Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a coming of age novel about two young men who are figuring out their sexuality. It was written by out gay writer Benjamin Alire Saenz. Buy it here.
Pride season is right around the corner, and while that means that your calendar is probably full of parties and parades, there are also Black Pride marches and festivities happening all across the country that should move to the top of your Pride Month calendar.
Pride Month is about demanding space and celebrating marginalized LGBTQ+ identities, but sometimes the Black queer community can be left out of the equation. That’s why Black Pride Month events are so important.
The very first Black Gay Pride event took place in 1991, when DC Black Pride had its inaugural celebration, paving the way for a movement of Black Pride protests and festivals across the United States. What has become a way to celebrate identity and demand a seat at the table started in response to how Black LGBTQ+ communities were disproportionately affected by the AIDS epidemic and encourages Black people to celebrate their own culture and heritage. Since then, events have cropped up all over the country to champion Black rights and joyfully gather in community with one another.
Don't see an event you're excited about? Email us at news@equalpide.com and we'll add it to the calendar.
Keep scrolling to see all of the amazing Black Pride Month events happening in America!
DC Black Pride (May 23 - 26)
Nicole Glass Photography/Shutterstock
This year Washington, DC will be home to the WorldPride celebration, but that’s not all. There will also be a four-day-long Black Pride festival that will feature electrifying parties, glamorous balls, health and wellness breakout sessions, and dynamic performances.
Tri-State Black Pride in Memphis, Tennessee will have a drag brunch, “dripping wet” pool party, and a music festival, and although you have to buy tickets the events make it worth the price of admission.
New Orleans knows how to do Pride right! The Black Pride weekend will start with a mixer before the Black Queer summit with panels, workshops, and meaningful conversations. There will also be a country-themed party, a community festival in Armstrong Park, a Nightcap Party with live DJs, and a Gospel Drag Brunch.
Indy Pride’s BLQ+ event is one part Pride celebration and one part Juneteenth event. The day is a way to honor the history of Junneteenth and the resiliency and solidarity of the Black queer and trans community.
On June 28, downtown Greenville, South Carolina, will become the home of the Black Pride Festival. The day will start with a march and end with a festival that is both an opportunity and celebration of the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community.
This year’s Harlem Pride has a “Kween & Qing” theme that will honor the unique contributions of community leaders. There will be a Kween and Qing pageant and crowning ceremony, a Pride Sweet 16 party, and a festival with live performances, local vendors, community resources, and amazing food.
San Francisco Soul of Pride is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. What started as a place to uplift Black LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco has become a vibrant celebration that blends art, activism, and fellowship. There will be performances, art, and activism during Pride weekend that will celebrate the rich diversity of the Black queer community.
Hosted by the Boston LesBiGay Urban Foundation, Boston Black Pride takes place over five days and includes a Pride Parade and music and arts festival. There will also be an open mic night party, a teen party, an R&B brunch, a Black Pride Ball, and a Met Gala.
LA Black Pride is a five-day festival meant to uplift and celebrate the Black LGBTQ+ community, and includes an R&B party, a block party, a brunch, a Soul Sunday event at The Abbey.
The 8th annual Black Pride RVA Festival takes place in Richmond, Virginia, and kicks off with a big party, which is meant to celebrate unity and culture. The rest of the event includes a Root Award ceremony at the Black History Museum, a Day of Purpose festival, a Blacktopia Ball, and a Pride in the Park celebration.
Twin Cities Black Pride celebration will include an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions within the Black LGBTQ+ community, a party boat, and a Sip, Paint, and Smoke event where a relaxed atmosphere, drinks, painting, and socializing.
TikTok creator Josselyn Morris and her livestreamed speed dating show.
Footage still via TikTok @Josselynmorris; Courtesy of Josselyn Morris
Queer joy is a radical act, so join us each week for more stories that uplift, resist, and shine. For more stories on Queer Joy, click here.
While people everywhere are becoming disillusioned with dating apps and are desperately seeking new ways to find love and connection, one TikToker is forging a new path for her LGBTQ+ Gen Z peers.
