EILE Magazine Mar/Apr 2019 (Vol. 6, Issue 02)

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Magazine V 6 Issue 02 - Mar/Apr 2019

Jack Rua Shaley Howard PureGrand

susie blue Darragh McGann Inside:

Travel | Film | Fashion |Health | News

EILE Magazine | Who’s Who

Contributors

M. Butler M. Butler is a writer and editor, with a keen interest in human and civil rights, and has also studied philosophy and psychology Scott De Buitléir Scott is founder and Editor-at-Large of EILE Magazine. He is also an author and poet from Dublin, but is now based in Cork Shaley Howard Shaley is a writer/blogger (adventuresofabutchdogwalker.com) and dog-lover, who is currently based in Portland, Oregon Darragh McGann Darragh McGann is a classically-trained singer/songwriter who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014, and performed on the main stage of Pride in Dublin, also in 2014. He also presents a weekly radio show in Cork.

Lisa Reynolds Originally from Co. Meath, Lisa is a fashion industry student, now living in Bray, Co Wicklow, with a great interest in media and celebrity Brian Rochford Brian has studied health, exercise, and nutrition, with a special interest in controlling pain in rheumatism and arthritis Brian Rochford also writes our fashion column this month Frances Winston Frances Winston is EILE’s resident film buff, and has contributed to many other publications, such as The Irish Independent and Irish Tatler

EILE Magazine

EILE Magazine | Welcome

Highlights Mar/Apr 2019 Longing for Love - P.10 Oregon-based Shaley Howard writes about her journey to finding love and self-acceptance

To Love - Is It Really... - P.26 Darragh McGann writes about finally coming to terms with the conflict between his love for his religion and his sexuality in To Love - Is It Really The Greatest Sin?

Health - P.36 Brian Butler tells us how to gently get healthy for Summer

Music - Pps. 6,14, and 18 This month we feature Irish artists Jack Rua and PureGrand, from Dublin, and Susie Blue from Derry

Men’s Fashion - P.22, and Lisa R Pps.30,50 Brian Rochford writes about DILF men’s fashion, and what to wear for Summer.

Lisa Reynolds reviews Sister Act and Felix Shepherd

…plus film reviews, news, travel, and much more!

Volume 6, Issue 02 Editor-at-Large: Scott De Buitléir Editor: MKB Contributors: M. Butler, Scott De Buitléir, Shaley Howard, Darragh McGann, MKB, Lisa Reynolds, Brian Rochford, Frances Winston Photographers: Audrey Gillespie, Conor Kerr Photography, PureGrand NB: All images in this publication are either under Creative Commons licence, or used with permission. Image credits, where necessary, are printed on the corresponding page(s) or photo(s). Any queries can be made to hello@eile.ie Special Thanks to MKB for all her hard work, dedication and support.

Web: http://eile.ie Contact: hello@eile.ie Twitter: @EILEMagazine Facebook: http://fb.com/eilemagazine Note: All opinions expressed in this issue are the writers’ own.

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EILE Magazine

EILE Magazine | Editor’s Letter

Contents 6-

Jack Rua

10 -

Longing to Love

14 -

PureGrand

18 -

Susie Blue

22 -

Men’s Fashion

26 -

To Love - Is it Really...

30 -

Felix Shepherd

34 -

Travel NI

36 -

Health

38 -

Frances on Film

44 -

Review All About Eve

48 -

Rose McGowan NCH

50 -

Sister Act Musical

plus World LGBT News, Views, Arts, Entertainment etc

EILE Mar/Apr 2019 Edition!

Welcome to the March/April 2019 issue of EILE Magazine This issue, we have an eclectic mix of goodies in store for you!

In our music section, we feature Irish singersongwriters, Jack Rua, PureGrand (aka Luke Faulkner) and Susie Blue.

We have coming out and self-acceptance stories from Oregon-based writer, Shaley Howard, and Cork-based singer/radio presenter, Darragh McGann.

Brian Rochford writes on health, and also tells us about DILF men’s fashion and what’s hot for Summer, and Lisa Reynolds reviews an album and a musical. .

Our resident marvel, Frances Winston, reviews some great films and a talk by Rose McGowan at the NCH. With lots more news, views and entertainment in this issue, sit back and enjoy our March/April 2019 edition of EILE Magazine!

Scott De Buitléir Founder / Editor-at-Large

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See our film reviews

by Frances Winston

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jack rua Irish gay Dubliner, Jack Rua, has recently released an exciting new dance-pop track, Scarlet A, guaranteed to get you moving and shaping This month on EILE, we have some great music for you, and this includes Irish gay singer-songwriter, and pop artist, Jack Rua, who has recently released (on March 15th) his exciting, provocative new single, Scarlet A, an upbeat, dance-pop track with a pulsating opening bass-line.

The song is questioning the nature of human attraction, monogamy and shame, and it’s accompanied by a music video (directed by fellow LGBT+ artist, PureGrand), which is inspired by the likes of Perfume Genius and Christine and the Queens.

The track is produced by fellow BIMM Dublin alumni, tenderhook, and producer, mixer, and engineer, Michael Heffernan.

A Dublin native, Jack is heavily influenced by glam, dance, and theatre (having previously performed as Jackal in Dublin (Vicar Street, The Academy and Whelans), and New York City (Bowery Electric, Uncle Charlies, The Duplex).

All of these strands come together in this exciting debut single, into which Jack has expertly woven his vast experience of theatrical performance.

Jack’s musical influences include David Bowie and Lady

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Jack Rua Image: PureGrand

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Gaga, two other highly theatrical acts, which will give you some idea of what you can expect from Jack’s music and performance on this exciting, seductive track, which questions our commitment to relationships, in a world of superficial and fleeting experiences.

Jack now has plans to collaborate with more prominent Irish artists, and to release an EP in late 2019/early 2020.

Nice to know we will be hearing more of Jack Rua in the future!

Images: PureGrand

-M. Butler

If you would like to know more about Jack, go to: www.facebook.com/jackruamtwitter.com/jackruamusicusic/ twitter.com/jackruamusic Jack’s music is available on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/ 2CpzeYHswkb0qf52jzeASC?si=E59eGL9KS1-URBmnA3cE8Q iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/scarlet-a-single/1451884591 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jackrua/jack-rua-scarlet-a

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Jack Rua Images: PureGrand

Cover Art for Scarlet A EILE Magazine

shaley howard

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Longing To Love - A Butch’s Journey To SelfLove

By Shaley Howard Her name was Mrs. Agerrah, she taught 5th grade and she was SO beautiful.

Every morning I secretly made sure all my clothes matched, and my hair was perfect.

The problem was whenever she called on me, I froze, and could barely remember my name; let alone the answer to her questions. I was completely unable to make eye contact, certain she would see right through my façade into my desperate love for her.

She probably thought I hated her, when all I longed for was her undivided attention. She never got to see my notebook filled with A + S heart doodles.

Most people have similar stories of their first crush, when they had no clue what to do or say. The difference being mine was a same-sex crush back in the late 1970s, when no one was openly gay. And even though it was never discussed, I knew on a gut level it was not ok for me to like other girls, or female teachers.

It’s hard to convey the isolation and sheer loneliness of being closeted back then. Almost every night I would cry silently in bed, wondering why I was born this way. I knew even back then that it was never a choice, but I didn’t understand why someone like me, so loving and sensitive, would be brought into such a cruel and unwelcoming world.

Every day I would put on my cloak of homosexual invisibility, and try desperately to fit in.

Pretending to like boys, trying to pass. I questioned whether I would ever have, or deserved, someone to love me the way I loved her.

Then one day in the mid 1990s in college, I met Amy. She was a scrawny, sarcastic, southerner, with big opinions, and a presence that made me blush uncontrollably. She was perfect. Both of us being closeted, however, made things a little challenging. Not knowing how to communicate that I was head-over-heels, I found myself trying to woo her by essentially following her around and insulting her. Then I’d run away internally screaming, ‘I LOVE YOU’!

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Given that I never had the chance to practise flirting openly with anyone, I had serious arrested development in the art of love. Straight kids have multiple opportunities to express their awkward prepubescent romantic crushes.

They’re allowed the grace period of falling on their faces. Needless to say, I was a bit stunted in my wooing abilities. And I was scared to death of confessing my true feelings, sure that if I did, Amy would cringe with disgust, and my life would be over.

