Pop Culture Fix: The USWNT And Ruby Rose Are Everywhere

Hello, underwater dinosaurs (scubasaurs rex?)! I’m sorry your Pop Culture Fix is later than usual this week; I’m traveling today to meet up with the other senior staff to make big plans to love you even better than we already do, which is a lot! On the plus side (for me), I am now sitting next to Yvonne at Los Angeles International Airport. Her face is even sweeter in person, which I know seems impossible, but it’s true.

GOAAAAALLLLLL

Yes, we are going to continue to talk about the USWNT winning the World Cup because it’s a big damn deal. They’re getting a ticker-tape parade in New York City tomorrow. They’re the first non-NYC based team and first women’s sports team to be honored with a ticker-tape parade! Also, did you know the gender pay gap applies to women’s sports too?

The total payout for the Women’s World Cup this year will be $15 million, compared with the total for the men’s World Cup last year of $576 million, nearly 40 times as much. That also means that the Women’s World Cup payout is less than the reported $24 million to $35 million FIFA spent on its self-aggrandizing fiction film, United Passions.

Meanwhile, 43.2 million people watched the U.S. vs. Japan game on Sunday night, shattering the record the men’s team set during last year’s World Cup. They raked in 18 million viewers, less than half the number of people who tuned in to watch the USWNT play.

Here’s yesterday’s celebration in Los Angeles.

https://vine.co/v/engTeEqhr9n

Damn, I’m getting all choked up all over again. (They’re chanting “I believe that we just won!”)


Teeveee

+ The Good Wife is bringing on a white guy to replace bisexual badass PI/woman of color Kalinda Sharma. “Replace.”

+ Vulture looks at Orange Is the New Black, Fresh of the Boat, Community, Parks and Recreation, and Hannibal and wonders if Asian immigrants are finally starting to get some respect on American TV.

Chang’s story line is a small improvement in the way that Asian-Americans are represented onscreen. She’s a recovery of the Asian immigrant, the one who was cast out in the name of political correctness. Chang isn’t simply a first-generation immigrant, she’s one who doesn’t care to fit into the mainstream. So for a brief moment, you get a glimpse of a character who is suggestive of another world that doesn’t center around whiteness. You might not be quite sure what’s going on, and that’s the point: She’s not here for you.

Pair with the thoughts some of our Asian writers shared about Chang’s OITNB episode in our 306 recap roundtable.

+ Miley Cyrus is a cartoon bird.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/814777

+ It’s looking less and less likely that a streaming platform is going to pick up Hannibal now that NBC has pulled the plug. Stef and my girlfriend are heartbroken, y’all. And probably poor old Margot too. She’s finally getting to snog a lady this season!

+ Ruby Rose is guest starring on Syfy’s freshman series Dark Matter. I know this because I received five — literally FIVE — press releases telling me about it yesterday.

entertainmentandroid

According to the press releases: “In the episode airing Friday, July 24th at 10pm ET/PT, Aussie actress Rose will guest star as Wendy, a hauntingly beautiful entertainment android who dazzles the crew with her sexual prowess and knack for entertaining … until things take a dangerous turn.”

Entertainment android! What! What does that even mean!


Mooovies

+ Fox is making a movie about the SCOTUS same-sex marriage ruling, obviously.

+ I mentioned it in this week’s Boob(s On Your) Tube, but I want to say it again: Marisa Tomei is joining Empire next season to play a lesbian billionaire. She’s also going to play Aunt May in the new Spider-Man movie, which is ridiculous because she’s only 50 years old, but also: I hope they make Aunt May gay af. It’s time for a new origin story.

+ Ellen Page is going to be in a new movie about Lance Corporal Leslie Martz. In real life, Martz “was sent to Afghanistan as a leader of a Female Engagement Team and tasked with the dual mandate of gaining the trust of Afghan women by equipping them with necessary skills for independence but also secretly extracting information from them about their Taliban husbands.”

The movie is called Lioness, which reminds me that I wanted to tell you about this HORRIBLE tweet that welcomed the England National Team home from the Women’s World Cup. Look at this shit:

_84085608_englandtweet

That belongs in post-World War II home front propaganda book.  (Obviously, the tweet has been deleted.)

