ISSUE 008 SEPTEMBER 2011
ISSUE 019 AUGUST 2012 THEFIGHTMAG.COM
STRAIGHTS ONLY YOU MATTER PERFECT BODY Secret Committe Excludes Gays
One Man’s Life Changing Journey
The Ultimate Sacrifices
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COVER STORIES AND FEATURES COVER STORIES AND FEATURES SAVED! 18 18 IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU GOLD STANDARD 22 20 A WORK OF ART OBAMA’S HEALTH REFORM 26 28 WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? THANK YOU WILL 32 29 YOU MATTER LEGALLY YOURS 36 30 THE PERFECT BODY THE LAST SURVIVOR 40 34 STRAIGHTS ONLY TRUTH WINS OUT 42 36 RIP GORE VIDAL LIVING 46 39 WHERE NOT TOWITH EAT! BREAST CANCER
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY EDWARD PABON
GETTING SAVED
Ex-Chaplain Performs Gay “Exorcisms”
Gay “Exorcisms”
One Gay Man’s Fight Against Inequality
OBAMA’S HEALTH REFORM
Interview With Recording Artist Ari Gold
Top 10 LGBT Benefits
Interview With Artist Trevor Wayne
PINK TRIANGLE
Top 10 LGBT Benefits
+
The Last Survivor
Increased Awareness Of LGBT Identities
SAN DIEGO PRIDE
The Power of Television
Not Being Defined By Your Past
Rally, Parade, Festival
Time For Clarity
Overly Focusing On Physical Appearance The Life of Gad Beck
Secret Committee Excludes Gays
Groundbreaking Gay Author’s Legacy
ISSUE 018 JULY 2012 THEFIGHTMAG.COM
Getting to Know You
GOLD STANDARD
ARI GOLD ON HOMOPHOBIA IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
LA Gay Center’s New Support Group
Anti-Gay Food Establishments
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THE COLUMNS
THE COLUMNS
14 THE STATE San Diego Pride 08 16 THE EDITOR Insights Regarding Stereotypes THE CITY Hancock Park Hate Crime 10 20 THETHE LETTERS All Sins Absolved ROSTOW REPORT DOMA’s Going Down 12 THE STATE Gop Rage Military March 24 THE MIND Dr.Over Philip Pierce 14 28 THETHE CITY BODY Can’t StayFace In The ToCloset Face FAMILY Center forThe Surrogate Parenting 16 32 THETHE ROSTOW REPORT Putting High In High Court EPIDEMIC At Home Rapid HIV Test 26 38 THETHE FAMILY Legal Strangers THE CALENDAR Outfest Film Festival 30 40 THE EPIDEMIC Truvada Approved For HIV Prevention THE RAINBOW WARRIOR Dave Davenport 34 41 THE SPORTS West Hollywood Aquaticss 42 THE FINAL FIGHT The “G” Word
44 THE CALENDAR Simply Divine FIGHT_AUGUST2012B.indd 6
FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING PLEASE CALL 323-297-4001
Editor-in-Chief STANFORD ALTAMIRANO Managing Editor MARK ARIEL Creative Direction PHOTO BY J HORTON, www.jrhphoto.com POPTHEPIXEL.COM Marketing Consultants LOCATION The Redbury Hotel, Hollywood LISA RADAMAKER www.theredbury.com JOHN MICHAEL GAMBAN VOGEL SOLD OUT CLOTHING Customized “TrevorSCOTT Wayne Webmaster by Miguel” D-Bag shirt with drawing of Trevor by JAMES MICHAEL GOMEZ Miguel Angel Reyes, www.soldoutclothing.com Contributing Writers ROSTOW CELL BLOCK 13 “Prizefighter” jock brief inANN yellow, PHILIP PIERCE, PH.D. www.cellblock13.net THOMAS MONDRAGON, LMFT ZINNIA JONES MARCUS KNIGHT
ON THE COVER
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Stanford Altamirano MANAGING EDITOR Mark Ariel CREATIVE DIRECTION James Michael Gomez MARKETING CONSULTANTS Lisa Radamaker John Michael Gamban SOCIAL MEDIA Tim Kreslake WEBMASTER James Michael Gomez CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ann Rostow Philip Pierce, PH.D. Thomas Mondragon, LMFT Zinnia Jones This issue’s cover interview - the multi-faceted actor/model/artist Trevor If you would like to offer Th few months ago we bisexual and transgender women who Wayne - includes a few interesting insights regarding stereotypes in our at your location, please call 32 ran a feature about are facing issues related to breast cancer, If you would like to offer The Fight few months ago we bisexual and transgender women who community. at your please call 323-297-4001 whether they are location, newly diagnosed, ran a feature about are facingDennis issuesBogorad related toand breast cancer, PUBLISHER his adecisionto longtime survivors or anywhere inThird Step, Inc. Dennis whetherwith they are diagnosed, “After I came out, Bogorad I went to and a gay bar in Chicago fakenewly ID atcreate 19,” a PUBLISHER reveals Wayne. “Ifew wasn’t received very longtime well. I bisexual had orange hair andmen insupport group for (“Living With Breast Cancer,” his decisionto create a we survivors or anywhere Step, Inc. to offer The Fight If Third you would like months ago and transgender womenbetween who DISTRIBUTION piercings, and at that time itfor wasn’t cool.” between at your please call 323-297-4001 dealing with prostate cancer (“Group this issue, page 39). Twolocation, breast cancer support group men With Breast Cancer,” ran a feature about are(“Living facing issues related to breast cancer, Pride in Media DISTRIBUTION FIGHT, 011). free Living with The Fight Magazine is published dealing with prostate cancer (“Group issue, pageIssue 39). Two breastdiagnosed, cancer survivors facilitate the Pride Dennis BogoradSupport,” and thisTHE whether they are newly in Media PUBLISHER Wayne ended up “hanging out with the straight punk rockers, who were Third Step, Inc. Cancer group, whichismeets Support,” THE FIGHT, Issue 011). survivors facilitate the freeor Living with Breast The Fight Magazine published monthly decisionto longtime survivors anywhere inThird Step, Inc. by more accepting of his gays than gayscreate were ofa us.” Dennis, and his life partner, Ron Winokur, 611 South Catalina Street, S Third Step, Inc. Wednesday evenings in Hollywood. Breast Cancer group, which meets support group for men between (“Living With Breast Cancer,” Los Angeles, CA 9000 were both diagnosed with prostate Dennis, and his life partner, Ron Winokur, 611 South CatalinaDISTRIBUTION Street, Suite 307 Wednesday evenings Hollywood. dealing cancer (“Group this issue, page 39). Two breast cancer “It wasn’twith until prostate I was about 24 that I startedin going toDennis gay bars afterin that,” Pride in Media Telephone 323-297-40 cancer 2003. is now cancer “The Center’s Living Breast Loswith Angeles, CACancer 90005 were both diagnosed with prostate says Wayne. “SoFIGHT, my firstIssue impression a good Support,” THE 011). of the gay community survivorswasn’t facilitate the free Living with The Fight Magazine is published monthly by Fax 213-281-9648 323-297-4001 surgery. Sadly, his with partner RonCancersupport group wasTelephone established following cancer in 2003. Dennis is now cancer free after “The Center’s Living Breast one. I was excited to have a whole group of peopleBreast behindCancer me onlygroup, to find which meets Third Step, Inc. Email info@thefightmag Fax 213-281-9648 succumbed the disease in 2006. the creation of a successful free after surgery. partner Ron support group was established following Dennis, andSadly, his lifehis partner, Ron Winokur, 611 SouthProstate Catalina Street, Suite 307 out they were almost even more judgmental thantoeveryone else.” Email info@thefightmag.com Wednesday evenings in Hollywood. Cancer Support Group forLos men,” saidCA 90005 succumbed thediagnosed disease in with 2006.prostate the creation of a successful Prostate Angeles, were to both “While dealing with both of our cancers 323-297-4001 DirectorTelephone Stevie St. John. Wayne’s is a setCancer of postcards called “Pin-Up Support Group for men,” said Communications cancer inrecent 2003. modeling Dennis is venture now cancer “The Center’s Living with Breast Cancer I could not find a support group for gay “WhileShow.” dealing with both of our cancers Fax 213-281-9648 Artistic, and Sadly, uncensored, these Ron photo setssupport are fromgroup various wellTHE FIGHT MAGAZINE LEGAL C Communications Director Stevie St. John. free after surgery. his partner was established following THE FIGHT is proud to Email have info@thefightmag.com been a I couldknown not find a support group for gaymen in Los Angeles,” said Dennis. “In photographers and designers. THE FIGHT MAGAZINE LEGAL CAVEATS succumbed to the disease in 2006. By listing in The Fight Magaz the creation of a successful Prostate I thought found a gay partner in creating these vital support men in Los Angeles,” said Dennis. “In fact when THE FIGHT isI had proud to have been a acknowledge that they do business Cancer Support Group for men,” said By listing in The Fight Magazine, advertisers friendly group was if these I came to support groups for our community. We will Read thedealing entireI had interview with Wayne - “A Work of IArt” - told on pages 20-23 cooperation, fairness and service, fact when I thought found aofgay partner in creating vital “While with both our cancers acknowledge that they do business in the spirit of Communications Director Stevie St. John. level of integrity and responsibi in this issue. the gay group and identified myself as gay I continue to promote community basedmaintaininghigh friendly group I was told if I camegroup to for groups for our community. We will I could not find a support cooperation, fairness and service, a products or services are fully and s THE FIGHT MAGAZINE LEGAL CAVEATS high level of integrity and responsibility. Providers of ‘beaten issues in the future. the group identified myself asDennis. gay Iwould continue toup.’” promote community based menand in Los Angeles,” said “In be THE FIGHT is proud to have beenhealth a for providing same as advertised. The products By or services responsible Also in this issue - West Hollywood’s Master Trainer Jeremy Manning listing are in fully The and Fightsoley Magazine, advertisers assumes no liability for improper or ne would be future.these vital support for providing fact‘beaten when I up.’” thought I had found a gay health issues partnerininthe creating same as advertised. The Fight Magazine acknowledge that they do business in the spirit of Dennispiece decided to establish a prostate bares his soul in a powerfully emotional on coming to terms with practices by advertisers. assumes cooperation, no liability for fairness improper and or negligent friendly group I was told if I came to 32-33. groups for our community. We will service,business maintaining a your true identity, “You Matter,” on pages cancer support group, exclusively for gay Dennis decided to establish a prostate by advertisers. level of integrity and responsibility. Advertisers Providers ofand their agencies assum the group and identified myself as gay I continue to promote community based practices high men, at The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian liability for the content of their a cancer support group, exclusively for gay products or services are fully and soley and responsible Advertisers and their agencies assume responsibility would everything be ‘beatenyou’ve up.’” ever known is somethinghealth issues in go theof, future. “When you need to let TheMagazine Fight Magazine for providing same as advertised. The Fight men, at The Los Angeles Gay & LesbianCenter. and liability for the content of their advertisements in it’s easy to feel lost,” writes Manning. “There’s certainty in destruction and assumes no liability for improper or negligent business The Fight Magazine Publisher assumes no liability for safeCenter.aDennis establish a prostate practices by advertisers. twisteddecided sense oftocomfort in repeating Afterbad