And here’s why that’s OK. Coming out to my friends was hard enough (and the consequent decision I have to make of whether or not I want to come out to every new person I meet… but that’s another story…
To Live Proudly: Reflections on 2016 Pride in the Wake of the Orlando Massacre
Language warning: I use “queer” as a reflection of my own identity — this is a personal piece and not designed to force the term onto anyone in the LGBT community not comfortable with using it for themselves. A few…
Asian American “Apathy”
With the intensification of the Black Lives Matter movement across the U.S., I often find conflicting views of where exactly Asian Americans fit into conversations about social justice. Those outside of our community often criticize us for being apathetic. Within…
No, I’m Not Interested in a Threesome: The Tinder Types
For months, my friends had insisted that I make a Tinder account. And for months, I kept up a strong, noble resistance. I have nothing against Tinder or anybody who uses it, but personally, I could never get used to…
Platonic Love and Adamantium-Based Mountains
On Valentine’s Day, the online newsmagazine Wear Your Voice: Intersectional Feminist Media published the article “Platonic Love: Relationships Are More than Just Sex.” (http://wearyourvoicemag.com/2016/02/12/platonic-love-relationships-just-sex/) hyperlink? The article goes into the importance and complexity of platonic relationships and creates the space…
The Gender Conundrum: An Introduction
Does anyone remember when “gender” and “sex” used to be synonyms? Language constantly evolves, especially during times of social change. As America grows more and more PC nowadays, it can seem overwhelming to keep up with all the new words…
Meaningful Beauty
Beauty is an extremely ambiguous value. That’s right, I said it. Beauty is an ideal that we cannot truly depict. Think about it: how can a person state that something they deem to be beautiful is more aesthetically pleasing than…
The Decision to Come Out
After the first time I came out to a friend, I struggled a lot with deciding whether, when, and how to tell people about my sexuality. Like a lot of people, I was hesitant for many reasons, which mainly boil…
Why I’m Rarely Home for the Holidays, and Why I’m Okay With That
I live in a house full of strangers. I call them my family, and the fact that I feel so obligated to do so makes me question how we decide to define that. When people hear that I don’t get…
Abroad in Taiwan: Getting to Know Myself Via Random Fucking
Photo by Joe/OutWrite He was a guy who probably just saw me as a possible fuck and not much else. But I was strangely okay with that. I woke up, freezing, forgetting that I had left the AC on all…