Local transgender residents who have personal collections of historical items about their community are invited to a workshop San Francisco Public Library staff are hosting to learn how to best protect their individual archives. Those interested in beginning to preserve their own materials are also welcome to attend and will be sent home with an archival starter kit.
Purposefully scheduled to occur during Transgender History Month, the August 17 workshop is the first devoted to transgender community archivists that the library has sponsored. More than 40 people have already expressed interest in attending.
“The program is to support community archivists, to reach out to communities, and let them know that their stories and their memories are important and need to be preserved,” said Katherine Ets-Hokin, a straight ally who is a librarian archivist with the library’s San Francisco History Center. “And to empower people to control their own narratives. Maybe narrative isn’t the right word, to control their own legacy. When researchers write books, they use primary sources and archives are a primary resource.”
This is the second such gathering archival staff with the city’s library have hosted this year that focuses specifically on LGBTQ home archivists. The first, in January, was held for members of the local queer Black community.
Video artist and filmmaker Texas Starr, a trans guy who chairs the advisory board for the library’s James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, will be among those speaking at Saturday’s workshop. It will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Hormel Center’s reading room on the third floor of the Main Library in the city’s Civic Center.
“This is fantastic,” Starr said. “This is really incredible for our community to get to be able to learn the tools that we need to preserve our history.”
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Golden State queer Dems among those gathering in Chicago for DNC
by John Ferrannini
Sal Rosselli is no stranger to the Democratic National Convention. The gay labor leader has been to “almost all of them” since 1984, the last time the confab was in the City by the Bay.
“In 1984, I happened to be president of the Alice B. Toklas club and we had 18 delegates to the convention,” Rosselli said in a phone interview, referring to the more moderate of the city’s two LGBTQ Democratic clubs. “At that time, to be a delegate you had to run congressional districtwide on the ballot and all Democrats were eligible to vote. It was a real campaign! You had to be elected by all the Democrats in the city.”
That year’s DNC was trailblazing in its own right – it was the first time a woman, the late Congressmember Geraldine Ferraro (New York), was chosen as the running mate on a presidential ticket. A woman wouldn’t win the vice presidency until 2020 when Kamala Harris, who started her political career as San Francisco district attorney, was victorious with President Joe Biden.
Rosselli used that 1984 convention to draw national attention to the AIDS epidemic. President Ronald Reagan, whose reelection led the GOP to a landslide victory that year, had still not acknowledged it, despite the disease having already killed thousands of Americans.
“We did distribute a tabloid to 30,000 people over the four days focusing on the AIDS crisis back then and got national press,” Rosselli said in a phone interview. “CNN did interviews. We did a march on the convention floor.”
Now 74, Rosselli is showing up to Chicago next week to support Harris on another trailblaz-
by John Ferrannini
S2017 Media Kit 0 a
an Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie sounded off about the long-shuttered Castro
Pottery Barn and the eponymous theater and the recent fire next door to it as he made his pitch to voters at an LGBTQ nightclub August 12.
Lurie also answered the Bay Area Reporter’s questions about how he’d make appointments, his thoughts on ongoing homeless encampment sweeps, and his path to victory.
ing ticket, as the sitting vice president-turnedpresidential nominee and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, take on the Republicans, former president Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance (Ohio).
See page 8 >>
SF mayor candidate Lurie talks Castro at LGBTQ meet-and-greet
The Los Angeles Blade covers Los Angeles and California news, politics, opinion, arts and entertainment and features national and international coverage from the Blade’s award-winning reporting team. Be part of this exciting publication serving LGBT Los Angeles from the team behind the Washington Blade, the nation’s first LGBT newspaper. From the freeway to the Beltway we’ve got you covered.
Lurie appeared for an LGBTQ meet-and-greet at the newly-renovated Beaux on Market Street, attended by about 60 people. Among the five major candidates, Lurie is currently running third in the race, according to a San Francisco Chronicle poll, at 17% in the first round of ranked-choice voting. An heir to the Levi’s fortune who later became founder and CEO of the nonprofit Tipping Point Community, Lurie was running behind incumbent Mayor London Breed (28%) and former mayor Mark Farrell (20%) in the poll, conducted between July 31 and August 5, but ahead of Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin (12%) and District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí (5%). Eighteen percent of voters were undecided.
Lurie told the B.A.R. after the event that he’s very much in the mix, saying “our favorable ratings are higher than everybody else’s. We do well on
ranked-choice voting in every poll, and people like our message all across the city. I’m running against people that have picked very narrow lanes. We can hit people in every lane.”
Darrin Martin, a Castro resident, asked Lurie during the event “what can you do about the Pottery Barn?” in a question about empty storefronts.
The old Pottery Barn, shuttered since 2017 at Castro
and Market streets, has become emblematic of the neighborhood’s commercial vacancy crisis despite recent openings and reopenings elsewhere in the LGBTQ neighborhood. The space has been considered for a welcome center, an LGBTQ history museum – and Lurie’s campaign headquarters, he revealed.
See page 10 >>
Emily Saliers
The San Francisco Public Library contingent marched in the 2023 Pride parade.
Michael Vincent D’Anella Mercanti
San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie speaks to reporters at a campaign event August 12 at the newly renovated LGBTQ nightclub Beaux in the Castro.
John Ferrannini
Honey Mahogany, left, and Shay Franco-Clausen are Democratic delegates headed to Chicago for the party’s convention.
Courtesy the subjects
New LGBTQ wellness center opens in San Jose
compiled by Cynthia Laird
Santa Clara County has officially opened a new LGBTQ wellness center in San Jose. County leaders were on hand Friday, August 9, to cut the ribbon at the colleQTIve Wellness Center, located at 1870 Senter Road.
The center is operated by the county’s Behavioral Health Services Department. According to a news release, it houses several programs that offer holistic services and support for LGBTQ+ people, including two-spirit, intersex, asexual, and all other identities.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Susan Ellenberg was on hand, along with Margaret Obilor, director of adult and older adult services; and Alicia Musquiz, the county’s behavioral health services program manager.
The wellness center’s programs also include the Q Corner, including the School Qnection team and the Harm ReduQion program; and the Gender Affirming Care Clinic, the release noted.
Q Corner is a peer-run program offering individual and group support, resource connection and navigation, community-building activities, and educational and training opportunities.
The Harm ReduQion program offers trauma-centered substance use and overdose prevention and intervention, education, and trainings.
The gender clinic opened in December and is a specialty mental health outpatient clinic.
The county has long pro vided services to the LGBTQ community. Its pioneering Office of LGBTQ Affairs opened in 2016, thanks in large part to the efforts of gay then-supervisor Ken Yeager. It is the first county-level office of its kind, both in California and nationwide, inspiring hope and progress, a news release stated.
Queer LifeSpace picnic
Queer LifeSpace will hold its firstever summer mixer and picnic Sunday, August 18, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. The picnic is in conjunction with the monthly Flagging in the Park event, an email announcement stated.
For more information, go to the county behavioral health website at bhsd.santaclaracounty.gov/home.
Queer LifeSpace, an LGBTQ counseling and mental health treatment agency, was selected as the August beneficiary of the flagging event, which typically draws several hundred people. The organization plans to provide an array of homecooked food and refreshments for those who can make it. People should bring their own beverages. Blankets are also recommended, as the grass could be damp.
Flagging in the Park started in 1997 as a way for friends to find solace in the aftermath of the AIDS crisis, gathering to celebrate life amid the serene setting of the AIDS grove. Today, it has evolved into a colorful community event featuring DJs, flow artists, and the support of organizations like the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation. To RSVP, go to the Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/56p8x54e.
SF Pride accepting theme ideas
The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee is now accepting suggestions for the theme for next year’s Pride parade and festival. An email announcement stated that community submitted theme suggestions are voted on by the SF Pride membership and approved by the board of directors in late summer, and the theme
will set the tone for the organization’s work the rest of the year.
People may submit as many suggestions as they like, the announcement stated. Simple and impactful phrases are encouraged. Suggestions infringing on copyrights or trademarks will be discarded. Popular theme concepts in the past have been of unity, love, social progress, social justice and equality, honoring San Francisco’s queer history, and working for a better LGBTQ+ future.
Interested people are also encouraged to visit the list of previous themes at sfpride.org/theme#themes for inspiration and to avoid duplication.
The deadline for theme submissions is Thursday, September 5, at 5 p.m. SF Pride members will vote on proposals from September 7-14, via an online ballot. The theme is expected to be announced Monday, September 16.
To submit a theme, go to sfpride.org/ theme.
Bear weekend in SF San Francisco Bear Weekend returns to the city for a four-day event beginning Thursday, August 15, that celebrates the LGBTQA bear culture. Produced by Codybear Elkin and sponsored by the Alta California Leather Corp, SF Bear Weekend invites those over the age of 21 to embrace their inner-bear and celebrate the strength, loyalty, and fearlessness that the bear represents.
Once considered a fringe component of the leather scene, bears – hirsute people and their admirers – are now one of the most recognized parts of the LGBTQ community, and one of the most appreciated, a news release stated. In fact, a recent marketing study estimated that there are more than 1.4 million bear-identifying men in the U.S. alone.
Proceeds from the second annual event will benefit the North American Bear Collaborative, a working group of agencies, nonprofit conservation groups, landowners, and individuals committed to being proactive liaisons between humans and bears through public messaging and outreach about how people can live safely among California’s growing black bear population. For more information on the North American Bear Collaborative, visit beingwithbears.org.
Weekend events include a welcome party and bear flag-raising Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the SF Eagle, 398 13th Street; Mr. SF Bear contestant meet and greet Friday, August 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Powerhouse bar, 1347 Folsom Street; and CAB-BEAR-AY on the Eagle patio Saturday, August 17, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., followed by the Mr. SF Bear contest from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at the Powerhouse. The San Francisco bear victory party and beer bust will be held Sunday, August 18, from 3 to 7 p.m. at SF Eagle. For more information, go to mrsfbear.com.
The bear weekend is not to be confused with the Bearrison Street Fair, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, from noon to 6 p.m. in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. t
Castro Theatre spared after weekend bank fire
by John Ferrannini
The historic Castro Theatre was spared during a weekend fire at a bank next door in San Francisco’s LGBTQ neighborhood.
The San Francisco Fire Department contained a fire Saturday, August 10, at the US Bank branch at 443 Castro Street, a spokesperson told the Bay Area Reporter.
“This fire is now contained as of 1633 hours [4:33 p.m.] with no extension to any additional buildings,” SFFD Lieutenant Jonathan Baxter stated in an August 10 email. “This is next-door to the historic Castro theater. The Castro theater is safe and NOT damaged and was NOT affected.”
Baxter continued that there were no reported injuries; as of August 12 the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The purpose of the gathering is not to seek new materials to accession into the San Francisco History Center’s collection or that of the Hormel Center, stressed organizers. Rather, the intention is for the library archival staff to share the tricks of the preservation field with attendees so they can ensure their ephemera, photographs, papers, and other historical items they have collected over the years are protected for perpetuity.
“The reason why someone should come to this is just to gain skills,” said
As a cloud of smoke wafted above the Castro’s Victorians, rumors swirled in the neighborhood that afternoon that it was the historic
Cristina Mitra, a queer woman of color who has been the Hormel Center’s program manager since 2021. “We are trying to make sure the skills our archivists have and are trained in are not just held in those people.”
Preserving photos
One topic area to be covered will focus on preserving photographs.
Ets-Hokin shared with the Bay Area Reporter one tip she plans to bring up is to not write with pens or regular pencils on the backside of photos, as the ink can bleed into the front of the picture or onto another photo if stored in a pile. She said the best writing instrument to use is a
4B pencil, which is part of the starter kit attendees will receive and can be found at local art supply stores.
“It’s got soft lead and won’t create a crease or imprint in the photo,” she noted.
Mitra added that the city’s foggy climate will be another focus of the discussion. It presents unique issues for storing archival materials, she noted.
“We want the community members to understand we live in San Francisco where there is a lot of moisture in the air. We will go over how that is impacting their own photos,” said Mitra.
Another purpose of the workshop is to introduce trans community ar-
movie house that was on fire. The Castro Theatre is in the midst of a renovation and restoration project spearheaded by Another Planet Entertainment, which took over management of the space in early 2022.
David Perry, a gay man who is a spokesperson for APE, is thankful the theater was unharmed.
“We want to thank our wonderful San Francisco Fire Department for their efforts,” he stated August 10. “Luckily, there was no damage to the Castro Theatre following a fire in a building next door today. We have had our restoration team do an assessment. They will do final analysis tomorrow. We ran negative air pressure for several hours to mitigate any smoke odor.”
Bob Bragman posted to Facebook that he was sitting at the Castro Coffee Company with friends when “a
chivists to each other so they can learn about the various materials people have collected, confer on best practices going forward, and think about ways to share their various collections with the community at large.
“We are hoping people leave with some excellent skills and build some community with people interested in similar things,” said Mitra, who is in the process of setting up a collaborative relationship between the Hormel Center and the Argentinian preservationist group Archivo Trans.
The organizers also aim to emphasize that materials documenting the lives of everyday people are just as valuable as that of more prominent members of the
woman came running out of the nail salon nearby, saying the Castro Theatre is on fire.”
“We could see smoke,” he stated.
“I walked over to a gate between the theater and the salon and could see big flames. Several people were on their phones calling 911. Within a few minutes I could hear sirens.”
The bank “sustained significant damage,” he reported.
US Bank did not return a request for comment August 12 as to whether it has ascertained the cause of the fire, how long it will be closed for, and where its customers should seek banking services. The nearest branch to the now-damaged Castro Street location is at 2001 Mission Street.
The blaze was a one-alarm fire, which means it was the most basic response to a fire alarm. t
trans and queer communities.
“People hear the word archives and will think, ‘Oh, I haven’t done anything important enough. I am not Harvey Milk.’ You don’t have to be Harvey Milk to have your materials in the archives,” said Mitra, referring to the city’s first gay supervisor.
She recounted having such a conversation during the city’s LGBTQ film festival with a member of a local LGBTQ car enthusiast group. They have been wondering what to do with the boxes of materials they have preserved over the years detailing its history and didn’t think it was of value to an archive.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Susan Ellenberg, center, joined Q Corner representatives, allies, and partners in cutting the ribbon for the new LGBTQ+ Wellness Center during an August 9 ceremony.
Maury Kendall/Santa Clara County
San Francisco firefighters responded August 10 to a one-alarm fire at a US Bank branch that’s next door to the historic Castro Theatre.
John Ferrannini
Kaplan decides not to seek reelection to Oakland City Council at-large seat
by Cynthia Laird
F or the first time in 16 years, Oak -
land voters will be electing a new citywide representative to the City Council. Lesbian longtime at-large councilmember Rebecca Kaplan has decided not to seek reelection, instead dual endorsing two candidates who are running for the seat.
On Monday, August 12, one of those candidates, Tonya Love, switched her candidacy to the now open District 7 seat on the Oakland City Council. Current Councilmember Treva Reid opted against seeking reelection.
Kaplan, first elected to the at-large seat in 2008, is one of the East Bay’s longest-serving LGBTQ elected officials. Prior to serving on the Oakland council, Kaplan spent seven years as an elected member of the board that oversees the AC Transit District, which provides bus service in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Her attempts over the years to seek higher office or a countywide position were all unsuccessful. She twice lost bids to be Oakland’s mayor – in 2010 and 2014 – and came up short with her campaign for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 2022.
In late 2018 she was rebuffed by the Bay Area’s regional transportation agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, to be hired as its executive director when the position opened up. Over the years there has been constant talk of seeing Kaplan leave the council to run for other elected positions, from city attorney to a state legislative seat, but in those election cycles she ruled out doing so.
For months there had been speculation that this would be her last term as the at-large councilmember, as she had not announced a reelection campaign. Meanwhile, several candidates had filed papers to seek the seat in recent months.
When the Bay Area Reporter ran into Kaplan and her wife, Kirthi Nath, at an Oakland Soul women’s soccer game on June 30, Pride Sunday, Kaplan didn’t answer a question about if she planned to seek reelection.
