Letter From Your Editor
Hello books I don’t want to return to the library! Welcome to another thrilling edition of The Insider, a tiny community newsletter about how I’m scared I’ll never be a real grown-up if I can’t figure out how to start conversations with other human beings. Anyhow, this month we all watched Orange is the New Black:

Top row, L to R: Riese, Brittani, Heather, Vial of Piper’s white girl tears, Aja drinking Piper’s white girl tears, Audrey, Yao Middle row, L to R: Robin, Alley, Lizz, Stef, KaeLyn, Maddie, Hannah Bottom row, L to R: Chelsey, Carmen, Mari, Gabby and Laura watching Alex Vause together via the internet, Lydia, Rachel, Yvonne
And that’s how that went. Seriously though, look at how amazing Kaelyn is, and also Yvonne is SO MAD. Yvonne is very mad about Season Three.
Well, A-Camp was incredible, y’all. Everybody blew me away — campers, staff, talent and Bonecrusher. We work so hard leading up to camp — prepping for camp is like a job on top of a job for most of us — and it’s so wonderful to finally be there and to have a chance to breathe and have fun and share our passions, skills and string cheese with other human beings.
Catching up has been a bit stressful since returning, but I’m also excited that in a few weeks we’ll go to Big Bear for Shakedown, an annual meeting of the Senior Staff Minds. Undoubtedly, Alex will prepare magical cocktails and coordinate an epic family dinner, and we’ll talk about how to make my life less stressful, and also how to make y’all comment more, continue our fight to take over the world and publish more personal essays.
Carmen Rios, our valiant Straddleverse leader, has been working with Cee to make it even easier for you to find out about events in your area and Claire Suer, the superhuman who’s turned Cincy into a queer field of dreams, will soon be coming to you with words on how to get your local meet-up group on blast. You’ll notice a new sidebar on the homepage updated with all the latest events, and they’ll always be accessible here.
It’s also PRIDE Month and we’re throwing a little all-ages afternoon get together with Everyone is Gay in New York on June 27th, co-hosted by Kristin Russo and Gabby Rivera, featuring Mal Blum, Jenny Owen Youngs and Khalin Vasquez. ALSO, speaking of Pride and speaking of Everyone is Gay, the third issue of Better Together, “Queer Sultry Summer,” is on sale now in the Autostraddle store and it is gorgeous. I’m so proud of it. If you love this site enough to join A+, you will love this color mini-book illustrated by Rory Midhani and including an original Lumberjanes comic they drew JUST FOR YOU. IT’S A LUMBERJANES COMIC SET TO A MARY OLIVER POEM, Y’ALL. Also. Also. Also., BlogHer is doing a paid campaign with us and you can win a ticket to attend!
Our next podcast episode should drop this week, and we hope you enjoyed what morsels of A+ content we provided for you this past lean month: A+ Bee Special Edition: A Swarm of A-Camp Bees, 30 Excerpts From Heather’s Diary, 2010-2012, Mari’s essay Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding a Relationship with My Dad, and The A+ Bee Issue 21: Bee Sheets To The Wind.
Love,
Riese
Top 10 Most Popular Posts From May 2015
These posts were hella popular last month.
1. Lesbian Prom Gallery: Heartwarming Photos of Girls Taking Girls To Prom, 1985-2015, by Riese Bernard
2. Cate Blanchett Has Had Many Relationships With Women, What Is Even Happening, by Heather Hogan
3. No White Tears: A Non-Guide on Dealing with Microaggressions from Your White Partner, by Gabby Rivera
4. Miley Cyrus Is Not Heterosexual, So, by Riese Bernard
5. VIDEO: Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar’s “Bad Blood” Music Video Is Fucking Awesome, by Riese Bernard
6. BREAKING: Janelle Monae Allegedly Rocking MC Lyte’s Body, by Stef Schwartz
7. Sorry Y’all, Cate Blanchett Didn’t Actually Have Many Relationships With Women, by Heather Hogan
8. NSFW Lesbosexy Sunday Is Thinking About You, by Carolyn Yates
9. B is Hilarious: What She’s Doing When She’s Not Texting You Back, by Brittani Nichols
10. Why You Should Care About Lesbian Safer Sex (And What To Do About It), by Christy Duan

Rosemary, Carmen, Kai and Emily dance to “Uptown Funk” at A-Camp 6.0 (photo by Taylor Hatmaker)
Nine Important Excerpts From Editorial Conversations
Rachel: Did they give you anything to make your eyes better for now?
Heather: Yep! Some new drops and some kind of wash and an ice pack that’s a patch I can wear under my glasses, because I was like, “I cannot see and I need to work!”
Rachel: Oh my gosh
we live in the future
a future for eyeballs
Heather: Yeah it was like a secret. He was like, “keep an ice pack on that eye all day” and I was like “No, because I can’t wear my glasses with an ice pack and I can’t see shit out of my other eye without my glasses AND I NEED TO WORK” and he left and came back with this little eye patch miracle.
what a world
Rachel: I hope you explained “I need to recap this show about four thirty year olds playing teenagers who are being stalked by a psycho murderer because what if they make out and also this is supposed to be THE SUMMER OF ANSWERS”
“GIVE ME AN EYE PATCH”
Heather: hahahaha!
I should have lead with “it’s the SUMMER OF ANSWERS!” he would have understood the urgency then
Rachel: “I’m sorry did you think i said it was the summer of ICEPACKS? because it’s NOT.”
Riese: I just wonder if these vaginal problems existed before industrialization and before processed food and stuff — like did women get yeast infections and UTIs on the Oregon trail and if so wtf did they do about it
Rachel: I feel like they probably suffered in silence
and/or tried to treat it in with lard or something
Stef: You would go hunting, and you would shoot a pixelated squirrel, and probably shove that in there
Carmen: I feel like this just got unexpectedly dark
Carmen: Guys, at camp Nurse Viv wanted to send so many of us to the ER I love her so much
Chelsey: She did! She was very into the ER
Stef: “Somebody else should probably look at this”
Chelsey: My wound is better but now i have a rash from this tape I bought off the mountain. Everything is better on the mountain except wounds
Gabby: omg Chelsey your wound
I just wanted to love on you the whole time
It was green!
Carmen: Chelsey’s a survivor
She’s not gonna give up
She’s not gonna go to Redlands
Maddie: UM my grandmother just made fun of me for being a lesbian stereotype because I have a bunch of keys a la “Ring of Keys”
Cameron: Is that a stereotype?
Lydia: Does this involve carabiners?
Maddie: Yes indeed
A carabiner that doubles as a bottle opener
Cee: I think hooking your keys to your belt loop has been the “Hey I’m a dyke” accessory for at least 15 years now, maybe longer I forget.
Cameron: Oh wow. I guess there’s one level of stereotype I became less gay in since high school. This is a fascinating revelation.
Lydia: I only found out about them a year ago. I’m yet to be led astray by the theory though.
Audrey: My missionary co-worker recently joked about how putting his keys on his belt loop made him an old man and in my head I thought “or a lesbian” but I did not verbalize it.
Stef: Or a person on tour, or a person with a lot of keys
Carmen: I don’t wear mine on my belt loop usually but when I do, I feel extremely gay. That’s my two cents.
Maddie: Yes, while this isn’t the first time I’ve heard this as a stereotype, I do feel my carabiner use derives more from my possession of many keys than sexual and romantic desire
Carmen: I don’t use a caribiner
which explains why I’m spelling it wrong
Laura: Do straight people not need to carry keys?
This stereotype confuses me
Cameron: No. All doors are open for the hegemony
Carmen: I always thought it was in place of a purse because all my gay girl friends who clip keys to their jeans don’t carry them
Stef: I just always have a lot of keys
Always have always will
Laura: At RIT, they gave out caribiners to college freshmen? so everyone carried their keys this way
little did they know.
on ramp to lesbianism.
Laneia: I AM HERE TO REPRESENT FOR THE KEY MINIMALIST. We who will never need a carabiner!
Anna: When I first came out I remember thinking “gotta get a carabiner”
Cameron: They didn’t include one in your starter kit?
Riese: Maybe it got stuck in the toaster
Cecelia: OITNB IS OUT EARLY. I need someone to be excited with me
Stef: But I’m at work for so many more hours WHYYY
Raquel: WHAT
Cecelia: I am watching episode one RIGHT THIS MOMENT
Riese: WHATTTTT
Nikki: !!!!!! My prayers have been answered Do you know how long I have been searching for something to watch on Netflix and then I decided five minutes ago Men in Black II was a good decision? I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW.
Riese: I am extraordinarily happy for you Nikki
this has been a serious twist of fate in your evening
things were about to go so wrong
Raquel: Nikki I think it may have been you that tipped the universal scales in all our favors with that potential decision.
