Featuring photography by Johnny Silvercloud from the Trump riot
As a publication that prides itself on the broad spectrum of identifies and voices we represent. We thought it time to emulate that across the board. So, come February we will be launching our new newsletter!
Every month we will be spotlighting one person to take over our newsletter for 3 weeks! We are looking for writers, artists and photographers who would like to have their work featured! The content you put out will be entirely up to you!
Perhaps you want to educate us on African Spirituality or life as an Asian American in these current times. Do you want to show us a series of artwork with a coherent theme or, perhaps, critically analyse Bridgerton? …
It’s common for the passage of time to reshape how stories are perceived. Moral progress happens, and suddenly a story gets turned on its head. The good guys were actually bad guys; the bad guys were in fact victims. For example, it’s hard to watch a John Wayne movie today without cringing at both the treatment of the Indians and the antiquated “hero” depiction of Wayne’s character. Similarly, the Knights Templar — or any “heroes” dramatized in stories of the Crusades — are now often seen as bloodthirsty antagonists by modern audiences.
When a complete role reversal occurs over time, it almost always happens with the hero, not the villain. The “bad guys” often switch to be viewed as the victims (as in the case with the Indians in John Wayne movies, or the Muslims in Crusade stories), but not the heroes. If a character is a villain, they are, almost as a rule, given villainous qualities that are inherently unredeemable by any amount of time passing. If an author has any sense of drama whatsoever, they will craft their villains to be conniving, greedy, violent, remorseless, unloving, etc. …
Your reasons do not heal us — but taking responsibility is a start
I placed my parents on a pedestal, big time. Their word was gospel, and I would never dream of defying them. This only resulted in me watching them plunge from the heights in which I had placed them, and brought on a crisis where I’m still trying to claw my way back to being OK with what it really means to be human – by eliminating the idea of perfection.
An over-protective upbringing
I was not like the teenagers in my favorite sitcoms. I didn’t identify with Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, who didn’t seem phased when people called him big ears, when girls turned him down, or when he got caught sneaking in from clubs at 3am. …
Lizzy Talbot explains what an intimacy coordinator does and how the role is revolutionizing the safety of simulated sex on screen.
I recently had the honor of interviewing Elizabeth “Lizzy” Talbot, an intimacy coordinator and intimacy director for both film and stage, respectively. Her latest project, Bridgerton, has taken the world by storm and is projected to become the 5th most-watched Netflix original series. Bridgerton’s highly talked about sex scenes have been on everyone’s mind, but the relatively new role of intimacy coordinator is still largely unknown outside of the industry.
Below is our conversation about her role, challenges, and triumphs.
Why did you make the career change from fight choreography to intimacy director?
What I noticed when working with fight work is that there are so many protocols, rules, and technicalities about what you can do with fights. It’s all quite formulaic. Whereas when you’re working with intimacy, it’s quite different because there weren’t really any rules. It was kind of like a free for all. And you were often resting on the good graces of your partner. That was your safety net. …
A message from our social media manager, Langa
2021 has been a savage straight out of the gate and I’m not sure we're here for it.
Yesterday, in America, things started out kind of good.
TLDR: The Georgia run-off elections nominated the two Democratic candidates, successfully flipping the Republican senate blue and making so much possible for the Biden presidency … if he chooses to like, do anything significant. This also ended the reign of terror of Mitch McConnell as majority leader of the Senate, the sleeper agent in so much of the horrible things accomplished over the past four years.
This major effort was, of course, spearheaded by Black women and radicals — where would we be without their years of work? …
End of year re-cap: optimism is a beautiful creation and not at all cringy
Hello all,
I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday and that you are looking forward to the coming year. Today’s conversation has a lot to do with my binge-watch of Big Mouth. This season dealt on the topic of mental health and my first thought was how lucky the teens of today were to have a show of this calibre. I am 25 and some of the conversations had are things I have only just learnt. The second was about how I totally vibe with Jessi. Grateful toad? Yuk. Especially, discussing the things you are grateful for, however, a year of therapy has softened me and made me realize that optimism is a beautiful creation and not at all cringy. …
Maybe changing his dominant hand was their form of control
When my brother grew up, he was a natural lefty. But you wouldn’t know that now. If you read his handwriting, you’ll see he writes very neatly with his right hand, much neater than I’ll ever write. He does most things with his right hand too — he can lift heavier dumbbells with his right than his left hand.
My brother is a righty now because my parents forced him to become one. He was born in China, and there was bad luck and significant social stigma associated with being a lefty. Above all, they didn’t want my brother having a harder time because he was a lefty. …
Tips and resources from the LGBTQ+ youth homelessness organization on our current political climate
I mean this is the most respectful way possible: I refuse to add to the barrage of blanketly expressed op-ed articles on the domestic terrorism that occurred at our nation’s Capitol on January 6th of this year. Yes, it is absolutely important that we discuss what happened as the many-layered issue that it is. It’s even therapeutically necessary. However, I will not sit here and publish an empty pathos simply stating how horrible that day was.
True Colors United is an organization that implements a wide range of solutions towards addressing the staggering number of homeless youth in our country who are LGBTQ+ identifying. The nonprofit recently released its statement titled, “True Colors United Against Fascism” which not only gives its perspective on the Pro-Trump riot that occurred but included resources and safety tips for the marginalized individuals affected by this tragedy. …
One awkward doctor’s visit and the latest attack by the Trump administration on LGBTQ+ health care
Yesterday, I went to the doctor’s to get a full STI test done.
I’m not proud of it, but I could feel my face go red when I willed myself to ask my doctor about specific testing for anal STIs.
I’m totally comfortable talking to my friends about the sex I’m having, and I even write about it on the internet sometimes, so why did this feel so … off-limits?
As my brain ruminated over that very question on the walk home from the scene of the crime (AKA my doctor’s office), I wondered if other LGBTQ+ people ever felt this way.
When it comes to sexual health, are queer people getting the medical attention we deserve?
All I could think was that if my High School Sex Ed classes were indicative at all of how we treat LGBTQ+ sexual health, then we’re in serious trouble. …
Our arrogance is killing us
Yesterday a friend shared a post about how spoiled Americans are. “We live in the greatest country on earth,” he said. According to him, all we have to do is put our petty differences behind us and recognize how good everyone has it, especially compared to other countries.
Wow. Really?
That post came just before I received an email saying my vaccination appointment had been postponed indefinitely. Yep, despite being classified as an “essential worker,” vaccine shortages mean I have no idea when I’ll actually get one. I’m not even sad or disappointed.
I was expecting it.
Meanwhile, you know who’s not having problems with vaccine rollout? Israel. They’ve vaccinated 20 percent of their population. …
