Author
The heart expands again during Pride month
Over the last few years, I’ve turned into a bit of a Pride Grinch. Being a Black queer and trans historian and observing the celebration of a radical anti-police protest turn into an excuse to hawk rainbow-tinted goods or watch twinks dance on the floats of banks that fund war and oil pipelines leaves a […]
Fighting anti-trans legislation is suicide prevention
I’m trans. This year I turn 30, and my teenage self would be beyond surprised — not just at the joys that fill my life, but the fact that I’m alive at all. I’m part of the last generation that didn’t quite have the language for the feelings that flooded us as kids. I didn’t […]
Queer Halloween saved lives
For many queer and trans folks, Halloween was the one safe place we could express ourselves. It’s been that way for centuries. In 1848, Columbus, Ohio, became one the first cities to officially outlaw people wearing clothing that didn’t align with one’s assigned sex at birth, known at different points of history as cross-dressing, drag […]