Also.Also.Also: Books Discussing LGBTQ Themes and Racism Banned in Over 5,000 Schools, That’s Likely an Undercount

I have the deepest craving to make Magic Cookie Bars tonight (do any of my 80s/90s kids remember?) but I don’t think I’ll have time to do it. And friends, that is my villain origin story.


Queer as in F*ck You

More Than 1,600 Books Banned During 2021-22 School Year, Report Finds. I have never been more serious than when I say that what’s going on with banning books and the politicization of local public school boards and libraries is something that we should all be enraged and terrified about. The “culture wars” are not new, will never be new, and will be continued to be fought, but purposefully under-educating children — not just queer children or children of color, who vitally need to know they are not alone, but straight white children — purposefully leaving them ignorant, that’s the end goal. Because purposefully undereducated, ignorant children grow to be unquestioning adults. They become adults who are scared of what’s different from them, who grow without empathy, who unquestionably believe in the good of America and this government, even when it fails them, who choose to stay in status quo than imagine what more is possible. It breeds small mindedness, embeds it in their bones from the youngest age. It’s not about the kids, it’s about the adults who they will become.

That’s the end game.

(Also.Also.Also: The Banned Books You Haven’t Heard About)

LGB Alliance Co-founder Breaks Down in Court When Asked to Define ‘Lesbian,’ I think a lot about this organization from the UK, actually, whenever that specific brand of lesbian TERF discourse rears its ugly head. So if you’d like an update!

As I mentioned last week, Biden Met With Cherelle Griner, Wife of Brittney Griner and she said that those conversations, “allowed me to have confidence in what he’s doing right now.” But as noted by CNN anchor Abby D. Phillip, “Cherelle has been exchanging letters from BG during her imprisonment in Russia. But recently those letters have taken a dark turn. ‘She’s not well,’ Cherelle told me. ‘She’s losing it.'” I am seriously not fucking around, bring Brittney Griner home and bring her home right now.

Speaking of which, duh. WNBA Players Skipping Russia, Choosing Other Places to Play

I’m an Asexual Woman & the Spicy Latina Trope Is Stifling


Saw This, Thought of You

Wrecked Semi Shoots Load of Dildos and Lube All Over I-40. Highway crashes are very serious (and one of my greatest fears) so please understand I take this not lightly, but also, c’mon you know I had to share it.

I generally don’t like the term femcees because it always makes me think they mean femme in the queer way, and they rarely do, also “women rappers” is straight forward and right there. Anyway! Still a decent quick list to cover your basics! 14 Femcees To Add To Your Ultimate Rap Playlist

How Do I Plan Financially When My Paychecks Are Inconsistent?
I actually learned about this from one of our writers, shea Martin, and it is really dope so I wanted to also share it with you:

Here’s the fully policy.


Political Snacks

My heart is so heavy, so heavy. How to Help Puerto Rico After Hurricane Fiona.

Which goes with, Let Puerto Rico Be Free: “The only just future for my home is not statehood, but full independence from the United States.” Que viva Puerto Rico libre.

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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.

2 Comments

  1. I’ve seen stuff on social about that LGB group & apparently only a small portion of its members are cis gay men & women. A good portion of group is just cis-het(Euro white) women with obviously nothing better to do.

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