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IN THIS ISSUE OF GA VOICE NEWS 6 | Charis celebrates 40 years 8 | Election coverage 9 | Election coverage

EDITORIAL 12 | Vote, but don’t vote for these people

COMMUNITY 17 | Catching up with drag legend Lily White 14-15 | Atlanta Pride in photos

A&E 19 | Eddie Ray, Atlanta’s master of Halloween

Check out our Pride in photos on pages 14 and 15 and find even more photos at www.thegavoice.com.

Georgia Ensemble Theatre Photo via YouTube

OUTSPOKEN

20 | Theater: ‘The Elephant Man’ comes to

FRIENDS & FOES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“Ultimately, I think the Equal Protection Clause does guarantee same-sex marriage in all fifty states.”

22-24 | Best Bets calendar

COLUMNISTS 25 | Funny Story: Topher Payne faces his biggest fear 26 | Femme Folio : Kirsten Ott Palladino thinks Pride-goers need to grow up 27 | Sometimes ‘Y’: Ryan Lee believes gay anti-bullying efforts encourage victimhood

—Pope Francis in remarks made as bishops ended a two-week conference by rejecting historic changes in regards to the Catholic Church’s stance toward homosexuality. (Oct. 20, USA Today)

Official photo

“You can laugh, but you did it, Mr. Brown.

You went tao Russia to foment hate.”

—Freedom To Marry president Evan Wolfson confronts National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown about traveling to Russia to help pass anti-gay legislation. (Oct. 16, The Advocate)

Photo via Facebook

-President Obama says there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

(Oct. 27, The New Yorker)

“God is not afraid of new things.”

21 | Food: A look at new restaurants in town

“There are no GAY scenes. There are scenes with people in them. If you are suddenly discovering that Shondaland shows have scenes involving people who are gay, you are LATE TO THE PARTY. If u use the phrase ‘gay scenes’, u are not only LATE to the party but also NOT INVITED to the party. Bye Felicia. #oneLOVE.” —Shonda Rhimes to a Twitter user who criticized her for the “gay scenes” in her shows “Scandal” and “How To Get Away With Murder.” (Oct. 20, E! Online)

GA VOICE | 6

NEWS

10.24.14

www.theGAVoice.com

Charis Books & More

celebrates 40th anniversary Surviving the media revolution to ensure communal space to build ideas, culture

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com Lesbian-owned Charis Books & More celebrates two decades of selling books and providing a safe space to many communities in November and plans are to have special birthday events through the next year.

Co-owners Sara Luce Look and Angela Gabriel head up the store that offers everything from writing workshops to a trans youth support group to yoga to offering the best selection in progressive children’s and adult reading materials.

Elizabeth Anderson, executive director at Charis Books, answered a few questions about how the bookstore continues to remain successful and what is planned to celebrate this momentous occasion.

What does it mean to Charis to reach its 40th anniversary?

We have been so honored to be a part of Atlanta’s LGBTQ, feminist, and progressive literary scene since 1974. It is significant for any bookstore or community space to reach its 40th anniversary because so much of our culture has been moving away from investing in media as objects. First many record stores closed, then bookstores, then video stores and movie theaters.

We are all for the digital content revolution but what folks often don’t realize is that when we lose the stores we lose the communal gathering spaces around which we build new ideas and culture.

More books are published today than at any time in our human history, yet fewer people are reading than ever before. Part of what we are proud of is the way we get to connect people to the right books, the right stories, at the right time. We have folks from all over the South drive hundreds of miles to browse our shelves because they know they or their family will be well represented.

People attend our events because they love sitting in a room with other people who love books and talking about them. We know how invaluable a space like Charis is because we see it transform customers’ lives each and every day. We have always been more than a bookstore, and we are always excited when we get to celebrate that with the general public.

Charis Books & More, the nation’s oldest feminist bookstore, is an Atlanta icon located in Little Five Points and is celebrating its 40th anniversary in November with plenty of events. For more information about Charis’ events, visit www.charisbooksandmore.com. (File photo)

What has contributed to Charis’ success?

We have loyal, interested, committed customers who seek us out for our selection because they know they can trust the books we place in their hands. We also have a very strong nonprofit programming arm, Charis Circle, which creates over 200 diverse events a year.

From the expected offerings like book groups, author readings, and writing groups, to the very unexpected: Sunday morning yoga, health and wellness programs, cooking demos, spirituality groups, anti-racist workshops, trans youth support groups, teen ‘zine making classes and so much more.

We have also been successful mostly because it is a blood sweat and tears effort on the part of many community volunteers, board members, and especially our staff. Co-owners Sara Look and Angela Gabriel work very hard to be as responsive as possible to the community’s needs.

What does Charis have planned to celebrate?

We are thinking about the entirety of November 2014 as kicking off our birthday year— since we are turning 40, we still have a whole year to celebrate! Events will all be on the website as soon as possible but here are the major highlights. n Monday, Nov. 3 at 7:15 p.m.— Charis kicks off its 40th anniversary year celebrations by welcoming Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination, to the First Baptist Church of Decatur in conjunction with the Georgia Center for the Book. (Free)

n Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m.—Charis continues its 40th anniversary celebrations this week by welcoming longtime Charis favorite and former Atlanta resident Nicola Griffith back to Atlanta to read from the paperback release of her dazzling and powerful new work of fiction, Hild. ($5 suggested donation) n Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. — Charis welcomes back former Charis Books co-owner, Sandra Lambert with her new book, The River’s Memory. We invite everyone, but especially all former and current Charis staff, board, and volunteers to join us for this special evening. ($5 suggested donation) n Friday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. — at the Solarium in Oakhurst, Charis board member, author, and member of the Crunk Feminist Collective, Susana Morris, in conversation with Kiese Laymon (“How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, and Long Division”). ($10 suggested donation, no tickets necessary). n Saturday, Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. — Charis Books in store sale and celebration. Stop by the store all day to see old friends, eat cake, and buy books! n Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. — Charis Books Homecoming Party and Birthday Bash at the Marianna (above the Wrecking Bar) in Little Five Points. Join us for a true birthday homecoming in honor of where we have been and where we are going. Tickets available in the store and online now. n Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. — Anne Lamott at First Baptist Church of Decatur.

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10.24.14

Governor’s race roundup on LGBT issues: DEMOCRAT JASON CARTER

Elected to represent 42nd Disctrict in state Senate in May 2010 special election; reelected in 2010 and 2012 general elections. Grandson of former President Jimmy Carter. www.carterforgovernor.com Supports same-sex marriage; expanding Medicaid; believes the state attorney general should decide whether or not to defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban but also says it should not be defended if it becomes apparent it’s a waste of taxpayer money, according to media reports. He did not respond to repeated requests for interviews from the GA Voice.

INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN GOV. NATHAN DEAL

Elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 as a Democrat, but switched to Republican Party in 1995; stayed in Congress until 2010 when he ran for governor. Elected as Georgia governor in 2010. www.nathandeal.org Opposes gay adoption, supports the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, opposes taxpayer-funded domestic partner benefits, opposes expansion of Medicaid, supports defending the state’s same-sex marriage ban, according to media reports. He could not be reached for comment.

Libertarian Andrew Hunt

andrewhunt.us Hunt is also in the race. He did not return requests for comment.

U.S. Senate roundup on LGBT issues: DEMOCRAT MICHELLE NUNN

Former executive director of Points of Light Foundation www.michellenunn.com n According to HRC, which endorsed her, Nunn “supports equality for LGBT Americans, including marriage equality.” n In a debate earlier this month, she said, “I have said throughout this campaign that I believe that all people should have the same right as my husband and I have to marry. I also believe marriage that marriage is not only a legal construct but a sacrament and that every faith tradition needs to be able to define marriage for itself. That’s been my position throughout the campaign.” n When she announced her campaign in July 2013, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act in the Windsor case, the AJC reported that “she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court decision that left the definition of marriage to the individual states and added, ‘I also believe that marriage is not only a legal construct, but a sacrament, and every religious institution has to be able to define it for themselves.’” But on a personal level, Nunn told the AJC she favors marriage equality. n Nunn supports expanding Medicaid into Georgia, preventing discrimination to those with pre-existing conditions, and allowing youth to stay on their parents’ insurance plan until they are 26, according to media reports.

Nunn could not be reached for comment.

