Girls Like Movies About Girls Liking Girls

What can’t Lesbian Jesus do? Sing a song about girls liking girls. Make a video for your song about girls liking girls. Write a book about your video for your song about girls liking girls. Write and direct a movie about your book based on your video for your song about girls liking girls. And then cast a little doppelganger for yourself in the movie about your book based on your video for your song about girls liking girls. Truly, what can't Hayley Kiyoko do? I know I’m not really in the age bracket for this movie anymore, but I appreciate the get-up-and-make-it-gay-yourself of it all. Way to get it done, Lesbian Jesus.

The Lesbian Jesus Movie: The Trailer

The Lesbian Jesus Movie trailer has arrived! I repeat, the Lesbian Jesus Movie trailer has arrived!! Hayley Kiyoko’s “Girls Like Girls,” the movie based on the novel based on the song that she all wrote, has dropped. The coming-of-age story will come out in theaters June 19. You know, Pride Month, nice. It is of course based on the song that came out in the summer of Our Lesbian Jesus more than a decade ago – before we all entered The Bad Place. Sigh. Also, yes, that is Zach Braff as The Dad. Talk about some manic pixie dreamgirl nostalgia or what. Yeah, also that movie came out more than 20 years ago. OK, I’ll stop talking now. Enjoy the Lesbian Jesus Movie trailer, even if time is after us all.

Engayged

OK, fine, so I’ve been a bit of a Debbie Downer this week. It’s just all the masked heavily armed men grabbing people off the streets and throwing them into unmarked vans has just got me down for some reason. And, you know, everything else. But here’s some good gay news. Because we still deserve joy… I think. No, we definitely deserve joy. So mazel tov to Hayley Kiyoko and Becca Tilley who got en-gay-ged last week. The singer/actress/Lesbian Jesus and former Bachelor contestant apparently have been dating since 2018, but publicly hard launched their relationship in 2022. So, good for them. No, really. Good for them. They look happy and sun-kissed and gay. I’ll take any good news I can get, and happy queers is no small feat in these times.

Music Monday: Hayley’s Pride

Obviously, I had to kick off the first Monday of Pride Month with Lesbian Jesus herself. Hayley Kiyoko’s video for her new song “For The Girls'' came out (see what I did there) late last month. It’s a gay girl parody of “The Bachelor/Bachelorette” and what the kids today would call a super fun bop. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of watching the franchise (as I have) you know, it’s pretty spot on, from costumed contestants to instant drama and endless jealousy. I also appreciate all the entirely unsubtle lesbian archetypes. The skater girl. The beanie girl. The U-Haul girl. The plant girl. I mean, might as well ring in the month with a flavor for everyone. The video also serves as a coming out (again, I did it again) for Hayley and her girlfriend, former Bachelor contestant Becca Tilley, who swoops in at the end. Again, you know if you’ve watched the franchise (we don’t anymore, finally, thank goodness) that the switcheroo of someone having a secret boyfriend/girlfriend while going on the show is also very on theme. So, congrats, ladies. And thanks for reminding me why we don’t watch anymore (I swear, it wasn’t my jam in the first place but love makes you do the wacky.) Happy Monday, kittens.

Music Monday: Fletcher & Hayley Edition

In my never-ending effort to queer the universe, here are lesbian pop hotties Fletcher and Hayley Kiyoko teaming up to break the lesbian internet with “Cherry.” Honestly, if someone told me when I was a teenager there’d be so many wlw pop songs to shake my ass to when I was an adult I would have told them they were at the very least crazy. But here we are, with lesbian pop stars feeding each other cherries in music videos. Happy Monday, kittens.

Music Monday: Hayley Edition

Would it even be Pride Month if lesbian pop princess Hayley Kiyoko/Lesbian Jesus didn’t put out another cinematic queer music video featuring her kissing another lady? Like each one of her mini movie videos are gorgeous little gay romances and I can’t even begin to imagine how reaffirming it must feel to see those as a tween or teen or queer person coming out really at any age really. Get your Pride on and get your girl and ride off into that sunset, ladies. Happy Monday, kittens.

The Lesbian Craft

Speaking of queer music fabulosity in this the year of 20biteen, the original Lesbian Jesus has been heard at work too. Now, on paper it makes me feel a little like a creepy old lady to enjoy a bunch of young women in Catholic school girl uniforms dancing around. But, people still revere that perv Nabokov, so I can do whatever the hell I want.

Now, having our very own lesbian pop music star is a big freaking deal on its own. But I also genuinely enjoy her music and her videos (not for the obvious reasons, ya pervs), but because they have such a cinematic quality. They’re all these little movies. They’re all the movies I wished I could watch as a baby gay, instead of the mainstream heterosexual rom-coms I had to sit through instead. Like, this is how “The Craft” went in my head. (And, as is, “The Craft” felt plenty gay, so that’s saying a lot.) Basically, Hayley Kiyoko’s music videos are pure lesbian teen dream wish fulfillment. We’re the heroines of all of the love songs, with bursting or breaking hearts. And, for once, we don’t have to chance the pronouns.

