Gay men get down in a variety of ways, so if you’re not a top, bottom or vers, then maybe you’re a “side.” The term was coined right here in Michigan, by Royal Oak psychotherapist [...]
The Ringwald Theatre, now operating inside Affirmations LGBTQ+ community center in Ferndale, has unveiled a new mural by local artist detroit_baklava, aka Brian Lacey. The mural, which is untitled and measures 20-by-12 feet, now resides [...]
The 2022 summer music scene will seem practically normal this year after a long, lonely, pandemic-induced drought. You’ll find plenty of opportunities to enjoy some live tunes close to home this year, but why not [...]
Affirmations LGBTQ+ community center in Ferndale welcomed a crowd of over 250 to their annual Wine Party — the first since the pandemic — on Saturday, April 30. The party raised a total of $31,000 [...]
The White House announced Thursday that Karine Jean-Pierre has been promoted to be Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary. Jean-Pierre will replace current Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who will depart from the [...]
Lambda Literary Award-winning author and Pleasant Ridge resident Frank Anthony Polito has a new book out this month. “Renovated to Death,” billed as the first in a new series, will be released May 31 (Kensington [...]
Dancing on our own. Listening to "Chromatica" on repeat. Watching "Drag Race." Who doesn't love those gay days? But riding on all the biggest roller coasters under a flurry of colored light with all queers [...]
Last spring, a bill was introduced in the Michigan State Senate that would ban transgender students from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. Now, with the same goal in mind, [...]
Chances are “magic mushrooms” won’t be available at local pharmacies anytime soon. But if their inclusion in the medical resource WebMD is any indication, the movement to decriminalize what are formally known as entheogenic plants [...]
Ah, May. With Winter (finally) in the rearview, it’s time to bust out of hibernation and get with the getting on. Here’s a wide range of ideas, including a few you can do from your [...]
Chicago-based artist Nancy Rosen, the creative force behind Lily Tomlin’s Frankie on Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie,” has watched with glee as the show, popular with LGBTQ+ audiences, has exposed her artwork to the world. Frankie [...]
Ferndale Pride has just announced details for its 2022 Pride celebration, set for Saturday, June 4, including an exciting entertainment lineup and several unique opportunities to join in the fun. For a second time, Flint [...]
The one and only Lil Nas X has announced his first tour. The “Long Live Montero” tour will kick off Tuesday, Sept. 6 in Detroit at The Fillmore. Tickets are on sale now. Lil Nas [...]
For Marissa Klee-Peregon, 27, Nimblewill Cooperative in Kalamazoo is a space where she can practice interdependence, instead of independence. A cooperative home, or “co-op,” which centers the experiences of queer and trans people, Nimblewill, Klee-Peregon [...]
You’ve heard of a bed-and-breakfast. But have you ever heard of a bud-and-breakfast? Copper House is, holistically speaking, an oasis in the middle of northwest Detroit for the conscious cannabis consumer. And if you need [...]
The city of Detroit comprises six percent of Michigan’s population, but 31 percent of the state’s reported cases of HIV infection, according to 2020 data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. And [...]
By Zachary Jarrell for Washington Blade In May 2021, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) officially announced the worst year for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent history. At the time, state lawmakers had introduced over 250 bills [...]
Mattea Roach, the 23-year-old Toronto-based tutor, has emerged from the shadows of trans “Jeopardy!” Champion Amy Schneider and suddenly found herself in the midst of her own incredible winning streak. Roach, who identifies as lesbian [...]
It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of April and rounding the corner for May already, but here we are! As you fill in your busy spring calendar, be sure to include our suggested [...]
There is a lot to be gleaned from the new Jeffrey Montgomery documentary “America, You Kill Me.” Viewers learn of his early days, the death of his lover, the creation of the Detroit-based Triangle Foundation [...]
Former State Rep. Jon Hoadley, appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve on the board of Western Michigan University, was denied that opportunity by the Republican-controlled Michigan Senate in what opponents say amounts to homophobia. [...]
It’s that time of year again — and let’s just hope that this summer there's no surge and the only masks we see are feathered and bedazzled. For the first time since 2020, the state’s [...]
As Jerry Peterson resigns his position as executive director of the Ruth Ellis Center (REC) after nearly a decade, he speaks of leaving Detroit, the city he has called home for the past nine years, [...]
For queer audiences, the rich symbology of cars and road films — along with their enduring outsider associations — has made them tantalizing objects to re-interpret through a queer lens. Evoking ideas of mobility, rebellion [...]
