Friends of Dorothy 

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:04]Wait, do you want me to just introduce myself?

[00:00:05]>> Yeah. Um, could you introduce yourself, please?

[00:00:08]>> Morvin Duncan, 19, she her. Um, I do art. My name is Laura Anderson. My pronouns are she, her. Um, [music] and I do math and statistics at Glasgow Uni.

[00:00:18]>> So, I'm Aster. I'm 19. My pronouns are they, them, and I study set costume design. [music] >> My name is Katie. My pronouns are she, her.

[00:00:26]>> My name is Martha Pontton.

[00:00:27]>> My name's Eevee Needam. Yeah, my name is Ara Hanigan.

[00:00:30]>> My name is Ava. I'm 20 years old.

[00:00:32]>> So, my name is Jess. I'm 19.

[00:00:34]>> I'm 20 years old. My pronouns are they them.

[00:00:37]>> My pronouns are she, her, and my pronouns are she, her.

[00:00:40]>> My pronouns are she, her, and I study film.

[00:00:41]>> I'm studying costume design and construction.

[00:00:44]>> Um, I'm Rehea. I'm 19. Pronouns she, they, and I study fashion. No, I don't.

[00:00:51][laughter] Hi.

[00:00:54]Um, I'm Bria. I'm 19. pronouns are she and I studied textiles at DJ Cat in Dundee.

[00:01:02]Growing up as a lesbian in a small town was very strange. I didn't know for like quite a long time. Um but when I did it was like a big secret. I didn't really even realize it was so much of a secret until I'd moved to Dundee and I was like God like [laughter] why were you like that?

[00:01:19]>> I grew up in a very small town um in the middle of uh Scotland in the middle of nowhere. Um, I grew up uh with quite a religious family, Protestant. So, it was hard I think in Scotland, like in the city, moving to Glasgow, I've realized like how how diverse it is. But growing up, I never saw that. Not just with uh queerness, but um with uh race and other cultures, never saw anybody um much different from where we grew up. So, I think it was very difficult to kind of figure out who I was when I knew nobody and had nobody in that. I grew up in Dundee, which is like interesting because it's a city, but it's a city, but it's also like I think the age that I was there, a lot of people are super homophobic. It's a very like conservative space almost. Um, so it was I think it was probably quite difficult. It was quite difficult because it's not there wasn't very many people that had like queer people around me. where I grew up, I didn't really have a lot of her lesbian representation and I think I kind of had to find out my own way and like in Orange is the New Black, you know, Leah Delaria. Um, I think she kind of showed me as well how it's okay to be butch. Like I think there's a lot of stigma around become coming out as gay and then also uh being who you are. And I think that was a big thing for me where I felt more masculine and seeing that show and the way that she was represented and the way that she acted and held herself really had an impact on me.

[00:02:49]>> I used to prefer online spaces because I was not fully comfortable in myself when I was younger. So it was so easy to form a community online. But now it's I like meeting people in reality. Being in like a rural area growing up, I think online is kind of essential because otherwise you just don't have those kind of that kind of community in those kind of spaces. I feel like if you grew up on the on the internet and you're like in fandom spaces, it was kind of hard not to find other queer people. I really love online spaces. I think they're really important. But I think physical spaces for me, I just love I love talking to people. I love meeting new people. I love hearing about um about their lives and stuff. So, I think physical lesbian spaces are so important because it's great to just be able to meet people that are like you in some way and you already have something in common. So, it's easier to start a conversation.

[00:03:51]>> Um there wasn't really any physical spaces like when I was younger, but now that I'm in Glasgow, there's like so many things that there's stuff all the time. you see like loads of posters advertising like film nights and like craft events and stuff like that. So yeah, it's it's really great. I didn't have any queer friends and then I moved and I do think at a certain age que people kind of seek each other out almost. So, I found a really lovely group of friends who were all pretty much all queer when we first all came to uni. And it it is quite a daunting thing, you know, moving out and meeting loads of new people all at once. But I just remember one person had mentioned that they're gay and then another person mentioned that they're gay and it actually turned out that the majority of us were gay. And that was a very nice feeling just to feel like you're kind of surrounded by people that are like you um without having to find those people.

