Podcast appearances and mentions of leigh holmes foster

Lez Hang Out is proud to be sponsored by Olivia, the travel company for lesbians and all LGBTQ+ women!  When you join our Lez Hang Out family on Patreon you will gain instant access to 25 and counting full-length bonus episodes, ad-free weekly episodes, mp3 downloads of all our original songs (including our brand new song based on PLL), an invite to our exclusive Discord channel, and more! We can't wait to see you there.  You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezmerch.  Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast where “two can keep a secret if one of them is dead”.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with return guest and founder of TGI Femslash, John Arrow (@jarrow272), to talk about the 7 season teen mystery drama, Pretty Little Liars, for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon.  Come with us on a journey back to 2010, when television seasons were 26 episodes long and showrunners were just starting to figure out how to harness the power of social media to engage with fandoms in a big way. Pretty Little Liars itself does not age all that well in many ways, especially in the treatment of their one and only trans character; but back in the 2010s it was actually considered pretty progressive for having several queer characters and a lesbian showrunner. If you were queer or questioning in the early aughts you 1000% knew about Shay Mitchell as sporty lesbian Emily Fields who seemingly turned every woman within a 5 mile radius of her gay. If you are a lesbian of a certain age, Emily likely played a role in your own coming out journey too. For those of you who were part of the #BooRadleyVanCullen (like Leigh), you may recall more of the social fandom experience than you do the plot. Before Twitter became the cesspool it is today, there were the golden days of weekly live tweeted episodes of PLL with the cast members, the showrunner and the writers. The extremely unhinged plot made it the perfect group-viewing show and we highly recommend that if you have never watched PLL, you watch with a friend or three. While we do talk about a lot of the major plot points, the whole series is just too convoluted for us to really spoil anything for you. Even hardcore fans like John find something new in each rewatch.  At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on PLL, titled “A Liar”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually.  Remember, you can give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on Instagram and follow along on Facebook, TikTok, Youtube and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod. Find your fav tol and smol hosts Ellie & Leigh at @elliebrigida and @lshfoster respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you join our Lez Hang Out family on Patreon you will gain instant access to 24 and counting full-length bonus episodes, ad-free weekly episodes, mp3 downloads of all our original songs, an invite to our exclusive Discord channel, and more! We can't wait to see you there.  You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezmerch.  Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that is forever in its Wachowski era.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2015 Netflix series Sense8 for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon.  Sense8 is an incredibly queer show that we honestly cannot believe first premiered a whole entire decade ago. It truly ranks up there next to Orphan Black for us as one of the most impressive shows ever to exist on television. Although we really wish it had gotten more seasons, what we did get was an absolute masterpiece. Sense8 was nominated for GLAAD media awards in 2016, 2018 and 2019 for its queer representation and if you did not get a chance to watch it back then, we really cannot recommend enough that you watch it right now. Like for real, why are you reading this? Go watch Sense8 first and then listen to the episode, because this is full of spoilers from here on.  As you might recall from our episodes on The Matrix and Bound, we are big fans of the Wachowski sisters' work. Sense8 is no exception. In fact, Lana Wachowski has said that much of Nomi's storyline was autobiographical in nature. In terms of lesbian couples in media, it doesn't get much more top tier than Nomi and Amanita. Honestly, they might still be at the top even now. We love that Amanita is so ride or die for Nomi; and in context of it being 2015 at the time, the scenes where she defends Nomi against her terfy friends hit even harder. But, as much as we are all in on Nomi and Amanita, they are not the only queer rep in this show. In fact, we'd argue that every single person in the cluster is queer simply by nature of being a sense8. By having this diverse group of people all across the globe suddenly psychically linked, the Wachowskis make a statement about the nature of sexuality, the value of shared experiences in relation to developing empathy, and what it means to be a “we” in all senses of the word.  At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Sense8, titled “Sum of Our Parts”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually.  Remember, you can give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on Instagram and follow along on Facebook, TikTok, Youtube and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod.  Find your fav tol and smol hosts Ellie & Leigh at @elliebrigida and @lshfoster respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you join our Lez Hang Out family on Patreon you will gain instant access to 23 and counting full-length bonus episodes, ad-free weekly episodes, mp3 downloads of all our original songs, an invite to our exclusive Discord channel, and more! A Patreon membership is also a great gift for making your loved one's Yuletide (and next 12 months) as gay as possible.  Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that is a little bit obsessed with Beanie Feldstein.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2024 dark buddy comedy Drive-Away Dolls for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon.  Drive-Away Dolls is a chaotic queer romp set in 1999. The plot follows Jamie and Marian, two lesbian besties who could not be more different from one another, as they take a road trip to Tallahassee while being pursued by some very inefficient goons. Coen brothers movies are known for a flavor of dark humor and a level of absurdity that can be polarizing, and this one is no exception. While Leigh (and her wife) found Drive-Away Dolls hilarious, Ellie won't be rewatching anytime soon. If you're hoping to find a new ship to stay up late reading about on Ao3, you'll probably be disappointed. Although the level of lesbian shenanigans is off the charts from Jamie's L Word vibe to the sheer number of dildos on screen at any given time, the sexual chemistry between the leads is not believable. While we can't quite root for Jamie and Marian as a couple, we still found the movie enjoyable as an outlandishly gay comedy. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Drive-Away Dolls, titled “Member of Congress”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually.  Mark your calendars for our Black Friday Sale! From November 29th- Cyber Monday all of our original merch will be 20% off with code “LHOBlackFriday”. Check out our store at bit.ly/lezmerch and start making your wish list now.  We are heading to France from March 31st through April 6th for this year's BIG GAY TRIP! Join Ellie and Leigh for a vacay to Bordeaux and Paris where we will tour a beautiful winery, explore hauntingly historical catacombs, and dance the night away at the best Parisian gay bars. Make a 25% deposit by January 1st in order to secure your spot on the trip. Space is limited, so sign up soon! Give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on BlueSky @lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. You can find your fav tol and smol hosts Ellie & Leigh at @elliebrigida and @lshfoster respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that fully supports your decision to get the iconic Kristen Stewart Love Lies Bleeding mullet.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about Kristen Stewart's 2024 sapphic crime-thriller Love Lies Bleeding for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. This movie is a wild ride, and we think it is more enjoyable to go into it with as little information as possible. Be sure to watch the film before listening, as there are many spoilers ahead! However, if you are super squeamish about blood and gore, you may need to sit this one out. The gore is realistic and not at all over the top, but we did find it a bit disturbing and uncomfortable to watch at times. Love Lies Bleeding introduces us to possibly the (and we say this with the utmost respect) dykiest Kristen Stewart character yet. Lou is a complicated, small-town lesbian working at a gym and sporting the gayest mullet we have ever seen. She has a clingy, obsessive ex-girlfriend named Daisy and a super messy relationship with her family. Refreshingly, Lou's issues with her family are not because of homophobia. Instead, we learn that her dad is a shady, dangerous man who straight-up kills people, her mom has been “missing” for the past 12 years, and her sister is too brainwashed by her violent, misogynistic husband to be a half-decent sibling.  When Lou meets Jackie, a bisexual beefcake played by Katie O'Brien, it is like a moth to a flame and their passion quickly ignites into a full-blown toxic, obsessive relationship. They U-Haul after sleeping together one time and then Lou proceeds to get Jackie hooked on steroids to help her bulk up for an important bodybuilding competition. The film does an excellent job showing how the steroids are changing Jackie's body and personality, shielding none of the horrors of addiction and obsessive love from the viewers. Several realistic sex scenes help to emphasize the problematic relationship dynamics between Lou and Jackie. It's not all violence and sex though, as we were laughing our heads off on multiple occasions from all the campy, queer chaos in a Bodies, Bodies, Bodies type of way. Even though Lou and Jackie's relationship is 100% toxic and gets almost everyone in their path killed, we cannot help but be fascinated by these nuanced antiheroes and the movie's exploration of what it means to be a monster. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Love Lies Bleeding, titled “Destiny”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually.  You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking exclusive perks, including access to our Discord channel, 23 and counting full-length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezmerch (use code lhospooky for 20% off your purchase through November 1st!). Give us your answers to our Q & Gay on Twitter @lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. You can find your fav tol and smol hosts Ellie & Leigh at @elliebrigida and @lshfoster respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants to take you out to the ball gay-me.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2022 Amazon Prime series A League of Their Own for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. This series was based on the 1992 film of the same name and featured an absolutely stacked cast. Literally everyone is in this show (Even Rosie O'Donnell!). Of course we cannot talk about ALOTO without first talking about the upsetting and completely undeserved cancellation that came after giving us one of the most perfect seasons of television ever made. In spite of the series' success, Amazon Prime decided not to move forward with a Season 2, contributing to the all too common “Cancel Your Gays” trope that has been a favorite of seemingly every modern television network lately.  If you haven't caught on, we think this show was a home run and would not change a single thing about it (aside from making it 800 seasons long). Even with only one season, ALOTO packs in more queer women content than any show we've ever seen (outside of The L Word). As a period piece ALOTO does a fantastic job of showing what life was like for these women as they attempted to live as authentically as possible while navigating the laws of a heteronormative and racially segregated society. It is honestly so refreshing to see such a wide range of queer relationship dynamics on our screens, especially the ones that are not solely romance-focused. Sure, we all go feral for D'Arcy Carden as Greta spinning little gayby Carson's entire life on its axis, but it's equally satisfying watching Jess and Lupe's queer masc bromance and the queer elder x baby queer dynamic between Uncle Bertie and Max. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on A League of Their Own, titled “Baseball Diamonds (Are A Girl's Best Friend)”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Our merch store is moving! Get ready for Pride 365 days a year with our official Lez Hang Out merchandise soon to be available directly through our website (with an expanded range of items!). In the meantime, you can still grab our past designs from the old shop at bit.ly/lezshop.  Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that is in its Wachowski Sisters Era.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 1996 crime thriller Bound for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. Even though this film is from the 90s, it still has some of the best lesbian representation, including a sex scene that doesn't just cut away to crashing waves and a happy ending a la Thelma and Louise where our lesbians escape together while making out in a pickup truck.  If you haven't seen Bound, it is a really fun thriller about recently freed ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) and high femme sex worker Violet (Jennifer Tilly). The two end up in the same apartment elevator and as soon as their eyes meet the game is on. Violet and her mob boyfriend Caesar live in the apartment directly next to the unit that Corky is currently working on, so Corky can hear everything that goes on. In a move taken right out of a porno, Violet ‘loses' her earring down the sink and Corky shows up to save the day with her strong muscles and super gay arm tats. Corky does not make any immediate moves, wrongly assuming that Violet must be just a straight girl up for a little experimenting. Luckily for Corky, Violet is not shy about making her wants known and after boldly pointing out that she knows what the labras on Corky's arm signifies, she shows off her own tattoo which happens to be like a centimeter away from her nipple. We all know where this is going and it would have gone a lot farther if not for freaking Caesar who shows up and is so homophobic that he doesn't even realize his girlfriend was getting railed by the plumber. Things escalate quickly after this, with Violet zeroing in on Corky as her perfect partner for planning her escape from Caesar and the mob (but not without stealing 2 million dollars first). They have sex all of one time and in true lesbian fashion, Corky is ready to risk it all, all over again.  