Queer Your Reading List: The Well of Loneliness

Women getting it on. With each other.

Even today, this premise strikes a chord with audiences. Imagine in 1928, when The Well of Loneliness was first published in England and America. Obscenity trials tried to ban the novel. Still the book sold 100,000 copies in its first year on the shelves. The Well was one of the first lesbian novels ever published, written by Radclyffe Hall, an English author and gay lady. The novel tells the story of Stephen Gordon, an English woman living at the turn of the century discovering and coming to terms with her sexuality.

The Message of National Coming Out Week (NCOW)

Photo by Harry Wad/Wikimedia Commons From flags to cupcakes, rainbows made the presence of queer people rumble throughout campus last week as UCLA’s Queer Alliance celebrated National Coming Out Week. With such a variety of fun events, movie screenings, public…

8 Gay Cartoons You Grew Up With (and Always Knew About)

Photo via Pixabay So we had the ladies last week, now it’s the guys’ turn. Call me biased but, while composing the girls’ list was fun from beginning to end, this list made me feel… nostalgic. All these guys mean…

Dear Straight Boy in My English Class,

It’s true I sat down next to you, but you spoke to me first; you asked what shampoo I used. When you missed class, you asked me for my notes. And when I invited you over to review you spent…

Keep It to Yourself

Photo by Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons Such was Rick Santorum’s response when Stephen Hill, an openly gay soldier asked him about his stance on DADT. Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and the golden boy of social conservatives, delivered this gem during one…

8 Lesbian Cartoons You Grew Up With (But Never Realized)

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like there weren’t very many queer role models when we were growing up–at least, not very many obvious ones.  Many of my contemporaries would recall feeling as children that there was no one…

Can’t Spell Sex without Ex PART 2: The Harem

So a gay redneck, a gay Mexican, and a gay Chinese guy start living together… No, it’s not the set up for a racist, homophobic joke; it’s my living situation. My ex-boyfriend and I were living in peace together (in…

Can’t Spell Sex without Ex PART 1

Photo by Brett Jordan/Flickr Once upon a time a twenty-two-year-old “friend of mine” made a big mistake. For fear of embarrassing the author of this blog, the identity of this “friend” shall remain confidential. But I’ll give you a hint:…

“Lessons” from the Lawrence King trial: Reporters Need “Guidance,” Too

In the wake of the mistrial of Brandon McInerney, who was witnessed by his classmates as he shot his classmate Lawrence King in the back of the head for flirting with him, the Los Angeles Times, the paper of record…

Anderson Cooper and the Big Gay Elephant

Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr Do you know who Anderson Cooper is? Yes, yes you do. Anderson Cooper is one of the most ubiquitous and well-respected journalists in America today. He reports live from war zones, natural disasters, and the front…