OUT March 2017 by Pride Media

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CONTENTS MARCH 2017

Fo r e g r o u n d 17. BALLROOOM: THE NEXT GENERATION Twiggy Pucci Garçon and the glory of Kiki 20. THE GAY AGENDA The 12 things in pop culture you should be talking about right now 27-30. TRENDING Windbreakers, stripes, and why pink is the new black 32 . MOOD BOARD James Dean, king of cool 34. GROOMING Skin care for every age

Fe a t u r e s 64. FANTASTIC FOUR A new crew of actors on what makes them tick. Photography by Miranda Penn Turin 74. HUSTLE AND FLOW At 85, queer iconoclast John Rechy has released his most revealing book yet. 80. ALL ACCESS Tom Atwood captures more than 160 LGBT Americans in their homes. 90. A MOONLIGHT REVOLUTION Trevante Rhodes and the black queer indie film that became a cinematic landmark

Fa s h io n 100. TEASE Chasing down Miami’s hottest youth. Photography by David Roemer. Styling by Christopher Campbell 112. DILF Nine gay men who prove that aging is sexy. Photography by Jack Pierson. Styling by Grant Woolhead

Trevante Rhodes photographed by Blair Getz Mezibov. Styling by Grant Woolhead.

Sweater and pants by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture

36. FITNESS Get big without feeling huge. 38. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH The new New Orleans 44. KITCHEN 411 Turkish food’s slow takeover 45. LIQUIDITY Let’s have a tiki.

S y m p o s iu m 47. WISHFUL KINKING Could a high-fashion fascination mean the end for fetishwear? 53. POSITIVE VOICES Pamela I. Sneed on America’s “state of emergency” 54. THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA Battling LGBT censorship 58. ARMOND WHITE’S MOVIES Mr. Belvedere, manny legend 60. LIKE A VIRGIN Kim Chi, living single 62. ALMODÓVAR’S STUDS Inside Pedro’s man menagerie

S u r ve i l l a nc e 123. I MARRIED A ROBOT An Out guide to home gadgets

DEPARTMENTS 10. Editor’s Letter 14. Contributors and Feedback 127. Store Info 128. 1,000 Words The man behind Moonlight recalls the pain of his youth. ON THE COVER: Trevante Rhodes photographed by Blair Getz Mezibov for Out. Styling by Grant Woolhead. Tank top by Calvin Klein. Jacket and pants by Bottega Veneta

MARCH 2017. Volume 25, Number 7 Out (ISSN 1062-7928) is published monthly except for double issues in December/January and June/July by Here Publishing Inc., P.O. Box 241579, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Telephone: (310) 806-4288. Entire contents © 2012 Here Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproductions in whole or in part without express permission of the publisher are strictly prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rate: $19.95 per year (10 issues). Annual subscription rate outside the U.S.: $54, payable in U.S. currency only. Postmaster: Send changes of address to Out magazine, P.O. Box 5236, New York, NY 10185. Out is distributed to newsstands by Curtis Circulation Co. Printed in the United States of America.

Aaron Hicklin Editor in Chief EDITORIAL

Jason Lamphier Executive Editor R. Kurt Osenlund Managing Editor Les Fabian Brathwaite Senior Editor Justin Moran Managing Editor, Digital Brandon Presser Travel Editor Julien Sauvalle, Chadwick Moore, Zachary Stafford Editors at Large Michael Lambert Weekend Editor Dennis Hinzmann, Glenn Garner, Hilton Dresden Assistant Editors Joseph McCombs Copy Editor Shana Naomi Krochmal, Michael Musto, Thomas Rom, Armond White Contributing Editors ART

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PE R R Y E L L IS

C OM

M A R C H

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Beauty and the Beast LET’S TAKE A MOMENT to remind ourselves that we live in glorious times. Yes, we have Trump to contend with, and we may soon pay a catastrophic price for his election, but in putting together this issue, I was struck again and again not by what we stand to lose, but by what we have gained. At a time when our political culture has turned deeply cynical, art is reaffirming its position as a locus for connection, dignity, and humanity. To appreciate the ways in which art illuminates and magnifies stories long marginalized or made invisible, you need only look at the extraordinary success of Moonlight (page 90), a movie with a black queer man at its center, or the upcoming documentary Kiki (page 17), which revisits the drag scene and voguing balls immortalized in Paris Is Burning—but with a more acute sense of the political imperatives. And this isn’t only occurring in Western culture. In China (page 54), the best efforts of the censors could not stop Go Princess Go, a show in which a contemporary man wakes up in ancient times as a woman, from being watched 2.6 billion times before being pulled from the Web. Art like this has the power to change hearts and souls. Dig out the 1975 British TV movie The Naked Civil Servant, a biopic of the life of queer icon Quentin Crisp, and you’ll appreciate the unique ability of film and TV to challenge entrenched ideas and prejudices. That was more than 40 years ago—on mainstream, commercial television no less. It has taken too long for Hollywood to train the same lens on the lives of black men and women, but there is a sense that all that we have today rests on the shoulders of what came before. Reading Tarell Alvin McCraney’s personal music playlist (page 99), replete with songs by Mahalia Jackson and Nina Simone, is to remind ourselves that culture grows out of itself, each moment ceding to the next. Nina Simone had to be brave every time she stepped on stage to sing. Beyoncé is brave in a different way, but it’s musicians like Simone and Jackson, among many, many others, who helped make today’s progress possible. Likewise, in his cover story on the phenomenon of Moonlight, Out’s senior editor, Les Fabian Brathwaite, reflects on the sparse history of black queer men in film, but concludes with a powerful encomium to what he describes as last year’s “thrilling renaissance of black culture and black identity,” from Beyoncé’s fearless Super Bowl performance to Paul Beatty’s Booker Prize–winning novel, The Sellout. “This renaissance will continue because it has to,” he writes. “Art flourishes in the harshest of climates.” In many ways, of course, this cultural revolution is why Trump is now desecrating the White House—a last-ditch effort by him and his cronies to turn back the march of progress, to

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At a time when our political culture has turned deeply cynical, art is reaffirming its position as a locus for connection, dignity, and humanity... In many ways, of course, this cultural revolution is why Trump is now desecrating the White House. reshape the world anew in their ugly, bullying image. His head-to-head with Meryl Streep was a vivid illustration of an old-new dynamic, much like Voldemort battling (gay) Dumbledore. To quote Newton’s Third Law (and why not), every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The more Trump gnashes and howls, the more he energizes a resistance movement. The tyranny of social media may have provided Trump with a megaphone through which to amplify his lies, but long after that medium has collapsed under its own toxic weight, movies like Moonlight, as with the songs of Nina Simone or the works of James Baldwin, will be with us still, stirring lessons in all that’s good and compassionate and true in human nature. Great art like this grows out of pain, but it comes back to us all as beauty. AARON HICKLIN, Editor in Chief

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KAI Z FENG

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MARCH 2017

FEEDBACK

MIRANDA PENN TURIN

Love on the Brain

Photographer Miranda Penn Turin received her first Polaroid camera when she was 6. Now, the Bostonian triple threat also writes and directs. Shooting the young actors in our “Fantastic Four” feature (page 64) evoked memories of her childhood heartthrobs. “I was obsessed with Omar Sharif,” she says. “and just how beautiful he was.”

BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV Mezibov captures his subjects with an intimate eye and a fervent energy. He’s photographed Colton Haynes and David Gandy for recent Out covers, and for this issue’s cover, he shot Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes (page 90). “Trevante’s smile is so infectious,” Mezibov says. “His spirit is great, as is his humility and humor.” Mezibov’s work has also appeared in GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, and The New York Times.

JONATHAN PARKS-RAMAGE Parks-Ramage has been writing since he was 5, when he finished his first book, fully illustrated with crayon. Now, he writes for Vice, Refinery29, and W on topics like BDSM culture, cancer, and Chris Pine’s hair. In this issue, he profiled 85-year-old author John Rechy (page 74), whose new book, After the Blue Hour, explores the intersection between identity, power, and desire.

JOSHUA GLASS The editor for Document Journal and Essential Homme has also written for BlackBook and High Snobiety. In this issue, he takes on high-end fetishwear and the threats it poses to kink traditions (page 47). “I’m not sure I would ever buy Dior for my own bedroom,” he says, “but I find excitement in the idea of luxury brands unbuttoning their collars (and pants) to spawn something that’s usually so hushhush in their world.”

M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

It’s hard to imagine being in a relationship that’s subject to scrutiny from the start. But for the cover-star couples of Out’s February Love Issue—Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli, and Gus Kenworthy and Matt Wilkas— being in love in the spotlight has been par for the course. When one relationship begins after a straight divorce (Wiley and Morelli), and another shortly after one partner comes out on the cover of ESPN magazine (Kenworthy and Wilkas), people notice. After Wiley and Morelli, who met on the set of Orange Is the New Black, opened up about their endearing proposal in Out, the internet gushed. The Huffington Post echoed our own sentiment about the couple’s story, saying it would hit you “right in the feels.” And Cosmopolitan may have summed up the put-a-ring-on-it moment best by simply declaring, “proposal goals.” While Kenworthy and Wilkas are at a different stage in their relationship, the pair’s first tearyeyed “I love you” had readers longing for a similar intimate experience. Writing on Facebook, Matthew Boyd described their story like this: “Heartbreaking and rejuvenating. Exhilarating and resolute. Beautiful and human.” We say “yes” to all of the above—now someone pass the tissues.

Unpacking Gay OCD

If you want a quick way to spark a debate within the LGBT community, mention sexual orientation in the same sentence as a mental disorder. And yet, while the correlation between homosexuality and mental illness once prompted decades of psychological persecution, in rare modern cases, it can engender progressive educational dialogue, as demonstrated by our February feature on homosexual obsessive-

compulsive disorder. The bluntest, most negative comments on stories will often stand out (like a response on Facebook from Daniel Payne, who dismissed the entire article as “bullshit”), but readers willing to candidly discuss their own stories and struggles can put things into perspective. “With OCD you can get stuck in ridiculously random obsessions that make absolutely no sense,” wrote Dustin-Lee Casey, another Facebook user who says he’s been diagnosed with OCD for 20 years. “It’s very plausible to get stuck on an obsession of, ‘Am I gay or am I not?’ ” Another reader, Casper Dot, found herself on the fence about the topic, but she sympathized with those who suffer. “This is why we need to normalize LGBTQ+,” she said. “Look at these people—so afflicted by worry and doubt [about being gay] that they start obsessing over it.”

WRITE TO OUT

Email: OUT-Letters@out.com When writing to Out please include your name, address, height, eye color, a detailed chart of your sexual history, and a daytime telephone number for confirmation. Please note that all letters and email become the property of Out and may be edited for space and clarity. Because of the heavy volume of reader mail, we are unable to acknowledge letters that we do not publish.

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FOREGROUND

Incoming

Ballroom: The Next Generation TWIGGY PUCCI GARÃ&#x2021;ON AND THE GLORY OF KIKI BY BRIAN SCHAEFER PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL SEUNG LEE

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Gia Marie Love, Chi Chi Mizrahi, and Kenneth “Symba McQueen” Soler-Rios. It also examines the personal hurdles and harsh realities these subjects have confronted. What’s remarkable about Kiki, arriving nearly three decades after Paris, is how much things have changed (same-sex marriage, trans visibility, a spruced-up Christopher Street Pier) and also how much they have stayed the same for queer people of color, too many of whom remain victims of bigotry and violence. “This autonomous culture that’s nearly a century old has managed to stay alive and well through the drug crisis, the HIV and AIDS crisis, and several presidential crises,” says Garçon. “It continues to stand on its own as a safe, affirming space for people when they don’t have anywhere else to go, to exist.” A noticeable difference between Paris and Kiki is the vocal, urgent activism depicted in the latter. The kiki generation “will not stop until they have real political power,” says Jordenö, who’d worked in political, communitybased art until she lost faith in activism. Making Kiki restored her faith. “It’s activism and this amazing art form all at once,” she says.

Jordenö and Garçon met in 2012, when Jordenö was involved in a project with FACES, an HIV and AIDS service organization in Harlem where Garçon worked at the time. “Although we’re vastly different, her being a woman from Sweden and me being a cis black man from Virginia, energetically we meshed really well,” Garçon says. They’d both struggled with sexuality and religion: “We connected around a lot of the hardest parts of our lives.” Following the success of Paris, that film’s director, Jennie Livingston, faced criticism from the ballroom community for telling a story about them, rather than with them. Kiki’s creators made a conscious decision to produce a collaborative film. “I was welcomed because they saw very quickly that I was not going to come in, film, and leave,” Jordenö says. “I was in it for the long haul.” Now, after four years of filming, Kiki will open in theaters this spring—a feat that has brought Garçon peace. “Creating this film helped me heal and come to terms with a bunch of different things,” says Garçon. “My relationship with my father, my relationship with my mother, who and how I am in the world. How I show up.”

S T Y L I N G BY M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : A N G E L A D I C A R LO. P H OTO G R A P H E D AT T R I B E C A J O U R N A L S T U D I O I N N E W YO R K

IN THE ICONIC FILM Paris Is Burning, about the thriving 1980s Harlem ballroom scene, young, gay men of color vogue on New York’s dingy Christopher Street Pier in front of cement barriers tagged with graffiti and surrounded by trash. In the new documentary Kiki, young, queer people of color vogue near that same spot, only now it’s landscaped with paved paths, ample lighting, and strollers—the backyard of the swanky West Village. The contrast is striking, a metaphor for a community that has since attained a degree of acceptance and exposure. It would be unfair to call Kiki a sequel to 1990’s Paris Is Burning, but it’s clearly a descendant. (Like its predecessor, Kiki premiered to acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.) The film, which Sara Jordenö directed and co-wrote with Twiggy Pucci Garçon, follows seven members of New York’s kiki scene (including Garçon) as they compete in balls, struggle with familial relationships, and navigate their sometimes shifting identities. A “community portrait” is how Garçon describes it. “Our goal is for the world to know that ballroom has something to say, and that the world can really learn from this culture, this community that we created for ourselves,” says Garçon, sitting in the midtown Manhattan offices of the True Colors Fund, an organization to tackle LGBT homelessness, of which he is an associate program director. The kiki scene is a relatively new youth-led component of the larger ballroom scene; the Gay Men’s Health Crisis started it a dozen years ago to provide health and housing information and resources to communities disproportionately affected by homelessness, HIV, and AIDS. Members typically “age out” of the kiki scene into the mainstream ballroom scene at the age of 24, though many stay involved. Like Paris, Jordanö and Garçon’s film seduces with stunning outfits, ferocious dance moves, throbbing music, and memorable subjects like

“This autonomous culture that’s nearly a century old has managed to stay alive and well through the drug crisis, the HIV and AIDS crisis, and several presidential crises.”

T H E G AY A G E N DA

12 T H I N G S YO U S H O U L D B E TA L K I N G A B O U T R I G H T N OW

RILEY KEOUGH’S REBEL HEART

WITH LOVESONG, THE ACTRESS CONTINUES HER MISSION TO MAKE NICHE THEMES THE NORM. When Riley Keough was 9, her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, invited her to a party attended by Marilyn Manson, her favorite musician at the time. It was late, but Keough popped out of bed and was taken by car to hang with the shock rocker. “Everyone I grew up around was an artist,” says the actress, now 27. “There were a lot of crazy times.” As one might expect, Keough’s upbringing helped shape her into a devoted nonconformist; her résumé is filled with queer-slanted, sex-positive roles. She appeared in the lesbianwerewolf romance Jack & Diane, plays a sexually fluid escort in the Starz series The Girlfriend Experience, and is now starring opposite Jena Malone in the tender indie Lovesong, about two female friends whose on-again/off-again attraction fuels the film like a gentle heartbeat. Keough’s performance in Lovesong is an intimate showcase for her nuanced talents—a far cry from her turn in Mad Max: Fury Road, in which she played a more common-variety rebel. “I’m attracted to things that are going to move our society forward,” she says. “I want to make these projects just as normal as any other project.” While some will view Lovesong as slightly regressive, its lead pair’s union hindered, perhaps, by a pressure to conform to heterosexual marriage, its embrace of free-flowing love is in keeping with Keough’s artistic goals. “When someone tells me something is risky just because society made it that way,” she says, “I want to break through that.” R. KURT OSENLUND

2. Emily Dickinson—Such a Miranda In A Quiet Passion, Cynthia Nixon is pure poetry. If you’re worried you’ll sleep your way through Terence Davies’s new Emily Dickinson biopic, A Quiet Passion, don’t be. There’s something for everyone in this lyrical little gem. Period-piece diehards will delight in the endless parade of lacy collars, flounces, and parasols. Looking for a different kind of shade? The dialogue is loaded with crackling Victorian burns. And for anyone else, there’s Cynthia Nixon, whose deft portrayal of the Belle of Amherst illuminates the inner struggles of one of the most celebrated literary geniuses of all time. Most of the film was shot in a replica of the Dickinson family home in Massachusetts, where the reclusive poet spent most of her days, but it hardly feels small. Nixon’s childlike, often abrasive performance brings Dickinson’s steadfast beliefs on truth, fame, and morality to life—and offers a strong rebuttal to one of her most self-effacing lines: “A posthumous reputation is only for those who, when living, weren’t worth remembering.” MIKE BERLIN 2 0 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

3-6.

