All Posts By

Nikita Shepard

‘I Feel That I Have Arrived’: The Journey of a Southern Latina Trans Health Advocate

Posted on September 27, 2017
A photo of Latina trans health advocate Lea Córdova.

When you meet Lea Córdova, MA, MS, you don't know what is more astonishing: the action-packed life she has lived as a Latina trans health advocate, or the fact that this irrepressible dynamo is in fact 76 years old. Lea and I have seen each other at LGBTQ and activist events around North Carolina for many years, and I've come to admire her as one of my elders. I caught up with her on a sunny September afternoon, shortly after she'd…

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Like a Mimosa Blossom: Making My Peace With the Queer South

Posted on September 13, 2017
An illustration of mimosa blossoms in the queer South.

Well, that’s what I always told myself, at least. When I arrived in North Carolina from the Northeast as an effeminate, bookish eight year old, nothing seemed right. Southern twang and slang mystified me, while I struggled to adjust to new foods, schools, and manners. And the homophobic and gender-oppressive bullying I’d always encountered seemed, if anything, to intensify. I couldn’t wait to grow up and get out.…

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