AMPLIFY! Donna Met a Female Impersonator Who Made a Lasting Impression

Donna Transgender Pittsburgh

  AMPLIFY LGBTQ is a new occasional series of blog posts designed to give a “signal boost” to the voices of our LGBTQ neighbors throughout Western Pennsylvania. We are using a Q&A format and will mostly avoid editing their responses. The questions, however, may change as we ask each participant to tell us what we’ve […]

My Therapist is a Nun

Persad Center

For ten years, I saw the same therapist, “D,” here in Pittsburgh. I was referred to her by my then-PCP because she was in a unique practice specializing in treating my diagnosis. The psychiatrist in the practice moved out-of-state after a few years, but I stayed with her. She was a tremendous support to me […]

Being Seen While Creating Art for Change!

Laura Dunhoff Sue Kerr

Here’s a cute anecdote. Way back in 2004, Ledcat and I attended a gala event for the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force thanks to complimentary tickets. We don’t normally attend gala anything because they are way out of our budget range. So we toodled down to the O’Reilly Theater and were mingling with the fine folks […]

Washington County High School Students Stage ‘Anti-Gay’ Protests

anti-gay day

Students in a Washington County school are attempting to harass and intimidate their LGBTQ peers with what seems to be a coordinated “anti-gay” activities, including wearing coordinated clothing and targeting the lockers of LGBTQ students. A group of students allegedly spread the news that if they were “anti-gay,” they were to wear a flannel shirt […]

The Advice I Wish Someone Had Offered

Good Advice

9:45 PM on a Friday night is a good time to post something that is really more for me than anyone else. I’ve had a lot of writer’s block this week – more like a stranglehold on my throat that prevents words from leaving my body in any form. I can think, but I cannot […]

LGBTQ Liberation and Equality in Pittsburgh

Laverne Cox Pittsburgh

The road to equality and/or liberation is bumpy. I use the term “equality and/or liberation” because the juxtaposition of those goals (destinations?) indicates one significant reason for the bumpiness. Indiana and Arkansas happened this week. A lot of my friends (including me) tried to figure out the nuances of RFRA laws, something that only became […]

This Is Spring Depression

Depression Anxiety

March has been a pretty good month in our household. The critters are all doing well in terms of their health and quality of life, something that we value with 3 very elderly animals. We’ve had some fun and exciting experiences socially. Both of our work lives have been fine. I heard that a grant […]

Bring Andre Gray Home: A Gay Black Man Disappears in Pittsburgh

On October 23, 2014, Andre Gray disappeared. Andre is a 34 year-old gay black man with a loving family and a circle of friends who miss him dearly. He is more familiarly known as Dre or Pok’ie, nicknames and endearments that remind us that Andre is more than a missing gay black man – he […]

Please Help Search for Andre Gray This Saturday Feb 7 on the North Side

Andre Gray

Andre Gray has been missing since late October. As I’ve written before, Andre is a member of the local LGBTQ community. This Saturday his family and friends are asking you to join them in a search for information on his whereabouts. They will be canvassing the Spring Garden neighborhood (North Side) where his car was […]

Another QTPOC Murder Underscores Epidemic of Violence

Transgender Candle

I saw a tweet when I slipped into my car after some grocery shopping. It was impossible, I thought to myself, that another transgender sibling was dead. Not again. I just wrote about two trans sisters who had been murdered as well as the murder of a lesbian and the death of a 51 year […]