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2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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@soynepanlerx
Support Olga Estrada (they/she)
maybe being an independent scholar just means becoming a turtle.
carrying your archives on your back.
hauling your library across state lines.
turning grief into zines.
turning memory into workshops.
turning community into home.
🐢💧📚
#queerarchives #zines #independentscholar #pride #wettycollective #lgbtq #jota #chicanx
The next Wetty Digital Zine Lab is almost here. This gathering is an invitation to listen closely to what has been living in your chest. We'll spend time writing, reflecting, collaging, and exploring the stories that arrive through breath, memory, voice, silence, and testimony. Some stories come as whispers.Some arrive as laughter.Some have been waiting years for air. Bring a journal, scraps, collage materials, or simply yourself. 🌬️ Sunday, June 7, 2026🕰️ 7:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM CT💻 Zoom Suggested contribution: 💧 $5 Community Rate💧 $10 Sustainer Rate💧 $15 Wetty Supporter Rate No one turned away for lack forms.gle/BWQoE7aPw8ZngXmt7
The next Wetty Digital Zine Lab is almost here. This gathering is an invitation to listen closely to what has been living in your chest. We'll spend time writing, reflecting, collaging, and exploring the stories that arrive through breath, memory, voice, silence, and testimony. Some stories come as whispers.Some arrive as laughter.Some have been waiting years for air. Bring a journal, scraps, collage materials, or simply yourself. 🌬️ Sunday, June 7, 2026🕰️ 7:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM CT💻 Zoom Suggested contribution: 💧 $5 Community Rate💧 $10 Sustainer Rate💧 $15 Wetty Supporter Rate No one turned away for lack forms.gle/BWQoE7aPw8ZngXmt7
save a town, ride a black bear
Plush Pony (1992) by Laura Aguilar
“… when Aguilar visited the Plush Pony, a small, Chicana lesbian bar in Northeast Los Angeles, she encountered a different lesbian community, working class, non-professional and butch. Setting up a small studio space in the bar, she offered to photograph the women and sell them prints for five dollars. Aguilar later recalled that the women agreed, signed permission forms, and received their prints, often without paying Aguilar. The series Plush Pony (1992) became one of Aguilar’s most popular and collectible series of portraits which convey the intimate, deep sense of community she found among these women, so often invisible to mainstream society.”
“Sincerely, 𝓛ꨄ︎𝓢 ~”
Featuring flower studies
A page from my lesbian zine/comic Sonoran Digest
Articles & Essays
"Getting Famous On Tumblr Ruined My Relationship to My Body" — Catapult
"My Gender is Dyke" — Autostraddle
"A Nun’s Awakening in a Halfway House" Interview with Claire Luchette — Electric Literature
"Our Favorite Essays about Queer Pop Culture" — Electric Literature
“Yahoo! Answers Was My First and Best Writing Coach” — Electric Literature
“The Last Thing You Need to Read About Book TikTok” — Electric Literature
“digital u-hauling: a story of long distance dating” — GLAAD’s Amp
Reading lists
10 Books About Alienated Women in Their 20s
8 Books by Chicanx Writers
10 Books To Remind You Why Y2K is Back
9 Books About Crafting Identity on Social Media
8 Books That Love Reality TV as Much as You Do
8 Books for Lesbian Day of Visibility
8 Literary Books That Are Technically Fanfiction
7 Books About Long-Distance Relationships
30 LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors
Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors - to help readers to diversify their reading and library professionals to diversify their readers’ advisory. All of the lists can be found here.
Angry Queer Somali Boy: A Complicated Memoir by Mohamed Abdulkarim Ali
Before Night Falls by Reinaldo Arenas
A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer
Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby
When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love and Revolution by Jeanne Cordova
Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory by Qwo-Li Driskill
Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
Brown Trans Figurations: Rethinking Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Chicanx/Latinx Studies by Francisco J. Galarte
Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da'Shaun Harrison
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals by Saidiya Hartman
Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an Antiblack World by Zakiyyah Iman Jackson
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Some of Us Did Not Die: New and Selected Essays by June Jordan
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
Continuum by Chella Man
The Black Trans Prayer Book edited by J Mase III and Dane Figueroa Edidi
Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir by Rajiv Mohabir
nîtisânak by Jas M. Morgan
Borealis by Aisha Sabatini Sloan
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights by Kenji Yoshino
CHICANO ART MOVEMENT visits: “Rasquachismo” 2024
On Saturday 05/11/24, we visited Huntington Beach Art Center to view “Rasquachismo” in the city of Huntington Beach, California.