What started as the dream of a queer woman with only $600 left to her name has turned into a viral sensation and created a community for queer people to find love in the messiest way possible.
Josselyn Morris, a 26-year-old rising star on TikTok, started the app’s first-ever livestream LGBTQ+ speed dating show that has now grown to have more than 370,000 followers and gets a minimum of 50,000 viewers per night. She streams four nights a week to help queer singles find love on her TikTok live show. Some singles have applied to be on the show, and others are picked from the live audience so that Morris can help them find a match.
“I started this show with $600, a ring light, and a dream. And now there are people saying they found the love of their life in my comments section? That’s unreal,” Morris tells PRIDE.
The premise is as simple and effective as it is wildly entertaining: Morris holds up a sign that says “LGBTQ+ Speed Dating” and has a split screen with the curious single she invited on the show, and tries to connect them with people in the chat who feel a spark with the guest.
“The space I’ve built became what I needed when I was most alone—and now it’s that for thousands of other people too,” she says. “People come back every week. They root for each other. They stay. That means more than views ever could.”
HOW DID I DO YA’LL BE HONEST 😫👀💍👀 CONGRATS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE @ROSE 🌹 @🏳️🌈BBBOŚŠŞȘWWWÖMBMÅŅ👄👅 #wedding #marriage #marriagehumor #lgbtq #lgbtqia #🏳️🌈 #married #josselynmorris
Sometimes Morris helps people find a match and other times the people in the chat investigate the guest and figure out they’re actually in a relationship already or are lying about themselves. Combine that with Morris’ hilarious facial expressions, and sharp sense of humor and you’re in for an entertaining night even if no one finds love. Think speed dating mixed with internet sleuthing, and reality TV shows like Catfish and Maury.
Yes, it’s messy and full of gay chaos, but it’s also sweet and hopeful as young LGBTQ+ find love and build community on an app that can often make people feel even more isolated and pressured to be performative.
“It can be chaotic, funny, and unpredictable, but it’s also full of warmth, connection, and real vulnerability,” Morris explains. “Every night is different. One moment someone’s cracking jokes, the next someone’s talking about what it’s like to date while not being fully out. That kind of shift feels natural because the space allows for all of it.”
Originally from Yuma, Arizona, Morris knows what it’s like to be Black and queer in a small town with no community. A self-proclaimed stud, she started her TikTok channel with one main goal: to create an LGBTQ+ dating show made by and for the community.
And she’s found success doing just that. She’s created a community of devoted followers, who call themselves “Team White Braids,” has helped create 100 real queer relationships, was once even invited to a proposal between two contestants on her show, and heard that one couple she set up has a baby on the way.
“It’s become this tight-knit, almost sacred digital living room. We’re live almost every night, and the energy is always the same: safe, chaotic in the best way, and full of love,” Morris says. “You don’t need a label, a storyline, or a “look” to belong here. People who aren’t even out yet–people from towns where there’s no gay scene–come here and feel seen.”
Her live queer dating show proves that love is messy and radical joy is not only possible, but is at your fingertips four nights a week.
Back in 1993 the direct action group the Lesbian Avengers organized the very first Dyke March in response to how male-dominated LGBTQ+ space were at the time. It started as a raucous show of solidarity, joy, and anger, and in the decades since, it has continued to be a way for Dyke-identifying folks to build community and fight back against an unjust system.
Much like the first Pride Parade, the first Dyke March was a protest, not a party, and that indomitable spirit of radical resistance and claiming of space is still alive in today’s Dyke Marches. Thousands of lesbians march for visibility, justice, and community every year in marches across the country, and now the events are more inclusive than ever before. Modern Dyke Marches work hard to fight for the most marginalized dykes, and welcome all dyke-identifying members of the cis, trans, and nonbinary community.
There are fewer Dyke Marches now than there were in past decades which is why we need to celebrate them and march and protest alongside the rest of the sapphic community.
Don't see an event you're excited about? Email us at news@equalpide.com and we'll add it to the calendar.
