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She added, This was what was missing on the set: lesbians.
In 2018, Desiree Akhavan shot a very different lesbian sex scene.
The camera focuses on the girls nervous, thrilled faces, rather than panning breathlessly down their bodies.
And I think you’re able to feel that in the scenes!
Theres an intimacy and a sweetness to them.
Because there wasnt so much thought around it.
Gay sex is really exciting as a creator because youre just like, Oh!
Theres so much that hasnt been explored.
Think about all the stupid straight sex we had to sit through our entire lives.
I also went to a sex worker whose dog wouldnt get off the bed.
I was like, Okay.
We are just sharing this room with your dog and loving life!
It is kind of autobiographical in that way.
My director Anna Dokoza and I talked a lot about the scene and what we wanted it to be.
The filming itself was such a beautiful thing.
Brian Jordan Alvarez is an amazing performer, and so generous.
Hes like a unicorn.
We didnt really have time to rehearse it.
I think that actually kinda helped.
But I truly think, watching it now, it plays like a documentary.
Its a crown jewel of the show for me.
The reception has been crazy fucking positive.
I think that were really ready, as a culture, for the conversation about disabilities to begin.
Why are there only a few shows about disabled people for a population whereone in four peopleidentify as disabled?
Thats insane to me.
But dont get it twisted: There is so much homophobia in Hollywood.
I think Im the exception to the rule.
Coley then tops Cameron, who climaxes just as her boyfriend opens the car door.
Its super difficult to get two women onscreen together.
But think about how many times youve seen some girl on her knees sucking dick.
Think about Jason Biggs fucking a pie!
The scene in the back of the car inCameron Postwas my first real triumph on that shoot.
We had overwritten the script.
But this scene was written really simply.
Coleys driving this in some way.
I got this feeling that day that Chloe didnt want to be backseat driven that she had come prepared.
I instantly told my AD, I want everyone gone.
I want only Ashley Connor, our DP, in the front seat with the camera.
Im not going to watch it.
I hid everybody in the school, including myself.
I remember my first AD said, Okay … but thats not what I would do.
But I remember thinking, Just trust me.
And they were both really eager and excited to do that.
The first take was perfect.
Thats what you see onscreen.
I remember at the monitor and this doesnt happen very often we all collectively had chills.
Its rare and its special when that happens.
There are no rules.
You make it up as you go.
Before Stan enters Angel, the camera pans to the window.
A lot of trans women were worried that there was going to be violence toward Angel onPose.
Because thats often what happens in real life, and what we see onscreen.
But the Angel-and-Stan storyline was conceived as a love story.
I dont want our love to be questioned.
Our love is our love, and I dont feel like I have to defend it.
I want to normalize the experience of a cis person being with a trans person.
We felt, as storytellers, an immense responsibility to make it as nuanced as possible.
Thats the reason why you see Stan grab a condom, and put the condom on.
We knew that we were sending a message out to our audience: safety matters and safetys first.
But we also wanted the scene to be loving, to show the connection between these two characters.
Even thoughPoseairs on FX, we seePoseas a family drama.
And when it comes to any sex scene, everything has to be earned.
Theres already so much focus on trans bodies.
Thats really nobodys business.
And as a couple, Stan and Angel dont have a hang-up at all about it.
So if you as an individual still have a hang-up about it, then thats on you.
Emma is into it until she suddenly stops Cruz, laughing, and says, I lost it!
Cruz puts the vibrator down and goes down on Emma until she climaxes.
This scene was a much-discussed moment in the room.
Its quicker, cleaner, and safer than cleaning your vibrators.
But that caused a dilemma in the room!
So they were aghast.
They were like, Wait a minute!
Are you with a new partner?
you oughta get a new vibrator!
But if you dont wash it well enough, you could still get an infection, because its porous.
It was a funny discussion for such a small moment.
And Im like, Yeah, because I use a condom!
Its also the first time we see Emma being a little bit vulnerable.
I love the part where Emma says, I lost it.
Women know what that means, because coming is not always like, Oh my God!
Usually, when women come onscreen, its so easy and fast.
But here, its like, Nope, even this amazing apparatus is not doing it.
At one point, Emma goes, Too much, too much!
And women know what that means, too: Let it sit for a little.
Maybe try another place.
I wanted to show that its okay to give instructions to your lover.
So with this tiny moment, we say so many things, and I love that.
Then we do a very thorough contract, where we all discuss the movements, the nudity, everything.
Theyre safe and we can pivot.
This scene was done in parts, because it was so technical.
There was a cinematographer on the bed shooting, standing over the actors.
The way we shot this particular scene, it makes you feel really inside their world.
They wake up surrounded by petticoats, with Emilys poetry about Susan overlaid onto the scene.
Ive been telling love stories between women for 30 years now, on stage and on film.
Ive spent a lot of time thinking about sex onscreen.
I want to see her go down on her.
Im really more interested in what happens to two peopleafterthey sleep together thats why sex is important to people.
Its how it changes you.
Look, this was Emily Dickinson.
This is someone who works in metaphor and thats how film can work.
She wrote, I taste a liquor never brewed; she didnt write anything overtly sexual.
Whats more interesting is the poetry that she made out of the sex that she had.
Ive always said: My goal is always to make homoerotic entertainment for the whole family.
My dream as a filmmaker would be to make a rated-G lesbian movie.
I wish that I could have seen a movie like that when I was growing up.
We havent seen a cartoon feature film where a same-sex relationship happens.
Kids, at a very young age, start projecting themselves into these narratives.
Paul then enters Wye from behind before the camera cuts to a shot of Wye on top.
The scene ends as both fall asleep.
In the script, the scene was an outline, a container to be filled.
The scene really took form with Leyna, and I think thats a testament to her.
Throughout the whole project, I kept asking, Is this something you would do in real life?
Does this feel natural to you?
The goal was not to represent all trans experiences thats impossible.
But we wanted to represent one persons experience, and potentially create a conversation about it.
