AMY SCHUMER TALKS TAMPONS & VAGINAS ON THE RED CARPET

Amy Schumer took to the Emmys red carpet on Sunday night and talked about (gasp) her vagina and feminine hygiene! If you’re a regular reader of The Periodical you may be thinking something along the lines of "So?" or "Finally!", but it seems like the Emmy producers were not on our wavelength.

Because Schumer's comment was *censored* we didn’t catch her actual phrasing, but it sounds like she’s concerned about exposing her ~clit~ to the cameras as she approaches E! News correspondent Giuliana Rancic. Schumer quickly chats with Sarah Paulson, who is exiting her interview, and they comment on how hard it is to walk in gowns. “I know it’s like, ughhh let me not expose my clit!” Amy said (I mean, we assume. Producers cut out the rest of the word, so it soundslike cl---.)

Schumer reads the response around her and puts on an innocent smile, one she is famous for in her act. “My click!” She says quickly, straight faced, continuing her bit. It seems that Schumer finds the censorship a little silly, because who knew parts of a woman's anatomy was a curse word, right?

Schumer continued to talk about her vagina through her conversation with Rancic. When she’s asked the classic “Who are you wearing?” question by Rancic, Schumer quickly responds, “Vivienne Westwood, Tom Ford shoes, and an O.B. tampon!” She then proceeded to dance as she receives groans and remarks from the sidelines. “Helllooo!” she sings, before putting on her smile again.

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Amy’s conversation with Rancic reminds us a little of THINX HQ, tbh. Hopefully next year when Rancic undoubtedly asks the same question, Schumer will respond with “THINX.” (A girl can dream).

MASTER OF NONE WRITER ALAN YANG SPEAKS ABOUT DIVERSITY IN TELEVISION

Master of None head writer Alan Yang walked away with his first Emmy for Outstanding Writer In A Comedy Series. The win came specifically for the episode Parents, that highlights the past of the main character Dev’s (Aziz Ansari) immigrant parents, and the sacrifice and struggle they have endured to provide a good life for their son. Dev’s parents were played by Ansari’s real parents, Shoukath and Fatima Ansari, and Yang and Asari used actual bits of their past to create a thoughtful and masterful episode.

After Yang thanked his family and coworkers, he spoke about Asian-American representation in film and television. "There's 17 million Asian Americans in this country, and there's 17 million Italian Americans,” Yang said. “They have The Godfather, Goodfellas, Rocky, The Sopranos. We got Long Duck Dong.” Yang is referring to an Asian caricature-type character in the film Sixteen Candles.

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Yang ended the speech by encouraging the Asian-American community to keep striving for better representation, and concluded his speech with light hearted parenting advice for Asian-American parents.

"We have a long way to go. But I know we can get there. I believe in us, it's just gonna take a lot of hard work. Asian parents out there, if you could just do me a favor: If just a couple of you can get your kids cameras instead of violins, we'll be all good."

Jokes aside, let’s not forget that the lack of Asian-American visibility is shocking when you look at the numbers. In The compelling New York Times piece  Asian American Actors Are Fighting For Visibility. They Will Not Be Ignored, it is reported that “Only 1.4 percent of lead characters in a sample of studio films released in 2014 were Asian”. While Yang’s win and speech are a wonderful step in the right direction, let’s not forget we have many more to go (Hi, hollywood casting!)

JILL SOLOWAY WINS BEST DIRECTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES FOR TRANSPARENT

Transparents creator and director, Jill Soloway, won the Emmy on sunday for Outstanding Director of a Drama. Soloway used her time on stage to talk about the trans community and declared a phrase that will be echoed by us THINXers for years to come: “Topple The Patriarchy!” Gold.

This is the second Emmy for Soloway, who has been directing Transparent for 3 seasons (the 3rd to be released in late September 23rd.) Jeffrey Tamborine, who stars in the series, has won 2 Emmys for the lead role of Maura.

Soloways speech, one of the absolute best of the night, is below. We hope Soloway’s words will remind Hollywood that there is room and opportunity for women, people of color, and trans men and women on screen--you simply create parts,and cast them (i.e. no more excuses plz.)