Keep scrolling to see the radical Dyke Marches happening all across the country!
Dyke March Long Beach (May 16)
Erendira Elizabeth/Shutterstock
Dykes and their allies will gather at Bixby Park in Long Beach for the annual Dyke March. This year, the organizers are hoping to make it the biggest event in the march’s history and are encouraging participants to posters, drums, and chants so the community can take a stand and make some noise together.
On the Saturday before Philly Pride, the Philly Dyke March will take off from Kahn Park at noon. Not only will dyke-identifying folks and their allies march through the city, but there will also be a drag showcase on Friday, May 30 at William Way.
During WEHO Pride week there will be a Women’s Freedom Festival and a Dyke March, put on by the The L-Project, a lesbian nonprofit that promotes and supports LGBTQ+ BIPOC women and nonbinary creatives. The Dyke March is lead by the motorcycle group Pride Riders LA, who are starting the very first LA chapter of Dykes on Bikes.
Not only is Washington DC home to WorldPride 2025, but it was the site of the very first Dyke March back in 1993. This year’s DC Dyke March theme is “Dykes Against Fascism” because the organizers are just as sick of Trump’s presidency as we all are. “With the new administration, we are enraged, mobilized, and READY to take to the streets,” The DC Dyke March Instagram account posted. “We’ve had ENOUGH!! —so bring your signs, your rage, and your community to march with us on June 6th at 7 PM!“
LA Pride’s Dyke March has been going on for more than two decades and is one of the biggest in the country. This year, it will take place on June 8 at the Sal Guarriello Veterans' Memorial on Santa Monica Blvd. The night will start with a live DJ set and protest sign making workshop, followed by guest speakers and a rally. Then, the night will culminate in a march down Santa Monica Blvd to San Vicente and back, ending in another live DJ set.
The Boston Dyke March, which started back in 1995, is a grassroots Pride event that will have musical performances, guest speakers, and community tables before the march itself. The event is not only focused on anti-capitalism and intersectional gender liberation but also values accessibility, which is why masks are required, it’s wheelchair and scooter accessible, and will have an ASL interpreter.
The NYC Dyke March will start at Bryant Center on June 28, where thousands of people will march through the street in protest discrimination, harassment, and violence, but also celebration of the rich diversity of the dyke community. This large-scale event welcomes everyone “regardless of gender expression or identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, race, age, political affiliation, religious identity, ability, class, or immigration status.”
This year will mark the 33rd annual San Francisco Dyke March, held on the Saturday befor ethe big Pride Parade, which is meant to celebrate the unity of the dyke community, raise visibility, and advocate for justice for dykes around the world. Before the Dyke March there will be a rally at Dolores Park where allies are welcome before the march begins. Just like every year, Dykes on Bikes will be front and center since they got their start at San Francisco’s first Pride Parade way back in 1976. Leading up to the event there will also be a Super Big Gay Dance Party on May 10 to benefit the Dyke March.
From left: 'Annihilation,' Charlie's Angels,' 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.'
Paramount Pictures; Columbia Pictures; A24
Action movies in the ‘80s, ’90s, and early 2000s were dominated by male action heroes, and while women have started to get more rep since then, it’s still almost unheard of to have a queer action movie heroine.
Luckily there have been a handful of action-packed movies with kick ass lesbian, bisexual and queer women fighting the bad guys and taking no prisoners. So if you love a little blood and a good fight sequence alongside your sapphic representation and onscreen lesbian love scenes, then these action movies are for you!
Annihilation
Paramount Pictures
The Alex Garland-directed sci-fi action horror movie Annihilation follows a group of scientists who explore a piece of Florida wilderness that has gone haywire because of an alien presence. The women who risk their lives to enter the quarantine zone include the foul-mouthed lesbian paramedic played by Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez. Not only do you get a soft butch character, but you’ll also get to witness her encounter a mutated “bear” hybrid that will scare the pants off you.