Riese: G-d saw what you were doing and was like
WAIT OKAY FINE HERE’S THE SHOW
Carmen: We can’t call our series “The Babe-B-Q” can we, Rachel, we can’t, I know, I’m dealing with it right now emotionally
Rachel: Wait why can’t we
Carmen: Will someone find it offensive
Rachel: Because it sounds like we are barbecuing and cannibalizing babes?
Carmen: HAHAHAHA
Rachel: I feel like ‘babe’ has entered the ranks of gender neutral noun
Carmen: I REALLY HOPE THIS IS TRUE
I like the term ‘babe’ a lot
I’m so glad I drank enough coffee to ask you about this, Rachel
Rachel: I just feel like grilling is one of those things that queer women really deserve to take over from straight dudes
we’re better cooks, we’re more responsible with fire, we look better in cutoffs, etc
Carmen: Yes it totally is
Rachel: Maybe I can try to do a post on good veggie burgers
Carmen: Rice patties
Rachel: Because if I have one more well-meaning meat-eating friend serve me some falling-apart haystack of shredded beet bullshit I will probably die
Carmen: I think the phrase speaks for itself
Gabby: It’s a skeevy dude abbreve
Kaelyn: I assumed as much.
I obviously don’t have young tits or I would know this
Carmen: When I’m done making this troll account I’m getting #youngtits tattooed onto my face
What if I changed my twitter name to young tits just for the day and all I tweeted was the link to Gabby’s article
Gabby: hahahahahaha
Carmen: My new rap name is yung teetz
Gabby: yung teetz dropping the LP #YTGATE
Carmen: I just went to tweet #youngtits and then realized it would appear so fucked out of context
Gabby: Can’t be a feminist tweeting bout young tits, bro
Carmen: I wish they could
This is a new feminism
#youngtitsfeminism
Gabby: DONE WITH U
Carmen: I might look for sources of information about the term “yt” and then post it at the bottom of the comments thread and then put a gif that says “ENOUGH”
Heather: I did a lot of freelancing for facebook last year, basically in app development, and one of the main developers I worked with, I’m still friends with him on facebook. “Friends.” So he went on this tirade yesterday about women on social media and the “witch hunt” against tim hunt, and i usually would run the other way from that shit, but this guy, he’s a big deal in the tech world, so I thought, you know, I should try to educate him. well: ha, y’all! ha ha ha! in the last 18 hours, he has called me hysterical, shrill, puritanical, has defended robin thicke, and used a chris brown music video as a rebuttal for a reason I cannot and will not ever understand. oh, and “lady brain” is a thing he said to me. So, that’s where we’re at re: facebook today.
Rachel: How did Robin Thicke even get involved in this, I am amazed
Heather: He said if I can’t handle a couple of sexist jokes from a famous scientist, he’d love to see my face at a club when “modern music” came on, like for example, female hysteria over Robin Thicke — hang on, i need a direct quote here — oh, ha! He deleted the thread! good call. I cannot imagine his responses playing well to the world at large.
Stef: Female hysteria!
Rachel: “I bet your reproductive organs wandering around inside your body like this linotype plate from 1892 illustrates really inhibits your ability to appreciate music and technology! So there!”
Heather: He was also like, “a lot of women are sending me private messages because they’re scared to comment here because they’re scared of you.” Which was amazing. No one has ever been scared of me a day in their life.
Rachel: I assume scared that you are going to literally witch hunt them
Throw them into a lake and then convince Cotton Mather to kill them in the town square
Heather: I have been waiting my whole life for someone to land a contextual Cotton Mather joke. My whole life has been lived now!
Riese: Ashley Benson also has a gal pal
Stef: Does this ashley benson have a gay instagram
by any chance
Heather: Oh she and Shay Mitchell crawl all over each other on instagram
they have their own hashtag #buttahbenzo
Stef: Welp
Heather: Shay’s instagram
Buttahbenzo on tumblr
Riese: These people on this instagram are very attractive
Exceptionally good-looking specimens
Stef: I don’t know anything about this television show but congratulations to everybody’s gene pool
Heather: I don’t like to look at it too much. it’s like staring at the sun.
Riese: Omg these girls are horrible!
They are such lesbian teases
It’s hilarious
What the FUCK is this shit
Heather: Right?
Riese: Maybe they’re all for you
Heather: Well in real life, they do all want their characters to be lesbians.
Riese: They’re like, “let’s look gay for Heather Hogan”
Heather: The way Ashley is in Shay’s neck in that one is literally the first thing in life that made me go, “No. I cannot.”
Meet Some New Contributors!
Get to know some of our newest faces. This month we’re featuring not one Abby but two Abbys!
Abby Braughton, Contributor
Instagram: @gohomeyankee
If you could only use one emoji for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I think my emoji usage is pretty incoherent. Usually, I like to use whatever is non-relevant and just follow my heart with it. Say my gal pal is like “what’s up for tonight???” my response is usually something like “idk [egg in frying pan emoji, maybe guy on surfboard emoji, maybe hat with a pretty bow emoji].” Actually, let’s just go with hat with a pretty bow, it’s so nice. Very lady-like.
What is your favorite kind of sandwich?
White bread, fresh tomato. Maybe some salt. That’s it, girlfriend. Maybe eat it barefoot on a porch for some added flavor.
Describe the worst date you’ve ever been on.
Oh, geez. Listen, I’m going to be honest. One time, I got so nervous that I literally threw up. And not like… privately. Like on her. On everything. It was so much. In a moving vehicle that I was trying to be really cool and drive one handed and it just didn’t happen. It was everywhere, I’m sorry this is so gross, I was just nervous and I got a little headache and then next thing you know it looks like someone spilled… I’m not going to give you metaphorical visuals. Anyways. She was a saint and hosed me down in a church parking lot and not that day, but another day, we kissed on the lips so it wasn’t that bad, maybe? Actually, it was pretty bad.
What’s your favorite sex toy?
Anything that can be re-purposed for camping gear too, ya feel me?
What’s your #1 turn-on?
Someone that makes me laugh! Which, doesn’t really narrow down the population, but it’s a start. Possibly also is being really skilled or passionate about something? Like seeing someone do the damn thing is always my fave thing. Like how my girlfriend Riese is so funny, so skilled and so passionate.
What’s your #1 turn-off?
Mmm, I get really uncomfortable when humans are rude to other humans, so maybe that. Or really, if someone has any history of voting Republican.
Abby Higgs, Contributor
Twitter: @abbyhiggs
Website: slowclapabby.com
If you could only use one emoji for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’m a big proponent of the classic poop emoji. It’s appropriate for every chat, if you ask me.
What is your favorite kind of sandwich?
I really like tuna salad on marble rye with swiss.
Describe the worst date you’ve ever been on.
Well, I went on an OkCupid date with a woman who worked for the NSA once. We figured out right away that we weren’t compatible… at all. Still, we went to the Annapolis Mall for some stupid reason. When I was ready to be done with the whole shit-show (poop emoji), I could NOT get her to leave the Lego store. Now, I’m a big fan of Legos, but it was for us time to cut ties and never speak to one another again. I coaxed her out after 45 minutes with a soft pretzel. She’s probably reading this RIGHT NOW from her desk at work.
What’s your favorite sex toy?
An apricot.
What’s your #1 turn-on?
A woman in a corset.
What’s your #1 turn-off?
Someone who doesn’t read actual literature on a daily basis. Or if she has anything by Anne Geddess — I’m outta there.
HELP US
Rachel: Hi @channel! You’re all looking very hydrated today, nice work. It’s that time again when I need pictures of you for the A+ insider! This month, I’d like you to send me *a picture of you with a facial expression which communicates your feelings about the upcoming S3 of OINTB*. Please remember to *EMAIL ME THIS PHOTO* instead of sending it to me via slack. Every time you slack me a photo for the insider instead of emailing it, I cry a single tear that falls into my iced tea and makes it taste weird and salty, and an angel sighs. Okay thank you I love you i can’t wait to see how outrageously cute your faces are!
Audrey: Now the only face I can make is despair at the thought of ever making you sad :disappointed:
Rachel: Maybe that’s what we should do for next month’s collage
a selfie of your face when you think about rachel being sad
Audrey: We could also probably leverage that to get more people to join A+
Rachel: It would be like those ASPCA commercials with the sarah mclachlan song
a slideshow of us all crying while kd lang’s cover of “hallelujah” plays
and at the end there’s a donate button
Cameron: I think you should do that.
Rachel: I also like the idea of an infomercial-style approach
like black and white footage of us opening the fridge and frowning because it’s empty, and the editors telling a writer we can only pay them sixty cents and a hot dog bun for a story
and then someone donates and then it’s in full color and we’re eating a sandwich and smiling
Audrey: Like a real sandwich, not even a burger made of rice and yesterday’s black beans.
