Oct 30, 2018
The first time T. came to the
Mojave was for a performance boot camp and now T. combines their
love of performance with education, producing artistic, informative
events like 'Queer Salon, Joshua Tree',
which is a combination potluck, art salon and discussion event for
LGBTQIAA+ folks in the Mojave.
Known to some Joshua Tree
locals as the 'Date Lady', T. graciously accepts the moniker, as
the person who has become known for selling dates at the Saturday
Joshua Tree Farmer's Market. Even though T. identifies more butch
and queer than lady. If, like me, you're confused about handling
gender identity in a way that respects a persons being,
in this episode T. offers some
thoughts and resources, like The
Center Palm Springs for learning how one can be a
good ally.
Picking up a pair of cool boots
at a thrift store, T. didn't realize they would take them to a six
year career as a Fire Fighter, helping to fund further education,
resulting in a Ph. D. in Critical Dance Studies from UC Riverside
and an M.S. in Community Development from UC Davis. T.'s
dissertation, 'Dress, Dance, Desire: Statecraft and the Dressed,
Dancing Body', focused on masculinities and the roles of costume in
contemporary queer/drag performance.
Being of Lebanese descent, T.
feels their attraction and interest in dates is no accident and has
found the business of dates bringing them closer to their Arabic
roots.
We also talk about the
difficulties and challenges of caring for a family member with
schizophrenia.
T. is producing a Haunted Art
House, Saturday, November 3 (2018) from 5-10 p.m. -
click here for location and
more info.
Photo Credit: Blanca
Munoz