This Year’s Emmys Come With a Historic Wave of Black Queer Firsts
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
“I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard, yet over-policed, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor. As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power. And, baby, Imma do it ‘till the day I die,” with those words Niecy Nash-Betts went home with her first ever Emmy win after over three decades in the business. Her win was a poignant highlight of a 2023 Emmys season that brought nothing less than historic LGBT (and most often, Black queer) Emmy wins, including wins for Ayo Edebiri, RuPaul Charles, Keke Palmer and GLAAD.
Nash, who won Supporting Actress in a limited Series for Netflix’s Dahmer, was escorted on stage by her wife, Jessica Betts, who face nearly broke in two from smiling ear-to-ear. The actor wore a simply gorgeous Black velvet gown with matching elbow-length gloves, screaming with joy “Mama, I won!” to her mother in audience before exiting.
Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
In addition to Nash, Black queer talent swept the award show across the board.
Ayo Edebiri won for Supporting Actress in a Comedy series for her work in Hulu’s Bear, becoming one half of a duo marking the first time in Emmys history that Black actresses won both the lead and supporting Comedy categories in the same year (her partner in that historic milestone, Quinta Brunson, won lead actress in a Comedy for Abbott Elementary, becoming only the second actress to win that award in the show’s 75 year history. The last to do so was Isabel Sanford for The Jeffersons in 1981).
Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage
Rupaul, once again, won both Reality Competition Program and Host of a Reality Series for RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is the fifth year the series won in the competition category, and RuPaul’s record eighth consecutive year winning as host. He is now also the most-awarded person of color in Emmys history (and if you include Drag Race’s wins on top of his individual ones, it’s not even close).
Speaking of reality TV wins, Queer Eye also won for Structured Reality Program, putting Karamo Brown among this year’s Black queer winners.
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
And last week, Keke Palmer made history becoming the first woman in 15 years (!!!) to win an Emmy for Game Show Host, for her work on Password.
Taken together, Niecy Nash-Betts, Ayo Edebiri, Rupaul, Karamo Brown, and Keke Palmer make the largest cohort of Black queer talent to win at the Emmys in a single year. That alone is breathtaking. It’s the kind of ceiling breaking that can feel at a loss of words. I find myself both bursting with pride at the feat, but also tinged with sadness. To paraphrase Viola Davis during her own historic 2015 Emmy win, we know that the only thing that stands between often marginalized performers and accolades like this is opportunity. It’s never been a lack of talent. It’s always been a lack of institutions willing to see that talent for what it is, when it’s plainly in front of them.
Adding in the wins for Beef (Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, for lead actor and actress in a miniseries, respectively), Abbott Elementary (Brunson), The Last of Us (Storm Reid as guest actress for playing queer role Riley Abel), and The Trevor Noah Show, this year’s Emmys ties the record for the most wins by performers of color in a single year. Last night alone, five of the 12 acting categories went to people of color.
Those wins came during an award show that also paid tribute to the casts of Good Times, Martin and Arsenio Hall’s work in The Arsenio Hall Show. Arsenio entered the stage with A Black Lady’s Sketch Show’s Robin Thede standing up and doing his signature dog pound salute from the audience, before quipping that all he ever wanted to be was a modern Johnny Carson, even though his success as the first Black late night host was often overshadowed by Jay Leno and David Letterman. The cast of Martin, dressed to the nines and sitting on their original set, made a bit out of the fact that, despite changing the trajectory of Black sitcoms for the next 25 years, they had never been invited to the award show before now. Given the historic wins for Quinta Brunson and Ayo Edebiri, it felt good for Martin’s Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold to be greeted with roaring applause (at least in my living room, I’ll admit cheering so loud that I can’t be 100% certain what happened in the auditorium itself).
Last night’s Emmys was produced by an all-Black production team, which I’m sure made a difference in allowing us to hold space for these uncomfortable truths to begin with. We can be overjoyed with long overdue wins, especially to talent that absolutely deserves them. We can also simultaneously be aware that these wins come on the backs of so many people of color who were never given their rightful day in the sun. There are many giants whose shoulders we stand on.
GLAAD won the 2023 Governor’s Award for their continued advocacy to change the ways that we tell queer and trans stories. Given the historic wins for queer talent and storytelling, the fruits borne of their labor, it felt like a crowning achievement to cap off the night. From the stage, GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis charged television creators in the audience that we urgently need more, fully developed, trans stories, noting that when polled more Americans have said they’ve known ghosts than knowing trans people and “when you don’t know people, it’s easy to demonize them. Visibility creates understanding and opens doors, it’s life-saving. Our community has achieved so much and yet, we are still being victimized and villainized with cruel and harmful lies. Sharing stories is the antidote.” Sometimes that can feel easier said than done, but we’ve also seen time and again how much that effort can make a difference.
Because this year’s Emmys ceremony, already full of Black joy (if not also Black yearning and wistfulness), aired on a Monday in January — it also happened to air on Martin Luther King Day. Emmys host Anthony Anderson closed the ceremony with a clip of his infamous “I Have a Dream,” recently voted by Academy members as one of the most impactful moments in television history. Of course, given everything we just saw, I was reminded of a different famous King quote: that the arc of the moral universe if long, even if it eventually will bend towards justice.
Feature image collage of Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, Ayo Edebiri by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images, and Keke Palmer by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
No Filter: Keke Palmer Stays Making History
feature image photo of Keke Palmer by Frazer Harrison / Staff via Getty Images
Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the one where I take you down the long winding road (it gets a little bit closer) of queer celebrity IG! Let’s party!
Look, this whole column could just be Meg and Reneé, such is the amount they have posted in the last week. Consider this me being discretionary!
Call me a child of the 90s but this look simply slays!
Look, I wasn’t going to DEPRIVE YOU of this! I couldn’t! It would be so cruel.
And Keke has an Emmy, and is somehow the first woman in FIFTEEN YEARS to win Outstanding Host for a Game Show?? (Obviously, she is also the first Black woman to win said award.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1udyc_xFfn/?img_index=1
Oh good, it’s thinking about how hot and cool Trace is hours again.
