Browsing Tag

New Orleans

Historians of the Queer South: Robert Fieseler Remembers the 1973 Up Stairs Lounge Fire

A photo of Robert Fieseler, a historian of the queer South, with his book Tinderbox.

Fifty years ago this week, a horrifying tragedy struck the New Orleans queer community. On June 24, 1973, an arsonist attacked the Up Stairs Lounge, a French Quarter gay bar, killing 32 people. Until the Pulse massacre in Orlando in 2016, it was the most lethal attack on the LGBTQ community ever perpetrated in the United States. Yet even today, few people have heard of it. Robert Fieseler has done more to change that than nearly anyone.…

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The Spirits of New Orleans: On Voodoo and Black Queerness

A photo of queer Voodoo.

Turn to any Hollywood film or television portrayal of Voodoo and you’re most often faced with the same, sensationalized representation—an evil, devil-worshipping religion practiced amongst impoverished Black communities in Louisiana. While the religion may be romanticized in some cases, it is still largely seen as violent, graphic, and wicked. These misconceptions directly stem from the very real racism and misogynoir that exists in Hollywood and society at large.…

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Bold and Beautiful: This Queer-Owned, Plus-Size Modeling Agency is Taking Center Stage

An illustration of PHAT DIVAS.

Houston-based plus-size model and entrepreneur Tiffany Page-Pratt learned the definition of hustle from her mother. A hardworking woman, her mom sold Avon and Tupperware on top of her full-time job at the post office. “Watching [my mother] was what built my ambitions,” Page-Pratt says. “For starters, it takes a lot to be a single mother, but to also juggle two and three jobs—I commend my mom for that.”…

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Breaking the Silence: ‘Azul’ Centers Queer Cuban Experience in New Orleans World Premiere

A photo of queer Cuban play Azul.

Telling stories about the nuances of queer female sexuality is the core of playwright Christina Quintana’s craft. In an essay about her play Scissoring, Quintana writes: “I love women, I love lesbians, I believe in stories about queer women of color more than anything.” This passion is precisely where Quintana draws inspiration for her latest play, Azul, which receives its world premiere at Southern Rep Theatre in New Orleans from March 27 to April 14, 2019. The production is a…

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Traveling While Queer: New Orleans

A photo of gay New Orleans.

Welcome to the second installment of Traveling While Queer! Join me as I journey across the country to discover our shared queer history and sightsee in some of my favorite cities. Along the way, we will explore hidden havens, places of LGBTQ significance, and help you plan your dream va-gay-tion. Next stop, NOLA!…

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Through A Queer Lens: A Conversation With New Orleans Photographer Chris Berntsen

A photo by photographer Chris Berntsen.

New Orleans has always been an epicenter for all things queer, eccentric, and avant-garde. From Mardi Gras to NOLA Pride to Southern Decadence, queerness thrives on the centuries-old streets of the Big Easy. That magic is what keeps New Orleans transplant and photographer Chris Berntsen rooted in the city. With each snapshot, Berntsen views New Orleans and its residents literally and figuratively through a queer lens, discovering new connections along the way.…

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Queer Southern Staples: Where Did All The LGBTQ Bookstores Go?

A photo of LGBTQ bookstores.

For a brief time beginning in the 1970s and stretching up to the 2000s, a new species of community institution sprinkled the southern landscape—the LGBTQ bookstore. Once prolific, these stores are now endangered. While LGBTQ visibility and community participation has expanded exponentially, economic changes have forced nearly all small bookstores to either close or shift their retail focus. Yet a few determined LGBTQ and feminist bookstores—from the funky Faubourg Marigny Art and Books in New Orleans to feminist stalwarts such…

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What is the South?

An illustration of the south.

Inspired by a friendly yet fiery conversation with my friend about which states constitute “the South,” I decided to curate a more formal dialogue between Dr. Rachel Afi Quinn, Dr. Trevor Boffone, and myself—all queer people based in Houston with roots spread throughout the region—where we could hash out our ideas on what the South truly is. The following is an edited version of our conversation……

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