In today's society girls are raised on dolls and dress-up while boys learn to fight and play sports. People who play out the opposite gender roles are occasionally encountered but it is generally hard for them to be accepted. As time has progressed people have been able to accept others differences more so then they were accepted 10 years ago. But those who portray opposite gender roles still have a long hard road in front of them until they are ever fully accepted. At this time people are able to accept public figures that cross gender roles if they are doing it just for a movie or if that is who they are. Famous people such as K.D. Lang, David Bowie, Hillary Swank and RuPaul are just a few who have experienced hardships in trying to succeed and still be themselves. Another such actress is Ellen DeGeneres; who also faced these hard times. She took it into her own hands to announce to the world on national television that she is a lesbian. She is still involved with movies and television shows while she proves that it is okay to be gay. At first Ellen risked a lot to come out of the closet, but today she is still gaining. Ellen has helped make acceptance of the gay community easier and is still helping to change the ideal gender roles. She has had a giant role in opening up doors for other gays and lesbians, and today more and more television series cast gay actors.

From the time when her show Ellen debuted in 1994, a common question was asked, is she or isn't she? People were referring to if Ellen was lesbian or not. Viewers of the show wondered if she was a lesbian because of her manly attitude and her clothing attire. She usually wears men's suits and casual wear and never wears dresses. Still today a lot of sitcoms put the female in the traditional gender role as a housewife, but Ellen held a job in her sitcom. Ellen came out of the closet in the third season of her show during an hour-long program that guest-starred Laura Dern, Oprah Winfrey, Demi Moore, Billy Bob Thornton and some controversial people, such as K.D. Lang and Melissa Etheridge. In "He called me Ellen Degenerate?" an article about her in Time magazine she stated that she Ellen DeGeneres was a lesbian and said, "I never wanted to be the lesbian actress. I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth" (Handy). Ellen was the first actress to come out on national television and by her doing so helped the show win many awards. Ellen received an Emmy, a prestigious Peabody Award, and the coming out episode produced great ratings. During the time shortly after her coming out, P

Crossing Gender Roles. (1969, December 31). In DirectEssays.com. Retrieved 21:53, June 19, 2013, from http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/77740.html

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