“We’re here to watch soccer,” Nath said.
Kaplan and Nath are the parents of a young daughter.
In an email to supporters Friday,
August 9, Kaplan made no mention of her term ending or her decision not to run again. Instead, she endorsed two candidates for the atlarge seat – Rowena Brown, a queer Black woman who serves as district director for Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), and Love, who works as chief of staff to District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife. (Fife is also up for reelection this year and faces many challengers, including Warren Logan, a gay Black man.)
The filing deadline is Friday but, because Kaplan is not running, it was extended five days to Wednesday, August 14.
In an email, Love wrote that she’s “deeply honored” to have Kaplan’s endorsement. It is not clear whether Kaplan will continue to back Love in her new race for the D7 seat.
“Working closely with Rebecca over the years has not only been a privilege but a profound learning experience,” she added.
“Her leadership and dedication to Oakland have set a high standard for what it means to serve our community,” Love stated. “Our collaborative efforts, particularly in areas of community health and safety, have fostered a strong professional relationship based on mutual respect and shared goals.
“This endorsement comes from a place of genuine partnership and
understanding. Rebecca knows firsthand my commitment to our city and my capability to lead from day one – there was no need for me to prove that I can do the job,” Love stated.
Brown responded to a request for comment stating that she is also honored to have Kaplan’s backing.
“As a proud queer Black woman, I look forward to being a crucial voice for our LGBTQ+ community and all Oaklanders on the City Council, while building on Councilmember Kaplan’s dedication to delivering core city services for all Oakland families. We know that representation matters,” Brown wrote in an email.
“I am proud to fight for our community everyday – from supporting state legislation that ensures youth have access to gender-affirming care, providing comprehensive civic education in school, and legislation that serves to reduce toxic air emissions in Oakland and across the state,” she added. “All Oaklanders deserve a clean and safe community. I will work everyday to ensure a comprehensive community-based policing model that protects our LGBTQ+ community by building trust with residents and businesses and enhancing officers’ cultural competency and sensitivity.
Brown stated that if elected, she
would “invest in our LGBTQ+ young people to provide comprehensive support systems, build affordable housing, and continue leading efforts to secure Oakland’s fair share of State resources to fight human trafficking –which disproportionately impact our LGBTQ+ youth.”
LeRonne Armstrong, who had served as Oakland’s police chief before being fired by Mayor Sheng Thao last year, is also running for the at-large seat, as is Charlene Wang, who is queer. Lesbian Nancy Sidebotham, a perennial candidate, is also running, along with five other candidates, according to Oaklandside. Kaplan, who did not respond to a request for comment, won all of her reelection bids to the City Council since her first race 16 years ago. Her colleagues elected her as council president in 2019, marking the first time an LGBTQ person had served in the leadership role. She was council president in 2020, when the COVID pandemic hit.
LGBTQ issues
On the council, Kaplan has worked on transportation, housing, and homelessness issues.
Regarding LGBTQ issues, Kaplan worked to change the youth program funding distributions of the City of Oakland to include programs for LGBTQ youth, abolish old
discriminatory laws that were still on the books when she was elected – including one making “cross dressing” an illegal act - and worked to get other LGBTQ people appointed to other leadership positions such as on boards and commissions.
“I worked with community partners to bring transgender awareness and trainings to the Oakland Police Department, and to respond to negative stereotyping that had taken place,” she stated in a B.A.R. questionnaire during her supervisorial race.
Years ago, Kaplan organized the community sessions that led to the rebirth of the Oakland Pride festival. The event now includes a parade. She stated in the questionnaire that she also supported organizations like the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. She advocated bringing the old Butch Voices conference to Oakland, where it was held for several years before disbanding last year.
When San Francisco and Oakland co-hosted the International AIDS Conference in July 2020, which was moved to online due to COVID, Kaplan brought a resolution to the City Council to hang panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at City Hall, as the B.A.R. reported.
“As we remember and honor the victims of the AIDS epidemic, let us welcome and utilize the lessons of that experience,” Kaplan, who participated in the socially distanced Oakland unveiling, told the B.A.R. at the time. “To successfully respond to the COVID pandemic we need to respect science, make sure prejudice doesn’t undermine our response, and take steps to protect and value our entire community.”
Kaplan’s departure from the City Council in January will mark the end of an era as one of the longestserving out elected officials in the Bay Area. Gay former Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington served for 22 years in that city before opting not to seek reelection in 2018. He was Berkeley’s first gay elected official.
Gay San Francisco Treasurer-Tax Collector José Cisneros has held his elected post since being appointed to fill a vacancy in 2004. This November, he will be unopposed for a sixth term, extending his time in the office through 2028 and giving him a historic 24-year tenure. t
Oakland at-large City Council member Rebecca Kaplan will not seek reelection this year.
Jane Philomen Cleland
Trans entrepreneurs empower queer community through apparel
by JL Odom
Length, width, fabric type, looseness or tightness – there are a number of reasons why a clothing item doesn’t work for a person.
For trans, nonbinary, and gendernonconforming individuals, ill-fitting clothes present another issue: causing, or exacerbating, gender dysphoria.
With LGBTQ well-being in mind, two transgender entrepreneurs of apparel companies – Kylo Freeman, founder and CEO of For Them, (https:// www.forthem.com/queer-revolution) and Finnegan Shepard, founder and CEO of Both& Apparel – decided to create their own product lines for, and with, the queer community.
“A business is just solving a problem, right? You find a problem that you care enough about yourself, and that your community cares about as much, and you drive at that problem,” said Freeman, 35, in a Google Meet interview with the Bay Area Reporter.
“And that’s really all this company [For Them] is. I actually see it as quite a simple thing because we don’t manufacture needs. We find problems in the community and then we just do our best to solve them,” he added.
Freeman, who is Black, queer, nonbinary, and trans, is the creator of For Them, a queer wellness-oriented company based in New York City that sells environmentally friendly chest binders made from recycled nylon. Since its launch in 2020, the company has sold over 60,000 binders.
For Freeman, the conceptualization of For Them stemmed from his own less-than-ideal experience with binding.
“My chest binder was super painful. I’m an actor, and so I was on set a bunch. And I just felt either super unaffirmed, because I couldn’t wear it and breathe properly, or I’d wear it and I felt like my performance wasn’t very good, because I couldn’t breathe comfortably,” he shared.
Freeman, who has appeared on shows such as “The Blacklist” and “Inventing Anna” and co-hosts the podcast “Good Boys” with trans comedian Motti, was frustrated with the circumstances.
“My girlfriend at the time, I felt like she had like 800 options for bras, and I was like, ‘Why do I have one uncomfortable binder? This feels unfair.’” he said.
Freeman’s personal discomfort prompted him to reach out to the queer community for their perspectives on, and experiences with, chest binding.
“I found friends that had ribs fractured and their skeletal muscles had changed and just some really dangerous stuff. And that made me feel even more passionately about it. My thing was, ‘How do we make a safe binder?’ That was my first challenge. And that’s
sort of where the company started,” he explained.
Shepard, 32, also used his personal experience as fuel to identify a problem and pursue a solution. Disappointed in the fit of cis clothing and limited masc (masculine style) apparel options for those assigned female at birth, or AFAB, he developed his own brand, Both&, in 2020. The brand’s website reads, “Not all bodies fit the binary. Not all clothing should either.”
“We’ve kind of turned fashion’s normal structure on its head in the sense that it’s not a designer who’s coming up with their own kind of creative vision and then putting it out in the world to generate demand for it. Instead, we started with, ‘What is there already a demand for, what is already the need or problem in the community, and then how do we solve around that to make something that will improve people’s lives?’” Shepard, who identifies as transmasc, said in a phone interview with the B.A.R.
At the time of the interview, Shepard was based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with plans to move to New York this month. He said the headquarters for Both& is wherever he and his laptop are. Shepard is also a writer, public speaker, consultant, and the founder of Limns, an etymology-centered Substack publication, with a master’s degree in philoso-
phy from the University of Cambridge to boot. He decided to reach out to the queer community for its insight and spent a year interviewing people and obtaining feedback.
“I spoke to over 2,000 people to really verify, ‘What do we struggle with? What do we wish existed? And are the ways in which we are struggling with clothing similar enough that we can solve them from a design perspective?’ Because I knew what my problems were, but if I went out and talked to 100 people, and we all listed really different things, I’d be like, ‘OK, well, that sucks, but I don’t really see a viable product here to solve for that.’ But that was not the case,” said Shepard. “Pretty much everyone I spoke to had exactly the same problems,” he said.
Creating the product
With personal apparel issues realized and then queer community-confirmed, the next step for both entrepreneurs was product development.
“Even though my background wasn’t in fashion, when you hear thousands of people in a row saying, ‘Yeah, men’s T-shirts are always too long and narrow and bunch at the hips and the shoulders are too wide,’ etc, etc., it’s like, ‘OK, we just need to get the right proportions and create a fit system,’” Shepard remarked.
And he did just that, connecting with nonbinary and transmasc community members to create a proprietary masc fit system for AFAB bodies. It includes features such as reduced body length, narrowed shoulder length, and a raised collar to cover binder lines for shirts and a shorter inseam and proportional design for pants.
Tops-wise, there’s “Romeo” ($44), a muscle tank described on the Both& website as being “fit tested on trans men, lesbians, nonbinary, genderqueer [individuals] and cis women who want a masc fit;” “Jude” ($42), dubbed “the posttop surgery muscle tee;” and several other short and long sleeve shirt options.
Both& pants include “Jo” jeans ($99) with “less length and more room at the hips” and “Ki” denim shorts ($79), with a similar fit. There’s also a swimwear collection featuring a sleeveless top (“Romeo Swim,” $79), “Elliot” swim trunks ($89), and a lightweight swim-friendly packer (“Emmett,” $35). Youth apparel offerings include jeans, shirts, and a hoodie.
The Both& website has a fit guide as well as a “See the difference” side-by-side image comparison of the “Both& fit” and the “cis fit” of shirts and pants.
The privately held company, with several Both& mission-aligned investors such as Douglas Aitken, Linda Choong,
Kev Glynn, Allen Gannett, Jeremy Heimans, and Stacy Tarver Patterson, has received positive feedback from the queer community.
“I’ve been a customer of Both& since 2021 when I was fairly fresh in my nonbinary identity. I struggled to find clothing that fit my body and style, and Both& managed to accomplish both,” Jess Magnan stated in an email to the B.A.R.
Magnan, nonbinary, transmasc, and a lesbian, is now a customer service representative for the company. They emphasized the importance of its clothing in relation to gender identity and expression.
“Having Both& staple pieces lets me get dressed in the morning without distress or the threat of gender dysphoria once I put some clothes on. I really feel like myself under their layers, so seeing the brand and its product line expand over the years truly excites me,” they shared.
For Freeman, there were a few considerations on his whiteboard for a safe trans binder. His previous business experience, including working as a CFO at Prehype, a venture development firm, lent well to the project at hand.
“I was like, ‘It can’t not fit everybody in a community. We cannot create sizing that is not inclusive. We won’t launch it unless anybody can buy one,’” he said. Freeman also set out to do away with the typical “toxic sizing” (think: XS to XXXL) that affects people’s perceptions of their bodies and weight. “We tried to spin that on its head and created our own size range. So it’s not male or female, but rather we built it out and we named them [the sizes],” he explained.
The For Them binder names are based on a person’s apex measurement, with 10 names in total, including “amethyst” for sizes 28-30; “fire” for sizes 40-43; “illusion” for sizes 52-55; and “kindred” for sizes 60-63. There are two binder types available to purchase: the “All Day” binder, $55, and the “MAX” (offering “maximum compression”), $64. All binders were fit-tested on members of the community, on all body sizes, during the development process.
“To this day, there has not been someone that has come to our website that could not purchase a binder. It fits every single human that has visited our site,” Freeman shared.
Kylo Freeman is founder and CEO of For Them.
Sam Wallander
A model wears a For Them binder.
Lydia Garnett
Finnegan Shepard is the founder and CEO of Both& Apparel. Louie Perea
A model wears Both& Apparel “Ki” denim shorts.
Mischa de Stroumillo
Gonorrhea persistent foe as other STIs plunge in
by John Ferrannini
Rates of syphilis and chlamydia in San Francisco have been trending down since the start of 2023, city data shows. But gonorrhea is proving to be a much more pernicious opponent for public health.
The city’s department of public health issued the last 2023 monthly sexually transmitted infection report in June of this year, and has also released the first four months of data for 2024. Reported chlamydia cases went from 6,465 at the end of 2022 to 5,634 at the end of 2023, including cases of rectal chlamydia, which went from 2,064 to 1,438.
Reported adult syphilis cases went from 1,559 to 1,162 from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023. (Cases in cisgender females went up, from 153 to 176.)
From January through April of 2024, there were 323 reported cases of chlamydia compared with 465 in the first four months of 2023 (for rectal cases that’s 70 in 2024 compared to 123 in 2023). Turn to adult syphilis and it’s 78 reported cases compared with 101 (with cisgender women, cases went up, from 13 to 15).
But the numbers for gonorrhea tell a different story – 5,247 reported cases at the end of 2022 became 5,012 reported cases at the end of 2023. By April 2024 there were 1,555 reported cases compared to 1,647 at the same time in 2023. That’s a slight decline but not at the same level as the other infections.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health declined to provide an expert to speak with the Bay Area Reporter for this report, but did provide a statement from the director of health, Dr. Grant Colfax, who is gay.
“The sharp decline in chlamydia and early syphilis infections in San Francisco demonstrates just how ef-
fective doxyPEP is as a sexual health tool,” Colfax stated. “The San Francisco Department of Public Health, including the San Francisco City Clinic, played a critical role in the implementation of doxyPEP, and our community outreach and education continues.”
Mayor London Breed’s bond measure – including funding for City Clinic – will be included on the November ballot after it was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors June 25.
Medical experts the B.A.R. has spoken with think the introduction of doxyPEP in late 2022 – a novel way of treating bacterial sexually transmitted infections with the antibiotic doxycycline (a type of tetracycline) after unprotected sex – is the key to understanding what’s happening.
DoxyPEP has been approved for men who have sex with men and for trans women, which explains the concurrent rise in cases in cis women even as cases go down generally.
It also explains why gonorrhea isn’t budging as much.
“Gonorrhea has a real potential to develop [antibiotic] resistance, although doxycycline is not something we use for gonorrhea anymore because the cat is out of the bag there,”
Dr. Matt Spinelli, a UCSF assistant
Alert
professor and medical lead of the PrEP clinic at Ward 86 told the B.A.R.
Jorge Roman, a gay man who oversees clinical services at Magnet, the sexual health clinic at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Strut health center in the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood, told the B.A.R. that “tetracyclines have not been used for or against gonorrhea for a very long time, and so I think that’s part of it; that’s a big piece of it. It’s not necessarily a surprise.”
A study of doxyPEP efficacy showed an 80% drop in syphilis and chlamydia but only a 55% drop in gonorrhea, according to findings presented by Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer of UCSF at the 2022 International AIDS Conference, as reported on by the B.A.R. earlier this year, and which Spinelli cited.
Health Commissioner Cecilia Chung, a trans woman who is a longtime HIV/AIDS advocate who is HIV-positive, agreed with Spinelli and Roman in a statement to the B.A.R. and thanked the LGBTQ community for embracing doxyPEP.
“The reduction in chlamydia and syphilis rates in MSM [men who have sex with men] and trans women is a testament to the innovation of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which was the first in the nation to research and put out guidelines for this innovative prevention tool,” Chung stated. “Credit must also be given to our MSM and trans women communities, who were quick to adopt DoxyPEP as part of their sexual practices.”
Rectal cases of gonorrhea showed some improvement last year – 1,597 cases in 2023 compared to 1,916 in 2022. But this year it’s slightly up – 562 in 2024 compared to 549 at the same point in 2023.
Dr. Dan O’Neill, the chief medical officer at the San Francisco Community Health Center, was less bullish
than Spinelli or Roman on doxyPEP – but he did state, as a potential explanation for the gonorrhea persistence, that it’s possible the bacteria is becoming more resistant to tetracyclines in the population.
