Prism & Pen

An online journal of compelling LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Calling on all readers and writers with LGBTQ+ flair to join us on
https://medium.com/prismnpen
#LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #2SLGBTQ #2SLGBTQIA #Queer #QueerWriters #Writing #Storytelling

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prismnpen_at_stranger.social@mostr.pub

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Last Notes

2025-01-21 14:12:00

As a #gay man and a therapist specializing in #LGBTQ+ mental health, I’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact of these harmful narratives.
This isn’t just about online discourse; it’s about real-world consequences.
https://buff.ly/3Wto5SO
#SocialMedia #Meta #Facebook #MentalHealth

2025-01-13 14:07:02

We are not mentally ill because we are queer or trans. Nor are we queer or trans because we are mentally ill.
https://buff.ly/3Pvw9i6
#LGBTQ #MentalHealth #Meta #Facebook #MarkZuckerberg

2024-11-29 14:17:01

The roots of #transphobia lie in a lack of true understanding of #transgender people, gender dysphoria, and transitioning in general.
https://buff.ly/415KGbr
#LGBTQ #Politics #Feminism #Culture

2024-10-20 14:06:01

Queer history is important because for so many generations there was no history recorded. Yet, we gays have always been here. Sometimes relegated to the shadows. Sometimes persecuted and killed. Often sidelined.
https://buff.ly/3UhQw54
#LGBTQ #QueerHistory #Memoir #AIDS #California

2024-09-29 14:06:00

Lise Merle is endorsed by the Regina Civic Awareness and Action Network (RCAAN), a local political action group that “opposes diversity, inclusion and pro-2SLGBTQ+ initiatives in schools,” according to the CBC.
https://buff.ly/4elgRXT
#LGBTQ #Canada #PublicSchools #Elections #Vote

2024-08-17 14:25:01

Don’t tell me you’re sorry when you find out my kid is trans.
“Sorry” is something you say when someone has died. My child isn’t dead, he’s right here, still the same bright, bold, beautiful person he’s always been.
https://buff.ly/3yQkKEM
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Parenting #Family

2024-07-22 15:23:01

A minister asked where she was going and what she was doing. Stone told him she was delivering food to a sick friend, to which he replied, “you’re not just delivering food… you’re delivering God’s love.”
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-queer-roots-of-new-yorks-life-saving-food-charity-54381324ef26?sk=a2fd57db9401e5f438a50d7f7a4053a5
#LGBTQ #Charity #HIV #AIDS #HealthCare #Food

2024-06-23 14:12:01

#LGBTQ people have been here since mammals sprouted a branch on the evolutionary tree. Probably before. For the most part, we have been integrated, ignored, or treated with benign neglect; basically, we weren’t worth the trouble of a pogrom.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/a-gay-pride-litmus-test-we-are-the-rainbow-canaries-f6f45430c7d8?sk=7b314da7f2b9905baa0b4f8a9ba3473e
#SocialJustice #Freedom #Equality

2024-05-31 14:51:01

Artists use their chosen medium to create stories to connect us all. Connection helps us to understand one another, so we can break through division and hate.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/art-vehicle-combat-lgbtqia-hate-discrimination-97818fe7812b?sk=a2fb7a5774825151791ed973cf652ae4
#LGBTQ #Art #Artists #Charity #Pride

2024-05-27 14:12:01

Sexuality became art in the 1970s. The time before the AIDS epidemic transformed from a secret closeted world of gays and lesbians throughout American society to a rebellion against oppression.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/handlebar-mustaches-leather-vests-and-captains-caps-gay-70-s-influencers-945028fea4aa?sk=062ab769e616bdd4122f2d6bf2d2836a
#LGBTQ #History #QueerHistory #Art #Photography #Influencers

2024-05-26 14:12:01

“But, we get you, Rand,” my straight friend persists, in defense of folks in this small, coastal town. “We understand you!”
https://medium.com/prismnpen/no-my-straight-friends-you-don-know-me-like-that-234efdd5213e?sk=b33d57d13b123a31bdd928d2c76f4482
#LGBTQ #Queer #Gay #Friendship #Community #Change

2024-05-15 14:28:01

Thanks to the good folks at QueerAF, the UK has just celebrated its first ever Trans+ History Week, which runs from 6–12 May.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/3-historical-figures-trans-history-important-ac6c3ba7bcd2?sk=ae7facd0e5bb8409892db5d175562369
#LGBTQ #Transgender #QueerHistory #Feminism #History #Politics

2024-05-04 15:23:01

I’m writing this after living more than fifty years surrounded by your anger and then your disgust about the person I have become.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/a-letter-to-my-homophobic-brother-in-law-7da8a3eae439?sk=30697334bb216b604bc1cd774ac78307
#LGBTQ #OpenLetter #Family #ComingOut #Homophobia #Rejection

