Pillion, the new BSDM romance directed by Harry Lighton, still struck a chord with me. The film follows Colin (Harry Melling) as he falls into a submissive relationship with the hunky dom biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård). From the jump, it’s clear that Lighton’s intention was to play with the trope of validity that surrounds discussions of dom/sub relationships. Can real love be found in such a skewed power dynamic? Is this just a kink that you’ll outgrow and one day leave behind to settle down, accepting a “normal” vanilla sex life?
On a surface level, the film delivers what people probably expect: a dom towering over his sub; the slow unzipping of his leather motorcycle pants with his sub on his knees in a cold, damp alleyway; each rip of the zipper bringing us closer to what we all came to see. I was edging at the edge of my seat, tickled by every other scene with my eyes wide and my hands pressed firmly in my lap. But as the zipper came down, I was surprised to find that my romantic, Cancer moon, Libra Venus heart was tickled too… read more.
Xtra has you covered with weekly LGBTQ2S+ stories and a breakdown of the news currently impacting LGBTQ2S+ communities around the world.
Queer farmers are growing better futures

For generations, LGBTQ2S+ people fled rural areas. Now, they’re putting down roots, farming with a focus on community and the environment
Joan Chen is ‘attracted’ to queer stories

The legendary actress tells Xtra about “Saving Face,” “Montreal, My Beautiful”—and the life lessons that came in between

