Also.Also.Also: It Turns Out “Josie and the Pussycats” Were Right about Everything

(Since I published this piece yesterday the “intro section” has just said the placeholder word “Intro” and NONE OF YOU NOTICED!!! So now I know who’s actually reading these and it’s not many 🙃 but that’s ok I still love you!)

Queer as in F*ck You

“Allowing anyone who is marginalized by gender to play in the women’s leagues stays true to their original goal: to provide opportunities for people who were being systematically shut out of professional sports.”

If this hasn’t crossed your path yet, it is without any doubt your gay read of the week. Just masterful on every level! Living Nonbinary in a Binary Sports World by Britni de la Creatz (yes, that Britni de la Creatz of Autostraddle WNBA Fame 😭😭) for Sports Illustrated!!

Finally little teeny slivers of some good news: Florida Transgender Sports Bill Might Have Just Died In the Florida Senate and it’s taking North Carolina’s bill to the grave right along with it, Health Care Ban for Transgender Kids Will Not Become Law, Top NC Republican Says

Meet the Instagram Account Dedicated to Queer Arab History and Pop Culture. “Artist and designer Marwan Kaabour is exploring what it means to be queer and Arab through the Instagram account @takweer_”

They Came to N.Y.C. for Acceptance. Now They Need Jobs. “A new city program for homeless L.G.B.T.Q. youth will offer job placement, education and mental health support to help them achieve career success.” Fingers crossed for this one!

A Gathering of Radical Love. A photo essay from “Protect Asian Lives,” a memorial and loving community space for queer Asians, by queer Asians. (And my second vote for today’s must read, errr, “view” content.)

And it’s a good time to check in on the homie Kehlani, who would like to confirm that a few weeks ago when she said that she was a lesbian, she meant EXACTLY what she said:

As someone who also wanted my family to fall over themselves in surprise when I officially came out, I really felt this.

Saw This, Thought of You

You truly love to see it — Manhattan District Attorney Will Stop Prosecuting Sex Work

I’m the Head of Planned Parenthood. We’re Done Making Excuses for Our Founder. “We must reckon with Margaret Sanger’s association with white supremacist groups and eugenics.” FUCK YES, THISSSSSSS.

“We Are Shook, Again”: Sikh Americans Recall Targeted Violence They’ve Faced in the Wake of the Indianapolis Shooting.

“Poverty soared to a pandemic high last month hitting 11.7% — a full percentage point greater than it was in early 2020. Black poverty was close to double that of the overall rate, and childhood poverty soared to 17.4%.” — The study was conducted by NBC News, and here’s where you can read more.

Cat-Eared Brainwashing: How “Josie and the Pussycats” Prophesied the Age of Influencers

I’ve been avoiding some of the theories/conversations on the COVID vaccines’ effect on periods, in part because I have an extremely difficult period already due to some major fibroid problems and I’m an anxious person in general and I knew if I dug too close I might scare myself. BUT Ro describes this article as following, “a straightforward, science-based, anti-alarmist assessment about if/ why the COVID vaccine if affecting peoples’ menstrual cycles that I found valuable” and Himani agreed it was an interesting read, which is enough for me: The COVID-19 Vaccine and Menstrual Irregularities

Political Snacks

I haven’t stopped thinking about Ma’Khia Bryant, not for once second or one minute, since her death at the hands of Columbus PD on Tuesday night. This child and her round, chubby cheeks that remind me of my own high school best friend and the nights she’d spend obsessing over her hair in the mirror — she’s haunted my every step.

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Tiktoks Go Viral As Alternative to Body Cam Footage. Rest in Our Love babygirl, I am so sorry we didn’t do more. We should have done more. I hope you’ve found softness and kindness and peace on the other side that we, in this world’s cruelty and coldness, weren’t able to provide and protect you with here.

Black Girls Deserve The World.

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Carmen Phillips

Carmen Phillips is Autostraddle's former editor in chief. She began at Autostraddle in 2017 as a freelance team writer and worked her way up through the company, eventually becoming the EIC from 2021-2024. A Black Puerto Rican feminist writer with a PhD in American Studies from New York University, Carmen specializes in writing about Blackness, race, queerness, politics, culture, and the many ways we find community and connection with each other.  During her time at Autostraddle, Carmen focused on pop culture, TV and film reviews, criticism, interviews, and news analysis. She claims many past homes, but left the largest parts of her heart in Detroit, Brooklyn, and Buffalo, NY. And there were several years in her early 20s when she earnestly slept with a copy of James Baldwin’s “Fire Next Time” under her pillow. To reach out, you can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram, or her website.

Carmen has written 716 articles for us.

1 Comment

  1. i truly have never been more grateful for Tiktok than I am at the moment. the way the right wing is trying to justify the murder of a child is horrific so i’m glad we have her account to see what she was actually like and not just this horrible rhetoric they’re trying to spread. even though in a better world she should still be posting videos today

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