All Posts By

Jayce Tyler

Taking Things ‘One Gay at a Time’: Houstonian Mycah Angelou Taylor’s New Podcast is All Things LGBTQ

A photo of One Gay at a Time podcast creator Mycah Angelou.

Mycah Angelou Taylor's podcast, One Gay at a Time, feels like listening to a good friend talk about anything and everything. Every other Wednesday evening marks the launch of a new episode, in which Taylor dives into topics ranging from their own coming out tale, to the “lavender tax,” to the intersection of Blackness and queerness. Whatever the discussion of the week may be, Taylor both educates and entertains their audience.…

Continue Reading

Save Our Sons and Brothers: New Houston Social Org Supports Trans Men of Color

An image of Save Our Sons and Brothers United.

By Jayce Tyler Inspired by parent organization Save Our Sisters United, Save Our Sons and Brothers, or SOSB, is a new Houston-based organization and social network open to trans men and transmasculine people of color. “SOSB looks at the survival and empowerment of our sons and brothers with a holistic view,” the group says. “Thus, we strive to address the social, emotional, financial, physical, and medical needs of the transmasculine people of color within our community.” SOSB aims to create…

Continue Reading

Earth Toned: New Black, Queer-Owned Wellness Shop Promotes Holistic Healing

A photo of Donavyn Hightower, owner of Earth Toned.

Holistic wellness is a journey—one that Donavyn Hightower knows well. Born and (mostly) raised in Houston, Hightower, a proud pansexual, Black woman and psychology major at the University of Houston, has long been passionate about spirituality and astrology. She is now seeking to help guide others toward better mental health and healing through her new online wellness shop, Earth Toned, whose slogan is “Bigger, Brighter, Inclusive.”…

Continue Reading

Reflections on Racism: Surviving as a Black, Non-binary Person

A photo of a protest sign against racism.

I was at a week-long Girl Scout sleepaway camp the first time I remember experiencing racism. It was right after the counselors had called for “lights out” in the bunk. There was some problem in the cabin and, to get my attention, one of the other campers called out to me—“Hey, Black girl.” She knew my real name. She’d known for days. Yet, she chose to address me as “Black girl” instead. I don’t remember what she said after that,…

Continue Reading

Redefining Family: How My Chosen Mother Helped Me To Heal

A photo of Rylie Jefferson.

I lost my mother at a young age. I didn’t lose her physically, but like many queer folks, lost my relationship with her—all understanding, love, and support. Because of this, I’ve long dreaded Mother’s Day, a time when scrolling through social media means seeing the endless posts from those praising their mothers for loving them—something I’d spent years trying (to no avail) to drag out from my own. This year, however, I decided to make a change; I celebrated my…

Continue Reading

#TheKamahAndKelseyShow: Couple Kamah Asha Wilson and Kelsey Reynolds on Love Languages, Communication, and Finding Forever Love

A photo of couple Kamah Asha Wilson and Kelsey Reynolds.

While there are many cute LGBTQ couples in the world, not many can compare with #TheKamahAndKelseyShow. That hashtag has come to summarize the relationship of Kamah Asha Wilson and Kelsey Reynolds, two Houston transplants who found their forever love in one another. When I first met Wilson and Reynolds, I was still discovering myself and my identity, and seeing them thrive within the LGBTQ community as a couple both inspired me and gave me hope for my own romantic future.…

Continue Reading

Emergent Pathways: Houstonian Dr. Kaden J. Stanley Offers Trans-Centered Mental Health Services

A photo of Emergent Pathways owner Dr. Kaden J. Stanley.

Houston-native Dr. Kaden J. Stanley comes from a family that greatly values higher education. He spent his childhood cheering for his North Carolinian parents’ Atlantic Coast Conference basketball teams and dreamed of, one day, becoming a Duke Blue Devil himself. In the sixth grade, Stanley and his parents agreed that he would continue his schooling at a college preparatory academy. The school he would attend from sixth through twelfth grade was, as Stanley describes, southern Baptist and radically fundamentalist—Senator Ted…

Continue Reading

Get Wilde: Houston LGBTQ-Owned Oddities Shop Serves Halloween Spooks Year-Round

A photo of the Wilde Collection.

If you’re a Halloween fanatic like me, the sight of spooky pop-up costume shops around town signals your favorite time of the year. But what if I told you that you could get your oddity and eerie fix all year round, simply by making a journey to Houston’s Greater Heights? On the corner of Yale and 15th Street lies the Wilde Collection, an LGBTQ-owned oddities store run by Lawyer B. Douglas II and Tyler Zottarelle. Encircled by the shop’s curiously odd…

Continue Reading

A Face for the Future: Taylor De La Garza On Advancing Queer Activism in the Rio Grande Valley

A photo of Rio Grande Valley activist Taylor De La Garza.

When 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.”…

Continue Reading