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Top > Benchmark Lesbian Kissing Moments > Article
Lesbian Kissing between Julia Volkova and Lena Katina / All the Things She Said (t.A.T.u. Music video, 2003)
By Kaylee Larson, LesbianLoveNow.com
Perhaps one of the most forthright examples of lesbian kissing in a mainstream music video can be found in the 2003 video of t.A.T.u.'s “All the Things She Said.” The kissing scenes between Julie Volkova and Lena Katina are lengthy and frequent, and since most television shows do not display such scenes more than once or twice per program, this music video took great strides to introduce the world to a more vivid picture of girl-girl affection.
The video presents the two girls, dressed in their schoolgirl uniforms, surrendering to their feelings for one another in a back alley while feeling a sense of imprisonment under the prying eyes of others around them. Throughout the video, the kisses between Volkova and Katina build in intensity; the girls begin by briefly sharing a kiss and then pulling away, then the two bashful lovers engage in a passionate lip-lock again and again. In the meantime, the video cuts back to the observing public. This exchange coincides with the lyrics, “Wanna fly to a place where it's just you and me/Nobody else so we can be free.” At the conclusion of the video, the two girls emerge from the alley, walking off hand in hand into the sunset.
In the real world, late-night television wasn’t yet ready to show such a display of affection between two girls. When t.A.T.u. performed on The Tonight Show in 2003, the camera action was rather dizzying for at-home viewers. After being fixed on the two girls, the cameras abruptly shifted their focus to the guitarist for the duration of the 25-second kiss, due to the fact that the girls were breaking an agreement they had made at the time of booking not to engage in french kissing during the act.
This literal shift in focus away from the steamy make-out was not an uncommon reaction within mainstream society. Most every media outlet, along with the majority of the adult public, protested the fact that the girls from t.A.T.u. were barely 18 years old and that they appeared to be exhibiting youth and innocence as sexually enticing.
The main driving force of this controversy wasn’t just that two young presumably lesbian girls were publicly sharing a sexually charged kiss; much of the fuss was greatly due in part to the fondling and touching that took place between the girls (in many of their performances) while donning their trademark short, pleated schoolgirl uniforms.
From various sound bites in the months that followed, it was evident that the girls felt the media was aggravating the situation and causing a greater commotion than was necessary. Interestingly, the girls eventually revealed that they weren't even lesbians as so many had believed. However, they did admit to being bisexual and reported that they did love one another.
Despite the controversy, t.A.T.u continued to challenge the girl-girl kissing boundaries in the music and entertainment industry much more than others had previously dared. The group’s music video, “All the Things She Said,” was played heavily on MTV for several months. The girls in the video appeared on numerous talk shows, received a great amount of media attention, and ultimately provided society with a benchmark lesbian kissing moment to remember. Click here to watch t.A.T.u.'s video of "All the Things She Said."
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