A monocolor illustration of a young Korean man and woman, smiling with their arms thrown over each others' shoulders. Handwriting in the top left corner reads "Love in the Big City"
Love in the Big City: Heterobaiting and Queering Relationships in Korean Media

Korean queer media and literature do not need to conform to Western definitions of queerness to be meaningful. As I write for an Anglophone queer audience, I am reminded that this dialogue is not about proving the queerness of Korean media, but about expanding the scope of queer representation to include its many forms and contexts. Perhaps, rather than queering Korean media for the West, we should allow its stories to challenge and reshape what we consider queer altogether.

A monocolor illustration of a young Korean man and woman, smiling with their arms thrown over each others' shoulders. Handwriting in the top left corner reads "Love in the Big City"
Love in the Big City: Heterobaiting and Queering Relationships in Korean Media

Korean queer media and literature do not need to conform to Western definitions of queerness to be meaningful. As I write for an Anglophone queer audience, I am reminded that this dialogue is not about proving the queerness of Korean media, but about expanding the scope of queer representation to include its many forms and contexts. Perhaps, rather than queering Korean media for the West, we should allow its stories to challenge and reshape what we consider queer altogether.

A black-and-white Victorian-era photograph of two white AMAB people dressed as women.
Misgendering the Misgendered

I first witnessed a transgender character misgendered by her own author in “The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman,” a short story published anonymously in 1857. The text was assigned for a queer short stories course at UCLA, and while I wasn’t surprised that a transgender character was misgendered by a writer in 1857, I was surprised that a professor of queer studies in 2023 would as well.

Not Good Like Us

Fight fight fight Kill kill kill They are the enemy Not good like us I am the teen lesbian Kicked out by my parents She is not my daughter Not good like us Nowhere to run Nowhere to hide No…

The “Truancy Ticket Law” and Why It Matters to Queer Youth

If you went to high school in Los Angeles you have heard of LAMC 45.04 a.k.a the “truancy ticket law”. Under this municipal code, any high school student not in class after the first bell is subject to ticketing with fines of at least to $250. Basically, running late is a crime for students. More often than not the kids getting ticketed are on their way to class. Also the vast majority of tickets are given to black and brown youth, in disenfranchised, inner city public schools.

Prop 8 Ruling: Now What?

It’s kind of a strange day for the queer community. Yes, a California federal appeals court ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional this morning. But we all know this isn”t the end of the story. As we speak, the law”s backers, ProtectMarriage, are likely filing yet another appeal – this time, the case will be heard by the US Supreme Court, assuming the high court decides to take up the case.

Gay Men Need Diapers: WTF?

A bible-thumping pastor from the South said something homophobic this week.  Big surprise.  But go ahead, watch the whole video and and feel gag at the outrgeousness (or, if you”re a cynic like me, chuckle a bit). Patrick Wood spewed a…

“It Was A Choice For Me…” Uh Oh.

People have had plenty to say about this, ranging from the confused to the horrified to the irate. And I get it. But I think it is actually Nixon who is confused, and may have used some words that didn’t accurately sum up her feelings.

What MLK Means To Me, A White Queer Male

Photo by Wes Candela “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” As I celebrated Martin Luther…

On Human Rights Day

Clinton: “Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” Photo by Marc…