Ali Liebert played queer roles before she had ever come out herself as queer. You may recognize her from “Bomb Girls,” in which she played the firecracker feminist Betty McRae, or possibly from her role in “Lost Girls.” Liebert will join hundreds of LGBTQ women in entertainment and media at ClexaCon in Las Vegas the weekend of March 3-5.
“I think having a specific space for conversation that promotes and celebrates work that uplifts queers is really important,” Liebert told GO. “It’s more important to me now, being queer myself and also portraying queer people in TV and film and having a space where people can speak to how they feel in being represented. Actors, writers and directors can use our voices to promote a representation of our community. It’s important to see how folks feel about that.”
ClexaCon is going to hold space for conversations like Bisexual Representation in the Media, Ethics in Storytelling and How Implicit Bias Affects the LGBTQ Community in the Media. Liebert told GO that during her off time at the conference, she’s most looking forward to the Lost Girl panel and The Power of Queer Social Media discussion moderated by Dana Piccoli.
With the entertainment and media industries (still) remaining so male-dominated, we need to show young LGBTQ women that they can be a part of this world. Women like Liebert are paving the way for future generations to follow.
“I think by having meeting places like this will encouraging people who are maybe they haven’t done it yet or they have a show idea but are too nervous to put it out there,” Liebert said. “All great art stems from community. It’s something that, as I move forward as a producer and hopefully director, I’m focusing on—really taking the opportunity to create queer content.”
Out of all of this, Liebert hopes that participants (ahem—that’s YOU!) will walk away from ClexaCon with a new contacts and phone numbers of people who can help get their foot in the door. If we don’t open doors for our LGBTQ siblings and uplift one another’s voices, our stories won’t get the visibility they deserve.
“I have a great feeling it’s going to be a really positive space to encourage and celebrate the vast diversity of queer representation on screen and how we can move that forward,” Liebert told GO.
Liebert encourages you to come and say “hi” if you see her at the conference. She’s excited to be brave and shamelessly introduce herself to some people she just knows through Twitter and hopes you will follow suit in that bravery.
Get your tickets to ClexaCon to join these important dialogues.
