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.

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

Identity

Sufjan Stevens and the complexity of coming out

OPINION: Reaction to Stevens’s tragic tribute to his late partner shows the nuance of queer life in the spotlight

By Mel Woods

TV & Film

‘Sex Education’ didn’t quite get queer Christianity right

OPINION: As a queer Nigerian, I was looking forward to Eric Effiong’s storyline—but its lack of nuance left me wanting more

By Chisom Peter Job

Books

The five queer books that helped me come out

These recent memoirs echoed events in my own life, sometimes in unexpected ways

By Natalie Schriefer

Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse

I’m a trans man who doesn’t want to transition medically or socially. Am I betraying my community?

Kai advises a reader who feels pressure to stay in the closet

By Kai Cheng Thom

Sports

Watch this pro basketball player come out to his teammates in emotional locker room speech

Melbourne United player Isaac Humphries says he wants to show that pro athletes can be openly gay

By Mel Woods

Culture

An ode to the secret celebrity queer wedding

Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico join Niecy Nash-Betts as public figures who came out by getting married

By Mel Woods

TV & Film

Kit Connor’s forced coming out and the problems of queer fandom

OPINION: The “Heartstopper” star is 18. He shouldn’t have been forced out by fans

By Mel Woods

TV & Film

Twenty years after the live-action ‘Scooby-Doo’ film, Velma’s finally out

Director James Gunn fought for “Scooby-Doo”’s Velma to be queer in the 2002 live-action film. Twenty years later, she’s officially a lesbian

By Mel Woods

Books

What happens when a whole family comes out, one at a time?

In Jessi Hempel’s collaborative memoir, “The Family Outing,” the journalist is just the first to show her authentic self

By Nour Abi-Nakhoul

Power

Growing up trans in ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Newfoundland

For one trans woman, watching the spread of U.S. legislation targeting trans youth brings back painful memories

By Rhea Rollmann

Identity

This Ontario mom is throwing a gender reveal for her trans daughter

Eight-year-old Ella is celebrating her new name and transition with family this weekend

By Maddy Mahoney

Queer View Mirror

‘Welcome to the Dollhouse’ taught me that beneath our moralizing, life is queer

Heather Matarazzo’s turn as Dawn Wiener framed my understanding of being queer

By Trevor Campbell

Sports

Russia’s top female tennis star comes out, criticizes anti-LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’ ban

Despite the fraught political situation in Russia, Daria Kasatkina hopes other LGBTQ+ people will someday feel safe to come out

By Nico Lang

TV & Film

Gina Yashere’s dream was to play a best friend on a sitcom. Now she’s writing for one of TV’s most popular shows and making other people famous

How comedian Gina Yashere, once shy about being out, became a Hollywood powerhouse with a little help from “Bob ❤️ Abishola”

By Paul Gallant

The Buzz

Rebel Wilson came out—but a newspaper threatened to out her first

Plus the Tony Awards, Netflix’s queer comedy special and Alison Bechdel on “Fire Island”

By Mel Woods

Books

‘Modern Whore’ is a love letter to sex workers—and the art of the hustle

Andrea Werhun’s memoir captures the challenges, joys and humour of a career in sex work

By Noelle Perdue

The Buzz

How Season 14 became the most trans season of ‘Drag Race’ yet

Plus Kristen Stewart’s thoughts on weddings, the end of “Arthur” and some very gay Olympic medals

By Mel Woods