“I am a Dyke! I am a Dyke! I am a Dyke!”
No, this is not a reenactment of the Dyke March at Pride or a flashback to separatist feminism of early times. These controversial words are proudly shouted by a group of 30-something friends living in Oakland, CA as they sit around a table playing Queer Taboo. Do you know them? Probably. At some point in our lives, we have been them. However, this is the set of a new, very diverse web series boldly named, Dyke Central.
As I watched the first two episodes, I was drawn to the familiarity and diversity of the cast. We either have friends represented in this cast of queer cuties or we see ourselves in one of the cast members. Either way, I promise you will get sucked in to this new web series. But just in case you need some convincing, here are the top 10 reasons you should watch Dyke Central.
10. We all have stories of sneaking away at a party to have steamy bathroom sex, right? No? Just me? Well, I loved the scene between two gender queers sneaking off and getting a little steamy in the bathroom, while everyone is partying away in the other room. It was hot and I think we can expect some sexy scenes done up L Word style.
9. Who doesn’t love a good, “How do you two know each other” cliffhanger? The meeting/reunion between Alex and Fabiana at the end of the pilot caused my wife and I to give each other that side glance, like…. “Oh Shoot, What is fixin’ to go down?”
8. Dyke Central perfectly reminds us all that we cannot have healthy relationships unless we are honest with ourselves. The relationship between Alex and Jackie is a train wreck waiting to happen. Yet, we painfully watch it with one eye turned away waiting for the dishonesty to hit like a runaway BART train.
7. Oakland, which seems to be its own character, will give you Bay Area, sunny California feel. The laid back, free love space of California is like nothing else on earth.
6. If you are no longer in your 20s, Dyke Central will help you reminisce on the good ol’ days of planning everything around your party schedule. Man, those were good times!
5. Lots and lots of diversity! Never before have I seen a web series with such inclusivity. Gender queers, queer people of color, dykes, butches, transmen, a white femme challenging the politics of body hair, a transman who identifies as a gay man, sexual fluidity, interracial relationships, and conflicting social classes. I have never seen this much diverse queer goodness in one place.
4. Not only is the cast diverse, there is not the typical mimicking of heteronormative gender roles. Thank God!
3. Just like the word Queer, Dyke Central attempts to take back the appellation of Dyke and re-purpose it for power.
2. In the first two episodes, Dyke Central advocates for therapy, starts to examine alcoholism, and plants the seeds of a storyline dealing with family pain and rejection.
1. The director really cares about the story she is telling, the diversity she represents, and the stories of our community.
As of midnight on Friday, April 10, you will be able to stream all ten episodes, plus a behind-the-scenes feature, on a pay-per-view VOD platform linked through DykeCentral.com. Don’t wait until then, get your fix now by following their YouTube channel and watch the first two episode. Celesbians Dalila Ali Rajah (“Cherry Bomb”), comedian D’Lo (“Looking”, “Transparent”) and androgynous model Rain Dove (“Living Different”) have also recently joined the cast.
Oh! Did I tell you that Tagg Magazine has scored a live Hangout with the cast? We want all of you to submit your questions and tune in on Sunday March 29 at 3 P.M. EST. Click Here To Watch The Hangout Live Send your questions to Michelle@agurlzguide.org.
