Originally published by our partners at The19th on October 6, 2025. Five years ago, the United Nations concluded that conversion therapy could amount to torture and recommended it be banned. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard a case that could greenlight it ...

Five years ago, we weren’t just facing a global pandemic, we were reckoning with isolation, fear, and a silencing of queer voices. We still are. That’s why QBurgh was born. Out of necessity, out of love, and out of a ...

In June of 1985, gay men inspired by a San Francisco gay choir wanted to bring the same idea to Pittsburgh. Later that winter, the group became known as Renaissance City Choir and performed their first holiday concert. 40 years ...

“People think of big cities when they think about the LGBTQ community because it’s just more visible there,” said Barry Loveland, co-founder of the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, explaining that it’s often easier to find and document ...

Happy Birthday, QBurgh! Five years ago, a simple idea was born from a profound need: to create a space where our community could find strength and connection. It was the height of the pandemic, a time when we were at ...

As fans sit down with the seventh series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, it is worth asking what the competition format really offers drag. Since first airing in the US in 2009, Drag Race has grown into a global brand. ...

Maria Pulzetti said many folks will tell her that their first exposure to LGBTQ+ activism was in middle school or high school, through the national youth movement known as Day of Silence. However, these same folks do not realize a ...

Welcome to the most haunted (and heartburn-inducing) queer event of the season, the QBurgh & 5801 Halloween Special! Hosted by the legendary Dixie Sherwood, this Halloween spook-tacular brings you sizzling headlines, haunted dating profiles, a cursed chili recipe, and the ...

In the book Danse Macabre, the bestselling horror author of all time, Stephen King said, “I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find I cannot terrify, I will ...

There are a few, select names that as soon as you hear them, it screams horror; whether it’s Michael, Freddy, Chucky, you are bound for a delightful fright.  But for fans of cult horror, the name Romero is a family ...

For over 15 years, Steel City Fetish Con and Pittsburgh Leather Pride have served as a fierce celebration of fetish, identity, and community. This year’s convention, held this past weekend at Spirit in Lawrenceville and across several venues in the ...

What’s a Jonty, you ask? Good question, one that has no immediate answer beyond it being the title of a new film from director Lorene Scafaria (“Hustlers”). We also know that A24 is behind it, and that there’s a script ...

For the past six issues, I’ve used this space to rally us. To remind you that our LGBTQ community has been under attack, that we’ve had to stand tall, dig in, and fight. And we have. And we will. But ...

Whether she’s slithering around in a shiny red latex body suit in her sexy single, “Scorpio,” or tossing love letters into a bonfire in “Love Letter,” or crying behind her keyboard at the Hard Rock Café in “Breakthrough,” or singing ...

Two of Western Pennsylvania’s most trusted HIV/AIDS service organizations, Allies for Health + Wellbeing and Shepherd Wellness Community, are grappling with abrupt and deeply damaging funding cuts from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. These cuts include a 25% reduction to ...

In this episode of Pride Matters, Jeff welcomes TJ Murphy, Executive Director of Reel Q to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Pittsburgh’s iconic LGBTQ+ film festival, Reel Q. Explore how ReelQ has evolved into the 6th oldest queer film festival ...

QBurgh is turning five, and we’re throwing a full-on queer celebration in print! The Fall/Winter 2025 issue drops tomorrow just in time for LGBTQ+ History Month, spotlighting Pittsburgh’s fiercest changemakers, artists, and community orgs, while reflecting on five years of ...

Big Freedia’s voice has always been a force — loud, joyful, defiant — but on her new album, “Pressing Onward,” it becomes something even more powerful: a vessel for healing. The Queen of Bounce returns to her gospel origins on ...

The party doesn’t have to stop when the last Pride float rolls away in late summer. From Florida’s winter paradise to New York’s frozen lakes, queer communities are claiming new territory on the calendar, creating Winter Pride celebrations that feel ...

Just as the leaves are starting to fall here in Pittsburgh, readers can swear they can also hear the sound of jingle bells and caroling. Local authors and couple Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick are back to remind us that ...

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. At Central Outreach Wellness ...

As of this writing, Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air. Thank the holy Jesus. America’s constitutional crisis is finally over. Oh say can you see. Let freedom ring. Hallelujah. Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-koo-sa. Magnifico (oh oh oh oh). Sorry, I ...

The Steel City Softball League’s (SCSL) Little Pigs proudly represented Pittsburgh at the International Pride Gay Softball World Series, held last week in Houston, Texas. Competing in a field of 57 teams, the Little Pigs placed an impressive 13th in ...

Israeli-born Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie seeks love, peace, and joy, and, in doing so, breaks with the cultural and religious strictures of Orthodox Judaism as he champions LGBTQ+ rights in a conservative society in Sandi Simcha DuBowski’s documentary, “Sabbath Queen.” The ...

advertisement With the recent closure of Rite Aid pharmacies, many people are looking for alternatives to get their prescriptions filled. For patients at Allies for Health + Wellbeing, Allies Pharmacy offers convenience, cost savings and cultural competency. Since Allies Pharmacy ...

Imagine a protest outside the funeral of a popular political leader, with some of the protesters celebrating the death and holding signs that say things like “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,” “America is Doomed” and “Don’t Pray for ...

The preservation of history is one of the ways that society learns, develops, and grows. It’s how we know the history of our land, where our ancestors come from, and even acts as a warning regarding dark times. What we ...

The Women’s Law Project and law firm Berger Montague filed a formal complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) on Tuesday against UPMC Children’s Hospital, alleging that the hospital unlawfully denied gender-affirming care to transgender patients under the age ...

What is the meaning of your life? That’s a big question. One that most of us go through our lives, never getting an answer to. But, for artist, creator, and performer David Roussève, that question is essential to his everyday ...

Fresh off his most recent visit, Pittsburgh Pride 2025 headliner David Archuleta is returning to the Steel City on October 14 at the Thunderbird Café and Music Hall in Lawrenceville during a multi-city “Earthly Delights Music Tour.” The former American ...

A group of Pittsburgh-area parents are calling out UPMC Children’s Hospital for what they describe as a failure to protect the medical privacy and rights of transgender youth, following a federal subpoena that may compromise patient records. On June 11, ...

The Backyard Docs Film Festival returns to Pittsburgh from September 25 to 28, and this year’s lineup promises a deeply moving slate of films that center identity, memory, and queerness, particularly within the context of home. Formerly known as the ...

A new study from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) and Whistle Stop Capital has delivered the receipts: LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion isn’t just good ethics, it’s a smart, sustainable business strategy. The analysis, based on 15 years of data from ...

If you or a loved one are in crisis, please call or text 988 or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a live volunteer crisis counselor. Originally published by our partners at The19th on September 17, 2025. Sens. Tammy ...

In Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese’s award-winning directorial debut, Lesbian Space Princess, outer space emerges as a new and inclusive habitat for a smart, funny story exploring the inner spaces of lesbian consciousness and self-affirmation. The film pushes hard against the ...

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 ...

I recognize it immediately. Even through the pouring rain as I walk down an Upper Lawrenceville alleyway towards my apartment, I know what it is. Tomorrow is garbage day, so people have already thrown out cans, bags, busted chairs. But ...

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 ...