REPUBLICAN DAVID PERDUE

Businessman, former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok www.perduesenate.com n In a February interview with the Marietta Daily Journal, Perdue said he supports Georgia’s same-sex marriage ban.

“As a senator, I’ve got to uphold that, so I support that, whatever the law of the land is in Georgia. As a U.S. senator, I’m not going to get involved in state decisions like this. It’s a constitutional amendment. If that changes, then I will support that with the population.” n Perdue does not support the Affordable Care Act, according to media reports.

Perdue could not be reached for comment.

LIBERTARIAN AMANDA SWAFFORD amandaswafford.net Read our interview with Swafford on Pages 8-9

NEWS

www.theGAVoice.com

Amanda Swafford looks to play disruptor on Election Day

Libertarian Senate candidate’s presence could throw race into runoff

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com Most of the latest polls in the race for Georgia’s open U.S. Senate seat suggest neither Democrat Michelle Nunn nor Republican David Perdue will garner the necessary 50 percent of the votes to win outright on Nov. 4. This would throw the election into a Jan. 6 runoff and cause an even bigger flood of national media attention and national party money to come Georgia’s way over the next two months.

If that scenario happens, one of the likely causes could very well be the presence in the race of Libertarian Party candidate Amanda Swafford.

The former Flowery Branch city councilwoman hasn’t been able to hit double digits in the polls, but she’s gained the attention of the LGBT community with her early and strong support of marriage equality.

This was no more evident than in a rowdy debate in Perry, Georgia, on Oct. 8, when each candidate was given one question to ask of another candidate of their choice. Swafford used her question to ask

Nunn about her stance on marriage equality, a stance that has confused many in the LGBT community throughout the campaign and which Nunn has refused to clarify with LGBT media.

“It had been well reported in the media that Ms. Nunn’s stance on marriage equality had been very nuanced,” Swafford said to the GA Voice when asked why she used her one question on that issue.

“We hadn’t really gotten a clear answer from her on where she stood. I felt particularly leading up to Pride that that would be a very important question to ask and get on the record.”

Nunn came out relatively strong for marriage equality in her answer at the debate without mentioning that she supports states’-rights. Nunn is on the record stating she supports state’s rights—or putting marriage equality up to a vote—as Georgia did in 2004. But Swafford wasn’t entirely satisfied with Nunn’s answer.

“I didn’t think it was consistent with what she has said before in previous interviews,” Swafford says. “But that’s fine. Candidates can certainly change their opinion

NEWS

www.theGAVoice.com

10.24.14

GA VOICE

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LGBT groups endorse in Nov. 4 contested races

Libertarian Senate candidate Amanda Swafford took part in her fifth Atlanta Pride parade this year and could force a runoff between the two leading candidates, Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue.

(Photo courtesy of Swafford)

GEORGIA EQUALITY

District 110 – Kaye Shipley (D)

Candidates endorsed by Georgia Equality have given supportive answers on: n Support for marriage equality n Passage of nondiscrimination laws and policies both statewide and within the specific departments they would oversee n Strengthening HIV prevention efforts and funding for medications and services n Creating a safe and inclusive school environment for LGBTQ students n Making a concerted effort to conduct outreach to the LGBT community and appoint qualified members of the LGBT community to various boards and commissions GOVERNOR - Jason Carter (D) LT. GOVERNOR - Connie Stokes (D) SECRETARY OF STATE - Doreen Carter (D) ATTORNEY GENERAL - Greg Hecht (D) INSURANCE COMMISSIONER - Liz Johnson (D) STATE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT - Valarie Wilson (D) LABOR COMMISSIONER - Robbin Shipp (D)

FULTON COUNTY COMMISSION Chair – John Eaves (D)

LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS-GEORGIA STATE HOUSE * District 78 — Christopher J. Deraney (R)

GEORGIA STONEWALL DEMOCRATS Labor Commissioners — Robbin Shipp Attorney General — Greg Hecht STATE SENATE District 5 — Curt Thompson District 9 — Tim Swiney District 22 — Harold Jones District 28 — Cynthia Bennett District 30 — James Harrison Nixon District 38 — Horacena Tate District 39 — Vincent Fort STATE HOUSE District 19 — Sandra Fuller District 40 — Erick Allen District 54 — Bob Gibeling District 95 — Amreeta Regmi District 110 — Kaye Shipley

STATE SENATE * District 9 – Tim Swiney (D) District 38 – Horacena Tate (D) District 39 – Vincent Fort (D) STATE HOUSE District 39 – Erica Thomas (D) District 40 – Erick Allen (D) *District 54 – Bob Gibeling (D) Gibeling is also endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

District 95 – Amreeta Regmi (D)

FULTON COUNTY COMMISSION - Chair — John Eaves

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN U.S. Senate: Democrat Michelle Nunn * Signifies openly gay candidate.

Attorney General

\

on it, but I feel there’s still some inconsistency on that. Did she support it in 2012 when it was put in the [Democratic] party platform, or before that?”

SWAFFORD OPPOSES ENDA, OBAMACARE

Swafford also points to Nunn’s absence at Atlanta Pride this year, where the Libertarian candidate could be seen riding atop a fire truck in the parade and greeting people at her booth afterward.

However, Swafford opposes the Affordable Care Act and believes it should be repealed by Congress. She also does not support an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would include sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We have federal laws that have been in place for that and we have just as important First Amendment rights that are certainly paramount to each individual involved. And that’s something that we have to respect in the process as well,” she said. “But in the context of the federal laws that we’re looking at, those are certainly laws that we have to uphold that are currently in place.”

While it’s unlikely that Swafford will poll

9

DETAILS Amanda Swafford

Paralegal amandaswafford.net

into the double digits on Election Day, much less win, she says her presence in the race is about more than that.

“There’s been a lot of campaigns where candidates didn’t have electoral success but they were very successful in moving policy debates forward and getting substantive movements in those issues,” she said.

“I think marriage equality is one and looking at the drug war is another one. That issue has received a lot more credence than it would because of the Libertarian stand on that. You wouldn’t get that discussion if you relied solely on two major parties to bring up those issues.

“If we keep voting the way we’ve always voted, we will end up with the government we’ve always had. So we have to think differently about things if we really want to see some substantive changes in our policy and our government,” she added.

DEMOCRAT GREG HECHT

Attorney Former state Senator from 1997 to 2003 www.greghecht.com n Hecht has evolved on marriage equality and now fully supports it. He told the GA Voice if elected he would not defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban in a federal lawsuit challenging it. He told the GA Voice he also personally supports same-sex marriage. He has made marriage equality a prominent plank of his platform and on his website. n He told the GA Voice, “The Georgia law violates peoples’ right to share in the freedom to marry. It discriminates against people and is unconstitutional. We would not defend [the ban] and we would put money into prosecuting corruption and put resources into protecting children.”

INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN SAM OLENS

Former chair of the Cobb County Commission Elected as attorney general in 2010. www.samolens.com n Olens is defending Georgia’s same-sex marriage ban and says the ban is constitutional.

“Plaintiffs claim that the Georgia laws barring same-sex marriage violate the due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs’ claim fails because it incorrectly assumes that the fundamental right to marriage includes the right to marry someone of the same sex.

As there is no fundamental right implicated by Georgia’s marriage laws, they are scrutinized under rational basis review, and easily pass,” he stated in a motion to dismiss Lambda Legal’s federal lawsuit challenging the state’s ban. n In a statement following the Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling last June, he said, “I disagree with the court’s decision. [The] decision rests on the basic assumption —with which I strongly agree—that the power to define marriage is a power traditionally reserved to the states. The definition of marriage adopted by Georgia’s voters is unaffected by [the] decision.”

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EDITORIAL

10.24.14

THE GEORGIA VOICE

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

EDITORIAL

Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Steve Warren

BUSINESS

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All material in the GA Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the GA 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 GA 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.

A single copy of the GA Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from the Georgia Voice office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to reach a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 26-issue mailed subscription for $60 per year.

Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@ thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to the GA Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. The GA Voice is published every other Friday by The GA Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of the GA 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 GA Voice and its staff.

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Vote, but not for these candidates Going to the polls is crucial, but our choices, again, are less than ideal

By GA VOICE EDITORIAL BOARD Endorsements in political races are a responsibility we feel all news organizations should accept.

This year, we’ve settled on anti-endorsements in the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate race, and say: do not vote for Governor Nathan Deal in his re-election bid and do not vote for Republican Saxby Chambliss’ seat in the U.S. Senate.

Deal and Perdue are on record as not supporting LGBT equality and we never heard back portant to our community.

Deal also ran one of the most anti-gay campaigns in Georgia’s history just four years ago in his bid for the Republican nomination for governor over former Secretary of State Karen Handel. His campaign was so homophobic that “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” mocked our state.

We do highly endorse Democrat Greg Hecht for attorney general in his bid to unseat incumbent Sam Olens. Hecht is the only major Democratic candidate in this race who has both talked publicly to the gay media and stated publicly his support for marriage equality. He also promises not to defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban if elected.

Hecht shows the true leadership that we are looking for, and we deserve. We look forward to the day when his kind of leadership and transparency are the norm for Georgia Democrats seeking our votes and our money.

GOVERNOR’S RACE

The GA Voice has not and will never endorse

simply not fair to you, our readers, to do so. That is why we cannot endorse Jason Carter in the governor’s race. His campaign has ignored and denied numerous requests for an interview over several months. being able to ask him his thoughts and opinions on issues important to our community.

We don’t know how he feels on issues such as transgender rights, or a hate crimes law. Georout a hate crimes law.

Carter did show up at a subcommittee hearing on an anti-gay “religious freedom bill” proposed in the state House to a crowded and enthusiastic crowd of LGBT activists but did not make any remarks.

We do know he supports marriage equality, but only because he said as much to another media outlet after the GA Voice wrote an edito-

rial urging him to do so. He again discussed his support at an Oct. 8 debate.

He’s appeared at LGBT fundraisers—one in which he never said the words “gay” or “LGBT” and still managed to raise close to $100,000.

Of course, those voters did not have to give him their money, so we can’t blame Carter for accepting it. interview in person with the board of the LGBT organization Georgia Equality and received GE’s endorsement.

U.S. SENATE RACE

There is major confusion about Michelle Nunn’s views on marriage equality. She and her campaign denied or simply ignored requests from the GA Voice for interviews to discuss marriage and other issues important to LGBT people.

She began her campaign by saying she supported states’ rights when it comes to same-sex marriage. Supporting the idea that it is OK to put equality up to a vote is not something we can accept or endorse.

We do not know her major stances on other LGBT issues facing Georgians because she has made herself accessible only at high-end fundraisers with people who can afford to purchase tickets for $500, $1,000 or more. She is endorsed by the national Human Rights Campaign.

We can all agree Perdue is a bad choice for a U.S. Senator. The race between Perdue and Nunn is in the national spotlight as the Democrats struggle to hold on to the majority in the Senate; a Nunn victory would help the Democrats stay in control. That means Democrats would still have those on the U.S. Supreme Court. reason to vote for Nunn. We realize the importance of this race and of keeping Democrats in position to put progressive, forward-thinking judges on the federal bench. We aren’t endorsing Nunn, but we are also not saying not to vote for her.

But we also should expect more from candidates who say they want to represent us.

Neither Nunn, nor Carter, showed up at Atlanta Pride, where they could have greeted tens of thousands of prospective voters. Having supporters carry their signs in the parade is not enough to earn our votes in 2014; not even in Georgia.

U.S. Senators are elected to six-year terms (unless there’s a special election). We will be marriage equality is on track to be the law of the land in a very few years, if not sooner.

WE CANNOT BE STOPPED

Think about the sea change in our country since just six years ago.

That year, President Obama publicly supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage

Act but still personally believed marriage could he came out personally in support of same-sex marriage, and just this month he stated he believes marriage equality is a constitutional right. He has opened the door to all Democrats to support marriage equality.

Since 2008, we’ve seen dozens of federal judges overturn state amendments banning gay marriage, and now same-sex couples can legally marry in 32 states, soon to be 35. There’s been the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and our LGB service members can serve openly.

Soon, we hope, transgender service members will also be accepted.

There are of course many more issues facing LGBT community than marriage. But imagine where we will be in six years and how we are on track to receive the equality we so richly deserve in health care, housing, and job protections.

And if we look far enough into the next six Democrats will not be so timid and afraid to support us openly instead of just whispering to us behind the scenes.

U.S. Census data shows that in 2010 there were 30,000 same-sex couples living in Georgia. These numbers are only growing and cannot continue to be ignored.

This should be the very last election in which LGBT people are not addressed openly as a sought-out Democratic constituency.

We are here and we deserve to be treated as equals.

The most important thing to remember is to vote on Nov. 4. Not voting is only hurting yourself and your community.

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GA VOICE

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10.24.14

ATLANTA PRIDE

’ R E V E E D I R ‘THE BEST P ,” our ears as event organizers k Cooke, ex- music to people attended, says Buc s.

Cooke say Pride.

By DYANA BAGBY for the ecutive director of Atlanta Cooke also has special love Sun re befo and ay urd ure AtSat ens on o n wh Rai ers nte ’t volu zers don ple’s hundreds of While Atlanta Pride organi ade didn’t dampen peo t any major par hou ’s wit day off s ny goe ma e Prid how ta lan have a total count yet on , Cooked says. e Oct. 11-12 spirits, though ‘the hitches. this ing call n people attended Atlanta Prid bee e hav elves out “People to say the “These folks knock thems have had a numI at Piedmont Park, it’s is safe and r’ k to the eve bac e Prid give t to bes of thousands. over and over again numbers were in the tens e community members I can gtim way lon no of is re ber the and lud inc nity gs, d the festival, commu “We use a number of thin oye enj nty cou the t ir tha the for me erage sales, tell adequately thank them ing ATM usage, food and bev ertainment more this ent s. and t, say rke he ” ma ice, ce serv Atlanta Poli less hours of and estimates from the y have in years, so that is how many year than the Department” to determine

Next year marks the 45th ke anniversary of Pride and Coo the in ady alre are ns pla says cial. works to make it extra spe

rs, Photos by Patrick Saunde t, tlet Bar n Jea by, Dyana Bag ter pen Car m Ada , Lax Dan

ATLANTA PRIDE

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TAeIphoLtosSat DE out more Prid Check www.thegavoice.com

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Catching Up … with Lily White The drag legend on early days of Atlanta’s drag scene, enduring tragedies, and her legacy

On our website Lily White talks about crazy nights at Backstreet, her many nicknames, and more in our extended interview with her at www.thegavoice.com.

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com

four inches of padding. It was good to freak out tricks when I brought tricks home. I did a lot of fucking in that coffin. There’s quite a few people that have seen my coffin, let’s put it that way [laughs].

L

ily White has lived a life and then some. The Atlanta drag legend started performing over 40 years ago and criss-crossed the country as part of a trio called the Grease Sisters, featuring Kitty Litter and Alvina Laverne, then gained fame working with Charlie Brown throughout the 1980s and 1990s at Backstreet.

But a series of personal tragedies struck in 2012, leading her to lose her mother, her house, her good health and a career’s worth of costumes and accessories, and ultimately leading to her retirement. And earlier this month, Litter, whom White considered a sister, was shot and killed in her Cobb County home.

White, 66, spoke with the GA Voice from her Sandy Springs home about the early days of Atlanta’s drag scene, how she inspired Elvira’s look, sleeping in coffins, persevering through tragedy, and what she wants her legacy to be.

What made you want to get into doing drag in the first place?

From doing it at parties in Tennessee before I moved to Atlanta, where I palled around with some early drag queens like Diamond Lil and Billy Jones, so I got into drag through them. It was expressive; I liked that.

I liked the attention. And I got together with two friends from North Georgia [Litter and LaVerne] and we formed the Grease Sisters.

When and where was your first show?

It was in the early 1970s at a little club called Peaches Back Door. It was a small little club and almost everybody was high, there were a lot of hallucinogens in that era.

In the middle 1970s we moved to Florida and then we moved to Texas, then I came back to Atlanta to work at the Locker Room.

It was the first 24-hour club in Atlanta. We had a predominantly straight clientele, a lot of rock ‘n rollers, a lot of musical groups that came through Atlanta. Tina Turner, Liberace, any groups that came to town that were famous, they all came out the Locker Room.

Then in the late ‘70s we moved to North Carolina for awhile. I traveled all over the country in the ’80s and ’90s.

You must have experienced harassment, especially back in those days.

