PublicSource is launching a new gender and identity newsletter

Lots of news from PublicSource –  As PublicSource celebrates its 10th anniversary, the organization announces the promotion of Halle Stockton to the role of editor-in-chief. Stockton has named Rich Lord as managing editor. I’ve contributed several pieces to PublicSource. I’ve been a long-time fan of Rich Lord’s reporting. He left the City Paper for the Post-Gazette […]

Chris, 40, is an Aspie Queer Girl With Some Kinks #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh Queer

Name: Chris Rickert Age: 40 County of Residence: Allegheny County. Born in upstate NY, moved to Pittsburgh to attend CMU. Never left. Preferred Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? I’m an Aspie. A queer girl with some kinks. Italian-Scottish-Irish-German. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Coming out was definitely […]

117 Ways to Describe LGBTQ Identity

We ask contributors this question “Please describe your identity.” No checkboxes. No drop down menu. No predetermined categories. Just an open-ended question and a text field for people to write their response. 117 people have responded thus far (110 published, the others in the ‘to be published’ queue.) As you can see, each person wrote […]

AMPLIFY: Jan Offers an Older Perspective on LGBTQ Pittsburgh

Western Pennsylvania

AMPLIFY LGBTQ is a new occasional series of blog posts designed to give a “signal boost” to the voices of our LGBTQ neighbors throughout Western Pennsylvania. We are using a Q&A format and will mostly avoid editing their responses. The questions, however, may change as we ask each participant to tell us what we’ve missed […]

Governor Elect Tom Wolf Takes Two Important LGBTQ Visibility Steps

Dr. Rachel Levine

I’ve been pondering the issue of why LGBTQ visibility in municipal government matters. By pondering, I mean this is something I’ll write about again and again. And again. By visibility, I specifically mean the presence of LGBTQ individuals in positions of senior leadership and responsibility. I think we all agree that a diverse workforce is a good […]

Brynn Tannehill Speaks to the National TransPride Pittsburgh Conference

Brynn Tannehill

I “met” Brynn online a few years ago through a network of LGBTQ leaders. She came to Pittsburgh to offer a keynote address at the National TransPride Pittsburgh Conference in September 2014. I think she’s brilliant as she discusses acceptance, visibility and tolerance. You can keep up with Brynn’s regular contributions to Huffington Post.  Brynn […]

Gold Star Lesbian

Gold Star Lesbian

So this made me laugh. I recently earned my “Gold Star” status from Starbucks thanks to copious amount of dark roast and chai lattes for Ledcat. Now I get free refills! You might be familiar with the term “Gold Star” lesbian which usually refers to a lesbian who has not had sexual intercourse with a […]