EILE Magazine May/June 2019 (Vol. 6, Issue 3)

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Magazine V 6 Issue 03 - May/June 2019

Art After Stonewall 1969-89

lulise The Power of Pride

Shaley Howard

Rainne GAZE Inside:

Wes Mason

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 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

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EILE Magazine | Welcome

Highlights May/June 2019 Pride & Visibility - P. 32 Oregon-based Shaley Howard feels that it’s more important than ever to be visible as a community

Volume 6, Issue 03 Editor-at-Large: Scott De Buitléir Editor: MKB

Art After Stonewall - P. 26

Contributors: M. Butler, Scott De Buitléir, Shaley Howard, MKB, Lisa Reynolds, Brian Rochford, Frances Winston

50th anniversary of Stonewall - art and media exhibition, Art After Stonewall, at FIU

Photographers: Cody Burdette, Jupiter Spin, Tania Martin, Betsy Newman, Abel Rodriguez

Health - P. 42 Brian Rochford talks strategies to help you stop smoking

Music - Pps. 6,10,14, and 18 In our music section, we have Wes Mason, Lulise, Rainne, and Raff Pylon to feed your musical appetites

Men’s Fashion - P. 22, and Lisa Reynolds - Pps. 36,62 Brian Rochford writes about Summer fashion staples, and Lisa Reynolds writes some retro reviews

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

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 | Editor’s Letter

Contents 6-

Lulise

10 -

Wes Mason

14 -

Rainne

18 -

Raff Pylon

22 -

Men’s Fashion

26 -

Art After Stonewall

32 -

Power of Pride

36 -

Retro: Kim Petras

40 -

GAZE Filmfest

42 -

Stop Smoking Now

44 -

Travel Canaries

48 -

Frances on Film

56 -

Review Hugh Jackman

60 -

Review Nile Rogers

62 -

Retro: Pillow Talk

plus World LGBT News, Views, Arts, Entertainment etc

EILE May/June 2019 Edition!

Welcome to the May/June 2019 issue of EILE Magazine In this edition, we feature ‘Art After Stonewall 1969-89’, an upcoming exhibition at the Frost Art Museum FIU Florida, the GAZE Film Festival in Dublin, and an article on the importance of Pride and visibility by Shaley Howard.

Our music section welcomes Wes Mason, Lulise, Rainne and Raff Pylon, and Lisa Reynolds reviews film short, Pillow Talk, and a retro album by Kim Petras. Brian Rochford advises on men’s summer fashion, and Frances Winston reviews some great films, Hugh Jackman’s stage show, and Nile Rogers.

Brian Rochford also gives us some strategies for quitting smoking, as we all become more health conscious, and our travel section features the beautiful Canary Islands.

All this and lots more news, views and entertainment in this issue, so sit back and enjoy our May/June 2019 edition of EILE Magazine!

Scott De Buitléir Founder / Editor-at-Large

EILE Magazine

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See our film reviews

by Frances Winston

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Lulise EILE catches up with Lulise, an angel with an amazing voice and a an eye to the future Lulise is a Los Angeles born-andraised solo RnB artist, who has just released her sultry single, Read My Hips, produced by Pretty Sister (Betty Who, Rozzi). The track showcases Lulise’s amazing silky voice, and is the perfect introduction to the talented and multi-faceted singer/songwriter.

She has just gone solo this year, having previously been writing and performing with pop duo, Honey & Jude.

City of Angels native, Lulise, marked 2019 as the beginning of her career as a solo artist. Relying heavily on her R&B experience, and in a paredback track that showcases her pure controlled vocal, Lulise manages to incorporate those

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Lulise Image: Cody Burdette

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rhythms into a bluesy steamy ballad, Read My Hips, produced by Pretty Sister (Betty Who, Rozzi).

Before she decided to embark on a solo career, Lulise had been writing and performing with pop duo, Honey & Jude, for the previous three years. Honey & Jude were listed as one of the top 100 music acts of 2016 & 2017, by Music Connection Magazine.

As a part of Honey & Jude, she co-wrote and collaborated with producers such as Andres Torres, who has worked with Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato, and Chapters (5 Seconds Of Summer, Jessie J).

2018 saw Lulise really ramp up her songwriting skills, mentored by all-star songwriter, Allan Rich (Whitney Houston, Ray Charles) resulting in her best songs yet.

We love Read My Hips, and look forward to more of the same from this artist.

Go to her Soundcloud account, have a listen to Read My Hips, and see what you think!

-MKB For more on Lulise, go to: www.facebook.com/iamlulise/ twitter.com/iamlulise soundcloud.com/iamlulise

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Images: Cody Burdette

Cover Art for Read My Hips

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“I ultimately just want my music to affect people the same way that my favourite artists have affected me�

Wes Mason Image: Jupiter Spin

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Wes Mason EILE is delighted to feature talented 20year-old, singer-songwriter, Wes Mason, an award-winning Canadian RnB/Pop artist, who has recently released a great new single, I Want Your Love (ft Kofi Black) I Want Your Love is the first single from Wes Mason's new album, The Animal Inside, and features RnB star, and Wyclef Jean protégé, Kofi Black.

Wes cites among his many influences Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, and even The Beatles, and the new album was recorded at Tito Jackson’s private studio, in Los Angeles.

Already at age 20, Wes is making an impact on the music world. He has amassed as many accolades as artists twice his age, with numerous international music awards, and has achieved tens of millions of media impressions across TV, radio, and online.

His original Alt/RnB/Pop sound - which mixes such diverse influences as The Beatles and Travis Scott, is addictive and more-ish. Wes is that rare breed of artist who will attract huge numbers of dedicated and loyal fans into the future.

Now with his new album, The Animal Inside, Wes has taken a new step in his musical career, and will capture hearts of all ages, and lovers of many genres.

Collaborating with the production duo of LA-based Grammy-recognised, Billboard charting producer, ‘Trillionaire’ Earl Powell (Jennifer Hudson, The Jacksons, Keyshia Cole), and #1 iTunes-Charting, Toronto-based producer, Ben Pelchat (Boy George, Chrissie Hynde, Tim Arnold), Wes was determined to make nothing less than a career-defining album.

Recorded at the legendary Tito Jackson’s private studio in Los Angeles, as well as the historic Kensington Sound in Toronto, Wes took inspiration from the musical legacy around him, fusing that experience with his brand-new take on RnB-pop.

Speaking of his music, Wes says:

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“I ultimately just want my music to affect people the same way that my favourite artists have affected me. It’s crazy how somebody else’s story can become your own”.

And with that in mind, the first single from The Animal Inside, ‘I Want Your Love’, (featuring RnB star and Wyclef Jean protégé, Kofi Black), was released in May 2019.

www.facebook.com/ wesmasonmusic/ twitter.com/WesMasonMusic Main images: Jupiter Spin Cover Art for I Want Your Love

A class act in the making, Wes Mason’s star is on the rise!

-MKB If you would like to know more about Wes and his music, go to: itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/wesmason/id316448851

Wes Mas and Kofi Black Image: f/b

Wes Mason Image: f/b

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Wes is a supporter of human rights Image: Facebook

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rainne EILE Magazine chats with unusual pop project, Rainne, an electronic pop duo, made up of Annie Ringwald, a singer-songwriter from Dallas, and Justin Klunk, a saxophonist/

engineer from California.

Electronic pop duo, Rainne, have just released their latest single, Psycho Killer, a punchy, dramatic, pulsating, electronic pop track, with spine-chilling video to match, to shake you out of your safe Summer snooziness!

Yes, you just have to keep watching, and you may even hit the replay button........a few times!

As I said, a very unusual duo, so how did they get their unusual name?

“We wanted something that reflected the darker, brooding, moody, aggressive music that we make”, Annie explains of the band’s fully-soaked moniker.

(and penchant for ear worms that cut) with a late-night-drive of a West Coast mystique, that recalls the introspective bops of Bishop Briggs, Dua Lipa, and Lorde — ‘the dark girls’ starter kit!

The duo are classically trained, and are comprised of singer-songwriter, Annie Dingwall, and saxophonist/engineer, Justin Klunk, Justin was born and raised in Torrance, CA, while Annie hails from outside of Dallas, yet the pair’s shadowy torch-songs could easily soundtrack grim LA staples, like Nightcrawler, Drive, or even David Lynch’s noir masterpiece, Mulholland Drive. Their slickly murky sound further nods to earlyaughts darlings, Evanescence, and pop forces, like Sia and Imagine Dragons.

“A lot of people like rain. It’s not always necessarily in a negative context”.

They first met during a GRAMMY Camp in Los Angeles, the Summer before they both started at USC’s Thornton School of Music.

Permeated by a brooding darkness, the Los Angeles-based duo’s sonic universe is a blend of sophisticated pop songwriting prowess

“We quickly became best friends, and were always together. We joke that Annie forced her friendship on me, because she told me we

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“We wanted something that reflected the darker, brooding, moody, aggressive music that we make�

Rainne - Image by: Betsy Newman, Abel Rodriguez

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were going to be best friends”, adds Justin.

“It worked”.

The fast friends spent their post-graduation years flexing their solo muscles: Annie honed her skills as a solo singer-songwriter, cutting demos for herself and others with stints recording in Nashville and Los Angeles, and earning film/TV syncs on American Crime, The Doctors, and Nude, while Justin toured as a saxophonist for the likes of Lindsey Stirling, Tommy Page, Saint Motel, and even Ariana Grande, during the pop titan’s first album cycle.

RAINNE played together for years — albeit without an established dynamic — before fully cementing their creative chemistry two years ago.

“I was in the middle of a three-month run with Saint Motel. We were opening for Panic!

At The Disco, and Annie just called me in the middle of the tour and was like ‘Hey Justin, I have this crazy idea. Do you want to become a band?” he recalls.

