I’m near the end of the room, tracing each student with my eyes. It’s my first day of discussion at UCLA, and my biology TA has us going around the room saying our name, year, major, and a fun fact about ourselves. My heart thuds in my chest and my instincts tell me to run. My name is Claude now — I no longer have the comfort of living in a cisgender girl’s skin.
Homelessness and Familiar Faces
“As a queer person specifically, there was never a moment of rest — whether living in my car or on the streets — I always had to be on high alert. I was always filled with adrenaline. Trying to sleep on the streets, all you can think about is: ‘Is anyone coming?’”
Pride Admit Weekend Needs More Volunteers: Here’s Everything You Need to Know
I had the pleasure of interviewing Outwrite’s own Ava Rosenberg (they/she) as they prepare for Pride Admit Weekend (PAW) on April 12–14, 2024. PAW at UCLA is the only queer yield program in the country, running for eleven years and counting. In order to keep this awesome tradition alive, PAW needs more volunteers to help run the event. Ava gave me a rundown of what PAW is like and what kind of people are needed to make it happen.
Interview with Kabalikat Kore – Honoring Queer Filipinos During Filipino American History Month
Filipino American History Month is celebrated in October. UCLA has a vibrant Filipino community on campus, with fifteen Filipino-focused student organizations that focus on the academic and personal development of Filipino Americans at UCLA. Kabalikat Kore (KK) is one such organization at UCLA that celebrates and uplifts queer Filipino Americans, giving them a space to meet and socialize with one another. I spoke with Miko Dinulos (he/him), the External Vice President of KK. Miko is a second-year psychology major from Ventura County. We chatted about the importance of Filipino American History Month and the queer Filipino experience.
A Trip in Westwood
UCLA made me disabled.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been ill my whole life. I was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome at 18 months old, a rare genetic disorder that makes my connective tissue more elastic and prone to spontaneous breakage. I hear from every medical professional I see that I am a textbook marfanoid; there was even a photo of 6-year-old me on The Marfan Foundation’s “Signs & Symptoms” page for a decade. I am a literal poster child for my condition.
Queer Fashion Staff Features
Photos by Zoë Collins/OutWrite Interviews by Min Kim/OutWrite This series was originally published in our Winter 2023 print issue “Culture.” Min Kim (They/Them) “Trends never really do dictate whether you’re dressing fashionably or not.” “[Fashion] enables me to put into…
Being My Mother’s Son: A Review of Queer Korean Documentary “Coming to You”
On May 5, 2023, UCLA screened “Coming to You” (“한글: 너에게 가는 길”) directed by Gyu-ri Byun (she/her), a groundbreaking Korean documentary about the mothers of queer adults in Korea. The documentary centers on the mothers, Nabi (she/her) and Vivian (she/her), who are members of PFLAG Korea (Parents, Families and Allies of LGBTAIQ+ People in Korea). Both women are cisgender and heterosexual. Prior to their children coming out to them, they held little to no knowledge about the queer community and harbored discriminatory opinions about queerness. Nonetheless, the documentary made no excuses for their past queerphobia and followed their journeys into wholehearted queer activism.
Identities Intertwined: A Review of “lead me to the lilies” at Chinese American Culture Night 2023
On May 6, 2023, UCLA’s Association of Chinese Americans hosted its 34th annual Chinese American Culture Night. The three-hour production featured performances by several Chinese cultural clubs and its main show, “lead me to the lilies.” As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month throughout the month of May and anticipate Pride Month in June, “lead me to the lilies” beautifully portrays certain nuances of the queer, second-generation Asian American experience.
Visibility and Representation: A Look Into the UCLA Pride Softball Game and an Interview with Coach Kirk Walker
On April 8, 2023, UCLA softball had its annual Pride Game against the Oregon State Beavers. I attended the game to see how Pride was celebrated and also sat down with Head Coach Kirk Walker, the first out D1 coach in the country. He also co-founded the Equality Coaching Alliance and the LGBT Sports Coalition to promote inclusion in sports. Walker received a kinesiology degree from UCLA in 1988, then began his softball coaching career immediately after. He is also a skilled athlete in men’s fastpitch softball and has won two national titles playing as a pitcher. With Walker, the Bruins have made it to seven NCAA Championships and 17 Women’s College World Series.
The Troubling Origins of Queer Labeling: Reflecting on Kadji Amin’s Guest Lecture at UCLA
In Fall 2022, guest lecturer, Kadji Amin (he/him) of Emory University, presented his article “Taxonomically Queer?: Sexology and New Queer, Trans, and Asexual Identities.” I was nervous entering a room packed with mostly graduate students and professors, but when Professor Amin walked on the stage, my nerves melted away. I was gripped by his every word. Not only was his lecture the best one I’ve heard so far, but he was the first Asian trans professor I’d ever seen. As an Asian trans man myself, it was life-changing to see someone like me dedicating his life to studying people like us.