Being queer in the South can often be a lonely experience, but when you’re queer and a single parent, you might think it’s next to impossible to “fit in.” While your top priority is likely your kids, that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to find a supportive community and to feel like you’re a part of something greater. …
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. In doing so, the Supreme Court gave states the right to outlaw abortion. Several states, many of them in the South, have trigger laws, which state legislators have already approved, that went into effect immediately or almost immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned. A perhaps unforeseen result of the overturn is that the ruling may also make it more difficult for LGBTQIA+ couples in the South to adopt…
The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to get creative—in the ways we work, the hobbies we adopt, and the art we make. For queer Houstonian Chuck Ohamara, that creativity birthed Paradox Moth, a fully inclusive, LGBTQ-focused, minimalist streetwear brand. Along with fellow co-creator and queer model Alex Sundstrom, Ohamara set out with a simple mission: to build a fashion brand for everybody and every body. “It started as a side hustle,” Ohamara explains. “We wanted to test how to run…
Between the leaked Roe v. Wade draft opinion, horrific attacks on trans kids from the state’s legislature, and the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texans have experienced immeasurable trauma these past few months. The Houston-based, women-led organization I’ll Have What She’s Having (IHWSH)—composed of women chefs, hospitality professionals, entrepreneurs, physicians, scientists, artists, and other professionals united in social activism—is turning pain into action.…
Community takes care of its own. That’s why, on December 10, the Greater Houston LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Chamber Holiday Food Drive to ensure the city’s LGBTQ+ seniors have plenty of food on their plates this holiday season.…
The language and sentiments surrounding this pandemic, from calls to action to “flatten the curve,” to the anxiety around human contact and intimacy, are reminiscent of another ongoing issue impacting our community—the HIV epidemic. …
By Barrett White The land where Eureka Springs, Arkansas, sits is Osage land. Though the Osage people protected their land from neighboring tribes, they allowed people from any tribe—hostile neighbors or not—to bring their ill onto the land to visit the natural springs, believed to have healing properties. This historic, benevolent gesture of goodwill is well-remembered in present-day Eureka Springs. Just ask locals David and Ethan Avanzino, who jointly run the Wanderoo Lodge—an LGBTQ-owned and -operated outdoor adventure lodge in…
Did you know that Houston’s Third Ward is home to a queer-owned, Black-owned comic book shop? From now until July 31, Gulf Coast Cosmos Comicbook Co. is operating as a pop-up, with plans to soon be a permanent fixture in the community. The store is creating new comic fans and providing a safe haven for current aficionados.…
The start of 2021 was rife with big events—on the macro scale, the nation watched in shock as a riot stormed the Capitol of the United States, and only a few weeks later, we witnessed our first female vice president step into her role. After a year under varying states of lockdown and social isolation, we rejoiced at the rollout of the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. At the micro scale, families around the nation saw their broods expand with the births…
Wow, where has the time gone? 2021 has already raced by, and I can’t believe it’s already May. As vaccines are rolling out, it feels like the world is finally starting to open back up just in time for summer, with the prospects of travel and social life on the horizon. While some are chomping at the bit to emerge back into society, others are much less comfortable, still feeling the weight of the pandemic. The month of May marks…
