GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine - July 2009

July 2009 ISSUE 69 The Only Magazine Dedicated to Alberta’s GLBT+ Community

FREE In depth interviews:

Theo Tams Serena Ryder Xavier Rudd Mike Ruiz

Sexual Harassment Yes it DOES Happen to Us!

Calgary

Fringe Festival Guide

Community Directory • Map and Events • Tourism Info >> Starting on Page 17

GLBT Resource • Calgary • Edmonton • Alberta

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Photography

Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino and contributors Heather Chomos, Levi Cox, and Craig Salans.

Videography

Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino

Printers

North Hill News/Central Web

Distribution

Calgary:.........................Gallant Distribution . .....................................GayCalgary Staff Edmonton:......................Clark’s Distribution Other:........................................Canada Post

Legal Council

Courtney Aarbo, Barristers and Solicitors

Sales & General Inquiries

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #403, 215 14th Avenue SW Calgary, AB, Canada T2R 0M2 Office Hours:.............. By appointment ONLY Phone:................................. (403) 543-6960 Toll Free:............................ 1-888-543-6960 Fax:..................................... (403) 703-0685 E-Mail:.............magazine@gaycalgary.com

This Month's Cover

Theo Tams. Photo courtesy of Sony Music.

8 Theo Tams Gives it All Away Our Canadian Idol on Reality TV, Debut Album, and Infamous CI Moment

12 Dark Shades of Blue An Interview with Xavier Rudd

PAGE 8

Mercedes Allen, Chris Azzopardi, Dallas Barnes, Camper British, Dave Brousseau, Sam Casselman, Jason Clevett, Andrew Collins, Rob Diaz-Marino, Jack Fertig, Glen Hanson, Joan Hilty, Evan Kayne, Stephen Lock, Allan Neuwirth, Steve Polyak, Mark Randall, Pam Rocker, Romeo San Vicente, Jerome Voltero, D’Anne Witkowski, and the GLBT Community of Calgary, Edmonton, and Alberta.

Publisher’s Column

13 Chelsea Boys 14 Out of Town

Three Great New York City Neighborhoods

17 Directory and Events 23 Creep of the Week

PAGE 12

Writers and Contributors

5 The Cowboy on the Inside

Leroy Swailes

24 Military Affairs

Canada’s Forgotten Veterans

25 Q Scopes “Let go, Leo!”

26 Adult Film Review Slow Heat, Anal Intruder

28 Deep Inside Hollywood Brokeback spouses reunite

29 Cocktail Chatter

The Best Bartending Books and The Mixer Mix-up

PAGE 28

Publisher:................................. Steve Polyak Editor:................................ Rob Diaz-Marino Graphic Design:................. Rob Diaz-Marino Sales:........................................ Steve Polyak

30 Bathhouse Pilot Program for MSM Both Innovative and Provocative!

31 HIV - Trading a Death Sentence for a Life Sentence Criminal Law and Disclosure in Canada

32 Letters to the Editor

PAGE 34

Continued on Next Page 

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

Table of Contents  Continued From Previous Page

Proud members of:

33 Pride Calgary:

Thoughts from a recent Pride convert

34 Western Canadian Pride Festival

PAGE 40

A Sense of Community…in the Woods!

36 Sexual Harassment Yes it DOES Happen to Us!

39 The CPS Diversity Resources Unit Keeping us Equal in the Eyes of the Law

40 The Lion King

Magical Musical Roars into Alberta

43 A Couple of Guys

 Continued from Previous Page

Magazine

PAGE 46

44 Bitter Girl

Print Circulation:.................. ~10,000 copies Pickup Density:....................~3 readers/copy Online Circulation:........... ~125,000 readers Total Readership:............. ~155,000 readers Frequency:.................................Every Month

46 Serena Ryder

Chatting with a Juno Award Winner

Proof of monthly figures can be requested.

48 A History of Gender Variance in Expression and Identity Part 5A: Stonewall and It’s Fissures (1969 - 1984)

51 Fundraising Photos

PAGE 60 Ad Booking Friday, July 24th, 2009 Ad Submission Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 In Circulation August 1st, 2009 Please contact us immediately if you think you may have missed the booking or submission deadline.

60 Click Click Boom

Behind the Lens with Photographer Mike Ruiz

63 She ... Amanda Lepore “World’s Most Famous Transsexual”

64 Queer Eye - Community Events

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History

56 Classified Ads

August 2009 Print Deadlines

Distribution Locations

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Originally established in January 1992 as Men for Men BBS by MFM Communications.

Name changed to GayCalgary.com in 1998.

Independent company as of January 2004.

First edition of GayCalgary.com Magazine published November 2003. Name adjusted in November 2006 to GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine.

Disclaimer and Copyright

Opinions expressed in this magazine are specific to the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of GayCalgary staff and contributors.

Those involved in the making of this publication, whether advertisers, contributors, or the subjects of articles or photographs, are not necessarily gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans. GayCalgary also includes straight allies and those who are gay friendly.

No part of this publication may be reprinted or modified without the expressed written permission of the editor or publisher.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

GayCalgary is a registered trademark.

Editorial

The Cowboy on the Inside Publisher’s Column

By Rob Diaz-Marino, MSc. I have to say, our cats were not pleased with us at all this past month. After the both of us spending three weekends in a row out of town, they have been quite aggressively demanding attention out of us while we are around. The poor kids don’t know there are still more out of town trips to come. Not to mention the next several issues are going to be pretty darn busy as well, with Calgary Pride as an anchor for community events now being in September. I know, from our perspective at least, we are thankful to have things spread out a little more. It was enough of an overload with Pride Edmonton, Pride Lethbridge, and Pride Saskatoon – all of whom we sponsored – overlapping one another. With GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine on board as a sponsor of Pride Calgary, and host of the Official Calgary Pride Guide, the additional strain this month would have been brutal.

Speaking of which, businesses wishing to have their advertising included as part of our Calgary Pride edition must submit ads on or before July 29th. Sponsors of Pride automatically receive advertising space in this edition. Visit www.pridecalgary.ca for more details.

We got so many good photos of events this month! It really is a shame we can’t publish them all – there just isn’t enough room – so make sure you visit the GayCalgary.com website to see additional photos and videos of the major events that we covered this month.

Leather Pride Weekend Priape in association with the Calgary Eagle decided to host their own Leather Pride weekend at the beginning of the month to rally the fetish community. I attended the Mr. LeatherSIR and Mr. Leatherboy competition on the Saturday, videotaping and photographing on my own while Steve was in Edmonton for Prism’s bustling anniversary party.

The competition was similar to the annual Mr. Leather event, where contestants modeled leather gear and enacted fetish fantasy scenes. A number of queens from the ISCCA were present; Empress Bianca LaBouche wore a wig in honour of the television show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, which earned her the nickname of “Sanjaya LaBouche” for the night. Nina Tron took on the role as hostess for the evening, and seemed to hit it off with International LeatherSIR Raul Mendez. At one point she was brought up on stage for Mendez to demonstrate his whip, and he left some pretty nasty marks on Nina’s back…a small price to pay for being the envy of the room – Raul was certainly a looker!

I managed to make myself known to the out of town judges, including Raul, thanks to a slightly embarrassing situation. One of the contestants for Leatherboy enacted a scene where he carved the outline of a tattoo into his forearm using a razor blade, and this was way, way too much for me to handle. The sight (and sometimes even the thought) of blood causes a pretty intense reaction with me, like a flash fever that often results in me passing out briefly. I felt it coming on, and put the camera down in time before I slumped forward in my seat. I don’t think I was out for too long before someone checked to make sure I was okay, and brought me a glass of water. I was still pouring with sweat for a while afterward, and International Leatherboy Billy Hoeppner, who

Continued on Page 45 

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

Celebrity Interview

Theo Tams Gives it All Away

Our Canadian Idol on Reality TV, Debut Album, and Infamous CI Moment

By Jason Clevett There must be something in the water in Alberta.

Canadian Idol has had three winners from this province, including the 2008 winner, Coaldale’s Theo Tams. While his personal life has been under the spotlight at times, his focus has always been on his music. On May 19th his debut album Give It All Away was released, eight months after his Idol win.

“At the first top 24 show was when we met who was going to be the winner’s manager. His name is Jim and one of the first things he said was that this year we were going to push for a little more time. We were hoping to be able to release the record in January or February, we weren’t expecting as much time as we did get. I think it is because the label really did jump on board right after the finale. I laid it out for them and said I am a writer. I don’t really care what it says in the contract, I am not going to sing songs I am not completely invested in. Whether I wrote them or not I wanted to make sure I would put my stamp on as many as I can, and even the ones I am not a writer of, I want to make sure they feel just as organic and emotionally raw.”

Tams co-wrote seven songs on the album, a first for an Idol winner, and the disc is arguably the strongest release from such a winner. Full of heartfelt melodic pop music, it offers a great deal of substance while managing to be very catchy. It is a promising start that will hopefully see him achieve a level of success that past Idol contestants have struggled to obtain.

“My biggest thing is to learn to trust my gut. Hopefully my instinct will carry me. From day one I went on Canadian Idol well aware of the statistics of what previous winners have done.

It all depends on how you measure success. I was a 22-year-old kid trying to pass my final exams in University and now I am living in the big city of Toronto and making music every day.

I might not be selling ten million records right now but I feel pretty successful. I am really happy with the album and the fact that it is out now. I can’t wait for the next single to come out. I am just trying to keep my head in the game and keep focused.”

A message from a fellow Albertan really resonated with him.

“A few days ago I did a show with EZRock, the radio station in Toronto. Jann Arden recorded a message for me, and the thing that stood out was in this industry with all its ups and downs, persistence is bigger than talent. That is something that really stuck with me. These days, especially with the way the industry is changing and the economy, the fact that I can go to sleep at night knowing that I am part of the Canadian music industry is just such a blessing and is success in itself. I hope that so many great things come, but you have to take the time to smell the roses too.”

On the show, Tams made some very interesting song choices from artists that are lesser known to the general public, including many female artists. ”It is really hard for me to walk on stage and do a song I am not emotionally invested in. That is really where all of my choic-

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

es came from. I wanted to push the boundaries of how people think of songs. I was watching the Grammy awards a few years ago, and the intro before Christina Aguillera doing Beautiful is, sometimes it is not about the singer, it’s the song. That is also a lyric in a Jann Arden song as well. That is what I took with me in my back pocket every time I had to select the song. The judges mentioned, dude you keep picking songs done by girls and for some reason that was a big thing with them. That was something I never completely understood but I wanted to go with it. It is such a cool art to be able to take someone’s song and put your own spin on it, never mind being a guy singing a girl’s song.”

Of course we can’t talk about Canadian Idol without the comment that was made after Tam’s performance of Apologize on June 24th, 2008. After the song, host Ben Mulroney asked why he chose the song and Theo replied “I had been through a relationship where I had to tell him, It’s too late to apologize. Done!”

Tams himself brought it up in our conversation.

“The very first live Idol show had the infamous comment where I said tell him. I listen to it back and I hear tell’m. I was so shocked at how big it became. There was this cloud over whether I was a good musician or good singer anymore. It became a big heavy weight. Since then I have taken it upon myself to not tell my story but try to open the minds of people that this is something that is very relevant and prevalent in our society.

We really need to encourage change and diversity.”

Tams is a very open person but chooses to not discuss that aspect of his life at this point in time. It is the music, he says, that is important.

“I think that is just how we approached it. I still to this day have not confirmed or denied anything, and that is something I am going to continue to carry with me because why does it matter? It is just so frustrating how it becomes something about my music, my songwriting skills, how my sexuality dictates how far I can go in this business. It is nonsense. I was so nervous

about that first show and when Ben threw that question at me I was just babbling. Right after that during the commercial break a couple of other contestants came up to me and said, dude what did you just say?! I was like what do you mean? I was just so out of it I had no idea. I have let it be the experience that it was. It made me much more self aware of the things that are important to me and that I want to stand up for. If I can leave the competition not only as the winner but a little more self-understood then that makes the victory even sweeter.”

While a few websites and people did comment, the thought that Tams may or may not be gay didn’t affect his popularity, obviously, since he won.

“Especially as a young artist, that is something I really do need to focus on. First and foremost I am a musician and a writer and I just want to perform and share my music. I think that hopefully if I am doing my job right and performing well, then my story will come out in my songs. It is not that I am ashamed, but I want my music to speak for itself and for me.”

Tams knows that many of those who picked up the phone to vote for him, and that are buying his album, are from the LGBT community. He is very appreciative.

“I think that just the support from the community has been overwhelming. The people who have the courage to come up and talk to me, 95% of them say they voted for me not because of any particular reason but because they connected with me and my music. What better thing is there for an artist to hear?

Especially coming from a show like Idol where it is very surface, and they only show us looking and sounding our best and hopefully acting our best. It has been completely overwhelming and something I never really expected. I am a small town Alberta boy so my knowledge and experience with the community is not that large at all but it has made it such a pleasure to meet such different people and have them be inspired by me and my music.”

Tams pays tribute to that support with his first single Lazy Lovers. The video features several couples in the back of a cab while it rains, including a same-sex couple. It was something Theo fought to include. ”That was something that was kind of a battle for me. I really didn’t know how it was going to be received, especially coming from a show like Idol which is very family friendly. Then I thought about it, what kind of message would I be giving through my music if I didn’t? I grew up in small town southern Alberta where any type of sexual diversity was frowned upon and I think that needs to change. It is not about my story or about what I have gone through. I want to present a message

“I think that hopefully if I am doing my job right and performing well, then my story will come out in my songs. It is not that I am ashamed, but I want my music to speak for itself and for me.” to kids that are growing up and feeling they are wrong, feeling shame or guilt, we as a society need to tackle that. I wanted to present this couple just like any other couple in any other relationship. Just because two people are gay does not mean they are less smart, brilliant, or capable of sustaining a perfectly healthy relationship. Changing the belief that they are somehow a little bit less is something that the gay community has gotten over the past few years. That is something I really do want to stand behind. I heard Lethbridge had a Pride Parade this year.

The gay community is making big, big steps not only in Alberta but across the country and around the world. The gay and lesbian community, sexual diversity in general is becoming more accepted. If anything, that is a call to action to not only gay and lesbian people, but people who are open minded and sexually diverse. You have momentum now, keep it going and change people’s minds about the concept. You need more people that are able to stand up.”

With the album up, Tams is about to embark on a Canadian tour, which will kick off in Lethbridge in August at Whoop-up Days. While he did do a Top 3 Idol tour last winter, he is very excited to get on the road.

“It is going to be such a hot show! We are starting in Alberta in Lethbridge on August 18th, heading up north and then going to Toronto, the East Coast, and BC in August and September.

We really wrote and produced this record in a way that I will really be able to shine live. I think that is my best asset and something that people took from the show is this kid can sing. I am so excited for it again. I haven’t been on tour since the Top 3 tour in November and December of last year. I am starting to shake right now I am getting so excited just talking about it - a lot of surprises that people don’t expect from an Idol winner.

It is always good to keep people guessing and pushing their boundaries.”

Tams’ Idol experience allowed him to become a master of making cover songs his own. Highlights of the season included covers of Serena Ryder’s Weak In The Knees, Jann Arden’s Good Mother, Bryan Adams’ Heaven and Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry. Expect a few covers on the tour.

“I think that is why I am so excited to get on the road again.

It will be so fun to get out there and do some covers. That is an appreciation I really did build in doing Canadian Idol. I never realized how hard it is. Viewers think that the song we perform is our first choice, sometimes it was our fourth or fifth because we have to deal with song clearance and various red tape issues. Sometimes the show was about having to sit down, be creative, and work with the elements of a show like that.”

What appeals to fans of Theo Tams is not only his voice, piano skill, and songwriting talent but also how genuine and humble he came across on TV.

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

“I think for me it is just a matter of really taking the time and reflecting. I have always been a really inward person, and the challenge has been to step up and be more personable. I definitely like being the life of the party, I am not going to lie!

But I do need my time to sit and chill and reflect, and in the past year I have done more of that than ever. It is such a scary industry and to be put into a role I never thought I would be in is a lot of pressure. I still have the best friends I had before Idol who have followed me every step of the way. My family, we have our ups and downs but they are so supportive. That is what it comes down to is just making a conscious decision that this is my career and I am so blessed and lucky to do music for a living. That does not change who I am. Over the years society has made it that you always have to be on and happy, which is great, but I am just as proud of my weaknesses as I am my strengths. I think that my biggest strengths and my biggest weaknesses are the same thing sometimes. It makes it a challenge in this industry but not something that I ever want to lose.”

Without the votes of his fans, and their buying concert tickets and albums, Theo Tams would not be where he is today.

“First and foremost, it is such a cliché but these days we need people who are willing to stand up, strengths and weaknesses and all, and be so proud to be themselves. I do want to say thank you so, so much for all of the support (not just) as an artist and a musician on a reality show but as a person. I feel very blessed. Hopefully I will be down in Cowtown and Edmonton soon and we can all party it up!”

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Photos courtesy Sony Music.

Theo Tams Give It All Away in stores now

 http://www.theotams.com Win a copy of Theo’s Album! Visit www.gaycalgary. com for details!

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Celebrity Interview

Dark Shades of Blue An Interview with Xavier Rudd

By Jason Clevett Listening to Xavier Rudd’s music is a unique experience.

The Australian folk singer uses wood instruments like the aboriginal didgeridoo to enhance his rhythm and guitar for a psychedelic visit into his world.

Rudd is currently on tour in support of Dark Shades of Blue, his fifth studio album. The tour brings him to Banff on June 4th, Calgary June 5th and Edmonton June 6th. We caught up with him on the phone on a tour stop in Houston, Texas before he returned to his home away from home, Canada. He is married to a Canadian girl, Marci, who he met when she was backpacking in Australia, and the couple has two sons.

Needless to say, Canada is close to his heart.

“Canada is very special to me. I have a very strong connection, both with Marci and my two kids. Half of my crew is Canadian, my manager is Canadian, there is a deep connection there. Canada is a very powerful place. Spiritually, the aboriginals are just amazing, very strong and powerful and similar to back home. The spirit of the two cultures is in my mind what the connection is and why Australians and Canadians are drawn to each other’s land. They understand it because spiritually the connection is very strong.”

Listening to his music, or doing any research on Rudd reveals a very deep, spiritual person. A self-professed “bare-footer” he doesn’t own or wear footwear, is a vegetarian, and very active in aboriginal and environmental rights.

“It is just the way I grew up. A lot of it is just where my interests lie, what I feel and care about. It translates through traveling around the world, playing music. Based on what I write it has attracted a movement of earthy types of people who care about the environment. As I have traveled I have learned a lot about different people, places, cultures and injustices that are happening worldwide. I feel that I have to do whatever I can within my capacity to help those things because I am so passionate.”

His vegetarianism lead to him being dubbed “Worlds Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity” by PETA in 2007, an honor he still laughs about today. ”That was probably the oddest thing I have ever heard of. I have always seen myself as a hairy little hobbit, so I was surprised by that.”

It is hard to describe Rudd’s music, as it really is very original. His youth spent in the Australian outback comes through as a strong influence; it is just as easy to imagine sitting around a fire in the bush listening to him play music and sing as it is to envision him in a concert setting.

“I don’t really try or think too much about it. I just do what I do based upon what I feel. I am attracted to wooden instruments; I have always loved wood, handmade instruments, eclectic things. What I write about and how the music comes through me is based on how I grew up. I grew up in a small town on the edge of a National Park camping out in the bush and sitting by the fire and sleeping under the stars, swimming in the ocean. It is hard for me to explain why my music is unique; it is just what I do.”

with the set list not being long enough at festivals; I want to keep playing every time. With my own shows I like the fact that I do what I want and can play for as long as I want. I still find it is the same energy at my own shows that there is at festivals. Festivals are often outside and I like playing outside. I would love to eventually do my own shows outside.”

If you have seen Xavier Rudd live before, you are in for a different and new experience this tour. If you haven’t he promises you are in for a treat. ”This tour is nothing like I have done before. I have had a big break, six months, and come back and am playing with two South African musicians, a bass player and a drummer. We are working on a new album this year that we are going to record in October so we have been working on that during this tour. I am redoing versions of my old songs with these guys and it has a very African bounce. It is a trip but is pretty groovy, I hope people are going to be stoked.”

It can be draining to be so far from home. Many touring artists are based in North America so when they tour here, if they need a break it is a short flight home. Rudd is on the other side of the world from home, but takes time to get back in touch with his roots and keep grounded. ”At times it wears me out. The reason I had a big break was because I was pretty burnt, it was the longest break I have had in ten years. My life has changed a lot since I started touring and doing what I do. I used to avoid cities, I spent a lot of time on my own away from them. There are a lot of people in my life now and cities and things like that so I have had to adjust. I love what I do and am very blessed; there is no real negative. …I do like to explore places if I have some time off - I like to get out of the city. Usually a short distance outside of the cities is something cool to do, an ocean or river, park, big tree, something to kind of escape. I find it interesting in North America the difference in land, how the earth feels under my feet, what plants grow. I check all of that out.”

Rudd’s music draws a very diverse group of fans, something he is very thankful for. ”I am so stoked man. It is lovely, such good people come to the shows.

It is always good energy at the show and it is such a blast. Thank you for your support. I love coming through and love everything that comes through getting to the show. Watching people enjoy themselves, dance, be in love, words can’t explain that. I just appreciate it.”

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1308

Rudd is a veteran of the festival circuit, having played Winnipeg Folk Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest and a 2005 performance at the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Rudd says he loves the festival experience, despite often feeling that he is being cut short.

“Festivals are always fun because people are pumped. People come and they let go for the time the festival goes on, they let their inner spirits fly, let go of their worries, take off their ties and put on the tie-died t-shirts and trip out. That is always a great environment for playing music because people are really meaning to connect with music, dancing, friends and family. It is always a beautiful memory. I have a problem

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

View additional pics/videos. • Share with a friend. • Post your comments.

Xavier Rudd

  



Banff – June 4th Calgary – June 5th Edmonton – June 6th http://www.xavierrudd.com

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Out of Town

Three Great New York City Neighborhoods

The Boiler Room, in New York City’s East Village, has long been a favorite gay hangout in this hip and trendy neighborhood.

By Andrew Collins This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which galvanized New York City’s GLBT community and helped ultimately to kick-start the modern gay rights movement. To commemorate this occasion, the city has a particularly impressive Gay Pride celebration planned for the end of the month (events take place from June 20 through June 28).

It’s a terrific time to visit one of the world’s leading gay destinations, although any time of year, there’s plenty to see in this exciting city.

With this in mind, here’s a look at some of the more noteworthy places to eat, play and stay in three of Manhattan’s most gay-popular neighborhoods, Chelsea, the East Village and Hell’s Kitchen. If you’ve never been to New York, these are three must-see parts of the city. And if you have been, you may be surprised by some of the cool new hangouts and hotels that have opened in these neighborhoods.

Chelsea The neighborhood’s gay area is situated primarily along 8th and 7th avenues, between West 14th and 23rd streets, and on the blocks connecting these two thoroughfares. Here you’ll find dozens of bars, restaurants and shops, plus a few accommodations of note.

