Evan Rachel Wood, who played the lesbian daughter of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, says she dates both men and women. In an interview in the May edition of Esquire magazine, Wood says “I’m into anything. … Meet a nice guy, meet a nice girl…” She once dated bisexual rocker Marilyn Manson and starred alongside fellow averred bi gay Anna Paquin on True Blood but has never been linked to other women. But when asked if she dates women, she said simply, “Yes.”
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Of course she is…she has a movie coming out.
Am I gonna have this discussion with every writer for Dallas Voice? I feel like I’m on repeat constantly. Why is this headline so ambivalent? You might as well said “Evan Rachel Wood ‘says’ she bisexual but we’re not really sure b/c you can never believe those bisexual people”. Why no orientation-affirming words for Ms. Wood like this paper used for Ricky Martin or Chely Wright or Meredith Baxter when they all came out? Oh and she can’t be bi b/c she’s never been linked to another woman? Did you have to get caught in a bath house to confirm your gayness? I am really frustrated with the wording of news when it comes to bisexual celebrities coming out. Rant over 🙂
Signed,
The Frustrated (but Certain) Bisexual
Really, you’re demanding that bisexuals produce blood stained sheets to prove that their queer virginity has been pierced before you can take them at their word? Would you be questioning her sexual orientation if she came out as a “lesbian”, despite having dated Marilyn Manson (who is hardly a model of stereotypical heterosexual masculinity himself)? I doubt it. Bah. Shame on you. I’m sure that if you actually gave a damn, it wouldn’t be that hard to hunt down some of her past and/or current female dates. Given the heterosexist bias of the American media, I’m sure she’s been on plenty of “dates” that haven’t tripped anyone’s radar, whereas, everytime she shows up anywhere with a man, the assumption is that they’re dating.
As the person who wrote the headline, I would argue that the use of the verb “says” is merely a matter of attribution, as opposed to a sign of some anti-bisexual conspiracy. When someone says something, we typically report that they SAID it. For example, when a city council member says they are going to vote against something, we report that they SAID they are going to vote against it. We don’t report that the ARE going to vote against it. It’s semantics, really, but in journalism we attribute more often than not. Perhaps a better headline would have been, “Evan Rachel Wood comes out as bisexual.” It’s a little longer but it probably would have fit. Ultimately, though, I don’t see much difference.
@John I would agree it is totally about semantics but it does matter. I looked up past DV blogs for Ricky Martin and et al before I posted. I didn’t wanna come off as a paranoid bisexual who thinks everyone is out to insult her identity. In all the postings, it uses the term “comes out”. Even the headline for Anna Paquin is “says she’s bi.” Just a pet peeve and I wouldn’t be a good advocate if I didn’t point it out.