE HERE: In Mia Kirshner’s interview at AferEllen.com, Mia Kirshner (Jenny Schecter from The L Word) talks about her friendships with Leisha Hailey, Jennifer Beals and Kate Moennig, how gratitude for having a job outweighed too much bitterness about the series’s morbid turn, and, as we also observed, that “at the end of the day, [Jenny] seemed bipolar … an artist in search of herself. I never wanted Jenny to be a hero. I admired Ilene for making her a complicated, often unlikeable character, but perhaps a truthful character that pushed people’s buttons. But [especially] during Prop 8, what does this say about a show that was supposed to be about friendship? I guess I was just sad that there was no redemption on that end.”
We love how matter-of-fact Mia is about her job – she’s always made it clear that acting was just the means to an end, the “end” being her charity and international relief work with groups like Amnesty International: “I think it’s important to look at the world as a body. And if one part of the body is sick, and not treated, than disease will spread to the rest of the body. It’s preventative. That’s what I Live Here is trying to do, in its small, humble way.”
So speaking of! In this video, Mia Kirshner personally invites you to attend the I Live Here benefit on August 22 in Los Angeles. [Sidenote: read the book. It’s gorgeous, for one thing, and will open your eyes right up]:
+Arts & Culture
KATY PERRY KNOWS LADY GAGA IS UP TO SOMETHING: “Oh, please. It’s all very calculated,” she told the newspaper. “She knows what she’s doing. She put something in her knickers, a mini strap-on. Bless her if she does have a dick, but I am certain she doesn’t.”
FILM: An interview with Arab Lesbian L Word writer Cherin Dabis about her new film, Amreeka.
LIZ FELDMAN: Liz Feldman has been tapped as a correspondent for the new Jay Leno Show, Every time a young lesbian comedian gets a Paid! Job! we dance joyously on the inside and wait for world domination.(@latimes)
WOMYN H8 THEIR BODIES: A new study reveals what a bajillion other studies already have: young women’s satisfaction with their own body image suffers after viewing ultra-thin TV characters. Yet still none of these studies lead to anyone doing a damn thing about it! (@physorg)
WOMYN H8 HOT SALESGIRLS: A new study shows that women between the ages of 18-26 are less likely to buy from a sales associate who is more attractive than them. Except Shane, she sleeps with all of them. (@stylest)
QUEER ART DOCUMENTARY: A new documentary, Gaze, explores the homosexy work of various contemporary painters and photographers, including Adam Bouska, co-creator of the NOH8 photoseries.
+News & Politics
PROP 8: A trial date has been set for Jan 11, 2010 for the U.S. court to challenge Prop 8. The trial will bring the most exhaustive legal review of a state’s ban on gay marriage in any court in the U.S.
SAVE BRYCE: Remember Bryce Foster, the kid who got shipped off to ex-gay camp by his parents while his boyfriend and peer group launched a full-on internet campaign to get him freed? Well the facebook pages they’ve been making to save him just keep on disappearing.
CONVERTS HAPPEN: Theodore B. Olson’s Road to Championing Same-Sex Marriage Advocacy: “The same antipathy toward government discrimination, he said, inspired him to take up another cause that many on the right applauded — a lengthy campaign to dismantle affirmative action programs.”
WOMYN: The New York Times Magazine for August 23rd approaches the topic “Why Women’s Rights Causes are the Cause of Our Time.” In A New Gender Agenda, Hilary Clinton discusses the Obama administration’s plans for women’s issues and Lisa Belkin discusses women’s philanthropy in “The Power of the Purse.”
PERSONAL BEST: Female runner Caster Semenya’s biological sex is being questioned and “tested,” because apparently she does not run like a girl. (@gawker)
FORT WORTH: After beating up a bunch of gay people, the Ft. Worth Police Department is changing its “failed policy” on bar checks. (@star-telegram)
Auto-Straddler of the Day
In the spirit of our recent Ten Really Good Lesbian Movies, we present Lesbian Film Favorites c/o TheSmokingCocktail.com. The best part is when “Too Darn Hot” starts and bam bam bam makeout! Clips include Aimee & Jaguar, The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, Gia, Bound, Heavenly Creatures, Desert Hearts, High Art, The Children’s Hour, The Color Purple, Personal Best and so ! much! more!
from Intern Jess: An odd photo set of 21 impressive bathrooms. Also, check out this look at what your brain goes through while you sleep.
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from Riese: “I hope there’s an option for “2.5 hours upstate in a cabin far from civiliazation with beer and Jungle Jam and hot dogs.” – Lifehacker’s The Definitive Guide to Finding Free Wi-Fi.
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from Carly:
From the NSFW files: the annual Summer Sexy online exhibition is underway. It’s a virtual spate of sexy paintings, drawings, photos and whatnot from up and coming artists. You can buy the art online or in person at two NYC galleries (see their blog for more info), with the proceeds going to Third Wave, a “feminist, activist foundation that works nationally to support young women and transgender youth ages 15 to 30. Through strategic grant making, leadership development, and philanthropic advocacy, they support groups and individuals working towards gender, racial, economic, and social justice.” Right on! (via coolhunting)
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from Alex:
A cute list of clever product designs. I want the ice invaders ice cubes!
