Becoming an adult was defined by overcoming queer trauma. There are days where I fall back into feeling like I am not lovable. But the friendships I have found pull me back into reality, into a world where I am loved and can exist authentically. And so I write them all down in my book and read them to myself when I have doubts. I love you, I love you, we love you so much.
I’m sorry but we’re burning down
Illustrated by Lindsay Oh (she/her)/OutWrite It really sucks when someone you like, romantically and platonically, has vastly different world views than you. This is about that time I learned my friend/crush didn’t believe in climate change.
“The Skin and Its Girl”: Queer Palestine isn’t a fantasy
Soon after her birth, Elspeth Rummani died. Except she didn’t. She came back to life before anyone could even write the time of her death, her skin cobalt blue and otherwise a healthy infant. On the same day, the Rummani’s blue-soap factory was bombed across the world in Nablus of the West Bank in occupied Palestine. Now, 25 years later, she visits her great-aunt Nuha Rummani’s grave at a crossroads akin to the decision her aunt faced years prior to Elspeth’s birth: whether to choose her beloved or a separate future. Elspeth recalls her childhood of ostracization, family, and mystery, woven together by tales from her great-aunt about her family’s history and their soap factory.
Flower Maiden
Kaden/OutWrite There’s a knock, and the house seems to pause. Three years have passed, three years since you last saw her, but the air still holds the weight of stories and laughter that once filled the corners. You step inside,…
Where I Feel God
I feel God in the cats on the side of the road/ Huddling for warmth.
The “Rainbow Ceiling” in Healthcare: Characterizing Modern Inequities in Healthcare & Health Education
Katelyn Lee/OutWrite Content warning: Discussion of HIV/AIDS-related stigma (serophobia) Even in 2024, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) first openly gay president, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, needed to talk about the fight against workplace discrimination in a healthcare system already battling “record…
Love in the Big City: Heterobaiting and Queering Relationships in Korean Media
Korean queer media and literature do not need to conform to Western definitions of queerness to be meaningful. As I write for an Anglophone queer audience, I am reminded that this dialogue is not about proving the queerness of Korean media, but about expanding the scope of queer representation to include its many forms and contexts. Perhaps, rather than queering Korean media for the West, we should allow its stories to challenge and reshape what we consider queer altogether.
Pride Admit Weekend Needs You!
PAW, like many other organizations on campus, is entirely student-run. From the directors to the volunteers, PAW is planned, budgeted, and executed by students. However, this also means that without enough student interest, PAW could cease to exist, eliminating one of the only queer-focused admit weekends in the country.
Meet the New LGBTQ+ Center Director!
After one week as director, Vanessa González-Siegel sat down with OutWrite so we could get to know more about her personal life, what brought her to Los Angeles, and what she hopes to accomplish in her new role.
Stronger Together: The Importance of Community Post-2024 Election
With the results of the 2024 election casting the future of queer rights and safety into further uncertainty and turmoil, it is completely natural to feel afraid. It is important that we allow ourselves time to process and grieve. However, one thing remains clear: now, more than ever, community will be essential in the fight for our rights.