Browsing Tag

gay

On Fatherhood, Identity, and Lost Connections: An Open Letter to My Dad on Father’s Day

Posted on June 16, 2023

A photo of the author with his dad on Father's Day.

June is a hard month for me. It’s a time when the world reminds me that I’m getting older, and the signs of adulthood become more apparent. Suddenly, being in my thirties means taking naps before nights out (also, why go out when you can be in bed by 9:30 p.m.?), turning down the radio in the car to focus, and realizing that “back day” is no longer just an intense workout at the gym but a day dedicated to…

Unlearning Leviticus: Bridging the Gay-Christian Gap

Posted on December 29, 2021

However, from the boundaries of my own lived experience, and despite Christ “ending the old law,” Christians who condemn LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences often cite one Old Testament passage in particular, and there has perhaps been no text with a larger influence on attitudes toward gay people than the biblical book of Leviticus.…

Remembering Félix González-Torres: Queer Latinx Art and the Caribbean-American ‘South’

Posted on October 2, 2019

Forty years ago, Félix González-Torres arrived in New York City from Puerto Rico, marking the beginning of his emergence as one of the most influential conceptual artists of his generation. During a brilliant career cut tragically short by his death from AIDS, the openly gay, Cuban-born, Latino-American artist produced a wide range of works that challenged spectators to participate in the creative experience and to formulate their own meanings. Through photography, billboards, and installations comprised of everyday objects, he evoked…

Some Heroes Wear Flags: Texas Educator Brings Pride and Acceptance to the Classroom

Posted on August 6, 2019

A photo of openly gay Texas educator Bill Becker.

Beads of sweat slide down the skin of weary travelers as the terminal’s oppressive heat overwhelms the expansive silver hall. A tall, slender man sits at the gate—in one hand, a ticket to China; in the other, a phone he has forced to sleep. Just moments before it entered its slumber, the phone was used to deliver a critical text message—revealing the man’s truth. The young man, face flushed from the persistent heat, sentenced any impending response to wait within a…

Shady Lady: Remembering A Texas Drag Icon

Posted on August 2, 2019

Javier Martinez led an illustrious career spanning a 40-year period as the hilarious, sometimes politically incorrect drag persona, Shady Lady. Beginning in 1976, when Martinez first auditioned for a weekly drag show in McAllen, Texas, up until 2014, when he gave his last performance at the Pegasus Nightclub in San Antonio, Martinez entertained audiences with a unique brand of comedy always stressing pride and unity. …

‘Peru and the City: A Pride Comedy Show’ to Showcase Gay Life in Houston

Posted on June 18, 2019

A photo of Peru Flores in Peru and the City.

The struggle is familiar and has been echoed by countless actors of color: “There were no parts for me, other than the ‘struggling friend,’ the ‘drug dealer,’ or the ‘misfit,’” says actor and writer Peru Flores, who will appear in his own comedy show, Peru and the City, this month at Rich’s in Houston. Flores’ family moved to Midland–Odessa, Texas, from Peru when he was a young teen. In the small town of oil workers and farmers, Flores was taken…

AJ Knight’s TV Show ‘Daisy Boy’ Is A Queer Teen Dream

Posted on May 27, 2019

A photo of actor AJ Knight in Daisy Boy.

Daisy Boy is the show every queer youth needed in their tweens and teens. While many of us held on to shows like Daria or Lizzie McGuire to comfort the outcast within us, Daisy Boy is the gay answer that we were looking for.…

A Mother’s Perspective: Letting Go of Envisioned Futures

Posted on May 10, 2019

A photo of author Jay Stracke with his mother.

The sun started to fall below the rooftops of the houses that lined against our own. Crockpots and slow cookers stood together like a row of soldiers atop the kitchen counter, working patiently toward the evening’s meal. I felt my hands trembling as I mustered the courage to speak. The sentence was caught in my throat. My mother was halfway out the back door when it happened.…

Stories Untold: Five Black Queer Trailblazers Who Thrived in the South

Posted on February 28, 2019

A photo of Black queer hero Lucy Hicks Anderson.

Black History Month has always been about telling the stories that have gone untold—the triumphant stories of the societal impact and progress made by those who were not always accepted as members of society themselves. In school, we often learn of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington Carver, Malcolm X, and Madame CJ Walker. As the years go on, we hear these same stories over, and over, and over again. And while these stories are important to celebrate and…

First They Came for the Socialists: Navigating Gay Jewish Identity Following the Pittsburgh Tragedy

Posted on December 4, 2018

The Shabbat music begins, but the usual exhale of my weekly worries doesn’t come. There is a tension in its place—a tightness. Typically, I find only the comfort of community and familiarity at a Shabbat service. But today, as I glance back at the strikingly oversized crowd, I am acutely aware that we are all targets. It’s an unwelcome feeling—one that I have not experienced since my days of fearing schoolyard bullies in the ‘80s and ‘90s.…

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