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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 49 • No. 32 • August 8-14, 2019
Drag queens seek fair pay by Matthew S. Bajko
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hat is a drag performer or performance worth? The question is at the heart of a movement, still in its infancy, to set a minimum booking fee for drag queens and kings in the Bay Area. In June, San Francisco-based drag queen Alexis Atauri posted a petition to the website www.coworker.org calling on the region’s bars, clubs, and other employers of drag entertainment to pay performers “at least” $40 for a two-hour show with a maximum of two numbers. If the drag performer’s pay is based on tips, then the petition calls on venue owners to make up the difference if the person falls short of $40 from the audience. “We want a fair return on our labor,” wrote Atauri. “This is no different from dancers, makeup artists, hair stylists, and other artists. We want employers to take us just as seriously when requesting our services so that we can establish and sustain good working relationships, and quality performances for customers to keep coming back.” The petition had garnered 1,991 signatures as of August 6, just shy of its 2,000 goal. It is the first step toward creating a nonprofit organiza-
Jane Philomen Cleland
Governor Gavin Newsom
Newsom signs sex worker protection law by Meg Elison
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overnor Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation to protect sex workers from arrest for misdemeanor sex work-related crimes after they report a serious and violent felony, such as robbery or assault. The bill also includes a provision that the possession of condoms cannot be used as evidence of sex work. This law will take effect January 1. Authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Senate Bill 233, which was signed July 30, provides an unprecedented level of health and safety protections for sex workers, and is the first law with these specific protections in the nation. Current law allows sex workers who come forward to report crimes committed against them to be arrested for prostitution. This complication makes reporting violent crimes too risky for most sex workers, and can heighten public health risk as a result. The health issues are particularly true if condoms can be treated as evidence of sex work, which induces sex workers to carry few or none at all. Sex workers have a heightened risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections such as HIV. Current laws that allow condoms to be treated as evidence of a crime create an environment wherein sex workers are even more at risk and less able to protect themselves, advocates said. In a phone interview, Wiener said he was pleased to have made this kind of progress through agreement in the Legislature. “We got overwhelming support in both houses, including a number of Republicans,” he said. “I’m just thrilled my colleagues immediately saw it as a common-sense measure.” Wiener also pointed out that everyone should be able to report a crime committed against them. “We’ve tried to make a safe space for sex workers that they can feel comfortable and confident to report a violent crime without getting arrested themselves,” he said. Ultimately, Wiener said, this bill was a step toward the decriminalization of sex work itself, and the eradication of the trafficking that thrives in the secrecy that policies like condoms-as-evidence have helped maintain. See page 10 >>
Rick Gerharter
Drag queen Alexis Atauri performed at the monthly Fruit Factory club night at the Midnight Sun August 4.
tion that can provide resources to the local drag community, Atauri explained in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “The big reason why I landed at this petition is I have had wonderful experiences working with all these professional, hardworking artists but was heartbroken our labor is not adequately dignified with correct compensation,” said Atauri, 31, who is transgender and nonbinary.
Since they started performing in drag in 2016, Atauri has seen a broad disparity in the compensation they have been offered, from zero dollars to $60 for performing at a bar to as much as $500 for one number at an event. “The pay scale is all over the place; it depends on the bar and producer of the show,” said Atauri, who asked that their given name See page 12 >>
SF DA debates get personal by Meg Elison
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n the first open district attorney race in San Francisco in 110 years, four candidates made their pitches to voters at two recent debates. Not surprisingly, the candidates largely agree on most issues. Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin, Deputy State Attorney General Leif Dautch, former prosecutor and San Francisco Police Commission president Suzy Loftus, and former Deputy State Attorney General Nancy Tung immediately got into the business of trying to outshine one another. The Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance co-sponsored the first debate last month at the African American Art and Culture Complex. The candidates met again August 6 at UC Hastings College of the Law in a forum that was co-sponsored by several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Indivisible SF. Both debates drew standing-room only crowds. With each of the contenders hoping to fill the seat of departing District Attorney George Gascón, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election, the tenor of discussion was at times tense. At Tuesday’s debate, Tung was the only candidate who disagreed with the Board of Supervisors vote in June to close San Francisco’s juvenile hall, comparing that to “eating cotton candy for breakfast.” She pointed out that eliminating, rather than reducing, the footprint of juvenile detention
Rick Gerharter
San Francisco district attorney candidate Chesa Boudin, second from left, speaks at a forum Tuesday at UC Hastings College of the Law. Other candidates, from left, are Suzy Loftus, Nancy Tung, and Leif Dautch.
means that violent juvenile offenders will just be shipped out to another city. She received dozens of thumbs-down from the audience. In a similarly unpopular moment, Dautch called the idea of releasing people from prison en masse “reckless,” and suggested a more thoughtful approach based on recent changes in the juvenile justice system; by addressing root causes of criminal behavior and adjusting services toward rehabilitation and mental health reforms. Loftus, who currently serves as legal counsel for
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San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, was strong on the issue of police oversight, leaning in on her reputation for having terminated more individual officers than any other police commission president before her, as well as insisting on body cameras for all cops in this city, and bringing reforms to the department’s use-of-force policies. Loftus promised transparency in investigations of the police themselves if she wins the election, pointing to her track record. See page 12 >>
Reach 120,000 active, educated, and affluent arts-enthusiasts who read the Bay Area Reporter, as we herald and celebrate the the arrival of the highly-anticipated Fall Arts Season. On August 29 and September 5, we’ll present our annual two-part Fall Arts Preview issues. From the museums and galleries, to local theatre, performances, television, film, along with dance, music, books -- our fall arts preview editions present the most comprehensive coverage of the arts scene in the world-class city we’ve called home since 1971. 9
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