{"id":65406,"date":"2018-03-05T14:25:28","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T19:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/call-me-by-her-name-daniela-vega-st-vincent-and-the-oscars-moment-lgbtq-women-deserve\/"},"modified":"2018-03-05T14:25:28","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T19:25:28","slug":"call-me-by-her-name-daniela-vega-st-vincent-and-the-oscars-moment-lgbtq-women-deserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/call-me-by-her-name-daniela-vega-st-vincent-and-the-oscars-moment-lgbtq-women-deserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Call me by her name: Daniela Vega, St. Vincent, and the Oscars moment LGBTQ women deserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Call me by her name: Daniela Vega, St. Vincent, and the Oscars moment LGBTQ women<\/a> deserve<\/b><\/p>\n

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Have LGBTQ women<\/a> ever experienced ultimate Academy Awards glory? In short\u2014not really. But if last night\u2019s LGBTQ representation is any indication of the trajectory of the Oscars, the future might be female<\/a>.<\/h2>\n

In order to understand the meaning of last night\u2019s widespread LGBTQ representation, we must remember the past. The most celebrated films featuring queer women<\/a> in recent history were\u00a0the 2010 film, The Kids Are All Right<\/em>, and the 2015\u00a0film, Carol<\/em>. While Carol<\/em> was nominated in six categories, and The Kids Are All Right<\/em> was nominated in four categories, including Best Picture, neither received a single award on their Oscars nights. Other recent notable LGBTQ films centering around stories of women<\/a>, including\u00a0Blue is the Warmest Color<\/em> and Tangerine,<\/em> have similarly been snubbed\u00a0at the Oscars.<\/p>\n

Last night, however, Daniela Vega made LGBTQ history at the 90th Annual Academy Awards. Vega, the star of Chile’s\u00a0A Fantastic Women<\/em>, first took the stage as part of the team accepting the Best Foreign Language Film award and later, as a presenter to introduce Sufjan Stevens as a musical performer. As Vega walked\u00a0the stage, she carried the immense, historical weight of being the first-ever openly transgender woman<\/a> to present at the Academy Awards.<\/p>\n

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.@danivega<\/a> is the first out trans<\/a> actress to present an award at the #Oscars<\/a>. She is also the star of A Fantastic Woman, nominated in Best Foreign Language Film (and also nominated at the #glaadawards<\/a>). t.co\/yvU4hh7io1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 GLAAD (@glaad) March 4, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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A Fantastic Woman<\/em>‘s win and Vega\u2019s on-stage moments\u00a0are just a few examples of\u00a0strong and diverse LGBTQ representation<\/a> at the 2018 Academy Awards. This year, Lady Bird<\/em>, The Shape of Water, Call Me by Your Name, A Fantastic Woman, Strong Island, Mudbound, Coco, <\/em>and The Greatest Showman<\/em>\u00a0all featured LGBTQ nominees on screen and\/or in production. The show also featured many powerful\u00a0LGBTQ-inclusive moments, including Janet Mock’s apperance in Common and Andra Day’s performance of\u00a0 \u201cStand Up for Something,\u201d\u00a0Debra Chasnoff’s touching memoriam, and more.<\/a><\/p>\n

In an industry that features such limited and often defamatory\u00a0transgender representation\u00a0in major studio productions<\/a>,\u00a0Vega\u2019s presence and platform shines a much-needed light on transgender talent in film. In addition,\u00a0Yance Ford, a Black transgender man<\/a>, was the first openly transgender director ever nominated for an Academy Award\u00a0in the Best Documentary Feature category. Both of these historic firsts\u00a0invite viewers to recognize the brilliance and potential of transgender industry professionals who have\u00a0historically been shut out from Hollywood\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

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Vega\u2019s role as Marina in A Fantastic Woman<\/em> is stunning\u2014and if you have not seen it yet, what are you waiting for!\u2014but it was her role as a presenter that made the most on-stage history. Let\u2019s just break it down: a transgender woman<\/a>, who is the centerpiece lead in an Oscar-winning film about a transgender character, introduces a performance of the Oscar-nominated song about queer love in an Oscar-nominated queer-centric film.<\/p>\n

