Ellen Lee DeGeneres of The Ellen DeGeneres Show – Honorary Oakley

Here we are again, looking at and honoring another strong woman. After months of fictional female heroes, we thought it was about time we took a look at another real life authentic female hero, so this month we’re concentrating on the rather unlikely female hero that is Ellen DeGeneres. Why is Ellen a hero? Well, it really comes down to strength of character, personal truth, and bravery. You may think that ‘coming out’ is no big deal, but you’d be mistaken, for many people coming out as gay can be a traumatic experience, even to the point of suicide in some cases. Ellen DeGeneres led the way in Hollywood by coming out, not only in her personal life, but also in her TV show—a show that had millions of viewers. In a similar way to that first multiracial kiss on Star Trek in the ‘60s, Ellen’s coming out episode was culturally and politically significant. It truly was that big of a deal. Let’s take a look at why…

Life in Louisiana
Ellen DeGeneres was born at Ochsner Hospital in Jefferson, Louisiana, on January 26, 1958. Her father, Elliot, was an insurance salesman and her mother, Betty, was a real-estate agent. Ellen graduated high school in 1976 and from there she went to college, only to realize it was not for her. She then tried her hand at various jobs, including clerical work, waitress work, retail, bartending, and even work as an oyster shucker (someone who opens oysters and clams for restaurants).

As with many people, Ellen realized that answering to a boss wasn’t an ideal situation and so began to pursue her passion for comedy. This started out slowly, with her working family and friends’ parties, which then progressed to a few comedy clubs until, in 1981, she was made MC (master of ceremonies) of New Orleans’ only comedy club. In 1982 Ellen won the national award for ‘Funniest Person in America’, and this eventually led to her appearing on various late-night TV shows, including the famous Johnny Carson show, where she became the first woman ever to share the couch with Johnny on her first appearance. In the following years, Ellen did some other TV work including sitcoms and stand-up specials, and then came her own TV show.

I’m Coming Out
The Ellen Show (later renamed simply as Ellen) was a huge hit on the ABC network in America. The show featured the central character of bookstore owner Ellen Morgan and her close-knit group of co-workers and friends. The show was a mixture of observational and slapstick comedy, in a similar vein to Seinfeld. The show’s Ellen character was not instantly cast as gay per se, with a few boyfriends dotted throughout episodes prior to her final realization (mirroring some lesbians’ real lives). It was not until ‘The Puppy Episode’ that both Ellen the character and Ellen the woman would find their truth.

The coming out episode was codenamed ‘The Puppy Episode’ in an attempt to throw people off the scent of what was actually happening in the show; sadly this did not stop a bomb threat halting the filming of the episode. In 1997 the coming out episode finally aired to a massive audience. Coming out parties were staged across the world, it was celebratory in nature and history making. The show featured numerous stars, such as Oprah Winfrey (as Ellen’s therapist), Billy Bob Thornton, Laura Dern, Demi Moore, Melissa Etheridge, Gina Gershon, K. D. Lang, Dwight Yoakam, Jorja Fox, Jenny Shimizu, Leisha Hailey, and even Ellen’s own mother, Betty DeGeneres. As the first widely known and openly gay performer playing an openly gay character on TV the backlash was about to begin.

Ellen DeGenerate
This was the moniker given to Ellen by the ‘saintly’ (cough!) Jerry Falwell on her coming out. Hate protests sprang up across America and even death threats were made, and all because of a simple coming out? Yes, it’s all depressingly true. The comedy of the show was lost on some and the ensuing message of ‘it’s okay to be gay’ was seen as a red flag to a few on the religious right—all of whom felt the need to make Ellen into some sort of example with statements such as, “Ellen DeGeneres, Ellen Degenerate!”, “She’ll pay with her soul”, “She will burn in hell!”, “She will burn in hell’s fire”, and the rather straightforward “Die, Ellen, Die!”. Furthermore, the show’s corporate sponsor, Chrysler, opted to pull their advertising during The Puppy Episode due to its content being (what they termed as) too contentious. A full-page ad appeared on the back cover of Variety magazine on April 17 claiming that ABC and Disney were “promoting homosexuality to America’s families.” Falwell and his cronies stated that the episode was “a slap in the face to America’s families.”

On the upside, the brighter folk of America appear to have gotten over the initial ‘shock’ and ‘horror’ that must arise when it comes to light that perhaps someone in the entertainment industry is, God forbid, queer—hello, but capping every queer in Hollywood would probably mean every production grinding to a complete halt. After a couple of years of quiet after the demise of the Ellen sitcom, the show’s star now has her own hit daytime TV show (The Ellen DeGeneres Show), and its ratings are never shabby. The Ellen DeGeneres show has also garnered loads of awards in the 3 years since it first aired, including numerous Emmys, and it’s fair to say that shows such as Will & Grace would not have come into being without the undeniable shove to public awareness provided by The Puppy Episode upon its airing.

Ellen Drives A Portia
Okay, that was perhaps in bad taste, but who’s for being serious all the time? Ellen has had a couple of fairly high-profile relationships since her coming out, not least of all was the one she shared with wannabe/sometime lesbian/alien Anne Heche around the time of her coming out. However, now Ellen’s together with actress Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Ally McBeal), and a happy couple they appear to be. For fans of Ellen, who had gritted their teeth during her heartache over the Anne Heche ‘episode’ (i.e. Anne allegedly losing her mind, strolling into a stranger’s house to inform them she was an alien), it’s great to see Ellen with someone a bit more ‘normal’. The couple regularly appear at award shows and functions together.

Dory Me
Ellen is also well known for things other than her coming out, including her daytime talk show, her stand-up comedy, and her sitcom. She was also the voice of Dory the fish in the 2003 Pixar movie Finding Nemo. Dory (a Regal Tang) was the witty and amusing fish with the short-term memory problem. Fans of the movie loved the character with her dopey, yet sweet and helpful nature.

Coming Out Of The Dark
For straight people, the whole Ellen DeGeneres ‘coming out’ saga may have seemed a little overcooked, but what needs to be understood is that for all those young queers, struggling with their sexuality at home, at work, or at school, Ellen’s coming out wasn’t just an amusing TV moment. It was, in fact, an epiphany, and not only for Ellen, but for them as well, and it signaled a renewed source of hope. Hollywood, though rife with ‘queerdom’, usually likes to keep such things hushed up; academics have looked at this in the realm of queer theory and media studies for years and it’s fact that homosexual couples will still, as years pass by, go to dramatic lengths to hide their homosexuality—be it by just never mentioning it (despite everyone in the industry knowing—yes, you know who you are), pink marriages/dating or legal threats to tabloids and other media sources. Ellen’s coming out stood for more than just her self affirmation, it showed that you can come out and live through it, that you can feel comfortable in your own skin and be a success too. Ellen received an outpouring of thanks from a lot of young gays, all stating that she had helped them. Although a different instance, Ellen’s fellow Oakley, Rosa Parks, did something similar by taking her bus journey the way she did, she stood up for herself and changed the world and that’s why Ellen is our Honorary Oakley for the month of June 2006. Although time has moved on since Ellen came out, and a lot of the hoopla made at the time has now been forgotten, the fact remains that Ellen did change things with ‘The Puppy Episode’, not only for herself, but also for others wanting to live a life of truth, to themselves and others.

Ellen DeGeneres we salute you!

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