Coming back from an exhaustively long flight, I went into the bathroom at the Dallas airport.

Then it happened. One night while in the dorm room watching Fried Green Tomatoes, we kissed. My body and spirit lit up like it was 4th of July! I had found Nirvana, and her name was Amy. For the first time it happened, I was loved. Now, there was someone else drawing A+S heart doodles.

Due to my sleep deprivation, my sensitivity chip was MIA, so I grabbed my breasts and added:

Being with Amy finally gave me the courage to come out. Yet I was still terrified. Every single thing in our culture said homosexuality was wrong. Turned out my family was 100% ok with me being gay. My mom told me words I’ll never forget.

She said: “Shaley, no matter what, don’t waste your time on ignorant people”.

In that moment, I was full of hope and relief.

But living an out life as a butch lesbian in this culture is easier said than done.

It’s difficult trying to put into words what it’s like carrying the weight of always being on guard, yet at the same time wanting so badly just to fit in and find acceptance. All my life I’ve been told that I was abnormal; that there was something wrong with me and the way I looked. I get so tired of being in the spotlight simply for being me, a butch woman. It’s a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons. And even to this day, there’s always something that reminds me I’m different.

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A woman followed me in saying: “Sir...sir...this is the women’s bathroom”.

To which, I said, for probably the 12,000 time in my life: ”I AM a woman”.

”And I’m more of a woman than you’ll ever be”!

After my inner applause subsided, I realised that prior to this interaction, I was so tired I did fully walk into the men’s bathroom, before realising I was in the wrong one, so walked over to the women’s. If she did see this, it might have confused her. Either way, who made her the bathroom police?

Growing up butch in this culture is like death by a thousand paper cuts. It’s a glance, a grimace, a laugh, a sneer. I am definitely the other in this heteronormative society.

But every day I make a choice; to boil over with anger and resentment, or remove the armour, and let love take over. Because love is my source. It has always been my source. From that scared little girl longing for a love story, to a grown woman surrounded by friends, family, and a beautiful partner, I know I am loved by many, and I love.

I am a beautiful butch lesbian.

Shaley Howard is a writer/blogger (adventuresofbutchdogwalker.com) who is currently based in Portland, Oregon

Image: Facebook

Shaley Howard

Right: Cover Art for Say Something

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Luke Faulkner aka PureGrand On EILE Magazine this edition, we are delighted to feature the latest single, Just Be, from multi-talented Irish singer-songwriter and creative, Luke Faulkner, aka PureGrand, a Dublin-born and based synth-pop musician and visual artist.

PureGrand is the guise used by the Irish photographer, artist, and musician, whose style is informed by late 20th century media and technology, and is also influenced by western popular culture. These elements are then merged with current trends and topics, to create a unique blend in his work.

The track is called Just Be, and is the second single from his 2018 EP, Swallow Your Doubt. It was produced by Faulkner himself, and looks at the complicated nature of dating in the internet era, and how important it is to maintain your self-worth in the game-playing world of modern relationships.

His project, PureGrand, started life in 2012 as simply photographic work, but has since grown to become a multi-media experience.

In 2016, Luke then expanded it into a music act, using templates of dance and pop genres, merging heavy usage of melody and hooks to construct songs about the 21st century gay male experience. Luke uses analogue and current photographic and video technologies, such as film, VHS and digital to create his visual work.

He has participated in group exhibitions, has won awards for his visual work, EILE Magazine 15

and has collaborated with filmmakers, musicians and other artists.

Luke studied at IADT, Dun Laoghaire, and his graduate piece I'm Addicted To You Don’t You Know That You’re Toxic was awarded two accolades at his graduate show, and won the 2018 Inspirational Arts Photography Award.

His latest musical effort, Swallow Your Doubt, was released July 2018.

letting the music speak for itself.

A worthy second track from the album, following the well-received first single, Pink.

-M. Butler If you would like to know more about PureGrand, visit: www.facebook.com/ puregrand/ twitter.com/PureGrand

No wonder then that the video for www.puregrand.org Just Be is also self-shot, and has an arty minimalist 80s vibe to it, while

Cover art for Just Be

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Pure Grand aka Luke Faulkner

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Susie blue EILE Magazine catches up with Northern Irish indie-pop artist and LGBTQ activist, Susie blue We also get the lowdown on SHE IS, the latest single from Susie blue, an Indie-Pop-Rocker hailing from Derry, who has a distinctive gay indie-pop vibe.

Permeated with a ‘spirit of the 90s’ indie sound, and noughties’ synths, SHE IS is DIY retro at its raw best.

Speaking about the track, Susie says: “She Is is a song that has a lot of different meanings to me, I created this song when I was going through a bad time, it tells the story of a toxic relationship, mental illness, and substance abuse, but has a happy energetic vibe to it, which shows light at the end of the tunnel, it was tough to write but I’m happy it’s out there”.

Susie has been working hard, but she still appreciates her fans, and their commitment to coming to her gigs.

She posted on instagram: “...it’s hard being away and not having a routine, it’s hard only eating food from roadside shops, it’s hard not sleeping, it’s hard sharing my emotions night after night with people, but you folks all coming to the gigs, buying the music, relating to my stories and singing along makes all of it worthwhile, I love this job so much, thank you so much for believing in me and thank you for listening”.

Susie’s previous releases have garnered a lot of attention for the Derry native, securing her performances at Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, and Other Voices, along with support slots for Glen Hansard, Hudson Taylor, and The Strypes.

Her songs are hard-hitting, well-written, and catchy as hell. Backed by a full band, her live shows are energetic, and impassioned, and she has been getting very positive press too.

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Susie Blue Image: Conor Kerr Photography

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The Irish Times named her Artist of the Week, and BBC Across The Line have described her music as having ‘epic Delores Riordan-eque vocals’, and “Everything she touches turns to gold” - Across The Line BBC NI. Susie has also become an outspoken voice in the ongoing fight for marriage equality in the North of Ireland, and has recently been featured in an article in Hot Press on the subject.

You can visit Susie blue at: www.facebook.com/ susieblueofficial twitter.com/susiebluemusic open.spotify.com/artist/

Susie is very happy that the single is out there, and we’re happy too, because we know that there is much more where that came from, so don’t miss a gig from Susie if you happen to be near a performance you might regret it!

-MKB

Image: Conor Kerr Photography

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Susie Blue Image: Audrey Gillespie

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dior

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High Fashion With Comfort And Style Brian Rochford on DILF, style, and comfort for the Summer You can hopefully now put away those heavy coats and jackets, as the warm weather appears to be here at last.

Go for comfort, style, and versatility, and you can’t go wrong. You can achieve a high-fashion look just by going for a contrast within a colour family.

Clean tailoring is the key to achieving that sharp, sophisticated look - you want the fit of your clothes to be flawless, if want the look that screams success.

The unexpected fashion style that has been trending this year is the DILF - an acronym for Dad In Latest Fashion.

Some of the biggest fashion brands have been involved in this ‘dad’ style (let’s hope that dad-dancing stays where it belongs!).

Dressing for function and not for form should be your mind-set, and you are almost there with this weird and wonderful fashion trend.

Get out or get shopping for summer shirts that are lighter in fabric and in colour. Choose a very light linen or cotton for style and comfort, to ensure that you don’t feel stuffy, and can remain cool when the temperature rises.

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Next up are suits, as they are trending big on all the runways everywhere. There are so many styles and colours and fabrics to choose from this Summer.

Fashion footwear this season has seen a rise in chunky sneakers. Yes, I did say chunky sneakers. Like them or loathe them, they are here. They may not be to everyone’s taste, but as the saying goes, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

dior

Moving on, as all trends do, there has been a big increase in the desire for faded denim. I know this is so retro, but when paired with lighter fabrics, and sharp, brighter colours and textures, you can achieve a look that is on-trend and comfortable.There’s that so undervalued word again, ‘comfortable’, and yes you can have comfort and style.

You don’t have to suffer just to look good. I can’t believe I said that.

h&m

Here comes Summer, so get your shades on and start posing. You don’t have to spend a bundle on these fashion-musts to look dudeperfect, and stand out from the crowd.

dior

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soft goat

dior

dhgate

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To Love – Is It Really The Greatest Sin?

