According to Wikipedia's entry for The Women, "Lesbianism is intimated in the portrayal of only one character, Nancy Blake." Did I miss something? I watched this film very intently but do not recall any evidence of lesbianism... or, for that matter, any character by the name of Nancy Blake. Was she so minor that I didn't pay her any attention? Is Wikipedia incorrect? I find this extremely interesting considering the time in which this film was made!
shareNancy Blake was the writer in the beginning of the film who called herself a "frozen asset" referring to the fact she was an "old maid". She wasn't super-feminine, but to call her a lesbian seems ridiculous to me. I mean, who knows? She had a bunch of clever lines poking fun at Sylvia I enjoyed.
share"frozen asset"
So hilarious!
Nancy Blake is a riff by Claire Boothe Luce on Round Table habituee Edna Ferber....who was fair game for everyone in her set. And had a great sense of humour.
The original Children's Hour from the 30'z could not use the L word, thanx to little repressed twerp Will Hays, but they did in the 1961 remake.
If you put me on ignore, then how can I notify you when I win the lottery?
In classic MGM films, the Hayes Code made it impossible to directly name or identify taboo subjects so that either a euphemism or visual "code" would say what couldn't be said directly.
Conservative, "kindly spinster lady" outfits often were code for a heterosexual/asexual older woman who never found the "right man."
Too much makeup on older women often hinted they were over-the-hill "loose women" or even currently-employed/retired madams!
Severely mannish jacket/skirt outfits often were code for no-nonsense businesswomen and villains, or maybe lesbians.
Nancy Blake, an ambitious, unmarried writer, was dressed as lesbians were stereotypically dressed in movies.
I've never read the play, so I don't know how clearly she was written as a lesbian there. Still, it could be in there since elsewhere in the play, a woman in the play cracks that a woman's husband was a "poof."
In the 2004 Broadway revival, Nancy is clearly dressed and says her lines to emphasize she's likely a lesbian.
Severely mannish jacket/skirt outfits often were code for no-nonsense businesswomen and villains, or maybe lesbians.Haven't seen the movie in several years but wasn't Nancy just dressed as a unglamorous woman and not the "severely mannish jacket/skirt" (which was often a severely mannish coat and pants with a tie!) that hinted of a presumably lesbian character in films of the late 20's and 1930's. Too, those parts were often bits and while Nancy's is a minor role, she's is in "the crowd" and it's difficult to imagine a lesbian wanting to pal around with such a bunch of man-crazy, shallow straight women (and of course vice versa). Nancy seems to me to be sort of based on several writers of the era like Edna Ferber who were straight but independent and not really pursuing relationships in part because of the submissive role generally required for women who married at that time (of course being not particularly attractive was another issue for them.) share
Nancy Blake, an ambitious, unmarried writer, was dressed as lesbians were stereotypically dressed in movies.
it's difficult to imagine a lesbian wanting to pal around with such a bunch of man-crazy, shallow straight women
Nonsense. She was an unattractive woman who dressed plainly, was an author, and was obviously not crowded with beaux. In the party scene at the end, she wears a splendid party dress, and is made up and coiffed. She refers to herself as "what nature abhors"...and the rest of the quote is "a vacuum", although the script didn't use it. I think she was unhappy about never being popular or married. She's the only one in the movie who didn't bash men. Don't read more into it then there is.
shareIn the play, Nancy's line is "...what nature abhors--a virgin".
shareThank you for the word. It would be suicide in Hollywood to hint at or mention a homosexual term for men or women. I don't even think about those things watching the old classics. It's been a few years, but there is a remake starring Meg Ryan as Mary Haines. I don't remember if there were any lesbian relationships, but it's a new millenium and it isn't so hush-hush for the characters or straight women playing lesbians anymore.
I don't think we should take the Meg Ryan remake and see if there are any lesbians that are the same characters in this old version. It's not a concern anymore. At least as far as I care. Ten percent of the population. I have lots of gay friends, males and females, and lost some to AIDS and suicide. Can't we all accept the changes in moral attitudes and accept EVERYONE??
I love Jesus....but I drink a little.
In "auntie mame" in the party scene,in the beginning of the movie,there are two women similarly dressed inmatching outfits.Although they have no lines of diolouge they are clearly meant to be Lesbians.In the women,this charecter's attire is in sharp contrast to everyone else.
