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Texas Observer: Long COVID Sufferers Demand to Be HeardAn outdoor photograph of a person wearing a purple mask, with brown hair past their shoulders. They are wearing a white dress with black polka dots, and supporting themselves with a cane. Tattoos are visible on their arms.
Jordan Vonderhaar/Texas Observer
March 25, 2024
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Texas Observer: Long COVID Sufferers Demand to Be Heard

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Most people survive the Coronavirus with their kidneys intact. But not 34-year-old Austin resident Vanessa Ramos. 

An experienced community organizer with nonprofits like the Sierra Club, Ramos was healthy and active before she got infected. Then she caught the COVID-19 virus in December 2021, and symptoms lingered through the new year despite her efforts to focus on healing and recovery. 

“I was trying to prioritize my physical health because I couldn’t lift things; I couldn’t open things,” Ramos recalled. “I didn’t understand why I was getting weaker.”

Read moreTexas Observer: Long COVID Sufferers Demand to Be Heard
Review: The Queen vs. Texas (at SXSW)Drag queen Hermajestie the Hung holds a microphone under bright stage lights, in dramatic drag makeup and a red fishnet outfit.
Courtesy of Emil Lozada
March 14, 2024
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Review: The Queen vs. Texas (at SXSW)

Posted in Austin, Journalism, LGBTQIA, SXSW, and The Texas Observer

When the drag queen known as Hermajestie the Hung  reached her breaking point, she transformed into the Joker, becoming the  scourge of patriarchy, homophobic lawmakers, and anti-transgender  bigots everywhere.

“She’s that queen that’s just had enough,” Hermajestie told the Texas Observer.

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In Print: Long COVID feature out now in Texas Observer!An outdoor photograph of a person wearing a purple mask, with brown hair past their shoulders. They are wearing a white dress with black polka dots, and supporting themselves with a cane. Tattoos are visible on their arms. Text: Clearing the Air. Long COVID sufferers advocate for a healthier world.
Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar
March 8, 2024
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In Print: Long COVID feature out now in Texas Observer!

Posted in Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Millions of Texans are suffering from long COVID and you might be surprised to learn that many of them are young and formerly healthy. Studies show that the more often you get infected, the more likely you are to have lingering, potentially life-changing health effects.

Look for it in print in the Texas Observer magazine now, and online later this month.

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A Tour of Texas BookshopsThe storefront for Bookwoman in Austin, Texas shows an angel with a halo of curly brown hair, reading a book, her wings outstretched and wearing a golden dress with white stars. She's flanked on either side by female symbols which are in flames or silver electricity.
Bookwoman in Austin, Texas is one of just a handful of feminist bookstores left in America. (Kit O'Connell)
November 28, 2022
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A Tour of Texas Bookshops

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and The Texas Observer

Big-city traffic and a resolution on New Year’s Eve of 2020 led Pflugerville resident Kelsey Black to become a bookseller.

An avid reader, she disliked the hour round trip required to get from  her suburb of 65,000 to downtown Austin to browse a bookstore. “OK,”  she told herself, “I think it’s just going to be easier for me to …  start my own bookstore.”

Turned out, it wasn’t easy at all, “but it’s OK because I have now found my calling,” Black said. The Book Burrow began as a pop-up and online business and finally, on August 6, opened  as a brick-and-mortar store. She said the 200-square-foot space has  become a haven for those who don’t feel like they fit in elsewhere,  drawn by the store’s motto: “Embrace your weird.” For her, the phrase  means cultivating love for whatever makes you unique: “Embrace your  gender identity; embrace your sexual identity; embrace your racial  background; embrace your spiritual path.”

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Are You OK? Visiting With Young Trans TexansC smiles and looks directly at the camera. They have wavy blonde hair with dark roots showing and are wearing a red tank top with a cartoon bee on it, along with blue jeans. C's parents stand behind, each with a hand on C's shoulder.
The "Are You OK?" project features portraits of transgender young people. Jesse Freidin/Are You OK?
November 18, 2022
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Are You OK? Visiting With Young Trans Texans

Posted in Journalism, and The Texas Observer

In 2021, Jesse Freidin began traveling across the country to photograph transgender youth for a photo project called “Are You OK?” He’s been to more than half the states in the country, meeting with dozens of trans kids.

In August, Freidin made his second visit to Texas. In the intervening year, legal and policy-based attacks on LGBTQ+ people in the United States have reached feverish heights. Governor Greg Abbott even launched child abuse investigations into parents who seek gender-affirming healthcare for their kids. Though nonprofits like Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union have responded with multiple lawsuits against the policy, which has been partially blocked in court, it still left many families fearing for their safety. Kai Shappley, a trans girl known for her outspoken activism, fled the state with her family a month before Freidin planned to photograph her.

“I want to tell those stories before they disappear, before these families leave the country or state, before these families have to go underground,” Freidin said.

Read moreAre You OK? Visiting With Young Trans Texans