Quiz: Do You Have What it Takes To Be in a Lesbian Long Distance Relationship?

Long distance relationships are often considered lesbian culture, but not every queer has the ability to make it work. Long distance relationships are hard! They require expert communication, compromise, and compatibility.

Having been in a long distance relationship for four years, I’ve deemed myself an expert, and put together this super scientific quiz to impart my knowledge. Do you have what it takes to do lesbian long distance? Or should you stick to lesbian local?


Quiz: Do You Have What it Takes To Be in a Lesbian Long Distance Relationship?

Your partner is busy with work and unable to call you for two days. How do you react?(Required)
Pick a board game:(Required)
How would you feel about your partner being friends with their ex?(Required)
Which film from our list of the top 10 best lesbian movies of all time do you think is most romantic?(Required)
You’re upset about something your partner has done. How do you communicate?(Required)
What are your feelings about Uhauling?(Required)
Your partner tests positive for Covid and can no longer visit for your birthday. What do you do?(Required)
On a scale from 1-5, 1 being hate it and 5 being love it, how much do you like driving?(Required)
On a scale from 1-5, 1 being hate it and 5 being love it, how much do you like flying?(Required)
On a scale from 1-5, 1 being hate it and 5 being love it, how much do you like taking trains?(Required)
You haven’t seen your partner for a month and your flight is delayed for two more days. What do you do?(Required)
What would be the silver lining if you were stranded in the woods like the Yellowjackets?(Required)

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Drew Burnett Gregory

Drew is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and theatremaker. She is a Senior Editor at Autostraddle with a focus in film and television, sex and dating, and politics. Her writing can also be found at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cosmopolitan UK, Refinery29, Into, them, and Knock LA. She was a 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Notable Writer and a 2023 Lambda Literary Screenwriting Fellow. She is currently working on a million film and TV projects mostly about queer trans women. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Drew Burnett has written 693 articles for us.

2 Comments

  1. This quiz was made for me, someone who has dated seriously long distance and local and who loves rating how much I enjoy various forms of transit and imagining being stranded like a Yellowjacket!! The result is also completely accurate. I am, indeed, looking for a long-distance fling (hmu everybody). Thank you for making me feel seen. (Also, what is that picture next to the description from?)

    • A movie called Foreign Language that I haven’t actually seen yet, because I don’t think it’s out in the states or Canada?

Comments are closed.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Episode 1714 Recap: Anything Doesn’t Go

Times have changed! Whose on top one week, can be on the bottom the next. Anything can happen on Drag Race if it makes for good TV and a producer-approved conclusion.

Following last week’s double save, everyone is happy except Sam. While Lexi and Suzie seem excited to have witnessed a great lip sync, Sam would really prefer to be in the top four. I don’t blame her. If someone had gone home, there’d be a good chance based on prior seasons that everyone remaining would be going on to the finale. She is happy about winning though. And as a gay who sometimes randomly references men’s sports, I did appreciate her saying shoutout to Charles Barkley for the rebound of all rebounds going from the bottom to the top. Meanwhile, after her first lip sync, Onya says she’s ready to fight.

It’s a new day in the work room and the queens are wearing cowboy hats! Or, at least, Sam, Onya, and Lexi are wearing cowboy hats. Suzie is wearing a 20s flapper hat and Jewels is preserving her curls.

The final maxi challenge is an audition for RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! They’ll be taking publicity photos, making a promotional video, sitting down for an interview with Latrice Royale, and a performance of a new number called “Gift Shop.”

If the makeover challenge was made easier with a consistent brand, this challenge is made harder. The brands they’re selling here are RuPaul and Vegas — not themselves. The challenge is how can they fit themselves in. But, of course, this isn’t communicated to the queens, because Drag Race is psychological torture. Sam says she’s leaning into country since the judges have like that and Suzie says she’s leaning into Toot because every time people have doubted her it’s paid off. Fair assessments! But, this time, wrong!

Albert Sanchez is the photographer for the publicity photos and Jewels sets a very high bar. She’s a natural in front of the camera and Ru is having a blast working with her. Onya and Sam are fine. Suzie and Lexi seem super uncomfortable and are struggling.

Based on the edit, it seems like Sam is the standout of the interview with Latrice. Or, at least, she seems like Latrice’s favorite. Jewels also does a good job, even if she has no answer when Latrice asks where she sees herself in five years. To be fair, she’s 23 so five years is basically an entire other lifetime for her. She recovers well, saying that Drag Race was the dream so now she needs to start thinking of new dreams.

Onya talks about being a cook and not doing drag full time, but then her interview seems to fall apart a bit. Latrice, at least, doesn’t seem that taken with her. Meanwhile, Lexi is good at the vulnerability, blaming estrogen for being a cry baby. (I think that might be the trauma, babe!) And Suzie, once again, blames her Snatch Game flop on being too niche. Ellen Greene in Little Shop is not niche!!!

Back in the work room, the queens talk about their first impressions and bonding despite not liking each other at first. I’ve said it before, but I really do love how these last weeks often force very different personalities to form connections. This is the way RuPaul’s psychological experiment is good.

The “Gift Shop” number is fun! It’s hard to tell how well everyone is doing, since we don’t spend any time with them during the rehearsal, but no one seems to be flopping. Personally, I was watching Jewels, but that might just be because I know she’s a good dancer and she’s cute.

The runway theme is Opulent Outerwear. Jewels is gorgeous in white feathers and diamonds and balled blonde hair. Really all the runways were good this week — except maybe Sam in an orange dress with a glass rhinestoned cape that I found a little underwhelming. Lexi is in a two piece of metal hearts and a big sleeping bag coat. Onya has giant gold earrings and a head wrap with a multi-patterned coat covered in golden medallions. And Suzie is in a red cocoon coat with a round hat with a feather on top.

Onya and Jewel’s promotional videos are by far the best, followed by Sam, with Lexi’s by far the worst. Suzie wins best promotional video for Anything Goes which was not the assignment so I do understand why the judges were displeased.

Overall, I didn’t disagree with the judging, but I was surprised by it! For one, it’s the last episode before the finale (not counting the LaLaPaRuza Reunion) so I understand why Sam and Suzie thought they should lean into their brands. In general, I was surprised by how harsh they were on Sam. They’ve been so generous to her all season, but this week Michelle said Sam was too cocky in her interview. Of all the challenges this week, the interview seems like the one Sam killed. I do think the double save last week meant this week had to have tougher judging than the sunshine and rainbows of many penultimate episodes.

Jewels wins! And she’s invited to join Drag Race Live! Hey, maybe that’s the perfect gig while she thinks about what she wants out of the next five years. Onya is safe, which duh, but so is Lexi. That means it’s Sam vs. SUZIE. A big surprise! The guest judge is Tracee Ellis Ross so they lip sync to “Love Child” by Diana Ross and the Supremes.

The lip sync is solid with neither queen doing much better than the other. The producers had every right to do the logical thing and send Sam home… but nope. Sam moves on and Suzie sashays.

She handles it with a surprising amount of grace and professionalism. She had every right to be pissed. Until this episode she had NEVER been in the bottom. I understand critiquing Suzie for being too Broadway for a Vegas challenge, but sending her home??

I don’t even think Sam will make a better finale for them. Suzie is a totally decent lip syncer! This really is one of the most baffling eliminations in years. But Suzie is right — she’s going to be just fine.

Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:

+ If you want more Latrice Royale, I do think season four is an excellent Drag Race season despite the eventual winner. But I also think it’s the rare season where Untucked is better than the main series so don’t skip it.

+ Latrice with a Roxxy Andrews reference telling Suzie to throw some bitches under the bus or leave them at the bus stop.

+ Queen I’m rooting for: Onya

+ Queen I’m horniest for: Jewels

+ Queen I wanted to sashay instead of Suzie: Sam or Lexi

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Drew Burnett Gregory

Drew is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and theatremaker. She is a Senior Editor at Autostraddle with a focus in film and television, sex and dating, and politics. Her writing can also be found at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cosmopolitan UK, Refinery29, Into, them, and Knock LA. She was a 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Notable Writer and a 2023 Lambda Literary Screenwriting Fellow. She is currently working on a million film and TV projects mostly about queer trans women. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Drew Burnett has written 693 articles for us.

3 Comments

  1. i’m actually so devastated over suzie’s elimination 😭😭 idc she’s the s17 winner in my heart ♥

    • What I find so confusing is now Onya feels like a lock for the win. If Suzie was still around it would’ve been more up in the air which seems like it would’ve made for a more exciting finale!

Comments are closed.

The 40 Best LGBTQ+ TV Shows on HBO Max With Lesbian, Queer or Trans Characters

HBO was an early pioneer of LGBTQ content, and its streaming service HBO Max has a lot of television available for queer women with lesbian and bisexual characters — some of the most inventive and original queer programming we’ve seen in recent years, like Search Party, Sort Of, Fantasmas, Somebody Somewhere and Hacks. They’ve also got a solid library of shows from networks like Freeform and The CW But, like many other networks in the years of our lord 2022-2024, HBO Max has dropped a lot of beloved queer shows from its roster. Let’s talk about the best of what’s left!


* indicates an HBO or Max original

Adventure Time (2010-2018)

Adventure Time is essential viewing for the queer all-ages animation aficionados, a bridge between the subtext of Legend of Korra and maintext of Steven Universe, a series long on-again off-again love story between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen. But it’s also just really delightful, really weird storytelling for nerds of all stripes. If you’ve joined the great Dungeons and Dragons Renaissance of the past several years, Adventure Time will speak to your geekery in very specific ways. Follow Jake the Dog and Finn the Human across the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo as they challenge Death, make friends with psychedelic teddy bears, grow up, fall in love with princesses and unicorns, and confront the hardest thing of all: their own trauma and insecurities. If you stick around long enough, you’ll even meet Fionna and Cake, the gender-flipped protagonists! Stream Adventure Time on Max.

And Just Like That* (2021-)

When we begged the goddesses for a Sex and the City reboot with a bit more queer representation and they promised us Sara Ramirez as the charming non-binary comic/podcaster Che Diaz, we thought we’d really scored big. Unfortunately, Che turned out to be truly unbearable and Miranda’s big queer awakening has inspired a lot of lesbians to mostly just feel really bad for Steve. But it’s still kinda remarkable that it’s happening at all, and our myriad complaints have not stopped us from tuning in each week to see the outfits, the jumbled attempts at intergenerational dialogue and interesting takes on aging. Stream And Just Like That… on Max.

The Baby (2022)

This British horror limited series finds a middle-aged woman unexpectedly landed with a baby, thus forced to give up her life of impulsivity and adventure. But it’s not just any baby — this one is stinky, controlling, manipulative and in possession of violent powers. Her younger sister, Bobbi, is a lesbian who desperately wants a baby of her own. Mrs. Eaves/Nour is another queer character, a 72-year-ld “Enigma” who’s lived in her car for 50 years and once had a passionate affair with Helen, a married pregnant woman who tried to escape her marriage with Nour. Stream The Baby on Max.

Batwoman (2019-2022)

Batwoman is the most famous lesbian superhero in comic book history, and her first season pulled heavily from her most celebrated and GLAAD-Award winning “Elegy” arc with Ruby Rose playing the brooding, traumatized, Shane-esque Kate Kane with just the right amount of swagger and aloofness. There were almost too many queer women to count that first season, a gay bar and perpetual ex drama. Black bisexual actress Javica Leslie donned the cape and cowl starting in Season Two and the show has never been better, wowing us every week with what’s easily one of our favorite superhero shows of all time. (-Heather) Stream Batwoman on Max.

Betty* (2020-2022)

With naturalistic performances and dreamy cinematography, HBO’s Betty captures the NYC skater girl subculture in all its appeal and personality, Betty brims with life and centers gender non-conformity and queer characters including Kirt, a charmingly oblivious tomboy and Honeybear, a Black videographer from a conservative family who skates with abandon and dates with reservation. Stream Betty on Max.

The skater girls of "Betty" all hug each other. Young, hot, some are queer.

Betty (HBO)

A Black Lady Sketch Show* (2019-2023)

Carmen put it absolutely best in her review: “I’d put any part of A Black Lady Sketch Show against critics’ darlings like Donald Glover’s ATL or Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Veep, the best of SNL or anything from Mad TV and I wouldn’t break a sweat worrying about losing my lunch money. ABLSS is smart. It’s observational and absurdist. It’s the exact opposite of mindless humor; it requires the audience’s full attention…. I realize at this point it sounds like I’m basically saying “everything and the kitchen sink!” and it sort of becomes meaningless, but my point is the exact opposite: A Black Lady Sketch Show never chooses to limit itself; it sets a new bar and then rises to that challenge every single time.” Stream a Black Lady Sketch Show on Max.

The Deuce* (2016-2019)

Set during the 1970s and 1980s, The Deuce traces the Golden Age of the porn industry (and its adjacent economies) n New York City, centering on Eileen “Candy” Merrell (Maggie Gyllenhall), a street sex worker who eventually breaks into the filmmaking side of porn. A story that involves not one but TWO James Francos might not be at the top of your watch list, but Roberta Colindrez shows up in Season Two as Irene, a (gay) manager of the Show Land Sex Emporium. In Season Three, college student Abby, manager of the Hi-Hat bar, starts a relationship with a woman, and there’s also a sparingly represented lesbian couple of sex workers in the first Season. Stream The Deuce on Max.

Doctor Who (2005- )

Doctor Who has a complicated queer history. Its sister series, Torchwood, is probably the most egregious Bury Your Gays offender in sci-fi history, and Doctor Who itself is not without its missteps. The Doctor’s first and only lesbian companion, Bill Potts, ended the show as a sentient oil being! Lots of queer side characters have gotten murered over the years! But there’s still lots to love about the series. Madame Vastra and Jenny — the self-described lizard woman from the dawn of time, and her wife — are fan favorites and have made notable appearances in many of the show’s most pivotal episodes. Suranne “Gentleman Jack” Jones plays The TARDIS. And, of course, there’s bisexual heartthrob and Time Lord-y River Song, who is The Doctor’s loooooongtime love, an especially thrilling turn of events when Thirteen regenerated as a woman. (-Heather) Stream Doctor Who on Max.

Euphoria* (2019-2022)

Screwed-up, gorgeous, privileged, disillusioned, sarcastic teenagers on drugs: we know this song by heart. But Euphoria‘s heavily stylized trip into the trope feels somehow immediately fresh. Rue (Zendaya), fresh out of rehab at the ripe age of 16, returns home with no intentions to stay sober and quickly falls for Jules, the manic pixie dream trans girl (™ Drew Gregory), played by an actual trans actress, who she craves like the other habits she’s been encouraged to kick. Although Sam Levinson’s interpretation of sexual orientation and gender identity is blatantly incorrect at best and Season Two makes a brand new series of really bizarre choices, but we can’t tear ourselves away. Stream Euphoria on Max.

Fantasmas* (2024-)

“Every once in a while a show comes along that’s so unique, so unapologetic, and so, well, good, that it feels like a miracle it exists at all,” writes Drew. “With major companies turning against art since the pandemic and with the streaming bubble bursting, these little miracles are becoming more and more infrequent. This makes the arrival of Julio Torres’ Fantasmas feel like a sigh of creative relief.” Watch Fantasmas on Max.

Gentleman Jack* (2019-2022)

The groundbreaking historical drama that Heather called “your sex-filled soft butch Historical Drama Dream Come True” follows legendary seductress Anne Lister, whose diaries from the early 19th century detail lesbian romantic consequences executed with remarkable boldness and fearlessness for the time period. This adaptation sees Surriane Jones display “a seductive, sensual, capable, robust soft butch energy that makes Shane McCutcheon look like a clumsy little baby goat.” Stream Gentleman Jack on Max.

Anne Lister kisses her girlfriend Anne on her hand in period costumes. Still from "Gentleman Jack" on HBO

Gentleman Jack (HBO)

Girls on the Bus* (2024)

This show about a group of female journalists on the campaign trail was so jam-packed with talent, it should’ve been better than it was. But there’s a queer gem in there, too — body-positive social media star Lola (Natsha Behnam). “Though the space in which she ultimately ends up feels implausible, watching Lola grow over the show’s ten episodes is a highlight of the season,” wrote Natalie of her arcStream The Girls on the Bus on Max.

Gossip Girl (2021-2022)

This hotly anticipated HBO Max reboot promised a much more diverse group of elite students but forgot to update the most inane elements of the original’s plot. Mean girl Monet de Haan is a lesbian, and trans model/actor Zion Moreno plays Luna La. While the first season didn’t use Monet de Haan to her full potential, that all changed in Season Two. “Rewriting Blair Waldorf as a Black lesbian who knows what it means to be sidelined, and who refuses to go back into the shadow?” wrote Carmen in her review. “It’s gold.” Stream Gossip Girl on Max.

Hacks* (2021-)

Ava, a bisexual comic who recently found herself cancelled and out of work gets hired to write jokes for an older, wildly wealthy, once-pioneering iconic comedienne now best known to millennials as a QVC salesperson. Ava moves to Las Vegas to work with Deborah Vance and self-discovery ensues! Season Two of this highly award-winning comedy was even better than the first, if you can believe it, and its lesbian cruise episode won an Autostraddle TV Award. Then Hacks Season Three continued to defy the odds with what’s possibly one of the best Season Threes ever? Stream Hacks on Max.

Ava and Deborah Vance on a lesbian cruise

Harley Quinn (2019-)

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have been fan favorites and queer icons from almost they bumped into each other during a heist in 1993 in Batman: The Animated Series. TWENTY YEARS LATER they kissed in Bombshells in 2015 and in the main universe in Harley Quinn #25 in 2017 — but it wasn’t until season two of the DC Universe animated series that they finally got the on-screen romance they deserve. In fact, the full second season is a slow-burn of Harley realizing she’s in love with Ivy, Ivy reciprocating Harley’s feelings, and a near-disastrous wedding finale that ends with explosions, para-demons, laser guns, flashing lights, blood and guts and chaos, and a confession of queer feelings that is animated as a throwback to Harley and Ivy’s original meeting in the early ’90s. It is honestly a perfect season of queer TV. And you don’t even have to know anything about Batman or comic books or Harley or Ivy to jump right in and enjoy it. Stream Harley Quinn on Max.

High Maintenance* (2016-2020)

Katja Blichfeld came out as a lesbian after producing the first season of this show with her then-husband Ben Sinclair, who also stars in the very New York series as friendly neighborhood pot dealer “The Guy.” “When High Maintenance is at its best there’s nothing better on television,” Drew wrote of the series. “When it’s at its worst it’s still really funny and weird and intriguing.” Smashing 2-3 brand new stories into every episode, the show above all truly loves people and queer folks have been baked (get it!?!?!) into its DNA from the jump. Stories have included a rare two-episode arc loosely based on Katja’s divorce and subsequent lesbian relationship, Margaret Cho and Hye Yun Park as queer kinksters experimenting with some risky new sexual paths, a neurotic lesbian couple afraid to kill a mouse, a non-binary person on a surprise date doing ketamine at a bowling alley, a group of neurotic feminist activists confront a pet snake gone wild. Stream High Maintenance on Max.

I Hate Suzie* (2020-2022)

Billie Piper stars as Suzie Pickles, an actress whose life is turned upside down when her phone is hacked and compromising photos are leaked, torching her relationship and her career. Leila Farzad is hilarious and simply delightful as Naomi, Suzie’s bisexual manager and best friend trying to support Suzie while also sorting through her own cadre of personal problems. Vogue writes, “In a show filled with great performances, Farzad’s is an especially compelling one, at once funny, smart, and rich with pathos.” Stream I Hate Suzie on Max.

