Well, it somehow is February, and you know what that means? New streaming television programs that JUST MIGHT have queer, lesbian, bisexual and trans characters!!!!!!!!!! So re-position yourself on that sofa because it’s time to settle in for our ongoing winter of despair and turn it up for psycho lesbians. What is gay and streaming in February 2021? There’s only one way to find out and that way is for me to watch 50 trailers and google “[x] + lesbian” / “[x] + queer” (etc etc etc) 55 times. Now let us all enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Netflix Content for Girls, Gays and Theys in February 2021
Love Daily: Season 1 (2018)
This anthology series from Awesomeness TV has been making the streaming rounds for a few years and now it is Netflix’s turn. (They actually snatched up a bunch of Awesomeness TV productions this month.) Containing 12 short films about 12 different love stories taking place through 12 months of the year, you bet your ass that one of those 12 little stories transpires between women. Brianne Tju, who played lesbian character Alex in Light as a Feather, plays Christine, and noted YouTuber Alexis G Zall plays Sam. Sam is a gay name.
Strip Down, Rise Up (Netflix Documentary) (2021) – February 5th
This doc follows a group of women in a pole dance class where they learn to dance but they also learn to empower themselves and their bodies and they cry and hug and stuff. There is a girl in the trailer who I am positive is queer but also if they did a documentary on this topic without any queer women in it then that is a crime that should be investigated.
Good Girls: Season 3 – February 16th
Speaking of crime — Beth, Annie and Ruby return for a third season of this dramedy about pals who decide to damn the man and launder the money. Isaiah Stannard plays Ben Marks, the trans son of single Mom Annie. “The show is tense, engaging and often fun,” writes Cate Young on Jezebel.
I Care A Lot (Netflix Original Film) – February 19
Rosamund Pike is Marla Grayson, a court-appointed guardian for many elderly humans whom she seizes and then milks for all their assets through unethical but legal means. She does all this with her very hot girlfriend Fran (Eiza González). But!!! The women have met their match in Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), a wealthy retired woman with no heirs but a very strong connection to a very dangerous gangster. So far reviews have been GLOWING.
Ginny & Georgia: Season 1 (Netflix Original) – February 24th
Ginny is the biracial daughter of Georgia, a shrewd and freewheeling blonde lady who birthed Ginny when she was 15. Together with her son Austin they move to a lil town in New England to start a fantastic new life together but there are SECRETS lurking beneath the veneer of their already non-traditional life. According to Deadline, Sara Waisglass is playing Maxine, a friend of Ginny’s who is “cool, popular, smart, quirky and confident” and also “has a huge crush on Georgia.”
Hulu Streaming in Lesbian and Bisexual February 2021
Good Trouble: Season 3 Premiere (Freeform) – February 18
Rhea Butcher’s back and Constance Zimmer joins up for Season 3 of Good Trouble, in which Callie In a Suit and Malika fight the criminal injustice system and personal relationships experience various degrees of turmoil and triumph.
The United States vs Billie Holliday (Hulu Original) – February 26
Shelli’s post of this trailer blew up our website because we are so very excited for it — Andra Day stars as bisexual crooner Billie Holiday, who was in the crosshairs of the FBI starting in 1939, leading to a trial in 1947 referenced in the film’s title. Holliday struggled with drug and alcohol addiction all her life, and was targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation, led by a Black Federal agent with whom she had a tumultuous affair. Natasha Lyonne guests as bisexual actress Tallulah Bankhead, who was everybody’s lover including Billie Holiday’s.
February 2021 New Queer TV on Amazon Prime
Moulin Rogue! (2001) – February 1
This is not a lesbian film but I just wanted you to know.
Notes on a Scandal (2006) – February 1
This movie was very stressful for the community at a time when lesbian representation was pretty minimal! But anyhow, Judi Dench is a lonely spinster history teacher nearing retirement whose only comfort is her diary, aka she’s a lesbian. She gets really into this new art teacher Sheba (Cate Blanchett), who is married to an older woman and also is having an affair with a student. “It trades in stereotypes of the “vampire lesbian,” the frigid spinster, and the bitter, battle axe school teacher,” writes the Feminist Spectator, “but Dench’s acting mitigates these images to an extent that makes the film worth seeing.”
Billions: Seasons 1- 3 – February 1
This is a show about MONEY and the rich people who have it and do things with it. Asia Kate Dillon plays the first major non-binary character on American television, Taylor Mason.
Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017) – February 1
Showtime’s heart-rending documentary on the short life of the incredible Whitney Houston addresses rumors of her bisexuality and her relationship with Robyn Crawford.
February 2021 Streaming and Queer on HBO Max
Butter (2012) – February 1
This film is such a hidden gem! It’s an indie comedy starring a young Yara Shahidi as a master butter sculptor with ambitions of beating out the local favorite Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell) at the Iowa State Fair. Olivia Wilde plays Brooke, a bisexual sex worker who is a client of Bob’s (his wife is played by Jennifer Garner playing the part that Jennifer Garner always plays) but her storyline goes past this relationship! Carmen enjoyed it and perhaps so can you.
Sunshine Cleaning (2009) – February 1
This comedy-drama follows 30-something single Mom Rose (Amy Adams) and her queer underachieving sister Norah (Emily Blunt) as they embark upon the industry of crime scene cleanup. Norah experiences a little subplot of her own involving the daughter of a woman who died in one of the houses she cleaned.
There Is No “I” In Threesome (HBO Max Documentary) (2021) – February 11
A man/woman couple set out to make a documentary about their open relationship and present an alternative to monogamy BUT it seems as thought it ended up tearing them apart. Guess we’ll find out!
It’s a Sin: Season 1 (2020) – February 18
This five-episode series from the creator of Queer as Folk (UK) follows “those young, fleetingly liberated gay men who packed up their jeans and LPs and came to London at the dawn of the 1980s, a new decade filled with hope,” only to have their freedom interrupted by the HIV/AIDS crisis. I’m not sure if there are any lesbian characters — there’s a woman in the main cast but IDK if she is gay — but it’s about queer community, so I wanted to let you know.
Huh I saw Notes on a Scandal in theaters but don’t remember it being lesbian. I thought Cate’s character was married to a guy?
she is
judi dench’s character is queer. AE reviewed it at the time as one of the most homophobic movies they’d ever seen
I think the confusion is that the blurb above says “She gets really into this new art teacher Sheba (Cate Blanchett), who is married to an older woman”!
Yes, that is the part that threw me off. I should have been a bit more clear.
It’s a Sin was out in the UK a while ago. I’m reluctant to criticise a show about an important part of queer history that’s full of great performances and that struggled so hard to get made and shown, but the focus is definitely on male characters in that familiar way where women only exist to serve the mens’ stories. Maybe it’s hard to completely avoid that within such a small number of episodes, but it feels neglectful. Juno Roche wrote a really nice short article about her feelings on it, as someone living in London at the time https://inews.co.uk/opinion/its-a-sin-is-beautiful-but-it-neglects-the-women-who-also-died-of-aids-848579
Thank you for Juno Roche’s piece, it’s a must-read indeed.
And as for It’s a Sin… It’s a lot. I was watching it with admiration but also a kind of discomfort, slowly realizing that Jill’s position won’t be discussed on its terms. (I believe there was a boyfriend in the earlier drafts/version of the screenplay, but he was written off). The thing gets complicated because she is based on the real person, RTD’s best friend (and the real hostess of the place called The Pink Palace). She even shows up in the show as Jill’s mom. So it is a love letter from a male friend to a female friend. And still, it’s frustrating to see there is no line about her status in this gang and the community because, of course, boys! Of course she’s the mothering type, she’s the one who gets the things done. It sounds very true (unfortunately), but the show makes it “natural”. And at the same time, I felt like she had the most screening time of the all characters, even more than middle-class white boy Ritchie. So it’s complicated. Ash’s character didn’t get enough time, that’s for sure – and I was so angry about it. He has some brilliant pieces, the monologue in the library is pure RTD genius, but it’s clear there were cuts. Later I’ve read the interviews about how Davis had to fight for this project, how it was supposed to be a much longer series, how Channel4 commissioned four episodes and then changed to five, all that drama. And I still don’t know what to think about it, RTD is one of the biggest, greatest screenwriters in the UK, and I felt it’s a much more traditional project than let’s say Years & Years and Cucumber/Banana. So it’s a very messy story, it turns out. So I feel I really, really need to go back and watch Bob & Rose and Cucumber/Banana, because I haven’t watched them in years, and I remember that was television which was very uncomfortable but in a “blowing-my-mind” fashion.
Hi! Could you maybe say “Girls, Gays, and Nonbinary Babes”? Girls, gays and theys isn’t as inclusive as it sounds and can actually be really harmful for nonbinary people who dont use they/them pronouns.
Just popping in to say that “There Is No “I” In Threesome ” was made by the man in the relationship without the woman’s consent and uses her footage so… *garbage fire*
very excited about US v Billy Holiday and I Care a Lot!!
In other streaming news I noticed that DEBS is streaming free on Tubi right now!