2024-05-02 14:06:00

A new study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) conducted by researchers at Brighton University, UK, is among the first to systematically compare #cisgender and #transgender athletes under lab conditions.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/olympic-study-challenges-assumption-trans-women-have-male-advantage-a134b42c3bae?sk=8af56f4f7e9ed72dc3d3c10ce061906d
#LGBTQ #Sports #Science

2024-04-04 14:25:01

It’s interesting (and funny!) to wonder about all the things one has forgotten if only because one cannot remember. Where do those memories go? Is there a Land of Forgotten Remembrances?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/my-gay-history-asks-me-to-think-about-writing-and-forgetting-5a4863cad5ec?sk=9edb80faf3fbb4bd5159d3ab9a6ecd83
#LGBTQ #Aging #Memory #History

2024-03-28 15:00:03

I come from a different time and place, from before much information or acceptance of the #LGBTQ community existed. Before the internet, the only information about us came through derogatory and salacious stories that made the evening news or the morning papers.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/i-was-a-witness-to-our-queer-history-for-better-or-worse-9836d45adf1f?sk=c7713f01c828b28bae5980eb19f3b8a6
#Canada #History

2024-03-12 20:31:46

Have you heard the news out of #Florida? A press release from #LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida knocked me breathless yesterday. I stay well plugged into news (and gossip) from the queer-advocacy world, but this very positive news did not leak in advance, which made it all the more welcome.
https://buff.ly/3TcTh6p
#USPolitics #GoodNews #Education #Schools #Family

2024-03-11 15:01:29

Follow me down my yellow brick road, as I explain to you that there was one tiny little moment in this film with cosmic significance, import, and meaning. A big bang moment that expresses and illustrates not only my personal experience of queerness, but also my relatively newfound spirituality and understanding of the cosmos, our place in it, and our brilliant future yet to come.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/somewhere-over-the-technicolor-queer-rainbow-f59e7cea0a7b?sk=c2acc37cc2d6da403c35387d42afef87
#LGBTQ #WizardOfOz #Film #Movies

2024-03-10 14:12:00

Let’s cut the crap — science has a neutrality problem. You’ve heard it before, this idea that science is somehow above politics and social influence. That’s a farce. #Science has never been a separate entity that floats above the political and social climate. It’s been embedded in it, sometimes suffocating under it.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/spotlighting-the-queer-unseen-17df0add05e0?sk=82f8cb946b40811cabb1f559c26d9c1a
#LGBTQ #Innovation #Research

2024-02-03 15:23:01

Who comes to mind when you think of the #queer rights movement? Harvey Milk? Larry Kramer? An army of predominantly male figures, right?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/overlooked-sheroes-in-queer-rights-6698e2446df9?sk=afc5de8e3fb4b8d4f09991a0ffd03a71
#LGBTQ #Feminism #History #Activism #Diversity

2023-10-18 20:54:09

Life is getting scary violent for #LGBTQ people lately.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/anti-lgbtq-thugs-beat-up-college-professor-we-really-need-to-talk-42f255fc511f?sk=02df422e43b2be26315801d550284afc
#Extremism #USPolitics #CdnPoli #Violence #Hate

2023-08-07 15:23:01

"Did we make it clear yesterday that we are going to move to take custody of Bec and that if you want anything to do with that you need to be here at 9 am?"
https://medium.com/prismnpen/social-services-weaponized-our-queerness-to-seize-our-child-8fbb753496f0?sk=a7429cd1725b81dc0eb66da5dc77e5df
#LGBTQ #Transgender #MentalHealth #Parenting

2023-07-28 15:39:52

My late husband Gregory and I got Emma and Gigi close to eleven years ago. Gregory got to enjoy them for close to two years before having to move to a memory care facility due to his dementia.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/my-cat-gigi-might-be-a-lesbian-540233ca5867?sk=c0e1c62801bdee63f400bd9c91ee5afe
#LGBTQ #Pets #Cats #Lesbian #Life

2023-07-27 13:50:00

People on the right have tried to stir up controversy surrounding self-id for a long time, claiming that self-id poses a threat to women, which is clearly not the case.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-unending-transphobia-of-u-k-labour-leader-keir-starmer-2f0b34a12acb?sk=149d356cde9b7a0094636d0ff0e831a0
#LGBTQ #Transgender #UKPolitics #SelfID #KeirStarmer

2023-07-26 16:42:38

It looks like people all across the Right are internalizing Trump’s violent values. Is this the new normal? Is violence against children our new political reality? Violence by mothers who claim to stand for liberty?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/moms-for-liberty-kick-drag-bruise-three-kids-with-rainbow-flag-8677a64f3a0b?sk=e1b4641351614af6ea4bf76a896edd94
#LGBTQ #moms4liberty #Education #USPolitics #Transgender

2023-07-25 13:57:05

Mistruths matter, hate grows as a result, misguided policies are created, and an ugly social spiral follows.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/identifying-gender-propaganda-it-matters-1af0fac97022?sk=bfbbf0898013f85af1999660b84a60ce
#LGBTQ #Debate #Propaganda #Tolerance #Equality

