To be frank, conservatives across the country are going hysterical. Far-right Republicans have co-opted the term “family-friendly” into a sensationalized rallying cry for concerned conservative parents. The purported link between pedophilia and queerness has created an uptick of anti-gay and anti-trans legislation that one NPR article even referred to as a “cascade.”
Is “Nonbinary” Being Turned Into a Third Gender?
Men love sports. Women love makeup. Nonbinary people love mushrooms, frogs, assigned female at birth (AFAB) thin white bodies in masculine clothing, short hair and they/them pronouns. When people don’t know any nonbinary people in real life, they don’t even question the accuracy of these representations; the internet and media decide the image of the nonbinary community.
Kit Connor, Biphobia, And The “Perfect” Bisexual
On Oct. 31, 2022, Kit Conner, one of the stars of Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” took to Twitter to announce his bisexuality. He wrote, “back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye.” Fans of the show were quick to reply with messages of support. Many of the replies empathized with him, as viewers were upset that he was forced to relinquish parts of his private life after facing accusations of “queerbaiting” when he was spotted with a girl around his age.
Who’s To Blame?
Illustrated by Kelly Doherty (She/Her) Straight people can be homophobic. While this may not appear controversial at first glance, vetting media representation of homophobia illuminates the salience and necessity of this assertion. By perpetuating the trope that homophobic individuals are…
Roe v. Wade: What’s Next?
Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022 reversing 49 years of legal precedent in the U.S.. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has made it clear he does not plan to stop there, and gay marriage could be next up to take a massive political hit.
A Revisit
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…