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CosmoGirl! Includes Queer Peers CosmoGirl! executive editor Ann Shoket talks about the magazines queer-friendly attitude and its impact on teen girls today. |
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Fans Hooked on Second Season of Sugar Rush The British late night lesbian teen drama has gone from cult hit to burgeoning mainstream success. |
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A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story The new Lifetime movie starring J.D. Pardo and Mercedes Ruehl dramatizes the true story of slain transgendered teen Gwen Araujo. |
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Another Summer Sugar Rush The British teen lesbian drama begins its highly-anticipated second season tomorrow. |
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British Soap Emmerdale Takes On A Lesbian Teen Relationship Will Debbie and Jasmine turn into a relatable teen power couple like South of Nowhere's Spencer and Ashley? The results so far are promising. |
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Review of Loving Annabelle This new sexually-charged film tackles the ethical dilemma of a lesbian teacher-student romance at a Catholic boarding school. |
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Ready?
Okay! A Lesbian Cheerleader Rules on Veronica Mars
In a recent episode of the UPN drama, teen sleuth
Veronica investigated the blackmailing of several closeted gay
teens at her school. |
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In
Praise of Sweeps Lesbianism The evolution
of sweeps lesbianism suggests that while it may be exploitive
in the short term, it leads to better lesbian visibility in
the long run. |
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Sex
and the "Whatever" Generation
Will sexually adventurous and label-free teens one day grow
up to make a difference in the lives of gays and lesbians? |
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South
of Nowhere Wins Loyal Fan Base, Second Season
The new show
about queer teens on The N network has emerged as a dark-horse
favorite for audiences of all ages. |
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Degrassi
and the Next Lesbian Generation An
unlikely friendship between two girls develops into something
more in upcoming episodes of the popular teen TV series Degrassi:
The Next Generation. |
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Interview
with South of Nowhere's Gabrielle Christian
The
actress who plays the questioning teen on the ground-breaking
new TV show talks
about her character, Spencer and Ashley, and hitting it
off with Mandy Musgrave. |
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Well-Written
South of Nowhere Features Queer Teen Girls
The new teen drama on MTV's cable TV channel The Noggin features
a teen girl questioning her sexuality when her friendship
with another girl becomes something more. |
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Review
of Pretty Persuasion
While this new drama about a manipulative teenager is not
as sharp as Election or Heathers, Evan Rachel
Wood delivers a powerful performance as a feral creature,
quietly dangerous to everyone around her. |
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Lesbian
Classic Inspires Upcoming Film Loving Annabelle
The 1931 movie Maedchen in Uniform, about a lesbian
romance between a high school student and her teacher, is
about to get a modern retelling from filmmaker Katherine Brooks. |
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Review
of The Journey The first film
to seriously address lesbian love in India since Fire
in 1996. |
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A
Different Kind of Sugar Rush The
new British television series Sugar Rush, about a
teen girl's attraction to her friend, is better than the novel
it's based on. |
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Interview
with Emily Blunt A
conversation with the actress who plays troubled rich girl
Tamsin in My Summer of Love. |
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New
TV Series South of Nowhere Features a Lesbian Teen
An Ohio teen moves to L.A. with her family and falls for her
new best friend in this upcoming drama series aimed at younger
teens. |
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Interview
with Julie Anne Peters The former systems
engineer-turned-award-winning young adult novelist talks about
her career, her writing process, and her brand-new book about
a butch lesbian teen who falls for an evil straight girl.
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One
Tree Hill's Anna: Yep, She's Bisexual
Daniella Alonso's recurring teen Latina character on the WB
teen drama was revealed to like guys and girls on last
night's episode, making her television's first real bisexual
character of color. |
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The
O.C.'s Alex Boosts Bisexual Visibility on TV
One of the few decent
bisexual characters on network TV in recent history. |
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Review
of Name all the Animals A
moving memoir about adolescence, coming out, and living with
the dead. |
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Review
of Becoming: Young Ideas About Gender, Identity and Sexuality
The teens and young adults featured in this anthology write
with a raw innocence that brings you back—viscerally—to
your own young adulthood. |
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Marissa
Gets a Girlfriend on The O.C.
The
actress who played one-half of the teen lesbian couple on Once
and Again is getting a girlfriend again when her character
falls for another girl next month on the popular teen drama
The O.C. |
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Review
of Heavenly Creatures
The 1994 award-winning
film that launched the careers of Kate Winslet and Melanie
Lynskey features excellent acting and direction, but its portrayal
of lesbianism is less than fabulous.