Trainspotting’s Greatest Hits

Twenty years after Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting rocked the indie film world, Rent Boy, Sick Boy, and their lovably depraved mates have returned for T2 Trainspotting. In light of the sequel, we reflect on four priceless gifts the original gave us. RKO DANNY BOYLE’S COOL RUNNINGS Whether fleeing zombies in London (28 Days Later) or zipping through a labyrinth of shacks in Mumbai (Slumdog Millionaire), the director’s characters are always hauling ass. The film’s kinetic opener, a cat-and-mouse with Edinburgh cops, started it all. A NEW “LUST FOR LIFE” Boyle’s use of the 1977 Iggy Pop classic didn’t just underscore the film’s dope-driven story line—it resurrected the song for a new generation. EWAN MCGREGOR— ALL OF HIM Trainspotting introduced the world to every inch of the Scottish actor, now considered the king of the cinematic peen scene (see: Velvet Goldmine, Young Adam, etc.). A TIMELESS TOILET Psycho changed the way we look at showers, but the sequence in which McGregor goes diving for heroin suppositories did a number (two, to be exact) on our views of the porcelain throne.

C O U R T E S Y O F S T R A N D R E L E A S I N G ( LOV E S O N G ) . © A Q U I E T PA S S I O N / H U R R I C A N E F I L M S / C O U R T E S Y O F M U S I C B OX F I L M S ( N I XO N ). C O U R T E S Y O F S O N Y P I T U R E S ( T 2 T R A I N S P O OT I N G

Riley Keough (left) and Jena Malone

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Glick, Ready to Mingle

S T Y L I N G BY M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : A N G E L A D I C A R LO. S H I R T BY H E R M È S

7. Gideon

“ARE YOU SINGLE? Are you lonely?” asks Gideon Glick in Significant Other, now premiering at Broadway’s Booth Theatre after a rapturously reviewed off-Broadway run. Written by Joshua Harmon, the show follows Jordan, a 29-year-old single, lonely gay man (Glick) who finds himself infatuated with an ambiguous colleague and left behind as his gal pals disappear into a deluge of bridal showers and rehearsal dinners. Its riotous dialogue— about the woes of dating in the modern, digital world—strikes the same bittersweet nerve Annie Hall did 40 years ago. “It was the first time I read a play where I thought, This is how people talk,” says Glick. “I texted my best friend immediately and said, ‘Look, it’s us!’ ” In real life the actor, a veteran of Spring Awakening, is about to move in with his doctor boyfriend, but he still had a deep well of experience to tap into. Says Glick, “I had five good years of yearning, and striving to find a relationship, and not being able to find the right fit, and coming to the conclusion that maybe it won’t happen ever again.” Who hasn’t been there? Significant Other is that rare thing, hilariously specific but universal at almost every turn. “When I read [the script] I thought, This is me—and I had thought I was so alone,” says Glick. “But what’s amazing is that I’d leave the stage door [during the off-Broadway run], and all these people— gay, straight, male, female, young, old—would tell me, ‘This is me.’ There’s nothing more thrilling than that.” MICHAEL MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL SEUNG LEE

F O R E G R O U N D T H E G AY AG E N DA

DANIEL LISMORE’S COFFEE-TABLE CANDY

Alynda Segarra’s Ziggy Stardust Moment 8.

The Hurray for the Riff Raff singer on alter egos and owning her otherness Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra admits she’s always late. It was only two years ago that she properly listened to David Bowie’s epic 1972 concept album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Fast-forward to 2017, and the record is the foundation for her celebrated group’s sixth album, The Navigator, an LP that coasts on Americana grooves accented by souldipped vocals and some of Segarra’s strongest songwriting.

The Navigator plays in classic Bowie fashion, following an imaginary protagonist named Navita Milagros Negrón who grows up in New York as an outcast coming to terms with her ancestry. Despite their roots in fantasy, the songs are a direct reflection of Segarra’s own past: She left her native Bronx at the age of 17 to hop freight trains across the country before settling in New Orleans and finding her voice as a queer Puerto Rican woman. “Navi is queer and part of this underground DIY culture and one of the street kids, which was my experience in my youth, and still is now,” says Segarra, referencing tracks like the teeth-baring “Hungry Ghost.” She adds, “I feel like queerness is always a part of my music, like it’s the lens that I see the world in.” Now, after creating her fictional persona, she believes she’s finally ahead of the curve. “Sometimes you have to do it yourself because no one’s going to represent you,” Segarra says. “I came out of this feeling a lot more in touch with who I was—and more powerful.” STEVEN J. HOROWITZ

Daniel Lismore is a walking piece of art. His florid ensembles—a mix of found objects and fashion—billow from his body like mobile curiosity shops. But in his recent traveling exhibition and its accompanying new book—both titled Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken—the English artist has let his creations stand still so that onlookers can gawk at every meticulously layered, extravagantly adorned detail. With photography by Colin Douglas Gray and a foreword by Paula Wallace (president of the Savannah College of Art and Design, where the exhibition debuted), Lismore’s first tome is at once gothic and kaleidoscopic. Yet despite its lavish depiction of his limitless obsessions, it’s just a snapshot—a glimpse of a life almost entirely devoted to outré couture. From peacock plumes to animal tusks, from an ode to geishas to a Warhol homage complete with a soup-can headpiece, the looks in Be Yourself paint Lismore as a marvel who’s scoured the earth to dress up his world. R. KURT OSENLUND

9. Jens Lekman, Lyrical Guru In Jens Lekman’s 2007 song “A Postcard to Nina,” a narrator must pretend to be his lesbian friend’s boyfriend for a dinner with her uptight father. Lies are told; legs are kicked under the table. “I’m doing my best, can you pass the figs?” sings Lekman. The Swedish oddball’s genre-hopping new album, Life Will See You Now, is filled with similarly charming vignettes. “Hotwire the Ferris Wheel” trails a couple as they break into a fairground one night to shake off the blues. In “Wedding in Finistère,” a musician comforts a cigarette-puffing bride-to-be who worries that marriage will mark the end of her youth. But the highlight is “How Can I Tell Him,” a tale of two pals on a train and a touching commentary on the vulnerability and homophobia that keeps men from truly getting close. In moments like this, Lekman argues that the meaning of life lies in its riskiest, most valuable offering: human connection. JASON LAMPHIER 2 2 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

C O U R T E S Y S A R R A H DA N Z I G E R ( S E G A R R A ). C O U R T E S Y E L L I K A H E N R I K S O N ( L E K M A N ). © DA N I E L L I S M O R E : B E YO U R S E L F, E V E RYO N E E L S E I S A L R E A DY TA K E N , S K I R A R I Z Z O L I , 2 0 1 7. I M AG E S © C O L I N D O U G L A S G R AY

10.

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11.

(Wander)Lust for Life

Waris Ahluwalia meets the Kooples.

C O U R T E S Y K E V I N O H A N A ( A H LU WA L I A ) . C O U R T E S Y R A F S I M O N S

“I don’t know how many countries I visited last year, or how many flights I took,” says Waris Ahluwalia, the always dapper Sikh IndianAmerican designer and actor who makes New York his home during breaks from his hectic travel schedule. A member of the extended Wes Anderson family (see: The Life Aquatic, The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel), Ahluwalia has now drawn on his picaresque voyages for a romantic collaboration with Raphael, Alexandre, and Laurent Elicha, the brothers behind the Kooples, a French fashion house with an unabashedly rock ’n’ roll sensibility. The siblings, who split their roles—Laurent designs womenswear, Alexandre does the menswear, and Raphael oversees branding—had the good fortune of growing up with fashion scions for parents, and they can tell childhood tales of playing with Jean Paul Gaultier and enjoying family dinners in Toulouse with Michael Jackson. Alexandre describes his influence as “the Velvet Underground meets Baudelaire meets My Own Private Idaho,” but for the trio’s new line with Ahluwalia, they abandoned the Kooples’ signature skinny

pants for relaxed silhouettes and soft fabrics (think silky Bermuda shorts and tunic shirts) and a fantasia of Asian prints in terra-cotta, burgundy, and indigo blue. “It’s a collection inspired by Asian travel, from India to Japan,” says Alexandre. “We’re known for a slim fit, but we wanted to do something different.” For Ahluwalia, who was honored last year by New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, with a day dedicated in his name, the collection’s strength lies in its versatility—its pieces are equally comfortable worn around the house as they are out to dinner. “I didn’t want to change the rock ’n’ roll vibe the brothers have created,” he says. “I just wanted to add a little playfulness. When I think of rock, the first thing that comes to my mind is living by your own rules, creating your own path.” In his life, that path stretches across oceans and continents on journeys that are as much internal as external. “You can open up a lot as you meet other people and learn about other cultures,” Ahluwalia says. “As you’re passing through borders, they change and define you. If you’re sitting on the same corner looking at the same view, you’re only going to discover so much about yourself.” AARON HICKLIN

Waris Ahluwalia

12. Mapplethorpe, For Your Closet

Raf Simons pays tribute to the late artist’s soft—and hard—aesthetic. Before he stunned the fashion industry with his move from Christian Dior to Calvin Klein, Belgian designer Raf Simons staged a spring–summer 2017 runway show for his namesake label at Pitti Uomo, the Florence-based menswear event. There, he introduced a jaw-dropping collection dedicated entirely to the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, integrating some of his most famous work into a ready-to-wear line that glorified the artist’s leather fetish and bohemian style. The

best part: Simons didn’t shy away from Mapplethorpe’s X-rated material—like an image of an erect penis, which he embossed on the back of a red jacket. (Tamer pieces featured Mapplethorpe’s floral still lifes and portraits of Patti Smith, his longtime friend and muse.) Following the big reveal, Simons told Vogue he shelved earlier concepts for original designs after he received an email from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation suggesting a collaboration. The result: wearable Mapplethorpe that lives up to the lensman’s provocative legacy—and one brilliantly irreverent, slightly less wearable take on the Members Only jacket. JULIEN SAUVALLE O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 2 3

YOU MATTER AND SO DOES YOUR HEALTH That’s why starting and staying on HIV-1 treatment is so important.

What is DESCOVY ?

What are the other possible side effects of DESCOVY?

DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years and older. DESCOVY is not for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. DESCOVY combines 2 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day. Because DESCOVY by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1, it must be used together with other HIV-1 medicines.

Serious side effects of DESCOVY may also include:

DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking DESCOVY. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body ﬂuids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body ﬂuids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about DESCOVY? DESCOVY may cause serious side effects: •

Buildup of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

•

Serious liver problems. The liver may become large and fatty. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turning yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; light-colored bowel movements (stools); loss of appetite; nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area.

•

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking DESCOVY for a long time. In some cases, lactic acidosis and serious liver problems have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

•

Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without ﬁrst talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

•

Changes in body fat, which can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines.

•

Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to ﬁght infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking DESCOVY.

•

Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking DESCOVY if you develop new or worse kidney problems.

•

Bone problems, such as bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

The most common side effect of DESCOVY is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away. What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking DESCOVY? •

All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

•

All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how DESCOVY works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take DESCOVY with all of your other medicines.

•

If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if DESCOVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking DESCOVY.

•

If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/ medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Please see Important Facts about DESCOVY, including important warnings, on the following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if an HIV-1 treatment that contains DESCOVY® is right for you.

IMPORTANT FACTS (des-KOH-vee)

This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY

DESCOVY may cause serious side effects, including:

DESCOVY can cause serious side effects, including:

• Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Those in the “Most Important Information About DESCOVY” section. • Changes in body fat. • Changes in your immune system. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. • Bone problems.

• Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; loss of appetite; light-colored bowel movements (stools); nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area. • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking DESCOVY. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without ﬁrst talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months. You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking DESCOVY or a similar medicine for a long time.

ABOUT DESCOVY • DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older. DESCOVY is not for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

The most common side effect of DESCOVY is nausea. These are not all the possible side eﬀects of DESCOVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with DESCOVY.

BEFORE TAKING DESCOVY Tell your healthcare provider if you:

• Have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. • Have any other medical condition. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-thecounter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY.

GET MORE INFORMATION HOW TO TAKE DESCOVY • DESCOVY is a one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine that is taken with other HIV-1 medicines. • Take DESCOVY with or without food.

• This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. • Go to DESCOVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com for program information.

DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GILC0265 10/16

S T Y L I N G BY: M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : C A I T L I N WO OT E R S U S I N G KO H G E N D O. M O D E L : DA N I E L O H AT R E D M O D E L M A N AG E M E N T

Foreground TRENDING

Breaking News As the frostiness of winter gives way to the crispness of spring, it’s sometimes hard to weather the winds of change. It’s too soon for short sleeves, and wearing a sweater for another month seems unbearable. And then there’s the rain. Even the most adaptable man can end up feeling over- or underdressed. Enter the windbreaker, a once kitschy, now cool-again piece of outerwear literally designed to block those lingering winds. Updated takes on this featherweight jacket run the gamut, from the super-light to the slightly thicker to the downright flashy. Pick your favorite, and save the chill for those Netflix nights. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JACKET, $1,925, AND SWEATER, $825, BY VERSACE; SHORTS BY ROBERT GELLER, $393; SANDALS BY LOUIS VUITTON, $1,070. COAT BY CALVIN KLEIN, $228; JACKET, $250, AND SHORTS, PRICE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST, BY PERRY ELLIS. JACKET AND SHIRT, PRICES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST, AND PANTS, $190, BY PERRY ELLIS; SANDALS BY SALVATORE FERRAGAMO, $680. JACKET, $2,550, VEST, $640, TURTLENECK, $600, AND PANTS, $640, BY PRADA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC WHITE

O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 2 7

Fine Lines Evoking everything from Mondrian paintings to the classic Parisian striped tee, this spring’s funkiest pieces are literally lining up to enhance your style. Though stripes have been outfit staples for generations, the bold new way to wear them—as shown in recent collections—is to mix widths and even directions to suit your dimensions. Turns out the shortest distance between two points is also the most on-point look of the season. THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SWEATER BY GUCCI, $950. COAT, $2,370, AND PANTS, $1,000, BY SALVATORE FERRAGAMO; TANK TOP BY 3.1 PHILLIP LIM, $295. POLO, $69.50, PANTS, $98, AND

28 MARCH 2017 OUT

SHOES, $98, BY CALVIN KLEIN. SWEATER BY HERMÈS, $1,200; PANTS BY FENDI, $500. OPPOSITE PAGE: SWEATER, $225, PANTS, $195, AND SHOES, $99.50, BY TOMMY HILFIGER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC WHITE

S T Y L I N G BY: M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : C A I T L I N WO OT E R S U S I N G C H A N E L C O S M E T I C S . M O D E L : D O R I E N O AT FO R D M O D E L M A N AG E M E N T

Foreground TRENDING

S T Y L I N G BY M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : C X X X X

COAT BY TOMMY HILFIGER, $799

COAT BY COACH 1941, $1,600

O U T F E B R U A R Y 2 0 17 2 3

TKTKTKTK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC WHITE

S T Y L I N G BY: M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : C A I T L I N WO OT E R S U S I N G A M I K A A N D M AC C O S M E T I C S . M O D E L : LU C A J A M A L AT S O U L A R T I S T M A N AG M E N T

Foreground TRENDING

Pretty in Pink When Brooks Brothers unveiled its pink polo in the 1940s, the smallest sizes went flying off the racks— because women were buying them. (In response, the menswear brand collaborated with Vogue to create a version just for the ladies.) We’ve come a long way since then, an era when pink was considered “delicate” and “feminine.” If pink on a guy conveys anything in 2017, it’s confidence. Yes, real men do wear pink—at least those with the savvy to pull off a daring, eye-catching look. This spring, multiple designers are thinking pink, and they’re serving it up in a cornucopia of shades. You can go bold with head-to-toe offerings from Bottega Veneta, or you can dabble with champagne pieces from Ermenegildo Zegna. Salmon, blush, or bashful—whatever you call it, pink is the definitive color for today’s modern bon vivant.

OPPOSITE PAGE: SUIT BY TOPMAN DESIGN, $480; SWEATER BY BALLY, $550; SHOES BY THOM BROWNE, $950. THIS PAGE FROM TOP LEFT: JACKET, $2,250, SWEATER, $1,380, AND PANTS, $790, BY BOTTEGA VENETA. JACKET, $2,495, SHIRT, $375, AND PANTS, $475, BY ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA. COAT (INSIDE) BY TOMMY JACKET BY DIESEL BLACK GOLD, $295; JACKET (OUTSIDE) BY HILFIGER, $799 LANVIN, $1,795; PANTS BY DIESEL BLACK GOLD, PRICE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 3 1

Foreground MOOD BOARD

James Dean Heartthrob. Movie star. Fashion icon. However you classify James Dean, he remains the embodiment of the 1950s, a decade that gave rise to hot rodding, the bad boy, and the very notion of cool. Dean’s understated uniform—blue jeans, white T-shirt— is now considered a classic, and it’s not just reserved for the angsty young. Today any rebel, with any cause, can emulate the prince of slick. Pick up a pair of saddle shoes. Swap out that tee for a more modern polo. Channel Dean’s effortless style, but make it your own. Because remember: In Dean’s world, there were no rules, only suggestions.

M A R K E T E D I TO R : M I C H A E L C O O K . C O U R T E S Y E V E R E T T C O L L E C T I O N ( D E A N )

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SHOES BY BOTTEGA VENETA, $1,180; JAMES DEAN; JACKET BY NUDIE JEANS, $349; SUNGLASSES BY PERSOL, $350; POLO SHIRT BY HERMÈS, $1,800; HAIR POMADE BY LAYRITE, $19; T-SHIRT BY APOLIS, $34; JEANS BY CALVIN KLEIN JEANS, $98; BELT BY BOTTEGA VENETA, $930; JACKET BY LOUIS VUITTON, $1,900

3 2 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIEVES ANDERSON

WE FOCUS ON HIV TO HELP YOU FOCUS ON

TODAY Ask your doctor if a medicine made by Gilead is right for you.

Foreground GROOMING

Forever Young It’s never too soon to stop time in its tracks, at least when it comes to skin care. But there’s also no need to overdo it. The key to an effective regimen isn’t slathering on superthick, super-expensive creams—it’s using the right product at the right stage in your life. Here, five facesaving essentials, one for every decade you celebrate. Though, really, who’s counting?

