If, like me, you’ve become a fast devotee of the new Ryan Murphy-helmed series Pose, you’ve no doubt become familiar with the perfectly delivered one-liners of character Candy Abundance (member of the House of Abundance, of course). Episode 4, which aired last Sunday, gave us an opportunity to get to know Candy better…
Jason Hill and Luckie Fuller are both transgender men with very different experiences of coming out and transitioning. However, both men have one commonality: constantly trying to overcome the invisibility that black transgender men face.
Growing up in the Caribbean, Monét X Change saw no LGBTQ representation. But then there was St. Lucia Carnival every summer.
It started with a phone call to my mother one hazy June afternoon in Indiana. I called my mother every day, multiple times a day, yet this day was different—this time I was going to tell my mother that I was a lesbian. But before I could even get the words out, I started bawling; I was so fearful of what our…
Last September, transgender activist and model Munroe Bergdorf made headlines when her straight talk about racism cost her a coveted campaign with L’Oreal. But Bergdorf hasn’t let the experience silence her; in fact, she’s allowed it to further fuel her openness about the myriad issues affecting black people, women,…
On the second episode of the new FX series Pose—a dance musical that largely chronicles the ballroom culture of New York City and the transgender and queer people who drive it—Blanca Rodriguez, a trans woman, challenges the racism and transphobia she experiences at Boy Lounge, a gay club largely populated by white…
If you love makeup and don’t know Ruby Fox, you’re missing out on a good thang. The drag queen and makeup artist—who looks gorgeous with or without makeup—is an expert at beauty transformations, which made her the perfect artist to tutor us on the perfect Pride look (because the month ain’t over yet, and Pride…
Editor’s note: For Pride Month, The Root and Jezebel are teaming up once again for JezeRoot, with content by writers of color around everyday life for LGBTQ individuals.
She may not have a gold album and multiple platinum singles like her big sis, but don’t sleep on Instagram and reality-TV star Hennessy Carolina (and yes, that’s her real name). Like Bey’s sibling Solange before her, Cardi B’s stylish little sister has been making her own distinctive imprint on pop culture, switching…
“Blakanda” was the theme, and black Hollywood didn’t disappoint at the 2018 BET Awards Sunday night, when black excellence took center stage at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Since several of our Root crew were in attendance, we left it to them to fill you in on all the details about the show, while we’ll do…
As Ashlee Marie Preston approached her 34th birthday in early June, it was less a celebration than a sobering milestone. Preston is a successful media personality, producer, writer, speaker, civil rights activist, recent political candidate and The Root 100 honoree for 2017. She is also a black transgender woman,…
Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the “unbought and unbossed” Shirley Chisholm to Saturday night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, Trailblazer Award honoree Lena Waithe proved that she will always use her platform to elevate the marginalized, transforming her moment at the podium into a tribute to the gay and transgender icons…
You strip away the makeup, the costumes and everything you know about Janelle Monáe the artist, and I’m still the African-American, queer woman who grew up with poor, working-class parents. When I walk off a stage, I have to deal with these confrontations. I have to deal with being afraid for my family.
We long for the day when no one feels compelled to “come out”—or for straight folks to feel equally compelled. Ideally, sexuality should just be considered another natural and accepted part of identity—but then again, so should blackness.
Editor’s note: For Pride Month, The Root and Jezebel are teaming up once again for JezeRoot, with content by writers of color around everyday life for LGBTQ individuals.
Laverne Cox is always here to serve us looks, and this month she is serving straight-up sunshine, looking stunning in yellow as she graces the cover of Gay Times magazine.
Editor’s note: For Pride Month, The Root and Jezebel are teaming up once again for JezeRoot, with content by writers of color around everyday life for LGBTQ individuals.
It’s Pride Month, that time of year when rainbow symbology suddenly regains significance in American consciousness—and consumerism. In recent years, mass-market retailers have made big demonstrations of their support of the LGBTQIA community (notably, even more so since the legalization of same-sex marriage in the…
From the very first shot, which pans from a disco ball to a pair of voguing hands flexing to the beat of Taana Gardner’s classic dance hit, “Heartbeat,” I knew Pose would likely become a staple in my summer viewing schedule. True confession: In addition to being a sucker for anything fashion-related, I also swoon for…
This Pride Month, Sephora is giving its clients who identify as transgender or nonbinary an extra boost of confidence with a new addition to its Classes for Confidence program. “Bold Beauty for the Transgender Community” is the latest program in Sephora’s social impact and sustainability initiative, Sephora Stands.
