For as long as I can remember, there’s been a drumming in my heart—a subtle pulse asking me to listen, inviting me to hear its message. This sound has, at times, been a dull murmur, something I can drown out with the distractions of life. At other times, it is a profound drumbeat, silencing everything else. This drumming is the call to ministry, something I have long ignored or made excuses to avoid.…
Well, pandemic or not, school is back in session. In my home city of Tampa, Florida, students were given the choice to attend class in person or online. But while the structure of schooling has changed, most rules have not—including mandatory adherence to dress code.…
On Monday, October 5, 2020, Monica Roberts passed away at age 58. Like myself, many on Spectrum South’s staff were impacted by Monica, her life’s work, her energy, and the legacy she leaves. To honor this irreplaceable powerhouse, below we share our collective memories of Monica. Rest in Power.…
Nate Herrington is creating a fitness movement—one that’s inclusive, gets people on their feet, and gives people something to walk away with (a badge of honor on their hearts, and maybe a little sweat on their yoga mats). Herrington is the founder of the I Like to Move It Movement, a 21-day fundraiser that anyone can do from home. The fundraiser—benefitting Houston LGBTQ-focused non-profits Tony’s Place and Out for Education—has a lofty, but achievable, goal of $30,000.…
Holistic wellness is a journey—one that Donavyn Hightower knows well. Born and (mostly) raised in Houston, Hightower, a proud pansexual, Black woman and psychology major at the University of Houston, has long been passionate about spirituality and astrology. She is now seeking to help guide others toward better mental health and healing through her new online wellness shop, Earth Toned, whose slogan is “Bigger, Brighter, Inclusive.”…
“F*ck Texas.” “F*ck the South.” “Let’s just divide the country at the Mason-Dixon and let the South fend for itself.” “Texas is a lost cause.” These are just a few of the tone-deaf tweets I have seen from well-meaning liberals over the last few months, years, and so on. It’s exhausting. Let’s be clear: If you perpetuate that narrative every time you want to express displeasure at a southern Republican or conservative legislator’s gaffe—you’re part of the problem, you’re tone deaf, and you’re showing your…
I was a weird kid. I was, in fact, a weird, queer kid. I was, further, a weird, queer kid who did musical theatre, had agoraphobia, and, as I reached my teens, listened exclusively to New Wave music, wore eyeliner, dressed strictly in monochrome, and dyed my hair blue—all in Houston during the 1980s. And just to frame the timeline exactly, when I say I was a kid in the ‘80s, I literally mean I was aged nine through eighteen…
The 24th annual QFest, Houston’s international LGBTQ film festival returns to screens this September 24–28—virtual screens, that is. This year’s fest will be held completely online, hosted by Cinenso, and feature nine feature films and 19 shorts from over 15 countries that highlight a variety of new filmmakers and stories. “I feel that people who engage with us this year will probably get the clearest understanding of what QFest has always meant to us,” says Kristian Salinas, executive and artistic…
Queer women are famous for staying friends for life. Our exes are often our besties, business partners, and extended family. While straight people debate if exes can ever stay friends, queer women have made it a cultural norm. I loved you once as my lover and forever as my friend—even if we aren’t a match for lifelong romantic entanglement, I still want to be around you because I enjoy and value our connection. It seems pretty simple in the dyke…
A political war is being waged against transgender Americans, and young trans athletes are caught in the crossfire. Mack Beggs is one of four transgender athletes featured in Changing the Game, a documentary that profiles the lives of young trans athletes in an effort to raise awareness about the complexity surrounding the transphobic policies that transgender high school athletes are forced to navigate just to compete. “I think it’s many things at once,” Alex Schmider, associate director of transgender representation at…