From James Bond to Jason Bourne to Ethan Hunt, men had been dominating spy movies for decades, until MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton, played by Charlize Theron, came along. Theron’s character in the action flick Atomic Blonde is sexy, powerful, kicks ass, and is casually bisexual. The fling Lorraine has with a mysterious brunette is exactly what we want to see on screen: it’s not filmed for the male gaze, there are no overwrought sexual awakening convos, and it’s hot.
The campy, ridiculously fun D.E.B.S. is about a team of teenage crimefighters who attend a clandestine paramilitary academy. The four teen spies, Max, Janet, Dominique, and Amy, are tasked with surveilling the super villainess Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster), who ends up falling for Amy. This quintessentially early aughts movie is a silly good time, and the forbidden relationship between Amy and Lucy is sweeter than it has any right to be.
The heist movie Set if Off, stars ‘90s powerhouses Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Queen Latifah, who plays a butch lesbian single mother named Cleo. In the action film, the women are desperate for money and decide to arm themselves and rob a bank. It’s action-packed, has a firecracker lesbian character, and critiques the system that pushes these inner-city Black women into a life of crime.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the wildest movies you’ll ever see, but it also has a ton of heart, and part of that is the sapphic character Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu. Michelle Yeoh stars as middle-aged Chinese immigrant Evelyn, whose daughter Joy brings her girlfriend home to come out to her grandfather, but her mom shuts her down out of fear of her parents' reaction, even though she is tolerant of Joy’s sexuality. Not only is this movie a surrealistic, action-packed thrill ride, but the commentary around sexuality and immigrant family dynamics will leave you feeling all the feels.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe movie The New Mutants follows a group of young mutants being held in a secret faculty who have to fight to save themselves. The superhero film includes a gay love story between Rahne Sinclair, played by Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, and Danielle Moonstar (Blu Hunt), and is the heart of the movie. Instead of the queer character being on the periphery of the movie or barely acknowledged (ahem Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok), the two young women’s love story is important to the character development of the film.
The 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot movie stars Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinska, and Naomi Scott in a more feminist take on the classic ‘70s TV show. While the original script didn’t have a an explicitly LGBTQ+ character, Stewart portrayed secret agent Sabina Wilson as queer and director Elizabeth Banks was on board for it. "Kristen's character is definitely gay in the movie,” Banks told Pride Source.
The little known 2017 action movie The Archer is about a competitive archer who is sent to a reform camp for girls after kissing a girl and beating up her crush’s abusive boyfriend who interrupted them. While the tone of the movie is a little all over the place, it does have some real lesbian representation and a pointed critique of the juvenile justice system.
The 2017 Power Rangers movie made history by becoming the first time the franchise introduced a queer character in the form of Trini, the Yellow Power Ranger, played by Becky G. Unlike a lot of the other movies on this list, Trini’s sexuality isn’t a big part of the film, but there is a pivotal scene where she’s asked about her “boyfriend problems” and Trini admits she may have “girlfriend problems.” Is it the kind of representation we deserved in 2017? Of course not. But it’s more than the long-running franchise had ever given fans before.
After the disappointment of 2016’s Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey is the candy-coated super hero movie of your feminine dreams. Plus, it has sapphic rep! Not only is Harley Quinn bisexual coded, but there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it visual reference to her dating women in the past, and the new queer character Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) is introduced along with her ex-girlfriend played by Ali Wong.
Deadpool might be pansexual himself but it wasn’t until the sequel to the popular superhero movie that we got an explicitly lesbian character. In Deadpool 2, the foul-mouthed superhero has a lesbian sidekick named Negasonic Teenage Warhead who introduces Deadpool to her girlfriend Yukio and he doesn’t bat an eye.
Lesbian and sapphic athlete couples Anna Petrakova and Candace Parker, as well as Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley with a queer wedding cake in the middle.
Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for adidas; shutterstock creative; Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Pink wedding cake with a "Mrs & Mrs" cake topper.
shutterstock creative
It seems like every year we hear about more queer women athletes who manage to find love and tie the knot. While some like to keep their weddings private, others celebrate their love loudly and share photographs and videos from their weddings with the fans who have always rooted for them.
