In July 2021, I decided to revisit my childhood school, Eisenhower Elementary. I decided to go because I had felt so many emotions from the culmination of so many situations, relationships, experiences, and lessons, and I was left with this feeling like I was losing myself. I had recently discovered I was attending UCLA, and much of what was tying me back to the Bay Area was slowly dissipating. The days felt like a blur, like reading the pages in a book and realizing you’ve made it to the end of a chapter and you remember nothing. The sense of liminality and being in a transition plagued me. I was looking for definition from the abstract, something concrete from the abyss.
Do Progressive High Schools Facilitate Queer Joy?
In the fall, I discussed how internalized homophobia produced complicated feelings about my old middle school’s increasingly progressive attitudes towards queer identities and rising numbers of “out” queer students. I unpacked my slight resentment toward those queer students, who seem to have an easier time exploring their queer identities out in the open since they exist in a less oppressive environment.
Our Bodies: A Study on Beauty Standards and Body Image in the Queer Community
It’s summer time! And you know what that means: driving with the windows down, ice cream sundaes, and all of our body image issues that we concealed under winter clothes being brought to the surface!
There is Not Only Sex in Homosexuality
Illustrated by Cole Lopez (They/Them) I am going to start this piece with a declaration of what it is not: it is not a cry against sexuality and sex. The fight for equality in the queer community includes the fight…
Violence in the Shadows of the Binary
Illustrated by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) This article was originally published in our Winter 2022 Volume 2 print issue “Wanting: A Queer Beauty & Burden.“ **Content Warning: harrassment, violence, queerphobia** “Honestly, I just saw something in you that made me insecure…
Back in My Day, We Stayed Closeted in Middle School
Illustrated by Steph Liu (She/Her) This article was originally published in our Winter 2022 Volume 1 zine “Queer Rage, Resistance, & Renaissance.“ Personally, middle school is neither a place nor a period of my life I ever need to revisit,…
CommUnity with UCLA Health at LA Pride 2022: Interview with Carl Barrett and My Experience
Graphic by UCLA Health With LA Pride happening this weekend, it’s that time again to take a look at the event’s sponsors and how their sponsorship reflects their actions towards the LGBTQ+ community. Along with big names like Coca Cola,…
Candidly Cathartic with Cara Connors: A “Straight for Pay” Review and Interview
Photos by Andrew Max Levy “Basically, long story-short, [my ex-husband] wanted me to be like a housewife-type of person, you know, very traditional and, like, with the kids. And … I just really wanted him to be a woman. TURNS…
Femininity in the Queer Community: An Analysis of Too Femme To Fit (Winter 2002)
Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) *This article is a modern analysis of the themes and content of “Too Femme To Fit“ (Winter 2002), the ninth installment of our From The Archive series.* “If your presence disturbs me, I have the responsibility…
My Body Is Not Your Political Playground
On Monday, May 2, 2022, documents leaked from the Supreme Court that Roe v. Wade would be struck down. This didn’t surprise me. For years, I knew that this was a possibility. Since the election of Donald Trump, and when…