When gender non-conforming Bois like me get punched in the face, it’s always our fault
There’s always something more I should have done.
Heteronormativity makes us prey: At 15 I believed acting out my crushes was worse than being exploited by strangers
I was more afraid of being found out than of being harmed.
When liberal orgs tell QTPOC to “bring your full self to work,” it’s a lie. I know because I fell for it.
By recognizing the unwritten rules and expectations for what they are, we can better navigate these spaces or leave them altogether to build our own.
For all the poor Black kids who become prey for rich white liberals
He knows he can ruin poor Black folks lives, and then just retreat into his money with no guilty conscience. A monster.
I wanted to stop suffering like Jamel Myles. Here’s what I learned about youth mental health
By Nickolas Gaines Content Note: Suicide, homophobia, bullying The first time I attempted suicide, I was a high school freshman. An email circulated around my friend group that said I was gay, and it was also posted up by the…
“We’ve never been this close”: Why I needed to capture Black brotherly intimacy in these photos
Filmmaker Emir Fils-Aime and Music Producer Anthony Avery photographed by Gioncarlo Valentine. “Black men loving Black men is THE revolutionary act.” - Marlon Riggs Gioncarlo A few months ago I asked two friends to sit for a series of portraits so…
Looking for the dirt in ‘Dirty Computer’: Why Janelle Monae’s latest isn’t her ‘most radical & queer’
By Vernon Jordan, III I remember a time when I knew who I was, and knew who I wanted to be, without having the verbal language for it. I was three, four and five, trying to Moonwalk along with Michael…
What I learned by talking to f*ck boys about discussing butt sex with my mom
By Rumi “It’s not natural,” she said. “Your father would be mortified,” she said. If asked, very few niggas would probably say that talking to their moms about anal sex constitutes the “good life,” but it’s one of those things…
You can’t protect Black children without protecting Black trans children
By Jasmine Banks Imagine someone who has dedicated their life work to calling out the violence of corporal punishment in the Black community. Imagine that they, as a former foster youth, redeems their experiences with child abuse into award-winning writing…
Bondage theology and how to heal the body trauma of Black folks.
In an unhealed state, inflicting pain is the only way we know divinity.