thehabits.” article appeared in THE FIGHT of unsolicited art, manuscripts or othe Publisher assumes no liability for safe-keeping or return cancer support group, exclusively for gay Fight Magazine reserves the right to Advertisers and their agencies assume responsibility After the article appeared in THE FIGHTDennis quickly filled the group, and they of unsolicited art, manuscripts or other materials. The for clarity,inlength and content. All men, at The & Lesbian “Without pain,Los weAngeles cannot Gay change. Without failure, we cannot achieve and liability for the content of their advertisements Fight Magazine reserves the right to edit all material Dennis quickly filled the group, and theynow meet twice a week at the Center. Third Step, Inc., all rights reserved. The Fight Magazine success. Center. I understand now, that just because my life used to suck doesn’t for clarity, length and content. All contents ©2011 (Attendance is free. RSVP to Dennis@ reproduced with permission. now meet twice a week the way. Center. Third Step, Inc., all rights reserved. Content may be or return mean it has to stayatthat So I face each day with the support of my Publisher assumes no liability for safe-keeping malecare.org, or call 323-860-7340.) (Attendance is free. RSVP to Dennis@ After the article appeared in THE FIGHT reproduced with permission. The FightThe Magazine assumes no liabili of unsolicited art, manuscripts or other materials. peers. I nurture relationships that bring abundance into my life and I do my contained anywhere Fight Magazine reserves the right to editorallrepresentations material malecare.org, or callgrateful 323-860-7340.) Dennis quickly filled the they best to remain andgroup, humbleand for all the lessons I’ve learned.” The Fight Magazine assumes no liability for any claims Encouraged by the group’s success, The and reserves for clarity, length and content. All contents ©2011 the right to cancel or refu or representations contained anywhere in this magazine, now meet twice a week at the Center. publisher’s discretion. Third Step, Inc., all rights reserved. Content may be STANFORD ALTAMIRANO Encouraged by the group’s success, TheL.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launched and reserves the right to cancel or refuse advertising at (Attendance is free. RSVP to Dennis@ reproduced with permission. publisher’s discretion. www.thefightmag.com Editor-In-Chief STANFORD ALTAMIRANO group specifically for lesbians, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launcheda support malecare.org, or call 323-860-7340.) The Fight Magazine assumes no liability for any claims www.thefightmag.com Editor-In-Chief a support group specifically for lesbians, or representations contained anywhere in this magazine, Encouraged by the group’s success, The and reserves the right to cancel or refuse advertising at STANFORD ALTAMIRANO publisher’s discretion. STANFORD ALTAMIRANO L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launched For Display Advertising Please Call Editor-In-Chief www.thefightmag.com Editor-In-Chief a support group specifically for lesbians, 323-297-4001
THE FIGHT is proud to have been a THE FIGHT is proud to have been a vital support groups f partner in creating partner in creating vital support groups for our community. We FIGHT proud to have been will a continue to prom ourTHE community. We iswill continue to promote community based healthforissues in the fut partner based in creating support community healthvital issues in thegroups future. our community. We will continue to promote community based health issues in the future.
AA A
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a copy of THE FIGHT Dear Editor, at Pride in WeHo last The Ne eration In Gay Lib week. This was the ITION BAD TRTheADPas t Insecond your interview with Ari time I saw Using Future To Veto The Gold (“Gold Standard,” your magazine (I don’t D PROU RY THE FIGHT, Issue 018) he RECOVE get out much) - and I Overcoming n said that there were many The Demo Of Addiction just wanted to write instances of very powerER D UN and that it ismusic GRINDR FO KHAI ful andsay well-known JOEL FSEIM Y A really nice to see a who W A industry professionals ZERO ET gayout magazine thatbut I were themselves + GUIDE wouldn’t feel uncomadvised him to go back PRDEIDE LA TIVAL PA RA , FES RSHALL GRAND MA in fortable the closet. That sadhaving my dened me. Iat. would have kids look My partthought that now, ner and I have 2 adopted children, ages, 11 after and of Ricky 15. We find that other gay magazinesthe aresuccesses overly sexualized Martin and Adam Lambert, not to and not suitable for kids. Regarding your current issue: mention Elton John, Melissa Etheridge and others, while I enjoyed reading the candid interview with Grindr being out would no longer be an issue. I guess we founder Joel Simkhai Feet Away,” THE FIGHT, Issue still have a (“Zero long way to go. 017) I have to say I’m a big fan of Ann Rostow’s “Rostow Report.” Ann makes reading gay news fun, I love her sense Travis Wright, Los Angeles of humor. She is an asset to your publication. I’m also writing to ask what would be the cost to get THE FIGHT in the mail? Thanks in advance. BE HEROES J. Redding, via the internet JUNE 2012 ISSUE 017 AG.CO M THEF IGHTM
TRUE LOxtVE Step
Dear Editor, Thank you forWe including feature on Gad Gay Jewish Ed. Note: offer the THE FIGHT for Beck free ("Last to California Holocaust Survivor THE FIGHT, Issue 018). Beck residents. EmailDies," us your address and we willeventually put you joined the resistance and worked to help keep Jews in Berlin alive and on our mailing list! safe: "As a homosexual, I was able to turn to my trusted non-Jewish, homosexual acquaintances to help supply food and hiding places," he said in an interview. Beck's story is truly inspiring, and a reminder that GIVING BACK even those who are marginalized or deemed outcasts by society can DearupEditor, rise and be heroes. Good for Joel Simkhai (“Zero Feet Away,” THE FIGHT, Issue 017) Guy Rosen, via the internet for creating “Grindr For Equality.” It’s inspiring to see someone who profits from the community giving back in a political and social way. I wish more LGBT business folk were like that. ALL SINS ABSOLVED Gerry Wright, Pasadena Dear Editor, NOT ASHAMED This in response to the author of the letter to the editor who wrote DearisEditor, AIDS is God'swho punishment ("You're A Gay -Homosexual," THE FIGHT, As a person has been in recovery sober now for 7 years Issue 016): If AIDS is God's punishment for anal intercourse, does - I appreciate the recent series of articles you have run in your that mean lung cancer is God's punishment for smoking? If so, do you plan magazine by Jeremy Manning (“Pride and Recovery,” THE to picket Aunt Mildred's funeral carrying signs saying "God hates SmokFIGHT, Issue 017). Jeremy seems to have found his path, and it ers?" If AIDS is God's punishment for sex, why is a little piece of rubber is humbling read his accounts past, present andcommitted future. His so effective attopreventing it? Are all of sins absolved when in line: “I am not where come from Can or what conjunction withashamed rubber, orof just thoseI’ve related to sex? I, forI’ve example, done because proud who become,” are worship graven I’m images so of long as I’ve they're made out of words rubber?to live by... You guys have a unique and uplifting publication, truly a Douglas internet breath ofBlaine, fresh via air. the I wish you all the very best. Name Withheld, via the internet
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Send a letter to the editor by e-mailing: editor@thefightmag.com or faxing: (213) 281-9648. Letters may be shortened for space requirements.
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Among the big winners, reports She Wired at www.shewired.com, is documentarian Andrea Meyerson whose I Stand Corrected, about transgender jazz bassist Jennifer Leitham, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature. Also winning big is Chilean writer / director of the inventive and sensual feature Young and Wild, Marialy Rivas, who landed a special programming award for emerging talent. Young and Wild tells the true coming of age story of a young, bisexual blogger navigating her way through life under the Draconian rules of her Evangelical parents, specifically her mother.
The highly anticipated lesbian-themed Mosquita y Mari, a love story between two teen girls in Los Angeles, earned its director Aurora Guerrero the audience award for Outstanding First U.S. Dramatic Feature Film.
CAMP STAFFERS QUIT OVER FIRED GAY SCOUT
C
ongressional Republicans are in a tizzy over the Defense Department’s decision to allow active-duty troops wear their uniforms while marching in San Diego’s gay pride parade last month.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said department rules bar service members from participating in political activities while in uniform and pressed Panetta on why a waiver was granted, who requested it and why it was considered over others. Former sailor Sean Sala, a member of Servicemembers United Leadership Council and the organizer of the military contingent for the parade, issued a statement last month reading, in part: “Sen. Inhofe and his like-minded colleagues should spend some time actually meeting and talking with some of these gay troops and veterans instead of using their platform to try to bully the Pentagon into moving backwards.” The San Diego parade and festival, Sala said, “are in the same category of non-partisan and non-political community events as are many other events and parades in which servicemembers are also allowed to participate in uniform.”
WOMEN WIN BIG AT OUTFEST Congratulations are in order to several female directors who landed awards at Los Angeles’ LGBT film festival Outfest, which closed last month.
Ten employees at a Boy Scout camp in Northern California have quit in outrage over the firing of a gay staffer, reports The Advocate at www. advocate.com Tim Griffin, 22, an Eagle Scout and seasonal staff member at Camp Winton in Amador County, was let go last month, and 10 of the camp’s 30 employees resigned in support, The Sacramento Bee reports. Officials with the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America say Griffin was fired not because he is gay, but because violated dress codes by wearing nail polish and an earring, for which he received repeated warnings. His supporters, however, say Griffin’s homosexuality was clearly the reason for his dismissal. “It was absolutely about his sexual orientation, no question about it,” said Graham Littlejohn, one of the staffers who quit. Griffin was the longest-serving employee at the camp, having worked there every summer since 2004. He told the Bee he believes the national BSA’s recent decision to reaffirm its policy barring gay scouts and leaders definitely played a role in his firing. He said he is weighing his options for legal action.
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CLUSTERCLUCK While protestors gathered at Laguna Hills, other local Chick-fil-A restaurants try to make amends.
T
he Gay & Lesbian Center of Orange County led a protest last month at the grand opening of Chick-fil-A’s newest location in Laguna Hills.
