Cancer season is a time when people are deep in their feelings.

Sick of performativity, and pretty overwhelmed with the state of the world, getting vulnerable like our fellow Cancers has been cool as of late, but it’s time for Leo season to pick up the pace and dazzle.

As fanfic makes its way onto the big screen and storylines revel in the complexity of the real-life queer experience, summer is here and the forecast is looking spicy.

With chances for renewed worldbuilding opportunities, better representation and a dose of steamy romance, dialled-down storylines are on their way out.

Things are looking brighter and more inclusive wherever you fall on the astrological horizon, especially for those who have had enough of clean Hollywood and have been waiting for the comeback of queer representation.

The Insight Forecast
The insights behind what's happening in culture and what this means…

If you’re part of the ‘chronically online’ club, you’ll most likely have come across an image of Zendaya sitting on a bed between Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. Challengers, the highly anticipated romantic drama, has made cultural waves by reinvigorating the reign of tenniscore and encouraging a whole new category of ‘rodent’ sexiness – recentering ideas of non-traditional relationship structures in the process. Placing polyamory on the big screen, the movie takes a concept that has previously been challenged and boils it down to the fulfilment of being loved by and in love with more than one person.

Netflix’s black and white adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley offers viewers the ‘gayest Tom Ripley’ yet. Forgoing expectations of moral purity, the show builds on a growing band of queer villains that drive home the point that characters do not have to be likeable to be gay. While a seemingly straightforward declaration, the ability of these characters to be queer-coded yet devilish speaks to the changing landscape of consumer desires. Long over the fluffy elements of queerness, LGBTQ+ communities and their allies want multidimensional character representation without the need for explanation.

Directly drawing on these new-age consumer desires, ABC drama 9-1-1 has given viewers a taste of their wildest dreams by turning fan fiction into a fully-fledged reality. Evan 'Buck' Buckley has come out as bisexual, with an episode depicting him kissing his fellow firefighter Edmundo 'Eddie' Diaz. Aside from being deeply exciting for the diehard Buddie shippers who have been waiting 6 years for this moment, this move speaks to both the growing influence of fan values reflected and represented in the media, as well as demonstrating a way of leaving behind notions of trauma that are traditionally built into coming out narratives.

The Trend Prediction
Thinking about where this cultural shift will go next and why…

This evolution of understandings of queerness is set to up the stakes of what representation looks like and where people expect to see it. Viewers are no longer willing to settle for tokenistic, surface-level exploration, and they want to avoid having to look high and low to find the content they desire, often to no avail.

In fact, 3 in 4 Americans report that content which represents different cultures or people is a key factor when choosing what to watch. As platforms such as Netflix remove queer titles such as Everything Now despite rave reviews, there is a growing consciousness of a gap that needs to be filled in the mainstream.

The power is being placed back in the hands of the people, and brands will be held accountable – expected to go beyond outdated and reductive narratives previously clung to, instead choosing to champion and explore nuanced, unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable forms of content.

As fans gain the power to influence entire character arcs and storylines, and with Gen Z comprising the most diverse generation to date, media and entertainment narratives are likely to get more and more imbued with inclusivity in all its formats.

The Curated Culture Guide
Want to see the insights forecast and trend prediction in action? Check out our curated culture guide for more…

📸 UK: in London until 26th January 2025, visual activist and photographer Zanele Muholi’s exhibition at the Tate Modern explores the diversity of the South African LGBTQIA+ experience.

🏳️‍🌈 US: making its way across Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Dallas in 2024, the Queer Justice travelling exhibition by The American LGBTQ+ Museum spotlights the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and equality.

💥 APAC: organised by the Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association, Taiwan Pride 2024 is rumoured to be one of the biggest LGBTQ+ pride events in East Asia. In addition to a parade, the event will feature live shows, performances, and a grand post-parade party.