MeL's Point: Following Trends (or: Why I Still Became a Fan of Rachel Maddow)

By MeL on Sunday, February 8, 2009 - 13:39

I don’t follow trends easily. It’s probably the way I was raised. My parents taught us not to do something or to like someone just because everybody else does and because it’s en vogue, but to decide for ourselves whether we REALLY want to do something or like someone. The line “But everybody’s doing it” never counted as an argument at our home. 

Also, I always thought that being just like everybody else was kind of boring. Even though I wanted to belong, I also still wanted to be an individual. So when everybody cheered for the local soccer team, I usually cheered for their opponent. When all of my friends gushed about the members of the Norwegian band a-ha and dreamt about standing front-row in one of their concerts, the artist I really wanted to see in a live concert was Barbra Streisand. Needless to say, I didn’t have the easiest time growing up. 

After coming out, I started to spend time with a group of other lesbians who I would call my friends until I realized that all that connected us was our sexuality. Today, when someone tells me about “this lesbian actress” or “this lesbian musician” they really like, I always ask myself whether they like them for their art or just because they’re lesbians. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, especially for young lesbians who are still in need for role models, it’s just not my cup of tea. So if I become a fan of someone who happens to be a lesbian, it’s usually because I like what they’re doing. 

And that’s exactly the case with Rachel Maddow.

Rachel Maddow is an American radio and television host and political commentator who also happens to be an out lesbian. You’ve probably already heard about her, especially if you’re a regular visitor of AfterEllen.com, because they LOVE her. Usually, the extent of their admiration for her would have been able to put me off, but luckily, she had two things going for her that made it easier for me: 

1. I had known about her even before she became a household name on AE.
2. She really is THAT good.

But why write about her on eurOut, a website that focuses on news about European lesbians? Why not leave it to AfterEllen.com, who have been doing an excellent job with covering her career so far, especially ever since she has her own TV show – “The Rachel Maddow Show” – on MSNBC, which can only be seen in Europe as a podcast and which, of course, focuses on American politics?

Because sometimes, it’s also interesting to look at something or someone from a European point of view, and even from a European point of view, there are many reasons to be a fan of Rachel Maddow or at least to listen to what she has to say.

For one thing, her liberal positions probably appeal to most Europeans, who suffered during the eight years of the Bush presidency to an extent that they were ready to give up on all of the U.S., including all of its citizens. Also, as we were painfully reminded just last year when the financial markets crisis started with the downfall of Wall Street, American politics can have effects on the whole world, and Rachel Maddow has a way of explaining the context of U.S. politics that it’s easy to understand even for someone from outside the U.S. And last but not least, she’s smart, funny, very passionate about her positions and altogether very entertaining, which makes learning something new about American politics even fun.

So if you’ve refrained from watching her show or reading interviews with her because you thought that she’s too American, you should reconsider it. And if it’s the only way I can get you to subscribe to the podcast of her show, let me just tell you this:

Smart women are sexy. Smart lesbians even more. ;-)

To learn more about Rachel Maddow and watch videos of her show, go to her official website on MSNBC.com or look her up on Wikipedia or AfterEllen.com, who awarded her with the 2008 AfterEllen.com Visibility Award as Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year. The podcast of her show is available on itunes. Thanks to my friend V. who kept gushing about Rachel until I finally gave in and subscribed to her podcast. :-)

Pictures: AfterEllen.com, Facebook, The Advocate