+ Stef (who has a starring role in this week’s Pop Culture Fix, have you noticed?) is going to talk to you some more about this later, but Alexis Bledel and Katherine Heigl are playing lesbian lovers in a new movie called Jenny’s Wedding.

Oh, Rory, just go home to Paris Geller, the love of my your life.

+ This is an excellent essay from a female producer about four ways women get the shaft in Hollywood.

+ The final Hunger Games character posters are here and … weird. KISS & the Mockingjays?

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Melissa McCarthy, duh.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1718 articles for us.

174 Comments

  1. is that why Pretty Little Liars wasn’t on this week? because you’re traveling?

  2. In other news, apparently England has a twitter account?

    (Seriously, I wonder who runs it/feels that they are entitled to speak on behalf of an entire nation)

    • It’s the English Association Football program’s twitter, so they just speak on behalf of one sport of many that England participates in.

  3. Ellen Page is on fire with all the movies she’s filming atm.

    I have conflicted feelings about Jenny’s Wedding. Like I want to see it, but Katherine Heigl inexplicably bothers me for some reason and I’m not sure I can stomach two hours of her.

    • I have similar Katherine Heigl feelings. Also I’m afraid that if I see this movie I’ll just cry through the entire thing and it’ll be a waste of a movie ticket.

    • I am really turned off by Heigl and what’s-her-bucket’s complete lack of romantic chemistry in the trailer for Jenny’s Wedding. Like, I guess I’ll see it but I feel like I am absolutely not going to be into it whatsoever.

    • Ughhhh me too. I greatly dislike Katherine Heigl, but I LOVE Alexis Bledel. Except, I love Alexis Bledel specifically as Rory Gilmore, and I find her kind of a terrible actress when sever she’s playing any other character (sorry Alexis! I really do love you, I swear!), and that rule holds true for this movie as well, at least from what I’ve seen in the trailer. And Miz Phia you are totally right about the complete and utter lack of sexual chemistry between them, but honestly, I put that down to Alexis’ complete lack of on-screen chemistry with anyone who is not Lauren Graham or any of her three boyfriends on Gilmore Girls (again, sorry Alexis, but seriously, it’s true).

      I’ll probably still see it, because lesbians. And I’ll probably like it, again, because lesbians. But still I can’t help but wish it were any others actresses.

    • Saaaaame. I can’t really stomach most heteronormative rom-coms, and that’s kind of been Katherine’s calling card in Hollywood. But maybe Alexis and gay stuff will make it all better?

    • Do you guys remember the days when lesbian/gay actors couldn’t be cast as love interests because “nobody would believe they’re into their (opposite-gendered) costar”? Well now we have straight women playing gay roles, and I gotta say… some of them are TERRIBLE at pretending they’re into it.

      What I think this indicates is that those closeted lesbian/gay actors that played straight roles all those years were in fact REALLY TALENTED actors, and we now see the mediocrity in acting talent of straight actors (who were only chosen for their looks/charm/persona), and who now have to play a role that isn’t exactly them, emerge.

      #rantover

      • Urg, that is so true. I can’t stand romcoms in general, which is probably why I’m not such a fan of Katherine, and I don’t think I’ll watch this movie, considering the lack lustre trailer. But it really does illustrate how freaking talented queer actors are in comparison.

    • Based on the trailer I’m not even convinced that Jenny and her partner like each other, much less that want to get married. I agree with Allison about Alexis Bledel.. Gilmore Girls was a staple of my adolescence and I will always love Rory, but I’ve never seen Alexis Bledel in anything half way decent since then.

      Jenny and whoever didn’t even kiss and no one said lesbian or bisexual I just feel like this movie is going to be a trainwreck that I will obviously go see in theaters.

    • I’m unsure of whether I love it or am creeped out by it. Glad somebody loved it, though!

  4. I must admit, I watched more sports this year than ever in my entire life. I had never even seen a soccer game, but I followed the World Cup wearing my Hope Solo jersey relentlessly! So proud!

