Thanks to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,Web Series Archives Jonathan Van Ness' round-the-clock Instagram stories, and ice skating demigods like Adam Rippon, queer men are having their moment in the spotlight.
Queer women, meanwhile, are relying on old DVDs of The L Wordand erotic fantasies of the upcoming reboot.
Sure, between The Fostersand Orange Is the New Black, there have been plenty of shows that feature queer characters since The L Word premiered. But what made Broad Cityspecial -- what makes it so hard for some of us to say goodbye after the show aired its final episode on Thursday -- was how it centered queerness, particularly bisexual queer identities, at its heart.
Broad Citywasn't a purely gay show. It technically classifies as a "sorta queer show."
That still matters so much.
SEE ALSO: 'Broad City' stars mark show's end with perfectly mushy Instagram postsFrom the start of the show, it was clear that Ilana has a strong homoerotic attraction to her best friend, Abbi. Ilana was constantly referencing Abbi's great butt. She consistently stared her down and made reference to a future theoretical homosexual encounter. Ilana had boyfriends throughout the show, including one delightfully passive dentist (Hannibal Buress), but it was clear that Abbi was her true "love" -- even if that love defied easy categorization.
Via GiphyIn an earlier era, Ilana would have been drawn as either a purely straight main character or a purely gay "sassy" side character. Sandra Bernhard would have been the only actress cast to play her role. But because this is Broad City (and the year 2019), Ilana was able to stay true to her character roots: she was queer. She wanted to bone passive male dentists (respect) and fall in love with her hot best friend.
The show never resolved what kind of love Ilana expected from her best friend: partially sexual and partially romantic? Purely romantic? Or more of a lifelong partner kind of romance, with sex thrown in?
Ilana's experience mirrors plenty of people in the queer community who aren't strictly gay or straight, whose sexual identities change over time, and who are not-so-secretly in love with their best friends.
Best friend love is one of the key relational formations at the heart of the queer community. As a queer person, I'll say that approximately 100% of my romantic relationships and my friends' queer relationships originated in best friendship.
Via GiphyIlana wasn't just visibly queer, she was 2019 queer. Broad Citymade it all visible.
Meanwhile, it took until the final season for Abbi to start to explore her queer identity (unless you consider the episode where she pegged her annoying neighbor queer -- which is a more of question for Tumblr than it is for this post). Abbi's date with hot emergency room doctor Clea Duvall (kudos to the show for reminding us that you can be a hot doctor without being a prick) had all of the core emotional ingredients of an early queer experience.
Abbi demonstrates the kind of nauseating awkwardness familiar to many of those who are first exploring a queer relationship in their 20s. It's so familiar it's unwatchable. And unlike most queer films or television shows premised on clear, linear, coming out narratives, Broad Citydoesn't have Abbi follow the traditional coming out trajectory. She just goes on a date with a woman (a hot doctor woman at that). She doesn't immediately incorporate the experience into an identity formation. She doesn't suddenly start shopping at Otherwild or watching Carolaround the clock.
Via GiphyAbbi just develops a little thing for a very good-looking doctor. Who among us -- straight or queer -- has not been in the same position? (I'm very gay, but I'm open to the idea of a flirtation with my male dermatologist who is excellent at talking me through my rashes).
Bisexuality, sexual identity exploration, and sexual ambiguity are at the core of Broad City. Who knows if Abbi and Ilana will one day get married and raise a dog in Northampton? Maybe Ilana will start dating a moderate Republican and move to Utah. Maybe Abbi will date a hot butch bouncer. Who knows? The show never resolves anyone's identity.
That's what make it so queer and so good. RIP, Broad City. We're all a little less gay now that you're gone.
Save 31% on the Shokz OpenRun Pro at AmazonRussian cosmonauts worked Ukrainian colors into their ISS uniformsNASA's troubled Artemis moon rocket launch is still delayed. Here's why.CATL CEO reveals progress on condensed matter battery for electric plane · TechNodeSpace events 2022: Meteor showers, NASA's megarocket, metal asteroids and moreSpaceX increases prices for Starlink service and dish hardwareCATL builds first factory in northern China, deepens partnership with BAIC · TechNodeWill Apple say 'AI' at WWDC? You're asking the wrong question.New York Times code stolen and leaked on 4Chan — Wordle apparently includedBest free online courses from MIT in June 2024Russian cosmonauts worked Ukrainian colors into their ISS uniformsBest free online courses from Stanford University in June 2024CATL CEO reveals progress on condensed matter battery for electric plane · TechNodeTencent to ban digital influencers from livestreaming · TechNodeCATL builds first factory in northern China, deepens partnership with BAIC · TechNodeBest free online courses from Stanford University in June 2024Bangladesh vs. Nepal 2024 livestream: Watch T20 World Cup for freeSpace events 2022: Meteor showers, NASA's megarocket, metal asteroids and moreIs River Song coming back to 'Doctor Who'?Earth Day 2022 Google Doodle is a grim look at climate change's real impact Is Taylor Swift about to drop a single? This dancing Ariana Grande fan is the world's most inspiring concertgoer An app paid me $10 to wait in line and then party at Samsung's NYC space Preview Skype's controversial millennial All the features in Apple Maps that’ll make you not hate it This woman was asked to comment on the South Sudan refugee crisis. She responded with a poem. How to put old photos in your social media stories Apple just released 6 videos showcasing new iPad features in iOS 11 You can't escape Windows error messages in this augmented reality nightmare 'Game of Thrones' finale preview video: Let's rumble Game of Thrones: A dragon dies in 'Beyond the Wall,' but it gets worse The internet waves goodbye to Steve Bannon with its middle finger Gasping for air (and good business sense) at the summit of Mount Everest Stunning new view of Jupiter flips Great Red Spot on its side Consumer Reports is wrong about Microsoft’s Surface products Seth Rogen celebrates the 10 A new app is designed to help blind people enjoy the total eclipse Steven Soderbergh's new HBO show will have a choose 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' is basically over and BioWare just confirmed it, folks Father John Misty writes heartfelt eulogy to the Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band
1.8711s , 10133.8515625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Web Series Archives】,Unobstructed Information Network