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. …
gender nonconforming
Hacking the Binary: Gender Through the Lens of Technology
Posted on August 13, 2020Dallas-based artist S Rodriguez sees “gender as a technology, both in a precolonial, colonial and postcolonial state. Gender plays a role in the way you operate in society. It is very much a tool, just like any technology, that you can choose or is chosen for you. And you can choose to continue working with that tool or change that tool.” While for some, the “goal” of gender as a tool might be “passing,” for Rodriguez and many others who…
The Bayou City Be All: Reflections on DiverseWorks’ Night of Performance Beyond the Binary
Posted on November 11, 2019On October 20, DiverseWorks gave us, the city’s queer community, a generous gift—the “Bayou City Be All: A Night of Performance, Fashion, and Music Beyond the Gender Binary.” The two-part event, promoted as a community-driven project, commemorated the vibrant and unapologetic art, culture, and tunes stewarded and crafted by our own gender non-conforming, genderqueer, and non-binary makers.…
TRANScending Barriers: Atlanta-based Nonprofit Helps Trans People Acclimate to Life After Incarceration
Posted on November 1, 2019TRANScending Barriers isn’t your average nonprofit. An Atlanta-based re-entry program geared toward helping transgender individuals acclimate back into society after incarceration, it is a vital lifeline for the trans community it serves. Although the US transgender population now exceeds 1.6 million, the trans community continues to face heightened levels of institutional and societal discrimination. Add other intersectional identities, such as race, into the mix and that discrimination increases.…
The Problem with Gender-Neutral Fashion
Posted on September 4, 2019The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “clothing” as “garments in general.” While the word “clothing” is not inherently a gendered noun, we as a society have declared different types of clothing to be specific to one of two genders/sexes. Clothing such as skirts and dresses have traditionally been associated with women/feminine persons; meanwhile, loose clothing and suiting have been linked to men/masculine persons. Throughout the history of Western civilization, ingrained and rigid gender roles—coupled with sexism—have helped to maintain this status quo.…
Call It Emotional Alchemy: Alok Vaid-Menon Returns to Aggieland for Trans and Non-Binary Pride Party
Posted on June 10, 2019In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Young Dems BCS and Transcend, an organization serving transgender and gender non-conforming students at Texas A&M University, will host a trans- and non-binary-centered Pride Party deep in the heart of Aggieland.…
Finding Solutions: Gender-Nonconforming Artist Cassils Demands Reverence for Trans Bodies
Posted on December 26, 2018Well, I can now say that I’ve witnessed what an art installation of 200 gallons of swirling piss looks like. The epic, birthday-suited, gender-nonconforming, mid-career artist behind the installation, Cassils, is a modern-day Midas, transforming this once-ordinary vessel into a golden glory that cannot be missed.…
Why I Won’t Use Latinx
Posted on September 6, 2017In the past few years, “Latinx” has stormed to prominence—first in online communities, then in mainstream media platforms as well as academic discourse. “Latinx” seeks to end the gendered designations in the Spanish language, replacing “Latino” and “Latina” with a term that includes both genders, as well as gender nonconforming and non-binary people.…