Letter From Your Editors

Good morning Happy Hours!

Well, summer is almost over, but the world shows no signs of slowing down with respect to the temperature. Still, here we all are, pretending like summer’s last breaths are upon us:

Clockwise spiral from top left: Valerie + Shades // Yvonne + Gloria + Popsicles // Heather + Ice Cream // Molly P + Water // Tiara + Jacket // Laneia + Tomato // Stef + Baby // Rachel + Rosé // Alex + Sarah + Riese // Cameron + Water // Carrie + Peach Pit // Carmen + America // Vanessa + Montucky Cold Snack

Listen ladies and otherwise-identified humans, it’s no secret to us all that it is 7:45 pm PST on Friday August 31st, meaning we are mere hours away from the end of the month of August, at which point it will no longer be appropriate for us to publish this month’s Insider. This week has blown by like a gust of wind when you’re wearing a short skirt with no tights and a thong, which is something I haven’t done in well over a decade but I remember it well. We’ve been burning the midnight oil on Bad Behavior, which Is and Looks beautiful, time-tracking obsessively to ensure Our Shit is Fully Together, avoiding quickbooks like an ex because oh g-d, acknowledging that carol is the best animal in human history, feeling thrilled by the existence of all 2,586 of you day-dreamers & big-time believers (aka A+ members) and have finally hitched our wagon to an ad network that actually sells ads and is run by people we really like! (Which we’ll tell you more about soon, once we get set up!) Also I didn’t know about the post-credit scenes in the Sharp Objects finale until an hour ago and now I’m not sure what to do with my life. I was interviewed for a podcast this afternoon and told her how much I love you, just so you know!

We’re so grateful for all our members, new and old, and have truly unfurled an epic month of A+ content in celebration, including detailing some things we did that we wish we hadn’t done, a hot sex diary about FaceTime fucking and feeling the distance, a roundtable about the substances we use and also those we used to use but do not use anymore (no judging), a roundtable about whomst amongst us is a top / bottom / switch, so many answers to so many questions you’ve been asking us, a deep dive into what we always end up mired in when it comes to relationships, and a trip to the A+ therapy couch.

Anyhow, before August breathes its very last high-strung breath, let’s get into it. Just a spoiler that everybody’s slack searches made me love them so much more than I already do, which is a lot!

Love,

Riese / Laneia / Rachel / Yvonne / Heather

Top 10 Most Popular Posts From July 2018

These posts were hella popular last month.

1. Disney’s “Hocus Pocus” Sequel Is a Teenage Lesbian Love Story!, by Heather
2. OINTB’s Vicci Martinez and Emily Tarver, a.k.a Daddy and CO McCullough, Are Girlfriends IRL!, by Riese
3. For a Movie That’s Not Gay, “Incredibles 2” Sure Is Gay, by Heather
4. What Does It Mean to Be a “Bottom” or “Submissive” in Lesbian Sex?, by Riese
5. 20 Happy Lesbian and Bisexual Romantic TV Storylines That’ll Warm Your Heart Right Up, by the TV Team
6. What Does It Mean to Be a “Top” or a “Dominant” in Lesbian Sex?,by Riese
7. The 16 Best Faces Kate McKinnon and Ellen DeGeneres Made While Being Held Hostage in a Car by Jerry Seinfeld, by Carmen
8. Satellite of Love: Queer Horoscopes for July 2018, by Corrina
9. The Dental Dam Is Overdue for an Update, and Lorals Is Offering a Sexy Alternative, by Molly Priddy
10. “Anne With an E” Is Even Gayer in Season Two (but It’s Still Not “Anne of Green Gables”), by Heather

Nine Important Excerpts From Editorial Conversations

Kayla: is anyone else occasionally haunted by being attracted to goop paltrow during the “forget you” number in Glee’s “The Substitute” because i have been plagued by this curse for nearly eight years and it sneaks up on me at the MOST UNEXPECTED TIMES and anyway i just need to know if ANYONE can relate or if this is my cross to bear alone

[….]