Oh, of course. I’m surprised that any of us lived through it. I was stabbed in the chest twice in Texas. Punctured my lung. In 2000,

Atlanta drag legend Lily White at the roast of Charlie Brown at LeBuzz in 2012. She retired shortly after following a series of personal tragedies. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

“There wasn’t a time where I thought I shouldn’t be doing this unless I was lying in a hospital. But even then I couldn’t wait to get out and do it again.” —Lily White I was performing in Huntsville and I was attacked in my motel room by a couple of guys who were following hookers home and robbing them. The way I was dressed they thought I was a hooker.

They hit me in the head with a ball-peen hammer and I almost died. I lost the ability to speak for awhile. I couldn’t get my mind and my mouth coordinated, which is a bad thing as an emcee. I lost a lot of years where I don’t remember what happened. I’ve lost a lot of my history.

Did it get bad enough that you ever thought about quitting?

It wasn’t a choice of “I don’t need to do this,” it was “That’s what I do.” Performing, emceeing, making people laugh was my job. There wasn’t a time where I thought I shouldn’t be doing this unless I was lying in a hospital. But even then I couldn’t wait to get out and do it again.

So Halloween is coming up. I hear you have a good Elvira story.

When I worked at the Locker Room, I was always kind of the evil one, I had the evil whore attitude. I wore a lot of black hair at that time. I met Elvira when she came to the club. Her name was Cassandra Peterson and she was a redhead then. We became friends.

Then years later this woman came out on TV named Elvira and everyone kept saying, “Damn, Lily, she looks just like you!” A few years later I ran into one of her former dancers and he said a few years after they came through Atlanta, there was a call out for someone to be the hostess for a horror show. Cassandra asked this guy if he had any of those gay magazines from when they were in Atlanta. He told her he did and she said, “Do you have any with pictures of that drag queen Lily White?” He did, so they took an old gay magazine with my picture and duplicated my look on Cassandra’s face and she got the job as Elvira.

So whatever Elvira looks like is what I used to look like in the ‘70s. I wore two black wigs piled up, almost the same eyes. Everything but the tits. I’ve spoken to Cassandra in the years since then and she acknowledges that my look was what she adapted Elvira to.

Is it true you used to sleep in a coffin?

Yes. So, one Halloween there was this shop in a flea market here in Atlanta and one of their display cases was an old copper coffin. I was like, “God, I love this coffin.”

And a few weeks later I was back and the owner asked if I wanted it, I said yeah, so she sold it to me. I slept in it for about a year.

It was very comfortable. Coffins have like

Switching gears here, you’ve had a horrible run of personal tragedies in the past few years. Can you talk about that?

In February of 2012, our house burned down. Then two weeks later I had a heart attack and almost died. Then the next month my mother passed from Alzheimer’s. The fire devastated her. Everything was gone after that. She had no reason to live, she didn’t understand why she didn’t have her clothes, she didn’t understand where she was. Then she just went deeper into a depression and died.

How did you get through all that?

I still haven’t gotten through it. That put an end to my career—not having wigs, costumes, shoes. Then having the heart attack slowed my life down tremendously. Then with my mother’s passing I had nowhere to live so I moved back to Atlanta two or three years ago.

I performed back here at The Jungle for three months. The audiences just were not the way I left them 13 years ago. After you lose everything you own and haven’t performed regularly for awhile and start from scratch with costuming and makeup … I just never recuperated, I never got my career back. I was history by then, I wasn’t current.

So I retired.

And how has that transition been?

In a way it’s sad because I liked to perform. Going from working six or seven nights a week to not working at all … it’s not really a transition, it’s like going cold turkey.

Last month I had a stroke also. I have trouble walking now. I used to be known for my stiletto heels and my spiked boots and now I couldn’t walk in them if I had to. My thought processes are a little stilted. I have trouble saying some words.

What do you want your legacy to be?

You can’t choose your legacy, it just happens. I think I was a pretty good example for a drag queen.

I think word of mouth is a pretty good way to leave a legacy because a lot of the things that I’ve done that aren’t on film just have to be told by word of mouth from one fag to another fag, baby doll.

GA VOICE | 18

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Atlanta’s Halloween King rides again Eddie Ray on the most wonderful time of the year

Eddie Ray’s Top 10 Halloween Movies

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com

E

ddie Ray believes in Halloween.

He doesn’t just like to dress up for a costume party or put a bowl of candy out on the doorstep for the neighbor kids. He believes in Halloween— the history, the rituals, the mythology.

“I understand the decoration part of it and everything, but you’re supposed to have a pumpkin lit on Halloween night wherever you’re sleeping because it wards off spirits,” he tells the GA Voice.

Ray has taken that longtime belief and dedicated September and October of every year to celebrating the holiday and spreading Halloween fear, becoming the event’s biggest advocate in Atlanta.

When he’s not working as a production coordinator on shows like “Squidbillies” or “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” for Adult Swim, you can find the gay East Atlanta resident working at the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse haunted house, shooting a Halloweenthemed version of his “Sparkle Hooves” web series, working on his latest short film, riding a float in the Little 5 Points Halloween Parade or finishing up his latest short film “Satanic Panic 2: Battle of the Bands,” premiering Nov. 22 at the Buried Alive Film Festival.

‘YOU HAD ME AT APOCALYPTIC’

Ray’s passion for all things Halloween goes back to when he was four or five years old with his imaginary friend Colleegia, who had a pumpkin head and a ghost’s body.

“I think it started there because every time I see that pumpkin image it reminds me of a friend or something that took care of me, like Mary Poppins or something,” he says from his home at the Roosevelt Historic Apartments, an eerie-looking former all-girls school built in 1927 and converted into apartments in the late 1980s. The endless hallways and interior color scheme echo the Overlook Hotel from “The Shining” so much that you half-expect to turn a corner and run into the film’s creepy twins. And yes, Ray moved there because it looked spooky.

His first Halloween costume was Bugs Bunny. As he grew older, he took more and more interest in and ownership over the holiday.

By 12, he had taken over putting up the Halloween decorations every year at his family’s Riverdale home. His interest never waned as he made his way into adulthood, and his enthusiasm has won over potential critics.

Halloween fanatic Eddie Ray in his element, surrounded by Halloween and horror film memorabilia (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

“I’ve learned that people enjoy when people are doing something they’re passionate about, because some people just aren’t passionate about things,” he says.

All the videos and short films Ray creates are presented under his production company, “Ebola Entertainment,” the YouTube account of which recently passed two million views.

However, recent headlines have led to some commenters talking less about the content itself and more about the Ebola virus.

“The last Sparkle Hooves was in Out On Film and people were laughing, but then the credits roll and it says ‘Ebola Entertainment’ and you hear people go ‘Ooooooo,’” Ray says, laughing. But he says he’s used that name for years and has no plans to change it now.

He’s been a frequent participant in the Little 5 Points Halloween Parade, either with Chamber of Horrors, Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse or this year, Adult Swim. He dressed as a banana and sang the song “Banana Split Girl” to the tune of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.”

Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse was created

by Plaza Theatre owner Jonny Rej and Shane Morton, master of ceremonies at the Silver Scream Spookshow. Rej and Morton reached out to Ray when the idea was in its infancy.

“Johnny and Stewart were like, ‘What do you think about an apocalyptic truck stop kind of place?’ and I was like, ‘You had me at apocalyptic,’” Ray says. He’s taken part ever since.

‘IT’S OKAY TO BE SCARED’

Ray also has a popular movie review blog with over half a million hits so far, and the content goes Halloween-heavy once the season rolls around. He recently posted an extensive guide to Halloween in Atlanta, and he once presented a ranking of his favorite Halloween films, or as he called it, “My Top 35 Spooky Ass Films I Watch During Halloween.” The 1978 John Carpenter classic “Halloween” nabbed the top spot, of course.

“That’s probably the first movie that scared me when I was little,” Ray says. “I have memories of lying in bed with a cover over my head and it was on TV and you hear the music and I remember going, ‘Shut the fuck up with that music, I don’t want to hear that music.’”

But he learned to embrace the fear and gain an appreciation of it over time.

“You realize that that was important that I was scared. It’s okay to be scared,” he says. “I can’t imagine not having those memories of

1. Halloween: The best horror film of all time because John Carpenter is gold. I thanked him once for the joy he brought to my life.

