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Health+Wellness

Sippin’ on Jen and Juice: Black and Lesbian-Owned Juicery Hopes to Heal Community Health

Posted on February 4, 2021
A photo of Jen and Juice.

Jennifer Jeffries, along with her wife and business partner, Ashley Jeffries, recently launched Jen and Juice Juicery in Houston. Jen and Juice Juicery, a name inspired by the catchy hook in Snoop Dogg’s 1994 song “Gin and Juice,” promotes health and wellness with their made-to-order cold-pressed juices filled with fresh vegetables and fruits. From apples and celery to beets and carrots, Jennifer hopes the nutrients from the juices also heal her community. “[We aren’t juicing] for people to lose weight,”…

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Skin Hunger: Navigating Disabled Sexuality in Quarantine

Posted on December 11, 2020
A photo of a queer, disabled person.

By Jaxson Benjamin Author’s Note: This article space centers disabled sexuality because, for the most part, we are left out of the conversation. The narratives around disability and sexuality frequently regard us as partial, lacking in sexuality, or not whole people. Rewriting sexual scripts around disability means centering the lived experiences of people with disabilities.  Does that mean that you if you don’t identify as disabled that you aren’t welcome here?  You are very welcome, whether you live with a…

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The ‘I Like to Move It Movement’: Move Your Body to Support LGBTQ Youth

Posted on October 12, 2020
A photo of I Like to Move It Movement instructors.

Nate Herrington is creating a fitness movement—one that’s inclusive, gets people on their feet, and gives people something to walk away with (a badge of honor on their hearts, and maybe a little sweat on their yoga mats). Herrington is the founder of the I Like to Move It Movement, a 21-day fundraiser that anyone can do from home. The fundraiser—benefitting Houston LGBTQ-focused non-profits Tony’s Place and Out for Education—has a lofty, but achievable, goal of $30,000.…

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

Posted on October 8, 2020
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.”…

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Changing the Game: Trans Athletes and the Fight for Inclusion

Posted on September 11, 2020
A photo of Changing the Game.

A political war is being waged against transgender Americans, and young trans athletes are caught in the crossfire. Mack Beggs is one of four transgender athletes featured in Changing the Game, a documentary that profiles the lives of young trans athletes in an effort to raise awareness about the complexity surrounding the transphobic policies that transgender high school athletes are forced to navigate just to compete. “I think it’s many things at once,” Alex Schmider, associate director of transgender representation at…

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What is Queer Trauma?

Posted on July 8, 2020
A photo of queer trauma.

I’m standing in line to check out at my local grocery store. COVID-19 is breathing down my neck: as an entity, as a presence, as an atmosphere. Behind my homemade fabric face mask and my meticulously sanitized disposable gloves, I’m buying two weeks of groceries for my queer household. …

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Stay Active, Even If Only For Your Mental Health

Posted on April 8, 2020
A photo of physical and mental health during quarantine.

I must disclaim that I am in no way a health and fitness professional, I am a city boy who likes to be out in the city and a gym bunny who enjoys the rush of a good workout. What ever am I doing during the lockdown, then? Let me lay out some workarounds that have been good to me, physically and mentally. Perhaps, if you’re looking to get your own endorphins flowing (whether you’re a gym regular or not),…

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Finding Relief: Calming Anxiety and Self-Doubt in the Time of COVID-19

Posted on April 2, 2020
A photo of relief in COVID-19.

What a crazy time we find ourselves in. March has ended (finally!) and, in just a single month, the world has changed in ways we won’t fully realize for years and decades to come. Lives have been forever altered, destroyed, or lost completely. And now the ways in which we interact with one another, the best practices in every sector, the systems that are supposed to be there when we needed a safety net, and the planet we live on…

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