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Hex's
Dead Lesbian Supplies Humor, Heart The
new TV show many are calling "the British Buffy"
includes a lesbian character as an integral part of the series,
despite her death in the first episode. |
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Smallville
Exploits Lesbianism, Again The
WB series strikes again with a deadly lesbian kiss between
Lana Lang and a female villain-of-the-week. |
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Rescue
Me's Unusual Coming-Out Scene
Last week's episode of the FX series Rescue Me offered
one of the oddest father-daughter conversations ever seen on
television when a teenage girl revealed she had a girlfriend--
and her father rejoiced at the news. |
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Review
of Oranges are Not the Only Fruit This
BBC adaptation of the classic Jeanette Winterson novel is
rich and layered, but it's also a classic and
simple story of a young girl's struggle to accept her sexuality
in the face of religious fanaticism. |
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Review
of Clara's Summer Clara’s
Summer is situated from the beginning as a story about
a momentous summer in the life of one girl, but it fizzles
out a bit by the end, as if the filmmakers did not have the
energy to delve into the complex emotions resulting from Clara’s
first lesbian experience. |
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Review
of "Finding H.F."
Written
with a Southern flare and laced with Appalachian expressions,
Watts brings the friendship of a lesbian and gay boy to life,
illuminating the isolation the two experience in a place where
gays aren’t accepted and where queer culture isn’t
always immediately visible to the eye. |
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Interview
with Alienated's Iris Graham Iris
Graham plays closeted lesbian teen Isabelle on the Canadian
TV series Alienated, a comedy about a family that
is experimented on by aliens. As the second season kicks off,
Iris tells us what changes are in store for her character--and
how
being willing to kiss a girl got her the part in the first
place. |
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Review
of "The House You Pass on the Way"
Jacqueline
Woodson's young adult novel “The House You Pass on the
Way” is the story of a young girl struggling with her
parents’ interracial marriage and her emerging and confusing
feelings for her friend Hazel. |
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Joan
of Arcadia and the Sexually Ambiguous
Teenage Girl Not
many teens on television have been truly confused for a long
period of time about their sexuality, which is what makes Joan
of Arcadia's Grace so unusual--as well as her butch appearance
and willigness to stand up to homophobic comments from her peers. |
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Review
of "Gravel Queen" Nominated
for this year’s Lambda Literary Award in the Children/Young
Adult category, Tea Benduhn’s debut novel is a happy-go-lucky
and uncomplicated story of a budding teen romance. It's also
a lesbian love story without lesbian identity or labels. |
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Review
of thirteen The
story of the briliant, disturbing movie thirteen
is deceptively simple, a chronicle of a really bad seventh
grade experience as Tracy meets bad-influence Evie and quickly
begins to spiral out of control. |
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Review
of D.E.B.S. D.E.B.S.
ultimately succeeds because it can be different things to different
viewers: to lesbian and bisexual viewers, it's a lesbian love
story in teen-movie clothing; to straight teen and young adult
viewers, a funny teen movie with a twist. |
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Canada's
Alienated Lesbian Teen
Although
16-year-old Isabelle is the only one in her family who isn't
abducted by aliens in the Canadian science fiction series Alienated,
she's got a big secret of her own already: she's gay.
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Lesbian-Themed
YA Novels On the Rise The
1990’s saw a small increase in the number of lesbian-themed
young adult novels, but
since 2000, there seems to have been an explosion in books with
lesbian themes for teenager.
While sales of these novels are clearly on the rise, the books
still receive mixed reactions from schools and libraries. |
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Tru
Calling's "Star Crossed" Lovers
The
new Fox series Tru Calling, starring Eliza Dushku,
featured its first lesbian-themed episode last week, in a story
about a forbidden high school romance that almost ends in tragedy.
