Originally published in the San Antonio Current The mass shooting at an Orlando gay club this month killed 49 people, wounded at least 50 others, and, in the minds of many within the LGBTQ community, violated a sacred space. In his comments following the tragedy, President Barack Obama called the Pulse nightclub, the site of…
Challenging Transphobia Within Queer Spaces
Originally published in the San Antonio Current When I was asked to attend a friend’s queer-friendly Studio 54-themed party last year, I hit up my favorite thrift stores as soon as I could to find the perfect Bianca Jagger-inspired ensemble. The night of the party came, my look was red hot, and I spent the…
Celebrating 10 Years of Ladies on the Loose
Updated: May 2, 2016 Many in the community may recall back to 2006 when the San Antonio chapter of the Human Rights Campaign began hosting a monthly cocktail party for lesbians dubbed Ladies on the Loose, LOL for short. A decade later, those monthly gatherings continue and are a mainstay in the social life of…
Veteran Erika Land explores repercussions of war in local performance of ‘PTSD and Me’
A one-woman show commemorates Veteran’s Day by encouraging a discussion about Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD and Me: A Journey Told Though Poetry will be presented at The Overtime Theater on Sunday, November 8, at 6 p.m. Author, activist, poet, and performer Erika Land is a 21st-century war poet known for her creative writing and her involvement in the lesbian…
Most Influential 2015: Rosie Gonzalez
Gonzalez was hired as Von Ormy City Attorney in March (she has since completed her contract) and was recently appointed to the State Bar of Texas Commission on Child Abuse and Neglect. Gonzalez is Bexar County’s only attorney certified in child-welfare law, and one of approximately 50 in the state. She is a solo practitioner…
Most Influential 2015: Dawn Lafreeda and Lupita Corbeil
Dawn Lafreeda, CEO of Den-Tex Central Inc., started her business career as a Denny’s waitress without a college education. Now the owner of 75 Denny’s locations, her hard work has paid off. She cites her humble beginnings as part of her inspiration for giving back. “Coming from nothing, I understand how hard it is to…
Flibanserin Does Not Produce Girl Wood: An Addyi FAQ
The FDA just approved the drug flibanserin for women with hypoactive sexual-desire disorder. Most people were all, “Wait, what? Girl Viagra? Score!” when this really isn’t the case at all. I taped an interview with Charity McCurdy from WOAI recently about this drug and the impact of it (as well as hyposexual desire on relationships). Charity…
My kid came out to me…and now to you
I talk about my children quite often in my writing and my speaking engagements. But I only talk about what they are comfortable with me saying, and at the level they are comfortable with. They tend to be pretty open, but this particular bit of information isn’t something I have shared in the past. Why…
Vet Erika Land pulls poetry from her PTSD
“I had to shut off my emotions. The only emotion was anger.” Erika Land’s memories of her deployment at a military hospital in Iraq include a military pilot’s brain fragments spilling out over her hands. She began obsessively washing them. She’s since recovered from that compulsion, but other symptoms of her PTSD are not as…
Jenn Alva and Kia Geronimo on fame and marriage
“She took me to meet Nina and Phanie the very first time we went out.” Jenn Alva and Kia Geronimo locked eyes one night at the Korova, and they knew instantly romance was in bloom. “I saw her dancing and I just knew that I had to talk to her,” Alva recalled. “I gave her…