OUTsider: Connections, Conversations, and Family

One of my favorite aspects of art and performance is putting related pieces into conversation with one another, enriching the conversation surrounding a given topic. I’m so very happy with the way OUTsider Festival’s programming is facilitating those sorts of conversations, and I only wish I had the opportunity to participate more fully this year. […]

OUTsider Fest: Queerness Past, Present, and Future

The creators of OUTsider Festival in Austin really did their homework as far as covering a large scope and breadth of queer art and performance in the programming. Which on the one hand, is refreshing and inspiring. But on the other hand, means that there is just so, so much to discuss. Festivals, conferences, art, […]

OUTsider Fest: Khmer Classical Dance

I never feel quite so Western as in those moments when I’m confronted with Asian modes of performance. So it’s only fitting that the second night of OUTsider Festival in Austin featured a performance by Prumsodun Ok, a practitioner of Cambodia’s Khmer classical dance. I think it’s important to be aware of and claim those moments […]

OUTsider Festival: Narcissister and Gay Wax Museum

I wasn’t sure what to expect when headed to see Narcissister for the opening night of OUTsider Festival in Austin. Narcissister’s name is what it sounds like; the complication of our cultural understanding of the narcissist juxtaposed with the idea of sisterhood, and how being a “sister” relates to the identities of women of color […]

Lactate Intolerance

2015 is a bad time to be a worker. Not only is the minimum wage well below a living wage, but corporations seem determined to erode the rights of laborers wherever and however they can, and the government keeps siding with them. In December, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of Amazon, saying that […]

Period Talk

Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, we can’t completely rid ourselves of the negative messages we internalize from our native cultures. Even when we know better, even when we’ve done the self-work, even when on a good day we love and accept ourselves, there are still moments which elicit knee-jerk, immediate reactions to stimuli. Moments where […]

Review: Thr3e Zisters at the Salvage Vanguard

Zombie feminist theatre. That’s what Thr3e Zisters, the Salvage Vanguard’s new interpretation of Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, claimed to be. I was intrigued, excited. This, I thought, is a show I must see. As those familiar with the theatre world know, Chekhov adaptations are a dime a dozen. I’ve never been hugely enamored of […]

Book Review: PRO: Reclaiming Abortion Rights

If I got pregnant today, I would have an abortion. That’s not a popular thing for a woman to say in this country. But if it’s true for me, I’m sure it’s true for a lot of other women, too. In fact, I know it is. Because statistically, 1 in 3 women will have an […]

Book Review: More Than Two

More Than Two is a new, comprehensive guide to polyamory by Franklin Veaux and Eve Rickert. For years, Veaux has blogged about polyamory on http://www.morethantwo.com/, and the book is an outgrowth of that work. More Than Two is divided into both sections and chapters, providing advice on multiple aspects of polyamory. After answering the question, […]