THE FIGHT LGBT MAGAZINE MARCH 2012

ISSUE 014 MAR 2012 THEFIGHTMAG.COM

THE INVISIBLE MAN The Bearable Whiteness Of Being Gay

THE PROBLEM WITH ELLEN Conservatives Attack The Queen Of Nice

THE SIGNATURE BATTLE What’s Marriage Got To Do With It

WHITE, BLACK The Many

& GRAY Shades of

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COVER STORIES AND FEATURES 18

ELLEN’S AGENDA

22

WHITE, BLACK & GRAY

24 26

ON OUR COVER Photography J. HORTON jrhphoto.com Grooming ISRAEL GARCIA israelgarciahairandmakeup.com

Conservatives in a Tizzy

White Party’s Jeffrey Sanker

ISSUE 014 MAR 2012 THEFIGHTMAG.COM

DEFYING GENDER NORMS

Acting Yourr Sex

THE BEARABLE WHITENESS OF BEING GAY

THE INVISIBLE MAN The Bearable Whiteness Of Being Gay

The Invisible Man

THE PROBLEM WITH ELLEN

28

GAY PERSONHOOD

THE SIGNATURE BATTLE

32

WHY FIGHT FOR MARRIAGE?

38

ERASING UNDER EYE BAGS

42

SECRET LIVES

Conservatives Attack The Queen Of Nice

What’s Marriage Got To Do With It

We Are Part Of A Lineage

Ann Rostow w Sets You Straight

Dr Nathan Newman’ Stem Cell Eye Lift

The Republican Closet

WHITE, BLACK The Many

& GRAY Shades of

JEFFREY SANKER

+ SECRET LIVES THE REPUBLICAN CLOSET

1824263242 THE COLUMNS 12

THE LETTERS Total Isolation

14

THE STATE Church Censures Gay Friendly Pastor

16

THE CITY Family Equality Council Awards

20

THE ROSTOW REPORT Heaven Can’t Wait

30

THE EPIDEMIC Detaching The HIV Shield

34

THE MIND Dr. Philip Pierce On Panic Attacks

36

THE FAMILY Becoming Parents

40

THE CALENDAR Events, Groups, Resources

41

RAINBOW WARRIOR Dave Davenport

THEFIGHT

FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING PLEASE CALL 323-297-4001

Editor-in-Chief STANFORD ALTAMIRANO Managing Editor MARK ARIEL Creative Direction POPTHEPIXEL.COM Marketing Consultants LISA RADAMAKER NATHAN LOONEY LARRY WOOD CHRISOPHER PERKINS Contributing Writers ANN ROSTOW F.E. CORNEJO NATHAN NEUMAN, M.D. BRODIE HUBBARD FOSTER ZINNIA JONES

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Success comes to those who persevere.

T

he interview with promoter Jeffrey Sanker in this issue (“White, Black & Gray,” page 22) proves, yet again, that success comes to those who persevere.

Sanker’s first local event, after moving to L.A. from New York in 1987, at what was then called The Palace in Hollywood, was a huge success. A week later, however, Sanker put on another party and the turn out was dismal. Instead of packing up his bags and returning to the east coast, Sanker persevered.

While Sanker has most definitely achieved success in his field, he still feels he has what to learn. “It changes constantly,” he says, “it’s not just one formula. Everything evolves...”

As a minority group, we are evolving as well. In his op-ed, “The Bearable Whiteness Of Being Gay,” (this issue, page 26) U.S. Army and Iraq War veteran Rob Smith examines stereotypes within the LGBT community.

Flipping through the pages of one of his favorite gay magazines, Smith writes “I can’t remember having ever seen someone who looks like me on the cover. When I read it I see more ads for underwear, cologne, cruises, hotels,

THEFIGHT

and clothes - with people who don’t look like me. None of the writers look like me, nor are there any stories about anyone who looks like me.”

If you would like to offer The Fight at your location, please call 323-297-4001

At the end of the day, writes Smith, he knows that our community has many colors, but he still wonders why he can only seem to find one.

DISTRIBUTION Pride in Media The Fight Magazine is published monthly by Third Step, Inc. 611 South Catalina Street, Suite 307 Los Angeles, CA 90005 Telephone 323-297-4001 Fax 213-281-9648 Email info@thefightmag.com

STANFORD ALTAMIRANO Editor-In-Chief

PUBLISHER Third Step, Inc.

THE FIGHT MAGAZINE LEGAL CAVEATS By listing in The Fight Magazine, advertisers acknowledge that they do business in the spirit of cooperation, fairness and service, maintaining a high level of integrity and responsibility. Providers of products or services are fully and soley responsible for providing same as advertised. The Fight Magazine assumes no liability for improper or negligent business practices by advertisers.

