#growing up queer in australia

[bowokshop]

Growing Up Queer in Australia - edited Benjamin Law

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.’ ‘The mantle of “queer migrant” compelled me to keep going – to go further.’ ‘I never “came out” to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.’ ‘All I heard from the pulpit were grim hints.’ ‘I became acutely aware of the parts of myself that were unpalatable to queers who grew up in the city.’ ‘My queerness was born in a hot dry land that was never ceded.’ ‘Even now, I sometimes think that I don’t know my own desire.’ Compiled by celebrated author and journalist Benjamin Law, Growing Up Queer in Australia assembles voices from across the spectrum of LGBTIQA+ identity. Spanning diverse places, eras, ethnicities and experiences, these are the stories of growing up queer in Australia.

‘For better or worse, sooner or later, life conspires to reveal you to yourself, and this is growing up.’

With contributions from David Marr, Fiona Wright, Nayuka Gorrie, Steve Dow, Holly Throsby, Sally Rugg, Tony Ayres, Nic Holas, Rebecca Shaw and many more.

I am privileged enough to have grown up with the internet, with information about queer people and queer identities so difficult to hide, such that even at a christian school, I was able to find the words to describe myself almost as soon as I recognised those parts of myself.

Even so, hearing first-person accounts of Australian queer people, like me, dealing with Australia's culture and biases, made me felt seen in a way I don't think any other medium could have.

Growing Up Queer in Australia portrayed all different aspects of queerness, from celebration and pride to rejection and heartbreak. It was a wonderful reflection of thoughts and feelings I've had, as well as those I would never have considered to be part of the queer experience.

I really appreciated the range of queer identities represented in the book; from lesbian and gay to queer, every letter of LGBTQ+ was represented. I do wish we got more stories from the '+' part of the queer community, but I am glad that Growing Up Queer does make an effort to include more than just gay and lesbian authors. I especially appreciated the range in gender identities and presentation of the authors, including both masc- and femme-presenting lesbians and their struggles, trans people who realised both early and late in life, people who had strong gendered feelings that didn't neatly fit into these boxes.

I also welcome the intersectionality present in Growing Up. As someone who is white and able-bodied, it was eye-opening to read how deep the authors' queerness was related to other marginalised parts of their identity such as disability and race. I appreciated the variety in Australian class and location represented in the book, including rural, small towns, suburban and city perspectives. It made me really happy in one story to notice where they were from and say "Hey, that's near me! That's my community!"

As Benjamin Law addresses in the wonderfully written foreword, I am very glad that the title chosen is 'Growing Up Queer in Australia.' The use of 'queer' feels very inclusive and tells me Law is not shying away from the tougher parts of queer identities in an effort to make the book more marketable.

For me personally though, trying to digest the a-spec parts of my identity has been a big part of my personal discovery, and for this reason I would loved to have seen asexual and aromantic representation. It seems from personal anecdote to make up a surprisingly large section of the lgbtq+ community, so it was a bit disappointing that with dozens of authors involved, there was not a single a-spec author.

In general, I was a little disappointed there weren't many authors from the '+' part of lgbtq+, such as a-spec, non-binary and genderfluid. There are some identities that feel marginalised even within the queer community and this book could have been a good opportunity to bring light to them. I would have especially loved to see 'contradictory' identities such as he/him lesbians.

I am still giving 5 stars because I understand when compiling and publishing a book like this, there will always be people who felt left out by it, and I can see and appreciate the effort that has gone into diversity and intersectionality in Growing Up Queer.

Growing Up Queer, through its diverse collection of stories, reaches out and says, You are not alone. There are others who have been in the same situation.

[phaedraismyusername]

Happy International Lesbian Day! Here's some super brief book recs to celebrate

Books dealing with love, loss, longing and abandonment

This is How You Lose The Time War is a short but beautifully written epistolary novel between two agents on opposite sides of a time war as they slowly fall in love.

Our Wives Under the Sea is one of the most beautifully written debuts I've ever read about a woman whose wife comes home wrong after they thought she'd died at sea and how it feels to grieve the loss of someone who's still in your home.

Lucky Red is a western novel about a young girl working in a brothel who meets her first female gunslinger and falls head over heels for her, and the consequences that come with loving dangerous people.

Body horror galore

Camp Damascus is about a young woman living in a super conservative christian town built around the worlds most successful conversion camp and the horrors that are uncovered there when praying the gay away fails.

To Be Devoured is about a woman whose fascination with the local vultures turns into obsession and the urge to know what carrion tastes like overtakes her life and leads her down stranger and stranger paths.

Chlorine is about a girl whose entire life revolves around being a competitive swimmer, and how abuse, neglect, and obsession with being the best takes its toll on the young women caught up in these destructive cycles.

Flawed character studies

Big Swiss is about a woman who has a kitchen floor reset in her 40s, moves away and starts a new life as a transcriber for a sex therapist and becomes obsessed with one of his clients before inserting herself into this poor woman's life.

The Seep is a speculative sci-fi set in a future where there's been a quiet alien invasion that has given people the ability to make almost any changes to their own bodies and what that world feels like to someone who doesn't want to partake.

Milk Fed is about a woman in therapy who feels cut off from almost everything until she meets another woman who triggers in her a melding of sex, hunger, and religion and where that takes her. Huge trigger warnings for ED content. It gets tough, y'all.

Fantastical wlw books

Bitterthorn is an amalgamation of fairytales retold as a slow burn sapphic love story between a sad young girl from a cursed land and the evil witch who takes her as a companion in the latest of the generational sacrifices made to appease her.

All the Bad Apples may be set in contemporary Ireland but it is a fairytale following a young girl as she travels across the country looking for a sister she refuses to believe is dead and the people she meets along the way.

Gideon the Ninth needs no introduction on this site but for the sake of formatting - lesbian necromancers in space who find themselves in an isolated murder mystery plot. It's not a romance but it is a love story and this series will change your life if you let it.