2023-07-20 14:17:01

I could not forget that most, if not all, of the people around me would condemn me if they knew. They would see me as someone to fix at the best, or an enemy at the worst. I felt like a spy, like an undercover operative.
I worshiped anyway.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/a-queer-christians-defiant-worship-in-an-anti-lgbtq-church-ea3d2259c092?sk=7feab2603f47128f238b568628cdea04
#LGBTQ #QueerChristian #Christianity #Church #Difference #Complexity

2023-07-20 14:12:01

As the trans community has been warning for some time now, the fight against trans rights is something that is inevitably going to come for the rest of the queer community.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/transphobes-rejoice-as-italy-strips-lesbians-of-parental-rights-e28f1cd96281?sk=c5fcd24ee4831f58efc470f1b4598c27
#LGBTQ #QueerRights #LGBTQRights #Italy #Transgender #Politics #HumanRights

2023-07-20 14:06:02

Feeling like a fake or an imposter is a common human condition. But for Daniel Tiger, it is more about his core essence. It is about who and what he is, and if his very existence is valid!
https://medium.com/prismnpen/a-song-by-mr-rogers-tiger-fits-me-as-trans-to-a-t-cecd18a5b699?sk=4b41ecd9635f40b9a3fccb6ad0341a23
#LGBTQ #Transgender #MrRogers #SelfAwareness #Identity

2023-07-20 14:04:03

My doctor drones on about how my brain is more like that of a football player or a boxer than an ordinary 30 something human but I am barely listening… I am lost in rage more than a decade old…
https://medium.com/prismnpen/i-passed-through-the-darkness-to-find-queer-joy-14415a7ffde5
#LGBTQ #Memoir #DomesticViolence #Transgender #BrainInjury

2023-07-19 14:12:22

They call me evil, sin, obscenity;
They fear and threaten my identity;
They suppose that I can pray away the gay;
I worship anyway.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/i-worship-anyway-a-queer-christian-poem-e0355d383fe7?sk=9acfb83f9828750d8e5584ff0b036ea2
#LGBTQ #Poetry #QueerChristian #Kyrielle #Worship

2023-07-19 14:06:01

I was in heaven when my elementary school classmates and I had ‘reading zone’ — meaning we could come to school in our PJs, find a comfy spot somewhere in the classroom, and spend the entire day lost in stories.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/diverse-pages-celebrating-6-must-read-lgbtq-books-157985553791?sk=5a5f3703ffa6514f3fd49074179bcfe2
#LGBTQ #Books #Reading #Literature #QueerBooks

2023-07-19 14:03:41

“Hey, what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Jevan asked.
“I’m sorry. So much has happened over the past couple of days.” Ardyn made his way to the replicator.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-regroup-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-b4caab1f5877?sk=be612175f83daff352670c323384e27b
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-18 14:12:03

If somebody had asked me before yesterday if Pontiac is the kind of place where a gay transgender man could be shot with a powerful pellet gun and taunted with slurs — while he’s out buying groceries in his powered wheelchair — I would have said no … no way, no how.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/michigan-trans-man-shot-in-his-wheelchair-called-tr-nny-f-ggot-ad4bb52ab59?sk=61d8b048e1814c79d669cf7875865c72
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Michigan #Terrorism

2023-07-18 14:06:01

Recently, I was watching a segment from The Majority Report’s Emma Vigeland’s recent appearance on Tim Pool’s podcast, where a really quite telling discussion took place.
mma pointed out how every medical organization worth its salt agrees with the fact that gender-affirming care is beneficial and should be legal for trans people to pursue. Tim gave a rather terrible response to this.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-rights-pseudoscientific-opposition-to-gender-affirming-care-356479418147?sk=554eb4bb34845083988a23f5f622e9d6
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Politics #HealthCare #Science

2023-07-18 14:04:24

Many a child has been conceived in the cabin, but that will likely not happen now since all of the couples in this story are same-sex partners. Let me describe the cabin to you.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/fiction-a-dream-visit-to-our-gay-friendly-cabin-a2d2b2fb9b2a?sk=6654bfcff2729023470b38a5a612106d
#LGBTQ #Fiction #Gay #Dreams #Memories

2023-07-17 14:17:02

When Phaeton was out of earshot, Revi asked, “Ana, are you sure about this? The stakes are high here.”
Anastasia shot him a disdainful look. “Aren’t you in league with Phaeton? Why are you bringing up doubts about his scheme now?”
https://medium.com/prismnpen/a-new-terror-anastasia-the-nonbinary-dragon-b7a4bb8b5f76?sk=36211e6a8a9492a9a267b90322232371
#LGBTQ #Fiction #Fantasy #Transgender #Nonbinary

