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turningsaintsintotheseax · 1 year

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Dear streaming services and broadcast channels; sapphic representation is important too…

When I think back to my baby gay days, there are a lot of difficult memories, heartbreak, rejection, and lonely moments. However, some of my happier moments, those glimmers of feeling safe and normal in a world that so often made me feel the opposite, came from media representation. Back in 2010 there wasn’t anywhere near the level of sapphic media representation that there is now, but there was enough.

I was more blessed than those born just a few years before me. I have a friend who is just five years older than me, and for her there was one sapphic media representation she could relate to- just one.

Coronation Street’s Sophie and Sian and Skins’ Naomi and Emily were my saving Grace. It might seem extreme, but I would sometimes count the hours down to be home from school to watch either of these. I’d spent six hours wanting to crawl inside a hole and feeling that I was carrying a secret that everyone secretly knew and hated me for. Yet I could go home and immerse myself into someone’s else’s relationship that made mine feel so much more normal. I don’t doubt that media representation saved my life in more ways than one, and for that I have so much to thank broadcasters for. However there is a hidden dark side to sapphic representation on TV.

While no one can deny that sapphic and wlw media representation has become much more common over time. The bizzare trends that seem to curse sapphic characters are ongoing.

Let’s start with the original trend, referred to as #buryyourgays and essentially outlining the frequency at which lesbian and bisexual characters were killed off in popular tv shows. As of February 2023, a grand total of 225 (and counting) wlw TV show characters had been killed off. I’m not going to list them all, because no one has time to read that, but I will outline the ones that hit hard (for me).

Tara - Buffy The Vampire Slayer (2002)

Tosh - Torchwood (2008)

Sarah Barnes - Hollyoaks (2009)

Cat - Lip Service (2012)

Maya - Pretty Little Liars (2012)

Naomi - Skins (2013)

Emily - Teen Wolf (2013)

Catriona - Doctors (2014)

Maddie Heath - Coronation Street (2015)

Lexa - The 100 (2016)

Nora and Mary Louise - The Vampire Diaries (2016)

Poussey - Orange is the New Black (2016)

Rana Habeeb- Coronation Street (2019)

Tina Carter - Eastenders (2020)

I mean, the list goes on…

And the impact is huge. When you are a lost and lonely youth, these characters do become your saving grace and sense of normality. As I previously mentioned, Skins had the biggest impact on my life and were actually praised by the sapphic community for appearing to break the #buryyourgays trend. So what did they do? Brought Naomi back in a one off spin off series. To kill her off. Tragically. Come on now!

British soaps. I’m a big fan. It’s a guilty pleasure! The soaps have a huge platform to spread awareness and inclusivity, and let’s be fair, they often do. However the trend remains prominent. Eastenders killed off it’s longest running lesbian character in the last couple of years. Coronation Street killed off one half of two of the three lesbian couples to be featured and Hollyoaks killed off Sarah Barnes way back in the day and are currently stabbing us all in the heart with Juliet’s upcoming death.

The British soaps are getting somewhere with their representation of male gay characters, which is good. I mean, it would be nice for it to be all communities but perhaps this means it’s coming. In fact, over its 38 years worth of episodes, Eastenders has cast an impressive 20 male gay and bisexual main characters. Compared to just 10 female lesbian and bisexual characters.

Thankfully, we have seen the #buryyourgays trend slowly come to a steady halt in the last couple of years. But there has to be a replacement hashtag right? Correct! Introducing #cancelyourgays….

In some ways this new trend is worse! I mean, it certainly boils my blood more. It has a whole new feeling of injustice about it and there is an even clearer line between the treatment of male gay shows compared to sapphic shows. Obviously straight shows are still miles ahead, I don’t expect to catch them up, but a little bit of mileage would be nice!

So now that we are in the times of streaming media, the sector saw a whole new opportunity to start cancelling shows and breaking hearts. I was a loyal Netflix fan but to say I am cross with them now, is an understatement.

Let’s start with Netflix, as I do feel they are the worst. I’m not going to list every sapphic show they have ever cancelled, it would simply take me too long. But let’s talk about the main tradegies

First kill - oh my heart. What was not to love about this show? It’s probably the hardest hit for me. Vampires, gouls, monster killers, themes of Romeo and Juliet throughout, Sarah Catherine Hook, and a lesbian couple as the leads where ‘coming out’ is not the storyline and their sexuality just happily exists in the background. It had everything in place for a huge following right? Yes! But Netflix has treated us to cancelling the show just two months after series one premiered! Netflix said it was due to a low completion rate. I haven’t seen the figures so I can’t say this isn’t accurate, but considering First Kill stormed into the top 10 within hours of it’s premiere and reached number 3 worldwide, only falling behind the huge peaky blinders and stranger things, you’d think that the figures couldn’t have been the problem. Considering the teenage hit Heart-stopper was renewed for a further two seasons despite having half the views of First Kill! Good job Heart-stopper chose to have Charlie and Nick as it’s lead and not Tara and Darcy, or it could have been a different story. Let’s not forget that First Kill’s show runner has also spoken about the lack of advertising Netflix gave to First Kill, almost like they didn’t want it to blow up.

