Top Stories
Stories in Pride that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Hushed Reverie at a Quaker Boarding School
Fifteen in February Youth purring me into flannel sleeves and rubber boots, folding me in tender contours, brush-stroked with a thousand fears
April CopePublished 3 days ago in Pride
Gentles & Lady-Men! VENUS VALLEY sees the queer in Shakespeare (part 1)
Welcome to a chapter I’ve been waiting and wanting to write for a while, because it’s one of the fun chapters of this book-in-progress! If you’re just joining in, you’ve found the chapter-by-chapter release of my LGBTQIA+ centric philosophy chat book, in which your inputs will shape my edits til the finished book says what my beloved brave and beautiful rainbow flag community want people to know, rather than just me being a look-how-clever-I-am philosopher. I’ve learned a big lesson in writing as I’ve tried to rush my way to this chapter, as things I’ve tried to squeeze in quickly have shouted at me from the page, that they deserve real space to speak. So feel free to click a link I’ll put in later, where you can see the focus I’ve given about philosophies ancient and modern from outside my own sphere of knowledge, learning as I teach; or read on for the first in a set of upcoming chapters where I’ll have fun indulging my biggest fandoms and dig into some of the deeper philosophies behind them. Welcome, queerly beloveds, to Venus Valley: Queer Philosophers’ Forum!
Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) ColePublished 12 days ago in Pride
VENUS VALLEY Looks East (part 4 and final!)
Welcome, queerly beloveds, to the last part of a big section of my book-in-progress: chapter by chapter, my LGBTQIA+ centric philosophy chat book will come to you, my rainbow flag waving community, to debate, discuss, question, contribute; and your inputs become my edits, til the finished book speaks for us all and isn’t just me pushing my opinions. Welcome again, to Venus Valley: Queer Philosophers’ Forum.
Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) ColePublished 2 months ago in PrideMy First Girl Friend Might Have Actually Been My First Girlfriend
I grew up in the early 2000s as a major tomboy. On TV, my representation included Max from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, who now, watching as an adult, I can confidently guess was probably just queer (much like the actress who played her, Alyson Stoner). Much like Max, I was young and queer (though I didn’t realize it at the time) and mostly hung around boys. Although I had a few female friends in elementary school, I didn’t start to gravitate more towards girls until I was in middle school. And in seventh and eighth grade, I had a best friend who had everyone around us questioning our sexuality.
C.R. HughesPublished 4 months ago in Pride
Love Divine: VENUS VALLEY reads Martin Campbell's "The Love God"
Time for a palate cleanser! If this is your first time here, you've stumbled into a series where I release every chapter of my book-in-progress, each one an LGBTQIA+ centred philosophy teaching-&-learning piece, as a blog so you, queerly beloveds, can debate, discuss, question, contribute; your inputs become my edits, until the finished book represents a community of our voices. You're warmly welcome, gentles & lady-men, to the next chapter (which I had a lot more fun writing than the last one) of VENUS VALLEY - Queer Philosophers' Forum.
Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) ColePublished 5 months ago in PrideI Tried a Queer Dating App and Almost Got Scared Straight
Lipstick lesbians? Pillow princesses? Daddies? These were all brand new terms I encountered when I downloaded a dating app designed specifically for queer women. HER (the app in question) allows women to place badges in their profiles with titles like the ones listed above to let other women know what kind of queer they are.
C.R. HughesPublished 7 months ago in Pride
Manipulating Language: VENUS VALLEY reads Helen Joyce's "Trans"
Welcome to a hard, sobering chapter. If you've just got here, this is a chapter-by-chapter release of my LGBTQIA+ philosophy book - for you, my queerly beloved readers, to debate, discuss, question, contribute, so the finished book speaks for us all. I'm breaking the flow of my chapter order, to respond to a book that does the exact opposite - and make it a lesson in the abuse and manipulation of language: Helen Joyce's Trans - When Ideology Meets Reality. Come down this rabbit hole, gentles and lady-men, with Venus Valley: Queer Philosophers' Forum.
Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) ColePublished 7 months ago in Pride
Where are the Drag Kings?
There's a lot of talk about drag queens, both celebration on shows like RuPaul's Drag Race and hysteria over drag queen story hours. It made me wonder, why you don't hear about drag kings? Women are out there dressing as men, but they don't seem to have anywhere close to the same cultural standing. (One thing I learned in doing research for this article is that who can be a drag king is a lot broader than just people assigned female at birth, but that is getting a bit beyond my scope here.) So here are some theories.
Buck HardcastlePublished 7 months ago in PrideHow Can I Love Harder?
Amidst all the attempts to erase trans folks, there is good news. Journalist Erin Reed of Erin in the Morning writes: "In recent months, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Department of Justice, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Lambda Legal, and several other organizations have contested laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth in states nationwide. Success stories are emerging, as seen in Missouri, where a temporary restraining order has blocked the ban. With seven states facing lawsuits challenging such bans added in the last few months, the total number of states being sued over gender-affirming care prohibitions now stands at nine. There is ample reason to believe these lawsuits will succeed."
Marie WilsonPublished 7 months ago in Pride- Runner-Up in Passing Ships Challenge
Paul
I did a lot of performance art in my college years, once I decided I was going to take peoples secrets and put them on a massive piece of water color paper. I would use a dip pen and ink, I truly liked to make things as difficult as possible back then. I love the randomness of a dip pen and ink, and I'm not exactly a coordinated person, so the random spillage was an unintentional but kind of lovely touch.
Pleasure & Pain: VENUS VALLEY Goes to Greece (part 1)
Welcome back, queerly beloveds, to my little social experiment. My book-in-progress of LGBTQIA+ centric philosophy perspectives will appear here chapter by chapter, and you're invited to debate, discuss, question, contribute, and your inputs will become my edits, until the finished book speaks for us all. This time, we're starting our journey to where every philosophy learner is more or less duty bound to go... Ancient Greece. Welcome, gentles and lady-men, to Venus Valley, Queer Philosophers' Forum.
Mx. Stevie (or Stephen) ColePublished 8 months ago in PrideHer House Settled
Minnie blinked with entertained eyes, setting her coffee, nearly wobbling, onto the very edge of a coaster. She spent a great deal of time correcting it before she looked back at me.
Lisa HerdmanPublished 8 months ago in Pride
