Category: Read with Pride – LGBTQ+ blogs and articles

readwithpride.com Tucked away in the dusty archives of Byzantine manuscripts and early Christian texts lies a ceremony that most people have never heard of, and one that the Church would rather you didn’t know about. It’s called adelphopoiesis, which literally translates to “brother-making,” and for over a thousand years, it was an official Church ritual …

Brother-Making: The Church’s Forgotten Same-Sex RitualsRead More

readwithpride.com When you look up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling, you’re not just seeing biblical scenes painted by a Renaissance master. You’re witnessing one of history’s most profound acts of queer resistance: a gay man creating divine beauty for an institution that condemned his very nature. Michelangelo Buonarroti spent decades painting the Vatican’s most sacred …

Divine Desire: Michelangelo and the Men of the VaticanRead More

readwithpride.com The Vatican has always been a place of whispers. Stone corridors, candlelit chapels, and centuries of secrets kept behind ornate doors. But among the most persistent whispers throughout the 20th century was talk of something the Italian press dubbed “la lobby gay” or the “Pink Lobby”: an alleged network of gay clergy operating within …

The Pink Lobby: Behind the Vatican’s Secret NetworksRead More

readwithpride.com Sometimes the most faithful act is the one that gets you kicked out of church. Father John J. McNeill knew this truth better than most. A Jesuit priest who spent nearly four decades in service to his religious community, he made a choice that would define his legacy: speak truth to power, even when …

Faith and Freedom: The Courage of Father John J. McNeillRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the stone walls of medieval monasteries, where men devoted their lives to God and solitude, another story unfolded: one of forbidden desire, secret glances across candlelit chapels, and love that dared not speak its name. While history books often sanitize the past, the reality is far more complex and decidedly more human than …

Cloistered Secrets: Forbidden Love in Medieval MonasteriesRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the gilded doors of the Vatican, beneath centuries of sacred vows and whispered prayers, a secret thrived. For as long as the Catholic Church has existed, gay men have walked its marble halls, celebrated its masses, and shaped its theology. But in 1961, the institution decided it had seen enough. What unfolded was …

The 1961 Purge: The Vatican’s War on Secret LivesRead More

readwithpride.com Let’s talk about Pope John XII, a man who turned the Vatican into what contemporaries described as a literal brothel. Yes, you read that right. The 10th century gave us a pontiff so scandalous that even by medieval standards, people were clutching their pearls. The Boy Who Would Be Pope Born Octavian somewhere between …

The Sinner Pope: The Wild Nights of John XIIRead More

readwithpride.com Picture this: It’s 1974, just five years after Stonewall, and the LGBTQ+ community is still finding its footing in a world that largely wants them invisible. Most people are still deeply closeted, discretion is the name of the game, and the idea of openly celebrating queer identity in public? Absolutely radical. Now imagine boarding …

Sailing into Freedom: The Magic of the First Gay CruiseRead More

readwithpride.com There are moments in history that shimmer with a kind of magic: when something so simple becomes something so profound that it changes everything. June 25, 1978, was one of those days. The San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade was underway, and among the crowds, the chants, and the celebration, something new caught the …

Colors of the Heart: When the Rainbow Flag First FlewRead More

readwithpride.com Picture this: It’s August 1982 in San Francisco. The city is buzzing with energy, and over 1,350 athletes from more than 170 cities around the world are about to make history. Not by breaking world records or winning gold medals, though plenty of those happened too, but by simply showing up. By being visible. …

Going for Gold: The Triumph of the First Gay GamesRead More

readwithpride.com When you think about the 1970s disco scene, what comes to mind? Glitter balls? Platform shoes? Donna Summer’s voice soaring over a pulsing bassline? Sure, all of that. But for the gay community, the disco dance floor was something far more profound: it was sanctuary, liberation, and home all rolled into one sweaty, spectacular …

Disco Sanctuary: The Joy of the 70s Dance FloorRead More

readwithpride.com There are moments in history that shift everything. Moments when the world finally catches up to what love has always known to be true. For LGBTQ+ couples, the legal right to adopt children stands as one of those beautiful, hard-won victories, a recognition that family isn’t just about biology, it’s about commitment, care, and …

Chosen Families: The Joy of Legal Same-Sex AdoptionRead More

readwithpride.com Every May, something magical happens. Across the globe, millions of LGBTQ+ people gather around screens, in bars, living rooms, and watch parties, to witness what can only be described as the queerest night on television. The Eurovision Song Contest isn’t just a music competition. It’s become our unofficial holiday, our Super Bowl, our collective …

Europop and Pride: Why Eurovision is Our Ultimate CelebrationRead More

readwithpride.com There are moments in history when you can literally feel the weight lift. When a generation collectively exhales after holding their breath for far too long. The repeal of Section 28 was one of those moments, a legislative victory that meant so much more than just words on paper. It was about reclaiming voices, …

Voices Unsilenced: The Joy of Repealing Section 28Read More

readwithpride.com Picture this: It’s 1996. You’re sitting in front of a chunky beige computer, waiting for your dial-up modem to screech its way onto the internet. Your parents think you’re researching for school. You’re actually about to meet someone who might change your life. For queer people in the 1990s, the internet wasn’t just a …

You’ve Got Love: The First Digital Romances of the 90sRead More

readwithpride.com For decades, queer audiences knew the drill: fall in love with a character who finally gets to be themselves, watch them find happiness, and then brace yourself for the inevitable tragedy. The “bury your gays” trope wasn’t just a storytelling pattern, it was practically a genre requirement. But somewhere between the 2010s and now, …

The Happy Ending: When Queer Stories Finally Found Their JoyRead More

readwithpride.com Picture this: June 26, 2009, Toronto. A small group expects maybe ten people to show up for something that’s never been done before. Instead, over 1,500 people flood the streets, marching from Bloor and Church to Church and Wellesley. The air is electric with joy, defiance, and something that had been missing for too …

Total Inclusion: The Joy of the First Trans Pride MarchesRead More

The Two Faces Every Japanese Salaryman Wears (And What Happens When One Is Gay) Picture this: It’s 6:47 PM on a Thursday in Tokyo. Takeshi straightens his tie in the restroom mirror of his corporation’s 23rd-floor office. His reflection shows exactly what he’s supposed to be: impeccable suit, neutral expression, the perfect image of a …

Honne vs. Tatemae: The Salaryman’s MaskRead More

There’s a workshop in eastern Kyoto where broken things become whole again. Not the way they were: never that: but something different. Something luminous. The artisan who works there doesn’t hide the cracks; he fills them with molten gold, tracing every fracture until the vessel gleams with its own history of breaking. Takeshi found the …

Kintsugi Hearts: Healing After the BreakRead More

The Weight of Tradition on One Man’s Shoulders In Japanese culture, the eldest son carries a burden that Western readers may struggle to fully comprehend. This isn’t merely about inheritance or family name: it’s about chonan, the firstborn son who becomes the keeper of ancestral duty, the bridge between generations, and the designated protector of …

The Duty of the First Son: When Japanese Filial Piety Collides with Gay IdentityRead More