Slate's home for coverage of LGBTQ life, thought, and culture, in your earbuds and on your screens. Join us: https://slate.com/tag/outward Welcome to Outward, Slate’s LGBTQ section.
Operating as usual
This month, we take a break from talking about the hostile legislation q***r and trans people are fighting against to talk about what we're fighting for. A kindergarten teacher joins us to share what it looks like when teachers are free to speak about LGBTQ lives in the classroom. Then we discuss the q***r family drama at the heart of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Where are you on the Lego spectrum?
This month, we respond to the anti-trans attacks coming out of state legislatures across the country with a look at how they might shape the rest of a trans kid's life. Then we're joined by Michael Waters to discuss his recent piece about trans pioneer Barbara Ann Richards, who went to court in 1941 to legally change her name—and succeeded.
In 1941, Barbara Ann Richards took her quest for a new name and a new life to court—and won.
Today, trans Americans face many attacks on their legal rights. But back in the 1940s—before an organized opposition developed—some trans people were able to win in the courts. Barbara Ann Richards was one of them.
Barbara Ann Richards designed—and then demanded—the life she deserved.
Whenever there is a moral panic involving children, homophobes see an opportunity.
New gag orders that target LGBTQ students and teachers exploit the broader crusade for “parental rights.”
This month, we take on Florida's new "don't say gay" bill and the insidious rhetoric of "parental rights." Then we revisit q***r film classic Shortbus, which just got a 4K restoration and re-release. Could such a daring movie get made today? (Was it really that daring?) Tune in!
One q***r’s heaven is another’s work in progress.
The bill would empower parent vigilantes to sue school districts over LGBTQ content.
A bill that would ban discussions of s*xual orientation and gender identity in schools is wrapped up in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “parents’ rights” agenda.
The first Outward of 2022 has dropped, and with it, some fantastic news: We have a new co-host, Jules Gill-Peterson! If you don’t already know Jules and her work, she’s a writer and professor of trans history and culture at Johns Hopkins, author of Histories of the Transgender Child, and just an all-around brilliant voice on trans and q***r issues. We are SO excited to have her join the show. Recording our first ep together was DELIGHTFUL, so we hope you’ll tune in to check it out!
In addition to our usual Prides/Provocations and updates to the Gay Agenda, we are joined this month by Kevin Guyan to dig into his new book, Q***r Data, about the power and perils of counting q***rs. Then we explore (and generally lose it) over the trans storylines and general weirdness of And Just Like That, the most recent installment of the S*x and the City cinematic universe. Listen here:
The unexpected results of counting q***rs, and the outlandishness of S*x and the City’s “next chapter.”
I had an out-of-body moment when I heard it.
Be careful what you wish for.
“I have le***an friends who have identified Anybodys as a le***an, and trans friends who said that Anybodys is the first trans character in American musicals,” Tony Kushner told us.
When Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg, and actor iris menas reexamined the 64-year-old musical, they found a trans character in plain sight.
Grindr's "s*xual" policy change is drawing jeers, jokes, and at least some approving notices from tech experts.
As it turns out, showing your butt is good for privacy.
For our Nov. episode, we welcome guest host Carolyn Bergier, co-host of the podcast Dyking Out, to explore the ups and downs of the Amazon le***an reality TV show Tampa Baes. Then we talk about Billy Porter’s fashion beef with Harry Styles, what q***r fashion and signifiers actually mean, and whether they matter anymore. And finally, q***r burlesque, DJ sets, and butch d***s for our Gay Agenda. Join us!
Plus, guest host Carolyn Bergier joins Christina and Bryan to talk Tampa Baes.
For our annual Q***r History Month episode, we're joined by Adam Zmith, author of "Deep Sniff," a book on the q***r history of poppers, and writer Jude Doyle, who talks about what we missed in the recent documentary about transmasculine Black feminist icon Pauli Murray. Join us!
The q***r history of poppers.
Three decades after Savage launched his famed advice column, the s*xual landscape has changed dramatically. What does he believe now?
It’s been a turbulent few decades for the most influential advice columnist in America.