2. The Fog: A John Carpenter classic, everything about this film is brilliant to me even the score.

3. Trick ‘r Treat: This film is incredible and should be a staple film to watch on Halloween. You will learn a lot about the season in this film. Do yourself a favor: buy this film today. Do not rent it, buy it!

4. Halloween II: A sequel that made me scared shitless of hospitals and was just as fun to watch as the first.

5. The House of the Devil: This throwback to the 1980s is gold and it is quiet, moody, scary and satanic. Watch it and you will be spooked.

The Director Ti West knows what he is doing.

6. The Return of the Living Dead: The best zombie movie ever made, and some of my favorite dialogue in film period. Amazing soundtrack too.

7. Hellraiser: Humans are the bad guys in this amazing horror love story.

8. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood: My favorite of the Jason Voorhees/ Friday films. The teens ruled, and the telekinetic concept is amazing to me.

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master: My favorite of the Freddy/ Nightmare films.

The teens are fucking incredible in this film.

10. The Descent: This film made me jump twice. I don’t ever jump in movies. The plot is simple and brilliant and gave me a panic attack. *From Eddie Ray’s blog at eddieraysmoviereviews.wordpress.com

being afraid because now I can’t watch movies and be scared. I can tell you if it’s scary for other people, but I’m not scared watching it.

I miss being afraid of watching something.”

He doesn’t hesitate to name the most overrated horror films, citing the “Saw” movies.

“I love violence and I love vulgarity and blood and guts and everything but I just think their characters are weak,” Ray says.

“You should be able to take these characters, pull them out of the movie and put them in a grocery store, and would you still want to hang out with them in a grocery store? If that works, then I think you got cool characters.”

He’s going as “Scooby-Doo” villain Zen Tuo to this year’s Rock and Roll Monster Bash on Saturday, Nov. 1, but as for the big night on Friday the 31st?

“I’ll have to work at the [Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse] haunted house for sure, I probably won’t get out of there till about 1 or 2 in the morning,” he says. “But I will have a lit pumpkin there.”

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THEATER BY JIM FARMER

‘The Elephant Man’ tells tortured tale of John Merrick Play opens Oct. 30 at Georgia Ensemble Theatre Although they differ dramatically in scope and content, two current shows in the ATL deal with classic outsiders. Both also feature a prominent gay artist in their cast and crew.

Georgia Ensemble Theatre is about to open the drama “The Elephant Man,” directed by out director David Crowe. It’s the true story of John Merrick, the Englishman of the Victorian era who had facial and body deformities resulting from rare bone and skin diseases. He was a performer in circus sideshows until he came under the care of physician Frederick Treves.

Although Crowe had never seen the play, he knew the sad tale of Merrick.

“It’s a unique and tortured story,” he says.

“In Victorian England, everything was so tied up in this implied kind of morality, how people lived their life. When people saw him they didn’t know what to think. It’s interesting to think what people in that society must have thought. They would not have known

anything about him.”

Even though he was taken in by Treves, Merrick remained an outsider.

“In this society there was no place at the table for him. His condition got so bad, people who saw him wanted to kill him,” Crowe says.

“He didn’t have the rights anyone else did. It was an oppressive society. The social community became interested in him in a philanthropic way, but what the play does so beautifully is ask the question—just by bringing someone into an environment, does it mean giving them the same rights?

They instruct John Merrick on how to behave but in the end they still don’t treat him like everyone else.”

Crowe does feel in today’s society Merrick would not have had to deal with the same level of stigma.

“The Elephant Man” opened on Broadway in 1979 and won the Tony Award for Best Play. David Lynch later turned it into a film.

Georgia Ensemble Theatre secured the rights to the play just in time. A few weeks later, the Bradley Cooper revival was announced on Broadway and any future productions were halted.

“We might be one of the last productions in the country going on because of that,”

DETAILS “The Elephant Man”

Georgia Ensemble Theatre Roswell Cultural Arts Center 950 Forrest St., Roswell, GA 30075 Oct. 30 – Nov. 16 www.get.org

Crowe says.

He considers it daring fare for Georgia Ensemble Theatre. “(Artistic directors) Bob and Anita Farley do a great job of walking a tightrope,” he says. “It’s largely a Roswell audience, a slightly older audience, much more conservative in the artistic sense,” Crowe says.

“They do a great job of doing work that is interesting for actors that is challenging and interesting that their community will respond to. But this is a little farther outside their wheelhouse. It’s a dark, dense play.”

In the stage version, makeup is not used for Merrick. It’s up to the actor (Jonathan Horne is GET’s production) to suggest the physical challenges.

“It is much more implied, more theatrical,” says Crowe. “For me it’s an interesting and lovely choice.”

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Actor Jonathan Horne plays John Merrick in ‘The Elephant Man,’ the true story of a deformed man rescued by a physician from circus sideshows in Victorian England. (Photo by Martina Schmidt)

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Eating my words BY CLIFF BOSTOCK

Newbies worth noting New restaurants titillate taste buds This week, we’re going to take a quick tour of some of the newbies getting a lot of attention in town. These are not necessarily places I have visited or feel personally ready to conclusively critique. Nor are they listed in any particular order.

The most exciting opening for those who miss the closed Cardamom Hill, which featured the exotic cuisine of western India’s Kerala region, is Spice to Table (659 Auburn Ave., 404-793-7963, www.spicetotable.com) in the Studioplex. Owner-chef Asha Gomez, who has received national attention, is serving only lunch and dinner before 7 p.m. This is an inexpensive café-bakery. Popular dishes are samosa pockets and sandwiches with various curried fillings. Gomez will also soon open Spice Road Chicken in the Krog Street Market, featuring her famous fried chicken made with Kerala spices.

Under the category of the strangely compelling is the Painted Pin (737 Miami Circle,

404-814-8736, www.thepaintedpin.com).

This is, according to its own marketing, “an upscale boutique bar, bowling and entertainment venue.” There are 20 lanes and all kinds of other games (none of them video!).

The place is also gorgeous. The owners, chef, and bartender all have impressive pedigrees, but the food—wood-fired pizzas and small plates of pub grub—hasn’t been very impressive. If you like the idea of a bowling alley behind a speakeasy door and have pockets full of cash, you’ll love the place.

Ah-Ma’s Taiwanese Kitchen (931 Monroe Drive, 404-549-9848) has replaced the Rice Box in Midtown Promenade. It’s a relatively short menu that has drawn raves from Christiane Lauterbach, who writes for Atlanta magazine and Knife & Fork. She reports snacky plates of fried frog legs, stuffed chicken wings, salt-and-pepper chicken, and fried pig ears. Christiane particularly recommends a dish of “delicious spicy minced pork and a tea egg over rice,” as well as “sandwich-style steamed buns stuffed with glorious items like fried chicken” and condiments. (To subscribe to Knife & Fork, the best source of reviews of new, kinky restaurants, call 404-378-2775.)

Southbound’s Smoked Short Rib Hash is part of the restaurant’s menu honoring Southern-inspired cooking. (Photo via Facebook)

Another newbie garnering much attention is Southbound (5394 Peachtree Road, 678-580-5579, www.baconsnobs.com), which has opened in a former Masonic lodge in Chamblee. The restaurant, obviously, features Southern-inspired cooking by Chef Ryan Smith. But I’m most excited by its lunchtime chef, Mihoko Obunai, who, along with her husband Joe Truex, opened the much-missed Repast. She is one of the city’s best chefs, with an amazing talent for unexpected fusion (although Jenny Turknett of

the AJC, who penned a generally mediocre review, thinks she is underused).

Makan (130 Clairemont Ave., Decatur, 404-996-6504, makanatl.com) is another in the explosion of Asian-inspired street food venues. At lunch, you get the ubiquitous Korean tacos, steamed buns, and ramen. Things get more expansive at dinner, with family meals of a whole roasted duck or grazing dishes like tofu-stuffed rabbit. (Rabbit is suddenly hopping onto plates all over Atlanta.)

Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall (684 John Wesley Dobbs Ave., 404-458-6368, www.ladybirdatlanta.com) is one of the most anticipated openings. It’s located on the Beltline, near Irwin Street and features a “campfire and lodge” theme with a reportedly impressive beer and wine list. The food is classified as Trail Snacks (“fluffernutter” and Cracker Jacks); Picnic Basket (meats and cheeses); Vittles (ham and potato soup, molepoblano baked beans); Campfire (a burger, lamb steak, grilled swordfish); Base Camp (the now-ubiquitous spatchcock chicken, grilled red fish); and Dessert (caramel-apple funnel cake, peach bread pudding). It looks like great fun.

