Pride 2026: A Q+ Celebration
June 12
The South by Tash Aw
When seventeen-year-old Jay’s grandfather dies, his family leaves Kuala Lumpur and travels south to Johor to take over the family’s struggling fruit farm. What should be a fresh start quickly becomes something more complicated. The orchard is suffering from drought and disease, tensions simmer between relatives over the inheritance, and the future of the farm grows increasingly uncertain. As the adults around him wrestle with old resentments and unfulfilled dreams, Jay finds himself caught in a summer that will change his life forever.
Working on the farm introduces Jay to Chuan, the son of the farm’s manager. The two boys come from very different worlds, but over long days in the fields and trips into town, an undeniable connection begins to grow between them. As their relationship deepens, Chuan helps Jay confront feelings and desires he has never fully understood, setting him on a path toward greater confidence in both his identity and himself.
But the South is about more than first love. Through Jay, his parents, and the people connected to the farm, Tash Aw explores family expectations, inheritance, class, economic uncertainty, and the ways larger forces can shape individual lives. Tender, evocative, and beautifully written, it’s a coming-of-age story that captures the intensity of a life-changing summer while asking what we inherit from those who came before us—and what we choose to make our own.
Where to buy? The South is available to purchase at all reputable booksellers.
Girls Like Girls
Some stories have already changed lives before they even reach the big screen. Girls Like Girls began as Hayley Kiyoko’s groundbreaking music video, evolved into a bestselling novel, and now arrives as a feature film adaptation. The story follows Coley (Maya de Costa), a teenager struggling to find her place after moving to a new town, whose world changes when she forms a close bond with Sonya (Myra Molloy). What begins as friendship gradually develops into something deeper, forcing both girls to confront feelings they can no longer ignore.
Part of what has made Girls Like Girls resonate with so many readers and viewers over the years is its honesty. This is a story about first love, self-discovery, and the excitement and uncertainty that come with realizing your feelings don’t fit the expectations others have placed on you. While the setting and circumstances may be familiar, the emotional journey remains deeply relatable for generations of queer women.
And today feels like the perfect day to celebrate it, because the film is finally here. At a time when sapphic stories still receive far fewer theatrical releases than they deserve, every success matters. Whether you’ve been following this story since the original music video or are discovering it for the first time, Girls Like Girls offers a chance to support a new queer film on the big screen—and that’s always something worth celebrating during Pride Month. So don’t walk, run to get your tickets!
Where to watch? Girls Like Girls is available in theaters (US only). Check out the Focus Features Girls Like Girls Tickets page to find showtimes and theaters closest to you.
Alphabet Soup
One of the challenges of talking about LGBTQ+ communities is that no single story can represent everyone. That’s what makes Alphabet Soup such a compelling watch. The docuseries brings together a diverse range of LGBTQ+ voices, exploring personal experiences, identities, relationships, and the different ways people navigate the world while building community and finding belonging.
Rather than presenting a single narrative, the series embraces the vast spectrum of queer experiences. Through interviews and personal stories, Alphabet Soup highlights the joys, challenges, victories, and everyday moments that shape people’s lives. The result is a portrait of a community that is far more varied and expansive than many mainstream portrayals would suggest.
Thoughtful, informative, and deeply human, Alphabet Soup serves as both a celebration and a reminder. It celebrates the diversity that exists within LGBTQ+ communities while reminding us that representation matters precisely because no one story can tell the whole picture. Whether you’re looking to learn something new or simply hear people tell their own stories in their own words, this docuseries is well worth your time.
Where to watch? Alphabet Soup is available to stream on Peacock and Prime Video.
Happy Pride 2026! Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Images Courtesy of Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon MGM Studios, Focus Features, Getty Images, Disney+, Apple TV, Crave.
[wpcode id=”8196″]
Discover more from Q+ Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
