#AMPLIFY Update February 2018

#AMPLIFY Tee Shirts

Hello everyone. This is a quick update to let you that we’ll begin publishing #AMPLIFY posts again in March 2018. I had hoped to start backup in February after recuperating from my hysterectomy, but my recovery is taking a little longer than I expected. Nothing terrible, just a slow process especially during the winter. To […]

Dakota, 27, Wants You to Support Queer Activists & Queer Art #AMPLIFY

Describe your geographical community. 

“Pittsburgh is an urban community that is mostly LGBTQ-friendly, but I’ve found that’s often on a surface level… which I think is true for the way Pittsburgh appeals to lots of minoritized groups. There are community spaces for queer folks, medical providers who cater to our specific needs, nonprofits dedicated to our causes, and local businesses owned by members of the community. But it often feels like Pittsburgh’s blue-collar roots are at odds with contemporary queer community-building. Queer folks, to me, feel very disparate and broken up into cliques — sort of how the city is split up into so many tiny neighborhoods. As I write this answer, I’m realizing that I don’t think I’ve ever let my guard down to feel like my full self in any of the five years I’ve been living in Western PA.”

Kool Kase, 32, is a Black Lesbian at Peace With Herself #AMPLIFY

  Name: Kool Kase Age: 32 County of Residence: Allegheny, formerly Butler County Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? Female, lesbian Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? My challenges came from those same people I looked at for support. I was always an outgoing person and not one […]

Sam, 28, is a Genderqueer Artist in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

the moon baby

  Name: Sam Age: 28 County of Residence:  Allegheny County, formerly Butler and Mercer counties, and a year away in Saint Augustine, Florida Pronouns: inconsistent How do you describe your identity? I am a genderqueer artist Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I did not come out until I was […]

Reece, 31, Grew up in Southern Virginia, but Found LGBTQ Connections in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Name: Reece Age:  31 County of Residence:  Allegheny, formerly Butler County.  Lived prior to that in Southern Virginia. Pronouns: he/him/his How do you describe your identity? Mostly gay. Most of my life I identified as bisexual. A lot of guys come out as bisexual to “soften the blow” for when they later come out as gay. That […]

Bebe Beretta, 27, is Nonbinary, Genderfluid, and Wants More LGBTQ Folks to Connect #AMPLIFY

Bebe Beretta

Name: Bebe Beretta Age: 27 (28 in November!) County of Residence: Allegheny County, formerly Butler and Mercer counties Pronouns: She/He/They (anything will do, I’m a pronoun hog!) How do you describe your identity? Non-binary, gender-fluid. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I never really came out. The universe just kind of […]

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, […]

Bobbi Jo, 63, is a Transgender Lesbian in Indiana County #AMPLIFY

Transgender Indiana County

  Name: Bobbi Jo Age: 63 County of Residence: Indiana, formerly Butler County Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? Female lesbian. I’ve always been attracted to women. Transgender.  Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? It happened while I was in a substance recovery program in Indiana. I am […]

#AMPLIFY Teams Up With Goodwill For Reuse Fundraiser, Highlights Green in Pride Rainbow

Donate Your Gently Used Items To Support The #AMPLIFY LGBTQ Project! DATE: Saturday, July 8, 2017 TIME: 10 AM – 12 PM LOCATION: Persad Center Rear Parking Lot – 5301 Butler Street, Suite 100 Lawrenceville 15201 A percentage of the proceeds from this collection will support the storytelling efforts of #AMPLIFY. How to Help Organize […]

LGBTQ Things To Do in Western PA #AMPLIFY

LGBTQ Things To Do Pittsburgh

Welcome to the current edition of our new feature  – a signal boost to the efforts of our #AMPLIFY contributors to strengthen our communities. Our first posts were well received! This list is not all-inclusive or comprehensive, but we’ll do our best to share the items our contributors ask us to promote. If you’d like to […]