“While I feel certain doxyPEP is a contributing factor, causality can be tricky to pin down with such a complex topic,” O’Neill stated in an email to the B.A.R. “It is also still relatively early to know how this new intervention will play out, as the full story of doxyPEP is yet untold. In particular, evidence of growing population-level tetracycline resistance is concerning for both the STD gonorrhea, which doxyPEP has been less helpful in curbing.”
This isn’t just a problem for the bacteria that causes gonorrhea but also Staphylococcal aureus, or MRSA, a common staph bacteria that causes skin infections, O’Neill said, among the health center’s patient population, which he stated is “largely houseless folks or those struggling with addiction.”
‘Really exciting time for STI prevention’
Roman said that the general trends the city is seeing are also the case at Magnet, saying his was the first of San Francisco’s larger providers to see more doxyPEP uptake before primary care doctors started prescribing it. Roman and Spinelli agreed it’s a compelling time for the frontlines of combatting sexually transmitted infections.
“It’s a really exciting time for STI prevention – there was a lot of frustration our public health efforts [condoms, asymptomatic testing] were not making an impact, and it’s such a great time to have a highly effective, biomedical preventative tool making improvements on the population level,” Spinelli said.
There is even hope for the fight
against gonorrhea, Spinelli said.
“There was hope a Meningitis group B vaccine – they [meningitis and gonorrhea] have some similarities in that they are the same genus – there was hope a vaccine would have an impact on gonorrhea, and the data was presented and, unfortunately, it did not have an effect but it trended toward benefit,” he said, adding that now researchers are working on a gonorrhea vaccine, which is currently on an FDA fast-track following a phase 1 trial.
Roman said that in the interim, doctors and the public should build on the momentum they are gaining in the fight against STIs. One way Magnet does that is by having clinicians have “conversations with all of our clients in shared decision making as to whether it’d [doxyPEP] help on an independent basis in their sexual networks, who they are engaging in sexual relationships with, and so understanding that and having open dialogue with our clients will help build on that momentum in terms of who would benefit from it.”
Spinelli said that work needs to be done to see how cisgender women would benefit from doxyPEP.
“Globally, it’s a really important population,” he said. “Some providers are speaking with women who’ve had a prior STI and doing patient-centered decision-making. We measured the adherence in the study in women and that adherence was very low –that’s why the study failed.”
A study of female sex workers in Tokyo Spinelli referred to showed evidence of doxyPEP efficacy in that population without affecting vaginal bacteria.
Spinelli said another potential field of study is whether a 200-milligram dose of doxycycline could be taken before unprotected sex.
“There is a lot of plausibility it would work that way,” he said. t
Twin Peaks Tunnel Upgrades
Twin Peaks Tunnel Closed for Repairs
Thursday, August 22 through Thursday, August 29
During the tunnel repairs, Forest Hill and West Portal stations will be closed. Please use or buses for service between Balboa Park or Zoo and Church station. Shuttle trains will serve all Metro stations between Castro and Embarcadero. Transfer between Muni Metro trains and and buses at Church or Castro. and train service will remain unchanged.
Dr. Matt Spinelli is a UCSF assistant professor.
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GLAAD board should rein in CEO’s lavish spending
Whenwe first saw the New York Times news alert for its August 1 story about lavish spending by lesbian GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, we immediately thought of the bad old days at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation when thenexecutive director Pat Christen racked up raise after raise after raise. While we understood the need for nonprofit leaders to be fairly compensated – and still do – we believed it was a reach for SFAF’s board to keep rewarding Christen with raises as people living with AIDS continued to die or needed access to services. Our reporting from 1997 found Christen’s salary doubled in five years, from $74,753 to $148,794. And that didn’t even include benefits. (Adjusted for inflation, that would be $146,327 and $291,260, respectively for Christen’s salary amounts.) Back then, 27 years ago, a nonprofit director salary of over $100,000 was unusual, except for the largest organizations. Today, that is not the case.
And though there is a difference in missions between the two organizations – one deals with life and death; the other hypes its glitzy Hollywood-style award shows as major fundraisers – we see GLAAD’s board allowing Ellis’ excessive spending as a huge distraction from its goal of holding the mainstream media to account. (We must add, however, that we aren’t convinced that GLAAD’s strategy has been very effective, especially when social media allows anyone to type out a few words and hit “send.” And yes, GLAAD has been critical of the Times, which has published problematic articles on transgender issues in recent years. The paper has a terrible opinion writer, Pamela Paul, who traffics in tropes about trans people. Its coverage would improve by better framing its articles and having reporters actually talk to more trans people, rather than rely on doctors, researchers, and transphobes.) But as the Times wryly noted, “today GLAAD acts as a watchdog and a cheerleader for the media.” Obviously, that can be problematic.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union pay their leaders,” the Times reported. “Those organizations are many times the size of GLAAD.”
It’s interesting that GLAAD’s board has not issued any statement since the Times article appeared, and one doesn’t appear forthcoming. In fact, chair Liz Jenkins told the Times that the board stood firmly behind Ms. Ellis, “with respect and appreciation for how she and her team are leading the movement at a time when our community is under attack. We have full confidence that they’re doing so with integrity and that they share the board’s commitment to irrefutably strong governance and business practices.”
blinders on – it’s time that they remove them and get a clear view of the bad example Ellis is setting, not only for her organization, but also for the entire LGBTQ community.
This is an issue of GLAAD’s own making. When it started out with the aim of refuting homophobic and transphobic mainstream media coverage, there wasn’t another similar organization that was doing this work. Now, there are lots of sites – think Media Matters for America, which is a true journalism watchdog organization. In the days before the internet, GLAAD would run a regular column in the B.A.R. to alert readers to what was happening. But as it grew, the organization shifted its focus to celebrities and corporate CEOs – and their money. It would appear that Ellis fancies herself in that category, hence her need to spend like the stars do. The problem is that GLAAD is not a celebrity, and it could be using the tens of thousands of dollars Ellis spent on car services, rental homes, and world class hotels to help rural LGBTQ organizations be more effective in their own messaging, for example, or assist statewide LGBTQ groups in less populous parts of the country. Or really, anything else to help the community.
Still, the Times’ details of Ellis’ first-class flights, swanky Davos accommodations, Cape Cod rental, and most famously, expensing a chandelier in the nearly $20,000 remodel of her home office to make it more attractive on Zoom calls are a stretch for any nonprofit. All of that is on top of her base salary of $441,000 – with a signing bonus of $150,000 and other payments of up to $300,000 tied to fundraising. GLAAD is not a large organization; it had revenue of about $19 million in 2022, according to the Times report.
“If Ms. Ellis were to receive the more than $1 million that she is potentially eligible for some years, it would be comparable to what giant nonprofits like Feeding America, the American Red Cross,
It seems that GLAAD’s governance and business practices aren’t strong enough and could use an extensive update. Apparently, Ellis did not adhere to travel guidelines set up by GLAAD and she should have. We can’t think of any reason a nonprofit leader needs to fly first-class anywhere, much less the 30 flights for which Ellis sought reimbursement, as the Times reported. Also eye-opening in the report was that a lower level GLAAD employee was chastised for expensing a cup of coffee and being told that it was “taking money away from the LGBTQ cause,” the Times reported. The worker had to reimburse GLAAD. Under those policies, Ellis would need to do a lot of reimbursing of her own. Let’s be clear: anyway you look at it, it’s Ellis who is taking a lot of money away from the LGBTQ cause.
The board seems scared to see Ellis leave and it shouldn’t be. There are capable leaders who could step up and run GLAAD without all the baggage of these exorbitant expenses. GLAAD’s board has
Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal, a gay man who was at the Stonewall riots in 1969 and later crashed the set of Walter Cronkite’s “CBS Evening News” program, recently wrote a scathing column about all of this. “While she has built a formidable organization, raking in millions of your donations, she seems to have become excessively comfortable with spending those donations on her own lifestyle,” he wrote of Ellis. “There used to be a term for those overpaid within our community: ‘Gay Inc.’ Her spending is nothing less than, and I’m being polite here, gay greed.”
He’s not wrong about that.
The bottom line is that now that we all have this information, LGBTQ and other donors can choose to continue supporting GLAAD or take their money elsewhere to help other queer nonprofits. Most all of them would be grateful for donations, even a fraction of the ones that GLAAD gets. We’re not sure why philanthropist MacKenzie Scott decided to grant $10 million to GLAAD, as the Times reported, but perhaps the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will channel her fortune more to underrepresented groups, like she has already done on numerous occasions. (Openhouse, the LGBTQ senior agency in San Francisco, received $2 million from Scott’s Yield Giving program earlier this year, for instance.)
It seems that the cost of an Ellis photo with Oprah Winfrey, which was taken at GLAAD’s awards gala in Los Angeles in March, comes at the expense of, well, living it up. t
My prostate cancer journey
by David-Elijah Nahmod
“We found some cancer,” said the doctor. My heart skipped a beat.
“Now don’t worry,” he continued. “The good news is that the cancer is Grade 1, the earliest stage. This stage is treatable.”
Well, that was a bit of a relief. But it’s still a shock to the system. It’s still cancer. I thought of all the relatives I’d had who had died of various types of cancer, especially my Uncle Joey, who had throat cancer. Uncle Joey was 38 when he died. He looked 80. Is that what was going to happen to me?
Mine is prostate cancer. A very common cancer among men in their 60s. I’m 68.
“One in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime,” said Dr. John Lee, the San Francisco oncologist who’s going to perform my radiation treatments. “However, 60% of the men diagnosed are over age 65 with the average age of diagnosis at age 67. Men under 40 have a very low rate of prostate cancer.”
I was told that I had three options. One was not to treat the illness and just have it observed. Grade 1 prostate cancer grows slowly; it would likely take years to spread. I could easily live 10-15 years without treatment, according to Dr. Mikhail Regelman, the urologist who diagnosed me. In 15 years I’d be 83. I immediately dismissed this option as I didn’t want to end up like Uncle Joey.
My second option was surgery –the removal of the prostate – and my
third option was six weeks of radiation. I chose the latter because it’s painless, non-invasive, and requires no hospitalization. All I have to do is show up for the treatments every afternoon. Each treatment would take five minutes. Other than that I could live my life normally. Lee said that chances are 92% that I’d be cured after the radiation treatments. I found out that I have the disease through a simple blood test, a PSA test, done through my primary care physician each year.
“The PSA blood test is a measure of the amount of prostate cancer,” said Lee. “Normal prostate tissue pro-
duces a low level of PSA, 1.5-2 for those under 40 and up to 4.0 when 65. The lower the number, the more likely those patients are cured. Conversely, the higher the number correlates with a worse outcome.”
My PSA level was 4.25, which meant there was a possibility of prostate cancer. My primary care doctor sent me to an urologist, who ordered a prostate MRI. The MRI showed a suspicious shadow on my prostate and so a biopsy was performed. The biopsy wasn’t fun. I was given a local anesthesia in my butt. The doctor then proceeded to cut off tiny pieces of my prostate to send to the lab. Even with the anesthesia this was painful, but it’s better to know and to get it treated.
So now, all I have to do is get through my radiation treatments five days a week Monday through Friday. My first treatment is August 22, and my last will be on October 1. As I face this, I feel a sense of obligation to share my story so I can tell other men ages 60 and over to get that PSA test every year. Remember, one man in eight will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. If you’re the one, you want to catch it as early as possible. Catch it before it begins to spread and is still treatable. Catch it before it begins to impact your health. t
David-Elijah Nahmod, a gay man, is a longtime contributor to the Bay Area Reporter. For more information about prostate cancer, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov/prostate-cancer/about/index.html.
David-Elijah Nahmod
Jane Philomen Cleland
GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis Courtesy GLAAD
Gay SF treasurer Cisneros set to extend his historic tenure
by Matthew S. Bajko
With no one filing to run against him in November, gay San Francisco Treasurer-Tax Collector
José Cisneros will cakewalk into a sixth term through 2028, giving him a historic 24-year tenure. Should he serve all four years, Cisneros will become the Bay Area’s longest-serving LGBTQ elected official in the same position.
Cisneros, whose position is not term-limited, is believed to be the longest-serving gay Latino elected official in the U.S. It also makes him the longest-serving person of color in elected office.
He still has years to go before becoming the longest-serving LGBTQ elected official in the country. Lesbian former Minnesota House of Representatives member Karen J. Clark appears to hold that title, having served in her legislative chamber for 38 years until stepping down in January 2019.
“I am not sure I am going to beat her,” Cisneros, 68, joked to the Bay Area Reporter.
Speaking to the B.A.R. earlier this year, Cisneros didn’t rule out seeking another term in 2028, potentially extending his time in office through 2032. At the time, he didn’t expect to face an opponent this year.
The filing deadline for someone else to have entered the race was August 9. Even though Cisneros faces no competition, his name will still appear on the November 5 ballot.
“First of all, I couldn’t be happier,” Cisneros told the B.A.R. about being assured of his reelection. “I mean, you have heard this from me before, I am very proud to have been an openly gay Latino elected official for – in just two weeks – for 20 solid years here in San Francisco. That fills me with pride, and now I am honored to have the opportunity to serve for four more years and continue to work for the people of San Francisco.”
Longtime friend Bevan Dufty, a gay former city supervisor who is the current president of the board for regional transit agency BART, told the B.A.R. he is “incredibly proud” of Cisneros’ political milestone and achievements. They met prior to his tenure as treasurer.
“I think he has taken his role and he has really elevated it through initiatives such as kindergarten to college, financial justice for all, and Bank on San Francisco,” said Dufty, “and put his office really in the vanguard of helping people break out of cycles of poverty.”
Cisneros, married to San Francisco Human Rights Commissioner Mark Kelleher, was first appointed as the city’s treasurer in 2004 to fill a vacancy by then-mayor Gavin Newsom, now the state’s governor. He won a competitive race for a full four-year term in 2005; it was the only time Cisneros has been challenged for the citywide post.
With his normal four-year terms twice changed due to when his position would appear on the city’s ballot, Cisneros only served two years before seeking a full four-year term in 2015. Voters in 2022 approved a ballot measure moving his and several other citywide races to being held during presidential election years, thus Cisneros is currently finishing up a five-year term. In 2019, 15 years into his tenure, Cisneros took the record for being San Francisco’s longest-serving openly gay elected official in the same post. Gay former supervisors Tom Ammiano and the late Harry Britt both served on the board for 14 years.
The current record-holder for the Bay Area region is gay former Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who served for 22
Courtesy José Cisneros
San Francisco Treasurer-Tax Collector José Cisneros
years in his position before opting not to seek reelection in 2018. He was Berkeley’s first gay elected official.
The region’s longest-serving out female elected leader in the same post is lesbian Oakland At-Large City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan
First elected to her citywide seat in 2008, she opted not to run again this year and will depart after serving in it for 16 years.
Kaplan has one of the longest time spans as a local elected official, at 23 years, having spent seven years as an elected member of the AC Transit District Board of Directors. The agency provides bus service in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
The record-holder, at 26 years, is gay former Santa Clara County supervisor and San Jose councilmember Ken Yeager, who first won election to a community college board seat in 1992. The South Bay’s first out elected official, Yeager was termed off the countywide board in 2018.
As for Cisneros, he remains the first and only LGBTQ person to serve in one of San Francisco’s seven citywide municipal elected positions. And based on who filed to run for the five of those seats that will appear on the November 5 ballot, Cisneros is expected to remain the city’s lone LGBTQ citywide municipal elected leader.
In the mayoral race, two gay men did qualify for the ballot – Keith Freedman and Jon Soderstrom – but are underdogs in the race. The top tier of candidates are all straight allies, with Mayor London Breed fending off challenges from former mayor and supervisor Mark Farrell, Board of Supervisors President from District 3 Aaron Peskin, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune Daniel Lurie, who founded the Tipping Point Community nonprofit that works to address poverty in the Bay Area.
