Qmmunity: Help Support Queer and Trans Students

Help keep LGBTQ students thriving! (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Being queer is pretty awesome, IMPO, but that doesn't always mean it's easy. As many of us know from first- or second-hand experience, there are some special challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community, and some of those challenges make things like going to class or finishing school a lot harder than (again, IMPO) it already is. This is why UT's Gender and Sexuality Center is starting its first-ever crisis fund. In honor of the center's 15th anniversary, GSC Director Liz Elsen told me her hope for this fund is to support gay students suddenly cut off from their parents after being outed, trans students who can't access medical care or "money to change their name on their diploma so it matches the name on their research and résumés," those who need help paying for long-term mental health care, and "countless other examples of times students have needed a little extra help." Though the GSC has been helping students with resources and support – they host everything from clothing swaps to community gatherings, reading groups, and even offer a food bank for those in need – for nearly two decades, they've never been able to directly fund students going through hard times. But of course, the GSC can't do this all alone. So they're launching a Hornraiser – basically, UT's equivalent to GoFundMe – to help grow this financial crisis security blanket for queer and trans students. The Hornraiser (OK, I legit cannot take that name seriously) launched on Nov. 6 and ends on Dec. 6, so if you've got some spare cash burning a hole in your pocket, consider this a worthy cause. As the GSC put it: "[Ensure] that all Longhorns thrive and not just survive at UT."

2 To Do

The Future of Ismael Director kt shorb and Generic Ensemble Company bring to Austin an experimental sci-fi production featuring a QPOC dystopian world where "community, love, and rebellion allow trans post-humans to thrive." Based on a Colombian novel of the same name and featuring Tuyen Thái, Elian Sweeten, Adrian Clark, Grayson Hunt, Tessa Lancaster, and Noé Lopez. Through Nov. 23. Thu.-Sat., 8pm. Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd. $20. www.genenco.org.

Gay Dregs: Archive Rejects Opening Night FFTwinz (or as you perhaps know them, Beth Cita and Lex Vaughn) are digging through the goldmines of queer trash "that the archives want nothing to do with" and selling what's hot and what's not. Show runs through Nov. 24, but catch them for opening night with a v. special guest. Sat., Nov. 9, 7-10pm. Collection Rert, 2608-B Rogers Ave.

Q'd Up

FuturX Festival New Latinx work from Jesús I. Valles, Laura de la Fuente, and more. Nov. 7-10, Thu.-Sun.; times online. The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd.

Bianca Del Rio: It’s Jester Joke She's baaaack! Thu., Nov. 7, 6:30pm. Moody Theater, 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd. $39.50+. www.acl-live.com.

Tom Goss, Nakia, Liz DeRoche What a queertastic lineup. Thu., Nov. 7, 7:30pm. The Townsend, 718 Congress #100. $15-20.

UnBEARable Chique and Bulimianne's ode to sleepovers. Thu., Nov. 7, 10:30pm. Iron Bear, 121 W. Eighth.

TGQ Social A way-chill hangout for everyone and anyone on the trans spectrum. Second Sundays, 6pm. Butterfly Bar, 2307 Manor Rd.

The L Word Trivia Get ready for a rousing game of Do You Know The L Word (season 2)? Sun., Nov. 10, 6-9pm. Hops & Grain Brewery, 507 Calles. $7.

Cut Up! Channel that inner club kid and getcher freak on. Tuesdays, 10pm. Elysium, 705 Red River. $5.

Stage Your Own Retrograde A QPOC-centered astrology conversation. Tue., Nov. 12, 6:30pm. allgo, 701 Tillery Ste. A-1. www.allgo.org.

Adult Cartoons! Boiz of Austin give animation all they've got! Tue., Nov. 12, 9pm. Elysium, 705 Red River. $5.

Trans Feminisms Reading Group A blog by Meredith Talusan followed by a discussion on trans+enby storytelling. Wed., Nov. 13, 6:30pm. BookWoman, 5501 N. Lamar Ste. 105-A. Free.

wILD 2.0: AIDF Kickoff Mary Jane Styles' wild shit kicks off Drag Fest! Wed., Nov. 13, 10pm. The Electric Church, 5018 E. Cesar Chavez. $10.

Austin International Drag Fest Featuring nearly 400 drag performances from kings, queens, and everyone in between at this fierce fest. Thu.-Sun., Nov. 14-17. Around town. $39-125.