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Jul 19, 2024 | 
them.us | Michael Love Michael
There is so much to be afraid of nowadays – from rollbacks of important LGBTQ+ protections by the U.S. Supreme Court to the consequences of genocidal violence in Palestine, Sudan, the Congo, and Haiti. More people than ever seem overwhelmed by ceaseless anxiety these days. I am no different. As a Black trans woman, it can be difficult to find spaces where we are genuinely celebrated, let alone at ease and safe.
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Dec 22, 2023 | 
clubcurran.com | Michael Love Michael |Kurt Suchman
Beyonce exudes fierceness and an aura of being that girl at a party that everyone wants to know but is too intimidatingly cool to approach, and her fans want to be that too. Diana Ross is an emblem of retro glamour and elegance; Lady Gaga is cool and off-kilter, fitting in both at a modern art gallery or basement circuit party— just fill in the blank with your chosen celebrity and what they are known for and you can tell what their fans long to be.
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Nov 13, 2023 | 
clubcurran.com | Serena Jara |Indiana. Woods |Michael Love Michael
Intro written by Michael Love Michael. This interview has been edited for clarity. The duo’s fruitful creative partnership extends back to Man’s education at Parsons School of Design several years ago, where Man studied integrated design.
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Nov 9, 2023 | 
clubcurran.com | Michael Love Michael |Jen Winston
An employee instructs us to wait under a chandelier in chartreuse chairs, so we sit, looking at our phones until someone grants us entry to the bridal salon. “I doubt anything here will work,” I say. “Too expensive, too classic, too femme.” I’m nervous-talking, unsure where this rush of anxiety came from. “Just enjoy it,” my friends reply, speaking softly, the way they always do when I need to calm down.
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Nov 9, 2023 | 
clubcurran.com | Michael Love Michael |West Dakota |Indiana. Woods
It wasn’t sunrise, or sunset, but rather, the apocalypse. The Air Quality Index was above 200, a classification simply called “Unhealthy” which bordered on “Hazardous.” The recommendation was to limit outdoor activity and definitely not do anything terribly strenuous like: ride a bike, cuss out a stranger, or, I imagine, have my entire face surgically rearranged.
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Sep 19, 2023 | 
clubcurran.com | Michael Love Michael |Joan Summers
The local trans support group I was a part of had just walked into a late night meeting, and the chaser who worked there exclaimed: “Welcome!” The older girls warned me not to flirt with him, after he left to fetch our drinks. They mentioned something about a string of girls who’d been burned, not by the pasta, of course, but all those promises of free meals.
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Sep 14, 2023 | 
them.us | Wren Sanders |Chala June |Kay Ulanday Barrett |Michael Love Michael |Jake Hall |James Factora | +2 more
When transgender people hatch out of our “eggs,” as we say in our in-group parlance, it’s tempting to never look back. There’s something seductive to the simplicity of metamorphosis, to a narrative of self that treats the construct of a “deadname” as more than mere metaphor. Our egg gets “cracked,” we shed the shell, and we’re suddenly new.
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Sep 14, 2023 | 
yahoo.com | Wren Sanders |Chala June |Kay Ulanday Barrett |Michael Love Michael |Jake Hall |James Factora | +3 more
When transgender people hatch out of our “eggs,” as we say in our in-group parlance, it’s tempting to never look back. There’s something seductive to the simplicity of metamorphosis, to a narrative of self that treats the construct of a “deadname” as more than mere metaphor. Our egg gets “cracked,” we shed the shell, and we’re suddenly new.
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Aug 23, 2023 | 
them.us | Michael Love Michael
Warning: This story includes descriptions of rape and anti-trans violence. “One-two,” calls the trainer in rapid succession. Leading jab, cross. Pop the bag. Duck and weave. “One-two-one-two.”My feet move with my body and my punches. Dull chains twist and snarl around me. “Five-six-five-six,” he growls. Left uppercut to the body, right uppercut to the head — shoeshine. Repeat, twisting hips and shoulders to deliver power. The bag is minced meat now. I’m locked in. I’ve always loved choreography.
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Jul 18, 2023 | 
nylon.com | Michael Love Michael
In one of the first scenes from Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, the titular doll’s permanently arched feet step into high heels, leading us into the surreal Barbieworld. The live-action movie hits theaters on Friday, and the iconic doll protagonist, created by Mattel in 1959, is played by Margot Robbie, and her would-be boyfriend, Ken, by Ryan Gosling.