The group’s slow-and-steady origin story provided the necessary time and space to find their niche, which began with an array of covers that stretched their deep music theory expertise. After a bit of careful recon, the group linked up with their production partners, Ish, a friend of Annie’s who helped steer their electric debut single ‘Petty,’ as well as their current go-to team of PLAYDED (real name Patrick Ridgen) and Petie Pizarro.

Lyrically, Annie pulls from an eclectic pool of inspiration. As a “psychological thriller junkie,” she has a keen interest in all things dark and twisted, from true crime podcasts to murder mystery suspense novels. Her ears have always been squarely fixed on pop’s ever-widening landscape, citing the discovery of acts like The Neighborhood, and Grimes, early on, as instrumental in her own songwriting evolution.

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The band’s uniquely horn-tinged pop sound coincides with the saxophone’s own pop resurgence in recent years, which has become embraced by acts like Lady Gaga (“Edge Of Glory”), Macklemore (“Thrift Shop), Ariana Grande (“Problem”), Fifth Harmony (“Worth It”) and The 1975 (“She’s American”).

“Justin plays his sax through all of these crazy pedals that a guitarist would have, but he does it on a saxophone”, Annie adds, citing the musician’s use of a Wah pedal and Harmonizer to take the instrument “out of its traditional archetype” to use it in a way that transcends its prior limitations.

The fast-rising upstart’s ascent has further dovetailed pop music’s own embrace of edgier, experimental lyrics and concepts, which has given a much needed boost to indie acts, thanks to the streaming era.

“Our stuff has always been more on the dark, moodier side of pop”, Annie says.

RAINNE are fully content to live in the space between genres, allowing their shape-shifting live show to speak for itself.

“We’ve gone so far away from people’s preconceived notions of what we are doing”, Annie says of the palpable ‘shock’ on their audiences’ faces when seeing their nontraditional set-up in the flesh.

“It’s hard to imagine until you see it”.

M. Butler If you’d like to know more about Rainne, visit: www.facebook.com/weRAINNE twitter.com/weRAINNE www.werainne.com

Rainne - Image by: Betsy Newman, Abel Rodriguez

Cover Art for Psycho Killer

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“I have to live. I write my songs from who I meet, what I witness, and how I feel�

Image: Tania Martin

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RAFF PYLON EILE’s music section is just chock-a-block with great music this month!

For instance, we have Montreal native, singer-songwriter, Raff Pylon, talking about his new single, Can’t Let You Go, a smooth, romantic ballad, where Raff’s voice takes centre-stage, and the intimate, sultry nite-club atmosphere is palpable.

Raff used to be front-man with Montreal rock-band, Ridgeway, but has now gone solo, with a new, intimate, soulful sound that is more pop/soul and Southern Californian.

Hypnotic hooks, sleek grooves, and sparkling studio sheen, the musical alchemy of Raff Pylon radiates with effervescent pop magic. Across a slate of new songs, the artist’s vulnerability is a poignant touchstone, revealed through the authenticity in the lyrics.

“I don’t write off of a blank page”, he says.

“I have to live. I write my songs from who I meet, what I witness, and how I feel”.

An expressive vocal testimony, underscored by a gritty guitar line, serves as the provocative introduction to Raff’s debut single, Can’t Let You Go. Previously recognised as the charismatic

front-man, keyboardist, and songwriter for the Montreal-based band, Bridgeway, Raff Pylon now commands the spotlight as a solo artist.

His signature sound reveals the sonic imprint of Southern California, where he works at Tito Jackson’s very own studio, with Los Angeles-based Grammywinning producer, Trillionaire Earl Powell (Jennifer Hudson, Keyshia Cole), and Canada, where his studio partners include Rob Wells (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande), and Ben Pelchat (Boy George, Chrissie Hynde), working out of the legendary Kensington Sound studio, in Toronto. In addition to contributing a music store’s worth of instruments, Raff also coproduces and arranges the songs.

From playing drums at age three, Raff subsequently developed considerable abilities on keyboards, guitar, and bass.

“I force myself not to work on my instruments too much though”, he explains.

“I tend to let myself forget, so when I throw my hands on the instruments I discover something new”.

With French ancestry and Canadian roots, Raff considers himself a citizen of the world. He has traveled extensively from America to Europe – which he considers his second home – and to Africa and Asia.

The geographical connections between

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people and cultures reinforce his essential message.

Raff acknowledges that everyone will also experience dark times.

“Where you’re born doesn’t mean who you are”, he says.

“In the early years of my band we were playing edgy rock. I had fun playing that, but it didn’t feel right to me. I want to take people to the right direction, to make them happy. What is the point of making music if you’re not helping someone get through today with a smile”.

“The more I see the world, I want to talk to people about how we should be together. That’s how I see my music: It’s for everybody. People from everywhere can enjoy a moment with me”.

King’s Lane, one of Raff’s new songs, reflects a message of unity that was inspired by a European pathway lined with variegated hues of roses.

“I had this idea if we were living the same way that these flowers of all colours were sharing the space, it could create such a beautiful picture”.

While this outlook might seem idyllic,

Image: Tania Martin

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-MKB If you’d like to know more about Raff, visit: www.facebook.com/raffpylon/ twitter.com/raffpylon itunes.apple.com/us/artist/raffpylon/1452435370

Cover Art for Can’t Let You Go

Raff Pylon f/b

Raff Pylon Main Images: Tania Martin

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Let’s Talk Summer Style!

Brian Rochford writes about summer fashion staples for men Let’s talk fashion!

Fit, fabric, colour, and style make it all worthwhile.

We hope that we can help you make some really good choices for your Summer 2019 wardrobe, whether it’s casual or for that special occasion..

Elegance is still an important feature for this year’s fashion-conscious ‘man about town’, with a wide variety of suits, in exciting colours and fabrics, available to keep looking right on trend.

Make this Summer a time to re-discover jackets, as there are so many to choose from, like stylish suit-jackets, bomber-jackets, casual hooded, and corduroy trucker types.

Denim will never go away, and is always a favourite, especially in summer-time. You are never out of style with a pair of slim-fit, or a washed look, pair of jeans.

Try pairing your stylish new jeans with a Bowling shirt.

With so many colours and patterns to choose from, you will be kitted out for the rest of the summer, daytime or night-time.

T-shirts never ever go out of fashion, and can look good

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brook taverner

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any time of the year. They are so versatile, affordable, and can be worn with jeans, or smart casual slacks. They can be worn loose or fitted, depending on your physique.

T-shirts look really good worn with a casual jacket, or even under a suit-style jacket. Picking the right style and colour means that you can take the stress out of deciding what to wear during the summer months Shorts may not be on everyone’s shopping list, but for people who do like them, they are really a must-have for the summer heat, and make you feel that Summer has finally arrived.

Printed sweatshirts are still popular, and can create a stylish casual look, and don’t forget footwear, from sandals to sneakers, which can set off any summer outfit.

dhgate

lacoste

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Summer is not forever, so don’t be afraid to experiment to get the look and style that is right for you. And whatever the big brands cost, you can always get a high-street version that looks just as good at half the price!

hermes

Hermes

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MIAMI WILL BE ONE OF ONLY THREE U.S. CITIES TO HOST “ART AFTER STONEWALL 1969 1989”

Honouring the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprisings As celebrants across the nation honour the 50th anniversary year of the Stonewall Uprisings in Pride month the Frost Art Museum FIU has announced Miami will be one of only three cities in the US to host Art After Stonewall: 1969 ─ 1989.

The major exhibition of more than 200 works opens in Miami on September 14, and due to its size and scope will encompass the entire second floor of the museum, including the Grand Galleries.

The Miami presentation of Art After Stonewall 1969 ─ 1989, in the Autumn, will be the first time that all of the works in this show will be exhibited together under one roof; all of the photographs, paintings, sculpture, film clips, video, music, and performance pieces, plus historical documents and images taken from magazines, newspapers and television (the current New York showing of Art After Stonewall is split up between two venues).

The show will headline Miami’s Art Basel in

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December: when the global spotlight shines on this city for one of the world’s leading art fairs, attracting 70,000+ collectors, cultural leaders, artists and media influencers from around the world, and will remain on view through January 5.

The groundbreaking exhibition is the first national museum show of its kind to survey the impact of the LGBTQ civil rights movement on visual culture, during the pivotal two decades after the Stonewall Riots, as the first Pride marches took flight ― a bold visual history of twenty years in American gay life.

The exhibition presents the work of openly LGBTQ artists alongside other artists who also engaged with the emerging gay subcultures, between 1969 and 1989. The Stonewall Riots are considered a historic flash-point for the LGBTQ movement, and the first two decades of art-making that immediately followed the uprising have never been explored this way before.

This 20-year period blazed with new creativity from these communities. These artists cleared a path through uncharted cultural territories,

Left: Rob Hugh Rosen, Sylvester as Lady Day (#1), 1970, silver gelatin print

Below: Peter Hujar, Gay Liberation Front, Come Out, 1970, offset lithograph, © 1987 The Peter Hujar Archive LLC, collection of Flavia Rando, image courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Lola Flash, AIDS quilt, 1987

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across intersections of avant-garde art worlds, radical political movements, and profound social change.

The list of trailblazing artists includes: Vito Acconci, Laura Aguilar, Diane Arbus, Lyle Ashton Harris, Judith F. Baca, Don Bachardy, Lynda Benglis, JEB (Joan E. Biren), Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Arch Connelly, Tee A. Corinne, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Karen Finley, Louise Fishman, Nan Goldin, Michela Griffo, Sunil Gupta, Barbara Hammer, Harmony Hammond, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Peter Hujar, Holly Hughes, Tseng Kwong Chi, Greer Lankton, Annie Leibovitz, Christopher Makos, Robert Mapplethorpe, Frank Moore, Alice Neel, Catherine Opie, Jack Pierson, Marlon T. Riggs, Jack Smith, Joan Snyder, Carmelita Tropicana, Andy Warhol, and David Wojnarowicz, among others.