[00:04:44]It just kind of came very naturally which was very nice. I think it's lovely to live like an identity that feels so connected to everyone else that's identified that way. Like lesbianism is so funny to me because that's like what other identity has the suffix that's like a practice or like uh a system to be part of like a system and every like person that came before. So that's why I really love looking at these archives.

[00:05:09]I'm really into the archival material because it's just like it really feels like you're a part of something like you found belonging in that which is really nice which then led to this project which is wired different. It's really it sort of explores the digital space and the physical space. It's looking at found family and digital connections and healing wounds of um rejection in communities. that feeling of being trapped in a small community. Um, shame, loneliness, like I'm sort of trying to like flow through that feeling of being from one place and moving to another and how that has been put in the context of learning about queer history, looking at like archives and people that have come before and things like that. Finding lesbian community is not that hard in like an art school [laughter] to be fair. you have like a magnet and you're just like gravitating towards any lesbian in like a five mile radius. Um, which is then really nice because we all get together and go to the pub which is lovely. Just being in a group going to anything like with other lesbians feels supportive in itself just as it is because it's like nothing needs to be explained. Everyone just sort of is and that's really nice. I play rugby so uh although it's not a direct queer relation um everybody there is gay so um that definitely helped me. I also joined a a queer baseball team which was really cool. Everyone was very queer. It was very cool. It was very fun. It was just a very chilled out but you can if you look up anywhere there's probably even a hobby that you could join.

[00:06:46]>> I think Edinburgh and Glasgow there is a lot. There's queer cafes. There's there's a lot of things where people can go. I've not explored them hugely, but I see lots of things around all the time.

[00:06:57]And then, of course, we've got Subway and stuff like that, and I think they're really beneficial to the queer community. And I do see in Edinburgh a huge change from where I grew up.

[00:07:08]There's definitely like places that a lot of queer people gravitate to. I think like Subway, like the um the nightclubs quite good for that. They have like a drag show and then it just kind of I don't know all the gay people in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas just kind of gravitate to that one Monday night. Um I think it's the best night out as well. It's good fun. It's very safe and it feels very accepting and diverse and everyone's just >> going out with straight friends to clubs like why not. I think there's a slight unawareness of how uncomfortable queer people can feel in those spaces. Not exactly cuz anything's happening, but it's just you can kind of sense a judgment and there's a like hetronormative in those kind of places that I think sort of those clubs where they may be seen as the the more intense nightclubs can be very uncomfortable I think for a lot of queer people. And I think that's a shame cuz like Subway are good clubs but I would say it's a different atmosphere. We've still got a way to go, you know, like we've got the Edinburgh Dyke Bar, which is amazing and it's great, but I would love more like sober spaces and more ways to just kind of meet other lesbians in a context that that doesn't feel scary cuz, you know, like I I find it hard to go up and approach people and stuff. So, I think more spaces that encourage kind of community building and um getting to know people and stuff. Like me and Aster went on a night out.

[00:08:40]>> I think it was me and Mormon's like it was our I think it was our second date >> and we we met Ara and Ara's friends were like matchmaking the whole night. No, I definitely do feel like a pimp sometimes in queer spaces. Like I feel like I'm constantly trying to match people and they just like trying to find I guess other lesbians like and like set them into relationships. I'm like, if one person will say to me, "Oh, like I'm looking for I'm looking for maybe to find somebody tonight." I will always be like, "Okay, that's my job. I'm going to spin you into somebody." I mean, that's how I got together with my girlfriend was that we went on a night out together and they were like, "Oh, why don't you two just go get together?" It I guess that's just a weird a weird way that community can kind of help everyone out.

[00:09:29]I guess >> I feel like all lesbians know each other through other lesbians. It's like a weird kind of interlin web of us all.

[00:09:37]Um, I think lesbians tend to like stay friends with their exes and stuff as well. So, the chances are if you date someone new or you're friends with someone new, they still know a lot of other queer women and you tend to get to know them as well, which I think is quite nice. It has its pros and cons, but I think it's quite a nice way to meet other people in the community and feel like you're not alone. like it's good for, you know, making new friends and stuff that share the same kind of stories as you.

