I’ve spent most of my adult life networking and fundraising for Missouri’s homeless, neglected, abused, and sick pets. I’ve always been good at fundraising—and even better at finding homes for the most challenging dogs. Over the years, I helped start several rescues and emergency medical nonprofits that continue to save lives today. Working with pets…
Butch in the Streets: How Did It Take Me So Long to Discover Lesbian-Owned Platypus?
It’s always been a big dream of mine to connect people. So when I came out of a relationship last year and realized I didn’t have a strong lesbian community, I decided to change that. I took over a 500-member Facebook page called Lou Ladies—founded by the wonderful Mel Nelson—and transformed it into a…
Butch in the Streets: A South Grand Lesbian Story
When I was pretending to be straight in my early twenties, I met one of the most incredible women in South City. Her name was Bay Tran. Bay’s family came to St. Louis from Vietnam. Fast forward to the streets of South Grand in the early 2000s—I reunited with the one and only Bay, one…
Butch in the Streets: Leave That Man and Come Out
Trigger Warning: This column discusses suicide, homophobia, addiction, and trauma. Please take care while reading. As I cross over the Kingshighway viaduct—what we all just call “the bridge”—heading toward the south side, I start to think. This drive always freakin’ triggers me. The older I get, the more I understand how deeply those triggers…
Our Lesbian Bars, Our History, Our Future
As a 55-year-old lesbian, I often look back on my twenties and the “safe” spaces we created for ourselves—spaces that became our family. Coming out of the closet (as we called it back then) meant you’d better know how to survive and how to find your people. I came out at a time when it…