I would pay upwards of $700 USD to hang out with these women.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1zaudoOHag/
Happy belated, MJ!
This is veryyyy Dynasty to me (complimentary).
┏┓
┃┃╱╲ in
┃╱╱╲╲ this
╱╱╭╮╲╲house
▔▏┗┛▕▔ we
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
stan the Creative Arts Emmys
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔
GET out of here this kid is too damn cute!
Posting Happy New Year a full calendar week into said new year? I’ll say it: Chic!
No Filter: Keke Palmer Releases “I’M A MOTHA” Merch…Marketing Legend!!
feature image photo of Keke Palmer via Keke’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter, the place where I bring you the best gay content via Instagram! Let’s get down to ding dang business!
Hot? Very hot? To me?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw1WPT1Mm6b/?img_index=1
As a person who grew up and thought “87” was synonymous with “highway” because it was the only highway I had ever been on, I had to find this liquor store. It is near Lake George! The more you know!
Sarah Paulson’s stylist being this hot and cool and also a Virgo? No notes!
Personally I love when Trace is hoopin!
Marketing legend tbh.
This is what I look like when I make this mistake of having one more drink when I know I should have left.
Emotionally I am not sure what to do with this image, tbh. Lots of leather!
Meg is a legend to me because these would be my dream pull quotes!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw-hR1Eua92/
You’re welcome. :)
No Filter: Happy Virgo Season to Keke Palmer ONLY!
feature image photo by Michael Reaves / Staff via Getty Images
Welcome back to No Filter, the place where I bring you the best content from celesbian Instagram! Let’s get down to ding dang business!
Doesn’t it kind of always feel like it’s a Betts anniversary? Yes, it does, but that is the joy of their love! And maybe now I will remember that August 29 is the real one. (I will not.)
Look at this lil fam!!! I love them so!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CwX-qqjA5Tz/
Why not give a donation and make Sara’s day? Compelling argument!
Hot take: Mae seems to have a lovely life, and I love that for them!
I don’t quite know how to feel about celebrities taking PopCrave as real news but honestly if Reneé is happy that’s great!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CwX3CjeLhdc/?img_index=1
There is something about this year that is really giving strong dog days of summer vibes, and this post really nails that.
Sometimes all ya can do is take some selfies!
This dog is so cute that I almost don’t mind the PETA spon, even thought they are theeee worst. Good for Gracie!
She is just so WEIRD and funny — I love her!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwal5YORCZ6/
Yes, I saved the best for last. Happy birthday Keke!
BONUS!
Keke Palmer Dances in Boxers in Usher’s “Boyfriend” Video, a Well Timed Clapback to Her Ex
In July, Keke Palmer went to an Usher concert. Perhaps you heard about it.
Keke attended Usher’s Vegas residency with friends in a black and sheer body hugging dress (because mama has boddyyyyyy and when you have it, you should flaunt it). At one point during the concert, Keke was serenaded by Usher and in response to both these events (the dress, the serenade) her now-ex Darius Jackson logged onto Beyoncé’s internet of all places to say that her behavior wasn’t becoming of — gasp! — a mother (Jackson is also the father of Keke’s baby son). Presumably this is now why Jackson is Keke’s ex. And that’s a good reminder to everyone who’s ever thought that being in a relationship with someone meant you have a right to control how they adorn their body, another choice is to just sit there and eat your food.
Ok so Keke wore the dress, everyone on the internet had opinions and wrote thinkpieces about the dress and her ex, and now we have arrived here today.. with Keke Palmer having the last word.
Usher has released his newest single “Boyfriend” and the music video stars none other than Keke Palmer, dancing around in a luxurious bathrobe, sports bra, and boxers during a girls weekend at a hotel suite in Vegas. She drinks champagne and winks at the camera while lip-synching “Somebody said your boyfriend’s looking for me/… He should know I’m easy to find/ He can look for me wherever he sees you” — which yes, on face value that line is absolutely about Usher taunting an off-screen boyfriend. But, you don’t have to scratch especially deep beneath the surface for a queer line reading of Keke Palmer rolling around in a pair of boxers while crooning that someone’s girlfriend is going to be thinking about her at night.
Also, if you were wondering if there’s a deliciously well timed “I’m a muva” call out at the end there, just know you won’t be disappointed.
Also.Also.Also: Keke Palmer Would Absolutely NOT Explore the Deep Sea (Relatable!)
feature image of Keke Palmer by Taylor Hill / Contributor via Getty Images
Happy 7-Elesbian Day, as we call it in my household! You should enjoy a nice frozen beverage today!
Queer as in F*ck You
Keke Palmer Is the Internet’s Sweetheart. I couldn’t agree more! Keke Palmer today, Keke Palmer tomorrow, Keke Palmer always. She’s the latest cover girl for The Cut, and she had a chance to talk about her headspace a bit following Darius Daulton Jackson’s condescending words about a recent outfit she wore (WHICH WAS A GREAT OUTFIT, BTW, BUT ALSO OF COURSE IT WAS — KEKE IS ONE OF THE BEST STYLED CELEBS IN THE GAME RN AND AMERICA’S #1 HOT MOM): “I’ll be honest, I think before I even had the baby, I was really actually quite self-conscious,” she tells The Cut. “After having my baby, I’ve gotten so much more powerful. We’re going to lean into this new body, and I think that is the whole aura of what’s happening with me in this big boss era as I come into my 30s, and I have my baby boy, and I’m just continuing to spread my wings as a young woman.”
The interview includes some rapidfire questions at the end, leading to this no-notes exchange:
Would you ever explore the deep sea?
No.
And just like that, she continues to be a relatable icon.
Trans Woman, Bookstore, Teacher Sue Over Montana Law Banning Drag Reading Events.
Barriers to Transgender Health Care Lead Some To Embrace a Do-It-Yourself Approach.
Queer Photography Doesn’t Just Have to Be White, Hunky Gays. This headline is a little silly to moi, but I do love the photos contained within. Also, I’m using this as an excuse to plug another Vice photo essay that’s a little too old (by just a couple weeks) to be Also.Also.Also fodder, but it’s soooooo good: Photographing Chicago’s Black Gay Culture in the 80s.
