Absolute Pleasure: Queer Reflections on Five Messy Decades of Rocky Horror

Queer writers including Sarah Gailey, Grace Lavery, and Magdalene Visaggio reflect on the complicated legacy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Since its earliest midnight showings at the Waverly Theater in New York City, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been an underground sensation. Over the past five decades, people around the world have dressed up and gathered in dark theaters to dance, yell, mime obscene acts, and forge connections with other queer people and weirdos.

While the film shattered expectations and social norms at the time of its release, critics have questioned everything from the language used to portrayals of murder, manipulation, consent violation, and cannibalism.

Absolute Pleasure uses The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a jumping-off point to explore queer and trans joy, sexuality, and rage; representation in media; how people understand and relate to gender and sexuality across generations; language and how its meaning changes over time; and what we do with our problematic faves.