Category: Text
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Amid Federal Pressure, San Francisco Educators Focus on Safety and Belonging for Queer Students
By Annika HauerSeptember 12, 2026 On June 10, San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent (SFUSD) Maria Su testified before Congress alongside two other superintendents in a three-hour hearing. Representatives on the House Education and Workforce Committee pressed Su on the public school district’s protections for transgender and nonbinary students, including drag queen story hour. “We…
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Illustrating Race in Color: A Zine
Background I enter most spaces looking for the other Black folks in the room. I enter Black spaces looking for the other queer folks. And I enter Black queer spaces looking for the other nerds. My search for Black queer nerds at the San Francisco Zine Fest marked the start of this weeklong zine project.…
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In the Age of Gay Tech, The Bay Area Bathhouse Where People Keep Coming
Decades after the AIDS crisis led to the emergency closures of gay bathhouses across the country, gay sex has never been more profitable. Grindr generates $3 million yearly revenue per employee, exceeding giant tech companies like Meta, Apple and Google’s parent company Alphabet. Corporate dating giant Match Group made a $100 million bet on cruising…
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Preserving The Blueprint For Liberation at The Bay Area Lesbian Archives
Black lesbians’ contributions to pro-queer and pro-black movements are pivotal but their stories are often under-told. The Bay Area Lesbian Archives is a library centered on radical lesbian history. Founded by Lenn Keller in 2014, its mission is to preserve the contributions of lesbian history from the 1940s – 1990s, and correct the undertelling of…
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‘Everyone, get more punk now!’ How zinemaking is facilitating community connection in the Bay Area
The AI boom is changing everything about San Francisco. These queer zinemakers are trying to reclaim physical space in an increasingly digital world.
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America’s Oldest LGBTQ+ Weekly is Still Going Strong
Bay Area Reporter marks 55 years in San Francisco queer media When Jim Provenzano thinks of the Bay Area Reporter, he says he thinks of its integrity. Provenzano has been at the locally-owned paper since 1992, in which time he has worn a variety of hats but now serves as arts editor, and has enjoyed…
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At Castro Country Club, Queer Recovery Has Somewhere to Go
On the front steps of the Castro Country Club, one of the volunteer baristas, Ty, has a running joke. He likes to sweep outside, and when he does, he calls it “step work.” “Oh, I’m doing my step work.” In 12-step recovery programs, “step work” means working through the program’s 12 steps, often with a…
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The Queer Infrastructure of San Francisco
While the AI investment “boom” may be driving up market values, sustainable housing has to be rooted in local culture Owen Dempsey, executive director of Quest House, moved to San Francisco from Massachusetts in 2019 to receive care from the organization after his own gender-affirming surgeries. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit in San Francisco provides safe, temporary…
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The Warming Planet Also Affects The Queer Community
For queer people escaping homelessness, climate change is raising the stakes and shelters aren’t always a safe refuge except in San Francisco. On a Friday morning, at 7:30 AM, Tanya Stowes, 55 years old, was out of Jazzie’s Place in the Mission District, ready to start her day. Her to-do list for the day: following-up…
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Pages of Refuge: an East Atlanta Bookstore Provides Safe Harbor
The South’s oldest feminist bookstore acts as a sanctuary for the state’s LGBTQ+ population.