UCLA’s Gender, Sexuality, and Society Living-Learning Community (GSS LLC) held its annual Queer Prom on March 1, 2024. The event was decorated around a “fantasy” theme — colored-paper windows resembled the stained glass of a chapel, long vines entangled every chair, and a projection of a firefly-lit forest flashed the words “Queer Prom 2024” in bold letters.
The Growing Future of Queer Bruins in STEM
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.
The Destruction of Queer Public Spaces Has Forced Us Online
This January closed with police raids on Seattle gay bars. In a scene reminiscent of 20th-century police raids of queer bars, officials with flashlights entered a bar unannounced, took pictures of patrons, and cited a bartender for having an exposed nipple. It’s no secret that queer bars have been heavily policed throughout American history, or that nowadays, lesbian bars are practically nonexistent in the U.S. Queer spaces still exist, but we have lost the thriving queer sex culture of the 1980s largely because of the American political response to the AIDS crisis.
Oklahoma School Bans Gender Change
In 2023, there were at least 32 hate crimes that led to the deaths of transgender individuals. Many trans people may choose not to disclose their trans identity in situations where they feel it is unsafe or unnecessary to do so. Transgender children increasingly face an onslaught of demeaning and even life-threatening pressure to disclose from peers, parents, and, now, educators.
“What Was I Made For?”: Thoughts of a Queer Barbie
I look out over the rolling waves and allow my eyes to rest on her. She’s wearing a fitted white tank top, jean shorts, and her signature silver chain around her neck. Her dimples are on full display as she laughs at something her friend says, and her eyes capture the rays of sunlight and infuse them into her irises, brightening them beyond Technicolor. They’ve broken through to the sixth dimension, and I can’t look away, and I don’t want to look away.
The Fight Over Flags
When I was in high school, my friend and I fundraised and worked with our district to paint progress pride flags at each campus in the school district. While some called our project indoctrination, others claimed it was unnecessary because they believed this was an empty display of virtue signaling. However, as our right to queer expression continues to suffer heavy restrictions around the country, it is crucially empowering to permanently show that we are not leaving. Students may not feel safe at home, and affirming their identities decreases depression, anxiety, and suicide rates by allowing them to be themselves in school. The symbols used to identify people’s orientations and politics inform others of whom to trust.
Why Queer Education Matters
In March of 2022, Florida legislature passed House Bill 1557: “Parental Rights in Education” Bill, also informally referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill. Signed into law in July of the same year, the bill was proposed as a way to strengthen a parent’s right to make decisions about the type of care and education a student receives in public school. Crucially, this bill prohibits the education of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms before fourth grade, after which it has to be taught in an “age-appropriate or developmentally-appropriate” way.
Schuyler Bailar’s Intersectional Impact as an East Asian Transgender Man
Schuyler Bailar is perhaps best known as the first transgender man to compete in the male category of any Division 1 NCAA sport. Since graduating from Harvard in 2019 with a double major in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, he has become a prominent activist for transgender rights and body positivity through his Instagram handle @pinkmantaray. He has also published multiple books on the transgender experience, including his recent book “He/She/They,” which includes the “essential language and context” of gender identity and recollections from Schuyler’s transition journey.