
Lez Hang Out | A Lesbian Podcast
Hang out with Ellie Brigida and Leigh Holmes Foster, the lesbians you'd want at your potluck! Covering topics on lesbian experiences, representation, culture, life, love, etc. for some sapphic socialization!
Latest episodes

May 1, 2023 • 1h 11min
SBG 105: The Matrix with Tilly Bridges
Will you take the red pill or will you take the blue pill? This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with trans author and screenwriter Tilly Bridges (@heckyeahtillybridges) to talk about the trans allegories and queer characters of The Matrix. Tilly is a Matrix expert having written an entire book on the topic - Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix which releases this June! While we do touch a little bit on each movie of the series, we focus primarily on the iconic first movie that sets everything into motion. Don’t worry though, Tilly goes much deeper into the rest of the movies in her book!We talk about how the entire series is one overarching allegory for the trans experience. From the very beginning we watch Neo start his transition journey by choosing to take the red pill, which stands for truth and is what breaks him free of the matrix, ie. the heteronormative binary world. While nowadays this ‘red pill’ concept has been hijacked by the exact opposite of the people it was intended for, back in the day, the estrogen pill was quite literally red. (Funnily enough, it’s blue now). While outside the matrix, Neo leaves behind his dead name, takes on a new identity, and meets others who represent parts of himself. Each character is actually a manifestation of a different side of Neo that guides him along his transition. As Neo begins to live as an out-trans person, he starts to be attacked by those still within the matrix. This can be difficult to watch when you consider that it is an allegory reflecting the attacks made against trans individuals and the LGBTQ+ community at large by those dedicated to protecting their heteronormative world from what they perceive as a threat but is literally just trans and queer people existing. Further into the series, we even see Neo choose to detransition, going back into the matrix and resuming the Mr. Anderson identity, which he had left behind to become Neo. In the final movie, he re-transitions, finally accepting himself as a trans person and reaching one final layer of transition to become Trinity, the person he was always meant to be. Each time we see Trinity and Neo kiss throughout the series, it never really feels romantic- and for good reason. They are the exact same person, and the kisses are an allegory for self-love and self-acceptance. We know one thing for sure, The Matrix Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). If you’re interested in diving deeper into the trans allegories of The Matrix series, pre-order Tilly’s book, Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix wherever books are sold!Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 26, 2023 • 1h 19min
618: Queering Consent with Dr. Avgi Saketopoulou
Have you ever had an experience that you did not consent to but that was enjoyable, transformational, or even pleasurable? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Dr. Avgi Saketopoulou (@avgolis98), queer psychoanalyst and author of Sexuality Beyond Consent: Risk, Race, Traumatophilia, to discuss queering consent. As part of our discussion, Avgi shares stories of times when clients experienced events outside of their consent, including in sexual situations. Consent is a very nuanced topic, but it tends not to be talked about that way. We do not live in a vacuum and as such consent can be messier than people tend to want to consider. For example, think about our favorite, Teenage Bounty Hunters. When Sterling gathers her courage and kisses April, she doesn’t ask for her consent first, and knowing April it probably would not have gone over too well if she had. Even though April may not have consented to this kiss, she finds that she enjoys it. This is a transformational experience for the two of them, and it happens outside of the realm of consent. As queer people, we have quite a good amount of experience of running opposite to societal norms. We step beyond our comfort zones just to exist in a heteronormative world. As such, we tend to better understand that many transformational experiences rely on our willingness to step beyond safety. Even so, we tend to still prize consent in a way that is more fantasy than reality. It is just not nearly as cut and dry when applied to real life situations. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 17, 2023 • 1h 14min
SBG 104: The X-Files with Ashley Ray
Dana Scully, causing the lesbian rate to skyrocket since 1993. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Ashley Ray (@theashleyray), Black, bisexual and polyamorous tv writer, comedian, and host of the podcast TV, I Say w/ Ashley Ray to talk about the science fiction television classic, The X-Files. If watching 9 seasons of Gillian Anderson strutting around in power suits was your gay awakening or bonus points, you have a tattoo of Gillian Anderson’s face on your leg, you’re in the right place.This quintessential #scifi show is about fun loving lesbian Dana Scully and her twink best friend, nonbinary icon Fox Mulder, solving alien mysteries together at the FBI. We talk about Leigh and Ashley’s shared childhood experience of watching a super scary 'monster of the week' episode at way too young an age and blur 9 seasons of episodes into a mishmash of memories while trying to explain the plot to Ellie. Of course, because it is the #90s, the writers are convinced that Scully and Mulder are straight and give them that ‘will they, won’t they' dynamic that just drives the heteros wild. Even after they finally get together, get married, and have a child, they continue to have zero chemistry. But that’s okay, because there are other people to ship with Scully, like the controversial Monica Reyes. We know one thing for sure, The X-Files Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 10, 2023 • 1h 24min
