The Georgia Voice - 2/15/13 Vol.3, Issue 25

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Editor: Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com Deputy Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Web Manager: Ryan Watkins rwatkins@thegavoice.com Art Director: Bo Shell bshell@thegavoice.com Contributors: Melissa Carter, Brent Corcoran, Jim Farmer, Shannon Hames, Topher Payne, Matt Schafer, Steve Warren, Ryan Lee

BUSINESS

Publisher: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com

—Equally Blessed, an LGBT Catholic organization, responding to the surprise announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning. (The New Civil Rights Movement,” Feb. 11)

Associate Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

BOARD OF ADVISERS

Richard Eldredge, Sandy Malcolm, Lynn Pasqualetti, Robert Pullen All material in the Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission.

Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

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The editorial positions of the Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Georgia Voice and its staff.

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“I’ll keep speaking out against every single hypocritical jackass who tries to use ‘for the children’ as a shield for intolerance and bigotry.”

— Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who has used his prominence in the NFL to speak out against homphobia, accepting an award from the Family Equality Council.

(Advocate.com, Feb. 11)

Do we need religion to win LGBT rights? Page 4 By the numbers: God and gays. Page 7 Gay clergy share coming out stories. Page 8 Grant Henry goes to ‘Church.’ Page 10

VIEWS Debate: The future of Cheshire Bridge Road. Page 11

NEWS Gay man seeks seat on Atlanta City Council. Page 12 Lesbian state rep. aims to stop public funds for anti-gay schools. Page 13

Theater: ‘Angry Fags’ bashes back. Page 17 Food Porn: House of Gay Human Oddities. Page 18 Girlyman’s Tylan goes solo. Page 19 Gay Israeli love story ‘Yossi’ returns to Atlanta. Page 19

“Discrimination based on sexual orientation no longer has a place in the military. … Our work must now expand to changing our policies and practices to ensure fairness and equal treatment and to taking care of all of our Service members and their families, to the extent allowable under law.”

— Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, announcing that same-sex domestic partners of service members will be eligible for some military benefits not prohibited by the Defense of Marriage Act. (Pentagon memorandum, Feb. 11)

FAITH & RELIGION

Your LGBT guide to Academy Awards. Page 15

— NBA star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, responding via Twitter to someone using “you’re gay” as an insult. In 2011, Bryant was fined $100,000 for calling an NBA official a fag. (CBS Sports, Feb. 11)

Photo by Keith Allison/CC 2.0

Sales Executive: Marshall Graham mgraham@thegavoice.com

02.15.13

A&E

“Just letting you know… that using ‘your gay’ as a way to put someone down ain’t ok! #notcool delete that out ur vocab”

Screen capture from TheGrio.com video interview

EDITORIAL

“With the pope’s impending resignation, the church has an opportunity to turn away from his oppressive policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics, and their families and friends, and develop a new understanding of the ways in which God is at work in the lives of faithful and loving people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

CALENDAR Pages 20-23

COLUMNISTS That’s What She Said: Melissa Carter doesn’t want to ‘Share the Road.’ Page 25 Domestically Disturbed: Topher Payne gets even on a Delta flight. Page 26

“I would like to play a lesbian. I don’t know why. And do a whole make-out scene and the whole thing; just something completely different than people would expect from me. Not a lipstick lesbian, either.”

GLAAD publicity photo

PO Box 77401 Atlanta, GA 30357 404-815-6941 | www.thegavoice.com

Photo via Archive of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland - prezydent.pl

The Georgia Voice

OUTSPOKEN IN THEIR OWN WORDS

— Grammy-winning singer Toni Braxton, after announcing her retirement from recording music in an interview with The Grio, on a role she would like as she puts her energy into acting (TheGrio.com, Feb. 8)

CORRECTION: This photo of Louis Gary (right) and Rocky Nixon from the Feb. 1, 2013, issue should have been credited to Louis Lindic, courtesy Fenuxe Magazine. facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice

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Faith & Religion

Rights vs. rites Do we need religion to win LGBT equality?

Fighting faith with faith

To be certain, religion remains a battleground.

While some 70 percent of lesbian, gay and bi-

Spiritual Resources NATIONAL LGBT GROUPS’ FAITH PROGRAMS These organizations counter anti-gay religious bigotry and support LGBT rights from a religious perspective.

Human Rights Campaign Religion & Faith Program www.hrc.org/issues/religion-faith National Gay & Lesbian Task Force • Institute for Welcoming Resources • National Religious Leadership Roundtable www.thetaskforce.org/issues/faith

By Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com Last month, five gay couples lined up at the DeKalb County Probate Court to ask for marriage licenses. In a poignant protest, all were denied, as Georgia law bans gay marriage.

A handful of local LGBT and allied clergy were on hand as “peacekeepers” for the protest, part of the “We Do” project organized by the Campaign for Southern Equality.

As the couples and a crowd of about 50 supporters marched to the courthouse, they were led

by Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who wore her clerical collar. Before entering, they gathered in a prayer circle on the lawn.

For a protest targeting the lack of a civil right — marriage for same-sex couples — much of the event had the air of a religious rite.

“For many, this is an act of spiritual witness as much as it is a political act and I believe it’s vital that they have the robust and visible support of faith leaders and people of faith as they do this,” said Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality.

For most of the more than 40 years since the Stonewall Riots kicked off the modern gay rights movement, debates over LGBT issues were cast as gay people on one side, religious people on the other.

The “God vs. gays” divide was never completely true, as there have always been both religious LGBT people and non-gay religious people who support LGBT equality.

But it has become especially inaccurate over the last decade, as mainstream religious denominations moved toward gay inclusion and gay rights organizations made a concerted effort to include faith and religion on their agendas.

“The terrain in the religious world is changing quickly,” Beach-Ferrara said. “The debate about homosexuality and LGBT rights is ultimately rooted in diverging religious beliefs; for many years, religious voices condemning homosexuality were loudest in this debate, but that’s changing quickly as more faith traditions are speaking and acting publicly to support the full equality of LGBT people.”

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LGBT-FOUNDED DENOMINATIONS Metropolitan Community Churches www.Mccchurch.org Unity Fellowship Church Movement www.unityfellowshipchurch.org

MAINSTREAM DENOMINATIONS These organizations advocate for LGBT inclusion within their respective denominations or faiths.

Catholic | Dignity USA www.dignityusa.org Catholic | Rainbow Sash Alliance www.rainbowsashallianceusa.org On Jan. 7, Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara led five couples and more than 50 supporters to the DeKalb County Probate Court to protest Georgia’s law banning gay marriage. While marriage is a civil right, the protest also evoked religious rites through group prayer. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

sexual people identify as Christian, according to a 2009 survey by the Barna Group, a Gallup poll in December 2012 found that “religion/Bible says its wrong” remains the most-cited reason for opposing gay marriage.

“The greatest deterrent domestically and globally to our capacity to change hearts and minds on LGBT issues remains religious opposition,” said Sharon Groves, director of the Religion & Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT political group.

The National Lesbian & Gay Task Force also cites specific programs related to religion, as do many smaller LGBT groups.

HRC’s effort was launched in 2005 to counter the Religious Right, Groves said.

“It was created in direct response to the 2004 elections where ‘family values’ were lauded as on the side of the religious right,” she said. “We

knew as a community that we had to showcase the great work that was being done in religious communities and create a drumbeat for future work in those spaces.”

Even organizations dedicated to keeping government and religion apart recognize the role of faith leaders in advocating for LGBT equality.

“I think for many years, if not decades, religion was the foremost enemy to LGBT civil rights,” said Rev. Steven C. Baines, assistant field director for religious outreach for Americans United for Separation of Church & State.

“This has changed greatly due to the tireless efforts of so many s/heroes of the faith who told our stories, who never gave up hope that people’s hearts can be changed, and who truly believed that God was bigger than any prejudice or oppression,” he noted.

While the Campaign for Southern Equality is not a religious organization, faith plays an integral role in the organization’s efforts, BeachFerrara said.

“We do talk about faith in our work and include interfaith religious elements in the We Do Please see FAITH, confinued on Page 6

Episcopal | Integrity USA www.integrityusa.org Jewish | World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Jews www.glbtjews.org Lutheran | Lutherans Concerned www.lcna.org Mormon | Affirmation www.affirmation.org Muslim | Al Fatiha www.al-fatiha.org Presbyterian | More Light Presbyterians www.mlp.org Seventh Day Adventist | Kinship International www.sdakinship.org United Methodist | Affirmation www.umaffirm.org Unitarian Universalists Office of Bi, Gay, Lesbian & Trans Concerns www.archive.uua.org/obgltc/ United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns www.ucccoalition.org LGBT Ministries: www.ucc.org/lgbt

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Faith & Religion

www.theGAVoice.com

‘Religious freedom’ is for LGBT advocates, too FAITH, confinued from Page 4 Campaign,” she said, “as a way to express how people’s faith beliefs motivate them to act for full equality.”

‘War on religious freedom’

Religious conservatives, once winning in the culture war, now find themselves facing opposition both in the courts and the court of public opinion. And with appeals to “family values” no longer working in the general public, many now seek to reframe the debate as one over “religious freedom.”

Take the recent Georgia case of Jennifer Keeton, a counseling student at Augusta State University who was expelled after she failed to complete a remediation plan designed to help her learn more about LGBT people. Keeton had stated that she would counsel a patient that homosexuality is immoral, a violation of ethical polices that require counselors not to impose their own moral attitudes on their clients.

Keeton’s attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund argued that her First Amendment right to freedom of religion was violated. Keeton lost her lawsuit, but conservative legal foundations are using the same strategy in several others.

With some gay rights opponents claiming that having to comply with pro-LGBT laws or policies violates their right to religious freedom, is it dangerous to frame arguments for LGBT civil rights in religious terms?

“The backlash that I think people hear or read about comes from those who use the lives and loves of LGBT people as a political wedge,” says Baines of Americans United. “This socalled ‘war on religious freedom’ is nothing more than the same snake oil that has been used by opponents to opponents to incite fear amongst a certain political base.”