(“Beyond Timeless” by Justin Favela, 2022)
We learned from the mission statement that: “‘Rasquachismo,’ [is] a multi-media exhibition celebrating the aesthetics and transformative power of Lowriders. Featuring work by William Camargo with Alkaid Ramirez, Justin Favela, Stephanie Mercado, Arturo Meza Il, Aaron Moctezuma, Jose Manuel Flores Nava, Alicia Villegas-Rolon, and Cora J. Quiroz.”
(“Anaheim in Flux” by William Camargo with Alkaid Ramirez, 2024)
“Emerging from the barrios of Southern California, lowriding brought forth a long resistance against the American Dream and dominant idealist norms that attempted to anglicize the young Chicanx individual. Forces of the Anglo-American culture did all it could to disrupt and omit the lowrider. From individual traffic stops to passing county-wide laws, all were attempts to take the lowrider off the streets. Low and slow, their metallic bodies transfigured in response. Now, unapologetically visible, lowriders glisten in candy-colored paint and dance with the aid of hydraulics. The power of lowriding extends beyond the car's aesthetics, however. It has become a rasquachismo expression of Mexican-American, and, eventually, Chicanx identity.”
(“Highland Park” by Stephanie Mercado, 2023)
A favorite of Robert’s at the “Rasquachismo” exhibit was Stephanie Mercado’s “Highland Park.” Through a little research, we learned that “‘Highland Park’ honors the cultural richness of the area including its history, diversity, and its valuable contributions to the broader arts and culture sector of Los Angeles. Utilizing imagery and icons sourced from the neighborhood, this piece celebrates the enduring local landmarks and showcases the architectural diversity that defines the area. Simultaneously, it pays homage to the artists and art spaces that have played a vital role in making Highland Park a vibrant and lively neighborhood for generations.”
(Detailed view of “We Can Dream” by Cora J. Quiroz, 2022)
From the museum ephemera, we learned that this painting entitled “We Can Dream” by Cora J. Quiroz is part of a series called “Not Your Typical Rosie.”
The artist states: “I paint women in a way that removes them from being acquiescent muses in typical artworks. From action, body language, and clothing, to expression, I ensure the women I paint have active roles of inspiration, movement, and storytelling. Raised by my mother, I learned about my family’s history through oral tradition. Rather than beng inspred by male-dominated stories in media, I became inspired by the Indigenous and Mexican women of my family, taking spaces where they were not expected.
The simplest acts typical for a man to perform, can often be taboo for women, such as working in the car industry. Despite this, for many years there have been women who have gone against the grain to become whoever they pleased to be, going beyond the WWII icon associated with strong women. These are the stories that inspire my work.”
(“El Cuento de los Panes: A Community Installation Inspired by Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto” organized by the Exhibition Design students at Laguna College of Art and Design, 2024)
The exhibition statement shares that the term rasquachismo was “coined by Chicano scholar and art critic Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe ‘an underdog perspective, a view from los de abajo’ (from below) in working class Chicanx communities which uses elements of ‘hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration’ as a means of empowerment and resistance.”
The Huntington Beach Art Center presents “Rasquachismo” curated by Laura Black until June 1st, 2024 with their last programming event of an artist discussion is set for Saturday May 25th, 2024 from 1pm to 2:30pm.
Reading Frida Kahlo's Letters - In defense of Frida Kahlo pt.II
A few years ago, when the Latinx/Chicano identity started to come to the forefront in the United States alongside the BLM movement, we were all re-analyzing the taste-makers of our culture. One of whom, unsurprisingly was Frida Kahlo. Specifically, she came under fire for her use of the indigenous women's clothing and apparel without explicitly crediting the makers in public. She came under fire, too, for becoming famous for it. I talk about it here if you want more context to this ongoing reading project.
Before I continue, I have to be transparent and admit I was extremely conflicted in reading someone's personal letters. I don't imagine Frida Kahlo had intended her letters to be published for public consumption, these show her very vulnerable—something, I currently understand, that she will only publicly show with her paintings. In a desperate letter to Ella Wolfe, Kahlo pleads with her friend, “I beg you to tear up this missive as soon as you find out everything you can tell me…Don’t forget to tear up this letter in case of future misunderstandings. Promise?” but as we can see, this letter remains intact and I, a Latina from Gringolandia miles away from the hands that originally held that letter, am reading Frida Kahlo’s most intimate words.
In the end, my very strong need to get all the facts I can get my hands on outweighed my latent ethical dilemma (because I hadn't considered this when I bought the books).
A NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION: The letters are translated into English and I do wish the original language transcription was available because, as a Spanish speaker, I don’t feel some translations were exact enough. It won’t take too much away from the reading, but I think this is important to keep in mind.
