Mental Health

Transition selfies are broadly popular, but why?

How transition photos open up big questions about trauma, validity and safety for trans people

By Veronica Esposito

Relationships

Fruiting bodies and friendship in queer middle age

Aging as a queer person brings surprising shifts in friendship

By Joseph Osmundson

Art & Photography

‘Renegades’ documents the queer history Chloe Sherman helped create

“Renegades: San Francisco, The 1990s” captures a vital and vibrant era of queer and trans life

By Cooper Lee Bombardier

Identity

The recent AI yearbook trend made me think about the girlhood I could have had

“I was intrigued by how it might let me have and hold something that had always seemed ephemeral and out of reach”

By Veronica Esposito

Queer View Mirror

The strange queer powers of ‘The Craft’

How a coven of magical teen misfits sparked my ’90s coming out story

By Alex Hall

Queer Ink

The stories behind our queerest tattoos

From pop culture tributes to “faggy Jesus,” Xtra staff share some of our gayest tats

By Xtra Staff

Queer Ink

The queer euphoria of tattooing

Queerness in so many ways is about self-determination. As we explore in our new series, “Queer Ink,” so are tattoos

By Mel Woods

Nightlife

The gentrification of the dancefloor

How separating people physically gets in the way of the spontaneous pleasures of a queer night out

By Joseph Osmundson

Food

A culinary journey through ‘The Bear’ and queer camp cuisine

Culture seems increasingly obsessed with fine dining—but might be missing out on the joy of cooking low-class foods at home for friends

By Joseph Osmundson

TV & Film

‘Monica’ speaks to a rarely shown part of the trans experience

The Trace Lysette drama beautifully explores the ambiguities of life after transition

By Veronica Esposito

Identity

How getting diagnosed with autism helped me embrace my asexuality

Disabled people aren’t a monolith, and not every autistic person is on the ace spectrum. But for me, the two parts of my identity are linked

By Rebecca Dingwell

Dispatch

Photo diary of a Ukrainian refugee fleeing war

With her girlfriend and cat in tow, Viktoriia Kovalenko escaped Kharkiv last year, embarking on a harrowing odyssey brightened by kindnesses from strangers

By Viktoriia Kovalenko

TV & Film

‘Aftersun’ and the man I used to be

I see myself in Sophie, but I also see me in her father Callum, played by Paul Mescal

By Emma Ambrose

Queer View Mirror

The soft masculinity of ‘Top Gun’ is underappreciated lesbian joy

As “Top Gun: Maverick” roars into the Oscars, its predecessor’s model of masculine bonding is worth looking back on

By Kerry Manders

Queering Family

The highs and lows of being a non-binary nanny

Helping to raise someone else’s children has been life-affirming, even gender-affirming, but it’s not without complications

By Em Norton

Identity

What it’s like to live as a femme man in Nigeria

Both femmephobia and homophobia make for a volatile experience

By Daniel Anthony

Activism

I’m queer at Trinity Western University. What will it take for my university to listen to me?

The university’s homophobia runs deep—students are speaking up and calling for change

By Carter Sawatzky

Mental Health

Trans and queer folks can’t solely rely on our resilience to survive

Perhaps LGBTQ2S+ writers, creatives and historians can teach us how to do more than just get by

By Leigh Hendrix