Kayla: given that 25 minutes have passed i am going to indeed assume that this is my cross to bear alone
Carmen: hahahaha! KAYLA I AM SO SORRY!!!
I will think of an embarrassing crush of my own, to share the burden with you.
Kayla: it is ok i have very little shame
but for a second i was like…………….did i break this channel
with my confession
Carmen: LOL! No, it’s fine! We’re still here!
Kayla: luv 2 roast myself

Heather: the women in media mixer was a BUST. but i did meet one new friend who likes faberry fan fiction where quinn is darcy and rachel is elizabeth. just a small update from my professional new york city life. :statue_of_liberty:
Riese: what kind of people were there?
Heather: people who like richard and sutton
Riese: oh no
so, demons
Heather: exactly

Laneia: Hey cool kids it’s time for another roundtable WE’RE JUST OBSESSED WITH YOU OK [LINK TO TOPS/BOTTOMS/SWITCHES ROUNDTABLE]
This is A+ and will run on Tuesday, Aug 7. The deadline is Sunday Aug 5!
Molly: is this going to turn into the much-anticipated List Of Tops
Stef: fuck are we all gonna have to get new stickers
with the pronoun stickers
Laneia: omg
Vanessa: omfg Laneia this feels like a personal attack
Laneia: listen
Stef: is slenderman a top?
i don’t see his name available to answer this roundtable so
Molly: some of your tentacles can be tops, the others can be bottoms, maybe switches
Al: can i just write “bottom” and link to my year long series about bottoming?
just kidding i love talking about bottoming
did y’all know i’m a bottom

Valerie: Hearher i’m reading SATSTYBAU and i just want you to know that i’ll be so ready for that fanfic roundtable if you want it. To talk about it AND to share faves. :blush:
Carmen: Me too! I’m fanfic roundtable reeeeeaaady!
Valerie: I am also here to defend Dawn from the Babysitter’s Club til my fingers fall off
Carmen: ME TOO!! But, Jessie!!!
Valerie: I LOVED JESSIE.
I can’t wait for BCB week
Carmen: I loved all the Babysitters!! Secret confession: Sometimes I think I think of the BSC as like Autostraddle’s fictional ancestors? In a way?
Like, they were an indie start up who made it on the strength of friendship and feminism? And dammit, so will we!
Valerie: Agreeeeed!!!
Heather: who’s mean about dawn or jessie? i only ever heard people clowning on mallory and then — after i stopped hanging out with straight people — on logan!
Carmen: Oh I just meant that I’m prepared to write a one thousand word love letter about Jessie and the BSC!
Heather: ohhhhhhh! okay, yes!
Valerie: People always give me shit when I say Dawn was my favorite!
Then again
maybe that was only straight people

Rachel: let’s publish a post just titled No Gay Woman Who Has Left Her Husband Regrets It
there’s no body text that’s the whole post
Laneia: !!!!!
!!!!!!!!
it would be such a good saturday post
Rachel: I just want it to come up in search results when someone is googling “gay regret leaving husband?”

Riese: you know what’s funny is that for every sex act we asked about on this survey
there were more people wanting to give it than receive it
except for anal fingering and oral anal sex
wherein more people wanted to get it than give it
Laneia: selfish
Riese: EVERYBODY IS AFRAID TO PUT THEIR FINGER IN SOMEBODY’S BUTT BUT THEY ALSO WANT A FINGER IN THEIR BUTT
hi Heather
Laneia: that’s the headline
Riese: that is a good headline
Laneia: i’m gonna ask [new writer] how they feel about butt stuff
Rachel: what if everyone had to count to three and say if they wanted a finger in their butt at the same time before they could sleep together
just a thought
Sarah: yeah, right
butt finger 4 butt finger

Al: not to be reverse racist, but @Archie i def thought this picture of @kristin was you :

Cameron: ^^ sorry arch.
Molly: me too honestly and briefly
Sarah: JUST THOUGHT THE SAME THING
when i saw this just now.
Audrey: Oh wowww
Something about the nostrils??
Archie: Omg hahaha
It’s def the nostrils
The slight smirk
Alyssa: LOLOLOLOLOL
Archie: Our handsome chins
The natural brown of our dyed hair
Our similarly strong necks
And that playful glint in our eye
I saw it and def thought it was a photo of me
Alyssa: we’re breaking up.

