GayCalgary Magazine - Dec 2014 / Jan 2015

DEC 14/JAN 2015

® ISSUE 134 • FREE The Voice of Alberta’s LGBT Community

Interview with

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MIDLER

BenDeLaCreme Dipping into Alberta

Margaret Cho

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Leslie Jordon • Laurie Metcalf Bill Hader • Jillian Banks GSA’s in Alberta ...and more!

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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Table of Contents

Photography Videography

Steve Polyak, Diaz-Marino, SteveRob Polyak B&J

Sales Videography Steve Polyak

Stevesales@gaycalgary.com Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino

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GayCalgary® Magazine Sales2136 & General Inquiries 17th Avenue SW GayCalgary EdmontonT2TMagazine Calgary, and AB, Canada 0G3 2136 17th Avenue SW magazine@gaycalgary.com Calgary, AB, Canada 0G3 Office Hours: T2T By appointment ONLY

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Bill 10

PCs ruthlessly handle an appeal for equal student rights

With Bells On

Instilling Heart Warming Christmas Cheer Five Years Strong

10 Billy Talent Celebrates 21 Years With Hits Greatest Hits Package Reflects on Success

11 Lethbridge’s Club Didi More than just a club

PAGE 12

Writers and Contributors

Chris Mercedes Azzopardi, Allen, Dave Chris Brousseau, Azzopardi, Dallas Constable Barnes, Andy Dave Buck,Brousseau, Jason Clevett, SamJanine Casselman, Eva-Trotta, Jason Farley Clevett, Foo Andrew Foo, Collins, StephenEmily Lock,Collins, Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino, Romeo San Vicente, Janine Eva Jim Trotta, Scott, Krista Jack Fertig, Sylvester, GlenMars Hanson, Tonic,Joan V.N. Hilty, Winnick, Evanand Kayne, the LGBT Stephen Community Lock, NeilofMcMullen, Calgary, Allan Neuwirth, Edmonton, Steve Polyak, and Alberta.

Carey Rutherford, Romeo San Vicente, Ed Sikov, Nick Vivian and the GLBT Community of Calgary, Edmonton, and Photography Alberta.

Steve Polyak, Farley Foo Foo

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12 An Interview With Leslie Jordan Comic actor talks Will & Grace, Horror Story and female icons

15 ’80s Solid Gold

Stage West Musical Revue a glorious trip down memory lane

16 Bill 202

It was Really Just “Equality 101”

PAGE 20

Publisher Publisher: & Editor: SteveSteve Polyak Polyak Copy Editor: Editor: RobJanine Diaz-Marino Eva-Trotta Sales: Steve Polyak Design & Layout: Rob Diaz-Marino, Steve Polyak Ara Shimoon

DEC 2014/JAN 2015

17 Discussing Community Safety Staying secure for the holidays

18 Philips Hairclipper Series 7000 Cordless, Powerful and Built to Last

e n zi

19 Give a HIVCL Holiday Hamper

Help brighten the holiday season for someone living with HIV

20 Pride with a Chance of Cho

a g a

Margaret Cho headlines Whistler Pride Festival

22 Deep Inside Hollywood

m

Zachary Quinto meets The Girl Who Invented Kissing

23 Parenting Proud Defying the Stereotype

24 Reinventing Safer Sex

PAGE 26

®

Introducing PrEP

26 From the Conners to the McCarthys Laurie Metcalf talks roles on gay-inclusive sitcoms

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

28 Birth of a Goddess

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

30 A Hader You Can Love

SNL alumnus Bill Hader talks tasty men, Stefon and his ‘license to be totally fabulous’

National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

Gay European Tourism Association

PAGE 30

Breakout musician Banks talks prison fans, Tracy Chapman’s gender and newfound fame

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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Table of Contents  Continued From Previous Page

32 Jessica Nigri

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Popular to Contrary Belief Magazine Figures

34 Out of Town

Monthly Print Quantity:

Puerto Vallarta

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36 Aerannis

Indie gamers devs ektomarch are producing a slick retro platformer with a trans protagonist

38 The Missing Footage from Drag Race Dipping into BenDeLaCreme

40 Sharon Needles Returns

Season 4 winner injects her style into Battle of the Seasons tour

42 ‘Divine’ Intervention

PAGE 40

45 Queer Eye 51 A Couple of Guys 52 News Releases 54 Mr. GayCalgary December 2014 Reid Hollander 60 Classified Ads

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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. This magazine also includes straight allies and those who are gay friendly.

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Editorial

Bill 10

PCs ruthlessly handle an appeal for equal student rights

By Janine Eva Trotta She was sad, brought to tears, then angry, but one thing Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman is not is resigned. Despite never getting the chance to debate her Bill 202 – and then the slap in the face of having it completely shoved off the table by the Conservative’s Bill 10 – the Edmonton MLA is still optimistic.

photography group? Would he ever need stand before a judge to defend his right to snap photos? Or play a sport?

“Bill 10 is… a push back or a backlash…against what I was trying to do in 202, but I think it’s just part of a process. We’re not at the end of this, not by a long shot,” Blakeman says. “I think [Prentice] badly misread Albertans in putting forward Bill 10.”

The debate on whether or not schools should be mandated to allow Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) should a student request them has turned into a chaotic battle where confusion and ignorance are two major players. Blakeman was confident when we talked to her in November, just prior to her delivery of Bill 202: The Safe and Inclusive Schools Statutes Amendment Act; she was certain Alberta was ready for change. What played out next was something she had not seen in 17 years of working in politics. Through a series of shifty moves she was never allowed to speak.

Then on December 1st, Bill 10: An Act to Amend the Alberta Bill of Rights To Protect Our Children was introduced. Premier Jim Prentice had deemed 202 “unnecessarily divisive”, and so it was shunted aside, replaced, by the controversial Bill 10. Prentice has both taken responsibility for Bill 10 and paused its debate for the uproar that has ensued.

But did he? Prentice is being applauded by many who viewed 202 as a violation of their parental rights and religious freedoms – including Calgary’s Roman Catholic Bishop Fred Henry. The difficult thing to see and hear is that those so vocally opposed don’t seem to know much about GSAs at all.

Bill 10 would effectively make it virtually impossible for a student to form a GSA if his school board didn’t want him to. He could appeal that decision, sure – he could take it all the way to the Court of Queen’s Bench – but why would/should a student who just wants a safe space to ask questions as he’s coming of age and forming an identity have to go that route? Does a photographer need the board’s approval to form a

“Home schoolers turn up widely disproportionate to the numbers that they are,” she says, noting that these parents often work from home, are on computers, and are vocal in comment threads on articles lambasting Bill 10, but only account for less than four per cent of families with schoolaged children. She estimates that support for Bill 202, in reality, would

Blakeman says she has answered the phone to parents who were worried about their children learning about ‘these alternative lifestyles’ and proposing that her bill was in violation of their parental rights.

Alternative? she has asked. As oppose to what? Aliens? When she has inquired of these callers how 202 was in conflict with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms she has been called a liar and hung up on. She says these types of questions and fears come from parents who are “staggeringly badly informed”.

Continued on Next Page 

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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 From Previous Page actually amount to a 4:1 ratio. “I don’t know why, frankly, we would be caving to that.”

Blakeman is glad, though, that 202 has garnished governmental attention and got people talking.

“We managed to get that whole agenda up and out into the public… for close to eight weeks, which is pretty cool,” she says. “That bill made the Premier actually do something… We actually made him react… We made the government react.”

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has also been open about his severe disappointment that a child’s need for a safe space has become an ugly political debate.

“How additionally ridiculous is it that we know these clubs help kids stay safe, we know that these clubs help prevent suicide among a group where one third of the kids attempt suicide,” he said in a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce December 11th.

“As someone who works with LGBT youth, these groups [GSAs] are extremely important to the success and growth of these kids in their school culture,” says James Demers, activist and co-chair of the Miscellaneous Youth Network, which strives to create safe and welcoming spaces for LGBT youth. “These clubs are life savers for many isolated youth whose biggest bullies are often their parents.”

Blakeman says support for Bill 10 is not rampant within the student or even parent population itself, but among trustees, adding that “there is no separation of Church and State there”.

“The kids are already [supportive]…. Anyone under 35 gets this… they look at us like What is wrong with you old farts?,” she laughs. “We have a public school system that tax payers pay for… we all agree that it is a good thing to have an educated society…whether you have children, your children are grown, or maybe you don’t have children yet.”

“I do not agree with the Premier that it is ok to enforce an accommodation in one school and not the other. No group gets a ‘pass’ or a ‘buy’. We pay for both… You are not going to teach discrimination as a part of schooling.”

“The PC government is doing the entire province a dis-service by refusing to bring public policy to the level of social progression present in the general population,” Demers states.

Danielle Smith, former leader of the Wildrose Party, appeared on board with Bill 202, but has since ditched her party along with a flock of other MLAs to cross over the Tories.

“Smith was really affected by visiting camp fYrefly and that convinced her of the essentialness of GSAs,” Blakeman says.

Nenshi, saying he doesn’t often get political, got political on this issue.

He said he could not stay mum about a provincial issue when it was an issue that involved human rights, particularly the rights of a child to feel safe.

“This conversation that we’ve had over the last couple of weeks gives us a very interesting reason to vote,” he said in his speech. “Sometimes you’ve got to vote for what’s just right.”

“Everybody has got to step up to the mark,” Blakeman says. “I’m not letting go of this. I will continue to try to move this issue forward.”

“This is a horse with a bit in their teeth.”

She said she never could have imagined the level of trickery and dirty political game playing that closed the doors on a bill that would have given a LGBT student’s right to feel equal with his or her peers at any school they attended in the province.

“Who are you guys to decide this is the way it’s going to be to the rest of us?” Blakeman asks.

Spring session will start back up in February. Until then, we can only wait to hear and observe what consultations the Premier will engage in on this issue.

“I’ve been through a lot… so I keep my eye on the ball,” Blakeman says. “I keep coming back to them [the kids]... They shouldn’t be collateral damage.”

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Holiday time may seem like an ideal opportunity to come out to your family – everybody’s in one place at one time and there’s less chance for an individual meltdown in a large... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4402

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Official announcements are a strange thing. We had heard the new Pee-wee Herman movie was a go a while back. But then maybe it wasn’t as go-ish as we had been led to believe. Or... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4405 Local Blogger Spearheads Battle Against Bill 10 Mike Morrison has made a name for himself across Canada through his Mike’s Bloggity Blog website. While his postings typically focus on arts and entertainment, when Morrison is... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4409 The Frivolist

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

7

Theatre

With Bells On

Instilling Heart Warming Christmas Cheer Five Years Strong

By Janine Eva Trotta It is rare in the theatre world that an actor gets to perform a role he loves a solid 100 times over. But, on December 24th 2014, closing night of famed Christmas comedy With Bells On, thespian Paul Welch will do just that.

Playing the dazzling role of She he will stand roughly 7.5 feet tall on 6.5 inches of heel, four inches more than he started out on five years ago when he asked a burlesque dancer to teach him how to walk on spikes. She is the only role for which Welch has performed in drag, and it has taught him much about the art.

“I watched a documentary called Pageant (a behind the scenes look at the 34th Miss Gay America contest)… that really opened my eyes to the human being behind the drag,” he says, on part of the research he put into initially playing this role. He also read Darrin Hagen’s (creator and director of the show the last three years) book Edmonton Queen. Welch is dismayed that so many view drag as devious or perverse when, in fact, “these are talented people challenging themselves artistically” and it is a mere creative feat to “step into the shoes, as it were.”

Stafford Perry, who joins Welch on stage to play He, was also in the very first theatre rendition of With Bells On five years ago here in Calgary. The two actors have had a long history of acting side by side, having both been selected into the highly competitive BFA theatre program at the University of Alberta, from which they graduated together in a class of 12 in 2007.

“It’s a nice little book end to this five-year journey of the show,” Welch says on their onstage reunion. She was Welch’s first professional theatre role, and both inducted him into the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association and won him a Betty Mitchell Award for best actor in a comedy role.

Welch has been acting since the age of 18. Even while completing an ambitious double major in philosophy and psychology at the University of Ottawa he was participating in three to four theatre projects per year. “[Acting has] been the primary focus of my career for 15 years, and everything else has been secondary to that,” he says.

His tenacious work ethic makes it no surprise that he fills these tall shoes with a fresh passion and dynamism; despite the long tenure he has done so.

“It’s hard to get bored when you are making people laugh night after night,” he says. “It is quite an energising experience.”

Welch admits, though it involved some amount of diligence to keep his brain in check – not to run too wild with the character – seeing the audience always re-roots him.

“Working with Darrin… he has allowed me to play around a bit, and some of my improvised moments have become part of the show now,” Welch describes.

Ian Prinsloo, creative inquiry facilitator at The Banff Centre, originally directed the show, but its creator, Hagen, has since taken the helm and added 15 minutes to its total 50-minute length.

“It is quite a different show than the original production,” Welch says. “A little more sassy; a little more pizazz.”

With Bells On has become one of Lunchbox Theatre’s most popular Christmas shows. Not only does it put audiences ‘on the verge of wetting themselves’ from all laughs, it also teaches on accepting one another for who we are.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

 Paul Welch as She in With Bells On. Photo by Ian Jackson

“It has really got a lot of heart at the centre of the piece,” Welch says. “It helps people find that common ground… those threads that link us as human beings.”

The plot sees the vivacious She and uptight He trapped in an elevator. Both must work together to escape so that She might make it to fulfill her dream in competing for the title of ‘Christmas Queen’. Thus is why she is dressed like the vision of Christmas glam itself.

The show is recommended for ages 14 and up, due to some cheeky language and innuendo, but families are welcome. Welch says the play is a wonderful way to introduce an ‘average Joe’ into the sublime world of drag: through a theatre experience vs. what could be to some an intimidating trip to a gay bar. “[With Bells On] helps disarm people and see another way of life and … realize [that drag] is not as threatening as they thought it was,” he says. “I think it is a play that could really open the audience’s eyes about who drag queens are, and what they are about… Through the laughter and warmth the audience experiences, they are changed.”

Show times are already selling out. Welch recalls in his first year that ‘little old ladies’ would leave the theatre and head straight back to the box office to purchase another show seating.

“People are thrilled to have an opportunity to finally see it,” he says of those of us who have heard of the show over the years but have still not actually attended. “It is a great… holiday show – very different to your standard Christmas fare.”

“So much time and energy goes into drag performing and it is definitely a specialized skill set.” Welch is not kidding: for less than an hour on stage the actor must endure two hours of hair, make up and costume every performance.

“The transformation is visually stunning.”

With Bells On Presented by Lunchbox Theatre with Guys in Disguise Calgary – December 1st to 24th http://www.lunchboxtheatre.com/ http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4406 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

9

Interview

Billy Talent Celebrates 21 Years With Hits Greatest Hits Package Reflects on Success

By Jason Clevett Starting with “Try Honesty” from their self-titled 2003 album, Mississauga band Billy Talent has been a staple on the international music scene. Multiple hits like “Red Flag” and “Falling Leaves” lead to a rabid fan base for singer Benjamin Kowlewicz, guitarist Ian D’Sa, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. To mark the success the band released the simply titled Hits on November 4th. Featuring 12 hits from the past 11 years and two new songs – “Kingdom of Zod” and “Chasing the Sun” – the package provides a fitting retrospective of their career so far.

“It is kind of strange,” Ian D’Sa told GayCalgary over the phone a few days prior to the albums release. “We never thought we would be a band that would put out a greatest hits so soon in their career, but it is kind of fitting. We have had a lot of singles over the last ten years and there were enough to put out a collection of songs. We had a whole bunch of great photos that have been taken over the last 15 years. So it all came together with a photo book, live DVD and the album.”

The album illustrates how the band has evolved over the years.

“As you get older you mature. Our songwriting sensibilities have always been there but we have explored different sides of the band. It hasn’t always been aggression and loudness the last couple of years.

A song like “Stand Up and Run” is something we never would have considered doing before. We did it and people were receptive to that.

That is important to a band’s growth. It is fun to keep growing and changing when you have been in a band for so long.”

While “Kingdom of Zod” has all of the familiar traits of a Billy Talent song, “Chasing the Sun” is an acoustic ballad – which they have never done before.

“I had never played acoustic. I do when I am writing, but never finger picking acoustic. It started as an exercise to learn how to do that because I had always just played electric and loud. Around that time, we lost someone close to the band, and this song kind of came out of that and was inspired by that. It is a bit of a sad song, but it all came together that way.”

He went on to say that the band had re-worked some songs acoustically for a fundraiser, which could lead to an interesting future release.

“We played a benefit concert called Dream Serenade that Hayden puts on as a benefit for the Beverley Street School for kids with special needs. There were performers like Feist, and members of Barenaked Ladies, and is more acoustic based. So we had to rehearse a bunch of our songs for the first time acoustically. It was really cool to hear a whole new side of these songs, and I think that would be something that would be fun to do. We played “White Sparrows”, “Surrender” and a cover of a Hayden song. Before we settled on those three we rehearsed a bunch of other songs that seemed to work really well acoustically.”

The band was on the road in the summer of 2014, including a stop at the Coca-Cola Stage at the Calgary Stampede. They are busy in studio working on new music and won’t be touring behind Hits, but expect to be on the road again soon enough with a new album.

“Right now we are in the middle of writing a record, so we are probably going to just try and put out a new record sooner than later.

We aren’t going to tour this package really but, at some point, we will get to play these two new songs live, which we haven’t been able to do.”

Billy Talent has played many times in Calgary, from headlining at the Saddledome with Alexisonfire and Cancer Bats to club shows. D’Sa recalled a few of the fond memories he has.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

“Back in the day, on our first major tour, we were there with Metric and Death From Above 1979. We have opened there for Sum 41. We didn’t play at Stampede, but we were there during Stampede and got to go see David Lee Roth. It has always been a fun town and we love coming through there. Last time we played there we were at Flames Central – lots of great memories from there.”

Known for their high-energy stage shows, the band still gives everything on stage, but performing is different now in their late 30s than it was in their 20s.

“It is a little more taxing on us. As you get older you don’t have all that angst that you had ten years ago that gave you adrenaline and kept you going through the show. These days, when you get touring, it is still a lot of fun, we just can’t go crazy every night like we used to.

Now, more than anything, we really focus on our vocal performance and playing. Ten years ago we would be all over the stage and I was smashing guitars. We are not kids anymore, but we still put it all out on the stage every night, which is what we are here to do.”

It was a long, tough road to get to where Billy Talent is today.

They formed in 1993 as Pezz and changed their name in 2001 after discovering a pre-existing American band with the same name. Despite the challenges faced during their first decade of performing, they remain the same four band members that met in high school.

“For us, it was the dream of doing this for a living. From starting in High School in 1993 – when we were 17 – we didn’t get a record deal offer until 2001. During that time it started with small baby steps. We were a band from Mississauga and wanted to play Toronto, that was our first goal. Once we started playing in Toronto our goals got bigger and we wanted to start playing around Southern Ontario. We were pretty good at it so we wanted to get a record deal. That is what kept us going: the dream of doing this for a living. We persevered through those crappy times. There are going to be a lot of lows when you are in a young, working band that isn’t making any money, and have to work a day job while playing at night. We did that for eight or nine years. The four of us really love what we do. There is something with us that we had in the early days. I had played in a couple of other bands, but when the four of us met and played together in my parent’s basement for the first time, there was an instant chemistry that has never wavered or gone away. To this day we still love doing this.”

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Community

Lethbridge’s Club Didi More than just a club

By Krista Sylvester Lethbridge has a lot of cool things happening in the gay community and beloved Club Didi is one of those integral parts of the equation. Starting out initially as a theatre and performance space, Club Didi has grown into so much more, becoming an artistic hub in the community. We talked with Club Didi Theatre Outré artistic director Jay Whitehead about what makes the theatre club so special.

GC: Tell us about your club and how you operate?

Jay Whitehead: Club Didi was always intended to be first, and foremost, a theatre and performance space for our Theatre Company, Theatre Outré (pronounced “ooo-tray”). As operators of the space, we are theatre professionals and educators, and we felt, at the time we rented the space, that there were no performance spaces in Lethbridge that were intimate and “outré” enough for the kind of theatre we wanted to do. The events we hold at the club – that are not part of our theatre season – have grown out of the community’s claiming of the space as a much needed queer space in our city, and help to fund our theatre projects GC: What makes the club different from a standard bar?

JW: We are small. Our space can only hold about 60 people at any given time, which creates a real intimate vibe that feels almost like you’re hanging out in a clubhouse with friends, [rather] than an actual bar. We actually prefer not to identify ourselves as a ‘bar’ but rather a queer space where members can commune and enjoy entertainment and each other’s company without fear of judgment. We like our patrons/members to feel they are part of the space – they have ownership of it – and not just customers.

GC: What kind of events do you hold?

JW: We produce a season of fully mounted theatre projects in the space two to three times a year that are queer-themed.

In addition to that, we open every Friday for social and cabaret events that reach a wide demographic in our community: students, artists, the LGBTQ community and allies. Our events have included strip spelling bees, “Panti Raid” (our monthly or bi-monthly dance party), drag cabarets hosted by the space’s namesake Didi d’Edada, and “Our Homo Highness” which is a live musical tribute to recording artists who are gay icons (we have done Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Elton John, kd Lang, David

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Bowie, Judy Garland, etc.). We also do a monthly improvised soap opera called Gamorrah with some hilarious local performers.

Other groups also rent the space from time to time for special events and private parties like a monthly poetry night and theatre sports.

GC: What kind of fundraising events do you do?

JW: Our Friday events help keep the space open between admission prices for events and bar sales. We have also had some very generous sponsorship for our theatre events from local businesses.

GC: Tell us about the membership?

JW: As a private club, those that attend our events must become members. We charge $5 for an annual membership, and those that join span a wide demographic from students to artists to university professors and professionals. Every event brings out new faces, and we are always pleasantly surprised by the people who walk through our doors. We don’t take it for granted.

GC: Has the community/city been supportive?

JW: For the most part, yes. The community has been supportive, but occasionally we do hear from people that they find our vibe too ‘sexual’ or controversial, and often these comments come from within the gay community, which I personally don’t get. The space is a celebration. We are sex-affirming and promote body positivity, and many don’t like being associated with that particular message. We got into a fairly highly publicized scuffle with our neighbours and the city last year, which I don’t really want to get into, because the outcome was positive and the issue resolved positively. But we did receive an outpouring of support locally and nationally. We believe that that the space responds to an important need in our community and we have great supporters, members and volunteers who believe in it and support us fully.

GC: Anything else you would like to add?

JW: Things are going well for us and we are grateful to our supporters. We feel there is so much potential in a space like this, in a small community like ours, and we are enjoying the ride!

Club DiDi http://www.theatreoutre.ca/club-didi/ http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4427 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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Interview “I spend a lot of time in London now and it is very cold there. I have a separate wardrobe I was digging through this morning. In LA, every day is 73 degrees, which sounds wonderful but after awhile you wake up and go Oh well; another fucking beautiful day. I thought December 26th was an odd day. I am travelling on Christmas Eve and that will give me a full day there. I have lived in hotels my entire adult life; I am a gregarious recluse. So I am going to have a beautiful Christmas in the snows of Canada. I have never been to Edmonton, or that part of Canada at all, so it will be fun. I’ve heard about that Stampede for years and years and years. I’ll only be in Edmonton a few days, so I won’t be able to make it to Calgary, but I would love to go there.”

