Sally Field and Her (Adorable) Gay Son

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/8/12 at 11:03pm

He introduces her--perfectly--at the HRC dinner, and she delivers a perfect speech...including her triumphant "Why the F*CK not!"



Sally Field Receives HRC's Ally For Equality Award, Delivers Emotional Speech On Gay Son Sam

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/8/12 at 11:13pm

She's great, but I never saw her as a gay icon or even someone who worked on behalf of gay rights. The HRC continues to confuse me with their choices.

Plus, her son will be single forever if he won't date people who quote Steel Magnolias or Soap Dish. Sorry kid.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/8/12 at 11:17pm

During the same time period as an under-6 when I was obsessed with Batman, Bewitched and Lost in Space, I also adored Gidget and then The Flying Nun. Maybe I wasn't the only gayby who felt that way? Which is not, in any way, meant to imply I understand the choices of HRC in any aspect of their work.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 2:19am

I met one of my best friend quoting Steel Magnolias while standing in line at a gay bar. A drag queen walked by looking a hot mess and he said to his friend, "Looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket." I leaned forward and said, "I haven't left the house without Lycra on these thighs since I was fourteen!" He turned around, hugged me and said, "You were brought up right!" and it was fate.

Sam is missing out.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 7:51am

I actually got the feeling from that speech that Sam was making a joke out of the Steel Magnolias references and that he probably has more of a healthy attitude to his mother's fame than many other children of celebrities.

Sally Field not a gay icon? Gidget, Sister Bertrille, SYBIL(!!!), Smokey and the Bandit (sex with Burt Reynolds!), Places in the Heart ("You like me, you really like me!"), Steel Magnolias and Not Without My Daughter! All that before replacing Betty Buckley in Brothers and Sisters.

She may not be Barbra/Judy/Bette/Madonna level of icon, but she has given several generations of gays plenty to talk about over brunch and plenty of well-delivered lines to imitate.

Plus she's advocated for women's health-care issues and AIDS charities.

And Sam's speech was surprisingly well written and well delivered.

Updated On: 10/9/12 at 07:51 AM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 8:07am

Sally Field playing "Gidget" made her a gay icon by default.

I loved her speech. She obviously loves her son very much.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 10:28am

Namo The Flying Nun was a gay Icon for the same reasons Bewitched was- Sister Bertrile could FLY for ****'s sake and all those straight uptight nuns tried to force her back in the closet! Screw that Sister B- YOU GO GIRL!

[StockardFan]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 1:50pm

I quote Steel Magnolias all the time!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 1:53pm

That was pretty lovely. I tend to roll my eyes at all things HRC, but I was moved by both Sam's and Sally's speeches.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 1:58pm

I thought it was sweet. I think it would be a little too much to date somebody that had a website that is a quote said by your parent in one of their iconic roles. Imagine Bruce Willis' daughters dating somebody and finding out that person had a site that says, "Yippee ki-yay, motherf*cker!"

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 11:06pm

Love Sally Field, love the speech.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 11:14pm

Love Sam too?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/9/12 at 11:15pm

Don't know him well, but sure!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 10/10/12 at 6:41am

Another reason why I need to see Steel Magnolias.

And I was going to post this in another thread, but since we're not talking to trolls...

When it comes to Christian parents rejecting children who are gay, I know of a few cases of this situation and in every one, the parents have come to accept their child's sexuality and be on their side, often taking a stance against the homophobia in the churches they themselves end up being booted out of.

Updated On: 10/10/12 at 06:41 AM

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/10/12 at 7:20am

There was a story on NPR this week about two people...a transgender teen in Maine who went door to door trying to educate people on same sex marriage and , on the other side, a Catholic priest who went door to door trying to warn people about the same thing. The priest mentioned that the hardest part was talking to parents of LGBTs and trying to delicately convince them that they could love their child while still condemning who they are and what they do. It was disgusting.

[D2]

Posted: 10/10/12 at 7:32am

Yeah, and 500 years ago their solution was to "lovingly" burn them at the stake for their own good.

I sometimes think Pope Palpatine would bring that back if he thought he could get away with it.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/10/12 at 4:28pm