Each year, Pittsburgh City Paper invites its readers to weigh in on the city’s standout people, places, and businesses across a wide range of categories, from nightlife and fashion to health and community service. In this year’s Best of Pittsburgh ...
“Do Queer Sh*t!” That has been the official motto since the very first Midwest Queer Comedy Festival back in 2017, from the lips of its founder and executive director, Cleveland comedian Dwayne Duke. This colorful battle cry was born of ...
Here comes the first feature film from the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” extended universe, and though it has no title just yet, RuPaul’s character has a perfectly appropriate “Drag Race” name: President Gagwell. Because of course. From gay director Adam Shankman ...
There’s nothing like a Sunday night full of carbs and queens! Hosted by Pittsburgh queens Indica and Luna Skye, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16’s Plane Jane brought together drag lovers, pasta fanatics, and Pittsburgh’s queer nightlife regulars for a wildly ...
The Steel City Softball League hosted a mini-tournament this past weekend in West Mifflin. The event, which took place on Saturday, September 13th, saw the Little Pigs, the Rainbow Mafia, the Glitter Bombs, and the Growlers play in a round-robin ...
When Harvard professor and celebrated poet Stephanie Burt listens to Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen,” she doesn’t just hear a bittersweet teenage memory wrapped in twangy chords and locker-lined hallways. She hears the sound of a girlhood she never got to live ...
The City of Pittsburgh has announced the launch of its inaugural OUTfest, a new LGBTQIA+ community celebration scheduled for Saturday, October 11, 2025, coinciding with National Coming Out Day. The event will take place at Hazelwood Green from 3:00 PM ...
Originally published by our partners at The19th on September 11, 2025. There’s good news for LGBTQ+ married couples who want to stay married: The Supreme Court is not likely to overturn marriage equality any time soon. Alarms were raised recently ...
It’s been 24 years since the September 11th attacks. A morning that fractured reality as we knew it and reshaped everything from airport security to foreign policy. For many who were alive at the time, the memory of where they ...
First it was referred to as a “mysterious illness.” Later it was called “gay cancer,” “gay plague” and “GRID,” an acronym for gay-related immune deficiency. Most egregiously, some called it “4H disease” – shorthand for “homosexuals, heroin addicts, hemophiliacs and ...
On September 8, the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh became a procession of grief and defiance as over 100 trans organizers, healthcare workers, and community allies marched from Mellon Square to the steps of UPMC’s headquarters at the U.S. Steel Tower. ...
It’s rare today for an art world star to become a recognized name in mainstream popular culture, but Keith Haring, whose bold, graphic, cartoon-like illustrations went from subway station graffiti to high-end galleries and, after his untimely AIDS death in ...
Since 2017, the crosswalk near Pulse in Orlando has been painted with rainbow colors to recognize and honor the 49 people killed and 53 people wounded there in 2016 in a mass shooting. Recently, that rainbow crosswalk was painted over ...
Updated September 9, 2025 at 10:59 AM. It’s no surprise to fans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Season 17, that the Steel City’s Lydia Butthole Kollins is dating the Black Barbie of Boston, Kori King. In a bizarre twist of television ...
By the time my conversation with Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney wrapped, I was still trying to figure out how to categorize “Twinless” — and whether I even wanted to. The film, out September 5 after premiering to buzzy acclaim ...
Sean Meloy, a political strategist and native of Western Pennsylvania, has been elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s LGBTQ Caucus. His appointment puts him in a key leadership position within the national Democratic Party, where he will help shape ...
In a weekend soaked with sequins, talent, and history, Pittsburgh’s own Joey Young sashayed into the national spotlight, placing Top 5 and winning the Interview category at Miss Continental 2026, Joey’s first time competing in the world’s most prestigious drag ...
Dating apps are like queer magic portals, a little chaotic, a little sparkly, and a whole lot of potential for fun, flirtation, and feeling yourself. Whether you’re looking for your next great love, a makeout in the moonlight, or just ...
September is stacked with queer magic. As we say goodbye to the summer heat and hello to cooler nights and cozy vibes, the queer and trans communities of Pittsburgh (and beyond!) are throwing open their doors, stages, studios, and dance ...
RAINBOW WASHED AWAY: Orlando fights back after Pulse memorial erased In the dead of night on August 21, workers from Governor Ron DeSantis’ Department of Transportation rolled gray paint over a rainbow crosswalk near the site of the 2016 Pulse ...
President Donald Trump’s administration demanded Tuesday that dozens of states remove from sex education materials any references to a person’s gender departing from their sex assigned at birth, or lose federal funding. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for ...
Evan Lakatos was just trying to meet someone. Working long hours as a deli operations manager overseeing 64 locations across Michigan, the 38-year-old gay man relied on dating apps to connect with others — especially in rural areas where “there’s ...
Calvary United Methodist Church, a historic church built approximately twenty years after the Civil War on Pittsburgh’s North Side, is changing with the times. Not only is the building known for its French Gothic spires and 30-foot high kaleidoscopic Tiffany ...
What do you get when two of drag’s boldest rule-breakers turn their creative tension into a pop anthem? A total knockout, literally. With their debut musical collaboration, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars and “No Gorge” podcast co-hosts Gottmik and Violet Chachki ...
Online game marketplaces itch.io and Valve’s Steam have recently delisted or completely removed more than 20,000 titles from their storefronts, after not-for-profit group Collective Shout pressured payment processors to change their rules. Although Collective Shout claims the move was about censoring games that depict rape ...