Jordan has developed multiple comedy shows over his career, including runs in New York and London.

“Many years ago – when I wrote a one-man show called Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far – I wrote it to showcase myself for better TV and film roles, but it was so popular it ended up running forever off-Broadway in New York. I wrote another one called Like a Dog on Linoleum, which toured the country. Then I did My Trip Down The Pink Carpet, which Lily Tomlin and her partner Jane Wagner produced. These were full shows, with 55 light cues and bells and whistles; it ended up in the West End in London. What I found was, when I do one night here and there like in Edmonton, it is just me and a mic. I like that best of all. Because it is Boxing Day I will have a lot of stories about growing up gay in the Deep South, and what Christmas was like. I will talk about whatever is on my mind. It’s like a dog and pony show! I do about 44 venues a year now in between TV shows.

I just did American Horror Story and I talk about that. It is just me unwrapped, like a musician who just thinks up his set list. I have a million stories to draw from – who knows what will come out, but everyone will have a good time.”

An Interview With Leslie Jordan

Comic actor talks Will & Grace, Horror Story and female icons

By Jason Clevett Leslie Jordan is a dream interview. While best known for his Emmy Award winning role as Beverly Leslie on Will & Grace, he is recently featured as witch’s council member Quentin Fleming on American Horror Story: Coven. He has had guest spots on many major shows – from Murphy Brown to Supernatural – is an AIDS and gay rights activist, and a stand up comedian. A charismatic and entertaining storyteller, one could listen to him share his experiences for hours. Jordan will be appearing December 26th at Evolution Wonderlounge in Edmonton for a stand up show. It brings him full circle, as his comedy career has early ties to Canada.

“I love Canada. Canadians remind me of old hippies; it’s just live and let live. I began my standup career in Toronto. Years ago there was a lesbian comedian named Maggie Cassella. She would put together these gay and lesbian comedy nights. She had seen me in a club in Provincetown and flew me in. I thought I would be doing maybe 10 to 15 minutes and she said Oh no honey – because of your Will & Grace fanbase, you’ve got an hour! What am I gonna talk about for an hour?! I jumped up and did it and that was how it all started,” Jordan told GayCalgary.com over the phone from his West Hollywood home. Despite growing up in the South, and living in California, he is excited to be in Canada for Christmas.

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Jordan’s shows take him back to his theatre roots.

“I am first and foremost a performer. I fell into the sitcom work, and when you do a show like Will & Grace you get the best of both worlds because we shoot in front of a live audience, so you get that live feedback. I am so spoiled because I have been an actor for hire for many years, and then I do my one-man shows and stand-up comedy all over the world. You get so spoiled because you have a say in what you do. It is the television work that has to keep the ship afloat; that is, the money. Right now I don’t have a lot of TV ahead of me so I have to hit the road. Travel is not fun anymore at all. I have been doing it for 33 years and it has gotten to a point where I have to ask for a first-class ticket. I had to fly home from London in coach; you are three abreast with no elbowroom for 11 hours. It’s the worst, but I love doing the shows and being on stage. The only reason I can do it is because I am single, gay, don’t have children, and am older.

I don’t think I could keep this life up if I had family ties because it is never ending. I am in Dallas December 22nd for a charity event, and then I fly to Edmonton and am there until the 27th, then I get a week off and then off to Mexico. Puerto Vallarta is a popular gay destination and I have been at a club there for five years that we pack them in – 2015 is booked solid. I do gay cruises as well with 4,000 gay men. I had to fly from Barcelona to New York to LA. I called a friend in the industry, who doesn’t work as much as I do, and said I am just exhausted and he goes, Oh, fuck you! That kind of put it in context. No one is going to listen to your complaints!”

At post-show meet and greets, Jordan is often asked about his appearances on Will & Grace. The groundbreaking show really was the start of more acceptance of gay characters on TV. “I won an Emmy – which is unheard of. It was for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy. I was on the last five years but the rule is, if you are in less than five episodes in a season, you can be considered a guest actor. So I got this nomination and I was up against Ben Stiller and Martin Sheen and Patrick Stewart –and I won! That is pretty amazing. I really do think [that] when they write the history of gay characters on television, Will & Grace was the turning point. I have always felt there were two ways you could combat homophobia. One is through humour, which I learned in junior high dodge ball when they would holler ‘smear the queer’ and I had to tap dance or get creamed. The second way is to put a face on it. Here, in America, early on those characters were welcomed into people’s homes. Will & Grace was created by a straight guy (David Cohen) and a gay guy

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(Max Mutchnick) who were like a married couple. David would worry it was getting a little too gay and then Max would go We are leaning too republican! There was a wonderful balance. Gay fans would write in that Will should be kissing boys. Well no, you can’t just rush that into people’s homes. There were shows that came along after that like Queer as Folk that got that in. When I first started on the show, I would have people come up to me and go You’re on TV aren’t you? When I would say I was on Will & Grace, if they were straight men, they would inevitably say My wife/girlfriend watches that. They would never admit to watching it themselves. By the end of the run there were guys on the street doing construction that would yell I love you on that show and I would think to myself, Well, that’s progress. Will & Grace was the turning point. I have always thought that gay characters took almost the same path as African-American characters took in the 1970s. First it was just the neighbour. Then it became ‘African-American shows’ and now it’s just characters. I used to know every single gay character in television. Now, most of the top gay characters, I can’t even keep up with them. I like that; it is just a character and he happens to be gay. We have made a lot of progress.”

The banter between Jordan’s Beverly Leslie and his nemesis Karen Walker, played by Megan Mullally, was a highlight of the show.

“My favourite to work with is probably Megan Mullaly. She is like me; she is not an actress that does a lot of preparation. She trusts the writers and, for her, it is just verbal ping-pong. We would go out there, I would throw my line at her and she would throw her’s back, and the adventure is in front of the camera. I love that kind of acting. I can’t bear the ones that want to sit there and chew and pontificate – let’s just do it! I am not sure what my objective is in the scene. Honey, it’s the paycheck. Now get your ass out there and have some fun.”

Jordan’s career has tied in with many iconic females in the industry. He has worked with women like Lily Tomlin, Jessica Lange, Rue McClanahan, Delta Burke and Debra Messing, among others.

“The only one I was really in awe of was Lily Tomlin. Lily Tomlin had been my comedy idol since I was a kid. When I first met her, I told her that I love Sister Boogie Woman, which was off a record my sisters and I would listen to. I told her I could act it out and she said please don’t! I had a crush on her. The first night we worked together she asked why it had never happened before. I went home and wrote her a love letter that in my 50-plus years on the planet I had never met one person that I thought I would love to mentor me. This is the person that I want to be. Forget the fact that she is a comedy legend – she is an amazing human being. She has the three things that make up a good human being: curiosity, generosity and kindness. I have identical twin sisters and I would tell Lily stories about growing up with twins, and she was fascinated. When you talk to Lily, it is just you and her, and she can’t get enough.”

wrap it up honey; we each get 20 minutes! I got to know her really well, warts and all. She was the sweetest woman until she took pain pills – that made her mean! She was one of a kind. They broke the mould when they made Ms. Rue.” A show that has largely featured strong women is American Horror Story. Seasons Coven and Freak Show feature icons Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Angela Basset. Jordan had a three-episode storyline on Coven as Quinten Fleming, a member of the witch’s council who, not surprisingly, meets a gruesome end.

“Jessica is a movie star. She has breathed that rarified air for so long. She is friendly, available, very present with her work, but you don’t get much. It’s not like we sat down and chatted about when she was having babies with Mikhail Baryshnikov. She doesn’t give anything away; it was just work, and there is something to be said for that. I had been out on the road and I got the call about it. I went straight to New Orleans, having not wardrobed or read a script. Ryan Murphy is so protective and secretive about the show – we don’t get scripts. I am sure Jessica Lange or Kathy Bates do, but those of us that are hired to move the story along just get daily pages. It is like shooting a story where you don’t know what the story is, so you are so reliant on the director. I was just in awe of this cast. My new favourite actress on the planet is Francis Conway. Francis has done amazing work over the years. I was so in awe of her process and how she works. I would try to ask her a question and she would go I CAN’T TALK RIGHT NOW! She is all work. I remember thinking to myself, You’ve been doing sitcoms for too long – you have a degree in theatre and know how to do this shit – now buckle down and go to work! I was really proud to be in scenes with an actress of Jessica Lange’s caliber, and I held my own. I did pretty well.”

Jordan’s charisma and 4’11 stature would make him a natural fit for the current season. Unfortunately, another opportunity came calling that he could not refuse.

“They offered me five episodes on Freak Show. Then, out of the blue, I got an offer to do a reality show in London. I said to my

Working with Golden Girl Rue McClanahan in her final acting role on Sordid Lives was another career highlight. Due to issues with pay, Jordan got to know her better post-taping when members of the cast hit the road together.

“I was so in awe of her. We shot Sordid Lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is this cesspool of vice. They have all these weird rules, like you can’t gamble except on boats. There are these huge casinos, but you have to go across these rickety bridges to go on house boats. Ms. Rue loved to gamble so we didn’t see much of her! We didn’t get paid, which wasn’t Logo’s fault. We got paid for shooting it, which is very little, [but] what we as actors look forward to is the residuals. A year went by and we had gotten nothing. If you and I were going to make a movie, we would give money to a payment service that would take care of taxes and payroll. Apparently the payroll service went bankrupt, so Logo would send them the cheques and these guys were using those cheques to rob Peter to pay Paul. So we didn’t get paid. Del Shores, who wrote Sordid Lives lost his home.

Rue had lost a lot of money – I think in the Bernie Madoff scandal – and had to go back to work at 73. We hit the road because we were broke! So it was me, Del, Rue, Carolyn Rhea, and Rue had never done stand-up. She was having a lot of trouble with her back so we would walk her out and sit her down in a chair. She kept saying I’ve never done this, I don’t know what to do! Cut to an hour later, and we couldn’t shut her up! All she had to do was sit and tell stories about The Golden Girls and people were rapt. I would tell her You’ve got to

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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manager No way – why would I do that? We have got Freak Show. He said Leslie, it is more money than I can believe. We are talking a really healthy six figures. I don’t get that kind of money. When I worked on Horror Story, they pay the three Oscar winners so much that those that do the peripheral parts work for scale. It’s $8000 a week, but still, scale vs. this money I could have made. So for the first time in my career I turned something down and it was American Horror Story: Freakshow. They locked me in a house on Celebrity Big Brother and I made a complete ass of myself. I spit on Gary Busey, and on day 12 got kicked out for bad behaviour.

I had to turn down Freakshow!

I haven’t gotten to watch it yet so I don’t know what character it was. I hope it wasn’t Twisty the Clown! I don’t know what he had written for me, but it was going to be five episodes in a row, and then I was probably going to meet a grisly end.”

Whether it is his openness about addiction, being an openly gay actor, or a connection with his characters, Leslie Jordan has consistently resonated with people, especially those in the gay community.

“I got off a bus in 1982 from the hills of Tennessee, from a very devout Southern Baptist family, and I discovered West Hollywood – where there were queers hanging from the trees and I was home. People ask me what the secret to my success is. People come to Hollywood with an idea: I will stay here for five years and if I don’t make it I will go home. I was just here. I built this amazing career and I was never in the closet. In the 1980s you would go to the bar and see every gay casting director and producer in town then, during the day, it was very buttoned down. We all tiptoed around each other for years. The industry I grew up in doesn’t even exist anymore. Because I was never in the closet, and landed in Los Angeles in ’82 during the height of the AIDS crises, I figured out very quickly we were going to get no help and had to take care of our own. So I had another life outside of my acting, where I learned to be of service. We did what we had to do and hit the trenches. I was there for the beginning of AIDS Project Los Angeles and Project Angel Food. We would cook meals and deliver them to people with AIDS. I have been honoured over the years, and am really glad that I learned that, because I still feel we have to take care of our own. People knew me as being funny but also for what I contributed. I went into recovery in 1997 and there is a huge recovery community. I have been to Vancouver and Toronto for recovery conventions. Now, with social media, I am so open about that kind of stuff – it all kind of meshed together. I have a very rabid following amongst my tribe. I am aiming now for some sort of crossover audience. When I do my stand-up I can sell out maybe a 300-seater. A couple of times I have been booked in 1,200-seat theatres but I don’t do well. Once you get past the gay community I don’t have a big following, so I am working on that.”

Leslie Jordan has seen so much in his lifetime: from the AIDS crises to the acceptance of gay characters on TV.

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“There was so much shame on HIV. It was a horribly shameful way to die. People would say it was cancer; people were dying alone on the only AIDS ward in LA because family and lovers had turned their backs, and even nurses wouldn’t come in. We had a group called Project Night Light that I was active in. We would take banana Popsicles and walk the halls of LA General and offer them to patients.

The medications at the time made people’s mouths so dry. I learned to shut my big yap and listen. We have reached a point where I am still very active with AIDS organizations, but it’s not on the red carpet; it’s not the disease of the moment. So we have to stay active. If you came from where I came from – in a pew in a Baptist church scared to death that I was going to burn in hell – to where we are today, it is just mind blowing to me.

I was thinking yesterday, [on] all the kids in the street, and African American kids getting shot by cops. I was thinking, they can march in the streets until the cows come home and it will bring some attention to the cause, but it is not going to change anything. I think that is what the gay community realized: that change comes from within. My big challenge right now is getting young gay men to vote. Get out of the bar honey and vote! We have to! Look at all the changes we have been able to bring about through the court system. It may not be popular opinion, about gay marriage, but it is right.”

As our conversation winds down, there is emotion in his voice as he speaks about how much things have changed, from the world he knew as a child struggling with his sexuality.

“I am thrilled [with] where we are today. I went, not too long ago, to a church in Dallas called the Cathedral of Hope – a gay church.

We walked in and I burst into tears. My friend was like Get a grip!

What’s wrong? Never, in my wildest imaginings as a kid in a Baptist Church pew learning to hate myself, did I think that I could go from that to this church. It was amazing. They had a choir that was a cross section of humanity and a full orchestra. Honey, queers know how to do church. I sat there and sobbed the entire time because I never imagined I could be in a church with my tribe of gay people.

I’m done; that’s enough for me. I can go to my grave now. We have gone as far as I need. I know we still have a lot more to go, and I wish everybody well, but I am just enjoying the fruits of the labour right now.”

Leslie Jordan: “Unwrapped” Edmonton – December 26th – Evolution Wonderlounge https://www.facebook.com/thelesliejordan http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4428 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

Theatre

’80s Solid Gold

Stage West Musical Revue a glorious trip down memory lane

By Jason Clevett It appears that Stage West is making an effort to target new attendees. With Avenue Q running this past summer, Monty Python’s Spamalot scheduled for April, and now ’80s Solid Gold as their traditional Christmas revue, the company is putting forward shows attractive to the late 20s to 40s demographic – a positive for both the theatre and those who want to attend.

I have enjoyed most of the revues at Stage West. Shows like California Dreaming II, Canadian Explosion, One Hit Wonders and Two Hit Wonders are some of my favourites from the decade that GayCalgary has been attending and reviewing Stage West shows. As someone whose taste in music covers a broad spectrum of types and eras, it has been a fun ride. ’80s Solid Gold is the first show that features a set that takes place entirely in my lifetime. I was a kid, but I loved the music, and a lot of it is presented brilliantly in this show.

It wouldn’t be fair to single out any of the ensemble – Andrew Ball, Amber Bissonnette, Katie Beetham, AJ Bridel, Jay Davis, Joel Gomez, Jennifer Kee, Jeremy LaPalme, Andrew McGillivray, Nikki Ponte and Brent Thiessen –everyone on this stage is given a chance to shine. With the always solid band – Konrad Pluta, Jeff Fafard, Michelle Gregoire, Brad Steckel and Rob Vause – backing them up, the cast brings the songs of the ’80s to life in their own unique way.

his sister Janet, or the iconic Prince. They announced a sequel during the show that promised to feature artists like Jackson and Tina Turner.

There remains a bit of a bias in Stage West shows that still slants pop music itself. To many, the ’80s was also about bands like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and various other bands, ‘hair’ and otherwise. Pop like New Kids on the Block, “Weird Al” Yankovic and New Order. For others, the evolution of hip-hop is what defined the ’80s, with artists like The Fresh Prince, Salt-N-Pepa, The Beastie Boys and Run DMC – which speaks to what an incredible decade the ’80s was.

The show, really, would have to depend on taste. Should the Stage West audience and producers be willing to rock out a bit more will remain to be seen.

Whether you grew up in the ’80s or just love the music, ’80s Solid Gold is a fantastic evening out, showcasing some of the best of the era.

I am eagerly awaiting part two and the chance to experience more of my favourites. In the meantime, don’t miss out on round one – you won’t be disappointed.

’80’s Solid Gold Calgary - Runs until February 1st Stage West Theatre Restaurant http://www.StageWestCalgary.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4429 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

So let’s talk about the songs then. Different people will have different favourites from this decade, but for me, hearing the long-time hits that are still a regular in my music list – and, when possible, my concert viewing – was a treat. Songs like Heart’s “Alone”, which is never an easy song to tackle; Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”; and Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” brought back a flood of memories. “Like a Prayer” – the end of a set dedicated to Madonna and George Michael – recreated the original, complete with gospel choir. Foreigner, Journey, U2 and many more have their moments. Even Cher’s biggest hit from the ’80s was delivered incredibly well. At first I was a bit disappointed that the classic “If I Could Turn Back Time” outfit wasn’t recreated. In retrospect, however, that outfit is best left to Cher herself – and drag queens, of course.

There are glaring omissions – I was surprised that an ’80s show wouldn’t include the biggest artist of the era: aka Michael Jackson, or

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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Politics

Bill 202

It was Really Just “Equality 101”

By Stephen Lock While it’s good that the provincial Liberals introduced Bill 202, a bill making the establishing of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) mandatory in all schools in Alberta, there appeared from the onset to be some issues around it.

Amongst some of the major opposition to it was how the bill, officially known as the Safe and Inclusive School Act, circumvents the authority of local school boards and, say critics, does not take into account the wishes of parents in deciding what is right for their children.

In response to these concerns, the provincial Conservatives, under Jim Prentice, have introduced their own bill: Bill 10, the Act to Amend the Alberta Bill of Rights to Protect Our Children. Prentice has said that Bill 10 is an attempt to “strike a balance” among the various factions concerning GSAs. Critics of Bill 10, however, say the measure is being rushed through the legislature as an ‘end-run’ around the Liberals’ Bill 202. Prentice has also said that Bill 10 is designed to accommodate students, parents who want to decide for themselves what their child learns in school, and the various school boards to retain their ability to make autonomous decisions.

Bill 202 would, in effect, force those school boards which, for whatever reason, did not want to have a GSA established in a particular school, to allow it to be put in place.

In a November news conference Prentice said Bill 202, introduced

by Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman, was “unnecessarily divisive”, adding, “this is too important an issue to be reduced to a political game”. He said that MLAs felt they were being asked to “cast aside” parental rights and the autonomy of local school boards.

“When faced with such an unfair and unbalanced approach, I believe that it is the job of a Premier and the job of a government to show leadership and to build consensus because rights need to be advanced, because children need to be protected, because parents need to be reassured, and because school boards need to be respected.”

Sarah Hoffman, chairperson of the Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB), felt no issue with Bill 202. Hoffman pointed out there are already 25 GSAs within the Edmonton system with school staff and members of the EPSB helping students start clubs.

“I am really proud of the fact that at Edmonton Public Schools, if you want to form a GSA, you are supported in any school, any program, in making sure that you have a safe place to meet and support each other,” she said. Bill 202 would simply formalize that process.

The bill would have repealed Section 11.1 of the Alberta Human Rights Act, which requires a parent or guardian be notified if sexual orientation will be discussed in the classroom. At the same time, however, the bill expands the parental ‘opt-out’ clause in Section 58 of the Education Act to allow parents to notify schools if they do not want their children to have sexual health education.

It could be said that Prentice is being somewhat disingenuous when he says the issue of GSAs and the support of LGBTQ students in our schools is “too important an issue to be reduced to a political game” when his own government introduces what is essentially a counter bill to 202. This is exactly “playing politics” as far as I can discern.

Bill 202 has the support of members of all parties. As NDP leader Rachel Notley pointed out, legislation exists in other provinces to allow for GSAs when and where students have indicated a need or desire for one.

Basically all Bill 202 would have done is to mandate school boards to develop policies to support students wanting to start a GSA by providing a meeting space and other resources, just like any other school club currently enjoys. What GSAs do is bring together LGBTQ students and their non-LGBTQ allies to increase awareness around LGBTQ issues and to fight homophobia and transphobia in the school environment. Various studies have shown having access to a GSA club at school decreases the possibility of suicide, not just amongst LGBTQ kids – who are at high risk of suicide – but also amongst heterosexual students as well.

The president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association and chairperson of Elk Island Catholic Schools, Tony Sykora, views GSAs as exclusive rather than inclusive and directly opposes them. He says trustees are “pretty eager” to read Prentice’s Bill 10.

Sykora said the trustees are, of course, concerned about the safety of all children including those who are LGBTQ, adding that Catholic school board policies do not “segregate different traits” but promote inclusion in diversity clubs. He went on to say he believes a GSA would “invoke something that is exclusive rather than inclusive” and that “bullying is bullying and we stand against that.”

Danielle Smith, leader of the conservative Wildrose Party, has stated Bill 202 “looks like a bill [she] could support” while pointing out that because the Wildrose caucus permits free votes, not all Wildrose MLAs would vote in favour of the bill, depending on their individual beliefs or views. “I think there are potentially some amendments we could propose

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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Community

Discussing Community Safety Staying secure for the holidays

By Constable Andy Buck Hello everyone. Well, here we are again, rapidly approaching the holiday season. Time flies when you are having fun! I hope you have been managing to stay warm during this recent cold snap. I had the pleasure of attending the recent GSA conference in Edmonton, and had the opportunity to make some amazing connections.

I really do have the greatest job with Calgary Police Service, so thank you all for your support over the last 12 months. You are all incredible.

Are you all set for the holidays? I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of some holiday safety tips to keep you and your homes safe this season.

Holiday safety at home: • Don’t display gifts where they can be seen from a window or doorway. Put gifts out of sight before leaving on holidays.

• Put an automatic timer on interior lights and/or radio to give the illusion of having someone in your house. Have a neighbour or family member watch your house, collect your mail and shovel your walks.

• Avoid leaving boxes from purchases (electronics, etc.) on the street for garbage pick-up. This advertises the contents of your home to thieves.

Holiday shopping safety: • Shop before dark, if possible, and always park in a well-lit, well-travelled area.

• Lock purchases in the trunk of your vehicle. Keep all vehicle doors locked and windows closed.

• Be extra careful with wallets and purses. Carry purses close to the body and place wallets in an inside jacket pocket rather than a pants’ back pocket.

Holiday party safety: • If you are planning on drinking, eat something first. Food slows absorption of alcohol into the system.

• Pre-arrange transportation to ensure you have a ride home at the end of the evening. Consider public transportation, a designated driver, alternative driver’s services, or a taxi.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. Please look out for, and look after, each other. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and I look forward to connecting with you in the New Year.

