21 Lesbian

21 Lesbian

May 28, 2021 May 26, 2021 by Robert Dominic
Robert is a freelance writer from Brooklyn, NY. He is currently spending his summer in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Follow him on social media -
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There are over 63,000 bars throughout the 50 states. Only 21 one of them are lesbian. This stark reality is learned watching a video made by The Lesbian Bar Project , a group that “aim to celebrate, support, and preserve the remaining Lesbian bars that exist in the United States. We hope to ensure the bars not only survive but thrive in a post-pandemic landscape.” Already dwindling in number before the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the few Lesbian bars might not be able to reopen. According to CNBC , 60% of businesses closed during the lockdown will not reopen.
Excited to support the #LesbianBarProject . Only 15 lesbian bars left in the U.S.—down from ~200 in the late ’80s. I wasn’t out yet in college, but I passed @CubbyHoleBar often. I never went in, but felt affirmed walking by. Grateful. Donate: https://t.co/ySMcNmRThJ pic.twitter.com/YyliRMOGWf
— Erica Swallow (@ericaswallow) November 22, 2020
Queer bars have always been more than a place to get a drink. Ask any gay man or lesbian the name of their first “gay” bar and chances are they will not only tell you the name (mine was Pieces in the West Village!), but the exact date, and how it felt to finally be in a place they felt welcomed and not alone anymore. Sharni Tapuke-O’Neal, the general manager of Henrietta Hudson , one of the two lesbian bars open in Manhattan spoke to the Commercial Observer , about the importance of the famed bar,
“It was about the place. It was about having a space where you could come in and nobody was going to judge you. Nobody was going to misgender you. Nobody was going to turn around and say, ‘Oh, why are you wearing that? What are you? Are you bi, are you les?’”
Queer bars are vital to the LGBTQ community. They are more than just buildings. They house our history and can help our future. They are havens for the young providing them social interactions with those just like them, maybe for the first time in their lives. In the 1980s, queer bars became the meeting point for activism as the AIDS epidemic decimated the community. As the world changed in the 90s and 2000s, so did queer nightlife. A record number of queer bars and clubs provided endless nights of dancing, karaoke and drag bingo. DJ Miller, 62, from Maplewood, NJ fondly remembers going to lesbian bars,
“Years ago, when I traveled for work a lot, I could find a lesbian bar in almost every city in this country. Now, almost all of the grrrl bars are gone. I surely do miss lesbian bars and bookstores.”
As nightlife evolved through the decades, it has been harder and harder for queer bars to keep the doors open. In the past few years queer NYC nightlife has shifted towards roaming weekly or monthly parties, a move designed to keep overhead costs at a minimum. “Pop-Up” nights have also become popular. Even with the advent of these new parties, the LGBTQ community still needs the “traditional” queer bars. Lisa Cannistraci, owner of Henrietta Hudson, plans on doing whatever it takes to keep the historic institution open,
It would be devastating to the community, to our culture, and to those connections we’re making that could be lost. Losing the ability to congregate and be around like minded people that accept you would be terrible. I’m not going down. I’m not going to let Henrietta Hudson close. We’re going to work this out.
The Lesbian Bar Project echoes her sentiments. They raised over $114,000 in 2020 for the 21 bars they are fundraising for. They plan to continue to work to save the bars for as long as the need is there,
On June 3, 2021 we are launching a 20 min. documentary film. The film will be through the lens of the bar owners, community activists, archivists, and patrons – their struggles during the pandemic, their hopes for the future, and why we must work to save these sacred spaces. This will launch another 4 week fundraising effort. Our goal is to raise $200k during Pride month 2021. – lesbianbarproject.com
For more information on the Lesbian Bar Project, you can watch the video below and go to lesbianbarproject.com . As read on their website, “When our history isn’t protected, we must protect it ourselves.”
{Due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and re-opening, the exact number of Lesbian bars open when this article was researched and remains unknown}
It goes without saying that lesbian bars in America are few and far between. This is reflected in detail in 2020's insightful “The Lesbian Bar Project,” a documentary (sponsored by Jägermeister), which chronicled the alarming dearth of lesbian bars throughout the country. According to the documentary, there are only twenty-one lesbian…
Just a couple of weeks ago we reported that Jess Guilbeaux, the 23-year-old lesbian who appeared on Season 3 of Queer Eye was the focal point of a GoFundMe campaign to assist with her financial hardships. After only 21 days since the campaign was started by an individual from Guilbeaux’s…
Former Charlie's Angel, Lucy Liu, Shines As An Artist Of… Erotic Lesbian Portraits You may be familiar with Lucy Liu from her work in Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill, but who would have guessed that one of the most recognized, beautiful Asian actresses to exist is a painter… of erotic…
good to see lesbians are not drunks with better things to do …I agree with social side though…you need more groups that scratch that itch..We also understand that males will crawl onto anything..regardless..Women… more honorable in relationships..so naturally they need less places to play
Lesbian bars are boring. It’s like hanging out in your friends basement drinking. Planning a night out at a lesbian bar is like planning on taking a nice long nap.