By Darragh McGann

To Love – Is It Really The Greatest Sin? For anyone reading this question, I am sure the answer has to be: How could love be a sin, let alone the greatest sin?

However, for me, and the journey that I took many years ago, and could only find the courage to talk about now, the reality is that back then, to love was indeed the greatest sin.

Let me explain. Anyone who knew me growing up would have known of my great love for my faith, and the wider Catholic Church.

I served as an Altar Boy for over 8 years, and sang in many choirs, as well as reading at Masses, right the way through to when I turned 18. In fact, whenever priests from other missionary groups came to the school seeking vocations, my name was the first to be given, and of course I went on these encounter weekends to see if I did indeed have a vocation. To be honest, I never questioned anything; I was just delighted to be considered at all.

Seminary.....

I arrived at St Patrick’s College, Thurles, on September 5th, 1991, to begin what I, and others, believed to be the beginning of the journey of formation toward Priesthood. Gosh, I was so happy going there, as now I could finally start doing something that I absolutely loved, and better still, I would be surrounded by others on the same journey.

The first few days were spent on retreat, but soon I began to become aware of something happening within me, something I had never before encountered, and something that would ultimately lead to me leaving.

There was a guy in my class in whose company I just loved to be. I felt safe and understood, and even cared for. It was a really nice feeling to be around someone who didn’t judge me, or make fun of me - this was really amazing. However, as the days and weeks passed, I soon realised that what was happening was that I was developing emotional feelings for him. There were even times that I would become obsessed, in the way that I needed to see him everyday, and I wanted

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Darragh McGann

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to spend more and more time in his company.

It got so bad that I would even try and style my hair to look like him, and even to see him walk down the corridor in front of me really make my heart beat faster. What was happening, and I know that now, is that I was falling in love, something I had never experienced before, but it almost consumed me.My relationships with others suffered, I couldn’t talk to my Mum, and in fact if she were on the phone, I would be quite short and even rude toward her.

I was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do, or didn’t even talk to anyone about it. All I did know is that the Catholic Church looked upon same-sex unions as sinful and evil, and now my problems became worse.

I would cry at night, wondering if even having feelings for someone were a sin, and would I be going straight to hell. I knew then that there was only one thing I could do, I had to leave the seminary at the end of the year, and never return. I had to walk away from temptation, for the sake of the love of God.

Now.....

Very recently, while watching a documentary about The Vatican, I had what I call a lightswitch moment. This was where all my past memories came flooding back, memories of growing up knowing I was different, and memories of falling in love, but this time these memories helped me face my reality once and for all, and this time without regret.

I took to social media, rightly or wrongly, and I finally came out to the world as a gay man.

From that day forward, I have never felt so much happiness in my own skin, and I am no longer under the control of anyone or anything.

It has taken me to age 46 to finally embrace my sexuality, and while I never want to go back to the past, I can learn from it, and I now fully know and believe that Love is Never a Sin, and nobody can tell me otherwise.

If this puts me on a collision course with the Church, and even God, I will take my chances.

People are born free to make choices, and I know I choose to be happy.

To Love is not the greatest sin, to be judged for loving is.

Darragh McGann is a classically-trained singer/songwriter who appeared on Britain's Got Talent

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Darragh McGann Image: BreakingTunes

Image: Facebook

Image: Evening Echo

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Album Review

Polar Points By Felix Shepherd Retro review by Lisa Reynolds Polar Points (2018) by transman, Felix Shepherd, is a 5-track EP, which combines many different musical genres, such as pop, soul and R’n’B, to create a really great listen. His musical influences include The 1975 and Jack Garrett.

Birmingham indie pop singer/songwriter and music student, Felix, appeared on the 2018 X Factor in the UK, performing a wonderful version of Kodaline’s All I Have at his audition, and reached the Six Chair Challenge stage of the competition.

The EP’s opening track is Half My Heart. It’s a perfect opening track because it has such an energetic vibe to it. From the opening notes, you can tell that Felix has a great recording voice, and even though this EP is done independently, I could imagine his voice transferring very easily to a more commercial setting as well. This song has a very

Felix Shepherd Image: Bandsintown

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Felix Shepherd Image: Born Music

catchy chorus and gets the EP off to a flying start.

Tell You follows. Again, it is a very lively modern track, and very rhythmic.

The third track is Sunday. This is a slower track, which shows another side to Felix’s vocal from the two previous tracks, and is equally as brilliant. Quite soulful and soothing.

My favourite track on the album is the fourth track Always Been.

It has this great contrast, from the slower tempo in the verses to the more up-tempo chorus. A very catchy song that I could listen to over and over again.

The closing track is Away, which is a gorgeous ballad that closes the EP in style.

There is a very delicate, poetic feel to it, and it’s very beautiful.

A very gorgeous listen. Incredibly well-crafted and put together.

Polar Points by Felix Shepherd is available now on Spotify.

Felix will also be performing at Brighton Pride this year.

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Galway: New Event! Let’s Have A Kiki – Upstairs at the Róisín Dubh – FREE Entry!

There is a new LGBT+ event happening in Galway, upstairs in the Róisín Dubh, every Wednesday, which started on 24th April.

Join the Queen of Galway herself, Kiki St. Clair of GASS, in the upstairs bar of the Róisín Dubh, Dominick Street, Galway, for Let’s have a Kiki night, full of pop, camp hits, and disco floor fillers.

This is to be a weekly event, every Wednesday night, and it’s FREE entry!

“Lock the doors, lower the blinds, fire up the smoke machine, and put on your heels, ‘cos we know exactly what you need… Let’s Have A Kiki“.

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Travel Breaks

Northern Ireland Dali-icious art break in Belfast’s Culloden Estate this June The largest collection of Dali’s works seen in Ireland, plus collections from Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Banksy, will form the centrepiece of Art In The Garden at the five-star Culloden Estate, Belfast, from June 15-30.

In conjunction with Gormleys Fine Art, 14 pieces from the Dali Universe in Switzerland will lead the exhibition, containing more than 120 sculptures, some of which are valued up to €500,000, and will be exhibited both in the grounds of the 12-acre estate and in the hotel.

The five-star Culloden Estate’s idyllic private grounds overlooking Belfast Lough will be a perfect backdrop to the finest collection of sculpture to be displayed on the island of Ireland.

There will be rooms devoted to Warhol and street artist Banksy and a Modern Masters Collection in the Ailsa Suite featuring Picasso, Miro and Lucien Freud.

Other artists featured include Damien Hirst, Robert Indiana, Grayson Perry, Tom Wesselmann, Keith Haring, Julian Opie and Irish sculptors and artists such as Peter Monaghan, Stephen Johnston, Ian Pollock, Patrick O’Reilly, Stephen Forbes, Kenneth Webb, and Orla De Brí.

The Culloden Estate is offering special Art in the Garden breaks with luxurious overnight accommodation, full Irish breakfast and entry into the exhibition from only £230 per room. There will also be an Art in the Garden Afternoon Tea with a curated art tour of the exhibits for £50 per person.

“Art in the Garden will give art lovers a unique opportunity to view these incredible pieces of work in the beautiful surroundings of the Culloden Estate and Spa,” said Howard Hastings, Managing Director of Hastings Hotels.

“We have worked with Gormleys Fine Art in organising the exhibition and I am confident that visitors will truly appreciate the collection of work that has been put together.”

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NI: Dali-icious art break in Belfast’s Culloden Estate this June

During the exhibition, there will be guided tours around the Art in the Garden installations daily at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm.

To book an Art Afternoon Tea or overnight break, call the Culloden Estate & Spa on 028 9042 1066 or to find out more about Art in the Garden go to www. hastingshotels.com

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Health

All Set For Summer!

Brian Rochford on how to gently get healthy for Summer As we are now moving into Summertime, it’s time to get on the road to good health.

increase your LDL cholesterol. Dairy and meat usually have the highest levels of saturated fats.

As we age, our health become affected by what we do or don’t do, so it’s important to take the right steps to increase your chances of improving it, and staying in top condition.

Trans fat is usually found in foods that are commercially produced. This type of fat is more harmful than saturated fat, so as much as possible choose foods that are trans fat free.

