Trans Man Dustin Parker, 25, Killed in Oklahoma on New Year’s Day

Dustin Parker trans man Oklahmoa

25-year-old Dustin Parker is believed to be the first transgender or gender non-conforming person to die a violent death in 2020. Dustin was working as a cab driver in McAlester, Oklahoma when he was killed by gunfire early on New Year’s Day. McAlester police are investigating after a man was found fatally shot inside a […]

My Western Pennsylvania Snow Globe

Author’s note: My name is Rachel, and I consider myself to be the product of a typical Pennsylvanian upbringing. Fire hall marriages with cookie tables, going to Idlewild Park on a hot summer day, and eating home-made gobs on my back porch, are all things that I remember from my childhood. I am transgender, and […]

“This is What Happens When You Piss Off an Old Lesbian”

Lesbian Transgender Ally

My friend Joyce is a good person – great sense of humor, compassion that extends into forever, good storyteller, and a no bullshit kind of woman. She’s a lesbian, mother of one adult child, and has a cat. And she’s disabled to the point of being mostly housebound especially in bad weather. She lives in […]

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 […]

The Criminal Complaint Against Gary Van Horn Illustrates (Again) Divides in Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community

The local LGBTQ community is abuzz with the revelation that Delta Foundation President Gary Van Horn has started a Pittsburgh chapter of the Rosco P Coltrane fan club and “unofficially” brought Allegheny County Sheriff Mullen, a few notaries, and his friend “Timmy” along with him. (see images below to interpret that allusion.) Gary has been […]

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 […]

Trans Woman Jayme Lyn, 59, Wants Us To Remember the ‘Mature’ Trans Community #AMPLIFY

Trans Woman Allegheny County

  Name: Jayme Lynn Age: 59 County of Residence: Allegheny County, previously Dauphin county and Cumberland county Pronouns: She,her,Ms How do you describe your identity? Transgender woman Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Hiding for 55 yrs,I found strength in the Diana Sawyer, Caitlin Jenner interview,wife knew about me […]

Coroner Reports Death of Black Trans Woman Elisha Stanley was Accidental

Elisha Stanley Cause of Death

Earlier this year, we reported on the September 16 death of 46-year-old Pittsburgh native, Elisha Stanley, who had traveled to her hometown to visit family. Elisha was a Black trans woman and her death was sudden and unexpected so understandably people were very concerned both for the loss of her as an individual and the […]

Transgender Day of Remembrance

82 Trans Stories from Western Pennsylvania Honor Trans Awareness Week

Transgender Awareness Week

The week before Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, we have Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues the community faces. I’ve curated 82 stories from our #AMPLIFY project to illustrate the multi-faceted experiences of transgender neighbors in Western Pennsylvania. Our project asks people to describe their […]