Light a Fire

Basic Rights Oregon Has Advocated for LGBTQ Oregonians for a Quarter Century

Queer and trans Oregonians owe the nonprofit some significant policy victories.

12/02/2020 By Conner Reed

Design

Dot Gay Is Here to Queer This (Cyber)Space

The new top-level domain launched in September, courtesy of Portland company Top Level Design.

11/25/2020 By Conner Reed

Public Health

Free LGBTQ+ COVID Testing Event Aims to ‘Remember the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living’

“It is very difficult not to draw the parallels between 30 years ago and what was happening at the time with the HIV pandemic,” says event organizer Jenya Gl...

11/20/2020 By Conner Reed

Feature

Who Is Committing Violence Against Trans Women?

Two Portland organizers explain how transmisogyny and oppression are structural—and how we can fight back.

10/02/2020 By Tuck Woodstock Illustrations by Ebin Lee

Democracy and Drag

Poison Waters Gets Primed to Drag Out the Vote

One of Oregon’s best loved drag queens is joining a national organization to get people voting.

08/20/2020 By Fiona McCann

Interview

Isaiah Tillman Will Take His Roses Now

The burlesque superstar on how he’s endured Portland’s racism and made his way on the road to fame.

07/02/2020 By Andrew Jankowski Photography by Johnny Nuriel

Pride 2020

How to Celebrate Portland Pride Online

Plays, karaoke, drag, and more—all from the comfort of your home.

06/19/2020 By Lauren Carlos

Portland Pride

Part of a Landmark LGBTQ Case, a Portland Teacher Finds Redemption

Brett Bigham took to Twitter to sort out his feelings about it all. A lot of people took notice.

06/17/2020 By Julia Silverman

Portland Pride

Pride, Like Everything Else, Looks Different This Year

How does it feel to be proud in private, with nowhere left to gather?

06/01/2020 By Conner Reed

Buy Queer

Coronavirus Has Devastated Portland’s Queer-Owned Businesses

Happy Pride month. Here’s how you can help.

06/01/2020 By Elise Herron

Essay

Nights at the Roxy, an All-Ages Queer Haven

Notes on downtown’s 24-hour neon dive from a former teenage client

06/01/2020 By Thom Hilton

Last Call

Living as a Young Queer in Post-Vaseline Alley Portland

Where have all the gay bars gone?

02/25/2020 By Conner Reed

Film

Five Portland Films to Watch This Valentine's Day

Your homegrown best bets for a holiday screening, no matter what V-Day means to you.

02/12/2020 By Conner Reed

Party for a Cause

Celebrate Portland Monthly’s 2019 Light a Fire Award Winners in Person

Get ready for all the feels at our 15th annual nonprofit and volunteer awards gala at the Oregon Convention Center November 21.

11/12/2019 By Kelly Clarke

LGBTQ+

Kate Brown Just Signed an Executive Order Protecting Gender Identity

The executive order also expands bathroom access at state buildings for those who are transgender, nonbinary or gender non-conforming.

10/25/2019 By Julia Silverman

Lifetime Achievement

This Portland Illustrator and Activist Has Been Working for LGBTQ Rights Since... Well, Forever

Rupert Kinnard joined the Portland Town Council, the first LGBTQ-rights umbrella group in Oregon, in the early ‘80s as its first black member.

10/23/2019 By Fiona McCann

Most with the Least

This Tiny Group Makes Oregon Schools Safer for LGBTQ Students

Oregon Safe Schools is advocating for the city's LGBTQ students.

10/23/2019 By Margaret Seiler

Q&A

Kristen Arnett Talks Dark Humor, Taxidermy, and Queer Narratives

The author comes to Powell's with her smash-hit novel, Mostly Dead Things.

07/18/2019 By Eden Dawn

Performance

Universo Marries Latin Pop with Sonny & Cher

Joaquin Lopez’s “electro-pop emotion concert” explores the little stuff—sex, love, queerness, and the phases of the moon.

07/10/2019 By Conner Reed

Insider’s Guide 2019: Entertainment

These Are Portland’s Can’t-Miss Shows, According to Drag Clown Carla Rossi

Among them, educational drag nights and imaginary Game of Thrones episodes.

03/26/2019 By Rebecca Jacobson