As for the other elected positions up this fall, it appears that once again there will be no LGBTQ representation on the board overseeing the San Francisco Unified School District. Queer school board member Mark Sanchez opted not to seek reelection this November, and it doesn’t appear any LGBTQ people filed to run for the four seats up this year.
Luis A. Zamora, a gay man who is Chiu’s director of executive affairs, is seen as having a strong shot of winning one of the four City College of San Francisco board seats on the ballot. If elected, he would bolster out representation with the departure of bisexual board member Shanell Williams, who opted against seeking a third term, and serve alongside CCSF Trustee Vick Chung, the first nonbinary, genderqueer person to hold elected office in San Francisco whose term is up in 2026.
Gay men Joe Sangirardi, a housing advocate, and Edward Wright, an adviser for strategy and communication for the city’s Muni transit system, are running to succeed Dufty in his District 9 BART board seat that covers San Francisco’s eastern neighborhoods. After announcing he would step down last year, as the B.A.R. was first to report, Dufty endorsed Sangirardi in May.
Of the odd-numbered supervisor seats up for grabs this year, the only one that could add a fourth out member to the board is the District 9 race in the Mission district, Portola, and Bernal Heights. Queer progressives Stephen Torres and Jackie Fielder, plus gay moderate Trevor Chandler, are seeking to succeed termed-out Supervisor Hillary Ronen in a field of seven candidates with straight ally Roberto Hernandez also among the top tier of contenders.
Although the fall election will not sweep in a record number of LGBTQ electeds in San Francisco, Dufty told the B.A.R. he isn’t worried about seeing the ranks of out local leaders diminish. The next couple of election cycles will provide several opportunities to grow the city’s so-called farm team of out politicians, which currently stands at 10 elected leaders.
“In the short-term things might not pan out to advance more LGBTQ breakthroughs, but there are going to be some races in the next couple of years to provide those,” said Dufty.
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City Attorney David Chiu drew an opponent in attorney and school football coach Richard T. Woon Sheriff Paul Miyamoto is being challenged by UC San Francisco police officer Michael Juan
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is fending off a challenge from former deputy district attorney Ryan Khojasteh, whom she had fired after being elected to the post in 2022. Breed had appointed Jenkins as DA that June following the recall of progressive DA Chesa Bodin
San Francisco Democrats state Senator Scott Wiener, who is gay, and Assemblymember Matt Haney are set to easily win reelection. District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani is favored in her race against fellow Democrat David Lee to succeed termed-out Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco).
As for Cisneros, he told the B.A.R. he will be laser-focused over the next 80 days on helping to usher one of his former municipal elected colleagues into the White House. He served alongside Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris when she was the city’s district attorney.
“She is the very, very best candidate around. She will do a fantastic job as our next president,” said Cisneros. t
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on queer Washington state congressional candidate Emily Randall declaring victory in her August 6 primary race.
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Rosselli said that Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket gives him “joy and hope that she can win.”
“I help lead the national union of health care workers, and we were one of the first unions in the country to endorse Kamala the day after Biden decided he wasn’t going to run,” he said, referring to the National Union of Healthcare Workers. “We’ve known and supported her since she was the DA here in San Francisco, so it’s a very close relationship with our members – a rich history.”
Rosselli is one of seven LGBTQ delegates to the DNC the Bay Area Reporter has spoken to about their upcoming trip to the Windy City. The 48th quadrennial DNC will be held there, at the United Center, from August 19-22.
Delegates excited for Harris
This year’s DNC occurs under two unusual circumstances. Normally, the delegates formally vote at the venue to select the presidential and vice presidential nominees. However, this isn’t necessary at this year’s convention since it already happened virtually from August 1-5. That was done to comply with Ohio’s election laws that require nominees be certified by August 7. Therefore, the focus this year will be the adoption of the party platform and speeches by Harris, Walz, Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, other Democratic luminaries, and up-andcoming stars.
The other unusual circumstance, of course, is that normally the winner of the primaries receives the nomination. Biden won against token opposition but declined the nomination last month amid concerns about his electability following a faltering debate performance in late June with Trump that drew questions about his fitness to serve another four years. After his announcement on social media that he would not seek a second term, he immediately issued another post in which he endorsed Harris. The party quickly united behind her, and she faced no opposition.
Andrés Ramos, a gay DNC delegate from the Sacramento area, had “mixed feelings” about Biden’s departure.
“He’s done a great job, and I wish that more Democratic leaders had stood by him. But too often Democrats get spooked by polls and run from them rather than fight harder to move the needle in our direction,” Ramos stated in a Facebook message. “That being said, President Biden is getting older and he
“Not true,” Mitra said she told the person.
Workshop attendees are welcome to bring an item from their home
made the difficult, but selfless, decision to pass the baton to VP Harris. I think history will look back and recognize it was the right decision.”
Biden is 81. After he departed the race, Trump, 78, suddenly became the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history. Harris is 59.
Everyone the B.A.R. contacted agrees that Harris, in Ramos’ words, has “enjoyed unprecedented momentum” since entering the race just over three weeks ago and “represents a shift in our politics to a new generation of leadership that is younger, more diverse, and more representative of America.”
Shay Franco-Clausen, a lesbian DNC delegate from the East Bay who is political director for Equality California, told the B.A.R. in a phone interview that she “couldn’t be more excited.”
“I’m a Black, queer woman, and so for me, this is so exciting because I think that’s what our nation needed. We needed some change,” she said. “When that change happened, so did the momentum. So many people asked ‘What can we do? What can we do next?’ I’m way more excited to be at this DNC because this is a historic moment.”
If she wins, Harris would be the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected president.
Franco-Clausen said one of the highlights for the LGBTQ delegates to the convention will be the LGBTQ caucus meeting, on August 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time. There’s about 1,000 LGBTQ delegates from around the country, she said, and this meeting will give them a chance to meet one another.
One of those hoping to get to know other LGBTQ delegates is South San Francisco Mayor James Coleman, who is bisexual. He is seeking reelection this
collections, within reason, to share at the event, like a book of photographs or some small holding of theirs.
“If you have say, a mannequin of some significance, you probably should not bring that,” said Mitra.
year to the South San Francisco City Council.
“I think that’s one of the highlights,” Coleman said in a phone interview. “I think last convention, it was all virtual due to the COVID pandemic , so the last time the DNC met was in 2016, almost 10 years ago, so this’ll be a really great opportunity to meet all sorts of delegates from all over the country. So I’m excited to be networking and seeing what’s going on in their states as well.”
Honey Mahogany, a Black queer, trans DNC delegate who until earlier this year was chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, is intently interested in what’s happening in other states as well. Mahogany is now the executive director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives.
“There’s a lot of trans folks across the country who are organizing specifically for Kamala Harris,” Mahogany said in a phone interview. “I’m hoping I get to connect with a lot of these folks in person. There’s a lot of folks doing a lot of good work for the LGBTQ community, especially in states that are Republicanled. We’ve seen the passage of legislation preventing gender-affirming care in young people and criminalizing bodily autonomy. I look forward to connecting with them and to talking to them about lessons learned and how we can come up with a national strategy to push back against authoritarianism, and this movement that seeks to take away people’s civil rights.”
Life of a delegate
The process of becoming a delegate has changed over the years; instead of a countywide ballot, Democrats have to register online with the state party to get an e-ballot, where they can vote for individual delegates.
“Democrats were able to vote in the April 21 caucus using an online voting system in which an email with a link and unique code was sent out to each voter who registered to vote in the caucus by April 11,” Ramos stated. “It was a fully online ballot.”
Luis Zamora, a gay San Francisco man, stated in an email he wanted to be a DNC delegate to represent his communities. He’s running for a seat on the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees in November.
“The California Democratic Party was very intentional in communicating that it wanted to ensure the diverse representation of our state and our party at this year’s convention,” he stated. “As a gay Latino and first-generation American and college student, I felt like the party was speaking directly to me, so I
The purpose for attendees to do so is to discuss what sorts of things people are collecting and how best to store them, said Mitra, not because the library may want to add the items shared to its holdings.
“This is not us saying, ‘We want
Music to their ears
yet sitting for a major news interview or releasing detailed policy proposals, though in campaign appearances she’s discussed restoring abortion rights, cracking down on fentanyl, and reaching a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The draft platform states that in the future, “Democrats will fix the tax system so everyone has a fair shot. We will restore the right to choose. We will continue to bring down costs for families. We will stop a dictator from destroying our democracy.”
For more information, go to queersiliconvalley.org.
worked up the courage and signed up to run for one of the four available districtlevel delegate positions for self-identified males. I was honored to be the top vote-getter in our congressional district.”
While party members select their delegates, that does not translate into a free trip for them to Chicago. Delegates are on the hook for their expenses.
“As a delegate, we have delegate accommodations HOWEVER they aren’t paid for, lol,” Carolyn Wysinger, an El Cerrito city councilmember and lesbian DNC delegate, stated in an email to the B.A.R. “So the challenge is having the funds to pay for it.”
Rosselli, a San Francisco delegate, said that delegates are assigned to hotels.
“Each state in the country is assigned to a particular hotel, or in California’s case, two hotels. So after we were elected, I got an email from the state party: ‘make your reservation at this hotel.’ Then the room is reserved for the delegate. The delegate has to pay all the expenses –hotel, transportation. I think there was a $300 per delegate fee to go to breakfast every morning.”
Dems to vote on platform Rosselli was on the platform committee in 2016, but is not this year, he said.
The party released a draft platform, or statement of beliefs and policy proposals, July 13 that has to be approved by the convention.
The draft touts the victories of the Biden-Harris administration, including the bipartisan infrastructure law, the first gun safety legislation in a generation, the largest investment on climate change in American history as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act, and strengthening NATO.
Harris has taken criticism for not
this from your community in our collection.’ This is us saying, ‘We are here for you and want to share with you what we know.’ There are many ways for you to be able to preserve and share your own memories and your community’s memories,” said Mitra.
The workshop is also a way to have a conversation with attendees about the things they should be thinking about if they want to someday donate their collections. If they were to die, have they left instructions in a will or told a friend or family member where they would want to see their archives be housed?
And for trans individuals, noted Ets-Hokin, have they thought about if they would want their given name at birth to be used as part of their donor identifier information or not.
“With archives, the name you use is so important,” she said. “Making that decision for yourself is part of the process.”
Building future partnerships
Leaders of the Hormel Center have acknowledged over the years that the collection is lacking in terms of representation of the transgender community. They have purposefully been looking to remedy that discrepancy.
“San Francisco’s transgender community is underrepresented in
It’s the Israel-Hamas war that gives the Democratic faithful anxiety; Chicago was famously the site of massive antiVietnam war protests and convention floor battles at the 1968 convention. The split screen of chaos stemming from the protests on the one hand and the action inside the convention hall have been blamed for the party’s generational malaise on the presidential level in the 1970s and 1980s.
This year, protest groups have pledged massive demonstrations of United States support of Israel at the convention, despite not having done so at the Republican National Convention last month.
The draft platform states that “President Biden and Vice President Harris recognize the worth of every innocent life, whether Israeli or Palestinian” and that “President Biden has also been determined to broker an immediate and lasting ceasefire deal that once finalized secures the return of all hostages, including the remaining Americans held in Gaza; addresses the immense civilian pain and extreme suffering being caused by the conflict, including the displacement and death of so many innocent people in Gaza; results in a durable end to the war in Gaza; and sets the stage for a lasting regional peace.”
Nonetheless, the delegates the B.A.R. contacted are happy to be visiting Chicago.
“This is my first time going to Chicago,” Coleman said. “Hopefully, this’ll be more peaceful [than in 1968]. I’d like to visit and eat the food there; it’s definitely a very diverse community there. My uncle lived there; he passed away, but I never got to visit.”
The delegates were united in hoping the convention continues to build the momentum for the Harris-Walz ticket.
Wysinger stated that “we must all remember the big fight is in the battleground states.”
“We must do everything we can to support ground game efforts in those states,” she continued. “Volunteering to phone bank, text bank and even GO to those states if you have the flexibility. All hands on deck!” t
the local archival repositories,” said Starr. “We have so much history, and so much that is born in San Francisco, and it is not reflected. That is why we want to train the community how to present their collections to whatever archive they might choose, and tell our story. Because it is so fantastic, so much has changed in such a short amount of time. We need community archivists to help tell the story.”
It was one reason why Starr donated his personal video collection to the Hormel Center, as the B.A.R. reported last year. Starr first began making video art in the early 1980s, and over the decades produced hundreds of titles and filmed numerous community events, demonstrations and other gatherings.
“It is huge,” noted Mitra.
The library is now working on making the roughly two terabytes of recorded material accessible to the public, with a goal of opening a viewing room at the San Francisco Main Library sometime in 2025 for it and other video archives in its collections. Starr’s recordings are also to be uploaded to the library’s digitalsf.org website so it is globally available.
“This is the present and the future; we are going to get more and more of these. Texas’ is just our first digital-born collection,” said Mitra.
South San Francisco Mayor James Coleman is attending his first Democratic National Convention.
Morgan McCarthy
Longtime labor leader Sal Rosselli is attending the Democratic National Convention.
Courtesy the subject
Kathy Wasowski, board president of the Rainbow Women’s Chorus, spoke at the opening of the new Queer Silicon Valley Gallery Sunday, August 11, in San Jose. Ken Yeager, a gay man and former San Jose city councilmember
Luis Castillo
Gay former SF political aide Nathan Purkiss dies
by Cynthia Laird
Nathan Purkiss, a gay man who worked for gay former San Francisco supervisor Mark Leno at City Hall and in Sacramento after Leno was elected to the state Assembly, died July 25, at his home in Davis, California. He was 57.
Moises Díaz, Mr. Purkiss’ husband, said the cause was cancer, though he declined to be more specific, telling the Bay Area Reporter that Mr. Purkiss was private about his health issues.
“It was under control until the last six months,” Díaz said in a phone interview.
“Nathan was very much loved.”
Díaz said that Mr. Purkiss went to New York University for his undergraduate studies and received a master’s in art history focused on gender and sexuality from San Francisco State University.
It was in policy work that Mr. Purkiss excelled, Díaz said. “He was whip-smart when it came to policy,” he explained, adding, “he had no problem educating himself” if he needed to learn more about a subject.
Leno echoed those sentiments.
“Nathan was an extraordinary staffer,” he said in a phone interview. “He was very creative in his thinking, and empathetic and compassionate with all our constituents.”
Mr. Purkiss worked as a legislative aide at City Hall for Leno when he represented District 8, which includes the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood, on the Board of Supervisors. He then worked in Sacramento for a time after Leno was elected to the Assembly. (Leno would go on to win election to the state Senate before leaving public office and running unsuccessfully for San Francisco mayor in the 2018 special election that saw London Breed win that race.)
Leno talked about Mr. Purkiss’ major accomplishments. Those included the formation in 1999 of a Transgender Civil Rights Implementation Task Force when Leno was on the Board of Supervisors. Leno said that Mr. Purkiss point-
ed out that in the early 1990s, former supervisor Terence Hallinan led hearings at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission that produced a report on transgender issues.
“Not uncommonly, it ended up on a shelf,” Leno said of the document.
Leno explained that his office accessed the report and found that it focused on the many needs of the trans community, which included access to education, housing, employment, and access to medical care. That led to the creation of the task force.
“The task force was made up entirely of representatives from the community,” Leno said.
Its priority recommendation was equal access to the San Francisco County health plan for trans county employees.
(San Francisco is both a city and county.)
“I, as supervisor, introduced a local ordinance to do just that,” Leno said, adding that at the time, the county’s health plan had exclusions for genderrelated care, as did other health insurance plans. This was the case even as the county health plan would provide the same services for employees who were not transgender, such as hormone therapy, mastectomies, and other procedures.
Leno had introduced the ordinance in 2001. He said that usually, ordinances required at least six votes by the 11-member Board of Supervisors. But
in this case, amending the county health plan would require nine votes. Thensupervisors Leland Yee and Tony Hall voted no. The other nine voted for it. In 2006, when Yee was running for the state Senate, he apologized for the vote, as the B.A.R. reported at the time.