The protest was in response to the fast food restaurant’s president Dan Cathy, who told the Baptist Press that the company is “guilty as charged” of opposing marriage equality, while it donates millions of dollars to organizations whose goals include “curing” people of being gay. Instigated by Youth Empowered to Act (YETA), The Center OC’s youth activist arm, the action drew close to 100 protestors. “The aim,” said The Center OC’s executive director, Kevin O’Grady, “was to educate the broader community about Chick-fil-A’s charitable contributions to organizations that see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as less than equal, whole and deserving human beings.”
Cillpam said that after hearing of the protests at Laguna Hills, he circulated a letter on the restaurant’s Facebook page, stating his intention to run his business apolitically. “We strive to ensure that every guest receives amazing food and service regardless of belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” he wrote. Cillpam said he wrote the letter because he wanted to put a human face on his business. Both Cathy and the LGBT community have a right to free speech, he said. Comments made by chief executive Dan Cathy have sparked calls for boycotts, and officials in Boston and Chicago have said they oppose the restaurant chain locating outlets in their cities.
“The issue at hand,” clarified O’Grady, “is not Chick-fil-A’s right to free speech or religious freedom, nor is it about Dan Cathy voicing his private opinion about gay people.”
Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay stance also didn’t go over well with Muppets creator Jim Henson Co., whose Jim Henson’s Creature Shop toys have been served up in Chick-fil-A’s meals for kids.
“Chick-fil-A has spent millions to support harmful, discredited ‘therapies’ that are still being inflicted on gay people,” O’Grady said. “The public has a right to know that if they patronize this fast-food chain, their money goes to support these barbaric practices.”
“The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors,” the company said in a posting on its Facebook page.
“If Chick-fil-A truly supports family values, then they should take a stand against parents who kick their lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender children out of the house,” said Laura Kanter, director of youth programs at The Center OC.
“Lisa Henson, our CEO, is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation),” the Henson Co.’s posting said.
In related news, some local owners of Chick-fil-A restaurants are trying to distance themselves from the fast food chain’s stance on gay marriage.
In response to the Chick-Fil-A fiasco, The Abbey in West Hollywood has started offering a Chick-For-Gay sandwich, made with seasoned breaded boneless chicken breast served on a toasted buttered bun with pickles. All of net proceeds from the sale of the sandwich will go to the American Foundation for Equal Rights and their federal court challenge in support of marriage equality.
Jeremiah Cillpam’s Chick-fil-A restaurant on Sunset Boulevard straddles two of the city’s largest LGBT populations, in Hollywood and West Hollywood. 14 The Fight
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PUTTING THE HIGH IN HIGH COURT Our legal world’s an exciting jumble of decisions, motions, petitions, appeals, briefs, deadlines and pending rulings. Oh, and someone accused the conservative Lt. Governor of Florida of having lesbian sex in her office. So, where shall we start? Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you. Of course we’ll begin with the important legal developments. On September 24, the Supreme Court will consider whether to take review of not one, not two, but four challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act. Two of these cases, both from Massachusetts, have been decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Anyway, I gather that the Scouts set up a committee on this subject a couple of years ago and the committee has now decided in favor of continued bigotry. I have a confession to make. Every year I buy a big carton of microwave popcorn from the cute little neighbor boy who is raising money for his troop. I feel guilty about it, but there it is. I don’t give to the Salvation Army. I don’t eat at Chick-fil-A and I don’t buy Romanian wine even though I can no longer remember exactly what the Romanian wine growers did to annoy our community. But I can’t say no to the scout across the street.
First Circuit, one step down from the High Court.
I know I should be more outraged by the Scouts intransigence. And yet, I feel as if the country and the world are simply passing them by. Where once the Scouts were part of the enemy front lines, a phalanx to be overrun in our great battle for Equality, they now remind me of injured soldiers on the sidelines, slouched against the fence posts, their heads swathed in white bandages, still heckling us as we move forward. Yeah, Scouts. You still hate gays. Whatever. We’re moving on.
SCOUTING, ROMANIAN WINE & MICRO- TRIPP’S A TRIP WAVE POPCORN So, what’s up with the Boy Scouts? Last month, the organization announced that it will continue to discriminate against gays, which is like calling Mom and Dad to the table, raising your glass and announcing you’re still not getting married. 16 The Fight
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The slip of the tongue came during roughly 12 months of on and off filming by Lifetime. Naughty Tripp has picked up some salty language because he is constantly surrounded by adults, Bristol explains (unlike those other three-yearolds who send
All I can is that we came a few swing states away from putting the Palin family a heartbeat from the presidency of the United States; a family with three-yearolds that lash out with f-bombs when they can’t visit the swimming pool on demand. Think about that, people.
And that’s not all!
When it rains it pours. No gay cases for nearly a decade and now we’ve got a boatload sitting on the High Court’s desk. It will be fascinating to see which cases they accept. And remember, even when they decline to take a case we still come out the winners, since we were the victors in all these decisions at the lower courts.
And indeed we can all breathe a sigh of relief because his mother assures us that the toddler was misquoted. Tripp did not call his Aunt Willow a “faggot” on his new reality show, “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp.” If you listen carefully, you can tell that the youngster actually called Willow a “fucker.”
their time in solitary contemplation of life’s mysteries). She feels badly about it, and admits that she’s doing “a terrible job of disciplining” the boy.
But the other two, the Golinski case out of Northern California, and the Windsor case out of New York, have only been decided (in our favor) by trial judges. Normally, they would not be appealed to the High Court at this stage, but in this instance, it makes sense to leapfrog the appellate courts. If the High Court is going to evaluate the Defense of Marriage Act, the justices may as well consider the larger legal record.
The justices will also be considering two other nonDOMA gay rights petitions at their late September conference. The Prop 8 lawsuit will be heading their way barring unforeseen developments. And a Ninth Circuit ruling in favor of gay state employees in Arizona has also been appealed to the Supreme Court.
turns out that we are talking about Bristol’s son, a three-year-old, who one would think must be too young to begin both sensing and expressing hostility towards gays and lesbians.
Oh my lord. I was alarmed on many levels to read that little Tripp Palin has been accused of using an antigay slur. Who exactly is Tripp Palin, for one thing? Is that Sarah’s youngest son, her older son, Bristol’s son? Strangely, it
BLACK LIKE JENNIFER So, as I promised you, it’s time to dive into the sleazy sex scandal surrounding Florida’s Republican Lt. Governor, Jennifer Carroll. Put on your water wings, everyone. Carroll is a married mother of three and former Navy veteran who has been accused of having lesbian sex in her Tallahassee office with an assistant who also deliberately started a fire in someone’s trashcan with a cigar. Okay, I will back up if you insist. Carletha Cole is a former aide who was arrested for some kind of illegal tape recording scheme. Last year, Cole secretly taped her boss’s chief of staff complaining about Governor Rick Scott. So there’s that.
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Now, Cole is on trial, so we’re learning interesting things from various court papers and depositions and whatever. Cole is apparently pulling no punches, telling the lawyers that she walked in on the Lt. Governor enjoying certain intimate attentions from her aide, Beatriz Ramos. Believe me, the accusations were quite graphic, but I certainly would not want to offend the delicate sensibilities of my beloved readers with a detailed description of oral sex on the desk.
Why should being gay be accorded any more “respect for privacy” than being straight? Well, you get the point and I agree. Indeed, the entire concept of the closet, along with the more
WHAT’S WITH THE DRUGGIE BILLIONAIRES IN LONDON? I have a couple more LGBT items. Brad Pitt’s mother said something mean about us. Someone named an asteroid after LGBT rights icon Frank Kameny. And a group of power lesbians have started a Super Pac. You go girlz!
Cole also said that Ramos dropped a lit cigar into her (Cole’s) trashcan, deliberately starting a fire for reasons unclear. The reasons are unclear because I am not inclined to spend much time sorting them out.
But I was really kind of intrigued by a non-gay story, the death of the billionaire Eva Rausing, who may have been lying dead in her house in London for a week while her husband hung out and did drugs!
To be fair, an AP report on July 15 says the Lt. Governor passed a polygraph test denying it all, but where’s the fun in that?
Or it’s something like that anyway. I gather as well that this woman walked into the American Embassy in London with a bunch of crack a few years ago and was caught by security. That’s not particularly smart, but what struck me was that authorities then searched her house, discovered tons more drugs, and then issued a “warning” to the couple.
GAY TV NEWSMAN IS GAY What else is new? How about that Higgs boson! Oh, and how could we forget Anderson Cooper? Hey, I like Anderson Cooper. But everyone knew he was gay. He never denied it. So what in God’s name is the big deal here?
Did any of you read the New York Times op-ed on the subject of the celebrity closet by someone smart whose name I forget? The main point is this. As long as formally “coming out of the closet” is considered some kind of act of courage, we’re not where we need to be. Why should avoiding what should be a routine matter of one’s sexual orientation be considered a legitimate insistence on “personal privacy?”
you have no excuse for pretending to be straight in this day and age.
A warning? For 50 grams of cocaine plus pills and other stuff? Extraordinary, don’t you think? I wonder if she’d be alive today had she only been thrown in the clink for a month or so back in the day. Don’t you think Mitt Romney looks like Gumby from a certain angle?
modern “glass closet,” should now be coming to an end. Unless you’re a kid, living in some twisted context, or you’re the first woman in space,
Ann Rostow writes news analysis columns for THE FIGHT and other gay publications across the country. Rostow can be reached at: arostow@aol.com The Fight 17
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IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU More than a tragic love story, the upcoming film Bridegroom will represent every person who has ever been ostracized And condemned for being who they are and loving whom they love
B
RIDEGROOM, the documentary about tragedy befalling a gay couple and the inequalities that result from a lack of marriage protections, has become the highest funded film in the history of Kickstarter.com. The fundraising website, which has helped to finance more than 7,400 films, confirmed that the indie documentary about marriage equality surpassed all previous fundraising efforts by netting $384,375 in four weeks, reports GLAAD at www.glaad.org. On the one-year anniversary of his partner Tom’s death, Shane Bitney Crone posted a video to YouTube entitled, “It Could Happen to You.” The video takes the viewer on a ten-minute journey through Shane and Tom’s relationship, their commitment to marry if it were to become legal in their state (California), their attacks and rejection from Tom’s family, Tom’s tragic death, and refusal from both the government and Tom’s family to recognize their relationship.
Designing Women creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason: “The prejudice and bigotry that Shane and Tom experienced was not unlike what I witnessed in 1986 when my mother died of transfused AIDS.”
The YouTube video was shared widely on social media sites and posted by prominent celebrities, including: Neil Patrick Harris, Sara Gilbert, Fran Dresher, Denise Richards and Piers Morgan.
Tom Bridegroom, below: Shane Bitney Crone
The video also grabbed the attention of Designing Women creator and Man from Hope director, Linda Bloodworth Thomason, who contacted Shane to bring his and Tom’s story to the large screen. Shane and Tom’s story resonated strongly with Bloodworth Thomason. “The prejudice and bigotry that Shane and Tom experienced was not unlike what I witnessed in 1986 when my mother died of transfused AIDS,” she said. To date the video has more than 3,000,000 views. To fund the film, the team turned to Kickstarter, a popular funding platform for creative projects. The team set a goal of $300,000 to be raised within a one-month window. The project achieved its goal well ahead of the Kickstarter deadline, but donations continued to pour in. In the end, the 6,508 individual donors raised $85,000 above the $300,000 goal. They will use the additional funds for more filming on location, better music, and a wider distribution. They hope to release the film in the fall. In an op-ed on lgbtqnation.com, Bitney Crone wrote last month: “BRIDEGROOM will be much more than a tragic love story. This film will represent every person who has ever been ostracized and condemned for being who they are and loving whom they love.” Tom Bridegroom
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TREVOR WAYNE: A WORK OF ART Trevor Wayne on Pin Up and Pop art, coming out punk rock style, and commercial success
BY
STANFORD ALTAMIRANO
PHOTOS BY LOCATION
J HORTON
THE REDBURY HOTEL, HOLLYWOOD
L
A-based Actor/Model/Artist, Trevor Wayne is a walking piece of art. Covered from head to toe in decorative tattoos, he has established himself as a different breed of performer. He has landed numerous roles on television (“ER,” “Mad TV,” “Living with Fran”) and was most recently in Bruce LaBruce’s wonderfully dark “LA Zombie.” Wayne, as a model, has been published in a dozen photographers’ books, and has graced magazine covers, as well as billboards in Times Square. He has also been photographed by legends Greg Gorman, and Mario Testino, and has collaborated on a series of photos with horror legend Clive Barker. Wayne’s recent modeling venture is a set of postcards called “Pin-Up Show.” Artistic, and uncensored, these photo sets are from various well-known photographers. The “Pin-Up Show” will also feature a card photographed and styled by the jewelry and clothing designer for Madonna’s current tour, Michael Schmidt (MichaelSchmidtStudios. com). In an interview with THE FIGHT, Wayne talks about stereotypes in the gay community, Saturday morning cartoons and how he defines success.
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR UPBRINGING. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CHILDHOOD? I was born in Chicago and moved
around the Midwest. From a Blueberry farm in Michigan, to cornfields of Indiana. I was raised by my dad and my grandparents. Early childhood was strange. I never really liked other kids. I always wanted to be around people older than me... We were poor, but I never felt it. My family was so amazing and loving I just never felt like I was going without. I never went hungry, and I always got the toys I wanted! It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized how much my dad and grandparents probably had to sacrifice to get me those things. I can never thank them enough for their kindness. AT WHAT AGE DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE GAY? HOW WERE YOU WITH THAT SELF-REALIZATION? I knew I was gay at 5 years old when my dad took me to see the He-Man/She-Ra movie. There was a scene with Prince Adam riding on a horse with a bow, and I realized right away that my reaction to it wasn’t “normal.” I didn’t admit to myself that I was gay until I was in my teens, and even then I vowed I’d never tell anyone. At that time in Indiana, before the internet, before Will and Grace, before Ellen, before Anderson Cooper, there were no positive role models for gays on TV. They were only a joke of a stereotype. I felt very alone. I hated myself.
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CELL BLOCK 13 Singlet in yellow, www.cellblock13.net
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SOLD OUT CLOTHING Customized “Trevor Wayne in Fuschia” D-Bag shirt with Trevor Wayne’s original artwork, www.soldoutclothing.com
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Illustrations By Trevor Wayne “Golden Heroes”, “Wizard of Hogwarts”, “Little Edie”
I thought this whole town can’t be wrong, being gay must be the most horrible thing ever! There was NO ONE to talk to. No THE FIGHT magazine, no support groups, no hotlines, no gay youth organizations. It was pure hell in my head. WHEN DID YOU COME OUT TO YOUR FAMILY? I came out at 18. I was going to art school in Chicago and commuting from Indiana. I, being a night owl as always, would hang out with friends at the local Denny’s until the early morning, go to school, come home and sleep, then repeat. My Dad would get so furious that I wasn’t sleeping normal hours. One day I came home at 6am to brush my teeth and get ready for school, and my Dad was up and yelling at me for being out all night. He was so angry I was actually scared, so I thought if I told him I’m gay that he would get distracted and forget about why he was mad in the first place. His reaction was “So?” and then he continued to yell at me. My whole family has been really great... My friends didn’t really care. If anything it made me more interesting. Haha. I have not had any problems being out since.
screw this! I will do what I want. My idea of success is in creating things I’m proud of, even if it is a straight to DVD B movie. I don’t need to have commercial success to be successful. I have never felt that way. I also have my artwork, and my Pin-Up Show project currently keeping me busy. I feel pretty well rounded artistically. I feel pretty happy about things, and things are only getting better. GROWING UP, WHO WERE YOUR INSPIRATIONS? Artistically it was Saturday Morning Cartoons! Things like He-Man, Thundercats, G.I. Joe, X-men... I always loved drawing people. I eventually drew portraits in pencils so realistically they looked like black and white photos. I got into art school on a scholarship based on those portraits. However I came back to the style of bold outlines, and Chose solid coloring over shading. Very comic book feeling. Very flat and untextured with bright colors. WHEN DID YOU START THE PROCESS OF GETTING YOUR INK? My first tattoo was a spontaneous birthday present from a friend. I thought he was bluffing about getting me a tattoo for my 18th birthday, and he thought I was bluffing about getting it. Neither of us backed down. When I realized what a powerful medium skin was as canvas, I became obsessed. I had even traveled the country to tattoo conventions and had been tattooed for free because I’d be in tattoo mags or on the covers.
WHEN DID YOU START INTERACTING WITH OTHER GAY MEN? After I came out, I went to a gay bar in Chicago with a fake ID at 19. I wasn’t received very well. I had orange hair and piercings, and at that time it wasn’t cool. If only I had been in NYC! So I ended up hanging out with the straight punk rockers, who were more accepting of gays than gays were of us. It wasn’t until I was about 24 that I started going to gay bars after that. So my first impression of the gay DO YOU APPROACH THE MODELING PIN-UP ASPECT YOUR ART IN THE SAME WAY YOU APPROACH YOUR community wasn’t a good one. I was excited to have a OF ILLUSTRATIONS? IS THERE A CONNECTING THEME whole group of people behind me only to find out they BETWEEN THE TWO? There isn’t a direct connection, Popular Westjudgmental Hollywood Convey on coming out, living were almost even more than Acupuncturist everyone but I doJohn feel they are two halves of a whole picture else. with HIV, Eastern medicine and finding of myinner sense peace of humor in art. Dita Von Teese once WHEN AND DIDARIEL YOU MOVE TO LOS ANGELES? BY WHY MARK I moved to LA in 2003 to pursue acting. It was something I was always told I couldn’t do seriously by agents because I have tattoos. Finally I decided,
said about me - “Today’s pinups must bring together a sense of humor with unabashed eroticism, and Trevor represents the male modern pinup fabulously.” She totally gets it!
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WHAT’S SEXY TO YOU? Self-confidence, but not cockiness. By self confidence I mean someone who has goals of their own, who isn’t afraid to fail, and isn’t hindered by failure. Someone who may not be society’s idea of having a perfect body, but is comfortable at a nude beach. Someone who pays more attention to the little things rather than big over the top gestures. I think a smile is the first thing I notice. A sense of humor is important. Someone who holds doors open for strangers and says thank you when it is done for him. I think when personality shines, it really does take over physicality. So as far as shallow looks go, I don’t have a type so much. And I certainly don’t care if you have tattoos or not. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE OF YOU? Maybe that I’m a sexual deviant because I do “Pin-Up Show.” Or that I have a huge ego, and think I’m incredibly hot. However, I think all misconceptions of me are just people projecting their own issues onto me. I have a surprising number of people who get me, and I appreciate that.
twists, and turns, and you never know where you’ll be. Any minute can bring a wonderful new revelation, or surprise, or job. I can only get more focused and better at what I do, and stay open to new artistic endeavors. Ultimately I’d just like to become established enough to work with the people I want to create with. That, for me, is REAL success. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS? My “Pin-Up Show” postcard series are sets of fully uncensored photos of me by various well known photographers. I have just come out with set number 5. The last week of September I will be doing a sixth set, a little quick on the heels of the last, but I want to get it out there in time to raise money for AIDSWalkLA. I will be donating 50% of all proceeds to my AIDSWalk page. This set will be amazing because there will be photos graciously given to me to use by horror icon, and pal, Clive Barker (Candyman, Hellraiser), Portrait god Greg Gorman, and I’ll re-issue the card of original artwork of me by Angus Oblong, the creator of TV’s “The Oblongs” cartoon.
HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF EVOVLING OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? ACTING, ART, ETC. I don’t even know where I see myself in a month! That is one wonderful thing about being an artist is that everything
You can stay tuned to updates on “Pin-Up Show” and other art projects at Facebook.com/ TheTrevorWayne.
“Pin-Up Show” card series / Sailor by MichaelStokesPhoto.com
“Pin-Up Show” card series / Swimsuit by EdOlenPhotography.com The Fight 23
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CSP’S KAREN SYNESIOU: “PROVIDING GAY MEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE CHILDREN UNITES FAMILIES
LEGAL STRANGERS
“Most men who fell in love with another man thought they would never have a family. Through surrogacy, they could not only love each other, but raise a child together,” explains Synesiou.
D
iscriminatory parenting laws in more than 30 states means it is likely that children being raised in LGBT families will be legal strangers Good parenting is influenced most profoundly by ones ability to to at least one of their parents, according to a report released last month.a loving and nurturing home - an ability that does not create
on whether a parent is gay orLiving straight The studydepend - Securing Legal Ties for Children in LGBT Families: A State Strategy and Policy Guide - details how current state laws put many children in the U.S. at risk and undermine their family stability.
