the speakeasy Archives

Most Popular

tv feature

P-Valley Has Changed the Rules of Black Queer Storytelling

Natalie

Aug 19, 2022
celebrities (vapid fluff)

No Filter: Simply the Betts! Happy First Anniversary to Niecy Nash, Jessica Betts, and the Greatest Day of Our Gay Lives

Christina Tucker

Sep 1, 2021
tv reviews

It’s Time to Talk about It, “Never Have I Ever” Has a Race Problem

himani

Jul 26, 2021
first person

Somebody Loves You Baby: When Patti LaBelle Taught Me Black Femme Desire

danijanae

Jul 22, 2021
tv reviews

Whatever You Thought “We Are Lady Parts” Was Going to Be, This Ain’t It

Natalie

Jun 29, 2021
celebrities (vapid fluff)

Queen Latifah Honors Eboni, Her Love, and for a Moment Heals the Black Queer Kids BET Never Loved

Carmen Phillips

Jun 29, 2021
tv news & trailers

Exclusive Trailer Drop! Con Todo Netflix’s “Visions of Us” Is an Absolute Love Letter to Queer Latinx TV and Film

Carmen Phillips

Jun 24, 2021
first person

Building An Altar to Honor Pulse on Its Fifth Anniversary

Carmen Phillips

Jun 11, 2021
first person

Five Years After Pulse, Queer Nightclubs Still Bring Both Freedom and Fear

Olivia Zayas Ryan

Jun 11, 2021
movie features

Stephanie Beatriz and Daphne Rubin-Vega on “In the Heights” and Queer Latinas Finding Love in the Everyday

Carmen Phillips

Jun 10, 2021

Asian American

interview

a graphic of the cover of mcsweeney's queer fiction issue, and a photo of the author patti yumi cottrell. the cover features tendrils, foliage and plants with a hand at the bottom.

What Is Queer Fiction? An Interview with Patrick Yumi Cottrell

The first time I encountered a book with queer characters must have been James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room. At the time I remember feeling afraid of its intensity. Now it’s one…

Kamala Puligandla —

Oct 28, 2020

NSFW

Queer Erotica

A drawing of two women laying side-by-side, their bare shoulders exposed

af+

S L I C K: I Bet It Does

Made me want to / and I did tap / that ass / many times / made it mine.

Claudia —

Oct 22, 2020

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

netflix

film

Viola Davis Is Iconically Queer Again in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”!

The “Ma Rainey” Trailer Drop is THEE most important Black queer pop culture news this week, and I’ve broken down 5 reasons why… then I shall be proceeding directly to…

Carmen Phillips —

Oct 20, 2020

latinx

latinx heritage month

first person

How Reading A Queer Latina Writer Helped Me Understand My Mother’s Story

Growing up, I felt I wasn’t enough. Not white enough. Not Latina enough. I’ve tried to look to my mother’s story as my own missing piece. I’ve made her story…

Vera Carothers —

Oct 15, 2020

Asian American

buddhism

from the back, a line of three women in kimonos perform a Buddhist obon festival dance. the sleeves of their kimonos are decorated with flowers and their hands point to the sky. the dark blue and pink obi are tied on their backs.

first person

The Angsty Buddhist: Growing Up Kinda-Sorta Buddhist

At my Catholic all-girls middle school, I liked to tell people I was Buddhist. It was my feeble attempt at preteen rebellion. I enjoyed interjecting, “Oh yeah? Well, I don’t…

L —

Oct 15, 2020

latinx

latinx heritage month

A multimedia collage with Walter Mercado as the central figure. He is wearing a crown with magenta milky way vibes in the background.

first person

Growing Up With “Mucho Mucho Amor”: How Walter Mercado Defined My Life

I grew up in a conservative family so I never really knew the words to describe who I was but when I saw Walter Mercado in his finery and elegance,…

Kristal Sotomayor —

Oct 14, 2020

latinx

latinx heritage month

A multimedia collage, rosemary is central in this image because it’s the representation of hope (adopting ancestral practices), and inc. the magenta to highlight some of the stalks of rosemary.

