Letter From Your Editors

Hello Thirst Traps!

This past month, Vanessa ranked ten floors she had recently lied upon. We found this activity downright inspirational. Feel free to share photos of yourself lying on the floor in the comments. Really lean in to this catastrophe summer. Feel yourself. As one might argue if one cared about astrology (I do not): it’s Leo season!

1st row: Al, Rachel, Stef, Heather
2nd row: Riese, Carmen, Cameron, Vanessa
3rd row: Audrey, Yvonne, Lex, Casey
4th row: Sarah, Tiara, Laneia, Kayla

I spent the top of this month in Portland, sitting at a table with Cee and Sarah while we made plans for the future, including some new layout things and an A+ member drive, and also they tinkered, bit by bit, with our current design — specifically: changing fonts and how categories are displayed on the front page and the drop-down in the sidebar and a few other things too. “The website looks amazing,” said Yvonne. “It’s like a cool drink of water.” We feel the same: I’ve found myself drifting into the archives more often than usual, just pleased to read things in this new improved format.

You may have noticed that we’ve been publishing slightly less often than we used to, which reflects a more concise vision for the site and our renewed dedication to making sure nothing is published in haste or without care — we want everything to be lovingly edited, strategically packaged, and sufficiently promoted. But it’s also ’cause we’ve been dealing with some pretty intense budget shortfalls while our competitors seem to be scoring more ad deals and offering more money to queer writers than ever. So, Heather and I have been writing a lot more and we’ve all been pitching in wherever we can to patch through. We were actually  gonna have to slash our theme issue re-launch next month until some incredibly generous donations came in to us at the end of June / start of July! For those we are grateful beyond words. For our writers and editors who are still working hard for this community, we are grateful. And for YOU, our 2,705 A+ members (we got a bunch of new ones this week, in fact, thanks to Tiara’s essay about hiring a sex worker) — thank you!

There’s a lot to look forward to: we’re confident that we’ll see ourselves out of this lil dip soon, and are hopeful for our upcoming A+ member / contribution drive. We’ve decided to make A+ content available to all members, regardless of level, going forward, and are crossing our fingers nobody will downgrade and that instead we’ll hopefully get a lot of new folks signing up! We are also so very excited for the launch of Bad Behavior, it’s gonna be so good!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s A+ content: A+ Sex Diary: Masturbation Challenge Accepted, A+ Roundtable: Dying a Million Lesbian Bed Deaths and For My Own Pleasure: Hiring a Sex Worker as a Queer Woman.

Also did you notice that Kristin got back in bed? She has. I watched her Facebook Live stream from the YouTube studios in Los Angeles. That’s the times, folks!

Love,

Riese // Laneia / Heather / Yvonne / Rachel

Top 10 Most Popular Posts From June 2018

These posts were hella popular last month

1. 22 Queer-Owned Stores That’ll Meet Your LGBT Pride T-Shirt Needs, Keep It In The Family, by Riese
2. “Hearts Beat Loud” is the Quirky, Queer Rom-Com We All Deserve, by Carmen
3. Autostraddle Exclusive: Bex Taylor-Klaus Bends Gender, Blends Styles in This Hot Photoshoot, by Audrey White
4. Satellite of Love: Queer Horoscopes for June 2018, by Corina Doss
5. Good for Cate Blanchett and Sarah Paulson Getting Hammered Before Their Today Show Appearance, by Erin Sullivan
6. Your Hot Wet XXX Summer: 2018 Queer Porn Preview, by Courtney Trouble
7. 22 Brands Selling LGBT Pride Apparel In 2018, Ranked By Highly Subjective Criteria, by Riese Bernard
8. “Ocean’s 8″ Review: Women Doing Crimes And (Probably) Each Other, by Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
9. How to Have Strap-On Lesbian Sex, by Carolyn
10. Mutual Masturbation Is a Very Underrated Lesbian Sex Act and You Can Too, by Riese

