Brian Burns on identity, queerness, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Buffy didn’t necessarily make me into who I am but it did allow me to be who I was.”

Marlo Mack wants answers from President Trump: “I keep it vague. ‘Some people are scared of transgender people.’ ‘But why, Mama?’ she asks. ‘What’s scary about me?’ The car gets very quiet. I don’t have an answer. Do you, Mr. President?”

“What attracted me to figure skating was the space it granted me to be the boy I was meant to be, which is not the boy the world wanted me to be, or thought I could be if I was to thrive.”

“[D]on’t do it without a plan. Because the very last thing a tense situation needs is someone full of good intentions but with no knowledge of de-escalation tactics or self-defense.” Ideas for moving beyond symbolism to activism in the wake of the US presidential election.

Thomas Page McBee — a transgender man — reflects on a Trump presidency: “My entire life has been a story about love trumping hate.”

Check out the site of Ivan Coyote — award-winning Canadian storyteller and author of 11 books, including the recently released Tomboy Survival Guide.

Sage Channel at the Miss International Two Spirit competition: “In a headdress framed by ribbons, she moved her feet in an intricate pattern, in a rhythm she knows by heart.”

An excerpt from Ivan Coyote’s book, Tomboy Survival Guide: “Because all those years I mistook that fear for shame, and that mistake has cost us both so much.”

Poetry by Radical Faggot: “I’m sorry loving me / meant splitting your bones / that my hands / were filled / by their own wringing”

In the wake of the leaked audio of Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault, Transparent creator Jill Soloway discusses how men turn women into Others, and other men into accomplices.

“Penny and Joy are going to hell, but you can save them.” Penny and Joy chose to love Dena even though they knew that she was being taught to hate them.

“Queer people of all faith traditions deserve to know that they are not alone and that they are loved.” At Longreads, contributor Emily Perper shares four stories exploring the intersection of religion and queerness.

“I’m not sure what lies at the root of this: did I reject pretty, did pretty reject me? Did anger tempt me like forbidden fruit, or drive me forward with its drill instructor’s bark?” Alice Isak on the tyranny of “pretty,” its passage from mothers to daughters, and breaking free.

“Pulse became the place where my best friends learned to be themselves. . . . Pulse was where I learned to love my community.” Daniel Leon-Davis reflects on Pulse as a haven for LGBTQ individuals in Orlando, Florida.

“Standing in that gay club, staring at my rainbow boy, I’d think to myself, ‘You’ve found your people. You’re safe here.’” Raising My Rainbow author Lori Duron reflects on the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.