While hip-hop artists have changed over time, the message behind the music has, for better or worse, stayed relatively consistent. It’s the same narrative told over and over to a new beat: a man raps about his abilities to get a woman (often in degrading ways), or a woman raps about getting herself a “good man.” Plain and simple, hip-hop remains predominantly heteronormative.…
QPOC
On ‘Daughters of the Dust’ and the Radical Reconceptualization of Black Female Iconography
Posted on March 12, 2020“What’s past is prologue.” One of the first lines uttered in director Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (1991) is from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but it is redeployed here by the character Viola Peazant. Used as a means of creating distance between herself and the islands from which she hails, the quote grounds the discourse of the film to follow. The past is a place, both physical and psychic, and how much of that place we carry forward with us…
The Gay Men Who Challenged Jim Crow: Bayard Rustin, Igal Roodenko, and the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation
Posted on February 28, 2020This February, Black History Month offers us an opportunity to remember and to learn about the civil rights movement, as well as focus on the courageous Black, queer, and trans individuals who paved the way. More and more histories are acknowledging the critical role that queer Black activists played in the movement to end segregation and pursue racial justice, from Mississippi politician Aaron Henry, to author James Baldwin, to the brilliant gender non-conforming lawyer, activist, and priest Pauli Murray. Yet lesser…
Let’s Stop HIV Together: Reflections on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Posted on February 7, 2020I’ve had the great fortune of spending most of my life doing work in community. But my passion didn’t originally stem from wanting to change the world; it came from the desire to save myself. At age 20, I was introduced to the idea of sex work, a line of work I would ultimately participate in for years to come. When I entered the industry, and therefore began having numerous sexual partners, my mentors and friends stressed to me the…
The Potentiality of Romantic Comedy: The Queer Asian Fantasy of ‘Saving Face’
Posted on October 24, 2019I wish I could remember how I met her, the one and only queer Asian woman I’ve ever seriously dated. The one who, although our relationship wouldn’t last longer than a year, floats through my mind perhaps more often than proportionate to what we shared. I do remember the first time we interacted. It was outside at a mixed performance venue and bar at a time when I was just coming to terms with my queerness. I had just finished watching…
A Face for the Future: Taylor De La Garza On Advancing Queer Activism in the Rio Grande Valley
Posted on September 30, 2019When asked about himself, the first thing Taylor De La Garza shares is that he’s from the Rio Grande Valley. The second is that, after he completes his studies in Houston, he wants to return to the Valley, where he plans to continue his journey of LGBTQ activism. “I was scared of accepting the queer part of me for a long time,” De La Garza says. “I owe a lot to my community back home.”…
The Hot Towel: This QPOC-Owned Barber Shop is Cutting Out Homophobia
Posted on September 25, 2019Walk into the Hot Towel, an all-female-run, queer-owned, full-service barber shop (stylized as ‘Barb*Her’) located in Houston’s Uptown/Galleria area, and you’re immediately struck by the space’s comfortable and relaxing vibe. Even more so, you’re hit with the overwhelming sense of love among its team members. It’s clear that the Hot Towel isn’t a one-woman show centered around owner Tinisha Cox; it’s a place of genuine comradery. This feeling was confirmed when I reached out to Cox for an interview. She…
5 Queer Latinx Icons to Celebrate This Hispanic Heritage Month
Posted on September 13, 2019It’s time to give credit where credit is due. The modern-day LGBTQ-rights movement would be nowhere without the tireless efforts of the powerful and resilient queer Latinx activists who fought—and continue to fight—for LGBTQ people’s freedom to exist. Throughout history, these movers and shakers have made extraordinary strides to improve the state of trans rights, criminal justice, HIV advocacy, gender equality, and more.…
‘Peru and the City: A Pride Comedy Show’ to Showcase Gay Life in Houston
Posted on June 18, 2019The struggle is familiar and has been echoed by countless actors of color: “There were no parts for me, other than the ‘struggling friend,’ the ‘drug dealer,’ or the ‘misfit,’” says actor and writer Peru Flores, who will appear in his own comedy show, Peru and the City, this month at Rich’s in Houston. Flores’ family moved to Midland–Odessa, Texas, from Peru when he was a young teen. In the small town of oil workers and farmers, Flores was taken…
Episode 29: Making Non-Binary History
Posted on June 7, 2019The Veer Queer team sits down with Mike Webb, first-ever Pride Houston Non-Binary Grand Marshal, to talk grassroots political change, their journey coming out as genderqueer, and Pride inclusivity.…