Heather: my cam post review will be our first review on rotten tomatoes! a lesbian movie critic’s lesbian movie review influencing the critic’s score!
Laneia: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
!!!!???!!!
what will happen what will they do
will you be quoted in a little blurb do you have to put it in there on rotten tomatoes yourself
Heather: yes! i just sent the review and they will pull a quote and give it a fresh stamp with my picture and a link!
i’ll link you when it goes up
Rachel: !!!
Laneia: I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU !!!!!!
this is a big fucking deal
Heather hogan
i would take you out for drinks if i could
Heather: it is! this must be what men feel like every time they write something!

[checking in for our weekly out-loud meeting]
Heather: here, queer, chamomile tea
Laneia: here, queer, almond butter banana smoothie WITH COFFEE
Heather: well hello!
how’s your hair??
Laneia: the color is great! she did a weird texturing thing at the bottom which i told her not to do but i guess it’s fine
thank u 4 asking
Heather: my pleasure, of course.
These Hairs
Laneia: omg
Heather: summer 2019, think about it
Laneia: whereupon are my fellow females
Sarah: I’M HERE
Riese is here
Heather: queer?
Laneia: i’m going to run upstairs and grab a new shirt while we wait for the others
back!
Heather: that was flash fast!
Laneia: i really did run, i wasn’t lying

Stef: oh

Stef: imagine how embarrassing it would be to get caught holding hands with adam sandler
Laneia: i’d burn my house to the ground
Stef: i’d cut my own arm off

Meet A New Contributor!

Get to know some of our newest faces.

Kaylah, Contributor

Youtube: www.youtube.com/cupcakekaylah
Instagram: @ohhhkaylah
Twitter: @KaylahCupcake

What would be your superpower and why?
TELEPATHY!!! I want to know ALL of the things. Do you think I’m cute? How do you really feel about that person? I’m an intuitive type, but it’s always nice to have confirmation on my various suspicions. Yes suspicions. #scorpio! I could maybe use my powers for “good,” Idk maybe help out the resistance… but I think I’d almost exclusively use this power to figure out who’s flirting with me, who’s too intimidated to make the first move (but omg you totally should) and to find the best dance partner on the dance floor.

If you could invite four famous people (dead or alive) to dinner, who would you choose and why?
Trisha Paytas, Rihanna, and Crissle and Kid Fury of the Read. This would be the messiest dinner ever and I can’t help but laugh thinking about it. Rihanna is rolling a few blunts for the table, Trish and I are posing for Instagram thirst traps, and Crissle and Kid Fury are roasting everyone we dislike one by one.

Describe the worst date you’ve ever been on.
Actually, I don’t have many date experiences, but I look forward to collecting them good and bad, in the very near future. My DMs are open!!! wink wink wink wink?

Who was your first woman celebrity crush?
There was a time in my childhood where Blue Crush would play pretty much daily on MTV and VH1… and I watched it through every. single. time. She wasn’t even the main character, but Michelle Rodriguez stole my heart. Long hair, strong brows, arms?! Yum, hello! Plus her voice is like gravel sex. I was then introduced to the film Girl Fight and… ‘Shew wee’ let me tell you.

What’s one makeup product that changed your life?
Strobing cream is the new love of my life!!! In my Summer Babe video, I try out NYX Away We Glow and only a month later, the bottle is empty! Strobing cream is a moisturizer that adds the most amazing glow to your skin. It’s great for those who like to wear a full face of makeup, it’s great for those who just want to add some pizazz and it’s great for everyone in the middle.

What’s something you’ve been really proud of lately?
I’ve been stepping out of my comfort zone very frequently and I have to pat mysef on the back for that. I’m REALLY proud of my Spin the Bottle attendance as of late.

Kim Milan teaching Yoga with her baby at A-Camp 2018

I HAVE SEEN / THE LESBIANS / WHO WERE IN THE FILM / FORGIVE ME / THEY WERE DELICIOUS / SO SWEET / SO COLD-SHOULDERED

Rachel: heather have you seen Blow Dry
i’m trying to remember if it happens in the summer
Heather: no does it have diane lane with sex hair in it?
Rachel: it’s in england so like, seasons aren’t real anyway
Heather: or you know whatever. someone else’s type
Rachel: oh actually I wonder if kayla has seen it, it’s literally premised on lesbian hair play
Heather: !
Rachel: the two on the left are in lesbians with each other

