Big, throbbing heart-on

Fill up your box with awesome queer valentines


Valentine’s Day is tragically un-genderfucked, non-flaming and dismally heterosexual. Luckily, I’ve got a couple of artists who are prepared to give you and your significant other(s) an affection erection.

We’ll start with the somewhat more wholesome, though nonetheless adorable, valentines of Shira Spector. Not Your Grandma’s Valentines are cards for super-cool queer and trans kids, queer spawn and their families and friends. A particular favourite of mine is a picture of a kid in sparkly-glam outfit, proclaiming “Boys are beautiful.” Packs of Spector’s cards are available for $8.

Sissydude John Webster creates the most completely badass valentines, which he makes available on his blog each year. Previous collections include some genderqueer-ing and porn-y valentines from 2012, dirty squirt.org valentines from 2013, and a collection of cards inspired by HBO’s Girls this year, for the cynical, awkward, depressive millennial in your heart.

So whether it’s a holiday you spend with your super queer family or spreading love like you spread your legs, happy V-Day.

Michael Lyons is a queer-identified, chaotic neutral writer, activist, misanthrope, sapiosexual, and feline enthusiast. He is a columnist, blogger and regular contributor with Xtra and has contributed to Plenitude Magazine, KAPSULA Magazine, Crew Magazine, Memory Insufficient e-zine, The Ryersonian, Buddies Theatre blog, Toronto Is Awesome blog and Fab Magazine and more.

Keep Reading

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ delivers a wildly entertaining finale—after a waste-of-time semifinals

It’s hard to figure out just what producers were thinking with this merge format
Andrea Gibson, left, and Megan Falley, the subjects of the film "Come See Me in the Good Light," pose for a portrait during the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in Park City, Utah.

Andrea Gibson helped me see life in the good light

Gibson’s poetry about queerness and mortality taught thousands of people how to reject apathy and embrace life
Collage of greyscale photos of a sofa, chair, shelf and the lower bodies of two people, against a purple and pink background

We need queer gathering spaces more than ever

The 11-part series “Taking Space” explores where we go next as the lights of gay bars dim

Summer 2025 is all about the moustache

OPINION: But never forget that a silly little moustache will always be a little bit gay