Although much has been written on the impact of the LGBTQ movement on American society, fifty years after Stonewall many key artists are still relatively unknown and are brought to light.

The museum is part of Florida International University, home to one of the country’s most diverse student populations. Focusing on inclusiveness towards the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ communities, the museum is partnering during the run of the exhibition with Unity Coalition | Coalición Unida, recognized as one of the nation’s leading organizations of its kind, especially for its cutting-edge programs for Latinx, Hispanic and people of colour who are LGBTQ, and for spearheading innovative cultural initiatives for the Transgender, gender non-conforming, gay, millennial and centennial communities.

Unity Coalition | Coalición Unida will integrate its programming with the museum’s exhibition, during its 9th annual Celebrate ORGULLO Festival, Miami’s premier Hispanic LGBTQ Pride Festival offered every October. As part of this festival,

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the museum will host on-site one of Miami’s most highly anticipated LGBTQ events of the year: the October 12th annual Gala benefiting Unity Coalition | Coalición Unida.

The Miami Connections in Art After Stonewall Some of the artists included in Art After Stonewall lived in Miami and created art here between 1969-1989, including Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Martin Kreloff. The work by Gonzalez-Torres also confronted the AIDS crisis: a haunting billboard created by the artist in 1989 that ran for six months above the site of the Stonewall, informing viewers along NY’s busy Seventh Avenue about the need for activism.

The work by Kreloff featured in the show is the poster for the very first White Party fundraiser for AIDS, held in Miami in 1985.

The history-making idea for the White Party AIDS fundraiser was hatched by Kreloff and friends in Miami, and became an inspiration for communities nationwide to raise muchneeded funds to help those suffering from the epidemic.

Scholars today recognize that just like New York’s Stonewall Riots, Miami was also ground-zero to an equally significant chapter in the LGBTQ civil rights movement, and this is also represented in the exhibition. In 1977, Anita Bryant led her notorious campaign to overturn a Miami-Dade County ordinance that banned discrimination against gays and lesbians.

This sparked a turning point for the movement that experts in the fields of civil rights and LGBTQ studies emphasize as equally important to Stonewall.

It was the first time the national media covered LGBTQ rights in this way. The story about Bryant’s crusade in Miami was the cover of TIME and Newsweek magazines, made headlines in newspapers across the country and on network television news.

Before this Miami political battle to protect

Diana Davies, Untitled (Marsha P. Johnson Hands Out Flyers for Support of Gay Students at N.Y.U.), c. 1970. Digital print. Photo by Diana Davies / Š The New York Public Library/Art Resource, NY

Cathy Cade, Christopher Street West, LA: None of Us is Free Until All of Us are Free, 1972, digital print, copyright and courtesy of the artist

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LGBTQ rights from Anita Bryant’s crusade, no other LGBTQ news event had been covered nationally.

This mobilized activists in cities and towns nationwide. A major component of the activism against Bryant’s campaign featured creative advertising, posters and graphic art.

Now, forty-two years after the Anita Bryant crusade, things have changed in Miami. The museum has received a groundswell of community support to bring this exhibition to South Florida.

This exhibition has been made possible at the Frost Art Museum FIU by Bank of America and the Funding Arts Network. Additional support has been generously provided by Our Fund, an LGBT Community Foundation, and the Art after Stonewall Circle of Friends.

During Pride month and leading up to the opening of the exhibition in September, art by LGBTQ artists is currently on view at the museum and in the university’s public art program.

This includes an installation by Carlos Alfonzo and a sculpture by Pepe Mar, on view now at the museum.

On campus, the university features a major public art installation by Carlos Alfonzo. Considered one of Alfonzo’s most monumental works, his largescale ceramic tile mural is one of his final works (created in 1991, the year he died). The museum will feature interactive iPads during the run of the Miami showing of Art After Stonewall, presenting artwork by several artists based in Miami and archival materials.

The museum is also working closely to integrate the exhibition with FIU’s LGBTQA Initiatives. The on-campus

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group promotes educational, social, and resource programs and services to meet the needs of FIU’s LGBTQ students.

More About the Exhibition The exhibition was organized by the Columbus Museum of Art. The show was curated by the artist and art historian Jonathan Weinberg, with Tyler Cann and Drew Sawyer.

This exhibition is currently on view in New York, at two venues in Manhattan; at NYU’s Grey Art Gallery (until July 20), and at the Leslie-Lohman Museum (until July 21). Then the exhibition travels to Miami for Art Basel season, at the Frost Art Museum FIU (Sept.

14, 2019 - Jan. 5, 2020). The show will then travel to the Columbus Museum of Art (March 6 - May 31, 2020).

At the national level, major support for the exhibition is provided by: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Keith Haring Foundation, Inc. Additional support provided by Jeff Chaddock & Mark Morrow; Envisage Wealth; Tom W. Davis; Equitas Health; Prizm; Lynn Greer & Stevie Walton & the Women’s Collective; John & Michaella Havens and Parker Havens & Dean Panik, in honor of Barbara Havens; D. Scott Owens & Kevin Kowalski; Harlan Robins & Shawn Shear; Dickinson Wright PLLC; and John L. Wirchanski. The show is accompanied by a 300-page catalogue with essays by more than 20 established and emerging scholars as well as entries by artists, including FIU’s very own Alpesh Patel.

The Government has Blood on its Hands, 1988, poster/offset lithograph Greg Day, Stephen Varble at the 12th Annual AvantGarde Festival, 1975/2018.

Digital print. Copyright and courtesy of the artist

Admission to the museum is always free. The Frost is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is located at 10975 SW 17 Street. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., and Sunday noon-5:00 p.m. Closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. The Sculpture Park is open every day. More information at frost.fiu.edu

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THE POWER OF PRIDE AND VISIBILITY

By Shaley Howard

As a cis female butch lesbian who’s been out for over twenty years, I’m pretty secure and confident in who I am. But it took me years to overcome my own internalized homophobia and find my community.

The most encouraging thing to help me was seeing other people like me. Growing up, there was only one person throughout all my years of school who reflected me, and she was my butch lesbian PE teacher.

Unfortunately, she was also the butt of everyone’s joke, and an outsider. So instead of being a beacon, she felt more like a warning for me to stay in the closet.

I spent a good portion of my childhood and young adult life closeted. And it sucked. Having to live everyday hiding who you are isn’t only lonely, but cruel. I’m fairly certain it’s one of the worst things anyone can experience, because you’re constantly pretending to be someone you’re not, and you’re completely isolated and invisible as a LGBTQ+ person.

I spent years hiding who I was, and then years of confusion and struggling, only to realize it wasn’t me who was abnormal, but this patriarchal, heteronormative culture. So, as a fully self-aware and beautiful butch lesbian, I’m here to tell you the importance of being out, proud and visible!

We live in a culture that, whether or not we admit it, is overflowing with homophobia and transphobia. LGBTQ+ people are marginalized, and considered ‘other’ more often then people think.

Society categorizes and labels us through a distorted lens of ignorance and hate. We become an idea, or a lifestyle, that is palatable to the general public, based on heteronormative standards - standards that are unattainable, dehumanizing, and send the message: You are

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abnormal, and won’t ever fit in. Ultimately, it’s a form of control, to keep us closeted and invisible.

The problem of visibility – or invisibility, is, it’s a double-edged sword. On one side, you have LGBTQ+ people who are very aware of the subtle, and often not so subtle, unwelcoming, intolerant, and violent world around them. So, of course, are not too eager to shout from the highest mountain top they’re queer. Then you have so much of the general public, who’ve been fed incessant fear-based stereotypes, and ideas of what ‘normal’ sexual preference and gender identity are, their entire lives.

If they don’t actually see and interact with LGBTQ+ people, that ignorance simply continues. I’m not implying that LGBTQ+ people need to be visible, so straight people can understand and learn. It’s not our responsibility to teach oppressors about the insidious institution of homophobia and transphobia. But I do strongly believe most people are not inherently hateful beings that consciously want to oppress others. I think more often many straight people are simply ignorant, and being visible certainly helps bridge the gap between the two worlds.

Given that most of what people in this culture see daily in the media are mainly biased storylines told from a heteronormative perspective, seeing out-and-proud LGBTQ+ people like Ellen DeGeneres, Laverne Cox, Neil Patrick Harris, and Sarah Paulson is paramount. Not to mention the importance of fictional shows, where the main characters are LGBTQ+, and not some cliché or side character.

Shows like Pose, Will and Grace, Modern Family, and Orange is the New Black all help break down and challenge the ‘normal’ heteronormative narrative; that opposite sex relationships are the norm, and a person is either male or female. The effect of seeing both real and fictional images of other LGBTQ+ people sends a strong message of normalcy, inclusivity, and accessibility, not to mention

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hope.

As an extroverted lesbian with a big personality, it’s easy for me to say: “Oh just come out and be visible”.

I get it. We’re all created differently. But I can’t begin to share how many people, both straight and gay over the years have reached out, wanting to share their gratitude and talk. Some conversations were about the heart-breaking struggles of being LGBTQ+.

Others were with straight people, who genuinely didn’t understand, but wanted to learn how to work towards equality together.

It is these connections and conversations that hit me on a personal level, and make me truly realize the importance of being an out lesbian, visible to everyone who cares.

So here’s my hope – my message – my plea: Come out, come out, wherever you are! Your visibility matters! Now is the time, especially with the extreme anti-LGBTQ+ Trump administration and new conservative SCOTUS. It is imperative that people come out and represent. The more people, both LGBTQ+ and straight, that see and connect with each other, the more opportunities to unlearn the lies we’ve all been taught.

Diversity is something to cherish, not oppress.