Later in the state Senate, Leno would pass a similar measure.
“Private insurers followed the public lead, all to Nathan’s credit, and our little ordinance changed the way insurance” is done, Leno said.
Mr. Purkiss got his start in politics when he worked as an aide to the late gay political consultant Robert Barnes. He left Barnes’ firm to work for Leno after he became a supervisor. Mr. Purkiss was long an active member of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club.
“Alice was shocked and saddened by the passing of Nathan Purkiss, a longtime Alice board member,” Mawuli Tugbenyoh, club co-chair, wrote in an email. “Nathan was effortlessly kind and generous with his time and devoted to his community. He was especially talented at telling the storied history of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club. On behalf of current and past Alice board members, I would like to express our deepest condolences to his family, chosen family, and friends.”
Other work in San Francisco consisted of promoting a thriving and exciting San Francisco nightlife scene with the San Francisco Late Night Coalition. Leno recalled that Mr. Purkiss’ efforts led to the establishment of the city’s entertainment commission and small business commission.
On Monday, August 12, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) adjourned that day’s session in memory of Mr. Purkiss, “a former legislative staffer and a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ community.”
Wiener noted Mr. Purkiss’ long involvement in the Alice club, and said he was also a member of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. Mr. Purkiss
began his activism with ACT UP/Los Angeles before he moved to San Francisco, Wiener said.
Life after San Francisco
After working for Leno in Sacramento, Mr. Purkiss moved back to San Francisco for a time. About 10 years ago, he moved to Los Angeles, said his friend, Reese Aaron Isbell.
Mr. Purkiss and Díaz moved to Davis in 2018 so that Díaz could complete his undergraduate degree. Díaz said he and Mr. Purkiss had been together for 14 years and married in December 2016.
Residing in Davis, which is in Yolo County, did not stop Mr. Purkiss from being involved in LGBTQ issues, Díaz said.
In fact, last year, Mr. Purkiss spoke out against Woodland Joint Unified School District board member Emily MacDonald after she made a transphobic comment at a school board meeting, referring to trans people as a “social contagion.”
After her comments in 2023, MacDonald became the subject of a recall election that was held in March. Voters chose to recall her, but she resigned just before the election was certified, the Davis Vanguard reported.
Díaz said that Mr. Purkiss followed up in the months before the recall by speaking up during public comment at the Woodland district school board meetings.
“He would talk about how schools aren’t the place for hate and this is a human rights and civil rights issue,” Díaz said. “He helped create LGBTQ history in Yolo County.”
During his remarks, Wiener said that Mr. Purkiss helped charter the Yolo Pride Democratic Club and served as the club’s president.
“He leaves a world made better by his advocacy,” Wiener said.
Enjoyed video games, travel
Díaz said that Mr. Purkiss, who enjoyed playing video games, taught himself to create an online game environment for the game City of Titans, which
he said came about after the dissolution of the City of Heroes game.
“His game partners commented that it was pretty amazing,” Díaz said. “It was his baby; an online environment people could go to.”
This occurred in 2015-2016, when former President Donald Trump was running in his first campaign for the White House.
“It was so depressing,” Díaz recalled. “He needed something positive, and it ended up being this game. He taught himself computer design skills and was really proud. He had a strong online community environment and friends.”
Díaz said that he and Mr. Perkins enjoyed traveling. They went to Paris a couple of times. Díaz said Mr. Purkiss enjoyed amusement park rides.
Mr. Purkiss also appreciated serving as a mentor to young people, helping them find their voice.
“Nathan was the love of my life,” Díaz said. “I was fortunate to spend almost 14 years with him. He had an amazing curiosity about life and more amazing was his humility about himself – and grace that was unmatched, in my opinion.”
Leno said that he was able to speak with Mr. Purkiss shortly before his passing.
“We had some wonderful conversations, and I was able to thank him for all he had done,” Leno said.
In addition to Díaz, Mr. Purkiss is survived by his mom, Geri Thomson, and her husband, Pat Thomson; his dad, Bill Purkiss, and his wife, Christina Purkiss; and his brothers and their spouses: Ed Purkiss and his wife, Mary Purkiss; Adam Purkiss and his wife, Vivian Chan; and many nephews, nieces, and a godson. Díaz said that Mr. Purkiss’ “adopted family” includes Bart Broome and Ronald Regina; Gabriel Plumlee; John Marasigan; Brian Mays; Bryan Hughes and Tom Bagby; and Victor TorresBowser, among many others.
Díaz said that a community-centered celebration of life is planned for late October. t
Nathan Purkiss
Courtesy David Perry
Judge drops hate crime charge in attack on candidate
by John Ferrannini
A San Francisco Superior Court judge dismissed a hate crimes charge against a man accused of yelling homophobic slurs at a gay candidate for the Board of Supervisors but allowed the alleged assault with a deadly weapon case to move forward as a misdemeanor.
The preliminary hearing in the case was held in the courtroom of Judge Carolyn Gold on August 6 with a decision rendered August 7. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Jeffrey Landon, 58, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime after he allegedly threw a four foot Aframe sign at Trevor Chandler, a gay man running to represent District 9, including the Mission and Portola neighborhoods, on the Board of Supervisors. The preliminary hearing was held so Gold could decide if there was enough evidence to allow the case to move forward to trial.
On August 6, Chandler testified and the San Francisco District Attorney’s office presented a 10-second video purporting to show part of the incident.
Assistant District Attorney Jamal Anderson questioned Chandler about the incident before Landon’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender
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“I tried to rent that as our headquarters. … We’ve tried to tax empty storefronts. That doesn’t seem to be doing the trick,” he said, referring to city tax policies. “I’ll go back to a vibrant economy and tourism. We need the Castro to be thriving. I’m happy the fire was limited; that could have been a catastrophe.” (Lurie said the Pottery Barn landlord wanted too much money.)
He was referring to the August 10 fire next door to the theater. The B.A.R. reported that the blaze occurred at the US Bank branch next door at 443 Castro Street; initial rumors in the neighborhood were that the Castro Theatre – in the midst of a renovation and restoration project by Another Planet Entertainment – was the site of the blaze. The theater was not damaged and there were no injuries.
“The Castro Theatre is going to be a huge help for this corridor,” Lurie added, referring to the site’s reopening tentatively scheduled for next year.
Lurie added that “going back to making sure streets are clean and safe” will help with the vacancy problem.
“Making sure we have a safe nightlife, a safe culture,” he added. “People go home early because of safety reasons. The more corridors are safe and clean, these landlords will want to get in on the action and want to be a part of it.”
Martin blamed landlords for the problem, saying “they’re greedy and want more money.”
Responded Lurie, “We need to call them out for that but there’s not a lot we can do as a mayor.”
Added Martin, “I know what has been done and it’s not working.”
Responded Lurie, “If I don’t have the answer, I’m going to phone a lot of friends and see what’s worked in other cities. We could get to the bottom of it.
… Let’s find the reach of our power.”
Lurie, gay supporters
tout outsider status
Lurie’s pitch is that he’d be effective as mayor because he’s not what his campaign has phrased a “City Hall insider.”
He has never held elective office. All of his major opponents have been city supervisors, and two have served as mayor.
Daniel Meyer, cross-examined him. Chandler said the event happened at Harrison and 24th streets around 2:30 p.m. July 21.
“I was walking to go knock on doors for my campaign,” he said, when he saw “the person seated in orange at the defense table,” referring to Landon.
“All of a sudden, he started yelling ‘fucking faggot, fucking faggot, fuck-
Despite skepticism from some unions, the project lease and sublease agreement passed the Board of Supervisors 11-0 in 2020.
“They [his opponents] say he [Lurie] doesn’t have City Hall experience?” Lurie asked. “Thank goodness.”
Lurie added his opponents have a combined 70 years of elected experience.
It was this clarion call for a change that led Adam H. Sandel, a gay San Francisco resident, to invite Lurie to Beaux for the meet-and-greet in the first place. Sandel, a freelance contributor to the B.A.R.’s arts section, said he’s lived here for 23 years and was proud of the city under the mayoralty of Gavin Newsom, now California’s governor.
“This is a beacon of equality and freedom,” he said of San Francisco. “Since [Newsom] moved on, the leadership has not been so good in this city.”
Sandel mentioned crime, homelessness, addiction, and vacant storefronts as evidence of that.
“Now, when I tell people I’m from San Francisco, they say, ‘Are you OK? Are you guys OK?’” Sandel said. “I started saying, ‘we just had some really bad leadership but we’re going to change that.’
Then I heard Daniel Lurie speak, and when he was done speaking, I have not felt that much hope for the future of San Francisco since Newsom was in there.”
After the event, another gay Lurie supporter, Jason Minix, told the B.A.R. that he trusts the former nonprofit CEO because he was trying to help the city already as a private citizen.
“Daniel has been working for San Francisco by choice,” Minix said, referring to Lurie’s time at Tipping Point. “He’s so engaged with the city – something I haven’t seen in other candidates.”
But the outsider language only went so far; when the B.A.R. asked Lurie –who blamed what he feels is an overbearing bureaucracy on his opponents and electeds – how he’d appoint the right people to the right positions and avoid being taken advantage of as mayor, he said he’s done plenty of work with city leaders and has more than apt advisers.
ing faggot’ at me and started following me,” Chandler continued.
Chandler testified that it’s possible Landon knew he was gay because he and his husband had previously passed Landon on the street holding hands, or because he is running a political campaign in the neighborhood. He wasn’t wearing anything indicating he was gay, such as a Pride shirt, he testified. Meyer asserted that Landon identifies as queer.
The 10-second video that purports to show part of the incident was presented with the sound on. Anderson objected to the sound being on, saying that “the rules of the court require a transcript.”
Gold pushed back.
“If they’re saying, ‘He’s saying something,’ I want to hear the sound,” she said.
Landon spoke several times in court, accusing Chandler of having taunted him in the context of the audio debate. Later on, Gold admonished Landon to stop interrupting the proceedings.
The audio was played several times; the judge, the witness, and the B.A.R. found the words purportedly spoken by Landon incomprehensible.
“This captures a portion of that,” Chandler said in court, making the argument that the slurs were before and after the video, which was seemingly
ing built, I’ve worked with this mayor and I know there’s a lot of good people in there and a lot of people we need to change out.”
(Rahaim, a gay man, oversaw the planning department from 2008 to 2019. In a July email sent out by Lurie’s campaign about his housing plan, Rahaim wrote, “It’s clear to me that Daniel’s strategy presents the best opportunity to address our affordability crisis in San Francisco.”)
Lurie said current officeholders don’t take accountability.
“We’ve got a lot to be proud of but our elected leaders have led us down a road where everything is a blood sport,” he said, adding later that “the buck stops with me” if something goes wrong in the city.
“You’re not going to hear me blame the Board of Supervisors or the police chief,” he said. “It’s going to be on me right away.”
City not doing enough on homelessness, Lurie says Lurie is running on a platform of expanded treatment, recovery, and shelter for the homeless; a crackdown on fentanyl dealing; addressing public safety and the decline of downtown; reforming permitting; building housing; and tackling corruption.
He characterized the Breed administration launching sweeps of homeless encampments after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson – which held in June that it is not illegal for cities to enforce bans against public camping targeted at the homeless – as a politicized decision meant to give her an edge in a difficult election year.
taken from an overhead camera.
Asked Meyer on cross-examination, “It happened before the video started, after the video stopped but not in the time the video covers?”
Responded Chandler, “I’ve been consistent. That is a 10-second video, not the entirety.”
Later, Anderson said that “this is why the court requires a transcript.”
Gold replied that “nobody could transcribe those words.”
The two also went toe to toe on what part of the incident was shown in the video. Meyer made the argument that it was at the beginning, while Chandler insisted the video was in the middle.
Anderson and Meyer also disagreed about what constitutes assault with a deadly weapon non-firearm (the A-frame sign); that is, how likely it has to be to cause death or great bodily injury. (Chandler was uninjured in the alleged assault.)
Anderson argued that “the defendant acted in whole or in part because of the actual or perceived nature of the victim” and that Landon “used homophobic language before, during and after the assault.”
Meyer argued, “If we even call it an assault, the motivation was paranoia, mental illness … but he [Chandler] was not targeted” because of his sexual orientation.
things, which is absolutely a tool we’ll have to use. But, this is a city that has failed to deliver on the promise of treatment on demand.”
Lurie said he supports mandated treatment but only after alternatives have been tried.
“You can mandate treatment now, and we should, we should use CARE courts to get into treatment,” he said. “But we’re not doing it. [The Department of Public Health] is not doing it.” Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment, or CARE, courts were established by Newsom last year. The goal of the program is to get people in crisis off the streets. According to a fact sheet from Newsom’s office, CARE court connects a person struggling with untreated mental illness — and often also substance use challenges — with a court-ordered Care Plan for up to 24 months. The first CARE Court in San Francisco County was launched last October 1.
Lurie invited people interested in volunteering with his campaign to table at the Castro Farmers Market held on Wednesdays.
“We’re going to outwork, outhustle every other campaign,” he said. “Nobody’s going to outwork me. I’m going to be like [late mayor] Dianne Feinstein – I’ll walk the street every day.”
Boston Blake, who when asked by the B.A.R. identified as “gay as a tree full of fairies on nitrous oxide,” said he likes what he heard but wants to hear more.
“His heart is in the right place. He has the confidence, competence and knowhow to navigate our weird San Francisco political system,” Blake said. “I still want more details.”
Gold agreed with Meyer on the hate crimes charge but allowed a misdemeanor assault charge to move forward.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins stated to the B.A.R. she “fundamentally disagreed” with the ruling.
“We believe that there was sufficient evidence presented at the preliminary hearing to establish both the felony assault charge and hate crime allegations to move this case, as charged, forward to trial,” she stated, adding that it “reflects a continued issue at the Hall of Justice of judges failing to accurately apply the law to the facts of a case.”
The Public Defender’s office didn’t return a request for comment.
Chandler issued a statement to the B.A.R. that “with the preliminary hearing over and with video confirming the assault, my focus on this case is on community safety and ensuring that the individual no longer presents a threat to anyone in our community.”
He added, “I remain grateful for my neighbors who witnessed this incident and offered their help, and the SFPD for their quick action. Based on the facts of the case, the district attorney made the decision to charge this as a hate crime. I remain grateful for her office’s quick response. t
Santos is the gay Republican former congressman from New York, expelled from the House of Representatives after being exposed as a fabulist.
Arellano continued the Breed campaign’s critique, turning his attention to law and order.
“Daniel Lurie thinks binge watching ‘Law and Order’ from his $16 million Malibu vacation home qualifies him to make public safety decisions,” he stated. “The reality is that crime in San Francisco has dropped to historic lows. Out of desperation, Lurie is peddling the same anti-San Francisco narrative as Trump and Fox News, to convince voters that things are bad in our city.”
Reported crime – both property crime and violent crime – is down to pre-COVID levels according to police statistics, but critics charge it’s possible more crime has gone unreported as San Franciscans have lost faith.
“In contrast, Mayor Breed continues to serve as San Francisco’s biggest champion, promoting her vision for the next four years: more housing, lower crime, fewer tents, more parks and open space, and a city that is affordable for residents, families, and the people working hard to make our city great,” Arellano concluded.
Peskin agreed with Lurie about the current sweeps but questioned his experience.
“Sweeps are both cruel and ineffective. They are a sign of the mayor’s failure to seriously address homelessness in her six years of office,” Peskin stated.
Rivals respond
Lurie said that gave him the private sector’s eye for efficiency – referencing a time he said he built 143 units of affordable housing at 833 Bryant Street in three years at a cost of $377,000 per unit, instead of a citywide average of seven years at $1.2 million per unit.
“I have 30-year commanders in the police department,” Lurie began. “I have John Rahaim, [former] planning [director] endorsing me. I’ve had [former] mayor Frank Jordan endorse me. I know who works inside City Hall now; I’ve worked with a lot of them. I have a lot of experience with a lot of people in that building. I won’t be taken advantage of. I’ve worked with them on Super Bowl [50], I’ve worked with them to get hous-
“You’re going to get clean streets every four years under this mayor. The other three and a half, nothing gets done,” Lurie said. “This mayor used the injunction [against enforcing public camping laws] as an excuse for inaction, and every day there’s tents and an encampment is another sign of failure and we’ve seen that for two years and this is what we got? Ripping people’s tents away? We need more shelter beds, we need to give people bus tickets home.
