Photo of Keke Palmer by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Michael Kors

It’s Election Day in the United States. Please be kind to yourself.

Queer as in F*ck You

Keke Palmer Wants You to Know She’s a ‘Sub Girl.’ I love when we have the opportunity to write about Keke “Keep a Bag” Palmer — because undoubtedly every time, someone writes in the comments, “omg I didn’t know Keke was queer!” So let me take this opportunity to celebrate our no label legend. Keke came on the podcast WHOREible Decisions (great title btw) to talk about her sex life for a little shits and giggles. She was asked:

1. Does she identify as a “sub girl”? (she does)
2. What’s her favorite porn? (girl-on-girl, obvi)

You can listen to the entire podcast below to fully disassociate from this plane of reality for an hour on what’s going to be an otherwise nerve-wrecking election night. Don’t say I never gave you anything!

More Evangelical Women Have Had Sex With Women Than You Might Think. Anyone who grew up in or around the church will tell you, that number is still an undercount.

Audre Lorde and Afro-German Feminisms (First of all, learning anything more about Audre Lorde is a forever must read, but secondly scrolling through this article is such a satisfying visual experience and I want you to know that!)

Speaking of a gorgeous and satisfying scroll experience! Queer Americana, “photographer Ryan Pfluger captures LGBTQ intimacy in the United States.”

“Creating a queer family in a world where LGBTQ+ rights are constantly under threat is a daunting task.” Congratulations to Younger star Molly Bernardon her first gayby!!

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A post shared by molly bernard (@bollymernard)

Saw This, Thought of You

Timely for today! These Companies Claim to Support Abortion Rights. They Are Backing Anti-Abortion Republicans

One year ago this week, “Britney Spears was freed from a notorious conservatorship. What possessed her father to seize near-total control of her life?” House of Spears

I don’t have an easy answer for this, but I found reading about it really interesting! New Endorsements for College Athletes Resurface an Old Concern: Sex Sells, “Female college athletes are making millions thanks to their large social media followings. But some who have fought for equity in women’s sports worry that their brand building is regressive.”

My god, how I love this:

This weekend, Lena Horne became the first Black woman to have a broadway theatre named after her. Cheers to Lena, we hope this accomplishment becomes one of many for Black professionals in theatre and inspires young Black entertainers.#BLACKGIRLMAGIC #AFROPUNK #BROADWAY pic.twitter.com/B9uuiHsQfo

— AFROPUNK (@afropunk) November 7, 2022

Political Snacks

WHEW. BIG DAY. Take a deep breath. We got this.

• It Took Two Weeks to Call Every State in 2020. This Is When to Expect Results This Year.
• Who Will Win the Battle for Congress? Four Scenarios.
• What Joe Biden Has (and Hasn’t) Accomplished. There’s a clear score card at the end here that I found useful in an era of internet and politics that can otherwise feel like “all or nothing,” but YMMV.
• It’s No Coincidence That the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse Is on Election Day

And finally, if you’re settling in to follow election results tonight, or if purposefully giving yourself a break and waiting to see what happens on the other side, I want to leave us with these words from our Managing Editor, Kayla:

“Today is Election Day, and if you’re feeling stressed, worried, anxious, scared, I want you to know that those feelings are valid. I honestly have no perfect solutions for you. And when it comes to anxiety regarding news and the political realities we exist in, I think the solutions are complicated. It’s easy to tell someone to unplug, to look away, to distract. But that shouldn’t be conflated with pulling the wool over one’s eyes. Some people need to channel their anxiety into actionable work; a lot of people with specific privileges should be channeling their feelings productively. Who gets to look away and who doesn’t? Too often, it’s the people who are most negatively impacted by the results of electoral politics who feel like they can’t look away, while wealthy white liberal queers get to engage in uncomplicated “self-care” on tricky days like today.

So please know that when I write this short little post on Election Day anxiety coping mechanisms, I’m writing first and foremost for my personal community of queer people of color as well as the new community I exist in of queer folks who live in “red states” as well as other intersectionally marginalized communities who face voter suppression and who will not be saved by politicians. I am giving you permission to take small breaks for yourself, to take care of yourself, however that might look to you.”

❤️ ❤️

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