Feature photo of Brittney Griner, Cherelle Griner, and Queen Latifah by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
It’s 9pm and I’m still at work! So that’s how it’s going! (I hope it’s going better for you.)
Queer as in F*ck You
This is actual a combo pack of a few smaller headlines from the last month. I’m putting them all together because it’s the last night of Black History Month and just a little over the one year anniversary of when Brittney Griner was first wrongfully detained in Russia and she’s been everywhere this week, and each time it leave me emotional, OK?? Consider this your In Case You Missed It:
- Brittney Griner Officially Re-Signed With Phoenix Mercury
- The team has said that Griner’s safety while traveling the country playing this summer will be a “Top Priority”
- Brittney Griner and Cherelle both received a standing ovation at this weekend NAACP Image Awards, where they spoke about the importance of bringing home all Americans who are wrongfully detained oversees. This also included this hug from Queen Latifah that I quite literally cannot stop replaying.
- Oh! And Brittney and Cherelle were also at the Super Bowl, sporting Eagles gear.
- And if you haven’t yet seen this BTS footage of BG back with the Mercury, maybe you want to… for… reasons.
And this one is personal to my interests, but BG and Cherelle were both styled by Courtney D. Mays for the Image Awards — a Black queer woman who has also styled Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, thee Roxane Gay, and a variety of NBA players. Courtney’s on my bucket list for interviews this year, so fingers crossed. Anyway look through this carousel, read that caption, and tell me you feel some feelingsl!?!
I just.. I really, really love us.
Queer Stories in Florida’s Black History
Ex Talk Is a Deal Breaker? Absolutely Not. It’s a Treasured Feature of Queer Culture
Proud Trans Man Who Once Detransitioned Blasts ‘Fascist’ TERF Groups for ‘Exploiting’ Him. “Three years ago, trans non-binary man Toby Pick was speaking at an anti-trans event against gender-affirming healthcare in the UK.”
It’s rare when the part of my interests that are about the NBA (I used to joke that I learned more about the NBA via osmosis of being Black than I did about the WNBA via osmosis of being gay) overlap with this website, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the New York Times writer protest and anti-trans bias is worth reading.
Both Sides of a Breakup: She Didn’t Tell Her Family She Was Dating a Woman. “Two exes explain why it ended.”
And circling back to the NAACP Image Awards! You’ve probably heard about Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union’s speech about their daughter, Zaya Wade, this weekend. But seeing it over videos of Zaya and their life together is what finally broke me into tears. Kudos to Oprah’s social media team:
Saw This, Thought of You
Shelli found you this: SZA Has Always Been Alternative — You Just Weren’t Listening (a great time to also remind you that Shelli also wrote this epic vapid fluff investigation SZA Hints At Being On Team Sapphic!! — one of the funniest pieces that we’ve published)
America’s Strangest Household Obsession Is Roaring Back. The Backstory Will Give You Pause. Spoiler Alert: It’s [bath beads].
And also, Ocean Plastic: How Tech Is Being Used to Clean up Waste Problem (Are there plastic in bath beads? Who’s gonna tell me?)
So many corners of the internet right now are talking about The Cut’s piece on Ozempic and I am going to link it here, because it’s my job to gather up the things the internet is talking about and deliver them to you, but also know that it’s particularly upsetting to read if you’ve dedicated yourself to any kind of fat liberation or even just healthy and non-damaging ways to care about your body. (Also we have a different piece about Ozempic coming in the future that I’ll be much more excited to share.)
Black Joy: Resistance, Resilience and Reclamation. Please click through for a photo of James Baldwin and Nina Simone that’s brought so much me pure sunshine.
Political Snacks
Why Is Media Disavowing Activism? HATE THIS. (Though what an opportune time to remind you to support queer indie media)
Still thinking of my beloved Buffalo. All U.S. Extremist Mass Killings in 2022 Linked to Far Right, Report Says.
And One More Thing…
Fuck yes, this feels good.
NE State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D-Omaha) prepares to filibuster every bill on the legislative agenda unless Republicans pull their anti-trans bill.
"If people are like, 'Is she threatening us?,' let me clear: Yes, I am. I am threatening you." pic.twitter.com/ccOeCJoGGa
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 24, 2023
That video of BG! I’m not crying you’re crying (really we’re all crying it’s fine.)
I’d heard the word Ozempic in passing but not really what it was (there’s been nothing yet in the UK i think), but that article was horrifying. Weirdly, the part about the loss of desire for food freaked me out more than the fat acceptance angle (which was also awful), because food is such a source of joy, of care and community to me. I can’t imagine losing that desire.
Very much looking forward to y’all’s piece on it
Oh I love this BG roundup, Carmen! Thank you! 😭
I’m so happy for BG and Cherelle. I wish them continued healing and joy.
i loved the “Queer Stories in Florida’s Black History” article! it reminded me of the Black elders series but with a more specific place-based biography
The breakup story isn’t actually linked.
Wow, bless Aubrey Gordon x1000 for her quote in the ozempic Cut article: “‘Can we finally stop having fat people around so I don’t have to look at them anymore?’ … I’m trying to find a way to soften this, and I can’t,” she added. “It feels, like, really morally bankrupt to me to say, ‘It’s more important to me that I look the way I imagined looking in a swimsuit than that you have what you need to stay alive.’”
I am consistently grateful for her voice amidst all of this painful/harmful/deadly anti-obesity/sizeism/diet culture rhetoric. Looking forward to Autostraddle’s ozempic article.
Also, so so so happy for Griner!!
Nagyon örülök BG-nek és Cherelle-nek. További gyógyulást és örömöt kívánok nekik. a bejegyzésed keresése közben találtam egy online platformot, ahol pénzt kereshetsz és élvezheted. ez egy online kaszinó játékoldal. Ezen a https://kaszinoworld.com/ weboldalon is csatlakozhat versenyekhez, ahol sok pénzt nyerhet a platformon lévő játékosok számából.