It’s another lovely holigay season on the internet, but this one is especially special for us: our hotly anticipated redesign will be debuting the first week of December! We have so much shit in store for our first month out and we’re really excited. To celebrate this fantastic and promising time, we’re having a holiday contest to expand and enhance our vibrant community.
Here’s how you enter:
- If you haven’t already, register for an account on Autostraddle.
- Comment on this post — THIS ONE RIGHT HERE — and tell us what your favorite thing to read on Autostraddle is (this actually does help us plan for the future!) — before December 1st.
- Then… keep on commenting! Comment on an Autostraddle post at least every other day between now and December 12th (if you miss a day or two, we’ll forgive you).
- A trusty A-Team member will then compile a list of everybody who entered themselves here, check comment logs to make sure you’ve stuck around with your thoughts and feelings, and toss all those names into a magical hat.
- On December 15th, the winners will be announced, most likely in video form, plucked out of a vessel by somebody undoubtedly adorable.
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
Grand Prize:
$100 Gift Card to The Autostraddle Store OR $100 off tuition to our A-Camp event
What will you buy with your gift card? The possibilities are endless! There’s lots of new stuff for the holidays, like a new style of hoodie that’ll pop up in the store next week, You Do You flasks, and the 2014 Calendar. We’re also re-stocking the classic apparel: our You Do You t-shirt, A-Camp hoodies, Straddle This boxer-briefs and “Straddle This” t-shirts. Or you can accessorize with You Do You pins, stickers or totes, or record all your feelings in a “So Many Feelings” notebook.
If you choose the A-Camp discount, we’ll give you a code that you can use when you register for camp (registration for our May 2014 A-Camp opens January 17th, but we’ll let you register on the 16th to ensure you get a spot). If you change your mind or can’t make it, you can swap out that prize for the gift card down the road.
First Prize: $50 Gift Card to the Autostraddle Store
Two Second Prize Winners: $25 Gift Card to Autostraddle Store
Alright Weirdos, GET COMMENTING!
I love reading anything advice-related you all care to bestow on us, as well as Make A Thing!
I’m a huge fan of Butch Please – it’s always so well reasoned, interesting and introspective.
I’ve been really enjoy the recent pieces on comics and manga.
As far as features go, Playlists!
Loved Butch Please and always look forward to Straddler on the Street/ Almost Famous.
Well, this is as good a reason as any to start commenting! I’ve been a silent creeper for long enough(years, seriously guys)! Brittani’s Video Party makes me want to party every time. Top 10 anythings. Recaps oh god the recaps. 101’s. Frig, I can’t pick. You post it, I read it. I just love you all. *insert long held in fuzzy feelings here*
Open Threads are my favourite, especially Christmakwanzakkah. They make me feel less alone and more in touch with the AS community. <3
I hope you all know how much I love you…
my favorite things include politics/social awareness, anything with cooking or crafting, and whenever Vanessa is a Jewish grandma (all the time).
My favorite things to read on autostraddle are high femme, things i read and loved, any/everything about brittney griner, and also stuff written by laneia. Also this has nothing to do with the assignment but i literally hyperventilate during/after/before reading most things on here because i have so many fucking feels about this site/you gays that its almost always overwhelming.
Oh cool! I really like what I’ve seen of the redesign beta. Very excited for it to happen!
I love so much here it’s hard to pick a few. Things I read that I love is so great every week. Get Baked is awesome and has really expanded my horizions in the kitchen. I love Lizz’s PLL recaps. And the site in genera. I just really love getting to know so many kind, giving and interesting people.
Make A Thing! I wear my galaxy print maxi skirt all the time and never have I worn it out without at least one compliment. Thank you for the craft ideas, I always look out for them.
I love reading the first person essays. Also Sunday Funday and I’m loving the Queered Science posts.
All the AS community related stuff is pretty great too. For example I love reading the recamps even though I’ve not been to camp; Straddler on the Street also comes to mind.
My greatest wish is that Laneia writes more often cause her essays/articles are just everything in this world.
omg this is beautiful
I’m a fan of Butch Please but the first person essays are also excellent
Butch Please & “How To Have Lesbian Sex” are quick favorites.
The Foster’s recap had me laughing almost TOO hard for life.
I try the Make A Things and while my finished products still look like something a moose/pirate with a hook crafted in the dark while drunk, they managed to woo my soon to be (current) girlfriend. Thanks for that.
I WOULD EAT THE RECAMPS WITH A SPOON IF I COULD
I love all the First Person essay, Things I Read That I Love, and all the TV show recaps (though I have GOT to stop reading those in class. Way too hard to stay straight-faced). I also love anything, no matter the topic, that challenges me to look deeper at my own privilege or to combat intersectional issues of oppression.
Seriously, AS is, bar-none, by favourite website in the universe. I love the community and I love digging deeper into issues and being challenged to think differently about so many different topics.
Plus, of course, all the feels.
I love so many things on Autostraddle that it’s difficult to pick specifics. I guess my favourite things are the hilarious TV recaps, the politics stuff, anything that has something to do with non-normative gender presentation and all the posts that cause me to add dozens of books to my ever-growing reading list. Also it makes me super happy when I see stuff about the UK (or, Europe in general) on here.
I also love the comment sections and the community in general. I don’t have any queer friends where I live, so reading articles and comments by all the smart, witty and charming people here just really improves my life.
Um, can I say all the things? lol
There are so many favorites though. The ones I try to never miss are definitely Make A Thing, the various style guides, the cooking posts, and Queer Your Tech, for sure. I know I’m forgetting some, but I literally love reading anything on the site because it all interests me.
