Also.Also.Also: Oh F*Ck, the Coronavirus Really Might Be Lesbian Bars’ Final Blow

I have two bananas on my counter that are taunting me right now, but after 50 days inside, I’m exhausted and can no longer think of what to do with them. So anyway, the count remains at: Banana Bread (3), Banana Bread Blondies (1), Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (1), Caramelized Banana ice cream sundaes (1)


Queer as in F*ck You

“Butch identity didn’t feel accessible to me before seeing her in mainstream TV. Butchness — and to some extent even queerness — felt like a very white thing… the most well known butches in mainstream media are often white. Even when I was out in college, the most vocal queer people on campus were also white. I like to think this is changing now.” Why ‘Vida’s Roberta Colindrez Is the Queer Butch Icon We Need Right Now by Natalie Torres for Remezcla

mxmtoon Sings for Queer Teens—and for Herself  by our very own Rachel Charlene Lewis for Bitch

‘Robin Hood’ Cardinal Gave Funds to Transgender Sex Workers in Need During Coronavirus

Few Lesbian Bars Remain in the U.S. Will They Survive COVID-19? There are thought to be just 16 lesbian bars left across the country, and the global coronavirus pandemic could reduce the number even further. (UGH THIS HURT ME SO BAD)

(Also.Also.Also — speaking of dying lesbian bars, have you ever read Dykes Rule the Night by Clare Hand for Autostraddle? It’s hands down one of my favorite pieces that we’ve published in the last year, and a deep dive into the current state of lesbian bars. It’s so good. So Good. Please read it.)


Saw This, Thought of You


Yesterday was the first Monday in May. In another world, in another timeline, that would mean I’d still be gagging from the Met Ball the night before. Alas, we now live in “the after.” But these teens on Twitter won’t let a global pandemic get in the way of their high fashion fun, and the results are gorgeous: Their Met Gala, Their Way. You’re Invited.

We’ve been following this story, and I’m legitimately heartbroken to inform you that despite winning four  fucking World Cups, the USWNT has lost the summary judgement in their equal pay suit against the US Soccer Federation. Patriarchy won this round, but trust — we will fight on another day. And to quote the unequivocal greatest team in US Soccer: I! Believe! That! We! Will! Win!

Japanese Aquarium Urges Public to Video-Chat Eels Who Are Forgetting Humans Exist. To be honest I read that title three times and barely understand all those words in order? I’m sorry. Slimy eels are not my thing, but I bet this is going to make some of y’all real happy.

Tracking the ‘Murder Hornet’: A Deadly Pest Has Reached North America. I REFUSE!

DIV. I Switching From RPI to Net to Assess Teams. OK, Natalie promises me that this is a big deal for women’s college basketball. When Natalie talks sports I believe her. And then I go back to painting my nails and dreaming of marrying a WNBA player one day.

Malic found this and listen, I have no idea what’s going on but its damn entertaining. Boss Bitch Fight: Actresses with Their Stunt Doubles!

It’s Okay to Be Doing Okay During the Pandemic. Stop feeling guilty. Start being useful.

After Decades of Materialism, Americans Are Experimenting With Frugality


Political Snacks

We’re Still Living and Dying in the Slaveholders’ Republic

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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.

13 Comments

  1. Have you tried a peanut butter and banana sandwich? Or just forget the bread and put the peanut butter straight on the banana.

  2. I went to a wedding during The Before where everyone at my table and the one next to me had met at a lesbian bar in the early aughts. These were lifelong friends. Plus I reconnected with a college friend at the same bar when I was 25 and we ended up dating for years. What a major bummer. But thank you AS for being a gathering place!

    I was so bummed about the USWNT.

  3. I love eels, but I gotta admit, they don’t make me real happy.

    They make me eel happy.

  4. they’re garden eels though! check them out! they look like slimey from sesame street.

  5. Thank you for the links, Carmen. Sending the Robin-Hood cardinal one to my very Catholic mother. ;) And the eels! That’s adorable! Too bad the article didn’t include the actual video call contact info, I’d totally count that as “science” for homeschooling purposes…

  6. Banana upside down cake. Banana bread pudding (bread pudding with bananas as fruit)

  7. Oh my godess the Boss Bitch Challenge is all I needed to see without knowing it! Now I need to enlist my dozen of cousins to try it out!(our family tree was unable to produce boys on this side)

  8. I make my overripe bananas into smoothies! You can also unpeel them, freeze them, and make the smoothie whenever you want, nice and cold with no ice cubes needed. Add milk and fruit or green veggies.

Comments are closed.