Happy Holigays! 2016 has been a rough year, but the holidays are the time to reflect back on the good and appreciate your loved ones. Here are some of our picks to show your loved ones you

SONY DSC- Image via Pintrest

care this holiday season!

Make a Donation in a Loved One’s Name

It’s not a surprise, but with the upcoming administration, a lot of funding to important social and environmental programs will be cut.  Many people are making donations to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood in preparation for this. These are both great places to donate too. Also, consider the person you are giving this gift too. Do they love animals? Would the ASPCA be a good place for you to donate? Is their favorite cause hunger in America? Or giving women in third world countries safe access to learn?  Donate, donate, donate. Help make the world a better place.

Books!

Support queer artists and writers by giving out books. Not only will it give your friends a good reason to step away from Netflix, it will support LGBT artists. Check out our recommendations here!

A Subscription to Wolfe Video

Are you tired of watching ‘prestige’ television about dramatic straight people? I am so tired of that you guys. If one more person tells me to watch “This is Us” or asks me if I’ve seen “50 Shades of Grey” I’m going to rage puke. Get your friends a subscription to Wolfe Video, a distributor of LGBT entertainment an watch all your favorite queer movies and TV shows. Take a “time out” from #straightpeopleproblems and focus on #queerpeopleproblems!

Comfy and Functional Athleisure 

Hanging out in workout clothes doesn’t mean you have to go workout anymore. Which is why workout clothes are the best gift for both the gym bunnies and the couch potatoes in your life. SeeJaneRun has awesome apparel and workout gear to help your friends and family stick to their New Year’s Resolutions of getting in shape.

Non-Gendered Undies

Get your sexy genderqueer or masculine of center friends TomboyX undies. Choose from all kind of boxers and briefs and get something with some rainbow trim that they can whip out this summer for Pride! Use promo code LESBIAN.COM to save 15 percent when you shop through March 31, 2017.

Are you inspired?! What are you buying your loved ones this year? Anything I left off the list?

The post 2016 Holiday Gift Guide first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Image via. Amazon.com

I didn’t open up “Lucky Us” by Amy Bloom expecting a well-developed lesbian character- but it was a great surprise. “Lucky Us” is an ensemble novel, focused around the lives of two sisters, the actions of their deeply flawed parents and the consequences of their own actions. Set in the 1940’s, the book provides a fun, lush landscape for the novel as we follow Eva and Iris across the US.

Bloom is trained as a social worker and has practiced psychotherapy and this comes through in her writing. Sisters Eva and Iris both have very clear, distinct personalities. Even when they are doing wrong, their motivations are laid bare to the reader, which makes us aware of our own wrongdoings and the stories we tell ourselves in order to justify our actions.

The main protagonist in “Lucky Us” is Eva- who starts the novel as a happy 12 year old with a single mother and a father, having a wife and daughter already, only visits on the weekends. When Eva’s father’s wife dies, her mother unceremoniously abandons Eva to her father and half sister, the glamorous Iris. Iris and Eva take to each other immediately. When it becomes clear to Eva that her father has his own issues, Iris and Eva head to LA. At this point in the story, Iris starts picking up some of the narrative work in the form of letters to Eva from a near-distant future. I promise it’s not as confusing as it sounds.

Early in the book, Iris realizes she’s a lesbian. While there is a fun coming out scene, Iris’s story goes far beyond coming out. Iris loves women, she loves her sister and provides for her the best way she knows how- she’s ambitious and talented and calculating. Bloom manages to walk the fine line of having a lesbian character without ignoring her sexuality or making it the character’s only trait. As I’m sure all of you know from reading  queer lady fiction- this is incredibly refreshing.

The only sore point of the novel is that it starts out with a bang and doesn’t end quite as strongly. More and more characters are introduced, they pick up the narrative away from Eva and Iris and they just aren’t as interesting as our two plucky heroines. The heart of the story is the love these two sisters have for each other and their struggle to achieve their dreams and make a life for themselves. Sometimes, the extra characters feel like window dressing, or like they wandered into the wrong book by mistake.

More than anything, “Lucky Us” is about love, family and responsibility. If you find people who will be there for you when you’re high and when you’re low, you’re pretty lucky.

What do you think? Will you be reading “Lucky Us” anytime soon?

The post Book Review: “Lucky Us” by Amy Bloom first appeared on Lesbian.com.

How hot are women with tattoos?

That’s a rhetorical question (Image via pinuppeepshow)

I’ve always been crazy about ladies with ink. Luckily for me, most queer women seem to love getting them. Why are lesbians more likely to enjoy having strangers draw on them with indelible ink and sharp needles? Here are some hypothesis:

A) Girls who love girls are different, and we frequently choose to literally wear our uniqueness on our skin.

B) We are little sicko pervs who like the way it feels to get inked.