Translated novels

Boulder is a short character study following a free spirited woman when she accidentally settles down with the woman she loves and how love and resentment can take up the same space in your chest when life doesn't turn out the way you hoped it would.

Notes of a Crocodile is a cult classic coming of age story about queer teens in Taipei in the 1980s. It was written in the 90s so please keep that in mind if you choose to read it.

Paradise Rot is about an international student studying in Australia and her growing obsession with her housemate as they share a space that allows no privacy. I've never read anything that feels stickier.

[misettemisette]

Chapter 2 ➺ Clearly on a bad slope 

Starting over In Madrid

Summary : After moving to Madrid as Real Madrid's new photographer, Nicky can’t seem to take her eyes off the pretty face Misa Rodríguez. But how will she handle her growing desire for the Canarian goalkeeper when her contract strictly forbids dating players? WC: 2K words TW: None PS: French autor

Chapter 1 ➺ A harder job than I thought 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ 

The next day dragged on slowly. During lunch break, I had a long call with my best friend, Angela. I missed her deeply, and it felt so good to catch up on each other’s lives. We laughed a lot, especially about how queerness seemed to be spreading like wildfire among Spanish football teams. Angela was furious about the ‘no dating the players’ clause, however, I didn’t mention my growing attraction toward Misa. I was working hard to convince myself it wasn’t even real. Still, as the afternoon came, the thought of Misa eagerly waiting for her first photography lesson kept bouncing around in my mind.

 "Holà, Nicky !" The tall, tanned woman approached me, sweaty from her training session, a puffer jacket draped over her arm. She was closely followed by Hayley Raso. 

"Hayley wants to learn photography too! Is that okay ?"

"Sure ! Let’s go to that corner of the pitch. I’ll show you the basic setups and you can take a few shots to get a feel for how it works." 

"Looks like Nicky’s a real teacher !" said Hayley. 

"She knows a lot, you’ll see" added Misa.

We went to a shadowy corner. I showed Misa and Hayley my camera, explaining the different buttons and functions. Hayley went for the first shot. Misa proved to be much more willing to be photographed when she was having fun. She made a few playful faces that made us laugh. I was surprised to see her putting on bit of a show. She actually seemed quite extroverted. When it was her turn to use the camera, Misa didn’t remember much of my technical explanations, so I had to go over them all again. 

"No Misa, it’s not that button, it’s that one!"

"Mierda! Perdón, err, sorry!"

"And put the camera straps around your neck, please!" 

"Yes sorry". She secured the straps while glancing at the screen, then snapped a picture of Hayley laughing uncontrollably. 

"Misa, I told you to look through the lens, not the screen." 

She pressed her eye to the lens. "How do I zoom in on Raso’s estúpida face?" she asked. Hayley was mocking Misa, mimicking her struggle with the presets and buttons. I found it hard not to laugh myself. 

"Use your left hand on the lens. There is a wheel, you’ll feel it." She pulled her face away from the camera to examine the lens. Her grumpy expression was priceless. "Don’t move away from it, let me show you. Look through the lens again." Misa raised camera back in front of her face. I gently took her left hand and guided it to the correct position. "Like this. Do you feel the wheel? It’s right there." I placed her fingers on the thin wheel.  

"Es bueno ! it's working !” She said happily. "Hayley, look up! This is your new profil picture!" 

Misa started taking numerous photos, and Hayley followed suit. We chatted briefly about their time at Real Madrid. They seemed frustrated about something, though they didn’t mention exactly what it was. Misa’s expression fell when Hayley brought up the ‘El Clasico’ games between the two eternal rival Spanish teams. She quickly changed the subject to her career with the Australia national team. 

They handed me back the camera and I took photos of the two girls sitting in the grass, their jackets on, rubbing their hands to warm them up in the crisp cold of January. It was the best shots since I had taken since starting here. The setting sun cast a faint, warm red light over the pitch, bathing the pictures in a rosy glow. The footballers were more relaxed than I’d ever seen. I took a shot of Misa’s peaceful face, her eyes closed as she let the weak sun soaked her skin. 

 "You’re never tired of shooting us, Nicky ?" She asked. 

"The scene is actually very pretty." 

"It’s because we are pretty" said Hayley, and I felt my cheeks growing hot again. 

"You surely are" I admitted, pressing my eye against the camera mostly to hide my face. 

"Oh Nicky’s feeling us!" she joked. "What about you? Do you have someone?" She asked.

I felt a bit embarrassed, but at the same time, I didn’t have friend in Madrid yet, and it was nice to casually chat with them.  "I don’t. But it’s okay for now. Besides, I just moved to Madrid. It’s not that easy to make friends, and even harder to find a girlfriend." 

I realized I had just outed myself without even thinking. They looked up at me at the same time. 

"And one more at the Ciudad Real Madrid,“ laughed Hayley. 

Misa was smiling too, her intense gaze fixed on me, then drifting down to the grass she was stroking with her fingers. 

Hayley spoke again, "Actually we should hang out together in Chueca. We’ll find a girl for Nicky !" she said to Misa. Misa kept smiling but didn’t respond, her hands still brushing through the grass. 

"I’m really okay with being single" I paused a moment. Suddenly, my loneliness weighed down on me. "But I wouldn’t mind getting out in town." 

"Great, give us your number, we’ll arrange that in no time !"

***

Misa: Hey it’s Misa 🧤 Sorry about Hayley she doesn’t know when to stop. You can skip the Chueca plan if you want, I’ll tell her to back off 😅 Nicky: Hey Misa, thanks! but I actually want to come, if the invite still stands. 😊 Misa: Greaat! Warning though: I’m a chica fiestera. You’re not ready 😎 Nicky: Now I’m scared… Misa: you should be! Free Sunday night?  Nicky: Si👌 Misa: Vale perfecto chica 👍 let’s meet at 22h outside Chueca estàtion de metro

I stared at my phone, smiling beatifically for nearly two entire minutes that evening.

