Teach them well and let them lead the way…

The 12th week of queer youth things we’ve been up to and into

We found ourselves this week connecting with and having numerous conversations about young queers and their creations. Maybe we are looking to the youth because so much of the world feels bleak and, at times, overwhelming in the scale and pace of problems. We want to do our part to pass along knowledge gained through experience and provide support for opportunity… and then step aside. When we revel in young queer creativity and collaboration, we realize that the kids really are alright.

Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) written & directed by Monica Zanetti. This sweet Australian directorial debut was a welcome surprise. The “coming out” plotline in this indie comedy made us chuckle and smile—it was refreshing to see the comfort Ellie feels in her queerness. It is a sweet film at the same time it’s a queer film with dashes of drama and trauma. There’s a reason this film won the 2021 Best Indie Film from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, and we hope more people give it a watch. We really enjoyed the entire cast—especially New Zealand treasure Rachel House, who plays the lez Aunt Patty. We also loved the casting of Abbie, Ellie’s crush, played by Zoe Terakes, a transmasc non-binary actor (who will soon be the first non-binary trans actor to have a key role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart). One really interesting aspect of this film is its transformation of the lesbian ghost trope. Lesbians have long had connections to ghosts, as we see in films from Rebecca to Tár, a trope that is generally tragic and traumatic. The titular “Dead Aunt” here is Aunt Tara, a lesbian ghost who shifts the trope from being a specter that haunts the sapphic protagonist to being a “fairy godmother” who wants to guide, support, and comfort. This is a lovely way to reconceptualize and honor the ghosts of our queer past while we tell stories of today. 

Dyke Diaries Zine by kim r. Young queer people are taking up the mantle of zine making, embracing the ethos and extending the audience. We learned about Dyke Diaries when it was first announced on IG and were keen to see what kim, an 18-year-old non-binary lesbian from Scotland, would do in their first issue. After it arrived from across the pond, we sat in kim’s queer journey and riot ghoul perspective, reveling in feelings of pride, nostalgia, connection, and hope. Their representation and manifestation of queerness is what we want and hope and dream for as we look to make a better today and tomorrow. Page after page had us nodding along and smiling big. kim both absorbs and critiques the past, from the failures of white feminism to the limits of the riot grrrl movement, to find themself and to build the inclusive, intersectional queer reality we need and want. We are thrilled to support kim’s work and can’t wait to see what the just-released Issue 02 brings. 

boygenius on KEXP. You’re likely to hear a great deal about boygenius in the coming weeks since this queer indie trio just released their highly-anticipated and critically-acclaimed first full-length album, the record. While we already liked Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus as solo artists, we love them even more together. This supergroup is giving Dolly, Linda & Emmylou Trio vibes, along with a special queer alchemy that clearly happens when Julien, Phoebe, and Lucy come together... Maybe it’s the harmonies. Maybe it’s the camaraderie. Maybe it’s the infectious love they feel toward one another. We’re not sure exactly what it is but we’re so very happy that they banded together. the record is a beautiful collection of songs and you should definitely give it a listen—we’ve had it on repeat in our house. We are also repeat-listening to their Before Times™ live performance at KEXP because it’s a wonderful primer to both the sound of the band and their chemistry together. (We want to highlight that performance because we think you won’t be able to avoid talk about the record, but this one recorded in late 2018 is a great performance. Plus, we love KEXP and the lovely Cheryl Waters.) Every sapphic and their gay grandparent is probably already caught in the gravitational force of the dyke universe bent toward the short film they worked on with Kristen Stewart, simply titled the film. It serves as both the music video for three singles from the record and an interlaced narrative of memory, friendship, and monster trucks. We are feeling all the feels at the thought that little baby dykes, queerdos, gaybies, and theybies all get to grow up with such a wonderful supergroup of talented young queers.

Hearing Lucy Dacus’s voice, so clear and full as in the gem ‘Yours & Mine’ from 2018, had us digging into her recent solo work, bringing us to the incredible ‘Thumbs’ in an NPR Tiny Desk concert and then the full-band version ‘Thumbs Again.’ Maybe it’s our appreciation for deeply devoted relationships. Maybe it’s our estranged father issues. Maybe it’s just a fantastic song with visceral lyrics.

What art and/or media by young queer people is inspiring YOU these days?