16 Year Old GenderFluid Iowa Teen Shot to Death

Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson

Today, I learned of the March 2 murder by gunshot of 16 year old Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, a gender-fluid teen living in an Iowa suburb. From The Advocate: Police found Johnson after responding to calls from neighbors, who said that they heard “five to six” gunshots fired in the area, reports The Hawk Eye. Covered with […]

The Tragic Killing of Jasmine Sierra, 52, TWOC from Bakersfield CA

Jasmine Sierra Trans

A complicated tragic story involving the death of a trans woman of color in Bakersfield, California. From The Advocate: Police found the body of Jasmine Sierra, a transgender woman of color, on January 22 in an apartment on the 1000 block of Monterey Street, according to a report from local TV station KBAK. Police say […]

Sara, 28, Single Mom, Agnostic Jew, and Queer in Ohio #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh lesbian mom

  Name: Sara Age: 28 County of Residence: formerly Allegheny County, now Columbus, Ohio Preferred Pronouns: She/her How do you describe your identity? I’m an agnostic Jew. I’m white. I’m queer and a big old dyke. I’m a gold star lesbian. I’m a single mama to two little boys. Just started dating a wonderful woman and couldn’t be happier with […]

The Art of Voting

Voter Registration Pennsylvania

Donald Trump. Does it make you roll your eyes, sigh or exhale slowly to read that name? Does your mind immediately fly to the realities of racism and anger among the American working and middle class? Are you afraid? Just a little bit afraid that he’ll be the Republican nominee and one election away from […]

Shain Describes Being a Gay Kid in the Nancy Reagan Fear Generation #AMPLIFY UPDATED

Gay Mercer County

“He was just thin, lived in NYC, and was gay so in the early 90’s, and being a kid of the Nancy Reagan fear generation, I assumed he had full blow AIDS and that someday I would, too.” Name:  Shain Kish Age: 32 County of Residence:  Mercer County, also lived in Allegheny. Now lives in New […]

The Saturday Pet Situation

Today is precious. We learned that Boris is in full kidney failure so his time is now defined by days more than weeks. He’s not in any pain and he’s still eating/drinking/sleeping. So we simply wait until he lets go or some of those factors change. We wait and we savor each sweet little moment. […]

Fish Fry Friday: St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Ross Township

Pittsburgh Fish Fry

Name: St. Sebastian Date: March  11, 2016 Time We Ate: 5:30 PM Random review of #fishburgh adventures during Lent. Find a fish fry on this Google maps collection. You can also follow them on Facebook and find tons of reviews and suggestions. Here is our general criteria: In review, the factors we assess or review include: Location/directions/parking/signage Atmosphere/Volunteer Friendliness/Engagement […]

The Day I Used the Men’s Bathroom

unisex bathroom pittsburgh

Today, I attended a conference with 400 other women at a local hotel. The hotel converted the men’s room closet to the conference space into a temporary uni-sex bathroom. They had a sign informing bathroom visitors of the change and directing men who didn’t want to use a uni-sex bathroom to a men’s only bathroom […]

The Return of #AMPLIFY

  We’ve been on a brief hiatus, but next week publication of the #AMPLIFY posts resumes. We continue to need your contributions – just takes about 30 minutes to complete the Q&A.  Soon we’ll be able to start audio recording interviews. All because … Funding for the #Amplify LGBTQ Voices project was provided by The […]

Talking With Moriah Ella Mason About Debut of New Movement Piece at Off The Wall Theater

off the WALL Productions debuts a new piece of movement theater later this month. Kimono ‘explores the theme of social justice through the experience of victims, the evil of predation, and the culpability of predators With the help of a woman who appears on his doorstep, a traumatized man, an artist, reconstitutes his life through the […]