Autostraddle introduced me to some FANTASTIC webcomics, including Oh Joy Sex Toy and O Human Star. Webcomics are my new favorite story medium. Keep them coming, Autostraddle! <3
I really love reading just about everything! But I usually read the advice based posts first, and then The first persona essays are always interesting. But I seriously read just about every article that is posted! <3
The TV reviews make me laugh so hard, I love them.
hard to say what my favourite thing to read is. probably things i read that i love and basically any first person essays. also anything written by kade, or liz.
i need that ‘you do you’ flask, guys. im in it to win it.
Yay! I love the personal essays, any advice-related stuff, NSFW Sundays, recamps, political coverage. You guys are so great at everything!
Never change.
My favorite columns are probably “You need help” and “Straddler on the Street”
I did need help, and that’s what initially brought me to Autostraddle. I continue to need help, so I doubt I will ever leave.
I also love reading about all my fellow Queirdos out there. Getting to be part of that and be Internet famous for a day was also really awesome and inspiring for me.
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
We all need help, all the time. Thank god for Autostraddle and the community that comes with this blessed website.
Someone adorable is giving it away, sign me up!
Tough — I love reading Get Baked and Make A Thing as regular columns, but it’s the personal essays and political commentary (oh, ok and the Glee recaps) that get me really fired up and commenting. I just started reading really regularly probably a little less than a year ago, and I’m not sure where I was without it! I mean, it’s like my queermo guide to all things wonderful.
I love love the episode recaps (I don’t watch most of the shows that are recapped but they’re all fucking hilarious.) Lovelovelove the first person essays, Butch Please and I wish that Vanessa Friedman would write a blog post every week about her Jewish Grandma shenanigans.
I absolutely always read He Said/She Said — I love fashion… — and I always read Ka(d/t)e’s articles because they’re great. Straddler on the Street is pretty excellent also, but I don’t always read it. But please keep doing that!
But, but… I love all of them!
I read all the episode recaps, they are super hilarious.
All the first person essays are adorable and inspiring, and I surprisingly enjoy reading the More than Words series.
I almost never comment, but now you gave me a great reason to ;)
My absolute favorite things are the Glee Recaps, if only for the first paragraphs where Riese describes what Glee is (current fave: “an after-school special about jungle gyms, training bras, witch hats, cotton balls, double-headed dildos and ponies who smoke too much dope and the doe-eyed maidens who like to ride them through the meadow”). Amaze-balls.
Also loved Butch Please because butch things always and forever.
I love reading the NSFW posts, Also.Also.Also, Dear Queer Diary, and many of the posts under the “Comedy” category.
I also found a lot of the coming out articles really helpful during that process.
And who can forget A-Camp? I love the recaps!
Dude, this is like Sophie’s Choice.
I never miss one of Kate’s recaps. The “Bomb Girls” recaps used to seriously be the highlight of my week when they were happening, seriously. And now I’m being saved the pain of watching “Once Upon a Time” because that’s being covered to hilarious effect.
Also, lists are always great, I don’t care what they’re about, I just adore reading things in list form because I have the attention span of a gnat, and I love when we talk about books because I love finding new queer lady books to read (although my bank account doesn’t really love it).
My favorites are the First Person, Geekery, and Also.Also.Also./Sunday Funday posts. I’m also eternally grateful to Lizz for teaching me how to dress better than my classmates and Rachel for helping me understand everything political.
I love Autostraddle. I could write a love letter to Autostraddle. Or a love poem. Or a love novel. Really your pick.
My favorite things to read on AS are the advice columns, especially relationship stuff. I’m trying to figure out how to restart my life after the end of a seven year relationship, and hearing other people’s experiences and advice is always a plus. I always look forward to the comment awards, because it’s just such a beautiful love fest at the end of the week. And the political articles are almost always spot-on. I started to write out my other favorites, and then realized that I was just re-capping everything you guys do. Let’s get real, I’ll read anything you write.
I only read Autostraddle for the bisexual flamewar comment threads, which are surely the best-spelt on the internet. I also used to be very fond of the voodoo love potion spam comments, though there are hardly any of those these days – I guess the filters/community managerettes are doing well on that? I would still occasionally like to see one slip through. Please work on this.
I am very much looking forward to the redesign, so that I can finally express my opinions solely via Marisa-from-the-real-L-word “This is crazy” gifs. I can already guarantee these will be relevant 100% of the time.
OMG i love everything so it’d be like picking my favorite child. I love the fashion articles, especially the work fashion ones because theyre super helpful.
And I reaaaally want a $100 credit for a-camp because i have vowed to go to the next one
HOLY SHIT FLASKS. Probably my favorite weekly thing is “things I read that I love”, but I also super consistently read the get bakeds and the first persons and I dunno, most everything. I’d love to see more stuff like the bisexuality columns Stef’s done; I think AS does an awesome job of covering a lot of parts of the queer spectrum, but I’d love to hear more about non-binary sexuality in general here (and everywhere, but it’s better here) on a more regular basis.
I love all the things! A-camp re-camps brighten my day even though I have not (yet) been. Gift guides always get into my head in a very helpful way. Also Lizz’s fashion-related posts. AND AND Things I Read That I Love!
I love reading the silly listicles and discussions of pop culture and More Than Words and just generally this whole website so.
I loveee the “Things I Read That I Loved” article lists, soo great
Ah! This is exciting, and I might have to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to actually comment because I forget that stuff! I regularly read the Things I Read That I Love and try to read any of the First Person essays or any of the articles on pop culture or webcomics. Also the Also.Also.Also., and Sunday Funday, and Glee Recaps, and most of the political stuff, and actually all of it. I read all of it.
