Lee Mandelo
@leemandelo.bsky.social
phd in gender studies - writer of books (gay southern gothic Summer Sons + t4t appalachian historical The Woods All Black + anthology Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity)- he/him
Pinned
Lee Mandelo
@leemandelo.bsky.social
· Mar 22
I hear it’s Trans Rights Readathon week, yeah? Here’s a few options from me, including Summer Sons and The Woods All Black—plus the forthcoming Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity!
Also, for those so inclined: new leather boots 😘🥴
Also, for those so inclined: new leather boots 😘🥴
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
those of us laid off from Teen Vogue were really fortunate to complete our fundraising goal — the laid-off staffers at VIBE deserve the same support, as Black media outlets and journalists continue to be targeted and discriminated against in “austerity” measures
It was announced on October 16, 2025 that VIBE was "joining forces" with Rolling Stone. As a result, the majority of VIBE employees were laid off. If you have the means to give, this team could use the support! www.gofundme.com/f/support-vi...
Donate to Support VIBE Staff After Sudden Layoffs, organized by Mya Abraham
It was announced on October 16, 2025 that VIBE was "joining forces" with Rolling S… Mya Abraham needs your support for Support VIBE Staff After Sudden Layoffs
www.gofundme.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:38 PM
those of us laid off from Teen Vogue were really fortunate to complete our fundraising goal — the laid-off staffers at VIBE deserve the same support, as Black media outlets and journalists continue to be targeted and discriminated against in “austerity” measures
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
They kidnapped a mayors daughter to stop police reforms
This piece makes it sound totally normal that the police gets to decide whether or not to "work with" Mamdani as mayor, and it continues, as nearly all the paper's coverage, to wield normative terms like "moderate" and left" in a prejudicial way. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/n...
The N.Y.P.D. Prepares for Mayor Mamdani and a New Era in Public Safety
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:28 AM
They kidnapped a mayors daughter to stop police reforms
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Come help me welcome this book and the marvelous @mbsycamore.bsky.social !
Yes, TERRY DACTYL is in the front window *and* on the Contemporary Bestsellers table @strandbookstore.bsky.social, just in time for my NYC launch at the Strand on Wednesday, November 19th (in conversation with @alexanderchee.bsky.social, please spread the word!!🎉🎉🎉 Masks strongly encouraged💕💕💕
November 16, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Come help me welcome this book and the marvelous @mbsycamore.bsky.social !
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
THE WOODS ALL BLACK by @leemandelo.bsky.social absolutely fucks, in case anyone is wondering. The suffocating dread of being queer in an isolated, repressive community pairs perfectly with folk horror. Also, it's HOT.
November 16, 2025 at 9:28 PM
THE WOODS ALL BLACK by @leemandelo.bsky.social absolutely fucks, in case anyone is wondering. The suffocating dread of being queer in an isolated, repressive community pairs perfectly with folk horror. Also, it's HOT.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
For the Disability community, losing Alice Wong is like losing Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler. She was a powerhouse, a pioneer, and a mentor to many. She taught me so much. And always reminded me what we were fighting towards, as well as against. I miss her clarity, bravery, and joy.
Alice Wong
Alice Wong had an outsized impact on Disability justice. As a community organiser, activist, mentor, and co-conspirator, as writer, editor, and friend, she is irreplaceable.
nicolagriffith.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:59 PM
For the Disability community, losing Alice Wong is like losing Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler. She was a powerhouse, a pioneer, and a mentor to many. She taught me so much. And always reminded me what we were fighting towards, as well as against. I miss her clarity, bravery, and joy.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Tesla employees passed around photos of the insides of customers' garages, footage of what they were doing inside/near their cars. The cars were OFF at the time, a nude Tesla driver walking past their car in the privacy of their own garage became a Tesla office meme
Stop embracing surveillance tech
Stop embracing surveillance tech
November 16, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Tesla employees passed around photos of the insides of customers' garages, footage of what they were doing inside/near their cars. The cars were OFF at the time, a nude Tesla driver walking past their car in the privacy of their own garage became a Tesla office meme
Stop embracing surveillance tech
Stop embracing surveillance tech
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Mira Nair:
“Even to say ‘it makes us look bad’ implies that you’ve got the point of view of the outsider […] looking at you. I don’t do that.”
