Follow our March Madness content all tournament long and don’t forget to vote for your favs!

Well, the countdown is on! Tomorrow, the selection committees for the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments will announce the 68 teams that have made into the championship field. Teams that won their conference champions are relaxing, waiting to find out their opponents, while everyone else hopes for an at-large bid. No matter what Joe Lunardi or Charlie Creme have predicted in their latest bracketology updates, no one ever truly knows what the selection committee will do. It’s all a waiting game right now.

I’m hardpressed to recall a time when I’ve been more excited about an upcoming NCAA tournament… at least on the women’s side. The excitement from last year’s women’s Final Four carried over into this season and it’s just been non-stop excitement ever since. Between Caitlin Clark’s chase of the scoring title, Tara VanDerveer of Stanford becoming the winningest coach in college basketball, South Carolina’s undefeated streak, and the end of the PAC-12, the storylines in women’s basketball this year have truly been unmatched. Last week’s major conference tournaments were so competitive — and spicy — that I absolutely cannot wait until the teams take the court again. I say, bring on the Madness!

Of course, around here, this time of year ushers in our own special version of madness. Since 2018, our readers have spent their March choosing between some of the best queer representation on television. I love putting together March Madness each near, not only because I get to highlight all our favorite shows and characters but because I can introduce our readers to new shows and characters from around the globe that they may not have heard of before. Hopefully, everyone can find something new to binge among this year’s field.

Last year, we followed the NCAA’s lead and added four more teams to our March Madness bracket, bringing the total number of competitors to 68. But instead, of opening the entire field to all of our readership as we usually do, we reserved voting in the First Four — the opening round play-in games for the tournament — to you, our beloved AF+ members… and that felt like a tradition worth keeping this year.

So, are you ready to tip off this year’s edition of Autostraddle March Madness? LFG.

Welcome to the Voting for the AF+ First Four!

Click here to open a larger image of the bracket.

The theme for this year’s contest is “The Kids Are All Right” and the entire field revisits some of the best young queer representation on television. Of course, we’re celebrating all the new boundary-pushing characters on today while also waxing nostalgic about some of our favorite characters from years past. Are there some notable omissions? Of course…partly because we couldn’t possibly fit them all… but also because the characters had to fit into one of four regions.

• • Brainiacs — Pretty self-explanatory, right? From Elena Alvarez to Ashley Banks, these are the girls who impress everyone around them with their knowledge and how quickly they pick up new skills.
  • Jocks — Everyone loves an athletic girl, right? We’ve got representation from across the sports world: from soccer and cheerleading (which are, apparently, the gayest TV sports) to skating and wrestling.
  • Rebels — This group is an interesting mix of folks: on the one hand, you’ve got your ordinary rebels… just regular folks content to confound expectations. The kind of girls your parents would’ve called a bad influence. On the other, you’ve got your badasses: characters who have to balance regular teenage drama with the responsibility of vanquishing demons and saving lives.
  • Thesbians — I couldn’t resist the play on words here but, rest assured, this category is filled with artists of all types: actors, musicians, dancers… or in the case of the GLEE girls, all of the above.

If you caught that the regions are a reference to High School Musical, pat yourself on the back.

Let’s Take a Look at the Match-Ups for This Year’s First Four:

Brainiacs: #16. Izzy Harris, La Brea

The first time Izzy tries her hand at shooting a bow and arrow, the arrow sails far over its target. But after a pterodactyl attacks the village then invades the hut in which she’s hiding — no really, it’s a pterodactyl — she returns with a renewed determination.

“Back home, I was as lost and confused as anyone else. No one really understood me but at least I had people to talk to,” she laments. “Here, all we have time to do is survive.”

But if Izzy’s going to survive, she knows she can’t depend on others — her mother and brother are gone and her dad’s locked up — and she’ll need to be her own hero, so she persists in learning how to shoot on her own.

