Pop-punk up-and-comer and fashionista Eryn Woods will be bringing her brand of color and style to this year’s Toledo Pride event.

The Shreveport, Louisiana native has been in music almost all her life, beginning to learn the singing craft at through vocal lessons and musical theater.

“My family was really involved,” Woods said.  “I was singing when I was three or four years-old.”

After high school, Woods moved to New York, where she took jobs as a background singer and assisted with other performers.  During this time, she met a music producer from Atlanta, ARC, and moved to his city to embark on a solo career.

Since then, she has released an album, “Holl.E.Woods,” and released several videos and singles, which have been featured on MTV and VH1.

Woods describes her music as “pop-punk,” a product of her personal interests and abilities.

“I have a more bubbly pop sound with my vocals, but the music around me is more edgy and hard.”

Woods cites many influences, including Cyndi Lauper, Missing Persons, and Pat Benetar, as well as pop influences like Madonna and Gwen Stefani.

“No Doubt was a really big influence on what my music sounds like today.”

Woods is extremely open and involved with her fan base, whom she refers to as “Kupcakes.”

Her desire to interact with people, especially those who may feel like outsiders, fuels her ambition to make appearances at Pride events all over the country.

“This is going to be like my tenth or eleventh Pride event.”

“It’s really important to me, because of course, I really don’t look normal.  What I stand for is all about individuality and being yourself, and loving you for who God made you to be.  It’s ok to be who you are, and people will accept you for who you are, you just have to accept yourself first.”

Woods also is an advocate for the anti-bullying movement, and regularly makes appearances to spread the message.

“I’ve been to a lot of high schools and middle schools, and visited young people, had lunch with them, to chat with them.”

“One girl that I met felt like she was an outcast at her elementary school, which is really crazy, because back in the day at elementary school, I never really thought about things like that.”

Woods, who is known for her bright, colorful clothing and Mohawk hairdo, understands what it is like to look different than what is considered “normal,” and wants to let others know that uniqueness is not something to be ashamed of.

“There have been so many deaths and suicides because of bullying.  It’s really important to be able to go and visit these young kids and let them know that if they look different or their family isn’t rich, there’s still a place for them in this world.”

In fact, Woods has turned her unique fashion sense into a new branch of her career path, often taking modeling jobs and promoting clothing companies.

“I’m trying to make myself more into a brand, and not just a singer.  I have so many goals for myself, it’s crazy.”

Also among those goals is a desire to take her act around the globe.

“I want to do a world tour.  I have so many fans from outside the US who are asking me when I can come to their country.”

Wherever life takes her, Woods said she will continue to follow her heart.

“[My style] has always just been ‘me.’   No one’s ever told me to dress like this or act like this, it’s just always been how I feel and what makes me happy.”

For most of us, the name we are born with is the name that follows us through our lives, from middle-school roll call to newspaper obituaries and everything in between.

But what if you’re transgender? Queer? Gender non-conforming?

Changing your name can be an emotional experience crippled by legal and familial hurdles. And choosing what name works for the rest of your life is scary; what would your name be if you could change it right now?

Nathaniel Allen Anderson is a bartender in Columbus’s Short North who was born in Lima and raised in De Graff.

His sardonic wit makes him perfect at his job, but being a bartender means he comes out as trans almost every day. Even in such a social environment, Anderson tries to avoid revealing too much.

“Unless they are trans, I don’t share that right away, because they may pry and ask inappropriate questions,” he said.

Growing up, Anderson’s little sister called him “Nat” and the nickname stuck, so Nathaniel just seemed like a logical choice for him. His middle name? For Allen County, where he was born. Anderson started hormones and started going as Nathaniel simultaneously.

“Since I was going to start exhibiting signs of not being female, I wanted it to be official.”

As for changing his driver’s license, things were a little more complicated. “In Ohio, you can’t change the gender on your birth certificate ever,” he said. “And if I want to change the gender marker on my license, a doctor needs to sign off on the change. I don’t have insurance, so right now my license says “Nathanial Allen Anderson, F” [for female].

Ohio, Idaho and Tennessee are the three remaining states that don’t allow people to change their birth certificate. But many states have strict rules about the types of surgeries or hormones a trans person must trans person must go through before changing the gender on an identification document.

