PHOTO GALLERY: Queer in the Bedroom

Nicky Radcliffe and Tamsen Heath / East Village, NY / Writer; Designer

“Pictured underneath our ‘Wall of Gay’, which includes framed photos of Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville West, Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas. Because we are feminists and intellectuals we are, of course, reading the exceedingly highbrow and very informative book Lesbians for Men.

Elise / 34 / Paris, France / Elise of All Trades, Master of None

“Much like in the opening scene of “An American in Paris”, my small studio apartment functions as my living room, my dining room, my office and my bedroom all in one. I use the space under my loft bed as a closet, which allows me to showcase my amazing Pussy costume inspired by the movie “Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf”. My Pussy costume makes me feel like all is right in the world.”

Maia-Jeanne / 27 / Wellington , New Zealand / Catalogue Librarian

“My room is ok, I’m not very good at nesting. It’s small, I like that or had no carpet. I just got some new (to me) curtains and they really tie the room together (I’m sitting on left overs). My favourite thing is my toy monkey/BFF seen on the bed. He’s a good friend. The badges behind me are my dads campaign for nuclear disarmament time! One says ‘war is menstruation envy’. The other day I left a curtain open over night and the first thing I saw in the morning was the moon!”

Stef / 33 / Brooklyn, NY / Venue Manager, Autostraddle Writer

“My furniture almost entirely consists of hand-me-downs from my grandmas, save for the desk. My cat likes to sit on the hutch and stare out the window at the busy street.”

Laura Wooley / 28 / New York, NY / Law/Social Work Student

“My windows are the very best part of my bedroom. Cabin fever in NYC gets fierce around mid-February, but between my all-day sunshine and my little collection of plants (which are being totally washed out in this picture by the sunlight (supra)), it’s almost like I live in a land of endless summer. Almost.”

Amandine / 31 / Paris, France / Glam Butch

“Having a real bed in Paris is a luxury. I probably spend too much time in it thinking of how beautiful the string lights are.”

Zoey, Mandy, Neko and Duo Dye / 32, 33, 3, 4 / Portland, OR / Artist, Bakery Clerk; Sociologist, Cook; Artistic Inspiration

“Our favorite part of the bedroom is having a big enough bed for all of us, even though Mandy and Neko tend to hog, Zoey has insomnia and Duo meows inconsolably at 3am. We especially enjoy the cold weather when the cats want to be under the covers.”

Susanna / 26 / Boulder, CO / Grad Student, Laser Wrangler, Activist, Insomniac

“My camera washed it out, but I pay $10 extra every month for a bedroom with a window with a clear view of the mountains.  100% WORTH IT.”

Rachel, with Six the Cat / 28 / Milwaukee, WI / Autostraddle’s Managing Editor

“Probably the last thing I think about before falling asleep is something I forgot to do at work that day that suddenly came back to me in a panic, or how to arrange my legs so the cat doesn’t wake up and get mad at me.”

Benn Wild Alys Benjamin / 27 / Glasgow, Scotland / Chef, LGBT Families Development Worker

“I love the colour of this room: it’s ‘Blue Diamond 1’. My partner chose it and I was worried it would be too dark but as usual they were totally right. Our bed is the only item of furniture in the flat that we spent any money on. We took ages looking for one that looked like the bed we remembered from this Bruce Springsteen video – I can’t remember which song it was. I really love sleeping (I can fall asleep just about anywhere within 10 minutes if I put my mind to it – I’m very proud of that) so I usually fall asleep thinking about how great it’s going to be. I have to wake up really early as I work the breakfast shift most days so I usually wake up thinking that my alarm clock must have made a mistake.”

Liz / 20 / Wellesley, MA / Student

“After two years sharing rooms in dorms finally having a space of my own has been so valuable this year. I try (and fail) to keep it clean but since I mostly fail my best pictures are all from August. I love how much of my room decor was made or given by friends, especially one wall not pictured where I have notes of encouragement from my rugby team over the past two and half years.”

Amanda Ling / 26 / Costco AM Merch

“I thought about making my bed, but that would be a lie.”

Sarah and Sheldon / 29, 2 / PhD Student

“This is the first bedroom I’ve had as an adult where I actually hung curtains, for some reason curtains feel like a big step/commitment.”

Ariel / 25 / New York, NY / Preschool Teacher

“I moved here in December, and today I left my windows open for the first time, and that was pretty exciting. I bought the plants on my windowsill a few weeks ago, and I haven’t killed them yet. It’s starting to feel like home.”

Molly / 31 / Washington, D.C. / Writer

“I love that my room is a refurbished attic, and hate how hot it gets in the summer. The last thing I think about at night is the book I fall asleep reading, and the first thing is usually how much I hate alarms. My favorite thing is my giant Captain America shield, because for some reason that fandom has put me in touch with more queers than I’d ever met before!”

Whitney / 27 / Somerville, MA / Art Museum Collections Cataloguer

“This was my happiest bedroom ever. But my girlfriend and I are ready to close our Somerville-Jamaica Plain divide and Uhaul it to Roslindale.”

