As in states across the country, anti-trans bills are plaguing Alabama. Once again, conservatives have manufactured a problem so that they can craft a solution that causes undue suffering to an entire community already persecuted by conservative lawmakers in the state. Fiendishly, the community in question is children.…
Growing up in rural Alabama was difficult for University of Houston professor Dr. Jess Waggoner. Yet, despite being surrounded by gendered expectations, they persevered and found ways to express themselves as a young, queer, non-binary person. In particular, singing in church and reading were ways they could be momentarily free. “As a fat, femme, disabled, non-binary scholar with a deep love for glitter, crop-tops, bolo ties, and camp, finding my place in the academy has not always been easy,” says…
I am a 37-year-old gay man from Alabama. I was raised in a predominately white upper middle-class neighborhood just "over the mountain" from Birmingham, and now own a home in city proper. I live with my partner of over 13 years. We have two cats, Uly and Sergeant, and our pit-mutt, Khaleesi. I am a veteran of The United States Marine Corps, serving eight years during “Don't Ask Don't Tell” from 2000 until 2008. During my career in the Marines,…
