MovieChat Forums > My Summer of Love (2005) Discussion > 'I don't think they are lesbians,' says ...

'I don't think they are lesbians,' says Emily Blunt~(minor spoiler)

posted 17 years ago by ridah2
29 replies | jump to latest

Many people on this board make the broad assumption that the two main characters are lesbians, however I think it is more situational. It is a hot summer, there is the emotional opportunity, and there is obvious frustration with men: Tamsin with her father's supposed affair and Mona's rejection by her boyfriend. All this culminates and creates a space where these two women experience each other out of a desperate need to feel close to another human being. Ultimately, it isn't about being a lesbian but more about feeling good.

Even Emily Blunt comments about the situation:

"I don't think they are lesbians," says Blunt. "They are not discovering so much as they're playing a psychological game. It's their way of connecting over a disgust with men. They're pushing their own boundaries. It's a *beep* off' to the world."

http://www.gay.com/entertainment/news/?coll=pno_entertainment&sernum=1048&page=3

[–] grchereck 17 years ago

I can see where people might get the "lesbian" idea, given the kissing and the love scenes and all that, but I also notice that the film never really sensationalizes or makes an issue out of the same-sex stuff, let alone mentions the L word. For instance, when Phil forbids Mona from seeing Tamsin again, it's because he's angry about Tam having just manipulated him and mocked his beliefs, not because of anything else that the girls have been doing together.

I just saw it as a really intense friendship; the girls feel alienated from everyone else in their lives, and they feel they can only open up to each other. (Well, Mona does most of the opening up; but while Tam eventually admits that she's been "putting on an act," her act involves trying to find common ground with Mona -- even if it means lying about her sister being dead after Mona mentions her mother's death -- and trying to be everything that Mona seems to be looking for in a friend.)

"I know I'm not normal -- but I'm trying to change!" ~ Muriel's Wedding

[–] celluloidseventeen 17 years ago

"the film never really sensationalizes or makes an issue out of the same-sex stuff, let alone mentions the L word"

LOL!

Tracy: Gross! That's my brother!
Evie: Relax! Maybe I'll marry into the family.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Franco_Zed 17 years ago

I disagree with Blunt! Maybe they are not lesbians, but you really can't call them straight. Many women would never have the inclination to kiss or have sex with another woman under any circumstances. So while they may be "straightish", they have an openness to and enjoyment of touching another woman in a sensual way, that all women simply dont have. You could label it bicurious or "experimenting" or something, but they are not the same as "purely straight" women.

The Capybara is the largest rodent in the world.
So you, my friend, are off the hook.

[–] redcarpetandrebellion 17 years ago

obviously thtre not straight. anyone with the capacity of falling in love with someone of the smae sex isnt striaght

doenst mean thyre gay though

"behind this mask are ideas, and ideas are bulletproof"

[–] skater_girl_amanda 16 years ago

Blunt's charachter came over as bisexual and probably done it with both guys and girls I doubt for a minute that Mona was the first girl she'd been with, as for Mona this was a new experience for her and one she liked she could have just been discovering her sexuality
I am now a checkerboard chick!

[–] redcarpetandrebellion 16 years ago

whats a 'checkerboard chick' ?

"behind this mask are ideas, and ideas are bulletproof"

[–] lornamd-1 16 years ago

I didn't give much thought as to whether they were gay/bi/bi-curious etc. I just saw it as a romance between 2 girls who cared deeply for each other. I did get the impression that Tamsin had probably had sex with other girls before most likely in boarding school but I don't think it makes a difference to the story what their sexual orientation was.

[–] Sk8rwannabe0889 16 years ago

I thought I read somewhere... or it was in the commentary, I don't really recall... that said Tamsin's first time was with Mona. I could have misread/misheard that, but I don't really remember. It's been awhile since coming across that piece of information. So yeah, I could be wrong. LOL.

And I agree with whoever said that the two bonded over their disgust over men. Tamsin seemed very intolerant of men who cheated -- she even went so far to tell Ricky's wife that Ricky deserved to be castrated. Also, Mona was dumped right after sex, which would spurn anybody. So I tend to agree with Blunt on the two girls' orientation. But that's just me.

[–] lone-plainsman 16 years ago

I don't think Tamsin was a Lesbian - or at least not really. I also don't think she was trying to bond with someone who shared her "disgust for men". I think she manipulated people and that her manipulation worked better if there was a sexual component to it. That scene with her and Phil, for example, where her manipulation is very sexual. I don't think she cares whether the person is male or female... she just needs someone vulnerable and lonely enough to fall into/under her spell. Sexuality is about love and what Tamsin was doing didn't have anything to do with love (except for herself) so I don't think we have enough evidence to say with certainty that Tam was bi, straight or lesbian. I'm wondering if she even HAS the capacity to love...

