Maria recs || Sapphic media to watch on Netflix

Every time I open Netflix, there is a moment of struggle to find something new that I’m actually interested in watching. I scroll through all the different genres until I get stuck in the LGBTQ+ section that barely has anything that I find enjoyable or that I haven’t watched a hundred times already. But sometimes I find one or another new surprise! So I’ve decided to share some of the movies and series that I loved because I’m sure someone else will need this small but nice list. Hopefully, more sapphic media will be added to the catalog or someone will recommend me some more options! Feel free to add your own favorites at the comments.

 

Movies

 

Ed Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

Trailer:

Summary:

Some love stories are not simple, Sweety’s is one such story. She has to contend with her over-enthusiastic family that wants to get her married, a young writer who is completely smitten by her, a secret that she harbors close to her heart and ultimately the truth that her true love might not find acceptance in her family and society. Resolving these issues proves hilarious, touching and life-changing.

After Simon – Where are the YA F/F books?

Love, Simon, an M/M book that was turned into a movie just hit the movie theaters and everyone has been talking about this. But maybe you just got out of the theater wondering: Where are the F/F books for teenage girls?

I’ve decided to do an intro post for the people who don’t know a lot about YA F/F books. Maybe you do know a few books here and there but you or a friend want to read a different genre or a different experience. I hope this post can help you out on how to get started!

In the end, I choose 10 books + 1 bonus. Some of these books are personal favorites and others are books that I’m dying to read. From fluffy to angst, to romance heavy and books with little romance, all these F/F books will give you at least a first start on YA literature for girls who like other girls.

2017 Wrap Up || Favorite Sapphic Reads

2017 has been an incredible reading year for me. Not only did I get better at finding more Sapphic books that I like, many authors have been reaching out to me and showing me their books, which always delights me. Between ARCs, backlist, and manuscripts, I’ve managed to make this year my best reading one and I couldn’t be happier about it. This list includes my most favorites, books that were fun to read, and stories where I could find parts of myself in it. I hope you find something you like here too!

 

Fantasy

A Rosa de Isabela by Solaine Chioro

Beyond Your Boundaries by Georgia Claire

Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn

Lambs Can Always Become Lions by Charlotte Anne Hamilton

Out of Her Depth by Pike Martell

The Second Mango by Shira Glassman

The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho

Perceptions of Sapphic Media by Young and New Adults || by M. Hollis

A Short Intro

Around the beginning of November, I decided to make a research on how young and new adults are perceiving the Sapphic (femslash) media these days. Since I had a fun time doing the Sapphic Stories Around the World post, I thought I could go a little deeper now. This research proved to be much more interesting and also a lot more work than I thought at first. But I believe the results you’ll see here are worth it.

My idea was to leave a Google Form open for around a month and let people who identify as Sapphic up to 25 years old to answer a few questions that we are going to discuss next. I wanted to know if they think the representation we are receiving is positive, enough, what is lacking, and where are they finding this representation? I’m focusing on numbers here more than going further into discussing the representation. As in, how many times certain themes and books are mentioned by the random people who answered the questionnaire.

My goal is also to form some bridge between creators and consumers of Sapphic media. Recently, I’ve noticed we have discouraged creators who don’t believe anyone is going to care about their stories on one side, and a screaming audience who is desperate to find representation for themselves on the other side. I hope people who are reading this post realize that we can all work together to make Sapphic literature more inclusive and that their stories matter.

By the beginning of December, I had received answers from 48 people. They could all answer anonymously because I believe this gives them more freedom to be as honest as they could on their opinions and to keep their identities safe.

If you keep on believing… || by M. Hollis

I remember vividly watching Anastasia walking up the stairs in her dark blue dress close to the last moments of the movie, and realizing I was in love with stories. It’s in that moment that Dimitri sees her as she truly is, a princess, someone untouchable for a kitchen boy. And yet, they have their happy ending.

The fact that this is the first memory I have of being inside a movie theater says a lot about me. I live for that magic cliché moment when my heart beats so fast it feels like it’ll burst out of my chest and nothing else exists. Lights off, fantasy on. My eyes and ears are there just for the movie.

Book Covers in Femslash || by M. Hollis

A book is never a solitary effort, or at least, it shouldn’t be. It doesn’t matter if you are published traditionally, indie, or self-pub, you’ll need people to help you with things like editing, formatting, and cover design.

Thinking about that, I decided to share today a few of my favorite book covers in Femslash. There are so many wonderful covers that I find it hard to choose just a few, but I tried to contain myself!

I couldn’t find the name of a few artists and I’d love to credit all of them. So, if you see one missing and if you know who worked with it, let me know.

So here we go, in no particular order:

Unlabelled || by M. Hollis

I’m eleven years old when I see two girls kissing in the rain in the middle of a music video. It feels like those times where there is a couple having sex in a movie and you have to pretend nothing is going on or your parents will know that you know what sex is. Every time my mom walks into the room I have this strong need to look away, to change the channel as quick as I can before she thinks I’m like them.

I don’t even know where I learned that this was wrong.

I’m fourteen years old when Marissa Cooper kisses a girl on The O.C. I’m alone in my parents’ bed, as I always do to watch my favorite shows on TV. I hope no one comes in. I hope this awful feeling inside of me goes away.

And I breathe with relief when it’s just a phase.

I’m eighteen years old when my friend comes out to me. It’s messy and we fight and I look away from the screen because I don’t want to see this thing living inside of me too. I dream of kissing her mouth in a dark beach where nothing else exists and this isn’t just a malfunction in my system.

She still thinks I hate her for it.

I’m twenty-two years old when Carmilla and Laura kiss after thirty-six episodes of my heart beating so fast and my smile hurting my face. The words grow inside of me like flowers in a rose garden and I know I’m not ever going back to denial.

They live in every word I write from then on.

I’m twenty-three when Sophie Winters is in love with her best friend and they have angry sex on her bedroom floor. My eyes are wide and my hands are shaking as I flip the pages of the book and I realize girls can have this too.

My body never stops burning anymore.

I’m twenty-four when a girl finally asks me if I want to kiss her. My brain stops functioning and I pace for hours in my bedroom because this just can’t be real. She asks all the right questions and touches me like I’m not the devil and I start to believe I’m not made of stone.

We let go and our goodbye tastes like new beginnings.

I’m twenty-five years old and every girl in the world is so beautiful and so far away from me. I have labels attached in the wrong places and everything feels like too much. My heart aches for something that I can’t explain and my body just implores for the relief that I can’t ever reach.

And in the end, I can’t even say it out loud.

But what I do know is that I won’t ever let people make me believe anymore that my love for women is something to be ashamed. I’ll write and read about their bodies and minds and all the ways you can be free by the use of a look or the touch of a hand. Because in a world that tells you that women are made for men’s desires what does it means to be the one who desires them too?

I won’t be the one to look away once again.

I’ll stare at the abyss and jump without fear because there is not better battle than the one you fight for yourself.

And I’m starting right here.

About the Author:

M. Hollis is a Brazilian YA/NA writer with a focus on F/F stories. When she isn’t scrolling around her social media accounts or reading lots of femslash fanfiction, you’ll find her crying about female characters and baking cookies. She wants to write many stories for women who love other women with happy endings and hopeful beginnings.

Social Media Links:

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