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Okay. Be honest.
Did you have a soft, candlelit, rom-com Valentine’s? Did you aggressively DoorDash and watch true crime documentaries? Did you text your ex? (No judgment. Only light concern.)
Valentine’s has come and gone, and whether you were boo’d up, situationship’d, blissfully single, or spiritually married to your group chat, you survived. That’s the win.
Here’s the thing about love: it’s chaotic. It’s messy. It’s occasionally humiliating. It’s sometimes a sapphic slow burn and sometimes a “why did I say that?” spiral at 11:47 PM. But it’s also friendship. It’s community. It’s someone tagging you in a meme. It’s showing up to queer spaces even when you feel awkward.
And babe? You are not behind. You are not too much. You are not unlovable because one holiday felt weird.
We are entering the week hydrated, moisturized, and emotionally resilient-ish. The Slay Era continues. Whether you’re nursing a hangover, a heartbreak, or a sugar crash, we move forward.
Love is cute. Community is hotter. And you? Still slaying.
SLAY OF THE WEEK: Pim Neill
This week, the crown (and several cases of Thin Mints) go to Pim Neill, Pittsburgh’s six-year-old Girl Scout sensation, who has already sold over 80,000 boxes of cookies this season, and she’s just getting started.
Yes. Eighty. Thousand.
But this isn’t just a cookie flex. It’s a story about belonging.
Pim had wanted to join Girl Scouts since she was three, watching older girls run cookie booths and dreaming of her turn. When enrollment delays meant she had to wait another year, she reportedly described it as being “sentenced” to more preschool. The drama! The determination! We can relate.
Finding the right troop wasn’t easy. At one point, an adult volunteer suggested Pim’s disabilities would “hold a troop back.” Her family didn’t accept that. They kept searching until they found a troop that welcomed her fully, and that belonging changed everything.
Now? Pim runs into meetings excited, proudly wears her vest, and calls the other girls her “friends.” Her cookie goal started small: earn rewards, maybe go to camp. Then she discovered the Niagara Falls prize, a location that holds deep meaning for her parents, Lucas and his partner Don.
So Pim got to work.
A TikTok video later, and the internet showed up. At one point, she reportedly sold 20,000 boxes in 24 hours. From “might hold a troop back” to national headlines? That’s the kind of plot twist we love.
In a moment when online spaces can feel… exhausting, Pim’s story reminds us that sometimes it’s still possible for people to rally around something simple: a kid with a goal, a supportive LGBTQ family, and a whole lot of cookies.
Pittsburgh, we see you. Pim, we salute you.
SHARE YOUR JOY
Did something gay and glorious happen this week?
✨ You wore your first binder out in public
✨ You finally asked them out (and they said yes)
✨ You slayed at karaoke
✨ You felt cute at Giant Eagle
✨ You just felt seen
We wanna hear it! Send us your queer joy, big or small, and we might feature it in next week’s issue. Because your joy? That’s newsworthy too.
Keep Queer Media Hot And Funded
Okay bestie, real talk.
If you love getting queer joy, community news, archives, drag chaos, and soft feral affirmations in your inbox every week… consider putting your money where your glitter is.
For just $5 a month (that’s like… half a cocktail at happy hour), you can become a monthly supporter of QBurgh.
And because we love a thank-you gift moment, we’ll send you every issue of QBurgh Magazine in the mail. Yes, physically. Yes, gorgeously. Yes, for your coffee table so guests know you’re cultured.
Your support keeps local queer journalism alive. It funds real reporting. It preserves our history. It amplifies LGBTQ+ voices in Pittsburgh. It makes sure our stories don’t disappear.
Independent queer media doesn’t survive on vibes alone. Tragic, we know.
Become a supporter at QBurgh.com/support
Because if we don’t tell our stories, who will?
QUEER JOY IN THE WORLD: Honcho Campout’s Queer Fam Fund Is Back
Summer might feel lightyears away, but queer planning season never sleeps.
The Queer Fam Fund (QFF) has officially launched its 2026 fundraising campaign to support Black, Indigenous, people of color, and people of trans experience attending this year’s Honcho Campout from August 12 to 17 at Four Quarters in Artemas, PA.
Since 2018, QFF has helped more than 400 queer and trans folks access the annual five-day gathering of music, performance, workshops, and chosen-family magic. The fund exists for one simple reason: financial barriers should not determine who gets to experience queer joy.
Here’s how it works:
- Campout tickets for QFF recipients are fully waived by Honcho.
- Funds raised go toward travel, meals, camping gear, and required facilities access fees.
- $1,000 can fully fund someone’s Campout experience from transportation to tent setup.
- $15 from every Campout ticket sold goes directly to the fund.
- Donors can also contribute during ticket checkout.
At its core, this is about access. About making sure that queer spaces, especially ones centered in art, connection, and collective participation, are actually inclusive and intersectional in practice.
If you’re able, donate. If you can’t, share the GoFundMe. If you’re going to Campout, remember that this kind of mutual aid is what keeps queer community expansive instead of exclusive.
Camp is cute. Equity is hotter.
