The Rise Of Ruby Rose: Why Gay Girls Are The New Black
Holy hell, I can't ever recall a time in the entirety of my gay existence when being a lesbian was so en vogue.
It feels as if the very moment that the undeniably sexy creature that is Ruby Rose graced the television screens across the great expanse of our country, a generation of American women are finding themselves questioning their sexuality.
The astounding instant stardom of Ms. Rose seems to have had a widespread ripple effect:
Lesbians are ever so suddenly splashed across the surface of the media. And I'm not talking about the gay media, but the heterosexual media.
Seemingly overnight, American pop culture has discovered what gay women have known all along: Our community is teeming with hot sex and palpable lust.
And not in the fake porn way, in an authentic way, the unique sex appeal that's exclusive to sapphic ladies.
I didn't see lesbians depicted in the media until Showtime's “L Word” my senior year of high school and as haplessly clichéd as it may sound to the tired gay ear, it had a major impact on my acceptance of my sexual orientation and catapulted my journey of coming out.
It was the first time I ever saw lesbians as whole human beings with fully realized sex lives, fierce personal style and thriving careers.
Some people hated the "L-Word" calling it an overly glamorized, Hollywood perspective of the gay woman's lifestyle; however, 17-year-old baby lesbian Zara feverishly loved it.
Even then I had accepted everything you see on television is a heightened version of reality anyway, gay or straight.
Isn't that part of the reason we're so addicted to watching television and movies? Because it's better than real life? Isn't that why it's the great escape? Why should LGBTQ+ content be any different?
Since the "L-Word" has been out of our lives (after an impressive six seasons) for the better part of a decade, we gay women have been pretty off the damn radar in the heteronormative world.
In fact, most straight people I encounter seem to be shocked when I tell them I'm gay.
It's like they're meeting a strange and extinct exotic creature that is wildly elusive, a usually stowed away member of a secretive society.
They seem to be brimming with questions. Sometimes it feels like straight people think we are ritualistic witches who burn bras and dance around mystical fires in our free time until the very recent --
Rise Of Ruby Rose
Ever since the gorgeously handsome face of Ruby Rose began to seductively tango its way across the Internet, I've gone from being a confusing sexual conundrum to a super trendy dyke.
It's like I went from being a typical lesbo to a more chic le-beau over the span of the weekend.
Straight girls are obsessed with Ruby Rose (apparently, according to my female coworkers, she attains the perfect balance of both masculinity and femininity -- and, of course, those irresistibly pillowy lips would make any person of any orientation or gender question his or her sexuality).
Men are in awe of her power over women, gay boys are confused by their attraction to her, and lesbians are split: half are teeming with jealousy over her prowess and the other half have been following her for years and are amused by the fact that the straight girls are only now catching on (I'm the latter).
It's left me wondering:
Are Gay Girls Are The New Black?
While I've heard a few snarky remarks from The LGBTQ+ Police regarding the newfound trendiness of our usually secretive gay culture, I will confess that I find this sudden smattering of attention to be both empowering and exciting.
Visibility Is Validating To Closeted Teenagers
LGBTQ+ visibility is so important for vulnerable members of community, in particular the youth.
Being on trend shows the slew of closeted Queer Babies residing in towns without a population of openly gay people that we do, in fact, exist! That we are here, queer and oh-so-worthy of media attention.
While a lot of LGBTQ+ entities are fiercely protective of keeping our culture strictly underground -- they are forgetting that not everyone has the luxury of living in places with an underground scene at all.
When you're trapped in a tiny homophobic high school without a surplus of Queer counter-culture dance parties, seeing your sexuality thrust into pop-culture is so validating.
Women Are Questioning Their Sexuality Like Never Before
While most lesbians roll their eyes at the straight infatuation with Ruby Rose, I think it's sort of cool.
She's causing heterosexual women to question their definition of what's sexy.
Why shouldn't we expand the sexual spectrum? What's wrong with a person discovering something new and being turned on by it?
There is such a colorful array of beauty in the world and the more alternative beauty is widely represented, the more we can accept and embrace things that are different.
Maybe seeing the wide approval of Ruby Rose has opened up a formerly repressed attraction to females in other women—and I think that's awesome. I think it's healthy to question your sexuality and be open to venturing outside the confines of your label.
I Like Having Content That Turns Me On
I'm a lesbian, which means I get turned the f*ck on by watching two women together. It's a fact of life, and nothing could possibly change that.
Not only am I a lesbian — I'm a lesbian with a sky-high sex drive. In the past, it felt like society was under the false impression that gay women are sexless creatures who replace the holding of hands with having sex.
That without the presence of a d*ck (pardon my forwardness, but I can't seem to conjure up a polite way to say it) there is no way you could really get off.
If you want to see two women together on the television your only option was ridiculous porn made for and directed by straight men (I'm NOT man hating, it's just a reality).
Shows like "The L Word" and "Orange Is The New Black" and even the docu-drama "The Real L Word" has provided mainstream content that I can relate to.
The have accurately showed the incredible vibrations of sexual tension that exist between two women.
Our media presence has, for the first time, begun to represent lesbians as sexual beings, which we are.
Trends Are Powerful Tools For Social Change
While the recent influx of gay women and media attention is most likely nothing more than a sweeping trend that will surely die out, I'm grateful for it.
The surplus of conversation this “trend” has sparked regarding sexuality and equality in the past week alone, is nothing short of awesome.
And the social effects of LGTBQ+ visibility are life saving to those who feel painfully alienated.
Gay girls serving as the new black will not only help people accept who they are, but those who are different from them.
Never underestimate the power of something as seemingly simple as a "trend" to inspire necessary societal change in the world.