Constable Andy Buck 403-428-8154 • pol4792@calgarypolice.ca http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4431 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

 Politics - From Previous Page that would allow more of my colleagues to be able to support [the bill] as well,” she said. What those might be, she didn’t say.

Her comments came after a vote by Wildrose members at a party convention against making a statement the party adopted a year ago on equality rights party policy.

The defeated proposal had been worded to pledge to defend the rights of all people “regardless of race, religious belief, colour, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation of that person or class of persons.”

Wildrose members, instead, opted to retain the party’s existing policy, which states, in part, “all Albertans have equal rights, privileges and responsibilities.”

In addition, the party caucus voted during the spring session against a non-binding motion by the Liberals to support GSAs. The 148-109 defeat of the expanded statement of equality rights led to the resignation of Wildrose MLA Terrance Lo, vice-president of communications for the party’s Calgary-Glenmore Constituency Association.

Lo blogged the “vote confirmed for me that the misguided angry beliefs of a minority of the rank-and-file holds actual sway in party policy” and that the party, by defeating the expanded definition, “took a dangerous step back”.

For something that seems so straight-forward (no pun intended) and simple, our politicians are certainly making it appear complicated.

Schools have a variety of “special interest” clubs ranging from the drama club to the chess club to computer clubs, and nobody blinks an eye over those. But GSAs deal with sexual orientation. Which sounds like sex, or homosexual sex at that. Only, of course, GSAs would not deal with ‘homosexual sex’ at all, but with being LGBTQ. Quite two different things.

The whole issue of parents being concerned over what is being taught to their children is a red herring. GSAs aren’t about teaching anything to anybody and they, like any school club, exist outside the classroom setting, albeit under school jurisdiction. I’m guessing here, but I would say there may well be some students who would go to a GSA meeting who, in fact, are not out to their parents. GSAs supply a safe environment for such students and could well assist in their coming out process, part of which may very well involve coming out to parents and family, if the student decided to do so, and to do so in a safe manner.

Alternatively, GSAs also supply an environment in which heterosexual students can learn more about what it is to live as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans person. This insight reduces preconceived ideas (or prejudice), and that is always a good thing. Contrary to Mr. Sykora’s notion, GSAs are all about inclusiveness and not about excluding anyone. The clubs offer an opportunity for education around differences and to convey support for fellow students. Again, a very good thing.

Lo is also the father of a gay son.

Smith, in response to Lo’s resignation, said members voted the expanded statement down because the existing statement already encompassed minority groups.

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17

Product Review

Philips Hairclipper Series 7000 Cordless, Powerful and Built to Last

By Steve Polyak Being the hairy bear that I am, when GayCalgary was sent a hair clipper to review, I was originally not too excited about it. I have owned several different hair clippers and they were all pretty much the same. They have power cords that are not long enough, they tug my hair because my hair is too thick, or they feel that they are no longer sharp. Additionally, they come with too many comb heads and sometimes no carry case so, in the end, you have them all over the place in your bathroom cabinet. I had actually resorted to using the Philips Body Groomer we got last year for testing to trim my beard, since it seemed to work the best out of what I had in my collection.

When I first opened the box, I was amazed to see that the Philips Hairclipper series 7000 actually comes in a hard-shell carrying case. Finally, everything will be together in a case when not in use.

If I do leave it out, it will be for the one-hour charging, since the clipper is cordless, which is what I have wanted for quite a while.

It comes with a Lithium-Ion battery and it provides up to 120 minutes of use, which is like the batteries used in smart phones, controllers for the Xbox and most high-end new technology. If you use you clippers longer than the charge will hold, you can still use it with a cord too. For those that travel, the clippers also are able to accept power from around the world, as long as you have the right adapters with you.

The other great thing is that it only comes with two comb head attachments: one marked for beard and the other for longer length.

This is because the shaver has a dial built in so that you can easily access 25 length settings – from .5 to 23mm. This makes it very easy to adjust your beard style without constantly popping on and off comb sizes or trying to remember which one you use where.

Once I got the unit all charged up I noticed another great feature: the turbo power button. With the thicker hair I have, it boosts the cutting speed so that even on battery power it can handle the longer lengths without any problems. It was also nice to see that it has a double-sharpened cutting element and selfsharpening titanium blades, so I know that I will not need to run out a couple years later to find another shaver to replace it. The shaver is built to be durable and last. You will never need to oil it.

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Clippers I had in the past needed to be oiled constantly, and once you had run out of the oil supply it came with, it was not easy to find more in store. Philips provides a two-year guarantee with an additional three years if you register the product on their website.

This is a worldwide warranty; it does not matter where you live, you know you are covered.

When I do trim my beard, I usually do it in the shower before I run any water, so having it cordless is great for that. Doing it in the shower also makes it easier to wash away the hair clippings.

Just remember that the clippers are not water proof. The head comes off easily and they can be washed, but the body is not designed to be wet. It was a little tricky figuring out what length I should set the clippers to for the start, but I recommend starting with the longest setting first, and then working in from there. This way you can make adjustments and reduce the size as you go.

The clippers easily handled my beard – especially under turbo mode. The way the comb attachments are designed made it easy for the hair clippings to fall out as you trim, instead of bunching up around the head. I did notice that your hair should be totally dry when using it and free of any hair product.

After using the clippers several times, I am very happy with them. The only thing I wish that it came with was a manual on how to use specific features of the product. It does come with a simple generic sheet, with the standard warnings, cautions and environment information, but nothing explaining what comes in the box, or how to use the features of the clippers. Either you figure it out yourself, or you have to check out the Philips website.

It should be pretty simple to figure it out, but sometimes it is best to know all you can with something that puts sharp blades in such close proximity to your face.

Even though I used it for trimming my beard, it should work well on trimming hair on one’s scalp. Although most purchases of this product will be made by guys, it would work fine for girls who want short hairstyles too. Other versions are available: the lowest end one, which is corded, starts at about $35. You can purchase this series 7000 model for about $55 to $60, depending on where you look. This model is really new, so it might take a bit to find a store that has them, but worth it if you want a cordless trimmer.

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Community

Give a HIVCL Holiday Hamper

Help brighten the holiday season for someone living with HIV

By HIV Community Link At HIV Community Link, we know the holiday season can be a stressful time for many. It can be even more difficult for a lot of our clients, many of whom experience loneliness and feel isolated this time of the year. One of the ways we hope to brighten the holidays is by gifting our clients with festive holiday hampers.

Every December we give out over 140 holiday hampers consisting of a gift card and a small gift. These hampers are valued at $125 each and really help to take away a lot of the stress our clients are feeling. These gifts not only provide the ability to purchase everything their recipient needs for a healthy holiday meal but, for many, this might be the only gift they receive this time of year.

Our holiday hampers are so important to our clients, and it’s one of our favourite things to be a part of. You can truly see the joy on a recipient’s face when they receive their gift.

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the lives of our clients, the holiday hampers are a part of our larger nutrition program. Every second Friday of the month clients come together to be among peers in a safe space and enjoy a home cooked meal prepared by our volunteers. We also offer coffee connections and the client’s favourite, cooking with Coral.

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All the money raised this holiday season will go towards the holiday hampers and the larger nutrition program so we can continue to offer these social events to our clients, helping to diminish a lot of the isolation our clients feel.

We wouldn’t be able to brighten the holidays without the gracious support from our donors. We urge you to consider donating to us this holiday season so we can continue enhancing the lives of Calgarians living with HIV. Please visit http://www.hivcl.org/news-events/ holidayhamper/ to donate or for more information please visit http://www.hivcl.org or email us at info@hivcl.org.

From all of us at HIV Community Link, we wish you a wonderful holiday season!

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

19

Pride with a Chance of Cho

Margaret Cho headlines Whistler Pride Festival

By Jason Clevett Gay and lesbian winter enthusiasts will take over Whistler January 24th to 31st and, as part of the weeklong festival, comic Margaret Cho will take the stage on Wednesday January 28th. Her show There’s no I in Team, but there’s a CHO in Psycho reflects on current events, such as school shootings, violence against women and the recent Ottawa shooting. Dark material, but somehow Cho finds a way to relate it to the audience through comedy.

“I am a rape survivor, a child sexual abuse survivor, a recovering drug addicted person, and an alcoholic. All of these things inform my work, and everything comes from a place of compassion. It is a place I have been and understand. That is the difference: I am queer and someone who has long been involved in politics. The inclusion is an important perspective. It also makes me very unsalable because I am a woman of colour, and queer, and all of these things that really speak of the other.

It is a good place to be, from an arguing standpoint; it is always a compassionate view,” Cho told GayCalgary.com recently. At the time of our conversation, the Jian Ghomeshi scandal had just broke, which Cho was unaware of. She talked about it in subsequent shows in Vancouver days later.

“Oh my god I didn’t know that! That is so weird. I only know him from being interviewed by him; I would never have known. There has been a disturbing trend of violence in the last few years that is getting worse: school shootings, and violence against women and younger people. This is what the show is about.”

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

Cho has worked different venues and is currently performing mostly multi-night appearances in clubs as opposed to theatres.

The audience is the same and the venue doesn’t matter, she said.

“It has always been a gay audience in my mind. I just assume everyone is queer, or queer friendly, and understands gay life. It never really shifts; there isn’t much of a difference for me. Every show in my mind is just what I want to do and be, as great as I can. Every time I go to work I am giving it my all. I don’t feel the shows are that different if I am playing a club as opposed to a theatre. It is about making it a great experience for everyone.”

Whistler is one of the top ski resorts in North America and Cho is excited to return, but don’t expect her to fly by you on the slopes, at least not on skis.

“I was there quite a long time ago, and last time we were put in a helicopter, and they took us up to this beautiful mountain peak and laid out this beautiful picnic for us. I am not a skier but I think it will be a magnificent day.”

Cho has always been a gay rights activist and recent movements forward in the U.S., regarding gay marriage, are a positive sign that the hard work of the gay rights movement in the States is paying off.

“It is all going to happen; everything is changing and it is really important and exciting. Gay marriage is a really symbolic step towards equal rights. Even though it is still not perfect everywhere, it is a great sign that people are acknowledging and accepting that we have to be like Canada and have gay marriage.”

TV is another sign that times are changing. Shows like Orange is the New Black, Looking and Transparent are getting rave reviews and ratings. However, when the show How To Get www.gaycalgary.com

Away With Murder featured a gay sex scene it came under fire, evidencing the amount of work still to be done.

“I love Transparent and one of my best friends, Ian Harvie, is one of the stars. It makes me cry. I know the truth of it, and the real story is so compelling and truthful. I have been around people transitioning for a long time in different kinds of situations. It really addresses so many of the feelings that come up for everyone. I love Drag Race (of course – I was a judge in Season 3 and was really honoured to do it) – I love that show. We still come up against some kind of resistance, but I am so proud that [How To Get Away With Murder] did it and are defending themselves, which they have a right to, and is a really important thing. Things are getting better in terms of inclusion. I would like to see more queer women on television – that would be a great thing – but things are going very well in that arena.”

Things are also going well in the comedy ring. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Mandatory Fun album gave him his first number one record, and Cho appeared in his first video from the album for the track “Tacky”.

“He is a great guy. I have really loved him for a long time. I am so excited to be able to work with him and know him as a friend.

He is really the best; he is just like you think he is going to be…

It means a lot that it went to number one; it surprises me that he hadn’t had an album reach number one before. It is a testament to his hard work. He put out a video every single day and each one was hilarious and a great song. He is a great musician and funny comedian; he is a master in so many ways.”

Cho has also been busy writing music on the side. “I have two records that are finished and I am trying to figure out when the best time is to release them. I’ve been on these projects for awhile. That may happen next year. I am also working on a comedy special so maybe I will release them around that same time.”

While 2014 brought many personal and professional highs for Margaret Cho, it also saw the loss of two of her biggest influences and mentors: Joan Rivers and Robin Williams. She pays tribute to both in her show.

“Joan was such a mentor and a good friend for years. I am still having trouble with not reaching out to her for things. In my mind, I can’t picture her as dead, and I have a bit of a disconnect there. I am very grateful for them both. My friend Jason Mecier takes people’s garbage and makes portraits of people. He has done a large one out of garbage from myself and Phyllis Diller, Kathy Griffins, Sarah Silverman’s, Rosie O’Donnell’s... it is this homage to Joan created by all females of comedy. I bought it for a lot of money – I had to have it – and she would probably understand why it was so expensive and why I had to have it.

I would like to have the same kind of wonderful celebration like Joan had: full of laughter. For Joan, there was a sense of the

unapologetic nature of who she was, and that is something we should celebrate and remember.”

Williams brings up different feelings for Cho. “Robin was the first celebrity I ever met. He was a customer at my father’s store when I was a kid. He pretty much invented San Francisco comedy. We were so proud of him, and his loss was so hard to take. He is a little different for me because I am still in such grief about it. It is the situation and circumstances that are very hard to let go. He was a lot younger than Joan, so it is still very painful. It makes you realize how short and precious life is, and [that] we never know what is happening inside others.”

There’s no I in Team, but there’s a CHO in Psycho has received positive reviews. For those attending Whistler Pride, this is a must see evening with one of queer comedy’s finest.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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Gossip lady is somehow magical, otherwise she’d just show some ID and not act like she invented kissing. Meanwhile, we’re interested to see exactly what Quinto knows about kissing the opposite sex while not wearing Spock ears.

Bros before other HBO shows, please Anthony Hemingway and Ben Cory Jones have something they want you to see. Yes, we know, you have no idea who these guys are. But trust us. And them. It’s called Bros and it’s a new series currently in development at HBO. Based on Jones’ own experience – to be directed by Hemingway (the World War II drama Red Tails) and co-produced by Lena Waithe (Dear White People) – the series concerns a young black gay man and his relationship with his two straight brothers. In a Noah’s Arc-free world, one where the stories of gay black men are routinely denied platforms, this is a welcome sign. No other details happening yet, that’s what “in development” means. It also means the project could be killed at any time. But you’ll know more when we do.

Fingers crossed Cherry Jones goes into the Light The Hank Williams biopic, I Saw the Light, is on its way, starring Tom “Loki” Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen.

Marc Abraham is directing from his own screenplay, an adaptation of Colin Escott’s biography. So far, so good, and Hiddleston looks like Williams, which promises to give the project that “uncanny valley” quality of weird Hollywood visual authenticity. But our favorite development is the casting of the effortlessly cool Cherry Jones as Williams’ mother. A character actor’s character actor, Jones has an Emmy for playing the President on 24 and Tony Awards for The Heiress and Doubt. Oh, yes, and she’s a lesbian, which you probably knew, but most importantly, she’s who you get when you want the big guns in your corner. And now this movie has her. Lucky movie.

The New Yorker Presents Alan Cumming

 Zachary Quinto. Photo by Debby Wong

Deep Inside Hollywood Zachary Quinto meets The Girl Who Invented Kissing

By Romeo San Vicente Zachary Quinto landed himself in some hot water recently over his comments regarding gay men and their alleged “laziness” when it comes to HIV prevention (this, friends, is how you slyly call your friends a bunch of whores). It happens. You get famous and then someone asks for your opinion about a public health issue and boom, you forget you aren’t a scientist. But we’re in the habit of forgiving actors for saying silly things as long as they keep entertaining us, and Mr. Quinto keeps doing that, too. He’s about to star in The Girl Who Invented Kissing, the directorial debut of Tom Sierchio (writer of the awesomely weird Untamed Heart, the one with Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei and the baboon heart transplant). It’s about a mysterious, unnamed woman (Adelaide Clemens, The Great Gatsby) and her lifealtering relationship with two brothers (Quinto and Stephen Graham of Boardwalk Empire). It also stars Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer. We’re going to guess that the unnamed 22

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

Amazon, suddenly a player in televised content, has an entire roster of pilot shows planned for 2015. Naturally, because we’re really, really, sophisticated, the most promising and unusual seems like The New Yorker Presents, a docu-series that aims to recreate the experience of reading the legendary magazine. Best news: You won’t have to read a thing! The pilot episode will contain a short documentary from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme, an interview with artist Marina Abramovic, one of those poems they always tuck into the bottom corner of a page in the middle of an issue, and a short film featuring Tony Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live). In other words, the whole thing sounds like an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! with a Master’s degree. And if it gets a full series order, more middle-to-highbrow content will stream directly into your digital device, replacing your need to keep talking about Kim Kardashian’s butt. Very exciting.

Romeo San Vicente Presents. Always.

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Editorial

Parenting Proud Defying the Stereotype

By Jim Scott Now that my husband and I have put some significant parenting miles in our life’s rearview mirror – nearly two years now – we have started experiencing the perpetuation of some pretty baseless stereotypes. Aimed at gay fathers in particular, they’re insulting and homophobic, and we’re happily and stubbornly defying all of them. I have always hated stereotypes anyway, and even though they can sometimes be based on caricatures of real folks, they often wrongly define people into subgroups for ridicule. I am just not cool with that. I’m reminded of the gay anthem “I Am What I Am” from La Cage au Folles. In other words, we are what we are, and that is a loving and non traditional family consisting of two doting fathers, an incredibly well adjusted and happy little boy, four dogs, and a kitty.

One of the most often asked questions we get, and by far the most infuriating, is who’s the mom? Every time I hear it I want to snap the person’s head clean off their torso but, instead, I launch into a well rehearsed speech about how domestic life and parenting isn’t all about gender. In fact, our top priority is nurturing a well adjusted child by setting great examples for him to model after, and providing a stable and secure home life so our son can grow up feeling loved and supported no matter what. Our son will always have two very proud fathers, who are more than capable of providing for all his needs, and so far that’s working great for us.

My husband is a ‘mostly stay at home’ dad and domestic God in my eyes. He works part time – about 12 hours a week – mostly so he can maintain some adult relationships outside of our meticulously well maintained home. But make no mistake; his main focus is taking care of our family, and he’s great at it! So although one might be able to say that he is undertaking the more traditional role, once filled by women, like the cooking, cleaning, and shopping, he is still all man in my book – even when he’s baking cookies or making hollandaise sauce for his classic eggs Benedict. In fact, since becoming parents, I find him sexier than ever.

As for me, I’m the main breadwinner, and take care of our family finances, vehicles, heavy lifting etc. I’m in the traditional role once filled by men, but I’m not content to just fall into any preconceived stereotype of what gender roles are and aren’t supposed to be. This is where our family is slightly different, I think for the better, as we try to share as much of the domestic responsibilities as possible. I don’t want my son to grow up with anything less than an open mind to the roles we play in relationships. In a lot of ways, these roles are stereotyped much the same as the top vs. bottom discussion is in the gay community, which I have always found to be less than reliable. You know what I mean.

Another stereotype we have often heard is that men can’t be as nurturing and affectionate as women, and that is just bollocks. Both my husband and I are equally affectionate with our son, and he’s truly the light of our lives. His first complete sentence was “I love you” and, in that moment when I first heard those words, I knew we were on the right track. I’m also noticing lately that my boy has a sensitive and caring heart, and we nurture that every chance we get, whether it be a random kiss, a shared cookie, or a great big bear cub hug. Our son will never be taught that showing affection is wrong. We love each other unconditionally in our family and that is how it’s going to be forever.

Then there is the school of thought that gay men can’t maintain long term relationships which, I admit, is very crucial to effective parenting.

Of course we have already proven this stereotype to be completely bogus

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(with 24 years to our credit) but don’t just take my word for it. Dr. Judith Stacey, a professor of cultural and social analysis at New York University and author of Unhitched: Love, Marriage, and Family Values from West Hollywood to Western China, spent over 14 years studying gay families and discovered – much to her surprise – that the most stable of all homes were that of gay men who had chosen to become parents together. Over the 14 years she researched this topic she said, “I was shocked to find that none of the male couples with children had broken up; not one of them.” She attributed the success of the relationships to what she termed ‘self-selection’.

“For men to become parents without women is very difficult, and only a small percentage are able to make the commitment.” I think the key word here is commitment, and that goes for all families, not just in the gay community. This makes perfect sense to me because gay men choose to be fathers at great emotional and financial costs, and you don’t do that unless you have really thought about the long-term effects and radical changes in lifestyle; at least we didn’t anyway.

Finally, there is the stereotype that kids from straight relationships have less social stigma and better health and wellbeing overall. Until recently I might have said that the bit about social stigma had some validity, given that some kids are unlucky enough to have extremely homophobic parents, but even that has now been proven wrong. A new Australian study from the University of Melbourne, billed as the largest ever of its kind, aimed to “describe the physical, mental, and social well being” of kids from gay families. What they found is sending some homophobes running for the hills because “on average, children raised by same sex couples scored six per cent higher than the general population when it came to general overall health and family cohesion.”

Dr. Simon Crouch from the Jack Brokhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program at the University says of the study that, “It appears that same sex parent families get along really well and this has a positive affect on overall health.” He also says that, “an emphasis on skills, as opposed to assignment of traditional gender roles”, accounted for the survey’s results. “So this means that people take on roles that are suited to their skill sets rather than falling into those gender stereotypes, and this leads to a more harmonious family unit.”

I can, without reservation, say this is spot on. My husband and I evaluated our strengths and weaknesses on a variety of subjects – ranging from who would potentially earn the most money so one could be at home most of the time, how that would affect each of us, how we deal with other family members, what domestic chores we are best suited for, and many other subjects – so we could provide the very best care and behaviour models for our son. It has really been an effective way to parent. We still have regular discussions about anything and everything concerning our son, and I’m sure we will continue to make adjustments where needed, so he doesn’t miss out on anything.

So there you have it my fellow gay dads. The next time someone trots out one of these awful stereotypes you can confidently laugh at them and let them know that it’s not only insulting to be put into any sort of category, it is downright wrong. Our families are not only special; they are well adjusted, stable, healthy and – most importantly – happy.

Have a merry holiday season and, as always, feel free to send me your comments and personal stories at parentingproud@gmail.com. Until next year, have a safe and festive season!

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Health

Reinventing Safer Sex Introducing PrEP

By Ivan Grabovac There’s a new way to protect yourself from HIV. PrEP stands for “pre-exposure prophylaxis”. It’s a pill-a-day to keep HIV away. The pill, Truvada, is actually not new. It has been around for ten years as part of the ‘cocktail’ to treat HIV infection, helping bring viral loads down to undetectable levels. Studies have shown that poz guys with undetectable viral loads are highly unlikely to transmit the virus. This is called “treatment as prevention” (TasP), and it’s big news in itself. However, since about 2012, Truvada has also been used

by HIV-negative guys, mainly in the US, to keep from getting infected in the first place. This is PrEP. Does it work? Fear of HIV is high, but the per-act risk of getting HIV is actually pretty low, even without any protection.

Simon Fraser University professor Cindy Patton expresses the risk qualitatively, without statistics. You have to be “a little uncareful, and very unlucky,” she says. Of course if you’re a little un-careful repeatedly, then the cumulative risk rises. Daily PrEP reduces the already low per-act risk by over 90 per cent.

How much lower, exactly, is debated by scientists. This can drive non-scientists crazy. There’s something about the idea that you could quantify risk and thereby manage it that can turn ordinary people into control freaks. But as the University of California at San Francisco’s Dr. Robert Grant, the world’s top PrEP researcher, puts it simply, “PrEP works if you take it.”

