DLD| T. Hammidi |Ep 63

The first time T. came to the Mojave was for a performance boot camp and now T. combines their love of performance with education, producing artistic, informative events like 'Queer Salon, Joshua Tree', which is a combination potluck, art salon and discussion event for LGBTQIAA+ folks in the Mojave. Known to some Joshua Tree locals as the 'Date Lady', T. graciously accepts the moniker, as the person who has become known for selling dates at the Saturday Joshua Tree Farmer's Market. Even though T. identifies more butch and queer than lady. If, like me, you're confused about handling gender identity in a way that respects a persons being, in this episode T. offers some thoughts and resources, like The Center Palm Springs for learning how one can be a good ally. Picking up a pair of cool boots at a thrift store, T. didn't realize they would take them to a six year career as a Fire Fighter, helping to fund further education, resulting in a Ph. D. in Critical Dance Studies from UC Riverside and an M.S. in Community Development from UC Davis. T.'s dissertation, 'Dress, Dance, Desire: Statecraft and the Dressed, Dancing Body', focused on masculinities and the roles of costume in contemporary queer/drag performance. Being of Lebanese descent, T. feels their attraction and interest in dates is no accident and has found the business of dates bringing them closer to their Arabic roots. We also talk about the difficulties and challenges of caring for a family member with schizophrenia. T. is producing a Haunted Art House, Saturday, November 3 (2018) from 5-10 p.m. - click here for location and more info. https://queerture.wordpress.com https://www.instagram.com/dapperdates246 Photo Credit: Blanca Munoz