Cliff Bostock, PhD, is a longtime Atlanta dining critic and a former psychotherapist who now specializes in life coaching with creative people.

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Event spotlight

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Photo by Dyana Bagby

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SATURDAY, OCT. 25 Direct from the London Eagle, DJ Paul Coals brings his brand of music to the Atlanta Eagle. The evening is sponsored by Three Olives who will offer prizes and giveaways all night long, 9 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com

Photo via Facebook

FRIDAY, OCT. 24

Edie Cheezburger and cast bring “The Other Show” drag event weekly at Jungle, 9 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 Comedian Fortune Feimster serves as host of GLAAD Atlanta’s 2014 benefit with a special performance by Frenchie Davis. Special guests include Wilson Cruz, Kat Graham, Sam Champion, and Rubem Robierb, with Paul Horning being honored with the GLAAD Champion Award, 6 – 9 p.m., www.legendary events.com, www.glaad.org/atlanta

Photo via Facebook

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 The Revival: a QWOC Poetry Salon featuring guest poet Jericho Brown, welcomes T. Miller, Queen Sheba, and Be Steady to town for a poetry concert like no other. Part of a nine-city tour, the event is free to Georgia Tech students, 8:30 p.m., revivalpoetry.com

SOMETHING GAY EVERY DAY!

Bookmark www.thegavoice.com to get your daily dose of local LGBT events.

The Steampunk Monster Ball is tonight, with confirmed acts including Quantum String Orchestra, Candy Apple Black, and Sho Tyme, 8 p.m., Mammal Gallery, www.MammalGallery.com

Traxx Girls night at My Sister’s Room offers drink specials, great music and lots of beautiful women, 10 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com

FRIDAY, OCT. 24

Eddie’s Attic and Terminal West present the Larkin Poe album release party with special guests Matrimony and Family & Friends, 8 p.m., Terminal West, www.terminalwestatl.com

It’s Otter Chaos with some of the hairiest critters in town, with DJ Rob Ansley, prizes and drink specials, 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantaeagle.com

The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce hosts Fourth Friday at Kembra L. Smith Law Firm from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., atlantagaychamber.org

Slumber Party Massacre II with DJ Headmaster spinning killer jams and classic slasher movies and creatures playing on the TVs all night long. Monster makeup guru Vii Kelly from Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse will also be on hand to make you look slayed, 9 p.m., Mary’s, www.facebook.com/mary.heylady

Femme Fatale hosted by Destiny Brooks and Shavonna B. Brooks takes over Burkhart’s every Friday with a cast including Phoenix and Mariah Balenciaga from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and also Angelica D’Paige, 10 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

FRIDAY, OCT. 24 – SUNDAY, OCT.26

The popular Taste of Atlanta brings popular chefs and plenty of fine food to Midtown at Tech Square, and includes live cooking stages and more than 90 restaurants selling samples of their fine foods, www.tasteofatlanta.com The award-winning, gay themed film “Lilting” opens at the Midtown Art Cinema, www.landmarktheatres.com

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Blake’s brings out the fun with Glitter Bomb, 75 minutes of high-energy illusion, at 11 p.m., www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

SATURDAY, OCT. 25

Lostintheletters is a monthly reading series that takes place at the Highland Ballroom and other locales in Atlanta, featuring well-known and emerging fiction and nonfiction writers from the area. Charis is excited to co-host October’s event as part of a lead-in to the Letters Festival which will take place during Charis’ birthday weekend, Nov. 6 – 9. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary event. The suggested donation is $5, time is 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com She Speaks! presents The Brown Sugar Vibe’s Real Live Juke Joint reminiscent of “The Color Purple.” Spoken word and live music are part of the event to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month taking place at the Blue Mark Studios.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, cash prizes for Best Juke Joint costume. Call 657-46-GROWN or email BrownSugarVibe@gmail.com for more information.

The Krog Masquerade is a party within Atlanta’s iconic Krog Street Tunnel, which will be transformed into a “European style masquerade ball.” Beats by DJ Salah, body art, burlesque, and cocktails, www.facebook.com/krogmasq Billy Lace from New York spins at Jungle, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com Synergy Saturdays with Monica Van Pelt promises lots of rowdy fun, 11 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

SUNDAY, OCT. 26

Still up and ready to dance? Twisted Dee rocks Xion at 3 a.m., www.cariocaproductions.com The Sisters of Sequins hosted by Bubba D. Licious and Justice Counce offers up drag extravaganza, laughs and a gospel brunch special.

Doors open at 12:15 p.m. with a 1:30 p.m. program, Lips Atlanta, www.lipsatl.com Enjoy “The Music of the Night” as “Phantom of the Opera” returns to the Fox Theatre through November 2, with performances today at 1 and 6:30 p.m., www.foxtheatre.org

MONDAY, OCT. 27

Writing With Intent is a monthly writing class led

by Charis Circle Executive Director Elizabeth Anderson. The focus shifts from month to month but the specific goal is to provide artistic accountability in a busy world and offer some academic insight out-

The Stars of the Century drag show is every Monday at Jungle, 10 p.m., http://tinyurl.com/matzdvf

TUESDAY, OCT. 28

Fourth Tuesday holds its October dinner at Six Feet Under Pub & Fish House at the West side location on 11th Street, not on Memorial Drive, 6-9 p.m., www.facebook.com/FourthTuesdayAtlanta “The Giving Tree” at Ink & Elm restaurant tavern will be donating 10 percent of all sales from the tavern side of the restaurant to AID Atlanta from 6-10 p.m., www.facebook.com/ RedRibbonLeadershipCouncil Join Charis for Kidliterature Book Club, a wide-ranging conversation in a new kind of book club. One book a month (children’s or young adult fiction) is read and titles will be very carefully selected. The club seeks out books that push the boundaries of what kidlit is “supposed to do.”

October’s Book is “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”

by Jesse Andrews. This is a Charis Circle Whole Children, Strong Families Program. The suggested donation is $5, time is 7 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooks andmore.com

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29

Laughs galore mark the Abear Comedy Show at 8 p.m., Jungle, www.jungleatl.com

THURSDAY, OCT. 30

SAGE social hour, with games and conversation, lasts from 10 to 11 a.m., with a general meeting to follow, Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.com In “Too Heavy a Yoke,” author, psychologist and pastoral theologian Chanequa Walker Barnes demonstrates how the ideology-emotional strength of the image of the “Strong Black Woman” constrains the lives of African-American women and predisposes them to physical and emotional health problems, including diabetes, hypertension, and anxiety. This is a Charis Circle Founding the Future of Feminism event, and the suggested donation is $5. 7:30 – 9 p.m., Charis Books, www.charisbooksandmore.com Gay director David Crowe stages the drama “The Elephant Man” at Georgia Ensemble Theatre, 8 p.m., www.get.org Phoenix of RuPaul’s Drag Race brings her sass to her Dancefloor Divas show, 11:30 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

FRIDAY, OCT. 31

Le Buzz hosts its brand new Midnight Cabaret, hosted by Miss LeBUZZ 2014 Myah Ross Monroe with special guests, 9 p.m., www.thenewlebuzz.com

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HALLOWEEN WEEKEND THURSDAY, OCT. 30

Photo via Facebook

Traveling Through Time, produced by Jerusalem House, is Atlanta’s premier open bar Halloween party. This 15th annual event includes a renowned costume parade and contest with $3,000 in cash and prizes to the best individual, best group and best Halloween Krewe, 7 p.m., W Atlanta Midtown, www.watlantamidtown.com

side the academy. All are welcome to attend. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Program and the Suggested Donation is $10.