“This mayor is saying a lot of those things but they haven’t added enough shelter beds, they weren’t doing bus tickets home in the way that they should have; now she’s ramping that up, and we need to have the mental health and drug treatment beds, like you heard me say in there,” he added. “And then we have the tool of citing and removing people’s
The B.A.R. – which has conducted interviews at Castro campaign stops with the Breed, Peskin and Farrell campaigns – reached out to all four of Lurie’s major opponents to request their response. Breed campaign spokesperson Joe Arellano replied that “Daniel Lurie has zero credibility on homelessness. His nonprofit pledged $100 million to cut homelessness in half in five years, and instead it went up 25% over that time frame.
“His nonprofit also funded the Coalition on Homelessness so they could hand out more tents to people on the streets,” Arellano continued. “On the issue of homelessness, Daniel Lurie has lied about his resume more than George Santos.”
“Many of the homeless youth on our streets are LGBTQ kids fleeing terrible situations, and they deserve better. On day one, I will convene the heads of the nine departments and 248 service providers addressing homelessness, force departments to improve their coordination, untangle the web of overlapping bureaucracies and nonprofit service departments, and bring order out of chaos. That’s not a job for an outsider with no management experience.”
Lurie served as CEO of Tipping Point from 2005 to 2019.
Safaí campaign adviser Derek Jansen had a similar statement to Peskin’s. “Anyone with a sense of right and wrong can tell you that encampment sweeps without solutions are inhumane and just a political gimmick,” he stated. “The only reason to say ‘no experience needed’ is if you don’t have any real experience bringing people together to solve real problems.”
The Farrell campaign didn’t return a request for comment for this report. t << Lurie
Trevor Chandler, a candidate for District 9 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, testified August 6 about an alleged assault that happened to him as he was campaigning.
Courtesy the candidate
t Community News >>
The For Them website offers information on binder fit, including a roughly 30-second instructional video for apex measurement and the prompt, “Where are you on your binding journey?” The three selections that appear underneath – “I’m new to binding + not sure where to start,” “None of the binders out there are doing it for me,” and “I wear a binder daily + am looking to get a new one” –provide further guidance as needed.
For Robin Zabiegalski, a writer and editor at Kinkly.com and a yoga teacher, wearing a For Them binder was a vast improvement compared to their previous binding experiences.
“I spent so much money trying to find binders that fit me – huge chest and fat – and the only ones I found were super uncomfortable or I had to double bind, which is really not a good idea. But my chest dysphoria was so bad I did it anyway,” stated Zabiegalski, queer and transmasc, in an Instagram message to the B.A.R.
They described wearing a For Them binder as “totally different.”
“It fit more like a really tight sports bra. More movement and mobility, but also more coverage. ... It also got me flatter than any other binder I wore,” Zabiegalski stated.
The binder also “felt like it was made to fit fat people,” Zabiegalski noted.
“[T]hat’s so important for fat trans folks. Most of us have large chests and it’s so hard to find relief from that dysphoria before top surgery, if we can even access it,” they commented. “The fact that For Them is actually making binders for fat people that fit fat people is a gift.”
<< Workshop From page 8
One collecting focus for the library is material related to the Compton’s Cafeteria riots that people have preserved and may be interested in donating. As the protest against police harassment of the eatery’s trans customers sometime in August 1966 – the exact date of the incident at the Tenderloin Compton’s location has been lost to his-
For Them, a privately held company, has had four seed funding rounds, with the most recent round, in December 2023, raising $234,300, according to Crunchbase.
“I provided money to make the binder, and once we made it and sold it, then we raised some venture capital. ... We are majority owned by a Black trans person [Freeman] and investors have been super, super supportive,” said Freeman.
The queer community continues to support For Them and Both& as well by providing both companies feedback on their current product lines and offering suggestions about new products.
“I call us a ‘user research-based grant.’ We still crowdsource our product pipeline – the community upvotes and discusses their most requested styles and categories. We have a very active discourse,” Shepard said.
“In general, we always start from this expansive space of talking with the community and figuring out what people want and then doing our best to systematically tackle those problems,” he added.
Beyond the product
The two companies’ consideration of the queer community extends to free resources on their websites – specifically, content written by and for queer and trans individuals.
In 2023, For Them acquired Autostraddle (https://www.autostraddle. com), an online queer magazine founded in 2009. The articles, which are free to access and read, focus on all things LGBTQ, including culture, history, Pride, and community perspectives.
Both&’s website includes a “Journal” page featuring TGNC-themed articles such as “What it is like to be Trans” by
tory – gains more prominence, city librarians have been fielding more questions about it from researchers and members of the public.
“We just don’t have anything,” said Ets-Hokin, to show people when they do make inquiries. “We have menus but not from that Compton’s.”
Mitra told the B.A.R. she had caught a news segment done for trans history month about Compton’s that had used a short archival video clip and wondered about its provenance.
Amelie Au, “AFAB meaning,” a thoughtful unpacking of the term “assigned female at birth” by Shepard, and “Transitioning: Tips, Stories, and Information,” a multi-authored piece that discusses top and bottom surgeries, hormone replacement therapy, and other relevant transition-related details.
Shepard’s and Freeman’s queer community-centeredness applies to company staff as well, with both employing trans and queer individuals. For Them has eight full-time staff, plus numerous freelance writers who contribute stories to Autostraddle.
Shepard is the only full-timer at Both&. He employs six part-time staff members working remotely in cities throughout the U.S. such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Colorado; the company’s primary photographer is based in London.
“We’ve been a really scrappy, really lean team from the start. I built this amazing network of part-time or consulting or freelance folks who we tap in for as much as we can afford and as much as the business needs,” he shared.
Magnan shared their positive experience with the company.
“Working with other queer and trans people makes working in general so much easier, and that’s one of the many things I love about working with Both&,” stated Magnan in an email to the B.A.R. Magnan also commented on Both&’s inclusive work environment.
“My identity, pronouns, relationship, etc. is all a nonissue and I can just focus on my job, which is primarily addressing questions and concerns from other queer and trans people as it relates to the brand,” they wrote.
Shepard hopes to increase staff size as
“Well, who has that?” she had asked.
Through the workshops for community archivists, Mitra aims to build relationships with LGBTQ individuals who have collected archival materials and may one day be interested in donating their collection to an archive, whether it be the Hormel Center or another depository focused on historical preservation. She noted that one’s collection size isn’t important, having recently
the company progresses over the next few years.
“I can’t tell you how many emails I get every month about people wanting to come work for Both&. It’s one of my ethical goals to be the largest employer of trans and nonbinary [individuals] at some point,” he said. “But we’ve got a ways to go.”
What lies ahead
Going forward, Freeman sees For Them’s community-centered “AF” and “AF+” memberships ($4 and $8 per month, respectively), which offer certain perks such as discounts and access to special content, expanding reach-wise as the company grows.
There are currently about 7,000 AF members.
For Them is also launching an underwear line this month that has been in the works for over a year. The new line, based on community input, will feature unique, builtfrom-scratch designs and tucking and packing products.
“It’s been really exciting to build these things with our needs in mind,” said Freeman.
Shepard, too, anticipates good things to come for Both&.
“[W]e surpassed seven figures our second year in business, and are now on a clear path to profitability,” said Shepard, who declined to share specific numbers.
On Instagram, Both& also recently announced its first-ever residency, happening at Fibers of Being, a queer-owned and -operated retail shop located at 645 Divisadero Street in San Francisco. The Both& residency program involves
been contacted by someone who wanted to pass on an AIDS pin from the 1990s.
“I really want to make sure we are an open door. Literally call me or call us and let’s chat,” said Mitra. “No collection is too small.” t
The Saturday workshop is free to attend. To RSVP, visit https:// tinyurl.com/4b2ep2pe
a one-month stay in a selected retail space, where upcycled Both& pieces will be available at 30% off.
Queer community joy
When clothing items do fit well, align with one’s gender identity and expression, and are coupled with supportive resources, there’s ample room in (or out of) the closet for something significant: gender euphoria.
That idea is not lost on either entrepreneur.
“We’re not only a queer company, but we’re a queer company that really stands for joy and empowerment, and there’s just such a desperate need for it, so I feel a lot of the weight and responsibility of trying to create as big of a space with as many different vectors as possible,” Shepard said.
Freeman, too, commented on his company’s “big picture” aim to have a positive, far-reaching effect on the community during a time of anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric.
“It’s really tough out there for queer and trans folks in certain spaces and states, and so I’m trying to find this balance with the idea of well-being, giving people all the resources and education that they need, and being prepared for what life is going to throw at them, which right now is a lot of not ideal stuff,” Freeman said.
“We deserve joy; we deserve happiness; we deserve to feel really good,” he said. t
This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.
This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EVAN ERNESTO UGARTE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/2024. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403945 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ASAP TOWING & RECOVERY, 1212 UNDERWOOD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DOUGLAS ESCOBAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/17/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/2024. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403947
The following person(s) is/are doing business as SANDRA KELLY THERAPY, 1800 TARAVAL ST #16037, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SANDRA KELLY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/24/24. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/24. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403977
The following person(s) is/are doing business as VASQUEZ PAINTING, 194 FLOURNOY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSE NAPOLEON VASQUEZ MEDRANO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/10/2020. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/2024. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403949 The following person(s) is/are doing business as OSCAR PRINTING COMPANY, 57 COLUMBIA SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed LA BROTHERS ENTERPRISE, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/27/1997. The statement was filed with
NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403865
The following person(s) is/are doing business as BALBOA PLUMBING SUPPLY, 2633 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed WELLS PLUMBING AND HEATING SUPPLIES, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/21/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/2024. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403846
The following person(s) is/are doing business as TAT WONG KUNG FU ACADEMY, 4801 GEARY BLVD #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CHOY LAY FUT KUNG FU INSTITUTE INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/0/1983. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/2024. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2024-0403718
the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/24. JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2024
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24-558870
In the matter of the application of BRYANT ANGEL, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioners JANET APREZA GARDUNO & ALEJANDRO ANGEL CASTANEDA are requesting that the name BRYANT ANGEL be changed to BRYANT ANGEL APREZA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 10th of SEPTEMBER 2024 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted. AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2024
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-24-558993
In the matter of the application of HARLEM RODNEY LEWIS JEFFERSON, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appears from said application that petitioners MAKEEDA ANN LEWIS & RICHARD ALEXIS TORRES are requesting that the name HARLEM RODNEY LEWIS JEFFERSON be changed to HARLEM MANUEL TORRES. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N on the 29th of OCTOBER
by Gregg Shapiro
The Indigo Girls – Emily Saliers and Amy Ray – are having a moment. Since the release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie in the summer of 2023, in which the queer duo’s “Closer to Fine” was heard repeatedly, to today, when they are prominently featured in Tom Gustafson’s “Glitter & Doom” and Alexandria Bombach’s doc “Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All,” Indigo Girls are hotter than ever. In addition to a well-received performance on the “Today” show, Indigo Girls are embarking on a multi-city concert tour, including several dates with Melissa
Etheridge, and a sold-out September 25 concert in San Francisco at The Masonic.
Gregg Shapiro: In the introduction to my favorable review of Alexandria Bombach’s documentary “Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All,” I talk about how since the summer of 2023, when “Closer to Fine” was featured prominently in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.”
Emily Saliers: First of all, it was a huge surprise to be asked. And it was an honor because both Amy and I adore Greta Gerwig’s work. It just kind of fell out of the sky, this massive gift. We knew it was going to be in the trailer, but we
didn’t know it was gonna be in the film. We certainly didn’t know that was going to be featured in its own way in terms of its content in the movie. It was so exciting and so gratifying because we love Greta’s work.
I loved the movie, too. I thought it was amazing on so many levels. The issues it delved into, the way it looked, how stylized it was, how funny it was, how clever, and the dancing. The whole thing was like this big experience. So, to have “Closer to Fine” included in something that I really loved so much as a piece of art was fantastic. Then, of course, there was a spike in interest, I think, in the Indigo Girls’ music. What a gift that was to come out of nowhere and take hold. I think we’re still
by Gregg Shapiro
The early 1970s were an especially prolific time for John Lennon in his solo phase. Between 1970 and 1975 he released one studio album a year. These albums, which included “Plastic Ono Band” and “Imagine,” are among the best of any of his former bandmates’ postBeatles creations.
“Mind Games” (Lenono/Universal Music Group), originally released in 1974, and newly reissued in a superb and expansive “Ultimate Collection” box set containing six CDs, two Blu-rays, a 136-page book, two postcards, and a “Citizen of Nutopia” ID card, is considered by many to be a return to form (following the misstep of 1972’s “Some Time In New York City”).
In addition to the original “Mind Games” album, featuring the classic and lush title track, along with “One Day (At A Time),” “Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple),” and “Meat City,” there are a pair of hidden tracks (“I’m The Greatest” and “Rock ‘N’ Roll People”), all presented in different mixes (such as “Raw Studio,” “Elements,” “Elemental,” and “Out-Takes”), providing the listener with an entirely new and expanded listening experience. The book features many photos, song lyrics, stories about the songs, and interviews (including one with backing vocalist and later disco diva Jocelyn Brown).
Years before queer music artist Brandi Carlile took it upon herself to lead the charge for the Joni Mitchell revival, legions of LGBTQ+ folks fell in love with the woman many consider to be the alltime greatest female singer/songwriter/painter. Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing well
feeling the repercussions of that in a positive way.
How did it feel to be the subject of a documentary and have your life and career highlighted that way?
We met Alexandria, the director, through Kathlyn Horan, who was one of the producers on the documentary. We had lunch together and she said, “I’d like to make a documentary about y’all. I can see that that’s never been done before.”
In our conversations, we were clear with Alexandria that we wanted it to be not so much just about us, but about our community, that has gone
into the 21st century, Mitchell captivated our attention, even going so far as to reference drag queens and other queer people.
“The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)” (Rhino), the third installment in the box-set series of Mitchell’s studio albums, wraps up her first goround with the Warner-related label (she would return to the Warner family from 1994-2002).
The four-disc box set, which reproduces the original gatefold albums and artwork in miniature, opens with 1976’s “Hejira,” the best of the bunch. From its breathtaking cover and inner artwork by Norman Seeff and Joel Bernstein to trademark numbers such as “Black Crow,” “Amelia,” “Coyote,” “Song For Sharon,” “Refuge of the Roads,” and the title cut, “Hejira” was a dazzling example of Mitchell’s experimental spirit. Following soon after, the double LP “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter” (1977) may be the beginning of when Mitchell’s longtime fans felt a sense of estrangement.
Beginning with the original controversial cover art (not duplicated here in the box set) to the 16-minute opus “Paprika Plains” (which took up an entire side of the original double LP), it seemed as if Mitchell was attempting to put some (unintentional?) distance between herself, her fans, and her fame.
Nevertheless, “DJRD” did include several classics including “Jericho,” “Dreamland” (featuring Chaka Khan), “Otis and Marlena,” and the title number. Ultimately, it was 1979’s “Mingus” that did the most damage to Mitchell’s career up until that point.
A loving tribute to jazz musician Charles Mingus which featured four Mitchell/Mingus
Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, Alan Vega and more
Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers
Center
by Jim Gladstone
Center Rep, the resident theater company at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, recently announced that its new season will kick off in September with “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
In today’s Bay Area theater scene, a hotbed of identity politics and LGBTQ+ representation, news of the umptillionth suburban production of a 1939 comedy about murderous spinster aunties doesn’t immediately induce goosebumps.
But Matt M. Morrow, Center Rep’s new artistic director – who previously held the same position at Diversionary, San Diego’s nationally recognized queer theater – says he’s cracked open the old chestnut and found new inspiration.
