We all know the story of Stonewall and historic Queer figures like Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk and Matthew Shepherd, but have you heard the tales of David Williams, Henry Faulkner and lesbian feminist-led publication the Lavender Letter? Most likely, not, but you can learn about all of these Queer Kentucky gems from history this […]
LEXINGTON Ky. — Pride month is a time for celebration and remembrance — a time for the queer community to let our hair down and live it up with friends and (chosen) family. Pride began in 1969 with an outburst of rage and violence, in defiance of the oppressive police who regularly harassed queer folks […]
Kentucky has a habit of pumping out celebrities with impeccable talent. The Bluegrass State is home to folks like country legend and coal miner’s daughter Loretta Lynn, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, boxing legend Muhammad Ali to name a few. But the most recent addition to the state’s celebrity pantheon? 3x GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum, chart toping rapper […]
It’s go-go boy night at the local bar and as I enter, I suddenly feel like an anxious little kid again. Swarms of men crowd the space and rub up against each other (and me) as they shimmy toward the bartenders. Shy and unnerved, I cling to my good friend, Paris, who came with me. […]
Appalachia has a newly founded LGBTQ+ fund that will ensure queer youth and leaders have the tools and resources they need to build a more just, diverse and vibrant region. Co-founded by Lora Smith and Baylen Campbell, the Lige Clarke Liberation Fund honors his life’s work by supporting LGBTQ+ activism, leadership, and infrastructure in his […]
Visual artists are a vital part of Kentucky’s Queer community. Thanks to the Great Meadows Foundation, which was launched in 2016 by contemporary art collector and philanthropist Al Shands (1928-2021) in order to critically strengthen and support visual art in Kentucky, Queer Kentucky will be featuring interviews with a number of these artists. Vinhay Keo […]
While floating along the Ohio River between Kentucky — a slave state — and Indiana — a free state — participants will be immersed in the stories of two families seeking to escape enslavement by boat. As each guest boards the Belle for the river cruise, they will receive a color-coded passport and be assigned […]
Please tell us your quick and dirty bio I’m a Cincinnati-area native. Born and raised on the westside of town. Just barely graduated Walnut Hills High School and then ended up at UC, where I thrived (the second time around). It was there I discovered conversations around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) through a nationally […]
While students across the nation, and here in the commonwealth, continue to face LGBTQ+ discrimination, students at Stuart Academy in West Louisville are celebrated for who they are. Students walking the green and gold-lined halls of Stuart Academy, a middle school located at Valley Station Road in Louisville’s West End, were greeted with reaffirming and […]
“I’ve definitely seen shifts in teachers feeling confident to speak out about what they believe. It requires someone to really put themselves out there.” Teachers are already encouraged to give more of themselves than their job description demands — sometimes in service of rigorous academic reporting and sometimes in service of caring for the student beyond their retention of grade-11 vocabulary. But in addition to those oft-unrecognized demands, LGBTQ and BIPOC teachers are often solely responsible for cultivating safe and enriching spaces for similar students. This act of “putting themselves out there” is increasingly weighing on Carver and his colleagues.
