Questions from the A+ Inbox were taking up such an enormous portion of the A+ Insider that we started dedicating an entire post to them instead! This A+ feature now exchanges bi-monthly with our column, Into the A+ Advice Box. We think this will be a lot of fun for the whole family. We’ve included as many questions as we can. We love you and your hair looks fantastic today!

MERCH, BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL CONCERNS

Q: hey, would it be possible to be able to toggle off “dark mode” for the slick stories? i can’t read white on black text

Sarah: Hey! That’s a great suggestion. A little BTS is that we are currently switching over our entire website to a brand new server headed up by brilliant folks who will make Autostraddle run so smoothly and beautifully — but in the meantime the adjustment period is a little wonky. Until we get everything smoothed out we have to press pause on all our tech hopes and dreams, but I will ensure that as soon as it’s possible we’ll get that functionality available for you. I’m thinking it would be cute to make it a little lightbulb icon at the top that you can “switch” on and off. What do you think?

Q: The scissoring design used to be horizontal and now its vertical. What happened?

Sarah: Oh! I actually never noticed this was a thing. Alex Vega, the original design director put them on the shirts horizontally I guess, and when I took over I started putting them on the shirts vertically. I think horizontal looks awesome on tees and vertical looks more cute on crop tops and underwear.

Hoping you guys can put in more sleeveless options in your store! I’d love to get some from you, and tshirts rarely fit right. Thanks! :)

Sarah: Oooo, I hear this. It might be a little late in the summer to be making any new sleeveless merch, but I’m making a to-do in my calendar to plan for next summer. I know this is not the same, but our article How to Cut Up Your T-Shirt, DIY Style has some helpful advice in cutting off the sleeves of your crew neck shirts. For example:

“Cut the sleeves just on the outside of the seam. The fabric will fray but not curl, and your arms will look SUPER INTIMIDATING AND SEXY.”

Q: You really should consider making bumper stickers as merch! I just got my own car again a few months ago and I want some gay bumper stickers for it, and I was so disappointed when I checked your merch store and didn’t see any. I’d so put a “gal pal” or scissors sticker on my car if you made them!

Sarah: This is hot news, I love the idea of purporting the gay Autostraddle agenda via stickers. Anyone else into this idea? Please leave your ideas for more cute bumper stickers in the comments below!

Q: I know y’all had to stop messages due to spam and what not.. but, is it too crazy to say.. have messages available for A+ members?

Kamala We just switched over to a new server and are still in the midst of getting WordPress running like normal, and learning about what’s possible from our web development team. We’ll be meeting soon to discuss the priorities of new designs/options like this, and we can put messaging on it, but, warning, it’s not gonna be top of the list — though know that I know you want it, your vote is in!

Q: Do you have a preference if we are already signed up for the AS newsletter, when we get the pop up reminder on the main AS page to sign up should we click “No I don’t want to”? Or say yes and then sign up again? What helps you more? :)

Nicole: That’s so kind of you to ask! If you’re already signed up and receiving newsletters, then it’s all good! Just proceed on into the site. We’re just looking to encourage readers who aren’t already on our newsletter lists to sign up! Who wouldn’t want photos of Carol, after all?

Q: Hi, I was trying to buy a shirt in the AS Merch store but when I clicked on the shirt it just reloads the main merch page. I know there’s an option to chat with the merchandise company’s support, but I’m really high as fuck right now and I feel safer sending this message to AS than a stranger who might be straight.

Sarah: Hahahahaha oh my god this is the best as I also love to avoid talking to the tragic straights. Please send the link that’s giving you issues to sarah [at] autostraddle [dot] com. Also I am gonna say the famous Cee lines — are your cookies cleared / have you tried a different browser / have you pressed shift + the reload button on your browser / did you clear your cache? Okay, you look really pretty and thank you for trying to buy one of our shirts!!!

Q: I am a white person who has learnt a lot about social justice and racism from autostraddle, and wanted to say thanks for your recent content on allyship and ways to help. I saw that you have some DDOS protection system going on and I wanted to say thanks for humbly doing the work and quietly dealing with difficult consequences from the white supremacists who would rather you stayed quiet.

Riese: Thank you!!! I’m so glad we’ve been a good resource for you. A lot of us have been learning right alongside you.

Q: How come the “What’s New & Gay on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu” post has comments from prior months? Like the one just posted for June has comments from April

Riese: Because it’s the same post, I just update it with new information every month, because our SEO consultant said that would be best for google rankings. We have started deleting old comments when we re-do a post though so I think we’ll start doing that for this soon.

