A narcissistic injury is a term rooted in psychoanalytic theory, referring to a perceived threat or insult to a narcissist’s self-image. It’s not necessarily a dramatic public humiliation—often, it can be a subtle slight, a disagreement, or a challenge to their authority, competence, or specialness. To most people, such experiences may sting momentarily but are…
There’s a movement happening quietly, emotionally, almost desperately. I call it The Great Unplug. For Gen Z, the Zoomers, raised on swipe screens and cloud-based everything, ownership is virtual and fleeting. Their books? In the cloud. Their music? Streamed. Their social lives? Curated, filtered, and timestamped. They don’t collect things, because they were never taught…
I recently made a quick trip from Minnesota to my gaeytin to visit friends and see a musical. Where is my gaeytin you ask? St. Louis and thus it is fitting that I drop the word gaeytin here. While sipping coffee at my favorite queer coffeehouse, I picked up a copy of Out In STL.…
This fall the Pulitzer Arts Foundation explores the art of the multi-disciplinary artist Jennie C. Jones (b. 1968) in an illuminating juxtaposition of exhibitions: one, of Jones’s new and recent work; the other, organized by the artist herself, comprising art by artists who have been touchstones throughout her career. A Line When Broken Begins…
Mooneyham Art LLC proudly announces Leo’s On Fire, a celebratory exhibition and free public event to be held on Friday, August 23, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM at its downtown Alton gallery, located at 305 State Street. The event commemorates the birthdays and art of Charles Mooneyham, Jon Ross-Mooneyham, and Stephen Scordias—three pivotal figures behind the gallery’s creative evolution. This spirited evening…
Multiple BroadwayWorld Award-winning concert artist JEFF HARNAR will celebrate his latest album Jeff Harnar Sings Sammy Cahn: The Second Time Around – the acclaimed tribute to legendary Academy Award-winning lyricist – with a string of major concerts this summer. The dates include Vibrato Grill Jazz in Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, July 22), Coachella Valley Repertory in Cathedral City, CA (Thursday, July 24), Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights, IL (Wednesday, August 6), and Blue Strawberry in St.…
On Thursday evening, filmmaker Geoff Story and author Scott Alexander Hess hosted a vibrant queer literary salon at Story’s celebrated LaSalle Park home. The gathering, attended by an intergenerational mix of writers and readers, followed the New York-based Hess’s appearance at Left Bank Books, where he read from his latest novel, Drought. The evening’s lineup…
For generations, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah has been weaponized to justify discrimination—particularly against LGBTQ+ people—by those who claim the cities were destroyed due to sexual deviance. But a closer reading of both the Bible and historical religious commentary reveals a different, often overlooked truth: the real sin of Sodom was a brutal inhospitality…
As Donald Trump continues his relentless assault on LGBTQ rights and public health infrastructure, his administration’s latest move has drawn sharp criticism: slashing federal funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This vital service, launched in 2022 as an easy-to-remember mental health and suicide crisis number, has saved countless lives—especially within vulnerable communities such…
In Drought, St. Louis native Scott Alexander Hess delivers a quietly lush and emotionally charged novel that explores queer longing, inheritance, and the hard-won tenderness that blooms between men in the margins. At once a ghost story, a pastoral memory play, and a queer coming-of-self, Drought offers a deeply felt portrait of an uncle and…
