Nathan Nayor/Staff Writer There is a rising trend in the queer community where owning a frog or representations of frogs is considered an indicator of queerness, and are sometimes even called the “choice pet” and “mascot” of the LGBTQIA+ community. There are grounds for this with a deeper look into the biology of frogs and […]
Martina Brady / Staff Writer Ever since FIU closed due to the pandemic in March 2020, there have been no reported stalking cases on campus according to FIUPD. A stark difference to previous years, when stalking cases at FIU spiked. According to FIUPD’s most recent report, from 2017 to 2019, 47 cases of stalking occurred […]
Jesse Fraga / Assistant News Director For years, an FIU senior and navy reservist, battled between fighting for himself and his country, until last week. Kristian Mendez, 24, joined the military in Dec. 2018 around the same time he began questioning his gender identity. Now, he identifies as a transgender man. President Joe Biden signed […]
Nathan Nayor/Contributing Writer As a transgender man now living on my own, the past several months have been revolutionary for me. I have multiple methods of binding my chest to make it appear flat, and I finally have a haircut that makes me look masculine along with self-administered, fortnightly testosterone shots that have deepened my […]
Gabriela Enamorado/Staff Writer Growing up Latina came with a lot of great things. Culture, strength, resilience. It’s who I am and I’m proud of it. When I was about 16 I discovered I’m also bisexual. This added a whole other complicated layer to my identity. Being queer and Latinx is hard. As a queer Guatemalan-American […]
Robert Crohan/Staff Writer We all know by now that Black Lives Matter—or at least we should. Given the promises left by our founding fathers and higher power(s), the injustices faced by every group in our country that is not white and straight just doesn’t make sense. Transgender people are no exception. Few issues anger me […]
Laura Antunez/Staff Writer I had been contemplating a haircut for some time. Although the entire bottom of it was dead, I had some kind of weird attachment to the length that it had grown. It wasn’t until I played “The Last of Us Part II” (the sequel to 2013’s “The Last of Us”), that I […]
Gabriela Enamorado/Staff Writer The first time I ever saw a Pride parade, I was 10 years old. I was taking a walk to the store with my grandma while visiting family in California when I saw the rainbow floats and colorful people. I was young and didn’t really understand what was going on, but what […]
Rashawn Raysor/Staff Writer It is said that those closest to you can inflict the most pain and suffering. Oluwatoyin Salau’s tragic death reminds us of this. Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau was a 19-year-old Nigerian-American activist who was heavily involved in the George Floyd protests. She was also one of the few people advocating for Tony McDade, […]
Robert Crohan/Staff Writer As the LGBTQA+ community and straight allies alike celebrate Pride Month, the Trump Administration took it upon itself to remove protections for transgender Americans across many areas: hiring, health care and even the military. This was not purely out of coincidence, tied into other legislation of a different cause: the White House […]
Ursula Muñoz Schaefer/Opinion Director For many people, coming out is an act of courage and the beginning of a new chapter in a life that can now be lived more freely. For others, coming out encapsulates everything wrong with a heteronormative society and the idea that straightness is the default. Both are valid. I’m someone […]
Gabriela Enamorado/Staff Writer People around the world have been protesting the murder of George Floyd and taking part in conversations about the violence Black people face in their daily lives. While this is a good step towards progress, one important demographic is being left out of these talks. The violence that Black transgender people face […]
