As some of you may know, I’m based in Florida, so my partner and I have been busy with storm prep. We live pretty far inland though, so we shouldn’t get the worst of it. Still, I appreciate any and all thoughts for all the people who will be affected by Idalia, especially on the west coast of the state which is still recovering from last year’s storms.

Queer as in F*ck You

Music to my gay ears: Bottoms Director Emma Seligman Wants to See “Shitty Gay Characters.” Same!!!! Give me your unlikable dykes, your chaotic queers, your messy gays!!!!! Emma Seligman — director and co-writer of the new queerleader teen sex comedy Bottoms — spoke with Them about the movie and queer representation. “The only queer teen representation I’d seen on screen had been very tame and sweet, and I just wanted to see shitty gay characters,” she tells Them. “I wanted to make something gay and stupid and not have it be so serious. Also, I wanted to make a hero story. Something with fighting and edginess. Something kind of unexpected.”

Sign me up!!!!! Bottoms doesn’t hit my local independent movie theater (shoutout to the Enzian in Maitland!!!) until Friday when the movie releases more widely around the country, but you better believe I already have tickets. I’ll also be reviewing the movie as Autostraddle’s premiere Queerleader expert.

I found this advice column fascinating: I’m A Straight Girl But I Keep Fantasising About MILFs.

Queer History Was Made in ’90s Clubs. These Fliers Captured It. I need to check out the book this feature is about!

Clickbait Conquered Rap Journalism — Megan Thee Stallion Paid the Price.

After Decades of Declines, Lesbian Bars Are Having a Renaissance. (As a side note, the only lesbian bar in FL is in one of the counties currently under a state of emergency for the incoming storm, so let’s keep them in our thoughts, too!)

Hot Union Summer Continues With the Nation’s Only Unionized Strip Club.

Police Have “Strong Leads” Into the Mass Shooting at a Minneapolis Queer Punk House.

A few stories on ongoing transphobic legislation around the country:

Saw This, Thought of You

The Mystery of Long COVID Is Just the Beginning.

The latest climate crisis horror story: It’s Getting Too Hot for Tropical Trees to Photosynthesize, Scientists Warn.

Political Snacks

The War Within the Young Republican Party. This is a followup story to the one I linked a couple weeks ago about a journalist going undercover in the alt-right movement.

One More Thing

A fitting poem for hurricane season: