Browsing Tag

gay

‘Queerskins’ Virtual Reality Film Evokes Feels in 360 Degrees at Houston Cinema Arts Festival

A photo from the Queerskins installation as part of Houston Cinema Arts Festival.

The opening salvo of Queerskins: A Love Story plays out over the backdrop of AIDS Crisis America. Ed (Drew Moore) and Mary-Helen (Hadley Boyd) are driving down a country road filled with memories of their son, Sebastian (Michael DeBartolo), who has recently passed away—a victim of the crisis. Using photorealistic virtual reality (VR), the viewer is thrust into the middle of this scene, witnessing the couple’s heart-wrenching conversation firsthand from the back seat of their Cadillac. On the seat next…

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Why Are Straight Folks Obsessed with LGBTQ Folks’ Bodies and Sex Lives?

A photo of LGBTQ bodies.

So, who is the man and who is the woman? We’re both males. We’re partners. We share duties and don’t subscribe to traditional gender roles. At least, that’s how it is in my own relationship. And here we are, six years together, and people still believe it’s okay to ask me if my partner or I shapeshift into a lady behind closed doors, as if the notion that two people of the same gender can live together and share their lives,…

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The Mysterious Nicholas Nguyen: Out Fashion Designer Talks Houston, Vietnam Success

A photo of fashion designer Nicholas Nguyen.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian. After that, I wanted to be a teacher. I even thought I might be a theatre dramaturg or production assistant for a while. But life didn’t pan out that way for me—I didn’t find my true passion of writing until adulthood. Others, like out fashion designer Nicholas Nguyen, have had their eyes on the prize from day one. “When I was a kid, I used to go into my…

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Kentucky Born, Texas Grown: A Personal Reflection on Finding My Gay Self in the South

A photo of gay Texan Russell Etherton.

I 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…

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‘Boy Erased’: Powerful New Film Sheds Light on the Dangers of Conversion Therapy

A photo of the film Boy Erased.

Boy Erased is based on the book of the same name by author Garrard Conley. Like his onscreen character, Conley grew up in Arkansas. “My parents were always pretty religious,” he says in an interview with British TV program This Morning. As a child, he and his parents attended church three times a week. “When I was 16, my dad decided to become a preacher,” Conley tells the hosts. “My mom and I were sitting in church at the time…

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One Man’s Ecstasy: Atlanta’s Serenbe Playhouse

A photo of Titanic at Serenbe Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia.

We wouldn’t be the first, second, or even third to use the word “intrepid” when describing the work produced by Serenbe Playhouse. The small professional theatre company, located about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta, performs all of its productions on a large expanse of acreage attached to The Inn at Serenbe. Founded in 2009, the playhouse has made a name for itself within the Georgia theatre scene, garnering national attention and press for its bold new works and reimagined classics…

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Book Review: ‘Less Than Butterflies’

A photo of the book cover of Less Than Butterflies by Anthony Ramirez.

Sex, drugs, and the gays of Houston. Just a few characters in the zephyr of cynicism, sarcasm, and witty one-liners that makes up author Anthony Ramirez’s third book, Less Than Butterflies. Ramirez, editor-in-chief of About magazine, comes clean—as clean as he can—in the autobiography, exploring his life as it was dragged through the underbelly of Houston’s raunchy gay scene. The book jumps from Montrose to Washington Heights, Midtown to Third Ward, and never a dull moment between them.…

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