You Need Help: I Feel Disconnected From Gender As a Concept
“Identifying as a woman doesn’t feel right, but affirmatively identifying as ‘not a woman’ also doesn’t feel right.”
Can You Feel the Kenergy?
There’s a specific kind of trans masc quality to the way that Ken dresses and takes up space if I’m being honest. That’s the siren call, the Kenergy,
You Need Help: How Do I Navigate Misgendering as a Nonbinary Femme?
Your work is not to make yourself more palatable to those who might misunderstand you. Your work is to be your glorious full self, too complex to be pigeonholed by any other person on this earth. And if your friends can’t respect you? They’re not your people.
Data Party! Insights into Nonbinary Readers from the 2022 Reader Survey
Autostraddle-exclusive insights into our nonbinary readers!
Getting Strong: A Conversation Between Two Nonbinary Humans About Weight Lifting
“When I say getting strong rules, I don’t have any number or definition in mind when I say that. It’s cool for people, as INDIVIDUALS, to feel like they’re strong and capable and I encourage that whether you’re bench pressing 45 pounds or 445.”
You Need Help: Can I Date While Living With My Homophobic Parents?
Dating can be amazing and wonderful. But if you currently rely on homophobic parents for material support, it may be time to focus on planning the next stage of your life — one where you are less dependent on your parents, and have the space to fully be yourself.
Mo’Nique Grapples With Her Queer Desires, Fear, and Coming Out In New Netflix Special
“So for you babies in the LGBTQ community, I want y’all to hear me. I respect every-motherfuckin’-body in here free enough to be their goddamn selves.”
You Need Help: How Can I Be My Authentic Self While Navigating Bi-Erasure and Biphobia?
You can’t control other people’s reactions to your coming out. But you can create for yourself a network of people who unequivocally support your bisexuality/queerness and who understand the specific joys and challenges we face.
You Need Help: I Just Turned 65 and I’m Questioning My Sexuality
I think everyone in the queer community knows this but I think we need to say it more explicitly and more often: Queerness is a journey.
46 Very Special Ways You Explained Your Sexual or Romantic Orientation on the 2022 Autostraddle Reader Survey
“i don’t know if i’m bisexual or a lesbian but i am a girlkisser so jot that down”
You Need Help: What If I’m Lying to Myself About Being Queer?
I absolutely remember this feeling. “Am I crazy? Am I just making this up to complicate my life?” The answer is, no, you’re not. You’re not making it up. It’s real, and it’s fine, and it’s gonna be amazing.
The Coming Out Scenes We’ll Never Forget
“I doubt that Santana was written from the jump with the intention to make her a lesbian, but sometimes that’s what a coming out journey feels like — like you’re in a show and the writers chose a new direction for your character mid-way through Season Two. You can still look back and find a way to make it all fit together, though. Stories and lives are fluid like that.”
You Need Help: I’m 49 and Questioning — Is It Too Late for Me?
It is not too late for you! Every day, we wake up and make our lives anew. What do you want your life to be today?
15 of the Most Chaotically Bisexual Things I Did as a Bisexual 15-Year-Old
My bisexuality was a resistance and a freedom and a liability. It was such a defining part of my life that I still cling to the word, to its shifting meaning, to all it can be and all the defiance it stands for.
The Echo of My Friend’s Casual Biphobia Destroyed Our Relationship
“Remember your bi phase?” my best friend asked when we were in our 20s. I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah. It was never a phase.”
What People Said When I Came Out as Bisexual (Again)
A special shout-out to the friend who said “you know you can just be bisexual, right?” when I was spiraling about whether I’d have to give up being gay altogether and if the last five years of my life had been a lie.
You Need Help: I’m 13 — How Do I Explore My Butch Identity?
Sometimes when you’re exploring a new aspect of your identity, you might feel like you have to emulate something specific. But there’s no one way to be butch. Go out there and live your best butch life!
You Need Help: How Do I Stop Hating My Face?
You do not need to change your face. But I do think you can start to change your thoughts.
To the Trans Kids Reading This – Keep Glowing
You are eons beyond what they will ever imagine being possible. You are glorious, abundant, light personified.
You Need Help: Will I Ever Feel Comfortable in My Own Skin?
Your story begins with letting go of the way your body looked before. Your body does not exist primarily to be seen. Here are some thoughts and some practical resources about how to move forward and learn to be comfortable in your own skin.