Queer Women Win Big at 2017 Emmys

The 2017 Emmy awards, held Sunday night in Los Angeles, swung big for lesbian stories and lesbian performers.

Feminist dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale, which features several lesbian characters, was the big winner of the evening, taking home awards for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress for Elizabeth Moss, and Outstanding Directing for Reed Morano.

Meanwhile, the sci-fi lesbian love story "San Junipero" from the series Black Mirror was awarded Outstanding TV Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special. "Love will defeat hate. Love will win," writer Charlie Brooker said in his acceptance speech.

Out Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon won Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the second year in a row after a season that found her tearfully singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" as Hillary Clinton, just days after the November election.

Comedian Lena Waithe shared the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the Master of None episode "Thanksgiving" with Aziz Ansari, making her the first black female to win in that category. That episode features Waithe in a series of Thanksgiving dinners over twenty years as she grows into her sexuality and comes out to her family.

In her speech she thanked her girlfriend and her "LGBQTIA family." "I see each and every one of you," she enthused. "The things that make you different? Those are your superpowers. Every day when you walk out the door, put on your imaginary cape, go out there and conquer the world. Because the world would not be as beautiful without us in it."

Waithe also made a sly reference to Congresswoman Maxine Waters.