Playlist: Speakeasy Bangers, A QPOC Block Party
A-Camp this year was on some new shit. One of the best parts about this past camp was our QPOC-only space called The Speakeasy. Unlike what some people imagined in the comments section of 36 Reasons Why QPOC-Only Spaces Are Very Necessary, The Speakeasy was super fulfilling, didn’t at all increase support for white supremacy, and generally enhanced the atmosphere of queer love on the mountain.…
“The Switch” Is More Than Just A “Transgender Comedy”
Trans representation has always been a tricky subject. With growing trans visibility, it’s sad so many portrayals rely on tropes that are patronizing, condescending, and downright eww, eww, and eww. But while outside portrayals of the trans community remain outdated and stale, trans artists, musicians, and actors have been stepping forward with fresh takes on trans people and lives.
Enter the…
This List of 73 Sexy Black Female Scientists Calls Out STEM’s Exclusion of Black Women
As a woman engineer, I generally find lists of sexy women in STEM appalling. (Like, if we’re saving the damn world, why is it also necessary for us to be sexy?) I almost didn’t click through when I saw Kyla McMullen’s list of the “Sexiest Black Female Scientists”released a few days ago, but I’m so glad that I did. It’s an incredibly impressive group of women, and right at the top of the article,…
Lorraine Hansberry Liked, Hated, and was Bored with Being a Les
Brittani’s Team Pick:“Raisin in the Sun?” What are your thoughts. It doesn’t matter. Because Lorraine Hansberryherself was bored to death of it. So much so that she included it on her “I AM BORED TO DEATH WITH:” list. Now one of my greatest fears is that I will die unexpectedly and all of the random/weird/embarrassing slips of paper I have floating around my room, thrown in folders of keepsakes,…
Also.Also.Also. Migrant Women Celebrate LGBT History and Other Stories We Missed This Week
Hello, superstars! This week my computer spontaneously shut down for no reason, and then tried to restart itself four times! Here’s the news we missed while I was freaking out about a potential technological disaster.
LGBTQ Legislation+ Denmark became the first country to stop requiring a diagnosis of “gender identity disorder” for people seeking to change their gender on official documents.
Un…
Upon Going Home: Review of “The Messiah Complex”
The Messiah Complex. Here Arts Center, April 5th, 2014. Written by Nia Witherspoon. Directed by Shayok Misha Chowdhury.
The Messiah Complexcuts deep into the emotional, spiritual, and literal incarceration of Black people. It’s about the residue from slavery that sticks to our skin and lives in our spirits. This play highlights the ways that systems beget other systems, and how this kind of…
Comedy Crush: Sujata Day, Writer, Actress, App Lover
Sujata Day is a writer and actress that you might recognize from some of our favorite webseries, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and Little Horribles. She’s also appeared on television with credits that include The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 7th Heaven, and Greek.
Laverne Cox Returns to “Katie”, Shows How to Do a “Teachable Moment” Right
Today Orange is the New Black star and transgender activist Laverne Cox returned to Katie, the daytime talk show hosted by Katie Couric, for the first time since her infamous January appearance where she and transgender model and activist Carmen Carrerahad to put up with a barrage of questions about what surgeries they had had and what their genitals were like. Cox and Carrera were able to turn…
Beyond Definition: On Queer Black Love and My Kaleidoscope Identity
I was reading an article that suggested that partnerships are more likely to last when partners have “unrealistic” views of each other. Possibly like mothers who believe that their children are the most beautiful in the world. That idealistic focus, the impassioned affection is what keeps that parent protecting their child at all costs with a fervor that is difficult to put into words. And this…
The Danger at the Intersection of Street Harassment and Compulsory Heterosexuality
The first time I learned about street harassment, I was taught that only I could prevent it. This was about the same time that Smokey the Bear was telling me that only I could prevent forest fires and Captain Planet told me that the power was mine to save the Earth. The world was sure entrusting a lot to seven-year-old me.
The aforementioned logic about street harassment taught me that street…
On the evening of Sunday, June 1, 2014, the world lost a revolutionary, civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama. Kochiyama died in her sleep at the age of 93 due to natural causes, according to her family. The Japanese-American figure featured prominently in the political uprisings and movements of the 1960s, fighting for racial justice and equality. Diane C. Fujino, who wrote Kochiyama’s biography
Confessions of a Beauty Queer: The Best Goodbye of My Life
Everyone keeps asking me, “What was it like navigating the pageant world as a queer woman?” I’m honestly not sure what answer anyone is looking for, but the answer I have is simple: It wasn’t like anything. Why? Because I was strung out on denial. Denial is a real thing — it wasn’t just my a way to cope, it was my lifestyle. Living in denial changed my views, opinions, and perspectives on life…
“We Thought We Had The Voice Forever”: In Memoriam of Maya Angelou
“I thought we’d get to see forever, but forever’s gone away…” — Boyz II Men
“I just thought she would live forever. I don’t know why but I thought she would.” This message appeared in my all social media timelines over and over again yesterday. Yesterday, we lost a defining voice in our culture. One that defined strength, courage, honor and wisdom. It became the small voice in the back of our…
Make A Thing: Sacred Queer Heart Shrines
If you think about it, you’ve probably made a shrine in your lifetime or have one in your living space right now. Remember when you put up posters and pictures of your favorite musicians, actors, athletes, or someone super awesome you admired on your bedroom walls growing up? (Maybe you still do this, which is cool.) I’d say those walls are similar to a shrine by definition — a sacred place or…
36 Reasons Why QPOC-Only Spaces Are Very Necessary
Dear Beautiful Kittens from the Heavens,
We’ve got some things to talk about, especially since we all want to have transformative and uplifting experiences at A-Camp. At this very moment in my life, my 4th A-Camp is happening! This time though a very major event is going to be very different, like so different it’ll probably make some people uncomfortable. Discomfort can be a really good thing.…
