The lesbian pop culture column

Sheryl Swoopes SWOOPES IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The WNBA celebrated its ten-year anniversary this week, and I watched sadly from the stands on Tuesday as the Seattle Storm got their asses kicked by the Houston Comets. But it was worth it just to witness in person the talent of Sheryl Swoopes, the Comets’ Olympic gold medallist who was among the eight women chosen this week to play for the United States women’s basketball team in the upcoming world championship in September.

Back in the spotlight this week for the first time since she came out publicly last October, Swoopes told reporters that not only has she not experienced any backlash, "I’m happier and I feel free to live my life and not hide. Things have gone better than I anticipated."

It certainly hasn’t seemed to hurt her athletic performance: Swoopes was so magnificent on the court, I had to remind myself I was rooting for Seattle. But I wasn’t the only one in that predicament—Swoopes received louder cheers from the Seattle fans than some of the Seattle players. But the fact that so many of the fans were lesbians may have had just a little bit to do with that, too.

HEX IS COMING TO AMERICA!

While there may not be any lesbians on network TV in the foreseeable future, cable TV is stepping up to the plate, starting with the June 8th debut of the first season of the British drama Hex on BBC America. (But alas, still no update on the fate of Bad Girls on BBC America).

Haven’t heard of Hex yet? You’re missing out! This gothic romantic drama about a teenage girl at a British boarding school who fights the forces of evil with the help of her lesbian sidekick was a hit when it premiered in the U.K. in 2004. You’ll find a review of the first season here, and, for our impatient readers, episode recaps here. Click here to find out more!

BIANCA RETURNS

I stand corrected: there is a lesbian on network TV, but only for three weeks. Actress Eden Riegel has temporarily returned the ABC daytime drama All My Children to reprise her role as Pine Valley’s former resident lesbian Bianca, who moved to Paris in early 2004. But don’t get too excited: Bianca’s only back to help her sister Kendall out of a jam, not to have a love life. So, you know, same story, different year.

AND THE MOVIE WITH THE BEST NAME IS...LESBIAN PULP-O-RAMA GOES TO SWEDEN!

New York City’s Newfest, the first of this summer’s GLBT film festivals, kicks off next week with more short and feature-length films than even a professional lesbian like myself could ever watch. As usual, the majority of the films are about gay men, but there are a decent number of lesbian films, and several films about trans folk as well.

In the documentary category, there’s the South African documentary Two Moms, about a lesbian couple who fought for their parental rights in South Africa; Camp Out, a documentary about young, gay Midwestern Christians at summer camp; and Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema, which explores the history of gay and lesbian film through commentaries from a host of well-known directors, actors, and critics, including Christine Vachon and Jennie Livingston.

Then there are the international feature films with lesbian themes that are all about the fun: the French film Looking for Cheyenne explores the heartbreak of a lesbian couple breaking up, and Spanish entry Electroshock chronicles a lesbian relationship that endures despite one of the women being forced to undergo shock therapy by her mother. Besides Loving Annabelle, there are some lighter U.S. entries, like the lesbian buddy comedy Mom, and The Gymnast, a story about lesbian love set in the world of gymnastics. Not to be confused with the recent and probably funnier teen flick Stick It, the Bring It On-esque film about heterosexual love set in the world of gymnastics. Eliza Dushku in Bring it On

But on the other hand, who needs witty teen angst when there’s Electroshock?

GAY MEN WANTED

We had such an overwhelming response to our request for Fake Gay News writers latest week that I’m making another plea for writers here, this time for our brother site AfterElton.com: we need more gay men to write about entertainment! So all of you who have gay or bi male writer/pop culture junkie friends—tell them to email a few writing samples to editor@afterelton.com, or you’ll make them watch bad lesbian movies until they cry.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE...

To no one’s surprise, bisexual finalist Tiffani was not crowned the Top Chef on Bravo’s cooking competition (she lost in the final round to Harold).

Video clip of the week: this inspirational montage of scenes from Queer as Folk and The L Word set to Heather Small’s appropriate dance song "Proud". It almost makes you, well, proud.

Next Tuesday on DVD: the final season of Queer as Folk! The Will and Grace finale! Portrait of a Marriage! Alf, Season 3! Just checking to see if you were paying attention on that last one.