617: Witch Please with Maggie Lalley
Raise your hand if you were also a teenage witch with an unhealthy, obsessively close female friendship that completely took over your life. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Maggie Lalley (@magslals), standup comic, writer, and performer of the one woman show, Sex Witch the Musical, a comedy show based on her real life journey spanning 2 years in a 2 person teen witch magic sex cult. Maggie talks about her experiences through humor so we had a lot of fun recording this episode, but we want everyone to be aware that we discuss situations of teenage sexual trauma and abuse throughout.We do a deep dive into the weeds of Sex Witch the Musical and the fascinating, and disturbing, real life story behind it. As a quick overview, sweet, innocent 13 year old Maggie was totally entranced by a 14 year old girl from Albania that she refers to as Bethany. Bethany was not only slightly older, but also a lot more worldly and sexually experienced. She built her friendship with Maggie for 6 months before dropping the biggest plot twist of Maggie’s 13 years of life. Bethany was a witch, and so was Maggie. She convinced Maggie that she could train her to develop her powers so that she’d be able to bilocate to a parallel universe and access a place called the House.The House was extremely cool because it was where nearly every A list celebrity of the time period was also hanging out, apparently just chilling and being secret witches and warlocks as one does. In addition to being able to bilocate, Bethany claimed to be able to channel the celebrities into her own body so that Maggie could speak with them. Then she took it a step further, convincing Maggie that she should begin a sexual relationship with one of the celebrity warlocks using Bethany’s body as a conduit. Maggie began dating and hooking up with who she truly believed to be Rupert Grint of #HarryPotter movie fame and fully considered the relationship to be a heterosexual one at the time.Maggie’s severely cult-like experiences with Bethany stretched from 2005 to 2007 and are captured in her old journals, which served as a vital reference for her to write the musical comedy. We talk to Maggie about why she decided to create a show based on her life and how it has helped with processing the things that happened when she was a teenager. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 3, 2023 • 1h 16min
SBG 103: The 355
When you’ve got a drive that can kill the world, who you gonna call? 5 lesbians! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the 2022 action movie, The 355. This movie has an amazing cast including Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Bingbing Fan. With a cast like this, we really had higher expectations. We love the Ocean’s 8 vibes, but it really could’ve and should’ve been the lesbian James Bond movie we deserve. As it is, the movie is almost comically feminist in the way it makes every man a complete monster, moreso even than usual. You’ll be happy to know that no women at all are killed in spite of several attempts made on their lives. The plot centers around fighting over possession of a drive that can basically destroy humanity. Mace, a CIA agent, has to join forces with her enemy Marie, a German agent. Mace and Marie bicker like a married couple. They hate each other, or do they? They sure flirt a lot for two people who hate one another. We think they are set up to be the perfect enemies to lovers couple. Mace thinks Marie got her partner killed in a job gone wrong; and honestly even if Marie had gotten him killed it would’ve done everyone a huge favor. They have to team up and work together to save the world, is that not the gayest plot possible? We like hot women running around shooting bad guys as much as the next gal, but the movie overall falls flat and is not nearly as entertaining as it could have been. Now, add in a good gay love story and maybe it would hold our attention better.We know one thing for sure, The 355 Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 27, 2023 • 1h 18min
616: Lez-ssentials Summerland
If you’re looking to get back with your ex, have you considered shipping her your child? This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) talk about the 2020 Netflix film Summerland for this Lez-ssentials episode, a recurring segment on the essential movies and TV shows in the lesbian canon.If you have not yet seen this movie, the plot essentially is this: Reclusive lesbian hermit Alice gets stuck taking care of Frank, an 11 year old child evacuee she absolutely did not want, during WW2. At first glance this movie does not look like much of a Lez-ssentials, but it turns out that Alice taking care of Frank specifically is the absolute gayest thing she could ever do. Somehow it’s even gayer than her usual thing of investigating myths for her books, brooding on a cliffside, and scaring kids off her lawn.Through flashbacks we see a much younger Alice in the late 1920s meeting the girl who is to become the catalyst that shifts her whole world on its axis, ie. the first girl Alice falls in love with. Vera says, “I know a place” and takes Alice to a gay bar, as one does. At first their relationship is wonderful