:: | ::
The earliest letters are from Frida's teenage years. These pre-accident letters, which sadly don't span a very long time, show vivacity, tenacity, and an energy that would be contagious to some and understandably crushing to others. In my reading of her words, I felt they were the words of an idealistic young person still excited for life and its possibilities. Post-accident letters immediately have a dampening of that energy. It’s not extinguished, it is–or was–painstakingly forged into a fire to live, maturity, and confident poeticism because, whenever I read one of her letters to a lover, I had no choice but to feel that Frida was literally flying when she wrote them.
To The Point
In this collection of letters, the topic of her “crazy dress” only came up twice, explicitly, but there were clues as to her opinions that provided some insight on her attitude. Here is what I found:
Letter to Dr. Eloesser 1931: “ Mexico is, as always, disorganized and messed up. The only thing it has left is the great beauty of the land and of the Indians…”
Letter to Isabel Campos 1933: “New York is very beautiful and I’m much happier here than in Detroit, but I miss Mexico nevertheless. This time we”ll stay there almost a year, and then we may go to Paris…Yesterday it snowed here for the first time, and soon it will be so cold and fuc-bulous; but there’s no choice but to put on the wool underwear and endure the snow. At least with my infamous long petticoats, the cold affects me less… I’m still as crazy as usual, and I’ve already become accustomed to this old dress. some gringas have imitated me; they want to dress like “Mexicans,” but those poor women look like turnips, and to tell you the truth they look plain ugly. That doesn’t mean that I look great, but at least acceptable. (Don’t Laugh.)”
Letter to Lucienne Bloch (in English) 1938: “Now I will tell you some things about myself. I haven’t changed very much since you saw me last. Only I wear again my crazy Mexican dress, my hair grew longer again, and I am as skinny as always.”
I would like to comment my opinion here. When I read this part, I got the sense that Frida was aware of how people, even within Mexico, viewed her wearing traditional indigenous dress. Her sense of humor seemed to allow her to understand that her choices call attention, positive and negative.
Letter to Dr. Eloesser 1941: “…Up there [United States] only the ‘important people’ can make it, even if they are scoundrels…and it seems to me that the most important thing for everyone in Gringolandia is to have ambition and to become ‘somebody’ and, frankly, I don’t have the least ambition to be anybody. I don’t care for people’s pretentiousness, and I am in no way interested in becoming a ‘big shit.’”
Frida Kahlo’s Essay for the catalogue of Diego Rivera’s Exhibition 1949: “[Diego’s] treasure is a collection of marvelous sculptures, jewels of indigenous art–the living heart of the true Mexico…He especially cares about the Indians…he loves them dearly because of their elegance, beauty, and for being the living flower of the cultural tradition of America.”
It may be an essay on Diego Rivera’s philosophy, but they are Frida Kahlo’s words. I thought this quotation merited inclusion because she was the composer. It is not a difficult leap to make that she shared the opinion.
Clothing aside, these letters, which I read with the utmost reverence for the sole reason that they are not meant for my eyes, show that Frida Kahlo was a human being with aspirations, fears, joys, likes, dislikes. She was steadfast in her convictions and upfront about her intentions. But we are not and will never be privy to that side of Frida Kahlo in reality. Like much of her audience, we've been provided an Icon; one dimensional, to be worshipped or damned. We've been given permission to forget that, as a fellow human being, Frida is to be understood. She was a passionate person. Quick to love, and she loved fully – friend or lover – and was unafraid to be vulnerable.
Citlali: Cuando Eramos Sanos, Debora Kuetzpal Vazquez. Collection of the artist. Photo courtesy of the artist.
The Immigrant Dream: The American Response, Malaquias Montoya (2003)
La Ofrenda II, 1990, screenprint 30 x 22'
by Ester Hernandez
"I have been a lesbian in terms of living with women for maybe twenty years. I never really felt connected to most women's groups, because of classism and racism. My relationships were more with women of color and the artist community in general. I figure this way, when I walk into a room the first thing people see is my color... I choose to identify myself as a Chicana artist, part of the Chicano or Third World movement, because I take part in fighting the problems destroying my people which also means fighting homophobia." - Ester Hernandez (quote from Lesbian Art in America: a contemporary history by Harmony Hammond, 2000)
la virgen de guadalupe, in mexican, chicano imagery ⭐️🪷🕯️🫀

the Coyolxauhqui imperative — from Anzaldùa: named after the Aztec goddess of the moon Coyolxauhqui, the ongoing and lifelong process of healing from events which fragment, dismember, or deeply wound the self physically, psychically, culturally, and/or spiritually. the need to look at these wounds, understand how the self has been fragmented, and then reconstruct or remake the self in a new way.
Patssi Valdez (Mexican-American Chicana, 1951) - The Dressing Table (1988)
