Celebrating 25 Years of the Queer Magic of Janet Jackson’s “The Velvet Rope”

This October marked a quarter of a century since the release of Janet Jackson’s landmark sixth album, “The Velvet Rope.” Beyond just being the most ambitious and beautiful LP of Jackson’s career, “The Velvet Rope” was also the vital release where she fully embraced her status as a gay icon and LGBTQ+ ally.

The History and Stigma of HIV/AIDS: HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day

Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) In 1981, the first cases of what would later be known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were reported in America. In hindsight, there had been deaths that would later be attributed to AIDS as early…

Silence = Death: Lessons in AIDS Activism

Credit to ACT UP Over on Bruinwalk on a cold February day, at least three fundraisers are taking place. Most are for Dance Marathon, an event that enlists thousands of students to raise money to fight pediatric AIDS. They’re wearing…

New Film "We Were Here" Looks Back at the AIDS Generation

Netflix “We Were Here,” a documentary examining the early years of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and its terrifying and heartbreaking effects on the LGBT community in the 80s and 90s, will be released to select theaters on September…