Random thoughts on #BerenaDeservedBetter and the confusion at how a beautiful and rare fictional flowering was allowed to become the toxic shambles that BBC Holby City decided to unceremoniously dump on us – and then refuse to discuss with us.
#BerenaDeservedBetter
The miseducation of Catherine Russell
(Guest post by Payal Dhar) Never—all right, rarely—has an actor divided a fandom the way that Catherine Russell split the Berenas following the infamous December 2018 episodes. The dedicated fans who won’t hear a word against her have squared up on one side, and on the other are the equally dedicated but disillusioned former fans. […]
Hard truths
River took some time away from the campaign to reflect on what this experience has taught her so far. Here’s what she’s learned When the cheating storyline aired in November/December and Berena broke up, I was devastated. It was an emotionally calamitous time for me. I was furious at yet another stereotypical, derogatory portrayal of […]
But they didn’t kill any lesbians!
Yesterday morning I woke up to a Twitter storm. Since December 2018, that’s been par for the course—someone associated with Holby City makes an ill-judged comment and the fandom rises up. This time, however, it was different. DIVA, the British magazine dedicated to LBT culture, seemed to be somehow involved in it. Someone I’d met […]
I Hope[d] So: Splitting with Berena
By Fronia Rose Knott (@beforedesire) Content warning: mention of suicidal thoughts I have debated a long time about what to write about this topic. It’s something that has profoundly affected me, and I haven’t had the easiest time articulating why it’s been so difficult. I applaud all of the women who have stepped forward and […]
Happy endings
In the past few months, women loving women (wlw) storylines in popular television and movies have seemingly sent a message to lesbians (and bisexual women) to go back into the closet. First, Holby City’s rather cruel and hateful ending of the love affair between Serena Campbell and Bernie Wolfe, one of the most beautiful relationships on […]