Queer Mom & Artist Launches MyPride: An LGBTQ+ Alternative to X
In response to her frustration with major platforms, J.Zakira Wise has launched a new queer-owned app.
In a move that feels both punk and maternal, queer artist J. Zakira Wise has launched MyPride, a community-driven social app explicitly created for LGBTQ+ users. The idea came to her—fittingly—in the chaotic beauty of new motherhood. Just after giving birth to her first child, Wise began building a digital sanctuary: a queer-owned, queer-moderated alternative to the increasingly hostile landscape of major platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
And the timing couldn’t be more pointed. As X made headlines for banning users who use the word “cisgender,” MyPride launched earlier this month with a radically simple goal: create a space where LGBTQ+ people can share joy, news, resources, and events without fear of censorship or harassment.
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“Given the current political climate, I wanted to create a digital community space for people to share queer joy, news, resources, and events,” Wise told PRIDE magazine. “As the major platforms roll back protections for the LGBTQ+ community, it feels more important than ever to have a social space built by us and for us.”
Built with LGBTQ+ youth and community safety in mind, the app is carefully moderated for hate speech and includes measures to monitor who’s participating in conversations. According to PRIDE, the app allows users to join private and public groups, whether you’re looking to make new friends in your city or chat with people who share your identity. MyPride will also curate a reliable newsfeed so users can stay up to date with issues affecting their community.
MyPride is now available to download for free on Apple and Android devices.
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