I don’t like heights, and I don’t like edges. But there we were, on the edge of madness.
Samira Wiley - Refinery29 “Hollywood’s New Power Players”
photos by Olivia Malone
styled by Tara Williams
makeup by Tanika McConnell
Breaking the Habit: Exes, Past and Future
Breaking the Habit: Exes, Past and Future
I stumbled upon the idea that our exes all leave lessons, reflections on experiences we’ll have in the future. Those “us” moments, the laughs, the arguments, the cute little spots, the things that make our bodies tick, the break ups: they all find themselves mirrored in our future. Staring back at us, and we think, “Funny, how…” I had such a moment about 2 years ago.
See, at some point I was a…
LGBTQ Students Need Representation in Textbooks — and a Whole Lot More
LGBTQ Students Need Representation in Textbooks — and a Whole Lot More
I recently heard CeCe McDonald speak, and the youngest person in the room stood to ask a question. This small human was probably nine or ten, and asked CeCe what other transgender women she looked up to. CeCe named Janet Mock and Marsha P. Johnson, among others, and the moment elicited a collective awwwwwfrom the several hundred people in the room. I thought about how important it is for young…
Dear Queer Diary: The Place Where You Journal
Dear Queer Diary: The Place Where You Journal
When I tell people that I write a (nearly) weekly column about journaling, I often get skeptical looks. How could someone possibly come up with something new to say about writing in a journal every seven days? I will admit that it does sometime seem a tiny bit ridiculous.
And yet you, my dearest queerest diarists, have borne testament to the fact that my quest is not, in fact, an impossible one.…
Top Ten Ways to Survive the Summer Without Air Conditioning
Top Ten Ways to Survive the Summer Without Air Conditioning
I don’t think of myself as a hero, but what you’ve heard is true: I work from home in a poorly insulated house and also have no air conditioning. I actually have never had air conditioning, not even a window unit. Someday, I’ll be able to buy a used one off Craigslist; until then, you can benefit from my experience.
This is what my house feels like but but with more humidity
1. WaterDuh.…
On the drive back home, I was angry. Why did this person have to yell at me?! I didn’t mean any harm!! I thought I was making a good point about sexist language! Why can’t I make that point?!
[…]
Most importantly in my defensive tirade of personal excuses I failed to recognize the most important issue… I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE TRANSGENDER. Yet, here I was, thinking I knew more than a transgender person about what language is appropriate for them and what they should or should not be offended by. […] Being confronted about my ignorance was humiliating, but worse off, I made the whole thing about me. How they made ME feel by confronting ME like that. How shitty I felt in that moment when it should have been about them and how I made a whole room of their peers laugh at their struggles and then feel obligated to apologize for their choice to bring it up.
[…]
LANGUAGE MATTERS. In the same way a racial slur brings back a SLEW of painful memories for me and a reminder of the entire history of those words and what they have meant to people and how they have been used to hurt people. I was wrong and it’s important to accept when you’re wrong. No matter how stupid, old, embarrassed, and ignorant it makes you feel.
[…]
There is no way we can please everyone. All of this, I understand, but at the same time, I can’t expect I don’t have to take responsibility for the things I say. I made that comment and it made half of the room laugh, but one person felt gutted. Not just offended. GUTTED. Harassed. Laughed at. Mocked. How could that possibly be worth it?
“The Language of Comedy: On Defensiveness and Being Wrong“ -Autostraddle (via thenoodlesoupwetaketowork)
Asylum Seekers and “Dishonest” Sexualities: Bisexuality at the Border
Asylum Seekers and “Dishonest” Sexualities: Bisexuality at the Border
32-year-old Orashia Edwards, a bisexual man and long-term resident of Leeds, was denied asylum yesterday by the UK Home Office as Judge Clive Heaton QC declared that Edwards was being “dishonest” about his sexuality. No justification was given for this verdict, but Edwards has a 14-month-old child in the UK and has expressed frustration at the assumption that he could “fit in” with straight…
Burger King’s “Proud Whopper” Isn’t Anything For Gays To Be Proud Of
Burger King’s “Proud Whopper” Isn’t Anything For Gays To Be Proud Of
This morning my email inbox greeted me with a press release from Burger King proudly declaring the release of the PROUD WHOPPER® Sandwich:
Burger King Worldwide, Inc. is broadcasting a widespread message in support of self-expression with a digital film launching today on Youtube.com/BurgerKing. The film was created at a BURGER KING® restaurant at the heart of the San Francisco Pride Parade route…
Web Series “Twenties” and Lena Waithe, its Queer Black Writer, Are Headed For BET
Web Series “Twenties” and Lena Waithe, its Queer Black Writer, Are Headed For BET
Feature image via News One
Remember that time we told y’all to check out this cool web series called Twenties because it was developed by a queer Black woman and told the story of a twentysomething-year old queer Black woman and her friends?! Remember!? Well… Twenties will be making its way to BET now that the series’ writer, Lena Waithe, who is also a queer Black woman, has signed a deal to…
San Francisco Dyke March Is Our History; This is What Its Present Looks Like
San Francisco Dyke March Is Our History; This is What Its Present Looks Like
The San Francisco Dyke Marchis the most beloved and highly participatory pride celebration in all the land. The first Dyke March was held in 1993 and organized by the Lesbian Avengers, Queer Nation and the National ACT UP Women’s Committee and had an astounding attendance of 10,000 lesbian-identified women. Throughout the years, the San Francisco Dyke March has grown to the largest in the nation,…
I assumed everything would be fine because this was about two hours before I learned that at any given moment, anything at all could happen, even something so terrible it seems impossible. Like you’re going somewhere and suddenly you are crushed by a rock. That’s how life is, it turns out.
“Before You Know It Something’s Over“ -Autostraddle (via thenoodlesoupwetaketowork)
The Language of Comedy: On Defensiveness and Being Wrong
The Language of Comedy: On Defensiveness and Being Wrong
I know people say that words don’t mean anything and that we ‘empower’ them by being hurt by them. Especially comedians. I hear all the time the phrase, “no topic is off limits.” Everything/everyone is game. And while I believe that is true for many performers and obviously a part of what stand-up has been and still is for some, I don’t agree with this philosophy. Words can be powerful,…
Also.Also.Also. The Notorious RBG Wants Women and Queer People to Win Elections and Other Stories We Missed This Week
Hello, all-stars! This week my little brother graduated from high school! Here’s the news we missed while I was trying to get “Pomp and Circumstance” out of my head.
Sometimes the Supreme Court Does Good Things, Too+ The US Supreme Court upheld a California law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBT minors.
“The Supreme Court has cement shut any possible opening to allow further psychological…
Fool’s Journey: Good Cards, Bad Cards
Fool’s Journey: Good Cards, Bad Cards
It’s very common, especially when you’re learning tarot, to see certain cards as ‘good’, meaning only happy things for the querent, and others as inherently ‘bad’, so that the sight of them is enough to totally freak you out.
Life’s a bitch and then you die: the Ten of Swords from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot
I was doing tarot readings at an event a few weeks ago, and, as always happens, someone…