Latest news with #Sapphic
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kelly Clarkson's new look is so, so gay — and of course lesbians are spiraling
Kelly Clarkson's got a new hairdo and a spiffy new outfit to match, and lesbians are already going absolutely feral for the pics. The look was debuted in an Instagram promo video for the upcoming season of The Voice, where Clarkson will be returning as a judge after last working on the show in season 23. There's something about a new format, bringing back old winners to coach — blah, blah, blah. Honestly, any self-respecting queer woman stopped paying attention the moment Clarkson turned around in that chair. Between that new delectably messy haircut, a button up, and an unfastened bow tie around her neck, she looks like she could be body doubling for Brandi Carlile in a new music video and it is hitting all the right vibes. Let's go ahead and be clear about one thing. Clarkson has outright stated on more than one occasion that she's straight. And it's not our place to argue with people about their sexualities! But she is not remotely shy about catering to the lesbian gaze and we absolutely love her for it every time. Because Clarkson knows what she's doing. She embraces it. She embraces us. The American Idol alum is more than happy sing sapphic song after saphic song on her show. And while it's one thing to pull out music from Chappell Roan — arguably the biggest rising star in pop last year — it takes a whole other level of confidence to bust out some freaking t.A.T.u. in the year 2025. And even if/when Clarkson isn't baiting the lesbians on purpose, she doesn't act anything other than flattered when we're all lining up to smile stupidly at her all the same. That in and of itself basically earns her an army of queers ready to kneel and pledge allegiance to her in exchange for a single wink. So when she drops a look like the one she's got on in The Voice promo, well, you can imagine how sapphics on the internet have been reacting. "Okayyy Kelly Clarkson. I feel like this look will be a hit with the lesbians haha" "she's gonna show up with a 26 year old butch any time now I can FEEL it" "Respect to her. Whether that's her gig or not she knew she had to restore the balance that was greatly disturbed by tradwife jojo siwa" "i have been saying for a long time that i feel a kelly clarkson wlw arc is in our future. we're getting closer…" "i'd let kelly clarkson kick me in the throat as many times as she wanted to send tweet" This article originally appeared on Pride: Kelly Clarkson's new look is so, so gay — and of course lesbians are spiraling RELATED 36 times Kelly Clarkson has covered songs by Sapphic musicians on her show Kelly Clarkson explains the wink driving lesbians wild and says she'd go for an 'older woman' 'I like my girls a little bit older': Kelly Clarkson cover leaves Sapphics swooning
Irish Examiner
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Suzanne Harrington: From hair-do to hair-don't — I just don't care about hair-care any more
On my way to the hair salon to get my newly short hair cut even shorter, I tell my partner about what happened when my sister shaved her head a while back, going from a regulation shoulder-length lady hairdo to suedehead in less than 10 minutes. Her partner thought she was using her new baldy look to signal an unexpected rerouting in a Sapphic direction, a route on which he was not invited; that she was visually breaking up with him, via her hair. Her tweenage daughter, outraged at the unexpectedness of her mother's GI Jane skull, refused to speak to her for weeks, while older relatives assumed the worst — that my sister was bravely undergoing chemo. Why else would a woman shave her head, unless she had become possessed by the spirit of 2007 Britney? 'Ha ha,' I say to my partner. 'Imagine all those inferences from a Number 2 setting on the clippers. Doing a sexual U-turn or having cancer or both. Almost as though straight women owe the world their hair.' 'Ha ha,' replies my partner nervously. 