And fear only teaches us to fear. Yet fear loses its power when light shines upon it. All of a sudden, what was unseen is seen. What was unknown becomes known. And what was feared is no longer feared. It really is as simple as that.

Visibility matters.

Shaley Howard https://adventuresofabutchdogwalker.com

Ann Patricia Meredith, Lesbian Physique, Gay Games II / Triumph in ’86 San Francisco, CA, 1986, from the series A Different Drummer, 1970-1990, part of the upcoming Art After Stonewall Exhibition, at the Frost Art Museum FIU

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Album Review

Turn Off The Light Retro review by Lisa Reynolds Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1 - By Kim Petras Review By Lisa Reynolds Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1 (2018) by trans-woman Kim Petras, a German singer-songwriter, is a wonderful album of eight electro/pop tunes, with a horror-film theme that gives it a refreshing twist.

The opening song is o m e n. The haunting instrumental really welcomes the listener into the vibe of the album in a short burst. The track was inspired by the Halloween soundtrack, and pays excellent homage to it. Eerily great.

Following on from o m e n is Close Your Eyes, which keeps with the album’s spooky theme, but in a more subtle, commercial pop way than some of the other tracks. It is very beat-driven, and a real bop of a track. The flow of the song is really good - one you could listen to over and over.

TRANSylvania is the next track. The instrumental on this track makes this song once again a great dance track. Again, there is a spooky element, with the sound of a coffin opening and closing, which sounds like a modern-day take on Thriller.

Ending the first half of the album is the title track, Turn Off The Light, featuring Elvira.

Once again, it is a very textured song, which is endlessly-listenable.

One of my favourite tracks on the album, alongside Close Your Eyes, and Turn Off The Light, is Tell Me It’s A Nightmare, which opens part two of the album. There is a storytelling quality to this song, and to Petras’ vocal. It is a very new avenue Petras takes in telling the story from the perspective of an abusive partner. While it is hard to like the character she is playing on this track, she plays the part well. It feels like a chapter in a horror novel.

I don’t wanna die follows. It is the preface to the next track, and has a lovely pop-synth flow. Lots of rhythm sounds. There is a storyline running through some of this album,

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Kim Petras - Image: Thom Kerr, Bustle

which really appeals to the part of me that loves storytelling. In this track, she has just killed her partner, whether literally or metaphorically, and is at the point of no return.

Very percussion-soaked and layered.

The closing track is Boo! Bitch! - a mostly instrumental version of the previous track, which ends the album in fine style - with a fantastic bop.

A really excellent listen.

Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1 by Kim Petras is available on Spotify

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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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The GAZE Film Festival 2019 Highlights Frances Winston gives us some highlights of the upcoming GAZE LGBTQ Film Festival 2019

Showing that ball culture resonates throughout the community worldwide, and not just in New York, this features some of the amazing characters populating the Manchester scene, and will have the filmmakers in attendance on the night.

Gaze Film Festival: 1st – 5th August, Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield, and various other venues, Dublin

Of course, the opening film is always an event, but the whole programme this year is worthy of mention. Unfortunately, there isn’t room to list everything here. However, at first glance for me several things jumped out.

Now in its 27th year, the GAZE film festival is always eagerly anticipated within the community, as it is carefully curated to give audiences the opportunity to see some of the best LGBTQ cinema from around the world.

Different From The Others features the first known depiction of gay characters on screen, and celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

As an added touch, it will feature a live score from pianist and composer, Morgan Clarke.

An important piece of LGBTQ history, this promises to be a real treat for movie history buffs.

Last year’s programme was exceptionally strong, and I wasn’t sure they could top it.

However, it definitely comes pretty close.

Of course, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, and at the launch party, a gentleman was venting that the opening Gala doesn’t feature a ‘Boy’ film, which was unfair, since the closing gala is a ‘Lady’ film. He felt the opener should be a movie aimed at gay men.

However, I personally am very happy with it, and think that it is a great choice. It is none other than Deep in Vogue – a documentary about the Manchester ball scene. With the huge success of Pose, and the emergence of the divine Billy Porter as a standout star, this is sure to prove popular.

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Also worth a look for fans of classic cinema is the documentary, Making Montgomery Clift, on Monday August 5th. As the title suggests, this tells the story of legendary movie star, Montgomery Clift. A fantastic actor, and stunningly handsome, even a life-changing car crash couldn’t derail his career. But his sexuality was an issue in conservative Hollywood, and the legend goes that he had the slowest suicide in Hollywood. This documentary sheds some light on the truth behind the myths, and is a mustsee for all film buffs – not just members of the LGBTQ community.

Former Doctor Who, Matt Smith, stars in

Mapplethorpe on Saturday, August 3rd, which chronicles the life of photographer, Richard Mapplethorpe. The artist, who like so many of his contemporaries fell victim to the AIDS crisis, has become something of a cultural icon, and this looks extremely promising.

The fabulous Handsome Devil from director, John Butler, features as the GAZE youth screening this year. Meanwhile, Daniel Day Lewis breakthrough movie, My Beautiful Launderette, was voted as the classic movie that most friends of the festival wanted to see. And their wish was the organiser’s command.

Alongside all these amazing movies, there is a spotlight on Latin Queer cinema, featuring five outstanding films, Socrates, A Girl’s Band, Brief Story from the Green Planet, the Blond One, and Being Impossible.

Latin movies also feature in the shorts programme, which is as strong as ever this year, and always a talking point, as it gives viewers a chance to see the works of many up and coming

filmmakers.

The festival is also featuring a retrospective of the work of Barbara Hammer, who died last year. A trailblazer of lesbian, activist, and feminist filmmaking, six of her works will screen on August 3rd.

As always, there are also workshops and discussions scattered throughout the festival, and the closing gala should definitely prove a crowd-pleaser. JT Leroy tells the story of the world’s greatest literary hoax. Starring Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, this story is proof that fact really is stranger than fiction – if you’re not familiar with the story then google it. It really is bonkers, and should make for a fantastic movie.

The full programme is available at http://www.gaze.ie and with offers available on packages and passes, there’s never been a better reason to hide in the cinema over a bank holiday weekend.

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Health

Stop Smoking Now! Brian Rochford writes about the various strategies to help quit the habit To smoke or not to smoke, that is the question. But there’s really only one answer.

There are many techniques and strategies that are really helpful in getting you to stop smoking, so it is important to find a method and plan that can and will work for you.

It may be very helpful in the beginning to write down why you think you smoke in the first place. Doing this should go some of the way to helping you establish what are the key factors that motivate you to continue to do something you know is doing damage to your health.

It has been suggested that nicotine can be as addictive as cocaine. Like most goals in life, it is easier said than done. But it is important to start off in the right way, and that is with the belief that you can, in time, and with the right information and techniques, plus proper support, become smoke-free.

Reports indicate that many people begin to feel better, having stopped smoking, in as little as one week, and experience reduced cravings in 3 months. Developing a daily plan that is practical and realistic is very important, as

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having unrealistic expectations can hinder progress, and you may find that you are back where you started.

When you do decide to quit, it is important that you have identified your reasons, as they will become very important when you find you are under pressure. The more practical and emotional your reasons are, the more you will be inclined to stay focused, as the temptation to return to old habits can be very powerful.

There will be certain times of the day when you will be more at risk. These periods are often described as your high-risk times, times when you feel under stress at work, when you may be in a social situation, having an alcoholic drink or a coffee. You could make a list of situations and events that serve as triggers, so that you will be ready to react properly when they occur.

To make the process easier, be ready, and remember the saying: “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail�.

Neglecting this strategy could mean the difference between success and failure. If you are thinking of using medication to assist you, ask your doctor for advice on when you should

Image: Next Avenue

Image: myheart

begin the process, before you stop smoking altogether.

The first few weeks will naturally be the hardest, so it is important to keep yourself distracted. If at all possible, avoid stressful situations and people. Many cravings can last from 10 up to about 20 minutes, and will pass. At times when you are under pressure, you may find it helpful to use positive affirmations that will help to reaffirm your determination to succeed.

find way of celebrating your small milestones.

For instance, plan a holiday for yourself with all the money that you will save in the first year.

You can feel confident that you will be successful, as this has very definitely been achieved by others, some with less willpower than yourself.

Best of luck!

You may remember the song: One day at a time. It’s a good way of looking at the situation, as when you think about forever you may feel somewhat overwhelmed. Also

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Travel

Things to do in the Canary Islands Get to the top of the Teide Volcano in Tenerife Just after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Mount Teide is the third highest volcano in the world. Located in Tenerife, it’s one of the most visited natural parks in Europe and the 8th most visited in the world!

If you opt to take the cable car which travels within 500 meters of the summit – prepare yourself for some simply breathtaking views.

Climbing Mount Teide is also an option as well as a dream for many; ascending the crater and smelling the sulphur emitted from volcanic fumaroles is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

There’s a bar and restaurant area, and even a hotel and a refuge at 3.270 meters.

As the highest peak in Spain, it has been a World Heritage Site since 2007, and the park encourages visitors not stray from the marked paths, enjoy the native flora and fauna of this geological treasure, and not to take stones as a souvenir of the National Park.

Sunbathe at Maspalomas Beach in Gran Canaria With wind-sculpted dunes with golden sand and clear, crisp ocean – Maspalomas truly is one of the most beautiful beaches on the Canary Islands.

Stretching just over 3km, the beach makes for the perfect place to sunbathe, to take a relaxing stroll or to simply soak up the sunset in the evenings. One of the best spots to see the sunset is the first set of dunes by the Charco de Maspalomas lagoon.

The beach stretches from the beautiful lighthouse to La Punta, the most southern point of the Island. But, it doesn’t end there! It then transforms into the Playa del Inglés, another 4 km of the finest sand in the east.

