Browsing Tag

South

How LGBTQ Entrepreneurs Can Pitch Their Business Ideas to Southern Lenders

Posted on February 19, 2024

Being an entrepreneur is an incredible opportunity. Not only do you get to bring your unique perspectives and innovative ideas to the market, but your approach as a businessperson can also drive change. Your choices can make you instrumental in boosting diverse workplaces in your area and providing support for the next generation of queer professionals. Yet, there are still hurdles before you’re able to have this kind of impact. One of the significant challenges to starting a company is gaining…

Historians of the Queer South: Jaime Harker’s Lesbian Literary Renaissance

Posted on June 12, 2023

A photo of queer historian of the South Jaime Harker and her book The Lesbian South.

You can tell that Jaime Harker loves her job. I first learned about this scholar of the queer South through her brilliant 2018 study, The Lesbian South: Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement, and the Queer Literary Canon. When she’s recounting a tale from the adventurous, unapologetic southern lesbian literary cultures of the 1970s to 1990s that her book documents, her whole face lights up. Her buoyant enthusiasm shines through as she gestures avidly, grinning ear to ear, pumping…

Historians of the Queer South: Announcing a New Spectrum South Series

Posted on June 12, 2023

A photo of books by historians of the queer South.

We know you don’t have time to read every book and listen to every podcast out there. But chances are, you’re curious to know more about our history (and herstory, and theystory). That’s why we’re launching Historians of the Queer South, Spectrum South’s new series of articles profiling the writers and researchers who are helping to tell our stories. Each month, we’ll share a new article highlighting a scholar who we think has made a particularly important contribution to our…

Queer Road Tripping Through The South

Posted on March 3, 2023

Taking a road trip is a great U.S. tradition. After all, this country is home to some incredible and varied landscapes. In some cases, you barely have to leave your home state to experience everything from scenic lakes to bustling cities. The South, in particular, offers some incredible delights to those willing to take to the open road.…

Finding Community as a Queer Single Parent

Posted on December 7, 2022

Being queer in the South can often be a lonely experience, but when you’re queer and a single parent, you might think it’s next to impossible to “fit in.” While your top priority is likely your kids, that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to find a supportive community and to feel like you’re a part of something greater. …

Changing Pronouns: An Interview with Publicly Private’s Kollyn Conrad

Posted on September 12, 2022

A photo of Kollyn Conrad of Publicly Private

As a non-binary southerner, I’m all too familiar with society’s pushback to gender and sexuality exploration. Like so many other queer and trans folks, my process of finding the identity that feels best to me is one that is ever-evolving. Yet, from broader society—and often, from within the LGBTQ community—we’re not given the grace to navigate identity at our own speed, to be brave enough to come out over and over again as that identity evolves, and to stand in…

A Tale of Two Flags: A Letter to Queer Kids Growing Up in the South

Posted on August 26, 2021

A photo of queer kids Christian necklace.

On a recent drive through a rural community in the South, I stopped for a bite to eat at a local restaurant. A few months ago, I started an online business making rainbow crosses and other queer, Christian, and ChristoPagan items on Etsy. I try to wear the cross I made for myself as much as I can, and the exchanges I have had because of it have been deeply moving.…

Dear Well-Meaning Liberals, Listen to the Voices of the South

Posted on October 6, 2020

“F*ck Texas.” “F*ck the South.” “Let’s just divide the country at the Mason-Dixon and let the South fend for itself.” “Texas is a lost cause.” These are just a few of the tone-deaf tweets I have seen from well-meaning liberals over the last few months, years, and so on. It’s exhausting. Let’s be clear: If you perpetuate that narrative every time you want to express displeasure at a southern Republican or conservative legislator’s gaffe—you’re part of the problem, you’re tone deaf, and you’re showing your…

Like a Mimosa Blossom: Making My Peace With the Queer South

Posted on September 13, 2017

An illustration of mimosa blossoms in the queer South.

Well, that’s what I always told myself, at least. When I arrived in North Carolina from the Northeast as an effeminate, bookish eight year old, nothing seemed right. Southern twang and slang mystified me, while I struggled to adjust to new foods, schools, and manners. And the homophobic and gender-oppressive bullying I’d always encountered seemed, if anything, to intensify. I couldn’t wait to grow up and get out.…

What is the South?

Posted on July 3, 2017

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……

South

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