Los Angeles Blade, Volume 07, Issue 01, January 06, 2023

CAPITOL CHAOS

McCarthy humiliated as Santos keeps on lying, page 08

(Blade photo by Michael Key)

New California laws now in effect

Measures included offer protections for trans youth

FROM STAFF REPORTS

As the last session of the California legislature ended Governor Gavin Newsom signed numerous measures that took effect on January first. One of those new laws that was set to that was set to go into effect was placed on a temporary hold by a Sacramento County Superior Court judge last Friday, December 30.

A temporary restraining order came in response to a lawsuit filed Thursday by a restaurant coalition trying to overturn the law, called AB 257, through a referendum on the November 2024 ballot. AB 257 creates a special council that will have the authority to create employment laws for workers at fast food chains with 100 or more locations or franchises nationwide. The council will be able to set wages, working conditions and training for fast food workers.

If the referendum qualifies for the ballot, it would block AB 257 until voters have a say. Also known as the FAST Recovery Act, AB 257 would, among other things, create a worker representative body with the power to raise wages.

The order prevents the law from being implemented until after a Jan.13 hearing, in which the court will decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction.

Other measures included are LGBTQ+ laws offering protections for trans youth and their families, as well as LGBTQ+ and other people living with HIV will also see improved protections around their ability to obtain life or disability insurance.

Workplace improvements with California’s minimum wage that increases by 50 cents to $15.50.  Expanded rights for farmworkers, transparency of pay scales, bereavement leave, along with the implementation of a two-year-old state law that bans the sale of flavored tobacco products.

California also becomes the first state to limit the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials. Prosecutors have at times relied on rap lyrics as evidence the artist was documenting a crime they were accused of committing. Researchers found that juries shown similar lyrics have shown bias against Black and Latino rap artists, but not white country music artists.

New Laws:

SB107, authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), starting January 1 it will be California policy to reject any out-of-state court judgments removing trans kids from their parents’ custody because they allowed them to receive gender-affirming health care. State health officials will not be allowed to comply with subpoenas seeking health records and any information related to such criminal cases, and public safety officers must make out-of-state criminal arrest warrants for such parents their lowest priority.

AB 218 by gay Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) creates a process for Californians seeking a change of gender to also request that their marriage license, certificate, and their children’s birth certificates be reissued with their updated gender-affirming information.

SB 283 by Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), imposes a prohibition on a life or disability insurance insurer from considering an applicant’s occupation in determining whether to require an HIV test and clarifies that limiting benefits payable for a loss caused or contributed to by HIV is allowed if it was part of the original underwriting risk. It also clarifies that the misdemeanor for willful, negligent, or mali-

cious disclosure of HIV test results to a third party is punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 364 days.

AB 465 by former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (D-Van Nuys), who was termed out of office this month, requires professional fiduciaries to receive LGBTQ+ cultural competency and sensitivity training during their education and licensing process. Private professional fiduciaries provide critical services to older adults and people with disabilities, from managing their clients’ daily care, housing, and medical needs to ensuring their bills are paid and managing their investments.

SB 731 gives people with some criminal convictions a clean slate. The law expands what type of crimes are eligible to be automatically sealed and, for the first time, allows people with violent felony records to petition to have their records sealed if they completed their sentence and have not had a new felony offense in four years. Almost all crimes qualify except sex-related crimes. Certain provisions of this law will take effect in July.

SB 923, requires California medical professionals who interact with transgender, gender-nonconforming, and intersex patients to receive cultural competency training. It also calls for health providers to create searchable online directories of their gender-affirming services.

Known as the TGI Inclusive Care Act, it builds on the state’s Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund created in 2020 and allocated $13 million last year. The Office of Health Equity within the state Department of Public Health administers the fund and awards grants to organizations providing trans-inclusive health care.

SB 960 eliminates a requirement that peace officers be either U.S. citizens or permanent residents applying for citizenship. The law simply requires that anyone applying to be a law enforcement officer be legally authorized to work in the United States.

SB 972 makes it easier for mobile street vendors who often sell fresh fruit, tacos or hot dogs, to obtain permits and meet health requirements. The law reduces the cost of permit fees and changes health requirements which often times were similar to brick-and-mortar restaurants or food trucks.

AB 1041 allows employees to take family care or medical leave for an expanded group of individuals. An employee can now take leave for a “designated” person who is either related by blood or whose association with the employee is equivalent to a family relationship.

SB 1087 prohibits anyone from buying a catalytic converter other than from an automobile dismantler, an automotive repair dealer or a person providing documentation they are the lawful owner of the catalytic converter. AB 1740 requires recyclers to obtain a copy of the title of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was removed.

SB 1162 is a big win for workers. It requires businesses with 15 or more employees to include information about salary ranges for all job postings. Workers will also have the right now to know the pay scale for their current position. Companies with 100 or more employees are required to submit pay data and wage history to the state by May of each year or face penalties.

AB 1200 bans the use of food packaging, such as takeout boxes and food wrappers, made from plant fibers that

contain PFAS that were intentionally added or are present at levels above 100 parts per million. PFAS are hazardous chemicals added to food packaging to make them more water or stain resistant.

Assembly Bill 1314 in 2022, the Feather Alert System, which creates a system similar to Amber Alert but for indigenous people who have gone missing “under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.”

AB 1661 requires hair salons, nail salons and other barbering and cosmetology businesses to post signs containing information about slavery and human trafficking. The signs must include phone numbers where to report such crimes.

AB 1700 requires the state attorney general to establish a website for people to report items they suspect are stolen and being sold on the internet. A companion bill (SB 301) that requires online marketplaces to obtain personal and financial information from high volume sellers takes effect in July.

AB 1909 requires cars to change lanes, when feasible, to pass a bicyclist using a traffic lane. It also allows electric bicycles to be used on most bicycle lanes but allows local governments to prohibit them on recreational trails. The OmniBike law would also stop enforcement of local bicycle licensing laws.

AB 2147 makes it illegal for law enforcement to stop and cite a person for jaywalking unless the person crosses the street in an unsafe manner.

AB 2223 protects women from prosecution if they chose to end a pregnancy or undergo an abortion, even if it happens outside the medical system. It also protects someone who helped a women with an abortion from criminal or civil liability.

AB 2294 allows police to keep in custody individuals convicted of theft from a store in the past six months if they are suspected of organized retail theft. Previously, an individual detained for retail theft was given a written notice or citation and released. The law also establishes recidivism programs to prevent repeat offenders.

AB 2466, authored by Out lesbian Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona). Agencies that place foster children can no longer decline to place a child with a resource family because a parent identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. It also scraps the usage of the phrase “hard-to-place children” in state codes.

California has three new state holidays. AB 1655 adds June 19, known as Juneteenth, as a state holiday. AB 2596 recognizes Lunar New Year as a state holiday and AB 1801 designates April 24 as Genocide Remembrance Day.

Consumer Privacy: Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) approved in 2020, gave consumers the right to know, delete or opt-out of the sale of their personal information. New provisions take effect in 2023 that allow consumers and employees to ask businesses to disclose the personal information they have collected on them and ask them to delete or correct that information.

Employees may also ask a company not to sell or share their personal information and have the right to know what personal information their employer is selling or sharing about them and with whom.

Consumers and employees can also direct businesses to limit the use of sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers, financial account information, geolocation data or genetic data.

