Edition
38 June 1st July 31st
2011
in a city rich in shades, here is a COLOR that includes all...
Laura Esquivel:
La Madre of the Latino LGBT Movement
Corporate Best Practices: LGBT in the Workplace Urvashi Vaid is in pursuit of Social Justice The Census One Year Later: We’re getting more diverse but... Q&A with The Madonnas of Echo Park author Brando Skyhorse A Guide to the Gender Bending Closet
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Contents
Business
5 LGBT in the Workplace Best Practices
10 Who’s Who in Diversity: A look at the area’s top diversity professionals
Benchmarks
6 Urvashi Vaid has spent her career in Pursuit of Social Justice Society
12 The Census
8 ALPFA’s 5th
One Year Later: We’re getting more diverse but...
Annual Latina Summit at the MFA & Spelman College Resets for Women’s Leadership
Feature
14 Laura
Esquivel: La Madre of the Latino LGBT Movement tells her story
Entertainment
18 Beginners
offers a refreshing break from Hollywood humdrum Lifestyle
19 Q&A with
20 The Intersec-
Brando Skyhorse: The awardwinning author of The Madonnas of Echo Park reveals his “storybook” childhood
tion of Wine and Pop Culture
22 Fashion: Gender Bending Closets
23 The Painted Man in: Marriage Rules
www.colormagazineusa.com June 2011
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Welcome
F r o m t h e EDITOR
I
’ll always remember when Vermont’s iconic red barns and giant-marshmallow hay-bales started becoming mediums for the battling slogans of “Take Back Vermont” and “Vermont. Keep it Civil” as the state became the first to legalize same-sex marriage. That was when I first realized that the LGBT movement was historical, controversial and right on my proverbial screen-door step. While every theme we cover in Color is important, I’ve always found the LGBT issue the most exciting. It seems current, like it’s my generation’s Civil Rights Movement, and I never fail to gain new perspectives as the movement evolves. I’ll never forget what David Wilson (a plaintiff in the lawsuit to allow same-sex marriage in Mass.) said in a previous edition, “To be denied a right for being gay or for being black is clearly discrimination. As a black man, however, I wear who I am on my face every day. As a gay person, unless I self-identify, I can move through society without really being noticed.” (I’m still pondering all the implications of that.) In a later edition, Adaora Asala’s piece on LGBT youth suicides and diversity discussed how diversity and LGBT affinity groups often fail to acknowledge their inevitable overlap, at the expense of many they should be helping. What I’ve taken away from this issue, is that people are more accepting of LGBT rights than we may assume or be led to believe. Laura Esquivel (p.14) showed the higher-ups that the Latino population in America was far more accepting of gay rights than previously thought, confronting hush-hush assumptions with hard data. And Urvashi Vaid (p.6) reminds us that the LGBT movement isn’t Will & Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, it’s real people, facing real problems in a society that doesn’t always accept them for who they are, and that is a cause worth getting behind. Michael
C ONTRI B UTIN G WRITERS
In a city rich in shades here is a color that includes all… Color Magazine is the premier all-inclusive monthly magazine that highlights and promotes professionals of color. 4 Copley Place | Suite 120 Boston, MA 02116 (617) 266.6961 sales@colormagazineusa.com Publisher
Josefina Bonilla
josefina@colormagazineusa.com Editor
Michael Chin
michael@colormagazineusa.com Event Strategist
Desiree Arevalo Marketing & Events Manager
Nicoleta Tache Advisory Committee
Greg Almieda Ferdinand Alvaro, Jr. Daren Bascome Sandra Casey Buford Mark Conrad Kim Dukes-Rivers Beverly Edgehill Yvonne Garcia George Gilmer Kimberly Y. Jones Samson Lee Brenda Mckenzie Juan Carlos Morales William Moran Oswald Mondejar Nereida Perez Russel Pergament Carol Sanchez John Sims Eduardo Tobon Leverett Wing Publisher
Color Media Group, LLC Distribution
Joanne Choi is a freelance journalist who also regularly contributes to AsianBoston Magazine. Her passion is staying up-to-date on people and society. She is working on her first novel.
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Tasha Kitty is a Senior HR Program Consultant, Talent Acquisition, Management, and Diversity for Sun Life Financial, and is responsible for managing Sun Life’s internal and external diversity & inclusion initiatives and relationships in the U.S., Lethbridge, Canada and Waterford, Ireland. She recently completed Cornell University’s Certified Diversity Professional
MAGAZINE June 2011
GateHouse Media
Mimi Gonzalez is a stand-up comedian actively touring since 1998. She’ll go anywhere to make people laugh, including Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain the U.S. military. She’s also a part-time blackwalnut farmer in between comedy shows and writing assignments.
Trond Arne Undheim is an entrepreneur, speaker and author. He lives between Boston and London, speaks six languages and has a Ph.D. in sociology. He writes frequently on wine and society.
Jay Calderin is the author of Form, Fit & Fashion, the upcoming Fashion Design Essentials,and an instructor and Director of Creative Marketing at the School of Fashion Design. Jay is currently the Regional Director of Fashion Group International of Boston and the Executive Director of Boston Fashion Week which he founded.
Desmond Williams is a freelance writer and JUNO magazine columnist. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, is half of a mixed-race couple and father to a rambunctious, comedic and inquisitive kindergartner. Desmond is currently working on a graphic novel, The Painted Man.
Business
LGBT Inclusion & Awareness in the Workplace B y Ta s h a K i tt y
W
ith Pride Month upon us, it’s a fitting time to reflect on the LGBT community in the workplace. As a Senior HR Program Consultant at Sun Life Financial, one of my top priorities is not only to attract top LGBT talent, but to provide a comfortable — and therefore productive — working environment for our LGBT employees. For those looking to do the same, here are some tips.
Assess and expand your benefits. While health insurance is a critical benefit for all employees, there are additional benefits a company can offer that will make it particularly attractive to current and prospective LGBT employees. Coverage for transgender procedures, for instance, doesn’t come standard with health insurance policies, but companies can choose to offer this benefit. Companies should also offer parental leave to LGBT employees who are adopting children.
Provide support. Employee resource groups are an important way to help employees feel connected to and supported by their coworkers. LGBT
employees should feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, and such resource groups can help provide a true sense of community and advocacy.
Get on the list. The Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) provides an indepth analysis and rating of companies’ LGBT policies and practices. The criteria for the CEI changes every year and becomes increasingly competitive. LGBT benefits, support groups and philanthropic efforts are all considered. If a company receives a 100 percent rating on the CEI, it is designated as an “Employer of Choice” for LGBT employees, which obviously makes your workplace more attractive to potential LGBT employees.
Think outside the company’s box. What you do for your employees internally is crucial, but ensuring that they feel connected to the greater LGBT community by supporting external LGBT organizations and events is also critical. At Sun Life, we offer our employees membership in the Greater Boston Business Council, a Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, as well as the opportunity to give back to the LGBT community through nonprofit groups and partners including Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD).
Educate employees. It’s vital for companies to adopt a rigid antidiscrimination policy that addresses sexual orientation. Companies must have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, and it must be detailed in all company literature, from codes of conduct to harassment policies. It’s also smart to include gender identity and expression; companies should present a mandatory diversity training program that includes LGBT issues. Well-crafted policies ultimately make your company a safe and inclusive working environment for all employees.