BECOMING PARENTS
T
he Center for Surrogate Parenting, Inc. (CSP) is a surrogacy agency dedicated to helping couples achieve their dream of become parents, regardless of sexual orientation. “Every couple is special and we make no distinction between heterosexual couples and gay couples. We focus on the desire and the intent of a couple to create their own family,” says Karen Synesiou, chief operating officer of The Center for Surrogate Parenting in Encino. CSP helped its first gay couple become parents in 1989. “Providing gay men the opportunity to have children unites families,” states Synesiou.
“There are two million children being raised by gay most of whom “The surrogacy process allows your child to parents, be biologically live into states where arethe excluded byIn family law,” said Jennifer Chrisler, related either onethey or (in case of Vitro Fertilization) both Family Equality Council Executive Director. parents,” explains Synesiou. “It also gives you the opportunity to become involved in the pregnancy itself. Your child is conceived “The impact of these laws is wide-ranging: our children are denied health because of your desire, work, economic and dedication becoming insurance coverage; wehard face higher burdenstothat put our famiparents: the true genesis of your childwhen is his or herdies; creation in chillies at risk; our families aren’t protected a parent and our your minds andthe hearts.” dren live with insecurity of knowing that one of their parents isn’t considered a parent under the law.” “Good parenting is not a product of sexual orientation or whether According to the report, the lack of legal recognition for LGBT families a child has one parent, two parents or raised by grandparents or “harms children and threatens their ability to thrive.” relatives,” states Synesiou. The report also includes recommendations for amending, repealing or overturning discriminatory laws that leave children without theability security of “Good parenting is influenced most profoundly by ones legal ties to their parents. to create a loving and nurturing home -- an ability that does not depend on whether a parent is gay or straight, or whether there “We must act now to change the laws that place children in jeopardy,” said is one or two parents in theDirector home. of If you intend Federation. to provide “Parenting your Rebecca Isaacs, Executive the Equality child with a loving and nurturing home then we would be proud and family laws needs to protect all children, not just some children, and to help you,”serves says as Synesiou. this report a roadmap for policymakers who want to address and update harmful laws in their state.” For more info call 818-788-8288 or visit www.creatingfamilies.com For more info visit: www.lgbtmap.org/securing-legal-ties
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What About THe Children? Will increased awareness of LGBT identities lead more people to identify as LGBT? Yes, but not because such knowledge causes anyone to become anything they weren’t before BY ZINNIA JONES
I
are, instead of being confused and only knowing that they’re somehow different. That’s not a problem. It’s a solution!
“Marriage is about fundamental justice for children,” he said. “Children do best with a mother and a father.”
“Potential foster parents may be required to spend 40 hours in gender sensitivity training, thanks to AB 1865 - a bill that has already passed in the California Assembly. It would require an ‘administrator of a group home facility, licensed foster parent,’ or an ‘extended family member caregiver’ to undergo training to provide care for lesbian, ‘gay,’ bisexual or transgender children.”
And what’s with the scare quotes around “gay” only? Are the rest of us not important enough to have our identities passive-aggressively questioned? OneNewsNow previously ran into trouble with an automated system to replace the word “gay” with “homosexual”, which resulted in a story about Olympic sprinter “Tyson Homosexual.” I suppose Tyson “Gay” would at least be a step up.
Cordileone apparently saw no need to explain how same-sex couples being legally married would in any way prevent marriage from continuing to fulfill its alleged role in “connecting children to their mothers and fathers.” (Nor did he explain how legal prohibition of same-sex marriage would serve to prevent same-sex couples from raising children anyway.) He seems to be under the impression that marriage can only perform one function, and any role for marriage in addition to its “connecting” purpose must compromise that original function. This zerosum model of marriage does not reflect reality.
n a story on the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site, Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values claims that training foster parents in how to care for potentially LGBT children is how “homosexual activists continue to build their numbers:”
Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values (CCV) does not think this will actually benefit the children. “It’s going to continue to confuse children,” he asserts. “This is the way the homosexual activists continue to build their numbers - is to get people confused about their gender identity and start acting out.”
It’s always puzzling when people think that children can’t legitimately know whether they’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and any knowledge of these concepts will only “confuse them,” yet accept without question the assumption that all children must be straight and cisgender
GENDER VARIANCE It’s always puzzling when people think that children can’t legitimately know whether they’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and any knowledge of these concepts will only “confuse them,” yet accept without question the assumption that all children must be straight and cisgender. This is the result of a mentality that pathologizes sexual diversity and gender variance as somehow being caused by bad influences - it’s beyond their comprehension that this could actually be a natural, normal and acceptable part of who someone is. Will increased awareness of LGBT identities lead more people to identify as LGBT? Yes, but not because such knowledge causes anyone to become anything they weren’t before. It just means that those who are in a gender/sexual minority will now have the conceptual basis to describe and understand who and what they
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY In related news - in an interview with the Catholic News Agency, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Oakland Diocese cited the flawed and widely criticized Regnerus study as evidence that “children do best with a mother and a father.” Not content with unjustly impugning the parenting ability of same-sex couples, he proceeded to claim that same-sex marriage is itself “unjust to children:” “The legalization of ‘gay marriage’ in America, even on a civil level, is unjust to children and poses a threat to religious liberty,” warned Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif. “Marriage is the only institution we have that connects children to their mothers and fathers,” he said. “So really, the question is, do you support that institution?” [...]
NO RELEVANCE If an opposite-sex couple has no children and does not intend to have any, or they have children from previous relationships, their choice to marry does no damage to anyone else’s marriage. No other family will falter, no connection between parents and their children will be severed, just because two people got married and did not conform to Cordileone’s favored “two biological parents” model. Cordileone may believe that no one should be having children out of wedlock, divorcing, remarrying, or doing anything that would separate a child from their biological parents. But we don’t see the Catholic Church making any organized effort to campaign against divorce, remarriage, single parenthood, sex or childbearing outside of marriage, or even same-sex parenting itself, in the realm of civil law. They have only chosen to make same-sex marriage an issue to fight in the legal sphere. This has absolutely no relevance to any of Cordileone’s goals, even within his own system of beliefs.
Read more commentary by Zinnia Jones at: www.freethoughtblogs.com/zinniajones
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TRUVADA APPROVED FOR HIV PREVENTION HIV Plus magazine has reported that the FDA has approved Truvada as a preventative drug for reducing the risk of sexual transmission of HIV. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi responded by saying, “The FDA’s historic decision to approve use of an antiretroviral drug for HIV prevention by individuals at high-risk of infection provides us with an effective new weapon in our fight against HIV/AIDS”. The announcement came just two weeks after the FDA approved at-home rapid HIV tests.
EARLY HIV TREATMENT BENEFITS Study results released last month by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show additional benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV clinical outcomes. Expanded analysis of HPTN 052 study data demonstrated that early versus delayed ART showed a trend toward delaying the time to both AIDS and non-AIDS primary events and significantly delayed the time to AIDS events, death and tuberculosis. The overall incidence of clinical events was significantly lower in participants treated in the early therapy arm. The new findings show that immediate ART significantly decreased the incidence of clinical events likely due to reversal of immune suppression
CONAN THE BACTERIUM: SUPERHERO VACCINE There’s a germ that could one day help prevent hair loss, heal victims of a bio-weapon attack and even vaccinate against HIV - it’s called Conan the Bacterium, reports Daniel Villarreal at Gay.net. Its scientific name is actually Deinococcus radiodurans (which in Ancient Greek literally means, “the terrible radiation surviving grain”), a nod towards the bacterium’s ability to withstand more than 3,000 times the radiation needed to kill a human being. The germ’s ability to repair damaged DNA has led scientists to believe that it could one day help heal cells corrupted by other diseases, such as HIV. In 2006, American and Russian scientists theorized that the germ could be a literal Martian, that is, that it may have arrived on earth via a meteorite from Mars - which might explain its seemingly extra-terrestrial ability to repair DNA. But despite its possibly intergalactic origins, the germ has been discovered here on earth in elephant dung, Antarctic icebergs and even in everyday mailboxes.