Haha well said Jake. They did it to themselves. Most lesbians I know stay home with their partner and cats. Except for the occasional SAPHO meeting,they really aren’t interested in night life. Meanwhile, gay mens drop at least a hundred a night on drinks,tips,dancers etc.

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When social distancing began a brief 700 years ago, I half-heartedly tweeted that we (queer women) didn’t have enough lesbian content to get us through this. At the time, I had no idea how long this pandemic-induced isolation (opens in new tab) would stretch, but, regardless, I had evidence: a lifetime of searching for women-loving-women entertainment that often turned up empty results.
But that finally seems to be changing. In 2020, there are a (limited, but decent) plethora of shows which depict lesbian and bisexual women (opens in new tab) , from a Los Angeles chief of police to a candidate for mayor to a trendy women’s magazine editor to a Midwestern adult in middle-aged crisis. While the diversity of queer, female experiences is far from being comprehensively captured on TV screens (opens in new tab) , these lesbian TV shows are a great start.
Queer content, of course, isn’t just for queer people. Embracing fully developed, complicated, lovable (and sometimes unlikable) queer characters is also an important part of being an ally. When there are still so few LGBTQ characters on TV, sometimes we have to actively seek out queer women onscreen.
And thankfully for all of us, there’s a wide range of lesbian-led TV shows streaming for free right now. From half-hour sitcoms to movie-quality dramas to family-friendly ensemble shows to reality classics, here’s what you should be watching to become an expert in contemporary lesbian TV canon.
Lena Waithe’s single-camera semi-autobiographical sitcom, chronicling a queer Black aspiring screenwriter (Hattie, played by Jonica T. Gibbs) and her two straight best friends’ life in Los Angeles, didn’t receive the attention it deserved when it debuted on BET in March 2020 (blame the pandemic). But thankfully, all eight episodes are currently streaming. Catch up before the second season premieres in 2021.
Ryan Murphy’s bingeable backstory of the mildly (okay, very) deranged Nurse Mildred Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest stars Sarah Paulson as the titular character and Cynthia Nixon as her love interest, Gwendolyn Briggs. Briggs seduces Paulson's character over oysters on the California coast, and the series is only uphill from there. It even includes a stop at a women’s bar that would make an excellent setting for most of season two.
While the title seems apt for 2020, this Netflix original is actually perfectly-suited for our collective 1990s nostalgia. Set in Boring, Oregon, this coming-of-age story explores a small-town high schooler embracing her sexuality—with an epic soundtrack to match.
Starring out Latinx actress Monica Raymund as Jackie Quiñones , a National Marine Fisheries Service agent on Cape Cod, Hightown is the type of show that makes you hold your breath until you compulsively finish each episode. The series starts with Jackie finding a body on the beach and resolving to solve a murder, all while battling with sobriety.
Netflix’s lesbian-centric series by standup comic Mae Martin tells a fictionalized version of her coming-of-age as a Canadian expat in England, while she recovers from drug addiction, falls in love with unattainable (previously straight-identifying) women and figures out their gender identity through comedy. Lisa Kudrow plays Mae’s delightfully unlikeable mom, which is just another reason to binge the six-episode first season of Feel Good .
Tig Notaro’s series about moving from Los Angeles to her Southern hometown after her mother's sudden death is loosely based on her own tragic year battling grief, illness, and complicated family dynamics. The comedy delves into hard-to-talk about issues like abuse and harassment, cleverly using humor as a coping and narrative mechanism to further each episode arc.
Chicago-based comedian Abby McEnany slipped under the radar until her semi-autobiographical half-hour sitcom debuted on Showtime in December 2019. The dark comedy centers on Abby, a lesbian in her 40s, whose therapist suddenly dies mid-session. The unexpected tragedy spurs a series of unprecedented events as Abby falls for a transgender man in his early 20s (Theo Germaine), attempts to manage her OCD without professional guidance, and looks at her hurtful past relationship with new perspective. A new season is on the way, so catch up before it premieres.
The Netflix reboot of the 1970s sitcom re-envisions the central family, the Alvarezes, as a close-knight Cuban-American grandmother, mother, daughter and son living in current-day Echo Park, Los Angeles. The ensemble show isn’t like the after-school specials of your childhood. Now, the Alvarezes openly deal with sexism, homophobia, racism, sex-positivity, and more, in quick, laugh-out-loud episodes. The best part? Teenage daughter Elena coming to terms with her sexuality, falling in love with a nonbinary teen, and wearing a tux to her quinceañera (light spoiler, sorry).
What if Emily Dickinson hooked up with her best friend (also her brother’s fiancée), spoke like modern day Millennials, and had no qualms about being herself? It’s feasible, in the new beautifully anachronistic Apple TV series that loosely tells the story of the 19th Century writer.
The 2018 series follows two Mexican-American siblings, Lyn and Emma, reunited in their childhood home with their mother’s (secret) wife after their only parent passes away unexpectedly. It's heart-wrenching and timely in all the right ways, with plenty of Starz’s signature sex scenes. The unlikely trio deal with gentrification, maintaining their family’s rundown bar, and caring for each other, all while coming into their own identities and community roles. Each episode is charming, surprising, and will keep you hooked through the third season’s series finale.
