Marcia Gay Harden says mothers who don’t accept their LGBTQ children are making a great big mistake: “We need our lesbians! They fix things. They will power wash your back patio. They will change your tires.”
Marcia Gay Harden says mothers who don’t accept their LGBTQ children are making a great big mistake: “We need our lesbians! They fix things. They will power wash your back patio. They will change your tires.”
So. I’m bisexual. I love Marcia Gay Harden’s work. And I would never speak for lesbians if they find this sort of acknowledgment positive. But I personally interpreted a bit along the lines of ‘we need gay men! They do our hair and perform in musical theatre!’
rissaaah on

tigerinvasive on

it’s giving…
jusashowloverdatsall on
so accept them just for labor purposes? 🤨
susandeyvyjones on
All of her kids are queer, I’m hoping they gave her the ok for this
bakasana212 on
only accept your children if their sexual orientation means they’ll be useful to you!
This reminds me of Kelly Osbourne’s “Who will clean your toilets” moment except despite the comment being similarly reductionist towards the value of immigrants, I actually thought Kelly was making a better point about both Trump and the fact that immigrants take on jobs that many Americans will not do.
Like Marcia Gay Harden means well with this, but the thing that should sway mothers to accept their gay daughters definitely is not manual labor.
Groundbreaking-Duck on
This is the kind of joke that *might* work with a queer woman telling it in a standup set or some other very niche context.
Here it does not work.
Individual-Lock-7826 on
Lesbian here. Will not do those things
rabbit_troop on
Reminds me of an old boss of mine, who once called me “dyke-y” because I knew the difference between a flathead and Phillips screwdriver lol
Like, that’s just basic life knowledge. It’s got nothing to do with me being a lesbian. I’m sure plenty of straight women can change their own tires.
wasakootenayperson on
They are not wrong. I do love my clan.
marvel_yellow on
Ok, Deborah Vance.
newleafwiki on
I understand the sentiment but I truly hate these kinds of statements. lesbians shouldnt be protected because theyre useful. they should be protected because theyre human. what about disabled lesbians who need other to have all these tasks and more done *for* them? are they not “needed”? it just irks me.
ryan13ts on
Her heart may be in the right place, but boy oh boy, that doesn’t sound great.
itsathrowawayduhhhhh on
She pretends she needs those things done then finds a lesbian to do them because she wants a sexy lesbian to come over ☺️ she tried lol
No_Mathematician6866 on
Dare to break self-imposed gender stereotypes, Marcia. Wash your own damn patio.
Aklitty on
Capitalism is so entrenched in these people’s brains that even basic empathy has to be transactional
Brave_Friendship_228 on
Her name is Gay so she gets away with it i guess.
Only_Emphasis2996 on
As a lesbian who fixes things my landlord is the luckiest/happiest he’s ever been. Last month me and my partner were in the crawl space fixing the pipes that had been emptyping feces into his crawl space for over a year (before we moved in). No one knew what the smell was 💩. All cleaned, pipes replaced, all fixed. Lesbians (some not all) are very… handy 😜.
AutonomyIsNoTragedy on
Lesbians are valuable because theyre human beings, not because they can do xyz things for you.
LGBTQIA people aren’t objects or servants or free labor, if you’re saying you’re an ally because you want to pressure lesbians to do free labor housework for you after you’ve abused them all their childhood but now you find them useful you’re not an ally or a good parent or a decent person
The tone of this is really disrespectful and self centered. its the same shit as when people only talk about trans people in terms of what we can “teach” cis people about gender norms or whatever while ignoring us and not really caring about our human rights
just the sheer lesbiphobic misogyny is grotesque
HopelessHelena on
We also need our lazy lesbians with close to no talent and our gays who can’t do anything correctly and our trans folks who suck at life and our non binary folks who can barely function ❤️ bad take from Marcia Gay even if I get where she was trying to go with it lol
CuddlyClubCEO on

