This week’s Extra! Extra! provides yet another look at the state of political systems the world over. While democracy might be in dire straits, people are fighting for the governments they deserve. Meanwhile: some big abortion rights news that you probably didn’t see because it did not receive nearly the airtime it deserves, more Big Tech news, an update on the state of the pandemic, and more!
“Marry me so we can live in a tiny house!”
When the WNBA asks the public to “say her name,” they mean Black trans women, too.
Holland Taylor spills the tea on quarantining with Sarah Paulson and if Peggy Peabody was actually gay. Also: Kamala Harris has picked a Black lesbian as her chief of staff, and a stunning collection of black&white photographs of trans women in 1950s Paris for all you history nerds (and fans of mid-century glamour!)
“They were like whatever we have dozens of lesbian bars, we have magazines, we have all of this culture, we have Marlene Dietrich, we don’t need this little girl thing.”
If this were completely honest, it would just be Buffy the Vampire Slayer listed ten times.
I knew we all wanted justice, ease and wellbeing, and that our anger was a manifestation of our love for each other. But I also watched as my own fight or flight response kicked in in group dynamics, as I felt habitually roped into defensive positions that felt out of my control. I couldn’t reconcile this big gap between intention and action, so I knew I needed to withdraw not out of avoidance but out of commitment to my own healing. In retreating to understand my own depletion, I discovered somatic practice.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion set Queer Black Twitter ablaze with WAP. The lyrics, the video, and strong femme sexuality have kept it on replay — and give us permission to be audacious in the pursuit of pleasure.
Raven Leilani’s Luster and the new vocabulary for morality, how lesbian pulp fiction made one essayist feel normal, a ton of new memoirs and more.
Also Beanie Feldstein is your new Harriet the Spy, why Ruby Rose really left Batwoman, saying goodbye to the Black bisexual messiness of High Fidelity, Keke Palmer’s lost Disney Channel pilot, and more!
“You know I can’t tell when you’re making Black people jokes!”
Look at all the cool things you could buy during our last fundraiser of 2020! Get your holigay shopping done early! Tell a friend!
Every asexual person has a moment when the recognition sets in. Those moments would come a lot easier if asexuality was more prominent in pop culture.
Kirsten Harris-Talley is an organizing phenom, queering notions of political leadership — what can a “serious” political figure value publicly?
Jen Richards and Rebekah Cheyne are engaged! Also, Sara Ramirez basically said “suns out buns out,” Janet Mock and Janelle Monae simply refuse to remove their feet from my neck!
“I would vote for a dead dog if it was running against Trump.”
Kamala Harris has become first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party. (Also, did you know, women of color are running for congress at an all-time high? I like to call it the “Squad Effect.”)
Who names tomato varieties, and why are they so horny?
“She promised not to make things awkward between us, since she knows I’m not available, and hoped it wouldn’t make things awkward on my end – but here’s the problem. It is awkward!”
Is it a coincidence that this list of “women I loved who deserved better” is comprised of women of color — and almost exclusively queer women of color? Given the intertwined histories of sexism, racism, and homophobia in this country, I think not.