Listening to Johnathan Bailey as Dracula in the new audible adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel not only had me weak at the knees (“DRINK FROM ME!!”) but also got me thinking about the relationship between queerness and monsters. With gay Christmas AKA Halloween around the corner, it feels like the right time to ask ourselves why the idea of becoming some dreadful beast is hotter than hell.
It’s something queer musician and one third of band The xx, Oliver Sim, explores on his album Hideous. The opening track beautifully makes the connection between his HIV diagnosis at 17 and his self-concept as monstrous – an idea he leans into heavily in the visuals, reclaiming the darkest, most shameful parts of himself and bringing them into the light.
Why are LGBTQIA+ people still saying ‘I do’ to lavender marriages?
Historically, a sham marriage between a gay man and a lesbian, or between a straight and a gay person, afforded the couple both societal security and a prohibited sexual freedom. But what’s the appeal of this arrangement today? JJ Croucher investigates
