Here on the eve of Pride 2025, it’s time to brush up on our queer pop culture history. Pride means copious glitter and unbridled joy. But it also means sly subversion and, when necessary, shade.
Some of the most iconic queer moments on screen happen when a queer character dresses down someone who dared bring hate to the party — or simply shows up visibly and gloriously queer when they aren’t “supposed” to. Whether it’s a quiet kiss or a double-standard-blasting monologue, these are scenes that make sure you’ll never forget that we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not settling for anything less than respect.
‘Paris Is Burning’ (1990)
Dorian Corey’s ‘shade vs. reading’
The origin story. Dorian Corey breaks down the art of the read in a way that’s scholarly, savage and impossible to forget. This isn’t just vocabulary, it’s survival, and Corey wrote the manual.
