Call To Action: Peters Township, Washington County Might Consider Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Peters Towsnship Non-Discrimination Ordinance

A friend of mine read about the lack of non-discrimination protections in Pennsylvania. So she took action in her community and contacted the Peters Township Council, asking them to consider introducing the ordinance. She is amazing and brave.  Peters Township is in Washington County and this would be the first such ordinance in the entire […]

Five Years as a Persad Client

Five years ago today, I began working with the team at Persad Center as a clinical client in addition to my existing community collaborations. Anticipating that things could get complicated by mixing clinical with community, I had resisted this relationship as long as possible. But finding a LGBTQ competent treatment team including a psychistrist had […]

56 Lesbian Stories from Western Pennsylvania to #AMPLIFY Lesbian Visibility Day

lesbian salute

Caution – this seems to be one of those made-up celebrations that are used to generate click-bait articles on websites targeting lesbians, but not necessarily driven by lesbians. So this lesbian is going to seize the moment to write a non-click-bait article promoting lesbian visibility. First, read every single blog post I’ve written since 2005. […]

West Mifflin School Districts Expands Nondiscrimination Protections to Include Gender Identity

West Mifflin High School Class Reunion

I lived in West Mifflin from age two through college. It was a rather brutal environment. I ended up with a decent education. I’ve written about some of those experiences.  One of my high school friends was openly gay. Others were suspected, but it was not an environment where such disclosures were encouraged or well-received. […]

‘Indecent’ at Pittsburgh Public Theater Highlights Lesbian Love Story

Pittsburgh Public Theater Indecent

This looks to be a fascinating play with a powerful lesbian storyline making its Pittsburgh premiere at Pittsburgh Public Theater this weekend. The larger play is framed around an actual historical production of another play God of Vengeance. Our review will be posted early next week. Pittsburgh Public Theater is proud to present the Pittsburgh […]

Pittsburgh Underground [Queer] Film Festival – This Weekend!

The 3rd annual PUFF weekend is in a new locale at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Avenue. A weekend of films, panels, parties, and the Assemble + PUFF QUEER ART & COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE. On April 26, at 7:30pm, PUFF opens with the regional premiere of KNIFE+HEART, a wry slasher film set in Paris, 1979, where […]

Q&A with Deb Gross, Candidate for Pittsburgh City Council District 7

Deb Gross for City Council

We are revisiting our Political Q&A series for the upcoming elections of 2019. We’ve reached out to candidates who are pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ, asking them a series of questions about their campaigns. We’ve sent out about a dozen Q&A’s to folks who agreed to participate. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any level of […]

UPDATED: Resist the Chick-fil-A Sponsorship of the Pgh Marathon With This Queer Shirt #Yinz

A t-shirt is a functional object that most people can use and wear and enjoy, but it can also be a way to carry an affordable piece of art around with you on your body, or make a statement that can allow you to connect with other people. Getting into the t-shirt business has made […]

Ten Alternative Gifts to Celebrate Easter & Spring & More

alternative easters gifts

We are honoring Passover and Easter this week along with the first real lasting bout of spring weather. This means lots of sniffles, but also buying stuff for gifts – candy, toys, etc. I don’t want to take away your joy at gnawing on that giant chocolate ear, but there are some other ways you […]

Pittsburgh Roots Pride Organizers Need & Deserve Community Support

These are my own thoughts, I cannot speak for Joy and Michael. In 2015, they stepped up to lead a resistance against corporatized, corrupt Pride defined by Iggy Azalea but grounded in much deeper problems in the regional LGBTQ community. Beyond resisting, they created a three year project, Roots Pride, celebrating and centering those typically […]