First Person Archives

first person

How I Learned To Touch Again After Trauma

I thought I had to choose between being a survivor and being sensual.

Titeänyä Rodríguez

Oct 17, 2025

In the center of the image, there is a photo of a mixed race transmasculine person with a light beard and short, curly, blonde hair wearing a black T-shirt, an open, button-up tan shirt, glasses, a chain necklace, and a gold watch. They are standing outside and holding another person's face in their hands. The other person has short, curly, red hair and wears a black coat and dangling earrings. On either side of the photo, there are blue and white hearts.

first person

A Transmasc’s Guide to Developing a Healthier Masculine Sexuality

There are some lessons we don’t have to learn the hard way when people have already done the work to teach us.

Dev Ramsawakh

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Mar 2, 2023

a screen experiencing a glitch, resulting in lots of colorful jagged lines

first person

The System Operates As Designed

Burnout is not simple tiredness. It is malaise and unexplained pain. It is a theft of spirit and the creative body.

Tamara Jerée

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Feb 27, 2023

on a desk sits a beaded jewelry box, a black clutch purse, a gray ring tray with assorted rings on it, a polaroid of Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Kristen Arnett on new year's 2023, and a very cool rock, bisected in the middle and sparkly on the inside

first person

I’m a Cool Rock Lesbian

By which I mean I am a lesbian who likes to look at and hold cool rocks — not that I am a lesbian into cool rock ‘n roll, but…

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

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Feb 19, 2023

a dark door is slightly ajar, letting out a leak of light

first person

An Exorcism of Sorts

The haunted house persists in horror media for a reason.

Autumn Fourkiller

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Feb 17, 2023

a cityscape of New Haven, CT at dusk, dappled in pink sunlight

first person

How I Gradually Found My Queer Community in Connecticut

There were a few months where my mother, who lives back in Bangladesh, stopped talking to me after stumbling across some essays I’d written about my queerness. This confusing and…

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Feb 17, 2023

Three album covers (The National's High Violet, Erkyah Badu's New Amerikyah, and Hanna) are placed in front of a solid royal purple background

music

Three Songs for Three Heartbreaks

I was in love, then I wasn’t. One night, after a big fight. I got on my bike to make the short trek home and a song came to me.

danijanae

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Feb 15, 2023

A collage of torn paper in neutral tones of grey, beige, brown, and black. There are creases, tears, warps and paste layers like posters worn down on a brick wall. Some parts of the papers are aging brown and peeling out of the canvas. There are spray paint gestures in orange and pink as well. On top of the paper detritus is a ruby red ceramic tile that has been shattered into shards and then reconstructed into a heart shape. Some ceramic shards are also scattered around the canvas. Laid diagonal in the bottom right corner is a clear plastic ballpoint pen with a black plastic cap.

first person

I Don’t Want To Write Beautiful Things

I am in the business of writing honestly, especially about the things that hurt — heartbreak, disappointment, shame, poverty.

Leah Johnson

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Feb 14, 2023

The top of a concrete wall is visible against a gray sky. On top of the wall, there is looped barbed wire along with barbed wire that's running horizontally. On the left side of the wall, the number 15 is stenciled in white paint.

first person

I’m a Trans Woman in Prison, Where Being Myself Comes at a Cost

Lying on that rigid ol’ mattress, I realized: I’m transgender. Then one day without my permission, I found myself being me.

Traci Jackson

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Feb 3, 2023

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First Person

How I Learned To Touch Again After Trauma

A Transmasc’s Guide to Developing a Healthier Masculine Sexuality

The System Operates As Designed

I’m a Cool Rock Lesbian

An Exorcism of Sorts

How I Gradually Found My Queer Community in Connecticut

Three Songs for Three Heartbreaks

I Don’t Want To Write Beautiful Things

I’m a Trans Woman in Prison, Where Being Myself Comes at a Cost

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