Alana Lucia / 31 / Brooklyn, NY / Barber

“It is important to me that my bedroom is a completely relaxing space, more than anything else.  As a barber, I work nine or more hours day on my feet, and I am continually “on”.  When I get home after a long day, I immediately change into comfy clothes and sit down to catch up with friends, the news, or just zone out (with or without music). My fave space in the room is on my couch!  I am in a studio, so my living room and bedroom are the same space.  When I am on my couch, I know I can let go and chill the xxxx out.”

Kaylah / 25 / Lexington, KY / Youtuber and Nanny

“The first thing on my To Do list after becoming self employed was to set up a work station in my room. I bought a cute little desk that I spent two hours building, and a LED lamp for those late nights of editing. I felt so legit having a desk, and yet I always work from bed. My desk is either covered in things I don’t feel like putting away, or completely clear. Oh well… I tried!”

Erica / 17 / Boston, MA / Art High School Student

“My room has really become a sacred space to me. It’s where I go to recharge and take care of myself, be that yoga knitting, or listening to podcasts. I wouldn’t say there is a best part of my room, because I love it all. I made sure to pay special attention to every corner, and it’s filled with what I love.”

Esmé Lloyd-Baldwin / 23 / Dublin, Ireland / Barista, Waitress

“I’m currently sharing my bed with 16 books, which is almost a record for me. I got my duvet set today as a reward for getting a job and I’m very happy with it!”

Jenna, Pippa, Cherilyn / 27, 3, 25 / Indianapolis, IN / Videographer; Chief Clothes Stealer and Designer

Nate / 24 / Portland, OR / Energy Efficiency Analyst

“I lived in my room for a year with nothing but my Texas map on the walls, but this winter I’ve been nesting and finally getting artwork hung. My favorite piece is the magic wand cross-stitch my partner made me, and its life size counterpart stashed under the bed.”

Noelle / 19 / Connecticut / Dropout

“I don’t really feel comfortable letting people in but it’s definitely a safe place for me.”

Audrey / 19 / Des Moines, IA / Student, Daycare Teacher

“I have lived in this room for approximately one month and think it is coming along nicely. I wake up in the morning with Addy (my dog) licking me so I take her outside. At night time Addy and I cuddle and watch documentaries until we fall asleep. Some of my favorite things in my room: My Aphrodite altar, umm the bed of course, and my dog Addy.”

Kells, with MC Sprout / 38 / Tallahassee, FL / Librarian-ISH

“Since the early 90s, my bedroom has been covered with pin-ups/posters. I’ve now limited it to mostly toTegan & Sara – they’re perfect to listen to, and also relax, read, and sleep with.”

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102 Comments

  5. fox mulder and ruth bader ginsburg! everyone on this website is so good at naming cats. next queer irl gallery– queer pets?

    • Wait…as an owner of one of the many photos of fairy lights you mean to tell me I FINALLY got something right as a lesbian?! Hahaha :D

    • It’s not just lesbians

      All my straight friends have Christmas lights

      I’ve never gotten into it but apparently it’s trendy in a decidedly pinterest way

      • I’ll have you know I put Christmas lights up long before Pinterest! It actually always makes me think of the bit in “Easy People” by The Nields: “In my house we see by Christmas lights and your TV // and that seems to be enough // to see what we want to see”.

    • Hello queer early childhood professional! Whenever I go to trainings I often think, “I wonder if anyone else is queer?” And so far I haven’t found many, any? So yes, “Hello!”

  12. Hey Bee from Sacramento! I am also living in Sacramento! We should meet up! We also have a NorCal straddlers group and I have been trying forever to get an IRL meetup going there!
    Love everyone’s pets and plants! I missed the deadline for this but I think I might post a picture of my room in the comments later.

  13. It never would’ve occurred to me to take multiple pictures and now there’s so much I wanna share with you! The poem on my wall. The Converse piggy bank my old nanny kid and I painted together. The fox pillow, the quotes, the way everything turns pink from the salt lamps at night. The framed pic of the porcupine in love with a cactus. It’s all there, and you can’t see any of it!

    Next time :-D

  14. Erin, 28, Ontario – judge you? Who would do such a thing? You tell me and I’ll punch them in the nose (unless immediately after the photo was taken you won at connect 4 then danced round the room gloating until your kid cried. Then I think I’d consider judging you pretty harshly).

  15. Weird I had that same exact desk and chair combo in college, out here in SoCal, that Col had. You definitely made it cooler & more gay than mines ever was.

  20. Loving how many other early childhood educators I see!

    Firm believer that I have the best, most emotionally fulfilling job ever

  22. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! i love this project so much!!!! also everyone with a beer on their bedside table: i love you especially

  23. Um, so, Megan…I can has move in with you? ?

    You had me at night sounds…

    I will have to come back and read the rest of this later, this is excellent! Thanks for another great article ?