Rachel: A sandwich with more than one food group involved
and there’s a shot of us signing a rent check and passing it to the landlord and everyone smiles
Riese: Who’s landlord gets to be The Landlord
Mine is middle-aged and always has a bit of chest hair showing where his printed shirt is slightly unbuttoned at the top
I think he might be gay but Abby doesn’t think so
Rachel: That’s a pretty solid landlord look
we can use your landlord
Riese: I wish my old landlord was still here
The murderess
Rachel: Mine wears cargo shorts and is mostly bald
Cameron: I think Stef has the most compelling horror story landlord right now
Riese: Good point, Stef’s landlord wins
Although Robin & Carly’s landlord decided to demolish their garage while they were at camp, so there’s also that guy
Rachel: Robin and Carly watching their garage be demolished should go in the black and white reel
Cameron: And Stef’s can just be black and white the whole time but with like. brighter with higher contrast when people donate.
Riese: Now we just need a budget to produce the video
Cameron: Aaanad we’ve come full circle.
Flashback: When We Marched In The New York City Pride Parade

New York City Pride 2009: WE ALL MARCHED IN THE PARADE!

Look at us marching like champs!

New York City Pride 2010 – Julia, Lily, Emily, Becky, Rachel and Laura march in the parade while the rest of us slept!

Then we all showed up!
Some Answers To Some Things You’ve Been Asking Us
Do you have burning questions about what the fuck is going on around here, Doris? Ask us — just use the A+ priority contact form in your sidebar. Because we get SO much mail in the A+ box, from this Insider forward we’re just gonna include the questions that need a public response — like if you tipped me off to a story for the Business of Art fix, for example, instead of pasting that whole recommendation here, I’ll just read the article and put it in the next fix!
Riese, why NYC? Do you think its still the place for people straight out of college, or would you recommend they go somewhere else?
I haven’t lived there in five years so I’m not sure! But for me personally it was where I always wanted to go, where I always knew I would go, and where I could live the life I wanted. And I did! And I loved it. Joan Didion says it’s a place for the very young and the very rich, and that’s true — if there’s a time, “after college” is that time, because one day you’ll be 33 and no longer feel capable of sharing an apartment with five roommates, doing all your work on your bed because it’s the only piece of furniture in your room and eating ramen noodles every day. NOW IS THE TIME.
So how does one go about scoring an interview with Samira Wiley? Her agent? Knowing a friend who knows a friend who knows a cousin who knows a sister who knows a friend? Through Netflix executives? Through wishing upon a fairy? A reward for doing a million trillion good deeds? A combination of any (all) of these? What I’m getting at here is, AS I would love it if you guys got a chance to do an Samira interview! Especially with OITNB just being released, it feels like the timing is NOW. But also, I know that it is probably impossible and I love it here anyway. Thanks for always doing such a good job! Have an ice cream (non-dairy or otherwise) on me!
Actually Samira Wiley is legitimately really close friends with several LA-based Autostraddle team members! But all her interview requests have to go through her PR agent and then Netflix has to approve it. We tried a few times in 2013 to get interviews and were rejected, we could try again this year maybe they’ll go for it now that she’s BFFs with B.
Just wanted y’all to know that when I searched Google for “feminist strip club portland” in preparation for an upcoming trip, your Queer Girl City Guide to Portland, OR was the first thing that came up and it made my day.
This is VERY GOOD NEWS. You kinda made my day too, so thank you!
question for laneia! hi laneia! so i have a 17 yr old boy interning with me at my farm and i need help. we do hours of weeding, harvesting, washing, planting etc in almost complete silence. it is not for lack of trying! i have tried talking to this youth several times and he is pretty much unresponsive. i know you have sons so i was hoping you could help me relate to this kid? is this normal? what are some topics they enjoy? hes working with me for the rest of the summer and i am desperate to make it less miserable and awkward so any tips would be much appreciated. thank youuuuuuu!
Laneia says: Oh wow, this is tough! My initial feeling is that it’s super normal for teenagers to work for hours in complete silence. Teenagers have a lot of things on their minds. They also enjoy weird personal challenges, like “how long can I go without talking to someone today?” But also teenage boys are basically the same as older boys and other people, in that sometimes they have initial barriers that are hard to get around and they can be socially awkward weirdos with very little to talk about when they’re put into situations with new people who they feel they have nothing in common with. If it were me, I’d probably be like, “Hello Brad!” I’ve named this young man Brad. “Hey Brad! Sunshiny day today, is it not? I brought extra water in the truck—” I have a truck in this scenario because I am a farmer. “—so if you need any, feel free. Hey, what do you think of [new video game that Slade keeps talking about this week]? Do you have a [console type] or a [other console type thing]? Oh yeah? I know nothing about [whatever he’s talking about now], please tell me more.” Because in my very limited experience with teenage boys, they enjoy talking about video games, Steam, which gaming platform they prefer over other gaming platforms and why, their dream gaming platform, something funny they saw on Vinesauce, all the ways in which I’m not the target audience for any of the Transformer movies, why baseball coaches make terrible science teachers, and which Doritos I should buy next. I hope this has been helpful.
Can someone please do recaps for Steven Universe?!?
Recaps for shows that aren’t like THE MAIN SHOWS don’t really get a lot of traffic or comments — so both in terms of time and money I don’t know that this would be the best idea for us. :-/
How did you get poussey’s gf to come to acamp tho?
Lauren Morelli is close friends with Brittani, and also is friends with Liz Castle and Robin and Carly. You know how in The L Word, pretty much every lesbian remotely connected to the entertainment industry knew each other? That’s real.
i calculated it and i can afford to come to camp in approx 5 years. likelihood of it still being a thing circa 2k20?
Hopefully by then it will exist on land we own and have more than one camp a year!
hey guys can you do like a polyamory roundtable or something? confused about lots of things and would be interested in hearing lots of different experiences / opinions about this. thanks!
Good idea!
guys a twitterbot just informed me that I was the first person to ever tweet the word “misandrist,” way back in 2007! I am so proud of myself Also I miss camp
CONGRATULATIONS! Also I also miss camp.
Hey – just checking that you’ve all heard of Sense8? Was just surprised that I hadn’t heard about it here as this is usually where I get all my (awesome!) TV recommendations from!
Yes, Mey and Aja and Gabby wrote a thing.
I’m disappointed that there’s no Tony Awards live blog tonight! Fun Home is winning lots of things and Sydney Lucas made me cry and I need other queers to talk about it with!
Y’ALL. Y’ALL HAVE TO COMMENT ON THINGS IF YOU LIKE THEM! Look, most of what we publish doesn’t exactly explode, traffic-wise — we ride the success of one post a day that does really well and 2-3 that do moderately well to stay on top. And nothing feels sadder than live-blogging to an empty room. Although traffic to live-blogs hasn’t changed, comments have gone way down, which means none of our writers want to write them ’cause it’s only fun when everybody is talking! So, if you like live-blogs, please comment on them, or they will go away. (Ditto for pretty much everything we publish.)
When you’re in the middle of reading some hot smut and then discover one of the characters has the same name as your ex’s new girlfriend D:
I mean I have an ex named Alex and an ex named Tara and I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but Alex and Tara are both extremely popular names amongst lesbians. I think you just have to overcome and keep reading.
Did you manage to squash underage drinking at camp this year??
As far as I know, yes!!
OK so you all need to drop what you’re doing and find this B-movie pastiche from Sweden called Dyke Hard. It’s got everything. It’s like Amy Poehler and Audre Lorde had an intersectional baby with a Swedish accent.
If only we all had access to intersectional babies.
I would love to see some content about being single and happy! I have no interest in a relationship but Society keeps trying to make me feel bad about this and honestly its HARD.
OKAY! Maybe one of my writers will read this and think, “oh boy I’d love to write about that.” In terms of what we do have in our archives, Lizz wrote a thing on 25 Reasons I’m Finally Starting to Enjoy Being Single (Besides Sleeping Around) and Ten Ways To Celebrate Valentines Day That Don’t Suck. Here is a thing from Grace and Vanessa called How to Be Alone and also a thing from Rachel called Eat Pray Love Won’t Teach You How to Be Alone (or, “First Try to See Something, Anything Else”).
Pretttty sure I’ve watched a certain video of Carmen Rios as Bruno Mars at a camp at least 20 times today. Do I want to BE her or be WITH her? … or BOTH? #cantstopwontstop #galpalcrush
Carmen says: Oh, this is so great, because I’ve watched a certain video of myself as Bruno Mars at A-Camp at least ten times today and I honestly feel a lot less alone in the world now, even though probably it’s weirder when I do it. Also, I have vowed to never date someone who looks like me or has my name, SO YOU CAN’T HAVE BOTH. Just so you know. That being said: Never stop, gal pal of mine.
