Me Time
Lesbian, Really???
I can imagine Gilda Radner's character Emily Litella resurrected for today's SNL asking, "What's all this I hear about Barry White being put in charge of CBS News? Will he be singing the headlines in a deep baritone?" And then Chevy Chase interrupts to say, "Not Barry White, Ms. Litella, it's Bari Weiss." And a sobering Emily then responds, "Ohhh, that's different. Never mind."
Yeah it is.
You may have read in the NY Times some weeks ago a disturbing story called "Donald Trump's Big Gay Government," in which the so-called A-Gays were described as "proud to work for President Trump."
If you did read it, I hope you were able to keep your breakfast down.
And now we present the lesbian counterpart, so-called "independent journalist," Bari Weiss, anti-DEI, anti-trans crusader, and openly lesbian married to a woman.
While Weiss insists on thinking of herself as a "left-leaning centrist,” a “radical centrist,” “a gay woman who is moderately pro-choice,” a piece in today's Times reminds us otherwise with a quote from Weiss' 2023 speech to the conservative legal group, The Federalist Society.
She said, “I know that there are some people in this room who don’t believe that my marriage should have been legal. And that’s OK. Because we’re all Americans who want lower taxes.”
Homophobia seems not to bother Weiss as much as giving up a small amount of the millions she's amassed so people who are less fortunate can, oh I don't know, get affordable housing and access to health care. Why can't we just let them eat cake?
What makes someone who is an open member of a marginalized group cross the line into collaborating with the oppressor? There's always the usual explanations of wealth, influence, and race privilege. Certainly, that explains the motivation of the A-gay men featured in that NY Times article.
It may just be me, but I have a harder time understanding this when the collaborator is a lesbian.
Yet, we see it all the time, whether we're talking about TERFs who share Weiss' anti-trans, pro-JK Rowling point of view or journalists like lesbian Tammy Bruce who is now the official spokesperson for the Trump State Department, happily explaining why we have cut off foreign aid to hungry children and people living with HIV/AIDS.
If we had a Head Lesbian or even a Lesbian Steering Committee, I would appeal to them to institute ex-communication and hand them a list of prospects. Alas, such a benevolent ruler does not exist, and probably that's a good thing.
Instead, for now, our best option is to simply change the channel on our TV sets and click off CBS. Fortunately, there's always Rachel Maddow, at least for now.
Sapphic Lit and Other Book Stuff
Let Freedom Read Day - Unite Against Book Bans
Check out the Banned Books Week calendar of events to find one near you
Facts and Action for Banned Books Week | GLAAD
Book bans remain widely unpopular: 71% of voters, including 75% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans, oppose efforts to have books removed from their local public libraries and believe that librarians do a good job offering books with diverse viewpoints. Gallup found that 70% of U.S. parents of K-12 students are either completely or somewhat satisfied with the education that their oldest child is receiving.
The Official SCBWI Blog: Book Ban Week 2025 (Oct 5 - 11) - "Censorship is So 1984"
"During Banned Books Week—and especially on Saturday, October 11, the Let Freedom Read Day of Action—we must make noise together. Here’s how we can stand up: Defend our fundamental rights to read and speak freely by proudly using them. Speak out on behalf of those already targeted, intimidated, or silenced. Read and share their stories. Voice your concerns about censorship in a letter to the editor or by calling your elected representatives. Ask them to defend the right to read in your community. Gather to support our libraries and librarians, teachers and students, authors and bookstores."
The Fanficification of Publishing: Breakthrough or Big Mistake? - Bookstr
Once the internet’s dirty little secret, fanfiction has become a publishing darling. One fanfic enthusiast weighs in on the implications.
Who decides what goes on bookstore shelves?
As a buyer, I make all the decisions about frontlist (forthcoming) books, starting with whether or not we will stock the book to how many copies we will get to whether the book will be displayed in a prominent place at the store.
To make these decisions, I consider a range of factors: my bookstore’s personality, my own instincts and preferences, the publisher’s marketing information, the sales rep’s opinion, and sales data like comps and the author’s sales track record. Sales track is important, but it is never my only factor.
What to Look for When Hiring a Freelance Editor
If you or someone you know is looking for a decent freelance editor, here are some very easy rules I suggest:
- Google this editor beyond just their website.
Dark Academia Grows Up - Public Books
dark academia tends to present a vision of academic life that has far more to do with fantasy than reality. Dark academia is magical, murderous, melodramatic. It tends to be interested in Gothic questions, like whether we can bury a sin for good. The characters don’t care about the particularities of the academic job market. They’re more interested in questions like who murdered their classmate and whether the evidence points to a poisoned book or the necromantic rituals of a secret society.
Patreon Prepares Newsletter Revamp, Courts Substack Writers
The platform is testing upgrades to its email tools as part of a broader media push
Persistence and Risk Taking: Lessons from an Earlier Generation of Lesbian Moms - Mombian
In Radical Family: Trailblazing Lesbian Moms Tell Their Stories (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), Mooney and the other contributors write of forming and sustaining their families at a time of fewer rights for and less awareness of queer families. All of the women lived in Madison, Wisconsin, a relatively progressive town in a more conservative state, but their stories reflect part of the larger “gayby boom” across the country.
News For A Challenging Time
‘The Librarians’ Review: What Should Children Read? - The New York Times
Nine librarians are profiled in Kim A. Snyder’s gripping documentary about censorship in public schools.
PEN America's New Censorship Report: 'A Disturbing Normalization' of Book Bans
Classifying the year between July 2024 and June 2025 as “the fourth school year of the book-ban crisis nationwide, PEN America’s research program counted 6,870 instances of book bans in 23 states and 87 public school districts, with Florida in the lead (2,304 instances), followed by Texas (1,781 instances) , and Tennessee (1,622 instances).
