THE LEAD

The Lead

David Archuleta: "It's Beautiful to Be a Sexual Human Being"

POLISH with Marie-Adélina

personal essays, interviews, and the long view from the executive editor herself.

This is where I step out from behind the masthead.

I'm Marie-Adélina de la Ferrière, Founder & Executive Editor of POLISH Media, and Your Lovable Trans Auntie when the moment calls for it. POLISH with Marie-Adélina is my column, and it runs in three keys: People, where I sit with the folks whose stories deserve room to breathe; Presence, where I tell the truth about my own living; and Perspective, where I think out loud about where Black and brown trans and queer life is headed.

I approach all of it the same way: by knowing our history and embodying our experiences. Understanding the names that made our path, and the work still in front of us.

When I've got something worth your while, it lands in your inbox as The Adélina Letters. Consider this your standing invitation. And my inbox is always open. Feel free to email me at marie-adelina@polish.media.

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PEOPLE

The conversations. Sitting down with the trans and queer folks shaping culture, politics, community, and more, handing them the mic to tell it themselves.

People

David Archuleta: "It's Beautiful to Be a Sexual Human Being"

The American Idol alum on coming out, unlearning shame, and why he's talking about PrEP in the communities that need it most.

"Less proving. More knowing.": Monroe Alise on craft, community, and coming into her own

The actor and "I'm Clockable" Queen returned as Isis for the final season of The Chi, and arrives at a version of herself she doesn't yet have words for.

"After all, art is political": Catching up with Johnny Montanez

The creator on getting banned from Meta, losing his cousin, finding his sexuality, and why he stopped pretending content was a side hustle.

"My body is not a sin": Rain Batingana on being cast as a melting statue of Jesus

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro cast trans model Rain Batingana as a life-size chocolate Jesus. On May 17, the world watches her dissolve. She wouldn't have it any other way.

PRESENCE

Me, unfiltered. The everyday work of being seen on my own terms: talking to my people, taking up space, and refusing to shrink

Presence

I Haven't Outgrown My Friends. I've Outgrown Performing for Them.

On trans sisterhood, self-sabotage, and the quiet revolution of choosing dinner over the dive bar.

The best Mother's Day gift I ever got was her finally seeing me.

On chosen mothers, blood mothers, and the long road between the girl I was and the woman she finally sees.

When your own community treats your assault like gossip

Opinion: From my assault to the murders of Black women across the country – trivialization is the weapon, and solidarity is the only answer.

A Black king survived an unkind world. So did I.

On family, history, and why telling stories that refuse to be forgotten is the only work that's ever made sense.

PERSPECTIVE

My read on the moment. Commentary and opinion built on lived experience and a long memory of where we've been.

Perspective

Nobody’s business: In defense of EJ Johnson’s right to want what EJ wants

Opinion: The discourse around EJ Johnson’s dating life isn’t about EJ. It never was.

Desired in Private. Erased in Public.

Opinion: Trans people are the most searched and the most legislated against. That is not a coincidence.

From Commentary to Consequence: The ‘DL Whisperer,’ Ts Madison, and Stochastic Terrorism

Opinion: When repeated demonization meets algorithmic amplification, online harassment becomes structural — and Black trans women are too often its proving ground.