Ruby Rose

Media

Various media outlets have commented on public fascination with Rose's gender identity, gender expression, and looks, including her tattoos and visual or behavioral similarities to Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber and a younger Leonardo DiCaprio. The public and media attention increased following Rose's debut on Orange Is the New Black, significantly with regard to heterosexual women commenting on her physical appearance. Emma Teitel of Maclean's stated, "Rose, 29, resembles an androgynous Angelina Jolie; she is a rare combination of angular and soft. She is a badass with a permanently arched brow and a Justin Bieber haircut. In other words, she is the lesbian James Dean. And straight women are falling madly in love with her." Alex Rees of the Cosmopolitan commented, "Have you watched Orange Is the New Black's third season yet? If so, you're in love with Ruby Rose, right? [...] Everyone is in love with Ruby Rose now; literally everyone - but it's also OK if you're not quite ready to admit it either. (But this is a safe space, so feel free to open up.)"

The media attention resulted in a new, open discourse about sexual fluidity and whether or not sexual orientation can change, with some of the media expressing disapproval toward heterosexual women claiming they would "go gay for Ruby Rose." Teitel wrote, "And, in predictably ironic fashion, some of the people most eager to rain on the Ruby Rose lady-loving parade were none other than lady-lovers themselves" and that "social media lit up with tweets admonishing the Ruby Rose fanatics: 'All it takes is a pretty face to change your sexual orientation?' and 'Saying you 'go gay' for Ruby Rose reinforces the idea that sexuality is a choice, and is homophobic.'" Teitel cited a Jezebel article, adding, "In the words of one scold, Madeleine Davies [...] 'Homosexuality and bisexuality aren't identities that you get to try on for a day to show off how liberal you are." and "They're built into a person's biology. So please, while you-a straight girl-are free to have a crush on whomever you want, do everyone a favour and calm the f-k down. You don't get a cookie for finding a woman attractive.'" To Teitel, "this response suggests that our newly progressive world-one of supposedly collapsed sexual boundaries-may not be so progressive after all. One must either reject the norm (heterosexuality) or embrace it full force." and that it is "a shame. Because sexual exploration is a lot less daunting when labels are malleable. Homosexuality and bisexuality aren't, as Davies writes, 'identities you get to try on for a day,' but the world would be a better place if they were." Teitel added, "The key to a tolerant and sexually flexible society is not in jumping down people's throats when they play fast and loose with labels. It's in letting everyone define their sexuality on their own terms."

Rose acknowledged the public discourse concerning her physical appearance and subsequent debate on sexual fluidity, commenting that she thinks it is brilliant and was not expecting it, but that some of her friends have found the public affection toward her inappropriate. "They personally are offended by it, [and are] saying like, 'You can't just choose to be gay. You should say something about all these women that are saying [they're] turning gay.'," she said. "My sense is definitely more lighthearted and neutral on it. I think people are just saying that to be complimentary. I don't think anyone's doing it to be derogatory or to take away from what it really means to come out and identify as a different sexuality than what people will think you are." She compared today's society to how society was ten years ago, saying that people would probably watch someone onscreen that they were attracted to, but not be able to "make a funny meme and say, 'Oh my god, I'm gay!' because that would be so frowned upon." She added, "I, personally, think that the moments we try to nitpick who can and can't say that they are genderqueer or gender-neutral or trans, or who's gay or who's bi - who are we to tell other people how they can live their lives and what they can tweet and what they can say?" Rose said she thinks people should let others say what they want to about their sexuality, and that this is a message the LGBT community should be supporting.