POLISH Media

You can’t fight for Trans liberation and ignore the water, the power, and the care our Caribbean siblings are denied. Naiymah Sanchez on the National Trans Visibility March in Puerto Rico: polish.media/perspectives...

This LGBTQ+ History Month, how are you honoring the ancestors? We asked public historian Amanda W. Timpson of Yesterqueers has a message to every queer kid searching for their history: queer people existed everywhere, in every time, in every society: polish.media/joy/yesterqu...

A POLISHed life isn’t about being flawless or having arrived. It’s what happens when you’ve lived enough to know your worth and walk into the room like you know it. So tell us: who taught you what a polished life looks like?

Free speech on paper ≠ free speech in practice. This Free Speech Week, put resources behind trans-led newsrooms telling the story.

“I want people to experience it and have their own relationship with it.” It was a pleasure speaking with Peppermint at the @imageoutroc.bsky.social screening of her documentary, “A Deeper Love.”

Joy is the assignment. Catch this week’s Queer Joy Roundup, from progress in Hungary to Peppermint live in Rochester, NY. And until next week, stay POLISHed, luvs! 💋

Peppermint on the real cost of visibility, her safety, and the deep love that keeps her going. Read the POLISH conversation and join POLISH and @imageoutroc.bsky.social for the screening of “A Deeper Love” this Saturday in Rochester, NY. polish.media/entertainmen...

For LGBTQ+ History Month: Romaine-la-Prophétesse, a free Black coffee planter who adopted a feminine title and led thousands of insurgents in the early Haitian Revolution. Historians disagree on how to describe Romaine’s gender. But the record on Romaine’s leadership is not in dispute.

A federal rule cutting Medicaid and CHIP funding for youth gender-affirming care took effect on October 13. States can still cover the care with their own funds. Families are waiting to hear which states will.

We’ve all seen what happens when trans people are visible to everyone except the folks who profit from our erasure. But showing up together, in the street and in the same place at the same time, reminds us that we’ve always known we were here.

POLISH is heading to Puerto Rico this week for the National Trans Visibility March. We’re showing up in person to report, listen, and document with and for our community.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know needs support, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential, and open 24/7. Call 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.

“You can find it somewhere else." For us body-diverse folks, we’ve heard some form of this, especially when it comes to underwear. Madeline Goodwill heard that line and built something else. MADGOOD is a queer-owned brand making underwear for every kind of femme. polish.media/culture/made...

LGBTQ+ History Month Spotlight: Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla, India, came out as gay in 2006 and is widely described as India’s first openly gay prince. SOURCES: Gay Times; WLRN/NPR; The Quint; Gay & Lesbian Review

Femininity isn’t a costume someone else designs for you. It’s yours to define. 💅🏾 MADGOOD's Madeline Goodwill is taking the narrative back; check out the full interview this Friday. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter to get it sent directly to your inbox!

Less than a month out, a Williams Institute survey finds nearly three-quarters of Gen Z say they'll likely vote. OutVote, a youth-led nonprofit, says the findings back its peer-led organizing. Turnout is the open question.

Grace Detrevarah, Black trans woman, New York advocate, and author, has died. She served as LGBTQ liaison at the Osborne Association and spent decades supporting trans people returning home from incarceration.

60 years after the Compton's Cafeteria Riot, San Francisco's Transgender District marked the anniversary with Riot Party, featuring Sapphira Cristál and an all-Black lineup: polish.media/trans-queer-...

Welcome back to The Queer Joy Roundup! This week: Kevin Aviance in Berlin and Atlanta, BUTTOOTKING’s Halloween tour, VINCINT on Outlaws with Ts Madison, and a look back at Riot Party 2026. Catch select photos from the party tomorrow on POLISH! And until next week, stay POLISHed, luvs! 💅🏽

With just weeks away 'til Election Day, several Democratic candidates in competitive 2026 races are running ads supporting restrictions on transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

The Tompkins County DA is reopening the investigation into an alleged 2024 gang rape at a Cornell fraternity. The latest on this case came as the Education Department formally restored the 2020 Title IX rule, with some saying the rule weakens protections for survivors of sexual assault on campuses.