For Your 20s RADIANT CREAMY CONCEALER BY NARS A little cheat goes a long way. To cover up traces of a late night out, pick the shade closest to your skin tone—Nars offers 16 of them—and dab a small amount under your eyes. $29, available at Sephora.com

For Your 30s DEEP HYDRATION REVITALIZING EYE MASK BY TATCHA Those under-eye shadows only get worse with the stress of adulthood. To soften them, apply these magical patches from the Japanese brand Tatcha. Infused with green tea and red algae, they also reduce puffiness. $12 a pair, Tatcha.com

For Your 50s REPLENISHING FACE SERUM BY MALIN + GOETZ Defying gravity might be the toughest challenge when you reach maturity, but a small drop of serum, applied before your regular moisturizer, helps smooth out fine lines. 1 fl. oz., $70, MalinAndGoetz.com

3 4 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

For Your 60s NECK CREAM BY SISLEY PARIS Pull out the big guns—targeted treatments—for areas that need a lift. Sisley’s best-selling firming cream is perfect for your neckline. 1.7 oz., $180, Sisley-Paris.com

C O U R T E S Y O F B R A N D S ( A L L P R O D U C T S ) . C O U R T E S Y E V E R E T T C O L L E C T I O N ( D O R I A N G R AY )

For Your 40s WAKE UP OVERNIGHT REGENERATIVE FACIAL TREATMENT BY GOLDFADEN MD A daily moisturizer is always a must, but when wrinkles begin to show, invest in the night stuff. Enriched with grape-seed oil, avocado, and vitamin E, this is the best alternative to Botox. Bonus: no pinch. 1.7 fl. oz., $85, available at SpaceNK.com

Foreground FITNESS 101

The Incredible Bulk 5 tips to getting big without feeling huge

DON’T BE AFRAID OF CALORIES

The number 1 rule to gaining weight is you have to consume more calories than you expend—you want to run a surplus of 500 to 1,000 calories. That can be hard if you’re very active or just a slim-waisted little bird used to sucking down seeds and oxygen for energy. But bulking is not for the shy or wispy. Set your sights on caloriedense foods and go to town: healthy grains like granola, whole wheat bread, and rice cakes; nuts and nut-related foods like peanut and almond butter; basically any dairy product; and oils like olive, coconut, and canola. 36 MARCH 2017 OUT

MEET PROTEIN, YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND

with about twice as much protein as fat and twice as many carbs as protein.

Professional meatheads suggest getting 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight in your daily diet, but if you’re too lazy or busy to count, just make sure you have a source of protein in every meal you consume. Egg whites for breakfast, chicken breast for lunch, grass-fed beef for dinner, jerky or Greek yogurt or protein shakes for in-between snacks, repeat. But you know, have fun with it. Throw in some salmon once in a while because, hey, Mr. Sister—you’ve earned it.

Although nutrition is a big part of bulking, you have to put in the work— and more important, the werq—at the gym. You’re ingesting all that protein and all those calories so you can grow all them big muscles, so don’t be afraid to up your weights and reps. If you’re used to benching 150 pounds for 3 sets of 8 reps, work your way up to 180 for 4 sets of 10. Gradually, of course. Nobody likes a hero.

CHOOSE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS CAREFULLY

Mass gainers are a great way to meet excessive caloric requirements, but they can leave you feeling as bloated as Liza after a night out at Studio 54. If you decide to use a gainer, aim for quality. You want to avoid gainers overloaded with sugar or carbs. Look for powders

GET PUMPED!

JOG, DON’T RUN

Generally, think of bulking as your one good excuse not to do cardio—though to keep your heart healthy while stuffing your face, it’s a good idea to add some light cardio once or twice a week. Nothing too crazy, though, or you’ll run the danger of negating your gains. —LES FABIAN BRATHWAITE

S H U T T E R S TO C K

NOW THAT WE’VE resigned ourselves to the fact of winter (yes, we know some of you live in L.A. and Miami, but bear with us), it’s time to take advantage of the cold and bulk up. This is the perfect season for adding size so that when spring and summer roll around, you can emerge from your sweater-and-long-john cocoon a newly jacked butterfly. But that’s only if you play the bulking game correctly. Gain too much weight, and it will be hard to diet down and get lean again once the beach starts calling your name. When you’re adding pounds, it’s best to err on the side of discretion. You want to elicit reactions along the lines of “Looking swole, kween!” rather than “Aw, when did the breakup happen?” This is what we call a “clean bulk”—as opposed to a “dirty bulk,” which is really just a Morgan Spurlock documentary waiting to happen. You want to stay healthy when bulking while still making those #gainz. Here, a few tips to getting big without feeling huge.

FO R EG R O U N D N E I G H B O R H O O D WATC H

Marigny and Bywater, New Orleans Blast past Bourbon Street for a taste of the new NOLA. MORE THAN A DECADE after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans endures as America’s heartland for food and music, paying humble homage to history, community, and the evolution of jazz. Our suggestion for visitors: After grilled oysters at Desire Oyster Bar and dueling pianos at Pat O’Brien’s, escape the inebriation of Bourbon Street for the best of the Big Easy further east. The Marigny and Bywater hoods are the pulse of NOLA’s creative crowd, a lively second city complete with intergenerational eateries and Solange’s stomping grounds. JESSE STEINBACH R Bar and Royal Street Inn Marigny Opera House

3 8 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

EAT New Orleans Cake Cafe and Bakery We’re skeptical of bagels anywhere outside N.Y.C. (OK, maybe Montréal), but this hipster hangout whips up a mean sesame. Pair it with lox, or go for the standout boudin and eggs. Just don’t leave without trying the namesake cakes—the chocolate with buttercream frosting is divine. (2440 Chartres St.; NOLACakes.com) Royal Street Inn

R Bar/Royal Street Inn This converted 1890s corner store, replete with warm lighting and cheap pours, is the perfect no-frills NOLA drinking experience. The bar also operates the inn on the upper floors, a slice of boutique lodging flaunting the city’s signature architecture: wooden arches, exposed-brick fireplaces, and ironclad balconies. If you can handle the occasional drunk shout from R Bar (earbuds are provided), this is the best place to stay in the area. (1431 Royal St.; RoyalStreetInn .com) Marie’s Bar With just a jukebox and some barstools, Marie’s serves some of the finest Bloody Marys around. Enormous and superbly balanced—the briny acidity mixes perfectly with the homemade tomato mix—they’re best ordered in a Big Gulp to go: Good morning, laissez-faire open-container laws! (2483 Burgundy St.)

Marie’s Bar

C O U R T E S Y O F P O M P O B R E S C I A N I ( M A R I G N Y O P E R A H O U S E ) . C O U R T E S Y O F LO C AT I O N S

SEE Faubourg Marigny Art and Books This Frenchmen Street mainstay is the oldest gay-owned bookstore in the South. (Think 1970s porn mags next to John Waters novels.) Owner Otis Fennell is often seen wandering the crowded aisles. Be sure to ask him about his Tom of Finland postcard collection. (600 Frenchmen St.) Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe Opt for table service instead of the buffet at this casual Creole-soul lunch canteen (you want those drumsticks hot!). The soupy gumbo nails the traditional seafood-sausage-rice trifecta, and the fried chicken is deliciously crisp and tender; no ketchup needed. (1500 Esplanade Ave.; LilDizzysCafe.net) The Joint Every Southern eatery thinks it does BBQ the best, but the Joint actually might. Splurge on the smoked baby back ribs—you won’t wanna share, so order liberally—and add some decadent downhome sides like baked beans or mac and cheese. (701 Mazant St.; AlwaysSmokin.com)

DRINK Bacchanal Fine Wine and Spirits This aptly named “wine laboratory” offers bottles to go and seating out back in the vine-draped courtyard. Order a charcuterie plate with fresh cheeses du jour and cozy up to the stage, where jazz and organ bands play from noon through the night. (600 Poland Ave.; BacchanalWine.com)

Studio Be Across the street from the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Studio Be’s 35,000 square feet of warehouse space spotlights the work of rising stars like street artist and social activist Brandan ‘BMike’ Odums. (2941 Royal St.) Marigny Opera House Local performers play multiple times a week at this renovated 1853 church. New Orleans resident Solange was married under its ethereal arches— so “Don’t You Wait” to visit. (725 St. Ferdinand St.; MarignyOperaHouse.org) d.b.a. Walk down Frenchmen Street on any given night, and the live music of its boisterous barrestaurants will draw you in. Choose d.b.a., which has an extensive craft-beer menu and showcases exceptional performances in an airy space. Blues legend Little Freddie King, who had a guitar cameo on Beyoncé’s Lemonade, plays an unmissable near-monthly show here. (618 Frenchmen St.; DbaNewOrleans.com) O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 3 9

F Fo or er eg gr or ou un nd d KKI TI TCCHHEENN441 1 1

Za’atar chicken and Turkish cheese pancake from Oleana

LIFE BEYOND DONER The empire strikes back. FANS OF JASON Goodwin’s popular Yashim crime novels know that the titular 1830s secret agent does more than just bust up government conspiracies. The guy can cook. Goodwin’s new book, Yashim Cooks Istanbul, highlights the hero’s hobby while helping home chefs unlock another mystery: Turkish cuisine. The globally influenced grub is historic—many of its recipes can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire—but it has started to make inroads stateside, thanks to Goodwin and a few inspired eateries trying to nudge Sultan’s Delight into the mainstream. Until recently, it was a lonely time for Boston’s Oleana (OleanaRestaurant.com), which has been singing the praises of Turkish food for more than a decade. “It’s a cuisine that straddles East and West,” says chef Ana Sortun. “There are many influences from China, Russia, Armenia, Greece, and the Middle East. The use of spices is what sets it apart from the rest of the Mediterranean.” Fittingly, her elegant menu of grilled meats and fish boasts ingredients like za’atar, cumin, and sumac— the backbone of many Turkish dishes and a new draw for diners. Other Turkish spots have followed. “Europe already has Turkish restaurants 4 4 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

on every corner,” says Washington, D.C., restaurateur Hakan Ilhan, noting that America is playing catch-up. He’s on a mission to change that with his recently opened Ottoman Taverna (OttomanTaverna.com), which serves traditional fare like pideler (flat bread topped with cheese and ground meat) in a swank setting more in touch with the 21st century than the 14th. Meanwhile, New Yorkers can swap their beloved bagel for a wider, flatter variation called a simit at Simit + Smith (SimitAndSmith.com)—if hummus isn’t your jam, you can even top it with salmon and cream cheese. And Prime Cutts (PrimeCutts.com), which opened last year, could very well become the Turkish Chipotle with its fast-casual model and Istanbul-inspired wraps and bowls. The new wave of Turkish restaurants mostly showcases the cuisine without reinventing it. Still, while it’s doubtful that Yashim ever made anything like Oleana’s cinnamon-spiked aioli, that treat—along with simit with cream cheese and lox— certainly tastes like a classic. If Turkish cuisine’s American moment has been a long time coming, it’s been totally worth the wait. —JEFFREY URQUHART

Three more Turkish classics you should be eating ADANA KEBAB

Doner is meat sliced off a spit, but you can get this ground-lamb kebab (a popular street food in Turkey) on a skewer fresh off the charcoal grill. BÖREK

A crispy pastry shell made of phyllo dough and filled with goodies like feta, spinach, potato, and sometimes minced meat, this old-school Turkish dish dates back to the Roman Empire. HUNKAR BEGENDI

More commonly known as Sultan’s Delight, it consists of lamb ragout served over an eggplant sauce that’s basically baba ghanoush’s creamier cousin.

C O U R T E S Y O F K R I S T I N T E I G P H OTO G R A P H Y

Turkish Delights

Foreground LIQUIDITY Navy Grog from Latitude 29

TIKI’S KEY PLAYERS Need more convincing that the cocktails belong in your year-round repertoire? These essential ingredients are at their peak in the winter months. Pineapple Along with that signature spiky shell, its juice provides essential body and silky texture to shaken cocktails. Pineapples in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, our chief suppliers, are in season from December to February. Paniolo from Latitude 29

Mother of Pearl

Let’s Have a Tiki

C O U R T E S Y A N N E N E K AY E ( L AT I T U D E 29). C O U R T E S Y O F M OT H E R O F P E A R L . S H U T T E R S TO C K

Paradise in a glass—now acceptable all year long NOTHING SAYS SUMMER like a cocktail served in a coconut or a tacky tiki idol. Packed with fruit juice and eight kinds of rum, it’s perfect for poolside sipping. But in the depths of late-winter, concoctions like this make for wishful drinking, escapist fantasies from the reality of the snowpocalypse. Though prevailing cocktail wisdom claims we should be nursing stern old-fashioneds in the darker months, there’s no reason fun drinks should be shelved until Memorial Day. As the grandfather of modern tiki, Donn “Don the Beachcomber” Beach, used to say, “If you can’t get to paradise, I’ll bring paradise to you”—no cyclical limits implied. During its Depression-era origin and through its midcentury peak, tiki was beloved for its yearround appeal, not considered a warm-weather flash in the pan. That old spirit has been reembraced by a new troupe of tiki revivalists, and if you know where to go, it could ease you through the last frigid weeks of the season. Rule number 1 for winterizing your tiki experience: fresh ingredients only. If you’re haunted by the memory of that lethal scorpion bowl from your college days, that’s because it was probably laced with cheap triple sec and sour mix, a one-way ticket to hangover hell. To elevate and de-kitsch their cocktails, today’s

tiki bars use fresh citrus, spices, and housemade syrups like orgeat (almond syrup) and grenadine made from actual pomegranates. At New Orleans’s Latitude 29 (Latitude29Nola.com), run by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, the modern maestro of the tiki genre, you can enjoy a more refined version of the classic Navy Grog made with fresh grapefruit and lime juice, plus honey syrup. Or, if you’re actually feeling winter, you can opt for the Paniolo, a mix of fresh cranberry syrup, lime juice, bourbon, and a macadamia nut liqueur. Meanwhile, at Chicago’s Three Dots and a Dash (ThreeDotsChicago.com), the Dead Reckoning blends port, Armagnac, and vanilla for a positively festive flavor profile. Both places play to the back row with their decor, all fishing nets and Polynesian idols. For a slightly more contemporary tiki experience—combined with seriously good vegan food—head to New York’s Mother of Pearl (MotherOfPearlNYC.com), a whitewashed oasis of gauzy curtains and splashy florals. Its Sage Peter is a postmodern fusion of pumpkin, sage, and olive oil—plus some high-proof booze, of course. Deceptively strong drinks with a bright, sunshiny flavor? Tiki just may be the ultimate winter warmer.

Citrus Without tart lime, orange, and grapefruit juice, tiki drinks would be all sweetness and no light. Acidity provides a necessary counterpoint to the sugary syrups and boozy burn.

Spices Tiki’s signature spices are synonymous with winter, from the pumpkin spice combo of cinnamon and nutmeg to the Christmassy hint of the Jamaican import allspice.

Rum A brand-new addition to the market, Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof Rum is 20% stronger than traditional dark rum. It was designed by six of the world’s leading tiki scholars, including Jeff Berry and Three Dots founder Paul McGee, especially for use in cocktails.

—REGAN HOFMANN O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 4 5

S Y M POSI U M D I S PATC H E S FR O M T H E FR O N T L I N E S O F C O N T EM P O R A RY CU LT U R E

WISHFUL KINKING

Like a gay neighborhood taken over by straight families, the mainstreaming of traditionally queer fetishwear risks making BDSM irrelevant.

S H U T T E R S TO C K

By Joshua Glass

IN A NEW YORK CITY GAY BAR, a thick-legged dancer is stuffing folded one-dollar bills into a tight pair of black mesh boxer briefs, his uniform for the night. While his compatriots across the bar sport slogans like pump or addicted across their waistlines, his briefs have just a bit more pageant: a gold-stenciled Medusa head positioned right above the crotch. It’s Versace, and, boy, is he earning it back. Name-brand underwear is hardly a new trend. Just think back to the hotand-bothered ’90s, when Marky Mark had every man slipping into tightywhities and Bruce Weber created an all-American, briefs-packing world of his own. It’s easy to understand the appeal. It’s expensive, but it’s somewhat disposable. It’s sexy, but it’s a little funny. Who couldn’t see the wit in the sight of

tiny yet erect Gucci logos amid a night of passion? But today, in a style culture so confused by brands, underwear is just the beginning as the major and the mainstream turn their hands toward fetishwear. Just take a cursory look at men’s fashion this season. For Dior Homme’s spring 2017 collection, designer Kris Van Assche decorated his typically streamlined suiting with nets of darkstriped nylon harnesses that echoed the collection’s Egyptian-flag palette. Similarly, Kim Jones added subversive references—monogrammed dog collars, D-rings, and bondage-buckle pants— into Louis Vuitton’s latest voyaging collection. Even signora Miuccia Prada threw in belted, strappy details that seem to channel this “chained in” or “locked up” trend for her spring set.

