2024 has already had some wonderful moments of lesbian visibility. We got to see Janis as an out-and-proud lesbian in the Mean Girls musical film. Renée Rapp and Towa Bird hard launched their relationship at the Oscars party. Celesbian couple Jodie Foster and Alexandra Hedison’s chemistry dazzled red carpets. So why does finding a show about WLW (women-loving women) that hasn’t been cancelled feel like a near-impossible feat? And why do MLM (men-loving men) ones appear to be so much more abundant?
Netflix cancelling First Kill back in 2022 left me flabbergasted. The sapphic paranormal series that featured a Black lesbian lead was much-needed. Its cancellation showed how severe the “Cancel Your Gays” trend can be. I couldn’t fathom how a show that appeared to be receiving as much hype online as MLM series Heartstopper and Young Royals could meet this fate. Its epic season one cliffhanger made it evident how much of the world was still left to explore.
I’m eager to speak with Kobe (she/her) from the Save First Kill campaign (linktr.ee/firstkillforever). For Kobe, MLM romances are given more public recognition and support than WLW ones. “This happens due to the audiences that MLM stories attract, which is often gay men and straight cisgender women,” Kobe believes. “WLW stories are extremely undervalued in today’s society. They aren’t even given a fair chance to succeed or find their target audience before being cancelled.” She adds: “Our stories are worth telling. It’s important that we continue to make noise to let everyone know that we will not be silent. It’s past time for a change and it needs to start now.”