Talking as the keynote speaker at South by South West (SXSW) in Austin, actor and producer Ellen Page, who came out in 2014 during a speech at a Las Vegas conference for counsellors of young LGBT people, discussed why publicly disclosing her sexuality has reinvigorated her career.
Being in the closet hurt my career way more than being out and being happy and feeling inspired again; being able to fuse my authentic self with my creative interests.”
Since publicly disclosing her sexuality, Page has made a concerted effort to reflect her fight for LGBTQ rights in her work: on top of producing in and starring in Gaycation, she performed the same role on last year’s drama Freeheld, which told the true story of a woman who fought to have her pension benefit left to her female domestic partner.
Asked whether coming out has affected the roles offered to her, Page said she’s chosen not to focus on it, and stressed instead how fulfilled she feels.
The differences I see are these little things like, ‘oh, you’re doing this thing that’s gay and this thing that’s gay, so now you’re doing these [gay roles].’ I’m like, you would never bring that up with a straight person; you would not say, ‘oh, you’re doing another movie where you’re playing a straight person, are you a little worried about it?’ No judgment, I’m just saying these are the double standards, and this is the conversation that needs to change.”
The Oscar-nominated actor was also on hand to discuss her new TV show Gaycation, alongside co-creator Ian Daniel. In the series, the pair travel the world to shed a light on the struggles of LGBT communities face abroad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fToW-5r07qg
We can’t just be telling stories about one group of people. People need to have opportunity, and that’s what’s going to make the whole industry grow and blossom. It’s just something I’ve been reflecting on as to, ‘Oh, what if I hadn’t come out?’”
Page shared that Gaycation was born out of a desire to increase LGBT visibility in the media. She cited a pivotal moment in her life when she came across a lesbian comedy, But I’m a Cheerleader, on TV while growing up in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
When Natasha Lyonne’s like, ‘I don’t get it,’ about French kissing that guy, I was like, ‘Neither do I!’ And that meant something to me.
There can be such loneliness and isolation when you’re living in a society that has this view of you’re different, or something’s wrong, or you’re sinful.”
Page acknowledged that unlike many of the LGBT people featured in Gaycation, she leads a “privileged” life, being able to live as an openly gay person in Los Angeles.
I have done a job that has given me money, and I can walk down the street and kiss my girlfriend.”
She added that she thinks often of “those who are much more vulnerable than me all around the world and in the United States.
And here’s an opportunity to go make something that allows voices to be heard that you sometimes never hear, and hopefully reflect struggles that a lot of people go through and I think a lot of people simply don’t know about.”
Gaycation airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET on Viceland.