Recruit thoughtfully. There is also an emerging market for LGBTspecific career fairs, including the Out at Work National Job Fair and Boston Spirit Magazine’s career fair, which are excellent resources for LGBT recruiting. But don’t discount traditional career fairs for the same purpose; companies with LGBT-related awards, benefits, and other notable highlights should make these features known to all potential employees at recruiting events of any kind.
Tasha Kitty is a Senior HR Program Consultant, Talent Acquisition, Management, and Diversity for Sun Life Financial
www.colormagazineusa.com June 2011
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benchmarks
Urvashi Vaid:
In Pursuit of Social Justice B y M i m i G o n z a l e z • P h o t o : © J u r e k Wa j d o w i c z
“The
gay rights movement is not a party. It is not a lifestyle. It is
not a hair-style. It is not a fad or a fringe or a sickness. It is not about sin or salvation. The gay rights movement is an integral part of the American promise of freedom.” – Urvashi Vaid, 1993 March on Washington.¶ These words sum up the vision of the longtime attorney, community activist and author whose work has lead to advocacy, policy and a new direction in the movement towards LGBT equality.¶ Like so many activists in the 1980’s, Vaid began by volunteering. “The movement was financed through our own pockets. It was people standing up for themselves,” she said. “It’s amazing to me that I’ve made a career working for LGBT justice and for social justice in general.”¶ Social justice and public interest led her to Boston’s Northeastern University law school, where she learned the practice of law through working for prisoner’s rights. “Law is experienced and realized through practice. Through the prisoner’s rights, I really understood the rules and policy.”
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MAGAZINE June 2011
She took this understanding to Washington, D.C. and worked for the National Prison Project through the ACLU; all the while volunteering on feminist and LGBT causes. Eventually she knew she wanted to work on LGBT issues full time. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) hired her as their communications director, which she considered a strange fit for someone with a law degree and a background in prisoner’s rights. “I wrote press releases that were the most dense and turgid,” she said laughing. This from a woman who calls herself a “pseudo intellectual.” (A passage from just one of her essays will educate and enlighten any reader. It’s as if Gertrude Stein and Noam Chomsky had an alchemical meeting of the minds and used Vaid as their channel.) She became the NGLTF’s executive director in 1989, leading the national conversation on LGBT inclusion and acceptance. In 1992 she took a leave of absence to write Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation, the tome that would set the tone of the cultural war for gay rights. While LGBT culture was appearing in the mainstream (e.g. broadcast programming like Will & Grace), the disparity between acceptance and entertainment was blatant in 1995 when the book was published. The military policy of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell was in effect and states
were attempting enacting discriminatory legislation, like Colorado’s Amendment 2, which sought to disallow state protection for citizens that was based on their sexual orientation. Virtual Equality asserted that without full legal rights as equals, the LGBT community was merely the recipient of “conditional equality” which is “based more on the appearance of acceptance by straight America than genuine civic parity.” She then returned to the NGLTF, working in a think tank for four years, when a headhunter from the Ford Foundation called. They needed a program officer to run their U.S. civil society sector, a position she held for five years. “Going to the Ford Foundation was like going to graduate school with money,” she said. “I learned about grant-making, global institutions and how philanthropy works. We created so much through the peace and social justice program.” Her next professional position was as executive director of Arcus - the LGBT’s largest private philanthropic foundation - where she worked until last summer. Now, she feels it’s time for another book. “[The book] is about tradition and how LGBT and women’s movements have engaged with tradition-based arguments, and how we could do so differently,” she said. “The LGBT movement owes a great deal of political debt to the women’s movement,” according to Vaid, “We’ve got to remember we’re a movement for self-determination and freedom. Those words are feminist.” To the agitator who hopes to work as an activist, she shares three threads that have driven a career. “First, I followed my commitments which steered me to the right choices…I learned so much working with prisoners and how critical that institution is to social change. Second, I made a choice to work on LGBT issues full time. Third, writing a book. It’s really a great thing for an activist to take a break and reflect. Writing Virtual Equality allowed me to come back with more energy and focus.” Reflecting on the almost 150 community centers that exist across the country where once there were none, she now casts her eye across the employment landscape. “By embracing Out Professionals, you will attract the best talent for the skill set. Having a diverse work force adds the qualities and the value that employers ultimately want.” For Vaid, actualizing diversity in the work force is a means to a larger end; the one she’s spent her professional life pursuing: social justice.
Others Talk.
We Lead. The Diversity Difference. There’s a difference between talking about diversity, and paving the way towards change. Diverse patients — from our local communities and from around the world — can only receive the best care from an organization that understands, accommodates and welcomes their unique needs. Building a culture that celebrates differences requires self-examination and action on the part of an organization’s leadership and every staff member. Join us at Massachusetts General Hospital and you’ll join an organization with energy, commitment and a richness of programs designed to create a hospital and a workplace that’s more vibrant than ever before. Our innovative initiatives include: • MGH Diversity Committee co-chaired by MGH’s President and the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization CEO. • Exceptional Employee Benefits including Childcare and Emergency Back-Up Childcare, Same Sex Domestic Partner Benefits and Adoption Parenting Leave. • Well-established Employee Resource Groups, including a very active LGBT Employee Resource Group.
MGH offers career opportunities in all areas of patient care, research, administration and operations. To see a complete list of our current opportunities and learn more about our benefits, please visit our website.
www.mghfordiversity.org
By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead: EOE. www.colormagazineusa.com June 2011
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Society 1: (L to R)Gary Ham, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Viviana Arostegui-Ham, Dona Stewartson 2: (L to R) Carol Sanchez, Betty Francisco 3: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada 4: A model in the TJX Fashion Show
ALPFA’s Fifth Annual Latina Summit in Boston: Empowerment and Entrepreneurship
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By Anna Giraldo-Kerr
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston hosted more than 400 attendees during the Fifth Annual Latina Summit organized by the Women of ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting). The sold-out event celebrated the contributions of Latinas in the areas of entrepreneurship, social innovation and leadership. Award-winning Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada was the keynote speaker. During her remarks (in Spanish) she shared how being true to herself and her own values helped shape her own career and vision as a designer. A strategy that has certainly worked as her designs and products have been sold and distributed in 140 countries around the world. Phyllis Barajas, Founder of mentoring program for mid-career Latinos, Conexión, received the Excellence in Contribution to Latino Community Award. Barajas expressed deep gratitude to the organization recognizing her and said that “this event is an example of what can be accomplished through collaboration among Latino organizations. We need to continue collaborating to move our community forward.” Conexión is “a mentoring program like no other in the nation” said Carol Sánchez, Founder of Sánchez & Santiago, who introduced Barajas. The goal is of Conexión is to accelerate the opportunities for Latinos to achieve leadership positions. This vision is very personal to Barajas, who, as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, started her career in education in Omaha, Nebraska and later served as a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education appointed by President Clinton. The festivities culminated with a fashion show sponsored by the TJX Companies. Volunteers modeled business and business casual attire in front of a cheering crowd. A networking reception followed. Anna Giraldo-Kerr is a leadership and career coach. She can be reached at annagkerr@gmail.com or www. annagiraldokerr.com.
