Michelle Tea (born Michelle Tomasik, 1971) is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, sex work, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts and was identified with the San Francisco, California literary and arts community for many years. She currently lives in Los Angeles. Her books, mostly memoirs, are known for their exposition of the queercore community.

Tea grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts in a working-class family. Her father was a Polish Jew and her mother was Irish and French Canadian. She felt different from other children, and she took comfort in music. In high school, Tea identified with the goth subculture and artists such as Siouxsie Sioux. She was also drawn to literary work, including The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the poetry of Sylvia Plath, and the beat movement.