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Again, A League of Their Own (2022) was one that I almost overlooked. I’ve never watched the original movie, and I’m not particularly interested in baseball. But again, my friends mentioned that there are butch lesbian characters in it. It also features a racially diverse cast and a plot that explores sexism, racism, and homophobia.
The true testament to A League of Their Own‘s universal appeal is that my parents enjoyed the show, particularly my dad. He is a straight white man. He said that he liked how the show acknowledged real historical issues and had fairly period-accurate cars and costumes. Yes, I know experts may say that the costumes aren’t the best. But they are at least nice to look at.
The show had a really interesting plot, focusing on multiple characters, Carson Shaw a married white woman from a rural area discovers her queerness when team member Greta Gill kisses her. There’s also Max Chapman who attempts to try out for the Peaches baseball team but she is rejected because she is Black and the team is segregated to only include White and Hispanic members. In addition, Esti Gonzales a Cuban immigrant, who plays for the Peaches, struggles to learn English and communicate with her teammate, other than Lupe Garcia who’s also Hispanic. Lupe also injures her arm and is unable to play, causing tension on the team. This also takes place on the “homefront” of World War 2 so this adds conflict, as many of the female characters’ husbands are drafted.
Among all this conflict there are some genuinely humorous moments mainly coming from Peaches player Shirley Cohen and Max’s best friend, Clance.
I really enjoyed how the show highlighted historical queer experiences, especially the experiences of LGBTQ+ people who were assigned female at birth. Many of the players in the Peaches, Carson, Greta, Jo, Lupe, Jess, and more are lesbian. Max is also lesbian and has a transgender Uncle, Bertie. The characters go to secret gay bars and queer house parties.