  5. I appreciate this post on many many levels… But mainly all these women are hot and talented.

    There was a big debate in the UK on the football coverage over why the women’s World Cup and women’s sport is called such. No one calls male sport by gender. So daft.

    • That’s interesting, I’m American – not from the UK in anyway- but I found myself having to be super conscious when writing about the World Cup on my social media feeds to name it as the “World Cup” as opposed to the “Women’s World Cup” for a lot of similar reasons. It’s funny how language gets engrained in us to the point where we don’t even notice those types of patriarchal slippages.

      • I think we’re sort of consciously making this shift now as a society, which is awesome. Up until the last few years, all women’s college sports teams were basically called Lady [whatever the mascot is], right? Like Lady Panthers, Lady Bulldogs. Which is how it was when I was growing up playing sports too. But now schools are dropping that right and left and just calling their women’s teams Panthers and Bulldogs ’cause that’s what they are.

    • The fact that the men’s soccer team took home more prize money after finishing in not-first than the USWNT takes home for winning is total BS. FIFA is the worst.

  6. Erin McLeod wed her girlfriend Ella on Monday and just posted a gorgeous wedding photo on her twitter! Ella posted one too! <3

  7. Does anyone else feel like there’s just too much tv to watch? I just can’t keep up. Probably that’s because I just rewatched all 10 seasons of stargate for the second time this year, so it might just be me.

    • I downloaded an app to help me keep track of where I am with everything, and it was a terrible idea because now I want to just make PROGRESS with things and not, like, rewatch all of Friday Night Lights. Even though I will never ever be caught up.

      • That is hilarious and sounds exactly like something I would do. I would probably end up with tv playing all the time, but never pay enough attention to actually know what’s going on. At least when I’m rewatching shows I can also grade and not get completely lost.

    • I kept telling myself I loved Stargate because of the stories. Nope. It was Captain Carter all the way. #swoon

      If you need me, I’ll be re-watching over here…

    • OH yes. So far behind, which is fine until you dare to brave the internets and are instantly spoiled, and suddenly everything hurts and I did not need to find out about the OB season finale that way ok internets?

    • Yes, definitely. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of all the TV shows I watch that are currently airing, and it’s up to… 40 shows. /o\

  8. USWNT!!! I’m also excited for the players to start playing for their respective teams again, apparently Rapinoe and Solo are playing on Saturday? I do kind of feel bad that they don’t get to chill and party for awhile before starting up again though.

  9. I’m so glad to see the Vulture article Asian Immigrants/Pop Culture mentioned here, I read it right after reading the Autostraddle Round Table about Chang’s character, and I thought the differing points of view were really interesting to explore (I also feel like I sided more with the observations by the Autostraddle team- no surprise). That said, I really like most of E. Alex Jung’s work, particularly the stuff he has written about Margaret Cho and Fresh Off The Boat. He has solid critiques of Asian Americans in pop culture. Definitely worth a read.

    Ruby Rose’s PR team has to be one of the hardest working in the business. I had literally never heard of her before the lead up press for this last season of OITNB- and now she is everywhere.

    Last point, but I want that new Ghostbusters movie TOMORROW. I have sooo much faith in it and I love the way that the female reboot is driving all the fanboys crazy af. Basically… Melissa McCarthy forever.

    • I’m so glad to see the Ghostbusters uniforms are not skimpy tight sexist bullshit but like ‘we got work to do and for real need substantial layer between skin and ectoplasm while capturing ghosts and saving the city.’

      Also v excited to see Melissa McCarthy! Ahhh can’t wait for movie.

      • “I’m so glad to see the Ghostbusters uniforms are not skimpy tight sexist bullshit but like ‘we got work to do and for real need substantial layer between skin and ectoplasm while capturing ghosts and saving the city.'”

        RETWEET.

        Especially because have you seen all those “sexy Ghostbusters” costumes that pop up at Halloween? They make me have a rage blackout every time. Like are you fucking kidding me with this shit?

  10. “Scubasaurus rex” I died.

    Also so many good movies coming out soon! I hadn’t heard about Lioness yet — anything involving Ellen Paige is obviously awesome, but this sounds double-awesome.

