Texas filmmaker Stephanie Saint Sanchez used to work at a mom-and-pop video rental store for many years. She would wander through the aisles and look at the covers of the shop’s nearly 70,000 movies, mesmerized by the fact that each film started off as a small idea in someone’s mind—and, for better or for worse, they persevered and saw their idea through to the end. …
Carina Magyar, a transgender standup comedian, uses jokes to educate and inform the masses. “I found my voice onstage, incorporating my transition and identity as a woman into my stand-up comedy,” she explains. And the message Magyar pushes the most when she performs? That she is a normal person with a normal life with normal problems.…
Inspired by a friendly yet fiery conversation with my friend about which states constitute “the South,” I decided to curate a more formal dialogue between Dr. Rachel Afi Quinn, Dr. Trevor Boffone, and myself—all queer people based in Houston with roots spread throughout the region—where we could hash out our ideas on what the South truly is. The following is an edited version of our conversation……
When you come from a conventional place dominated by conventional people, it can be hard to break the mold. It almost becomes second nature to want to graduate high school, get married (to a man), have children, vote Republican, and run to Wal-Mart. Tempting, I know. But I powered through, and when it came time for college, I happily went on my way.…
Walking into TOMO Mags on West Alabama Street in Houston’s Montrose district, you encounter the city’s only magazine shop that is both an artistic incubator and community sanctuary at once. Co-founded by husbands Vico Tadeo and Keiwing Chong, TOMO Mags offers a range of niche magazines—including local publications on architecture, photography, and design—that you cannot typically find in corporate hubs like Barnes & Noble.…
SFQP is described as being “cooked in the oils of our forequeers of the Compton Cafeteria Riots, the Stonewall Riots, ACT UP, and the many radical uprisings of years past.” The collective holds close to the political identity of being queer and bases their efforts in arts and advocacy. SFQP strives to provide an intersectional, radically inclusive festival along with events throughout the year.…
I often say that femmes are—to quote Garbage—the queerest of the queer. We walk a lonely line between passing in, but not belonging to the straight world, and belonging to, but being invisible in the queer world. …
Because of my background doused in conservatism, Pride was and still is somewhat of a foreign concept to me. I never imagined taking a liking to its theatrics, provocative nature, and pure eccentricity.…
I graduated high school at 17, and by the time I was 18, the fear of what was to come was overwhelming. I craved assurance that I was going lead a fulfilling life, and it became obvious that to do so, I had to stand up for myself.…
For many queer parents, Pride is something we look forward to sharing with our children and the next generation. After all, we pick out first birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving outfits for our kiddos, excited to share our favorite holidays with the little humans we love the most. So why would Pride season be any different?…