For dining, neighborhood stalwarts include Mare, which presents creative, super-fresh seafood with contemporary American and French preparations. The chatter-filled, high-ceilinged space looks like a bit like a Marseille fish market. Yet another slick corner eatery with French doors, Niso’s describes its cuisine as Mediterranean

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

but definitely emphasizes - and excels - in Greek-style seafood. The grilled-octopus appetizer and broiled snapper entrees score high marks.

Romantic East of Eighth has a cute patio, wonderful cabaret shows and delicious French food at reasonable prices. On 7th Avenue you’ll find great noshing at Cafeteria, a trendy diner-style spot that’s open 24/7; Restivo, a romantic spot serving first-rate Italian fare and Regional Thai Taste, a reliably good Thai restaurant.

Chelsea sets the pace for New York’s boy-bar scene. Longtime favorites include G Lounge, Splash Bar and Barracuda. If you’re a fan of gay sports bars, definitely stop by Gym for a drink. Next door, the relatively new Ate Ave is a friendly lounge and restaurant that’s fast developing a loyal following among Chelsea boys (it’s also a good bet for brunch the morning after bar-hopping into the wee hours). Fans of leather should venture to the neighborhood’s western reaches and check out the venerable Eagle, which is also a fun spot to shoot pool.

This neighborhood with few hotels received a nice boost in 2009 with the opening of the GEM Chelsea, a mid-priced, sleek property that has a wonderful location on 8th Avenue, steps from bars and restaurants. Rooms are cozy, but well-equipped and the staff

Travel couldn’t be friendlier. Just down the street, the charming Colonial House Inn has long been a reliable place to stay in Chelsea.

The East Village Although intensely gentrified over the past decade, the “EV” acts as the city’s hub of alternative dress, nightlife, and entertainment. Cheap eateries, iconoclast-meets-slacker bars and lounges and garage-sale-inspired shops keep a steady stream of tourists and locals slinking about at all hours of the night. One of the best streets for strolling is St. Marks Place, which is jammed with divey bars, groovy shops and cheap restaurants. It’s not a particularly gay part of the neighborhood, but it is fun for a browse. Great shopping and people-watching can be had along the neighborhood’s avenues, which take on an increasingly hip ambience the farther east you go.

Ethnic eateries have always thrived in this part of town. Fans of Basque cooking adore Euzkadi, a homey, old-world space with hearty, rustic food. Just a block south of the EV, Sorella serves exceptionally tasty Piedmont-inspired Italian food (it’s especially fun for brunch). You’ll often see folks lining up outside the door at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, a simple-looking storefront pizzeria that’s become famous for its delectable thin-crust pies. One place that shouldn’t be missed in this neighborhood is Veselka, a beloved Ukranian diner that doles out generous (and amazingly tasty) portions of home-style fare, from cheese blintzes to feathery pierogi dumplings.

bass with lemon and olive oil. A sophisticated pan-Latin American eatery named for the neighborhood it anchors, Hell’s Kitchen is the place to sample such stellar victuals as duck-confit empanadas, or pan-seared halibut with sweet-plantain puree and salsa verde.

Dig into exceptionally tasty Moroccan fare at Tagine, a riotously colorful eatery with its own fleet of exotic belly dancers. Inexpensive pan-Asian and American cooking - including Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese specialties - is served at Vynl, a funky retro diner with a friendly staff. And for you homesick southern girls, fill up on amazingly authentic Cajun and Creole fare at the Delta Grill, a brassy and seductive neighborhood canteen that pays homage to downhome faves like fried chicken with candied yams.

Sassy and sexy lounges are all the rage in Hell’s Kitchen. Notables include Posh, which could just as easily be called “Lush” for its fab drink specials; Barrage, a favorite happy hour hideout for gay scenesters and media upstarts; and Therapy, a snazzy, twolevel bar known for great music, potent drinks, and a cheeky unisex bathroom.

You’ll find dozens and dozens of worthy hotels near Hell’s Kitchen around Times Square and the Theater District.

But if you want to be away from the touristy fray and right in the heart of the neighborhood, check out the Skyline Hotel, an affordable property on 10th Avenue, steps from several popular restaurants in the neighborhood.

A more intimate experience can be enjoyed at Hotel 414, a dapper boutique hotel that’s set inside a pair of restored, historic townhouses. You can relax over in the leafy courtyard garden and easily forget you’re in one of the largest, gayest cities in the world.

Gay bars in the East Village still draw heavily, as they always have, from the city’s dressed-in-black ranks. Just off Avenue A, the Phoenix is a crowded no-frills chat bar that swells nightly with students, arty types and even a few Chelsea boys. There are erotic shows, drag events and hormone-charged crowd at the sleazy-chic Cock. Actor and East Village resident Alan Cumming is a regular at Eastern Bloc. One other gay hangout that’s long been popular in the neighborhood is the Boiler Room, which has a strong following with students from nearby NYU. Although the East Village is lacking in hotels, there are a couple of excellent lodging choices right on the edge of the neighborhood, including the quirky yet stylish Cooper Square Hotel. And in the ultra-chic Lower East Side, the Thompson LES is garnering raves for its stunning, high-ceilinged rooms and fabulous pool - plus an outstanding restaurant, Shang.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1310

View additional pics/videos. • Share with a friend. • Post your comments.

Andrew Collins covers gay travel for the New York Times-owned website About. com and is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA.

Hell’s Kitchen It’s almost unheard of to pass through New York City without taking in a Broadway show and strolling around Times Square. In the past decade, plenty of attention has been given to the neighborhood to the west, Hell’s Kitchen, a once tough-as-nails Irish working-class enclave that’s become increasingly fashionable. Many lesbians and gays have moved here in recent years, and the gay-trendy dining and entertainment scene has lately spread like kudzu vine.

It can be a challenge scoring a table at celeb-chef Mario Batali’s fabulous space, Esca, but do persevere - you’ll be rewarded with exceptional yet reasonably priced seafood like whole-roasted sea

The Little Black Book

 Artichoke Basille’s Pizza (212-228-2004, www.artichokepizza. com). Ate Ave (646-763-8355, www.ateave.com). Barracuda (212645-8613). Barrage (212-586-9390). Boiler Room (www.boilerroomnyc.com, 212-254-7536). Cafeteria (212-414-1717, www. cafeteriagroup.com). Cock (no phone, www.thecockbar.com). Colonial House Inn (800-689-3779, www.colonialhouseinn.com). Cooper Square Hotel (212-475-5700, www.thecoopersquarehotel.com).

Delta Grill (212-956-0934, www.thedeltagrill.com). Eastern Bloc (no phone, www.easternblocnyc.com). East of Eighth (212-352-0075, www.eastofeighth.com). Eagle (646-473-1866, www.eaglenyc.com).

Esca (212-564-7272, www.esca-nyc.com). Euzkadi (212-989-9788, www.euzkadirestaurant.com). GEM Chelsea (212-675-1911, www. ascendcollection.com/hotel-new_york-new_york-NY426). G Lounge (212-929-1085, www.glounge.com). Gym (212-337-2439, www.gymsportsbar.com). Hell’s Kitchen (212-977-1588, www.hellskitchen-nyc. com). Hotel 414 (212-399-0006, www.414hotel.com). Mare (212-6757522, www.chelseadining.com/mare/). Niso’s (646-336-8121, www. nisos-ny.com). NYC and Company (aka the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau) (212-484-1200, www.nycgo.com). Phoenix (212-4779979). Posh (212-957-2222, www.poshbarnyc.com). Regional Thai Taste (212-807-9872). Restivo (212-366-4133). Skyline Hotel (212582-4604, www.skylinehotelnyc.com). Sorella (212-274-9595, www. sorellanyc.com). Splash Bar (www.splashbar.com, 212-691-0073).

Tagine (212-564-7292, www.taginedining.com). Therapy (212-3971700, www.therapy-nyc.com). Thompson LES (212-460-8888, www. thompsonles.com). Veselka (212-228-9682, www.veselka.com). Vynl (212-974-2003, www.vynl-nyc.com).

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

15

16

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

Directory and Events 9 MPs (Money Pennies)------------------ ✰

 1742 - 10th Ave SW  (403) 263-7411  http://www.money-pennies.com  Closed Mondays.

Legend O ur Magazine Available Here---------------- ✰ Wheelchair Accessible Venue------------------

Bar and restaurant.

CALGARY

5 Texas Lounge------------------------------ ✰

 308 - 17 Ave SW  (403) 229-0911  http://www.goliaths.ca  Open 7 days a week, 11am-close

Accommodations 13 Westways Guest House------------------- ✰

 216 - 25th Avenue SW  (403) 229-1758  1-866-846-7038  westways@shaw.ca  www.gaywestways.com

33 Twisted Element

 1006 - 11th Ave SW  (403) 802-0230

 http://www.twistedelement.ca

Dance Club and Lounge.

Bars and Clubs

Bathhouses/Saunas

3 Backlot---------------------------------- ✰

 209 - 10th Ave SW  (403) 265-5211  Open 7 days a week, 4pm-close

6 Goliath’s----------------------------------- ✰

 308 - 17 Ave SW  (403) 229-0911  http://www.goliaths.ca  Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day

4 Calgary Eagle Inc.---------------------- ✰  424a - 8th Ave SE  (403) 263-5847  http://www.calgaryeagle.com  Open Wed-Sun, 5pm-close Leather/Denim/Fetish bar.

Community Groups 2 Aids Calgary---------------------------  110, 1603 10th Avenue SW  (403) 508-2500  info@aidscalgary.org  http://www.aidscalgary.org

55 Marquee Room---------------------------- ✰

 612 - 8th Avenue SW  http://www.marqueeroom.com

✰

Alternative night every Wednesday.

 Wednesday, November 4, 5-7pm Bring a friend, have a laugh, make a difference!

Registration required 2 weeks prior.

• Coffee Connection

 Calgary Cares Centre  403-508-2500, ext.116  Jun 12th, 26th - 2pm Drop-in events for registered clients of AIDS Calgary only.

• Women’s Healing Circle

 AIDS Calgary Training Room  403-508-2500, ext.200  Wednesdays, 1:30pm Topics Covered: Safer Sex & HIV/AIDS, Living with HIV/AIDS, Challenging Stereotypes.

• Core Training Workshops

 AIDS Calgary Training Room  403-508-2500, ext.116  Saturday July 11, 9am-4pm  Tuesday August 11, 9am-4pm Topics Covered: Safer Sex & HIV/AIDS, Living with HIV/AIDS, Challenging Stereotypes.

Alberta Society for Kink

 (403) 398-9968  albetasocietyforkink@hotmail.com  ca.groups.yahoo.com/

group.albertasocietyforkink  Meet and Greets: Mondays, 7pm-9:30pm

• Friday Lunch

 Calgary Cares Centre  403-508-2500, ext.200  Jun 5th, 19th - 1pm  Jul 10th, 1pm - Stampede Lunch Nutritious meal in a safe non-judgemental environment. Drop-in for registered clients of AIDS Calgary only.

Apollo Calgary Friends in Sports

 http://www.apollocalgary.com

Apollo Friends In Sports is a volunteer-operated, non-profit organization serving primarily members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgendered communities but open to members of all communities. We currently have more than 400 members and are growing fast! The primary focus of Apollo is to provide our membership with well organized and fun sporting events and other activities to allow them to participate and interact in a positive social framework.

• Volunteer Activity Nights

 AIDS Calgary Training Room  403-508-2500, ext.116  volunteer@aidscalgary.org  Wednesday, August 19, 5-7pm  Thursday, September 17, 5-7pm  Wednesday, October 21, 5-7pm

24

DOWNTOWN CALGARY

58 37

43 41

55 9

34

2 33

52

56

16

48

4

35 36

3

5 6

1

N

13

1 2 3 4 5 6

Calgary Outlink---------- Community Groups Aids Calgary------------- Community Groups Backlot------------------------Bars and Clubs Calgary Eagle Inc.------------Bars and Clubs Texas Lounge-----------------Bars and Clubs Goliath’s--------------------------Bathhouses

9 MPs (Money Pennies)--------Bars and Clubs 13 Westways Guest House----Accommodations 16 Priape Calgary----------------- Retail Stores 24 Courtney Aarbo-----------------------Services 33 Twisted Element--------------Bars and Clubs 34 Vertigo Mystery Theatre------------- Theatre

35 36 37 41 43 48

One Yellow Rabbit-------------------- Theatre ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects-------- Theatre Pumphouse Theatre----------------- Theatre La Fleur------------------------- Retail Stores Lisa Heinricks--------- Theatre and Fine Arts Barbies Shop------------------- Retail Stores

52 55 56 58

Sandra G. Sebree--------------------Services Marquee Room---------------Bars and Clubs Sacred Balance Piercing------- Retail Stores Theatre Junction--------------------- Theatre

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

17

Directory and Events • Badminton (Absolutely Smashing)

 St. Martha School (6020 4th Avenue NE)  Wednesdays, 7pm-9pm (Season has ended) Fees Per session: $4 for Apollo member, $5 for nonmembers. Season’s pass $75.

• Monthly Dances-----------------------------  Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association 1320 5th Avenue NW  Sept 27, Oct 18, Nov 15th, Dec 6th Doors open 8pm. $6 ARGRA Members, $10 non-members.

• Bowling (Rainbow Riders League)

 Let’s 10 Pin Bowlerama, 2916 - 5 Ave NE  (Season has ended)

 (403) 890-1261

• Curling

 North Hill Curling Club (1201 - 2 Street NW)  Saturdays: 2:20pm and 4:30pm (Season has ended) • Golf

 golf@apollocalgary.com See website for details.

• Lawn Bowling

 Inglewood Lawn Bowling Club 1235 - 8th Avenue SE  Tuesdays, 6-9pm

 lawnbowling@apollocalgary.com See website for details.

• Outdoor Pursuits See website for details.

 www.afqol.com

• Women in Rock and Roll

 Money Pennies (1742 - 10th Ave SW)  Thursday, July 16th Bar-B-Q, Karaoke and performances.

• Endless Summer Beach Party

 The Backlot (209 - 10th Ave SW)  Friday, August 14th • Cut-a-Thon

 Tomkins Park (17th Avenue SW)  Monday, September 7th Cabin Fever Women’s dance and social night.

• Heading Out

 2nd and 4th Friday of every month, 7pm-9pm Peer group for men who are looking for an alternative social activity to the bar. Activities vary and are fun and entertaining.

 calgaryfathers@hotmail.com  http://www.geocities.com/calgaryfathers

Peer support group for gay, bisexual and questioning fathers. Meeting twice a month.

Calgary Men’s Chorus

 http://www.calgarymenschorus.org • Rehearsals

 Old Y Centre, 223 - 12 Avenue SW  Tuesday nights, Sept-Jun, 7pm-9:30pm ✰

 304, 301 14th Street NW  (403) 283-5580  http://www.calgarysexualhealth.ca

• Tennis See website for details.

• Volleyball (Intermediate/Competitive)

 YWCA, 320 - 5th Avenue SE  www.apollocalgary.com/apollo/volleyball  (Season has ended) This is for seasoned players. You can sign up for the season or drop-in.

• Volleyball (Recreational)

 Langevin School, 107 - 6A Street NE  www.apollocalgary.com/apollo/volleyball  (Season has ended) All are welcome. This is for all skill levels, including recreational players and beginners. You can sign up for the season or drop-in.

• Yoga Season has ended.

Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association  www.argra.org

Calgary Sexual Health Centre is a pro-choice organization that believes all people have the right and ability to make their own choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health. Calgary Sexual Health Centre started as a volunteer based, grassroots organization and has been providing comprehensive sexuality education and counselling programs to the Calgary community since 1972.

1 Calgary Outlink---------------------------- ✰

 #4, 1230A 17th Avenue SW  (403) 234-8973  http://www.calgaryoutlink.com

Formerly know as the Gay And Lesbian Community Services Association (GLCSA).

• Peer Support and Crisis Line Front-line help service for GLBT individuals and their family and friends, or anyone questioning their sexuality.

Looking for Something?

Browse over 450 listings in our Online GLBT Business Directory, and our complete Online GLBT Community Events Calendar.

www.gaycalgary.com 18

• Calgary Networking Club

 Ming, 520 - 17th Ave SW  First Tuesday of every month, 5pm-7pm The networking meetings are open to all individuals who would like to promote their businesses or who would like to meet new people - no business affiliation is necessary.

 Calgary Eagle, 424a 8th Ave SW

 3RD THURSDAY every month

Calgary Sexual Health Centre---------

• Slow Pitch See website for details.

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

• Drop-In Center A safe and supportive environment for one-to-one peer counseling for many issues surrounding family, coming out, homosexuality, loneliness and other issues.

• Between Men and Between Men Online

 Tuesdays 7pm-9pm Peer support, sexual health education for gay or bisexual men, as well as those who may be uncertain or questioning their sexuality. Discussions range from personal relationship or life issues, to sexual health and well-being.

Calgary Gay Fathers

• Running (Calgary Frontrunners)

 Coffee Junkies, 7th Street and 1st Ave SW  Tim (403) 660-6125  calgaryfrontrunners@shaw.ca  Saturdays at 9am Distance varies. 8km-15km. Runners from 6 minute/mile to 9+ minute miles. During the summer we attempt to have evening runs during the week.

 (403) 541-8140

Artists for the Quality of Life

• Library A great selection of resource books, fiction, nonfiction, videos and everything in between, all with a queer perspective.

• Illusions Calgary Social group for Calgary and area transgender community members (cross dressers, transvestites, drag kings and queens). Illusions provides a safe, discrete and welcoming atmosphere, in which transgendered people can meet others of like mind.

Illusions offers discretion, acceptance, compassion and a safe place to express your gender. Crossdressing is the purpose of the group, but is not mandatory.

• Inside Out

 Every Monday, 7pm-9pm Peer-facilitated youth group for GLBTQ ages 15-25.

The group aims to let youth know they are not alone, and to connect them with their peers. It is a funky and safe environment with a variety of resources and activities.

• New Directions

 Every 3rd Friday of the month, 7pm-9pm Drop in peer-support group to provide support and resources for individuals who identify as transsexual or inter-sexed. If you are transsexual, or know of someone who is, please contact our office for information and assistance. You are not alone!

There is support!

• SHEQ Soulful Healing Ego Quest

 Trudy or Krista, (403) 585-7437  Runs for a ten week period on Thursdays, 7pm A workshop for women that want to be themselves in a supportive, safe environment. It is a chance to grow and share their experiences related to women’s sexuality. To participate, please call the exclusive SHEQ line or leave your name and a contact time/number with Calgary Outlink.

• Womynspace

 Every first and third Friday, 7pm-9pm Peer social/support group for women providing an

evening of fun, bonding, discussion and activities.

Calgary Queer Book Club

 Weeds Cafe (1903 20 Ave NW)

First meeting. Look us up on Facebook.

Deer Park United Church/Wholeness Centre

 77 Deerpoint Road SE  (403) 278-8263  http://www.dpuc.ca  Worship Time - 10am Sundays

Different Strokes

 http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org

• Swim Practice

 SAIT Pool, 1301 - 16th Ave NW  Thursdays 7-8pm July 2009 to Aug 2009 (one/week only) Don’t Buy In Project

 http://www.dontbuyin.ca

This Calgary Police Service Initiative aims to encourage youth to working towards an inclusive environment in which diversity is embraced in their schools and community.

FairyTales Presentation Society

 #4 - 1230A 17th Avenue SW  (403) 244-1956  reelpublicity@yahoo.ca

 http://www.fairytalesfilmfest.com

Alberta Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

• DVD Resource Library Over a hundred titles to choose from. Annual membership is $10.

• Monthly Screenings

 The Plaza Theatre, Kensington

 See website for details.

Gay Singles in Calgary

 http://www.gaysinglesincalgary.org

Girl Friends

 members.shaw.ca/girlfriends

Girlsgroove

 http://www.girlsgroove.ca

HIV Peer Support Group

 (403) 230-5832  hivpeergroup@yahoo.ca

ISCCA Social Association

 http://www.iscca.ca

Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch. All monies raised go to Charity.

• Shooters at Texas Lounge

 July 7th, 14th, 21st, 8pm-11:30pm • BBQ at the Backlot

 July 3rd, 10th, 17th, 5-9pm • Shooters at the Calgary Eagle

 TBA • Drag Show at the Calgary Eagle

 TBA Knox United Church

 506 - 4th Street SW  (403) 269-8382  http://www.knoxunited.ab.ca

Knox United Church is an all-inclusive church located in downtown Calgary. A variety of facility rentals are also available for meetings, events and concerts.

Directory and Events • Worship Services

 Wednesdays - Communion Service 12:10pm.

Sundays - 11am. September to June.

Sundays - 10:30am in July and August.

Miscellaneous Youth Network  http://www.miscyouth.com

• Fake Mustache------------------------------  The Soda, 211 - 12th Ave SW  1st Thursday, 7pm-9:45pm Calgary’s ONLY Drag King Show. $5 cover. $2 cover under 18. Advance tickets available at Barbies Shop.

Mystique

 mystiquesocialclub@yahoo.com Mystique is primarily a Lesbian group for women 30 and up but all are welcome.

• Coffee Night

 Second Cup (2312 - 4th Street SW)

 TBA NETWORKS

 (403) 293-3356  sanpfeif@telus.net A social, cultural, and service organization for the mature minded and “Plus 40” gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals seeking to meet with others at age-appropriate activities within apositive, safe, non-threatening and nurturing environment.

Parents for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

 Sean: (403) 695-5791  http://www.pflagcanada.ca

PFLAG Canada is a registered charitable organization that provides support, education and resources to parents, families and individuals who have questions or concerns about sexual orientation or gender identity.

Positive Space Committee

 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW  (403) 440-6383  stavcer@mtroyal.ca  http://www.mtroyal.ca/positivespace The Positive Space Committee at Mount Royal College works to raise awareness and challenge the patterns of silence that continue to marginalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gendered, two-spirited and queer (LGBTTQ) individuals.

Pride Calgary Planning Committee  www.pridecalgary.ca

 (403) 262-3410

• Pride 2009 - Dance

 Sat September 5th • Pride 2009 - Parade and Street Gala

 Sunday September 6th Pride Rainbow Project

 prp@planet-save.com  http://www.priderainbowproject.com Youth run project designed to show support for same-sex marriage in Canada and elsewhere. A fabric rainbow banner approximately 5 feet wide - goal is to make it 3.2km (2 miles) long, in order to break the world record.

Primetimers Calgary

 primetimerscalgary@gmail.com  http://www.primetimerscalgary.com

Prime Timers Calgary is designed to foster social

interaction for its members through a variety of social, educational and recreational activities. It is open to all gay and bisexual men of any age and respects whatever degree of anonymity that each member desires.

• Monday Walkers

 Every Monday • Lawn Bowling

 Every Tuesday • Free Pool at the Calgary Eagle

 Every Wednesday • Saturday Coffee

 Midtown Co-op, 1130 - 11th Ave SW  Every Saturday, 10am • Stampede Brunch

 Inglewood Lawn Bowling Club  July 5th, 11:00am • Spring Valley Ranch Campout Weekend

 July 31st Queers on Campus--------------------- ✰

 279R Student Union Club Spaces, U of C  (403) 220-6394  http://www.ucalgary.ca/~glass Formerly GLASS - Gay/Lesbian Association of Students and Staff.