You’ve been watching videos of Cynthia Erivo throwing down with Adam Lambert at the Hollywood Bowl as Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” but now the “Wicked” star has another stage role lined up: Dracula. Erivo will star in a one-person ...
Kim Davis. I haven’t thought about her for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, she apparently never stopped thinking about me. Well, not me, specifically. I never met the woman. More like anyone who was able to marry after the landmark Obergefell ...
After the federal government abruptly ended a key mental health support for LGBTQ+ youth, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has stepped in to ensure crisis care doesn’t disappear for queer and trans residents across the Pennsylvania. Earlier this summer, the Trump ...
Whether you’re freshly moved into a dorm, back from summer break, or navigating the final stretch of your degree, welcome home to one of the most vibrant queer cities in the Rust Belt. 💘 QBurgh is here to help you ...
Jordan Botta, who made history earlier this year as the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Allegheny County Council, is officially the Democratic nominee for the District 13 seat in this fall’s special election. Botta has been holding it down on ...
During the 1980s, a teenager from Indiana became the face of the AIDS epidemic and left a legacy that’s still felt 35 years after his death. Ryan White contracted AIDS through contaminated blood products used to treat his hemophilia. He ...
It’s been a hard year for transgender Americans and their supporters. President Donald Trump has issued numerous executive orders targeting transgender people and their health care. The administration has threatened hospitals, shuttered the federal suicide and crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth and, earlier this month, ...
Since 1987, the Shepherd Wellness Community has been a safe haven and lifeline for people living with HIV/AIDS in Western Pennsylvania. Born in the height of the AIDS crisis, Shepherd Wellness Community has grown from a handful of community dinners ...
Welcome to The Quickie, Central Outreach Wellness Center’s monthly rundown of blogs, events, and health tips, served with sass and zero shame. It’s short, sexy, and gets right to the good stuff, and it’s delivered in part by QBurgh. If someone told you ...
Week after week, a teenage Brandon Long sat through counseling sessions that he said framed his identity as a failure. Now an ordained minister in northern Kentucky, Long told Kentucky state lawmakers about the years he spent undergoing therapy designed ...
Nebby Nick hit the field (er, court?) on opening night of Stonewall Bocce to find over 600 queer and trans Pittsburghers tossing balls, sipping drinks, and living their best lives. With 64 teams and a vibe that’s equal parts “competitive” ...
The Steel City Softball League, Pittsburgh’s queer softball league, concluded its 44th season this past weekend. The league honors both Regular season Champions and Playoff Champions. The Expendaballs won the Upper Division for the regular season, and the Little Pigs ...
Tessa Thompson’s acting roles have turned her into a respected presence on screen, and her work behind the scenes as a producer means the serious projects she wants to make happen get to happen. She produced or executive produced the ...
Queer Bocce is officially back! The 9th Stonewall Sports Pittsburgh Bocce season kicked off Thursday with a record-setting 600 players and 66 teams competing at Les Getz Field in Swissvale. You can catch the action and cheer them on Thursdays ...
Remember Kim Davis? The former Kentucky county clerk who decided that her personal religious beliefs were more important than the law, basic decency, and the right of queer people to marry? She’s back in the news and this time, she’s ...
If you’ve spent any time around queer performance, alt-cabaret or downtown New York City nightlife over the past few decades, chances are you’ve come across Murray Hill — the iconic drag king, comedian, actor, emcee and now TV host, known ...
As I write this, the President of the United States of America is busy posting about how hot he thinks Sydney Sweeney is and that Taylor Swift is “NO LONGER HOT.” Just a reminder that these are very normal times. ...
Iconic LA-based comedian, writer, and actress Nori Reed is coming to Pittsburgh with the eight-city Cheeky Summer Tour. Reed, who originally moved to California from Christian, Kentucky, to become a therapist, quickly realized she didn’t want to listen to other ...
The QMNTY Center is leveling up. On Monday, August 11, 2025, the hub for queer connection and care on the Northside will cut the ribbon on QMNTY Fitness, a brand-new space designed to keep Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ community moving, strong, and ...
The LGBTQ-specific option on the 988 lifeline gave queer youth immediate access to trained counselors. Now, Trump has shut it down, despite widespread support and need. Editor’s note: This article includes mention of suicide and contains details about those who ...
Once upon a time there was a guy named Ken Paxton who, as the attorney general of Texas, waged war on LGBTQ+ people, inflicting harm every chance he could in the name of Christianity. Then he cheated on his wife ...
We are excited to announce that QBurgh’s Fall + Winter issue is coming soon just in time to provide all the details on Halloween, Fall, and Winter events for the LGBTQ Community of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. In addition to ...
The Big Gay River Float returned Sunday for a third year of queer river joy. Around 150 LGBTQ+ and ally adventurers grabbed their tubes and hit the Youghiogheny River. Starting at Smithton Beach and winding their way to Cedar Creek ...
Pittsburgh Equality Center, formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Community Center, needs you. PEC is an entirely volunteer-run organization that equips participants with resources and programming to serve the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community. The organization promotes education, advocacy, ...
Originally published by our partners at The19th on August 1, 2025. A group of state attorneys general and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, led by New York, has filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of mounting an unconstitutional pressure campaign against gender-affirming ...