On 4 Sep 2002 at 7:55, Lori in MD wrote:
> > But personally, I do not like to see this...it belongs at
> > home. Be it homosexual or heterosexual.
>
> You know Bree, if we're talking about intimacy of the heavy make-out
> variety, I agree with you. A few weeks ago I was walking across the
> platform at a train station and a man had his face buried in a woman's
> neck, and he was squeezing her ass ... I was grossed out, and I don't
> usually think of myself as a prude.
>
>
> It's a fucked up attitude, and it's terribly sad still that an
> "artist" in 2002 would tell ANYBODY to refrain from expressing
> affection at her concerts.
>
I don't think Michelle is homophobic. She's just a coward who did an idiotic thing
and
hangs with homophobic people.
Instead of standing up for her fans, she caved to the homophobic responses of bar
owners and "friends." She's not very punk ("f*&k 'em if they don't like it ") nor is
she
very folk ("music for all the people").
Nor is she very good. In fact to say she is marginally talented would be a
compliment. She is utterly forgettable. In fact I saw her in Austin during a
conference and didn't remember it at all until a friend sent me an email with the
letter
reminding me that we went.
>From what I've heard, the action at her shows was pretty heavy, but really, that's
beside the point, I think. If people were behaving inappropriately, gay or straight,
they should have been told right there. A bunch of guys who were threatened
because they saw some women having a better time then they give their own
girlfriends pressured Michelle to respond to their complaints. And not recognizing
the cold reality that her "fan base" is as big as it's going to get, she sent that
letter
instead of just finding an alternate place to play.
All of this is more attention than she would ever get for her music. And surely more
attention than anyone paid to her at her shows.
On a related topic and for those interested, there was an article in the New York
Times magazine a few weeks ago about the sizeable lesbian audience in folk music.
There are some interesting comments from and about Holly Near near the end.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/18/magazine/18FOLK.html
B
n.p.: US Open - Capriati v. Mauresmo
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Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.