6:30 – 8:30 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

10.24.14

Halloween Yappy Hour 2014—an evening at Piedmont Bark benefiting For the Kid in All of Us features delicious treats and irresistible spirit, plus a canine (and companion!) costume contest with great prizes. 6:30 – 9 p.m., Piedmont Bark, www.piedmontbark.com An Unruly Night of Political Misbehavin’ 2014 hosted by the Feminist Women’s Health Center includes carnival-style games, sex and candy bars, costume contests, and more. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door, must be 21 or older to enter. 8-11 p.m. at CosmoLava, www.facebook.com/FWHC.Atlanta This one is for the ladies—the Heretic hosts its Masked Shindig party from 8 p.m. – 3 a.m., www.hereticatlanta.com It’s Goth Night, the Devil’s Night Out with plenty of Goth anthems and a directive to “dress to depress.” DJs Merlot and Horror Business will be spinning the spooky tunes, 9 p.m., Mary’s, www.facebook.com/mary.heylady The men of Traxx Atlanta present the $1,000 Halloween affair with awards going to Best Hip Hop Couple, Best Reality TV Star, and Best Overall Costume, 10 p.m., Club 708, www.facebook.com/TraxxAtlanta

SATURDAY, NOV. 1

Apocalypse party with DJ Alex Acosta and a Halloween costume contest with a chance to win $1,000 in cash and prizes comes to Jungle, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

FRIDAY, OCT. 31

The Fourth Tuesday Halloween Bash includes prizes for costumes in these categories: Scariest, Sexiest, Funniest, Most Original.

Tickets are $10 to be donated to The Health Initiative. Fourth Tuesday is for all women identifying as queer, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual, 8-11:30 p.m. in the annex building of The Phillip Rush Center, www.facebook.com/ FourthTuesdayAtlanta Opera Night Club hosts the official Halloween Latin Party. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the party lasts until 3 a.m., www.rumbeandoenatlanta.com Traxx Girls, My Sister’s Room, and Blue Diamond Entertainment present the “Walking Dead” costume party tonight, with cash prizes, 9 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com Halloween Swank party for women who love women, and guys too, is giving away $500 in cash for the Best Costume, no cover, 9 p.m., 10th and Piedmont, www.facebook. com/10thAndPiedmont Halloween at Blake’s on the Park is hosted by Nicole Paige Brooks and includes a Halloween costume contest with $2,000 in cash and prizes, 9 p.m., www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

Halloween Trick or Treat Ball at the Jungle

by Secretroom.net includes $250 in cash and prizes for Best Costume, features DJs Caz, 313, Evil Z, and MOMO, 10 p.m., www.facebook.com/ Secretroom.NetGallery Celebrate Mary’s 10th annual Spooky Monster Mash with Halloweenie featuring DJ Headmaster, costume contest with $100 cash prize, and dance party. 10 p.m., Mary’s, www.facebook.com/mary.heylady

SATURDAY, NOV. 1

It’s a Monster Bash Halloween Party at the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse, an immersive horror attraction. A dance party within the 10,000 square-foot dance party, DJs, live music, costume contest, horror movies all night, photo ops with live zombies, and more. Tickets are $25 at the door, $3 for parking, 18 to party, 21 to drink, 8 p.m.-4 a.m., Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse, www.atlantazombie.com It’s a Haunted Hoedown kind of evening at the Heretic, with a costume contest at 11 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com Gurlfrandz presents Drop Dead Divas drag show, dance party to follow, 10:30 p.m., Mary’s,

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BEST BETS

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BEST BETS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

SATURDAY, NOV. 1

The 12th annual Chomp & Stomp Chili Cook-off and Bluegrass Fest takes over Cabbagetown from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The day includes a 5K, an artist market, lots of live music and plenty of chili to eat, www.chompandstomp.com The Lesbian 50+ Potluck & Social provides an opportunity to meet women and have a great meal, 6 p.m., Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.com “Let’s Make a Deal,” hosted by Ken, rounds up contestants tonight at Friends on Ponce, 6 – 10 p.m., www.friendsonponce-atl.com Enjoy some wonderful music at Songwriters In-the-Round with Hannah Thomas, Danielle Howle, and Caroline Aiken. Doors open at 7 with an 8 p.m. start, Red Clay Music Foundry, www.eddieowenpresents.com Judith Ivey directs “Steel Magnolias” at the

Alliance Theatre through Nov. 9 with an 8 o’clock curtain tonight, www.alliancetheatre.com

SUNDAY, NOV. 2

Onstage Atlanta’s “The Sugar Bean Sisters,” directed by lesbian Cathe Hall Payne, runs through Nov. 8 with a 3 o’clock performance today, www.onstageatlanta.com

TUESDAY, NOV. 4

Angelica D’Paige and friends—including Brent Star and Destiny Brooks—purr up fun at Sex Kitten, with $5 burgers and Smirnoff cocktails, 8 p.m. at 10th and Piedmont, www.facebook. com/10thAndPiedmont

Midtown Open Mic begins at 9:30 p.m., Blake’s, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

$2 well drinks are on tap all day and night at Sunday Funday at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309

MONDAY, NOV. 3

Charis kicks off its 40th anniversary year celebrations by welcoming Azar Nafisi, author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran” and “The Republic of Imagination” to Decatur in conjunction with the Georgia Center for the Book. In “The Republic of Imagination,” this exhilarating follow-up to “Reading Lolita,” Nafisi has written the book her fans have been waiting for: an impassioned, beguiling, and utterly original tribute to the vital importance of fiction in a democratic society, 7:15 p.m, Georgia Center for the Book. www.georgiacenterforthebook.org

PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND and ALLEN TOUSSAINT Friday, November 7, 8 p.m.

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The PFLAG Atlanta support group meets tonight from 7:30 – 9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, www.uuca.org

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It’s Election Day in Georgia. Races to vote in include governor and U.S. Senate. To find out where to vote, visit www.mvp.sos.ga.gov

Cockpit Atlanta is the home for YouTubesday ‘90s mix with VJ Ayem, www.facebook.com/ cockpit.atlanta

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5

Ruby Redd hosts bingo 8:30 p.m. at the Hideaway, www.atlantahideaway.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 6 – SATURDAY, NOV. 8

Candler and Emily Budd return to Serenbe Playhouse this fall with “Craigslist Chronicles, An All New Cabaret.” This husband and wife comedic cabaret team brings hilarious and ridiculous stories from actual craigslist ads. You will meet characters looking for love, roommates, and someone to buy their used crap. Featuring music inspired by the characters themselves, this promises to be a night filled with crazy tales and laughs. 8 p.m., www.serenbeplayhouse.com

www.theGAVoice.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 6

Decadence: A Night of Drinking and Debauchery is every Thursday starting at 10 p.m., hosted by Adam Bland and Ashley Mitchell with beats by DJ Daryl Cox. A wet underwear contest begins at 11 p.m., with a cash prize and dancers galore, TEN Atlanta, www.tenatlanta.com

UPCOMING FRIDAY, NOV. 7

Film Love presents Through the Image: Recent Documentary Work from the Visual Scholarship Initiative which includes three provocative videos demonstrating the power of the visual in storytelling and research, 7 p.m., Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, www.thecontemporary.org/

SATURDAY. NOV. 8

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, will pack ‘em in tonight at the Fox Theatre, 8 p.m., www.foxtheatre.org The Atlanta Opera presents the extravagant “Madama Butterfly,” 8 p.m., Cobb Energy Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.org

COLUMNISTS

www.theGAVoice.com

10.24.14

FUNNYSTORY

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Java Monkey Sq/Ft

Man on the run

Facing the spooky voice in your head

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this was mine, and somehow I’d lost it.

Damn it, now the Shania Twain thing totally makes sense. And I’d been making fun of her for years. I would like to take this time to apologize to Shania Twain. I get it now, lady, and it sucks. I’m real glad you figured out how to sing again.

When you treat introspection like the enemy, when you’re unable to face your fears, nothing changes. Jamie Lee Curtis could hide from Michael Myers for most of the movie, but at some point there has to be a showdown. I had to confront the voice in my head I’d been dodging for months. I sat on the porch with my notebook, and I wrote the question: “What are you afraid of?”

Well, many things, it turns out. I have fears about money, about my parents aging, about my career, my dog’s well-being, the reliability of my car. Nothing paralyzing, and everything on the list was a concern when I was still living married life. Some of those terrors have been heightened of late, but none of the ideas were new.

“I am afraid that I’m the sort of guy that people give up on.”

Oh, gross, that was totally it.

Fundamentally, I’m afraid that if I go all in, work to build a life with someone I love, they’ll ultimately decide I’m just not worth the effort. I’m exhausting. I’m scared because if that’s true, I’m not sure I can fix it.

But now I have that fear on paper. I’ve accepted it as a fact of where my head’s at right now. I’m a little messed up, there are days I struggle to find my footing. And that’s all okay. It’s still scary, but I’m not running away from it anymore.