and sweet, but things go sideways when Vera realizes that she wants a family more than she wants to be with Alice. She completely wrecks Alice’s heart and goes off to find a man to be with so that she can have the child she has always wanted. After seeing Alice get her heart stomped on, we understand better how she has turned into essentially the village witch. The baby gay to old crone pipeline is strong.In true nonsensical romance movie logic that is somehow not just an AO3 fic plot, Frank turns out to be Vera’s son. When his father ends up being killed in the war, Frank runs away back to London and finds that his home was destroyed in the bombings. Alice goes after him and promises he can stay with her forever. She takes him home and of course Vera is waiting for them on the porch. Vera tells Alice that there was no one else she would have wanted taking care of her son and she had to go to something like 20+ stores to find someone who could get her address. In a roundabout way, Vera and Alice end up together with the family Vera always wanted. At the end of the episode, stick around to hear our original song based on Summerland titled “Summerland” written by Leigh Holmes Foster and produced by Ellie Brigida. Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon for mp3 downloads of all our original songs or find us on Bandcamp to purchase songs individually.Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 20, 2023 • 1h 27min
SBG 102: One Tree Hill with Layne Morgan
This one time in the early 2000s, Peyton Sawyer rocked a flannel over her Ramones tee and queer fashion has never been the same since. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with tv writer Layne Morgan (@laynemorgan) to talk about the early aughts teen drama sensation One Tree Hill. This show is 9 full seasons of total chaos and we dive into all of them to discuss how much better things would have been if everybody had been gay. Ellie and Layne explain the gist of the entire show to Leigh, who has never seen a single episode, and quickly realize that Brooke and Peyton walked so Quinn and Rachel could run. Peyton is so queer-coded it’s actually wild that our baby selves ever saw her as straight. Her and Brooke have a friends to enemies to lovers thing going on that we are suckers for. You may think Brooke’s deeply homoerotic friendship with Peyton is the gayest thing about her, but it honestly does not even make the top 10 gayest things. First of all, Brooke is played by Sophia Bush (need we even say more?). Her whole brand is about choosing herself over boys and attempting to honor her “hoes before bros” policy in spite of literally always being in a love triangle. In true early aughts fashion Peyton and Brooke are in a love triangle with Lucas, played by lesbian-stand-in Chad Michael Murray. Peyton couldn't care less about Lucas until he starts dating Brooke, and it’s so obvious that they are both displacing their feelings for one another onto him. In addition to Peyton and Brooke having one of the gayest relationships we’ve ever seen, Ellie and Layne are also absolute trash for Haley and big time himbo Nathan (also played by Chad Michael Murry). Although Haley and Brooke have a fun ‘and they were roommates’ thing going on that we could totally get behind, we actually are totally here for Naley’s representation of healthy communication within a couple. It’s not often that we see a healthy relationship on tv, so we’ll keep this one even though it’s straight. We know one thing for sure, One Tree Hill Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 13, 2023 • 59min
615: Romancing the Stone
Are you the lone wolf that can’t be tied down or are you the relationship-seeking wooer that won’t take no for an answer? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the commonly seen media trope of a pairing that consists of one person who doesn’t want to be in a romantic relationship and one person who is 100% convinced they can change their mind. Media pretty much always only shows examples of this trope through a monogamous and allosexual lens. It completely ignores that aromantics and asexuals exist who might just really not have any interest in dating or romantic relationships, and also largely ignores that people may be seeking a relationship outside of the lens of monogamy. This trope is particularly gross like 90% of the time when it is applied to straight couples, but when it is applied to queer couples we think it can actually work. Often these stories play out with the man not wanting a relationship and a woman working hard to change him. But even after she does “win” a relationship with him, he still really has not changed as a person and still is overall misogynistic. There are also really uncomfortable consent issues with a man continuing to pursue a woman who consistently turns him down. The lesson these stories teach is that you can change anyone if you are the right person, which is an extremely toxic message to learn. The reason this trope feels so much less problematic for queer couples is that there is usually a lot more nuance behind why someone does not want a relationship. They might not be fully out yet. They may still be trying to figure out their sexuality. It might not be safe to be publicly out in their career. It’s not the same as in straight pairings where the man just is a ‘bad boy’ who doesn’t want to be tied down and just wants to sleep with whoever he wants (except in the case of Shane who is literally the queer version of that exact archetype). But in cases that aren’t Shane, it usually looks less like someone only changing due to the annoying persistence of their pursuer and instead just happening to fall in love. Some places we’ve seen this trope work are in Glee with Santana and Brittany, She-Ra with Catradora, and Teenage Bounty Hunters with Stepril. We also think it does occasionally work in straight media, because arguably The Notebook has this dynamic but Ellie still eats it up everytime. And we do like how 500 Days of Summer flips the trope on its head a bit, because it has the woman being the one who does not want a relationship and they do not end up together in the end. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 6, 2023 • 1h 20min
