five LGBTQ-themed tote bags against a rainbow prism background
The Goods

Totes Need: 14 Queer Tote Bags

Sure you have tote bags, but are they queer tote bags? What better way to carry all of your LGBTQ+ books around than one of these?

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Jamie Canaves

Contributing Editor

Jamie Canavés is the Tailored Book Recommendations coordinator and Unusual Suspects mystery newsletter writer–in case you’re wondering what you do with a Liberal Arts degree. She’s never met a beach she didn’t like, always says yes to dessert, loves ‘80s nostalgia, all forms of entertainment, and can hold a conversation using only gifs. You can definitely talk books with her on Litsy and Goodreads. Depending on social media’s stability maybe also Twitter and Bluesky.

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The theme for my bookish product roundups is usually built around one product that I saw and loved or found so amusing that I wanted to share it. That’s how I ended up collecting tote bags for Halloween season last year, and did a mini dive into the history of tote bags. This time I was first and foremost inspired by the amount of fantastic queer books I’ve read recently—seriously, off the top of my head I can hit every major genre/category: Bellies by Nicola Dinan (litfic/contemporary); Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty and David Roberts (picture book); Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (fantasy); We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film by Tre’vell Anderson (essays); How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly (romance); Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero (memoir); Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans (mystery); The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado and DaNi (horror).

What better way to carry your LGBTQ+ books around than in a queer tote bag! Below you’ll find a wide range of clever, funny, punny, weird, activist, and pride tote bags. I’ll also put links to more queer book roundups at the end so you can stock up on more books!

a beige tote bag with "totes gay" printed in black letters
Image by JeganMonesArt on Etsy

Totes Gay Tote Bag ($15): We are not awarding tote bags but if we were, a punny gay one would certainly win.

a tote bag with a graphic illustration of an alien eating a rainbow colored banana and text saying gaylien
Image by TinasGshop on Etsy

Gaylien Tote Bag LGBTQ by TinasGshop ($15): If you’re a fan of turning heads with your tote bag, may I suggest gaylien?

tote bag with an illustration of a frog standing like a person in a rainbow colored sweater
Image by TheMiaTime on Etsy

Pride Frog Tote Bag ($20): Or maybe you like frogs more than aliens!

a tote bag with a graphic illustration of a frog in a rainbow cowboy hat that says howdy queers
Image by TongueInCheekPrints on Etsy

Howdy Queers Tote Bag by TongueInCheekPrints ($34): There was no way I was choosing between frogs.

a tote bag with an illustration of a rainbow colored book that says the gay agenda
Image by TwistedImpactDesigns on Etsy

Gay agenda tote bag by TwistedImpactDesigns ($12): The gay agenda’s out of the bag!

a black tote bag with white all caps lettering that says binares are for computers #proudenby
Image by AllPrideThings on Etsy

Nonbinary tote bag by AllPrideThings ($31): It’s always the perfect day to respect people’s pronouns.

a tote bag with an illustration of two people in crowns kissing inside a heart with text saying All Pride No Prejudice
Image by OpalandJuneShop on Etsy.

All Pride No Prejudice Tote Bag ($20): Fairy tale endings for all.

tote bag with an illustration of a spray bottle that says terf repellent
Image by RainbowandCoUK on Etsy

TERF Repellent Tote Bag ($20): Now someone work on making the spray.

black tote bag with rainbow colored lettering saying Equal Rights For Others Does Not Mean Less Rights For You. It's Not Pie
Image by ness7boutique on Etsy

LGBTQ Justice Tote Bag ($25): The tote bag speaks the truth. (I tried to find the source for the quote and with search being what it is now the closest I came is a tweet in 2017 by Jesse Williams.)

black and white sketch illustration on a tote bag of a mermaid brushing another mermaid's hair
Image by LucentAndFern on Etsy

Sapphic Mermaid Tote ($26): These mermaids aren’t just roommates.

a tote bag with a black and white sketch illustration of a woman reading with text saying hopeless aromantic why fall in love when you can read?
Image by ArtByAllora on Etsy

Hopeless Aromantic Tote Bag ($23): Bonus: you have color options between a black or natural bag.

Black Tote featuring drawing of flowers and butterflies in pride flag colors with text saying Intersex
Image by ArienReed on Etsy

Intersex Pride Tote Bag ($20): Bonus: the artist takes commissions!

a tote bag with authors last name stacked in black font: Woolf, Baldwin, Wilde, Sappho, Davis
Image by BookishlyUK on Etsy

Queer Author List Literary Tote ($27): The ampersand list, but make it queer!

tote bag with an illustration of a raccoon reading that says read queer all year
Image by PrideForAllKinds on Etsy

Read Queer All Year Raccoon Tote Bag ($29): Trash pandas are so smart.

To help you read queer all year: A Heartwarming Trans Graphic Novel; Sapphic Sleuths: 10 Mystery and Crime Novels Starring Queer Ladies; Love From The Start: 10 Queer Board Books For Baby’s First Library; LGBTQ Romantasy Books; 15 of the Best LGBTQ Beach Reads of 2024