Q: hi hello yes i read your newsletter and you mentioned GIFT MEMBERSHIPS and i suddenly realized that i would be totally willing to contribute to an anonymous pot of dollars to fund some GIFT MEMBERSHIPS or discounted memberships to baby queers who cannot pay the full amount. and then they will grow up and maybe have enough dollars to become lifetime AS superfans like me and pay it forward. how about it?

Nicole: That is really, really kind of you! The Cobalt level ($4 a month) was created with affordability in mind, but we realize that it still may not be do-able for everyone. When we launch Gift Memberships, you’ll be able to purchase memberships for other people specifically, so if you wanted, you could absolutely give them away on your own. However right now we don’t have the bandwidth or ability to run a fund for gift / discounted memberships to folks on a needs-basis and the monitoring and consistent fundraising work that fund would require (since I imagine the demand would be slightly more than a few memberships)! But when we announce gift memberships, I hope that you’ll think of some baby queers to gift some to! <3

Q: Just had the idea for your next fundraiser that you could let people buy permission to text their ex in the style of 15th century medieval catholic indulgences (like donate $50 and Vanessa will tell you she’s not disappointed in you that you texted your ex. Donate $100 and an editor will say it’s ok. Donate $1,000, and Riese will craft the text for you.) (love you, hope you’re well during this bananas time <3 )

Laneia: I genuinely love this idea. It’s all I want in life.

Nicole: This is heavily noted. I really hope we don’t get 95 comments critiquing it, though!

the shriek I emitted when Roberta Colindrez popped up in the latest Mrs. America ep… blessed be

ALL-CONSUMING NEEDS TO SHARE

Q: My roommate is a TERF, and I am stuck in this apartment with him for the foreseeable future, and I cannot listen to him defending JK Rowling from his place of (gay) white male privilege for the rest of however long I have to live with him AAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Laneia: LIGHTING A CANDLE FOR YOU.

Q: Hi Autostraddle, you guys are the best! Just wanted to let you know that Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is $1.99 for the Kindle edition in the U.S. right now. This was my favorite book last year, and one of my favorite books of all time. It’s f/f fantasy, and it’s just awesome. Also, I noticed that last month the author said on Twitter that writing the book helped her realize she was queer. Maybe you can do an interview with her one day?? Anyway, just wanted to let you know about the deal, in case anyone wants to grab it!

Rachel: WELL HOT DAMN I loved this book so much, I almost want to buy a second copy?? I would love for us to interview her!

Nicole Jumping in to note that sadly this promotion has ended, but still including this here in case anyone wants to talk about the book!

Q: Top Chef season 17 is FULL of hot dykes kicking ass and taking names!!!!!! I might submit a pitch about it but i wanted to let u guys know that bc it’s a real quarantine balm AND it’s all about how wonderful la is!!

Kamala: hell yeah, i’m interested.

Q: I got a research job in Berlin and it’s exciting and scary and further away from my girlfriend but also gonna be really cool! I used to run away from anything that got too familiar because I thought stability meant boring and people wouldn’t like me once they got used to me, but then I figured out who I am and how to live my best life and I’ve been in the same place for 5 years now. I had this idea that I should stay close-ish so I could keep some parts of my little community, but I guess one of my core values is also doing really scary things that will help me grow as a human? So I’m gonna do it and start all over again and be alone at first and build a new community and it’s so scary but also a chance to do so many new wonderful things! AAAH!

Kamala: I’m a proponent of doing hard and scary things too, so I’m gonna go ahead and say do it! Congrats! Also Berlin is such a fun queer city!

Q: UK LGBT+ Charity The Kite Trust has been running a super great podcast involving notable queer members of our community and I’ve really been loving it! I wanted to share! They offer online groups and one to one services for LGBT+ youth and they’re super wonderful

Kamala: sounds cool, will have to check it out!

Q: BBC’s Trigonometry is way better than I thought it would be. I really can’t get enough of female driven media, it often feels so different, more authentic and nuanced. I’m so happy to see Bi representation that is this good, that defies the viewers (often resigned) expectations.

Kamala: I have no idea what this is, but count me as interested, it looks like a cool show for me to watch on one of those rare days when I’m feeling like a TV time!

Q: I’ve been reading this Chinese lesbian comic (一半) and one of the girls is looking up resources bc they’re kind of a May-December romance and one of them is a Carol reference! 4 panels down is the quote “My angel, flung out of space” Idk if the link will work.