Suzie and Naomi sitting in a park looking upset

“I Hate Suzie”

In Treatment (2023)

In Treatment debuted in 2008, starring Gabriel Byrne, and was rebooted in 2023, this time starring the always-incredible Uzo Aduba. The series follows several client stories through psychotherapy sessions from both sides — therapists and patients — and amongst those patients is Laila, a queer teen played by queer actor Quintessa Swindell. Stream In Treatment on Max.

Irma Vep* (2022)

To be honest, despite its near-universal critical acclaim, most of us here at Autostraddle did not enjoy Irma Vep, but it feels like a show we need to include on this list or else prepare ourselves for questions about why Irma Vep isn’t on this list. Mira, an American movie star who’s just had a breakup with her female assistant, goes to France to star as Irma Vep in a remake of the French silent film classic “Les Vampires.” She’s got a new assistant who’s also queer, and there’s a lesbian costume designer, but, as Drew wrote in her review, “there is nothing recognizably queer in these characters other than their obsession with chaos and heartbreak.” Stream Irma Vep on Max.

The Last of Us* (2023-)

Ellie is 14, queer and possibly the only human on earth immune to a brutal global pandemic that wiped out most of civilization, leaving survivors in a hellscape of a country ruled by a fascist government and groups of vigilantes. Based on a wildly popular video game, The Last Of Us follows Joel, a hardened and deeply traumatized smuggler tasked with escorting Ellie across a post-apocalyptic America to find the researchers who hope Ellie holds the key to creating a vaccine. What follows is a story of unspeakable cruelty and brutality and the patches of human connection and chosen-familial love that gathers in the absence of traditional structures of support. Stream The Last of Us on Max.

The Last of Us: Ellie and Riley are on a mall carousel, Ellie is looking wistfully up at Riley, who looks lost in thought.

“The Last of Us”

Mare of Easttown* (2021)

This limited series stars Kate Winslet as a sad detective in rural Pennsylvania trying to solve some murders and some disappearances that threaten to wear away the fibers of her community. She does so with a lot of flannel shirts, a Delco accent and a strong assist from Evan Peters. Her college-aged daughter, Siobhan, is a lesbian with an undercut who’s gotta be the steadying influence in an unraveling drama. Stream Mare of Easttown on Max.

Nancy Drew (2020-)

I know we always joke about The CW making “gritty remakes” of anything and everything for better or worse, but they really hit this nail right on the head. A modern take on a classic book series that is, in my opinion, the perfect balance of nods to the original canon and brand new elements. For example, queer gals! Including but not limited to a character from the books, Bess Marvin. Plus, of course, plenty of mystery, stellar performances from newcomer Kennedy McMann, and that quintessential teen drama you’d expect from a CW original. (-Valerie) Stream Nancy Drew on Max.

The O.C. (2003-2006)

Many elder millennials considered oft-postmodern teen soap The OC to be appointment television in the early aughts. It brought Christmukkah, Mischa Barton, Imogen Heap and Seth Cohen into our lives via a fish-out-of-water tale of roughian Ryan Atwood, adopted into a wealthy charismatic Orange County family and consequently their high-drama social lives. It also brought us one of the most memorable Sweeps Week Lesbian Storylines ever when lanky it-girl Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) fell for edgy alterna-teen Alex (Olivia Wilde) and in doing so, became one of the first bisexual lead teen characters on network television. Stream The O.C. on Max.

Our Flag Means Death* (2022 – 2023)

“Packed with brilliant leads and an incredible ensemble of sensitive men, strong women, and badass non-binary folks, the show is an absolute delight, dancing between serious and silly in equal measure,” writes Meg of this show about a charming naive guy who upends his life to run away and become a Gentleman Pirate, despite a total lack of experience in the matter. “There are so many queer relationships, so many exes and love triangles, so many beautiful stories playing out and interweaving in ways that feel familiar and fresh all at once.” Non-binary Latiné actor Vico Ortiz plays Jim, a beloved non-binary character. Stream Our Flag Means Death on Max.

Our Flag Means Death

Perry Mason* (2020-2023)

The legendary fictional criminal defense lawyer gets his third television show with this dark period drama set in the 1930s and focused on his origin story. Second billing after star Matthew Rhys (The Americans) is Juliet Rylance as Della Street, the loyal and driven (and homosexual) legal secretary of Mason’s frequent client, E.B. Jonathan (John Lithgow), who eventually starts working for Mason himself. She has a girlfriend and in Season Two, her love life gets even more complicated — and intriguing. Stream Perry Mason on Max.

Pretty Little Liars (2009-2017)

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, a town filled with barnes and graveyards, there exists a state of adrenalized hyperreality that is accessible to the town’s most exceptional teen girls. Imbued with its power, they can fly airplanes, survive being buried alive, perform black ops level surveillance and black belt level ninja moves, and bend time and space and the affection of burgeoning lesbians to their will. Pretty Little Liars follows the hijinks of these agents of chaos, and the friend groups they leave behind when they fake their own deaths and plant a series of increasingly insane clues, in the form of dolls and masks and human teeth, to help their friends solve the mystery of their disappearance. Emily Fields is one of these left behind friends, and while her heart belongs to the one who accused her of liking Beyonce a little too much, she entertains a string of other lovers, from free spirit Maya to catastrophically intense Paige to dead girlfriend lookalike Samara to coffee shop homosexual Talia. The later seasons make some egregious missteps with a trans woman character, the show perpetually kills off its queer women of color, and there’s a predator who is celebrated as a hero throughout. There are also a few seasons of absolute bananapants delight. Act Normal, Bitch! Stream Pretty Little Liars on Max.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin / Summer School* (2012-)

This spinoff takes us to Milwood and into a new group of girls being terrorized by a murderer and suggestive text messages, including queer computer nerd Mouse, who has lesbian Moms and stars dating a trans guy mid-season. This time, the girls are doing penance for something their mothers did 20 years earlier. While the first season came to a disappointing conclusion, there were plenty of thrills and chills and slasher mystery in the meantime. Its second season, retitled Summer School, saw another one of its core girls go queer and start dating a friend from juvie. Stream Pretty Little Liars spinoff on Max.

HBO Max lesbian streaming guide: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin girls in the gym looking surprised

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin

Peacemaker* (2022 – )

Danielle Brooks’ character, Leota Adebayo, inThe Suicide Squad spin-off Peacemaker is a lesbian with her partner Keeya played by queer actor Elizabeth Faith Ludlow. “While Peacemaker may not be breaking any new molds,” writes Carmen of the series, “it thrives at playing to Gunn’s strengths, now taken to the small screen. Peacemaker has a striking pummeled beating heart — with interrogations of loyalty, duty, and loneliness — underneath its dick jokes.” Stream Peacemaker on Max.

Rap Sh!t (2022-2023)

Issa Rae’s Rap Sh!t about two high school friends in Miami who reconnect in their twenties and aim for fame together stars queer actor Jonica Booth as Chastity, and her storyline is “absolutely the best thing about Rap Sh!t‘s sophomore effort,” writes Nic. “Chastity still delivers that swagger and she is nothing if not a hustler but this season also gives her the opportunity to be scared and vulnerable. That rounding of the character, plus the fact that Francois is an absolute jerk, makes it impossible to not cheer for her.” Stream Rap Shit on Max.

Search Party* (2016 – 2022)

Despite there being no actual lesbian activity for the first four seasons of Search Party, it’s undeniably queer — gay men are everywhere, of course, but this weird crime comedy starring queer actress Alia Shawkat as an aimless millennial whose attempt to track down a college acquaintance who’s gone missing sends her on a life path of murder, mayhem and possible sociopathy feels like it was produced by a gay hipster hivemind. Cole Escola shows up as a psychotic trans superfan starting in Season Three. In Season Five, girls start kissing girls and niche queer faves like Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Michelle Badillo join the cast. Stream Search Party on Max.

The Sex Lives of College Girls* (2021-)

Leighton (Renee Rapp), a legacy from the Upper East Side in Maje tweed and Gucci ankle boots, is the lesbian member of the four-girl set of roommates at the center of this comedy. Queer inclusion is effortlessly everywhere in The Sex Lives of College Girls — with every queer character played by a queer actor — from Whitney’s lesbian teammate on the Essex Soccer squad to her coach to appearances by our very own Vico Ortiz as Tova, a non-binary student Leighton meets at the Women’s Center where she’s forced to volunteer. When Rapp departs the series in Season Three, a new lesbian moves in from the UK. But there’s also delightful stories told by the other three cast members: horny aspiring comedy writer Bela (Amit Kaur), naive scholarship kid Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) and star soccer player and Senator’s daughter Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott). All grapple with so much their first semester at school and beyond — sex, sure, but also sexism, class, and their sense of self in this shifting world. But most of all this show is fucking funny, consistently fresh, sharp in all the right places and a true joy to watch. Stream The Sex Lives of College Girls on Max.

HBO Max lesbian streaming guide: Leighton at a queer club meeting

The Staircase* (2022)

If you’ve not gotten enough of this story from the groundbreaking documentary by the same name, boy are you in luck! It stars Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, a (bisexual) writer convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette), who’s found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their gigantic house, and enlists a huge legal team and a camera crew to clear him of wrongdoing. One of his daughters, Martha Ratliff (Odessa Young), is a lesbian. Stream The Staircase on Max.

Somebody Somewhere* (2021-2024)

Over three seasons, this story ostensibly focused on a straight woman (Bridgett Everett’s big-hearted, self-effacing Sam) turned into one of the most touching, authentic and joyful portrayals of queer life ever to grace our television screens, challenging the city-centerism of gay media with characters who find chosen family and love and belonging in Manhattan, Kansas. Drag king legend Murray Hill’s performance as agriculture professor and party bus enthusiast Fred Rococo is transcendent. Stream Somebody Somewhere on Max.

Sort Of* (2021-2023)

This big-hearted series follows fluid, sardonic and slightly codependent millennial Sabi Mehboob, the youngest child in a large Pakistani family. When the show begins, they work as a bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore/bar and as a nanny for a downtown hipster family and are trying to find themselves amid demands from all sides to be everything to everyone else. Ultimately the show reveals that, according to Himani’s review, “sometimes, our greatest journey, the one where we really find ourselves, is the journey we take when we stay and face the cracks in our relationships to uncover the self-truths we’ve been running away from the whole time.” Stream Sort Of on Max.

Sabi and Bessy lie side by side on Bessy's hospital bed under orange-toned lights. Sabi's wearing a tooth and fang crop top and toying with their necklace. Bessy dons a beanie and a loose, off-the-shoulder pink top. They're looking away from each other and smiling, as they reflect on relationships.

“Sort Of”

Station Eleven* (2021-22)

Although the ostensive protagonist of this show is queer, there’s no “queer female content” per se, nothing that would qualify it for inclusion on this list. But this show is simply so incredible that we will use any excuse in the book to tell you to watch it. Based on a 2014 novel, Station Eleven grapples with the aftermath of a flu that wipes out civilization entirely in 48 swift hours, weaving together stories of interconnected characters across time, flashing between the day the pandemic hit hardest and the ensuing few years and what remains 20 years later. It’s a sweeping feat of world-(re?)-building and careful character study, and what could be simply triggering instead becomes a type of catharsis. It is about the importance of fiction — of story, of art — in materially barren times, how we’re shaped by personal reactions to shared trauma, the nature of chosen family and so much more. Stream Station Eleven on Max.

True Blood* (2008-2014)

Allan Ball’s second dark, death-drenched ensemble drama for HBO (the first, Six Feet Under, is handily one of the best TV shows of all time), inspired by the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries, finds a variety of pansexual vampires (and their friends) in New Orleans, at the dawn of the invention of synthetic blood that enables them to live without preying on humans. Parallels to queer community exist throughout, and seven regular and recurring female characters pursue same-sex endeavors of various degrees, including Evan Rachel Wood’s Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Rutina Wesley’s Tara Thornton and the legend Pam Swynford De Beuafort (Kristin Bauer van Straten). Stream True Blood on Max.

Tara and Pam in True Blood

“True Blood”

Veep* (2012-2019)

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’s Selena Meyers and her crack team of savants and fools netted seventeen Primetime Emmys over its seven-season run. We had to wait a few seasons for her daughter to come out (and start dating a security detail played by Clea Duvall), but that was really the icing atop this cynical, sharp, politically incorrect political comedy and its knockout class. Stream Veep on Max.

Veneno* (2020)

Drew described this HBO series, based on Valeria Vegas’ book about Spanish trans icon Cristina La Veneno, as “probably the best trans show I’ve ever been fortunate enough to watch…. a complex, layered show that finds opportunity and expansive imagination in its flurry of stories.” Following Valeria Vegas (Lola Rodriguez) through her own transition as she meets Christina and writes and releases the book, it is interspersed with flashbacks to illustrate Cristina’s complicated, and often tragic, life as a sex worker, singer and media personality who was one of the first trans women widely known in Spain. Stream Veneno on Max.

Warrior* (2019-)

This martial arts crime drama series, rich in historical details, is based on an original treatment by Bruce Lee and captures the Chinese immigrant experience during the Tong Wars in late 1870s San Francisco. It follows a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to find his sister, only to find himself sold to a powerful tong in Chinatown. Olivia Cheng is Ah Toy, a bisexual madam who runs a brothel in Chinatown, known for amassing unprecedented levels of wealth for a landed immigrant. She has a romantic relationship with a wealthy white widow who provides asylum to Chinese migrants in Season Two. Paste, naming Warrior “the best show you’re not watching,” described its “colorful, complicated ecosystem of hatchet men, cops, laborers, brothel owners, corrupt politicians and long-suffering wives.” Warrior‘s first two seasons aired on Cinemax, and HBO Max picked it up after Cinemax dropped out of the original content game and is producing a Season Three. Stream Warrior on Max.

We Are Who We Are* (2020)

Chloë Sevigny and Alice Braga star as the lesbian Moms of a misfit teen who’ve just moved onto an American military base in Italy, where Sevigny serves as the base commander. There, her son makes an extraordinary connection with another teen undergoing a gender journey of their own. “What We Are Who We Are does most gracefully is to dunk you into the intense connection and limitless freedom the young people in this show seek together,” writes Kamala in her review of the series. Stream We Are Who We Are on Max.

we are who we are

The Wire* (2002-2008)

The intricate, slow-burn, novelistic storytelling David Simon employs in this modern masterpiece was far more unusual for its time than it would be today. Each stark, searing season focused on a different city institution and its relationship to law enforcement and the underground economies of low-income neighborhoods — the print news media, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy and public education. The Wire was one of several HBO programs to see a surge in viewership during quarantine as viewers settled in for a long haul story that humanized and centered the Black and brown characters usually given the short shift. Sonja Sohn played one of the first-ever Black lesbians on television as Detective Kima Greggs. Stream The Wire on Max.

White Lotus (2021-)

We were watching White Lotus despite the fact that it was not interested in representing our people (although it certainly came close) because gay showrunner Mike White’s sumptuous and satirical resort-set whodunit was just so very good. But in Season Two, White Lotus‘s Italian resort manager, the alternately meddling and anxious Valentina, turned out to be an actual lesbian who eventually had actual lesbian sex. Once again, we were tuning in anyhow: for bisexual queen Aubrey Plaza as the skeptical and standoffish wife of a newly rich tech millionaire Harper (who did report having partaken in a threesome during her halcyon days) but also for a delicious mystery set amid a perpetually unsatisfied group of wealthy couples and families vacationing against a gorgeous Sicilian sky. Stream White Lotus on Max.

Years and Years* (2019)

Queer as Folk’s Russel T Davies co-produced this nihilistic BBC/HBO production that sees one Manchester family, the Lyons, converge on one crucial night in 2019 and evolve over the ensuing 15 years as Britain — and the world  — undergoes great political, economic and technological instability. Amid the current pandemic, this show is frankly terrifying because it all feels entirely possible right now! As members of the family grow and change — including Edith, one of four Lyons siblings, a political activist who eventually begins dating Fran, a storyteller and activist — a few public figures remain constant as well, including specifically Trump-esque political celebrity Vivienne Rook (Emma Thompson). Stream Years and Years on Max.

Other shows on HBO Max with queer women as recurring or regular characters: Deadwood, Full Circle, Westworld, Industry, In Treatment, Katy Keene, Sex and the City, Sally4Ever, Rome, Run, Game of Thrones, Friends, Torchwood, Santa Inc, Snowpiercer, The Flight Attendant, True Detective: Night Country, Velma, Flight Attendant


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Riese

Riese is the 43-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3304 articles for us.

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The Autostraddle TV Team is made up of Riese Bernard, Carmen Phillips, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya, Valerie Anne, Natalie, Drew Burnett Gregory, and Nic. Follow them on Twitter!

The TV has written 238 articles for us.

47 Comments

  1. HBO Max’s Harley Quinn animated series gives the title character a chance to be the bicon she deserves to be (and a chance to be in her comics-canon-confirmed relationship with Poison Ivy).

  2. While the only lesbian so far is a minor character, HBO Max’s Doom Patrol has one gay lead and the greatest genderqueer character in any superhero adaptation. I would pair it with HBO Max’s Harley Quinn as two superhero shows that are so weird and yet sometimes surprisingly moving but also great shows even if superheroes aren’t your thing.

    • Who are the lesbian and genderqueer characters on Doom Patrol? I love that show, but I’m not remembering any queer characters outside of the gay lead.

      • Clara, Cliff’s daughter, is getting married to a woman and Danny the Street is genderqueer. Danny was actually created by Grant Morrison, who is genderqueer as well.

        • Thanks.

          I forgot about Danny and Cliff’s daughter! It has been too long since season 2 ended. I barely remember what happened in the big overarching storyline.

  3. If you have Hulu, you can add HBO Max to your plan and then watch it on your Roku! That’s what me and my housemates do.

  4. I am not really like the suggestion of Harley Quinn as the show has been a bit problematic in an antisemitic way.

    Trigonometry sounds like a good show.

    • Oof, didn’t know about that – hadn’t watched the show yet, just a big fan of the comics. Thanks for the heads up.

  5. “Trigonometry” is brilliant. The most underrated show of the year – and the hottest one, in my very humble opinion. (The chemistry between Labed, Teixeira and Carr is unbelievable). I don’t know what happened to the television critics in the UK; the series premiered at Berlinale, seemed to be quite high-profiled, and then went unnoticed. (I watched it only because Paapa Essiedu put it in his lockdown recommendations in the Guardian).

    Maybe the weird Greek art-house female artists were not a good catch. Maybe it was too cinematic. Or maybe it was the “Straight People” scheme all along.

    • I also LOVED “Trigonometry.” Such a good show– it almost felt like a movie. The acting and character development was incredible. It also left me with so much to think about in terms of polyamory, love, how to build a family, etc.

    • I watched it and also loved it! It was short and almost all of the episodes had happy endings. I am not a big TV watcher, so it worked well for me. I need more queer poly shows. I also like how there were multiple queer characters in the show, not just the triad. Though, as always, I would appreciate it if people actually said the word bisexual or pansexual out loud.

    • I stumbled across it a few weeks back and I was so into it. The chemistry is awesome between the three (not like in ‘You Me Her’ where the dude didn’t have any chemistry with either of the women)
      The actors were so awesome and I really was in it emotionally. It was so exhausting (in a good way!) to go into that rollercoaster.