  11. Now Ruby Rose is going to show up in everything and it’s going to be the best stuntcasting ever because it will always make me watch it.

  12. i have f-i-n-a-l-l-y watched the trailer for jenny’s wedding and i’m happy to report i did it while i was in the middle of watching the episode of gilmore girls where richard and emily renew their vows.

      • I’m crying just thinking about how much I crying I would have done WHY CANT I CONTROL MY TEARS

        • Maddie, I like to watch that episode and follow it up by reading my favorite Rory And Paris Get Married fan fiction.

    • All I can see when I see Alexis Bledel is Rory but also in this trailer she kind of looks… underused in this trailer!

      ((RoryXParis))

    • Isn’t recursive TV watching dangerous? Won’t it rip a hole in the cable/network continuum and then you get cross over… episodes… hrm… This… sounds like an excellent plan.

      I’m going to go watch Warehouse 13, Eureka, and Bones simultaneously to see if I can make SlashFic happen.

      • I will probably watch Jenny’s Wedding because of Alexis Bledel, and also I’ve been rewatching Warehouse 13 and I just finished season 2 and I’m having many Bering-Wells feels. And also I introduced my teenage brother to the show, and I told him how much I love H.G., and he said, “I know, this show needs more H.G. She should be in every episode.”

        • My entire life is Bering and Wells feels. I go on a tirade about the last season of WH 13 biweekly.

      • right?! it’s like, rory’s there on gilmore girls hooking up with logan while alexis bledel and katherine heigel are kissing, and all i can think is, “rory, if only you knew what your future held…”

  13. Does this mean that Ruby Rose and Zoie Palmer are going to be ‘entertaining’ each other?

  14. My favorite part of the USWNT winning is that some of them coughRapinoecough have been a little tipsy in some of the interviews…

  15. You know, I remember reading something about how women’s basketball players have higher chances of injury because the WNBA doesn’t pay them anything and so they have to go overseas in their off season and don’t ever get a chance to rest. I don’t watch soccer, and didn’t watch the world cup, but with everything I’ve been reading about the USWNT I wondered if the same was true for them and I’m bummed, but not surprised to see that it is…

    • My understanding is that the USWNT actually gets paid a living wage and makes ton from endorsements.

      The issue is that the minimum for the NWSL is so low ($6000/yr) that its the non-national team players who get shafted. I think it was last years rookie of the year who quit to take a job at Amazon?

      Whether women’s professional soccer survives in the US is another question, and if the league folds they probably will have to go to Europe to play. Luckily, this league seems slightly more stable than the last two…

  16. I almost feel bad for Ruby Rose. Seems like she’s becoming typecast as “sex appeal andro/id do that” for at least the rest of this year.

  17. Danny returned to “Carmilla”, there was some Hollence, and Carmilla was jealous as F-.

    • oh fuck I keep forgetting to watch carmilla somehow. thanks for mentioning it / reminding me!

    • Carmilla continued to be shady as fuck and vaguely jealous in today’s episode. I feel like I know exactly what Carmilla is going to do and I do not like it at all.

      • I feel that that is a theme during this season. Laura is going to be self-conscious of their relationship because of what Mattie says, and Carmilla is going to be self-conscious of their relationship because of Laura and Danny doing the investigation together.

  18. Every picture I’ve seen from the set of Ghostbusters so far makes me so damn excited!!!! :D

    • I’m not even a particularly big fan of the original (though I liked it!) but something about seeing photos of this actually happening makes me SO EXCITED.

  19. As for that Jenny’s wedding trailer: I don’t see the attraction I would like to between Bledel and Heigl, but I have definitely had all of those mom conversations/concerns thrown at me more than once.

    Think I’ll save that one for viewing with my roommates.

  20. That Empire news has me excited! Empire is basically the only show that I believe in with my whole heart right now because of how it didn’t let having an african-american cast stop it from being Gay AF <3 First, Tiana and now there's a lesbian billionaire, my dreams are coming to life before me..

  21. Heather, I trust you so much I watched that whole ridiculous stone quackers video for the fifteen seconds of Miley.
    Bizarre.

    After watching the trailer for Jenny’s Wedding my roommate and I discussed the importance of boring lesbian movies.