I read most every post that comes on, but I do have a few favorites. Riese’s long read posts are amazing and give me so much to peruse over on my free time. Lez Liberty Lit is another one that has SO MUCH CONTENT. Also, books, because duh. Any food and fashion related articles are fantastic because they discuss topics which are required to sustain my life.
I LOVE MAKE A THING. I LOVE love love love Make a Thing. and the first person essays always make me cry a little because they hit home so hard. also, “You need help” helped me confess to my now-fiancee.
I love everything here.
Okay, I’ve mostly lurked for several years now. When I started think that I was becoming less asexual and more homosexual I found afterellen. I really enjoyed some of the writers but felt a lack of feminist/political discourse, and I’m not really all that interested in pop culture. Then they had a link to Autostraddle, and it was and is lovely. In the past few months I have actually posted a bit on articles about trans* issues. My wife started transitioning a few years before we met. She is not out to most of my friends, so it is nice to have a place where I can at least read about trans* issues. It’s nice to have a community even if I’m mostly a wall flower.
I also like to read the articles on crafts and cooking. The Queered Science series has been fascinating, and I would love a similar series about queers in early childhood care and education. The Straddler on the Street series is also fun to read! And I appreciate the articles on political issues.
Thanks for everything Autostraddle, and this is a great incentive for me to post more often!
More than Words, and also everything else.
Also, you don’t have to follow my comment log because I don’t usually have time to visit/comment every second day. Just wanted to put my 2 cents in re. favourite columns.
Also hopefully you won’t get people doing that annoying thing where they post multiple comments at once in order to rack up comment totals. I hate that.
I have to choose one? This might be a harder contest than I first thought… I love the Glee recaps, even though I haven’t watched an episode since Kurt was in the Warblers, I adore the recipes, I like using the Queer Girl City Guides to plan out my OE, and I love the He Said/We Said pic spams and all the Calendar Girls (for the articles, guys!).
I think, though, my favourite thing to read on Autostraddle is the comments. Cop out, I know! But I love the moment when someone says something that someone else finds offensive and then they discuss it rationally, and the original poster asks how they can be better, and it just makes me remember how much I love this whole place and the attitudes around it. No shaming, no blaming, no judgement, just a sincere apology and an attempt to do better. And that’s my favourite part.
“I think, though, my favourite thing to read on Autostraddle is the comments. Cop out, I know! But I love the moment when someone says something that someone else finds offensive and then they discuss it rationally, and the original poster asks how they can be better, and it just makes me remember how much I love this whole place and the attitudes around it. No shaming, no blaming, no judgement, just a sincere apology and an attempt to do better. And that’s my favourite part.”
THIS!
Straddler on the Street is my very favorite because Vanessa and all of the humans she interviews are so interesting/adorable! I also like Make a Thing (I actually use that more than pinterest) and Dear Queer Diary, which has motivated me to start journaling more.
Recipes, because I don’t know how to feed myself. Also music.
I am very much in love with Wilder Hungers, and quite fond of High Femme as well!
Oh, oh, and TIRTIL, and Trans Scribe too!
Ahhh! How can I choose a favorite?! There are way too many!
Lately my favorites have been the ReCamps because feelings! Also, Every time Riese posts another Glee recap I almost die from laughing too hard each time. Also, Make A Thing, Style Thief, Straddlers on the Street, and The Adventures of Tiny Pineapple. <3
I spend hours reading the links from Things I Read That I Love every week. Always. (There were a few days that evaporated when I went through your TIRTIL archive at one point…) They can be scary or wonderful or scary-wonderful sometimes, like someone is telling us stories. Love.
1) Anything involving recipes
2) Style Thief and other such fashion things
3) TIRTIL and book-specific/literary posts and columns
4) Roundtables. There were some really awesome ones when AS was first launched. More, please?
please can we have more roundtables
Riese’s take-down of Taylor Swift was, is, and will always be a thing of beauty. Can’t get much better than a good feminist problematization of pop culture.
i love ode to my pantry. tv recaps, brittani’s video party, straddler on the street, girl galleries, comment awards, playlists!
I’m commenting! I’m commenting right here! My favourite things to read are NSFW Sundays, Things I Read That I Love, More Than Words and High Femme :)
I’m going to comment so hard on every post this December. My favorite things are anything with the #howtobegay tag, because this website definitely taught me how to be gay. I also love the High Femme column and photo galleries of hot people. And anything Laneia writes because her words are magic.
My favorite thing to read on Autostraddle and what first drew me to the site is Advice articles on dating and relationships. Other favorites include Butch Please, and style advice.
TV Recaps, You need Help, anything written by Rachel, NSFW Sundays, High Femme and comment awards are a few of my favourite things
Well I came for the Queer Girl City Guides, stuck around for Butch Please because it was EVERYTHING I needed in my life at the time. Eventually I just fell in love with the community as a whole, so does the comment section count? Anyway, super excited for the redesign!! Love you Autostraddle, you do a better redesigned you.
I really enjoy Butch Please and the TV recaps. Also playlists.
I’m new to Autostraddle, but can tell you that I am very happy to have come across this site! I guess that my response would be that at the moment, *all* articles and topics rock! I’ve even invited a few other girls to become members here!
I love the re-camps, obviously. Also, the make a things, anything by Crystal, and the sex toy reviews! Also Brittani’s video parties. And everything Stef says. OH and NSFW sundays, because i have eyeballs.
Things I Read that I Loved is the thing I read that I love (the most)
I click on pretty much anything having to do with femmes, genderqueer/trans* people, and nerd stuff :D
…I have to pick just one favorite thing?
Nope, can’t do it. I’ll have to say my favorite thing is a tie between Things I Read That I Love (this is kind of another cheat for me, since that one thing is made up of many things!) and First Person essays. I just love how diverse the subjects and opinions you run across on this site are.