2023-07-17 14:12:02

“There were rumblings of discontent,” Keryth admitted. “Based on the historical records, most of the population was happy the war was over. However, there were small, but vocal groups within the Baaru’dak that had wanted to see all the Aria’asharra executed as war criminals.”
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-maaradahl-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-34cd52b7c279?sk=e0359a76c4c17c488a17cbe29573b278
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-17 14:06:00

In this special edition, I bring you a handful of #LGBTQ articles that show the cruelness and niceness of people regarding this world-wide community and now, in this special episode, I bring you an actual interview with a noted activist and writer for Prism & Pen.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/a-special-edition-of-an-crann-bethadh-podcast-5f758fea87ee?sk=a4f254be104e911309477970403c2fe3
#Podcast #Interview #SpecialEdition

2023-07-16 22:42:29

Prism & Pen writers are focusing on obstacles for the next couple weeks — and I think daring to come out to a father raised in a deeply homophobic culture is about as brave an overcoming as possible. How about transforming trans shame into trans joy or celebrating the beauty of weird?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/queer-writers-overcome-obstacles-share-history-and-joy-ba6a35623f1c
#LGBTQ #Digest #Queer #Storytelling #Overcoming

2023-07-16 14:01:01

Alinsky himself was an unabashedly leftist radical, organizing efforts in communities to respond to all sorts of unfairness. I wonder how he would have reacted to radicals on the conservative right, like the Tea Party during the Bush II years, appropriating his methods to do exactly the opposite — to perpetuate inequity in our society.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/better-call-saul-for-lgbtqia-rights-on-rules-for-radicals-1525f1652e47
#LGBTQ #SaulAlinsky #ActUp

2023-07-16 13:46:02

This isn’t a complicated story. This isn’t a new story. But this is a story I can never tell too many times because there are people out there who still just don’t get it. You see,“leaders” like Ron DeSantis, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greg Abbott, Mike Pence, and so many others want to create a world like the world I grew up in, only worse.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/from-cis-shame-to-trans-joy-cc2c5e271174?sk=b68f2f0949481ac6c715b13895ab9183
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Memoir #HumanRights

2023-07-16 13:41:01

First, I haven’t overcome it, and so I likely will not choose to attend my 50th high school reunion next summer.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/pronounced-sickness-im-not-gay-but-i-danced-with-another-man-dc84be4b0d9f?sk=c8c94260ae60402a64acfe75a4dd10c1
#LGBTQ #Gay #MentalHealth #Equality

2023-07-16 13:35:44

I am a heteroromantic #demisexual. To most, I am indistinguishable from any other straight guy. But I am not straight, and even being straight passing comes with obstacles.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/not-queer-enough-and-other-obstacles-of-a-hetero-attracted-demisexual-5edae7b85bd1?sk=d038c08253f6876066da107779935ec5
#LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Demisexuality #Queer

2023-07-15 15:43:20

Having already spent several years secretly living as a gay woman, my father was the last member of my family I came out to. Partly strategically, and partly because I was just too fearful of telling him — unsure of how he might take the news.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/illegal-homosexuality-nigeria-b5e901ee08e0
#LGBTQ #Nigeria #ComingOut #Fear

2023-07-15 15:28:00

I used to enter the same short sentence in every new online profile I created as my bio: “I am not normal.” In four words, I was waving my freak flag long before I called myself queer.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/i-am-weird-i-am-peculiar-i-am-a-freak-i-am-queer-e1cd0cc3cba7?sk=d07f8f3637539ed6125f343ec8179f42
#LGBTQ #Queer #Weird #Normal

2023-07-15 15:26:00

Once in a while your stupidity tolerance filter is shot or the level of stupidity is at such a colossal level that you have to answer sarcastically, which is totally lost on the person anyway because they really are that stupid.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/why-are-you-left-handed-stupid-questions-and-trans-life-today-f86f1d4af4da?sk=62a95cb6915ae3f2e124aedf5e47dd1d
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Society #Hope

2023-07-15 15:23:01

When I received the diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, now known as Gender Dysphoria, I became aware of the obstacles and potential difficulties that would accompany my transition. I anticipated facing mockery, ridicule, and being misgendered, which made the journey ahead seem daunting. I even developed agoraphobia, confining myself to my home out of fear of other’s perceptions.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/transcending-fear-empowering-trans-people-to-embrace-growth-8447ee195021?sk=fc4b99c4301208b18cfc6170e6a0a436
#LGBTQ #Transgender #MentalHealth #PersonalGrowth

2023-07-14 14:17:01

What I find about David and his allyship with the #LGBTQ community is that it is genuine. It’s not just something that he dons once a year for Pride Month and then goes back to pretending like we don’t exist for the rest of the year.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/david-tennant-defends-trans-kids-angers-transphobes-86bf08e63bf4?sk=ebaad5260f1d2b98d0eaaad419e0bac9
#Allyship #DavidTennant #Politics #Culture #Transgender