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YOU MATTER I am no longer defined by my past. I am not a fuck up, even when I fuck shit up. I am not a failure even when I fail. I am not your victim. I am your friend, your lover, your brother and your son BY
JEREMY MANNING
SUIT BY
PHOTO BY ROME GARCIA
ALEXANDER PAUL
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I
am no longer defined by my past. I am not a fuck up, even when I fuck shit up. I am not a failure even when I fail. I am not your victim. I am your friend, your lover, your brother and your son Faggot, Trailer Trash, Victim; these were the labels I was given early on in my life. When I didn’t know who I was so I listened and I believed them. Sometimes it was my abuser who branded me so he could control me. Other times it was my peers as they teased me for wearing cheap shoes or the mix matched colors of my hand-me-down clothes. These were the lessons I learned when I needed to grasp at something real. When I thought it didn’t matter what other people thought, I was really being molded by the world’s perception. Labels are hard to shake. They followed me and hid in the shadows of my varied achievements, perpetuated in self-abuse. My demons manifested in many forms: alcoholism, drug addiction, and the relentless sense of impending doom. I remember living in such a constant state of desperation that all I could think about was when would I eat again or get my next fix. I pushed the limits of my attention just fighting to survive. The spin cycle, I call it, when you need to get high to feel normal and all the money you have is just enough to get by and you’re trapped between life and death - too afraid to live but not yet hopeless enough to die. This was the life I learned to live. It’s what he made me think I deserved. It’s all I ever knew and I believed in every word, even long after I defended myself and left him in my wake. Still, “he” followed me. I was a rebellious youth - I fought to defy the voices in my head telling me to give up, that I was a failure and life was always going to be hopeless and empty. Rage only lasts so long, I often found myself overwhelmed with fear. For years I kept myself isolated by rejecting anyone who tried to love me. To love is to trust and I believed as soon as I let down my guard you would reveal the lie or maybe you wouldn’t and that was even worse. So I trusted the only truth I knew, if I drank I’d get drunk and if you fucked me that meant you accepted me and if I was whoever you wanted me to be, you might protect
me. That’s when I believed everything would be okay if I could just find, “that guy,” until I decided to become him. Survivor, fighter, champion were the labels I would demand for myself when I found the courage to craft my own identity. When everything you’ve ever known is something you need to let go of, it’s easy to feel lost. There’s certainty in destruction and a twisted sense of comfort in repeating bad habits. For a time after I started working to get sober, I lost myself in an unfamiliar place where I had nothing left to cling to. All the things I had known, those awful labels that defined me were being shed like dying flesh from an open wound and I stood at the precipice, raw and afraid of the unknown. Who the fuck am I if not me? I was the drunk, the user, the liar and when I let those things go, I found myself wondering what I’d become? What do I enjoy? What feelings would I feel
“When everything you’ve ever known is something you need to let go of, it’s easy to feel lost. There’s certainty in destruction and a twisted”
now that I refused chemicals to buffer human emotion? Where would I go when I stopped walking in circles? These were the questions I asked myself as the cloud of a lifetime of addiction lifted slowly from my line of site. It was a lot like standing at the open door of a moving train, wanting to jump off, but terrified of landing hard on something sharp. Then the familiar thought crossed my mind. The fear of the loose gravel landing that leads to something worse than death. What could be worse? Being paralyzed? Maimed? Fear has a way of making sense, even when it doesn’t. I had already lived a life of an emotional invalid. Something worse than death was living the life I was living, so I fucking jumped and I jumped hard into the arms of my brothers and sisters in
recovery. It was a rough landing and my insides are raw with sensation and delight. I continue to face my fears one day at a time and live up to the standards of my own perception. I walk slowly, head up and hand-in-hand with a community who accepts me for who I am, no matter what. Everyone suffers and longs to be happy, but we often lose ourselves in the warped expectations of our addicts. Some of us are lucky enough to be found. I am no longer defined by my past. I am not a fuck up, even when I fuck shit up. I am not a failure even when I fail. I am not your victim. I am your friend, your lover, your brother and your son. I am all the things my mother saw in me and all the things I hope to become. I am not held fast by the hands of my enemy. There is no enemy. There is only challenge and honest effort and the gifts I am given when I embrace positive change. Now, I live because there’s little time and I cherish the joy in my life in contrast to everything I’ve experienced before it. Without pain, we cannot change. Without failure, we cannot achieve success. I understand now, that just because my life used to suck doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. So I face each day with the support of my peers. I nurture relationships that bring abundance into my life and I do my best to remain grateful and humble for all the lessons I’ve learned. I’ve let go of self-defeat, crossed through uncertainty and come out on the other side in the image of the man I always hoped I’d become. Every day I ask myself, what would my childhood want from me. The answer is always the same, to fight on, because that is who I am and I am not afraid. Jeremy B. Manning is the host of “Manning Up” radio show about using sports and fitness to overcome adversity on FTNS.co. He can be heard every Monday at 1pm, PST. He is also a Master Trainer in the Hollywood area and can be found at: www.trainwithjeremy.com
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THE PERFECT BODY
Too much focus on physical appearance as the leading aspect of self-assurance and pride in our gay identity ignores those old hurts and repressed feelings that don’t just melt away like body fat
BY THOMAS MONDRAGON, LMFT LMFT
A
s many of you may have read, in a study from the UK, almost 50% of gay men in the survey said they would sacrifice one year of their life for the perfect body. What an alarming indication of the emphasis on extroverted physical values to feel attractive and worthy of attention. Yet I would suggest that this reveals a tragically missed deeper soulful meaning about ourselves as gay men that is needed to stand up against a fiercely consumeristic, one-sided body-centered narrative of gayness that often masks the anxiety-ridden lonely existence so many gay men experience. When I came out and started going to the gym in my 20s, I was shocked to see my body respond noticeably to a rigorous workout regimen of weights, running, and nutritious eating. Soon, in the mirror I saw a muscular smooth body that made me feel more desirable and got me more attention at the gym and gay clubs. What a change to start feeling good about myself. My growing muscles and desire for the perfect body defined me, albeit anxiously, as a gay man someone would want to be with. In hindsight, this became in part, an unconscious effort to make unprocessed loneliness, inferiority and self-loathing, go away. We gay men grew up with different versions of relentless daily brainwashing from families, schools, classmates, religion - that we were bad, deserved being picked on, and/or that we were effeminate, sissies, and not masculine. The psychological trauma to our sense of self and selfworth was severe, brutal and soul-crushing. This filtered down to our relationship to our bodies. As a young gay boy, my lack of interest in sports and awkward self-consciousness in “normal” (code for heterosexual) boyish play was one big arena where constant comparing instilled deeply embedded shame with a fear of being found out for who I really was.
To survive these traumas we formed powerful defenses and armor that don’t just go away when we come out, because the underlying feelings don’t just go away - feelings of emptiness, toxic shame, fear, isolation, and hurt/rage
that we had to shield ourselves and others from. Very understandably, we might want to leave all that behind us and feel good about ourselves. Yet too much focus on physical appearance as the leading aspect of self-assurance and pride in our gay identity ignores those old hurts and repressed feelings that don’t just melt away like body fat. All the perfect muscles can too easily become, in part, another kind of armor. A more wholesome self-care calls for a physical workout that allows us to take care of our bodies in healthful supportive ways, along with a healing inner workout - engaging the mind, emotions and heart. What would gay-centered inner work look like? The empowerment we seek through a hot buff body would get grounded in an understanding that psychological life inside the mind is real, just as real as our physical experience of ourselves. From a Jungian and gay-centered psychological lens, we can actively imagine the yearning for that beautiful handsome man that makes our hearts go pitter-patter and our groins ache also symbolizes an erotic gay soul inner figure sourced within us, where our homosexual being is inherently powerful, worthy, loveable - and not because my well-trained body or the perfect boyfriend will make me feel this way. When we think our self-esteem requires us to actually look like a Tom of Finland character, or have a boyfriend that looks like a hot porn star, we are literalizing a psychological projection of a hot soulful felt experience to be found within us! These projections aren’t meant to be actualized physically in order to feel worthy and loved, yet this misperception explains how we can get caught in an obsessive search for physical beauty in either how we look or what we want that elusive special man to look like. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t workout or that we don’t deserve to find another man to explore love with. As important as a regular workout schedule, holding onto this powerful mysterious soul figure image as a representative of a numinous relationship within ourselves takes dedicated effort in ongoing inner work because internalized homophobia has convinced us that
we are not loveable. This inner critic repeatedly screams out that we are hopeless losers, and that to feel worthy we must meet a shame-driven unachievable standard of perfection. Current body fascism expects perfect pecs and abs and overlooks the greater and richer complexities of a psychologically and spiritually embodied gay self. This distorted emphasis on appearance is sourced in a homophobic lie betraying true gay love by insisting that a life of meaning, romance and love exists by only protectively keeping it all on the surface and that we just “let go of” the trauma and pain of growing up gay by bypassing difficult feelings and our perceived self-defectiveness. By empathically confronting and challenging these negative thoughts and beliefs, this hot inner soul buddy can inspire us to balance out a physical workout with a gay-centered inner work process where we courageously begin to integrate shadowy split off parts and powerful feelings we previously tried to avoid with extra sets and more weights. Often requiring a therapist who shares this vision, as we develop inner muscles to integrate the gay shadow within, our libido brings authentic aliveness and vitality - not through pumped up externally based efforts, but from a soulful place of meaning that recognizes untapped potentials in homosexual personhood. Celebrating our bodies and sexuality can now include real romantic love that takes us into a magical visionary relationship with our whole feeling life, one that might be shared with another man engaged in his own journey of the gay self, and that this soulful transformation within the gay heart is the real wish behind the desire for the perfect buff body. West Hollywood based psychotherapist Thomas Mondragon is a professor at Antioch University Los Angeles’ LGBT Specialization in Clinical Psychology, providing students the skills needed for LGBT affirmative psychotherapeutic practice. He can be reached at: (310) 779-3113 or via email: tjmondragon@mac.com
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“My growing muscles and desire for the perfect body defined me, albeit anxiously, as a gay man someone would want to be with. In hindsight, this became in part, an unconscious effort to make unprocessed loneliness, inferiority and self-loathing, go away�
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STRAIGHTS ONLY Will increased awareness of LGBT identities lead more people to identify as LGBT? Yes, but not because such knowledge causes anyone to become anything they weren’t before BY ZINNIA JONES
N
o one should be especially surprised that the Boy Scouts of America recently announced they would maintain their policy of excluding gay people from membership. There’s little indication that they ever seriously considered revising their position that “homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the requirement in the Scout Oath that a Scout be morally straight and in the Scout Law that a Scout be clean in word and deed, and that homosexuals do not provide a desirable role model for Scouts.”
stated that this mystery committee contained “a diversity of perspectives and opinions,” which apparently led them to conclude unanimously that the Boy Scouts should be for straight people only. And they’ve dismissed the significance of this issue with the flippant statement that “Scouting believes that good people can personally disagree on this topic and still work together to achieve the life-changing benefits to youth through Scouting.”
The BSA now claims that this policy has been under review for two years by a special committee, whose existence was never announced and whose composition is entirely unknown. They’ve
Legally speaking, the Boy Scouts are a private organization, and they’re fully within their rights to exclude whomever they choose for any reason at all, with no accountability to anyone. But
SECRET COMMITTEE
we still have every right to expect them not to discriminate against people without good reason, just as we expect everyone else not to be racist, sexist or homophobic. Instead, the BSA has decided that the “life-changing benefits” of scouting should be denied to an entire segment of the population that they’ve deemed immoral, unclean, and poor role models. They have done this without even the barest explanation of why they believe this is so. Rather than pretending that there’s any sort of reason for this and hiding behind an unaccountable secret committee, it would have been more honest if they had simply told us, “Because screw you, that’s why.” That’s all it really boils down to when someone calls you immoral and refuses to say why.
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If the Boy Scouts don’t want to talk about sexuality, they certainly don’t have to, but removing so-called “known or avowed homosexuals” isn’t going to make anyone forget that we exist BY THOMAS MONDRAGON, LMFT LMFT
Last month, the BSA offered a minimal justification for their current policy, saying: Scouting believes same-sex attraction should be introduced and discussed outside of its program with parents, caregivers, or spiritual advisers, at the appropriate time and in the right setting. The vast majority of parents we serve value this right and do not sign their children up for Scouting for it to introduce or discuss, in any way, these topics.
“... Families like mine have to explain to our sons why they can’t join the Scouts: because the BSA has decided that their parents just aren’t good people. The only thing ‘life-changing’ about this is having to teach our 8-year-old how ugly the world can be.” Of course, this raises the question of whether opposite-sex attraction is a topic that the Boy Scouts program does discuss - and why same-sex attraction is so different that it must not only be left unaddressed, but literally banished. Does the presence of heterosexuals imply discussion of heterosexuality? If not, why is the mere presence of gay people considered synonymous with introducing and discussing homosexuality?
