My dad was, at best, very uncomfortable with queerness before I came out to him. For him, this discomfort stemmed from two prominent aspects of Latino culture: Christianity and machismo. Today, 77% of Latinos in the United States identify as Christian, and traditionally, Christianity has rejected queer people (with some exceptions of more progressive Christian denominations; however, these branches are not predominant in Latino culture).
Do Progressive High Schools Facilitate Queer Joy?
In the fall, I discussed how internalized homophobia produced complicated feelings about my old middle school’s increasingly progressive attitudes towards queer identities and rising numbers of “out” queer students. I unpacked my slight resentment toward those queer students, who seem to have an easier time exploring their queer identities out in the open since they exist in a less oppressive environment.
Letter From The Editor: On Queer Joy (Spring 2022)
Dear Reader, I would first like to introduce myself. My name is Christopher and I am OutWrite Newsmagazine’s resident trans/(gender)queer Marfanoid and now Editor-in-Chief. I am finishing up my third year as a part of the OutWrite family and UCLA community, having grown from a hopeful, L-G-B-T, physically exhausted pure Mathematics major to the proud queercrip and rejected art student studying Communication and Disability Studies, who led two of the biggest disability rights actions in the University of California’s history. It’s been an interesting few years, and our collective isolation has allowed me plenty of time to reflect.
Henry and The Fox
Illustrated by Cole Lopez (They/Them) This comic was originally published in our Winter 2022 Volume 2 print issue “Wanting: A Queer Beauty & Burden.“
Our Bodies: A Study on Beauty Standards and Body Image in the Queer Community
It’s summer time! And you know what that means: driving with the windows down, ice cream sundaes, and all of our body image issues that we concealed under winter clothes being brought to the surface!
Drag, Deafness, and Defending Queer Youth with The Mother Birdie: Disability Pride (Month) Spotlight
Photo by The Mother Birdie As we make it to our fifth piece in the Disability Pride (Month) series, I am excited to introduce our spotlighted advocate, Birdie (they/them). For those who are on TikTok, you may know them as…
Colorfully Controlling One’s Identity with Juniper Harwood: Disability Pride (Month) Spotlight
Photo by Juniper Harwood In this next piece for the Disability Pride Month series, we are spotlighting Juniper Harwood (it/xe), an Autigender artist who brings aspects of its life and xyr opinions into its artwork, including the mediums of embroidery,…
What’s HER Problem?: 5 Issues in Trans Dating
Graphic by Christopher Ikonomou (Xe/He)Co-Written by Lorely Guzman (They/He/She) and Mia Riedel (She/Her) Dating can be a messy experience, but when you’re trans, it’s a minefield. Even amongst the queer community, who tend to be more open-minded than their straight…
Art as Activism with Rhiannon Salt: Disability Pride (Month) Spotlight
Photos and Artworks by Rhiannon Salt (They/He) **Content Warning: brief mentions of abuse and toxic relationships, mentions of dissociating and other symptoms of chronic illness and mental illnesses** This article will highlight the moments when the CW is relevant, but…
La Loteria Queered
This project was originally published in our Winter 2022 Volume 1 zine “Queer Rage, Resistance, & Renaissance.“ The artwork for La Loteria was originally introduced by the Spaniards in 1769 to the Indigenous people of what is now Mexico. It…
