The most read pieces of 2025: Gloryholes, horse girls, neurodivergence and Palestinian legacies
By: Archer Magazine
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Hello familiars, fruits, friends and foe. Dani Leever here, one of Archer’s online editors and the modern equivalent of a 1920s newspaper boy with a weird hat and ugly vest, screaming, “Oi mister, come get ya stories!”
2025 is finally coming to a close. Last year when I was writing this little intro, I made a prediction that 2025 would be slightly better than 2024. To be so wildly, staggeringly incorrect is to be humbled. To be humbled is to be human. And to be human is to Google is it “news paperboy” or “newspaper boy”? That was a real job right? in December because your brain is tired.
Anyway. It’s been a huge year at Archer Magazine. We launched the ART issue, which is a sexy retrospective of over a decade’s worth of Archer imagery. We also launched Archer Studio, our creative studio. We are excited. We are tired. We are gay.
We also got to keep doing what we love: bringing you powerful stories from the margins. Our community of diverse, talented and gutsy writers have penned many pieces. Our community of brilliant, loving and spirited readers have eaten them up. Which pieces were the most keenly devoured? Yum yum.
In no particular order: from sex work to straight boy crushes, neurodivergence to Palestinian literature, this is a snapshot into another year of Archer Magazine. Here are the most read online pieces of 2025.
Gloryholes and art institutions: On censorship, queerness and sex work by Emil Cañita
“I cried at the thought of the stories I captured and my blowjob outliving me one day. I laughed at the privilege of hopefully being seen as antiquated by queers who haven’t been born yet.”
Porn, queerness and moral panic: The new old sex wars by Mish Pony
“In a world still saturated with heterosexism and cissexism, and due to the fundamental sexual aspect of sexuality, pornography will always play a crucial role in many people’s discovery of their sexuality.”
Archer Asks: Pulp author Monica Nolan on lesbian horse girls by Alex Creece
“Then I wonder if riding astride – as opposed to sidesaddle – has something to do with it, as this is historically linked to crossdressing, women’s rights, claiming male privilege, and so forth. But that might just be the detritus of some feminist theory from college.”
Archer Asks: Author Micaela Sahhar on memory, revenge and Palestinian legacies by Alex Creece
“I hope the book allows people to see the amazing resilience of not just my family, but of Palestinian people in the face of catastrophic events, and the ongoing nature and effects of those events.”
Melbourne’s lesbian community: Celebrating sapphic history and connection by Persephone Daisy Hunter
“While many beautiful, welcoming queer spaces exist, being around lesbians – from all walks of life – often comes with a shared understanding that to be a lesbian is to reject this status quo.”
Archer Asks: Poet Eileen Myles on pathetic literature, rescue dogs and puppetry by Alex Creece
“I mean, early on, I think there was a transness to my gender, and I knew it. And it didn’t even seem to be as simple as that I was male. It was something else much more transitory entirely.”
Queer woman looking to hire a sex worker: Phone-a-Dyke Episode 3
“Think about what you want out of the experience in advance: are there particular acts you’re interested in, or certain dynamics you’d like to play out? Perhaps you’ve got a specific kinky scene you’d like to try, or a toy you’ve never used before.”
Crushes on straight men: Masc4masc and Troye Sivan by Tomasz Lesniara
“But why did I resonate so deeply with Troye Sivan’s fantasies? Why does the concept of hooking up with men who don’t identify as queer appeal so much to me, and to so many other queer people?”
Self-love, neurodivergence and sex: Finding peace with all my selves by Ceridwen Millington
“There are deep roots of extreme anger and a cataclysmic response to perceived rejection. It seems that my whole life I’ve been trying to find validation in other people, and to belong to different groups who will finally accept me for who I am.”
Queer and trans improv comedy: Playing with gender by Alanah Parkin
“In a single performance, you can be Dad, Nanna, the kids and the postie. You can be a four-year-old girl who loves bugs, a talking dog, the town goblin, an armchair or an elderly man volunteering at a bake sale.”
Endless thanks to you – our Archer community of readers, writers, artists and supporters all over the world. You’re the heart of everything we do.
Over the holidays, stay in touch on our Instagram, subscribe to our eNews or even pitch us a story after March – when pitches are open again – if you wanna see your name in lights (on this list!) next year.