I've never read the play, so I don't know how clearly she was written as a lesbian there. Still, it could be in there since elsewhere in the play, a woman in the play cracks that a woman's husband was a "poof."
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I just closed a production of this play. This character is not overtly written as a lesbian. However, we all thought Nancy was gay and the actress portraying her used that to inform her character.
In the 2009 remake of this movie the charater of Nancy Blake was very outwardly portraied as a lesbian. It's likely that you were on the wrong wikipedia page or that someone who edited the page was confused.
shareIt's likely that you were on the wrong wikipedia page or that someone who edited the page was confused.
In the 2008 version there's a little scene set in one of the restaurants picked
for the girls night out. That was just after she decided to get a lawyer. Turned the page. Writers toyed with lesbian theme then with the two women poster on wall. And the women have a laugh about how now the newly liberated wife-mother can always try a woman now as an alternative.
That's more a reflection of our times and trying to make remake more relevant.
2008 I'd give 7.5/10 just for trying. Yes it fits the sit-comedy mold too much but just as a time waster it's passable. Sort of fun to know the original so well and see how these women try to jazz it up. Not a fan of "rich people have tough times too" stories so only watching for the re-enacting.
The original is so superior. Even Bette sucks in remake. Stand up comics playing against life long pros of Old Hollywood -- no contest.
Worth it to watch the two versions just for sport.
One must always remember Wikipedia is written by just anyone who cares to post the information, just like the IMDb boards, so everything written there must be taken with a grain of salt. A lot of information there is flat out false.
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I just watched this wonderful movie for the first time (though certainly not the last), and I assumed Nancy to be a lesbian.
share[deleted]
Pretty much everyone is allowed to edit wikipedia, not only left-wingers and homosexuals, you know. You're also able to edit it, so stop whining.
It's not like only homosexuals assume some of the characters from old films/plays are or might be gay. The truth is that actors, directors and writers have always been more open about these things. Of corse, they weren't really allowed to make it obvious in their work because the audience wouldn't like it but that doesn't mean they couldn't suggest certain things. It's not impossible that some characters were meant to be gay. People do exaggerate when it comes to this stuff but not all the time. I can't say wikipedia is a very reliable source but there are other people that tnink Nancy Blake is a lesbian. So it is possible.
Two more things: stop assuming right-wingers never think about this stuff; stop assuming there are no right-wing homosexuals.
Funnily enough I've just watched the film and read the book by Alexander Doty "Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon" in which he also deals with "The Women" (I have this as a faculty assignment in queer studies).
Apparently gay-lesbian studies and queer studies also consider Sylvia a lesbian, which is why she doesn't want for Mary to get along with her husband. Ergo: she would like her for herself.
Nancy Blake is (in Doty's opinion) lesbian without a doubt, she even adresses herself "old maid" which used to be a common euphemism for a lesbian at that time.
And there is also relationship between Mary, her daughter and her mother - 3 women, 3 ways for a Freudian analysis searching for lesbians :D
Just to make clear - I don't believe that Doty is necessarily correct. But I accept queer studies view as one of the options. Nevertheless the idea of "searching" for gays and lesbian in lit. and film stems from the fact that you cannot tell what sexual orientation a character in a story has if he/she doesn't explicitly reveal that information ... and if she/he does that ... well, you can never be too sure, as you can never be too sure in real life ...
You can find the book here: http://gendersexandsocmvmnts.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/flaming-classics.pdf
Ow, and don't forget - George Cukor was gay himself. So he was more likely to use a movie as a way to express his inner emotions and thoughts he had on lesbians and gays at that time. Of course the censorship back then didn't allow him to be perfectly transparent about queer or homosexuality so you've got to watch for this movie's subtle messages if you want to look at it from queer studies point of view.
Ha! She was my favorite character. I was sorry to see her missing for most of the film. But she dressed in a mannish suit, so maybe that was supposed to suggest she was a lesbian. I don't know.
shareOld thread, but the fact is that any direct reference to homosexuality was not allow by the censors throughout the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties and most of the sixties.
Because so many of the Hollywood writers, directors and actors were gay, they got it into their storylines, but in a coded manner to where it was only obvious to mostly gay men and lesbians.
Even though the censorship became more accepting, the processed continued through the early nineties,( i.e. Fried Green Tomatoes), for directly referencing homosexuality guaranteed an R rating and the belief of diminished box office.