Growing up in the small rural, conservative town of Somerset, Pennsylvania, Brad Ankney was raised to believe that it was wrong to be gay. He will tell you that he always knew that there was something different about him, but ...
In his new seventh floor office overlooking the city’s South Side, Bill Isler leans back to tell a story, one that illustrates all he has espoused in a four-decade career as educator, child advocate, and keeper of the legacy of ...
(A Sing along just for us girls.) On the first day of Christmas my lesbian lover gave to me: A pair of camo pants wrapped in loose leaf tea. On the second day of Christmas my lesbian lover gave to ...
Just 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, one of the country’s most conservative colleges has been ranked the most LGBT-unfriendly in the country by the Princeton Review. Grove City College was ranked at the top of a list compiled by student’s ...
Thanksgiving is all about food, family and giving thanks for little things like pumpkin spice lattes, college Thursdays at Cruze and Cher’s Twitter feed. In the spirit of giving, here are six deliciously gay tidbits about turkey day. Feel free ...
There I was gathering my things, preparing to leave after a late-night comedy show when I was approached by a pretty girl attempting to hand me a drink. Being a fan of free things, I accepted. We made small talk ...
In my best Estelle Getty impression, “Picture it, Thanksgiving, last year.” This probably brings back multiple emotions of the holiday. This could include smiles from the family being together and sharing stories, to the horror of Uncles and screaming children. ...
Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy wasn’t at all surprised when labor representatives first approached his administration about offering health benefits to city workers in same-sex relationships. It was the Mayor himself who engineered the request. Working behind the scenes and ...
When University of Pittsburgh School of Law grad Carey Cummings accepted a position in May 2013 with Mintzer, Sarowitz, Zeris, Levda and Meyers LLP, a regional insurance defense law firm, little did she know how supportive they would be of ...
I get asked regularly, “What is your favorite city?” The truth is that I do not have just one……but, I do have my favorites. And one of them is Chicago. The primary reason I love Chicago so much is that ...
February 7, 2003, Pennsylvania enacted a 2710, a statute defining hate crimes. Pennsylvania law-makers called it Ethnic Intimidation: A person commits the offense of ethnic intimidation if, with malicious intention toward race, color, religion or national origin of another individual ...
On October 6, a violent incident sent shockwaves through the LGBT community when five young men committed an assault (read hate crime) in Lawrenceville. The suspects ruthlessly beat two unarmed men for being affectionate to one another in public. Benjamin ...
It’s been 30 years since the MTV generation was introduced to the trendsetting, vintage wearing, shaved head, neon streaked, punk-rock looking, angel voiced, in-your-face, over-the-top, down-to-earth, soul stirring, pixie, sprite, muse, performer, singer and phenomenon named Cyndi Lauper… but reappear ...
“If you loved “Waiting to Exhale” by Terry McMillan, I highly recommend you read “Who Asked You?” This book took me on an unpredictable roller-coaster of emotions. I could relate with many of the same struggles the characters, especially Betty, ...
It is Monday night, just 15 days before he officially becomes Mayor-elect, and Bill Peduto is hanging out at the Regent Square Theater where in a celebration of its 10th season barebones productions has just screened the cult classic, “The ...
Dear Friends This holiday season, as we gather family, friends, and our family of choice together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Equal Magazine would like to raise a glass and toast you Pittsburgh. We give thanks to you for allowing Equal Magazine ...
At Halloween, people enjoy a good scare. It’s fear for fun. What’s unusual is not everyone is afraid of the same things. Human beings have a long list of things that frighten the bejeebers out of them. Some of them ...
Anthropologist Johnnetta Cole said, “You cannot fully understand your own life without knowing and thinking beyond your life, your own neighborhood, and even your own nation.” When you look at the LGBT community as a whole, perhaps the one true ...
“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius” Oscar Wilde An apt quote for the Rage of the Stage (ROTS) Players and their upcoming production of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Now entering its thirteenth season, ROTS has ...
My cousin Graham and his partner, Francis, were deep in the planning stages for their wedding when the United States Supreme Court issued its June ruling legalizing federal benefits for couples in same-sex marriages. For them, the court’s decision was ...
The Pittsburgh Lesbian and Gay Film Society (PLGFS) will present the 28th Annual Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, October 11-19. Featuring 10 days of high-quality entertainment, the festival is an annual celebration of LGBT writers, directors, actors and ...
Nyxon is a professional fetish model based in Pittsburgh. Starting out her career path in the beauty industry, she quickly became one of the hottest stars in the fetish modeling world. Her journey has taken her from film to pin-up ...
Sometimes real life is scarier than the movies for gays and lesbians, so it’s no surprise that many find solace and escape in horror films & thrillers. Classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street or Carrie resonate with the coming ...
When it’s quiet at the Rusty Dory Pub in Avalon, owner Joanne Teti says she hears some of the longtime residents of the building moving chairs, arranging silverware, closing doors or leaving pennies on the bar. “They’re good ghosts,” says ...
Fall has arrived and so has Pumpkin season. As one of the most popular crops in the United States, 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are produced each year in the top pumpkin-producing states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, California, and Pennsylvania. ...