      And I really hope that it gets a second season. But I doubt it as it obviously didn’t take off that well.

      But glad to hear that I’m not the only one who has seen and loved it!

  6. Deadwood is incredible. Also, Kim Dickens has been giving me “vibes” ever since…does anyone else lurk her social media like I do and just wonder? Oh! And Robin Weigert’s performance is unbelievable. Also played queer in Concussion.

    • Kim is gay and so is Robin. We got so lucky with these two.
      Kim is with the girl from the L Word and Robin used to live with Lost/Deadwood/Barry writer Liz Sarnoff.

  7. Does this mean I need to watch Perry Mason? Didn’t seem like my cup of tea but I’m into Tatiana Maslany as an evangelist and if there are lesbians too…

  8. Also, Industry… The main character is a queer Black woman and the actor is too. It’s a great show, though a bit polarizing, as some love it and others not so much. It’s definitely a good binge and more people should be talking about it.

    • Yes!! I really loved that show. It resonated painfully hard with my workplace experiences. I think it did a far better job than most shows of realistically showing different types of workplace abuse and tension. Often shows that show workplace issues do so unrealistically (or at least not in a way that feels real to me) or they come across as in favor of or neutral towards bad behavior. I was so impressed by how this show illustrated the power differential and desperation of early career people, which people so rarely seem to understand. It seems to me like the sort of show that will of course be unfairly ignored, but I desperately hope there’s a second season, especially since the ending of the first was pretty challenging.

  9. I highly recommend Warrior. One of the main characters is queer. It is not a main part of her story until season 2. But what I like about show is that it gets into the anti-Asian sentiment post-civil war. The Chinese Exclusionary Act and how business sector used race to flame tensions between Irish, Blacks, and Chinese to keep labor wages low. I came for the martial arts and was not disappointed! Gotta love a woman with a sword.

    • THIS!!!

      Warrior is soooo good on so many levels! I’m Asian-American but didn’t start watching the show until I heard it had a major wlw character, which was recently. I was completely BLOWN AWAY and can’t wait for season 3 to continue their story! Historical drama, deep social commentary, martial arts, Asian representation with complex characters, beautiful interracial wlw relationship! I’ll admit that the racism and violence did feel a bit too much at times, considering the current environment. However, it’s still such an amazing show! I really hope Autostraddle can look into it and more people will discover it!

  10. In We Are Who We Are, the actor who played Caitlin/Harper is gender-fluid (https://gal-dem.com/we-are-who-we-ares-jordan-kristine-seamon-is-stepping-into-her-power/) and lists their pronouns as she/they on social media (https://www.instagram.com/jordanseamon/?hl=en), so it’s weird to me to see the show dismissed as a simple case of a cis actor playing a trans character—especially considering that, as Kamala’s review describes, Harper/Caitlin’s gender identity is pretty beautifully messy.

    I definitely think there are valid issues to be had with the show, many of which are mentioned in the review, but I thought Jordan Kristine Seamón’s portrayal of Harper/Caitlin was one of the show’s strengths.

    • Thank you for writing this! I didn’t know. But also, I’ve been feeling for a long time that we need a quite different language when we write about teenage/child performers in trans/nb roles. I remember reading about We Are Who We Are here, and feeling a bit of discomfort, that a 16-year old was put in the box with “a cis actress” on it. And “we hate to see that”. I don’t know. It’s complicated as hell, but I think we have to acknowledge a difference between the adult performers and younger actors. Give the kids and the people who work with them the benefit of the doubt without “come out or we will hate that you’re doing your work, young person”. I believe there is a lot to do in supporting trans/nb teenage performers – and it’s also a fascinating topic. Being a person who has nothing to do with the American show business, I’d be very excited to read about. But at the same time, putting young people into “the label box” feels wrong. But it’s also a broader issue – how we as adults write about much younger people…

      • So real. I think people should at least preface those complaints – even for adults honestly – with saying they do not “openly” identify that way. And especially for non-celebrities, focus the complaints on the people in power who chose to not go with someone openly of that identity, rather than on someone who may have really needed the job and/or chose to do it because they do inwardly identify with it on some level. It’s so uncomfortable to watch both on their behalf, and also because cultural tendency towards identity policing and placing people in boxes impacts everyone. It’s so weird to me that people are like “don’t assume everyone is cis” and then turn around and assume people are cis for the sake of criticizing them for not acting properly cis? It’s so fraught even trying to explore identity because of this. Can’t imagine being a kid in the public eye trying to figure it out.

  11. it’s disappointing to see harley quinn still getting recommended. antisemitism should have no place in our community.

  12. My favorites from this list are A Black Lady Sketch Show, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, and Sort of. Also love Euphoria, but wouldn’t really recommend it to everyone just because of the TW.

    Not about lesbians, but Insecure is my all time favorite show on HBO Max.

  13. Fun Fact for gay and Vida fans: Season 2 of Warrior has Maria-Elena Laas who I just learned was on Vida(I never seen Vida) (FYI she plays a steampunk pirate lady in Warrior)

  14. I found The Baby very messy – tricky, even – but nevertheless it’s one of the most interesting queer shows this year. And while it ends up in a very adultist perspective, before that, the central metaphor changes and mutates and takes a lot of twists I didn’t expect – the premise seemed too simple to carry the show. And then every episode surprised me. There is something very meta in the way the show uses the genre, the whole “elevated horror” discourse; the show is in constant conversation with itself. There are so many perspectives on motherhood & queerness & body autonomy & desire to have children & desire to not have them within these eight episodes that I can only admire. Even when it seems to fail, it’s still raw and uncomfortable. Also Amber Grappy is a true discovery, although the whole cast is brilliant.

  15. Los Espookys! It’s my favorite show and I feel like I’m always evangelizing it. So queer, so wonderful. Written by two queers, Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega. And main character Úrsula is a lesbian.

  16. Uau, excelente layout do blog Há quanto tempo você bloga, faz com que o blog pareça fácil A aparência geral do seu site é magnífica, assim como o conteúdo

Comments are closed.

My Girlfriend Hates That My Family Is White, But I Can’t Fix That

And I get it! We are… white!

Q

Okay. I’m going to just dive right in here. I am a white cis lesbian dating a South Asian cis lesbian. Most of my family is white, but we are left/progressive/etc. and in my opinion, a fun bunch! My family lives close to where we live and we’re super tight, so we see them fairly often. Any time we leave an event or hang out with my family, my girlfriend makes remarks about how my family is “sooo white *eye roll*”. And I get it! We are… white! And I understand that white people lack significant culture and therefore can be boring or bland or just different than folks who have that present in their lives. The issue is, I straight up cannot change that they are white. So, the constant complaining or “roasting” of my family feels like a dead end road without any kind of solution for it. I’d feel differently if the complaint was “your family is conservative/right wing” or “your family makes me feel uncomfortable” or “your family excludes me” but none of these things are the case. Those are all issues that have solutions (cutting them off, correcting them, not bringing my partner around them). At a certain point, it just feels like maybe she doesn’t want to be dating a white person. Which is fine! But I feel like… break up with me? I really love her so I certainly do not want to break up with her, but if she ultimately doesn’t want to be with a white person, I would understand.

Do you think this is a case where she’s wanting us to bring in some of her culture into our time with my family but maybe doesn’t know how to ask for that? Or is that just cultural appropriation? Next time she makes this comment, should I ask her what kind of solutions she’d want to make my white family more tolerable?

I should also note that I never ever force/pressure her to come to these events/hangouts. It’s always up to her if she wants to join and she always does enthusiastically! I feel like she’d sit some of them out if it was torture for her.

What should I do? Is there a fix for this?

A

Summer: So I don’t subscribe to the ‘white people have no culture’ gag because it’s easy to fall into the meme and miss the underlying message: Parts of the history of white people involve aggressive subjugation of others, which shouldn’t be celebrated. Which while true, does not deprive anyone of their sociocultural richness. The other interesting problematic of this I explored in my Anthropology major was that… To ascribe such ‘blandness’ and normality to white people’s cultures (of which there are many) places it into the default position. By structuring it as completely common, normal, and uninteresting. Which reinforces the whiteness-as-the-default issue that is frequently critiqued by scholars and laypeople in every field from film to education. White people have culture. Because everyone has culture. The cultural practices of white people, like any, are worthy of critique, notice, and participation.

Which is also the interplay of cultural norms here, I think. I think there’s a cultural mismatch between how your girlfriend interacts with your family’s culture and practices. What I find interesting is that she’s happy to take part in gatherings with your fam, but also makes fun of them a lot in a manner that most people would consider inappropriate. Prejudice isn’t fair to anyone, but some people indulge in it much more willingly than others. I’m not South Asian, but for what it’s worth, a lot of Asian societies are quite relentlessly open about their prejudices. Of all kinds. Racial prejudice is one, but so are things like vicious fatphobia, and ableism (especially cognitive). The kicker? Many Asian societies (not necessarily hers), are only willing to say prejudicial things behind people’s backs and to people who are ‘in’ with us. I might be way off-base here or being presumptuous, but I’m wondering if she’s just talking to you the way she would to dear family: By relentlessly making fun of other people’s perceived deficiencies in an unproductive way as a form of solidarity. Asians are far from the only people who do it, but damn did we not turn prejudicial gossip into a sport. It’s not a good trait to have, either.

Ashni: Hi hello! I’m a South Asian dyke and I’ve dated my fair share of white folks. You’re absolutely right — you can’t change the fact that your family is white, and at some point, your girlfriend is going to have to accept that one of your core identities is ‘white person’. It seems like she might be having some trouble with that, or at least processing what it means to be dating a white person as a person of color (spoiler: it is not all roses, even in the best case scenario!). I don’t think this is a case where she’d want your family to bring in parts of her South Asian culture, as that almost definitely would compound the “sooo white” thing further. I really think the comments could just be her way of processing. When she spends time with your family, she might be the only person who looks like her in the room, the only person who isn’t afforded the same kind of privilege that everyone else gets. That’s hard to navigate, just speaking from experience. All that said, it sounds like the comments are getting to you, and it might be worth exploring if there’s something hiding beneath them on her side. I say lead with your feelings! If you’re hurt, let her know. It sounds like your girlfriend understands how important your family is to you, and that she doesn’t mind being around them, so I suspect it’ll go well.


In which we are a reputable travel agent and you are visiting Italy:

Q

I’m going to Italy on a solo trip after I graduate from grad school in May, the culmination of a massive career change and breakup from a long-term relationship.

1. How do I best Eat-Pray-Love this trip for optimal reflection & celebration?

2. What are the best things to do in Italy that are queer as f*ck?

3. How much pasta can a human possibly eat in 11 days?

A

Simona (In-house designer, noted Italian): Simona here, but I’ll call you my Dante and I’ll be your Virgil. A city will be the answer to each question, hoping you’ll have the chance to explore them all <3

1. How do I best Eat-Pray-Love this trip for optimal reflection & celebration?
I’ll be controversial here and tell you not to follow Julia in Rome. Southern Italy is waiting for you, and Naples & Palermo are the best cities to get lost in the smallest streets imaginable, chaotic local culture, crazy street food and beautiful landscape. They are the right place to distract you from any stress you would still be carrying. May is the perfect season too to enjoy the beaches, and go on hikes on their mountains and volcanoes.

2. What are the best things to do in Italy that are queer as f*ck?
Queer as f*ck you say? Then you gotta pay me a visit in Milan. The city is packed and you can cross it by foot in just an hour, it’s just the perfect place to meet people and have multiple options weekly for queer parties. Here it’s not just weekends, but almost every day there is something cool/niche/underground to do in the night, plus so many collectives making a difference with not only events but also workshops, movie nights, sports’ groups, etc. Check out Pessima, Slipmode, Viperrr, Spiritual Sauna and PWC!

3. How much pasta can a human possibly eat in 11 days?
Omnes viae Romam ducunt. NOW, Rome is your destination. There’s a chance that in 11 days, eating pasta 24/h, you still would have not been able to try all types of pastas that roman cuisine has to offer.

Summer: I can’t assist on the reflection part much because I’m a stressful traveler. But celebration? Eat lots of food. Can’t go wrong eating well in Italy. Also, consider venturing to the slightly smaller cities, not just Roma or Venice. The most tourist-y cities will be clogged with… tourists. Like you. And the locals won’t be nearly as friendly because they’re so accustomed to tourists. The Summer months in Italy (May onward) will also be tourist high season, so they’ll be doubly annoyed.

When my girlfriend took a trip to Italy a few years ago, she had a marvelous experience in Ravenna. Still a magnificent city with great food, sights, and history. But because it was more up-and-coming in tourism, they were much friendlier to tourists. And there were fewer people in the way.

How much pasta can a person eat in 11 days? Frankly, a lot. My girlfriend can pack it away but I’m more fond of Italian pizza. Thin, crisp crusts and a smattering of high quality, simple toppings. Can’t beat that. You can pack away so much pasta, but remember other options too!

Also, this is such a great opportunity to call it Eat Gay Love

Nico: I can’t give you advice for Italy specifically, but I can give you advice for solo travelling! The following numbers do not correspond directly to your questions, but are all, actually, a big general answer to Q1.

Dating apps while traveling can be fun! I’ve both gone on dates while solo traveling and gone on dates with travelers and it can be nice! You just need to be open about what’s going on, what you’re looking for, and what someone can expect from you. But, if it’s a mutually agreed upon date, then that can be a great way to experience a location and really fulfills the ‘love’ portion of your eat, gay, love goals. (Shout out to summer for that one.)

Have a flexible itinerary: since you’re going solo, you have the ability to adjust and adapt by the minute, the hour, the day. Suddenly realize you aren’t feeling your plans for the day? If you haven’t committed to anything costly, you can simply change them. I don’t know if you’re as extreme an un-planner for me, but I feel like booking the first two nights of accommodations for a trip to another country is enough — the first is to rest, and the second is to plan your next moves. This DOES eliminate a lot of options for things you need to reserve ahead of time, but it also allows you to say “I’d actually like to spend a few days in the countryside” and then to find a way to make that happen once you’re on the ground and you know how things feel to you. Obviously, that’s a more extreme end of the spectrum, but you can and should take advantage of being the only person you have to please with your plans. There is no “should” or “shouldn’t.” I’m not necessarily advocating hedonism — like maybe climbing a mountain is going to be something you want to really go for and push yourself toward even if you wake up feeling groggy that day — but really do not feel like there is anything you must or must not do or see. Especially when it comes to eating, you are likely to see things as you adventure that you hadn’t considered that you’ll just HAVE to try. I find that a mix of tasty, smaller convenience meals and then treats where money was intentionally spent, was the way to go.

Be safe, but also be open: Traveling solo results in many opportunities to have great conversations with locals and fellow tourists alike. I’ve found people are more open to talking to a person who’s clearly going it alone, and I think actively cultivating conversations that happen organically can lead to a lot of surprise or just good fun and recommendations. If anything feels off, obviously, do not engage. Always know where you’re staying at night. And especially don’t imbibe too much and always watch / cover your drinks whether alcoholic or not. Follow your instincts and maintain situational awareness, but also, be open to the serendipity that can happen when you’re willing to just have conversations with strangers. I feel like meeting people and talking to them is a really spiritual experience, personally. I hope you have fun with it.


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4 Comments

  1. Loved the snappy fun titles you gave the questions & answers :) Also I am in a very similar boat to LW2 and am now feeling super inspired to do some solo travel in Italy!!!!! PallasGoesItaly2026 is now being cooked up!

  2. Q1: Wouldn’t it be better for the GF to vent to someone else? It appears to be a serial generalised eye rolling kinda complaint rather than something driven by overtly poor behaviour by the letter writer’s fam. What is LW supposed to do, other than to feel bad for something she can’t change? This sort of thing can really wear a relationship down.

  3. Q2 made me think of Casey McQuiston’s latest book, The Pairing! I would definitely recommend reading that before your Italy trip for some inspiration, not just for eating delicious food in Italy but also for connecting with queer people around you and being open to new experiences.

  4. As a white person in an interracial/intercultural relationship that’s spanned high school, college, and many phases of adulthood, I have a couple of suggestions on what the first letter writer might consider thinking about/asking her girlfriend about.

    The first is how much the comments are jokes/attempts to connect versus expressions of (or attempts to cover up) a serious emotion. This I would suggest potentially talking about at a time that’s separate from seeing your family, because if there is more intense emotion underneath it may be easier to address when it isn’t fresh. The jokes might be meant as a social way to connect with you as was mentioned above, in which case you can say that when they’re that frequent/judgey they start to hurt your feelings on your family’s behalf. On the other hand they might be a response to underlying frustration/alienation/etc. which might be possible to address and might not even be directly related to your family’s whiteness. Maybe there’s a particular family member making your girlfriend uncomfortable. Or she likes seeing your family but you guys end up staying longer than she’s comfortable with and you could improve things by setting up an excuse and form of transportation for her to leave earlier than you.

    The second question is what is it specifically about your family that’s bugging her. Being “so white” can include a huge range of things including types of food, ways of talking to each other, ways of talking about other cultures/world events, types of questions (and potentially microagressions) directed towards her, or just an awareness/stress of being the only person of color in the room. It’s likely a mix of things (and some big ones may make smaller ones harder to brush off by association), but some of them might be things that can be addressed either in the moment or by talking to your family members one on one. Just because something is stereotypically true of white people doesn’t mean it has to stay true of your family. Food options can shift, you can call people out on microagressions, etc. Others might be things that she just needs to vent about, in which case yes it’s probably good for her to think about if there’s someone else she can also vent to so it’s not just going towards you.

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Yellowjackets Episode 309 Recap: Hero’s Journey

Oh boy, here we go! I’m sure you’re feeling a lot of emotions heading into this Yellowjackets 309 recap, as it was a very emotional episode of Yellowjackets!!! There are massive spoilers regarding this episode, so please if you’re going to say anything spoilery in a comment, frontload it with non-spoilery text so it doesn’t show up in the recent comments box on the homepage. Let’s get into “How the Story Ends,” the penultimate episode of season three. It was written by Sarah L. Thompson and directed by Ben Semanoff. As a reminder, these recaps are totally free to read, but they are generously supported by our members, and you can become one today for just $4 a month! Also, I’m hosting a YELLOWJACKETS FINALE WATCH PARTY! RSVP required, so reserve your spot now!


This episode is called “How the Story Ends,” and this episode ends in a very tragic place. Here is where it begins:

Van, in the hospital, on oxygen. “Where’s Taissa?” she asks. An orderly in scrubs turns around, and it’s her younger self. Getting to watch Liv Hewson and Lauren Ambrose act in the same scenes together these past couple episodes has been such a treat. They’re both having incredible seasons, and they mirror each other disturbingly well. Teen Van catches Adult Van up: Misty and Tai are still here, but Shauna abandoned them. Adult Van wonders if this is a dream. “Am I dead?” she then asks. “Death is around every corner,” her younger self replies. Van, always cutting to the chase and no-bullshit, replies to this cryptic with a matter-of-fact “what do you want?” Given where this episode ends, this scene is pretty devastating upon rewatch, but it’s also funny, and that speaks to how good Ambrose and Hewson are at embedding humor amongst the horror.

