Lizzy’s lament

September 15, 2008 - 8:00 PM by Harry

Touted as “The first animated lesbian stand-up comedy web series,” Lizzy the Lezzy has been purveying no-nonsense, low-key, yet distinctively adult humor on the Web for about two years now, drawing nearly 2 million views. Simple drawings on blank backgrounds feature the title character riffing for two minutes at a time on coming out of the closet, the nuisances of dealing with homophobes and her first kiss.

England’s 24th most subscribed comedy-themed YouTube account is actually the brainchild of Tel Aviv resident Ruth Selwyn, an animator, filmmaker and Web designer who moved there from Birmingham 16 years ago. Although the animated persona is officially wholly British, she doesn’t hide her affinities for Israel. She has waxed poetic on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and her report entitled Lizzy the Lezzy Does Gay Israel screened at the opening night of Tel Aviv’s International LGBT Film Festival this past June.

Selwyn recently told Haaretz that the idea for Lizzy came when she was in a career lull and noticed a lack of quality gay-themed mainstream entertainment:

“Even the films aren’t good films. I’d rather watch Men in Black or Die Hard,” she laughs. “I just felt there was some kind of hole somewhere and because I do animation, that was the most logical step.” She looked for “lesbian animation” on Google, but found nothing. Lizzy was born.

Up next for Lizzy:

Selwyn is currently writing a pilot for an animated sitcom that she will try to sell to American or British TV networks.

….On the silver screen, Lizzy the Lezzy will of course not be alone, but joined by Gary the Gay, Kate the Straight, Danny the Tranny, Spike the Dyke, Stan the Macho Man, Sid the Yid and “the whole mishpoche.” And, because there are also Palestinian gays, as Selwyn points out, the cast also includes Samir the Queer. Now that’s entertainment for the whole family.

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