Welcome to your weekly pop culture fix, which contains lots of high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and it’s government’s support for you — helped along by Aria and Emily.
+ Well, the biggest lesbian pop culture news of the year — of the decade, probably — is that an L Word reboot is honest-to-G-d in the works!
Leisha Hailey, Kate Moennig and Jennifer Beals have signed on, I believe I have already personally committed to a podcast and recaps and also me and you and everyone we know really wants to get their foot into that writer’s room. Dorothy Snarker wrote a piece for Hollywood Reporter about what the show must do to remain relevant this time around — I would also add that they absolutely must have a trans woman character played by a trans woman actress. Ideally more than one, even! There are so many out talented queer women out there (including many behind the camera) that there’s no reason for this not to be a masterpiece. Mary Lambert and Michelle Chamuel have already whipped up a little theme song for you, because we all know that the BETTY song cannot stand! From Vanity Fair:
The series was always something of a guilty pleasure for queer and straight audiences alike, but the L Word reboot shoulders a responsibility to portray members of the LGBTQ community with respect and dignity—not least because it will still be one of the few series that features said community so centrally.
As you may or may not know, Autostraddle was built on the foundation of L Word fandom many moons ago, our writer Kate argued for the show’s return four years ago, and I cannot WAIT to process additional feelings about this terrifying beast for many moons to come. Now every week can be L Word week!
If you wanna dig back in, this post of the best L Word episodes ever includes a watching guide for newbies or returnies.
+ The cast of Shameless is heading to Chicago to film pieces of Season Eight, which somehow is going forward despite the Svetlana storyline not going in the precise direction I desired. (Look out for an article I’ve written entirely in my head titled “I wish Shameless loved its queer female characters as much as I love Shameless”) Jessica Szohr is joining the cast to play “Nessa,” Fiona’s “tough and smart” lesbian pal who moves into the building Fiona just bought. According to Inquisitr, “The introduction of Nessa has caused some fans to speculate whether or not a relationship between Jessica’s character and Emmy Rossum’s character (Fiona) could blossom,” as if we have not already been down that road with Jasmine in Season Two and as if it did not lead where I’d hoped it would go! Also apparently there’s gonna be a new actor Liam which is sad because man it’s been cute watching those kiddos grow up on the teevee.
+ I love that the media still finds it imperative to ask straight actresses how they felt having to MAKE OUT WITH A WOMAN, especially one who has done so in so many other movies already! Charlize Theron on Going Bisexual For ‘Atomic Blonde’: ‘I Just Loved It’
“For so many reasons: My frustration of how that community is represented in cinema, or lack thereof. And also, it made perfect sense. It just suited her. It just felt there was a way through that relationship and the fact that it was a same-sex relationship to show a woman not having to fall in love, which is one of those female tropes.”
+ 32 TV Shows and Movies With Lesbian or Bi Characters Streaming on Amazon Prime
+ This is a good one: i-D’s A-Z of lgbtq idols | read | i-D
+ Kate Comer will be playing Deborah in Marvel’s ‘New Warriors: “Deborah is proud, funny and quick-witted. Confidently out as a lesbian, Deborah is a low-level telekinetic — very low. Like, she-can-move-a-paper-cup low.”
+ Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Your Type” Is a Moody Trans Girl Anthem
+ How Often Does Doctor Who Pass the Bechdel-Wallace Test?
+ Let Me Die A Nun is a forthcoming independent web series featuring Hari Nef as the girl who a lesbian soon-to-be-nun falls in love with. Here’s a trailer:
+ What Makes a Film Lesbian?: “Sofia pushes all the Progressive buttons—as if pushing a Rebel dildo—but she also reduces American history to Liberal agitprop. At the same time, she pretends Feminist interest in portraying female agency (sexual license as opposed to sexual repression). She timidly hints that some of the schoolhouse women are closeted lesbians: Schoolmarm Kidman shows special interest in Kirsten Dunst as the oldest student; they exchange looks of hot complicity until Dunst’s character develops a yen for eggplant.”
+ New “Game Of Thrones” Lesbian Power Couple Or New Dead Lesbian: A Special Scientific Investigation
+ Hey, if you wanna watch something that’ll be unpleasant at best and psychologically damaging at worst, try “To the Bone,” a Netflix production about anorexia produced by Marti Noxin in which Lili Taylor (who I love) plays a hippie lesbian Mom!
+ I’ve been following butchcamp for quite some time and I recommend it HIGHLY —our ladies of lesbos: butchcamp is the instagram account celebrating butch ladies in pop culture
+ Great Gay Moments In Canadian Film, Television And Digital Media
+ I Love That Heterosexual Show “GLOW”!
+ Girlhood Wild and Queer: Ana Kokkinos’s Only The Brave (1994)
+ ‘The Feels’ Has Viewers Asking: Should Straight Women Make Lesbian Movies? – Broadly
+ From a series on NewNowNext looking at LGBTQ short films: A Drunken Party Takes A Serious Turn In “Kiss And Tell”
That butchcamp Instagram is incredible!! ❤️
L Word: “I would also add that they ‘absolutely must’ have a trans woman character” I’m going to have to disagree with you there, would it be great yes, is it “absolutely must” not if they can’t do it right which they don’t have the best track record i.e. Max.
Can Hari Nef be on The L Word?
I will second, third, and fourth this!
So many good links! I can’t wait to read them all.
Fucking hell does Hari look soo queer(she always looks good). I really need to watch this show, and melt over Hari again.
“Should Straight Women Make Lesbian Movies?”
Yes, Everyone should make lesbian movies. There should be more lesbian movies period
thank you genuinely a ton for saying the l word must have at least one lesbian trans woman. that means a lot to me
Also if the L Word reboot doesn’t involve a storyline where they all go to A-Camp with cameos from all of the Autostraddle cast it is failing the modern queer experience!
staff.Dammit.
I feel like there are already such incredibly high (and tbh unrealistic) expectations for this new L Word series. I read an article on Vanity Fair’s website this morning about it that includes what I think is an important point: “It’s impossible for a single TV series to showcase every nuance of a given issue, and to expect as much would be unrealistic and unfair.” I think the show should definitely be more diverse and representative than the original was, but it seems so many people are calling for it to represent every single type of queer, female-identified person and that’s just setting it up for failure.
yes, i agree for sure — although that pressure existed the first time around, too. WeHo lesbians are not representative of all lesbians, either, and that’s where the show takes place. But I think they can push for more realism — realistically, they would have a lesbian trans woman in their social group, realistically, not everybody would be white or thin, realistically there would be more bisexual folks. Will they all be attractive and upper-middle-class? Yeah, probably, and that’s accurate. They can’t be everything to everyone but there are a few areas that would be very simple to improve upon. They added a lot of characters over those 6 seasons that added nothing to the show at all.
I couldn’t agree more.
I agree and also I think a lot of people are just having fun fantasizing out loud about their own dream casting.
Something about the wording of that Charlize quote bothers me. I think she thinks that quote is more of a compliment than it actually is.
Y’ALL but also Cori and Kacy have ended their marriage with the classic grace, love, and consideration they handle everything but there is still much mourning.
Oh no
I liked them a lot
What a shame
So excited for Shameless to get a queer storyline that isn’t questionably abusive Barb.