personal essay

disability

greatest hits

first person

Everything Hurts All The Time

“I hated my body and punished it, and it hated me and punished me back. Is that what happened? That’s the thing about getting sick the way I got sick:…

Riese —

Jan 29, 2014

personal essay

x-files

first person

Trust No One (Or, Everything I Know About Love I Learned From The X-Files)

“I did not intend to have any experiences outside the range of what I had previously proven to myself I was comfortable with or could understand. Scully and I both…

Rachel —

Jan 27, 2014

greatest hits

mental health

first person

The Second to Last Woman I Loved

“The truth is always messy. I told myself I could be gay and I wouldn’t ever be hurt again. I needed to never be hurt again.”

Roxane Gay —

Jan 22, 2014

greatest hits

in defense of jenny schecter

first person

Schecter 3:16 (Or How Jenny Schecter Saved My Life)

“I was angry. Really fucking angry. Angry because Jenny Schecter was right.”

Heather Hogan —

Jan 20, 2014

personal essay

women of color

first person

I’m Going To Homeschool These Damn Babies

I finally feel safe enough to imagine the big queer family I never had. A home where gender is an option, not an obligation, where parents can apologize to each…

KimKatrinCrosby —

Jan 13, 2014

netflix

personal essay

coming out

Netflix Outed Me: “Gay & Lesbian Movies” Was My Smoking Gun

“Netflix is kinda like my fag hag, the kind that wraps you up in a warm rainbow blanket with a bowl of soup when you’re recovering from a Cinco de…

Nina —

Jan 8, 2014

femmes

native american

first person

When Do I Finally Get To Belong? On Being Both Native and Queer Enough

How do I move past only feeling Native based on whether I fish or know the traditional ways? How can I push past feeling like my queer identity is tied…

Kirsten —

Jan 6, 2014

Alternative Lifestyle Haircuts

personal essay

first person

I Would Grow My Hair To Cover the City

I imagine myself as not myself, at my grandparents’ apartment this Christmas, wearing makeup, a women’s blouse, long hair combed to the middle of my back: What he thought I…

Whitney Pow —

Jan 3, 2014

gay families

gay moms

parenting & family

Shake, Don’t Wipe!

“Sometimes, when you’re in the business of parenting, you have to phone a friend for a bit of perspective and advice. Sometimes, you have to phone more than one.”

Deborah —

Dec 30, 2013

butch

female masculinity

first person

Big Queer Pimples, or How I Learned to Love (or Tolerate) My Acne

“When the doctor said that such and such a treatment was linked to health problems later in life, I didn’t even blink. I’ll hit 50 and keel over? Fine, I…

Kate —

Dec 20, 2013

intimate partner violence

personal essay

gender

Imagining a Better World For Trans Women Survivors Of Domestic Violence

Being a survivor has taught me that resiliency is in the marrow of my bones and with it I can imagine a better world.

Morgan Collado —

Dec 19, 2013

marriage equality

personal essay

lesbian weddings

Marriage Isn’t A Coupon You Have to Redeem

“Marriage is like a chlorinated community pool that we now get access to. I think that people forget that queers have been swimming in the ocean the whole time.”

Bevin —

Dec 16, 2013