I’m an acquired taste. If you don’t like me, acquire some taste.” -Bearykah Badu, a non-binary Photographer, Drag Queen, Model, & Sex Worker. Where were you born and where do you consider home these days? I was born in Jeffersonville and raised in New Albany, Indiana, but home has always been Louisville. Even more […]
If you’ve ventured down to Feast BBQ in the NuLu District of Louisville in recent years, you’ve almost certainly encountered Dee. Starting in a kitchen position in 2017, Dee now works up front, greeting and serving guests with a face full of freckles and the kind of warm demeanor you’d expect from a bbq restaurant […]
By America Medious (they/them/theirs) I’m never more irritated than when I have to beg for my own existence to be respected by my own community. I remember fighting with my own family about whether or not I was ashamed to be Black because I spoke differently and was into “white people shit.” At one point […]
Sarah Janine, McKinney, 64, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, May 5, 2022, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. She was born on July 30, 1957, to the late Robert Gillenwater and Nora McKinney in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Sarah was an advocate and pillar of the Trans Community and kept many of the community organizations in Louisville, Kentucky communicating with […]
Still Sordid After All These Years: A reflection on the show It’s 2015, and seventeen years later, the sordid saga continues with all the same crazy characters we love. After a chance meeting with a dangerous criminal, Brother Boy, who has added Loretta and Dolly to his repertoire, is forced out on the run. Ty […]
For many in the queer community, it can feel like a constant struggle to be seen and heard—to even exist. Seemingly, the more a queer identity intersects with the identities represented within other marginalized communities, the greater the magnitude of that struggle. This dynamic is almost certainly no truer than it is with queer […]
When Zach Meiners got a call from his mom about about a childhood friend who had just come out as gay, shock and surprise followed… only because he found out they were about to go see his former conversion therapist. The upset increased as Zach realized even though ten years had passed since his […]
by Sara Havens Anna Giangrande passed away unexpectedly on the morning of April 26, a week before she was to be married to her fiancée Amber. She is survived by family, an abundance of friends around the globe and a handful of cats. Anna was a loud and proud member of Louisville’s LGBTQ community. She […]
Join Drag Daddy Productions for an evening of solo performance by two of Louisville, KY’s premier drag entertainers!IT’S A HARD DOT LIFE Starring Dusty Ray Bottoms (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10) will make its World Premiere as Dusty explores the things that have lead him from Kentucky to NYC to Drag Race and back to […]
If you expect consistency in my articles, you won’t be getting that from me. Not only am I a master of confusion, but also a master of confusing myself (and inflicting humiliation onto myself for years to come each time). In order to avoid the pitfall of expectation, I simply expect nothing. It’s like manifestation, […]
Register Here Friday April 22, 2022. 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT960 South 2nd Street, Louisville, KY 40203 This Friday, April 22, from 4-6pm, the Center for Women and Families will hold an event to honor the growth and healing of survivors, queer survivors in particular. Attendees will paint their own pot and plant seeds, […]
When one thinks about plays, they often think about full-length pieces. These plays often clock in at just around 90 minutes, which is a substantial enough amount of time to deter some audiences. What may be a welcome meditation on a theme or issue for some, may cause another to balk. The task is also […]
Today, the Kentucky legislature voted to override Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 83 and enact the measure as law, banning transgender girls from participating in sports alongside their peers from sixth grade through college. After months of protesting, debating, and political games, The Kentucky General Assembly passed anti-trans Senate Bill 83. Kentucky Governor, […]
Press release from Fairness Campaign Today, Governor Andy Beshear vetoed Senate Bill 83, a bill that would ban transgender girls and women’s participation in sports from sixth grade through college. Below is a statement from Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman: “I applaud Governor Beshear for doing the right thing today and vetoing a harmful […]
Originally, I thought tranny 9/11 was when Caitlyn Jenner won Woman of the Year — a seemingly out of nowhere tragedy celebrating perhaps one of the worst of our kind, marred by devastation, the sounds of old white men yelling, and internet outrage. But here we are, sitting at our various internet devices, staring stone […]
After months of protesting, debating, and political games, The Kentucky General Assembly has now passed anti-trans Senate Bill 83. Now, Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear will have the option to veto the anti-trans legislation. The bill sought to ban transgender girls from playing on sports teams in Kentucky schools that match their gender identities from sixth […]
With so much happening in the world, it feels difficult to process anything. The environment blazes and melts, Europe bursts into conflict, The United States are less stately and united everyday, and for some reason, conservative politicians work tirelessly to throw Queer rights back into the Nixon Era. Sometimes it feels like global chaos erupted […]
Navigating the world of healthcare proves difficult for many Queer people throughout Kentucky, especially the transgender community. There’s worry of deadnaming, harassment, body dysphoria and much more. Luckily, the Trans Wellness Summit takes place every year in Louisville, offering healthcare resources and education for the trans community. EXHIBITORS VEND FOR FREE The third annual Transgender […]
You’re maybe wondering with a title like this, what to expect of the upcoming Reely Queer: An LGBTQ+ Movie Night. It’s so vague, right? Well, this is a movie about a deadly jungle that is the home to some of the best avocados in the world. A jungle of death, if you will, named so […]
After months of bitching about “autonomy” and how I am not a doll, but rather a living functional human capable of my own decisions, I made a little oopsie. Completely derailing my life in less than a week, it occurred to me that, perhaps, I should not be responsible for myself. Shocker! Britney was freed, […]
