Ten Fab Queer Media Recommendations to Consume this Pride Month
- Words by Peppermint
words BONNIE LISTON
In the landmark 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, Harvey Fierstein says, “There are lots of needs for art and the greatest one is the mirror of our own lives and our own existence. And that hunger that I felt as a kid, looking for gay images, was to not be alone.”
He also says, “All the reading I was given to do in school was always heterosexual, every movie I saw was heterosexual, and I had to do this translation. I had to translate it to my life rather than seeing my life. Which is why when people say to me, ‘Your work is not really gay work, it’s universal.’ And I say, ‘Up yours. It’s gay. And that you can take it, and translate it to your own life is very nice, but at last I don’t have to do the translating. You do.’”
Art has a great power to be a mirror, comforting and connecting us to others like us, but equally important is its power as a door, showing us experiences and perspectives different from our own and perhaps teaching us they’re not so hard to relate to as we may assume.
This Pride Month, whether you’re longing to be seen or looking to see a new side to things, we’ve put together a small collection of queer media from films and television to must-watch documentaries.
OF AN AGE (2022)
The second feature film from indie Australian-Macedonian filmmaker Goran Stolevski, Of An Age, is a captivating evocation of first love set in the summer of 1999. Kol, a young Serbian immigrant and amateur ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with his best friend and ballroom partner’s older brother Adam. Think Strictly Ballroom meets Call Me By Your Name meets Muriel’s Wedding meets Son of Sin. Now that’s a love affair!
Stream it on Youtube, Apple TV or Amazon Prime!
PRIDE (2014)
In this heartwarming, historical tale (based on real events), an unlikely coalition is formed between LGBTQIA+ activists in London and striking Welsh coal miners as they realise what truly unites them – hating Margaret Thatcher. With a cracker cast of beloved British character actors, the film poignantly touches on the importance of community, solidarity, connection and the power of a union.
READ MORE: Our Favourite Childhood Environmentally Minded Media
FIRE ISLAND (2022)
This fun and funny film is a brilliant modern re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice set during a week at the titular gay holiday hotspot. Writer and co-lead Joel Kim Booster brings Jane Austen’s incisive and insightful eye to examining class and race within the gay community. It’s a refreshing rom-com with depth to its diversity and an honest approach to depicting gay friendship, romance and joy. Plus they keep giving their Mr Darcy tiny ice cream cones which is very cute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh9ed_LeBr8
SHIVA BABY (2020)
Representation for the messy, disaster bisexuals, Emma Seligman’s dazzling debut is an intense, claustrophobic comedy of manners (bordering on horror of manners, if such a genre exists) wherein a young woman struggles to keep up with different versions of herself when she runs into her sugar daddy and her ex-girlfriend while at a shiva with her parents for a family friend whose name she doesn’t even know. Often hard to watch but always impossible to look away from.
Stream it on Binge or Foxtel Now!
FEEL GOOD (2020)
A semi-autobiographical British dramedy from Mae Martin, Feel Good follows fictional stand-up comedian uh… Mae Martin as they navigate a new relationship with their girlfriend – a repressed, middle-class English woman named George – while dealing with the challenges of their addictive behaviour and sobriety. Series two explores Mae’s non-binary identity with incredible intimacy as Mae (the real one) came out between seasons and worked through their own experiences by creating some top-notch TV.
READ MORE: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful: Must-Watch Ocean Documentaries
IT’S A SIN (2021)
Russell T Davies deserves some kind of award for his significant contribution to making television gayer (Queer as Folk, Cucumber, Banana, Tofu, A Very English Scandal, Doctor Who – thank you for making Doctor Who gay) including It’s A Sin – a drama miniseries which focuses on a group of young gay men who move to London in 1981 as their lives are irrevocably changed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Joyful yet devastating, the show follows a decade of their lives as they determinedly live and love despite the threat hanging over their heads.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (2022)
An adaptation of the 1992 classic that takes its rich queer subtext and turns it into gloriously explicit text, this show is about women; all kinds of women and all the kinds of relationships they can have with each other – friends, sisters, mothers, teammates, lovers… The passion project of Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson, it explores gender, sexuality and race in ‘good ol’ apple pie times’ America.
THE CELLULOID CLOSET (1995)
You thought we were going to name-drop it up top and then not recommend it? It’s a landmark documentary! Based on Vito Russo’s 1981 book of the same name, The Celluloid Closet highlights the historical contexts that LBGTQIA+ people have occupied in cinema history, and shows the evolution of the entertainment industry’s role in shaping perceptions of LBGTQIA+ figures (up to the 90s at least). Fascinating and wryly good-humoured, it’s a must-see for fans of queer film, which if you clicked on this listicle…
PARIS IS BURNING (1990)
Speaking of seminal classics, Jennie Livingston’s documentary Paris is Burning is the definitive record of golden-age New York City ballroom culture – the foundation upon which Ru Paul’s drag empire, and accordingly many straight people’s understanding of homosexuality, is built. It is a rare and precious time capsule capturing the experiences of Black, Latine, queer and trans people being defiantly fabulous in the face of marginalisation, violence and the AIDS crisis, with thoughtful exploration of gender, sexuality, race and class, as well as dazzling drag performances, sizzling shade and vicious voguing.