Over 25,000 People Marched for Trans Rights This Weekend in London.
Saw This, Thought of You
Yu and Me Books Is Asking for Support After a Fire. This bookstore is Manhattan’s first Asian-American woman-owned bookstore, and they suffered a devastating fire. Even though they’ve raised over their goal amount, all funds support their efforts to not only reopen but continue to pay their staff while closed. Every $ counts, and we must protect independent bookstores!
The Bidet’s Revival. I mean, I almost put this in the previous section, because bidets are queer culture, no?
Political Snacks
How the Supreme Court’s Idea of Religious Freedom Could Resegregate the Country.
Okay, after the bleakness of the above read, this made me LOL: Republicans Want to Cancel Barbie for Being Communist.
Ron DeSantis, American Psycho.
One More Thing
I am genuinely thrilled, on this 7/11, to soon be marrying someone who has made 7-11 an indelible part of their personal brand:
i have a doctorate in 7-eleven
— Kristen Arnett (@Kristen_Arnett) May 27, 2020
Also.Also.Also: “I Never Felt Straight Enough; I Never Felt Gay Enough” Says Keke Palmer, That’s Relatable
Feature Image of Keke Palmer by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
Happy Lesbian Visibility Week to all my lesbians out there, I don’t know a better group of people. ❤️🧡🤍💜💗
Queer as in F*ck You
“I’ve always been my own person, and sexuality and identity, for me, it’s always been confusion. I never felt straight enough; I never felt gay enough; I never felt woman enough; I never felt man enough. I always felt like I was a little bit of everything.”
Usually one of my favorite things about getting to write about Keke Palmer in a link round up is when people leave comments going “omg I didn’t know Keke Palmer was queer!” — which is going to feel ironic right at this moment. Because last weekend, while being honored at the Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala, the famous funny girl got deeply serious while talking about judgements and assumptions people have made about her sexuality and gender.
I think quite possibly every single bisexual person I’ve known — especially (though not only!) those with cis male partners, like Palmer — has expressed something similar to me in my lifetime. Hell, I think almost all of us have felt the pang, the echo of “still not queer enough, still not enough.” Keke Palmer Says Sexuality and Identity Have “Always Been Confusion” For Her: “I Always Felt Like I Was a Little Bit of Everything”
Two Artists on the Sacred Sisterhood of Trans Women. “Tourmaline and Xoài Phạm talk about time travel, the importance of pleasure and how the young can mentor, too.” Yes as in Autostraddle former Trans Subject Editor Xoài Phạm!!!
Bud Light Marketing Exec Behind Dylan Mulvaney Campaign Takes ‘Leave of Absence.’ Well, that sucks.
These are your instructions. Read this excerpt from Tre’vell Anderson’s new book We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film and then pre-order a copy of Tre’vell Anderson’s new book We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film. In that order! Trans Resilience Shining Through a Glass Darkly
This broke my heart. Sending the family of Rasheeda Williams so, so much love. Trans Woman Featured In Hit Sundance Documentary ‘Kokomo City’ Shot And Killed In Atlanta
Saw This, Thought of You
This is why when you keep hearing Chicago or recently NYC with high crime is nothing more than racist dog whistles. The ongong political strategy that is based on false narratives & tropes
Gun Violence Is Actually Worse in Red States. It’s Not Even Close. https://t.co/347HknFPFA pic.twitter.com/rnAd1tPZ3s
— Shireen, Harlem's Shuri, In Political Mecca! (@digitalsista) April 24, 2023
Gun Violence Is Actually Worse in Red States. It’s Not Even Close.
Sorry, Sluts: It’s Still a Crime for Unmarried Couples to Live Together in Michigan. I share a lot of happy news about my home state! We were due a little roasting, for a balance.
I’m including this for no other reason than it made me laugh over the weekend, and I have not stopped laughing since: A Thread of Which Yellowjackets Are the Best to Get High With and Why
Political Snacks
“Biden is using executive power to allow hundreds of thousands into the U.S. on humanitarian parole programs. It could become the largest expansion of legal immigration in decades, and many employers are ecstatic.” Biden Opens a New Back Door on Immigration
Also, in case you missed it. He’s officially running again: Biden Announces 2024 Reelection Bid
And One More Thing
I don’t know how else to say this but ugh… for Lesbian Visibility Week, they invited Jennifer Beals to the White House??
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Karine Jean-Pierre Hosts The L Word Cast & Creator at White House Press Briefing. Jean-Pierre, the first lesbian press secretary, hosted Ilene Chaiken, Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey at Tuesday’s briefing. Make of that what you will. You can watch the whole thing here.
No Filter: Keke Palmer Is the Cutest Mom in the World
feature image photo of Keke Palmer via Keke’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I tell you all about the goings on that take place on celesbian Instagram! Let’s gooo!
One thing Niecy and Jess are gonna do is get on a flight and make me jealous!
These two are just so cute, make all the content you WANT!
STINGERS UP!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp3fl0mpw9Z/
“they playing your song at Buffalo Wild Wings,” is truly the best thing I have ever seen.
I am no chef, so what do I know, but also…this looks hard??? Also: why?
Oh look the cutest mom in the world is here!!
This duo warms my heart and I am actually quite mad King Princess did not open for Florence when I saw her last September!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp1BIF1MqOg/
The thing is, these two are just sweet?? And seem so perfectly matched! And yeah, I’ll say it: the song is kind of a bop??
It’s giving Trainspotting, it’s giving early aughts filmcore, and I suppose that is where we are right now!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpob8dIrTOm/
Simply every shot of Indya from this Vogue Portugal shoot is GORGEOUS.
Belated Vanity Fair party shot! That cuff? Is? Doing? Something? To? Me?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp0eZ6QPnoG/
…g2g.
No Filter: Keke Palmer’s Baby Is Here!
Feature image photo of Keke Palmer via Keke’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter, the place where I bring you the best content from celesbian IG! Let’s get into it, shall we?
