TV & Film

Nearly half of all queer characters on TV will disappear next year

An uptick in series endings and cancellations is bad news for queer and trans representation

By Cody Corrall

Censorship

‘Flaming Creatures’ and the censorship of queer art

Jack Smith’s 1963 film “Flaming Creatures” was deemed legally obscene by the U.S. Supreme Court

By Cody Corrall

History

Casa Susanna was a trans safe haven in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Its legacy lives on

In the mid-20th century, Casa Susanna was a refuge for trans women and crossdressers

By Cody Corrall

TV & Film

5 queer horror films to watch this Halloween

Xtra staff members recommend their favourite queer horror films that deliver plenty of scares

By Xtra Staff

Books

Grace Byron’s ‘Herculine’ shows what a trans cult might actually look like

Byron flips right-wing stereotypes about trans people with her frightening and funny debut novel

By Nour Abi-Nakhoul

Taking Space

How BookTok inspired this real-life romance bookstore

Edmonton’s Book Boudoir is building queer-inclusive community one page at a time

By Lauren Kalinowski

Art & Photography

Why is there an AI-generated image in a queer photography exhibit?

The “Queer Lens” exhibition features “Christian en el ‘Amor de Calle,’” the Getty Museum’s first AI-generated image

By Cody Corrall, Mel Woods

Taking Space

Disabled queer organizers refuse to leave anyone behind

From low-sensory spaces to masked events, expanding the menu of options can help make queer spaces accessible to everyone

By Julia Peterson

Arts

In the face of uncertainty, U.S. queer creatives are building alternatives

Federal cuts are forcing LGBTQ2S+ artists and organizations to scramble for survival

By Simon Feisthauer Fournet

Culture

Countess Luann on cabaret superstardom, Kenya Moore and life after ‘The Real Housewives’

“Elegance is learned, my friends,” and the Countess’s class is in session

By Kevin O'Keeffe

TV & Film

‘Anora’ is winning Best Picture at the Oscars. We can all relax

OPINION: The Oscars should go down easy this year, but the gayest categories promise excitement

By KC Hoard

TV & Film

Dying with dignity is a right, not a privilege, in Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘The Room Next Door’

REVIEW: In his first English feature, the storied director delivers a poignant mediation on end-of-life

By Christos Tsirbas

Mental Health

Black queer artists share how they’re ‘holding on to joy’ in 2025

“Joy is in a life lived while you’re alive,” says dancer and choreographer Ravyn Wngz

By Syrus Marcus Ware

Books

A well-known Chinese folk tale gets a queer reimagining in ‘Sister Snake’

Amanda Lee Koe’s novel is a clever mash-up of queer pulp, magical realism, time travel and body horror, with a charged serpentine sisterhood at its centre

By H Felix Chau Bradley

Rainbow Rewind 2024

12 queer and trans books we missed this year

From tales of dramatic family secrets to sweet graphic novels, these titles are worth curling up with

By Xtra Staff

Books

“Ripcord,” turns the midlife crisis story trope on its head

In his latest novel, Nate Lippens explores what it means to be an aging queer artist

By H Felix Chau Bradley

Books

‘Still Life’ captures the messiness of writing trans autofiction

Katherine Packert Burke’s novel explores how little one can really understand about one’s own life while in the middle of living it

By Emily Zhou

TV & Film

‘Cuckoo’ grapples with society’s need to procreate

REVIEW: The Hunter Schafer film is a thrilling examination of the horrors of compulsory heterosexuality and reproduction

By Thea McLachlan