Happy Fri-Yay Readers! Today, to kick off Pride Month, we are sharing some resources, recommendations, and some of our favorites.
Pride is about promoting self affirmation, dignity, and empowerment, and boosting visibility for those on the Queer spectrum. For us, the annual celebration commemorates a turning point in US history with the Stonewall Riots, the culmination of over a decade of intense resistance during the fifties and sixties as the Queer community fought discrimination, harassment, and violence from all quarters.
A Brief History of Pride
June 28th 1969 was the first day of the Stonewall Riots, when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Manhattan, New York. The raid went wrong, as a large crowd gathered outside the Inn to watch the tactics and violence used to quell those taken into custody. The night sparked the powder keg of growing unrest and ill treatment of the Queer community and erupted into days of back and forth escalations between Queer protesters and the police force. Stone wall was a watershed moment, a turning point in the fight for Queer rights.
The following year 1970, on the anniversary of Stonewall, the first annual Pride parade took place in NYC. By 1972, Pride parades were held in several major cities, including Atlanta, Buffalo, Detroit, Washington D.C., Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The Queer Community has made a great deal of forward progression in the last few decades, but continues to face social stigma, discrimination, and violence.
Celebrating Queer Literature
Today we are boosting some of our favorite queer reads and more.
Lucy: Sword Heart by T. Kingfisher. The main pairing are hetero but the world is absolutely filled with the spectrum in this incredibly effortless way. All the queerness and fluidity you could want, non-binary secondary characters, queer marriages and just read it. It’s a great book. Under the Non-Fiction umbrella, I just bought (and intend to read ASAP) A Curious History of Sex by (Dr.) Kate Lister (who runs Whores of Yore twitter/website and is hugely sex-positive & LGBTQI+-positive, and uni lecturer), and it's got great reviews.
MB: Anything by Cassandra Clare because she covers all the queer!
Jennia: Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
JM: Red, White, and Royal Blue! Yes! And I just picked up You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson which came out Tuesday.
Nicole: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown, which I recently picked up and loved. Oh, and Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender!
Laynie: I also love Aristotle and Dante! The Princess and The Fangirl by Ashley Poston. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera. How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters. Odd One Out by Nic Stone! Phil Stamper's The Gravity of Us. Ryan La Sala's Reverie (hello drag queen sorceresses!)
Kristin: Currently re-reading Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann. Hero by Perry Moore. Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde.
Resources:
Happy Pride, y'all. This year I'm thinking of my queer Black siblings, who must constantly navigate the intersection of 2+ marginalized identities that are often the target of police violence. (Never forget the first Pride was a riot.) Support queer Black voices: buy these books!- Kelly Quindlen, @KellyQuindlen Twitter
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