The episode reinforces some negative associations with lesbian
relationships, but ultimately delivers a message of tolerance
and support for unconventional relationships. |
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The
Success of the UK's Alex Parks: a Paradigm Shift for Lesbians
in Music? An openly lesbian singer with
short spiky hair and a casually butch dress style is voted the
winner in a national TV talent contest. Sound too good
to be true? Maybe in the U.S., but not in the UK, where 19-year-old
Alex Parks recently emerged the winner of the second season
of the UK reality show Fame Academy. |
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Dropping
Lesbian Romance From Beckham the Right Decision
Many
fans of Bend it Like Beckham are likely to be disappointed
at learning the film was originally written to feature a romance
between Jess and Jules. But I want to offer what is likely to
be an unpopular opinion: in this particular context and at this
particular time, the director made the right decision. |
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All
My Children Avoids Lesbian Relationship Again...and Again
The
constant innuendo between Maggie and Bianca and the continual
sidelining of Lena and Bianca's relationship reflect AMC's attempt
to have it both ways: keep lesbian viewers watching by dangling
the possibility of a lesbian relationship, while always ensuring
it is just out of reach. |
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In
Defense of tATu There
has been an extensive amount of controversy surrounding the
Russian pop duet tATu, and an astonishing barrage of criticism
directed at them. The media seem to be the driving force behind
this attack, but the arguments they have conjured up against
tATu have internal flaws that many have overlooked. |
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Nip/Tuck
Increases Lesbian Visibility by Leaps/Bounds For
a series to have two regular lesbian characters who are not
dating each other is unprecedented on television.
The early success of Nip/Tuck proves that viewers are
comfortable with and even interested in storylines involving
realistic lesbian characters and frank depictions of lesbian
sexuality. |
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Canada's
Teen Drama Edgemont Helps Lesbian Visibility
While
most of her classmates are tackling first love and Physics finals,
Asian-Canadian teen Shannon is grappling with coming-out issues
and how that affects her friendships and future. Her storyline
provides young Candian lesbians with a role model so they don’t
grow up feeling like they are the only ones who are “different."
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VH1's
Totally Gay is Totally Fluffy Fun
This
special conveniently glosses over the messier side of the struggle
for gay visibility over the last fifteen years, and makes it
all look way too easy. But for closeted or questioning teenagers
who are bombarded daily with negative views of "the gay
lifestyle," this may be just the antidote they need.
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Interview
with Angela Robinson, Director of D.E.B.S.
The
director of the upcoming film D.E.B.S. answers our
questions about the film's lesbian storyline, as well as her
overall experience making the film and writing for the new Showtime
series The L Word. |
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Brazil's
Women in Love: a Happy Ending With No Kiss?
The
network behind Brazil's largest nighttime drama Mulheres
Apaixonadas (translated as Women in Love) have
been surprised at the overwhelming viewer support for the show's
first lesbian couple--but are they still playing it too safe?
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All
My Children: A Lesbian Kiss to Build a Dream On?
After
days of hype, we finally saw the first lesbian kiss on daytime
television, and it didn't disappoint. But the real sign of lasting
progress will be when Lena and Bianca kiss again, this time
without big public announcements and warning statements, when
the media is no longer interested enough to cover it.
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D.E.B.S.
the Movie: Will the Lesbians Stay in the Picture?
The
hit short film about four high school girls-turned-secret
agents is being turned into a feature film by Sony. But will
the lesbianism from the short make it into the full-length
version, or will Hollywood turn it into another Fried
Green Tomatoes? |
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Review
of "Geography Club" by Brent Hartinger
Who
said there's no market for a book about gay
teens? A lot of people, actually, which is one
reason the success of the new young adult novel
"Geography Club" is so sweet--along
with the fact that a bisexual Asian-American
teenage girl is one of the main characters.
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How
Buffy Changed the World of Lesbians on Television
Now
that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has staked its last vampire,
we can finally examine the series' contribution to lesbian visibility
in its totality--for despite some controversial storylines and
consistently low ratings, there is no denying that Buffy
has had a lasting impact on the way lesbians are portrayed on
television. |
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Review
of Marion Bridge The
powerful performances and well-written dialogue of the new
indie Canadian film Marion Bridge quickly make you
forget anything but the delicate dance between the three estranged
sisters, one of whom is a lesbian on
the verge of coming out.