Bound holds up as a Lez-ssential after all these years, because it is so openly and unapologetically queer, especially for 1996. Both main characters are established queer women who are secure in their sexual identities, the story doesn't revolve around them coming out or conflict specifically due to them being gay, there is a scene in a lesbian bar, and we get a happy ending. All the boxes are checked off and we genuinely can't think of anything we would change.  At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Bound, also titled “Bound”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly full-length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by checking out our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants the ugly, untalented gays to please report to the principal's office. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2023 instant cult classic Bottoms for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. This film had an incredibly limited theatrical run, but still managed to end up with an astounding (and well-deserved) 90% critic-score on Rotten Tomatoes. If you have not had a chance to watch Bottoms yet, we highly recommend renting it before listening to this episode, as it's honestly just so much more fun to go in with as little information as possible.  Bottoms is a wildly queer and campy teen movie a la American Pie and SuperBad. Unlike its straighter counterparts, this film flips a lot of the stereotypes on their heads in a way that we really love. Main character PJ is actually pretty terrible. She's constantly objectifying every girl she sees and lying more often than she tells the truth, and yet, we are totally here for it! Her bestie Josie is not far behind her in the making completely crazy decisions department as she spends the entire first half of the movie lying through her teeth about literally killing other kids in juvie (spoiler alert: neither of these ‘ugly, untalented gays' was ever in juvie).  No matter how chaotic Bottoms seems at first, it is still a shock to see just how far the movie takes things. Sure, we knew the girls were going to create a fight club, but nothing about that premise could have prepared us for the absolute massacre that is the ending. The violence ramps up throughout the story- a broken nose here, a car bombing there; each incident slowly getting the audience more and more acclimated to the off-the-rails violence until it becomes totally plausible that these teenage girls are just full-on publically murdering football players left and right. This film holds back exactly 0 punches all while managing to keep the main characters relatable enough that they speak to the baby gay in us all.  At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Bottoms, “Going Down Swinging”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). This is your last chance to join Ellie and Leigh in Costa Rica this May for a queer wellness retreat. Don't let future-you suffer from fomo! Book a spot by January 30th at bit.ly/lezdocostarica and treat yourself to a once in a lifetime experience, new friendships, and some much deserved relaxation in a beautiful National Park.  You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly full length bonus episodes (including a brand new one on Will and Grace), weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by checking out our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants you to, “Check her texts!!!!”.  This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about A24's 2022 slasher-comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon.  Before we go any further, please heed this spoiler warning! This episode is spoiler heavy right out the gate, so if you have not yet seen Bodies Bodies Bodies, do that first! We really enjoyed this movie, because of how it flips the Bury Your Gays trope fully on its head. Sure, lots of people end up dead, but not our lesbians! For those less familiar or who did not choose to heed the warning and watch the movie first, the film follows the story of Sophie (played by Amandla Stenberg) and her girlfriend of 6 weeks, Bee. Sophie brings Bee to a mansion party in the middle of nowhere during a hurricane to meet some of the absolute worst people ever (ie. her “friends”), dance, and do lots of drugs while the world collapses around them. These people are in no way actually friends and have negative levels of trust for each other. It's a recipe for disaster that ramps up to 1 million the second the first body hits the ground.  Even though bodies are dropping and accusations are flying, Sophie and Bee somehow remain the most functional couple at the party. Sure, Sophie said ‘I love you' and Bee didn't say it back, but what is love if not murdering a veterinary assistant for your girlfriend of six weeks? After all, actions always speak louder than words. Although we do find out that Sophie probably (definitely) cheated on Bee with Jordan, the trauma these lesbians just went through and the secrets they now have to keep on lock from the cops will probably bond them together forever. We can't wait to see what totally bonkers shenanigans happen at the wedding. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Bodies Bodies Bodies, “Bodies”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. We are planning another #TrovaTrip gaycation! Join Ellie and Leigh in Costa Rica May 1-6, 2024, for the relaxing queer vacay you deserve. For more information and to be among the first to book a spot (and snatch up that Early Bird Discount!), visit bit.ly/lezdocostarica. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the podcast that, “has never for once in our lives been able to think straight”. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2008 romantic drama I Can't Think Straight, based on the novel by the same name, for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. Although this film was released in 2008, it remains one of the few lesbian movies with diverse QPOC representation. The story centers around the relationship between Tala, a Christian Palestinian woman from Jordan, and Leyla, a British Indian Muslim woman living in London. Tala is in the midst of her fourth engagement to some irrelevant man and working in London when she meets Leyla and loses all ability to think straight. In true lesbian fashion, their eyes meet once at Tala's engagement party and the rest is history.  These two women have incredible chemistry together and it is impossible not to root for them from that very first glance. Tala is bold in her pursuit of baby gay Leyla, inviting her on a weekend getaway for just the two of them and slyly booking a room with only one bed. After sleeping together literally once, Leyla's whole world tilts on its axis and she comes out to her extremely homophobic mother. Tala, however, chooses to remain closeted, causing Leyla to break up with her. But don't worry. After all, this would not be a Lez-ssential if the story ended there. After the breakup, Leyla gets a new girlfriend (but really we all know how rebounds go) and achieves her dream of becoming a published author. Meanwhile, Tala breaks off her engagement (again), comes out to her parents (who really should have known after that many failed engagements to forgettable men), and in classic rom com style, writes Leyla a poem. She then attends Leyla's book signing and our lesbians finally get the happy ending they deserve.  At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on I Can't Think Straight, “Waves”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. We are planning another #TrovaTrip gaycation! Join Ellie and Leigh in Costa Rica May 1-6, 2024, for the relaxing queer vacay you deserve. For more information and to be among the first to book a spot (and snatch up that Early Bird Discount!), visit bit.ly/lezdocostarica.  Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PSA: LHO will be taking a bit of a different direction with our SBGs this season in support of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. While this means you will be hearing a bit less about movies and TV shows for a while, don't fret, because we can make anything gay. —--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gays of a certain age, prepare yourselves for a wave of very chaotic nostalgia. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to chat about the early 2000s Russian music duo, t.A.T.u. This band rose to fame by making their entire identity revolve around their supposed lesbianism. The ‘All The Things She Said' music video still lives rent free in the minds of so many queer people, including one Leigh Holmes Foster. It was groundbreaking at the time, debuting in 2002 and featuring the singers wearing schoolgirl outfits while making out with one another in the rain. With very little other queer content available (this was pre-Youtube days!), the music video was not initially considered exploitative but instead was a drop of fresh water in the desert of dehydrated baby gays. For those who are less familiar with the iconic but problematic Europop stars, t.A.T.u. consisted of two teenage girls, Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. It was created by the creepiest creeper to ever creep, Ivan Shapovalov. He had already decided on the lesbian angle for the band before even auditioning girls for it. The band name itself is an acronym meaning ‘this girl loves that girl'. When Ivan books Lena and Julia, they are just 14 years old. With them being so young, it is easy to see how their producer managed to exploit them into participating in his gay for pay scheme. Something like this would never work nowadays, because we have so many actually out and proud lesbian singers and bands. But back then, it was pretty much just Melissa Etheridge. So when ‘All The Things She Said' came onto the scene, the sapphics were overjoyed to belt out the angsty teen lesbian lyrics while staring in awe at two girls kissing on TV. Everything was great and gay for about a year until in 2003 a documentary was released called The Anatomy of t.A.T.u. In this documentary, the girls admit to not actually being gay! This revelation sent queer people spiraling. t.A.T.u. was pretty much the only representation teen lesbians had at the time, and they were not even real! We've seen some intense queerbaiting before but nothing even comes close to this. We know one thing for sure, literally anyone involved with t.A.T.u. Should've Been Gay.  Follow us on the platform formerly known as Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida).  If you did not get in on our Croatian gaycation, we apologize in advance for the fomo you are about to experience. But don't be sad, because we have another opportunity to travel with Ellie and Leigh (and Mermaid Kristin Sparkle) coming in May 2024! If you want to be among the first to know more about our next Trova Trip vagaycation, fill out the short survey at bit.ly/leztrip. This also helps us to plan even more exciting future trips! You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First, a little note to you, the listeners. Lez Hang Out will be taking a bit of a different direction with our Should've Been Gays this season in support of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. As such, we will not be covering any material from the struck companies until an agreement is reached with the studios. While this means you will be hearing a bit less about movies and TV shows for a while, don't fret, because if there is anything we have learned from the past 108 SBGs it's that we can make absolutely anything gay. —--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before Fletcher could shake up the sapphic community with the absolute banger, Becky's So Hot, Dolly had all the gays gagged with Jolene. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the iconic Dolly Parton song, Jolene. Dolly released Jolene in 1973 and it was not only an instant classic, but an instant gay anthem. Unless you have been fully living under a rock your entire life, you have heard this song hundreds if not thousands of times and could probably recite the lyrics in your sleep (it helps that the majority of the song is just Dolly moaning Jolene's name over and over).  At first glance, this song is giving heterosexual. The lyrics tell the story of a woman who is afraid her husband will leave her for the overwhelmingly beautiful Jolene and her locks of auburn hair. When you look a little closer, it's almost impossible not to be totally slapped in the face by the lesbian subtext. It literally opens with a description of Jolene that rivals an Emily Dickinson love poem. This woman is honestly way more enamored with Jolene than her husband ever could be. Instead of being upset with her husband or even with Jolene for the potential affair, Dolly gives all the power to Jolene. She's so hot that she quite frankly cannot be stopped.  For the sake of the gay mafia, we are *not* speculating at all about Dolly's sexuality. But when you approach this song from the perspective of the wife, it reads a lot like a closeted lesbian's attempt to process her own attraction to Jolene while maintaining her relationship with her Beard. She's basically saying, please don't take my man because I'll literally never find another one that I can tolerate being around (you can take me instead though, Jolene).  We know one thing for sure, Dolly Parton's Jolene Should've Been Gay.  Follow along on the platform formerly known as Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  You can support your favorite independently produced gay podcast while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a long time coming. It's been a long time (It's Ellie and Leigh!). It's been a long time coming (It's fearless). It's been a long time coming (big reputation)...It's been a long time coming (And they said, Speak Now). It's been a long time coming. (We are Lez Hang Out and we were born in 2017!) It's been a long time coming (Loving her was Red). It's been a long time (Meet me at Midnight). It's been a long time coming (Lover). That's right, gays! Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) are back, baby with Season 7 of the little lesbian podcast that could! Thank you so much to everyone who has been listening whether you started the journey with us 6 years ago or are brand new to the pod. We are so excited to have you here! An overview of what's been going on in queer news and media would be too depressing, so we are doing something a little different this time and reminiscing about the gay old days. If you are a gay of a certain age like us, you probably had a very different high school experience than what is currently depicted in tv shows and movies. Many millennials and older gays did not get to have quintessential high school experiences like playing Seven Minutes in Heaven or bringing a date of their desired gender to the Prom. When we watch shows and movies like Hulu's Crush, what stands out the most is just seeing the characters be openly queer without it having to be a whole thing. We can't even imagine playing Spin the Bottle and not having to first have an intense discussion about what to do if it were to land on someone of the same gender.  While we are sure it's still not easy to come out and be openly queer (especially depending on where you live), it gives us hope to see that at least within the realm of queer media representation, things have improved for the youth. They are living their best gay teenage years and we love to see it! Can you even imagine how much better life would have been if the gay representation you had as a teenager was something like Crush instead of the biphobic love triangle in South of Nowhere, the hypersexualized relationships in The L Word or the barrage of Bury Your Gays attacks? Even more recent teen media like the OG Pretty Little Liars (which we refuse to believe was over a decade ago) gave full on softcore p0rn love scenes to the heterosexual couples and faded to black on Emison. It's only very recently that the media has finally stopped cutting away every time a gay couple does anything even remotely sexual.  Although a lot has changed (for the better!) about queer representation, there are still some things that are largely the same – namely the tropes. These tropes exist for a reason and we do love certain ones, but others really deserve to be left in the past. We would be very happy to never watch another ‘lesbian student falls for her highkey predatory teacher' love story for the rest of our lives. Instead, we want to see more tropes spun on their heads! Give us more of the too cool for school gay kid who is the one doing the bullying or show us a teenage lesbian hitting on a straight friend without it absolutely ruining her entire life. Don't forget to follow along on the platform formerly known as Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow us on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  We would not have made it to Season 7 without the support of our incredible Patrons! You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly bonus episodes (there is a brand new one available now about Nimona!), weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are officially midway through our summer hiatus leading up to Season 7 of Lez Hang Out! Today, we have a very special treat for our listeners as we release one of the full length bonus episodes from our Patreon exclusive series, Lez-tracurriculars. Today, Ellie and Leigh discuss Chasing Amy, a movie from 1997 that was considered very progressive at the time and that critics absolutely loved. It has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and we can only assume these high ratings were given by men, seeing as the entire plot is basically male wish fulfillment. For anyone who remembers when there was so little truly gay media that this movie was constantly being recommended nearly the second you came out, we rewatched it so you wouldn't have to be re-traumatized. We cannot imagine a more invalidating movie to watch after coming out, because it manages to be not only misogynistic and homophobic, but also very biphobic. Essentially the plot of this film is that a man (Holden) falls in love with a lesbian (Alyssa) and makes it everyone's problem. Instead of just appreciating his friendship as is, Holden constantly tries to make Alyssa feel bad for being gay. The whole plot reeks of male entitlement. Holden refuses to validate Alyssa's sexuality, continually slut-shames her for actions in her past, and makes her responsible for his own emotional wellbeing instead of going to therapy like he so clearly needs. This would all be a relatively benign story if it was just boy loves girl, girl is gay, boy stays grumpy, the end. But instead the story is boy loves girl, girl is gay, boy makes girl feel like crap by shoving all his feelings at her, girl gives in and makes out with boy. This movie is literally the fantasy of every man who has ever dreamed of “turning” a lesbian and it is truly upsetting to watch Holden get everything he wants while Alyssa turns against everything she had so vocally stood for the entire movie. We want to hear your thoughts! Was this movie recommended to you by straight people after coming out? Did you like this movie and think we're missing something? Let us know your experience with Chasing Amy on social media. Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod). Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Our Patrons are the lifeblood of LHO and we absolutely could not make this show without listeners like you! If you enjoyed this episode of Lez-tracurriculars, you're in luck because there's a lot more where this came from! Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for access to all eleven exclusive full-length bonus episodes. As a Patron, you'll get a new bonus episode every month as well as exclusive merchandise, special Patreon-only event invites, mp3s of our original songs, ad-free weekly episodes, access to our exclusive Discord channel and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lez Hang Out is still on summer hiatus, but don't worry! We would never leave you hanging. Join us all summer long for our Summer Spotlight series where we feature episodes from some of our favorite queer podcasts. This week we are sharing a recent episode from our friends over at The Gayly Planet, a queer media podcast from the folks at Hashtag Ruthless Productions: The Gayly Planet is a humorous, yet ruthless, podcast where two queer nerds talk about media we love!  This week we are discussing D.E.B.S (2004) as part of our special Summer CAMP programming, where we talk about the Campiest movies all summer long.  Find all of the Hashtag Ruthless podcasts at hashtagruthless.com  Music credit: "Zazie" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0    License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Subscribe to Lez Hang Out wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod), Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's fine-ally time to talk about the Target fiasco. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to wrap up Pride month and Season 6 with a look at what it really takes to be a good queer ally in 2023. As anti-LGBTQ+ hate increases across the country, it is no longer enough for allies to just be okay with queer people existing. Corporations that were previously known for performatively turning their logo into a rainbow each June and selling Pride themed merchandise are now pulling back and removing what little support they had been showing in favor of appeasing the loud, fanatical homophobic and transphobic bigots. With our right to simply exist as we are under attack, it is so important for allies to show up and stand up for the queer community and to do so in ways that do not cause further harm.  We are done accepting the bare minimum from so-called ‘allies'. Just going to Pride and posting pics of yourself day drinking in your Love Is Love t-shirt are not going to cut it anymore. The stakes are rising incredibly fast and true allies need to recognize the very real fear that queer people are currently experiencing. Depending on where you live, it may have never felt safe to be gay. However, now even the spaces typically known for being welcoming, safe environments for queer people are under attack. The safe havens that gays have been fleeing to from their small towns for decades are beginning to look a lot less safe. This Pride month has been a heavy one and has served as a stark and much needed reminder for many that Pride has always been and will always be a riot, a protest, and much more than rainbow capitalism wants it to be.  It's entirely possible to not be homophobic, but still not be a particularly good ally. Take Target for example. Historically, Target has not been homophobic and has long been viewed as ‘gay Walmart'. But this month, Target showed that when push comes to shove, they are not here for the community and are in fact a bad ally. If you think you are an ally but then balk at the first sign of backlash or resistance, you are not actually a good ally. Instead, a good ally is someone who is willing to be a little uncomfortable, willing to embrace change, and willing to show support even when that support is unpopular.  Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  This #pridemonth and all year long don't forget to support LGBTQ+ creators and small businesses directly. You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes (there are already 11 of them to enjoy upon joining!), weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop to proudly rep queer all year and purchasing our original songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp!  Want to go on a dream vacation and make lifelong memories with a group of amazing queer people? Invest in your own joy this #pride and grab one of the last 3 spots on our #trovatrip to Croatia coming up this September! Get all the details at bit.ly/lezdocroatia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check your toxic masculinity at the door and get ready for the skip day to end all skip days! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with singer-songwriter and comedian Emma Jayne (@emmajaynegrams) to talk about the 1986 campy teen classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off. This movie exists outside of the confines of heteronormativity (and the space time continuum). Nearly every character is queer (except Principal Rooney who is continually punished for his crimes against the queer community ie. our beautiful polycule). Everything about Ferris' relationship with Cameron and Sloane is giving Gen Z #relationshipgoals. Ferris planned this whole skip day just to lift his boyfriend Cameron out of his depressive funk and to give everyone a chance to bond with their newest polycule member, Sloane. We dive into the dynamics of our three leads, exploring Ferris through a transmasc lens and declaring Cameron our panromantic gray ace king. Sloane of course is not like the other girlies. She wears two different earrings, a sure sign of queerness; and we love watching her and Cameron get closer as the film goes on.  There is nothing gayer in this world than Ferris lip-synching for his life TWICE on a parade float in his cheetah print vest. Not only is he fully embracing drag culture, but he is doing it all to cheer up Cameron. We love to see it. Ferris is absolutely winning for boyfriend of the year. This movie is pure vibes, just chasing one dopamine hit to the next. Genuinely feeling SO SEEN by this neurodivergent queer rep. #RepresentationMatters! We know one thing for sure, Ferris Bueller's Day Off Should've Been Gay. #SaveFerris (from heteronormativity). Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  This #pridemonth don't forget to support LGBTQ+ creators and small businesses directly. You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.  Want to go on a dream vacation and make lifelong memories with a group of amazing queer people? Invest in your own joy this #pride and grab one of the last 4 spots on our #trovatrip to Croatia coming up this September! Get all the details at bit.ly/lezdocroatia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reality dating shows, for when therapy is just too expensive and you want to add a little chaos to your life. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out and process the delightfully dramatic Netflix reality dating show, The Ultimatum: Queer Love. If you haven't been watching this show or you are not that into #realitytv, buckle up, because this is a wild ride.  The premise is absolutely nuts- one person in a relationship wants to get married, the other does not for whatever reason. The solution - not couple's therapy! Nope. The solution is apparently to split up and get involved in a 3 week long trial marriage with someone from another couple in the same predicament. Then, to get back together for a 3 week long trial marriage of their own. At the end of all that mess, everyone can decide to choose their original partner by getting engaged, themselves by walking away single, or their new love ie. the person they spent 3 weeks with in that first trial marriage.  The issue with the show is mainly the premise itself. It basically throws people into that honeymoon phase and makes them compare those feelings to the less exciting feelings they have for their long term partner. We talk about the reasons The Ultimatum is an incredibly unhinged concept, the bonkers decision to not once tell us a single one of these queer people's pronouns, and the hate crime that was the finale. Genuinely, we were so relieved to watch the reunion, because watching that finale felt like we had stepped into an episode of Black Mirror. Ultimately, if all the show achieved was freeing Xander, it was worth every second. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  This #pridemonth don't forget to support LGBTQ+ creators and small businesses directly. You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.  Want to go on a dream vacation and make lifelong memories with a group of amazing queer people? Invest in your own joy this #pride and grab one of the last 4 spots on our #trovatrip to Croatia coming up this September! Get all the details at bit.ly/lezdocroatia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Pride!