Favorite Thing? ALL THE THINGS.
On a serious note- basically all of the feelings involved in the first person pieces were instrumental in my coming out process. I even go back and read some of the ones that hit close to home as a reminder of how much I’ve grown over the past few years.
On a less serious but equally important note- litterally everything. Autostraddle is my homepage, and it shall stay that way forever and always.
I love reading Get baked articles, and articles about coming up activities.
I like you need help and anything seriously feelings-oriented by riese or laneia and funny listicles / funny anythings and get bakeds and comment awards and queer outfit of the week (i LOVE queer outfit of the week actually) and ugh yes all the things.
I love Gift/Costume/Outfit Guides, Lesbosexy Sunday, and Recamps! I also love real A-Camp and meet-ups when I get to see some of your faces in person!! :)
Great sweepstakes idea, yall. Excited to e-interact with you guys some more!!
I love the recaps so so so much along with Lesbosexy Sunday and the Listlings Without Commentary especially the ones about Ye Olde Queer Ladies.
When I commented earlier, how did I forget Listlings Without Commentary?! Makes me laugh every time.
I looove Glee recaps for helping me articulate my feelings after I inevitably hate-watch every episode! Also just generally, political/cultural commentary is prob my favorite stuff on Autostraddle.
(Also that Samira Wiley picture post thoughh)
Butch Please really needs a resurgence, but I’d also love to see some more showcasing of talented people in fields other than the arts because who wouldn’t love articles on academics, lawyers, blacksmiths, milliners, emergency workers and all the other things gay ladies might want to be when they grow up!
I love the idea of a “When I Gay Up” series featuring queers in a variety of professions! Especially if they make hats! Also mine-blasters.
everything a-camp related, first person essays by the staff, things i read that i love, straddler on the street, everything about the friendships of the staff
Ahhh…so hard to choose! I love ode to my pantry (as a college student living almost exclusively off of frozen/canned goods and whatever my girlfriend cooks for me, I’m always looking for culinary inspiration!). The style/fashion articles are also another favourite of mine.
And an honourable mention to Kate’s Bomb Girls recaps. Can I make a request for a recap of the movie when it comes out??
There are many things I love reading on here, but the Community pieces and the Recaps top the list.
Hmm I normally actually read basically everything! But the things I always go to immediately are TIRTIL, Lez Liberty Lit, First Person Essays, and Listing Without Commentary. Actually any and every list you guys do is my favourite thing. Never stop doing them please!!
I love reading First-Person essays, all the TV recaps, and Rachel’s brilliant simplifications of complex political stuff. WOO!
You Need Help is my absolute favorite thing, but I also really love Butch Please, Listling Without Commentary, First Person Essays, ALL of the recaps, and I can’t remember what it’s called, but the thing where Riese and Laneia write about their feelings. Basically any time the staff is writing about their feelings, I love it.
I will read anything (be it advice like You Need Help or any of the First Person essays) that help me deal with all the feelings I suck at actually talking about. I love the variety of articles on Autostraddle, please keep it as diverse as possible. I always read Butch Please, Style Theif, and anything that links to music videos. Also real into all the articles about comics recently!
I tried making a mental list about what I liked most about AS and I realized I like a lot of things!
I love Make A Thing, Also.Also.Also., everything written by Kate because I like her humor, especially the lately recaps for OUAT, and Dear Queer Diary. Also, anything regarding A-Camp, Hearts and Crafts, and Queer Outfit of the Week.
I have A LOT of mixed I-am-Mexican-and-you-don’t-know-what-you’re-doing-to-my-country feelings regarding High Femme, though.
I love the Ode To [food] and Get Baked posts. And I am not fashionable in a traditional sense but have been enjoying the Queer Outfit of the Week. Also, the Gleecaps are better than the actual show by about a million.
I love Straddler On The Street, because it make me feel more connected to the beautiful AS community. More Than Words always teaches me something new and exciting. Recamps give me so many feelings, I just love it all. <3
Okay I have a lot of favorites but I really like the First Person essays, I especially loved the series on being Southern; I also love Queer Your Tech and Things I Read That I Loved. And the Queer Girl City Guides because I might be moving someplace soon! And actually everything on the website…..
I love the intimacy of Straddler on the Street and the Trans Scribe sections. This site is like a big comfy blanket for me.
I love everything Riese and Laneia write, High Femme, TIRTIL, TV Recaps (The AHS Coven recaps are killing it). I love that even besides those columns and features that I know I’ll read every time they come out, there is always something new that I’ll find interesting/hilarious/useful/educational/entertaining, and more often than not it’s all those things and more.
[PS shout out to Chloe from Tech Support for your help getting my account created! I am a lurker no longer!]
Ahh I cannot pick a favourite. But just to name a few… I love Get Baked, Things I Read That I Love, Straddler on the Street, Make A Thing, recaps, first person essays, and of course the recamps.
But really everything.
What I like to read most is ALL OF THE THINGS…. ummm… Narrowing it down- Make a Thing, Ka(t/d)e’s recaps, High Femme, and Things I read that I love.
I’m SOOOOOOOO EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW SITE!!!!!! CONGRATS!!!!
HAPPY ALL THE THINGS TO YOU ALL!!!!
My favorites are first person essays, get baked, TIRTIL, news and recaps. and I’m still waiting ever so patiently for another blog anything post.
High femme and lesbosexy sunday always does it for me! but Ive been following the glee recaps since day one, and those pll recaps had me weak with laughter.