• Coffee Night

 2nd Cup, Kensington.

 Every Tuesday, 7pm.

Rainbow Community Church

 Hillhurst United, 1227 Kensington Close NW  roneberly@shaw.ca  http://www.rainbowcommunitychurch.ca  Services: every Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm The Rainbow Community Church is an all-inclusive church; everyone is welcome.

Rocky Mountain Bears  bearcoltr@shaw.ca

 http://www.rockymountainbears.com • General Meeting

 Money Pennies (1742 - 10th Ave SW)  July 9th, 7pm • Bear Campout

 Bow Valley Provincial Park  July 17th-19th  RSVP by July 13th: gerrynbrad@shaw.ca • Bear Night

 Calgary Eagle (424A 8th Avenue SE)  Saturday, July 25th Safety Under the Rainbow

 http://www.safetyrainbow.ca

Mission: To raise awareness and understanding of same-sex domestic violence and homophobic youth bullying.

Scarboro United Church

 134 Scarboro Avenue SW  (403) 244-1161  www.scarborounited.ab.ca  Sunday Worship: 10:30am Scarboro United Church is a caring community for risk-takers, adventurers, and explorers in contemporary Christian living. Scarboro is an affirming congregation, which means that the full inclusion of LGBT people is essential to our mission and purpose. Scarboro United Church welcomes

all to our spiritually enriching Sunday Service at 10:30am. Afterwards, all are welcome to join us in fellowship downstairs over coffee, tea, juice, and home-baked treats.

• Sunday Worship in July

 St. Matthews United Church (2039 26A St SW)  (403) 249-1721  st.matthews@telus.net  Through July 2009, 10:30am Sharp Foundation

Urban Sex Radio Show

 CJSW 90.9 FM

 http://www.cjsw.com

 Every Wednesday from 9-10pm Focus on sexuality; gay bisexual lesbian trans gendered and straight issues here in Calgary and around the web.

Western Canada Bigmen and Admirers

 groups.yahoo.com/group/

WesternCanadaBigmenGroup/  bigpaul41@yahoo.com Vigor Calgary

 (403) 255-7004

 www.vigorcalgary.ca Violence in Gay Male Relationships (VIGOR) is a committee of professionals dedicated to increasing the awareness of gay men’s domestic violence and the services available to them.

“Yeah... What She Said!” Radio Show

 CJSW 90.9 FM

 yeahwhatshesaid@gmail.com  Every Monday evening, 8:30-9pm

Wares & Wear Ventures Inc. See Canada - Retail Stores.

Services & Products Calgary Civil Marriage Centre  ca.ca@shaw.ca Marriage Commissioner for Alberta (aka Justice of the Peace - JP), Marriage Officiant, Commissioner for Oaths.  (403) 246-4134

24 Courtney Aarbo (Barristers & Solicitors)

 1138 Kensington Road NW  (403) 571-5120  http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca

GLBT legal services.

Cruiseline

 (403) 777-9494 trial code 3500  http://www.cruiseline.ca

Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Cuts, Colour, Hilights.

Duncan’s Residential Cleaning  Jim Duncan: (403) 978-6600

✰

Residential cleaning. Free estimates.

Interactive Male

 (403) 261-2112 trial code 8873  1-800-777-8000  www.interactivemale.com

Jeff LeBlanc, Century 21 ✰

Retail Stores Adult Depot----------------------------- ✰  (403) 258-2777 Gay, bi, straight video rentals and sex toys.

 140, 58th Ave SW

48 Barbies Shop--------------------------- ✰

 1313 16th Avenue SW  (403) 262-8265  http://www.barbiesshop.com

✰

 214, 2066 18th Ave NE  (403) 250-7004  4829 Macleod Tr. SW  (403) 243-5251  1-866-411-BONG

Erotic Xxes Boutique--------------------

16 Priape Calgary------------------------- ✰

 1322 - 17 Ave SW  (403) 215-1800  http://www.priape.com

DevaDave Salon & Boutique

Halo Steak, Seafood & Wine Bar

 Canyon Meadows Plaza 13226 Macleod Trail SE  (403) 271-4111  www.halosteakseafoodandwinebar.ca

Bongs and Such------------------------

Organic teas and tea ware.

 810 Edmonton Trail NE  (403) 290-1973

Restaurants

9 MPs (Money Pennies)----------------- See Calgary - Bars and Clubs.

The Naked Leaf---------------------------  305 10th Street NW  (403) 283-3555  http://www.thenakedleaf.ca

Clothing and accessories. Adult toys, leather wear, movies and magazines. Gifts.

 (403) 272-2912  sharpfoundation@nucleus.com  http://www.thesharpfoundation.com

4 Calgary Eagle Inc.--------------------- See Calgary - Bars and Clubs.

 (403) 266-1707 Florist and Flower Shop.

✰

 4823 Macleod Trail SW  (403) 243-4196  http://www.eroticxxesboutique.ca

Open 7 days a week and holidays 41 La Fleur------------------------------------  103 - 100 7th Avenue SW

 #1, 4600 Crowchild Trail NW  Cell: (403) 542-6926  Pager: (403) 509-2121  Fax: (403) 509-2130  jeff@homeswethometeam.ca  www.homesweethometeam.ca

Keith Hill, North Hill Mazda

 1211 Centre Street NW  Cell: (403) 614-7359  Phone: (403) 276-5962  Fax: (403) 276-7361  khill@northhillmazda.com  www.northhillmazda.com

Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

 (403) 461-9195  http://www.lornedoucette.com

Marnie Campbell (Maxwell Realtors)

 (403) 479-8619  http://www.marniecampbell.ca

MFM Communications

 (403) 543-6970  1-877-543-6970

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

19

Directory and Events DOWNTOWN EDMONTON

1

8

5

7 11 6 12

1 Pride Centre------------- Community Groups 3 HIV Network------------- Community Groups 4 Edmonton STD---------- Community Groups  http://www.mfmcommunications.com

Web site hosting and development. Computer hardware and software.

Rick Grenier (Invis)

 (403) 862-1162  rickgrenier@invis.ca Mortgage solutions.

56 Sacred Balance Piercing

 1528 - 17th Avenue SW  (403) 277-4449  www.sacredbalancetattoo.com

Tattos and body piercing.

3

5 Boots Bar and Lounge-------Bars and Clubs 6 Buddy’s Nite Club------------Bars and Clubs 7 Down Under Baths---------------Bathhouses

TherapyWorks

 (403) 561-6873  ckorol@therapyworks.ca  http://www.therapyworks.com

Take back your life from stress, sadness, and worry.

Youth Juice

 (403) 686-7714  dianevp@shaw.ca  http://www.ourworldnetwork.com/dianevp

Theatre and Fine Arts

• Calgary Drop-in Centre

 Room 117, 423 - 4th Ave SE  (403) 699-8216  Mon-Fri: 9am-12pm, Sat: 12:15pm-3:15pm

AXIS Contemporary Art-------------------  107, 100 - 7 Ave SW  (403) 262-3356  rob@axisart.ca  www.axisart.ca

• Safeworks Van

 (403) 850-3755  Sat-Thu: 8pm-12am, Fri: 4pm-12am 52 Sandra G. Sebree, Lawyer

 1610 - 17th Ave SW  (403) 228-8108  www.sandrasebree.com

20

Fairytales See Calgary - Community Groups.

Jubilations Dinner Theatre  Bow Trail and 37th St. SW  (403) 249-7799  www.jubilations.ca

35 One Yellow Rabbit-------------------------  Big Secret Theatre - EPCOR CENTRE  (403) 299-8888  www.oyr.org

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

13 PLAY Nightclub---------------Bars and Clubs

 (403) 263-0079  http://www.pumphousetheatres.ca

12 Woody’s------------------------------------ ✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  (780) 488-6557

✰

 727 - 42 Avenue SE  (403) 243-6642  http://www.stagewestcalgary.com 58 Theatre Junction----------------------- ✰  Theatre Junction GRAND, 608 1st St. SW  (403) 205-2922  info@theatrejunction.com  http://www.theatrejunction.com 34 Vertigo Mystery Theatre------------------  161, 115 - 9 Ave SE  (403) 221-3708  http://www.vertigomysterytheatre.com

✰

Bathhouses/Saunas 7 Down Under Baths------------------------ ✰

 12224 Jasper Ave  (780) 482-7960  http://www.gayedmonton.com 11 Steamworks------------------------------- ✰

 11745 Jasper Ave  (780) 451-5554  http://www.steamworksedmonton.com

Community Groups BEEF Bear Bash

EDMONTON

 Boots Bar and Lounge

 www.bearbeef.org

Bars and Clubs

Book Worm’s Book Club  Second Cup, 11210 Jasper Ave  bookworm@teamedmonton.ca  Wed July 15, 7:30pm Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman  Wed August 19, 7:30pm Maurice by E.M. Forster  Wed September 16, 7:30pm Embracing The Wide Sky by Daniel Tammet

5 Boots Bar and Lounge----------------- ✰

 10242 106th St  (780) 423-5014  http://www.bootsbar.ca/

43 Lisa Heinricks (Artist)---------------------  Art Central, 100 7th Ave SW, lower level  http://www.creamydreamy.com

37 Pumphouse Theatre------------------  2140 Pumphouse Avenue SW

8 Prism Bar & Grill-------------Bars and Clubs 11 Steamworks----------------------Bathhouses 12 Woody’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs

Stagewest-------------------------------

36 ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects

 (403) 294-7402  http://www.ATPlive.com

• Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre

 1213 - 4th Str SW  (403) 955-6014  Sat-Thu: 4:15pm-7:45pm, Fri: Closed

N

4

SafeWorks Free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STI testing.

• Centre of Hope

 Room 201, 420 - 9th Ave SE  (403) 410-1180  Mon-Fri: 1pm-5pm

13

6 Buddy’s Nite Club------------------------- ✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  (780) 488-6636 13 PLAY Nightclub---------------------------- ✰

 10220 103 Street  (780) 497-7529  info@playnightclub.ca  http://www.playnightclub.ca 8 Prism Bar & Grill---------------------- ✰

 10524 101st St  (780) 990-0038  http://www.prismbar.ca

Bar night for hairy men and admirers.

Buck Naked Boys Club

 (780) 471-6993  http://www.bucknakedboys.ca  2nd Saturday of every month

Naturism club for men. Our club has been meeting continuously for over 10 years. The similar club in

Directory and Events Calgary ceased to exist several years ago. Naturism is being social while everyone is naked, and it does not include sexual activity. Therefore participants do not need to be gay, only male, but almost all participants over the years do self-describe as being gay or bisexual.

Camp fYrefly

 7-104 Dept. of Educational Policy Studies

Faculty of Education, University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5  http://www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca Edmonton Pride Week Society

 http://www.prideedmonton.org

Edmonton Prime Timers  edmontonpt@yahoo.ca  www.primetimersww.org/edmonton EPT is a group of older gay men and their admirers who come from diverse backgrounds but have common social interests. Meetings include a social period, a short business meeting and then either a guest speaker, discussion panel, or a potluck supper. Special interest groups meet for other social activities throughout the month. In July and August we have a BBQ or picnic in lieu of a meeting and in December it’s replaced with a Christmas party. EPT is affiliated with Prime Timers World Wide.

• Monthly Meetings

 Unitarian Church, 10804 - 119th Street  2nd Sunday of most months, 2:30pm July 11th-13th: BBQ and/or Campout at Pine Trails Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

 3379, 11215 Jasper Ave  (780) 429-5014  http://www.edmontonrba.org

ERBA’s primary focus is the provision of networking opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) owned or operated and GLBT-friendly businesses in the Edmonton region.

Membership is open to all kinds of entrepreneurs, from tradespeople to professionals to commission salespeople.

• After Business Mixers

 Garage Burger Bar (10244 - 106th St.)  2nd Wednesday every month 5:30–7:30pm Edmonton Illusions Social Club

 Boots Bar & Grill  (780) 387-3343

 groups.yahoo.com/group/edmonton_illusions  2nd Thursday of each month 4 Edmonton STD

 11111 Jasper Ave

Edmonton Vocal Minority  sing@evmchoir.com

 (780) 479-2038  www.evmchoir.com

Exposure 2009

 Nov 13th- 22nd, 2009 3 HIV Network Of Edmonton Society---- ✰  11456 Jasper Ave  www.hivedmonton.com

Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose

 http://www.gayedmonton.org OUTreach

 University of Alberta, basement of SUB  outreach@ualberta.ca  http://www.ualberta.ca/~outreach

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender/transsexual, Queer, Questioning and Straight-but-not-Narrow student group.

1 Pride Centre of Edmonton------------ ✰

 95A Street, 111 Ave  (780) 488-3234  admin@pridecentreofedmonton.org

• Bears Movie Night

 TV room, Pride Centre of Edmonton  Last Sunday of the month, 1-6pm • Community Potluck

 Main Space – Upstairs

 tuff@shaw.ca

 Last Tuesday, 7-9pm

A potluck open to all members of the LGBTQ community. A time to get together, share a meal and meet people from the community.

• Free School

 Main Space – Upstairs  monika_penner@shaw.ca  2nd and 4th Sunday, 11am-5pm Free School provides workshops on a variety of topics related to local activism.

• Get Straight – Cocaine Anonymous

 Downstairs Couch Area

 Thursdays, 7-8pm Cocaine Anonymous: Support group for anyone struggling with cocaine or drug addictions.

• Get Tested for STIs

 Last Thurs of Month, 3pm - 6pm Free STD testing for anyone interested. For more information please contact the Pride Centre.

• GLBT Seniors Drop-In

 Main Space – Upstairs  tuff@shaw.ca

 Every Tuesday & Thursday, 1-4pm A social and support group for seniors of all genders and sexualities to talk, have tea and offer each other support.

• Trans Education/Support Group

 Green Room – Upstairs

 2nd Tuesday, 7:30-9:30pm Transgender Education and Support Group: Education and support for transgender, transsexual and questioning people in any stage of transition.

• Men Talking with Pride

 Main Space – Upstairs

 robwells780@hotmail.com  Every Sunday, 7-9pm A social discussion group for gay, bisexual and transgendered men to discuss current issues and to offer support to each other.

• Men’s HIV Support Group

 Green Room – Upstairs  huges@shaw.ca

 2nd Monday of the month, 7-9pm Support group for people living with HIV/AIDS. • PFLAG

 Red room - Downstairs  780-436-1998  edmontonab@pflagcanada.ca  1st Wednesday, 7-9pm Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays: A support group for family members and friends of GLBT people. An excellent resource for people whose family members and friends have just come out.

• Prime Timers See Edmonton Primetimers.

• Annual General Meeting

 September 26th

• Queer Youth Sport & Recreation night

 Alex Taylor School Gym, 9321 Jasper Ave  Brendan, (780) 488-3234  brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org  First Tuesday of every month, 4:30pm

• Badminton

 Oliver School, 10227 - 118 Street

 badminton@teamedmonton.ca  Wednesdays, 6pm-7:30pm Season starts March 8th Women’s Drop-In Recreational Badminton.

• Suit Up and Show Up: AA Big Book Study

 Downstairs Couch Area

 Saturdays, 12-1pm Discussion and support group for those struggling with an alcohol addiction or seeking support in staying sober.

• TTIQ

 Green Room – Upstairs  admin@pridecentreofedmonton.org  1st and 3rd Sunday, 2-4pm TTIQ is mixed gender open support group addressing the needs of transsexual and transgendered individuals. Brunch at a local restaurant on the last Sunday of each month at 12:00.

• Womonspace Board Meeting

 Main Space – Upstairs  wspresident@hotmail.com  1st Sunday, 10:30am-12:30pm Womonspace is a Social and Recreational Society in Edmonton run by volunteers. They provide opportunities for lesbians to interact and support each other in a safe environment, and to contribute to the broader community.

• Youth Movie

 Main Space – Upstairs  brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org  Fridays, 6:30-8:30pm Movie chosen by youth (aged 14 – 25), usually with LGBT themes. Popcorn is served.

• YouthSpace

 brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org  Tuesday to Thursday, 3-7pm Fridays, 3-6:30pm Saturdays, 3-6:30pm A safe and supportive space for GLBTQ youth aged 13–25. Video games, computers with internet, clothing bank, and more.

• Youth Theatre Project

 Downstairs Couch Area  will@pridecentreofedmonton.org  Every Wednesday, 7-8:30pm An opportunity for youth to address the problem of homophobic bullying through theatre. Write and rehearse skits, perform in the community, and help make a documentary.

• Youth Understanding Youth See separate listing.

• Youth Yoga

 Alex Taylor School Gym (9321 Jasper Ave)  Every 1st Thursday, 4:30pm Team Edmonton

 president@teamedmonton.ca  http://www.teamedmonton.ca

Members are invited to attend and help determine the board for the next term. If you are interested in running for the board or getting involved in some of the committees, please contact us.

•Ballroom Dancing

 Foot Notes Dance Studio, 9708-45 Avenue NW  Cynthia: (780) 469-3281  Season has ended.

• Blazin’ Bootcamp

 Lynnwood Elementary School, 15451- 84 Ave  bootcamp@teamedmonton.ca  Every Mon + Thurs, 7pm-8:15pm Starting May 4th • Bowling (Northern Titans)

 Gateway Lanes, 100 - 3414 Gateway Blvd

 bowling@teamedmonton.ca  Every Saturday, 5pm-7pm Resumes Saturday January 3rd $15.00 per person.

• Cross-Country Skiing

 Gold Bar Park  Saturday January 10th, 1pm • Curling with Pride

 Granite Curling Club, 8620 107 Street NW  (780) 463-5942  curling@teamedmonton.ca  See website for details.

• Cycling (Edmonton Prideriders)

 Various locations in Edmonton  cycling@teamedmonton.ca  Every Wednesday, 6:30pm • Dragon Boat

 dragonboat@teamedmonton.ca We are exploring the option of setting up a dragon boat team for 2009. Please send your name and contact information.

• Gymnastics, Drop-in

 Ortona Gymnastics Club, 8755 - 50 Avenue  gymnastics@teamedmonton.ca  Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8pm-10pm Have the whole gym to yourselves and an instructor to help you achieve your individual goals. Cost is $5.00 per session.

• Hip Hop Dancing  FootNotes Dance Studio West 9770 - 182nd St.  Wednesdays, 8:30-9:30pm, July 8th - 28th  (780) 469-3281 4 weeks for $59+GST • Outdoor Pursuits

 July 6th-9th Sea Kayaking at Maligne Lake in Jasper

 July 9th-12th Camping at Marmot Meadows in Jasper

 outdoorpursuits@teamedmonton.ca • Running (Arctic Frontrunners)

 Emily Murphy Park, meet at West End  running@teamedmonton.ca  Every Sunday, 10am-11am All genders and levels of runners and walkers are

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

21

Directory and Events invited to join this free activity.

• Roller Derby (Practices)

 eville@teamedmonton.ca  Mondays & Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm E-Ville Roller Derby is a community-wise sports initiative for adult females. Their purpose is for fun, friendly sports competition among like-minded women. You need no prior experience in roller derby. They’ll teach you everything you need to know, including how to skate!

• Carol Cattell Golf Tournament

 Country Nine Golf Course (Bashaw, AB)  July 17th-19th

• Soul OUTing

 Second Sunday every month, 7pm An LGBT-focused alternative worship.

Youth Understanding Youth

 Edmonton Pride Centre, Main Space Upstairs

 yuy@shaw.ca  www.members.shaw.ca/yuy  Every Wed/Thurs/Fri, 7pm-9pm

A place where LGBTQ youth under 25 can gather to have fun and learn about themselves and others in a safe, supportive, and caring environment.

• Samsara Yoga

 Korezone Fitness, #203, 10575 -115 Street  yoga@teamedmonton.ca  Classes resume in September.

• 3rd Annual Queer Prom

 Citadel Theater  Sat, Jun 6th, 7:00pm “Paint the Town Red”

• Slo Pitch

 Parkallen Field, 111 st and 68 ave  slo-pitch@teamedmonton.ca  Wednesdays, 7pm. Season resumes May 6th.

Season fee is $30.00 per person.

• Sports and Recreation

 Pride Centre, 9540 - 111 Ave  Brendan: (780) 488-3234  brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org  1st Thursday, meet at 4:00pm

• Snowballs III

 February 5-7th, 2010  snowballs@teamedmonton.ca Skiing and Snowboarding Weekend.

5 Garage Burger Bar & Grill---------------  10242 106th St  (780) 423-5014

• Soccer

 soccer@teamedmonton.ca

8 Prism Bar & Grill--------------------- See Edmonton - Bars and Clubs.

• Spin

 MacEwan Centre for Sport and Wellness 109 St. and 104 Ave  Wednesdays, 5:45-6:45pm July 8th - Aug 19th  spin@teamedmonton.ca 7 classes, $28.00 per registrant.

• Swimming (Making Waves)  swimming@teamedmonton.ca Season has ended.

• Tennis

 Kinsmen Sports Centre  Sundays, 12pm-3pm

 tennis@teamedmonton.ca • Ultimate Frisbee  Sundays Summer Season starts July 12th  ultimatefrisbee@teamedmonton.ca E-mail if interested.

• Volleyball, Free To Be Intermediate

 Kinsmen Sports Centre, next to Tennis courts  volleyball@teamedmonton.ca  Thursday nights from 8pm-10pm • Volleyball, Free To Be Recreational Grass

 Kinsmen Sports Centre  recvolleyball@teamedmonton.ca  Outdoor season, Sundays, 3-5pm • Women’s Lacrosse

 Sharon: 780-461-0017  Pam: 780-436-7374 Open to women 21+, experienced or not, all are welcome. Call for info.

Womonspace

 (780) 482-1794  womonspace@gmail.com  www.womonspace.ca

Women’s social group, but all welcome at events.

22

• Book Club

 Monthly, contact us for exact dates.

Theatre and Fine Arts Exposure Festival

 http://www.exposurefestival.ca Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival.

BANFF/CANMORE Community Groups

Restaurants ✰

Retail Stores Rodéo Drive

 11528 - 89th Street  (780) 474-0413  brendalee@rodeodrive.ca  http://www.rodeodrive.ca His and hers fetish wear, toys, jewelry, etc.

The Travelling Tickle Trunk

 9923 - 82 Avenue  (780) 469-6669  www.travelingtickletrunk.com

Sex-positive adult toy store.

Wares & Wear Ventures Inc. See Canada - Retail Stores.

Services Cruiseline

 (780) 413-7122 trial code 3500  http://www.cruiseline.ca

Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY. Interactive Male

 (780) 409-3333 trial code 8871  1-800-777-8000  www.interactivemale.com

Over the Top Designs

 (780) 974-5269

Servicing Calgary, Edmonton & Red Deer exclusively.

Robertson-Wesley United Church

 10209 - 123 St. NW  (780) 482-1587  jravenscroft@rwuc.org  www.rwuc.org  Worship: Sunday mornings at 10:30am People of all sexual orientations welcome. Other LGBT events include a monthly book club and a bi-monthly film night. As a caring spiritual community, we’d love to have you join us!

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

• Film Night

 Bi-monthly, contact us for exact dates.