On that note, Teen Van asks Adult Van very seriously if she remembers The Goonies. Adult Van is exasperated as her younger self then recaps the plot of The Goonies. There’s a point Van’s trying to make: The Goonies has a classic hero’s journey. She seems to be suggesting Van go on a hero’s journey of her own. “X marks the spot,” Teen Van says, adding Taissa knows. Adult Van notes Tai hasn’t really been herself. As in, she’s Other Tai at the moment. Teen Van suggests this is even more reason to listen to her. Teen Van injects black liquid into Van’s IV bag and tells her to get the treasure.

Adult Van wakes up from…whatever you want to call this: a dream, a hallucination, a space between life and death. Tai is by her side, going through it. Van asks if she remembers a time when they were by the shore and an old dying guy was there housing a box of saltwater taffy because it’s the only thing he wanted to do before he died. Tai offers to take her home and get her some taffy, but Van doesn’t want to go home, and she doesn’t like taffy. There’s some other adventure Van wants to go on. “Goonies never say die,” she says.

Again, this is all very hard to rewatch and consider once you get to the end of the episode.

Tai in the hospital

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.


It’s time to check back in on Shauna and Melissa. Oh yes, they’re right where we left them! Shauna is force-feeding Melissa a piece of Melissa’s arm. “How can you do this?” Melissa asks. “It should be obvious by now,” Shauna says.

Melissa eats the piece of flesh, and Shauna grins. But then Melissa spits it in her face, temporarily disarming her. Hilary Swank and Melanie Lynskey have another very good action sequence, but then Melissa manages to get away and get in her car. Only one problem: She’s nearly out of gas, something her wife pointed out last episode.

The gas warning light indeed comes on right before we cut to the title sequence.

Shauna feeding Melissa part of Melissa's arm

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.


We also pick up right where we left off in the wilderness, with a standoff between Lottie, Shauna, and Tai against Nat and all the others. Nat tells Shauna she can’t tell everyone what to do, and Shauna responds that she already did and that they’re going to do it. Lottie of course rambles that it’s what It wants. Tai is…sort of the voice of reason? If there can be a voice of reason when it comes to a truly unreasonable decision. She says no one is saying they can never leave, just that they shouldn’t leave right now, when there’s much to clean up.

“Well it sounds like you guys all have a lot to discuss, so have fun braiding each other’s hair and partaking in some light cannibalism, I’m fucking out of here,” Kodi says, turning his back to walk away. He chose the wrong girls to be lightly misogynist and infantilizing toward. Shauna grabs the gun and aims it at him.

“You sure you even know how to use that, little girl?” Kodi asks.

“Don’t worry. My boyfriend taught me.”

SHAUNA!!!!! My girl is acting unhinged, but I literally clapped for this line. Go off, (antler) queen! Shauna orders for Hannah and Kodi’s shoes to be taken away as they’re taken to the animal pen to be held as prisoners.

Van asks Tai if she meant what she said about leaving eventually. “Those frog scientists lost their shit when they saw Coach,” Tai says. Uhhhh, yeah! They saw his disembodied HEAD while the rest of you were eating the rest of them! “Imagine what’ll happen when the rest of the world gets here,” Tai says.

As I wrote last week, seeing the frog scientists see them broke something in some of the Yellowjackets, like holding up a mirror to all the worst parts of themselves or sparking an instant replay of all of the worst things they’ve done in the name of survival. Van knows the mind tries to forget things to protect itself, but she needs Tai to try to remember what winter was like. “We survived,” Tai says. “We ate a fucking kid,” Van adds, Hewson’s delivery absolutely gutting.

Van says the game will run out and they both know what comes next. “Good thing you’ve been practicing with the cards,” Tai says, suggesting that Van has perhaps been doing some sleight of hand exercises so they can rig card pulls. Van’s face falls as Tai says this. She can’t believe what Tai is implying: that they could choose who lives and dies. Of course, in the present day, that’s exactly what Tai has been trying to do, too.


Tai, Van, and Misty are on the road in pursuit of Shauna. They drive past someone having a worse day than them, and Misty tells them to stop the car, instantly recognizing Melissa, who is indeed having a very bad day.

When Misty calls her name out the window, Melissa turns to run. She has already been terrorized by one Yellowjacket today. Facing three MORE? Tai reverses the car and cuts her off. Tai then pursues her on foot and literally SLIDE TACKLES HER. “I got you now this time,” Tai says, suggesting she has tried to take her down before. Tai’s former cutthroat soccer player self for real just came rushing to the surface.

Misty threatens Melissa with a tire iron, and she finally gives in. Van, still in the van, turns and sees a railroad crossing sign. X marks the spot. She takes it as the sign her younger self told her to look for. But sometimes a sign is just a sign.

Van, Tai, and Misty are all bewildered by Melissa’s presence. They asks if she sent the tape, and she confesses. She also tells them about Shauna making her eat her own fucking arm. They decide they have to find her. Van tells Melissa to shut up or she really will be dead, and Tai seems alarmingly into the fact that a sinister side of Van is coming out.


In the wilderness, Travis sets out a bunch of sticks, looking a little, well, out of his mind. He tosses a log onto the sticks, and they collapse, revealing he has rigged the pit. As in The Pit. A bunch of sharpened sticks wait at the bottom. We’re getting closer and closer to Pit Girl I feel.

Shauna walks past the animal pen strapped with the gun, and the eye contact she and Kodi make is so good. He clearly still doesn’t take her seriously as a threat, and she so clearly is a threat everyone should take very seriously. As Shauna nears her shelter, she hears chatter from the other girls. It seems like some of this is fueled by paranoia. And it wouldn’t be the first time Shauna has succumbed to paranoia.

She meets with Melissa, Tai, Van, and Misty to tell them she thinks the others are plotting something. The rift between Shauna and Melissa has grown. Shauna’s short with her, and Melissa’s withdrawn. Misty suggests she could be a double agent with the others. Shauna tells her to do it.


In the present day, Shauna is frantically cleaning up the blood in Melissa’s kitchen. Her own face is still covered in blood, making Melanie Lynskey look so much like her younger self in Heavenly Creatures. She hears someone entering, so she grabs the knife and hides behind a corner ready to attack. But fear not, Shauna! It’s just your friends who are used to cleaning up your messes.

At least she’s self-aware enough to admit she has probably made things a little worse for them all. She’s surprised and relieved though to see they’ve brought Melissa back. Shauna says that since Melissa sent the tapes, she clearly must have killed Lottie. But Misty chimes in to point out Shauna’s DNA was under Lottie’s fingernails.

Misty thinks Shauna is trying to pin Lottie’s murder on Melissa. Shauna then once again lists all the things she thinks Melissa is guilty of, including the freezer, which is when Misty finally admits actually she was the one who locked Shauna in the freezer. It was to teach her a lesson.

Van and Melissa

Photo Credit: Darko Sikman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

Tai comes to Shauna’s defense, and Misty asks if she’s just going to take her side. “Of course she is,” Melissa says. Tai is often blindly loyal to Shauna, which we’re seeing in the wilderness timeline this episode, too. Their dynamic is an interesting one, and I always think back to how Tai was the only one who figured out Shauna was pregnant and also that devastating scene where they tried to perform a DIY abortion together. Tai also has always seemed to take Shauna as a threat more seriously than others. Tai is nothing if not smart, and it’s smart to side with Shauna.

The freezer reveal shocks Shauna. You can see it all over her bloodied face. The narrative she has built around Melissa doing all these things — the phone, the brakes, the freezer, the tape — crumbles. It’s seeming like Melissa is truly only responsible for the tape. The rest are all coincidences turned into a conspiracy by Shauna’s paranoia. Paranoia is a dangerous force; it’s what led to Shauna killing Adam. It’s also what drives Shauna in her decision to force the others to stay in the wilderness.

Misty isn’t sticking around to be Shauna’s maid again. She leaves, vowing to get to the bottom of all this.


Travis goes to Lottie and tells her he felt something in the woods and thinks It might be trying to talk to her. He asks her to come with him, and she agrees. Did Travis set the pit trap FOR LOTTIE?! Is he trying to kill Lottie so they can have one less person standing between them and rescue?!

Gen, Nat, Mari, and Akilah whisper to each other about how they don’t want to do another winter. Nat says they just have to wait. Akilah says if they do have to do another winter, she hopes the wilderness chooses her first. Akilah seems caught between two competing desires: wanting to be rescued and wanting to continue believing in the wilderness as a mystical force.

Gen wants to steal the gun back. Nat says Shauna hasn’t let her leave her side. Mari thinks Shauna is too chickenshit to actually use it, but Nat doesn’t think so. Count Nat among those who understand just how dangerous Shauna is. Nat has another plan.


Callie is rolling a joint and being her usual moody self. Jeff is pumped about something and pops into her room to celebrate when he notices the weed and barely tries to parent. Callie isn’t having any of it. He tells her the Joels offered him the job, and then he tells her the nugs she’s adding to her joint are too big and to grind them up some more. Jeff has decided to be a Cool Dad, but I’d argue what Callie needs is just parents who are unconditionally there for her when she needs them.

Misty has a driver drop her off at a location arranged by Walter, who descends in on a helicopter. Oh Walter and his elaborate stunts. The citizen detective duo are back on the case together.


Teen Misty tries to buddy up with Akilah, Gen, and Mari, but Mari says they saw her with “Team Crazy” and to quit embarrassing herself. Looks like mission Double O Quigley isn’t going so smoothly.

Misty notices Van leaving camp and decides to follow her. Van is collecting a bunch of cables from the airplane, and she pulls the broken satellite phone out from a tree, trying desperately to fix it. Tech dyke is on it!


At Melissa’s beautiful home, Van and Tai let slip that this feels a lot like when they helped Shauna clean up her Adam mess, even if there isn’t a body yet. “You just dug her grave,” Shauna tells them of Melissa. If there’s one thing about Shauna, it’s that she doesn’t want any witnesses to the worst parts of her. Now Melissa knows she killed a guy named Adam. “What kind of psychopath brings home a dead woman’s tape and then marries her daughter?” Shauna asks, revealing Melissa’s wild ass choices to Van and Tai after Melissa tries to turn them against Shauna by summarizing the Adam stuff.

Shauna with blood on her face

Photo Credit: Darko Sikman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

While Tai, Van, and Shauna aren’t looking, Melissa closes the flue to her fireplace.

In the wilderness, Melissa is keeping watch over Hannah. They’re playing a game, and Hannah jokes about turning on the TV. Melissa is charmed by this and says she’d do anything to be able to watch The Real World. Here’s where Hannah tells Melissa about having a 10-year-old daughter. This does endear Melissa to Hannah. It is so fascinating to think about the fact that Melissa will go on to MARRY Hannah’s DAUGHTER, because it’s easy to see Teen Melissa having a bit of a crush on Hannah here or otherwise seeing her as a mother figure. Either way, it’s all sorts of levels of psychologically messed up. And the fact that Melissa still thinks she chose a normal, boring life compared to Shauna? Delusional!

Hannah’s clearly manipulating Melissa by joking around with her and opening up. She says this is the most fascinating study of survival she has ever done as a scientist, even more so than horny frogs. “Probably because teenage girls are even hornier,” Melissa jokes.

“Am I interrupting something?” Shauna asks, intensely serious in the face of their giggles. Melissa’s face falls and she follows Shauna out. Shauna wants to know what they were giggling about, telling Melissa it’s dumb to get close to her because she’s clearly just using her to escape. Melissa then tells Shauna about Hannah’s kid. “And you believe that?” Shauna asks. So Shauna did know Hannah had a kid, even if Teen Shauna tries to act like it’s a manipulation.

Melissa in the wilderness

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

I actually believe Adult Shauna does forget about Hannah’s kid until she hears it on the tape, and even then, I think she’s a bit surprised by it. I think she forgets for the same reason Teen Shauna tries to pass it off as a lie: To accept it as real is to accept harming a mother, and Shauna’s own survivor’s guilt about losing her baby is too big and all-consuming. Teen Shauna can’t accept Hannah’s motherhood because she’s still grieving the violent end of her own.

Shauna calls Melissa fucking stupid, and Melissa storms out. But Shauna isn’t done. She follows her out, and in front of everyone, she tells Melissa: “No one gave a shit about you until me.” Melissa stops in her tracks. Everyone watches this very public dyke drama awkwardly. “Why can’t you just be a nice person?” Melissa asks. “You’re nothing,” Shauna replies, doubling down in the opposite direction of Melissa’s question. Melissa tells the others they were right, that Shauna is fucking nuts.

Shauna aims the gun at Melissa. “Say that again,” she says. I AM BEGGING PEOPLE NOT TO TRY SHAUNA!!!!!! “I fucking dare you,” Melissa says, not heeding my wise advice. Shauna fires, grazing Melissa’s jean jacket without breaking skin. Melissa pisses herself in fear. It’s every bit as fucked up as the arm eating moment.

Shauna with a gun

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.


Travis and Lottie are out on their own, and if Travis was trying to kill Lottie, he seemingly can’t bring himself to do it. He tells her it’s all bullshit, that they have a chance at rescue and she’s standing in the way of that. Lottie says she wanted him to see that Javi’s here. “I just wanted you to feel him, too,” she says. The wind whistles. Of course Travis does want to believe in something bigger, that his brother’s spirit could really be with them. But he does know none of it is real, and he knows Lottie is causing more harm than good.

Lottie steps dangerously close to the pit trap. But she stops just short of it, turns around, walks away. Travis at his core is a good guy, so even though he was probably willing to let her fall, he isn’t going to push her or tell her to keep walking. He can’t take it that far.

Mari is guiding Hannah in the woods to take her to pee. But it’s part of the plan. Nat emerges and hands Hannah a knife.She instructs Hannah to cut herself and Kodi free while everyone’s asleep. They’re going to all make a run for it.


Callie and Jeff are having a classic Father Daughter Smoke Sesh, splitting a joint. Jeff thinks they should be ladies who lunch and go spend a bunch of money at a new restaurant in town. Callie says Shauna would kill them if they spent that much money, and of course she’s not speaking literally, but given that her mother is indeed a killer, it’s interesting word choice! Callie asks Jeff if he meant what he said to the Joels about Shauna, and he says he just said it to save his ass. Neither Callie nor Jeff seem to really believe that. She admits she feels that way about her mother. Suddenly, this smoke sesh is not so fun.

“It is hard being married,” Jeff tells her, adding that it’s.lonely.

In the wilderness, Melissa also decides it’s too hard to be with Shauna. She enters Gen’s shelter and says “fuck Shauna.” She wants in on whatever they’re planning.

Kodi tells Hannah the others are asleep and asks her to cut them free, but she thinks she heard something. Hannah asks him who Erik Cheong is because his name is on Kodi’s rucksack. Kodi says he got it at a thrift store. But once again, paranoia has set in, this time in Hannah, making her distrust Kodi in a crucial moment. He asks if she wants to see her kids, and Hannah does start to cut their ties.

But Shauna is there to stop them, aiming the gun at them. She asks who got them the knife, and Hannah says it was Kodi who got the knife. She stabs him in the eye. It’s the smart move. She protects herself and Nat in the process, making a scapegoat of Kodi and pledging her loyalty to Shauna. “I want to be part of this,” she says, handing Shauna the knife. Hannah’s a scientist who studies animal behavior. She knows this is how to survive, by making herself part of the pack instead of their prey.


At Walter’s, Walter prepares two Martinis a la Misty aka a chocolate martini. Misty tells Walter that Shauna’s cat story about why she was in Manhattan the day Lottie died actually checks out. She’s starting to second guess the fact that Shauna really did it. Walter says her judgment is a touch clouded when it comes to the Yellowjackets, and Misty tells him she thinks he’s right. She wants to see Lottie’ cloned phone, but when he gets up to retrieve it, her facade drops. She’s playing Walter yet again.

Elijah Wood as Walter in Yellowjackets, episode 9, season 3, streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, 2025. Photo Credit: Eric Milner/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

Photo Credit: Eric Milner/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

She requests chocolate shavings in her drink, and when Walter goes to fetch them, she goes through the phone. She sees something that shocks her, and by the time he returns with the drinks, she’s gone of course.


Van enters Melissa’s house to find Tai and Shauna passed out and Melissa close to it. The closed flue. Van drags Tai to safety and places her oxygen mask on her. Tai then hallucinates herself in the caves. A telephone rings, and she answers it, can hear Van on the other side urging her to breathe. Then the real Tai walks into the cave and tells Other Tai to hang up. The two fight each other, and I’ll admit I wish it were a longer sequence just so I could see Tawny Cypress fighting herself. I love a doppelganger moment, especially when it becomes physical.

Tai wakes up, and it’s the real her. They kiss.

Van and Tai

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

Van goes back in to retrieve Shauna. She really is having her hero moment, the one her younger self alluded she was barreling toward, saving Tai and Shauna’s lives. The fact that she’s essentially saving them from fire takes on even deeper meaning given all the times she almost died by fire.

But then there’s the issue of what to do with Melissa, who is writhing on the floor, still tied up and gasping for breath. Van stands over her with a knife.

In the wilderness, Nat is devastated by the news the escape plan was thwarted. Sophie Thatcher is doing so much without having to say much this season. Nat cries as the first snowflakes of winter start to fall.

She hears footsteps in the distance and sees someone, so she follows to find Misty uncovering the destroyed emergency transponder from the plane (specifically, the one SHE destroyed). “I know how to get us home,” Misty says when Nat asks what she’s doing. Misty brandishes the antenna from the transponder, a way to fix the satellite phone. But Nat of course is stuck on the fact that Misty has the transponder and knew where it was this whole time.


Van uses the knife to untie Melissa. But she still stands over her, holding it out. Melissa tells her it isn’t the only option, killing her that is. Van doesn’t seem so sure. “I have cancer, and there’s a chance that if I can kill you right now, maybe I’ll be allowed to live,” Van says.

“You don’t really believe that,” Melissa says. And I agree. I don’t think Van believes it deep in her heart. And it’s not like she wants to believe it either, because to want to believe it means to want to kill someone else as a sacrifice so that she might live.

“You know they weren’t real,” Melissa says of the sacrifices and the rewards.

But Van doesn’t know that, and she thinks there’s a part of Melissa that doesn’t either.

“But you’re different, Van. There’s goodness in you,” Melissa says. “There always has been.”

Van insists she doesn’t know her anymore. God, the acting in this scene is phenomenal.

Melissa submits herself, tells Van that if the Wilderness is telling her to put the knife through her heart so she can survive cancer, then she should do it. Of course, put that way, it sounds absurd. But Van and Melissa and all the Yellowjackets have lived through absurdity. It is so hard for them to know what to believe and what to feel and what choices to make, because they already did something that should be impossible by surviving a plane crash and then isolation in the wilderness as teenagers for a very long time.

Real life is full of tragedies and absurdities, and often those things go hand in hand. When experiencing a tragedy or experiencing something absurd, the same question comes to mind: how is this happening? And also: why? I’ve always loved when this show plays around with the foundations of reality, makes us second guess what is “really” happening, mixes in absurdist tones and scenes. Because that’s what it really feels like for these characters, I think. Their tragic lives are full of absurdity.

Van indeed asks Why here. “Why can’t I just be that? Why?” she asks.

“You don’t want to be,” Melissa says.

“No, I don’t,” Van says.

L-R: Hilary Swank as Melissa and Lauren Ambrose as Van in Yellowjackets, episode 9, season 3, streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, 2025. Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

To kill Melissa right now would not mean completing the hero journey her younger self sent her on. It would be something else entirely. This isn’t what she set out to do in this episode.

