Pride Month is finally upon us!! This is a month to celebrate the fact that you should be able to love whoever you choose! Pride began being celebrated in 1969 after the Stonewall Uprising, a six-day riot after the bar was raided for not having a liquor license. The Stonewall Uprising was the start of the gay rights movement and the first step in achieving equality.
Queer representation is becoming more significant in literature as a reader seems to engage more when they feel seen. As a recently out member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am so happy to share with you these stories with wonderful representation.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) - Evelyn Hugo is a Hollywood icon who has been living as a recluse after her career. She chooses an unknown journalist to tell her life story to in hopes that she will finally be able to tell her home story. Evelyn goes through each of her husbands and eventually tells the story of finally coming into who she is and who she truly loves.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malindo Lo (2022) - A coming of age story as told through the eyes of a young Chinese woman growing up in San Francisco. Lily begins to question her sexuality after seeing an ad for a male impersonator and knows she must see her. Lily discovers that she is not the only person at school questioning themselves and together they explore their feelings for each other and their newfound community.
The Color Purple - Alice Walker (1983) - This is the story of two sisters who are separated but do all they can to maintain contact. Another theme throughout is the love affair between Celia and her husband's mistress, Shug. This love is made clear through not only their acts of intimacy but the way they speak to each other and look out for each other. It should be noted that this is the first Pulitzer Prize winning novel to include a lesbian romance in its story.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fannie Flagg (1987) - Idgie Threadgoode has always been different. She was a tomboy raised by a mother who wanted a little girl to dress and show off. After the death of her brother, Idgie becomes close to his last girlfriend and they end up opening the Whistle Stop Café. Throughout the story, there are underlying themes of love between the two women although they are never explicitly spelled out.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab (2020) - Addie LaRue has lived more lives than anyone could imagine. She lives a life where she leaves no impression on anyone and disappears from memory as soon as the person leaves her sight. After 300 years, Addie finds someone who will never forget her. During her multiple lives, Addie has found herself falling in love with both sexes and not fearing what other people think of her or her life.
The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern (2019) - Zachary Rawlins is a graduate student who discovers a mysterious book that includes wonderful symbolism, key collectors, and prisoners but is then surprised when stories from his childhood appear in the book. Zachary finds himself pulled into the book and traveling across time to finally find his happy ending. It is becoming a beautiful pattern where the main characters in stories are queer and are accepted and loved for who they are as is the case for Zachary.
Thanks to alicia_mb on freepik.com for the beautiful header on this page.