Changing names on a license is simple – it’s the same form married couples use to change their last names – but the letters M and F cause serious setbacks. The ID issue affected Anderson when he applied for jobs.

“I had job interviews at the beginning of my transition, and it was difficult,” he said. “I would go in for a second interview. They would sound hopeful. I would hand them my ID, and I would never hear back.”

The issue of conflicting IDs affecting employment is common. The National Center for Transgender Equality reports rampant trans discrimination even in places like San Francisco. If more than 50 percent of transgender people there feel they have been discriminated against, what about Ohio, where state laws barring job discrimination cover neither gender identity nor sexual orientation?

Anderson is remarkably nonchalant about his name and really doesn’t mind the nickname “Nat” because he has been called “Nat” since he was a kid.

“As long as you respect me for who I am and respect me as male, then it’s fine,” he said.

Not everyone in the trans community chooses a name when starting hormones; the process is very personal and unique to the individual. Silas Hansen, a writer and graduate student at Ohio State University in Columbus, changed his name first and then started hormones eight months later.

“I didn’t want to start living as male without changing my name or change my name eight times, so I wanted to figure out my name first,” he said.

The name he chose is a Danish name. “I found Silas on a list of names that are popular in Denmark. I’m Danish, and that’s a part of my identity I really connect with.”

Hansen reached out to his friends when he settled on “Silas.” When that went smoothly, he told his family. He’s from a small town in Western New York, and his name change went surprisingly smoothly.

“My 90-year-old grandma is, ironically enough, the only one who doesn’t mess up my pronouns,” he said.

Hansen says his identity is now intertwined with his name.

“It was weird at first, because I’ve never been called this before. But eventually, it made me feel right and I was really confident about the choice I made,” he said. “I identify very strongly on the gender binary, but when I started off I didn’t. It’s been a step-by-step process, and I’m trying to figure out where the end point is for me.”

But what about those who identify as genderqueer or gender non-conforming? If they don’t want to change the M or F on their driver’s licenses, how does that affect their lives?

Many who identify as trans do not undergo hormone treatment or surgery. Studies show more than 80 percent of self-identified trans women and 98 percent of self-identified trans men do not undergo gender-confirmation surgery. It makes state laws that require documentation of hormone treatments and surgery seem antiquated when it comes to addressing the needs of the growing genderqueer community.

As for whether hormones and surgery are necessary, “ask 1,000 people, get 1,000 opinions,” said Shane Morgan, executive director of TransOhio, the statewide organization for transgender people.

“Not all trans-identified people take hormones or pursue any sort of medical transition. So saying to somebody, ‘Wait until you’re on hormones’ or, ‘Wait until you have surgery’ promotes exactly what we’re trying to get away from as a community,” Morgan said.

Eileen Galvin works at the Columbus College of Art & Design and is a burlesque performer with Crimson Lace Cabaret, a Columbus troupe. For her, gender roles are arbitrary. She has not changed any identification documents but lives the majority of her life under the name Eileen.

“In a perfect world, I would be a pansexual genderqueer, two-spirited being,” she said. “But that’s not the world we live in.”

She chose her name from a video game she really liked.

“The name sounded vintage and Irish and I loved it. I’m a little bit Irish so it was perfect.”

Coming out to her family has been difficult because Galvin wasn’t transitioning from one stereotypical gender to the other, like male to female. She was coming out as genderqueer, which is an identity outside the binary. However, Galvin’s attitude is remarkably positive.

“The last family trip I took was to a place that wasn’t very open minded,” she said. “So I called my sister beforehand and said, ‘I’m having a dilemma. I’m going to see the family, and I only want to pack girl clothes.’ And she replied, ‘Isn’t that what you do normally?’ In some situations I see myself as exclusively female, sometimes androgynous and sometimes more masculine.”

“It’s tough to explain to family.”

For that family trip, Eileen packed all girl clothes, and her family tried their best to be accepting.

“You can’t always expect that your family will understand you 100 percent,” she said. “But the conversation is happening, and that’s a step in the right direction. God, I would love for them to throw a ‘she’ in there once and a while! It would mean so much to me.”

She’d love to hear them call her ‘Eileen’ as well. A name, while it seems arbitrary, holds immense meaning for those who change it.