Melissa reaches for Van’s hand, still clasped around the knife. She lifts it and stabs Van in the heart. “But I do,” Melissa says.

“Isn’t this what It wants?” she asks.

Van falls back, and we’re transported to a plane, just like we were when Nat died. Van looks up, and the movie screen on board is playing footage of her own death.

And if you thought the Nat death scene was devastating, this one is so much harder to watch. Tai and Shauna re-enter Melissa’s house to find her. “Babe?” Tai asks, her voice breaking.

On the plane, Van watches it all play out. Her younger self appears again. “I know,” Teen Van says. “It’s hard to watch.”

“I died? I’m DEAD?” Adult Van asks, incredulous. (Even here, Ambrose manages to inject some humor into a truly tragic moment.)

L-R: Liv Hewson as Teen Van and Lauren Ambrose as Van in Yellowjackets, episode 9, season 3, streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, 2025. Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.

She wants to know why her younger self sent her in there if she was just going to die. “It wasn’t my call. This is just how our story goes,” Teen Van says.

Teen Van says the treasure was getting the real Tai back. She was a hero; she saved the others. Adult Van isn’t very satisfied. “Surviving this was never the reward,” Teen Van says. But if this isn’t the end, then what is?


I know this episode and this choice to kill Van is going to be divisive among fans, but Van’s eventual death has been telegraphed not only since Adult Van’s cancer was first introduced but since the very beginning of the series when she started experiencing near-death incidents starting with almost blowing up in the plane crash. It’s a shock, but it isn’t out of left field. And increasingly, I’m starting to think what Shauna said last episode about the only way to guarantee none of your secrets get out is to be the last one standing was a bit of a prophecy. I think at the end of the series, there can only be one.

Van choosing to kill Melissa would have been the worse outcome here. It wouldn’t have tracked with Adult Van’s arc. Van throughout this entire episode and in both timelines sees the harms the Yellowjackets are perpetuating for what they really are. She has to remind Tai they ate a fucking kid. Does she go to the van during the Melissa interrogation because she doesn’t feel well or because she can’t stomach to be a part of this? Van may rely on movies as a lens through which to look at life, but she’s actually very grounded in reality in a way the other characters are not. By not killing Melissa, she chooses to end a cycle of violence. But there’s nothing she can do to stop Melissa from continuing it.

Nat last season. Lottie and Van this season. In the adult timeline, the violence and cannibalization of the Yellowjackets is ratcheting up just like it is in the teen season. And here, I mean cannibalization in a more figurative sense, this pattern of devouring their own. Misty killed Nat; Melissa killed Van. We don’t know yet who killed Lottie. But it’s fascinating that this keeps happening, that the biggest threat to a Yellowjacket is another Yellowjacket. I’m sad for sure, but I appreciate the series’ big swings and high stakes when it comes to killing off main characters and in such brutal ways that are difficult to predict and yet don’t feel random.

Next week, the season comes to a close. The fact that this episode isn’t a finale is wild! It feels very much like a finale. But Van said it herself: There’s still more to come. More tragedy, more absurdity.


Last Buzz:

  • I said it up top, but I’ll say it again: I’m hosting a Yellowjackets finale watch party next Friday! RSVP to learn more!
  • What the fuck part of Richmond, Virginia are they supposed to be in? I’m from outside of Richmond, and my parents live in Richmond, and it looks much more like they’re in like deep Henrico County or something? I suppose Melissa could still have a Richmond address and live outside the city — those areas certainly exist! But they should have made it Charlottesville or something? Sorry, this doesn’t actually matter lol
  • “I guess you should have listened to your wife.” THIS DELIVERY.
  • “Wow, what a totally satisfying answer.” Also THIS delivery. For such a devastatingly sad episode, there’s so much humor in here, too.
  • Mari’s first thought of home being “cheeseburgers” is so me fr.
  • Aquarium ornaments on Etsy!
  • Was Shauna playing with the chunk of hair she found of Hannah’s while laying in bed????? That’s weird, Shauna!
  • As far as there only being able to be one Yellowjacket left standing at the end of the series, smart bets are probably on Misty, but my bet’s on Shauna.
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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the former managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she is probably playing tennis. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 1002 articles for us.

40 Comments

  1. I don’t think this counts as a spoiler so I’ll start with it – It was adorable when Kevin Alves slipped into his Canadian accent at the beginning of the episode.

    Now spoilery things

    I thought Lottie did walk on to the trap. She took a step forward, we heard wood cracking, and then she took a few more paces before turning to look at Travis. Maybe I misread it.

    I should have seen this episode’s death coming as soon as I saw the title, How the Story Ends. What else would you call the episode that features the death of your storyteller? I’m slow on the uptake.

    Since Natalie’s death showed us Lewis and Thatcher on the plane together, and Van’s showed us Hewson and Ambrose on the plane together, I hope we will get a scene of Eaton and Kessell together next week when we learn more about Lottie’s ending. I really enjoy the interaction between the teen and adult versions of the characters.

    I’m not trying to “well, actually” you Kayla, but it was Shauna who made the statement about there being safety in a lack of numbers.

    • whoops yes you’re correct i typed the wrong name — fixed and thank you!

      i knooooow i want that lottie moment, too!

    • I still think this was dumb for Van to go out like that. Melissa needs to be killed by tai next season maybe they will kill each other at exact same time

    • Totally agreed with you on the Lottie moment, that’s exactly what I thought happened too! Not her avoiding the trap, but directly walking over it as though she knew she would be safe and protected by the wilderness somehow. It felt very Jesus walking over the water. It’s definitely veryyyy supernatural of her to do if so, but since we don’t know where she stepped exactly it still feels ambiguous. But I swear I heard the twigs bucking underneath her as she walked right over them. Lottie’s visions have always been a murky area, because there is some of it that is unexplained even with her mental illness, so maybe she did get a flash of what would happen. It’s also not hard to believe she had a moment of intuition there and could tell Travis was being strange about something and just stepped lightly to be safe.

      • 1) Van and Van together is my favorite show, ever. I would watch them for hours just being hilarious and kind and hot and earnest.

        2) Joel McHale is horrendous and brings the show down a thousand notches. He is so ridiculously cheesy. Super glad he’s dead now. Good job Hannah.

        3) I hope both Shauna’s continue their unhinged journeys. Both actors are incredible and fun/terrifying to watch slide into madness.

    • Buzz buzz buzz no spoilers (which started autocorrecting to “spikes” which feels fitting).

      I agree that I thought we saw Lottie walk out on the sticks, hear some snapping, then she looks at Travis and you can see he is kind of like WTF? Her walking in water moment.

  2. Wow, what a phenomenal episode. The Vans are my favorite to watch, and today was no exception. Now spoilers are coming at end of this phrase….

    I love the theory that there’ll only be one left standing. Bc that sure seems like where we’re headed, and I agree it’d make sense to be Shauna.
    🎵 Two (or a whole soccer team) can keep a secret if (all but) one of them is dead. 🎵

    Younger van was also such a star with pointing out how they ate a kid! God, She’s my favorite character as the gay, down-to-earth humor of the show.

    Annnd I found the way Van died unexpected but satisfying, especially her goodness showing up and with her younger self explaining it. I LOVE that she didn’t kill Melissa. Plus, now Tai can stop trying to save her from cancer, so ideally that opens up a further break from other tai trying to commit murder. At least I hope so, it’d be a bummer if we get a Willow Rosenberg situation here and OtherTai comes right back.

    Oh and thanks for the recap of how Shauna grazes Melissa. I watch on my little cell phone screen and also am not the best at paying attention to tv, so was so confused bc I didn’t realize she peed herself! The physics were perplexing to my tired brain. Beyond being community-building and entertaining, I appreciate your recaps for clarifying parts where I just don’t really see or what happened.

    I’m sooooo excited for the season finale and learning what happened to Lottie.

    • More thoughts. I don’t think these are spoilers, because just starting with reflections on Shauna.

      I like watching adult Shauna so much more than teen Shauna, because as an adult, I’ve accepted that she’s already hit a point where there’s no coming back from it (ie murder(s)). So, with Melanie Linsky‘s delivery, she’s just hilarious. Everything about her ridiculous actions entertains me. Especially the last couple episodes. But as a teen, I’m more bummed out every time she crosses a new line.

      Totally agree, Nat has so few lines but is bringing so much in her presence.

      I would love to see the two Tais together, like we got so much good stuff with the two vans. Mostly, I’m bummed out when adult Tai is on the screen. Probably because she’s mostly been other Tai. But even back when she was with Simone, a lot of her actions were a real bummer. Younger Tai is so much more interesting to me… Even though it was painful, watching her tell van to rig the cards. But felt really in line with her arc.

      I was shocked that Hannah killed kodi. Good point that it’s a good animalistic survival instinct, but still! I’d imagine this is her first murder, which seems like a pretty big deal. Also bummer that her fate is likely to end up in the bottom of the pit.

    • I am so here for PLL references. May there always be TV shows of teenage girls being terrible on our screens.

  3. This is a completely out there theory, and I’m not entirely sure I’m being serious. but…

    (Adding some extra spoiler space just in case.)

    Okay, so in this episode, we saw teen Lottie (possibly) walk on a surface that shouldn’t have supported her. How long has it been since Lottie died? Has it been three days yet?

    Is the season going to end with adult Lottie somehow coming back to life?

    • I don’t think so, regarding Lottie, because I read a story with the actress recently where she said she was kind of shocked at being written off the show already. BUT I would love to be proven wrong.

    • you’re allowed to take issue with certain words but what’s not acceptable is demanding that everyone police their language use to adhere to your personal comfort level. Calling someone a raging bitch, btw, is also using derogatory slurs; it just happens to be a misogynistic one, instead of a homophobic one. This is such a deeply weird comment to leave, and you seem like a super unpleasant person to be around.

    • Not cool calling the author a bitch. Consider permanently logging off. The internet doesn’t seem like the ideal place for you.

    • I have to agree that using the d- word really felt jarring and alienated me. But calling the author names is unnecessary.

    • Despite your lack of generous assumptions, I’m going to generously assume you might not have seen how that word has been reclaimed in recent years by the lesbian community? Even so, there are about a million different ways a person could’ve gone about sharing their feelings re: that word other than personally attacking the author.

      The world (and the internet especially) are a hellscape enough. Bums me out that you decided to add to it.

  4. Liv Hewson the actor that you are!

    COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG MENTION! Also enjoying the diegetic needle drops this episode, especially Hold On.

    Tai driving the car in reverse to stop Melissa!? Crazy. Kind of hot, unfortunately.

    Wow, Jeff gender journey. You ARE a sexy lady, Jeff! You can be a lady who lunches! I want this for you!

    Nat shut down when Javi died. She shut down when she killed Ben. Watching her actually break down and sob here is so, so devastating.

    I am thinking we may end the series with zero Yellowjackets – that being the only one left will not be enough to satisfy the paranoia, the fear, the haunting. No return!

    • okay actually it bothers me that their post-death plane scenes aren’t on The Plane! :(

    • yes great needledrops here for sure! meant to write more about that but this one got long

      yes Tai going fast and furious moment was honestly quite hot i’m glad you said it lmaooooo

      ooooo zero left standing is a fun outcome to consider!!! and would indeed be pretty fitting for the overall tone and scope of the series

  5. I have a horrible ear infection that has been making me feel miserable all day but thankfully Yellowjackets is so intense it distracted me and getting to come here to your article is great!

    I have been thinking about how its rumoured that Juliette Lewis left the show earlier than intended, and how in this season it feels like a lot of what’s happening wouldn’t be if Nat was still alive. And Van feels like another loss of a character who was a tether to humanity.

    I am fascinated on what people think Melissa’s motives might have been? She didn’t need to kill Van to escape. Does she think killing Van will keep her secret safe? Is her wife or child sick and that’s why she’s doing a sacrifice?

    So, Nat knew about Misty + the black box but didn’t tell the others (as Misty would otherwise be dead). So is Nat keeping that secret what makes Misty see them as best friend’s? Adds a whole new vibe to Nat’s ‘Misty Fucking Quigley’ line.

    I think that Walter killed Lotty and is setting up Shauna to try and get Misty to himself. I think Misty definitely thinks Walter framed Shauna.

    Thank you so much for these recaps Kayla!! You always catch things I otherwise would have missed, and your humour is much needed to decompress after each episode!!

    • Thank you for reading!!! and thanks, I try to bring the humor as much as possible hahahaha. I guess I’m like Van in that sense!!!!

      So honestly I don’t think Melissa HAD much of a motive beyond just a survival instinct/intense reaction. think about when Shauna first encountered her hiding in the pantry and Melissa was so firmly like YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU’RE MESSING WITH. also think about Teen Melissa giddily slicing Ben’s ankle (after coaxing from Shauna, but still). I think she has impulsive tendencies like Shauna does, and I think it’s yet another example of characters on this show killing when they extremely do not have to but THINK in the moment that they do. i think she thought this was the only way to get out of there alive/without Shauna and Tai attacking her. but of course now she has probably put a target on her back when it comes to Tai. but yeah I’m way more interested in thinking about this action of Melissa’s in terms of there being NO concrete motive. i also think that Van even CONSIDERING killing Melissa makes Melissa see her as a threat. i also think she was being facetious when she said “isn’t this what It wants”

      • As an RVA resident agreed they were not in city limits! That was definitely a county! And loved the Colonial Williamsburg butter churning shoutout!

  6. I have two theories I’m percolating in my brain about how this show will really end. Maybe it’s because I watched From all the way through for the fifth time but…my mind is churning with a dash of From, a sprinkle of Dark, and a squeeze of Fringe. I almost don’t care because the ride getting there has a been a blast. No show is perfect and there will always be grumbles but first and foremost, they are humans and humans are imperfect oftentimes relying a lot on knee-jerk reactions and instinct. What my instinct is verses someone else’s is different. That’s what I love about this show. I honestly relate a little to each of the Yellowjackets in some way, be it survival mode, devotion to a loved one, or trust issues. I cannot say enough how much I love this show and this season, for me, has been a home run.

  7. No real spoiler here, I just need to point out how it’s hard for me to be sympathetic with Jeff and all his complaining about Shauna this season. Dude, you actually started the whole yellowjackets show by blackmailing your own wife about some really fucked up shit she went through in her teens, which you perfectly knew about as you read her diaries!

    • Ooh GREAT point. I was trying to think why I’ve been less and less interested in any Jeff scene when they used to be some of my faves. Also, he and Callie just aren’t as interesting when they’re not actually with Shauna imo, so many Yellojacketsless scenes!

    • Technically, Jeff didn’t blackmail Shauna. He never intended for her to get caught up in that at all. The texts and postcards went to the other YJs he knew how to contact.

      Should he have recognized Shauna would get roped in by the other YJs? Absolutely. He’s quite funny sometimes but he’s dim.

  8. As usual, I went straight to this recap upon finishing the episode. Damn, what a penultimate ep of the season! Definitely eager for next week’s episode.

    (hopefully enough words????)

    While I do think there is so much to adult Van’s story that I would’ve loved, and I am GUTTED at her death, it does feel like the writers have a specific direction in mind. I’m determined to be patient for the “payoff” until proven otherwise (the writers are on thin ice but I aim to be a generous viewer!).

    I tend to agree with you, Kayla, that if in fact Van had to die, this is a satisfying arc for her. Just as in Nat’s death, she tried to stop the cycle of violence. I do feel like that is one continual thing that the show posits: there are no outs for the trauma they faced in the wilderness and the ways that it affects the rest of their lives…except in death. No individual can truly hide or run from it. Submitting to It (“it” being the depth of depravity of the wilderness) as Shauna does only leads to more destruction. Destruction is a very difficult path to course-correct from, and no one person can stand in the way.

    On the topic of bury your gays: since I do believe that the show’s position for these women is that death really is the kindest way out of the sheer unstoppable force of their trauma, it makes sense that Van had to die. As Melissa said, Van was always good, and on this show, good doesn’t get to stay around.

    That being said, I wish Lauren got more time on the show. She brought so much to the adult timeline, and she left such a mark on one of my favorite shows.

    • Re: “death really is the kindest way out of the sheer unstoppable force of their trauma” – I can’t help but be a hopeless idealist/therapy stan and think “OR a decade or two of intense therapy!” But of course that wouldn’t make for good TV.

      • Oh absolutely! I even idealistically think there may even be a way out of it within the realm of this show. But if not, it all fits well in the container that the show has created. I think at the very least, given that Shauna really seems to be the main character, I hope for her own personal reckoning. That would be “redemptive” imho.

  9. When the credits rolled I exclaimed to my dog that this was the best episode yet and she did not give one fig, but in her defense she slept through most of it.

    Ok spoiler space taken care of!

    Omg. Give Sophie Thatcher an Emmy! Her performance has been stunning every episode this season.

    Hannah stabbing Joel McHale was shocking, but of course makes such sense! This is why these recaps should be required as part of the Yellowjackets experience.

    Loved Van’s arc this episode. Lauren Ambrose has been SUCH a boon to the present day storylines, I’m going to miss her Van a lot! Between teen Nat’s processing spending another winter in the wilderness and the entirety of Van’s death/airplane scene, this was the first episode that made me cry.

    Was looking forward to a “how do you do fellow kids”/“chronic” moment when Jeff caught Callie but oh well.

  10. I really want to go back and watch just the adult yellow jacket scenes of the first episodes of season one. Now that we’ve seen so much more from the wildnerness it would be interesting to see their coming back together again. Especially Natalie and Shauna…last time we saw their adult selves together we had no idea where their relationship had been.

    Love the observation that the show makes you experience the uncertainty, fear, and paranoia of the characters. Those gnawing questions of what is real are always there for them..and us.

    Also major yikes that the only remaining main yellow jackets are Misty, Shauna, tai…doomed.

    • I just finished rewatching S1 with a friend who had never seen the show before, and it really does add so much to the adult YJ scenes. Like in the S1 finale, I had remembered that Shauna cut up Adam’s body, but I did NOT remember that Natalie helped her with it. And that hit so hard after the S3 scenes of Shauna first insisting that Nat cut up Ben’s body and then actually kind of helping her with it by giving tips.

  11. Spoiler space spoiler space spoiler space, cannibal lesbians, cannibal lesbians, cannibal lesbians.

    Okay I’ve come all the way around and my newest theory that will inevitably be wrong is that Melissa did kill Lottie after all.

    It seems fairly unlikely, but another commenter posited that Lottie was practicing an apology for Hannah’s daughter – what if Lottie showed up at her house, found Melissa instead, and Melissa killed her?

    Idk this SHOW, truly anything could happen and id be like “yeah sure okay”

  12. Idk if it’s the state of the world or the way the show is escalating, but Yellowjackets has gone from a bright spot of my week to being kind of rough. Not due to a dip in quality! And not even due to the deaths per se. I’ve just found this season to be so deeply sad and upsetting.

    I think the fact that they had a chance for escape and didn’t take it has recontextualized everything for me in a way that’s hard to stomach. I really respect that the show is going to these places.

    Also did Walter kill Lottie and try to frame Shauna…

    • I completely agree. I’m finding this season riveting and totally engrossing. But that choice/enabling the choice to stay out there when they could have escaped feels like a really critical inflection point. Especially tied to the murder and eating of Ben.

      It recontextualizes everything we’ve seen so far in the adult timeline. I think that’s great and very impressive storytelling that it can recontextualize like that without overriding, breaking continuity, or doing a big gotcha moment on the audience. But damn is it brutal to watch.