Mountain Pride

 Brian, (403) 431-2569  mountainpride@gaybanff.com  www.gaybanff.com Serving the GLBTQS community in Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise and Area.

• Coffee Night

 The Hub, 302 Buffalo Street  4th Tuesday, 7pm-10pm • Queer Cinema Night

 The Hub, 302 Buffalo Street  2nd Monday, 8pm-11pm • Calgary Pride Roadtrip  TBA

LETHBRIDGE Community Groups GALA/LA

 (403) 308-2893  http://www.galalethbridge.ca

Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge and Area.

• Monthly Dances

 Airforce Veterans Hall, 517 - 5 Ave S

 2nd or 3rd Saturday every month, 9pm-2am Bring your membership card and photo ID. • Monthly Potluck Dinners

 McKillop United Church, 2329 - 15 Ave S  3rd or Last Sat. every month, 5:30pm-8pm Members/family/friends, and children are all welcome to attend. Please bring dish that will serve 4-6 people and own beverage (no-alcohol). Plates, utensils, and coffee provided.

 Every Friday at 10pm • Movie Night

 Room C610, University of Lethbridge  Thurs, Mar 26th, 6:30pm Movie called “Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker”.

Gay & Lesbian Integrity Assoc. (GALIA)

 University of Lethbridge  galia@uleth.ca

GBLTTQQ club on campus.

Pride Lethbridge

 lethbridgepridefest@gmail.com

RED DEER Community Groups Affirm

 Sunnybrook United Church  (403) 347-6073  2nd Tuesday of the month, 7pm

Composed of LGBTQ people, their friends, family and allies. No religious affiliation necessary.

Activities include support, faith and social justice discussions, film nights, and potlucks!

ALBERTA Community Groups Central Alberta AIDS Network Society

 4611-50 Avenue, Red Deer, AB  http://www.caans.org

The Central Alberta AIDS Network Society is the local charity responsible for HIV prevention and support in Central Alberta.

Western Canadian Pride Campout July 31st - Aug 3rd   www.eventmasterinc.net YouthSafe

 http://www.youthsafe.net

Alberta’s website for youth with sex-and-gender differences. Youthsafe.net lists the resources, information and services to help youth find safe and caring spaces in Alberta.

Theatre and Fine Arts Alberta Ballet

 http://www.albertaballet.com

Frequent productions in Calgary and Edmonton.

CANADA

• Support Line

 (403) 308-2893  Monday OR Wednesday, 7pm-11pm Leave a message any other time.

 http://www.albertatrans.org

• Parents & Friends for Lesbians & Gays Call us for information.

A nexus for transgendered persons, regardless of where they may be on the continuum.

• Gay Youth Alliance Group

 Betty, (403) 381-5260  bneil@chr.ab.ca  Every second Wednesday, 3:30pm-5pm • Friday Mixer

 The Mix (green water tower) 103 Mayor Magrath Dr S

Community Groups Alberta Trans Support/Activities Group

Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition

 P.O. Box 3043, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 3S9  (306) 955-5135  1-800-955-5129  http://www.rainbowhealth.ca

Continued on Next Page 

Political Humour

Creep of the Week Leroy Swailes

By D’Anne Witkowski Homosexuals aren’t human. Also they are the antiChrist. And pedophiles. And bestialiacs (I don’t know if that’s a word and while I could probably do a Google search and find an official term for “one who practices bestiality,” no thanks, I just ate).

Egale Canada

 8 Wellington St E, Third Floor

Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1C5  1-888-204-7777  www.egale.ca Egale Canada is the national advocacy and lobby organization for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans-identified people and our families.

Membership fees are pay-what-you-can, although pre-authorized monthly donors are encouraged (and get a free Egale Canada t-shirt). Egale has several committees that meet by teleconference on a regular basis; membership on these is national with members from every region of Canada.

Retail Stores Wares & Wear Ventures Inc.

 (780) 980-1977  www.wwlatex.com Fetish wear and toys.

Services ATM Service Solutions

 1-866-640-8830  admin@minibanks.net  http://www.minibanks.net

Squirt

 http://www.squirt.org Website for dating and hook-ups. 18+ ONLY!

Theatre and Fine Arts Broadway Across Canada

 http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca

OUTtv

 http://www.outtv.ca

GLBT Television Station.

Add Your Listing!

Find out how to have your business listed in our monthly magazine directory:  (403) 543-6960  1-888-543-6960  magazine@gaycalgary.com.

Add your listing to our online directory for free:  http://www.gaycalgary.com GayCalgary endeavors to keep our directory and events information accurate and up to date. If you notice anything incorrect or out of date, please contact us.

Non-profit groups receive free listings.

How do I know homos are all of these things? Because I watched Minister Leroy Swailes testify before the Washington, D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics on June 10. No, I wasn’t actually there, I saw it online. Now, there’s a lot of weird shit on YouTube, but Swailes really gives his all to top it (no pun intended).

Swailes, who wore a shirt that read, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Morals are Worse Than Animals,” was speaking in favor of a referendum proposed by Bishop Harry Jackson that would undo a recent D.C. law recognizing the marriages of gays and lesbians when they legally wed in one of the several places they can legally do that now.

Needless to say, people are freaking out because if D.C. recognizes, say, two guys who tie the knot in Iowa as a legally married couple, it can only mean the end of days. Or whatever.

change from men into beast? Like the Transformers? Do they have to be together sexually? Can it just be two strangers in an elevator ignoring each other? If that’s the case, then shouldn’t Swailes be making the case for never letting two people with matching genitalia be alone together? And how do amputees fit into all of this?

Equally enlightening is his explanation of how homosexuality is pedophilia. “What is pedophilia?” he asks. “It’s when your deception is Adam and Adam, Eve and Eve, and you’re going to look into the eyes of a child and you’re going to tell a child that sex is between Adam and Adam, Eve and Eve, you become a pedophile.”

Got that? Being a pedophile has nothing to do with sexually abusing children and everything to do with simply telling children that homosexuality exists. Thank God Swailes isn’t against Santa Claus.

Swailes is in the wrong business. He should totally be a professor of logic. Because he is wicked awesome at it.

But lest we misunderstand him, I should make clear that he isn’t against human rights. “Everybody should have human rights. But you have to be human. Human means you deal with the opposite sex,” he said.

Remember? Penis+penis+leg+leg+leg+leg = beast. Beast = homosexual. Beast < human, therefore homosexual < human.

It’s simple math.

Swailes ends his comment before the council by saying, “We as a city, D.C., we’ve got to realize that you’ve got to discriminate against something that’s inhuman. Thank you very much.”

With a guy like Swailes on their side, it’s hard to imagine how the anti-gay D.C. folks can go wrong.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1312

View additional pics/videos. • Share with a friend. • Post your comments.

D’Anne Witkowski has been gay for pay since 2003. She’s a freelance writer and poet (believe it!). When she’s not taking on the creeps of the world she reviews rock and roll shows in Detroit with her twin sister and teaches writing at the University of Michigan.

Listening to Swailes speak is educational, if not entertaining. I learned, for example, that homosexuality is a form of bestiality. “Because a beast has four legs and one gender. If you put two men together, they have four legs and two penises, still one gender, that’s a form of bestiality,” he said. “If you put Eve and Eve together, two vaginas, that’s still one gender, that’s a form of bestiality.”

OK, so wait. If two guys are together they automatically

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

23

Politics

Military Affairs

Canada’s Forgotten Veterans

By Stephen Lock With all the advances made in recent years around acceptance and rights, it is easy to forget what it was like in earlier periods. Even those who lived during such periods have a too-human tendency to, if not forget, then certainly gloss over the day-to-day realities.

It’s been several years since the Department of National Defence (DND) moved to fully accept gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans personnel, becoming one of the few nations where being queer and military simply is not an issue.

As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up Army during the 60’s and 70’s, long before the acceptance of gay/lesbian soldiers. In fact, back then if a soldier was even suspected of being gay his fellow soldiers made damn sure he understood they did not accept it...middle-of-the-night beatings or other forms of harassment were not unheard of and usually unreported, even by the victim.

While such outrages rarely, if ever, occur in the Canadian military now - and would be severely dealt with by the military if they did - the rank-and-file has been far slower to accept GLBT comrades-in-arms than policy would suggest. It’s better than it was, certainly, but your average soldier/sailor/airforce person is pretty conservative. No surprise there. However, there does now seem to be a live-and-let live ethos, which is as it should be.

Back then, however, if the higher-ups got wind of a member’s homosexuality, or rumoured homosexuality, he or she was out. I can’t speak to the experiences of women in the military but I do know the perception was pretty harsh: that female personnel were assumed dykes anyway, unless proven otherwise...and even then she was just a slut, especially if she was foolish enough to date servicemen.

A dishonourable discharge from the military had major repercussions. Many honourable, dedicated and valuable individuals were drummed out of the Armed Forces for being homosexual, forever disgraced. And not just disgraced but denied benefits and pensions.

To be dishonourably discharged had career repercussions as well.

“Civvie street” is an adjustment for many service personnel as it is, being quite different from what one was used to in the military. Couple that with a dishonourable discharge on one’s record and it’s not difficult to imagine the adversities in landing any sort of “respectable” job.

Such discharges carried a host of associations; one’s whole character was immediately suspect.

Peter Stoffer, an NDP MP, has called for the federal government to apologize to surviving GLBTQ veterans, or their survivors, expunge the ”dishonourable discharge” and moral turpitude charges on their records, and restore their benefits.

Army pensions, I can assure you, are not huge, but if the benefits are restored retroactively (i.e. pre-1992, with some dating back to WWII and the 1950’s Korean War), they will be substantial and allow surviving veterans a fairly decent quality of life.

Surprisingly, this issue has not been raised in the past according to Dan Dugas, a spokesperson for Minister of Defence Peter MacKay, but DND is willing to “look into it.” That could take a while, knowing how the DND works.

To his credit, Dugas is quoted as saying, “The Canadian Forces is an inclusive organization and is fully compliant with the Charter and the Canadian Human Rights Act in terms of not tolerating conduct or behaviour that would allow discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

No word on whether gender identification is included in that, although there have been cases in recent years of Armed Forces personnel undergoing gender reassignment surgery while being an active member of the service and continuing to serve following the surgery with no loss of rank, privilege, or benefits.

Make no mistake, the climate that existed in the Canadian Armed Forces prior to 1992, when DND policy changed to include GLBTQ, was at best secretive, even paranoid, on the part of any serving member who was GLBTQ. I remember hearing the usual arguments about how “legitimizing homosexuality” within DND would negatively affect its esprit de corp, that somehow having openly gay and lesbian individuals would affect “morale.” Of course, nothing was said about the morale of those directly affected; the GLBTQ personnel. But that’s the military for you....

We also had the usual comments about Red-Blooded All-Canadian guys being ogled by some homo in the barrack showers or...gasp...being outright propositioned! All garbage, of course.

What’s so often lost sight of is that, it’s a particular sort of personality that is attracted to the military, regardless of the sexual orientation of the individual. A gay soldier, sailor, or airman is more like his fellow soldiers, sailors, and airmen than different. Like them, he is dedicated, probably a tad on the conservative side, honourable, focused on the job, tough, capable, respectful of authority, and willing and able to serve wherever DND decides to send him. More often than not, his fellow soldiers are his brothers, his comrades: family. He is not about to jeopardize that for a quickie in the showers.

After coming out in 1980, and when Calgary still had a military presence, I did meet a few guys from Currie Barracks. It was pretty easy to spot them when they decided to go to The Parkside Continental, then one of only two gay clubs in town. They kind of stood out, even then; soldiers have a certain look to them, even when in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Like good art, I may not understand it, but I know it when I see it. Without exception, every one of them was deeply attached to the military even as they understood the risk they were taking by patronizing a known (notorious?) gay establishment. Not an enormous risk, mind you, but a risk nevertheless.

Things weren’t horrible during the 80’s, despite what those who came after believe, but life for your average gay or lesbian person still could have some difficulties. One could be evicted from one’s rental accommodation (or denied it to begin with) on the mere suspicion one was gay or lesbian, let alone being known to be GLBTQ. One could be denied a job, denied access to public services, or subjected to any number of small indignities with impunity.

I remember one fellow I hooked up with who was an Army cook. He had no issue whatsoever being sexual with guys, despite being married and living in military married quarters in Lincoln Park (where my parents were still living at the time...just up the street!). A nice fellow from rural Quebec who, when his wife was off visiting relatives down there, would head out and meet guys. He was also a bit naive. He let it be known, quite openly, to the base medical officer that he engaged in homosexual sex. He was being responsible, in my opinion, ensuring his own sexual health. The medical officer didn’t quite see it the same way and immediately informed the guy’s Commanding Officer and, within weeks, the guy was packed and heading back to rural Quebec as a civilian.

When I last saw him, he was confused and hurt, still not understanding why his dream of serving in the Canadian Armed Forces had been ripped from him just because he happened to enjoy sex with guys now and then. I have no idea what the repercussions to his married life were; he had sort of intimated his wife was quite aware of his “other interests” and accepted it. I hope so.

At any rate, this young corporal suddenly found himself out of uni-

Continued on Page 33  24

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

Astrology

Q Scopes “Let go, Leo!”

The Sun and Cancer are in Mercury, making us a bit more affectionate and emotional. They aspect Saturn in Virgo, drawing attention to faults, details and problems. You can balance affectionate gentleness with critical insight, but it may be a challenge!



ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Your home may

not be as neat, as large, or as pretty as it could be, but it’s home and that’s what counts. Still, you could make it neater, and that will help pretty it up – and make more space!

at wit, or at critical analysis, may be sharper than you intend. Focus on being kind, supportive and helpful. Your cleverness and insight will shine through. Talking about what you enjoy can inspire improvements at work.

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): With family

problems or community politics you can cut through the crap with brutal effectiveness. Do try to be nice about cutting down people’s unrealistic hopes. More effective economy begins at home. Set the example you want others to follow.

be helpful is being stimulated with an annoying burst of outspokenness. Your insights are spot-on, but be sure your advice is wanted before you offer it. When you have the chance, write before you speak.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): What’s really

bothering you is not so much other people stepping on your values, but your own inner demons nagging at the problems in your priorities. Meditate and be ready to let go of things that really have lost importance.





SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21):

Arguments show the limits of friendship, perhaps end a few, or push you to be more accepting. If you remain principled and honest,your real friends will respect your opinions, and vice versa? How much must your friends agree with your opinions?

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 20): Telling others how sexy you are will provoke

demands for proof. You may not need to say anything; word gets around! A confident swagger – maybe a bit of leather – will make you irresistible. Looking mature and experienced also helps!



CAPRICORN (December 21 - January 19):

As clear as the rules of your partnership may be, there are always new wrinkles to iron out. If you’re feeling constrained, talk out the issues to resolve needs and issues that might otherwise tempt destructive acting-out.



CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Your instinct to



the limits of your authority before you speak out. If you are in any way uncertain, it will undermine you – unless you are clear about what you know, and what you don’t, and are willing to consult an expert on the latter.



TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Your attempts





LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Know

By Jack Fertig

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18):

Although you mean well, your suggestions to coworkers can sound snotty and critical. Bringing cookies, especially home-baked, will help people listen more carefully, and set the tone for your efforts to be nice.



PISCES (February 19 - March 19): Feeling a bit kinky and inventive? The kitchen can be a treasure trove of erotic toys. Turkey basters and spatulas are easy starts.

Or have some whipped cream and fresh fruit in season on hand … or on something!

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): You’re

being awfully touchy, taking simple offhand comments from friends as harsh criticism. What you need to take seriously is not what they’re saying but why those buttons on your ego are so over-exposed and raw.

Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977 teaches at the Online College of Astrology : http://www.astrocollege.com.

He can be reached for personal or business consultations at 415-864-8302 or through his website at http://www.starjack.com

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

25

Review

Adult Film Review Slow Heat, Anal Intruder

By Jerome Voltero

“Slow Heat” by TitanMen.com Courtesy of Priape Cast: Colton Steele, Del Cobb, Steve Carlisle, Steve O’Donnell, Chad Manning, Cory Flint, Nick Capra, Zane Jacobs, Josh West*, Jackson Wild.

Summer is sweltering in a small Texas town, seeming to take a toll on its residents in this Titan production. For a studio with a reputation for hard, hairy, and hung men, Slow Heat sure takes a detour from what you might expect.

Most of the actors are slim, not so pretty guys with not so pretty cocks. But if not appealing for their youth, they still have a quaint, white trash charm to them.

The main character, deputy Falk, has the apparently fascinating job of patrolling a forested park where he often indulges in the forbidden “fruit”. As he encounters guys in compromising states of undress, who are camping or going for a swim in the pond, we can hear the deputy’s inner voice telling him to resist his urges.

However, his inability to stop staring sends the opposite message.

A recurring theme seems to be cock worship, with an extension of that being pissing…not on each other, but beside each other, which gives the guys a chance to admire what their buddies are packing.

Josh West, probably the only real Titan man of the bunch, appears in a later scene for an over-the-top macho portrayal of a police officer. It’s laughable – he wears big black sunglasses even though it’s the dead of night, and the cigar in his mouth is so big that he can barely talk…it’s as if he is speaking while the doctor looks down his throat using a popsicle stick. So yeah, a little overdone, but West is sexy and well hung enough to live this humiliation down.

“Anal Intruder” by Robert Van Damme Courtesy of Adult Depot Cast: Cayden Banks, Robert Van Damme, CJ Madison*, Geoffrey Paine, Brodie Newport, Antonio Milan, Nick Capra, Dean Tucker, Mike Powers, Josh West*, Peter Axel* Van Damme and Madison are in the business of making pornos, and on the hunt for actors to star in their film. The interview process is intense,

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

requiring prospectives to perform on the spot while the two producers mill about the room offering the occasional comments, or covering things up so that they don’t get stained.

I have to hand it to them – they really managed to get some natural sounding dialogue in this one: from Robert Van Damme scolding cute backyard intruder Cayden Banks (who sneaks in to skinny dip in Van Damme’s hot tub), to CJ Madison conducting a hilarious job interview with Brodie Newport as he feigns complete stupidity. “Condoms? That’s like Ketchup and Mustard right? …oh, you mean Condos?”

CJ Madison and Josh West are their usual depressingly sexy selves. Antonio Milan and Nick Capra add some ethnic spice, while Cayden Banks and Dean Tucker counterbalance with adorable guy-next-door vanilla. Paine has a cute beard and impressive tattoos, while Newport looks like an army brat that you want to smack, but know it will only encourage him. Peter Axel is an odd looking guy, built like a small tank and furry all over. He sweats like a pig as he gets finger banged by Mike Powers in the final scene – so much that his entire body glistens like he’s been doused in lube. No wonder Van Damme covered up the pool table for that audition.

With a name like “Anal Intruder”, this film has a surprising lack of emphasis on anal sex, so if you are looking for it, then don’t get your hopes up. Nonetheless, there are some sexy scenes and fun dialog that easily redeem this misnomer of a porn flick.

Priape Calgary Canada’s Favourite Gay Store 1322 17th Avenue SW - (403) 215-1800 Adult Depot Over 3000 Gay Title for Sale or Rent 140 58th Avenue SW - (403) 258-2777 daiterj@telus.net

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27

Celebrity Gossip

Deep Inside Hollywood Brokeback spouses reunite

By Romeo San Vicente Big-screen beckons Neil Patrick Harris While hosting this year’s Tony Awards, Neil Patrick Harris joked about his second-class status as a “TV guy.” But he’s already proven he’s hilarious on the big screen in the Harold & Kumar movies, so now that second-tier status is about to change with two new film projects on the horizon. Harris has joined the cast of Beastly, the new film from gay director Daniel Barnz (Phoebe in Wonderland) that Romeo’s already reported on here, but the How I Met Your Mother star will also be playing a lead role in The Best and the Brightest. Harris plays a husband – way to break that gay-actor-curse NPH – from Delaware whose wife goes bananas about social status when they move to New York City and try to get their kid into an elite kindergarten. Amy Sedaris, John Hodgman and Kate Mulgrew also star in the latter; both movies should hit theaters before the end of 2010.

Brokeback spouses reunite

Listen up, gay people, American society is sick and tired of you militants trying to redefine what marriage means. It is a holy union that hasn’t changed one teeny-tiny bit over 5,000 years, and it needs to be protected. And what better way to showcase what Miss California calls old-school “opposite” marriage than to feature it on reality television? Fox will soon be giving us I Married a Stranger, in which a woman weds a man chosen for her by friends and family but doesn’t meet him until he reaches the altar, while CBS offers Arranged Marriage, which features the same set-up but follows the couple’s lives after the nuptials. Both pilots have a good chance of getting picked up as mid-season replacements. Aren’t you glad heterosexuals are doing such a great job of defending their most sacred institution?

How to make a monster musical More and more movies are being made from popular childhood toys, from dolls (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl) to action figures (Transformers) to even board games (Clue). But now we’re getting a movie musical based on a toy that doesn’t even exist yet and will presumably be marketed alongside the film itself. Gay super-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are reuniting with Hairspray composer-lyricist Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman to make an original screen musical around an as-yet-unnamed Mattel monster toy. Everything’s being kept very much on the hush-hush, but the one thing that’s been revealed is that the property will “add a fresh twist to monster lore.” No word yet on when this new musical will go into production, but Romeo bets five bucks that if the movie and the toy do well, an eventual Broadway adaptation is inevitable. And TV show. And more toys. And sequels. And …

Romeo San Vicente hopes the monster-toy musical will be like the Dracula puppet rock opera from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, complete with full-frontal male nudity. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.

Photo courtesy Focus Features

Granted, the romance between Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in Brokeback Mountain was a tragic one involving the closet and deception and death, but these actors are determined to give it another go in a movie where he won’t be playing a gay cowboy. Love and Other Drugs will feature Gyllenhaal as a pharmaceutical sales rep for Pfizer during the time when a revolutionary little blue pill was hitting the market (the film is based on the book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman) while Hathaway will play a woman with Parkinson’s with whom he begins a relationship after they meet on a sales call.

Ed Zwick (Glory, Defiance) is set to direct, with shooting set to happen possibly as early as this fall. A movie about Viagra may make audiences stand at attention, but if the film lasts more than four hours, please, call your doctor.

Sanctity of marriage, reality-TV style

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

Lifestyle

Cocktail Chatter

The Best Bartending Books and The Mixer Mix-up

By Camper English

The Best Bartending Books Whether it’s a lack of money or an excess of agoraphobia, you’ve decided to start making more cocktails at home. But there are so very many recipe books on the market. Which do you choose, and do you really need them at all, now that everything is online?

The problem with online drink databases is that they have thousands of recipes, and most of them are just plain awful. They recipes come from many different sources, so you end up with 17 bad recipes for the Martini when you’re only looking for one good one. Also, to make the drinks you end up running back and forth between the computer where the recipes is and the kitchen where the ingredients are.

When it comes to collections of recipes, I say less is more. A book with 10,000 drink recipes in it will likely have 9500 that you’d never try. Even the classic, 1500-drink Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide was pretty lousy with bad cocktails until this year’s makeover that eliminated a lot of the calls for pre-mixes like Collins mix and sour mix. That book is a good bartender’s quick reference, but if you want and the Master’s level study on bartending pick up Gary Regan’s very detailed The Joy of Mixology.