QUEER RECOMMENDATION: Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
Imagine Leave It to Beaver… but the vibes are crumbling, the patriarchy is sweating, and someone’s definitely not straight.
In Meet the Newmans, Jennifer Niven takes us behind the scenes of a beloved 1964 black-and-white sitcom family just as the real world starts demanding color. Dinah Newman, pearls, perky dresses, and all, begins to realize that her perfect TV life is cracking. Her husband is distant. Her sons are grown. CBS wants reinvention. And the Women’s Movement and Civil Rights era are knocking loudly at the studio door.
Add in industry pressure, a son with a “roommate” the network would rather rewrite, and a looming calamity that shifts everything, and you’ve got a nostalgic drama that feels very Mad Men meets modern reckoning.
It’s sharp without being preachy, nostalgic without being naive, and quietly subversive in all the right ways. Perfect for fans of mid-century aesthetics, complicated families, and stories about women realizing they deserve more.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
This week, we’re revisiting a powerful chapter in Pittsburgh’s queer history, not to dwell in the darkness, but to remember the strength that carried us through it.
In the early hours of Valentine’s Day 1988, police raided Traveler’s Social Club in East Liberty, a private gay club that served as a sanctuary during the height of the AIDS crisis. It was a time marked by national indifference, devastating loss, and widespread homophobia.
But here’s what matters most: the community fought back.
The club’s owner and patrons filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Pittsburgh, demanding accountability and dignity. The court ultimately sided with the city. The club closed. But the act of standing up, of saying “we deserve better,” reverberated far beyond that courtroom.
That courage laid groundwork.
Today, we gather in Pride parades, in sports leagues, in community centers, in nightlife spaces, and even within city government itself, including the City of Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission. Our spaces look different now. Some are brick and mortar. Some are digital. Some are institutional.
But the throughline is clear. When our spaces are threatened, we organize. When we’re pushed out, we build something new. When we’re told we don’t belong, we gather anyway.
Traveler’s Social Club reminds us that Pride has always been more than a party. It’s memory. It’s resistance. It’s showing up for one another, especially when it’s hard.
And the most powerful part? We’re still here.
THE AGENDA: Your Queer Week, Queued Up
This is your weekly reminder that leaving the house can be gay and productive.
Derby 101 with Steel City Roller Derby
Monday, February 16 @ 7:15 pm at Homewood-Brushton YMCA
Roller derby-curious? This is your villain origin story.
Steel City Roller Derby is hosting a guided intro night where you’ll learn the basics, meet the Training & Skills team, and find out how to join their Freshie program (starting March 2). No experience required — just bring your curiosity and protective gear.
Helmet, quad skates, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and a mouthguard required. Limited loaner gear available, plus Wicked Skatewear will be on-site with skates and supplies.
More info →
QMNTY Game Night
Tuesday, February 17 @ 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the QMNTY Center
Low-pressure, high-joy, board-game realness. Pull up for a casual hour of gaming, chatting, and connecting with community. Perfect for introverts, extroverts, and competitive gays alike.
More info →
Steel Carabiner – Sapphic Appreciation Night
Thursday, February 19 @ 10:00 pm at Blue Moon
It’s giving sapphic supremacy. It’s giving late-night chaos.
Hosted by Kat De Lac, with performances by Andi Whorehol, Kaydence McQueen, and Magic Dyke, plus DJ Kaydence keeping the dance floor hot. Izzy and Cindy on bar duty. Hydrate accordingly.
Sponsored by Adultmart Stores, Inclusive Aesthetics, Captain Morgan, and Crown Royal.
See you under the disco ball.
More info →
And remember, this is just the glitter on top, check out the full LGBTQ+ community calendar at QBurgh.com/events for even more ways to connect this week. There’s a lot going on!
More events this week →
Okay, lovebirds and lone wolves.
Valentine’s has passed. The candy is discounted. The roses are wilting. The situationships are… still confusing. And yet here you are. Standing. Breathing. Mildly unhinged but thriving.
Maybe you felt adored this weekend. Maybe you felt invisible. Maybe you felt powerful. Maybe you felt like texting “u up?” at 1:00 AM. Whatever your flavor of chaos was, you made it through.
And here’s the truth. Love is cute, but resilience is hotter.
Here’s how to keep the magic going:
- Submit your queer joy → email us at slay@qburgh.com
- Forward this to your work crush
- Tag @QBurgh on Instagram with your Monday slay.
Our community has always been a little feral in February. We thaw slowly. We survive things. We organize. We flirt recklessly. We rebuild what gets taken. We make dance floors out of nothing. We turn court cases into movements. We sell 80,000 boxes of cookies. We roller skate. We camp. We show up.
If you’re feeling soft this week, protect it. If you’re feeling wild, channel it. If you’re feeling tired, rest without guilt. The Slay Era isn’t about perfection. It’s about persistence. It’s about choosing joy even when it would be easier to disappear.
You are not behind. You are not too much. You are not alone.
Be slightly feral. Be radically kind. Be impossible to erase.
We’ll see you next Monday. Talk soon.