Despair and resistance in Sheikh Jarrah

A queer Palestinian pop star reflects on how the fight for freedom is a feminist issue, an LGBTQ+ issue and an issue of racial justice

By Bashar Murad

Xtra Weekly

Topline: Looking back at the AIDS crisis’s beginnings as we (hopefully) end the COVID-19 crisis

Forty years after the first report about AIDS, what have we learned about taking care of ourselves and each other?

By Paul Gallant

Politics

Conservatives plan to spend Pride Month pressing for blood ban changes

The opposition party tabled a draft order to end the discriminatory practice for queer men and trans people

By Dale Smith

My Safe Space

The solo back porch dance parties that revived me

I took queer nightlife for granted until I couldn’t access it anymore—so I made my own dance floor

By Emma Glassman-Hughes

Protest and Pleasure

More WAPs, less cops

In the second installment of the “Protest and Pleasure” series, we explore why defunding the police is the best protection against sexual violence

By Chanelle Gallant

TV & Film

How a revolutionary turned a Berlin mosque into a declaration of love

A new documentary about human rights advocate Seyran Ateş takes us inside her mission to reinvigorate Islam

By Zaina Arafat

Xtra Weekly

Topline: It’s (always) an honour just to be Asian

The recent rise in anti-Asian racism has made acknowledging and celebrating Asian Heritage Month all the more urgent

By Michelle da Silva

Power

The best clapbacks to the ‘no kink at Pride’ discourse

Leather, kink, bare asses and a titty or two are a fundamental part of Pride

By Mel Woods

The Xtra Long Read

What if we weren’t born that way?

The immutability of sexual orientation and gender identity has been the cornerstone argument for LGBTQ2S+ rights. The trouble is that not everyone fits that mold

By Heron Greenesmith

Identity

How Elliot Page’s thirst trap sparked conversations about trans body image

The actor and activist showed off his top surgery and rockin’ abs in a new photo posted to his social media this week

By Mel Woods

Tik Talk

23 non-binary TikToks for laughing, learning and sharing

Demi Lovato’s public coming out has spurred a conversation about the spectrum of non-binary identity. TikTok is a great place to see it in action

By Mel Woods

Politics

Bardish Chagger, our voice at the Cabinet table

Xtra asks Canada’s Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth about the millions of dollars set aside for LGBTQ2S+ policy and funding in last month’s federal budget

By Dale Smith

Dispatch

The Turkish government is targeting LGBTQ+ communities, but activists refuse to back down

Despite increased police presence and the derision of LGBTQ+ people by government officials, queer and trans Turks are making themselves even more visible through Pride and protest

By Clare Busch

Culture

Demi Lovato comes out as non-binary after ‘healing and self-reflective work’

The singer and former child star says they want to better express the fluidity of their gender expression

By Mel Woods

Politics

Tennessee just passed some of the cruellest U.S. anti-trans legislation yet

The state’s governor just signed HB 1182 into law, which will require businesses to post warning signs about trans people in washrooms

By Mel Woods

Books

What people got wrong—and what Sarah Schulman wants to get right—about the history of ACT UP and early AIDS activism

In her new book, the New York writer lays bare the achievements and embarrassments of an astonishingly successful social movement

By Paul Gallant

Protest and Pleasure

Let’s celebrate our vulnerable, ‘imperfect’ bodies

In the first installment of the “Protest and Pleasure” series, disability justice activists explain how liberating ourselves from ableism makes sex hotter for everyone

By Chanelle Gallant

My Safe Space

I created a drag persona to get me through quarantine

Connecting with my own queerness through Mairy Dilk gave me a lifeline when I couldn’t connect with anyone else

By Melanie Jayne Ashford