Tag: LGBTQIA+

Things are getting hotter in Kansas City with VAMP KC

Leave a comment

By Nicole Mitchell
Photos by Travis Young

Kansas City’s newest LGBTQIA+-owned burlesque group VAMP KC welcomes you to its all-inclusive classes and performances.

Penelope Mais Oui isn’t from Kansas City, but since moving here from Colorado Springs, she’s been creating noise in the burlesque and LGBTQIA+ scenes. Before moving to the city, Penelope produced a series of classic and classic-inspired burlesque shoes at a locally-owned Colorado Springs art theatre.

“I spent the pandemic not working on a stage,” Penelope says about moving to KC. “When I decided to dip my toes into the burlesque waters again…,” which was first as part of a local troupe, “I found there was a space, a desire, even a need in Kansas City for classic-style burlesque.” By using her previous experience, Penelope knew just what Kansas City was missing. “I already had a vision of what that could look like,” she says.

Continue reading →

SOUP: The Trouble with Transitioning

Leave a comment

By Jen Harris

SOUP offers a content warning prior to every column, as the subjects discussed herein may be triggering for some readers. Please proceed with caution. If you would like to try a grounding technique for triggered moments, here is a personal recommendation.

The trouble with transitioning is, I’m not a man. When I look in the mirror, I cannot imagine I could look more like my father, though I know a beard would do the trick.

Continue reading →

My birthing story: I was one of the first non-binary births at Truman Medical

Leave a comment

By: Max Sheffield-Baird

I never expected to become pregnant. I had made my peace with it years ago. I was assured by an OBGYN over five years ago that I could not ovulate without medical assistance. As I came to terms with my gender identity as a non-binary trans person, I saw my lack of menstruation as my body doing me a favor and saving me the dysphoria of a monthly reminder of my body not quite fitting the person I knew myself to be.

I’m a nurse. I’ve actually attended two births. Each time I cried. It was a sacred experience to witness. Whether you’re religious or not, I was able to see the argument for a Deity when I’d see a baby take their first breath and their parents get to hold them for the first time. For my own birth experience, I had nervous anticipation. No one comes into Birth prepared. Not really. I had a birth plan but I also knew that nothing goes 100 percent as planned. It was an exercise in letting go and surrendering to the process. I’ve never been very good at that.

I did expect to educate the labor nurses and obstetricians around me on my gender identity and how best to support and affirm me as I went through one of the most vulnerable times of my life. I created a sign and hung it over my hospital bed at Truman Medical: “My name is Max, I’m non-binary, I use they/them pronouns.” The nurses asked questions and were respectful. They asked me if “mom” was still appropriate to use.

Continue reading →