Me Time
A Time to Weep, a Time to Laugh, a Time to Mourn, and a Time to Dance
For some of us, it is a time of turning and returning. Whether it's because you observe Rosh Hashanah or you are returning to work or school or to home base after summer travels, this is a season of change and reflection.
It is also a time to mourn for the amazing lives lost in recent days. My mother always said trouble comes in threes and we can certainly say that is true for the recent passing of Dolly Parton, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan, three women who used their time with the rest of us to make an incredible difference in so many lives. May their memories be a blessing.
Sapphic Lit and Other Book Stuff
Production Companies, Literary Agents, Foreign Languages: AI-Driven Scams Continue to Morph - Writer Beware
In addition to marketing offers, they now include book club and review scams and a wide variety of impersonation scams, where the goal of initial contact is to steer writers through one or more referrals into paid editing or marketing arrangements. They’ve impersonated well-known writers, literary agents, editors at publishing houses, book festivals (with fake invites), and radio stations and hosts (with fake interview requests).
The one thing the scammers haven’t changed or adapted is the set of markers that have characterized the scams from the start: hyper-personalization coupled with lavish praise (thanks to generative AI) that makes it seem the sender has actual knowledge of the writer’s book; the almost universal use of Gmail addresses; banking/payment information that traces to scammers overseas; and extreme aggressiveness that paradoxically undercuts effectiveness (when you’re getting multiple flattering yet suspiciously similar solicitations every day, they start to seen a tad inauthentic). It’s a business built on volume, so only a small fraction of writers need to be fooled in order for the fraudsters to make money.
Arkansas librarian fired after opposing book ban efforts to receive $275K in settlement | Arkansas Advocate
The settlement comes as librarians question how to enforce a law that would criminalize distributing content considered “harmful to minors”
News For A Challenging Time
Gloria Steinem, Personification of the Women’s Movement, Dies at 92 - The New York Times
Calling herself “an entrepreneur of social change,” Ms. Steinem helped usher in sweeping cultural transformations across virtually every facet of American life, from the boardroom to the courtroom to the bedroom.
Robin Morgan, Voice of Radical Feminism, Dies at 85 - The New York Times
She edited the landmark 1970 anthology “Sisterhood Is Powerful,” led Ms. magazine and helped build the institutions of the modern feminist movement.
This is why Bisexual Awareness Month matters -
Even though they’re one of the biggest communities within the LGBTQIA+ community, they don’t seem to be as strongly together. I feel quite isolated in the queer community and in the straight community. I think that, to me, Bi+ Pride is a moment to enjoy between people that I identify with.
These Are the 10 Safest U.S. Cities for LGBTQ+ Travel - so.gay
the safest U.S. cities queer people can travel to, so that you are always feeling comfortable, happy, proud, and able to live openly and authentically, exactly the way you deserve, far away from the losers, the homophobes, and the backward minds still stuck somewhere in the Stone Age.
The Queerest State in America Might Surprise You - GO Magazine
A new report from the Human Rights Campaign breaks down where we’re here and queer, in the largest numbers.
Who Is Alice Weidel, the Lesbian Leader of Germany’s Far-Right AfD Political Party - GO Magazine
a lesbian who is married to an immigrant Swiss woman and raising two sons with her outside of Germany.
Yes, this is the same person who is now the leader of a political party that deems same-sex marriage unimportant, the nuclear family is the ideal family unit, same-sex couples shouldn’t be allowed to adopt children, and immigration must be halted.
Gay NWSL Player Signs With Saudi Women’s FC, Deletes Photos of Wife and Child | Them
Esther González, a National Women’s Soccer League champion married to a woman, is facing criticism after signing to Al-Qadsiah of Saudi Women’s Premier League.
Culture and Joy
Greta Lee and Rebecca Ferguson’s Sapphic Rom-Com Is Confirmed | Them
the romantic comedy Honeymoon / Funeral, which will focus on two women who have a meet-cute during a flight from L.A. to London, where both women are going for very different purposes.
Q&A: Filmmaker Brydie O’Connor on the making of ‘Barbara Forever’
her documentary, “Barbara Forever,” which is a warm and celebratory film about the groundbreaking lesbian avant-garde filmmaker, Barbara Hammer, who passed away in 2019.
