North Texas LGBTQ people say they live between fear and freedom – The Dallas Morning News

The recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as Texas regulations limiting treatments for transgender minors, has left many in the North Texas LGBT community uncertain about their own freedom to live and express their identities.

Its really discouraging when we see a lot of the policies pushed out by our Texas lawmakers that make my state feel less like a home,' said Javier Enrquez, who is from Grand Prairie.

Enrquez is the empowerment coordinator with FUSE, a group of young LGBT people who seek to engage in a healthy and safe community.

The news about the end of constitutional protections for abortion made its members feel like they could be targeted next, he said. Immediately after the court ruling, a lot of our participants expressed distress about how that could affect marriage equality, he said.

In February, the Texas government deemed some gender affirmation treatments as child abuse.

Subsequently, some parents of transgender children were put under investigation, and now are in legal proceedings to defend their access to the treatments.

Governor (Greg) Abbott and Attorney General (Ken) Paxton have been clear that they are going after transgender youth, and specifically trying to deny them medically necessary care just because they happen to be trans, said Rafael McDonnell, senior advocacy, policy and communications manager at Resource Center, a group that provides health services and support to LGBTQ people in Dallas.

Meanwhile, early this month, state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, said he would seek legislation on banning children from drag shows, in response to a family show offered in Dallas as part of Pride.

Were talking about (the massacre of 21 people in) Uvalde and gun control and doing something better to protect them, and what we get is, You know what? Youre right, we should protect children by not allowing them to attend drag shows, said San Antonio resident Jessica Hawkins, a drag artist and lesbian. She and her crew performed this month in Dallas as a part of an exhibition at the Latino Cultural Center.

Overall, the Texas political and regulatory atmosphere makes it difficult to feel free as an LGBT person, said Stephanie Hinojosa, a drag artist and lesbian.

I tell my partner all the time: I dont feel safe here, and thats because of the people in power.

The Oak Lawn neighborhood on Cedar Springs Road is teeming with bars, clubs and entertainment spots for the gay community. The area also attracts residents enjoying the comfort of living in this Dallas neighborhood.

Everybody says Texas is very conservative, said Jeremy Reid, 27, who lives close to Oak Lawn and is originally from Long Beach, Calif. He moved to Dallas just over a year ago and works as a driver for a hospital logistics company. However, I have always felt comfortable. I never felt like people were staring at me or looking at me weird or making me feel bad in any way.

I always felt like just everybody, and I think its more accepting here now, he said.

Enrquez, 27, who came out while a high school student in Grand Prairie, said the support he received from classmates and teachers didnt translate to the rest of the city.

Growing up in that Dallas suburb made him aware of the lack of businesses, civil organizations and resources for queer people.

If you want to access queer venues or resources, you have to go outside of the city boundaries to either Arlington, or directly to Dallas, the FUSE coordinator said.

As for Latina transgender women, many are undocumented, living a very different reality because of racism, transphobia and stigmatization.

Thats what Ana Andrea Molina, founder of Texas Trans Latina Organization, can say from her own experience.

Many of our trans women in Dallas are in the suburbs, which are more accessible places where they can find an apartment or team up to pay rent, as they dont have the privileges to live in Oak Lawn or Lemmon Avenue, which is predominantly white cisgender.

The Texas Trans Latina Organization is based in Houston, and although it had a chapter in Dallas for several years, it closed during the pandemic. Many of the transgender women didnt have the electronic devices or the skills to use them so they could gather via video call, Molina said.

Theres a big Latino trans community in the city of Dallas, much bigger than you can imagine, and many of them have lived an isolated, separate life, Molina said.

For Enrquez, laws affecting women and the LGBT community add another obstacle for Latinos and immigrant families in North Texas.

Not only do they have to fight for for resources and fight for a good job, but now they potentially have to work even harder if they dont have access to abortion or access to contraception, he said.

Aimee Villareal, a bisexual drag performer and Mexican American studies professor at a Catholic university in Texas, hopes the states young LGBT generations continue the activism the current generation is leading.

In Texas, 4.1% of residents over 18 identify themselves as LGBTQ, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

My son is exploring his gender identity, and all of his little friends have that same kind of experience of fluidity and openness. And thats the future, she said.

What were seeing now is the old guard trying to resist what has already been made, and which will not be reversed.

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North Texas LGBTQ people say they live between fear and freedom - The Dallas Morning News