That Time (almost) No One Came to my High School Graduation Party

On Wednesday, May 25, 1988, I received my diploma from West Mifflin Area High School, a blue-collar suburb of Pittsburgh. A few weeks later, my parents had a graduation party for me as thousands of parents had done before. We had lots of food, tons of canned pop, and almost no guests. I don’t have […]

Sundays in the Cemeteries of Pittsburgh

We’ve been pondering how to get outside, meander, and get a change of scenery. Our solution – visit cemeteries. I decided to map out cemeteries where our ancestors and extended family are buried. Our first trip was to St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Lawrenceville. We found the graves of two of my third great-grandmothers, Mary […]

Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears of Portland is latest Black Trans Woman Violently Killed

Her name was Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears. She was 34 years old when she was stabbed to death while attending a vigil in Portland on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. From Out.com According to police, Rhone-Spears was in attendance at the vigil near the 15800 block of Southeast Division which later moved to a home in the […]

Day 135 of the Quarantine

Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

There’s nothing particularly notable about 135 days or about 4.3 months. Four months made up a semester, give or take. It is longer than a season by one month. It is almost half a human pregnancy. The typical duration of Kennywood being open. It is the length of time it took for 4.59+ million Americans […]

Trans and Queer Mask Project Approved for Crowdfund Match Through Elsie H. Hillman Foundation – Please Donate

Where to get face masks in Pittsburgh

The quick summary – our project is part of a crowdfund appeal with a 100% match. Every dollar you contribute is immediately matched, thanks to the Elsie H. Hillman Foundation support of Pittsburgh based COVID-19 projects. Please go donate right now and come back to read the post. This project has been funded by love […]

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 […]

32-Year-Old Black Trans Woman Tiffany Harris Fatally Stabbed in New York City

She was 32-years-old, a Bronx resident, and a Black trans woman who became the latest victim of the epidemic of violence the trans community experiences. She was stabbed multiple times in the chest about 1:35 a.m. Sunday during a confrontation inside the third-floor hallway of an apartment building on Jerome Ave. near W. 192nd St. […]

22-Year-Old Black Trans Woman Queasha D. Hardy Shot to Death in Baton Rouge

Queasha D. Hardy

Her name was Queasha Hardy. She was a 24-year-old Black trans woman who became the latest fatality in the epidemic of transphobic violence. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she appears to have many friends and loved ones who are grieving her death.  Her Instagram feed is filled with images of women whose hair […]

Q&A with Pgh City Paper Editor-in-Chief About the ‘Best of Pittsburgh’ Reader’s Poll: Pandemic Edition

Lisa Cunningham Pittsburgh City Paper

I am not being coy or exaggerating when I say that being voted “Best Local Blogger” in the Pittsburgh City Paper Reader’s Poll in 2016 was transformative for me. It was the first year for the category and I had no idea I had even been nominated. I accused the City paper staffer who called […]

Q&A With Emily Skopov, Candidate for State House District 28

Emily Skopov

  We are revisiting our Political Q&A series for the upcoming elections of 2020. We’ve reached out to candidates who are pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ, asking them a series of questions about their campaigns. We’ve sent out about a dozen Q&A’s to folks and encourage you to suggest others. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any […]