Hot & Wholesome: Queer History is Now - Documentary Film

Hot and Wholesome: Queer History Is Now

We rarely feel like we’re witnessing history when it's happening - but rest assured, we are.

Against the national and global erosion of our fundamental human rights, trans, non-binary, and queer BIPOC communities are doing what we've always done: creating spaces that are euphoric, joyful, and iconic, as well as erotic, pleasurable and playful. Within these spaces lives the most deeply caring, consent-focused, and community-rooted resistance I’ve ever known. At a time of rise of the far right the world over, mutual aid, queer and trans joy, and community organising is more critical than ever, and no one does it better than us.

I’m Ly (they/them) — a trans non-binary Chinese-English filmmaker, activist, organiser, cat parent and community member - and I want to document this historic moment in time. It is our daily life so often we forget just how monumental acts of joy as resistance, big or small, have ripple effects the world over.

We are making a living archive of pleasure, kink, and erotic connection as acts of love and defiance in the face of fascism, anti-trans legislation, and global backlash. Our communities have always taken care of ourselves - from HIV/AIDS mutual aid as always integral to the leather scene to today’s grassroots fundraisers for instance for gender affirming care, for Palestine, for food banks, against ICE etc - and this feature documentary will show how we’re continuing that legacy.

The project is inspired by Audre Lorde's: 'Uses of the erotic: the erotic as power' regarding how society divorces us from the erotic. Lorde writes:

"The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings. It is an internal sense of satisfaction to which, once we have experienced it, we know we can aspire. For having experienced the fullness of this depth of feeling and recognizing its power, in honor and self-respect we can require no less of ourselves."

The Feature Film Hot and Wholesome: Queer History is Now will follow key community members like:

Through these stories - and the worlds they help create - we’ll explore how eroticism and pleasure are not just personal but political: a refusal to be erased, a way to nurture each other in dangerous times, and a celebration of bodies in all their gorgeous variety.

Why Now?

This is a DIY, off-the-wall documentary (currently shot on an iPhone - help us get better equipment through this GoFundMe bc the iconicness of our communities deserves at leasttt that 4K footage!)— think Paris is Burning (1990), Bloodsisters: Leather, Dykes & Sadomasochism (1995), and Shortbus (2006) — but rooted in today’s QTBIPOC NYC communities. We’re telling our own stories on our own terms, refusing to let others define us or our history.

We are currently working with a $0 budget, and running on fumes and sheer passion for our communities! We are in post-production for a short on NYC's first ever Lesbian Oil Wrestling event 2025 (and likely something similar for Tboy Wrestling) as a teaser for you all, to see what we can do on a non-existent budget, so we can dream big through this fundraiser for the full feature-length documentary to come.

Your Support will:

Queer history is being made right now - and it’s hot, it’s wholesome, and it’s ours. Help us document it. Be part of history!