Nine Important Excerpts From Editorial Conversations

Vanessa: hi! i wanted to check in about my interview with megan falley for her new book!
Laneia: what is the book about
may i ask
Vanessa: sure thing
it is a book of poetry
i would call them love poems for partners and community
written by a queer femme
who happens to be andrea gibson’s gf
Laneia: well this is very gay
Vanessa: it is
Laneia: i’d probably still hold it for september but i’m curious what everyone else thinks! if we run it early, we could just resocial it around its pub date
Vanessa: i also felt like september would be good
maybe a week before the book comes out?
but i will defer to everyone else if that is incorrect
Laneia: let’s wait here holding our tampons while they form opinions
Rachel: I think first or second week of september would be great
this is totally subjective but I feel like for me, that is soon enough that I would actively look into the book
whereas if we did it now I would think vaguely “september! it is shrouded in the mists of time.”
Laneia: “september? may not even happen”
“september? prove it.”
Rachel: yeah we could absolutely all be dead by then
Vanessa: agree, yes
ok so if i’m gonna pick a date to put in airtable and all
is there a particular day we like to run interviews
like is a tuesday better than a thursday
Laneia: i’m always fond of tuesdays
monday’s too early, thursday’s too close to friday, wednesday isn’t real
Vanessa: Laneia i love you so much
tuesday 9/11? or is it weird to publish something on 9/11? i suppose we publish many things on that day, every year
Laneia: we do, that’s true
can’t think of anything i’d rather read on 9/11 than poetry
Vanessa: true and real
ok tuesday 9/11 it is
thanks for playing everyone!

Carmen: If we do a round up of queer summer beach movie pitches, mine is “Dirty Dancing, but gay”
Valerie: Now & Then, but gay (AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE)
Kayla: Carmen I like your lesbian rom coms idea a lot!!!!!
i am also a self-proclaimed expert in the rom com genre, so if you need to bounce anything off of me, feel free
Heather: kayla do you want to join our writing group for “25 days of gay christmas” on the hallmark channel?
i actually think you should be in charge of it since you’ve made real television
Kayla: Y E S
the lesbian figure skating romcom i’m writing is definitely a future holigay classic

Marni: hello where do we order our step and repeats from?
Sarah: Event Step and Repeat Dot Com
and anytime you want to know the vendor of a specific thing: [LINKS TO AIRTABLE]
Marni: Oh I missed being reminded that I could find something in airtable my own damn self
Thanks sarah!
Sarah: lolol
i knew this would be a trigger

Carmen: TESSA THOMPSON CAME OUT
OMG
OMG
OMG
I JUST FELL OUT OF BED
RRLYH I really hope your going to tell me I can write about this, because as soon as brush my teeth I’m opening up a doc
OMG
VALERIE YOU ANGEL
Valerie: Happy belated birthday!
Raquel: ahhhhh!
Heather: Carmen go go go!!!
ping me when it’s done and i’ll publish it asap!!
“that this is my person” has me howling this friday morning!
Carmen: I just brushed my teeth and poured myself a glass of cold water! What a day!! And it’s not even 9:30 am yet!!
Heather: Valerie’s right, i think she did this for your birthday!
Al: AHHHHH

Heather: what do you call this kind of necklace? like not “bird necklace” but the category of it? i’ve heard y’all say it before.

