Description:
A Literary Hub Notable Small Press Book of 2025
Queer writers 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. For 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.
The film shattered expectations and social norms at the time of its release. But how does its presentation of queerness--not to mention its portrayals of murder, manipulation, consent violation, and cannibalism--hold up today? The essays in Absolute Pleasure--by queer writers including Sarah Gailey, Grace Lavery, and Magdalene Visaggio--explore the film's complicated legacy, along with queer and trans joy, sexuality, family, generational understandings of queerness, and what we do with our problematic faves.
Brief description: Margot Atwell is a writer, editor, publisher, and creative community builder. She is the author of Derby Life: A Crash Course in the Incredible Sport of Roller Derby and coauthor of The Insider's Guide to Book Publishing Success. Her writing has been published in LitHub, The Creative Independent, Clarkesworld, On the Books--her newsletter about the intersection of creativity and money, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn, and you can find her online @MargotAtwell and www.margotatwell.com.
Review Quotes:
Praise for Absolute Pleasure
"One of the most-central queer texts, presented in a thoughtful bouquet with the occasional marigold of critical analysis poking through." --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show rocked my world as a teenager in the '70s, and the light it showed me over at the Frankenstein place was where I first learned I could remove the cause, and enjoy the symptom, of being trans. The essays in this expansive anthology are so many lighters, held aloft, that illuminate the enduring influence of this film." --Susan Stryker, author of When Monsters Speak
"Virgins and veterans alike will find something to contemplate in this wide-ranging collection, which is not afraid to interrogate a beloved classic while also celebrating its profound impact on weirdos and misfits across generations. As one of those weirdos, I'm so glad it exists." --Jess Zimmerman, author of Women and Other Monsters
"A collection as colorful, subversive, and comforting as the film it celebrates, Absolute Pleasure immortalizes in print The Rocky Horror Picture Show's still-unrivaled capacity for building queer connection and community in ways both wistful and wicked." --Joe Vallese, editor of It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror
"As someone with a Tim Curry tattoo on my arm, Absolute Pleasure sent glorious shockwaves of recognition through my body with each and every soul-baring essay. I felt validated, fascinated and 'toucha toucha' touched by every joyous, bittersweet, libidinous, liberating, mascara-smeared confession from fellow Transylvanians." --Darren Stein, director of Jawbreaker
"Absolute Pleasure delivers exactly that! Knowing that so many fellow, lonely young outsiders were guided to the light over at the Frankenstein place and found where they truly belonged reaffirms my lifelong passion and fandom for all things Rocky Horror. I smiled so much while reading this that my face began to ache." --Peaches Christ, filmmaker and cult leader
"Absolute Pleasure is a poignant and timely reflection on this iconic film and what it has meant to so many, not just as a movie watched but as an experience and a cultural touchstone. At a time when our community needs it most, this collection brings playful hope." --Sassafras Patterdale, author of Lost Boi