Yaz Abeydeera reflects on the legacy of the womxn before her

Yaz Abeydeera

Women have been left out from our history and overlooked far too often. Women’s History Month is a time to showcase the talent and creativity that lives within our female-identifying community. Revry honors their contributions to our history and society to provide recognition and encouragement of a more inclusive future. Directors, actresses, writers, and more; we’ll be interviewing creative and inspirational women who make a difference with their art. 

Yaz Abeydeera is an actress, producer, writer, and the director of content at OML, the first live queer womxn TV channel. Yaz’s latest series called “Dating in Place” is described as ‘a socially distant comedy about love, life, and dating in the time of Covid-19.’ 

What does Women’s History Month month mean to you?

For me, womxns history month is firstly a time to reflect and to be grateful. So many incredible female activists and artists have impacted my life as it is today and having this month as a reminder to reflect on their legacy and bestow it with due gratitude is wonderful. But secondly, I find it an excellent opportunity to be inspired by womxn I hadn’t discovered yet. As the womxns movement grows and the celebrations broaden I find myself learning about the legacies of incredible womxn that I had never heard of and that joy alone makes this month so valuable to me.

There are so many unacknowledged women who made history. Is there a women creator that has impacted your work? 

Honestly, there are so many. As a creator, it’s important to explore multiple genres and consume a wide variety of content but inevitably you come back to the work that speaks to you the most. This for me means that the majority of the content I consume be it literature, television or music is femxle voiced. Those voices are undoubtedly injected into all of the content that I create, but if I had to pick one I’d say that creator that has had the biggest impact would be Amy Sherman-Palladino, her dialogue is a mile a minute, just like I imagine her creativity to be and I for one am here for all of it!

History is inspirational to future generations. What advice would you give the next generation of women creators?

I think the most important lesson that I learned is, “I am not for everyone.” It is okay if certain people or audiences aren’t into what you create. In fact, it’s good because you learn that your work isn’t for them and you can stop worrying about them and focus your energy on the people and audiences it is for. 

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Revry has curated a powerful collection of stories told by female artists featuring films, TV series, music, and more.