I open Regan’s book when I have a nerdy drink question, but not when I’m whipping up something tasty for happy hour. For that, most often I turn to Dale DeGroff’s The Essential Cocktail. It has all the classic recipes you’ll need. But if I’m feeling in the mood for experimentation with new drinks, I’ll pick up Robert Hess’s The Essential Bartender’s Guide (it’s not, but the recipes are good) or the inspiring The Art of the Bar by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz. That book will make you realize the kitchen and the bar are not so different- you’re just cooking with liquids instead of solids.

If you love a particular spirit, you can just skip the rest of the recipes and go for a specialty book. W. Park Kerr’s Viva Vodka is nice, as is Joanne Weir’s Tequila, Kim Haasarud’s 101 Champagne Cocktails, and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s Sippin’ Safari for rum.

You can also find many of Beachbum’s recipes on an iPhone application, called Tiki+. It was developed by the same people behind great historical cocktail recipe app called Cocktails+. Gary Regan, cited above, released the app Flip N Drink with classic and modern recipes combined.

The great thing about these drink applications is most of them offer only as many recipes as you’ll find in a book, rather than the tens of thousands you’ll find online. This is certainly useful when you’re out at a bar and forget a recipe, but I still find myself reaching for the hard copy instead of my phone at home. Not only do I like all the extra information about glassware and mixing technique you get from the books, I also strongly dislike getting my phone all sticky when trying to hold it and shake a drink at the same time.

named Teresa Marie Howes, who wrote a whole book on diet drinks this year called Skinnytinis. Most of the recipes in the book cut calories in cocktails by adjusting the amounts of liqueurs and mixers, as distilled spirits like gin and vodka all have about the same number of calories per volume. Her drinks call for light or diet juices and sodas, and flavored water and other mixers instead of sugar-laden liqueurs in recipes. She makes crafty placements like swapping out the orange liqueur in a Margarita with light orange juice and Sweet ‘N Low. One set of mixers that are often mixed up are soda water and tonic water. They both have water in the name so you can understand the confusion, but the two are vastly different liquids. Soda water is carbonated water, and mixes well with vodka. (Gin not so much.) Tonic water pairs well with more spirits, and is consumed in different countries with vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and even Port wine.

But tonic began as a tonic - a medicine used to prevent and cure malaria. It gets its flavor from the very bitter quinine that was once harvested from the bark of the cinchona tree, nicknamed the “fever tree” as it cured the malarial fever. To make the powdered bark palatable, explorers and soldiers in mosquito-intense countries around the world added sugar to the solution. Later, gin was added and the G&T was born. Hooray for medicine!

The important thing to note in that last paragraph is the use of sugar. Its presence (or more commonly, the presence of high fructose corn syrup) in drinks means it has those calories you’ve been trying to avoid. Many people think they’re sipping a diet drink when they choose tonic water, but really they may as well be swilling cola.

Now that I’m a fully functioning cocktail snob, I don’t drink the tonic water, sodas and juices that come out of the cocktail squirter in bars at all. I like fresh juices and mixers without artificial sweeteners - and it turns out these typically have less calories than do the sugared-up cranberry juice and sodas you’ll get in most bars anyway. At home, you can buy high quality mixers with natural and organic sweeteners for your cocktails. Out at the clubs though, you probably won’t have that option, so you can opt for diet soda or soda water as mixers. Or better yet, opt for that sugar-laden AppleCosmo-Choco-Tini at the bar, and then spend the night working off those calories on the dancefloor.

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Camper English is a cocktails and spirits writer and publisher of Alcademics.com.

The Mixer Mix-up Much as I love the name, I can’t bring myself to consume what the kids today are calling the Skinny Bitch. This cocktail is usually made with a flavored vodka, Diet Coke, and a squeeze of lime. My issue with the drink doesn’t involve the liquor, but with the artificially flavored and sweetened soda.

But the Skinny Bitch is not really a drink focused on the Coke; it’s a drink focused on the Diet. Also focusing on the diet is a writer

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

29

Health Advice

Bathhouse Pilot Program for MSM Both Innovative and Provocative!

By Mark Randall It has been a very long time since I have been inspired by a new program and support system for the men who have sex with men (MSM). It seems to me over the last six to eight years there has been a steady decline and in some cases the complete loss of programming that addresses the concerns and needs of the MSM community. This is not an issue unique to my city of Calgary as it has been recognized and acknowledged by almost all AIDS Service Organizations (ASO’s) within Alberta and across our great nation.

It is my belief this decline is the direct result of funding dollars being reallocated by the people who control them; the Federal and Provincial Governments, Pharmaceutical companies and other private donors and funders who have shifted their funding and rules from MSM programs away to other emerging demographics.

New data shows a sharp increase in the number of new HIV infections for women; First Nations, injection drug users (IDU) and prisoners. This, in combination with a steady decline of new cases of HIV in the MSM population, indicated that they understood the message of practicing safer sex and getting tested.

This loss of MSM programming made way for a decrease in new infections within the aforementioned emerging groups.

But sadly it saw the rate of new HIV infections rise again within the MSM population of Alberta, as shown in recent statistical data collected by our provincial watchdogs within Alberta Health and Wellness in 2008.

This leads me to the most groundbreaking “pilot” program I have heard about in a long time: “Towel Talk”. It grew from a concept originally presented at the 2007 Ontario Gay Men’s Health Summit and is operated by The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT - www.actoronto.ca) providing an informal counseling opportunity for MSM who are using the community bathhouses as a place to meet other men.

This program provides access to a professional that has undergone intense counselor training and additional three day training program with ACT prior to engaging the community an individual that has clear boundaries and is comfortable with his own personal sexuality. This is an opportunity to approach and address the needs and issues that are unique to the MSM population, as they are not just gay men. They include gay, bi, and questioning men, who can each carry a host of issues from safer sex to guilt about being in a bathhouse in the first place.

The counselor is identified by a t-shirt worn only when on duty and is provided a room by the bathhouse where he waits for someone to stop in and check out why he is there. The bathhouse also provides guests with a “palm card” 3 hours prior to his start time that says “WANNA TALK” and provides the room number where the counselor is located, as well as information on the agencies involved in the program.

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

The counselor then remains for a certain shift length and spends time working with and assisting patrons with the complex psycho-social issues that we know are driving new infections of HIV. There has also been a small survey developed for each participant to fill out if they choose, in order to gauge the effectiveness and tweak the program when gaps are identified.

There is also a referral and follow up process in this program for additional support outside the bathhouse and/or other community services. The counselor is also available to support these patrons in accessing these services.

So far “Towel Talk” has been implemented at four forward thinking businesses catering to Toronto’s MSM community: Spa XS, Steamworks, Central Spa and Saint Marc’s. It is a bold and innovative approach that I believe will reduce infections, provide support in a way that other service providers simply cannot, and give these men the tools and information they need to lead long, healthy and HIV free lives.

Now it would not be fair of me to go on about this Toronto based program without acknowledging two really great programs here in Calgary developed between Safeworks, AIDS Calgary and Goliaths Saunatel. AIDS Calgary has HEAT, a great program that focusing on the MSM population through direct outreach, educational information and direct support service. Meanwhile Safeworks has a program that provides HIV and other STI testing, Hepatitis C testing, flu shots, vaccines and other important health information onsite for patrons; each with set and advertised times of operation.

I personally think it would be a great idea to consider a similar pilot here in our major Alberta cities, as we too have a hard to reach population of men, both at risk and in need for this very kind of support. But to take an idea like this to the next level requires identifying the need for it.

I finish this article with a few questions to all you MSM out there. Do you think a similar program would be of value in our community and would you access it if it were available? Please get back to me with your thoughts and suggestions.

Cheers, and enjoy a HOT Safe Summer!

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Health Advice

HIV - Trading a Death Sentence for a Life Sentence Criminal Law and Disclosure in Canada

By AIDS Calgary Awareness Association HIV is more than an illness, it is a physical, psychological and social condition. No longer a “death sentence”, sometimes people call it chronic and manageable given the new medications that have been created. But, between taking piles of pills each day, experiencing grave side effects and being brutalized by the stigma attached to the illness, many people living with HIV balk at this idea of manageability and see HIV as a sentence of different kind. And now, with the dramatic increase in the number of criminal prosecutions of people living with HIV, the sentence might actually be life behind bars.

Based on Supreme Court of Canada decisions, Canadian criminal law requires people living with HIV to disclose their HIV status before engaging in any risk activity that may present a “significant risk” of passing on HIV so that their partner can provide “informed consent” to engage in the activity. If they fail to tell their sex partner their status, they can be charged with such serious offences as sexual assault, aggravated assault, criminal negligence and murder. Charges can be laid even if they do not pass on HIV to their partner.

While the law is clear that unprotected vaginal and anal sex constitute significant risk, it remains unclear whether activities such as sex with a condom, oral sex or other activities pose a high enough risk to be considered “significant”. While we know that factors such as HIV viral load, having other STIs, or being the insertive or receptive partner can influence how much risk is attached to an activity, it is also unclear how the law would interpret these factors. What is clear is that in the absence of firm guidance in these matters, courts will continue to exercise significant discretionary power in interpreting these risks and people living with HIV will continue to live in an uncertain environment unsure of what is required of them.

This is particularly alarming as courts in the US have demonstrated an inability to discern real risk from imagined risk, as demonstrated in a recent case: a homeless man living with HIV spat on a police officer and was sentenced to 35 years because the jury felt that his spit was a “deadly weapon”, despite the lack of any scientific evidence that HIV can be spread through saliva. It is unrealistic to think that police, prosecutors and judges are experts in HIV transmission or immune from misconceptions and fears about HIV. Likewise, as these cases often involve lawyers appointed through legal aid who have very little time to devote to building a case, even the defence attorneys may not have time to gather the necessary information.

But the real tragedy is that this criminalization of HIV does little to address the real issue. If the goal of criminalizing HIV is to reduce its spread, then from a public health perspective the strategy has totally missed its mark!

Increasing Stigma and Transmission While media accounts of irresponsible, callous, reckless people living with HIV would have us all believe that there are

legions of people out there trying to spread the virus, in reality it is rare that people intentionally seek to transmit HIV to another person. Instead, people may not to disclose their status for a number of reasons ranging from fear of rejection, concerns about others finding out about their status, fear of discrimination or violence, or the belief that the activities they are engaging in are not placing their partner at risk. Unfortunately, due to the stigma attached to HIV and the challenge this creates, many people living with HIV risk criminal prosecution when they are unable to manage these factors. While the hard line of the law on this issue presents the impression that offenders are being dealt with and HIV transmission is being stemmed, the reality on ground may be quite different.

Research in some communities has demonstrated that most HIV transmission occurs when people do not yet know their HIV status and have nothing to disclose, soon after they are infected when their viral loads spike and it is easiest to pass on the virus. Ironically, the fear of criminal prosecution makes people more fearful of HIV testing or seeking information to reduce their risks, which makes them less likely to know their status. In turn, people who do not know their status are less likely to access treatment, and more likely to be infectious, leading to higher risks of HIV transmission. Meanwhile, nasty media coverage of people living with HIV involved in criminal cases leads to even greater stigmatization, social isolation and fears of rejection on the part of people living with HIV, contributing to an increased reluctance to disclose their status.

Research in some communities has demonstrated that most HIV transmission occurs when people do not yet know their HIV status and have nothing to disclose, soon after they are infected when their viral loads spike and it is easiest to pass on the virus.

Also, such cases provide the general public with a false sense of security, reinforcing the message that people living with HIV are required by law to disclose their HIV status and implying that those who do not disclose must be “safe”. Criminalization shifts responsibility from both partners to the person living with HIV, creating the impression that it is the sole responsibility of the positive individual to lead discussions about HIV and to discuss safer sex and reducing risks. Meanwhile, the law fails to take into account the power differentials and risks involved for people living with HIV in disclosing their status, making vulnerable groups even more vulnerable (e.g. people in abusive relationships, sex workers, prisoners).

Overall, it is unclear whether the criminalization of HIV has done more to spread HIV than to prevent its transmission.

What is clear is that the impact on people living with HIV has been severe. Most people living with HIV are extremely vigilant about not putting others at risk, and about disclosing their HIV status to their sexual partners. Such laws stigmatize these well meaning individuals while undermining the support of the community. The lack of clarity in the law leaves people confused about what is required of them and worried that they may unintentionally transgress the law.

Continued on Page 38 

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

31

Letters

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, Celebrating Pride reminds us that there’s always an undertone of history. Without the acknowledgment of Stonewall, and its significance to gay civil rights, there would be no reason to observe Pride. Lethbridge was ready to find its little bit of history within the movement.

Lethbridge was finally ready for a full out Pride celebration, and its citizens were so incredibly supportive. Lethbridge deserves a lot of gratitude for being okay with having us take it over for three days! AND the BEST thing about Lethbridge’s support: the flag raising!! We had a rainbow flag flying until early Monday morning! ABSOLUTELY more than anyone could have ever anticipated!!

We had an incredible donation from GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine to promote and advertise our events in the magazine and online on the website that provided much more exposure than we had hoped! Numerous cash donations from small to large from many people and companies really provided us the opportunity to create events that were unforgettable and extraordinary.

Volunteers, as always, were an asset to our festival. From those working merchandise sales, to the members of the Planning Committee, each worked incredibly hard to do everything possible to make all events a success!

It was an honor to be the chair of Lethbridge’s very first Pride Festival. It was a historic and significant moment in time that I’m incredibly grateful to have been involved with!

Lethbridge Pride Fest was an amazing success; we made HISTORY!! I look forward to what the future holds for Lethbridge Pride Fest!

Sincerely, Heather Chomos, Chair Lethbridge Pride Fest 2009

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Community Event

Pride Calgary:

Thoughts from a recent Pride convert

By Pam Rocker I have a secret that’s been bothering me but haven’t felt that I could admit it until now. Denial has gotten me nowhere, which is unfortunate, because I’m really good at it. I’ve spent years perfecting my own special brand of denial; honing my techniques, acting casual, making it look as fun and carefree as a Disney musical. This hard work habitually leaves me crestfallen, with nothing but ulcers and a debilitating penchant for Lucky Charms cereal. No more, my friends, no more.

I divulge, here and now, that although I am as gay as a tangerine, I have never attended a Pride event in my life. Not one. Ever. Unless you feel lenient and let me count watching YouTube clips of the San Francisco Pride Parade.

I’m not sure why this is the case. I am fond of like-minded people, gravitating towards them as often as possible. I like parties, am an okay dancer, and have been known to attend parades for the candy alone. This is the part where I disclose one small fact that may shed some light on this query: I’ve never quite understood the point.

You may relate with this feeling or have just wished some very bad hair days upon me in atonement for my seeming lack of enlightenment. Fair enough, but because I really like my hair, consider that I am still a mild to medium neophyte (aka. newbie) when it comes to Pride related activities. Having not taken the time to actually ask people what it all means and why it matters, I’ve stayed away. Thinking that since I’m not sure what happens or who is supposed to attend, that I have a valid excuse to stay home by myself, eating Lucky Charms. Knowing what to wear is another obstacle. I’ve heard rumours that all real lesbians wear tank tops on a regular basis, but this is yet to be officially confirmed.

Soberly aware of my lack of reliable information, I’ve sought to find others who are actually in the know. Fortunately, I recently met some very captivating people who have led me gently towards a new knowledge and appreciation of what Pride is truly about.

Dallas Barnes, secretary of the Pride Calgary board, articulates the vision behind our cities’ biggest Pride event: “Our theme this year is Our Rights. Your Rights. Human Rights. We’ve been reaching out to as many members of the community as possible, hearing their concerns and suggestions so that we can facilitate a Pride that is reflective of Calgary collectively.

We understand that the GLBT community in Calgary can be segregated and want to make sure that Pride is not. We want the whole community coming together to celebrate.”

Sam Casselman, board President, believes that there is an immense power in coming together for a common purpose.

“This is a great way to make us all visible and let others know that we are not going away. There is strength in numbers and we want to help those who are just coming out to find a community.”

The new date for Pride has been a cause of much coffee banter. Opting out of the usual time in June, the board decided on Labour Day weekend. Dallas states that weather was a big factor in their decision. “The past 7 out of 10 Prides in June have been rained out. This year it snowed on that day, so we are extremely grateful that we moved the date! We want this year to be the biggest and best ever. In order to do this we decided to utilize a long weekend to make Calgary a destination for out-of-towners as well as locals. The date also prevents us from clashing with any other city’s celebrations.”

I’m all hot and bothered to have something to look forward to in the rather lackluster month of September, and further excited to hear that there is more than one Pride Calgary virgin out there. Wild Ginger has hopped on board as a first-time venue for the opening Pride Dance, says Dallas. “We’re very excited to hold our event in a classy, upscale place like Wild Ginger. The interior is fabulous, with a dance floor, room to hold 700 people and plenty of space to sit and chat. The staff are extremely friendly and welcoming and the DJ’s we’ll have are all part of the local gay community. Wild Ginger is an up and coming gay hot spot, extremely supportive of Pride’s efforts and thrilled to host the dance!”

The significance of this location is accentuated by the fact that Wild Ginger made the first move, offering their venue free of charge. This is no small gesture, especially at a time when non-profit organizations are trying to dream big while wrestling with shrinking budgets.

“The cost to put on this event can run between $12,000 and $15,000. We began this fiscal year with a deficit of $3,000. We are in the black now thanks to the hard work of our tireless volunteers and the many members of the community that have supported us financially. But we still need more; we are hoping to build a Pride weekend that is at par with other major cities.

It’s a pricey venture to pay for everything it takes for a safe and fun celebration,” Dallas states.

It’s not too late to get involved in making Pride possible.

Sponsors (including a presenting sponsor) and donations for their upcoming silent auction are heartily encouraged. If you’re in the mood for a little shopping, visit their silent auction fundraiser at The Calgary Eagle on August 8th.

I’m thankful to live in a city where events like this are championed by such passionate people. The overwhelming message is: we are not alone. I am thoroughly inspired to wipe the Lucky Charms crumbs off my lap, throw on a tank top and show some Pride this year.

The Pride Calgary celebration kicks off on September 4th at Wild Ginger. Get tickets online at www.pridecalgary.ca as well as information on volunteering, sponsoring and donating.

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

33

Community Event

Western Canadian Pride Festival A Sense of Community…in the Woods!

By Jason Clevett To the uninitiated, the term “gay campout” may at first bring about a sense of trepidation. One may think that if they are younger and cute they will be harassed all weekend; that there will be all night orgies; awkward sexual tension; people doing things you weren’t even aware there are words for…much like band camp! But in the case of the Western Canadian Pride Festival, you would be completely wrong.

I will admit to being a little unsure of what I was getting into when I attended the Fall Harvest campout in Blackfalds near Red Deer, over the September long weekend of 2008. By the end of the weekend, I felt I had discovered something special, a feeling that was shared by everyone else in attendance.

The event is the brainchild of Leon and Sparky, who have been running the campouts for four years. The focus has always been on bringing together people regardless of age, dating status, or gender, and having a good time.

“What is important is to remember where we are historically right now. People are really tired of carrying their identity as their orientation. We have traveled on as a community. People want to be more socialized and don’t want to hang out with non-stop sexual conversation. Overall most people just want a cool place to hang out and just be themselves,” organizer Leon Thompson explained.

“We get it; we’re gay, what is the next big step? The next big step is to create an environment where we feel it is no longer about their orientation, it is a space to go and hang out with other people and the emphasis isn’t on being gay. It is more, we’re here, we’re queer, we’re over it. That is the type of space we are trying to provide. We are really moving out of the idea of being so liberal, we are becoming more conservative now as a community because of the freedoms and liberties we have been able to experience in the past ten years.”

A perfect example is of a new initiative this year called “Guess Who’s Coming To Breakfast.” I experienced this last year when I was wandering around and promptly sat down by some very nice lesbians at their camper, fed waffles and bacon, with a side order of fun conversation.

“People always have tons of food left over. Because we are about community and breaking down barriers, we came up with guess who’s coming over for breakfast. Instead of us doing the toonie breakfast we came up with a little game. You choose to have people over for breakfast and you don’t know who they are. They will show up between 9 and 10:30am and you will make them breakfast. On Sunday you will go and meet different people and they will make you breakfast at their place. It is optional, people don’t have to do it, it is just another idea to get people to get to know each other as quickly as possible.“ The campout has been growing each year, and this year is already shaping up to be the best attended yet.

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

“We have seen it grow about 25% every year. We usually start our marketing the weekend of the rodeo.

We already have 125 people registered online and we haven’t really started our blitzing yet, we are expecting over 250 people. If you are going to register, do it now. We are not trying to be the biggest anything, but we are trying to grow at just the right pace so we keep the philosophy of what we are trying to do as a camp.”

So what did I experience last year? I had great food, met some really cool people, took a drive to the corn maze (it won’t be open for the summer event but is worth checking out in the fall), laughed at the U-Haul decorated by lesbians (“I fucked in your Mom’s Attic” being a particularly amusing add on) and just had a great time that ended all too quickly. From the games to the pools (August) and hot tubs (September), it really is non-stop fun.

“The good thing about the location of the campground is it is close to Sylvan Lake and in the fall the Lacombe Corn Maze.

The biggest highlight for the August long weekend is the mud wrestling. We came up with the idea not based on really hot girls and guys mud wrestling, but how do we get people to become kids again when you are an adult. It is a way to get them to play in dirt. People are a little timid at first but we have 30 – 40 people diving in there by the end. It is a floating schedule; we try to adjust to where the temperament of the camp is. The sports are usually in the afternoon. Saturday you see mud wrestling and Sunday is relay races. Saturday night is the steak dinner and there is food for vegetarians, then karaoke and a dance starts around 10:00. A lot of people come specifically for the dance and are welcome to. We only ask if people have been drinking they don’t drive, they can stay at the campground for $25 but have to be out by noon the next day.”

Each event has themes, and people are encouraged to dress up and have fun. This summer the theme is “Superheroes and Villains.”

“We chose Superheroes and Villains not because it is a classic type of theme, but that those of us in this journey of trying to figure (life) out, have this sense of wanting to be a hero and

Community Event believe we are a hero. We also have a lot of thoughts in our heads that work against that, the villain side of ourselves.

Inside of us there is a duality between our good self and the side that makes bad choices for ourselves. It is not just about being superheroes but understanding that when you come into camp, you guys are all heroes. We are all heroes and we don’t believe that. It is really important. The stuff we have dealt with and been through, it is time for us to pat ourselves on the back, leave your crap out at the gate, and realize for four days you can enjoy your life. If you have had 361 miserable days, realize you are important, not your baggage. It doesn’t define who you are and that is where the superhero part comes in. You have to stand above what your thoughts and emotions say. You may feel like shit but it doesn’t mean you are shit.”

While other plans prevent me from attending in August, I do plan on going to the campout in September, as do the two friends who went with me last year. I’ve been working on a few other friends in hopes they will also join us for what boils down to an incredible weekend. ”You should check it out for one good reason – because everyone is telling you to come check it out. It is a hell of a good time. It has similarities to other gay functions, but since the emphasis isn’t on being gay it is a different twist on it. We have one requirement. Leave your problems at the gate, come and have fun and unconditionally love each other. It isn’t about you, it is about giving and caring for other people. Just learn that it is ok to leave all your problems behind. It is about realizing we are the same as anybody else, and we are all aware of that - it is just whether or not we believe it. The camp is the chance to figure that out.”