Warrior nun - another hugely popular show. This one managed to get renewed for a season two but was cancelled shortly after the second season premiered. Netflix said it was due to viewing figures and production costs, but then again it always is…

The society - was cancelled after the first season, this time due to Covid. I mean, there is legitimacy to this as the second season was due to start filming in late 2020 but if you look deeper, Netflix absolutely did not cancel all of their series due in 2020. In fact, what was the other show to take the hit at the same time as The Society? It was I’m Not Okay With This, which is next on the list.

I’m not okay with this - what a great premise for a show! A mix of coming to terms with sexuality and the development of super powers! This show was a HUGE hit and fans thought the renewal for a season two was as secure as it could possibly be. But no. Due to ‘Covid’ Netflix cancelled it after season one. Definitely couldn’t blame views for this one’s cancellation. I Am Not Okay With This ranks at the 89.6th percentile in the Drama genre. This means I Am Not Okay With This has higher demand than 89.6% of all Drama titles in the United States. It almost doesn’t make sense? Hmm.

A Typical - I personally thought this one was absolutely safe. The sapphic storyline was by no means the main plot of the show. It focused on the life of an autistic teenager dealing with school, friends and girlfriends. But his sister had her own sapphic storyline going on in the background and the wlw community were utterly invested! In fairness to Netflix, this one got four seasons which is unheard of and is believed to have been cancelled after season four due to it coming to a natural end.

Teenage bounty hunters - cancelled after season one. Frustrating so many fans, mainly due to the fact that it ended on a huge cliffhanger! Covid was blamed here too but fans bit back with evidence that advertising was lacking it and the show got lost in the weight of all the other Netflix shows. I mean, the executive producer was Jenji Kohan who brought us Orange Is The New Black, so you’d have thought that Netflix would have been pumping it to everyone’s home screens!

Glow - 15 Emmy nominations and three wins weren’t enough to save season four of GlOW from cancellation. In fact, it was renewed for a fourth season and Netflix reversed the decision due to, you guessed it, Covid! Producers claimed that it was too tricky to film the close proximity scenes. Yet somehow they did manage to do this in every other covid time show that continued…

Gypsy - one of the quickest Netflix cancellations ever. The show had only just premiered when the plug was pulled for a season two. Most of the blame went to viewing figures. Fun fact- the dedicated fans were still battling and protesting for a season two well over a year after it’s cancellation.

Dare me - season one flew into the top 10 in 30 countries. Enough to secure a second season? Of course not. There were rumours that other streaming services were interested in picking it up for a season two, but this never happened.

Netflix are serial offenders, there is no doubting this. But it’s not just them. I can’t go as in depth with these, as I don’t want to write a whole essay, so i’m going to pick the one stand out example of each. Let’s move on to Amazon Prime and another of my heartbreaks…

The Wilds - I loved everything about this show. The diversity, the powerful female leads, the complete mix of Lost and Pretty Little Liars, there was so much to love! Gender was actually the main theme of the show but the wlw storyline between Toni and Shelby was a huge fan favourite. The Wilds returned for a season two and ended on another big cliffhanger, this and the fact that the fan base was HUGE caused fans to feel secure about a season three. But shortly after season two ended, Amazon cancelled the show. They blamed a lack of views in season two however, The Wilds ranks at the 92.7th percentile in the Drama genre. This means The Wilds has higher demand than 92.7% of all Drama titles in the United States. The reaction on the internet was crazy. After all this time, the fans continue to petition and argue for a season three.

HBO next..

Gentleman Jack - this one was a huge shocker. The period drama got two seasons and was beloved to it’s fans, gaining a hugely impressive 92% critics score and 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. I believe that neither HBO or BBC confirmed the reason for the cancellation but it is rumoured that it had to do with the length of time between the two seasons due to the pandemic, which could have led to a loss of viewers. Somehow, I doubt this.

Let’s not forget others worth mentioning..

Batwoman

Legacies

Legends of tomorrow

Charmed

A league of their own

Generation

Willow

and many many more…

Are the streaming services even aware of this pattern? Who knows. But the theme is there, in black and white. And as a sapphic female who has thankfully come out the other side of the years of self hatred, blame, isolation, and rejection, I am pleading with the streaming services to take note of this message

Dear streaming services and broadcast channels; sapphic representation is important too. Not just important but refreshing, a saving grace, a brief moment of normality, a resource, a source of education, and most important could literally save someone’s life.

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