personal essay Archives

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judaism

Retro head sculpture with flowers on beige background. Creative positive thinking concept. Minimal Mental Health Awareness Month. Psychology, emotional wellness, progress, flowering, Work on yourself idea

I Didn’t Know Existential Therapists Were a Thing Until I Got One

“I’m an easy host, a rake, a card, I’m bejeweled, I have a gay face. I want to love and be loved. If reaching is a kind of being, it’s…

Temim Fruchter —

Feb 19, 2024

covid-19

disability

A collage of three photos of the author, Heather Hogan. Left to right: Heather using her cane and compression socks to walk in the rain. Heather wearing a mask in the hospital and crossing her fingers. Heather standing in her backyard in front of her flower pots using a cane.

first person

The Soft Butch That Couldn’t (Or: I Got COVID-19 in March 2020 and Never Got Better)

Is a soft butch a soft butch if she can barely hold even herself together? Is a soft butch a soft butch without her swagger?

Heather Hogan —

Mar 15, 2023

personal essay

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 —

Feb 14, 2023

personal essay

three images of CJ Kitten Miller, the author: in two she wears a long purple tulle skirt and is dancing in a studio alone, in the third she is dressed like Jem and the Holograms and playing a concert

first person

On Gender Fabrication and Femme Embodiment

There are so many things I may reach for to explain how I know I am a femme or an intersex non-binary woman but these words and concepts themselves are…

CJ Kitten Miller —

Jan 28, 2022

personal essay

first person

Dispatches From My First Few Weeks in Florida

Everyone keeps telling me the correct way to outrun an alligator, but I keep forgetting. Also, everything about Disney World sounds made up.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

Nov 15, 2021

death is sad

personal essay

a black Subaru is parked on an open road with a blue sky with perfect white clouds above it

first person

I Spent the Summer Screaming in My Car, What About You?

When the sound of a scream leaves my throat, it is a choice. I am never accidentally screaming. I scream in the car and it is on purpose.

Vanessa —

Aug 24, 2021

mental health

personal essay

A dramatically lit photo of a cup of coffee in a mug that reads "I woke up like this #tired" nestled into rumpled bedsheets along with an open hardcover book.

first person

Here’s What I Learned By Choosing to Step Away from Productivity For a Whole Day

I did nothing “productive” for a whole day: no email, no phone calls, no work, no cleaning, nothing that fuels my inherent Capricorn desire to win at Capitalism. Here’s what…

KaeLyn —

Jul 13, 2021

masturbation

personal essay

A photo of author Vic Liu in a lavender sheer sleeve dress propping her head on her fist and looking directly into the camera next to a stack of copies of Bang!

book features

How and Why I Wrote Bang!: A Masturbation Sex-Ed Book for Everyone

I made Bang! Masturbation for People of All Genders and Abilities because it profoundly made sense to me, because there was a gaping hole in that plastic wall where there…

vforvicliu —

Jul 7, 2021

AAPI Heritage Month

asian

xoai lounges on a white blanket looking blissful in a white dress, long black hair cascading over one shoulder. in the background are a series of portraits of her face in a state of tossing and movement, all in a green hue.

first person

The Right to Breathe

I think of the moment I was born, how I must not have cared at all how loud I screamed. I needed to breathe. I needed everyone to know I…

xoai pham —

May 31, 2021

AAPI Heritage Month

Asian American

A the upper torso and face of a person is in oversized portion coming out of a deep green sea against a dark, cloudy night sky.

first person

The Birth and Death of a Name

This is the story of the birth and death of my name, which means that it is a story about transition, which means that it is necessarily a story about…

S Sukardi —

May 26, 2021

judaism

personal essay

an illustrated masked woman holds a sign with the Palestinian flag in front of red letters that read MY GRANDPA DIDN'T SURVIVE AUSCHWITZ TO BOMB GAZA

first person

I’m Coming Out as an Anti-Zionist Jew

Going viral holding a sign that reads “My grandpa didn’t survive Auschwitz to bomb Gaza,” is not how I planned to start a conversation with my family condemning Israel’s actions…

Andréa Becker —

May 25, 2021

missed connections

personal essay

A photo of two women's hands holding coffee and gesturing at a brunch table laid over a newsprint background

first person

MISSED CONNECTION: Gay Brunch Apology

You: The two women from my past who I judged too quickly during a chance brunch encounter Me: The dyke who apparently projected her own hangups about middle school onto…

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya —

May 24, 2021