Sarah: statement necklace
Heather: yes!
thank you!
Sarah: haha
Heather: man i should have just asked
Sarah: did you google it first
what were your searches
Heather: i’ve been googling variations on bird necklace for 15 minutes
Laneia: BIRD NECKLACE
Heather: “large bird necklace category of jewelry”
Laneia: “can you show me what you have in bird necklaces?”
Heather: hahaha
“can’t wear two of what type of jewelry”
because i remember rachel saying you can’t wear a statement necklace and statement earrings
Laneia: it’s true
i mean, you shouldn’t
that’s not to say i haven’t
i have
Rachel: that itself is a statement also though
it’s a larger statement than the whole of the two statement parts
Laneia: mhm mmmmmhm
Heather: is it the statement that you don’t know what you’re doing
Rachel: I mean
Laneia: the statement was like “oh i know. believe me. i kNOW.”
Rachel: right
Sarah: “can’t wear two of what type of jewelry” AHAHAHHA
Rachel: it’s kind of the same mood as like making lasting eye contact with someone while you reach over and pick up their drink and drink it
Heather: omg
Laneia: like when you’re little and grab the remote from your stupid brother and turn it on your channel and it’s an infomercial and he’s like HAHAHA DUMBASS and you’re like I WANTED TO WATCH THIS INFOMERCIAL, STUPID
you know
also what rachel said
Heather: wowowwow! fashion is so complicated and amazing!
Rachel: it’s the statement of acknowledging you aren’t supposed to do the thing you’re doing
and really committing wholeheartedly to doing it anyway

Rachel: can someone please like introduce gillian flynn to one (1) lesbian
so someone gay can be in one of these for once
Riese: like does she not realize how primed for psychosexual drama we are
as a people
Carolyn: no one does
Stef: to be fair we ARE psychosexual drama, as a people

Molly: fyi this gal i’m seeing up here has two younger sisters, 11 and 12, who say a) “i hope i’m a lesbian like you when i get older” and b) threaten her with Ellen the way you’d threaten a kid with santa, like “ellen’s watching, stop being bad”
Audrey: DeGeneres or Page? Two very different threats.
Molly: degeneres
Stef: if anybody walking among us is likely to be an elf on a shelf
…honestly it could be degeneres or page
Cameron: didn’t page do a series where she interviewed gay people around the world? the world is her shelf.
Valerie: i would behave v differently depending on which ellen was watching me
Stef: mal blum is the mensch on a bench
Cameron: and what a mensch they are

Carmen: TV Team! Is “fingerbanging” one word or two?
Natalie: I want to say it’s finger-banging but I really have no idea.
I do love that this is a question you’re asking early on Friday morning, though.

Laneia: HELLO i am returned
Heather: how are you feeling?
Laneia: slightly high
Heather: nice!
Laneia: excited for the day! wishing coffee had legs!
Heather: what a beautiful wish
Laneia: if coffee had legs i’d also want it to have a tiny top hat
give a little bow when it arrived to my desk
maybe “all the way high” would be a more accurate answer
Heather: and a monocle!
Laneia: “pip pip! enjoy consuming me! lovely day to you!”

Meet An Editor’s Pet!

Get to know some of our staff’s pets. Today we’ll get to know more about Carol who has graciously allowed me to interview her for this series!

Carol Aird Tinkerbell Junior Bernard Sullivan, Riese’s Dog

1. What’s your favorite food (includes human food)?
When my Mom removes her breakfast sandwich from Starbucks from its tiny paper sack and pulls it apart with the same sad face she made when she told me that daddy wasn’t ever coming home, then I know it is going to be a good morning for me, Carol!!!!! Because my Mom doesn’t want any MEAT on her sandwich and Yvonne, I will tell you that I know she tells the people at Starbucks that she doesn’t want any MEAT! But sometimes, Yvonne, they still leave MEAT on the sandwich. It’s ham-meat, condemned by her Jewish G-d, and often adorned in shreds of re-hydrated croissant and cheese product. Why doesn’t my my Mom want the meat???? It’s okay, I do. I want the meat!!

