In the dressing room at St. Louis’s newest gay bar, Prism, nine drag performers are in varying stages of undress. They pass around duct tape to secure their genitals and help each other shimmy into breast plates. Their voices are low, and they always need something: safety pins, concealer, eyelash glue. Usually, I have whatever…
A collaboration between Planned Parenthood and Metro Trans Umbrella Group has helped almost 700 gender-expansive folks in the region access gender-affirming hormone therapy in the past year and a half. The program, funded by a four-year grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health, is called TRANSforming Community, TRANSforming Care, or TC2. TC2 prioritizes access for…
Metropolitan residents fortunate enough to live near natural wonders tend to cherish them, whether that’s the Catskills for New Yorkers or the Hill Country for Austinites. An argument could be made that the Ozarks are as impressive as those oft-hyped areas, but St. Louisans have had a complicated relationship with the wilderness at our southwest…
St. Louis PrideFest is a heady mix of rainbow colors, exuberant dancers, pulsating music, wild drinks, great food, old friends and, most importantly, a coming together of people across the region in support of LGBTQIA+ identity and rights. “The main purpose of starting a Pride festival is to celebrate together as a community,” says Jordan…
The nickname came up for the first time this past summer. When I heard of my friend Ed’s passing, in addition to being saddened by the loss of a special person, I was immediately concerned about his personal collection of local LGBTQIA+ history. What would happen to it? I got nervous. While I was researching…
When I joined St. Louis’ flat-track roller derby team in 2016, one of the first things I was told was, “Nobody joins roller derby if they have a perfectly happy life. Usually, they’re dealing with some shit.” That was certainly the case for me. I was 22, newly enrolled in graduate school at Washington University…
To the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, After a two-year hiatus, we are excited to be “Together Again.” We are showing the world the love we have for one another and that we are proud of the things we’ve accomplished. As we move into the Pride season, it is important to note the amount of stress…
It’s been a while, my friends! Five months, in fact — one more piece of pandemic pandemonium was the postponement of our June issue. We’re stoked to be back, and proud to once again be partnering with Pride St. Louis, who’s bringing Pride is Alive to Ballpark Village August 27-29. This issue is full of…
Sometimes, you just need someone to talk to. For Luka Cai, that someone was hard to find growing up in Singapore — especially when it came to their queer identity. “I never had any positive queer or trans role models growing up,” they say, “so I had a lot of internalized transphobia.” Cai — trans-masculine,…