And as the British HIV/AIDS journalist and editor Gus Cairns echoes and amplifies, “stop arguing about percentages and repeat after me: IT WORKS IF YOU TAKE IT.” Here’s another way to look at it. We contacted Alan McCord of Project Inform, a leading HIV/AIDS advocacy organization in San Francisco, and asked him if anyone in any scientific study, or in the real world, taking the blue pill every day had become infected with HIV. “No,” he wrote.

Stunned, I had to read his email over again. You mean, there really is a pill to prevent HIV infection?

No one on PrEP, in any scientific study or in the real world, taking it daily, has become infected with HIV, as far as anyone knows (you can exhale now).

In May, 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued clinical guidelines for healthcare providers on the use of PrEP and recommended that at least half a million Americans go on it. “On average,” said a spokesperson for the CDC, “it takes a decade for a scientific breakthrough to be adopted. We hope to shorten that time frame and increase people’s survival.”

Over 100 U.S. HIV/AIDS organizations signed an open letter in support. The story made the front page of the New York Times. The World Health Organization (WHO) also chimed in, recommending that gay men around the world consider PrEP as an option – one more tool, along with condoms, in their prevention toolbox. But Canada, and especially Alberta, have lagged behind.

While all gay men should heed the WHO’s recommendation and at least think about PrEP, the WHO doesn’t recommend that all of us should actually take it. If you use condoms consistently and correctly (they don’t slip off; they don’t break; you don’t forget sometimes or get caught up in the heat of the moment; you don’t lose your erection; you’re not allergic to them; you don’t just plain hate them) then PrEP is not for you.

But studies in both Canada and the U.S. show that most of us don’t use condoms all the time – actually, only 16 per cent of us do, according to the CDC – and, anecdotally, we know that this is true.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

The popular hookup site Squirt asks users to report how often they practice “safer sex”, where safer sex (in Squirt’s outdated understanding) means just one thing: condoms. Most guys – way more than the CDC’s 16 per cent – say “always”.

But the savvy squirter knows that this probably isn’t true, not because he has read the studies, but because he has looked in the mirror. He suspects that “always” really means “usually”; “usually” really means “sometimes”; “sometimes” really means “never”; and “never” really does mean “never”. (Squirt’s dropdown menu doesn’t let you say you “sometimes” practice safer sex. That’s Recon. But you catch my drift.) Many guys overreport their condom use because of the shame and stigma of not using condoms.

This shame and stigma are preventing us from being completely honest with our partners, and even ourselves, about our actual sexual practices and, additionally, fueling the epidemic. Where did this shame and stigma come from?

They are a bad consequence of a good thing: promoting condoms. Condoms prevent HIV infection, of course. But as long as promoting condoms relies on stigmatizing their nonuse, dividing us into ‘good gays’ and ‘bad gays’, it just leads to denial and rationalization and pushes so-called bare-backing underground. We should certainly keep promoting condoms, but instead of finger wagging we should offer guys who struggle with condoms a scientifically proven alternative. As a recent op-ed in the U.S. gay magazine The Advocate expressed it, “Put Away the Pitchforks and Let’s Talk about PrEP.” Note to Squirt: the CDC has quietly stopped referring to condomless sex as ‘unprotected’. Nowadays, it depends. Sex without condoms – or PrEP – is unprotected. But using PrEP – with or without condoms – offers a high level of protection against HIV. Wrap your head around that: bare-backing – on PrEP – is safer sex.

“The HIV prevention landscape has changed considerably in recent years,” opens the position statement of the Australian HIV/AIDS organization ACON. Titled “What is Safe Sex?”, this question, which seemed settled for 30 years, is one that more and more people and organizations are asking again. Defining safe sex as “sex with a very low likelihood of transmission” of HIV – a better term is safer sex – ACON echoes the CDC by concluding that it is “no longer restricted to binaries of condomless sex or sex with condoms.”

But which is better? It’s impossible to answer this question in a general way. In practice, the best method of HIV prevention is the one that you actually use. If you use condoms consistently and correctly, great. But if you don’t, PrEP will give you 100 per cent more protection than the condoms you’re not using.

The trend now is toward more options, not just one, because no one method works for everyone in every situation. Some guys are using condoms and PrEP as a second line of defense.

This is the official CDC recommendation. It offers the highest level of protection, not only against HIV, but also against other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). Remember that PrEP only protects you from HIV; not syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, avian flu, the ebola virus, global warming, nuclear war, or God’s next plague upon homosexuals.

On the other hand, PrEP isn’t just a pill. In order to get a prescription in the first place, and have it refilled, guys on PrEP must undergo testing for HIV and other STIs every three months. By requiring regular STI checkups, and treatment if necessary, taking PrEP might actually reduce the incidence of other STIs too.

Like PrEP, condoms are really good at preventing HIV infection. And condoms are more effective than Truvada alone www.gaycalgary.com

(ignoring the mandatory STI checkups that are also part of PrEP) at preventing other STIs. But there are three caveats. The first is that guys only wear condoms for anal sex, which limits their effectiveness to anally-transmitted infections. You can still get STIs from oral sex (HIV, by contrast, is rarely transmitted orally), and depending on the STI, even just by rubbing bodies (it sounds kinkier in French: frottage). But unless there’s bleeding or open sores, you can’t get HIV that way. The point is that condoms don’t offer full protection from other STIs. You still need to get regular STI checkups, which brings me to the second caveat: most guys don’t. The third caveat is the biggest one: condoms have a major adherence problem. Most of us don’t use them consistently.

Some guys are using condoms and PrEP with “casual” hookups and relying on PrEP alone for more committed partners, or partners they know better (husbands, fuck buddies, friends with benefits). However they draw the line – maybe only hubby gets it raw? – for guys like these, fucking without condoms, on PrEP, signifies greater intimacy and trust. Fucking without condoms or PrEP signifies ignorance or naivety: committed relationships are, in fact, a major vector of HIV transmission.

Some guys are using condoms and PrEP with HIV-negative partners who are not on PrEP. That’s because neg guys not on PrEP might not be HIV-negative. To repeat, many guys don’t get tested regularly. They could actually be poz without knowing it, and highly infectious. Because of frequent mandatory testing, a guy on PrEP is more likely to be right about his HIV-negative status.

Other guys are relying on PrEP alone for HIV-positive partners who are on meds and undetectable. To repeat, studies have shown that undetectable guys are highly unlikely to transmit the virus even if their partners are not on PrEP. That’s why the activist, and pioneering Canadian PrEP user, Marc-Andre LeBlanc counter-intuitively advises neg guys to “fuck poz guys” if they’re going to fuck raw. This is even more true for neg guys on PrEP. If both guys are on meds, either to suppress the virus or to prevent infection in the first place, then HIV status arguably doesn’t matter. Wrap your head around that!

There are, of course, objections to PrEP. The biggest one is adherence – the same problem condoms have. But PrEP is more ‘forgiving’ than condoms, which don’t work at all if you don’t use them. One study suggests that taking PrEP even four days a week is highly effective. Still, the recommendation is daily dosing. Fortunately, if you have trouble adhering to condoms, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have trouble adhering to PrEP. It’s completely different. You take your pill every morning, say, with breakfast, and you’re good to go. Taking PrEP is separated from the timing of sexual activity, which allows you to be responsibly irresponsible, as it were: responsible in the morning, when you take your pill with Cheerios, but not so much on Saturday night, when you may have had a few drinks and one thing is leading to another.

Another objection is the risk of developing a strain of HIV that is resistant to Truvada. This could happen if you don’t take your pill every day, or if you’re not HIV-negative before you start PrEP. It’s your doctor’s responsibility to make sure that you test negative before initiating PrEP – and that you go off PrEP and on treatment if you become positive. But you can’t develop viral resistance if you don’t have the virus! The biggest risk of viral resistance comes with being HIV-positive. Then you have the virus for life, even if it’s undetectable, and you have to take antiviral medications for life. Every poz guy represents a lifelong risk of viral resistance. But if you’re on PrEP, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get HIV in the first place. And PrEP isn’t meant to be taken for life; only during so-called ‘seasons of risk’. You know, like your 20s, or your 40s, as the case may be.

Another objection is side effects. Many guys have no side effects at all. Nada. Others may have minor side effects, like nausea or diarrhea, which go away within the first couple of weeks or months. Anecdotally, I have heard of few cases where someone had to stop PrEP because of side effects. Truvada is considered a safe and well-tolerated drug. The biggest side effect is peace of mind. That’s precious!

Another objection is that if guys go on PrEP, they’ll stop using condoms and get some other STI. Studies haven’t borne this out. Besides, candidates for PrEP already don’t use condoms consistently. PrEP is not the cause of their inconsistent condom use. Condoms are the cause of their inconsistent condom use.

Moreover, the same objection could be made against a vaccine. If an HIV vaccine were ever developed, would some people really clutch their pearls and say, Oh no! What a public health disaster! If you vaccinate gay men against HIV, they’ll stop using condoms and catch chlamydia! (They could catch chlamydia anyway). It makes you wonder why we put resources into developing new biomedical HIV prevention technologies in the first place if they just might work.

Another objection, finally, is the cost, which has nothing to do with the science of PrEP, but it does economics and politics. This is the objection that resonates the most with me.

I hate helping to make Big Pharma rich (by the way, they are not paying me to write this essay!). The company that makes Truvada, Gilead Sciences, charges as much as existing patent laws and the market allow. In Alberta, that’s $1000 a month.

Even if you have private insurance that covers, say, 80 per cent, you could be left with a hefty co-pay.

Political geography has a lot to do with PrEP affordability and access, making a mockery of universal healthcare in Canada.

You could pay a lot less in Ontario, whose Trillium drug coverage helps lower-income people. In Quebec, PrEP is included in the provincial drug plan. And in the U.S., the manufacturer offers financial assistance to lower-income PrEP users, leaving many people with very low co-pays or no co-pays at all.

Pressuring the manufacturer to lower the price of Truvada, not just getting it included in drug plans, should be a major goal of PrEP advocates. It hasn’t been yet, neither in the U.S. or in Canada.

To date, the rollout of PrEP has been largely confined to the U.S. In this country, Truvada isn’t even approved for PrEP yet, although doctors can legally prescribe it “off label”. Canadian healthcare providers and community-based HIV/AIDS organizations have generally been tight-lipped about PrEP, and excruciatingly slow to follow the lead of their counterparts south of the border and the WHO. That is why you have likely never even heard of PrEP! But they can’t control the flow of information online, including social media, which is how many of us are learning about it and starting on this journey.

Last June, a small group of us started a PrEP Canada group on Facebook, modeled after the thriving U.S.-based PrEP Facts group. Size matters! The more members we have from across the country, the more we collectively know, and the more we can help each other. PrEP users and allies sharing information and helping would-be PrEP users do the job that healthcare providers and local HIV/AIDS organizations should be doing, but in many parts of the country, are not.

I want to end by putting in a good word for HIV Community Link here in Calgary. They have recently come out in support of PrEP, one of the few Canadian organizations to do so, and started on some much-needed advocacy. I look forward to hearing more from them – and from you – in the future.

Ivan Grabovac is among the first group of Canadians on PrEP

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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25

From the Conners to the McCarthys Laurie Metcalf talks roles on gay-inclusive sitcoms

 photos by CBS

By Chris Azzopardi There’s no question that Roseanne, a show centered on the Conners, was one of the most influential TV shows of all time. Just look: Gay marriage is now as trendy as Jackie Harris’ hipster-desired mom couture.

Two decades later, meet The McCarthys, CBS’s primetime comedy about a zany sports-crazed family. One of the sons, Ronny, is gay, and the clan’s matriarch is – because of course – Laurie Metcalf, who played Jackie on “Roseanne” (and, in case you forgot, was outed during the show’s finale in 1997).

Metcalf recently called to chat about how The McCarthys has made her feel like she’s “missing out” on a real-life gay son, the lesbian kiss on Roseanne that caused a stir, and her own lip-lock with a stage icon – her first time kissing a woman (she thinks).

GC: Between HBO’s Getting On and now The McCarthys, you’re spoiling us, Laurie. It’s so good to have you back on TV. LM: Thanks so much. Yeah, it’s been a long time. I’m spoiled myself right now; I’ve got two wonderful projects. But yeah, I’ve been doing mostly just theater for the past six years.

GC: Which do you prefer: TV or theater?

LM: I have to say, I prefer stage, probably because it’s where I came up. I feel like I understand it best, and I like the immediate gratification of a live audience. You know, it’s been so long since I’ve been on a multi-camera show that it just felt like home walking back onto that set, so that was fantastic. I didn’t think one of those would come back around!

GC: What drew you to The McCarthys?

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

LM: First of all, I love that multi-camera format. It’s a very collaborative way of working, because you’re in there with the writers, and everybody is trying to contribute to making the show the best it can be on Friday nights for the audience. It’s a group effort, and I really like working that way. Then I talked to Brian Gallivan, the showrunner, who I adore. He came up from Second City, so I felt we had a little something in common. And he’s fantastic. So calm, so supportive and so wonderful to work with. (The scripts) went through so many changes that I know were very difficult for all the writers involved. He’s just a really fantastic leader and he sets the tone for the whole project, and he’s super funny.

GC: Especially as “Sassy Gay Friend.”

LM: When we first talked, I said I was a huge fan of that character and he’s like, “Are you kidding me?” Then we agreed that Sassy Gay Friend should do an intervention at some point on Jackie from Roseanne. Wouldn’t that be great?

GC: Absolutely. You gotta make that happen. Speaking of Jackie, do you find it amusing that her mom style is now a fashion trend among hipsters?

LM: (Laughs) That sounds about right! I mean, it’s about time. We just had our 25th-year anniversary (in October 2013), for God’s sake.

GC: How much of The McCarthys is based on Brian’s real-life family?

LM: The whole thing is his family. He and his mother watched procedural-crime dramas together, and in The McCarthys we’re fascinated by The Good Wife, so that’s where that bonds exists.

The way (Brian) writes this family – their family humor is so

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unique to me. (Laughs) I don’t know people like this! I mean, I’m sure they exist – obviously they do – but the non sequiturs they talk in, and the way they tease each other and the way they misunderstand each other, is so funny to me. And they’re loud and they’re way too needy, but then weirdly totally supportive of each other, which seems to come out of the blue but doesn’t.

I really like the family dynamic that he’s recreated from his own family.

GC: What do you think The McCarthys says about the bond between a mother and her gay son? After shooting a few episodes, do you notice a particular connection?

LM: Yes! I guess there is one. I mean, I don’t have that in my own family, but it’s so relatable, you know? And it’s fun and it’s light. It just seems like a really fun relationship. I feel like I’m missing out!

GC: Were you ever one of those mothers who wished she had a gay son?

LM: I didn’t really ever think about it, but now I do! It’s funny: In our show, the one daughter is sort of the misfit and gets the least attention from the mom, definitely because they don’t have the same bond.

GC: Because the LGBT movement has come so far since Roseanne aired in the ’90s, how would you compare Roseanne to The McCarthys when it comes to the portrayal of LGBT people? Do you notice a shift in how LGBTs are represented on TV? LM: It was 25 years ago when Roseanne brought gay characters onto the show, and it was a big deal. I mean, she didn’t think anything of it, but it was ... it was different. I don’t know what the network thought of it; she had so much pull at the time that she could basically do whatever she wanted. Then she pushed that boundary a little bit with an episode (1994’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) where she went to a gay bar with Mariel Hemingway and they kissed. I remember that was a huge deal at the time, and they went round and round about pulling the scene. Roseanne was gonna walk off. It was a huge deal.

Now cut to The McCarthys, and the fact that Ronny is gay is a non-issue. The issue is that Ronny is trying to find a partner because he needs to get out of the house; he needs to break away from his family. They’re all horrified and fearful that he will leave if he’s with somebody, and they don’t wanna lose him.

So that’s what I mean when I say it’s a non-issue; it’s just about him dating, and the family is hugely supportive.

GC: How much of the show revolves around Ronny being gay?

LM: I don’t think it’s ever gonna be the A-storyline, though it might be the B-storyline.

GC: Roseanne was so ahead of its time in how it portrayed LGBT characters so matter-of-factly. How do you reflect on the influence the show had on the perception of gay people in mainstream culture?

LM: I actually have no idea what it did for Middle America.

I really don’t. When I think of Martin Mull and Fred Willard as

this couple (one of TV’s first gay couples) who got married on the show – I mean, I didn’t realize how big it was. I really didn’t.

I was on the inside of it, in a bubble, not knowing. Roseanne knew. That’s why she pushed to do stuff like that. I was very much out of the loop of that. I just saw the humor of it, and I saw these guys who have worked together forever (Mull and Willard both starred on Fernwood 2 Night in the ’70s) and how fantastic it was that she cast them as this married couple.

GC: But, in retrospect, you must realize the significance of having a gay married couple on TV in the ’90s, right? For you, what does it feel like to have been a part of a show making big strides for the LGBT community?

LM: I was so lucky to be a part of that show for so many reasons. People who talk to me about it, and just because they’re talking to me about it, relate to the sister (Jackie). The writing was so high-quality, and still, all these years later, it maintains that level. Every episode, Roseanne (Barr) was just willing to sacrifice laughs to make the show about something.

She hit on so many things while also portraying characters, and she just wasn’t concerned about any backlash for anything. To have been a recurring character on a show that did that is one of the highlights of my whole career. I just was so lucky.

GC: Premiering in November on HBO is the second season of Getting On (the first season is available on DVD/Blu-ray Nov. 11), and recently Betty Buckley talked about the two of you kissing for one of the episodes. She said it was her first girl kiss.

Is this your first girl kiss too?

LM: I think so, yeah. I mean, I may have done it in a play or something. I don’t know. I can’t remember. But no, I think so. I don’t mean to build it up or something, but the kiss is a metaphor for that show. It’s not a big deal on the show; it’s just something that happens very spontaneously, and then it’s over and you’re like, “What was that?” But it’s odd, and yet it’s kind of funny because you don’t expect it, and it’s kind of weirdly heartbreaking because Betty’s character needs to connect to somebody and it just comes out of her. So, it just runs this gamut of emotions, but then it’s over in two seconds and you think, “Wow, I don’t know how to feel about that.”

GC: I have to reflect on some of the crazy characters you’ve played: Mrs. Loomis in Scream 2, and the nutcase who shot up that grocery store on Desperate Housewives. Is it true that actors live vicariously through their characters?

LM: (Laughs) Yes! I get to play a number of freaks, and I don’t know if I’m getting cast as a freak or if I bring my own freakiness to the character. I really don’t know anymore.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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27

Interview

Birth of a Goddess

Breakout musician Banks talks prison fans, Tracy Chapman’s gender and newfound fame

By Chris Azzopardi Jillian Banks is a long way away from being a gay icon, but she’s off to a good start. Like Madonna and Cher, the moody Los Angeles songstress is a one-name phenom: Banks. A touchstone of 2014, her debut, Goddess, is an intoxicating hybrid of James Blake-esque electronica and old-school R&B. Banks rang recently to chat about the calls she gets from prisoners, mistaking Tracy Chapman for a man and her mission to make everyone feel like a “goddess.”

GC: How did you become known as Banks?

JB: Growing up people called me Banks, and my music is very fragile at points, and also very powerful and almost aggressive. I feel like Banks has masculine and feminine qualities to it, so I think it’s the representation of my music in a word and a name.

GC: Have you always embraced your masculine tendencies?

Were you a tomboy?

JB: I went through stages of being a tomboy when I was little, definitely. For me, it’s more about feeling really strong and powerful in what I do. But yeah, definitely growing up I went through stages where I was in the mud constantly.

(Laughs) GC: When it comes to your persona, what’s different about you on stage versus off?

JB: I mean, it’s still me. But everybody has layers to them, and different attributes are magnified in different settings.

Definitely when I’m on stage, I feel my most pure form. I’m just me. I just sing my music. I dive into my music and whatever comes out is what comes out on stage.

GC: Do you harness a fiercer persona when you’re playing music? Is that something you’ve always done?

JB: Yeah, I would say so. I mean, I’m fierce as a human, and it comes out on stage. You can’t be walking down the street and, you know, singing your songs and strutting.

GC: Why not?

JB: (Laughs) OK, you could! But, yeah, it’s just like I said: I dive into music onstage and I’m very in tune with what each word means and that comes out with strength, maybe. You could say that, I guess.

GC: Gay men are drawn to strong people. How aware are you of a gay following at this point in your career?

JB: I don’t know. I don’t really think of whether my fans are gay or straight or whatever. I just think of all of them as people who connect with my music, and that’s incredible.

GC: How did you decide on Goddess for the album title?

JB: Embracing your own human characteristics is a big theme in my music. I write about feeling weak. I write when I’m feeling strong and sexy and spicy. I write when I’m feeling angry and aggressive. And it’s just human. You’re not a robot.

I feel like I’m a goddess because of that. And every woman is

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

 photos by John Michael Fulton

a goddess, and every man is a god. Everyone is so powerful. I just want people to embrace their own weaknesses and their own strengths and just love all of that. Just be. Breathe and be.

GC: I know many men who feel like goddesses too.

JB: (Laughs). Yeah, I was gonna say every man and woman is a goddess!

GC: You’ve always been a big Tracy Chapman fan, and when you were younger, didn’t you think she was a man?

JB: I thought she was a man! I thought she was a male!

I was listening to her in my mom’s car and I saw the album cover and it was a woman. I was just completely mesmerized by her. I was infatuated with her. I couldn’t believe this guttural, crunchy, layered, dark tone was coming from a woman. I was a young girl hearing that and it was incredible.

People are not just one thing. It doesn’t matter what you look like or what people think of you – people are so layered, and you can never sum somebody up by how they look. You just have to experience their energy, and so I was just in love with her.

GC: Did you have that epiphany about people being multifaceted because of Tracy Chapman?

JB: I don’t know if that was the only reason, but I was definitely wowed by her voice. She was definitely one of the first. Her, Fiona Apple, Lauryn Hill – I just connected to them so much growing up. But out of all of them, I was the youngest when I discovered Tracy Chapman. I mean, I feel like my legs didn’t even touch the floor when I was in my mom’s car listening to her. Like, then, my legs were dangling off the seat!

GC: How long did it take for you to figure out she was a woman?

JB: A month or two. I was just listening to this buttery voice I kept hearing – I knew all the words – and I was always like, “Play that song.” But I never knew her name.

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Then I heard her name was “Tracy,” I looked at the album cover and I was like, “Wow – amazing!”

GC: How are you dealing with your sudden fame? Do you have any reservations about it?

JB: (Sighs) I don’t know.

I’m trying to just be in the moment and experience things. Being known – it’s a very new thing for me, definitely. I kept my music very private for such a long time. I didn’t have a Facebook or an Instagram or a Twitter. I was comfortable not being open about my music. Now, all of a sudden, people are hearing it and they’re seeing my face. It’s a new thing for me, but I’m just so fulfilled being able to even do this. And the fact that people are connecting with it – it’s incredible. It’s amazing. I’m just excited.

GC: Because you’re not engaged with social networking, you famously gave out your phone number and told your fans to call you. Tell me about the best call you’ve received from a fan.

JB: I get some really emotional ones, and I get some really silly ones.

At one point, somehow, I think I was on prison radio, and then I was just getting calls one day out of nowhere. I got six calls from six different prisons. Now I get calls from prison all the time! So I don’t know – those are kind of cool.