So, enjoy away, lesbians, bisexual and queer women of all ages. We’ve earned this ogling of women dancing in Catholic school girl uniforms. I mean, sincere appreciation of the progress we’ve made on pop culture on LGBTQ acceptance and the representation of romantic love. Yeah, definitely that.

Best of 20GayTeen

Well, kittens, we made it another lap around the sun together. 20GayTeen lived up to its name, and then some. And what another crazy, crazy, super fucking crazy year it was. Personally, wonderful things happened. Like, you know, I got married. Politically, cruelty and corruption continued to reign. But at least a Blue Wave came in to offer us hope and reinforcements. And in the pop culture world? Well, art did its part to entertain, engage (occasionally enrage) and otherwise provide escapism exactly when needed. And, heavens, did we need it.

So here is a little ode to the best things I watched, listened and generally consumed in this year of our Lesbian Jesus, 20GayTeen. Thanks for keeping things super duper gay, universe. May the New Year aspire to such queerness, and then some. Happy New Year, kittens.

TV: Killing Eve


I just finished my fifth full rewatch of the entire first season of “Killing Eve,” and I can assuredly say this show only gets richer with each watch. In fact the complexity and brilliance of the series demands multiple viewings. Because on first watch you’ll likely be most stunned by the plot (like, holy shit, it really went there). Then another watch and you’re floored again by the acting because the things Sandra Oh can do with a few muscles in her face. And then a third rewatch you are dazzled anew by the impeccable writing and sublime use of music. And a fourth you’re drafting legal papers allowing Jodie Comer to legally murder you, should the want arise. And so on, and so forth. In short, if “Killing Eve” wasn’t your favorite new queer obsession last year, honey, there’s always this year.

Also: The Good Place


Hot forking damn this show is so good. Any show that passes between multiple dimensions so seamlessly obviously has no problem being fluid in its interpretations of gender, sexuality and personhood. Also, I would watch a 24-hour Janet channel. I really, really would.

Movie: The Favourite


What a tart, wicked delight. It’s beyond refreshing to watch a movie that allows women to be smart, cunning and ruthless without making them the villains of their own story. Instead, they’re treated as men would be in the exact same situation – as smart, cunning and ruthlessly heroes of their own stories. And, as we all know, heroes have all the fun.

Also: “Crazy Rich Asians”


If this movie only had a queer female character it would have been perfect. As is it was still a true delight, a feast for the eyes and a joy for our hearts. Plus, so much attractive Asian excellence in one place.


Music: Janelle Monae, Dirty Computer


Not only did Janelle Monae compose the greatest celebration of Lady Parts since Georgia O’Keeffe picked up a paintbrush, she also made the definitive ode to Bisexual Lighting. Plus, it has a beat and you can gayly dance it it.

Also: Hayley Kiyoko


I mean, we can’t leave Lesbian Jesus off a best of 20GayTeen list. I mean, that would be a gay sin.

When I Am An Old Lesbian I Will Listen To Hayley

Since we were talking about music already, here is something that might be relevant to your interests. Well, now this is sweet. Older lesbians learning about Hayley Kiyoko remind me of me anytime I try to read the MTV Movie Awards celebrity guest list. Who? What? Aw, that’s cute. And it is, it is quite cute. Never mind purple, when I am an old lesbian I will listen to Hayley.

Music Monday:Lesbian Jesus Edition

Hayley Kiyoko continues to be the lesbian heartthrob of our dreams. It must feel amazing to be a young person and have a totally out and totally cool pop star like her singing songs that speak directly to your deepest, most lesbian feelings. And not just singing about them, but acting them out – repeatedly, unabashedly. Heck, this old person thinks it feels pretty amazing, too.

My Weekend Crush

See, now this is where being an old fogy really hurts my lesbo street cred. Many of you have probably already heard of Hayley Kiyoko. I mean, I’d heard of her the last couple of years. I recognized her name. I knew she was a former Disney and Nickelodeon star turned singer-songwriter. But I never stopped to really listen, or watch, because sometimes I’m like *shakes fist at radio* who are these whipper snappers and why should I care?

Well, in the case of Hayley Kiyoko you should care if you like fun bops (I think the kids say bops again, right?). But you should really care if you like fun bops about girls liking other girls. In fact, creating intricate mini-movies for her music videos that play our like straight-up femslash fanfic is kind of her things.

Like take “Girls Like Girls”


Or her latest, “Curious”


She came out as a gay woman near the start of her musical career. And it has become her goal to normalize LGBTQ relationships, particularly female same-sex relationships, through her music and videos. Fans have dubbed her “Lesbian Jesus,” and she had dubbed 2018 “20GAYTEEN.”

Last week she released her debut album, “Expectations,” which has garnered great reviews thus meeting its own title. See what I did there? Ahem.

And for all the critics saying all she does is sing about girls and make videos where she smooches ladies, well, she told Refinery 29 last week:

“I’ve had several music industry execs say ‘You’re doing another music video about girls?’ I literally looked at them and was like, um, yea...Taylor Swift sings about men in every single song and video, and no one complains that she’s unoriginal. I’m not over-sexualizing my music. I make out with women because I love women, not because I’m trying to be sexy. That’s not to turn heads — that’s my life.”

Hell fucking yeah. Happy weekend, all my new fellow Lesbian Jesus acolytes.