Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.
by Sarah Warn, AfterEllen.com Editor
The lesbian pop culture column

Friday, June 9, 2006

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
AfterEllen.com is now owned by MTV's Logo. To put to rest all your fears about what this means for the site, here are answers to some of the most pressing questions I've been asked by readers since the announcement: no, I can't get you an audition for the next version of MTV's The Real World or Yo Mamma; yes, a movie starring the new lesbian Batwoman would be a great idea; and yes, I do have Angelina Jolie's home phone number, but I can't give it to you until she's tried to make it work with Brad, for the sake of the children. You understand.

On a more serious note, I've been really touched by the avalanche of congratulatory emails I've received from readers about the news. Thank you all for your loyalty and support! And for those worried that the affiliation with Logo will change the tone of the site: we wouldn't have joined forces with them if we thought we'd have to modify our style, or abandon our beloved practice of making fun of all things lesbian in pop culture.

THE L WORD: WHERE THE LATINAS ARE HOT AND THE ASIANS ARE CRAZY. OR LATINA.
Moonlighting fans rejoice: in a brilliant casting move, Showtime announced this week that Cybill Shepherd is joining The L Word next season for 11 episodes. She'll play a married mother and president of the college Bette's now attending, who begins to question her sexuality.

In more L Word casting news: Janina Gavankar (pictured) has been cast to play a new character named Papi, who according to Showtime's press release, is "a smokin' hot Latino who challenges Shane. Unlike Shane, Papi is competitive, gregarious, loud, bossy and boastful. She canoodles with everyone and competes with Shane."

I love how the Latinas on this show are always "smokin' hot" sex-kitten types. Since Carmen's storyline consisted of a parade of Latino stereotypes, the FTM trans character turned into the worst stereotype of a testosterone-driven man, and the only Asian woman on the show so far has been Marcus-the-sperm-donor's hysterical/crazy Asian girlfriend in season one, I supposed I shouldn't really be surprised. But is the cringe-worthy "Papi" (Spanish slang for "daddy") really the best name we could come up with? Why not just name her "Sexy Latina #2" and forego any attempt at subtly altogether?

I'm sure Gavankar (Barbershop, Barbershop 2) will be a fine addition to the show, but as you may have guessed by her last name, she is not, in fact, Latina--she's Indian American (and one-quarter Dutch). Which begs the question: why not cast an actual Latina actress, or make the character Indian? A South Asian lesbian character would be great, considering how few Asian lesbian characters there are on film or TV. You could even name her "Kama Sutra" to keep the ethnic-stereotypes theme going. Just a thought.

Check out Gavankar's official site here, and read an interview with her here.

LOVESPRING ON LIFETIME
Lifetime debuted a new series on Monday called Lovespring International, a mostly-improvised comedy starring out actress Jane Lynch. The pilot episode was mildly funny, but Entertainment Weekly's short description of the show in their most recent "What to Watch" section was funnier: "Dating-service series with the chick from Best in Show. No, the one who played the lesbian. No, the other one. (Sigh...Jane Lynch, people)."

If you've never seen Lynch's turn as Jennifer Coolidge's girlfriend in Best in Show, I highly recommend it. While Lovespring isn't quite as amusing, it has potential--and it beats watching ABC's Supernanny.