New for today: The Autostraddle Roundtable tackles the big ENCHILADA … HealthCare!
Also remember when we asked you to tell us what you expected from The L Word Reality Show? Sure you do, it was like two days ago! Well, an unbiased team of Interns have knocked their heads together and chosen a winner …
Katie: “On the real L Word, they better have some fucking sippy cups.”
Runners-up include:
Sapphicsass for,”On The Real L Word, Sounder eats Betty… then has to regurgitate her because he hates the taste of bullshit”
and
bcw: “on the real L word, flowers won’t sing while alice cries. and betty won’t sing at all.”
Stay tuned for a special post all about it! And Katie, email alex at autostraddle dot com with your mailing address.
Also Lesbian Radio said they were gonna talk about us last night and are now eagerly awaiting the podcast so we can hear ourselves get talked about! And Papi!
Also, read the Tuesday Televisionary thank you!!!
THREE RIVERS: Behind the scenes of the Three Rivers photoshoot – nice looking people in scrubs pretend to run while holding coolers filled with human hearts & Capri Sun. Kate Moennig looks like … um … an actress at work doing her job! Take off your clothes, Shane!
STUPID PEOPLE RUIN EVERYTHING: Surprise! Stupid people are against same-sex marriage, and smart people are for it. Actually honestly I think with the exception of apparently Barack Obama, that statement needs little else said. (@queerty)
HEALTH CARE: How I got well in India for $50 -My cheap, fast and effective treatment in New Delhi reminded me of everything wrong with American healthcare. (read our roundtable about it!) — It is remarkable that the healthcare system of the world’s most powerful country has anything at all in common with the healthcare system of an emerging industrial nation, and so little in common with the systems of the other Western democracies. (@salon)
SARAH PALIN: Levi Johnston on Sarah Palin in Vanity Fair: In addition to complaining about her work as governor and wanting to do something ‘not as hard’ and Sarah’s plan to adopt Bristol’s kid, Levi shares that, “Sarah doesn’t cook, Todd doesn’t cook—the kids would do it all themselves: cook, clean, do the laundry, and get ready for school. Most of the time Bristol would help her youngest sister with her homework, and I’d barbecue chicken or steak on the grill.” (@vanity fair)
VOGUE EVOLUTION: Lil’ Mama has apologized for her remarks to Leiomy, saying that she “never meant to be disrespectful regarding Leiomy’s gender nor offensive to the LGBT community.” As Queerty pointed out, her comments weren’t transphobic so much as they were reinforcing tired gender stereotypes.
L WORD: The L Word news train keeps on rolling. Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City is “celebrating” the LGBT community with a weekend “OUT in Atlantic City,” taking place September 25-27. Members of the cast of The L Word engage in “Pillow Talk” in the Music Hall at the House of Blues on Saturday at 9pm. Q & A event will feature cast members Pam Grier, Rose Rollins, Kate French, and Mia Kirshner. (@pressofatlanticcity)
RACHEL MADDOW: Rachel Maddow appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and revealed her weeklong absence was due to swine flu, which she caught from her partner, Susan Mikula. She also disclosed that while recuperating at home she read “comic books about Palestine and Sarajevo” and that her first date with Susan was at a shooting range.
TRUE BLOOD: “People are incredibly literal sometimes in how they view you. You have dark hair and pale skin? You must be brooding. The second you dye your hair blond and get a spray tan, people treat you as if you’re a bit stupider and happier.” –Anna Paquin (@nylon)
KATHY GRIFFIN: Kathy Griffin. talks about her weight, plastic surgery and diet pills: According to the new People Magazine, the best weight-loss technique was taking back-to-back step aerobics classes, starving herself all day and then bingeing at night, as well as diet pills and speed. (@people)
MUSIC: The lesbian members of The Cliks have quit the band, according to a MySpace blog written by the transgender frontman, Lucas Silveria. (@myspace)
FEMINISTS: Jezebel examines the delicate balance between women who are feminists and the effect babies have (or do not have) on them. (@jezebel)
“GENDER”: The International Olympic Committee started testing for gender in 1966. So while the verdict on Castor Semenya is out, here’s a list of the 10 Most Shocking Olympic Gender Scandals. (@buzzfeed)
Auto-Straddler of the Day
from Intern Jess:
A new British documentary, Out at Lunch, features a group of lesbians in their last few days together at Cambridge University as they prepare to leave the comfort and security of their tight-knit group for life in the ‘real world’. OMG, like The Real L Word: Cambridge! Watch the trailer or check the web site for release info.
