Having this blog as a creative outlet and research outlet this semester has been genuinely enjoyable for me. This is my first ever online blog and I learned so much within the WordPress program and feel confident in building a blog or website on my own. If I wear to continue blogging and writing I would want to include more frequent writings or maybe even short ‘mini-blogposts’. I would also want to explore more design and layout designs that fit me personally. I love doing projects and work on Adobe Illustrator and bringing my work to life for a blog would be a great goal for me.

My content could have been more widespread if I posted about it on every social media, however, for this assignment I only used Twitter. Creating a twitter page for my blog would be the next step if this were something I would pursue.

This was a great experience for me because I got to learn how to write and organize copy about interests I am personally invested in. I loved being able to write down my thoughts about something I’m passionate about in an official format. I could definitely use these skills in any technical aspect of a future job.

My most popular week was the week of March 23. This week I received 8 views which is the highest number of site visitors I have had so far. My most viewed and liked blog post was my piece describing the illegality of gay men donating blood. The post was called: “Blood Banks Desperate for Blood Donations but Gay Men Still Barred from Contributing”. I was inspired to write about this because this actually happened to me personally. I tried to donate blood and was barred from doing so because of my sexuality. I think the fact that not many people know about this is why this is my most viewed blog.

Because of Coronavirus streaming services are being utilized more than ever. That feeling of “I need a new show” is always present after finishing a series you love. You’re devastated and feel a void you have an insatiable need to fill.

There are two incredibly powerful and creative shows I have finished during the stay at home order and I would feel so guilty not recommending them.

The first show I would like to give praise is the Hulu Original, “Little Fires Everywhere”. This show blew my mind with queer representation as well as a strong commentary on racial insensitivity in a modern world. The series follows Reece Witherspoon as a wealthy mother of four and Kerry Washington who is a single black mother who makes a living as an artist. The show contrasts the two and exposes subtle microaggressions many white people express to POC without even understanding the racist undertones of their language. The show does an amazing job of making the audience think and have a better understanding of others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWGkX8ClhBI

The second show I have been utterly obsessed with is HBO’s High Maintenance. This incredibly creative and comedic series has every episode focused on a new character. The only continuous commonality in the series is all the characters have the same drug dealer. A “cool” bicycle weed delivery man. The show is full of unique individual storylines and celebrity guest appearances. In addition to that, there are drag queens, non-binary people, gay people, and so many others represented on screen. A show that can make me laugh and cry in one episode will always be memorable to me.

Being quarantined at home is exhausting, not only draining socially but also mentally. I have noticed myself slipping into little ruts of being sad and it is pretty difficult to dig myself out. I am so thankful for the artists I love continuing to produce powerful music that are representative as a shovel. These new songs give me hope and help me dig a little hard to get out of those ruts.

Charli XCX, a 27 year old cyber-pop artist has been an ally for the LGBTQ+ community since the beginning of her career. Queer people are the majority of her fan base and she never fails to thank them and produce more queer oriented content. I saw Charli in concert recently at Emo’s in Austin, Texas. At this show she had many local Austin drag queens perform with her on stage. I thought this was so amazing because she was giving local aspiring queer artists a platform. It was incredible to see so many faces I knew personally from Austin on stage with a pop star!

.@Charli_XCX has another new music video that she made at home while self-isolating https://t.co/NyCMa4Bnzp

— Pitchfork (@pitchfork) May 1, 2020

So far in quarantine Charli has released two songs. “Claws” being the first release is a fun and upbeat song that creates such a positive aurora for me. When I first listened to thus song it actually motivated me to get out of my bed and go for run. The fact that this music was influential enough to completely change my mood is inspiring to me.

Charli’s other release is a song titled: “i finally understand”. This one is also meaningful to me because I first heard it when I was having a lot of negative thoughts and feelings towards the world today. With everything going on it is so easy for me to get overwhelmed and stressed. Listening to this song gave me an escape for a few blissful minutes.

It is so necessary to be reminded of positive things when one is feeling down. I highly recommend exploring Charli’s discography while bored or feeling uneasy during these unpredictable times.

Pink News is a blog I have frequently checked up on because it is targeted towards LGBTQ+ readers. Their posts and topics are always interesting and cover up to date topics. I admire the way they organize their posts usually utilizing short paragraph structures and images to make the text easier to digest. I’m not super efficient on reading heavy text articles or congested information online but Pink News has their information organized in a skillful way that caters to what readers want.

This is the first thing seen on Pink News’s ‘about’ page. The pride and rainbow graphics, as well as their mission statement, make it clear this is an LGBTQ+ blog. They brand themselves specifically for the niche they serve and there is no confusion surrounding it.

The specific article I read spoke of Trump’s private phone call with evangelical leaders and Trump voicing the importance of praying for him in the next election over the issues Coronavirus is currently causing. I think this is very important information to share because instead of focusing on the urgent issue that is Covid-19 Trump is focusing on recruiting anti LGBTQ+ groups for his re-election. However, it is essential for citizens to go out and vote in the upcoming election if we want to change the current political climate and state the US is in right now.

