Karine Jean-Pierre, First Out Black Queer White House Press Secretary, on Why Representation Matters
Last year, I took a question in the briefing room from a young Black girl who was visiting the White House for “Take Your Child to Work Day.” I [...]
Is Biden Old? Yes. Is Trump Old? Yes. But Only One of These Dudes Is a Fascist
As I write this, it is July 1, 2024. The November election is four short months away. And it seems a lot of people have suddenly realized that President Biden [...]
Christian Nationalist Can’t Decide Who He Hates More: LGBTQ+ People or the Poor
As I write this, it is still Pride Month, a.k.a. June. I spent the day at a Pride event in the city where my wife works as a teacher. It was a very small [...]
The Humble Hippopotamus: Michigan’s Next Pride Symbol?
The animals that represent American political parties are quite the menagerie. Most people know about the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant, but [...]
Michigan Rep. John James Seems to Think Trans Kids Are a Bigger Threat Than Guns
On Saturday, June 15, there were three mass shootings in the Metro Detroit area, where I live. At a house party in Lathrup Village, a gathering in Detroit and [...]
Ron DeSantis Hopes His Freedom Summer Will Outshine Pride Month
Greetings from sunny and fascist Florida!Yes, that’s right. I’m writing this column from the least LGBTQ-friendly state in the nation. My wife, son [...]
From Samantha's HIV Test to Stonewall's First Brick: How LGBTQ+ Individuals Engage with Conspiracy Theories
I’m rewatching “Sex and the City,” and there's so much that's hard to believe: Carrie affording her apartment on a columnist's pay; Samantha [...]
Bye, Felicia: Texas Democrats Choose Love Over Hate in Houston
It’s Pride Month! Cue the rainbow flags, the Pride parades, the guy in the neon green Speedo wearing a leather dog mask, the lesbians with the toddler [...]
To Enact Real Changes for Trans People, We Must Center Trans Voices
There are three stories that have recently passed my desk, each of which are unrelated, but together paint a very descriptive image of what's wrong with the way [...]
As Deeply Unserious As They Seem, Right-Wing Christians Are Not Kidding About the Fascist Part
So much fuckery, so little time.A lot is going on in the world today, and very little of it is very good!First off, polls show disgraced former president Donald [...]
Anti-LGBTQ+ Conspiracist Robert F. Kennedy to Appear on Michigan Ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of slain 1968 Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, has officially qualified for the November ballot in Michigan. Kennedy and [...]
Caitlyn Jenner Blames 'Woke Teachers' for the Existence o Trans Kids
As the old Cyndi Lauper song goes, “Money changes everything.”No matter how many times US Weekly proclaims "stars — they’re just like [...]
Gov. Reeves Tells Transgender Mississippians to Go Cis Themselves
Gov. Tate Reeves and his fellow Republicans want to help the children of Mississippi.This is great news! There are so many choices! So many ways to better the [...]
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Throws Transgender Students to the Wolves
Who trashed it best?
Open Letter to Robert Gruss, Anti-Gay Catholic Bishop and My Neighbor
This story is a response to the Prism & Pen writing prompt, Let’s Write Very Queer Letters to Politicians and Community Leaders!Dear Robert,I hope you [...]
Op-Ed: A Vote for Biden Is a Vote for the LGBTQ+ Community
As a proud LGBTQ+ Michigander, I know there’s only one choice this November to protect our community’s rights and freedoms — and that’s [...]
Right-Wing Extremists Continue Their War on What's Really Hurting Our Kids: Books
Pop quiz time!If you had a dollar for every time a book was banned during the 2023-2024 school year, you would have:$4$40$400$4,000The answer is $4,000, though [...]
Idaho Legislators Continue to Flex Their Muscles, Use Those Muscles Against Trans Youth
The national political and legal landscape for transgender youth in Idaho is… not great!While it should be absolutely appalling that elected leaders in [...]
Tim Walberg: Michigan’s Worst Congressman?
Congressman Tim Walberg, a man with the name and look of a substitute teacher, is an unlikely candidate to grab headlines. Yet after his latest blowup over [...]
Trump Is Old And Tired, But That’s Not What Makes Him Objectively Terrible
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but old people get tired. Which is why disgraced former president Donald Trump fell asleep during day one of his [...]
25 and Out!
I am 52 years old and incredibly corny. As I write this, my final column, I keep hearing television variety show sign-off songs in my head, whether it’s [...]
Re-Remembering Brent Dorian Carpenter: A Writer Who Pushed Boundaries With His Fearless Essays
Over the past two decades, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing my name among the bylines in this paper of some pretty talented writers. I was blessed to win [...]
Lies, Lies — and the Conservatives Who Tell Them in Order to Assert Their Dominance
I know that this is going to come as a shock to everyone, but I have to say it: The folks who want to ban transgender people from public bathrooms and overturn [...]