from Intern KC Danger:
Okay, so I don’t usually follow celebrities on Twitter, but I’m going to have to make an exception for Tyra Banks. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by mundane tweets about smiling with your eyes and whatnot, but Tyra Banks never disappoints. The woman is cray-cray in the best way possible.
from Crystal:
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is a site run by two girls who publish no-nonsense and often comical reviews for romance novels. It’s not my preferred genre, however I love the concept and sometimes I’m even tempted to pick up a copy of whatever they’re rating.
that’s so true, anna paquin. just like how when you win an oscar people think that you’re a really good actress, and then the second you take a complex and beloved character and drive it completely into the ground, they think you’re kind of a lousy one.
Yes, TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES SHANE!!
I am less than thrilled for this show. I don;t think they will fully utilize Kate’s talents and natural abilities; such as starring, kissing, stripping, licking, stroking, fisting, etc.
You forgot talking laughing loving breathing fighting fucking crying drinking riding winning losing cheating kissing thinking dreaming.
No biggie though.
I love Rachel Maddow’s view on gun control. Also, I love Rachel Maddow.
True story, I had to stop myself from bringing Rachel Maddow up in class all day today. She is the best thing that has ever happened to swine flu. I hope it knows how lucky it is.
for me, the most shocking gender surprise in sports happened at the end of NATIONAL VELVET. elizabeth taylor FTW!
Anyone who has 5+ tweets dedicated to bacon is worth listening to.
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“the nail ladies were sweet tho.i fell asleep n pedicure chair n woke up wondering if some1 took my pic. hope not. might have been droolin’.”
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This has changed my vision of her always being fierce and doing weird facial expressions. You drool your heart out Tyty!
How dirty is Rachel’s laugh? Mother, may I.
Not surprised at the Cliks news. Two members of the Cliks quit in 2005 after their first album and Lucas Silveira continued alone, before a backup band consisting entirely of lesbians was hired for 2007’s Snakehouse. Apparently there were other changes even before 2005. The band was heavily promoted by their major label cross-Canada as an “edgy” group with “indie appeal” based mostly on their queerness and Silveira’s “unusual” gender identity. I remember this type of promo really grated on me at the time even though I think it’s cool to have trans men in rock bands and that that should be celebrated. But it shouldn’t be the only selling point for a musician.
Unfortunately major label status + overhype meant The Cliks didn’t get much love from Canada’s existing indie promotion establishment, which is the lifeblood of music in this country, and was not interested in the “THIS BAND IS SO QUEER! LOOK!” marketing. Canada LOVES gay bands, or bands with LGBTQ people, and there is a substantial gay-indie overlap in the creative scene in Canada, so a lot of people were unimpressed. Tegan & Sara. The Hidden Cameras. Lesbians on Ecstasy. The Organ. Rufus Wainwright. Final Fantasy (winner of Canada’s #1 prestige music prize the Polaris Prize.) Even back in the day, Rough Trade. Even earlier back in the day in the 1960s, Leonard Cohen with his bisexual love triangle book, Beautiful Losers. All the other bands who may not actually be gay seem pretty gay anyways because they’re hipsters and hipsters and gays cross-influence each other to a large extent because they all attend art school and/or major in English or Cultural Studies, to apply very broad but largely true stereotypes. Canadians also have a strong sense of people having to pay their dues, which in the music scene, usually means constantly thefted gear/serious obscurity and elegant hipster poverty/day job as an artist or writer. Or at least, a very absurd arrangement of hair or facial hair, and several sweet tats. I think that kind of hype focusing on the frontman, the lack of music scene respect, and the fact that the music sucked could easily lead to the lesbians quitting. Or maybe Lucas Silveira is just an ass to work with.