Visit the fascinating architectural legacy of César Manrique in Lanzarote César Manrique was an artist, architect and environmental activist from Lanzarote. He did not create in nature but rather with it, and his relationship with the landscape was not simply aesthetic but also a commitment to defending the environment.

Jameos del Agua is a volcanic tube opened on the surface where you can admire a natural

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Fuerteventura - Image: travelmedia.ie

lagoon of transparent emerald waters which is home to a native species of the island – a minuscule, albino, blind and gleaming little crab of unknown origin.

Mirador del Rio is a building located at 500 meters in altitude at the top of the Risco cliff, hidden beneath the rock and barely visible from the outside, with large windows and exterior balconies that provide a stunning view of Lanzarote.

Visitors can see traditional ceramics and a range of sculptures. The domed main room and cupolas are not to be missed.

Taste volcanic wine in Lanzarote The Canary Islands have become an exceptional wine-producing region due to the volcanic nature of their soils and almost desert-like climate. The ash coating retains moisture, protects buried soils from

erosion, inhibits evaporation, and traps solar input.

Partially ringed by almond shaped stone walls on tar dark soils, the vine arrays appear hauntingly gorgeous, and many of them are included within Timanfaya National Park in the southwest.

White wines are predominant in the Canaries and are often opulent and full, sometimes with a citric precision.

Whereas red wines often have a Burgundian heft of pepper and complex darknessleather, mocha, black fruit, caramel and even diesel.

Several wineries across Lanzarote offer both wine tastings and visits.

Try an aloe vera wellness treatment in a Canarian spa in Tenerife The spa centres in the Canary Islands

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are well-known and make full use of all the natural resources provided by the Canary environment. Plenty of unique treatments are offered such as thalassotherapy, geotherapy, wine therapy or aloe therapy.

The spa of the Iberostar Grand Mencey in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is set over 4500 square meters, and facilities include everything from a dynamic heated pool with bubble beds, whirlpool sections, and aqua-massage swan necks, to saunas, a foot spa, and a steam room.

The celebrated Basque chef Martín Berasategui’s M.B. sits in the Ritz Carlton Abama hotel and has two Michelin stars. The restaurant is renowned for its interpretation of Spanish cuisine with influences from the Basque Country and a selection of local ingredients.

Rincón de Juan Carlos offers a choice of à la carte or tasting menus, with an emphasis on seafood and seasonal island-sourced market produce.

Watch the stars from a world class observatory in La Palma The sky of La Palma is one of the best places to observe the stars, and the Roque de los Muchachos observatory at 2.396 m. above sea level is home to one of the most extensive fleets of telescopes to be found anywhere in the world.

Go whale watching and diving in a world top spot in El Hierro El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands and a true Atlantic treasure. Declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 2000, El Hierro also features a marine reserve full of steep drop offs down to 300 meters, shelves, sandy platforms and caves.

It boasts a breath-taking view of a giant volcanic crater 1,500 metres deep, covered in trees and with volcanic rocks in amazing formations.

As one of the world’s dream diving sites, it hosts more than ten top spots full of volcanic features and marine life. It’s also the perfect place for whale spotting as different species can be seen all year round.

The observatory organizes visits to its facilities, and there are stargazing tours by La Palma Astronomy Tours which even include a ‘Tapas and Stars’ experience.

The experience combines tapas and a glass of red and/or white local wine with an introduction to the astronomy and the orientation of the sky through constellations as well as insider information from guides.

Eat at a Michelin star restaurant in Tenerife The stars in the Canary Islands are not just in the sky: Tenerife has six Michelin stars spread across five restaurants.

One starred NUB occupies a beautifully restored colonial building and the tasting menu fuses Italian, Chilean and traditional Canarian flavours.

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El Hierro is also a model of sustainable tourism and fishing, and a renowned clean energy lab which gets almost 50% of its energy from renewable resources.

Trek through some of the oldest forests in the world in La Gomera With palm-filled valleys, deep ravines and black sand beaches – La Gomera is a natural paradise.

It is the perfect place for hiking thanks to a network of over 600 kilometres of trails.

The island was awarded World Biosphere Reserve status in 2011, this is thanks to the pristine nature of its marine and terrestrial ecosystems such as the laurel forests of the Garajonay Natural Park.

Image: gaytimes.co.uk

You’re free to wander the forests on your own or take a guided tour with local experts.

Take a surf or kitesurf course in Fuerteventura Fuerteventura is well known for its 150 km of white sand beaches and emerald green waters, a paradise bathed in sunshine, perfect for relaxing and water sports.

The North of the island offers world class

breaks for surfing but also less demanding spots for learners, whereas the South is swept by reliable winds all year round which together with flat seas offer some of the world’s best conditions for kite and windsurfing.

For more information, go to: TravelMedia.ie

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Frances Winston on Movies Directed by: Josh Cooley – Starring the voices of: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves It’s hard to believe that it is nearly a quarter of a century since we met the characters of Woody and Buzz Lightyear, in the first Toy Story movie.

Although it is quite common now, at the time it was the first animated feature created

by CGI. Aside from the technological breakthroughs it heralded, the movie really captured the zeitgeist, appealing to both young and old alike, who loved the idea that toys came to life when their child – in this case a boy named Andy – wasn’t looking.

Usually by the fourth sequel, a franchise is really running out of steam, but this one has been eagerly anticipated. Despite nine-years gap between the last movie and Toy Story 4, people haven’t lost any affection for the characters, and obviously want to see if the story does them justice.

To be honest, I felt that Toy Story 3 wrapped up the tale pretty well. I didn’t really think there was a need for a fourth instalment. (Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it) when Andy passed the baton to young Bonnie, giving her all his treasured playthings, it felt like a perfect ending, so I wasn’t sure where they could go with

Toy Story 4.

Woody and the toys have settled into life with Bonnie, but when she starts Kindergarten, they worry about her. Wanting to ensure she is OK, Woody hides in her backpack, and his fears are confirmed when she becomes shy and withdrawn round the other children.

However, she cheers up when she makes a new toy out of a Spork and calls it Forky. To Woody’s astonishment, Forky comes to life now that he is a toy, and has an identity crisis, as he believes he’s trash.

But now that he is Bonnie’s favourite toy, Woody has to ensure that he thinks like a toy.

Confused, Forky runs away, and Woody goes after him, leading them to an antique store containing old and valuable toys – all of whom want out of their mundane existence sitting on a shelf.

So yet again, Woody must rescue his friend, and help other random playthings, while also reuniting with Bo Peep, who is now a renegade ‘lost toy’, and trying to get back to Bonnie once and for all.

Yep, that’s a whole lot of plot for a 100-minute movie. But the Toy Story franchise have always been ambitious. The focus here is very much on Woody’s story, and although the other characters do get a look in, the story arc is his.

Tom Hanks is back as the voice of Woody of course, and with all of the beloved voice-cast

returning, it is almost like putting on a pair of old comfy slippers.

As you would expect, the animation is top-notch. Pixar never fails to impress, and as usual, Toy Story 4 looks absolutely stunning. They manage to play with light and shade fabulously, and at times, you do almost forget that you are watching an animation.

The story follows the tried and tested formula of toys trying to rescue other toys, and get back to their child. However, Toy Story 4 never feels like déjà vu.

Somehow – even after so many movies and shorts – the writers still manage to keep it fresh.

The other characters could have had more screen-time, but aside from this, fans of the franchise should find Toy Story 4 a satisfying conclusion to the saga.

It is well paced, will appeal to both adults and LOs, and is 100 minutes of pure escapism.

There is an underlying assumption that you are already familiar with these characters, and if you have never seen a Toy Story movie before, going into Toy Story 4 you may want to brush up on that, but this aside, Toy Story 4 will warm the cockles of even the most cynical viewer.

And no doubt make Disney a fortune from the merchandising.

In Cinemas Now! EILE Magazine 49

BRIGHTBURN

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Frances Winston on Movies continued...

Directed by: David Yarovesky – Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner, Gregory Alan Williams, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agree, Becky Wahlstrom, Christian Finlayson An alien baby is found by a childless couple, who raise them as their own, but when he hits 12 and the ship he arrived in awakens, it triggers something in him, and it becomes obvious that he has some special gifts.

No, this isn’t Superman, or a Superman spin-off, although you could be forgiven for thinking that from the premise.

In fact, Brightburn is a sci-fi horror offering, that boasts Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn as a producer.

Given his love of the superhero and sci-fi genre, it is not an understatement to say that hopes were high for this.

Where Brightburn veers from the Superman-style story is that instead of saving humanity, the child, Brandon (Dunn), goes on somewhat of a rampage triggered by a message from the ship telling him to “take the world”, and even his adoptive parents aren’t safe from his wrath. In case you were wondering, the title of the movie is the name

of the town the family live in, rather than a reference to the child’s powers. However, the posters do make this look somewhat misleading.

Overall, Brightburn disappoints somewhat. While it does offer a refreshing subversion of the super-hero genre, it doesn’t really follow through on any of the promises in its set-up. Banks is great as Brandon’s adoptive mother, but is completely wasted here. Dunn is suitably sinister as Brandon, but it feels like ‘villain by numbers’ at times, which is probably down to Yarovesky’s direction, rather than his artistic choices.

Overall, the script doesn’t really give the actors a lot to work with.

eagle-eyed fans engaged, but for the average cinema-goer, Brightburn will merely be a distraction for 90 minutes.

If Brightburn were the work of a debut filmmaker, with an inexperienced cast, I would probably hail it as a great first effort, but given the calibre of those involved, this really falls short of what you would expect.

In Cinemas Now!

There is nothing special about the effects – we’ve seen them all before – and the story itself is one that we’ve seen before (I refer you back to my superman references).

