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.”

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 […]

Ben, 30, Wants All Gay White Men to Learn To Take a Step Back #AMPLIFY

  Name: Ben Age: 30 County of Residence: Allegheny, formerly Cambria (Johnstown) Pronouns: he/him How do you describe your identity? gay man Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Well in high school I found myself attracted to other guys in school over any girls, but I didn’t think much of […]

Holiday Cards for LGBTQ Elders, Youth

Holiday Projects Pittsburgh

We are once again gearing up to help our LGBTQ neighbors during the holiday season. This year we are highlighting several organizations conducting their own holiday drives. Please give what you can to help those who need our support. Of course, financial gifts to any LGBTQ organization are very welcome, but we know that some […]

Black Trans Woman Candace Towns, 30, is 23rd Victim of Anti-Trans Violence in 2017

30-year-old Candace Towns of Macon, Georgia is the 23rd transgender person lost to anti-trans violence in 2017. From Monica Roberts at Transgriot: Towns was staying at the Rodeway Inn on Eisenhower Parkway, was last seen alive Saturday, and was reported missing on Sunday.  At 4 PM EDT Tuesday an anonymous 911 call was received  reporting […]

30 New Posts and Donors in 30 Days #NaBloPoMo

November is here and with it, National Bloggin Month aka NaBloPoMo In previous years, we’ve celebrated in various ways: blogging each day for NaBloPoMo (2014) co-organizing a blogging award project and blogger art exhibit (2015) bringing together political bloggers to reflect on the past ten years in blogging (2016) This year, we are going to […]

Stephanie Montez is 22nd Transgender Person Murdered in 2017

A week after her body was discovered, friends of Stephanie Montez spoke out to make sure her authentic identity was acknowledged. The friends of Corpus Christi transgender woman Stephanie Montez were left aghast as their search for her revealed that the Sheriff had identified her as a “man in a dress” in an inexcusably transphobic […]

Tracey, 58, is a Queer Mother Parenting Nonbinary Children #AMPLIFY

queer washington county

What motivated you to take part in this project? 

Living my truth, parenting non-binary children, wanting to do the best for my family and my clients.

Guest Bartender Night at James Street Tavern October 24, 5-9 PM to Benefit #AMPLIFY

Here’s how it will work. Each bartender will earn points for two things – the number of people they bring to the event and the amount of $$ they raise. They are competing among themselves and just for fun, as teams, too. Please note that the actual bartender (the one making anything not beer or […]

TransPride Pgh Changes Annual Conference Schedule to Respect Yom Kippur

Transgender Pittsburgh

This is a simple story, but one that illustrates cultural competency and respect by a LGBTQ organization. Earlier this year, TransPride Pittsburgh announced plans for their annual TransPride Pride Week and weekend conference, set for the end of September. The weekend conference was scheduled to have a professional day on Friday September 29, a community […]