***

I was coming out of the train station, clearly not feeling confident. I had been looking forward to this night for an entire week, but now my hands were sweaty, and my heart was racing far too fast for a casual night out at the club with friends. I climbed the stairs, stepped out into the Plaza de Chueca, and moved to the side of the metro exit to wait.

It didn’t take long for Misa and Hayley to show up. I was so used to seeing them in sportswear that I almost didn’t recognize the two girls heading in my direction. Hayley wore flowing white pants and a bright blue shirt under a long white coat. Misa had on similar flowing pants, but hers were black, paired with a black puffer jacket. The cutest part of her, though, was the mischievous look on her face.

Hayley hugged me as a greeting, complimenting me on my outfit, a simple forest green trousers and a short sleeve shirt under a lined jacket. I turned to Misa and she hugged me too. The warmth of her body enveloped me. The smell of her perfume filled the air. My heart beat faster. 

We entered the club. It wasn’t crowded yet but according to the girls, it was going to be. A few people were already dancing. Misa and Hayley had gone to the locker room, the goalie had swapped her jacket for a very short black cropped top, and I instantly knew the night wouldn’t be easy for me.

 "Let’s get drinks" Hayley said and we followed her to the bar. 

Cocktails in our hands, we stayed in a corner, warming up by chatting and drinking. Misa was getting impatient to dance but something else seemed to bother her.  

"What’s up Misa?" I asked her. She pursed her lips. 

"There is a girl over there that keeps looking at me. I bet she has recognized me…"

"Does this happen often?"

"Yes…" she sighed. 

"Celebrity drawback… you’re a star!" I teased her. 

"Sometimes it’s very annoying" said Hayley. "Hum, in fact all the time. Wait, but this is Lola! Not the girl scrutinizing you Misa. Hey! Lola!" Hayley walked away to a tall brunette woman near the bar. 

"She’s the Atletico de Madrid goalkeeper" Misa whispered in my ear, waving to Lola. She took a sip of her cocktail and froze. "Oh no! Por favor !" She turned her back to the now crowded room. "The girl, she’s coming for me!" She stared at me with a pleading look. A blond girl was indeed walking in our direction. She held her phone, looking ready to take a picture. 

"Come on, let’s dance" I took Misa’s hand and led her, passing right under the nose of the annoying girl, in the middle of the dancing crowd. I saw the girl stop where she was, clearly not knowing how to approach Misa anymore. 

Misa and I started dancing. She did a few funny dance steps. Her crazy side was showing out again and I liked it. "Thanks !" she said.

"You’re welcome" I responded almost screaming to be heard over the loud music. "Besides, you look as happy on the dance floor as on the pitch." 

"I love to party. I even mix sometimes." She smiled, dancing in a very endearing, all over the top way. 

"You’re kidding me! You? DJ Misa !?" 

She pointed to herself and nodded. "That girl is from Canary Islands!" She laughed and kept on moving more loosely. 

The music changed to a slow raggaton one. We set down our empty glasses on the bar, planning to join Hayley and Lola when I suddenly felt Misa’s hands on my back. Quickly, she pulled me close to her as she started a very sensual dance. I was so taken aback I stepped on her foot and swore. My shocked face made her grin. She spoke softly in my ear. "Sorry, spooky fan girl was coming again".  

"Oh!" was all I managed to say. 

"Nicky, you have to relax or we won’t be able to dance". My body started to unfroze. Misa’s hands were lightening a fire on my back while she moved slowly against me, conducting our dance. Her hips, pressed against mine, followed the slow rhythm of the music. 

It felt like Misa’s first intentions were now heading somewhere else. Without really thinking, I wrapped my arms around her neck and they rested on her soft hair. My fingers brushed her muscular naked shoulders. Our cheeks touched. Her scent enveloped me again. She lowered her hands to my waist. Remember the damn clause! I told myself as Misa pressed her hands firmly on my waist to pull me closer. Remember it Nicky ! She slowly detached her cheek and her eyes bored into mine. My heart was beating so fast. Her almond-shaped eyes had the sweetest gaze. The clause Nicky ! I couldn’t bring myself to part with her. Her lips were just centimeters away… I closed my eyes, so ready for it to happen when another hand gently tapped my shoulder. We instantly moved away from each other.

"Here you are, chicas ! We bought you new drinks !" Hayley handed us the glasses. She looked at us suspiciously. I was personally feeling like I had been pulled out a very hot bath straight into the freezing outside. I wanted to say something but Misa scratched her cheek and spoke first. 

"The fan girl, she was coming to me, so we tried to avoid her." She was talking faster than usual. "And it worked, right? I can’t see her anymore." She looked around nervously. 

Hayley frowned, still eyeing Misa suspiciously as I handed her my drink. "Can you hold that? I have to go to the restroom." I really needed a break right now. 

Alone in the cubicle, my mind was running fast. What was I doing? I had started my job only a month ago. My trial period wasn’t even finished and I was already on a fast track to mess everything up My thought came back to Misa. I relived our dance and felt a burning sensation rise again. I had been so completely incapable of resisting her. And yet I had to. 

We came home as the early daylight started to appear. We had stayed for hours, but I had managed to keep a good distance between Misa and me. I had danced with Hayley and Lola and Misa hadn’t come close to me again. She seemed to enjoy the night like nothing particular had happened. Had I imagined she was about to kiss me? Did Misa even realize what she was doing to me? Or was it all just a game to her? Had I upset her? Was I going to lose the only friends I’d finally made?

Clearly, I was on a bad slope.

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ 

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @albatris

Who You Are:

Logan || It/its

Hello! I'm a queer horror novelist and friend to cats from South Australia! I spend my time making art of all sorts, especially relating to my experiences of queerness and psychosis.