Is it possible to have a new Girl Gallery featuring sexy butches? Bonus points for butches wearing strap-ons…
We made one of masculine-of-center folks without shirts on a while ago! Honestly making galleries has become tough these days because we’re more popular and therefore more likely to get in trouble for copyright issues and also because a lot of random models who we assume are masculine-presenting women turn out to identify as non-binary or transmasculine or as a trans men and then they’re hurt and upset at us and then we all feel weird and sad.
I got my nose pierced, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. The picture is complete. I put in a hoop, it’s 10x better than a stud. BUT NOW I HAVE A NOSE PIERCING BUMP. I was bad and popped it with a needle, which seemed to help (shhh, stop judging me), now it’s back with a vengeance. Are there are any pierced babes out there who can help me out? I’ve tried salt soaks, tea tree oil, and now have aspirin pasted to my face. #thestruggle
We do have this: You Need Help: Poking Holes In Your Body!
I miss when the default icon was something like a muppet or T-Swift instead of the white person shape on a grey background. ah the good ol’ days.
We haven’t been able to decide on a new favicon. Ideas?
Sorry guys but I have to put Adblock back on – the video ads are interfering with the ability to read the posts at all! Whenever I try to scroll down the page scrolls back up to the video (which autoplays).
That really shouldn’t be happening, hit up alex@autostraddle.com and let her know what the ad is. Our servers know we refuse to run ads like that.
Omg. So I have a new job — which is wonderful! — but I’m working much more and have so little time to internet at the moment. I miss you guys!! I’m looking forward to some quality catching-up time when things slow down a little. xoxo
I’m looking forward to your quality catching up time too!
if i had a million dollars we wouldn’t have to eat kraft dinner (but we would still eat kraft dinner). Autostraddle what would you do with a million dollars? besides pay your staff, obvs
1. Paid subscription to Slack.
2. Get a COO/business manager and an accountant. Presently, I do the accounting as well as being CEO, CFO and Editor-in-Chief and our main writer, and welp, it’s a lot of work! I’m not sure how much longer I can maintain this schedule! Plus, none of us have actual business experience and I think the right person (who’d likely be very expensive) could really take us to the next level. Obviously camp and merch are huge revenue drivers for us but we lack the infrastructure/management to expand those into their full potential. This would also give Alex more freedom to define her role by what she likes to do and to do more merchandise development, rather than what she has to do because nobody else can do it. I guess that happens to both of us a lot.
3. I’d give raises and health insurance to everybody who currently works here full-time, pay interns, raise what we pay all our writers and also what we pay our freelance writers to be competitive with Buzzfeed and other sites actively recruiting the same voices WE NEED RIGHT HERE. There are so many queer lady writers (and poets) I’d die to see on Autostraddle that we can’t afford yet but with this WE COULD.
4. Offer full time positions on the senior team to two people currently working here in other capacities, 1-2 people who used to work here, and 1-2 people who work elsewhere that I’ve been admiring from afar. Basically I want to make AN ALL-STAR TEAM and have a reliable and consistent editorial schedule that isn’t always flying by the seat of our pants, do more journalism and literary essays, to have a dedicated A+ Editor also. We could start working on a dedicated film/video wing (I think Gabby, Brittani and Grace have lots of projects we could get off the ground, for starters and I’d love to work more with Kristin & Dannielle), create a reliable infrastructure to expand the Straddleverse/Events wing and have an International vertical with a dedicated editor.
5. (project Carolyn and I want to do that I can’t tell you about yet because I don’t want anybody to steal our idea)
6. Make an app
7. I’d take time off to write words that come from my heart and not from the news or the teevee set. And maybe just some time off, for me, period.
So that would eat up the $1 million pretty fast ’cause you also have to make sure there’s enough in the bank to maintain if revenue doesn’t pick up immediately. I’d also like Autostraddle to fund more camperships in general.
If we had two million, I’d buy some land and then we could have multiple A-Camps a year and different types of events on it! Plus I could have a library and we could have a farm and it would be grand.
So here is a really random question that I have been pondering over for the last couple of weeks, would you date someone with the same name as you? Or would that be really weird?
I mean if you fall in love with somebody and they have the same name as you, I wouldn’t let that get in the way! Once upon a time my friend Julia had a girlfriend named Julie. Well, it was her ex-girlfriend. But they made it into a joke when they were together, like that movie, Julie & Julia? I think it might only be weird if you’re a person who says the other person’s name during sex a lot (I’m not).
I have an incredibly frivolous question I know you guys won’t judge me for. Why does my nail polish chip so quickly and what can I do about it?
Firstly — nail polish chips quickly, period. It never lasts as long as commercials claim it will, love is a lie. You can help extend the lifecycle of your nail polish by never washing your hands, but that’s gross, but even if you can just cut out hand sanitizer ’cause that’s like rubbing nail polish remover all over your hands. Being out in the sun, doing anything involving tape and paper and washing dishes without dishwashing gloves also cause chipping. Lastly, make sure your nail polish isn’t too thick — too many layers and its prone to chipping right off in one big chunk.
Hey y’all! I was just clicking through to the Texas Monthly, from TIRTIL and it asked me to subscribe to read the rest of the story…. Which suuuuuucks because I can’t. I want to support the things I read that I love too (obvs, and plan on renewing my A+ when the time comes), but often can’t see myself subscribing to a magazine I would only have time to read sporadically. It occurred to me that I would totally pay to read that one story. It had me hooked. If they were like “click here to give us 99c to read the rest of this story” I would’ve been like Click take my money! One time fee… Just feels less daunting than $99 dls or what have you… I’m sure you all have thought about this business idea before and if it’s been mentioned in a business of art feature and I missed it, disregard this message… But its just a thought… For any sporadic AS visitors, who perhaps come for just their fav authors, it might be another source of money for you. Love you guys, bai!
YES this is something I’m possibly interested in, but MemberPress doesn’t offer that functionality yet and we have no idea if or when they will.
Can I recommend that, if possible, when you include links in your articles, it would be better if they popped up in a different tab when you click on them, instead of leaving the original page altogether. It’s really annoying when you realise you never finished what you started because you got lost somewhere along the way.
Man if I had a penny for every time somebody asked us about this then I wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner. It slows down page load to have links that open in a new window, I guess? But if you right click and pick “open in a new tab,” your dreams will come true, I think.
Hi, I’m having problems with the page freaking out and scrolling back to the top of the page or back to the video ad. It happening right now actually. When I type I see the contact box and whenever I stop it moves back to the ad. I’m also getting a new request for some kind of geotagging/location tracking. That is new in the last two days. Ok, see the ad finished and now everything is ok again. Weird. Just thought I’d let y’all know. The ad started again and it’s doing it again. I can’t wait to see you at camp.
There should never be a video ad that auto-plays or anything like what you describe! If that ever happens email alex@autostraddle.com so she can inform the server that they’re fucking with us and we can tell.
RIESE, last night I had a dream that you owned all the goodlife gyms (do you have goodlife in the states?) and they were ALL women-only (obvs. if you don’t know, goodlife only has a few women-only gyms but if you owned them, what else would we expect?) and one day I was just minding my business, headed to the locker room and I saw you on the stairmaster and I was like *gasp* what is Riese doing all the way in ONTARIO? Let alone in *my* gym?? Except you weren’t super nice like I expect you really are. You yelled at all the women who had reusable water bottles because you wanted us to buy your own brand of plastic water bottle, sold exclusively at goodlife. WHY DON’T YOU WANT TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT, DREAM-RIESE?WHY?!!?! Also, it was nice to dream-meet you. I hope to reality-meet you someday.
1. I love the stairmaster but they just replaced the ones in my gym with new-fangled stairmasters and if you still have the old ones in Ontario, I’d definitely go there just to master them,
2. Abby and I have had two legitimate fights about water bottles (she feels very strongly that it’s never okay to buy a disposable water bottle from the store, one should only use reusable water bottles, I think desperate times call for desperate measures) so I can’t believe this came up in your dream!
