We've Been Here

Parties and protests: The photographs of Phyllis Christopher

The iconic photographer captured textured, erotic and political images of San Francisco lesbians as they were

By Cody Corrall

Drag Race

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11’ puts forth the best bracket ever, thanks to an incredibly charismatic cast

Six brackets in, the Tournament of All Stars format has finally figured out the perfect formula

By Kevin O'Keeffe

TV & Film

The big twist in ‘Blood Lines’ is more than shocking

Gail Maurice’s queer Métis romance takes a massive risk—letting it dig deep into the pain and loss perpetuated by colonial structures

By Colby Payne

Pop culture

This university professor is bringing ‘Heated Rivalry’ to the classroom

Through a lecture series and syllabus, UBC’s JP Catungal encourages discussions about what Shane Hollander’s Japanese-Canadian identity means in the world of “Heated Rivalry”

By Jacob Aron Leung

We've Been Here

This 1919 gay rights movie was almost erased from history

“Different from the Others” is considered one of the first sympathetic portrayals of gay men on film. It was nearly destroyed

By Cody Corrall

TV & Film

‘Girls Like Girls’ once meant everything to me. I’ve outgrown it

Hayley Kiyoko’s new movie tries to recapture the magic of the mid-2010s music video it’s based on. But time has dulled its revolutionary edge

By Tobin Ng

TV & Film

‘Maddie’s Secret’ is the movie about eating disorders we need

John Early’s pastiche of after-school specials mixes belly laughs with gut punches. It’s a rare masterwork

By Barry Levitt

The Xtra Long Read

Van Goth made ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ look easy. But victory has a price

The drag phenom’s run complicated our idea of what a reality TV villain could be. She tells Xtra about clawing her way to the top—and her fight for what comes next

By Daniel Sanchez Torres

TV & Film

Should AI use stop you from seeing ‘Stop! That! Train!’?

Director Adam Shankman told Xtra that the film actually did use some AI in its visual effects

By Mel Woods

TV & Film

‘Stop! That! Train!’ director Adam Shankman says the movie used AI

Shankman sat down with Xtra to talk RuPaul, modern gay cinema—and exactly how much AI was used in his film

By Russ Martin

Consumed

‘Saw’ was my sexual awakening

The series was the centrepiece of a homoerotic middle-school friendship. As I got older, I turned to it for much-needed release

By KC Hoard

Drag Race

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11’ proves even fan favourites aren’t immune to backlash in its second bracket

The contract of trust between production and fans has some viewers looking for evidence of favouritism around every corner

By Kevin O'Keeffe

History

The story behind the forgotten first gay porn film

“The Surprise of a Knight,” the first known queer “stag film,” shows how gender, sexuality and desire have always been fluid

By Jake Hall

We've Been Here

The history of the first gay kiss on British TV

In 1970, Sir Ian McKellen and James Laurenson made history with a kiss in a filmed production of “Edward II”

By Cody Corrall

Censorship

FCC explores adding warning labels for trans content on TV

The U.S. government agency is taking comments on whether television ratings should be updated to signal “controversial gender identity issues”

By Cody Corrall, Mel Woods

Drag Race

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11’ plays it safe for the first bracket—until the very last minute

Already, we see the consequences of only two queens moving forward from each bracket to the semifinals

By Kevin O'Keeffe

TV & Film

Director Bretten Hannam on breaking the ghost story form in their new Indigenous-led thriller

The Two-Spirit filmmaker tells Xtra about twisting time, space and sound in “At the Place of Ghosts”

By Colby Payne

Drag Race

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11’ is a second chance for the bracket format. Will it work this time around?

Early enthusiasm for the Tournament of All Stars last season was dampened by the back half of the season, raising the question of whether this format is viable in the long term

By Kevin O'Keeffe