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Spelman College Leadership And Women Of Color Conference More than 400 Women learned the edict: “put self first” to attain greater health, career success and overall well-being at the Seventh Annual Spelman College Leadership and Women of Color Conference which took place May 11-12 in Atlanta. “Reset: Sustaining Women for 21st Century Leadership,” brought together a diverse group of leaders from both the private and public sectors including Soledad O’Brien, CNN anchor and special correspondent and Olympian Bonnie St. John who was named “one of the five most inspiring women in America” by NBC Nightly News.
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MAGAZINE June 2011
LEFT: (L to R) Soledad O’Brien; Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Spelman College President; Col. Eliva Denise GainesEdmond; Dr. Jane E. Smith Above: Bonnie St. John
Image: colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a lung cancer cell.
Our achievements change lives. Our people inspire cures.
Join a new circle of friends and colleagues at Mount Auburn Hospital and find all the career challenges, opportunities and
At Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company “We Aspire to Cure Cancer”. As a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, Millennium combines the agility, ideals and camaraderie of a start-up with the resources of Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company. The result is an entrepreneurial culture where the priorities are quality science and making a difference in patients’ lives and the communities we serve.
recognition you’re looking for. Located in Cambridge, just a short walk from Harvard Square, we are a Harvard-affiliated regional teaching hospital offering the challenges of tertiary care in a supportive, friendly environment.
Our people share a commitment to innovation in an environment where individual contributions are not just valued, but rewarded. Here you’ll enjoy outstanding benefits, a friendly, respectful atmosphere and a culture that promotes flexibility between your personal and professional life. Join Millennium and improve the lives of others while living yours to the fullest.
To learn more about our current career opportunities, please visit our website, or forward your resume to: Mount Auburn Hospital, Human Resources, 330 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; Fax: 617-499-5168.
Beyond the encouragement and room you need to grow, we also offer a competitive compensation program and benefits designed to help you succeed.
An Equal Opportunity Employer.
To view our current career opportunities and apply online, visit: joinmillennium.com/07
3.75” x 5“ ad for JJune 3 deaadline ©2011 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved.
See Your Future Take Shape
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Where are the Best Pla aces for Asians to A o Work??
YOU Y TE ELL US..
The e National Asssociation of Asian Americcan Professionnals (ww ww.NAAAP.org) invites compan nies to participaate for free in our inau ugural rankings of The Best Com mpanies for Asiaans to Work – U U.S. edittion. We will rank companies on multiple metrics, from employyee PUBLICATION programs to comm munity and vend dor engagement t. Diversity, CSR R or HR Directors may m request the questionnaire 131991 by emai ling WO # corp ries poraterankings@ @naaap.org Top p performers in r Magazine 3.5” x various categor 4.75” th SCREENaand will be recognized d at the 25 SIZE Annual NAAAP P Convention Career Fair , Aug. 11‐1 3, 2011, at 4-color the e Seaport Hoteel & Dive IOersity # 594950 NOTES World Trade Center in Boston.
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NOTES
The Colleges of the Fenway – Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Simmons College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Wheelock College – serve a diverse neighborhood, and our students, faculty, and staff mirror that community. Individually, our colleges have been recognized for excellence in research and scholarship. Together, our colleges are dedicated to a learning environment that fosters creativity and celebrates differences. We serve a diverse workplace from IT experts and HR specialists to marketing and PR wizards and computer programmers. The Colleges of the Fenway are committed to fostering dynamic and challenging work environments. The Colleges offer competitive salaries, great benefits, easy access to city culture, as well as convenient locations and tuition assistance. For more information, please visit
www.colleges-fenway.org
Building a diverse workplace is not just an ideal, it’s a commitment. Applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. EOE.
www.colormagazineusa.com June 2011
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S
Aetna Raymond Arroyo, Global Diversity Officer Bank of America Erika Irish Brown, Senior Vice President Diversity & Inclusion Baystate Health Bobby Rodriguez, Chief Diversity Officer
BJ’s Wholesale Club Jessica Newman, Manager of Community Relations Boston Scientific Corp. Chevalier Cleaves, Vice President Global Diversity and Inclusion CVS Caremark David Casey, Vice President Workforce Initiatives and Diversity Officer
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass. Joyce Beach, Chief Diversity Officer
Eastern Bank Ivelisse Gonzalez, Vice President, Human Resources Officer
Museum of Fine Arts
EMC Corp. Jackie Glenn, Chief Diversity Officer Massachusetts General Hospital Dianne Shaddock Austin, Workforce Diversity Program Manager MassBay Community College Robin NelsonBailey, Director and Affirmative Action Officer MassMutual Financial Group Lorie Valle-Yanez, Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer
Zakiya Thomas, Manager of Community Relations
State Street Corporation Mike Scannell, Senior Vice President Human Resources and Head of Global Inclusion
Raytheon Hayward Bell, Chief Diversity Officer Staples Joy Errico Seusing, Director Diversity and Inclusion Stop & Shop Janine Kennedy, Manager Staffing and Diversity
Pitney Bowes T. Hudson Jordan Director, Global Diversity and Talent Strategies
Thermo Fisher Scientific Heather Vono, Manager Supplier Diversity Program
Tufts Health Plan Lydia Greene, Vice President of Human Resources and Diversity Verizon Magda Yrizarry, Vice President Workplace Culture Diversity and Compliance
TJX Companies Heather Wishik, Global Diversity and Inclusion Director
To get your company’s highest ranking diversity professional on future lists or update current information, email editorial@colormagazineusa.com.
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MAGAZINE June 2011
putnam.com
A world of investing. A world of career opportunities . A performance-driven culture that rewards talent and hard work. For more information about careers at Putnam, contact: Stephen Denny Manager, Diversity and Inclusion 617.760.0460 stephen_denny@putnam.com
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6/10/10 3:35 PM
benchmarks
What the 2010 Census tells us about us:
We’re more diverse, but . . .