first person

Con El Aceite de Coco Nos Sanamos: Lessons From My Elder

In Ifa, a Yoruba-based religion, we believe that when we die, we are reincarnated into our same family lineage. I’ve imagined all the ways in which it would be possible…

Roberta Nin Feliz —

Oct 13, 2020

latinx

national coming out day

a collection of faces and figures flooded in orange, bright green and hot pink, are scattered over a scene of crumbling pillars and doorways. and in between these figures are the gestures of the wings and petals, floating throughout.

society + culture

We’re always coming out. As an: anime fanatic, manga-collecting Pokémon plushie hoarder; as a giddy, youthful ray of sunshine and not just the dense, American Dream-deprived immigrant, prompted over-thinker —…

féi hernandez —

Oct 11, 2020

death is sad

the speakeasy

lgbt history

Monica Roberts Remembered Us. Now We Remember Her.

Every time I crossed paths with Monica Roberts, I was always surprised by how tight she held me as we hugged — Now, so many young Black trans people can…

xoai pham —

Oct 9, 2020

fiction

NSFW

two women, one green and one blue, lie together nude in grass with stalks of lavender. the green woman is behind the blue one, spooning her, with an arm on her shoulder.

af+

S L I C K: Duckling

First I became a cloud-woman. Min had always liked watching them as a child, one of her only good memories from that period. I lifted up my skirts, let her…

daisuke —

Oct 8, 2020

latinx

latinx heritage month

A multimedia collage of plants from the garden (marigolds and mint) planted into grave-like shapes in the background.

first person

Straight, No Chaser

In the U.S., mass graves have been uncovered as developers unearth land for future projects. People claim we are experiencing the pandemic collectively — but economically, politically, and geographically, we…

Mónica Teresa Ortiz —

Oct 8, 2020

black lives matter

latinx

A multimedia cut out collage of a dark green background with crowns overlapping in a circle and a pink daffodil in the center.

first person

Letting Go of Latinidad

This Latinx Heritage Month, I’m calling for non-Black Latinxs to reflect on the ways in which we’re aiding white supremacy and how we can instead be accomplices for the liberation…

Yvonne —

Oct 7, 2020

the speakeasy

Most Popular

P-Valley Has Changed the Rules of Black Queer Storytelling

No Filter: Simply the Betts! Happy First Anniversary to Niecy Nash, Jessica Betts, and the Greatest Day of Our Gay Lives

It’s Time to Talk about It, “Never Have I Ever” Has a Race Problem

Somebody Loves You Baby: When Patti LaBelle Taught Me Black Femme Desire

Whatever You Thought “We Are Lady Parts” Was Going to Be, This Ain’t It

Queen Latifah Honors Eboni, Her Love, and for a Moment Heals the Black Queer Kids BET Never Loved

Exclusive Trailer Drop! Con Todo Netflix’s “Visions of Us” Is an Absolute Love Letter to Queer Latinx TV and Film

Building An Altar to Honor Pulse on Its Fifth Anniversary

Five Years After Pulse, Queer Nightclubs Still Bring Both Freedom and Fear

Stephanie Beatriz and Daphne Rubin-Vega on “In the Heights” and Queer Latinas Finding Love in the Everyday

P-Valley Has Changed the Rules of Black Queer Storytelling

No Filter: Simply the Betts! Happy First Anniversary to Niecy Nash, Jessica Betts, and the Greatest Day of Our Gay Lives

It’s Time to Talk about It, “Never Have I Ever” Has a Race Problem

Somebody Loves You Baby: When Patti LaBelle Taught Me Black Femme Desire

Whatever You Thought “We Are Lady Parts” Was Going to Be, This Ain’t It

Queen Latifah Honors Eboni, Her Love, and for a Moment Heals the Black Queer Kids BET Never Loved

Exclusive Trailer Drop! Con Todo Netflix’s “Visions of Us” Is an Absolute Love Letter to Queer Latinx TV and Film

Building An Altar to Honor Pulse on Its Fifth Anniversary

Five Years After Pulse, Queer Nightclubs Still Bring Both Freedom and Fear

Stephanie Beatriz and Daphne Rubin-Vega on “In the Heights” and Queer Latinas Finding Love in the Everyday