“‘Arsenic’ has long been a favorite of mine,” said Morrow in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “I read it in high school as I was discovering theater and realizing what a safe space it could be for a queer kid growing up in central Florida.”
Indeed, for many queer theater afficionados, high school and community theater productions of playwright Joseph Kesselring’s grisly-but-ticklish romp served as gateways to thespianism.
But the show is among a passel of 20th-century American classics that we’ve largely left by the wayside, gaywise: “Our Town” isn’t our town. “You Can’t Take It with You,” is a far cry from “with it.” Harvey the rabbit’s invisibility does diddly for queer visibility.
Queer view mirror
Last year, while preparing for his debut production at Center Rep, Morrow reread the script of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
“The text really held up,” he said. “It’s still very funny. But another thing that really struck me was that the reason these old ladies can get away with
murder is because nobody is able to see them for who they truly are. People are blinded by their assumptions. And then I realized that this is true throughout the play, about every character.
“You think you know someone and then suddenly you discover something new about them and you’re like, ‘Oh, you’re not at all who I thought you were.’ Well how queer is this? Who knows more about hidden identities than the queer community?’ So, I thought, ‘Let’s turn the play on its head a little bit and invite an intersectional queer cast and creative team to explore this material and see how it can thrive anew.”
“I don’t want to share any spoilers, but I think folks will be delightfully surprised by our take on it. We’re honoring the intentions of the playwright, but also taking a contemporary queer lens to it. And we’re telling the story with a lot of joy and fun.”
New season, fresh vision Morrow’s pink-tinged spin on the tried-and-true “Arsenic and Old Lace” exemplifies the approach with which Center Rep, operated by the city of
Walnut Creek, is addressing its evolving audience.
Founded in 1968, Center Rep is one of the Bay Area’s oldest operating theater companies (The Berkeley Rep started that same year, and A.C.T. just three years earlier). In recent years, what was once its predominantly white and relatively conservative local constituency has shifted, becoming younger and more diverse.
The pandemic had a notable impact on demographics, as former urbanites were freed from requirements to report to office headquarters every day.
“We need to embrace the people who have been relocating to this region, while at the same time honoring the people who have been here for a long time,” said Morrow. “Inclusion is the name of the game.”
That perspective is clear in the rest of Center Rep’s forthcoming 20242025 season which includes works that share the themes in “Arsenic and Old Lace” of intergenerational relationships (Queer Broadway vet Sara Porkalob’s solo musical “Dragon Lady,” inspired by her Filipina grandmother; and “Happy Pleasant Valley,” a comedic world premiere in which an internet influencer helps solve a series of murders in her grandmother’s senior living facility.
The company’s other productions in the year ahead include “Froggy” a tech-infused graphic-novel style adventure; a production of “The Roommate” arriving quick on the heels of the play’s Broadway debut later this month (The New York cast of Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone will, alas, not be heading west); and, yes, “A Christmas Carol,” because what would community theater be without it? t
‘Arsenic and Old Lace,’ September 8-29. $25-$70. Center Rep, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. www.centerrep.org
Matt M. Morrow, Center Rep’s new artistic director
Matt M. Morrow, Center Rep’s new artistic director
‘Queen Tut’ Indie film on embracing your inner drag queen
by David-Elijah Nahmod
“Queen
Tut” is a delightful new Canadian film that covers a lot of ground. During the course of its 100-minute running time, the film deals with class issues, gentrification, coming out, homophobia and transphobia. “Queen Tut” (Fae Pictures) has played on Canadian TV, but so far it has been sparsely seen in the USA, which is a shame. This is a film that deserves to find an audience.
Alexandra Billings, a seasoned Broadway performer who was most recently seen as Madame Morrible in “Wicked,” stars and also served as an executive producer on the film. She plays Malibu, a transgender woman who owns and operates an LGBT bar in Toronto’s gay village. Billings is herself a transwoman.
Malibu’s bar is facing destruction, as a local developer wants to tear down the whole block to build condos. Malibu has started a grassroots campaign comprised of drag queens and drag kings to save the bar.
Nabil (Ryan Ali) is a Coptic Christian from Egypt who has just moved to Toronto to live with his estranged father after the death of his mother. It’s Nabil’s father Iskander (Danni Jazzar) who wants to tear the bar down.
Nabil is deep in the closet, though he flirts with another young man at his father’s church.
After meeting Malibu, Nabil gets involved in the campaign to save the bar. Slowly but surely, he begins to come out of the closet. He makes a flaming red
gown which he wears to a protest held at the office of the developers and assumes the drag name Queen Tut. Naturally, Nabil’s father is horrified.
“I love you,” says Iskander. “But there are certain things we can never talk about.”
Nabil holds his ground and further embraces his new, chosen family, which comes to include the young man he flirted with at church.
Ali, a rising star in film and TV, has amassed an impressive list of credits. Syrian-born, he speaks in both English and Arabic in “Queen Tut.” Adorably cute, he offers a strong performance as a young man looking to find
his way in the world. His character shows tremendous growth throughout the course of the film.
At first, he’s shy and timid, but under Malibu’s tutelage he slowly comes out of his shell and morphs into a confident, out gay man. Ali also gets a chance to show off his belly dancing skills. As Queen Tut he belly-dances for his appreciative new friends, who join him in the dance. As Queen Tut, Ali is quite fierce-looking. He also begins a romance with Morcos (Mostafa Shaker).
Billings has worked on stage for years, but her film appearances have been sparse (including a notable role in the 2022 scifi series “The Periph-
eral.” Why she isn’t a movie star is a mystery, as she’s riveting whenever she’s on camera. Malibu is a strong, hard as nails woman who also has a heart of gold. She takes Nabil under her wing and nurtures him, almost like a mother. But when she faces off with the developers who want to take her bar away, she takes no prisoners.
“What’s your name?” one of the developers asks her.
“Malibu,” she replies.
“What’s your last name?”
“It’s just Malibu, like Cher,” she says defiantly.
“Queen Tut” is a film that has a lot to say, and it delivers its message without
preaching. It shows how LGBT people form families of choice in a world that often rejects them. Nabil’s father may love him, but Dad will never accept who his son is. With Malibu and her friends, he finds a true family, he finds his people.
“Queen Tut” is an uplifting film, a coming-of-age drama with heart, humor and a real sense of pride. Hopefully this review will help it find the audience it deserves.t
“Queen Tut” is now streaming on Amazon Prime and other platforms, and is available on DVD. www.faepictures.com
Elizabeth Banks’ beauty biz’s bumpy ride
by Gregg Shapiro
Is there anything Elizabeth Banks can’t do? She’s a game show host (“Press Your Luck”). She’s a director (“Cocaine Bear” and “Pitch Perfect 2”). She’s a comedic actor (“30 Rock” and “Modern Family”) who is also comfortable doing dramatic work (“Love and Mercy” and “Brightburn”).
In “Skincare” (IFC Films), which opens with the words “Fictional story inspired by true events,” Banks is given the opportunity to be both serious and comedic as lead character Hope Goldman. A fiercely competitive self-made skincare queen, Hope, with the aid of her assistant Maureen (trans actor Michaela Rodriguez) is preparing to launch her highly anticipated imported line of products.
Having made it big in “celebrity facials,” Hope’s world is turned upside down when esthetician Angel (out actor Luis Gerardo Méndez) opens his skin care studio directly across from Hope’s longtime location. Her attempt at a neighborly introduction to Angel sadly backfires, putting Hope in a tizzy.
Making matters worse is that Hope is in arrears to her landlord because all her cash flow is tied up in the debut of the product. Additionally, a segment Hope taped for a popular Hollywood talk show co-hosted by Brett (Nathan Fillion) is bumped by one featuring Angel.
Worst of all, someone hacks Hope’s email database and sends out a message that not only exposes her financial woes but includes sexually suggestive images and language. Convinced that it is Angel who is out to destroy her, she enlists Jordan (Lewis Pullman, son of actor Bill), a life coach and the much younger boyfriend of a client, to help her deal with Angel. She also seeks help from her mechanic Armen (Eric Palladino).
Before you can say, “Your pores are as big as manhole covers,” everything that can go wrong for Hope does. She’s harassed in her place of business. Investors abandon her. Clients cancel appointments only to schedule new ones with nearby competitor Angel. Things turn violent with one character hospitalized in critical condition and another dead following a car accident.
Mostly known for directing music videos, director and co-screenwriter Austin Peters somehow finds a way to balance the comedy and drama, and
keep us engaged, even as we discover who the culprit is long before Hope does. Banks does a good job of portraying a woman, for whom appear-
ance is everything, coming apart at the seams. You also don’t want to miss the scene featuring a half-naked Pullman in his apartment. Rating: B-t
Elizabeth Banks in ‘Skincare’ IFC Films
Left: Ryan Ali in ‘Queen Tut’ Middle: Alexandra Billings in ‘Queen Tut’ Right: Ryan Ali and Mostafa Shaker in ‘Queen Tut’
through these things together. I think she handled that very deftly and respectfully. Instead of feeling like, “Here’s a movie about y’all,” it feels more like here’s a movie about the power of music and community, especially for queer folks or people who don’t fit inside a box, for them to have an openness and expression. And for us to go through our hard times in life together. The fact that it landed within the scope of the time of “Barbie” and “Glitter & Doom,” was just kind of like, “Wow! What is happening?” This is like the giving season for the Indigo Girls.
I’m glad you mentioned “Glitter & Doom.” When I interviewed Amy in 2023 about her solo album (“If It All Goes South”), I asked her about the possibility of a stage musical consisting of Indigo Girls songs, and that’s when I learned about “Glitter & Doom.” The movie not only incorporates many Indigo Girls songs, but you also appear in the movie as the character of The Dream. What was that experience like for you?
We read the script – we get script submissions sometimes – but this one really stood out. We loved the story. Then we heard the music, Michelle Chamuel’s arrangements and production, and how our music was arranged, produced, and performed in a way that we’d never heard before. That was really exciting for us and we loved it.
We love Tom (Gustafson) and Cory (Krueckeberg) who co-directed the film (written by Krueckeberg). To be in a cameo – Amy, I think, was terrified. Amy will tell you she does not like to act. I think she did an amazing job. For me, it was exciting. I was in high school theater, and I don’t mind that.
We had a different experience of actually being in the film. We both love the movie and it just premiered in a theater in New York. It’s so well done. It’s a colorful and well-directed film with the songs. The actors are captivating. I love the story.
Again, it was this wonderful piece of art that someone was creating that they invited us to be part of with our music. That feels good. Also, the other
thing that’s important to me and Amy, is that when we were coming up, I remember this growing up as a young queer in Atlanta; there was a divide between the gay male world and the lesbian world.
There was the complexity of the horror of the AIDS crisis, but beyond that, there was a separation, sort of never the twain shall meet. I feel like this experience with Tom and Cory and the gay male presence, the queer presence in the film, and then bringing in the lesbian artists to contribute was such a great energy and a great confluence of things that historically has not always happened. It’s sort of like bringing all the queers together. That was profoundly moving to me and Amy, as well. I think it was important. I don’t know if you remember that divide.
I do! We’re close in age, and I remember that divide within the community. When I would tell people about “Glitter & Doom,” about how it features the Indigo Girls’ music, they would ask if it was a movie about a lesbian couple. I’d tell them, no, it’s about a male couple and they’d say, “Wow! Indigo Girls songs in a movie about a gay male couple!” So, yes, you’re
collaborations (including the snappy “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines”) and two Mitchell originals, “Mingus” is as admirable as it is frustrating. The last of Mitchell’s Asylum releases, the 1980 double disc live recording “Shadows and Light” was recorded in 1979 at the Santa Barbara County Bowl and focused mainly on newer material, although it does feature a marvelous rendition of “Woodstock.” The liner notes by Meryl Streep are also required reading.
Power/jangle pop band The dB’s might not ever have been if it wasn’t for the Beatles (or The Beach Boys, for that matter). Listening to The dB’s debut album “Stands For Decibels” (Propellor Sound), newly reissued on CD and making its US vinyl debut,
from each of us in the whole body of work for the movie. For me, sitting there as an audience member, I was like, “Oh, who wrote this song? It’s pretty. This is really working [laughs].”
It was the experience of being outside and inside at the same time and I don’t get to experience that a lot.
Indigo Girls are touring with Melissa Etheridge. How did this amazing combination come to be?
It is so cool! We’ve never done anything like this with Melissa. Of course, we have such respect for her career and her music. She was doing one of those rock cruises and we got invited to be on that, and we couldn’t do it. But the seed was planted. After all these years, there was interest from both parties to play some shows together.
right. “Glitter & Doom” attempts to bridge that gap.
It does. I knew it, intellectually, but sitting in the theater and experiencing it was a whole other thing. It brought to life the way that queer people come together and the power of that, artistically, politically, socially, in every realm. Amy was sitting there in the theater experiencing the same thing and we didn’t realize it until we started answering questions during the Q&A after the film was shown.
“Glitter & Doom” also includes a song from your 2017 solo album “Murmuration Nation.” What does that inclusion mean to you? When I heard the way it’s treated in the movie, it was so thrilling. I wrote that song, “Match,” with Kristen Hall, one of the original members of Sugarland. It takes a seed of a song that was written so long ago for fun with a friend, and it makes it become this whole world of its own in the context of the movie. I love the way it was treated musically.
In a way, it’s like sitting outside of something and hearing something beautiful, but then it’s connected to you because you created it. It’s hard to articulate, but I thought it was really cool that they included a solo song
you can hear its musical influences. It’s also easy to understand how the North Carolina-based quartet’s sound was a good fit for the early days of college rock radio. On “Stands for Decibels” songs such as “Dynamite,” “Black and White,” “Tearjerkin’,” “I’m In Love,” “Espionage,” “Big Brown Eyes,” and The Beach Boysesque “She’s Not Worried,” The dB’s (featuring Chris Stamey, who went on to produce albums by important queer acts including Le Tigre and The Butchies) took its place alongside college rock legends such as R.E.M., The Bongos, Pylon, The Feelies, and Replacements, to name a few.
Released six years after his death at 78, “Insurrection” (In the Red) by the late Alan Vega, isn’t a reissue but the latest in a series of resurrections of previously unreleased material. Recorded in 1997 and 1998, the 11 songs are as
timeless as they are trauma-inducing. Vega was one half of the groundbreaking and influential electro-punk duo Suicide (along with Martin Rev), a
Then it turned out to be playing summer sheds together. She’ll have her thing and we’ll have our band, and we’ll do some stuff together. Then it turned into this run of shows. When we first announced to a crowd that we were doing shows with Melissa Etheridge, it was in the Northeast somewhere, people screamed [laughs]! It was like, “Okay, this is a good decision.”
We’ve been in touch with each other about doing a song together or whatever the case may be. It’s the first time we’ve done something like this with a storied artist like Melissa and we’re both so excited.
I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded, but it’s been four years since the release of the Indigo Girls’ “Look Long” album. Is there a new Indigo Girls album in the works?
It’s kind of floating in the ether. Everything is meeting at this juncture where we have the documentary and “Glitter & Doom,” and then “Barbie” happened, and we’re doing a lot of symphony shows and touring.
At the same time, Amy has a 10-year-old-daughter and I have an 11-year-old-daughter. We’re feeling the pain of missing life. So, we’re trying to orchestrate how to keep our lives in balance with home life and touring.
Then Amy had a super-long tour with her solo band. And I’m writing for musical theater.
To answer your question, as we’re
pair whose bold electronic experimentation began in the early 1970s. Therefore, it’s not all that surprising that Vega would have continued in that vein. The throbbing and thrumming electro beats on “Cyanide Soul,” “Fireball Fever,” “Crash,” “Sewer,” “Invasion,” and “Mercy,” combined with Vega’s distinctive vocal delivery have the potential to become the soundtrack to some of your most outrageous dreams.
