Power, Sex & Silence in the Epstein Era: Who Actually Gets Held Accountable?

Queer 101 with Peppermint · Feb 17, 2026 · 28m

This week on Queer 101, Hugh (my resident historian-in-chief) and I are back in our Sister Outsider era — and baby, we are not keeping it cute.

We pick up where we left off with Audre Lorde and the idea of the erotic as power — not shame, not scandal, not something to clutch pearls over — but something potentially liberating. And from there? Oh, we go there.

Using the reactions to Heated Rivalry (yes, that one 👀) and the very real experiences of trans women being fetishized, we unpack how the Overton window around sexuality, morality, and public accountability has shifted since the 1970s…