Tessa Thompson misses Japan, and not be weird but I feel like I miss Tessa? She’s so low profile, I want more content!
This is, as Michael Kors would say, ” a lot of look,” but it works?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpD1Xw9sYYF/
One thing I love? Gay ass visuals!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpJOQVAPCbp/
Janelle’s commitment to making us eat all their looks this awards season is a gift I tell you. A gift!
Keke’s baby is here, and he was born in Black History Month and he has one of the blackest names I ever saw! Congrats!
I love Meg’s dedication to doing something interesting, and thank god because SAG Fashion this year was largely….a snooze.
WITH A BODY THAT WILL NOT QUIT LIKE GODDAMN!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpMEpiKLo3s/
I love how Hannah is forever moving between a suit and a dress for award shows, it’s very relatable to me!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpIhYhIr7A3/
Of all the spon con benefits, “someone decorating my apartment” is high on my list of most desired.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpLIamopRdr/
I cannot even see this full jacket and I am still certain I cannot live without it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpJC9gJyIW6/
Nude is holding onto it’s place as the color of the moment!!
I leave you blessed, with Queen Latifah and her various stunning hosting looks. All hail the Queen!
No Filter: Keke Palmer’s Fairytale-Themed Baby Shower Is Very Charming
Feature image photo by MEGA / Contributor via Getty Images
Welcome back to No Filter, the place where I round up the best celesbian content I can find and place it here, all for your happiness!
If you live in LA it is your DUTY to go to this and report back directly to me! This much handsomeness on stage??? Dying just imagining it, tbh!
Okay, I guess nude is a fashion trend that is not leaving us anytime soon!
Seriously though, this is a very charming baby shower and I am excited for my girl Keke!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn5ACwKv8GT/
I am happy for Meg and also quite jealous! ENJOY YOUR LOVE OR WHATEVER!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoDmDspvJb8/
Because I am a homosexual, I am in fact writing this while listening to Renee’s EP Everything to Everyone and I am happy to report it is quite good!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoD2sCjPxh1/
I go from loving to hating this dress and back again every time I look at it? I think…hate? But maybe….I like?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoE_zdZgU1Q/
Sara said ENOUGH of the soft launch! They’re a cute couple, good for them!
Look this is not a fashion column but MORE nude! It’s not leaving! The color of the spring??
I wanna swim with a ding dang SHARK! This is cool as hell!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn7MRElJcQG/
I was late to Loot, but I am thrilled to see S2 is underway!
My usual Chef Melissa related thirst aside, I want this sweater so bad I feel a physical pain??
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoF09r9Dsnz/
Janelle on Drag Race! Personally I think they should be a regular judge, but I get that they are like busy or whatever. I GUESS.
Keke Palmer Announces She’s Pregnant During “Saturday Night Live” Monologue
Feature image of Keke Palmer by Taylor Hill / Contributor via Getty Images
Recent Nope star and extremely frequent No Filter headliner Keke Palmer announced she’s pregnant during her hosting gig on Saturday Night Live this weekend. It was her first time as host for the show, which seems absurd, because one thing about Keke is that she’s simply always radiating host energy! Is there anything the multi-hyphenate can’t do?! Autostraddle’s Christina Tucker was correct when she said Keke should be the host of everything on earth forever.
A no label legend — as Carmen eloquently put it in a recent Also.Also.Also — Keke has long been out and candid about the fluidity of her sexuality.
Between her recent standout turn on Nope and her performance on Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens, I absolutely consider Keke a modern day Scream Queen, and I hope to see her do more horror in the coming years! And, of course, her comedic turn in Hustlers is also truly delightful and a performance I think of OFTEN. This also reminds me, it’s time for my annual rewatch of Hustlers, which is in fact a Christmas movie. Hollywood, put Keke and Lili Reinhart in a queer buddy comedy, STAT!
Again, I ask: Is there anything Keke Palmer can’t do?! In fact, Keke is literally prepping to launch her own digital network — called KeyTV — which will spotlight up-and-coming talent. Of KeyTV, she wrote on Instagram: “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but this is what I’m most proud of. Y’all always say I keep a job, now I’m making sure we ALL got one.” I just…love…her.
And now, she’s adding parenthood to her ever-growing list of gigs.
“Honestly, this has been the biggest blessing, and I am so excited,” Keke said in a moment of sincerity during her joke-laden SNL monologue. “Guys, I’m going to be a mom!”
And listen, Saturday Night Live monologues are seemingly a great forum for queer women to make important announcements, like the fact that you are pregnant or the fact that you are “like so gay, dude.”
Congrats, Keke!!!!!!!
Also.Also.Also: Keke Palmer Enjoys the “Delicacy” of Girl-on-Girl, Is a Fan of Subs (Being One)
Photo of Keke Palmer by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Michael Kors
It’s Election Day in the United States. Please be kind to yourself.
Queer as in F*ck You
Keke Palmer Wants You to Know She’s a ‘Sub Girl.’ I love when we have the opportunity to write about Keke “Keep a Bag” Palmer — because undoubtedly every time, someone writes in the comments, “omg I didn’t know Keke was queer!” So let me take this opportunity to celebrate our no label legend. Keke came on the podcast WHOREible Decisions (great title btw) to talk about her sex life for a little shits and giggles. She was asked:
- Does she identify as a “sub girl”? (she does)
- What’s her favorite porn? (girl-on-girl, obvi)
You can listen to the entire podcast below to fully disassociate from this plane of reality for an hour on what’s going to be an otherwise nerve-wrecking election night. Don’t say I never gave you anything!
More Evangelical Women Have Had Sex With Women Than You Might Think. Anyone who grew up in or around the church will tell you, that number is still an undercount.
Audre Lorde and Afro-German Feminisms (First of all, learning anything more about Audre Lorde is a forever must read, but secondly scrolling through this article is such a satisfying visual experience and I want you to know that!)
Speaking of a gorgeous and satisfying scroll experience! Queer Americana, “photographer Ryan Pfluger captures LGBTQ intimacy in the United States.”
