The queer messaging of the Acclaimed — the two tag team champions for the professional wrestling company All Elite Wrestling (AEW) — veers in enough different directions that it’s hard to pick out a unified message. The fictional world of wrestling, whose staged theatrics and over-the-top characters often shade towards campiness, complicates the real-world impact of that message even further.
The Troubling Origins of Queer Labeling: Reflecting on Kadji Amin’s Guest Lecture at UCLA
In Fall 2022, guest lecturer, Kadji Amin (he/him) of Emory University, presented his article “Taxonomically Queer?: Sexology and New Queer, Trans, and Asexual Identities.” I was nervous entering a room packed with mostly graduate students and professors, but when Professor Amin walked on the stage, my nerves melted away. I was gripped by his every word. Not only was his lecture the best one I’ve heard so far, but he was the first Asian trans professor I’d ever seen. As an Asian trans man myself, it was life-changing to see someone like me dedicating his life to studying people like us.
Apocalyptic Queer Rage: “The Last of Us” Redefines Queerness in Video Games
The gaming community ten years ago was a toxic space for marginalized people, including the LGBTQ+ community. Video games in the early 2010s had minimal LGBTQ+ representation, and the scant representation that did exist portrayed LGBTQ+ people in an unpleasant light. The video games that were sympathetic to LGBTQ+ were few and far between and usually not considered triple-A games (a term for video games made by major video game publishers who have access to higher quality development and a larger budget).
Straight Women Rules: A Guide to Being the Perfect Lesbian®
There’s a lot of wondering and a lot of waiting. I understand what you might be feeling. I know that you’re biting your tongue, and always waiting till you make them uncomfortable.
Love Songs of a Different Tune: A Valentine’s Day Revisit with Rio Romeo
Last year, we interviewed butch lesbian singer-songwriter Rio Romeo about their Valentine’s Day release, “Bet.” They’ve released a full EP since then, “Good God!” — a project full of what they called “love songs” in our last conversation (they certainly delivered). Just a couple days ago, they released a new single, “Danke Schoen.” Now, a year later, we all meet again, under some of the same conditions as last time. It feels almost like meeting an old friend, and we all catch up for a couple minutes before diving in.
Sage Green Love Song
Give me something to leave behind
A sour candy kiss in the theater
Worse things have made me lose my mind.
Anonymity, Art, and Stevie Wonder: A Conversation with Upcoming Artist Sophia Eiss
Why would one demonize love? It’s a question all queer people have asked ourselves and the people around us at some point in our lives. In the face of every discriminatory law, every crime committed against us, every right that is so quickly stripped away, it is safe to say that no one in the queer community has truly found the answer, — but that hasn’t stopped us from trying. Queer artist Sophia Eiss explores this question and the emotions tied to our inability to answer it in her latest single, “INNOCENT LOVE.”
Umbrellas
A pair of unlikely friends caught in the pouring rain unpack a girl’s perhaps undeserved reputation.
Best of 2022: Staff Picks for Queer TV
Enjoy our staff’s recommendations for 15 queer TV shows and seasons released in 2022 (in no particular order) and where to watch!
Catharsis Through Queer Media: A Review of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a love letter to the Asian American immigrant community and a startlingly sincere portrayal of modern queerness. In an era of formulaic superhero films and live-action Disney remakes, it is a breath of fresh air and a reminder that art can be transformative.