Jason Pierce of Spiritualized has cited Suicide as an influence on his other band, Spacemen 3. “Songs in A&E” (Fat Possum), the 2008 album by Pierce’s Spiritualized, has been recently reissued with new artwork in a double 180-gram vinyl LP special edition. The new artwork is significant in that the album was released after Pierce’s serious health crisis involving hospitalization from pneumonia and cellulitis (the “A&E” of the album’s
getting older we just seem to be getting busier [laughs] with these projects that are all wonderful. We have talked about the next album, and we started tossing around ideas, but we’re going to take a little bit of a mental break this summer and spend time with our family. Then I’m sure we’ll be refreshed after that and from the tour with Melissa and Amos Lee and start to really focus in on when we can do the next album. There will be a next album, it’s just been such a busy time.
Finally, because Indigo Girls are renowned for their activism, do you have any words of wisdom regarding the upcoming 2024 election?
It is absolutely critical that if you’re of voting age and ability, you have to vote. I am voting for Harris/Walz.You cannot be distracted by the media that may pull you one way or another. I encourage you not to be distracted by a feeling of, “Well, my vote doesn’t count,” because this election is as critical as any election has ever been. We’re seeing a shift after Roe V. Wade was overturned in local and state politics. The onslaught of legislation against queer people, particularly trans people; conservatives are coming for all our rights, all of them, I would say, please vote, vote progressive. Don’t be distracted by anything, even if you feel you have to vote for the lesser of two evils in your mind, vote for the lesser of two evils.
This is an absolutely critical juncture for obvious reasons. I truly believe that the fabric of democracy is coming apart in this country, but we have to protect our queer family. We are under attack, and you have to vote for the candidate who supports us. It’s extremely important to vote in your local elections because conservatives who are anti-queer are taking over school boards. You know what they’re doing; banning books. I could spend the next 20 minutes imploring anybody who’s reading this to vote through a progressive lens. They’re coming after us and we need to stand up for equal rights and for the future of democracy in this country.t
Indigo Girls perform Sept. 25 at The Masonic (sold out). www.indigogirls.com
title refers to the hospital’s Accident & Emergency ward).
A lush and powerful testament to survival, songs such as “Death Take Your Fiddle,” “Soul on Fire,” “Don’t Hold Me Close,” “Sweet Talk,” “Sitting On Fire,” “The Waves Crash In,” “Goodnight Goodnight,” and the near-epic “Baby I’m Just A Fool,” all take their respective places in Spiritualized idiosyncratic musical canon.
It’s been more than 25 years since we lost Michael Hutchence of Australian band INXS. But if you listen to SiriusXM’s 1st Wave channel (33), INXS is still in heavy rotation. Fans of Hutchence will no doubt be excited to hear about the posthumously released 10” vinyl picture disc featuring two “lost” singles: the hard rocking “One Way” and the darkly beautiful “Save My Life” (Boss Sonics/Deko Entertainment).t
Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers
Jeremy Cowart
Left: Joni Mitchell in 1971 Right: Joni Mitchell’s album set Joel Bernstein
Left: The dB’s Middle: Jason Pierce of Spiritualized Right: Michael Hutchence
A genre novel with a twist
by Tim Pfaff
There’s been lots of talk about the drug-fueled, sex-driven, gay coming-of-age story that’s become a thing. The once-sensational subject matter has become de rigueur, to the point that the topic, such as one could call it that, may have drowned in its own success (or is it excess?). Then along comes a debut novel like August Thompson’s “Anyone’s Ghost” (Penguin Press) to show that there’s still life in the old girl.
The twist Thompson gives his story is that the protagonist, Theron David Alden, inhabits the soul of a young, perhaps bisexual man ensorceled by a straight man –named Jake, of course–who gives indications that his own sexual proclivities are, if not up for grabs, malleable, something that can be worked with. Spoiler: both men end up in intimate relationships with women, unusually tolerant, accepting women, while embers of their samesex flame continue to smolder, with and without smoke.
For gay readers, “Anyone’s Ghost” offers something that doesn’t turn up much in today’s gay literary fiction: a steady look at the chronically unstable chemistry that is man-man love beyond categories. The novel obliterates the tired cliché that bisexual men simply haven’t fessed up and live lives of inauthenticity and, likely, boredom. Thompson’s tale is, if not altogether original, an exploration of the notion that it ain’t necessarily so.
Gay men whose first attraction was to straight men, a secret love that holds the potential for consummation, will recognize themselves in Thompson’s well-drawn characters.
Gay men whose favorite flavor in men remains straight might find in “Anyone’s Ghost” the sacred text they’ve long awaited. Who, after all, can claim to be the arbiter of honesty?
Brownies, booze & rehab
The plot turns on the unlikely meeting of the two men –boys, really, when they first meet. The issue of a fairly typical American divorce, Alden is preparing for a dull summer with his father in the pre-arranged, agreedupon (except by Davey, as his father insists on calling him) elaboration of custody. His preparation is a baggie of pot brownies which, when his father discovers them, are confiscated as the first stage of Davey’s rehabilitation, the follow-up being Davey’s being dragooned into a job at a hardware store owned by a friend of his father’s.
Jake, it turns out, is the rest of the store’s staff. The two work out their initial discomfort with each other over joints in the shade of a dumpster, and their subsequent friendship is based, if not fueled, by phenomenal amounts of booze. The will-they-or-won’t-they tension is both the water in which they swim and the undertow that threatens to drown them.
Even before the two meet, Theron –as he becomes increasingly fond, even insistent of being called– has confided to the reader his attraction to boys. “I was used to that pining then, where I was more interested in the beauty of boys than girls because I wished so badly that I were them.”
To complete the picture, from the start Jake lets on that he’s in some degree of matrimony with a woman named Jess. Thompson leaves no doubt that both couples’ intimacy is genuine, the sex real if on the wane as happens in most if not all romantic relationships. Things go wrong
The reader knows that tragedy is afoot from the novel’s first sentence: “It took three car crashes to kill Jake.” That Theron is in the first two of them with him only highlights his agony at learning, through someone else’s DM not even directed toward him, that Jake, driving an 18-wheeler that has overturned, has met the same fate as
Author August Thompson
his cargo of crabs now crawling over each other in a red-flecked stream.
Jake’s fatal crash is adumbrated by his drunkenly driving off the road with Theron in the passenger seat. You feel Theron’s horror at seeing his secret beloved’s body smashed, a bone sticking out of his thigh, his slow recovery anything but assured. In its early days, “I had moments of that abandonment anxiety, but none of it stuck. We now
shared a time together, a pain and a secret. On top of the love I felt for him, these were ties that felt invincible.”
Along the way in Thompson’s oddly action-packed novel, other catastrophes that overtake the two, including a robbery and an LSD trip gone wrong. But none more dramatic than a hurricane that lands them in the literal, power-outage darkness of Theron’s New York apartment, where, eventually,
boozy, druggy goings-on lead to sex. Thompson reports that moment in gritty strokes.
“[Jake] pulled me toward him, kissing me hard enough that his teeth raked over my canker sore. It ruptured, and a little of my blood mixed with the ash on his spit, but I didn’t care… It is a strange feeling to have something you’ve always wanted, particularly when it is something so private.”
The sex is reported in fresh, if sometimes revolting, language. The awkwardness of the inevitable “I love you” confessions from both –perhaps tellingly, first from Jake –is central. The pages about their “romance” are the most compelling even in a novel this carefully crafted. Thompson’s honesty about the slithery nature of forbidden love and its consequences outshines the protestations and prevarications of the two men whose lives have tumbled together, innocently enough but destined for tragedy.
The single most remarkable aspect of this compulsively readable novel is Thompson’s willingness to delve into both physical and emotional details that a lesser writer would dodge. Even the frequent descriptions of the heavy metal music both men love and the binding force it has in their relationship turnup gold where another writer might find only slag.
But the surprises are outstripped by the depths at which Thomas explores in the mash-up of gay and straight, as if either denominator told the whole story.t
‘Anyone’s Ghost,’ by August Thompson. Penguin Press, 308 pages, $28. www.penguinrandomhouse.com www.august-thompson.com
Remembering Karen Carpenter
by David-Elijah Nahmod
K
aren Carpenter (1950-1983) remains, more than forty years after her death, a beloved and iconic figure in the music business. She was the frontwoman for the popular duo The Carpenters along with her brother Richard. The pair had a string of hits. Songs like “Yesterday Once More,” “Close to You,” and “We’ve Only Just Begun” endeared them to millions and cemented they status as musical legends. Karen was particularly admired for her smooth vocals, with Rolling Stone Magazine naming her as one of the 100 greatest singers of all time.
In spite of her success Karen Carpenter led a troubled life. For years she suffered from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which led to her early death at age 32.
Bay Area singer Laurie Roldan is a huge fan of Karen’s and will be performing “Laurie Roldan Sings a Song for You: a Cabaret Concert Inspired by the Music of Karen Carpenter” on August 17 and 25 at the Gateway Theater in San Francisco. The concerts will
serve as a benefit for 42nd Street Moon.
Roldan is a Bay Area native who grew up in Moraga. As early as age four she was singing along to Karen Carpenter records. She began to perform in middle school and has been performing ever since, and has been seen in both musical theater and cabaret. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Roldan spoke of what Karen Carpenter means to her.
“Karen was my idol growing up,” Roldan said. “I used to lay by my parents’ stereo speakers and sing along to her records. I believe something about her voice has always been comforting to me. My mom used to exercise to her music and this made me closer to my mom and closer to Karen as well.”
Roldan added that she won’t be playing Karen in the concert, she’ll be appearing as herself. She does, however, play the drums for a few numbers, as did Karen Carpenter.
“I love to sing music that inspires and uplifts others,” she said. “I love to sing music that has a message. Songs with a story that moves people. I was told by a mentor of mine that singing is my natural obligation in life.”
A life in song
The show is autobiographical, according to Roldan. It’s the story of her life told through many of the Carpenters’ hit songs.
Very
and
All
“As we all have so many ups and downs in our lives, my show was created to inspire and uplift people to never give up on their unique purpose and their dreams,” she said. “The music takes the audience on a nostalgic journey which can be cathartic and inspiring. It’s about not giving up, embracing the idea that it’s never too late to learn something new. My wish is to empower others to rediscover their
passion and purpose and embrace that ideal.”
Roldan will be joined by guest vocalists Deborah Del Maestro, Jordan Smith and Monica Rose Slater, each of whom will sing a duet with her. There will also be a kids’ ensemble, six children who will join her at the end of the show to perform the song “Sing.”
“I love to feature other singers in my show as part of my message, supporting and lifting each other up,” she said.
Even though there was a sadness to Karen Carpenter due to her battle with anorexia, Roldan feels that the Carpenter legacy is ultimately uplifting.
“She was one of the greatest singers of all time,” said Roldan. “She captivated people with her unique, soothing, smooth voice.”t
Laurie Roldan sings ‘A Song for You: A Cabaret Concert Inspired by the Music of Karen Carpenter,’ August 17 at 7pm, August 25 at 3pm, Gateway Theater, 215 Jackson St. $39-$49 www.42ndstmoon.org www.laurieroldan.com
Laurie Roldan pays tribute to iconic singer
Going
Above: Laurie Roldan Below: Laurie Roldan on the drums in her Karen Carpenter concert.
Ben Platt’s ‘Honeymind’
by Brian Bromberger
When one hears the name Ben Platt, the varied reactions to him can almost act as a kind of Rorschach test covering a gamut of emotions. On stage he won breakout fame and a Tony award as the socially anxious teenage star of the Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Last year he starred in the musical revival of “Parade” as the JewishAmerican Leo Frank falsely accused of raping and murdering a thirteenyear old girl, then lynched by an antisemitic mob, garnering another Tony nomination as Best Musical Actor.
In movies and television, his star is appreciably dimmer with the film version of “Dear Evan Hansen,” a dismal failure because he was too old for the role. With his rich producer father bankrolling the movie, he was accused of nepotism.
His performances as the driven teen determined to become President of the U.S. in the Ryan Murphy Netflix mockumentary series “The Politician,” and as the gay brother of his sister getting married in Amazon’s “The People We Hate at the Wedding,” were deemed misfires.
However, as a co-writer of last year’s film “Theater Camp,” portraying a staff member of an upstate New York theater-focused summer camp, he scored a minor hit.
Your opinion of Platt, now 30 and out for more than five years, may be determined in where you’ve encountered him. Undeniably, Platt’s an excellent singer, both in Broadway musicals and in his first two self-written studio albums, “Sing With Me Instead,” and “Reverie,” with their successful crosscountry tours (“performing live is his great joy”), including Radio City Music Hall.
Wholesome honey
Now here’s his third album “Honeymind.” Unlike his previous efforts, which were electro-pop, this effort has a tender, folky Americana sound, reminiscent of early 1970s singer/ songwriter material such as Cat Stevens or James Taylor.
However, the artist that pops to mind with a similar style is Barry Manilow, that is, an openly gay Manilow, because of Platt’s intimate, warm, emotional, wholesome, storytelling with comforting melodies and occasionally sappy lyrics, for example the title song, a variant of honey mine (“You melt me away, stretch out my days, Turn all my colors into hues.”).
In interviews, Platt said he wanted to create an album he could’ve bought as a queer teen growing up in LA. What’s striking is Platt’s more confidence as a queer artist than he was in his last two CDs, particularly the first which focused primarily on his loneliness and anxiety. It’s not an exaggeration to say Platt has learned how to be more comfortable being who he is, unafraid to express even ambivalent feelings.
The other big difference is that Platt is in love, ready to marry his fiancée, actor Noah Galvin (his successor in “Dear Evan Hansen” and co-writer of “Theater Camp”) after a four-year romance. He dedicates “Honeymind” to “my muse and my love,” in this 13song collection.
It apparently was love at first sight as detailed in “Before I Knew You”: “You’re the hope I couldn’t place, Til the day I saw your face…But even when you hadn’t found me You were right there all around me And I’ve been on my way to you, I loved you long before I knew you.”
It’s the type of song one could envision hearing ad nauseum at gay weddings.
Room to grow
According to his song “Cherry on Top” (as opposed to popping the cherry, which obliquely fits here as well) it’s
a love feeling he can’t live without and he just enjoys being with him, due to “the way that you know me and the way that you hold me; you give me all the room to grow but never letting go of me.”
Again in the title song, Platt recognizes that Noah can’t take his (everpresent) anxieties away, but he’s not as overwhelmed as he once was, because “honey mine you slow the time—my days and dreams all bleed together,
not evergreen but ever-sweet.” Platt deliberately wants to express a more romantic, dare one say, loveydovey side to queer music. In interviews he says he finds queer musicians pushing a more aggressive sexuality because of the need to assert who they are due to societal opposition. He’s aiming for a kinder, gentler queer assimilationist flavor. It’s the kind of CD you could send to your grandmother with a note (or Hallmark card) saying,
“See, Grammy we’re just like everyone else!” No one will mistake Platt for lusty Troye Sivan or Pansy Division. If you’re tired of coarse language in your music, Platt is tailor-made for you.
Several other songs are worth noting. “Andrew” centers on growing up gay but the melancholic hazards of falling in love with a straight guy: “I know there’s no one to blame but honestly Damn you, It’s just a cruel joke that chemicals play. You don’t wanna kiss
me cause I’m not at all Like the girls in the posters that hang on your wall.”
“Home of the Terrified,” concerns having children in the future and how to raise them in a world scarred by gun violence: “I couldn’t stop him getting sad or bundle him in bubble wrap.”
“All American Queen,” could easily be a Pride month anthem: “Takes his boy to the prom When they crown him the king, make him the belle of the ball. He plants a kiss on his date as confetti falls.”
“Monster,” the big dramatic-sounding final track, echoing back to Platt’s Broadway roots, is a message about living in the present moment, trying not to worry about future problems, “be right where you are, cause you got all this time to breathe.”
Platt’s voice is a crystalline vibrato cascading comfortably through several octaves. His songs are happy ballads embedded in catchy melodies. Platt’s grateful and thrilled he can be his authentic self, letting himself fall in love and relish being with Noah, as he writes in “Monster”: “Count your blessings and your lucky stars/And be right where you are.” Cynics aside, you might feel the same once you’ve finished listening to “Honeymind.”t www.benplattmusic.com
