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Posts tagged with "fire"

Jun 25
LGBTQ* History You (Probably) Never Heard Of New Orleans, the Fire and the Eraser * Trigger Warning: murder, arson, homophobia, church refusal The (arson?/fire?) made the newspaper on one day. After details were shared the day after the fire, the story never made New Orleans’ print again. Following text from The Bilerico Project: Filed by Jesse Monteagudo  On June 24, 1973 an arsonist started a fire that consumed the UpStairs Lounge, a second-floor gay bar in New Orleans’s French Quarter. The UpStairs Lounge Fire was both the deadliest fire in the history of New Orleans and the largest mass-killing of gay people in the US. Among the 31 men and one woman who died in the fire were members of the local Metropolitan Community Church, who frequented the Lounge after services for its Sunday “beer bust.” (One particularly grisly photo was of MCC Pastor William R. Larson, who burned to death while trying to escape through a window.) The UpStairs Lounge Fire showed New Orleans at its homophobic worst as many families refused to claim the victims’ bodies and most local churches refused to conduct their funerals. MCC founder Troy Perry and other activists rushed to New Orleans to help bury the victims who, as many locals thought, “got what they deserved.” Read more HERE

LGBTQ* History You (Probably) Never Heard Of

New Orleans, the Fire and the Eraser

* Trigger Warning: murder, arson, homophobia, church refusal


The (arson?/fire?) made the newspaper on one day. After details were shared the day after the fire, the story never made New Orleans’ print again.

Following text from The Bilerico Project:

Filed by Jesse Monteagudo 

On June 24, 1973 an arsonist started a fire that consumed the UpStairs Lounge, a second-floor gay bar in New Orleans’s French Quarter. The UpStairs Lounge Fire was both the deadliest fire in the history of New Orleans and the largest mass-killing of gay people in the US.

Among the 31 men and one woman who died in the fire were members of the local Metropolitan Community Church, who frequented the Lounge after services for its Sunday “beer bust.” (One particularly grisly photo was of MCC Pastor William R. Larson, who burned to death while trying to escape through a window.)

The UpStairs Lounge Fire showed New Orleans at its homophobic worst as many families refused to claim the victims’ bodies and most local churches refused to conduct their funerals. MCC founder Troy Perry and other activists rushed to New Orleans to help bury the victims who, as many locals thought, “got what they deserved.”

Read more HERE

Posted 11 months ago

303 notes

lgbtq, new orleans, louisiana, nola, queer, history, gay, arson, fire, 1970s, bilerico project, cover up,

Jun 6

 Quintessential Movies from the Lesbian Film Canon You Should Know

  1. But I’m A Cheerleader — camp, gender and sexuality! — this film was the 2000s cult lesbian classic
  2. Better Than Chocolate — 90s film (bit dated) that put camp, lesbianism, indie bookshops, living in your van, and indie women’s soundtracks on the map
  3. Fire — banned in India, focusing on religion, gender roles, family, and the power of communication, this film lit up theatres and television screens with a world view many have never seen before
  4. D.E.B.S. — Angela Robinson’s(writer/director on L Word series, Herbie: Fully Loaded) quirky spy-mock film. FIRST lesbian film to receive a PG-13 rating
  5. Desert Hearts — 1985 film and one of the most famous kisses shared between two women on screen 
  6. I Can’t Think Straight — Jumping between England and Jordan, Muslim and Christian, engagements and family, this comedy serves plenty of drama while still making you smile from ear to ear.
  7. Saving Face — Heartwarming Chinese-American comedy about family traditions and taking time for your own journeys
  8. If These Walls Could Talk 2 — this  HBO film, made up of three episodes (1960s, 1970s, 2000), focuses on three pairs of lesbian relationships. Pull out your tissues for the first, gender and sexual expression for the second, and fall madly in love with Ellen and Sharon in the third.
  9. Bound — tough women, get rich plots, cocky, sexy, and very 90s, Bound is the movie you don’t watch with your parents but do invite all your friends over for
  10. Imagine Me & You — 2005’s ultimate romantic comedy. Luce and Rachel will steal your heart and leave you quoting the movie for days

Posted 11 months ago

1,998 notes

Better Than Chocolate, But I'm A Cheerleader, Chinese-american, Fire, angela robinson, bisexual, bound, butch, christian, d.e.b.s., desert hearts, ellen, femme, film, films, hindi, i can't think straight, if these walls could talk 2, imagine me & you, imagine me and you, india, lesbian, lesbians, lgbtq, movie, movies, muslim, popular, queer, saving face,

Nov 7

LGBTQ* Movies/Films To Keep On Your Radar

FIRE (1996)

Ashok runs a family business that sells takeout food that also has a video rental store at the side. Ashok’s extended family includes his wife Radha, his brother Jatin, their ailing mother Biji and their manservant Mundu, all living under the same roof.  Ashok agrees to marry the beautiful Sita in an arranged marriage, although he is actually in love with Julie, a Chinese-Indian. At first glance, you see a happy middle-class family going through the normal paces of everyday life. However, as the layers are slowly peeled back, we find a simmering cauldron of discontent within the family, with almost every family member living a lie. Marriages in the family turn out to be emotionally empty, without love or passion. Sita and Radha become fast friends, and, in time, much more than that. But their love is not without its share of painful obstacles. Written by Hariharan

Posted 1 year ago

83 notes

deepa metha, films, fire, india, lesbian, lgbtq, movies, queer, hindu,