MarinaBaay on
Just a reminder, positive stereotypes are still stereotypes.
bron685 on
TikTok taught me the handywomen stereotype is a stereotype for a reason, but I would’ve said “they fix things! They start with your house and they work their way up to government to fix structural societal issues. They build community.”
It’s still a generalization, but it could’ve pulled a tired joke out of a nosedive.
Also IME, no one has stronger communities than lesbians
JenningsWigService on
I can’t change a tire to save my life, we’re not all handywomen. Also, she’s 66 years old, I don’t care if she tries a joke that doesn’t land. I wish someone like her had talked my mother into accepting me. I am more annoyed/offended by things that much younger fellow members of the queer community say about lesbians.
jennyvasan on
On the spectrum of things harming queer people, this slight groaner of a statement from a well-meaning old straight lady is pretty low on the list imo
29 Comments
So. I’m bisexual. I love Marcia Gay Harden’s work. And I would never speak for lesbians if they find this sort of acknowledgment positive. But I personally interpreted a bit along the lines of ‘we need gay men! They do our hair and perform in musical theatre!’


it’s giving…
so accept them just for labor purposes? 🤨
All of her kids are queer, I’m hoping they gave her the ok for this
only accept your children if their sexual orientation means they’ll be useful to you!
Ain’t that something.
https://preview.redd.it/v7f497u84d2h1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=13c77e69e02111286e8af016f7af6f3ccdf275d0
This reminds me of Kelly Osbourne’s “Who will clean your toilets” moment except despite the comment being similarly reductionist towards the value of immigrants, I actually thought Kelly was making a better point about both Trump and the fact that immigrants take on jobs that many Americans will not do.
Like Marcia Gay Harden means well with this, but the thing that should sway mothers to accept their gay daughters definitely is not manual labor.
This is the kind of joke that *might* work with a queer woman telling it in a standup set or some other very niche context.
Here it does not work.
Lesbian here. Will not do those things
Reminds me of an old boss of mine, who once called me “dyke-y” because I knew the difference between a flathead and Phillips screwdriver lol
Like, that’s just basic life knowledge. It’s got nothing to do with me being a lesbian. I’m sure plenty of straight women can change their own tires.
They are not wrong. I do love my clan.
Ok, Deborah Vance.
I understand the sentiment but I truly hate these kinds of statements. lesbians shouldnt be protected because theyre useful. they should be protected because theyre human. what about disabled lesbians who need other to have all these tasks and more done *for* them? are they not “needed”? it just irks me.
Her heart may be in the right place, but boy oh boy, that doesn’t sound great.
She pretends she needs those things done then finds a lesbian to do them because she wants a sexy lesbian to come over ☺️ she tried lol
Dare to break self-imposed gender stereotypes, Marcia. Wash your own damn patio.
Capitalism is so entrenched in these people’s brains that even basic empathy has to be transactional
Her name is Gay so she gets away with it i guess.
As a lesbian who fixes things my landlord is the luckiest/happiest he’s ever been. Last month me and my partner were in the crawl space fixing the pipes that had been emptyping feces into his crawl space for over a year (before we moved in). No one knew what the smell was 💩. All cleaned, pipes replaced, all fixed. Lesbians (some not all) are very… handy 😜.
Lesbians are valuable because theyre human beings, not because they can do xyz things for you.
LGBTQIA people aren’t objects or servants or free labor, if you’re saying you’re an ally because you want to pressure lesbians to do free labor housework for you after you’ve abused them all their childhood but now you find them useful you’re not an ally or a good parent or a decent person
The tone of this is really disrespectful and self centered. its the same shit as when people only talk about trans people in terms of what we can “teach” cis people about gender norms or whatever while ignoring us and not really caring about our human rights
just the sheer lesbiphobic misogyny is grotesque
We also need our lazy lesbians with close to no talent and our gays who can’t do anything correctly and our trans folks who suck at life and our non binary folks who can barely function ❤️ bad take from Marcia Gay even if I get where she was trying to go with it lol

Just a reminder, positive stereotypes are still stereotypes.
TikTok taught me the handywomen stereotype is a stereotype for a reason, but I would’ve said “they fix things! They start with your house and they work their way up to government to fix structural societal issues. They build community.”
It’s still a generalization, but it could’ve pulled a tired joke out of a nosedive.
Also IME, no one has stronger communities than lesbians
I can’t change a tire to save my life, we’re not all handywomen. Also, she’s 66 years old, I don’t care if she tries a joke that doesn’t land. I wish someone like her had talked my mother into accepting me. I am more annoyed/offended by things that much younger fellow members of the queer community say about lesbians.
On the spectrum of things harming queer people, this slight groaner of a statement from a well-meaning old straight lady is pretty low on the list imo
Oh, girl. You tried. But no.
We…we are more than our labour….