substantial increases in Hispanics (46 percent), Asians (47 percent), and African Americans (27 percent). Minorities now represent 6.6 percent of the state’s population. Immigrants’ share of the region’s population went up nearly three percent since 2000. Native and foreign born By Jack Curtis Latino and Asian populations have grown at the fastest rates in the region over the past he numbers are in. This past March, the U.S. Census Bureau began decade. Asian populations represented the releasing eagerly awaited data for the 2010 Census. Since then, refastest growing racial group in Massachusetts searchers, legislators, people in the educational and health care arenas, between 2000 and 2010. The non-Hispanic and leaders in the public and private sector began to ply those numbers, white population dropped four percent over the hoping to make sense of them so that they could make use of them. The U.S. decade, although the state remains overwhelmCensus is often said to provide a national portrait at a particular time; similarly, ingly white. MAPC data reveals that most racial minorthe local numbers also yield a good picture of present-day Massachusetts as well ity residents live in the cities’ inner cores, as Boston. particularly Boston, and in other urbanized areas. Immigrants live basically in a dozen communities out of the region’s 101 cities. The highest concentration of Black/African American residents is found in Boston. Latinos are mainly concentrated in the areas just north of Boston, such as Chelsea, The run up to the April start of the 2010 Census process saw an unprecEverett and Saugus. Asians are most strongly represented in areas south edented national and grassroots push to increase the percent of households and west of Boston, such as Quincy and inner core suburbs, including the that return their Census forms. The Massachusetts statewide participation Newton-Brookline area. rate of 75 percent slightly bested the national average of 74 percent. In Boston’s high degree of segregation – in line with traditionally segreanother positive note, according to the Boston-based Metropolitan Area gated cities like Detroit and Chicago – actually place it behind many parts Planning Council (MAPC), only six census tracts in Metro Boston – the of the country, according to Brown University sociologist John Logan, who 101 cities and towns of Greater Boston – had participation rates lower than directs US2010, a nationwide research project on changes in America soci50 percent, compared with 35 in 2000. ety. His findings show that as diversity in the nation grows, progress toward Prior to the 2010 Census, Bay State numbers crunchers foresaw integrating neighborhoods appears to have stopped in the past decade. two likely scenarios: The state might lose a Congressional seat and that “This development comes with negative consequences,” said Brown, “as immigrants, the state’s fastest growing segment, would assure that Masmany minorities have less access to resources and sachusetts numbers would still stay strong. opportunities. There’s a strong pull that’s making many communities separate but unequal.” Massachusetts by the numbers Metro Boston Experienced Growth “Massachusetts, on the whole, is move diThe population of Massachusetts increased in Minority Group Populations as the verse, but many areas are largely homogeneous,” by 3.1 percent, rising to 6,547,629. The state’s White Population Declined, 2000-2010 said MAPC executive director March Draisen. steady but slow growth rate was no match for “There have been some advances in integration the substantial population increases in the West 4% in some, not most, cities and towns. We’re still a and South, which garnered 84 percent of nation’s state that’s highly segregated by race and income. increases. Results showed that Massachusetts 2% We’re still dealing with issues of inequality in would, indeed, lose one of its 10 Congressional greater Boston. seats. The state dodged that bullet in 2000, but 0% “The good news though is that up and down not this time around. the line, leaders and communities are eager to Using the new figures, state lawmakers have embrace diversity. They are developing ‘the right through June to redraw the Bay State’s House and -2% attitude’ and addressing the challenge of becomSenate districts. Once that’s done, the legislature ing more inclusive.” can start redrawing the nine Congressional dis-4% Boston by the numbers tricts, which are expected to hold about 727,500 The City of Boston’s total population for 2010 residents each. The new districts resulting from -6% is 617,594, an increase of 28,453, or 4.8 percent the 2010 federal census will take effect for 2012 rise since 2000. Comparatively, Boston’s populastate primaries, state elections and presidential -8% tion grew by 14,858 between 1990 and 2000, primaries. Source: Census 2000 and 2010, Metro BostonRegion. or 2.6 percent. Boston’s population decreased Reflecting a national trend, the state logged Black/African American 0.87%
White -6.34%
Other 0.50%
Asian 2.21%
Latino 2.76%
T
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MAGAZINE June 2011
Save the Date
Annual
rd 30.0% 25.0%
Metro Boston Population By Race/Ethnicity, 2009 % White (Non-Hispanic) % Members of Minority Groups
20.0% 15.0% 10.0%
Honoring The Women In Our Lives
5.0% 0.0% years
0-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84
85+
Black bars indicate 90% Confidence Interval. Note: Ages are grouped in 10 year intervals, except for children aged 0-14 years old. Source: ACS 2009 MSA, 1-year Estimates.
steadily between 1950 and 1980, going from 800,000 to 563,000. The total population of Boston has been increasing since the 1980s. This marks the first time since 1970 that Boston’s Census population is more than 600,000. “I am proud to see Boston’s population continue to grow,” said Mayor Thomas Menino. “Our city continues to be a vibrant and attractive place live, work and raise a family. As we continue to innovate and bring new jobs to our city and work to provide opportunities for families, I am confident Boston will continue to grow and thrive.” In 2000, Boston officially became a majority-minority city, with just over half of its residents (50 percent) identifying as a race/ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White. This trend continued in 2010 with Boston increasing its share of minorities to 53 percent, solidifying its majority-minority status. Chelsea (at 75 percent), Lynn (52 percent), and Randolph (61 percent) are also majority-minority cities in the Metro Boston region. Whites comprise the overwhelming majority of the region’s population in both 2000 and 2010, although Metro Boston has become increasingly diverse with minority populations increasing between 2000 and 2010, up 6.3 percentage points. The Latino and Asian populations grew by the greatest percentages (3 percent and 2 percent respectively), the percentage of Blacks/African Americans increased slightly, and Whites decreased as a share of the total population. White residents of Metro Boston live in neighborhoods that are, on average, 83 percent white and only four percent African American. African American residents, by contrast, live in neighborhoods that average 43 percent white and 31 percent African American. Likewise, Latino residents in Metro Boston live in neighborhoods that are about 31 percent Hispanic, while white residents live in areas that were roughly 6 percent Hispanic. Advances and challenges “While still heavily segregated, Boston has done a good job of becoming a more welcoming, inclusive city,” Draisen said. “We’ve seen many positive developments. But for the metro region to reflect the state’s diversity as a whole, cities and towns must address the issues of zoning, transit openness, and affordable housing. They have a long way to go, but I see a willingness there that didn’t exist ten years ago.” The census numbers tell many stories and yield a picture of Boston and Massachusetts that is both promising and challenging. As communities, government, nonprofit agencies and business respond to the data, these same numbers can also drive positive change.
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Cash Bar Location: Artists for Humanity 100 West 2nd Street Boston, MA
Thursday July 7, 2011
2011 Women of Courage Honorees Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Hortensia Amaro
Associate Dean of the Bouve College of Health Science Director of the Institute on Urban Health Research Northeastern University Maria Magdalena Magnolia Contreras Campos-Pons Dana Farber Cancer Institute G-A-S-P Gladys Vega Rosalin Acosta Chelsea Collaborative TD Banknorth Flor Vasallo Marta Rosa El Mundo Newspaper Wheelock College Andrea Martinez Lucia Mayerson-David New Profit, Inc. UMass Boston Christine Ortiz, PhD Josiane Martinez Massachusetts Institute Office of the Governor of Technology of Massachusetts
ENTERTAINMENT
Grupo Chicomania
Xiomara Laugart
For more information or sponsorship opportunities contact: womenofcourage@laalianza.org or call (781) 341-3800
www.laalianza.org
www.colormagazineusa.com June 2011
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MAGAZINE June 2011
Laura M. Esquivel has made a lifetime of uniting LGBT and latino Advocacy By Mimi Gonzalez • Photo by Kevin Kenner
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Laura M. Esquivel’s professional lifetime of advocacy, organizing and political strategizing has delivered the Latino LGBT community in America to the promised land of inclusion and representation within the national political landscape. She’s a force of coalition, bridging together resources from politics to philanthropy to legislation. Latino or Lesbian? Cesar Chavez helped Esquivel cross one of her first spans of awareness during the 1987 LBGT March on Washington, which he led alongside Eleanor Smeal, then president of the National Organization for Women. Esquivel was wearing a UAW (The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) sweatshirt, symbiotically representing the labor movement – whose contingents showed their support for the LGBT cause in gay rights parades alongside their promotion of farm workers – championed by Chavez. Esquivel asked him about the challenge of identity, “Am I gay or am I Latino?” “He held my hand and said, ‘You have a right to be heard, to be seen as Latino and as gay people.’” Esquivel had long been traversing both lands through the Latino LGBT organizations she was a part of creating in the early 1980s. Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) came together in 1982 largely through protests at AIDS Project-LA where Latinos “spent a good bit of time to get our place at the table.” AIDS funding organizations were the functional architecture around which the LGBT rights movement began to coalesce. The infrastructure in place at that time was predominantly around white people. “I realized
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we had to have our own organizations,” Ms. Esquivel said. “You can’t wait around for other people to take our interests into account. You have to start it yourselves. If you’re not at the table, you’re probably not even on the menu.” Out of GLLU eventually grew Bien Estar, one of the largest Latino HIV/AIDS groups in Los Angeles, which succeeded in creating a visible presence viable enough to facilitate interaction with legislators.
