The Gay Agenda by Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham is Pretty (and) Queer

“This book is for all of the people who have ever felt ‘different’ from society’s standards, who have ever questioned who they are, who have ever felt like they needed to be someone they weren’t out of fear, and for the people who have the strength to live out in the open like the big queer role models they are” (iii)

Finally, a book assigned in the Rainbow Room (my online GSA) that I actually like! The Gay Agenda by Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham is a cute little book with fun art and nice words, and a wonderful break from heavier books like Lakewood by Megan Giddings and Semiotics: the Basics by Daniel Chandler.

Despite being marketed as an “agenda,” this book is more of a history than a manifesto. It features everything from Sappho to the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall, including Magnus Hirschfeld (king of my heart!) and a timeline of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Each page is supplemented with commentary and funky neon illustrations from Molesso and Neeham, who run a stationary shop in Virginia. Everything is bright, cute and diverse.

“Cultivating relationships, supporting one another, and helping each other grow as the amazing queer people you were meant to become while someone living under the same roof, or just being close to your queer peers, is what having a chosen family is all about” (154)

I have the feeling that The Gay Agenda, like many progressive arguments, will age a little awkwardly as queer discourse marches on. It was written in 2019, so there are already a few idiosyncrasies: Elliot Page is referred to as a lesbian, for example. It is rooted very firmly in the Zeitgeist of the last few years.

One day it might even become like my mother’s massive copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves: a literary monument from a bygone revolution and a curiosity for the next generation. The Gay Agenda skews a bit younger than OBOS, though, with flashier language and a hipper aesthetic: Prop 8 is described as “extremely rude” (108) while drag queens are “fabulous AF” (138). It’s a fairly comprehensive guide to queer American history, but not a text for the ages.

Compared to the other books in the Rainbow Room, though, The Gay Agenda is a godsend. Maybe I'm just charmed by the pretty colors. Or perhaps my affection for the book is more philosophical: I love having a community to read it with.

“So many LGBTQ+ people have dealt, will deal, and are currently dealing with rejection on a daily basis, so always remember: you’re not the only one...community is everything” (152)