Anyway autostraddle has been amazing! keep it up
Anything written by Riese or Kade. Personal essays. The trans scribe sections
my favorite things to read are:
-high femme
-anything involving a list
-the PLL & glee recaps
-the anon sex toy reviews
I love pretty much all the show recaps, but esp. the Glee and PLL ones. Crack me up endlessly. AND definitely love Wilder Hungers and the first person material on different topics. Also basically everything else.
This contest is making me feel a lot of feelings, kind of like how I feel lots of feelings when I read TIRTIL which is actually probably one of my favorite things on the Internet as a Whole. Riese–you are brilliant and I admire you fully and your column has brought to my attention SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS. And I love Interesting Things. So yay.
So I’ve maybe been lurking on here for upwards of eight months and never had an “excuse” to sign up. I’m notoriously bad at these things.
ANYWAY! Make A Thing has always been wonderful – I don’t even know how I managed without it before because I feel like I do nothing else craft related except that which is found here.
ALSO GLEE-CAPS. I gave up Glee a couple times and I’ve finally quit for good and the recaps are like the nicotine patches to my dirty dirty addiction.
So hard to narrow it down! But being abroad, you all are my best and most favorite way to stay connected lgbt culture SO anything on current events I’m always excited to read. Also I love the playlists and episode recaps (of literally any show, I don’t even have to watch it! I love the way you write :) thanks for being awesome!!
my favourite articles are the political updates and (more) objective societal issue breakdowns from all different perspectives, everything food related, straddler on the street, tirtl, and also recaps of shows that i don’t even watch. so pretty much everything. it all started with the recaps.. they’re still stellar.
Yay redesign launch! ^_^
Also, being a member for, uhm, almost 2yrs? Well I read pretty much everything in here LOL
But I don’t think I ever publicly admitted my fascination, love, and respect for Laneia and her works (?), so here I am, coming out as an avid reader of Laneia because she’s such a genius and an inspiration, and because I love her hair :-D
Also, here’s a femme announcing that she loves Butch Please articles :-)
And recaps! Riese’s Gleecaps, Dr Lizz’s PLL recaps, ReCamps, and The Fosterzzz recaps! And anything Crystal and Stef writes :-D
HELLO LJ we have the same initials so we’re practically sisters. thank you for these super kind words!! they were very nice to read several times. i’m going to be writing more and i’m so excited about it because being backstage all the time isn’t a ton of fun, you know? i mean it’s fun enough, but a person misses being weird in public sometimes. so anyway what i’m saying is thank you and i will SEE YOU THERE xoxox!
I love first person essays, that thing where riese and laneia write about whatever the fuck they want to write about and anything that involves parenting!
KEEP UP THE GoOD WORK YOU BUNCH OF CRAZY HEROES!
I like everything. But I love the personal essays. You guys put so much of yourselves into everything on this site and I think that’s what makes it different.
Also Tiny Pineapple.
I like all the things. Really.
But I can say that never have I ever not clicked on something labeled NSFW.
Anything related to femme fashion. So far youtube has been my surrogate for a big sister that teaches you how to use eyeliner, style bangs, etc.
I love everything on Autostraddle, but I especially love the “More Than Words” column and the insightful news coverage of political LGBTQ developments (like Supreme Court rulings, the ENDA act, etc.).
I also really enjoy the “Oh Gay Cupid” pieces, and any of the random creatively-written hilarious pieces like the Open-Letters-to-Everyone piece (even more recent example: the list about Kanye’s Bound 2).
My fav article of all time is still Intern Grace’s “Rejection 101: a lesbian’s guide to getting turned down.” I gain strength and courage for lots of things besides dating from that single article. So that’s not a type of article- but just general advice articles about how=to=do-life are wonderful.
And I wanted to second what someone else said above about anything involving parenting being interesting. I am not a parent but someday I’m going to be, and I need help figuring out how I can be the best queer parent I can. :)
I have so many favorite things!!!
Your TV re-caps help validate my time sink choices (PLL!!!)
Queer outfit posts because I love more excuses to update my wardrobe.
Recipes and crafting things!!! I made a bunch of perler bead based gifts thanks to you!!!
You also validate my love of exclamation points!!! I can’t wait for the re-design launch!!! I loved the sneak peak!!!
I love Style Thief, Butch Please and Brittani’s Video Party!! Also girl galleries are always great, especially cute queers in love :)
I like this! I’ve always been a bit scared to comment (is that weird?) and this is a good way in. Article wise I really just love the diversity. Other websites seem so boring after Autostraddle. I especially love anything written by Laneia and the first person stuff though.
I am pretty sure I came for the L-Word recaps, the alternaqueer mix of politico-feelings-pop-culture-literary vibes, and I am pretty sure I stayed for the diversity, the honesty, the vulnerability, the flexibility and willingness to change, the readers/commenters and staff – and all their fucking big hearts. Camp helped that become even more real, and now I feel like I know people and I kinda feel like I am coming to a wicked smart and loving coffee shop to read and talk and have feelings when I come to Autostraddle. So I love that.
I love every single thing Whitney has ever written about family and feelings, and I am desperately hoping for more, particularly since my partner comes from an immigrant family and Whitney’s writing directly helps our lives.
I love Stef and Riese and everyone else’s articles about non-binary sexuality. I love and hope for ongoing/more of this!
I really enjoy the trans* scribe and trans* themed articles (personal, essays, political, activism, fun stuff) and the comments after and discussion.
I love everything written by Kristen (Food, crafts, fashion, Canada!), Brittani (damn funny), and KC Danger (so few fucks to give) and Gabby (FEELINGS, so raw and honest!).
I also like the open feeds – awards shows, holidays, feelings. I have read every single re-camp ever because they make me love/miss camp, know what you weirdos are up to, and when I went to camp, it was a feelings party.