(Additional reporting from KABC 7 Los Angeles and The Bay Area Reporter)

Schiff says he’s seriously considering 2024 Senate run

While appearing on Los Angeles Fox 11, Rep. Adam Schiff, who represents Burbank and portions of Hollywood and West Hollywood in the U.S. House, told The Issue Is host Elex Michaelson that should incumbent California U. S. Senator Diane Feinstein, who is 89, retire in 2024 he will seriously consider replacing her in a campaign run for her seat.

“Look, I am getting a lot of encouragement to run for the Senate from people in California and colleagues here in Congress,” Schiff told Michaelson.

“If Senator Feinstein retires, then I will give it very serious consideration. It’s a great responsibility, and in terms of continuing the work I’ve been doing to protect our democracy and fight for an economy that works for everyone, that would also give me a chance to try to meet those objectives for all Californians.

“But, you know, at this point, I think we’re waiting to see what Senator Feinstein has to say about her plans, but, yes, it is something I’m giving serious consideration to,” he added.

While discussing other issues and topics, Schiff spoke

about the recent efforts to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from government-issued mobiles as well as a potential national ban on the app due to security concerns over protecting the personal data of Americans.

“I don’t think members of the government ought to use [TikTok] on their phones,” Schiff said. “I don’t use it on my phone. I wouldn’t recommend others. So I would like to see the federal government not use TikTok. I have to think that there’s a better way to deal with the risks posed by TikTok than banning it altogether in the United States, but we are going to have to find a way both to make sure that American’s private data isn’t stolen, and we have to be on guard for Chinese government’s ability through the algorithms of TikTok to propagandize Americans – they can control that content, they can control what people see. Conversely, they can control what people don’t see. If they don’t want people to see demonstrations in China, which there are a great many because of their COVID policies, they can make sure that Americans don’t get to see that, and neither does the rest of the world. So we need to address those very real

Actor Tyler Sanders, 18, died from fentanyl overdose

The June 16, 2022 death of Tyler Sanders, 18, was an accidental overdose from fentanyl says a report released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The actor, star of 9-1-1: Lone Star” and “The Rookie” and formerly “Fear The Walking Dead”  had a history of drug abuse the report stated according to celebrity news webzine TMZ which obtained and published the report.

Sources had told  TMZ at the time of the actor’s death he had a history of drug use and LAPD investigators had found “a plastic straw and white powder in the room where he died.”

In the full coroner’s report obtained by the entertainment site, Sanders texted a friend the night before he died where he mentioned he was using fentanyl. The report went on to mention that the actor didn’t answer his phone when that friend attempted to call him after sending the text.

The Los Angeles Police Department found Sanders unresponsive in bed in the home where he lived alone. The report also detailed more apparent illicit drugs were found in the bathroom.

The report mentioned Sanders’ history of drug abuse, which included heroin, cocaine, LSD, mushrooms, and Xa-

nax. He had no history of medical problems.

The New York Post noted that Sanders, who entered showbiz at age 10, is perhaps known for starring in “9-1-1: Lone Star” opposite Rob Lowe. He also appeared in “The Rookie,” “Fear the Walking Dead” and the Amazon Prime series  “Just Add Magic: Mystery City.”

Also a student of stand-up comedy and improv, the rising star  earned a 2021 Daytime Emmy nomination for his role as Leo in the “Just Add Magic” spin-off, and had a pair of independent films currently in postproduction, per to his IMDb.com profile.

Sanders was also active on social media,  boasting an Ins-

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tagram page with over 12,000 followers, where he frequently shared photos of himself with co-stars, friends and other adventures.

ET Canada reported after Sanders’ cause of death was revealed, his family released emotional statements, insisting that they hope the actor’s death can help others who might be struggling with their mental health.

Sanders’ father David shared, “Tyler was an ambitious, hard-working actor who was dealing with deep and persistent depression. Although actively seeking treatment, Tyler struggled to find relief and chose to experiment with drugs.

“Tyler fell into drug use, not as a way to have fun socially, but rather as an attempt to overcome his profound mental health struggle. While we continue to mourn his death, we are determined to share Tyler’s story in hopes of furthering the conversation around this pervasive issue.”

His mother, Ginger, added: “Losing Tyler due to fentanyl poisoning has been incredibly difficult. I want others to understand that we are a family much like all other families who never thought this could happen to us.”

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Arrest for homophobic, racist hate speech

Police in San Ramon, 34 miles east of San Francisco, announced that a Colorado man has been taken into custody after spewing homophobic and racist slurs at an Asian couple dining at a local restaurant.

San Ramon police arrested Jordan Douglas Krah, 40, from Denver, charging him with two counts of committing a hate crime after he approached an Asian couple on Christmas Eve at the In-N-Out Burger restaurant on San Ramon Valley Boulevard.

According to a SRPD press release, Krah harassed Arine Kim and her friend Elliot Ha as they were filming a TikTok story of themselves trying different dishes. The couple captured

Krah saying off-camera: “You’re filming yourself eating? You’re weird homosexuals.”

He then goes on to attack the couple’s Asian ethnicity asking if they are Japanese or Korean. “Are you Japanese or Korean?”

When Ha responds that he is Korean the man responds with “You’re Kim Jong Un’s boyfriend?” And moments later says, “Normally I could spit in your face…that’s some Filipino shit.”

He then uses a homophobic slur adding, “see you outside.” According to multiple media reports Ha and Kim waited for the restaurant to close and had workers walk them to their car.

On Facebook and Twitter San Ramon Police Chief Denton

Carlson asked for the public’s assistance in seeking information about the suspect and posted a photo of a man in a silver Mustang, with Florida plates.

After announcing Monday that Krah had been booked into the Contra Costa County jail on suspicion of two counts of committing a hate crime, SRPD Lt. Tami Williams said in a press release:

“The San Ramon Police Department strives to ensure everyone in our community feels safe and welcome. We will continue to take swift and diligent legal action against acts of hate to help create an inclusive place for all to live, work and visit.”

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problems, but I wouldn’t begin with saying that the solution is banning it in the entire country.”

Rep. ADAM SCHIFF, seen here in Kiev, is considering a run for Senate. (Official U.S. House of Representatives photo by Eric Connolly)

TYLER SANDERS (Photo via Sanders’ Instagram)

Iconic journalist Barbara Walters dies at 93

If ever there was a gold standard for American broadcast journalists the likely two top choices would be famed CBS reporter and anchor Walter Cronkite and the groundbreaking ABC News reporter and anchor Barbara Walters.

The news came late last Friday that the latter, a legendary broadcast journalist had died peacefully surrounded by family and friends at her home in New York at age 93. Walters shattered the glass ceiling in her profession and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men. Walters is survived by her adopted daughter Jacqueline.

Without a doubt Walters likely holds a record for the shear number of interviews of the rich and famous, political leaders, as well as celebrities from every walk of life and endeavor. Walters, who won 12 Emmy awards, 11 of those while at ABC News, was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989.

In her 50-plus year career as a broadcast journalist she had earned nearly universal acclaim, respect, and admiration for her work.

At ABC News as the co-anchor of the network’s extremely successful award winning “20/20,” she interviewed the people who made history in the mid-20th century into the early 21st century conducting her last interview, of then-businessman and potential presidential candidate Donald Trump, in 2015.

Walters began her national broadcast career on NBC’s “Today” show as a reporter, writer and panel member before being promoted to co-host in 1974. Her rising popularity with viewers resulted in Walters receiving more airtime, and in 1974, NBC executives promoted her to be the co-host of the program, the first woman ever to hold such a title on an American news program

Walters joined ABC News in 1976 after becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she became a co-host of “20/20,” and in 1997, she launched “The View.”

