Lez Hang Out | Lesbian Life & Queer Culture

SISTAAAAAS! Grab your Roombas, we fly! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with one of the stars of HBO Max’s FBOY Island Season 2, Mia Emani Jones (@_miaemani), to talk about Hocus Pocus 2 for a very special Halloween episode. We were lucky to be Mia’s first interview post coming out, so we spent some time talking about her journey. FBOY Island is a wild place to be while experiencing that ‘I really don’t like men’ revelation and yet, it is somewhat shocking that more contestants haven’t come out as gay. If anything was going to put someone off men, it would be FBOY Island. We could spend hours talking to Mia about her journey, but we are here to talk about Hocus Pocus 2! It has been 29 years since the Sanderson Sisters blessed our screens and yet there still aren’t any canonically gay main characters! This feels like a huge missed opportunity, considering there already is a sequel to Hocus Pocus in book form that is 100% gay. Instead of giving us a story about Max and Allison’s gay daughter like the book did, Hocus Pocus 2 goes in a different direction and brings in brand new characters not related to the original movie. From the second we meet Becca, Izzy, and Cassie it is extremely obvious that they are all baby gays. Plus, as we’ve said countless times before, witches are inherently gay. It should be impossible for a movie like Hocus Pocus 2 to not be gay, because witchcraft is gay; and yet, Disney is determined to keep its witches in the broomcloset. We know one thing for sure, Hocus Pocus 2 Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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Our world is full of unknowable horrors; but that’s okay, because horror is for the gays! This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with writer, illustrator, and voice actor Cat Blackard (@catblackard), who is best known as the showrunner of the horror-comedy audio drama, The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program. The TTRPG style audio drama is currently in its fourth season of stories that build on Lovecraft’s work from a queer lens. We talk about the inherent queerness of horror as a genre as Cat and Leigh introduce Ellie to the world of cosmic horror. If you’ve ever thought Cthulhu would be a great buddy to get an iced coffee with, you’re in the right place (Obviously he has all those tentacles so that he can hold all of his friends’ iced coffees!). The reason cosmic horror can be so appealing to the queer community is that we tend to be more open to acknowledging the discrepancies between the reality of the world around us and our own personal realities. For centuries queer people have challenged the concepts and rules that society continually tries to force onto us. Historically in the horror realm that has led to monsters and villains being queer-coded, and to queer people recognizing ourselves in that “otherness”. We frequently say witches are for the gays, vampires are for the gays, etc., and this is because it’s true. These creatures who live on the fringe of society, often at odds with society, and who are demonized for being different feel very relatable. When we get into body horror with werewolves and body transformations, the comparisons become even more obvious, looping in an inherent relation to the trans experience. Ultimately, horror is an attractive lens for queer creatives to showcase the power of being different and can provide a space for queer people to explore our identities and regain agency over our stories after centuries of being portrayed as the villains. In addition to talking about horror, we also talk about how table top role playing games are an attractive outlet for queer people to try out new facets of our identities and to learn more about ourselves through our characters. There is a good reason why so much of the LGBTQ+ community loves engaging in TTRPGs. These games provide a safe space for exploration and a way for our subconscious minds to make breakthroughs on our sexualities and gender identities through play. Giving our imaginations and subconscious minds the freedom to reveal hidden truths that help us better understand ourselves can be extremely powerful and transformative. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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Revenge Mommy? Sorry. Revenge Mommy? Sorry. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Lez Hang Out’s production assistant and actual mermaid, Kristin Murison (@therealksparkle), to talk about Netflix’s Do Revenge. This movie is honestly incredibly queer the entire time. It opens to Hayley Kiyoko’s “For The Girls” at the most EXTRA High School party we’ve ever seen and the rest of the soundtrack is filled with nonstop bops from sapphic favorites like Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo, and MUNA. So, you might be wondering why we are doing a Should’ve Been Gay on a movie that clearly is gay, but if you watch Eleanor and Drea interact for all of two minutes you will understand. Do Revenge stars Maya Hawke as Eleanor and Camila Mendes as Drea in a 2022 Gen Z version of Mean Girls that has all the makings of a cult classic movie. The entire premise of this film is that both Eleanor and Drea want revenge on the people who wronged them. Eleanor wants long-game revenge on the girl who ruined her life 5 years ago by spreading a harmful rumor