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Prism & Pen

@prismnpen.bsky.social

568 followers 57 following 2.9K posts

An online journal of compelling LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Calling on all readers and writers with LGBTQ+ flair to join us on medium.com/prismnpen #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #2SLGBTQ #2SLGBTQIA #Queer #QueerWriters #Writing #Storytelling

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 10h

When your family is the kind of family conservative politicians are warning other parents against, it’s hard not to take these things personally. Isn’t it personal? Many of these ads are about us and families like ours. buff.ly/iqMJAin #LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics #Family

“Sex Change Surgeries for Kids” is Election Clickbait

From the parent of a trans teen

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 10h

I’m a 62-year-old gay man, a father, and a coach who works with gay men navigating life after 50. When I came out, my daughter was thirteen. There were many tears shed between us, but also a great deal of joy. I’m glad I found the courage to tell her. buff.ly/48LW3Mn #LGBTQ #Gay #Family

Don’t Let New Boundaries as You Age Threaten Your Gay Chosen Family

Being good at a role can make it difficult to notice when you’ve outgrown it.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 10h

I’ve been considering recently if masking as a reflex is different to masking as a choice. I now obscure my identity to varying degrees from time to time. The lines of identity blur without rendering me invisible. buff.ly/qH6Atzm #LGBTQ #Transgender #DnD #Identity

Sheila, the Half-Visible Trans Woman: Do They See a Cloak or an Apparition?

Dungeons & Dragons? More like Transitions & Tribulations

000

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

There’s a big difference between choosing age-appropriate materials and treating the existence of LGBTQ+ people as inappropriate. Seeing themselves reflected in the pages of a book can mean everything. buff.ly/0Z7ovN7 #LGBTQ #ComingOut #USPolitics #NationalComingOutDay #BannedBooksWeek

National Coming Out Day: You Can’t Ban Who We Are

Why books, belonging, and a little kindness matter to people finding their way

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Abandoning the rights of the tiny, marginalized fraction of Americans who happen to be trans or gender nonconforming in an effort to sway bigoted voters is not a demonstration of political savvy. It’s a revelation of moral weakness. buff.ly/YC6N4tl #LGBTQ #USPolitics #Transgender #TransRights

Why Compromising on Trans Issues Is a Losing Strategy for Democrats

Regardless of where a candidate stands, Republicans will lie and point fingers

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

There was no “mum takes me to a high-brow department store for a bra-fitting on a Saturday afternoon.” There was “find a tape measure, use the internet advice to measure myself, and scurry into a low-brow department store after hours” instead. buff.ly/Sy3lG4r #LGBTQ #Transgender #BraShopping

The Comic Ineptness Of Buying My First Bra as a Transgender Woman

How I almost but not quite came off as a panty thief

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

It’s troubling the way my decision to transition My own significant and deeply private choice Has somehow led to me becoming public property... buff.ly/L6bd7nd #LGBTQ #Transgender #Poetry #QueerPoetry #Politics

A Trans Woman’s Rant

I’m unsure of many things, but others seem clear

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Dear Nicole, my Infant Self, This is your Adult Self speaking to you. There are many things that you should know about yourself. Throughout your childhood, you will be experiencing different things as you grow older. buff.ly/e1tmq55 #LGBTQ #Nonbinary #Identity #LetterToMyself

As a Nonbinary Adult, I Write to My Infant Self

You will always be the fighter you’ve been since you were born

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

[1.6] And God grew jealous of Woman, as He was a jealous God, and he sent the serpent to fool her into eating from the prohibited trees. buff.ly/WoUPt57 #LGBTQ #QueerFiction #Transgender #Bible

A Transgender Woman Rewrites the Story of the Garden of Eden

Male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

“Those windows will be the death of us when the zombies rise up,” Cal had warned. Aaron replied, “I’m pretty sure when the zombies rise up, I’ll be ready to check out anyway.” buff.ly/Aq07fFX #LGBTQ #Fiction #QueerFiction #Zombies #HorrorFiction

A Gay Couple and the Boy Across the Street

A neighborhood prank becomes a nightmare in this short horror story about love, fear, and an unwelcome guest.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The topic of presenting feminine deserves a series of conversations because of the many aspects we have to consider, but this time we’ll focus on something that can make a big difference and can be achieved in a relatively short time — clothing. buff.ly/Pwb51BE #LGBTQ #Transgender #Advice #Clothing

A Practical Guide to Dressing More Feminine for Trans Women

Wardrobe and styling tips — from body proportions and waistlines to dresses and shoes

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

When they told me they were practicing Catholics and had raised their three kids as Catholics, alarm bells went off in my head. Really? The catholic church is the enemy of women and gays. buff.ly/MAaos6u #LGBTQ #CatholicChurch #Friends

How Did This Lesbian’s Hippie Comrade Turn into a Catholic?

