Top Stories

Stories in Pride that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.

The Journey to Self-Love
“If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love someone else?” The famous quote from the Queen themself: RuPaul. The purpose of the quote is simple: self-love needs to be the foundation for any relationship. However, the road to discovering self-love may take years for many, myself included.
By Iris Harris2 years ago in Pride
I am no different to them
With the brutal and violent deaths of two 16-year-old's Nex Benedict (they/them) and Brianna Ghey (she/her), one year apart, and nothing but an ocean dividing them. Nex Benedict was attacked in a bathroom of their school, they weren't attacked because of an argument they were attacked and sustained injuries that killed them over their choice to be themselves. Brianna Ghey, another 16 year old, was stabbed over 20 times to death, again, not because of an argument, not over gang affiliations or anything like that, she was killed over her decision to be who she was.
By Ashyr H.2 years ago in Pride
The two interior designers
I was around six years old when I realized I was queer. I haven’t entirely grasped the concept yet, but I knew I was different in some way. That terrified me. I can remember, clear as day, my lamentations about whether I can hide it or fix it somehow. The guilt was suffocating, my little heart racing with anxiety and paranoia because I was mortified over the prospect of anyone finding out. I was stuck and isolated with no one to confide in. I’m sure you’ve heard this exact story a million times before and I’m not here just to garner sympathy with it. What I want to talk about is a turning point in my process of growing up and it all started with two interior designers we hired to refurnish our apartment.
By Glass Shards2 years ago in Pride
Horror of Queerness
Pride was for other people when I was younger. Living in the Midwest didn’t really give me a lot of insight into what queerness is. Despite having a bisexual mother and trans neighbor I had no honest idea what it was. There were a ton of examples of it growing up. Both problematic and I suppose as unproblematic as they could be at that time.
By Raphael Fontenelle2 years ago in Pride
Pride As A Virtue
First off: explaining the subtitle, so as not to be hunted down by people who actually speak French... "Legibeti-quoi" is the phonetic garble of LGBT, followed by the French 'quoi', representing the often-left-out QIA+ part of the acronym.
By Natasja Rose2 years ago in Pride
Hide and Seek. Content Warning.
Author's note: This piece is very personal, and it is my journey. This is the first time I am fully sharing about coming to terms with my sexuality.
By J. Delaney-Howe2 years ago in Pride
Introducing Queer Vocal Voices
Facebook groups truly have become part of the Vocal experience. The groups are a place for sharing your work, reading others' work, and providing general support and encouragement. Each group has a different flavor or specialty, and many of them have features specific to their group. In discussions with two queer friends and creators on Vocal, we noticed that there needs to be a way for queer voices to be heard. Not just heard, magnified. Not just in the PRIDE community, though we encourage every queer creator to publish in PRIDE. But any piece in any community written by any queer creator. Queer, in this case, is an umbrella for all in the LGBTQIA+ community.
By J. Delaney-Howe2 years ago in Pride
A Queer Rebirth Has Come to Vocal
The past few months have really been about rebirth for me. There have been many firsts which hasn’t been easy, and it has been more than I would have expected for someone in their late twenties. But along with these first, I’ve been rediscovering and reclaiming my identity. And along with that, I’ve also been given opportunities to advocate and empower others. From my job as a teacher, to my own inner child work, there have been so many grateful opportunities for queer voices and stories to emerge.
By Oneg In The Arctic2 years ago in Pride
I Was Going to be an Actress.. Content Warning.
I was eating molten cheese, the kind that comes out of a spout, from Taco Bell. I was a high school senior, hopeful actress, crashing at my father’s business partner’s pool house on weekends so I could attend back to back Friday/Saturday acting classes at the Bobbie Chance Studio.
By Jen Parkhill “JP”2 years ago in Pride
Let's Talk About Pansexuality!
December 8 marks pansexual pride day: a day to acknowledge the efforts made by pan community to gain acceptance and awareness. Pansexuality is a sexuality riddled by misunderstanding and misconception, leaving those who identify with the label frustrated and forced to educate those who don't understand. Education is important, it's easy to do, and no one is ever too old to learn new things.
By choreomania2 years ago in Pride
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
By April Cope2 years 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!
By Steph Cole2 years ago in Pride