Cemetery Boys: A Whimsical Celebration of Queer Latinidad

Illustrated by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) “Cemetery Boys” is the tale of Yadriel, a trans Brujo trying to prove himself to his family who is too stuck in their ways to accept him as a Brujo. A few days before Dia…

Reconciling An Empty Sky: One Queer’s Connection to Phoebe Fucking Bridgers and Her Reunion Tour

Photo by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) “FUCK THE COPS!” rings out in the crowd during an otherwise quiet performance of “Smoke Signals” during Phoebe Bridgers’ first hometown show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. After a pandemic release of her…

Bi Representation in Disney’s “The Owl House”

Image courtesy of Disney In January 2020, Disney Channel debuted “The Owl House,” an animated series created by Dana Terrace.  The pilot episode introduces fourteen-year-old Luz Noceda (voiced by Sarah-Nicole Robles), resident weird kid, who discovers a magical portal to…

Books That Aren’t Gay, but We Love ‘Em Anyway

Graphic by Ria Kotak 1) “The Illuminae Files” by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman “The Illuminae Files” is a science fiction trilogy co-written by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman and illustrated by Marie Lu. It is set in the 26th…

Representation: Queerness and Butterfly Soup

Screenshot from Butterfly Soup, a visual novel created by Brianna Lei. Trigger Warning: mentions abusive parents (of one of the characters) Do you ever find yourself clinging to representation? As a queer Asian American individual, I often find myself doing…

Five EnGAYging Graphic Novels

Image designed by Martha Cabot Over the past year, I’ve found myself gravitating toward graphic novels whenever I have time for spare reading.  Partially, this is because they are usually much quicker reads than text-heavy novels.  It also helps that…

Was “Love, Simon” (2018) The Best Teen Queer Representation?

As a queer person, I went through most of my life never really seeing representation of queer identities in popular media. The only time I did see queer people on the screen was when news stations brought up stories surrounding…

Work! A Queer History of Modeling

Elspeth H. Brown, Professor of History at the University of Toronto, visited UCLA on Jan. 23 for the second event of the 2019-20 QueerCurrent Lecture Series.  The talk was named “Work! A Queer History of Modeling,” after Brown’s most recent…

Sing To Me Instead: One Year Since Ben Platt’s Album Debut

Graphic by Ria Kotak Many people know Ben Platt for his heart-warming and gut-wrenching role as Evan Hansen in the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen. Nonetheless, Platt is a familiar face on Broadway, previously starring in The Music Man…

Finding Ourselves in the Outrageousness of “Revenge Song,” a Historical Comedy

L-R Beth Hawkes and Margaret Odette in Revenge Song: A Vampire Cowboys Creation. Directed by Robert Ross Parker. Photo credit: Jeff Lorch. Walking into the Geffen Playhouse, one is immediately absorbed by the deep purple hues lit throughout the lobby. I’m here…