Gender Fuck Emmy Nominees Thursday

This year’s Emmy nominees have some pretty queer nominees. And pretty queer nominees who made history to boot. While I will argue that “Somebody Somewhere” deserved more love (though huge bravo to Jeff Hiller/Joel). I also enjoy how all the nominees have their own, distinctive, definitively gender fucky style. So here’s a gay old cheer to the nominees. May all you gaymos take home the trophy next month.

Bella Ramsey, Best Actress in a Drama

They became the first nonbinary performer to earn multiple Emmy nominations, with a second consecutive lead in a drama series acting nod for “The Last of Us.” Also, sick suit.

Ayo Edebiri, Best Actress & Directing in a Comedy

Ayo became the first woman to be nominated in both a directing and acting category in the same year for her work in “The Bear.” This also makes her the first Black woman and first queer woman to be nominated for directing and acting categories in the same year. Yes, chef, indeed. (Also, you and Julia better kiss.)

Hannah Einbinder, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy

I want Ava to have a real win this next season of “Hacks,” and a girlfriend. I mean the throuple was fun and all, but give the ladies what they want. And by ladies I mean me.

Kristen Kish, Best Host for a Reality/Competition

I cannot say I condone this white lace suit. But I also definitely don’t condemn it. I’m Switzerland about it, but Switzerland with a wandering eye. What, Padma is gone. It’s OK.

Cherry Jones, Best Guest Actress in a Drama

I stopped watching “The Handmaid’s Tale” after the first season because life is hard enough, you know. But do you remember when Cherry played a lesbian in that TV movie with Brooke Shields?

Cynthia Erivo, Best Guest Actress in a Comedy

I wish Cynthia would wear more suits. Also while I love basically everything about “Poker Face,” I hate the Columbo story structure where you know whodunnit at the start. So I never saw her episode.

Robby Hoffman, Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Did you know the Hacks guest star married “Bachelor/Bachelorette” and “Traitors” star Gabby Windey this year? Like, former Bachelor Nation stars are lezzing it up everywhere!

Gender Fuck Thursday: Next Gen Edition

I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a nice suit and possibly a tie. Let the children's impeccable suit game remind us how we want to be. I feel I’ve been a little bleak this week (I mean, how can I not be), but I am greatly encouraged to see our youth (read: 20something stars) embracing the menswear on the red carpet trend. The whole oversized full suit thing? Yeah, I like it. Life doesn’t have to be so complicated. Sometimes, just put on a suit and look hot. In this intentionally crashed economy? I’ll take whatever free joy I can get. Thanks to our Gen Z stars for making this Thursday just a little bit better, regardless.

Bella Ramsey, 21

Sadly, no suits in the apocalypse. Too bad because they look great.

Jenna Ortega, 22

Bring back zoot suits, period.

Paige Bueckers, 23

Like, her whole GQ photoshoot was straight out of “Bottoms.”

Renee Rapp, 25

Oops, she forgot her jacket. (No lesbian minds.)

Chappell Roan, 27

We already know she gets the job DONE. And bonus points for having millenial superstar Brandi in a suit next to you, too.

Molly Gordon, 29

So, no jacket and too much obvious Annie Hall. But I’ve gotta assume this was a tribute to Diane, not Woody.

Ayo Edebiri, 29

While the neckwear poses some logistic challenges, it still looks fly as hell (cause, it’s a feather…I’ll see myself out…)

And I Feel Fine

Given our current geopolitical shitstorm (we, non-MAGA America, are really sorry about all this – sincerely), I’m kind of relieved we get to relax and enjoy the end of the world for a change. “The Last of Us” returns after two years away to a very different world, both on screen and in real life. Because I read spoilers about the videogame years ago, I know we are in for an intense and intensely sad season. But because I read those spoilers years ago, I don’t remember any of the specifics. Well, other than I remember Abby’s arms.

I know there has been some rumblings about Kaitlyn Dever not looking the part of Abby. But I know that woman can flat-out act, so I’m not that worried about the size of her biceps. We can’t all be Katy O’Brian.

