PJ Identifies as a Cis White Gay Man With a Twist of Genderqueer

Pittsburgh gay

The experiences of ex-pats who left Western Pennsylvania for some reason sheds valuable light on these questions around the regional LGBTQ experience. PJ is a friend who now lives in Chicago, but was here long enough to have some powerful formative experiences. Name: PJ Age:  46 County of Residence: Now in Chicago, but grew up in Westmoreland, […]

Ashe Believes To Be Queer Is To Be Yourself #AMPLIFY

Amplify LGBTQ Allegheny County

Name: Ashe Age:  29 County of Residence: Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers How do you describe your identity? I usually identify as bisexual, but I’ll go with queer from time to time. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? It was honestly surprising. I came out at the beginning of my senior […]

Occupational Therapy is a Pain in The Hands

Homeless donation

Last week, I started occupational therapy – I have carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. I also have a semi-permanent tremor as a side effect of medication that I take. The intersection of hand weakness and hand tremors makes for good times, let me tell you. While surgery can help the carpal tunnel, it can’t […]

Mini-Break in Erie, PA

Lady Kate Erie

When was the last time you felt truly rejuvenated and energized? What made you feel that way? In late August, the AMPLIFY project took us to Erie County for the weekend – we were there to celebrate Erie Pridefest and enjoy a mini-break of sorts. I had never actually been to Erie proper, just driven […]

DJ Scott Is a Gay Black Man Full of Positive Vibes #AMPLIFY

Gay Black Pittsburgh

Read the entire AMPLIFY LGBTQ Q&A archive. 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 minimize editing their responses. The questions, however, may change as we ask each participant to […]

Victory in the Campaign to Establish a Memorial for Andre Gray

Andre Gray Pittsburgh

With 24 hours to spare, the fundraising leg of the #RememberAndre campaign successfully surged past the $5,000 mark. This project has been established to create a permanent memorial to the life of Andre Gray, a young bisexual man of color who was murdered at the young age of 34 in his Lawrenceville apartment. At the […]

Why I’m A Sponsor of the Transpride Pgh Conference

My blog is an official sponsor of the 2015 TransPride Pittsburgh National Conference September 18-20. I just now sent in my check and completed the paperwork. This is part of my intentional acts to show that trans lives matter to me. I chose TransPride Pgh because it functions as sort of an umbrella group for the […]

Talking Social Media At Podcamp With Tara Sherry-Torres

Podcamp Pittsburgh

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of co-presenting at Podcamp Pittsburgh X with Tara Sherry-Torres of Cafe Con Leche. Our conversation focused on how we use social media to engage our communities. It was an interesting conversation with some great questions from the audience.  

Be Part of the LGBTQ AMPLIFY Q&A Series

Western Pennsylvania LGBTQ

  Saturday morning, the owner of the art gallery where I am an artist in residence was driving in East Liberty. When he pulled up to a redlight, a man on a bicycle stopped to lean in the window and say “You guys rock because of The Amplify!” What struck me is that not only is this random […]

Update on the Campaign to Remember Andre Gray

Pittsburgh Bisexual

Last weekend, we were striving to raise $3500 for the memorial bench to honor Andre Gray and his dog, Boss.  Honoring those we’ve lost is an important ritual in our society, almost a necessary part of the healing process. This really powerful piece ran in the Post-Gazette Pet Tales column.  Boss — who was not yet […]