'You're not shaving your head, are you?' When I emerge with a buzz cut — my son and I now have identical short back and sides — my partner does his best to conceal his dismay. He's a modern man. I'd go as far as to say a feminist, and although he wouldn't know Andrea Dworkin if she headbutted him, he does recognise Simone De Beauvoir's idea that women are not born, but made. He gets it — in theory at least. But Sinéad aside, turns out baldy women are not his thing. For context — I have not got rid of my hair because of a sudden attraction to other women (a pity, living as I do in Brighton, lesbian capital of the universe). Nor am I undergoing chemo, thanks for asking. No. It's far simpler — I just can't be arsed anymore. The clue is in the second syllable of haircare. It's a Boots aisle I no longer wish to visit. After 40 years of hair caring — from my first teenage dye-job, to decades of bulk-buying hair colour and DIY'ing over the bathroom sink, to snipping my fringe in the mirror — I want a hair holiday. A hair don't care. I want no further involvement other than occasionally rubbing my head with a bit of kitchen-roll. I want to break up with my hair. And yes, when I look in the mirror, it's not a version of Sinéad looking back at me, all big eyes and bone structure, as much as Jo Brand — someone I greatly respect and admire, but don't necessarily want to see in my reflection. But at 57, can't-be-arsed wins hands-down over vanity every time. The only problem with a buzzcut is that it grows out, which is why men go to the barbers every two weeks. Unless of course you stash a set of hair clippers in your bathroom cabinet in place of all the stupid hair products relentlessly marketed at us from puberty to deathbed. Bzzzzzzz. 'Are you identifying as they / them now,' asks my partner bravely. He's doing his best, but he's struggling. 'Your lovely hair,' he whispers, almost to himself. Then he locks himself in his car for a cry. Read More What we know about that couple on Coldplay's kiss cam
New York Times
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Best Spicy Romance Novels, According to Ali Hazelwood
While I read and enjoy books with varying levels of spice — and I do not believe that every romance novel needs to include explicit scenes — I must admit that I have a soft spot for books in which the characters' emotional and physical intimacy mirror each other. Sex scenes can highlight character growth, heighten romantic tension and advance the plot. And, above all, they're fun. Here is a list of some of my favorite steamy novels. It includes old favorites and soon-to-be-released gems — books that contain just one or two sex scenes and books in which the smut is the plot, books where the spice starts early and ones where the slow burn will make you tear your hair out. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! The One in My Heart I first read this book in 2015, when I was a wee grad student. Ten years later, whenever someone asks me to recommend a romance set in the STEM field, this is still the first one I mention. Eva is a material scientist on tenure track; after a one-night stand with Bennett, a cardiothoracic surgeon, she agrees to be his fake girlfriend and help him reconcile with his estranged parents. Thomas's prose is beautiful, and the characters are complex and endlessly fascinated with each other. The back-and-forth between them feels so charged, it's nearly as hot as the actual sex. Curvy Girl Summer This book not only has the best banter I've ever had the pleasure to read, it also has a perfect opening line. Aaliyah is ready to find 'The One' — and, after lying to her family about her nonexistent boyfriend, she has just seven weeks to do it. So she gets on dating apps and decides to conduct all her first dates at the local bar. Enter Ahmad, the bartender. It's a slow burn: Aaliyah and Ahmad become friends first, which leads to a healthy dose of pining that makes their happy ending even more satisfying. I highly recommend the audiobook; the narrator, Wesleigh Siobhan, is a master at conveying both humor and sexual tension. Scandalized Gigi gets stranded at an airport with her childhood crush, Alec, and the two end up sharing a hotel room (among other things) in this entertaining novel, which mixes a celebrity romance (Alec is an actor) with a suspenseful thriller (Gigi is a journalist investigating an important story). The pair's chemistry is instant: I've rarely encountered characters who are so combustible together, with plentiful spice that evolves in tandem with their emotional relationship. Heat and Run This book is the future of the Omegaverse (I'll give those of you unfamiliar with this erotic paranormal subgenre a moment to do some Googling). In this Sapphic polyamorous novella, the plot and the spice are one and the same: Melina gets stranded in a mountain lodge with two women who provide her with many orgasms during a difficult time. Sex-fest aside, the way the three women's personalities fit together is what makes the story memorable. Temple of Swoon Full disclosure: I loved this book by the queen of adventure rom-coms so much, I blurbed it. Miri, an archaeologist, is leading an expedition through the Brazilian rainforest to find the Lost City of the Moon. Rafa, who joins the crew as a photographer, wants to sabotage it. Not