Ever since I was a kid, I remember wanting to go and study abroad and experience a different culture. Growing up poor, Black and queer in a small town in Brazil in the 90s, made me feel like nothing was ever meant for me and I could never thrive there. As soon as I could, […]
Water is an integral part of our lives – the world is made up of more than 71% of it, and the majority of our body too. Swimming is the ultimate way to immerse in and connect with the element – not only does it provide us with numerous mental and physical health benefits, but […]
Rachael Young is a woman who needs no introduction. A powerhouse of theatre who manages to combine a slew of creative disciplines and social commentary so effortlessly to create the multifaceted work that only she can. “Freeing” is the recurring word in our conversation. I do not need to reiterate that this year has been […]
“Now I see That if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family’s heart” As a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines, a Christian, and a lesbian, I consider Mulan’s “Reflection” to be my coming-out anthem. This isn’t just because Mulan was the first Asian Disney character – she wasn’t even the right […]
I recently found myself in the oddest of circumstances. In the exhausting and exasperating position of explaining my existence, again. Explaining to someone why the lives of people other than those they consider worthy should matter. Explaining why indifference is acceptance. It’s a situation that’s beginning to feel quite familiar these days. The ignorance of […]
Grief is the emotion that we experience after a loss, but that loss doesn’t necessarily have to be a person. We can grieve ourselves, our autonomy, our identity, our ancestors, our sense of self-worth, our financial stability, our homes, any person who has distanced from us, or disowned us for who we are and how […]
For as long as I can recall when asked to discuss family or asked to draw a picture of my family at school, my response was always met with awkward intrigue. I would draw my sister, and two glamorous women, one white, the other mixed-race and watch the cogs of the polite middle-class mind try […]
Over the past five years, we have created a self-funded, award-nominated online community. Since it’s birth in 2015, AZ, started by four Black queer women, has developed into an online publication and social space, as well as event organisers, for LGBTQ+ people of colour. Now, we have created a fundraiser with a target of £20,000 […]
A few years ago, when I was in sixth form I had a conversation with a mate about how I loved to do a lot of creative things however it always felt like there wasn’t a job title that fit me. I wasn’t just a photographer, I also loved to blog, I also loved to […]
I think I was about fourteen years old when I discovered I was gay. The signs were always there: playing my Dad’s Chaka Khan records, having an unshakeable obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, opting to slay my cousins with Sonya Blade rather than Scorpion at Mortal Kombat. Every member of the LGBTQ+ community has […]