MORAL LAZINESS The notion that you can exclude the very idea of same-sex attraction just by banning anyone who possesses that attraction is pure fantasy anyway. Perhaps, like Anthony Esolen of Touchstone Magazine, they believe that any public awareness of homosexuality itself is corrosive to friendships between men, introducing the possibility of an element of attraction and making all close friendship suspect. Esolen’s solution, that being gay must once again be stigmatized to the point of being unthinkable, means requiring all gay people to live in secrecy, rather than expecting men who are friends to exhibit the maturity needed to recognize that homosexuality poses no threat to them. On an organizational scale, the BSA prefers the answer that’s most convenient to their prejudice. But this is a genie that isn’t going back in the bottle. If the Boy Scouts don’t want to talk about sexuality, they certainly don’t have to, but removing socalled “known or avowed homosexuals” isn’t going to make anyone forget that they exist. This is the wrong answer to something that isn’t even a problem. And as a result of their moral laziness, families like mine have to explain to our sons why they can’t join the Scouts: because the BSA has decided that their parents just aren’t good people. The only thing life-changing about this is having to teach our 8-year-old how ugly the world can be. Read more commentary by Zinnia Jones at: www.freethoughtblogs. com/zinniajones
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RIP GORE VIDAL Legacy includes penning “The City and the Pillar,” one of the first mainstream American novels to feature overtly gay characters BY PATRICK TSAKUDA
A
s many of you may have read, in a study from the UK, almost 50% of gay men in the survey said they would sacrifice one year of their life for the perfect body. What an alarming indication of the emphasis on extroverted physical values to feel attractive and worthy of attention. Yet I would suggest that this reveals a tragically missed deeper soulful meaning about ourselves as gay men that is needed to stand up against a fiercely consumeristic, one-sided body-centered narrative of gayness that often masks the anxiety-ridden lonely existence so many gay men experience.
EP Dutton: “You will never be forgiven for this book. Twenty years from now, you will still be attacked for it.”
Groundbreaking gay author, screenwriter, political essayist, and playwright Gore Vidal died last month at age 86.
Vidal described style as “knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” It is clear that this is the path he set out to follow himself.
Vidal’s legacy includes penning The City and the Pillar, one of the first mainstream American novels to feature overtly gay characters. The book, his third, concerned a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. Vidal’s portrayal of a gay protagonist who was well adjusted and not presented as the typical symbolic warning about the defiance of social norms, was a boundary-breaking statement. The book caused a scandal, as critics railed against Vidal’s decision to present a balanced view of a lifestyle viewed as immoral during the period. As the book was published, reports International Business Times, Vidal was told by an editor at 42 The Fight
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Instead of shrinking from the critical venom, Vidal thrived on it, claiming that he aimed to shock. Nonetheless, for the best part of the next decade he was forced to write under pseudonyms, as he found himself blacklisted by publishers. Eventually his popularity saw him writing under his own name again, producing famous works such as the novels Myra Breckenridge, Lincoln
and Burr. He also wrote screenplays, including Last Summer, Is Paris Burning and Suddenly. Throughout his career, Vidal sought to incorporate gay themes. He revealed, while being interviewed as part of the documentary The Celluloid Closet, that he worked a gay subtext into
the theatrically masculine screenplay for Ben Hur, starring the icon of traditional masculinity, Charlton Heston. In the latter stages of his life, Vidal often appeared on the television talk show circuit, going head to head with those with opposing view points -- and gave as good as he got, reports CNN. He once compared author Norman Mailer to the infamous killer Charles Manson, which prompted Mailer to headbutt him before a show. Author Truman Capote once said he felt sad about Gore, “very sad that he has to breathe every day.” And in a live TV debate, conservative author and journalist, William F. Buckley Jr. famously called him “queer.” To be fair, Vidal had called him a “crypto-Nazi” first. “Well, I mean I won the debates, there was no question of that,” Vidal recounted in a CNN interview in 2007. “They took polls, it was ABC Television... And because I’m a writer, people think that I’m this poor little fragile thing. I’m not poor and fragile. ... And anybody who insults me is going to get it right back.” Vidal described style as “knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” It is clear that this is the path he set out to follow himself.
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Rivas’ sexually charged “Young & Wild” (International Dramatic Centerpiece) about a Melrose Place. bisexual teen blogger; David France’s riveting chronicle of the struggles triumphs Some of the businesses that lineand Melrose Placeof Restaurant partners include: AOC,UP BLD, Bluto Survive a Plague” (Documentary Centerpiece); the AIDS activist group ACT “How will stay open late for shopping, including Ports Jam Café, Border Grill, Craft, Good Girl Dinette, and Aurora Guerrero’s “Mosquita Y Mari” 1961, (Fusion Centerpiece), a sensitivewhere dramacelebabout Leggiadro and BookMarc, Grilleda friendship Cheese Truck, Hudson House, Jar, between two Latina girls fromrity Loschef Angeles. Susan Feniger, owner of participating Josie’s, The Kosher Palate, Marino Ristorante, The line-up of talent in this year’s movies and events includes restaurants STREET andAdam BorderPally, Grill,Casey will be NickelWilson Diner, and Public SchoolGuarino 612, Susan Feni-Endings” panel), Alan Cumming and Garret Stephen (“Happy signing copies of her new book Susan Feniger’s Street, Sweet Lady Umami Burger, Dillahunt (“Any DayJane, Now”), Haley Joel Osment Ashley (“Sassy Pants”), ger’s and Street Food:Rickards Irresistibly Crispy, Creamy, The Village and the village idiot. JamieBakery Lynn-Sigler and David Ross (“I Do”),Crunchy, Thora Birch, LahtiRecipes. and Brittany Spicy,Christine Sticky, Sweet Snow (“Petunia”), Carrie Preston, Anne Heche and Alia Shawkat (“That’s What She Wineries, spirits andVivian craft beers BarSaid”), Justin Bond include: and Zosia Mamet (“Sunset Stories”), Michael Urie (“Thank Serious wine aficionados may want to consider rymore Wines, Boutique Sake, Rye and You for Judging”), LanceBulleit Bass (“Mississippi: I Am”), Stephane Rideau and Beatrice Dalle the exclusive two-hour Club VIP Tasting prior Bourbon, Duckhorn Wine Company, (“Our Paradise”), and JonathanFigueroa Caouette (“Walk Away Renee”). to the main event, at which just 100 guests will Mountain Brewing Co., Walker Brew-spotlights a quintet of exciting new talent behind In its Five in Firestone Focus series, Outfest enjoy rare and high-end wines in the chic Marc ing Co., Frogs Leap/Mosaic Wine Alliance, the camera and on the big screen. The 2012 selections include: Alicia Luz Rodríguez Jacobs boutiques. They’ll also receive free valet Garber and Company, Global Beer (Actress, “Young & Wild”), Wu Network, Tsang (Filmmaker, “Wildness”), Sally El Hosaini (Writer/ parking and reserved seating at the main event. Heritage of France Classical Wines of Spain, Director, “My-Brother the Devil”), Matthew Wilkas (Actor, “Gayby”) and Michael Marius Inception Wines, J. Lohr Vineyard &“Joshua Wines, LauPessah (Cinematographer, Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean”). Simply diVine includes an extensive silent and rel Glen Vineyard, Martian Ranch Vineyard, Celebrating 30 years of &Outfest, the organization will screen THE FILMS THAT live auction featuring travel and restaurant packNobleza Tequila, A Pacific (Southern Wine & Spir-- a series of seminal LGBT films from the 1960’s SPARKED CULTURAL REVOLUTION ages, fine wines and more. Proceeds benefit its), Pacific Winea recreation & Spirits, of the very first festival from 1982: “Queen of to the Prime 2000’sWines, which Salo includes Center programs and services. Silver Sheba Oak Cellars, Brewing Co.,(Rice, Strange MeetsStone The Atom Man” 1963-4), “Taxi Zum Klo” (Ripploh, 1981) and a newly Wines,restored Tobin James, Family(Hill, Vineprint of Trefethen “Making Love” 1982). The anniversary series will also include 30th General admission tickets for Simply diVine are yards,anniversary Trione Vineyards, Uvaggio, shorts asTruchard, well as the discussion “30 Years of Outfest: Directors Tell All”, $100. Club VIP tickets are $500 and sell out evVeev Acai Spirit,directors Ventura Gregg Limoncello Company featuring Araki, Tommy O’Haver, Angela Robinson, Ira Sachs and Rose ery year. and Wagner of Wine. by Sundance Film Festival Director, John Cooper. Troche,Family and moderated For more information, or to purchase tickets, For more drinks information and for a complete listing of films in the Festival, log on to www. Non-alcoholic including Smartwater, visit SimplydiVineLA.org outfest.org/fest2012/ call be 213-480-7065. vitaminwater and coffee willoralso served.
GAY TRAFFIC SCHOOL Third Tuesday and Wednesday of everymonth,6-10pm The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles 90038. 1-800-Gay-4-You or www.laglc.org POP LUCK CLUB Second Sunday of every month, 11am. Locations vary. Los Angeles based organization for Gay Dads, Prospective Dads, and their families. www.popluckclub.org. PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, at the Gay & Lesbian Center. RSVP to Dennis@malecare.org or call 323-860-7340 GREAT AUTOS OF YESTERYEAR The largest LGBT classic car club on the West Coast. www.greatautos.org LOS ANGELES PRIME TIMERS Social group for older mature gay men and admirers www.laprimetimers.org LOS ANGELES GAY BRIDGE CLUB http://www.communityvisions.org/IAGLBC LOS ANGELES GAY/LESBIAN SCIENTISTS www.lagls.org LOS ANGELES GAY FOR GOOD Gays making a commitment to volunteer for social welfare and environmental service projects. www.gayforgood.org LOS ANGELES GAY NATURISM California Men Enjoying Naturism cmen.info BI-OSPHERE P.O.V. Every 2nd Wednesday, 8-9:30pm. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-7302 M-F between 6-9pm. Topicdriven discussion for women and men who identify as, or are exploring bisexuality. MEN’S SPEAKEASY Every Tuesday at 8pm. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-7302. Fun, alternative space for gay and bisexual men to meet and make new friends. LGBT BOOK CLUB First Wednesday of each month, 7:30-9:30 p.m. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-7302, M-F between 6-9pm USC LAMBDA LGBT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION alumnigroups.usc.edu/lambda/ LOS ANGELES BLACK PRIDE www.myblackpridela.com
EMAIL YOUR EVENT OR GROUP editor@thefightnag.com
GREATER PASADENA AID FUND www.greaterpasadenaaidfund.org POSITIVE IMAGES WORKSHOP Every Monday, from 7-9pm. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. If you’re looking for ways to deal with HIV, the Live Life
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Better Workshop can help you learn coping skills, build a support system, and work toward your health goals. An RSVP is required. For more information or to reserve your place, call 323-860-7321. The e-mail contact is positiveimages@ lagaycenter.org. TRANSGENDER PERCEPTIONS Every Friday, 8pm. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. For more information, call 323860-7302 M-F between 6-9pm. Social networking group offers a safe and welcoming opportunity for people of any age and gender identity to learn from others and to share experiences. GET CENTERED Meditation Class, Every Saturday, 1011am, $10. Gay & Lesbian Center, 1625 N Schrader Blvd. Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-7300 SENIORS SERVICES Ongoing, The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-7359. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SUPPORT Ongoing, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, 1625 N Schrader Blvd. Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-5806. MPOWERMENT WEEKLY WORKSHOPS Tuesdays and fridays, 6pm. Apla, 3550 wilshire blvd, suite 300, los angeles. More info: donta morrison, tel: 213.201.1561 For young gay men of color -- ages 18 thru 24 -- looking for a safe place to hang out. “Each week offers a great opportunity to vent, laugh, make friends, and simply celebrate who you are.” SUPPORT FOR HIV-POSITIVE WOMEN Second and fourth wednesdays, 7pm. The david geffen center, 611 south kingsley drive, los angeles. More info: call women at risk at 310-204-1046. SOCAL SOCIAL CLUB: For more info: www.Socalsocialclub.Com Southern california’s social & business network for lgbt professionals
12 STEP GROUPS All groups meet at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza 1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles. For more information, call 323-860-7302 M-F between 6-9pm. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Mondays, 6:10-7:10 p.m.