“I never was here to become a part of an A list that was heading to Hollywood. I’m here to do what I want to do as an artist.”
🔥🔥 Ousmane Sembène energy
“Even to say ‘it makes us look bad’ implies that you’ve got the point of view of the outsider […] looking at you. I don’t do that.”
“I never was here to become a part of an A list that was heading to Hollywood. I’m here to do what I want to do as an artist.”
🔥🔥 Ousmane Sembène energy
I interviewed ferociously brilliant filmmaker Mira Nair, a.k.a Zohran Mamdani’s mother, about how her voice and vision have shaped a man who sees a better way forward for all of us. SPOILER ALERT: Love matters.
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
How Mira Nair Built the World That Made Zohran Mamdani
The legendary director talks with Harper's Bazaar about becoming an artist and a parent
www.harpersbazaar.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Mira Nair:
“Even to say ‘it makes us look bad’ implies that you’ve got the point of view of the outsider […] looking at you. I don’t do that.”
“I never was here to become a part of an A list that was heading to Hollywood. I’m here to do what I want to do as an artist.”
🔥🔥 Ousmane Sembène energy
“Even to say ‘it makes us look bad’ implies that you’ve got the point of view of the outsider […] looking at you. I don’t do that.”
“I never was here to become a part of an A list that was heading to Hollywood. I’m here to do what I want to do as an artist.”
🔥🔥 Ousmane Sembène energy
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
This is how predators work. In the initial emails, he thinks he can still fuck her, and describes her willingness as:
* listened to the comments of a LEADING ECONOMIST IN THE FIELD about her presentation
* didn't object when he commented on her outfit
* let him whine about his marriage.
* listened to the comments of a LEADING ECONOMIST IN THE FIELD about her presentation
* didn't object when he commented on her outfit
* let him whine about his marriage.
The sense I am getting through all of this is that Larry Summers used his position to get a substantially junior colleague to listen to him whine about his marriage, then tried to get her to “have a drink with him” and stormed off when she was like no thanks I have a presentation tomorrow.
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
This is how predators work. In the initial emails, he thinks he can still fuck her, and describes her willingness as:
* listened to the comments of a LEADING ECONOMIST IN THE FIELD about her presentation
* didn't object when he commented on her outfit
* let him whine about his marriage.
* listened to the comments of a LEADING ECONOMIST IN THE FIELD about her presentation
* didn't object when he commented on her outfit
* let him whine about his marriage.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
We need to build some real social stigma around being afraid of cities. You don't have to like them or live there, but a politics built this strongly around watching TV and going "ewww" is embarrassing, and people should be embarrassed by it. It's like "fear of werewolves" being your top issue.
June 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
We need to build some real social stigma around being afraid of cities. You don't have to like them or live there, but a politics built this strongly around watching TV and going "ewww" is embarrassing, and people should be embarrassed by it. It's like "fear of werewolves" being your top issue.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Without Occupy Wall Street I probably wouldn’t be a working journalist. It made change in ways some take for granted (building lasting networks that now appear organic and invisible) and some would prefer to ignore (hence people persistently forgetting Occupy didn’t “end,” cops ended it).
It's still wild to me how much we've memory holed Occupy Wallstreet.
November 16, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Without Occupy Wall Street I probably wouldn’t be a working journalist. It made change in ways some take for granted (building lasting networks that now appear organic and invisible) and some would prefer to ignore (hence people persistently forgetting Occupy didn’t “end,” cops ended it).
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
I got snipped at the last time I went off on Trope Derangement Syndrome…but every time I see one of those graphics I get incredibly sad for my profession. Art is more than the sum of its TV Tropes tags! Our work is not “content!!” Let us not go gentle into that extremely online night!!!
I get why authors are compelled to do it, but few things make me want to read a book/story less than those tropelist pointing to the book marketing banners. I really wish they'd go away, but I guess they Do work as a marketing tactic on more people than they're off-putting to.