2. What’s your most perfect sleeping scenario?
Yvonne, I used to think I knew the answer to this question but wow after so many years (3) on this planet I admit my preferences change all the time. I would have told you two months ago “upon my doggie bed, swaddled in a grey pillowcase and a 3XL scissoring t-shirt, inside my crate with a sheet draped over it.” My Mom always left the door to my crate unlocked in case someone came into our home to burgle us with a knife, she imagined I might realize it was unlocked and come bark at the burglar. I don’t know how long she did this before I noticed she was doing it! See the sheet was still over the crate. But now my favorite way to sleep is to go into my doggie bed in my crate, and then wait a few hours until my Mom has achieved unconsciousness, slip out of the crate, and then maniacally paw at the side of my Mom’s bed until she wakes up and sees my wild eyes and considerable talons digging into her perfect forearms. Unfortunately, my Mom seems to have responded to this desire by actually locking my crate door. :disappointed: So, now i settle for #2, which is on my dog bed right below my Mom when she sleeps on the couch in the living room, because there is no AC in her room, and we are experiencing the heat death of the universe. This situation does not involve my crate, which is fine. The less distance between me and my Mom the better! But I do love my crate Yvonne. Sometimes I go into it and curl up into my bed and my Mom says “hey psycho, it’s literally 3 in the afternoon, c’mon now” and I’m like, “what do you want me to do with that information?????”

3. If you could have a home on the beach, near mountains, or in a lush forest, which would you pick and why?
I would pick THE DESERT. I don’t know where the desert is — is it near mountains or the beach? You tell me, I’m the dog. Wherever the desert is, that’s where I want to be. One time my Mom took me to the desert. It was just me and her so I got ALL of her attention. Every day we would walk around the desert and I didn’t have to wear a leash. I was a free elf!!!! I want to go back there soon and get more attention from my Mom, who is my best friend.

4. Are you more a Carol or Therese? Why?
I am more Carol, because my name is Carol. I don’t know any Thereses.

5. What’s your favorite outfit?
My favorite outfit is my Bavarian sweater. It keeps me warm when the AC is on, and has a fluffy hood. My second-favorite outfit is my summer outfit, it is pink and white striped like an old-timey bathing suit, and very light. My third-favorite outfit is my soft butch outfit. It has a plaid collar and a grey sweatshirt element. It’s not my most comfortable outfit, but I look very handsome when I wear it. Speaking of how sometimes pretty hurts, Mom loves my red hoodie, even though it is a little tight. I also got a Gender Traitor onesie recently. I have only worn it twice so far, but maybe once I wear it again, I will say it’s my favorite!

6. What do you wish you could say to your mom?
“I love you too.”

Pretty Little Sharp Pains

Heather: i’m very impressed by the amount of tv content we’ve squeezed out of the slowest month of the tv year
Riese: IT’S BECAUSE OF YOU Heather
i am also impressed with us
Heather: OF US BOTH!
Riese: just can’t wait for that depressing show orange is the new black!
Heather: such joy and mirth, such hope in these dark times
Riese: i will do a post called I Love That Sad Show Orange is the New Black!
Heather: hahahaha
we should do like a series of charts showing oitnb’s descent into irredeemable bleakness in direct correlation with the loss of queer characters
oh man
a chart of lesbian tv by season and its on that smiley face pain scale they give you at the doctor

Heather: the l word season six: “hurts worst”
Riese: omg
yes
plz
Heather: okay! we’ll all brainstorm together
Riese: i love the structure of those sentences “hurts Little bit”
Heather: so good
Riese: l word season one: “no hurt”
l word season two “hurts little bit”
l word season three “hurts whole lot”
l word season four “hurts even more”
l word season five “no hurt”
Heather: yes!
Riese: l word season six “hurts worst”
PLL season one
Heather: this is so funny

[…in the tv channel…]

Heather: last night i had the idea to do a series of charts that show each season of queer tv based on that pain chart they give you at the doctor.
Natalie: LOL
love it
Heather: pretty little liars season seven: “hurts worst”
Valerie: we could also use allie brosh’s pain scale

here are a few of the descriptions:
4: My pain is not fucking around.
5: Why is this happening to me??
6: Ow. Okay, my pain is super legit now.
7: I see Jesus coming for me and I’m scared.
8: I am experiencing a disturbing amount of pain. I might actually be dying. Please help.
9: I am almost definitely dying.
10: I am actively being mauled by a bear.
9 is me watching Handmaid’s Tale. 11 is me watching PLL
Heather: ahahahahh!
Valerie: (i do love this idea though, with the OG pain scale)
Heather: by your descriptions i’m a 5 literally every time i go to the doctor. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME I’M A GOOD PERSON
Valerie: usually my face looks like 0 but my body feels like 11 and that’s why i confuse doctors
Heather: that’s so you

