Holding On to Let Go

Photo by Zoë Collins (She/Her) She felt the presence approach her before she heard the sand shifting beside her head. “This isn’t like you.” She opened her eyes to a half squint. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she responded. “Come…

Bashing Back: Why Self-Defense Matters

Illustrated by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) The subject of guns rarely comes up in queer spaces, and it’s no mystery why: right wingers dominate the discourse on self-defense, gun ownership, and Second Amendment rights, and their record on queer positivity has…

Coming Out(Write): Our Stories

Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He) Members of the queer community are expected to “come out” because our society views being cisgender and heterosexual as the default. However, everyone’s identity is their own. We should be able to come out on…

Representation: Queerness and Butterfly Soup

Screenshot from Butterfly Soup, a visual novel created by Brianna Lei. Trigger Warning: mentions abusive parents (of one of the characters) Do you ever find yourself clinging to representation? As a queer Asian American individual, I often find myself doing…

Five EnGAYging Graphic Novels

Image designed by Martha Cabot Over the past year, I’ve found myself gravitating toward graphic novels whenever I have time for spare reading.  Partially, this is because they are usually much quicker reads than text-heavy novels.  It also helps that…

With Queer Wins this Election, What does this mean for Queer People?

Last updated on 5/2/22 at 4:36pm PT to update a broken hyperlink. Revolutionary. Trailblazing. Tenacity. Coalition. Change. Hopeful. These are some words that were given to me by queer folks when asked for one word they think grasps how these…

Being Queer in a Small Town during COVID-19

Photos by Jaden King When UCLA announced that online instruction would begin Week 10 of winter quarter and last until April 10, ultimately to be extended throughout the remainder of the academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I contemplated…

Work! A Queer History of Modeling

Elspeth H. Brown, Professor of History at the University of Toronto, visited UCLA on Jan. 23 for the second event of the 2019-20 QueerCurrent Lecture Series.  The talk was named “Work! A Queer History of Modeling,” after Brown’s most recent…

For the Honor of GAYskull: The Origins and History of She-Ra

Graphic by Kit The popular streaming platform Netflix has been releasing large amounts of original media in the past couple years. Some of these productions are entirely new, such as the animated series The Dragon Prince or the movie Bright,…

SCAR TISSUE

Graphic by Mark Julien. CW: mentions of suicide, pejorative language Words have power.  They can bruise and they can cut.  Although you cannot see the scars on my skin they are there.  I have been carefully and skillfully cut and the…