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Politics  Military Affairs - From Page 25 form, ostracized, barred from the base, dishonourably discharged, and sent home in disgrace. I have no idea what became of him. I realized then, that the DND I had grown up within and respected, whatever my political feelings regarding ”the military” might have been, had a side to it I could not respect. I felt betrayed by it; heaven knows what my Quebecois buddy felt.

I came out while still living at home in the Lincoln Park Married Quarters. My dad was a Warrant Officer and a gentle, intelligent, I would even say sensitive man, but “career Army” through and through.

Having a gay son was difficult for him (don’t even get me started on my mother’s reaction!) but he struggled to understand, in his way.

Despite having fallen in love for the first time when I was 17, I never did anything about it (besides, he was straight). Part of that was very much tied into, not so much with what the effect my coming out might have for me (I was, I believed, prepared to deal with that), but what affect coming out would have on my father’s military career. Essentially, it would have ended it.

Sure, he’d have remained in the army but his file, at least unofficially but probably officially as well, would have been ”tagged.” I remained silent for years specifically out of concern, even fear I suppose, of what declaring I was gay would do to my father’s career.

If being a gay soldier would automatically result in a dishonourable discharge, having an openly gay son or lesbian daughter in the 1970’s would strike the death knell for the father’s career just as surely as a discharge would. The only difference being in uniform rather than being denied the right to wear it, and keeping one’s pension rather than having it voided.

Coming out in my mid-20’s had little, if any, effect on my father’s career. Shortly after I came out, I was out of the family home and was therefore no longer a DND dependent.

I mention the personal side here only to highlight what actually living within DND was like. There is a maxim every Army family knows: “The Army looks after its own.”

Western Canadian Pride Festival

This is true, it does. But like any family - and the Army is a family in a myriad of ways - it can turn on you just as easily as support you.

 July 31st – August 2nd  September 4th – 6th

 www.eventmasterinc.net

If the Armed Forces believes its way of life has been threatened or compromised, the fallout from that can be dire. Authority and following the rules and regulations is everything within a military culture and anyone who flouts that does so at their peril.

Win a weekend pass for two to this event at www. gaycalgary.com!

This, then, was the mindset behind the pre-1992 attitude towards homosexuals within the military. It wasn’t so much that DND was being homophobic (which of course it was), but that it was reacting to a perceived breach of its discipline, of one of its own “choosing” to go against everything the military stood for. This could not, and was not, tolerated.

However,the Canadian military establishment was never quite as rigid as the American system was, and is.

The Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force (later integrated, with some resistance within the ranks, as the Canadian Armed Forces) was, in comparison to the United States, a quite “liberal” military - even back when we were The Dominion of Canada and our military served under the Red Ensign, swore allegiance to Crown and Country, went to war for their King, and fought with distinction in two World Wars, Korea, and served under NATO with honour during the Cold War. The move to be inclusive of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans service personnel in 1992 was an extension of that.

It is only right, then, that DND continue that admirable tradition and re-instate the honour and integrity of those gay men, and lesbian women, who served Canada so well when called upon to do so. It is time.

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

35

Lifestyle Advice

Sexual Harassment Yes it DOES Happen to Us!

By Evan Kayne and Rob Diaz-Marino The notion of Sexual Harassment has been grossly stereotyped in the straight world to imply a man as the aggressor and a woman as the victim. For straight men, it has been made to seem more humiliating to press charges against a female aggressor than to deal with her advances, no matter how annoying or obstructive it may be to their job. It has been suggested that this is a non-issue within the gay community, when in fact, adding GLBT individuals into the mix merely results in parallel situations, and a wealth of new possibilities.

• Your co-worker knows that you are gay/lesbian, and insults you with sexual comments or suggestive gestures to humiliate you. It continues despite you having made it expressly clear that you do not appreciate this kind of attention.

• Your straight landlord knows that you are gay/lesbian, but makes unwanted sexual advances toward you. Though you’ve told him/her you are not interested, he/she vows that they will eventually “convert” you to be straight.

• A gay/lesbian co-worker feels entitled to grope you, come onto you, or make inappropriate sexual comments about you as you are working, no matter how many times you have expressed that they are unwelcome.

• You’ve had sexual relations with your employer in the past, and they imply a threat on your job, or suggest withholding a promotion unless you continue having this sexual relationship with them.

These are all prime examples of sexual harassment that can, and do happen to GLBT individuals, sometimes even within our own community. We are all human beings, and working together gives rise to opportunities that we are biologically motivated to pursue. So it’s important to know where the line is drawn, your rights as a victim, and your limits as someone who may hold power over others - be they gay or straight.

According to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission, “Sexual harassment is any unwelcome behaviour, sexual in nature, that adversely affects, or threatens to affect, directly or indirectly, a person’s job security, working conditions or prospects for promotion or earnings; or prevents a person from getting a job, living accommodations or any kind of public service.”

Sexual harassment is usually about exerting power over someone else. A harasser can be a supervisor, a co-worker, a landlord or a service provider. Sexual Harassment is discrimination based on the ground of gender; it is prohibited in Alberta’s Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act and under every other human rights legislation in Canada.

The expression of sexual harassment happens in many ways, some subtle, some obvious, and include any of the following: • suggestive remarks, sexual jokes or compromising invitations; • verbal abuse;

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

• visual display of suggestive images; • leering or whistling; • patting, rubbing or other unwanted physical contact; • outright demands for sexual favours; and • physical assault.

The most frequent complaints received by human rights agencies are sexual harassment violations, which occur prevalently from workplace situations. But despite this protection under the law, enforcement of sexual harassment policies falls first on the shoulders of the businesses themselves. Sexual harassment cases can be very costly for businesses who fail to have effective policies and/or don’t treat complaints seriously. Lodging a Human Rights complaint is seen as a last resort and still has its disadvantages, which will be discussed later.

It has been a long running joke that gay individuals earn increasingly larger (but still fictitious) prizes for the number of “straight” individuals that they “convert” to bisexuality or homosexuality: “I got my free toaster for that one.” Of course we know better; there is no such thing as “converting” someone - only getting them more acquainted with their existing sexuality - nonetheless the pursuit of this goal in some circumstances can lead us into territory where we are in the wrong.

For instance, your gaydar may go off for one of your “straight” co-workers or employees. Though it’s not necessarily wrong to try reaching out to them (for noble intentions, or even not-so-noble ones), you have to realize the line is drawn the moment they give a clear signal for you to stop. If you continue pushing, that individual may be able to make the company make you stop.

Regrettably, there is little statistical data on sexual harassment in the GLBT community. There could be many reasons for this, but most likely GLBT victims of sexual harassment may choose to bear it because they feel there is no support or redress available to them. Given that the Provincial Conservative regime has historically not been receptive to the concerns of the GLBT community, and that the inclusion of sexual orientation to Alberta’s Human Rights occurred just 10 years ago, many victims may think they are alone in their suffering and have no way to seek recompense. Melissa Luhtanen with the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre agrees. “I think the Gay and Lesbian community is pretty used to dealing with our stuff internally and not seeking help.”

However, help and resources are available. On the employment front, most companies have moved forward years ago and updated their employment policies to include sexual orientation and any issues connected to it – i.e. same sex harassment. Melissa admitted some Human Resources staff “may giggle behind doors (about the issue) but they know what their legal responsibilities are.”

Does this mean that simple flirting with a co-worker can land you in trouble?

“Flirting is mutual, harassment is not” Melissa said. “There is a responsibility on the person wanting to flirt to look at cues”; cues the other person is sending out to confirm this behavior does not fall in the area of unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. It has to be behavior which is mutually acceptable – flirtation, chit-chat or good-natured jesting is not considered sexual harassment. If you pursue someone and they say “not

Lifestyle Advice interested”, yet you continue to pursue them and they continue to say “not interested”, then it turns into sexual harassment.

In addition, just because the behavior was acceptable to both parties at one time, doesn’t mean it will always be so. If Susan is dating Jane, and Jane ends the relationship, Susan must end all sexual behavior towards Jane in the workplace. She cannot threaten repercussions if their prior behavior does not continue – that is sexual harassment. Once again, even if there was once some kind of sexual relationship that extended into the workplace, if one person says “not interested (any more)” then the other must stop pursuing it.

When sexualized environments like bars, clubs, bathhouses, peep shows and adult stores exist in the community, the lines of sexual harassment can get even murkier. One example that may seem dubious is to be asked to remove one’s shirt or drop one’s pants during a job interview for say, a nightclub. If the standard in that nightclub is for male employees to go shirtless and for female employees to wear skimpy bikini tops, certainly an employer could ask prospective employees to present themselves in a similar uniform. But the key here is that everyone is treated equally – if you are singled out, then it’s possible that testing your case in a court of law could find the situation to be illegal…or not. There is a lot of gray area, but as Melissa puts it, “just because it’s happening doesn’t mean it’s legal”.

A parallel in the heterosexual world might be Hooters Restaurants, who sell the image of sexy girls (with big jugs…of beer).

To protect themselves, the company has made sure they have strict sexual harassment policies on what is, and is not, acceptable. Additionally, they have three or four different channels for communication of complaints – they could go through their supervisor or dial a toll-free number to report any harassment, for example.

Normally, this is the route for victims of harassment to take - speak with a superior or with the Human Resources department first and seek resolution. Although this is a form of gender discrimination under the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act, going to the Human Rights Commission should be seen as a last resort when you have gotten no results or results that are less than satisfactory through your place of employment.

We spoke about sexual harassment in the workplace with Darryl Aarbo of the law firm Courtney Aarbo. He explained that there is a third alternative - victims may consider hiring a lawyer in some situations of harassment. Beyond what resolutions are available under employment law, on the side of civil law, inappropriate sexual touching is filed under the torts of assault and battery. “Assault is a fear – a shock – there’s no touching in assault, but you feel you are going to be touched imminently…you scare someone.” Subsequently, battery is when there is actual physical contact. For example, in extreme cases, where a harasser goes too far and their behavior becomes actual sexual assault, they can get charged criminally with sexual assault, and their victim can also go after them in civil court for the battery.

Another example where one might need a lawyer for a sexual harassment case would be where a victim is working for a large company with a policy which is not enforced when harassment is reported. This might happen when the aggressor is of higher value to the company than the victim. The company line might be to blame the victim, insist it didn’t take place, or otherwise protect the aggressor. Sometimes the company will simply pay the victim to go away.

“The whole jurisdictional thing…if you’ve been sexually harassed in the workplace, you can go to the Human Rights commission and you can file a complaint. They will prosecute it because it’s illegal contact. It doesn’t cost you any money and they prosecute the company” Darryl said. However, that’s it – they prosecute the company but not the individual. That’s when civil

action might come in handy.

“It’s the company’s reaction to the sexual harassment that gets them charged by the Human Rights commission,” Darryl added. If your company’s polices offered no solution or you were ignored, the Commission is usually the route to go if you want to keep your job – i.e., if you want to keep your contract of employment intact. However, you can’t then sue your employer for sexual harassment. “You have to quit your job and sue your employer for wrongful dismissal because of the sexual harassment.” Also at this time you could sue the aggressor personally, but “Most people sue the employer,” says Darryl. Essentially, if the company’s internal processes don’t work, you might also consider speaking to a lawyer who specializes in the area of employment law and sexual harassment; but taking this avenue usually means you won’t be going back to your job.

Darryl also explained that in situations where there is no direct employment connection between the victim and the aggressor, there are other legal remedies which may be available, but they are not considered sexual harassment: for instance, repeated unwanted advances at a bar or bathhouse might rather be considered stalking or assault in some cases.

So ultimately, what steps should you take if you are the victim of sexual harassment?

First, you should document any and all incidents of harassment. Keep this record of when the alleged incidents took place, the nature of the behaviour, the names of any witnesses and any other information relevant to any investigation which may come later. Companies now will thoroughly investigate both sides of the claim to prevent any false accusations and to ascertain that there is a valid complaint. There may be extenuating circumstances such as a breakdown in communication or in our multicultural society a misunderstanding between the two parties as to what is acceptable behavior. If there are any penalties levied on one person (up to and including termination) the company must be sure the action is justified.

The second thing you should do is to make it clear to the offender and/or to a person in authority that such action has occurred and is unwanted. Employees who are harassed may also wish to contact their union or employee association.

If the behaviour persists, or corrective action is not taken, a complaint may be filed with the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission. This must be done within one year of the alleged incident or the Commission does not have the authority to investigate. Or, alternately depending on your situation, you may consider retaining a lawyer.

Essentially it comes down to being aware of what harassment is, documenting any incidents, and responding to the appropriate resource. Your response depends on the circumstances – mild situations might be resolved simply be talking to the aggressor, telling them you find this behavior objectionable, and asking them to stop. In the case of overt and direct harassment, you should report it according to your company policies (usually up the chain of command starting with your supervisor and/or report the infraction to your Human Resources department).

You don’t just go to the Human Rights Commission on your first step, because your case will fall flat without first giving the company fair opportunity to resolve the situation.

Finally, remember this: there is support out there for you, and there is no shame in confronting the situation. Harassers depend on you being fearful of reprisals or ignorant of the law, but if you don’t stand up for yourself, their behavior will continue, and they may also go after others until they are taught this behavior is unacceptable.

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37

Health Advice  HIV - From Page 31 Protection from Criminal Prosecution Given the requirements of Canadian criminal law, there are several steps people living with HIV can take to make sure they stay clear of the law.

1. Communicate clearly with sexual partners and avoid using language that might be confusing such as “poz” or “positive”. It is best to state “I am HIV positive” or “I am infected with HIV”.

2. Ensure that sexual partners understand what it means to be HIV positive, and educate them on important facts. (i.e. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, there is no cure for HIV and HIV can be transmitted through sexual activities.)

3. Consider whether your sexual partner is in a state of mind where they can understand what you are saying and make informed choices. If they are heavily under the influence of drugs or alcohol, their ability to provide informed consent may be questionable and if they can’t remember that they gave consent at all then you could have a problem on your hands later!

Unfortunately, even if you take these steps to educate your sexual partners to make informed choices, there is still some risk that later they could deny that you told them your HIV status. Increasingly, people living with HIV are developing strategies to gather evidence or proof that they disclosed their status to protect themselves from false accusations. Some ideas include: • Having a witness present when you disclose your status • Double checking with the person to ensure that they have understood • Saving any written records you have (e.g. e-mails, online conversations) • Talking to your counsellor to create a record documenting your disclosure • Signing a document or contract with your sexual partner, detailing your disclosure and their understanding of risk.

Recently one person living with HIV suggested they have gone so far as to save the condoms they used when they had sex so that later they could prove they had protected sex. While some of these strategies might seem extreme, and certainly could take some of the fun and spontaneity out of hooking up, at least they provide some options to make sure people don’t face problems down the road.

The other key thing people living with HIV can do to protect themselves is to reduce the risk of passing on their HIV. While the criminal law is unclear on what the rules are, the Alberta Public Health Act leaves no doubt. It states that people living with HIV must not engage in activities that can transmit disease and that they must always wear condoms for any penetrative sexual activity (vaginal, anal or oral). Also, people must always disclose their HIV status to their partners before engaging in any penetrative sexual or drug-sharing activity and cannot donate blood, semen, tissues or organs.

The penalties for violating Alberta Public Health law are not as grave as those under criminal law, but include interventions such as public health orders requiring counselling and limiting sexual activities and isolation orders subjecting people to “house arrest”. To date in Alberta we have seen very few criminal prosecutions of people living with HIV, which may be because Alberta has a strong public health approach to dealing with people who are “unwilling or unable” to prevent the spread of HIV. This means that people are more likely to face pubic health interventions than to face the courts. As a result, using the guidelines provided by the Public Health Act may be the best way to avoid any kind of problems.

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Until we have a shift in criminal law or public health policy, the best defence for people living with HIV will remain a proactive approach to ensuring you disclose your status, document the process and reduce the risk of HIV transmission through practicing safer sex and drug use.

Sources: • Bernard, Edwin J. (2008). Swiss experts say individuals with undetectable viral load and no STI cannot transmit HIV during sex. http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/ 4E9D555B-18FB-4D56-B912-2C28AFCCD36B.asp Retrieved November 2008.

• Study Says Swiss Commission Advice may See HIV Infection Quadrupling http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-SaysSwiss-Commission-Advice-may-See-HIV-Infection-Quadrupling-40023-1.htm Retrieved November 2008.

• Swiss guidelines take a troubling turn. http://www.catie. ca/catienews.nsf/news/A2EFD4077BD44FB285257405005 EE5EF?OpenDocument Retrieved November 2008.

• Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and AIDS Calgary. HIV Disclosure, Criminal Law and Public Health Community Forum Power Point Presentation. March 2009.

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Community Spotlight

The CPS Diversity Resources Unit Keeping us Equal in the Eyes of the Law

By Sam Casselman and Dallas Barnes According to national statistics, between 35,000 and 85,000 residents of Calgary are either Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Trans. Constable Lynn MacDonald, Liaison Officer of the Calgary Police Service’s Diversity Resources Unit, is working to ensure that this sector of Calgary’s population is looked after fairly.

The Sexuality and Gender Diversity Portfolio of the CPS was created in 1998, as a means for “people to report incidents to the Calgary Police Service without filing a formal complaint or having to identify themselves,” as crimes against the GLBT community are often under reported.

Calgary’s Portfolio is the largest GLBT unit in Canada, and is now being headed by Constable Lynn MacDonald, who recently took over from Constable Christine Robinson. You may have seen Constable MacDonald at the Diversity Resources Unit booth at a number of GLBT events. As an Ambassador for Police Chief Rick Hanson, Constable MacDonald works as a Liaison to bridge the relationship between the GLBT community and the police services.

Sexuality and Gender Diversity Portfolio.

Next time you see Constable MacDonald, be sure to introduce yourself and let her know what is on your mind. The future can hold a strong and healthy relationship between Calgary’s GLBT community and the Calgary Police Services, but our community must continue to be open and put our trust into them.

“If we are going to make change in the community, we need to work together.”

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Calgary Police Services Diversity Resource Unit Constable Lynn MacDonald  (403) 206-8155  pol3118@calgarypolice.ca

 www.calgarypolice.ca/sections/dru/cru_gay.html

“The Sexuality and Gender Diversity liaison officer works to build understanding, trust, and communication between the community and police through involvement in committees, commissions, and agencies that provide service to Calgary’s gay/lesbian community.” Taking this position to heart, Constable MacDonald has recently joined the Pride Calgary Planning Committee, ARGRA, and Apollo. She is also connecting with other groups, particularly those involving youth, to make certain that she is aware and connected to community issues.

Currently, The Sexual and Gender Diversity Portfolio is campaigning awareness on issues that are critical to the community; “Bashing is a Crime” is perhaps the most recognizable initiative, with the goal of encouraging victims to report incidents to the Police, as gay bashings are believed to be extremely underreported. Similarly, the CPS wants to give a greater visibility to the issue of same-sex domestic abuse. Likewise, domestic abuse in any relationship is often not reported, but even more so in the GLBT demographic. MacDonald stresses to all members of the community that there is help out there for domestic abuse victims.

As Calgary’s population grows, so too does the GLBT population. Calgary Police Services has been instrumental in making certain that crimes against and within the community receive proper attention. Constable MacDonald encourages individuals and groups to help spread the word by checking out their web page and downloading posters that promote their various campaigns. MacDonald would also like community groups to get in contact with her if you would like her to attend one of your meetings or give a presentation.

The Calgary Police Service is marching in the Pride Parade on September 6th, and will also have a strong presence at the Pride Street Gala: Chief Rick Hanson will make a speech before the festivities begin, and the Diversity Unit will have a booth there. There are also many new projects in the works for the

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Theater Preview

The Lion King

Magical Musical Roars into Alberta

By Jason Clevett I will never forget March 11th, 2004. My first trip to New York City, and the one night I could see a Broadway show. I was overwhelmed with choices; bright colorful signage was everywhere trying to lure me in. I wandered into the lobby for The Lion King and asked at the box office what they had available.

Despite my feet protesting, I grabbed a standing room ticket for $20. My foot ache was quickly forgotten when right beside me, a life sized elephant puppet began to make its way down the middle of the theatre. Across the stage Antelope sprung, and The Circle of Life began. I spent the rest of the evening in teary-eyed wonder at the epic show that unfolded before me.

If you haven’t had the chance to get to New York since the show opened in 1997, or you haven’t made it to LA or Toronto for their long running productions, then the time has come. The

touring production of The Lion King comes to Edmonton from July 2nd to August 2nd and Calgary from August 4th to 30th.

Vancouver’s Ian Yuri Gardner, who went to Canadian University College in Red Deer, has been in four different companies of the show. We caught up with him in Sacramento where the tour is currently located.

“It is so amazing from different perspectives. If I am a character where you can see my face, like the rhino or antelope, you see people just erupt. In Sacramento people are applauding four or five times during the opening number. You see that and feel that and it is just a wonderful motivation to just power it out and give more. Sometimes I am in the elephant; you hear people because you are right there, and they are screaming. It is really overwhelming. I am not always onstage so I get to sit back and watch the show from that perspective, and…I have seen people cry and bawl. It impacts so many people, it is quite the phenomenon.”

Being part of a tour can be amazing, but oftentimes artists comment that they see the world without really seeing it. Most Broadway shows have one week stops in each city, but in this case, Gardner enjoys the opportunity to settle down for a longer run and get to know the cities that they visit.

“So far we have had a chance to explore, go do the tourist thing and see the sights of the city. It is nice sitting down in a city for a few weeks. I haven’t really spent a lot of time in Calgary or Edmonton so it will be nice to get to know those cities.”

Coming from Broadway is an interesting contrast. Transitioning a show as massive as The Lion King into theatres with different acoustics, stage sizes, even dressing rooms presents unique challenges.

“Because we are in transition so frequently, the stages change, the backstage area changes, and it is an adjustment.

I cover nine roles in the show so there is that extra work, like learning the show again every time we change cities. That is something that drastically changes: onstage they adjust many times because the stage may not be exactly the same. A lot of people don’t think about it. It is definitely challenging.”

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Theatre Preview I personally can’t wait to see The Lion King again as it has very personal meaning to me. In December of 2002 I lost my father, who was a drama teacher, to cancer. One of the things that we had long spoken of was going to New York City together and seeing a show on Broadway. Seeing a production there without him was emotional enough, but the themes at the heart of the show had me bawling throughout. During the second act, a song called He Lives In You features Simba looking to the stars where an image of his father Mufasa appears. I will be the guy wiping my eyes during that number. Strangely, Gardner and I have a similar background that draws us to this musical.

“I am not always onstage so I get to sit back and watch the show from that perspective, and…I have seen people cry and bawl. It impacts so many people, it is quite the phenomenon.”