Kayla: !!!!!
I have not seen!!!
Rachel: I genuinely love it it makes me cry
I can’t believe I haven’t brought it up before
Heather: sutton foster has real diane lane vibes, i am just realizing
i’m sorry i’m in a rabbit hole now
Rachel: no lean into it
Heather: i am going to watch this tonight! i see you, alan rickman!
Kayla: wow lesbian hairplay and Natasha Richardson?????? How have I not seen this work of cinema
Heather: pretty good excerpt for your eventual review
Riese: is that brenda??
from six feet under
it is
Heather: rachel you have set us aflame!
Rachel: I honestly don’t know why it took me so long I love this movie
Heather: let’s go to the mall and get an orange julius and then go watch this
Rachel: rachel leigh cook and josh hartnett are in it at the height of their pubescent peak
alan rickman is a delight
the lesbian storyline is genuinely sweet and the emotional touchstone of the film
it is part of my favorite subgenre of movie, which is niche industry competitions being taken extremely seriously
Heather: omg
Kayla: Who are the lesbians
I must know
Rachel: the actresses or the characters?
Kayla: Actresses
Like is Natasha Richardson one of them
Heather: i read

Who are the lesbians
I must know

like that william carlos williams plum poem
Rachel: rachel griffiths!
is the other lesbian
Heather:
Who are the lesbians
I must know
You Will Tell Me
I mean It
Rachel: and yes natasha richardson!
is a sweet domestic lez
Kayla: AHHHH
rip
Heather: sweet domestic lez! finally, an answer to that top/bottom/switch/other sex survey!
(for me, you all do you)
Kayla: Hahahaha
I’m watching Blow Dry…..right now
Rachel: please share any updates you feel called to
Kayla: I mean right from the start, these hairspray-effect opening credits are perfect

…one hour later…

Kayla: This movie…..is bonkers
I love it
Rachel: That is the correct take yes

What We’ve Been Reading

Natalie: She Begat This: 20 Years of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Joan Morgan

Carmen: She Begat This: 20 Years of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Joan Morgan (Hey Natalie! We’re twins!)

Carrie: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Laneia: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg and Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan

Heather: Unsheltered: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver

Tiara: I’ve been way too busy working on my Melbourne Fringe show Queer Lady Magician to be able to read any books!

Al(aina):The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke by Suze Orman

Valerie Anne: Ship It by Britta Lundin

Molly: The Ontario Table Cookbook by Lynn Ogryzlo

Riese: Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill. Again!

Rachel: Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

Sarah: The Ex-Girlfriend of My-Ex Girlfriend is My Wife, by xenaworrierprincess

Yvonne: We Are Never Meeting In Real Life: Essays by Samantha Irby

Vanessa: Amateur: A True Story About What Makes A Man by Thomas Page McBee

SLACKERS

Slack rolled out a new search feature this month so I asked everyone to screenshot their most recent searches. It was… telling.

Rachel

Cameron

Stef

Laneia

Riese

Tiara

Laura

Lex

Carmen

Valerie

Al(aina)

Natalie

Vanessa

Sarah

“Remember That??” Retro-Reading

Some posts from previous months Riese thinks you might enjoy.

via t.A.T.u the Terrible/AWESOME

Last week we were short on content and even though I was on vacation, which is a very rare event for me, I invented a new column and wrote the first installment of it that very morning, based entirely on an experience I’d had just the night before! It’s called “Remember That” and it’s about surprisingly queer stuff that happened pretty recently that I’m not sure if you fully remember or not. Anyhow, it got me thinking about previous pieces we’ve published that’d probably fit into this genre. 

Please note that I’m currently looking for someone to write about the 2007 Logo Series “Curl Girls.” Thank you.

Cartoon Recap: t.A.T.u the Terrible/AWESOME, by Stef (2009) – “For seven years, I loved you with the fervor that can only be afforded to something both terrible and awesome at the same time. Your ridiculously addictive, shameless Europop was my bread and butter, and your lyrics spoke to me of forbidden love, imaginary dyke drama and something about monkeys.”

The Real Ellen Story, by Riese (2017) – A 1997 documentary entitled “The Real Ellen Story” was just hanging out on the internet waiting for people to re-discover it. LUCKILY I DID.