“Creating a queer family in a world where LGBTQ+ rights are constantly under threat is a daunting task.” Congratulations to Younger star Molly Bernardon her first gayby!!
Saw This, Thought of You
Timely for today! These Companies Claim to Support Abortion Rights. They Are Backing Anti-Abortion Republicans
One year ago this week, “Britney Spears was freed from a notorious conservatorship. What possessed her father to seize near-total control of her life?” House of Spears
I don’t have an easy answer for this, but I found reading about it really interesting! New Endorsements for College Athletes Resurface an Old Concern: Sex Sells, “Female college athletes are making millions thanks to their large social media followings. But some who have fought for equity in women’s sports worry that their brand building is regressive.”
My god, how I love this:
This weekend, Lena Horne became the first Black woman to have a broadway theatre named after her. Cheers to Lena, we hope this accomplishment becomes one of many for Black professionals in theatre and inspires young Black entertainers.#BLACKGIRLMAGIC #AFROPUNK #BROADWAY pic.twitter.com/B9uuiHsQfo
— AFROPUNK (@afropunk) November 7, 2022
Political Snacks
WHEW. BIG DAY. Take a deep breath. We got this.
- It Took Two Weeks to Call Every State in 2020. This Is When to Expect Results This Year.
- Who Will Win the Battle for Congress? Four Scenarios.
- What Joe Biden Has (and Hasn’t) Accomplished. There’s a clear score card at the end here that I found useful in an era of internet and politics that can otherwise feel like “all or nothing,” but YMMV.
- It’s No Coincidence That the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse Is on Election Day
And finally, if you’re settling in to follow election results tonight, or if purposefully giving yourself a break and waiting to see what happens on the other side, I want to leave us with these words from our Managing Editor, Kayla:
“Today is Election Day, and if you’re feeling stressed, worried, anxious, scared, I want you to know that those feelings are valid. I honestly have no perfect solutions for you. And when it comes to anxiety regarding news and the political realities we exist in, I think the solutions are complicated. It’s easy to tell someone to unplug, to look away, to distract. But that shouldn’t be conflated with pulling the wool over one’s eyes. Some people need to channel their anxiety into actionable work; a lot of people with specific privileges should be channeling their feelings productively. Who gets to look away and who doesn’t? Too often, it’s the people who are most negatively impacted by the results of electoral politics who feel like they can’t look away, while wealthy white liberal queers get to engage in uncomplicated “self-care” on tricky days like today.
So please know that when I write this short little post on Election Day anxiety coping mechanisms, I’m writing first and foremost for my personal community of queer people of color as well as the new community I exist in of queer folks who live in “red states” as well as other intersectionally marginalized communities who face voter suppression and who will not be saved by politicians. I am giving you permission to take small breaks for yourself, to take care of yourself, however that might look to you.”
❤️ ❤️
“Nope” Review: Keke Palmer’s Lesbian Character Is Miraculously Alive
This NOPE review contains mild spoilers.
NOPE is the third horror movie Jordan Peele has written, directed, and produced within the past five years. Get Out is one of the movies people love to claim as ushering in black horror (though really it’s just a movie that’s provided more visibility for black horror than has been created for decades) and Us is the movie that made everyone uncomfortable as shit with the haunted version of “I’ve Got 5(On It).” Get Out feels like it was made for the community at large with great writing and acting. Us feels like Peele getting to play around with two fears we know he has (dopplegangers and rabbits) and seeing the direct link between two horror movies he admires (The Stepford Wives and Vertigo). NOPE feels like the best of the aforementioned with the additional thrill of not worrying if black people are gonna die by racism, capitalism, white supremacy and all the other shit we have to deal with in real life. Nope. We get to deal with the fear of regular science fictional fucked up shit and it is glorious.
Daniel Kaluyya plays OJ, the eldest of two and a horse wrangler on a big ass plain in California. After his father, Otis Haywood Sr. (played by Keith David), dies in front of him, OJ suddenly has to take on his father’s jobs. This includes horse wrangling on movie sets, where we are introduced to Keke Palmer as OJ’s sister, Emerald, the charismatic little lesbian of my dreams. OJ struggles with his family’s new needs, finding places to loan out horses to cover debts, and convincing his sister to take things seriously. These problems all pale in comparison to something he and some other characters notice one day: one of the clouds does not move and that may be an answer behind what killed their father.
This movie, compared to Peele’s first two, feels like there isn’t anything left over (without intention). It follows Chekhov’s gun at a much higher rate than others: if something is shown in the first act, it explodes by the third. Even when you have to really stop and remember why something on screen reverbs in your chest like a haunted echo, it only takes a few seconds to recall that part of this story was already told to you, you just didn’t know what it meant yet.
It’s personal preference, but Get Out broke my heart when Betty Gabriel perfectly played her part, and no one pushed to see what else she was in this story besides a reminder to Chris of how he failed his mother (who we also do not get to see or learn more about). Us feels like it has a lot more holes (and please! If you know the answers, share them with me, I love this shit!) with an escalator being available to access the tunnels, whole lives taking place in few rooms even though the same people didn’t stay in the same rooms above ground forever, and the ability for others to create and enact on this plan even when tethered (did they plan while the above was asleep?). It’s one of my favorites still, especially because at the heart of it is the missing black girl. How easy it was for her to slip away, how easy it was for her to be forgotten, turned into someone, something else. And how motherhood, especially Black motherhood, exists in a myriad of ways and in the most impossible of circumstances.
In NOPE, the black girl, the black lesbian of all people is not missing. She is miraculously, spectacularly alive — and it is one of the best things I’ve experienced in a really long time.
Emerald is a lesbian. From talking about getting her stuff ’cause her girl said she could stay with her; to telling the woman at the mega-store that she’s looking really pretty today, with a flirtatious smirk; to the characteristic swagger slump she moves in underneath baggy jerseys and shorts and tank tops that show her stomach and match her pink sneakers, she is definitely who you’d swoon at if she smiled your way. Nothing will really prepare you for how much you’ll love Emerald except maybe how much you love Keke Palmer already.