Though certainly not the first instances of bondage on the catwalk—provocative designers such as Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier have long played with the fantasy—these recent moves by commercial fashion houses bring into question the relevance of the fetish genre as a whole. “Sex is such an integral element of our everyday life,” says Nicola Formichetti, artistic director of Diesel and his own line, Nicopanda. He’s had a personal history with the subversive, rebranding Mugler’s eponymous fashion house from September 2010 until April 2013 after collaborating stylistically with Lady Gaga for several years and running around the New York and London nightlife scenes. “I love fetish fashion,” he says. “I think it’s so beautiful and well-designed—not only for sex but also

O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 47

as wearable fashion. It shows power or lesser power. It’s about normalizing niches: Fashion presents ideas, which seem unconventional, but they’re made more conventional through the presentation.” Formichetti views the fetish phenomenon as a reckoning effect, in the same way that hot pants or platform shoes might have appeared outrageous before the runway made them almost pedestrian. But this logic, that this kind of fashion has the power to make the outrageous seem OK—to standardize what was once off-limits—also dilutes the power of fetishwear to thrill and subvert. On West 19th Street, in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, sits Nasty Pig’s brick-and-mortar shop. The brand tailors almost solely to gay men, offering quintessential jocks and trunks beside tight-thighed “day” wear. Its motto? “Fun clothing that gets you laid.” “We’re the great American wet dream,” says co-founder and CEO David Lauterstein, who also references Mugler’s influence. “No one can see fashion through the eyes of sexual power through the years the brand has been better than he does,” he says, adding that reinforced by the evolution of cliques inside the gay community, which have the designer is a Nasty Pig customer. given rise to apps like Scruff and made a Lauterstein knows how thrownonce marginal culture feel omnipresent. together it all might seem, and, despite That may not be enough for the long designing co-branded Nasty Pig for term, however. “There’s definitely a Nicopanda harnesses last fall, the market for gay-culture brands today,” businessman is also aware of the Lauterstein says, “but impending limits of his brands that rely exclusively bubble-tight industry. on being gay will fail.” “When we started in “It shows power Like its neighbors Rufskin 1994, there was a very or lesser power. and Parke and Ronen, big push for gay people to Nasty Pig is just one of the shop at gay-owned and It’s about area’s flock of fetish brands -operated companies,” normalizing hoping to cross over from he says. Back then, his niche wear into everyday task was to forge an niches: Fashion looks as more and more identity in the “post– presents ideas, conventional clothiers AIDS crisis” world. Nasty which seem continue to gravitate in Pig was one of the first companies of its kind to unconventional, their direction. What else can be expected from this champion hairy, bearded but they’re counterculture reversal? models in its marketing Most likely, a hike in the materials, contradicting made more price. More important, the era’s “shaved and conventional how does this dynamic plucked pretty boys,” as alter the legacy of some of Lauterstein describes through the these shops that have long them. He says it was presentation.” been embedded in the gay difficult at first, but 4 8 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

community? Being a gay man in 2017 is a very different experience from that of 20 years ago. Politics aside, the mainstreaming of the queer identity has already informed so much of what we hear and see on an allconsuming basis. That, combined with the mobility of technology—not just in the advent of cruising devices but in the online experience as a whole— has fundamentally shifted the way consumers behave. Gay men no longer need to head west to Sunset or down to South Beach to buy bedroom gear when countless options and sizes are just a click way. Even outside metropolitan cities, gay culture has never been more accessible than it is today. Recently, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the biggest global retailer by market value. This is just as the sex-toy industry reported $15 billion in gross sales in 2016, largely thanks to online buyers. While identity doesn’t derive from product, it is undeniably shaped by it. In many ways, the idea of Nasty Pig and like-minded stores hearkens to our LGBTQ past. That’s not to say that these

S H U T T E R S TO C K

SYMPOSIUM

safe spaces are no longer needed—this is a time when civil security in the United States, as well around the world, is in question—but they have changed. Specifically in the consumerism of sexuality, niche no longer feels so influential. Earlier this year, Formichetti launched a highly publicized advertising campaign for Diesel on the pornography Web site Pornhub. Though not exclusively gay, the campaign also appeared on Grindr. “I don’t think the new generation thinks about sex in the way older generations do,” Formichetti explains. “The way we present ourselves through fashion and sexuality are innately intertwined.” Notably, both platforms have also explored one-off fashion partnerships, with indie fashion brands Hood By Air and J.W. Anderson, respectively (though neither is a match for Diesel’s global reach and scale). In this new, sex-positive space, perhaps we can consider the ubiquity of fetishwear as a sign of change rather

“A whole lot of people can get on board and identify as sexual beings through their personal style, whether in head-totoe rubber or by wearing a jockstrap under their suits at work.”

than simply a market trend. As with other cultural signifiers, one finds that the tipping point seems almost premeditated. Formichetti agrees, pointing toward fashion’s trickle-up demands of youth today and its openended embrace of gender nonconformity. With this evolution, and its translation from concept to the real world, Lauterstein also must continue to change. The first steps are already in motion. He says with a laugh, “A whole lot of people can get on board and identify as sexual beings through their personal style, whether in head-to-toe rubber or by wearing a jockstrap under their suits at work.” Across town from Nasty Pig, on

the east side of New York, riding through the clearglass elevator of the hipster fashion mall Dover Street Market, it’s not so hard to imagine what the future of this new type of retail will look like. Will the ball gags be on the ground floor, beside the cases of jewelry in obsidian black? Or, who knows, will there be an array of whips displayed elegantly on customized shelving? But until then, you can check out new pieces from Belgian designer Raf Simons, whose spring collection feature rare images of Robert Mapplethorpe. One particularly oversized dress shirt flaunts a selfportait of the late photographer, who famously depicted New York’s BDSM scene during the ’60s and ’70s. His backside is out, his body contorted. He is smiling, certainly, at what is to come.

A SELF-MADE ICON

C O U R T E S Y O F T H E A N S E L A DA M S P U B L I S H I N G R I G H T S T R U S T (O ’ K E E F F E A N D C OX )

The Brooklyn Museum presents Georgia O’Keeffe through a new lens. Though she’s chiefly lauded for her blooming brushstrokes of vibrant petals (many of them famously rife with labia overtones), Georgia O’Keeffe is also remembered for her lasting public persona. From her simple black-andwhite ensembles, which characterized her time in New York, to her dusty Southwestern palette, which reflected her move to New Mexico, O’Keeffe progressively and independently crafted her own identity. With a new exhibit opening this month, the Brooklyn Museum celebrates the artist through her paintings and through portraiture captured by some of the most iconic photographers of our time—Alfred Stieglitz, Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, and Andy Warhol, to name a few. The resulting tribute is a garden of delights. —Dennis Hinzmann Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern is running on display at the Brooklyn Museum through July 23.

Georgia O’Keeffe and Orville Cox, photographed by Ansel Adams in 1937

O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 4 9

WHAT IS ODEFSEY®?

What are the other possible side effects of ODEFSEY?

ODEFSEY is a 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years and older. It can either be used in people who are starting HIV-1 treatment, have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, and have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL; or in people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. These include having an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) for 6 months or more on their current HIV-1 treatment. ODEFSEY combines 3 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day with a meal. ODEFSEY is a complete HIV-1 treatment and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

Serious side effects of ODEFSEY may also include: • Severe skin rash and allergic reactions. Skin rash is a common side effect of ODEFSEY. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get a rash, as some rashes and allergic reactions may need to be treated in a hospital. Stop taking ODEFSEY and get medical help right away if you get a rash with any of the following symptoms: fever, skin blisters, mouth sores, redness or swelling of the eyes (conjunctivitis), swelling of the face, lips, mouth, or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, pain on the right side of the stomach (abdominal) area, and/or dark “tea-colored” urine. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you: feel sad or hopeless, feel anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself. • Changes in liver enzymes. People who have had hepatitis B or C or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have a higher risk for new or worse liver problems while taking ODEFSEY. Liver problems can also happen in people who have not had liver disease. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with ODEFSEY. • Changes in body fat, which can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines. • Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to ﬁght infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking ODEFSEY. • Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking ODEFSEY if you develop new or worse kidney problems. • Bone problems, such as bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking ODEFSEY. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body ﬂuids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body ﬂuids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about ODEFSEY? ODEFSEY may cause serious side effects: • Buildup of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. • Serious liver problems. The liver may become large and fatty. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turning yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; loss of appetite; light-colored bowel movements (stools); nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area. • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking ODEFSEY or a similar medicine for a long time. In some cases, lactic acidosis and serious liver problems have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. ODEFSEY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking ODEFSEY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking ODEFSEY without ﬁrst talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take ODEFSEY? Do not take ODEFSEY if you take: • Certain prescription medicines for other conditions. It is important to ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with ODEFSEY. Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. • The herbal supplement St. John’s wort. • Any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking ODEFSEY? • All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, mental health (depression or suicidal thoughts), or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. • All the medicines you take, including prescription and overthe-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how ODEFSEY works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take ODEFSEY with all of your other medicines. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if ODEFSEY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking ODEFSEY. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

Ask your healthcare provider if ODEFSEY is right for you, and visit ODEFSEY.com to learn more. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about ODEFSEY including important warnings on the following page.

ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

SHOW YOUR

RADIANCE ODEFSEY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day HIV-1 treatment for people 12 years and older who are either new to treatment and have less than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood or people whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with ODEFSEY.

IMPORTANT FACTS This is only a brief summary of important information about ODEFSEY® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(oh-DEF-see) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ODEFSEY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF ODEFSEY

ODEFSEY may cause serious side effects, including:

ODEFSEY can cause serious side effects, including:

•

Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

•

Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; loss of appetite; light-colored bowel movements (stools); nausea; and/ or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area.

•

Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. ODEFSEY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking ODEFSEY. Do not stop taking ODEFSEY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking ODEFSEY or a similar medicine for a long time.

• • • •

• •

Those in the “Most Important Information About ODEFSEY” section. Severe skin rash and allergic reactions. Depression or mood changes. Changes in liver enzymes. Changes in body fat. Changes in your immune system. New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Bone problems.

The most common side effects of rilpivirine, one of the medicines in ODEFSEY, are depression, trouble sleeping (insomnia), and headache. The most common side effect of emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide, two of the medicines in ODEFSEY, is nausea. These are not all the possible side effects of ODEFSEY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking ODEFSEY. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with ODEFSEY.

BEFORE TAKING ODEFSEY ABOUT ODEFSEY •

ODEFSEY is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL. ODEFSEY can also be used to replace current HIV-1 medicines for some people who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/ mL), have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months, have never failed HIV-1 treatment, and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

•

ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

Do NOT take ODEFSEY if you: • Take a medicine that contains: carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®), dexamethasone (Ozurdex®, Maxidex®, Decadron®, Baycadron™), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant®), esomeprazole (Nexium®, Vimovo®), lansoprazole (Prevacid®), omeprazole (Prilosec®, Zegerid®), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix®), phenobarbital (Luminal®), phenytoin (Dilantin®, Dilantin-125®, Phenytek®), rabeprazole (Aciphex®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®), or rifapentine (Priftin®). •

Take the herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

•

Take any other HIV-1 medicines at the same time.

Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, mental health (depression or suicidal thoughts), or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. • Have any other medical condition. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with ODEFSEY.

HOW TO TAKE ODEFSEY • •

ODEFSEY is a complete 1-pill, once-a-day HIV-1 medicine. Take ODEFSEY with a meal.

GET MORE INFORMATION •

• •

This is only a brief summary of important information about ODEFSEY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. Go to ODEFSEY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 If you need help paying for your medicine, visit ODEFSEY.com for program information.

ODEFSEY, the ODEFSEY Logo, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: March 2016 © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. ODEC0026 06/16

SYMPOSIUM

POSITIVE VOICES

“AMERICA IS IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY” Poet and performer Pamela I. Sneed pens a letter to her ex. DEAR C, I know it’s been a while since we’ve spoken. Though you place that “decision” on my shoulders, I can say from my perspective, you weren’t ever really listening. Only once, after a performance, I saw how your eyes lit up, and I knew you were really present and proud of me. In that moment, I felt a great togetherness. I felt this sense of togetherness, also, when you’d pick me up in your black car and it felt like you and me on our adventure, our journey. For a while after we broke up, I would look for your car and expect to see you at every turn. As I tell my students, behind all the silence and lack of listening is fear. You don’t see it that way, but I do. It’s in the culture now, after Trump’s election, that barbaric fear. I also know that what ultimately destroyed our relationship was fear— fear of intimacy without proper tools to address it. I can hear Audre Lorde here, speaking now, “We were two black women touching our flame, and we left our dead behind us.” During the late ’80s and early ’90s, what I remember more than anything in the eyes of my brothers who were dying of AIDS is fear, fear that lurked around hospital beds, fear that stalked and awaited its prey. I feel that that’s what our presidentelect succeeded at—stoking and mobilizing our fear. I don’t believe that what is happening in this country now is just about racism and misogyny, though of course that’s there. More than anything he preyed upon our fear. It’s been a reality show; he picked a dormant issue and provoked it. It was done in Nazi Germany. It was done P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y P AT R I C I A S I LV A

in Rwanda. One group pitted against another. Without any real language instead of arguments, intellect, and complex characters or situations, he gave us buzzwords and takeaways—bad, evil, nasty, wrong. Shortly after you and I broke up and stopped speaking, the massacre at a gay bar in Orlando, Fla., happened; a homophobic young man burst into a bar and shot young gay people who were dancing. I wondered if you were afraid, if you had somewhere to turn, if anyone was holding you. It didn’t escape me that I once worked in bars and clubs—for years—and it could have been me or anyone I have ever known in that club. Around the time that this happened, another black man had been murdered by police, so many now I’ve lost count. I was in Chicago performing, and I just knew I had to do something in my work and words to pull all the alarms, because America, then and now, everincreasingly, is in a state of emergency. When all this happened, I wanted to go to you and say, “It’s time for us to lay down our weapons, now more than ever; we need to be each other’s family.” I wanted to say to everyone I had ever loved, and as Dorothy Allison might say, “ ‘Every woman I have ever warred

with,’ we need to lay down our weapons, rise above the grudges, the anger, the fear, the petty stories we hold on to that have nothing to do with the reality of who another person is, and be family for each other.” We are getting older now. It’s always stayed with me, the story that The New York Times ran on gay and lesbian seniors who’ve been abandoned and are lonely. Recently I was looking at some of my students’ papers. I had asked them to read Nicole Dennis-Benn’s novel, Here Comes the Sun. Something stood out to me in a student paper, when they quoted from the novel. A character says, “Membah dis, nobody love a black girl. Not even harself.” I promise to do better. For me, that means daily checklists about eating well, exercise, painting my nails, how much art I’ve made or taken in, reading I’ve done, being present for myself and others, doing things that nurture my soul. I want to end this letter the way Audre Lorde would sign a difficult letter, like the one she once wrote to feminist Mary Daly, in which she confronted her about biases and exclusion of black women in the telling of her story and myth. With love from me, and, as Audre said, “…in the hands of Afrekete…” We need to be each other’s family. This comes from Letters to the Revolution, an online platform with letters from leading artists and activists aimed at providing solidarity and inspiration to those concerned with the new administration in D.C. Read more at LettersToTheRevolution.com O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 5 3

SYMPOSIUM

THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA There’s still no Chinese equivalent of Ellen, but a new wave of LGBT pioneers are still battling the censors. By Barclay Bram

GUI HAI KISSED YIN BAO TENDERLY and then disappeared. The lovers, central characters of the Chinese Web drama Addicted, had been together for only five episodes before their show was taken down, some 12 episodes into a 15-episode run. For viewers in China, it might never have existed at all when it disappeared from all of the major streaming sites. Addicted is not the only example of LGBT content being censored in recent years. An episode of the online talk show U Can U Bibi that dealt with coming out was pulled from the Web in July 2015. More recently, the show Go Princess Go, about a modern man who accidentally time-travels and wakes up in ancient times as a woman, was also forced to go offline. At the time of its censure, it had racked up 2.4 billion views on Le.com. Such examples suggest an inauspicious time for LGBT content in China. But the reality is more complex. In 2015 the independent documentary film director Fan Popo won a surprise victory after suing the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, also known as SAPPRFT. He had filed the case after his documentary Mama Rainbow—which features Chinese mothers talking of their love for their gay and lesbian children—was yanked from several major streaming sites. The sites argued that they had acted in accordance with a decree they had received from SAPPRFT. Fan Popo sued SAPPRFT, in a process loosely akin to a freedom of information request, asking to see the order and the rationale behind the decision. SAPPRFT claimed no such document existed. 5 4 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court ruled on two points. First, it ruled on a technical issue: that SAPPRFT had been negligent in evading Fan’s inquiries by referring to itself by the term “general office” and not its actual name. Second, and more important, it said that SAPPRFT was correct in stating that it hadn’t released any document calling for the film to be taken down. While this might not seem a resounding success, it was hailed as a victory in the sense that in the absence of any centralized ruling then, the film, in theory, should be free to be viewed online. Months later, Fan’s film was still unavailable on any of the major streaming sites. The draconian measures of Internet censorship in China are referred to as the Great Firewall of China. The name is apt in more ways than one. The Great Wall, in reality, is not a single wall. It was built in fits and starts by various emperors

at various times, beginning in 221 B.C., when Qin Shi Huang, the first ruler to declare himself emperor of China, commanded the construction of nearly 3,000 miles of wall along the northern border. The Ming rulers upgraded the wall in the 14th and 15th centuries, using quarried stone, and parts of the original remain. The Great Wall conjures an image of impenetrable unity, but in the outskirts of Beijing you can find the faint outlines of Qin Shi Huang’s original mud wall, the crumbling stone of the Ming wall, and the modern reconstruction built for tourists since the 1980s. The Great Firewall is closer to the reality of the Great Wall than the catchy name suggests. Though SAPPRFT has an undeniably strong hand in centralizing what can and cannot be said in China, it is a requirement for all major media outlets to employ their own censors.

