Gender Outlaw on the Run

Hi! I’m currently looking for a new roommate for this coming school semester (August - December) since my current roommate is moving out soon (sadness!)

Place is off Riverside about a 10-15 minute car drive to UT campus and is also located on the UT shuttle route. Rent is $590 a month with utilities included and free internet + cable. Place comes furnished.

My only personal preference is that my next roommate be queer-friendly since I do not want to be in a situation similar to my first 2 years of college where I was stuck with a roommate I did not know who were both unaccepting of me being queer. If you or someone you know would be interested or would like more details, please inbox me or message me on Facebook if you’re my friend on there. 

Thank you!

NO, MY GENDER IS NOT THE BUTT OF CIS PEOPLE’S BADLY CONCEIVED JOKES. 

Today was a day of bittersweetness.

Today was my last day as Secretary of Texas StandOut, UT’s only organization solely based on spreading awareness of queer activism as well as grassroots organizing. 

I joined StandOut 3 years ago during my second year at UT, and it was also the first organization I joined here. After I came out as gay back in January 2010, I knew that I wanted to get involved in activism and become a queer leader so I could learn more about queer issues and be in solidarity with other queer folks. 

In 3 years, I’ve learned to:

• lobby at the Texas Capitol
• advocate for Domestic Partnership Benefits (a.k.a. Competitive Insurance Benefits) for UT faculty and staff
• advocate for and help draw up a proposal for implementation of gender inclusive housing at UT
• take notes for meetings 
• do more community outreach
• phone bank 
• call legislatures to voice support or opposition of bills in Congress
• organize events for Pride Week and Coming Out Week

….and probably a few more things I’m not thinking of.

StandOut has done so much for me. It helped me start out as a queer leader. It helped me reach out and get more involved in other organizations. It helped me become more confident in myself and allow me to figure out the intersections of my identities. It helped me learn more leadership skills that I’ll be sure to use later on down the line.

It was bittersweet watching the new exec board get elected and joyfully take on their new leadership positions. It reminded me of what I looked like 3 years ago when I was enthusiastic about starting my journey to becoming a better queer leader and how excited I was to learn as much as I could. It took everything within me to not cry while saying my last words of wisdom and relinquishing my position after one year of secretarial duties. 

But it’s not over yet. I still have one more semester of undergrad work here at UT, so I’ll still have one more semester to go to meetings and events and continue contributing to StandOut like I’ve always done. I’m so fortune to have had the privilege to be an outspoken leader and work with so many amazing fellow queer leaders and allies. And I have confidence in the new leaders and am excited to see what they have in store for StandOut in the coming year!

• When people think of Day of Silence, they mainly think of the G and possibly the l, while other queer identities are often times ignored
• Why should we nationally recognize a day of silence when our oppressors consistently attempt to silence us every other day of the year?
• I’ve always thought that part of being queer is resisting heteronormative patriarchal discourse, so how does being silent help dismantle the patriarchy? Queer folk are already at a disadvantage because of the patriarchy, and some are unable to express their opinions because of lack of resources or for safety reasons. How does silencing those who are capable of expressing their frustration benefit us as a community(ies) by being in solidarity with others?
• I get that some people may view it as bringing attention to the fact that queer folk have been silenced for decades, but who really benefits from NDoS?

I may have missed a few things, but these are just my person beliefs against National Day of Silence. I support GLSEN’s goals to create safer spaces for queer students, but don’t expect me to place duct tape over my mouth and stay silent for an entire day when silence already claims the lives of so many queer folks on a daily basis. To quote the famous tagline from ACT UP, “Silence = Death”