Emma Fuente and Izzy Perez

“When we first started posting online, it seemed like that would be the extent of it: short TikToks to make people laugh, and it didn’t matter who got a kick out of it so long as we did,” Emma Fuente and Izzy Perez, known as @Turtlewithhat, recall. “We started posting on YouTube, and it became a beautiful mix of our love for filmmaking and social media. With longer videos and more production value, we were no longer restrained by short-form limitations.” Over the course of their online career, the couple has amassed over 1.7 million TikTok followers, as well as over 300,000 followers on Instagram and YouTube. Through everything from videos to short films to live performances, their awkward and witty humor is a funny and comforting trademark. However, queer social media life has its own set of challenges. “As lesbian women online, we find that people are quick to criticize and hold us to impossible, ever-changing standards,” Fuente and Perez say. “We think we’ve learned a lot from the challenges of being present online, and an important one would be to embrace the messiness.” What’s next for @Turtlewithhat? “The vision for our future is ever-changing, and there are so many opportunities, but we definitely look towards the realm of film or television,” the duo says. “We hope to make films or shows together—directing and writing them—and hopefully sharing pieces of our lives as lesbian creators through every project.” –LE