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S H U T T E R S TO C K ( F L AG )

A scene from Addicted

Crucially, Wei argues, These censors tend to err on “In China we are pretty the side of caution, which is “There is so lucky. We don’t have a why even without SAPPRFT much more strong religious element intervention, Fan’s film was that really opposes us. removed. LGBT content No one in China actively But what does this say of online in hates us. They just don’t the wider landscape for LGBT really get it.” In America issues in China? “I’m actually China than there is a fervent religious positive about the outlook,” ever before.” community in which says Xiaogang Wei, the director homophobia is deeply of Queer Comrades, an LGBT rooted. China does not face the same podcast recorded in Beijing. “By and religious dogma when it comes to LGBT large, there is so much more LGBT rights, but it is still lagging far behind the content online than ever before.” Asked West. if his podcast has ever been censored, he What is lacking are visibility and confirms that it has, but only rarely. “It education. In 2001 China ceased to seems that there is a definite reluctance classify homosexuality as a mental on the part of censors to talk about S&M, illness. But it is hard to determine the for example,” he says. “But we’ve been government’s current position on LGBT running for 10 years now, and the vast rights, since there is no explicit law majority of our content is unaffected, and year on year gets increasing attention and against homosexuality. The official attitude is generally summed up as the engagement.”

Three No’s: no approval, no disapproval, and no promotion. It’s a position that is unlikely to change. As Wei notes, in many cases the reasons for censorship are complex and not easily reduced to whether or not a show includes LGBT content. For example, the lead characters in Addicted are surnamed Hai and Yin, which together make up the Chinese word for heroin. Adds Wei, “It is all conspiracy theories, of course, but I have heard from a lot of people that the reason Addicted was taken down was not because of the gay plotline but because Gui Hai’s father is a corrupt major general.” This makes sense in the increasingly conservative media environment under Xi Jinping. It may well be that the wave of LGBT content is simply being beaten back by a repressive shore. In the case of Go Princess Go, while many pointed to the central transgender plotline, media O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 5 5

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guidelines state that time travel is a taboo topic, as are some of the more risqué language and promiscuity. Censors, whether directed by SAPPRFT or acting individually while embedded within media organizations, are always likely to lean toward more censorship, not less— their jobs depend on it, after all. Once something is taken down by one site, regardless of the reason, there is pressure for censors working for others to follow suit. This also explains the seemingly haphazard approach to what LGBT content is censored. Many celebrated the release last year of Seek McCartney, which featured gay leads who were played by Chinese singer and actor Han Geng and French actor Jérémie Elkaïm. Meanwhile, The Imitation Game, which centers on the life of the gay mathematician Alan Turing, was released unedited and grossed more than 52 million yuan (about $7.7 million) at the box office. Does the director Fan Popo agree with Wei’s position? “In the case of my film, I think it was because of the LGBT content,” he says. “But it is hard to say in every case. It is too complex, and the system is not unitary.” Moreover, he adds, “what is likely is that LGBT culture is simply too individual for the censors who are conservative and want everyone in China to be a certain way. It’s not necessarily because the content is gay—it’s just because the content doesn’t fit with what they think should represent the society.” There is an idiom in China that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. It may be that LGBT culture, for all its vivacity and vibrancy, is too far ahead of government thinking. “Ultimately another reason you have seen these takedowns recently is that the government is playing catch-up,” says Fan. “At first the technology got away from them. They didn’t see the Internet and free speech coming in the way that it did. It is only now that they have the power to really censor content and try to take back control.” 5 6 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

It seems, therefore, that LGBT content is simply caught in the epicenter of China’s largest fault lines: an increasingly educated and tolerant populace seeking more freedoms, and an authoritarian government willing to provide those freedoms only within a context it understands. The reason this is important is that for people in the LGBT community, the biggest constraint to their freedoms is neither from government nor from religion, as in other parts of the world, but from family. Young adults are under intense pressure to marry and have children. Confucian values place a huge emphasis on bloodlines, and failure to provide an heir is seen as a dereliction of filial piety. There’s a Confucian saying that translates as “Of the three ways of being unfilial, not providing an heir is the gravest.” Zhang Beichuan, a retired professor at Qingdao University’s Medical School, has estimated that there are 20 million gay or bisexual men in China and that roughly 80% of them are married to straight women. The majority of these 16 million women are heterosexual and have no idea of their husbands’ true orientations, though some may enter into the relationships willingly, as familial pressure on women, particularly those in their 30s, to get married can be

excruciating. There are also Web sites that offer ways for gays and lesbians to meet and engage in “cooperative marriages”— sham marriages to appease parents. One of these, WX920.com, claims to have helped match 25,000 such couples, while ChinaGayLes.com, one of the earliest such sites, has 160,000 registered members and claims to have matched at least 20,000 couples. The nation’s one-child policy further exacerbated familial pressure, as the future of the family rested solely on the shoulders of a single child. This has made coming out an especially fraught prospect in China. There is another saying: In China, it is not coming out but coming home that is the problem. The one-child policy has since been relaxed, and families can have a second child as long as each parent was an only child. This might relieve the pressure, but the effect won’t be felt for another generation, if at all. This is why LGBT culture within an unpredictable media environment has become an issue in China. Without government or religious sanction, what holds back LGBT rights are visibility and education. The situation today is one of tentative tolerance but no formal legal protection; lower levels of homophobia but no prominent role models. Without role models, LGBT issues are likely to stall. China has no major openly gay celebrities. There is no one like Ellen DeGeneres or Graham Norton hosting a Chinese talk show. Even the pervasive boy bands, which feature androgynous singers in makeup and leather pants that wouldn’t look out of place in a sex shop, do not feature any openly gay members. Until domestic role models can be found, LGBT issues can be tackled only incrementally and often through the prism of global events. This will take time, but things are moving in the right direction. “When France legalized gay marriage, my father called me,” recalls Wei. “He said he saw it on the news. It was the first time in 10 years that he acknowledged my work.”

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Go Princess Go, a show in which the male modern-day protagonist wakes up in ancient China as a woman

SYMPOSIUM ARMOND WHITE’S MOVIES

BEFORE GLEE, THERE WAS MR. BELVEDERE Clifton Webb’s triumph over the Hollywood system dumped porridge on an unruly OF ALL HOLLYWOOD’S great sissies, toddler’s head, the object lesson Clifton Webb played the most talented became one of the most famous and experienced, the wittiest and most post-WWII moments in American beloved, in the classic 1948 box-office movies), and teaches the breeder hit Sitting Pretty. Webb’s achievement— parents (Robert Young and overcoming the underestimation of Maureen O’Hara) to trust their homophobes—casts a bright light on romantic instincts. contemporary gay characterizations. Belvedere also instructs the During the American film industry’s Hummingbird Hill suburb about 20th-century peak, the practice tolerance by writing a best-selling of stereotyping and marginalizing novel that exposes community bigotry queerness produced several performers and hypocrisy. He appeals to their who acted “effeminate” (Grady Sutton, appetite for salacious gossip, but this Franklin Pangborn, Tony Randall), tactic also recalls Voltaire’s maxim that always without on-screen love lives “nothing human is alien to me.” It makes or acknowledged partners. Their queerness a normal part of society. Lynn reputations endure as “character actors,” distinctive-looking eccentrics who made Belvedere (the King couple initially think his application letter came from a an art out of representing the country’s woman) makes Sitting Pretty more than hoi polloi: neighbors, co-workers, and a sitcom; he represents the pre-Kinsey shopkeepers you run into every day spectrum of sexuality. without ever participating in their Standing up for All-American sexual personal lives. They were the comic acceptance is Webb’s special triumph. relief in a big-screen feature. This began with the 1944 Sitting Pretty (the title itself murder mystery Laura, proposes Webb’s unique in which the former cultural position) won the Sitting Pretty Broadway dancer played secret heart of American won the radio gossip Waldo moviegoers who admired gay secret heart Lydecker. He’s introduced men whether or not laws or having a decadent bath local customs delegitimized of American while being interviewed them. Webb received a moviegoers by studly homicide third Oscar nomination for detective Mark McPherson it, this time for Best Actor who genuinely (Dana Andrews). Critics (he’d already received two admired gay mistakenly cite Laura as for supporting actor). He a gay romance when, in “normalized” gay masculinity men whether fact, Lydecker villainizes when his character Lynn queerness. But in Sitting Belvedere became the “baby- or not laws or Pretty, when Belvedere hating” manny to the white local customs jokes that he pens his suburban King family’s three delegitimized best seller using a quill, little terrors. He teaches them he quotes a line from civility (when Belvedere them. 5 8 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

Laura in which Lydecker writes with “a quill dipped in venom.” One popular hit influenced the other’s progress. Sitting Pretty is the film that made Webb a star. It established his popular acceptance (two sequels followed, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College and Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell) without sacrificing his punctilious, supercilious, precious, fey personality. Its influence can be seen in the gay characters on TV’s Glee and Modern Family (and, of course, in Mr. Belvedere, the 1980s sitcom based on the film). Webb’s specialty was spreading shade, but he made it a hallmark of gay male self-sufficiency. His farewell film role, as the heroic priest who undermines Mao’s Communist regime in Satan Never Sleeps (1962), confirmed the spiritual seriousness of his career choices. Webb is best remembered for Belvedere’s florid witticisms (“If more people just sat and thought, the world might not be in the stinking mess that it is”). But his “I am a genius!” declaration speaks to the singularity of gay intelligence that goes beyond convention, and Hollywood’s standards, to ethical behavior and quality taste. Webb’s sissy is a cultural paradigm. You might object to him at first, but you’ll wind up proud.

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LIKE A VIRGIN Drag star Kim Chi on her singleminded ambition By Chadwick Moore

THE IMMACULATE KIM CHI is still a virgin, and that’s just fine by her. “It’s, like, someone who hasn’t had a taste of Chipotle isn’t going to crave Chipotle,” says the 27-year-old season eight finalist of RuPaul’s Drag Race. After a candid moment on the show in which she spoke about her recent weight loss, the world learned that the Chicagobased, avant-garde, anime-inspired performer had never so much as been on a date with a boy. “Maybe someone will see the beauty in me, one of these days,” Kim Chi said wistfully on episode two while painting her face in the mirror. Fellow contestant Bob the Drag Queen then responded to the camera, “I don’t think Kim Chi knows what she looks like. She’s still a virgin because she’s not aware that she’s a good-looking, 6-foot-4 man.” During the season finale, a fan asked Kim Chi which member of the Pit Crew—RuPaul’s scantily clad, hunky assistants—she’d most like to lose her virginity to. “None,” she flatly replied, because she didn’t want to “catch anything.” 60 M A R C H 2016 OUT

“People said I was STD“I don’t think has not translated into warm sheets for Kim Chi, despite shaming,” she says. “That’s not I’m asexual. her landing on a global drag what I was trying to do. I was tour after the season aired. just trying to make a joke out The idea of lot of drag queens, they of it,” she says. sex is just not go“A on the show, they travel all On the show, Kim Chi’s something over the world, and they get endearing lisp, inability to dance, and constant struggle I’m familiar what they call ‘road trade,’ but I don’t think a lot of people to walk in heels—all of which with.” see me as a sexual being,” RuPaul found thoroughly she says. “I don’t think I’m amusing—earned her a legion asexual. The idea of sex is just of adoring fans. On one episode not something I’m familiar with.” she proclaimed, “Shady gays believe Kim Chi gave hookup apps a try, once, in no fats, no fems, and no Asians. to immediate dismay. “When I signed As someone who is all of the above, on, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, my god, is that I understand your pain.” She took it a Kim Chi? You’re my drag mom!’ And I’m, step further on the finale, performing like, you know, this is just not going to an original song titled “Fat, Fem, and work out.” Asian.” When she returned to Chicago after Her enigmatic backstory was also a taping the show, she was shocked to draw. Chi, who grew up in South Korea, learn that all her closest friends had revealed on the show that her parents, jumped into relationships, seemingly divorced and living in Chicago, did not overnight. know she was appearing on Drag Race, “Society’s always asking, ‘Are you or that she was a drag queen at all, or even that she was gay. That remains true dating anybody?’ ” she says. But I don’t think dating is everyone’s thing. If you’re today. happy being single, then just be you.” Yet newfound drag superstardom PHOTOGRAPHY BY RUBEN SAN MIGUEL

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THE STUDS OF ALMODÓVAR

Throughout his career, the Julieta director has amassed a veritable man menagerie. PEDRO ALMODÓVAR’S new film Julieta is another of his openhearted women’s stories, full of compassion for the kind of sisterly experience that’s typically relatable for gay men. But within the tale of the title character (who’s coming to terms with her sexual history and her daughter’s lesbian outing), the filmmaker’s eye for men remains as romantically focused as ever. Lush with guy candy, his filmography has turned what was once called “scoping” into the cinematic equivalent of cruising, and his specific taste for masc sexiness has yielded a gallery of beauties. Here, a sampling to feast your eyes on.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

—Armond White

(1) Antonio Banderas

(3) Javier Bardem

(5) Javier Cámara

(7) Fernando Guillén

(9) Liberto Rabal

Almodóvar’s first heartthrob was eager to get plowed in Law of Desire (1987) and played a kissing bandit in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988).

Co-starring in Almodóvar’s sexiest movie, Live Flesh (1997), Bardem plays a wheelchair-confined cop who oozes hotness.

The head flight attendant in I’m So Excited (2013) flouts beefcake stereotypes, and his wit and delicate manliness defy femme-shaming.

Guillén embodies the police fetish in what’s still Almodovar’s best ladies’ pic, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

(4) Darío Grandinetti

(6) Daniel Grao

(8) Gael García Bernal

In both Talk to Her (2002) and Julieta (2016), he turns his bald head into an erogenous zone, reminiscent of the great French New Wave actor Michel Piccoli.

In a stylish yet cheekily erotic scene, Grao, who appears in the flashbacks of Julieta (2016), is caught sitting in a post-coital position, like Rodin’s The Thinker as shot by Drasko Bogdanovic.

The scarred antihero of Bad Education (2004), Bernal plays an aspiring actor who moonlights as a transvestite, boning his way to the top while facing the skeletons in his closet.

Helping make Live Flesh Almodóvar’s most sizzling film, Rabal goes from badboycute to psychotically luscious with one sensual haircut. (Fun fact: Liberto’s real-life father is Spain’s biggest stud, actor Francisco Rabal.)

(2) Miguel Bose In High Heels (1991) the Spanish pop singer goes try-sexual. He plays a judge, a hunk, and a drag artist—and is fierce each time.

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FANTASTIC FOUR A NEW CREW OF YOUNG ACTORS, ALL WITH QUEER PROJECTS, ON WHAT MAKES THEM TICK

Photography by MIRANDA PENN TURIN Styling by PHILLIP MORRISON By CHADWICK MOORE

James Paxton Suit by Marc Jacobs. Tank top and boots by John Varvatos. Neckalces by Areia Jewelry

JAMES PAXTON YOU KNOW HIM FROM: The son of actor Bill Paxton plays Lukas Waldenbeck on the USA drama Eyewitness, directed by Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke and adapted from the Norwegian crime thriller Øyevitne. His character, a popular but sexually confused teenager, falls for his classmate Philip, but after they witness a murder, their lives spiral out of control, and Lukas fears he’ll be outed. WHAT’S NEXT: Paxton stars in the independent film Boogeyman Pop, a coming-of-age punk-rock horror epic hitting the festival circuit this year. He’ll also appear in the indie movie An American in Texas, in which he plays the lead singer of a punk-rock band in 1990. FROM PAGE TO SCREEN: “I wanted to be a journalist,” says the 23-year-old Californian, who switched his major to film in college. “I thought it’d be interesting to learn about stuff I’d have never been able to learn about in any other profession, and having that job would allow me to travel. There was a romanticism about the profession I was in love with—Hunter S. Thompson, gonzo journalism. It was about infiltrating different scenarios and being a fly on the wall, observing everything. But it

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isn’t dissimilar from being an actor. Doing research for a role is my absolute favorite part of it.” BEHIND THE BOARDS: “When I was younger, I was into skateboarding, and I was a basketball player and ran track. One day I picked up a tech deck—which are these miniature, finger-sized skateboards—and realized there was this whole subculture of handmade, artisanal fingerboards. Soon, I could do any trick on that fingerboard that I could do with my legs. It’s a secret little thing I’ll pick up every now and again when I’m bored. Once a friend even made a video of me, and I got sponsored by one of these companies that makes the boards.” ON FIRST KISSES: “Eyewitness was the first time I made out with another boy. [Co-star Tyler Young, who plays Philip, and I] did a private rehearsal with Catherine, and she was like, ‘We’re going to go fully into this, guys.’ So we’d been doing it. In the first few minutes of the first episode, that wasn’t the first kiss Tyler and I ever shared. I hope that doesn’t ruin it for the fans.”

“Eyewitness was the first time I made out with another boy. We did a private rehearsal with Catherine, and she was like, ‘We’re going to go fully into this, guys.’ ”

Jacket by Topman. T-shirt by G Star. Necklaces by Areia Jewelry

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AUSTIN P. McKENZIE YOU KNOW HIM FROM: His role as Melchior Gabor in Deaf West Theatre’s 2015 Broadway revival of Spring Awakening WHAT’S NEXT: A star turn in ABC’s When We Rise, premiering February 27. Written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, the seven-part miniseries traces the American LGBT rights movement from the years just after Stonewall through the height of the AIDS epidemic to the present; Guy Pearce plays the activist Cleve Jones, and McKenzie portrays him in his younger years. Later this year, McKenzie will appear in Speech and Debate, the film version of Stephen Karam’s off-Broadway comedy about three high school misfits who unite to form a debate team. SIGNS POINT TO BROADWAY: “Before I started in this business, I was studying to be a special-education teacher,” says the 23-year-old Arizona native. “Then I applied to be a sign-language interpreter for Spring Awakening. When I showed up, they offered me one of the lead roles, which I almost turned down. I didn’t train to be an actor—I just became one. But there will always be a part of me that serves the special-needs population, whether that’s donating money or volunteering my time.” FATHERS AND SONS: “I grew up without a father. To be frank, it’s still painful and a lot of what I’ve been dealing with my whole life. One of my favorite things about Cleve’s story is his relationship to [assassinated gay politician] Harvey Milk. I could connect to Cleve’s lifelong

“I love witches and demons. My dreams are filled with them—which sounds like a nightmare, but it’s paradise for me.”

search for a father figure. While researching the role one day, I couldn’t stop crying, and I called Cleve and told him. I think it’s because I had created an imaginary father in Harvey. If I feel that much just from portraying Cleve, I can only imagine what the real Cleve feels.” ON HIS INNER DEMONS: “I love witches and demons. My dreams are filled with them— which sounds like a nightmare, but it’s paradise for me. It’s a goal of mine to collect haunted things, but my roommate prohibits me from doing that. It’s all very strange. I try to be poised and nice, but really, on the inside, I wish I could be possessed by a demon.”