Arriving in Washington By the time the 1987 March on Washington was being planned, Latino organizations were ready to capitalize on their numbers and the need to create a national organization was recognized. Esquivel was one of the organizing forces behind LLEGÓ (Spanish for having arrived) the Latino Lesbian and Gay Organization. It would be Esquivel’s first job in Washington, D.C. Fifteen years after founding it, she became LLEGÓ‘s first director of public policy and government relations. She brought her well-honed capacity for increasing LGBT Latino visibility to the issues on Capitol Hill the biggest issue at the time being the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA). Progressive groups had integrated their energies to focus opposition to the proposed
amendment to the United States Constitution which sought to limit marriage to unions of one man and one woman and exclude judicial marriage rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples. The coalition “couldn’t get support from Latino legislators,” Esquivel said, because they “thought it was not a Latino issue.” Not surprisingly, the coalition working to defeat the FMA did not have support from any Hispanic members of congress. Gay rights were not perceived to be a “Latino” issue. At that time (almost ten years ago now), the people lobbying on the Hill for LGBT equality were not people of color – gay or straight. “In most of these congressional offices, I was the first person to meet with them on these issues who wasn’t white,” recounts Esquivel. “The Latino members of congress understandably asked me to prove that it was an issue Latinos cared about before they would consider weighing in.” Because LLEGÓ was a national organization, they had a seat on the board of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA). NHLA is a high-profile, non-partisan coalition representing more than forty major Hispanic national organizations as well as distinguished Hispanic leaders from across the nation. Esquivel’s efforts resulted in a statement issued by NHLA urging members of congress to
Rachel Maddow and Laura Esquivel
“oppose any amendment to the United States Constitution which attempts to permanently deny marriage or the legal incidents thereof to same-sex couples by defining marriage.” The NHLA letter was evidence that Latinos around the country did care about equality. After that, a majority of the members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus publicly opposed the FMA and signed a letter to President Bush asking him to veto it if it came to his desk. This signaled a real shift in the relationship between the two communities at the national level.
Getting Noticed Those early efforts to build bridges between these communities were often intangible and not nearly as concrete as the FMA work – but also the most important. “What the gay and progressive communities did not understand was that Latinos are, and always have been, low-hanging fruit on this issue. All that is needed are the right messages and the right messengers,” she said adding, “and of course, that can’t happen if you don’t know the community.” When she was appointed the senior VP of political affiars for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, noted political strategist, Robert
(Martha Stewart)
Raben was impressed by watching Esquivel garner significant opposition to the FMA. “Laura has a rare gift: she can move people with equal parts passion, borne of activism, and pure smarts, borne of raw intelligence and political savvy,” he said in a press release, “I’ve watched her do what people said could not be done in our movement; getting diverse interests to agree to support equality for us.” Her strategy of polling Latinos directly – conducting focus groups around the country to debunk common stereotypes of Latinos as “macho,” “family-oriented,” or possessing “conservative values” – shifted the conventional wisdom that the Latino population would automatically oppose gay marriage. She hired Sergio Bendixen of Miami, “the most prominent Latino pollster,” Esquivel said, and “I pushed them (the coalition opposing FMA) to include Latinos in their polls.” Through the polls and focus groups directly targeting Latinos, a clear message emerged with respondents admitting it was “the first time we’ve ever had an opportunity to talk about this stuff, think about it.” Ms. Esquivel revealed how costly not investing in the Latino community was. The polling revealed “a message we tested that worked really well. ‘For us it’s family first. We don’t
throw out our kids.’” She presented the finding in a briefing on the Hill to the Latino members of congress who “didn’t know how to talk about this. I gave them tools to assist in that. [It became] a game changer in terms of doing outreach. For a long time I was the only one with polling data and information about Latinos.” It wasn’t just developing the right messaging, according to Esquivel, “it was about investing in communication to the Latino community about gay issues. Now all the polling indicates Latinos are more progressive on these issues. And now Catholics are more progressive. Once they started seeing that polling, they starting paying attention to Latinos.” The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), founded in 1929, is the oldest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the country. Today, LULAC has a gay chapter in Texas. This year, LULAC is hosting a national convening of LGBT Latino activists at their national conference. “It is a radically changed landscape since the strategic targeting of Latino opinions on this issue. Many national and local organizations have an openly gay leadership, staff or programming. And they are nearly all supportive of LGBT equality. This is light years away from where we were in 2003. I can’t claim responsibility for all that. But I know I played a small role in getting Latinos to understand that gay issues are also Latino issues.”
The Next Connection In the midst of preparations to graduate from the Harvard-Kennedy School with a mid-career Master’s in Public Administration, Esquivel has been working on immigration issues more than LGBT issues. “I’ve been looking for opportunities to build a nexus between both.” One of the things she’s proudest of was being hired to create the campaign to get the outspoken, anti-immigration talk show host Lou Dobbs off CNN. Through analysis and commercial tracking, she made it clear to advertisers that Latinos were not watching Lou Dobbs. The relevance of the Latino contribution to the economy has become too monetized to take for granted. “That’s what I do, create coalition in leveraging in a way it hasn’t been done before.”
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entertainment
Beginners A refreshing break from Hollywood humdrum By John Black
I
t wasn’t too long ago, maybe five or six years, when it was relatively easy for a talented filmmaker to not only get an independent movie made, but get it distributed to theaters around the country and show it to audiences hungry for a viable viewing option to the pabulum Hollywood keeps pumping out.¶ It’s a lot tougher to get an original independent film out in theaters today, but every once in a while a gem like Beginners rises to the top. Directed by Mike Mills (Thumbsucker), Beginners is the story of Oliver (Ewan McGregor), a young graphic designer whose carefully controlled Beginners world is shaken to the core when his father (Christopher Plumopens in mer) makes two announcements: he has terminal cancer and, theaters June 10. despite decades of marriage, he’s gay and has a young lover named Andy.
“Let’s just say Hollywood wasn’t knocking down my door looking for the next elderly gay man romance movie,” Mills said with a laugh. “Actually, when I first started telling people about the movie, there was more fear from the studios about the idea of an old man in a romance than there was about the gayness. An older character wants to have sex? They just thought that was gross.” Mills said he didn’t get too upset with the rejections he kept getting from potential distributors because he knew that if all they took 18
MAGAZINE June 2011
from the film was their personal objection to the father falling in love at his age, then they were completely missing the point of his movie. “In a way this is a movie about grief and about life,” he said. “In grief, whether it’s the grief of losing someone you love or finding out you have a terminal illness, it’s not just about depression. You become really unreasonable at times like this. You realize life is short so why not do what you really want. Just go for it. That kind of raw passion and hunger is a powerful part of grief. Or it can be.”
