The city isn’t very outwardly hostile, and once you find a pocket of queer friends to start connecting you to others (one thing this guide will hopefully help you do!), we think the ‘Nati can be downright grand.

The fact that you’re working through all this now doesn’t say anything negative about you or the way you moved through life for the past 24 years. What you did then was valid, and what you’re doing now is valid.

So maybe my pregnancy path isn’t as simple and straightforward as baby books would have you believe it should be because I’m a poor QPoC with anxiety, but it has been an interesting worthwhile journey so far. I can’t wait until I can take the next step.

Cosima scores with Canada’s favorite lesbian dating app, and Helena and Sarah break each other’s hearts.

You know her face, but you’ve got no clue what her name is — 15 of the actresses who aren’t on magazine covers but have shown up in small parts on so many queer-adjacent shows and movies lately that you’re really THIS CLOSE to looking them up on imdb.

“I asked Riese if she thought I would ever have sex again if I started wearing kaftans from World Market and she said no.”

“The queer and trans community can’t continue to strip us of our racial oppression, just like the black community can’t solely blame our deaths on our gender identities. We’re targeted for both.”

The Black Sails finale had two queer characters winning at being pirates, The Good Wife is blowing it with Kalinda, and Tara survived another season of The Walking Dead!

Documentary films. Policy initiatives. Direct action. These 20 activists are doing it all to save the world — and they’re Autostraddle readers just like you!

Good winter sex, mutual vulnerability, the problems with how lingerie companies approach androgyny, supporting ethical porn and more.

There were 128 queer lady characters on TV this year, if you can believe that. It’s a brand new world.

Lumberjanes got a nod, too! And for the first time ever, nine out of ten nominated TV dramas feature queer women!

The women activists of #BlackLivesMatter, anal bronzing, Rachel Maddow, a week of being harassed on twitter, douchebags catcalling their own mothers, Google is not a library, the whiteness of voices in public radio, I think Modern Farmer is going to be ok, teenage brains, and more!

There were more queer female characters of color on TV in 2014 than the total number of queer female characters on TV, period, five years ago.

Republicans are trying to exclude trans protections in a civil rights amendment, while a federal judge has struck down a state law banning domestic partner benefits.

Is that gross? That’s really gross, huh?

It was a pretty lame week for queer women on TV, but at least Kalinda and Lana were naked most of the time.

What does it mean to be a queer adult? We’ve got mini-essays from our writers over thirty and three glorious infographics that look at census data and our own Autostraddle Grown-Ups Survey Data to get a grip on what happens next.

Victims/survivors in general are expected to seek help from law enforcement to escape from abusive relationships, but the police are sometimes the most dangerous and threatening forces in the lives of marginalized folks, even those who have an abusive partner, friend, or relative. For that reason, community support is central to assisting victims and survivors of domestic violence.

The Poehler-Fey Trophy Ceremony is back. Let’s watch it together!