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Author: Queerest
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Thomas Knights X Red Hot Debuts in Hollywood
Photographer and artist Thomas Knights, creator of the Red Hot movement–a celebration of red-haired men through photography and film–has a passionate mission to embrace and showcase redheads in visual media while bringing visibility to the queer community.
Hoping to change public perception of redheads and queer sexuality, Knights has taken his movement across the globe. Now, the exhibition is arriving in Hollywood with a brand-new debut at CULTUREEDIT, a queer retail store on Santa Monica Blvd.
Upon entering the gallery, visitors are greeted by a hallway lined with photographs of nude Red Hot models, pictured in New York and California by Knights himself. Spanning from the entrance walls to the main showroom, these photographs capture a playfulness and warmth, portraying these red-haired men as confident and empowered. With many group scenes, Knights depicts a strong sense of community and sexual freedom.
The exhibition runs through November, so be sure to stop by CULTUREEDIT to experience this celebration of queer sexuality and redhead pride! You’ll also find Red Hot merchandise, including jockstraps, mugs, sandals, photography books, and calendars.
Visit the exhibition at 6757 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90038.
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I Forgive You
by Liv Gardner
I forgive you
For the hurt
For the tears
I forgive you
Whether you want forgiveness
Or not
The words you spoke
Echoing for years
Deep inside
I release them
They belong to you
Like they did before
They hold power over me no longer
And I relieve you of that power too
Maybe you’ll understand
Maybe you won’t
But at last
We are free
Unbound
From each other
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Take It or Leave It
by Jocelyn Diaz
I’ve found myself dissociating more than usual. It’s been so hard for my brain to accept that I was in a different country last week, and now, I’m back in California. I went from speaking Spanish in Spain every day, teaching English to young kids, to saying “No, yeah, for sure, I appreciate you asking” when the barista at Peet’s Coffee asks if I want alternative milk.
The job search hasn’t exactly been confidence-building, with most companies not directly rejecting me, but simply not responding. I try to tell myself that maybe they’ve found someone already, and simply haven’t taken the advertisement down yet. Then I see the advertisement being reposted a few days later and struggle not to take it personally. Without homework assignments and with no job, I have so much time on my hands, like I’m on summer vacation but it’s January. And I don’t have those anymore anyway since I graduated last June.
Even worse, or maybe less ideal, is that I’m back in my hometown. I graduated college a year early for my age, so a lot of my conocidos are no longer on Christmas break and are starting their Winter Quarter. I still get scared that I’ll see someone from middle school or high school, but so far I’ve yet to encounter anyone.
I saw this TikTok saying that when you feel like you’re in a slump, you should try one new thing every day to switch up your routine. I sit in the Peet’s parking lot and lazily stir my iced matcha with oat milk because it’s not my new thing to get matcha, more like a reason to leave the house. As I drive away, I think about what will be my thing today, something that’s cheap or free, if that’s even possible. I don’t want to drive aimlessly without a plan because I don’t have the gas money to do so and decide to make my way back to the house when I notice a sign that says “TAKE A BOOK LEAVE A BOOK.” I do a loop around because I’m genuinely curious about what kind of books the general public decides to donate. Plus, I want to pick up something new to read, while I wait for my library card in the mail.
I see a lot of self-help books, some cookbooks, and the book 1984. I was half-expecting to see those cheesy romance books with a Fabio-looking man on the cover, holding a swooning woman with one hand. I kinda wanted to read one of those, just for the fun of it. But before I close the door to the little book nook shaped like a birdhouse, I see a cartoon girl on the cover of a book. At first glance, I think it’s a puberty book titled “TOTALLY ME!” Yet the figure of the girl with a short, yellow bob and chunky platform orange sandals is too familiar, and I suddenly remember the show I used to watch every night with my best friend Mimi, Lizzie McGuire. I was named after my grandmother Elizabeth, so I pretended that I was Lizzie, and she was Miranda because that was her name in real life too. On my eighth birthday, when my parents gave me a cat for my birthday, I named him Gordo. We had our version of the show, and it was beautiful and perfect.