Brightburn had the potential to be great, but it loses its way around the same time that Brandon discovers his gifts. It is OK, but there is probably not enough of any of the referenced genres to satisfy fans. It’s not quite a full-on horror, nor is it strictly full-on sci-fi.

There are very few surprises, and you see most of the ‘twists’ coming a mile away. There are one or two Easter Eggs which reference previous Gunn work, which should keep super EILE Magazine 51

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Frances Winston on Movies continued...

Directed by: Simon Kinberg – Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Kodi SmitMcPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, Jessica Chastain Since this is the 12th movie in the X-Men film series, and the 7th instalment in the main X-Men series, I’m assuming that most people at least have a basic knowledge of the premise of the films.

If you don’t I would suggest google, as I don’t have a long enough word-count to bring you up to speed. This franchise’s timelines are far more complex than any plot they could come up with. Also, a little background knowledge is really helpful when watching a movie like this, given that it is a direct sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse from 2012, and references several other movies in the franchise.

So, assuming you are up to speed on the backstory, the premise of Dark Phoenix is that while the X-Men are on a rescue mission in space, where they save the lives of several astronauts, Jean Grey absorbs a mysterious cosmic force, that completely

amplifies her telekinetic and telepathic powers. She loses control, unleashing the Dark Phoenix, all the while being pursued by mysterious aliens who want to harness her energy. Meanwhile, the rest of the X-Men must try and stop her before she destroys the entire planet.

This is the final instalment in the current franchise, but unfortunately, it sends the characters off with a whimper rather than a bang. All of the CGI and action-scenes can’t detract from the fact that the script is very weak, with far too much exposition, and the actors don’t really seem to care. There are some amazing names on the bill here, who have all more than capably demonstrated their acting chops in the past, but they literally seem to dial it in. The plot is extremely cumbersome, and you have no idea what is motivating half of the characters.

The actual big action scenes, often the saving grace of a movie like this, are also disappointing. There is nothing special or new about them, although they are extremely violent. Jessica Chastain’s baddie ,Vuk, inexplicably wears killer heels while battling the X-Men, and it looks somewhat ridiculous – although nowhere near as ridiculous as her story arc.

Chastain is a fine actor, but

she is given nothing to work with.

You get the feeling that they were trying to wrap up so many story arcs that they couldn’t actually focus on what was supposed to be the core premise of this movie, and it just makes for a rather messy offering overall. In terms of superhero movies, it is extremely average – even more so when you consider how good some of the previous offerings in this franchise have been.

It feels like this never really tries, instead relying simply on the goodwill of fans to get it over the line. However, even the most diehard comic book and X-Men fan will have difficulty finding any saving grace here.

If you like your superhero dramas just OK, then you will enjoy this, but I, and many others I’m sure, expected far more from such an established brand.

In Cinemas Now!

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Frances Winston on Movies continued...

Directed by: Olivia Wilde – Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Billie Lourd It’s time for all the ‘coming of age’ movies to hit cinemas now that school is out for the summer. Much like the rom-com, these are a tried and tested cinema staple that generally don’t veer too far off-format. However, this offering does mess with the status quo somewhat.

Instead of looking for someone to take them to prom, as is the usual in these flicks, the two intrepid lead characters, Amy and Molly, discover that they’ve done high school all wrong, concentrating on studying and never letting their hair down. Realising that they only have one night to rectify this before graduation, they decide to attend a classmates hugely hyped party. So far so straightforward.

Except that they don’t know his address, and in their attempts to make it to the soirée, they have all manner of adventures and revelations. The fact that one of the protagonists is an openly-out lesbian also adds another element to Booksmart. It is only in the past few years that we have started seeing realistic portrayals of LGBTQ teens in movies like this, and long may it continue.

The leads, Dever and Feldstein, have a fantastic chemistry and brilliant comedic timing. They manage to find all the little

nuances in the script, and you would really believe they had been friends since childhood, as they manage to convey the underlying love between them even when bickering. Most of the actors resist going too OTT, except Lourd, who completely hams it up as a spoiled socialite type. I hate to say she is the one weak link in an otherwise outstanding cast.

At the screening I attended, many people were surprised to see Wilde’s name flash up as director, and I heard nothing but positive reactions to her efforts. And Booksmart is indeed a very impressive directorial debut.

Wilde has managed to give a fresh and fastpaced take on a classic genre, while also retaining all the heart and awkwardness that makes these movies so successful.

Although Booksmart maintains some elements of the coming of age flick, it really does feel like she has put a new spin on it.

She has paced the film well, and manages to build to the crescendo of the emotional finale without ever getting too schmaltzy.

You don’t have to be a teenager to appreciate Booksmart. Everyone will relate to different elements of the story. This is extremely refreshing, great fun and totally feel-good.

You will leave the cinema with a smile your face and, unlike many of these movies, Booksmart possibly merits a second viewing down the line. It bodes very well for Wilde’s future directorial efforts.

In Cinemas Now!

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Review Hugh Jackman – The Man, The Music, The Show (3Arena Dublin)

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Review by Frances Winston Hugh Jackman – The Man, The Music, The Show The 3 Arena, East Wall, Dublin 1 30th and 31st May 2019 Hugh Jackman is amazing! His show is phenomenal! End of review!!!!

OK, apologies, that was very unprofessional.

But if you can’t be bothered reading on, that is this review in a nutshell. I have sat down and thought about it. I have revisited all the rules of critical analysis that I studied in college. But I am truly finding it difficult to find anything to ‘critique’ in this show.

I should also point out that I didn’t get a ‘reviewers’ ticket for this show, so I am under no obligation to the PR to say nice things about it.

However, Jackman is one of those rare performers that seems to appeal to literally everybody, thanks to the sheer breadth of his work. It was no surprise when he quickly sold out three shows in the 3 Arena, and as you’d expect, the audience was as eclectic as his body of work. From the 5-year-old children sporting top hats à la PT Barnum, to the elderly man dressed in full Greatest Showman garb, and everybody in-between, this crowd were united in one thing – their love of the talented Aussie.

Giving them exactly what they wanted, following montages of his big-screen performances (including the iconic

Wolverine), he opened with the hugely successful, The Greatest Showman, which had the capacity crowd on their feet from the start.

Dressed in a silver tuxedo-jacket and bow-tie, he looked every inch the polished Hollywood star. After a couple of more numbers from the hit movie, the jacket was off though, the dress-shirt sleeves were rolled up, and we were treated to Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, as he explained how he got the role in a production of the show in 1995.

From here on in, he took us on a journey through his life, and the songs that have influenced it, or that he has been privileged to perform.

There is a beautiful tribute to his wife, a selection of songs from Les Mis, his legendary homage to Peter Allen, whom he played in The Boy From Oz (winning a Tony for his efforts) and a nod to the musicals he loved watching as a child.

A real surprise (and highlight for me) was when he tap danced to AC/DC’s thunderstruck. It was truly astonishing and extremely clever. All the numbers are peppered with anecdotes – indeed some feel very personal, and you can’t help but admire him for sharing them. Far from a selfish performer, Jackman brings out the wonderful Keala Settle to perform This is Me, as only she can (bringing several people to tears).

He also shares his stage with Blues singer, Olive Knight who, along her son, singer, Clifton Bieundurry, and Didgeridoo players,

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Hugh Jackman Image: 10news.com

Paul Boon and Nathan Mundraby, performs in her traditional language of Walmatjarri, as part of the ‘nomad section’ of the show. This is a wonderful celebration of Jackman’s homeland, and again is very moving. There is also a special cheer reserved for Dublin choir, The Line-up, who joined him for a couple of numbers.

Throughout, Jackman proves completely engaging, chatting with the audience, popping off the stage to high-five children in the front row, signing autographs while in full flow with an anecdote (I kid you not) and even bringing one delighted Dubliner called – of all things – Tom Jones up on the stage, where he dad-danced to his heart’s content.

I appreciate that I went in to this as a fan anyway, but there is honestly very little I can find fault with in this show. He may have hit a bum note or missed a step somewhere, but I truly didn’t notice. My biggest complaint is actually the disgraceful queue for the ladies in the 3 Arena, which has been a problem at every show I have attended there recently!

I can honestly say that this was one of the best shows I have ever attended.

It was slick, but had a sense of spontaneity. It was polished but personal.

People laughed, people cried, people danced and sang, and it appealed to every single person there, whether they were familiar with the material or not.

It is rare that a performer has such broad appeal, but Jackman has it in spades. I’m actually jealous of the people who have yet to see him. It’s a real treat!

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Image: upi.com

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GIG Review

Nile Rodgers and Chic at St Anne’s Park!

By Frances Winston

Nile Rodgers – Image: Golden Plec

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Nile Rodgers and Chic St Anne’s Park, Raheny, June 2nd, 2019 I have seen Nile Rodgers so many times at this stage that I could probably write the review in advance of the gig. He always puts on a wonderfully polished and feel-good show, that is full of some of the catchiest hits of the past few decades.

This was no exception. He’s changed the set a bit since I saw him in Malahide Castle last Summer, but all the panache is still there. With songs like Duran Duran’s Notorious, and Madonna’s Like a Virgin, and his own extensive back catalogue, featuring tracks such as Freak Out, there is not one bum-note in his set. Biggest cheers of the evening were reserved for his collaboration with Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk, the fabulously catchy Get Lucky. And of course the David Bowie classic, Let’s Dance, which always excites the best reaction at his gigs.

Rodgers’ energy is infectious, and his whole band are amazingly talented, and they are all given their moment to shine. For the final number, Good Times, he brought numerous audience members onto the stage, and this only served to reinforce the party atmosphere so prevalent at his gigs.

There were one or two sound issues, but from what I could gather, these were caused by the heavy winds rather than anything technical, so they can be forgiven. So all in all, Nile Rodgers was great.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the venue or organisation. I go to a lot of shows – indoors and outdoors – and I have never seen one as badly organised as this. The queues for the bathrooms were astronomical. It took me 22 minutes to get to the top of it. You know it’s really bad when there’s also a massive queue for the gents, which traditionally moves faster.