Everything ever about safety, consent, abuse (in and out of the community), trauma, recovery, hope, surviving and thriving. These things are important and needed. Also, destigmatizing and talking about mental health.
And finally, I like the political and social issues articles that usually break things down, track progress and oppression that continues to exist, and engages us all in dialogue.
Sorry, I had to say everything and not be brief. Cause I love so much. Thank you for asking. Another thing I love about this community.
I love the Politics/Activism columns and the First Person columns. Can’t wait for the redesign to launch!
!!! i love all the things going on in the autostraddle world! it’s a tie for me — the first person essays or the recaps — i love reading the recaps more than i like watching most of the shows!!
I absolutely loved that essay Laneia posted a few months ago called “Blog Anything”. Also love all the personal essays and, let’s face it, Glee and Grey’s recaps :) Finally, the trans*- related articles are great and a wonderful opportunity for us non-trans* folks to educate ourselves a bit more. Keep up the good work!
I love everything that Rachel writes on politics, I love Riese’s TIRIL, anything to do with A Camp, and everything Britt, Carmen, Gabby, and Katrina write.
<3
<3
Read A F*cking Book and TIRTIL are my favorites. And all of the first person/personal essays.
I enjoy reading all the things! If I had to choose just a few to highlight it would be the recamps (which are a magic escape to the mountain whenever I read them), Dear Queer Diary, and the First Person essays. But more than the content, it is the genuine style of everyone’s writing that allows their personalities to shine through that I love . Going to camp and getting to know so many of the. Writers just made it that much better.
The things I will always click on are craft and food posts, and tv show recaps. Even though those can be found all over the internet, y’all still do ’em better.
My favorite thing to read on Autostraddle is Brittani’s video party. It’s awesome.
I love reading the comments, man. My lady always yelled at me for spending more time reading comments than articles but what the hay is better than intelligent ladies respectfully debating? NOTHING. She also recently starting reading fervently and I bet she is doing it too (girl, holla if you readin’ this)
I remember an article about the actual prison system in relation to OITNB and I posted that shit on facebook every time someone said they were enjoying the show. That article made that show less guilt-ridden as I swooned at my tube. Thanks for that. Basically, I like when Riese get’s legit reporter style. I also enjoy playlists, which deserve more love. I read pretty much everything but recaps.
Love this place.
So so much about this site that I love (ALL THE THINGS), in particular first person essays, in depth researched pieces on stuff like the prison industrial complex, listlings, round tables, ahhhh all you awesome weirdos :D
I love the First Person essays and High Femme. I also will take significant time out of my day to read anything that Carmen writes lol.
<3 <3 <3 <3
I love that other than providing so much cool info from feminism to fashion to arts and more, Autostraddle is also a platform for people to connect to each other and build a community. Even just reading the comments and getting to know so many cool, diverse opinions is exciting and to think that this really extends to things like ACamp or meets like HoliGAY is fantastic.
Every Sunday I wait for Sunday Funday and Lesbosexy Sunday to come out. It’s my favorite weekly routine..
I love nsfw sundays, style guides, make a thing, articles about gender, and articles about politics. I read probably 80% of the articles on autostraddle and always find something meaningful to me.
Thank you autostraddle for existing!
I basically fell in love with this site due to Going Down (South). I’m only technically Not Southern, since I live in rural southwest Missouri which is so weirdly border-state simultaneously-midwestern-and-southern it hurts, but a lot of that column is still relatable enough to hit me very, very hard in the chest space.
That and camping stuff. Specifically Girl Scout related camping stuff, because camp has been a huge part of my life thus far, and most of my irl queer lady friends are people I met at camp.
I’m relatively new here, but I’m also pretty sure my stay is going to be a long one. Autostraddle is great.
First person essays. The vulnerability and honesty everyone writes with is incredible.
Clothing articles that span many gender expressions :) It is so hard to figure out what to wear out, how to look sexy, etc when there aren’t a lot of role models out there. (And when you’re trying to figure out how you identify!) The boxer briefs article, how to meet girls/date girls, best lesbian tv shows/romance novels/movies that give you an idea of what’s out there, first person essays. Autostraddle meet ups are a cool idea too though I haven’t taken advantage yet.
I love the Make A Thing column, even though I never get around to making anything.
And all the journaling feelings!!
I love listlings without commentary, trans*scribe, dear queer diary, and seriously all of the first person essays.
The First Person stories are consistently my favorites because they represent a variety of perspectives on a variety of topics and they are always so well-informed and they often introduce me to new subjects, or at least new ways of thinking about old subjects. And they give me a lot of feelings.
I also enjoy Anonymous Sex Toy Reviews because they are hilarious.
And Roundtables on any subject because I like hearing from so many of the staffers on one topic.
Hmm, I’d have to say trans*scribe, anything Mey writes (or even touches), Lesbosexy Sunday, Butch Please (even though I’m not butch), the recaps… Oh, and anything that inspires in-person community!
Most of all, AS is like a big comfy security blanket that pops up in my web browser every time I go on the internet and reminds me that there are decent people in the world!
I love the NSFW Sunday! And Straddler on the Street and first person essays because I feel like I can really get to know people that are part of the Autostraddle community and hear a lot of different perspectives. I also enjoy TIRTIL. I’ve read a lot of really interesting articles from there lately (thanks Riese!)
I love Sunday Funday and NSFW Sunday and pretty much everything else :D I am so glad to have been introduced to this website! It’s a new favorite for sure.
MAKE A THING AND ODE TO MY PANTRY
1. Because we all need THINGS
2. I ♥ Food!
I’d also like to add I love stuff done by Ali and Carmen, they have these awesome styles and they talk about the coolest stuff. I really hope I get to meet them at A camp one day!