President Trump used his address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 22 to defend US policy restricting transgender rights. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, the Netherlands' first openly gay prime minister, visited the Stonewall Inn in New York's West Village on Monday.

The White House TV pool has suspended its coverage of President Trump's pool events. The move follows the White House pulling CNN from its assigned pool duties. Trump announced Friday that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from covering the White House.

The Very Rev. Micah Cronin, 30, has become dean of All Saints' Cathedral in downtown Milwaukee. Episcopal News Service says he is thought to be the first transgender dean of any Episcopal cathedral and one of the youngest.

Sophie Lee, 27, was shot and killed Friday in Baltimore. She was the 23rd trans woman killed in the U.S. this year, and the second in Baltimore in 11 weeks. She was active in the city's ballroom scene. Baltimore Safe Haven held a vigil for her Sunday.

And that's a wrap! The first-ever Trans Pride in Rochester, NY, happened on September 5th, featuring performances from local trans and nonbinary artists and headlined by none other than Sunkee Angel! POLISH Media is a proud media sponsor of the Rochester Trans Pride.

The Met just canceled its John Galliano exhibition after weeks of backlash over his history of antisemitic and racist remarks.

Sixty years after Compton's Cafeteria Riot, the Transgender District is marking the anniversary the way it's built to: not with silence, but with celebration. Learn more about the District by visiting transgenderdistrictsf.com.

The Transgender District was built on healing, economic empowerment, and preserving trans history, led by trans people, for trans people. This isn't a memorial. It's a working neighborhood. Learn more by visiting transgenderdstrictsf.com.

The actor, best known for originating Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," passed away Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home, according to TMZ. No foul play is suspected. Curry had lived with serious health complications since suffering a major stroke in 2012. Rest well.

60 years ago, trans and queer folks fought back at Compton's Cafeteria. This weekend, the Transgender District isn't letting that history sit quietly, hosting two nights full of trans joy. See photos of past events: polish.media/trans-queer-...

After Compton's Cafeteria Riot, the story disappeared for almost 30 years, until historian Susan Stryker dug it back up in the '90s. In 2017, three Black trans women turned that same six blocks into the @transgenderdistrict: the first legally recognized trans district on earth.

Jaelynn Scott isn't here to be a talking point. Running for State Rep in WA's 37th, she's calling it what it is: an economic issue hitting Black and brown trans and queer folks first, and poor folks across the board.

Dating in 2026 is not about playing it cool. It’s about clarity, consistency, and being able to breathe in the relationship, according to Hinge.

Before Stonewall, there was Compton's Cafeteria. August 1966: trans women and drag queens fought back against police harassment at this Tenderloin cafeteria. Their legacy lives on through the Transgender District, the first legally recognized trans district on earth.

Twenty years ago, an HIV diagnosis made Tony Enos feel like his world was ending. Today, he sees it differently. He's marking his 20th "Poz-aversary" with a new album — THE BOSS — and a reframe he wants everyone to hear: he doesn't live with HIV. HIV lives with him.

Founder & Executive Editor Marie-Adélina de la Ferrière on the story behind POLISH Media

Daily Gloss, No. 17: Reality TV personality Sidney Starr is being held in Fulton County Jail on three felony charges involving a minor. She denies the allegations. No plea has been entered at the time of this video. SOURCE: CBS News Atlanta, TMZ, Fox 5 Atlanta 📹: Instagram | Sidney Starr

A4TE workers ratified a contract in June with protections against layoffs. Weeks later, the union says donors learned jobs were at risk before staff did. A4TE says it followed the process. Most of the workers involved are trans. SOURCE: @advocate.com

The state of California honored @doctorjonpaul.bsky.social in June. The industry has been telling them no all year. Dr. Jon Paul on what that gap actually means, and why they've stopped reading it as a verdict on the work: polish.media/trans-queer-...

A Queen opened WorldPride, y'all! Queen Màxima smiled, waved, and stood in front of a large crowd, telling them to hold on to each other.

Your Lovable Trans Auntie reminding you that violence is never the answer. 👀✨😂 #yourlovabletransauntie #advice #humor #lgbtq

New data: LGBTQ+ businesses are facing a tougher 2026 as corporate DEI dollars and Pride sponsorships shrink. But local businesses are stepping up where big corporations stepped back.