I was thinking just now about how I've never seen a piece of fiction about queer community and activism set in the 80s and 90s that centres lesbians - there's often one or two lesbian secondary characters but the mains are gay men or straight trans women.

I'm not saying this in a "there's too many pieces of media about gay men or about trans women" way because holy fuck a) the fact that I can COUNT ON MY FINGERS the pieces of popular media dealing with queer activism says it all b) as an Angry Political Queer I EAT THAT SHIT UP

and I understand that during the AIDS crisis, gay men and trans women were on the sharp edge of both the plague and mainstream homophobia

but the fiction that helps connect us to our history just is not there for wlw (or for transmasc people)

and then I realised that the problem goes beyond period fiction about the AIDS crisis

there are many lesbian films

but I am struggling to think of more than one that deals explicitly and primarily with lesbian community/culture

(in this case I'm folding all wlw under lesbian)

and I KNOW the culture has been there for decades. not only have I read an books, my mum is in her 60s and her lesbian friends TALK. there is no dearth of community and culture in lesbian history.

there are some lesbian films I love and watch to go to my happy place (top picks: Nina's Heavenly Delights, Saving Face, and of COURSE But I'm A Cheerleader) but all of them are about coming out, and they focus on family and romantic relationships.

Itty Bitty Titty Committee is the only film I can think of with a lesbian protagonist which centres on queer community and radical action.

The closet and the act of discovering yourself are obviously at the centre of a LOT of art about queer people of all stripes...

...but I just wish I could find one good, accessible piece of film or TV fiction centring on the rich political and cultural history of lesbians and bi women.

because queer women have been showing the fuck up and building inclusive and supportive communities forever

I don't know why all the lesbian period fiction seems to be set prewar as if lesbians just disappeared suddenly mid-20th century

(exceptions off the top of my head: Carol, Battle of the Sexes)

I recognise that the history of lesbian community has been messy as fuck, because it's so tied in with constantly clashing feminist theories, decades of internal fighting between TERFs and transinclusive feminists, etc.

but if I went off popular queer media I would think that lesbians were an entirely apolitical and isolated entity, with an activist community only periodically appears in order to be radical feminist white vegan cameos while gay men lead the activism.

The history is there. But it's not something I can put on Netflix and that's petty af but I want to feel the history and culture of the queer community belongs to lesbians and bi women as much as it belongs to gay men. and we aren't bit players or tagalongs.

(side note: this is an old complaint but like 50% of lesbian media I've seen is "I am engaged to a man but WHAT IS THIS I AM FEELING FEELINGS FOR A TOUGH BUT TENDER WOMAN, I HAVE NEVER FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE" and can we just give that one a rest?)

if based on this thread you have recommendations for films or shows I might have missed that do focus on lesbian community, culture and activism (to count as focusing on community it has to go beyond who's sleeping with who), please please please give me them I'm starving.