CRYSTAL METH ANONYMOUS Saturdays, 9:10-10:10 a.m. DEBTORS ANONYMOUS Tuesdays, 8-9 p.m. MARIJUANA ANONYMOUS Wednesdays, 8:15-9:45 p.m. Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. SEXUAL COMPULSIVES ANONYMOUS Mondays, 8-9 p.m. Tuesdays, 8-9 p.m. Wednesdays, 8-9 p.m. Thursdays, 8:15-9:15 p.m. Saturdays, 12:15-1:45 p.m. WOMEN’S NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS Saturdays, Noon-1 p.m.
SPORTS LOS ANGELES LESBIAN SOFTBALL www.lagaysoftball.com LOS ANGELES LESBIAN TACKLE FOOTBALL www.californiaquakefootball.com LOS ANGELES LESBIAN RUGBY http://www.eaglerockrugby.com WOMEN’S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GOLF www.womensgolf.org/wscga LOS ANGELES LESBIAN POKER http://www.lalpg.com LOS ANGELES WOMEN ON A ROLL Luncheons, Comedy Nights, and Conversation Groups. www.womenonaroll.com LOS ANGELES GAY RODEO CLUB www.gsgra.org LOS ANGELES GAY FLAG FOOTBALL http://www.laflagfootball.com There’s also lesbian tackle football. WEST HOLLYWOOD GAY RUGBY www.larebellion.org LOS ANGELES POOL LEAGUE Friendly Billiard teams www.lapl8ball.com GAY & LESBIAN BOWLING LEAGUE www.tavernguildleague.com SAGA LA Gay Ski & Snowboard Club www.sagala.org V.O.I.L.A. Volleyball www.lagayvolleyball.com GREAT OUTDOORS The largest gay outdoor recreational organization in Southern California.
www.greatoutdoorsla.org GAY AND LESBIAN SIERRANS Camping, Outdoors, Hiking angeles.sierraclub.org CHEER LA Cheerleading www.cheerla.org LA ROWING www.larowing.org DIFFERENT SPOKES Cycling www.differentspokes.com Rides start in various locations in the greater Los Angeles area. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BLADES Ice Hockey www.bladeshockey.com LOS ANGELES FRONTRUNNERS Running and walking club www.lafrontrunners.com WEST HOLLYWOOD SOCCER CLUB www.gaysoccer.com Comfortable, supportive environment for learning and playing the world’s most popular game. LOS ANGELES GAY SCUBA CLUB www.barnaclebusters.org LOS ANGELES GAY ROCK CLIMBING www.lalgbtclimbing.com WEST HOLLYWOOD AQUATICS Swim and Water Polo Teams www.wh2o.org
WORSHIP METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH mccla.org 4953 Franklin Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90027 BETH CHAYIM CHADASHIM SYNAGOGUE bcc-la.org 6090 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90035 KOL AMI REFORM SYNAGOGUE kol-ami.org 1200 North La Brea Avenue West Hollywood, CA 90038 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES fccla.org 540 South Commonwealth Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90020 HOLLYWOOD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH hollywoodumc.org 6817 Franklin Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90028 HOLY SPIRIT
holyspirit-la.org 4201 West Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90029 UNITED UNIVERSITY CHURCH uniteduniversitychurch.org 817 West 34th St Los Angeles, CA 90089 DIGNITY CENTER dignitylosangeles.org 126 South Avenue 64 Los Angeles, CA 90042 HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH-HLYWD hopelutheranchurch.net 6720 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 WEST HOLLYWOOD PRESBYTERIAN wehopres.org 7350 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90046 MOUNT HOLLYWOOD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH mthollywood.org 4607 Prospect Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90027 IMMANUEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH immanuelpres.org 3300 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90010 ST. MATTHEW’S LUTHERAN CHURCH stmatthewsnoho.org 11031 Camarillo St. North Hollywood, CA 91602 CHRIST CHAPEL OF THE VALLEY christchapel.com 11050 Hartsook Street North Hollywood, CA 91601 ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH stpaulssm.org 958 Lincoln Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90403 ST. MONICA CATHOLIC COMMUNITY stmonica.net 725 California Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90403 WEHO CHURCH wehochurch.com 916 N. Formosa Ave. West Hollywood, CA 90046 ST. VICTOR’S CATHOLIC CHURCH saintvictor.org 8634 Holloway Drive West Hollywood, California 90069 ST. LUKE LUTHERAN stlukelutheran.com 5312 Comercio Way Woodland Hills, CA 91364
FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT
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Where NOT To Eat
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Five food chains supporting anti-gay politics
WORD USING “GAY” AS AN INSULT SHOULD NEVER BE TOLERATED BY ZINNIA JONES
Is it okay to say that someone “Jewed” you outCookies of something? or all the Oreo out there – companies that support gay rights, if only Or that something that because doing so is good for business – there are isn’t plenty ofworking food companies that have must be not come around on progressive social issues. In fact, reports Lauren Kelley on AlterNet (www. “n*****-rigged?”
F
alternet.org) a number of food companies are owned by far right-wingers who’ve spent significant money opposing gay rights. Here are five food chains helmed by owners who support right-wing politics.
1
Chick-fil-A
The latest Chick-fil-A hubbub has been especially high profile. Chain president Dan Cathy, who is the son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, said in a recent interview with the Baptist Press that “as an organization we can operate on biblical principles.” Asked about the company’s support of the “traditional family,” Cathy answered, “Well, guilty as charged….We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical defini-
A
Tumblr user recently wrote: “… this is like when the lgbt community gets really, really angry about the word ‘gay.’ Is it privileged and bigoted? Yes. Are you really getting anything done by yelling at straight people (and gay people) that use the word? No. You are just pissing people off and turning them off your cause, even the people that should, by all rights, be PART of your cause.”
The use of “gay” as an insult is an issue that’s important enough to take a stand on even if it does cost us potential allies. When we tell people that it’s hurtful and harmful for them to use the very word we’re named as a synonym for anything and everything that’s negative and dislikable, that is a matter of basic respect. It is probably about as basic as this can possibly get: don’t who we are to mean something bad. Taking minority group’s from name forcity’s yournontion use of the family unit….We know that it might removea sexual orientation that own use as an all-occasions pejorative is not merely disrespectful – it’s just about not be popular with everyone, but thank the discrimination ordinance. obvious way that we youcan canshare tell us, “WE THINK WHAT YOU ARE IS BAD.” Lord,the wemost live in a country where If that whaton you meanprinciples.” to convey, then you need to stop using language our values andisn’t operate biblical WHITE CASTLE White Castleinjoins such a way that you openly associate the very names Carl’s of Jr.minorities on the listwith of everything beloved burger you dislike. This goes beyond merely implying peopleties. areAccording bad. It’s to a jointsthat withgay right-wing CARL’s JR. Carl’s Jr. founder Carl tantamount to stating it outright. Is it okayrecent to sayThinkProgress that someonereport “Jewed” out aboutyou companies Karcher, who died in 2008, had a mean of something? Or that something that isn’t working must be “n*****-rigged”? that have helped bankroll right-wing attack ads, anti-gay streak. Gay rights groups dubbed Would any amount of “I didn’t mean it likeWhite that” Castle rationalization make that alright? has given $25,000 to the Congreshis hamburgers “bigot burgers” after Karcher No one should ever think this is acceptable, yet so many people are under sional Leadership Fund super PAC, athe group supported a 1978 proposition that would have impression that it’s a-okay to do this to gay people. Why? Because it’s a more linked to House Speaker John Boehner that is allowed school boards to fire teachers who were recent development in language? Becausesupporting social disapproval ofcandidates this usageinisn’t conservative the Nogay. widespread enough yet? Because they just reallyelection. like using the word? It doesn’t vember matter. It’s not okay. DOMINO’S PIZZA While Domino’s If being asked to stop using our identity as an insult is all it takes to alienate potential WAFFLE HOUSE Waffle House is also does not directly contribute to anti-gay acallies, let me make it very clear that I do not care. I do not intend to sacrifice my own mentioned in the ThinkProgress report. tivity, founder Tom Monaghan has contribself-respect just to gain the support of people who can’t even bring themselves to The breakfast joint has given $100,000 uted heavily to initiatives and organizations that listen to us and respect us in this most basic and minimal way. Are those the allies we this election cycle to the Karl Rove super PAC oppose the rights of LGBTs. He is a co-founder want? Can they even be called allies in any meaningful sense? American Crossroads. CEO Jim Rogers Jr. is a of the homophobic Thomas More Law Center, longtime supporter of Republican causes, and which has advocated in court to restrict acRead more commentary by Zinnia Jones at: the company’s political action committee has cess to domestic partner benefits, and in 2001 www.freethoughtblogs.com/zinniajones financed a ballot proposal in Ypsilanti, MI to given exclusively to Republicans .
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