3. I hope to reality-meet you someday too! Just a warning that some people think I’m nice but some people think I’m a bitch or standoffish but I’m not, I’m just socially anxious and don’t know how to start conversations with new people unless they’re super outgoing. I’M JUST SCARED OF HUMANS. I try to surround myself with people who have better social skills than me to distract them from my inabilities to communicate. Anyhow, enough about me, let’s talk about your dream about me
4. I’m sorry for yelling at everybody gosh that’s awful. Maybe this is a subconscious reaction to when people are like “hey read this buzzfeed article” and I’m like NOOOOOOO READ AUTOSTRADDLE’S ARTICLE!!!
so as of today i can marry my girlfriend in her home country and i’m so happy and i can’t believe this is happening
CONGRATULATIONS I HOPE YOU SMASH CAKE INTO EACH OTHER’S FACES
Hey, so I’ve made it a personal mission to +1 comments that have 0 cause that’s such a shitty feeling, maybe they should start at 1? I mean, don’t tell anybody, just start them at 1
I DO THE SAME THING! Unless the comment is mean or against us, and then obviously I don’t. But I just hang out up-voting things all day so that nobody has a zero. If you’re doing this too then everybody should have +2s by now right?
How does your comments policy work behind the scenes? Do you have a comments policy task force, or something else?
Yes we have something else and that something else is “nothing.” No but seriously, we don’t have anybody dedicated to moderating comments. Believe it or not, nobody is chomping at the bit to do so…
I never understood the Kristin Stewart fascination until I watched the Clouds Of Sils Maria trailer just now and SWOOOOOON. Is it the glasses? Probably. The dykey t-shirt look helps. Anyway, I was surprised the trailer wasn’t a breaking news article on here.
I watched the trailer to that movie and they teased it as being like a lesbian love triangle? And it totally wasn’t! Also she acted like Shane through the whole movie, like how Shane is when she wears glasses and is being bossed around by rich power lesbians in WeHo.
i was reading about MBTI with my forever ladyfriend for her job and i thought to myself “huh i wonder if AS does this at their workplace? i want to know everyone’s types! i bet riese is an INTJ…also i wonder who are the extroverts in the group? i bet alex. maybe rachel? what if rachel is a surprise extrovert! i wonder if anyone is a weirdo INFJ like me because it is hard out here for INFJ let me tell you” and that was the moment that i knew i was officially obsessed with y’all and i needed to stand in that truth for minute so here i am, priority contact box. happy thursday i love you all more than is reasonable!
I AM A WEIRDO INFJ LIKE YOU! So is Yvonne! Rachel is an ISFJ, Heather is INFP and Alex is an ENTJ. Laneia is ISFP.
I think on a scale of most extroverted to most introverted-until-I’m-comfortable-with-someone, the senior staff would go like this:
1. Alex
2. Heather
3. Rachel
4. Yvonne
5. Laneia
6. Riese
Is Stephanie Goldfarb gonna come back and cook for us again? Cos I really like her :)
Well there’s really only one way to find out, and that’s for Laneia to ask her if she’d like to cook for us again, which Laneia will now do!
Every time I hear that song ‘Iris’ by the Goo Goo Dolls I think of Bren and Carrie
Me too! In fact every time I used to hear that song I’d think to myself G-D I HATE THIS SONG, and now instead I think BREN AND CARRIE AWWWW and think about when we were all singing along after the proposal and I love it and my heart warms up like a hot plate.
I really wish y’all had like a “missed connections” thing on here because I met a really cool/cute girl at a bar a few weeks ago but I was deeply intoxicated and don’t entirely remember our conversation and whether or not I made a fool of myself. And then I ran into her again yesterday but conditions weren’t optimal and I couldn’t really talk to her. But she remembered my name and said it was nice to see me! I feel like she reads autostraddle because duh, she’s cool. I have no idea how the missed connections thing would work and it would probably be way more trouble than it’s worth. But I just really want to make this girl some mac n cheese! One can dream. Thanks for being great!
I feel like this would be the ultimate test of “how small is this community really”
what happened to the This Shit Rules column? did you run out of writers with faces? :(
ALL OUR FACES FELL OFF! They fell right off. I keep scratching my nose and realizing it’s a bone shard. Anyhow, I think everybody who wanted to write one, did? I think this chick is gonna write one though:
MINI-INTERVIEW WITH A SENIOR STAFF MEMBER: CHELSEY
What do you do in your job at Autostraddle?
I do a smattering of random things. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the A+ Bee, as well as the A-Camp Bee once a year, which is the thing I am most proud of and the thing that takes up the majority of the time I spend working for Autostraddle. I also send out a monthly Team Newsletter, send the team stats, respond to Moderator questions, moderate comments when needed, affiliate linkoccasionally, proofread sparingly, among other random things.
What is your favorite part of your position?
My favorite part of this position is working with the staff and the community to put together the Bee. It is such a fun thing to provide space for people to be their weirdest selves. Also just working with everyone and being a part of this team of great humans.
What is something you dream to bring to Autostraddle?
It’s not something I can bring on my own but I would say more engagement on the site would be my dream. I try and create engagement on the Bee posts by including interactive content, but we love hearing all your great voices and opinions in this space, so more conversations and community on the website comments section would be a dream.
What’s the hardest part of your position?
Badgering people. Due to the Bee, the newsletter, and various other elements of my job, I spent a majority of the hours I am working for AS emailing people begging for them to send me things, which makes me feel like I am annoying everyone.
Favorite online writer/editor / or like your hero?
Heather Hogan, magical human.
What do you wish people understood about your job?
How much work goes into the Bee.
Favorite snack to eat while working?
Gummy bears.
What would be the song that a montage of you doing your job would be set to?
Sleepyhead by Passion Pit. There’s no real reason for it to be my montage song, I just like it.
June Retro-Reading
Some posts from previous Junes Riese thinks you might enjoy.
Twilight Eclipse Totally Eclipsed Team Bella’s Hearts: Movie Review (2010), by Stef, Laneia, Crystal, Alex, Sara Medd and Riese – HA REMEMBER THAT TIME CRYSTAL MADE US ALL GO WATCH TWILIGHT ECLIPSE HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA
Annika & Sebastian Answer Your Trans Questions, by Annika Penelope and Sebastian Barr (2011) – This was such a great series and was happening at a time when most of this stuff wasn’t being talked about outside of tumblr and various forums and personal blogs.
BREAKING: Brittani Nichols Releases Rap Track featuring Hannah Hart, by Carmen Rios (2012) – WERE WE EVER SO YOUNG? I still love this “track.”
Jenny Owen Youngs Is Super Gay: The Autostraddle Interview, by Crystal (2013) – If you fell in love with Jenny at camp, if you’ve already been in love with jenny for some time, or if you fell in love with Jenny after seeing a picture of Jenny in a bear suit playing a guitar with Julia Nunes, you will enjoy this trip back in time to the day Jenny Owen Youngs came out!
Ode To: Spam, Bitch, by Phoenix (2013) – I have not and never intend to consume Spam but I love this piece!

From “Queer Sultry Summer,”Issue #3 of the Better Together Series, on sale now at the autostraddle store
TOUCHING LETTER FROM THE A+ BOX
Hi everyone at Autostraddle,
So, I’m not really good with words and telling people things but I just wanted to tell you guys I think you’re awesome and thank you, thank you so much for just existing.
I couldn’t go to A-Camp this year because so many huge things are happening for me right now, but I couldn’t have gotten to where I am without you guys.
I found you so long ago before I even knew what a lesbian was while living in a country that wouldn’t even let me visit Facebook. I have no idea how I found you but I remember thinking how weird and crazy the website was because the first thing I saw was Katrina dancing around in underwear like some boss and I couldn’t even look at my own self naked.
Once you start using Austostraddle, you can’t stop, and fast forward like four years and I’m sitting here realising that Autostraddle probably made me super gay and it took me three years but I finally convinced my mum not to get me married off and I finally just got accepted in Uni.
It was really hard, these last couple of years, and I studied and worked a whole awful lot since graduating high school to get out of the predestined future my parents had for me, and I finally did it. I got accepted in a BSc at a really decent university and I’m finally going to be the first girl in my family to go to university.
You guys have been with me through all of it, strangely when the things got the worst for me IRL you’d do amazing things on the website. When I joined I was coming to terms with my queerness and when I won the A+ membership I might have, kinda sorta cried a little.
I don’t know if it’s really weird that the thing that has gotten me so far in my life is a website full of super queer people that probably don’t even know me, but you guys have, and it has been awesome knowing this website and you guys, and I probably wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for you, all of you.
Thank you guys, really thank you so, so much for existing and being awesome and I’m so glad you won a GLAAD award and I hope you had fun at A-Camp and congrats to all the people that got married lately, I really wish you all the best.
This probably didn’t make much sense and if you didn’t get anything out of it, get this: You guys are awesome, and thank you.
Seriously, thank you.

Brittani Nichols and Lauren Morelli have dinner in front of a rapt audience at A-Camp
Social Media Spotlight: B’s Best Tweets This Month
Do you follow Brittani on Twitter yet.
