If you’re queer, someone else in the world cringes at your identity in the same way you do at furries; you could just as easily end up on “LGBTQ+ Cringe Compilation #32” as soon as someone decides your identity is cringeworthy, so why wait? Pick up that hobby you thought was embarrassing, and show it to your friends.
Fighting for the Queer Youth: In Loving Memory of Nex Benedict
On Feb. 7, 2024, Nex Benedict, a transgender, Two-Spirit teen of Choctaw descent, was assaulted in their high school’s bathroom by three girls who had reportedly been bullying them and their friends for the way they were laughing. Benedict went to bed with head pain following the altercation and their mother rushed them to the hospital after they later collapsed. They were pronounced dead on Feb. 8.
A Jigsaw Puzzle Is an Act of Creation
Sometimes I look in the mirror when the angle is just right and fall in love with the sight of my chest, flat and unburdened. Like the rolling desert that I like to call home, just miles and miles of unbroken land. At this moment, no one has ever touched me there except to lay a hand flat, feel the press of my sternum against their palm, and nothing else.
Childhood, Silliness, and Photo Albums: An Interview With Amelia Day on “Little One”
Despite being classically trained, Amelia Day doesn’t limit herself to just one genre of music; she dabbles in folk, jazz, soul, and indie alike. Her acoustic guitar combined with imagery like “maple street, matcha tea” and “I left your heart out to dry on a clothin’ line stretched across central time” creates a listening experience full of familiarity and warm, golden light. She splits her time between Nashville and Seattle and has generated a fanbase spanning the American South to the Pacific Northwest.
Creation and Recreation
In the era before the internet, queer communities were localized, each one unique to its geographic area. When the AIDS pandemic spread throughout the world, killing an estimated 1 in 15 gay men in America by 1995, it not only came with a horrific loss of life, but also decimated communities and networks of queer people across the country.
Under the Synth and Glitter: A Review of Queer, Autistic Artist Elliot Lee’s “Fun” and “Easy To Be You”
Elliot Lee is an unapologetically LGBTQ+, nonbinary, and neurodivergent dark pop artist. In the past month, they released two new singles: “Fun” on May 19 and “Easy to be You” June 9. Both of the songs deal with feeling like an outsider and wanting something you don’t have but ultimately coming to the conclusion that being yourself is the only way to live life.
A New Sort of Sin: A Study on Historic Connections of Lesbians to Satanism
In the broader scheme of American history, the Satanic Panic was one of many moral panics that got mainstream culture whipped up into a frenzy about the supposed threatened integrity of the ideals they held near and dear to their hearts. These moral panics were often a misdirected reaction to underlying issues; the public’s reaction to this was often to scapegoat other groups to deflect from the true cause of these issues. In America during the 1980s, the sexual abuse of children was finally being confronted after years of being ignored; and the public’s response to that frightening prospect was to turn to an equally frightening cause (to deflect from the more uncomfortable idea that it was really people they knew and trusted that were sexually abusing their children): Satanists.
Good News Amongst the Bad: Recent Pro-Trans Legislation
In the past year or so, there has been a scourge of discriminatory legislation targeting the entire Queer community, transgender individuals in particular. Bills have been introduced in state legislatures that attack freedom of expression, access to gender-affirming care, education, and visibility for the transgender and broader Queer community. These laws are an astonishing and frightening violation of basic human rights and speak to a worrying rise in widespread anti-transgender intolerance. Essentially, conservative politicians are trying to write Queer and trans people out of existence.
“It Was Never That Serious”: Noah Schnapp’s Coming Out and Who We’re Leaving Behind
In January, Noah Schnapp posted a TikTok that read, “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years, and all they said was ‘we know.’” The sound he lip syncs to says, “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, it will never be that serious.” He captioned it, “I guess I’m more similar to will than I thought,” a reference to Will Byers, the character he plays in the show “Stranger Things,” who was confirmed by Schnapp to be gay in an interview with Variety last year.
Love Songs of a Different Tune: A Valentine’s Day Revisit with Rio Romeo
Last year, we interviewed butch lesbian singer-songwriter Rio Romeo about their Valentine’s Day release, “Bet.” They’ve released a full EP since then, “Good God!” — a project full of what they called “love songs” in our last conversation (they certainly delivered). Just a couple days ago, they released a new single, “Danke Schoen.” Now, a year later, we all meet again, under some of the same conditions as last time. It feels almost like meeting an old friend, and we all catch up for a couple minutes before diving in.