‘Canada’s Drag Race’ contestant Ilona Verley: ‘I’m supposed to be famous and I don’t have a roof over my head?’

How the show made it hard for Verley to make a living and how she felt she had to suppress her trans identity on screen

The hidden lives and uncertain future of trans prisoners

For decades, trans people in Canadian prisons fought for their right to be housed safely and humanely. Despite some victories, new policy proposals could set their rights back even more

By Simon Rolston

Books

A conversation about African queerness and the writing life

Ghanaian writer Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah and Canadian-Nigerian novelist Francesca Ekwuyasi talk about sex, food and their literary influences

By Francesca Ekwuyasi, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Politics

Blake Desjarlais is ready to make his mark on Parliament

Canada’s first openly Two-Spirit MP is headed to Ottawa after a historic election win

By Mel Woods

The Xtra Long Read

Just look at all the games queers have to play to express themselves on social media

Sex workers, artists, models and even casual users are cropping, blurring and emoji-ing to avoid being shadow banned—or worse

By Paul Gallant

Identity

‘I’m not sure how to forgive myself for surviving’

A writer asks if it is acceptable—or even possible—to feel happiness when so many trans people are dying

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Music

Queering the concert hall

Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is on a mission to expand our understanding of what classical music is—and welcoming new audiences in the process

By Gordon Bowness

TV & Film

Lost during Nazi rule in Germany, one of the world’s first pro-gay films has finally been restored for modern viewers

Filmmaker and scientist Magnus Hirschfeld’s “Laws of Love” promoted his controversial views about sex

By Isaac Würmann

Identity

In defense of the meaty tuck

An offhand comment at a party inspires editor-at-large Tre’vell Anderson to interrogate how we police trans bodies

By Tre’vell Anderson

The Xtra Long Read

The troubled golden age of trans literature

Despite recent successes, a growing chorus of trans writers are asking tough questions, like where’s the nuance and context in literary criticism, and who’s holding the publishing industry to account?

By Eli Cugini

TV & Film

How a new documentary captures the joys and fears of migrant trans sex workers

While making “Caer (Caught),” Nicola Mai invited a Latina advocacy group into the editing suite

By Noelle Perdue

The Xtra Long Read

A writer craved community while battling an eating disorder

LGBTQ2S+ folks are far more likely than their cis and straight counterparts to develop eating disorders. But peer support can kickstart recovery

By KC Hoard

Culture

7 kids’ shows that got LGBTQ2S+ representation right

From “She-Ra” to the “Muppet Babies,” children’s TV has been slaying the representation game

By Mel Woods

Queer View Mirror

How the glam-rock universe of ‘Velvet Goldmine’ created space for shrugging off gender conventions

Critics were not kind to Todd Hayne’s third film, but “Velvet Goldmine” achieved cult status thanks to its outrageous soundtrack

By vivi hansen

The Xtra Long Read

Cases of missing trans people are rarely solved. A married pair of forensic genealogists is hoping to change that

How a small team of LGBTQ2S+ investigators is seeking justice for unidentified Trans Doe victims

By Erica Lenti

Politics

How do Canada’s political parties rank on LGBTQ2S+ issues?

Where the parties stand on conversion therapy, poppers, trans health care and more

By Mel Woods

Music

Five queer and trans Mexican music acts you need to listen to ‘ahora mismo’

Whether they’re channelling mariachi, norteño or pure pop, these Latinx music makers will lure you onto the dance floor

By Wenceslao Bruciaga

Identity

A trans man modelled nude for 150 photographers, and fell in love with his body

Xtra contributor Andy Bandyopadhyay wanted to see artful, intimate portraits of trans men, so he made his own

By Andy Bandyopadhyay