Xtra is an online magazine and community platform covering LGBTQ2S+ culture, politics and health. We aim to break boundaries, think outside of binaries and build bridges within our communities and beyond.

Justice

The legal case for teachers defying anti-trans laws

OPINION: A petition calling on teachers to violate Saskatchewan’s anti-trans Parents’ Bill of Rights could help the cause of striking it down

By Charlotte Dalwood

Sports

Majority of non-binary youth aren’t participating in team sports

First study of its kind looks at some of the reasons why

By Michelle Kay

Activism

Roz Kaveney on a lifetime of fighting for trans rights

The writer, poet and anti-TERF activist reflects on half a century of fighting for trans rights

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Sports

Meet the trans NHL organist who’s doing things her way

Anaheim Ducks organist Lindsay Imber is using her visibility to boost inclusion in hockey

By Frankie de la Cretaz

Activism

Activists are teaming up to spotlight trans issues ahead of U.S. election

As anti-LGBTQ2S+ discrimination shakes the U.S. South, a non-profit and team of activists join together to bring visibility to trans lives in South Carolina

By Alina Kim

TV & Film

Leonard Bernstein was a towering genius, a man of multitudes. Addressing his sexuality is no easy feat

ANALYSIS: While the new biopic “Maestro” embraces Bernstein’s queerness, it still leaves questions lingering

By Barry Levitt

Identity

New resource creates guide for trans people changing names or gender markers

Transpapers auto-fills legal forms for Michigan residents changing their legal documents. Every state should have this tool

By Jeff Fuentes Gleghorn

Censorship

A Catholic school board in Ontario is accused of shadow banning LGBTQ2S+ books

“This is how homophobia works. It’s just plain and simple,” says Danny Ramadan, author of one of the targeted books

By Emma Bainbridge

Nightlife

Queer people of colour are still left out of Chicago’s queer neighbourhood

Local drag performers say the area mostly serves affluent white men

By Adam Rhodes

Dangerous Space

Trans kids are people, not property

OPINION: Conservative politicians across Canada have signalled their support for so-called “parental rights.” But children and youth have rights of their own

By Kai Cheng Thom

Sports

For queer and disabled athletes, Danielle Peers ‘changed the conversation’

The non-binary Paralympic wheelchair basketball medalist was just named to Canada’s Order of Sport

By Julia Peterson

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

Identity

Connecting generations of femmes

Twenty years after the publication of “Brazen Femme,” a new podcast reflects on the anthology, and femme identity then and now

By Sid Drmay

Queer Ink

Two-Spirit artists explore gender, culture through Indigenous tattoos

When it comes to traditional Indigenous tattoos, Two-Spirit artists are “genderqueering the practice”

By Julia Peterson

Politics

By protecting himself from being sued over his pronoun policy, Scott Moe is telling on himself

OPINION: The details of Saskatchewan’s forced-through pronoun legislation show how it’s all about politics—not protecting kids

By Dale Smith

Business

New survey breaks down how LGBTQ2S+ consumers respond to boycotts

“The data here is emblematic of a tidal wave shift that is coming with the younger generation”

By Rob Csernyik

Politics

The seemingly benign phrase ‘parental rights’ hides a dangerous, anti-democratic, Christian nationalist movement

ANALYSIS: North America has a long history with racist, misogynist and anti-queer activism focused on schools

By Zack Ford

TV & Film

‘How to Fail as a Popstar’ asks us to make space for failure

The series follows Vivek Shraya’s desire to become “brown Madonna” and grapples with “what happens when a star isn’t born”

By Hina Imam