The catholic church is the enemy of women and gays.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Back then, there was always a rumor about whether he was gay, but none of us was ever sure. He and I were close, we studied together, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to his face. Then he moved abroad, and I watched him come out online. buff.ly/HKeMMz8 #LGBTQ #Politics #Nigeria #Gay

My Fellow Nigerians, You Cast My Gay Friend Out of Church: We Have a Choice

The first time I saw homophobia up close. I tried to mediate, then the warden grabbed my belt.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

There are approximately 342,620,143 Americans. There are approximately 39 million registered Republicans in the U.S. According to YOUGOV.com, 67% of Republican men and 54% of Republican women identify as MAGA. buff.ly/g5Ci4HQ #LGBTQ #USPolitics #Vote

In November, Every Democracy-Loving American and LGBTQ Person Must Vote

Because aggressively stupid people can vote too, sadly.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

One of my joys of parenting was seeing my two daughters dressed up as the latest Disney craze princesses, stepping into the drizzle (it always rained on Halloween), and spend a good part of the night roaming the neighborhood. buff.ly/Qt2nF6K #LGBTQ #Transgender #Halloween #Family

A Transgender Woman and the Halloween that May Never Be Again

Do you celebrate Halloween? (Celebran halloween?) What’s that? (Que es eso?)

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The subject of the self can be a complex one. If it is, the subject of compassion follows a similar complex path. I began dismantling my self years ago. It was complex, but age and responsibilities demanded that it be so. buff.ly/ZFXQmiJ #LGBTQ #Transgender #Self #Identity

A Trans Woman and Self-Compassion, Self-Definition, and Self-Determination

Compassion starts at home, with oneself, and ends at home, with oneself

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A single germ of distrust can spread into a contagion. People start taking sides. Accusations and judgments are lobbed back and forth like word grenades. buff.ly/BPTN4cN #LGBTQ #KingPrincess #Labels

LGBTQ Labels Become Ridiculous When Personal Identity and Community Clash

On King Princess and label policing by their fans

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This was written in that short late-COVID moment when we could still get passports with X markers and trans women could actually compete in the Olympics, or most any sport at most any level, without having their lives upended. buff.ly/mKUMBCI #LGBTQ #Transgender #ComingOut #Politics

My ‘Coming Out’ Letter from When We Could Still Get X Markers on Passports

Plus some historical updates. Maybe it will be useful to others.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I’m not embarrassed that I got it wrong. What embarrasses me is how sure I sounded. They’re not lies. They’re just too clean. And clean is its own kind of lie when you’re writing about something this messy. buff.ly/v63UCk9 #LGBTQ #Transgender #Parenting

I Told the Internet My Kid Wasn’t Transitioning

A year later, they are. The most confident thing I ever wrote about my kids was wrong, and that’s the part I’m proudest of.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This is my lived experience as a woman for ONLY three years… I cannot imagine being subjected to this for an entire lifetime if I’d been born a cisgender woman. buff.ly/uNmTtbn #LGBTQ #Transgender #ThoughtExperiment #PerformanceArt #MarinaAbramovic

Do Whatever You Want to a Transgender Woman for Six Hours

Inspired by a celebrated work of endurance art

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I didn’t consider it a gay movie at the time. I was a kid and I didn’t have a concept of gay, but I knew what it meant to be seen as the strange one. I was the one who didn’t fit. buff.ly/X6KtACB #LGBTQ #Gay #HorrorMovie #Halloween

A Gay Reading of ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’

How I learned that being treated like a monster does not make you one

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Trans people have “the purge”… not the movie… We tend to accumulate clothing we use in secret, and then, at some point, we “purge” it all in a long-delayed, often high-shame event… then the process cycles again… and again… buff.ly/ju8UD7W #LGBTQ #Transgender #Clothing #Identity

The Purge: Trans People Know This Process Well….

…this time, I’m getting rid of his things 😊

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Our country is moving in the wrong direction, with rage and hatred running rampant. In high school, as that pack closed in on a boy I’d never met, I didn’t know what to do. But now I do. buff.ly/SoukCCm #LGBTQ #USPolitics #Bullying

Bullying that Targets LGBTQ+ High School Kids

I didn’t know what to do then, but I do now.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Here are my Four Noble Truths of a #Transgender Woman. Noble because they are understood and practiced by Transgender Women, and are regarded as a true and correct path. My interpretations are mine, and not to be understood as exclusionary or binding. buff.ly/bywIMhG #LGBTQ #Philosophy

The Four Noble Truths of a Transgender Woman

An awakening. An epiphany. A transgender woman is born.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Her mind was too far gone to be at my civil union. Just as I was entering adulthood, she was leaving us all, in the most slow and excruciating way. It was hard to watch someone that was so beautiful and loved go to such a dark place, bit by bit. buff.ly/HzYCDZG #LGBTQ #Family #Memoir #Dementia

