Oscar Night - and the stars who come out (not just at night)
Blogging while watching the Oscars actually makes a lot of sense, since I had been planning to honor Sally Field and Anne Hathaway for being such great Allies. Sally Field could be considered the most famous PFLAG mom, aside from being a really great actress. I thought it was hilarious, when Ann Hathaway, on the red carpet, said she was actually wearing Prada . When the movie came out "The Devil wears Prada", I thought that name was just a movie invention. Later I saw stores actually selling Prada. Somebody convinces me this was not movie merchandizing. This goes to show how educational the movies really are. Whatever she is wearing, Prada or Burlap, singing the song angry men, she is gorgeously smart and beautiful.
There are those supporters of the Rainbow Community in Hollywood and Show Buzz. And then there are the real heroines and heroes, the stars that really come out (not just at night). Among them is the pioneer of all out Lesbians, Lily Tomlin. She never kept this part of her life a secret, all while still being very private, an art. I saw her life on Broadway a few years ago doing the revived version of "In search of Intelligence ....", not only was she energetic and beautiful as ever at 60something, but also did she this amazing job of memorizing 2 hours of highly intelligent monologue, all while performing like an Olympic champion and last not least being hilariously funny.
And then there is Chely Wright. Her documentary reads like a public coming out story, with all the angst that leads to it. The film also dismantles the image of a woman star build up as a idol catering to hetero stereotypes. She is definitely a pioneer in the rather conservative world of Country music. She undertook a very courageous step and it will be interesting to watch whether her public coming out will kill her career or kick off a new beginning. Good Luck for you, Chely!
At the Philadelphia Health Conference I had the personal experience to see Chaz Bono life in a Q and A presentation. He's perhaps the most famous Transman on this planet. He was out as trans from the onset, and might have made the topic and the problems known to an audience, that otherwise would be completely ignorant about this part of some peoples life. This in itself I find admirable. His story of course, is different from most people, having grown up in Show Buzz exposed to and by the media from day one. In that presentation he was grilled by some members of the audience with the expectation that he should represent in the public, the way they wanted trans life or certain aspects of it represented to the public. He had to defend himself, saying that he can only represent himself and not the entire trans community. Let's give this man a break! Imagine all the inappropriateness, a lot of us are facing every day, exposing himself to that by not only ignorant people around him but also by the media, that is admirable. Chaz, you are definitely my hero!
I loved the comment: We were afraid that maybe the Oscars aren't gay enough, announcing Richard Gere. I just thought, too bad that Rock Hudson wasn't able to see this. He had to develop aids to come out, back then I think being out would have killed his career. So 3 Cheers for Hollywood, you have come a long way!