I’m more pleased they chose Ellie and Dina’s relationship for slavish recreation. I hope Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced share as much chemistry as they do likeness – and taste in clothes – to their video game counterparts.

Also sneaking a kiss into the trailer? Yeah, they’re trying to make it up to us queer ladies for killing Melanie Lynskey in the first season. (It’s been more than two years, that’s not a spoiler…)

So, who’s ready for a nice, calming apocalypse?

Dancing Into an Apocalypse

Are you ready for the end of the world? No, not whatever is going to happen in approximately 10 days in Washington D.C. I mean the end of the damn world, with mushroom zombies and armed lesbians. “The Last of Us” is back and amid to bring us more death and and decay, both physically and morally. If you’ve played the game, or read the spoilers like me, you will know the aftermath of Joel’s actions to save Ellie at the end of Season 1 will drive much of the story in Season 2. We also get clearer looks at Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, who you’d better believe is coming for Joel’s ass, and Isabela Merced, who plays Dina Ellie’s new love interest and slow dance partner. Something tells me we’d better hold onto every last moment of warm, sapphic happiness because the rest of the trailer. Yeah, the end of the world isn’t for everyone.

Return to the End of the World

Holy, and I mean this sincerely, shit. Like, holy shit does the second season trailer for “The Last of Us” look good. Like holy shit, should I be feeling weepy about a trailer? Now, I haven’t played the video game. But I have a general sense of the emotional shitstorm that’s coming in the new season. And, of course, the sapphic relationship that made me pay any attention to a video game in the first place. This show is, to put it succinctly, scary as hell. But it’s also filled with so much quiet pathos, which is a hard duality to pull off. And, I am biased, but I love that a queer character (and actor) is at the heart of this show that has become a bit of a cultural phenomena. And it’s definitely not subtext or wishful gay thinking. It’s just a queer girl (played by a nonbinary actor) fighting to stay alive at the end of the world. I mean, holy shit, how cool is that?

Also, I was not expecting Moira Rose to pop up. But now I’m pretty sure I’d tell her each and every last one of my deep, dark secrets. And it’s reassuring to know that even during an apocalypse, playing acoustic guitar for a girl you like totally and completely works. (Well, for lesbians. Men are still advised to stop playing “Push” aggressively at women, per the Barbie rules.)

So, thoughts? As a non-gamer, I’m not sure what the exact dynamic will be between Bella Ramsey’s Ellie and Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby – but I’m guessing it’s not good. So that will be quite something to watch Bella and Kaitlyn square off (again, if they do – no spoilers). Also, are we already a little swoony about Isabela Merced as Dina? Because the way she looks at Ellie with that guitar, well, heart eyes is an understatement. Finding gay love in a desperate, mushroom apocalypse place? Holy shit, I can’t wait.

Love & Other Apocalypses

Hey, remember getting the bejesus scared out of you by “The Last of Us?” And remember how it’s coming back for Season 2, a.k.a. When Shit Gets Really Gay? The first footage and images of Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Isabela Merced as her girlfriend Dina have emerged as the second season continues production. Hello, thigh holsters! You gotta give the makeup and props department props for how well they’ve recreated the videogame. Granted, I never played the game but from my untrained (but highly gay) eyes that looks great and super gay.

So, there’s at least something to look forward to as we trudge through our own hellscape. There may be an apocalypse, but there is also gay love. And we haven't really seen Kaitlyn Dever as Abby yet either. So bring on the murder mushrooms again. Time to strap one one and get ready for the second season.

The Newest Last Leads

Because of the weird annual sputter restart that is the New Year (see: Dreaded January Doldrums above), I’m a little behind with this news. But that makes it no less exciting. “The Last of Us” has cast two key female stars for its much anticipated (and much anxiety making, man that show is stressful), second season, Namely, they’ve cast Abby, who if you played the game know is a key protagonist (though, um, antagonist for Joel) in the “The Last of Us: Part II.” And they’ve cast Dina (a.k.a. Ellie’s girlfriend on TLOU: II). The series has named Kaitlyn Dever (from “Book Smart” and “Unbelievable”) as Abby and Isabela Merced (from “Let it Snow,” but one of the straight storylines) as Dina.