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AUGUSTUS PREW YOU KNOW HIM FROM: His roles as Silicon Valley tech billionaire James Bell on the CBS medical drama Pure Genius and the teen superhero Ass-Kicker in Kick-Ass 2 WHAT’S NEXT: Starring as Whip, the cellmate of Wentworth Miller’s character, Michael, in the upcoming fifth season of the Fox hit Prison Break (premiering April 4). Prew also has the lead role as a gay man in the British film Chubby Funny, a comedy about the tension between two actor friends when one becomes more successful than the other. STRANGE FRUIT: “I just got engaged,” says the 29-year-old British actor. “I took [actor and writer Jeffery Self] on a hike here in L.A. to the spot where we had our first date. I brought along two oranges and stabbed one with a knife and shoved the engagement ring in. He saw the ring in the orange and was like, ‘There’s a bit of fucking metal in this orange.’ He started going on a rant, like, ‘Fuck Trader Joe’s!’ ” And then he saw that I was on one knee, because I was pretending to tie my shoelace. We sort of stared at each other for what felt like the longest moment. And then I asked him to marry me.”

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FABULOUS CONNECTIONS: “My mother is kind of a thing. She’s known as the high priestess of fashion in the U.K. She founded London Fashion Week and had a label in the ’70s and ’80s called Wendy Dagworthy, which is her name. I have to say, all I really wear is my mom’s old collections. I wear so many of her old clothes. And Absolutely Fabulous is based on my godmother, Lynne Franks—she’s the Edina character. She was my mom’s publicist and Jennifer Saunders’s publicist for about 20 years. So that’s kind of the world I grew up in.” THE RABBLE-ROUSER: “I tend to have an opinion on most things. I’m very into politics. I think everyone should have an opinion. That’s important for democracy: for everyone to have an educated opinion and to stand up for what they believe in and be true to their conscience. I think a lot of issues in the world right now are because of ineptitude in the political system. That’s a trend that, as a global community, we need to counter. Otherwise, we could be sleepwalking into something quite dangerous.”

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just got engaged. I took [my boyfriend] on a hike here in L.A. to the spot where we had our first date. I brought along two oranges and stabbed one with a knife and shoved the engagement ring in.â&#x20AC;?

Overcoat by Dior Homme. Jacket by Prada O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 7 1

KEVIN McHALE YOU KNOW HIM FROM: His six seasons playing Artie Abrams, a paraplegic high school crooner, on Glee WHAT’S NEXT: Portraying AIDS activist Bobbi Campbell in the ABC miniseries When We Rise. Campbell was the 16th person in San Francisco to be diagnosed with Kaposi’s sarcoma and the first person to come out publicly as living with what would become known as AIDS. LONERS OF THE LONE STAR: “My family is from Connecticut and New York—I was the only one born in Texas,” says the 28-yearold actor, who now lives in Los Angeles. “We were the one blue dot in northern Texas—we 7 2 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

were super liberal. You could spot us by the Obama flags. I was fortunate to grow up in that environment and didn’t realize the rest of my friends weren’t necessarily like that until I got older. I was like, ‘All you guys have pickups and Southern accents.’ I didn’t notice that when I was in elementary school.” ON CHANNELING CAMPBELL: “It was hard to find stuff on Bobbi, but I was able to listen to some radio interviews. He was on the cover of Newsweek and labeled as sort of the AIDS poster boy. I think my first takeaway was that he never lived in shame. Even though nobody understood what was going on, he accepted it and lived out loud with it. He went to college to

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H A I R : C A R LO S O R T I Z . M A K E U P : B E T H A N Y K A R LY N

become a nurse, and when he got diagnosed he did his research. Talking to [Dustin Lance Black], I also learned how Bobbi got along with everyone. He fit right in when he moved to town. KEVIN IN TINDERLAND: “I was in a relationship for a long time, and that ended last year. I think I’m probably bad at dates. Online dating scares the shit out of me. I think I’m too awkward. My sense of humor sometimes doesn’t translate well online. It’s sort of like going to an audition, and you tell a joke, and it either lands or it doesn’t. On Tinder or text, things get misconstrued so easily. I have one friend who is on everything, and for a

while he was losing his mind. He was on, like, four dating apps at once, and he just seemed exhausted.”

“I think I’m probably bad at dates. Online dating scares the shit out of me. I think I’m too awkward.”

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HUSTLE AND FLOW John Rechy spent decades turning tricks and writing about it in incendiary queer classics like City of Night. Now, at 85, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s returned with his most revealing book yet.

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BY JONATHAN PARKS-RAMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROGER DAVIES

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N 1960, JOHN RECHY received an invitation to spend the summer on the private island of a wealthy admirer of his writing. Rechy had published just two short stories at that point in his career, both of which borrowed heavily from his experiences as a male hustler. He was desperately longing for a break from a life of prostitution in Los Angeles, so he accepted the stranger’s invitation. What happened on that island is the subject of Rechy’s shocking, erotic, and suspenseful new novel, After the Blue Hour. More than half a century after that memorable summer, Rechy welcomes me into his home in the Hollywood Hills. The house is a tasteful two-story equipped with elegant modernist furniture, classic portraits of cinematic starlets, and a spiral art deco staircase. The backyard is the triumph of the property, with its sweeping views of Los Angeles. “The Hollywood sign is right over there,” Rechy says, ushering me onto the lawn. “And that’s Griffith Park.” Best known for City of Night, his landmark 1963 novel based on his time as a hustler traveling across the United States, Rechy had a very different view of that park during his youth, when he went there to seek out potential clients. City of Night sparked endless controversy, became a best seller, and established Rechy as a pioneer of modern queer literature. He has published 17 books since and has received several awards, including the PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Now 85 years old, Rechy is tough, passionate, and sharp as ever—though his hustling days are long over. “I was 55 the last time I hustled, and I gave the man his money back,” Rechy recalls with a booming laugh. “I did! It was like putting a period on things. I felt good. It was over.” After a brief tour of his home, we settle in front of a fire to discuss what is perhaps his most autobiographical novel to date. After the Blue Hour (tantalizingly subtitled A True Fiction on its cover page) follows a fictional character named John Rechy as he joins his host Paul on a private island. Like the protagonist, Paul considers himself somewhat of a hustler himself, though he works in a considerably higher income bracket than the 24-year-old John. He has been married and divorced twice, to two wealthy and notable women who have left him with a considerable fortune, an impressive collection of art, and the luxurious island. That summer, John shares his space with Sonya, a stunning model and Paul’s current lover, as well as Paul’s troubled son, Stanty. He is initially unsure of his host’s motivations for inviting him, but as the summer progresses Paul

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draws John into a dangerous psychosexual game. Tans darken and tensions mount as the novel careens toward a twisted, violent finish. As “true fiction,” the book has a meta quality to it; the narrator states that fiction is “more honest in its disguise” than autobiography. This sentiment is shared by Rechy, who claims that this novel mirrors his life more than his own memoir, 2008’s About My Life and the Kept Woman. “[In After the Blue Hour] the John Rechy character is confronting himself,” Rechy says. “And yes, as an author I am also confronting myself.” Though events have been embellished and altered, he insists After the Blue Hour captures an essential verity more that’s truer than the manipulated truth of autobiography. Says Rechy, “When you present a memoir, you’re saying, ‘This is true, I remember.’ Bullshit. Memory has its own narrative. And what we bring forth [in autobiography] is memory’s narrative, not life narrative.” Rechy was born in 1931 in El Paso, Texas, and even as a child he was fascinated by the intersection of real life and fiction. Rechy always wanted to be a writer, and his first attempt at a novel was a fictionalization of the life of Marie Antoinette (“I had about 100 pages by age 11,” he says with a wry grin). But as Rechy grew up in Depression-era Texas, his sympathies shifted away from the indulgent queen to other creative endeavors. By the age of 18, he’d completed his first novel, Pablo!, a fantastical work based on Mayan legends. (It has sat unpublished for years, but Rechy says it will officially be released later this year.) The writer earned his B.A. in English from the University of Texas at El Paso, then called Texas Western College, around 1951. (Dates are a bit fuzzy for Rechy: “I’m not trying to disguise my age at all—it’s just the unreliability of memory,” he says.) As he finished school, the draft for the Korean War loomed large, and Rechy voluntarily joined the Army “to get it over with.” After two years of service, he left to enroll as a grad student at Columbia University in 1953. There, he submitted his unpublished manuscript of Pablo! as part of his application to a creative writing class taught by Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck. “She wouldn’t take me for her writing course,” Rechy says, punctuating his recollection with a middle-fingered salute. “So instead of studying with Ms. Pearl Buck, whom I didn’t like, I found Times Square.” It was there that he began hustling. “While I was having those experiences, I did not once think I was going to write about it,” he says.

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COURTESY JOHN RECHY (HIMSELF)

Clockwise from top left: Rechy’s home in the Hollywood Hills; 1963’s City of Night; a young Rechy

“During the time I taught at UCLA, I remember standing on the corner hustling at 3 o’clock in the morning. A car drove by, and a young kid rolled down the window and said, ‘Good evening, Professor Rechy. Are you out for an evening stroll?’ ” By the late 1950s, Rechy had grown tired of the Times Square scene, so he traveled the country hustling, while still nursing writerly ambitions. He hit a low point during a hellish Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. An excess of booze, drugs, and sex marred his time in the city, and he feared he’d drifted too far into the darkness of his chosen path. The trip marked the nadir of his life—the only time his self-confidence failed him. “I thought I was as trapped as the other [hustlers],” Rechy says. “I thought, This is it. My fate will be like the others, and it’s all gone. But that was my salvation in a sense.” Rechy lifted himself out of the world of prostitution by writing about it, articulating his feelings of despair in a letter to a friend. Once it was finished, Rechy realized the letter sounded like a story, and he submitted a draft of it to literary journals. Evergreen Review—which had published Beckett, Genet, and Camus—accepted the piece and published it under the title “Mardi Gras” in 1958. An editor at the magazine asked if the story was part of a novel. It was not, but Rechy lied and said it was. And with that, Rechy began writing the book that would become City of Night. City of Night was released in 1963 and became an international best seller. At the time, few had documented a queer existence with such detail and candor. Many described Rechy’s writing as the American answer to the lyricism and sexual frankness of Jean Genet. But the novel was also contentious, shunned by a public that regarded homosexuality as obscene and a literary establishment unwilling to let a hustler into their ranks. Many critics judged not the novel itself but the life on which it was based (a petty assessment in The New York Review of Books titled “Fruit Salad” was particularly unfair). But City of Night has stood the test of time, defying the prejudice of its early detractors to become a modern classic. It was a watershed moment in literary history, bringing the queers of the underground into the light. Rechy went on to publish multiple best sellers, and he taught at institutions such as Occidental College, UCLA, and USC. But even after achieving literary success, the writer did not give up hustling. For Rechy, prostitution was never about the money;

it was about the power of being desired. He explored both power and desire in depth when he fictionalized his hustling experiences. In this way, fiction and real life were crucially intertwined for him. But sometimes this double life would create comical misunderstandings. “During the time I taught at UCLA, I remember standing on the corner hustling at 3 o’clock in the morning,” Rechy recalls. “A car drove by, and a young kid rolled down the window and said, ‘Good evening, Professor Rechy. Are you out for an evening stroll?’ ” He laughs. Rechy kept hustling well into his relationship with film producer Michael Ewing, his longtime “mate.” (This is Rechy’s preferred non-heteronormative term for his beloved: “I don’t like the word ‘spouse,’ and I detest ‘husband.’ ”) Rechy met Ewing while hustling in 1980s Los Angeles. At first he didn’t reveal his identity to him, thinking his new boyfriend liked his “street” persona. But eventually the charade became too difficult to sustain—“the pose shattered”—and Rechy revealed that he was, in fact, the author of the books City of Night, The Sexual Outlaw, and Numbers. They fell in love, and eventually Rechy was forced to make a difficult decision. “I didn’t want to let go of my street life,” Rechy says. “But one night I was on Santa Monica Boulevard, and as I was getting in a man’s car I looked out the window and saw Michael coming toward me. He’d seen me. I said to the man, ‘Please let me out.’ And then I went after Michael, and he was crying. Everything changed then. I stopped seeing anyone else. We’ve been with each other for more than 30 years.” But while Rechy’s personal life has settled into a somewhat conventional domesticity, his fiction is as provocative and electric as ever. Rechy has explored the intersection of identity, sexual yearning, and morality throughout his career, but never with the clarity he exhibits in After the Blue Hour. “Now this may sound like writer bullshit,” Rechy says with a selfdeprecating cackle, “but on many levels I think this is my best book. I controlled all that had been so pulsing and romantic in City of Night. And now it’s not romantic. [After the Blue Hour] is a tough book.” If City of Night was applauded for its youthful, carnal immediacy, After the Blue Hour succeeds because it offers perspective that only age can supply. The novel’s title comes from the narrator’s description of “the blue hour”—those “few seconds of blue light between dusk and night [when] everything reveals itself as it is.” Rechy delivers on the promise of that title, mining his own experience for essential human truths. And though many staggering secrets are exposed by the novel’s brutal conclusion, the most powerful revelation is a very intimate one: It’s John Rechy revealing himself. O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 7 9

Randal Kleiser, director of Grease and The Blue Lagoon, in Los Angeles

ALL ACCESS In his new book, photographer Tom Atwood captures more than 160 LGBT people in their humble—and not so humble—homes.

Alan Cumming, actor, in New York

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or his new monograph Kings & Queens in Their Castles (Damiani) photographer Tom Atwood went knocking on the doors of more than 160 queer Americans, taking environmental portraits of them in their unique domiciles. The passion project was 15 years in the making. “I traveled to 30 different states, from California to Maine to Florida to Washington state,” he says. The homes run the gamut from a farmer in his field to a drag queen surrounded by a lifetime of demented curios. The book is proof that the LGBTQ community comes from every walk of life—and every taste level. Besides the many art and pop culture luminaries featured—graphic artist Alison Bechdel with her wife, Holly Taylor, in their garden; news anchor Don Lemon on his balcony; director John Waters in his office—there are also baristas, a small-town transgender sheriff, and even a homeless advocate living in his car. “Having grown up in a rural part of Vermont, I wanted to include as many rural subjects as possible,” says Atwood. The lensman also made sure to snap a few iconoclastic bohemians known for their over-the-top decorating styles—“people who blossomed in the 1960s and 1970s but seem to be slowly disappearing,” he says wistfully. The most wonderful thing about these images: They serve as a reminder that queer people exist everywhere in our country. And they’re all just looking for a place to call home. —GREG GARRY

George Takei, actor, in Los Angeles

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John Waters, filmmaker, in his home office in Baltimore

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Opposite, top, from left: Doug Spearman and Marc Anthony Samuel, actors, in Los Angeles Opposite, bottom: Don Lemon, CNN anchor, in New York Above: Mother Flawless Sabrina, female impersonator (his words), in New York

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I traveled to 30 different states, from California to Maine to Florida to Washington state.â&#x20AC;?

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From left: Holly Taylor, compost maven, and Alison Bechdel, cartoonist and author of Fun Home, in Jericho, Vt.

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Julie Mehretu and Jessica Rankin, artists, in New York

Bruce Vilanch, writer and actor, in West Hollywood, Calif. O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 8 9

By Les Fabian Brathwaite Photography by Blair Getz Mezibov Styling by Grant Woolhead

A MOONLIGHT REVOLUTION

Moonlight, the little black, queer movie that could, has become the cinematic landmark that did. Forever changed by its impact, actor Trevante Rhodes, director Barry Jenkins, and writer Tarell Alvin McCraney discuss the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role at an epic cultural turning point.