With Mona it was obviously her first time with another woman, and it was very clearly about love. She loved Tamsin, that's for sure. Did she love any of the men she was with before? Maybe. Not sure. What is for sure is that she was capeable of loving another woman, so she's not stick-straight. I'd say she's at a minimum bi-curious and potentially bisexual... although whether she would ever trust another woman after what Tamsin did to her is definately in question.

So, to sumarize:
Mona - at LEAST bi-curious, probably bisexual.
Tamsin - not enough information to be certain, imo.

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." - Moulin Rouge

[–] Sk8rwannabe0889 16 years ago

When I said that they bonded over their disgust with men, I meant that that's how the door opened for Tamsin to start playing her game with unsuspecting Mona.

I know she manipulated everyone in the movie, including the audience.

[–] skipton345 15 years ago

Exactly. No matter how hot the summer was, I can't see me boning my best mate.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] sergia79 15 years ago

Yep, I agree, it's not about two girls being 'lesbians' or sex - it's just an easy label to put on the movie. Mona doesn't seem to have any friends and only having a religious-fanatic born-again brother would make her very lonely - that might have been one of the reasons why she had the affair with Ricky, in hopes of feeling close to someone and wanting to be touched. However, Ricky was rather rough with her and didn't display any tenderness or sensitivity Mona needed.

Enter Tamsin, who, although seemingly very different, offers Mona what she craves. Tamsin talks to Mona, pays attention to her, spends all her time with her and bought her an engine for her bike. Of course, with Tamsin, it was more about experimenting with how far she could go in terms of manipulating people and she succeeded in doing so with Mona, because Mona was already very lonely and was an easy target. She even manipulated with Phil when he came by and she laughed in his face and called him a fraud. I think Tamsin is the kind of girl who would have relationships with men and women depending on what she wanted at the time, but probably end up marrying a wealthy, powerful man.

Tamsin got what she wanted and Mona got what she needed.

"You know mom, I'm crazy about this Asprin... can't believe we give it to children."

[–] chloemichellefan 15 years ago

Oh no. God forbid they should be lesbians. It's fine to show 2 straight girls falling in love, but 2 girls who are, like, gay? That's taking it too far.

I read the interview with Emily Blunt where she says that. I don't get her really. One moment she says she wants to be a gay icon, the next she makes statements like that. Straight women do not have sex with other women. And don't give me that "disgust with men" rubbish. How old-fashioned. Most girls like girls because they are beautiful and they like being with them, but they still get along with men just fine as friends. I've never met a girl who goes with girls because she was disillusioned with men. As if! That is so stupid! Tamsin's sexuality seemed quite clear to me. It is established after Mona simulates heterosexual sex on her ("Is that it?" doesn't sound like something a straight girl would say) that she knows she is a lesbian. Even when they first meet it is implied that Tamsin is gay. Use your imagination as to the so-called "bad influence" she had that caused her to be expelled from the all-girls boarding school. I can't stand all these idiotic notions of teen girls not knowing that they are gay because they are too young. Many gay people know what they like when they are little children, even if at that young age they don't know the exact terminology. I will never understand all this "gay until college" (is that the correct saying?) stuff.

I do like Emily and My Summer of Love, but I have to disagree with her points on the film.

"I'm not from around here Sir, I can't be an example" - Wendy, Wendy and Lucy

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Lacoby 15 years ago

I would tend to agree that both girls in the movie were indeed not lesbians. This goes back to the book of Helen Cross, where it is more or less obvious that neither Tamsin nor Mona are lesbians.

It is true that Tamsin was suspended from her boarding school, but the way I see it this was most likely because of the identity games she plays. That is in a lot of symbols as well. Just think of her eating the apple when she watches Monias brother from the window. Classic biblical reference. She seduces people. Like she did to Mona. She makes her completely dependent on her.

I would say Tamsin was experimenting with both parts of her sexuality, just as she was experimenting with different identities. Mona definitely was not gay, but she found something in Tamsin that she missed in her previous relationships and basically in her whole dull Yorkshire life. I do not think she was disillusioned with men, but the men she has met so far are not offering her much. Tamsin does. Regardless of her sex. Ultimately having sex with Mona is her final test how far she can go with her. When Tamsin dances with Mona to the old Piaf song she knows she has totally captured her and she can go as far as she desires. Having sex maybe is just the ultimate consequence of the relationship she seduces Mona into.

I do not agree with the statement that straight women do nor have sex with women. This is obviously wrong as in sociology and sex studies the fact is known that homosexuality is much more acceptable for straight women than straight men. So the possibility that straight women do have sex with women is not totally out of the picture. I am not quite into that literature but there are some papers out there who analyze homosexual behavior of girls and if it is different to that of boys (more frequent). Interesting topic, though.