As an unofficial EGOT star in Black households around the world, Palmer has been stunting on everybody and they mama just from acting opposite Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne AT AGE ELEVEN in Akeelah and the Bee, alone. She was the first and youngest Black Cinderella on Broadway, the star of one of the most successful Nickelodeon shows, True Jackson: VP, is one of the best interviewers to ever do this shit, and is also Meme Queen extraordinaire. There was no question Keke Palmer was gonna shine in her leading role; the question was whether or not the story would be able to properly hone her light. NOPE doesn’t just do that; it reaches its greatest lengths just so her infinite talent can really stretch its legs out and get comfortable.
Peele uses jarring shots, cutting people off in mid-sentence, but it doesn’t make the story, the characters, the audience stumble. It’s like moving in the dark of your house, with a weak flashlight as your guide. The steps may feel different even though this is an area you’ve tread before. But you don’t know what story your house decides to tell in the dark, when you’ve only got your one foot in front of the other as your sole anchor. NOPE is familiar territory in the horror genre, possible aliens, falling objects, and animals acting weird as shit. Though animals as warning, as monster, as comfort are not unheard of in horror movies, there’s something extremely unsettling in animal not being just metaphor alone in this movie, and, often, carrying the title of all three. But even though it’s familiar, nothing about it feels safe, and you’ll still be thinking about it days after you’ve seen it.
Note: Though I enjoyed the film, I believe the use of a disabled person’s face as possible allusion to horror is grossly used in the trailers. Though the disfiguration is part of the plot, the way this character is portrayed in the trailers is ableist and contributes to the harmful tropes of disfiguration, in itself, as horror.
No Filter: Another Day To Wake Up and Wonder Why Keke Palmer Isn’t Running the World
Feature image of Keke Palmer via Keke’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter, the column where I pull fun images from our best and gayest fame-os on IG and provide them to you!
Our lesbian Jesus coming in with a classique photo dump, seems like a good one to me? Vibes are good at least!
I am so sorry the only thing I can come up with here is “can Chef Melissa borrow me and pretend I am hers?”
Another day to wake up and wonder why Keke isn’t running the world based off her charm and also the power of her running away in her Swimona™ suit.
Mom and Dad are looking good as hell and here is the part where I will confess I am sucker for Burberry, probably due to….living on the East Coast my whole life?
This just makes me absurdly happy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ_G5rjLz2L/
Hellooooo Bowie glam!
Sue is BACK! Season 19 my god!
Ohhhh noooo so cute helppppp
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaQuYuxFS8i/
Yes, the outfit, yes, Megan kind of writ large, but also??? This wallpaper!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaF5jFKhXC5/
I simply love a woman in a Big Blazer.
Look I know we are in a pandemic and celebrities need attention to live but we have GOT to stop letting them podcast, they are taking over!!!!! We cannot let this stand!!
No Filter: Keke Palmer Is So Stunning and Charming, She Should Be the Host of Everything on Earth Forever!
Feature image of KeKe Palmer via KeKe’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I gather all the best queer IG content for your eyes only! Well, for whoever clicks upon this, I guess? Whatever, let’s look at some fame-os!
I cannot get over the fact that they are matching?? In this image?? That is for all I know, just random selfie? And still! Color coordinated!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZADdiNKYo_/
Top to bottom I am obsessed with this look, I do not know what it means for my springtime fashion choices but there it is.
I would also like to thank The Wrap for putting Tessa on their cover!
This is simply toooo cute I will not allow it.
Is this a silly backstage image for a play that Gillian is doing as a fundraiser OR is it her audition for the live action Mario movie? We’ll never know!
Something that makes me feel old is knowing how susceptible I would be to King Princess if I were *checks notes* ten years younger.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZIOMmuP2nw/
Yes, I binged all of Sex Lives of College Girls this weekend because I was out of my ADHD meds and of course I love the preppy gay mean girl!! Imagine my delight discovering Reneé Rapp is queer AND she won the Jimmys in 2018?? Sorry, I can only be me!!
Keke is so stunning and charming, she should be the host of everything on Earth forever!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZFXA0yPept/
One thing Trace is gonna do is post a photo dump of her life and make you wish you were as cool as her.
Yeah I watched The Gilded Age, yeah it was too long and nothing really happened, yeah I’m gonna watch every episode they make, this is my culture! Also do NOT let “Lousia Jacobson” fool you, she is a ding dang Gummer, which really means she is a Streep! I’d know that face anywhere!
Oh, also Cynthia is doing Fashion now, which I am very pro!!
“PIMP” Review: Queer Love, Sisterhood, and a Reminder That We Need to Tell Our Own Stories
I love queer movies that feature people of color and I love a good coming of age film. When watching the trailer for PIMP I was excited by what seemed to be both of those things, plus a love story. While that’s not entirely what you get with Lee Daniels’ new film, it’s still a journey worth going on. And it passes the Bechdel Test!
PIMP comes in hot with an opening scene that features our main character, Wednesday aka “Win,” played by Keke Palmer, saying “The first time I sold pussy… I was ten years old.” Really, that sets you up for exactly how this movie is going to go. This is not a feel-good film. That’s where you find the charm: It makes you root for a girl you’re not sure you should be rooting for.
We learn in the rest of the tight five-minute opening that Win is being raised by her addict mother and pimp father to follow in his footsteps. We also find out that she’s in love with the girl across the street named Niki (Haley Ramm, of Light As a Feather fame). From there we cut to adult Win, who’s broke after bailing her mom out and attempting to run her “girls” hard in order to live up to her father’s name and provide for her ever more demanding and homophobic mother. Friends, things do not go smoothly.
The main focus of this film is Win and Niki’s relationship. It starts when they’re both little girls and carries through to adulthood where they live together and have as close to domestic bliss as you can get living in the hood and working at a corner store and street corner, respectively. These two are Dom and Letty levels of Ride or Die. They share in the burden of the bills, street expectations, and 20-something jealousy — along with Win’s mom returning and expecting to be taken care of. But they always come back to each other. There’s joy there. In a story that’s violent, degrading and oh so rough around the edges, these two women have found safe harbor in each other.
