Interviews with Queer Women

People rather sheepishly sat around in a big circle waiting for a dominatrix to start a game of spin-the-bottle…

Set in the mid aughts, “Girls on Jane,” explores the characters’ personal crises and sexual escapades as they navigate life and the lesbian dating scene. It’s a world away from Covid, a throwback to the time when meeting people required more than simply swiping right. 

I am grateful for the safety of this space, for the community it contains, for those late night conversations with strangers that make you feel aware, awake and part of something.

Three queer women, one Honda SUV and perhaps the longest bar crawl ever. 

“It’s like a message from the 80s direct to today.”

“When I’m watching television, especially something that’s very queer-centered, I try to turn that part of my brain off. But — spoiler alert — you can’t. It’s always there.”

“When I sat down by myself in my apartment and thought about what I just said yes to, I got really emotional, because when I was younger, television, magazines, or any sort of media is where you get a preview of what could be. I never saw someone who looked exactly like me in an intimate scene.”

There were joyful tears throughout the dive bar. The whole night felt like a free mom hug.

“I think maybe one of the first things I said to Cait was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to be making out at some point,’” Grimes jokes.

Queers always create beauty.

Alice was, and is still, unfolding in front of our eyes, revealing new layers each time she graces the screen in an iconic pantsuit. 

“Regardless of how society has changed in the last 17 years,” Kate Moenning, who plays Shane, tells GO, “what hasn’t changed is the primal desire to be seen and to love and be loved.” 

Dave’s Lesbian Bar could be coming to Astoria, with your help.

Queers are magic, even in the middle of an RV park.

Pride means that you can own who you are, all of you, and live your truth out loud. Proud of who you are, where you are now, where you’ve been, and where you hope to go. Proud of your body, however you were born into it. Proud of who you love, what you identify as, and how you live your life. I chose to leave my dream-stealth life behind because I knew the world needed people to help them see and treat trans people differently. That’s why I can feel comfortable saying I know what true pride is.

The thought of driving through the South on purpose, as a butch dyke, was a vision of my gay hell.  But for the first stop of our tiny Pride tour, Country Roads, Take Me Homo, a small town is exactly where we ended up.

“Show up to the bars,” Street says. It’s not enough to lament the loss of the lesbian bars of old; we have to support those that are still here, “to show up to the brick and mortar. It’s a form of activism.” 

“Taylor Swift Made Me a U-Haul Dyke.”

http://gomag.com/article/meet-ginebras-the-queer-girl-gang-slaying-the-madrid-music-scene/ The band has blessed us with pop hits like “Crystal Fighters,” queer girl anthems like “Todas Mis Ex Tienen Novio,” or “All my ex-girlfriends have boyfriends,” and overtly feminist tracks like “Cosas Moradas” or “Purple things.”

“One of the main reasons I chose to be a part of this line of work is because I want those cycles of trauma to end,” they say. “I don’t want to always hear about how traumatic that experience was for that person… it isn’t going to be perfect, but at the end of the conversation, I want them to be able to say, ‘I had support. I knew it was going to be okay.’ I want to start hearing that more.” 

“I would lay on the bare floor of the cell, and there was no light in there. So the only light you’re seeing was a little bit of light from under your door. I would get on the floor and start singing that song. It gave me a little bit of hope again. It made me realize I could dream.”

“We acknowledge the limitations and barriers but we know it’s going to get better, that is what fuels our fight.”

“I dance when I celebrate, when I’m happy, when the sun is out, when I receive good news!  And when there is no good reason to dance, I dance!”

“Pageantry definitely is evolving.”

Equal Ground is Sri Lanka’s oldest non profit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, raising awareness of rights and visibility in a country that officially offers no protections for queer and gender non-conforming people.

“We want to make sure that this next stage of Madeline’s life is as free from fear and full of love as our whole lives have been because of her.”

Ever wanted to shoot the sh*t with “The L Word” Alice? Now is your chance.

Modern lovers pining for the one who got away, take heart: Even Hollywood’s greatest lesbian romantic was dealt an unrequited hand.

“The sad thing is that there are couples who gave up on the love they had and didn’t keep fighting. That made me realize I will never be that person and give up.”

Although the future will likely come with social distancing restrictions, it’s good to know that the pandemic hasn’t completely robbed us of these beloved spaces. 

“There’s a cultural stigma about infertility because as Latinas, we’re often raised to believe we’ll be mothers, and that it should come naturally. We’re pressured or asked constantly if we’ll have children.”

“Everyone is deserving of comfort.” 

“I will say that this is the very first role on television that I played a queer person and I have been doing this for almost 20 years. The fact that this is the first time, that is so telling to me — and the funny thing is, I don’t know what it’s telling me, but it’s telling me something that I don’t really like.”

“I was more afraid when I went out to clubs, dressed in drag, than I was when I was befriending a drug dealer or up in some apartment buying for the NYPD, with no gun or shield. I would’ve rather been found dead, in some dumpster, because a dealer found out I was a cop than been busted in drag.”

“I want them to learn that redemption is possible. I’ve evolved emotionally and psychologically, and I’m proud of how far I have come.”

“Opening minds is something that I find fantastic.”