Still, LGBT advocates need to be cautious, said HRC’s Groves.

“I think we need to be careful not to argue for a shift in public policy on the basis of faith,” she said, while adding, “The religious right, however, does not hold a monopoly on religious freedom.

“Many mainline Protestant and Jewish denominations and an increasing number of ordinary people of faith watch their religious freedom curtailed when they are told they cannot advocate for LGBT equality,” Groves said.

“Arguing for LGBT equality from a faith perspective is about engaging hearts and mind, it isn’t about making policy based on religion.”

Beyond backlash

While “marriage equality is most definitely a church-state separation issue,” the visibility of LGBT people of faith is actually a good answer to the “religious freedom” backlash, Baines said.

“People of faith are worshipping in the same pews as their LGBT friends and neighbors and they have come to realize that their own religious freedom is not threatened when the equality of all is affirmed and celebrated in their communities,” he said. “What is losing in the court of public opinion is the notion that religious belief is a legitimate excuse for prejudice and discrimination.”

For Beach-Ferrara, the benefits of LGBT religious visibility outweigh any drawbacks.

“Some backlash may occur, but the greater truth is that we are expressing fundamental moral truths in the public square, using voices of faith and of conscience,” she said. “Some with different religious beliefs may fear that their rights will be encroached on, but there’s no evidence of that, nor is there an intent to do that.…

“I’m personally prepared to assume the risk of such backlash if it means, for example, that LGBT youth are hearing affirmative religious voices telling them they are whole and equal people,” she said.

Conservatives who oppose gay rights are now seeking to frame the debate in terms of ‘religious freedom,’ as in the Georgia case of Jennifer Keeton, a counseling student who argued that her First Amendment rights were violated when Augusta State University expelled her after she failed to complete a remediation plan designed to help her develop empathy for LGBT people. (File photo)

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Faith & Religion

www.theGAVoice.com

Gay clergy open up about coming out A strong relationship with God allowed local religious leaders to accept themselves

Rev. Maressa Pendermon

by Dyana Bagby | dbagby@thegavoice.com

Unity Fellowship Church

Rabbi Josh Lesser Congregation Bet Haverim www.congregationbethaverim.org

When and how did you come out?

Coming out is a continual process but for me it began in high school. I knew I was different but had no language for it except to say that I was the most popular loner.

I wrestled with an eating disorder in part to continue my hiding, but started attending a support group on my own without anyone’s knowledge my senior year.

There I became friends with a gay college art student, a bisexual punk rock chick and a straight beauty queen. We joked we were our own “Breakfast Club.” I was presumably straight.

They were at my high school graduation.

When it was time to receive my diploma I received a standing ovation, and I had this Sally Fields revelation that people really liked me and I burst in tears. Later I met up with my gay friend and I began to tear up again and he leaned in and kissed me.

Six years later, I applied to seminary and in doing so I knew that I had to be out in every facet of my life if becoming a rabbi were to have

Read more online:

See what these clergy would say to those who use religion to justify discrimination, plus their messages to LGBT people who have been hurt by the church: www.thegavoice.com

itegrity. And so shortly after telling my parents I was becoming a rabbi, I surprised them again by telling them I was gay.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

I went to a traditional Jewish day school so I received loudly and clearly the message that homosexuality was a sin, which delayed my coming out and had me fear losing everything I held dear.

On the other hand, I was given the messages that social justice was a precious value and that

each of us had a part to play in restoring the world and reaching out to others. Similarly, the ability to question and think critically were spiritual gifts given to me in school.

Together they were lifelines to reconstruct a contemporary Judaism building on a feminist reinvesting of Judaism that allowed me to find a way back to my spiritual life.

I also cannot forget how my sister who had the same education would remind me that love was holy. When trying to come out to my parents, she encouraged me to do it over a Shabbat dinner. Connecting this truth to the sacredness of the holy day and to family was a beautiful gift and way to frame my sexuality and identity as holy and a part of my spirituality.

Ultimately, though I could not get the words out of my mouth and left them a letter, but my sister’s vision remains with me as the right way to claim all of who I am, a gay spiritual Jewish man.

Rev. Dr. Kathi E. Martin Creator and Executive Director of The Interactive Faith Cafe, Inc. www.theinteractivefaithcafe.com

When and how did you come out?

I came out to myself over 30 years ago when I recognized my attraction to women. I came out to my family about two years later when my mother asked if I was gay. I initially told her I was bisexual to try to soften the shock. I fully came out to the rest of the community about 17 years ago after leaving a denomination where I could not serve as my full, authentic self.

When and how did you come out?

Coming out for me is an ongoing process as opposed to a specific event.

I came out to myself and my maternal grandmother when I was 11 years old.

I came out to most of my family and friends in my 20s.

Then in my 30s I came out to myself and others who were interested as same-sex attracted and un-apologetically Christian. I am 48 years old now and I suspect that my journey will take me to places where I will have to come out again and again.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

Religion delayed my ability to come out publicly and to accept my coming out to myself because my religion had taught me to hate who I am. I spent several years trying to be straight and/or trying to die.

Then my relationship with God compelled me to live authentically. It is one thing to be led by the rules of religion and quite another to be led by the Spirit that is Love.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

I have had a strong belief in God throughout my entire life. My awareness of God helped me through times of abuse, loss, fear and loneliness.

I could not understand how good Christian people could condemn me to hell for loving someone of the same gender.

That did not sound like the view of the God who was present with me through life while knowing my full identity including my sexual orientation. The God that I knew was a God of love, inclusion and liberation. I fully embraced myself as a same-gender-loving woman because I knew God embraced me.

Faith & Religion

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First Metropolitan Community Church www.firstmcc.com

Josh Noblitt Minister of Social Justice Saint Mark United Methodist Church www.stmarkumc.org When and how did you come out?

I came out during my first year of seminary at Emory after a long discernment process with my faith, and reframing the word “gay” for myself, because it had been used as a derogatory term toward me growing up.

Once I met other people of faith who were openly gay and living lives of integrity and love, and embraced the term “gay” as a connection with an amazing community of people like me instead of a term that was meant to make me feel bad about myself, the rest was easy. I busted out of the prison that was in my own mind.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

I was fortunate to have had a great experience in church growing up. I had lots of mentors in church who cared about the needs of the poor and oppressed and taught me that loving God involves finding out who is oppressed in any given situation and making sure I’m standing on the same side that they are.

In seminary, I had the opportunity to study the original language that the scriptures were written in, as well as study the evolution of Christian thought ... and realized that the central message of loving God, self and neighbor was a constant, whereas cultural norms were constantly changing but seemed to be evolving toward inclusion of all people as children of God. Once I finally came out of the closet, I felt a huge weight lifted and knew that embracing all of myself was indeed an act of loving God, self and neighbor.

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I resigned my church that day and began an exciting journey of living, loving and pastoring just as I was intended to. I transferred my credentials to a one of the oldest inclusive denominations in America, the Metropolitan Community Church, and never looked back.

Rev. T. Paul Graetz When and how did you come out?

It was 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning in May 1989. I was alone in the fundamentalist Assemblies of God Church I pastored. I was preparing for Sunday worship and I paused, questioning who am I and what am I doing as I struggled with the inner truth that I was gay. I was in a homophobic world that taught me self-hatred and shame and its message was in total conflict with my personal experience with the Divine.

I began to pray the prayer I’d prayed all my life since age 9 when I first became aware of homosexuality. “Lord, make me the man you want me to be,” I prayed and I felt as if a voice inside said, “I did. You are the man I want you

February 15, 2013

to be — a gay man.”

It was a great moment of self-acceptance and I began to shout out loud, in the sanctuary, “I’m gay, I’m gay, I’m gay.” Fortunately I was all alone.

The power of accepting who I am and my truth was so amazing it ignited my spiritual, emotional and physical life.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

I was a preacher’s kid and I knew God loved me in spite of what the church or my father, a Pentecostal pastor, said. It wasn’t so much religion and its rituals that played a role in my coming out but a spirituality shared through my religious experience that called me to a greater understanding of who I was and my purpose in this world.

This spirituality expressed in an awareness of who and what God really is called me to look beyond the messages of self-hatred, fear and ignorance to experience the power of living and loving as we are intended to be.

Rev. Michael Piazza

Assistant Pastor New Covenant Church of Atlanta www.newcovenantatlanta.com When and how did you come out?

In 1998 I came out or was outed by my family who noticed me with a woman and asked if she was a lesbian.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

Religion was a big part of my life and it took a lot of studying scripture and talking with others to understand the Bible is for me, not against me.

Virginia Highland Church www.vhchurch.org When and how did you come out?

I came out in seminary at Emory when I fell in love with a gay classmate. I came out very publicly when the MCC was fire-bombed and the police called me at home. I came down to the church and my picture ended up on the front page of the Atlanta Journal & Constitution Sunday edition.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

My parents are poor rednecks from South Georgia but the one thing they made clear to me was that no matter what happened in life they loved me. Somehow I always believed that God

Joan Castle

was like that and so it felt safe to deal honestly with who I was.

When I met my partner it was the most natural thing in the world to get married in a church, even though that was 1980.

Elder Antonio Jones

Unity Fellowship Church www.unityfellowshipchurch.org When and how did you come out?

The short version is that I was outed by my exwife. The church then discovered that I was samesex attracted and attempted to “deliver” me. After several episodes of this failed attempt to “deliver” me, I delivered myself from the bondage of oppression I experienced in that church and into the wonderful bliss I experienced when I finally knew that God created me to be gay.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

Interestingly, religion contributed to my internalized homophobia and my self hatred. But today, it is religion, so to speak, that ushered me (no pun intended) into the realization that denial of my sexual orientation was a denial of one the greatest gifts that God gave me.

Religion created a thirst in me that could only be quenched by understanding why God would create someone that he detests or by understanding that this statement was absolutely wrong. My

Rev. Glenna T. Shepherd Senior Minister Decatur United Church of Christ www.decaturucc.org

former church taught me that that God could not and would not love anyone who is same-sex attracted. I was taught that my very presence as a gay man would cause God to vomit.

