Inside Xtra

Introducing Xtra Special—the best of Xtra, straight to your inbox

Our new email newsletter will bring you one great story every week

By Mel Woods

Identity

Life after twink death is trans joy

ANALYSIS: Twinks don’t have to die—they can transition

By Mixie Wholey

Books

‘Hot Girls with Balls’ is deliciously, painfully online

Benedict Nguyễn’s debut novel is both tender and ruthless about the frictions of being internet famous

By H Felix Chau Bradley

Politics

We can do better than lazy Trump/Musk gay memes

OPINION: There are plenty of ways to troll the president and his right-hand man without resorting to casual homophobia

By Mel Woods

Social Media

Social media platforms are crumbling—and that hurts trans people

OPINION: We have long connected with one another, shared resources and advice on navigating the medical system and organized politically online

By Katelyn Burns

Video

Why queer people should worry about Meta’s new hate speech guidelines

ANALYSIS: In promising to allow “discourse about transgenderism,” Zuckerberg and Meta make a clear political choice

By Mel Woods

Rainbow Rewind 2024

Five viral moments that defined the queer internet in 2024

We’re holding space for these queer trends

By Niya Doyle

Censorship

Could the Trump administration criminalize queer speech online?

ANALYSIS: Here’s what you should and shouldn’t freak out about when it comes to Project 2025’s plans for digital communications

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Transphobia

Will Imane Khelif’s complaint against J.K. Rowling change anything?

ANALYSIS: The Algerian boxer has named Rowling in a cyberharassment complaint following the author’s transphobic tweets during the Paris Olympics

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Pride

Queers deserve an even more annoying Pride discourse

ANALYSIS: Baffling, infuriating internet discourse during Pride has become a tradition. Let’s get weird with it

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Tech

Who does queer AI ‘art’ actually represent?

ANALYSIS: Accounts dedicated to queer AI art have popped off, but is there hope for anything beyond “boyfriend twins”?

By Jon Heggestad

Censorship

How a U.S. TikTok ban would censor trans people

ANALYSIS: Far-right campaigners are leveraging censorship to promote their own anti-trans agenda

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Tech

The (missing) context around using AI to ban books

ANALYSIS: The case of an Iowa school district employing ChatGPT to enforce a statewide book ban has garnered significant attention—what concerns does it raise around AI-aided censorship?

By Jon Heggestad

History

Where does ‘Be Gay, Do Crime’ even come from?

From graffiti to protests to band T-shirts, the phrase has become a vital part of queer culture

By Kevin Maimann

Music

What the internet is getting wrong about Tracy Chapman

ANALYSIS: The “Fast Car” hype misses why the singer-songwriter has been an icon to queer women for decades

By Tara-Michelle Ziniuk

Media

10 queer newsletters (that aren’t on Substack)

As writers abandon Substack en masse, here are some queer and trans writers you can now subscribe to guilt-free

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Tech

YouTube is no longer the default site for coming out online, but its legacy lives on

ANALYSIS: What do Troye Sivan, Gigi Gorgeous, Tom Daley and Dodie have in common? They all came out on YouTube. But the platform is no longer as central to queer and trans narratives

By Jon Heggestad

Media

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose

By Katelyn Burns