    • I do now know how to start a new comment on this thread so forgive my ineptitude!

      Do yall think Kodi would have really lead them to rescue? Can’t tell if he was just an asshole or if he would have caused harm (the YJs know all about causing harm but I’m wondering if their spidey sense was right)

    • It feels in a way like they blew their initial chance at getting out of the wilderness, yes. But right up until the escape plan got blown up by Shauna, I had been thinking it wasn’t going to work very well for the group anyway. Kodi had no reason to bring them to the rescue point because he knew they would kill him once there. I was expecting him to use the journey to take out a bunch of the YJs and then get away from them. Honestly, as soon as Lottie buried an axe in Edwin’s head that path was closed off.

      BUT Misty seems to know how to fix that sat phone, and if she does call and that’s how they end up rescued, then maybe it’s not as different as if they had gone on a suicide trek with Kodi.

      And it’s going to be the greatest irony if the girl who was responsible for them not being rescued within a day or two of the plane crash ends up being the one who brings rescue.

  13. Kayla, your recaps are a delight. I’m from near Boston so I empathize deeply with your location issues – also fwiw Virginia may be the most beautiful state I’ve driven through. Gods country for sure.

    Ok so maybe I’m alone on this but I’m not really jiving with the back half of this season. Idk why either, I like the show and I think all the individual parts (acting, directing, etc.) are really operating at the top of their game but for some reason it doesn’t cohere for me the way the first two seasons and even the front half of this one did. It’s doubly frustrating bc I can’t pinpoint my gripe!

    That said; my heart keeps breaking for Callie. She’s just a kid searching for some reassurance in the midst of her home life fracturing and neither of her parents can get it together to be there for her. Jiff is, to his credit, trying but he can’t see that she wants a capital D Dad. She’s looking for authority not necessarily companionship and while it makes for a funny moment and a good character beat him smoking weed with her really fails her in that moment. Her face when Jiff is out of focus with his head in his hands just breaks across his loneliness, Sarah Desjardins is doing some great work this season.

    Gonna shout out both Sophie’s here too- seeing Natalie cry instantly brought her youth back to her the same way Vans “I gotta call my mom” did a few episodes ago. And I really hate teen Shauna right now, largely bc she’s a bully. Sophie Nelisse is knocking it out of the park playing her like an exposed nerve.

    Agent Quigley is gonna have some splaining to do! I’ve made it very clear I’m team quigley till I’m dead and all ate up so I sincerely hope she doesn’t wind up on that big ol plane to the next plane.

    Speaking of which, and this may be my Catholic showing, I’m reading the Soul Plane as an indicator that these women are going to hell. The plane is shaking in both vans and nats scenes on it and that reads like sugar it’s going down. Van was the one good one among them but she IS the one who told them to let javi drown iirc and she did et him up so it’s not like she’s without mortal sin.

    Also read the trav Lottie moment as her walking over the branches and not falling in like the commenter above but who knows!

    Friday is band practice night but enjoy the watch party! I’ll be there in spirit and I’ll join you in the comments once I get a chance to catch up.

    • Also just noticed the Guy Picciotto and Videodrome references in the episode description, hell yeah

Comments are closed.

Our Most Anticipated Queer Books for April 2025

April presents another stacked month for LGBTQ+ books! In fact, it’s so stacked that instead of just five top picks this month, I’m coming at you with SEVEN! Catch up on what to add to your TBR pile from March and then keep on stacking that pile with the brilliant books detailed below and forthcoming this month! Find our top 7 anticipated queer books for April 2025, followed by the rest of the books we want to highlight this month. And if there’s anything else we should have on our radar, shout it out in the comments!


Autostraddle’s Top Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books for April 2025

Freakslaw, by Jane Flett (April 1, Horror)

The titular traveling carnival of queers and freaks descends on a repressed Scottish town called Pitlaw in the summer of 1997 in this freakish horror debut all about REVENGE. Funny and strange, you’re going to want to get your claws on this one. I fell in love with the author’s work immediately after reading Flett’s short story “The Sin Eater“, so if you want a taste, check that out.

A/S/L, by Jeanne Thornton (April 1, Literary Fiction)

Oh, I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time!!!! The author of Summer Fun is back, this time with a novel about three queer friends and video games. As its early-internety title suggests, the narrative begins in the 90s and centers Lilith, Sash, and Abraxa, who live all over the country but come together to create the game Saga of the Sorceress despite never meeting in person. We jump 18 years later to their adult lives, where Lilith is “a trans woman in a very cis world,” working as a loan underwriter in a Manhattan bank; Sash is a part-time cam dominatrix in Brooklyn; and Abraxa is sleeping on her friend’s floor in Jersey City. None of them know the other is so close!

Authority, by Andrea Long Chu (April 8, Nonfiction)

One of the greatest critics of our time is back with a book that weaves together some of her existing work, along with two new essays providing an intellectual history of the crisis of authority in criticism. Every queer critic or aspiring queer critic (or just every critic, really) should probably check this one out.

Flirting Lessons, by Jasmine Guillory (April 8, Romance)

Bestselling romance icon Jasmine Guillory delivers her first queer romance! Avery Jensen is about to turn 30, fresh off a breakup, and wanting to date around and especially date women. Taylor Cameron is also fresh off a breakup (in which she was the heartbreaker) and her best friend has bet she can’t make it to Labor Day without sleeping with someone, so as a distraction from her own flirty ways, Taylor offers to give Avery flirting lessons.

Awakened, by A.E. Osworth (April 8, Fantasy)

A trans magical coming-of-age tale, Awakened follows a coven of trans witches battling an evil AI against the backdrop of late capitalism. Funny, incisive, and full of magical adventures, Awakened is an adult fantasy novel that’ll cast its spell on you. And it’s written by A.E. Osworth!

Slayers, Every One of Us: How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On, by Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs (April 8, Memoir)

Fans of their hit podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer will surely love Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs’s candid and insightful memoir, which begins with the ultimatum given at the beginning of their marriage that Kristin must watch Jenny’s favorite show Buffy but then takes us through the story of their public divorce and the friendship that followed.

Somadina, by Akwaeke Emezi (April 15, Fantasy)

Emezi stays putting out books (annually it feels like?!), and this latest one is a YA fantasy-adventure set in a magical West African world and about a teen girl trying to find her missing twin. Since it’s Emezi, you know the language will be lush, the characters complex, and the world-building immersive and ambitious.

And now, enjoy the rest of our picks for most anticipated queer books this month, with brief descriptions!


April 1

Direct Descendant, by Tanya Huff (Horror)

Set in Toronto, this cozy horror novel features a queer romance between the town baker and a PI.

Unsex Me Here, by Aurora Mattia (Story Collection)

This story collection sounds ethereal and haunted, blending realism, the speculative, and autofiction for a true genre-bending experience.

King’s Legacy, by L. C. Rosen (YA)

We were big fans of Rosen’s Lavender House, so we’re looking forward to checking out this YA adventure novel steeped in queer history and Biblical figures.

Glitter in the Dark, by Olesya Lyuzna (Mystery)

Set in Prohibition-era New York, historical fiction mystery-thriller Glitter in the Dark follows a reporter and advice columnist and the search for a kidnapped singer through Harlem speakeasies and the theater world.

Where Shadows Meet, by Patrice Caldwell (Fantasy)

This is a Black sapphic vampire romantasy, full of fantasy, friendship, love, and loss.

Messy Perfect, by Tanya Boteju (YA)

Here’s a sweet YA premise about a teen girl who starts an underground GSA club at her oppressively conservative Catholic high school.


April 8

Lonely Women Make Good Lovers, by Keetje Kuipers (Poetry)

April is National Poetry Month, so make sure you’re reading and supporting some queer poets this month!!! Sexy, earth, and full of desire, be sure to check out this new release from Keetje Kuipers. You can get a taste here.

Make Sure You Die Screaming, by Zee Carlstrom (Literary Fiction)

Adding to the queer road trip novel canon, Make Sure You Die Screaming features an unnamed nonbinary narrator burned out from their corporate job who drives from Chicago to an ultra conservative part of Arkansas after getting a call from their mother that their MAGA-loving conspiracy theorist father has gone missing.

Don’t Sleep with the Dead, by Nghi Vo (Fantasy)

Prolific sapphic genre writer Nghi Vo delivers a standalone companion novella to her queer reimagining of The Great Gatsby, The Chosen and the Beautiful from 2021.

The Influencers, by Anna-Marie McLemore (Thriller)

A mother who has amassed a massive empire as a mom-fluencer finds her life upended when her new husband is killed and her mansion is torched. The suspects? The five daughters, now adults, whose lives she mined for content for their entire childhoods. Juicy!


April 15

When the Harvest Comes, by Denne Michele Norris (Literary Fiction)

I’ve had the privilege of hearing Denne read from this novel, and just trust me when I say: Preorder it right now! Denne’s prose is gorgeous and immersive, and this narrative of queer Black love and complicated family dynamics will absolutely undo you.

No One Taught Me How to Be a Man: What a Trans Man’s Experience Reveals About Masculinity, by Shannon T.L. Kearns (Memoir)

Trans author Shannon Kearns pens an exploration of masculinity and transmasc identity, combining pop culture analysis, personal narrative, and a close look at the cultural expectations placed on men.

a body more tolerable, by jaye simpson (Poetry)

I said it before, and I’ll say it again: Read! More! Queer! Poetry! This one would be good to check out if you are drawn to fairy tales and mythology.

Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn, by Renee Swindle (Literary Fiction)

A woman saves a 10-year-old boy from bullies, and the two form a special bond. And then the woman learns his foster mom is her former crush from high school!

Lone Yellow Flower, by Erika Gill (Poetry)

More queer poetry for you! Erika Gill explores biracial, disabled, and queer identities in these embodied and place-specific poems.

Notes from a Queer Cripple: How to Cultivate Queer Disabled Joy, by Andrew Gurza (Nonfiction)

This work of personal narrative and cultural analysis tackles topics like ableism in queer spaces, internalized ableism and sexuality, desirability, microaggressions, self-pleasure, and finding disabled joy in a hellscape of discrimination and harm.


April 22

Eat the Ones You Love, by Sarah Maria Griffin (Horror)

Well you know my Yellowjackets-loving ass immediately was hooked by this title. It’s about protagonist Shell, who takes a job working in a florist shop where she meets shop manager Neve, who has some dangerous secrets involving a hungry sentient orchid. This copy from the publisher is too good not to quote directly: “This is a story about desire, dreams, decay—and working retail at the end of the world.” Sign me right on up!

Accidentally on Purpose, by Kristen Kish (Memoir)

Kristen Kish memoir ALERT! Here’s a celebrity memoir I actually cannot wait for! It covers her life growing up as an adoptee in the Midwest and working at a pretzel stand in high school to coming out, finding love, and taking the celebrity chef world by storm.

If We Were a Movie, by Zakiya N. Jamal (YA)

An enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance that largely takes place in a historic Black-owned movie theater, this YA release sounds super sweet and perfect for romance lovers who spend a lot of time in movie theaters.

The Corruption of Hollis Brown, by K. Ancrum (Thriller)

Here’s a queer romantic thriller with some paranormal twists. I love a gay ghost book!

Super Gay Poems: LGBTQIA+ Poetry After Stonewall, edited by Stephanie Burt (Poetry)

It IS National Poetry Month after all! And what better way to celebrate than with this tome of an anthology that explores post-Stonewall queer poetics, featuring work by Frank O’Hara, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Chen Chen, essa ranapiri, and more!


April 29

The Lilac People, by Milo Todd (Historical Fiction)

Set in 1932 Berlin, The Lilac People follows a trans man named Bertie who works for Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science and has to fight for survival as the Nazis rise to power.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon, by Meryl Wilsner (Romance)

Romance icon Meryl Wilsner (author of The MILF Book, which is not its actual title but ifykyk) is back with a spicy romance that features a nonbinary main character and a honeymoon full of shenanigans.

When the Tides Held the Moon, by Venessa V. Kelley (Fantasy)

This queer historical cozy fantasy centers a young Puerto Rican immigrant who captures a merman for a Coney Island sideshow in the early 1900s.

The Sea Gives Up the Dead: Stories, by Molly Olguín (Story Collection)

Historical fiction, horror, and fantasy come together in this mythical, wondrous story collection. In addition to reading more queer poetry this month, make it a goal to read more queer short fiction!

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the former managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she is probably playing tennis. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 1002 articles for us.

3 Comments

  1. Ooohh very excited about both “Make sure you die screaming” and “When the harvest comes”.. 👀 I am trying to not read any English-language books this year because they dominated my reading life for the past 15+ years but damn, I am getting tempted over here!

  2. I’ve been waiting for a gay book in the Jasmine Guilleroy cinematic universe for AGES ❤️

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Lucy Dacus Falls in Love on ‘Forever Is a Feeling’ — Why Does it Sound So Rote?

When “Night Shift,” one of two singles from Lucy Dacus’s 2018 album Historian, came out, it was impossible not to notice the ferocity and devastation of the songwriting and its delivery. Dacus wasn’t quite a newcomer, but the heartbreak, disappointment, and intensity that existed on Historian certainly helped her reach new listeners and be embraced by the scene and critics alike. Her follow-up, Home Video, only assisted in proving hers is a voice we should be paying close attention to, an artist who can not only create beautiful guitar-driven compositions but also possess a lyrical style that feels more interested in the nuances of emotionality than saccharine sentimentalism. Then, her work with boygenius — an entirely different experiment in composition and lyricism — helped blast Dacus, along with bandmate Phoebe Bridgers and her partner Julien Baker, further into the spotlight, while also sacrificing some of that signature edge all three of these artists are best known for. That kind of fame comes with a price, surely, and one that is no doubt still being paid by the three of them.

Considering all that’s happened since Historian’s release, it might be unsurprising to some that Dacus’s newest outing and her first for major label Geffen Records, Forever is a Feeling, doesn’t quite match the fervency and genius abstraction of her previous work. All of the press leading up to the album’s release saw Dacus discussing her personal life to an extent she’s never done before. Although she’s been openly queer for years, this particular press cycle has seen Dacus coming out over and over again and discussing her long-term relationship with Baker, something that was only speculated on by her most involved fans across social media.

In a recent New Yorker profile on Dacus and the album, she says “I want there to be different conversations about love than the ones that are happening. I worry that when I talk about this I get really abstract or rote—that it’s impossible to talk about because it’s been made into a corny, commodified thing. Love is such a money-maker, it’s just not always pleasant.” Of course, she’s right in her assertions, and as a queer person, it makes sense she wants to challenge people’s notions of what romance, love, and desire look like. But when you listen to Forever is a Feeling all the way through, you’re left wondering where the hunger for starting that conversation went.

Although the album sounds charming in its own right and especially upon first listen, Forever is a Feeling is mostly filled with mid-tempo compositions and lyrical sentimentality that’s missing the subtlety Dacus is so talented at providing. Take “Big Deal,” “Modigliani,” the album’s title track “Forever is a Feeling,” and one of the lead singles “Best Guess,” for example — all beautifully composed tracks, if a little less exciting than others, yet they’re filled with cliche lyricism that Dacus usually eschews like “You make me homesick for places I’ve never been before” and “If I were a gambling man, and I am / You’d be my best bet.” Tracks like “Ankles” and the remarkably flat duet with Hozier, “Bullseye,” are much more impressive lyrically but leave a lot to be desired in terms of Dacus’s delivery and emotionality. And that’s not to say it’s a problem that Dacus’s focus on this album is on the joyful euphoria of loving and being loved — I would argue that part is worth celebrating — but the passion in the expression of those feelings, especially from an artist so skilled in doing just that, should be there, too.

The standout tracks on the album, “Limerence” and “Lost Time,” bring us much closer to the sensibilities and earnestness we’re used to seeing from Dacus. “Limerence” is a dreamy, piano and string-heavy arrangement about an intoxicated evening with friends where Dacus feels compelled to hurt the person she loves: “My arm ’round the waist of a friendly acquaintance / Toeing the line of betraying your trust / Why do I feel alive when I’m behaving my worst?” It’s difficult to listen to but feels authentic to the experience of falling so deeply for someone you’re scared of actually committing to that love. “Lost Time” is a tender, acoustic-guitar-driven track that slowly amps up in intensity as the song goes on about finally admitting to her feelings for Baker and how she hopes to prove they’re true. Here, Dacus sings “’Cause I love you, and every day / That I knew and didn’t say / Is lost time / Now I’m knocking down your door / ‘Cause I’m trying to make up for / Lost time,” and it feels like the closing of the loop that’s opened in “Limerence.”

These two tracks show that Dacus hasn’t completely abandoned the conversation she wanted so badly to begin. But on an album so situated in Dacus’s relationship with Baker — from grieving the loss of a relationship right before she realized she was falling in love with Baker to being together in new relationship bliss — shouldn’t listeners be able to feel the smoldering ache of desire, the ecstatic rapture of new love, and the anxiety of what all of that might mean in the present and in the future? Certainly, it’s a risk to admit these feelings out loud to a listening public, but it feels a little disappointing she didn’t think the risk was worth taking here. Ultimately, Forever is a Feeling seems like a stepping stone to realizing her full potential as an artist writing about the topics she’s introduced here, and I can’t wait to hear what she gives us when she reaches wherever she’s trying to go.

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Stef Rubino

Stef Rubino is a writer, community organizer, competitive powerlifter, and former educator from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They're currently working on book of essays and preparing for their next powerlifting meet. They’re the fat half of the arts and culture podcast Fat Guy, Jacked Guy, and you can read some of their other writing in Change Wire and in Catapult. You can also find them on Twitter (unfortunately).

Stef has written 136 articles for us.

10 Comments

    • Thank you, Drew! I’m definitely returning to “Limerence” and “Lost Time” A LOT.

  1. Just want to say that I love reading album reviews on here! Thanks for this review, I think it does a great job of discussing the lyrics, music, and context.
    Ankles is my favorite song on the album so far! I was a little disappointed in the overall sound of the album though, and kept wanting something more. More sound, more feeling, more guitars? It just doesn’t match for me – falling in love and taking that leap of admitting your feelings can be a big risk and a huge adrenaline rush. With that being the context of the album, I wanted to hear those feelings come through in the actual music and sound.

    • Yeah, that’s exactly it! It’s just missing some of that emotional rush. And it could be a label thing…maybe the switch was more difficult than anticipated. But I think she’s got a lot more in her and I’m hyped to see it come out eventually.

  2. I haven’t actually had a chance to listen yet, but I do want to say that I appreciate the nuance in this review! I feel there’s been a move towards binary stellar/pan in reviews for many things recently, and I really value one that’s measured and analytical even when there’s love for the creator there

    • “binary stellar/pan” sent me on the most wonderful journey about how the Universe might identify its sexual orientation and I know I took it out of context but, wow, Thank You!

    • Thank so much for saying this! Yeah, I love Lucy DOWN, and just generally, I would be lying if I said all was lost here. It’s not. It has “great bones” but it’s just not all the way there yet and that’s OK!

  3. I love Lucy Dacus and I’m not enjoying this album at all. She sounds so emotionally flat and the production feels really dated not in a good way !!! Weird. Thanks for the review.

  4. You know that thing where actors who hate each other IRL have great chemistry on screen, and actors who actually are in love seem bland in scenes together? I wonder if that’s happening with this album. Maybe Dacus is feeling a kind of love that’s impossible to communicate to anyone outside it and it ends up reading as flat or cliche or without passion when she tries to express it in art. I am absolutely obsessed with the music videos for Best Guess and Ankles though!!