Once the wave of nostalgia settles down and my judgment of whoever donated a Lizzie McGuire book, much less who wouldn’t want to take it home, I realize it’s a diary, not a book. I quickly skim through the leftover pages; the missing ones likely ripped out by the previous owner to maintain confidentiality. I imagine using the cover as a collage in my diary, which is good enough for me for my “something new.”
When I get home, I set up my desk with my collaging supplies and rip off the journal’s cover, which loosens its spine and causes a few pages to fall on my floor. I grab the last page of the pile and notice the imprint of words left behind by this mystery writer become more prominent through the light from my lamp. Luckily, I remember how popular invisible ink pens were in the early 2000s, as I hold the page closer to the lamp and can make out more words. And as invasive as it feels, I can’t stop reading.
Dear Diary,
We watched Lizzie McGuire, all night, again. JK! It was like 10 pm. Her bedtime was 8 pm but we wanted to keep watching TV, so anytime we heard footsteps, we turned down the TV and pretended to be asleep. It was so much fun! Lizzie keeps saying that Miranda is so beautiful. That she loves her crazy hair and style. I notice that her saying these words makes my stomach warm and fuzzy. IDK why. Lizzie is my BFF and I am hers. Like when I say my prayers every night, I always pray for her the most. Is this what God feels like when he thinks of me? Mom says that I’m God’s treasure. That I’m his favorite person. I know what he means. Lizzie is pretty, smart, and super cool. I love her sooo much. Don’t tell anyone Diary, but I think I like-like her. What am I going to do?
Love, Miranda
Tears well in my eyes. I always told her that Miranda was my first TV show character crush on a girl. My Miranda, or Mimi, as she has gone by since high school, had a crush on me when we were kids. I had no idea. Oh my god. Did I like her too? Oh my god.
I forget about the collage altogether, and, instead, scurry up to the attic and quickly rummage through box after box, not caring about the mess I’m making right now.
Eventually, my hands find the same diary as Mimi’s, as if there was a two-for-one diary discount at the store. I run back to my room to open the diary, leaving the attic worse than before. Again, pages are ripped out for some reason as I frantically scan each page under my lamp with no trace of invisible ink. Until I find one page.
Hi,
Mom says that I need to try journaling for my anxiety. I don’t know why I feel so sad and scared all the time. Watching Lizzie McGuire with Miranda helps me. Just having her next to me makes me calmer. IDK if she knows but watching the show with her is my favorite part of the day. We both have bangs like Lizzie and Miranda, and one time her hair was sticking up like when you rub a balloon on your head. I tried to smooth it down with my hands and then my cheeks got warm so I drank water and looked in the mirror and my face was as red as a tomato. It was so weird. Miranda is my BFF and every time we have a sleepover I always tell her I love her just in case something happens. She always says it back. That makes me happy. Anyways, my hand hurts, and writing in a journal is stupid. And no, stupid isn’t a bad word.
– Lizzie
I trace over her writing in pen and send Mimi a picture of her diary entry without thinking about how out of the blue it is. Before I can figure out a follow-up text to the picture, she responds immediately.
Surprise?
I text her back a picture of my entry, also rewritten in dark ink.
Surprise.
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Reflection Piece
by Honor
They tried so hard for you. Please keep trying. In 20 more years, you can start to finally see yourself and you will do anything to let that happen. You’re not disgusting. Not embarrassing. Not to be ashamed of.
Please. Honor. You will make this happen. We won’t let our life pass us by.
Please don’t let it, okay?
Love, Honor
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My Queer Reading List in 5 Books
by Kath Miller
Books have always been a tool for me to better understand myself and the world around me, but a sub-genre I have become increasingly interested in is queer literature. After several years of exploring the genre, there are 5 books in particular that stand out as important recommendations. And, except for one entry, they all have some sort of happy or satisfying conclusion that doesn’t result in too much queer suffering. So, allow me to walk you down a list of the 5 queer books that I think are worth your time.