Advertisers and their agencies assume responsibility and liability for the content of their advertisements in The Fight Magazine Publisher assumes no liability for safe-keeping or return of unsolicited art, manuscripts or other materials. The Fight Magazine reserves the right to edit all material for clarity, length and content. All contents ©2011 Third Step, Inc., all rights reserved. Content may be reproduced with permission.

The Fight Magazine assumes no liability for any claims or representations contained anywhere in this magazine, and reserves the right to cancel or refuse advertising at publisher’s discretion. www.thefightmag.com

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G OUR ONE

CELEBRATIN

RSARY

YEAR ANNIVE

REMAINS TABOO

Dear Editor, It was interesting to read Nick Mathews’ take on sexual labels (“Turning Tables,” THE FIGHT Issue 013). I can definitely relate to his not n’s In Between Me wanting to conform S EW TH MA NICK Labels On Sexual to an idea of what is easiest for someone else to digest about LOVE ACTUALLY BOY INTERRUPTED his life. However, as RT THE PULSING HEA much as I understand SKIN DEEP why he is reluctant to label his sexuality, I believe the time has come for bisexuality to come out of the closet. In my experience, despite enormous strides made in the past decade for LGBT rights, male bisexuality remains taboo, even within some sexually progressive circles.

FEB 2012 ISSUE 013 AG.COM THEFIGHTM

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Dear Editor, Thank you very much for your feature on the social event for single gay men with Erectile Dysfunction(“E.D. Support,” THE FIGHT, Issue 013). I was not aware that you had included us in the magazine until I received a phone call today from a 41 year old gay man injured in an accident 10 years. He readabout the social event for single gay men with E.D. in THE FIGHT. He was happy and nervous to know this event was going to take place.

As he told me, he thought his sex life, plus the chance of meeting someone for a long term relationship, was impossible. He was in total isolation from the gay community. He didn’t know anyone else felt the same way as he. Bravo for you doing this!

Dennis Bogorad, via the internet

MANNING’S ARTICLE Dear Editor, I found Jeremy Manning’s article (“Boy Interrupted,” THE FIGHT Issue 013) to be quite courageous. It obviously took him a great deal of raw strength to travel his path and reach the present. It was great he had the guts to write it down and put it out there for the world to see. People want it easy, and some things just aren’t.

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Dear Editor, I just recently came across THE FIGHT with your January issue featuring Michael Lucas (“The Naked Truth,” THE FIGHT Issue 012). I immediately fell in love with the great articles and progressive focus of the magazine. Keep on doing what you’re doing!

Malek Mouzon, via the internet 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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Equality advocates such as GEORGE CLOONEY, BRAD PITT, MATT BOMER, KEVIN BACON, MARTIN SHEEN, JAMIE LEE CURTIS, and JANE LYNCH helped raise more than $2 million as they reenacted the real-life courtroom and personal drama in “8,” DUSTIN LANCE BLACK’s retelling of the historic legal battle to overturn Proposition 8, reports The Advocate at www.advocate. com. Black adapted “8” from the actual words of the trial transcripts, first-hand observations of the courtroom drama and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families. “People need to witness what happened in the Proposition 8 trial, if for no other reason than to see inequality and discrimination unequivocally rejected in a court of law where truth and facts matter,” Black said in a statement. Film director BRYAN SINGER was the presenting sponsor of the event, a fundraiser for American Foundation for Equal Rights.

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A retired Presbyterian pastor who spent her career ministering to gay men and lesbians has been censured by her denomination for marrying same-sex couples during the brief time such unions were legal in California. The REV. JANE ADAMS SPAHR lost her final appeal before the highest court in the Presbyterian Church which released its opinion last month. The tribunal ruled that the 69-year-old lesbian had violated the church’s constitution and her ordination vows when she officiated at the unions of 16 couples and called them marriages.

CITY CONDOM PORN ORDINANCE A Los Angeles city ordinance requiring adult film actors to wear condoms while performing goes into effect this month. The Los Angeles City Council acted earlier this year after a series of incidents in which adult film productions were suspended amid concerns that HIV had been transmitted among performers. Despite the health risks of having unprotected sex on movie sets, the industry has strongly opposed a condom requirement, saying that monthly testing already safeguards performers and that customers won’t pay to see such films.

AIDS activists say that the fight over condoms is about protecting performers’ health and opposing the promotion of unsafe sex. “The fact that porn sends out a message that the only type of sex that’s hot is unsafe ... we think that’s detrimental,” Michael Weinstein, president the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, told The Los Angeles.

