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,…
Identity
Bitter, Brown, and Femme: Meet the Founder of Popular Feminist Page Xicanisma
Posted on September 25, 2018Cassandra Alicia, the 29-year-old founder of the popular Chicana feminist social media page Xicanisma, isn’t afraid of making her 106,000 Instagram followers uncomfortable. In fact, her tagline is “dismantling oppressive isms through tears.” Her Instagram posts highlight an array of social justice issues through photos, art, memes, and screenshots. One post, for example, is in the popular bingo meme format that points out how violent anti-sex work rhetoric can be, especially in light of recent events where a border patrol…
Kentucky Born, Texas Grown: A Personal Reflection on Finding My Gay Self in the South
Posted on September 21, 2018I was born and raised in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. More specifically, Louisville, a tiny beacon of liberal hope in a state that prides itself on its southern charm and conservative values. Home of the Kentucky Derby and the biggest of hats, strong bourbon and the best Mint Juleps you’ll ever taste, tobacco, and a college basketball culture unlike anywhere else in the United States. A city where faith and religious conviction dance with sin. Most definitely not the…
Why This Femme of Color Won’t Watch The News
Posted on September 18, 2018At least twice a week, I have the same conversation with several different people. It starts with them trying to talk to me about something they saw on the news, followed by me letting them know that I don’t follow the news. At this point, they try to react in a neutral manner but fail, letting just the slightest bit of judgement peek through, which puts me in the position to explain: “For self-care reasons, I don’t follow the news.”…
Transouthern Youth: Meet Dominic Anthony Green
Posted on September 4, 2018Dominic Anthony Green is on a journey and the universe is guiding him. “I was raised by a Christian family,” Green, who identifies as a pansexual trans man, explains. “Yet, I have different beliefs and I make them very known. I believe in more than a God—I believe in many Gods, I believe in myself, and the universe. I believe the mind is a prison and the only way out is to open your mind. That’s what I have been…
Bisexuality: It’s Just A Phase, Right?
Posted on July 16, 2018“This is just a phase, right?” “I mean you’re not really queer, you’re dating someone of the opposite gender!” “I’m worried you’d cheat on me.” “You want to have a threesome?” If I had a dollar for every time I heard one of these phrases—along with countless other cliché remarks—I’d be the richest bisexual woman in history. Well...maybe except for Angelina Jolie.…
‘No Whites Allowed’ Zine Unapologetically Creates Art and Community for Queer People of Color
Posted on June 29, 2018Kait Rae craved a space to meet fellow queer Black people in San Antonio, Texas. So, at age 22, they decided to take matters into their own hands and to create the space they wanted to see. In October 2017, Rae joined forces with two friends and started a zine for and by queer people color called No Whites Allowed. “It's important for people of color to express our sexuality and gender because I know, for many people of color, it feels like…
Dear Somebody: The Mahogany Project Centers QPOC Narratives in New Visibility Campaign
Posted on June 27, 2018Verniss McFarland III is tired of queer Black and Brown stories taking a backseat. For the past year, McFarland has worked to uplift these voices through their work as founder of The Mahogany Project, a Houston-based nonprofit focused on bridging the gap between empowerment and education in Black and Brown LGBTQ communities. McFarland now seeks to bring these narratives to the forefront with the launch of the organization’s new visibility campaign, Dear Somebody: The Voices Once Unheard.…
A Letter to my Fellow Queers Who Don’t Feel Welcome at Pride
Posted on June 22, 2018I don’t know you personally, but I know what you’re going through. As your social media walls fill up with rainbow flags and public displays of wonderfulness, the word “Pride” dominates all month long. But, as a queer person, for whatever reason, you don’t feel like you have a part. Maybe it’s because you don’t feel “queer enough,” struggle with imposter syndrome, tell yourself that Pride isn’t for someone like you, that it’s only for the “real” queer people. Maybe…
Full Spectrum: My Queer Evolution in Texas
Posted on June 14, 2018At 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…