The second central storyline is that of Win and the girls she employs. It’s a wild and messy little world they live in, filled with drugs, turning out teens and drugs. It’s constantly making demands of them, when all they seem to want to do is to take care of each other. At a certain point Niki makes the choice to start working the streets with the rest of the girls that Win runs. This is where the second relationship of the film really finds its teeth.
Win is harsh, petty and scared. Her emotions play out in how she treats the girls. This is no “by women for women” place of love. These women are a commodity and if they aren’t serving their purpose, they can go. Win rules cruelly and swiftly. The girls are not thrilled when the Top Bitch (Niki) rolls in and gets treated better. But, in a feminist twist of fate and danger, they come to count her among their own and try to protect her when things get bad.
The bad is the coming of a new girl, Destiny, who we all know as Toni Topaz from Riverdale. She meets Win at a time when money is picking up and Win is warring with the life she was raised to live verses the love she’s always wanted. To give any more details would spoil major plot points that are intended to push us to the violent and emotional conclusion. But I’ve been telling people that the best way to describe this film is as if the BET classic Player’s Club ran head first into Hustle and Flow, but cast a cadre of child stars turned ingenues.
It’s the casting that’s the clearest letdown. This is a film set in a low income, gang and pimp-filled neighborhood where even the working girls have to have an “edge” in order to survive. But Keke Palmer, bless her minuscule chest piece and faux locs mohawk, is soft. She has a swing and an attitude, but they never quite mesh in to a swagger. Her threats always seem to come from a 15-year-old enforcing someone else’s rules. I believe casting an unknown butch actor could have greatly benefited the depiction of Win being the type to run a house of girls. Additionally, the character of Haley plays the Ride or Die girl well enough, but her “hood girl” accent leaves much to be desired. I can’t help but wonder if it should have been intensified or scrapped all together.
I’ll not place the blame for the movie’s pitfalls on the cast entirely, because this story is rife with stereotypes and deeply overused tropes and coded racial messaging (Seriously, why does every queer Black girl have to have a non-Black girlfriend?). I actually had to Google the writer because we get huge doses of “Bury Your Gays,” “Hooker With a Heart of Gold,” “Sexual Assault As Means To Teach a Woman Her Place” and they pull a “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” by positioning our sole “bad” Black girl against the Ride or Die white girl love interest.
Well, it turns out this story about a Black, butch 20-something lesbian pimp was written by Scary Spice’s very white and very middle class ex-girlfriend, Christine Crokos. A woman who seems to have a history of short films that are far away from this subject matter. That’s not to say that it’s impossible to write about things you’re unfamiliar with, but the aforementioned pitfalls could have easily been avoided by a writer with a closer connection to the culture. I think the dialogue would have felt more authentic and crisp if there’d been some first-hand knowledge.
Despite my critiques, I still give this film a 8/10. It’s a story we don’t often see: queer, hood love among women. It’s clear every actor involved was deeply committed to not just their characters, but to the narrative. So pop on over to you favorite streaming service, or if you’re lucky your local indy theater, and take a wild ride.
Pop Culture Fix: “Pimp” Trailer Stars KeKe Palmer In a Lesbian Love Story and Other Things To Think About
Welcome to your weekly pop culture fix, in which I have popcorn for dinner because I’m an adult and I want to.
+ A trailer was released today for Indie flick Pimp, from writer-director Christine Crokos (the former girlfriend of Mel B of the Spice Girls). Pimp stars sexually fluid actress Keke Palmer and “looks at life for women on the streets of New York amidst the hustles and dangers facing those working in the illegal sex trade.” The film centers on the “love story between a pimp and her girlfriend who dream of a better life and hope to get out of the one they’re in.”
Billed as a love story, Pimp finds Palmer playing a pimp who is looking for a better life with her girlfriend (who is portrayed by Haley Ramm). Palmer’s family (which includes DMX, who plays Keke’s father) brought her up hard, and introduced her to the life that she’s extremely invested in. It not only deals with the struggles of sex workers and the pimps who run their lives, but specifically how this one woman survives a world where she’s seen as “half girl, half pimp,” while knowing in her heart that she’s “all girl, all pimp.”
https://youtu.be/Ps9kxKsPxpg
This film has been in the works for a while, and KeKe Palmer told fans in 2016 that she took the role ’cause she felt Wednesday was a relatable character, describing her as ‘flawed” like “we all are.” She added, “She loves her girlfriend and she knows right from wrong, but for money she excuses a lot of things and is willing to turn a blind eye.” Vanessa Morgan (Toni Topaz on Riverdale) and Aunjanue Ellis (Quantico, Ray) also star. Palmer is a co-executive producer on the film.
KeKe Palmer came out as sexually fluid in 2015. She’s recently shown up on Star, a Fox show with a trans woman of color character.
+ Writer Aya de León Tells A Different Story About Sex Work: the director of Poetry for the People, an arts/activism program at UC Berkeley founded by late bisexual poet June Jordan, humanizes sex workers with “action, romance, titillating sex scenes, and keep-it-real humor.”
+ Laneia linked this in her AAA on Monday, but it’s worth force-feeding you again: Which Queer Movies Get To Be Universal.
+ “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” makes it onto Indiewire’s Most Underrated Movies of 2017
+ And Princess Cyd makes it onto Vanity Fair’s Best Movies of 2017 List:
Princess Cyd is also a soft-spoken coming-out film, a loving and subtle tribute to Chicago, and, in one sequence that should be corny but somehow isn’t, an earnest appreciation of good literature. The kind that can—like this little jewel of a movie—transport, uplift, and humbly inspire.
They also have an an exclusive clip for you.
+ Hello The New York Times has blown up your spot: Who Do You Ship? What Tumblr Tells Us About Fan Culture
+ Lena Waithe: ‘Why We Can’t Keep Telling Stories About a Singular Black Experience’
If it’s not my responsibility to tell our story, whose is it? I felt the same way about the “Thanksgiving” episode of Master of None, which was based on my own personal coming-out experience. I wanted to be honest to my memory of what happened: the humor and the missteps. For people to embrace a queer black girl’s story the way they did says a lot about where we are in society. We’re a lot further than we think. But for that reason, we can’t keep telling stories about a single black experience.
