So you're queer and thinking about starting a family. What are your options? How much does it cost? What the heck is IVF? Dr. Laura McGuire tackles these questions and more in this month's Asking for a Friend.…
I was raised as a little girl in the Midwest, but I never quite fit the mold. I found myself adventuring through the woods and spending hours in the Walmart toy aisles, fawning over the hot wheels, Star Wars, and Legos, all the while knowing I was “behind enemy lines.” I prepared back stories about shopping for a brother or a classmate’s birthday, knowing full well the truth would be unacceptable. Self-awareness came early for me, as it does for…
Can I be butch and a bottom? How about femme and a domme? In this month's episode of Asking for a Friend, Dr. Laura McGuire breaks down gender roles in the bedroom.…
Blue skies and warm light surround me, as the rich, delightful smells of a homemade breakfast fill the high-rise apartment. Across from me sits James Stevens, his warm, rugged mouth smiling as he talks. The only sign that we’re in the middle of downtown Houston is the low hum of the city below us. He tells me about the architectural and developmental differences between East and West Berlin, his European home for the past three years. Stevens is passionate about…
To this day, one of the most common misconceptions I hear in both my classes and from my well-educated non-queer colleagues (one that I actually addressed in my 2015 doctoral dissertation) is that being LGBTQ is not always a normal, naturally occurring identity. Instead, it is the result of abuse. I am both terrified and frustrated to no end that this myth—that abuse can “make you gay”—is still very much alive and well. I am in awe of how many…
In this episode, the Veer Queer crew talks with Houston-based chef Adán Medrano about Texas indigenous cooking, the importance of food in relation to resistance, identity, and community, and his upcoming film, The Roots of Texas Mexican Food.…
Oftentimes, queer community is forged at gay bars, nightclubs, or other social gatherings centered around alcohol. And if you’re a queer person of color seeking community, it can be even more challenging to find a place or event to meet others like yourself. Niecee X, a 29-year-old community organizer and artist, is trying to change the scene in Dallas by organizing QTPOC-centered open mics, intentional conversations, and dinner parties with the hope of one day opening Revolution Café and Bookstore…
“There are alternatives to what society tells you that you have to be,” muses Chicago-based intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis as we discuss their upcoming speaking engagements at LGBTQI+ Health Week at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. The mantra was passed onto them by their aunt—a rebellious woman who defied gender norms long before Pagonis discovered and embraced their own identity. Pagonis’ father, unapologetic in his own right, also taught them that you don’t always have…
We started out as the GLB community. Letters were rearranged in the 1980s, and we soon became LGB. The 1990s brought us to LGBT, and now, in 2019, we are LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, or even LGBTQQIP2SAA. Whew! The fact of the matter is that we are ever expanding and searching for the right acronym to represent the plethora of identities that fall under the queer umbrella. We bond these letters together to represent a common, shared experience between each—one rooted…
Electric Kitchen, a plant-based pop-up and catering company in Dallas, offers a vegan twist on a classic Southern staple—biscuits and gravy. Fluffy, delicious pillows of goodness are loaded up with not just gravy but your choice of an array of toppings including: chickpea scramble, sweet potato hash, coconut bacon, non-dairy cheese, potato and cauliflower chorizo, sautéed mushrooms, avocado, tomato, or pickled onions. The result has been a hit with customers.…