"All in all the house is very creepy - so you gotta stay with me! Come on!"

[–] skay_baltimore 12 years ago

Thank you. For a while, every post I read was just dumber than the next. Until I read this one.

"Sometimes the right thing to do is the wrong thing" -- Jason Stackhouse

[–] hunozthtiluvu 14 years ago

I'm afraid to say that I agree and disagree with Ms. Blunt. I think her Tam is def. a lesbian or at least bi-sexual, coz she keeps repeating that Mona's brother is attractive as if she were in-denial and needed constant self-assurance.

Mona, on the other hand, just sorta fell. We don't know what her sexual preferrence is. But I don't think she did all that with Tam just out of her disgust with men. I think during that summer, Mona's sexual orientation is Tam. :D

I don't intend to be offensive, but I have to defend my opinions.

[–] Seethergrrl 14 years ago

I also didn't believe that either of the two characters were lesbians. I think that they both felt a gigantic bond and the situation of them sharing that bond just escalated further. I think that whereas Tamsin was completely *beep* with Mona there was also a part of her that was curious and wanted to test the boundaries of the new friendship; I thought this was clear from the scene where she asks Mona what it's like when that guy (can't remember his name) has sex with her and Mona lies astride her - "Oh, Mona, you're so pretty Mona. Mona, you're so gorgeous" before rolling off to hear Tamsin's disappointed reply of "Is that it?"

I didn't actually believe that Tamsin was quite as sexually experienced as some of the other IMDB posters thought. Yes, she was extremely manipulative but I believe that Mona was the first person she had successfully manipulated to such a great extent - she was an easy target because of her disillusionment and confusion with how everything had changed - the pub becoming a sort of church, the guy that unceremoniously dumped her after sex and the only guardian she had was her 'gone funny' brother. For Tamsin, Mona was an easy target.

Be me, for a little while.

[–] hubble-hallow 14 years ago

They looked an unnatural coupling. I cant work out whether its because tamsin was too good looking or mona was too ugly. But its probs that mona was so ginger and ugly.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] betsys2003 12 years ago

I don't understand why they can't be lesbians AND playing a psychological game.

Picture, for a minute, that this movie had been made exactly the same way, but Tamsin was male. Would anyone have doubted that the teens were straight? No.

I absolutely think Tamsin was messing with Mona, at least at the beginning (I think she got in over her head and actually fell for her). But I also think that she was attracted to her, and that she was at the very least bisexual. Mona too. There's absolutely no evidence that either girl is attracted to men. Tamsin seems like she's never had sex with a guy. The manipulation of Mona's brother could far more easily be seen as the interaction that went against her sexuality, rather than her summer-long romance with Mona. Mona did have a boyfriend, but she seemed entirely uninterested in having sex with him.

Also, I think that the fact that they DIDN'T spend any time talking about how they were two girls points to the idea that they may have had same-sex experiences in the past. Usually when someone has a first same-sex experience they freak out a bit, question their identity, etc. Neither girl seemed at all confused by kissing a girl. This makes more sense for girls who already know they are queer than girls who think they are straight.

[–] adamsmo 12 years ago

I think she's sort of moreso saying they aren't necessarily lesbians. It's a drama about teens, who could fall in love with a show if it gave them enough attention.

What they are or are not is open-ended and isn't really relevant to the movie itself.

[–] nobodies666 12 years ago

I thought so too. Experimentation for them that turned into love for just one of them.

Im obsessed with Jenna Jameson/Club Jenna girls! Brea, Sophia, Briana, Ashton, Krystal, Roxy, etc.

[–] JacksCatGirl 11 years ago

Not lesbians but experimenting bi-curious teen girls in a juvenile summer fling, but Tamsin is more of a spoiled and empty sociopath than lesbian, she gets off on toying with people like dolls in a dollhouse made for her own amusement, a regular Daisy Fay, if Mona were a boy it would make no difference to her and it would turn out just the same either way, easy prey is easy prey.

Jacks

[–] WaxBellaAmours 8 years ago

I think overall that whatever sexual identities the girl take from here on in... really isn't particularly relevant to the story. I think it's kind of poking a bear, however, when saying oh they're they are definitely not lesbians (or homosexual in any way) cause then it can make the movie seem like a nasty bit of queerbaiting, which I don't think it is. I don't doubt for a second that Mona had romantic feelings for Tamsin and certainly a sexual attraction which she didn't really show even for the men she was involved with, with Tamsin however it's much tougher to tell since she seems to see those things, at least at the surface, as a game she can manipulate like everything else. So perhaps yes this is kind of a harsh coming out story for Mona and she takes on a lesbian or bisexual/queer identity, or perhaps Tamsin is the only girl she ever has those feelings for, I don't think it invalidates the story or changes how this particular relationship is or should be viewed.

... dah-ling