Netflix Cancels Beloved Trainwreck 'Ultimatum: Queer Love' | Autostraddle
This comes after two absolutely bananas seasons that provided endless conversational fodder for endless lesbian group chats throughout the summers of 2023 and 2025.
The original, heterosexual edition of The Ultimatum will continue to air.
“A Revolutionary, Life-Changing Experience”: Conservative Christian Lesbians Are Coming Out Later in Life
Experts say this late realization is rooted in what’s known as compulsory heterosexuality: a cultural and religious pressure that makes straightness feel not just normal, but mandatory. For women shaped by strict gender roles and purity culture, recognizing attraction to other women can be delayed by years.
Lesbian Comic Jessica Kirston Expresses "Sincere Regret," Donates After Riyadh Performance | Them
“To my fans: I see you. I hear you. Your voice matters to me,” Kirson wrote. “I love you all, and I am genuinely sorry for making a poor decision that had repercussions I didn’t fully consider. I will take full responsibility for my actions and dedicate myself to making amends, so that my words and choices reflect the respect and care you deserve.”
Lynn Faria named next CEO of SAGE, succeeding Michael Adams
Board of directors co-chair Loren Ostrow noted that Faria, as CEO, “will further broaden the scope of SAGE’s work across the country to ensure that LGBTQ+ people from every corner of America are able to age with respect and dignity.”
Culture and Joy
Gillian Anderson’s Runway Debut Has The Internet In Shambles - GO Magazine
The show, called Liberty. Equality. Sisterhood. Because You’re Worth It., celebrated women of all ages and backgrounds, with Anderson joining a line-up that included Helen Mirren, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Cara Delevingne, and Kendall Jenner.
After winning gold, Olympic hero Jade Carey sticks the landing with her coming out post & girlfriend reveal - Queerty
After Carey did her girlfriend reveal, the sports world celebrated. Olympic heroes such as Adam Rippon and Steven Nedoroscik offered their support in the comments.
But the couple’s most noticeable backer was Simone Biles, who proclaimed the pair to be “freaking cuuuuuute” with a heart emoji.
Jennifer Tilly on the legacy of queer neo-noir ‘Bound’ nearly 30 years later: “It was considered detrimental to your career to play a lesbian character”
“When we went in, they said to us, ‘You will not believe the actresses who refused to come in and read’ because it was considered detrimental to your career to play a lesbian character,” Tilly told The Blade on the Sept. 27 red carpet at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. “But I was astonished because I thought, ‘This is the best script that I’ve read in such a long time with one of the best roles for women.’”
Inside DapperQ Ten: NYFW's Largest Display Of Queer Fashion - GO Magazine
Fi Black, owner of DykeMint, took us through their creative process before the show. Their line, “Butches Contain Multitudes,” was co-created with their wife, Lita. Fi described the throughline of the piece as a desire to expand what butchness means and looks like—particularly using their one-of-one pieces to broaden conceptions of gender expression that typically box butches in.
TriviAmore Offers a Brainy Twist on Sapphic Speed Dating -
And while TriviAmore began as a heterosexual-oriented dating version of classic bar trivia, Feuer soon introduced the first sapphic iteration. Though he himself identifies as a straight cisgender man, Feuer recognized an equal appeal for trivia speed dating for the LGBTQ+ community, and for the sapphic TriviAmores, he is mindful to employ a host who identifies as a member of the community.
Onstage, Chappell Roan Is a Powerhouse. And Exactly Where She Wants to Be. - The New York Times
The two shows I attended were electric: Not so much a preview of what comes next for Roan as a kind of post-credits victory lap to close out the triumphantly drawn-out album cycle of her 2023 sleeper hit “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” which chronicles a young, queer woman’s romantic self-discovery. Though the album revels in bubble gum synth-pop, live, Roan and her all-female band dialed the material’s latent rock ’n’ roll impulses up to 11.
The Dinah's Mariah Hanson Takes Her Final Bow - GO Magazine
The Mistress of Mischief kicks off her final Dinah celebration this weekend! In this exclusive interview, Hanson takes GO through the ups and downs of the iconic festival.
Elliot Page Debuts New Relationship With Julia Shiplett
Back in June, a few weeks after the pair attended a NY Liberty game together, Elliot shared a selfie with Julia on a rainbow street
Reneé Rapp Says Her Dream Role Is Playing Olivia Benson’s Lover On 'SVU' - GO Magazine
“Let me tell ya. I would be Mariska Hargitay’s lover,” she said, flipping her hair. “She would be gay, finally.”
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons Didn't Mean To Come Out As Bisexual | Them
The Modern Family star talks about launching her music career and why she was surprised by the reaction to her coming-out TikTok.
Trailblazing Lesbian Surfer Pauline Menczer Gets Long-Overdue Statue - GO Magazine
Waverley Council in eastern Sydney has approved the construction of a bronze statue of Menczer at Bondi Beach, the very place where she learned to surf as a teenager and the only beach in Australia to produce a world champion surfer of any gender.
'Hunting Wives' Star Malin Akerman on the Show's Lesbian Fandom and Shooting Sapphic Sex Scenes | Them
When Katz brought up the “ravenous lesbain fandom” the show has amassed, partly because of its depiction of sex between women, Akerman responded by saying that the love from women who love women has been “so wonderful.”
Helpful Tools
Google's Browser-Based Video Editor Is Now Available for Free
Google Vids is quite decent. My favorite thing about it is that if you have no idea how you want to present a video, it has several built-in templates to help you get started.
A Terrific Quote
Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
Once you realize that you can do something, it would be difficult to live with yourself if you didn’t do it.