    • This is such a good point, and also I am not saying at all that it’s what’s going on here but your comment reminds me of the phenomenon of falling in love, entering a happy relationship and promptly stopping knowing how to make art. It certainly doesn’t happen to every artist (I mean hey, Dacus just put out a whole album so it also didn’t happen to her) but it happens sometimes and I wonder if there are similar things at play.

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Queer Stand-Up Comedian Amber Ruffin Stands Up For What She Believes In

Amber Ruffin Has Something To Say About Getting Disinvited From the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS -- Episode 1636 -- Pictured: (l-r) Amber Ruffin and Seth Meyers during the sketch "Both Sides" on Monday. March 31, 2025 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images)

LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS — Episode 1636 — Pictured: (l-r) Amber Ruffin and Seth Meyers during the sketch “Both Sides” on Monday. March 31, 2025 — (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images)

In February, comedian Amber Ruffin was invited to perform at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and it felt significant that despite everything going on with the current administration, they chose a Black queer woman as their comedian for the evening. Of course, that proved too good to be true when they rescinded that offer, with Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich saying Amber Ruffin said “hate-filled and violence-inspiring” things on a podcast. Ironic, considering the administration.

The board decided to eliminate the comedy portion of their show altogether after a unanimous vote, which came in response to Ruffin refusing to “take both sides” and provide the same “false equivalency that the media does” in her set.

The comedian took to the set of Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she is a writer and often comes out to tell “jokes Seth can’t tell” with Jenny Hagel, and interrupted a segment where he was talking about a fictional bodega robbery. She accuses him of not doing journalism and said, “If there’s one thing I learned from this weekend, you have to be fair to both sides.” They then do a hilarious back and forth about how utterly ridiculous it would be to be “fair” and neutral about both sides when one is obviously doing bad and harmful things. It was funny yet effective at demonstrating her point.

Of course, the WHCA is being cowardly and claimed they were “re-focusing” the dinner on the awards and scholarships, but it is clear this is just another example of people bending to the will of the narcissist in chief and his band of bullies. (Who didn’t even attend any of these dinners during his first run as president.)

Hopefully we will still get to hear some of Amber’s set though. One option Amber Ruffin has was born of most of the ladies of The View disagreeing with this decision. Whoopi Goldberg specifically said this could be a sign of the more infringements on free speech to come; she rightly points out that the board knew exactly who Amber Ruffin was and what she stood for and what her comedy was like before asking her in the first place, and that uninviting her makes Goldberg uncomfortable at best. Two of the hosts concluded their segment by inviting Amber to do the set on their show, though I have a feeling not all of them would be so supportive of the idea. Ironically, The View seems to be a show that likes to “be fair” to all sides, so I’m not sure Amber Ruffin would take them up on this offer (especially since she’s already employed on a talk show) but hopefully we’ll get to hear some of that lost set in one way or another someday.

Either way, I am glad Amber Ruffin put her foot down and refused to be watered down, and rightfully called out the people trying to make her play nice with an administration that is actively trying to strip her of her rights, among other atrocities.


An Encore of News

+ Peppermint discusses the trans “fairytale wedding” in Survival of the Thickest

+ Liza Minnelli is going to guest star and be honored on the season finale of Ru Paul’s Drag Race

+ Country singer (and Beyoncé collaborator) Tanner Adell came out as pansexual

+ I am literally screaming in anticipation of Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot

+ Doechii freed the nip on the red carpet this weekend in a lovely sheer dress

+ If you have any burning questions for Ani DiFranco, now’s your chance to ask them

+ House of the Dragon Season 3 has kicked off filming

+ Meryl Streep’s queer daughter Louisa Jacobson is a masc dreamboat in new ads

+ Our true American Idol, Kelly Clarkson promoted a compilation album of trans artists on her talk show for Trans Day of Visibility

+ And last but not least, in case you missed it, Pose star Indya Moore is engaged!

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Valerie Anne

Valerie Anne (she/they) a TV-loving, video-game-playing nerd who loves reading, watching, and writing about stories in all forms. While having a penchant for sci-fi, Valerie will watch anything that promises a good story, and especially if that good story is queer.

Valerie has written 628 articles for us.

4 Comments

  1. Are you guys going to cover the new season of Wheel of Time at all? The show just keeps getting gayer and gayer and it’s really weird it’s being ignored here. We really need views if it’s going to be renewed!

    • Yeah, I really miss Boobs on your tube. It’s like the site stopped covering TV shows.
      If anyone knows another website to get TV recs I’m all ears.

  2. Isn’t she the most lib out of all the comedians? Isn’t she a hypocrite or has she changed

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No Filter: This Photo of Cynthia Erivo and Doechii Is Making Me Emotional!

feature image photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Staff via Getty Images

Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I tell you what our favorite celesbians and queers are up to on Instagram! Let’s rock and roll!


I don’t think it is an anniversary for the Betts, but I am always thrilled that they just have, like, photoshoots celebrating their love randomly.


Look, if they like it I love it!


It is official, this spring/summer I am finally accepting that Kristen is my ultimate style icon and I need to dress like her every single day??


Don’t hurt em Cynthia! Giving high fashion, I love to see it!


Nothing gayer than a hiarless cat in a sweater, IMO!


Deeeply pro this pink hair!! Hottt!


Happy birthday, Chappell! An Aries, that…tracks, huh?


Hmmmmm I need this jacket me thinks? OR wait, maybe I hate it?? Undecided!


One of my favorite things ever is when celebrities celebrate the little local theaters and programs that got them started. The arts matter!!!


Ummmm that is possibly theeee best promo I have ever seen! I wanna be like Cole!


IMPORTANT IMAGE, POSSIBLY THE MOST IMPORTANT IMAGE EVER? Sorry, I am just weirdly emotional about these two right now?? It’s just nice to see two gorgeous dark skinned Black women together?


Laurie and I are very the same: We need to see the ocean every few months or we die!


For some reason this is the post that made me realize that I am literally a decade older than Towa, and now I feel so…old?? Not in a bad way just like…damn time be timing!


I feel like I agree with this post, despite not really…knowing what it is about.


Okay Hannah WORK! She always crushes a photoshoot, it is inspiring to me.


Real talk I got distracted by the flower closeup and after confirming they are indeed Azaleas, I will be painting those bad boys later!!

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Christina Tucker

Christina Tucker is writer and podcaster living in Philadelphia. Find her on Twitter or Instagram!

Christina has written 341 articles for us.

1 Comment

  1. It’s cool how Kehlani used te reo Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa NZ, in her post!

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April 2025: What’s New, Gay and Streaming on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Prime Video, Paramount+ and Peacock

Well it’s April, which means two things are back: me (I’ve been on paternity leave for the past six weeks) and television programs that care about us a little bit! A lot of overdue high quality material is coming our way featuring lesbian, bisexual queer and trans characters.


Netflix’s Streaming in Gay For April 2025

black and white movie still vibes

Love on the Spectrum: Season 3 // April 2
A new queer is joining this dating show about people on the autism spectrum looking for love. Pari wants to “challenge stereotypes” and boasts a range of interests including but not limited to video games, sewing doll dresses, eating gluten-free pasta and trains. She told Tudum, “I feel much more comfortable dating girls and women. It’s a better match for me.”

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (Season 3) // April 3
So, the Nublar Five will continue facing increasingly dangerous dinosaur threats while meanwhile, Brooklynn, who has rejected them, will be experiencing increased inner turmoil as she grows ever more connected to a criminal web of dinosaur tracking and espionage!

Black Mirror: Season 7 // April 10
Issa Rae stars as A-List movie star Brandy Friday in the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie,” in which she’s sent (in menswear!) into the simulated, immersive world of classic Hollywood romance ‘Hotel Reverie,’ starring 1940s actress Dorothy Chambers (non-binary actor Emma Corrin). Rae told Empire that the episode feels like “a blend of a bunch of my favourites, like ‘San Junipero’ and ‘Striking Vipers’.” Awkawfina also stars. This trailer is extremely gay, everything about it is gay! So!

Battle Camp: Season One // April 23
Netflix’s latest entry into the “new show featuring previous personalities from the Netflix Reality Universe” is clearly inspired by MTV’s The Challenge, which pioneered this concept in 1998 with its competition reality show stocked with stars from then-marquee properties The Real World and Road Rules. In Battle Camp, contestants will compete in “Mr Beast-like competition rounds” for a $250,000 prize. Our very own lesbian Lexi Goldberg of The Ultimatum: Queer Love is amongst the competitors. I hope she punches Irina (Love is Blind Season 4) in the face!


Hulu’s April 2025 New Streaming LGBTQ+ Content

THE HANDMAID'S TALE - “Exile” - June tries to settle in a new community. Serena seeks a sanctuary. Luke and Moira take a big risk. (Disney/Steve Wilkie)AMANDA BRUGEL, SAMIRA WILEY

THE HANDMAID’S TALE – “Exile” – June tries to settle in a new community. Serena seeks a sanctuary. Luke and Moira take a big risk. (Disney/Steve Wilkie)

Black Swan (2010) // April 1
Ballet! Homoeroticism! Natalie Portman! Swans! Mila Kunis!

Boys on the Side (1995) // April 1
Whoopi Goldberg is Jane, a lesbian musician moving from New York to Los Angeles after breaking up with her girlfriend and her band who joins Robin (Mary Louise Parker) and Holly (Drew Barrymore) on a cross-country road trip that gets messy after the women band together to protect Holly from her abusive boyfriend.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 6 Premiere // April 8
In the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, one of my favorite television shows of all time honestly, June is drawn back into the fight to take down Gilead, with Luke and (her lesbian best friend) Moira (Samira Wiley) by her side. Meanwhile, Serena will be trying to reform Gilead while Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia reckon with the consequences of their actions. We are promised a journey that will highlight the importance of “hope, courage, solidarity and resilience in the pursuit of justice and freedom.” Haha

Got To Get Out: Season One Premiere // April 11
Ten “outrageous” reality icons and ten regular people described as “crafty gamers” are gathered under one roof with $1 million in prizes up for grabs. Apparently, lies and lunacy will be colliding in an exhilarating manner. Who doesn’t want to be exhilarated?  The cast includes bisexual Bachelor in Paradise personality Demi Burnett, who was one half of the franchise’s first-ever queer couple, as well as bisexual Real Housewife Kim Zolciak-Biermann.

Jessica Kirson: I’m the Man (2025) // April 25
The lesbian comic’s “fast paced and sharp tongued hour” will see her sharing her feelings on topics such as visiting a trauma center and “girls on TikTok.”


What’s New and Gay On HBO Max In April 2025

ava and deborah in hacks

Aftersun (2022) // April 1
Drew said this was the best queer film of 2022, describing it as “the rare coming-of-age movie about a queer kid who doesn’t yet understand that queerness.”

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) // April 1
This “staggering work of lesbian gaze” follows a painter, Marianne, looking to separate her own work from that of her father’s, hired to paint a marriage portrait of Héloïse, who has refused to sit for a male artist. Then they look at each other a lot and gay stuff happens. .

Y2K (2024) // April 4
Two high school seniors crash a New Year’s Eve party in 1999 and that infamous Y2K bug apocalypse actually happens, leading to all kinds of horror in this nostalgia piece that mostly garnered bad reviews. Queer non-binary actor Lachlan Watson plays Ash, a queer stoner who loves Limp Biskit and takes her video camera everywhere.

Hacks: Season 4 Premiere // April 10
Lord do I love it when a television program releases its seasons in a timely fashion! After Season 3 defied the odds and won every award we could throw in its direction, Season 4 has arrived and Hannah is working her dream job at Deborah’s dream job (the late night talk show). Pickleball lesbian Helen Hunt is returning and Julianne Nicholson and Michaela Watkins are joining the cast. Also Robbie Hoffman will have a cameo.

The Last of Us: Season 2 Premiere // April 13
The seven-episode second season takes place five years after the first season’s events, and finds Ellie and Joel brought into conflict with each other in a world that is somehow even more dangerous and unpredictable than before. Much of the events of the season will be pulling from the game’s second installment, and Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Young Manzino and Catherine O’Hara are joining the cast — as is Isabela Merced, who is playing fan-favorite character Dina, Ellie’s love interest.

Babygirl (2024) // April 25
High-powered CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman), who’s never had an orgasm with her husband, begins a very hot affair with her intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson) in Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies) acclaimed cinema production.  Romy’s also got a gay daughter, played by Esther McGregor.


Prime Video’s April 2025 of Gay

Clinton Kelly and Stacy London

Clinton Kelly and Stacy London

Leverage: Redemption: Season Three // April 17
In this follow-up to the original Leverage (2008 – 2012), reformed criminals — the Hitter, the Hacker, the Grifter and the Thief — have returned, and along with a new tech genius and corporate fixer. Queer actor Aleyse Shannon is lesbian character Breanna Casey, a gifted engineer with hacking and tech skills. This season, “the team pits themselves against a power broker stealing the clean water under people’s feet and turning into dirty money, fight against a Mayor who’s literally the judge and jury of his small town, outrun a mark who’s finally caught up with them mid-con, out-hustle a pool hustler with a side business in international extortion, and bring down an industrialist exploiting child labor.”

Wear Whatever The Fuck You Want: Season Three // April 29
Iconic fashion lesbian Stacy London is best known for co-hosting TLC’s What Not To Wear back in the early aughts with Clinton Kelly but now London and Kelly are doing a very different kind of fashion show in which they will be empowering people to forget style rules and embrace their fashion fantasies to discover their style truth. I have personally worn the same two pairs of sweatpants every single day for the past 6 weeks, rotating them out as soon as my baby spits up on them. That’s my style truth and I’m sticking to it.


Paramount+ Showtime

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) // April 1
Hot sad bisexual hacker Lisbeth Salmander (Roony Mara) is enlisted by journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) to track down a Killer of Women who is responsible for the disappearance of a woman 40 years ago.

An Evening With Elton John and Brandi Carlile // April 6
This very important duo will be doing some of their individual greatest hits, telling stories about their undoubtedly adorable and inspirational friendship and giving a little preview of their new joint album “Who Believes in Angels.” Everybody loves a Brandi Carlile collab.

Boogie Woogie (2009) // April 14
This very bad “comedy of manners’ about the contemporary London art scene follows dealers, collectors artists and wannabes, including a side plot with Heather Graham playing an ambitious assistant who meets a hottie artist at a club. Also Gillian Anderson and Alan Cumming are in this.

Certain Women (2016) // April 14
Renowned lesbian auteur Kelly Reichardt tells three stories in this one (1) film, and the gay one finds a rancher (Lily Gladstone) falling for a part-time law professor, played by Kristen Stewart, and attending her education law class every week despite having no interest in law at all. Relatable gay content!


Peacock’s April 2025 New Shows

Law & Order: Organized Crime: Season 5 Premiere // April 17
Ilene Chaiken is a co-creator of this specific L&O iteration, which sees Stabler playing lead detective in black queer character Sgt. Ayanna Bell’s (Danielle Moné Truitt) Organized Crime Control Bureau. This season they will be tackling “cross-border smuggling, high-tech domestic terrorism and a crime family intent on repaying Stabler for the injury he did them in Rome.”


Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Riese

Riese is the 43-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3304 articles for us.

5 Comments

  1. Also Boarders season 2 is dropping on Tubi on April 17th there is a bi lead and a few other queer characters throughout

  2. Wheel of Time on amazon continues with the ensemble cast featuring many queer main characters

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Quiz: Is She Gay?

It has happened to all of us. You’re just going about your life and you meet a woman and you fall instantly in love with her, but there’s one problem: You have no idea if she’s gay or straight. Maybe she has even said she is straight, but you remain uncertain she really knows herself, because if she’s straight why do you have this cosmic connection that transcends time and space? So, here we go, a useful quiz for you to figure out if that girl is gay.


Is She Gay?

Who is she?(Required)
What’s her job?(Required)
What’s her deal?(Required)
Has she seen The L Word?(Required)
Which of the topics below would she be most likely to discuss?(Required)
Which of the following does she have?(Required)
Is she in therapy?(Required)
What pet does she have?(Required)
Do you think she’s gay?(Required)

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the former managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she is probably playing tennis. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 1002 articles for us.

8 Comments

  1. Omfg the hand-up STOP TAKING THIS QUIZ AND JUST TALK TO HER Kayla picture startled me!!! I filled this out with my ex-therapist in mind (who is still my ex’s therapist 🤪) and she is definitely one of the straightest people in the world and I never want to talk to her again but the stern look directly into the camera and the massive ✋ are almost convincing me I should.

    • “I filled this out with my ex-therapist in mind (who is still my ex’s therapist 🤪)”

      Possibly the gayest comment I’ve read on AS, lol

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Anyone Know Where I Can Find the Trans Surgeries Advertised on Fox News?

trans surgeries in school

As a transgender woman, there were many requirements in order to receive my first trans-affirming surgery: facial feminization surgery. It started with an appointment with my general practitioner. He had me schedule an extended information phone call about the procedure with someone else in his office (technically an appointment, so copay still required). After that call, I scheduled a consult with the surgeon I’d chosen (the waitlist was several months). The surgeon’s office wouldn’t give me a surgery date until I had my approval letters, which brought me back to my general practitioner’s office. The first step for the letters was another information call where I was asked questions about my medical history. (Another copay.) After this was completed, the office was able to set me up with my official psych eval and medical eval — two more appointments, copays required, both not available for months. Finally, I had approval and was able to schedule my surgery date. The plan after my consult had been October, but by the time this was completed there were no appointments until the end of February.

I’m once again going through these same steps for bottom surgery. Except this time the hospital has their own additional psych and medical evaluations they require — three more appointments that for some reason can’t be used for insurance coverage in place of the appointments with my general practitioner. Bottom surgery also requires a year of hair removal from the surgical site.

I’m 31-years-old and I’ve been on hormones for over seven years. My commitment to my gender and moving through this world as a trans woman has been proven, I’d say.

So imagine my surprise when I saw a clip online from Fox News talking about teenagers going to school with one gender and returning home with another! They were saying kids could get trans surgeries as easily as getting a Big Mac at the drive-thru or, I don’t know, buying a gun at a Walmart.

Clearly, I’ve been going about this all wrong. Clearly, I have the wrong doctors or live in the wrong city, because I would like to avoid any more hurdles and just get my next surgery please.

While an effective advertisement in catching my interest, there wasn’t any number to call to actually go through this accelerated surgery process. If this is available for kids, it should definitely be doable for me. Especially since last time I checked trans minors rarely get surgery and usually it’s just an issue of totally reversible puberty blockers, correct hormones given in cases where someone has been living as their gender for many years, or, most commonly, just using the name and pronouns that make a kid feel better at a time in life when everything is really fucking hard.

Anyway, I’m lucky to finally have a job with health insurance so I can afford these surgeries I’ve wanted for many years, since cost is also often a prohibitive part of the process. But if I could find these drive-thru surgeries I might just throw in some new tits for fun.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Drew Burnett Gregory

Drew is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and theatremaker. She is a Senior Editor at Autostraddle with a focus in film and television, sex and dating, and politics. Her writing can also be found at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cosmopolitan UK, Refinery29, Into, them, and Knock LA. She was a 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Notable Writer and a 2023 Lambda Literary Screenwriting Fellow. She is currently working on a million film and TV projects mostly about queer trans women. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Drew Burnett has written 693 articles for us.