Nicole: The link totally works! <3

Q: I have been looking forward to the half of it for a while and now i’m afraid to watch it because it might not live up to my expectations / make me happy at all

Kamala: I think you should rip off the band-aid. Knowledge is power and some such. Also, it’s good and there are many good parts to enjoy, but will it make you happy — that I don’t know — and I don’t think that means you shouldn’t watch it anyway.

Q: All consuming need to share here – I accidentally made a rainbow this weekend!!! I made violet syrup, – the stronger stuff is purple; the lighter stuff is deep blue; I made green pesto; yellow dandelion oil is infusing; and new water keefer from a friend is orange! This just hit me this morning and I can’t handle it! Maybe I’ll make jamaica tea to round it out!

Kamala: I’m quite honestly thrilled to know that this level of gayness exists, and that it can just HAPPEN in your kitchen one day: goals. Thank you.

Q: I don’t know what is going on with the YouTube algorithm these days, but I am getting some bizarre (straight male targeted?) ads. Like this one, for what I believe is a jaw exerciser? I mean I guess this could have queer uses?? to work out jaw muscles ??

Kamala: HAHAHAHAHA wow i love this. I personally prefer to grind my teeth at night, that tends to make enough jawline for me, but this video is lovely, thank you.

Nicole: This seems like a choking hazard.

Q: Something about the phrase “I’ve been obsessed with belts for a long time” screamed Straight Ppl Watch to me. Enjoy! (??)

Nicole: Loving all these Straight People Watch submissions!

Q: Gay ballroom dancers in quarantine.

Nicole:I really thought this would be a different kind of ballroom, but this is also good!

Q: All i want is a free stock photo of a cute same sex couple enjoying cocktails for a stupid work presentation and i apparently should give up. at this point i would take two white cis dudes I JUST NEED THE GAYS DRINKING HIGH QUALITY COCKTAILS it should be easy??? i have a gay agenda to promote at work!

Nicole: I was like. “I will find this. I will find this for you.” I failed. I got literal photos of dates, like the food from a tree. Should we start a project where queer people quarantining together who can hang without masks take photos of themselves doing ordinary things like enjoying cocktails and cleaning until we have one great big stock archive?

Q: Air Logic, the last promised book of Laurie J Marks Elemental Logic, is out! I had no idea! Can’t wait to read it! (Casey included Fire Logic in her roundup) and personally I think the books just get queerer and better as they go, like the chosen fam is a much bigger thing in Earth Logic and Water Logic.

Nicole:Thanks for the fantasy rec! <3

Q: I don’t know that this is a hot tip, but if anyone else is as emphatic a listener to NPR pop science stuff as I am, it might be interesting. Both Maddie Sofia (Short Wave) and Lulu Miller (Invisibilia) both mentioned she/her-pronouned partners on their podcasts recently. I started listening to Lulu Miller’s new book as well (it’s good!) and it includes part of her coming out story. Maybe someone else will appreciate this!

Kamala: Oh this is a hot tip! And here i thought that NPR women were mostly the kind of straight who borrowed very heavily from the dyke cannon!

Whew yikes! You ever have that split second worry that you mistakenly entered your super secret question as a comment instead of into the A+ Priority Contact Box because they’re so close together at the bottom of the page??? Just me 😅ok!

HAVE YOU WRITTEN ABOUT THIS / I NEED INFORMATION / ARTICLE IDEAS

Q: Can we have some sort of feelings atrium about jk Rowling being a streaming piece of shit? Not new news, but certainly quadrupling down at the absolute last time we needed it

Riese: I think that’s the thing though, that sentence at the end of your question — it is the absolute last time we need it. It’s been covered extensively and on social media and I think our feeling currently is like…. do we want to feed into this story being the top story? I think as a culture we pay too much attention to what famous people think about things.

Q: What percentage of actresses that have played queer characters have come out? I feel like it is a fairly high percentage. Does that say more about the percentage of women that are queer or is acting a way for people to get more comfortable with their own truths?

Riese: Oh I have a few theories about this!
1. They are drawn to queer roles because of latent queerness
2. They end up involved with a project because they are friends with the people involved or they become friends with queer people who are involved in the project because it’s not just romantic relationships that can be a gateway to realizing you’re gay, it’s also gay social groups!
3. They relate to the character or like you said, playing gay makes them get more comfortable with their own truths or enables them to find pride in who they are or give context to their feelings
4. They end up in queer universes — adored by queer fandom, at queer events — because of the role and realize they feel at home there

Q: Hey! I just read this roundtable of people writing a letter to their future selves a year from now after confinement. Would love to read something like it on AS. Thank you for everything you do, you have been my source of joy and comfort in a difficult time…

Kamala: I’ve really been thinking about time capsules of late, appreciate this!

