My Seltzer, My Self
Do you remember the first time you stumbled upon a satisfaction you tried to make entirely your own?
An Incomplete List of Things I Wish My Mother Would Do
46. Look at the menu beforehand.
A Transmasc’s Guide to Developing a Healthier Masculine Sexuality
There are some lessons we don’t have to learn the hard way when people have already done the work to teach us.
The System Operates As Designed
Burnout is not simple tiredness. It is malaise and unexplained pain. It is a theft of spirit and the creative body.
I’m a Cool Rock Lesbian
By which I mean I am a lesbian who likes to look at and hold cool rocks — not that I am a lesbian into cool rock ‘n roll, but I’m sure those lesbians are great.
An Exorcism of Sorts
The haunted house persists in horror media for a reason.
How I Gradually Found My Queer Community in Connecticut
There were a few months where my mother, who lives back in Bangladesh, stopped talking to me after stumbling across some essays I’d written about my queerness. This confusing and heartbreaking time was when I truly understood the value of having a queer chosen family and support system.
Three Songs for Three Heartbreaks
I was in love, then I wasn’t. One night, after a big fight. I got on my bike to make the short trek home and a song came to me.
I Don’t Want To Write Beautiful Things
I am in the business of writing honestly, especially about the things that hurt — heartbreak, disappointment, shame, poverty.
I’m a Trans Woman in Prison, Where Being Myself Comes at a Cost
Lying on that rigid ol’ mattress, I realized: I’m transgender. Then one day without my permission, I found myself being me.
In 1994, Sky Dancers Informed The Tiny Femme I Was Becoming
Sky Dancers were just the kind of aggressively feminine toy I was unconsciously obsessed with.
Rethinking the Power of Movement, One Barbell at a Time
Up until a few months ago, I never felt very strong. I was a fat kid who grew into a fat teenager, and now I’m a fat adult.
I Played Stardew Valley With My New Name for a Year Before Announcing It Publicly
The more I played, the more characters I made friends with, the more I liked my new name.
8 Times When Strangers Misread My Gender, Ranked
There have been times when I’ve genderf*cked a little too close to the sun.
My Word of the Year Was “Closer”
For as long as I can remember, I’ve held a silent tradition of closing out each year with a word.
Playing House
The game is simple, really.
Say When
In the five years since I ended that relationship I’ve reflected on how I got into it, why I stayed, and my own part in the failure of it.
What My Spotify Wrapped Should Have Said
I’ve learned that a ranked list of songs can be just as powerful as an end-of-year journal entry.
Three Stages of Never Ever Doing Holiday Meals the “Right” Way
Holiday meals have always been mired in conflict for me.
Slow Takes: We Come to This Place for Magic
A movie theatre was the first reason I left my apartment after the 2016 election.