My best friend’s text comes through with a resonating bing. “So I need to know, are you getting laid?” I scrunch my eyes shut and rub my face. I tap back: “I am not, unless you count self-laid.” I sigh to myself and tap out an additional comment: “I am working on it.” I’m lying. I’m not. And I won’t.…
I went to college at UNC-Chapel Hill in the early 1990s. To my recollection, only one of the professors I knew was ever “out” in the classroom—we’ll call him “Cecil.” He and a woman colleague co-taught “Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World,” and I confess, I enrolled mostly because it had “gender and sexuality” in the course title. I wasn’t alone, either. A clump of us queer kids sat in the front row of that auditorium, eager to learn…
Let's talk about sex toys, baby! Dr. Laura McGuire talks the dos and don'ts of adult toys in this month's Asking for a Friend!…
Houston has a burgeoning underground queer scene, fueled by creatives who are making tidal waves in conjuring camaraderie within the larger LGBTQ community. These secret spaces can be fun, you just need to know how to access them. Well, look no further. Here are three queer haunts happening right under your nose.…
I don’t know you personally, but I know what you’re going through. As your social media walls fill up with rainbow flags and public displays of wonderfulness, the word “Pride” dominates all month long. But, as a queer person, for whatever reason, you don’t feel like you have a part. Maybe it’s because you don’t feel “queer enough,” struggle with imposter syndrome, tell yourself that Pride isn’t for someone like you, that it’s only for the “real” queer people. Maybe…
I was working a corporate chair massage gig at a random high-rise in Austin, Texas when my colleague started boasting about her upcoming massage stint at Bonnaroo, the four-day-long music festival in rural Tennessee. Colloquially called “The Farm” by festival-goers (aka Bonaroovians), Bonnaroo celebrated its 17th birthday this year, making it one of the longer-standing music festivals in the South.…
We’ve made it to June, and 2018 has proven to be a promising year in queer music. Still reeling from the late 2017 releases of Kelela’s Take Me Apart, St. Vincent’s Masseduction, and SOPHIE’s It’s OK to Cry, we were met this year with new bops by queer faves Janelle Monáe and Hayley Kiyoko.…
Does this make me queer? Dr. Laura McGuire talks queer fantasies, finding the right label, and more in this month’s Asking for a Friend!…
Pride season is upon us, which means it’s the perfect time to rejoice in our identities, commemorate our forequeers, and reflect on the progress that’s still to be made. To kick off our month-long celebration, we’ve compiled a list of our top five LGBTQ southern reads for the summer. Whether you’re kicking back at a Pride pool party or beating the heat inside, these recommendations are sure to satisfy your need to queerly read.…
During my sophomore year at the University of Houston, I discovered two life-changing things about myself: my love for dance and my love for women. I was an English major at the time, and dating a guy who was majoring in music. He awakened an appreciation of the arts in me that I had never known was there, and I decided I wanted to become an artist of some kind as well. So, I took a semester off to take…