Q: Re: COVID as excuse for surveillance/criminalizing illness, judges in KY have been ordering sick people to wear GPS ankle monitors.

Kamala: I feel like I might need these for my parents, they seem to be having a lot of fun…

Q: Have you written about Robyn Crawford’s new book on her life with Whitney Houston yet? Would love to read a review or something!

Nicole: I would also love to read a review!

Q: I see people who are otherwise allies writing things like LG(BT). What does the brackets mean in that?

Riese: It means they don’t think bisexuals and trans people deserve to be part of our civil rights movement, I think?

Q: Hello, not sure if it’s already on your radar, but I’d like to recommend the book “The Curious History of Sex” by Kate Lister. I’m only part way through, but it seems to be the sort of thing that some people around here would enjoy. The first two chapters are on the history of the words “whore” and “cunt”, which quite sets the tone.

Rachel: What a great tip, thank you!

Q: Ahoy ahoy! I have just watched The Half of It and am all heart eyes now. I now have a burning need to read books like this movie. Or at least with similar vibes. Perhaps where the girl gets the girl before the end? Do y’all have any recommendations to satisfy my book cravings? Also you guys rock.

Rachel: Casey is planning to do a full post answering this great question, but for now she recommends It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Suguira!

Q: Any recommendations on bath bombs?

Sarah: I really like Lush bombs — Avobath is fresh and invigorating, and Big Blue transforms your bath into a bright blue ocean filled with seaweed! Honestly Lush has so many different bombs for different situations, and the fun part is picking ones that you like based on your mood or favorite smells. Sometimes I get them just because they release entertaining, fun colors or are filled with biodegradable glitter, lol.

Q: Might there be enough new people with curly hair to do another curly hair care round table? Or a skincare thing from either or both Rachels? Maybe a very basic “you have to press, not rub, those substances from TO droppers into your face?!” type article? (Really enjoyed Rachel’s instagram live on skincare)

Rachel: Love this idea and love to be part of a pantheon of Rachels! Rachel C-L says she can def write something along these lines soon!

Q: Would any of you be interested in writing up Jackie Fielder? She’s a queer water protector who spearheaded setting up San Francisco’s Public Bank, and she’s running for a CA State Senate seat where she can fight for housing equity, a green new deal, and wealth redistribution. She’s running a shoestring campaign against a corporate-funded Dem incumbant, and needs help getting the word out since traditional canvasing isn’t safe right now. She’s endorsed by Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors among other queer community leaders.

Kamala: This sounds awesome, will investigate further, thank you!

Q: Interesting website on lesbian deportees created in commemoration of the Ravensbruck liberation anniversary last month : http://constellationsbrisees.net/en/project-type/deportations-to-ravensbruck-camp/
Available in English/German/French with interactive maps.

Rachel: This is incredible, thank you for sharing!

Q: Would any of y’all happen to know any lesbian poetry about trans women? I know that might be a tall order, but I just realized that there’s pretty much nothing out there where we’re presented as subjects of desire.

Rachel: This isn’t exactly what you asked, but my first thought was about recent book “Little Blue Encyclopedia: For Vivian“: “The playful and poignant novel Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) sifts through a queer trans woman’s unrequited love for her straight trans friend who died. A queer love letter steeped in desire, grief, and delight, the story is interspersed with encyclopedia entries about a fictional TV show set on an isolated island. The experimental form functions at once as a manual for how pop culture can help soothe and mend us and as an exploration of oft-overlooked sources of pleasure, including karaoke, birding, and butt toys. Ultimately, Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) reveals with glorious detail and emotional nuance the woman the narrator loved, why she loved her, and the depths of what she has lost.”

Q: I love S L I C K, so I hope y’all don’t mind me asking- will there be any trans women in the series soon? I apologize if I missed some detail or cue suggesting otherwise, but it seems like it’s been very centered around the pleasure of AFAB people and vulvas.

Kamala: There is a lot more diversity that I want to bring to S L I C K, for sure including trans women, and if you have favorite trans women writers you think would be great for our erotica series, please don’t hesitate to get them in touch with me at kamala@autostraddle.com!

Q: I miss the Advice from a Queer Engineer series.

Laneia: Me too as well.