Besides this, the bar situation was incredibly inadequate. A 29-minute queue to get a drink ensued there, and at no point did it dissipate. There were also issues with people jumping railings to try and get to the top of the queue quicker.

Put simply, there were not nearly enough facilities for the volume of people who were descending on St Anne’s Park. Add to this that there were no extra buses laid on – despite people being encouraged to use public transport – and many people who had followed the directions to the bus afterwards found themselves stranded, as the few buses that did go by were all full. It is painfully obvious that there was not sufficient infrastructure in place for this show.

This is a real shame, as the performance was genuinely really good. I had also heard similar reports from the Kodaline gigs the two nights previous, so these weren’t isolated incidents. It is shocking that such experienced promoters could drop the ball so badly.

Just because you can fit a big stage somewhere doesn’t mean you should, and unless they were to seriously rethink the facilities, I would never attend a gig in this venue again!

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Review

Pillow Talk - LGBT+Short Film Review By Lisa Reynolds

Pillow Talk

By Lisa Reynolds Pillow Talk (2017) is a well-put-together short film, written and directed by Louise Marie Cooke, and starring Ashleigh Cordery and Miranda Horn.

The short movie by Freyja Films was shown at numerous festivals following its release in 2017, including Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival, Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, and the Women’s Only Entertainment Film Festival.

The film, which is set in 1993, tells the story of Cara (Cordery) and Lucy (Horn) who are friends, but are both still in the process of figuring out their sexualities. Lucy thinks that Cara is interested in girls, and sets about finding out if she is for sure. In the process, she is figuring out about her own feelings too.

The characters in this short piece are very true to life, and though the film is brief, it gives viewers a glimpse into a moment of strong friendship, or possibly the beginnings of a romance between Cara and Lucy. The film ends on an ambiguous note, where viewers are unsure what way their relationship will go, but have a good idea that they will remain close, no matter what the status of their relationship turns out to be.

As well as sexuality, romance and friendship, this short focuses on themes like growing up and feeling comfortable in yourself, and with those around you.

We have come a long way as an LGBT+ community, but back in 1993,

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Scene from Pillow Talk

which was not that long ago, it was even harder for someone to express feelings of not being straight, whether that’s being gay, bi, pan, poly, skilo, or any other non-straight sexual or romantic orientation, and this film highlights that very well.

The feeling of the two main characters discussing their feelings away from the glare of the outside world, and the possibly negative judgments they may face there, is always present in the underlying moments of this film.

The film is also researched well from a historical point of view. Lucy mentions how hot Mark Owen out of Take That is, and Take That were huge at the time.

Coloured hairspray and Polaroid cameras were also big news in that period too. The attention to detail, and accuracy of the period, is very well done.

A great watch.

To watch Pillow Talk on Youtube, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRVERGKfXds

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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 65

Netflix -Julie Andrews To Voice ‘Lady Whistledown’ In Bridgerton Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling series of novels, BRIDGERTON, is set in the sexy, lavish, and competitive world of Regency London high society. From the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair, to the aristocratic palaces of Park Lane and beyond, the series unveils a seductive, sumptuous world, replete with intricate rules and dramatic power struggles, where no one is truly ever on steady ground.

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At the heart of the show is the powerful Bridgerton family.

Comprised of eight close-knit siblings, this funny, witty, daring, and clever group must navigate the upper ten thousand’s marriage mart, in search of romance, adventure and love.

JULIE ANDREWS will lend her voice to the character of LADY WHISTLEDOWN. Anonymous to readers, this mysterious, sharptongued gossip-writer uses a curious mix of social commentary and scathing insult.

Julie Andrews has been a beloved and much-honoured star of stage, screen, and television for more than half a century. She was already a Broadway legend when she made her feature film debut in 1964’s Mary

Poppins. Andrews’ iconic performance in the title role of the magical nanny brought her an Academy Award , a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.

The following year, she earned a second Oscar nomination, and won another Golden Globe Award for her unforgettable portrayal of Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music.

She received her third Academy Award nomination, and won another Golden Globe Award, for her dual role in Victor/Victoria in 1982. Today’s young film audiences may be more familiar with Andrews as a queen trying to train her teenaged granddaughter to be a princess in the hit films, The Princess Diaries, and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement, as well as Gru’s mother,

Julie Andrews: Lady Whistledown

Marlena, in the hugely successful Despicable Me, and Minion franchises. Andrews also voiced the character of Queen Lillian in the blockbuster hits Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, and Shrek Forever After. More recently, she voiced the narration of the very successful Disney release of Enchanted. In 2010, Ms. Andrews added to her multi-generational appeal with the release of The Tooth Fairy.

The series will be launched in 2020, in 8 one-hour episodes.

CREATOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Chris Van Dusen EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers

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Queer Eye Season 4 debuting 19 July!

Netflix has picked-up the Emmy® Award-winning Queer Eye for a fourth season, debuting July 19 with all episodes. Netflix has additionally ordered a fifth season, that will start production on June 24, 2019.

The Fab Five head east to Philadelphia for the fifth season, which will debut in 2020.

The Emmy® Award-winning Queer Eye returns ready to transform the stylistically challenged into hip and happening savants at the hands of the Fab Five. Now in its fourth season, Queer Eye’s fearless ambassadors of taste return to Kansas City, to bring their infectious brand of selflove, confidence, and encouragement to a whole new roster of heroes.

The series returned to Netflix in 2018, going global and introducing audiences around the world to a modern aesthetic, diverse perspectives, and a brand new Fab Five: Antoni Porowski (Food & Wine), Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming), Karamo Brown (Culture) and Tan France (Fashion).

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Queer Eye is executive produced by David Collins, Michael Williams and Rob Eric for Scout Productions. Jennifer Lane serves as the showrunner and executive producer.

David George, Adam Sher, David Eilenberg and Jordana Hochman serve as executive producers for ITV Entertainment.

Queer Eye Season 4 launches globally on Netflix July 19, 2019.

For more, go to: www.netflix.com/ queereye

New Fab Five Antoni Porowski (Food & Wine), Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming), Karamo Brown (Culture) and Tan France (Fashion)

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Taylor Swift releases song and petition for LGBTQ equality (Reuters) – Pop singer and songwriter Taylor Swift on Monday released a star-studded music video that scolded social media trolls and urged fans to sign a petition demanding U.S. legal protections for gays, lesbians and transgender people.

The video for Swift’s new single, You Need to Calm Down, featured a surprise cameo by former rival Katy Perry plus a host of other celebrities. Perry’s appearance signalled an end to a spat between the two musicians, which began in 2013 over backup singers in their shows.

Set in a pastel-coloured trailer park, the video featured Swift, 29, relaxing in a pool, while she called out her critics and those who attack LGBTQ people. “Shade never made anybody less gay”, she sang.

Celebrities in the video who identify as LGBTQ include Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Porter, RuPaul, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Adam Lambert, Hannah Hart and Tan France.

Swift, all smiles and outfitted as French fries, hugged Perry, 34, dressed as a hamburger, a costume she wore to last month’s Met Gala fundraiser at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Social media posts in 2018 suggested an end to their spat, which had played out in their songs. On Tuesday, Perry posted a photo on her Instagram account, with Swift being tagged, showing a plate of cookies with the words “Peace at last” appearing to be written in icing.

At the end of the new video, two sentences on screen urged fans to sign a petition urging the US Senate to pass legislation that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.

The measure has already cleared the House of Representatives.

“Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally”, it said.

The petition had collected more than 222,000 signatures within a few hours.

Swift, who has more than 118 million Instagram followers, has been stepped into politics in 2018 by supporting two Democrats running in congressional elections in Tennessee.

Voter registrations spiked in the state, but Swift’s“Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally”, it said. preferred candidate for Senate lost the election.

-Lisa Richwine

Taylor Swift at the iHeartRadio Wango Tango concert in Carson, California, June 1, 2019 – Image: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

“Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally”

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Top Gear uses rainbow-painted cars to protest Brunei anti-gay laws The presenters of the British TV show “Top Gear” have painted two cars used in an episode shot in Brunei in the colours of the rainbow flag, in a show of solidarity with LGBT+ people over a plan to impose the death penalty.

The episode was filmed in March, just before the small Southeast Asian country rolled out its interpretation of Islamic laws, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with death, including by stoning.

Brunei backtracked on the plan following a global backlash led by celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John.

The BBC, which broadcasts “Top Gear”, said former international cricketer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff and comedian Paddy McGuinness would not have gone to Brunei if they had known about the law.

“This was an issue that both Freddie and Paddy felt very strongly about and asked to address in the show,” a spokesman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“They would not have travelled to Brunei had these new laws been announced or implemented prior to departure.”

The message of inclusion is a change of tone for the show, whose previous host Jeremy Clarkson faced frequent criticism over comments seen as homophobic or offensive.

In 2007, Clarkson described a car on the show as “a bit gay”, and received criticism earlier this year for homophobic comments made on Amazon original show, The Grand Tour.

The episode will air in July with the rainbow-coloured cars used to film in Brunei displayed in the studio with the audience.

Amber Milne – Thomson Reuters Foundation

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Ukraine: Kiev hosts its biggest-ever Pride Parade (Reuters) – Ukrainian politicians and foreign diplomats joined thousands marching in a gay Pride parade in Kiev on Sunday, the biggest and most peaceful ever in the former Soviet country.

Crowds of people, many dressed in bright colours, paraded along streets in the centre of the Ukrainian capital, holding up banners saying: ‘Diversity is beautiful’, ‘Human rights = happy country’, ‘No violence – yes rights!’.

They were flanked by a thick cordon of police in helmets, but there was no sign of violence despite the presence of a few hundred protesters.