There are three things you should be taking care of every day, and they are: Eating, Exercising, and Sleep.

Make the effort to check, before purchasing, that any commercial foods you buy are trans fat free, where possible.

This is what you have to do. Keep it simple, and don’t over-think it. Eat a diet rich in vegetables and lots of fruit. Consume moderate amounts of carbohydrates and protein. Just introducing more vegetables into your diet can really help you reduce weight, and increase your level of energy.

Check the ingredients to see if the product contains shortening or hydrogenated oil. If using products like margarine, be careful to use one that is trans fat free. Cooking oils are good for your health, because they contain unsaturated fat.

Healthy eating is so important for a healthy heart also. You can limit your fat intake, and keep away from unhealthy calories - these simple steps can go a long way to maintaining a healthy weight, which will have a positive effect on your heart-health.

The kind of fat you consume can impact your cholesterol levels. Trans and saturated fats can

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When cooking, try using oils like Canola and Olive oil, as they are probably the healthiest options when used on a regular basis. Another method of healthy cooking is stir-frying, as it uses very little oil. You could also try baking and steaming.

There are so many healthy recipes available today, you will be spoiled for choice.Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day if possible. But

Image: Next Avenue

always consult your doctor before engaging in an exercise programme, especially if you have not been active for a while, or if you have a medical condition that requires special attention.

Whatever your preference is in exercise, the most important thing is to get active and get moving. Exercising your body every day is really important to stay healthy. Find a method of exercising that suits you, and vary your routine so that you stay stimulated and interested.

Finally try to get a good night’s sleep.

With so many demands on your time and energy, and so many devices demanding your attention, we are now getting less and less good-quality sleep.

It has been suggested that we learn while we are awake, and during sleep we cement neural connections. Less sleep can leave you tired and short–tempered.

Some research has even indicated that lack of sleep can be linked to diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Sleep also helps to regulate the hormones that influence hunger.

So perhaps Benjamin Franklin was right all those years ago, when he said “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”.

Good advice even for today's go-getters!

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Frances Winston on Movies Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo – Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin Rarely has a movie been as anticipated as this one. After 11 years and 22 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) promised to wrap up all their loose ends, and also conclude several characters’ journeys in this flick (I won’t say which ones, but a quick google search will tell you who has already confirmed that they won’t be back in their roles).

With so much ground to cover, it’s not surprising that this lasts an astonishing three hours!

I’m going to assume that most people are familiar with some or all of the previous movies, or this would be the longest review I’ve ever written!

The good news is that it doesn’t really feel like such a lengthy running time (other than for your bladder – lay off the cinema beverages for this one!)

Picking up after the events of Infinity War, the Avengers are broken and battered. With half of all life on the planet wiped out, they feel useless, and each of them retreats to deal with the defeat in their own way.

Fast-forward five years, and Scott Lang, aka Antman, finds

his way back from the quantum universe he’s been trapped in!

Realising that they may be able to harness the quantum power to time travel in order to bring back the disappeared members of the planet’s population, the team once again have purpose, and the stage is set for their most epic adventure yet!

And epic this is! Spanning five decades and numerous galaxies, Marvel have really thrown everything at this.

Where Infinity War was 149 minutes of high-octane intergalactic action, this is a far more thoughtful affair. The characters are allowed to have proper arcs.

While some of their situations are hilarious (future Thor is less God of Thunder and more God of Blubber) others have had a more poignant journey (Black Widow desperately clinging on to The Avengers, since it’s the only real family she ever knew).

In fact, there is very little ‘action’ for around the first half of the movie, as the Russos allow the story to breathe. As the timetravel strand kicks off, we get even more insight into previous MCU adventures, as they encounter their younger selves, and we are reminded of their previous encounters.

All the back and forth in time and space just serves to build to the ambitious finale, that sees possibly more heroes than have ever assembled on screen come together. Even if you are not a fan of comic book adaptations, this battle is pretty impressive. Amazing effects, and astonishingly thoughtful fight choreography, make this

a breath-taking watch. Each character really does get their moment, and the irony of the conclusion won’t be lost on anyone who saw Infinity War. This has a lot of humour and heart, and (something I never thought I’d say about a Marvel movie) is very emotional. I defy anyone watching not to well up in parts – especially when it involves established characters that you’re invested in!

In terms of a bug-bear, I did feel that Captain Marvel was very much shoehorned in! Although introduced in a previous endcredit sequence, and recently featuring in her own standalone movie, she doesn’t have onscreen history with these characters, and her appearance feels somewhat contrived.

Those two gripes aside, this is an absolutely worthy conclusion to the journey that started in 2008 with Iron Man. Those who have followed the story won’t be disappointed, and even those who are new to these films will appreciate the sheer scale and storytelling in this.

It takes you on a huge emotional roller-coaster, and is almost Grecian in its ambition. It ties up every single loose-end, and leaves you satisfied, but also sad that the ride is over.

This really does justify the hype (and the budget) and is one of the most entertaining and cathartic movies you’re likely to see.

In Cinemas Now!

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Frances Winston on Movies continued...

Directed by: Tom Harper- Starring: Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo, Jamie Sives, Craig Parkinson, James Harkness, Janey Godley, Daisy Littlefeld, Adam Mitchell, Ryan Kerr, Nicole Kerr I’m not going to lie – when the invite to the screening of Wild Rose popped into my inbox, and I saw the title, the first thing that popped into my head was the Nick Cave/Kylie duet, and it stuck there for days! So it didn’t exactly endear itself to me.

Thankfully, this is full of songs that will erase and replace any annoying ear-worm you might find stuck in your brain. Most people will remember Jessie Buckley from the Andrew Lloyd Webber star search, I’d Do Anything, where she belted out show tunes on a weekly basis.

Here, she turns her hand to country – because it’s “three chords and the truth”. She plays Rose-Lynn Harlan, an aspiring country star, who is trying to get her ambitions back on track after a stint in jail.

However, her two young children, and the demands of caring for them, somewhat scupper her plans, and she’s

forced to take a cleaning job for the wealthy Susannah (Okonedo). Despite her reticence it turns out to be fortuitous, as Susannah hears her sing, and uses her connections to get her a meeting with the legendary Bob Harris in the BBC. In awe of Rose’s talent, Susannah quickly becomes somewhat of a mentor for her, and determines to help her follow her dream to get to Nashville, so she can become the country star she always dreamed of being.

I hate using the phrase that the performance was “a revelation”, but in this case it is completely justified regarding Buckley. She is amazing as Rose, and truly shines in the scenes where she is singing.

Obviously, she is helped by an extremely strong supporting cast, and she more than holds her own against stage and screen stalwarts, Walters and Okonedo, who are both fabulous. It’s actually lovely to see such a female-centric film that isn’t pushing a feminist agenda. It just happens to feature lots of strong women.

Some parts of the script feel rather contrived, and jolt you out of the story somewhat.

The trip to London to meet Bob Harris could probably have been removed entirely, and made little difference to the plot. However, even in those moments, Wild Rose has a huge amount of heart

and ambition – much like its protagonist.

You don’t have to be a country fan to enjoy the songs – all of which are infuriatingly catchy.

Indeed, you might start to see the genre in a new light after watching this. The soundtrack is made up of a mixture of well-known country tracks and original numbers, and the new works are so good it is difficult to tell which ones you haven’t heard before. The closing track, No Place Like Home, has the potential to be an instant classic.

I’ve seen some reviews comparing Wild Rose to A Star Is Born, but I don’t agree. It is actually its polar opposite.

Instead of Hollywood glitz, it has a gritty greyness about it that it wears with pride.

Wile Rose has no gimmicks – it is simply a solid drama that wears its heart on its sleeve. It will move you and manipulate your emotions, and leave you feeling drained but uplifted.

Entertaining and engaging, Wild Rose is good oldfashioned kitchen sink drama, with a cracking soundtrack thrown in as an added bonus.

And if you don’t see Jessie Buckley everywhere after this, there is no justice.

In Cinemas Now!

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Frances Winston on Movies continued...

Directed by: Alan Mulligan – Starring: Laurence O’Fuaráin, Sarah Carroll This movie has taken five years to make it to the big screen, and is very much a labour of love for director, Mulligan, and his brother, Anthony. Indeed, I actually saw this a year ago at a special IFTA screening, and although it is only now released, leading lady, Sarah Carroll, was nominated for a Best Actress IFTA for her performance here.

