Also.Also.Also: According to Latest Study, Insomnia Is Queer Culture

This is going to be very quick and dirty, to the point, because it’s 9pm and I cannot believe I am still here in front of a computer, but here we are!!

I hope you’ve had a better day than I’ve had.


Queer as in F*ck You

Gay Youths Are More Than Twice as Likely to Have Sleep Trouble, Study Finds. Upon sharing this link, our Senior Editor Heather proclaimed, “insomnia is queer culture! I knew it!” And friends, she is not wrong!! In a study that looks at young teens — 35.1% of those who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported trouble falling or staying asleep, compared to 13.5% of straight-identifying adolescents. Adding to those numbers, 30.8% of young people in that age group — those who answered “maybe” to being gay, lesbian or bisexual — reported problems with sleep as well.

Granted I’m a queer adult, but I feel incredibly confident in anecdotally saying those sleep problems don’t go away with gay age! (This also reminds me, have you ever read my magnum opus? “Go The F*ck To Sleep!” 8 Ways to Kick Insomnia’s Ass)

Rest in eternal peace Rachel Pollack, please take time tonight to read Don’t Call Me Mister You Fucking Beast, originally published in 1972.

Speaking of which, The Day Philly’s Radical Lesbians Took on City Hall. “The radical feminist group Dyketactics was beaten up in Philadelphia in 1975 and subsequently sued the city for police brutality.”

Lorraine Hansberry’s Family Says Chicago’s Racist Policies Seized Their Land. Now They’re Seeking Reparations. “Nearly 65 years after the Broadway playwright’s property lawsuit against the city, her family is continuing the fight to reclaim not only their land, but their legacy.”

There’s No Road Map for an Aging Lesbian. “Where is the script for growing gray and staying gay?”

Just making sure you heard that Brittney Griner is writing a memoir.


Saw This, Thought of You

World’s Shortest Dog Is a Chihuahua Living in US. It’s Tinier Than a Popsicle Stick

Sunday was Easter and I can’t stop thinking about this beautiful piece by Taylor Crumpton for Essence, Easter Fashion Sunday Is Black Culture

The Long Covid Revolution. “Millions of American adults are impaired by long Covid. They have a vision for what our society owes to chronically ill and disabled people.”

This New Magazine Aims to Be a Home for the Black Left. “The thousands who were mobilized by George Floyd’s murder need a place to debate strategy and stay engaged. Hammer & Hope wants to be just that.”


Political Snacks

A Conservative Christian Judge Rules Against Medication Abortion. How Hard Will Democrats Fight Back? (and related: Will the Supreme Court Uphold an Abortion-Pill Ban?)

Did the Biden Administration Just Help Trans Athletes—Or Legitimize Their Exclusion? You’re smart, I bet you can guess.


And One Final Thing

Yesterday was the WNBA Draft, and while it wasn’t at the same levels of bb butch fashion as past years, there was still drip to be had. May I present you with Jordan Horston, formerly of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols and future guard of the Seattle Storm?

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Carmen Phillips

Carmen Phillips is Autostraddle's former editor in chief. She began at Autostraddle in 2017 as a freelance team writer and worked her way up through the company, eventually becoming the EIC from 2021-2024. A Black Puerto Rican feminist writer with a PhD in American Studies from New York University, Carmen specializes in writing about Blackness, race, queerness, politics, culture, and the many ways we find community and connection with each other.  During her time at Autostraddle, Carmen focused on pop culture, TV and film reviews, criticism, interviews, and news analysis. She claims many past homes, but left the largest parts of her heart in Detroit, Brooklyn, and Buffalo, NY. And there were several years in her early 20s when she earnestly slept with a copy of James Baldwin’s “Fire Next Time” under her pillow. To reach out, you can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram, or her website.

Carmen has written 716 articles for us.

5 Comments

  1. I’m supposed to start my day but you’ve given me so much distraction material in one post. This site keeps pulling me back and I appreciate you.
    And thank goodness for BG being home, looking forward to the memoir.

  2. Insomnia. Yes. Very much yes. I’ve never been much of a sleeper at all. Maybe 4 hours a night. Maybe. Sucks.

    And be still my heart Jordan Horston, that fit is…wow!! I love the WNBA…for the game, yes the game. 😁

  3. This tracks. 15 up until college Id be awake all hours completely unable to sleep but I would use this time to watch movies, discovering actors who would make me *blinks in lesbian* for the first time.

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