2023-07-14 14:12:01

The hierarchy within the gay community is like the elephant in the room. But instead of an elephant, it’s a neon-dressed, feather boa-toting drag queen who’s death-dropping right in front of you.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-unspoken-hierarchy-in-the-gay-community-3654fba794ff?sk=5aff7198b362eb400b7345eadf705c6f
#LGBTQ #Queer #Gay #LifeLessons #Hierarchy

2023-07-14 14:06:01

Who ever would have thought that same-sex marriage would become part of the law of the land, while at the same time seeing the possibility that this “right” might soon be reversed?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/most-gays-are-not-social-misfits-at-almost-80-i-should-know-78b519f51489?sk=d1321bf27b65ea8749f3e99e807fb11f
#LGBTQ #MarriageEquality #HumanRights #Permanence #Buddhism

2023-07-14 14:01:14

It elated Jevan to have Ardyn back, safe and sound, although still a little embarrassed by that unintentional kiss. I hope that doesn’t make things awkward between us.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-keryth-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-88fe8013d09?sk=83dd64c4cb9a57586532c852b6919735
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-13 18:20:56

Early this month, in a Facebook post that has since been made private, Studio 8 Hair Lab owner Christine Geiger apparently announced that she will not serve transgender customers. I say “apparently,” because her post (besides being over-the-top insulting) is incoherent and difficult to decipher.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/michigan-salon-calls-trans-folks-pets-refuses-service-cites-scotus-3de89969dc33?sk=9c59057420d959f1032d8c504f08c7e3
#LGBTQ #Michigan #Transgender #SCOTUS #Bigotry

2023-07-13 14:08:23

It’s hard to argue with devout Christians who believe God controls everything, but would “he” claim to own only the pleasant aspects of weather and not the hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tidal waves?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/everyone-loves-rainbows-some-evangelical-christians-dont-want-to-share-c7ee9ad5646d?sk=4124445ed6185d32deecf98311799979
#LGBTQ #Christianity #Bigotry #Rainbow #Pride

2023-07-12 14:12:01

I love hearing lesbian couples’ meeting stories — especially from the pre-dating app days, when avenues for doing so were far more limited.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/what-happens-when-a-boomer-and-millenial-lesbian-share-a-lyft-11cc3ac479fd?sk=ce944c83bb78da1e0c495066a81b0415
#LGBTQ #Lesbian #Queer #Love #Dating

2023-07-12 14:06:01

He still has two bags of clothing and a pair of shoes in my closet! The nerve of that man! He was supposed to come and get this shit months ago.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/at-what-point-do-bi-women-tell-the-voices-in-their-head-to-be-quiet-25688a0f08f5?sk=9639873fef5bfbd1705531f60ac0426a
#LGBTQ #Fiction #BlackWomen #Bisexual #MentalHealth

2023-07-12 14:03:35

The control center was in chaos, with Athla’naa fighting each other. Ardyn didn’t know what was going on, so he stood there staring for a moment.
“Get down!”
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-rescued-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-34531d01448?sk=cf2031d94321994326ff65453280a222
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-11 18:18:44

Are you truly happy as an LGBTQ person? What obstacles did you overcome to get there?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/im-an-lgbtq-person-who-overcame-obstacles-to-find-true-happiness-c674a2ed3867?sk=4b3455a380a50de3c52fd2be24d883b2
#LGBTQ #WritingPrompt #QueerJoy #Overcoming #QueerWriters #Queer

2023-07-11 14:30:36

O! if I knew my looming fate,
I would not have to watch and wait;
And yet, I would not want to know
When I will leave this world and go to Heaven’s gate...
https://medium.com/prismnpen/love-is-never-wrong-a-poem-16dd5402d346?sk=5dc13f0371447b10a5a8d528b73c29f0
#LGBTQ #Queer #Poetry #Fate #Future #Love

2023-07-11 14:28:01

Ana Kasparian claimed that the civil rights movement was non-violent or otherwise not radical as a means of ridiculing the pro-trans movement of today.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/ana-kasparian-falls-further-into-transphobia-95c1ce6722c2?sk=906f43802acab4a5e3d00e8c99c730cb
#LGBTQ #Transphobia #Transgender #Culture #AnaKasparian

2023-07-11 14:25:01

My wife and I are avid birders. One of our joys is a bluebird nesting box we placed in our backyard. The analogy of being recognized as a fledgling is accurate, sobering, and nice to hear as a 60 year old trans woman.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/fierce-queer-fledglings-walk-ed7a4bb205bd?sk=8d7ae373f2906028483e1ff34b05129d
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Affirmation #Queer

2023-07-10 21:12:43

When anti-transgender hatred mixes with notions of Christian supremacy, can anything good result? You might have seen some of this in the news, but I live here, so let me give you a close-up account of a very disturbing story. And then let me end with an encouraging note.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/my-neighbors-ended-free-childhood-health-care-over-anti-trans-hatred-9692483280b1?sk=b17e21594f4a4f8cb44931a1a8105e6f
#LGBTQ #Michigan #Transgender #Education #Healthcare