Bob Iger, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, which is the parent company of ABC News, praised Walters as someone who broke down barriers.

“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself.” Iger said in a statement Friday.

She made her final appearance as a co-host of “The View” in 2014, but remained an executive producer of the show and continued to do some interviews and specials for ABC News. “I do not want to appear on another program or climb an-

other mountain,” she said at the time. “I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women — and OK, some men too — who will be taking my place.”

From American presidents to her famed interview with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, along the way Walters touched on the lives of a diverse and dynamic cross-section of humanity.

Her interviews included face-to-face conversations with folks like actors Katharine Hepburn, John Wayne, Patrick Swayze, and Fred Astaire. She spoke with musicians such as Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Barbra Streisand and, without missing a beat, the significant political figures of her day like Henry Kissinger, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vladimir Putin, and Fidel Castro. Her interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Monica Lewinsky shot the network’s ratings through the roof.

The New York Times reported in 1999 that Walters’ interview with Lewinsky, the former White House intern who was a key component in the impeachment trial of then President Bill Clinton, “attracted an average of 48.5 million viewers, and an estimated 70 million people watched all or part of the twohour program, in about 33.2 million homes.”

Walters directly asked Lewinsky, “You showed the president your thong underwear. Where did you get the nerve? I mean — who does that?” she said. She also asked the 25-year-old: “Where was your self-respect, where was your self-esteem?”

The list of people in front of the camera with her on the “Barbara Walters Specials” was breathtaking. Yet the stories of everyday folks, their lives, and struggles were a staple of her work searching out stories that needed to be told.

For the LGBTQ community, Walters often told the stories that painted a picture that was critical in putting a human face on an oft times maligned community. Her ABC documentary on transgender children originally broadcast in 2007, introduced the world to trans girl Jazz Jennings, who was six years old at the time, and her hugely supportive family.

The Hollywood Reporter noted in an honest interview, Ellen DeGeneres talked to Walters about everything from her movie career to her decision to come out as a lesbian. She also opened up about her stepfather sexually abusing her and how she broke through a window one night to get away.

Walters in later years did have her share of detractors among younger journalists and writers including Alex Pareene, the former editor-in-chief of online news site Gawker

and later a staff writer at The New Republic in 2019.

Pareene penned an unflattering profile of Walters on May 13, 2013, in Salon headlined “Good riddance, Barbara Walters.”

He noted: “… current co-host of ‘The View,’ is a national icon and a pioneer, and probably as responsible as any other living person for the ridiculous and sorry state of American television journalism. She has announced her retirement a year in advance, so that a series of aggrandizing specials can be produced celebrating her long and storied career. So let’s get things started off right, by reminding everyone how her entire public life has been an extended exercise in sycophancy and unalloyed power worship.”

Pareene also took aim at her relationship with “Roy Cohn, the notorious scumbag McCarthyite mob attorney.”

Writing about the relationship between the two Pareene notes: […] “she, legendarily, pretended to be seeing (romantically) Roy Cohn, the notorious scumbag McCarthyite mob attorney who was also, notoriously, a closeted gay man (who had persecuted closeted ‘deviants’ while working with McCarthy.) Cohn was one of the slimiest and most detestable characters of the entire 20th century. … Walters said she was and remained close to him because he helped her father with a legal matter when she was a girl. But this also seems to explain why they were ‘dating’ in the 1950s.”

Did Cohn have a secret ‘nice’ side? She was asked.

“I would not use the word nice,” she laughs. “He was very smart. And funny. And, at the time, seemed to know everyone in New York. He was very friendly with the cardinal, he was very friendly with the most famous columnist in New York, Walter Winchell, he had a lot of extremely powerful friends.”

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11th Circuit upholds Fla. school district bathroom policy

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled, in a 7-4 vote, that a Florida school district did not violate the U.S. Constitution nor federal civil rights laws by requiring students to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex as listed on their birth records.

All seven judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents, including six by former President Donald Trump, while the four dissenting judges were Democratic appointees.

Because other federal appellate courts have issued previous rulings allowing a student to choose to use bathrooms based on their gender identity, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is likely.

In June 2021, the high court declined to hear arguments in

the earlier appeals court ruling of a former high school student who challenged his Virginia school district’s bathroom policy.

Gavin Grimm was a sophomore at Gloucester County High School when he filed a federal lawsuit against the Gloucester County School District’s policy that prohibited students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that did not correspond with their “biological gender.”

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond in 2016 ruled in Grimm’s favor.

The Biden administration had urged the 11th Circuit to strike down the Florida school board’s policy. The White House had no immediate comment in regard to Friday’s ruling.

The suit was brought by Drew Adams, a transgender man who sued in 2017 after being barred from using the boys’ bathroom when he attended the Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

“This is an aberrant ruling that contradicts the rulings of every other circuit to consider the question across the country,” Tara Borelli, a lawyer with Lambda Legal representing Adams, said in a statement. “We will be reviewing and evaluating this dangerous decision over the weekend.”

In the suit Reuters reported that Adams contended that the high school’s bathroom policy violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education.

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BARBARA WALTERS interviewed a host of LGBTQ celebrities, including Jazz Jennings and Ellen DeGeneres. (Screenshot from YouTube/ ABC News)

Queer, Chinese entrepreneur seeks permanent home in LA

‘As a gay Asian immigrant there isn’t a lot of guidance on what we are supposed to do’

By SIMHA HADDAD

The elevator opens on the twenty-seventh floor of an ultra-luxury Highrise building in downtown LA. A man of medium height in a professional and impeccably pressed all-black ensemble is waiting in the marble vestibule.

He greets me with appraising eyes, a wide smile, and a firm handshake before ushering me to a large conference room with sweeping views of the city below.

Endy Zhou, 31, is a Canadian national and a Chinese immigrant. He is a skilled pianist and proudly queer. He is also the owner of Solar101, the largest remote solar platform in California.

In recent years, the rise of solar energy has been astronomical. A study by Princeton University predicts an increase in solar usage of five hundred percent by 2025. This will be a huge win to help maintain and protect the environment by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and thereby reducing climate change.

“I like to be involved in things that benefit the world,” says Zhou. “I realize, too, though, that I am just one person. I like to create small changes that I can control. I will never be one of those people who say, ‘I’m going to change the world.’ No. I’m only making about a 10% difference. But that 10% is enough.”

As a successful entrepreneur who has to work with new people on a daily basis, Zhou has mastered the art of propriety. He has bottled water waiting for us, and even though this is clearly his turf, Zhou chooses not to take a seat at the head of the table but opts for the seat just to the right of it, offering me the head seat as a sign of respect.

Zhou’s business sense and people skills have taken him far in a short period of time. He and his company, which he launched during COVID, have already been featured in LA Wire and New York Weekly, to name a few. Zhou has also been featured in CEO Weekly as number seven on their list of top ten self-made men and women (Oprah held spot number one).

Zhou has taken time out of his busy schedule to speak to The Blade about struggling as a queer immigrant youth, his rise to success, and his philosophy on sexuality and identity.

We are also joined by his immigration lawyer, Joe Adams.

Zhou was born in the city of Harbin China, the capital of Heilongjiang in the northernmost Sheng province. The “Icy City” is known for its Russian architecture, transportation system, and its yearly “Ice and Snow Festival.”

At age twelve, his parents decided to leave China for a small town in Canada in hopes of a bright and better future for their family–a dream that all too quickly became somewhat of a living nightmare.