Is BBC Three’s melodramatic riff on The L Word ’s early-2010s success the best lesbian-centric show out there? Absolutely not. But if you’re craving women-centric drama, deep Scottish accents, and a few plot twists that will leave you yelling at your screen, this Glasgow-set ensemble series is all yours. Only 12 episodes exist, so savor them.
Abigail Thomas a.k.a. Tommy (Edie Falco) is Los Angeles’ (fictional) first-ever lesbian chief of police. And the recent New York transplant is really, really good at her job. Whether cop dramas are your thing or not, it’s hard not to be drawn in by Falco’s acting and her character’s aptitude for crime-solving in less than 40 minutes. Complicated family dynamics as well as Falco’s first-ever on-screen kiss with another woman are additional reasons to watch the network drama.
Prepare to have the show’s eponymous ditty stuck in your head after every episode of this period dramedy. The BBC-produced show tells the story of Anne Lister, England’s first “modern lesbian,” as she begins an on-and-off romance with her IRL wife-to-be, Ann Walker. It that doesn't have you ready to binge, the catchy theme song, incredible 19th Century costumes, and awkward breaking of the fourth wall should.
Imagine a same-sex couple helming a goofy weeknight sitcom, and you have Take My Wife . Wives (now exes, but don’t let that deter you), comics, and co-workers Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher loosely based the series on their romance off- and on-stage, detailing the experiences of being queer comics, working alongside your partner, and getting married amid career success. Relatable jokes about the way queer people exist in the straight world are interwoven with intimate, sweet moments that are still rarely seen between LGBTQ characters on sitcoms.
Based on a comic book of the same name, this 2020 Netflix series tells the story of Syd, an angsty Pennsylvania teen with inexplicable kinetic powers. Think Carrie , but queer. Episodes progress rapidly, and even those who aren’t convinced by the sci-fi element will be swept in by Syd, her quirky friends, and her early exploration of her sexuality.
The original L Word and the 2019 reboot, Generation Q, are streaming on Showtime, for seemingly endless lesbian, bisexual and queer entertainment. Reality spin-offs, The Real L Word and 90-minute docu-series The L Word Mississippi: Hate The Sin are also streaming, if you really want to dive into the canon. (Do it.)
Think The Bling Ring but the most popular kid in school is played a nonbinary person of color (Quintessa Swindell, who plays the wealthy and deeply confused Tabitha) and the crew of shoplifters has a charming lesbian ringleader, Elodie. In this series, coming out isn’t an issue; queerness is just a fact of life. Instead, the drama focuses on theft, friendship and first love.
Ruby Rose stars as a Jewish, lesbian superhero tasked with saving Gotham in Batman’s absence. Yes, Batwoman is the first out hero (or villain, for that matter) in the DC Comics world, and, naturally, she has an awkward relationship with her ex, Sophie, who’s also working to protect the city. Lesbian drama in an alternate universe? Perfect escapism.
Two of the three main characters are straight but we'll take 33% for this narrative arc. In the show, protagonist Kat deals with the realization that she isn’t straight and perhaps isn’t a lesbian either. Her forays at fictional lesbian cocktail bars, dating and breaking up with a woman for the first time, and running for office, are both relatable and aspirational, and, most importantly, very binge-worthy.
Ellen Page plays herself, i.e. a scrappy young lesbian who looks really good in a hat, in this ensemble reboot based off the Armistead Maupin books of the same name. Taking place in current day San Francisco, Page’s character, Shawna, struggles to rebuild a relationship with her estranged mom, attempts to figure out her crush on Claire (Zosia Mamet), and helps support her landlady and dear friend, 90-year-old transwoman Anna Madrigal. Those who zip through the miniseries can also go back to the 1993 original, also on Netflix.
These titles might not have snagged a spot on our list, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch them after you've already binged the previous 21 shows.
Visible: Out on Television (Apple TV+)
Melissa is a writer based in Brooklyn.

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Diverse, queer, female experiences are far from dominating on TV, but these titles are a great start.
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When social distancing began a brief 700 years ago, I half-heartedly tweeted that we (queer women) didn’t have enough lesbian content to get us through this. At the time, I had no idea how long this pandemic-induced isolation (opens in new tab) would stretch, but, regardless, I had evidence: a lifetime of searching for women-loving-women entertainment that often turned up empty results.
But that finally seems to be changing. In 2020, there are a (limited, but decent) plethora of shows which depict lesbian and bisexual women (opens in new tab) , from a Los Angeles chief of police to a candidate for mayor to a trendy women’s magazine editor to a Midwestern adult in middle-aged crisis. While the diversity of queer, female experiences is far from being comprehensively captured on TV screens (opens in new tab) , these lesbian TV shows are a great start.
Queer content, of course, isn’t just for queer people. Embracing fully developed, complicated, lovable (and sometimes unlikable) queer characters is also an important part of being an al
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