#5. Pulp by Robin Talley
Told in dual perspectives, Pulp by Robin Talley follows Janet Jones, an eighteen-year-old in 1955 who is coming to terms with her own queerness, and Abby Zimet, a modern-day teen whose senior project is 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Abby is fascinated with one author in particular, Marion Love, and longs to track her down and find out who she really is.
This was a novel I picked up in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has stuck with me after all this time due to the real pieces of history surrounding lesbian pulp fiction that permeates throughout the book, as well as an extensive list of published lesbian pulp fiction of the time that the author included in the index. While the book is written with a YA audience in mind, it is definitely worth picking up if you are at all curious about the subject matter.
#4. All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks
All The Young Men is a devastating, informative, and hopeful memoir all at the same time.
The subject of our story is Ruth Coker Burks, who in the midst of the AIDS crisis, went out of her way to house, feed, and befriend AIDS patients whose families had abandoned them, primarily in the Arkansas area. This memoir reveals the ugliest sides of humanity–families abandoning their sons due to their sexuality and the misinformation and inaction from the US government. However, it also reveals the good, as the relationships Coker Burns develops with these young men and her overwhelming kindness restores one’s faith in humanity a bit. I definitely recommend it for its examination of the AIDS crisis from a unique angle.
#3. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Funnily enough, I discovered this book on an assigned reading list for one of the last classes I took in my undergraduate studies; I have such clear memories of sitting in my university’s library for hours and just tearing through the novel. It was one of those books I finished before its due date… that’s how good it was.
This novel is set in Victorian London and follows Nan King, a young girl from Whitstable, Kent, who gets swept up in the male-impersonation music hall scene of that time upon meeting her idol Kitty Butler. This novel is particularly interesting with how it chooses to use the music hall space–creating a liminal space for the queer characters to exist without fear of violence from the public, which is an idea that continues on past the music hall chapters as well. Queer suffering not being the subject of this novel also makes it so refreshing as a reader, especially combined with the deconstruction of Victorian gender norms, making it a deeply gripping read.
#2. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Set in the late 1980s, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe tells the story of Evelyn and Mrs. Threadgoode–a middle-aged housewife and an elderly woman living in the same retirement home as her mother-in-law. During each of Evelyn’s visits, Mrs. Threadgoode begins telling the story of another two women–Idgie and Ruth–who ran a barbecue restaurant in Whistle Stop, Alabama, back in the 1930s.
This book has always stood out to me as it was one of the first books I ever read that depicted a lesbian romance. That and it made me laugh, cry, and turn the pages at an alarming rate to follow the twists and turns of the plot. It’s a heartwarming read and a very wholesome exploration of relationships between women–platonic and romantic. You won’t regret it!
#1 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Color Purple was a book I had been urged to read for many a year before I finally purchased a copy and picked it up in the summer of 2023. My older sibling ultimately got me to read it.
“It’s about lesbians who live together and make pants,” they said, and they have great taste so I gave it a chance. My only regret is that I did not read it sooner
Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple follows Celie, a poor Black girl living in rural Georgia in the 1900s. Celie’s story is one of horrific abuse that turns into one of self-discovery and empowerment. While the queer themes are not the central focus of this narrative, it is Celie’s relationship with Shug Avery that teaches her to love and value herself. This is my favorite book of all time and while it may not be as explicitly queer as the other entries, I simply had to include it as a book I think every single person should read.
Thus concludes my list of 5 queer books I think are worth reading. Seeing as how since the dawn of queer media, queer suffering has always been a low-hanging-fruit trope. Therefore, I was motivated to include books that showcase queer perseverance and strength. It is important to show queer readers of any age that hope and love can exist even in the face of tragedy.
I hope some of these entries made it onto your reading list and hopefully as I read more books in 2025, I will be able to expand upon this list with another! Thank you for reading.
The Queerest 