thelesbianlifestyle.com

When I saw the questions for this month, I honestly felt as if I had nothing to add for either one. After all, I have opinions about Rosie O’Donnell–few opinions, but opinions nontheless–and I’ve yet to have sex with a woman. Then I read Grumpy Granny’s post and realized some people agree with me to a certain extent when it comes to Rosie.

First off–who cares about Rosie? And let me back up by saying that, though visible, Rosie is neither a “celebrity” I think about often nor is she a lesbian celebrity, role model or enemy when I do think about her. She’s Rosie O’Donnell. By being the way that she is–and, perhaps, by not being a big deal in Hollywood, at least not by my standards–she is an individual to me rather than a famous lesbian who has the ability to reflect well or badly on the gay community. If there’s any famous gay person I associate with their sexual identity whenever I think about them, it’s probably Ellen DeGeneres. Now there’s somebody gay people care about one way or the other.

Rosie O’Donnell? She’s that person whom, when I found out Barbara Walters was bringing her to “The View,” I wondered why. She’s that person whom I think of as vulgar, unsophisticated, boisterous…and I wonder how she got her wife and laughed when Donald Trump said the same thing. She’s that person whom I thought–and still think–would fit in better as a taxicab driver in New York City rather than one of four professional women discussing various social, political and intellectual topics on television. She’s that person who is apparently attention-seeking because they are on the ‘C’ or ‘D’ list. Then, after all that, she’s that person who is a lesbian.

I can’t imagine too many people pointing at Rosie O’Donnell and saying, “Those gays…” I think heterosexuals have their stereotypes of gays set in stone, and O’Donnell doesn’t really fit them. Nor is she shaping them, then. She’s not an enemy to us; she’s an enemy to herself. After her behavior on “The View,” I don’t know how much of a “career” she has left.

As far as role models, are we yet to the point where we look at people on TV as role models because of their sexual orientation? Do we engage in the same identity essentialism as everyone else in society does? Do we have enough gays in the media to even do this with? I can only speak for myself. Not even with Ellen DeGeneres do I totally or mainly look at gay celebrities in terms of their sexual orientation, nor do I look to them to help shape me or shape young gays simply because they are gay. I probably just connect Ellen with her sexual orientation more so because I think she’s the most visible, most popular gay person around and, therefore, is the one in the best position to do anything or be anything for gays since she’s the one with all eyes on her. O’Donnell, on the other hand, was a person whom I heard little about prior to her joining “The View,” which resulted in nearly every single thing you heard about her being bad because of the things she says on the show.

I have never been into role models, but if I ever were to look for a role model in someone it would be a person I actually know, not someone who acts one way for the camera and another way in private. As far as coming out, that decision is mine alone. For some people, seeing others out and popular will make a difference, but, for me, it relates strictly to readiness. Either way, Rosie O’Donnell would never have anything to do with that decision, regardless of how she behaves or what she says.