By Christian Matheis (November 14, 2016) In the 19th and 20th century, when the U.S. was formally, legally segregated under Jim Crow laws, regressives cried “freedom! liberty!” in order to paint a false moral picture of their ill-gotten, mean-spirited grip on political and economic power. When activists responded with efforts to desegregate, those who opposed civil rights often…
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By Chris Crass (June 16, 2016) I remember the hurt of feeling my male friends pull their hand out of mine, as we walked in public. And I remember why they did, as people yelled homophobic slurs and gave us looks of disgust. I remember how much anger, threats of violence, and slurs, my public, beautiful, defiant, high school love,…
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By Phoenix Calida (June 15, 2016) Final thoughts on the Pulse shooting- Something has been bothering me, and I couldn’t land on it until just now. I realize it was the lie. That’s what’s hurting the most right now. The lie from the bigots in their own closet. The bigots who are out. The bigots who pretended they weren’t bigots…
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By Mark Naison (June 14, 2016) I just received this letter from a former student living in Brazil who came out shortly after he graduated.. I needed to share it here because of its powerful message: Hey Doc, I wanted to reach out to you about what happened in Orlando. I’ve been shaken by this in a way that I’m…
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By Chelsea Whitlow Shay (October 8, 2015) Several weekends ago I worked the Corvallis Fall Festival, something I do every year to raise money for a youth group I work with. Each year I work several festivals, all of which use porta potties. The Corvallis Fall Festival is the only one where I’ve seen gender specific porta potties. I don’t…
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By Chris Crass (August 20, 2015) “What shoes do you want to wear to school?” River responded, “The kids at school said I can’t wear my Elsa (Frozen) shoes, because I’m a boy and they said they are girl shoes.”
By Alex S. Morgan (June 26, 2015) This is progress worth celebrating. It doesn’t stop here, and there is so much left to do, especially for LGBT folks who have been multiply marginalized: sex workers, immigrants, folks with complex health needs, the incarcerated, and queer and trans people of color, but celebrating these milestone victories gives us the momentum to…
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By Alex S. Morgan We usually think of dissociation as a coping skill or adaptive behavior associated with trauma, anxiety, and/or sometimes distress related to gender dysphoria, but in reality many people are partially mentally or emotionally checked out, or not fully present in their bodies, during sexual and intimate activities.
By Chelsea Whitlow Shay Clothing has long been used to regulate culture and express ones social standing. Whether it’s women wearing corset dresses, a staple in women’s fashion from the 16th -18th centuries, or businessmen wearing two button verse three button suits to the office, clothing is often used as a visual marker of belonging or as a sign…
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By Phoenix Calida Let’s discuss opposites. Slut. a word that is applied to women to degrade them. It can be based actual sexuality that defies puritanical patriarchy, assumed promiscuity, rumors, or clothing choices. Women have been shamed, ostracized, and kicked out of social circles for being slut shamed. What is the male equivalent of this term?
By Phoenix Calida When a group higher up the social ladder tells a another group what is appropriate to complain about, there’s a something disturbing happening.