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Review
of The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love
The
1995 film The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in
Love is a classic indie success story: a teenage lesbian
love story filmed in only 21 days that became a Sundance hit,
starred two young actresses who have since gone on to successful
careers, and is still enjoyed by viewers almost eight years
later. |
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"The
Sea of Light" by Jenifer Levin There
are only a handful of books I reread every year or so because
they put into words complex emotions that are almost impossible
to articulate. "The Sea of Light" by Jenifer Levin
is one of those books. |
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Superman
vs. the Lesbian Psycho Killer on Smallville
What makes the recent episode of Smallville
stand out as particularly bizarre is that it relies upon and
reinforces such horribly outdated stereotypes about lesbians
that few but the most bigoted Americans profess to believe anymore--and
worse, it does so for a young and impressionable audience. |
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A
Public Service Message From Boston Public
We
were almost halfway through February Sweeps this year and there
was still no sign of the annual lesbian exploitation episode
that has come to symbolize this month of ratings-pandering and
general television merriment. Fortunately, Boston
Public came to the rescue with an obsessed-lesbian-teen-stalker
storyline. |
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Review
of All Over Me All
Over Me is one of those films that is so realistic, it's
difficult to watch. The movie tells the story of Claude,
a solid, socially-awkward teenage girl into punk music and
in love with her best friend Ellen, a self-absorbed, volatile
anorexic just waiting for some guy to come along and treat
her like shit--which is exactly what happens. |
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Review
of "Deliver Us From Evie" by M.E. Kerr There
are few young adult novels that deal with lesbianism at all,
but almost none that take on complicated issues like butch
and femme and passing the way M.E. Kerr's classic novel "Deliver
Us From Evie" does. |
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The
Battle for Bianca and Maggie on All My Children
All
My Children has featured a lesbian character for two
years, but she has never had an on-screen relationship. The
level of visibility to which the fan campaign for a Bianca/Maggie
relationship has risen, however, is unprecedented in soap
opera history--and just might make the difference.
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The
Problem with T.A.T.U. Why
do so many lesbian and bisexual women continue to be fans
of T.A.T.U. despite the increasingly disturbing
information coming out about the group? Could it be that we're
so starved for any representation of ourselves in popular
music that we're trying to make T.A.T.U. into something they're
not? |
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T.A.T.U.'s
Video the Next New Thing in Lesbian Visibility?
So
who the hell are T.A.T.U., and what does that whole acronym
thing stand for? T.A.T.U., or Taty, are a Russian
pair of teenage girls who have marketed themselves as lesbians.
Or, the record company has, at least--and it's working: their
latest video is topping the MTV charts. |
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Teen
Thrillers and the Evil Bisexual Girl
The Evil Bisexual Girl in the teen psychological thriller
is like the Lone Black Guy in the suspense films of the 80's
and 90's: you know right away they're going to come to a bad
end. |
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Review
of The Truth About Jane
Alternately
cheesy, angsty,
humorous, and occasionally melodramatic, The
Truth About Jane has all the hallmarks of a classic coming-out
narrative combined with excellent acting and a positive if
overly preachy message. |
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Review
of Higher Learning
Like most mainstream movies, Higher Learning's depiction
of lesbianism and bisexuality is both compelling and problematic.
Such an honest portrayal of bisexuality in a mainstream film
was almost unheard of in 1995, but the movie reinforces some
negative stereotypes about both lesbians and bisexuals.
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Killing
Tara: the Demise of an Exceptional Lesbian Relationship on Buffy
Maybe in all this slaying, Buffy has forgotten
that when a television show starts being careless with its
viewers' emotions, it starts to lose them. |
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Buffy
Not So Great at Slaying Stereotypes of Lesbian Relationships
In their romantic scenes in happier times, you actually
expected to see bluebirds and small animals come out of the
forest to sit at their knees while Tara and Willow held hands
like Snow White and Cinderella on a secret afternoon tryst.
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Review
of Fucking Amal/Show Me Love
This movie is unflinchingly honest in showing the serious
and long-term scars that teenage cruelty can create. But it
is at its most powerful in demonstrating that a kindred soul
is instrumental in helping you rise above it. |
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Review
of Lost and Delirious The
overall message is clearly and powerfully delivered,
and the romantic and sexual relationship between Paulie and
Tori is well-handled and realistic - unfortunately, too
realistic for me. |
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Young
Adult Books for Lesbian and Bi Teens I never
came across a Young Adult book with lesbian or bisexual characters
until 1992, the summer I was eighteen and found a worn paperback
copy of Sandra Scoppetone's novel "Happy Endings Are
All Alike" in a used bookstore while passing through
Eugene, OR. Ten years later, things still haven't improved
much for lesbian and bi teens. |
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Once
and Again: The Best Show You Never Watched (And Why You
Should Have) Over the course of the third season,
the producers of Once and Again have quietly developed
the friendship between 15-year-old Jessie and her best friend
Katie into something more. |
