Maintaining My Feminine Identity

This June marks two years since a big personal change in my life. 

As someone who has always identified as a feminine woman, I've experienced some strange but interesting interactions where numerous people have categorized me in a more masculine way since I drastically changed my hairstyle just short of two years ago. Some of these interactions have stuck with me so much so that I've decided to go off a bit on "feminine identity" within and surrounding the lesbian world, focusing mainly on my own experiences. 

Coming and Going: Out-ness and Queer Identity

For many, coming out is viewed as the most significant moment in our experience as Queer people. 

Just an Update

Change is growth. As the creator of Three Strange Women, I've watched my crazy little idea grow and change in many ways over the past 3 and 1/2 years...

Three Strange Women Joins the WEMF Radio Family!

LIKE A PHOENIX, WE RISE FROM THE ASHES... 

If you've been following my work with Three Strange Women, you're well aware that it has been an extremely difficult and trying year for many of us involved in Boston's internet radio scene & the Boston Media scene as a whole. 

I'm happy to say that we're past ALL OF IT, and HAPPY TO BE JOINING THE WEMF RADIO FAMILY!

Three Strange Women on the Full Scene Stream!

After an unplanned 3 month hiatus, Three Strange Women is finally returning to your ears via the Full Scene Ahead Stream DECEMBER 24TH from 9:00-11:00PM! It's the perfect way to kill time while you're up late waiting for Santa.

In Retrospect: The Loss of a King, The Dawning of a New Era, and Why I've Been So Crazy Lately.

In Retrospect: The Loss of a King, The Dawning of a New Era, and Why I've Been So Crazy Lately.

 On Sunday, October 6th, Boston's Cannabis Community and my "friendly-family" suffered the loss of a great man, a true king. Michael L. Malta also known as The King Of Pot & more commonly known as KOP passed away suddenly of a heart attack. Having been an activist for 10+ years, KOP was well know throughout the Boston cannabis community, and the cannabis community around the world.

The funeral services were beautiful and strangely unreal. Seeing the large community of people who showed up simply from knowing him through his hard work and activism was incredible. In all of the grief and sadness, it was wonderful to see how many people loved him. It was also a harsh reality check that seemed to have brought everyone and everything back around full circle. This situation seemed to mark the end of an era. The light of KOP's torch will shine on. 

Three Strange Women Celebrates 2 YEARS on UNregular Radio!!!

On Tuesday July, 2nd Three Strange Women will be celebrating TWO YEARS of awesome LGBT radio! Our official 2 year anniversary date is July 4th, 2013, however, that date being a Thursday, we’re going to be celebrating LIVE on-air with “Memoirs Of A Gay Show 2.0″ this Tuesday evening at 9pm. My lovely & talented friend Brooke Andrade is baking us a crazy rainbow cake, I personally (along with the help of my mother & aunt) baked roughly 50 six-layer rainbow cupcakes, made rainbow fruit skewers, and I have cut and organized my “Best Of” clips of the year.

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 18 Family

Families come in many different forms and sizes. No matter who you are, and no matter where you're from, there is a pretty good chance you were raised by some sort of family.

A traditional nuclear family consists of a father (husband), mother (wife), and a child or two. Now, as many people know, life doesn't always go as planned, and sometimes this "typical" family foundation is broken. A large percentage of marriages in this day and age end in divorce, in turn, breaking up these families. 

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 17

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 17: Single Life

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on relationships. This article is about the exact opposite: being single! 

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 16

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 16 Chick-Fil-Gay

With all of the recent debate surrounding Chick-Fil-A and Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino's stance on the issue, the one thing I really can say at this point is that deciding who to put my trust into as an LGBT community member is becoming harder and harder. Human rights are not open to debate. LGBT rights should not be a popularity contest, but I fear that it is exactly what this issue is becoming. 

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 15

UR Lesbian LGBT Files: Vol 15 Relationships

Whether you're gay, straight, bi, trans, black, white, or purple, one thing most people can agree on is that relationships of all kinds are not always easy.

Even friendships can be hard to maintain over the years as people grow and change as individuals. It is never really a fun situation to encounter, but occasionally two people reach points in their lives where they branch off and eventually find themselves unable to relate to one another anymore.

UR Lesbian: LGB Files Volume 14

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 14 TSW 1 year anniversary

Monday July 2nd marks the one year anniversary of the first live broadcast of Three Strange Women on UNregular Radio!

For anyone who doesn't already know, Three Strange Women is my little monster of a creation. We are currently the only show on UNregular Radio geared specifically towards the LGBT community. Each Monday from 3:00 to 4:00pm EST, Three Strange Women drenches our fantastic listeners with as much positive LGBT content and music as we can squeeze into one hour. 