“My parents found out quickly after moving to Canada that it didn’t matter that one of them had a master’s degree and one had a bachelor’s degree,” says Zhou. “It was frustrating because these are requirements to enter Canada. But those degrees themselves aren’t recognized passed the immigration stage. So you have to have these things to immigrate here, but no one will recognize those degrees when you are looking for a job.”

“My dad used to be a university professor, and my mom was a college professor. When they came here, my dad became a janitor, and my mom became a massage therapist.”

Due to a combination of xenophobia and a general lack of job opportunities, many immigrants to Canada find it difficult to find work that is comparable to their old jobs. These immigrants, like Zhou’s parents, are then forced to take “survival

jobs“ to stay afloat.

“My parents moved here because they wanted a better life,” says Zhou. “They thought they would move to a utopia. They were stuck.”

Trapped in unexpected poverty, the family had one goal: survival. This meant mounting pressure was placed on a young Zhou to contribute to the family, at times exceeding the capacity of a twelve-year-old.

“By the age of twelve, I was already forced to be three-quarters of an adult. I was the only person who spoke English in my family. I had to translate everything. I had no choice. Little did they know I didn’t speak very good English back then at all, but I was in an immigrant family, and the mindset was, ‘Oh you speak English? Then you speak English.’”

“I was handling my family’s finances and things like that since I was twelve, not by choice. I feel this is very similar in a lot of immigrant families. There are a lot of things you have to do and learn when you move to a new country, and sometimes that comes at the expense of the kid’s childhoods and teenage years.”

“I spent a lot of my teenage years helping and working with my parents. When I wasn’t in school, I would be helping my dad clean and stuff like that.”

While the struggle to stay afloat was difficult, he also feels grateful for those formative years.

“I used to be kind of ashamed of that, but in recent years I actually made peace with that. I love the fact that we went through that together as a family, even though those weren’t the easiest years.”

Zhou feels the money struggles of his youth helped to form the resilience he has today.

“I’ve learned to adapt to the negative and change it to work for me. As an Asian LGBTQ+ person, I pretty much have all these targets on myself. I think, ‘how do we turn that negative thing into a positive thing? How do we turn trauma into something that will benefit everybody in the long run?’”

While Zhou is driven to turn his negative experiences into positive ones, there was a time when navigating his sexuality

was far more difficult for him. Coming to terms with his sexuality was problematic for Zhou both at home and socially.

“I find that as a gay Asian immigrant, the interesting thing with us is there isn’t a lot of guidance on what we are supposed to do. I am at a weird crossroads of different cultures.”

Zhou feels that, at the time of his childhood, his Canadian hometown was seriously lacking in LGBTQ+ representation.

“I often make this joke that in my hometown, there are about 9 people on Grinder,” says Zhou.

Zhou’s coming out journey was one wrought with prejudice and bullying from his peers.

“I got called, “Fag” walking down the hallway,” says Zhou. “I wasn’t accepted into the best choir of my high school even though I was talented enough because they were all clicks that dated each other, and, being gay, I couldn’t do that.”

“I moved to Canada at grade 7, so by grade 11, I had endured a lot of bullying,” says Zhou.

When the bullying got really bad, Zhou, a naturally shy and quiet child, began to rehearse his responses.

“I was very slow with comebacks. I had a lisp and an accent. So I started to practice on the bus. I had to take the bus an hour home because we couldn’t afford to live where my school was, even though my parents wanted me to go there for the music program. But we couldn’t afford to live in the area.”

“I had two hours to myself plus shower time to just really talk to myself. You know those shower arguments you have with yourself? Every argument I lost, I practiced. I really don’t lose arguments anymore.”

Zhou recalls the day all his practicing first paid off.

“Grade eleven, I just snapped back at somebody. I said, “I’m not sure if I am a homosexual, but I’d rather be one than have to date your girlfriend.”

That moment marked a turning point for him, understanding that standing up to his bullies was the only way to get them to leave him alone.

“After that, my life really changed. I realized I was a lot more powerful than I thought.”

“You have to put out the fire before it becomes a big fire. I believe in making an example out of something. So once I fought back publicly the first time, and my bullies realized they weren’t winning, they backed off. When you turn that back on them, they don’t know what to do anymore.”

For Zhou, the bullying for being gay was sometimes perplexing as he himself had never told anyone he was gay. In fact, he was not even sure of the fact himself at the time.

“I was confused,” says Zhou. “I always knew I was a little bit different. I tried to fit in. When that repeatedly didn’t work, I realized the best thing to do was to create your own friend group.”

“I never felt I fully came out. I never really said I was gay. I just said I was queer. Then I joined the gay men’s chorus, and I thought, “oh, okay, fine. I guess I’m gay now.’ But I don’t necessarily care about that declaration. If I sit here and make that declaration that I am gay, nothing about that changes who I am.”

Zhou fully made the discovery that he is queer in university in what he humorously calls “the hard way.”

“I had a girlfriend, and it just didn’t work,” Zhou says, laughing. “It just didn’t work.”

Continues at losangelesblade.com.

ENDY ZHOU, 31, is a Canadian national and a Chinese immigrant. (Photo by Simha Haddad)

Chaos in the Capitol: McCarthy stumbles and Santos keeps lying House

GOP in disarray as right-wing members hijack proceedings

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

(Editor’s note: This story was reported as of Wednesday morning. Visit our website for updates.)

The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday evening after failing to elect a new speaker for the 118th Congress in three ballots that saw Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) fail to secure sufficient votes from members in the conservative faction of his party.

The chamber reconvened Wednesday afternoon to hold a fourth vote.

Until a speaker is in place, the House will be unable to seat new members or take action with respect to new rules, committee assignments, or legislation.

With Republicans’ narrowly winning control of the House, McCarthy needed 218 votes to be elected but won only 203 in the first two rounds and 202 in the third vote, which took place after 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Opposition to McCarthy’s speakership comes from the most conservative Republicans, most belonging to the House Freedom Caucus.

At the same time, some of the caucus’s most conservative members — like Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — were adamant in their support of the Republican leader.

Not since 1923 has the House failed to elect a speaker with the first floor vote.

calcified in their opposition to McCarthy had conditioned their support on winning concessions, from promises regarding membership on standing committees to procedural agreements that would limit the power of the speakership.

Most important was a compromise struck ahead of the vote that would have allowed five members to file for a motion to vacate the speakership at any time, bringing back a House rule that cost John Boehner his speakership in 2015.

McCarthy served as House Majority Leader from 2014 to 2019 under Speakers Boehner and Paul Ryan, who both lost their gavels because of their resistance to the demands of the Freedom Caucus.

By contrast, McCarthy has embraced the most conservative members of the GOP caucus.

According to media reports, in a closed-door meeting with Republican members on Tuesday morning that preceded the floor vote, McCarthy delivered a defiant speech in which he refused to make additional concessions to the ultraconservative holdouts and told his colleagues, “I earned this job.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.) reportedly shouted, “Bullshit!”

Speaking with reporters after the closed-door meeting, Greene admonished the members of her caucus who opposed McCarthy’s speakership.

During the meeting, she said, “we found out that there were several members – three, in fact – that went in last night and were demanding positions for themselves. Demanding gavel positions, demanding subcommittees, demanding for people to be taken off committees for people to be put on committees.”

A series of news reports over the past few weeks revealed the congressman lied about nearly every part of his life, education, identity, and career, while his alleged financial malfeasance has triggered investigations by federal and local prosecutors.

