Kelly McGillis Comes Out: Social Stance or Economic Stunt?
The biggest nonstory of the week is that Kelly McGillis is gay. One of the blogs at The Los Angeles Times titled the post: ‘˜Top Gun’ hottie Kelly McGillis is gay. And no one cares anymore.
Um, no one cared about Kelly McGillis years ago. Thanks to Hollywood, she lost her relevancy by the time she hit the big 4-0. Sadly, this is the case for many female actors in their forties and fifties:
The Screen Actors Guild indicates that about seven of ten feature film roles go to men, with few good roles available for women over forty, while the forties, fifties, and sixties are a male actor’s highest earning years.
We’re an ageist society. I was even hard on her unrecognizable looks after she appeared on The L Word last year. Now though, I have a bit of a soft spot since it sounds like the gay thing has been a life long struggle:
Gay since around 12. Man, that must have been really hard for McGillis, growing up Amish and all.
Ah, she did have a good theatrical run in those early years: Witness, Top Gun, The Accused.
All this makes me wonder if her earning potential will be recharged now that she’s out of the closet. After all, Michelle Clunie and Thea Gill still get paid to show up at gay events and didn’t Queer as Folk end five years ago? We love our lesbian icons!
I’m sure McGillis will be getting an offer to set sail on the next Olivia cruise or maybe even try her hand at stand up during a future Dinah Shore event. Regardless, she has stumbled upon a new queercareer and I hope she makes a few bucks because of it.
Photo credit: latimesblog.
Great comparisons about the gender gap in Hollywood. Good to know that patriarchy is alive and well.
Honestly, I don’t really care that Kelly McGillis came out. It was a big deal when Ellen did it. But I think Ellen’s outing opened the door for a lot of people to come out in Hollywood, and it’s really not headline news ahymore. I guess being Amish could make it hard for someone to come out – not really sure what the Amish believe. If McGillis thinks this might give her career a boost, then I say go for it. Sister’s gotta eat.
Oh, PS: I’m digging the lesbian haircut and all, but homegirl needs a stylist. Maybe some nice WeHo femme could take her under wing to improve her look.
Serena: Good thoughts. I laughed though because you’re too young to get the joke around the Amish reference. You probably were in preschool when the Witness came out. Witness was that Amish movie she starred in with Harrison Ford. Showing my age…
I think it’s still true that any ‘celesbian’ who has the guts to come out (and face mainstream criticism or shunning) needs to be recognized. After all from what I hear most gay celebs are still in the closet.
Congratulations to you Kelly. Yes, you need to ride this new ’15 minutes of fame’ for all it’s worth. Everyone needs to make a living.
BTW, have people forgotten the struggle? It’s never too late to come out. I think Kelly’s story will inspire more women to be themselves.