What We’ve Been Reading

Vanessa: Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Heather: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Alexis:All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism ediited by Lydia X.Z. Brown, E. Ashekenazy and Morenike Giwa Onaiwu

Al(aina):Seven Sisters Style: The All-American Preppy Look by Rebecca C. Tuite

Carmen:The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Natalie: I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé by Michael Arceneaux

Valerie Anne: Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Audrey: Grounded: Finding God In The World, A Spiritual Revolution by Diana Butler Bass

Cameron: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Riese: We Were Witches by Ariel Gore

Rachel: The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

Casey: Everfair by Nisi Shawl, Synchro Boy by Shannon McFerran, and The Lion’s Mouth by Anne Holt

Sarah: Spinning by Tillie Walden

Tiara: A childhood copy of The Usborne Complete Book of Magic & Magic Tricks by Cheryl Evans, Rebecca Heddle, Ian Keable-Elliott

Laneia: The Power by Naomi Alderman

VANESSA EXPLAINS ASTROLOGY TO HEATHER BUT EVERYBODY HAS AN OPINION

Vanessa: to be real my astrologer told me never to fuck a Cancer or a Pisces ever again (no offense y’all) but then i did
Sorry sorry sorry this is not what this channel is for
Stef: i want an astrologer to work this out for me
even though i know the answer, it’s geminis and libras (sorry)
how did we turn this assignment into astrology again
Laneia: gay
Molly: i’m open to all signs at the moment
Stef: WE KNOW MOLLY
jk jk :kissing_heart:
Vanessa: hahahahaha Stef was mid-typing that
Stef: i deleted it four times
Molly: look, i’m a cancer
Vanessa: HAHAHAHA
Heather: i’m sincerely curious because i don’t really understand astrology: how come no fucking pisces or cancers? (i’m a sagittarius and everything i read about sagittariuses leads me to believe no one should fuck them either, though i myself am not a restless wanderer!)
Stef: some combinations are just bad!
Molly: leo season
Vanessa: Heather ok give me a moment to type this all out
Basically, most people can make a thing work if they rly like the other person or get lucky. I don’t believe in letting the stars dictate your life. AND ALSO:
Some combos of people are just bad for each other, and if you believe in astrology you accept that your sign (and your whole chart, not just your sun sign, which might explain why you’re a Sag but not a wanderer) dictates some of your personality, and so you can decide who might be broadly “good for you” or “extremely fucking bad for you”
The reason my astrologer said no cancer and no Pisces is bc they’re both water signs, and they’re like, historically bad with boundaries intensely emotional water signs
(Again, sorry, I know not all of you are like that, etc etc)
And I’m a Capricorn, which is a very steady stable logical earth sign.
So the way my astrologer described it is that I have this strong backbone, and of course watery people are attracted to that
Stef: I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BEING INTENSELY EMOTIONAL OR BAD WITH BOUNDARIES SOUNDS FAKE
Vanessa: Hi Stef
Anyhow, the cancers and Pisces are attracted to my backbone bc they’re all water and don’t have that and I LIKE that they like it, I enjoy caretaking, but then I become resentful and it sucks me dry
Heather: that makes a lot of sense!
Vanessa: So it’s just best for me and them in the long run to avoid that pairing!
Heather: that really does make so much sense!
Vanessa: Meanwhile, I LOVE fire signs because they can hold their own and have a lot of independence. They don’t need my backbone bc they’re like, burning up on their own. We can just interact together and separately.
Heather: right!
cool!
i like that!
Vanessa: But of course the thing about stuff you should avoid is you should often avoid it BECAUSE you are drawn to it and you just keep repeating bad patterns.
Hence fucking/dating three Pisces IN A GODDAMN ROW after that reading.
Thank you for listening to my TED talk I’m sorry Riese I know you don’t believe in astrology I hope you still love me xoxo xoxo
Stef: that virgo/libra cusp
Riese: That’s me
