TresSugar

Rihanna Opens Up, Mariah Almost Tumbles, Kate Talks Jon, and Rob Causes Mayhem in Japan!

Molly — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Rihanna breaks her silence with Diane Sawyer and in Glamour. Plus, Mariah Carey jokes about losing her balance on Leno and Robert Pattinson causes a frenzy in Japan. Check out Samantha Ronson on 90210 and Kate Gosselin getting emotional while talking about her split with Jon. Watch PopSugar Rush now!

Where Do You Stand: Being Affectionate With Your Girlfriends

DearSugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:00:00 -0700

There's really nothing better than having a best friend - it's that unbreakable bond that makes for such a special relationship. But if you're a cuddly type, is being affectionate with your gal pal crossing the line of friendship?

Lindsay Lohan and her BFF Samantha Ronson might take it to an extreme, but last weekend Michelle Williams was photographed holding hands with her co-stars at the premiere of Adoration in Cannes in an endearing, supportive sort of way - something that I found very sweet. Now I know some people feel uncomfortable with PDA, but where do you stand on being touchy-feely (in a friendly manor) with your girlfriends?

Source & Bauer-Griffin Online

Butch/Femme: An Introduction

TresSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:00:00 -0700

Samantha and Lindsay. Ellen and Portia. Christine and Cynthia. Thanks to celebrities, the butch/femme dichotomy that is part of some lesbian couples' gender performance is visible even to mainstream Americans who may not think they even know a lesbian. (Samantha Ronson, Ellen DeGeneres, and even Christine Marioni are what the lesbian community would probably call "soft butch." They're more androgynous and tomboyish than they are "tough" and masculine in a macho way.)

As a denizen of San Francisco’s Mission District, for me the butch/femme thing is as much a part of the atmosphere here as Rice-A-Roni and foggy mornings. (OK, I actually don't know anyone who eats Rice-A-Roni, but I digress.) I remember being pretty psyched the first time I saw a very San Francisco lesbian couple walking together - one with a James Dean swagger and pompadour, the other Bettie Paged out with retro clothes and lipstick.

Not all lesbian couples have one person who is femme and one butch, but those who adopt the dress and/or the stereotypical gender roles that go with it - whether they're conscious of it or not - are performing gender, as queer theorist Judith Butler put it.

What does that mean, exactly? To find out, read more.

Performing roles traditionally considered masculine/feminine shows that those attributes are not necessarily expressions of the person's biological sex. You can actually put on and take off femininity and masculinity. And like a lot of performances, it shows that gender can be fun when it's separated from the idea that these attributes are natural or fixed. (Butch/femme also shows that an alpha-male-type guy and his hyperfeminine trophy girlfriend are probably doing the same thing - "putting on" the accoutrements that culture tells them signify masculine and feminine.)

Not everyone in the gay community is cool with butch/femme. Some think that it's just a reproduction of heterosexual roles within gay relationships, but even that, to me, ignores how fluid the roles can be. In the same way a tough-looking guy could be a total sweetheart, and a femme woman a hellion on wheels (hello, Angelina Jolie!), a butch woman could behave in non-macho ways. And don't forget "Femme in the streets, butch in the sheets" - which could be a mantra relevant to straight people, too.

Whether you're straight or gay, what do you think of butch/femme roles?

Have You Ever Had to Take Out a Restraining Order?

DearSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:00:26 -0700

The latest in the Samantha Ronson/Lindsay Lohan saga is that Ronson's family looked into filing a restraining order against Lindsay, for apparently acting erratic and doing drugs. Yikes. Though it sounds like the Ronsons aren't moving forward, restraining orders are no laughing matter.

I have friends who've had to file them against stalkerish guys and in other sticky situations. Is this something you've ever had to deal with or watched a friend deal with? If so, what did you learn from the experience?

Source

Cute Alert: DJ Kitty Spins Some Sick Tunes

TresSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0700

OK - that's an exaggeration. DJ Kitty is merely spinning. But I'd go to her club over Samantha Ronson's any day. (Sorry Samantha. This cat is waay cuter!)