Sunday’s march in Kiev was part of Pride Month, celebrated by LGBT people around the world.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former comedian, who took office last month, has promoted a tolerant culture, saying he stands for all people’s equality and freedom.

much better”.

Zelenskiy’s office urged the police to prevent violence, and guarantee the safety of participants in the March of Equality.

“Ukraine’s Constitution states that citizens have equal constitutional rights and freedoms”, it said in a post on its Facebook page on Sunday morning.

Ruslana Panukhnyk, one of the organisers of the capital’s annual gay pride march, told journalists after the event that about 8,000 people had attended it, far more than 5,000 last year.

“We are satisfied with the cooperation with the police. There were some small incidents, but no injuries”, she said.

“The most important (thing) for us is human rights”.

“Our desire is to convey to a majority of people that LGBT is normality”, Eduard, a 17year-old tattoo artist, told Reuters.

Under Western-backed leadership, Ukraine’s parliament passed legislation in 2015 to ban discrimination in the workplace, as part of a series of laws Ukraine needed to pass to qualify for a visa-free travel agreement with the European Union.

“I am taking part for the fifth time. Ukraine is making significant progress compared to previous years, security and organization are

“Thank you to the police and other law enforcement agencies for protecting today’s Pride event in Kiev”, Judith Gough, the

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Participants at the Equality March, in Kiev, Ukraine, June 23, 2019 – Image: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

British ambassador to Ukraine, who joined the march, wrote in a tweet.

She posted pictures of herself and other Western ambassadors who participated in the event.

William B. Taylor, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Ukraine, wrote in a tweet: “We stand with all Ukrainians striving for equality and non-discrimination”.

The government has increased support for LGBT rights, since a Western-backed leadership came to power in 2014, but critics say homophobic attitudes remain relatively widespread.

Almost 47% of Ukrainians think that rights of sexual minorities should be limited, while 37.5% are against restrictions, and 15.6% do not have an opinion, according to a survey published by independent think-tank, Democratic Initiatives, last December. It interviewed 1,998 people.

Sunday’s march was a far cry from violent clashes witnessed at the same event in 2015, but protesters also made their voices heard.

“We are for God and Ukraine… For us it is important that people, who have a sexual sin, do not make propaganda out of it”, Oksana Korchynska, a member of the opposition Radical Party, which says it promotes family values, told Reuters. She joined a few hundred protesters at the event.

Police detained nine men on Saturday, who allegedly were planning protests, but police said they had seen no reason to detain anyone on Sunday.

Last year, Kiev police detained 56 members of nationalist groups, after scuffles before the march.

-Natalia Zinets (eile.ie 24 June 2019)

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Folau starts crowdfunding campaign to fight sacking (Reuters) – Sacked Australia fullback, Israel Folau, has launched a crowd-funding campaign, seeking A$3 million (£1.6 million) to help fund his legal action against Rugby Australia and the New South Wales Waratahs, as he fights his termination in court.

Folau, who was sacked last month for an offensive social media post, had already raised A$240,000 from more than 2,500 people within 12 hours of his campaign going live on crowdfunding website Gofundme.com early on Friday.

The fundamentalist Christian was found guilty of a “high-level breach” of Rugby Australia’s code of conduct after he posted on social media that hell awaits “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers” and other groups.

He said his action was “about defending the right to religious freedom”, and he needed the money to prepare for a long legal battle after spending over A$100,000 fighting his termination unsuccessfully during RA’s code of conduct hearing.

“Rugby Australia have already said that they will ‘divert significant resources’ to fight me in court”, the 30-year-old said on his Gofundme page.

“Even if I win, Rugby Australia can appeal. There is every chance that a prominent test case like this could take years and eventually end up in the High Court of Australia.

“The money I am asking for is solely to fund the rest of my action in court”.

Folau’s contract, which he signed late last year, was worth a reported A$5 million.

The 73-test fullback was one of the country’s highest paid players, after crossing to the code in 2013 from Australian Rules football.

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Rugby Union – England v Australia – Twickenham Stadium, London, November 24, 2018 – Australia’s Israel Folau runs in to score their first try – Image: REUTERS/ Toby Melville/File Photo

Following a lucrative career in Australia’s National Rugby League, he played two relatively unsuccessful seasons with the Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2011-12, while on a bumper multi-million dollar contract.

Folau on Friday gave his first media interview since his dismissal, to radio host and former Wallabies coach, Alan Jones, a long-time critic of Rugby Australia, and its CEO, Raelene Castle.

“When I said things that come from the bible, it comes from a place of love”, Folau said.

“From my perspective I’m always about sharing that from a place of love and believing in the bible, that people have the opportunity to hear that.

“So that they do repent if they choose to and turn away from that and have an opportunity to be in heaven one day, which is what I long for people to choose to do”.

News of the campaign drew a mixed response on social media, and triggered opposing crowdfunding campaigns to fight Folau’s cause.

Former Wallabies winger, and TV pundit, Drew Mitchell, was scathing of his erstwhile teammate, and compared Folau’s campaign with others seeking funds for sick children.

“YOU are in a fight that YOU chose to be in after YOU broke the terms of YOUR contract, the kids below are in a fight they NEVER wanted to be in & yet YOU think YOU deserve donations more than they do??!!” Mitchell wrote on Twitter.

“It’s no longer about religion, it’s about YOU and YOUR greed”. (eile.ie 24 June 2019)

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Thousands march in Romanian capital’s pride parade (Reuters) – Thousands of people joined an LGBT pride march in Bucharest on Saturday, nearly a year after Romania held a failed referendum to ban same sex marriage.

Romanians boycotted the vote, with dozens of human rights groups warning a successful referendum would have emboldened further attempts to chip away at the rights of minority groups and push Romania onto a populist track.

Socially conservative Romania, which decriminalised homosexuality in 2001, decades after its neighbours, bars marriage and civil partnerships for same sex couples.

Immediately after the failed referendum, the ruling Social Democrats said they would introduce legislation to legalise civil unions for same-sex couples, but there has been little progress in parliament.

On Saturday, roughly 10,000 people braved rain showers and marched the length of Bucharest’s iconic Calea Victoriei, dancing and waving rainbow flags. Organisers said the march was larger than last year’s pride parade.

Romania ranks near the bottom of EU states based on legislation, hate speech and discrimination against LGBT people, according to an annual study by ILGA-Europe, an umbrella organisation advocating equality.

“I am here for equality, I want to be allowed to live my life,” said Alina, 23.

As in previous years, there was a countermarch in Bucharest in support of traditional family values, but the event was poorly attended.

Smaller pride marches were held in other cities this year.

Last year, a civil society group secured signatures for a vote aimed at preventing gay couples from winning the right to marry in the future. The referendum was backed by the Orthodox Church and all parliamentary parties but one.

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-Luiza Ilie (eile.ie 23 June 2019)

Supporters and activists of the LGBT community at Bucharest Pride 2019, June 22 2019 – Image: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS

“I am here for equality, I want to be allowed to live my life,” said Alina, 23.

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Information and support for women who need someone to talk to

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US - Psychoanalysts apologise for past labelling of homosexuality as illness (Reuters) – The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) apologised on Friday for previously treating homosexuality as a mental illness, saying its past errors contributed to discrimination and trauma for LGBTQ people.

It may be the first US medical or mental health organisation to issue such an apology.

Although psychiatrists declassified homosexuality as a disorder in 1973, and psychoanalysts came around nearly 20 years later, the APsaA says it is unaware of any related professional group that had apologised. “It is long past time to recognize and apologize for our role in the discrimination and trauma

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caused by our profession and say, ‘We are sorry,’” said a statement by Dr. Lee Jaffe, president of APsaA. The group uses that abbreviation to distinguish it from the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

Jaffe announced the apology on Friday at the opening session of the group’s 109th annual meeting in San Diego, drawing a standing ovation from about 200 people present, witnesses said. Jaffe said his group has long been active in promoting LGBTQ rights but had yet to put its contrition into words.

“It’s hard to admit that one has been so wrong,” Jaffe said.

One Los Angeles-based analyst said the audience interpreted the moment as significant.

“As someone who comes from a long line of analysts who have been fighting for LGBT people, this felt like a watershed moment,” Dr. Justin Shubert said.

The change in the medical community’s thinking about homosexuality and Friday’s apology both stem from a seminal event in LGBTQ history 50 years ago: the Stonewall uprising.

Patrons of a New York City gay bar called the Stonewall Inn fought back against police harassment in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, triggering the start of the modern movement for the rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

New York police recently apologised for the raid and discriminatory laws of the time, which prompted APsaA to issue its apology, said Dr. Jack Drescher, an APsaA member and leading authority on the history of psychiatric and psychological treatment of LGBTQ people.

people for the 50th anniversary of Stonewall next week, and gay pride parades will be celebrated around the world on June 30.

LGBTQ activists disrupted the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in 1970 in San Francisco. The protests upended the convention so much, Drescher said, that by December 1973 the APA’s board removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

But APsaA did not change its position until 1991 when, under threat of an antidiscrimination lawsuit, it allowed the training of gay and lesbian psychoanalysts, Drescher said.

APsaA went on to become an early supporter of same-sex marriage and opponent of “conversion therapy” aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation.

In 2012, psychiatrist Dr. Robert Spitzer on his own apologised for authoring an influential study 11 years earlier that supported reparative therapy to ‘cure’ homosexuality.

Today, APsaA and other professional organisations view being gay as a normal variant of human sexuality, but until now have yet to express how wrong they were before, Drescher said.

“They did the work of apologizing but they did not say the words,” Drescher said. “If the police commissioner of New York City could do it, why couldn’t we do something similar?”

-Daniel Trotta (eile.ie 23 June 2019)

New York is expecting as many as 4 million

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Lulise Image: Cody Burdette

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