If I could sum myself up in one word, it would be: YIKES
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) June 14, 2015
In the course of one day I want to die immediately but also live forever
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) June 12, 2015
everyone get away from me but just because I told you to not because that's what you want
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) June 10, 2015
What's the old age you have to reach in order to do whatever you want because that is the birthday I am throwing a fake funeral for myself
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) June 10, 2015
in my humble opinion, more people should be actively tryna fuck me
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) June 9, 2015
when dudes have to immediately jerk off to girls making out I'm like gross but also I GET IT
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) May 28, 2015
is your pussy gluten-free
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) May 27, 2015
Sext: do you wanna come over and lay your head on my chest and I'll kiss your forehead and talk about all the reasons we shouldn't hook up
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) May 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/BisHilarious/status/601071852773978112
I wouldn't pay $20 even if that video was just Beyonce and Nicki Minaj making out
— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) May 18, 2015
Five Posts Rachel Can’t Believe You Motherf*ckers Didn’t Read Last Month
I Take Bullets: Lesbian Badass Mary Kristene Chapa’s Vibrant Life after 2012 Shooting, by Audrey
I remember when this shooting occurred in 2012, and how baffling and horrifying it was. It felt so senseless, and like we might never know what happened. Three years later it’s still baffling, horrifying and senseless, but it makes a big difference to see that Kristene has a full life with people who love her. Please read about her! Also if you can please help donate for her medical bills, which Texas’ Medicaid program is not covering!
Women in Prison: A Longform Reading List by Riese
This is a great deal because in this one article I can’t believe you motherfuckers didn’t read are MANY articles I can’t believe you didn’t read, so it’s really a bargain. Anyways obviously a lot of us are into OINTB, and it’s great that we get to watch it and talk about it, and it’s really great that so many awesome actors, especially actors of color, have had a career boost because of it! It’s also really great that it provides an opportunity for those of us who are not incarcerated to become more invested and more involved in the lives of real people who are incarcerated! And so great that Riese has done some of the work for us in this instance and collected a bunch of reading! For this same reason, I’d love for you to go and head on over to where Maddie wrote about Black and Pink and actions to take solidarity with incarcerated people. Maybe being involved with Black and Pink’s open family or a similar project is right for you!
Queer Mama Interviews +one: They Want to Help You Get Pregnant by Haley
Y’all this is such a big deal! SUCH a big deal. I’m worried you aren’t realizing what a big deal it is. A company that’s actually catering to queer moms who want to get pregnant? That wants to actively provide information and resources? That isn’t assuming you’re straight? SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.
Brouhaha’s Trans Women of Color Storytelling is Healing, is the Revolution by Tina Vasquez
I am concerned that you think this piece is just a quick-hit You Should Go post, and it is technically a You Should Go in that it describes an event occurring in the real world and suggests that you attend it. But it’s way more than that! I grew so much just from editing this post, like imagine the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes but it’s my brain filling up with new ideas and thoughts about the radical potential of humor, whom our culture allows to laugh out loud and whom we expect to perform pain, and how literal performances of art or comedy function for whole communities. I don’t, it’s just great, and it will only take you 3-4 minutes to read and I feel like those will be minutes you’re glad you spent.
What We’re Going to Say About Caitlyn Jenner, by Mey
This isn’t something I suspect you of not reading, exactly, because I think a lot of you did read this, but something that I want to make sure you read. I just respect Mey’s brain and heart so much and this is such a smart and compassionate approach to talking about, well, how we talk about things. I am so grateful that in a moment when so many media outlets were scrambling for a “take” on Caitlyn Jenner’s coming out, we have Mey to say this thoughtful, human thing for all of you thoughtful humans.
Gabby’s Pick of the Month
Making Homemade Pizza Dough and Pairing it with Goose Island IPA, by Gabby
Yo, I met a girl who taught me how to make pizza dough. I hope everyone meets a girl or a unicorn or a love person who loves that hard. So like now, I make bomb pizza dough. #Blessed. But I love y’all so much that I wanna share the recipe with you and add my current fave beer to this Insider. Because what’s a slice of pizza without a pint of beer?
Dough Recipe:
1 cup of very warm water
1 T yeast
1 T sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cups of olive oil
3 cups of flour
Combine water, yeast and sugar in a coffee cup or something of the same dimensions. Let sit for about 9 minutes or until bubbly and pretty.

The yeast should look like this or something close. this is v happy yeast.
Add flour, then olive oil. Mix with your hands to combine all ingredients until the stuff looks dough-y. Let it sit for an hour. Punch it. Let it sit for 1-6 hours — aka whenever you’re ready to make the pizza.
Knead dough onto a pan. I shape mine into whatever shape the pan is. Cook at 420 for eight minutes before you add toppings. Then add all your stuff to it and cook for ten minutes at 420.
Take it out. Crack open a Goose Island IPA.
Carolyn’s Sex Toy Recommendation Of The Month
I already recommended the Sasha harness from SpareParts once in the past month but I’m gonna recommend it again because if you’re looking for an underwear-style harness and like your underwear femmy, it’s THAT good.
With the Sasha, dildo bases sit a little lower on the pelvic bone than they might in other harnesses, so if your body is up for it you might come from fucking while strapped on alone. (There are also pockets for small vibrators.) This is my favorite part. This is what makes it my favorite harness.
It comes in black or red, the fabric is touchable, and it has lace and adjustable ruching and bows and removable garter straps. It’s also machine washable, comes with a mesh laundry bag to protect it, and air dries quickly. I find that both the Sasha and its butch twin the Tomboi fit tight, so be aware that the measurements might not be true to size. (I’m between sizes, ordered down, and wish I’d gone the other way.) The SpareParts product page notes that 4X, 5X, and XXS sizes are coming soon.

It was Brittani’s birthday!
Butch Dinosaurs
Riese: The new Jurassic Park movie comes out on OITNB day
Stef: I’m seeing it in IMAX 3-D cos it’s my dad’s birthday
happy birthday dad I can’t believe I’m doing this instead of looking at Poussey
I think there are dinosaurs in it idk
Carmen: Wait I wanna get drunk and see this movie
I love the jurassic park movies
Stef: Carmen do you want to come to my dad’s birthday party
Carmen: Yes obviously
I TOTALLY WAS WONDERING WHEN IT WAS COMING OUT
I probs won’t see it in the theater on friday but like at some point i gotta get bellig right
like I need to be WHITE GIRL WASTED at this movie
all like OH MY GOD IS THAT A DINOSAUR????????
ARE THERE DINOSAURS IN THIS MOVIE??????????????????
WAIT WHAT KIND OF CREATURE IS THAT
Stef: Are there dinosaurs in oitnb?
Carmen: GUYS DO YOU SEE A DINOSAUR
that’s literally my plan is to get kicked out of jurassic world
Stef: The velociraptors are all female
and plot twist:
they’re in prison for drug smuggling
Carmen: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Stef: Carmen how many movies do you want me to get kicked out of I’m thirty fucking one
Carmen: c’monnnnnn
Stef: Is Rihanna in this
Carmen: Oh my god what if she was
Stef: Shooting dinosaurs
“Mahalo motherfucker”
Carmen: What if i wrote a post that was me trying to remember the movies i got too drunk during and got in trouble because of
JANE EYRE
Stef: I would actually love to see the oitnb girls’ reactions to litchfield being overrun with dinosaurs
Riese: Can dinosaurs be trans
Kaelyn: We do not know this for sure
Stef: Well the dinosaurs are able to change gender right? that’s how they breed? cos they’re frogs?
Riese: I feel like Mari would know
Stef: They have frog dna
That’s what BD Wong told me
Kaelyn: I think a dinosaur could be trans
Mey: Yes, the dinos in the first one transitioned
Riese: Which dinosaur is the queerest
Kaelyn: Triceratops
Carmen: Triceratops
Stef: Oh def the frilly necked poison spitting one
Carmen: JINX
Kaelyn: The votes are in. triceratops are totally gay
I think this is because i associate triceratops with Sarah from The Land Before Time
who was a butch dyke
obvs
Mey: Definitely
Kaelyn: “Hold up, grrl. Let me get those tree stars for you. With my mutherfucking head.”
– Sarah
I was having a panic thing because I think I lost my wallet, and then I read this and now I feel like nothing can ever hurt me again, even having to replace my debit card and two ids. I am especially pleased that it includes two conversations about veggie burgers and this line: “I do feel my carabiner use derives more from my possession of many keys than sexual and romantic desire.” which is maybe the most Maddie statement to ever Maddie.
Also that letter from that straddler! Y’all! <3
what can i say? i have a lot of keys!! it’s not like i use a carabiner as a sex toy.
since posting that i have thought of at least three ways to use a carabiner during sex.
using a carabiner to create a sex toy was, in fact, literally Lizz’s craft instructable in the Kinker Toys workshop at camp
well then.