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Comedy, fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. Young adult and adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

Horror! There's such rich ground to explore in stories of horror and psychosis when you're not an ableist prick about it! There are unique and valuable stories to be told in the overlap here and I'm having a wonderful time weaving my own experiences of schizotypal personality disorder into my horror writing. It's the closest I've come to being able to share my inner world with others :)

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

Historial fiction! I don't have anything against the genre, but it's just not my cup of tea. I'd never feel like I'm nailing the time period due to the sheer amount of nuance and detail that I'd need to have on hand… major props to historical fiction writers, you are stronger and more organised writers than I

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

My target audience ranged from YA to adult, depending on the work in question. I want to speak to primarily people who are feeling disconnected and alone… I guess you could say my target audience is just myself of the past? I'm writing the stuff I needed to read, the stuff that would have made me feel seen and loved and understood. Anyone else is welcome along for the ride though ^.^ I hope others who don't see themselves in my work would catch a glimpse of a different way of understanding the world and be able to empathise and understand, and maybe have a lot of fun with it, too!

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

I love all that cheesy goodness about the power of friendship and the human capacity for kindness and connection! My stories, however otherwise horrifying or heavy, tend to come back to these at their core. My works all focus heavily on mental illness, neurodivergence and disability. I also have a soft spot for bendy realities, body horror, paranoia and hiveminds.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I cannot stand "the whole thing was just a delusion all along! none of it was ever real!" or "ooh they thought it was psychosis but it turns out it was ~magic~! see, our protagonist isn't CRAZY like those actually crazy people!" style plot twists. They're lazy and ableist! In general, I have zero tolerance for anything that demonises psychosis or uses psychosis only as an edgy plot twist.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

I have two main projects, "All the Doors are Open", a YA fantasy/horror about the collapse of reality, and "A Rental Car Takes a Left Down Rake Street and Disappears" a paranormal horror about a vampire hivemind. I've been working on some variation of ATDAO for eight years, and Rental Car is a baby by comparison, and was only created last year.

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

I write for fun! As much as I love to connect with others and allow them a glimpse into my understanding of the world, I primarily write because I just like to have a good time hahaha. It's something I love to dabble in and explore, something I love to wander through, something I keep coming back to over and over. I just feel a pull to it :D

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I've been writing since I was around six years old! Growing up as a kid with undiagnosed psychosis and delusions, I had a lot of funky weird ideas about reality. I quickly found my reality didn't match with those around me and often turned to fiction writing as a means to express myself in a way others found more "palatable". It's a way for me to open the door to communication!

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

All kinds of places! Songs, dreams, daydreams, personal experience, conversations… I have a very chaotic brain, I take in a lot of odd information and it all lays the foundation for odd ideas to grow!

What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?

I'm most proud of Rental Car at the moment! It was my first foray into proper full-on horror and my first time writing a specifically schizotypal protagonist like myself, and people have responded with enthusiasm to both! It's become a passion project I really adore and I'm proud of myself for taking the plunge and starting it :D

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

I'd love to publish in the future!

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

I'm not sure what appeals to me the most, but marketing appeald to me least hahaha. I'm not really a big presence on social media and I hate promoting myself. I just want to be a hermit. I'm not cut out for marketing myself :P

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I love editing! I love revision! I love wandering through this little garden I've written and pruning and polishing it. It's my favourite part of the process :D I don't have a least favourite part, at least not off the top of my head.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

I have no setup! No schedule! I write when I feel like it and stop the moment I'm not having fun anymore. This has increased my productivity and enjoyment tenfold, as well as improve the quality of my work!

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

Around 8 years! I don't remember what initially inspired me to join.

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

@tracle0, a friend and pal, who has some of my favourite worldbuilding of all time and such incredible characters! I've been following them for a long time now and love hearing their thoughts :D

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I love the creativity and enthusiasm! People have such wonderful brains and I love being able to hear people talk about their work with such passion and adoration!

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

I think… remembering that writeblr itself is not a hivemind! I see a lot of folks lamenting that they feel ignored by "the community" or that the community is dying, and I think a lot of people see writeblr as a huge monolith. It's not! People gotta focus more on finding a few good friends and a handful of works to be genuinely invested in, rather than trying to interact with the whole of the (ginormous!) community, and expecting the whole community to interact with them. Writeblr is a description of a type of blog, and it's incredibly diverse and complicated and broad! You won't vibe with everyone and it's not so much like an official club you join but a shared experience.

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

Man, I'm just vibing. I'm invested in a collection of works I try to keep up with, and I try to keep up with the little circle of writeblrs I'm involved with! Reblogging and getting excited. I'm also often that person who gets bored and goes "heyyyy I'm bored, does anyone have an oc I can draw"… I love doing art for people! Could I be doing more? Probably! But also, I'm not meant to be everything to everyone.

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

I don't have a preference!

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

Rambles, excerpts and art!

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

I'm just here, babey! And albatris on NaNoWriMo, too. And I guess if you like you can hit me up for my discord, I help run a small writing server!

[apricitystudies]

what i read in apr. 2023:

(previous editions) bold = favourite

class, race, & labour

the deputy and the disappeared (usa)

the dystopian underworld of south africa’s illegal gold mines

inside australia’s university wage theft machine

lydia maria child and the vexed role of the woman abolitionist (usa)

gender, sexuality, & intersectionality

the narcissist’s playbook

blurred lines, harbinger of doom

how revenge porn is used to silence dissidents in azerbaijan

queer villains are vital to understanding queer history

politics & current affairs

adrift

the rose-coloured tint on shou zi chew overlooks tiktok’s red flags

“we shouldn’t grow up dreaming that our friends don’t get killed”

how to wash your hands in a war zone (colombia)

why south koreans want the bomb

history, culture, & media

former south korea president’s grandson apologises to victims of gwangju massacre

singapore’s prison without walls made the world sit up in 1960s. how did it fall apart?

honey, i sold the kids

dril is everyone. more specifically, he’s a guy named paul

sudan

keep eyes on sudan (guide/resources)

sudan’s outsider

a plague o’ both your houses: the false dilemma of sudan’s elites

sudan’s coup has shattered the hopes of its 2019 revolution (2021 coup)

[tealeves]

20th Century Gay & Lesbian Historical Fiction for Young Adults

While your parents (or adults over twenty-five or so) may object to the mid-to-late 20th century being called "historical," there's been a wellspring of YA fiction recently about the experiences of gay & lesbian teens in the last hundred years. Here's just a few books from this niche that have popped out to me:

World War II & the 1950s

Nothing Sung & Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall Find this book near you on WorldCat. Starting in 1938, this book follows Charlie (short for Charlotte), who falls in love with jazz music and other girls in Nazi Germany. Through the war, Charlie's determination to hang onto these illicit, "degenerate" loves under violence and authoritarianism is tested, and relationships change before the war ends...