Q: do ya’ll have any recommendations for inclusive/queer workout videos? or just any workout videos that aren’t made by pretty straight ladies?? I’ve gotten out of shape bc quarantine (I used to walk EVERYWHERE and go to the GYM and now I SIT) and I want to get back in shape but blogilates/chloe ting and the like just make me feel like I’m back in middle school gym class- terrified of all the pretty girls and feeling awkward in my body!!

Laneia: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: THE UNDERBELLY YOGA. Jessamyn Stanley is a wonderful instructor and provides super realistic and necessary posture alternatives for different body types, plus she LOVES what she’s doing and it comes through in the videos. Also: THEMSHEALTH brings in a lottt of queer people for breathwork, meditation, yoga, etc! And and: Nonnormative Body Club! They’ve got this incredibly handy database of home workouts that’s so beautifully organized I almost cried.

Riese: I have been super into 305 Fitness workout videos, my favorite instructor is a gay guy. They are body-positive and don’t focus on weight loss or anything like that, and they’re fun! There are some queer women working there too.

Q: Here’s my hot tip: theres been a lot of hate for “hard pants” lately but I know what makes me stand to attention and its sturdy work pants for being a lumberjane. Some folks are still making stuff or wilding around outside in sturdy hard work pants and I’d love to see that celebrated as a counterpoint to lounge wear an thirst trap opportunity! Or you could have a work pants review faceoff between like, dickies, carhartt, red ant pants, etc?? Eeeeh??

Laneia: This does sound very tempting and good!

Q: I just finished Mrs. America. Who were the lesbians depicted in the show-the one who eventually worked for president Carter? And the ACLU lawyer Brenda Feigan-Fasteau, did she ever come out as bisexual or queer or anything?

Riese: Yes, she ended up marrying a woman during that window of time before Prop 8 was passed, and they are still married. She and her husband divorced in 87 and she met her now-wife in 1990. According to an LA Times review of her 2000 memoir “she married a man who shared her feminist convictions, worried about child care, sampled lesbian sex and, eventually, in no way disparaging her heterosexual experience, settled down with a woman.” Jean O’Leary and Midge Costanza were real also, and Midge did work for Carter (she resigned after 20 months).

I just want to say I love Dani Janae and Drew’s writings! I’m a 12 year loyal AS reader and it’s cool to have newer AS writers to love this much. I’m comment-shy but THANK YOU.

MISC

Q: Hello, I just wanted to say I love you guys. Thank you thank you thank you for everything you do. Please drink some water and take a break if you haven’t yet today. Oops this is also functioning as a reminder to myself to do that.

Kamala: Am drinking water right this minute THANK YOU!

Q: Has anybody tried Aisle period underwear since the rebranded? They used to be Lunapads, but it looks like they changed more than just the logo.

Kamala: Truly, do not know, but color me intrigued. I have to admit that I still don’t totally get how they work…

Q: Hi! How do I write for you guys? I’ve been low key following Autostraddle for almost 10 years. I just joined A+ finally… the erotica was a nice push to join. Lol. I wanted to see if I could write a fashion piece or my own shot at erotica. Let me know! Thank you!

Laneia: Head on over to the Write for Us page! Thank you for joining A+!!

Q: Hi Autostraddle! I created a virtual cafe in animal crossing and I’m matchmaking queers for dates there. I thought you might be interested in helping get the word out about it :) Happy to give you a tour of the island and answer any questions. I’m @noa_noh on instagram <3

Kamala: That sounds like so much fun! We’ll keep this in our back pocket!

Q: Stumptown got renewed.

Kamala: All I’m thinking about is coffee now.

Q: Hi I saw this in my co-op community, it’s from a multracial worker-owned cooperative: “Third Root Community Health Center a worker coop in NYC says “BLACK LIVES MATTER
We invite our Black community members to attend ALL THIRD ROOT CLASSES for FREE for the foreseeable future, email us directly to register at info@thirdroot.org or by calling us at (718) 940-9343″.

Kamala: hot damn, sounds rad!

Just a message to say I’m finally dating the babe of my dreams and living my best solo polyam life, and I learnt pretty much all I know about dating from Autostraddle so thank u for that!!

REALLY NICE THINGS YOU TOLD US

Q: Y’all. Y’ALL. I’m so SO proud of you for the pivot you’ve made to focus on abolition and Black life in this historic moment. I can see the commitment you made…was it a year ago? when you made the big fundraising push (that I was happy to give to)…to center BIPOC voices really bearing fruit in this moment. I’m proud to share these pieces and proud to be an A+ member. Thank you. I imagine you’re getting some shit for it, but keep going! Thank you! Thank you! So proud of you!!!

Kamala: You’re a gem for writing in to tell us this! I’m also really proud of this work and excited that you’re excited <3

Q: HOLE-EY HECK I love the SLICK dark layout. That is all!!

Sarah: I LOVE THAT YOU LOVE IT. This was a fun idea had by Laneia and I think it really adds to the sexy time everyone has when they’re reading S L I C K. I don’t know if you saw the commenter above but we are also going to be adding a lightswitch that you can turn on and off, to set the mood. Maybe we’ll even add in some candles and soft music and your favorite pillow too. 😉

Q: Hi A-Team!
I just wanted to send a special shout-out to whoever writes the anonymous sex toy reviews. They suggested the Melt vibrator and I showed my wife and she emphatically said “yes let’s buy it!” We’ve been together for 10 years and haven’t bought a sex toy since we started dating, so this will be a much needed bedroom spicer-upper!

Rachel: This is so good to hear! I passed this note along to the person who I think you’re talking about (we don’t have a review of the Melt directly, I don’t think, but it was written about in this Sona 2 review) and they said “Yay!!! I hope this is the start of many sex toy purchases for them!!” I appreciate so much you letting us know that it was helpful!

Q: Just came here to say THANK YOU! to Kamala for introducing us to Diaspora Co. They are amazing and my requisite lemony turmeric tea cake was seriously next level ✨

Kamala: YOU ARE SO WELCOME! There is truly nothing better than Diaspora Co. turmeric, and I love that they make everything so cute and SO ethically. I’m so happy your lemony turmeric tea cake was probably better than the original by “The Cook” who shall not be named :)

Q: Ummm Malinda Lo writing about Alice Wu and Heather interviewing Gloria Calderón Kellett??? You all are miracle workers!! <3 <3 <3

Kamala: Heather works magic, it’s impressive!

Q: Sending you all at AS encouragement, glitter rainbow sparkles, a breath of fresh air, your favorite flowers if you have them, and beams of sunshine. Making a good thing like AS happen, and making it better, is heroic, entirely against all odds, and you are doing it!!

Riese: THANK YOU SO MUCH

Q: Omg! I just saw the editors notes on top of the two Alison Roman articles. Top notch and so well said!! This quick response is so heartening. I also really appreciated this Medium article, that made me think harder about all of this, and where I spend my time and attention as a white person

Kamala: Carmen was all over this one and showed some beautiful editorial spirit getting two solid notes up there.

Q: The Dyke Kitchen is such an amazing series—Kamala is the coolest and I look forward to the column each time. Just wanted to say that thank you!

Kamala: What??? Thank you for reading it! I am so flattered that you enjoy my kitchen musings.

Q: Thank you for posting the 7 Things White People Can Do article, and specifically calling out the 80% of us Autostraddle readers who are white. I want to be called out and called to action, and I appreciate AS holding us accountable to this.

Rachel: <3 <3

Q: I am thinking of the Black staff members and contributors to Autostraddle this week, especially. I am sending you love and anger in solidarity and a hope that other people in your life will step up to care for you, whether by direct acts of comfort to you or by taking action against the systemic issues that harm you and people you love. You shouldn’t have to do all this work on the site this week (writing, editing, channeling your emotions, literally any normal job tasks), but I am so grateful, and I believe that you are truly making change.
love and power to you

Kamala: I just want to say that this expression of all of the feelings, though not for me, moves me, and I am very appreciative for it and you. It shall be passed along to our Black staff.

Q: This is an other because it’s a thank you for two things in particular: centering qtbipoc authors and paying them and being transparent about where A+ money goes. For the former, I’m white and this helps me learn and move forward and I’m glad the people who are helping me get paid. For the latter, it’s nice to know where money is going and the impact it has, even if it isn’t a lot. I don’t know if you respond to these but there’s need to respond – just a thank you.

Kamala: THANK YOU!

Nicole: Thank you so, so much for supporting! (And all of the A+ members reading right now who support!)

Q: Hey y’all, just popping in to say I love you and I’m grateful for the work you do! The depth and breadth is always impressive, but especially now. Also, I’ve shared a few of your articles about defunding and abolishing the police with my parents and I think they’re coming around on it. So that’s a win. Drink some water and roll your shoulders! You’re great!!

Kamala: This feels so good to hear! Getting a shoulder roll in, popping a straw in a passionfruit green tea (water will come later) and I’m happy to know that you’re finding super relevant writing for your life — that’s exactly what we’re aiming for!!

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