Instagram's betteportergallery Has the Goss
An Interview with Liza Dye
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Instagram is full of lesbian or sapphic meme and comedy accounts today, many of which make jokes out of common lesbian experiences or stereotypes, comment on contemporary queer film or television, or just generally joke about the mortifying experience of being alive. One of my favorite of these accounts is betteportergallery, whose Instagram bio reads “CELESBIAN TMZ.” The account is run by Liza Dye, who is also a comedian and TV writer when she’s not posting about the amusing antics of famous sapphics online.
As I told Liza, I often think of betteportergallery as one of the premier purveyors of celesbian gossip, (you might have seen me reference her investigative work in several editions of my dispatch from the lesbian internet), and her account is the perfect combination of niche and mainstream, often diving into the activities of whichever celebrities she finds most fascinating. (A couple of weeks ago she went deep trying to find a picture of Elvira’s newly-announced girlfriend – the pictures she posted went up before the widely circulated Advocate photo was released). I spoke with Liza about gossip, lesbian humor, and, of course, The L Word. Check out our conversation below.
First, what I'm interested to know is why did you start the betteportergallery Instagram account? What was the initial idea behind it?
I think I spoke a bit about this on my episode of the 'Dyking Out' podcast... When I was at university circa 2010, I became completely infatuated with Amber Heard and her long-time girlfriend at the time; artist Tasya van Ree. Amber was like the first 'A-list', out, femme celebrity that I had ever seen in modern times (that was also young, relevant, and hot) and I was completely blown away by it.
Her and Tasya would be styled so incredibly whenever Amber would attend Tasya's art exhibit receptions and when Tasya would attend Amber's movie premieres and everything else in between— overpriced LA health food store runs, shopping trips at The Grove, pre-revolution women’s marches, etc.
(Something I feel necessary to point out here is that I was consuming this A-list wlw relationship and The L Word for the first time simultaneously. This led me to develop a theory that the Niki Stevens / Kate French character that is introduced in Season 5 of TLW was based on Amber Heard… just a theory! ;-)
However, things got really out of control for me once The Real L Word came along (specifically Season 2). I became enamored with Claire Moseley — it wasn't so much her but more so her style and look and what she was doing (rebranding 'lesbian fashion'). I started a Tumblr called 'Fuck Yeah Claire Moseley' to document the looks and wardrobe that her fashion designer / stylist gf at the time Vivian Wu was putting together for her.
After that reached its peak, I realized that I needed to carve out a separate space for that obsession so that it wouldn’t overpower or overshadow my own personal online presence as an actor and performer. So that was the initial idea— just a (safe) cyber space for me to stan these random sort of semi-famous (out) queer women.
However, the space has now evolved into a sort of ‘TMZ’ providing breaking ‘celesbian’ news or just general coverage of celesbian popular culture that does not diminish it to ‘gal pals’ and that sort of dismissive energy that mainstream media typically applies to wlw relationships.
My hope for everyone that follows the account is to bring + provide modern queer women with some sort of joy, no matter how silly. A comical, light-hearted escape from the apocalypse. I also want the culture to praise, appreciate and acknowledge all of the famous queer women that have actually had the courage and ability to even be out, as opposed to wishing and hoping that other celebrities MIGHT be queer (cough cough Bree Larson, Rachel Weisz, etc.)
I think of you kind of as one of the premier purveyors of celesbian gossip (and great memes). Where do you get all of this info from?
Thank you so much for this kind compliment and title? The asshole Capricorn response to that is simply: The Internet. I use a combination of social media, photographs, articles, interviews, media, and first-hand encounters. Everything really is usually right there in the open— you just have to know how to read between the lines and know what to look for. Body language is always a big and classic indicator of the energy between two women that may be involved with each other romantically, etc.
Do you think there are any characteristics that are unique to lesbian gossip specifically? Is lesbian gossip juicier, or do we just love drama?
That's an interesting question... I'm sure there are. 'Dyke Drama' was a popular phrase when I first got into the game; I don't hear that too often these days with Gen Z kids and I don't think it was strong enough for Millennials to carry it on. (R.I.P. to Dyke Drama). If there's a woman that the masses tend to feel may be queer or romantically involved with other women but they aren't out or have never admitted it publicly, I think a typical characteristic there is for them to deny it every chance they get. i.e. Kendall Jenner saying she "doesn't have a gay bone in her body". Or like how Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss were closer than webbed toes at one point in time, but now they act like they don't even know each other — that could be considered very characteristic of a past romantic relationship between two women, stuff like that.
I know you’re also a comedian and TV writer. Do you think there’s such a thing as lesbian humor? Is it different than gay humor?
Also another great question. Thanks for giving me such an original, refreshing interview :)
I mean, each social group has their own sort of brand of comedy or things they find funny. I'm a big Tyler Perry fan and when I first moved to Brooklyn after college, I quickly discovered that Black Brooklyn intellectuals do not like Tyler Perry. To them, he is seen as very low brow or slapstick, meanwhile (most) Southern Black folks absolutely adore him. There is a huge, stark difference between American Southern humor and 'major city' humor, and even more so once you add all the different racial groups. So I suppose the answer is yes, there is such a thing as lesbian humor. It's referenced A LOT in the original L Word series (jokes like 'liquor in the front, poker in the rear' or the timeless U-Haul theory). I do think there is a difference between lesbian and gay humor. Lesbian humor tends to be a few layers deep, below typical surface-level ‘Gay humor’, or at least that's just my interpretation of it ;-)
Also, all of the lesbian-themed comedy shows that I've ever performed for have always been my best shows. Queer crowds are just incredible; the energy is unmatched.
Your Instagram handle references the eternal Bette Porter, a beloved character from The L Word. What is your relationship with The L Word (and/or Bette Porter) like? What other lesbian or queer media has been important to you in your life?
The easiest way to answer that is this video [below] — Bette Porter is my Capricorn mother and I am her Capricorn daughter. As far as other queer media is concerned; the 1998 HBO film Gia shook me to my core as a youth. I own two copies of the DVD (and a digital version on my iPad and mobile devices in case of an emergency). Also, the printed fashion editorial zine Hommegirls has secured a permanent spot in my modern existence (to circle back around, it sort of feels like what Claire Moseley was trying to do with Dirty Boudoir back in 2011). And last but not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention Autostraddle; having access to that website in high school and college was so crucial for me.
Are there any projects you are or have worked on that that you want to give a shout-out to? Anything else you want to promote?
Please watch Q-Force on Netflix!!! (I wrote episode 8 and my voice can also be heard in Episode 2 at Deb’s BBQ as well as a few other little gems here and there ;-) You can also hear + see some of my work in the new Tina Fey series ‘Girls5Eva’ on Peacock! I’m not credited, but I wrote the Kid Cudi joke in Episode 2! God is so good!