personal essay

personal essay

read a f-cking book

pop culture fix

In Spring Love With These Three Books, Latinas in Media and Sister Spit

“Go see weirdos and women and everyone living on the fabulous fringes of society doing things, please. I’ll go with you. We can take all our boos, cats, and brujas…

gabby —

Apr 17, 2014

Bevin Branlandingham

bra week

issues

A Queer Fat Femme’s Adventure To Find A Bra That Fits

“It was daunting to go in for a custom fitting but I’m a convert, now. I definitely feel way more confident in my choice of size and style.”

Bevin —

Apr 10, 2014

military

Miniseries

first person

Recruiting All Homos: Losing Myself In The Basics, Loving It

“I miss contraband, kumbayahs, and those very few and far between moments where I felt like there was nothing that could stop us.”

Sara —

Apr 9, 2014

greatest hits

personal essay

first person

Reclaiming Abuelita Knowledge As A Brown Ecofeminista

“We pass down traditions and knowledge that are unintentionally green or sustainable. We do not call them ‘eco-friendly’ practices, we just do them. I call this passed down knowledge, Abuelita…

lalobaloca —

Mar 20, 2014

personal essay

sexual assault

first person

My Personal Is Political: Reconciling My Trauma With My Feminism

“It eventually stopped. I don’t know how long it went on for. I’m not sure where I live, but I know it’s not in my body; everything felt like nothing…

Jess —

Mar 17, 2014

disability

greatest hits

first person

Know Me Where It Hurts: Sex, Kink, and Cerebral Palsy

But now my body, which had spent so many years letting me down and making decisions without my consent, had gone and done something absolutely right — and done it…

Carrie —

Mar 11, 2014

baby-making

gay moms

first person

It’s A Boy*!

It’s a boy, until and unless he tells us otherwise, I thought. It’s a boy who will be raised without gender roles. It’s a boy who will be defined by…

Genevra Reid —

Mar 10, 2014

personal essay

sexism

first person

This Is Because I’m A Woman: How Sexual Harassment Invaded My Life (And Some Ways to Respond To It)

“I once had a life where I could go blocks, miles, months without a stranger standing in my way, saying, ‘Hey girl, where you goin’ in such a hurry?’ I…

Morgan M —

Mar 6, 2014

brooklyn

lesbian kiss

first person

That Time I Got Paid $50 To Make Out With My Girlfriend For A Protest Video

“After three hours of waiting, the director sits us on the couch amongst three or four other couples. We stare deeply into the camera. I hype myself up. Look into…

Bailey —

Mar 4, 2014

greatest hits

lesbian health

first person

To Be Queer, Black, and “Sick”

My family used to joke that only white people need therapy. Meanwhile, white academics told me that African-Americans merely fabricated ungrounded stigma around psychiatric help. No one ever tells you…

Helen —

Feb 19, 2014

gay families

gay moms

parenting & family

Adventures in (Lesbian) Baby-Making

“Whose sperm is this?” she asked me once. Maybe it was the first time. “It’s mine,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say. I had paid for it.…

Lynne Marie —

Feb 14, 2014

personal essay

first person

From Russia, With Messy, Complicated and Sometimes Conditional Love

“Like Russia itself, my parents’ instincts are torn. My birth country can’t make up its mind whether it wants its culture to be a part of liberal Europe or conservative…

Zhenia —

Feb 5, 2014