What It Feels Like For A Girl : a new queer coming of age story from BBC TV

From its very concept, UK broadcasting has always been subject to political and legal control and at the BBC’s birth over some 100 years ago it was considered a cornerstone of the Establishment.  Run by a higher echelon of upper-middle-class men with perfect pedigrees and the most proper English accents who knew what was best for us all..  This was derided by critics as the “Auntie knows best” syndrome, and for those early decades, the BBC was affectionately known as Auntie 

They had the airwaves in the UK to themselves until 1955, they were license-funded and politically neutral, until the Government finally allowed the formation of new TV channels run by commercial broadcasters.  It would take them another 18 years to break the BBC’s monopoly on the radio …… we can never be accused of rushing things in the UK.

Homosexuality was not legalized until 1969 (some 7 years behind the first US State), but as we look back to these early days, we are surpised that it wasnt just the new Commercial channels now trying to provide quality queer programming but the BBC sans Auntie.  Their ability to lead from the front and earned them both the respect and loyalty of the community, and naturally, a very (un) healthy backlash from the great British public. Kudos for them for continuing to develop programming about and for our community.

It’s a subject that is at the front of our minds as the US administration are working away at whitewashing us from our place in history, and trying to ensure then the LGBTQA+ community has no future.  The  new BBC TV program that has grabbed our attention is its much-anticipated queer coming-of-age drama What it Feels LIke  For A Girl Based on the acclaimed memoir by writer and journalist Paris Lees, the eight-episode series offers a raw and colorful glimpse into early 2000s queer youth culture in the UK

At the heart of the story is Byron, played by Ellis Howard, a teenager aching to escape the suffocating grip of a small post-industrial town “that hasn’t been the same since the coal mine shut down in the ’80s.” Desperate to find meaning—and a way out—Byron dives head first into Nottingham’s underground queer nightlife, where things move fast, fierce, and fabulously out of control.

The BBC told QUEERGURU that the series promises “a rollercoaster ride of hedonism” with strong themes of escapism, identity, and emotional survival—delivered through equal parts glitter, heartbreak, and wild abandon.

What It Feels Like For a Girl premieres all eight episodes on BBC iPlayer on June 3 (which can be accessd globally via a VPN).  Whether you lived through the Y2K era or just want to dance like no one’s watching, this is one ride you won’t want to miss.