Despite Anti-Gay Graffiti, Media and Police Ask the Wrong Questions in Teen Athlete’s Murder

By Mecca Jamilah Sullivan I didn’t know Tayshana Murphy was gay. I’m from Harlem, and I like to think I’m tapped into important conversations among New York’s LGBTQ people of color communities. I learned of 18-year-old Murphy’s murder early on September 11th of this year—heard about it, in fact, from an auntie of mine before [...]

How Audre Lorde Made Queer History

In her piece “Breast Cancer: Power vs. Prosthesis” in The Cancer Journals, black feminist lesbian mother warrior poet Audre Lorde wrote: “I also began to feel that in the process of losing a breast I had become a whole person.” This courageous insight and numerous others—about her mind, body and spirit being sites loaded with meaning, [...]

USA World Cup Soccer Women: No Apologies!

As the FIFA Women’s World Cup ended on July 17 with a stirring, nail-biting  victory by Japan over the USA, we can celebrate a triumph for women athletes everywhere. The matches were beautifully and excitingly fought, as we watched the deft touch of Brazil’s Marta, the unstoppable force of the USA’s Abby Wambach … sports fans of all genders have [...]

Look at This No-Look Pass

I love a good sports movie, and I love a good basketball (my favorite sport) movie, and what’s best of all is a good basketball movie about a woman player. So I’m very happy to report that the new documentary No Look Pass, which screened this past weekend at Outfest in Los Angeles and will [...]

Women’s Soccer World Cup: Controversy Off the Field

Tomorrow morning, the U.S. women’s soccer team will take on North Korea in their first match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which began yesterday. While the international championship itself is sure to be exciting, many events leading up to it have already been making headlines around the world. FIFA, the international governing body of [...]

Down-Low Men and Self-Protecting Women

Terrance Dean’s debut novel Mogul (Atria Books) tells the story of entertainment music producer Aaron “Big A.T.” Tremble’s struggle to come to terms with his sexuality. After compromising photos of Big A.T. and another man are sent to his girlfriend, Big A.T. must decide whether to publicly reveal his sexuality and risk compromising his success. [...]

2011 International Day Against Transphobia and Homophobia

Today marks the 4th annual International Day Against Transphobia and Homophobia, spearheaded by Quebec-based organization Fondation Émergence. The holiday commemorates the date–May 17, 1990–that the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. The years since have been an up-and-down battle for LGBTQ folks on the international level, with the criminalization [...]

The Dying Breaths of the Anti-Gay-Rights Movement

With each passing day, the anti-gay rights movement loses a bit of steam. When same-sex marriage is one day legal in the United States, historians may look back on this week as the beginning of the end in light of three major events. First, on Monday, supporters of Proposition 8, the law in California that [...]

Seeing Inequality, Keeping Trans Transparent, Criticizing Gwyneth and More: Editors’ Picks, 4/17-4/23

Tragically, the body of missing honors student Phylicia Barnes has been found in the Susquehanna River. Her body was recovered, along with that of an unidentified male, on Friday. The Root has more. At Sociological Images: a visualization of inequality in the U.S., from name-based racial discrimination to the ever-growing gap between the rich and [...]

My Little NON-Homophobic, NON-Racist, NON-Smart-Shaming Pony: A Rebuttal

I have been a lifelong feminist, and as an artist working in the animation industry for more than 16 years I have striven to do right by women and girls in the animated projects I have been part of. I try to bring sincerity and depth to the female characters I’ve animated and have fought in development [...]

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