Set at the tail-end of the recession, O’Fuaráin plays James, a slick and organised cog in the banking world, who becomes disillusioned with refusing people loans due to the lending policies. He takes matters into his own hands, altering the details of several loan applications.

Obviously, he is extremely clever, but for some reason he puts all the information on a memory stick, which you just know is so that it can fall into the wrong hands, to move the plot along. Enter his colleague, Allison (Carroll) who confronts him. She has her own troubles, but rather than ask her about her motives, he decides to chain her up and hold her hostage, which completely shifts the tone of the movie, and does

leave you with a bit of a ‘what the hell am I watching’ moment.

This is one of those films whose heart is in the right place, but its execution isn’t.

There is a massive amount of talking, rather than moving the narrative along visually.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite so many duologues in a film! It starts off with great promise, but gets lost after Allison confronts James, and never really finds its way back.

The plot is too weak to sustain a feature-length movie, and, as such, it just always feels like things are being stretched out. This probably would have worked far better as a 45-minute or one-hour standalone drama, rather than a full-length film.

promise for all involved.

It would be interesting if Mulligan could revisit the idea in a few years, with a bigger budget, and more experience under his belt. For now, though, even though it is not the best release this week, it is great to see Irish film getting a proper platform, and the more support this gets the healthier the Irish moviemaking landscape will be.

In Cinemas Now!

That said, there are some good plot-points that could have been expanded on and refined further, and both leads give excellent performances.

To have actually funded and made a movie that has made it on to the big-screen is an achievement in itself, and the Mulligans are to be commended on this. Even more astonishingly, this is their first-ever attempt at filmmaking (Alan was actually a tax consultant who quit the rat race!).

This will probably prove too slow and plodding for some people, but it does show great

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All About Eve

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Frances Winston reviews this iconic drama which was broadcast to the Omniplex Rathmines from London’s Noel Coward Theatre National Theatre Live – All About Eve Broadcast live on April 11th in Omniplex Rathmines from the Noel Coward Theatre in London Starring: Gillian Anderson, Lily James, Monica Dolan, Ian Drysdale, Tsion Habte, Stanley Townsend When I was in drama school, there was a ‘never the twain shall meet’ thinking regarding theatre and film. However, in recent years, the National Theatre in London have broadcast select works in cinemas worldwide, to allow audiences access to shows that ordinarily they may not get to see, and it has proved a huge success.

This latest offering, All About Eve, has been wowing audiences in the West End since it opened, helped, no doubt, by the star power of the leads, Gillian Anderson and Lily James.

It is based on the screenplay of the classic 1950 movie by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Bette Davis and Anne Bancroft took the main roles in that offering, and it is still much-loved and lauded, even 68 years later, so everyone

involved in this has some big boots to fill.

For those not familiar with the story, it tells how theatre superstar, Margo Channing (Anderson) takes a fan, Eve, (James) under her wing, only to discover that the seemingly naïve ingénue has rather Machiavellian side.

However, the underlying themes deal with the fragility of the human ego, acceptance of ageing and evolution as a person, the price of ambition, and the high price of celebrity and celebrity obsession. For a film written in the 1950s, it still resonates today – perhaps more than ever – and given its setting behind the scenes in the theatre world, it seems fitting to bring it to the stage.

Director, Ivo van Hove, utilises technology to add cinematic elements to this production. At times where characters are in another room it is projected on a screen, while other action is happening on the stage. This is particularly effective when two characters are having a heated encounter in a restaurant bathroom, as their companions dine outside the room, oblivious to what’s been going on. There are also several striking scenes where Margo or Eve looking in their dresser mirror is projected for the audience.

This allows Hove to use trickery such as rapidly ageing Margo’s face as she stares at herself, which gives us an insight into

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her mind-set.

Anderson’s Margo is a far more tragic figure than Bette Davis was, and she is definitely channelling the screen great at times. Her performance is laced with pathos and resignation. James manages to balance Eve’s naivety with her cunning and ambition, and cuts a striking figure as her true colours begin to emerge. However, for me, Monica Dolan as Margo’s friend and confidante, Karen, should get special mention. She gives a powerhouse performance, and is the glue that really holds everything together here.

Hove stays surprisingly true to the famous script, and there are one or two things that jar a little. References to Eve’s husband in the war – which obviously referenced WWII in the movie – now make you question the era, as the characters’ clothing is classic but contemporary. Also, certain language is very of that era, which discombobulates slightly when spoken by a contemporary-looking character. That aside, it is astonishing how well this motion picture screenplay translates to a stage setting.

While this will never be the same as a fully-fledged theatre experience, the opportunity to see a show like this is fantastic. If you can’t get to the real thing, then this is the next best substitute. Obviously you lose the connection of a live performance, but on the plus-side, there are close-ups that you don’t get in theatre, which really reveal all the subtle nuances of the performances.

If you can get to London definitely try and make it to All about Eve. In the meantime, the next live show to be broadcast will be All My Sons on May 14th.

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Image: jan versweyveld

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Review Rose McGowan – Words + Ideas – at NCH, Dublin

By Frances Winston Rose McGowan – Words+Ideas National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 27th April 2019 Until 2017, Rose McGowan was predominately known for her work on the hugely-popular, and widely syndicated TV series, Charmed.

However, that year, she named movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, as a rapist, bringing her to the forefront of the #MeToo movement. She was hailed as a hero by women’s groups, but the decision to speak out came at a huge personal price, seeing her blacklisted in Hollywood, and portrayed as a ‘crazy lady’ (her words) in the media!

This period, as well as her unconventional upbringing in The Children of God cult, her experiences in, what she calls, the cult of Hollywood, and her hopes for the future, were all discussed publicly in this talk, which was facilitated by journalist, Sam Baker. It’s part of a series of talks being run by the NCH. Despite her huge screen success, and the almost cult-like (there’s that word again) following of some of her work, this wasn’t a sell-out, which I found surprising.

Less surprising was the fact that it was a predominately female audience, including several trans women. From the video introduction before she took to the stage, you knew that there might be some uncomfortable topics dealt with.

Although she is probably blue in the teeth from talking about her personal travails at this stage, it doesn’t show. She is measured, and steely, as she recalls her struggle with anorexia, the illtreatment suffered by the only female director ever hired to work on the female-led Charmed, the sexualisation that was forced upon her (she describes a Rolling Stone shoot, in which she was given just a bullet-belt to wear as an ‘out of body experience’, and says her eyes are vacant in the 48 EILE Magazine

Rose McGowan – Image: Elle

shots) and her triumphant return to Sundance as a director – the first time she had been back since her sexual assault in 1997.

Weinstein doesn’t get a mention. Baker says he “doesn’t deserve the airtime”, and won’t even name him. But his presence looms large, as McGowan admits that the past couple of years have been tough. She concedes that she wasn’t sure she was going to survive them.

Clearly she has though, and has come out the other side stronger than before. Much reference is made to her memoir, Brave (which she reads from twice) and you get the impression that writing this book was quite cathartic for her – allowing her to speak her truth without the worry that it would be twisted.

She talks a lot about empowerment, which draws enthusiastic rounds of applause, and she gets a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. After all, anyone who has spent 90 minutes baring their soul in such a public confessional deserves at least that.

But this did feel very scripted at times. There were no surprises, and neither McGowan nor Baker ever went off-message, and everything they spoke about is already in the public domain. However, there was something refreshing about seeing McGowan herself discussing this, rather than reading it as a pull quote in an article about #MeToo. Ironically, her life would make a fantastic script for the Hollywood she now seems to so despise.

That is probably the furthest thing from her mind at the moment though, as she focuses on spreading her message of empowerment and survival. It’s almost impossible not to like and admire her moxie.

This was an extremely thought-provoking evening, that seemed to almost act as a call-toarms for many of the audience.

And if there ever were doubt about the title of McGowan’s memoir, she proved that she is, indeed, Brave.

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Review

Sister Act The Musical Review By Lisa Reynolds The Bray Musical Society’s Sister Act The Musical was performed in the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow, from April 10th - April 13th last.

I went along to see the opening night of the show, which is based on the 1992 hit movie about a night-club singer who witnesses a murder, and has to go into hiding among a group of nuns. In this paraticular convent, contact with the outside world is prohibited, as is smoking and drinking!

It was an amazing performance, with all the major numbers from the show included, such as Take Me To Heaven, Sunday Morning Fever,

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Fabulous Baby, The Life I Never Led, Lady In The Long Black Dress, Sister Act, and Spread The Love Around.

Clodagh Forde did a fantastic job in the lead role as Deloris Van Cartier, but she also was surrounded by a really amazing cast. This was an amateur production, but the level of professionalism was obvious.

The singing and choreography was slick and tight. There was also great humour throughout the show, and the script was wonderfully pieced together and edited for the performance.

If you are ever in Bray, Co Wicklow, and see that a performance is advertised for the Bray Musical Society, I would strongly encourage you to attend.

This is definitely a hard-working and extremely talented bunch of people, and the prices for the shows are usually very affordable (â‚Ź20 full price/â‚Ź18 concession).It was a very enjoyable night from beginning to end.

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IDGTF 2019: Minister Josepha Madigan Launches 16th Programme The 16th International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Ireland’s most exciting and diverse theatre festival, returns to the capital from May 6th to 19th, kicking off the summer season with 21 world class performances from the four corners of the world, across 5 Stages, for two glorious weeks this May. The festival, the largest LGBT+ theatre festival in the world, which was launched yesterday evening (16th April) at 6pm in City Assembly House, by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, brings critically acclaimed productions from the UK, USA, Canada, Ecuador, South Africa and Australia, as well as home-grown talent, to Dublin’s stages for this jampacked two week long event.

Minister Madigan commented: “I’m delighted to lend my support to the launch of this wonderfully diverse festival.

The continued excellence and professionalism shown year on year has ensured the growth of this festival from humble 52 EILE Magazine

beginnings in 2004 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Oscar Wilde. The fact that these performances can take place in an ever more inclusive Ireland is something that should be celebrated just as enthusiastically. We have come such a long way for the better in this regard”.

The festival, now in its 16th year, has gone from strength to strength, drawing audiences and performers from all over the world to Dublin annually, even weathering the financial cutbacks and darkest days of the financial crisis.

Ms Madigan continued: “Through the very financially straightened times from 2008 onwards when funding of the arts suffered severe cutbacks, the internationally famous event that we know today provided a beacon of hope when many festivals and events fell by the wayside. It is indeed testament to the fantastic work of Brian and his team, that performers from as far afield as the United Kingdom, from USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia and of course from Ireland, will perform to packed houses in

venues throughout the city from May 6th to 19th”.

This year’s programme includes a ‘Broadway World Best Actor Award Winner’, a ‘GLOBE Artist of the Year Winner’, a ‘UK National Octagon Prizewinner’, a ‘2019 Fleur Du Cap Best Performance by an Ensemble Nominee’, many other critically acclaimed performers and theatre pieces as well as emerging writers and performers.

Upon launching the festival, Brian Merriman, festival director, stated: “I am very grateful for the Minister’s presence today and that of our first supporter and patron Senator David Norris and longtime supporter Senator Jerry Buttimer and other Oireachtas colleagues. To live in a society where diversity is embraced and encouraged is a privilege many of our LGBT+ artists abroad do not enjoy.

To identify that need and to place Dublin at the centre of welcoming diverse artists and writers has, in the absence of sustainable resources, been the key to the longevity and relevance of the International

Dublin Gay Theatre Festival since 2004”.

“Artists at home identify this Festival as being one open to new voices. We are. Artists abroad make huge sacrifices to tell their stories here. Our audiences understand the art form and are open to theatre holding a truthful mirror up to society as we know and live it today. The topics are historic and contemporary. They are shared by other sections of society and all are welcome in our festival”.

“The Me Too experience not only impacts on women but on gay actors too, drug abuse and chemsex is a reality of life today. Parenting, masculinity, relationships and how to hold onto them, changing times in the Gardai and in seminaries all feature in our theatrical discussion. The still almost silence on the age of AIDS and modern HIV diagnosis is challenged as is the experience of secrets in the past. The hidden lives of heroic Irish women are among the dark and very funny characters you will encounter.

There are stories of criminalisation, love, growing up in Ireland or the Deep South, from talented and award winning artists waiting to take to our small stages”.

“Do something different this year – see these wonderful plays – they complete the theatrical conversation that informs and shapes the contribution of the arts to a modern society”.

For more see www.gaytheatre.ie, Facebook and Twitter: @GayTheatre (eile.ie 17 April 2019) EILE Magazine 53

NI: Lyra McKee (RIP) was an ‘inspiring thinker’ (Reuters) – A year after moving to Derry, celebrated journalist, Lyra Catherine McKee, wrote about how she looked forward to “better times ahead and saying goodbye to bombs and bullets once and for all”.

She was killed shortly afterwards, shot dead during a riot that underscored the challenges still faced by Northern Ireland, 21 years after the Good Friday Agreement largely ended decades of sectarian bloodshed.

Born in Belfast, just a few years before the 1998 accord was struck to end the kind of violence that took her life, McKee was remembered in an outpouring of tributes as an intelligent, talented writer who brought a human touch to difficult subjects.

“She was an inspiring thinker and journalist”, Tánaiste Simon Coveney wrote on Twitter.

He linked his post to video of a TED talk McKee gave in 2017, encouraging churchgoers and fellow LGBT young people to talk to one another, to try and change religious teaching on the subject.

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In her tweet in January, Lyra described Derry as a beautiful city she had fallen in love with, while “falling in love with a woman who hails from it”.

McKee wrote and spoke openly about the struggles of growing up gay in a hostile environment. A 2014 blog post – ‘A Letter To My 14-Year-Old Self’ – received much acclaim and was subsequently turned into a short film.

By that stage McKee had already been named Sky News Young Journalist of the Year – an award she won in 2006 – and was named as one of the ’30 under 30 in media’ by Forbes Magazine, ten years later.

She wrote for publications both in Northern Ireland and aboard, including the Independent newspaper, the Atlantic and BuzzFeed News.

A ‘Good Friday baby’, McKee was a journalist of courage, style and integrity, Seamus Dooley, the head of the National Union of Journalists Ireland said in a statement.

In 2018, McKee signed a two-book deal with British publisher, Faber and Faber. She was writing a book on the disappearance of young people during

Lyra McKee (RIP) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, May 19, 2017 – Jess Lowe Photography/Handout via REUTERS

the three decades of ProtestantCatholic violence that the 1998 deal largely ended.

In a story published by the Mosaic Science website in 2016, that was widely shared on social media on Friday, McKee explored why in Northern Ireland more people took their own lives in the first 16 years after the so-called ‘Troubles’ ended, than died during them.

“We were the Good Friday Agreement generation, destined to never witness

the horrors of war but to reap the spoils of peace”, she wrote.

“The spoils just never seemed to reach us”.

-Padraic Halpin (eile.ie 24 April 2019) [Ed’s Note: Lyra’s funeral took place at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on 24th April. President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attended the service].

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Design: Anthony Zagariko, exclusively for EILE Magazine

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Quality LGBT News and Features – Produced from Los Angeles Available via podcast on our website (thiswayout.org) or on iTunes, and on 200+ Radio Stations Worldwide!

thiswayout.org | Twitter: @TWORadio Overnight Productions (Inc.)/”This Way Out” Post Office Box 1065 Los Angeles, CA 90078 U.S.A. EILE Magazine 57

US - Trans adults have higher risk of poor health (Reuters Health) – Transgender adults may be more likely to have unhealthy habits and medical issues that negatively impact their quality of life than people whose gender identity matches what it says on their birth certificates, a US study suggests.

Researchers examined survey data from 3,075 transgender adults, as well as 719,567 adults who are cisgender.

Compared to cisgender Americans, transgender individuals were more likely to be sedentary, current smokers, and uninsured, researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Transgender people were also 30 percent more likely to report being in fair or poor 58 EILE Magazine

health over the past month than cisgender adults, as well as 66 percent more likely to report experiencing severe mental distress.

“The US has made a lot of progress over the last several years toward acceptance and celebration of natural human diversity in gender identity and expression”, study author, Kellan Baker, said by email.

