Lesbian
Rachel Maddow (1973 – ) is a television news host, political commentator and author. She first gained national attention in 2004 after serving as a host on Air America Radio and has since served as a panelist and commentator on a variety of news and radio programs. The “Rachel Maddow Show,” hosted by Rachel Maddow…
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I was 13 and sitting in the basement of my childhood home in the Amish-laden countryside of Pennsylvania. “Crystal, are you a lesbian?” A Twizzler stuck in my throat. What a pointed thing to ask. In my youth, I didn’t quite grasp the magnitude of the question, especially coming from a gaggle of church-schooled teenage…
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You don’t have to be perfect to be a saint. The saints who comprise my Holy Women Icons are far from perfect, but each one has made a difference in the lives of countless queer women. By giving iconography a folk feminist twist—by painting these women and calling them holy—it is my hope that their…
Read MoreA lesbian educator is suing a Catholic high school because earlier this year the school fired her for entering a same-gender marriage. In January, Kate Drumgoole was fired by Paramus Catholic High School, New Jersey, reported ABC 7, where she headed the guidance department and coached women’s basketball. She was a longtime employee and graduated…
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I’m writing here about what I always, somehow, write about: the unlearning of shame. This is the topic on which I’m most focused. It’s my focus, for in the process of unlearning shame, we simultaneously remember our worth, which connects us to Love. And Love—the inherent sense that we’re both loved and emanations of Love—is…
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If you want one of the most beautiful and yet humbling experiences a person can go through, become a parent. As a new mom, I’m often in the midst of intense events with my kids where I have no idea what to do. Because of this, I find myself looking to God for guidance. I…
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Facebook often sends me photos of past events I’ve posted. Kind of like a nostalgic, hey remember all the fun you had 5 years ago?! The last “reminder” really got me. The reminder came just days after what I affectionately call “The Breakdown.” The day of The Breakdown ended with me sitting on the kitchen floor, holding both my babies (we have twins) as they…
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I’ve been in church since I can remember. I was baptized as a baby in the first Pentecostal church that was ever built in America—Keelville Pentecostal Church—in a tiny community in southeastern Kansas. When I was a kid in the early to mid-eighties, our congregation ran somewhere between 60 and 80 people, two-thirds of which…
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I must say that it is truly an experience to be “outed” when you are a community leader and religious figure. I always knew that at some point I would have to share with my congregation that I married the love of my life—and that she is a woman—but I wanted to wait until the…
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