Stories have long shaped identity and culture. From the time we are young, stories help us learn and grow. They teach us valuable lessons and show us life from many different perspectives.
For the LGBTQ+ community, literature and stories can play a significant role in shaping one’s identity, showing us how to move through the world, and providing glimpses into an existence we may not otherwise see.
The predominant cishet culture in Western society can complicate feelings and understanding both within and without the queer community. Queer literature and non-fiction provide a window into the lives of queer people, helping to create both understanding and acceptance.
For some queer people, literature offers our first glimpses of queerness and helps to build a foundation for coming out and living proudly and authentically -- whatever that looks like.
From classic literature to contemporary voices and non-fiction, these are the books that have shaped our narratives, pushed boundaries, and provided a sense of community.
Queer Reading List: Books to Fill Out Your LGBTQ+ Bookshelf
The following list is in no way total or complete. It would be nearly impossible to list all the works that have shaped our narratives and broader understanding of queer identity. Below, you will find a list of some standouts. Consider these a place to start in growing your queer library or when sharing queer voices with allies or those navigating the coming out process.
Classic Queer Literature
Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments of Sappho (2009)
Sappho is a long-standing queer legend. Having lived from c. 630 – c. 570 BC, her name and her birthplace (the Isle of Lesbos) are synonymous with lesbianism.
While subjected to years of mistranslation that painted a more heteronormative picture, Sappho’s poetry is decidedly queer. This collection brings together her surviving work, displaying the depths of desire, remembrance, and celebration that exist when love is allowed to flourish.
300,000 Kisses: Tales of Queer Love from the Ancient World by Seán Hewitt and Luke Edward Hall (2023)
Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome were full of queer art, stories, and love. But modern scholarship has often suppressed these voices.
This collection is beautifully illustrated and brings together well-known writers from antiquity, like Homer, Sappho, and Ovid, but also includes voices seldom anthologized, creating a beautiful testament to queer love, passion, lust, and even raunchiness.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (1855)
This poetry collection, from one of the most influential American authors of all time, was both groundbreaking and controversial upon its publication in 1855.
Leaves of Grass is a collection of poems about intimate connections between men, celebrating desire and the body in a way that was never seen before.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was full of homoerotic references when first published in serial form. By the time it was published as a novel, the book was heavily censored, removing many of the more explicit references to vice and sex. This story was so scandalous it was actually used as evidence against Wilde in a defamation suit he had brought after being publicly accused of being a “sodomite.”
The plot follows Dorian Gray after he makes a Faustian bargain, allowing him to live a double life where he can indulge his every desire while remaining an upright gentleman in Victorian society. Despite censoring, the novel remains heavily queer-coded and is one of the most popular works of a man famously known to be a homosexual at a time in British history when homosexuality was considered morally and legally a crime.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928)
Despite being in a marriage to Leonard Woolf, Virginia Woolf had a long and passionate affair with fellow writer, Vita Sackville-West, who inspires the main character in the fictional biography Orlando.
At times humorous, and always loving, Woolf’s Orlando travels across three centuries of history, switching genders, and undertaking multiple romantic relationships. It undermines the gender binary and takes on the power structures that uphold that binary, all while standing as a playful exploration of gender and sexuality.
Woolf wrote Orlando as a love letter to Sackville-West and gifted us a remarkable and subversive masterpiece.
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1936)
Djuna Barnes was a Modernist writer and her novel Nightwood explores a romantic relationship between two women in 1920s Paris. This novel brims with larger-than-life characters, including “a transvestite and ostensible gynecologist,” and explores themes of exile and belonging, lending voice to those often forced to live in the shadows of modern society.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (1956)
James Baldwin’s novel Giovanni’s Room is widely regarded as a major milestone in queer writing.
It is the story of a relationship between an American named David and an Italian bartender named Giovanni. This short novel is intense and paints a complex picture of masculinity, love, desire, shame, and self-loathing.
James Baldwin believed that race, sexuality, and personal freedom are undeniably linked, which makes his writing as powerful and poignant today, as it was at the time of publication.
City of Night by John Rechy (1963)
Mexican-American novelist and essayist, John Rechy was often associated with the Beat movement and took the world by storm with the publication of his first novel, City of Night. It was a bestseller and was nominated for the International Prix Formentor.
This novel gives voice to a subculture that had previously been relegated to the dark. As a fictionalized account of his own experiences, the novel follows a young gay hustler as he navigates a world occupied by other hustlers and drag queens. From El Paso to Times Square, from Pershing Square to the French Quarter, this work stares down hypocrisy and homophobia.
As VICE says, this work is the “essential novel of the neon-drowned world of rough-trade hustlers, 24-7 drag queens, and the gentlemen who crave them.”
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (1982)
Creating a whole new genre of literature, biomythography, Audre Lorde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name is a masterpiece.
It explores the intersection of Lorde’s identity as a Black queer woman, demonstrating the ways that racism, homophobia, and sexism are connected powers of oppression. It is also a narrative that details Lorde’s own history and the journey towards and arrival at, self-acceptance.
This book centers queerness in the political realm, creating a framework for advocacy and understanding that is still relevant today.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (1985)
At times hilarious and at times heartbreaking, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is a semi-autobiographical first novel from Jeanette Winterson.
This novel follows a young, adopted lesbian growing up in a strictly Pentecostal family. A touching and charming coming-of-age and coming-out novel, it explores what happens when you reject the expected narrative and live your own life.
Contemporary Queer Literature
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg (1993)
Stone Butch Blues examines the experience of genderqueerness in the pre-Stonewall era.
A fictionalized account of Leslie Feinberg’s own life, this story follows Jess on her journey of self-discovery, finding community, and resisting the violence perpetrated by the police and society against those she loves.
