queer - be the future

a large mural along the sidewalk in east austin asks, "what do you miss about east austin?" below that someone's painted, "the brown people! mi gente"

working

talk less, listen more

when was the last time a panel of know-it-alls solved anything?

train cars are stacked with containers at vancouver b.c.'s waterfront harbor.

essay

not my business

on those who put the "business" back into "LGBTQ+ business"

the castro theater in San Francisco, California

personal

pride and liberation

I still remember the afternoon of the day I came out as gay. There were rumors floating around my family. A few of my friends had guessed the truth before that night, but I denied it was true. That afternoon I felt terrified. I spent years hiding who I was.

a couple rainbow flags flapping in the wind outside a soul cycle in the castro

essay

escape the spreadsheet

June is LGBTQIA+ Pride month in most of the united states. This is great news for people who want to sell things to us! I’ll back up. There’s a joke in some parts of the queer community. People wake up on June 1 to see which brands have

a neighborhood street with cars, shops, and people

essay

visions of safety

Last year I joined a coalition of small-business owners whose members are LGBTQIA+. They recently advertised a forum on community safety. Safety is a high-priority topic in most major cities these days. Lots of people live in cities; local media loves covering things that scare people. The forum featured three

squares of farmland in central idaho as seen from a plane

personal

why you'd want to live here

I grew up on the outskirts of a medium-sized town in central Texas. Where I lived, Austin felt to me like the biggest, coolest city around. The underdeveloped suburbs might not count as rural for everyone. I didn’t live on a farm, but I did spend a lot of

a two-lane road that leads across the plains

essay

step by step

Why don’t we have a template for implementing racial equity practices? I get this question every now and then. I totally understand: we seek to upend an entrenched way of life that has persisted for more than 400 years. That’s a lot to take on! To some extent

a closeup photo of Harpa, a performing arts center in Reykjavic with a honeycomb-like window design

personal

Heartstopper and the interlocking layers of belonging

This week I finished season 1 of Heartstopper, a new series from Netflix. The leads are two boys: Charlie is nerdy, shy, constantly apologetic, and gay. Nick is popular, a year older that Charlie, great at rugby, and appears to be straight. Over the course of eight episodes, they meet,