1 Comment

  1. This was my favorite of the April fools batch! It stood out because of its seriousness but made me chuckle nonetheless. Thanks Drew!

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How To Come Out (As a Podcaster)

Take a breath, friend. You’ve already done the hardest part. You’ve looked in the mirror and come to terms with something real about yourself.

You are a podcaster.

You can’t change that, that is who you are — and if you are being honest with yourself, isn’t it who’ve you always been? Now that you’ve done the hard work of accepting it, you might feel ready to start thinking about telling your parents. If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place. I am here to guide you through this journey.

Step One: Practice

Give yourself a moment to think about what you want to say to your parents. What is the most important take away you want them to walk away with? These conversations are challenging, and it is likely you won’t be able to cover all your points. Try to narrow it down. Are you solely relying on your Quince spon-con for clothing for the foreseeable future? Do you find yourself going mad about the events of the day if you aren’t behind a mic to give your take? Do you simply just feel more natural with a pop filter in front of your mouth? All of these things are a part of being a podcaster, and being a podcaster is valid. If you find yourself struggling to think about what you might want to say — just jump on the mic for a second and see what comes naturally to you. Remember, this is your life, not theirs.

Step Two: Patience

You will have to give your parents time to understand what this means, and it won’t be easy. You will have to explain things like the “Apple Podcast App” and “iheartRadio,” and these are not words any parent wants to hear coming out of their child’s mouth. But you have to give them time to understand the benefit of iHeart inserting anywhere between two and four minutes of ads for sports betting websites into your work. Try to explain phrases that you take for granted, like “listen wherever you get your podcasts.” What could that sentence mean to parents, really? Just take a deep breath and think about the Helix mattress waiting for you at home.

Persistence

It all comes down to persistence in the end. This is who you are, and if your parents refuse to see that, you will have to wear them down over time. Refuse to let them erase your identity, and stand up for what you believe in, and the proud community you now belong to. Bring your mic and pop filter to Thanksgiving dinner, and don’t back down when your aunties tell you “a microphone doesn’t need a plate.” You are a podcaster, and a podcaster is never alone.

Remember: The mic is in your hand. You got this.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Christina Tucker

Christina Tucker is writer and podcaster living in Philadelphia. Find her on Twitter or Instagram!

Christina has written 341 articles for us.

These Sapphic Romance Ecohorror Novels Are SO Hot (Literally)

A burgeoning microgenre has emerged in the lesbian lit community that has all the girlies feeling a strange mix of sexual arousal and existential climate dread. It’s called SAPPHIC ROMANCE ECOHORROR, a new romance trend that places steamy lesbian love stories against the backdrop of environmental devastation. If you’re looking to dabble in sapphic romance ecohorror, we’ve got four standout titles for you to check out! Read about them below, and be sure to comment with your favorites!


Love at First Megaflood by E. G. Pennywise

Love At First Megaflood

Justine is a meteorologist begging for the world to listen to her warnings about an incoming megaflood of apocalyptic proportions, but a government-led propaganda campaign has labeled her as a radical lesbian conspiracy theorist. Too busy trying to warn the world of what’s to come, she keeps missing the signals emanating from Dr. Laura Hapley, a marine biologist known for going viral for her whale videos who also is one of the few people who believes Justine about the flood. During late-night chat sessions online, Justine and Hapley become closer and closer. The scientist/content creator rallies her followers to listen to Justine, but will she also listen to her heart? When Justine and Laura’s paths collide, it’s like a superstorm of sapphic ecstasy. But how will their flood of feelings for each other weather the incoming megaflood? From author E.G. Pennywise comes this soaking wet new sapphic romance.

Searching For Her (And For Drinkable Water) by Lisa Laser

Searching for Her (and for drinkable water)

A helpless romantic, Jessica Bradenton knows the woman of her dreams is out there. When she was 16, she went to a bisexual psychic who told her she’d meet her true soulmate during her 38th year. For over a decade, she has been cursed with one dead-end relationship after another, but in the back of her mind she always knew it would never work with these women, who were just placeholders along the way of her true destiny. Now Jess is 38, and every woman she encounters makes her wonder: Is she the one? But meeting women proves hard against the backdrop of widespread drought and toxic water contamination. For the last five years, there have been ongoing water wars over the dwindling drinkable water supply across the country. But when Jess gets involved with an underground group committed to fighting the evil water companies profiting off of the crisis, she meets a slew of women who become new friends. But which one of them could be something more? Read the book that gives a whole new meaning to thirsty.

Hannah and Alex Are Heating Up by Jay Courtney

Hannah and Alex Are Heating Up

Hannah and Alex are workplace rivals at their high-intensity jobs as luxury real estate agents in California, where the wealthy are buying up land and building mansions to weather the upcoming apocalyptic heatwaves. But as the planet warms to unprecedented levels, Hannah and Alex find something heating up between them, sexual tension weaseling its way into their years-long rivalry that goes back to their boarding school days. Soon, they won’t be able to ignore it any longer, even if they are masters of the art of delusion and denial about their evil jobs. Both characters are terrible people, but the novel is going to pretend like they’re not!

Squall Squad by S.S. Swordsmith

Squall Squad

When a series of life-threatening squalls hit their town, a five-person polycule living in a sprawling but run-down farmhouse take it upon themselves to develop an anarchist collective to distribute mutual aid and rebuild a community ravaged by relentless superstorms and ignored by the government. They call themselves the Squall Squad, but can all the relationships and dynamics that make up this crew of misfit queers withstand the pressures of becoming a climate survival operation? And when one of them goes missing during a squall, will the polycule implode on itself? Read the book that features the most intense chore wheel in queer communal living history.

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the former managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she is probably playing tennis. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 1002 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. lmao not too proud to say this one got me … I would 100% read a couple of these though

  2. My TBR pile is threatening to collapse the continent so I should get to these first

  3. OK, so I looked at the calendar this morning and was like, nope, not doing April Fool’s Day this year. I already feel like 2025 has been one, long unfunny and poorly planned prank. Not in the mood for anymore pranks, thank you.

    But. This was fun. I even smiled in delight. And I would probably read Squall Squad.

    And “Both characters are terrible people, but the novel is going to pretend like they’re not!” made me genuinely laugh.

  4. Seriously the covers are amazing and so on-brand right now and the blurbs are arousing my curiosity and Squall Squad, someone make it happen !

Comments are closed.

The Democrats Have a Bold New Strategy To Win Back Their Base: Throwing Trans People Into Volcanos

feature image photo of Chuck Schumer by MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images

The Democratic Party has been in shambles since their decisive loss in the 2024 general election. Party leadership has been disorganized, inconsistent, and unpopular as they attempt to deal with Donald Trump’s second presidency and a Republican Party of increasing power.

Many loyal Democrat voters have been eager for the party to take action. “Have they considered focusing less on losing elections and more on governing?” asked Laurence Smith, a Democrat voter from Peoria, Illinois.

“It’d be nice to vote because I’m excited about someone, instead of always voting for the lesser of two evils,” said Alex Zucker, a local of Portland, Oregon who asked to be identified as a reluctant registered Democrat.

“I think they’re doing a great job,” countered Braddock, Pennsylvania resident John Fetterman.

Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, aimed to calm distrust in his party at a press conference yesterday. He began by promising that he’d personally make Donald Trump the fastest lame duck president in history before explaining the Democratic Party’s bold new strategy:

We will fight Donald Trump and his unelected cronies with every fight we have in us. We’ll fight them in the courts, we’ll fight them at the ballot box, we’ll fight them by asking if they’d please not do the things we don’t like. And we’ll fight them by throwing trans people into volcanos! 

The bipartisan Must Abolish Gender Misfits Act, or MAGMA, proposes that all known transgender individuals in the United States be tossed into volcanos as volcanos are made available. When asked why target this small portion of the population, one that frequently votes Democrat, Schumer explained that his party was losing on the transgender issue.

“Transgenders started in 2014 and we’ll leave them in 2024,” he continued. We tried it for a decade and it’s just not working with regular hardworking Americans whether they’re banking lobbyists or oil lobbyists or even real estate lobbyists.”

When pressed on why the method of volcanos, Schumer explained that it was time to reclaim the color orange from the current president and “everyone likes explosions.” He insisted the decision had nothing to do with the large donation the Democratic Party received last year from controversial super PAC Melt the Flesh Off People Inc.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Drew Burnett Gregory

Drew is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and theatremaker. She is a Senior Editor at Autostraddle with a focus in film and television, sex and dating, and politics. Her writing can also be found at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cosmopolitan UK, Refinery29, Into, them, and Knock LA. She was a 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Notable Writer and a 2023 Lambda Literary Screenwriting Fellow. She is currently working on a million film and TV projects mostly about queer trans women. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Drew Burnett has written 693 articles for us.

2 Comments

  1. There will be fine print I’m sure :

    *Only American volcanos in the contiguous states qualify. Dormant volcanos not included. All persecutors must successfully complete ALL Autostraddle quizzes before Midnight April 1, 2025 GMT.

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The Hottest Party Is the Severed Floor of the Gay Club

This just in: the new place to see and be seen? The severed floor of the club. That’s right, these trendsetting members of the queer community are all lining up to gain access to L(GBTQ)umon Club, the hottest club open right now. Wondering why the young elite of today are willingly choosing to have an experience the mind won’t remember but the body will? For many — that’s the point.

Severance is a controversial memory altering procedure developed by Lumon Corporation about 12 years ago. It allows you to surgically split your mind, keeping your memories of your “work” life and your “real” life — or the dance floor life and real life — entirely separate. Severance was developed to help people truly create ultimate work life balance — one where you literally cannot remember your job. I know for a lot of us, that idea can feel compelling. The freedom of literally not thinking about work has its points, but why choose a severed dance floor?

We live in a time of constant demands on the mind, so perhaps it makes sense that the youth of today are searching for a place where they won’t remember. “It’s just so relaxing,” Oliver*, 24 tells me. It’s been six months since they went through the severance procedure, and they are still gushing about to everyone they know. “Usually when I go out, I waste so much time worrying about what I am going to say or do or who to talk to. Now all I have to do is get dressed, head down the elevator and boom! It’s the next day.”

Carrie, another advocate for the severed dance floor agrees. “It’s so great, because we all know how the gay community is — always complaining that we’re dating our friends or our friends’ exes, the circles are too small, whatever. This way, we don’t even remember each other. It’s perfect!”

For some folks, the lack of worrying about what they got up to when they were at the club was really relaxing. “I used to get such bad hangexity before I got severed,” Julia, 29, tells me. “I would just sit on the couch and think of ways I did a bad job when I was drunk. Now it really doesn’t matter! It’s so freeing.”

But what about, well…actual hangovers? Splitting one’s mind certainly has its appeal, but how does the body fare? “I can’t lie, the first few mornings were pretty rough,” Oliver admits. “You’ve gotta trust that your Innie won’t like, totally sabotage your Sunday.”

While it sounds like Oliver has a handle on his Innie, many medical professionals I spoke to for this piece were baffled by this choice. “Why is this even a thing” was something I heard quite often, as well as “Why wouldn’t you want to remember partying?” Many argued that the benefits of socializing — and remembering it — far outweigh any of the benefits mentioned above.

Still, Oliver has no plans to hang up his severed dance floor card. “It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” he says. “I mean, I think. I don’t really remember.”

*names have not been changed, but they have been made up.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Christina Tucker

Christina Tucker is writer and podcaster living in Philadelphia. Find her on Twitter or Instagram!

Christina has written 341 articles for us.

1 Comment

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How To Improve Your New T-Stache

So, you’re here because you’ve been on T just long enough to start to grow a mustache, and you want to know how to take it to the next level. Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve been on T for a year now and I have the perfect tip for anyone just now growing their mustache:

Shave it.

“But what about—”

Shave it.

“Okay but what if—”

Shave it.

“My partner says they—”

They’re lying. Shave it.

“But it’s coming in dark and—”

No it’s not. Shave it.

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motti

Motti (they/he) is a New York born and raised sorority girl turned writer, comedian, and content creator (whatever that means these days). Motti has been featured on We're Having Gay Sex Live, The Lesbian Agenda Show, Reductress Haha Wow! Live, the GayJoy Digest, and even played the role of "Real Life Lesbian" on Billy on the Street. In 2022, they wrote about how clit sucker toys are a scam, sweet gay revenge, chasing their dreams, and getting run over by a pick up truck in their now-abandoned newsletter Motti is An Attention Whore. Motti has a Masters in Public Administration and Local Government Management, you'd never know it from the shit they post online (see previous sentence), but occasionally he'll surprise you with his knowledge of civic engagement and electoral processes. They live in Brooklyn with their tuxedo cat, Bo, and their 20 houseplants.

motti has written 41 articles for us.

4 Comments

  1. Or just move to New Zealand. Wispy mustaches and full blown mullets are all the rage here like it’s 1970.

  2. Neverrrrrrr

    The real answer is to go even harder and dye your shitty moustache darker with eyelash dye.

Comments are closed.

Visiting Queer Realizes Her Parents Only Value Her Astrology Skills at Trivia

It was a cool spring evening in March when Christina Grace, 35, finally understood the reason her parents were always begging her to come visit. It was not, as she hoped, to see family and friends and spend some time relaxing in her favorite childhood spots. No, the reason was darker than that — and more insidious.

Christina sighs as she wraps her hands around her mug of coffee. Her face is lined and weary but resolute. She is ready to share her story. “I think there is a part of me that needs to believe that my parents see me as more than their gay daughter who knows about astrology.” She pauses for a moment, gathering her strength. “But I was wrong.”

Like many 30-somethings who have a decent relationship with their family and hometown, Christina makes the trek upstate a few times a year, trying to maintain the balance between having her own life and strengthening the bonds of her family of origin. “Always for Christmas, and usually a few times during the year. I like it here, it’s beautiful, you know?”

It is. The Hudson Valley remains as scenic as ever, with great sweeping vistas of mountains and farmland. Alas, all of these glorious and comforting sights pale in face of the way her family has used her for her astrology knowledge. “I worked really hard to be seen as a well rounded person by my parents,” Christina admits. “It’s just kind of depressing that no matter what I do, I am nothing more than their gay daughter who knows about astrology.”

“I suppose I should have been suspicious when they kept pushing for me to come up Thursday, instead of Friday.” She shakes her head. “It was all so clear in retrospect.” It wasn’t until her parents casually mentioned that Thursday was their trivia night that she started to understand the magnitude of her situation. “You know what’s crazy? My brother warned me this might happen. I just didn’t believe him.”  Her brother, Sean, 34, confirmed. “I know it’s harder for her,” he tells me candidly. “I’m good at sports questions, but so is my dad. They always fall apart in the astrology round.” He pauses, thinking for a moment. “I can’t imagine the pressure she’s under.”

When I tell Christina this, she loses a long breath, staring up for a moment. “It means a lot to know this isn’t all in my head.”

For their part, her parents remain confused. “I think we had one question about astrology?” her father, David, 64, tells me, confusion is evident in his voice. “We were just thinking it was a nice thing to do on Thursday.” Tellingly, her mother did not want to speak on the record.

At the end of the day, maybe both parties are right. And maybe one day, our parents can value their gay kids for who they are—and not just their knowledge of the stars.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Christina Tucker

Christina Tucker is writer and podcaster living in Philadelphia. Find her on Twitter or Instagram!

Christina has written 341 articles for us.

5 Hinge Prompts To Hide How Unhinged You Are

I think we can all agree that Hinge is the most widely-used dating app for sapphic people. Bumble and its BFF bullshit is too triggering for lesbians; Tinder is still regarded as the vain, judgmental app; Lex is both too millennial and too Gen Z at the same time; and I have yet to hear any positive reviews of Taimi and HER. There is, of course, Feeld… if you’re into that kind of thing. But the fact remains that Hinge is a popular dating app for sapphic people of all expressions. What I really like about Hinge is the prompts feature, which allow me to get to know people before I swipe on them, and vice versa.

But what’s a dyke to do if all of my answers to prompts showcase just how unhinged I am? I mean, some of these really feel like they’re personally attacking me. For example:

A dream home must include

Okay so you want me to reveal that I’ve already located their childhood home on Zillow and memorized every single detail?

A friend’s review of me

Don’t you every fucking talk to my friends about me.

A quick rant about

I have never ranted quickly about anything in my life.

A shower thought I recently had

The combination of “shower” and “recently” is taking a lot of liberties here…

I’m convinced that

I caused 9/11 when I was in kindergarten. Is that what you want me to put on my dating profile?

See what I mean? Why are they setting me up for a disaster like that? Instead of conforming to these barbaric prompts, here are 5 Hinge prompts to hide how unhinged you are:

The most normal thing I’ve ever done is

Go to middle school.

I typically eat dinner

In the late afternoon or early evening.

My most middle-of-the-road opinion is

Lunch is a great meal.

My middle initial stands for

My middle name.

My favorite place to go grocery shopping is

The grocery store.

You see how you were able to learn so much about me, but not once were you worried that I’d be unhinged? I gave you so much fun information here to spark up a conversation and didn’t provide a single reason for you to screenshot my profile and send it to a group chat.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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motti

Motti (they/he) is a New York born and raised sorority girl turned writer, comedian, and content creator (whatever that means these days). Motti has been featured on We're Having Gay Sex Live, The Lesbian Agenda Show, Reductress Haha Wow! Live, the GayJoy Digest, and even played the role of "Real Life Lesbian" on Billy on the Street. In 2022, they wrote about how clit sucker toys are a scam, sweet gay revenge, chasing their dreams, and getting run over by a pick up truck in their now-abandoned newsletter Motti is An Attention Whore. Motti has a Masters in Public Administration and Local Government Management, you'd never know it from the shit they post online (see previous sentence), but occasionally he'll surprise you with his knowledge of civic engagement and electoral processes. They live in Brooklyn with their tuxedo cat, Bo, and their 20 houseplants.

motti has written 41 articles for us.

1 Comment

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Meet the Lesbian Couple Who Resolves All Their Arguments Using AI

This lesbian couple has found a way to “hack” their relationship, and it might surprise you. They use AI to resolve all of their arguments. Kara Wilson and Jen Titan are two lesbians who work in tech who are working on a new app to help sapphic couples better communicate. Called LezTalk, the app uses everything from past arguments to astrological placements to attaching styles to transcripts of therapy sessions to help queer women in relationships better talk to each other.

Kara and Jen experimented on their own relationship to develop the app. “We just realized that arguments were taking too much time,” Kara explained in an exclusive interview. “So we thought to ourselves: what if we could make these go faster?”

Kara and Jen struggled at first to train the AI bot for the project, because the slop it was already pulling from often led to homophobic answers. Once, the AI even referred to Jen by a slur. In an attempt to course-correct, the couple showed every single episode of The L Word to the AI bot, but this had some drawbacks, too. Whenever Kara and Jen asked LezTalk how to resolve arguments they were having, the bot would reply with follow-up questions like: “What would Shane do?” and “Have you considered starting a lesbian pickup basketball team randomly for one day about this even though neither of you play basketball?”

Kara and Jen admit the tech isn’t perfect and in fact the tool that was designed to help resolve their arguments was leading to more arguments between them.

They wanted to make couple fights go faster, and along the way, they developed the perfect tool to also make them go worse. But Kara and Jen aren’t giving up. They’re holding out hope that after a few more years of testing, LezTalk could completely change the relationship game.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the former managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she is probably playing tennis. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 1002 articles for us.