You may have seen Lauryn Farris and her family in a recent interview that appeared in the Huffington Post as part of their Let Love Define Family series. The occasion for the interview was the final adoption of a 17-year-old transgender girl by Farris and Kerry, her wife of more than 40 years. Farris and her family…
Transgender prisoner claims mistreatment at Crosspoint
“I want to end the torture and abuse of all incarcerated transgender people.” A chief technology officer for a health-care consulting firm, Mikia Storm oversees the IT Department as part of her new life since she was released from federal prison and subsequent time in a San Antonio halfway house after a conviction for conspiracy…
Most Influential 2015: Eli Garza
We surveyed local LGBTQ leaders to come up with our 2015 Most Influential list: 16 individuals who made particularly notable contributions to our community in the past 18 months. We’re going to roll them out one at a time at outinsa.com this month, or you can get the entire list all at once by picking up our…
A favorite daughter and a forsaken son reconnect on the road from El Paso
The moral of this story, apparently, is when you’re la consentida, you can bring transgender friends home. Despite the fact that we were both born through a family with a deep history of homophobia, it still comes as a surprise to me how much more my half-sister Olga and I have in common. I’m the…
DOJ and Girl Scouts show support for transgender youth
In December 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of Virginian 10th grader Gavin Grimm after his school board adopted a bathroom policy that forced him to use the women’s restroom. Grimm is transgender and suffers from gender dysphoria.…
Caitlyn Jenner: Misguided naysayers and meme-sharing irony
The Ashe Award is given to those “whose contributions transcend sports.” If we can’t see eye to eye on this, then we can’t be friends. I’m sorry. Now, seeing eye to eye doesn’t mean we have to agree. We simply understand each other and recognize and value one another’s opinion, different though they may be.…
Join the 2015 CMI LGBT Community Survey
Dear Out In SA readers, We encourage you to take the 9th CMI LGBT Community Survey about your opinions and preferences, from an LGBT perspective. There’s power in our Pride! Participating in this study helps open doors-and minds-around the world, and influences positive changes for our community. Previous surveys have yielded 45,000 respondents from 150 countries!…
Trauma isn’t confined to the battlefield
In 2015, transgender military members risk administrative separation, meaning the person is forced out of the service, typically with no educational or retirement benefits. Love and change are not mutually exclusive terms. Unfortunately, fear creeps in when there is change. I love this country and tear up when the national anthem is played. Lately,…
Transgender teens struggle in foster care
Alex lived with her family in a nice home in an affluent San Antonio suburb, where she had all the comforts and advantages that come with that life. Although she was born male, Alex identifies as a female, a revelation that led to friction with her family and her eventual estrangement from them. “My mother…
New music, new identity: Saakred challenges the local music mold
On March 6, local artist, community activist, and musician Saakred will release a new album, Make Believe. For the 25-year-old performer, who recently came out as transgender, the new album is the culmination of three years of self-exploration and creative growth. Recorded this past January at Austin’s Ramble Creek recording studio, Make Believe is perhaps…