I’m Honoring #DayWithoutAWoman by Fundraising for a Pittsburgh Vigil to Honor Trans Women of Color

I wasn’t sure exactly how to honor this day. I work from home and don’t have plans to really shop or spend money of any sort this day. As a two women household, abstaning from household or caretaking labor is not possible because there is no one who is not woman-identified to pick up (or […]

Rest In Power, Dakota James

Dakota James Missing Person

I read with mixed emotions the news that the body of 23-year-old Dakota James had been found in the Ohio River near Neville Island. Dakota has been missing since January 25, 2017. There’s no appropriate comment, nothing I can think of that would bring comfort to the exhausted family who lost a 23-year-old adult child […]

LGBTQ Things To Do in Western PA #AMPLIFY

LGBTQ Things To Do Pittsburgh

Welcome to the current edition of our new feature  – a signal boost to the efforts of our #AMPLIFY contributors to strengthen our communities. Our first posts were well received! This list is not all-inclusive or comprehensive, but we’ll do our best to share the items our contributors ask us to promote. If you’d like to […]

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 […]

TWOC Jaquarrius Holland (Brown), 18, Murdered in Louisiana

Jaquarrius Holland

A long time ago, I lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For three years. And being Mardi Gras today, my mind wanders that direction. But this year, I’m thinking about something different – the three trans women who have been brutally murdered this past weeks. I wrote about Chyna and Ciara, both of whom were killed […]

Ciara McElveen 2nd Trans Woman of Color Murdered During Mardi Gras Weekend

Ciara McElveen

48 hours after the death of Chyna Gibson comes word of a second trans woman of color murdered in New Orleans. Ciara McElveen was 26 years old. She was a New Orleans native, a graduate of Dutchtown High School and had studied at Dillard University.  Ciara McElveen Photo Source: Facebook[/caption] Sadly, she was the latest victim in the […]

Ciara McElveen 2nd Trans Woman of Color Murdered During Mardi Gras Weekend

Ciara McElveen

48 hours after the death of Chyna Gibson comes word of a second trans woman of color murdered in New Orleans. Ciara McElveen was 26 years old. She was a New Orleans native, a graduate of Dutchtown High School and had studied at Dillard University. Sadly, she was the latest victim in the epidemic of […]

Updated: Open Letter to John C. Welch, Candidate for Mayor in Pittsburgh

Dear Reverend Welch, A robust primary election process is necessary for a healthy democracy, so I have been watching your early candidacy days with anticipation of your agenda for Pittsburgh. Because I have yet to see any public statements by you on LGBTQ issues and the LGBTQ residents of Pittsburgh, I am writing this letter. […]

RIP Chyna Gibson aka Chyna Doll Dupree, 31, Shot in New Orleans

Devastating news from New Orleans this Mardi Gras weekend as we learn about the murder of Chyna Gibson, known in the ballroom community as Chyna Doll Dupree.  From TransGriot New Orleans Police responded to a call Saturday night around 8:26 PM CST in the 4300 block of Downman Road and found the body of Gibson […]

When Two Pittsburghs Collide: Our Uncomfortable (Not) New Reality

This past month, discussion raged on social media about plans by a group of Pittsburgh Socialists to counterprotest a large anti-choice protest at Planned Parenthood. There was a somwhate general consensus that the idea was ill-thought out, but the conversation spun out from there in multiple directions. I wrote my own thoughts here.  It was […]