But between 2014 and 2017 – the period when the survey was done – attitudes shifted, and treatment of transgender often got worse, said Baker, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

“This study shows that being a transgender person in the US today – being transgender in a society that you know doesn’t fully accept you – is hard”, Baker added.

“It affects your health in negative ways, and

that’s why issues such as nondiscrimination protections for transgender people are public health issues”.

An estimated 0.55 percent of the people in the survey identified as transgender, which suggests there may be about 1.27 million transgender adults in the US. Survey participants were asked if they considered themselves transgender, and were given four options to categorise their identities; trans male; trans female; gender non-conforming; or not transgender.

Overall, about 19 percent of transgender respondents were current smokers, compared with roughly 16 percent of cisgender people.

About 35 percent of transgender individuals were inactive, compared with nearly 26 percent of cisgender adults.

Image: QNotes

And, almost 80 percent of transgender participants had health insurance, compared with 85 percent of other people in the study.

Cai attributes the higher risks for poor health in trans people to “multiple levels of transgender-specific stigmas”.

Transgender adults also reported more days in the previous month when they felt physically and mentally unhealthy, or felt unable to do all of their usual daily activities.

“However, I think it is important to note that adults in the transgender community are capable and resilient”, Cai said by email.

The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how gender identity might directly impact health.

Another limitation is that researchers lacked data on how differences within the transgender population such as gender, race, and sexual orientation might influence the results.

“I think the take-home message for transgender adults here is clear, which is that transgender adults face additional mental and physical health disparities when compared to cisgender individuals”, said Xiang Cai, a researcher at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City who wasn’t involved in the study.

The study also didn’t look at whether transgender individuals had gender-affirming surgery, or were able to make their outward appearance match their gender identity, Cai said.

“Gender-affirmation treatments may be associated with higher levels of quality of life among those who desire them regardless of age,” Cai noted.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2vdLgUg JAMA Internal Medicine, online April 22, 2019.

– Lisa Rapaport (eile.ie 24 April 2019)

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US Supreme Court takes up major LGBT+ job discrimination cases (Reuters) – The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether US law banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sex protects gay and transgender workers, as the conservative-majority court waded into a fierce dispute involving a divisive social issue.

At issue in the high-profile legal fight is whether gay and transgender people are covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex as well as race, colour, national origin, and religion. President Donald Trump’s administration has argued that Title VII does not cover sexual orientation or gender identity.

The court, whose 5-4 conservative majority includes two Trump appointees, will take up two cases concerning gay people, who have said they were fired due to their sexual orientation, one involving a New York skydiving instructor named Donald Zarda, and another involving a former county child welfare services coordinator from Georgia named Gerald Bostock.

The court also will hear a Detroit funeral home’s bid to reverse a ruling that it violated federal law, by firing a transgender funeral director named Aimee Stephens, after Stephens revealed plans to transition from 60 EILE Magazine

male to female.

The justices will hear arguments and issue a ruling in their next term, which starts in October.

Trump’s administration reversed the approach taken under Democratic former President, Barack Obama, by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces federal laws banning workplace discrimination.

“The American public would be shocked if the Supreme Court ruled that it’s perfectly legal to fire someone because she is transgender or lesbian. That doesn’t fit with American values of fair play and the idea that you should be judged on your work and not on who you are”, said James Esseks, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents two of the employees.

The Title VII fight marks the court’s first major test on a contentious social issue since Trump’s appointee, Brett Kavanaugh, joined it in October, after a difficult Senate confirmation process.

Kavanaugh replaced retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative noted for supporting gay rights, and could provide a pivotal vote on the issue. Kennedy wrote the court’s 5-4 2015 ruling legalising gay marriage nationally, a landmark for US gay rights, and its important 2003 ruling striking down laws criminalising gay sex.

Kavanaugh’s approach to gay rights is unknown, having not been involved in any major cases on the issue as an appeals court judge, before becoming a justice. Trump’s other Supreme Court appointee is fellow conservative, Neil Gorsuch.

Moore, continued the litigation on behalf of his estate.

Trump, a Republican with strong support among evangelical Christian voters, has taken aim at gay rights and transgender rights. His Justice Department at the Supreme Court supported the right of certain businesses to refuse to serve gay people, on the basis of religious objections to gay marriage.

The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018 sided with Zarda, after a trial judge threw out his original claim.

His administration also restricted transgender service members in the military, and rescinded protections regarding bathroom access for transgender students in public schools.

The legal fight centres on the definition of ‘sex’ in Title VII. The plaintiffs in the cases, along with civil rights groups and many large companies, have argued that discriminating against gay and transgender workers is inherently based on their sex and thus is unlawful.

Trump’s Justice Department and the employers in the cases have argued Congress did not mean for Title VII to protect gay and transgender people when it passed the law.

“Neither government agencies nor the courts have authority to rewrite federal law by replacing ‘sex’ with ‘gender identity’ – a change with widespread consequences for everyone”, said John Bursch, a lawyer with the conservative Christian legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the funeral home.

Zarda, fired after revealing his sexual orientation in 2010, died in a 2014 accident while participating in a form of skydiving. His sister, Melissa Zarda, and his partner, Bill

“I hope the Supreme Court will see that what happened to my brother was wrong”, Melissa Zarda said.

Bostock worked for Clayton County, south of Atlanta, from 2003 until being fired in 2013, after he started participating in a gay recreational softball league, called the ‘Hotlanta Softball League’. The county said he was fired following an audit of the program he managed. His lawsuit was tossed out [by] the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

Harris Funeral Homes, the employer in the transgender case, is owned by Thomas Rost, who identifies himself as a devout Christian.

It has a sex-specific dress code requiring male employees to wear suits and women to wear dresses or skirts. Stephens, formerly named Anthony Stephens, joined the company in 2007.

After being fired when he announced plans to transition from male to female, Stephens turned to the EEOC, which sued on Stephens’ behalf in 2014.

The Cincinnati-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018 rejected Rost’s argument that he was protected by a law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, that bars the government from burdening an individual’s religious practice.

-Lawrence Hurley, Daniel Wiessner and Andrew Chung (eile.ie 23 April 2019)

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Peru official takes on new battle: legalising gay marriage (Reuters) – Susel Paredes often finds herself in dangerous situations, donning a bulletproof vest to lead high-profile police operations and breaking up cartels of street vendors in one of the grittier parts of Peruvian capital Lima.

Now the short, curly-haired city official is taking on a more personal battle; legalising gay marriage in the conservative, majorityCatholic country, and getting recognition for the Miami wedding to her wife in 2016.

Paredes, 55, a lawyer by training, and her wife, Gracia Aljovin, legally challenged a decision by Peru’s national identification registry, Reniec, which had rejected their request to validate their marriage for legal purposes.

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ruling, a local court said authorities must treat the couple’s marriage as any other, and that failing to do so would be discriminatory and unconstitutional.

“What we’ve done with our marriage is launch strategic litigation”, Paredes told Reuters in an interview last week.

“We want to trigger a legal process that moves us toward obtaining the equal right to marriage in Peru”, she added.

Peru is one of just a handful of countries in Latin America to not have at least partially recognised same-sex unions.

Reniec, which maintains Peru’s records of birth, marriage and divorce, argues it cannot recognise gay marriages celebrated abroad because they cannot be performed legally in Peru.

It has appealed the ruling, setting the stage for a battle that could ultimately give

gay couples the right to wed legally.

For years, same-sex couples in Peru have pushed Reniec to recognise their marriages abroad, but none had yet won a ruling in local courts.

Paredes’ image as a fearless enforcer of the law has drawn more attention to the battle, even as it has prompted a backlash from some prominent figures.

“A judge has basically said that God was wrong, that it’s not just man and woman (who can marry)”, Peru’s Catholic Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani said in an interview with local broadcaster RPP after the ruling.

Paredes, who is Catholic, vowed to take the battle to the country’s top court, the Constitutional Tribunal, if necessary. If she and Aljovin lose there, they said they will take it to the Costa Ricabased Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which can

Susel Paredes Image: Diario Uno

order Peru, as a member state, to heed its rulings.

In the meantime, Paredes, a former teenage telenovela actress, has urged other gay people in Peru to come out.

“Christ said the truth will set you free. That’s why I call on you to come out of the closet”, she said in broadcast comments to local media.