about her that twisted things to make her look like a ‘predatory lesbian’. Drea’s whole premise for revenge is going after her ex-boyfriend, Max, and her old clique members, essentially the modern version of The Plastics, for destroying her social standing at school and ultimately causing her to lose her spot at Yale. We love that Eleanor is unapologetically openly gay, and we love her girlfriend Gabbi’s immaculate ‘boyfriend’ vibes, but there is a stark difference between Eleanor interacting with Gabbi and Eleanor interacting with Drea. Sure, she likes Gabbi, but if Drea made a move, Eleanor would dump Gabbi in a heartbeat. These two have a wild amount of chemistry- their sexual tension is off the charts, and the dom/sub energy is on point. We know most viewers agree, because if you look up Do Revenge on Archive of Our Own, 99% of the fanfics are about Eleanor and Drea being together. From the moment we meet Drea at the lavish party thrown by her best friend Tara (who is clearly in love with her), it is obvious that she is in the closet. She has zero interest in kissing Max, later on has zero interest in having sex with Russ (literally she is scrolling Instagram while he is going down on her- need we say more?), and is fully obsessed with Headmaster Sarah Michelle Gellar (for obvious reasons). From knowing terms like ‘crunchy granola lesbian’, wanting the hot milf Headmaster to back her over with her Tesla, and making little outfits for the greatest lizard of all time, Oscar Winner Olivia Coleman, Drea is constantly telling on herself. When making Eleanor over into ‘Frankenstein’s Bad Bitch’, Drea even says that all Eleanor needs to do to fit in with Max and her old friends is to disassociate from her body and not be herself. That sounds an awful lot like something a closeted person would do to survive in High School. When the tables turn and Eleanor takes over the title of Ultimate Revenge Mommy, her relationship with Drea somehow gets even more sexually charged than before, even though you would think hitting someone with your car would be a dealbreaker. We still do not understand how Drea and Eleanor did not kiss even once the whole movie and we feel robbed. Drea refers to Eleanor as her ‘fucked up soulmate’ and yet it still somehow doesn’t click for them that they are in love. We know one thing for sure, Do Revenge Should’ve Been Gayer. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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You know what’s better than chocolate? — being unapologetically gay! This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to discuss Better Than Chocolate, a 1999 Canadian romcom, for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. Being in the closet is hard, but being in the closet while trying to cohabitate with your mother, younger brother, and secret girlfriend really takes the chaos to another level. Maggie juggles hiding her sexuality from her mom, Lila, working at a queer bookstore that is constantly under threat by the censors, and falling in love with Kim, a bohemian artist whose hippie van gets towed while they are hooking up; and she juggles it all about as well as can be expected for a 19 year old. As Lila gets further entangled in her daughter’s life, she meets Judy, a trans woman who becomes her closest friend and confidante, and ultimately helps her learn to accept Maggie’s sexuality. In return, Lila helps Judy conquer her fears of rejection and confront her feelings for the love of her life, Frances, the owner of the queer bookstore. In true late 90’s fashion, there is a bit of period typical homophobia to contend with, including a full on hate crime scene that we honestly could have done without. Ultimately this movie ends on a happy and hopeful note, a rarity for lesbian movies, even moreso for older ones. Better Than Chocolate contains everything we want in a great lesbian movie- a dramatic love story, hilarious jokes, incredible chemistry between the main couples, a moving storyline, a happy ending for our leads, and more dildos than even the most well stocked sex shop could ever have on display. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Better Than Chocolate titled “A Little Bit Better” written by Leigh Holmes Foster, produced by Ellie Brigida, and performed by Ellie Brigida and Leigh Holmes Foster. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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We want more fortune cookies, we want more earthquakes!!! Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Meghan Gunther (@meggunth), Broadway administrator, director, and producer to talk about the beloved 2003 body swap comedy, Freaky Friday. For those who don’t know, Meghan is the one who helped us bring The Flame live to New York City! Freaky Friday is the early 2000s comedy where a mother and daughter wake up to find their bodies interchanged, and proceed to out-gay each other, because what else would you do! Obvi we get strong gay vibes from Anna, played by Lindsey Lohan, who falls for lesbian stand-in Chad Michael Murray and immediately gets her mom a shorter haircut and cartilage piercing. And honestly, has Lindsey Lohan ever played a straight character in her life? We’d argue, no, she hasn’t. But let’s talk about Dr. Tess Coleman, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, and the gay awakening we all had to that sick guitar solo! Tess telling Anna’s friends, “I don't believe in physical contact with the opposite sex at all ever,” is a forever mood. This yoga loving, opposite-sex averse, breadwinner could have and should have been the crunchy granola lesbian milf of our dreams and yet it was a 2003 Disney movie, so really we couldn’t have asked for more at the time. We know one thing for sure, Freaky Friday Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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There’s something inherently queer about theme parks, especially haunted ones. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with actor, comedian and public speaker Zach Barack (@zachbarack), who you might recognize from his featured role in Spiderman: Far from Home or Amazon’s series Transparent. Zach is currently voicing Barney, a lead character in the Netflix animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park and we are so proud that we get to see a trans lead in children’s animation. We can’t think of another time when we have seen such an authentic representation of a trans character in an animated series or children’s show. Zach discusses his experience with playing Barney in Dead End, and the responsibility of portraying a trans character on TV, especially in a kid’s show. We love the show not only because it is a perfect example of how you can make horror and queer representation age appropriate but also because you know we’re suckers for a musical episode! We discuss our opinions on Norma, Courtney and Pugsley, and the different types of representation each of them brings. And we learn how, much like Barney, Zach is not the right person to ask when it comes to approaching your crush. Listen in to hear which horror movie characters we were scared of as kids and which are our favorite theme park rides. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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“Estella can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because she’s dead,” Cruella de Vil, probably. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the most unhinged and incredibly gay Disney movie of all time, the 2021 prequel to the classic 101 Dalmations, Cruella. Emma Stone and Emma Thompson absolutely slay the roles of Estella/Cruella and The Baroness, and we are obsessed with how perfect these narcissistic murderous lesbians are. The wildest thing about this movie is how openly gay it is for a Disney film. The target audience HAD to be the gays, nothing else makes any sense. It’s truly a struggle to name a straight character in this movie. Sure, Disney villains are always queer-coded, but everything about Estella/Cruella screams gay. She is oozing with drag queen energy, is incredibly petty, feels more herself in a costume, and only hangs out with other gays. Jasper simps for her for years and she very clearly has zero interest in him. Then there is Estella’s relationship with Anita Darling. Clearly, Anita has been in love with Estella since their schoolgirl days or she wouldn’t be so loyal to such an incredibly unhinged person. We’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the main rivalry of the film, Cruella vs. The Baroness, which is essentially a cautionary tale for why there can never be two tops at the same time in the fashion world (or in a queer relationship). The Baroness absolutely knocks us out with her impeccable vibes, over the top theme parties, and truly psychopathic behavior. Name something more petty than not wanting to be upstaged by a literal baby. You can’t. She has risen to the top of the fashion world by killing everyone who even remotely got in her way and we are so here for it. Outside of our main lesbians, there are more gay men in this movie than we can even count, which lesbihonest, is very valid of them for a film about the fashion industry. Poor Horace has been in love with Jasper since he was a little kid, and we just really want him and his incredibly gay chihuahua to find happiness with Artie instead. This is one of the most flamboyant movies we have ever seen from the costume design to the absolute bop of a soundtrack and the advanced level pettiness that is the driving force behind Cruella and The Baroness. We know one thing for sure, Cruella Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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Calling all Gleeks! This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with actor Dot Marie Jones (@dotmariejones), who you probably know best as Shannon Beiste on Glee, but who has also had notable roles in pretty much anything you’ve probably ever seen (Coach Kelly on Lizzie McGuire anyone?). Her newest role is in the very gay comedy Bros which comes to theatres September 30th. We talk to Dot about her experiences across her long acting career and how things have changed in 30 years, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation. 