“Fate be changed. Look inside. All the gays are out for Pride!” This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Mexican American story artist and character designer Stephanie Rizo (@steph_rizo) to talk about the 2012 Disney Pixar hit film Brave. This movie is so gay! It is essentially a coming out story for Merida who is struggling to get her mom to understand that her sexuality is not just a phase and she will 100% burn down the country before marrying a man. We talk about Stephanie's experience as a storyboard artist and character designer for animation and how she manages to sneak queerness into the backgrounds wherever she can. Then, we delve deeper into everything that makes Brave the gay masterpiece that it is. Merida's entire personality revolves around breaking free from the heteronormative ideals that her mother is desperately trying to instill in her. We love that this movie ultimately respects who Merida is and does not try to force a love interest onto her in the end like Disney does with so many of its princesses. Not a single one of those male suitors was serious about pursuing marriage and honestly, they don't exactly come off as straight either. Merida's own father is a great example of how much internalized homophobia can mess someone up, because that man is 1000% obsessed with bears. He may claim to hate them, but he spends pretty much the entire movie talking about Mordu and his castle is basically a shrine to bears. This man is so bear for bear and he does not even realize it. He also is very supportive of Merida and her distaste for heteronormativity, giving her a bow of her own and not minding one bit about her ‘unladylike' manners. Elinor, Merida's mother, takes longer to come around after having forced herself to adhere to her own compulsory heterosexuality. This woman is so bisexual it is almost painful. When she is trying to convince Merida to go through with the marriage, she explains that she too had a defiant ‘phase' where she did not want to get married. We see you Elinor and you are not fooling anyone. We know one thing for sure, Brave Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you met your wife for the first time in Paradise? This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2016 episode of Black Mirror - San Junipero for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. If you haven't seen this episode of Black Mirror yet, go watch it! It's only an hour long and unlike most episodes, it is less horror, more sci fi romance.  This story is unique because it both does bury the gays and also doesn't. All things considered, it actually has a very happy ending for our sapphics, if you just ignore that they're technically dead and have had their consciousnesses uploaded to a digital afterlife. It's the sort of bittersweet happiness that we absolutely eat up, or as Ellie says, “It's giving Notebook vibes.”  There is just something so sweet about watching Yorkie get a first shot at love after her incredibly traumatic accident and Kelly getting a second chance at a love that she never really envisioned herself having after losing her husband and daughter. Yorkie is such a relatable baby gay and honestly between her sheltered homophobic upbringing and the car accident happening the same night she came out, we are just so happy to see her get to experience the lesbian life that she could never have even imagined was possible for herself. With Kelly, she is a little more hesitant to allow herself to fall in love as she is not planning to stay in San Junipero. We get very little good bisexual representation on our screens and Kelly is top tier, hands down. She was married to a man and very much in love with him for over 40 years, but that does not in any way invalidate her bisexuality or stop her from dating and hooking up with both women and men in San Junipero. So often society writes off bisexual women as soon as they marry men and it is really important to show the world that getting married does not suddenly erase a person's sexuality.  The fact that we get to see Yorkie go from completely missing out on life due to homophobia to regaining her freedom and chance for love through gay marriage is amazing. She was hesitant to even dance with Kelly at first, because she thought it would be improper for two girls to be seen dancing together and within the span of a few short weeks she is literally married to her. We love to see it! At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on San Junipero titled “Paradise” written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know who else falls in love after just a kiss? Lesbians. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the classic 1978 musical romcom, Grease. We really wanted to talk about this movie, especially with the recent release of the spinoff tv series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, which we honestly both really enjoyed!  Grease is, at its core, a deeply unserious campy coming out story for Danny Zuko. Over the summer he is out and free being his best gay self dancing with his guy friends and flexing his wrists to and fro. He's somehow both a himbo and a herbo all at the same time. But as soon as school starts back up, he's back to trying to be Mr. Tough Guy to reassure everyone about how manly he is. Danny falls for Sandy so fast, and then when he sees her again at school he panics like a typical useless baby gay. There is just something distinctly queer about Sandy and Danny's relationship. Danny Zuko is far from the only gay in this movie. Literally all of the Pink Ladies have a little something extra going on with one another. Marty is pretending to have boyfriends all over the world (we get it Marty, we totally believe that your penpals are totally real boyfriends), while Rizzo is faking having sex. They are always looking at each other in a deeply sexually charged manner and we know what's going on ladies, you can't fool us. Then we have the T-Birds. That's a dance troupe of gay men if we've ever seen one. Danny and Kenickie have absolutely got something going on or at least did in the past and you cannot convince us otherwise.  We know one thing for sure, Grease Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to process some trauma together, buckle up as we bring you therapy with Lez Hang Out. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with comedian and actor Liz Glazer (@lizglazer) to discuss processing and sharing #grief through the lens of storytelling and comedy. Liz's debut comedy album, A Very Particular Experience, releases on May 12th and can be pre-ordered on iTunes now! Liz's album shares truths about grief (with punchlines!) and is a way to bring people together to commemorate the day that her wife gave birth to their stillborn daughter, Leo. Acknowledging her daughter's existence and the trauma her and her wife experienced through this album is not only cathartic, but important as a means to remember Leo and to spread awareness about the common nature of stillbirth.  Queer people tend to be more open about discussing trauma, as the simple act of living as a queer person in a heteronormative society is a shared trauma experienced by us all. We will often unload our entire coming out journey on the first date as a means of forming connections. Liz shares that as a descendent of Holocaust survivors it is important to her that she be LOUD and not hide any parts of herself from the world. Her ancestors had no choice but to hide themselves and be extremely cautious with their true identities, and she feels she owes it to them to not waste any opportunity to speak her truth.  Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will you take the red pill or will you take the blue pill? This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with trans author and screenwriter Tilly Bridges (@heckyeahtillybridges) to talk about the trans allegories and queer characters of The Matrix. Tilly is a Matrix expert having written an entire book on the topic - Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix which releases this June! While we do touch a little bit on each movie of the series, we focus primarily on the iconic first movie that sets everything into motion. Don't worry though, Tilly goes much deeper into the rest of the movies in her book! We talk about how the entire series is one overarching allegory for the trans experience. From the very beginning we watch Neo start his transition journey by choosing to take the red pill, which stands for truth and is what breaks him free of the matrix, ie. the heteronormative binary world. While nowadays this ‘red pill' concept has been hijacked by the exact opposite of the people it was intended for, back in the day, the estrogen pill was quite literally red. (Funnily enough, it's blue now).  While outside the matrix, Neo leaves behind his dead name, takes on a new identity, and meets others who represent parts of himself. Each character is actually a manifestation of a different side of Neo that guides him along his transition. As Neo begins to live as an out-trans person, he starts to be attacked by those still within the matrix. This can be difficult to watch when you consider that it is an allegory reflecting the attacks made against trans individuals and the LGBTQ+ community at large by those dedicated to protecting their heteronormative world from what they perceive as a threat but is literally just trans and queer people existing.  Further into the series, we even see Neo choose to detransition, going back into the matrix and resuming the Mr. Anderson identity, which he had left behind to become Neo. In the final movie, he re-transitions, finally accepting himself as a trans person and reaching one final layer of transition to become Trinity, the person he was always meant to be. Each time we see Trinity and Neo kiss throughout the series, it never really feels romantic- and for good reason. They are the exact same person, and the kisses are an allegory for self-love and self-acceptance.  We know one thing for sure, The Matrix Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  If you're interested in diving deeper into the trans allegories of The Matrix series, pre-order Tilly's book, Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix wherever books are sold! Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever had an experience that you did not consent to but that was enjoyable, transformational, or even pleasurable? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Dr. Avgi Saketopoulou (@avgolis98), queer psychoanalyst and author of Sexuality Beyond Consent: Risk, Race, Traumatophilia, to discuss queering consent. As part of our discussion, Avgi shares stories of times when clients experienced events outside of their consent, including in sexual situations.  Consent is a very nuanced topic, but it tends not to be talked about that way. We do not live in a vacuum and as such consent can be messier than people tend to want to consider. For example, think about our favorite, Teenage Bounty Hunters. When Sterling gathers her courage and kisses April, she doesn't ask for her consent first, and knowing April it probably would not have gone over too well if she had. Even though April may not have consented to this kiss, she finds that she enjoys it. This is a transformational experience for the two of them, and it happens outside of the realm of consent.  As queer people, we have quite a good amount of experience of running opposite to societal norms. We step beyond our comfort zones just to exist in a heteronormative world. As such, we tend to better understand that many transformational experiences rely on our willingness to step beyond safety. Even so, we tend to still prize consent in a way that is more fantasy than reality. It is just not nearly as cut and dry when applied to real life situations.  Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dana Scully, causing the lesbian rate to skyrocket since 1993. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Ashley Ray (@theashleyray), Black, bisexual and polyamorous tv writer, comedian, and host of the podcast TV, I Say w/ Ashley Ray to talk about the science fiction television classic, The X-Files. If watching 9 seasons of Gillian Anderson strutting around in power suits was your gay awakening or bonus points, you have a tattoo of Gillian Anderson's face on your leg, you're in the right place. This quintessential #scifi show is about fun loving lesbian Dana Scully and her twink best friend, nonbinary icon Fox Mulder, solving alien mysteries together at the FBI. We talk about Leigh and Ashley's shared childhood experience of watching a super scary 'monster of the week' episode at way too young an age and blur 9 seasons of episodes into a mishmash of memories while trying to explain the plot to Ellie.  Of course, because it is the #90s, the writers are convinced that Scully and Mulder are straight and give them that ‘will they, won't they' dynamic that just drives the heteros wild. Even after they finally get together, get married, and have a child, they continue to have zero chemistry. But that's okay, because there are other people to ship with Scully, like the controversial Monica Reyes.  We know one thing for sure, The X-Files Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Raise your hand if you were also a teenage witch with an unhealthy, obsessively close female friendship that completely took over your life. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Maggie Lalley (@magslals), standup comic, writer, and performer of the one woman show, Sex Witch the Musical, a comedy show based on her real life journey spanning 2 years in a 2 person teen witch magic sex cult. Maggie talks about her experiences through humor so we had a lot of fun recording this episode, but we want everyone to be aware that we discuss situations of teenage sexual trauma and abuse throughout. We do a deep dive into the weeds of Sex Witch the Musical and the fascinating, and disturbing, real life story behind it. As a quick overview, sweet, innocent 13 year old Maggie was totally entranced by a 14 year old girl from Albania that she refers to as Bethany. Bethany was not only slightly older, but also a lot more worldly and sexually experienced. She built her friendship with Maggie for 6 months before dropping the biggest plot twist of Maggie's 13 years of life. Bethany was a witch, and so was Maggie. She convinced Maggie that she could train her to develop her powers so that she'd be able to bilocate to a parallel universe and access a place called the House. The House was extremely cool because it was where nearly every A list celebrity of the time period was also hanging out, apparently just chilling and being secret witches and warlocks as one does. In addition to being able to bilocate, Bethany claimed to be able to channel the celebrities into her own body so that Maggie could speak with them. Then she took it a step further, convincing Maggie that she should begin a sexual relationship with one of the celebrity warlocks using Bethany's body as a conduit. Maggie began dating and hooking up with who she truly believed to be Rupert Grint of #HarryPotter movie fame and fully considered the relationship to be a heterosexual one at the time. Maggie's severely cult-like experiences with Bethany stretched from 2005 to 2007 and are captured in her old journals, which served as a vital reference for her to write the musical comedy. We talk to Maggie about why she decided to create a show based on her life and how it has helped with processing the things that happened when she was a teenager.  Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you've got a drive that can kill the world, who you gonna call? 5 lesbians! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the 2022 action movie, The 355.  This movie has an amazing cast including Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Bingbing Fan. With a cast like this, we really had higher expectations. We love the Ocean's 8 vibes, but it really could've and should've been the lesbian James Bond movie we deserve. As it is, the movie is almost comically feminist in the way it makes every man a complete monster, moreso even than usual. You'll be happy to know that no women at all are killed in spite of several attempts made on their lives.  The plot centers around fighting over possession of a drive that can basically destroy humanity. Mace, a CIA agent, has to join forces with her enemy Marie, a German agent. Mace and Marie bicker like a married couple. They hate each other, or do they? They sure flirt a lot for two people who hate one another. We think they are set up to be the perfect enemies to lovers couple. Mace thinks Marie got her partner killed in a job gone wrong; and honestly even if Marie had gotten him killed it would've done everyone a huge favor. They have to team up and work together to save the world, is that not the gayest plot possible?  We like hot women running around shooting bad guys as much as the next gal, but the movie overall falls flat and is not nearly as entertaining as it could have been. Now, add in a good gay love story and maybe it would hold our attention better. We know one thing for sure, The 355 Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're looking to get back with your ex, have you considered shipping her your child? This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2020 Netflix film Summerland for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. If you have not yet seen this movie, the plot essentially is this: Reclusive lesbian hermit Alice gets stuck taking care of Frank, an 11 year old child evacuee she absolutely did not want, during WW2. At first glance this movie does not look like much of a Lez-ssentials, but it turns out that Alice taking care of Frank specifically is the absolute gayest thing she could ever do. Somehow it's even gayer than her usual thing of investigating myths for her books, brooding on a cliffside, and scaring kids off her lawn. Through flashbacks we see a much younger Alice in the late 1920s meeting the girl who is to become the catalyst that shifts her whole world on its axis, ie. the first girl Alice falls in love with. Vera says, “I know a place” and takes Alice to a gay bar, as one does. At first their relationship is wonderful and sweet, but things go sideways when Vera realizes that she wants a family more than she wants to be with Alice. She completely wrecks Alice's heart and goes off to find a man to be with so that she can have the child she has always wanted. After seeing Alice get her heart stomped on, we understand better how she has turned into essentially the village witch. The baby gay to old crone pipeline is strong. In true nonsensical romance movie logic that is somehow not just an AO3 fic plot, Frank turns out to be Vera's son. When his father ends up being killed in the war, Frank runs away back to London and finds that his home was destroyed in the bombings. Alice goes after him and promises he can stay with her forever. She takes him home and of course Vera is waiting for them on the porch. Vera tells Alice that there was no one else she would have wanted taking care of her son and she had to go to something like 20+ stores to find someone who could get her address. In a roundabout way, Vera and Alice end up together with the family Vera always wanted.  At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Summerland titled “Summerland” written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This one time in the early 2000s, Peyton Sawyer rocked a flannel over her Ramones tee and queer fashion has never been the same since. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with tv writer Layne Morgan (@laynemorgan) to talk about the early aughts teen drama sensation One Tree Hill. This show is 9 full seasons of total chaos and we dive into all of them to discuss how much better things would have been if everybody had been gay. Ellie and Layne explain the gist of the entire show to Leigh, who has never seen a single episode, and quickly realize that Brooke and Peyton walked so Quinn and Rachel could run.  Peyton is so queer-coded it's actually wild that our baby selves ever saw her as straight. Her and Brooke have a friends to enemies to lovers thing going on that we are suckers for. You may think Brooke's deeply homoerotic friendship with Peyton is the gayest thing about her, but it honestly does not even make the top 10 gayest things. First of all, Brooke is played by Sophia Bush (need we even say more?). Her whole brand is about choosing herself over boys and attempting to honor her “hoes before bros” policy in spite of literally always being in a love triangle. In true early aughts fashion Peyton and Brooke are in a love triangle with Lucas, played by lesbian-stand-in Chad Michael Murray. Peyton couldn't care less about Lucas until he starts dating Brooke, and it's so obvious that they are both displacing their feelings for one another onto him.  In addition to Peyton and Brooke having one of the gayest relationships we've ever seen, Ellie and Layne are also absolute trash for Haley and big time himbo Nathan (also played by Chad Michael Murry). Although Haley and Brooke have a fun ‘and they were roommates' thing going on that we could totally get behind, we actually are totally here for Naley's representation of healthy communication within a couple. It's not often that we see a healthy relationship on tv, so we'll keep this one even though it's straight.  We know one thing for sure, One Tree Hill Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).  Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.

Are you the lone wolf that can't be tied down or are you the relationship-seeking wooer that won't take no for an answer? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the commonly seen media trope of a pairing that consists of one person who doesn't want to be in a romantic relationship and one person who is 100% convinced they can change their mind. Media pretty much always only shows examples of this trope through a monogamous and allosexual lens. It completely ignores that aromantics and asexuals exist who might just really not have any interest in dating or romantic relationships, and also largely ignores that people may be seeking a relationship outside of the lens of monogamy. This trope is particularly gross like 90% of the time when it is applied to straight couples, but when it is applied to queer couples we think it can actually work. Often these stories play out with the man not wanting a relationship and a woman working hard to change him. But even after she does “win” a relationship with him, he still really has not changed as a person and still is overall misogynistic. There are also really uncomfortable consent issues with a man continuing to pursue a woman who consistently turns him down. The lesson these stories teach is that you can change anyone if you are the right person, which is an extremely toxic message to learn. The reason this trope feels so much less problematic for queer couples is that there is usually a lot more nuance behind why someone does not want a relationship. They might not be fully out yet. They may still be trying to figure out their sexuality. It might not be safe to be publicly out in their career. It's not the same as in straight pairings where the man just is a ‘bad boy' who doesn't want to be tied down and just wants to sleep with whoever he wants (except in the case of Shane who is literally the queer version of that exact archetype). But in cases that aren't Shane, it usually looks less like someone only changing due to the annoying persistence of their pursuer and instead just happening to fall in love. Some places we've seen this trope work are in Glee with Santana and Brittany, She-Ra with Catradora, and Teenage Bounty Hunters with Stepril. We also think it does occasionally work in straight media, because arguably The Notebook has this dynamic but Ellie still eats it up everytime. And we do like how 500 Days of Summer flips the trope on its head a bit, because it has the woman being the one who does not want a relationship and they do not end up together in the end. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a good time, dial 1-900-LEZHANG to hang with us, Ellie and Leigh, for only $5 per minute. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the 2012 comedy For A Good Time, Call, which is currently available on Amazon Prime. This movie is an absolute fever dream of homosexual delight. It follows the story of Katie and Lauren, enemies turned roommates turned love of one another's lives. What's even better is that it is actually written by Seth Rogen's wife Lauren and her friend Katie. We honestly cannot even handle the implications of this backstory and we hope it means that they are all in an open relationship with each other. Katie is a late 20s/early 30 something virgin who works as a phone sex operator and is terrified to actually talk to or date men in person. She pretends to be a huge slut who has been with tons of guys, so that no one notices that she is actually very gay. She also actively avoids being friends with girls. Katie and Lauren went to college together and share a gay best friend. They hate each other, because one time Katie was drunk and got her pee all over Lauren while she was driving her home from the bar. They both end up in housing crises and of course their GBF decides the best plan is for Katie and Lauren to become roommates. This is where everything gets truly chaotic and gayer than we ever could have hoped for.Lauren purposefully walks in on Katie when she hears her moaning (instead of putting on headphones like a normal roommate), immediately inserts herself further into Katie's life by helping her start her own phone sex hotline, and then everything goes from 0 to 60 real fast. From Lauren putting Katie's dildo into her mouth to mimic the sound of a bj, to both women having practice phone sex while touching each other, to literally having a phone sex threeway and then falling asleep in the same bed, it all gets very gay very quickly. These women are so in love and yet the movie insists on giving Katie a male love interest. We can't be too upset though, because the male love interest very clearly comes second to her relationship with Lauren. Right after having sex for the very first time, Katie's first thought is ‘I love Lauren.' She fully says this out loud to her boyfriend while he is still inside her!! How this wasn't her gay awakening we really do not know.We do know one thing for sure, For A Good Time, Call Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I need a hero. I'm holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night. She's gotta be strong, and she's gotta be fast, and she's gotta for sure be a dyke.” This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the ‘Dyke In Shining Armor' trope, which we will forever be referring to as a DSA. The DSA shows up repeatedly in the media, but is also pretty prevalent within real life lesbian relationship dynamics. This trope really toes the line of being a little problematic, because it is inherently heteronormative in that it is based on the concept of a big strong man swooping in to save a helpless damsel. Yet, when we see it reflected in our onscreen queer ships, we eat that shiz up. We talk about when this trope works, whether it can apply to villains (Lucy Diamond anyone?), and whether the dynamic can truly exist outside of the confines of heteronormativity. We view a DSA as a dyke who will protect and rescue her chosen person from all harm. We love this dynamic because it subverts the stereotype by replacing the male in the media landscape. The other great thing about a DSA is that when there are two women in this type of relationship, typically they switch off on saving one another. Think about Nicole Haught and Waverly. Just because Nicole is the main protector, that doesn't mean Waverly is helpless or won't rescue her protector from time to time. This differs from the straight ‘Knight in Shining Armor' trope in the media, because the hero is capable of being saved, whereas in a heterosexual couple this is avoided in order to refrain from “emasculating” the male character. There's also the option in queer ships for a couple to be DSA for DSA, like Xena and Gabrielle. Xena is basically the quintessential DSA. She is literally a full on dyke saving people with a sword. Yet, she falls for Gabrielle, who is very much also a DSA. So many ‘strong female characters' embody the DSA archetype, but Hollywood allows so few of them to actually be gay. We want more dykes in shining armor! Problematic patriarchal implications aside, this dynamic is delightful to see on screen and honestly is so relatable for so many queer people. If you want to treat your girl like a princess and protect her from any and all harm, potentially at the risk of your own life, you just may be a DSA. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for a very special LIVE 100th Should've Been Gay celebration! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) are joined by two returning guests and friends of the pod, Bethany Brown (@bethanybrown) and Devon Hales (@devonhales.jpg) to talk about why Netflix's The School for Good and Evil and new series Wednesday Should've Been Gay. You know Bethany from Charmed and Nancy Drew and Devon from her iconic role as April Stevens in Teenage Bounty Hunters. First we head to the village of Gayveldon with Bethany to chat about how overwhelmingly gay The School for Good and Evil is. From the intense chemistry of Lady Lesso and Dovey to the hardcore simping Agatha does over Sophie from the second they appear on screen, it is honestly wild to see how aggressively heterosexual the movie pretends to be. Aggie gets dropped into the School for Good, a place overflowing with frilly dresses, mean girls, and dudebros. Meanwhile, Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, an extremely queer-coded school led by the gayest, hottest headmistress we have ever seen ie. Lady Lesso played by Charlize Theron. She thinks she is in the wrong school too, until she gets a cool haircut from Lesso's axe in the doom room and decides to embrace her inner queer power starting with proudly obtaining and displaying her magic finger glow for all to see. Although they attempt to put the girls into a love triangle and give them male love interests, their efforts fall flat as Aggie spends the entire movie being a dyke in shining armor focused on protecting Sophie at all costs. In the end when all hope looks lost, only one thing can save Sophie from herself and unite the schools, true love's kiss. We don't know about you, but we've never heard of a platonic version of true love's kiss. Agatha kisses Sophie on the lips and it brings her back to life and fixes the world, because that's how powerful lesbian love is. Afterward, Aggie could choose to stay with her obligatory boyfriend but instead she chooses to return to Gayveldon with Sophie, her true love. Next up we head to Nevermore Academy with Devon to talk about how gay Wednesday is and scream about Wenclair. All we have to say is, ‘and they were roommates'! Wednesday Addams has always read as queer-coded, just as the rest of her family does. However, this series really takes it to the next level by rooming her with sparkle rainbow bisexual Enid Sinclair. This girl owns at least 6 lesbian sweaters, has bisexual Harley Quinn hair, and is the only person that Wednesday actively shows affection toward (in her own way). She also has a whole ‘conversion camp' storyline, because she is a late bloomer and has yet to fully ‘wolf out'. Wednesday and Enid are literally the golden retriever and black cat girlfriends we have always wanted and are fiercely protective of one another. They start off not really understanding each other, but grow to discover that opposites really do attract. Of course the series throws male love interests at both of them, but they have so much more chemistry with one another that the boys fade into the background. In the end, the only thing that finally causes Enid to go full werewolf is her love for Wednesday as she risks her life to save her from the Hyde. We are still recovering from watching them melt into a passionate hug after not touching at all for a full season. We know one thing for sure, The School For Good and Evil and Wednesday Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your eyes meet across the aisle in Trader Joe's. Then, your fingers brush as you reach for the same container of oat milk. The moment passes, but you can't help wondering, could she have been the one? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with writer and director Elle Mills (@elle.mills) to talk about her journey from longtime Youtube creator to filmmaker with her directorial debut of short film Reply available to rent now on CreatorPlus. Elle became a creator young with her extremely successful Youtube channel. If you're not familiar with it, just imagine if Ferris Bueller had a Youtube channel. Elle has amassed 3.1 million followers across all platforms and reflects on the consequences of growing up on camera with no privacy. By just 19 years old, she had become burnt out and was very open about her challenges with depression and anxiety, sharing her vulnerability on her channel. But not everyone deserves your vulnerability, and it can get tricky to know where to draw the line when you are your own product. The pandemic gave Elle a chance to reflect and figure out why creating, a thing she truly loves to do, was starting to cause her so much distress. Her transition to filmmaking enables Elle to share her creativity with the world on her own terms in a way that is not at the expense of her privacy, and we absolutely love this for her. Reply is an adorable short film, super relatable, and features some iconic early 2000s fashion that gave us hardcore nostalgia for overalls and tye-die. Plus it's the perfect date length, because it ends right around the time you'd normally start making out during a full length film. It tells the story of two teen girls who meet and catch feelings, but never pursue them due to one having a boyfriend and some severe comphet. We talk about missed queernections and the meet-cutes that never panned out. Sometimes the what if's are truly what stick with you the most. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).If you love Lez Hang Out, please show your support by voting for us in the 2023 Queerty Awards #Queerties. We are nominated for Best LGBTQ+ Podcast alongside some incredibly talented people! Vote once a day/device until February 21st.Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We make things gay every 2 weeks and somehow it's gayer than ever.” This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Mermaid Kristin Sparkle a.k.a. Lez Hang Out's production assistant, Kristin Murison (@therealksparkle), to talk about why the 2006 film Aquamarine Should've Been Gay. If you haven't seen the movie, the plot is basically this: Two baby gays, played by Emma Roberts and JoJo (neither of whom could ever read as straight if they tried), find a mermaid in their swimming pool after doing witchcraft at a sleepover (#justgirlythings) and then proceed to throuple up with her and save the world through the powers of friendship and lesbianism. We can't really blame them for falling for her, because within like 5 minutes of meeting, the mermaid Aquamarine is encouraging the girls to touch her tail and being incredibly flirtatious with them. It turns out Aqua swam away to escape an arranged heterosexual marriage to a man she doesn't love. Her dad doesn't believe love exists, because he has never seen it. The entire premise of that is extremely queer, because it's very possible that the reason mermaids have not found love yet is because they are only looking into heterosexual pairings. The implication here is that all mermaids are queer, which honestly, is so valid of them. Somehow things get even gayer as the movie progresses. Aqua's whole mission is to get someone to fall in love with her and prove to her dad that love exists. Who is known to fall in love that quickly? Lesbians. Of course the man she chooses, ie. the first man she laid eyes on, does not love her yet, it's been like a day. But you know who does already love her? The little baby lesbians. In the end, the girls risk their lives to save Aqua and realize that they love her the same way that they love each other. When they tell her, she realizes she loves them too and one of her happy tears falls into the ocean causing her dad to immediately cease his rage storm. Her dad now knows love really does exist. But, canonically, he only knows gay love exists. He has zero proof that heterosexual love is a real thing. Aquamarine goes back to her pod to spread the gay agenda like an aquatic lesbian Jesus and we can only assume that all the previously loveless mermaids are now happily pairing off into queer partnerships, throuples, and polycules. We know one thing for sure, Aquamarine Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). If you love Lez Hang Out, please show your support by voting for us in the 2023 Queerty Awards #Queerties. We are nominated for Best LGBTQ+ Podcast alongside some incredibly talented people! Vote once a day/device until February 21st.Want to support the show while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch, special Patron-only events, and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If we could be yours for ten minutes, what would you give in exchange? This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2016 Korean lesbian film The Handmaiden for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. If you have not yet seen this movie, do not listen to this episode until you have! It is highly spoiler heavy and the movie is honestly best when you go into it with no expectations. Don't say we didn't warn you. The Handmaiden is an emotional rollercoaster, but you can breathe easier knowing that there is a happy ending for our lesbians. The story follows Sook-Hee, a young woman who is hired to be a handmaiden for Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko. We soon learn that she was actually hired by The Count to help him defraud Lady Hideko and steal all her riches. The Count had planned to elope with Lady Hideko, take her money, and then leave her in an asylum. Things get tricky when unbeknownst to The Count, Sook-Hee begins sleeping with Lady Hideko so that the Lady can practice for married life (as one does) and inadvertently catches feelings for her.Lady Hideko may be marrying The Count, but there is no question about her sexuality. She sleeps with Sook-Hee under the guise of practicing for The Count, but then completely refuses to sleep with him even to consummate their marriage. So what was all that “practice” actually for? Lady Hideko, we know what you are. This is where things start to get really problematic for our lesbians. Even though she won't sleep with him, Lady Hideko sees The Count as a way out from living with her extremely creepy, sexually abusive uncle. The two elope, cash out Hideko's inheritance, and trick the people at the asylum into thinking Sook-Hee is Lady Hideko so that Sook-Hee can be committed in her place and Hideko's uncle will be none the wiser.At first watch, we were worried that this was going in the direction most lesbian films go, with one woman betraying the other and going off with a man in the end, and the other woman suffering or even dying. Luckily for everyone, this is not the case. Sook-Hee manages to flee the asylum and reunites with Lady Hideko who escapes The Count and steals back her fortune by slipping opium into his wine. They get on the ferry to Shanghai and flee together, and the gross perverted uncle and the swindling “Count” are both killed from mercury poisoning. The Handmaiden features a wildly explicit, surprisingly long lesbian sex scene, a happy ending for Lady Hideko and Sook-Hee, and a well-deserved tragic death for the incredibly problematic men! What more could we ask for? At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on The Handmaiden titled “Fool For Me” written by Leigh Holmes Foster, produced by Ellie Brigida, and performed by Ellie Brigida and Leigh Holmes Foster. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. If you love Lez Hang Out, please show your support by voting for us in the 2023 Queerty Awards #Queerties. We are nominated for Best LGBTQ+ Podcast alongside some incredibly talented people! Vote once a day/device until February 21st.Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My name is Iñigo Montoya and I am the King of holding grudges. Prepare to die. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Brooklyn based queer filmmaker and stand-up comedian Kendall Payne (@kendallxpayne) to talk about why the 1987 classic The Princess Bride Should've Been Gay. The movie focuses on the love story between drag queen and OG cottagecore lesbian Princess Buttercup and drag king The Dread Pirate Roberts, ie. the masked masc lesbian Westley. Genuinely, what is queerer than going undercover as a pirate? The Dread Pirate Roberts walked so that the pirates in Our Flag Means Death could run. Buttercup and Westley are in love, but have to keep their relationship in the closet from the completely nonexistent people who would object on the farm. Prince Humpadick, as we will be referring to him the entire time, has to marry Buttercup because he needs to beard up in order to keep his relationship with Dungeon Daddy Tyrone, the six-fingered man, a secret. Luckily Humpadick actually does Buttercup a favor by having a gaggle of gay men kidnap her before she can be forcibly wed into compulsory heterosexuality. They are meant to kill her but she is rescued by her masked masc lover Westley. Buttercup and Westley aren't the only queer ship in town. We also have Iñigo who is in love with Fezzik (they literally ride off into the sunset on horses together), and Prince Humpadick and Tyrone who spend a little too much time in that sex dungeon to be successfully hiding their relationship. Even the characters who are not in relationships are queer; there is no way anyone would confuse Vizzini for a straight man. The film really leans into the camp of the plot and truly what is gayer than camp? We know one thing for sure, The Princess Bride Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has never been a better time to find your HER-d! This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Jill O'Sullivan, community manager and event host at HER (@hersocialapp), to talk about queer dating, the importance of queer spaces both online and in person, and how HER helps people find their community. HER is a dating and social community app for queer folks that you most likely have downloaded at some point. If you haven't checked it out in awhile, you may be surprised to find out that it's actually not just a dating space. It began as a dating space for queer women and has evolved into a much larger social community for everyone under the queer umbrella. Sure you can still swipe to your heart's content, but once you're done swiping, take some time to check out the social scene. There are social communities for everything your little queer heart could want, including spaces to talk about media like tv shows, movies, and podcasts. Watching a new show and really excited to talk about it? There's a space for that! Whether you are looking for romance or friendship, you will be able to find it on the HER app. There are even spaces specifically for the asexual community, which can be challenging to find elsewhere. Additionally, HER hosts plenty of events, including many virtual events, like speed dating, queer book clubs, movie nights, and more! With the decline in lesbian bars and the lingering concerns about the pandemic, it can be difficult to find your tribe in person, especially if you do not live in a major metro area. Whether you find local friends on HER or not, you are bound to find people you vibe with and make lasting connections online. Nowadays everyone knows someone who met their partner or bestie online, heck even Jill met her partner online (before it was cool). If you have been struggling to find queer community in your area, definitely give HER a try. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every queer person has that one childhood friendship that was just a little too intense to be platonic. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2021 Netflix superhero comedy Thunder Force. This movie stars Melissa McCarthy as Lydia and Octavia Spencer as Emily being so incredibly gay together that even Emily's grandmother ships them. Lydia and Emily have the best meet-cute. Little Lydia saves the day by knocking out Emily's bullies and then they bond on the swings. Later on Emily literally makes them rainbow friendship bracelets. This is the type of romantic soulmate level backstory that we wish actual lesbian films would have. Of course, Emily and Lydia end up having an overly intense friend breakup. Then we jump forward in time. Even after 20 years have passed, Lydia has nothing but love for Emily and has been pining after her all this time. She hasn't even seen Emily for 2 decades and Lydia is still fully secure in the fact that they are best friends. Thunder Force was massively underappreciated and only got a 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, because whenever there are two female leads in a superhero movie there tends to be a disappointing lack of support. However, this movie is 100% worth the watch for Melissa McCarthy's humor and the most adorable love story between Emily and Lydia. We're just going to pretend that they get married with the cake topper Emily's grandma made and they went on to be a family with Emily's daughter Tracy. Several of the other characters in this movie were super queer too, like Tracy, the Shane wannabe, Laser, the flamboyant guy who kills all his boyfriends after he gets bored with them, The King, and the obvious lesbian, Allie. Throughout the movie it's like a running joke that Lydia and Emily are gay together. It's treated like a joke the entire time by everyone except Lydia's grandma who knows lesbian soulmates when she sees them and eagerly awaits their wedding. We know one thing for sure, Thunder Force Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Attention FRUITS! Somehow it is 2023, and we still don't have a renewal announcement for A League of Their Own. We ride at dawn. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with actor Lea Robinson (@le_robinson_) to talk about their role as Uncle Bertie on Amazon Prime's series A League of Their Own. If you somehow have not yet had a chance to watch ALOTO, do so right now or be prepared to hear some spoilers from Season 1. There are so many wonderful things about this series, but the hands down absolute best is just how incredibly GAY it is. We are so used to being tossed crumbs of queer content or being reduced to side characters (or suffering some horrible tragic ending if we are the main characters), but ALOTO changes the playing field by making nearly every character queer. You're likely not only to see yourself represented, but also to see your friends and the lives of other people in the community represented who you may not typically see in your daily life. It doesn't even matter if you like baseball or not, you will feel seen. This inclusive representation is one of the huge draws that has queer people all around the world resonating with the show. ALOTO does a fantastic job of providing representation both on screen and behind the camera and it really feels like it's by queer people for queer people. We talked to Lea about their role as Bertie, a trans man who is living his best possible life for the time period. Bertie is so incredibly gender-affirming to see on screen. He is always sharply dressed, holds himself very confidently, and lives life largely unmasked being his authentic self. While Uncle Bertie is estranged from much of his family, he is overall happy with his life and himself as a person. His story shows not only Max that life can work out for trans and nonbinary people, but also the audience. To be able to see Bertie strut by in those fabulous suits that he makes himself is life-affirming for an audience of queer, trans, and nonbinary people who truly understand the courage it takes to be authentically yourself in a world where being yourself is demonized (and in those days, criminalized). He lives proudly and is a beacon of hope for everyone struggling with their sexuality and gender identity. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Holly Gays! As a special gift, we are throwing it back all the way to our very first season! Whether you're a long time listener or new to the show, we hope you will enjoy taking a little trip back through time to the early days of Lez Hang Out. This is the episode that started it all. That's right, this is the episode that features our very first ever original song written by Leigh Holmes Foster! If you've been enjoying all our original songs for our Lez-ssential episodes and our musical The Flame, you will not want to miss the song that started it all, a Carol spoof of My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music. In case it still isn't obvious, this week Leigh and Ellie dive into Carol for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. They're here, they're queer and full of Christmas cheer! They have quite a bit to say about the fate of Carol (Cate Blanchett), Therese (Rooney Mara) and the true star of the movie Abby (Sarah Paulson). Lez-ssentials comes complete with a Carol drinking game because every lesbian movie should be accompanied by heavy drinking. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Do, is queer is really queer. Gay, this movie's really gay. Me, I'm also very gay.” If you sung that to the tune of “Do-Re-Mi”, you're in the right place. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with comedian Kristin Key (@thekristinkey) to talk about the 1965 classic, The Sound of Music. If you somehow have not yet seen this movie, we are very sorry about your childhood. On the other hand, if you were obsessed with Maria as a little kid, congratulations! You're gay now. For every little kid who really liked Maria and watched the movie on a loop (an impressive feat considering it took up 2 whole VHS tapes) or demanded a matching pageboy haircut, we absolutely need to talk about this musical. Aside from Maria's tomboy appearance, cottagecore tendencies, and desire to bring her acoustic guitar everywhere she goes, perhaps the most stark evidence of her gayness is how much she loves women. Her favorite things include “girls in white dresses” and there's really no heterosexual explanation for that. She also has not been at the abbey for all that long and somehow she already has all the nuns obsessed with her, which honestly is very valid of them. The Mother Abbess sees Maria getting all her nuns in a tizzy and realizes she needs to send her favorite baby gay “out” into the world. So she sends her to the only other gay she knows, Captain “GAYORG” Von Trapp (sure it's spelled Georg but come on). The Captain is perhaps the gayest character in the entire movie. He is incredibly sassy, cares way too much about fashion (so much so that he has fabric on standby), and brings home his close personal friend Max to stay with them. Uncle Max? We're not buying it. That's a hidden in plain sight secret gay lover. Then we get to the Baroness and even though she should be jealous or wary of Maria, she spends her time flirting with her. Maria seems to enjoy flirting with the Baroness as well, using puppets to delight her. Honestly what is a gayer communication method than using puppets to flirt with your crush? There isn't one. The Captain and Maria are just never a believable couple. The one time they do kiss they both look incredibly awkward. There is no doubt in our minds that their relationship is just both of them bearding up because it's the 30's in Austria and that's just what gays had to do. We know one thing for sure, The Sound of Music Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you a card carrying Daughter of Bilitis? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with writer and English teacher Kirsty Loehr (@KirstyLoehr) to talk about her book, A Short History of Queer Women, which teaches readers about the women throughout history that were very much not “just friends” in a way that is both informative and incredibly funny. Although the historical stories of queer women tend to be depressing, Kirsty imbues her work with humor that really helps to showcase who these women were rather than focusing on the tragedy of their circumstances. If you've ever wondered where some of the lesbian stereotypes and jokes we use today originated from, this book is one you need to pick up. Queer women have been around forever. We didn't just disappear after Sappho and reappear with Ellen, and yet much of our history is ignored or purposefully re-written to be less queer than it was. For example, the Daughters of Bilitis invented the idea of the card-carrying lesbian. Not only did they invent the very first lesbian magazine, but they also had membership cards and a manifesto and everything! They were very dedicated to the cause. Queer people have always been incredibly inventive and creative. Going back all the way to Sappho, she literally invented the guitar pick so that she could cut her nails to pleasure women while maintaining her ability to play the guitar. Ingenious! On behalf of musical queers everywhere, thank you Sappho. If you enjoyed Gentleman Jack, you won't want to miss us talking to Kirsty about Anne Lister and the way the show captured the experience of being a lesbian in that time period where most people could not even conceive of the idea of two women being anything but friends. We also talk about former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the incredibly romantic letters she used to exchange with her “friend” Lorena Hickok (whom she nicknamed Hick). They were clearly having a love affair and yet people still deny it to this day. We mourn for the more explicit letters that Hick actually burned rather than choosing to expose Eleanor. Surely if those letters had not been burned, there would be less of a debate around whether they were actually a couple. It is important to look back on the history of queer women and to learn about the sapphics who helped us get to where we are today. They could never have even imagined a world where they could marry and have a family with another woman and to forget their contributions would be a disservice to queer women everywhere. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time to make the yuletide gay! Come for the Christmas cheer and stay for Vanessa Hudgens putting her whole Vanessa Hudgussy into the tango while another Vanessa Hudgens does backflips into a split while slinking sexily around a bunch of lasers while a third Vanessa Hudgens meets with a convent disciplinary board on behalf of the Vanessa Hudgens that previously kidnapped her. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with writer and comedian Colette McIntyre (@yungbabayaga) to talk about the Netflix Christmas romcom trilogy The Princess Switch, which we will now forever be referring to as P Swi. If you haven't seen these movies, buckle up because you are in for a holigay treat. The basic premise of the trilogy is that Vanessa Hudgens is actually 3 identical women, all of whom are gay af and who have to continually swap back and forth pretending to be one another for progressively more ludicrous reasons in fantasy European countries that somehow are within like a 2 hour flight of Chicago. The characters are in theory cousins (although in Stacey's case, extremely distantly), but that can't stop us from shipping Vanessa Hudgens with Vanessa Hudgens with Vanessa Hudgens (Don't lie to us, you know you saw it in that tango lesson scene). The films do us a huge disservice by desperately trying to convince us that the Hudges are all straight, even Fiona who is literally the most flamboyant high femme we have ever seen. Stacey and Edward don't even sleep together anymore by the second movie, Kevin and Margaret are in a lesbian relationship (You cannot convince us that Kevin isn't a lesbian stand-in, they got married in a freaking airport!), and Fiona is 100% sleeping with everyone she's ever met while also being in a relationship with her henchwoman Mindy (they didn't give Mindy that purple hair for us to just sleep on her being queer as hell). Seriously Fiona probably is broke because she spent all her inheritance money spoiling Mindy while on vacation at a White Lotus. The third movie is arguably the gayest, mostly because it is all Fiona all the time. There are literally 3 entire Fionas at one point and every side plot revolves around Fiona. We learn that she has unresolved mommy issues, we'll take relatable lesbian problems for 100, and we get a really cute and quintessentially queer found family plot. We will eagerly await The Princess Switch 4: Romancing The Strap and will take to the streets if we do not get at least one additional Vanessa Hudgens (although they really owe us 2 since they did not add a new one into P Swi 3). We know one thing for sure, P Swi Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Don't forget to head over to https://www.magicmind.co/lezhangout and use code LEZHANGOUT20 for 20% off your order (get a subscription within the next 10 days and receive 40% off!). Leigh loves these handy matcha shots for jitterless productivity and we think you will too. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the honor of Gayskull! Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. What could be more of a lesbian essential than the one where the fate of the world depends on the best friends to enemies to lovers finally kissing? Especially when the best friends to enemies to lovers are an 8 foot tall Amazonian warrior and a loveable morally challenged catgirl. Yes, this podcast ships Catradora, but Glimmadora can also have some rights, because something LGBT was definitely happening there. The great thing about She-Ra is there is just so much representation. Name a straight person in She-Ra. You literally can't. Even the horse is gay. In addition to the romantic ships, we also get nonbinary representation in Double Trouble and neurodivergent representation in Entrapta. She-Ra is such a wonderful show, because even though it is aimed at a younger audience, the messages and representation in the series resonate strongly with adults. Therapy is expensive but hearing Mara tell Adora, “You're worth more than what you can give other people,” is free. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on She-Ra titled “Stay With Me” written by Leigh Holmes Foster, produced by Ellie Brigida, and performed by Ellie Brigida and Leigh Holmes Foster. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's go gays, it's time to kill John Tucker. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Rachel Scanlon (@rachelsafety), standup-comedian and co-host of the podcast Two Dykes And A Mic (@twodykesandamic), to talk about the 2006 teen comedy, John Tucker Must Die. If you have not yet seen this teen sleepover movie night classic, the first thing you need to know is that it stars Sophia Bush and Brittany Snow. Not only are they both impossible to read as straight anytime they are on screen, but also their characters Beth and Kate MAKE OUT in a JEEP. The basic plot of this movie is that John Tucker is a serial cheater and his exes decide to team up and mess with him. This would be a satisfying thing to watch play out, if it actually ever paid off. Sadly, John never learns anything and doesn't make a single improvement as a person. Imagine you're watching Mean Girls and Regina George never falls from her pedestal and just keeps wrecking her classmates' lives. That would be deeply unsatisfying, and it does not even come close to the frustration of watching this misogynistic playboy continue to be the reason we are glad we aren't attracted to men. Ignoring John Tucker himself, the movie is worth watching for the relationship between his exes. It's impossible not to read these girls as queer. You've got the overachiever gay, the ‘But I'm a Cheerleader' gay, and the vegan gay wearing a literal hemp bra. They're all closeted except for Beth who we are convinced is openly bisexual. They team up in Do Revenge style and act like they're all dating, because when you put several ‘straight' teenage girls together things tend to get homoerotic. Beth and Kate didn't need to go THAT HARD for the Jeep kiss, but baby gays everywhere are very glad they did. Unfortunately while re-watching this movie in 2022, it is hard to ignore the things that really did not age well. Many of the pranks done to ruin John Tucker are to essentially make him into a girl, including giving him estrogen and making him wear a thong. This is a really interesting choice, but comes off as transphobic by today's standards. We still love this movie, mainly for the nostalgia of watching it as a closeted baby gay at a sleepover trying to not react when Sophia Bush and Brittany Snow kissed. The ending of the film was actually relatively progressive for it's time with John ending up in a polyamorous relationship. We are pretty sure this movie resulted in a lot of queer awakenings and if it was your queer awakening, we want to hear all about it! We know one thing for sure, John Tucker Must Die Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Picture it. The year is 2004. You've finished your homework and you're ready to see your best friend in the whole world appear on your tv screen. You bite into a pizza roll and somehow the filling does not burn your tongue. Raven-Symoné comes on the screen and you smile. You are at peace. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with trans Puerto Rican actress Juliana Joel (@thejulianajoel) to talk about her experiences as the first out trans actor on Disney Channel. Disney may have a bit of a contentious relationship with the gays, but when they get it right, they really get it right. Juliana grew up watching That's So Raven and dreaming of the day she could be an actor on Disney too, but believing it was out of reach because in those days it was impossible to imagine Disney hiring a trans actor. While we all wish it had not taken until 2022 for Disney to finally get some live action trans representation, they really got something right in hiring Juliana Joel to play Nikki on Raven's Home. Nikki is the first live action trans character on Disney and the great thing about her character is that being trans is not treated like a big deal. Nikki is an airheaded heiress and jokes center around her being truly terrible at her job as Raven's assistant rather than having anything to do with her gender. We chat with Juliana about the audition process, how she ended up getting the role as Nikki, and her experience on set getting to work side by side with her childhood hero (and bestie), Raven. We also talk about how Nikki being trans is handled in the show. In a recent episode of Raven's Home, Nikki and Raven talk about Nikki being transgender out loud on the Disney Channel and the way the scene is handled is perfect and casual, showing viewers that Nikki's gender is simply not a big deal and that it does not have to be a whole big thing. While Juliana has received backlash from angry conservative parents who want to boycott Disney over her mere existence on the show, she does not let that hate get to her and instead focuses on being who she wishes she could have seen on tv when she was growing up. Positive trans representation in media is few and far between, and it is pivotal to changing how everyday people interact with and view trans people in real life. Media does not exist in a vacuum and in today's tumultuous political landscape, positive LGBTQ+ representation is more important than ever. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SISTAAAAAS! Grab your Roombas, we fly! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with one of the stars of HBO Max's FBOY Island Season 2, Mia Emani Jones (@_miaemani), to talk about Hocus Pocus 2 for a very special Halloween episode. We were lucky to be Mia's first interview post coming out, so we spent some time talking about her journey. FBOY Island is a wild place to be while experiencing that ‘I really don't like men' revelation and yet, it is somewhat shocking that more contestants haven't come out as gay. If anything was going to put someone off men, it would be FBOY Island. We could spend hours talking to Mia about her journey, but we are here to talk about Hocus Pocus 2! It has been 29 years since the Sanderson Sisters blessed our screens and yet there still aren't any canonically gay main characters! This feels like a huge missed opportunity, considering there already is a sequel to Hocus Pocus in book form that is 100% gay. Instead of giving us a story about Max and Allison's gay daughter like the book did, Hocus Pocus 2 goes in a different direction and brings in brand new characters not related to the original movie. From the second we meet Becca, Izzy, and Cassie it is extremely obvious that they are all baby gays. They are going through a difficult friend breakup, because Cassie decided to date some lame boy in a complete betrayal of her obvious throuple situation with Izzy and Becca. These girls have spent every Halloween night charging crystals in the woods and we are supposed to believe they are straight? Cassie has been attempting to mend the friendship, but Becca is too disgusted by the mere existence of Cassie's boyfriend to be anywhere near her. That's lesbian ex behavior and we are here for it. Moving on from the throuple, the movie opens onto Fear Street 3 where we see tiny baby dyke Winifred Sanderson absolutely losing her mind at the idea of being made to marry a man. She has a full blown meltdown, immediately bearding up by calling out her relationship with Billy Butcherson, who she literally only kissed once and who completely hates her guts. The girls run off into the woods to escape the heteronormative patriarchy and meet Mother Witch, who Winnie becomes instantly enamored with. The baby Sanderson Sisters spend a total of maybe ten minutes talking to this powerful lesbian milf in the woods and in true baby gay fashion decide they live there now and will be following in the hot older witch's footsteps. We fast forward to present day and meet Gilbert, a gay man obsessed with the Sanderson Sisters and intent on using Becca and her friends to bring them back to life. It's hard for Gilbert to see through the glamor and the intrigue of the witches, but in the end he does the right thing and chooses his new boyfriend Billy Butcherson over his love of the Sandersons. When we get into talking about the Sanderson Sisters themselves, the obvious gay is Winnie. While we may not be completely sure about the sexuality of Mary or Sarah, we are 1000% convinced that Winifred Sanderson is a whole dyke. She is extremely over the top 24/7, maintains her story about her beard Billy for centuries out of spite, dedicates her life to being a witch because a hot lady in the woods told her she was special, and cannot resist turning every scene she can into a musical number. Plus, as we've said countless times before, witches are inherently gay. It should be impossible for a movie like Hocus Pocus 2 to not be gay, because witchcraft is gay; and yet, Disney is determined to keep its witches in the broomcloset. We know one thing for sure, Hocus Pocus 2 Should've Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our world is full of unknowable horrors; but that's okay, because horror is for the gays! This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with writer, illustrator, and voice actor Cat Blackard (@catblackard), who is best known as the showrunner of the horror-comedy audio drama, The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program. The TTRPG style audio drama is currently in its fourth season of stories that build on Lovecraft's work from a queer lens. We talk about the inherent queerness of horror as a genre as Cat and Leigh introduce Ellie to the world of cosmic horror. If you've ever thought Cthulhu would be a great buddy to get an iced coffee with, you're in the right place (Obviously he has all those tentacles so that he can hold all of his friends' iced coffees!). The reason cosmic horror can be so appealing to the queer community is that we tend to be more open to acknowledging the discrepancies between the reality of the world around us and our own personal realities. For centuries queer people have challenged the concepts and rules that society continually tries to force onto us. Historically in the horror realm that has led to monsters and villains being queer-coded, and to queer people recognizing ourselves in that “otherness”. We frequently say witches are for the gays, vampires are for the gays, etc., and this is because it's true. These creatures who live on the fringe of society, often at odds with society, and who are demonized for being different feel very relatable. When we get into body horror with werewolves and body transformations, the comparisons become even more obvious, looping in an inherent relation to the trans experience. Ultimately, horror is an attractive lens for queer creatives to showcase the power of being different and can provide a space for queer people to explore our identities and regain agency over our stories after centuries of being portrayed as the villains. In addition to talking about horror, we also talk about how table top role playing games are an attractive outlet for queer people to try out new facets of our identities and to learn more about ourselves through our characters. There is a good reason why so much of the LGBTQ+ community loves engaging in TTRPGs. These games provide a safe space for exploration and a way for our subconscious minds to make breakthroughs on our sexualities and gender identities through play. Giving our imaginations and subconscious minds the freedom to reveal hidden truths that help us better understand ourselves can be extremely powerful and transformative. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revenge Mommy? Sorry. Revenge Mommy? Sorry. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Lez Hang Out's production assistant and actual mermaid, Kristin Murison (@therealksparkle), to talk about Netflix's Do Revenge. This movie is honestly incredibly queer the entire time. It opens to Hayley Kiyoko's “For The Girls” at the most EXTRA High School party we've ever seen and the rest of the soundtrack is filled with nonstop bops from sapphic favorites like Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo, and MUNA. So, you might be wondering why we are doing a Should've Been Gay on a movie that clearly is gay, but if you watch Eleanor and Drea interact for all of two minutes you will understand. Do Revenge stars Maya Hawke as Eleanor and Camila Mendes as Drea in a 2022 Gen Z version of Mean Girls that has all the makings of a cult classic movie. The entire premise of this film is that both Eleanor and Drea want revenge on the people who wronged them. Eleanor wants long-game revenge on the girl who ruined her life 5 years ago by spreading a harmful rumor about her that twisted things to make her look like a ‘predatory lesbian'. Drea's whole premise for revenge is going after her ex-boyfriend, Max, and her old clique members, essentially the modern version of The Plastics, for destroying her social standing at school and ultimately causing her to lose her spot at Yale. We love that Eleanor is unapologetically openly gay, and we love her girlfriend Gabbi's immaculate ‘boyfriend' vibes, but there is a stark difference between Eleanor interacting with Gabbi and Eleanor interacting with Drea. Sure, she likes Gabbi, but if Drea made a move, Eleanor would dump Gabbi in a heartbeat. These two have a wild amount of chemistry- their sexual tension is off the charts, and the dom/sub energy is on point. We know most viewers agree, because if you look up Do Revenge on Archive of Our Own, 99% of the fanfics are about Eleanor and Drea being together. From the moment we meet Drea at the lavish party thrown by her best friend Tara (who is clearly in love with her), it is obvious that she is in the closet. She has zero interest in kissing Max, later on has zero interest in having sex with Russ (literally she is scrolling Instagram while he is going down on her- need we say more?), and is fully obsessed with Headmaster Sarah Michelle Gellar (for obvious reasons). From knowing terms like ‘crunchy granola lesbian', wanting the hot milf Headmaster to back her over with her Tesla, and making little outfits for the greatest lizard of all time, Oscar Winner Olivia Coleman, Drea is constantly telling on herself. When making Eleanor over into ‘Frankenstein's Bad Bitch', Drea even says that all Eleanor needs to do to fit in with Max and her old friends is to disassociate from her body and not be herself. That sounds an awful lot like something a closeted person would do to survive in High School. When the tables turn and Eleanor takes over the title of Ultimate Revenge Mommy, her relationship with Drea somehow gets even more sexually charged than before, even though you would think hitting someone with your car would be a dealbreaker. We still do not understand how Drea and Eleanor did not kiss even once the whole movie and we feel robbed. Drea refers to Eleanor as her ‘fucked up soulmate' and yet it still somehow doesn't click for them that they are in love. We know one thing for sure, Do Revenge Should've Been Gayer. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.