Mills was inspired to write Beginners after the death of his mother. “When someone dies, it’s a very personal thing. My mom died when I was 33 and it was devastating to me. It’s an incredibly private and personal feeling, but its also something we all share. It’s a human thing,” he explained. “One of the reasons I love the music of Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton and blues music is because it’s sung from the heart and should be about specific incidents that reach out to touch the listener’s soul and let them know, when they feel that way too, they are not alone.” Sharing what he went though, and what he discovered along the way, was important to Mills, but he was careful not to make a movie that gave the audience any easy answers or pointed them in any particular direction. He wants people to see the film, then make up their own minds as to what they want to take away with it. “My background is in documentary filmmaking, and one of the things I love abut that particular genre is that you never knew what will happen next as you film. Every day is unique,” he said. “That’s what I want to show in the movie, that the world is way more full of surprises than you can ever imagine. So I took a lot of care to make sure the movie doesn’t give the audience the answers. I want the audience to develop a personal relationship with the movie so it can inspire memories from their own lives.”
Brando Q+A Skyhorse After a “storybook” childhood and years of literary rejections, Skyhorse has arrived with The Madonnas of Echo Park BY joanne choi
W
hen Brando Skyhorse talks about his early years, raised as an only child by his mother and grandmother in the Los Angeles neighborhood Echo Park, his eyes light up with memories of his dysfunctional childhood. Skyhorse had a revolving door of stepfathers and didn’t realize that most of what his mother told him about himself was simply made up.¶ Brando’s mother was born Maria Teresa Banaga but called herself Running Deer Skyhorse for most of her adult life. His mother’s choices, untruths, and five marriages portray a one-of-a kind identity seeker and dreamer who desperately wanted to believe the stories she projected on son, her friends and the community at large. “I wish that I had gotten around to telling her, she didn’t need all the stories and all the lies. People liked her as she was.” Brando said, “She used to say, ‘At least it is never boring’ and she felt like she couldn’t be larger than life if she was simply Mexican.”
Brando Skyhorse was invited to Boston for the State Street Latin American Professionals Group on Cinco De Mayo, where he read from his debut novel The Madonnas of Echo Park, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and the 2011 PEN/Hemingway award. JC: Tell me about how you got your name? BS: [My mother] corresponded with someone who was in jail for armed robbery, he was named Paul Skyhorse. My mother passed away years ago so the exact details are lost to me. She started corresponding with this man and I assume he agreed to be my father in principal. The deal was that I wasn’t to know he wasn’t my father. The shocking thing about it is, if you see photos of this man Paul who has since passed away, and my biological father, I look like Paul. It was easy for her to deceive me, and others; there is almost an uncanny resemblance. When I started to piece it together, and figure out the story, she still actively encouraged me to be Brando Skyhorse. JC: Do you become the person that you were raised to be? In some ways, you are Native American. BS: I went to a sweat lodge when I was
lot of bad fiction. The nice thing working as an editor, your job is to take a writer’s work, and you become an expert at articulating why something isn’t working. Becoming adept at helping other writers diagnose what was wrong with their work, I slowly became aware of what I was doing wrong. I didn’t realize it at the time. It took me a long time to accept those lessons.
JC: You were raised by a five, smoked a peace pipe, my single mother and your grandmother. Is that why mother knew a lot of Native you are able to write so Americans in Los Angeles, so convincingly from a female that was my template. I was voice? raised in this environment and BS: Thank you. Four of the in such a specific way. My mother was anti-Spanish language. nine voices are written from a Read the review of She didn’t want me to learn it female perspective. You need The Madonnas of at all. I don’t know it as well that perspective in order to get Echo Park at as I should, since then I have what life is like in an immigrant colormagazineusa.com tried to learn. My grandmother community, seeing things from was fluent and was an active that perspective of male and Catholic. She spoke to everyone in the neighfemale. My Mother and Grandmother had to borhood in Spanish. I didn’t piece it together. raise me, cook for me – my life was through the I thought my grandmother was enamored of prism of that set of experiences. You live with Spanish/Latino culture, even though she was that everyday and get their voices. Native American too. When you are a kid, you believe what your parents tell you. JC: Who is your main reader if you had to do a profile? BS: Anybody interested in an experience not JC: Do you think that your time in publishing helped you to see what was necessarily their own. I want all readers, Latino, wrong or not working with your first it doesn’t matter to me, the more inclusive you book and help you write The Madonnas are as a writer, the more artfully you are able of Echo Park? to articulate what you are trying to achieve. I BS: After the 60 rejections, I put the novel would hope that my ideal reader is someone passionate about books and new cultures. I aside, and I started working in the business. don’t know...I have been writing for 19 years I started working toward an editorial track. working in a vacuum, the fact that I have a Several of the agents actually remembered my reader, let alone readers is extraordinary to me. name, ‘Oh yeah, I rejected you!’ They get a
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LIFESTYLE
Pop Culture & Wine Athletes, musicians and even adult film stars are tackling the terroir
Sting
By Trond Arne Undheim
T
he “How Wine Became Modern” exhibit at the San Francis-
co Museum of Modern Art last month focused on Design + Wine. It was a pop-culture typography of wine-bottle labels that portrayed everything from high fashion to playful low-brow. In movies, wine is very real, in celebrity culture it is very surreal, and in books it is wrapped in mystery, according to pop culture.
Wine and Movies Bottle Shock (2009) is the entertaining take on the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, an event organized by Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant. In this movie, we follow Spurrier traveling through California in search of quality US wine. In the competition, French judges did blind tasting of topquality Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from France and from California. They were surprised to find they preferred Chardonnay from Annika Sorenstam
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Savanna Samson
Chateau Montelena in California. I rate it 88/100: Hugely entertaining and unmissable if you are an upstart in the wine business. Mondovino (2004) is a documentary about the tensions between commercialism and traditionalism in the making of wine around the world. The narrator, Jonathan Nossiter, passionately argues against the role of wine conglomerates, wine critic Robert M. Parker and flying winemaker Michel Rolland. Nossiter claims they standardize the taste of wine in a bad way and take away from traditional terroir based, small production wine made by peasants. I rate it 87/100: Although the message is clear and well put, slightly overdone critical overtones and very rough camera handling makes this film slightly painful to watch in its entirety. Sideways (2004) is a comedy-drama. Sideways tells the story of college friends, wannabe wine writer Miles and sexy actor Jack on a roadtrip, a final week of fun before Jack gets married. They head to the Central Coast wine region and each have adventures involving wine, women and conversations. The movie is famous for creating trouble for the Merlot grape in the US wine market, due to Miles’ scornful comment about it. I rate it 91/100: Sideways is hilarious if you have even the slightest fascination with grapes and the ironies of wine culture. Moreover, it is a cultural commentary on the mid-life crisis, the wine community, and the relative merits of quality wine.
