The Kind Clinic is a new force in Austin, Texas. I was informed of their existence and services when my general provider, a private practice MD who has some experience in gender care, mentioned them during our conversation on PrEP. I asked her how much the prescription would cost out-of-pocket, she pulled the information up on her laptop, and we both leaned over her desk in dismay.…
Gender Infinity is a transgender- and gender-variant-focused conference that takes place annually in Houston, Texas. This year, it spans the weekend of October 5-6, with both days crammed full of programming that caters to the specific needs of the trans and gender-diverse population. Now in their eighth year, the conference offers workshops, discussions, community and health education, and keynote speakers on hot topics that are affecting the gender-diverse population, and specifically has included many spaces for the queer Black, indigenous, Latinx,…
My best friend’s text comes through with a resonating bing. “So I need to know, are you getting laid?” I scrunch my eyes shut and rub my face. I tap back: “I am not, unless you count self-laid.” I sigh to myself and tap out an additional comment: “I am working on it.” I’m lying. I’m not. And I won’t.…
I was working a corporate chair massage gig at a random high-rise in Austin, Texas when my colleague started boasting about her upcoming massage stint at Bonnaroo, the four-day-long music festival in rural Tennessee. Colloquially called “The Farm” by festival-goers (aka Bonaroovians), Bonnaroo celebrated its 17th birthday this year, making it one of the longer-standing music festivals in the South.…
At first glance, my upbringing was unremarkable. I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, a Padre Island beach baby. I was firmly white upper-middle class. My mother was white collar, a second-wave feminist trial attorney who carried me in her womb during her last nine months of law school. My father was blue collar, a master electrician and a newly-recovering alcoholic who likes to constantly remind me that I am an eighth-generation Texan. Our ancestors settled here from the Czech…
I first heard about On Being in Your Body (OBIYB) while I was working with a client of mine who identifies as a gender non-conforming queer. We were talking about our positive experiences and connections via Instagram and she couldn’t stop singing the praises of this project to help womxn, queer, and non-binary humans to reclaim their bodies through art, writing, and human connection.…
As summer closes in, I’m struck by the overwhelming desire for a queer swimming experience, a place where we can all gather and connect with the water in a joyful way that simultaneously quenches the heat and the need for community. But I hesitated. Do places like that exist in the South?…
