Director Abdellatif Kechiche filmed the 10-minute lesbian sex scene in "Blue Is the Warmest Color" between two straight actresses by focusing on what he found beautiful. Some lesbian viewers, however, disagree with him on the "beauty" of that scene.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender arts magazine Posture had four lesbian women view the lengthy "Blue Is the Warmest Color" sex scene between stars Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos and offer their opinions. While some admitted the scene was sexy, they did have some reservations.
"I thought it was hot, at the beginning," said a reviewer named Taylor, "and then it got a little ridiculous when they kept switching sex positions every 10 seconds. And [it] started to feel kind of like an infomercial for a kitchen product, where they're trying to, like, showcase all the things it can do. Like, 'Oh, it can chop, it can slice, it can dice and it can mince and puree, and it can eat out your asshole."
Some thought "ass-play" was a bit too much, while others thought it was all pretty unconvincing.
"I think it was overall pretty boring," said another viewer, named Zie. "And I think it was also pretty obviously two straight women attempting to have sex on camera for pay, go figure. Yeah, haven't seen that one before."
Many have taken issue with the sex scene in the French flick, which is based on a 2010 graphic novel by Julie Maroh and won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Maroh herself has also weighed in.
In a blog post written in May, Maroh described the interaction as a "brutal and surgical display, exuberant and cold, of so-called lesbian sex, which turned into porn, and [made] me feel very ill at ease. Especially when, in the middle of a movie theater, everyone was giggling."
The actresses accused Kechiche of mistreatment during filming, saying they were left feeling "embarrassed" and "ashamed" by what he made them do.
"One day you know that you’re going to be naked all day and doing different sexual positions," Exarchopoulos explained to The Daily Beast in September, "and it’s hard because I’m not that familiar with lesbian sex."
Before You Go
In a 2011 Esquire interview, Megan Fox confirmed her bisexuality, stating, "I think people are born bisexual and then make subconscious choices based on the pressures of society. I have no question in my mind about being bisexual. But I'm also a hypocrite: I would never date a girl who was bisexual, because that means they also sleep with men, and men are so dirty that I'd never want to sleep with a girl who had slept with a man."
The Green Day front man opened up about his sexuality in a 1995 interview with The Advocate: "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think everybody kind of fantasizes about the same sex. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing."
Comedian Margaret Cho has long been open about her sexuality. In August 2013, Cho discussed the semantics surrounding her open marriage to artist Al Ridenour, saying that she's "technically not able to stay with one person sexually because I’m bisexual,” and joking that she just “can’t stop up that hole.” She also identifies as queer, and opened up about her sexuality in an interview with HuffPost Gay Voices Editor-At-Large Michelangelo Signorile.
Twice-married record executive and music mogul Clive Davis came out as bisexual in his 2013 memoir, The Soundtrack Of My Life. Davis opened up about two long-term relationships he had with men after his divorce from his second wife.
Actress Bai Ling is openly bisexual -- and the identity category has often provided some humorous mix-ups involving her first name. According to GLAAD, she discussed it in-depth in a 2009 interview with Entertainment Weekly: "[A]t first when I was in the United States I didn't always have an interpreter in interviews and I didn't speak English so well. There was some confusion. My name is pronounced 'bi,' so when I was asked, 'Are you bi?' I said, 'Yes, I am Bai.' Do you like men? 'Of course!' Do you like women? 'Why yes!' And later I found out what that means and I said, 'Sure, I am bi!' But I think the interpreters and the reporters thought that I didn't know what I was saying because I was so open about it. They were uncomfortable about it. Such a thing is not important for me."
The "Portlandia" star and former guitarist and vocalist for Sleater-Kinney is often assumed to identify as gay. However, she told "Willamette Week" in 2012 that, "It’s weird, because no one’s actually ever asked me. People just always assume, like, you’re this or that. It’s like, ‘OK. I’m bisexual.’”
The star of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" revealed that she's bisexual in an "Inside Edition" interview in April 2015. Her daughter "Pumpkin" Lauryn Thompson also came out as bi at the same time.
