Top Story

Trans Love, Noir, and “Zaire”

Filmmaker Iman DuPree shot their debut feature under military occupation in Washington, and set two rules that changed how a Black trans woman gets to move on screen.

The Latest

Lead Stories

Personal Essays

The Montage of Queer Becoming

Personal Essays

In this personal essay, Christopher Connor reflects on spending decades in the margins of drag spaces before he understood they were his field sites, his family, and his salvation.

Personal Essays

Community & Kinship

"We keep us safe. We set us free": How one small town in Upstate New York proves community was always the point

Community & Kinship

In the Finger Lakes, queer visibility is personal. And this year, it's fully in community hands.

Community & Kinship

Arts & Entertainment

The drag queen rewriting opera on her terms

Arts & Entertainment

Créatine Price on names, refusing to shrink, and building her own table

Arts & Entertainment

News

Movement & Organizing

Last call for Rochester's gay bars — or is it?

Movement & Organizing

Queer bars are closing across the country. In an Upstate New York city, one community is grieving the loss of two legacy spaces and betting on what comes next.

Movement & Organizing

Politics & Policy

Pentagon officials invoked the Avignon Papacy to threaten the pope

Politics & Policy

Senior U.S. defense officials used a 14th-century reference to papal captivity to pressure the Vatican's ambassador in a closed-door meeting. Vatican officials say the encounter led Pope Leo XIV to cancel his planned U.S. visit.

Politics & Policy

Dr. Butch Ware is flexing his muscles for politics

Politics & Policy

The Green Party candidate Dr. Butch Ware wants to take fitness back from the far right, one rep at a time.

Politics & Policy

Donald Trump fires Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General

Politics & Policy

Several outlets have confirmed that Trump’s Attorney General was fired on Thursday.

Politics & Policy

Movement & Organizing

The country woke up to Kansas. Merrique Jenson never slept.

Movement & Organizing

As the only executive director running a trans organization across three deeply red states, Merrique Jenson isn't interested in your outrage. She's interested in your resources, your platform, and you

Movement & Organizing

Black Trans Communities Are Paying the Price for a Payment Firm’s Collapse

Movement & Organizing

The Okra Project, a nonprofit supporting Black transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive communities, has reportedly lost more than $60,000 after nonprofit payment firm, Flipcause, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

Movement & Organizing

Culture + Lifestyle

Arts & Entertainment

Trans Love, Noir, and “Zaire”

Arts & Entertainment

Filmmaker Iman DuPree shot their debut feature under military occupation in Washington, and set two rules that changed how a Black trans woman gets to move on screen.

Arts & Entertainment

The drag queen rewriting opera on her terms

Arts & Entertainment

Créatine Price on names, refusing to shrink, and building her own table

Arts & Entertainment

"Less proving. More knowing.": Monroe Alise on craft, community, and coming into her own

Arts & Entertainment

The actor and "I'm Clockable" Queen returned as Isis for the final season of The Chi, and arrives at a version of herself she doesn't yet have words for.

Arts & Entertainment

"After all, art is political": Catching up with Johnny Montanez

Arts & Entertainment

The creator on getting banned from Meta, losing his cousin, finding his sexuality, and why he stopped pretending content was a side hustle.

Arts & Entertainment

"My body is not a sin": Rain Batingana on being cast as a melting statue of Jesus

Arts & Entertainment

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro cast trans model Rain Batingana as a life-size chocolate Jesus. On May 17, the world watches her dissolve. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Arts & Entertainment

Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe are taking the “Ball” to Broadway

Arts & Entertainment

Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe join the producing team of Cats: The Jellicle Ball — and Lena's making her playwriting debut at the same time. Black queer creatives are not asking for space. They're building it.

Arts & Entertainment

Trans + Queer Joy

Community & Kinship

"We keep us safe. We set us free": How one small town in Upstate New York proves community was always the point

Community & Kinship

In the Finger Lakes, queer visibility is personal. And this year, it's fully in community hands.

