Cool new lesbian stars (Guardian article)

[LenochkaO]

Thank you, reality TV

Jenny White hails the cool new lesbian stars who are changing the face of showbiz

Friday November 7, 2003
The Guardian

On November 17 Fame Academy winner, singer-songwriter Alex Parks will release her debut single Maybe That's What it Takes. Her self-penned ballad is hotly tipped to make the Top 10.
But Parks's TV victory and her Ј1m recording contract prize can be seen as much more than a mere personal success for the lesbian teenager. Her triumph also marks another stage in the rebranding of gay women in the public mindset, the culmination of a year of unprecedented lesbian visibility in British showbiz.

Importantly, the 19-year-old Parks has given young gay women their first pop idol to swoon over. Interviewed immediately after her Fame Academy win, Parks highlighted the fact that she had no role models to relate to when she was growing up and that she hoped her win would help to inspire other young lesbians.

While gay male showbiz household names trip off the tongue, there is still barely a handful of out lesbian celebrities. It is about time that some cool Sapphic stars shook up Middle England's perceptions of lesbians.

Those decades-old, tabloid images of gay women endure. Lesbians are still either viewed with suspicion - man-hating militants sporting dungarees and crew cuts - or as objects of amusement and titillation; the male fantasy of two femme stunners indulging in hot lesbo action waiting for a bloke to jump in and finish the job off properly.

Although Pam St Clement and Sandy Toksvig have been out and proud for years, these middle-aged, middle-class women will never set Celebdaq on fire. This past year can be seen as a watershed in lesbian visibility aided by the reality TV phenomenon that can transform unknowns into "celeb personalities" overnight.

Until last summer's appearance on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Rhona Cameron was little known outside the stand-up comedy circuit; her lesbian-themed sitcom Rhona, which aired in 2000, was poorly received. But her jungle stint catapulted her to household-name status within a matter of weeks. She gained tabloid and celeb magazine coverage and a primetime ITV gameshow, Russian Roulette. And now she has written her first book, an autobiographical novel, Nineteen Seventy-Nine: A Big Year in a Small Town, published last month, in which she recounts the teenage angst surrounding her first forays into lesbianism.

With her new-found fame, Cameron also managed to out her former girlfriend Sue Perkins, one half of television comic duo Mel & Sue. Perkins, apparently persuaded by Cameron, then appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in November last year.

In February, lesbian stereotypes faced their biggest ever challenge. Former Page 3 pin-up Sam Fox came out of the closet and introduced the nation to her female partner in the Channel 4 documentary Our Sam. There was more footage of the couple together throughout March when Fox was one of three celebrities competing to run the most popular bar in ITV's The Club.

Parks's appearance on Fame Academy took this increased lesbian visibility to new ground. The reality TV show format allowed people to gain a rounded picture of her: meet her family; see her form friendships with other contestants; share her pre-show nerves and passionate performances. They were able to see that her sexuality is only part of who she is.

After her win, she expressed relief that her sexuality had not overshadowed her stay: "That's just me. I didn't come in here trying to hide it or shout about it. It doesn't really make a difference."

Throughout the series Parks was praised by the Academy judges and press alike for being '"individual", "original", and "different". She is one of the first primetime TV personalities that baby dykes can empathise with: the funky boyish looks; and coming out worries, such as "What would the grandparents think?" But above all the realisation that your sexuality is no barrier to following your dreams.

· Alex Parks is interviewed in Guardian Weekend tomorrow.

[raven ryuu]

no mention of t.A.T.u. in here, huh? So, I guess it takes someone from the UK to start a movement on 'Lesbianism', and it's hunky dory for peeps
I'm sorry...but t.A.T.u. was making waves long before this gal Jenny White, IMHO.
Thanks for the article LenochkaO san

[LenochkaO]

I got the impression she was talking more in terms of a) homegrown talent's impact on the UK and b) TV rather than the music scene. I seem to recall that Jenny White (who's the journalist, BTW) wrote quite a nice article about Tatu earlier in the year, so it's not as if she's ignored them completely.

[Mossopp]

Thanks for posting that article. I was very happy when Alex won Fame Academy - not cos I think she's the best singer in the world, but because I do think it's time that there were more young gay women in the public eye.
I would however like to point out that Rhona Cameron should not have been namechecked as a positive lesbian icon. Yes, she is an incredibly talented comedian and her sitcom was criminally overlooked. But Rhona Cameron herself is the very embodyment of all the negative sterotypical traits that people think all lesbians possess. Add to that the fact that she did a really under-hand thing by outing her ex-girlfriend Sue Perkins against her will! I really don't see how Rhona Cameron fits into the "cool new lesbian stars" category.

[LenochkaO]

Originally posted by Mossopp
Thanks for posting that article. I was very happy when Alex won Fame Academy - not cos I think she's the best singer in the world, but because I do think it's time that there were more young gay women in the public eye.
I would however like to point out that Rhona Cameron should not have been namechecked as a positive lesbian icon. Yes, she is an incredibly talented comedian and her sitcom was criminally overlooked. But Rhona Cameron herself is the very embodyment of all the negative sterotypical traits that people think all lesbians possess. Add to that the fact that she did a really under-hand thing by outing her ex-girlfriend Sue Perkins against her will! I really don't see how Rhona Cameron fits into the "cool new lesbian stars" category.