“Who can be happy leading two lives?”

-Reuters TV, Writing by Mitra Taj (eile.ie 21 April 2019)

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Australia - RA Scott Johnson criticises Folau’s anti-gay remarks (Reuters) – Wallabies’ Director of Rugby, Scott Johnson, has backed the hard-line stance taken by Rugby Australia (RA) over Israel Folau’s controversial social media posts and called for the sport to embrace inclusiveness.

Folau, a fundamentalist Christian, faces having his Wallabies contract torn up, after posting comments that gay people were destined for “hell” if they did not “repent”.

Johnson, who helped former Wales skipper, Gareth Thomas, come to terms with his sexuality more than a decade ago, said Wallabies fullback, Folau, would have the opportunity to put his case forward at a Code of Conduct hearing with RA on May 4.

“I want to make it really clear – I’m very supportive of where Rugby Australia is in this stance”, Johnson told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

“What I will say … is we want a game that includes everyone.

“I’ve had kids that have come out of addiction issues and I was also very, very privileged and honoured to be … the person that Gareth Thomas needed to talk to about his sexuality”.

Johnson formed a tight bond with Thomas at Wales, where he was an assistant coach for a number of years, and a caretaker in the head role for a few tests in 2006.

Thomas came out in 2009, two years after playing the last of his 103 tests, but confided in Johnson that he was gay after a 29-29 draw with Australia in Cardiff in 2006.

Although working for the Wallabies as an assistant coach at the time, Johnson remained with the Wales camp to help Thomas talk to his team mates and coaches about it.

“I was coaching the opposition and I got called into the change room because he only wanted to talk to me”, Johnson recalled on Wednesday.

“I spent the next 24 hours off-site in the opposition’s hotel talking to his team mates because he couldn’t, nor his coaching staff and his management.

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Scott Johnson

“It goes beyond rugby. This is human relationship. I had a kid that I absolutely loved to coach, I loved what he stood for (but was) troubled”.

Thomas later revealed in interviews that he had contemplated suicide as he wrestled with his sexuality, and Johnson said rugby had helped the Welshman out of a “dark period”.

“You don’t coach just to win trophies, you coach to make people better and that’s why I’m in the sport and I’m passionate about it”, he added. (eile.ie 25 April 2019)

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Australia’s Folau asks for code of conduct hearing (Reuters) – Wallabies fullback Israel Folau has asked for a code of conduct hearing to be scheduled by Rugby Australia (RA) after the governing body said they intended to terminate his contract for controversial social media posts.

The 30-year-old Folau, a devout Christian, was issued a code of conduct breach notice on Monday following an investigation by RA’s integrity unit and had 48 hours to respond.

RA and the New South Wales Waratahs had both said they would terminate Folau’s contract if he did not provide a good enough reason for a social media post saying gay people would go to “hell” if they did not “repent”.

“Israel has responded formally today to request a code of conduct hearing which, under the circumstances, was not an unexpected outcome,” RA chief executive Raelene Castle said in a media release on Wednesday.

“We will now work to confirm a date for the hearing as soon as possible.”

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Folau has been stood down from all rugby activity by the Waratahs, while Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has said he would not pick him again due to the “disrespectful” social media posts.

RA added on Wednesday that they would work with the Rugby Union Players’ Association on the schedule of the hearing.

However, with three public holidays observed over the next eight days in Australia, the process could be delayed.

-Greg Stutchbury (eile.ie 17 April 2019)

Israel Folau

Folau has been stood down from all rugby activity by the Waratahs, while Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has said he would not pick him again due to the “disrespectful� social media posts EILE Magazine 67

Not long to Go! Get your online tickets for your favourite event!

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With Holland´s biggest gay icon, Diva Mayday (iT, Roxy, Escape, Amsterdam Pride) who will blow you away from her DJ deck!

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Wet & White · May 8 The most popular party!

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Enjoy the huge pool, jacuzzi´s, sunbeds (for rent) and of course the sounds of superstar, DJ Micky Friedmann, Sharon O´Love and PK80.

The vocal house singer, saxophonist and dancers will turn this Wet & White edition into an unforgettable experience! for tickets and more information, go to: gaymaspalomas.com

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European Parliament condemns Brunei over ‘retrograde’ anti gay law The European Parliament on Thursday strongly condemned Brunei for introducing “retrograde” anti-gay legislation.

The Muslim-majority sultanate has drawn global condemnation from the United Nations, governments, and a host of celebrities, for introducing the latest stage of Sharia laws on April 3. It began rolling out the Islamic criminal laws in 2014.

The resolution adopted by the European Parliament “strongly condemns the entry into force of the retrograde Sharia Penal Code; (and) urges the Bruneian authorities to immediately repeal it.”

The measure was passed on a show of hands, the parliament said in a statement.

Along with stoning for sodomy, the laws impose the death penalty on rapists and punish thieves with amputation.

The EP also called on the EU to consider asset freezes and visa bans on the Southeast Asian nation, and to blacklist nine hotels owned the Brunei Investment Agency, including The Dorchester in London and The Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Naqib Adnan, the second secretary of Brunei’s

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embassy to the European Union, declined to comment when reached by phone, and said no other officials would comment.

In a letter to MEPs before the vote, Brunei said it “does not criminalise nor has any intention to victimise a person’s status based on sexual orientation or belief, including same-sex relations”.

The letter said that stoning to death and amputations could only happen if “men of high moral standing and piety” had witnessed the alleged crime beyond all doubt.

A copy of the letter was obtained by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

‘HORRIBLE SETBACKS’ Previously homosexuality was illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, but human rights groups said the changes would allow whipping and stoning for Muslims found guilty of adultery, sodomy and rape.

Brunei has said it would only impose the new penalties when it had strong evidence, and that its primary aim was prevention rather than punishment.

“The Brunei government … tries to play down

the horrible, horrible setbacks for human rights”, Barbara Lochbihler, an MEP and the lead author of the parliamentary resolution, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

the resolution was debated on Thursday.

“We cannot exclude the possibility that they start implementing this”.

Mogherini added that the EU expected Brunei to maintain its de facto moratorium on the death penalty, and that it would put pressure on the sultanate bilaterally and at meetings in August.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s representative for foreign affairs, said the penalties could not be defended.

“No crime justifies amputation or torture, let alone the death penalty”, she told parliament as

“No person should be punished for loving someone”.

-Thomson Reuters Foundation (eile.ie 19 April 2019)

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Information and support for women who need someone to talk to

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US - Legalisation of same-sex marriage linked to growing acceptance – study Anti-LGBT+ biases dropped significantly as same-sex marriage was being legalised across the United States, according to new research looking at the link between attitudes and policy change.

Biases declined both in states that legalised gay marriage and in states that did not, said research by McGill University, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Massachusetts was the first US state to legalise same-sex marriage in 2004, followed by 34 others, before the US Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal nationwide in 2015.

The researchers looked at attitudes among one million Americans over that 12-year stretch, using methods of measuring bias among volunteer participants.

One method utilised positive and negative word association with gay and straight people, and the other asked participants to rate their feelings toward gays and lesbians.

The research, published on Monday, found rates of decreasing anti-gay bias nearly doubled in states where same-sex marriage was approved.

“Our work highlights how government legislation can inform individuals’ attitudes, even when these attitudes may be deeply entrenched and socially and politically volatile”, said senior author Eric Hehman, psychology professor at Canada’s McGill University.

But because bias was decreasing or plateauing generally at the time, it is unclear whether less bias helped the legalisation or if legalisation led to less bias, researchers said.

“Probably what’s happening is a groundswell of movement leading to the law being changed in the first place”, Hehman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“I speculate that if anti-gay bias was on the rise everywhere, lawmakers wouldn’t be

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Image: kalapoint.org

compelled to implement these laws”, he said.

Research released in 2017 by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan think tank, also showed a steady increase in approval of same-sex marriage to 63 percent in 2017 from 35 percent in 2001.

Bias spiked in states that had not approved same-sex marriage after the nation’s highest court handed down its 2015 ruling, the research found.

“When a law is imposed upon you from afar, there’s local resistance to that”, Hehman said.

-Kate Ryan, Thomson Reuters Foundation (eile.ie 21 April 2019)

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Information and support for women who need someone to talk to

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