Entertainment/ Queer Book Club

Inside Giovanni’s Room: A Queer Classic That Changed Literature

Revisiting this masterpiece.

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Entertainment/ Queer Film Club

I Found Magic (and Mayhem) in Queer Cinema at NewFest 2025

Laughs, tears, and chaos.

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Entertainment/ Queer Film Club

From Trauma to Terror: Revisiting the Gay Slasher They/Them

Queer fear for the season. 👻

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Entertainment

Motherhood, Secrets, and Spanish History: Why Parallel Mothers Matters

Melodrama and history

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Life

The Ultimate Gay NYC List to Close Out the Summer

Summer’s not over yet, babes!

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Queer Music Club

LGBTQ+ Travel Guides

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In Entertainment/ Shop

Books I’m Reading This Year

Gays & Confused is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Oh look, a new year’s resolution post on someone’s blog. How novel. Speaking of novels, one of my goals this year is to read more books. I’m not going to set myself up for failure by attempting to tackle a book a month. I’m guilty of taking a full year to finish one book, so 12 would be just too impossible. I’m kicking off the year with the goal of reading 5 books. And don’t worry, I’m definitely already having an anxiety attack about it. And no, I didn’t forget that this is a queer focused blog, each book is written by an LGBTQ or female author. 

Her Body and Other Parties

I’ve read so much about this book and when I heard one of the stories being retold in a podcast, I couldn’t resist. I’ve already begun reading it and can’t put it down.

In Cold Blood

Truman Capote is an author whose work I’ve always wanted to explore. Over the holidays, my brother was telling me how much he loved reading this book and couldn’t recommend it more. He gifted me a copy and I can’t wait to read it.

Before Night Falls

Whenever I’m browsing books online, I frequently see Reinaldo Arenas’ memoir recommended to me. Clearly the internet gods know something about me. When I stumbled upon it at a bookstore sale, I knew I had to take it. TBH, it’s been  sitting on my bookshelf for over a year now. 2020, we’ll finally make it happen.

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion

Earlier this summer, I read Jia Tolentino’s “Losing Religion And Finding Ecstasy In Houston” in the New Yorker and I absolutely loved it. Her writing is incredible and I immediately forwarded it on to many of my friends. I’m officially a Jia stan and can’t wait to read more of her stories in this book. Plus, she’s a fellow Texan.

Imperial Bedrooms

While I’ve never read a Bret Easton Ellis novel, I’ve been a fan of the film adaptations of his books. That WASPy east coast 80s culture is a whole mood I love to immerse myself in. A few months ago, I found it at a bookstore’s sidewalk sale and picked it up. As a sequel to Less Than Zero, it’s possible I’ll be lost and end up revising my list to include that title. 

Interested in knowing how well I stick to this goal? Follow me on Twitter or Instagram, and I’ll keep you posted throughout the year and I’d be more than happy to chat about them!

January 1, 2020
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In Life/ Shop

7 Ways To Spend Big At Small Queer Shops

The holiday season is upon us once again. Before you hit up Amazon for your one stop shopping, consider shopping smaller and queerer. I’m a huge believer in spending my money as wisely as possible to support the causes and communities I care most about. So here’s a list of places you can shop to support queer businesses.

Erdos + Ko

If you’re thinking of shopping a little bigger, Erdos + Ko Home offers beautiful home furnishings and decor at an approachable price point. With the belief that styling your home should be fun, John Erdos and Louis Koay offer pieces that they’d actually put in their own home. Erdos + Ko designs reflect their style using organic materials mixed with modern elements. You’ll also find curated vintage and one-of-a-kind pieces.

Pansy Ass Ceramics

Have you ever wondered what family heirlooms would look like in a Tom of Finland theme? For the playful provocateur, Pansy Ass Ceramics offers plenty of erotic artwork and ceramic pieces to spice up your home decor. From penis shaped flower vases to BDSM themed Christmas ornaments, you’ll find tongue-in-cheek tchotchkes for your china cabinet.

Wildfang

Founded in 2013, Wildfang was created with the belief that women have the right to wear whatever they want. Their collections feature trendy graphic tees, the Empower Suit, durable workwear, and button ups for all with a portion of proceeds going to charity. In 2018, Wildfang raised over $400k for charities that support reproductive, immigrant, and women’s/human rights.

Otherwild

Otherwild is dedicated to showcasing goods made with care by individuals. You’ll find a huge variety of apparel, housewares, and more. Their line Otherwild General offers non-disposable, lo/zero-waste and upcycled product options like reuseable straws and refillable home, body, and bath products.

MINNA

Founded by a queer woman, MINNA offers a collection of beautiful, ethically made products created in collaboration with with master artisans in Central and South America. The patterns, colors, and textures found in their products are meant to be mixed, matched, and layered for today’s modern home.

Autostraddle

The online publication and community for queer women is not only a great place to find feminist think pieces but you can also find clever tees and caps. Additionally, buying merch from Autostraddle helps support the stories they feature on their site.