GiggleSugar Interviews Margaret Cho!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0700

When I think of Margaret Cho, I think of her hilarious standup act in flashes of representative scenes. There's Margaret telling everyone how weird it is to be an Asian American on an airplane with a flight attendant offering you Asian chicken salad. ("That is not the salad of my people!") There's Margaret imitating her mother's cute Korean accent and puzzling over gay men and their, uh, interest in "the ass." And then there's Margaret imagining how period-centric the world would be if men menstruated. The busy comedian/activist/all-around rad diva took some time out of her schedule to talk with us about her many projects, including VH1's The Cho Show (the second episode airs tomorrow), what it's like to have a day named after you in San Francisco, and who is hotter: Lindsay Lohan or Samantha Ronson?

Source

To check out the interview (and/or to listen to it!), read more.

GiggleSugar: People feel very connected to you personally. Do you have any funny or crazy fan stories?

Margaret Cho:
People really connect with me for a lot of different reasons. I was the first Asian American person they ever saw on TV, and I was the first person to talk about gay stuff. I think when people see images of themselves in the media they feel like they matter, they exist and they‘re real so a lot of my connection with people who are fans of mine, it goes deeper than just an entertainment or artist kind of relationship, so I don’t really have like, a funny or weird fan story.

GS: You have a lot on your plate right now, particularly with The Cho Show which premiered on VH1 last week. I really love the chemistry you have with Selene, your gay friends, and your parents. It seemed to me like a 21st-century family.

MC: It’s like this beautiful, queer, multicultural, and very functional family. It’s really beautiful.

GS: Can you tell me what your vision for the show was?

MC: Well, I wanted to do a show about another Asian American family because I brought the first Asian American family to TV (All-American Girl) and I then I was alarmed that there had not been another one.

GS: Race, and sexuality and gender have been really central to your work and have inspired lots of people to join comedy who might not have felt like they could be a part of it. What do you think the state of race issues in comedy is these days?

MC:
It’s a big deal. Race is still very much a factor in how much we see of you. Like I look at my contemporaries, the people I started with are people like Ben Stiller, and I feel like, considering the difference in our careers, and how far he goes . . . he’s white, he’s straight, he’s a man. I think he’s great, I like him a lot, but . . .Race is a big factor in how successful people become.

GS: With some comedians I get the sense that they’re saying we’re post-identity, post-race, they think race doesn’t matter as much because now we’re all liberated . . .

MC: No! It’s just as bad as it always was. It’s incredibly sexist, incredibly racist, and incredibly homophobic. There’s no difference. It’s not liberated.

GS: I’m wondering if you saw the pictures of the Spanish basketball team . . .

MC:
Oh, yeah. That to me is so offensive but I feel that to them it was supposed to be affectionate. That’s how you’re affectionate, by showing racism. I think that there’s such a casual attitude towards racism against Asians that exists because I feel like the Asian community at large and especially the Asian-American community is not responsible enough to stand up to it and so I feel like it’s my responsibility to stand up to it.

GS: Who are some of the comics who inspired you and who are some of your favorite comedians now, and why?

MC:
When I was growing up, probably Joan Rivers or Richard Pryor or George Carlin or Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg, Paula Poundstone. Major huge influence. Love her. And now Wanda Sykes is my favorite. Chris Rock. Dave Chapelle. Bobby Lee. I’m a big fan of comedy.

GS: Do you see comedy evolving?

MC: I feel like comedians are becoming political - they’ve always been political - but they’re becoming more political now, and are even invited into the political realm to talk about politics. I’m an Obama campaign surrogate so to me that’s a very exciting thing to do. And so, I think, comedy has evolved and people are taking us more seriously as social commentators. Which is really cool.

GS: This is more a personal question but is also related to your humor. In your earlier shows like The Notorious C.H.O. you talk a lot about your experimentation when you were younger with sex, drugs and being kinda self-destructive. Do you regret any of that or do you think it contributed to who you are now and to your humor?

MC: I don’t regret that. I feel like . . . I want the brain cells back. (Laughs.) That’s the hard part . . .