It did not make sense to me and I knew I did not “choose” to be gay so I continued to seek God’s voice and God spoke clearly through my denomination which taught me that “God loves me just the way that I am.” One might say I lost God and found God through religion.

When and how did you come out?

I came out when I fell in love with a woman. That was in the late ‘80s. Coming out was easy — because it made my life make sense. All the details were more challenging — the usual church and family issues.

How did religion play a role in you coming out?

When I stepped into an authentic life, I was finally able to “get” what God was nudging me to do. This is significant, as it taught me the importance of telling the truth regardless of the consequences. At my ordination, the primary promise that I made to God, myself, and the Church was to tell the truth as I see it — spiritually, theologically, politically, personally and pastorally.

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Faith & Religion

www.theGAVoice.com

Grant Henry comes to Jesus

Atlanta bar ‘Church’ provides a different kind of haven

by Dyana Bagby | dbagby@thegavoice.com About 25 years ago, Grant Henry had one of many come to Jesus moments.

And that moment led eventually to who he is now — owner of the popular bar, Church, located on Edgewood Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward.

It is at Church that Henry’s alter ego Sister Louisa hangs her hundreds of religiousthemed paintings, while a mannequin dressed as a nun, representing Sister Louisa, swings from the ceiling with her junk peeking out of her underwear.

But back to the mid 1980s.

Henry was the deacon of the First Presbyterian Church in Marietta at the time. He was married to a woman 15 years his elder, who had two children. He was making big bucks as a salesman. And as a member of the church, he was learning that being a serious Christian meant following serious rules.

In 1986, the church rented an apartment, furnished and decorated it, and wanted to give it to a poor family. So Henry, who sold insurance and benefit packages to major companies at the time, drove to the home of a family in need to offer them free housing for a year.

“I was just coming from an appointment where my commission was going to be like $40,000. I had a new Mercedes, a three-piece suit, and I’m buying into this, ‘We’re going to do something for you, you poor people,’” he recalled.

Henry talked to the grandmother, the head of the household where some 13 people were living in one small apartment, and offered the new, bigger home and help for people to find jobs.

“The woman looked at me and said thank you very much. There are probably a lot of families who need this home, she said, but we have Jesus so we are fine,” he said.

Henry climbed back into his car and was driving on I-75 when he said he had to pull over because he was crying so hard.

“Here she was, willing to live with the consequences by telling the truth. And I was so fucked up. I had given up an authentic life to make everyone around me happy,” he said.

Henry said he drove home, told his wife he had to leave, and drove to Florida, visiting the hospital where he was born, the houses he grew up in, and the colleges he attended.

He came back to Marietta after a week and told his wife he wanted a separation. He was 29.

Grant Henry, 56, opened the bar Church in the Old Fourth Ward in 2010 and has no problem filling the pews. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

‘They’re only words’

That conversation with that grandmother led Henry to attend Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. He furthered his education at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, where he was set to be ordained as a minister.

All he had to do was say, “Only through Jesus Christ is salvation possible.”

But Henry felt he couldn’t say those words truthfully — he knew there were people in the world who didn’t know about Jesus, and those who received some kind of salvation through another path.

His teachers told him that he was a great preacher, he would gain a large church, his children would receive a great education. He could even have a beach house.

All he had to do was say those words.

“They’re only words,” they told him.

“And I looked at those people and it just resonated to me, ‘They’re only words.’ I went to seminary because of these words this woman said. I couldn’t say those words, so I left the church.”

Back in Atlanta, Henry opened an antique shop in East Atlanta and began collecting tacky Jesus paintings. They didn’t sell, but he was drawn to the paintings and hung them everywhere in his store.

One day, local writer and humorist Hollis Gillespie walked in, loved everything he had in his store and asked Henry to decorate her home in the Telephone Factory Lofts. The two became close friends and he became a character in Gillespie’s Creative Loafing column, where

he was often identified as gay.

He acknowledged that shortly after exiting seminary when he was in his 40s, he began dating an Episcopal priest who was almost 20 years older.

“We had so much in common and I had never felt this way for a man,” Henry said of the priest he dated.

Today, Henry is not in a relationship but says he can have sex with women and men. He doesn’t like the word bisexual, however.

“Maybe I’m an opportunist,” he said with a laugh.

Another ‘Church’

It was during the 2000s that Henry, armed with oil paint markers purchased from Office Depot, began writing on the many Jesus and other kitschy paintings he had accrued over the years. “Nothing harder than a preacher’s dick” and “Higher the hair, closer to God” became popular sayings. And Sister Louisa gained a following.

Henry opened Church — officially, Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium — in 2010 after working a decade at The Local on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. Some people enjoy the art while others will walk in the bar, look around, and then slowly back out, Henry said.

The bar is performance art, Henry explained.

And the sayings are, simply, just words.

“My art doesn’t tell anything about me, but it does tell something about the person who sees the art,” he said.

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February 15, 2013

GA Voice

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VIEWS

THE FUTURE OF CHESHIRE BRIDGE Pending legislation could change the strip known for girly clubs, gay bars and more POINT:

Time to revitalize, not sterilize Cheshire Bridge

By Alex Wan At a recent public hearing, a speaker describing Cheshire Bridge Road as “the most wonderful street in Atlanta” drew chuckles from the audience. That the comment elicited laughs sadly captures the disappointment many hold in how the corridor falls far short of its real potential.

Over a decade ago, nearby residents, businesses, property owners and city planners undertook a long, collaborative public process to design a vision for the area. Their work resulted in the Cheshire Bridge Road Study adopted by the city of Atlanta in 1999.

Six years later, the zoning changes corresponding to that plan were enacted, creating two neighborhood commercial (NC) districts along the street, but in the eight years since 2005, no more meaningful progress has been made.

Admittedly, part is attributable to the economic downturn. However, another factor, on which this legislation is based, is the presence of “non-conforming uses” inconsistent with the NC plan which prevents significant, transformational investments in the corridor.

Fundamentally, I believe when stakeholders come together and painstakingly craft a vision for their community, the city should do everything possible to help achieve that plan. Any less disenfranchises those who invested time, energy and, importantly, hope into improving our city, while further discouraging similar future efforts everywhere else.

My legislation aims to achieve that by removing certain obstacles the city feels discourage new projects that could bring us closer to realization.

Fears that the corridor will lose its character are unfounded. Opponents who claim these efforts will “sterilize” the area and make it more like Buckhead or suburbia demonstrate their failure to understand the basic NC district concept.

One needs look no further than to other Atlanta NC districts for better comparisons. Virginia-Highland, East Atlanta Village, Kirkwood and Little Five Points have clearly succeeded in maintaining their unique charm.

For clarification, local favorites Heretic, Jun-

COUNTERPOINT:

Save Cheshire Bridge from Alex Wan and the gentrifiers

gle and BJ Roosters lie outside the NC boundar- By Matthew Cardinale ies and are exempt from this legislation. Nonetheless, NC districts explicitly allow for bars and Cheshire Bridge Road: alluring, risque, clubs, evidenced by their presence in those areas diverse, authentic, vibrant, alive, and now... mentioned previously. endangered because of people like Atlanta And while some warn that a similar fate City Councilman Alex Wan, the openly awaits these establishments as that of Back- gay official whose District 6 includes both street, the zoning dynamics in Midtown are Cheshire Bridge Road and Midtown. dramatically different (Special Public Interest Recently, we learned of a zoning effort to districts/Commercial change the character of Improvement District), Cheshire Bridge by getmaking it less likely for ting rid of restaurants, Legislation sponsored by City that to happen here. bars, clubs, and stores Councilmember Alex Wan would I have heard from that were grandfathered curb “legal, non-conforming” those who support and in as part of a 2005 rebusinesses — including all “adult oppose this legislation. zoning. Now Mr. Wan businesses” and auto maintenance While some are trying wants to go back and services, plus some other busito paint this as negaget rid of grandpa. nesses that don’t meet size restrictively impacting the gay The legal aspects of tions — that were grandfathered in community, they would this do not bode well when two Neighborhood Commerclearly be surprised at the for Wan nor for the cial Districts were enacted for the large number of LGBT neighborhoods he purCheshire Bridge corridor in 2005. folks who have shared portedly represents, as Wan’s legislation would give with me their excitement they have proposed an the prohibited businesses an auover the prospect of livillegal “taking.” tomatic two years to cease operaing, working and playing This “taking” is tions, with the option to appeal for near a revitalized corridor about the ongoing proja longer period. containing a broader mix ect of gentrification, hoLast month, the Zoning Review of shops, restaurants and mogenization, sterilizaBoard deferred the legislation unother amenities that the tion and capitalization of til March 7; Wan said another dearea really should have. a historic neighborhood. ferral is likely. After the board, the I fully appreciate that I have been fortulegislation would be considered by even with this legislation, nate enough to live the City Council’s zoning commitchanges won’t happen off of Cheshire Bridge tee and then the full council. overnight. However, I since 2011, in a jewel appreciate that the comof a multi-racial community and businesses munity on Woodland that have stuck by the Avenue, that is one of corridor through thick the last bastions of afand thin and have all waited patiently — at least fordable, multifamily rental housing in all of 14 years and counting — for some meaningful Buckhead and Midtown. changes to begin happening.

This is what Wan and his second-wave This legislation aims to restore their hope gentrifiers wish to destroy the most, so they that their efforts were not in vain. can make way for more repulsive condos and luxury apartments made of ticky tacky that Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan rep- no working family can afford. resents District 6. He is also the first openly gay Cheshire Bridge, in my view, became the man to serve on the Council. new Midtown several years ago after the sec-

ond wave of gentrification in Midtown entered full swing, displacing the working class homosexuals who fixed up the place.

So, do we, the gay community, allow the Jungle and the Heretic to go the same way as Backstreet? Do we allow another community to be yuppified, buppified, and sterilized — forcing us, the gays who wish to party, to some industrial area in the outskirts like Mr. Wan envisions, perhaps Fulton Industrial, where we can dance the night away in one of the worst pollution hotspots in all of the metro Atlanta area?

