Author: Read with Pride

Let’s talk about the gridiron: that testosterone-fueled world of shoulder pads, bone-crushing tackles, and touchdown celebrations. For decades, American football has been one of the last bastions of hypermasculinity in professional sports, a place where being openly gay felt about as welcome as a fumble in the final seconds. But things are changing, slowly but …

Tackling Taboos: Gay Men in American FootballRead More

There’s something undeniably sexy about a man in uniform. Now imagine two of them, trapped together in a cockpit for hours at a time, cruising through clouds at 35,000 feet with nothing but autopilot and unresolved tension between them. Welcome to one of the most criminally underused tropes in MM romance: workplace romance among pilots. …

The Cockpit Secret: Love at 35,000 FeetRead More

There’s something undeniably powerful about a person in uniform taking command: whether it’s steering a 747 through turbulent skies or navigating the complexities of living authentically in a traditionally conservative field. For gay captains around the world, every flight is both a professional achievement and a quiet act of visibility. Let’s talk about what it …

Flight Deck Feelings: Life as a Gay CaptainRead More

When you think of first-class service, what comes to mind? Champagne at 30,000 feet? Perfectly pressed uniforms? A smile that makes you feel like the most important passenger on the plane? Now add this: what if that impeccable service came with the freedom to be authentically yourself? The aviation industry has long been synonymous with …

First Class Service, World Class IdentityRead More

There’s something beautifully poetic about airports. They’re liminal spaces where goodbyes turn into hellos, where strangers become travel buddies, and where thousands of stories intersect at 30,000 feet. For the LGBTQ+ community, aviation has become more than just a way to get from Point A to Point B: it’s a literal and metaphorical bridge connecting …

Connecting the World: Aviation and LGBTQ+ UnityRead More

There’s something undeniably magnetic about a pool full of gay men in Speedos. But beyond the obvious eye candy, swimming has quietly become one of the most beloved sports in the LGBTQ+ community, and the reasons go way deeper than just aesthetics (though we’re not complaining about those either). Whether you’re doing laps at your …

Making a Splash: Why Swimming is a Gay FavoriteRead More

There’s something undeniably romantic about the connection between rider and horse, the trust, the discipline, the elegance of movement. For the LGBTQ+ community, equestrian sports have quietly become a surprisingly welcoming space, offering opportunities for expression and competition that many other athletic arenas still struggle to provide. And if you’re a fan of MM romance …

Saddled with Pride: The World of Gay EquestrianismRead More

www.readwithpride.com There’s something beautifully defiant about a bunch of gay men choosing to play rugby. For decades, rugby represented everything the LGBTQ+ community supposedly wasn’t: rough, aggressive, hypermasculine. But in 1995, six brave men walked into a London pub and said, “Screw that narrative.” What started as a small gathering at the Central Station pub …

Rucking for Representation: The Rise of Gay RugbyRead More

There’s something undeniably queer about tennis. Maybe it’s the individual spotlight, the fierce independence, or the fact that success is measured entirely on your own terms. Whatever it is, tennis has been a surprising haven for LGBTQ+ athletes throughout history, even when the rest of the world wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat. From …

Game, Set, Match: The Queer History of TennisRead More

There’s something magical about watching a figure skater glide across the ice, the way they transform cold, hard surfaces into canvases for breathtaking artistry. The spins, the jumps, the costumes that shimmer under arena lights. But beneath all that sequined beauty lies a story that’s been hiding in plain sight for over a century: figure …

Gliding with Grace: Figure Skating's LGBTQ+ LegacyRead More

Soccer, or football, depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on, has always been more than just a game. It’s passion, culture, and community wrapped up in 90 minutes of athletic excellence. But for far too long, LGBTQ+ players had to hide who they were to play the sport they loved. Thankfully, that’s changing. …

The Beautiful Game: Soccer's Gay RevolutionRead More

There’s something inherently queer about track and field: the unapologetic display of physicality, the tight uniforms, the raw vulnerability of putting everything on the line in front of thousands of spectators. And yet, for decades, LGBTQ+ athletes sprinted, jumped, and threw in silence, closeted by a sports culture that demanded they hide their authentic selves …

Track and Field: Sprinting Toward EqualityRead More

There’s something electric about the sound of sneakers squeaking on hardwood, the swish of a net, and the roar of a crowd. Basketball has always been a sport of connection, teammates reading each other’s movements, building trust, and creating something bigger than themselves. But for decades, one question hung in the air like a contested …

Shooting Hoops: Gay Presence in BasketballRead More

Let’s talk about a sport that doesn’t usually make headlines in LGBTQ+ spaces: golf. Yeah, that one with the plaid pants, the hushed commentators, and the little white ball that somehow costs more than your monthly streaming subscriptions combined. But here’s the thing, while other sports have had their loud, activist moments (and rightfully so), …

On the Green: The Quiet Inclusion of GolfRead More

Sydney Harbour during World War II wasn’t just a strategic naval base: it was a crucible of connections, fleeting moments, and stolen kisses under the shadow of uncertainty. When American sailors began flooding into Sydney in 1942, the port city transformed into a vibrant, chaotic melting pot where thousands of young men from different corners …

Waiting for the Tide: Australia's Wartime PortsRead More

War has a way of stripping everything down to what matters most. When bombs fall and empires crumble, love doesn’t wait for permission, it just happens. And during the liberation of Italy between 1943 and 1945, amidst the rubble of fascism and the chaos of Allied advance, countless untold stories of forbidden romance bloomed in …

Vines and Victory: Romance During the Italian LiberationRead More

There’s something about bombs falling from the sky that puts everything into perspective. When the sirens wailed across London during the Blitz, people had seconds to make a choice: take shelter or take your chances. But for some men loving men in 1940s London, the air raid shelters became more than just refuges from German …

Love in the Air Raid Shelters: London Under the BlitzRead More

History has a way of hiding its most intimate stories in the margins. Between the official war records and sanitized accounts of battles lies another narrative, one of connection, tenderness, and quiet rebellion against a world determined to keep certain loves invisible. Welcome to the Western Front, 1916. Where mud, blood, and fear created an …

Trenches and Tender Moments: WWI's Quiet BondsRead More

There’s something achingly romantic about Berlin in the 1920s: a city that sparkled with sequins and champagne while dancing on the edge of an abyss. For a brief, glorious moment between the collapse of Imperial Germany and the rise of the Third Reich, Berlin became the queer capital of the world. It was a place …

Cabarets and Courtesies: Berlin's Weimar TwilightRead More

www.readwithpride.com Picture this: the USS Enterprise cutting through the Pacific waters, 1943. Below deck, in the cramped quarters where sailors sleep stacked like sardines, two men exchange a glance that lasts a second too long. That look: charged with everything they can’t say: could cost them everything. Their careers. Their freedom. Maybe even their lives. …

Anchored Hearts: Gay Sailors in the Pacific TheaterRead More