I just want to expand my reading/movie material and I am more curious about lesbian culture and media worldwide.

Ill go first...

1. I recently finished up reading Notes of a Crocodile, which was a book written by a lesbian writer Qiu Miaojin in the 90's.

2. I've read Pulse, which blew me away, and its written by a Thai lesbian named Ratana Satis.

Im also fine with books/movies where the plot takes place outside of Canada, the States, or the Uk.

1. I really want to watch Rafiki, which is a movie about lesbians in Kenya, but I cant figure out how to.

2. There was a lesbian series I was watching on Youtube that takes place in India, but I forgot the name, 😭

3. I know that there is a Nollywood (Nigerian hollywood) film about lesbians that is going to come out soon called Ifé which I cant wait to see.

4. A World Unseen is one of my fav lesbian movies, it was actually written by a lesbian too! It takes place between an Indian lesbian couple in apartheid South Africa.

Anyway, as a young closeted lesbian who grew up in a very conservative muslim family, I also love reading about Gay and Lesbian muslims.

1. My favourite book on this is Illegal Citizens by Afdhere Jama, who is a gay Somali journalist who spent years travelling the muslim world interviewing other gays. He also has written on LGBT muslims activists and underground gay networks/organizations in the muslim world. My favourite works of his are the simple happy and tragic love stories he has documented on gay and lesbian muslims worldwide. If anyone is interested in gay life in the muslim world I recommend looking into him.

2. I Cant Think Straight is my favourite leabian book/movie where on of the love interests grew up muslim. AND it was written by a lesbian from a muslim background named Shamim Sarif.

3. I have read a fictional teen book by an Iranian author Sara Farizan about lesbians in Iran called If You Could Be Mine

4. Even though I am a hijabi in my late teens that was born an raised in the west, I was a bit disappointed that couldnt really relate to the book The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan too much. I think its because it was written by a straight woman and the writing was just...meh. The book is about a Bengali lesbian that was raised in America btw.

5. Again I was also a bit sad reading the book Loving You Wasn't Enough about a bisexual Somali woman who falls in love (or infatuation) with an Indian woman. The book is written by Fatima Warsame who again is straight. The lesbian relationship were not taken anywhere near as seriously as the straight one, and it sucked seeing the main character end up in a straight relationship due to religion and stuff.

6. I havent finished reading Henna Wars, which is a book about a muslim lesbian from a Desi background that grew up in the west. I listened to the beginning and its okay so far I guess. I think the whole coming out plot at the beginning sounds a bit too western, but Im going to hold out on final judgement till I actually finish the book.

Anyway, I think more books and media on lesbian muslims should be be written by....lesbian muslims lol. Otherwise it sounds like they are just writing about us as one-dimensional characters for diversity/woke points, ugh. Too many stories about gay muslims are depressing irl, so why take that mood to fiction too? I like reading as a form of escapism so being a lesbian from a strict muslim family and watching/reading more tragic stuff happening to other gay muslims triggers me a bit.

There is also no real effort to put ANY sexual energy into the lesbian muslim books written above 😤 They act like all us young lesbian hijabis want to do is just sit around holding hands and shit. The only book I randomly stumbled upon that provided this was written by...a bisexual "muslim" man lmao . Ill try to see if I can find that title again.

Edit: I completely forgot I Can't Think Straight by Shamim Sarif (who is gay) which doesn't suffer from the above issues.

Im also starting to get interested in lesbian books that take place in Latin America, so if you have any suggestions on where to get started, I would greatly appreciate a reply.