These neighborhood associations who want so desperately to see porn stores shuttered, working families banished, and their property values skyrocket, should not get their way.

The fact is, they knew exactly what neighborhood they were moving into when they chose to move here. Their complaints are not valid now.

In Wan’s vision of Atlanta, people come home from their corporate jobs to their 2.5 dogs cheerily barking at their white picket fence, then they have dinner and watch television.

In the real Atlanta, people have sexual needs and desires that they sometimes wish to act upon, sometimes involving bars, strippers, and dance clubs. Cheshire Bridge, our red light district, is a natural outgrowth and expression of our very humanity, which we should take pride in.

Finally, gay voters need to be more critical and introspective about the politicians we support. Gay does not mean progressive, and Mr. Wan is Exhibit A. Sometimes, having an openly gay elected official can result in the pursuit of policies that actually harm the gay community.

The Zoning Review Board will soon consider this proposal, and we should organize to defend, protect and preserve our historic neighborhood.

Matthew Cardinale is news editor of Atlanta Progressive News. A resident of the Cheshire Bridge Road area, he identifies as homosexual.

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Gay man challenges incumbent in Atlanta City Council race Matt Rinker seeks to unseat three-term council member Natalyn Archibong

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Matt Rinker will challenge incumbent Natalyn Archibong for the District 5 seat on the Atlanta City Council. If elected, he would become the second openly gay man to serve on the council.

All City Council seats as well as the mayor’s post are up for election this year on Nov. 5. Archibong, a bankruptcy attorney, confirmed she is seeking re-election for a fourth term.

Rinker, 35, of East Atlanta, said Feb. 5 he is challenging Archibong because he feels she has not done a good enough job to eliminate crime in the District 5 neighborhoods including East Atlanta, Cabbagetown, East Lake, Kirkwood and Reynoldstown.

“Our neighborhoods are no safer for Ms. Archibong’s three terms on council — in fact by most statistics crime is up. Aggravated assault is up. Auto thefts are up. Burglary is up.

Robbery and larceny are both up in our neighborhoods,” Rinker said.

Matt Rinker, who is openly gay, will challenge incumbent Natalyn Archibong for the District 5 seat on the Atlanta City Council. (Courtesy photos)

“Too many of our streets are not a safe place for our kids to play. Too many of our seniors don’t feel safe in their homes. Too many homeowners have to pay large insurance premiums because of the zip code we chose to call home,” he said.

Archibong said in an interview she disagrees with Rinker’s statistics that crime is higher in District 5. With boundaries of the district different

than last year, she said she didn’t believe there was a way for Rinker to accurately portray crime rates.

“I don’t think that information was well presented,” she said. “The boundaries of the district have changed. We picked up Boulevard for instance. I don’t know how he came up with what he did.”

Archibong said she understands that public safety is a top concern for the people living in District 5.

“We have been working on crime and will continue to do so as a top priority” if re-elected, she said. Archibong is the only council member to have a full-time public safety liaison.

“Public safety is something we do really well,” she said.

Rinker’s first run for public office

Rinker, who said he is a real estate professional, is going on a “listening tour” of District 5 in the months leading up to November to learn what residents want from a council representative.

Rinker said he looks to support from the city’s gay community, but he plans to earn the votes of all district residents.

Archibong said she represents all people in the district.

“I have a track record of being responsive and will continue that track record,” she said.

She also said the experience she has gained as a council member and the contacts she has obtained in her three terms “will be beneficial for the district at large.”

This is Rinker’s first bid for public elected office, but he points to his experience with volunteering and raising money for organizations including CHRIS Kids, Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, Hosea Feed The Hungry and Project Open Hand to making him a good candidate.

Archibong voted in favor of a resolution introduced by Councilmember Alex Wan late last year to support same-sex marriage. That resolution was then supported by Mayor Kasim Reed, who also came out in support of marriage equality. Wan is currently the only openly gay council member.

If Rinker is elected, he would be the second openly gay man to serve on the council. Wan, representing District 6, was the first. Wan is also seeking re-election, he said. Nobody has announced publicly a challenge to Wan’s seat.

District 1 Councilmember Carla Smith has also announced a run for re-election and drawn a challenger, Robert Welsh, according to Atlanta Progressive News. Welsh is a state budget official for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Mayor Reed is also running for re-election.

He has not drawn a high-profile challenger.

Thank You, Atlanta and Georgia Friends and Family!

You are sweeter than your tea and hotter than HOTlanta. You brought us the best of The LGBT A. You worked, you mingled, you volunteered and you made Creating Change 2013 special with your warm Southern ways. We leave y’all knowing that we can hustle back to the Dirty South and we’ll be right at home.

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Ga. Dems. aim to curb public funds for anti-gay private schools Lawmakers react after report shows some schools ban gay students

Taxpayer money • Georgia’s Student Scholarship Organizations have diverted nearly $170 million in taxpayer funds to private schools over the last four years.

By Ryan Watkins rwatkins@thegavoice.com Georgia House Democrats, including openly lesbian Reps. Simone Bell and Keisha Waites, held a public forum at the Capitol Feb. 11 to discuss six pieces of proposed legislation focused on education.

The proposed bills, four of which have already been filed during the current legislative session, included The Restore & Build HOPE Act, the Anti-Discrimination Act, the Education Transparency Act, the Parent Protection Act, the Drop-Out Deterrent Act and the End Cyber-Bullying Act. Two of the bills, the Anti-Discrimination Act and the End Cyber-Bullying Act, specifically address concerns of LGBT voters.

The Anti-Discrimination Act would ensure that private schools that receive funding from Schools Scholarship Organizations could not use public funds toward discriminating against students based on race, religion, national origin, sexuality or disability.

The bill, sponsored by Bell (D-Atlanta) and co-sponsored by Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), is a response to a recent report by the Southeastern Education Foundation which highlighted a Georgia tax credit program, created in 2008 and managed by the Georgia Student Scholarship Organization, which allows Georgia taxpayers to “donate” a portion of their annual state income tax for use at private schools to provide scholarships to students in kindergarten through high school.

Those “donations” are matched dollar-fordollar with a tax credit on state income tax ― $50 million can be donated each year.

The bill has not yet been finalized, but Bell and other Democrats hope to have something put together during this legislative session. The

• At least 115 private schools participating in Georgia’s tax-funded scholarship program have explicit, severe anti-gay policies or belong to state and national private school associations that promote anti-gay policies and practices among their members.

State Rep. Simone Bell (D-Atlanta), the first openly lesbian African-American state lawmaker in the country, is sponsor of the Anti-Discrimination Act. (File photo)

effort could take years to pass.

Speaking during the public forum, Bell said a lack of transparency in how the funds are spent, plus a recent exposé published in the New York Times which showed how some public funds are being diverted to schools with blatant anti-gay policies through the tax credit program, highlights the need for additional oversight.

The ultimate goal, Bell said, would be to ensure that no public monies are being sent to schools that discriminate – for any reason.

“There are several reasons why this is important to us, but at the end of the day, it’s very simple,” Bell said. “Our state education dollars should not be used to fund discrimination. The SSOs were presented as scholarship programs designed to help students escape from failing public schools into private education.”

That hasn’t been the case, Bell added.

• Two of the seven organizations that the State of Georgia authorizes by law to accredit private schools – and, thereby, allow the schools and their students to become eligible for tax-funded support – advance anti-gay policies among their member schools.

• The following companies have been publicly identified as supporting SSOs that provide taxpayer funds to anti-gay schools: BP, Home Depot, CIBAVision, Walgreens, Waste Management, and Newell/Rubbermaid.

Source: Georgia’s Tax Dollars Help Finance Private Schools with Severe Anti-Gay Policies, Practices, & Teachings – Southern Education Foundation report, January 2013

“There have been numerous reports, specifically by the Southeastern Education Foundation, and most recently in the New York Times, that have shown taxpayers’ dollars are getting to religious-based institutions that specifically discriminate on the basis of race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

“There have been reports of harassment.

There have also been reports of students being asked to leave schools. At the end of the day, public dollars should not fund this kind of discrimination and bias,” Bell said.

Another of the proposed pieces of legislation, entitled the Education Transparency Act (HR 221), would require private schools that

receive funding from SSOs to provide detailed financial information on how that funding is used, donor information and other financial information to ensure a transparent process. Current law forbids SSOs from having to disclose such information, something House Democrats hope to change.

Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, said this week that the statewide LGBT group is keeping an eye on any proposed legislation addressing public funds being directed to SSO programs.

“We’re very concerned about tax payer dollars funding programs like this that affect LGBT youth,” Graham said. “Whether there is a legislative solution depends on what we see in terms of language or whether there is any Republican support for it.”

Georgia’s House Republicans hold a solid majority. Passing any legislation requires Republican support, Graham said.

“Just because support might not be there, doesn’t mean it’s not an issue or not worthy of debate,” he added.

Fight against cyber-bullying

Waites, the newest openly gay member of the state legislature, also announced her bill, HB 19, the Drop-Out Deterrent Act, which would raise the age requirement from 16 to 17 for a student to drop out of high school without parental consent.

“It is our belief by extending the child’s stay in school, we are increasing their likelihood of employment and being a productive citizen,” Waites said. “According to the Department of Education, high school drop outs are twice as likely to live in poverty, as well as to commit crimes.”

The End Cyber-Bullying Act, which was introduced on Feb. 13, would expand on antibullying efforts enacted during the previous legislative session. Current law only protects students against instances of bullying on school property. The proposed legislation would expand the current law to include instances of bullying on social networking sites, cell phones and PDA devices.

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‘ARGAY’ OSCARS

and our gays at the your LGBT guide to the Academy Awards

By Steve Warren “Did you watch the Super Bowl?” a friend asked.

“It’s not ‘til the 24th,” I replied.

Oh, I knew what he meant, and I watched Beyoncé’s halftime show, but he has his Super Bowl and I have mine.

Mine is the Academy Awards, the 85th edition of which takes precedence over any world events on Feb. 24.

