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 Ink

Gender-affirming tattooing can bring post-op euphoria

From realistic nipple tattoos to artistic expression, top surgery can provide an affirming tattoo canvas

By BJ Ferguson

TV & Film

‘Ted Lasso’ missed the mark in its portrayal of female queerness

OPINION: A bi Keeley stan feels betrayed by the character’s Season 3 storyline

By Mira Miller

Xtra News Flash

Dodgers reinvite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Mexico allows ‘X’ gender passports, Utah named most closeted state, trans prom held at the U.S. Capitol and Bud Light brewers lose perfect HRC rating

5 queer and trans stories we’re following: May 23

By Eve Cable

Culture

Midnight in Ni-Chome: Japan’s post-pandemic drag performance scene

Queerness, whether on stage or off, plays differently in Japan

By Alex Ehrenreich

Xtra News Flash

Oscars’ gender, indecency expunged, a big queer Tennessee benefit, beautiful Minnesota and welcome, Suzy Eddie Izzard

5 queer and trans news stories we’re following: March 10

By Maddy Mahoney

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

Queering Family

Our family’s guide to transitioning

Telling my mother I was trans was the hardest part about coming out as a teen, but she ended up being my greatest support. Now we want to help families like ours

By Tudor Robins & Evan Robins

Queering Family

Raising kids in a gender-open way sounds great. But how does it work in practice?

Three families—including the parents of the once-controversial Baby Storm—share their stories

By Tobin Ng

Queering Family

Queer and trans families are intentional. They take the shape of what you and your loved ones need most

Guest editor Stéphanie Verge introduces Xtra’s new “Queering Family” series while reflecting on her own very queer family

By Stéphanie Verge

Xtra News Flash

God’s gender, anti-trans legislation, Pauli Murray in your pocket, Hungarian court drama and the Super Bowl

Here are 5 queer and trans news stories we’re tracking: Feb. 10

By Maddy Mahoney

Identity

Cam modelling helped me work through my gender dysphoria

Getting paid to go back into the closet was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done—but it taught me how to define my body on my own terms

By Sydney Hegele

Trans Health

Trans youth overwhelmingly continue gender-affirming treatment as adults

Study out of the Netherlands goes against what majority of Americans say about adolescent hormone therapy

By Silas Le Blanc

Politics

Quebec scraps controversial trans surgery requirement in proposed law following backlash

Although a controversial bill has been amended to drop discriminatory provisions, activists say there’s still room for improvement

By Ursula Muñoz S.

Justice

Colombia becomes first Latin American country to legally recognize non-binary people

The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled that non-binary people should have the right to “opt out” of male and female gender markers on official documentation

By Nico Lang

Trans Health

Access to hormone therapy lowers suicide risk for trans youth, study finds

A new study, the largest of its kind, shows that hormone therapy can lower suicide and depression rates in trans kids

By Mel Woods

Identity

The rise of the he/they: an investigation

ANALYSIS: Claiming non-binary identity gives people space to explore. If queerness already puts you at a distance from normative masculinity, why stop there?

By Alex V Green

Power

A proposed change to Quebec ID gender markers would legally out trans people

OPINION: Bill 2 would document both sex and gender identity on the birth registry—a major step back from past legal victories in the province

By Florence Ashley

Politics

Nova Scotia’s first genderqueer MLA is blazing a trail

Lisa Lachance is the province’s first “Mx. Deputy Speaker”

By Mel Woods