Ah yes, I heard about that outing thing, and wasn't v.impressed.

Why not send an e-mail to the Guardian, saying what you've said here? They sometimes do readers' response pieces, and yours is a v.valid response - at the v.least you might get your letter published (even if it's under "name and address supplied", if you want to tick the box for no publicity). Anyway, just a thought - feel free to ignore it

[Mossopp]

Good idea - I might just do that.
I was a fan of Rhona Cameron's for a long time untill she appeared on 'I'm A Celebrity...' acting like a spoilt brat. When she outed Sue she totally lost all my respect. I myself was outed by someone who was supposed to be a friend so I know what an awful thing that is to have happen to you.

[LenochkaO]

Originally posted by Mossopp
Good idea - I might just do that.
I was a fan of Rhona Cameron's for a long time untill she appeared on 'I'm A Celebrity...' acting like a spoilt brat. When she outed Sue she totally lost all my respect. I myself was outed by someone who was supposed to be a friend so I know what an awful thing that is to have happen to you.

Do go for it if you feel that way inclined, Mossopp - I don't think that there are too many authentic lesbian voices (if that doesn't sound too naff an expression - forgive me, I've been on the Guinness) even in the liberal media like the Guardian. And alternative perspectives are always a good thing.

BTW, bad luck in the rugby (don't know if you were following it). Sang 'Flower of Scotland' and cheered them on, but it didn't seem to work. God, but it would be nice to beat England tomorrow. Unlikely to happen, but we can dream...

EDIT
Alex Parks interview from the Grauniad:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/featu...080362,00.html

[spyretto]

We haven't established whether Tatu are lesbians...they repeatedly dodge the question, hence what makes you think that they are in real life? To me they don't seem like lesbians at all, Yulia's tomboyish looks are a matter of a good stylist. Her attitude is hardly different to a hetero young girl. Same with Lena..and please don't tell me about stereotypes, there are different shades of grey but black can't be white, and white can't be black.
Of course, they should be credited for using lesbian imagery as a sort of a persona, perhaps addressing those issues and helping people to come to terms with their sexuality but being lesbian theselves? sorry, but I cannot comply.

I saw the video of Alex's song today. Her voice sounds fantastic in the studio. It's a song she wrote herself. and she doesn't use lesbianism to promote it...although it doesn't even come close to Tatu's songs.

[raven ryuu]

I have misunderstood the article. Thanks for clearing it up for me LenochkaO san Gomen kudasai ne!

Spy -- I did not mean to imply that t.A.T.u. were spearheading a movement on 'Lesbianism'. I just used that term because it was what the article was talking about (in my opinion of course). I would say that t.A.T.u. were the first to promote acceptance of others, no matter who they are...acceptance of people being themselves.

[ypsidan04]

Originally posted by raven ryuu

Spy -- I did not mean to imply that t.A.T.u. were spearheading a movement on 'Lesbianism'. I just used that term because it was what the article was talking about (in my opinion of course). I would say that t.A.T.u. were the first to promote acceptance of others, no matter who they are...acceptance of people being themselves.

Yeah, I agree with that. And Spyretto, they haven't always dodged the question, but when they do say something, they are inconsistent:

Yes:

"...we are lovers"
"We are real lesbians."
"We are just lesbians."
"Maybe we are bisexual."
"We are girlfriends with each other."
"We have sex with each other three times daily."

Not yes:

"We're not telling everybody we're lesbians. Nobody knows who we are. Maybe we're lesbians, maybe we're straight, maybe we're bisexual"
"Who knows? Maybe we aren't lesbians at all?"
"We love each other, we kiss, we do what we want, but we are not homosexuals! We are in love, that's all!"

[Kappa]

Might as well add that those "not yes" statement were also done when they were annoyed.

[spyretto]

Yeah, I agree with that. And Spyretto, they haven't always dodged the question, but when they do say something, they are inconsistent

yeah, okay. But they never came out as gay, people assumed that they must be gay because of their videos and their songs. They never came out and declared "yes, we're gay". Alex Parks came out and said "I'm gay"...she didn't even have to do it in a way that Tatu are compelled to.

Spy -- I did not mean to imply that t.A.T.u. were spearheading a movement on 'Lesbianism'. I just used that term because it was what the article was talking about (in my opinion of course). I would say that t.A.T.u. were the first to promote acceptance of others, no matter who they are...acceptance of people being themselves.

Wasn't it Jesus Christ the first?
Well, in the bottomline that's what it is but the title of the article is "Cool new lesbian stars"... and Tatu are labelled as "pseudo-lesbian stars", nowadays...

[raven ryuu]

Originally posted by spyretto
yeah, okay. But they never came out as gay, people assumed that they must be gay because of their videos and their songs. They never came out and declared "yes, we're gay".

Maybe they never had to come right out and declare it because the video (and music) speaks for itself?

Wasn't it Jesus Christ the first?

I guess if you think of it that way, then I suppose that's right