Carmen: So like… one day is someone on Autostraddle to explain astrology to me? Because I’m an intensely emotional cancer, but all I know about it that is that like I’m a care taker and love family? Or something?
Stef: i’m such a fucking sucker for the signs that are the flightiest and it drives me bananas. i need a nice virgo
Carmen: I literally never know what y’all are talking about.
My worst ex was a Leo? Is that a thing?
Stef: take it away v
Heather: i do believe that most worst exes would be gryffindors who are lions and also i believe libras are lions, so that checks out to me
Vanessa: Carmen!
I believe we have some astrology content coming from one of my fave Astro queers in the coming days/weeks/months!
But if in the meantime you ever wanna DM about astrology!
I am usually down!
Molly: can confirm
Vanessa: Tho not RIGHT NOW bc I have a date later so I have to go home and clean my room.
But in general, I’m down!
Carmen: Lol! Enjoy your date!!! I look forward to DMing you and having all of this explained to me one day soon!!
Vanessa: omg i’m so happy rn y’all have no idea
THANKS FOR LETTING US TALK DATING AND ASTROLOGY IN THE STAFF WRITERS WORK CHANNEL, JUST FOR THIS MOMENT, SENIOR EDS <3
Riese: when i realized all of my exes were the same star sign i began to wonder if maybe astrology wasn’t totally dumb
i also have a knack for dating people with like nearly identical birthdays
Stef: that makes it easy to remember to get them something i guess
Riese: apparently i just date pisces, cancers, virgos and other libras. AND NONE OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE WORKED OUT
Stef: my three absolute worst heartbreaks were geminis and i vowed never again
unless they’re really cute
Vanessa: Riese, I think you could rly benefit from dating an Aries
Like maybe even a double or triple Aries
Molly: why
Riese: i’m supposed to date Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius and Aquarius apparently
according to the internet
Molly: the internet says i’m best with tauruses and virgos and scorpios and pisces but i can tell you i only butt heads with taurus, rarely in a sexy way
so the internet is sometimes a liar
Stef: and you try to squish me with love
Molly: i do, it’s true
Lex: I’m looking and it says my least compatible sign is virgo which is also my best friend followed by cancer who is my sister/other best friend?
but I’m like not well versed in astrology unless its all about me so
three compatible are aries, leo, gemini
Vanessa: SUN SIGNS ARENT THE ONLY DECIDING FACTOR
I HATE CO-STAR
Stef: everybody add me on costar
bye
Vanessa: (She typed frantically, while driving)
Stef: unless your name is coffeedaddy in which case please stop
DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE
Vanessa: Ok I’m parked now
Co-star is so overly simplistic it makes me rly mad
Astrology isn’t meant to be a social media hack
Stef: Vanessa when you’re done i wanna talk to you about a scorp on scorp problem
Vanessa: Although I will say if someone could make a simple app where I could store all my dates sun/moon/rising/Venus/mars signs that would be great
Stef: yeah i use it for that
Vanessa: Because the problem with having a slutty summer is like
I’m literally always like “wait where’s your moon”
And I don’t want these babes to think I don’t care!
There are just a lot of them
I realize I could just use google docs but like
I’d like something with a sleeker design and specific purpose ya know?
Stef: “Astrology isn’t meant to be a social media hack” she said literally one minute ago
:heart:
Vanessa:I know I know
This isn’t social media though!
I’m just asking for a sexier version of google spreadsheets specifically for my astro needs
Essentially
Riese I hope you’re copying all this for the next Insider

SLACKERS

Retro-Reading: It’s Hot As Hell In Here

I’ve decided to start making the retro-reading thematic rather than about a certain month because it’s more fun that way!

via NSFW PHOTOESSAY: A Post-Apocalyptic World at Wasteland Weekend

Top Ten Ways to Survive the Summer Without Air Conditioning, by Rachel (2014) – “While the sun is out, close your windows and preferably blinds. Pretend you are Miss Havisham and rock slowly back and forth alone in the dark, muttering to yourself. Then, when the sun sets, open all those windows right up, and relish the refreshing night air.”