The Curious Case of Alex Parks, the Celesbian Who Briefly Was, by Sarah Fonseca (2014) – She won BBC’s Fame Academy in 2003, released a 2x platinum album, voiced concerns that she was being portrayed as a “spikey-haired Cornish lesbian” or was doomed to a life in the “cheesy pop world,” and then, in 2005 — she disappeared.

Remembering Chyna, a Polarizing Powerhouse, by Leah (2016) – “Many women who were said to be as “good as the men” may have shied away from controversial sexual endeavors, worrying they would lower her credibility in the public eye; Chyna did what she wanted to do, as she always had.”

MEET AN EDITOR’S PET!

Get to know some of our staff’s pets. Today we’ll get to know more about Laneia’s cat Winona Forever! She probably feels a little intimidated to be the next pet to be interviewed after Carol, but being intimidated by Carol is part of the job at this point, am I right?

1. What’s your favorite food (includes human food)?
Well you wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I dislike all wet cat food. I just need to get that out upfront so there’s absolutely no confusion and none of you will ever offer it to me, please. So if we could just pretend that it doesn’t exist, that would be great. My favorite food is the delicious forbidden treat my moms call “feral food.” I don’t care what ‘feral’ means I just know that it’s shaped like fishes and x’s and it’s a million times more delicious than those pellets of sheer boredom that show up in my lovely yellow bowl at all hours of the day. Megan will tap three times on the edge of the highest perch on my royal and important tower (no one else could even get up to the highest perch if they tried lol) to signal that the forbidden treat has arrived. This is why I let her touch me.

2. What’s your most perfect sleeping scenario?
Thank you for asking! Wow, no one has ever asked me this. I just- I’m sorry I’m just a little overwhelmed! My most perfect sleeping scenario is the one in which I’m left the hell alone, of course, but in the spirit of answering your little questions to the best of my ability and with great illustrious detail that I only I can convey, I’ll concede that I love sleeping on my moms’ bed, right in the middle of the two pillow piles at the top, near the window. I like the shade pulled up and the curtains parted so I can occasionally keep an eye on the people driving by in their loud machines. Oh and, were this a fantasy, the dogs would be on sabbatical at some other home altogether. Just, wholly in a different space entirely away from me.

3. If you could have a home on the beach, near mountains, or in a lush forest, which would you pick and why?
My ideal home would be in a lush forest, so that I could climb to the very top of the tallest tree and never rely on anyone ever again. Until I wanted to.

4. What is your favorite Winona Ryder film?
It really depends on the current phase of the moon but I think the one I’m most drawn to is Beetlejuice. Have you ever heard of it? Winona plays a very surly young woman who enjoys her solitude and knows a thing or two about getting exactly what she wants, and for whatever reason that really speaks to me. I also feel drawn to Reality Bites, though on a more surface-level, because I sometimes bite as well.

5. What’s your favorite outfit?
Do not ever lift even the first segment of one of your fingers with the intention of attempting to put an outfit on me. I cannot believe you’ve asked this question.

6. What do you wish you could say to your mom?
Well I do say this to her all the time, and I enunciate and speak very slowly for her and she still pretends she doesn’t understand me: “THE BOX. ON THE WALL. THE BOX!! I WANT IT. BOX!!?? DO YOU SEE IT?? HERE! IT’S HERE ON THIS WALL. I WISH IT WERE ON THIS FLOOR INSTEAD CAN YOU PLEASE DO ANYTHING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN WHY ARE YOU NOT MOVING CAN YOU NOT SEE THE BOX?! WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS???”