National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is turning twenty-five this year! This internationally observed civil awareness day has been helping to promote a safe world for the LGBT community as well as their allies since October 11, 1988. According to the ...
A wise woman once said, “Life isn’t all diamonds and rosé, but it should be.” That woman was Lisa Vanderpump from the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and she was 100% correct. Life can be diamonds and rosé, if you ...
“That’s so gay!” A comment heard in many schools that is meant to be derisive and insulting. Many of those who say it consider the phrase innocuous, not meant to harm. But to many LGBT youths and their allies, it ...
THE FESTIVAL OF FIRSTS BRINGS TO PITTSBURGH WORLD CLASS MUSIC, VISUAL & PERFORMANCE ART, AND ONE VERY LARGE DUCK. When a 40-foot-tall rubber duck takes a dip in the Allegheny River, it will be a first among firsts, in a ...
It’s never a bad idea to have someone with as large of a presence as John Fetterman on your side. The Mayor of Braddock — who has made nationwide headlines for his radical ideas about revitalizing the steel town — ...
Gay by God! This is the message that comes across the pulpit of Rev. Shanea D. Leonard, pastor of Judah Fellowshow Christian Church on the North Side. It’s the idea that people are born being exactly who God intended them ...
Going out on the weekends is a human pastime that will always be a way for adults to unwind after a long week, or even just a hard day. So much of this ritual can get quite expensive. Drinks, parking, ...
“Vogue” magazine recently referred to Pittsburgh as a “city with an emerging art scene which has superseded its industrial identity.” One of those emerging talents is Sam Thorp, a painter hailing from Brackenridge, Pa. “I’ve spent my life living on ...
Pilots, professors and those newly transplanted to the Steel City have been seeking out Pittsburgh Frontrunners since 1989. The club, one of 100, is an international organization for LGBT runners and walkers. The Pittsburgh club sees visitors to the city ...
Founded in 1972 with the simple act of a mother publicly supporting her gay son, PFLAG is the original ally organization. Made up of parents, families, and friends of LGBT people, PFLAG is committed to advancing equality through its mission ...
With the recent Supreme Court ruling against DOMA and more and more states across the U.S. making same-sex marriage legal, the traditional face of a wedding has given same-sex couples the opportunity to embrace—and tinker with— established tradition. Whatever traditional ...
Growing up, my brother and I loved to watch the sitcom – Golden Girls. The late actress Estelle Getty portrayed Sophia Petrillo, my favorite character. Prior to telling any story she would start it with the words “Picture it, Sicily” ...
With the fall semester quickly approaching, many students are looking to add more extracurricular activities to their plate. Whether freshmen or upperclassmen, the universities in Pittsburgh offer many safe havens and activist groups for LGBT students. Here is your guide ...
There is much that makes Pennsylvania stand out among its forty-nine sister-states. Not only is it home to Philadelphia, our nation’s birthplace (and whose cheesesteaks people willingly drive hours to devour), you will also find America’s most livable city, Pittsburgh—a ...
Before she decided she needed to become more comfortable talking about her personal life at work, Christine Crespo was introverted and kept people there at arm’s length. “I was always afraid of what people would think, what they would do ...
It’s ok to judge your food by its cover. ROYGBIV: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet should be a phrase and color scheme we’re all familiar with. Using that color palate should be a no brainer for picking ...
For the first time in 30 years, the “Queen of Motown” Diana Ross will be performing live in Pittsburgh. The concert comes, coincidentally, at a significant time in the career of Pittsburgh Drag Queen Miss Kierra Darshell, who many may ...
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature (often abbreviated as YA), is fiction written, published, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, although the “young” portion is getting more and more flexible all the time. According to the American Library Association, ...
Dr. John Tymitz and his wife Dixie have been spreading love and equality together for the last forty-four years and live by the philosophy that all are one. In 1976 John co-founded the Institute of Shipboard Education which operates the ...
Fiber Artist Amanda K. Gross and a few hundred people have knitted a bridge cozy (think tea cozy on a grand scale). Amanda, outreach coordinator for Fiberart International, and her team of volunteers will yarn bomb the Andy Warhol Bridge ...
In a remarkable career spanning over 40 years, Diana Ross has proven herself the consummate music artist as well as the most successful female singer of all time. Born on March 26, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan, Diana Ross lived a ...
Kate Passarelli remembers the moment her four-year-old son realized there were other kids like him with two moms. He was telling her about how he liked playing with another boy he met while they were visiting with other children and ...
Dear Friends, Let the sun shine. I’m excited to offer you the perfect summer read… Equal Magazine has packed this issue with so many hot articles that you’ll need sunscreen when you open it. I recommend an SPF of at ...
Hello folks: I hope everyone is well rested after an exciting Pride month. Here are some shots from a few non-pride events. Rhinestone Steel held a strip show fundraiser (1) which was a huge success and got everyone excited for ...
“Tenth of December” by George Saunders is a collection of short stories that touches on themes from adolescent disobedience and post-conflict PTSD to suicide and death. The stories were often dark, perverse, and emotional. Due to the heavy content of ...