Rose McGowan Clarifies Gay Misogyny Statement Using The Golden Girls
In the latest chapter of the internet's favorite e-book, Human Obliterates Valid Point with Bumbling Delivery, actor Rose McGowan recently took all the gay men that you can think of—all that your eye could see, all that you could grease up with Crisco and fit in an infinite amount of Olympic size swimming pools—to task during a recent episode of Bret Easton Ellis's podcast. "Gay men are as misogynistic as straight men, if not more so. I have an indictment of the gay community right now, I'm actually really upset with them," McGowan said.
McGowan arrived on the topic while defending her choice to defy the boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel this summer by throwing a party there. That hotel is owned by the sultan of Brunei, which implemented a sharia law penal code earlier this year that includes prescribed stoning for those convicted of sodomy.
McGowan went on to voice her displeasure in what she sees as gays' apathy toward other causes, saying that she had "heard nobody in the gay community, no gay males, standing up for women on any level." She eventually landed on: "I see now people who have basically fought for the right to stand on top of a float wearing an orange speedo and take molly. [Gay misogyny] is a huge problem."
Pink News's report on her words sent shockwaves across the internet, particularly its gay population, who sighed a coordinated sigh and thought a coordinated thought: "You were in Jawbreaker—we thought you were our friend."
Later in the day, McGowan took to The Advocate's site to clarify her words, which she up top called a "dumb generalization."
"Could I have articulated my frustration in a better fashion?" she wrote. "Undoubtedly. For that I apologize, but I stand by my overall point. The rights that have been earned by the community are simple civil rights."
Yeah, fair enough. It's probably never a bad time to remind people that their subjugation doesn't get them off the hook for subjugating others, and that their issues aren't the only issues. Are gay men misogynists? Well, some are, sure, and that's not something you hear people talking about very often. But let this be a lesson to everyone—a lesson I hoped people would have gleaned from the Dear White Gays: Stop Stealing Black Female Culture debacle from this past summer—that the way to be heard and enact change isn't by shouting generalizations addressed to a group that you aren't part of. As frustrated as you may be, as much of a point as you may have, the people that you want to hear it aren't going to be receptive when addressed like that. That is a generalization you can take to the bank.
It is also worth highlighting this hilarious paragraph in McGowan's op-ed:
Here's a small example of being the change you want to see: I was with a gay man the other night who was talking about the sexually liberated Blanche Devereaux of The Golden Girls. He was going on about what a slut she was. I asked why he'd say that so thoughtlessly. If I'm not supposed to say (and I don't) "that's so gay," surely this man can start thinking about why it's acceptable to slut-shame. He thanked me for opening his eyes. This is how we do this, one on one. Catch it when it's happening, and challenge it.
Each one teach one. Of course, Blanche was a slut, which is one of the things that made her awesome. Nothing wrong with being a slut if you do it ethically, but that, I suppose, is a lesson for another day.
[ Image via Getty]