Can Lesbians be Funny?

Well, of course, the answer is yes, lesbians can be very funny. But that doesn't mean that all lesbians have a sense of humor. Let me explain...

Last Saturday evening, I went to see the Queer Queens of Qomedy show at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz with my wife and sister-in-law. When the sister-in-law first invited us, she also warned us, "It's an all lesbian show, are you sure you'll be comfortable?"

We assured her we would, but it did raise a moment of concern of whether or not the "comedy" would be overly politically correct rants against the male dominated society and inside "jokes" that would go over our heads. Luckily, that moment of concern didn't last long, and we decided to go to the show.

Simply put, one of the best and funniest nights of comedy we've enjoyed in a very long time.

The organizer of QQQ is Poppy Champlin, and she led off the show with an act I thought couldn't be topped. But the second comic, Sandra Valls came close. After a brief intermission, and bit more from Poppy, Roxanna Ward closed the show with a musical-comedy combination that had us crying from both laughing so hard and her beautiful singing (when she wasn't mooing).

And there was no need to worry about political correctness. Sacred cows were slain and eaten raw. And any "lesbian-centric" humor was at least as raunchy and outrageous (and easily understood) as any male comic you'd see in Las Vegas. No, strike that; it's hard to find raunch in Vegas anymore. This was much better.

Which brings us to the point: Just because lesbians can be damned funny, doesn't mean all lesbians have a sense of humor. Last night I received an email from Poppy Champlin (I signed up for the QQQ mailing list after the show) saying that of the 370 people in attendance at last Saturday's show - the vast majority of whom seemed to be loving it as much as I did - one person was highly offended by the non-politically correct humor, and is starting a campaign to get QQQ in trouble with their sponsor, Olivia Travel - an organizer of lesbian cruises and vacation packages.

Poppy's email was asking for those of us who enjoyed the show to let Olivia know. I have sent them a direct message thanking them for bringing the show to Santa Cruz, and asking that they do it again next year. And, I'm taking this space on my blog to give a shout-out to all funny lesbians who dare to be outrageous and risk offending people. And thank you, Poppy, Roxanna, and Sandra, for a great night out.

Standing up for What's Right (No on Prop 8)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
(you know the source)

Does this apply to gays and lesbians? It seems to me that marriage would be covered under those unalienable rights. "Defense of marriage" laws today are no different or less hateful to me than anti-miscegenation laws a generation ago.

In California we're about to have that referendum again, with Proposition 8 on our November 4 ballot. I can't see how anybody could view this as anything other than legalized discrimination, and yet according to the polls, it just might pass. It's rare that I feel ashamed to be a Californian, but this is one of those moments.


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Mary's baby and the hypocrisy of the right

To the fundamentalist right wing, Vice President Dick Cheney can do no wrong. He has championed all their causes, and fought all their foes - including those who would grant equal marriage rights to all or allow homosexual couples to adopt children.

Cheney has gladly led the anti-gay parade, despite the fact that his daughter, Mary, is a lesbian in a long-term relationship with another woman. Mary describes her partnership with Heather as "a marriage" despite the fact that they live in Virginia, which has a state law and a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage or civil unions.

With today's news that Mary (37) and Heather (45) are expecting a baby, the VP gets to again talk out of each side of his crooked mouth. Yes, Mary is pregnant (no word on who the father is, or how the pregnancy came about - insert your own David Crosby joke here), and the VP Dick and his wife, Lynn, have issued a statement saying that they are looking forward to their 6th grandchild.

Has Dick shown any leadership or daring by making a statement about how it's the fault of the religious right that this baby will be born out-of-wedlock? Any word on the hypocrisy that gives Heather no legal rights regarding her partner's child? Any plea to recognize the legitimacy of this 14-year relationship and their partnership in preparing to raise a child? Of course not.

Dick always has to have it both ways. He openly supports ands loves his daughter - as he should - all while playing political footsie with those who would damn her to Hell.