editor's notes Archives

Divorce Week

editor's notes

A victorian era woman in close up reading from a handwritten letter in a color scheme of muted peach and brick red.

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Editor’s Notes: Divorce Week

Being engaged, planning a wedding, being a newlywed — all welcome topics of conversation! Divorce? Not so much!

Carmen Phillips —

Feb 20, 2024

13 Days of A+

editor's notes

a stark black and white photograph of a woman with pale skin and dark hair. she is covering her face with her hands as two disembodied arms approach her out of the blackness behind her to cover her ears. over this is the roman numeral for 13 in bright red

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Editor’s Notes: 13 Days of A+ and the SHAME Series

A real one-two combo of notes!

Nico —

Jan 8, 2024

BEGIN AGAIN

editor's notes

a photo of a road within a forest, taken from an aerial view. a single car drives along the road. the photo is fading into a rainbow effect, as though overexposed

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Editor’s Notes: BEGIN AGAIN

Because time is a flat circle and we are, if anything, cyclical beings.

Nico —

Nov 27, 2023

editor's notes

trans awareness week

A desaturated collage: an image from Street Fighter, an image of Reed Erickson with two women, an image of Patti Harrison, and image of writer Daven McQueen as a child.

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Editor’s Notes: Trans Awareness Week

What can a publication do that tries to center trans people all-year-round?

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Nov 20, 2023

editor's notes

Horror Is So Gay

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Editor’s Notes: Horror Is So Gay 2

“I want the vibe to be 1980s slashercore mixed with nostalgic late-night sleepover vibes.”

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Oct 31, 2023

Bubble Trouble

editor's notes

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Editor’s Notes: Bubble Trouble

The queerness found in a lot of these Bubble Trouble essays isn’t necessarily surface-level fizz but something deeper in the gut.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Mar 13, 2023

13 Days of A+

editor's notes

a stock photo of a woman freaking out about a burning turkey who is FULLY GRIPPING the turkey pan with her bare hands and screaming as she takes it from the oven, all against a dark cyberspace vector backdrop

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13 Days of A+ 2022: The Editor’s Notes are Screaming Internally

Pobody’s nerfect.

Nico —

Dec 25, 2022

editor's notes

Horror Is So Gay

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Editor’s Notes: On Horror Is So Gay

Before I tell you about all the things that were done right with Horror Is So Gay, let me tell you about the things I did wrong.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Oct 30, 2022

Diner Week

editor's notes

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Editor’s Notes: On Diner Week

See how the sausage (bacon, ham, or vegan breakfast patty) of Diner Week was made.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Aug 15, 2022

editor's notes

A tweet from @KaylaKumari that reads: watching all these mainstream publications do their 2-3 token pride pieces that are mostly just seo grabs and meanwhile we're out here at @autostraddle with a dynamic pride package with TWENTY FIVE pieces planned even tho we're queer all fucking year and not corporate-backed. The tweet is against a floral backdrop.

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Editor’s Notes: On Pride 2022

As Pride increasingly becomes co-opted, soured by capitalism, and diluted from its original organizing and protest roots, it’s easy to become exhausted every June.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Jun 29, 2022

autostraddle behind the scenes

editor's notes

in this collage piece, two fat, Black femmes post behind a foregrond of collaged foliage and in front of a background of shimmering and textured blue colors. The person on the left has her hair in a protective style and is wearing a green top with cut-outs, and posing with her arms above her head. In the background, a femme with long loose hair poses with her hand on her hip, wearing a satiny, black two-piece outfit.

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Editor’s Notes: On the Fat Femme Fashion Series

“It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Dani Janae, so when she came to me with a pitch about a roundtable conversation on fat fashion the answer…

danijanae —

May 26, 2022

autostraddle behind the scenes

editor's notes

Hand drawn images of human-like figures float around the words Time Zone Week in chalk against a black bacgkround

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Editor’s Notes: On Time Zones Week

Managing Editor Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya reflects on the origins of Time Zone Week. Plus: Behind-the-scenes art content!

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Feb 25, 2022