Browsing Tag

Houston

Holidays in the Aftermath of Harvey

A photo of gay Houstonian Ian L. Haddock after Hurricane Harvey.

Six days into Hurricane Harvey, things hit me. I was living in a motel room provided by FEMA with only a few sets of clothes, the photos I could grab, and my laptop. The space was decent and clean, but my heart was cluttered with the fear of the unknown. Don’t get me wrong, I’m resilient. Like thousands of other queer-identified people, I have been homeless before, couchsurfed many times, and learned to do whatever it takes to survive. It is…

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A Place to Call Home: Finding Peace in My Queer Jewish Identity

A photo of queer Jewish Houstonian Brittany Weinstein

When my family celebrates Hanukkah, I know two things to be true every year: I will eat entirely too much and I will be interrogated like a criminal suspect. I don’t have a single family member or Jewish friend who hasn’t been asked, “So when are you going to marry a nice Jewish boy?” What am I supposed to say to that? “Well bubbe, I actually have a live-in girlfriend. We’ve been together for five years. We sleep in the…

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The Mahogany Project: Creating Safe QPOC Spaces in the South

A photo of The Mahogany Project founder and board member.

For queer people, safe spaces are important. For queer people of color, safe spaces are vital. The Mahogany Project, a Houston-grown nonprofit focused on bridging the gap between empowerment and education in black and brown LGBTQIA communities, aims to create such spaces. The project was founded in April 2017 by Verniss McFarland III, an intersex Houstonian who saw the need to engage and unite the trans community and its allies in response to the high rate of violence against black and…

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Teaching Queer Houston: Mind Mapping Montrose

An illustration of a mind map of Montrose, Houston.

When I moved to Houston in 2012, there was no question about where I would be living. As far as I was concerned, Montrose was everything. Conversation over. During my childhood visits to Houston, my dad would drive the scenic route from our Galleria-area hotel to downtown. As we rode down Westheimer Road, I’d stare out the window as we passed Dunlavy Street, Waugh Drive, Montrose Boulevard, and Taft Street, romanticizing what it would be like if dad just stopped…

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Documentarian Fiona Dawson Headlines Houston Transgender Unity Banquet

A photo of Houston Transgender Unity Banquet speaker Fiona Dawson.

Last week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Fiona Dawson, a dynamic documentarian, bisexual advocate, and speaker at the 25th annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet on November 4. Her recent work, which centers around trans military members, is especially near and dear to my heart as a child of veterans. The short documentary, 'Transgender, at War and in Love,' was nominated for "Outstanding Short Documentary" at the 37th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, and is now used in…

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A Closer Walk with Aj: Southern Born Actor Chats Gay Exorcism Film

A photo of gay actor Aj Knight in a new exorcism film.

As a group of young, white evangelicals move into a predominantly Latino neighborhood to preach the gospel, one of the missionaries, Jordan, develops sexual feelings for the leader, Eli. But once Jordan is caught touching himself by the bathroom door while Eli showers, the group tries to exorcise his gay demons in a kind of conversion therapy. Thus is the premise of director John C. Clark’s new film A Closer Walk with Thee, starring Houston-raised out actor Aj Knight as…

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50 States, 50 Pieces of Art: Artists Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin Excavate Queer American History

A photo of the Texas installation of 50 States by Jake Margolin and Nick Vaughan.

A few years ago, visual artists and married couple Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin stumbled upon some little-known 19th century queer history in William Benemann’s Men in Eden. This uncovered book charts the journey of William Drummond Stewart, a Scottish lord turned fur trader, and his male lover Antoine Clement as they led an expedition of around a hundred men from St. Louis to what is now Wyoming. Inspired by this caravan of same-sex loving men, Vaughan and Margolin crafted…

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Transouthern Youth: Meet Lily Pando

A photo of trans youth Lily Pando.

Lily Pando tucks a strand of bright pink hair behind her ear before she speaks. I’ve just asked her if she knows where she’ll be attending college—such a mom question, I know. “I don’t know where I want to go to school yet,” she responds. “But I’m definitely on that track.”…

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