On this end of summer episode, we bid farewell to our beloved co-host Rumaan Alam. Then June joins Bryan and Christina to welcome journalist Casey Newton to discuss Grindr’s data-security problem and its inherent potential for ruining self-esteem. They then delve into Todd Stephens’ Swan Song, a beautiful new film about an old queen, his cross-town journey to find hair products fit for a dead client, and the closure it brings.
The Outward podcast on Grindr’s data security issues.
It’s August, and Outward is leaning into the heat. First we gab about the beach. Why, exactly, are q***r beaches so delightful? Is there a secret geography of finding the gay beach? Then we talk to GirlFlexx, a le***an dom stripper who performs largely for straight women in a traditionally male style—and kills it in adoration and tips.
Is there a secret geography of finding the gay beach?
“I knew—no exaggeration—at least two dozen people, all vaccinated, all sick with COVID.”
My “hot vax summer” has turned into season of confusion and dread.
On this month's ep, we look back at all the q***r milestones we didn't get to share during the pandemic. Then we speak with opera star Lucia Lucas about her own milestone of performing "Don Giovanni." Join us!
Plus, an interview with baritone Lucia Lucas.
“We’re women who dance in a masculine way. … We don’t mind pulling girls on stage.”
“Dom” performers like Girl Fle### and Kaution are collecting big tips and even bigger fans, even among straight women.
“We don’t disguise ourselves as a dating app. It’s very s*x forward.”
Sniffies—an upstart, very upfront gay hookup site—is here to help.
Why did it take so long for someone to follow Dave Kopay’s lead?
In the decades since Dave Kopay came out, gay football players have been disincentivized from following his example.
It’s Pride month! In this special episode, we're joined by Julien Baker (!) to discuss q***rness, fluidity, and ways of interpreting q***r art. Then, a trans cop in upstate NY stops by to hash out the debate over police at Pride events. 🏳️🌈✊✨
Why must we have the same fights every June?
Drag Race may have given Aja fame, but authentic expression was more elusive.
Finding authenticity in music required leaving the expectations of Drag Race behind.
The New York Times doesn't know what Pride is for...
The paper adds "NYPD" to LGBTQ.
This month, we're joined by Sarah Schulman, whose new book "Let the Record Show" is a moving history of ACT UP New York and a guide for the activism we need now. Then we discuss three distinct collections of q***r portraiture. Who are they for, and will they be seen by the people who need them most?
Shaping how AIDS activism is remembered and how q***rs are seen.
Two classes of trans kids are emerging: the puberty blocker haves and the have-nots.
And the current wave of anti-trans state legislation is only making things worse.
States once viewed race like some view s*x today—to be defined and enforced. They failed then, and they’ll fail now.
These measures will end states’ ability to define the very thing they claim they want to protect: s*x.
Why are anti-trans activists so concerned with other people’s body parts?
Calls to “protect healthy bodies” are just another form of transphobic control.
No wonder Republicans didn’t want to answer any inquiries. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/republicans-virginia-same-s*x-marriages.html
Republicans’ silence is a reminder that the GOP retains a commitment to outlawing same-s*x marriages.
In the early 20th century, le***ans were at the forefront of “new ways of seeing and saying.”
To do: host salon, create new art forms, manage “18 assignations” in one night.
On this month's Outward, it's all le***ans, all the time, IN all times. First, we chat with Diana Souhami about her fab new book "No Modernism Without Le***ans." Then we puzzle over the weird, electricity-free vogue for Le***an Period Dramas. Join us!
Why can’t le***ans in the movies get a little electricity?
The former star’s announcement makes the show look horrible in new, amazing ways.
The entire season was explicitly about his “secret.”
It’s no surprise that North Carolina Republicans want to ban gender-affirming care for adults, too.
Anti-transgender organizations want to use the machinery of the government to impose their cruel ideology on everyone.
The flood of anti-trans legislation is an assault on transgender children’s right to live authentically.
Affirming care for transgender kids is a blessing. Efforts to outlaw it are an abomination.
“People were so afraid that they’d just steal this book. And I’m glad they did.”
Creating it in the 1970s was a feat.
Can we please stop infantilizing transmasculine people?
But a culture that infantilizes transmasculinity refuses to treat him like one.
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