Be my y'allentine

Democrasexy gives Austinites a school-dance redo free of gender norms

The poster for Y'allentines Day by Democrasexy

The party raises funds for Black Trans Leadership of Austin, and for a night of gender-expansive community decompression.

Image courtesy of Democrasexy

Trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming Austinites of all ages are getting a free second chance at their middle school dances this May. Hosted by Democrasexy, a new initiative in pleasure activism, a one-night event on May 19, called Y’allentines Day, combines education, fundraising, and a great time to break up the stress of fighting discrimination every day.

“Because folks from the affected community have been psychologically dealing with so much and the focus has been on their suffering, I want to bring some love and some celebration to the community,” says Democrasexy founder Becky Bullard. “Just their existence is a beautiful miracle. And I think that's something that gets missed when we're talking about all the hard stuff.”

BoyFriend ATX will be DJing this dance, focusing on the '90s tunes he plays at his recurring Middle School Dance Party events. Acclaimed musician Gina Chávez will join for a live performance, alongside drag performers from Extragrams, a wig bar by wig and costume shop Coco Coquette, makeup artists, and more to be announced as the event comes together.

The main event highlights a discussion panel, moderated by Rev. Remington Johnson, a trans woman and advocate with experience as a healthcare chaplain (providing spiritual care to hospital patients). Johnson will help organize an informed discussion around questions by audience members and anonymous write-ins.

Since allies are invited too, Bullard wants the panel to serve as a safe space. Attendees will likely meet with topics they have not taken the initiative to seek out on their own, whether out of embarrassment, ignorance, fear of outing themselves, or lack of an appropriate channel. A videographer will document the panel, so interested parties who can’t attend can access the wisdom shared after the event. Any cisgender visitor (i.e. someone who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth) except caregivers of gender expansive youth, who enter free, is invited to add a donation to their own purchase to help cover costs for the other attendees.

In addition to ticket sales, funds for the event will be raised through sponsors, with any excess and a silent auction benefiting Black Trans Leadership of Austin (BLTA). Among other projects, the BTLA offers a crisis grant intersectionally prioritizing financial support for daily necessities, and manages a land trust focused on providing housing. According to Bullard, everyone working the event, including an ASL interpreter, will be paid, and nearly all are from the impacted community.

“My philosophy on advocacy work is that it's really valuable, but it's not valued in our society. I'm trying to do whatever I can to change that because we all benefit from it,” says Bullard. “I think that especially people who are advocating out of suffering…I don't think they should also be doing it for free.”

Bullard and her friends Kristen Gunn and Ashley Cheng became prominent activating beginner activists with their podcast The Rabble, which irreverently but earnestly explored Texas politics for left-leaning audiences. The high-energy political slumber-party-round-table of a podcast chaotically posited a belief that if these three women could get it together in politics, anyone could join them. It was fun to listen to, and surprisingly informative for a discussion based on games like spin the bottle.

The Rabble aired its 2021 legislative recap episode on June 7, and is on an indefinite hiatus while its former hosts explore their options as more influential political activists. Cheng has devoted herself to AAPI issues through Texas’ AAPI Caucus for the DNC as a national committeewoman, and Asian Texans for Justice, a statewide advocacy nonprofit she co-founded. Meanwhile, Bullard is building the Democrasexy brand.

“It’s like a character, in a way,” says Bullard, describing the brand’s scope encompassing both her personal advocacy, and community engagement at events hosted under the Democrasexy name. “But I want other people to be Democrasexy, too.”

Other people have been quick on the uptake, nominating Democrasexy for the Austin Chronicle’s annual Best of Austin awards within its first year of existence. At the first event for the project last October, called Texorcism, visitors learned about reproductive rights in Texas, and how to elect stronger supporters.

“My hope is that any of the events that I'm creating are a fun party that you would want to come to regardless of if you thought of yourself as an activist, or thought you wanted to engage on a deeper level,” says Bullard. “It can be a lot to take that first step in activism, so sometimes I like to hide the vegetable.”

Y’allentines Day will be held May 19 at 7 pm at Vuka - Bouldin Creek. Tickets are available on Eventbrite for trans, interesex, gender non-conforming visitors, and their caregivers (free), and for everyone else ($40). Donations towards others’ tickets can be made at the checkout.

health fundraisers concerts families education music charity dance

Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

Getty Images

Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

animals downtown civic issues