AP

When I moved out of the house I had shared with my husband, my first order of business was to pack my calendar with every project I could get my hands on.

I performed in five plays in six months, took gigs out of town, taught classes, painted a fence, anything to keep my hands and mind occupied. I needed to wake up each morning and know exactly what the day was going to bring. I was in no mood for surprises. When people asked how I was doing, I would confidently report, “I’m busy.”

I believe that there are moments in your life when you do not benefit from being alone with your thoughts. You’ll just end up reciting the same litany of self-abuse. The rigid scheduling silenced the spooky voice in my head for large chunks of the day, though it was persistent in its pursuit.

Anxieties would invade while driving, so I listened to podcasts. When the podcasts failed to engage my brain, I switched to music, and I’d sing along. I did a deep dive into all my old music from high school, which I’m certain is significant and means something, but I don’t know what because I was actively avoiding self-reflection.

I can’t say I’m proud that I spent the last few months drowning out my thoughts by screaming along with The Offspring and Pearl Jam, but it was effective, and arguably less self-destructive than boozing it up or eating a lot of pie, both of which I considered.

But I forgot how to write. I mean, not literally. Not like when Shania Twain’s husband left her and she forgot how to sing, which frankly I’m still skeptical about, but it was nice of Oprah to give her a TV show to explore it. I was still capable of putting words to paper, but it no longer served the purpose it once did.

I write to make sense out of the world. I use it to consider perspective, to open myself up to new ideas—everybody has a thing they love that grounds them and helps them grow,

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Our community is as colorful as the rainbow flag we proudly wave once or twice a year, but we still have an atrocious amount of judgment for one another, and that’s slowing our progress down.

We push hard for change, against the fabric of society. We’re fighting for, and winning, the freedom to marry someone of the same gender—31 states and counting now enjoy marriage equality, as of this writing. We don’t want to be fired for being gay or transgender. We hope that if we want to, we will be allowed to serve as volunteers in our church’s Sunday school class or in the local Boy Scout troop. We deserve the privilege to walk down the street wearing clothes not marketed to the sex we were assigned at birth without getting harassed or beaten.

These are all things we in the LGBT community can agree on, yes? So why do we so often hate on each other? We can’t move forward if we’re fighting all the time. Progress isn’t achievable when the moving parts are caught in a mechanical gridlock.

For example, take the tired old gag, “I thought one of the benefits of being gay was that I didn’t have to get married.” I’ve heard many people say that. Yawn. If you choose a solitary life without a permanent commitment to someone else, more power to you. And yes, most married people will envy you from time to time. But when you espouse such a bigoted, ignorant point of view, only the oldest gays are going to give you a light gasp of merriment for this antiquated view of what it means to be LGBTQ. If we continue to tell the world that we don’t want the right to marry, they’ll assume we don’t need that right. So shut up already.

There’s likely no group more annoyed by kids in their midst than gay people. I personally think it’s a deep-rooted resentment stemming from the fact that it’s an excruciating financial burden to create children without the native presence of both swimming sperm and fertile eggs in the boudoir.

But if you want kids, by all means, you should be able to have them via your method of choice or ability, whether it’s adoption, surrogacy, IUI, IVF, fostering, mentoring or some other fun, legal technique you’ve got up

Kirsten Ott Palladino is the editor in chief and cofounder of Equally Wed Magazine. You can reach her via email kirsten@equallywed.com or Twitter at @kirstenop.

your sleeve. And we ought to be able to choose to reproduce without the rest of the childless LGBTQ community treating us like pariahs.

My wife and I feel like this most often at Pride festivals, which is why we don’t take our children to them anymore. Any other festival in Atlanta is an enjoyable experience for young and old to attend, but when we have brought our tiny twin tots to Atlanta Pride in the past, we were made to feel out of place and unwelcome by many of the attendees, who seemed only to be looking for a public place to get crazy drunk and wear as little clothing as possible. The latter of those is problematic, considering what’s at eye level for small children walking around.

One year, at 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning in Piedmont Park, our twin stroller was the subject of eye rolls and dismissive looks down people’s noses when my wife and I roamed the art and educational booths. Not receiving similar sneers were those celebrants wearing chaps, or the folks with tassels pinching their nipples. I’m all for self-expression, but why can’t they just do their thing while I do mine?

I wasn’t asking for anyone to lean over the stroller and give our dumplings a little “coochie-coo” stroke under their chins, but I’d love to see Pride become a time for all of us to convene to celebrate how far we’ve come and to summon our courage to make even more progress toward our common goals of equality. I find it disappointing, both as a mother and as someone who yearns for our community to be taken more seriously, that it’s not already such an event. When our most public actions are the only ones being seen by the bigots, it’d sure be nice if we could truly become more family-oriented and at least respect each other’s choices.

I’m far from a prude, but I’ve settled down mightily since marrying and having children. Maybe I’ve just grown up. But let’s try to get along a little better, OK? And by the way, I’d love to borrow those tassels.

COLUMNISTS

www.theGAVoice.com

SOMETIMES'Y' Tough/Love

Growing out of the ‘angsty LGBT teen’ narrative Life is better outside the closet.

This is probably the most self-evident tenet of the LGBT rights movement, but it was something that I never completely grasped until it became my reality.

Prior to telling anyone about my sexual orientation, I believed that doing so would cause my friends to no longer like me, my family to no longer love me and society to no longer want me. I was convinced my secret was my safety, and that admitting the truth would expose me to worldly and godly wrath.

That is what it meant to be homosexual, I believed, because that was what I had always been told.

Sure enough, two of my dearest friends confessed to being disgusted upon learning I was gay, a couple of family members were offended when I brought a boyfriend to a cousin’s wedding, and a few fraternity brothers told me they were convinced that I was going to Hell if I didn’t change. However, the sting of these reactions was numbed by the otherwise universal love and acceptance from people who appreciated me for who I was — something that my hostile friends, family and frat eventually appreciated, too.

Even though my coming-out process began in Alabama, I realize how much I’ve benefited from cosmopolitan privilege, and how risky it is to extrapolate my experience onto others in less hospitable environments, or more spiteful families. Yet the consequences of living outside the closet trend toward being less intimidating and pervasive than the fears that keep LGBT people from coming out.

It feels blasphemous to admit this, even though I imagine a majority of the LGBT people who are reading this had coming-out experiences that didn’t approach their worstcase expectations.

To be clear, transphobia and homophobia are real, and remain embedded in the national psyche. There are bullies and gay bashers, holy bigots and a polite hatefulness within cisgender heteronormativity. But we have evolved into a resilient people, who with humor, fortitude and moments of profound fearlessness, have made great headway toward a more accepting society.

Still, our movement often feels wedded to an expectation of victimhood, and that

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

narrative has been quite useful in garnering sympathy and support for our cause. The recent celebration of Spirit Day, when folks wore purple to show solidarity with bullied LGBT teens, renewed my concerns about pushing an outdated, woe-is-gay storyline onto youth who ought to expect better.

It hurts my heart to know that as I type this column, there is undoubtedly an LGBT youth somewhere in America who is being taunted or assaulted because he or she is gay, and it is difficult to be critical of any movement that aims to protect that child.

But the anti-bullying crusade that has emerged in the early part of this decade lacks nuance, and eclipses the attention on the increasing number of LGBT youth who traverse their teenage years without much angst or trauma. The challenge is to combat the real bullying that occurs without clinging to a paradigm where teenage torture is mistaken as an LGBT rite of passage.

When promising LGBT youth that “It Gets Better,” we must be bold enough to admit that, in many ways, “It’s Already Better.” It’s gotten so much better that the “suicidal LGBT teen” should become a narrative of the past, and not the centerpiece of any more public service campaigns.

Spirit Day and “It Gets Better” both originated after a spate of LGBT teen suicides in 2010, most notably that of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, who killed himself after a roommate secretly videotaped him kissing another man.

In the rush to press charges against Clementi’s roommate, create social media memorial pages and enact anti-bullying legislation, I fear that we failed to deliver a critical advisory to modern LGBT youth: if you are planning to kill yourself primarily because you are LGBT, you have fatally misjudged the state of this world and your place in it. This country is not yet perfect for LGBT youth or adults, and who knows if it ever will be; but there is no fight worth avoiding at the cost of your life.

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