Browsing Tag

Houston

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

Posted on September 21, 2018
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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Transouthern Youth: Meet Dominic Anthony Green

Posted on September 4, 2018
A photo of transouthern youth Dominic Anthony Green.

Dominic 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…

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Healthcare is a Human Right: Houston Secures Transition-Related Healthcare Benefits for City Employees

Posted on August 29, 2018
An illustration of transition-related healthcare benefits.

Senior police officer Jackie Boniaby is a staple within the Houston Police Department. For the past 26 years, she’s dedicated her life to service, holding various positions throughout the department. The last few months, however, have been a transition—Boniaby recently came out as a transgender woman and is taking steps to live publicly as her authentic self. “I just recently transitioned,” Boniaby tells Spectrum South. “I had to conceal who I was for years. It’s a journey, but I’m simply…

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Book Review: ‘Less Than Butterflies’

Posted on August 17, 2018
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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Singing With Soul: Jasmine Branch on Life After Pride Superstar

Posted on August 13, 2018
A photo of Pride Superstar 2018 Jasmine Branch, aka Jassyb.

“I just can’t give up now, I’ve come too far from where I started from…” As Jasmine Branch, aka Jassyb, belts these words on stage, they come straight from her heart. She embodies them. “Can’t Give Up Now,” the song the Houston-based singer chose for her winning Pride Superstar 2018 performance, is definitive of both her journey during the competition, and within her life. No stranger to a challenge, Branch knows the importance of pursuing a goal until you emerge victorious.…

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Serving Those Who Serve: New Veteran Services at The Montrose Center

Posted on August 7, 2018
A photo of LGBTQ veterans.

I love to tell people that if it wasn’t for Texas and the Air Force, I wouldn’t exist. My parents were both service members stationed in San Antonio when they met, fell in love, and decided to make the coolest baby ever—me. On both sides of my family, I’ve had relatives serve in every branch of the armed forces dating back to the Civil War. My grandfather served as an American Legion Chaplain until his death, and my mom followed…

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