Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) sit down with Broadway actor and TikTok star, J.J. Niemann (@jjniemann) to talk about how he went from musical theatre gay to TikTok fame. From J.J.’s baby theatre days in Charlotte’s Web to his freshly post college Broadway debut with Book of Mormon, we chat about how musical theatre has always been a safe space for queer people and how he knew from an early age that acting was his calling. We also talk about how it led him to TikTok stardom with his videos that give folks a peek behind the curtain and resonate with the theatre kid that still sings within many of us. We dive into how unique TikTok is as a platform and why queer people tend to find positive community more easily on TikTok than they do on other platforms. We also discuss censorship of queer content creators by social media platforms and the issue of cyber bullying within the community. 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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503: Queeriography with J.J. Niemann

Hang out with Ellie Brigida and Leigh Holmes Foster, the lesbians you'd want at your potluck! Covering topics on lesbian experiences, representation, culture, life, love, etc. for some sapphic socialization!

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

TV & Film

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants to take you out to the ball gay-me. 
This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2022 Amazon Prime series A League of Their Own for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon. This series was based on the 1992 film of the same name and featured an absolutely stacked cast. Literally everyone is in this show (Even Rosie O’Donnell!). Of course we cannot talk about ALOTO without first talking about the upsetting and completely undeserved cancellation that came after giving us one of the most perfect seasons of television ever made. In spite of the series’ success, Amazon Prime decided not to move forward with a Season 2, contributing to the all too common “Cancel Your Gays” trope that has been a favorite of seemingly every modern television network lately. 
If you haven’t caught on, we think this show was a home run and would not change a single thing about it (aside from making it 800 seasons long). Even with only one season, ALOTO packs in more queer women content than any show we’ve ever seen (outside of The L Word). As a period piece ALOTO does a fantastic job of showing what life was like for these women as they attempted to live as authentically as possible while navigating the laws of a heteronormative and racially segregated society. It is honestly so refreshing to see such a wide range of queer relationship dynamics on our screens, especially the ones that are not solely romance-focused. Sure, we all go feral for D’Arcy Carden as Greta spinning little gayby Carson’s entire life on its axis, but it’s equally satisfying watching Jess and Lupe’s queer masc bromance and the queer elder x baby queer dynamic between Uncle Bertie and Max.
At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on A League of Their Own, titled “Baseball Diamonds (Are A Girl’s Best Friend)”, written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for instant access to mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually.
Our merch store is moving! Get ready for Pride 365 days a year with our official Lez Hang Out merchandise soon to be available directly through our website (with an expanded range of items!). In the meantime, you can still grab our past designs from the old shop at bit.ly/lezshop. 
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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720: Lez-ssentials A League of Their Own

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that can (and will) make absolutely any character gay. 
This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Kaitlynn and Theora, the co-hosts of Big Gay Energy Podcast (@biggayenergypod), to talk about why the MCU mini-series Hawkeye Should’ve Been Gay. This show is absolutely overflowing with gay energy and wildly queer casting choices, yet only has one canonically gay character. In spite of that sad fact, we can honestly read every single character in this mini-series as some flavor of queer (yes, even Clint). 
If you’re unfamiliar with Hawkeye, all you really need to know is that the main character Kate Bishop is played by none other than Hailee Steinfeld, an actor we truly cannot read as heterosexual after watching her in Pitch Perfect and Dickinson. Kate is a part of the Young Avengers, following in Hawkeye’s footsteps. From having the audacity to say she’s the best archer directly to Hawkeye’s face to rebelling against her mom’s stereotypically feminine outfit selection for the gala and instead showing up in a sexy black suit, everything about Kate screams ‘lesbian’. She may be one of the good guys, but that does not stop her from flirting with hot female “villains” like Maya and Yelena. 
In the comics, Yelena is presumed to be asexual, a fact that has since been confirmed by one of the comic artists. We are fully here for this representation, especially since there is a serious lack of ace and aro rep in media. However, we still can’t help but notice the palpable and incredibly flirtatious energy between Yelena and Kate in the mini-series. The “mac and cheese scene” is quite literally the reason Kaitlynn selected Hawkeye for this SBG. Whether it is meant to be sexual, romantic, or simply playful platonic banter, the chemistry between them is undeniable. In addition to the sapphic yearning we witness every single time Kate and Yelena lock eyes, we also get an Avengers Musical within the show, Linda Cardellini as Hawkeye’s wife, an entire episode dedicated to the LARPers, and even a quirky animal sidekick (Pizza Dog, you will always be famous in our hearts). We did the math and there is no planet where this mini-series could be interpreted as anything other than gay. 
We know one thing for sure, Hawkeye Should’ve Been Gay. 
Follow us on Twitter: (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida).
You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp!
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SBG 126: Hawkeye with Big Gay Energy Pod

