Captaining Your Ship 201: The Master Class
This week, we’re thrilled to have our first guest post, written by Karen Frost. As content contributors move on from sites who no longer represent the majority of LGBTQ+ individuals, we’re glad to offer a place for writers to call home.
In late 2017, I wrote an article for AfterEllen called “Captaining Your Ship 101: A Guide for Actresses.” The article was intended to act as an easily accessible “how to” for actresses taking on or already in a queer role who wanted to maximize their engagement with their queer fans. The article offered six suggestions:
- Research the queer community.
- Encourage your “shippers.”
- Find ways to thank your fans.
- Share some of your life as a way to connect with fans.
- Find out who your fans are and set up ways to engage with them.
- Find a role model, then become a role model.
For each category, the article provided examples of actions that other actresses in queer roles have taken, including the actresses behind WayHaught, Teriah, Brittana, Clexa, Sanvers, Paily, Shoot, Pristina, Hollstein and Jemma. Since the publication of that article (in part as a result of the evolution of cast-fan engagement on social media but even more so as a result of their specific personalities), several actresses have taken captaining to new and extraordinary heights. The fandom game is changing. The future is a lot more immersive and collaborative than ever before, and these are the tips of the spear.
Want to learn from the best? Welcome to “Captaining Your Ship 201: The Master Class.”
#1: Research the queer community: Bhavna Limbachia (“Coronation Street”)
Traditionally, heterosexual actresses have approached taking queer roles with a similar mentality, which generally boils down to: why do research about the LGBT community and the queer experience when we’re all just humans, deep down? Thus it was refreshing that British actress Limbachia dug deeper when the “Corrie” producers told her that her character Rana would be embarking on a queer storyline. As Limbachia told British press, “I thought, ‘I’m straight, so how do I approach this?’ So I went off and did some research…I found some organisations and there’s one story in particular that stood out for me…I went further into looking into the LGBT community and how it affects them and I realised that in the young LGBT community there’s 52 per cent — that’s over half of the LGBT community — who have resorted to self-harm. And there’s 44 per cent who have even considered suicide.”
As part of her research, Limbachia talked to young Pakistani lesbians to learn about their lives, and worked closely with the Naz and Matt Foundation to understand how homophobia in religious communities affects the mental health of LGBT individuals and can lead to suicide. Since first starting her journey of discovery approximately two years ago, Limbachia has become a recognized patron of the Naz and Matt Foundation and an ally to the LGBT community — even appearing on BBC Breakfast with Matt Mahmood-Ogston to talk about homophobia and the responsibility she felt to the storyline — and regularly tweets supportive messages about the foundation and gay rights.
Researching a queer role is more than understanding a character’s backstory. It’s finding out the backstory of the entire queer community. Ultimately, the two things are one and the same.
#2: Encourage your “shippers”: Macarena Achaga and Bárbara López (“Amar a Muerte”)
Who chose the shipper name “Juliantina”? The actresses themselves! Achaga explained during a radio interview that before the coupling of Juliana and Valentina was revealed to viewers as a couple, Achaga and López had already chosen Juliantina as their portmanteau and begun hashtagging Instagram photos with it. When it comes to Juliantina, these actresses are some of the pairing’s biggest fans. Like most Millenials, Achaga and López are both super active on social media, and they use that activity to engage with their fans on a regular basis. They consistently tweet to the #Juliantinas, reminisce about Juliantina, and post throwback videos of themselves on set. Additionally, both actresses are all over each other’s social media talking about Juliantina and about each other. Now that “Amar a Muerte” is no longer on air, their postings let fans know the actresses still value the roles and the positive impact of those roles, each other’s friendship, and their fans. Juliantina might be over on screen (for now?), but parts of it live on in the social media of Achaga and López, much to the delight of fans.
The two’s enthusiasm has been met tenfold by Juliantina fans, who have, among other things, launched massive hashtag campaigns to continually bump up Juliantina’s visibility globally. For example, on 8 April #JuliantinaEnMTVMiaw trended internationally on Twitter as fans asked the MTV Millenial Awards for Latin America to invite Achaga and López to the ceremony. In March, fans raised over $3,000 to run three Juliantina billboards in Times Square, one of which Achaga was able to see with a group of fans. Fans even have a petition for a Juliantina spin-off with over 58,000 signatures. When it came time for voting for the TVyNovelas Awards, the Mexican Emmys, Juliantina fans engaged in a committed campaign across Twitter and Tumblr that won López “Best Young Lead Actress” and Achaga “Best Co-lead Actress.” Not every fandom is this committed, and it’s got a lot to do with the support of the actresses for their “ship” and for their fans.
Encouraging fandom shipping on social media is one of the easiest, least time intensive activities that an actress can undertake. A tweet every few days takes mere seconds and can have benefits in orders of magnitude. On the flip side, neglecting to encourage shipping can undercut the popularity of a pairing. One of the factors that distinguishes good pairings from beloved pairings is how involved the actresses are in championing their couple. It’s the “special sauce” that elevates the fan experience to the next level.