C) We are just awesome badasses.

Tattoos and dogs…it’s a grrl thing (Image via fuck yeah girls with tatts)

I wanted a tattoo for a few years before I actually got one. I was way too scared of the pain and too unable to commit to any particular image.

For any of you who are thinking of getting tatted let me share with you what I’ve learned from this process. You know, the kind of things no one else is going to tell you.

Treat Your Body Like a Temple

You know how some women say, “I would never get a tattoo…why would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?” That drives me crazy, because it implies that all tattoos are just ink and not actual artwork. The best way to combat this is by getting a tattoo that means something to you and fits your aesthetic. Do your body  favor and DON’T just walk into any tattoo parlor. You deserve the best artist in the most kick ass shop in your town. Personally, I went to East Side Ink. For those of you in NYC, White Rabbit is also known for it’s amazing artistry. For West Coast queers, Black and Blue Tattoo in San Francisco is a woman owned shop that has a mostly gay clientele.

Make it Meaningful

A few people have told me that 28 is too old to get a first tattoo and those people were dead wrong. I waited until I was completely sure of what I wanted to get. My tattoo is a simple black rose with the 8 compass points rising from it, in the shape of thorns. I wanted the Rose because it’s my grandmother’s name, and my middle name, and let me tell you my grandma is awesome. The compass points are there to remind me to have more confidence that my decisions will lead me down the right paths in life. So I don’t regret waiting.

Get What You Want. Exactly!

Get what you want- get exactly what you want. Communicate it to the tattoo artist without being shy or afraid of being an “annoying” client. Artists appreciate direction. So many people care too much what other’s think of them. So yes, my first tattoo has meaning, but my second tattoo has absolutely none. It’s of peonies, it has no meaning, it just looks nice. Remember that you don’t have to justify your tattoo to anyone. Don’t let peer pressure or concerns about what people will think influence your body art. Remember this is going to be on your body forever, not anyone else’s.

It Hurts

Okay, so it hurts. But it hurts less than people tell you it will. After awhile it also kind of feels good. When people warn you that tattoos can be addictive, the good part of the pain is what they are talking about. What ABSOLUTELY NO ONE tells you is that it hurts AFTER. My first one hurt for about two days afterward, it felt like an intense sunburn. It will itch too, like really bad. You can’t scratch it though, so if you can’t reach your tattoo you are going to have to ask a loved one to smack it.

Also, if you are scared of the pain part of getting tattooed, pick a place without a ton of bone or nerve endings, consider sticking with black ink and less shading. Also, listen to the tattoo artist- if they tell you getting a tattoo on your ribs or foot or hand hurts too much for a first timer, listen to them.

YOU WILL SHED

LIKE A SNAKE IN MOLTING SEASON! Well, that’s me being dramatic. What your artist will tell you after you get the tattoo, but that no one will mention beforehand, is that your tattoo will peel like a sunburn. A gross, gross sunburn. It won’t be cute.

She looks great now, but when her arm was healing she probably stayed home watching Sex and the City reruns…BECAUSE SHE WAS MOLTING

Don’t Get Tattooed In the Summer

Because you can’t sunbathe or go swimming for TWO WEEKS! It totally blows.

Do you have any tattoos? Tell us about them in the comments!

The post Girls with Tattoos: A Guide for Queer First Timer’s first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Under the Mink – Image via Amazon.com

Sexy, funny, suspenseful, romantic, heartbreaking- Lisa E. Davis’s thriller “Under the Mink” packs a lot of punches into a slim novel. “Under the Mink” takes place in 1949 and stars Blackie Cole – a sexy dapper boi singer/entertainer. Blackie plies her trade at Greenwich Village hotspot “The Candy Box”, which is run by mob boss, Stevie. When Blackie becomes a witness to a violent murder of a gay socialite at The Candy Box, her life is turned upside down.  Blackie, motivated to find the killer, is led down a path that changes the course of her life forever.

Personally, my favorite part of the book was the love triangle between Blackie Cole, her new crush, Didi Fletcher-Payne and her abusive alcoholic ex-girlfriend, Renee. Just because good, old-fashioned dyke drama is always fun. Davis also peppers the book with pictures of dapper butch performers and their dames, and that really helps bring Blackie, Didi and Renee to life.

The mob also plays a large part in this story, as Stevie is both Blackie’s protector and her biggest threat. “Under the Mink” was heavily researched through interviews with performers of the era and Davis perfectly captures the symbiotic but perilous partnership between LGBT performers and the mob. It’s an important piece of LGBT history that is often overlooked. Davis sheds light on it without being heavy handed or melodramatic. She describes Stevie’s frustration over not being able to pimp Blackie out to men after shows, due to her unwillingness to become a prostitute. Davis also details the butch lesbians who gave blowjobs to patrons of the bar after the show and the femmes that were recruited into bordellos. The fictional Candy Box operated much like the non-fictional queer nightclubs at the time gave queer men and women a place to express themselves, earn a living and perform in drag, but Davis doesn’t shy away from the fact that this freedom came at a cost.

Image via Vice.com

Davis’s research also manifests itself in the vivid descriptions of 1949’s New York City. The politics are on point and prejudices intact. The dialogue is snappy and pops with 40s era colloquialisms, which are fun and innocent sounding in 2015. But make no mistake, “Under the Mink” is anything but innocent. Davis takes on homophobia, prostitution, alcoholism, racism and murder- dressing it up in a gay tone and lots of slapstick hijinks…Oh! And a ton of sex. If you’re into that sort of thing.

“Under the Mink” is a great as a summer beach read or morning commute page-turner. Just make sure you don’t miss your subway stop!

Pick up a copy of “Under the Mink” here and stay tuned for our interview with Lisa E. Davis!

The post Review of Lesbian Thriller “Under the Mink” by Lisa E. Davis first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Chef Victoria Scroggins

Chef Victoria Scroggins recently proved her mettle on reality TV; braving the Gordon Ramsay joint “MasterChef” in it’s fifth season. The Texan native invited me to her Brooklyn home to tell me about her adventures on MasterChef, her catering company “Scout” and why queer women kick serious butt in the culinary world. Oh and! Lucky you, she decided to each us all how to cook perfectly seasoned, grilled pork chops, red cabbage cole slaw and Texas black eyed peas.

The final product! Watch the video for step by step instructions!

Need more Victoria? Follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mister_victoria or like her on Facebook!

The post Going Down in the Kitchen with Chef Victoria Scroggins first appeared on Lesbian.com.

While studies have indicated that lesbianism is partly attributable to genetics, other contributory factors remain difficult to explain.

A 2011 British study of identical (sharing 100 percent of their DNA) and fraternal (sharing 50 percent of their DNA) twins demonstrated that, all else being equal, genetics do play a part in female sexuality – approximately 25 percent. Other data indicate that in-womb exposure to the male sex hormone androgen also plays a part. But a woman’s orientation is also susceptible to other factors. Cultural influences, positive and negative experiences, and feelings of love or attachment all play a part in what some refer to as female “erotic plasticity.”

University of Utah psychologist Lisa Diamond explains that, as a result, women are far more likely than men to “report remarkably late and abrupt onset of same-sex sexuality, often after heterosexual marriage.”

The post News: Lesbianism influenced by female sexual “plasticity” first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Lesbian.com, June 3, 2012

Lesbians just won’t leave Justin Bieber alone. As if a website dedicated to comparisons between baby dykes and the pop star weren’t already enough, a new parody of Bieber’s “Boyfriend” video surfaced last week.

“Gayfriend” is a two-and-a-half minute lesbian-themed spoof which begins:

“If I was your gay friend / You’d never let me go / We could go to gay bars / Dance to techno/ Ladies leave your purse / I can carry your phone / I got cargo pants on / And they really hold loads”

No word on Bieber’s reaction to the video, but given his affable acceptance of previous lesbian-related comparisons he’s likely on board with the good-natured parody.

Jason Alexander strikes out
Former “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander has apologized for remarks made during an appearance on “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson. In his Friday appearance on the talk show, Alexander had asserted that cricket was a “gay sport.”

“You know how I know it’s really kind of a gay game? It’s the pitch,” Alexander noted in the interview. “It’s the weirdest… It’s not like a manly baseball pitch; it’s a queer British gay pitch.”

Rising to demonstrate a cricket pitch in an effeminate, slow-motion manner, Alexander further cited the white uniforms, wearing of helmets “for no discernable reason,” and odd bat as further evidence of the sport’s “gay” nature.

However, in a statement released via GLAAD Alexander apologized noting, “And the worst part is, I should know better. My daily life is filled with gay men and women, both socially and professionally. I am profoundly aware of the challenges these friends of mine face and I have openly advocated on their behalf. So, I can only apologize and I do. In comedy, timing is everything.”

Eastern Europeans march for gay rights
Demanding more rights in their intolerant Eastern European societies, hundreds of gays, lesbians and their allies marched through the capitals of Poland and Latvia Saturday.

About 2,500 people turned out in Warsaw while another 400 braved rain and hail to march in Riga. The demonstrations are among many gay pride events taking place in June across Europe and elsewhere.

Hostility against homosexuality in the region lingers, a carryover from the communist era, despite a growing sense of openness which has developed since several Eastern European countries joined the European Union in 2004.

Massive police protection was required at both the Warsaw and Riga marches as previous gay pride parades have been marred by violence and heckling from homophobic protesters. This year, however, the opponents were few and calm.

The post News: Lesbian Bieber parody goes viral first appeared on Lesbian.com.