    • VERY TRU re: boring lesbian movies. I feel like Alexis Bledel, while an amazing Rory, is not actually that great an actress but I am still super jazzed that this movie is happening?

    • Heather, I trust you so much I watched that whole ridiculous stone quackers video for the fifteen seconds of Miley.

      I did, yes. I would also watch this cartoon if it was called “Stoned Quackers” and Miley voiced one of the main characters. Dare I say I’d watch that more?

  22. so many things to respond to here:

    I got into a FB argument with my cousin who tried to say that the women’s team was just NOT AS GOOD as men’s teams and that’s why they get paid less, because they are no good and no one watches them….EXCUSE ME?

    I’m pretty sure Marisa Tomei is one of my roots so like maybe I’ll start watching Empire

    KATHERINE HEIGL AND ALEXIS BLEDEL ARE GOING TO SMOOCH I FEEL LIKE I’M GETTING PUNK’D IT’S SO EXCITING THAT I’M MAKING A TEN-YEAR-OLD TV REFERENCE

    • Thinking about Rory and Izzy being in love is doing weird things to me. I think 12-year-old me would die of happiness.

  23. Was it just me or do I remember seeing the initial stuff for Jenny’s Wedding what feels like about 5 years ago? Am I crazy???

    • They had to stop for a while to do a Kickstarter to raise money to finish the movie. I believe the principle shooting has been over for a while, but they needed to finish the editing.

      • Oh ok, I thought it was something like that but I couldn’t find anything past only about a year ago (in the whole whopping 2 minutes I spent googling it).

  24. ALEXIS BLEDEL IS PLAYING A LESBIAN IN A ROM-COM ABOUT GETTING MARRIED ALL MY BABY GAY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUUUUUUUE

    I don’t really care about Katherine Heigl slash I don’t think they’ll have any chemistry but ALEXIS BLEDEL Y’ALL. I’m definitely seeing Jenny’s Wedding. It’ll make me cry a LOT but it’ll be worth it.

  25. I may be alone in thinking this but Jenny’s wedding seems like the kind of movie that would have been groundbreaking 15 years ago, but now, not so much. Is there anything to the plot other than ‘two wealthy white ladies are getting married and one of them has a homophobic family’?

    Why can’t we have more decent queer romantic comedies be like Saving Face?

    • This is exactly how I felt about it. I have, in fact, dragged my mother unwillingly through both a wedding of mine she wasn’t very happy about and my coming out which she wasn’t very happy about and I still feel like this movie is already dated and unmotivated. Blah.

    • I was JUST complaining last week about the fact that we only have one movie from Alice Wu, and if she had been a white dude she would have an HBO series by now. Damnit.

    • Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t think it seems dated at all. Maybe this is regional? Here in the midwest it actually seems very timely. This is basically what my partner and I went through when we announced our engagement. Now that gay marriage is legal I imagine that even more couples that were previously closeted in more conservative states are going to want to get married and will have to come out to their families for the first time to do so.

      • Yeah, this would actually make more sense if it seemed like they were from a small town or the midwest or something but isn’t this supposed to take place in New York? I could be wrong but there’s definitely a genteel east coast vibe to that family.

  26. between leighton meester playing a lesbian in “life partners” and RORY GILMORE getting GAY MARRIED, all my young queer fever dreams circa 2005-2007 are coming truuueeeee

    (also, kinda embarrassing story, the first lady i ever admitted to having a crush on was katherine heigl. i was 16 and i was drunk on jaeger! i can’t be held responsible for my confessions!!)

  27. OMG KATHERINE HEIGL AND ALEXIS BLEDEL

    FEELINGS

    also why does alexis bledel still look 15?

  28. I absolutely do not mind being a scubasaurs rex. It sounds like fun, tbh.

    Championship parades are ALWAYS epic. Very jealous that I’m nowhere near NYC for the USWNT one. (Also, happytipsy Pinoe is probably my favorite Pinoe). ALSO also, pay them like the champions they are, dammit!!!

    Katherine Heigl just…rubs me the wrong way with dry hands, idk no thanks.

