Sappho, Revisited

At the last Gather, I read one of Sappho's poems. Why Sappho? During the first season of the L Word, Jenny said how she was inspired by writer extraordinaire Anne Carson. Carson took a stab at translating the fragments of Sappho's texts in If Not: Winter.

Sappho has come to symbolize the lesbian community both literally and figuratively. However, I feel like we don't know much about her. As Carson writes, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos around 630 b.c. She was a musical genius, composed 9 books of lyrics, and only one of her poems has survived; all the rest are fragments. Here is one of my favorites...enjoy!

stars around the beautiful moon
hide back their luminous form
whenever all full she shines
on the earth

My Favorite Bisexual This Week is...Rebecca Hart

Name: Rebecca Hart
Why the fav: Rebecca likes Neko Case, and thus I like Rebecca (plus she has 1 Gather under her belt)
Lives in: Brooklyn
Hometown: A little town in Connecticut
Rel status: In a relationship with a pretty amazing woman
Occupation: Women's Rights Lawyer
Which state do you think is up next for legalizing same-sex marriage? Maine or New Hampshire
This week, I've been learing about the Bear community...what kind of communities do you think exist for queer women? Hmm, I can really only speak to my own community. It's filled with a lot of incredibly supportive, open friends who love me regardless of who I love. To me, that is as good as it gets.

Da Bears

I’ve always found Andrew Sullivan interesting. I used to read his blog on a daily basis, largely because he devoted time to talking about gay politics. Although, he did introduce me to The Christmas Tree, and for that I am forever grateful.

I recently read his article, I am bear, hear me roar! in Salon about one of the fastest growing subcultures in the gay community, Bears. Sullivan, a snuggly one himself, describes bears as men who do not stereotypically come off as gay: they are hairy with big round pot bellies, wear flannel, have facial hair (sometimes lots of it), and are friendly and warm in demeanor. Sullivan says "Bears at their most typical look like regular, beer-drinking, unkempt men in their 30s, 40s and 50s. They have guts. They have furry backs. They don't know what cologne is and they tend not to wear deodorant." Strangely, this sounds like all my friend's dads. And it’s not just how the look, bears are bears because of the way they carry themselves.

So this article got me thinking, what are the subcultures within the lesbian community? Beyond the butch and femme dichotomy, are we carving out new ways of being? Maybe the L Word proposed an East v. West coast lesbian…but I’m not sure what that looks like exactly. Will we create subcultures based on class? Education level? In any case, I'll keep my eyes open to the possibilities. Although, I do have a hunch that we are going to be seeing some lesbian mommy groups pop up REAL soon...betcha.

The Farm.

Apparently Showtime is not interested in Ilene Chaiken's L Word spinoff, The Farm. While the verdict is still out on who killed Kenny, I mean Jenny, Ilene Chaiken doesn't feel compelled to supply an answer, even by way of her new series. The Farm, starring Leisha Hailey, promises gritty lesbian drama within the confines of a prison...quite a familiar (and uncreative) backdrop for lesbian-themed television.

Not sure what lies ahead now for L Word fans. I guess we'll just have to settle for the crumbs Grey's Anatomy throws our way.

In other news, yay IOWA!