Pulp by Robin Talley Find this book near you on WorldCat. Taking place in both the 1950s and the modern day, main character Abby becomes engrossed in 50s lesbian pulp fiction and becomes determined to find the author of her favorite work who, in her past, deals with similar relationship problems amid the mid-century Lavender Scare.

My Lovely Frankie by Judith Clarke Find this book near you on WorldCat. Set in 1950s Australia, Tom feels compelled to join a Catholic seminary, but soon feels himself falling for a fellow student. Looking back on the situation from the modern day, Tom reflects on what love can really mean within Christian religion.

The 1970s

Ziggy, Stardust, & Me by James Brandon Find this book near you on WorldCat. Sixteen-year-old Jonathan is in electroshock conversion therapy just months before “homosexuality” is removed from the DSM. In these volatile times, Jonathan dreams about David Bowie & develops a friendship - maybe more - with a Two-Spirit kid named Web.

One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock Find this book near you on WorldCat. Aspiring reporter Allie moves to a new town in the late 1970s and develops a friendship and romance with Sam, a fellow middle-schooler. But the town they live in isn't very supportive of the few gay people who live there, leading Allie to try and find support in perhaps unexpected places amid a backdrop of rapid social change.

Music From Another World - Robin Talley Find this book near you on WorldCat. Another pick from Robin Talley, this time taking place in the punk scene of 1970s San Francisco. Told largely through letters, two teen girls - both closeted - become pen pals through their schools, and must learn how to rely on each other and their rebellion as the anti-gay backlash in the U.S. grows more and more oppressive.

The 1990s

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazeman Find this book near you on WorldCat. Coming in at the tail end of the 1980s AIDS crisis, Reza is an Iranian immigrant struggling with his fears about being gay and getting sick, while a love triangle develops between a girl crushing on him, Judy - who he only sees as a friend - and an openly gay punk, Art. The trio volunteer for ACT UP, an AIDS advocacy group, as fear, love, and illness makes relationships complicated for all three.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth Find this book near you on WorldCat. Living with her aunt in Minnesota after her parents' untimely deaths, Cameron has to navigate her love for girls in a strict Christian household - one that, once she's caught, sends her to a conversion therapy camp. There, she must navigate meeting other queer people for the first time, but also come face to face with trauma...

I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani Find this book near you on WorldCat. K is a teen navigating abuse, the immigrant experience, and blossoming queerness through the early 90s until after the September 11th attacks in 2001. When K and his brothers are taken unexpectedly to Iran by their volatile father, they don't know it's going to be an experience that changes their lives - though it may or may not be for the better.

[queercontent]

Another zine I want to work on is for Billy Elliot's 25th anniversary next year. I wouldn't say this was my gay awakening, but it's certainly remained a great love given my teen obsession with Jamie Bell and how often it appeared on free-to-air television. It sits alongside But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) and Beautiful Thing (1996) as films that made me feel privileged to have grown up gay when I did.

If you've got something nerdy to say about this film, DM me with it (or add comments to a reblog) the second you finish reading.

The zine would talk about Billy Elliot's 'controversy': the debates about whether it counted as queer, and grooming allegations against Daldry for his sheer proximity to a young actor. It would also include how my crush on Jamie Bell developed over the last twenty-five years. But tbh that's all just filler. What I really want to talk about is how its big, nerdy intertextual references make it media created for us rather than a cishet audience.

First reference is from history, because why choose the 1984 miner's strike as your setting if your film had nothing to say about their contributions to Gay Liberation? Perhaps a little headcanon, but no less important to highlight this largely forgotten change in Labour's policy-making both in the UK and here in Australia.

And because we don't have a world of time, and because it was a helpful reminder when it came out, we lean on the 2014 docudrama PRIDE. This one follows Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), who crossed prejudices to show their solidarity during the 1984 strike — going as far as holding a club fundraiser featuring Bronski Beats as their headliner.

LGSM's contributions were ultimately refused by the Miner's Union, and yet they left a lasting impression on mining communities and labour unions. LGSM were subsequently joined by hundreds of miners during Gay Pride 1985 who had by then voted to include gay and lesbian rights in their party portfolio. It was the first time a major political party in the West had committed to supporting queer rights.

Next we slide hard into Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, which premiered in 1995. This modern re-queerification of the classic ballet by gay composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky has the prince assume part of the princess's role as he pursues a mysterious Stranger (the swan). Here Bourne goes as far as to replace the entire cast of traditionally female swans with sweaty, bare-chested lads.

The 2012 capture watchable [ here ] stars homosexual hearthrob Dominic North as the forlorn prince.

Now, in Billy Elliot, Mrs Wilkinson recounts the classic tale to Billy as they listen to Swan Lake on the ferry. It's a wonderful scene where Wilkinson begins with reverence and dramatics, but ends with her usual boredom, leaving young Billy both confused and unsatisfied with the plot. To me this echoes the desire among 90s content producers to change how we told queer stories.

In Billy Elliot's closing scene, however, we see a 25yo Billy leap onto the stage as Bourne's Stranger rather than the classic princess (even nerdier than that, we see Bourne's original Stranger, Adam Cooper, playing a 25yo Billy Elliot). You realise in future screenings that the opening scene is also an homage to Bourne's Swan Lake: much as the young prince begins his story in bed, dreaming a swan hottie will save him from becoming a man; Billy begins jumping on his bed, flapping his arms, dreaming of something beyond the life he's expected to grow into.

