54 Bisexual+ Voices from Western Pennsylvania #AMPLIFY

Bisexual Visibility Week

This week is the time of year when we acknowledge and honor bisexuality visibility and awareness, September 17-24, 2017. It is a time to recognize the resiliency, strength, and tenacity of our bi+ neighbors. You can tweet, IG, and more with the #BiWeek hashtag to show your support and appreciation for the bi community. The #AMPLIFY […]

Moon Baby Drops New Single ‘Maralago,’ Says ‘It’s difficult to choose compassion”

Maralago Moon Baby

I listened to the second single from the moon baby’s new EP and was enchanted. I don’t really know them very well, but I am one part of a performance art piece with moon’s friend and collaborator, Josie aka Princess Jafar. So I’m paying closer attention to what moon has to say. And, graciously, she […]

Derricka Banner, 26, is the 20th Trans Person Murdered in 2017

She was 26 years old, a black trans woman living in Lenoir, North Carolina. Originally from New York City, she had studied at Caldwell Community College. She previously worked for Wal-Mart and was working most recently with Tyson Foods. She was known to some friends as Ms Bow Wow and sometimes Derricka Lashae. According to […]

Transgender Bigotry in Sharon, Butler Reinforce Need for NonDiscrimination Protections

Pittsburgh Transgender

Content Note: misgendering, deadnaming, lies, transphobia. On Sunday, the Sharon Herald printed a newspaper article updating the community on the status of a civil lawsuit against the Sharon Police Department involving the shooting death of 23 year-old Sean Hake. Sean was a transgender man. The Sharon Herald first reported that he was a trans woman, […]

Two Questions for the Pgh Mayor’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee

Pittsburgh Mayor's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council

I have a few questions about local governing and LGBTQ issues. I will be sharing these directly with the members of the Council whom I personally know. I’ve asked if I could attend a meeting to discuss my concerns, but was informed that the Department of Personnel would not permit me to do so.  Earlier […]

Scrap the Trap Rescued an Orphaned Racoon in Our Pgh Neighborhood

I stepped outside on the stoop and a woman sitting in her car told me a raccoon was ‘on the loose’ and might bite me. So I stepped back into the house and decided to call my neighbor with ‘Scrap the Trap – Pittsburgh.’ A few minutes later, I was tracking an obviously terrified young […]

Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community Center Renamed Pgh Equality Center

Big news in Pittsburgh – the organization we all know as the GLCC or the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Pittsburgh has officially changed its name to the Pittsburgh Equality Center. “When we looked at rebranding with a new name and logo, we were particularly mindful of the long history and the work of […]

Robert E. Lee Was a Cousin of Mine

This weekend, a lot of rhetoric flowed exhorting us to respond to a horrifying display of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. One thing that resonated with me was the exhortation by some of my black friends to me, as a white woman, that I need to collect my people. The only people who should be […]

#SayTheirNames – Kala Thomas, Mia White, and Nicole Dailey

Do you remember Kala Thomas? She was 25 years old raising four children as a single, working black mother in Garfield with the support of her extended family. On May 23, her body was discovered on the hillside behind her home. Her abandoned car was found the next day.  Police have not identified any suspects. This […]

Q&A with Maryann ‘Sunhands’ of The Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade #ReelQPuff

Ovarian Psycho

We are proud to be the official social media sponsor of the ReelQ Pittsburgh Underground Film Festival (PUFF) August 4-6, 2017 at the Melwood Screening Room. The opening night feature is Ovarian Psycos directed by Kate Trumbull LaValle, Joanna Sokolowski. Ovarian Psycos documents a new generation of fierce, unapologetic and feminist women of color from the Eastside of Los Angeles who […]