This novel is an exploration of gender and identity, shining a light on the joys and struggles of those who exist outside the gender binary.
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman (2007)
Call Me by Your Name is the story of Elio and Oliver, two young men who meet one summer and begin a sensual romance.
This is both a coming-out and a coming-of-age story. But what makes it so remarkable is the way it treats queer love with tenderness, beauty, and celebration. Love, after all, is love.
Call Me by Your Name was turned into a magnificent Oscar-winning film, elevating queer love to the center of creative and political discourse.
Nevada by Imogen Binnie (2013)
Nevada is a cult classic and a pillar of trans literature.
At its core, Nevada is a road-trip novel, following trans protagonist Maria in the car she stole from her ex as she escapes her old life and suddenly finds herself acting as a role model to a possibly trans youngster named, James.
This novel is instantly memorable in its punk-tinged attitude and deep exploration of marginalization and capitalism. Wild and endearing, this is an instant classic.
Less by Andrew Sean Greer (2017)
A Pulitzer Prize winner, Less follows Arthur Less, a 49-year-old gay writer as he travels the world in an effort to forget the loss of the man he loves.
This satirical novel pokes fun at relationships, aging, and travel, creating a very human examination of what it means to live, love, and grow older.
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead (2021)
Jonny Appleseed is an award-winning novel about a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer trying to make his way in the big city as a cybersex worker. Jonny’s experience takes a turn when he learns he must return to the reservation in 7 days to attend the funeral of his stepfather. This return means coming face to face with his former life. Combining love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and recollection, Jonny must learn to put together all the myriad facets of his life.
Joshua Whitehead is an Oji-Cree, Two-Spirit storyteller and academic from Peguis First Nation on Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba, Canada. His work shows the depth, beauty, complexity, and humanity of those often marginalized, abused, and ignored by the dominant settler culture.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (2021)
Detransition, Baby is a smart, tender, and electrifying exploration of gender, parenthood, love, and trans life.
This is the story of 3 women, trans and cis, navigating the complexities of womanhood and chosen family. Witty, brilliant, fearless, and deeply moving, Torrey Peters’ debut novel is one for the ages!
Countries of Origin by Javier Fuentes (2023)
Powerful and sensual, Countries of Origin examines love and loss. It follows Demetrio, a celebrated NYC pastry chef and undocumented immigrant, as he’s forced to return to his home country, a place he’s not seen since early childhood. On the flight, he meets Jacobo, an NYU student going home to his aristocratic, fascist family. An intense relationship unfolds, revealing anxieties about class, identity, and sexuality.
This novel lays bare some harsh truths about our world while reminding us of the desire for belonging and passion that connect us all.
Queer Non-Fiction
From the Closet to the Courtroom: Five LGBT Rights Lawsuits That Have Changed Our Nation by Carlos A. Ball (2011)
The stories featured in From the Closet to the Courtroom: Five LGBT Rights Lawsuits That Have Changed Our Nation are engaging and mostly untold.
Law professor and author, Carlos A. Ball, begins each case examination with the litigants and their lawyers, sharing the reality of their experiences, giving context and humanity to the cases, while detailing their significant and lasting impact on the legal and political systems at play.
This book is crucial for understanding the struggles behind us and the ones that remain ahead.
A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski (2012)
Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States is a powerful reexamination of the history of America.
From 1492 to present day, this book is both a testament to the long history of LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States and an empowering look at the way queer voices and narratives have shaped our country, even while being silenced and persecuted.
America’s history is queer and it’s time we all learned the things we weren’t taught in school!
How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France (2017)
With startling honesty and intimate reflection, How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS, is the story of the men and women who refused to let their lovers, family, and friends, die without a fight. Ignored and ostracized, this book celebrates the extraordinary characters who took on the established powers of society like politicians, healthcare providers, and the pharmaceutical industry to force lifesaving medical and social breakthroughs.
This is a book of civil rights and serves as an empowering reminder of those we must never forget and those we must continue to fight for today.
Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising that Changed America by Martin Duberman (2019 -- illustrated edition)
While most of us have heard of the Stonewall Inn and the riots that gave rise to the current LGBTQ+ rights movement and modern Pride celebrations, how many of us know the full story?
Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising that Changed America is an in-depth history of the police raids of the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, and the ensuing 5-day uprising that changed the course of queer history.
Riveting and unforgettable, historian Martin Duberman details the context of repression that led to the riots and the celebration and exuberance of the participants when experiencing the first gay rights march in 1970.
Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume (2023)
Long before Ellen DeGeneres came out on her sitcom, queer storylines, and characters were on full display in American living rooms.
Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture is an informative and entertaining look at the ways subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom and how it continues to transform the country, today.
From Bewitched to Modern Family this book covers audience reactions and behind-the-scenes commentary and interviews, providing the perfect analysis of primetime television
How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir by Shayla Lawson (2024)
How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir is a collection of essays that explore travel as a political act.
As a Black, femme, nonbinary, individual with a disability, Shayla Lawson delivers beautiful and deep insights into their emotions and the complexity of intersectional existence all over the world. Detailing harrowing, affirming, and profound experiences across the globe, Lawson reveals how the trials and tribulations of life can lead to self-transformation and liberation.
Celebrate Your Own Narrative with Hunky Tops
Queer literature celebrates our stories and demonstrates both the uniqueness of our experiences and the humanity that connects us all.
Queer characters and non-fiction works that detail our culture and history, often provide a foundation for many of us in our journey to self-acceptance. They can help push civil rights and spread awareness and acceptance in society.
At Hunky Tops, we want to support you on that journey by creating fashion and community that sees you for who you are and allows you to step out into the world as your truest self!
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