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 13

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 13; Gay Boston Media Past and Present

Carmelita, Jackie, Sue

Last week's LGBT Files article was about gay friendly travel in the U.S. and around the world. This week, we're taking it back home to Massachusetts to examine some of the gay culture here in Boston's media scene.

First, a brief look at Boston's gay marriage history:

On May 17th, 2004, just over 8 years ago, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same sex marriage. This would then make us the 6th jurisdiction world wide to incorporate same sex marriage laws into legislation, along with Belgium, Quebec, the Netherlands, Ontario, and British Colombia at the time. Since 2004 the list has grown to include 8 other countries and 5 more U.S. states: Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009), Portugal (2010), Iceland (2010), & Argentina (2010) along with U.S. StatesConnecticut (2008), Iowa (2009), Vermont (2009),  New Hampshire (2010) , and New York (2011).

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 12

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 12 Gay Friendly Travel

If you're like me, and you love to travel and meet new people, then this article is for you! Summer is here, and the festival scene is bumping! I will be traveling here and there over the summer, exploring everything the scene has to offer .

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 11

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 11 "Gender Idendity & Sexual Orientation"

Although the two often go hand in hand, there is a distinct difference between gender identity and sexual orientation.  Gender identity typically refers to what is happening in relation to the physical body, where as orientation deals with who we are attracted to sexually.

Gender identity is how we identify on the male/female spectrum and how we'd like others to perceive us. Most people are born as either physically male or physically female (with some obvious exceptions). That being said, this is not always the case when it comes down to how the person identifies emotionally, as some people feel that their gender does not match their physical sex. 

Gender identity affects a person's life in many, if not all areas on a daily basis. We use gender specific restrooms, have gender specific departments in stores, and have created gender specific fragrances. In many cases, gender even affects how we interact with each individual person we encounter in terms of behavioral expectations, roles at jobs or in households, and on many other levels. We have a tendency to place gender specific expectations on people based on their identity as male or female, men being stereo-typically strong and given the role as provider, and women being seen as stereo-typically sensitive or emotional and are expected to be caretakers.

From a young age, we are conditioned to accept our gender. Boys play with trucks and tools, girls play with dolls and tea sets. Many children don't often think about gender growing up because their gender matches their anatomy. However, in some cases, boys want to play with dolls and girls want to play with trucks. While it can be an extreme situation, this can sometimes be the first sign of a child's gender identity shifting (or a preview to the child's sexuality which is usually determined a little later in life). Some societies are very accepting of the fact that not everyone fits directly into the male and female categories and they acknowledge a third gender. Trans individuals have the tough job of dealing with issues of gender in society because they want to physically represent who they truly are on the inside.

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 10

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 10 "Coming Out"

Coming out, also known as "coming out of the closet", is a figure of speech used by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community to describe when an individual voluntarily discloses his or her sexual identity. Coming out can be both a comforting and stressful event. It is about so much more than just proclaiming one's sexuality to the public. 

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 9

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 9 Celebrities and the LGBT Community

There are many prominent celebrities who identify within the LGBT community. As someone who identifies with said community, it is comforting to be able to look to the mainstream media for support. 

From my standpoint, the queer lifestyle is something quite normal.

On occasion, I find myself debating this topic, even with people who are encompassed by the LGBT umbrella. More often than not, I will end with a retort somewhere along the lines of "I feel that homosexuality and the queer lifestyle are normal because this is a lifestyle I choose to live and have identified with for close to a decade. What is not normal to me is seeing people so overly concerned with my choices." I live my life everyday as the best person I can be, and my sexuality is an entirely separate entity. 

The number of celebrities who identify as L-G-B or T has steadily risen over the past decade, and even more so over the past 4 or 5 years. A good amount of those celebrities are also working to raise awareness and create a positive image for the community.  

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 8

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 8 Discrimination in the LGBT community

In last week's article, I touched on discrimination against the LGBT community, mainly focusing on Amendment One and the discrimination within our nation. LGBT discrimination IS a huge issue nationally, but what many people don't realize is that this discrimination is also a problem WITHIN the LGBT community. This is NOT OKAY on so many levels. 

Discrimination within the LGBT community takes many different forms. A few examples are bisexual discrimination, trans-phobia/discrimination, and gay/lesbian stereotype discrimination.

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 7

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 7 "Amendment 1... Pffft..."

Whether we as a human species realize it or not, discrimination is still a huge issue today in our society. I generally try to stay away from politics, because a number of political issues surrounding the LGBT community are fueled by awful stories filled with hate and bigotry aimed directly at a group of people who want nothing more than to feel equal. That being said, the topic of this article was completely unavoidable. 

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Volume 6

UR Lesbian: LGBT Files Vol. 6 "Social Media"

Left to Right: Conrad, Joy, Tybelle, Jackie Adam Bouska: NoH8 creator

Over the past couple of years, social media has blown up and become a huge part of most people's everyday lives.