Community & Kinship

Beyond Day of Visibility: How Transgender District's Breonna McCree is building hope and empowerment

Community & Kinship

As Co-Executive Director of the Transgender District in San Francisco, the world’s first legally recognized district, Breonna McCree has spent her career building the kind of infrastructure that visibility rhetoric consistently promises and rarely delivers.

Community & Kinship

The House that built itself: Jahnell Butler on ballroom, motherhood, and legacy

Community & Kinship

Jahnell Butler–Mother Chanel, director of trans services, and one of ballroom’s living legends–on legacy, chosen family, and what it means to show up for your children.

Community & Kinship

Wins & Milestones

The U.S. military kicked her out. Miss International Queen USA gets her now.

Wins & Milestones

Altesse Aurum gave the U.S. military 12 years, that is, until they made her stop. Now she's Miss Georgia, bound for Miss International Queen USA, and done waiting for the world to catch up.

Wins & Milestones

Hope Giselle is not ‘Your Average Girl’–and she’s done accepting average narratives

Wins & Milestones

The activist and filmmaker on dismantling the “pipeline” story of Black trans womanhood, and why inspiration without infrastructure is not enough.

Wins & Milestones

Health

Access & Advocacy

David Archuleta: "It's Beautiful to Be a Sexual Human Being"

Access & Advocacy

The American Idol alum on coming out, unlearning shame, and why he's talking about PrEP in the communities that need it most.

Access & Advocacy

No, the AMA did not reverse its stance on trans healthcare

Access & Advocacy

Weeks of media confusion about the American Medical Association's stance on gender-affirming care obscured something simple: the policy never changed.

Access & Advocacy

Opinion

Personal Essays

The Montage of Queer Becoming

Personal Essays

In this personal essay, Christopher Connor reflects on spending decades in the margins of drag spaces before he understood they were his field sites, his family, and his salvation.

Personal Essays

Commentary

When your own community treats your assault like gossip

Commentary

Opinion: From my assault to the murders of Black women across the country – trivialization is the weapon, and solidarity is the only answer.

Commentary

Nobody’s business: In defense of EJ Johnson’s right to want what EJ wants

Commentary

Opinion: The discourse around EJ Johnson’s dating life isn’t about EJ. It never was.

Commentary

Desired in Private. Erased in Public.

Commentary

Opinion: Trans people are the most searched and the most legislated against. That is not a coincidence.

Commentary

From Commentary to Consequence: The ‘DL Whisperer,’ Ts Madison, and Stochastic Terrorism

Commentary

Opinion: When repeated demonization meets algorithmic amplification, online harassment becomes structural — and Black trans women are too often its proving ground.

Commentary

POLISH with Marie-Adélina

I've lost count of my crying. But I found the women who taught me to get back up

A rough year, a fabulous apartment, and what a couch full of romcoms taught me about grief, growth, and the women who came before me.

I Haven't Outgrown My Friends. I've Outgrown Performing for Them.

On trans sisterhood, self-sabotage, and the quiet revolution of choosing dinner over the dive bar.

The best Mother's Day gift I ever got was her finally seeing me.

On chosen mothers, blood mothers, and the long road between the girl I was and the woman she finally sees.

A Black king survived an unkind world. So did I.

On family, history, and why telling stories that refuse to be forgotten is the only work that's ever made sense.

Now on POLISH

Support trans stories!

Consider a Tax-Deductible one-time donation or become a monthly supporter, starting at just $5 per month.

Support Black Trans & Queer Stories

Tax-deductible donations in support of POLISH Media are made through our fiscal sponsor, W.A.V.E. Women Inc. — an organization dedicated to creating safe, supportive, and empowering resources for the transgender community. Donations processed through W.A.V.E. Women Inc. are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Have questions?
take a look at our fAQ.