30 years ago it was nearly unheard of to have an LGBTQ+ character unless they were being treated horribly or the butt of a joke. So, for Dot, getting to work on a movie like Bros which is so unapologetically gay and has pretty much an entirely gay cast and mostly gay crew is a dream experience. We personally cannot wait to see a major theatrical release that is focused entirely around gays and is actually a comedy instead of being full of sadness and tragedy for once. Plus it has Billy Eichner and when he says “Let’s go lesbians, let’s go”, we simply have to go. In addition to talking about her acting career, we also get to chat with Dot about her impressive competitive arm wrestling career (Women’s competitive arm wrestling? Sign us all the way up!). She actually appeared in Golden Arm which is a movie about competitive female arm wrestling that stars recent guest of the pod, Mary Holland, and she performed the role in a way that reflected her real life arm wrestling experience. With the current success of shows like A League of Their Own, we think the next big television show should absolutely be a look into the secret lives of competitive women’s arm wrestlers, because there is no way there aren’t just a lot of lesbians in that scene (lesbians do need to have pretty strong arms). Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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This week’s episode is like so fetch! Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with writer and actor Mary Holland (@maryhollandaise) to talk about Mean Girls, an iconic film that an entire generation can still quote verbatim. Mean Girls was the defining movie of the early 2000s and although way too many of the jokes truly did not age well (hello casual homophobia, racism, and ableism), it still is unmatched when it comes to showcasing the intricacies of female bullying and American High School dynamics. While the movie canonically gives us one “too gay to function” main character in Damian, we argue that every single character in Mean Girls can be interpreted as and should have been gay. Although the most obvious choice might be Janice, we would be remiss not to recognize the gay magnetism in action when Cady first arrives at the school. Cady is literally skipping class with the gays and wearing a flannel to school by day 2. When we meet the Plastics, Regina is in slow motion and Cady is instantly enthralled with her. The Plastics themselves are 100% definitely all sleeping together. The movie tries to throw in a boy as a plot device, but it is extremely obvious that is all he is, because neither Regina nor Cady have an ounce of chemistry with him. Plus in real life, the main male cast members are all actually gay, so that probably plays into their interactions at least under the surface. The main plot of the movie is essentially caused by a horrible (and extremely gay) friend breakup between Janice and Regina that sets off a chain of events where Cady and Regina end up accidentally falling for one another. We argue that both Janice and Cady and Regina and Cady are the main ships propelling the story, but background ships like Regina and Gretchen have a very large influence on what happens in the end as well. Everything from Ms. Norbury’s rainbow-fueled vest to Regina choosing to wear lingerie anytime she’s on the phone with Cady adds to the incredibly gay masterpiece that is Mean Girls. The film literally ends with Regina’s best version of her life being getting buried under a pile of girls on the athletic field- we know what you are, Regina and we are so thrilled for you. We know one thing for sure, Mean Girls Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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If you’re wondering how we have survived for 6 seasons, it’s because of the Mycelium. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with actor Taylor Hickson (@taylor.hickson), who you may recognize as the one and only Raelle Collar, the unkillable Witchbomb of Motherland: Fort Salem. This episode was recorded early into Season 3, so it is relatively spoiler free if you have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the explosive finale. We talk to Taylor about the casting process, her incredible chemistry with Amalia, what it was like to grow up alongside Raelle, and how her real life car accident changed things for our favorite witches in Season 3. Taylor explains that she was only around 20 years old when she began filming for Motherland and how because of that, there were countless parallels between her own growth and Raelle’s. She shares how much she has learned from being part of such an important and influential queer ship (Raylla) and how it has influenced her in both her personal and professional life. We talk about what it was like to film that first sex scene with Amalia after only knowing her for a short time and how they have both continually managed to bring so much honesty and vulnerability into their on-screen relationship. Taylor shares how important the show has been not only to the fans, but to the cast and crew who formed a family during the uncertainty and isolation of the pandemic. We discuss the importance of having an “unkillable gay” in the face of the BYG trope and how vital the show has been by providing so many layers of representation for so many fans. And of course, we can’t help but talk to Taylor about Bellcollar (listen to find out the ship name she and Ashley use for themselves) and Talder too, who she proudly claims to have been a big fan of from the start. We all go just as feral for Lyne Renée as Tally does in that delusion scene when Taylor gives a behind the scenes look into what it was like to be on set that day. We talk about Taylor’s music and how she ended up singing and playing guitar on the show, and of course we shamelessly pitch her Motherland: The Musical. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).

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