“In short, the truthful lesbian
is far less troubling than someone who challenges bi-gender semiotics and whose
objects of desire are unknown” (Sloop, p. 85).
Gossip undeniably shapes
celebrity culture and has become a powerful industry in itself. Blogger Perez
Hilton was considered a major celebrity cameo when he appeared on The Voice earlier this season to cheer
on one of his friends. Perhaps nothing sets the gossip community abuzz more
quickly than celebrities’ love lives. It is common to give celebrity couples
cutesy nicknames before they have officially come out as a couple. As any
celebrity who has ever played gay or any actor who has appeared on Broadway can
attest, gossip sites love to speculate about celebrities’ sexual orientations;
however, nothing seems to frustrate gossip sites more than a sexually ambiguous
performer.
Sadly, even in 2012, it is hard
for actors to play gay characters without immediately being questioned about
their sexuality. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were both questioned about
their heterosexuality while starring in Brokeback
Mountain, and while Ledger was absolved after having a baby with his female
costar, Gyllehaal’s true sexuality is still debated fairly regularly. That
said, actors who play coy about their sexual orientation are widely criticized.
As John Sloop notes in his book, Disciplining Gender: Rhetorics of Sex
Identity in Contemporary U.S. Culture, “Although ours is no doubt a
heteronormative culture, it is also a culture that insists on a clear delimitation
between male and female as separate genders, on heterosexual and homosexual as
distinctly separate spheres of desire. It is a culture, then, in which knowing
where to place someone in the matrix of gender and desire is valued over
confusion” (pp. 84-85). Sean Hayes, who
played the flamboyant Jack on Will and Grace,
was criticized for years for refusing to comment on his sexual orientation.
When he finally came out in 2010, Hayes criticized gay media publications such
as The Advocate for pressuring him to
come out. Even this year, White Collar star
Matthew Bomer was criticized for not publicly addressing his sexuality (i.e.
confirming the long-standing rumors that he is gay). He officially came out of
the closet last month.
While Hayes and Bomer have both
confirmed their sexuality, stars like Jodie Foster and Queen Latifah, both
reported lesbians, continue to aggravate the media. Both stars refuse to
comment on their love lives, and when either speaks about her personal life,
the internet lights up. In fact, Googling either celebrity alongside the word “sexuality”
brings up several different blogs claiming to confirm that she has “finally”
opened up about her sexual orientation or is showing off her girlfriend.
It is unfortunate that in 2012, the
media does not afford sexually ambiguous performers more privacy. Even more
unfortunately, these performers do not directly threaten heterosexuality. They
do not lead outwardly homosexual lives, but they do not lead outwardly
heterosexual lives. Why not allow the Jodie Fosters, Oprahs, Sean Hayes, and
Taylor Lautners of the world to challenge sexuality binaries? Does it really
affect our lives and our relationships, or is it, as one Newsweek columnist wrote in 2010, “the big, pink elephant in the
room?”
P.S. I agree with Scarlett’s
post. J Watching Boys Don’t Cry made my confusion worse.
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