One of the effects of our progress in the gay rights movement is that it's no longer such a big deal to be a lesbian (at least, if you're not in high school and not a religious fanatic). Consider the case of New York Times food writer Kim Severson, who appears to be a big ole butch. Yet I had no idea. No one bothered to tell me. There was no big pronouncement. I've been reading her work for a while now, completely clueless. But indeed, the truth is, she's a 48-year-old lesbian 
who lives in Brooklyn with her partner, journalist Katia Hetter, and their young daughter. It's becoming harder to keep track of all of us. I made the Severson discovery one morning while eating breakfast and reading the newspaper. (Yes, an actual newspaper. I am an anachronism.) I turned the page, and there was a big photo of a nice big dyke. It was part of a Q&A promoting Severson's new book, Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life. The book looks good, in no small part because it is a celebration of women: All "eight cooks" in the subtitle are women. And one of them is Alice Waters, who, despite being a raging heterosexual, is irresistible to lesbians.It also seems that Severson has a compelling personal story to tell. Much of the book is about her struggle to find her identity while abusing alcohol and coming out to a disapproving family. "For a memoir to be authentic, you have to be truthful, so I had to tell all this embarrassing shit about me," Severson told The Daily Beast.
Like many lesbians, Severson also had a problem with the finale of the L Word and the unresolved murder of Jenny Schecter. According to a piece in Time Out New York, Severson hosted a panel with L Word creator Ilene Chaiken and goddess Jennifer Beals. "Severson took Chaiken to task for the season finale. Beals nodded in agreement," the piece said. I, too, have a problem with the finale, but my disapproval is based in my staunch defense of Jenny Schecter, who was one of the best characters on the show—if, yes, crazy and a little too much into the circus weirdness. I understand I am in the minority on this. Anyway, what was I talking about?