GS: Don’t we all!

MC: Cuz I remember I used to be so lightning fast and it was like really crazy how smart I was. And now I’m just f*ckin’ so dumb, and I can’t remember sh*t.

GS: I think that’s age, too, cuz I’m right there with you.

MC: Yeah, but it’s f*ckin’ drugs. For me, it was totally drugs. I have huge gaps.

GS: But you weren’t a huffer or anything? (Laughs.)

MC: No, but you know, I did every drug, and a lot.

GS: You were a San Francisco girl, how could you avoid it?

MC: It’s so fun, but I miss the brain cells.

GS: They’ll regenerate. I think. (Laughs.) So, speaking of San Francisco, how does it feel to have a Margaret Cho day christened by the mayor?

MC: That was April 30. That was just last April. It was really cool and I actually work with Mayor Newsom a lot, because he and I are big gay marriage advocates.

GS: And your parents are still in San Francisco?

MC:
No, they moved. They’re in San Diego now.

GS: They’re so cute!

MC: They’re really cute.

GS: Your parents seem so not uptight!

MC: Well, they have their moments of getting super-uptight. They can’t fight their culture all the time. They can be pretty uptight sometimes and annoying. But they’re super-sweet and really fun, too.

GS: How does it feel to be successful and to also remain rebellious? Do you still feel like an outsider?

MC: I’ll always be an outsider because of who I am. There’s never going to be a feeling where I feel like I’ve arrived or I’m comfortable, but I feel like I’ve created my own thing. I love performing, I love doing standup comedy, and I love writing.

GS: You’ve been married for six years.

MC: We’ve been together for like 10. We’ve been married forever!

GS: But you still identify as bi or queer.

MC: For sure. Which I’ll always be. That doesn’t change.

GS: That’s wonderful. Are there any other projects that you’re working on that you’d like to talk about?

MC:
I’m doing a show for the Lifetime Channel now called Drop Dead Diva which is a comedy/drama. I play a legal secretary which is really cool and funny. I have to cover up my tattoos in a suit and be super-vanilla which is cool and which I love. And it’s a great show and then I’m going to finish out my tour dates, and then I’m gonna see if I finish out season two of The Cho Show. (I hope we are!) But we don’t know yet.

GS: What are some things that your fans might not know about you that would surprise them?

MC: Like, I am really a dog mom.

GS: Oh . . . ! [This is where I kept quiet about my cat fetish.]

MC: I have three dogs. They’re my whole life.

GS: Silly questions, now. Either or questions: Strawberry or grape-flavored gum?

MC: I can’t chew gum because I’m such a spaz like I would bite the inside of my mouth so much and bite my tongue and then my whole mouth would be filled with blood. It’s really stupid. I’m really dumb about chewing gum. I’m not sure how to. Sometimes, I’m super dumb about stuff. The other thing I’m dumb about is I don’t know how to do the laundry.

GS: I wish I didn’t know how to do the laundry and then I could make someone else do it. Granny panties or thongs?

MC: Um, I’d say thongs. But I do appreciate a granny panty in moderation.

GS: Lindsay Lohan or Samantha Ronson?

MC: Oooh. I love Samantha. (GS: I know!) MC: She’s such a hot dirty butch. I like her a lot.

MC: That’s it Margaret, thank you so much for your time. I hope to catch your show, Beautiful, in Santa Rosa!

GiggleSugar Best of the Week

GiggleSugar — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Margaret Cho opens up about her inability to chew gum, being married, and what she really thinks of Samantha Ronson.

Cruisin' Cooler Man, on a Sunday afternoon...

Move your boogie body. You heard me, move it!

Lady realllly wants to prove she saw Obamas and Bidens.

Hate the word, but love the video: Cougars: The Manual.

Meet Tessa, the spaghetti eating cat and her mommy Faye, the crazy cat lady to end all CCLs.

Ellen DeGeneres reintroduces Kaiser Permanente kid to his bad habits: SNACKS!

Doggie loves him some trampoline jumping!