News
Remembering Duane Michals, the legendary gay photographer
2+ hour, 26+ min ago (203+ words) Born to a working-class Catholic Czech family in 1932, Michals got his artistic start taking watercolour classes at the age of 14. After serving two years in the U. S. army, Michals took a vacation to the USSR in 1958 with a camera he borrowed…...
Charity and Sylvia" beautifully illustrates a real-life 19th-century lesbian couple
8+ hour, 40+ min ago (941+ words) Xtra Magazine Credit: Courtesy Drawn & Quarterly; KC Hoard/Xtra In one of the many stunning multi-panel spreads in Tillie Walden"s remarkable Charity and Sylvia, Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake stand outside with their family members one night in Weybridge,…...
The queer photographer who fought fascism
2+ week, 5+ day ago (317+ words) Claude Cahun's gender-bending self portraits were ahead of their time'and nearly erased from art history Throughout their life, artist Claude Cahun challenged gender norms and fought fascism. Cahun is likely most recognized by their series of self-portraits from 1927 to 1929. In…...
The haunting photographs of Peter Hujar
2+ mon, 1+ day ago (228+ words) Cody Corrall is Xtra's Social Video Producer. Their work has appeared in Buzz Feed News, Tech Crunch, the Chicago Reader, CINE-FILE, Thrillist, Paste Magazine, and other places on the world wide web. He lives in Chicago and speaks English. Outside…...
Casa Susanna was a trans safe haven in the "50s and "60s. Its legacy lives on
7+ mon, 2+ week ago (186+ words) Cody Corrall is Xtra's Social Video Producer. Their work has appeared in Buzz Feed News, Tech Crunch, the Chicago Reader, CINE-FILE, Thrillist, Paste Magazine, and other places on the world wide web. He lives in Chicago and speaks English. Back…...
Among the archives, you can find love, community and history
8+ mon, 3+ week ago (1003+ words) Aino Pihlak is a trans woman and historian of trans femme life. She is an English language writer who currently resides in Tkaronto. Aino is a Ph D student at the University of Toronto, and you can find her work…...
The Aces and the Beaches reflect our varied, queer world right back at us
9+ mon, 2+ week ago (885+ words) Anna Govert is an editor, critic and TV obsessive whose work has appeared in Paste Magazine, The AV Club, Jezebel and more. She lives in Northwest Indiana and speaks English (among a plethora of half-learned fictional languages). For any and…...
Liberation has always been on the shelves of queer bookstores
10+ mon, 2+ week ago (1259+ words) Despite raids and threats, bookstores carry on as crucial LGBTQ2 S+ organizing hubs Credit: Getty Images; Elham Numan/Xtra Gay bars are special. They can be spaces where people take their first steps into the queer community, rare safe havens in…...
Queer third places are making a comeback
10+ mon, 3+ week ago (1729+ words) Gen Z is fuelling the revival of LGBTQ2 S+ social spaces Credit: Getty Images; Elham Numan/Xtra On a Sunday afternoon in Crown Heights, a group of queer Brooklynites gather in a storefront on a street corner for an Indian-American feast....
We need queer gathering spaces more than ever
10+ mon, 4+ week ago (248+ words) The eleven-part series Taking Space explores where we go next as the lights of gay bars dim Credit: Getty Images; Elham Numan/Xtra All of these movements needed money, so every week was another fundraiser. Cabaret events were alive and…...