I JUST LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
wait but did you find your wallet???
HAH, Yvonne’s face. That is my feeling about this season too.
I was NOT mentally ready to read that question about that nose piercing….
:O
To the human having difficulty with their nose piercing: If you got your nose pierced by an APP certified (Association of Professional Piercers) piercer, then you should go show them your piercing. They can tell you what might be going on with it and how to treat it. If you got it pierced by someone who is not, I would recommend looking up an APP certified piercer and going to see them and talking about your piercing. Sometimes having issues with your piercing is because it is improperly placed or the stuff you’re putting on your face is hurting it. Either way, they can help. It might mean getting your nose re-pierced and having to heal again, but it might prevent a huge spot on your face or losing the ability to have the piercing at all.
You can find a member here: http://www.safepiercing.org/locate-a-member/searchable-member-database/
I agree this sounds like good advice!
I’m going to make Yvonne’s OITNB face into a Slack emoji immediately.
Also, Gabby, YES YES YES I WILL MAKE THAT PIZZA TONIGHT! (I love that IPA also.)
gabby let me make a pizza with some of this dough once and it was delicious! i endorse this pizza.
Can I come over for pizza?
Yes, Kaelyn! Always!
Abby ❤️❤️ I feel like an important introduction detail was left out Re. the failure to mention that Abby is the father of the Runaways/Blackhearts cabin. People should know. Abby is Dad. Dad is Abby. Abby Braughton forever.
omg that interview
Dad being rad.
even six years ago i was hovering like a creep in the back of group photos.
never change
Yay, the best time of the month!!
Piper’s white girl tears are in such a beautiful bottle.
But it also looks like she might have an eye infection. She should def get that checked out.
“superhuman who’s turned Cincy into a queer field of dreams”
This is untrue flattery. But I will let it slide because a) Riese is doing the flattering. b) If any of this convinces you to try hosting a meetup in your city, then I am okay with exaggeration. It’s so worth it, people. I can’t wait to take a little bit of stuff I learned and offer it to you.
As always, as I do every day- gotta thank Autostraddle for making any of this possible. <3
ALSO! The great content we’re developing about how to do meet-ups is going to be brought to you just as much by @whitney-lauren, incredible team player for the Twin Cities Autostraddler group, as by myself. She deserves as much flattery! :)
We’re super pumped to be writing some stuff for y’all. We’re super pumped to help you make new queer friends. <3 <3 <3
Now I really want a list of all the movies Carmen/Stef have been kicked out of. Also great Insider as always
we’ve only been kicked out of one movie together, and it was battleship, and it was a whole thing
Is anyone else still crying from that really sweet letter? I want to hug you human.
nope definitely just the onion chopping ninjas at it again
I really want to find and befriend that person who write the letter. Also can I just casually befriend every single person who works for Autostraddle? Riese and Abby are Mom and Dad, but I love extended family too.
Thanks Laneia, for giving my girlfriend so many supporting arguments for her assertion that I am in fact a teenaged boy. Even though I turned 25 this year.
omg sarah was totally a butch dyke, wasn’t she? this explains so much. i just recently realized that sarah is actually CERA because she is a triCERAtops. ok level with me, did everyone else already get that and no one told me? well i still say if you put that together, get on the horn to mensa bc you are a fucking genius. btw topical bc rip james horner : ( if you were a child in the 80s and watched this film, i defy you to listen to ms. diana ross sing his song about DREAMS and not shed a tear of nostalgia and eternal love for ducky.
also, riese and yvonne, weirdo INFJ solidarity! may our cagey and often contradictory natures continue to endear and not alienate forever bless us amen
SUCH A BUTCH, Sarah. And you just blew my mind with that “cera” shit. We are either the smartest or dumbest children on the 80’s alive today!!! OMG DUCKY. Rest in power, Ducky (because extinction)
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I just googled “Ducky Land Before Time” and one of the voice actors who player her is named…wait for it…Heather Hogan! I mean, not our Heather Hogan, but a different one. What if Ducky was also gay?
What if I wrote a dinosaur erotica fanfic about Ducky and Cera? What then? Yup, yup, yup.
I feel like this is getting out of hand. I should probably calm down.
i hate to be super morbid but the original voice actress who played ducky, a small 10-year-old child named Judith Barsi was killed by her father :( :( :( and that’s why Heather Hogan stepped in. gloria told me this and then i googled it. :( :(
Oh wow, I’ve always hated that other Heather Hogan for being better at Google SEO than me because she has an IMDB page, but now I feel like a complete monster about it! THANKS GLORIA.
INFJ FOREVER
INFJ represent!
Also, I did figure out that is was ‘Cera’ when I was about… 15? So a decade later. It’s probs not because I’m an INFJ, though.
I just got this like a few months ago and I am 26 years old, so.
I am now team “shoot a pixelated squirrel and shove that in there”, forever and ever.
If you like I could record myself reading this every month and you would hear the sound of a person laughing alone in their cubicle every 30 seconds or so. <3
Laughing alone at work solidarity. Just do it very confidently. It feels less weird. Fake it til you make it, they say…
i would find that recording very soothing and reasurring
Aw, what you said about me and my caitlyn jenner piece was way too nice! It made my heart swell up and really just made my day! You’re the best!
no YOU are! i am so grateful every day to know you mey, someday i’m gonna go see the dinosaurs at the museum of natural history with you and then buy us burritos
Be careful, you’ll make me swoon with all that dinosaur talk!
My lab uses slack and I’ve spent a lot of time procrastinating adding custom emoji. I was wondering what custom emoji you guys have on slack.
ooo i put some of them in an earlier edition of the Insider, but I can’t remember which one. I can put more in to the next one if y’all would find it entertaining!
Yvonne, your face is perfect. Never change.
I’m an ENFP. I don’t really know what that means or why I’m sharing it, but there you go. Myers Briggs is weird.
Welcome officially, Abby’s!
I still believe wallet chains are just as if not more lesbian-y than carabiners, but whatever.
Everyone <3’s Chelsey and is so glad she asks us for things many times or we would always forget.
That reader letter made me cry at my desk. XO, beautiful human.
These are all my thoughts, in no particular order.
ENFP WOOOOOOO
basically that means some people think we are obnoxious extroverts of the most extroverted capacity, but my E/I always skew 50-50 so I am sometimes an obnoxious extrovert?
“I would love to see some content about being single and happy! I have no interest in a relationship but Society keeps trying to make me feel bad about this and honestly its HARD.”
I feel you, I get weirder silences and looks for being perpetually single (and kinda glad about it) than being gay.
And then people strangely assume I’m doing/secretly with girls I show up to events, get tagged on facebook with, etc. because that’s more likely than being single.
It’s like I probably have a gf I’m just not talking openly about,or someone missed a clue on and that they then keep checking, consistently for.
Also, travel is a really weird bitch after you’ve passed a certain age and are just not up for sleeping in 12 bed dorms anymore.
On the plus side: Since I complained to my friends about some awkward co-worker parties, where everyone was firmly coupled up, had a toddler or was striving for one and discussing the hip vacationing spot of that year (Cuba, was it?) and the virtues of buying vs. renting, in short, where I stood out like a sore thumb, I now have a pool of potential stand in girlfriends just for the sake of such events.
Now that I think about it, I really need someone to go to the next wedding with me.
Cheers to everyone who ever had to go to one of those horribly couply ones by her/himself.
i just really appreciate how the OITNB faces range almost exclusively from extreme ambivalence to utter despair. riese and chelsey are the only people who look remotely excited.
The AS Insider is totally my favorite article every month and it alone is worth the A+ subscription. I love the insides of all of you kooky and beautiful minds.
(Don’t give up on the Samira Interview! It’s 2015 and you guys won a GLAAD Award! EVERYTHING IS COMING UP AUTOSTRADDLE!)
also last i checked i was an intj
I believe that is me too!
I love these. This alone makes A+ worth it. Though, tbh, I would do A+ even if it had 0 perks because I think you are all rad and I want to support the work you do. Thanks for creating this beautiful place where we can come together to discuss our shared interests and make fantastic queer friends from around the world.
I really look forward to when we (read: you) have Autostraddle land!
I was trying to explain to someone at work about how Acamp feels and I don’t think you can get it, unless you get it. Like if you’ve never felt the relief of finally being around only people who understand this intrinsic part of your life experience without having to even talk about it, though of course you can talk about it.
Anyway. I love you all.
why aren’t we all talking more about B’s tweets. they’re great. discuss.
I spent an entire night reading through Brittani’s tweets after A-Camp until it felt like my contacts were glued to my eyeballs and I forced myself to look at something in the real world.
i think about the YIKES one a lot, it makes me feel serene somehow
Really, though, B’s tweets are the reason my lesson plans for yesterday were ‘show them some slides, then wing it.’ (It worked??)
