by Lorraine Mazza

Leisha Hailey is probably best known for her role as bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki on Showtime’s former series The L-Word.  The show followed a group of close knit lesbian friends through their trials and tribulations of…well, being gay in LA.  The character Alice was usually the comic relief, but she had an outspoken, stand up for what is right side to her.  When reading the story of Leisha getting escorted off a Southwestern plane in an apparent homophobic incident, I couldn’t help but wonder…what would Alice do?  Probably the exact same thing as Leisha did. 

Leisha  took to her Twitter feed to vent about the incident.  As I read my Facebook news feed quoting the tweets, I reserved my opinion at first.  I didn’t think I could have a fair opinion for not having witnessed it first hand.  According to  reports, Leisha and her girlfriend/Uh Huh Her band mate Camila Grey shared a kiss.  Soon after, a flight  attendant approached them to relay the message that they are a family  airline and their behavior was unacceptable. They felt they were being discriminated against and became verbally heated with the flight attendant.  This was when they were apparently escorted off.  

After the dust settled a bit, Leisha and Camila issued a formal statement, which I think was brilliantly done. 

They  explain that they were not initially told by the flight attendant why  they were being approached, just that they needed to be aware that  Southwestern Airlines is a family oriented airline.  This is a key  factor because it implies that Leisha and Camila’s type of family is not  welcome on Southwestern Airlines.  Or at least not welcome to show  affection towards each other. 

Their statement is ripe with  words that show the utmost respect, compassion, and humanity that their fans know they possess.  They take complete responsibility for the profane language with the flight attendant.  And they are not asking anyone to boycott Southwestern, as  Leisha did in her original tweets.  Of course many people are taking  that stance on their own.  But it seems that Leisha and Camila have  taken some time to assess the situation more clearly. They merely want  the airline to learn from this situation.  They clarify that they were in no way out of line or excessive in their affections.  This may come down to how one defines “excessive” but I believe if they are specifically saying it wasn’t, then it wasn’t.  Their kiss was probably no more than any heterosexual couple would share in a public place.  If the fact that it was two women makes anyone uncomfortable, that is not for the airline to condone.  I’m willing to bet that no one would notice, let alone complain, about a heterosexual couple kissing.  And that is the biggest issue here.  Leisha and Camila’s intent is to bring awareness and promote acceptance.  As the saying goes, visibility matters. And this is  precisely why.  Attaching a sense of normalcy to same sex couples can  show people that it’s not gross or weird, it’s just two people showing affection for each other.  

Southwest Airlines followed up with a statement saying that Leisha and Camila were escorted off for profane language. But, the fact that they got booted for profane language, not kissing, is besides the point. The kissing incident led to the discriminatory comment by the flight attendant, which led to the  profane language.  

The gay community has achieved great strides in the last several years.  But we’ve also taken a few steps back.  It seems as if all of the small victories have incited the opposition to become more adamant in their stance against us.  Many will say that’s just their right to exercise their views, as we do ours.  But the difference is simple.  We are striving for acceptance, equality and to live as openly honest as everyone  else.  They want to judge and condemn.  They use veiled acceptance words like, “I’m fine with gays, I just don’t want their lifestyle shoved in my face”.  And that means being “disgusted” when they see two men hold hands, kissing, embracing, acting too flamboyant for their liking…in other words, just being himself.  Newsflash, that is not being fine with gays.  That’s ignorance and prejudice.  No one is trying to push their lifestyle on anyone.  We simply want to live OUR lives as openly as you live YOURS.  That is what Leisha and Camila encountered on the Southwestern flight.  The freedom to be themselves taken away by others who couldn’t handle a little affection between a couple who just happened to be two women. 

We’d like to thank Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey for bringing this story to light.  It needs to be heard.  We thank them for standing up for themselves because we know each step they take forward helps us take two.  We thank them for their openness and visibility that helps those not sure feel more comfortable in their own skin.  We thank them for being positive role models…because in a world full of bullies, we could use all the good we can get.  Thank you. 

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