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, […]

24-year-old white Trans Man Ray Muscat Shot to Death by Girlfriend in Michigan

Ray Muscat

Raymond ‘Ray’ Muscat is the most recent victim of the campaign of violence claiming the lives of trans neighbors, a terror campaign. Ray was a 24-year-old white trans man, born and raised in Michigan. Ray was shot to death by his live-in girlfriend who also shot her brother to death and then fled on Sunday, […]

What Dr. Rachel Levine’s Statement Might Mean for the Trans Community

Dr. Rachel Levine

Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health has made a statement about the unrelenting vitriol directed at her identity. I was so pleased that she squarely addressed how these attacks impact the entire transgender community. One thing people inevitably ask me about the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT is if we have any documented evidence of trans […]

Scott Township Has One Chance to Address Transphobic Culture of Commissioners

Scott Township board vice president Paul Abel misgendered PA Secretary of Health during a recent board meeting. I’m not going to reprint the slur, you can find that here andhere. Coverage so far implies several things Abel’s ‘frustration’ over how the State is handling coronavirus justifies or explains his transphobia. Other Commissions acknowledged his bigotry, […]

Trans Woman Helle Jae O’Regan Murdered in San Antonio

Helle Jae O’Regan is the 11th transperson known murdered in the US during 2020. She died on Wednesday, May 6. She was 20 years old when she was murdered in a bizarre rampage at her San Antonio workplace – a hair salon. A man apparently denied services left the store, returned with a knife and […]

Transphobic Sandwich Shop Owner Removes Content, Issues Non-Apology

Portogalla Peppers N'at Transphobia

So Robert Portogallo seems to realize that transphobia is bad for business. He removed the content about Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Health Department. And added a non-apology. If you take a look at this thread, you will see the heart of the problem. Bob Portogallo posts some “funny” content and it unleashes […]

Braddock Sandwich Shop Owner Spews Transphobic Content on Facebook Targeting Dr. Rachel Levine

Portogalla Peppers N'at Transphobia

Content Note: transphobia, sandwich, Braddock, complicity, homicide Until this afternoon, I had never heard of Robert Portogallo. He’s a Swissvale High School graduate, alumni of Point Park, and owner of Portogallo’s Peppers N’at, a sandwich shop in Braddock. He’s also a transphobic jagoff who decided to target Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health who […]

Why does J.K. Rowling think her queer and trans fans don’t count?

(TW: transphobia, rape) I’m trying to figure out what’s motivating J.K. Rowling to defecate on her trans and queer fans from a great height, and I’m failing miserably. I’m also at a loss to figure out why the U.K. and Ireland seem to be a nexus for trans-exclusionary bullshit. I have some theories centering around […]

Suspect charged in murder of 17-year-old Washington State trans teen, Nikki Kuhnhausen

Nikki Kuhnhausen was 17 years old when she disappeared from her hometown of Vancouver, Washington to allegedly meet up with a 25-year-old man she met on Snapchat. That was June 6, 2019. After she was reported missing, David Bogdanov was named a person of interest in her disappearance. Nikki would have turned 18 on July […]

Peters Township School Board Director’s Racist, Sexist Social Media Content Illustrates Need for Local Non-Discrimination Ordinance

William Merrell Peters Township

Content Note: racist slurs, sexism, lying white men (vile images below) Efforts are underway in Peters Township to introduce an ordinance establishing a local Human Relations Commission and to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the protected classes. The Township Council decided that there was not evidence of local discrimination and opted to table […]