Queer (26 page)

Kathy Belge
co-authored the book
Lipstick & Dipstick's Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships
and writes on lesbian life for
Curve
magazine and About.com. She has worked extensively with queer youth and was the director of the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center, Oregon's largest program for LGBT teens. Kathy lives in Portland, Oregon.

Marke Bieschke
is the former health and dating editor of Gay.com and PlanetOut.com and a current Senior Editor at the
San Francisco Bay Guardian.
He has also spoken about gay issues on National Public Radio and CBS radio. Marke lives in San Francisco, California.

About the Artist

Christian Robinson
loves to make things. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he received a BFA in character animation from the California Institute of the Arts and has interned with Pixar Animation Studios and the Sesame Street Workshop. He currently works as a freelance artist and lives in San Francisco, California.

The following teens served as advisors on
Queer.

Sara Balabanlilar, 17, is a junior at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas. She is the happy president of the GSA at her school and plans to spend her life reading philosophy books, drinking green tea, and being a LGBTQ activist.

Anna Livia Chen, 14, is a freshman at Mountain View High in California. She is the outreach coordinator at her current GSA and started her own GSA at her middle school in 8th grade. When she's not kayaking or playing guitar, Anna Livia devotes her time to activism and hopes to make the world a better place, one person at a time.

Danielle Dokes, 16, is a sophomore at El Cerrito High School in California. She is a part of the GSA at her school as well as the Rainbow Clique, a group for queer youth educators and activists. She has also been a public speaker for the nonprofit LGBT organization Ally Action. She plans to study sociology in college.

Danny Vanity, 18, is a junior at Skyline High School in Oakland, California. He is a proud member of the LGBTO community. He is also a member of the Queer Youth Leadership Camp (QYLC), an organization started by UC Berkeley students, and his high school's GSA.

Alex Weick, 17, is a junior at Belmont High School in Belmont, Massachusetts. He runs the school's GSA as well as the Feminist Alliance and is a registered speaker for Greater Boston's chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

Kathy's Acknowledgments

Thanks to all of the LGBT youth I have worked with over the years who have inspired me, educated me, and pushed me into this life's work that I love.

Thanks to my niece Erika and to my sister Mary for their suggestions and insights; to my friends and family for their support and encouragement; and to Gina Daggett for reminding me that dreams can come true. I'd also like to especially thank my co-author Marke Bieschke; Deborah Brosseau, the amazing publicist who introduced me to Zest Books; my editor Karen Macklin; and everyone at Zest.

Marke's Acknowledgments

Thanks to my parents, family, and friends for always accepting and supporting me; my fiancé David for his advice and encouragement; the amazing queer teens who offered feedback and welcomed questions about their lives; my co-author Kathy Belge for a wonderful writing experience, and Karen Macklin and the folks at Zest for believing in the power of young people.