Also.Also.Also: Congrats to Kate Freeman, Jeopardy’s First Openly Trans Winner, Hereby Crowned Queen of the Lesbian Nerds!

Well my friends, I have pulled two all-nighters this week and somehow I am still behind. So you are getting today’s link roundup a little earlier than usual while I try to catch my breath. Let’s see how that works out for me.

(If you’re reading this, get a glass of water. Today Riese reminded me of the importance of hydration, and she was very right!)


Queer as in F*ck You

An Oral History of Fashion’s Response to the AIDS Epidemic, an epic work of research and art by Phillip Picardi for Vogue and easily your must read of the week.

‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Makes History as 1st Out Transgender Winner. Kate Freeman, who also identifies as a lesbian, wore a trans pride flag pin while competing.

How a New Generation of Bi Athletes Is Pushing Back Against Bi-Erasure.


Saw This, Thought of You

Today marks the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. And here is the 2020 memorial list, that will be updated as more names are added. May they rest in power.

This story has just completely warmed my heart.

Here’s the link to learn more and to participate in the auction.

Rachel says this is a “v. good resource!” and when Rachel says that, I listen! The Prison Industry, How It Started, How It Works, How It Harms

Hunter Harris is one of my favorite writers focused on the entertainment industry, bar none. And Patti LaBelle is once-in-a-lifetime in every way. What happens when you put them together? Magic. Don’t Call Patti LaBelle a Diva: “I’m an OG — Original Gangster”

Sort of related? In a very vague way? Because… you know… music? The Best Quarantine Music Performances of 2020

Another Thing That 2020 Ruined? Snow Days.

8 Holiday Horror Movies to Stream When You Wish 2020 Would Just End. So say we all.


Political Snacks

Descendants of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Survivors Speak Out on the Covid-19 Vaccine

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Carmen Phillips

Carmen Phillips is Autostraddle's former editor in chief. She began at Autostraddle in 2017 as a freelance team writer and worked her way up through the company, eventually becoming the EIC from 2021-2024. A Black Puerto Rican feminist writer with a PhD in American Studies from New York University, Carmen specializes in writing about Blackness, race, queerness, politics, culture, and the many ways we find community and connection with each other.  During her time at Autostraddle, Carmen focused on pop culture, TV and film reviews, criticism, interviews, and news analysis. She claims many past homes, but left the largest parts of her heart in Detroit, Brooklyn, and Buffalo, NY. And there were several years in her early 20s when she earnestly slept with a copy of James Baldwin’s “Fire Next Time” under her pillow. To reach out, you can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram, or her website.

Carmen has written 716 articles for us.

23 Comments

  1. heads up, the prison industry article link appears to be broken! i got a “404 bad gateway” message when I clicked

  2. While waiting for “The Best Quarantine Music Performances of 2020” to pull up, I thought, “if Chloe and Halle aren’t on this list, me and the author of this piece are gonna fight.”

    Crisis averted though. The Bailey sisters are, deservedly, #1.

  3. Yay for Kate! I watched her on Jeopardy yesterday – yay for nerdy LGBTQ+ rep!

    And good luck catching up Carmen. I have two beverages on my desk right now – if I just can remember to actually drink the water, I may stay hydrated.

  4. “Seeing your name featured in an article on AUTOSTRADDLE.com”

    “What is…the best part of an amazing and surreal 2020 experience?”

    I am so thrilled to have received so many encouraging and supportive messages from the queer community in the past several days. It was incredible to have the chance to compete on the show (among a few other queer contestants featured last week!) and fulfill a lifelong dream of mine. Thank you everyone for the well-wishing, I hope I did you proud!

    • And you enter into the conversation with a Jeopardy pun to boot! WAY TO GO KATE!!

      Congratulations again, you more than did us proud! We are ecstatic for you and wishing you all the best!!

      Love,
      Team Autostraddle

    • My wife and I LOVED watching you on Jeopardy! We watch it every night and when I saw your lapel pin I was so excited!! Congratulations! You totally did us all proud :-)

    • OMG, congratulations Kate.

      My husband and I watch Jeopardy everyday and we watched you win yesterday. I didn’t notice your pin on our tiny, ancient t.v. but you pinged my (often oblivious) queerdar and I was SO ridiculously proud of your win.

    • You were brilliant! My partner and I watch every episode and we get so excited whenever cool queers are on! Thank you for the thrill of seeing you win 😊

    • Congratulations Kate!! When I first scrolled past this article I had to do a double-take because I thought that was a picture of my wife, if that isn’t too weird to say 😂

  5. OMG, congratulations Kate.

    My husband and I watch Jeopardy everyday and we watched you win yesterday. I didn’t notice your pin on our tiny, ancient t.v. but you pinged my (often oblivious) queerdar and I was SO ridiculously proud of your win.

    • Thank you for rooting for me!! I didn’t realize quite how small the pin would look on TV, I’m glad it showed up well in the stills. I’ll see if I can rock a full-on pride flag cape next time :)

  6. I didn’t see too many lives shows other than what I found on youtube, but my favorite was Run the Jewels performance they did for Adult Swim. It came out in like September.

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