Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Contrary to what one might assume, Dallas is a thriving city when it comes to LGBT women. There is an abundance; however, when I was coming out and trying to navigate the scene, they were not easily accessible. I had learned about the one lesbian bar, Sue Ellen's, from Google, but expanding outside of Sue Ellen's, I was lost. It should be noted, if you are unfamiliar, lesbian bars are notoriously empty and under-attended. Watch the short documentary, The Lesbian Bar Project, to learn more. 

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Fall of 2017, the musical Fun Home came to town, the Tony-award winning show depicting Alison Bechdel's discovery of her sexuality, and it became my job to find and market to the LGBT women of Dallas. If it hadn't been for this, I would have likely continued to stumble in the dark. I discovered Chick Happy Hour, a longstanding once a month happy hour and Lez Play Dallas, a summer exclusive pool party. These were both excellent introductions and led me to meet a plethora of terrific women. I quickly became a regular, engraining myself in the scene. However, after a while, it sunk in that all these events were centered around drinking. Drinking can be great! However, not everyone drinks, and I knew some people wanted more, including myself. It didn't need to be eradicated, it needed to be expanded. 

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All of this led to spawning the idea of LADY. Dallas had this abundance of queer women, but it needed something more than a monthly happy hour. Not only that, but the community needed diversity in the kind of events to attend. A friend of mine and I sat down and thought out our approach to what we wanted to do and how we wanted to introduce ourselves. We decided we wanted to expand outside of just the gayborhood, branch off and activate different parts of the city, provide more opportunities. 

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Our launch event was a Sunday afternoon party on the Sundown at Granada rooftop patio. We had artists displaying their work, a tarot card reader, a jewelry maker, a private bar, giveaways all afternoon, and activities in every corner. The first event was a massive success! We had over 100 attendees, a plethora of new faces, and only the most glowing feedback. From our launch, we continued to grow as a community and the events we were hosting such as:​

• A reoccurring monthly trivia of The L Word at the iconic Dallas lesbian bar, Sue Ellen's

• Taco Tuesdays at a local taco joint

• Yappy Hour at Mutts Canine Cantina for attendees to bring their pups and mingle at the hybrid dog park/bar/restaurant 

• An Art Chat in conjunction with the Nasher Sculpture Museum leading a tour of the Elmgreen & Dragset installation

• The U-Haul the Ball GayKickball team

• SWEAT, a workout series launched with kickboxing at a Dallas studio 

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These are just a few events, and I am so in awe, with all that the group has become. It started as an idea and grew to be a collective for all people to come together. While I am no longer a part of LADY, it continues to thrive and grow in good hands back in Dallas with a new direction and rebrand - Local Queer Collective.