To celebrate LGBT communities, we’re creating a new photo column called “Being Gay Is Beautiful in…” A few times a month, the column will showcase photos of a different city’s LGBT community, displaying how being queer is fucking awesome.
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Our first installment of the column takes us to Saint Louis, Missouri. Joshua Barton is a writer and journalist who focuses on queer life in the city, and we liked that her photos show many facets of her personal life, as well as a scene that includes beautiful drag queens, oversize jock straps, and some pretty outlandish piercings. “The photos featured here are pieces of evidence,” Josh told us. “They prove that my city is one where queer and trans-people of color thrive, where sex is still dirty and delicious and dangerous, and where we summon the ghosts of children dead and gone.”
Joshua Barton is a writer, artist, journalist, and photographer documenting queer life and love in Saint Louis, Missouri. Follow her on Tumblr and Twitter.