Book report: “True Selves” revisited

(I posted a version of this message in a forum maintained by Helen Boyd, author of “My Husband Betty” and “She’s Not the Man I Married.” Helen asked if she could share it on her blog, enGender. I said sure … as long as I could share it with you! —Trish) — When people are […]

Giveaway: Pair of Tickets to See Chris Pureka at Club Cafe

Singer-songwriter Chris Pureka is coming to Pittsburgh on Sunday August 25 and you can win a pair of tickets right here. Pureka has been compared to everyone from Ani DeFranco to Mary Gauthier to Neil Young and beyond. Pureka identifies as genderqueer. “I feel like I’m definitely a more butch lesbian, and that’s not very common in […]

Am I an Influenster? Mouthwash

So I decided to see how Influenster worked. The website is a bit overwhelming and its easy to get lost leaving reviews, but somehow I ended up reviewing Colgate Advance Pro-Shield Peppermint Blast mouthwash. I was just at the dentist in April and he told me that mouthwash is not effective, it just feels effective […]

Product Review: ClimbOn Skin Care Products

product review

We’ve been samping ClimbOn Skin Care products for over a year – since we received our first sample.  ClimbOn is a regular fixture at the I Made It Market! events – their products are touted as chemical-free and all natural. ClimbOn is now part of a larger company with similar values, SkinNourishment. The same team […]

Review: The Jill (Sobule) and Julia (Sweeney) Show at Club Cafe

Jill Sobule

Early in July, The Jill and Julia Show came to town for one-performance only at Club Cafe on the South Side. Sobule and Sweeney are long tme friends who fuse musical interludes with storytelling and audience engagement for an entertaining, somewhat nostalgic show. Sobule, an openly bisexual woman, has a whole array of post-“I Kissed […]

Win Tickets to See Jill Sobule Live at Club Cafe on July 6

Jill Sobule is coming to Pittsburgh! She’s performing on Saturday July 6 at Club Cafe with her sometimes partner in crime, Julia Sweeney (yep, that Julia Sweeney) and it promises to be a terrific show.  Jill is described on the website: Jill Sobule is a Denver-born singer, songwriter, storyteller, guitarist and gypsy. Over seven albums […]

Left out: Trans patients have trouble finding doctors

Lauren Daley’s story in the new issue of Pittsburgh City Paper is outstanding. Daley notes what has long been known in the transgender community—most health care providers have little or no knowledge of how to treat a transgender patient. (I’ve heard horror stories of transwomen being denied treatment for prostate problems, or transmen not being […]

Review: Other Desert Cities at Pgh Public Theater

This wasn’t my favorite play of the season, but I believe that Polly Wyeth – mother, Republican, wife – may be among my favorite characters of the season. Other Desert Cities is a riff on a sign along desert highways – the Wyeth elders, Polly and husband Lyman are living the retirement dream in Palm […]

The Haunting “Sequel” of Abigail Williams at City Theatre

It is not often that I leave a cultural event with the phrase “that was epic” on my lips, but the City Theatre’s production of “Abigail/1702” made it happen. A vivid imagining of the escape and redemption of Abigail Williams – one of the chief accusers from the Salem witch trials – the play was […]

“Without Ruth” Makes Off The Wall Productions a Cultural Treasure

Every once awhile, you find a community gem that deserves more light. Off The Wall Productions in Carnegie is such a venue – a community theater group that has a fantastic facility coupled with a great creative team. “Without Ruth” debuted this past weekend – a play written Virginia Wall Gruenert based on the real […]