Line #17 Film/ForbiddenLoveTheUnashamedStoriesOfLesbianLives


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forblove.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300: It's time they came out of the closet.]]
3
4	->''"The whole world is full of stupid myths about women."''
5
6	A Canadian documentary on the subject of lesbians and their culture in the 1940s-1960s. Nine different interviews are interspersed with a story about Laura, a young woman moving away and discovering her sexual orientation in a way reminiscent of classic lesbian pulp novels and their clichés; a common motif throughout. Co-directed by Lynne Fernie & Aerlyn Weissman and released in 1992, it can be viewed online for free at the [[https://www.nfb.ca/film/forbidden_love/ producer's website]].
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8	!! This movie contains examples of:
9	* AmbiguouslyGay: Played with, the introduction warning audiences not to assume anyone shown is homosexual...or heterosexual.
10	* AudibleGleam: The heart-shaped locket given to Laura from Meg does this, complete with cartoonish special effects.
11	* ButchLesbian: Discussed in detail, more so than [[LipstickLesbian femmes]], due to the oft unbalanced ratio of the two.
12	* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Laura's visibly nervous as she smokes at the gay bar, though as she becomes [[OfficialCouple more and more comfortable around Mitch]], this isn't shown again.
13	* ClosetGay: Many of the women in the film discuss their life before coming out and what it was like being closeted. The story of Laura also has her closeted initially.
14	* ComingOutStory: Most women interviewed discuss their coming out in the past.
15	* DomesticAbuse: One woman, Stephanie, relates having been in a relationship where her girlfriend basically made her take the house wife role, and controlled her life. This included how Stephanie dressed and who she hung out with.
16	* HereditaryHomosexuality: One of the women in the film mentions her oldest daughter is also a lesbian (to outrage from her ex-husband).
17	* HeteronormativeCrusader: A police officer who particularly harassed lesbians is mentioned, though the police generally were like this during the 1940s-'50s, according to the women's accounts. One woman also talks about how her ex-husband grew outraged after learning that she's a lesbian, became a homophobic religious zealot and then harassed her for many years in his attempt to "turn her straight" again. He was even more outraged after their daughter came out as a lesbian too, while trying to drive their youngest daughter away from them both.
18	* HomophobicHateCrime: It's mentioned that the police used to beat up or rape lesbians with impunity, and the numerous hate crimes toward the Metropolitan Community Church (an LGBT-affirming denomination) are also detailed.
19	* TheKenBurnsEffect: Used often while showing hotels and other gay bars due to limited footage.
20	* LipstickLesbian: They were less common in the 40's and 50's, according to women interviewed, though some of them qualified according to their looks as shown. One also made herself into a femme on getting involved with a fellow butch. Laura and Mitch, the two lesbians from the pulp story, are also quite feminine.
21	* MaleGaze: Intentionally inverted in the narrative sequences, which generally end with both women looking directly at the camera.
22	* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: One woman, Stephanie, was butch but remade herself as femme when involved with another butch lesbian, a form of abuse as her girlfriend was very controlling.
23	* MsFanservice: Laura and Mitch, the lesbians from the pulp story, are both very beautiful. They have a sex scene and appear topless at the end.
24	* OneNightStandPregnancy: One lesbian relates she did sleep with a man once. She got pregnant with her daughter from doing so.
25	* PoliceBrutality: The police used to target lesbians with harassment, beatings and even rape.
26	* RRatedOpening: {{Inverted}}. The film ends with a sex scene between Laura and Mitch, the lesbians from the pulp story.
27	* ShowWithinAShow: Interspersed with the real lesbians being interviewed on their lives in the past is a story that's based on the old pulp lesbian novels of the 1950s, about a young lesbian named Laura meeting another woman named Mitch and becoming her lover, with the last shot turning into a picture like it's the book's cover.
28	* TomboyishName: Mitch is the name of Laura's lover in the pulp story. She's feminine like Laura, although more experienced and bold.
29	* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: The gay bars of the 40's-50's are discussed, and stock footage is shown of them. Laura in the story also goes into one, where she's hit on by Mitch, a woman there, before going home with her.
30	* YourFavorite: Mitch orders a grasshopper for Laura, knowing it's her preferred drink ''before they even speak''.

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