Quick tangent via The Eagle (2011), starring Channing Tatum as Roman legionnaire Marcus and Jamie Bell as his British slave Esca. Now, do we condone slavery? Absolutely not. But we do enjoy watching Tatum and Bell get super clingy as they traip across the countryside in what has to be the most romantic bro film of all time.

Relevance to Billy Elliot? Vague. But hear me out.

The film's based on Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth (1954), which ends with Marcus settling down as a farmer with Esca and a Briton wife named Cottia who doesn't appear in the film. Subsequent novels follow the father's ring as it's passed down Marcus's bloodline, meaning they shagged down to produce an heir but implying literally nothing else.

But imagine removing Marcus's wife from the equation altogether (all women, actually), adding 'submission' to the male bonding elements of your film, reprimanding disaster bisexual Channing Tatum for suggesting it's a romance, and then expecting a professional homosexual like me to believe this doesn't count as another gay Jamie Bell movie. That's all I'm saying.

Lastly, I want to talk about Elton John co-writing the musical, and Tom Holland as the most famous Billy. I want to talk about Spanish Billies Pau Gimeno and Cristian López acting together in Paraiso (2021-22). I want to talk about Kate Mara (married to Bell) as Patty Bowes in the first season of POSE (2018-21), and her sister Rooney as Therese Belivet in Carol (2015). I want to talk about so many things.

What would YOU want to write about this film?

[radiocurrency]

Ya girl talked about their own journey growing up queer in regional Australia and the importance of supporting Queer Youth on my local radio today!

[ludinusdaleth]

hi I’m from Australia and I’m just wondering if you can explain the phenomenon of people from “blue states” seemingly wishing death on people from “red states/southern states” cause alot of people I follow are queer/bipoc communist folk from the south and I keep seeing “do not dehumanise us just because we are a red state” and “do not celebrate the hurricane just because it’s happening in the south” and like… do people do this??? I’m almost scared to ask. Cause here in australia even when it takes place in the most conservative part of idk, deep north queensland, something like a bushfire is nationally mourned as a tragedy and people rally to fund rebuilding and rescue efforts. I don’t think ive ever seen someone say “those damn liberal-national voters had it comin” so im so lost at the concept that this is something that apparently happens in USAmerica. Can you possibly explain this? What makes supposedly “progressive” folks so cruel? All the love to you by the way I hope your friends and any family in hurricane affected areas are safe, totally understand if you don’t want to answer the question at this time ❤️

yeah, ill try to explain. thank you for the well wishes, though i am currently fine. im in texas (and not on the coast), so i barely get any hurricane brunt at any time, but i have close friends in the current affected states who i am sending all the love & support i can to. ill put this under a read more because there's a lot to cover.

all americans im sure are the exact same to non americans, but basically due to the civil war about a century and a half ago, there is a big cultural rift between the north and south states - mostly in the east, but western blue (liberal) states definitely fit the northern mindset, and some more northern states along the appalachian mountains are considered southern. because of the grip of slavery on the south before that war, we in the south have never really escaped that history (many songs cite the south as being full of ghosts of history, and god, it is). we are also stereotyped presently as racist dumb redneck hicks. combine those two and you do not garner sympathy.

the thing is that the south is the most diverse area in the entire usa, and there there are a multitude of factors that lead us to being "less advanced" than the north, many of which hinge on that fact. the south has always had a more conservative grip due to the slaveowning elite just evolving to be right wingers nowadays. because we had worse building blocks to start with than the north with its better weather and an economy not built on slaves, we had work to do anyway, but conservatives in office refuse to fix or change any infrastructure. because they want to stay in power, our politicians purposely cut any and all educational funds and preach evangelical teachings so many of us grow up deeply propoganized - though some of us dont or work to break free of that thought process. we are not a monolith. you will find some of the most stalwart leftists here as well as the most violent ring wingers, almost like, we're a massive & diverse group of people. what we believe barely matters though when our politicians gerrymander and ensure county/town lines are drawn in such a way that priveleged votes always matter statistically more than oppressed ones do.

that's where the whole cruel progressives thing comes in. folks in blue areas, the north & canada especially, are blue, yes, but generally neoliberal when it comes to others beyond their purview. there is a smugness that they were born somewhere not haunted by a history of enslavement (ignoring the norths own racism - everyone i know who's moved north says their bigotry is highly noticeable, and slavery is legal everywhere in the country due to an exploited loophole in the 13th ammendment), and born in an area not as "punished by god" (a phrase used by southern pastors often) by natural disaster. every time there is even a modicum of news about a tragic event in a red state - a tornado, a hurricane, a shooting, things that can all happen in their lives too if less often - you will not be able to go near any comment section online or some northerners in reality who will not mock it. we deserve it for choosing to live here (as if we are not the poorest area of the country or as if the south is not also beautiful) and for choosing to vote red. there are occasional times this reverses - southerners love to jump on california's hypocrisy about this when they have earthquakes and fires - but it's not an equal balance. especially not when northern blue folk, who claim to be leftist & therefore compassionate, actively cheer on the deaths of those who could not evacuate because they were poor or desperate, and who make up our largest bipoc & queer populations in the country.

that is where bitterness, anger, and begging others to see southerners as human stems from. there is a lot more history & nuance to it than i can comprehensively express early in the morning, but that is the beginner gist of it. feel free to ask more if something wasnt clear or similar. my home is a mess, and i love it all the same, and my heart aches for my neighbors, and burns at others dehumanization of them and us as a whole. i know it will only get worse as climate change does and i wish we could all stick together instead rather than still drawing these boundary lines like our leaders want us to.

[archival-dodger]

Tonight marks the 45th annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, one of the seminal moments in Australian queer history. Unfortunately— and in part because of the dominance of (US) American pride discourses, in part because of the transition of the parade from protest to celebration— there’s a general tendency to merely view Mardi Gras as ‘our Stonewall’ without understanding the broader context of Australian histories of sexuality and gender, or recognising the significant differences between Stonewall and Mardi Gras.