    I’ll obviously call Melissa McCarthy for all of my ghostbusting needs. Duh.

  29. Hannibal lost me this season, it just got super arty and dark and I’m not getting into it (two eps down, should i continue??)

  30. OMG, I totally read “underwater dinosaurs” as UNDERWEAR dinosaurs. I was like, “scubasaurus Rex, is that an oral sex reference?” So, yeah.

  31. I’m not really a romcom fan, but when I saw that Jenny’s wedding trailer I definitely had strong OMG RORY feelings.

    @jajs and I decided that now that Katherine heigl is playing gay, prolly there should be one with Julia Roberts as a lesbian and hugh grant as her gay best friend. seems like may as well get all the straight romcom stars in on things.

  32. Excited for Jenny’s Wedding. I need more lesbian romcom’s in my life. On an unrelated note, sad there’s no pll this week.

  33. Ruby Rose gets on my nerves; or rather, the straight girl obsession over Ruby Rose gets on my nerves. That Jezebel article about it not making you edgy just because you find Ruby Rose hot really summed it up nicely, I thought. I’ve had a lot of really good conversations about it with one of my friends, who is bi-ish (sexually fluid, labelless, et al, in her words). For me, it’s bothersome because the straight people fawning over Ruby Rose don’t have to deal with the shit that I do/have due to being actually gay. But my friend really hates it because she feels it leads to more people invalidating her sexuality, like “Oh, you think some girls are attractive? Well you’re really just straight.”
    But I mean, I get it. I kind of don’t find her attractive, but hey, accents. I could listen to a South African accent all day, for one. Accents up the attractiveness factor by like ten.
    As for Katherine Heigl…no. NO. Izzy is not, and never will be, welcome in my club.

  34. I’m super disappointed that I didn’t watch the world cup because all the pictures are so beautiful and I used to love soccer and damn it. And now I just see gifs and I guess I could watch it now but it’s nOT THE SAME.

    I had heard about the Alexis Bledel/Katherine Heigl movie months ago but didn’t know it had been funded. Yay! And yay Ellen Page! My obsession with her can continue!

    Also, am I the only one predicting that the Fox SCOTUS movie will be 75% gay men, 25% gay women, 0% other and 90% white couples, 10% QPOC couples? I mean, I guess the case involved a white guy, but still.

    • Watching the final in retrospect would still work, since there were some wickedly cool moves that can still be appreciated afterwards! It’s not a game that lives off of the tension of “What’s going to happen?”, but “Won’t you look at that!?!”

  35. Ughhhh Jenny’s Wedding, I have so many feelings about that trailer, I even wrote a thing about it. Talk about a perfect storm of privilege and heteronormativity, and wtf is with that hug at the end of the long trailer???

    • Right?? It’s like, we’ve established that you’ve been living together and are getting married. You could probably kiss.

      • I know right the whole thing feels like a throwback, like her parents should be calling it “the love that dare not speak its name” and referring to Jenny’s life as “the well of loneliness.”

  36. I was so sad I offered to stay late on Saturday at work because I missed the US vs Japan game. SO SAD. I got text updates from my mother until she fell asleep but I didn’t hear who won until after the shift ended and someone else announced it. (I’m really pissed that they weren’t allowed to play on real grass. Like, not only do they get paid less, but they have to play on dangerous materials???? Unacceptable.)

  37. I’m fascinated by body language stuff. That article about lying was interesting

  38. That bug duck cartoon… Very strange. And now I want chocolate covered pretzels.

    Katherine Heigl, ugh. Liked her in the Grey’s Denny Duquette story, can’t stand her in anything else.

    • Same, I want to get behind Jenny’s Wedding, but I’m not even the slightest bit excited about Katherine Heigl.

  39. I don’t understand why everyone is so nuts over Ruby Rose?!?
    When she was just a local celeb she had a bit of a rep in Sydney for bailing last minute or being difficult at queer community charity events she was invited to…

      • Heather, after laughing out loud at your comment it actually made me seriously think… am I too loathe to reconsider my opinions? Is this a bad thing?
        Then I recalled that I do have a good friend that on first impression I thought was an annoying immature loudmouth, but on getting to know her changed my mind. So it is possible to get back in my good graces… just difficult!

