Olivia Colman: “I’ve always described myself to my husband as a gay man.” 🙄

[NaysayerOrMeanie]

Olivia Colman is currently on the press tour for her new film Jimpa and has come out with some absolute corkers in an interview with them "magazine" including:

"Throughout my whole life, I’ve had arguments with people where I've always felt sort of nonbinary. Don’t make that a big sort of title! But I’ve never felt massively feminine in my being female. I’ve always described myself to my husband as a gay man. And he goes, “Yeah, I get that.”"

Which I can only assume means he likes it when she pegs him.

And a dig at some undefined group of naysayers and haters and meanies:

"Most of the actors were from, particularly in the Dutch side of things, from the queer community there; I’ve never been part of a more welcoming group of people. For all those naysayers or haters or meanies, if [only] they could spend the time with the most welcoming, kind bunch of people. I kind of want everyone to just come and say hi and actually feel total love."

Jimpa stars Olivia Colman as Hannah, mother to the non-binary Frances (played by they/them, non-binary, queer, transgender daughter of the film's director, Aud Mason-Hyde) who go to Amsterdam to visit Hannah's gay HIV positive father (John Lithgow, currently simultaneously scorned by the queers for daring to be in the new Harry Potter series, any by the meanies for talking shit about JKR). I'm sure it will be a hoot.

Congratulations Olivia on your brave coming out as a queer, non-binary, gay man, spicy-straight woman. You're so late to the party all the cool kids will find your identity embarrassing now.

Great post.

Re this : '15 years ago I would not have predicted a subculture of gay Jewish nerds pretending to be pagan fascist bodybuilders, but there's no other way to describe the Bronze Age Pervert and his network.'

I laughed out loud when Louise Perry had the ridiculous 'domestic extremist' Peachy Keenan on her podcast (she often has interesting guests, but some are not worth it imo) and Keenan praised the strong, handsome, masculinity of Bronze Age Pervert. Perry should have poked this but she's often a pretty unchallenged interviewer.

Is Constantin Alaramiu Jewish? I didn't know that. I definitely agree that he appears to be gay.

Butch doesn't equal unattractive, anyway.

Butch women look female generally though.

I agree though that Olivia Colman doesn't seem to present particularly androgynously insofar as clothes etc

Agree but imo 'butch' is more about presentation/behaviour than someone's facial features. Someone could have small, feminine features and still dress/act in a butch way.
But clearly Colman doesn't do this,,nor is she a lesbian- or a gay man, for that matter!

Yes, I mean she could be if she were lesbian and dressed/acted that way, but clearly she isn't...

Same!

It's like some think that butch equals a non-conventionally attractive woman with short hair.

Leaving aside the fact that some clearly do see Colman as conventionally attractive, this isn't correct anyway. Butch lesbians might have more androgynous features but not necessarily. Plenty have feminine features, but dress/act in a butch way, because it isn't defined by looks.

The fact short hair= butch to some surely shows how standards of female presentation have been rising since 90s, as pps have said. I have a lesbian friend who is butch and notes that TV shows with a supposed 'butch lesbian' character, this often seems to mean, in the eyes of the writers, a femininely dressed character wearing makeup etc but wearing a leather jacket or similar.

That's what I thought, too. Yes, the Queen often seemed more serious in those years, but surely not all the time, especially in private. The Guardian described her as looking like she was holding in a fart all the time, which was harsh but got at something I was also thinking.

For me the series was saved by the supporting cast of Charles, Anne, Margaret, Diana (Emma Corrin is good imo despite being annoying as hell in real life) but it seemed a shame the Queen' role wasn't filled so well...

I think with reels it's partly because cultural stereotypes & comedy around that are clickbaity and get lots of views. I agree though that it's linked to idpol.

It was 'reclaimed' in the sense that some groups were already trying to, but as you say, this wasn't mainstream or necessarily the right idea. It reminds me of stuff I've read from US black people who've noticed the downward trajectory much of mainstream rap has been taking, and are critical of elements like the supposed 'reclaiming' of the n word.

I think the supposed reclaiming was mostly US, anyway. Queer Nation was US, so was the queercore music movement etc

She’s entitled to say how she feels about herself. Not that it’s relevant to her art or career. Leave the woman alone. An admirable personal admission from OC. But not for us to judge.

Why is it admirable??

Is it? Why?

Stunning and brave of OC, eh?

An admirable personal admission from OC.

Ooh, you nearly got me until this one!

I first saw Ms Coleman in The Crown and after that realised that she used all the same mannerisms in every other role she played, which was weird from my point of view.

Oh no I really love her as an actor but what a load of nonsensical bullshit she is now spouting!
it’s insulting to women and gay men.
I must have missed the memo that to be a woman I have to conform to bullshit stereotypes of what a woman must be. How disappointing…

She is free to say what she wants but when she does so in a media outlet that is published worldwide on the internet people are equally free to comment. Especially when what she said was stupid.

Best thing she's ever done is that Warburtons ad.

I agree!

Clearly not. But why should one imagine an actor has common sense, or any sense?

TBH I’ve never understood why there are so many interviews with actors, singers, TV personalities and other celebrities - rather than scientists, campaigners, charity leaders and other people who might have more useful and interesting things to say.

There are quite a few people who wang on about their supposed 'Irishness', I've met a few in my time. And they tend to be insufferable prats.

I thought she was very good in the Night Manager, too. I think it’s the first thing I’ve actually seen with her in, and was well aware of her luvvie “be kind” nonsense, so not that well disposed towards her as a person, but I found her much more watchable than say Emma Thompson - who is always so, so Emma Thompson.

Thank you for your info re the book - it was so bleeding obvious that Jed, and Sophie, were written by a man who doesn’t conceive of women as full human beings, but rather appendages to “real”, ie male, humans, so I wondered if Colman’s role had been written as a man initially and changed for the TV version to a woman, and indeed it was. Le Carré is certainly old school.

She's entitled to say it, and we are entitled to think she sounds like a right twit.