Queer Journalist and LGBT Rights Activist Lyra McKee Killed in a Terrorist Incident in Northern Ireland
“Lyra was a ball of energy, passion and wit. To know her even a little was an inspiration.”
Be The Change: The Art of the Ultimate Letter to the Editor
A letter to the editor can be an effective tactic to get the word out about an issue, show support for a bill, speak up about something in your community, or to get free publicity for your activist work!
Lori Lightfoot Makes Herstory as the Newly Elected Black Lesbian Mayor of Chicago
Tonight out lesbian Lori Lightfoot was elected as Mayor of Chicago, making her the first black woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold the position. Still, local activists worry she may not lead a new progressive vision for the city.
A Trans Service Member Explains Why the Mattis Policy Absolutely Is a Trans Military Ban
The Department of Defense has been claiming this is not actually a ban on transgender service members. But in effect, the Mattis Policy is “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell II: This Time As Farce.”
USC Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel Is Gay, Did College Admissions Crimes
Donna Heinel, an out lesbian and a prominent member of the LGBT Collegiate athletics community, has been indicted after receiving $1.3 million in bribes from wealthy families to admit their under-qualified children to USC.
Be The Change: 5 Ways to Create Safer Activist Spaces For Everyone
We have to commit to always learning and growing and doing more all the time to make our spaces better and better.
Four Black Queer Writers in Conversation About Jussie Smollett and Holding Up Space for Each Other
This piece was co-written by Natalie, Reneice, Alexis, and Carmen. We’re four of the black members of The Speakeasy, Autostraddle’s collective for its writers of color.
Be The Change: We Like to Party! 5 Activist Ideas For Your Best Birthday Bash
Birthdays are the perfect time to ask people to take action. Why? People like you! They want to celebrate you! And on your birthday, they feel slightly more-obligated-than-usual to do what you ask of them!
Black Queer Resiliency Will Guide Us Through Black History Month
“I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” – Audre Lorde
Empire’s Jussie Smollett Beaten in Racist, Homophobic Attack by Trump Supporters
An attack on a black gay celebrity like Jussie Smollet is also a message sent to his black and gay fans. So today, for all our queer fam out there, but especially for my black queer family, feel the love and strength of our community. Our kinship is a gift. Please, fortify yourself in that gift today.
Here’s Why Trump-Era Republicans Are Obsessed with Trying to Outlaw Trans People
In a post “love-wins” America, we’ve circled back to the underlying legal thinking of the 1950s. In the late 2010s and especially under Trump, gender and gender conformity are back under the legal microscope in a move that targets the gender nonconformity fundamental to aspects of gay identity for many, and also increasingly and dangerously, trans people.
Why Did CES 2019 Revoke Its Award for Ultra-Innovative Woman-Oriented Sex Toy?
The team from Lora DiCarlo believes gender bias played a significant role in losing an award for one of their products, a sentiment echoed by other woman-run sex-tech companies. Meanwhile, the company behind the trade show insists the award was a mistake in the first place.
How Coretta Scott King Leveraged MLK’s Legacy to Fight for Gay Rights
On this Martin Luther King Day, Autostraddle remembers the activist legacy of Coretta Scott King and her fight for gay rights.
PHOTOESSAY: The 2019 Los Angeles Women’s March
Hidden in the sea of pussy hats and Instagram marchers, folks took up space, amplified others’ voices, and marched for intersectionality.
Be The Change: A Simple Guide to Lobbying Your Elected Officials Like a Pro
A step-by-step guide to lobbying your elected officials. Ready your power suit!
Be The Change: The Key to Unlocking Your Power
To truly do the work from our standpoint, from a place of strong objectivity, is crucial. So what does that look like? What does using our individual standpoint to make change look like?
The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Is Crushing it in 2018
The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice has been doing incredible work for 40 years — here’s a little bit about that, and also about the Fueling the Frontlines gala I attended last month, and also about their upcoming benefit featuring Ellen Page, Kiersey Clemons and Olivia Wilde!
Holigay Gift Guide: For Queer Radicals, Trans Revolutionaries, and Menacing Lesbians
The age-old challenge: what to get for your rad, free-thinking, take-no-BS, burn down the cisheteropatriarchy, revolutionary friend or loved one? Capitalism sucks. These gifts don’t!
Be The Change: Battling Activist Burnout
“I share all this because I feel like everyone I know is struggling to keep it together lately, to have-it-all or to be-everything-to-everyone or to fight-the-good-fight.”
Trump Administration Continues to Decimate Asylum Process, Putting LGBTQ Migrants at Risk
A new executive order from Trump changes the rules for how someone has to have entered the US to apply for asylum, leaving many immigrants — including LGBT migrants seeking asylum — in dangerous limbo.