HOMOCO

No doubt you’ve discovered HOMOCO on your social feeds with their colorful collection of versatile tops and power bottoms. The queer swim brand makes their trunks out of recycled plastic while their camp shirts come from sustainably harvested Tencel. A portion of sales goes to ocean conservation and organizations that champion queer rights.

What queer businesses do you love shopping at? Share them with me!

November 29, 2019
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In Life

Free Lessons in LGBTQ History From These Twitter and Instagram Accounts

Raise your hand if you’re endlessly interested in history but easily exhausted by reading. C’mon, I cannot be the only one. Luckily, there’s a crop of Instagram and Twitter accounts sharing historical photos, stories, and resources in bite size doses perfect for afternoon scroll sessions. Here are a few of my favorite Twitter and Instagram accounts to follow to learn more about LGBTQ history.

Making Gay History

I’ve talked about Eric Marcus’ podcast Making Gay History on the blog before, but you can also follow along on Instagram for even more historical moments. You’ll get bitesize clips from the interviews featured in his podcast along with extra photos and even more stories. 

The History Project

The History Project is an organization that’s working to document, preserve, and share the history of the LGBTQ community in the Boston area. Aside from history lessons in 280 characters, their Twitter account shares interesting articles and updates about their ongoing work and events. They also maintain a collection of over 1 million documents including photos, buttons, and publications that you can often get a peek at.

NYC LGBT HistoricSites Project

Exploring NYC’s famous and historic sites is one of my favorite things to do in the city. I especially appreciate it coming from a much younger city like Austin. The NYC LGBT HistoricSites Project is one of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow. It’s always fun to see old photos of the places I pass each day and learn more about important events that have happened there. You can even take your explorations further and follow along on their curated tours available on their website.

Queer as Fact

Queer as Fact is another history podcast that takes things a step further with their Twitter account. Get a deeper dive into episodes and discover the resources they use for research.

lgbt_history

Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown, the authors behind the history book We Are Everywhere, also curate this Instagram account with short history lessons and old photos.

LGBTQCollaboratory

The LGBTQ Collaboratory connects scholars, activists, and archives across Canada, the US, and the UK. Follow them on Twitter for more behind the scenes info, updates on events, and connections to other LGBTQ historians.

h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y

From pop culture to high art, @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y is a fun account that features old photos, publications, and gay rights movement memorabilia. The account’s founder, Kelly Rakowski, is also behind the new personals style dating app, Lex that I’ve featured on the blog before.

Queer Bible

Queer Bible features original essays and artwork from inspiring LGBTQ+ people that celebrate their LGBTQ+ heroes. While the Instagram gives you short snippets and a visual overview of the work, their website provides longer form pieces and deeper dives into these stories.

I love discovering new accounts that can take me beyond #ads and thirst traps, which are your favorites to learn more online? Tweet me and let me know!

October 22, 2019
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In Entertainment

A Look At The Love and Resistance: Stonewall 50 Exhibit

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a flash point in the LGBTQ rights movement. To commemorate the event, the New York Public Library has put together the Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50 exhibit along with a number of events.

The exhibit features a collection of photos by photojournalists Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies as well as numerous zines, flyers, posters, and other printed materials from the era. Walking through the exhibit, you’ll find it’s divided in different themes: the Stonewall Riots, Resistance, Bars, In Print, and Love.

I found the exhibit intriguing and deeply moving. Many of the photos are an intimate look into a movement that feels only recently paid attention to.

Most of the materials feature the 1970s, a period where LGBTQ activisits called for a reimagining of societal norms. The language used in the printed materials struck me for its raw, unabashed sensibilities, reclaiming of homophobic slurs, and making drag culture front and center.

The Love section also made an impression on me as the photographs on display do feature romantic couples but many of the scenes shown were intimate moments between friends. It was a beautiful reminder of the bond many queer people share with their chosen families.

Seeing the number of tourists who either made this exhibit a stop on their visit to New York or just stumbled in while visiting the library, was reassuring in this political climate. Multigenerational families wandered through taking in the stories and experiences, a reminder of how important documenting our struggles and telling our stories are.

The Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50 exhibit is on display at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building until July 14, 2019.

June 3, 2019
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In Entertainment/ Queer Music Club

Queer Music Club: “NNVAV” by Zemmoa

Who: Zemmoa – The gender bending princess of Mexico City’s nightlife.

Album: NNVAV

What’s it like: A dark sci-fi symphony of electro pop and dissonant vocals.

Standouts: Ciencia Ficción, Biografía, El Alacrán, Es Para Ti

Lyrics for your Instagram captions:

La vida te cambió por estar conmigo

Hombre de Hojalata

Tu y yo escribimos una historia de amor

Perfecto o no, pero algo duró

Biografía

Debo confezar que me gustas en verdad

Mujeryego

Where you’re most likely to hear it: NPR’s Radio Ambulante, queer Latinx dance parties

Why you should listen to it: Zemmoa creates a rich sci-fi pop world on this album that shouldn’t be missed. As a bonus, she’s created a work out video to accompany it.

Get your sci-fi sweat on.


April 24, 2019
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