Gayjoy Digest #3

Good morning and welcome to another edition of the Gayjoy Digest. 

We hope all the gays are having a great week, but especially JoJo Siwa—who’s really leaned into TikTok thirst traps these last few days. It’s a good look, and we admire her relatively quick ascent to Gen Z’s reigning celesbian. 

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A whole mess in Florida

Last Friday, Amazon Prime released all eight episodes of its new reality series Tampa Baes. The show follows the lives of a dozen or so lesbians in Tampa as they spend most of their time partying and talking shit about each other. 

Even before its premiere, Baes faced ample (and warranted) criticism for the lack of diversity in its cast. Now that the show is out, it’s also facing criticism for not being all that good. Describing the overall quality for an article in the Tampa Bay Times, one Tampa lesbian said: 

This is like a gay Jersey Shore. I would watch it. I mean, it’s not great.

Seems about right! For more on the subject, we’d recommend subscribing to Maddy Court’s newsletter. She’ll be writing recaps of the baes’ antics each week, which are arguably more enjoyable than the show itself. 

A Flavortown celebration?

Last week, when Kristen Stewart shared the news of her engagement to Dylan Meyer, she casually mentioned that the couple likely wouldn’t be having a traditional wedding ceremony. That is, unless Guy Fieri was interested in officiating. 

If you’ll recall, Guy—Food Network’s sweet, spiky-haired chef—officiated 101 simultaneous gay weddings back in 2015 as a tribute to his late sister. So he’s obviously qualified for the job. And in a clip for the TODAY show, the Mayor of Flavortown confirmed that he’d be “all in.”

The odds that she was serious about this arrangement are quite slim, but the odds that he is serious are roughly 100%. Either way, we hope he knows that his allyship is appreciated. 

Some excellent news for our Brooklyn queers

Ever since Ginger’s closed during the first lockdown last March, rumors have swirled that Brooklyn’s last remaining lesbian bar was gone for good. And as restaurants and bars all over the city reopened and welcomed patrons back, its Park Slope location remained dark—with radio silence from the owner. 

But on October 28, Go Magazine announced a “one night only soft reopening,” happening that same day. That “one night only” ended up being indefinite, and the bar has been open every day since. 

We’re thrilled that this Brooklyn institution is back in action, and are paying close attention to IG updates re: Ginger’s pool table. 

Queer briefs

• Elaine Romagnoli, creator of several historic lesbian bars (including the original Cubbyhole) passed away at the age of 79. 

• The NYC Marathon was on Sunday, and USWNT star Abby Wambach ran all 26.2 miles. Cheering her on was, of course, her memoirist wife Glennon Doyle—along with celesbian duo Jodie Foster and Alexandra Hedison. 

• Trans NWSL player Kumi Yokoyama, who came out this past June, proposed to their girlfriend on the soccer field last week. She said yes! How gay. 

• Fran Tirado and Rose Dommu (both queer writers and comedians) are starting a podcast called Like a Virgin. The promo poster is perfect, no notes. We will be listening. 

• The K-pop group Lioness, who call themselves the first out queer K-pop boy band, have released their first single this week. The track, called, “Show Me Your Pride,” is obviously about being proud of who you are. Cute! 

Queer happenings in NYC

Nov (multiple dates): Brooklyn Queer Run Club

Nov 11: Velly's Sapphic Thursdays @ Bar Beau (9pm)

Nov 12: Scope Tonight Presents: Scorpio SZN 

Nov 13: Titty Pix 3 Year Anniversary Party 

Nov 14: TheySkate x Queerskate Brooklyn x q4qparty clothing swap @Blue Skate Park (11am-2pm)

Nov 18: T is for Trash zine launch party @ Quimby’s Bookstore (7-9pm) 

Dec 2: Holy Rollers *new quarterly queer dance party* @ Black Flamingo

Dec 4/5: Positive Perinatal class prepares queer families for birth. Prices are sliding scale and it's all virtual. Classes are 10 -2 pm each day. 

Email us anything you'd like shared with our community! From events to personals. Or are you single and looking for love? Looking for a queer co-founder - anything goes here.

Written by Becca Stickler with Kira Deshler & Nicole Ripka