For this week’s profile we have one of your very own: Dr. Juniper Simonis, Autostraddler, roller derby player, and population ecologist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

“I am 24 and my partner is in her fifties, and I really really want to talk about my experience in an age gap relationship.” We chatted with Connie, a first generation Asian American currently living in New Mexico, about this and more!

“Being butch is something I have both been my entire life and something that I have chosen.”

If you have read Autostraddle even once, it’s likely that you’ve seen some of Marika’s brilliance in the comment section. She is one of our most frequent commenters, and she was kind enough to chat with me about science, hammocks, food, and family.

Minerva describes herself as a “soon-to-be post-university queer lady and professional trans feminist” and spoiler alert, she’s awesome.

Aimée talks about her femme identity, what it’s like to have lupus, and the cultural differences between the United States and Ireland.

Cheryna spoke about her cute cat and her cute girlfriend, being queer and Dominican, and her experiences at A-Camp. There’s also a funny story involving milkshakes and a policeman, plus a cute photograph of the cute cat.

Juliet is an Australian mum, sexologist, and traveler extraordinaire. She talks about all that and more in this lovely interview.

“Maybe years of blogging ruined me, or maybe they created a productive tension.”

“…I questioned whether or not Autostraddle is a lesbian cult and if it isn’t, how I’m going to deal with my like peaking.” Want to know the context of this sentiment? You need to read this interview and meet Grace.

Emily lives in Canada and went to A-Camp 3.0, and she shared her feelings about being biracial, getting into roller derby, and having a cat named Barbra Streisand. Also it’s Canada Day so you basically need to shower her with love and maple leaves.

Launa is a writer, editor, freelance artist and film producer, exotic dance teacher, and nanny… and that’s not all. Basically, she’s a superhero and you definitely want to hear what she has to say.

If you’ve been here for 10 seconds, you’ve seen user paper0flowers comment on something. Now it’s time to meet the girl behind the username!

Amanda is a 24 year old student in veterinary medicine and comparative biomedical sciences at Cornell University who is both a cat researcher and a ball python handler!

Sam talks about A-camp, traveling and couch surfing, her celebrity crush and more.

Maria and I talked about therapy and the best places to eat in Seattle and we also got sidetracked talking about books and mermaid hair and Dear Sugar and then I died because Cheryl Strayed is my religion. Maria is super awesome, is what I mean.

Ashley chats with us about poetry, her goals for the future and what the Autostraddle community means to her.

It’s the very first Monday of 2013, and we have a brand new Straddler to kick off the new year. Meet Caro, a Miami native who talks to us about creating a queer girl meet-up group in her city, working for a non-profit that provides education on gender and orientation, and crushing on Chely Wright.

These are desperate times – and sometimes it all gets so overwhelming that we need something, someone, to remind us that there is light. That is Jessica Halem.

This week’s Straddler is Tiara, better known as Creatrix Tiara around these parts. She chats about the concept of “home”, coming to terms with her sexuality, and how to be a llama.