Situated in the 1980s and 90s paranormal fiction boom, The Gilda Stories imagines a diverse network of ethical vampires who transgress time and space to straddle immortal/mortal American life. The novel simultaneously engages with Black feminism, Queer theory, and Afrofuturism, establishing the nuanced identities of its Queer women of colour as principal rather than peripheral.
In 2022, people who identify with the label ‘gay’ do so in a world that is perhaps more confused than it has ever been about what it wants to do with ‘gay’ people. In the UK, homosexuality was partially decriminalised in 1967, and more than two decades ago the age of consent for same-sex partners was brought down from 21 to 16 (equal to that of straight couples). It wasn’t until 2014 that same-sex marriages were allowed to take place in Britain. But, more recently, the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill was passed in Florida, preventing classroom discussion of gender identity and sexuality in public schools, and the latest bill to be drafted by Republican lawmakers would see a similar legislature implemented at a federal level.
