feature image photo by Su Arslanoglu via Getty Images

I started October strong with a Stephen King film adaptation day on October 1. I watched The Shining, Doctor Sleep, A Good Marriage, and Gerald’s Game. Have you been watching any horror stuff the past few days? Tell me about it!

Queer as in F*ck You

Inside the Snack Closets Providing a Haven for Queer and Trans Youth. This Eater feature on the rise in “snack closets” — spaces where teens can drop in and snack, spend time alone, and explore their identities — is really lovely and opens with some personal narrative by the writer. “As laws sweep across the country targeting queer and trans youth, spaces in which young people can eat and explore the map of their identities are essential,” Colleen Hamilton writes, continuing:

Snack closets have emerged across the country to support LGBTQ youth by operating as sites where young people can grab their favorite foods, free of charge or judgment. They are often tied to free “drop-in spaces,” where teens can nap or wash their clothes. From the Harlem neighborhood in New York to Spartanburg, South Carolina, snack closets provide a longed-for moment of safety, exploration, and rest. This is particularly important for unhoused queer and trans youth, who experience food insecurity at almost three times the rate of their housed LGBTQ peers.

There is indeed something quietly radical about not just providing space for queer and trans teens but actual sustenance in the form of snacks. A lot of these spaces have learned that LGBTQ youth are able to open up more and feel more comfortable and safe when snacks are provided. Snacks save lives!

Alexander Chee! On! Dracula! I repeat: ALEXANDER CHEE ON DRACULA!!!!!! When Horror Is the Truth-teller.

Florida and Kentucky Are Losing Educators to Extreme Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws.

What Beyoncé Gave Us. Bryan Washington, whose fantastic new novel Family Meal comes out this month, wrote theeeeee definitive Renaissance tour essay.

Two Days After Outfest Staffers Announced Union Efforts, Four Organizers Were Laid Off. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: Hot Strike Summer has become Fair Wage Fight Fall.

Montana’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care For Youth Has Been Temporarily Blocked.

Amy Schneider Is More Than “That Nice Lady on TV.” Amy Schneider’s new memoir is out now!

Saw This, Thought of You

The Amazon Is Getting So Hot That Dolphins Are Dying En Masse. Sorry for always putting climate horror stories in this section!

Sterlin Harjo Lays Reservation Dogs to Rest. Best show!!!!!

Political Snacks

Dianne Feinstein Leaves Behind a Long and Complicated LGBTQ+ Legacy.

One More Thing

An October poem for October!