Feature image of Megan Thee Stallion by Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Tuesday! What a concept!

Queer as in F*ck You

“My heart hurts for all the women around the world who are suffering in silence, especially if you’re a Black woman who doesn’t appear as if she needs help. So many times, people looked at me and thought, “You look strong. You’re outspoken. You’re tall. You don’t look like somebody who needs to be saved.” They assumed that, per preconceived stigmas, “I didn’t fit the profile of a victim,” and that I didn’t need support or protection.” — Megan Thee Stallion

You may have already seen parts of this essay circling online, but if you haven’t please make it your must read of the day. It’s so rare that we’re able to hear a Black woman speak about her survival with as much breadth, nuance, and abundance of care that we are able to see here. That is the majesty not only of Meg (though most certainly, of Meg!), but also of Evette Dionne, former EIC of Bitch Magazine and current Executive Editor of YES! Media. I could not imagine someone I’d trust more with Megan Thee Stallion’s words than Evette, and I’m so glad she had the opportunity to craft this “as-told-to” essay for Elle: ‘Nobody Can Take Your Power’: Megan Thee Stallion in Her Own Words

“After the new rules were approved last year, [this year’s] Boston Marathon is the first to include nonbinary runners in a newly-created division.” Boston Marathon Includes Nonbinary Qualifying Times as It Opens Registration

We talked a bit about this last week, but also Imara Jones is so important to the work of grassroots queer and trans media, she deserves her own profile so lets give her that as well! Trans Journalist Imara Jones Is One of Time’s Most Influential People of the Year

“What was said in private emails just a few years ago is now said publicly—online, in the media, and on the floors of state houses around the country.” Leaked Emails Reveal Just How Powerful the Anti-Trans Movement Has Become

Speaking of which, Missouri to Limit Gender-Affirming Care for Minors and Adults

And Also(also.also), as you already know Molly Kearney is SNL’s first nonbinary cast member, and they had a lot to say last weekend about the 14 states that have now passed bills restricting healthcare for trans kids, “I have been hung up on my genitals for far too long, and I’m starting to feel like a freaking Republican lawmaker.”

Saw This, Thought of You

Last weekend was Coachella and this is really important, I’m so glad that I read it: As Bad Bunny Headlines Coachella, Latine Locals Struggle

How the Stop Cop City Movement Inspired Angela Davis, something else that I read over the weekend and feel really grateful for!

This next article is admittedly sponcon for New Balance shoes (according to Autostraddle,popular with gays over 30), but I still really appreciated these takes: What Does Runner’s High *Actually* Feel Like? Here’s How 9 Runners Describe It

I read recently that one way to track gentrification and/or wealth in neighborhoods is too pull up a map of Trader Joes, and this article isn’t about that — but thematically it’s similar. I’m really fascinated by the ways that we can see and map out wealth that isn’t directly tied to only dollar signs or income, but also by culture shifts. “In the last decade the Chicago Park District has removed 12 of 16 basketball courts from neighborhoods that have doubled and tripled in value, further marginalizing communities facing displacement.” A Case of Disappearing Hoops in Gentrifying Neighborhoods

The Broad, Vague RESTRICT Act Is a Dangerous Substitute for Comprehensive Data Privacy Legislation. “This bill is being called a ‘TikTok ban,’ but it’s more complicated than that. The bill would give more power to the executive branch and remove many of the commonsense restrictions that exist under the Foreign Intelligence Services Act and the Berman Amendments.”

Political Snacks

I am still so angry about this, I can’t talk about it without shaking. What We Know About the Shooting of Ralph Yarl

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