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants to know if you wear Docs, Crocs, or Birkenstocks. 
This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Eleanor Medhurst (@dressingdykes), lesbian fashion historian and author of both the blog Dressing Dykes and the soon-to-be-released book, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion, to talk about lesbian, and more broadly, queer, fashion throughout the ages. Although often subtle to the heterosexual observer, the decision to dress in a way that pushes the envelope on what is considered acceptable is one that queer people have made time and time again, often at great risk to their personal safety. As times and laws regarding acceptable dress have changed, queer fashion has followed suit, making it possible for historians like Eleanor to track these changes through recorded history. 
Fashion provides a rather useful historical record of queerness, shifting over time to reflect the ever-moving needle of societal acceptability. The modern lesbian uniform of “Docs, Crocs, and Birkenstocks”, flannels, beanies, and carabiners did not just crop up one day out of nowhere, but instead developed out of a necessity for queer people to both flag themselves as outside of the norm and to find one another in an otherwise heteronormative world. Nowadays, lesbians in many areas of the world have the opportunity to dress however they would like, whether that be more masculine, androgynous, feminine or all over the spectrum. Sadly, not very long ago, that was simply not the case. Due to laws like New York’s 3-piece Clothing Law ( which required people to wear at minimum 3 pieces of “correctly-gendered” clothing), queer people of the past had to be extremely cautious of their fashion choices or risk being arrested. This can make it a little more difficult to track queer people through history, as of course, the ones who make more risky fashion choices are often the ones who make it into the history books. Those who fell in line with the laws of the time, typically femmes, were mostly invisible outside of the lens of a more masculine-presenting partner. 
In addition to providing a way for queer people to look back and see ourselves represented throughout all of time, fashion is still used in modern media to express things about the characters to the audience. Take Gentleman Jack, for instance. While the show was based on the very real person, Anne Lister, some things were changed about Anne’s fashion to make her more understandable as “outside of society’s norms” to a modern audience. The real Anne Lister never would have worn a top hat on the regular and likely would have worn a more typical bonnet like other women of the time. However, the showrunners did not feel that this look would make Anne stand out quite enough and chose to give her a top hat to more strongly emphasize her masculinity and power.
Eleanor’s book, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion, will be available beginning June 1st and is available for pre-order now.
Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow us on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). 
You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks including access to our exclusive Discord channel, monthly full-length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp!
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719: Below the Belt with Eleanor Medhurst

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that will now be brought to you with a Transylvanian accent. 
This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Alix Markman (@markwoman), television and video game writer and returning podcast guest, to talk about why the 2004 campy, spooky action masterpiece Van Helsing Should’ve Been Gay. 
If you are like Leigh and somehow managed not to see the chaotic bisexual fever dream that is Van Helsing 2004, the movie is essentially The Avengers for classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the good ol’ fashion werewolf. This monster hodgepodge is incredibly queer throughout, with Dracula’s wives in a sexy polycule, Dracula himself having an intriguing lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers vibe with monster slayer “GAY-briel” Van Helsing, and a beautiful bond developing between Van Helsing and Frankenstein’s Monster (and beloved himbo Carl) throughout the film. Of course, because it is 2004, literally every queer-coded woman ends up dead in the end, and we will not stand for this injustice! 
In our better, gayer version of Van Helsing, we honestly do not even have to change that many things. There was every reason for Anna to either get bitten by her brother to become the werewolf that ultimately ends Dracula or to get turned by seductive vampire Aleera and join the power polycule. She 100% did not have to die before ever getting revenge for her family, but of course, Van Helsing gets the glory instead. Along with talking about how we would change the movie to be even gayer, we also discuss the inherent queerness of monsters (there is no such thing as a heterosexual vampire and you cannot convince us otherwise) and briefly touch on the trans allegory of Frankenstein’s Monster. 
We know one thing for sure, Van Helsing Should’ve Been Gay. 
Follow us on Twitter: (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida).
You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full-length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp!
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SBG 125: Van Helsing with Alix Markman

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast where you could qualify for reward points every time you get your gay card stamped.
This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the absolute PR disaster that is JoJo Siwa’s pivot into so-called “Gay Pop” (which apparently didn’t exist before her). If you’ve been a listener for a while, you’re likely aware of how much Leigh in particular was really rooting for JoJo Siwa. But even Leigh can’t excuse the complete mess that JoJo has created for herself. Honestly, every mistake JoJo has made in her press appearances should have been so easy to avoid that we are convinced her PR team must actually consist of 6 dopey dogs in a trench coat rather than actual trained media professionals (and certainly zero queer elders). Whether you think JoJo’s team is simply failing her or you believe the disappointing PR around her career pivot and latest song, Karma, is a very intentionally done psyop (as Ellie does), it is very clear that regardless of the intentions, it’s just not working for the gay community. 
If you are not chronically online like we are you may be surprised to find out that 20 year old JoJo Siwa has gone from being a beloved icon for queer youth to a laughing stock in a really short amount of time for reasons that just seem so completely unnecessary. She maybe could have walked back a few concerning statements like being the creator of a “brand new genre” of music (gay pop), if she wasn’t made to look like a complete fool in every subsequent interview. Yet, she just keeps doubling down on being massively uninformed about queer history and music in general. Between her team choosing to dress her up as Gene Simmons (while actively teaching her exactly zero facts about KISS), creating a bizarrely sanitized ‘bad girl’ music video that feels more straight pageant than gay camp, and failing to broaden her exposure to actual pre-existing gay pop (aside from 40-year-old songs by Madonna), we can’t quite wrap our heads around what her PR team is thinking. 
We currently live in a golden era of gay music and there is honestly zero excuse to not at least be aware of what is going on within the industry, especially if you are literally trying to pivot into that genre. As someone who grew up super-sheltered and always in the spotlight, we aren’t that surprised about JoJo’s overall lack of experience with queer history and the community as a whole. The problem is that someone at her level of fame should really have a more well-informed PR team supporting her through this. If she had spoken to literally any older gay people beforehand, JoJo could have avoided putting her foot in her mouth so many times. 
Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). 
You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks including access to our exclusive Discord channel, monthly full-length bonus episodes (including our latest episode on Red, White & Royal Blue), weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp!
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503: Queeriography with J.J. Niemann

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