What Is Intimacy? With Erica Rose

What Is Intimacy? With Erica Rose

In this week’s episode, hosts Elina Street [https://substack.com/profile/14190821-elina-street] and Zara Barrie [https://substack.com/profile/162921106-zara-barrie] are joined by Elina’s best friend, the one and only award-winning writer-director Erica Rose. Erica and Elina also co-created the Emmy and GLAAD Media Award-winning docuseries The Lesbian Bar Project [https://substack.com/profile/423884913-the-lesbian-bar-project]. What was supposed to be a breakdown of breakup scenes in lesbian film turns into something way better: a deeply honest, hilarious, and moving conversation about the romance of queer friendship, the difference between passion and true intimacy, rejection sensitivity, love addiction, and why depth and vulnerability are the ultimate superpowers. We break down what true intimacy looks like and why it can be so much *scarier* than lust and passion. We get into the origin story of Elina and Erica’s friendship, which begins, naturally, with a bag of sex toys and a tumble up the stairs. Erica and Zara wind up giving relationship advice to Elina, and this episode quickly becomes the unofficial therapy session of our wildest best-friend dreams. This episode is funny, raw, real, and DEEP. Come feel it all with us. Get full access to MASCARA LESBIAN at zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Worst Lesbian Breakup Ever: Losing My Best Friend

This week on The Lesbian Breakup Podcast, Zara and Elina are joined by writer, professor, former podcast co-host, and Zara’s platonic life partner, dayna troisi [https://substack.com/profile/139349197-dayna-troisi]. What begins with tube-top-gate (it was actually underwear), giant strap-ons, failed threesomes, and lesbian chaos quickly becomes something much deeper: a conversation about friendship, divorce, self-medicating, codependency, chosen family, and the relationships that teach us what love is not supposed to feel like. We talk about the marriages that almost swallowed us whole, the friends who carried us through heartbreak (sometimes literally, in wheelchairs), and why the right relationship should feel more like hanging out with your best friend than escaping from your life. It’s funny. It’s messy. It’s super raw. And it’s one of our most personal episodes yet. Feel it ALL with us. Get full access to MASCARA LESBIAN at zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Rainbow Bowtie: A Cautionary Tale

Happy Pride, darlings. In this Pride Month special, Zara Barrie [https://substack.com/profile/162921106-zara-barrie] and Elina Street [https://substack.com/profile/14190821-elina-street] swap cautionary tales from Prides past, including breakup relapses, ex-girlfriend run-ins, disastrous fashion choices, and questionable rainbow accessories. Along the way, they discuss the emotional chaos of Pride, the unique experience of seeing exes in the wild, why Brooklyn and Manhattan lesbians can sometimes be wildly different species, and whether Los Angeles is actually less judgmental than New York. Plus: Pride survival tips for newly-out lesbians, first-time Pride attendees, queer late bloomers, and anyone wondering how to navigate LGBTQ+ community spaces without losing their phone, their friends, or their mind. Topics include: Pride Month, lesbian culture, LGBTQ+ community, queer nightlife, lesbian breakups, ex-girlfriends, coming out later in life, Brooklyn Pride, NYC Pride, LA Pride, queer friendship, lesbian dating, Pride mistakes, and surviving your first Pride. Because sometimes Pride is liberation. And sometimes it’s relapse sex, heatstroke, and a rainbow bowtie. Get full access to MASCARA LESBIAN at zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Our Top 5 Lesbian Awakenings, Ranked

Welcome to episode 9 of The Lesbian Breakup Podcast. [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/s/the-lesbian-breakup-podcast] This week, after emotionally detonating ourselves in last episode’s grief spiral [https://substack.com/@zarabarrie/note/p-196548814?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=2ozyqa], we decided to offer both you AND ourselves a tiny reprieve. So naturally, we did the only logical thing: rank the formative gay experiences that turned us into lesbians. From Cleopatra to Gia, summer camp intensity to devastating dark friendship betrayals, France to suburban America, Elina and Zara each reveal the top five moments that made us realize, in increasingly dramatic fashion, “Oh. I’m not straight at ALL.” Then, because we are deeply unwell and extremely opinionated list-lovers, we *merge* our lists together into one definitive shared Top 5 Lesbian Awakenings ranking. This episode is funny, nostalgic, slightly heartbreaking, deeply revealing, and painfully earnest in the way only youth can be. A chaotic little trip down memory lane full of yearning, cinematic gay drama, and baby lesbian confusion. Come feel it all with us! Available on ALL platforms. Get full access to MASCARA LESBIAN at zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

What Is Grief Privilege?

Co-hosts Elina Street [https://substack.com/profile/14190821-elina-street] and Zara Barrie [https://substack.com/profile/162921106-zara-barrie] are *finally* back together and feeling it all… What happens when grief becomes a privilege? On this week’s episode, recorded on Zara’s 40th birthday [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/p/forty-finally], we get deep on grief, loss, and the unexpected clarity that comes after everything burns down. Zara opens up about what it meant to be a full-time caretaker for her mother, the surreal “business of death” that nobody warns you about, and why the silence after loss can feel both terrifying and like the first real breath you’ve taken in months. We talk about grief brain, the friends who show up and the ones who don’t, and why giving people space is not always the gift you think it is. We also get into grief privilege; the idea that knowing loss lets you into a different playground entirely, one where things that used to matter suddenly don’t, and the things that do matter become unshakeable. Whether you’re navigating a breakup, losing a parent, processing a friendship that fell apart, or just trying to find yourself on the other side of something hard — this one is for you. Grab a tissue, and know that you are not alone, and remember to feel it all. Crying is sexy. Every other Tuesday. We love you and thank you so dearly for your support. AVAILABLE ON SUBSTACK, [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/s/the-lesbian-breakup-podcast] SPOTIFY [https://open.spotify.com/show/1XRAsDKFDl97PlXJ8tSbrk?si=f5e223f306af4611], AND APPLE PODS. [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lesbian-breakup-podcast/id1872192055] Get full access to MASCARA LESBIAN at zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe [https://zarabarrie.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]