This year, I’m marking Mardi Gras by posting three excellent, accessible, and historically informed pieces on what happened on 24 June, 1978 & a piece about life for lgbtq+ elders, some of whom discuss the climate of the 70s and 80s:

ABC’s investigative, multimedia report on the 1st Mardi Gras— featuring interviews with the 78ers.

Sydney’s Mardi Gras: 40 Years of Pride and Protest— in pictures— Text by Nick Henderson, of the Australian Queer Archives.

The joy is waking up and liking who you are— Interviews with 6 lgbt+ elders, on their experiences growing up and growing to love who they are now.

It’s also worth noting that the ABC is airing a series on Australian queer history— Queerstralia— from Tuesday next week. Again, the Australian Queer Archives were one of the groups deeply involved in this, and I’m confident that it will be a genuine contribution to the public history of queer Australia.

Happy World Pride, and Happy Mardi Gras!

[0nemorestranger]

BOOKS THAT GIVE ME HOARD VIBES

paradise rot by jenny hval (queer surreal coming-of-age horror, translated from swedish; follows a woman going off to college who enters into an intense relationship with her roommate. lots of talk about religion, rotting fruit, mold, and piss)

carrie by stephen king ("female rage" horror; sixteen-year-old outcast gets her period for the first time and is mocked and further ostracized for it. centers around blood, both menstrual and otherwise. also deals with religious zealotry and child abuse)

on sun swallowing by dakota warren (confessional poetry collection; snapshots of the author's life growing up in rural australia. feral youth and girlhood, turbulent adolescence, more religious trauma, and eating disorders are mentioned)

nightbitch by rachel yoder ("weird girl" lit fic; a new mother has reason to believe that motherhood is turning her into a dog. stream-of-consciousness writing, books within books, and isolation are big themes. mention of animal abuse/death)

my sweet audrina by vc andrews (gothic horror; a seven-year-old girl has the same name as her sister, who died before she was born. her father believes that if she sits in the first audrina's rocking chair, she can gain access to audrina's thoughts, memories, and unspecified abilities. unreliable narrator, fluid passage of time [or lack thereof], and a whole bunch of weird ass untrustworthy characters. more child abuse as well as some ableist language and ideas)

if anyone has any other suggestions, FEEL FREE to reblog or leave them in the replies!!

[the-conquest-of-shred]

look this might sound odd considering I'm a bi guy in Australia, but growing up watching lots of movies I only ever really felt like I saw myself on screen and clung to it were queer coded girls in highschool comedies or thrillers because they were the only type of queer person imbued with any sort of hope to the point that as a grown ass 34 year old dad from another country I look at Max Caulfield and am like "she's just like me"

[mecachrome]

I feel like I saw something a couple of months ago that implied that at least one of Oscar's sisters is queer, and I can't find it but was thinking about it again. I was curious about like, if it is definite and confirmed queerness, something that people just suspect, or something I hallucinated all together?

it's definitely just an assumption anon!!! i'll put this below the cut since it's kind of an awkward topic.

the thing about oscar's sisters is that they're very like, clearly cool + fashionable and a lot of their stylistic choices can read as queer, but also we live in an era of Why Do Straight Women Look Gay (i'm saying this as a well-meaning lesbian don't kill me) so it doesn't actually necessarily mean anything. and obviously it's ultimately stereotyping etc. etc. which i suppose is frowned upon depending on your personal perspective and moral stance...

to be clear though h does have a boyfriend (whom she publicly posts about on her tiktok) it's just that she and edie are just comfortable with like... visual cues that ping to some people as being bi/gay, such as the short haircuts, h consistently wearing pants instead of skirts with her uniform, e being a very sporty altgirl with a smiley piercing, etc...

if you ask me i'm like well I Wouldn't Be Very Surprised if they were LOL. but also i wouldn't be surprised if they weren't! ultimately it's just a jokey joke so definitely don't take anything at face value 😭 i do think oscar is very used to being around #gaypeople but that's also just growing up in the 21st century in australia lmfao

[qnewsau]

Chappell Roan reflects on growing up religious and queer

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/chappell-roan-reflects-on-growing-up-religious-and-queer/

Chappell Roan reflects on growing up religious and queer

Award-winning singer-songwriter Chappell Roan has reflected on growing up religious and queer in A Carpool Karaoke Christmas holiday special.

“I know for a lot of people, it’s actually very freeing.” Raon said,

“For me, it almost did the opposite, where I felt like I couldn’t be myself,

“That who I was was a sin and I was going to hell no matter how good of a person I was or how much I loved God, for being gay.

“And I just couldn’t handle feeling ashamed anymore.”

she not only shared her experience with host Zane Low, but her parents Dwight and Kara who were in the back seat.

Together they sang Pink Pony Club, which brought a tear to Roan’s father’s eye.

“That song, I love singing it with her at her shows,” her mother Kara said,

“Even when we’re grown up, we really care what our parents think about us.”

“And I hope that’s something that she always knows,” Raons’ father Dwight said,

“That we love her so much and we could never not be proud of her.

“I think about this a lot and try not to get emotional about it.

“What she has taught me as a father is respect for other people and all people, and that’s what I want people to understand.

“Everything that is about her is about loving everybody, and she has taught me that.

“What she stands for is a lot of hope.”

Going to gay clubs was spiritual

Pink Pony Club is semi-autobiographical, with Roan inspired to write the song after seeing go-go dancers at a Hollywood gay bar.

It’s about a young woman leaving her small Southern town and religious upbringing behind to embrace her true self in California.

Roan has said that she is grateful to be from Missouri but found a lot more freedom when she moved to Los Angeles.

“In a conservative community, I understand the fear and where it comes from,” she said

“It’s scary when it’s something you don’t know or understand.”

Roan has shared that going to gay clubs for the first time felt spiritual in an interview with NME.

“I was raised on Christian rock, but I never identified with it.” she said

“I felt such a push and pull because I was so curious about pop music but couldn’t identify why I related to it.

“It was a lifestyle I did not live. I was very sheltered and very prude.

“I was told LA is demonic and Satanists live here.

