Leo, 24, Fears the Erasure of Nonbinary/Bisexual/Pansexual/Asexual/Demi Narratives in the Queer Community #AMPLIFY

  Nonbinary people are starting to have a voice here but the amount of times I’ve had the pronouns are important conversation with a cis gay man who tells me “well that just wasn’t in my time, you were either gay or you weren’t and there wasn’t in between” is too many times. Name: Leo Age: 24 […]

Honoring the Lives and Deaths of Our Trans Neighbors on TDOR 2018

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2018 Pittsburgh

The Transgender Day of Remembrance of 2018 has a new degree of poignancy to me because of the additional layers of transphobia that are on display and thread through the lives of our transgender neighbors. It is also the first year I’m blogging about a trans woman from Pittsburgh among those killed this past year. […]

Isolation: Is Pittsburgh’s Feminist Community Too Insular?

Feminist Isolation

Even amidst the horrible camaraderie of survivors speaking up and out about sexual assault, I’m reminded of how deeply isolated I feel, especially among local women’s groups and feminists. I’m not lonely in the sense that I do have wonderful friends from all stages of my life. But I’m lonely in the sense that I […]

My InGear Backpack is Now 20 Years Old and Going Strong ( Sort of)

It was August 1998 and I was starting the MSW program at the University of Pittsburgh, with a concentration in Community Organizing. I had been out of school for 3 or 4 years, but as a commuter in a graduate program I was pretty sure that I needed a sturdy backpack. I think I bought […]

Pat Benatar Rocks My Favorite Independence Day Song

Pat Benatar Martina McBride

A new-to-me version of one of the best songs, this time featuring Pat Benatar singing with Martina McBride from 2003. In Pat Benatar’s hands, I really noticed the lyric “Let the right be wrong’” which can sometimes sound like “Let the hurt be wrong” but Pat really hits that phrasing. And I need that. We […]

Madi Scull, 20, Identifies as a Nonbinary, Asexual Lesbian #AMPLIFY

Name:  Madi Scull Age: 20 County of Residence: Allegheny Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? Nonbinary asexual lesbian Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Coming out experiences are hard to describe because it is never just one experience. It’s a series of interactions that you have to have with […]

Suspect Identified in Shooting Death of Pittsburgh Native, Black Trans Woman Phylicia Mitchell

Phylicia Coulson Brown

On February 24, a Pittsburgh native was shot to death in broad daylight outside her Cleveland residence. Her name was Phylicia Mitchell and she was a Black trans woman who had relocated to Cleveland after growing up on Pittsburgh’s Northside. She was 46. Tonight comes word that Cleveland police have identified a suspect in her […]

Sasha Wall is the 8th Transgender Person Murdered in 2018 in the US

Sasha Wall was 29 years old when she died from gunshot wounds on Sunday, April 1, 2018 on a rural road in South Carolina. She was found at 8 AM on Easter morning after cars had passed her parked-but-running vehicle for two hours. Sasha was a Black trans woman. That’s a horrifying metaphor for American […]

Q&A with Erika Strassburger, Candidate for Pgh City Council District 8

Erika Strassburger yard sign

The Special Election to fill the City Council seat for District 8, formerly held by Dan Gilman is many things. It is a contested election with Democratic, Republican, and Independent contenders. It is a race full of big ideas on everything from pothole repairs to clean water and rent control. It is also a genuine […]

Maria

She’s not gonna like this, but I feel compelled to tell you something about Maria. She’s one of the founding bloggers at 2 Political Junkies and her blogging career stretches back into the early 2000’s. Soon after I launched this blog in late December 2005, Maria emailed me with lots of positive and encouraging things […]