One of the ways that the web democratizes media is that, given access to some funds or a way to raise them, anyone can make a series and put it out there for an audience to find. While there are still certainly barriers to access including requiring funding and know-how, it is still easier for a queer content creator to make a web series than a television show or film. There are more web series out now than ever before, representing all types of genre, story and characters. And that means thumbs up for queer ladies!
Whenever I ask around for recommendations of queer media with female characters, I am often directed to various web series that have come out over the past couple years. This makes me excited for what’s to come. I think that having access to representations of queer people and their day to day lives, relationships and having fulsome, well-rounded characters is vastly important.
While web series may not always feature the same stunning visual quality or high production values of corporate media, they more than make up for it with heart, truth and characters that are a rarity in the mainstream. While the glaring whiteness of mainstream queer cinema has been duly noted, remarked upon and critiqued here and other places, simply pointing out the lack of diversity does not change the end result. Supporting independent media, especially web series sends a message that there is both a hunger and an audience for more diverse characters in queer media.
Format-wise, I find web series hugely satisfying. Like a low-commitment version of a Netflix series binge, you can sit down and watch ten episodes of something in under an hour, if you really like it.
A few web series I’ve been turned onto over the past few weeks:
LESlieVille:
Maybe I’m biased because I live in not only the same city that this webseries is set in, but even in its eponymous neighborhood! Bias aside, from the first episode I was very pleased with what I saw. Canadian women of color in featured roles! Everyone’s queer! Fat people in love! My heart, it can’t take it. In the five episodes released so far, the theme of friendship versus attraction is key to every episode - something that should resonate with queer ladies everywhere. There are some seriously sweet, thoughtful moments as well as some intense sexual chemistry between the leads.
Leslievilletheseries.com
F to the 7th and The Slope:
My first thought on watching F to 7th was: this series is hilarious. It takes the series star/creator Ingrid Jungermann on what is described as a “homoneurotic web series about Ingrid and her descent into middle age”. Gender and its roles in the changing queer landscape play a big part in the series exploration, while never taking itself too seriously. Jungermann’s character is both the voice of reason playing off the insane characters that inhabit the series’ landscape, including this, my favorite episode starring one of my comedy heroes Amy Sedaris.
While some of F to 7th’s edge walking, especially regarding gender, can be a bit wince-inducing, from what I read in articles with the creator/star, that seems to be intentional as a way to raise attention about transphobia and homophobia within the queer community. As an exploration of one’s place in queerness, this series manages to raise some questions and even answer a few, all while being very funny. I will tack on a note about the dearth of people of color in this project, but I will also add that as each episode generally features only one conversation with one main and occasionally one supporting actor, it’s not like we’re looking at a cast of thousands. Not even dozens, really.
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Which brings me to The Slope- consider it a companion piece to F to 7th, or possibly F to 7th is an extension of it. With the tag line “Superficial, homophobic lesbians,” the show presents the completely real notion that queers are not all shining examples of social justice and equality, especially in the navelgazing world we live in. The show was created by Jungermann and her former partner Desiree Akhavan. The show’s hyperreality takes an interesting turn in the second season when the couple breaks up in the series when they had actually broken up in real life. While it’s easy to see how Jungermann has distilled her voice and style in F to 7th, in some ways I prefer The Slope (celebrity guest stars aside). For one, I find that there is a bit more territory covered, which could be attributed to Akhavan’s contributions and experiences as a queer Iranian-American filmmaker. The show is ridiculous as are the characters, but there are also many good-faith nods to the experiences of bisexuals, people of color and takedowns of privilege. I wouldn’t say I prefer one over the other - I enjoy them both and find them both problematic at turns.
One of my favorite episodes features Akhavan travelling to a used clothing store in a turn of events so familiar to any of us who have ever tried to sell clothes consignment to a “cool” vintage store.
Ftothe7th.com
TheSlopeShow.com
Out With Dad:
Another lovely web series set in Toronto! Out with Dad explores the tricky waters a queer teenager, Rose, navigates while questioning her sexuality. Her single dad, Nathan, is right there alongside her, doing his best to support while still giving her space to grow on her own. This one has all the teen angst of falling in love with one’s best friend along with a very thoughtful, responsible father character. One of my favorite moments in an early episode is when Nathan, in an awkward attempt to open a dialogue about her sexuality, takes Rose to a gay rom-com called “Where There’s a Will, There’s a William”:
Rose: It’s a gay movie?
Nathan: Yeah...and both of their names are William.
The father-daughter relationship in this series is so moving. I’d also recommend checking out Season 2, episodes 7 & 8, which includes actual stories that were submitted by viewers. This show has all of the feelings - the anxiety of coming out to friends and family, the swoon of crushing, the worries of every teenager and the complexities of queerness.
Anyone But Me:
Classic teen drama but featuring queer chicks, this show was recommended to me a few different ways (“award-winning” came up a lot). This is the type of series I probably would have liked to watch as a young person, had I been anywhere close to coming out as a teen (not that Internet video was a thing when I was a teen, of course). These characters remind me a bit of Dawson’s Creek. They have teen issues, but they all seem like they’re in their 20s. The show is inclusive of people of color and also includes a lot of really lovely cinematography, something often lacking in bare-budget web series. Overall though, I couldn’t get into it as much as I thought I would.
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Girl Play
There’s only a couple of eps out, but this show has a lot of heart and humor, not to mention the fact that it offers a rare depiction of queer, Southern women of color! I’m interested to see the story archs of the individual characters, who all have very distinct and fun personalities. A running theme of the show is that the “circle” of queer women in New Orleans is just too small, and that everyone knows everyone else’s business. This kind of “small community in a larger city” vibe makes for an interesting subject matter. Other themes that come up include work/life balance, sleeping with a married woman, and sorting out everyone’s exes. It also doesn’t hurt to see a curvy, full-figured woman in the lead.
Gay Nerds:
Silly, fun, and again made by Toronto producers, I would be remiss to omit the disclosure that I am friends with performers on this show. While I think the show falls into the same whiteness trap that most nerd-related media does, and also veers towards being more guy-centric than the other series I’ve included here, I really love this show and believe that the Alien episode is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. What queer lady doesn’t love Ripley, really?
GayNerdsWebSeries.
Toronto-based Writer/Performer Catherine McCormick will be posting this column regularly, analyzing texts critical to her own queer journey, as well as taking recommendations of “classic” “queer” “texts” to “review” (with plenty of jokes and scare quotes to go around).
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