the lavender menace roundup: no. 1

Amandla Stenburg vs. Lena Wilson, girlboss reads & gay movies, & our YouTube subscriptions

1. internet bullshit – re: upcoming Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) episode

Sunny: did you hear about that Amandla Stenberg/Lena Wilson bullshit??

Renaissance: LMAO YEAH

S: my friend made the funniest video about it

R: the lack of self awareness among white lesbians..

S: it makes so much sense that she’s a smithie (Smith College graduate)... the cesspit of historically women's colleges .

R: if we were still on tik tok for this, we would be a little too close to the epicenter of this discourse

S: many people should be happy we can’t say shit

R: rich white nepo babies saying that a black indie actress has “more social power” than her….. oh it's too juicy

S: i think it’s hilarious that she uses the language of “social power” when her dad is an editor at the New York fucking Times

R: what happened to nepo babies with real talent? where are the jamie lee curtis’s and drew berrymoores. what happened to writing and legitimate media commentary and criticism…

S: that’s why we exist.

R: no exactly

S: i don’t think Amandla is like, a star, but she was really good in bodiesx3

R: amandla is ran through with the indie music white dyke community i fear

S: she’s living her truth though like we would do the same if we were in her position let’s not lie

R: she’s so sister for that (non binaryily). also it’s funny how lena has such obvious parallels to the characters in the show and hated it and couldn’t see the vision, but when we saw our parallels, we were screaming for the girls. 

S: no because self awareness is rare these days and it is so essential i’m afraid

R: seeing unflattering yet accurate representations of yourself in media that is actually good is a rarity

S: like i was obsessed with the evisceration of our generation’s delusion and the focus on the characters’ class backgrounds because of how relevant it was to my life and our friend groups… that’s actually the point of media lol

R: the sexualization and fetishization of a hashtag Not Hot™ movie also shows lena’s hand so much like… let’s get real bestie

S: dykes of color can’t have shit fr

R: it’s the way we saw the movie and are also lesbians and didn’t comment on the supposed “advertisement for cleavage” and as a supporter of women’s cleavage on screen, i will say that was the most irrelevant detail of the movie to make a review about

S: the idea of the ‘male gaze’ has been used and abused by these supposed media commentary bitches like get serious. a woman wrote this a woman directed this most of the main characters and actors are women… shouldn’t you, as a lesbian, use your brain about this for one minute. also i refuse to directly engage with Lena Wilson’s content or writing or whatever the fuck whatsoever so honestly i don’t really know anything about what her actual ‘criticism’ or whatever involves but i just think that commenting on the visual sexualization of women’s bodies on screen when it is not the camera but the viewer doing the objectification– especially when wrapped up as ‘criticism’?!!?-- is fucking annoying as hell

R: i watch her to point and laugh.. but for real insert overused ‘the-man-inside-of-you-male-gaze’ quote that everyone reposts. sometimes a movie isnt sexual, sometimes you are just sexually attracted to the person the boobs are attatched to. and that's okay and normal, until you make it weird like lena did and maybe if she had watched the movie instead of looking at amandla’s- [GUNSHOT]

S: margaret atwood was lowkey right about that man looking at you inside your head thing like… but also the most insane part of ANY of this is screenshotting and posting your fucking instagram dms to tik tok like only losers do that shit

R: THAT PART!!!! also amandla’s reply was literally so funny and didn’t have a fraction of the malicious intent that lena was attempting to respond to… but then again she is the one with less social power here since her dad is a humble NYT editor (JOKE)

