Identity
Fantage & Other MMORPGs: A Queer Awakening. Top Story - December 2021.
Six months ago, during the height of Pride Month, I wrote about some of my favorite LGBTQIA+ creators where I naively referred to myself as a "cishet ally." Since then I've done a lot of self reflection and ultimately, a lot of healing from childhood trauma leading to me being able to admit, for the very first time in my 23 years of life, that I am not straight. To be honest, the signs were always there.
By C.R. Hughes4 years ago in Pride
I Guess It's Time to Come Out Now
I feel like part of me is still scared to say the word… “bisexual.” It’s bizarre to write it down when it was a word I fled from for so long, a part of my identity I denied for the first eighteen years of my life. I told myself I just thought girls were really pretty. I honestly thought that. I allowed my life and my understanding of myself to be hindered for so long because of the heteronormative culture I was surrounded by growing up.
By Saloni Rao4 years ago in Pride
The Power of 2 Words
There is no better feeling than letting go. Dropping the facade, you created and showing the world your true face. I have never been able to truly show who I am in the past. I felt that I was a piece of clay where I could just simply mold myself into a different being. Even though I have always changed to adapt to new people or cushion my personality, my true self has always stayed. I’ve come to be able to present myself as I always wanted, but it certainly took time and a lot of help.
By Justin Medina4 years ago in Pride
Their Own Words – A Better Man (Part Three)
Their Own Words – A Better Man (Part Three) I have to admit that I was shocked when Craig first told me of the direction his life took once he had left the shelter of the orphanage. What can you say to someone who has just told you they made a living by selling their body? Especially when that someone is someone you had been finding yourself attracted to. For a moment I was stunned, maybe even repulsed, but then I realised that I shouldn’t be one to judge. I wasn’t exactly an angel myself.
By Mark 'Ponyboy' Peters4 years ago in Pride
This Gay Artist Challenged Sexuality Norms Long Before We Could Imagine
Can you imagine a gay visual artist in 1950s America who embraced gender fluidity long before the term was even coined? Imagine how difficult it would be to aesthetically portray homoeroticism long before when being gay was not only risky but also illegal.
By Kamna Kirti4 years ago in Pride
Broadway's Queer Community Shines in Musical Album, Place & Time
Musical theater is often called "so gay", and while EllaRose Chary and Brandon James Gwinn, the writing team behind the 2021 Richard Rodgers Award winning musical, TL;DR Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix, believe it to be true, they argue it's not very "queer."
By Ben Nelson4 years ago in Pride
The Me I hadn't Seen. Top Story - December 2021.
My given name is Joshua. Now my name is Josephine or Josie for short. I could write about a lot of different moments in my life. When I was offered to go to Broadway by a director but I turned it down to stay in school. When I went into the healthcare profession as a personal caretaker where I discovered a love for helping others. What I want to write about though is my realization of being Josie.
By Josephine Mason4 years ago in Pride
Trying To Find My Word
There is a certain word that I find repulsive, and that is concerning. There’s nothing wrong with this word or its definition, it’s more so a personal reflection that makes me feel this disgust. In fact, it is a word that defines me, but the word, that which leaves a distasteful pallet, just sounds, well, gross. Trashy and tacky to my tongue, leaving the question as to if it’s really the word or if it’s that I am repelled by myself. If I am truly repulsed for being such a harmless word, then what can I do to gain pride in being this, taking satisfaction in knowing that it defines me? Unfortunately, as I sit here writing this, admitting it to myself, the repulsion takes over. What if I could find a new word to replace this? Would that make it any better? Could it be, by writing this, by the end, that I will no longer feel this way?
By Stevi Vaughn4 years ago in Pride
When It All Made Sense
We're all to familiar with that question asked when you're younger, "What do you want to be when you're older?" Little me sitting in the backyard making mud pies with rose petal garnishes wanted to be a chef. That quickly changed to wanting to start a band when I heard the end credits song for the original Michael Bay Transformers movie. Drumming on those pots and pans made me realize, loud noise and headbangs weren't really my thing. Then you get on the computer for the first time at the school library and think, "What makes this tick?", so you start getting into computers.
By Aiero Hanson4 years ago in Pride