  27. I love this! It is so exciting to see myself up here with all you amazing people and I echo Queer Girl’s sentiment that I wish I would have taken more pictures. Next time.
    I also now want to purchase all the fairy lights, make my own curtains, and buy more books so I can be as amazing as you all.
    I love seeing you beautiful humans. You are awesome and your hair looks really good today :)

  28. Pigeon of Kent! Your Ghostbusters prints! Well, the one, and I can’t make out the one below fully but it also looks like Ghostbusters.

    and Kells the Librarian-ISH! Yay for more FL straddlers.

  30. Col, i feel like we are the same person
    -three letter name
    -18 year old student in chicago
    -loves yellow

    • Hello! I just saw this (I know, I know) but wow! Truly an amazing coincidence; do you go to school here?

  31. so awesome to see some other Charleston, SC folks on here. (we should have an autostraddle meet up, even if its super small!)

    Such a great post, this was very interesting. thanks! :)

  34. I don’t know what’s the coolest : the bedrooms, the people, the kids (the little one standing in a blue onesie is so so so cute !), the cats, or the job’s name.

  35. I stayed up until 2:20 AM reading this, and I probably feel more refreshed now than I will when I wake up because this was amazing

  36. I thought the caption said “Bicycle Eater” instead of “Bicycle Fixer” and I was so impressed. Still an amazing room, though!

  37. ADORABLE. WAVING. DOG. !!!!!!!

    These are some of my favourite posts; I love being able to see how vast this community is! <3

  39. I love seeing everyone’s spaces and it makes me feel happy and proud that I am part of this awesome community <3

    Also I've realised my bedroom was pretty minimalist in comparison to most, apparently I don't give enough credit to the Virgo side of my Virgo/Libra cusp!

    Can't wait for the next assignment!

  41. Thanks for letting me visit your wonderful bedrooms, y’all! Not gonna lie, my favorite part was meeting all your pets. :-)

  44. Everyone with stacked book bookshelves, you have inspired me and a LOT of new stuff is on my Amazon wishlist!

  46. So beautiful!!! I love all the little window gardens people have! My room does not have enough good light for that but I wish!
    Side note: Where are the +1 buttons??? I want to +1 everyone’s comments!

    • For the record, now that the button is back (YAYYYYYYYY!!!) I liked everyone’s comment cause this post just makes me so happy!

  48. i love how many of us have the same ikea herb-ish wildflower vaguely witchy bedspread cover. you can’t tell in the picture but i’m sitting on mine in my picture, and the person above me is wrapped in the same blanky. synchronicity!

    also, sionnain: seeing other thoughtful queer bookworms from long island makes me feel slightly less alone in the world, even though i haven’t lived there in so long.

    • Ocean! It was, in a lot of ways, not the easiest place to grow up queer, but it was even longer ago for you. I think you’ll be happy to know that I’m running a queer book club for high school kids, and the queer kids I know who are growing up here now are so amazing. They give me hope.

      • yay! i am so glad things have gotten better. i met my first girlfriend in the 90s because she saw the rainbow sticker on my riot grrrl lunchbox and we used to make out in the food court at roosevelt field and people were so mean to us but we did it for the closeted queer girls and cos we liked each other. Anyway, you rule!

  49. Lots of cosy bedrooms! I definitely don’t feel at all weird about having cats, random stuff on the walls and fairy lights in my room anymore, although I am per definition an adult.
    I live in Norway, and over here everyone pretty much has the same layout when it comes to bedding. Thus, I am intrigued by what seems to be duvets with no cover at all? Is this a common thing in the US?

    • Yes! Cultural differences in bedding are interesting. I noticed in Europe people use duvet covers but no top sheet sometimes. We (my corner of America) sleep between two sheets with then an uncovered duvet/quilt/comforter/blanket on top.

  50. Shout out to Jordan rocking that #blackjoymixtape gear!

    Also,I have better room inspiration now than pinterest could ever provide.

  52. Vest collector is a title I would like to aspire to and probably could.

    But those trans Pride flags being used as DIY decorative curtains.
    Brilliant, I love it.

    When AS gets to queer in the bathroom tho call me up.
    Need to show off my duct tape patching of the hole in my wall.
    I feel it represents my life right now.

  54. I now want a dating app that shows pictures of bedrooms instead of (or in addition to?) bedrooms. You learn so much more about people from their effing cute bedrooms. Call it Slumbr?

  55. one thing I’ve learned from this is that we queers have really really cool names. :)

  56. my girlfriend and I are ready to close our Somerville-Jamaica Plain divide and Uhaul it to Roslindale.

    That’s one of the lesbian-est sentences I’ve read in a while.

  57. These galleries are so captivating and calming and I’m even more excited than usual to go to bed now.
    This whole series gave me serious bedspread envy, however. I need to up my game.

  58. I really enjoyed this series! I’ve lived in my new place (my first apartment all to myself) for nearly a year and haven’t yet finished decorating my bedroom, so I definitely drew some inspiration from these lovely humans.

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