By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Erin Brown is a lesbian influencer and advocate for queer culture. Her podcast The Lesbian Peep Show covers all things lesbian, sapphic, and dyke culture—from queer history and identity development to body politics, relationships, and more. Along with her podcast, she also created The Sapphic Syllabus archive to preserve and promote lesbian narratives and histories. We spoke about the pod, authentic expression, activism, and everything in between.
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By Shelby Faulkner
Director Sav Rodgers is working on a new film, and he’s teaming up with some amazing folks in the film industry—and you—to make it a reality.
Sav is best known for his acclaimed documentary Chasing Chasing Amy—a deeply moving film that explores the impact of Kevin Smith’s 1997 comedy Chasing Amy on the LGBTQ+ community and, more importantly, Sav’s exploration of his own identity as he processes this film’s role in his own coming out and transition.
Pancake Skank, his new comedy short, promises to be a surreal film that celebrates queer people and the fun of cinema.
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By Shelby Faulkner
Art by Maddy Best
The definition of the word transgender has changed many times throughout my life. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “transgender” as a person whose gender identity is opposite to the sex identified at birth. But that’s not what it means to be trans—not really. Sometimes it means fear, self-hatred, and so many other unpleasant feelings. Sometimes it means learning that on the other side of anxiety and fear, you often find love and joy.
Although I didn’t have words for it at the time, I first started to realize I was trans around the 6th grade. Growing up in a small town I didn’t have a lot of exposure to queer people. In my town the word “gay” was used as an insult rather than an adjective—and in elementary school, kids used to ask if anyone wanted to play “smear the queer” as a recess game. Occasionally, the word “he-she” would get thrown around too. On Sundays, we would go to church, and sometimes they would preach about how homosexuals would burn in eternal hellfire because they were living in sin. Being trans means learning to hide.
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By Max Sheffield
Photos by Whitney Young
Family is a tricky subject for queer people. Understanding our lineage? Even more so.
Speaking with queer elders about what they have faced and what we can learn has been a moving part of my own journey toward acceptance and understanding of my identity.
But as a white queer person, you cannot start to have these questions without acknowledging the visibility and privileges that white queer people have over queer Black and Brown folks. They have led the way for queer liberation, but their stories can be hard to find. The local media archive, B/qKC (Black/queer Kansas City), provides a space for those stories to get the representation they deserve.
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By Emily Laptad
The 1960s and 70s marked a significant era of progress for women in the United States. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first nationwide legislation for eliminating wage disparities based on sex. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Women’s Educational Equity Act of 1972 guaranteed equal access to education for women and girls. Roe v. Wade legalized abortion across the US in 1973. The Equal Opportunity Credit Act of 1974 enabled women to open bank accounts and apply for credit cards with their own names. And other court cases and legislation further expanded women’s rights to employment, education, financial independence, and reproductive health during this time too.
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