In the latest installment of what has turned into a political telenovela, the New York Times reported Monday that a former 18-year-old boyfriend of Santos, who was listed as being still being married to a woman two years previously, mooched off him, likely stole and pawned his phone and lied to him.

That boyfriend, Pedro Vilarva, the Times reported, met Santos in 2014 when he was 18 and Santos was 26. They dated for a few months before Santos suggested they move in together. Vilarva said he felt on top of the world — even if he said he did find himself footing many of the bills.

“He used to say he would get money from Citigroup, he was an investor,” Vilarva recalled. “One day it’s one thing, one day it’s another thing. He never ever actually went to work,” he said.

Things began to unravel between the two men in early 2015, Vilarva said, after Santos surprised him with tickets to Hawaii that turned out not to exist. Around the same time, he said he discovered that his cell phone was missing, and believed Santos had pawned it.

The paper said that it was at this point after finding online proof that Santos had faced legal charges in Brazil for forging checks Vilarva moved out.

The Times reported that in a 2008 incident, Santos, then 19 years old, stole a checkbook and was charged with making fraudulent purchases in Brazil.

Fractures in the GOP caucus were underscored by the fact that McCarthy secured support from more Republicans two years ago, despite having won more seats this time around.

But a group of about 20 Republican members had either publicly declared their opposition to McCarthy’s speakership or declined to signal their support for him leading up to Tuesday’s vote.

Initially, their votes were divided between Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who ran against McCarthy for the gavel, and Reps. Jim Jordan, Jim Banks (Ind.), Byron Donalds (Fla.) and Lee Zeldin (N.Y.).

The Republican defectors then lined up behind Jordan in their second and third votes for House speaker, despite Jordan having pledged his support for McCarthy.

Other members of the Republican caucus who were less

Greene noted that she had not conditioned her support for McCarthy on winning any concessions for herself, despite having been stripped of her committee assignments in 2021. “This is about electing someone to serve in the speaker’s chair so that we can get to work,” she said.

The congresswoman added that “the conservatives who our base believes in, let me remind everyone: They’re not perfect either. Scott Perry [Pa.], before his general election, refused to vote against the gay marriage bill [the Respect for Marriage Act]…Then, when it came back around after his election, he was able to vote against it. Conservatives would not like that.”

Santos keeps on lying

Meanwhile, embattled freshman Republican Rep. George Santos (N.Y.) also cast his vote for McCarthy on Tuesday, having evaded reporters who were gathered in front of his office in the Longworth House building.

“I know I screwed up, but I want to pay,” he allegedly wrote in a message in 2009 to the store’s owner on Orkut, a Google-operated social media website that is popular in Brazil.

“It was always my intention to pay, but I messed up,” he is recorded as saying.

Santos and his mother appeared before police and admitted his responsibility in November 2010, according to The Times. The next year, a judge ordered his response to the case, but he could not be found when the court tried to subpoena him three months later.

The Times also notes he is still wanted in the Rio de Janeiro case.

On Tuesday, Santos tweeted that he’d been sworn in as a congressman by the new House Speaker, even though no Speaker was elected and no members were sworn in. His office later deleted the tweet. Santos has dodged reporters’ questions amid growing calls for his resignation.

Brody Levesque contributed to this report

Rep. KEVIN MCCARTHY didn’t have the votes as of Wednesday for the speakership. (Screenshot via C-SPAN)

Rep.-elect GEORGE SANTOS falsely claimed he’d been sworn in on Monday. (Screenshot/YouTube)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at 95

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at the age of 95 last Saturday.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Benedict passed away at 9:34 a.m. local time (3:34 a.m. ET) at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.

Benedict was born Joseph Ratzinger in Marktl Am Inn in Germany’s Bavaria state on April 16, 1927.

The Associated Press notes Benedict in his memoirs acknowledged his forced enlistment in the Hitler Youth in 1941 and his desertion from the German army just before the end of World War II.

Benedict and his brother, Georg, in 1951 were ordained as priests. He became Munich’s bishop in 1977 and then-Pope Paul VI in 1980 elevated him cardinal.

Benedict assumed the papacy on April 19, 2005, after Pope John Paul II died. Benedict on Feb. 11, 2013, became the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII stepped down from the papacy in 1415. His successor, Pope Francis II, on Wednesday

said Benedict was “very ill.”

Benedict as the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith enforced the Catholic Church’s moral doctrine.

He wrote in a 1986 letter that gay men and lesbians are “intrinsically disordered.” Benedict also said in the same document that gay organizations could no longer use church property.

Benedict described marriage rights for same-sex couples as “a manipulation of nature” and categorized marriage equality efforts around the world as a threat to “human dignity and the future of humanity itself.” Activists during Benedict’s papacy also criticized the Vatican’s opposition to condom use as a way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Benedict during his papacy faced scathing criticism over his handling of clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The Vatican’s finances also came under scrutiny.

“Benedict’s approach to gay and lesbian issues was clearly hindered by the fact that he did not understand the human dimension of love and relationship that characterizes same-gender couples and individuals,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based organization that ministers to LGBTQ and intersex Catholics, in a statement. “He relied on centuries-old, abstract philosophical and theological ideas instead of learning about

more recent understandings of sexuality. Most importantly, he failed to listen to the lived experiences of real people.”

“While clearly a man of faith seeking to act with good intentions; his resistance to engaging the lives, love and faith of actual human beings means he will be remembered as a church leader who did not listen pastorally to those the church serves,” added DeBernardo in his statement. “In contrast, Pope Francis, his successor, has called for pastoral leaders to be listeners and learners, particularly in ministry with those on the margins of church and society, such as LGBTQ+ people.”

Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA, an LGBTQ and intersex Catholic organization, in her statement also acknowledged Benedict’s anti-LGBTQ legacy.

“The death of any human being is an occasion of sorrow. We pray for Pope Benedict’s soul and express our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” said Duddy-Burke. “However, his death also calls us to reflect honestly on his legacy. Benedict’s leadership in the church, as pope and before that as head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), caused tremendous damage to LGBTQIA+ people and our loved ones. His words and writings forced our community out of Catholic churches, tore families apart, silenced our supporters and even cost lives.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

LGBTQ groups protest as new Israeli gov’t takes office

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government was sworn in last week.

After a long and exhausting coalition negotiation in which the far-right parties reportedly blackmailed Netanyahu, they managed to insert into the coalition agreements a number of clauses that pose a clear danger to the continued promotion of the rights of the LGBTQ community in Israel, and even to the institutionalization of discrimination and its legalization.

The new government’s first goal in Israel is to weaken the judicial system and enact the superseding clause that will allow the Knesset to overturn Supreme Court decisions with a majority of 61 Knesset members.

Another law included in the coalition agreements is the Discrimination Law, according to which “in order to correct the distortion in the status quo that was recently made, the Law Prohibiting Discrimination in Products, Services and Entry to Entertainment Places and Public Places will be amended, so that the possibility of holding cultural events or studies for religious and ultra-Orthodox people, while taking into account their religious beliefs and needs, will be amended — including gender segregation. Under these conditions, segregation will not be considered prohibited discrimination.”

Even before the swearing in of the government, the designated minister Orit Struck explained that according to the new law, a doctor could refuse to give his patients treatments that contradict his religious beliefs.

MK Simcha Rotman explained that businesses could refuse to commit “religious offenses” in their area, and when asked if hotels could refuse to host a gay couple, he replied: “Yes.”