SBG 101: For A Good Time, Call
For a good time, dial 1-900-LEZHANG to hang with us, Ellie and Leigh, for only $5 per minute. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the 2012 comedy For A Good Time, Call, which is currently available on Amazon Prime. This movie is an absolute fever dream of homosexual delight. It follows the story of Katie and Lauren, enemies turned roommates turned love of one another’s lives. What’s even better is that it is actually written by Seth Rogen’s wife Lauren and her friend Katie. We honestly cannot even handle the implications of this backstory and we hope it means that they are all in an open relationship with each other. Katie is a late 20s/early 30 something virgin who works as a phone sex operator and is terrified to actually talk to or date men in person. She pretends to be a huge slut who has been with tons of guys, so that no one notices that she is actually very gay. She also actively avoids being friends with girls. Katie and Lauren went to college together and share a gay best friend. They hate each other, because one time Katie was drunk and got her pee all over Lauren while she was driving her home from the bar. They both end up in housing crises and of course their GBF decides the best plan is for Katie and Lauren to become roommates. This is where everything gets truly chaotic and gayer than we ever could have hoped for.Lauren purposefully walks in on Katie when she hears her moaning (instead of putting on headphones like a normal roommate), immediately inserts herself further into Katie’s life by helping her start her own phone sex hotline, and then everything goes from 0 to 60 real fast. From Lauren putting Katie’s dildo into her mouth to mimic the sound of a bj, to both women having practice phone sex while touching each other, to literally having a phone sex threeway and then falling asleep in the same bed, it all gets very gay very quickly. These women are so in love and yet the movie insists on giving Katie a male love interest. We can’t be too upset though, because the male love interest very clearly comes second to her relationship with Lauren. Right after having sex for the very first time, Katie’s first thought is ‘I love Lauren.’ She fully says this out loud to her boyfriend while he is still inside her!! How this wasn’t her gay awakening we really do not know.We do know one thing for sure, For A Good Time, Call Should’ve Been Gay. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 27, 2023 • 1h 8min
614: Dyke In Shining Armor
“I need a hero. I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night. She’s gotta be strong, and she’s gotta be fast, and she’s gotta for sure be a dyke.” This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about the ‘Dyke In Shining Armor’ trope, which we will forever be referring to as a DSA. The DSA shows up repeatedly in the media, but is also pretty prevalent within real life lesbian relationship dynamics. This trope really toes the line of being a little problematic, because it is inherently heteronormative in that it is based on the concept of a big strong man swooping in to save a helpless damsel. Yet, when we see it reflected in our onscreen queer ships, we eat that shiz up. We talk about when this trope works, whether it can apply to villains (Lucy Diamond anyone?), and whether the dynamic can truly exist outside of the confines of heteronormativity. We view a DSA as a dyke who will protect and rescue her chosen person from all harm. We love this dynamic because it subverts the stereotype by replacing the male in the media landscape. The other great thing about a DSA is that when there are two women in this type of relationship, typically they switch off on saving one another. Think about Nicole Haught and Waverly. Just because Nicole is the main protector, that doesn’t mean Waverly is helpless or won’t rescue her protector from time to time. This differs from the straight ‘Knight in Shining Armor’ trope in the media, because the hero is capable of being saved, whereas in a heterosexual couple this is avoided in order to refrain from “emasculating” the male character. There’s also the option in queer ships for a couple to be DSA for DSA, like Xena and Gabrielle. Xena is basically the quintessential DSA. She is literally a full on dyke saving people with a sword. Yet, she falls for Gabrielle, who is very much also a DSA. So many ‘strong female characters’ embody the DSA archetype, but Hollywood allows so few of them to actually be gay. We want more dykes in shining armor! Problematic patriarchal implications aside, this dynamic is delightful to see on screen and honestly is so relatable for so many queer people. If you want to treat your girl like a princess and protect her from any and all harm, potentially at the risk of your own life, you just may be a DSA. Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).Want to support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, exclusive merch and more? Join us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lezhangoutpod.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices