Browsing Category

Features

Fear The Queer: Breaking the Boundaries of Houston Drag

Posted on April 4, 2018
A photo of Fear the Queer performers.

Walking into a Fear the Queer (FTQ) show is like being transported into a world of queer fantasy and fiction. The music is loud, the lights are dimmed, and the boundaries of drag and art are being pushed and pulled in every direction. Self-described as “a perfectly peculiar posse of performers,” “an incubator of talent,” and “a safe haven for the alternative subculture, within a subculture,” FTQ came out swinging when they launched last August.…

Continue Reading

New Pride Wall Mural Encourages LGBTQ Houstonians to #BeVisible

Posted on April 2, 2018
A photo of the new Pride Wall creators in Houston.

Shortly after the Orlando Pulse shooting, a symbol of Pride and resiliency appeared in Houston—the Pride Wall HTX. The rainbow-striped wall spanned the exterior of the Select Skate Shop in the Montrose District and quickly became a favorite backdrop for LGBTQ and allied Houstonians. Unfortunately, graffiti began to pile up, and soon the wall began to look less like a symbol of Pride, and more like a free-for-all canvas. As a result, the owners of Select made the decision to…

Continue Reading

Providing Platforms: Emilio Rodriguez Brings Queer Latino Play ‘Swimming While Drowning’ to UH

Posted on March 30, 2018
A photo of Emilio Rodriguez, playwright of Swimming While Drowning.

“You just don’t have the look.” This was the argument that queer Latino actor and playwright Emilio Rodriguez continuously faced from casting directors. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre studies from the University of California at Irvine, Rodriguez eagerly entered the industry only to have one audition inquiry after another declined. “So, I began writing roles for characters that look like me,” Rodriguez explains. “To represent characters who were experiencing what I went through, no matter what…

Continue Reading

Talk Derby To Me: Meet Houston Roller Derby Production Manager Sweetie Todd

Posted on March 28, 2018
A photo of Houston Roller Derby's Sweetie Todd

“I wish I would’ve found it when I was a little younger,” laughs Belinda Pedraza, AKA Sweetie Todd. At age 55, she’s one of the oldest members of Houston Roller Derby (HRD), but arguably one of the most versatile. Sweetie joined the league over a decade ago and has been happily ingrained in the female-dominated sport ever since, volunteering her time first as a medic, then skater, official, coach, and now production manager.…

Continue Reading

Cooking as Self-Care: How I Found a Creative Escape from My Creative Career

Posted on March 24, 2018
A photo of home cooking.

“When you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This well-known saying may have some truth behind it, but it’s often terribly misinterpreted. Just because you love what you do doesn’t mean it isn’t work. At times, your dream job will be exhausting, difficult, and you will want to escape from it, even if just for a little while. When we turn our passion into a career, what we want to do, over…

Continue Reading

Spoken Word Poet K Garner is A Post-Gender Girl in a Post-Gender World

Posted on March 23, 2018
A photo of queer spoken word artist K Garner.

A beauty mark beard dances along K Garner’s chin; the lengthy shadow, an external reminder of the unique balance of masculinity and femininity that resides within the queer spoken word artist. It’s a balance Garner has been exploring since her early adulthood as she sought answers to questions like: What does it mean to be a woman? To be a man? To balance one or the other while weighing the terms “femme” and “butch”?…

Continue Reading

Living Out Loud: Trans Activist Dee Dee Watters Rediscovers Passion for Poetry

Posted on March 19, 2018
A photo of Dee Dee Watters.

On a warm summer night in 2013, I walk by myself across the parking lot of the Montrose Center. My youth group peers have left me behind, chatting amongst themselves. Dee Dee Watters notices me walking alone, smiles, and waves a hand with long decorated nails. “I don’t know you, but I love you,” she says. “Have a good night. I’ll see you around.”…

Continue Reading

Stoo Gogo: Part-Time Rockstar, Full-Time Fierce Femme

Posted on March 16, 2018
A photo of femme Stoo Gogo of BLING ST.

Self-described “part-time rockstar” Stoo Gogo stands at the intersection of gender, identity, and femininity. A queer, Black, femme man, Gogo explores the depths of his identities through musical creation as one half of the queer pop duo, BLING ST., as well as a solo musician. “By day, I’m a barista,” Gogo explains. “By night, I’m like this mad scientist that makes music. I take on this [superhero] form when I’m performing or singing or writing.”…

Continue Reading