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!

Gather takes on the L Word

We gathered on March 22nd, and I really wanted to give a hat tip to a great set of panelists and a fantastic crowd. While there was so much to cover as everyone has something to say about the L Word, I felt like I learned something new about the show and it's audience.

First up, I wanted to name the folks who comprised this panel: Rebecca Kern, Communications Instructor at Manhattan College who recently received her Ph.d. (writing on the L Word!); Mik Kinkead, who runs a fantastic blog called Coffee and Gender, Kath Fidler, my new favorite NYU grad student; and Glennda Testone, my personal mentor and Vice President of the Women's Media Center.

I'm going to save my thoughts on this Gather for a separate post, but I wanted to say how truly inspiring it was to see my community come together to share their ideas.

My Favorite Lesbian This Week is... Lauren Price

Name: Lauren Price
Why the Fav: Because Lauren is a sage in street clothes
Lives in: Brooklyn
Hometown: New Rochelle, NY
Rel Status: Single
What did you think of the last L Word episode: I didn't like it at all. I felt it was very unsatisfying as the last episode of the entire series
Who do you think killed Jenny: I think Jenny threw herself off the stairs
Which L Word character do you identify with the MOST: Alice, because she is the most real

Meet Lauren and dish out your thoughts on the L Word on March 22nd!

Next Up.

If You Can't Beat 'em, Leave 'em

The March 2nd issue of the New Yorker will feature an article by Ariel Levy called Lesbian Nation, detailing a lesbian separatist movement of the 70's called the Van Dykes. These women were no joke- they rejected their birth names (changed them all to Van Dyke), stopped talking to men, shaved their heads, drove across the country in vans and lived on America's highways (and YOU think you're extreme cuz you don't shave...tsk tsk).

To the Van Dykes, lesbianism wasn't just about sexual orientation, it was about political ideology. They were the antithesis of women who kept their sexual proclivities under wraps-- they were in your face, man-hating, bald, bar-brawling, sexual taboo lovin' women... basically embodying EVERY lesbian stereotype. I mean, if Melissa Etheridge was popular in the 70's, I'm sure Lamar Van Dyke would have her belting out of her car stereo, windows down.

While lesbian separatism seems like an extreme (who would write the articles I read in Details magazine then?), I do think some of that sense of adventure and creativity is missing from the lesbian community today. We need not be extreme to get noticed, maybe living our lives without reservation is statement enough...

L Word: LOVE it or LOATHE it

After 5 seasons, the first-ever lesbian drama is coming to a close. The L Word quickly became fabric of the lesbian community, with women gathering together in bars and living room floors on cold winter nights to watch their favorite storyline unfold. Whether you Loved it or Loathed it, the L Word gave lesbians something to talk about. That said, we will be Gather(ing) again late March in Park Slope to talk about what the L Word did for the community, and what is left to be desired.

We will be Gather(ing) on Sunday, March 22nd at
247 Prospect Ave (Priority Fitness) - Brooklyn at 6:30pm

Be there!

Read my interview with L Word cast member Daniela Sea >

If the "L Word" were on Facebook - from AfterEllen.com >

Same Sex. New York City.

We gathered again in November at Mixx Lounge in Manhattan to discuss what life is like for the single lesbian in New York City. Our panelists Sherry and Elisabeth talked about who they were looking for, where they were trying to her, and told some cautionary tales of experiences gone wrong.

Since NYC is one of the most queer friendly cities in the country, people may think that we have the lion's share of dating possibilities. Not necessarily so after talking to this panel.

It appears that regardless of sexual orientation, the challenge of finding someone to date and/or have a relationship with is just a feature of being human. Some women choose online dating sites like Match or CurveMag, and others do the legwork by showing up weekends at the few lesbian bars NYC has to offer (other smart ones come to Gather - awe yeah!).

I shared a website with the group of a woman who was raising money to buy ad space at the Superbowl to make an appeal for her man. "What do you do when you’re over the bar scene, when singles events are reunions of guys you’ve already dated, and online matchmaking turns up only a parade of losers and liars?" Apparently, the SuperBowl Single Girl thinks that you turn to one of the highest forms of self-promotion by taking out a very expensive ad. ((I don't think she did succeeded, but I hope she did find her football lovin' wing-eating face paintin' man))