November 16, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I got snipped at the last time I went off on Trope Derangement Syndrome…but every time I see one of those graphics I get incredibly sad for my profession. Art is more than the sum of its TV Tropes tags! Our work is not “content!!” Let us not go gentle into that extremely online night!!!
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
I wrote about Rosalía's "Lux," martyrdom, and our collective gastrointestinal health johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/eat-me
Eat Me
On Rosalía's "Lux" and our collective gut health
johnpaulbrammer.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I wrote about Rosalía's "Lux," martyrdom, and our collective gastrointestinal health johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/eat-me
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Every time I hear a politician say that an issue is “dividing” this country they always then come down on the side of the right wing view of it. Just once I’d love to hear someone say “this issue is divisive, which is why I’m making the argument that kindness and compassion is important”
November 16, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Every time I hear a politician say that an issue is “dividing” this country they always then come down on the side of the right wing view of it. Just once I’d love to hear someone say “this issue is divisive, which is why I’m making the argument that kindness and compassion is important”
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Everyone has heard of Thirdhop Scarp: the house where a man murdered his entire family, found cupping the heart of his eldest daughter in his hands as tenderly as he would a wounded bird...
@pennyvixen.bsky.social 's A THEORY OF HAUNTING in eBook for only 0.99! https://geni.us/Solarissale
@pennyvixen.bsky.social 's A THEORY OF HAUNTING in eBook for only 0.99! https://geni.us/Solarissale
November 15, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Everyone has heard of Thirdhop Scarp: the house where a man murdered his entire family, found cupping the heart of his eldest daughter in his hands as tenderly as he would a wounded bird...
@pennyvixen.bsky.social 's A THEORY OF HAUNTING in eBook for only 0.99! https://geni.us/Solarissale
@pennyvixen.bsky.social 's A THEORY OF HAUNTING in eBook for only 0.99! https://geni.us/Solarissale
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
I do not think that Mayor Brandon Johnson was elected by people who wanted to defund their library and give that money to CPD.
Following the link in thread to write a budget letter is a good thing to do.
Following the link in thread to write a budget letter is a good thing to do.
The People Want to Read: on the massive budget cuts proposed for Chicago Public Library. What's at stake and what you can do, whether or not you live in Chicago.
buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
The People Want To Read: On Massive Budget Cuts Proposed in Chicago
If passed, Chicago Public Library will lose half their budget for acquiring new books and materials.
buttondown.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:35 PM
I do not think that Mayor Brandon Johnson was elected by people who wanted to defund their library and give that money to CPD.
Following the link in thread to write a budget letter is a good thing to do.
Following the link in thread to write a budget letter is a good thing to do.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Rudy Bridges is younger than the Sitting President of the United States and 29 sitting United States Senators
It’s useful for people of my generation to be reminded that this wasn’t that long ago. Ruby Bridges isn’t just still alive—she’s only 71, not ancient!
65 years ago on Nov. 14, little Ruby Bridges was escorted into an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. Norman Rockwell, renowned for blissful depictions of Americana, did this remarkable painting for Look magazine. Printed as a double page, over-size spread, it's his masterpiece.
November 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Rudy Bridges is younger than the Sitting President of the United States and 29 sitting United States Senators
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
3 years ago today, Riot Games offered me a job making more money than I ever thought I’d make in my life. I had 19 interviews over 2.5 months to get it. Partner and I were moving to LA for it. I put in notice at my job and apartment.
2 weeks later they rescinded the offer due to “headcount issues”.
2 weeks later they rescinded the offer due to “headcount issues”.
November 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
3 years ago today, Riot Games offered me a job making more money than I ever thought I’d make in my life. I had 19 interviews over 2.5 months to get it. Partner and I were moving to LA for it. I put in notice at my job and apartment.
2 weeks later they rescinded the offer due to “headcount issues”.
2 weeks later they rescinded the offer due to “headcount issues”.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
It's eligibility season for lists and awards, so here's my lil plug that Casthen Gain (2025) is eligible in novella categories! As science fantasy, it would be appropriate in either genre. 🫧🍲💜
November 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
It's eligibility season for lists and awards, so here's my lil plug that Casthen Gain (2025) is eligible in novella categories! As science fantasy, it would be appropriate in either genre. 🫧🍲💜
For #transawarenessweek, a bump for Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity!