There’s just something about a road trip. You might be venturing out in the same car you use for your daily commute and boring errands, but on a road trip, your whip transforms into a [...]
April showers may block some much-needed vitamin D, but thanks to a springtime influx of social events, your internal sunshine is sure to shine through. So, live it up, whether you decide on a star-studded [...]
Chaya Milchtein, aka Mechanic Shop Femme, is just as comfortable talking about lubricating cars as she is talking about lubricating sex toys. The automotive educator, journalist and empowerment speaker uses her platform to teach folks [...]
The CDC has awarded a $2 million grant — the total amount for five years — focused on HIV prevention to Community Health Awareness Group (CHAG). The grant will go toward implementing a high-impact project [...]
The Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) held its Spring Endorsement Convention Saturday at Huntington Place in Detroit and left no doubt that Attorney General Dana Nessel tops the list of candidates who most impact the state’s [...]
“America, You Kill Me,” a new documentary about Michigan LGBTQ+ activist Jeffrey Montgomery, is making its long-awaited world premiere as part of this year’s Freep Film Festival in Detroit. The film was first scheduled to [...]
With Thursday’s historic confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), many in the LGBTQ+ community are left to wonder how, and even if, it will [...]
As YouTube, social media, and self-released music platform Bandcamp grew in popularity, musicians could create music and garner followings from their own bedrooms: hence “bedroom pop” was born, and so was the career of UK-born, [...]
My Screen Time notifications are set to Sundays, and they'll usually pop up on my iPhone with a chipper little buzz while I'm eating a late breakfast or, if I'm feeling industrious that morning, an [...]
While the stereotype that waiters and bartenders are commonly gay persists, evidence that LGBTQ+ individuals are overrepresented in the restaurant industry is lacking. Still, it stands to reason that LGBTQ+ people in Michigan’s service industry [...]
Disney’s donations to anti-LGBTQ+ candidates supporting the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida and their botched response to the bill have sparked protest and outrage among their supporters and workers. Also concerning? The company’s historical [...]
Twenty-two years ago, Amanda and Kay Shelton faced discrimination when they were shopping for a venue for their commitment ceremony. Then they traveled over 700 miles to see the one retired judge in South Carolina [...]
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he was appointing Andi Mudryk to the bench. The appointment makes Mudryk, 58, the first trans person to be appointed to the bench in California. Mudryk also becomes [...]
In the weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked attack, much of the country’s architecture sits in smoldering ruins and thousands of citizens and soldiers have died. To date, more than three million people [...]
During this post-COVID era, take some time out of your busy schedule to experience life again and let down your hair. Take in an in-person opera, network at a mixer or expand your small business [...]
Michigan’s out and proud Attorney General Dana Nessel is in the news once again. This time, it’s for calling her Texas counterpart, AG Ken Paxton, a “walking hate crime.” Nessel used those choice words to [...]
By Andrew Roth, Michigan Advance A Republican candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives announced that, if elected, he would introduce legislation modeled on a Florida measure known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Jon [...]
TD Charitable Foundation (TDCF), the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, has awarded the Ruth Ellis Center (REC) a $250,000 Housing for Everyone grant to help support the Center’s continuum of affordable supportive housing options [...]
Without looking at the date on the calendar, it wouldn’t be hard to know it’s election season from the number of solicitations from candidates and related groups cluttering inboxes everywhere. But before deciding whether or [...]
By Amy Brainer and Naja Nile Naja Nile is a sophomore at the University of Michigan-Dearborn majoring in Women’s & Gender Studies with a certificate in LGBTQ+ Studies. Amy Brainer is an associate professor at [...]
Theater lovers, get out your calendars. Live entertainment is back in full swing at Ferndale’s The Ringwald Theatre, which will feature all-new shows, a musical and a holiday performance during its 2022/2023 season. Since moving [...]
Openly bisexual Michigan State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D – Livonia) spoke out against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill in a series of tweets on Friday. “Let’s have a serious talk about the Don’t Say [...]
March is that time of year when the world seems to come alive again after those long, cold winter months. Not only is spring on the way, but March is designated as Women’s History Month [...]
One of this year’s virtual displays during LGBT Detroit’s Cold as Hell event, which was titled “Dungeons in Detroit,” featured a self-guided pleasure demonstration with helpful tips that popped up on the screen during a [...]
CHICAGO – Cook County Judge James Linn sentenced actor Jussie Smollett to 30 months of probation and 150 days in jail for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that he staged. Linn also [...]
It's official: Motor City Pride (MCP) is making a June comeback! This summer, MCP will take place Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and 12, returning to June Pride Month for the first time since 2019. [...]
