LGBT

Serving queer youth, Camp fYrefly is a space where kids can be kids, free from the marginalization they experience in heteropatriarchal society. This energizing community space is the focus of Jen Markowitz’s debut documentary film “Summer Qamp,” which screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Melding intimate interviews about the experiences and perspectives of some campers alongside footage of them challenging fears at camp, learning about the queer community and bantering over breakfast, Markowitz’s documentary offers a poignant glimpse into a radically transformative summer camp.

Shot in stunning black and white, “Kokomo City” explores the lives and recollections of four Black trans sex workers and their experiences in stunningly candid interviews.

“Blue Jean” emerges as a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant cinematic experience that, while set in the past, discusses issues that are as prominent as ever.

Now that it’s June, one can no longer hide from all the rainbows and corporate-virtue signaling for Pride Month. As someone from the LGBTQ+ community, I wanted to switch it up and give a voice to an underrepresented group: straight men.

I was an only child with lesbian parents; my genetic father was somewhere out there. I’d reached a clear understanding, and shame subsided for acceptance.

Being in an environment that actively undermines your identity can cause so much angst and dread that the only solution is to escape.

The second a gay man wears a dress, the universe explodes. So instead, queer men often focus our energy on these pop divas — the only acceptable way to express our femininity.

Without fear, I finally see sex as what it is: not a big deal.

I’m afraid to come out to people not just because I fear they won’t accept me, but because I’m afraid they won’t believe me.