This website, I have to say toast to you guys who make it work and hats off to EVERYONE. I’ve never seen a more positive and inspiring website for the queer female. One that’s also positive. There hasn’t been a day where I’ve seen something negative said. Constructive criticism yeah but never negativity. Hats off to you guys. There’s just something about the website that makes me feel like it’s more than ok to be myself. I love AUTOSTRADDLE!!
I like reading TV show reviews and the special weeks- underwear week is my fav. I like the interviews, and really, I love anything that pops up here.
Yes, Underwear Week; a brilliant idea! Also, I’ve been meaning to comment that TIRTIL is great and I always read at least one or two of the selections each week.
Some of my favorites are Roundtables, Playlists, Make a Thing, Straddler on the Street, Get Baked and Liquor in the, TIRTIL, and Queer Your Tech.
I can not wait for the redesign. I also hope there are more articles about food/travel/whiskey in the future.
I never miss an edition of Things I Read That I Love. Lez Liberty Lit and NSFW Sunday are my other faves, but TIRTIL is the just the best ever.
Mostly I love all the things on this site! If I had to choose, I’d say Get Baked is still a favorite for me, as well as RECAPS!!, open threads, first person posts, all things whiskey, and the way political posts are converted to lay men’s terms! Also, as an avid home brewer, I have a soft spot for You Brew You posts.
Basically I LOVE AUTOSTRADDLE!
I love it here, but especially love the first person essays and recaps (especially OUAT which alternately makes me swoon and rage). I also love living vicariously through a-camp recaps!!
HOPE I’M NOT TOO LATE.
My fave is Things I Read That I Love. I love reading the queer things on here but also love getting pointers to the not queer awesome essays out there and love the giant list that I’m working my way through
I especially love the fashion articles (really, any/all of them) and the first person columns (particularly Butch Please). Also Glee recaps, because it’s almost better than watching it.
I’m a little late, but I just want to say that my favourite things include recaps, First Person essays, listlings, Things I Read That I Love and the High Femme column.
The thing i love the most however, is the fact that you write with the same intelligence, irony and enthusiasm about serious stuff, like political and feminist issues and things like, JLaws’s new haircut.
Also, Best. Comment section. Ever. ALWAYS. (this thread basically sums it up)
I love Lesbosexy Sundays, Make a Thing, and all of the interviews.
gleecaps! (GLEECAPS.) style thief, because i am a forest person and desperately need a trees person to help me with my wardrobe. things i read that i loved. you need help. (because i really do.)
Oh goodness I hope it’s not too late for me to jump aboard this ship! I most love the first-person essays, Straddler on the Street, the cooking/food columns, and Lez Liberty Lit.
Ok, whether or not I’m too late to actually enter this, this is an excellent reason to start commenting!
I really like reading Sunday Funday, More than Words, and any coverage of the new Pope. Also the Comment Awards are always amazing.
My favorite will always be “Liberty Lit.” I get most of my reading recommendations from here.
Dear Queer Santa….
What an awesome prize.
So hard to narrow it down.
Love the first person writing, particularly Kate’s Butch Please series and the Being a Queer Survivor piece.
Laneia’s coming out story was incredibly moving and I’ve read it about a bazillion times.
Vanessa bringing the cuteness, with Straddler on the Street always gives the warm and fuzzies.
Brittani’s video party, also introducing me to Little Horribles and other little bits of online awesome.
The foodie/crafy stuff is wonderful and I thought Wilder Hungers was a really great addition in the last couple of months.
Really loved SJ’s makeup column, looking forward to getting some more badass looks from that in the future.
Things I Read That I Love is consistently something I come back to. I have the 100th bumper post in my bookmarks and I have been working through it on every bus trip for the past couple of weeks and it has yet to disappoint.
Dear Queer Journal has been so fun to follow, especially as I try to get a bit more disciplined myself when it comes to writing in my journal.
I like a lot of the roundtable, team post, listling type articles.
I’ll have to look it up after I post this but there was an article earlier this year, which was a repost of an email Crystal sent describing meeting Tegan and Sara, in all it’s awkward glory. That was one of the funniest
things I’ve read in forever.
So many things! This is the longest shortlist ever and I know I’ve left so many things out but this will have to do!
The recaps!! How could I forget the recaps?? The American Horror Story recaps kill me, the Once Upon a Time recaps made me start watching the show, OITNB helped with the post-binge withdrawal immensely and Bomb Girls!
As a result of the Bomb Girls recaps, I have gotten raised eyebrows on several occasions when somebody mentions anything spy related in any film, tv show or book and my response is “SPIES!”
I love everything, particularly the community, but I have to keep coming back for the articles on political/social issues. The diverse and intelligent staff always have new takes on stories I’ve read about elsewhere and frequently have news that I haven’t heard about anywhere else. But don’t make me pick one thing cause I love them all.
I love the advice columns. I actually wish they were around more often.
My favorite things to read are pretty much anything written by Lizz and Kade/Kate. Their hilarity knows no bounds. Also, I’m a fan of all the cooking and dyi articles.
Shoot, I meant diy, unless dyi means “do yourself immediately,” in which case, I stand by it.
Hello.
I like More Than Words. Want more. Words.
I love Brittani’s additions to the site, and not just because we share the same name. I’d love to see more from queers of color (hell, I’ll write some if you need it).
Ok,I have favorite things. I love recamps/anything camp related, Make a Thing (even though it’s rare that I actually make anything), fashion-y things, and generally anything in list form.
I love “Butch, Please” and the “Queer Your Tech” and “Make a Thing” and all of the First Persons ever and the wonderful comments section because Autostraddlers are the best and typically have fantastic vocabularies.