Usually when you get messages from people in prison it’s just that collect call voice – “If you accept this call from whatever prison, press pound” – but my favorite message was from one inmate who got through. This message he left was so crazy: “I’ve been in prison for 12 years. We’re not allowed to watch TV or have phones or anything in here, but I read a magazine you were in and you must be really special for them to be talking about you like that.” It was one of the most genuinely beautiful messages. I played it for my management and we were trying to find out who this guy was. I was so intrigued by him! I wanted to know about him! But his name was generic, so we never really found out.

GC: Most people would probably consider random prison calls creepy, but you call it “cool.” www.gaycalgary.com

JB: (Laughs) Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty crazy – but it’s still cool! Orange Is the New Black!

GC: Are there personal experiences or feelings so sacred to you that you leave them out of your music?

JB: No. You were asking me about being more public now and I have to make a conscious decision to never change how I write.

My music is the safest place for me. It’s the one place I can say anything, and so I have to make a conscious decision never to hold anything back even though there’s this new thing happening where people know me and they’re hearing the music, which is crazy. But there’s a song on the album called “Someone New” that was really hard for me. It was the first song that I wrote that I couldn’t listen to for a few months – it just hurt my heart. With music, I put everything into it. It’s what keeps me sane.

I don’t think that’ll ever change.

GC: You have a psychology degree from the University of Southern California. How does that knowledge of human emotions play into your songwriting?

JB: I was writing songs before I got my degree and I don’t really think it affects my writing at all.

I’ve always been interested in adolescent development and how your brain needs certain chemicals to function at certain levels.

Different relationship dynamics have always intrigued me too. That’s why I got my degree in it.

But in terms of my music – my music is all heart.

There’s nothing in my head that creates my music. It’s just my heart and my gut, and it comes out how it does.

GC: How is your heart feeling right now?

JB: Happy.

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29

Interview

 photos by Roadside Attractions

A Hader You Can Love

SNL alumnus Bill Hader talks tasty men, Stefon and his ‘license to be totally fabulous’

By Chris Azzopardi Saturday night is a lot less spicy without Stefon, the fabulous “Weekend Update” club correspondent that turned actor Bill Hader into a comic star. But fear not. While Stefon has retired from Saturday Night Live to a “haunted diaper” in Chelsea, as Hader tells me in our recent chat, the funny-man flexes his impressive dramatic chops in The Skeleton Twins, playing Kristen Wiig’s twin, Milo, a struggling actor.

Aaaand, he’s gay.

During our talk, Hader discussed his “license to be totally fabulous” as Milo, his regrettable transgender-centric SNL sketch, and the savory highlights of his A-list make-out roster.

GC: You lip-syncing to Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” in

The Skeleton Twins would make everyone on RuPaul’s Drag Race so proud.

BH: (Laughs) You have to get me on that show! That would just be the

best.

GC: How much drag did you and Kristen observe while training for the famed lip-syncing sequence?

BH: I mean, we had to learn that song, and we had a lot of fun doing

that, but we didn’t have a lot of time. There wasn’t a lot of time in the day to do it. It was definitely a quick “we gotta go; we have a lot more to shoot today” moment, so it’s cool it all came out so well.

GC: So, what you’re saying is you already knew how to sissy that walk.

BH: (Laughs) I knew... I mean, I’ve gone out with enough of my gay

friends to know.

GC: The finger in the ear during the money note – was that Mariah Carey-inspired?

BH: No, no. It was just me messing around. So much of that stuff was me just trying to make Kristen laugh and just knowing her sense of humor and what will make her laugh. I thought that was something that would.

GC: You’re a natural in that lady garb.

BH: Oh, thank you.

GC: Before The Skeleton Twins, how experienced were you with cross-

dressing?

BH: Well, I had done some of it at Saturday Night Live, but not in my life.

Not a lot of cross dressing in my life.

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GC: Not yet.

BH: Not yet. Maybe I will now. I remember we did a senior sketch in

high school where we made fun of a group of moms called the “Brown Bag Lunch.” They were these moms who put a lot of money into our high school, who would have these brown bag lunch things where they’d sit around and gossip about school – just a bunch of rich moms. We did a sketch at our homecoming and I played the main mom. We just recently watched that – my dad found it – and I’m essentially doing Stefon. I mean, it’s pretty crazy.

I’m in high school! It’s pretty insane. But, I look goooood! My wife’s like, “Wow, you look great. You’re an attractive woman.”

GC: There’s a scene in the film where you go to a gay bar only to find yourself there on “dyke night.” What’s been your real-life gay bar experience?

BH: You know, I haven’t hung out that much in gay bars, but I don’t go to bars in general. I remember going to one with writers from SNL. There was a group of us and we went to a gay bar, because two of our writers were gay. It was fine. I had a good time. But I don’t really go out. I’m reeeeally boring. (Laughs) GC: You’re such a dad.

BH: I’m a total dad. I’m really boring. I stay at home and I read. Because

I did Stefon, people assume that I go to all these clubs and I get invited to a lot of those things, but nah.

GC: And yet you live this exciting life onscreen. I mean, you’ve maybe made out with more men than I have… and, Bill, I’m actually gay.

BH: (Laughs) I have my wife run up to me a lot of times and be like, “Don’t brush your teeth. Let me kiss you. This is the closest I’ll get to kissing James Franco,” or whoever it is I just made out with. I’ve made out with Paul Rudd so many times on SNL it’s insane!

GC: You made out with Ty Burrell during the shoot for The Skeleton

Twins.

BH: Yeah, but it didn’t make the cut. I’m gonna tell you right now, that was actually pretty hot. It was a hot scene.

GC: What does Paul Rudd taste like?

BH: He tastes like chicken, and James Franco tastes like cinnamon.

GC: You even got to fondle Paul’s man-aries.

BH: Yeah, I touched his nipples.

GC: Bill, this doesn’t sound like a very boring life to me.

BH: Yeah, I know. It’s weird because we’ll be doing it and our wives are

just watching the show in the green room like, “Hahaha. OK, guys.”

GC: Given your history of make-out sessions with men: If you could play spin the bottle with any group of guys, who would you invite to that party?

BH: Paul, James, Ty...

GC: But they’ve already been to the party.

BH: Yeah, they’re already part of the party, but I just know they’re all

good kissers. I guess those guys, and then to mix it up, Danny McBride because I feel like I’d get the shit kicked out of me.

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GC: SNL has been criticized for its portrayal of the gay community and some of its homoerotic cheap shots. Did you ever turn down a skit or were you ever hesitant to do a sketch because it might offend the gay community? As a comedian, how conscious are you of avoiding stereotypes whether on SNL or in The Skeleton Twins?

BH: In Skeleton Twins I honestly didn’t think about it. The thing I liked

about the script was that Milo being gay wasn’t his problem. That wasn’t the big issue in his life. He had a lot of other issues, and he just happens to be gay, which I thought was really great.

A journalist from another gay magazine said something that I liked – that I didn’t try to iron out his gayness. He’s flamboyant, but he’s drawn from people I know, people I’m friends with, people Craig (Johnson, the director) knows. I mean, that dyke night scene was me basically just mimicking Craig. (Laughs) When Craig went (to me), “You know, you sit down” – and I could tell it was something that had probably happened to him before – “and you look around and it’s fucking dyke night! You kind of go, ‘Where’s the boys at?’” So that is me impersonating Craig.

As far as SNL is concerned, Stefon was the same thing. His joke isn’t that he’s gay – the joke is that he’s just really bad at his life. And that he’s on a lot of drugs. I don’t know if I ever said no to anything, but I know the transgender community got really mad at a sketch I was in about estrogen – Estro-Maxxx, about a pill – which made total sense. But it happens, and the show takes responsibility for it. We have a ton of gay people who work on the show.

to be totally fabulous,” because (I was playing him) the opposite. I would try to sometimes play him in a way that was too subtle, and Craig was like, “Don’t worry about people saying it’s gonna be stereotypical – these are my friends.”

GC: Because of your role as Stefon on SNL, how often are you pitched gay roles?

BH: Actually, not that much, to be honest. Let me think. This might be the only one that I’ve been sent. It’s interesting. During the Q&A, after the first screening of the movie at Sundance, someone asked us about (the similarities between) Stefon and Milo and I went, “Oh, yeah!” Craig, who is gay, took the question because I didn’t know how to answer it. I went, “Uhhh.” The only thing those two guys have in common is that they’re gay, which is a good way of answering it.

GC: Would Stefon and Milo be friends?

BH: Craig says no, and I think he has a better idea than I do. Craig was

like, “Oh my god, no.” I think Stefon would freak Milo out.

GC: I think Stefon would freak a lot of people out.

BH: Yeah, you would be missing for a couple of weeks. If you went

out with him, you’d have friends, parents, people pleading on the news, “Where’s our son?”

GC: Where is Stefon these days?

BH: He’s on the corner of 23rd and 9th some place. Somewhere in

Chelsea hanging out inside a haunted diaper.

GC: In retrospect, would you have passed on that skit had you known it

would offend the transgender community?

BH: Yeah. I mean, I think the writers wouldn’t have written it. I don’t think anyone wrote it to hurt anybody’s feelings, but once that happened it was like, “Oh yeah. Point taken. Sorry.”

GC: Actors who take LGBT roles often say you can’t really play gay, but you’re effortless as Milo. What’s the trick? As a straight man, how do you transcend sexuality for a role?

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BH: I didn’t think about it that way, to be completely honest. You just kind of do it and you find a part of you that’s this Venn diagram, where you overlay with the character. So, my relationship with Ty Burrell’s character: I just thought of high school romance, that’s what I thought of – a girl I dated in high school and how that made me feel. And it’s also just kind of hanging out with Ty. He’s a really funny, nice guy. Things like that – actual feelings of like, “What a great guy, he’s so nice” – play into it. You have to be very open. He’s giving you something and you have to give back, and you just play off each other. But I trusted Craig. I was just like, “I’m gonna try a bunch of stuff,” and Craig would tell me if it was too much. Usually his note was, “You can go a little further with it. You don’t have to be so subtle.”

GC: And if a gay man is giving you permission to go gayer, you know you can.

BH: Yeah, exactly. He’s like, “I think you can be a little bitchy to (Kristen) now. Be a little flippant. I think he would be sassy with Kristen right here.”

I remember when I was in drag and he was like, “You have complete license

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

31

Interview

Jessica Nigri

Popular to Contrary Belief

By Mars Tonic “In the news today, Calgary got so much snow it broke all of their branches!”

That is how Jessica Nigri greets all of the journalists who have shown up in the hopes of asking her a question or two at the Edmonton Expo. Jessica has made a career of showing herself off and being artistic at the same time, and it’s clear by the way she pops in front of a camera that not only is she beautiful, but her personality is larger than life and bubbling over with positive energy.

She herself has used the term career to describe her position lightly, letting us know just how lucky she finds herself in the role she is in. Despite the fact that her line ups exceed some of the actors’ at conventions, not a shred of arrogance or selfinflated worth hovers over her head. “I’m stupid,” she laughs, after speaking a string of gibberish to the camera.

Jessica receives a lot of attention, which can be draining, especially from the geek and pop culture community which can be a demanding, sometimes illogical, group. Still, she rises to the occasion and never ceases to have a smile on her face, even when she is facing a gigantic queue composed almost entirely of sometimes-awkward men in nerdy t-shirts.

What gives her that endless fountain of energy? Beyond a positive outlook it is something very simple: exercise. “Exercise is a necessity, completely, in my life. The reason why I’m the way I am is because I run about six miles every other day.

If you’re going to feel good, you have to make your body feel good. I really think it helps with cosplaying too. You look good, you feel good, you have energy and you can say hi to people.”

When it comes to what she wears at conventions and the costumes that she makes, there is no tug and pull between what Jessica wears and what the fans want to see her in. “I never cosplay what people what me to wear. I only cosplay what I want to wear; it’s only ever what I want to wear. If you want me to cosplay something and I don’t like it, that’s too bad. I’m not going to dress like it!”

For those just starting out in the big world of cosplay (which, for the record, runs the gamut from wearing a Halloween costume to hand making entire sets of armour) Jessica has a few words of wisdom: “Be prepared. It is the world, and it is the Internet. No matter what you’re going to do, you’re going to get positive people and you are going to get hella negative people.

You have to mentally prepare yourself for the onslaught. No matter what you do – no matter how good you look – you are going to get negative people. At cons not so much; people are generally very nice and they want to take photos with you.

Just know you are in good company. Conventions are really nice, The ‘Cosplay is not Consent’ posters are everywhere so everyone is really considerate. Just prepare yourself for the Internet. The Internet is a dick.”

Whatever the anonymous peanut gallery on the Internet might say, you just have to ignore them. Love yourself and your body; that’s what Jessica does.

“Your body is a temple, worship it. Also, don’t do drugs! I don’t do drugs – so don’t do them – popular to contrary belief.”

A pause, and her brain catches up, then she laughs. “Contrary to popular belief!”

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33

Out of Town Puerto Vallarta

 Playing volleyball on famed Los Muertos Gay Beach, outside Blue Chairs resort. Photo by Andrew Collins

by Andrew Collins It’s hard to name a gay resort destination in North America that has more going for it than Puerto Vallarta, a fast-growing city on the Pacific Coast’s fabled Mexican Riviera. PV’s historic downtown (El Centro) is hemmed in by the verdant slopes of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Just south of El Centro, in Zona Romantica, you’ll find a bustling gay scene comprising trendy cocktail bars, hopping dance clubs, scene-y open-air restaurants, and inviting hotels and condo rentals just steps from the beach. Despite its growing popularity, the city is still a relative bargain compared with the United States, the Caribbean, and even some other resort areas in Mexico. On just about any budget, you can eat well and stay in a comfortable room near the beach in this inviting, friendly destination that’s now one of the hottest LGBT resort communities in the world – a favorite place both to vacation and retire to.

With a population of roughly 255,000, Puerto Vallarta (visitpuertovallarta.com/travel-guide/lgbt-friendly) no longer bears much resemblance to the carefree and isolated fishing port that provided the 1963 filming location for the critically acclaimed film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s play The Night of the Iguana. In recent years, PV has developed into a world-class gay mecca. Resources for LGBT visitors are many, including GayGuideVallarta.com and GayPV Magazine (gaypv. mx).

Zona Romantica is a compact patchwork of hilly lanes tucked beneath the Sierra Madre foothills. The neighborhood fringes Los Muertos Beach, and narrow auto and pedestrian bridges connect the district with El Centro. The beachfront location of Zona Romantica, as well as its elegantly faded veneer and historic charm, accounts for its ever-increasing draw among gay visitors and bohemian types. It’s a neighborhood that celebrates its diversity – everyone is welcome, but especially during the bustling high season (from about December

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through April), certain blocks of Zona Romantica seem about as gay as any in North America.

There are a few more general attributes that further enhance Puerto Vallarta’s standing. Again, it’s reasonably priced. Dinner entrées at top restaurants rarely cost more than $20 and often run for $10 to $15.

Hotel rates, cab rides, cocktails, fashionable clothing and handcrafted gifts also tend to come at fair prices, although it’s definitely possible to find high-end exceptions.

It helps to understand Spanish, but you can get by easily in PV speaking only English. And finally, this city set stunningly in the center of Bahia de Banderas (the largest natural bay in Mexico) enjoys a spectacular climate. The city is generally dry and breezy with temperatures in the 80s, the exception being the summer rainy season (generally June through September), when highs often reach the low 90s and humidity can sometimes be oppressive. Puerto Vallarta receives far fewer visitors off-season, and some businesses close for extended periods in summer.

If you’re a fan of outdoor activities or are interested in some of the many side excursions available from this area, book a trip through the gay-friendly outfitter Vallarta Adventures. One excellent tour option is the company’s thrilling Extreme Zip Line Adventure, which is a treetop canopy tour, off-roading trip and waterslide experience in a highjungle adventure park. The company also offers tours of secluded beaches like Yelapa and Las Caletas, as well as whale-watching, scuba and snorkeling, sailing trips, and up-close encounters with bottlenose dolphins and sea lions.

Where to Eat PV has dozens of outstanding restaurants as well as a slew of hip bars, and the scene is continuously evolving. At the upper end, don’t miss Cafe Des Artistes (cafedesartistes.com), a sumptuous spot with refined service and deftly prepared contemporary cuisine. For authentic regional Mexican food served in a charming, warmly furnished dining room, try lesbian-owned El Arrayan (elarrayan.com.mx), where you can

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sample everything from duck carnitas in an orange-guajillo chile sauce to roasted crispy Oaxacan crickets sautéed with tomatillo-avocado salsa.

Along the beachfront, Daiquiri Dick’s (mdi.ddpv.com) is a picturesque spot for a leisurely brunch or lunch, with or without a potent cocktail, and overlooking the water on the north side of El Centro, open-air El Barracuda (elbarracuda.com) serves superb, fresh-caught seafood, such as shrimp al pastor tacos and blacked rare-seared tuna steak.

Just inland from Zona Romantica, the less-touristy Colonia Remance has a few wonderfully romantic restaurants, including the famed Red Cabbage Cafe (redcabbagepv.com), an art-filled dining room that’s known for some of the best moles and other classic Mexican dishes in the city, and dapper Casa Naranjo, which serves consistently delicious and inventive Nuevo Latino fare.

You’ll find dozens of mostly casual, affordable spots in the heart of Zona Romantica, many along the “restaurant rows” of Basilla Badillo and Olas Altas, which intersect a block from the beach. Reliable options along the latter street include Café San Angel for burgers and tapas, Kabuki Sushi Bar for Japanese food, and The Swedes Bar & Bistro for European classics with a Scandinavian flair. Along Basilla Badillo, check out intimate and lively Joe Jack’s Fish Shack (joejacks-fishshack.com) for first-rate seafood, El Mole de Jovita for expertly prepared regional Mexican cooking, and Boccon di Vino for modern Italian fare in a romantic dining room.

Puerto Vallarta’s Gay Nightlife and Beach Scene When the mood to socialize strikes you, keep in mind that dance clubs don’t get going until late, and they keep pulsing into the wee hours.

Socializing over beer or cocktails begins for many visitors quite early in the day at, for instance, one of the beach clubs along scenic Playa Los Muertos (a few blocks south of Zona Romantica’s stunning pier, which glows at night with colorful lighting). At three très gay spots along here – Blue Chairs (bluechairs.com), Mantamar (mantamarvallarta.com), and Ritmos Café (ritmoscafe.com) – you can enjoy hobnobbing, dining and eating while lazing under a thatched beach umbrella overlooking the sea.

Early in the evening, head to one of lounges and cocktail bars along Olas Altas and the surrounding blocks. These include convivial lesbianowned Apaches bar, the jazz club and piano cabaret Garbo, trendy Sama bar, festive La Cueva Cantina and friendly Los Amigos. One of the swankiest and trendiest bar options, La Noche is a gorgeous bilevel lounge with a highly popular upstairs patio. Across the street, CC Slaughters is a hot spot for late-night dancing, and Spartacus Spa is the top gay sauna in the city. And within a few steps of this bustling intersection, you’ll also find Paco’s Ranch, a fun option for late-night drinking and dancing; and Wet Dreams, which, as its name suggests, showcases buff dudes stripping in showers. Fans of male strippers should also be sure to check out the hot roster of talent at Antropology club, which is a few blocks north.

Where to Stay In Zona Romantica, visitors can choose from a nice mix of gay-friendly options. If you’re on a budget and seek a clean, comfortable and friendly gay property in the center of the action, check into the 28-room Hotel Mercurio (hotel-mercurio.com), which is just steps from many gay bars and restaurants (and two blocks from the beach), and offers compact but pleasant rooms and a youthful, social vibe – there’s always plenty of frolicking going on around the pool, and the staff is super-friendly. A handsome, contemporary property that’s also in the center of the action, Olas Altas Suites (olasaltassuites.com) has three types of reasonably priced units, all of them with full kitchens, flat-screen TVs and attractive, well-chosen furniture. The best units have balconies. A short walk north of Zona Romantica in the historic Old Town, gay-owned Villa David (villadavidpv.com) is the only clothing-optional men’s property in PV. This historic hacienda with a tree-shaded pool and courtyard has 10 beautifully appointed rooms – the vibe here very much captures the city’s Spanish Colonial heritage.

Puerto Vallarta is also home to one of the most alluring, dramatically situated gay resorts in the world, the stellar Casa Cupula (casacupula. com), which excels as much at its stylish accommodations as it does at its staff, who are friendly, knowledgeable and charming. The 20 rooms range from cozy, more economical rooms to ultra-plush suites with magnificent ocean views and private soaking pools. The on-site restaurant Taste (taste.com.mx) serves outstanding Latin-AsianMediterranean–fusion fare and is popular both with hotel guests and visitors staying in town. Facilities include a well-stocked gym, a pool and a large open-air lounge with adjacent computer room. The property tumbles down a hillside high above Zona Romantica, a 15-minute walk from the gay beach.

Most gay travelers opt to stay in or near Zona Romantica, but if you’d prefer to chill out at a large mainstream resort that’s a bit far from the fray, you’ll find plenty of swanky options north of downtown, around the marina. The stylish Westin Resort & Spa (starwoodhotels.com/westin) occupies a gorgeous stretch of beachfront. A 45-minute drive up the coast in a once-sleepy fishing village that’s now a chic resort, the Four Seasons (fourseasons.com/puntamita) is one of the most luxurious getaways on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. This secluded compound of beautifully appointed casita-style rooms is perfect for a special getaway. Amenities include an inviting spa, two outstanding golf courses, plus tennis, uncrowded beaches, stunning pools and fine restaurants.

The Four Seasons is still close enough to Puerto Vallarta to venture in for dinner or clubbing, and it’s just a quick 30-minute hop down the coast from the laid-back surfing village of Sayulita, a bohemian, artsy community with a growing LGBT following and even a couple of gayowned vacation retreats, including chic Casa Brava (casabravasayulita. com) guest house and inviting, eco-conscious Xocotla (xocotla.com), a bluff-top hideaway with four inviting apartment.

Other nightlife highlights include one of the campiest bars in town, Reinas, which is decorated as an homage to the British royal family; the Act II Stages complex (actiientertainment.com), which includes a theater, piano bar,and cabaret that presents both local and internationally renowned touring acts, musicals and concerts; Diva’s, with its wellattended, dishy drag shows; and Club Enter, which is arguably the top PV venue for late-night dancing, with an emphasis on electronica.

Andrew Collins produces the website GayTravel.About.com and writes about travel for a variety of LGBT and mainstream publications.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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35

Technology

Aerannis

Indie gamers devs ektomarch are producing a slick retro platformer with a trans protagonist

By V.N. Winnick Anybody who has grown up as part of a minority group – whether it be due to their race, their sexuality, or their gender identity – knows just how tough it is to see oneself reflected in the media at large. Far from simply being an issue of vanity, representation has realworld consequences. For many people, media forms the boundaries of possible ideas and possible identities.

With the current renaissance in small-studio video game production, it seems the perfect time to expand those boundaries. Aerannis is a slick, 2-D platformer, with nonlinear and exploratory elements reminiscent of the Metroid and Castlevania series, with a trans woman as the game’s protagonist. The game is being developed by Portland, Oregon studio ektomarch, who are Kickstarting funding for their game until the end of the month.

Aerannis is set in a distant future year, in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Unspecified catastrophes have decimated world populations, save for the bastion of Plovdiv, now populated entirely by women. The city’s oppressive government deals with dissenters through covert assassinations, and it is at this point that Ceyda, a Turkish-Bulgarian trans woman, discovers that the government that employs her to do its dirty work is not all that it appears to be.

The story unfolds through missions, dialogue and a mixture of stealth, action and exploration gameplay. One of the ektomarch developers, who selects to keep their identity private, took some time out of their busy production schedule to answer a few of my questions.

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GayCalgary: Why was it important to you that Aerannis have a trans protagonist? ektomarch Developer: “A big reason why I wanted a trans protagonist is, for one, there is under-representation in basically all media; and two, I thought it would be a pretty interesting story to tell. The main point of the game is that no matter what kind of society you’re in, there is somebody out there who has to blame all their problems on somebody else.

GC: Ceyda is a trans woman in a society where the ‘default’ individual is a woman. Do you think this might make her experience mirror closer to that of a trans man in our society? eD: I would say that would be [analogous to] the experience of any minority, whether it be a racial minority, religious minority, trans woman, trans man, gay, lesbian, whatever.

GC: What inspired you to use Bulgaria as a setting, and Plovdiv in particular? eD: I studied Bulgaria. I had a professor, an older woman, who told us stories about what the communist times in Bulgaria were like, and I thought it would be interesting to retell that in a futuristic setting, using different politics, but [with] the same kind of stuff happening. There was a definite ruling class, but they would always say, Hey, we’re totally with you; we’re with the people, and [claimed that] we completely achieved all our goals; communism is here, everything is fine now. When, if you actually talk to people, it very clearly wasn’t. People were poor as ever – if not worse...

Also, during that time, [Soviet] Bulgaria tried to wipe out the Turkish identity... even though they were a very large minority, which is the reason why I chose [the protagonist] as a Bulgarian Turk.

GC: Was the oppressive government in Aerannis inspired by trans-exclusionary radical feminists? eD: Yeah, that was definitely a big thing for this. You basically have this big divide – there’s trans-exclusionary radical feminism – they see their view as being absolutely correct and non-negotiable, and that everything comes down to sex. That’s it. End of discussion. The game is more about radicalism in the sense that [the government] believes they

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have attained their end goal; that’s it, no more need to talk about it; we fixed everything.

GC: The game seems like it could be troubling for trans players, if characters are going to be aggressive toward Ceyda because of her identity. Do you think Aerannis would be ‘safe’ for a trans person to play? eD: There will be a little bit of that, to show that this is stuff that happens, and it is to show that people will disrespect somebody just for an identity, instead of judging them based on their actions or who they are. I suppose that a person who has had a lot of bad experiences might be triggered by it in some way, but it’s not going to be extreme. It will mostly be to convey to people who don’t have those experiences that this is the kind of stuff that [trans] people deal with.

GC: Could you describe the aesthetic of Aerannis? eD: Mostly inspired by old Sega Genesis action games, and a little bit of it... is inspired by psychedelic art, just mildly.

The main goal was to have a very colourful, clean, plasticlooking future, like everything’s fine, it’s all happy here, it’s all great! The government only cares about the outward image, versus what is actually going on inside.

GC: Did Ceyda’s identity influence her character design? eD: For the most part I tried to make her very, very averagelooking, to show that she’s not physically exceptional or anything like that, it’s just that she is a motivated person.

That is why I just gave her a plain white T-shirt. The hair is a little bit futuristic – nobody has natural-coloured hair.

Everybody can just dye their hair at will – it’s a normal thing. I just wanted to make her look like a fairly normal woman, although I have seen people commenting that she looks extremely masculine. I didn’t intentionally do that, but I guess it may be like the jaw, or something. It’s just the way I draw.

GC: The setting and the gameplay of Aerannis make it inevitable that there will be violence against women. How did you approach this as a designer to avoid making it gratuitous? eD: It is not specifically targeting women, it’s that when you have a society with only one type of person, if it’s an action game, of course there is going to be action against that type of person... If women rule society then clearly the women in this society are not weak, so if it is a woman standing against the main character, that will be a target that she has to take down. One person did mention that it was sexist that I didn’t have men as enemies, but if I had men as [the game’s antagonists], that would show that men are still the ones in control of women, even in an all-women society, which I think would be much worse.

GC: One of the game’s preview clips shows Ceyda blasting at a robot-looking enemy with a silhouette that most people would identify as male. How does that fit in? eD: [They] are actually humans wearing body armour.

One reference for that was Metroid. The main character in Metroid, she has this huge, bulky body armour, because it’s meant to be armour, not meant to accentuate any sort of female figure or anything like that. It was a means to desexualize [the antagonists] and show that they have power; they have authority.

GC: Some of your Kickstarter rewards offer to let backers design missions and bosses. How do you expect to incorporate that into the game? eD: I won’t just let them completely dictate – it has to fit the theme in some way. So if they want to design a boss as just a giant person... that wouldn’t completely work. It would have to be a giant robot. I’ll do my best to give them what they want, but I’ll make sure to build the game around it in some way.

Aerannis is currently in development with a Kickstarter campaign underway to raise funds. It is projected to release on PC, Mac and Linux. Find more information about the game at http://www.ektomarch.com/aerannis/ and https://www. kickstarter.com/projects/ektomarch/aerannis.

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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37

The Missing Footage from Drag Race Dipping into BenDeLaCreme

By Jason Clevet The career of BenDeLaCreme has skyrocketed since she appeared on Season 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. About to embark on the Battle of the Seasons tour, GayCalgary caught up with Ben over the phone to discuss all things drag.

“Everything has changed,” she said. “Things have gone from being here in Seattle, working really hard on my projects and trying to get anyone to focus on them, to traveling constantly,” she said of life since Drag Race. “I have been meeting all sorts of cool people and collaborating with artists I have admired for a long time. It has been incredible.”

There are months between the end of filming and the taping of the finale. While Ben admits it is challenging to keep quiet, she wanted to see how things played out prior to talking.

“Definitely you want to talk to people about it, but they definitely put the fear of Ru in you. You don’t want to cross anyone at the production company! But you also don’t know how the show is going to play out once 48 hours have been edited down to 40 minutes. You don’t know what version of the story you are going to be seeing. I didn’t want to talk to anybody because I wanted to see what the story would be for them, and it worked out well.”

Between the show and Untucked an hour of footage airs out of each episode. There were aspects of the show that were left on the cutting room floor that she would have liked to have seen more of.

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“I wish that there was more of the friendships that were formed on camera. We saw a lot of little miffs with me and Darion being blown out of proportion. We missed a lot of stuff like Adore and I getting close, and my friendships with Trinity and Gia. There are a lot of girls I became close to and you don’t really see that on the show. That is what I was most surprised by when I watched it was; you didn’t see the connections we all had that much.”

The show’s portrayal of Trinity made her appear someone out of her element, who constantly made excuses, but Ben saw a different side of her both during the taping and post-show.

“I think that a lot of us had frustrations with Trinity early on for that same reason. Getting to know her, she is an incredibly sweet and kind person. Even though, in those moments, we are focused on the challenges, so much of being in that situation with people is just generally what they are like to be around and their demeanor. When she turned it around – she turned it around! There was that moment, going into the comedy challenge, but we saw more of her progression. She was out of her comfort zone and fought to do the best she could anyway.

By the end of it, she was strong and shining, and had shed all of that self-doubt. Now you see her on stage – she gets up there grabs that mic and starts chatting with the audience. She is one of the most charismatic queens I have ever seen and can just slay a lip sync. She is a really incredible performer.”

With five prior seasons, Ben researched the show heavily, but was still often surprised by the challenges.

“If you are going into the show you have to be studying what has happened before. You always know the first challenge will www.gaycalgary.com

be some kind of costume construction, and that Snatch Game is coming, and all these other things. As soon as I started thinking about applying, I was also preparing for all those challenges and what I would do in those scenarios. The dual opening was really crazy with just the seven girls. They were trying to hit up an adversarial ‘two teams’ thing, which sort of worked. Almost getting eliminated – and then not getting eliminated – threw me for a loop as well.”

There was a lot of surprise and disappointment generated

by Ben’s elimination in episode 11, however she was crowned Miss Congeniality, which helped ease the sting.

“It was incredible! When we filmed the actual show and I was eliminated I was really sad and disappointed.

I had a long time to make peace with it and feel good about everything that had happened. By the time it aired, I was ready for it. When people reacted by being taken so aback by it, it gave me a sense of Hey yeah! That was messed up! It was nice to get over it, in my own time, and then be sort of affirmed by everybody else.”

With the Season 7 queens announced, Ben imparted some wisdom for the competing drag queens.

“It is really important to be into it. There are so many people who are starting to get into drag because of Drag Race, which is really awesome, but I want to encourage people to find the voice and way to express themselves individually. Part of what makes the whole thing so special is [that] you get to meet all of the performers that came into it, because they wanted to express something important to them. Don’t worry about what looks cool, or [what] you have seen succeed in the past. Decide what you need to do and want to do. The ones that have done it hardcore that way are the ones that make a lasting impression.”

“I don’t know any of the new queens personally. These girls are all new to me and it is really exciting. I can’t wait to see it.

I was personally invested in Season 5 – because Jinkx is an old friend – and my season was like riding a rollercoaster to watch it. I am excited to sit down and watch a show I love again without any personal attachment.”

BenDeLaCreme has been in Calgary before and is excited to return to Alberta on the Battle of the Seasons tour.

“It is always nice to know the energy. Audiences and drag, locally, is different everywhere. You never quite know what to prepare for, and [what] people will respond to. When you get to go back, you have your finger on the pulse, and know the local people. It is nice to return to something familiar. I love getting together with the girls. When you are shooting something like that – it looks like a lot of drama – but it’s like college or summer camp. It is a microcosm where, even with the bad and the good, you really bond with people. Whenever I see the girls it is really happy and fun, and you can see that energy on stage when we www.gaycalgary.com

are doing a show together, because we are having such a great time backstage.”

Playing a large club like Flames Central or Encore is a different experience for performers and fans.

“I do a lot of cabaret and theatre and burlesque.

There are different kinds of energy… in different spaces.

It all plays into what you want to put out there and the energy you can harness.

I love that we can do these huge venues with all the tech and people packed in there, because you have to bring all of this big energy that fills the space, and get so much back from the audience. I have always loved variety shows. I come from a background of cabaret and vaudeville.

Even though it is all drag, it is a variety show kind of vibe. There is circus art; then you see someone do a flawless lip sync; and then bawdy comedy. It keeps it so fresh – all these different styles and people who are really good at different kind of things.”

The VIP pre-show cocktail party allows Ben to connect with the fans that voted for her as Miss Congeniality.

“I love it; it is one of my favourite things. Whenever you go somewhere new and are getting on stage you can feel the energy, but when you get to interact and talk with people – that is when you get to really know the place. I always have such incredible interactions with fans. People are really kind and excited, and I have had some really touching and fun interactions, and I really look forward to it.”

Boasting an all-star roster – that includes Courtney Act, Raja, Manila Luzon, Ivy Winters, Alaska and Sharon Needles – the Battle of the Seasons shows promise to be astonishing.

“It is going to be incredible. It is so many performers with different strengths bringing their A-game. We get to bring our best, and we are there to support each other and give 100 per cent. The whole show is going to be bombastic and a sensory overload.”

Battle of the Seasons Tour http://www.purepride.ca http://www.RuPaulBots.com Calgary – February 13th –Flames Central Edmonton – February 14th –Encore @ West Edmonton Mall http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4444 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

39

Sharon Needles Returns

Season 4 winner injects her style into Battle of the Seasons tour

By Jason Clevet It is funny how a small moment can become part of pop culture. When the party supply chain Party City started opening stores in Alberta many RuPaul’s Drag Race fans would think I need to go back there where I belong in reference to an argument between Phi Phi O’Hara and Sharon Needles on the show.

“You know Party City, me and Phi Phi are waiting for that cheque!” Needles said when we caught up with her, laughing.

“When the quotes first start you love it because it is something that solidifies your place in pop culture. Then it gets a little old because you work your ass off just to be summed up by these sound bytes that fell out of your pie hole. Then it comes full circle, and you treasure and relish the moments that are a part of pop culture. The name Sharon Needles will go on as long as Party City stores. Celebrities can be associated with a lot worse things, so I’ll take it!”

Needles will be part of the RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons tour in Calgary February 13th and in Edmonton February 14th. Putting seven queens together sounds like a recipe for drama, but it is a very different environment from the show.

“Real life and making a TV show are completely different things,” she said. “Being on the TV show was being locked in a studio for 16 hours a day under cameras and lights while producers are bringing up your deepest insecurities. Once the show is over, it’s over. We are like any other family; we are completely dysfunctional, but we all love each other. The road can be a very lonely place – to have the opportunity to be with people that really understand what we do for a living, and how much hard work we put into the 40

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show, makes it that much more fun. We are all such different personalities, but we are huge personalities. It really is a family reunion of people who won’t shut the fuck up.”

Working with an ex can be awkward, but Needles has no such issues being reunited with former boyfriend Alaska.

“When we decided we were no longer going to be boyfriends we just turned the word ‘boy’ into ‘best’. The four years we spent together – you can’t deny how much fun we had, how much creative product we put out, and what great friends we were. We really enjoy each others’ company; we just don’t fuck each other anymore.”

The multi-city tour visits theatres and major concert venues. It is a different experience from smaller gay bars.

“Whether we are in a gay bar or a Hard Rock café, anyone and everyone over the age of 18 is welcome to see us perform. I appreciate when straight fans come to gay bars and test their own limitations and see what they can handle. These bigger venues are great because you are in Calgary, it is freezing, and the chance to see this many girls on one stage is not just a treat for us to perform for you guys, but it has to be a treat for you guys to see all of us in one night, in one venue, doing our best work. They both have their perks. Working in smaller venues and gay bars allows you to be much more connected with your audience. It takes you back to what we were all doing before we were on Drag Race, which was performing in small bars. Performing in these large venues makes us feel like the fucking rock stars that we are! We can utilize so much more technology to tell our stories and express our art.

The lighting, props, backdrop, sets and video are all insane. It’s a Beyonce show at half the ticket price.” www.gaycalgary.com

The show is hosted by Michelle Visage.

Needles praised the Drag Race judge for being on the road.

“I really give my props to Michelle Visage; she doesn’t have to do this. You don’t really see Santino or RuPaul heavily involved in our tour schedules.

For Michelle Visage to be the face of RuPaul’s Drag Race and to put herself on our level – to get two hours of sleep to be at the airport at 6am and do show after show after show – doesn’t just show her tenacity, but her true love and respect for what we do, past our time on the show.”

This is Needle’s second time in Calgary. She previously appeared at Cowboys, hosting a competition won by DevaDave. Seeing the different talent around the world is one of the highlights of the job, Needles said.

“Since being on Drag Race I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world.

It is great to see the variety of drag that is in different regions everywhere. Canada is definitely on tops of its game. The thing I like about Canadian drag is that you can’t pinpoint that it is specifically Canadian; it is everything from camp to pageants, comedy to performance art. Canadian drag queens have it all. I will be in my fucking snowsuit. I know it will be cold as hell.”

The Season 5 winner is will be making sure to track down TVs on tour in order to catch Season 7 of Drag Race.

“I haven’t been excited about a season of RuPaul’s Drag Race since my own. This season these girls are all basically unknowns.

There are no huge superstars, or what I like to call girls who didn’t need Drag Race – girls like Bianca Del Rio, who were already so established in their career. These girls are all unknowns and that makes it exciting for me. Usually with the meet the queens videos you can really see a super stand-out or tell who the mega star is.

These girls all seem to be on the same playing field. I think there will be more twists and turns this season than any season of Drag Race.”

Past seasons have featured queens that were tightly connected, whether by dating, drag mother and daughter relationships, or as close friends. This new batch of queens are a fresh crop.

“The family was starting to get a little bit of incest so now it is great to put a new gene pool into the family so we don’t all end up Ru-tarded. I am so fucking excited to watch it because I don’t know a thing that is going on. We are a close-knit sisterhood, and we love to gossip, so most of the alumni of Drag Race know everything that happens before it happens. I don’t think any of us knows one of these bitches. Not only [can we] be an alumni to the show, we can sit back and enjoy the bumpy ride with the rest of the world. The only girl I kind of know from this season is Max; she is kind of a stand-out outsider artist. We used to correspond online and she was a big fan of Sharon Needles. It is great to watch this kid evolve into a superstar right alongside me.”

As RuPaul’s Drag Race continues to be a juggernaut, undoubtedly there will be more seasons. Season 7 is already taped, but Needles has some advice for queens auditioning for future seasons.

“Stay true to yourself and make sure that what you do for a living is not copying someone who inspires you.

Make sure everything you do is genuine and comes from not just the heart, but the brain. When in doubt freak ’em out bro! If you look like every other queen out there no one is going to notice you. A pretty face may look good on camera, but it will do nothing for you in this industry.”

The queens know that they won’t find out the winner until the finale airs.

Endings are recorded with all three of the top queens crowned winners, a twist that was first revealed during Season 4.

“At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter. To get to the top three you have used your sweat, blood, tears and hairspray to get there. Whether the decision is prolonged or not, I don’t think it hinders the anxiety that comes along with it. I preferred it because it gave me eight extra months to get plastic surgery and look better when I won.”

It is clear in talking to Needles that she is very excited about this tour. Part of the appeal of the Battle of the Seasons tour is getting to socialize with fans before the show.

“The fans are life and death to me. I wouldn’t have a job if I didn’t have them. RuPaul may have put that crown on my head, but it was the fans that allowed me to wear it, and the reason why I won. Ours was the first season where the fans were asked who should win. I personally didn’t think I was the bee’s knees, but fans said that is who they wanted. Usually in a club setting they are lined up – these poor, great kids have to stand in a line for two hours just to get 20 seconds with you. With the BotS tour we do it a little different. We meet them before the show, instead of after, so we are not completely exhausted, and we make it a cocktail party.

It is enjoyable for everyone. We all have a drink in our hand, and it is more of a party than a classic meet and greet where you get two seconds, picture, and move along.”

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

Battle of the Seasons Tour http://www.purepride.ca http://www.RuPaulBots.com Calgary – February 13th –Flames Central Edmonton – February 14th –Encore @ West Edmonton Mall http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4445 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments 41

‘Divine’ Intervention

Bette Midler talks early LGBT support, ‘diva’ degradation, twerking and equal wig rights

 photos by Warner Bros. Records.

By Chris Azzopardi Before the whole world knew her as “The Divine Miss M,” Bette Milder was ours. In the early ’70s, bawdy, belt-y Bette was performing for the NYC bathhouse boys, and don’t think she’s forgotten it, either. “I mean, if I had a nickel for everybody that said they saw me at the baths,” says Midler in our recent interview, “I would be Joe Billionaire by now!”

Midler would go on to global fame, reaching beyond music to become a celebrated name in film, television and on the stage, winning Grammys, Golden Globes, Emmys and a special Tony Award. And now, the eagerly awaited return of one of show business’s most versatile performers has arrived with the release of her first album in eight years, It’s the Girls!, a tribute to some of the greatest female harmonies in history.

Midler talked about the anticipated tour she’s about to launch in support of this latest effort – and the truck full of hairpieces she’s schlepping along (“Cher has 55 wigs; why can’t I?!”). She also touched on her early support of the LGBT community, the degradation of the word “diva” and her plan to avenge Mae West for sending her a cease and desist.

GC: You know how much we gays love our girls. How much do you keep your gay following in mind when you make music, particularly with It’s the Girls!?

BM: To tell you the truth, it really didn’t cross my mind. The music I chose is music I had a lot of affection for. Some of these songs I’ve known since I was a little girl. I feel like if I have a strong feeling for this music, people will also have a strong 42

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feeling for it. The truth is, you cannot pander. You have to go with your gut and your heart and be true to yourself, and hope that people like it. They generally do.

GC: You were welcoming to the gay community at a time when many weren’t. When you look back at your early support for the LGBT community, what do you recall as being the moment that galvanized you to stand up as an ally?

BM: I had been in the theater for a long time, from the time I was a young person, and I’d always known gay people – and they were just, like, gay people! Just ordinary friends. People that you knew, and that you never thought twice about. You didn’t think of them as being different, although looking back on my high school years, I think there were a lot of people in my high school – this is so many years ago; this is 50 years ago – who probably were gay and didn’t ever talk about it. As a matter of fact, one of the kids that I went to school with, an enormously popular guy – really funny, really wonderful – who was in my Latin class, wrote me before he passed away from AIDS to tell me that he had been gay and that he had contracted AIDS. So, I mean, what was the moment when I said that it was time to stand up? Oh my god – it never occurred to me not to. These were friends of mine – people that I had worked with, people that I had danced with, people I had broken bread with my whole life – so it never occurred to me not to. You do what you do because there’s nothing else to do. There’s no other option.

GC: But to stand up for people who were seen as pariahs – that was taboo then. Did you experience any backlash for supporting gay people at the time?

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BM: You know, I might have, but I was very wellprotected in those days.

I actually did not feel it. I remember the first big benefit that anyone had done for gay rights (“A Star Spangled Night for Rights” in 1977). I remember the poster, and it was at the Hollywood Bowl.

Lily (Tomlin), Richard Pryor and Tom Waits were on the program, but nobody ever said LGBT then. That didn’t exist.

So that night, Tom Waits sang “Standin’ on the Corner” and then Richard Pryor came out and Richard Pryor started off great. I don’t even know if this is in your history books or anything, but he started off great and then worked himself up into a real frenzy as only he could. He said that the gay community had never supported civil rights and, “Where were you when we were riding and they were kicking us to the curb and we were being firehosed?” Then he said, “You all can kiss my rich, black ass!” and he stomped off the stage. And I had to follow him! I mean, I’m just stripping it bare, but imagine what happened. So I went out and said, “You all can kiss my rich, white ass,” and of course then everything was much better, but it was such a curious evening.

I think Stonewall, in the middle ’60s, was the first time (the gay community) fought back, but, you know, in history everyone says “I was there.” I mean, if I had a nickel for everybody that said they saw me at the baths, I would be Joe Billionaire by now! I would be playing at Madison Square Garden instead of a rickety-tickety little bathhouse on 73rd Street! OK, let’s move on. I really do think that this big fundraiser in the late ’70s was a little shot across the bow too, and then not long after that, in the middle ’80s, AIDS came down and it was so horrible and, even though he knew so many gay people, Ronald Reagan did nothing. Nothing!

GC: Right – he wouldn’t even publicly acknowledge it was an issue until years later. And hey, Bette, I don’t mean to cut you off, but we’re on a time limit.

BM: Oh! I’m sorry. I’m waxing poetic. Anyway, enough about you; let’s talk about me.

GC: If a gay fan approaches you, which of your projects would they most likely mention?

BM: You wanna know the truth? Hocus Pocus.

Honestly, I cannot believe what happened with Hocus Pocus. I’m just dumbfounded by the number of people who mention Hocus Pocus – and they’re young people!

GC: Was your Halloween costume from this year – when you went as your Hocus Pocus character, Winifred Sanderson – the closest we’ll ever get to a sequel?

BM: I tell them all you must write the Walt Disney Company because I don’t have anything to say about it – but they do!

GC: But you’d be up for it?

BM: Oh yeah. The girls and I have talked about it, and we all laugh and say, “Yeah, we’ll wait for that phone call.” But sure, we would all do it. We had a wonderful time.

GC: It’s the Girls! celebrates and honors female performers who branded a very particular image. I mean, they definitely were not twerking.

