22-year-old Asia Jynaé Foster shot to death in Houston on Trans Day of Remembrance

On November 20, Asia Jynai Foster was killed. Asia was 22 years old and a Black trans woman living in Houston, Texas. November 20 was also the Trans Day of Remembrance, an international observation of trans neighbors who have been killed. According to Outsmart A 22-year-old Black transgender woman was shot and killed in west […]

Facemask Q&A with Alyah Baker of Show & Tell Concept Shop

Alyah

Show & Tell was built, first and foremost, to meet the needs of BIPOC and Queer and Trans communities. As a member of both communities, I’ve experienced racism, profiling, and terrible customer service when trying to do simple things like buy food or clothes or get proper health care. For this reason, access and safety […]

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) 2020 Honors 37 Trans Neighbors Lost

TDOR Transgender Collage

“It may be a sad song but we’re gonna sing it again. I will continue to fight and push for the voices of black transgender women to be uplifted until the day I die. We deserve to be heard, to be loved, and for our very existence to be acknowledged.” —Riah Milton’s sister, Ariel Mary […]

Three Additional Trans and Gender Nonconforming Murders Come to Light Just Before TDOR

A horrifying discovery this night before Trans Day of Remembrance – reports of the violent deaths of three more gender non-conforming and trans neighbors came to light. Thank you to The Advocate for excellent reporting on heartbreaking and tragic stories. Photo of Yunieski Carey Herrera via The Advocate Miami transgender performer and activist Yunieski Carey […]

Facemask Q&A with Dre Cortes and Lex Londino of Bows for Beaux Co.

Queer Masks

No matter where you procure your masks, please wear them properly and stay safe! One important part of the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT is highlighting safe and affirming places for trans and queer folx to purchase masks. In addition to this Q&A series, we maintain a list on the project homepage. This Q&A was crafted to […]

Political LGBTQ&A with Jessica Benham, State Representative Elect PA House District 36

Jessica Benham

I know that many bisexual people and many Autistic people see themselves reflected in me, and that my win gives them hope about the ways they, too, can make a difference in the world. As of this most recent election, Pennsylvania has at least 57 openly LGBTQ individuals holding elected office. In November 2020, we […]

Facebook Wouldn’t Let Me Post this Content About Face Masks for LGBTQ People in My High School Alumni or Similar Groups

Sue Kerr Amy Fiore Garrison

This was originally a FB post I tried to share in several West Mifflin Facebook groups because it involves two West Mifflin alumni (see below.) Facebook rejected it, no matter how much I edited it. This was not the fault of the moderators; they never saw it. Rather than beat my head against the Facebook […]

Facemask Q&A with Stoney Michelli of Stuzo Clothing

Stuzo Clothing Founder Stoney Michelli

We actually created [masks] in 2017 for fashion and function.  We were traveling to many cities and festivals for our pop ups and were susceptible to a lot.  We needed something that would protect from germs and dust.  It had to also include fashion being that half of our faces would be covered.  Over the […]

Ten Years Ago This Weekend, I Voluntarily Committed Myself to a Psychiatric Unit

Forbes Hospital Mental Health

Content Note: mental health, psychiatric hospital I’ve written extensively about my mental health. It has been a lifelong battle that I wasn’t even armed for until I was age 22. And now at age 50, I am uncovering new layers of my story and history that sometimes feel amazing and sometimes, so very sad. In […]

87 Trans Stories From Western Pennsylvania Honor Trans Awareness Week 2020

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. Since 2015, the #AMPLIFY project has curated first person Q&A’s with members of the region’s LGBTQ community. The archive is meant to be a permanent resource to understand […]