[00:10:07]>> Should I just go through this one as well?

[00:10:08]>> Yeah, of course. Yeah.

[00:10:09]>> Okay. This was inspired again by just sort of trying to understand better what it is that it means to exist as myself and what it means to live within this identity. These are some bodies printed on top of each other that almost distorted to like point where you can't tell what it is, which was sort of interesting to me as well. I really liked like how far can you push it before you can't tell what it is you're looking at? And that's sort of like reminiscent of like moving through who you are and like what is it that I look like now? What is it I look like before?

[00:10:46]And do people perceive me different? And you know, when you have these like short-lived experiences with another woman, like what do they think of you?

[00:10:55]So I wanted to think again about more of my experiences and I was like what something that still like captures me off guard. Like a lot of myself I'm very completely okay with. Like I I feel like I'm quite open about my vulnerabilities in that way. Um but something that still manages to like shock me a little bit is if someone walks past with like the perfume of someone that I I've loved before or like I've known before in a different way and don't know anymore. So this sort of is supposed to be quite a vulnerable pose. um slightly like turned away.

[00:11:30]Shameful. But these are the lines I was talking about earlier with a much softer glow. It's not finished. It's it's still in the process. But here, this like almost crown sort of thing was made with that brushing technique. And then these faint figures that you can sort of make out. There's a arm and a and a body and over here. The only other thing is I'm now trying to do more of like a textiles um approach to all of this. Um this is like with the wet background. And the idea is that in this whole web of gay people um these are the ones that you that mean something to you that you you know you might add a bead for everyone that um connects and things like that.

[00:12:17]So, I've created a lesbian map inspired by the L- Word um of like how all the lesbians are connected in Glasgow and Edinburgh, like Scotland. And I mean, every like there's occasionally people from all around the world cuz everyone's connected. So, I've got like seven different lines on the map. So, I've got um friends, exfriend friends, um like situationship slashdate slash kind of anything that's like more than the other lines or less than a relationship. I've got exes, current relationships, and then like kissed or slept with. It could be something that in the future that I would make public, but I don't think the map probably could bring up quite a lot of drama. I think that it would definitely be like a lot of asking other people for permission. I think it's definitely helped like me meet people because like they know who I am automatically. I don't know whether that's a good thing or it's like kind of scary because I'm like oh what do you know about me? But like I think it's been really good for making connections with people like that.

[00:13:17]>> I really hope that future generations have more spaces. Like I think I'm sure like in the rest of the world maybe in like more populated places they do have that but in Scotland we don't really have any kind of lesbian or safic specific places. Um I think that would be really nice to see. [music] You know the Edinburgh D bar that started what like a year and a half ago, two years ago I I don't really know but it was quite recent like I cuz I went to the very first one that they did and I feel like that's done really well. So, I'm hoping that people see that and go, "Oh, [snorts] things like that can be successful.

[00:13:54]Let's do more of it." I really hope that there is like a a lesbian bar somewhere.

[00:13:59]Because like we're kind of lacking in the amount of group space, especially in Edinburgh. Like there's not really any like good queer nights like other than Subway on a Monday. Like there's not there's not a ton of like things that you can go to. Um ideally we have like a permanent lesbian bar in Edinburgh.

[00:14:16]That'd be amazing. That's the dream.

[00:14:18]>> The opportunity for um lesbian communities is that they're more accessible and they're more open like they're like just pushed out there for anyone to find and people aren't so scared to be part of them. There's obviously beautiful beautiful communities and societies in Aberdine and in Glasgow and Edinburgh and everything, but I think cross community support is something that really needs to like [music] start happening more.

[00:14:48]It's not it's not something I'm seeing enough of, which I think um would be lovely.

[00:14:53]>> Um this this is like nice to know that there's a documentary being made about [music] lesbians and women. I think it's really nice to know that people actually care about, you know, spaces that we don't really have at the minute and trying to make it more available and more accessible and I don't know, just like shed light that we're here and it's, you know, it's good.