Filmmaker Iman DuPree shot their debut feature under military occupation in Washington, and set two rules that changed how a Black trans woman gets to move on screen.

The Latest

In the Finger Lakes, queer visibility is personal. And this year, it's fully in community hands.

Créatine Price on names, refusing to shrink, and building her own table

News

Queer bars are closing across the country. In an Upstate New York city, one community is grieving the loss of two legacy spaces and betting on what comes next.

Senior U.S. defense officials used a 14th-century reference to papal captivity to pressure the Vatican's ambassador in a closed-door meeting. Vatican officials say the encounter led Pope Leo XIV to cancel his planned U.S. visit.

The Green Party candidate Dr. Butch Ware wants to take fitness back from the far right, one rep at a time.

Several outlets have confirmed that Trump’s Attorney General was fired on Thursday.

As the only executive director running a trans organization across three deeply red states, Merrique Jenson isn't interested in your outrage. She's interested in your resources, your platform, and you

The Okra Project, a nonprofit supporting Black transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive communities, has reportedly lost more than $60,000 after nonprofit payment firm, Flipcause, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

Culture + Lifestyle

Filmmaker Iman DuPree shot their debut feature under military occupation in Washington, and set two rules that changed how a Black trans woman gets to move on screen.

Créatine Price on names, refusing to shrink, and building her own table

The actor and "I'm Clockable" Queen returned as Isis for the final season of The Chi, and arrives at a version of herself she doesn't yet have words for.

The creator on getting banned from Meta, losing his cousin, finding his sexuality, and why he stopped pretending content was a side hustle.

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro cast trans model Rain Batingana as a life-size chocolate Jesus. On May 17, the world watches her dissolve. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe join the producing team of Cats: The Jellicle Ball — and Lena's making her playwriting debut at the same time. Black queer creatives are not asking for space. They're building it.

Trans + Queer Joy

In the Finger Lakes, queer visibility is personal. And this year, it's fully in community hands.

As Co-Executive Director of the Transgender District in San Francisco, the world’s first legally recognized district, Breonna McCree has spent her career building the kind of infrastructure that visibility rhetoric consistently promises and rarely delivers.

Jahnell Butler–Mother Chanel, director of trans services, and one of ballroom’s living legends–on legacy, chosen family, and what it means to show up for your children.

Altesse Aurum gave the U.S. military 12 years, that is, until they made her stop. Now she's Miss Georgia, bound for Miss International Queen USA, and done waiting for the world to catch up.

The activist and filmmaker on dismantling the “pipeline” story of Black trans womanhood, and why inspiration without infrastructure is not enough.

Health

The American Idol alum on coming out, unlearning shame, and why he's talking about PrEP in the communities that need it most.

Weeks of media confusion about the American Medical Association's stance on gender-affirming care obscured something simple: the policy never changed.

Opinion

In this personal essay, Christopher Connor reflects on spending decades in the margins of drag spaces before he understood they were his field sites, his family, and his salvation.

Opinion: From my assault to the murders of Black women across the country – trivialization is the weapon, and solidarity is the only answer.

Opinion: The discourse around EJ Johnson’s dating life isn’t about EJ. It never was.

Opinion: Trans people are the most searched and the most legislated against. That is not a coincidence.

Opinion: When repeated demonization meets algorithmic amplification, online harassment becomes structural — and Black trans women are too often its proving ground.

POLISH with Marie-Adélina

A rough year, a fabulous apartment, and what a couch full of romcoms taught me about grief, growth, and the women who came before me.

On trans sisterhood, self-sabotage, and the quiet revolution of choosing dinner over the dive bar.

On chosen mothers, blood mothers, and the long road between the girl I was and the woman she finally sees.

On family, history, and why telling stories that refuse to be forgotten is the only work that's ever made sense.

Now on POLISH

Support trans stories!

Consider a Tax-Deductible one-time donation or become a monthly supporter, starting at just $5 per month.

Have questions? take a look at our fAQ.

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