Lez Hang Out | A Lesbian Podcast

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that is healing religious trauma through humor. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Filipina filmmaker, actor, and writer Giovannie Espiritu (@giospirit2) to talk about why 2004 dramedy Saved! Should’ve Been Gay. We do not think it is possible for there to be a more perfect guest for this episode than Giovannie who actually escaped from a biblical doomsday cult as a teenager. She had just recently left the cult when Saved! came out and helped her to process her religious trauma through super relatable humor (and a huge crush on Jena Malone). For those of you who are unfamiliar with the movie, Saved! follows the story of Mary (Jena Malone) as she navigates the consequences of getting pregnant in her senior year of high school after sleeping with her boyfriend Dean in an attempt to “save” him from his homosexuality. Mary goes from being a poster child for walking with Jesus to a social pariah whose old friends try to exorcize the devil out of her for daring to have sex before marriage. Her best friend and American Eagle High’s answer to Regina George, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), kicks Mary out of their girl band The Christian Jewels, and she loses the support of nearly the entire school. Luckily for Mary, the other outsiders, a Jewish girl named Cassandra and Hilary Faye’s disabled older brother Roland, take her under their wing and help her to survive senior year. Although this movie does technically have gay representation in Mary’s ex-boyfriend Dean, we really do not see much of his experience once he is sent off to Mercy House to be de-gayed. We want to see how he revolutionized the other students at Mercy House, how he and his current “life partner” got together, and how he managed to get everyone to the prom. Basically, they need to give us a parallel movie to this one a la But I’m A Cheerleader that fills in the gaps of what happened after Dean got taken away. Personally we think Saved! could be a lot gayer. Mary is giving off really queer vibes the entire film, kicking the movie off by literally praying for God to give her the strength to sleep with her boyfriend (obviously a super straight thing to do). Then there’s Hilary Faye whose name doesn’t rhyme with ‘gay’ for no reason. There is simply zero heterosexual explanation for that haircut. We know one thing for sure, Saved! Should’ve Been Gay. Follow us on Twitter: (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). Support your favorite little lesbian podcast while unlocking perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support Lez Hang Out by checking out our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants you to draw us like one of your gay French girls.This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with figurative artist Halie Torris (@halietorris) to talk about the sapphic gaze in art and what differentiates it from the all too familiar male gaze. If you spend any time on lesbian TikTok you are likely familiar with Halie Torris’ paintings. The videos of her music-inspired paintings set to songs like Fletcher’s Cherry and Taylor Swift’s Maroon have gone viral multiple times, demonstrating just how feral we all are for art that doesn’t speak to the male gaze. The entire history of art has mostly been portrayed through the male gaze, a perspective that tends to objectify and oversexualize women. Sapphic art, in contrast, is much more subtle, focusing on the little things that men don’t typically appreciate. Halie describes her paintings as capturing the moment right before the climax of the action, that moment right before the wine splashes, the hook of a finger in a belt loop, the hand lightly grazing a thigh. Her paintings showcase the beauty and intricacies of sapphic relationships by sharing these more secretive moments that mainstream art often fails to recognize. There is a big focus on body language in Halie’s paintings and a tendency to intentionally obscure the subjects’ face from view. With the faces hidden, it is easier for people to connect their own narratives to the paintings. Halie views music as a prompt for creating her visual art, fueling the narratives that already reside within her. Alongside Halie’s music-inspired series, she has been hard at work on her newest series of paintings, the situationship series. These paintings focus on the turbulent emotions experienced before, during and after a situationship. We talk with Halie about her artistic journey, how her paintings going viral has impacted her, and of course, the gaylor of it all. Whether you are a Swiftie or not, there is no denying Taylor is a musical mastermind, painting pictures with her words through incredibly descriptive lyrics. Illustrative songs like Ivy and iconic stage performances like Taylor’s Vigilante Shit chair dance have inspired Halie to create gorgeous figurative paintings from the sapphic gaze. Taylor’s frequently queer-coded lyrics with a focus on secret relationships and yearning speak to sapphic listeners in a different way than their straight peers, in much the same way Halie’s art does. The beauty lies in the subtlety, a feature missing from figurative art created with the male gaze in mind. Even in 2024 Halie can practically count on one hand how many figurative artists she knows of who have made art for and from a female gaze let alone a sapphic one. While we of course wish that sapphic art was not so difficult to come by, we are thrilled that artists like Halie are working hard to change that. Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes (including our brand new one on The Kids Are Alright), weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that does a great Jack Black impression. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) hangs out solo with Gabby and Emily Cohen of The Butch Boudoir Project to talk about why the 2006 romcom The Holiday Should’ve Been Gay. When Gabby realized there was a disappointing lack of butch representation in boudoir photoshoots (and in media in general), she decided right then to change that. This idea grew into the Butch Boudoir Project, an ongoing movement to empower #Butch & #Masculine people across different gender identities, celebrating their #identity, #sexuality, and #visibility. It is so rare for media to show butches in a positive and attractive light and The Butch Boudoir Project aims to change that. The project showcases butch people going about their regular lives, providing affirmation for not only butches but also for the people who are attracted to them.And honestly, what more could a butch lover ask for than a super dykey early aughts Jude Law? There is so little butch representation in movies to this day, but we won’t let that stop us from creating our own. The Holiday follows the story of Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet), two tragic-in-love women trapped in their heteronormative lives who decide to shake things up by switching homes. Instead of doing what we all want (ie. falling in love with one another), Amanda and Iris find the absolute dykiest men to fall for. Neither of these women has ever managed to have a successful relationship with a man and we 100% know why. We make our own gay version of the movie by simply gender swapping the male love interests, although we ideally still want to ship Amanda with Iris. We know one thing for sure, The Holiday Should’ve Been Gay. Follow us on Twitter: (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by checking out our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that will literally never shut up about queer pirates. This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Adam Korenman (@officermankorn), Seth Bowser (@sethypoo88), Nat Leykam (@natleykam), and Jaime Rockafellow (@warriorcatprincess) to talk about their currently in-production queer pirate musical, The Great Age of Sail (@the_great_age_of_sail). Unless you are brand new to Lez Hang Out (which, if you are, welcome!), you are likely very familiar with our love of queer pirates, queer musicals, and queer pirate musicals. So in love in fact that we have spent the past 3 years working on one of our own. So, when we found out about The Great Age of Sail, we could not resist getting together with the creative team to talk about our mutual love of pirates, musical theater and all things gay. In 2020, the TikTok sea shanty craze hit and Adam was hooked instantly. He began writing his own shanties, but they were not enough to scratch the itch. The more shanties he wrote, the more a story began to emerge and Adam realized there was a perfect opportunity to develop it into a musical. He shared his shanties with Nat, who saw their potential and brought Seth on board as a composer. From there, they developed enough of a musical to do a small stage reading where they met theatrical Swiss Army Knife Jaime who turned out to be the final piece of the puzzle they needed to shape the musical into what it would become today. Musical theater is a magical space for both self-exploration and self-expression, which is probably why so many queer people find themselves drawn to it. We talked with Adam and co about what each step of the creative process has been like over the last 4 years since writing that first sea shanty, why queerness is a central element to any good pirate story, and what goals they have for the show. After an overwhelmingly successful crowdfunding campaign and well-received small stage reading, The Great Age of Sail is in the workshop stage of production with a more advanced stage reading planned for this summer. We personally cannot wait to hear it!Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lez Hang Out will be back in your ears next week with a brand new episode. Until then, we are delighted to share with you the podcast musical that we have been working on for nearly 3 years over at Dollar Bean Productions. We hope you will love Journey to the Heart as much as we do and cannot wait to hear your thoughts!---------------------------------------------------------------------In a seafaring world, the gods granted humans the gifts of soulmarks: a unique tattoo you share with your soulmate that appears when you turn of age. Our three heroes each have their own thoughts and questions about these marks. Albina (Zehra Fazal), never received a soulmark. Babette (Valerie Rose Lohman), is a hopeless romantic who can’t seem to find her soulmate despite years of searching. And Charlie (Ellie Brigida), covered up her tattoo the day it appeared, and now spends most of her time adventuring at sea.When Charlie returns with a mysterious parchment, the three girls embark on an adventure to find the answers they each need from the gods, and to decide what love really means to them in this exciting new musical adventure from the team behind The Flame!Journey to the Heart will be a 6 episode limited series, featuring some of the brightest talents across Film, TV, and voiceover! The series is produced by Ellie Brigida (Scoring and Music Producer), Leigh Holmes Foster (Composer and Music Director), Valerie Rose Lohman (Executive Producer and Director), and Caitlyn Clear (Book and Director). Join us as the story develops to vote on what happens at key points in the show!Listen to the rest of Journey to the Heart here: https://link.chtbl.com/ILsLOndYFor full credits and transcripts, visit https://www.dollarbeanproductions.com/journeytotheheartThis is an original radio play produced by Dollar Bean Productions.Journey to the Heart was made possible by listeners like you! Join them on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/dollarbeanprod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leigh and Ellie discuss the 2023 instant cult classic Bottoms, a wildly queer and campy teen movie that flips stereotypes on their heads. They explore the characters' crazy decisions, the shocking twists in the film, and the need for more indie gay teen films. They also touch on the pressure for perfection in portraying gay characters and the lack of new gay movies.