3: Find ways to thank your fans: Crystal Chappell (“Venice: The Series” and others)
When “Guiding Light” chickened out on showing real intimacy and a relationship between Olivia and Natalie during the show’s final days in 2009, Chappell realized that there was a world of marginalized stories not being told, and she set out to tell them. First she created, wrote, directed, executive produced, and starred in the lesbian webseries “Venice: The Series” (2009-). Then she played lesbian Danielle Spencer on “The Bold and the Beautiful” (2012–2013). She created, executive produced, wrote and starred in the lesbian TV movie/pilot “The Grove” (2013); executive produced and starred in the lesbian-themed webseries “Beacon Hill” (2014); and finally produced and starred in the lesbian movie “A Million Happy Nows” (2017). But that’s not all. Chappell has given back extensively to the queer fandom, attending the last two Clexacons, fan luncheons, and donating to two tello Films productions. If that alone doesn’t scream “biggest ally ever,” in 2011 Chappell was named Ambassador for the Hetrick-Martin Institute (home of the Harvey Milk High School in New York City), and Chappell casually mentioned at Clexacon this year that she has spent $20k of her own money to finance each of the six seasons of “Venice: The Series.” Why does she do it? Because queer fans in 2009 sent letters that resonated with her and made her feel like they were asking her to do something as an activist and an ally. So she does it for them.
Acting is about emotional connection, but nowadays, fans want connection both with onscreen characters and the actresses who play them, off-screen. As actress Dot Marie Jones noted at ClexaCon this year: “I can be replaced by 5,000 women…If not for fans, none of us would have a job.” Or as actress Lucy Lawless put it, “If you stick with the fans, Dave Dobbyn taught me, they will stick with you. You would be nothing without your fans.” So let them know you appreciate them.
4: Share some of your life as a way to connect with fans: Everybody, basically
This section needs no additional explanation. With the rise of social media, everyone is on Twitter and Instagram. The point is, fans don’t want a bland social media page that offers little opportunity to engage. They want a conversation. They want to know who’s the personality behind their favorite character. So let them know.
5: Find out who your fans are and set up ways to engage with them: Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess” and others)
Gay men have Cher, queer women have Lucy Lawless. If “Xena: Warrior Princess” was basically the OG of queer female representation, then Lawless is the grand dame lesbian icon. Lawless knew early on that while queer women might not be 100% of Xena’s fanbase, they were a huge chunk of it. In 1997, she told a reporter that “more than any other, the women of the Meow Mix, and other gay bars around town, lesbian bars, are responsible almost single-handedly for making our show hip.” When asked the same year in Playboy interview about Xena’s fantasy vacation, she quipped, “a biennial sailing trip to Lesbos.” In 2008, Lawless took to the stage in a pair of leather chaps to sing songs from singers including Melissa Etheridge and Sophie B Hawkins. Heck, she even appeared in the final episode of “The L Word.” While these references to lesbian culture might seem obvious today, Lawless was learning about the queer female community before most of the straight world even knew who Sappho was.
Without listing the hundreds of things big and small that Lawless has done for the LGBT community, she also found dozens of ways to connect with her fans (gay and straight) over the last twenty years, including attending fan conventions, going to lesbian bars, performing concerts, and conducting live Facebook chats. While filming the show “Salem,” she would buy a few hundred dollars’ worth of beer and host parties with musicians and hundreds of locals that she called “Xenapalooza.” She even flew to LA to be at the deathbed of a Xena fan. Although she’s constantly globe trotting and saving the world from itself, she always makes time for the Xena Convention in Burbank, California.
Queer fans are not straight fans. As Jes Macallan of “Legends of Tomorrow” noted at Clexacon this year, queer fans come to actresses with stories to share about how characters and storylines have changed their lives. They are deeply emotional and deeply passionate in ways that transcend traditional viewership. They form connections with actresses. And like fans of all sexual orientations and stripes, they want to be seen and heard by the people they respect and adore. If you seek ways to recognize them as individuals vice an anonymous group labeled “fans,” you’ll reap serious emotional and professional dividends.
6: Find a role model, then become a role model.
When it comes to captaining ships, no one is better at it today than the cast and crew of “Wynonna Earp.” Hands down, no contest, this is the crème de la crème. They’ve been deeply versed in LGBT culture since the start of the show and can speak eloquently about queer tropes like Bury Your Gays. After three seasons of interacting with their proud, exuberant, outspoken fandom, they might even be able to write a doctoral dissertation on representation issues. On an almost hourly basis, the cast and crew encourage shippers on Twitter, uplifting the fans, supporting them, and giving back to them. Everyone involved with “Wynonna Earp” is humble, grateful, and constantly thanking the fans, every day, for their support.
In many ways, their lives have enmeshed with that of the fandom: they no longer share their lives with fans; their fans are part of their lives. They have broken the fourth wall that separates actors from viewers, and together have created a community: the Earpers. The cast and crew know individuals from the fandom. They talk on social media, they recognize each other at conventions, they hug, they laugh, and real bonds of affection are established. There is no doubt that the cast and crew know exactly who their Earpers are, and they are overjoyed by any opportunity to spend time with them — any time, any country, any city. “Wynonna Earp” has shifted the cast-fan paradigm forever.
There is a good lesson to be learned from the cast of “Wynonna Earp”: if you want a fandom that will follow you to the ends of the earth, look at what “Wynonna Earp” did and learn from it. Why reinvent the wheel if you have a blueprint?
