Hi Lea! Thanks for doing this AMA. More importantly, thanks for being your wild, wonderful self, in real life as a celebrity (I mean I don't know you personally, who knows, you could be really quiet and demure) and on TV. I honestly can't think of any other butch characters I've seen on TV or in movies (outside the LGBT genre anyway) who hasn't been some macho caricature or been "feminized" or met with some terrible end.
As a butch lesbian, it's so nice to FINALLY see someone who looks like me on TV - someone who isn't solely there to be the butt of a joke, but is a human with both flaws and good traits. Even most LGBT-geared media shows - including The L Word - depict nothing but "lipstick lesbians" or femme tomboys.
I really enjoyed learning more of Boo's back story during season 3 of OITNB. As a baby butch, so much of the story - parental pressure to conform to a feminine ideal, the street harassment, the swagger and anger used as a defense against the 'phobic world - really resonated with me, because most of those things have happened to me, too.
I see elsewhere in this AMA that you say that the Boo/Carrie character was heavily informed by your personality and mannerisms, so I'm curious to know how much of Boo's back story was directly informed by your own life. Did you share your own experiences with the writers while that episode was being written?
I hope this question reaches you and isn't buried under the comments of a thousand adoring fans. Thanks again for visiting us on Reddit today!
PS. My new favorite Big Boo line/scene is "A very hetero hello to all of you." I laughed so hard I cried!
BoogieBot977 karma
Hi Lea! Thanks for doing this AMA. More importantly, thanks for being your wild, wonderful self, in real life as a celebrity (I mean I don't know you personally, who knows, you could be really quiet and demure) and on TV. I honestly can't think of any other butch characters I've seen on TV or in movies (outside the LGBT genre anyway) who hasn't been some macho caricature or been "feminized" or met with some terrible end.
As a butch lesbian, it's so nice to FINALLY see someone who looks like me on TV - someone who isn't solely there to be the butt of a joke, but is a human with both flaws and good traits. Even most LGBT-geared media shows - including The L Word - depict nothing but "lipstick lesbians" or femme tomboys.
I really enjoyed learning more of Boo's back story during season 3 of OITNB. As a baby butch, so much of the story - parental pressure to conform to a feminine ideal, the street harassment, the swagger and anger used as a defense against the 'phobic world - really resonated with me, because most of those things have happened to me, too.
I see elsewhere in this AMA that you say that the Boo/Carrie character was heavily informed by your personality and mannerisms, so I'm curious to know how much of Boo's back story was directly informed by your own life. Did you share your own experiences with the writers while that episode was being written?
I hope this question reaches you and isn't buried under the comments of a thousand adoring fans. Thanks again for visiting us on Reddit today!
PS. My new favorite Big Boo line/scene is "A very hetero hello to all of you." I laughed so hard I cried!
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