LezWatch Retreat – 2017

LezWatch Retreat – 2017

Since Tracy and I live on opposite coasts, we do a lot of work in text, coming up with ideas, making notes in our to-do board, editing code, and developing in pieces. But I was recently in Philly for a conference, and it was the perfect opportunity to have an in-person sit down to go over everything on the site, determine our plans for the future, and if we were on the same page.

And maybe there was singing involved.

Who We Are

One of the things that makes our site different is that Tracy and I are developers. We build the code we need to get the results we want. And what we want is a site that is the definitive, go-to resource for queer female characters on television, world wide. We also want to provide a way for people to find the positive LGBT+ female themed shows they want to watch. If you’re interested in sci-fi dramas, we should be able to help you find that.

(Mostly) All Inclusive

The first step to reach that goal is, obviously, to add in the data. That’s going to be an ongoing process, as I recently found 80 or so web series we were missing, and I got a book that lists a lot of historical ones. But another important component to us was making sure we’re queer inclusive of not just lesbians or bisexual women. We’ve gone through all our content and done our best to make sure we’re always using inclusive terminology.

Open Data

Another major aspect of our site is the fact that all our data is open. That is, if you wanted to download the stats, you can actually do that via our API. We spent a lot of time writing our code so that it could be done easily and automatically. When we add new data, our stats and APIs are updated immediately. Writing a paper or an article about queer females? We made this available for you.

All of the code we used to make this site is public, you can look at it on our LezWatch Repository on GitHub. And yes, you’re welcome to take anything you want. On Saturday, I talked at WordCamp Philly about the way we had our data drive the design of the code. Tracy Periscoped while I talked:

Have Some Fun

It wasn’t all work and no play, though. Late Saturday night we had a jam session and I learned to play “Giant Woman” from Steven Universe.

It’s been a long time since I played and sang in public!

PS: We’re calling our band “Fred Universe” (Fred’s the cat in the middle)

Fred Universe: The LezWatchTV Steven Universe Cover Band
Fred Universe: The LezWatchTV Steven Universe Cover Band

About Mika A. Epstein

Mika has been deep in fandom since she could say 'Trekkie.' With decades experience in running fansites, developing software, and organizing communities, she's taken on the challenge of delving into the recesses of television for queers long forgotten. Making this site with Tracy is nothing short of serendipity. Mika lives with her wife and their cats in Southern California. Of course she has a hybrid, but she'd rather ride her bicycle.
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