I put B on the “people I know” twitter list I check most regularly, even though I don’t know her, because I don’t want to miss a thing.
so a few of my coworkers do the lotto 2-3x a week and the possibilities of autostraddle owned land/well-compensated writers/all y’all’s dreams and hopes realized before the robotpocalypse makes me want to join their betting pool ??
This may be the best thing I’ve read all day.
Cameron is one of the best additions to our virtual meeting place. I am biased, though, because I edit Cameron’s cartoons.
Your conversation excerpts are the best.
I just joined A+ and this was the greatest decision I have made since A-Camp.
YESSSS
WELCOME!
Joe from Joe My God and Rachel! Two of the internet people I love the most
MAKING ME BLUSH OVER HERE CARMEN SANDIEGO
@cnpetty OMG are u okay? I remember going home from camp and like freaking out OMG I DIDNT DO THE THING FOR CHELSEY.
This might be my fave insider yet!! It really makes me miss camp you guys..idk how many times ive like basically b*tched to Christine about missing the mountain and all of you.
And to that human who wrote that touching story…I just wanna give u a consensual hug. Isnt AS the best? I mean where would we all be? How will I ever spend my Friday without Open Thread? How will I know what food to put in my mouth.
AND YOU WERE SUCH A TROOPER!!! I less than 3 chelsey.
@carmenrios YES i love u too.
<3 <3
I WILL DIE IF I CAN’T GIVE THE TOUCHING LETTER-WRITER A CONSENSUAL HUG
Are INFJs weird?? Now I feel weird!
WEIRD IS AWESOME
We sure are. Weirdos forever!! <3<3<3
Weird in the BEST way.
but what about ENTJ??
I very much love these insiders. I am concerned that there was no mention of how Yvonne saved the day, so I’m assuming she is saving every day in every way and there just isn’t time or space to document it all. Also, I very much love and appreciate everything Chelsey does on A+ Bee, and also sympathise with having a naggy-type job, which I often have to do and HATE.
Also, to the person who mentioned Dyke Hard, can you give a tip on where to find it (preferably legally)? I’m hyper excited to see it, but failing at getting hold of it.
This is totes my favorite part of A+, which is my favorite part of the internet.
Also I think I may know the letter writer and can confirm, they are an AMAZING human being.
“Because if I have one more well-meaning meat-eating friend serve me some falling-apart haystack of shredded beet bullshit I will probably die” Rachel, I feel you so much on this! I think the little carrot bits are the absolute worst. Just because it is a veggies burger doesn’t mean I need to be able to identify each individual vegetable.
Also, you can’t just crumble up veggie burgers in order to make take meat, but I really do appreciate the effort Mom.
UGH IT’S TRUE. the worst part is that non-veggie people trying to feed veggie people somehow think it has never been done before? like they’re inventing the veggie burger wheel for the very first time in 2015, these people who eat meat. and so they don’t even look for the eight million free recipes written by actual veggie people and which totally take care of problems like how to bind without eggs, and just shred a bunch of carrots and try to mush them into a ball with black beans and then are like “well this isn’t very good but there isn’t any other way to do it, so!”
that came out very bitter, apparently i’ve been carrying a lot of resentment about bad veggie burgers, i’m sorry meat friends
I don’t typically eat veggie burgers because I tend to think they’re kind of crappy, and I’m oddly glad to find out its because mostly they genuinely suck, but that there are also good ones slash good recipes out there. Once I was at the Charlotte airport (I think) on layover and my wife got a veggie burger at some spot, and I was like fuck that I’m getting a hot dog. Because if I’m getting something crappy at least it will be a crappy I’m familiar with, and can sort of enjoy. Ummm I was MAD JELLY of her veggie burger. It was so amazing. I forget what all it had but beans, corn, Quinoa…and other stuff. Such a pleasant surprise from airport food.
Or when they try to feed you sandwiches that contain only sprouts, shredded carrots, and mushrooms. Do they never eat vegetables themselves? Who thinks this tastes good!?
Trying not to be bitter is very hard.
@cnpetty keep badgering me please! The Bee is my fav and your hard work is appreciated so much! :D
oh and. If I had 1 million dollars. Y’all would have that paid Slack subscription.
Related to getting land, and having camp more often, and other events on that land: one thing I took away from camp this year is a lot of thoughts about physical space. One of my fellow campers told me about how learning to love herself was in part really about giving herself permission to take up physical space. She was mostly talking about beating an eating disorder, and we were also talking about it in the context of being unapologetically queer in cishetnormative society, but it hit me in many other ways.
I’ve previously had an entertaining day dream, which I largely considered a pipe dream, of opening up a space for queer people in my hometown (Cincinnati has no lgbt center, and its only specifically queer spaces are gay-man bars). In the days after camp, and in the wake of feeling a bit stagnant at my job, my pipe dream is blossoming into an obsession. I am doing research. Maybe what I’ll find is that there’s no way to make what I want to happen, happen. But I’m letting myself invest in this dream in a real way. And I just wanted to share that with you all at Autostraddle and A-camp who continually help inspire me. I hope it inspires you to take your dreams of physical space seriously too.
I’ll keep you updated on the queer cafe/ community center. :)
I have never been to Ohio but if you crowdfunded I would invest with a quickness. <3
Wow, thank you @audreyfaye! Crowdfunding is among the options I’m considering and researching. I’ll keep y’all posted if that’s the way I go. I appreciate it.
Yes this is something that I am interested in also! We need some SPACE. and i think the midwest is the place to do it, part of why i’m moving back there next month!
@Riese I am excited about this. When you have landed in your new spot and gotten settled, I would love to meet and coordinate Midwestern dream spaces. Good luck moving!
I read these mostly (lol jk I’d read them anyway DUH) for the excerpts from conversations because y’all are HILARIOUS but if these could include more photos of Chelsey Petty in the future that’d be an excellent choice. You do you but this is what I would like to see in my Autostraddle Insider.
now I’ll always wonder if a lone plus one is a pity plus one.
The one time I tried the keys on carabiner thing I got annoyed by my bottle opener hitting against my crotch, but your conversation kinda makes me want to try it again, although I also am happy with clipping my keys onto my wallet because then my keys and wallet are only one thing to keep track of.
Y’all should make Autostraddle carabiners and/or keychains. Also, if you made your own waterbottles, I imagine Riese wanting everyone to use carry the Autostraddle waterbottle all the time and not buy disposable ones. Would this resolve your dispute? (Although I do agree about the desperate times and disposable bottles.)
“Also, if you made your own waterbottles, I imagine Riese wanting everyone to use carry the Autostraddle waterbottle all the time and not buy disposable ones. Would this resolve your dispute? (Although I do agree about the desperate times and disposable bottles.)”
yes this is exactly what would happen!
I always did the “clip it on the back hook and tuck it into your back pocket” thing?
anyway something to think about.
I still love the Brittani Nichols + Hannah Hart song and get it stuck in my head whenever someone says “another day..” while at work.
my period WONT COME even though my tracker told me it was coming like 2 weeks aho so i’ve been pms-ing for like 6 days now and this is one of the few thigs that has legitimately made me smile and laugh in a long time (other thinngs include friends reruns and telenovelas on hulu)
There are so many things to say about this amazing insider, but that A+ bee letter just made me cry a little bit at work on a Thursday so thank YOU, dearest person. I’m so happy for you. You’re going to wreck shop at Uni. Ahhh, man <3
When watching The Land Before Time with my two partners, the convo went kind of like this—
Me: Amanda, it’s like you’re Ducky. You’re SO Ducky.
Amanda: So wait, who are you?
Ian: She’s OBVIOUSLY CERA. *imitates Cera’s stubbornness when she was going the wrong way and ends up sleeping by herself*
Me: -SIGH- I guess, I guess.
Amanda: And then who’s Ian?
Ian: …
Aida: …
Ian: …I’m Petrie, aren’t I?
Aida/Amanda: *explode into laughter*
Relatedly, woot woot for poly roundtables. Count me hella in.
This time I’ve actually read most of Rachel’s five posts you motherfuckers didn’t read. Yay!!
Does anyone else remember the Effing Dykes post about carabiners? Does anyone else still refer to Effing Dykes like a personal Bible?
I think that 99 cents per story feature would be an excellent idea. It would be interesting to see how much revenue a feature like that brings Autostraddle if it ever becomes a reality, and you’d probably have people who pay for several stories a week and then just decide to get a monthly subscription because they’re forking over do many dollars anyway. That would be cool!
That letter was so sweet. I hope that person is doing well. I’m glad you decided to share it with us here.