  40. Guess who will very suddenly be getting into Dark Matter. I assume it is in space and as you all know, everybody wears tank tops in space. Sigourney Weaver may have some competition for my heart.

  41. So this morning the Lionesses are having breakfast with Prince William… Not quite the prediction from the England Twitter account. More frustrating was when the guy who tweeted it it mansplained why he had said what he did (blah blah journey blah humanising blah) after he was slammed by the Twitter sphere and newspapers. He even claimed he’d do the same for the men’s team… I call BS. The independent put it as a front page story. Also men were angry tweeting that the women’s team were being called heroes after coming third, regardless of the fact the women’s team has got further in the competition than the men have since 1966, when England’s men won. This was another reason they removed the tweet apparently, not just the blatant sexism. It makes me Ugh at the world.

  42. I completely gave up watching the Good Wife, I can’t even hate watch it and the “replacement” news just cements the rightness of that decision.

    • I just dropped it because life about four episodes into this season, & never heard a good reason to pick it up again. And this after I converted so many people into fans. It used to be the one show I would watch when it was actually on! No more.

    • I think Ruby Rose is great (not my cup of tea, but I’d love to have a beer with her and talk about girls. I see us on a lesbro level in my daydreams) and she would be the perfect choice for a lesbian action star. Now if production companies only saw the money in my female James Bond style script…

  43. Well, I’m fairly ambivalent about Ruby Rose, but very excited that there is a new-ish TV series set in space! I feel like there has been a dearth since Battlestar Galactica finished, which is yeeeears ago now.

    FYI, I would be fully appreciative of a Top Things in Space kind of post.

    • I can recommend “The 100” for space needs. It’s a little teenheavy at times, but it gets better episode by episode and serves some of the classical tradition of science fiction, in that it meditates on some basic human characteritics and concepts.It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot more than I expected.
      And then,of course, there’s always the possibility of a Firefly rewatch..*sigh*

  44. I’m so bummed that the parade is the ONE DAY that I can’t ~take a sick day~ or otherwise bail on work :( Every time I hear about it (like literally right as I’m typing, on WNYC) it’s like a tiny stab in the heart. Wimp womp.

  45. My friend was complaining (rightfully so) that Ruby Rose’s character on OITNB had no characterization, but I was too hypnotized by her lips to respond. So maybe that’s what an entertainment android does?

  46. The Vulture article does a good job good illustrating challenges for women working in Hollywood. It’s important to remember that the most important thing we can do is go see these films (in movie theaters when possible) to demonstrate there is an audience. When money talks, the industry listens.

  47. I was super excited having a lesbian billionaire on Empire but now I get that AND to see Rory in a lesbian relationship which is amazing even thought it’s not with Paris.
    Side note, the Hunger Games posters are kind of weird, but I’ll take it.

  48. I am genuinely excited for Jenny’s Wedding. I am a sucker for rom coms and queer ones just put me over the edge. I am hoping Katherine and Alexis will have more chemistry in the actual movie than the trailer.
    Also, Lioness sounds really, really good. I love that Ellen Page is making so many movies.

  49. Yesssss!!!! USWNT, I enjoyed watching them play all World Cup. The best part is next year they will be at the Summer Olympics so they will be back in our lives soon going for the GOLD!

  50. I get really squicked out when they make biopics/historical movies less than 20 years since said historical event happened…it just feels like it lessens the impact of the actual event and goes straight to “how can we capitalize on this?” It also makes people remember the movie version more than the actual thing that happened. This is how I feel about the SCOTUS-marriage-equality movie. Like, it’s been less than two weeks let me have some time to absorb the impact before you try to sell it to me!

    Also, really worried that this rom com will just put two horrible rom-com-female stereotypes together. Will they both be bridezillas? Argue jealously over each other’s dresses and hair styles? Cry into mutual glasses of wine? Will it address anything remotely resembling actual lesbian lives at all? I’m down with a lipstick lesbian/femme-femme pairing–I just hope they don’t completely muck it up…reminds me of an eye-roll-inducing article I saw the other day claiming that lesbians mostly argue about who gets what clothes/hair/makeup products.

