Yezmin Villarreal

Writer & Editor

[yezminv]

ProPublica Data Institute 2017

Excited to join ProPublica for their summer institute next week!

[yezminv]

On buzzing my hair

I buzzed my hair and my friend/colleague Angela Jude made a video about it for The Advocate.

Check it out here: 

[yezminv]

Stories I wrote recently

The Queer Evolution of Kristen Stewart

The Antidote to Trumpism: 'Let America Be America Again'

For Lesbian Artist Shura, Pulse Changed Everything

What It's Like Reporting on the Inauguration While Queer

Arizona's Undocumented Queers are Ready for Trump

[yezminv]

Stories I’ve written over the past year

For Young, Queer Mexicans Like Me, Juan Gabriel Changed Everything

It Took Alice Bag 40 Years to Make a Solo Album, and It Was Well Worth the Wait

Mexrrissey Transforms Morrissey Songs Into Mexican Pop Anthems

[yezminv]

Recent LGBT stories

Raúl Castillo Hopes Richie Will Inspire LGBT Creators of Color 

Here’s the Advice Angela Davis Gave a Queer Black Lives Matter Activist

Queer Latinos After Shooting: ‘Mi Existir es Resistir’

LGBT Voters on Why They Support Clinton, Sanders

Why This Queer Black Activist Interrupted Hillary Clinton

[yezminv]

Ellen Page’s Gaycation

I interviewed Ellen Page and Ian Daniel about Viceland’s Gaycation.

We talked about why she considers Ted Cruz to be dangerous, religious liberty, and how she deals with criticism about privilege on the show. 

[yezminv]

Riding in Cars With Eileen Myles

I profiled the poet Eileen Myles for The Advocate

We talked about why she believes all the best American poets are all gay, and why she believes the mainstream literary world is not friendly to lesbians. 

[yezminv]

Creativity is an energy. It's a precious energy and it's something to be protected. A lot of people take for granted that they're a creative person, but I know from experience, feeling it in myself, it is a magic, it is an energy. And it can't be taken for granted. It needs to be nurtured and developed and exercised and celebrated. It's like your significant other; you can't neglect it -- because it will go away. Many of us know people in which it has waned or in which it has strengthened and become more powerful over the years. I see it really as something that I try in myself to preserve and make sure to hold on to.

Ava Duvernay, in an interview with Advertising Age

A photo posted by Ava DuVernay (@directher) on Dec 1, 2015 at 8:04am PST

[yezminv]

I interviewed Beatrice Velázquez, who created ‘Veme: Queering Phoenix’ to challenge the idea that QPOC don’t exist in Phoenix, Arizona, a place that is known for being hostile to immigrants and people of color.

Read more here.

[yezminv]

At a house in the historic Filipino neighborhood of Los Angeles, Keely Weiss, the creator of Rainbow Fish, is sitting on the back porch, handing out name tags with a space for preferred gender pronouns to each guest who enters through the back door to Rainbow Fish, a monthly queer mixer in Los Angeles that features tarot card readings, speed mingling, swing dancing, board games and an open mic.

West Hollywood, Los Angeles' gay neighborhood, is home to 25 gay bars within its two-mile radius. But a lesbian bar or a space for queer women? You won't find that in LA. WeHo was once home to Los Angeles' lone lesbian bar, The Palms, a historical spot that remained open for 50 years, but shut its doors in 2013.

Although gay clubs in Los Angeles host weekly "girls' nights," Weiss wanted to provide an alternative to the WeHo club/bar scene, where women may gather without the social pressures nightlife and alcohol bring. Waiting around for the community that you wish existed isn't productive, and Weiss has taken that into her own hands by creating a safe space for queer women to meet free from "assumptions of intent, interest, or inclination."

[yezminv]

Tarot Cards and Swing Dancing Unite Queer Women of LA

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Tarot Cards and Swing Dancing Unite Queer Women of LA

In West Hollywood, there are 25 gay bars, and no lesbian bars. This mixer fills that gap.

Posted by PRIDE on Wednesday, December 2, 2015

[yezminv]

I interviewed Carrie Brownstein about her memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, for The Advocate. 

[yezminv]

My collection of reported stories on LA’s Maricón Collective

I first wrote about Maricón Collective back in January for LA Weekly, shortly after the group formed to host parties, create art, and support queer Latino artists in the Los Angeles area. 

In June, the group was commissioned to create a mural in the Mission District of San Francisco for Pride month. It was vandalized, and the group was threatened over social media. (link)

It was defaced a second time, but the group remained steadfast and the gallery replaced it. (link)

It was vandalized a third time--this time with a torch. (link)

After the public mural exhibit ended, I followed up with the group to talk about the homophobia and threats of violence they faced over their Chicano LGBT mural that depicted two women embracing each other, two men holding each other, and a trans man with scars from top surgery. (link)

[yezminv]

In October, I profiled Rain Dove, the androgynous model who wants to break into commercial fashion and walk for Victoria’s Secret. 

Read the piece here. 

[yezminv]

The advice I give to emerging lesbian and gay artists about coming out in the music industry is to follow your heart and be true to who you are. When you don’t acknowledge your sexual orientation for fear of being rejected, you create a consciousness of deception within yourself. You will likely feel dishonest and “less than” because you know that you’re not being totally truthful. People will likely find you less approachable because you’ve subconsciously created a protective wall around yourself so that your secret won’t become known. Unfortunately, all these things will only hurt your professional and personal relationships, your creative process, and your career. Remember: A house divided against itself cannot stand; you cannot live a lie forever. So love who you are NOW, because you can only be who you are!

Mykki Blanco

A photo posted by @_mykki_ on Sep 4, 2015 at 6:06pm PDT

[yezminv]

Amber Rose Slut Walk, Los Angeles

I reported on the Amber Rose Slut Walk in Los Angeles for Mic.com:

16 People Who Bared All to Fight Slut-Shaming at the Amber Rose Slut Walk

Hundreds March Against Slut-Shaming at First Amber Rose Slut Walk in Los Angeles

Photos by Meghan Quinn for Mic

[yezminv]

Sonia Sotomayor.