With worldwide quarantines and lockdowns in place, service industry workers, performers and thousands of others are left with unemployment and without a paycheck. Many drag performers had to cancel all upcoming shows and tour dates. Suddenly losing a source of income can cause an unbelievable amount of stress for ANYONE but people like Lousianna Purchase may have it a bit harder.

View this post on Instagram

‪This is what was gonna pay two months of rent. I’m heartbroken to say the least. If you’d like to help:‬ ‪CashApp: $louisiannapurchase‬ ‪Venmo: LouisiannaPurchase ‬ ‪PayPal: Louisiannapurchase666@gmail.com‬ ‪Buy my merch here: Louisiannapurchase.bigcartel.com‬

A post shared by Louisianna Purchase (@louisiannapurchase) on Mar 15, 2020 at 2:39pm PDT

Lousianna is a veteran drag performer from Austin, Texas. She recently competed on the show “Dragula” which encompasses a range of unique performers who compete in fashion as well as ‘fear factor’ type challenges. On the show Lousianna opened up about how unaccepting her parents were of her being queer and even recalled a disappointing childhood memory. When sick and going to the doctor with their mother, the doctor called 13 year old Lousianna out for her feminine mannerisms and asked if they had been having sexual relations with a man because they could have HIV. Lousianna recalled her mother saying “if you have that disease don’t bother coming home.” Fortunately, 13 year old Lousianna was just sick with a cold or flu.

When queer people like Lousianna suddenly lose their main source of income, have no family support, and live pay check to pay check this situation could be disastrous for ones livelihood. As someone who has been such an inspiration to me and to all of the Austin LGBTQ+ community it hurts me immensely to see her and others in a situation like this.

In times like this, those of us able to give should. If you are not able to give sharing posts and creating awareness or even tuning into a virtual drag show can make such a big difference.

• Instagram

2020 has taken a grim turn for most people on the planet. The spread of Coronavirus has taken over the planet and consumed the thoughts and fears of many people. Of course, with countries, states, and cities going under quarantine and lockdown fewer people are going out and even fewer of them going out to donate blood.

The American Red Cross, as well as several news stations, are urging people to go out donate because of a severe “blood shortage”. Covid-19 is an extremely contagious viral respiratory infection that is affecting millions of people on the planet and definitely creating terror around the idea of leaving the house and having contact with others. The CDC and multiple health organizations are asking for people to practice social distancing, use hand sanitizer and properly wash their hands regularly, and avoid touching one’s face. The American Red Cross and other blood organizations could use all the people they can get, however, homosexual men are banned from donating blood.

I’m a faggot. https://t.co/n7PCcGtiAV

— Jayden ⚖️ (@Latiinpapii) March 21, 2020

The disqualifications for donating blood are posted on a lengthy list on the American Red Cross website. They range from weight and height eligibility to receiving a tattoo in the past 12 months. “Having HIV/Aids or a risk of contracting HIV/Aids” is another disqualification. Understandably, of course, because HIV is a disease transferrable through blood. Among the criteria for a person to be “at risk” of HIV/Aids are high-risk activities like being paid for sex work and sharing needles. Also in this criteria is: you “are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, in the last 12 months” which completely disqualifies any sexually active gay male. Of course, this causes outrage among the gay community not only in situations like this one with Covid-19 but with others like the Orlando Pulse shooting that targeted a gay dance club and killed 50 people in the LGBTQ+ community. Gay men wanted to donate blood to help the shooting victims in the hospital but were denied because of their sexual preferences.

Having this bi-law disqualification adds fuel to the stigma that is HIV/Aids being only a “gay disease”. With precautions of the blood being tested regardless and the development of PrEP (a 99% affective HIV preventative if taken daily) this disqualification is outdated and directed at a specific community out of hysteria from the Aids epidemic.

Every drag show I go to I meet the most creative and unique individuals. Going to the Die Felicia monthly show at Elysium in Austin, Texas was no exception.

Even the title “Die Felicia” is a comical spin on the pop culture meme “Bye Felicia” to illustrate the show’s horror explorative concept with a bit of humor. Two local Austin queens: Louisianna Purchase and Zane Zena created the monthly show that exhibits the most mind blowing performers around Austin.

The performers here especially are known to go above and beyond, pulling stunts and tricks that are sure to leave the audience screaming! The queens and nonbinary drag performers do anything from lip-syncing, burlesque, skits, and comedy. Even the crowd will come dressed to impress. Going to a show like this is one where everyone can express their identity and individuality. For example, one of the audience members was dressed in a complete high quality kitten costume. The mouth would even move when she spoke.

Attending this kind of show with a group of friends is super intimate and a great bonding experience. A lot of shows also offer the chance to donate to LGBTQ+ charities and offer information about upcoming events and things going on with the local community. I cannot express enough how exhilarating and engaging it is to attend a drag show for the first time and I highly recommend it.

If you do decide to research drag events in your area and decide to get a group together for a good time make sure you budget to bring some ones to tip the queens and other performers. And as the queens at Elysium often say “If you’re broke and can’t tip, it’s free to clap and make noise.”

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.