Featuring contributors from across the globe, including both familiar and fresh voices, it gathers 22 speculative stories about queer and trans futures—and I hope at least one of them will hit for you 🖤
Featuring contributors from across the globe, including both familiar and fresh voices, it gathers 22 speculative stories about queer and trans futures—and I hope at least one of them will hit for you 🖤
November 15, 2025 at 7:15 PM
For #transawarenessweek, a bump for Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity!
Featuring contributors from across the globe, including both familiar and fresh voices, it gathers 22 speculative stories about queer and trans futures—and I hope at least one of them will hit for you 🖤
Featuring contributors from across the globe, including both familiar and fresh voices, it gathers 22 speculative stories about queer and trans futures—and I hope at least one of them will hit for you 🖤
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
Seeing as we're doing a version of this again...
I wrote this in 2018. 6 years later and people still think it's hilarious to mock Trump and Putin by calling them 'gay'
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 15, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Seeing as we're doing a version of this again...
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
"What's happening here is evil."
I wanted to share probably the most important sermon I’ve given and it’s while I’m being arrested. It’s torture pure and simple what happens at #Broadview. I’m ok, though I was thrown to the ground and choked with my pectoral cross. A review of the video shows I was peaceful - did I deserve this?
November 15, 2025 at 4:40 PM
"What's happening here is evil."
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
every time a child dies of a preventable disease in the next few years, that's the payoff for Nuzzis horniness
Nuzzi's fawning coverage of the sociopathic conspiracy crank she was having an affair with aided his rise to political power, which he is using to perpetrate the worst intentional public health catastrophe of our unnecessarily shortened lifetimes, and THAT is the STORY.
November 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
every time a child dies of a preventable disease in the next few years, that's the payoff for Nuzzis horniness
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
There are people you never have the honor of knowing but you feel the ripple effects of their person and their work from the folks who have met them.
Alice Wong made waves that went far. A tremendous loss. Memory eternal.
Alice Wong made waves that went far. A tremendous loss. Memory eternal.
The incredible, indomitable, inspirational Alice Wong has left us.
I'm so grateful to have known her on social media, and so grateful for all the words she shared with us and all the actions she encouraged us into making.
May we live up to her example.
(so you don't have to go to Instagram)
I'm so grateful to have known her on social media, and so grateful for all the words she shared with us and all the actions she encouraged us into making.
May we live up to her example.
(so you don't have to go to Instagram)
November 15, 2025 at 1:18 PM
There are people you never have the honor of knowing but you feel the ripple effects of their person and their work from the folks who have met them.
Alice Wong made waves that went far. A tremendous loss. Memory eternal.
Alice Wong made waves that went far. A tremendous loss. Memory eternal.
Reposted by Lee Mandelo
This is could well be a historic midterm for Democrats.
Don’t waste it on centrists who won’t come through when it matters. Run vocal progressives.
You won’t end Trumpism without anti-corruption crusaders and warriors for social and economic justice who believe in taxes & big, universal programs.
Don’t waste it on centrists who won’t come through when it matters. Run vocal progressives.
You won’t end Trumpism without anti-corruption crusaders and warriors for social and economic justice who believe in taxes & big, universal programs.
Those claiming Dems should retreat on racial justice aren't hard-headed realists, they're pushing against the electoral tide rather than leaning into it. The story of Gen Z isn't about racist backlash or red-pilled young men. It's the most racially progressive generation in American history. 🧵
November 15, 2025 at 4:40 AM
This is could well be a historic midterm for Democrats.
Don’t waste it on centrists who won’t come through when it matters. Run vocal progressives.
You won’t end Trumpism without anti-corruption crusaders and warriors for social and economic justice who believe in taxes & big, universal programs.
Don’t waste it on centrists who won’t come through when it matters. Run vocal progressives.
You won’t end Trumpism without anti-corruption crusaders and warriors for social and economic justice who believe in taxes & big, universal programs.