What I Learned as a Queer Person from My Migrant Grandma

A response to the U.S. deporting queer migrants to countries dangerous and unknown to them

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We have plenty of challenges in the United States. But based on some of these ads, you might think that the future of the country hangs on how the federal government views gender-affirming care for minors, or trans athletes, or access to public bathrooms. buff.ly/ub9v2lA #LGBTQ #USPolitics

Anti-Trans Election Ads are Back — with a New De-transitioner Twist

Observations from the parent of a trans teen

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You’ve probably heard the term “religious trauma”? Well, meet one of its poster boys. I’m not going to define the term, I’m just going to show it to you so you can (I hope!) understand and empathize. buff.ly/wfujkBm #LGBTQ #Religion #ReligiousTrauma #Christianity

Getting Religious Homophobia Off My Chest: Conversations with a Nun

I wasn’t going to tell this story, but I can’t stop thinking about it

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

He was crazy about her, they had been inseparable for a few months. He hoped when the time came, he wouldn’t screw it up. Although so far, things hadn’t exactly gone to plan. buff.ly/3QUG3yo #LGBTQ #Fiction #QueerFiction #Transgender

Just Sometimes, Our Stars Align

LGBTQIA+ fiction: Two people, an accidental meeting, and just a little help from fate

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It’s still September, but not for long, and that means Halloween is around the corner! Prism & Pen would like you to send in your stories about your Big Gay Halloween Parties! buff.ly/jYBoy61 #LGBTQ #QueerWriters #WritingPrompt

Prism & Pen Writers: Get Your LGBTQ Stories Ready for Halloween!

🎃 Halloween is almost upon us, ghouls and goblins!

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Alienation is a hard to explain to people who have never experienced it. Unless I explained how I felt it at the time, everyone else in my life saw me sat around with an expression and body language that often matched the energy of the room. buff.ly/Hz9XltV #LGBTQ #Transgender #QueerLove

At Last I Discover Queer Love, Will It Stay With Me? Will You?

Only time will tell if I can break the spell

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It’s a hostile act to inform #queer people that they’d be murdered if they lived in SWANA, in part because such a statement seems to imply that hate crimes are “inherently ‘more evil’ within non-Western contexts.” buff.ly/xi4obMe #LGBTQ #Palestine #SouthwestAsia #North Africa

We’re Queer and We’re Here to Help Each Other Survive

On the anthology ‘Homosexual Intifada,’ edited by George Abraham and Hannah Moushabeck

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Not only did I fail to spend any time at all educating myself about my own community, I missed the whole celebration… if there was one. Here I am, wondering exactly where & when these festivities took place… because I never heard a peep about it! buff.ly/wPxNthM #LGBTQ #Bisexuality #BiVisibilty

Yesterday Was Bi Visibility Day. Who Knew? Not this Bisexual Man.

I missed the whole celebration, if there was one. How about you?

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Remember “transtrenders”? The idea behind this talking point was that more people were identifying as trans because they saw it trendy rather than an authentic expression of who they were. buff.ly/xPIXSq5 #LGBTQ #Transgender #Politics

What Happened to the Transtrenders?

Isn’t being trans trendy? Will the right admit they were wrong?

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

While I was busy fighting myself, the field of battle moved from my insides to the external world. I have better things to do with my gender transition than more fighting. I was planning to learn to sew this year, or maybe get a dog. buff.ly/WLfhyri #LGBTQ #Transgender #Politics #CultureWar

A Trans Woman Finds the Enemy Outside

While I was busy fighting myself, the battle moved from my insides to the external world.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

How many times have we told ourselves, “I have too much to lose,” “I can live with it,” “Other people have it worse,” or “If I stop thinking about it, it will disappear”? buff.ly/zLJEE4u #LGBTQ #Transgender

What Happens When Trans People Spend Years Suppressing Dysphoria?

The coping mechanisms trans women use to suppress their feelings and why they stop working with time

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Vienna is quiet. Like, really quiet. It’s the opposite of Berlin in almost every conceivable way. All the supermarkets close at 7pm, the chalky coffee is overpriced, and everyone wears white trousers and polo shirts. buff.ly/cLZZHpF #LGBTQ #Travel #GayTravel #QueerTravel #Vienna

Shy or Bi? Eye Contact and Small Talk in a Men’s Sauna in Vienna

Hot and steamy, in every way

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Sure, if you’ve got the time and the privacy, masturbation with toys is fun. But all we really need are our hands. So hand health is important, and I’m starting to notice a problem. Here is my story. buff.ly/Cnaqd0m #LGBTQ #Gay #Health #Aging

Last Night as This Gay Man Was … Um… You Know …

Oh, knock it off! We all do it!

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

When I was a little kid, most people saw me as remarkably effeminate. Only they didn’t use such high-register vocabulary. Instead, I got mocked as a “sissy,” “girly boy,” and even worse 1970s homophobic slurs. buff.ly/h8i0ub0 #LGBTQ #Gay #Bullying #USPolitics

Bullies Mock Effeminate Boy & U.S. Senator. Is There a Path Toward Hope?

This sad tale gives me hope for a backlash of good will and decency.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Popular memory often reduces bathhouses into simple punchlines — dark hallways built strictly for anonymous sex. But sex was only one part of the story. Renslow built something far closer to an underground village. buff.ly/UYonyHJ #LGBTQ #QueerHistory

What 1970s Bathhouses Can Teach Us About Queer Survival

Before the algorithm, bathhouses were never just about sex. They were sanctuary and community.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It’s true. I was such a bonehead about it all that it hurt everyone. But, like some teenager, I was on a mission of new discovery, and no one could avert me to go back to good common sense …no way, no how. buff.ly/mCIU4Fx #LGBTQ #Lesbian #ComingOut

I Came Out at 36 Knowing Exactly Zero Lesbians: This Is What I Did about It

“Shhhh, Act Normal!”

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

“The reason that those signs went up is, over the last couple years we’ve had females going into the males’ restrooms, not only at the grandstand but other places, because the lines are a lot longer in the females’ restrooms.” buff.ly/CRITjSf #LGBTQ #USPolitics #Gender #Kansas #Bathrooms

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Living the past ten years in rural #Ohio, I learned that being #gay here is rarely just about acceptance or rejection. The reality is more complicated. It’s knowing when to be visible and when to be cautious, which conversations are worth having and which are not. buff.ly/ASgdkFm #LGBTQ #USPolitics

Navigating the Election as a Gay Man in Rural Ohio

Queer people may not all be on the ballot, but our lives are front and center in the debate.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The day began as most my Saturdays begin, with early dilation, a walk, coffee and breakfast, and catching up on Medium poolside. The most decisive decision of the day inevitably surfaces: Pool or beach? buff.ly/ot8aa1F #LGBTQ #Transgender #ADayInTheLife #DominicanRepublic

A Day in the Life of a Trans Woman in Dominican Republic: Sept 14, ’26

I read stories of U.S. trans women’s experiences. Next door in DR, I’m a world apart.

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The most effective boycotts do not merely impact revenue, but generate negative media coverage. The discussions of it in the media and the mere fact that some people are participating can make a difference. buff.ly/1nDpjKe #LGBTQ #Boycotts #Palestine #Gaza #JKRowling

Why I Boycott: a Queer Perspective

Answering the age old question, what is the point?

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I’m losing my sense of feeling. On cooler days, my fingertips go pale or even blueish, then I can’t feel anything with them. Yesterday I couldn’t even put on a set of earrings. buff.ly/al2hXvm #LGBTQ #Trangender #MentalHealth #Raynauds

I’ve Become a Cold, Unfeeling Trans Woman

Somehow this winter, I’ve lost my touch

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Let’s be crystal clear. Trans people are human beings. They are our siblings, our children, our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors. They are not an abstraction. They are not a debate. They are not a threat. buff.ly/dW5HKbj #LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics

Why We Must Stand with Our Trans Siblings and Call Out the Real Threat

No one left behind: Democrats and even some LGBTQIA+ people struggle to answer this question

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

People in the world today show a surprising lack of empathy. In fact, some right-wing Christian leaders like Allie Beth Stuckey and Joe Rigney are even teaching that empathy is sinful or toxic. buff.ly/9Nag4qV #LGBTQ #Transgender #MentalIllness #Ableism

Why Calling Trans People Mentally Ill Is a Pretext for Cruelty

The anti-transgender movement is ableist

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It’s hard to make friends in your 30s. For a start, it’s not like there are a lot of opportunities to do so, unless you have kids. I don’t have kids, just cats, and they don’t present much chance to socialise with other cat mums. buff.ly/XlVly7w #LGBTQ #Transgender #Friendship

Transphobia Is a Hurdle to Friendship — But It’s Not Them, It’s Me

The voice in my head is holding me back

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

She’ll remember what I said. She will have a new perspective, she will have second hand knowledge of our struggle and learnings and she will share this with someone else. And that’s a win, however small. buff.ly/CWJFu9n #LGBTQ #Transgender #Society

Talking about My Trans Teen with My Mom, My Girlfriend, and Strangers

Parenting in a transphobic world

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“It must have been hard growing up in Idaho,” I remarked. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. But I’ve always been my own person, done things my own way.” buff.ly/wfe3TbR #LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics #Portland

Sharing a Hot Tub With a Smiling Young Trans Man

Feeling proud and happy to live in a city that chooses love over hate