Straight Camp
Review: "But I'm a Cheerleader"
- By Miss Xanna Don't
 In group therapy, Megan is encouraged to find her "root"—the cause for her homosexuality. Like the Lady Chablis matter-of-factly explaining her "T", the punk rock girl of the group (Katharine Towne) simply states, "I was born in France." This is apparently an acceptable root cause at the fictional True Directions. And it's quite humorous. But the reason this film is striking such a chord in our community is that this kind of gay deprogramming is happening in the real life. The night before AGLIFF's free screening and the opening day of the film, Politically Incorrect's Bill Mahr dedicated his whole show to this subject and had as guests Cheerleader's director, Jamie Babbit, co-star of the film RuPaul Charles, and two "ex-gays" from Parents & Friends Christian Ministry, a gay deprogramming organization with over 20,000 ex-gays helping to spread the word through five ex-gay networks nationwide. Lynn Harding, a "former" lesbian of six years, and Anthony Falzarano, their national director and an ex-gay admitting to sleeping with over 400 men, insist that homosexuality is a "consequence of upbringing" and usually the result of sexual abuse in childhood and/or not bonding with a same-sex parent. They liken the practice of any gay sex to an addiction. Their banter seemed as silly as the day-glow rhetoric in the film, but these people are real. An exasperated Bill Mahr, gesturing to RuPaul, finally said, "Tell me this man is not gay!" Ex-gay Anthony admonished that RuPaul's only sin was that he was a lousy dresser, but that the clothes do not make the man. "They do if you're gay," replied Bill Mahr! Anthony even invited RuPaul to come to them if he ever decided he no longer wanted to live the gay lifestyle. So blue is for boys…? No matter, RuPaul looks fabulous in anything…laughing all the way to the box office.
The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival runs from August 24th through September 7th at multiple film venues in Austin, Texas. Politically Incorrect airs weeknights on ABC after your local news and Nightline.
 | | ABOUT XANNA
Miss Xanna Don't is a singer/actress, live music-booking agent, and free-lance writer in Austin's thriving gay community. Her wife, Ann Brown, works for Time Warner's local CNN affiliate. They've been together for over six years. Contact: missxanna@yahoo.com |
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