Thelma and Louise & The Colour Purple:~ Are they lesbians?

'Thelma and Louise'

With the film 'Thelma and Louise' you could presume they became lesbians because of the rape ordeal Thelma almost goes through. Then again the fact that Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise is merely a presumption as there is no actual evidence. The intimacy between the two of them is merely a close-knit friendship/sisterhood. The kiss they share at the end of the film could be interpreted as a lesbian act but it can be acknowledged as their way of saying goodbye to one another as they know once they drive over the cliff they are not going to survive.

'The Colour Purple' 

The relationship between Whoopi Goldberg's character Celie and Margaret Avery's character Shug could have evolved due to Celie's tormented childhood. Initially she was continuously raped by her supposed father who went to father her only two children Adam and Olivia. We later find out that he was not her biological father. Just as she got over being used by her step-father she is forced to marry a man old enough to be her father, and who then took it upon himself to continuously rape her (as she never gave consent to have sex with him) and make her a slave to him and his unruly children. This may have lead to Celie's confused sexuality and infatuation with Shug. 

These two comparisons show how a friendship/relationship can be confused for the other. However the relationship shared between Shug and Celie in the book 'The Colour Purple' and the film 'The Colour Purple' portray two completely different relationships/friendships. With the film it is portrayed as merely a kiss between two friends and even then it is merely a peck on the lips. Whereas in the book it is a full blown love affair. The similarities between the two relationships lie with the initial first kiss, Shug helping Celie to find her letters from her sister Nettie and the fact that they end up living together again in the end when Shug is contemplating retiring and Celie's business is doing exceedingly well. However with the book you are able to establish that their relationship has once again just picked up where it left off from before Shug went away with Germaine.