Visions of sugarplums danced in their heads

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, all of its conventions — the family gatherings, the desperate shopping, the tacky decorations — are still awfully fun to mock and no one did it better than John Waters! “Female Trouble” ranks with “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a holiday classic:

My own Christmas celebrations haven’t been quite so catastrophic. They tend to go more like this:

When family dinner gets extra passive-aggressive, I tend to start imagining this:

And, after staying with my parents for days, I start to thank the underwear people who give us Christmas-themed soft-porn cheese:

Guest-blogging for Boing Boing, sexpert Susie Bright reminds us why children can be a trial this time of year (or any, really):

 

But maybe, if you’re lucky, your holiday just might end up as adorable as Luke and Noah under the mistletoe:

Whoever posted that video, by the way, helpfully labelled it “Luke and Noah Kiss 18” — number one being a full year-and-a-half ago. Still no sign of any sex yet. Is there an Amnesty International for fictional soap opera characters?

But hey, maybe I’ll keep watching, since I’m taking the rest of the week off to eat turkey and defensively explain to relatives that yes, writing is a job and no, I am not done with “that gay thing” yet. Have a merry week and I’ll see you Monday!

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

Keep Reading

Josh Silver

‘Fruit Fly’ author Josh Silver has a sweet tooth—and the summer’s buzziest book

The English writer talks the duality of social media, how nursing helped his draft—and the cost of massive success

How ‘North of North’ is introducing Indigenous queer dramedy to a global stage

Actors Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq on learning about forgiveness and queerness through their award-winning show
Barbara Hammer

Barbara Hammer’s endless influence

The lesbian filmmaker made a radical difference by making work that reflected her real life. A new documentary is cementing her legacy
Collage with two hands holding a bat, swinging towards a baseball with a dollar sign on it, against a blue background with a net, baseball player and the Olivia logo on an outfield sign

Why the WPBL partnering with a lesbian travel company matters

Support from lesbian brands and bars harks back to the queer history of women’s sport leagues
Advertisement