DIVA caught up with one of the contestants on BBC Three’s groundbreaking new sapphic show
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY BBC THREE
This weekend we were blessed with even more sapphic content on BBC Three’s new show I Kissed A Girl, including some more hilarious moments from fan-favourite Amy. Known for her humour and those iconic boots, Amy has been providing us with some much-needed femme-for-femme representation in the Masseria.
Hosted by none other than Dannii Minogue, I Kissed A Girl has seen a whole bunch of sapphic singles enter the Italian Masseria in the hopes of finding love. Amy was initially paired up with Meg, and while their flame was dampened pretty quickly, Amy has been looking for love elsewhere…
DIVA caught up with Amy to find out more about her time on the show.
Firstly, we love I Kissed A Girl! Why did you want to sign up?
For me, I signed up because both my sisters are queer. Growing up, despite not knowing any of us were gay, we were all watching the same programmes like Glee or Pretty Little Liars looking for sapphic representation. We’d watch the whole series begging for a drop. When the opportunity came up to be able to go on a show which is solely about sapphic girlies and queer women who love women, I decided I wanted to do it for younger me and my sisters.
From the beginning of the show, you spoke a lot about being femme-for-femme, which we don’t see that much in mainstream television. Why is this representation so important?
We don’t see much femme-for-femme representation in the media. It’s all about normalisation and making it known that lesbians look like a wide variety of different people. It’s not just this box that we’ve been put into. With the femme-for-femme image we have, it’s generally over-sexualised because of porn. I want to take us femme girlies out of that over-sexualisation box. We just want to be loved!
When you got the call saying you were going into the Masseria, what was going through your mind?
I was like: “God, I need to get ordering clothes!” It was so exciting. I was jumping for joy.
When you walked up for that first kiss, what was going through your head?
I was just thinking “Left, right, left, right”. I didn’t want to fall into the pool! I was so nervous that she wasn’t going to fancy me. As soon as Meg cracked a smile, I was like “Jesus, she is so gorg”.
What do you think you learnt about yourself in the Masseria?
What I learnt about myself was very much that “masc” and “femme” don’t really exist. It’s a binary that’s just placed on looks. I stopped putting myself in this box of only liking femmes. I went in with some naivety about what my type is.
How do you think the experience changed you?
The experience really broadened my horizons. I’ve met these people who are from completely different walks of life from me. It was also so special to see all of their queer journeys. To just understand those experiences has really changed my perspective of queerness in my own journey.
If you feel comfortable, could you tell us about your own coming-out journey?
The main takeaway I had from the show was really healing this inner child. It makes me emotional even talking about it. At school, I really struggled with my sexuality and accepting myself. I didn’t see gay women on television, it was just droplets in a vast ocean of heteronormative media. Just reflecting on how far I’ve come – like I went on national TV screaming about how I’m a bloody dyke! That is a jump from someone who was so scared, who was following the norm, and who was dating boys because she thought that was what she should do. I used to cry at parties because I was so overwhelmed by the fact that no one around me knew who I truly was.
What do you hope audiences take from watching this?
I hope they take community and this sense of love. I am so proud to be proud. I love being a lesbian. I hope that this show helps kids to see themselves on the TV. There’s going to be someone they can relate to. I hope it makes them so proud of who they are.
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