Lez Keep It Real

Today’s Come Out & Play post spotlights Alice, a well-known character from the L Word.

Back in season one, when the L Word was at its best (in my opinion) or maybe it was season two, possibly even season three - I can’t remember. Whatever the season, on some random road trip each character described her coming out story and Alice’s was the best by far. Though Dana’s rivaled it (maybe I’ll post Dana’s next week!)

So here it is, in all of it’s glory - Alice’s coming out story:
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This week’s Notable Lesbian is:

Sue Wicks
November 26, 1966 -

Sue Wicks is a former professional basketball player for the WNBA. She played for the New York Liberty from 1997 (the league’s inaugural year) to 2002. Currently, she is an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY. In 182 WNBA games played, Wicks scored 823 points, for a total of 4.5 points per game, had 182 assists for one assist per game, recovered 788 rebounds, for a total of 4.3 per game, and had 158 blocks, for a total of 0.90 blocks per game. She finished her WNBA career as the number eight leader of all times in shots blocked. Wicks was one of the few players willing to discuss lesbianism (Wicks herself is openly lesbian) in the WNBA during her career. “I can’t say how many players are gay,” noted Wicks in a 2000 Village Voice article, “but it would be easier to count the straight ones.”

Interesting tid bit:
Wicks played for Rutgers University from 1984 to 1988. While at Rutgers, she was named a Kodak All-American in 1986, 1987 and 1988, and in 1988 she won the Naismith, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Women’s Basketball News Service and Street & Smith’s National Player of the Year awards. Wicks was named to the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2005. She is only one of two Rutgers women’s basketball players to have her jersey retired.

“I like it when they give insight into athletes, and I think it’s great when they say, ‘Here’s a player and her husband and baby.’ But I’d love to see a couple of women profiled, too, especially if they had a great, solid relationship, just to show that in a positive light.” ~ Sue Wicks on the fact that the WNBA almost exclusively promotes ball players who are moms or married.

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, e-maill me at lyndsey.darcangelo@451press.net or use the contact form above and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

sue wicks, wnba, new york liberty, rutgers university, st. francis college, lesbianism, village voice

As most of you know, I was in North Carolina this past weekend visiting my best friend from childhood. She and I have known each other since we were nine years old. I feel very lucky to have that kind of friendship in my life. We’ve been through all of the awkward moments of high school, the learning experiences of college, the reality of “real” life, relationships, my coming out, her parents divorce - basically everything - together. This time last year, she got married. And her husband whisked her off to North Carolina about five months later. No, I’m not bitter. I’m happy for her. And I was happy to see a little glimpse of the new life she is living.

ANYWAY, her husband and I were talking about gay marriage one night out on their patio with a couple of beers by our sides. He said that he believes our generation is much more accepting, that views have changed. So, after he went to bed at about 1 a.m., I went on to the 451 Press forums and started a thread. I wanted to take a poll out of the 451 Press writers to see who thought what, and to put my best friend’s husband’s theory to test.

Here is what some people said …

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Since Friday’s post was about me and my Labor Day Vacation, I’ve moved the Come Out & Play series post to today! I’m back from North Carolina and ready to get back to posting. I apologize to those of you I kept in great suspense … here is the final part of Marco’s coming out story!

Today’s Come Out & Play post spotlights Marco, a well-known character from the hit show, Degrassi.

Basically, Degrassi is a totally awesome show! (That’s my inner 80’s child coming through!) There’s an openly gay character on the show named Marco DelRossi. His inner struggle with coming out was made into a two-part episode a couple of years ago. It was brilliantly scripted and just as wonderfully acted. Other episodes followed, revolving around his coming out to his family and friends. I thought I’d show it as a series, breaking it down in video clips from YouTube.

Remember the days when you’d watch a film in class, knowing you wouldn’t have to sit through another lecture for at least a week because that’s how long it would take to get through the film in the amount of time the class allotted. Well, think of this as a Come Out & Play 101 film! It’s broken up into nine parts.

(If you are confused and missed the introduction of Marco’s story, go here for a refresher. To view the other parts of Marco’s story, click on the Come Out & Play category on the right hand side to watch parts 1-8!)

This is the final part of Marco’s story:

I hope you enjoyed this series involving Marco from Degrassi.

Tune in every Friday for the Come Out & Play series, featuring coming out stories of celebrities, every day people, personal reflections, advice, tid bits and everything else concerning the complicated world of coming out!

Got an interesting coming out story to tell? Contact me and I will feature it in an upcoming post of Come Out & Play.

degrassi, marco delrossi, come out play, coming out story, canada, gay and lesbian issues