Queer-antine Playlist: Part 1

Hey y’all! This week, I am writing to you from my apartment. I have been working from home due to the COVID-19 quarantine, and I honestly really like it. I’m comfortable, I can talk with whomever I want to, and I don’t have to worry about forgetting to bring my lunch. However, it can get boring staying in your own house for days or possibly weeks at a time. As of publication, I have been in my house for five days(woof…). You tend to get a tad desperate for anything fun, because if you’re like me, you go to your standard TV shows or movies or YouTube clips. That can get boring. If you’re in the mood to be adventurous, and want to walk on the rainbow side, have I got good news for you! I give you my “Queer-antine Playlist”. This focuses on some of my favorite queer pieces of media. I’ll be doing this over two weeks, because you KNOW we’ll be stuck inside for at least that long.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, nor is it the “best of the best”. I want to give you just a sample of my favorite pieces of queer media. First, I try to give some suggestions that are just outside of the mainstream. You won’t see pieces of media that are incredibly popular, like RuPaul’s Drag Race or Schitt’s Creek. Second, I won’t mention things I’ve already mentioned in previous posts like Pose or Paris is Burning. However, it’s some of the stuff that I really enjoy and that I believe will help pass the time while a worldwide pandemic eventually dies.

Warning: The LARGE majority of these selections are not kid-friendly. I will talk about family-friendly LGBTQ media at a later time.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (Netflix)

This first one you may have heard of before. To Wong Foo premiered about 25 years ago. While it has some stereotypes here and there, it’s a perfectly fun movie, in my opinion. It stars Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo as drag queens who drive across the country for a pageant. On the way, their car breaks down in a small town and they help the townspeople discover better parts of themselves while their car is being fixed. It’s funny, and just a nice way to spend an evening. It’s currently streaming on Netflix. I would consider this teenager-friendly, considering it’s PG-13.

Tales of the City (Netflix)

Tales of the City is an incredibly unique premise. Based on the novels by Armistead Maupin, this ten-episode limited series focuses on a large house on Barbary Lane in San Francisco that has been broken up into smaller apartments. It focuses on the lives of the tenants of those apartments. TOOC is pretty great because it focuses on so many different sections of the queer community. Strong actors like Olympia Dukakis, Laura Linney, and Ellen Page anchor the series, and it focuses on the past and present histories of LGBTQ people. It is currently streaming on Netflix. This is NOT for kids.

Special (Netflix)

I love this series because it offers such an amazing perspective on something you never quite hear enough of. Special tells the story of Ryan Hayes, a gay man who has mild cerebral palsy. This eight-episode series focuses on his ability to become independent and find out not just who he is as gay man, but as an independent adult. It’s funny and heartwarming, but deals with a lot of adult themes. It is currently streaming on Netflix. This is NOT for kids.

The Golden Girls (Hulu)

I had to throw in a classic. This show isn’t queer, but has SERIOUS queer energy coming out of it. If you’ve haven’t been living under a rock for the last 30+ years, then you probably have heard of this classic NBC sitcom focusing on four older single women living in the same house in Miami. This show was on among the top 10 watched shows in America for six straight years. While none of the main characters identify as LGBTQ, the show was groundbreaking for discussing tough topics like accepting homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and HIV/AIDS. If you talk to any gay man they can probably tell you which Golden girl they identify with. For the record, I’m a mix of Blanche and Dorothy. This series is a must watch and ALL SEVEN SEASONS are on Hulu. It is definitely kid friendly and I highly encourage your family to watch it.

Visible: Out on Television (Apple TV+)

full disclosure: I work for Apple retail, and was not paid or compensated for this mini-review

I grew up loving television. While I now watch it through different platforms that don’t necessarily involve a television set, I still ingest high amounts of televised content! The concept of Visible: Out on Television really spoke to me as a man who was highly influenced by characters I saw on shows. I got a free year of Apple TV+ when I bought my Apple TV. There were two things I wanted to watch when I redeemed my free year of the subscription service: The Morning Show(so good!) and Visible: Out on Television. This five-episode documentary series focuses on LGBTQ perceptions, portrayals, and culture through the medium of television. My favorite episode is episode three which focuses on how the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s was broadcast. I will admit that Apple TV+ is not highly subscribed to…yet. However, if you have it, or know someone who does, do yourself a favor a watch this documentary series. It is available for streaming on Apple TV+. While it is technically family friendly, kids aren’t really clamoring for multi-episode documentaries…

The Stonewall Reader

If you’re more of a written word kind of person, then I have a couple of suggestions for you too. The Stonewall Reader is every academic, history buff, and nerd’s fantasy: PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL! Primary sources are pieces of information about a certain topic written by people who are part of said topic. For example, primary source material of the American Civil War would be journal entries from soldiers during the time of the war or pictures from the battlefield. The Stonewall Reader uses primary source materials to share the history of LGBTQ people before, during, and right after the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. It has journal entries, newsletter articles, newspaper stories, and interviews from people who lived as rebels and pioneers in the fight for LGBTQ equality. It is a thoroughly fascinating read. Here is the Amazon link, but I HIGHLY encourage you to buy from a locally-owned bookstore, especially as local small business are truly feeling the brunt of the quarantine.

The City and The Pillar

The City and The Pillar focuses on a young man who is coming to terms with his sexuality in pre- and post-WWII America. Not only was homosexuality was illegal at the time of its publication, people didn’t even utter the word “gay” or identify as such. In the book, you here terms like “fairy”, “queer”, or “pansy” far more often than the actual term “gay”. This book was highly controversial when it was released in 1948, as it depicted actual love scenes between two men. The book’s title comes from the story in Genesis about Sodom and Gomorrah, two towns who are traditionally known to be wicked because of their homosexuality(It’s actually their horrible ways of treating foreigners and outsiders. Don’t get me started on that backwards way of thinking). As the cities were being destroyed by God, one of the people fleeing disobeys God’s orders by looking back at the destruction and is turned into a pillar of salt. It’s a very quick and heartbreaking read. I put it on here because I alway like knowing about LGBTQ trailblazers and historical moments. Here is the Amazon link to buy the book, but again I highly encourage you to buy from a locally-owned bookstore.

That’s it for this week! Join me next week as I focus on music and podcasts to keep you from going stir crazy!