I’m rather fond of the recaps, regardless of whether or not I watch the television program being recapped. Recapping is interesting, ’cause, you know, it’s a new art form, and a set of aesthetic criteria have not emerged yet. The medium enters in as a condition of the art form itself. The recappers here do an excellent job of exploiting that absence of aesthetic guidelines, playing with the medium: pushing, pulling, testing, demolishing, and reshaping its boundaries. At its best, the Autostraddle recap resembles a superbly choreographed car chase sequence, careening effortlessly—or so it would seem—between first and third person; between inter- and hypertextual modes of reference; between narrative and editorial; between the text, subtext, and context of the work being recapped; between prose, GIF, and ironically captioned screenshot; and so on, the seeming effortlessness belied by the elaborate structure, erected with such discipline, lying just below the surface.
Were I to make a suggestion, it would be that future efforts see the team playing as boldly with the content as it currently plays with the form. Why limit recaps to televised narrative? After all, has not U.S. politics degenerated into the Theatre of the Absurd? There could be weekly recaps of each house of Congress, of the federal judiciary, of international diplomacy, of the “mainstream” press, among others, all done in the style currently reserved for _Glee_, _Pretty Little Liars_, and other serial television programs.
I sometimes read this post over when I need encouragement to start transitioning (and not let dysphoria eat me): http://www.autostraddle.com/ten-things-i-wish-id-known-when-i-started-my-transition-156538/
I like the trans*scribe, any how-to’s, Make A Thing, and recipes (esp. vegan ones.) But really, anything from autostraddle is interesting to read.
I love love love all the crafty posts. Make a thing is my jam.
As a semi-new-to-all-this person in what feels to be a pretty small town who’s not officially out due to professional reasons — though apparently rumors abound :-/ — this has somewhat been the only connection I have. I think I arrived via Google to one of the advice posts this spring, and have lurked since then (paranoid over rumors much?). I’ve liked what I’ve read, but trying to remember off-hand … I know I especially jump in on the diary & tech entries, as well as any of the personal narrative-type pieces (again, trying for both connection and figuring out). Also, the Things I Like That I Read. And others I like, too, I’m sure. But turkey coma has commenced.
My favorite columns are TIRTIL, Lez Liberty Lit, and Get Baked!
I love to read anything by kate/kade, first person, advice, when carmen writes about feminism (more please!) and things about camp (even though i’ve never been!). And I thought trans*scribe was extremely interesting, and I’m really sorry the series has ended!
This cute butch loves fashion and Butch please articles
I love He said/We said because it’s great to see fashionably awesome options outside of the Femme spectrum! I also love in your box office because who doesn’t love when people mock movies?!
A-Camp Recaps are my absolute favorite, but Butch Please, Straddler on the Street, and Queer Your Tech follow close behind.
But I mean it’s ALL good and makes me cry and laugh and sometimes both at once.
There is so much to love! My favorites are the fashion pieces which are butch of center…I really enjoy Queer Outfit of the Week.
Because I’ve been reading comments lately, I wanted to add that I really loved UNDERWEAR WEEK because i DO have problems saying the word panties sometimes. haha. On that note, I really love the posts about clothes. Great way to helo me impress the fam around the holidays
I really like the diversity of the types/topics of articles that get posted on Autostraddle. I used to read every. single. article. always. But then, as there were more writers and more articles, I stopped having to read everything all the time.
My favourite thing to read on Autostraddle is Things That I Read That I Love, that’s the only column that I absolutely always open all the time as soon as I see it always.
And also, I don’t know what happened to it, but my actual-actual favourite Autostraddle-related writing were all the formsprings, and related help-articles.
High Femme is becoming a new favorite of mine…I don’t smoke regularly, but if I’m ever in a position where I can obtain it legally, I might give some of their ideas a try!
I imagine this is what it would feel like to pick a favorite child. (Hyperbole, perhaps.) Off the top of my head I love: First Person columns, Things I Read That I Loved, Make A Thing, Straddler on the Street, TV recaps, ACAMP Re-Camps, and and and…
Autostraddle is pretty much the best place on the internet.
My favorite thing to read on Autostraddle are the topical pieces and Things I Love that I Read :3
WAIT I retract that, Blog Anything is above and beyond by far my favorite thing
I adore reading anything Kate writes. Butch Please, show recaps, whatever. I love Kate’s writing style.
The Holigay guides are so great! They’re so much more helpful than I ever thought they would be. Y’all are super smart. But can you help me navigate the times my mother wants to randomly explore queer theory?
I also wait for the day when High Femme is updated, as its my favorite column with sarcastic wit. Butch Please is right up there in the columns-I-want-to-ingrain-on-my-heart category.
My favorite articles are the ‘Butch Please’ ones. I relate so deeply to all of them and their fascinating to read another person’s perspective at the same time.
Read a f*cking book is fantastic. I’m mildly paranoid about modern lit, so I live for book reviews!
I find so many awesome recipe and craft ideas on here, but I never find time to make them…oh well, my Pinterest board loves me some Autostraddle! :D
More than words is such a cool piece. Going through the histories and etymologies of words is so interesting.
CALENDAR GIRLS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL AND I WISH I COULD PLATONICALLY SMOOCH THEM ALL.
I hope I can buy next year’s calendar!
But don’t they have to be in LA on a particular day? It would be nice if there could be greater flexibility about that, the better to reflect the geographic, economic, and ambulatory diversity of the site’s readership.
I really enjoy the show recaps, even though I don’t watch most of them! I have all the popular culture news I need, haha :D
Queer your tech is crazy helpful. You have no idea how much!
Queer Outfit of the week is definitely a favorite. Please, please, please do one for graduation in April/May!