We’re getting fancy this year with a kick-ass behind-the-scenes video, some behind-the-scenes photos and some preview shots of January and February’s girls.

Times are hard, but no one knows better than the gays that if you work for it, things can get immeasurably better. Here’s a snapshot of what the job market looks like for us right now, and why we feel better about it than straight people do.

Thankfully, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act means that when someone is attacked by a dozen people and the police are called to the scene, justice can finally be served. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

“I didn’t come out. I fell out on my face.”

“Senator Penny Wong has been a driving force in creating reform for gay and lesbian Australians, and part of her ability to be the instigator of reform stems from the fact that she has chosen to refrain from advocating for gay marriage.”

This shit don’t pay for itself.

DADT was repealed! Mostly! Now what?

Jessie J won the BBC’s “Sound of 2011” poll and her first single “Do It Like a Dude” is a girls-can-f*ck-girls anthem with a gender-bending music video. Is Jessie J a subversive queer superstar or will she be seen as another homocultural appropriator?

US Cities that are gayer than New York City, Los Angeles, Provincetown, and about 50 other gay cities include “Vancouver, Washington,” Orlando and Pittsburgh!

“It’s weird being, like, the fourth lesbian couple to walk into a restaurant.”

SO MANY THINGS ON THE TEEVEE FOR YOU GAYS: Jackie Warner’s new show Thintervention, Real L Word cast promises sexy episode but not a second season (yet), Ellen quits Idol, the mainstream press says Sara Gilbert came out yesterday, which is 8 years off.

In which five of us talk about our favorite poet ever. “Those of us who think we know / the same secrets / are silent together most of the time.”

The final word on 2010 as seen through the eyes and hearts of nine lesbians and one cisgender-privileged heterosexual dog.

“The Dinah is gonna be a lot of fun! Truthfully, every time I see a large group of gay women I can’t believe how many of us there are. I marvel.”

The Real L Word’s Stamie Karakasidis talks to Autostraddle about adjusting to reality fame with Tracy Ryerson, coming out in a Greek family, The Kids Are All Right, the glowing vag poster and the cast’s real opinion of TRLW.

Making sense of the election results the day after: how much we lost last night, what it means to have lost, and how hard we’re going to have to work to win it back.

Kurt is mad as hell about getting gay bullied all the time and he’s not gonna take it anymore. Luckily that cute boy from Hogwarts shows up and we all learn a lot of lessons, like “always say yes to the wind machine.”

Did you read Inferno by Eileen Myles, our first-ever Autostraddle book club selection? I sure as hell hope so, BECAUSE IT’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT.

In this one, everything goes to shit. Seriously, everyone ends up unhappy. But at least there’s some sex along the way!

How far is our group from that fever pitch of anger and refusal to wait any longer that brings things –and people like Dan Choi — to a boil? It’s the most painful point of all. But also, potentially, the most sad and the most powerful. A look at Dan Choi’s Village Voice cover story, “Bad Lieutenant.”