Feature image via GQ Magazine
Well I will just be honest with you: Around here, we are excited about all things fundraiser!! Autostraddle is working hard to raise the funds we need to keep us afloat through summer. Everything right now might be terrible, but with your help indie queer media doesn’t have to be one of the things this universe takes away from us! If you’re curious about learning more about why fundraising is a part of Autostraddle’s business model, our A+ Director Nicole is here with all the details, facts, and figures you shall need!
If can be personal for just one moment, I love this little tiny corner of the website so fucking much, it is my home. I know how many of you feel the same way, you’re my family too. So from queer family to family — thank you for your help.
Ok! Now let’s get to the news!
Queer as in F*ck You
Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird: The Most Beloved Power Couple in Sports. And I SWOON! (Also this is a really well done profile piece!)
And speaking of sports power couples, from the wife of Abby Wambach may I present you with: Glennon Doyle’s Honesty Gospel
Oh we aren’t done with the sports gays news yet! Yes, Trans People Belong in Sports by non-binary WNBA Star Layshia Clarendon of the New York Liberty (!!)
Is our girl out here HIKING WITH KOALAS!?!? Ok now that’s gay.
One Million Moms Boycotts American Girl Over Doll With Lesbian Aunts (From Stef: “Wait my 3-year-old niece has been GETTING STICKERS ON A CHART to save up for this doll! Wow I had no idea she supported my lifestyle this much.”)
A group of actors in Germany, 185 of them!!, came out as LGBT+ en-masse, revealing that they have been warned to keep their identities a secret.
Pedro Pascal Sweetly Supports His Sister Lux After She Comes Out as a Trans Woman: ‘Mi Corazón.’ Pascal posted the magazine cover where his sister Lux comes out as a trans.
Queer Bronzeville: A Short History of Black Queer Chicago and AIDS Activism, 1920-1985. Yes!
Saw This, Thought of You
There was that big game on Sunday (you know the one) in which people sing the national anthem. That got me thinking about other famous Super Bowl national anthems, and specifically always Whitney Houston. Danyel Smith — a Black woman music journalist from the ’90s and ’00s and former EIC of Vibe Magazine ( I spent a lot of my teen years reading her, and she’s at least 30% of the reason I have the career I have now, anyway!) — has started a podcast entitled Black Girl Songbook, and the first episode is about Whitney singing the anthem, now already 30 years ago. If you can’t already tell my excitement, this listen is really not to be missed!
Dolly Parton Once Faced a Forest of Bears Rather Than Hook Up With a Bad Date. A legend!
Ok of course I’ve heard of the Puppy Bowl, but no one told me that there’s a Kitten Bowl!
I saw this when it went viral over the weekend, and this shit is HILARIOUS! Serena Williams Can’t Keep Track of All Her Trophies
Serena Williams shows off her trophy room 👀 pic.twitter.com/t1vGgwHE9H
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2BIog) February 4, 2021
“If we’ve learned one thing as disabled design critics, it is that stories inform the way we design. Disabled people are the original FlyEase consumer.” Why Won’t Nike Use the Word Disabled to Promote Its New Go FlyEase Shoe? I’ve been seeing the FlyEase everywhere lately, and this is an excellent read.
The Primal Scream. A series from The New York Times examining the pandemic’s effect on working mothers in America that’s had our whole team buzzing for days.
‘It’s Sheer! It’s Queer!’: Redesigning and Diversifying Beauty Ads of the Past (I really enjoyed this!!)
Political Snacks
Some reading timed for Impeachment Trial Day: The Link Between the Capitol Insurrectionists and Abusers.
And this one is also superb: QAnon and the Cultification of the American Right
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that new york times article sure was deeply troubling! the photo that sparked my primal scream was the side by side of mom helping the three year old go potty while dad worked at his desk…but mom was the one on a call. mothering is exhausting! working is exhausting! the pandemic is exhausting! doing all three of those things can and will cause breakdowns!
i’m very tempted to ‘men are trash’ my way through this but honestly i’ve seen so many coparenting arrangements and in all of them there’s one parent who seems to carry the bulk of the mental load.
Molly’s Aunt Eleanor was the original American Girl lesbian aunt. I’m just saying.
oh absolutely, molly mcintyre and aunt eleanor are absolutely why i’m gay now
Those first three sports-related articles were all incredible reads. Looking forward to sitting down with the rest. Thanks!