Children’s books by South Asian LGBTQ+ writers

Children’s books by LGBTQ+ South Asian authors: picture books and novels by writers from South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in Africa, Europe and North America.

From Al-Andalus and Qing China - 2 tales of lovesick men pining for male beloveds

 Parallels in homoromantic stories recorded in 11th century Muslim Spain and 18th century China.

Transgender and nonbinary heroes serving our larger society

More than 10 stories, spanning hundreds of years and 3 continents, about remarkable people who made significant contributions to larger society.  

These heroes happen to be transgender and/or nonbinary. Depending on where you live, you may have benefited from the courage, hard work and kindness of these individuals. Btw, November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance.
 

A FtM gender transition miracle in the 17th c. classic “Strange Tales of Liaozhai”

Is a modern scientific explanation available for the 1647 miracle tale "Changing into a man"? 

Btw, October 26 is Intersex Awareness Day.

The Messenger of the Eastern Warehouse: a resource redistribution tale from the 18th century

 "The Messenger of the Eastern Warehouse” appears in “What the Ears have Consumed”, an anthology of fantastical tales collected in 1794:

There was a beggar crone surnamed Zhou in the Su neighborhood of Jinxi[i]. Xe was a childless widow of more than 50 years of age, living alone in a dilapidated house. One day, a disembodied voice spoke next to xir ear, “Your situation is indeed pitiful. I will help you...

Read the rest of this folktale on Patreon!

Happy International Cat Day to our feline friends and their humans!

A curated collection of art from museums around the world, depicting people from 5 continents in the company of cats. 

Persian and Urdu homoromantic poetry from 13th-19th century South Asia

The intense spiritual bonds between Sufi masters in South Asia and their same-sex disciples have been expressed in homoromantic and homoerotic poetry. 

While it may not be appropriate to label these relationships using modern Western concepts of sexual orientation and romantic orientation, they can provide perspectives on the intersection between divine love and same-sex human love. The experience of holiness is not tied to heteronormativity.

Celebrate Pride Month with Trans Tabby and Enby Tabby!

Enjoy these designs on stickers, magnets and more!

Men who love men in the orbit of the 18th c. queer writer Yuan Mei

Born in 1716, poet and gastronome Yuan Mei was one of Qing Dynasty China’s most famous cultural influencers, known for his writings on gastronomy and his promotion of women poets. 

Numerous gay/bi/pan men, both obscure and famous, passed through the artistic circles of Yuan Mei. Learn more about the pansexual, polyamorous Yuan Mei and his non-heterosexual friends on our Patreon.  

Queer tales in the 17th century story collection “Strange Tales from Liaozhai”

17th c. Chinese folklorist Pu Songling collected close to 500 stories in “Strange Tales from Liaozhai", including at least a dozen tales with LGBTQIA+ characters 

Roaring Iron - fancy coat names from the 19th century Cat Garden

 

Mao Yuan (The Cat Garden) is a 19th century compendium of contemporary cat lore and cat literature from antiquity. It was compiled around 1852-1853 by Huang Han, a native of Wenzhou. Enjoy selections from the Cat Garden and other works of late Imperial Chinese cat lore here.

Queer romance movies centering couples of non-European heritage

A list of queer romance movies with couples of color and optimistic endings

A seal is a "sea dog"

Learn Hebrew noun conjugations using the word "kelev" (dog) as an example in the children's book. Kelev and Kalba: כֶּלֶב וְכַּלְבָּה.

The Hebrew term for "seal" is "sea dog" ("kelev yam"). Other languages also refer to various members of the pinniped clade as "sea dog". In Chinese, "sea dog" ("hai gou") refers to fur seals. In  German, "sea dog" ("seehund") refers to harbor seals. In Dutch, "sea dog" ("zeehond") refers to  earless seals (true seals).

Dragging a Spear in Snow - fancy cat coat names from the 19th c. Cat Garden

 Learn about the meaning and tradition behind this coat pattern. 

Queer characters in the literary classics of China's Qing era

The best-known works of literature from the 17th-18th centuries attest to the presence of gay, bisexual, asexual and trans characters in Qing China.

If a ghost asks you to help xem stop a pandemic, what would your response be?

 In the folktale “Ten Thousand Words to Quell a Pestilence”, a ghost guards an imprisoned disease demon who breaks forth to ravage the human world every 60 years. 60 years ago, humans were saved from a pandemic when a Taoist priest locked the demon in a box.  But as the years went by, the seal on the box grew weaker. The ghost guardian cannot reinforce the seal that keeps the disease demon imprisoned – this must be done by a living human...

Pansexual and bisexual emperors of the Han Dynasty, according to 1st c. BCE court historian Sima Qian

Pansexual and bisexual emperors of the Western Han era, up to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han

Btw,  Bisexuality Awareness Week starts on Sep 16.

Enjoy more queer history and folklore on our Patreon: Queer Lore | Collection from Wolfberry Studio

19th century face reading for cats

Happy International Cat Day! Enjoy Part 2 of the Cat Physiognomy Guide. 

Tiger Art: a curated collection

More than 50 pieces from museums around the world, via Google Arts and Culture. Centering artists from Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. Btw, July 29 is International Tiger Day

The House of Cat Pride

How many pride flags can you find?