2023-07-10 14:12:01

Kevin Conroy’s vocal performance as the world’s greatest detective introduced me to the character in the first place.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/first-gay-batman-actor-kevin-conroy-gave-a-voice-to-the-voiceless-41df1d957c40?sk=625bb179e7d0a621b3e9cc8abf092c0f
#LGBTQ #Superheroes #Batman #KevinConroy #Representation

2023-07-10 14:06:01

The main reason why queer people try to appease the right is that they recognize their immense cultural power and think that by trying to paint themselves as one of the good ones they will be spared.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/reality-finally-dawns-for-gay-conservatives-2c0098318247?sk=e77b1152b7def3b25bd2524dd0dbd661
#LGBTQ #Politics #LogCabinRepublicans #QueerConservative

2023-07-10 14:03:51

Standing before the door, Ardyn looked for a slot where he might try using his control access key, but he didn’t see one. Instead, there was a simple panel next to the door that was about the right size for an Athla’naa hand. Placing his hand over the panel, it scanned his hand, and the door opened.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-trapped-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-bc52773d6f7e?sk=50ff8ffc4546ce606c60a9de26b0279c
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-09 13:14:43

A mere six days after his pro-Pride statement, Sawyer posted a meme explicitly and unequivocally mocking a trans dancer.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/turns-out-my-mayor-is-a-two-faced-glad-handing-anti-lgbtq-bigot-98b729ce65f3?sk=be0c024a2c73ec7e1c78ce8333193471
#LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics #Oregon #DeanSawyer

2023-07-08 15:11:02

A lot of the time when Pride is brought into discussion, we focus particularly on lesbian, gay, bi, and trans people. All this is great and necessary, don’t get me wrong, but oftentimes people end up simply not knowing about other people who are LGBT.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/asexual-people-are-queer-and-thats-why-we-re-hated-405ecf698812?sk=14d51457c1ef7dd5353f5b8082b5420e
#LGBTQ #Asexual #Queer

2023-07-08 15:03:00

Female worker bees outnumber the male drones by 5 to 1. And then there’s me, a fully-fledged member of the 5–1-club. It’s hard to envisage life any other way.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/when-i-grew-my-tits-i-found-my-wits-the-transgender-spirit-in-motion-77acbc97a8ed
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Retail #Philosophy #Pride

2023-07-07 14:25:01

After Denyra allowed Jevan to talk to Ardyn, she reassured them that those taken were going to be fed and wouldn’t be harmed, for now. However, after several hours of nothing but arguments, Denyra seemed unwavering in her determination to exterminate every Athla’naa who descended from the old Aria’asharra faction.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-serendipity-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-e2319970fa1f?sk=3e8c9999330d435c5e9be0cc8d56f5ce
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #SerialFiction #QueerFiction

2023-07-07 14:19:45

Now, you might be thinking, ‘Oh no, not another rant about the ups and downs of modern dating.’ And I get you. I truly do. But bear with me here because I promise it’s gonna be juicy.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-realities-of-gay-dating-apps-88a45aea30da?sk=9f38dafb16f02767848c0c398aaf8ce2
#LGBTQ #Dating #Gay #Queer #DatingApps

2023-07-07 14:17:01

For ‘gender-critical’ activists, the issue with this segment isn’t the rising cost of water, or the pressure families are facing due to the cost-of-living crisis and ‘greedflation’, or even the impending climate crisis lurking in the background of this discussion.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/transphobia-and-motherhood-policing-breastfeeding-as-perversion-3f1cfed342c3?sk=de4179320fb06f24e8085095c22f7751
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Motherhood #Parenting #Feminism

2023-07-06 17:15:46

- reply

@npub1tgz…u948
💯

2023-07-06 14:12:01

It’s easy to give in and just hide amid all this negativity.
But I refuse.
So what could I do? A sole, newly out transgender woman at only my second year of Pride since coming out?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/how-im-making-a-difference-this-pride-as-a-newly-out-trans-woman-5bbb42b9ebf8?sk=1f9bfff60f64fff26219a4db63b5ab73
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Pride2023 #Activism

2023-07-06 14:06:01

The American people, and Republican voters in particular, have been sold a lie. The lie is that “Moms for Liberty” is just a grassroots organization (lie) of concerned mothers with kids in school (often a lie) who simply want to have a voice in the education of their children. All false.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/moms-for-liberty-are-neo-nazis-b4a60c06eb7c?sk=44f1e723bd718bc9599ad032a986ef4a
#LGBTQ #MomsForLiberty #USPolitics #Homophobia #History

2023-07-06 14:04:28

They’re arguing that we can’t push too hard on the trans acceptance because that might be unpopular with the electorate and if trans people push too hard, this will push people away from voting Democrat.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-young-turks-continue-to-promote-transphobia-427c0766b53f?sk=f31dd5334a63029206a5030df7d93a85
#LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics #AnaKasparian