    • Can I have a lesbian wedding flick featuring Melissa McCarthy in that Ghostbusters outfit instead?

  51. Looks like it’s time to catch up on Dark Matter! I’m loving having more sci-fi shows on my DVR. Is anyone watching Killjoys?

  52. NYC Autostraddle Hastily-Thrown-Together Meetup at the ticker-tape parade? (did someone say this already. if so, 10 points to your Hogwarts house of choice.) GO USWNT!!!

    also, I CANNOT WAIT for the new Ghostbusters. it’s gonna be incredible, even if it’s terrible, by nature of who’s in it. AHH

  53. Support for the USWNT and their amazingness are 2 of the things about America I am most proud of.

  54. I posted something about the Patriarchy and the lower pay for the women’s soccer team on Facebook. My uncle says it has nothing to do with the Patriarchy – it’s just that women’s soccer and women’s basketball make a whole lot less money than the men’s teams, apparently.

    … Which of course is a sign of a totally egalitarian society.

  55. but if Aunt May is gay, is she in a bearding marriage with Uncle Ben? or does Aunt Bernice becomes another dead lesbian?

    Also, would a gay non-superpowered supporting character be enough to get me to see a third Peter Parker origin story? (The answer is probably, but it might be the only possible way.)

  56. I’ve wanted Rory Gilmore to be a lesbian for at least the last 10 years, and this is definitely as close as I will ever get.

    Do you think they will ever use the words lesbian or bisexual in this movie? Will they ever kiss? Or will they only say gay and side hug?

    There’s obviously nothing wrong with using the word gay and I use it regularly and often as an adjective (better put on my gay shirt) but I would really enjoy hearing them call themselves lesbians or bisexuals or pansexuals or whatever they identify as.

    I hope they act like they actually like each other in the movie.

    I’m glad we’re still talking about the USWNT. Watching the game while following everyone’s reactions on Twitter was amazing. Those women deserve much more money, recognition, and respect, but at least the internet loves them aggressively.

  57. Kinda want Pinoe to be my best friend after seeing all these celebrations.

    That movie just looks awkward/chemistry less

  58. Just real quick, misread “underwater dinosaurs” as “underwear dinosaurs” and thought that was a super cute but also kind of creepy like, what’s an underwear dinosaur? A dino that loves undies? A person that only loves super old and out of date undies? A dino MADE of undies? So many possibilities…

  59. Why did I just watch this entire bird cartoon lmao..but if anyone else did, did you catch the homage to the movie True Romance at the end?

  60. Hannibal being cancelled makes my heart hurt in a million different ways. whyyyyyyyy :(

  61. Well, I hope Dark Matter is worth it, here goes.

    I like the idea of calling everything “sports” and “men’s sports”. I think I’ll try that and see how people react.

  62. Somehow I missed the roundtable about OITNB’s Chang episode. Thanks for pointing me over there.

  63. Thank you for bringing up the pay gap between the US men’s and women’s national soccer teams. As a crazed soccer fan I’m beyond infuriated by the uneven pay. Lez be honest the men’s team’s performance in the world cup last year was a abomination to the sport. They clearly never heard the best defense is a good offense because they might as well have just hopped on each others shoulders and created a human wall in front of the net and let their opponents fire at will. Whereas we have the now #1 ranked women’s soccer team in the world (#2 going into the world cup) and they’re getting paid jack for winning compared to what the men got for losing in a really embarrassing fashion. Ugh, sometimes I just want to scream at the world.
    Okay, I feel better after that rant.

  64. The new Ghostbusters is filming here in Boston, and I almost went to the open casting call for extras, but was having a bad mental health day that day. I don’t regret putting my wellbeing first, but I keep feeling twinges of wishing I could have gone every time I see a picture from the set! So excited for it!

  65. Ruby Rose is going to make me watch everything I would never watch otherwise. Just beacuse she’s hot. And I’m weak.

    I have conflicting feelings about Katherine Heigl but I’ll watch anyway because I have a soft spot for rom-coms. Lesbian rom-coms? Yes, please.

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