Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Thu, 16 Feb at 3:11pm.

A socio-political conversation with Krys Freeman feels exactly right.

Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Wed, 9 Nov at 3:36pm.

I, in all my poetry, could never find a metaphor for Malkia Cyril. I could never adequately explain what she brings to a conversation. She has an uncanny capacity for off-top eloquence - it’s bizarre.

I couldn’t figure it out at first … then I realized … Cyril is seriously “media trained.” Sometimes media training comes off as artificial, as simplistic repetition of sound bite. Cyril’s media training amounted to 3,000 precise and passionate words over a couple of beers.

Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Mon, 25 Apr at 3:55am.

There's nothing lovelier than a drop-dead gorgeous drag queen when she goes all femme fatale.

"It's time," she pauses, "for you to lip sync ..." RuPaul's otherwise-kind eyes narrow into sinister stones "for your life!"

Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Fri, 8 Apr at 10:47am.

Last week, I reported that club promoter Chaney Turner was giving up women for God.

It was April 1 - and I was just kidding.

Blog entry by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Tue, 5 Apr at 8:20pm.

There’s no way around it - this is going to be an upset to Oakland’s LGBTQI scene.

Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Fri, 7 Jan at 5:01pm.

B. Cole created a word - an acronym, actually:

“Masculine of center (MOC) is a term that recognizes the breadth and depth of identity for lesbian/queer womyn who tilt toward the masculine side of the gender scale and includes a wide range of identities such as butch, stud, aggressive/AG, macha, dom, etc.” (sic) (B. Cole, 2008)

MOC is starting to catch on – it inherently liberates those that it describes. Before I’d heard of Cole, I heard the term she coined. As a gender fluid femme, I appreciate how “MOC” counteracts gender policing within queer communicates.

“I’ve always been MOC,” Cole told me during her interview. “I’ve always been a gentleman.”

Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Wed, 5 Jan at 8:41am.

For me, the Queer Oakland experience started with my first Oakland Local contribution, an article on Immoral Dress Code 9.08.080.

Article by Tehea Robie.
Last updated at Sat, 18 Dec at 11:55am.

When Tee Azul and I met two years ago, it was not friendly.

S/he was working security at a bar. I was working the door and I forgot my ID. Though the argument only lasted a few moments, I gave her my special nostril-flare frown for months after that.

Speed time forward to this Queer Oakland interview, when I asked her about identity.