I had heard about Reina Gossett and Grace Dunham’s close relationship, and how it was informing some incredible work together, so I sought them out to find out more — over the course of our afternoon together in NYC, our conversation covered everything from the damages of biological essentialism to the radical power of empathy to how important it is to feel sexy sometimes.

Sometimes, it can be hard to parse out exactly why queer and trans people have such a hard time getting by while the headlines would suggest we are advancing by leaps and bounds. On January 23rd and 24th, queer and trans people converged in New York City for the Invisible Lives, Targeted Bodies Conference to explore how the struggle for queer and trans justice and liberation is inextricably linked to struggles for economic, racial, immigrant, disability and reproductive justice.

Fashion blogger Meg Clark on why fashion blogging matters, trans activist lawyer Dean Spade unpacking feminist discourse around trans surgery. Though very different people/topics, both touch on how a “looks don’t matter” perspective disables us from having important conversations about gender/society/self. Also; 39% of young Swedish ladies lust for other ladies, fancy perfume, marriage officials love love, Margaret Cho directs a kickin’ new video, and Lesbians deal with HIV.