Favorite fiction about queerness/bodies/gender etc?

[mikky]

Hi everyone!
I’ve been reading a lot in the past few years, and I’ve been enjoying finding fiction that uses the medium to explore gender, sexuality, queerness, reproductive (in)justice, feelings about bodies, and all the other things that we chat about here.

I would love to hear others favorites!

I’ll start:
The Low Low Woods, a graphic novel with words by Carmen Maria Machado and illustrated by DaNi, knocked my effing socks off. This book deals heavily with trauma, memory, and place. I've reread it many times now, and every time I am blown away.

Another graphic novel, The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Osertag, was an absolutely queer and gorgeous depiction of shame, secrets, and family.

[char]

Hi mikky! Love this topic! I'll share my favorites as well.

I usually watch movies/series and play video games, so I'll share works in those formats. A game that came to mind is definitely Butterfly Soup, an indie visual novel by Brianna Lei. Set in a West Coast city in 2008, the story focuses on four queer Asian American youth navigating their unique friendship, budding romance, and playing baseball. As a queer person of color, I love stories that focus on the intersection of marginalized identities! The writing is also top-notch, complete with its own 2000s chatting style and references to the decade's pop culture.

If you're 18+, I'd also recommend Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together. It's definitely not an easy watch -- the gay couple portrayed in the film constantly hurt each other in many ways, so please heed the content warning before watching -- but it's a harrowing reminder that a relationship of any kind needs care, trust, and vulnerability to work. Visually, it's a delight; grayscale scenes are blended with colorful ones not to portray a simple dichotomy of a "stable" and "broken" relationship, but to highlight the nuances in each ups and downs. (I definitely need to see/read/play more lighthearted queer media! T_T)

[Heather]

Ooooh, I love this thread! And Mikky, I love Carmen Maria Machado so much. I haven't read that one yet, though, and I'm excited to. Love your illustrated novel addition, too, char! I'm such a sucker for a graphic novel/comic.

My forever favorite in this department will probably ever be Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.