The new list of ministers includes 36 ministers, many of whom hold anti-LGBT opinions. But two appointments appear to be particularly problematic for the LGBTQ community.

The first is the appointment of Itamar Ben Gvir as National

Security Minister, whose approval includes changes to the Police Order Law, also known as the “Ben Gvir law” in the framework of which additional powers were transferred to the Internal Security Minister and the labeling of police policy, which includes, among other things, the definition of priorities, work plans and powers in matters of the budget. This structural change in the police command gives Gvir the authority and the possibility to act harshly against future protests and even prevent them.

The second appointment is that of Amichai Shikli as Social Equality Minister.

Shikli, an MK from the Likud party, is among those responsible for the overthrow of the previous government of Naftali Bennett, spoke out against the LGBTQ community many times, and is currently in charge of the Social Equality Ministry under which the LGBTQ activity in the local authorities was budgeted, which is now in danger.

Amid all the homophobia, the appointment of MK Amir Ohana of the Likud who was elected Knesset speaker, and became the first LGBT MK to hold this position, which is considered one of the five symbols of rule, stands out.

In his ceremonial speech in the Knesset, Ohana referred to the new coalition member’s statements of the members of the new coalition:

“This Knesset is the home of all the citizens of Israel. It is the true fortress of human rights and individual freedom,” he said. “Along with things we agree on, we hear very controver-

sial things here. Really outrageous. But this is the place to discuss the most painful and sensitive issues and make decisions. This — and no other.”

During Ohana’s first speech as Knesset speaker, there was embarrassment when the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox parties bowed their heads and covered their faces when Ohana acknowledged his spouse and his children who were sitting in the hall.

“Alon is with me … [he is] my anchor, the wise and good, and our beloved children Ella and David,” said Ohana. “This Knesset, led by this speaker, will not harm them or any child or family — P-E-R-I-O-D. And if there is a boy or girl watching me here today, know that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, you can get anywhere you want.”

The LGBTQ community marked the government’s inauguration with demonstrations and protests, along with dozens of civil society organizations.

Hundreds of “Love Will Win” signs in the colors of Pride were hung in dozens of local authorities across the country in the morning by the Aguda’s “local Pride” activists. Members of the community from north to south came out in the middle of the night and hung the signs in their homes in Ariel, Ashkelon, Beer Sheva, Gedera, Givat Shmuel, Petah Tikva, Haifa, Netanya, Pardes Hana Karkur, Jordan Valley, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Rehovot and Or Yehuda. LGBTQ organizations also held a demonstration in front of the Government Tower in Tel Aviv.

(By WDG, the Blade’s media partner in Israel)

Pope Emeritus BENEDICT XVI (Photo by hixnhix via Bigstock)

Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU (Photo by shganti777/Bigstock)

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Let’s fulfill all our hopes and dreams in 2023

Working for peace in Ukraine and sanity in the GOP

The first thing I hope for as 2023 begins is good health for myself and all my friends and their families. For me, that includes being able to remember where my keys, my wallet, and phone are, LOL. Recently someone shared a meme that showed instead of the welcome mat in front of your door facing outward; the mat faces inward so as you walk out your door you see written there — phone, keys, wallet, gas off, etc.

There is much I want to accomplish in 2023 and to see others accomplish. Some of the things on my want list I can do something about, others I can only pray for. The first in the pray for category is an end to the war in Ukraine. To see President Zelensky preside over an independent and at peace Ukraine with its courageous people given the chance to rebuild their lives and country. It will give me great pleasure to see Vladimir Putin defeated. Then to see the girls and women of Afghanistan again have the right to go to school, work, and live out their dreams to the fullest. To accomplish those things, those who control American foreign policy will need to stay strong, doing everything they can to make them happen. Then justice would be served if the recent embarrassment to the gay community, congressman-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), ends up in prison. Depending on where he got the money for his campaign that could easily happen. Sadly, he fits the mold of the current Republican Party. In the “just dreaming” category, I hope the Republican Party finally dumps Trump and that it again becomes a party whose ideas and policies I may disagree with, but a party that nominates people who are at least honest, decent, and will defend our democracy. My opposing them at the ballot box won’t change, but it would be nice to again be able to sit with them and respectfully try to convince them why they are wrong.

Then there are things that I will try to impact with my writing, speaking out, and activism, including trying to influence who

Democrats put up for office in 2024. Urging everyone to join me in speaking out against the disgusting, frightening rise of anti-Semitism and the rise in hate crimes committed against all minority communities. We must all continue to fight the scourge of guns. If we are to have any impact on any of these issues, we must join together to make our voices heard. We must use our individual financial ability to support candidates we believe in and donate to charities that support issues we care about. For me, those will include feeding and housing the homeless, and fighting hate. If we all do that, support the issues we care about, we will make a difference in the world. This is not a list of New Year’s resolutions. Those tend to be forgotten by the end of January. Rather, these are commitments I hope will be part of my life for the entire year and goals I hope to internalize to guide my life.

None of these commitments will stop me from living life to the fullest. My hope is in 2023, COVID begins to finally fade and we can enjoy our friends and families without fear. For me, life will include continuing to write and travel. One important commitment to myself is to get

the memoir I have been working on published before the end of the year. I am already booked on a transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Beyond out of Rome, on Oct. 30. I will be supporting the theater, including continuing to write theater reviews, which will be posted online in the Georgetown Dish. Everyone should support theater as it is part of the culture our society will be remembered for.

I look forward to hearing what my friends will be committing to in 2023, what their goals are and how they hope to accomplish them. While some may overuse or misuse social media, for me it is a great way to keep up with friends and acquaintances around the world.

So together let’s make 2023 an exciting year and successfully fulfill each of our hopes and dreams.

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‘Young Bloomsbury’ explores queer family of choice in 1920s England

Meet the generation ‘That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression’

By KATHI WOLFE

Safe spaces. Gender bending. Families of choice. Gender fluidity. Young queers being seen by their elders (hetero and queer). Throuples. Banned books. Conversion therapy.

At a party, a couple, two beautiful bisexual women, sing the latest show tunes and dance. One of them, wearing a purple dress, plays her saxophone. We see you, Gen Z!

in all sexual matters.”

The group was beginning to have critical support at the onset of World War I. Though the group’s (which Strachey calls “Old Bloomsbury”) activities broke down during the war, the cohort’s work took off after the war.

“Older Bloomsbury members took on a parental role for queer young artists and writers,” Strachey said. “They nurtured not only their careers but their personal life choices at a time when many of their parents weren’t supportive.”

NINO STRACHEY

But you weren’t the first to embrace queerness in all its fab permutations.

A century ago in London at a time when being queer was illegal, a group of queer, gender-bending writers and artists — young members of the Bloomsbury group – broke through sexual and gender boundaries and formed families of choice.

In 1923, Henrietta Bingham and Mina Kirstein were the bisexual couple that danced and sang show tunes at the party. Bingham in her purple dress played the sax, author Nino Strachey writes in her illuminating, entertaining new book “Young Bloomsbury: The Generation That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England.”

If you’ve had a queer friend rave about the gender-bending in “Orlando” by Virginia Woolf, or if you’ve seen the movie “Maurice” (of the novel with the same name), you’ve heard of the Bloomsbury group.

For Nino Strachey, the Bloomsbury group is up close and personal.

For starters, Nino Strachey is a descendent of Lytton Strachey, the queer, razor-sharp writer and founding member of the Bloomsbury group. She is the last member of the Strachey family to have grown up at Sutton Court in Somerset (U.K.), home of the Strachey family for more than 300 years.