Outlook Ohio magazine is Ohio’s LGBT monthly magazine, available across the state including in Toledo and Bowling Green. Find out where to pick up a copy or read Outlook online at www.outlookohio.com.

Shannon Frye was a member of Rainbow Area Youth (RAY) before becoming its executive director.

“I understood that what I was feeling was something that the people that I grew up with would not understand,” Frye said. “I began to feel very set apart and very different from my friends and family and had nowhere to go.”

Frye said she was fortunate to have a supportive family, but there are some things they couldn’t prepare her for.

Frye was referred to RAY founder Brenda Spurlin to talk. RAY serves as a place for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) youth to go to for advice and support.

“I think I called her about five times before I was able to actually start talking,” Frye said. “She was very patient, as were all the other volunteers when I first started going to RAY.”

As Frye tells kids today, after her first visit she didn’t return to RAY for another two years.

“Once I was ready to start talking, the thing I found was that I had a second family,” she said.

RAY was formed in 1997 by Spurlin, a mother of a gay child, who met two gay men at a Toledo PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meeting. Spurlin was seeking to be more supportive of her son when she realized there weren’t many options for LGBTQ children, Frye said.

Since its formation, the group has served more than 1,500 kids age 13 to 19. The youth who participate are assured confidentiality.

“The nature of the group is about creating a safe space – a place for kids to come to feel not only physically safe, but emotionally safe from whatever’s happening in their life,” Frye said.

Coming out

Frye said it is not always sound advice to tell a kid to come out.

“We live in a world that is ripe with prejudice,” she said. “It’s not always in the kid’s best interested to come out.”

Frye said a child being evicted from his or her home is the first concern. Leaders also do not advise kids to come out if they live in a highly homophobic area.

“Their safety and well-being is our main concern,” Frye said. “Pursuing that goal above others, we understand that some of our kids cannot come out at certain times, even at times they’re coming to RAY.”

Above all, Frye said the group wants to get kids more comfortable being themselves before they make the decision to come out.

“Kids are not just coming out to family, [they’re] coming out to friends, coming out to employers, coming out to all different kinds of people all the time,” Frye said. “We hope that they become more comfortable with talking to more people openly about it … but we don’t consider it a tragedy if they don’t come out.”

Frye said the group tries to prevent kids from claiming an identity before they are sure who they are.

“The first thing we tell the kids is who you are at 15 is not necessarily who you are at 25,” Frye said. “We want them to have a safe place to explore themselves.”

Former member Tianna Jones said she would recommend the group.

“When I first heard of RAY, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Jones said. “But when I went there, it was very open. Everyone was very welcoming.”

Jones attended RAY when she was 15, a couple months after she came out.

“At first it was kind of something to do,” Jones said. “But being there really helped me discover more about myself.”

Jones said RAY taught her things she will take with her for the rest of her life.

“The biggest thing I learned from RAY is having an open mind about culture and about people who are different from you,” she said.

Jones said judgment is still found within the LGBTQ community.

“It really doesn’t matter; it just matters the type of person you are,” she said. “[RAY] has been a tremendous help … in helping keep an open mind and just accepting people as they are as a person. You never know what someone’s going through.”

Teens interested in attending meetings or adults interested in volunteering can contact RAY at (419) 742-2362 or [email protected]. The only prerequisites for volunteers is to submit to a background check and to be able to listen without judgment.

For more information, visit www.raytoledo.org.

Aug. 22:
– 8:30 p.m.: Nite Glo 5K ($18-$23 in advance/$30 day of) and one-mile
fun run/walk/roll ($15 in advance, $20 day of) at University of Toledo Centennial
Mall, registration starts at 7 p.m.
– 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.: KISS ‘N’ Drag kickoff party sponsored by 92.5 KISS
FM, at Promenade Park, featuring DJ 3 PM and drag shows. Admission $8, or
$5 with a canned food item to benefit Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank.

