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Celebrating Trans Heroes of 2019
While the last year felt like a two steps forward, three steps back kind of year, some notable trans folks broke national headlines, moving the needle even further towards trans visibility in 2019.
This Stock Photo Collection Is Helping End Body-size Bias
For people whose bodies are often the target of public scrutiny, representation in something as simple as a stock photo can be revolutionary.
Protections for Homeless Trans People Are Few and Far Between
Research shows that trans people experience high rates of discrimination in housing and shelter services, exacerbating their already elevated rates of homelessness.
The 10-year Challenge and the Rise of Femmephobia
For many, the body image expectations brought on by the 10 year challenge may feel more self-denigrating than celebratory
Gender-neutral Toys and Changing How We Teach Femininity
Gender neutrality represents the absence of gender – not the tolerance of different gender expression. If we emphasize only the former, I believe femininity and the people who express it will remain devalued.
Three Drag Queens Working For A Better World
For some queens, though, drag is about more than just developing a persona and lip-syncing to dance hits on stage. Meet three drag queens who have combined activism with drag, and have fought for everything from queer and trans rights to anti-violence efforts.
Reducing HIV Transmission Rates Requires Decriminalizing Sex Work
This World AIDS Day, let’s not forget that transgender women—particularly trans women of color—are also more likely to be living with HIV than cisgender people. The fight for trans justice cannot be separated from the work to reduce new transmission and provide care to those who are living with HIV, while ending stigma and criminalization for having HIV. To win this fight, we must decriminalize sex work.
The Lies and Dangers of “Gay Gene” Testing Apps
No, a DNA swab can’t tell you if you’re gay, or likely to be obese, or depressed. And it can be damaging to believe so
Sir Babygirl Is Serving Queerness On A Platter
Sir Babygirl likes to confront pop culture’s erasure of queer people. She laments queer-baiting in pop music, which often hints at queerness but rarely makes it explicit. Instead of queer-baiting, she aims to be queer-serving.
Falon Sierra: Damaged by System, but Never Broken
I recently had the chance to interview Seattle R&B Tomboy Princess, Falon Sierra, about her latest neo-Soul-Alternative-Electronic EP “Damaged by System,” released to all platforms October 2019. Read on to see what she had to say about her songwriting heroes, self-love, and the current state of art in Seattle.
Guayaba Shapeshifts Through An Orphean Nightmare In Fantasmagoría
With Fantasmagoría, the fruit of Tacoma-based rapper Guayaba’s theater of horror is ripe for the picking.
Don’t Call The Police. Call Your Neighbors.
Police violence is a problem in rural and urban communities alike. By building stronger communities, we can reduce it.
Help Stop The Murder of Black Trans Women By Paying Them
More financial security could make the difference between life and death for Black trans women, who are often relegated to the margins of society.
Danny Denial Slams Tokenizers and Gatekeepers in “White tears fake queers”
A filmmaker as well as a musician, Danny Denial’s music often ventures into the cinematic. With Danny’s vitriolic growl and sternum-shaking bass, his latest single, “White tears fake queers.” would fit right in on David Lynch’s goth-grunge Lost Highway soundtrack.
New HHS Rule Allows Discrimination Against Queer and Trans People
From taxpayer-funded foster care and adoption agencies to programs that serve individuals struggling with substance abuse and youth homelessness, grantees of the Department of Health and Human Services got a green light from the Trump administration Friday to discriminate against LGBTQ people.