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Shirt and pants by Valentino. Tank top by Calvin Klein Shirt and pants by Valentino. Tank top by Calvin Klein

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OW MANY YOUNG ACTORS, let alone young black actors, would choose a gay movie as their first real introduction to the world? Regardless of one’s orientation, Hollywood, for all its left-leaning bloviation, is still homophobic—and pretty racist. Once upon a time, not so long ago, playing gay was a shortcut to either obscurity or an Oscar, depending on how well you died at the end of the film. But Moonlight is not just any gay movie. And Trevante Rhodes is not just any young actor. He is a black man in 2017. And he is completely at home in his skin, obsidian dark and carrying the weight of America’s sins; in his sexuality— straight, if it matters, and it somehow always does; and within his body, powerful, gladiatorial, that of a college and lifelong athlete. It was this body—both his comfort in it, and its discomfiting presence—that earned him his breakout role as the adult version of Moonlight’s central character, Chiron. This body had to convey the story of a man who has built an armor of musculature around the painfully shy little boy who was bullied mercilessly for a reason he couldn’t quite understand—and who was still visible in the 27-year-old’s soulful eyes. Rhodes recognized the opportunity he had in Moonlight, the opportunity to do something that had never— or at most, rarely—been done before. “It’s uncharted territory,” he says with what seems like an innate giddiness, not the joy of someone experiencing the first heady rush of fame. “The fact that it was done, and the fact that it was done so well—that’s just an added benefit of being able to tell a truthful story, a truthful story that hasn’t been seen in the way that it’s now been seen. Hopefully I’ll continue to do great work, but to do great work that’s never been done? That’s like, we invented fire—the world benefits from that. And I think the world will benefit from the film if they see it. Not just the black community, or the gay community, or the black gay community, but, fuck, the world.” Rhodes was taken with Moonlight’s script and how deeply it delved into Chiron’s life, likening the character’s progression to a flower, suddenly besieged by snow, only to emerge intact, gorgeous as ever, come spring. “It was just the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read,” he says. And in taking on the role, Rhodes saw a chance to grow as an actor and a person, to experience things he’d never experienced before and to learn the film’s

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greatest lesson (should it have a lesson at all): empathy. “It’s an incredible work of art, and it’s about a very, very marginalized group of people,” he says. “I’ve had moments with many people who come up to me, red in the face, crying, tearing up because this is their story. They’ve never seen themselves put into a narrative on screen. How am I going to feel that again? I don’t think you can. At the core of it all, you just want to do something that makes someone else feel OK.” I. AN EXPERIMENT IN WHAT LIFE COULD LOOK LIKE When The Birth of a Nation debuted at the Sundance Film

Tank top by Calvin Klein. Pants by Bottega Veneta

Festival last January, it felt like the Great Black Hope. The film industry, stinging from the backlash of #OscarsSoWhite, was eager to embrace Nate Parker’s opus about Nat Turner and his bloody slave rebellion of 1831. Too eager. It sold for a record $17.5 million. Talk of trophy gold was early and fervent. Then came the rape allegations from Parker’s past; his insufficient, cavalier public response to them; lukewarm reviews of the film; and tepid box-office returns. Subsequently, The Birth of a Nation was stillborn. But while Parker’s film slowly imploded, a smaller, quieter Great Black Hope emerged—and it was queer and stunning and said what so many little black queer

boys have waited to hear their entire lives, for generations: I am here, I am human, I exist. Depictions of black queer men in film have been few and far between: Jason Holliday in Portrait of Jason (1967); Lindy in Car Wash (1976); Hollywood in Mannequin (1987); Marlon Riggs’s Tongues Untied (1989); Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston (1989); of course, Paris Is Burning (1990); Rodney Evans’s Brother to Brother (2004) and The Happy Sad (2013); and Patrik-Ian Polk’s The Skinny (2012). It’s been 50 years since Shirley Clarke’s cinema verité documentary introduced the world to Jason Holliday, the spiritual ancestor O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 9 3

M A R K E T E D I TO R : M I C H A E L C O O K . G R O O M E R : A DA M M A R K A R I A N . P H OTO G R A P H E D AT T H E H I G H L I N E H OT E L I N N E W YO R K C I T Y

Jacket by Bottega Veneta. Tank top by Calvin Klein

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estimates about two thirds of Moonlight, of Moonlight’s Chiron. Portrait of Jason the finished film, is autobiographical, was the first time a film considered the containing characters based on real people black homosexual in America. Upon its in his life. He gives an example of telling premiere, Ingmar Bergman called it “the a story to his writing class about “Juan” most extraordinary film I’ve seen in my life,” (played in the film by Mahershala Ali) but it was largely forgotten until the release teaching him how to ride a bike. of a restored print on DVD in 2013; in 2015 “They kind of looked at me odd, like, it was added to the National Film Registry. “I felt that there was a ‘Oh, why would he do that? Why would a Then in 2016, Paris Is Burning was afforded lot of responsibility in drug dealer teach you how to ride a bike?’ ” the same honor for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” the fact that we don’t see McCraney recalls. “As if he had no care, as if his only preoccupation was the doing of this These two films about queer people movies that are centered thing that is deemed harmful and illegal. of color have been deemed important by the Library of Congress and given official on the coming-of-age of But those two things existed at once.” In McCraney’s world, drug dealers acknowledgement by the government and, a young gay black man.” are father figures, kids play soccer with by extension, America. Still, both were balled-up newspapers, and homosexuality directed by white women, far removed is best left unsaid, unacknowledged, and from the worlds they were depicting. This unexplored. Moonlight director Barry disconnect, no doubt, helped bridge the Jenkins grew up in this same world, the world of the Liberty gap between their disparate worlds of subject and audience— Square projects in Miami, around the same time as McCraney. asking the question, “Who is the intended audience?”—but They both had mothers plagued by drug addiction. And also led to familiar criticisms of cultural appropriation and yet Jenkins was unsure he was the right person to take on exploitation. It was as if these stories were only valid when Moonlight. refracted through a white lens. But 50 years after Portrait of Jason, black people have taken control of their own narratives II. WHO IS YOU? in an unprecedented wave of creative liberation. “I felt that there was a lot of responsibility in the fact that we Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote In Moonlight don’t see movies that are centered on the coming-of-age of Black Boys Look Blue, on which Moonlight is based, in the a young gay black man,” says Jenkins. “Because there are so summer of 2003, in the midst of graduating from Chicago’s few of those depictions, the ones that do exist take on added DePaul University and losing his mother to AIDS-related importance.” complications. At a crossroads, McCraney was filled with Though this responsibility weighed heavily on him, questions—about himself, about life, about going out into the Jenkins was particularly hesitant because he hadn’t directed world—that he could not turn to his mother to answer. Neither anything since his 2008 debut feature film, Medicine for a traditional stage or screen play, In Moonlight served as a Melancholy. And on top of that, he wasn’t gay. When he first “circular map” for McCraney, a way to locate himself, socially read McCraney’s In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, through and historically. Miami’s Borscht art collective, Jenkins didn’t really know what “I was very afraid of what my life would look like,” he says. to make of it, but upon the urging of a friend to read it again, “I was very lonely. I still feel very alone most of the time and he was struck by Chiron’s relationship with his mother, which so I tried to figure out and put down as much of the memory mirrored his own. that I could. I think it was an experiment in what life could In Moonlight, Naomie Harris plays a composite of both look like.” Jenkins’s and McCraney’s mothers. She is at times monstrous With his circular map, McCraney explored unconventional and unrelenting; other times she is childlike or maternal or ways of healing, wrought from his childhood experiences—he O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 9 5

Scenes from Moonlight, featuring, from left: Alex Hibbert, as 10-year-old Chiron, and Mahershala Ali (as Juan); Ashton Sanders as teenage Chiron; and Trevante Rhodes as Chiron in his 20s

tender. But her demons always bubble not too far under the surface. Her scenes are some of the finest and most visceral in Moonlight, but they were especially hard for Jenkins to film. “When you’re watching an actor who’s gifted go to these places—getting you closer to these themes you have embedded in your memory—it’s very difficult to just be creating art,” he says. “Like, no, no, no—I’m feeling shit.” It was only after speaking with McCraney over the course of several months that Jenkins reached a point where he felt that he could both preserve and respect the playwright’s voice—and feel free to fully develop the character of Chiron. Jenkins took McCraney’s circular map and made it more linear, dividing it into three distinct acts, portraying Chiron at three different stages of life. He also added the final encounter between Chiron and Kevin, which McCraney had not included in his original piece. “This is one thing I haven’t gotten to talk to Tarell about: Who the fuck is Kevin? Who is his real Kevin?” says Jenkins. “I feel like, in writing the piece, he didn’t include that story because either, I don’t know, he felt like he had gone far enough delving into his personal relationship to Kevin, or they never got that moment in his actual life.” Jenkins felt that reuniting the two was an effective way to fuse his voice with McCraney’s, and to pose the central question of the film: Who is you? “Not who are you,” Jenkins clarifies. “Who is you?” The phrasing is important, because 9 6 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

“Who is you?” keeps it 100, as it were. It appeals to Chiron’s truest self. And it’s not a simple question. Case in point: Jenkins, McCraney, and Rhodes—the three men closest to Chiron—all had radically different answers to my central question of the film: What happened to Chiron and Kevin after the final scene, in which Kevin cradles the adult Chiron in his arms, before Jenkins cuts to a flashback of a young Chiron on a moonlit shore, the ocean stretched out in front of him? Says Rhodes, “They’re like 90 years old right now walking hand in hand in the park.” If he believes in their love story, McCraney is more skeptical. “Nah, of course Trevante said that. He’s pure joy,” he says. “He’s full of peace and love.” He adds, “I’m like, I know the characters had to talk about Kevin punching Chiron in the face. At some point. But I have no idea.” Instead of imagining a happily-ever-after, McCraney is pleased that Jenkins ended the film the way he did, leaving Kevin’s and Chiron’s fates to the audience, and to the characters themselves. “Isn’t it great that they have some authority over their own lives and their own narratives from this point on?” But perhaps Jenkins has the most satisfying answer: “Chiron struggles with the idea that he’s unworthy of love, and he’s been in that place for a very long time,” the director says. “I think for him to get to that admission that he makes in the kitchen at the end—that Kevin is the only man who has ever

P H OTO S BY DAV I D B O R N F R I E N D, C O U R T E S Y O F A 2 4 ( M O O N L I G H T )

“I’ve had many people come up to me, red in the face, crying, tearing up because this is their story. They’ve never seen themselves on the screen.”

touched him—it takes a lot. I mean, it takes a lot. It takes maybe 99 percent of him. So I don’t know where he goes from there. I’ve been in that place, and what usually happens is, you gotta build yourself back up. I don’t know if Kevin is going to be there to build him up as a lover, but I’m quite sure he’ll be there to build him up as a friend. He’s not there to possess him. I don’t know if those characters ever possess each other fully.” III. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE HERE There’s something life-affirming in seeing a stage of beautiful black faces and beautiful black bodies, dressed to the nines, being praised and honored, simply for being themselves. But behind those smiles is the shared truth that this is no small feat. Moonlight has racked up a staggering number of awards since the start of the awards season: Accolades have poured in from the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Gotham, Satellite, Independent Spirit, Broadcast Film Critics Association, and British Independent Film. In January, it won Best Picture (Drama) at the Golden Globes. As we go to press, inevitable

Oscar nominations are around the corner. But for the men behind Moonlight, the awards matter only if they inspire people to go see this little movie that could. “All I have to say is, please,” Jenkins said at the Globes, clutching his trophy in his right hand, “tell a friend, tell a friend, tell a friend. Much love.” For a moment, it seemed possible that Jenkins wouldn’t get to speak, as one of the producers, a white woman, took the mic first—but she understood this was not her story to tell or her award to accept. Barry Jenkins belonged there. Trevante Rhodes belonged there. Tarell McCraney, though absent as he often is from these ceremonies, belonged there. This story, this coming-of-age tale of a young black gay man, belonged there—in film, in Hollywood, in America. James Baldwin said, “When you try to stand up and look the world in the face like you have a right to be here, you have attacked the entire power structure of the Western world.” And that’s really the crux of it. Black people, queer people, Latino people, Muslim people, the so-called Other—for eight years, these people all stood up and dared to claim a piece of the American pie because they had someone in the White House who said they could, that they should, and that he supported their right to do so. It was inevitable, then, that with the power structure under attack, the silent majority would react to ensure its own survival. But once you stand up, it’s impossible to sit back down again. O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 9 7

“What we saw was a thrilling renaissance of black culture and black identity. So there was no need for one Great Black Hope when, as evinced by this impressive proliferation of art and achievement, hope has already been sewn into the nation through Obama’s presidency.” Twenty years ago—five years ago—Moonlight’s success would have been unimaginable. But there is a poetry in the fact that it came at the tail end of something else that, until it happened, also seemed unimaginable. “We were launched into the Obama era with no notion of what to expect, if only because a black presidency had seemed such a dubious proposition,” Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote in December in “My President Was Black,” his comprehensive Obama history. “There was no preparation, because it would have meant preparing for the impossible.” As impossible as Barack Obama’s road to the White House had seemed, eight years of having a black man as commander in chief was emboldening. In 2016, the final year of his presidency, the year that gave us Trump as a rebuttal to that boldness, we saw Beyoncé exalt Black Pride at the Super Bowl, the biggest stage on the planet; we saw her sister Solange crystallize the anguish of police brutality and systemic racism with her acclaimed album A Seat at the Table; we saw Paul Beatty win the Man Booker Prize (the first American, black or otherwise, to nab the prestigious Brit literary award—just a year after gay black writer Marlon James did); we saw #BlackGirlMagic in full, medal-snatching force at the Rio Olympics; we saw Donald Glover’s Atlanta and Issa Rae’s Insecure and Ava DuVernay’s 13th and Queen Sugar add further glimmer to television’s golden age; and we saw Moonlight hailed as a masterpiece, lauded the best film of the year by a chorus of gushing critics. What we witnessed was a thrilling renaissance of black culture and black identity. So there was no need for one Great Black Hope when, as evinced by this impressive proliferation of art and achievement, hope has already been sewn into the nation through Obama’s presidency. This renaissance will continue because it has to. Art flourishes in the harshest of climates, like the flower in Trevante’s analogy; this most beautiful thing will survive the winter ushered in on Election Night last November because art thrives not in spite of, but because of, the cold. Just as we will thrive and create and continue to hope because we— the Other—have stood up and declared our presence. And it’s too late to sit back down again. 98 M A R C H 2016 OUT

TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY: A MIXTAPE The man behind Moonlight shares the 10 songs that shaped his life. “City Called Heaven,” St. Olaf Choir “I heard this song in my first year of college, during winter break when everyone else had gone home. It rang out and shone a spotlight on a pain I could not gather and pull out on my own. It spoke of slave narratives and cotton fields but also of not being enough for this world and longing to be accepted, to be gathered up and taken to the next—something I had felt my whole life but could not express. The lyrics talk about hearing of a city where there is peace and the need to call that city, Heaven, one’s home.”

“Flyin’ High (In the Friendly Sky),” Marvin Gaye “I heard this song very early in my life thanks to my parents, who had exquisite taste in music. It made me well up and cry, and I said to my mom, ‘I don’t understand why we would want to listen to it.’ And she said, ‘Because this man is a genius. And this is what genius music is supposed to do.’ Later I discovered that my desires, and my need for selfcontrol, as well as the battles with addiction around me, all found a call and response in this song. It is what genius music does. It allows us a conversation that we cannot have alone to come tumbling forward—like those salty tears that welled up in my eyes the first time I listened to it.”

“Free,” Deniece Williams “The smell of marijuana in the air, air conditioning, and ocean breeze—this song reminds me of my neighborhood of Liberty City in Miami. The sound is both bitter and sweet, free and constrained.”

“Hyperballad,” Bjork (Brodsky Quartet Remix) “There are films, books, stories waiting to come spilling out of this liquid beauty. I once saw a piece choreographed to “Hyperballad” when I was in high school and cried so much out of joy and pain. I think it was the first time I had felt or sensed the sublime. I could not explain how free I felt. I thought it was the ballet, but I listened to the song again on the train and instantly the world was animated by

from school, and the video debuted on MTV and my mother was rocking out to it: ‘These white boys are getting down.’ I didn't want to smile, although I can today, and did at the time in my heart. I loved that song and I’m glad she did too. But the Amos cover adds another layer that is in one sense subdued and yet wild and unmanageable in pathos.”

“I'm On My Way (Live),” Mahalia Jackson “Have you ever heard a live performance and felt you can see the entire concert in your mind, or at least see the performer, the way their body moves towards or away from the microphone? The live version of this song—Mahalia’s siren-like call and the piano’s rhythm—make me believe I am there, listening, amen-ing, swooning with the crowd as this vessel delivers such spirit.”

“Sinnerman,” Nina Simone

it. The words, Bjork's voice, the strings stirring... I wept again.”

C O U R T E S Y O F DA N I E L L E L E V I T T ( M C C R A N E Y )

“Rouge,” Lou Reed “I love this song. I choreograph solos to it in all the bedrooms I stay in around the world.”

“Paranoid Android,” Radiohead “A masterpiece that shows us what modern-day suites should look like. It takes the angst of an ever-growing electronically dependent future and explores the nuances of that generation.

The song is so hot, then so cool, then so messy and silly, and then smooth and succinct. It serves for me, always, as an example of what a large vision can accomplish.”

“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Tori Amos covering Nirvana “A perfect example of how to take a piece of work and turn it into something entirely your own, adding your own powers to the conversation that is already there. I love the original, and will never forget the day I came home

“One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. It’s a lesson in rhythm: where it can take us, where it can leave us, and how we can get back. I wrote my first play to the rhythm of this song. I just played it over and over and over, and wrote and listened and cried and prayed and... one, two, three.”

“Warda's Whorehouse,” Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso “I stumbled on it while researching Peter Brook, who used it for a production of Jean Genet’s The Screens, and found it intimate and haunting. Its tight musical elements hearken to something ancient, but its style is modern. It wakes in me a want for discipline, but a need for carnality. O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 9 9

Bailey (left): Jacket by Topshop Unique. Top and skirt by Tripp NYC. Stockings by Falke. Shoes by Topshop. Earrings by Eddie Borgo. Nick N. (middle): Jacket and shorts by Topman. Socks by Odd Sox. Shoes by Maison Margiela. Dominique (right): Coat by Topshop Unique. Shorts by Tripp NYC. Necklace by Eddie Borgo. Belt by Saint Laurent. Stockings by Falke. Shoes by Ann Marino

TEA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID ROEMER STYLING BY CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL

Dustin (left): Shorts and boots by Gucci. Stockings from Trash and Vaudeville. Socks by American Apparel. Necklace by Louis Vuitton. Bracelets by Eddie Borgo. Chelsea (right): T-shirt, jeans, belt, earrings, and rings by Gucci. Choker by Zana Bayne. Boots from Trash and Vaudeville Beauty note: Use R+Co Palm Springs Pre-Shampoo Mask to deep condition and strengthen hair.