‘Barbara Forever’ looks back at the life of a lesbian director
Barbara Hammer broke ground by finding a new language to speak about lesbians’ experiences.
Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills Are Making Sapphic History on Dancing With the Stars | Them
Sarah Jane Nader — a model and star on Hulu’s reality show Love Thy Nader — is now half of the show’s second all-female pairing and only the third same-sex celeb-pro duo to have ever been featured.
Lesvia review – the rise and fall of an amazing lesbian community on Sappho’s actual island home | Movies | The Guardian
Director Tzeli Hadjidimitriou grew up on Lesbos, and her elegant debut feature explores how the Greek poet’s birthplace became a hub for lesbians
Netflix’s 'The Body' First Look Is Giving Very Lesbian Catholic Schoolgirl Chaos - GO Magazine
The eight-episode series is set to follow a group of Catholic schoolgirls after a dance troupe initiation goes wrong, resulting in them “having prophetic visions that set off mass hysteria in their town.”
6 hot moments from lesbian crime thriller 'Stone Cold Fox'
The film hits theaters on November 7, but while we wait, let’s take a look at the moments in the trailer that have us waiting with bated breath for it to premiere.
SisterSpace Weekend Is Back For Its 51st Year Of Sapphic Joy And Community - GO Magazine
This year’s theme, “Art, Culture, and Community as Resistance,” is fitting for a festival built on the radical idea that queer women and nonbinary people deserve a space to gather, create, celebrate, and simply be themselves.
These TikTok lesbian grandmas are spilling wild gay secrets about the 1960s & the internet is absolutely obsessed - Queerty
The two women, who have been together for nearly 50 years, broke out the scrapbooks and began telling him “stories about their gay life in the ’60s and ’70s.” And it was just as scandalous as you’d expect!
Lesbian Softball Has Been a Tradition for More Than Half a Century | Autostraddle
For ALFA, softball was not only a way to build community but also to engage people in political work to gain rights for women and lesbians in the region and nationally.
Yes, There Are LGBTQ+ Museums - Here Are 10 Of Our Favorites From Around The World - so.gay
Every museum, archive, and cultural institution dedicated to LGBTQ+ history stands not only as a celebration of artistic achievement but as a quiet act of resistance against those who insisted we should never exist at all.
Did 'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright get married? | Out.com
The sapphernet is going wild with speculation that Black Panther, Wakanda Forever and Avengers Doomsday star Letitia Wright has married a woman known only as Angel-Vicki, based on photos circulating online.
WATCH: D’Arcy Carden Celebrates Season 2 Renewal of Peacock’s Smash Hit ‘The Five-Star Weekend’ and Her Character’s Queer Awakening | GLAAD
In a recent interview, GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos sat down with co-star D’Arcy Carden to talk about the show’s phenomenal success and the profound cultural impact of its primary LGBTQ storyline. Carden stars as Brooke Kirtley, a suburban “mom friend” who navigates a stagnant marriage and embarks on a deeply moving, late-in-life queer awakening.
World Cup Champion Ali Krieger Joins New Season of 'The Amazing Race' - GO Magazine
The two-time World Cup Champion will be joined by former NWSL player Joanna Lohman in the competition for the $1 million dollar prize.
Kristen Stewart’s Bold Plan to Bring a Beloved Los Angeles Theater Back to Life | Architectural Digest
How the actor-director is restoring the historic Highland Theatre as a community-centered home for adventurous cinema in LA
'Hunting Wives' Star Brittany Snow on Possibility of Casting Aubrey Plaza and that Viral 'SNL' Skit | Them
it turns out Plaza is on the shortlist of actresses that Wives would love to see as a guest star.
Witchy Ways Casts a Spell With Queer Supernatural Love -
Inspired by A Discovery of Witches and later the tone and world of Practical Magic, Clark began shaping a story about witches, ghosts, and a lesbian romance. As she researched witchcraft, she discovered a community historically unable to live freely as themselves, a theme that resonated deeply.
Brandi Carlile Is Dropping A 'Sad Gay Version' Of Her Latest Album - GO Magazine
Brandi Carlile is reimagining her most recent album, and this one is for the Sad Gays.
Helpful Tools
Countdown Days Since & Until App - App Store
Download Countdown Days Since & Until by Joseph Sferrazza on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like Countdown Days…