It’s basically impossible to talk about public health in St. Louis right now without mentioning Dr. LJ Punch. The genderqueer genius has their hands in all the region’s most pressing issues, slicing through red tape and getting it done with brilliance, warmth, humor and grace. After years as a trauma surgeon in Baltimore and St.…
Even before the coronavirus pandemic rewrote the rules governing public gatherings, many believed online dating apps and the general mainstreaming of queer culture had made gay bars a lot less important than they once were. Jeromy Ruot, co-owner of Just John, disagrees. “As long as there are Republicans in charge of Missouri who are trying…
If Joe Hedley is any indication, seventy-five doesn’t look like it used to. The day after his big birthday, which was July 26, Hedley was surprised when he went to work and was greeted by flowers, cake, friends and co-workers. “It was great fun,” Hedley says. But he’s not one to sit still for long,…
Picture it: St. Louis, 2003. You’re a young queer person from southern Illinois, in the big city for your first-ever Pride parade. You’re scared shitless, horny as hell and trying to look cool. You’ve managed to score prime real estate on the parade route because in your nervousness you accidentally showed up two hours early.…
“I like these crackers,” said my roommate Zeeke Harris, 36, while happily munching on a multigrain wafer in the kitchen. “I give them as an offering to the spirits I work with. Ancient Greeks used to offer the first grains of the harvest.” Living with a witch is interesting. At 25, Zeeke left Dallas Theological…
Pride St. Louis is excited to announce the entertainment lineup for Virtual PrideFest 2020. This first-of-its-kind STL Pride event will feature a wonderful mixture of national recording artists as well as regional and local entertainers. Many national recording artists will headline the festival, including Ava Max, Betty Who, Kim Petras, R&B sister duo Chloe X…
Our editorial team assembled this list of influencers in January, before COVID-19, the subsequent financial collapse, and well before the seismic shift in the discussion on policing and race spurred by the murder of George Floyd. The world is a very different place than it was six months ago. We are proud to say that…
“Taking the time to smile at someone and say hello can change them. Doing something this simple can sometimes make or break a life,” says Mark Moore, whose profile has been rising in the LGBT+ community since 2011. Moore speaks with positivity and high energy during our conversation. We talk about his roles in the…
With more than a decade of front-row involvement in St. Louis’ queer community, James Lesch, 34, feels right at home in the thick of things. At the same time, in spite of the fact that there is almost always something brewing, he’s widely known – and respected – for his ability to stay above the…
A fired-up teacher who believes in you can make all the difference. Dr. Heather Brown-Hudson is the chair of the gender studies program at Lindenwood University. Her time there began in 2010, teaching in the French and English departments. In 2013, she pitched a gender studies program, and it took off. “The program began and…