The Oscars are never as gay as the Tonys, since Broadway’s queers have long been more open than Hollywood’s; but maybe having gay power couple Craig Zadan and Neil Meron producing for the first time will narrow the gap.

There are no LGBT standard bearers among this year’s nominated films, no “Brokeback Mountain,” “Milk” or “The Kids Are All Right.” It’s “Argo,” not “Argay,” but you can still find plenty to root for if you look between the lines and around the edges.

The highest-profile out nominee is Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”), nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Lincoln,” which has the most nominations (12) overall.

Kushner missed the opportunity to address rumors that our 16th president was less-than-honest Abe when it came to his sexuality, and has suggested in interviews that it was irrelevant because Lincoln was post-sexual by 1865. (At 56? Well, people didn’t live so long then.)

It was obvious (to me at least) in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” that plantation owner Leonardo DiCaprio was in a long term relationship with his Uncle Tom of a house slave, Samuel L. Jackson; maybe the first time a movie has explored a gay master/slave couple, however obliquely, in a historical context.

The most significant instance of LGBT inclusion in the movies of 2012 was the coming out of a major supporting character in the PG-rated, animated “ParaNorman,” which

is in essentially a three-way race (against “Frankenweenie” and “Wreck-It Ralph”) for Best Animated Feature.

What’s momentous is that it was no big whoop, in the movie or the world’s reaction to it.

A few years ago church groups and politicians would have been up in arms over “the indoctrination of our children as part of the Homosexual Agenda.”

David France and Howard Gertler’s “How to Survive a Plague,” about the rise of AIDS activism in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, is in a tight race for Best Documentary Feature.

Best Foreign Language Film is sure to go to multiple nominee “Amour”; but in the Danish contender, the historical drama “A Royal Affair,” Enevold Brandt (played

by Cyron Bjørn Melville), a member of King Christian VII’s court, is called a “fruit” and a “fairy,” at least in the subtitles. He denies it but seems pretty obvious without acting effeminate.

“Les Misérables” isn’t gay, despite the campy shenanigans of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, but it’s a Broadway musical so we’ll claim it.

After sweeping the guild awards, “Argo” is likely to take Best Picture, but there are only two sure things on Oscar Night (besides “Amour,” as noted). Daniel Day-Lewis will win Best Actor for “Lincoln,” and when Barbra Streisand sings live at the Oscars for the first time since her “Evergreen” won Best Song in 1977, someone will start a rumor that she lip-synced.

Adding to the diva quotient are Adele and Norah Jones singing nominated songs and Dame Shirley Bassey belting themes in a James Bond tribute. (Did I mention that two gay men are producing the show?)

Of course there are several LGBT nominees in behind-the-scenes categories (in-

Above: ‘How to Survive a Plague,’ a searing documentary about the early days of HIV, is nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

(Photo courtesy the Independent Film Channel) Left: Tony Kushner, who adapted the screenplay for ‘Lincoln,’ is this year’s highest-profile out nominee. (Photo by Ed Ritger/Commonwealth Club/CC 2.0)

There are no LGBT standard bearers among this year’s nominated films, no ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ ‘Milk’ or ‘The Kids Are All Right.’ It’s ‘Argo,’ not ‘Argay,’ but you can still find plenty to root for. cluding “Les Miz” producer Cameron Mackintosh). We won’t know about them unless they win and kiss their partners or acknowledge them in their acceptance speeches.

Noteworthy but not nominated

Also noteworthy from an LGBT standpoint are some people and films that weren’t nominated, contrary to expectations and, in some cases, recognition from other groups.

Javier Bardem’s villain in “Skyfall” put moves on James Bond. That should be worth some kind of Oscar, as should Bond’s response, “Who said it would be the first time?”

First-rate, third-billed Ezra Miller revealed during promotional rounds that he’s as gay as Patrick, the character he played in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

Coming out as transgender was Lana Wachowski, one of three writer-directors of “Cloud Atlas,” which featured a gay romance between Ben Whishaw and James D’Arcy as one of its multiple story lines.

D’Arcy also played gay as Anthony Perkins in “Hitchcock.”

While Lincoln stayed closeted, Eleanor Roosevelt was outed in “Hyde Park on Hudson,” where it was noted that she and Franklin “lived separate lives.” Lorena Hickok was mentioned as one of the “friends of Eleanor” FDR called “she-men.” (“Friends of Eleanor” could be code for lesbians, as “Friends of Dorothy” is for gay men.)

Also overlooked were Jack Black as the gay title character in “Bernie” and Matthew McConaughey, supporting him in “Bernie,” being naked in “Magic Mike” and (spoiler alert!) playing gay in “The Paperboy”; the documentary “Bully,” about schoolkids being picked on for various reasons, including their orientation; and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” with gay senior Tom Wilkinson traveling to India to look up the boyhood crush he’s loved all his life.

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane, a Best Song nominee, kept the cheerfully offensive gay jokes coming in “Ted,” and showed his heart was in the right place with a gay-positive ending that included a surprise cameo.

We may not have many chances to cheer for Team LGBT at this year’s Oscars, but how can you think of not watching?

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THEATER by Laura Douglas-Brown

Bashing back World premiere ‘Angry Fags’ asks: Is anyone really afraid of gay guys?

Topher Payne doesn’t seem like an angry fag. But then, at first glance, neither do Bennett Riggs and Cooper Harlow, the main characters of Payne’s new play, “Angry Fags,” opening Feb. 21 at 7 Stages Theatre.

They picnic in the park. They banter about cheese and wine. They tease each other about everything from letter writing to dating with the loving sarcasm gay men seem to have perfected.

Then they set off a bomb.

“I knew I wanted to write something about friendships between gay men, and then I had a completely separate idea about the roots of extremism and what drives people to desperate acts of violence on a massive scale, just because we are so inundated with that on the news every day,” Payne says. “I did not expect them to end up being the same play.”

“Domestically Disturbed,” Payne’s awardwinning biweekly column for GA Voice, explores life with his husband, dog, crazy neighbor and extended Southern family.

The play he initially set out to write could be seen as a prequel to the column, building on what Payne experienced when he began dating the man who would become his spouse, after seven years of living with his best friend.

“There is this breakup that happens because you found your authentic partner for life that you don’t really see coming,” Payne says.

“In same-sex relationships combined with same-sex friendship, it is this really messy, muddy gray area that no one ever told you how you are supposed to handle.”

But what started as a chance to examine what happens to gay friends when one gets a boyfriend turned into a play about two gay men’s violent retaliation when a friend is attacked outside a bar.

It’s set against the backdrop of a political race between a lesbian Georgia state senator — played by radio personality and GA Voice columnist Melissa Carter in her first acting role — and the perfect GOP challenger.

The assault leads Bennett (Jacob York) and Cooper (Johnny Drago) “to this conversation about how nobody is actually afraid of gay guys,” Payne says, so they set out to change the perception that gay men are weak and won’t fight back.

The playwright doesn’t condone his characters’ violence, but he understands what in-

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com ‘Angry Fags’ Feb. 21-March 17 at 7 Stages Theatre 1105 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307 www.7stages.org

spires them to become “Angry Fags.”

Payne recalls being on tour with a play in Oregon when he was “just jumped by a couple of random guys,” and also notes the deep exhaustion that comes from constantly living as a second-class citizen.

“We talk so much about the rights we know we are owed, and the idea that things are going to get better — it gets better, it gets better, it gets better,” he says.

“I don’t think we have a lot of conversation about the pure anger and frustration of being in that situation of being so close, but knowing how much farther we have to go.”

Frank but funny

The play’s title is in some ways a warning to audiences about the level of frank discussion they can expect, and just seeing the words “Angry Fags” looming over Little 5 Points on the 7 Stages marquee is already drawing reaction.

Still, the no-holds-barred approach made Payne fear the play might never get produced, before he happened to have a copy of the script in his car when he fortuitously ran into Heidi Howard at a party. The play will be her first production as 7 Stages’ new artistic director.

The title impacted the cast, too.

“I never use the f-word, so it certainly got my attention,” says Carter, who, like Payne, takes a gentler tone in her GA Voice column.

“But once I read the play I understood why it needed a provocative title.”

Audiences shouldn’t go to “Angry Fags” expecting a typical happy ending — which Payne says is difficult even for him as the writer.

“I always root for my characters. I want them to come out OK. But there is no way that two people making the choices that Bennett and Cooper make in the course of this story — there is no way for them to come out just fine,” he says.

“Making the choice that communication

Above: In ‘Angry Fags,’ Bennett Riggs (Jacob York) starts dating Adam Lowell (John Benzinger) — but what about his best friend and fellow terrorist, Cooper? Left: GA Voice columnists Topher Payne and Melissa Carter team up as Carter makes her acting debut as a gay state senator. (Photos by Stungun Photography)

is no longer the goal — dominance is — is a very American thing to do,” Payne continues. “And once you make the choice to see the world in terms of who you are better than, or who you are willing to stand on top of to get where you want to be, absolutely nothing good is going to happen.”

But viewers also shouldn’t expect simply a somber take on social injustices. While the topic is serious, Payne promises “Angry Fags” is “still very much a comedy,” albeit a dark one.

“It’s my number one belief as a writer, that no one listens until you make them laugh, because it disarms you,” Payne says. “People are more open to receiving what you have to say if you present it in a way they want to hear.”

Anger and action

Part of what Payne wants audiences to hear — along with laughter — is the possibility that his characters could have channeled their anger differently.

“Change doesn’t come from the majority having warm fuzzy feelings about you; it comes from them being afraid of the consequences of standing in your way,” Payne says.

“I think that is an authentic argument worth expressing and having conversations about.

“The play then takes that to its natural extreme: If no one actually has conversations about it, those feelings of fighting back, left unchecked, can lead to increasingly bad decisions.”

For Carter, inside the comedy lies a cautionary message — “that words and actions are incredibly important, and being aware of how they might hurt others.”

“But I think there is also a message that acting upon a misunderstanding is one of the most dangerous things we can practice,” she adds.