Brainiacs: #16. Ashley Banks, Bel-Air

Ashley’s middle school English teacher, Mrs. Hughes (played by the OG Ashley Banks, Tatyana Ali), sees something special in her… “that special spark.” The curriculum at Bel-Air Academy doesn’t grapple with race, sexuality, and American history in an honest way so Mrs. Hughes provides books to students open to learning more. Ashley jumps at the opportunity. She’s exposed to the work of James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coats, Toni Morrison, and Robyn Spencer. Ashley consumes each reading voraciously and returns each book, with a two-page paper for extra credit, eagerly awaiting the next.

Jocks: #16. Beth Cassidy, Dare Me

“Some fancy new coach from across the state thinks she can come run my squad?” a tipsy Beth wonders aloud before Collette French arrives and turns her whole world upside down. The coach strips her of her title as captain and opens her spot as top girl — the top level of a pyramid, the flyer — to everyone, including her despised stepsister. But the thing that Beth cannot abide, above all else, is the way her best friend Addy now looks at Collette. Beth recognizes that look because it’s the same way that Beth’s always looked at Addy.

Jocks: #16. Carolyn “Mouse” Smith, Big Shot

The point guard is supposed to be the team’s leader. She’s the coach’s voice out on the court. At the Westbrook School for Girls, that responsibility falls to Carolyn Smith who is both the youngest and smallest member of the team (hence the nickname, “Mouse”). But don’t let Mouse’s short stature fool you… when push comes to shove, she’s the first member of the Westbrook squad to square up. She’s not afraid of a fight on or off the court.

Rebels: #11. Marie Moreau, Gen V

Marie Moreau wants so desperately to be a hero. She arrives at Godolkin University School of Crimefighting — “where hopeful heroes train and hone their skills” — determined to be a member of The Seven, a collection of the most famous superheroes in the world. It’s how she makes amends for accidentally killing her parents when her powers first manifested. It’s how she convinces her sister, Annabeth — the only other survivor of the aforementioned accident — that she’s not a monster.

Rebels: #11. Jordan Li, Gen V

Jordan Li is one of the most celebrated students at Godolkin: they rank second in their class. But even when the opportunity to ascend to first place presents itself, Jordan is skeptical that they’ll achieve it. So much of being a superhero, particularly an elite member of Voight International’s The Seven, is marketing… and far too many of the old guard consider Jordan’s “gender fuckery” — they can shift between male- and female-presenting versions of themself — unpalatable to the rest of the world. Nonetheless, they are a badass: virtually indestructible with superhuman strength in their male form, while the female form can release energy blasts and boasts superhuman agility and durability.

Thesbians: #12. Emaline Addario, Everything Sucks!

Sometimes, as I take in this ridiculous string of one Sydney Sweeney movie after another — three within the last four months (Anyone But You, Madame Web, and Immaculate) — I remember that it all kinda started here: at Boring High School in 1996 Oregon. Sweeney played Emaline, a junior member of the drama club who lingers in the shadow of her boyfriend. But Kate sees her: she recognizes her talent (among other things) and pushes Emaline to see her the way she does.

Thesbians: #12. Maxine “Max” Baker, Ginny & Georgia

When it comes to love and relationships, Max Baker is a bit of a mess. She’s unpredictable, melodramatic, and prone to taking her frustrations out on people who aren’t responsible for them. When it comes to love, she shuffles from oblivious to obsessed in the blink of an eye. She’s your quintessential American teenager, basically. But when she steps up on the stage — as the star of Sing Sing in season one (a Chicago knockoff) and Wellington in season two (a Bridgerton homage) — Max finds her comfort zone. She finds the place where she thrives and everything makes sense.

Now, the balls in your court: it’s your decision — and your decision alone — which couples advance to the Round of 64. You have 48 hours to cast your ballot and you can vote once every 12 hours. At the end of the voting period, I’ll tabulate the results and unveil the bracket and our annual bracket challenge to our entire readership.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!