a hand reaching out with an eyeball and three tropical leaves against a layered background of orange and red toned palm trees and a blue brick wall

First Person

Overheating: Leaving My Home State of Florida

I have not given up on Florida, even if for now it is best we spend time apart.

A collage of the author, shea wesley martin, in four different pair of Chino pants, each in a gold picture frame. shea is a fat black nonbinary person with glasses and a fade haircut.

Porkchop’s Odyssey: On Fatness, Transness, and Pants

This snapshot sits on a shelf in the back of my mind. I keep it in an album called “euphoria.” It includes moments – me in my first bowtie at my college graduation, me on my wedding day, me in the mountains with my first jean jacket. In each, I am myself.

First Person LGBT Pride

Making An Independent Documentary About Queer Women Is Like Jumping Without A Net

I will never stop trying to tell our stories.

Two images of the author, Aisha — a brown, tattooed person with short, blue hair that's parted down the middle — appear side by side. On the left, Aisha wears a pink medical gown, a white N95 mask, white socks, and black sneakers with teal laces. They lean against a table in a doctor's office. On the right, Aisha wears a blue medical gown while sitting in a chair in a hospital. They look down at their chest and hold it in their hands.

First Person

Top Surgery, Magnolia Trees, and the Trans Art of Letting Go

What’s transness if not a long lesson in choosing which beautiful things are meant for you?

A collage of items in front of a gradient blue background that includes: flavored seltzer water, skin care products, three different fashion choices, and a set of bowls

First Person

10 Things I Spend My Money on Now That Isn’t Drugs or Alcohol

When I got sober, I also thought I would be saving so much money. What happened instead is that I found different ways to spend my money.

The background is black. On the far right, there is the chin and upper toro of a Black woman wearing a short-sleeved, white collared shirt. She clasps her hands in prayer.

First Person

I Still Pray After I Masturbate

Erasing decades of religious trauma doesn’t happen overnight.

Against a blue sky filled with fluffy clouds, there is a green street sign with white text that reads, "Menopause: next exit." A white arrow points to the right.

First Person

Old Gal, New Tricks: Queer Menopause and Masturbation

This is what we don’t talk about when we (don’t) talk about menopause…and masturbation.

3d glasses, a bucket of popcorn, and a remote

First Person

The Need for Trans Girl Trash

If media that’s traditionally targeted at women, whether they are queer or not, isn’t making a space for the girls like me, then where exactly are we expected to look for entertainment that keeps us in mind?

the cover of Sara Elise's book, A Recipe for More, features the title in green text on a cream background

Book Features First Person

In “A Recipe for More,” Sara Elise Asks: Who Do You Want To Become?

“We do not have to do anything more to be worthy; we are worthy just because we are.”

a bunch of lipstick lined up on a blue background

First Person

It’s Time To Face Facts: I’ll Never Be a Lipstick Femme

Being a lipstick girlie doesn’t leave you; sometimes, it just has to evolve.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya taking a mirror selfie in a black dress throwing up a peace sign, next to a photo of pink and off white flowers

First Person

A Lesbian Reflects on Lesbian Visibility (Sort Of)

I have started and stopped writing this so many times.

Sai, a Black lesbian, wears glasses and a sparkly track jacket over a black tee and pink pants and has her hands on her hips. next to her, there are pink and purple distorted flowers

First Person

Calling Myself a Lesbian Has Been a Lesson in Self Acceptance

I think this is always who I’ve been, and the other words were the ones I was trying on to see if they fit.

The National albums High Violent, Alligator, Trouble Will Find Me, and Sleep Well Beast

First Person Music

Ranking The National Songs by How Much I’ve Cried to Them

Trying to get sober was like pulling teeth.

Passover table setting with a traditional Passover seder plate with symbolic meal, matzah and Haggadah.

First Person Jewish Holidays

At the Passover Table, New Traditions Will Be Born

This year feels like the first of many years where I begin to truly incorporate my partner’s cultural traditions into our family.

a pale-skinned person's arm with green painted nails and wearing a cuffed-up yellow and black plaid shirt knocks on a brown door with a yellow handle

First Person Politics + Activism

The Yeses that Surprise You: Organizing Across the Lines of Cis and Trans

Building power across the lines of cis and trans teaches me that there are many people who will fight alongside trans people to win a better world.

Michael Imperioli on instagram captions a photo with: " Verified dear brothers, sisters and siblings. fear not, be strong and don’t let the bastards grind you down. love you."

First Person

Let Me Be in My Queer Italianx Feelings for a Minute

It was a simple post. So simple and, in the grand scheme of it all, not super meaningful, and yet, I teared up.

Zoe Whittall has blunt blonde bangs with straight hair past her shoulders and wears a black tee that says VAG on it as well as a jean jacket. There's a green truck behind her.

Book Features First Person

Send Me to Low Femme Paradise

The problem of having to have a body in the world again.

a Black person's hand reaches out holding white flower's on a postcard-like image with a stamp of a black and red butterfly and the words THANK YOU, EX! printed on it

Breakups First Person

Thank You, Ex: For (1) Set of Ghost Hands

I don’t like to think about the endings, which is probably why I’m always haunted, always clinging to things that return even when I should pretend I do not see them.