Aug. 23:
– Noon: Parade starts on Washington Street at the intersection of Ontario
Street, crosses the Owens Corning bridge at North Summit Street and
finishes at Promenade Park. Entrance to Toledo Pride is $5 for adults, $7
after 7 p.m. and free for children younger than 18.
– 12:45 p.m.: Breaking Ground
– 1:55 p.m.: Drag performances: Gina Arnaz, Porsha Armani
– 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.: Sandpiper boat rides, 40 minutes each,
dock on the Jefferson Street side of Promenade Park, $6 or two for $10.
– 2:20 p.m.: Kids with Knives
– 3:35 p.m.: Dumb Easies
– 4:50 p.m.: Bird’s Eye View Circus Space contemporary circus acts
– 5 p.m.: Drag show: Muffy Fishbasket
– 5:20 p.m.: Chavar Dontae
– 5:55 p.m.: Drag show: Santana Romero, Makayla Sinclair Styles, Tequila
Mockingbird, Feliciana Thunderpussy, Muffy Fishbasket
– 6:25 p.m.: Bird’s Eye View Circus Space contemporary circus acts
– 6:45 p.m.: Flabongo Nation
– 8:10 p.m.: Arctic Clam
– 9:30 p.m.: Eryn Woods
– 9:55 p.m.: Drag show: Ava Aurora Foxx & Brook Lockhart, Amaya
Sexton, Amber Stone
– 10:20 p.m.: Rye Rye
– 10:45 p.m.: Drag show: Deja D. Dellataro, Bois with Outskirts
– 11 p.m.: Pastele
– 11:25 p.m.: Drag show: T-Town Tassels, London Asia, Amaya Sexton, Farrah CT

Aug. 24:
– Noon to 3 p.m.: Free Sunday Funday at Promenade Park featuring family-
friendly activities for kids.
– 3-10 p.m.: Sunday Funday continued at Promenade Park, featuring food,
drinks and entertainment, including Steel Wynd, Calvin Green, Johnnie Mae,
Tiffany Covington, Sam Tolson, Joe Woods, The Blood Sisters featuring Barbara
Payton and Midnight Flowers interspaced with drag performances, magic
performances and performances by Bird’s Eye View Circus Space. $3 for adults,
free for children younger than 18.

See www.toledopride.com for full schedule.

All times and events subject to change.

When Pastele Pasquelina performs as one of the three headliners at Toledo Pride, it will be her first time in Ohio.

The idea to perform at the festival came from her friend from Cleveland who knew the other headliners, Rye Rye and Eryn Woods. A tour snowballed from there and the three artists are also performing together at Pride in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Pasquelina jumped at the chance to perform for the gay community, who she feels close to after growing up taking dance and art classes. She said she always had gay friends and frequently goes to gay clubs.

“The whole community is so inspiring,” she said. “Everybody should be treated equally and nobody’s different.”

The idea that “nobody’s different” inspired Pasquelina’s song “Psycho,” which celebrates originality. Pasquelina wrote the song after a transgender friend committed suicide.

“He just felt like he didn’t fit in,” Pasquelina said. “It really moved me. That’s the motivation for the song, that it’s OK to be weird and crazy and different. Embrace it.”

The song is a staple for the current tour.

Pasquelina comes from a musical family; her mother was a pianist and Pasquelina learned guitar at an early age.

“My house is like a ‘Glee’ episode,” she said. “One person starts singing, one person starts doing the harmony and it turns into a dance party.”

By the time she was 16, her songs were included in the MTV shows “The Hills,” “The City” and “Jersey Shore,” according to toledopride.com.

Pasquelina calls her style of music “hipster pop,” and blurs the lines of mainstream and indie. Her influences include No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars.

She began cultivating her style during her days at a fashion institute.

“Going in and out of Brooklyn and the Village [was like] having this whole cultural experience, meeting all these people who weren’t from the U.S.,” she said. “It kind of stemmed in my music a little bit. I was in a development stage, really trying to focus on my sound. I realized how cultured it became.”

Pasquelina said she likes to make uplifting, inspiring music and added there’s a void of that on Top 40 radio right now.

“I think the group MAGIC!, who did the song ‘Rude,’ kind of are touching upon it. Their songs are really positive on their album,” Pasquelina said. “But I think there is still a void in the industry for really positive [music.] People think that to be artistic you have to make it dark but I think you can shine a light on something that’s artsy and fun.”

Pasquelina’s goals for the future are to do just that: Be on the radio, inspire people and make friends.

Pasquelina will perform at 11 p.m. Aug. 23 at Toledo Pride, which is celebrating its fifth year. For more information or the schedule of events, visit toledopride.com.

For many, the Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla is among the most anticipated events of the year, organizers say, offering an opportunity to raise money for local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) causes while enjoying a fun, fancy evening out.