Wine and Celebrity Making good wine clearly can contribute to a high end brand. A 1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Jeroboam went for $114,614 at a Christie’s auction in 2007. But today’s brands can also be leveraged from other markets. Have you noticed how many celebrities have gotten into wine? The easiest way to enter the wine game is to partner with Celebrity Cellars. Wine bottles endorsed by Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Barbara Streisand and KISS sell. Some go further and invest in a vineyard and leave it there. Others take an interest in the wine and engage in wine making. French actor Gerard Depardieu has vineyards in Bordeaux, Spain, Morocco and Argentina. Rock star Sting makes wine in Tuscany. Why? Because celebrity wine sells. In 2007, Nielsen research of supermarket wine purchases showed that sales of celebrity wines were up 19 percent over previous years. The godfather of celebrity winemakers is Francis Ford Coppola. In the business since 1975, the movie director has been a key part of Napa Valley’s rise to fame. Sofia Blanc de Blancs is a sparkling wine in a can, aimed at club goers and named after his daughter and Oscar-winning director, Sofia Coppola. The Rubicon Estate, his recently renamed winery, has a $25 a head parking fee just to control the traffic. Hall-of-Fame quarterback Joe Montana is collaborating with Beringer on a Cabernet called Montagia. If you are a successful golfer it is almost embarrassing not to have a wine label. Wine golfers include Annika Sorenstam, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, John Daly, Greg Norman and Fred Couples. The most outrageously successful porn star in wine is Savanna Samson. Despite enjoying her career in the adult film industry, Samson felt
it left her unfulfilled. The wife of a New York wine merchant, she had frequently traveled to Italy and France, and often fantasized about owning her own vineyard. Savanna Samson Wines makes a red wine featuring a side view of her wearing only a see-through gown and high heels. Wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. gave it a rating of 90-91/100, and described it as “awfully good.”
Wine and Books
The Celebrity Wine Scene If you are looking for celebrity wine, look no further.
Andretti winery www.andrettiwinery.com Bottle Shock (movie) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_Shock Celebrity Cellars www.celebritycellars.com Casa Dumetz (Emilio Estévez) www.casadumetzwines.com Mondovino (movie) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondovino Raymond Burr Winery www.raymondburrvineyards.com Savanna Samson Wine www.savannasamsonwine.com Sideways (movie) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideways Wine fiction for wine lovers www.sonomalibrary.org/booklists/OurPicks/ Wine%20Fiction.pdf
Wine plays a key supporting role in fiction. Sideways, mentioned above, was originally an unsuccessful book manuscript by Rex Pickett which became a movie embraced by the wine community and eventually became a novel, too. However, among the books with wine in their title or plot, there is mostly mystery fiction: Maigret and the Wine Merchant by Georges Simenon occurs in Paris. Murder, She Wrote: Blood on the Vine by Jessica Fletscher and Donald Bain is set in Californian wine country and involves a bitter vineyard dispute, fitting for such expensive pieces of land. A Long Finish by Michael Dibdin deals with a murder investigation in a Piedmont winery by his Venetian detective, Aurelio Zen. The murder of a noted winemaker – apparently by his son and heir – threatens the future of one of the film director’s favorite vintages. Dibdin is maybe most famous for this phrase of the book: “Barolo is the Bach of wine, strong, supremely structured, a little forbidding, but absolutely fundamental. Barbaresco is the Beethoven, taking those qualities and lifting them to heights of subjective passion and pain that have never been surpassed. And Brunello is its Brahms. The softer, fuller, romantic afterglow of so much strenuous excess.” Anyone who has tasted these three Italian wines will see the point but will also realize that this is a bit over the top.
Trond’s Picks Niebaum-Coppola RC Reserve Syrah Rutherford Napa Valley
Sister Moon (by Sting) Il Palagio Toscana
Casa Dumetz El Camino Malibu Pinot Noir
(2000, $75, 90/100) A rich, full-bodied wine with notes of soft, ripe red fruit, oaky vanilla spice and white chocolate by winemaker Scott McLeod and Roman Coppola. With smooth tannins and texture it is balanced, yet concentrated and pleasantly oaky in the New World style of bold Syrah, rounded off with small amounts of Petit Verdot grapes adding a touch of black pepper and sage, and Merlot grapes adding a hint of blueberry on the palate.
(2007, $49, 90/100) A blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet and 25% Merlot, the wine has a great aromatic profile, intense fruit and spice, and legant structure. Blueberry, black currant and leaving a smoky, spicy impression with a long finish. In 1997, Sting bought a 16th century villa outside of Florence in Italy. Over the years, he has turned that into a farm growing olive oil, fruit, vegetables, honey and also biodynamic wines.
(2009, $35, 88/100) Pinot Noir with 20% Grenache from Don Emilio aka Emilio Estevez. Dark ruby color, quite intense almost peppery and mighty fruity with ripe flavors with a hint of rose petals, but with some depth. Under the label Casa Dumetz, Sonja Magdevski and Emilio Estevez produce three wines.
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LIFESTYLE
Gender Bending Closets The power of playing with perception B y J ay C a l d e r i n
Sex Aside
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons sing the classic ‘Walk Like a Man’ (in falsetto mind you), but there is no mention of whether or not it’s OK to do that in a dress. The truth of the matter is that determining what is socially acceptable is a time sensitive issue – it speaks to what the community at large agrees is the norm at that particular time, in that particular place. Sexualizing clothing, and associating garments with gender, are two very different things. The first is a fetish, and the latter is a social construct. Whenever clothing is used to identify and define gender it has the potential to empower as well as undermine the wearer. In the 1980’s women were encouraged to “dress for success” by down playing their sex with a masculine uniform, the power suit. Some would argue that this was ultimately a recipe for failure because it sent a message to women that they had to be something other than what they were, in order to get ahead. It wasn’t long before women began to dismiss the conventional wisdom of the day, and started to embrace the decidedly feminine in their professional wardrobes. Fashion designers like Donna Karan led the way in addressing a woman’s curves and their complex lifestyles both on and off the job.
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Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
RuPaul
His, Her & Their Closet
In nature it is the male of most species that is charged with strutting their stuff and displaying their colors as a show of power, or in an effort to attract a mate. Some men who lived through the 1970’s might have personal experience with such flamboyant displays, having dabbled in sequins, makeup, spandex, and platform shoes, thanks to glam rock icons like Ziggy Stardust. Today’s preening peacocks still embrace the latest trends, meticulous grooming and culturally rich lifestyles, proudly bearing the badge of metrosexual. On the flip side, tomboys and girlie girls alike regularly borrow from the men’s department. Every season there is a new ‘boyfriend’ must have - the boyfriend jacket, the boyfriend shirt, and the boyfriend jeans. Women seem to be more comfortable adopting the tailored, the oversized, and the masculine as simply fashion, with little or no threat to their femininity.
MAGAZINE June 2011
Unisex fashion was an invention of the 1970’s, but today that no longer means matching space-age jumpsuits. Gender-neutral staples like jeans and tshirts have become generic uniforms for both sexes. These basics allow for any gender associated with garments to be stripped away, placing the focus on the identity of the individual wearing it. Androgynous fashion at it’s best.
