The Burlesque Show
Minutes before I saw Poison Ivory pour champagne down her back and watch it drip between her legs, I knew seeing this black burlesque performer would evoke Power.
the speakeasy
“I Am the Terrorist I Must Disarm”: An Interview with Staceyann Chin
I was in high school when I first saw Staceyann Chin perform, barefoot and incensed. She was fearless in her rage, her sexuality, her eloquence. Now, I feel the same reading her as I felt watching all those years ago — as if I’m being granted permission.
The Top 100 Queer and Trans Women of Color Television Characters in TV History
The television landscape is changing rapidly. Where does that leave lesbian, bisexual, and trans women of color on TV? Where have been, and more importantly — where are we going?
Lena Waithe’s “Queen & Slim” Left Me Still Hungry for Black Queer Freedom
“For a work touted as blackness for Black people, Queen & Slim ultimately offers not hope or a way forward, but more images of beautiful Black corpses added to the growing canon of Black death for consumption. And I’m simply not able to keep bearing witness.”
Holigay Gift Guide: Support These POC Indie Designers in 2019!
Whatever your feelings about consumerism and capitalism, we think that you’ll agree — it would be great if some of those funds found their way into people of color owned businesses and communities. Spread the joy of economic responsibility, racial justice — and really cute earrings — this holigay season.
The Drag Kings of Taipei
I moved to California from Shanghai at fourteen and threw myself into learning how to be an American. It’s a lot like doing drag.
Getting Stonewalled at Stone Mountain
What, were you expecting the National Anthem to be sung in Spanish?
Black American Gothic: A Southern Herstory of Black Magic Women
For many black Americans, the South holds a bittersweet place in our heart; as much home as sorrow, as much ghostly as ancestral. Detangling our history is harder than detangling our hair — the webs of our lineage weave back and forth through time and space. Despite all the South has put my people through, it calls to me.
VIDEO PLAYLIST: These Bangers from Rhythm + Flow’s Lesbian Rapper Londynn B
Londynn B is a lesbian Cardi B by way of Grace Jones — all charisma, swagger, and sex. With the bars to back it up.
New Queer Horror Film “Spiral” Explores the Blind Spots of White Gays
The fearsome thriller exposes the horror of unsupportive white partners.
15 Horny Songs from My Youth I Thought I’d Have Sex to by Now
Sometimes you have to make a playlist and dedicate it to the horny tween version of yourself.
The Best 45 Bars From Young M.A’s New Album “Herstory In The Making”
Young M.A finally dropped her debut album, and babyyyy, it’s got flavor. This is the soundtrack to my black queer love story.
Rihanna’s Sexy Savage X Fenty Show Left Me in Tears of Black Fat Queer Girl Joy
I’ve been looking for myself in mainstream fashion shows for 30 years, and the very first thing Rihanna did in her moment was say, “I got you sis.”
Top 10 “A Black Lady Sketch Show” Sketches to Send You Into the Weekend Laughing
Have you caught up on A Black Lady Sketch Show yet? If not, why are you robbing yourself of joy?
Black August: A Feminist and Queer Syllabus for Black Liberation
Black August is a month-long dedication to honoring black radical political history, the ongoing fight against the prison industrial complex, criminal (in)justice systems. So why are most of the voices upheld this month from cis men?
Six Tips for Navigating Chicago as a (Baby) Black Queer
Tip #2 – “Don’t Trust the Internet.”
Dear White People Season 3 Finally Gives Us the Nerdy Black Gay Girls We Deserve
“Squeee!!! Little black nerdy girls in baby gay love!! IT’S SO CUTE!!”
The Mexplainer: A History of Anti-Brown Violence in the American Southwest
Latinxs are under attack. Since gringos first decided to manifest their destiny on our land, Latinx people in the United States have been forced to live under a regime of fear and degradation: White Supremacy.
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” Is Queer, Brilliant and Ridiculously Funny
A Black Lady Sketch Show recognizes that “black ladies” come across a variety of gender identities and sexualities. Black lesbians are funny. Black queer women are funny. Black trans women are funny. And we aren’t going anywhere, any time soon.
When Your Face Reflects the Mirror
Traveling to see family in Taiwan, the sudden change in beauty standards forced me to contemplate my own. The same features that made me so ordinary at home made me extraordinary in Taiwan. The things that pushed me away from the American feminine ideal brought me closer to the “perfect” Taiwanese woman.