1. media roundup

Sunny: I can’t stop reading about women climbing the ladders of industries that fascinate me. Back to back to back, I’ve read Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino, Fake by Erica Katz, and currently I am listening to the free Libro.fm influencer program (my #contentcreator slay) audiobook of Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen. Pellegrino paints an ugly picture of being the female personal assistant to asshole actors, book publishers, TV writers, and producers on morning talk shows, and the inevitable sexual harassment and gendered labor exploitation involved. Katz leads us through the life of a Yale graduate NYC struggling artist, working at an above water painting forgery studio, spending all her waking hours on expertly and flawlessly making copies of priceless works of art instead of creating any of her own work, as her trauma filled past fills her sleep with nightmares and her waking hours with panic attacks and crushing anxiety. Chen sketches the reader a picture of the Chinese counterfeit bag world through the perspective of a frazzled mom who gets in too deep too soon. All three of these books have been absolutely addictive reads with a strong line of questionable girlbossery drawing them all together. Let me know if you’ve read any of these books and what your thoughts on them are!! (And if you have any other recommendations for novels with similar thematic concepts.) I’m not sure if the readership exists for me to write a more extensive essay doing another comparative literature analysis situation for these books and other relevant media, but if there is interest, I’ll think more about it. Many people have written about the girlboss phenomenon in media and culture, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to pursue success in whatever given avenue or career, or even just relative financial ease and comfort, under the looming specter of capital and constant accumulation, especially with regards to what all this means for women and minorities. (Thinking along the lines of Knives Out (2019), I Care A Lot (2020), Emily the Criminal (2022) etc.)

Renaissance: “Help! I’m still at the restaurant!” That’s me talking about how I can’t stop watching, rewatching, and thinking about A League of Their Own (2022) the new series by Amazon Studios that is GAY GAY GAY!! We also have a lengthy Patreon bonus episode reviewing this baseball themed period drama coming up soon, so stay tuned if you’re a patron (or considering becoming one!). As a result, this has me flirting with the idea of revisiting a beloved sitcom The Good Place and finally watching Broad City in its entirety. I will watch nearly anything to see hot and funny actresses on my screen. I have also had some dalliances with The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast, which if you are subscribed to this substack I know you will enjoy the podcast. If you are interested in finding yourself saying “wow, she’s just like me” about dykes that have been dead for centuries this is the space for you. Studying and knowing lesbian history is so important! People joke that being a lesbian comes with homework and, maybe thats why so many celebs opt of the heat and just use “gay” or “queer” (wink wink nudge nudge)? In the spirit of the holy month of August, here are two very Summer and August by Taylor Swift coded movies for you film dykes out there. I have recently been obsessed with a new lesbian French film called Les amours d’Anaïs / Anaïs in Love (2022). It’s hard to get your hands on it if you also live in the United States but if you happen to find it, I highly recommend watching it and then watching it again. It’s definitely a movie for all of my fellow crush-on-milfy-professors-havers and wannabe writers who flounder for direction in life. I have to #honest and admit that I have finally watched My Summer of Love (2004)... yes, THE gay Emily Blunt movie! For those of you who have read The Divines by Ellie Eaton, you will understand me when I say that this movie is Lauren and Jo. In layman's terms, this movie is a wild exploration of class and sapphism in the British countryside that will leave you reeling. If you have seen either of these PLEASE HIT UP MY DMS and if you haven’t PLEASE add it to the top of your watchlist! They are must see in the Summertime movies so DO NOT WAIT (or do, I have no control in this but I strongly encourage watching it before the Summer sun sets). 

1. shout-outs

• Kimberly Nicole Foster of For Harriet:

We keep accidentally watching her videos at the same time. Renaissance said “she got on adderall and went to work” and that’s the truth! Kimberly’s videos are rich with cultural commentary and an invaluable Black feminist perspective that we’ve discussed in a previous episode (our notorious biphobia round one) brilliantly verbalized through a distinctly evident experience in high school speech and debate circuits. Like that woman was winning trophy after trophy at tournaments and it shows. NO EDITS! One thing we can always depend on her for in this time of liberal virtue signaling is some truth and some materialism. Regardless of where Kimberly lands on her own personal conclusions, she knows how to call out the egregious bullshit that others do not want to approach honestly. We are ‘live, laugh, loving’ this era for her and her endeavors. 

• You (our beloved podcast listeners)

All of you listeners who responded to our instagram story question about your favorite song on RENAISSANCE with CHURCH GIRL. Religious trauma runs deep within lesbians, amen.

• Strangeæons:

Honestly, enough said. We’ve done a bonus episode on her recent installments about historically gay nuns. Teya has been dropping heavy hitter videos recently, and we KNOW our listeners are subscribed to her already, so we are preaching to the choir somewhat. But that’s honestly our whole podcast anyways. Ms. Strange is always worth mentioning and she’s always Mothering.