Davonee Sou has been rockin the media industry for some time as a film and television feature, ranging from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Bring It On. We know Davonee best however, as herself in the LOGO reality web series Gimme Sugar. She gets our pick for being one of the few gender non-conforming Southeast Asian lesbians out there. A refugee from Laos, she packs big character in her small frame. Throughout Seasons 1 & 2 of Gimme Sugar we witness Davonee get into trouble quite a few times with the girlfriend and close friends for her bad behavior and big mouth. What we heard loud and clear though – Davonee is all about the ladies. So even if her personality can come off as a bit abrasive at times, we can’t help but love another lesbeasian.
Li Ming is an orphan who has been selected to become an apprentice of a prominent botanist. During her time studying she finds herself attracted to the botanist’s daughter, An. Her attraction is reciprocated and the two women’s friendship turns into a passionate romance. What we love about Ming is how her level of confidence developed alongside her relationship with An. The famous botanist was a dominating and verbally abusive father and teacher. We found ourselves cheering out loud during the scenes where Ming stood up to him in defense of An, putting the botanist in his place. We give you props for standing by your love in spite of all the forces working against you.
Honestly, we were initially hesitant to watch I Can’t Think Straight because of the high femme appearance of both characters on the movie cover. We took a chance and were pleasantly surprised at not only the content of the movie, but especially with one of the main characters, Leyla. She falls in love with Tala, a woman from Jordan who is engaged and soon to be wed in a heterosexual marriage. Although Tala was presented as more steadfast in her radical values in the beginning of the movie, as the storyline progressed Leyla surpasses Tala in her self-awareness and politics. Without spoiling the ending for those that haven’t seen the film, we can say that we love Leyla for challenging Tala to come to terms with her full self.
We still can’t get over Emily Tay, Harvard basketball player turned professional out lesbian player in Germany. We became her admirers after No Look Pass, a documentary about her life as a Burmese immigrant navigating the complexities of her identity as an immigrant lesbian in a male-dominated sport. There aren’t many representations of sporty Asian women in media, and nil in regards to a lesbeasian before Emily came into the scene. Thank goodness for women like her to represent. Yeah she cool. We cool.
If you are an Asian lesbian in the US, you most likely have watched or heard about the movie Saving Face. In our opinion all the hype is well deserved. Both of the main characters are likeable, with Wil being the awkward closeted lesbeasian, and our top pick Vivian being the more aggressive lesbo comfortable in her own sexuality. We couldn’t help but empathize/sympathize with Vivian, as she patiently loved Wil without compromising herself through Wil’s coming out process. We love a romantic that goes after who she wants!
With our recent movie review fresh in mind, we couldn’t pass up Kim from the first lesbian Thai film Yes or No. She is considered a “Tom”, a gender non-conforming or more masculine presenting woman who goes to college and becomes roommates with a femme “Dee” named Pie. Thank you Kim for showing us that a woman does not have to wear a dress and high heels to be comfortable with femininity and emotions. Kim was a hopeless romantic, who put it all out there despite her love interest being behind in the game and initially oppositional. College dykes are hot : )
This list is in NO way exhaustive. There are a lot of other shows and movies we haven't watched yet, but we are sure that they feature some awesome lesbeasians. Who are your favorites?
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