For some, Women’s History Month celebrations may look like panel discussions, brunches or polished networking events. For Masc Gent Bosses (also referred to as MGB), the month is still about celebration, but in a way that feels more honest to who they are: healing-centered conversations, community service, nightlife, vulnerability, sensuality, and chosen family.

And that difference is exactly the point.

In today’s Dallas – and despite efforts from Texan politicians – culture is always evolving but safe spaces can still feel limited for many LGBTQ residents, MGB is building something that members say is much more than a social group. It is a community rooted in healing, mutual support and affirmation for masculine-presenting women — many of them Black, queer and carrying stories that have too often been misunderstood, judged or left out of mainstream conversations about womanhood.

Founded in December 2024 by Coach Dee, Masc Gent Bosses emerged from a clear need: a space where masculine-presenting women could gather without the pressure of performance, competition or explanation.

“We didn’t just need a network,” Coach Dee said. “We needed a safe space. A space to unite, to heal together, and to create change.”

That vision has quickly grown into something layered and intentional. Their Women’s History Month programming alone reflected the breadth of that mission. Rather than centering one type of experience, MGBs curated a full weekend that moved across multiple dimensions of life: pleasure, healing, service, conversation, leadership and visibility.

One flyer promoted “Two Grown & Sexy Events in One Hot MGB Weekend,” featuring a Friday night “Love Jones: Grown & Sexy R&B Experience” at Sue Ellen’s and a Saturday night “An Erotic Dungeon Experience” at Hush Events. Another highlighted “Softening the Armor: An Intimate Masc & Fem Healing Conversation,” a free daytime gathering created as a space to “slow down, soften, and reconnect beyond roles, expectations and defense.” Sponsored in part by ViiV Healthcare and the Resource Center, that event underscored the group’s commitment to emotional safety and deeper dialogue.

The contrast between the events is part of what makes the collective stand out. Masc Gent Bosses is not asking masculine-presenting women to fit into a narrow social script. Instead, the group is making room for the full spectrum of who they are: soft and strong, guarded and growing, sexy and spiritual, stylish and service-minded.

That same multidimensionality extends beyond celebration spaces into the group’s community outreach. MGB Feeds the Streets, their philanthropic arm, focuses on collecting donations, preparing care lunches and mobilizing volunteers to support unhoused neighbors across Dallas. The initiative has called for essentials such as sandwich supplies, fruit, bottled water and snacks. In a short amount of time, the group has rallied strong community support, encouraging volunteers to get involved through direct outreach and text-based coordination.

According to Coach Dee, the collective initially set a goal of preparing 100 care lunches, but that effort quickly grew to nearly 250—demonstrating not only the level of need in the community, but Masc Gent Bosses’ commitment to rising to meet it.

For members, that work is not separate from the mission. It is central to it.

“We understand what it feels like to be underserved and underrepresented… So, no matter what we do, giving back is always going to be a part of the mission.” – Coach Dee

That emphasis on service adds another layer to how Masc Gent Bosses is redefining Women’s History Month. Their presence is not just about being seen. It is also about showing up — for one another and for the broader community.

For many in the group, that sense of belonging did not come easily.

Shay Wilson, also known as Ndless Summer, said Masc Gent Bosses offers a kind of support she had not seen before.

“I see a lot of unity that hasn’t been seen before. Support and safety.”

She said many masculine-presenting people grow up with the assumption that community with one another will be difficult, tense or competitive. MGB, she said, pushes against that dynamic.

“We’ve all probably experienced that feeling,” Wilson said. “That sense of competition or uneasiness when we’re in rooms with each other. But this is the opposite of that.”

For Joanne Castillo, a Bay Area native, military veteran and owner of Infallible Fit, the journey into Masc Gent Bosses came after years of suppression and isolation. She described having to dress more femininely during her early years in the military under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, fearful that being herself could cost her everything.

“It was a very lonely journey,” Castillo said. “Since joining MGB, it’s been a very safe space. It’s all about unity, building self-love, and building together.”

Even returning home to California, a place often assumed to be more affirming, did not deliver the sense of unity she had hoped for. Joining Masc Gent Bosses changed that, she said, even before meeting many members in person.

“I’ve been more of myself and more unapologetic since being part of MGB.” – Joanne Castillo

Aisha Yates, a 20-year Army veteran, mother and real estate developer from Starkville, Mississippi, said joining the group came at a critical point in her own growth.

“I felt like it was the next level that I needed in my healing journey,” Yates said. “The acceptance is there. The safety is there. It’s been exactly what I needed.”

Yates also connects her professional work in development to the group’s long-term vision.

“Everything that lasts is built from a strong foundation,” she said. “That’s one of the key ingredients of this mission.”

That language — foundation, structure, sustainability — reflects the way MGB talks about itself. The group is not simply gathering for visibility. It is building infrastructure for people who often have had to make their own way without models, resources or affirming spaces.

There is no single look, background or story that defines the members of Masc Gent Bosses. Some are veterans. Some are entrepreneurs. Some are creatives. Some are parents. Some come from Texas. Others come from California, Mississippi, New York and beyond. Some have always moved through the world visibly masculine. Others arrived there after years of suppression, confusion or trying to conform to what family, religion or society expected of them.

That range is part of the organization’s strength.

In both conversation and imagery, MGB presents masculine-presenting women not as a monolith, but as a broad and varied community with different aesthetics, emotional journeys and ways of moving through the world. The promotions for their Women’s History Month celbrations reflect that too: some members appear in polished black looks and sunglasses, others in casual service gear while volunteering. In one setting, the focus is intimacy and conversation. In another, music and nightlife. In another, direct service. Together, the images tell a larger story — that masculine-presenting women live full, nuanced lives that deserve room for care, joy, leadership, style, sexiness and softness.

For Coach Dee, that broad embrace is intentional, especially in a city like Dallas.

“We have a very prevalent LGBTQ community, especially in our Black community, but we’re still so divided. What Dallas needs is healing. It needs unity.” – Coach Dee

That healing is what MGBs says it is trying to model through every initiative, whether that means a service project, a sober event, a healing-centered conversation or a night designed around sensual freedom and consent.

During Women’s History Month, that matters. Too often, public conversations about women’s empowerment still center hetero-normative ideas of femininity, visibility and worth. MGB is pushing that frame wider. The group is insisting that masculine-presenting women belong in that story too — not as an aside, not as a footnote, but as women whose experiences with identity, softness, stigma, resilience and love are worthy of being seen in full.

What Masc Gent Bosses is creating may not look like everyone else’s Women’s History Month celebration.

But for the people inside it, that is exactly why it matters.

Because what they are building is not just an event calendar.
It is not just a brand.
And it is not just a network.

It is a space where masculine-presenting women can show up whole.

And for many, that feels like family.

The post On Their Own Terms: MGB Expands What Women’s History Month Looks Like appeared first on Dallas Weekly.