This. Moment. Was. LGBTQ. Magic.<\/p>\n

But if you weren\u2019t looking closely you may have missed an important addition to Sufjan\u2019s performance. That addition was Annie Clark aka St. Vincent,\u00a0an openly queer woman<\/a>, playing guitar and singing alongside Sufjan in their touching performance of \u201cMystery of Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Objectively speaking\u2014of course\u2014St. Vincent is a queer rock goddess, and her presence on stage during this historic Oscars moment matters too. Bringing in St. Vincent\u00a0allows us as queer women<\/a> to grab hold of Call Me by Your Name<\/em> and claim it as a narrative that we own too.<\/p>\n

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The song \u201cMystery of Love,\u201d appears in the film Call Me by Your Name<\/em>\u00a0in a dream-like sequence showcasing a getaway trip for the main characters,\u00a0Elio and Oliver. During this montage,\u00a0the audience is invited into a world of queer love that is out in the open and unafraid, a stark contrast in tone from the film\u2019s more repressed earlier\u00a0scenes.<\/p>\n

By itself, the song is powerful, but within the context of Call Me by Your Name<\/em>, \u201cMystery of Love\u201d is heartbreaking in the most beautiful way. From the plucky intro to the whispery first lines, \u201cOh to see without my eyes the first time that you kissed me,\u201d \u201cMystery of Love\u201d engulfs the listener in a contemplative yet blissful memory of young love.<\/p>\n

Hearing \u201cMystery of Love,\u201d while watching Elio\u2019s feelings bloom, took me back to strikingly familiar moments in my coming out experience. I, too, was wrought with an intoxicating combination of shame and excitement as I fell in love for the first time. This exploration was at the same time painful and peaceful, as I finally felt the feelings of love and deep connection I had long longed for… yet for so long had resolved would always remain unrequited.<\/p>\n

Seeing Elio experience the\u00a0same dark and beautiful moments was cathartic for me, as I now live<\/a>\u00a0a very open and happy\u00a0life as a queer person. It was difficult to recall those memories, but it’s important for me to recognize that my painful past is still a reality for so many young LGBTQ people. This is what invigorates me to work harder to be a part of the movement of increasing LGBTQ representation in the media. When we as LGBTQ people\u00a0are seen as the fully realized humans that we are, our stories can\u00a0push culture forward and change lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Call Me by Your Name wins Best Adapted Screenplay at Oscars t.co\/06ebpLMbYO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Call Me by Your Name<\/em> focuses keenly on the nuances of queer\u00a0intimacy, yet the film\u2019s emotional power lies in its ability to resonate with\u00a0a wide audience. Call Me by Your Name<\/em> joins Boys Don’t Cry<\/em>,\u00a0Brokeback Mountain, <\/em>and Moonlight,<\/em> as some of the most critically acclaimed\u00a0Oscar-winning LGBTQ focused films of the last twenty years. However, we should not allow ourselves to believe that we as an LGBTQ community have found ourselves wholly represented in the Academy quite yet. While these films represent\u00a0distinctly powerful stories, they all either center around fictional queer and\u00a0cisgender men<\/a> or include\u00a0transgender characters played\u00a0by\u00a0cisgender actors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Celebrating queerness on Hollywood\u2019s biggest stage cannot only recognize\u2014and therefore only affirm\u2014queer male<\/a> love.The queer experience belongs to women<\/a> and non-binary people just as much as it does to queer men<\/a>. And while there are many factors that play into why The Kids Are All Right<\/em>,\u00a0Carol<\/em> and other LGBTQ-women<\/a>-led films are not winning, we are still left with the same conclusion: LGBTQ women<\/a> deserve Oscar gold, and we cannot cease sharing our stories until we are given the same opportunities and accolades as everyone else.<\/p>\n

\"\"Clare Kenny is a Campaigns Manager at GLAAD.<\/strong>\u00a0She leads GLAAD’s Youth Engagement including the Campus Ambassador Program, Rising Stars Grants Program, and amp series. Clare is a graduate of Skidmore College.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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March 5, 2018<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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