“My father died after I finished college, literally that same year. Your parents always want you to do the best, they were supportive but always thought of me as more of a Doctor or Lawyer. My Dad never got to see me being successful doing the thing I love to do. There are Canadians that do go to Broadway or tour the world, but it is a rare group. To be in Broadway in a hit production and also going around the world with it, the success of that is amazing but it does hit the heartstrings because he is not there. During that Mufasa moment, you do well up. We are onstage doing what we call the ’flashlight moment’ because you see our faces appear. It makes me reflect on that, how I wish he was here to see me successful in the thing he wasn’t quite sure if it would work out with me.”

If you don’t have your tickets, get on that, as many dates in both cities are completely sold out. Gardner explains that The Lion King is not just any musical.

“It is visually stunning. It has one of the best opening numbers I have ever seen. People see this huge elephant walking down the aisle - it is the last thing they would expect to happen. It culminates in this amazing visual moment on stage with all of the animals. We sing in four different South African languages. We have a core group of South Africans that help keep the authenticity of the show, which a lot of people don’t know. It is more than just a show, it is a cultural experience.

It is funny and offers a story that appeals, with a lesson. There are so many reasons why people should come.”

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The Lion King

 Jubilee Auditorium - Edmonton  July 2nd to August 2nd

 

 

Jubilee Auditorium - Calgary August 4th to 30th http://disney.go.com/theatre/thelionking/tour/ http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.com

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Celebrity Interview  Amanda Lepore - From Page 63 and getting married. I know transsexuals that get a husband or something and go as far as getting married and never tell them. I think it was sort of a goal for transsexuals – for the guys not to know. It’s like a game, kind of.

I was the opposite and just said, “Hi, I’m the No. 1 Transsexual in the World,” and I probably got that title because nobody wants it (laughs). I think that it really opened the door for transsexuals on TV. I went to a college one time in Ohio and there were girls becoming boys and they had hair on their legs, and they were going to college. When I went to school I had to have a tutor, like I couldn’t even go because people just couldn’t deal.

GayCalgary: Dolly Parton has called herself a cartoon because of all the plastic surgery she’s had. So how does being made into a totally different person on the outside change your perception of yourself?

Amanda: I always got attention even before I did any plastic surgery at all. I was just really striking. People think I did a lot more plastic surgery than I really did; I mean, for a transsexual I don’t think I did so much. A lot of transsexuals had way more plastic surgery than me. At least double.

GayCalgary: What’s real then?

Amanda: People think that my bone structure is (fake), but I only had one nose job. Everything else is just natural – that’s what made me striking was the bone structure, more than anything else. And that’s natural.

GayCalgary: You’ve said that you wanted to look as close to Jessica Rabbit as possible.

Amanda: Well, the blond bombshell, too. But I liked Jessica Rabbit too, because that was even curvier and prettier.

GayCalgary: How do you feel about aging?

Amanda: It doesn’t bother me only because I seem to get prettier. I’m one of those people who look better when they’re older, so it doesn’t really bother me. I definitely look softer and prettier now than I did in the ’90s.

GayCalgary: Good genes or plastic surgery?

Amanda: I don’t know. I probably take care of myself better, I think. I go to the gym. I’m just smarter. I just look better.

And probably experimenting with hairdos and everything.

Like, I always studied pictures (to) know what works on me and what doesn’t. You could look better if you have that knowledge. I don’t really need any stylists or hairdressers or anything, I could really do it myself.

GayCalgary: You put your own makeup on?

Amanda: Yeah, sometimes people do it for me, but most of the time I do it.

GayCalgary: Wow. So no glam entourage for Amanda Lepore, huh?

Amanda: Well, I’m one of those people that – like when I did photos with, like, David LaChapelle, I’d always ask, “So, what did you do? What did you do?” I like doing myself, and I’d always ask a million questions. Someone like Pamela Anderson doesn’t even do their own makeup; they’re really dependent on somebody doing them, where I could look as bombshell as could be … right now (laughs).

GayCalgary: What do you think or feel when you look through old photos of you, before you underwent the plastic surgery?

Amanda: I’m just fascinated that I look better. It’s fascinating, but it happens. I see some women that I know that are older and that look incredible. I went to a Louis Vuitton party once and I saw Iman – David Bowie’s wife – and I know that she’s been around longer than me, but she looks better now.

GayCalgary: When you were younger did you ever pretend that you had them by, maybe, stuffing your shirt with socks?

Amanda: Nah, not really. I kind of liked that look – that model-y look – at the time. I didn’t really want big ones. I associated them with “big mamas,” and I just didn’t have that body type. I was really tiny. It just looked right at that time to have little ones.

GayCalgary: Tell me about the breasts you have now, because you’ve got some of the perkiest ones I’ve ever seen.

Amanda: I got them done three times. I started off really skinny, so I went small. I wasn’t one of those girls that gets giant breasts; I wanted them to be soft and pretty, so I went really small my first time. And, actually, I had my sex change before I even had breast implants, like I had little breasts and I looked good like that at the time. I had, like, Angie Harmon breasts, very Kate Moss type, and it looked good. Then I wanted more of a sexy look, so I started getting the lips, and wanted bigger breasts. It’s a proportion thing, too – you do one thing, then you do something else. So for a while I had the bigger lips and maybe C breasts, but they looked really big. It was more stripper-y because I didn’t have a really curvy body.

I wanted more curves, (so I did) my hips and behind. Then, the breasts looked small, so I got bigger breasts to balance it – and then it was done. And I’m perfect now (laughs).

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GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Editorial  The Cowbow on the Inside - From Page 5 was sitting beside me, mused to Black Jack Pierce that he had never seen someone pass out at a leather event before. Wow did I feel foolish…but at least I know how to identify myself if I ever run into these Leather community celebrities again: “I’m the guy who passed out in Calgary.”

The end result was that Johnathan won as LeatherSIR, and David as Leatherboy, so we can be sure that Calgary will be well represented at the International LeatherSIR/Leatherboy competition.

Edmonton Pride Week We covered this extensive festival over the course of two weekends: the first for the Parade and Street Festival, and the second for a number of the wrap-up events.

The turnout this year was just phenomenal, with a parade that lasted a healthy half hour, and a packed beer garden at Sir Winston Churchill Square that had a lengthy lineup to get in for most of the afternoon. It was beautifully sunny that day, and many people worked on their tans while watching the drag show on the main stage and getting hopelessly soused. Employees of this year’s title sponsor, TD Canada Trust, handed out Mardi Gras beads in their company colour – humorously with the heat and sweat, the beads left odd green rings around people’s necks.

MLA Lindsay Blackett was supposed to be present to make a speech to Pride attendees, but we were told he had cancelled at the last minute to be in Calgary for the grand opening of the new Crowfoot transit station. Another representative from the Conservative party attended in his place, but had to cut her speech short as the crowd booed, and picketers rushed in front of the stage to protest Blackett’s controversial Bill 44.

The first GayCalgary and Edmonton Community Carnival got off to a good start, with 5 community organizations providing a myriad of carnival games to entertain spectators at the entrance to the rodeo grounds and beer garden. Organizations raised a moderate amount of money, but also accomplished a great deal of valuable networking and public face time.

Amy Darling of the Fairytales Film Fest, put herself out there to get pied in the face at their carnival game “Pie a Fairy”. Amy called out all sorts of creative taunts and reasons to pie a fairy…as I took photos, she cried, “If you’re taking pictures right now, you should pie a fairy! If your coverage includes both Calgary and Edmonton, you should pie a fairy!” So I did…and though I stayed a fair distance back, it was a direct hit (sorry)! Shortly afterward, one of the Calgary Police Officers from the Diversity Unit walked past minding her own business. Not to be discouraged by the cream pie all over her face, Amy called out, “If you have handcuffs and pretend they’re for your job, pie a fairy!”

I spent most of the weekend videotaping the rodeo from the upper tier of the grandstands. Despite the wonderful sunny weather, I was in the shade and at a choke point for the blowing wind to boot. I was almost shivering despite wearing my heavy jeans jacket. When I got the opportunity to pop out, people looked at me like I was crazy for wearing so much clothing. Most were shirtless and well on their way to looking like boiled lobsters (also resulting in some very nice cowboy scenery), so when I touched my icy cold hands to the backs of their necks (or other places when invited), they understood.

During our spare moments we scrambled to review the thousands of photos and hours of video footage that we had collected.

We had the slide presentations together (just barely) in time for the Sunday award ceremony and Happy Trails dance that followed. It was very well received.

With the beer gardens being their main money-maker, Edmonton Pride opted not to hold a dance this year, leaving it open for the bars to hold their own after party events. There were so many unique Pride events throughout the week – like the Edmonton Queer History Bus Tour, Queer Images film festival, Edmonton Police Chief’s Pride Reception, and Mayor’s Pride Brunch - that we were simply unable to be in Edmonton for everything.

With nothing left to do but pack up our equipment after the dance, Steve and I finally had some time to decompress and have a few drinks in our RV. After last call, I returned to the dance venue to collect our equipment, and got a ride back to our campsite in a golf cart by one of the ARGRA board members who looked completely tapped out but satisfied after pulling off such an amazing weekend.

ARGRA Rodeo Weekend

He gave us further compliments on the slideshow, and thanked us for our support of this year’s rodeo in general. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, but at that moment it slipped my mind that many ARGRA board members are urbanites just like us. I blurted out that this was the only way a pair of city boys like us knew how to contribute and participate in the making of an event like this. I mean, we don’t own or work on farms, we don’t know the first thing about riding horses…in hindsight, pretty lame examples.

But his reply was, “I don’t either, but I do this because I still feel like I’m a cowboy on the inside.”

Last year we had put off booking our RV for the rodeo weekend so late that we had to look beyond Calgary to find something that was available. What a godsend it was finding them. We used the same company out of Red Deer again this year and they delivered us a beautiful 5th wheel camper capable of sleeping 10! In that aspect, our camper was sorely underused, but it made for a comfortable camping experience – especially since us technology gurus had work to do, both for ourselves and for ARGRA. The new rodeo location in Strathmore turned out even better than what was anticipated, and rodeo goers finally got to see what we were raving about months prior. The main camping area, easily twice the size of overflow in Symon’s Valley, was nearly full. This isn’t a worry because there are still additional fields surrounding the arena that can be used for campers as the event grows. On Saturday the grandstands and arena seating were full, and that night they sold 700 dinners, which their caterers were somehow able to accommodate despite only expecting 500! Liquor orders were doubled from last year, and still required restocking.

We’re told that several Strathmore liquor vendors were cleared out of much of their product by campers. Many Strathmore residents chose to volunteer despite being offered payment for their time – some even donated back their tips! Though the official numbers are not in yet (give those poor ARGRA organizers a break!), it’s safe to say that the event was an overwhelming success, and the town of Strathmore welcomed the GLBT community with open arms.

Though there were some minor glitches and oversights as a result of moving to the new venue, organizers are already in the process of collecting feedback on what they can concentrate on improving for next year.

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We want to hear what YOU have to say about the topics in this article, and any other articles in GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine. Visit our chat forums at www.gaycalgary.com/forum and write your heart out! Or write us a letter to the publisher by post or by E-mailing publisher@gaycalgary. com, and we may publish or respond to it in the magazine!

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Celebrity Interview

Serena Ryder

Chatting with a Juno Award Winner for two months, home for a week and back on the road for a few weeks. It is a bit of a whirlwind.”

By Jason Clevett Millbrook, Ontario singer-songwriter Serena Ryder released her first indie album at 15, has had international success, opened for bands like Aerosmith, won back to back Juno Awards, and is only 25 years old. It is enough to make anyone want to pinch themselves.

In 2008 at the Juno Awards in Calgary, she won Best New Artist, and this year in Vancouver walked away with the award for Adult Alternative Album for Is It O.K. She is still amazed to have received the award in a category that also included Hawksley Workman, Kathleen Edwards, Sarah Slean and Ron Sexmith.

Ryder is extensively touring in support of her album Is It O.K. She performs live on the Coca-Cola Stage at the Calgary Stampede July 6th.

“When I found out the other nominees I was totally knocked on my ass, I couldn’t believe that I was in the same category. All of those people are on my iPod, I know all of their catalogues.

They are people who have inspired me to do what I do. It was another affirmation for me. We all exist in this together but it is amazing,” she recalled. “To be nominated was enough for me so I was totally blown away and semi-speechless when I won.

I had no idea what I was going to say if I were to possibly win it. I remember being so nervous and freaked out I had no idea what I would even begin to try and say. I felt very humbled by it. When I got up on stage the only thing I could remember right before the category was the music that was played beforehand.

There was a trio of musicians that had played and they made me feel so safe and I forgot about everything that was around me. I felt like you could disappear into a different time and state of being by allowing yourself to relate to music. That is what I talked about. It was an absolute huge honor.”

“Yeah!! I am really excited!! I have always wanted to play there, I love that whole culture, horseback riding and cowboys.

I grew up riding horses and did a lot of barrel racing and pole bending at summer camp. So I am pretty stoked, my band is pretty excited too. It seems to be constantly on the go for me.

I am touring on the road 85 to 90 percent of the time: touring

“When you get into a room full of these amazing people it is not only inspiring but fulfilling and empowering to realize you have that power inside of you too, everybody does.”

“I should, shouldn’t I? That would be a really good idea.

When I am talking to people outside my own little world I think I should stop and pinch myself. Just in the past six months I have realized this is now my life and my home, the only home I can find which is inside my skin,” Ryder told GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine in an exclusive interview. “I am just starting to become comfortable with my skin and my life, but I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am to be doing what I am doing. This is an unreal job doing unreal things. You have to try and keep yourself grounded by realizing you have a home that you carry around with you at all times. I do think pinching is a good idea it helps with blood flow.”

© 2008 Mary Rozzi.

Being in a room with musical heavyweights like Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, k.d. lang, Buffy St. Marie and others is truly inspiring for the young artist. ”I have found it to be more of a reality check than anything for me. There is so much talent, passion, inspiration and possibility in every single human being that exists. You have a perspective of who you are because of your life, your parents, how other people treated you. When you get into a room full of these amazing people it is not only inspiring but fulfilling and empowering to realize you have that power inside of you too, everybody does: to be able to do whatever it is you do the best that you can do it. To be honored for that is amazing. I was sitting watching Buffy St. Marie give her speech, three meters away from her, watching her bright shiny light on stage. The things she has done politically and emotionally for so many people out there in the world is so amazing. What she said, about being another person on the planet and being blessed to be able to share her thoughts and emotions, she has this childlike excitement and awe, and it was awe-inspiring to be there.”

People who have never heard Ryder’s incredible vocal range got to hear it for the first time on the broadcast, where she performed part of Little Bit of Red in a segment that also included performances from Crystal Shawanda and Divine Brown.

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Ryder’s songwriting and voice draws a wide variety of people, which gives her great pride. In fact, she admits that her current album, and most of her songwriting in general, focuses on themes of being comfortable with oneself. ”I have such a diverse fan base and I am so stoked about it. … I lived in Portland for a while and had a great time, I got a tattoo because that is what you do in Portland. I came back to Toronto and realized I am so blessed to live in such a diverse city it is amazing. People from all over the world, all different races and sexual orientations, it is magical to be part of that.

When I travel through the states and see how segregated a lot of places are, it is painful. I didn’t actually realize that still existed, being a young white girl who lives in North America you grow up in a certain way of living and it pains me to think that someone would ever judge anybody else for where they are from or their sexual orientation. It is horrible.”

© 2008 Mary Rozzi.

“It was very brief. I didn’t really have much time to think about it. I personally found it a bit difficult to totally rock out in 1-point-something minutes. It usually takes me about twenty minutes to warm up on stage, let alone not even having a whole song. I think this year the biggest deal for me about the Junos - and I was able to watch some of the pre-rehearsal stuff from backstage - Kathleen Edwards and Bryan Adams were magic, it was amazing.”

Ryder is a very busy woman, constantly touring. She is a big part of the Festival circuit, having played events like Bonnarroo, Lollapalooza, South by Southwest and Denver’s Mile High Music Festival.

“If I could (just) do festivals for the most part I would be pretty happy. You have the best of both worlds - you have your spot, your show - but you also get to share the stage with other musicians. When you are doing your own shows for the most part it is all about you. You rarely see people outside of your camp aside from people coming to your shows. It is you and your band, and maybe the people that are opening for you or that you are opening for. With festivals you are able to catch up with musicians or meet ones you haven’t met and always wanted to. You can go out and hang out with the audience in a way that you don’t really get to in a venue because you have your backstage and have to be in a certain place at a certain time. I love festivals they are my favorite thing to do.”

Another favorite thing is covering other artists, of which she has done Bruce Springsteen’s Racing In The Street, Kylie Minogue’s Slow, and Hank Williams’ Ramblin Man among others. Her 2006 album If Your Memory Serves You Well is a collection of covers of Canadian Songwriters including Leonard Cohen, The Band and Paul Anka.

“It is almost like a vacation for me. Being able to celebrate other people’s music and contributions to the music world is amazing. I feel that is how we do most of our learning, from the mirrors that are other people in music, art, and in the world.

Other people mirror back at us who we want to be, and learn how to be who we are. I find a lot of my lessons have come from people who have come before me or exist as well with me in the world. They have a different perspective because of their different lives and different things they have gone through. If I have the opportunity to sing that touches me in that kind of a way, it is like a vacation for me. It feels like a relationship with the song instead of something that comes directly from your own brain. You get to have this little mystery journey with other people’s interpretations with the world and their emotions.”

“It is really exciting how more people identify themselves as just people in the world that they exist. I am really frustrated when people feel they need to put labels on themselves in order to identify themselves in the world. I think a lot of people are frustrated with that in general but don’t know the reasons; they are constantly trying to identify themselves as this kind of person, but not this kind. My record is really about being comfortable in your own skin and not trying to fit yourself into boxes. It is important to do what you feel and feel what you do.”

“We all have this abundance of inspiration and love inside of us. The less that we try and fit ourselves into boxes…we will definitely succeed in the world and have a lot less pain. That is a big deal for me in a lot of my songwriting, being able to feel comfortable in my own skin and emotions.“ A lot of artists her age - especially young females - are not typically involved in the songwriting process of their own music.

However, Ryder continues to hold fast to that aspect of her talent in Is It O.K, as she has done since day one.

“There are a lot of different ways that (songwriting) has been important in building my career. Everyone has a choice in how they want to be seen and heard. For me personally there are a lot of ideas and concepts inside of myself that need to be verbalized. I do think people need to give just as much respect to people who are singers alone; there is something that is translated and articulated in the vibration of the voice that words can’t do.”

“I have always been intrigued with melding the two and trying to find some sort of symbiotic relationship between the vibration of voice and the words that are said. I find that how I write songs is very similar to that. I will find a certain sound that sounds good with a certain chord and I will move my mouth around it until the words come. Sometimes the words don’t even make sense when I start to write a song…the words come later on when I listen back. There is a lot to be said about just writing it beautifully and that is a part of my own process.”

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1328

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Serena Ryder

 July 6th at 3pm  Calgary Stampede

 www.SerenaRyder.com

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Trans Identity

A History of Gender Variance in Expression and Identity Part 5A: Stonewall and It’s Fissures (1969 - 1984)

By Mercedes Allen By 1969, alongside the questioning of authority, resentment of war and youthful unrest that had been happening with the “hippie” movement, the frustrations of non-heteronormative communities was coming to a boil. The flashpoint would finally be a series of attempted arrests stemming from a law that required people to wear at least three articles of clothing pertaining to their biological gender (a law which still exists on the books in some States, today). While periods of unrest were common in San Francisco, where the Compton’s riot and a few others took place, New York was far less accustomed to what would take place at a gay establishment that June. But ironically, as quickly as their unified strength would empower the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, they would soon fall into division, with the more-visible gendertransgressive people particularly left on the outside.

There were a number of factors attributed to what occurred on the night of June 28th, 1969. In New York City, police routinely harassed and arrested patrons of gay establishments, with the three-garment law making drag queens and transsexuals easy targets to justify raids.

One of these establishments, the Stonewall Inn, was said to be affiliated with the mafia and using gay Wall Street patrons to gather information to blackmail others - the intent to investigate thus stepped up these raids on the Stonewall (while raids usually occurred monthly, they became more frequent here, the previous one happening only 3 nights prior). Other factors also intensified the atmosphere: studies dating back as 1956 asserted that homosexuality was wrongly classified as a mental disorder, yet the medical establishment refused to budge (it would remain in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used by the psychiatric profession until 1973). Four other establishments were forcibly closed in Greenwich Village. On June 22nd, 1969, actress Judy Garland, who was a popular figure in the gay community (at the time thought of as a single community, rather than separated into GLBT etc.), died of an overdose of Seconal. One factor that is only mentioned occasionally was that on the day before the incident, Canada passed a law that decriminalized sodomy, with then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau famously declaring that “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” Although seldom mentioned now, one has to suspect that news from not far away of positive change of this magnitude for the gay community would have been fresh on the minds of patrons as well.

1969 - Several police officers enter a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, bar the doors and order everyone into lines.

Marsha P. Johnson (1945 - July 6, 1992 - Johnson is one of the many we remember during the Transgender Day of Remembrance) throws a stone or bottle (accounts vary) in retaliation for the harassment at Stonewall Inn; friend Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 - February 19, 2002) follows with a molotov cocktail and then several others join in. The Stonewall Rebellion touches off the gay

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and lesbian liberation movements, and later becomes the event commemorated at Pride celebrations around the world.

Following the riots, which carried over sporadically into the days following, Rivera helped to found both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. By 1974, those organizations would abandon Rivera, seeing transgender people as being an embarrassment and a political liability to the gay rights cause. By the 1990s, political gay and lesbian groups would denounce Rivera’s contribution, even denying that she was present during the riots.

Rivera gradually fell into alcoholism, and it wouldn’t be until the turn of the millennium that she would reemerge as a public figure.

1969 also saw the first Gender Symposium, which would develop into the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA).

In 2006, the organization would change its name to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

1970 - Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson form STAR, the first transgender activist organization, which later included a safehouse (at times - in the beginning, it depended on when they were able to find an abandoned trailer).

Virginia Prince, of Tri-Ess, coins the word “transgender,” albeit with a limited definition to describe her transvestitism. “Transgender” originally applied exclusively to gynephile (attracted to females) cross dressers, and a divisive scorn was applied to transsexuals and androphiles (those attracted to males). “Transgender” would later evolve into an all-inclusive term, as both the derision for transsexuals subsided and the desire for a term for transsexuals that didn’t seem to emphasize “sex” emerged.

April Corbett’s (neé Ashley; alternate link) marriage is annulled and she is declared to be legally still a man, in spite of a legal sex reassignment, leaving United Kingdom post-operative transsexuals in legal limbo, unable to marry as either sex, until 2004. Similar occurrences take place in various U.S. states in subsequent years.

Andy Warhol protégé and transwoman Holly Woodlawn debuts in the movie Trash, for which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be petitioned to nominate her for an Oscar (they wouldn’t). Woodlawn would appear in a few more films and then disappear from sight, but not before being immortalized (along with Candy Darling) in the Lou Reed song, “Walk on the Wild Side.”

After initial rejection by founder Betty Friedan (who referred to lesbians as “the lavender menace”), the National Organization for Women (NOW) expands policy to include lesbian rights. Embrace of transgender issues does not come until circa 2003, and then only gradually adopts trans-friendly policies (the situation is much better today). As NOW represents much of the core of the feminist movement, feminism as a whole is still somewhat resistant to accepting transwomen as “women,” even after surgery is performed, but conversely has tended to eject transmen from the moment of beginning transition.