+ From me to you: Winter 2017/2018 TV Preview: Some Lesbian and Bisexual Content For Y’All
+ ‘Runaways’: Why Marvel’s YA-Superhero Show Could Be a Gamechanger:
After spending the past 20 years making these fanciful franchises palatable to adults, the company is starting to experiment with seeing the value of younger perspectives and giving teen do-gooders their due.
+ Here are the main characters of “Pretty Little Liars” spinoff “The Perfectionists”, which includes a character with lesbian Moms and, I guess, some gay guys. I don’t understand how Ali or Mona fit into this?
+ Faith is coming back for Season 4 of UnREAL so put that on your calendar for 2019. Your 2019 calendar is probably pretty chill, so.
+ ‘Easy’ Is The Most Sex Positive Show On Television
+ Superheroes Who Came Out As Queer (And Others They Won’t Allow To)
+ ‘Mrs. Maisel’ Is Marvelous: “Susie is also queer, though her personal life, like queer characters in Sherman-Palladino’s other works, gets too-little attention.”
Gift Bags For Celebrity Women Who Came Out This Year
Illustration by Sophie Argetsinger
The year 2016 hasn’t been great. Some would say it feels like the end of the world. But there have been shining lights in 2016. Those shining lights came in the form of Lauren Jauregui, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Sara Ramirez, Gigi Gorgeous, Elizabeth Gilbert, Eva Gutowski, Bella Thorne, Stephanie Beatriz, Aubrey Plaza, Mara Wilson, Rebecca Sugar, Elena Delle Donne, Rowan Blanchard, Amandla Stenberg, and Keke Palmer coming out somewhere on the queer spectrum. We are so blessed.
To show our appreciation, I’ve put together a holiday gift bag to welcome them to our world.
Prrrrfect Tote Bag
I once tweeted (“I once tweeted,” – Me at my own funeral) that on the one hand people don’t exist for your consumption, but on the other hand I need to know if you’re gay. That still rings true. And what better way to alert the masses that you’re of a certain inclination than this beautifully designed tote bag of a woman face down cradling a cat.
The Rider Tarot Deck
Just trust me on this, having a tarot deck in your bag is going to work out really well for you, even before you know how to use it, and even if you never learn how to use it!
Double Feature of Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve
This double feature of Gary Marshall’s Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve will at once serve as a cautionary tale of a strictly heterosexual world, and then as a subtle reminder that in this new world you’ve entered, while everyone’s story lines may start out separately, they always become intertwined in the end.
Carmex Keep Carm & Carry Bag Set
Please enjoy these various Carmex chapstick products as you enter this new journey in life.
Gal Pal Athletic Tee
Are you best friends? Are you related? You’re going to keep them guessing in this shirt.
Carve Up the Mountain Soap Set
Okay, so first of all these soaps are fragrance free and vegetable based and so you know somebody queer made them. Secondly, you’re going to be doing a lot more camping, and these are perfect for you and your on-the-go dishware.
Wildfang PDX Beanie
Well you absolutely will need a beanie, one for the ping factor, and two for the growing out phase of the haircut you might be considering. I’ve chosen this PDX Beanie in particular as Portland is sure to be an upcoming travel destination.
‘Woman Planning Her Escape’ Tapestry
You planned it and you did it. Plus, the word “tapestry” alone gets us there.
The Well of Loneliness
Finally, round out this new beginning enjoying a classic fiction story of two women in love.
Keke Palmer Is Sexually Fluid, Plans To Follow Her Heart, Could Change It Up
KeKe Palmer, an actress and singer who recently starred as Zayday Williams, the only character in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens you’d actually want to hang out with in real life, has confirmed to People Magazine that she has no interest in labeling her sexuality. This means “heterosexual” is definitely off the table, if you know what I mean:
The video was to represent the young woman today – it’s not the traditional woman anymore – and not the specifics of ‘Am I gay? Am I straight? Am I bi?'” the actress-singer, 22, says in the new issue of PEOPLE. “I’m making the rules for myself, and I don’t have to be stuck down to one label.
“I don’t feel the need to define nothin’ to nobody, because I’m always changing. Why say that I’m this or that when I might not be tomorrow?” she says. “I’m gonna follow my own feelings and my own heart.”
Rumors were swirling about Palmer’s sexuality following the release of a music video in which Palmer leaves a man for a woman, played by Cassie, who looks really good in her Calvins:
Furthermore, she appeared on Snapchat kissing Cassie, who apparently is dating P. Diddy and not KeKe Palmer but who are we to say, really?
“This news makes a lot of sense to me,” said Autostraddle Managing Editor Rachel Kincaid, “considering how Cassie’s “Me & U” made me gay, pretty much.”
Palmer became the fifth-highest-paid child star in television during her run as the star of the Nickelodeon sitcom, True Jackson, VP, which may or may not have been your root.
Other television work includes recurring roles on Masters of Sex, Winx Club and 90210. She’s also appeared in films including Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Madea’s Family Reunion, the critically acclaimed Akeelah and the Bee and your favorite VH1-biopic, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. She’s won and been nominated for a ton of Kids’ Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards and Young Artist Awards.
As a singer, she’s recorded one studio album, put out three mixtapes, appeared on two soundtracks, and released seven singles. “I Don’t Belong to You” is her first music video since 2014’s “Animal.” She also sang the theme song for True Jackson VP, “Change it Up.”
We recommend celebrating this blessed piece of information by treating yourself to a viewing of Joyful Noise, a heartwarming film I incorrectly remembered as being a Christmas movie even though it turns out that it is not a Christmas movie, I just saw it for the first time on Christmas. It stars two other stars who have also been dealing with lesbian rumors for at least a decade, Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah. It’s not really a “good movie,” but it’s still a good movie, you know?
Now excuse me as I update this list…