Hair, Beautiful Hair
Historically, long hair has been a point of pride for women. This ‘crown of glory’ was an indicator of health and femininity and therefore cutting it was a tremendous sacrifice. Just consider the great concessions of selfless literary role models like Jo in Little Women or Della in The Gift of the Magi. Cropped locks eventually became a symbol of freedom and rebellion when they liberated women in the 1920’s from the concerns of maintaining elaborate coiffures. During WWII, a women’s hair could be-
come a liability if it posed a threat, by being a length that was in danger of getting caught in the works of heavy machinery. As a result many woman patriotically snipped their locks to manageable lengths in order to meet the demands of a man’s job. Audrey Hepburn is considered the quintessential gamine - the French word for a boyish woman. Hepburn’s transformation in ‘Roman Holiday’ (1953) inspired many women to cut their hair and she became a predecessor of one of the most famous androgynous waifs of the 1960’s, model Lesley Hornby also known as Twiggy. During that same time, actress Mia Farrow was refashioned into a boyish pixie by Vidal Sassoon. More recently, child/teen actress Emma Watson, known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, made an ironic choice when she came of age as a young woman and reinvented herself in a very short boy’s hair cut. Although romance novels glorify men with long flowing hair as romantic heroes, and the source of Sampson’s super strength was his hair, most men today do not aspire to look like Fabio. However, ever since the musical
‘Hair’ extolled the virtues of long beautiful hair, rock stars, hippies and rebellious teenagers remain among the few men allowed the luxury of long hair without the stigma of femininity.
How Do You Spell YMCA?
Time changes everything. All American tough guys – cowboys, cops, construction workers, soldiers and even bad boy Marlon Brando types in leather jackets – were (and in some places still are) the heroes of masculinity. At some point they also became iconic symbols of gay life and the two camps are separated by only a few degrees. The Village People personas of the 1970’s were a wink to gay clones of the day. Those stereotypes may now be considered camp, but discarding western shirts, jeans, flannel shirts, combat boots, khaki chinos, and leather jackets is just not an option. They live too close to the heart of American fashion, gay or
straight.
All The Pretty Blouses
We’ve come a long way since Seinfeld’s “Puffy Shirt” episode. Steven Tyler has been forging new territory for men’s fashion on the television program American Idol, sporting new and exciting blouses each week. According to his daughter Liv Tyler, the 62 year-old rocker is not above raiding his daughter’s closet for trend setting tops. Few men are daring enough to stray from safe, reliable menswear, but many designers are beginning to introduce bright colors, bold patterns, and interesting details that would liven up clothing that has traditionally been restrained and unremarkable.
In The Pink
Color plays a major part in gender identity from birth. Today a newborn boy will be swaddled in pale blue, while a little girl is bundled in pink. Surprisingly, a look back into the history of fashion shows that boys were usually dressed in pink because it was considered a strong color, being related to
red. Girls wore light blue because it was thought to be a softer, feminine hue. The exact aesthetic switch cannot be credited to a specific moment in history, but perhaps Barbie’s signature color is at least partially responsible for our automatic assumption that pink equates with girl. When in doubt about color, wrapping yourself in the rainbow flag is a surefire way to make a pride-filled, colorful statement.
Bond, James Bond
Agent 007 has been a consistent symbol of the ultimate modern man, because he is as dashing as he is dangerous. We all know that his license to kill does not preclude him from cutting a fine figure of a man in a tuxedo. The tux is a staple in any gentleman’s closet but once Yves Saint Laurent infused “Le Smoking” with all the elegance of the traditional piece of menswear in 1966, women have had access to the tailored classic as well. A stylized version of the tuxedo continues to be an option for women looking for glamorous eveningwear.
Who Wears The Pants?
Slacks, trousers and pants. These words had not been a part of my grandmother’s vocabulary regarding her personal wardrobe before the 1970’s. Perhaps that is why one of the strongest fashion-related memories of my childhood was the day my grandmother purchased, brought home, and put on her first pantsuit. I remember my grandfather’s reaction very clearly. He was not a happy man. I did not realize until I was older what a defiant statement this was within the context of their generation. I doubt my grandfather considered many of Hollywood’s pioneering leading ladies - Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Katharine Hepburn - who paved the way for my grandmother, not to mention Hilary Clinton. Good thing? Bad thing? You decide.
Über Femme
The burlesque performer Dita Von Teese is one undeniable ideal of womanhood. Her focus on heightening femininity has become both an art and a science. Her updated interpretation of the 1940’s pinup girl continues to have the same kind of allure and has become a template for a whole new generation of glamour girls. Dublin-born rocka-
billy singer Imelda May is another prime example of how relevant this über femininity still is. In the film ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ a modern breed of these polished slaves to fashion are identified - the clackers - who are known for the distinctive sound that the heels of their designer footwear make on marble floors. They are also credited with making sure that every detail from head to toe is considered and curated carefully. The dandy is the male counterpart to this approach and is often considered effeminate because ‘real guys’ don’t consider it manly to be so concerned with your appearance, supposedly.
It’s Not A Skirt!
Braveheart and Rob Roy both struck fear into the hearts of men while wearing one. And there is no questioning Sean Connery’s manhood when he’s sporting one. But historical figures and macho celebrities aside, the kilt is one of the most masculine garments a man can don. It’s history alone carries with it great honor and distinction. For a period of thirty-five years a subject of Great Britain could be imprisoned for six months on a first offence, and seven years for the second if caught wearing a kilt, thanks to the Dress Act of 1746. Once the
Steven Tyler
ban was lifted Highland dress, and in particular the kilt, became a symbol of Scottish national identity. Be warned, only the brave or the truly foolish would call it a skirt in front of a Scotsman.
Drag Kings & Queens
Cross dressing isn’t for everyone, but many still appreciate it from afar. The popularity of a show like ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ speaks to the fascination with anyone who is able to project the illusion of the opposite sex. Popular films like Some Like it Hot and Victor Victoria prove that humor can be a useful tool in disguising the desire to see how the other half lives. Strapping young college men (many of them straight) have been playing dress up as part of Hasty Pudding Theatricals at Harvard since 1844. Georges Sand, born Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, was considered scandalous when she started wearing men’s clothes in the 1800’s. Her reasons were practical men’s clothes were built to last, more affordable and comfortable. They also allowed her great freedom and access that she would be denied as a woman during that time. With that in mind it makes sense that Diane Keaton popularized the menswear inspired
Annie Hall look during the late 1970’s, at the height of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
Sending The Right Message
How we speak to gender as it pertains to our wardrobe choices is important. Being aware of the power of labels, and not just the kind you find inside the garment, is key. Each one of the topics explored above provides a glimpse into a unique community, but whether you’re a part of one of these tribes or just visiting, always remember that the clothes associated with them are merely aesthetic choices meant to clue you in to interests and inclinations, but they do not fully define the individual. Tread carefully when using polite euphemisms. Descriptions like “sporty girl” or “artistic boy,” not to mention other more colorful or entirely questionable tags, are poor indicators of anything more than what this person chose to put on that day. It’s healthy to be curious and even experiment with fashion that crosses current gender boundaries. Mix it up. You don’t have to be gay to play, but some might argue that it helps.
Read the Rest Online: Search “Painted Man” at colormagazineusa.com.
www.colormagazineusa.com June 2011
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