UPDATE: White Supremacy Billboards along Route 51 in Allegheny County near Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties

White Supremacy Signs Route 51

UPDATE below: How did I spend my 4th of July? We took a local road trip out to Belle Vernon/Rostraver to check out rightwing political signs posted on the property of a local business, Elizabeth Equipment Services. I got the tip last night while watching Hamilton (of course) so Ledcat and I decided we would […]

Allegheny County Democrat Committee is Not a Safe Space, Especially for Black Women

Summer_Lee_Jessica_Beham

They had one job. Endorse Democrats best suited for their respective offices. Somehow the Allegheny County Democratic Party interpreted that to mean 1) endorse a Trump supporter and 2) support misogynoir. In so doing, the ACDC has once again demonstrated that they are an actual threat to democracy, common sense, good government, and marginalized folks. […]

Rural PA LGBTQ&A with TransFamily NWPA and Erie Gay News from Erie, Pennsylvania

Rural organizing Erie County

This is part of a new occasional series exploring LGBTQ organizing in rural Pennsylvania communities. After our recent driving trip through the PA Wilds communities, I was impressed that after an almost complete lack of queer visibility, a slew of new LGBTQ projects unfolded in my feed – a Pride event in Elk County, a Pride parade […]

Political LGBTQ&A with Jessica Semler, Etna Borough Council Member-Elect

Jessica Semler Etna Borough Council

If I had more folks that look like me out and in positions of power when I was younger, I truly think I would have come out to others, and myself years earlier than I did. It means so damn much. More LGBTQ folks in office means visibility of what it can look like to […]

Ellen owes the Dixie Chicks an apology

While I’m not particularly surprised that Ellen Degeneres continues to lose touch with the experience of typical queer folks, I was dismayed by her comments defending her friendship with former President George W Bush. “We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different … but just because I […]

Bob, 24, is an autistic butch non binary lesbian. This is their story. #AMPLIFY

Austistic Nonbinary Lesbian Pittsburgh

  I still don’t know how to tell them I legally changed my name. Maybe they’ll see this and find out. Hi mom, hi dad. I love you. I wish I could tell you how incandescently happy changing my name made me. A weight has been lifted. I hope you can respect that. Name: Bob Rudenborg […]

Rachael, 21, Describes Bisexual Life in Rural Western PA #AMPLIFY

Butler Erie County Bisexual

  Being out feels a lot like there’s a clearer, more accurate presentation of myself being shared with the world and that’s how I prefer it. Name:  Rachael Age: 21 County of Residence: Butler County, formerly Erie County Pronouns: She/Her How do you describe your identity? Bisexual Cis and Caucasian Please describe your coming out experience. Where did […]

Lisa Moondrop, 33, Has a Voice as a Bisexual Person in Western Pennsylvania #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh Bisexual Woman

The biggest challenge I faced was coming out to myself. I was very surprised, scared, and ashamed of my attraction to females at first. I didn’t know how to respond to my emotions and was scared others wouldn’t know how to respond to my sexuality. Name: Lisa Moondrop Age: 33 County of Residence: Allegheny formerly Westmoreland Pronouns: She/her/hers and […]

Review: Weighted Blankets by Magic Weighted Blanket Helps Me Manage Anxiety

A few years ago, I read about the value of weighted blankets for people who live with anxiety. You might be more familiar with them being used for children with autism and incrasingly for adults with dementia or forms of Alzheimers. The concept is pretty simple. From the Magic Weighted Blanket website Weighted blankets, like […]

Scooping Cat Litter Boxes is Good For My Mental Health

Wood Pellet Cat Litter

No one loves this chore. Right now, we have four litter box stations – one for the kitten room, one for the upstairs feral girls, one in the attic as a spare, and one in the basement for the regular house cats. They almost never use the attic pan so for all intents and purposes, […]