The call for submissions to this first ever zine went as follows:
ASSIMILATION VS LIBERATION.
In a time when our government continues to attack and attempt to erase our beautiful community, we turn to our history, to the queers who came before us. When institutions would not stand by us, when papers would not publish us, when space would not be made for us — what did we do? We did it ourselves. As a love note to all our fellow Texan Queers, we’re putting together a zine and celebration of us. We’re looking for written works, opinion pieces, poetry, photography, DIY instructions, drawings, sculptures, stamps, prints, collage, comics, anything you can conceivably put into a zine. Our only ask is that you consider this topic: assimilation vs liberation. That’s the topic we as queers need to be discussing. Back in the 70s, it was widely agreed that liberation was the answer, not assimilation. Then AIDS ravaged our community while the government let it, and schisms in politics divided us which led many of us to decide to abandon parts of our community for their own comfort. But the reality is that none of us will be free until we are all free. It is not enough to be assimilated into a societal structure only meant to hold up the few (that being the rich, white, cis men). We want you to ask the question “What is normal?” And “Do we want normal?”. We want to see your anger, your love, your ugly, your filth, your freak, your perversion, your beautiful and most importantly: your imagination. With this zine we ask you to imagine what a liberated queer world would look like. Tell us your truth.
Released on June 20, 2025 alongside a reading at Union coffee in Dallas, TX.
[ Currently working on a free online version. ]
Proper Gender Please is a phrase stolen from signs, once put on the entrances of businesses, intended to stop trans and genderqueer folks from entering. And what, we must ask, is considered a “Proper Gender”?
The Texas government continues to deny our identities, taking away medical rights and our own bodily autonomy. This is an attempt to steal the right of individuals to make their own decisions, and a refusal to respect those decisions once they are made, all despite the fact that less than 1% of people who have transitioned say they regret doing so. There is data to suggest that as much as 82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves, and 40% have attempted suicide. These rates are even higher among transgender youth.
That’s why this show is a celebration of the diversity of gender and the artists who exist within that spectrum in the DFW area. Within each gender identity, there is no “proper” way to be. Each artist presented here is their own individual, with their own ideas about what makes them who they are. This is their show for their art. It’s a celebration of us! We’re here, we’re alive, we love ourselves and love one another, and we’re here to stay. Let opening night be an evening of gender debauchery, community, and wonderful art by wonderful people.
PROPER GENDER PLEASE was curated for the 500X Gallery in 2024.
Texas is Gay was curated in response to the proposal of the Don't Say Gay bill to the Texas government - yet another attempt to silence and erase the LGBTQ+ community within Texas. I did a call for art to local queer community members so that we could stand our ground and shout that no matter what they did, Texas was always going to be BIG AND GAY.