Like Bennett and Cooper, we all have good reasons to be angry fags. Payne’s play gives us permission to own that anger, while also inspiring us to ponder what we do with it besides letting it turn us into the very thing we are fighting against.

“I want audiences leaving the show to be able to go back and see where a different choice could have been made,” Payne says. “You don’t just have a feeling of hopelessness at the end of the play, but what do you learn from that?

“My hope is the play would inspire conversations.”

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February 15, 2013

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#18: Lee reveals his House of Gay Human Oddities

Can Robert’s crush get any more unusual?

Robert and Janet arrived early at the new General Muir to check things out before the Atlanta Food Porn Supper Club got underway.

The restaurant is an upscale take on a Jewish delicatessen across from the CDC on Clifton Road and is open for all three meals of the day.

Robert walked into the dining room, looked around and nearly dislocated his neck doing a double-take. Lee, with whom he’d made dinner plans for a few days later, was seated at a round table with a few others.

As at the last dinner, he was wearing makeup, looking something like a cross between a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and Ronald McDonald.

But he was otherwise dressed normally, his strong hands on the table, playing with a fork that caught the light and seemed to flash in his eyes.

Robert cleared his throat and approached the table. Lee, laughing, got out of his chair and hugged Robert. “We got here early,” he said. “I brought some friends.”

One was the dwarf he and Janet had seen at the Waffle House. His blond hair swooped over his forehead, which supported the same cheap, glittering tiara he’d worn before. When he stood up to shake hands, Robert noticed that he was also wearing the same pearl-handled revolver in a holster.

“Hey there, girlfriend,” the man said. “I’m pleased to be here. You can call me Shawtina.” Robert shook his tiny hand and smiled.

He looked around the table and a young man, plainly lacking one ear and wearing an eye patch, waved.

“Hey, bro,” he said. He was wearing a shirt with a large A&F logo and a red baseball cap with NASCAR printed on it.

Janet interrupted and greeted Lee, whom she mildly disliked for earning Robert’s affection. This, of course, was a way for her to temper her anger at Robert for “courting a freak,” as she put it.

Others around the table, waved at Janet, including an elderly woman with what looked like ash around her mouth. Her short brown hair was singed and her fingernails were painted orange.

The dining room began filling up. The club had grown large enough that it required multiple tables. Lee invited Janet and Robert to join him. Janet started to demur but followed Robert who seemed to have no hesitation.

Servers at the General Muir circulated among the crowd, never batting an eye at Lee and his friends. The restaurant has been opened by Ben and Jennifer Johnson, owners of West Egg Café.

The name derives from the US refugee ship that brought Jennifer’s mother and grandparents, Holocaust survivors, to America after World War II. Another partner in the venture is Shelly Sweet, general manager of West Egg, and Chef

The General Muir, located near Emory University, offers a wide array of upscale deli selections, including an assortment of pastries. (Photo via Facebook)

Recommended The General Muir Emory Point 1540 Avenue Place, B-230, Atlanta, GA 30329 www.thegeneralmuir.com

Food Porn is a fictional series by longtime Atlanta food critic Cliff Bostock. Set in real Atlanta restaurants, it chronicles the adventures of Robert, a gay man in search of a husband — or at least a good meal. Read the whole series online at www.theGAVoice.com.

Todd Ginsberg, whose creative work at Bocado made him one of the city’s favorite chefs.

The room grew quiet and Robert stood up and welcomed everyone, thanking Janet once again for her help in organizing the dinners.

Visibly flustered, she waved and shouted “hey y’all” to everyone.

Then a woman jumped to her feet. “Come on!” she said. “Are we supposed to pretend like your table is invisible? How about introducing us?”

“We are often invisible,” Shawtina shouted, jumping on the table and firing his pistol in the air, releasing orgasmic waves of glitter, followed by hurled condoms.

The room gasped and applauded, bursting into laughter. Robert laughed too and Janet covered her mouth to stifle her own delight.

Then Lee, his face radiant, rose to his feet.

“Ladies, gentlemen and all between. I am magus and mama of the House of Gay Human

Good choices: This new restaurant is risky in a city that has killed one attempt at an authentic New York-style deli after another.

But the difference is the chef, Todd Ginsberg, whose evening menu includes small plates, his particularly respected craft, and larger plates of creative riffs on classics: prune-stuffed gnocchi; crispy trout with faro salad and butternutsquash puree; his famous double-stack burger; and roasted duck with turnips and rutabaga.

Lunch is all classics – pastrami, corned beef, chopped liver, matzoh ball soup. Breakfast?

Real bagels, pastrami hash, schmears, latkes!

Oddities. Now, we’re not here to ruin your food porn, but to make you aware of yourselves. You can call us theater, therapy or magic. It matters not. We are real. You already know us. You just need some reminders.”

Robert felt his heart pounding as he looked around the room.

“May I tell you my story?” Lee asked the crowd.

“Please!” Shawtina shouted. Beside him, a frail black man tattooed from head to toe pumped his fist in the air.

Laughter echoed between the glass walls and Lee walked to the center of the room.

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

February 15, 2013

GA Voice

19 23

BRIEFS

Girlyman’s Tylan goes solo with new CD For more than a decade, Tylan Greenstein wowed fans as part of Girlyman, the quartet known for tight harmonies and creative folkpop tunes. Now she is going solo, using just her first name to release her own album, “One True Thing,” currently available for pre-order on her website, www.tylanmusic.com.

Tylan recently moved from Atlanta to California, but returns to Georgia for a Feb. 15 solo show at Decatur’s Eddie’s Attic and a Feb. 17 show in Savannah.

“The solo album is something I wanted to do for a long time,” says Tylan, who describes her solo style as “more raw and pretty exposed.”

The first single on her solo album, “Already Fine,” is a slow-burn acoustic duet with Amy Ray that highlights Tylan’s introspective lyrics and strong vocals.

The move signals a time of transition for Girlyman, which has taken a hiatus from touring. Fellow member Nate Borofsky is also working on a solo CD, and the three members minus Tylan — Borofsky, Doris Muramatsu and JJ Jones — are planning a children’s album.

“Where we all are right now is we are not making some huge decision about the fate of Girlyman, we are just all concentrating on exploring other projects,” Tylan says.

— Laura Douglas-Brown

H I G H

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART ATLANTA

Tylan Greenstein goes solo with her own album “One True Thing.” (Publicity photo)

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Tyland Greenstein Friday, Feb. 15, 8 p.m. at Eddie’s Attic 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, GA 30030 www.eddiesattic.com CD pre-order: www.tylanmusic.com Full interview and to hear the first single: www.thegavoice.com

‘Yossi’ brings gay Israeli love story back to Atlanta screen “Yossi,” director Eytan Fox’s 2012 sequel to his 2002 film “Yossi & Jagger,” returns to Atlanta Feb. 22 for a one-week run at the Midtown Art Cinema.

“Yossi” was among the top 10 films screened at Atlanta’s gay Out on Film festival in last October. It features Ohad Knoller returning as the title character.

The first film was a minimalist gay love story set in a camp near the Lebanese border. Young army officers Yossi and Jagger fall in love, but Yossi is unwilling to risk his military career by being out. Then Jagger is killed in a raid.

“Yossi” is set 10 years later. Yossi, now a cardiologist, is still mourning Jagger. Not yet 34 but already old, he’s as closeted as ever, but the word is out about him in the Tel Aviv hospital where he works.

Forced to take a vacation, Yossi gives a ride to four young soldiers. One of them, Tom (Oz Zehavi) is openly gay and his comrades are fine with it, showing how the army has changed in a de-

Ohad Knoller (left) reprises his role as Yossi, a gay Israeli man coping with coming out and the loss of his lover. (Photo courtesy Strand Releasing)

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com ‘Yossi’ Opens Feb. 22 Landmark Midtown Art Cinema 931 Monroe Dr., Atlanta, GA 30308 www.landmarktheatres.com

Experience the remarkable lives of Mexico’s most famous painters, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera—more than 140 works together for the first time in the U.S. Only in Atlanta!

TICKETS: HIGH.ORG OR 404-733-5000 | MEMBERS ALWAYS FREE | 1280 PEACHTREE ST.

cade. The film explores whether Yossi can change enough to be ready to embrace his attraction.

— Steve Warren and Laura Douglas-Brown

This exhibition is co-organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and the Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City, in association with The Vergel Foundation, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art, and Galería Arvil. The exhibition is made possible by the Forward Arts Foundation and The Sara Giles Moore Foundation with additional support from the Televisa Foundation and the Friends of Frida & Diego. Funding also provided by the Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment. Spanish language programming is made possible by the MetLife Foundation. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Image: Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Self-Portrait with Monkeys (Autorretrato con monos), 1943, oil on canvas, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art. © 2013 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D. F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

GA Voice

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February 15, 2013

Calendar

BEST BETS 02.15 - 02.28 SPOTLIGHT

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ADD YOUR EVENT

There are two ways to add your events to our online and print calendars. Submit your info to www.theGAVoice.com or e-mail details to editor@theGAVoice.com.

Friday, Feb. 15

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival screens “Out in the Dark,” about two young gay men – a Palestinian grad student and a Jewish lawyer – who begin dating.

12:10 p.m. at the Lefont Sandy Springs, www.ajff.org

File photo

The High Museum of Art is the only U.S. museum to present “Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting,” highlighting 75 works of the surrealist, bisexual artist and her husband. Running through May 12, High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.high.org

Saturday, Feb. 16 Get your festive costumes ready as the Rainbow Center, part of Jewish Family & Career Services, hosts the annual “Purim OFF Ponce” fundraiser. This year’s theme is “Paradise.” 7:30 – 11 p.m., Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, www.purimoffponce.com

The Third Friday Film Series features “Standing Army” (2010), a documentary about the purposes and hidden strategies of the more than 766 U.S. military bases in 100 countries around the world.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Film starts at 7:30 p.m., discussion follows at First Existentialist Congregation, 470 Candler Park Dr., Atlanta, GA 30307 Tylan from Girlyman showcases her solo acoustic music at 8 p.m. at Eddie’s Attic, 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, GA 30030, www.eddiesattic.com

Publicity photo

The inimitable Ambassador of Mirth, Baton Bob, hosts the Broken Hearts Ball, celebrating single people or those whose significant others didn’t live up to their Valentine’s Day expectations. Highlights include cake, boutonnieres for the first 100 guests and burlesque shows with Sadie Hawkins. 8 p.m., Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, 644 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306

Saturday, Feb. 16 DJ Joe Gauthreaux spins at 10 p.m. at the Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.hereticatlanta.com

Go-go boys dressed up as ex-presidents, drag kings galore, Radical Faeries and DJ Headmaster Ritual are part of the fun of President’s Day Weekend/ Party in the USA at 9 p.m. at Mary’s, 1287 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.marysatlanta.com Edie Cheezburger presents The Other Show on Fridays. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m.

Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

Saturday, Feb. 16 Photo by Dyana Bagby

The “Create Love for Women” conference focuses on building a new model of relationships for women who partner with women, beyond heterosexual patterns. 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Downtown Decatur Marriott Hotel, 130 Clairemont Ave., Decatur, GA 30030, www.createloveforwomen.com

Sunday, Feb. 17 Lesbian singer-songwriter Doria Roberts performs at 7:30 p.m. at Eddie Owen Presents, Red Clay Theatre, 3116 Main St., Duluth, GA 30096, www.eddieowenpresents.com

Atlanta Rollergirls open their season with a double header beginning at 5 p.m., Yaarab Shrine Center, 400 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.atlantarollergirls.com SAGE Atlanta presents the Lesbian 50+ Potluck & Social at 6 p.m. at the Rush Center, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.sageatl.org

Thursday, Feb. 21

Sarah Brightman, who’s aiming to become the first professional musician to record a song from space— seriously—brings her “Dreamchaser” world tour to Atlanta. 8 p.m. at the Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.foxtheatre.org

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< MORE LGBT EVENTS: Visit our website for our extensive daily calendar, including nightlife schedules, sports, worship services and community organization meetings. www.thegavoice.com/calendar

Bring your sweetie for an all-ages “Revolutionary Romance” Audre Lorde Valentine’s Dance sponsored

by Charis, Zami NOBLA, Atlanta Pride and Fourth Tuesday. 8 p.m. at the Rush Center, 1530 Dekalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Julie Osborne hosts the “It’s That Time of the Month” comedy event with the likes of Laura Austin, Sanders Husley, Bob Killough, Kathleen Davis, J. Renee and Eunice Elliot at 7:30 p.m., My Sister’s Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com

DJ Cowboy and DJ XZact spin as Ladies at Play present the “Free Love” party. 10 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. at the Mark, 79 Poplar St., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.ladiesatplay.com LovHer and Bedlam Presents combine forces for LovHer/LovHim, a one of a kind celebration/night of dancing for everyone, with a performance by Mike Robinson, 10 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

Lesbian music fans will be out in droves as Michelle Malone, Dede Vogt, Caroline Aiken and special guest Danielle Howle perform at 8 p.m. at the Red Clay Theatre, 3116 Main St., Duluth, GA 30096, www.eddieowenpresents.com

As part of the longest running drag troupe in the Southeast, the Court of Kings present Love Sick with numbers by Owen McCord, Gabe, Kenneth Cold McCord, Bella, Blake Daniels and Mica Ro and DJ Tina V at 10 p.m., My Sister’s Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com

“Nite OUT at the Ballet” is a special LGBT evening as the Atlanta Ballet presents “Dracula” – and the final performance of longtime gay dancer Brian Wallenberg. 8 p.m. at the Cobb Energy Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339, www.atlantaballet.com

Enjoy Atlanta Bucks night at the Atlanta Eagle, the same day the gay rugby team takes on North Atlanta in a home match. 10 p.m. at the Atlanta Eagle, 306 Ponce De Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.atlantaeagle.com

Calendar

In honor of late lesbian poet Audre Lorde’s birthday and Presidents’ Day, the Atlanta Pride Committee hosts a discussion about social justice, intersectionality, and the future of our movement. 7-8:30 p.m. at the Rush Center, www.atlantapride.org What is HIV? How does it work? How do I not get it?

What’s really true and what’s myth? MISTER Project’s Chandler Bearden presents HIV 101. 7-9 p.m. at Mister Center, 60 Eleventh St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mistercenter.org Wanna be the next big drag thing? Diva Drag University premieres, with a diva mentoring a new queen every day and preparing her for the upcoming Atlanta Rising Diva 2013 Pageant. 10:30 p.m. at The New LeBuzz, 585 Franklin Road, Marietta, GA 30067, www.thenewlebuzz.com

Tuesday, Feb. 19

Tuesdays, unwind with a sing-along with pianist David Reeb at 8 p.m. at Mixx, 1492-B Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mixxatlanta.com VJ Marco Polo serves up “not your typical showtunes” at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays at Amsterdam Atlanta, 502-A Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306, www.amsterdamatlanta.com

Wednesday, Feb. 20

On Wednesdays, catch the Lust & Bust Show with host Lena Lust and featuring Shawnna Brooks. 11 p.m. at Blake’s on the Park, 227 10th St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

Thursday, Feb. 21

“Meet Your Gender,” an interactive workshop looking at gender privileges and oppressions, starts at 6 p.m. at FWHC Feminist Women’s Health Center, 1924 Cliff Valley Way, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.feministcenter.org Motivational speaker Wendy Watkins visits the gay Atlanta Executive Network. 6:30 p.m. at Hudson Grille, 942 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.aen.org Topher Payne’s world premiere play “Angry Fags” opens with fellow GA Voice columnist and radio personality Melissa Carter (making her stage debut) in the cast. 8 p.m. at 7 Stages, 1105 Euclid Ave., Atlanta GA 30307, www.7stages.org

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Photo by Dyana Bagby

SPOTLIGHT

Lianne Simon, author of “Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite,” discusses intersex issues as PFLAG Atlanta hosts its Third Sunday meeting. 2:45 p.m. at St. Mark United Methodist Church, 781 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.pflagatl.org

Monday, Feb. 18

GA Voice

Wednesday, Feb. 20 Get ready for fun with the Big Gay Game Show with guests such as Bubba D Licious, Wild Cherry Sucret and more. 7:30 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

Friday, Feb. 22

The acclaimed drama “Yossi” – the sequel to the gay-themed “Yossi and Jagger” – by director Eytan Fox opens for a week run at the Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.landmarktheatres.com Sort of an anti-Valentine’s Day celebration, !Glitz! The Love Stinks edition is a variety show featuring the likes of Ellisorous Rex, Koochie Ku, Karma Chameleon and Violet Chachki. 9 p.m. at Mary’s, 1287 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.marysatlanta.com Boydonna Variety Hour is hosted by Boydonna and Jack Daddi and presented by Thursty Thursday. 9 p.m., My Sister’s Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com “Sing For Your Life,” the live singing competition with judges and mentors Barry Brandon, JL Rodriguez and Michael Robinson, continues Thursdays through March 28. Doors open 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m. at Jungle Club Atlanta, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.singforyourlifeatl.com

Friday, Feb. 22

Decatur Women’s League Softball signups beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Savage Pizza, 115 Laredo Drive, Avondale Estates, GA 30002, www.decaturwomensports.com The Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce presents its Fourth Friday mixer from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Southern Art at the Intercontinental Buckhead, 3315 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30326, www.atlantagaychamber.org Angelica D’Paige hosts the Fab Five at 11:30 p.m.

Fridays at Burkhart’s, 1492 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.burkharts.com

Friday, Feb. 22 Saturday, Feb. 23

OurSong, Atlanta’s lesbian and gay chorus, presents “Heart of Desire… and Dysfunction,” a cabaret. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.oursongatlanta.org

Saturday, Feb. 23

Georgia Safe Schools Coalition’s annual GayStraight Alliance youth summit takes place from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030, www.georgiasafeschoolscoalition.org The gay Atlanta Executive Network’s casual networking brunch, Perimeter area style, begins at 10 a.m. at Mimi’s Café, 1221 Ashford Crossing, Atlanta, GA 30346, www.aen.org Those ubiquitous Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence host a Lashes, Laughter and Live Beer Bust at 7 p.m. at Mixx Atlanta, 1492 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA , 30309, www.mixxatlanta.com Out writers Kat Williams, Fiona Zedde and Sheree L. Greer discuss their work and offer tips on getting published as part of the From Margin to Center Literary Program. 7:30 p.m., Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Courtesy photo

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival continues. Today’s offerings include “The Devotion Project: Listen from the Heart,” which follows a lesbian couple through the birth of their child, who has a heart condition; shown as part of part of “Shorts Program 3” (11:40 a.m. today; also Feb. 20, 2:45 p.m.) and Neil Barsky’s “Koch,” a documentary about former New York Mayor Ed Koch, often rumored to be gay (1:40 p.m.). Both at Lefont Sandy Springs, 100-152 Sandy Springs Circle, Atlanta, GA 30328, www.ajff.org

February 15, 2013

Friday, Feb. 22 Hundreds of gay men/bears will be decked out in flannel and Levis at the LumberJack edition of the popular Manshaft themed night parties, from 10:20 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Cockpit, 465 Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30312, http://thecockpit-atlanta.blogspot.com/

Shavonna B. Brooks hosts the Extravaganza show on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. at Burkhart’s, 1492 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.burkharts.com

Sunday, Feb. 24

DJ M, Blue Diamond Entertainment and Frisky Girls present Culture Club. 5-10 p.m. at Bar ONE, 687 Memorial Dr. SE, Atlanta, GA 30316, www.traxxgirls.com “Argo” or “Lincoln?” David Atlanta hosts an Oscar Party to benefit Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBT film festival. 6 p.m. at TEN Atlanta, 990 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA, www.TENAtlanta.com The Academy Award viewing party begins at 6 p.m. at Amsterdam Atlanta, 502-A Amsterdam Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306, www.amsterdamatlanta.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

