Same-sex desire between young women has often unfolded against the backdrop of boarding schools or sorority houses, ranging from US lesbian pulp literature to European nunsploitation films.

This month’s episode of Beyond Bisexual Lighting is a focus on the Salacious Female Friendships. It’s important to note that for Part 1 of this series, the three films presented are helmed by male directors (Peter Jackson, Park Chan Wook, and Peter Strickland). All three films today are character studies that considers the structures of power within a lesbian relationship as they fluctuate between dominance and subservience. This does pose an interesting question and the answer likely depends on who the audience is. Does the male gaze exist when it’s viewed from a female perspective?

It’s a debatable (and perhaps problematic) concern and there’s no easy answer, but one which we intend to unpack within this hour segment.

Films Mentioned:

• Heavenly Creatures (directed and written by Peter Jackson + Fran Walsh) (1994) (New Zealand)

• The Handmaiden (directed and written by Park Chan Wook and Seo-kyeong Jeong) (2016) (South Korea)

• Bound (directed and written by Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski) (1993) (USA)

• The Duke of Burgandy (directed and written by Peter Strickland (2014) (England)