Having not played the video games, and while trying to maintain relative unspoiled status for what will happen in the second season, I don’t have a ton of insight into these casting choices other than to say I think they’re both good. Kaitlyn (who it always astounds me has also spent like ten seasons on “Last Man Standing”) is very talented and capable of convening the most complicated of emotions without words through just the vulnerability of her face. Yes, Kaitlyn might have to work on her guns a little. But I have every faith in her ability kick future ass. As for Isabela, well, to be extremely superficial she makes an extremely cute couple with Bella Ramsey. Get it, Ellie. So, any of you play the games? Thoughts on these castings?

Gender Fuck Thursday: Awards Edition

While it hasn’t been a particularly surprising award season so far (yes, we get it, you liked Beef, Bears and the movie about The Bomb), it has been a pretty season to behold. Many of the best and brightest or at very least most photogenic among us have decided to go the Gender Fuck route and wear snappy suits to the various red carpet outings. And, as always, I am here for it. In fact, if we don’t get at least a few major suits at the Oscars I will riot. (Kidding, I won’t riot. There’s too much real shit happening that deserves rioting - sadly.) Anyway, keep up the good suits, you gorgeous actor types.

Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall

Truly, exactly what I’d expect Megan and Graham to look like together 25 years later. (Yes, I’m sorry to inform you, it’s been 25 years since “But I’m a Cheerleader.)

Bella Ramsey

Bella’s suit game has been STRONG all season, and they have only just begun their red carpet career. So many more suits to come.

Ayo Edebiri

It’s hard to call someone so cool the “darling” of the award season, but she is definitely my darling and I’ve only seen her in “Bottoms.” Speaking of which, did anyone clock the little suit she’s wearing - in white. Ahem!

America Ferrera

Suddenly I have the strongest wish to see America as Ken. Because in that tux she’s more than Kenough. Much more.

Meryl Streep & Greta Gerwig

Little Women, but they wear suits through the whole thing. What? I can’t have innovative IP ideas as well?

Amanda Seyfried & Meryl Streep

Or, hear me out, The Devil Wear Prada but Miranda only wear Prada suits and sunglasses. Amanda approves, clearly.

BONUS Someone on Twitter called them boygenius and honestly, yeah. I’d definitely buy a ticket.

The End of Us

Spoilers: I will be discussing the first season finale of “The Last of Us” in full. If you haven’t watched and don’t wanna know, stop reading. I have lots of women in tank tops for you to enjoy instead. Or, read it and know the insidious ravages of time will no doubt make you forget whatever you read once you finally get around to watching anyway. Your call. We’re all adults (probably, and to any Youths welcome but be aware I’m just a middle-aged lesbian who likes to yell at my TV while I watch my stories).

Well, at least they got to pet some giraffes. As a non-gamer, I didn’t know what was coming for us at the end of the first season of “The Last of Us.” Instead I watched silently as the show became a first-person shooter in the name of love. The moral ambiguity of killing good (or at least goodish) people to save someone you love is one most of us don’t like to think about too much. It’s the old trolley problem, but with your significantiest someone tied to the other train tracks. So, like, we all deeply get what Joel did. (And, don’t get me started on the dubiousa-at-best saving the world science that put Ellie on those metaphorical tracks.)

But, here’s the other thing, we all deeply get that things will never be the same, either. Ellie (who Bella Ramsey continues to play beyond brilliantly) was a different person in the finale than the rest of the season. The trauma she endured thanks to the Bible-Thumping Pedo Cannibal cult clearly left a deep psychological mark, as those kinds of horrors are wont to do. This is not to say she didn’t go through terrible things before, like her finale revelation that she had to kill her best friend/first love Riley when she went all rabid mushroom. (Thank goodness for the small mercies of sparing us that scene, show. Truly.)

So when Ellie asks Joel if he told her the truth about what happened at the Firefly hospital, she knows he’s lying to her. And he probably knows she knows he is lying. But that’s what happens sometimes when you love someone, you lie to them.