only is this book packed with action and archaeological lore, but Miri is impossible not to root for. Plus, there's something special — and especially hot — about two people who fall for each other while their lives are on the line. Between Friends and Lovers Another recent favorite I blurbed! This is only Obuobi's second book, but she is already building a reputation for her stunning prose, emotionally resonant characters and powerful explorations of relationship dynamics. After a birthday party gone wrong, Jo, a cardiologist, resolves to give up her unrequited lifelong crush on her childhood best friend. Instead, she focuses her attention on Mal, who may be the best fictional man ever created. An important part of the story is Jo's virginity, and when she enlists Mal to help her lose it, pure romance magic happens. Flirting With Disaster After years of estrangement, Meena goes to Texas to finally ask her husband, Nikhil, for a divorce — only to find herself stranded with him because of a hurricane. This heartwarming and sexy novel is a beautiful, sometimes angsty examination of how a love story can be rekindled when one least expects it, and of the ways people evolve within relationships. The sex scenes come with lots of baggage, which makes them deeply emotional. Marriage and Masti While this 'Twelfth Night' retelling is the final installment in a trilogy (and my favorite of the bunch), it can be read as a stand-alone. Veera and Deepak are friends who've been harboring romantic feelings for each other for a long time. Once they become stuck in a fake marriage, the yearning intensifies, and watching them fail miserably to keep their hands off each other and guard their hearts is an absolute treat. Silver Elite For the last year or so, I've been craving dystopian romance, and this book (which I blurbed) delivers. When Wren, a psychic rebel fighter in an authoritarian realm, is forced to join an elite military training program, she decides to use this opportunity to defeat the regime from the inside. But the longer she and her commanding officer, Cross, spend together, the more undeniable the attraction between them becomes. The only downside to this book is that it doesn't come out until May; once it does, you can join me in impatiently waiting for the trilogy's next installment. Just Our Luck After Sybil loses a winning lottery ticket in a steamy one-night stand, Kieran returns it to her, and the gesture is captured in a viral video, which boosts his struggling bakery's fortunes. The pair decide to fake date — just for a few months, to keep the sales going, of course. Williams always writes likable characters who lust wholeheartedly for each other, and this perfectly sweet and spicy novel is no exception. Fan Service Devin, a washed-up actor and former star of a paranormal detective show, wakes up in the woods, naked … and transformed into a werewolf. The only person who can guide him through this ordeal is Alex, a former fan of his show, whom he once offended. As a semiprofessional fangirl, I felt like this book was written specifically for me. It also has quite a bit of negotiated kink, which made me absolutely feral. I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com A biologist crash lands on a planet with her newly acquired pet lion, meets two sex aliens, and the three of them fall in love. With me so far? The truth is that no summary can ever do justice to the all-consuming experience that is reading a Kimberly Lemming rom-com. Her books are all hilarious, unhinged, heart-wrenching and fantastically heavy on the spice, while incorporating several fun and creative alien biology elements. This one is scorching hot, full of joy and unmissable. Captive Prince This is the first book in a trilogy and, fair warning, things get dark. The series is full of intrigue, betrayal, battles and people who do terrible things — and somehow, this makes the relationship that blossoms between the two leads even sweeter. Prince Damen is captured in the war between two rival kingdoms and becomes a prisoner of Prince Laurent, who has no idea who he is — or that Damen killed Laurent's brother. The constant tension between hate and love makes this book, and the rest of the series, unputdownable. Late Bloomer Opal wins the lottery and buys a farm in North Carolina. When she gets there, she finds Pepper, who insists that she is the property's rightful owner. Cohabitation and fireworks ensue. This Sapphic rom-com is a perfect example of how explosive a well-executed opposites-attract trope can be. It's a beautiful character driven story, at once cozy and deeply introspective, with plenty of spice and flashes of Eddings's whip-smart humor.