BM: Ugh. I don’t know what to tell you. I just saw that Jennifer Lopez video with Iggy Azalea – “Booty booty booty...” – and oh, girls, please! What can you say? Girls... please.

GC: How do you compare the girl groups from the era you’re channeling to what you’re seeing now?

BM: It was a really wholesome era in retrospect. It was sexy, but it was not blatant. It was intriguing and it was mysterious because it wasn’t flat out in your face. It was also supremely elegant. You know, I talk about this with my girlfriend Toni Basil, another gay icon: Those voices, the black voices, were not familiar to white ears. They simply never heard those voices singing harmony before. You never really heard those really strong, vibrant black girls singing until The Shirelles, The Crystals, The Chiffons, and then the Motown girls, and the girls who came after: Sister Sledge, The Emotions and down the line.

The Honeycombs? Is there a group called The Honeycombs? I personally wanted to cover (The Weather Girls’) “Two Tons o’ Fun” but everyone said, “No, no, you can’t cut that,” so I didn’t.

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GC: You cover TLC’s ’90s pop hit “Waterfalls,” which famously dealt with HIV/ AIDS and safe sex. What significance does that song have for you?

BM: The first time I heard it I was really struck by it because it seemed like such an important song. To me, it was one of the saddest songs I’d ever heard on pop radio.

So, I wanted to do a strippeddown version of it because I really wanted the story to be clear. I had thought about it for a long time, and when I first heard it, I was so moved by it. I shed a tear myself, and I always use that as a kind of litmus test. If it really moves me, I can bring something to it; I can make it my own.

GC: What about the song in particular hit you? Did you know the original song was inspired by the AIDSstricken and promoted safe sex?

BM: I do remember that, but it was a dance song.

It was for the dance halls.

It was for the discos, and yet it really is a song about the mother who can’t do anything, who’s completely helpless in the face of this. I felt that, and that’s the way I wanted to interpret it. I think it worked out wonderfully.

GC: You’ve been a selfproclaimed diva. In fact, your 1997 HBO special was called Diva Las Vegas, and during your Las Vegas spectacle at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, The Showgirl Must Go On, you said you were the “People’s Diva.” At this point, has the meaning of the word “diva” changed so much that you no longer identify with it?

BM: It’s a word that is just so overused that it’s really lost all currency. It no longer has any meaning at all. Any old slob on the Internet can say, “Well, I’m a ‘diva,’” and have some people believing it, but not me. In the old, old, old, old days – you know, during the Civil War when I was just a child – it meant “the star.” It was an opera term, and it meant a female opera singer who really could carry the whole opera, and it has been so degraded now. It’s a shame because it really was a wonderful word.

GC: What does “diva” mean to you now?

BM: It means nothing. It has absolutely no meaning at all.

“Divine” still has meaning because there’s still a church, but “diva” has absolutely no meaning at all.

GC: When you hit the road for your first tour in 10 years, how many wigs are you bringing along with you?

BM: Oh my god – I have a truck! I have a whole truck. Well, Cher always does. Cher has 55 wigs; why can’t I? To tell you the truth, I have been wearing wigs since, let’s see, the very, very old days. Since I first started making motion pictures – movies!

– I’ve always worn wigs. Always, always, always. It really does spare you. It really is a time-saver, and I really enjoy them.

And I love makeup and hair. I just love it, love it, love it! I love becoming somebody that I’m not. As they used to say about

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Mae West: “A little old lady used to come in onto the set and go into the trailer, and four hours later Mae West would come out.” It’s really kind of like that.

GC: A lot of drag queens would agree with you and Mae. What advice do you have for a guy who wants to dress in Bette drag?

BM: A good pair of shoes – a really good pair of shoes – because you’ll really hurt yourself. You’ll hurt your joints. And a serious undergarment. And if your panties fall down all around your feet, step out of them and keep on singing.

GC: That’s good advice even if you’re not a drag queen.

BM: (Laughs) Well, I’ve been accused of (being a drag queen) many times!

But I take it with a grain of salt. To me, it’s a supreme compliment.

GC: Any chance you’ll revisit songs by The Sanderson Sisters or the ladies of The First Wives Club? They are, after all, girl groups.

BM: I really do have to think about this. If I go out around Halloween, I’ll have to put some effort into it. I’ve got some surprises up my sleeve.

GC: You mentioned Mae West, and it was announced in late 2013 that you were cast as Mae in an upcoming HBO biopic. How’s that project coming along?

BM: I’ll tell you something: The script just came in, but I haven’t seen it. I’m waiting for the director, Billy Friedkin (director of The Exorcist), to make his notes, and then he’s gonna hand it off to me and we’ll see what happens.

I’m really looking forward to it because I’ve been reading and doing my due diligence. She’s such a fabulous – she’s so fucking nuts! I mean, she was so insane. And you know, when I started my career all those many moons ago, I used to do an impersonation of Mae West, and I did it on The Johnny Carson Show – my very first Johnny Carson Show – and she sent me a letter telling me to cease and desist, which I swear to god I still have.

I didn’t understand it at the time. I thought, “What’s wrong with her?” Now that I’ve done all the reading and am of a certain age, I totally get it. She was protecting what she had made. She was protecting her creation. That was practically a trademark and she didn’t want anyone to mishandle her creation. Ultimately, she was right. So I bowed to her wishes; I ceased and desisted. And I think it’s so amusing. (Laughs) After all that, if the script actually comes to the point of doing it, it certainly would be revenge. Take that, Mae!

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Photography BEEF BEAR BASH! at Evolution, Edmonton

2nd Annual Sapien Family Xmas Party at Ten Nightclub, Calgary

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Doin Boink’s World Aids Day 2014 Fundraiser, Calgary

Jingle Balls with Frosty the Snow Queens at Cowboys, Calgary

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Photography Miss Naughty / Miss Nice Pageant at Evolution, Edmonton

Shadow Play Refinery at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton

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Colby Melvin at Evolution, Edmonton

Fruit Loop at Yellowhead Brewery, Edmonton

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Photography Homo-cidal presents The Witches at Evolution, Edmonton http://gaycalgary.com/pa886, photos by Farley FooFoo

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NSFW - How To Get FIFTY PERCENT More Blowjobs This Year

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1649

RuPaul’s Drag Race Announces Largest “Battle Of The Seasons” Talent Tour Yet For 2015 http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1650

Watch Gay & Straight Rappers Unite In A Music Video About Love

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1661

MOVIE REVIEW: Calvary http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1662

COLUMN: Out In The Workplace? http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1663

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1651

52

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

News Releases Movie Review: Starred Up http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1664

BOOK EXTRACT: Confessions Of A Qantas Flight Attendant http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1665

Movie Review: Gerontophilia http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1666

MOVIE REVIEW: The Circle, aka Des Kreis http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1667

James Franco And Seth Share Naked Hug http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1668

Russell Tovey Gets Rimming Cake For His Birthday http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1669

Metrosexual Is Out And Lumbersexual Is In http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1670

NSFW - Men Take On Kim Kardashian Butt Photo http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1671

OPINION: Why Kim Kardashian Matters http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1672

NEWS: Save Benjy Campaign Receives Homophobic Threats http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1673

MOVIE REVIEW: Say When, Somewhat Likable But Very Predictable http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1676

When Being Is Just Not Enough, I Mean What Is A Sapiosexual? http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1677

MOVIE REVIEW: Life Itself, Totally Unmissable http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1678

Major U.S. Companies Advance Critical Policies for Transgender Employees http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1679

COMMENT: Fat Shaming and Fursecution http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1681

New Study Finds Global Increase in Acceptance of Homosexuality http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1682

Happy Woofgiving: Top 3 Doggy Health Hazards to Avoid on Turkey Day and Christmas Holidays http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1684

Britain’s Royal Opera House Brings Combined Opera and Ballet Cinema Season to Canada http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1685

MOVIE REVIEW: Boys, Tender and Touching Coming Of Age Film http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1674

Eau Claire Distillery Launch Gin Rummy as Special Seasonal Offering http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1686

TRAVEL: Christmas In Budapest http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1675

New Teaser Trailer from THE DUFF, Starring Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1688

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

53

Reid Hollander is known to some as Lethbridge’s ‘gay godfather’, earning the nickname by “trying to provide everything for everybody.” Whether that means setting up youth groups or lending his business and marketing acumen to southern Alberta’s gay community, he is there when people need him. Born in Pincher Creek, Reid moved to the city when he was 17 to attend university, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in arts and sciences, with a focus in cartography.

He worked as a surveyor for nearly a decade after discovering that he couldn’t drink heavily enough to cut it as a golf pro.

Reid identified his sexuality as early as 11-years-old, but it wasn’t until age 31, at the end of a relationship that would have seen him married, that he finally came out. Years later, Reid took himself off the market to devote his time to

54

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

caring for the teenaged son of the woman he was once going to marry. Ten months ago, he was finally married himself – to the man he loves.

Reid paved the way for youth groups and social spaces, and eventually served four years as the Chairman of Lethbridge Pride Fest. Reid has since stepped back from that role, but is excited about a new generation guiding the festival in fresh directions.

Since 1999, Reid has been a fixture at Lethbridge Toyota Scion, rolling his affable and gregarious nature into successful work in sales. In his spare time, Reid loves to cook, and relishes the challenges of the art.

http://gaycalgary.com/pa893

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events DOWNTOWN CALGARY

11

10 12

2

6

3

7

15

1 8

4 5

13

1 2 3 4

Calgary Outlink---------- Community Groups HIV Community Link---- Community Groups Backlot------------------------Bars and Clubs Texas Lounge-----------------Bars and Clubs

5 6 7 8

Goliath’s--------------------------Bathhouses Twisted Element--------------Bars and Clubs Broken City-------------------Bars and Clubs Cowboys Nightclub-----------Bars and Clubs

FIND OUT!

LGBT Community Directory GayCalgary Magazine is the go-to source for information about Alberta LGBT businesses and community groups—the most extensive and accurate resource of its kind! This print supplement contains a subset of active community groups and venues, with premium business listings of paid advertisers.

✰....... Find our Magazine Here

......... Wheelchair Accessible

Spot something inaccurate or outdated? Want your business or organization listed? We welcome you to contact us!

 403-543-6960  1-888-543-6960

 magazine@gaycalgary.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/CalgaryTravelRSS http://www.gaycalgary.com/EdmontonTravelRSS Local Bars, Restaurants, and Accommodations info on the go! http://www.gaycalgary.com/Directory Browse our complete directory of over 750 gay-frieindly listings!

CALGARY Bars & Clubs (Gay) 3 Backlot---------------------------------- ✰  403-265-5211  Open 7 days a week, 2pm-close

 209 - 10th Ave SW

4 Texas Lounge------------------------------ ✰

 308 - 17 Ave SW  403-229-0911  Open 7 days a week, 11am-close

www.gaycalgary.com

6 Twisted Element

 1006 - 11th Ave SW  403-802-0230

 http:.//www.twistedelement.ca

Bars & Clubs (Mixed) These venues regularly host LGBT events.

7 Broken City

 613 11th Ave SW  info@brokencity.ca

 http://www.brokencity.ca

 403-262-9976

9 10 11 12

N

Dickens Pub------------------Bars and Clubs Flames Central---------------Bars and Clubs Local 522---------------------Bars and Clubs Ten Nightclub-----------------Bars and Clubs

13 The Pint-----------------------Bars and Clubs 15 The Blind Monk--------------Bars and Clubs

8 Cowboys Nightclub------------------------  421 12th Avenue SE  403-265-0699

 http://www.cowboysnightclub.com

A volunteer operated, non-profit organization serving primarily members of the LGBT communities but open to all members of all communities. Primary focus is to provide members with well-organized and fun sporting events and other activities.

9 Dickens Pub

 1000 9th Ave SW  info@dickenspub.ca

 http://www.dickenspub.ca

 403-233-7550

• Western Cup 31



http://www.westerncup.com

10 Flames Central----------------------------  219 8th Ave SW  403-935-2637

 http://www.flamescentral.com

• Badminton (Absolutely Smashing)

11 Local 522----------------------------------  522 6 Ave SW  403-244-6773

 http://www.localtavern.ca

• Boot Camp

12 Ten Nightclub

 1140 10th Ave SW

• Bowling (Rainbow Riders League)

15 The Blind Monk

 918 12th Ave SW  12thave@blindmonk.ca

 http://www.blindmonk.ca  Mon-Sun: 11am-2am

 Platoon FX, 1351 Aviation Park NE  bootcamp@apollocalgary.com

 403-457-4464

 Let’s Bowl (2916 5th Avenue NE)  bowling@apollocalgary.com

 403-265-6200

• Curling

 North Hill Curling Club (1201 - 2 Street NW)  curling@apollocalgary.com

• Golf

 golf@apollocalgary.com

13 The Pint

 1428 17th Ave SW  calgary@thepint.ca

 http://www.thepint.ca/calgary

 403-384-9777

14 Vinyl & Hyde (CLOSED)

 213 10 Ave SW

 http://www.vinylandhyde.com

 587-224-5200

• Lawn Bowling

 lawnbowling@apollocalgary.com

• Outdoor Pursuits

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Goliaths------------------------------------ ✰

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

Community Groups Alberta Society for Kink

 403-398-9968  masdenn@yahoo.com  http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/ group.albertasocietyforkink

Apollo Calgary - Friends in Sports

 http://www.apollocalgary.com  http://www.myapollo.com

 6020 - 4 Avenue NE  badminton@apollocalgary.com

 outdoorpursuits@apollocalgary.com If it’s done outdoors, we do it. Volunteer led events all summer and winter. Hiking, camping, biking, skiing, snow shoeing, etc. Sign up at myapollo.org to get updates on the sport you like. We’re always looking for people to lead events.

• Running (Calgary Frontrunners)

 YMCA Eau Claire (4th St, 1st Ave SW)  calgaryfrontrunners@shaw.ca East Doors (directly off the Bow river pathway). Distances vary from 8 km - 15 km. Runners from 6 minutes/mile to 9+ minute miles.

• Slow Pitch

 slow.pitch@apollocalgary.com

• Squash

 Mount Royal University Recreation  squash@apollocalgary.com All skill levels welcome.

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

55

Directory & Events Fetish Slosh----------------------------  Evening

Calgary Events

At 3 Backlot

Mondays

 2nd

Alcoholics Anonymous--------------------  8pm

Alcoholics Anonymous--------------------  8pm

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

Saturdays

Coffee------------------------------------ 10am

By Prime Timers Calgary  Midtown Co-op (1130 - 11th Ave SW)

Karaoke-----------------------------------  7pm

At 5 Goliaths

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

ASK Meet and Greet----------------  7-9:30pm

Wednesdays

Fridays

Communion Service-----------------  12:10pm

Inside Out Youth Group---------------- 7-9pm

See

ISCCA BBQs--------------------------------Dinner

Student Night------------------------  6pm-6am

Worship Time---------------------------- 10am

At 5 Goliaths

Illusions-------------------------------  7-10pm

Tuesdays

Calgary Networking Club-------------- 5-7pm

Mosaic Youth Group--------------------  7-9pm

Womynspace---------------------------- 7-9pm

Worship------------------------------  10:30am

Beers for Queers--------------------------  6pm

Thursdays

New Directions-------------------------- 7-9pm

Sunday Services---------------------  10:45am

Student Night------------------------  6pm-6am

 Kerby Center, Sunshine Room 1133 7th Ave SW

Heading Out----------------------- 8pm-10pm

Worship Services------------------------- 11am

Alcoholics Anonymous--------------------  8pm

Church Service----------------------------  4pm

Buddy Night-------------------------  6pm-6am

 Bonasera (1204 Edmonton Tr. NE) See 1 Calgary Outlink

See 1 Calgary Outlink By

 1st

YYC Badboys at 13 The Pint

At 5 Goliaths

At 3 Backlot

Knox United Church

 Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW)

Lesbian Seniors---------------------------  2pm

 3rd

Between Men--------------------------- 7-9pm Karaoke-------------------------  8pm-12:30am

Lesbian Meetup Group-------------  7:30-9pm

 2nd, 4th

At 4 Texas Lounge

ISCCA at 3 Backlot

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 tennis@apollocalgary.com

• Yoga

 Robin: 403-618-9642  yoga@apollocalgary.com

Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA)

 www.argra.org

✰

At 5 Goliaths

At 1 Calgary Outlink

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 3rd  4th

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

 1st

• Calgary Lesbian Ladies Meet up Group • Between Men and Between Men Online • Heading Out • Illusions Calgary • Inside Out • New Directions • Womynspace Calgary Queer Book Club

Deer Park United Church/Wholeness Centre

 http://www.calgaryexpo.com

 77 Deerpoint Road SE  http://www.dpuc.ca

Calgary Gay Fathers

 calgaryfathers@hotmail.com  http://www.calgarygayfathers.ca Peer support group for gay, bisexual and questioning fathers. Meeting twice a month.

 403-278-8263

Different Strokes

 http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org

FairyTales Presentation Society

Calgary Men’s Chorus

 403-244-1956

 http://www.fairytalesfilmfest.com Alberta Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

 http://www.calgarymenschorus.org

• Rehearsals

• DVD Resource Library

 Temple B’Nai Tikvah, 900 - 47 Avenue SW

✰

 304, 301 14th Street NW  403-283-5580  http://www.calgarysexualhealth.ca A pro-choice organization that believes all people have the right and ability to make their own choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health.

Over a hundred titles to choose from. Annual membership is $10.

Gay Friends in Calgary

 http://www.gayfriendsincalgary.ca Organizes and hosts social activities catered to the LGBT people and friends.

Girl Friends

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

 Old Y Centre (303 – 223, 12 Ave SW)  403-234-8973  info@calgaryoutlink.ca  http://www.calgaryoutlink.com

 girlfriends@shaw.ca

 members.shaw.ca/girlfriends

• Peer Support and Crisis Line

2 HIV Community Link------------------- ✰

 110, 1603 10th Avenue SW  403-508-2500  1-877-440-2437  http://www.hivcl.org

 1-877-OUT-IS-OK (1-877-688-4765) Front-line help service for GLBT individuals and their family and friends, or anyone questioning their sexuality.

• Telephone Support

 M-F, 8:30am - 12:30pm + 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Hillhurst United Church

 1227 Kensington Close NW  (403) 283-1539  office@hillhurstunited.com  http://www.hillhurstunited.com

HIV Peer Support Group

Girlsgroove

 http://www.girlsgroove.ca

ISCCA Social Association

 http://www.iscca.ca Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch. Charity fundraising group..

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.

Lesbian Meetup Group

 http://www.meetup.com/CalgaryLesbian Monthly events planned for Queer women over 18+ such as book clubs, games nights, movie nights, dinners out, and volunteering events.

Miscellaneous Youth Network

 http://www.miscyouth.com

• Fake Mustache • Mosaic Youth Group

 The Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW) For queer and trans youth and their allies.

Mystique

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

• Coffee Night

 Good Earth Cafe (1502 - 11th Street SW)

NETWORKS

 networkscalgary@gmail.com A social, cultural, and service organization for the mature minded and “Plus 40” LGBT individuals seeking to meet others at age-appropriate activities within a positive, safe environment.

Parents for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

 Sean: 403-695-5791  http://www.pflagcanada.ca A registered charitable organization that provides

56

Sundays See See See See See

Deer Park United Church Scarboro United Church Hillhurst United Church Knox United Church

Rainbow Community Church

Flashlight Night---------------------  6pm-6am At 5 Goliaths

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

 Weeds Cafe (1903 20 Ave NW)

Calgary Expo

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

 2nd

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

Legend:  = Monthly Reoccurrance,  = Date (Range/Future),  = Sponsored Event

• Tennis

 Arrata Opera Centre (1315 - 7 Street SW)

 1st

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 Calgary Contd.

• Monthly Dances--------------------------

 2nd

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Uniform Night-----------------------  6pm-6am

See 1 Calgary Outlink

By

Alcoholics Anonymous--------------------  8pm

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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  http://www.mtroyal.ca/positivespace Works to raise awareness and challenge the patterns of silence that continue to marginalize LGBTTQ individuals.

Pride Calgary Planning Committee

 403-797-6564

 www.pridecalgary.ca

Primetimers Calgary

 primetimerscalgary@gmail.com  http://www.primetimerscalgary.com Designed to foster social interaction for its members through a variety of social, educational and recreational activities. Open to all gay and bisexual men of any age, respects whatever degree of anonymity that each member desires.

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

Safety Under the Rainbow

 www.sutr.ca A collaborative effort dedicated to building capacity and acting as a voice for the LGBTQ community, service providers, organizations and the community at large to address violence. For same-sex domestic violence information, resources and a link to our survey please see our website.

Scarboro United Church

 134 Scarboro Avenue SW  403-244-1161  www.scarborounited.ab.ca An affirming congregation—the full inclusion of LGBT people is essential to our mission and purpose.

Sharp Foundation

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

Spectrum Volleyball Calgary

 http://www.spectrumvolleyball.ca  spectrumvolleyball@gmail.com Join us for recreational, competitive or beach volleyball.

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events  Calgary Contd.

Unity Bowling

 http://www.cruiseline.ca Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Wild Rose United Church

 810 Edmonton Trail NE  403-290-1973 Cuts, Colour, Hilights.

 Let’s Bowl (2916 - 5th Ave NE)  sundayunity@live.com

DevaDave Salon & Boutique

 1317-1st Street NW

Restaurants & Pubs

Ellen Embury

13 The Pint See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

Hardline

Adult Depot (CLOSED)

 Calgary: 403-770-0776

 Edmonton: 780-665-6666  Other Cities: 1-877-628-9696  http://www.hardlinechat.com Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Adult Source----------------------------

 12 Deerview Terrace SE  403-879-1967  http://www.canyonmeadows.net

Retail Stores

 140, 58th Ave SW  403-258-2777 Gay, bi, straight video rentals and sex toys.

✰

 10210 Macleod Tr S  403-271-7848

 #102 2323 32nd Ave NE  403-769-6177

 1536 16th Ave NW  403-289-4203

 4310 17th Ave SE  403-273-2710

 http://www.adultsourcecalgary.ca

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

MFM Communications

 403-543-6970  1-877-543-6970  http://www.mfmcommunications.com Web site hosting and development. Computer hardware and software.

The Naked Leaf----------------------------

 #4 - 1126 Kensington Rd NW  403-283-3555  http://www.thenakedleaf.ca Organic teas and tea ware.

NRG Support Services

Priape Calgary (CLOSED)

 Suite 27, Building B1, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW

 403-471-0204  780-922-3347  nrg@shaw.ca  http://www.nrgsupportservices.com

 1322 - 17 Ave SW  403-215-1800  http://www.priape.com Clothing and accessories. Adult toys, leather wear, movies and magazines. Gifts.

SafeWorks

Pushing Petals

Free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STI testing.

 1209 5th Ave NW  403-263-3070  http://www.pushingpetals.com

• Calgary Drop-in Centre

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

Services & Products 6th and Tenth - Sales Centre

 633 10th Ave SW  403-239-5511  http://www.6thandtenth.com

 M-W: 12-6pm, R: 2-7pm, S-N: 12-5pm

Barry Hollowell

Calgary Civil Marriage Centre

ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects

 403-294-7402

 http://www.ATPlive.com

Fairytales

Craig Connell (Maxwell Realtors)

See Calgary - Community Groups.