1970s (specific year unknown) - Metoidioplasty is developed for female-to-male transsexuals. Phalloplasty had existed previously, but Metoidioplasty was seen as a more affordable option, with better results in sensation.

Trans Identity 1972 - John Money (with Anke Ehrhardt) publishes “Man & Woman, Boy & Girl: Gender Identity from Conception to Maturity.” He would go on to publish several more books asserting that gender is learned, and not genetically predetermined. This theory is seized upon by the feminist movement as evidence that women are socialized to be passive against their true natures, and this later becomes a wedge between lesbian feminists and transsexual women. In many of his writings of this time, Money cites his famous “John/Joan case”, which he touts as being a socialization of a boy whose penis had been lost in a circumcision accident, to be raised successfully as a girl. “John/Joan,” however, is David Reimer, who is not settling into his reassigned gender as “Brenda” as well as Money believes. As a consequence of many of Money’s writings, pediatricians mistakenly take up the practice of gender assignment at birth. This is most often determined by the length of the penile / clitoral tissue: if it is smaller than a certain length, the child’s tissue is trimmed and they are assigned to be raised as a girl. This policy continued up to the turn of the millennium, and is a major factor in the origins of many intersexed children.

1974 - Jan Morris publishes Conundrum, the story of her quest for personal identity, and one of the earliest autobiographies to shed light on the transsexual dilemma.

Jamie Farr’s cross-dressing character, Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger, debuts on the CBS television show, M*A*S*H, the first transgender-related character to appear regularly on TV. Although Klinger was said to cross-dress only as an attempt to be given a discharge from the Army, it is the first moment of particular visibility outside comedians’ sporadic use of cross-dressing for comedic purposes (popularized by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in the movie “Some Like It Hot” as well as by comedians ranging from Milton Berle to Jerry Lewis to Monty Python’s Flying Circus).

1977 - Sandy Stone is “outed” while working for Olivia Records, the first women’s music record label, as a recording engineer. Lesbian activists threaten a boycott of Olivia products and concerts, forcing the company to ask for Stone’s resignation. Angela Douglas writes a satirical letter to Sister as a protest of the transphobia in the lesbian community in general, and the attacks on Sandy Stone in particular.

1973 - Folk singer and accomplished activist Beth Elliott, aka “Mustang Sally,” becomes vice-president of the Daughters of Bilitis. Soon afterward, she is “outed” as a transsexual, and hounded out of the organization by transphobic lesbian separatists. At the West Coast Lesbian Conference held in Los Angeles later that year, the controversy would continue as lesbians protest the fact that Elliott is scheduled to perform at the meeting. She would mostly abandon activism until 1983.

1976 - Reneé Richards (August 19, 1934 - present) is “outed” and barred from competition when she attempts to enter a womens’ tennis tournament (the U.S. Open). Her subsequent legal battle establishes that transsexuals are fully, legally recognized in their new identity after SRS, in the United States. Her story would be told in the book and movie, Second Serve, but Richards would later decide that she regretted her transition and the resulting public harassment.

Jonathan Ned Katz publishes Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. and the connection between Jonathan Gilbert’s “H” and Dr. Alan Hart, but asserts Hart as a lesbian, effectively stealing transgender history.

The City of San Francisco clears away antiquated laws about clothing and gender, to make crossdressing legal.

1979 - Janice Raymond publishes The Transsexual Empire, a semi-scholarly transphobic attack. In the book, she cites Douglas’ letter out of context as an example of transsexual misogyny, and casts Sandy Stone’s involvement in Olivia Records as “divisive” and “patriarchal.” (Stone would reply to these accusations in her book, The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto.) She championed the idea that gender is purely a matter of “sex role

This division continues, as Sylvia Rivera is followed at a Gay Pride Rally by Jean O’Leary, who denounces transwomen as female impersonators profiting from the derision and oppression of women.

Following this, Rivera leaves the groups she helped to found (except for STAR). Over these years, the exclusionary principles of the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis become the direction of the 1970s gay and lesbian movement, encouraging gender conformity as a political tactic, feeling that a message to mainstream society that “we’re just like you” is necessary to secure protections based on sexual orientation.

Homosexuality is delisted from the medical community’s standard DSM, declaring that it is no longer a mental disorder (and never was). Transgenderism, however, remains listed as a mental disability, termed “Gender Identity Disorder,” to this day.

The earliest version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is introduced as voting legislation. It is not transgenderinclusive at this time, and does not pass.

The stage musical, The Rocky Horror Show debuts in London.

Jim Sharman and Richard O’Brien would later translate it to film as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which would become a true cult phenomenon. The theme, “don’t dream it, be it” becomes a rallying cry for many transsexuals as well as many libertarians of all stripes.

Australian showgirl-turned-actress Carlotta (known for her performances in the long-running 1963 Les Girls cabaret, in which she was a founding member) debuts in the soap opera, Number 96 playing Robyn Ross, a transgender showgirl. When the character’s (and actress’) identity is revealed, she is quickly written out of the show due to viewer response. Carlotta later becomes the inspiration for the movie, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

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Trans Identity socialization” (an opinion that coincided very much with John Money’s, despite her open attacks on him), writing “... All transsexuals rape women’s bodies by reducing the real female form to an artifact, appropriating this body for themselves. However, the transsexually constructed lesbian feminist violates women’s sexuality and spirit as well....Transsexuals merely cut off the most obvious means of invading women, so that they seem non-invasive.”

Johns Hopkins Medical Center closes its Gender Clinic, under the recommendation of new curator, Paul McHugh, John Money’s successor and an opponent to both Money’s idea of gender as being learned, and Money’s support of transsexuals’ need to transition. Over the next two decades, many of the other Gender Clinics across North America would follow suit. The closure was justified by pointing to a 1979 report (“Sex Reassignment: Follow-up,” published in Archives of General Psychiatry 36, no. 9) by Jon Meyer and Donna Reter that claimed to show “no objective improvement” following male-to-female GRS surgery. This report was later widely questioned and eventually found to be contrived and possibly fraudulent, but the damage had been done.

Musician and synthesized music pioneer Wendy Carlos transitions and goes public.

Gays, lesbians and transsexuals, who were previously condemned to death in Iran, are given a new fate under law: they are forced to undergo SRS surgery to “correct” the inclination. Transsexuals are still held with a great deal of derision in Iran, and are encouraged to keep silent about their past.

1980 - David Reimer (as “Brenda”) learns at the age of 15 from his parents that he had been born a boy, and decides to re-establish a male identity. This process would take until 1997, and involve testosterone injections, a double-mastectomy and two phalloplasty surgeries.

Joanna Clark, aka Sister Mary Elizabeth, an Episcopal Nun, organizes the ACLU Transsexual Rights Committee.

Paul Walker organizes the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association to promote standards of care for transsexual and transgender clients. He also founds the Janus Information Facility, continuing the work of Erickson Educational Foundation.

Later, he would fall ill, and Joanna Clark and Jude Patton would co-found J2CP Information Services to continue this legacy.

1981 - Model, actress and Bond Girl Caroline Cossey (“Tula”) is “outed” by the British press. She would later become the first postoperative transsexual to pose for Playboy. By 1988, she would be struggling with the European Court of Human Rights to recognize her as a female - she would win in June 1989, but the court would overturn their decision a year later. Recognition would not come until The Gender Recognition Act of 2004.

1982 - Boy George (George Alan O’Dowd) and Culture Club emerge on the pop charts with the song, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?” His cross-dressing image is not totally new (androgyny had been played with by the likes of David Bowie, Steve Tyler and Aerosmith, Hall and Oates, Elton John...), but had certainly never been taken to the same extreme. By 1986, however, the disintegration of his relationship with drummer Jon Moss and drug problems would hamstring him and Culture Club would be disbanded.

Despite some resurgences (he had a hit with the Roy Orbison song for the movie “The Crying Game,” for example), he would never reach the same heights, and would continually encounter legal troubles.

1983 - Jessica Lange wins the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “Tootsie,” a Sydney Pollack movie in which Dustin Hoffman plays an actor who takes on a female persona in order to secure work in a soap opera. Hoffman and Pollack are also nominated in the Best Actor and Best Director categories but do not win an Oscar.

Although not a portrayal of the transgender community, the movie is the first gender-transgressive one to be recognized with such an honor. Lange also later appears in the transgender positive madefor-TV movie, “Normal.” Later recognition for transgender-related

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film works include a win for Hilary Swank (Oscars, 2000, “Boys Don’t Cry,” Best Actress), a Golden Globe win for Best Picture (“Ma Vie En Rose”), and nominations for Jaye Davidson (Oscars, 1993, “The Crying Game,” Best Supporting Actor; Neil Jordan won the Oscar for his screenplay but lost the Directoral nomination), Felicity Huffman (Oscars, 2006, “Transamerica,” Best Actress; Golden Globe win for same category), and Edouard Molinaro (Oscars, 1980, “La Cage Aux Folles,” Best Director).

1984 - The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) is founded, becoming the first major transgender organization to welcome both transsexual and cross-dressing members, along with dual inclusion in its magazine, Tapestry (later, Transgender Tapestry Journal).

Heavy Metal band Twisted Sister brings gender-bending to the fore in a different music genre, although glam rock had been somewhat previously popularized by Aerosmith and KISS in the 1970s. Censorship contributes to the failure of their follow-up album, and front man Dee Snider spends two years heavily occupied with the music industry fight against the PMRC music labeling movement.

The Folsom Street Fair is organized as a continuing show of resistance to San Francisco’s redevelopment plans, which would drive poorer working-class folks from the area. It would become a counterculture Mecca, attracting the gay, leather and transgender communities. Originally entitled “Megahood,” it draws some inspiration from George Orwell’s novel, “1984.”

Mid-1980s - Bugis Street, in the city-state of Singapore, is renovated, bringing to an end its reputation as a gathering place for transsexual women. It had been a major tourist attraction for this reason since the 1950s, being particularly popular with American G.I.s. During the “disco” era, it would be nicknamed “Boogie Street.” Transsexual tourism gradually becomes limited to Thailand and “safe” parts of Rio de Janerio.

Futanari, a genre of Japanese comics featuring characters with fully-developed versions of both male and female sex organs (which is literally impossible), develops during this time, growing out of manga and often being highly pornographic.

Next: Part B, 1985-1995.

Partial Bibliography: Much of this had been compiled over time, and not all the sources have been recorded. Some online sources have been involved as well, although I search for more corroboration in these cases.

• Bullough, Vern: Homosexuality: A History From Ancient Greece to Gay Liberation • Califia, Patrick: Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism • Colapinto, John: As Nature Made Him: The Story of a Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl • Currah, Paisley; Richard M. Juang and Shannon Price Minter: Transgender Rights • Feinberg, Leslie: TransGender Warriors • Fletcher, Lynne Yamaguchi: The First Gay Pope (and other records) • Kessler, Suzanne; and McKenna, Wendy: Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach • Rudacille, Deborah: The Riddle of Gender • Walker, Barbara: various works • Williams, Walter: The Spirit and the Flesh

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1329

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Mercedes Allen is a writer who blogs at http://dentedbluemercedes.wordpress. com/, has been featured on bilerico.com, PageOneQ and others, and has also developed the website at AlbertaTrans.org as a resource for transgender information and support.

Fundraising Photography Photos ISCWR Written in the Stars Pageant at Boots - Edmonton

Apollo AGM - Calgary

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Fundraising Photos Womonspace Pride Dance - Edmonton

Team Edmonton Pride Sports - Edmonton

EVM Rainbow Madness Concert - Edmonton

Fake Mustache Show at The Soda - Calgary

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Fundraising Photos AFQOL 2 Queens in a Tub at Texas Lounge - Calgary (Photos by Craig Salans)

Princess Pride Show at Boots - Edmonton

Underwear Affair - Calgary

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Celebrity Interview

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Behind the Lens with Photographer Mike Ruiz

By Jason Clevett Photography is an unappreciated art, and often those artists whose snapshots make people and places look so amazing are overlooked. In the case of Mike Ruiz, his personality shines out from behind the camera, and has lead to cameos on shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and Kathy Griffen’s Life on the D-List. Not to mention he is on the judging panel for the current season of Canada’s Next Top Model. We caught up with Mike in New York City for a lengthy but fun chat about life amongst the famous.

“I can be in a room with a celebrity and be fine, but when I look through the lens it hits me and I get goosebumps. I am thinking oh my god! How did a fat little queen from Montreal end up in the same room with some of these people? I am always so thankful and grateful that the universe took care of what it needed to. I do pinch myself every single day, not only when I am shooting but just the fact that I live in New York City. I remember

being a teenager seeing videos and having this burning desire to be here. It all panned out. At the time when I was living in that delusional fantasy world, I used to have very vivid daydreams about hanging out at Studio 54 when I was 13. It was a cause for concern for my parents but then fortunately it manifested in a way that I hoped it would. My parents were no longer concerned once I started making a living doing this.”

His list of clients include Justin Timberlake, The Backstreet Boys, David Boreanez, Ricky Martin, Joshua Jackson, and Mark Whalberg to name a few. Some very good looking guys, but Ruiz separates business from pleasure. ”It is all in a days work for me. I am like a gynecologist now.

The whole celebrity thing, I never really understood why being in movies or TV separates you from the rest of humanity. I hang around these people, I was at a function last night with a bunch of celebrities and people I have worked with. They all are normal people to me, with hang-ups. I don’t get all thrilled and flustered because I worked with the likes of Justin Timberlake. I was doing my job, he was there to promote his thing and I was paid to help him do that.”

He has also photographed many important LGBT figures and supporters including RuPaul, Sir Ian McKellen, Kathy Griffen, Katy Perry.

“I am always glad, it is a thrill to work with people that are supporters of the community and elevate the experience. I loved working with Katy Perry for that reason, she is not gay herself but she made kissing a girl a mainstream thing. I respect and admire that. I have to say I am not a huge activist person, I am not politically charged. My virtue is just being myself as an openly gay man enjoying my life. I hope that sets the best example of all. It is a very transitional time, gay marriage is becoming more prevalent in the States, but there is still a lot of opposition to it.

I hope that just living a life in a happy, functional, successful way is political and educational enough to the mainstream. I am just my wacky self on Canada’s Next Top Model, I don’t alter my personality at all for anything, I don’t censor what I say and I am hoping that is enough to educate the ignorant masses. I admire people who do the same. I am really happy that Adam Lambert casually came out in Rolling Stone and it wasn’t a big deal, early in his career. That diffuses all of the speculation and crap that would follow. Now nobody cares and it is great. He is super talented and people still love him. I like people who live their lives in a happy functional way. Anyone in entertainment who lives their life like that I am happy to work with them.”

Ruiz has taken a distinctive journey to his career. From growing up in Montreal to modeling, acting and directing, he feels most at home behind the camera.

“Hooking wasn’t an option. I modeled for a long time and in 1993 I moved from Miami to Los Angeles to be an actor. I realized that I hated it. I had mentioned to a pal of mine that I was going to all these cool places and I should be documenting it, and he got me this crappy little point and shoot for Christmas. I opened the box and a light shone out of it. I had an epiphany and immediately became obsessed with photographing everything in sight before finally settling on people. When I go on modeling jobs I would take this camera with me and be shooting models, and that was more interesting than shooting the scenery. I found it very gratifying and satisfying and was doing it as a side hobby.

Then models started asking me to shoot stuff for them! A couple

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of magazines asked me to do stuff and I realized maybe I could make a go at this. So I made a conscious decision to make a career out of photography. I bought a bunch of expensive equipment, taught myself how to use it, and the rest is history.”

He is frequently asked for advice on how to break into the industry. ”My approach is so not typical. There is no formula; the only advice that I ever give is you have to assess whether you genuinely love doing it. If you are doing it for the wrong reasons - the money, the fame, anything like that - it will never work out. The thing with photography, you have to have a point a view and it has to be a cathartic view for you to express it. If you are not able to tap into that, it is not your vehicle. I tapped into it and was shooting for a year and a half before I even considered making it a career, every single day because I LOVED doing it. It gave me the biggest hard on to do this stuff.”

In addition to photography and TV work, he is writing a dance track to re-launch Tracy Lord’s career with Anton Baff and Sylvia Tosem which will be released this fall, and pitching a show called 10-10 to networks.

“It is based on these elitist gay guys in Los Angeles that is loosely based on me and my friends in the 90’s. We were termed elitist. Picture LA 1994, I had 9 other friends and one guy who felt excluded dubbed us the 10-10’s in a derogatory way. Look at them they think they are all 10’s. We thought it was kind of funny and adopted the name and started having 10-10 parties that were very exclusive. It was all poking fun at ourselves but it became this legend in LA to the point where, fast-forward 15 years, a talented writer named Benjamin Morgan has heard of these guys, he has written a script for a pilot and a film, a novel, and a treatment for a reality show. I bumped into him in Palm Springs and he introduced himself and told me he loved Starbooty which I directed. He said he was a writer and wanted to collaborate. I asked what he was working on and he said I have been obsessed with this idea of these 10-10’s. I smirked and said tell me about it. He told me all about it and said his friend was advising him, I asked his name, and I said no he wasn’t one of them. Benjamin asked how I would know and I said Because I was one of them! His jaw dropped. The characters don’t really resemble us anymore but it is a very funny and dark script and I had to be a part of it.”

He enjoyed working on Canada’s Next Top Model and assures us that much of the drama is real.

“It is a result of having a precarious childhood. It wasn’t all chocolate sprinkles and rainbows; that is probably why I had a rich fantasy life as a child. I have a simplistic mantra, everything I do has to be fun and everything has to be pretty.”

“I have known Tyra forever. I worked with her when she was fresh out of her teens, early on in my career. I was always on her radar, and then I befriended Jay Manuel. They got me to do an episode on Cycle 5 of America’s Next Top Model and Jay and I have become super wonderful friends. He is so giving and loving, I don’t know if that lends to his on-air persona but he is just an incredible guy. He is always thinking of me in the professional respect. He bullied the executive producers that I was right for the show, and they all agree now, and the president of CTV is thrilled I am on the show now. It was a hard sell, and I owe it all to Jay,” he recalled. “I watch reality TV on occasion and would think it is so contrived, it is crap, none of it is real. Having been on a whole season of Canada’s top model, you cannot write that shit.

Jay showed me a couple of episodes before they aired and I was riveted. All I saw while taping was the girls in the judging room.

I never saw them behave out of there. None of it is manufactured

it is all jaw droppingly real. Wait until you see later on in the season! When we do challenges sometimes they will make me a repeat a thing if there is a mic problem but outside of that it is all off the cuff and improvised. The interaction between the girls is 100% real. It is not airing here in the States so I don’t know what episode they are on but some of those girls carry their feelings towards the other girls to this day, you can see it on Facebook.”

Ruiz’s passion comes through loud and clear in his photos. His eye for color and design is amazing. ”It is a result of having a precarious childhood. It wasn’t all chocolate sprinkles and rainbows; that is probably why I had a rich fantasy life as a child. I have a simplistic mantra, everything I do has to be fun and everything has to be pretty. So I developed an esthetic where I looked at everything through rose-colored glasses. It is a manifestation of my fantasy life. I want to create images that I can look at and take me to a happier, more colorful place. I want to, and do, live there. 44 years of intensive therapy have allowed me to stay there. I live there and perceive everything as good and happy and all people are good. It takes a long time. When you are subjected to certain things in life you tend to develop cynical and bitter views of things and I chose to go the opposite route. Photography is cathartic in doing that and I want to just create pretty pictures. I don’t mean to trivialize it.

It means more than that. It is my point of view. There is always some underlying darkness because I do need to keep one foot in reality to keep myself grounded. At the end of the day none of it is real. What is real is feeling connected to humanity.”

www.MikeRuiz.com

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1332

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Celebrity Interview

She ... Amanda Lepore “World’s Most Famous Transsexual”

By Chris Azzopardi Amanda Lepore is pretty. Really pretty. And she has no qualms about pouting her lips or pouring out her cleavage enough times so you know it. The “My Pussy” singer’s been plasticized into something of a caricature – she’d probably be the first to tell you, she modeled herself after Jessica Rabbit – which is one of the reasons the model/actress/nightlife queen’s been dubbed “World’s Most Famous Transsexual.”

Breaking from packing for Switzerland, Lepore chatted with us about that title, the I … Amanda Lepore album due July 7, and what it takes to look as good as her (and it’s not plastic surgery).

GayCalgary: How are you, Amanda?

Amanda: Good.

GayCalgary: And your pussy?

Amanda: It’s good. Famous (laughs).

GayCalgary: “I … Amanda Lepore” doesn’t drop until next month, but what can we expect from it?

Amanda: Different styles of music. It isn’t just club music.

There’s slow songs; there’s all different styles.

GayCalgary: Will you be exploiting your private parts on any of the tracks?

Amanda: Um, let me think … no, I don’t think so (laughs).

GayCalgary: You’re obviously known for your transformation, including a synthetic vagina. Watching a sex change procedure being done on TV inspired you, right?

Amanda: Well, I heard that it was obtainable – you know what I mean? – but I always wanted to be a girl. There was no question about it. I mean, that TV show didn’t put that in my mind; it just kind of gave me direction to where you could go to get it (laughs).

GayCalgary: How old were you then?

Amanda: I think 12.

GayCalgary: How did you envision yourself at that age?

Amanda: I just wanted to be a girl. For a long time, I didn’t really (care about) anything except for wanting to be a pretty girl (laughs). I think all through Limelight (a string of nightclubs Lepore performed at), I really was just so happy dressing up and being a glamorous girl and being an “it” girl that I really didn’t have any motivation to be anything else (laughs).

GayCalgary: Do you feel like a role model to other transgender people?

Amanda: Definitely. Nobody at the time wanted to call themselves the No. 1 Transsexual in the World. It was something they didn’t want to be known as (laughs). Ten years ago, transsexuals (wanted) to blend in; there were more who wanted to blend in on the streets than wanted to be on the cover of Vogue. They would really go out of their way to not do anything too flashy; it was more about meeting a straight man

Continued on Page 42  GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine #69, July 2009

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Queer Eye - Community Events Leather Pride Weekend at Calgary Eagle

Leather Night at Boots - Edmonton

PURE Pride Party at Play - Edmonton

Wet Jockey Contest at Calgary Eagle

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Queer Eye - Community Events Prism Anniversary Party

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Queer Eye - Community Events Photography Edmonton Pride

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Queer Eye - Community Photography Events Kate Reid at Prism - Edmonton

Underwear Party at Steamworks - Edmonton

Sailor Party at Buddys - Edmonton

Pink Party at Buddys - Edmonton

Gay Cup Baseball Tournament - Edmonton

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Photography Queer Eye - Community Events Buddys BBQ - Edmonton

Dr. Seuss Circus at Play - Edmonton

Lethbridge Pride (Photos by Heather Chomos, Levi Cox)

ARGRA Survivor Party at Backlot - Calgary

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ARGRA Last Stand Party at Calgary Eagle

Queer Eye - Community Events ARGRA Rodeo Weekend - Strathmore

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