first person How I Grieved for a Cat Over Long Distance There’s beauty in sharing a friendship with an animal that needs to be earned. Summer Tao Dec 29, 2025
first person I Don’t Want To Write Beautiful Things I am in the business of writing honestly, especially about the things that hurt — heartbreak, disappointment, shame, poverty. Leah Johnson — Feb 14, 2023
first person I’m a Trans Woman in Prison, Where Being Myself Comes at a Cost Lying on that rigid ol’ mattress, I realized: I’m transgender. Then one day without my permission, I found myself being me. Traci Jackson — Feb 3, 2023
first person In 1994, Sky Dancers Informed The Tiny Femme I Was Becoming Sky Dancers were just the kind of aggressively feminine toy I was unconsciously obsessed with. Sa'iyda Shabazz — Jan 30, 2023
first person Rethinking the Power of Movement, One Barbell at a Time Up until a few months ago, I never felt very strong. I was a fat kid who grew into a fat teenager, and now I’m a fat adult. Stef Rubino — Jan 30, 2023
first person I Played Stardew Valley With My New Name for a Year Before Announcing It Publicly The more I played, the more characters I made friends with, the more I liked my new name. Nico — Jan 11, 2023
first person 8 Times When Strangers Misread My Gender, Ranked There have been times when I’ve genderf*cked a little too close to the sun. Ro White — Jan 2, 2023
first person My Word of the Year Was “Closer” For as long as I can remember, I’ve held a silent tradition of closing out each year with a word. Em Win — Dec 29, 2022