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants you to take your polycule on a trip around Gaysia. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out to talk about why Adele Lim’s 2023 comedy Joy Ride Should’ve Been Gay. For those of you unfamiliar with the film, Joy Ride opens with main characters Audrey and Lolo becoming best friends forever in the absolute cutest meet-cute we have ever seen. Audrey’s parents adopted her from China and they are overjoyed when Lolo’s family moves to their small extremely white town because they want their daughter to have a friend she fits in with. Lolo immediately becomes Audrey’s biggest defender and supporter, knocking out playground bullies and telling off racist kids at their school.When the movie fast forwards to adulthood Lolo and Audrey are as close as ever, so close that they literally live together. When Audrey has to go to China to close a business deal, Lolo offers to come along as an interpreter. Once in China they link up with Lolo’s cousin Deadeye, a heavily online K-Pop stan, and Kat, an accomplished actress who happens to be Audrey’s old college roommate. When Audrey’s first attempt to close the business deal is a huge flop, she is given one chance to fix it. She has to bring her birth mother to a party at the end of the week to do damage control. The only problem is, Audrey has very limited information on how to track down her birth mother. The four friends take off to find the agency that facilitated Audrey’s adoption and the adventure quickly turns to total drug-fueled chaos. The potential for a romantic relationship between Lolo and Audrey is obvious from the moment they meet as children on the playground. However, there is equally enough chemistry to go around with Kat. Audrey has clearly been enamored with Kat since their college acapella days and if Lolo’s obsession with Kat’s vagina tattoo is any indication, she is absolutely interested in her too. They may start off as frenemies, but there is something else brewing just under the surface. Lolo is actually canonically bisexual, but the movie only mentions it once in passing and to our dismay does not spend any time exploring it. Our polycule could not be complete without Deadeye who we read as a nonbinary, neurodivergent gray-ace. Deadeye can literally beatbox. What straight person does that?We know one thing for sure, Joy Ride Should’ve Been Gay. Follow us on Twitter: (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). Time is running out to join Ellie and Leigh in Costa Rica this May for a queer wellness retreat. Don’t let future-you suffer from fomo! Book a spot by January 30th at bit.ly/lezdocostarica and treat yourself to a once in a lifetime experience, new friendships, and some much deserved relaxation in a beautiful National Park. You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by checking out our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants to hypnotize you via app.This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Shantell Yasmine Abeydeera (@shantell_yasmine_abeydeera), writer/actor/producer/director and founder of Thornbyrd Films, a queer-female led production company, and triple threat (actor/writer/producer) Emily Goss (@emilygoss650) to talk about Thornbyrd’s 2023 psychological thriller Healed. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the film yet, you can rent it now on Amazon Prime. We highly recommend taking the time to watch it before listening, as this episode is very spoiler heavy.We talked with Emily and Shantell Yasmine (Yaz) about the creation of Thornbyrd Films, the utilization of genre films like Healed as catalysts for important conversations that can inspire social change within a broader audience, and why it is so refreshing to not have to watch yet another coming out story. We love how Healed kicks off without explaining to the audience how we got to this point. It introduces the main characters as an already established married couple, making no attempts to explain Olivia’s pregnancy or how the characters got together. Healed follows the story of celebrity couple Olivia, played by Emily Goss, and Jazz, played by Yaz, as they attend an intimate meditation retreat at the invitation of renowned mindfulness expert Georgia. Although the retreat at first feels like a nice getaway, particularly for the heavily pregnant and overwhelmed Olivia, it quickly becomes clear that all is not as it seems. When Georgia’s unorthodox therapy sessions evoke troubling memories for Jazz, she becomes skeptical of Georgia’s methods. As she digs deeper, Jazz uncovers a sinister plot that puts her and Olivia at the center of a research experiment that neither of them would have ever consented to. This film feels like Get Out and The Miseducation of Cameron Post had a lovechild. Although the storyline heavily deals with the traumas of conversion therapy and internalized biphobia, we feel that it works really well as a thriller. It can be hard as queer people to watch movies like Cameron Post, because the traumas hit a little too close to home. However, when conversion therapy is approached as the basis for a thriller, it takes on a whole different feeling, with the mystery serving as a sort of barrier between the viewer and the would-be trauma of it all. If you are a fan of suspenseful thrillers with wild twists and turns, you will love Healed. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). Spots for Costa Rica are filling up fast! You only have until January 30th to book your trip. Secure your spot today at bit.ly/lezdocostarica and gift yourself an epic kickoff to summer fun and relaxation.You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi #Barbie! Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that’s full of L- Leigh! E- Ellie! Z- Zeal! This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) finally get a chance to dish about the 4000 reasons why Greta Gerwig’s hit 2023 film Barbie Should’ve Been Gay. From the second she steps onto the screen in all of her pink glory, Margot Robbie’s Barbie is giving gay. There were so many choices made for this film and every single one of them screams homosexual. The biggest choice being her glaringly obvious disinterest in any Ken ever. Not only does she not like-like any of the Kens, she doesn’t even seem to register that they are interested in her! Barbie is so taken aback by Ken’s desire to spend the night at her Dream House because they are “boyfriend/girlfriend” that she immediately spirals into an existential crisis that creates a rift in the fabric of the universe. Everything from this moment on is Barbie’s coming out journey as she awakens from the fog of heteronormativity. She is given a choice, to stay in the closet or to take the Birkenstock and have her eyes opened to the Real World. If you have a heterosexual explanation for this choice, we would honestly love to hear it. We follow Barbie’s journey into the Real World where she encounters more disappointing men and narrowly escapes being put back into the closet (the Barbie Box) by Mattel with the help of Gloria. As soon as these two are onscreen together, it becomes impossible not to ship them. Let #Glorbie kiss, you cowards! While Glorbie are off shining, Ken is making it literally the entire world’s problem that the girl he likes doesn’t like him back. This is somehow enough justification for him and the other Kens to brainwash all of the Barbies in Barbie Land, overthrow the all-women government, and steal every Dream House. It is a bit outrageous how much screen time Ken and other male characters are given in a movie called Barbie. Even at the end when the Barbies take Barbie Land back from the grips of the patriarchy, Ken still doesn’t quite get it through his head that Barbie and him are not going to be a couple. Barbie on the other hand has never felt more clearly about who she is and who she no longer can pretend to be. She is simply too gay to go back to her old heteronormative life in Barbie Land; and she has to leave that world behind to embrace her new life with Gloria and their daughter. We know one thing for sure, Barbie Should’ve Been Gay. Follow us on the platform formerly known as Twitter: (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). Time is running out to join Ellie and Leigh in Costa Rica this May for a queer wellness retreat. Don’t let future-you suffer from fomo. Book a spot today at bit.ly/lezdocostarica and treat yourself to a once in a lifetime experience, new friendships, and some much deserved relaxation in a beautiful National Park. You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord community, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad-free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by checking out our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

90 Day Fiancé? You mean the show that made U-Hauling mainstream? This week Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with comedian and 90 Day Fiancé expert Cara Connors (@caraconnscomedy) to discuss the inherent gayness of getting married in 90 days, how much money it would take us to go 'straight for pay' and how a gigantic lesbian became a hit in middle America.When the pandemic hit, Cara had her own life parallel 90 Day Fiancé when a person she just met basically moved in with her overnight and introduced her to the wonderful world of 90 Day Fiancé. They watched every single episode and Cara started doing her own impersonations of every couple. That's when she decided to put those impersonations up on Instagram and the rest is history. Cara became an icon for Middle America and #TLC fans everywhere.We dive in deep to talk about all of the queer couples that have been on 90 Day Fiancé, especially the train wreck that is Stephanie and Erika, 90 Days first lesbian couple. Yes, Stephanie is the one who was selling her farts in jars and ended up in the hospital because of it. We speculate about if Kenneth, lesbian Gordon Ramsay, and Armando, his much younger husband, will make it after being married for 2 years. And of course, we couldn't talk about 90 Day without talking about Big Ed and his obsession with bisexual wives.Follow us on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). Spots for Costa Rica are filling up fast! Don’t miss out on gifting yourself or someone you love the queer vacation of a lifetime. Secure your spot today at bit.ly/lezdocostarica.You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of awesome perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes, weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices