personal essay

gender identity

intersex

first person

Where Intersex Meets Lesbian

“Not all of my experiences as an intersex person inform my being gay, and vice versa, but the overlap is there and it affects things in ways that are both…

Claudia —

May 13, 2015

baby-making

gay moms

queer pregnancy

Taking a Chance on a Second Chance: Managing Fears, Anxiety and the Unknown When Getting Pregnant

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. After losing my first pregnancy at 24 weeks, how could we face the conception process again, with the added physical and…

Caitlin Zinsser —

May 11, 2015

baby-making

gay moms

first person

My Pregnancy Was Perfect, and I Lost My Baby Anyway

Sometimes, even the best laid plans are, well, decimated. Even a type-A mega control freak like me couldn’t control my own body when I was pregnant — and I certainly…

Caitlin Zinsser —

May 6, 2015

butch/femme

drugs

first person

A Queer African Tale: On Trauma, Gender Transitions and Acceptance

“Dating broken white women became a way to reprise a powerlessness that years of sexual abuse and generations of blackphobia had tricked me into believing in. I drowned this feeling…

Ola Osaze —

Apr 30, 2015

baby-making

family

queer pregnancy

Makin’ Babies: Getting Pregnant On a Whim

“If we think too hard, we’ll never do it,” Kellie said. She was right. A cost-benefit analysis would yield no practical reason to grow our family. The only reason to…

Jennifer Berney —

Apr 27, 2015

gay marriage

grown-ups

lesbian weddings

Visiting Family After Marrying my Wife, Part 2: In the Safe Zone

“I felt I was gradually becoming like those newly married Indian women with henna on their hands at JFK or Heathrow… Of course, I didn’t look anything like them and…

Jay —

Apr 24, 2015

family

personal essay

coming out

A Fragile Dance: Queer Brown Futures (Or Lack Thereof)

“Why do we only collect coming out stories, it-gets-better stories, these stories that are set in the past, that tell of a particular set of experiences that not everyone can…

Lamya H —

Apr 23, 2015

andrea gibson

audre lorde

book features

The Vagaries of Love: How Poetry and Queer Movements Give Each Other Names

For National Poetry Month, an ode to the queer poets who talk about their love, fight for justice, and helped me save myself.

Adrian —

Apr 20, 2015

cyberculture

personal essay

first person

The Fugly Dyke Chronicles: How Getting Trolled About My Insecurities Is The Best Thing That Ever Happened to My Self-Esteem

“I didn’t even tell her when the notes started getting specific. Someone calling out my “crossed eyes” in a Tumblr ask. My “pocked skin” in an email. My “hillbilly teeth”…

Heather Hogan —

Apr 14, 2015

gay marriage

grown-ups

first person

Visiting Family After Marrying my Wife, Part 1: Packing My Suitcase

“Since the wedding has made me come out to more people than I had ever intended, this trip back to my place of origin makes facing their reactions inevitable. Will…

Jay —

Apr 2, 2015

family

fullscreen

first person

Salsa y La Naturaleza: How a Willie Colón Song Taught Me About Queerness and Love

“If Simón was a girl, then I was a dyke and if my father let the song play, then maybe I could sing to him and we’d finally be able…

gabby —

Apr 1, 2015

personal essay

trans women

first person

I’m Both an L and a T and I Don’t Want to Choose a Side

Really, I’m not sure why we feel like we have to keep on amplifying this fight. A solid two-thirds of trans women are on both sides of this so-called divide.…

Mey —

Mar 17, 2015