LGBTQ Youth Holiday Project Targeted by TERFs

Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists or TERFs attempted to derail a Pittsburgh holiday project for LGBTQ teens. Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities is organizing a gift card drive for local teens affiliated with queer and trans organizations. It is an extension of their #ProtectTransKids projects that are distributing over 1000 yard signs, 5000 stickers, and 2500 pens with a […]

Coming Out Against Transphobia in the Lesbian Community

I am not inspired today. When I logged into Facebook today, I saw that a longtime friend posted an anti-trans link, framing the use of pronouns as patriarchal and misogynistic. A lot of my spirit deflated. The premise that biology and gender are fixed is an outgrowth of patriarchy and misogyny. The premise that the […]

Pittsburgh Woman Guilty of Harassment of Trans Teen Neighbor Files Appeal, Faces Further Civil Legal Actions

Darian Balcom TERF Pittsburgh

While not unexpected, news of yet another legal hurdle for the O’Donnell-Collar family arrived with notification that their neighbor has appealed her conviction of harassment. On July 26, 2022, District Magisterial Judge Duncan-Williams determined that 50-year-old Darian Balcom was guilty of one count of statutory harassment after two years of behavior targeting her next door […]

Q&A With Trans Neighbor About TERF/Transphobic Stickering in Pittsburgh’s East End

TERF stickers Pittsburgh

Content Note: transphobia, TERF, fascism, harassment, images I went back and forth on whether or not we should do this Q&A because I was worried about 1) unnecessarily freaking out other trans people who have been blissfully unaware of these stickers 2) giving this terf the attention they want, potentially leading others to their cause. […]

VIDEO: 150 #ProtectTransKids Yard Signs on Pittsburgh’s Northside

Protect Trans Kids Yard Signs

As of yesterday, there are 150 #ProtectTransKids yard signs all over the Northside neighborhoods … take a look at the video below. We have requests for 400+ signs and expect a delivery next week. Anyone in the region can request a sign at no cost. We are accepting donations to help with production costs GoFundMe […]

Q&A With a Pittsburgh Dad Trying to Protect His Multiracial, LGBTQ Family From an Abusive Neighbor

Content Note: racism, transphobia, homophobia, harassment of children, police, legal case, fear I did a little research and started to get a sense of how these transphobic bigots operate, the playbook they use. These people are truly despicable. To answer your question, no, I don’t think people connect the dots. And that’s not a condemnation, […]

56 Lesbian Stories from Western Pennsylvania to #AMPLIFY Lesbian Visibility Day

lesbian salute

Caution – this seems to be one of those made-up celebrations that are used to generate click-bait articles on websites targeting lesbians, but not necessarily driven by lesbians. So this lesbian is going to seize the moment to write a non-click-bait article promoting lesbian visibility. First, read every single blog post I’ve written since 2005. […]

Allie, 51, Talks Living as a Trans Woman in Washington County #AMPLIFY

Transgender Washington County

Name: Allie Age: 51 County of Residence:  Washington County Pronouns: she/her/hers How do you describe your identity? Transfemale Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? It was kinda slow and steady. I was outed to a coworker by a family member. It ended up as a victory for me since I […]

Should (or could) this blog be more lesbian?

Earlier today, someone left a comment on an AMPLIFY post. I typically don’t allow comments on those posts because of the archival nature of the project. This comment was actually unrelated to the project so I decided it would be more appropriate to move to another place on the blog – this post. Ann Brooks […]

Gender Identity Imploded Local Queer Women’s Community in 2007 #LGBTHistoryMonth

In honor of LGBT History Month (October), we will be exploring some of our historical content and sharing historical perspectives from readers. If you’d like to contribute, please email us pghlesbian at gmail dot com. In 2007, we covered a significant story  – the decision by a lesbian-centric fundraiser, Celebrate the Night, to ban a […]