Part of what has made TLOU such great television is the at times grim and other times grimly glorious mirror it has held up to our humanity. Our instinct for survival, at any cost. The weight and wonder of human connection. The power of loss and reverberation of trauma. We’ve watched a father become a father again. A teenager finds the parent she never had. So many people die. Good people. Bad people. Mushroom people. And an indifferent world that just keeps on spinning.

In the end, this might be the show that makes me not want to survive a zombie apocalypse. Because what’s left of the world seems made for people made of harder stuff than me. I don’t know if I have the right combination of luck and ruthlessness to succeed at the end of the world. Or maybe, I just don’t have the motivation anymore. Love makes you do the wacky, or as according to TLOU lore, you keep going for family.

I hope the next season brings us more beauty and heartbreak from this found family. May it keep giving us reasons to look toward the light amid all the relentless darkness. And, well, at least we know for sure it’ll be gay.

My Weekend (Age-Appropriate) Crush

The older I get the more truly great acting impresses me. It’s not just the mimicry, which while an undeniable skill isn’t what makes great acting great. It’s the ability to tap deeply into the emotions behind the movements. The power to make the make believe real through nothing more than a performance is a special kind of witchcraft. And, damn, if that doesn’t make Bella Ramsey the best kind of witch (not worst, see what I did there since they used to be on “Worst Witch”…Fine, I’ll see myself out).

As an avowed lover of apocalypse/disaster art, I’ve loved “The Last of Us” almost more than seems healthy. And I’ve loved it, in large part, because of the stunning work by Bella and Pedro Pascal as Ellie and Joel. While the show can be unbearably tense at times (and given me a whole new fearsome appreciation of mushrooms), what has impressed me perhaps the most is how well Bella has been able to tap into the universality of being a teenager in an impossible situation.

At 19, the nonbinary actor is utterly, heartbreakingly, unmistakably believable as a teenager just trying to stay alive in an apocalyptic hellscape. They can be totally annoying one second, totally terrified the next and cracking bad dad jokes when it’s all over. Bella’s Ellie feels real. You’ve met teens like this. Maybe you were a teen like this. But you never had to face faceless fungus monsters or ruthless murderous raiders. That push-pull of their character as she navigates an insane world while continuing to be a smart alecky teen on one side and a terrified child on the other — with the added pressure of the whole saving the world things on top of all that — makes Ellie as poignant as heroines get.

But then, we knew Bella was something special since their days as Lady Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones. While I can’t help but look back at that series through the lens of its maddeningly disappointing ending, Bella’s work as the tiny, fearless leader of the Bear Islands is among the show’s most memorable. Lady Mormont was one of the few killed off characters to get a proper hero’s death. And I’ll forever associate Bella with that “Go, little rock star” energy.

One of the other more refreshing things about Bella is their very Gen Z-esque “get used to it” attitude about sexuality and gender identity. They’ve come out as nonbinary (without, they’ve said, true pronoun preference choice). They’ve also revealed they wore a binder during much of “The Last of Us” filming. And that they’ve had many good conversations with Pedro (who has a trans sister) about gender and sexuality, which is all kinds of lovely and obviously shows in their onscreen chemistry.

Of the queer storylines on the show (including the Bill & Frank episode which no one has recovered from emotionally and the upcoming storylines around Ellie’s relationship with Dina — who everyone is pretty sure we caught a brief glimpse of in Episode 6), Bella is gratefully blunt. They told GQ magazine this about backlash to the queer storylines in TLOU games and series:

“I’m not particularly anxious about it. I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out.”

Like I said, go little rock star. And, on a totally superficial note, I’m loving their red carpet and photoshoot styles recently. In an appreciative way, not a lecherous way because I am An Old and 19 is just waywayway too young to even think about in that way. Happy weekend, all.

p.s. Honestly, I’m not even going to dignify the “Bella’s not attractive enough to play Ellie” troll comments that were spawned by their casting because this is a character that’s supposed to be 14 years old WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU THAT YOU WANT TO GET A BONER FROM THE CASTING OF A TEENAGE PART.

