TV FANGIRL MOMENT OF THE WEEK: Is Paily No More?

by Lauren W

Firstly, Happy New Year!

Secondly, I'm excited to tell you all about the new segment I dreamt up in my haze of watching too much television over the holidays.

"TV Fangirl Moment of the Week" is it's name, and, well, it's pretty self-explanatory what that entails. In short, I'm gonna tell you what I've been fan-girling the most over this week in television, and hopefully you'll let me know of some of your favourite television moments each week in the comments or on our Twitter!

So, here we go. My first ever TV fangirl moment of the week is...

Image Credit: dangerousdaydreamers via Tumblr

I'm sorry to kickstart this new segment with something so sad but... MY PAILY HEART IS IN PAIN, YOU GAYS.

This week in Pretty Little Liars' Winter Premiere, power "teenage" lesbian couple Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) and Paige McCullers (Lindsey Shaw) said goodbye to one another in a pool full of tears. (Now, I'm not saying that I know Paige killed Mona (Janel Parrish) and that's why she's really leaving, but it's just a thought... Actually scrap that. I'm convinced she did it.)

Television has a habit of giving lesbian couples ridiculously heart-breaking airport scenes, (yes, this one was all too reminiscent of Calzona's airport break-up in season 7 of Grey's Anatomy), but somehow I am never prepared for it to happen over and over again.

Obviously I'm classing this moment as one to fan-girl over just because that final kiss goodbye sent a tingle to my otherwise cold and icy heart.

I'm also finding a little bit of solitude in the thought that this is probably not the last we've seen of Paige. She's a fan-favourite, and I think creator I. Marlene King has killed off far too many lesbians on this show already. Put it this way: at least Paige isn't dead. For now.

So, because this could be the last time we see Paige in a while, I've made this my first ever TV fan-girl moment of the week. My heart is bleeding.

Honourable Mention:

Image Credit: Valkubus via Tumblr

TAMSIN (Rachel Skarsten) AND BO (Anna Silk) HAD SEX ON LOST GIRL AND THEN HAD A MAJOR POST-COITAL HEART TO HEART AFTERWARDS. THANK YOU, TELEVISION GODS.

What did you fan-girl most over on television this week? 

Let me know in the comments below! (Or via our Twitter: http://twitter.com/allthingsles).

The Women of 2012

So, we're one week into 2013, meaning we've had a week to decide on which of the wonderful women in the media made 2012 a year to remember for the LGBTQ community.

Whether they won our hearts on our television screens or through their alliance with our people, the following women deserve a mention.

Note: This is only the author's opinion. Let us know in the comments who you'd have put in this list!

Women in Television.

We think its only necessary to give a shout out to the little Canadian show that could, Lost Girl.

One of the most sex and sexuality positive shows on television, Lost Girl provided us with yet more LGBTQ action via the above to gorgeous ladies.

Anna Silk (right) and Zoie Palmer play Bo and Lauren, two of the few characters on television who are neither labelled nor defined by their sexual orientation.

In fact, what these two are is never discussed on the show - something we need to see more of. Silk and Palmer play these two women perfectly, portraying a relationship of love, without second thought to gender.

Right on, ladies.

Not only that, but there was something for the teen lesbian this year, too.

In the absence of Naomily (Skins) in 2012, Pretty Little Liars showed young, struggling teens everywhere that being a lesbian is no less normal than being heterosexual.

Shay Mitchell (left) and Lindsey Shaw play queer teens, Emily Fields and Paige McCullers in the smash hit teen drama.

What this show does is place this couple among three other straight couples (lovingly named Spoby, Ezria and Haleb by fans) and ensures that their relationship is treated no differently to that of Emily's heterosexual friends. What we're saying is, its the South of Nowhere of our time.

Shay and Lindsey, despite being straight in reality (as far as we know), conjure up some extreme chemistry and play a young lesbian couple rather expertly.

FYI: Pretty Little Liars is set to return to your screens TONIGHT, at 8/7c.

Basically, we want to say thanks, Lost Girl and Pretty Little Liars, for showing both adults and young people that gay is most definitely okay.

Other honorable mentions: Lauren German (Chicago Fire), Sara Ramirez and Jessica Capshaw (Grey's Anatomy) and the cast of The Real L Word.

Female LGBTQ Allies.

Its true: 2012 was a great year for women showing their allied support of our community.

Firstly, we'd like to mention Once Upon A Time's Evil Queen, Lana Parrilla. Mainly because if we didn't, you'd kill us.

Not only does Lana play one half of fan-favourite "Swan Queen" (the OUAT lesbian crackship), Parrilla often expresses her support for the community and even spoke at the Human Rights Gala in the summer.

She may appear evil on our screens, but in real life, what a sweetie she is!

Ladies in politics also succeeded in showing us their support and their demand for equal LGBTQ rights last year.

First lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, two of the most well-known women in politics today, expressed their undying support for the human rights campaign.

As you may very well know (which you should!) US President, Barack Obama became the first president to explicitly state his approval of gay marriage in America. However, we wonder how far he'd have come without Michelle at his side.

Her support provided a huge crutch for Obama to lean on during what was such a courageous speech in 2012 that we can only congratulate her just as much as we thank Mr. Obama for taking the time to broadcast such a speech.

Even before that, however, Hillary Clinton did the exact same thing. She traveled far and wide to spread the message about equal rights and marriage for gay people, making us only want her even more to run for President in 2013, despite her ill-health.

We wish you a speedy recovery, Ms. Clinton!

Other honorable mentions: Sally Field, who spoke openly about her love for her gay son and her support for LGBTQ rights, and the women (and men!) at corporations such as Starbucks, Intel and Oreo, for standing up against anti-gay businesses. *cough* Chick-Fil-A, we're looking at you.


We could go on to mention women in music, film, education and advocacy who stood up for the LGBTQ community in 2012, but we want to put the rest over to you.

Which women do you think deserve a place on the "Women of 2012" list? Which power females really made 2012 a good year for you?

Let us know below!

Paily: Do You Ship It?

So a lot of you watch ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars, right?

I understand a lot of you gays were disappointed with the death of this lady:

Yep, 1 half of the adorable couple dubbed "Emaya" was found dead last season on the show, but there's a new(ish) girl in town.

Emily Fields' (Shay Mitchell) new love interest comes in the form of Paige, a fellow swimmer and a former closet case.

Last episode, we saw Emily realise she liked Paige and they kissed in an almost fairytale-like scene.

But do you ship it? Honestly, I think I prefer Emaya, but I'm willing to give Paige a chance.

Let me know your thoughts and tune in to PLL this Tuesday (if you're in the States) on ABC Family at 8/7c.

Return of the TV (Almost) Lesbians!

To those of you television/lesbian fanatics, you may or may not be aware that this summer sees the return of many a favourite lesbian TV show.

I'll give you the run down...

First, on June 5th, we see the return of not just one, but TWO lesbian fan-favourites!

The first being ABC Family's smash hit series, Pretty Little Liars, which airs at 8/7c.

That's right, for four gorgeous ladies in the photo above, who aren't always that dirty, (clockwise, from left: Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell and Lucy Hale) are back for season 3 of the mysterious, sexy drama.

For those of you who don't know, the lovely Shay Mitchell plays Emily Fields, a teenage lesbian swimmer who is coming to terms with her sexuality. Yep, that's the main reason why the lesbians love the show so much. (Personally, I'm a Spencer fan and I think the plot is just awesome: creepy, fun and constantly changing, but I'm pretty sure Emily is what drove most dykes to watch).

At the end of last season, however, we saw Emily's girlfriend, Maya St. Germain, go missing and then the police found her body in the final episode. But all is not lost: show creator Marlene King assures us Emily is still into girls...

Not only that, but on the same day, (almost) lesbians Rizzoli & Isles return to the small screen!

Yeah that's right, try not to pee your pants with excitement but the crime-thrilling, subtext-filled drama is back on June 5th at 9/8c on TNT, right after Pretty Little Liars!

It's a long shot, but we're all hoping for Angie Harmon (left, as Det. Jane Rizzoli) and Sasha Alexander (right, playing Dr. Maura Isles) to make out this season. Don't judge, I know you have your fingers and toes crossed too.

Last season we saw Jane shoot Maura's father, as she didn't realise who he was. How much of a strain will this put on their friendship? Tune in to find out whilst they stare into each other's eyes longingly!

Then the same week on June 10th, queer-filled vampire thriller True Blood is back at 9/8c on HBO.

There they are, lovely out-bisexual lady, Anna Paquin who plays Sookie, with her real life husband (right, as Bill, played by Stephen Moyer) and Eric (left), played by Alexander Skarsgård.

As if that's not enough eye candy, Bon Temps is also home to Kristin Bauer Van Straten, Deborah Ann Woll, The L Word alum, Janina Gavankar, the occasional hint of Evan Rachel Wood and lesbian/bisexual character Tara, played by Rutina Wesley (who unfortunately was shot at the end of season 4, but we're left hanging to find out whether she's really dead or not...)

Anyway, if you've never seen True Blood before, you should buy all of the DVDs and then watch season 5 on TV because not only is it so very gay on the surface (gay prostitute Lafayette - played by Nelsan Ellis - says it all!) but there is also a lot of subtext, a la Rizzoli & Isles, and scenes of homoerotica and plain hotness.

Will you be tuning in to any of these shows? Which shows are on your summer viewing list?

Oh! And one more thing, how would you lot feel about me recapping any of the above? Let me know in the comments if you'd be interested!