2023-07-05 14:25:01

July is Disability Pride month, following on from Queer Pride in June, and so this seems like a good a time to discuss the intersection of ableism and transphobia — or, cis-ableism.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/just-a-mentally-ill-male-why-we-need-to-talk-about-cis-ableism-92def88f9f00?sk=2c66fa288d7a3be4674fed9d070e7434
#LGBTQ #Disability #MentalHealth #Neurodiversity #Transgender

2023-07-05 14:19:01

Comedy is the art of creating tension, and then breaking it. The essence of a good punchline lies in surprising the audience — they laugh because they didn’t see the joke’s culmination coming.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-relief-of-a-queer-audience-as-a-fruity-stand-up-40fa552daeff?sk=b90e07e75e65246e3ebe3bea67f726aa
#LGBTQ #Queer #Comedy #StandUpComedy

2023-07-05 14:17:00

Reactionaries view being queer as something that is inherently sexually motivated, in a bad way.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/how-reactionaries-sexualize-queer-people-336eca825bfc?sk=e55dce6282d91708bc2fa35b3f134c36
#LGBTQ #Sexuality #Politics #Culture #Equality

2023-07-05 14:12:00

“Why did Jevan ask for you specifically, and not for our elders?”
Ardyn’s ears dipped and his face heated. “He’s a friend of mine."
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-execution-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-e8cf3bce46ea?sk=e2c8cc7b70d99892293474c46c058a02
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-05 14:06:00

Hey, did you hear how powerful the transgender lobby is in Michigan? Pull up a chair and prepare to be shocked.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/if-you-misgender-trans-people-in-michigan-you-go-to-prison-not-52d19b843e5c?sk=2d856d558445d66e31b368000aba13e3
#LGBTQ #Michigan #Transgender #FoxNews #FakeNews #Law

2023-07-04 13:41:01

I see “cisgender” as a descriptive much like “she is an Italian woman” or “she is a Muslim woman.” I never said she wasn’t a woman. Cisgender just describes an element of her experience as a woman, so I don’t see the slur.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/cis-is-not-a-slur-it-does-not-belittle-who-you-are-c26b0d4ba28b?sk=5d64406a8f181c9a94ca8a35c7f49501
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Gender #Cisgender

2023-07-04 02:26:08

- reply

@npub1za4…ak69
You're not wrong.

2023-07-03 15:06:03

The “We’re coming for your children” chant is something that does get chanted at Pride, but reactionaries are misrepresenting it as usual. It’s meant to be a kind of dark humor to mock this trope and attack what we see from reactionaries.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-creation-of-transphobia-3cb20765ab61?sk=ce322e1744d4aa86ae0080e8c525f66b
#LGBTQ #Pride #Transgender #Politics #Culture

2023-07-03 15:03:12

Recently, in my home state of New York, I worked on a project that included building a coalition of 14 different LGBTQ+ centers, agencies, and affirming spaces to sign on to a letter of support regarding New York’s Trans Safe Haven Bill.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/lgbtq-policy-needs-more-than-thoughts-and-prayers-11b10f8bdc3b?sk=499e8e1daf71b1862bd81dbca34fc96f
#LGBTQ #USPolitics #NewYork #SocialWork

2023-07-03 15:02:43

I am the girl everyone looks through and misses the pain in my eyes while they focus on the body they are disgusted by.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/i-am-you-are-gender-race-sexual-orientation-they-are-beautiful-e8bc7f4aad11?sk=43ad0c53d105185ea87701a97c254eaa
#LGBTQ #Queer #Love #Acceptance #Pride

2023-07-03 14:51:01

Within the blink of an eye, Ardyn went from standing outside, about to introduce his daughter Myria to Jevan, to standing inside a large, enclosed space filled with only the people from his settlement.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-abduction-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-165aa1bade8a?sk=8eb8bff46ba7a663ba617c055e541d8f
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-07-02 14:15:26

By and large, western society is informed by visual media. Just about everyone has a smartphone, or at least access to social media platforms, and will likely be no more than two taps away from seeing a plethora of slim, fit starlets laughing in sun loungers.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/if-i-have-abs-i-wont-be-lonely-9fa92070cf47?sk=3c74ca7562f02c8298971c30cad73423
#LGBTQ #Gay #SocialMedia #BodyImage #Culture

2023-07-01 14:25:03

Some people can’t accept that sexuality is on a spectrum. They won’t accept that their beliefs are a thinly veiled disguise for prejudice and their unresolved issues.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/why-presumably-straight-people-can-feel-triggered-by-queer-folks-c02df1ffa234?sk=630e2291259b92334af5dcbe66a495fa
#LGBTQ #PrideMonth #Homophobia #EqualRights

2023-07-01 14:19:01

Our LGBT+ community has always been stigmatized — and we continue to endure that. But why? What role, if any, do we play in our own marginalization?
https://medium.com/prismnpen/gay-men-need-to-shed-ourselves-of-purity-culture-546df61ebd36?sk=9f91bf686dfcd5f23594b9f07a2855d2
#LGBTQ #PurityCulture #Sex #Psychology #SelfImprovement

