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A new NetFlix show “A secret Love” about a couple of aged lesbians had me get into a discussion with a friend about Doris Day. I suggested Doris Day, being a strong Christian, might be against being gay. Boy was I wrong. Looking some things up, I found that her film “Calamity Jane” had this strong connection: ”It's a movie in which the text is so obvious and coarse that many viewers are driven to search for subtext. So it's no surprise that by the Sixties, Calamity Jane had become a gay favorite (and "Secret Love" something of an anthem for the closeted). Why not? The pressure to convert Calam into a nicely behaved, marriageable sweetheart was close to hysterical. And so, Calamity Jane became a strange heroine for gay liberation and the battle for women's rights. After all, with a fond gaze, you could say to yourself - just consider the courage, the ingenuity, the independence (et cetera, et cetera) a Martha Jane Cannary needed to survive in the West.” This film became a gay icon and this song became the lesbian theme song. Reading about Doris Day’s very difficult life and one could understand why she was so cynical on traditional unions.

JackPedigo 9 May 4
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We had a joke about Doris Day when she was making all those romantic comedy movies with Rock Hudson, James Garner etc...when she was always portrayed as an ingenue when it came to sex. It was “I can remember Doris Day before she became a virgin!” There was a time that Hollywood was ridiculously prudish about showing double beds and having to keep one foot on the floor during love scenes involving beds (single ones of course)...hilarious!

I remember those days and one can still see some of these 'ideas' in the old movies. "Ingenue" is a new word for me. If you read some of what Doris Day had to go through you would be horrified. She was really beaten up both physically and emotionally.

@JackPedigo Yes...I know I have read about that...horrific.

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