.jpg)
Dear Reader,
Cheers to Options Magazine for 40 years of telling the stories of Rhode Island’s Queer and Trans communities. What started off in 1982 as a six-page news brief stapled together by the Rhode Island Lesbian and Gay Alliance is now one of the oldest and longest-running LGBTQ local media outlets in the country.
Taking the reins of Options last October and getting out our first print edition in over a year – and it being one of the longest editions at 40 pages – has had its ups, downs, and near-complete panic attacks. Yet, through it all, getting to be a part of Options these last few months has been a joy.
In these pages, from stories about the history of our movement in Rhode Island, the history of our Gay bars, the history of Options itself, to the stories of the giants of the LGBTQ movement, you will find the stories of where our community has been. In these pages, from the latest events to meeting the newest faces of Rhode Island community organizations, you will see where our community is today. In these pages, from meeting today’s rising stars, seeing how we must expand Pride to see ALL the colors, to confronting the coming dangers we face, you will find out where our community is going.
As the editor of this magazine’s 40th anniversary Pride edition, I have tried to bring together our community’s past and our present, while providing a look toward our future. With the help of two former editors-in-chief, a dedicated board of directors and staff, a group of talented writers, a fun poet, a community willing to take my calls and speak on the record, and my loving supportive significant other, Gil Pontes, the culmination of past, present, and future has been made a reality in this edition. Thank you all.
Together, we present Options Magazine’s 40th-anniversary edition. Too often, we only see a very narrow window of the LGBTQ experience. Yet, Options has worked to provide the full story of our experiences. Providence and Rhode Island have a rich Queer story to tell. It is a multi-racial story. It is a working-class story. It is a story filled with colorful characters, passionate activists, and troublemakers.
Our story matters. As editor-in-chief, it is my pleasure to present Options Magazine’s 40th Anniversary Pride Edition.
Cheers,
Alex Morash