Resurrect representation of queer women

by Corinne Davidson STAFF WRITER

I love the show “Shera and the Princesses of Power,” everytime I rewatch it I’m reminded of how glad I am that it got to finish its story.

Over the past few years, there has been a trend of shows with queer female representation being ubruptly canceled. “The Wilds,” “First Kill,” “I Am Not Ok With This,” “Everything Sucks” and “The Owl House” are all examples of shows with a heavy focus on queer women that were canceled after only one or two seasons.

These shows meant a lot to women of the queer community because it is rare to find a show that provides that kind of representation. On top of that, shows such as these normalize queer characters in mainstream media. By canceling them, networks and streaming services minimize that message of normalcy.

“There’s still a lot of male privilege. When we look at the history of media representation, and even studying queer representation, it’s still white, male, cis-gender, able-bodied and young,” said Dr. Nathian Shae Rodriguez, Associate Director of Journalism and Media Studeis.

Photo illustration by Noah Najib.

“Love, Victor” does a good job of showing both queer men and women, but still focuses on the men most of the time. And while shows such as “Heartstopper” and “Young Royals” are granted multiple seasons by streaming services, there are many shows featuring queer women that are being wrongfully canceled.

After hearing about how upset people were, it started to hit me that this was a bigger issue than I realized. It really is important to have queer people, especially queer women, in shows and movies if we want to have more well-rounded representation in media.

“I think it has to do with the intersectionality of the different systems of oppression, because it does live at the crossroads of sexism and homophobia,” said Olivia Newell, Pride Center Educator and sophomore. “If you don’t like men then you don’t really fit the male gaze and that’s what the basis of images of women is in the media.”

Many shows like to focus on the tragedy of being queer covering topics like the stuggles of coming out which is relatable but there are other things to talk about when it comes to queer people. “We need shows like “Heartstopper” that are just two people that are gay just because they’re gay and that’s it,” Newell said.

Overall, there needs to be more representation in the media but this is difficult with it being a profit fueled industry. It’s nice when the occasional movie or show has queer female representation, but it would be nicer to see it more normalized. Hopefully, with more people caring and speaking out about the topic, things will start to change within the industry.

Until then we will continue to cherish the representation that we get and mourn it when it is taken away.