Meg Ten Eyck

Every few years, somebody publishes a think piece asking whether women directors are finally “having a moment.” We’re not going to do that here, because moments end and this isn’t one. What’s happening right now, in the back half of 2026, is more like a cluster: a handful of queer keep circling back to the same messy, funny, unresolved questions about identity that the rest of us are also asking, are making some of the most talked-about film, TV, and theater of the year.

Before visiting, I knew Saratoga Springs for its horse racing history, mineral springs, and reputation as a classic Upstate New York getaway. What I didn’t expect was how visible the LGBTQ community would feel or how much the city’s arts, culture, and small-business scene would shape my experience there. Just a few hours from New York City, Saratoga Springs offers the kind of escape that feels restorative without requiring extensive travel.

Two years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court ruling changed everything, not just for the bars that fought the case, but for an entire city that would spend the next decade becoming one of the most vibrant queer destinations in America. It’s a story that most LGBTQ+ history books skip entirely, and Atlantic City deserves to have it told.