SBG 146: Inside Out 2 with Kia Barnes

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Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that’s just a big vault full of gay thoughts locked deep in your brain.

This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) hangs out with returning guest, stand-up comedian Kia Barnes (@kiacomedy), to talk about why Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2 Should’ve Been Gay. Ellie (@elliebrigida) couldn’t make the recording, and she’s devastated to have missed it, especially since Inside Out 2 was the movie she and Bailey saw on their very first date.

From the second Val glides onto the screen, it’s instant gay panic, from Riley and every emotion in her head. Whether it’s Anxiety (voiced by queer queen Maya Hawke), Envy (played by none other than Ayo Edebiri!), or Ennui (channeling the energy of a deeply disaffected gay French man), Riley’s internal world is working overtime. Add a suspiciously queer-coded coach to the mix (we’re pretty sure her wife is hidden in the background somewhere) and the gay subtext is basically screaming at us in every scene.

Kia shares how deeply she related to Riley, as a baby gay who just wanted to impress the older, cooler butch girls. She even smoked a cigarette (as an asthmatic!!) to get a girl’s attention. Riley trying to fit in with the butch boys club? Been there.

We also talk about how hard Disney tried to scrub the gay out… and failed spectacularly. From the queer-coded coach to the LGBTQ+ cast to the metaphorical coming-out arc hidden inside a vault, Inside Out 2 practically demands a rainbow overlay.

And let’s not forget “Beardville”, Riley’s imaginary Mount Crushmore of forced heterosexuality, where she literally has to carve boys into stone so she doesn’t forget them. Subtle? Absolutely not. Accurate? Tragically, yes.

Then there’s the “big dark secret” locked deep in Riley’s mental vault. It’s glowing purple, heavily guarded, and very clearly not ready to come out yet. We all know what it is (spoiler: it’s lesbianism), but we’d genuinely love to know what straight people think it is. We also break down the tension between Riley and Grace, whose jealous-ex energy is off the charts. Whether Riley’s feelings are mutual is still TBD, but that tension? So real.

From baby gay chaos to closet metaphors and a whole lot of repressed sapphic energy, we know one thing for sure: Inside Out 2 Should’ve Been Gay.

Don’t forget to give us your Q & Gay answers on Instagram and follow along on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod. You can find your favorite smol and tol hosts at @lshfoster and @elliebrigida.

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