Campers thinking about Dana Fairbanks at A-Camp 2018

I’m Asking You To Be As Civilized As a G-ddamn Fucking Bird, Shane

Riese: Heather you missed my big announcement on monday
at the monday meeting
Heather: !
Riese: which is
Heather: :dobby:
Riese: that ilene chaiken and her wife LuAnn have an instagram account
in which they take
pictures of
birds
and
squirrels
Heather: ahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
Riese: and it has 19.5k followers
Heather: !!
Riese: FAT SQUIRRELS
Laneia: i need to lie down again
Heather: !
oh my god i am so happy
Riese: sorry to bring this back up Laneia
Heather: please link me
Riese: The Daily James
Laneia: triggered
Rachel: wait I thought just the one squirrel was fat
Sarah: “Who cares about squirrels? They’re literally everywhere”
-Riese
Is my favorite sentence someone spoke on Monday
Rachel: Tag Yourself: Birds From Ilene Chaiken’s Instagram Account
Heather: oh my god, she is never not ilene chaiken!
“A chronicle of one yard in Los Angeles. Our wildlife habitat in the urban jungle started with a single bird feeder.”
Riese: there’s at least two fat squirrels in the same pic
Rachel:
i’m this one
The Wildlife Tabloid on Instagram: “One of the best moments in life has to be when a baby raven lands above your head and baby raven babbles at you. #babytalk #babyanimals…”
Heather: oh wow these pictures aren’t even good!
is she taking them with her PHONE
Sarah: Is it…. choking?
Laneia: wait keep scrolling i think you have to see the rest
Rachel: no that’s what they sound like!
why does ilene chaiken get to have ravens
Riese: one of the best moments in my life personally was when a baby raven landed above my head
so i can really relate to that
Rachel: she doesn’t deserve ravens I deserve ravens
Riese: you can keep scrolling forever Heather, it will never end, it’s like shopping at asos
Laneia: it’s like sex <<<<<<<<<<< baby raven landing above my head
Riese: i don’t know how far back it goes because … the limit does not exist
Heather: this is ilene chaiken on the right with her l word reboot and me on the left

Riese: honestly i would tag myself as both of those dogs:
Laneia: emotional connections and trust built over time <<<<<<<<<<<< baby raven
Rachel: omg
Heather: #insects_of_our_world
#macro_drama
Riese: a very popular hashtag i bet
Heather: “We’ve been getting to know Diego, our newest rescue dog. Here, he’s just told us he’s into avant guard haute couture.”
Riese: !!!!!
avant “guard”
Heather: haute couture
Riese: i can’t wait for ilene chaiken to invite me over for dinner so i can eat one of her birds
just kidding i would never eat a bird
Heather: what an essay that will make
The Night I Ate Ilene Chaiken’s Pet Bird
Riese: but i can’t wait for ilene chaiken to invite me over for dinner so a baby raven can land on my head
literally all i want in life is the chance to make a blue apron meal for ilene chaiken and to talk to her about jenny and social anxiety
Rachel: can you imagine as the self-indulgent opening graf of a profile
Laneia: wait can we takeover #macro_drama
please
Rachel: “Marie Lyn — “Riese,” as she’s known — is ponderous as she stabs Ilene Chaiken’s baby raven with her fork in this sun-drenched WeHo garden patio”
Laneia: eating one of her birds would be a serious power/jenny move
Rachel: I want to write it
Heather: #macro_drama belongs to us now

Five Posts Rachel Can’t Believe You Motherf*ckers Didn’t Read Last Month

Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be (Lesbian) Cowboys, by CJ Janovy

Well this just destroyed me, in the best way — I love how the Bad Behavior issue has opened up and complicated my understanding of “bad behavior” and “badness” in general, and this essay is such a good example of it; the way that it’s clear-eyed and honest about the rules broken but refuses to allow an easy narrative to be superimposed onto them, the way that it leans into the specific kind of cowboy badness that a specific kind of person can’t help themselves around without letting it be glamorous or easy. Anyhow! I love this essay and you will too.

Day in the Life: Queer High Priestess of Pop Frankie Simone, by Molly Adams

I was riveted by this! I know so little about this industry and hearing Frankie talk about the dynamics of working with her partner was fascinating, also you know I’m a sucker for a diary entry being included anywhere and the one included here is so perfect!

“The Miseducation of Cameron Post” Director Desiree Akhavan Makes Queer Women’s Movies Because She Just Loves Queer Women, by Heather Hogan

I just saw Cameron Post and the scenes of wounded understanding and tenderness between gay teens were so real to me — I hadn’t realized how much I had been missing seeing queer teens relate to each other in ways that feel real, both platonically and romantically/sexually! As Heather says in this interview piece, “the queer teens themselves are treated with so much respect.” Akhavan is so smart and acerbic and Heather is so insightful in picking up on what makes her so unique and necessary. Reading this in tandem with the movie was such a great experience and I would recommend it full stop.