Recently, Nino Strachey talked with the Blade about why she wrote “Young Bloomsbury,” the parallels between Young Bloomsbury in the 1920s and Gen Z today and the reaction to her book.

The formation of the Bloomsbury group began after Virginia and Vanessa Stephen’s father died in 1904. Virginia Stephens became Virginia Woolf after her marriage to Leonard Woolf. Vanessa Stephens became Vanessa Bell after her marriage to Clive Bell.

The Stephen sisters “escaped” to 46 Gordon Square in London, Strachey writes in “Young Bloomsbury.”

There, they could have a “life free from adult interference,” Strachey writes.

The Stephen sisters got to know their brothers’ — Thoby and Adrian — Cambridge University friends. These friends included John Maynard Keynes (who would become an acclaimed economist), Lytton Strachey, who would transform the art of biography, Duncan Grant who would revolutionize the art world and E.M. Forster, who would write “Maurice,” a novel with a queer love story that wouldn’t be published until after his death in 1970.

These queer artists and writers found “new ways to connect,” Strachey writes, “a commitment to honest communication between the sexes, to freedom in creativity, to openness

By the 1920s, the Old Bloomsbury artists and writers, then nearly in their 40s, had become successful. Virginia Woolf was photographed in Vogue. Lytton Strachey’s biography “Eminent Victorians,” a satirical takedown of Florence Nightingale and other renowned Victorians, was the talk of the town. Duncan Grant’s paintings were popular.

A group of queer young writers and artists, who Nino Strachey calls Young Bloomsbury, became lovers, friends, and creative collaborators with members of Old Bloomsbury.

Called the “Bright Young Things” at the time by the press and notables such as novelist Evelyn Waugh, members of Young Bloomsbury included: Julia Strachey, niece of Lytton Strachey and author of the novel “Cheerful Weather for the Wedding”; journalist and literary critic Raymond Mortimer; music critic and novelist Eddy Sackville-West; journalist and socialist politician John Strachey; sculptor Stephen “Tommy” Tomlin and artist and illustrator Stephen Tennant.

Members of Bloomsbury who were younger than Old Bloomsbury and older than the group’s younger members included the painter and decorative artist Dora Carrington; and the bookseller, publisher and writer David “Bunny” Garnett.

Nino Strachey didn’t write “Young Bloomsbury” as an academic project. Her reasons for writing the book were personal.

“I wrote [Young Bloomsbury],” Strachey said, “because my child identifies as gender fluid and queer.”

“It’s been a delight,” she added, “Something for us to do together.”

It’s been lovely for Nino Strachey to look at the queer history of the Strachey family and their friends and lovers, and to find queer role models going back to the 19th century.

Strachey became interested in writing “Young Bloomsbury” a few years ago. “I was working for the National Trust,” Strachey said, “I was researching the house called Knole – the home of Vita Sackville-West [poet, novelist, gardener and a lover of Virginia Woolf] and her cousin Eddy Sackville-West.”

In the midst of this research, one of Nino Strachey’s colleagues told her that she’d found some boxes of Strachey family papers.

Until then, Nino Strachey hadn’t known that, in the 1920s, her cousin John Strachey had lived with Eddy Sackville-West in London. From their letters, “I learned that they were incredibly open about their gender identity and sexuality,” Strachey said. “I wouldn’t have expected that 100 years ago! I don’t think anybody had looked into the boxes since the 1920s.”

“I thought: this is something I must write about,” Strachey said.

In the past, people have concentrated so much on who had sex with whom in Bloomsbury, that they’ve forgotten how important friendships were to the group, Strachey said. “They would be lovers with each other. Have quarrels,” she said, “but they cared for each other. They formed life-long friendships.”

They didn’t have the words for it a century ago but Bloomsbury became a family of choice.

At a time when a man could be arrested for carrying a powder puff in public or a queer person subjected to conversion therapy, Bloomsbury became a safe space for young queer people.

Young Bloomsbury members would be pressured to undergo conversion therapy, Strachey said. “It was legal then. It was horrible,” she said, “involving painful injections.”

Conversion therapy wasn’t the only way in which queerness was repressed. Then as now, books with queer stories were banned.

Bloomsbury rallied around when lesbian writer Radclyffe Hall’s novel “The Well of Loneliness” was prosecuted for obscenity. Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster wrote letters of support for Hall. The book’s publication was blocked because it was judged to be obscene. (It was published in the U.K. in 1959.)

“You might have thought that ‘Orlando’ [the gender-bending novel by Virginia Woolf] would have been prosecuted for being obscene,” Strachey said, “but luckily that didn’t happen because it’s couched in this wonderful, historical, fanciful language.”

Strachey loved learning about how both Vita Sackville-West (with her masculine presentation) and Eddy Sackville-West (with his makeup and eye shadow) inspired Woolf’s writing of “Orlando.” “Virginia put these people into a single character who survives for 400 years,” Strachey said.

“Orlando,” which remains a “contemporary” classic novel, is having a moment today, Strachey said. “It’s on stage in London. For the first time, with a nonbinary actor playing the lead,” she added, “It’s getting rave reviews!”

People have misperceptions about Virginia Woolf, Strachey said. “Some interpretations see her, perhaps, as being quite harsh and judgmental,” Strachey said.

Yet, Woolf could be “absolutely supportive” and quite funny, Strachey said. “She and Lytton were really naughty,” she said, “they loved to tease people!”

“There’s a series of photographs where they’re together and smiling, and you can see how they’re riffing off each other,” Strachey said.

Virginia Woolf and other members of Bloomsbury listened to the romantic troubles of younger Bloomsbury members when their families wouldn’t. “Eddy Sackville-West read his diaries to Virginia Woolf,” Strachey said, “He talked to her about his love life.”

Old and Young Bloomsbury members loved Noel Coward and musicals. Younger members of Bloomsbury clued older members in on new technologies from radio broadcasting to flying lessons to movies to gossip columns. Young Bloomsbury “was tuned into the world of the stage – to film actresses like Mary Pickford,” Strachey said.

Strachey has been heartened by the feedback “Young Bloomsbury” has received. Not just from journalists and reviewers, but from people at festivals. “The warmest moments have been when people come up to me,” Strachey said, “to talk about chosen families and queer role models.”

“Cis, hetero couples ask: How can we support trans young people,” she added.

This is important to Strachey. We think society is so inclusive, but it’s not, she said.

“The statistics for LGBTQ+ youth regarding self-harm, bullying, prejudice remain really high,” Strachey said.

Anything one can do to raise support and awareness is a good thing, she added.

Jeremy Pope earns respect in ‘Don’t Ask’ drama

‘The Inspection’

Rite of passage is as much about becoming a proud gay man as becoming a soldier

By JOHN PAUL KING

With the now-rehabilitated Golden Globe Awards set to broadcast their presentation ceremony on Jan. 10, queer movie enthusiasts are probably aware that the nominees, as noted by most of the LGBTQ media when they were announced less than a month ago, are disappointingly light on nominations for out queer talent.

One notable exception, however, is Jeremy Pope, whose nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama makes him one of the community’s best hopes for recognition – not just on Tuesday night, but during the rest of the awards parade toward the Oscars, for which the Globes are traditionally considered a bellwether. Yet in the skewed post-pandemic landscape of the film industry, where it’s harder than ever for movies without a superhero to capture widespread public attention, even devout film buffs may not be familiar with Pope; they’re even less likely, perhaps, to be familiar with the film for which he is nominated – “The Inspection,” written and directed by Elegance Bratton – even though it was released over a month and a half ago. That’s a shame, but thanks to Pope’s well-deserved nomination, this true-life-inspired indie drama has been given its own boost into the spotlight.