Publicity photo

Sunday, Feb. 17

Publicity photo

www.theGAVoice.com

Saturday, Feb. 23 Dinner and a movie! Lesbians Party With a Purpose screen the Academy Award nominated “The Kids Are All Right” as a fundraiser for Lift Up Atlanta at 7 p.m. at the Philip Rush Center, 1530 DeKalb Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30307

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GA Voice

February 15, 2013

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Calendar

Photo via pinkspage.com

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Friday, March 1

UPCOMING Friday, March 1

“Out There” is the theme for Mr. Gay Cobb County 2013, with contestants encouraged to appear “not from the Earth, from another world.” 9 p.m. at LeBuzz, 585 Franklin Road, Marietta, GA 30367, www.thenewlebuzz.com

Saturday, March 2

Gay singer/songwriter Juan Cezar and bandmate John Miklaucic, otherwise known at Frisky Monkey, celebrate with a CD release party at Smith’s Olde Bar. Show begins with special guests starting at 8 p.m. in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.friskymonkeymusic.com

EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

The annual Black History Month celebration features blues artist/local favorite Francine Reed. 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. at Eddie’s Attic, 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, GA 30030, www.eddiesattic.com

Monday, Feb. 25

Every Monday night, enjoy Stars of the Century at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com Catch the new season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” at 9 p.m. at Blake’s on the Park, 227 10th St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

Tuesday, Feb. 26

Lesbian social networking group Fourth Tuesday hosts its namesake monthly dinner at 6 p.m. at Coco Cabana, 4073 Lavista Road, Tucker, GA 30084, www.facebook.com/FourthTuesdayAtlanta

P!nk performs with special guest The Hives at 8 p.m. at Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive Atlanta, GA 30303, www.ticketmaster.com

First Metropolitan Community Church and ASCORG, Inc. present an Old Time Gospel Concert. 7 p.m. at First MCC, 1379 Tullie Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.firstmcc.com

Friday, March 8

Lesbian comedians Suzanne Westenhoefer and Steff Mahan take the stage at 8 p.m. at the Red Clay Theatre, 3116 Main St., Duluth, GA 30096, www.eddieowenpresents.com

Wednesday, March 20

Plan ahead to get your tickets to see Elton John live, just down I-75 in Macon. 8 p.m. at the Macon Centreplex, 200 Coliseum Drive, Macon, GA 31217, www.maconcentreplex.com Tuesdays, Thursdays and early Saturdays, get your country on with 3-Legged Cowboy nights at the Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.hereticatlanta.com

“Superb acting… in thiS Story of a lonely man reawakened by the poSSibility of new love.”

–The New York Times

Every Tuesday, sing out at Mary-oke starting at 9 p.m. at Mary’s, 1287 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.marysatlanta.com

Wednesday, Feb. 27

Be ready to laugh at the ABear Comedy Show, hosted by Ian Aber — ABear comedian. Features LGBT and straight comics to benefit Lost-N-Found Youth, which helps LGBT homeless youth. This month’s headliner is Brent Star. 8 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

“an eSSential achievement in gay and human conSciouSneSS.” –Armond White, City Arts

Strand releaSing presents an eytan Fox film

Thursday, Feb. 28

OFFICIAL SELECTION

SAGE Atlanta, a support and social group for LGBT elders, gathers Thursdays at 10 a.m. for cards and social hour, then a meeting at 11 a.m. at the Philip Rush Center, 1530 Dekalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.sageatl.org Jaime Harker discusses her book “Middlebrow Queer,” about the complex life of gay writer Christopher Underwood (“A Single Man,”) at 7:30 p.m. at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

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February 15, 2013

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February 15, 2013

GA Voice

25

THAT’S WHAT

SHE SAID

License to bike Cars aren’t the problem with ‘Share the Road’

Whenever I am stuck in traffic, I always assume a wreck is the cause. As I pass by any pile-up, I empathize with the potential victims and try to keep a calm head out of respect. But recently, I realized the nearly stand still traffic was being caused by a bicycle and my blood boiled.

I will honestly say that I do not believe in sharing the road. The weight of a car can be 4,000 pounds and a car can reach speeds well over 100 mph. In contrast, the average bicycle ways about 30 pounds and an average rider can only go about 20 mph.

But somehow we have decided that the way to coexist is to travel the same roads together in harmony. However, the burden of traveling safely together ultimately depends on the driver slowing down, swerving over, etc., in an effort not to mortally wound this soul who is inching up a hill on Roswell Road during rush hour.

Often, I see a bicyclist merge into existing traffic and block a lane while holding his or her hand out impatiently for us to slow down as if we “car people” are the problem.

And if you come up on a pack of riders, it is even worse since they have no problem riding side by side and taking up an entire lane.

I’ve even been shocked while waiting for a light to turn green to see bicyclists whizzing by my window navigating between cars. Apparently they don’t have to wait for the light to actually turn green if they decide that there are no cars coming.

Once, I saw a cyclist who did decide to wait on the light actually lean on my car for support until the light turned green. I fought the urge to get out and explain that I was not his pace car and taking a break on my car so that he didn’t have to clip out at the light was not part of our deal.

This arrogance increases threefold if a cyclist is “sponsored.” Apparently, a jersey that has a logo or two on it along with the aero-

Melissa Carter is also a writer for Huffington Post.

She broke ground as the first out lesbian radio personality on a major station in Atlanta and was one of the few out morning show personalities in the country. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCarter

dynamic Tour de France helmet translates to some extra level of ownership of the asphalt.

Sometimes they seem to be tempting someone to hit them.

It does not look like Atlanta will ever create enough bike paths to get cyclists off the main roads. But I do believe there is a solution that would at least make me feel like drivers and cyclists were being treated a little more fairly.

I want everyone who wants to put their bikes on the main road to get a license and a tag. That certainly isn’t a new idea. A similar effort took place last year in Oregon when a proposed ballot measure sought to create a bicycle education program for people who have not taken the Oregon driver’s test. It would also mandate more police enforcement of traffic laws for cyclists.

To pay for the new bicycle-specific testing and the enforcement, the measure would have required a fee for the endorsement test and registration via a license plate for all bicycles in Oregon.

By having license plates on the bikes, the hope is that this would lead to more responsible behavior and make it easier to hold riders accountable for their actions.

At least if I were behind a cyclist with a license plate, I would know that my extra ten minutes in traffic were the result of some effort on the part of the rider and not just a flippant disregard for all the other tax paying citizens on the road who are doing their best to dodge them.

To truly share the road, we must all share the responsibility for being in each other’s path.

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Plane spoken

ANGRY RY FAGS

A W o r l d P r e m i e r e C o m e d y w i t h a B o d y C o u nt

Stungunphotography.com

by Topher Payne

February 21–March 17, 2013

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Topher Payne is an Atlanta-based playwright, and the author of the book “Necessary Luxuries: Notes on a Semi-Fabulous Life.” Find out more at topherpayne.com

I’m on a Delta flight from New York to Atlanta, awaiting takeoff. I have the aisle seat. In the middle, a baby-faced guy who I’m pretty sure is a Mormon, or at least he dresses like one.

At the window, a fiftyish businessman type, brandishing a copy of an Ann Coulter book called “Mugged.” Ugh. I just cannot stand Ann Coulter. That woman is not a conservative, she’s a provocateur. Ann Coulter is like one of those performance artists who work with body fluids — there’s no meaning behind the action, they just want everyone to notice their poop on a wall.

So already, I’m not a fan of Window Seat, as I watch him tapping out very important texts on his Blackberry.

The flight attendant announces it’s time to discontinue the use of all portable electronic devices. Window Seat ignores this, continuing with his urgent communiques. I do my best to ignore it, in part because it’s not affecting me personally, but mostly because I want him to be shamed by the flight attendant.

The plane taxis down the runway, and comes to a stop in preparation for takeoff. A flight attendant makes her way down the aisle, and Window Seat stashes his Blackberry between his polyester-encased thighs.

As soon as she passes, he’s got the damn thing out again. The passengers across the aisle notice this as well. There are now five people actively watching him continue texting, rooting for him to get caught. I can’t take it anymore.

“Hey, pal, I think she said it’s time to turn those off.”

Notice how I said “I think,” acknowledging the possibility that any one of us could somehow miss the instruction to discontinue the use of all portable electronic devices until we have reached our cruising altitude, even though this is common knowledge to anyone with a brain stem.

Window Seat stares at me like I’ve got a bird on my head. I give The Mormon raised eyebrows and a little shrug, the universal signal for, “Well, I tried.”

Another flight attendant passes by, and Win-

dow Seat once again stashes the phone in his crotch. This is beyond the pale. There are rules.

I have absolutely no idea whether my iPad could actually interfere with Delta’s navigation system, but I operate under the belief that this is not my call to make.

The Mormon decides to get involved. He gently suggests that Window Seat shut off the Blackberry. Window Seat narrows his eyes in defiance.

“Why don’t you mind your own business, faggot?”

Oh, hell no. First of all, calling this nice cleancut young man a faggot when there’s a giant man with a red pompadour on the aisle holding a copy of a Montgomery Clift biography speaks to Window Seat’s inability to read his surroundings. Secondly, I still haven’t forgiven him for the Ann Coulter book.

So I sit for a moment, plotting. Then I whip out my iPad and press play on a particularly thrilling moment in “The Bourne Legacy.” No headphones, full volume. I’m sharing the movie for all around me to enjoy. A flight attendant is on me in two seconds.

“Sir! I need you to turn that off RIGHT NOW,” she says.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say. “I thought this row had different rules. Because that guy’s texting.”

She smirks at me as I calmly put my iPad away, then turns her attention to Window Seat.

“No. Everyone has to shut off all devices. Right now. Sir, I need to see you turn off your phone.”

Window Seat produces the Blackberry from his lap and powers it off. The flight attendant gives my shoulder a light squeeze as she walks away. A few moments later, I hear laughter erupt from the service area in the back of the plane.

Window Seat, meanwhile, gives me the stink eye for the next two hours. Not that I really notice. I’m engrossed in the movie I’m watching on my approved electronic device, as soon as I’m given permission to use it, and enjoying the extra cookies I got at snack time. Because The Mormon gave me his.