MIRIAM MARGOLYES: ALMOST AUSTRALIAN (2020)
Celebrated star of stage and screen, self-described “78-year-old fat Jewish lesbian” and newly minted Australian citizen Miriam Margolyes hits the road on an epic 10,000 kilometre, two-month journey across the “lucky country” as she investigates what it means to be Australian. Less overtly about homosexuality than others on this list, however, Miriam is incapable of bringing less than the entire force of her personality and view to every topic which is what makes this such an incredibly entertaining watch.
Stream it on ABC iView or Netflix!
READ MORE: 12 Sustainable Fashion Documentaries You Need to Watch Right Now
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Between 2000 to 2015, global clothing production doubled... while the duration of garment use decreased by 36%.
We are throwing away clothing at a faster rate than ever before. How can we tackle this problem?
✨️ WEAR
Be an outfit repeater - wear your items of clothing as long as possible. Learn to style your garments in various ways. Loved clothing lasts.
✨️ SHARE
If you really need to move it along, share the love with friends - hold a clothing exchange night! Or organise a timeshare with a friend where you swap a few favourite pieces of fashion. If you really can`t find a new home for it, then donate to an op shop or charity.
✨️ CARE
The care of your clothing – washing, drying and ironing – can account for approx 30% of a garment`s total carbon footprint. Hand wash, line dry, wash in cold water, and only wash when necessary.
✨️ REPAIR
Mending – and making – slows down fast fashion buying habits. Repairing used to be common practice, until disposable fashion took over. Extending the life of clothing by just nine months can reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by 20–30%. Fixing doesn`t need to just be utilitarian – get creative with visible mending!
*Fact from The United Nations Environment Programme
#PeppermintMagazine #WearShareCareRepair #SustainableFashion
Have you whipped up the Acacia A-Line Skirt yet? 🪡
Accessible to beginner and experienced sewists alike, its classic style makes this skirt a wardrobe staple and a pattern you can happily play on repeat. Curved front pockets and the fun exposed-zip detail at the centre back make this style pop! The Acacia is a blank canvas, awaiting inspiration – add contrast top stitching, trim the pockets with bias binding or even change the length. We’ve chosen the smooth, clean lines that come from facing the waist, with back darts to ensure a neat fit on the hip. *chef’s kiss*
This pattern was made with the support of the lovely folk at @WeftAndWarpFabrics 🫶🏼 The team at Weft and Warp graciously sent three sewists the fabric of their choice to whip up their own Acacia A-Line – the results are super sweet!
Head to our website to see the makes from @The.Sewcialite @HandmadeByCarolyn and @You_CanSew - link in bio!
#PeppermintAcaciaAlineSkirt #PeppermintPatterns #WeftAndWarpFabrics #MeMade
Polka dots for days…
We love this Tansey Top by @_Rubys_Threads_ - the ultimate simple but stylish top you need in your rotation now!
Pattern: #PeppermintTanseyTop
Fabric: Japanese cotton @RawFibre
#MeMade #PeppermintPatterns
How`s your long weekend going? Working hard on your PhD? 🪡✂️🧵
Image from JoellsLeatherWorks on @Etsy
#ProjectsHalfDone #SewingPile #ProjectPile
In case no-one has told you lately, Emma Giacalone says you`re a good egg. (And we happen to agree).
This incredible mini egg embroidered 3D artwork was created by @Emma_Giacalone_Textiles, a textile artist in Gloucestershire, UK.
"When we buy an item of clothing, a label is attached telling us how to look after it to keep it at its very best. My mission is to create little care instructions to help to remind us to lead our happiest life."
INGREDIENTS: Freehand machine embroidered onto 100% cotton, using Egyptian cotton thread, and wool felt backing.
#EasterArt #GoodEgg #TextileArt
No ordinary wrap dress! 💃
Wrap dress wardrobe malfunction? Not with the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress pattern! We designed the Waratah to make sure this never happens.
Enjoy a few BTS videos from this super fun shoot. Maybe some inspo for Easter weekend sewing?
MODELS/SEWISTS: @Melt.Stitches, @KatieMakesADress @Tricky.Pockets @Laura_The_Maker
Head to the link in bio for the #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress 🪡
#PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #MeMade #WrapDress
