A ballerina in a wide white tutu on pointe

First Person

Every Young Queer Crush I Had As A Baby Ballerina

There is, apparently, a ballet child to queer adult pipeline, and I want to come out as a person of queer ballet experience.

Hand drawn images of human-like figures float around the words Time Zone Week in chalk against a black bacgkround

AF+

Editor’s Notes: On Time Zones Week

Managing Editor Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya reflects on the origins of Time Zone Week. Plus: Behind-the-scenes art content!

Two drawn bodies curled next to each other against a black background

First Person

My Jackie: On Yellowjackets and a Missing Friend

We met when I was 16 and she was 17. We weren’t dating, but we might as well have been. I’ve been thinking about her more than usual lately, ever since I found myself obsessed with Yellowjackets.

Neicy Nash and her wife Jessica Betts are standing in from of a green wall with photos of their Essence Magazine cover blown up to poster size.

Society + Culture

Also.Also.Also: Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Are the First Same-Sex Couple to Cover Essence Magazine, Ever

And it’s time to put everything on the line for trans kids in Texas (and so many states to come).

An illustration shows Heather, a short, curvy Indian American woman with short black hair pressed against a tree. She is wearing a blue athletic top. Heather, a tall, white woman with long, blonde hair and a tattoo of a sword in front of a moon on the side of her neck stands facing Heather with her arm around Heather's waist. A green light glows around them. In the background, we see dark green trees, the moon an a small green heart floating above the characters.

AF+

S L I C K: Sharing the Moon

Two lovers with heightened senses enjoy each other’s company in the woods. “Heather felt more than heard Christina’s moan — it was deep in her chest, like a rumble, like a growl. ‘Fuck, I love your tits,’ she said.”

ictured (L-R): Nicole Kang as Mary Hamilton, Meagan Tandy as Sophie Moore, Camrus Johnson as Luke Fox and Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder

TV Show Recaps

“Batwoman” Episode 312 Recap: Wildmoore Is Officially a Thing!

We knew, but the way Sophie and Ryan keep stealing smiles at each other, and confirming their relationship to their friends?! WE DESERVE THIS, OKAY!!!

Da Brat & Jesseca “Judy” Dupart kiss at their wedding. There is a minister in a black pantsuit and pink coat behind them, and an arch of purple flowers. Wedding guess look on and smile, all of them wearing shades of pink and purple. MICHAEL SEABROOK/WE TV

Celebrities (Vapid Fluff) Lesbian Weddings

Da Brat’s Wedding Photos Are a Gay Fairytale Designed to Melt the February Ice Around Your Heart

In this post is every photo from Da Brat’s wedding that I could find because Black love is beautiful and we deserve. That is all.

Legends of Tomorrow Avalance: Bisexual Sara pushes lesbian Ava against a wall in a gay way before kissing her

TV Show Recaps

“Legends of Tomorrow” Episode 712 Recap: Days of Future Avalance

Sara and Ava imagine a domestic future together in the penultimate episode of the season.

A black and white image shows a Black woman in a collared shirt with curly, shoulder-length hair whispering to woman with long, dark hair who has her hand over her mouth in surprise and is also wearing a collared shirt. The image is surrounded by a yellow, scalloped border with black dots.

Dating

You Bad-Mouth Every Single One of Your Exes? That’s a Red Flag!

If your partner always portrays themself as the wronged party in the trials and tribulations of past relationships — red flag.

A sketched white outline of a person has their hands on their chest, and a light glows where their heart should be.

First Person

Grief Exists in Its Own Time Zone

There’s a reason people say things like “grief isn’t linear,” and “you won’t feel this way forever,” and there’s also a reason it feels like you’re hearing those things through a set of ear muffs when you’re in the moment.

A Black woman in a red beret reads a book with a mug in one hand

Literature

Rainbow Reading: Trans! Vampire! Romance!

Plus, the debate about Sally Rooney’s depictions of bisexuality and queerness continues apace.

Dickens talks to their friend, Saria, about a potentially being set up on a date by Penny, their mutual friend. Dickens wants to know "why." Saria is in a green sweatshirt and Dickens in a grey polo. they are talking against a rainbow pastel background.

Webcomics

Foolish Child #114: Meet Cute

“I thought you wanted to start dating in your forties?”

A fork, an empty white plate, a knife and a spoon are against a teal background.

Health

What I Wish People Knew About Eating Disorders, as a Queer Person Who Had One

It’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and I’m choosing to create the queer media coverage I want to see.

Two drawn people in black ink tilt toward each other with sketched flowers in the background

First Person

We Call It Time Travel

To love someone new is to agree to travel somewhere that doesn’t exist yet together.

Eve and Villanelle hold each other close and dance in Killing Eve

Pop Culture Fix

Pop Culture Fix: Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer Love Villaneve’s Dancing and Kissing as Much as You Do

Cynthia Nixon remains baffled by your And Just Like That feelings, the trailer for Aisha Dee’s Sissy, HBO’s Last of Us series is on hold until next year, and more!

This is a collage work of art. The base is a shiny, golden background of slightly crumpled looking paper. On top is a collage of flowers and green growing plants. From these plants emerge the figures of three Black women. One is in black and white and is wearing a white, fluffy cotillion gown, another has braided hair and is looking away and is in color, a third is smaller, and is glancing downward contemplatively. Written in the background are the words: "she runs her gender, not the other way around" with an eye underneath those words

AF+

By Fighting Gender Expectations, My Mother Made Room for Me to Be Myself

“I faced the difficult truth that, despite it getting me through so much, “Black womanhood” alone simply can not capture the essence of my soul, and it does not always feel like a perfect fit.”