Queer Reads and Queer Cinema

Esther Newton Made Me Gay explores the life and times of cultural anthropologist Esther Newton. Throughout her career, Esther was a pioneer – questioning and challenging status quo assumptions on gender, sexuality and anthropological methods. Her work inspired generations of scholars to pursue research in what would eventually become the field of LGBTQ & Gender Studies.

Keenly attuned to the cultural and societal forces that shaped her life, Esther guides us through an anthropology of herself, a study influenced by her love for a sport - competitive dog agility - that pairs her aging butch body with her beloved dog teammate on an obstacle course that is constantly changing.

1h 32m 2022 CC

Reading list for 2025:

• Feb: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
• Mar: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
• Apr: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
• May: Losing Face by George Haddad
• Jun: She and Her Pretty Friend: The Hidden History of Australian Women who Love Women by Danielle Scrimshaw
• Jul: Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
• Aug: Son of Sin by Omar Sakr
• Sep: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
• Oct: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
• Nov: Maurice by E. M. Forster
• Dec: Nimona by ND Stevenson & Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Reading list for 2025:

• Feb: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
• Mar: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
• Apr: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
• May: Losing Face by George Haddad
• Jun: She and Her Pretty Friend: The Hidden History of Australian Women who Love Women by Danielle Scrimshaw
• Jul: Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
• Aug: Son of Sin by Omar Sakr
• Sep: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
• Oct: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
• Nov: Maurice by E. M. Forster
• Dec: Nimona by ND Stevenson & Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

June's movie is:
Due to copyright we cannot name the film but here is a description to give you a hint.

Alejandro (Julio Torres) is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast (Tilda Swinton) becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream. From writer/director Julio Torres comes a surreal adventure through the equally treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system.
Directed by Julio Torres
1h 44m 2023 M CC