How to Keep Your Summer Makeup Looking Cool When It’s Hot Hot Hot, by Nora (2017) – I believe it was me, Riese, who asked Nora to write this post. THANK YOU NORA.

On Learning to Love My Body: Because Summer Is For Fat Girls, Too, by Mari (2015) – “I’m not sure if I’ll ever understand why I decided that being soaked with sweat would be less unattractive/repulsive than exposing enough skin to stay cool, but it somehow seemed reasonable at the time.”

Lez Get Dressed For Work: The Working Bois Of Summer & Lez Get Dressed For Work: Hot & Sweaty Summertime Femme, by Gabrielle Korn (2013) — Sure specific fashions have changed a bit since five years ago, but the vast majority of this advice (plus all the tips in the comments!) are still totally valid and useful!

The Autostraddle Hot 100: Smokin’ Sizzlin’ Great Balls of Fire, by Riese & Interns (2009) – This is when we celebrated other websites making lists of hot women by making a list of things that are hot. Literally. Also we put hot women in it too.

6 Products to Prevent Chub Rub This Summer, by Mey Rude (2017) – ” I especially love summer because I get to wear my shortest skirts and dresses and not worry about being cold. I also get to wear Gold Bond Friction Defense.”

VIDEO! Getting In Bed with Gabby Rivera: Summer Body Love, by Kristin Russo (2017) – “This was the very first *traveling* episode of Getting In Bed with Kristin, and Gabby Rivera’s bed was all that I’d hoped and more. Yea, I said it. We dug into body image, summertime feelings, America Chavez, and even our own friendship during our time together. I hope you enjoy!!”

Unashamed To Be Fat: Wear the Shorts, It’s F*cking Hot Outside, by El Sanchez (2014) – “We are not wearing shorts in public to make people want to fuck us. We are wearing shorts because it’s summer and IT’S FUCKING HOT OUTSIDE.”

Another gorgeous photo from A-Camp 2018!!!

Five Posts Rachel Can’t Believe You Motherf*ckers Didn’t Read Last Month

You Need Help: How to Be More Assertive (or, When to Clap Back at Men), by Heather

I have never seen anyone better at pushing back effectively on men than Heather Hogan — once I saw her look a man in the eyes and call him “buddy” and he was completely cowed afterwards. You want to read her excellent advice on being assertive when it doesn’t come naturally to you!

Beyond Self-Care Bubble Baths Part 2: How to Take Care of Each Other, by Abeni

I’ve loved everything Abeni has written about self-care and community care; this is so concrete and specific, and a really helpful place to start that I can’t recommend enough!

“Don’t Tell the Babysitter Mom’s Dead” Isn’t Afraid of Feelings or Jokes, by Maddie

I’m such a fan of Maddie’s work and so glad to see her back on Autostraddle; this new project of Brittany’s is fascinating and Maddie is such a perfect person to write about it and her insights are great!

These Shirts Were a Choice, by Laneia

Listen. L I S T E N. This has brought me more joy than almost anything else since its inception, and you can tell from the comments and feedback that everyone else feels the same way! You deserve this. Laneia’s brain is such a beautiful and special place and you get to just SWIM AROUND IN THERE for the duration of this post. Can you believe!!! I can’t!!

Offline Shadows: How Sex Workers Become Marginalized Victims of Morality-Based Legislation, by Chloe Nivala

This is such an incredibly smart and thorough explanation of both the fallout and the resistance to/navigation of it by sex workers after the passage of SESTA/FOSTA, with some really great interview material and analysis — I’m super proud of publishing this piece and it’s absolutely required reading!

