Melissa Etheridge has a new interview with PopEater that I really enjoyed reading. I saw Melissa on Oprah a few weeks ago and found her both upfront and really likable. She’s outspoken, positive, down to earth and is really trying to find meaning in her life. There’s been some controversy over her split with longterm partner, Tammy Michaels, with Etheridge claiming their split was mutual and Tammy mentioning in since-removed blog posts that she was “blindsided” and hinting that Tammy was lying. Tammy’s thoughts on the matter were in the form of semi-vague poetry, and she hasn’t stated anything outright. Apart from that minor issue Etheridge has so far avoided criticism for the split and we haven’t heard much gossip about it. I think a lot of that is due to her character and the way she seems so upfront.

PopEater asked her about the separation, with Melissa again saying that it “didn’t happen overnight” (Tammy might disagree) and that she wished the timing didn’t coincide with her album release. She also addressed the recent controversy over a Newsweek columnist who argued that gay actors couldn’t play straight characters. Melissa hadn’t even heard of that, and said she thought it was ridiculous.

Did you separate from Tammy before writing this album?
It was written before we actually physically separated, but you know, breakups just don’t happen overnight.

It must suck having the album and the separation emerge at the same time. Do you wish the timing was different?
[Laughs] Absolutely! When I saw these things were about to collide for a while there I thought, I don’t want this to come up on top of the album, and then I started doing interviews and they’re like, “You’re such a family girl, your marriage is great, what’s the key to a great marriage?” and I was like, “Oh, I can’t sit here and lie.” But I would have definitely made the timing different.

So is the song ‘Miss California’ about Tammy?
That’s a political song. It’s about California passing Proposition 8.

A Newsweek writer said Sean Hayes was too gay to be in ‘Promises Promises.’ Kristin Chenoweth wrote a letter in his defense and Ryan Murphy from ‘Glee’ called for a boycott of the magazine.
Oh, the gays are getting miffed! Don’t tell us we’re too gay or not or whatever. Oh lord, what is gay, anyway? Find me the line — find me the defining line between gay and straight. Find me the defining line between male and female. There is no line. You cannot draw this line in the sand. Yes, there are plenty of people way over there who will never partake in anything straight and there are people way over there who will never partake in anything gay, but there’s a whole lot of gray in the middle. Where’s the line? Behind all of it is sexual insecurity. It’s sexphobia.

Have you been accused of not being gay enough?
Oh sure. I’ve had the gay community say, “Why don’t you write a song saying ‘her’? Your lyrics are non-gender.” They’re never happy. And the straight folks, they just assume the lyrics are about a woman, and they assume that if they go to a concert it’s going to be all gay people. There are stereotypes we all have. But there’s no us and them. Good God, we’re all the same.

Have you ever been approached to have your songs on ‘Glee?’
No, I don’t think they’re gay enough. [Laughs]

[From Popeater]

She’s too funny! I’ve noticed that Etheridge’s songs don’t make a reference to either gender and could be interpreted like she’s singing to a man or a woman. To me that just makes them more accessible and isn’t about whether she’s trying to sing straight or not. She makes catchy meaningful songs and that’s what matters, not who she’s referring to. I like her explanation that there’s a spectrum and it’s hard to draw a line in the sand between straight and gay. Sometimes it’s necessary, though, when there are so many forces working to deny rights to a specific group of people.