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“People ask me if it's hard to be a director and I tell them no: Life is very hard. Being a good partner, being a good mother, being a good person, is hard. Being a director is so [fucking] easy! I get to just make my dreams come true. It's a privilege, and it also creates privilege when you take women, people of color, trans people, queer people, and you put them at the center of the story — the subjects, instead of the objects. You change the world we found out. We found out!

So I want to to thank you, my sweet Jeff Besos, because you changed the world. You invited me to do this thing that these people call television — but I call a revolution. I always wanted to be part of a movement: the civil rights movement, the feminist movement.

This TV show allows me to take my dream about unlikable jewish people, queer folk, trans folk and make them the heros. Thank you to the trans community for your lived lives. We need to stop violence against transgender women. And topple the patriarchy! Topple the patriarchy!”

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS SETS 2 EMMY RECORDS

Selena Meyer would be thrilled! Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home her 5th consecutive Emmy on Sunday for Outstanding Lead In A Comedy Series for the role of Meyer on HBO’s Veep. This is her 6th Emmy in this category, breaking the previous record she shared with Candice Bergen and Mary Tyler Moore. She has also broken the record for consecutive emmys won in this category, surpassing Helen Hunt who received 4 Emmy for “Mad About You.”

While Louis-Dreyfus is often known to pull off some hilarious bits during her acceptance speeches, this year's speech was extremely heartfelt.

Louis-Dreyfus touched upon our political climate and how the absurdadies continue to resemble her show. “I would like to take the opportunity to personally apologize for the current political climate,” she said, met by applause. “I think that Veep has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as political satire but it now feels more like a sobering documentary.”

Louis-Dreyfus ended her speech by honoring her late father, Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away just two days before the Emmys.

“I’d like to dedicate this to my father, William Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away on Friday,” she told the star-studded crowd, visibly shaking as she accepted the honor. “I’m so glad that he liked Veep, because his opinion was the one that really mattered."

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Louis-Dreyfus’ consecutive wins are incredibly exciting for women in television, specifically because of the character Selina Meyer. Louis-Dreyfus brilliantly plays an extremely unlikable character. Meyer is a narcissist, lacks emotional warmth or depth, and is an emotionally distant and unavailable mother. Because of Louis-Dreyfus, there is a delightful humor and complexity to the Meyer character, and despite her level of power, feels human. Women so rarely get to be unlikable in television and film, and when they are, audiences can be quick to turn on them. We hope Louis-Dreyfus is one of the pioneers that will remind television executives that women should get to play dynamic and "unlikable" characters, too, because gender-based arguments aside-- they are really fun to watch.

Rami Malek Speaks On Emmy Win & Paying Characters With Mental Illness

Mr. Robot star Rami Malek won his first Emmy on Sunday for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series. Malek, clearly a bit surprised and emotional, walked up to the stage and said “Please tell me you’re seeing this too? Oh my god!”, and was met with thunderous applause. Malek is the first Egyptian-American to win an Emmy award, and spoke more about his family backstage. As the son of an immigrant father who worked hard to give his children a life with lots of possibilities, Malek spoke about the importance of opportunity.

 “I think a lot of people can relate to wanting an opportunity. I wanted an opportunity and now I have it. I just want everyone, no matter how you grew up, the socio-economic standard you were born into, to have an opportunity regardless, to not be stifled in this time in the work. To be given a chance, like I've been given a chance,” Malek said, reported by Vulture.

 Malek continued to speak about his characters mental illness. Although Malek's character Elliot does not receive an actual diagnosis (yet?) but there are undertones throughout the season, with promise of more explanation in season 2. It was also reported by Vulture that Malek has worked with a therapist to accurately portray a battling mental illness with accuracy and sensitivity. ""For me to stand stand here as, not the typical leading man," Malek said to Vulture. "I think speaks a lot about where we're headed. I think we can just keep going further in that direction. Obviously, not just limited to entertainment, but socially and politically, to continue and strive to be as progressive as possible." 

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by Team Thinx