Celeb mags are
all agog: Lindsay is either lesbian, bisexual, or just
another straight girl engaged in an elaborate -- albeit
genius -- publicity stunt. But really, what difference
does it make?
It used to be so
easy to psychoanalyze Lindsay Lohan. All the trappings
of young fame were right there: the box office successes,
the forgettable pop music, the overbearing stage
mother, the troubled father, and a revolving door of
famous boy toys who kept her company as her heady
Hollywood life spiraled out of control. The shock we felt as
she squandered our goodwill with stints in rehab,
cocaine-fueled car crashes, paparazzi shots of her
bare crotch, and an increasingly irritable demeanor
was warranted -- after all, wasn’t this cute young
thing from Long Island supposed to be the antithesis
of a celebutard? But it was never easy to look away,
and after a while it started to feel as if she
didn’t want us to.
We’ve
obliged: We’re still watching Lindsay Lohan’s
story unfold, thanks to the battalion of tabloid
magazines and celebrity-oriented websites that
routinely trample the boundaries between keeping tabs on her
diminished career and chronicling her every waking moment.
In the past year, we’ve watched as she’s
taken up what appears to be a serious relationship
with 31-year-old DJ Samantha Ronson, an out lesbian. And
here’s where it gets interesting: Lohan, one of the
preeminent young starlets of her generation, seems to
have entered into this same-sex relationship with
little to no fallout. What does it say about evolving
attitudes in the media -- and among the public at
large—that Lindsay Lohan is suddenly living
lesbian and the news has barely caused a stir?
The press has
covered Lindsay and Samantha’s union with almost
unheard-of restraint. After months of media
speculation about their ongoing outings -- using code
words and phrases like “inseparable
companions,” “more than just
friends,” “BFFs,” and “gal
pals” -- People magazine has finally
gone full-bore with a two-page spread devoted to the couple
in its August 4 issue headlined lindsay in love. The
article -- featuring five pictures of the duo
variously holding hands, blowing kisses, and beaming
as they share ice-cream cones -- all but confirms their
status as lovebirds, even if Lohan and Ronson have yet
to do so themselves: More than a year after they were
first spotted club-hopping, neither woman has publicly
commented on the exact nature of their relationship. Their
obfuscation has only been magnified by comments from
Lohan’s press-happy family. Her father,
Michael, told the New York Daily News in May,
“Lindsay’s life choices are up to her.”
Her mother, Dina, spent months refuting the rumors but
appeared to backtrack in July when she told reporters,
“They’re great friends, and as long as my
daughter is happy and healthy, it is what it
is.”
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