Stef’s Pick of the Month

I bought this LED light strip not knowing what it was capable of, and when I installed it I just happened to offhandedly check the instructions manual. To my surprise, this thing connects to wifi and can be controlled with an app on your phone – you can choose colors from a color wheel, adjust the warmth or coolness, fade, strobe (even custom colored strobes) or have the lights respond to music. Additionally, it has a feature where you can take a picture of something and the strip will (more or less) match the color of the picture. If you have more than one, you can group them or control them individually (I have four, and they’ve brought me endless delight). If you are trying to decorate your work or living space, I can think of no better way to play God and completely annoy the people around you.

Social Media Spotlight

This month we tweeted our most engaged with tweet in the history of space and time and it was just the literal headline of the post Carmen wrote about Tessa Thompson coming out. One million people saw this tweet.

Tessa Thompson has officially come out and confirmed that she is, in fact, vibrating on the same frequency as Janelle Monáe: https://t.co/OQh65oe6e3 pic.twitter.com/J4Z8qz3GfJ

— Autostraddle (@autostraddle) June 29, 2018

Here are some of my favorite responses.

https://twitter.com/vegancroqueta/status/1012771060633096192

V I B R A T I N G

— lion king 2019 defender (@shenantics17) June 29, 2018

https://twitter.com/Magnioculus/status/1012874184181964800

Ive been attracted to Janelle from the moment i saw her…but such is life….celebs stick with celebs….an average like me wouldnt stand a chance….congrats to u both

— n denise francis (@true2me66) July 1, 2018

says the person commenting on the article about the sexuality of a celebrity lol 😂😂😂

— mango trees (@mango_treez) June 29, 2018

Nobody asked your opinion, Karen.

— Blue Jazzmaster (@Duranimosity) June 30, 2018

https://twitter.com/mateluhi/status/1012825286562349056

WE LOVE THE ’90S

Carmen: I think this is staff writers related: is the 90s Nostalgia trend this week on purpose? Because I loved Yvonne’s piece yesterday and Riese’s today! Both gorgeous trips down memory lane. So, is it 90s week and I somehow missed it? (I hope so!) or just a lucky coincidence?
Riese: it’s a lucky coincidence!
we love the ’90s tho and could talk about it all day every dayy
Laneia: but also if you have a way to continue this streak please share
Molly: i overheard two young gals in what i’d guess to be their late teens, early 20s, leaving a restaurant talking about how one of their moms didn’t understand their clothes and the gal said she said, “mom, i’m 90s now.”
i died.
Laneia: !!!
when i posted that picture of me from 1994 on instagram, one of the younger women who works with my mom commented that it looked like the style that her daughter mia was into right now, and that she hoped it would be over soon, and she tagged her daughter.
reader, mia replied to her mother with a simple “no.”
Molly: my 21-year-old cousin showed up to my sister’s rehearsal dinner in a ringer tee with a baby doll dress on top
Laneia: she is mixing genres!
Carmen: I assume the 90s are in style because Sasha Obama dresses like it’s the 90s and she’s the only stylish teenager I know. So.
Anyway, I’m currently wearing an oversized Seattle style flannel and just finished slow dancing by myself around my kitchen to Oasis’s Wonderwall. The 90s will not die.
Laneia: wonderwall will definitely never die, no matter the year
Molly: well i mean, after all
Carmen: LOL!
Vanessa: something y’all may not know is that the campers made us sing Wonderwall at shabbat shalomosexual at a-camp
during the after dinner singalong portion of the evening
Mal didn’t want to but they were persistent
Stef: i am with mal
as a blur fan i find any support of oasis an attack on my personal religious beliefs
Riese: which was triggering to me and reminded me of my thwarted indie film “high on life,” which had a soundtrack that was 100% that album by oasis
that i tried to make when i was 15
stef rememeber when we read pieces of the script before we… burned them
Stef: about the drug dealer??
that was a piece of art

XOXO

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