photo of Shilpa Rao, a brown woman standing in a forest of metal spikes
Queer Next Up: SHILPA

SHILPA (she/her) is an independent musician from Los Angeles, California. She writes funk, neo-soul, and indie tunes, often touching on complex emotions and themes of growth and solitude. She recently released her debut single, a touching homage to her grandmother — this song features poetic, lyrical writing, and is the first project of many more to come.

illustration of three children surrounded by various pride flags and demons
Pedophilia Hysteria: How Did We Get Here?

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.”

Unions Are An Emerging Political Battleground

Photo by Zoë Collins (She/Her) In the face of an increasingly polarized racial and political landscape, some commentators have carefully noted that Democrats are at a crossroads in terms of their party’s approach to white appeasement politics, where the party’s…

“Don’t Say Gay”: The Would-Be Impact of Florida’s HB 1577

Photo by AP Two days ago, on Thursday, February 24th, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill by a 69-47 vote aiming to limit discussions of sexuality and gender identity in classrooms. The official name of the bill is…

Striking For Our Safety: The Community Calls For Hybrid Options

Photo provided by the Disabled Student Union (DSU), Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC), and Mother Organizations Coalition (MO) In the Fall quarter of 2021, I covered a student protest led by the Disabled Student Union (DSU). The demands for transparency…

On 2021’s Hate Crimes and A Tribute To The Lives Lost: An Analysis of To Live and Get Bashed In America! (October 1988)

Graphic compiled by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) *This article is a modern analysis of the themes and content of “To Live And Get Bashed In America” (October 1988), the second installment of our From the Archive series.* The graphic instances of…

“We Get To Celebrate A Victory”: UC-AFT’s Successful Negotiation with the UC Admin

Image courtesy of UC AFT Instagram: @uc_aft In the early hours of Nov. 17, negotiators for UC-AFT, the union that represents our lecturers, came to a successful agreement with the University of California admin. The strike that was planned for…

What Does the Recent Supreme Court Gutting of Roe v. Wade With Texas’s Abortion Law Mean for Queer Rights?

Image from C-SPAN footage The United States Supreme Court has long been the focal point of political battles and tensions. The failed appointment of Robert Bork under former President Ronald Reagan served as the spark for a common practice known…

The Contra-versial Nuances of Queerness

Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) CW: Queerphobia, transphobia, acephobia, biphobia “Gen Z queer people are hard to figure out,” reads a now deleted tweet by Natalie Wynn, known by her online moniker, ContraPoints. “They’re like, ‘I’m an asexual slut who…