2023-07-01 14:17:01

The last few years, between the pandemic and parenting, I wasn’t able to get out dancing for Pride, but I made it this year!
https://medium.com/prismnpen/what-i-loved-about-pride-this-year-385c56bd7ae6
#LGBTQ #Pride #Pride2023 #PersonalGrowth #Dance #Music

2023-07-01 14:12:28

This story has it all:
Redemption, forgiveness, compassion, personal growth, courage… and, most importantly, humility.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/looking-for-a-feel-good-pride-story-try-this-recovering-bigot-one-3f6a8b309294?sk=76e5e7cd87b014722b08bce1b018c0b3
#LGBTQ #Pride #Bigotry #Forgiveness #Redemption

2023-07-01 13:41:01

To those Christians who insist on being spiritually exclusionary, I wish you would read this story about my own frightening experience with a child, a hospital, and a chapel.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/if-lgbtq-people-offend-you-spiritually-is-your-spirituality-healthy-7abb19f6fdb2?sk=c95d05efab481c145efe298f43ae13ab
#LGBTQ #Christianity #PrideMonth #Parenting #Spirituality

2023-06-30 14:17:01

Darren (Dazza) and Nathan (Nate), were best friends and lovers.
Just a few days after same-sex marriage was legalized across Australia, they decided to move in together with an eye to marriage if things seemed to work out.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-mazerati-room-e3a47b63ca4?sk=7a6c98bde6eadc049a1d6c0a14a6a9cf
#LGBTQ #Fiction #Gay #ShortStory

2023-06-30 14:12:02

Down at the warm pebbled river beach, a dad with shaggy red hair shows his kids proper technique for skipping rocks.“Mine just sinks,” laments the little girl before her older brother takes the pebble out of her hand and skips it for her (which she doesn’t like).“I wanted to do it on my own,” she protests, arms crossed and sulking — unreceptive, like many are, to having her autonomy wrested from her so blatantly.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/bear-ing-it-all-a-gay-bear-and-i-dive-into-lgbtq-history-and-gender-roles-59211b2785e2?sk=714a359b91d0135f09fece30e465efeb
#LGBTQ #Memoir #Queer #Gay #SliceOfLife

2023-06-30 14:06:01

On the day they expected the Pah’ora to arrive in orbit, anxiety was running high. Ardyn and Jevan rose early to prepare for the day, knowing Takyra expected them to accompany her when she went to greet the new arrivals.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/artifact-of-the-dawn-separation-a-queer-sci-fi-adventure-c57ffe4577e5?sk=f7863ba43656f49a5741e4b9ac73538b
#LGBTQ #Fiction #ScienceFiction #QueerFiction #SerialFiction

2023-06-29 14:25:01

Either Governor Abbott isn’t satisfied with the level of hatred coming from real Texas towns and real Texans, or he’s clueless as to which Texas towns actually exist.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/texas-governor-praises-fictional-town-for-booing-lgbtq-supportive-superstar-aa8b39252fce?sk=7058d642bbb65786dd57a8b5f56e8a5e
#LGBTQ #Texas #GarthBrooks #BudLight #WarOnWoke

2023-06-29 14:19:02

Kansas City and St. Louis lie on the western and eastern borders of Missouri, respectively, and even overlap with neighboring states (Kansas and Illinois). There is a Kansas City, Kansas and a St. Louis, Illinois for those not familiar with the area.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/pride-has-missouri-covered-from-one-side-of-the-state-to-the-other-40a774375b8?sk=ec768298934e9ac4759451ac02b54d86
#LGBTQ #Pride2023 #PrideMonth

2023-06-29 14:17:01

I was going to start this article by stating that there has been a considerable amount of discourse online about trans people and the nature of gendered language, but let’s be honest, this is always the case. What has been new recently is the suggestion from the right that the term cis (for cisgender) is in fact a slur.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/nobody-thinks-cis-is-a-slur-523cdc935f6d?sk=b965dc2b065052445c99be3fe3816ece
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Cisgender #Culture #Politics

2023-06-29 14:12:01

Down at the warm pebbled river beach, a dad with shaggy red hair shows his kids proper technique for skipping rocks.
“Mine just sinks,” laments the little girl before her older brother takes the pebble out of her hand and skips it for her (which she doesn’t like).
https://medium.com/prismnpen/bear-ing-it-all-a-gay-bear-and-i-dive-into-lgbtq-history-and-gender-roles-fa96f8385a8d?sk=137cd7df0e1ff6931617deca4822ffe1
#LGBTQ #Gay #Queer #Gender

2023-06-28 14:51:01

It should not be a surprise to people, especially those of us who are on the left, that we’re seeing a bit of an uptick in terms of homophobia and queerphobia in general.
https://buff.ly/3Nt5ukv
#LGBTQ #Homophobia #Transphobia #Politics #Culture