Help Replace the Laptop of the GLAAD LGBTQ Outstanding Blog for 2019 #GLAADAwards

GLAAD Outstanding Blog Award

  Soooo … this is a tale of irony and frustration. In early May, I had the honor being named Outstanding Blog through the GLAAD Awards. It was so great to have the hard work of 14 years plus dozens of contributing bloggers and AMPLIFYers acknwoledge on a national platform. We decided to celebrate by […]

What is Persad Center Even Thinking Regarding Pridefest in Pittsburgh?

Persad is once again making puzzling choices about their community organization relationships and their ongoing attachment with the Delta Foundation.  This year, that manifests itself by their decision to sponsor EQT Pride (Pittsburgh’s traditional Pridefest), but not invest in People’s Pride 2K19. I receive this email blast newsletter type message the other day Hello Friend, Thank […]

How and Why to Invest in This Blog: Pride Edition

Every so often, I put up a post to encourage you to invest in this blog and our assorted projects. Winning a national award for this blog from GLAADseems like a good moment to consider what resources it takes to produce and how you can help. As you can probably see, we’ve recently joined the […]

Flip the Script: a Q&A for Sue Created by Anne Lynch

Flip the Script

This is the first installment of our new blogging Q&A project: Flip the Script. I have invited a group of friends and acquaintances to design a Q&A for me to answer. As we near #AMPLIFY 300, I thought it would be a good opportunity to ‘flip the script’ and put myself on the opposite side […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Not Enough Lesbian Content (h/t Hannah Gadsby)

Not Lesbian enough

One of our spokespeople last year… Self-appointed. One of our spokespeople approached me straight after one of my shows to give me a bit of feedback, and that’s my favorite time for feedback. Straight after a show? Yes, please! That is when my skin is at its thickest. The feedback? Apparently, she said, “I was […]