A deeply felt roman à clef, it follows the efforts of a young gay Black man (Pope), struggling to survive on his own since being rejected by his single mother (Gabrielle Union) as a teen, who enlists in the Marines to escape from his hard life in the streets. Despite intense bullying, he manages to endure the rigors of boot camp, even finding fellowship with some of his peers and an unexpected connection with one of his superiors (Raúl Castillo) along the way. His hard work and strong resolve, however, may not be enough to overcome the opposition he faces as a gay man within a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era military hierarchy that doesn’t want him to succeed – nor is it likely to return him to the good graces of his mother, whose love and acceptance he still hopes to reclaim.

It’s not the first time Bratton – who, like the lead character in his movie, was thrown out by a homophobic mother and weathered homelessness before joining the military – has garnered acclaim by exploring themes that echoed his own past; his 2019 documentary “Pier Kids,” which profiled the lives of Black, queer and trans homeless youth on New York City’s Christopher Street Pier, was a standout favorite at LGBTQ film festivals throughout the circuit and scored a nomination for Outstanding Documentary from the GLAAD Media Awards.

With “The Inspection,” he gets even more personal. Though many of the events portrayed in this fictionalized autobiography are based on circumstances to which he was only a witness, and not a participant, it’s easy to sense his lived experience in the movie’s challenging blend of finely observed detail and conflicted morality; though we’ve seen scores of films about boot camp, few of them

feel as real as this one. It captures the dehumanizing ordeal of basic training with an uneasy mix of dread and reverence that smacks of first-person familiarity, and it avoids shallow cliché by infusing its inevitable tropes with authenticity.

What goes even further toward making his movie resonate with audiences is the heartbreaking sincerity with which he illuminates its core relationship, the fractured bond between mother and son that fuels his protagonist’s determination perhaps more than his urge to build a better future. It’s here that Pope shines the brightest, though his charismatic blend of strength, vulnerability, and total investment in the character are evident throughout the film. Paired with Union (herself giving an award-worthy supporting turn), he joins her in a delicately shaded emotional dance that captures the sad hopelessness of trying to reconcile the irreconcilable. Though their scenes together take up a comparatively small amount of screen time, their fraught interactions haunt us throughout the film and beyond, evoking a longing within us for to see them bridge their divide – and illuminating the heartbreak of the countless families splintered due to homophobia within the Black community.

It’s this keenly felt understanding of emotional impact that keeps “The Inspection” from falling into the easy sentiment that often turns well-intentioned social issue films into melodramas. By balancing a frank disdain for anti-queer bigotry with unshakable respect and empathy for its problematic maternal figure, Bratton’s film puts faces and names on an oft-quoted statistic to make it into something we can feel as a painfully human reality, but never resorts to a “victims and villains” dynamic.

The filmmaker bestows similar largesse on his filmic alter-ego’s other oppressors – even the openly hostile drill sergeant (Bokeem Woodbine) determined to sabotage his progress – in his effort to personalize the complex issues he raises. In its microcosmic depiction of military training, the experiences of a diverse handful of recruits – from a long-distance phone argument with a loved one at home, to hazing and humiliation at the hands of their peers, to an unexpected tender moment furtively exchanged in pri-

vate – all ring a powerful bell of recognition that encourages us to see the human even in those whose choices and behavior seem monstrous to us.

That might be a step too far for viewers with little patience for toxic masculinity or bigotry; faced with Bratton’s depiction of the prison-like environment of the camp and the hierarchy of intimidation that fuels its systematic dehumanization process, they might also have a hard time getting on board when “The Inspection” ultimately transcends the brutality of these circumstances to embrace and reinforce them as a pathway to “manhood.” His protagonist clings steadfastly to his queer identity with the same determination he applies to his training, and his rite of passage becomes as much about becoming a proud gay man as it does becoming a soldier; he wins the respect of even his most homophobic peers by proving masculinity doesn’t have to be toxic. That might feel like an inspiring message to many of us, but for those with their own painful memories of struggling to hide their sexuality during DADT military service, it might feel a bit like an apologist’s argument.

Bratton, however, is a skilled and compassionate storyteller, with a clear vision to acknowledge and honor the trauma of the experience he shows us while amplifying the transformation that comes through it. He wisely employs Pope’s superb performance to provide his movie’s essential core; without a single false note, the actor wins our hearts and inspires us, investing us in the film no matter what qualms we may have about the military’s complicated history with LGBTQ inclusion. He’s the most compelling reason to see “The Inspection,” and more than enough to ensure the most resistant viewers will be drawn in by it — even if they remain unconvinced by its perspective.

JEREMY POPE and RAÚLCASTILLO in ‘The Inspection.’

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THE BLADE!

New book ‘Mad Honey’ packed full of surprises

Teen relationships, family secrets explode in story you will savor

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

You’ve never been one to follow all the buzz.

Gossip is not very reliable anyhow, and you have better things to do than celebrity watch. This star does that, and that star’s embroiled in scandal, nobody has any privacy anymore. Nah, that ho-hum has never been your thing. As in the new novel “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, the hive is rarely right.

If you move slow enough and don’t make any sudden moves, honeybees are generally peaceful creatures. Olivia McAfee knows this, and that’s why she often visits her hives without a protective suit: she’s relatively sure she won’t get stung.

That’s not the case when it comes to her son, Asher. A senior in high school, her 18 year old can be prickly sometimes, and sometimes, stings are part of parenting a teenager. This, Liv knows, is one of those times: Asher’s in love, and it’s not going well.

Nineteen-year-old Lily Campanello arrived in town with her mother at the end of the summer and she and Asher have had a stormy relationship since they started going out. Liv hates to see Asher so upset, but she knows that love is complicated. She loved Asher’s father, despite that she spent too much time hiding the bruises she got from him.

Asher knew he’d messed up.

When he found Lily’s father, a man she hadn’t seen in years, he’d meant to surprise her but the surprise was on Asher: Lily was angry and she wouldn’t exactly say why. She just walked, al-

most ran, away and she wouldn’t talk about it. She wouldn’t even answer Asher’s texts and now he was getting angry. Should he worry about her, or just go to her house?

He chose the latter.

It was the middle of the night when the police came for him. They handcuffed Asher before they gave him his shoes, and hauled him away without a coat on a freezing night.

Olivia McAfee knows that mad honey is the result of bad foraging. It should be sweet, but it’s deadly. By the time you realize that, there’s no going back.

You know how your mind tries to figure out the ending of a book long before you’re even a third of the way there? Curiously, that doesn’t happen with “Mad Honey.” The story is too enjoyable not to savor and besides, you know what’s going to happen anyway, right?

Or not.

Nope, authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan sneak a two-fer surprise inside this book: the first one explodes with the force of a beehive full of nitroglycerin. The second is that you’ll still be left feeling smug enough to think you know how this culminates. Or not, but still: more distractions, more mini-explosions unspool with the right frequency to keep you happily eager to see how wrong you were.

This is one of those novels that’s done before you’re ready for it, leaving you slack-jawed when you close the back cover. “Mad Honey” is pretty sweet. Read it, and you’ll bee very happy.

‘Mad Honey’

By Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

c.2022, Ballantine Books $29.99 | 464 pages

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