811: Specul-Gay-tion

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Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that is about to get itself cancelled.

This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out and talk about why queer people are so drawn to specul-gay-ting, why certain celebrities ping our gaydars and others just don’t (sorry, Sabrina Carpenter - we still love you!), and why the straights seem to be speaking a totally different language from us a lot of the time. Our topic was inspired by Jane Wickline’s performance on SNL last month where she portrayed Sabrina Carpenter singing about why she deserves her own gay rumors. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s literally all over TikTok.

The skit on Saturday Night Live is hilarious but also brings up an interesting talking point - why is it that we specul-gay-te about certain celebs but not others? Why Taylor Swift but not Sabrina Carpenter? Honestly it isn’t rocket science, but there is quite a bit of gay history involved. For centuries queer people have been creating and utilizing our own secret coded language to be able to flag to one another. This was especially important during times when being gay was a crime, but many forms of flagging are still popular today. After all, you don’t just keep the keys to your Subaru on a carabiner for nothing. This is why Sabrina blatantly making out with an alien dancer on stage and even kissing Jenna Ortega in the Taste music video, while delightfully campy, does not ping our gaydar; but Taylor Swift’s Betty does. 

Remember, you can give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on Instagram and follow along on Facebook, TikTok, and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod. 

Find your fav tol and smol hosts Ellie & Leigh at @elliebrigida and @lshfoster respectively.