Taglined “the premier social event for LGBT community and friends,” the 37th annual event will take place Dec. 7 at The Toledo Club, 235 14th St. Tickets are $75.

“Holiday with Heart is the only formal affair for the local LGBT community and I feel that sets us apart from any others,” Rick Cornett, a member of the group’s board of directors, wrote in an email to Toledo Free Press. “It is nice to get all glammed up and go to The Toledo Club to help raise funds for great causes. I feel it is a perfect way to jumpstart the holiday season in style and meet new people while doing so. We are very proud that we are the oldest and longest lasting LGBT fundraiser in the entire state of Ohio now.”

Attendees can expect an elegant evening with a served dinner, dancing, DJ Richie, live entertainment, a photobooth from Grand Lubell Photography, a silent auction and plenty of networking and socializing opportunities, said Cornett, who has attended the event since 1991.

“Tickets go fast and we highly suggest you get your reservations in early to assure you get seated with your group,” he said. “We’ve sold out for the past five years and The Toledo Club maxes out at 300 guests.”

Among this year’s beneficiaries are Why Marriage Matters Ohio.

“We are very excited to be helping them for the first time,” Cornett said. “They are making great strides to help legalize gay marriage in Ohio and we want to help them achieve this last major hurdle in the gay rights movement for equality for all LGBT people.”

Another first-time beneficiary is Mpowerment, a Toledo social group for gay, bisexual and transgender men ages 18-29 as well as resource for HIV prevention education. The remaining funds raised will go to the Holiday with Heart fund at the Toledo Community Foundation.

The fund was established in 2011 in memory of Gayla co-founder Dick Flock. So far, more than $27,000 has been raised. Once the goal of $100,000 is met, the fund will be used to support local LGBT causes year-round, Cornett said.

“We encourage anyone that can’t attend the Gayla to make a donation toward this fund and remember us in your estate planning, or make a donation in honor of a loved one who has passed,” Cornett said.

Many straight allies also attend the Gayla, committee member Billy Mann said.

“It’s a very welcoming atmosphere and a good blend of allies who aren’t necessarily LGBT, such as friends, family, business professionals,” he said. “It’s a really good mix of people.”

Mann said he looks forward to dressing up and having fun while knowing he’s making a difference by giving back to local charities.

“We in the gay community love going out to nightclubs and there’s a great dance scene in Toledo, but we so rarely get to slow dance with a partner and be one-on-one with them. The Gayla is a nice formal setting for that,” Mann said. “There’s really no other event like it. It really kicks off the holiday party season.”Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor of the Gayla.

For more information, visit hwhcharitygayla.org.

A new Toledo tradition will again unite with an established city favorite at this year’s Toledo Pride.

For the second year in a row the Sandpiper will offer rides during Toledo Pride weekend.

“It’s such an honor to be asked to participate during Pride Week,” said Mary Dalby, owner of the Sandpiper. “Last year went really well and everyone had such a fun time.”

The Sandpiper has offered boat rides to the public down the Maumee River for 30 years. People from all over the region can rent the boat for a variety of occasions or buy tickets to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

These are just a few reasons that Toledo Pride organizers wanted to get The Sandpiper on board.

Toledo Pride Event Director Lexi Staples said she’s been wanting to get the local cruise boat involved with Toledo Pride since 2011, the first year the event was held Downtown at Promenade Park.

“We noticed that the Sandpiper was close by and we really wanted them to get involved,” Staples said. “People really enjoyed themselves and seemed to be excited about it.”

Staples said about 60 seats per ride were filled last year and this year they are looking to fill more.

“The Sandpiper can fit up to 240 seats and we are hoping to fill every seat for every ride,” she said.

Staples is also hoping to add a twist on a few of the rides.

“This year we are in the works of having a drag queen on a few of the rides,” she said. “We are really excited.”

Four rides will be offered hourly from 2-5 p.m. Aug. 23. Each ride will be about 40 minutes long. Familyfriendly rides will be offered in the earlier time slots. Entrance for the Sandpiper is located on the Jefferson Street side of Promenade Park.

Tickets are $6 each or two tickets for $10. Children age 3 and younger are free. Riders are able to reserve seats in advance by visiting www.sandpiperboat.com or calling the office at (419) 537-1212.