Because anything Renee O'Connor-related is good...

How chuffed was I when I read that Renee O'Connor a.k.a. Gabrielle from Xena turned up at Dinah Shore last week? VERY. Here's a pic of her with Sarah Warn:



Who ever cared about Xena anyway? It's all about Gabrielle people...we all remember the abs. But just in case you forgot:



Read about Sarah's meeting with Renee, and lots of other lovely ladies, here. And I will leave you with the thought that Renee is looking in good shape...such good shape in fact, that one could almost picture her in a movie wearing skimpy outfits alongside Lucy Lawless...

Fostering Invisibility?

So, for us in the LGBT community, seeing Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper on the cover of Out Magazine is not big news. It’s like seeing Kate Moss on the cover of Vogue or Lindsay Lohan’s genitalia on the cover of Heat – it’s not shocking to see them there, it’s like they belong there. And yet, we should be surprised if we consider the magazine’s name because, and this is their point, Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper are not actually Out. Huh? How does that work? I can’t comment on Anderson Cooper too much, because I’m not familiar with the press surrounding him, but, take Jodie Foster - everyone who cares knows that she’s gay, or at least bisexual. She’s been living with her female partner for many years and has had two children by artificial insemination. That’s common knowledge to us gays. And yet she has always refused to discuss, or acknowledge, her sexuality. So how do we define being ‘out’? Do you have to grace the cover of Time Magazine and declare “Yep, I’m Gay”, Ellen-style. Or could you do a Portia de Rossi and simply walk around with your hot girlfriend in public and let the paparazzi drool. Well, I would say that all you need to do is acknowledge your sexuality in public. And that is what Jodie Foster refuses to do. I, for one, think it’s about time she did.

I know many will disagree with me. In the responses to Sarah Warn’s post about this subject, there were many general expressions of disgruntled disappointment – it’s a breach of her privacy, it’s unfair to force people out of the closet etc. I agree with that to a certain extent, perhaps Jodie and Anderson should be left to come out by themselves. But that’s exactly the point, they clearly never intend to. And I, for one, think that’s a great shame. I like the analogy that Out Magazine use of the ‘glass closet’ – everyone can see they’re gay, but they still stubbornly refuse to come out. However, although in some ways the analogy is so true, it isn’t entirely accurate for Jodie Foster: I don’t believe her closet is so transparent. I said earlier that everyone who cares knows that Jodie bats for the home team, but there are still a huge number of people out there who may know who she is, but haven’t got a clue that she’s gay. I’m speaking as a UK citizen here, so maybe this is different in the US, but even my best friend who reads Heat magazine (our trashy gossip magazine) at the same rate I read Sarah Waters novels had no idea that Jodie is gay. My parents? Not the foggiest. So whilst Jodie’s closet may be transparent to everyone in the LGBT community, there are still many people who are blind to her sexuality. It is these people that I believe her coming out would affect the most. Can we all just contemplate for a moment how much of an impact her coming out would have? She would be the perfect person to dispel stereotypes and model the two-mom family. Not only is she an internationally famous, and highly respected, two-time oscar-winning actress but she also has a stable personal life and a wonderful family – which is more than most Hollywood stars can claim. Jodie could do so much for our community if she came out. Yes, Ellen and Melissa are great, but over here at least, no one really knows who they are. They don’t have the kind of global influence that Jodie could have. By no means do I believe that Jodie should parade her personal life across the media, it’s probably by keeping her private life private that she has such a great, stable family. But all she needs to do is be more open about her sexuality in interviews, or even simply say, ‘Yes I’m in love with a woman and I’m raising a family with her.’ Considering how much of an impact those few words could have for the LGBT community, is it really too much to ask?

Book Review: The Nightwatch by Sarah Waters

I thought it only appropriate to kick off this blog with its namesake, the fourth novel by Sarah Waters - a writer who herself has kicked off global interest in lesbian writing (I now realise this sentence may imply some overarching scheme for global blog-domination on my part, but rest assured, my only designs for global domination would involve peace, love and gays, and let's face it, who doesn't want those things?) . So, as a self-confessed internetaholic and overworked, overlazy literature student, I barely have time to read my worrying bank statements (bummer) let alone a whole novel outside of my studies. But this Easter, I rolled up my sleeves, threw down the metaphorical gauntlet to time and decided to read a Sarah Waters novel. Instead, I ended up reading two, back to back (Affinity and The Nightwatch). It isn't hard to beat time when reading The Nightwatch; Waters' words flow, irrepressively, from the front cover to the back, sweeping you along on a current of wartime secrecy and desire. Indeed, the novel defies time itself, moving backwards from 1947 to 1941 through the London blitzes. Waters unfolds the stories of Helen, Julia, Kay, Viv and Duncan in a brutally honest account of desire, jealousy and forbidden love against the dizzying backdrop of England’s capital. In 1947, Helen and Viv spends their days together running a dating agency in post-war optimism, but little known to each other, they both have secret love affairs of their own to deal with. The intensity of Helen’s love for Julia is threatening to destroy their relationship whilst Viv’s affair with a married man seems to be running its course. Viv’s brother Duncan appears to harbour a secret of his own as he meets a face from his past. Meanwhile, the city, and the novel itself, is stalked by the figure of Kay who wanders aimlessly around the streets of London, perhaps missing a life she once had. Although the writing isn't as impressive as that of Affinity, the narrative tension Waters creates in The Nightwatch is nothing short of brilliant. It is to the characters' pasts that we are encouraged to look, learning how forbidden love emerged out of the devastation of the war and flourished in secrecy amidst blackouts and blitzes. The true beauty of this narrative, however, is that by the time you reach the end of the novel, you find yourself back at the beginning, looking to the future.