The Disability Justice Initiative Moves Beyond the ADA to Raise the Bar for Progressive Movements, by Carrie Wade

Carrie is living in DC now, changing the world and living all of our dreams of being involved with and being able to report on the stuff that matters to us all! This is a fantastic piece on the kickoff of the Disability Justice Initiative, and you definitely need to keep an eye on the work they’re doing and also read this piece!

These Shirts, by Laneia

I find it hard to imagine you have not read these, A+ member, or at least if you have chosen not to we are different as people in ways that I find difficult to really even conceptualize, but! I want to talk about these posts here because it is possible you missed them, somehow, they are posted on Saturdays and maybe you were going to the farmers market or bleaching your grout or looking for buried treasure off the interstate, I don’t know your life. I do know that the inside of Laneia’s brain and heart are precious and being invited in is a privilege; you should make the most of it.

Valerie’s Pick of the Month

Okay here’s the thing NORMALLY I feel very live-and-let-live about bugs, including spiders, in my home. (Except when it’s mosquitos but that’s not my fault because they’re on the offensive.) Usually spiders, flies, etc, aren’t out to suck my blood so I just ignore them. HOWEVER, this summer, fruit flies have been taking over NYC (seriously, they’re in my office, in restaurants, everywhere) and they are so small and plentiful and fuck rabbits THESE GUYS ARE THE REAL REPRODUCING CHAMPIONS. So this electric fly swatter became necessary and I walk around my apartment wielding it like it’s my weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse. And listen, I’m a vegetarian and buy cruelty-free shampoo and all that jazz but…killing these little home invaders with a satisfying zap is admittedly a little fun in a sick way.

Social Media Spotlight

Are you following us on Instagram? You should absolutely be following us on Instagram! It’s a whole new world over there, one where Laneia makes new Insta Stories for you almost every day!

The main thing people have been excited to talk to us about this month is our new astrology content, including your all-time favorite lesbian vampire, Carmilla.

*Not to be confused with star/sun signs. You need to know the exact time your were born to discover your moon! ✨

— Natasha Negovanlis (@natvanlis) August 23, 2018

It’s so refreshing to see an astrology article that doesn’t use heterosexual/heteronormative terminology! 🖤

— Natasha Negovanlis (@natvanlis) August 23, 2018

Are you confusing your sun sign with your moon sign perhaps?

— Natasha Negovanlis (@natvanlis) August 23, 2018

Your moon sign is different than your sun/star sign though!

— Natasha Negovanlis (@natvanlis) August 23, 2018

A-Camp Spring 2018

Pens for President

Yvonne: hello! it’s a new day, a new week! here’s a thing you can contribute to! let me know all your favorite pens, pencils, journals, etc. by this wednesday, 8/29
Molly: omg yvonne you loving school supplies feels so right
Yvonne: yes it’s the capricorn in me :woman-tipping-hand::skin-tone-4:
Carrie: i added a bad pun to the end of my contribution just now because it felt wrong to just let it go by
Yvonne: yes love it thank you carrie
Carrie: you know i’ve got your back
Molly: carrie i thought of you the other day when i was driving 85 mph
“carrie would love this”
Carrie: hahaha
you’re right! i do!
Molly: come to montana, we drive fast because it’s big
Carrie: new state motto?
Molly: hahahahaha i’ll float it past the governor
when i was learning to drive, the speed limit was “reasonable and prudent”
so. we’ve come a long way, actually, with our 80 mph highways
Carrie: i have questions about what that means
(i say this as someone whose driving is likely TOO reasonable and prudent so)
Molly: it was legit just what you thought was reasonable and prudent, so it was the wild west for a bit
Carrie: no kidding :thinking_face:
Reneice: Molly is an incredible host and Huck is a perfect dog and everyone should go to Montana to visit them
Molly: adventure hounds
adventure hounds who happen to know where you can get the best huckleberry margarita to go, i should say
Laneia: excuse me reneice i just saw your bathroom mirror pic on instagram and can no longer hope to ever travel anywhere bc of how thoroughly that picture has murdered me
Reneice: Omg Laneia I’m screenshotting this and saving it forever cause I just smiled so big it hurts
Molly: wow reneice excuse me you look like a head of state ready to address her subjects

XOXO

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