Ellen DeGeneres can be counted as the most popular lesbian icon in the popular culture. She came out of the closet on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1997, making her one of the most ‘out’ lesbian woman in the television world. She is famous for her observational humour , and now she is having her own television show ‘the Ellen DeGeneres show’. In 1982, she was named Showtime’s funniest person in America , after she debuted her career back in the 1981.
Her success is not as smooth as we imagine. When she came out in 1997, the tv company ABC cut the budget of her show because it is considered uncomfortable to watch an openly gay female being the subject matter. This situation can be related to the workplace discrimination that the LGBT community is facing now, and it’s now 2016, things don’t change much. However , Ellen DeGeneres managed to survive and remain popular and successful. Her show was canceled in 1998, and Ellen returned to stand-up comedy.
In 2001, she returned to television in CBS. Among the LGBT community , she is considered as a gay woman who is able to gain success and fortune. Her professional career was once killed by ‘coming out’ , and she said she was left ‘mired in depression ’. Women often find it difficult to succeed in the men’s world , especially when you are in the television , a woman ought not to be standing out as a lesbian but not a sexual appealing object.
Now she’s married to her girlfriend Portia de Rossi in California , and she’s an active member in PFLAG. Her story reminds us,especially the lesbian , to be fearless and not afraid to stand out.
Written by Chan Wan Yu