THE LEAD

The Lead

The drag queen rewriting opera on her terms

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 little corner, 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.

POLISH with Marie-Adélina is made possible by the generous support of our community! Consider making a tax-deductible donation to allow POLISH Media to continue centering our stories with clarity and care.

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Tax-deductible donations in support of POLISH Media are made through our fiscal sponsor, W.A.V.E. Women Inc. — an organization dedicated to creating safe, supportive, and empowering resources for the transgender community. Donations processed through W.A.V.E. Women Inc. are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

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

The drag queen rewriting opera on her terms

Créatine Price on names, refusing to shrink, and building her own table

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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