Cruiseline

 Big Secret Theatre - EPCOR CENTRE  403-299-8888  www.oyr.org

 Calgary: 403-777-9494

 Edmonton: 780-413-7122  Other Cities: 1-877-882-2010

www.gaycalgary.com

One Yellow Rabbit--------------------------

EDMONTON Bars & Clubs (Gay) 3 Buddy’s Nite Club------------------------- ✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6636 6 Evolution Wonder Lounge

 10220 - 103 St  780-424-0077  http://www.yourgaybar.com

FLASH (CLOSED)

 10018 105 Street  flashnightclub@hotmail.com

 780-938-2941

UpStares Ultralounge (CLOSED)

 4th Floor, Jasper Ave and 107th Street

4 Woody’s------------------------------------ ✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6557

Bars & Clubs (Mixed) These venues regularly host LGBT events.

Hooliganz Pub (CLOSED)

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

 3379, 11215 Jasper Ave  780-429-5014  http://www.edmontonrba.org Primary focus is the provision of networking opportunities for LGBT owned or operated and LGBT-friendly businesses in the Edmonton region.

Edmonton Illusions Social Club

 780-387-3343

 groups.yahoo.com/group/edmonton_illusions 2 Edmonton STD

 11111 Jasper Ave

Edmonton Vocal Minority

 780-479-2038  www.evmchoir.com

 sing@evmchoir.com

Fellowship of Alberta Bears

 www.beefbearbash.com

GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

 780-474-8240

 tuff@shaw.ca

HIV Network Of Edmonton Society----

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Steamworks------------------------------- ✰

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

Community Groups AltView Foundation

 #44, 48 Brentwood Blvd, Sherwood Park, AB

 403-398-9968  info@altview.ca  http://ww.altview.ca For gender variant and sexual minorities.

Book Worm’s Book Club

 Howard McBride Chapel of Chimes 10179 - 108 Street  bookworm@teamedmonton.ca

✰

 9702 111 Ave NW 780-488-5742  www.hivedmonton.com Provides healthy sexuality education for Edmonton’s LGBT community and support for those infected or affected

by HIV.

 http://www.iscwr.ca

Theatre & Fine Arts

 403-253-5678  http://www.maxwellrealty.com/craigconnell

Webster Galleries Inc.

Edmonton Prime Timers

 edmontonpt@yahoo.ca  www.primetimersww.org/edmonton Group of older gay men and their admirers who come from diverse backgrounds but have common social interests.

Affiliated with Prime Timers World Wide.

8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.

 10229 105 St  info@yellowheadbrewery.com  http://www.yellowheadbrewery.com

Wheel Pro’s

Courtney Aarbo (Barristers & Solicitors)

Vertigo Mystery Theatre--------------------

Edmonton Pride Festival Society (EPFS)

 http://www.edmontonpride.ca

• Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre

 4143- Edmonton Trail NE  403-226-7278  http://www.wheelpros.ca “Experts in Everything for Wheels”

 3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW  403-571-5120  http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca GLBT legal services.

 403-703-4750

 inqueeries@gmail.com Student-run GLBTQ Alliance at MacEwan University.

 403-850-3755  Sat-Thu: 8pm-12am, Fri: 4pm-12am

 403-808-7147

 #3 306 20th Ave SW 

http://www.thirdstreet.ca

Edmonton Expo

 http://www.edmontonexpo.com

7 The Starlite Room

 10030 102 St contact@starliteroom.ca  http://www.starliteroom.ca

• Safeworks Van

Christopher T. Tahn (Thornborough Smeltz)

 11650 Elbow Dr SW  ctahn@thornsmeltz.com  http://www.thornsmeltz.com

Third Street Theatre

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

 10704 124 St NW

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

 403-246-4134 (Rork Hilford)  MarriageCommissioner@shaw.ca Marriage Commissioner for Alberta (aka Justice of the Peace - JP), Marriage Officiant, Commissioner for Oaths.

 Theatre Junction GRAND, 608 1st St. SW  403-205-2922  info@theatrejunction.com  http://www.theatrejunction.com

Buck Naked Boys Club

 780-471-6993  http://www.bucknakedboys.ca Naturism club for men—being social while everyone is naked, and it does not include sexual activity. Participants do not need to be gay, only male.

• Centre of Hope

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

 403-819-5219  http://www.bcbhcounselling.com

✰

 812 11 Ave SW  403-263-6500  http://www.webstergalleries.com

 T-S: 10am-6pm, N: 1-4pm

Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

La Fleur

Theatre Junction------------------------

Hot Water Pools & Spas

 403-355-3335  http://www.interactivemale.com

 403-266-1707 Florist and Flower Shop.

✰

 161, 115 - 9 Ave SE  403-221-3708  http://www.vertigomysterytheatre.com

Interactive Male

Best Health

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

Holiday Retirement

 2145 Summerfield Blvd  403-912-2045  http://www.hotwaterpoolsandspas.ca

 206A 2525 Woodview Dr SW  403-281-5582  besthealthcalgary@hotmail.com  http://www.besthealthcalgary.com

✰

 727 - 42 Avenue SE  403-243-6642  http://www.stagewestcalgary.com

 403-750-1128  www.DBBlaw.com Fellow, American Academy of Reproductive Technology Attorneys

10 Flames Central---------------------------- See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

Pumphouse Theatre--------------------

 2140 Pumphouse Avenue SW  403-263-0079  http://www.pumphousetheatres.ca

InQueeries

Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose

Living Positive Society of Alberta

 #50, 9912 - 106 Street 780-424-2214  living-positive@telus.net  http://www.facebook.com/LivingPoz Living Positive through Positive Living.

• HIV Support Group

 huges@shaw.ca, curtis@optionssexualhealth.ca Support and discussion group for gay men.

Men’s Games Nights

 Unitarian Church (10804 119th Street)

 780-474-8240  tuff@shaw.ca

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.

Pride Centre of Edmonton-------------

✰

 10608 - 105 Ave  780-488-3234  admin@pridecentreofedmonton.org  http://www.pridecentreofedmonton.org

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

57

Directory & Events DOWNTOWN EDMONTON

1

6

8

5 4 3

1 Pride Centre of Edm.---- Community Groups 2 Edmonton STD---------- Community Groups

Edmonton Events Boot Camp------------------------------ 7-8pm See

Team Edmonton

TTIQ------------------------------------- 7-9pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

 3rd

HIV Support Group--------------------- 7-9pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

 2nd

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

Martial Arts---------------------  7:30-8:30pm Team Edmonton

7

3 Buddy’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs 4 Woody’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs

5 Steamworks----------------------Bathhouses 6 Evolution----------------------Bars and Clubs

7 The Starlite Room------------Bars and Clubs 8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.-----Bars and Clubs

Youth Sports/Recreation-----------------  4pm

Women’s Social Circle------------------ 6-9pm

QH Youth Drop-in------------------  2-6:30pm

Counseling----------------------  5:30-8:30pm

Book Club-----------------------------  7:30pm

Monthly Meeting----------------------  2:30pm

Knotty Knitters-------------------------- 6-8pm

Martial Arts---------------------  7:30-8:30pm

QH Craft Night-------------------------- 6-8pm

Intermediate Volleyball--------  7:30-9:30pm

Cycling---------------------------  6:30-7:30pm

Fridays

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See

Tuesdays

See

2

See 1 Youth Understanding Youth

Mondays

N

Team Edmonton

Yoga---------------------------------  7:30-8pm See

Team Edmonton

Thursdays

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See See See

 2nd, 4th

BookWorm’s Book Club

 3rd

Team Edmonton Team Edmonton

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

QH Anime Night------------------------ 6-8pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

Movie Night----------------------------- 6-9pm

Youth Sports/Recreation-----------------  4pm

Men’s Games Nights--------------  7-10:30pm

GLBTQ Bowling------------------  1:30-3:30pm

QH Game Night------------------------ 6-8pm

Youth Sports/Recreation-----------------  4pm

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm

Swim Practice--------------------------- 7-8pm

Saturdays

See

Team Edmonton

See

Wednesdays See

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

Youth Understanding Youth

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See

Team Edmonton

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See See

Men’s Games Nights

Youth Understanding Youth

• TTIQ

• Counselling

 andrea@pridecentreofedmonton.org Women’s Social Circle: A social support group for all female-identified persons over 18 years of age in the GLBT community - new members are always welcome.

Come knit and socialize in a safe and accepting environment - all skill levels are welcome.

• Men Talking with Pride

 robwells780@hotmail.com Support & social group for gay & bisexual men to discuss current issues.

• Movie Night

Movie Night is open to everyone! Come over and sit back, relax, and watch a movie with us.

• Queer HangOUT: Game Night

Come OUT with your game face on and meet some awesome people through board game fun.

• Queer HangOUT: Craft Night

Come OUT and embrace your creative side in a safe space.

• Queer HangOUT: Anime Night

Come and watch ALL the anime until your heart is content.

58

See

Team Edmonton

Sundays See

Team Edmonton

Yoga---------------------------------  2-3:30pm See

Team Edmonton

Men Talking with Pride---------------- 7-9pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

Ballroom Dancing--------------  7:30-8:30pm See

Team Edmonton

Soul Outing-------------------------------  7pm

 Robertson-Wesley United (10209 123 St)

 2nd

Monthly Meetings---------------------  2:30pm  2nd

 2nd

Legend:  = Monthly Reoccurrance,  = Date (Range),  = Sponsored Event

 Tue-Fri 12pm-9pm, Sat 2pm-6:30pm We provide a safe, welcoming, and non-judgemental drop-in space, and offer support programs and resources for members of the GLBTQ community and for their families and friends.

• Knotty Knitters

 2nd

Bowling-----------------------------------  5pm

 Unitarian Church (10804 119th Street) See Edmonton Primetimers

Buck Naked Boys Club

 Edmonton Contd.

 780.488.3234 Free, short-term counselling provided by registered counsellors.

 2nd, Last

Naturalist Gettogether See

By Edmonton Primetimers  Unitarian Church, 10804 - 119th Street

Running------------------------------  10-11am

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm

Swim Practice-------------------  7:30-8:30pm

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

A support and information group for all those who fall under the transgender umbrella and their family or supporters.

• Women’s Social Circle

Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton

 780-474-8240

 tuff@shaw.ca

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.

• Badminton (Mixed)

 St. Thomas Moore School, 9610 165 Street

 coedbadminton@teamedmonton.ca New group seeking male & female players.

• Badminton (Women’s)

 Oliver School, 10227 - 118 Street  780-465-3620

 badminton@teamedmonton.ca

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

Women’s Drop-In Recreational Badminton. $40.00 season or $5.00 per drop in.

• Gymnastics, Drop-in

•Ballroom Dancing

 Foot Notes Dance Studio, 9708-45 Avenue NW  Cynthia: 780-469-3281

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

• Blazin’ Bootcamp

• Hockey

 Garneau Elementary School 10925 - 87 Ave  bootcamp@teamedmonton.ca

 hockey@teamedmonton.ca

• Martial Arts

 Ed’s Rec Room (West Edmonton Mall)

 bowling@teamedmonton.ca $15.00 per person.

 15450 - 105 Ave (daycare entrance)  780-328-6414  kungfu@teamedmonton.ca  kickboxing@teamedmonton.ca Drop-ins welcome.

• Cross Country Skiing

• Outdoor Pursuits

• Bowling (Northern Titans)

 crosscountry@teamedmonton.ca

• Curling with Pride

 Granite Curling Club, 8620 107 Street NW  curling@teamedmonton.ca

• Cycling (Edmonton Prideriders)

 Dawson Park, picnic shelter  cycling@teamedmonton.ca

• Dragon Boat (Flaming Dragons)

 dragonboat@teamedmonton.ca

• Golf

 outdoorpursuits@teamedmonton.ca

• Running (Arctic Frontrunners)

 Kinsmen Sports Centre  running@teamedmonton.ca All genders and levels of runners and walkers are invited to join this free activity.

• Slo Pitch

 Parkallen Field, 111 st and 68 ave  slo-pitch@teamedmonton.ca Season fee is $30.00 per person. $10 discount for players from the 2008 season.

 golf@teamedmonton.ca

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events Red Deer Events Wednesdays

LGBT Coffee Night------------------------  7pm See

CAANS

 1st

Friday, August 15th

 Edmonton Contd.

• Snowballs V

 January 27-29, 2012  snowballs@teamedmonton.ca Skiing and Snowboarding Weekend.

• Soccer

 soccer@teamedmonton.ca

• Spin

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

• Swimming (Making Waves)

 NAIT Pool (11762 - 106 Street)  swimming@teamedmonton.ca  http://www.makingwavesswimclub.ca

• 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, Intermediate

 Amiskiwacy Academy (101 Airport Road)  volleyball@teamedmonton.ca

• Volleyball, Recreational

 Mother Teresa School (9008 - 105 Ave)  recvolleyball@teamedmonton.ca

• Women’s Lacrosse

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

Call for info.

• Yoga

 Lion's Breath Yoga Studio (10350-124 Street)  yoga@teamedmonton.ca

Womonspace

 780-482-1794  womonspace@gmail.com  http://www.womonspace.ca Women’s social group, but all welcome at events.

Youth Understanding Youth

 780-248-1971  www.yuyedm.ca A support and social group for queer youth 12-25.

• Sports and Recreation

 Brendan: 780-488-3234  brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org

Restaurants & Pubs 12 Woody’s------------------------------------ ✰ See Edmonton - Bars & Clubs (Gay).

Retail Stores Passion Vault

 15239 - 111 Ave  780-930-1169  pvault@telus.net “Edmonton’s Classiest Adult Store”

Products & Services Cruiseline

 780-413-7122 trial code 3500  http://www.cruiseline.ca Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

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!

• Soul OUTing

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

• Film Night

 Bi-monthly, contact us for exact dates.

• Book Club

 Monthly, contact us for exact dates.

Theatre & Fine Arts

LETHBRIDGE Community Groups GALA/LA

 356 - 2 Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB  403-527-5882  1-877-440-2437

• Monthly Dances

 M-F, 8:30am - 12:30pm + 1:30pm - 4:30pm

 Henotic (402 - 2 Ave S) Bring your membership card and photo ID.

• Monthly Potluck Dinners

 McKillop United Church, 2329 - 15 Ave S GALA/LA will provide the turkey...you bring the rest. Please bring a dish to share that will serve 4-6 people, and your own beverage.

• Support Line

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

• Friday Mixer

Exposure Festival

The Roxy Theatre

 University of Lethbridge GBLTTQQ club on campus.

 10708 124th Street, Edmonton AB  780-453-2440  http://www.theatrenetwork.ca

BANFF Community Groups HIV Community Link

 102 Spray Ave  PO Box 3160, Banff, AB T1L 1C8  403-762-0690

JASPER Accommodations Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge

 Old Lodge Road  1-866-540-4454  http://www.fairmont.com/jasper

Whistlers Inn

 105 Miette Ave  1-800-282-9919  info@whistlersinn.com  http://www.whistlersinn.com

Community Groups Jasper Pride Festival

 PO Box 98, 409 Patricia St., T0E 1E0

 contact@jasperpride.ca  http://www.jasperpride.ca

Community Groups HIV Community Link

 403-308-2893  http://www.galalethbridge.ca Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge and Area.

 The Mix (green water tower) 103 Mayor Magrath Dr S  Every Friday at 10pm

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

MEDICINE HAT • Telephone Support

ALBERTA Community Groups Alberta Trans Support/Activities Group

 http://www.albertatrans.org A nexus for transgendered persons, regardless of where they may be on the continuum.

Theatre & Fine Arts Alberta Ballet

 http://www.albertaballet.com Frequent productions in Calgary and Edmonton.

Gay & Lesbian Integrity Assoc. (GALIA)

 galia@uleth.ca

• Movie Night

 Room C610, University of Lethbridge

Gay Youth Alliance Group

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

Lethbridge Expo

 http://www.lethbridgeexpo.com

Lethbridge HIV Connection

 1206 - 6 Ave S

PFLAG Canada

 1-888-530-6777

 lethbridgeab@pflagcanada.ca  www.pflagcanada.ca

Pride Lethbridge

 lethbridgepridefest@gmail.com

RED DEER 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.

CANADA Community Groups Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition

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

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, transidentified people and our families.

Products & Services Squirt

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

Theatre & Fine Arts Broadway Across Canada

 http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca

OUTtv

 http://www.outtv.ca GLBT Television Station.

LGBTQ Education

 LGBTQeducation@hotmail.ca  http://LGBTQeducation.webs.com Red Deer (and area) now has a website designed to bring various LGBTQ friendly groups/individuals together for fun, and to promote acceptance in our communities.

Pride on Campus

 rdcprideoncampus@gmail.com A group of LGBTQ persons and Allies at Red Deer College.

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

59

Classifieds Event

140

The Fetish Slosh at the Backlot!

Come on down to the Backlot the 2nd Tuesday of every month for a no-cover Fetish party. Upcoming dates are November 13, December 11th, etc. You can dress up in Leather, Latex, cuffs, collars, or just your skivvies. Have the conversation you like without offending a vanilla in sight. The Backlot supports and promotes the alternative lifestyles of Calgary so feel free to express your KINK!

Wedding/Union

190

Employment

200

Looking to retain a live in butler to take care of household chores and prepare meals, and travel along on weekends.

Compensation is negotiable. Send resume to Emmersonbrando@yahoo.com

Sale

365

Lagotto Romagnolo Puppies...

A What??

Magical Music DJs

Help Wanted

GayCalgary Magazine is looking for salespeople, graphic designers, and writers in Calgary or Edmonton. For more info, contact:

Specializing in LGBT Weddings and Unions.

Everyone deserves the wedding they’ve always dreamed of with the person they love! Call us for a quote today 403.254.9754 Email: magicalmusic@shaw.ca Website: www.magicalmusicdjs.com

McDougall United Church (Edmonton), an Affirming congregation proudly performing same-sex unions or same-sex marriages since 1998. http://www.mcdougallunited.com

Employment

200

Subway Canada located at 725 17 Ave SW Calgary AB is now looking for an experience manager for our busy location.

Minimum of 1 year subway experience required preferably in a supervisory or management position. You will be responsible to supervise the crew doing schedule and payroll inventory and ordering and serving clientele.

Salary is based on 24.75 per hour full time for ideal candidate. To apply please fax resume to 403-798-6170 or email to kevin@ richardsonperez.ca or bring your resume to our store attention Kevin.

Only applicant selected for an interview will be contacted. Please no phone calls.

In spite of being such an ancient breed by the early nineteen seventies it was estimated that there were barely a dozen pure bred Lagotto remaining in Romagna. Fortunately before the breed disappeared entirely a group of Romagnolo comprising breeders, veterinarians and dog lovers decided to rescue their only indigenous breed from extinction The Lagotto is a small/medium-sized dog, well proportioned, squarely built and hardy muscled. The Lagotto’s woolly coat is dense and curly which can be any color except black.

The Lagotto is a working dog and have an instinct for retrieving. It has a natural gift for searching and its very good nose has made this breed very efficient in searching for truffles.

The Lagotto is loyal, keen, affectionate, very attached to his owner and easy to train. It gets on well with other dogs and other pets

Models/Escorts

460

Alberta Escort Listings

magazine@gaycalgary.com 403-543-6960

Sales

240 COLLECTOR’S II

Are you looking for a unique/vintage gift this Christmas. Stop in and browse COLLECTOR’S II Located at 1005a 1 Street S.W. ph. 403-278-6446

Internet Thought to be the most ancient and the possible ancestor of all the water dogs, the Lagotto is distinguished by his curly, water resistant coat. Since Etruscan times (7th Century BC) this little breed of duck retriever has existed as a distinct type of dog in the vast marshlands of Romagna in northeastern Italy.

240

445

www.ABS-Hosting.com Make your mark on the Web... Create a blog, register a domain, build you personal website at www.abs-hosting.com

Erotic Massage

420

UltimateMaleMassage.com

Check out www.Squirt.org for the Hot Escorts in Calgary, Edmonton, and the rest of Alberta.

New Improved Features. Free to Post and Browse. Videos, Pics, and Reviews. Join Now! Code: GCEE

Products/Services 500 Rork Hilford MC

Officiant - Marriage Commissioner Commissioner for Oaths in Alberta WEDDINGS AND MARRIAGES at your venue or in my home studio.

Destination Location Style • Elopement Style • Quick and Legal • Formal or Stylish • Immediate or in the Future • Religion Free • Standard or Customized Ceremonies • Cross Cultural • Same Sex - LGBT-TTQ hilford@shaw.ca • 403-246-4134

Best Erotic Male Massage In Calgary.

Studio with free parking. Deep Tissue and Relaxation. Licensed, Professional.

Video on website. 403-680-0533

Certified Personal Trainer

mike@ultimatemalemassage.com

A perfect companion • This breed sheds no hair.

• Happy disposition.

• Loyal, keen, and affectionate.

• Intelligent and willing.

• A rare and ancient breed

Upcoming wedding/event/trip/class reunion?

If you want to look/feel better, increase your strength/endurance/flexibility, I CAN HELP YOU! call/text me 4038263305 or email me j_d_short@hotmail.com

Casa di Mia http://www.Exclusivelylagotto.ca

Ads starting at $10/mo. for the first 20 words. Submit yours at http://www.gaycalgary.com/classifieds 60

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

Consulting

527

Want to attract the LGBT local or traveler to your business?

It’s not about special treatment. You can’t assume the LGBT person, or the straight person will follow the pack anymore. The LGBT market is becoming more and more aware of what organizations support them, and which ones don’t, ultimately sending them away from businesses and communities that do not recognize them or their lifestyle. Does your staff need LGBT sensitivity training? Want to attract the market but unsure how to proceed?

Local, Domestic, International, We can assist.

Check us out at http://blueflameventures.ca, Email us at info@blueflameventures.ca, Call us at 604-369-1472. Based in Alberta.

www.gaycalgary.com

Photography

572

Hire an Amateur Photographer Need new photos? Want something for LinkedIn, Facebook, holiday cards? Personal, couples, share-able or adult - no limits, you retain all rights. Creative Queer photographer, cheap rates. photo@chaoticwow.ca

Bookkeeping

Cleaning

517

GET A LIFE! Commercial Cleaning

537 Does your business need a professional cleaner? Steve is bonded/Insured. Flexible prices and brings all his own supplies. Steve is a part of the LGBT Community and has been cleaning for over 5 years in Calgary.

(403)200-7384 getalifecleaner@gmail.com www.getalifecleaner.com www.facebook.com/getalifecleaner

Accommodation

610

2 Rooms For Rent In A PrivateErin Woods SE--20 Mints. From DT! Move Today And Do Not Pay Till Dec 1st. Rent includes cable TV, wireless internet, utilities, and Hot Summer? Not a problem because, this house has a brand new central AC Plus a house cleaner scheduled every two weeks. 2 Rooms for singles rent: $680 includes uncovered parking spot (300 Damage Deposit) & The 2nd Room is $650 (300 Damage Deposit) Street parking. Must be NON-SMOKERS. 403-7148174 Text to schedule viewing! Thanks

Scan below to view Classified Ads Online!

Crunch Accounting offers accounting and bookkeeping services to small businesses in the Calgary area. We offer competitive rates and exceptional service. Visit us at www. crunchaccounting.ca for more information or call 403 629-7677.

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #134, December 2014/January 2015

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