The Ballad of Bill & Frank

When I tell you that I did not expect the show about a mutant mushroom zombie apocalypse to include some of the most sensitive and heartfelt queer storytelling currently on television, I am so not lying. But, here we are, all struggling to emotionally recover from the Ballad of Bill & Frank/Episode 3 of aforementioned mutant mushroom zombie apocalypse show. Wow, is “The Last of Us” good. Like, it’s very good. Scary, funny, touching, scary a lot more. It is, at least for this horror wimp, incredibly tense to watch. But also, in the weirdest way possible, it’s been sort of life affirming.

Humans, we find a way. It’s not always a good way or a moral way or a logical way. But we find a way to survive. And, in the case of Bill and Frank, find love in a hopeless place. (Again, it’s hard to think of a more hopeless place than a mutant mushroom zombie apocalypse, especially when the remaining societal structure is an extremely fascist state/Nazis).

The performances, from leads Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey to supporting cast like Anna Torv and Melanie Lynskey and of course Bill/Nick Offerman and Frank/Murray Bartlett, are all phenomenal. And, while the first few episodes were pretty scary because mutant mushroom zombie people are scary, I think the last two episodes have settled into a more hard-scrabble but also reflective post-apocalyptic tone.

And that Bill and Frank standalone episode (for real, you don’t even really need to watch the show to enjoy it), well, if you didn’t cry at least a little you may already be a mutant mushroom zombie. Creating fully realized characters in the span of one hour-long show is no small feat, but to make us care so deeply for them and their relationship in that same short timeframe — well, that’s almost magic. I think it helped that Offerman and Bartlett played to type here (rugged individualist Ron from Parks & Rec and urbane gay Dom/Armond from Looking/White Lotus, respectfully). But the chemistry and the connection and the tenderness. Well, that’s just talent.

In many ways, Episode 3 especially, reminded me of the wonderful “Station Eleven.” It was my favorite television series last year, where the almost pastoral approach to the post-apocalyptic world was a refreshing departure from all the shooting and fighting. Also, if you haven’t yet watched “Station Eleven” is also on HBO Max. So if you can watch the mutant mushroom zombie apocalypse show, you can also watch the one about the bad flu that took out the world and left bands of wandering artists in the countryside instead.

Best yet about TLOU, we already know that as the show continues we should be in for a lot more queerness. Even though I’m not a gamer, even I know that Ellie is gay and has a girlfriend in the video game’s sequel. Since “The Last of Us” has been a massive hit and HBO Max has already renewed it for a second season, more gay days should be ahead.

So now, the only question is, who should play Dina?

Join Us At the End of the World

Does the prospect of possible future lesbian content warrant current excitement? Probably, if it’s the highly anticipated first trailer for “The Last of Us,” the new HBO post-apocalyptic series based on the hit video game series. Now, I know, I still have a hard time with major media based on amusement park rides and video games. But, as someone with a gamer wife, I do now appreciate that today’s video games have unmistakable storylines and real character progression, which gives them a definitive edge over the animatronics of a theme park ride.

Anyway. The new TLOU adaptation is already giving us some very The Walking Dead vibes, what with the end of the world caused by a humanity decimating infection (in this case, it’s a fungus that makes humans into murderous mushroom heads who are definitely not zombies). Pedro Pascal apparently can’t get enough of shepherding the universe’s underage charges across dangerous landscapes (hello, The Mandalorian) because he plays Joel, a smuggler who promises to take a teenage girl (Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey who we last saw as the little badass ever, Lady Lyanna Mormont). The original video game came out on Playstation in 2013, and was followed up by a successful sequel in 2020.

And that’s where the gay stuff comes into it. If you were on Tumblr anytime in 2020 you probably already know because of the endless sea of gifs, but in the sequel the story picks up by following a now more grown-up Ellie who is still fighting to survive in the post-apocalypse but now also happens to also have a girlfriend. And, as mentioned above, there were endless clips and videos and gifs of Ellie and her girlfriend Dina all over Tumblr. So the new series puts us in the unusual position of rooting for the sequel before we’ve ever seen the original. But any show that drops a surprise Melanie Lynskey on us has gotta be good and gay. Also, in case the Lynskey bona fides weren’t enough, the series also stars Anna Torv. Yes, here I am now officially rooting for a video game show to succeed. Come on, sequel, come on.