Howdy y’all, My name is Nolan Parker, I’m the new-ish music editor at the Mercury, and I’m an absolute faggot—welcome to the 2025 Queer Guide! Queerness is expansive beyond comprehension, literally—there aren’t enough letters in all the alphabets combined able to describe our existence. We’re involved in every facet of every society, whether you’re aware […]
Queer Guide 2025
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
A Crisis of Crisis Lines for America’s Queer Youth
LGBTQ+ youth are reaching out to the national suicide and crisis line more than ever. What happens if Trump cuts the line?
In the three years it has existed, the specialized services line for LGBTQ+ youth on the nationwide 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has been heralded as a major step forward in aiding young queer people in crisis. Now, however, the future of the specialized services line is under threat. The Trump administration is proposing defunding […]
Posted inThe Trash Report
The Trash Report: Beloved Trans Ally Pedro Pascal Dons Important T-Shirt
Pride traffic revenge, local Gossip(s), and derailing a Shakira show is homophobic.
May your June/July be as beautiful as you are, but not as hot, because that would be too hot.
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
Be Gay, Do Portland
Gal about town Jenna Fletcher shares her favorite queer goings on in our gay little city.
I love this city. Oh sure, I could crow about its changes, its failures, and the complicated nature of what it’s meant to be a queer person of color living here for over 15 years (and I certainly have before!), but sometimes it feels good to take stock of all that it has to offer—all of the pockets […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
Iain Mackenzie on Portland’s Urban Development and His Dream Pride Parade Float
The urbanist writer is your number one follow for zoning plans, cute out-on-the-town queer content, and insider shade.
Iain Mackenzie conceptualizes the brutalist pride float of your wildest dreams.
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
On the Cover: Pastel Artist Pace Taylor Paints Their Way Toward Paradise
Last Call at the Rainbow Cafe incorporates shreds of Americana into a decidedly queer aesthetic.
Artist Pace Taylor’s studio is surrounded by artifacts of Portland’s early history. It’s on the second floor of an early 20th-century brick warehouse, sandwiched between the railroad tracks and the Willamette, in a sleepy industrial neighborhood of North Portland. Chalky sticks of pastel are loosely arranged according to color on a central table, and multihued […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
This Vogue Femme Class Teaches Ball Culture Core Elements and History
Teacher Latroy Robinson balances biochemistry by day and ballroom by night.
Stretch those calves, Latroy Robinson tells us. By day, Robinson is a senior research assistant at OHSU. By night, he is TwoMoods—a performer in the local and national ballroom scene. “I get very left brain, right brain satisfaction from it,” says Robinson. Sometimes Robinson goes right from work to the club. If the club stays […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
Why Rocky Horror Picture Show Still Does the Time Warp at Clinton Street Theater
What’s the secret to the weekly screening’s enduring relevance?
The longest-running weekly showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the world still happens every Saturday night at Clinton Street Theater. 50 years after the campy horror musical’s release—and 47 years after the theater began showing it—Rocky Horror remains more than just a cult classic. It’s a rite of passage, a sanctuary, and a […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
Portland Dancer Allie Hankins on Why Haunting Belongs to Lesbians
Her By My Own Hand: Melody explores onstage manipulation through song.
“If you’re a performer, manipulation is something you have to do,” says choreographer and dancer Allie Hankins. “I don’t think it’s negative. I’m not doing it maliciously. I’m not trying to make anyone do something they don’t want to do. I’m just trying to manipulate them into thinking that this is a good time.” It’s […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
Chef Dani Morales Is Creating Some of the Most Exciting Food in Portland
Recently promoted to executive chef of República, she promises to bring along her visionary De Noche dishes.
Dani Morales may not yet be a household name, but she’s already recognized at the place that matters the most to her—the Portland Farmers Market. Since becoming the executive chef of downtown’s De Noche in 2023, she’s been at the famed Portland State University farmers market bright and early every Saturday. It’s a habit she […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
At Taqueria Los Puñales, Excellent Tacos Are Served With Queer Joy
The name, the menu, and the freshly-made tortillas are all deeply intentional.
For the co-owners of Taqueria Los Puñales, there’s a lot in the name. For starters: It’s not a restaurant, says owner David Madrigal. It’s a taqueria. “When you go to Mexico, to a taqueria off the street, they have tacos only,” says Madrigal, who grew up working at his family’s place, Taqueria Los Rojos, in […]
Posted inQueer Guide 2025
Sixteen Queer-Owned Bars, Restaurants, and Cafes in Portland That We Love
Pride is a great time to support LGBTQ+ businesses and discover some new favorites.
Happy Pride Month! It’s a great time to think about how you can put some of your hard-earned dollars toward supporting local queer-owned businesses, both while you’re out and about this June and all year long. From Meals 4 Heels to Taqueria Los Puñales, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite queer-owned bars, restaurants, and […]