“But when I got to West Hollywood, it opened my eyes that everything I was afraid of wasn’t always true – especially about the queer community.

“Going to gay clubs for the first time, it felt spiritual.”

Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa were also guests on the Christmas episode.

You can watch A Carpool Karaoke Christmas holiday special on Apple TV+ and Apple Music.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[actualhumancryptid]

I couldn’t do my romantic comedy (re)watch without wlw romantic comedy Imagine Me & You (2005). I still love this film so much. Though I’m willing to own that my love for it might not be because it is the best romantic comedy ever made. It’s scoring probable extra points for.

a) the era.

b) the happy ending.

c) the fact that even the very few inappropriate or obnoxious straight characters still have relatively positive reactions. Nobody is massively homophobic. The inappropriate male friend may be awful, asking Luce out and disrespecting her ‘no’ and her identity. But he’s never aggressive. Is his behaviour funny and whimsical? No. But given actual reality (and the shit in the bawdy comedies that had started hitting the market), still better.

Basically. It keeps things light. Or tries to.

d) extra points for not being fucking historical or Arthouse and just a normal romantic comedy that, again, isn’t trying to do anything deeper than every other hetero romantic comedy.

e) extra points for not being a teen comedy. So many lgbt romantic comedies are teen comedies these days.

f) It came out on general release (for a very short time where I live). I didn’t have to go to a film festival to see it. I didn’t have to buy an American DVD to see it. I didn’t have to download it from LiveJournal. I saw it in my local suburban cinema. In the shopping centre my grandma buys groceries in. (It was 2005. Cinemas were still king).

But obviously it is one movie. It’s very white. And a hetero marriage has to be broken up for the wlw to get together.

Of course there were other great movies at the time (and earlier) about queer women. Some of them better movies. Indies or ‘foreign’/non-English movies. But I’m A Cheerleader (1999). Show Me Love/Fucking Amal (1998). Bound (1996). Saving Face (2004). D.E.B.S (2004).

But I think what makes Imagine Me & You something special to me, is that it made me feel like we were the same as everybody else. After growing up choking on all the cheesy cis het romantic comedies, we got our own cheesy one. And obviously LGBTQ cinema has done lots of exciting stuff since then. Stuff that has actually became big enough that non queer folk even watch it. Even stuff with wlw (though we continue to get fucked there a lot of the time). And it’s important to remember that, commercially, Imagine Me & You was a flop. This is surely why nobody decided to go out and make another mainstream wlw romantic comedy any time directly after. To watch it today I had to get it through ‘creative’ means, because there is currently no legal way to watch it in Australia. It is massively forgotten outside our wlw enclave.

I think we definitely put it on a pedestal. It’s just a cheesy romcom, and if it didn’t have two women falling in love I doubt I would clock it as one of my favourites in the genre. But it does and I do.

I am sure I haven’t finished thinking about this. But anyway, this is what I have right now.

[stripesandblossoms]

Does anyone have advice for parenting a kid who's trans?

Are there other parents who have already faced the learning curve? Or if you're trans, how was your childhood? What did your parents do right? What do you wish they'd done/not done?

My daughter is 5 years old, and about to start school next year (Australia). It's been over two years since she first told us she wished she was a girl, and almost one year since she said she was a girl 'all the time.'

In that first year, she had phases. Some days she was a girl. Some days she was a boy. Some days she was a boy who wore dresses. Some phases lasted hours, others months. Some days we'd ask what she was today, other times she'd tell us unprompted. We always said that no matter who she was we love her and it's okay to be that, and okay to change your mind, and okay to be figuring yourself out.

Her preschool said it was a normal exploration of gender/sex and that she'd grow out of it (and there were a couple of months where that seemed true. Then again, none of our other children, or even other children we know, have been through any such phase).

When she said she was always a girl, we started making it official; telling her doctors and teachers and grandparents, etc. And (mostly) that went over fine; the official places made notes in their records and changed their use of pronouns. Teachers helped explain to other children that girls can have penises, and [M] is one of those, and it's okay. She became very confident at correcting other children, and when against people who don't try (transphobic grandparents), she shrugged and said it didn't matter what they thought. She hasn't wavered.

Except once.

Pressure from kids at preschool.

Maybe she was tired of correcting them. Maybe they had some rhetoric from their parents they were spouting. But she was subdued in the car home, until I told her that, if she really felt like a boy then that's okay, we'll call you a boy, but it should be because that's how you really feel, not because of what other people say, and you shouldn't pretend to be someone you're not.

Now she's about to start big school though and I'm scared for her. I'm scared that other kids will treat her differently, or bully her, or convince her to hide herself in order to fit in (the principal is super supportive, said she could enrol as a girl and use the girls' toilets, or the gender-neutral one [disabled?] if she wanted, but it's further from the kindy rooms. But what about swimming lessons? Sports carnivals? Health lessons? Overnight excursions?).

I'm scared my (transphobic) parents are right, and that it is too early, it is a phase, and she'll change her mind, or that I /have/ somehow forced/convinced her to be this way, and that one day she'll turn around and say 'mum you ruined my childhood, why did you let me think I was a girl? Now everyone thinks I'm a freak.'

Then again, they didn't think to tell me (they don't believe) that bisexual, autistic, or ADHD people exist. And I felt like a freak anyway. I just didn't know why.

I swear I've read stories of queer people who knew who they were from a very early age, but everyone was dismissive. That's what I tell my parents, that I'd rather believe her now and be supportive of anyone she is and if she changes her mind later then okay? And? People can have phases? That doesn't mean the phase is wrong. We're made of every phase we've been through. I love my baby, and if she's a girl, she's a girl and I love her. But it's also a really big scary step into the wider world, and who knows what sort of backlash we'll be up against (maybe I'm being transphobic even making this post, but I just needed somewhere to organise my thoughts, and you know what? Parenting is hard. I feel doubt about literally everything. But this is something I don't have my own experience to fall back on).

I just want someone to tell me I'm doing the right thing.