LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Out: Fay's Rehoboth Journal - Postcard from the Very Edge |
by Fay Jacobs |
It started with a postcard. A friend in L.A. sent me a postcard with her resume shot and agent's phone number on it. It's the kind of professional calling card those pursuing the "business" use for notes to casting directors. In this case, she used it for a message to us. "Dear Fay & Bonnie, You said to tell you when I'm in a TV show. Well, I have a nice-size role in a somewhat shocking skit on a program you'd never watch if I didn't send you this card. The show's demographics are for non-intellectual men of 18-30. Filming was quite an experience. It's THE MAN SHOWJuly 21 on the Comedy Channel. THE MAN SHOW??? Yes, I'd say it's exactly the kind of show I'd be expected not to watch. Early Wednesday evening, I checked to make sure I could even get the Comedy Channel. Lucky me, I tuned in just in time to hear "Later Tonight! THE MAN SHOW! The finest display of arrested development going!" Then, they flashed a clip of a young man cozying up to my former acting colleaguea very dignified, middle-aged woman with the agitated announcer hollering "Need some fuuuun in your life? Go on a date with Mom!" Oy. I could hardly wait for 10:30 p.m. And speaking of Moms, while I was biding my time 'til THE MAN SHOW, I logged onto a wonderful gay and lesbian message board where my "adopted" son-the-actor types back and forth with cyberfriends all over the globe. And he frequently talks online about his Lesbian Moms from Rehoboth. After he posted two of my columns on the board, I began reading comments and critiques about them. It was fun having a whole new cyberaudience. While I loved all the messages, my favorite came from a fellow who, having read the columns, morphed over to our CAMP Rehoboth website for more. Then he posted a message to my son for all on the board to see: "You know, Eric....you've always lovingly called them the "lesbian moms" so I had a somewhat more matronly mental picture than what I see attached to the column. Though I adore all the various types of women we could describe here, this is not matronly." Go ahead, make my day!!! After lurking on the board for a while last week, eaves-dropping on several different conversation threadseverything from Brandi Chastain, sports bras, tattoos, Petula Clark lyrics to JFK, I posted a note myself, asking folks why they converge there. "It's a meeting of the minds, a communal graffiti board & debate forum. And, yes, I passionately believe in the good stuff that can happen when good people communicate." "I can't think of a taboo subject, and the amazingly rational discussion of abortion a month or so ago confirmed my belief in the goodness, the intelligence, the caring of all members herein." "I'm here as one of the conditions of my parole. Okay, I'm lying." Like my son says, "Much of what we discuss there has nothing to do with sexuality or gender roles. But there's just something about that queer perspective." Just the fact that it's an accessible queer perspective cheers me up. We had nothing like this when I was struggling to meet people and come out. Hell, I was sure I was the only gay woman on earth except the already-dead Gertrude Stein and those few lonely souls I'd heard about who met in dark, scummy bars. Now, of course, I recognize our wonderfully huge gay community and its history, rich in achievement and enjoyment all through the ages. But who knew??? Back in the 70's and early 80's you didn't get TV role models, you didn't get positive press, you got lesbian pot-lucks and liked it. These days, people struggling with their identity, those just getting to know the gay community and those who need a link from their small towns and small-minded families have this and other marvelous cyberplaces to go. One message said, "I have friends (gay and straight) all over the world. I've laughed and cried with people whose faces I could not pick out in a crowded room... The town in which I live is tiny, but the world in which I live is gigantic and close as the keyboard." For people not lucky enough to live in a diverse community like Rehoboth, the Internet is the missing link. And if the folks on this particular message board don't mind an increasingly matronly lesbian mom lurking around and providing a stray comment now and then, I'm delighted to have the chance to participate. And I especially love directing them to the CAMP Rehoboth web site. On Wednesday night, I was enjoying a spate of messages trashing Eyes Wide Shut when it was time for Lesbian Mom to trade communication central for Comedy Central. Bonnie and I microwaved popcorn and sat down for THE MAN SHOW. Omigod. From the opening seconds featuring nearly naked girls (Let's hear it for the Juggies!") to the skit called "Drunks Say the Darndest Things" with live, in-person, actual barfing, Bonnie and I sat gape-jawed and stunned. Then came an "infomercial" for flesh colored wedding rings ("for the best of both worlds") and "Household Hints from Adult Film Stars" with a bimbo rubbing red wine off a wet t-shirt. Aughhhh! Finally, we got to my poor thespian friend, playing a woman on a date with her gooney adult sondining out, whirling around a dance floor, attending an amusement park, getting drunk and then, goon-boy and mom...going to bed together and...yech!!!!! What does he think, come Emmy time he'll be recognized for best performance in bed with his mother???? "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," said Bonnie. I was too stricken to talk. Appalled as I was by the theme, I was even more aghast that hundreds of studio audience imbeciles roared with laughter and cheered at this colossal pile of unfunny poop. It should have been called THE MORON SHOW. And I didn't tape it! With no evidence, how could I circulate a video of this offensive, sophomoric heterosexual menace through the halls of Congress? Damn! I would have had the perfect tool to counter those right wing nuts circulating film of gay pride parades. Just imagine. For every gay person outraged at being broad-brushed as evil by films of a few nearly naked gay people having a little too much fun at parades, we could have all the diverse and wonderful straight people we know branded evil heterosexual louts by sending out copies of THE MAN SHOW. Heck, we could use the identical "Protect Our Children" diatribes that usually accompany the parade films. I bet it wouldn't take five minutes for the ignorant masses to realize what bright gay and straight people have known for eons: THE MAN SHOW doesn't represent the entire heterosexual orientation any more than a few naughty boys in leather or tough girls on Harleys represent our side. Duh... But it sure would be fun trying to make that point. I'm going to float the idea to the online message board and hope some young filmmakers want to give it a try. Who knows, THE MAN SHOW could do more for gay equality than all the lobbying in the world. And I'll help circulate the video. The only thing I refuse to do, with apologies to my friend in L.A., is ever watch it again. The Juggies and goons will have to survive without this Mother. Fays Rehoboth Journal, an award winning column, is a regular feature of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 10, July 30, 1999 |