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The AfterEllen.com Huddle: What we are thankful for in lesbian pop culture this year

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and it’s a great time to reflect on what we are thankful for this year. In lez pop culture, of course.

Lucy Hallowell: Ellen Page‘s coming out speech. It was the perfect counterpoint to everyone who cannot fathom how difficult coming out can be. You could tell from the second she started speaking that she was about to do something that was terrifying the wits out of her. She was honest and heartfelt. Her voice shook and her hands quivered and watching her made my heart squeeze and then grow at least three grinchy sizes. In a world overrun by fake this and “reality” that it was a moment of clear authenticity that makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Bridget McManus: I’m thankful for the thought of Hillary Clinton running for President in 2016. Now that’s a presidential candidate I’d like to get behind. And on top of.

Chelsea Steiner: I’m thankful for the briefly lived but epically GIFable Cara Delevingne/Michelle Rodriguez romance. They smoked, they drank, they wore matching beanies and held baby tigers. Did I mention they were drunk? Because they were drunk A LOT. These two beauties shined bright like diamonds in the sky, but alas, nothing gold can stay. Michelle rebounded with Zac Efron while Cara got drunk with Reese Witherspoon in an elevator. We should all be so lucky.

Tara Aquino: On Faking It, Reagan’s blink-and-youll-miss-it speech to Amy about not wanting to be “just a phase” again. Those seconds completely spoke to the uncertainty, frustration, and insecurities that come with being a gay teen.

Also, the Pitch Perfect 2 trailer. Because #bechloe.

Kim Hoffman: I would love to show some TLC to Transparent. Are you fucking kidding me, Jill Soloway? This first season blew my mind, it has so much power and relevance, it will shift minds and conversations and relationships and definitions….and I think it made me form a big time friend crush on Gaby Hoffmann (call me, I’m the Teeny to your Samantha).

I’m thankful for Ellen Page’s friendship with Evan Rachel Wood, and Evan’s possible romance to Kate Moennig.

I’m WAY thankful for the news that Tegan and Sara are making a new album, even if half their discography reminds us of being fetal lovestruck kindergarteners (or quite literally 19 years old). I’m grateful for the women who speak proudly and positively about other women in the media, and simply women in media…the funny ladies making us laugh, the actors playing queer roles, the writers, artists, innovators, all sharing in a collective consciousness.

Chloe Curran: I am thankful for Taylor Swift.

Jenna Duggan-Lykes: I am thankful for Carmilla. I’m usually really picky about vampire-y shows/movies/etc (because of my deep, undying love for Buffy), but then I heard there were lesbians. As it turns out, my quest to consume every piece of queer content in the world trumps my vampire snobbery. And I’m glad for that, because this show is just so wonderful. Some web series get on my nerves, because I feel like you have to save them up to binge. Carmilla, however, works great whether you watch them all in a row or wait (not so) patiently for new episodes. This show just warms my little queer heart. It also doesn’t hurt that the entire cast is, like, ridiculously attractive. Like, just painfully good looking.

Valerie Anne: I am thankful for Orphan Black, and its entire cast and crew. “My sexuality is not the most interesting thing about me,” is a thing Cosima said, and is a rule the show lives by. Also the unending support the cast and creative team regularly show the “clonesbians” is truly wonderful; they love us almost as much as we love them. And I say “almost” because I’m fairly certain nothing exists in this universe that is equal in magnitude to my love for Tatiana Maslany.

Erica Feliciano: I’m thankful for former beauty queen, Miss Spain Patricia Yurena Rodriguez coming out as a lesbian. Need I say more?

Trish Bendix: I’m thankful Freeheld is finally getting made. It’s been seven years since the documentary came out and won an Oscar for the devastating true story of Laurel and Stacee, and to see it finally coming to fruition with mega-stars like Ellen Page and Julianne Moore is incredibly exciting. The kinds of attention it will bring to injustice will really shed light on the kids of things our community still faces despite our great strides in parts of the country. Not only will the film itself spark conversation, but I have no doubts Ellen and Julianne will speak eloquently about equality (and inequality) while doing interviews and press. I can’t wait for AfterEllen to be part of that discussion.

Eboni Rafus: I am thankful for the many hilarious facial expressions of Kay on Marry Me, M-Chuck’s foul mouth and her loyal family on Survivor’s Remorse, the fact that Twenties isn’t dead in the water.

Dana Piccoli: I’m thankful for all the amazing webseries with lesbian and queer leads. Carmilla, Red, Nikki and Nora, Beacon Hill, Venice, Girl/Girl Scene, the list goes on. I feel like there is so much possibility in that medium, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it.

What lez/bi pop culture moment are you thankful for this year?

 

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