From teammates who fell for each other while playing their favorite sport to fierce rivals who managed to find love with the enemy to athletes who found a soul mate outside of sports, these women are winning at life and love.
These lesbian and sapphic athletes took the plunge, said “I do,” and then shared their love with the world. It’s enough to make you believe in love again!
Chicago Sky star Courtney Vandersloot and former WNBA player Allie Quigley got married in 2018 when both women were playing for the Sky, setting a record for the first married couple to take home a pro sports championship together when they won the 2021 WNBA Championship. Affectionately known as the “Vanderquigs,” the pair got married in a quiet ceremony in Seattle, Wash. with several members of the Sky in attendance. The wedding may have been private but the couple posted photos in their gorgeous lace wedding dresses for their fans on Instagram.
Retired National Women’s Hockey League stars Anya Packer and Madison Packer tied the knot in 2019 in a beautiful ceremony at a resort in Newport, Rhode Island. Madison wore a white gown with lace details, and Anya sported a navy blue suit for their wedding that featured a lighthouse in the background. The couple has since had two adorable children and launched a parenting podcast called These Packs Puck.
Retired WNBA superstar Candace Parker married former Russian basketball player Anna Petrakova in a quiet ceremony in December 2019 but didn’t go public with their marriage until 2021. Parker shared the news via Instagram by posting photos of their wedding where both women wore white gowns. The couple met way back in 2012 while they were both playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia and now share three children together.
PWHL Montreal Victoire teammates Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey tied the knot in September 2024 in front of 192 family members and friends in Canada. The couple posted videos of the nuptials on social media wearing white gowns and looking happy on their big day. Poulin and Stacey have an impressive hockey record together, taking home gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships as teammates.
Soccer power couple Tziarra King and Jess Fishlock got married in 2023 while playing together on the Seattle Reign. King, who wore a sleeveless lace gown, has since retired from soccer, but Fishlock, who walked down the aisle in a backless, long-sleeved lace dress, is still scoring goals for the Reign. The happy couple is now thinking about having children as part of their next phase of life.
Meghan Duggan and Gillian Apps
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Once fierce rivals on the ice, Meghan Duggan and Gillian Apps walked down the aisle together in 2018. They’ve since retired from professional hockey, but while still playing, the two women were competing on opposing teams. Now the happy couple has put the competition on the back burner and is busy raising their three beautiful children together.
Soccer star Tierna Davidson married wife Alison Jahansouz on New Year’s Eve 2024 and posted photos on Instagram with the caption, "Running into 2025 with my wife,” alongside photos of the ceremony with the couple wearing a matching white dress and suit. The two began dating in 2017 when they were still teammates playing for the Stanford Cardinals and got engaged in March 2023.
After originally meeting on a dating app, Australian soccer star Emily van Egmond tied the knot with photographer Kat Thompson on December 27, 2024, after getting engaged the previous June. At the star couple’s wedding, van Egmond sported a double-breasted tuxedo and Thompson wore a beautiful strapless gown in a ceremony that was covered by Vogue Australia. The happy couple is expecting the first new addition to their family in October 2025.
Australian soccer legend Chloe Logarzo wed her longterm girlfriend, retired American soccer star McKenzie Berryhill, in a gorgeous beachside destination wedding in Thailand in November 2024. The lovebirds started as teammates on the Washington Spirits before beginning to date back in 2019. Then, after the Tokyo Olympics, Logarzo asked Berryhill to marry her, and the couple posted engagement photos on Instagram while in Paris together.
In 2017, retired Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi married three-time WNBA champion Penny Taylor, who also played for the Mercury for most of her professional basketball career. For the Arizona-based ceremony, which was covered by People, Taylor wore a low-cut strapless gown while Taurasi dressed in a simple suit and sneakers. The couple shares two children named Leo and Isla.
Softball stars Amanda Chidester, who took home a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Anissa Urtez got married in June 2024 in Salt Lake City while both were wearing stunning white wedding gowns.
Kirkam/Shutterstock
