A History of Lesbian Film & TV Part 1/2

Let's take a look at the history of Lesbian film and TV from the start of cinema in 1895 to today. In part one I'll cover up to 1968 which was the end of the Hays Code and a pivotal moment in allowing queer representation to exist on screen. How were lesbians and wlw portrayed historically? Well, usually as sick, depraved, or dead, so let's dive into what that looked liked. Find out when the first lesbian kiss on film was, when the first sapphic character was portrayed and when the first lesbian film was made and more!

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Movies referenced:

[FZ-bkkh]

My gosh this channel is underrated! The amount of research and effort you put into these videos is astounding!

[Amandanumnum]

Really enjoyed this more "academic" style video! Super well done. Can't wait to watch the second part which I will do asap

[endorphinzz]

This is a really damn good video...incredible research, voice over, context, facts, movie clips, examples...everything.

[Mtnsunshine]

This is wonderful. ❤ Thank you for all the research you have done and are doing. We all need to see and know this.👍

[lennysmom]

You did a wonderful job. Thank you for all of your research.

[glendafield]

Nice to hear a Kiwi accent as a narrator. Really well put together doco. Im a pensioner now, and never realised until today that my parents may have been very aware of these lifestyles. Thankyou for your research and straight forward presentation.

[sharonmayes]

What a show stopper of a video! I've always been very active in knowing the history of sapphic film and tv as I was always curious on where it all began and how the industry has changed today. I believe one of the most sadistic sapphic films I have witnessed was The killing of sister George (1968) and I was truly shocked at the representation.

[Itcouldbebunnies]

Secret Love is such a beautiful song🥰 A true Sapphic classic.

[thisisntcatnip]

Shit im still reading the well of loneliness i didn't realize it was gonna end that badly 😭😭

[taniabanes]

Awesome, I didn’t know about any of this… thanks for sharing 🤗😘

[virginialee]

This is amazing!! Thank you for yet another interesting and important video 🥰 I made notes and I'll try to find some of the movies~

Watching this literally on the very day the government of my country discusses an anti-LGBT law (!) makes my heart ache tho 😭 I feel neutral about the church in general and I even considered myself a Christian in childhood but now all I can think about now is that the Orthodox church and a good portion of my country's deputies are anti-human beasts who just wanna ruin our lives for f**cking no reason 😩 we've never had any legislations that would make LGBT+ people's lives easier and safer but now it's gonna be a total disaster and there's a high chance it will spike aggression based on orientation, especially in the long run. People who live in non-homophobic countries probably have no idea how lucky they are 😔

[percentshipper]

Do you know when the first lesbian kiss was aired on TV? The first happy ending? Can you guess what countries? Let me know you guesses and find out the answer in next week's video.

[aleta]

I remember LA TV an independent station would run an older movie called "War Widow" ...I was flabbergasted they had two women getting cozy in front of a fireplace...They were obviously into each other.

[KimberlyLetsGo]

I'm old enough that even today, when I see a gay couple on TV I'm taken aback. While I am happy to see this forward movement, homosexuality was called deviant when I was a kiddo, that brain-washing sort of stuck enough to trigger a gasp. Watching this video was very enlightening. It would be seen by all film students too.

[pagano]

In her book, "Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxieties, " Marjorie Garber came to the opposite conclusion regarding male and female cross-dressing. In the context of the male-to-female drag show, Garber said that a man dressed as a woman was taken seriously in that — as far as patriarchy was concerned — men could "make" a better woman than a woman could, while a woman dressing similarly to a man was a risible figure aspiring to phallic power but not actually possessing that power and therefore not to be regarded in a serious way. It appears that which forms of cross-dressing are to be taken thoughtfully and which are to be ridiculed will depend on the context.

Also, the Marlene Dietrich film "Morocco" came out (so to speak) in 1930, not 1934.

[ispookie]

Hello 100% Shipper.I honer you. You do so much for the rest of us, and I really hope you get enough out of all your efforts. All I can say is Thank You !🥰

[loveisamanybeautifulthingc]

*hmmm..was there a lesbian kiss on the TV Show: 'ALL IN THE FAMILY' (early 70's-w/EDITH BUNKERS' character or either w/GLORIA BUNKER?!)* *Or it could have been on the TV Show: 'MAUDE'..mid-late 70's?!?* 🤔
*I remember~ 'L.A. LAW' - TV Show (early 90's? late 80's?..was it, Susan Dey?! idk) The Show had 1 ep-one lesbian kiss-but that was over before it even started and then sometime afterwards, a character did fall down the elevator shaft, but not sure if it was a sapphic character or not.* *(so much has changed for the better~i just keep being positive and support lgbtq+ as much as possible)* 👩‍❤️‍👩👭🏻🌈💜💙💚💛❤
*Looking forward to your next weeks ep of sapphic film & tv part 2/2 !!* 💓😘

*LoveAlways* 💙 *KareBear*

[Sierrahtl]

Lilian Helman, the children s hour.. they are why older lesbians have a hard time getting a grip…

[keithnaylor]

Stopped watching when the narration gets ridiculously censored.

[scifigrl]

why would subtext remain popular even if representation has improved?