WORLD-RENOWNED HAIRSTYLISTS GARREN, THOM PRIANO, AND HOWARD MCLAREN CHASE DOWN MIAMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HOTTEST YOUTH.

Dimitri: Shirt by Tripp NYC. Underwear by Calvin Klein Underwear. Jeans by Calvin Klein Jeans. Socks by Falke. Shoes by Marc Jacobs Grooming Note: Use R+Co Chiffon to create soft waves. Finish with R+Co Outer Space to hold the style in place.

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Blue (left): Jacket, T-shirt, bandanna, pants, and shoes by Coach. Belt by Marc Jacobs. Zoe (right): Coat, jacket, T-shirt, and pants by Coach. Glasses by Gucci. Boots by Louis Vuitton Grooming note: R+Co Twister creates curls and gives separation and softness.

OUT S EP T EM B ER 2015

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Max (left): Shirt by Marc Jacobs. Pants by Tripp NYC. Belt by Burberry. Boots by Jimmy Choo. Natalie (right): Dress, belt, and boots by Marc Jacobs Beauty note: R+Co Chiffon creates soft volume, body, and shine. R+Co Sail finishes the style to create soft waves and piecey texture. 76 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 O U T

Max (left): Jeans by Tommy Hilfiger. Chelsea (right): Top and jeans by Tommy Hilfiger Beauty Note: Use R+Co Dallas Thickening Spray, to create volume, body and shine. Finish with R+Co Outer Space for all-day staying power.

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Twiga (left): Dress by Christian Dior. Pants by Versace. Boots by Jimmy Choo. Nina (right): Coat by Bottega Veneta. Shirt and skirt by Tripp NYC. Stockings by Falke. Shoes by Jimmy Choo

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Nick D.: Sweater, pants, and choker by Louis Vuitton. Belt from Trash and Vaudeville Grooming note: Use R+Co Aircraft to create waves, shape curls, and increase body.

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Asees (left): Jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes by Burberry. Nick D. (right): Shirt, pants, belt, and boots by Burberry Grooming Note: R+Co Analog cleanses, conditions, strengthens, and smooths hair while improving manageability.

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Kyle (left): Shirt and pants by Perry Ellis. Socks by Falke. Shoes by Marc Jacobs. Glasses by Gucci. Belt by Bottega Veneta. Asees (right): Vest and pants by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture. Belt by Gucci. Shoes by Maison Margiela

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Kyle: Jacket, tank, and pants by Prada. Belt by Bottega Veneta

Fashion Assistant: Marc Anthony George. Hair: Garren, Howard Mclaren, and Thom Priano for R+Co. Makeup: Lauren Searle and Bo. Nails: May for Smith and Cult. Production by Kimberly Rodriguez for R+Co. Casting by Dawn Tomassone at DTNJ Scouting & Casting. Models: Blue Herman Allen and Asees at MC2; Dimitri Donny at Elite Model Management; Dustin Gregory and Twiga Mermet at Mega; Nick Deluca at Ford Models; Chelsea Whichman at Front; Zoe Allamby at Runway; Nick Norman at Wilhelmina Models; Kyle Alfred and Natalie Halbuer at Green; Bailey Toy at Next; Max Lazaro Rodriguez, Dominique Castelano, and Nina Tsiotsias 1 1 0 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

Nick D. (left): Shirt and pants by Dior Homme. Bracelet by Zana Bayne. Shoes by Louis Vuitton. Dimitri (right): Shirt and pants by Dior Homme. Bracelets by Eddie Borgo. Shoes by Maison Margiela OUT M A R C H 2016

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Photography by JACK PIERSON Styling by GRANT WOOLHEAD

DI LF THESE NINE GAY MEN PROVE THAT AGING IS SEXY.

TROY A. RIDDLE, 47

Administrative Assistant

Instagram: @troyalex1

Overalls by HermĂ¨s. Necklace by David Yurman

GARRETT SWANN, 47

Actor, Model, Entrepreneur Instagram: @thegarrettswann

Jacket by Coach 1941. T-shirt by Tommy Hilfiger. Jeans by Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

NICK WOOSTER, 56

Fashion Influencer

Instagram: @nickwooster

Suit by Prada. T-shirt by Calvin Klein. Watch by Cartier

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ERIC RUTHERFORD, 49

Model, Fashion Correspondent Instagram: @mr.rutherford

Jacket and pants by Bottega Veneta. T-shirt by Calvin Klein. Glasses by Moscot 76 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 O U T

RODDY BOTTUM, 53 Musician

Instagram: @roddybottum

Polo and track jacket by Tommy Hilfiger. Glasses by Moscot

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JAMES TURK, 5O

Entrepreneur

Instagram: @jamesdturk

All clothing by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture

x x M A R C H 2016 OUT

KEVIN RICE, 42

Shirt and shorts by Kenzo

Model, Surfer

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RAINER ANDREESEN, 53

Artist, Model

Instagram: @rainerarts

Jacket and pants by Louis Vuitton. T-shirt by Tommy Hilfiger. Glasses by Moscot. Watch by Cartier

Casting by John Tan. Market Editor: Michael Cook. Fashion Assistant: Roger Amezquita. Hair: Ben Skervin at Streeters. Makeup: Niki Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nRay at The Wall Group. Photo Assistants: Romek Rasenas and Pablo Stagnaro. Hair Assistant: Michelle Garwood 1 2 0 M A R C H 2 0 17 O U T

BRETT ANDREW MILES, 43

Real Estate Broker Instagram: @brettm10

T-shirt by Ermenegildo Zegna. Underwear by Calvin Klein. Jeans by Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Watch by Cartier

O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 x x

TESTING TREATMENT PREVENTION

Sur ve il l an ce

THE OUT GUIDE TO LIFE’S DEEPEST MYSTERIES

COURTESY OF BRAND

Bots Up? In a few short years the robot—a word first coined by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in his 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) —will be 100 years old. In Čapek’s play the robots eventually revolt and wipe out the human race—a fear that has not entirely evaporated over time. In 2015, more than a thousand tech and science gurus, including Stephen Hawking, signed a letter warning against machines that can select targets without human control, such as the Glock-toting robot developed in Israel. Yet the rise of the robot has never seemed more assured, from ever-more-elaborate personal assistants like Siri to self-driving cars to tiny little cyborgs capable of providing yoga lessons.

I Married a Robot Gadget helpers are taking over our lives—and maybe that’s a good thing. The robots are coming. Embrace it. Maybe you can’t have your own personal Rosie just yet, but you may soon. For now, what you can enjoy are voice-controlled apps that set your schedules and home appliances that handle the cooking. “It turns out that voice interfaces are great ways to connect with devices that don’t have a screen,” says Joel Espelien, senior adviser for TDG Research. “Most people have enough screens in their lives, so they don’t want one on every little thing.” Voice commands are just one reason the new wave of smart helpers is so

VOICE-CONTROLLED HELPERS ALEXA When paired with an Amazon Echo and an Amazon Prime account, Alexa is the perfect gal pal. She can call up an endless number of music playlists from Prime, and, thanks to a library of add-on skills, she can also help you stay in shape or mix a drink. Amazon.com, $179.99 (Amazon Echo)

GOOGLE ASSISTANT Get help from Google with your phone or Google Home device. Since it has the best mapping tools around, it’s indispensable when planning a trip. You can also use it for hotel and restaurant recommendations. And because Google has excellent translation software, it can help you speak to the locals.

SIRI Apple’s voicecontrolled assistant is a scheduling whiz, able to create, confirm, and cancel appointments using only spoken commands. It’s like having a tiny secretary follow you around. Plus, when you’re done with work, she can recommend a good nightclub, too.

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HOME SECURITY AUTOMATION

impressive. The other is that they learn our routines and anticipate our needs. “The amount of processing power we’re accessing when we talk to Alexa or Siri is so enormous, we’re actually speaking to a super intelligence,” Espelien adds. “Voice interfaces, because they give us that Star Trek experience, feel sci-fi and futuristic.” If you recall, the world of The Jetsons was all push-button, so in some ways we’re already past that. But we’re still working on that robot maid. Below, nine bots that can help you reprogram your life. —TROY DREIER

SMART HOME APPLIANCES

ALARM.COM HOME SECURITY DRONE Still in the planning stages, this flying patroller could appear later this year. Alarm.com’s drone detects unexpected movements and investigates, sending video to your phone. But if it’s going to patrol the house at night, it will need to be a lot quieter than the current generation of drones. Alarm.com, not yet priced

ONKYO VC-FLX1 Think of this upcoming Onkyo device as an Amazon Echo with a little extra. While it understands voice controls using Alexa, it also has sensors that alert you to fire or flood, as well as an integrated home security camera. Bonus: It has a better speaker than the Echo, a much-needed improvement. OnkyoUSA.com, not yet priced

SOMFY ONE There are plenty of DIY home security cameras on the market, but the Somfy One is several steps ahead. It not only detects intruders, it also chases them away with a 100-dB siren. It will even send you a 10-second video so you can see who or what the intruder was. And it comes with night vision. Somfy.com, $229

GE WI-FI CONNECT Leave it to GE to create an entire line of appliances that work together and let you control them even when you’re away from home. Use voice commands to make sure your morning coffee is ready, and get alerts when the ice makers need filling. Preheat the oven from your phone so dinner is on schedule. You don’t need to be anywhere near your house to cook or do laundry (so long as your appliances are also by GE).

GENICAM You’ll be able to turn trash into treasure with the forthcoming GeniCam, which clips onto your garbage can and scans products as you throw them away. Why? To create a shopping list of things you need. It’ll even dig up coupons and let you know when the can is full.

SAMSUNG POWERBOT VR7000 Forget those other robot vacuums. The Powerbot gets into difficult spots and has fantastic suction so you can banish the dog hair and dust bunnies. Samsung.com, $699.99

Addicted to Droids Four of our favorite small wonders

MAYFIELD ROBOTICS KURI LG HUB ROBOT It’s going to be some time before you see this tot’s blinking eyes in your home, since LG has yet to give a release date, but once it arrives it will be able to play music, check the weather, and connect all your smart appliances together. LG.com, not yet priced

All robots should be this useful—and, um, adorable. Tap Kuri on the head and he will “look up at you and chirp affirmatively,” according to the ever-so slightly creepy pitch, which continues, “With colors representing different emotional states, you’ll always know when Kuri is happy, or if he’s just thinking.” Shipping by the end of the year, Kuri can also read a bedtime story or patrol for burglars. HeyKuri.com, $699

UBTECH ROBOTICS LYNX The Lynx is a physical manifestation of Amazon’s Alexa, but it’s not really much more than a cute extension. It can read your email, take a memo, shop online, or demonstrate downwardfacing dog for you, but it’s still just Alexa on legs. Look for it this spring. Ubtrobot.com, $800–$1,000

COURTESY OF BRANDS

LG LAWN MOWING ROBOT Another tantalizing upcoming product from LG, the Lawn Mowing Robot will tackle one of the most dreaded summertime tasks. That’s a bargain at any price, but only if you use it to get in a workout elsewhere. LG.com, not yet priced

O U T M A R C H 2 0 17 1 2 5

I, ROBOT

With a Blade Runner sequel starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling due this October— 35 years after Ridley Scott’s masterful original—we salute some of our favorite movie bots.

7. ROBOCOP (1987)

9. DOT MATRIX, SPACEBALLS (1987)

1. C-3P0, STAR WARS (1977) English actor Anthony Daniels has portrayed this distraught, fussy droid—an unrivaled expert in etiquette, history, and communication—in all nine Star Wars films to date. “Oh dear” may be the gayest catchphrase of all time.

2. MURDEROUS DOLLS, BARBARELLA (1968) Jane Fonda’s titular heroine is taken hostage by kids in ludicrous wigs, who sic a gaggle of tiny, sharptoothed porcelain dolls on her. Barb is bitten all over, and her skimpy outfit gets even skimpier. Yay!

That glowing red camera eye and the urbane and menacing tones of Canadian actor Douglas Rain have made HAL legendary. His conversationally sinister intonations remain delicious. Even in his death throes he gives us a bravura performance, singing “Daisy Bell” the first song to be sung by a computer in real life: the IBM 7094 in 1961.

5. ROBBY, FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) Don’t let the poster for the movie— which shows a malevolent-looking Robby holding a passed-out, scantily clad woman—fool you. Robby is kind, gentle, and loyal, and his dry wit serves him well in trying circumstances.

4. GIGOLO JOE, A.I. (2001)

6. WALL-E (2008)

“Once you’ve had a lover robot, you’ll never want a real man again.” So declares Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a sex toy of a robot on the run after being framed for murder. But Joe is also a prophet. “We’re suffering for the mistakes they made because when the end comes, all that will be left is us,” he says. Scary thought.

With just a cockroach to keep him company, the eponymous hero is the sole steward of an abandoned and all-but-dead Earth—that is, until a shiny white robot arrives to see ii there are any signs of life. Love quickly ensues.

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“Dead or alive, you’re coming with me,” says the police droid brought back to mechanical life to rid a future Detroit of hammy actors. Well, technically, he’s a cyborg, which is basically a roided-up C-3PO.

8. PRIS AND BATTY, BLADE RUNNER (1982) Daryl Hannah is a glam-rock bot fed up with having to have sex with horrid old men, and Rutger Hauer is a handsome army surplus machine. Together, they hide out in a dark Los Angeles trying to discover what it is to be human—before Harrison Ford kills them.

The scene-stealing star of this Star Wars spoof, Joan Rivers’s Matrix shines (in more ways than one). She’s a delightful, snarky parody of C-3PO that comes equipped with a “virgin alarm” to protect the purity of her master, the princess. The touch is a genius laugh device that only director Mel Brooks could activate. COURTESY OF EVERETT COLLECTION

3. HAL, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)

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If you worked at Walmart or Sam’s Club and had a same-sex spouse between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013 a proposed class action settlement could affect your rights. A $7.5 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit claiming that Walmart and Sam’s Club (together “Walmart”) discriminated against associates with same-sex spouses by failing to provide them with the same spousal health insurance benefits as opposite-sex spouses between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013 (the “Settlement Class Period”). Walmart began making the same health insurance benefits that it provides to oppositesex spouses of its associates available to same-sex spouses of its associates as of January 1, 2014. Walmart denies it did anything wrong. The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiff or Walmart. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. Who Is Included? You are included as a “Settlement Class Member” if, during the Settlement Class Period, you (1) worked at Walmart or Sam’s Club; (2) were legally married to a same-sex spouse; and (3) would have been eligible for spousal Health Insurance Benefits from Walmart or Sam’s Club but for the limitation on providing spousal Health Insurance Benefits to same-sex spouses. What Does The Settlement Provide? Walmart has agreed to pay $7.5 million into a Settlement Fund. Up to $3.5 million of the Settlement Fund will be used to make payments to Settlement Class Members for certain documented out-of-pocket healthcare and/or insurance costs incurred by their same-sex spouse during the Settlement Class Period. The remaining Settlement Fund, after deducting court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses, a service award to the Named Plaintiff, and claims administration costs, will be used to make payments to claiming Settlement Class Members calculated based on the number of months they would have been eligible for spousal health insurance benefits during the Settlement Class Period. These “short form claimants” can receive a pro-rata share of remaining funds based on the number of months they are eligible, up to $5,000 per year or up to $15,000 for the three year period. In addition, Walmart has committed to treating samesex and opposite-sex spouses equally in providing health insurance benefits so long as to do so is consistent with applicable law. How Do I Get A Payment? To get a payment, you must fill out and send in a Claim Form by March 20, 2017. Claim Forms and complete information about the Settlement are available at www. WalmartSameSexSpouseBenefitsSettlement.com. Your Rights and Options. If you do nothing, your rights will be affected but you will not get a Settlement payment. If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself from it by March 20, 2017. Unless you exclude yourself, you will not be able to sue or continue to sue Walmart for any legal claim resolved by this Settlement or released by the Settlement Agreement. If you do not exclude yourself, you may object and notify the Court that you or your lawyer intends to appear at the Court’s Fairness Hearing. Objections are due March 20, 2017. More information is available at www. WalmartSameSexSpouseBenefitsSettlement.com. The Court’s Fairness Hearing. Judge William Young will hold a hearing in this case (Cote v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 15-cv-12945WGY) at 2:00 p.m. on May 11, 2017 at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA 02210. At this hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve: the Settlement; Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees (up to 25% of the Settlement Fund) and costs; and $25,000 as a service award to the Class Representative. You or your lawyer may appear at the hearing at your own expense.

WalmartSameSexSpouseBenefitsSettlement.com 1-877-241-7543

1,000 WO R D S

“I Walled Myself Off” The writer b ehind Mo onlight re calls the p ain of gay youth.

of our last names, saw them often—I cannot name a single person or spot one I called a friend. In fact, when I showed this to [Moonlight director] Barry Jenkins, he recognized many more students and could mention them by name—and we were never in the same grade, or even at the same schools. I don’t remember the people on this page as being any of the bullies who made my life a living hell in middle school. Actually, I know none of these people were those bullies. The faces of the bullies—of a boy named Terrell, and his friends, and someone named Kevin—are etched in my mind. I’d had the fight depicted in Moonlight the year before these photos were taken. Afterward, I walled myself off. I hid in the library from everyone, even people who wanted to just talk or hang. It was a very lonely, scary time. By eighth grade, I wasn’t sleeping much, as shown here [bottom center] by the bags under my eyes. I wore red flannel shirts because Eddie Vedder did.” —Tarell Alvin McCraney

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C O U R T E S Y O F TA R E L L A LV I N M C C R A N E Y

“EVEN THOUGH I WENT to school with a great deal of these people for more than two years—and, by virtue