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FAMILY EQUALITY

COUNCIL AWARDS DINNER HONORS PROP 8 OPPONENT CHAD GRIFFIN

F

BY MARK ARIEL

PHOTOS MARIE CHAO FOR THE FAMILY EQUALITY COUNCIL

amily Equality Council, the national organization that connects, supports, and represents the one million LGBT parents raising two million children in the U.S., honored several advocates of family equality at the organization’s annual awards dinner in Los Angeles last month.

The award honorees included CHAD GRIFFIN, the Co-founder and Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights - the group behind the federal court case to overturn California’s Proposition 8 amendment. Griffin s award was presented by acclaimed writer/director and fellow activist ROB REINER. The plaintiffs in the case, KRIS and SANDY STIER and PAUL KATAMI and JEFF ZARILLO were special guests for the evening.

Family Equality Council Executive Director JENNIFER CHRISLER said the organization was pleased to honor Griffin just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

“We stand together at a crucial moment in our history,” said Chrisler.

“Never before have families with parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender been so visible; so united; and so full of hope. Yet as incredible as the progress in California and other states has been this past year and over the 30 years of our existence, we must acknowledge there are still many who are actively trying to deny our families their freedom, happiness and rights.”

The evening’s other honorees included former Pennsylvania Representative PATRICK MURPHY, who helped lead opposition to the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy; and TODD PARR, the award-winning children’s book author.

Modern Family star ERIC STONESTREET was among the award presenters. JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, Broadway actor and star of Modern Family performed during the event.

The event’s attendees included attorney RICHARD VAUGHN from the International Fertility Law Group, ROBYN PERCHIK from the Beverly Hills Egg Donation Agency and KAREN SYNESIOU, the Director of The Center for Surrogate Parenting.

THEFIGHT

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DESPICABLE HIM Any Catholics out there? Here’s the story of a woman in Gaithersburg, Maryland, who was refused communion at her mother’s funeral. BARBARA JOHNSON and her same-sex partner arrived early at the church, where the priest, REV. MARCEL GUARNIZO, learned of their relationship.

When it came time for communion, Johnson was the first to approach the rail, but the priest covered the sacraments with his hand and told her she could not participate because she was not without sin. He then left before the end of the service and skipped the graveyard ceremony, leaving them without a priest at the burial.

Johnson’s mother was a devoted Catholic, and having a priest at the grave matters to the children of devoted Catholics. Not to mention having a priest who stays through the funeral service and delivers the sacraments without public posturing, lecturing family members, or taking it upon himself to personally excommunicate perceived sinners in a fit of pique.

I gather the man will be disciplined by higher ups in his area, but as far as Johnson is concerned, the damage is done. You only have one funeral for your mother.

HEAVEN CAN’T WAIT Speaking of funerals and such, do you remember the story about the Mormons who were “converting” dead Jews by entering their names into some Mormon website? For some reason the story is back in the news, I think because Holocaust survivor ELIE WIESEL asked MITT ROMNEY to get his name off the list. Romney’s campaign kicked the can to the Mormon church, but the dust up was enough to inspire activist DAN SAVAGE to create a website where you can turn a dead Mormon gay.

The site is linked to a list of dead Mormons, so if you don’t know one yourself, you can just click and a name will emerge. In truth, the Mormons don’t “convert” dead people. They just add their names to a register so that the dead person can join up in the afterlife if he or she so chooses. I must say that I agree with the logic of lawyer and cyber pundit EUGENE VOLOKH, who notes that if Mormons are correct in their eschatology, the people on the Mormon list are better off for eternity. If the Mormons are wrong, no real harm done. It’s just a name on a list. I gather that Elie Wiesel disagrees.

As for turning the dead Mormons gay, I’m not convinced that we have a sexual orientation on the Other Side. And if we do, I’m not sure I want a bunch of sanctimonious Mormons joining the Sapphic traffic in that Big Dyke Bar in the Sky crying into their Virgin Marys about how sinful we all are. Hello, Girlfriend?

SAY WHAT? I’m watching MSNBC with the sound off, and they just did a story on Barbara Johnson and the botched funeral! A text box at the bottom said gay activists were outraged by the incident, which is good. I didn’t see it in time to turn up the sound, but I can’t tell you that the Archdiocese said the priest’s behavior was Not Okay.

By the way, they’re showing the welcome home kiss for the gay veteran for the zillionth time. Yes, it makes a nice visual representation of the end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but I’m tired of it. I’d rather watch the bumbling waiter who dropped a tray of beers on Angela Merkel, but that was yesterday’s replay du jour.

Here’s what really bugs me about having cable news on in the background of my life. It’s when I glance up and catch the last several words of an intriguing scroll, yet I never manage to see the whole line. Instead I get snippets like: “...left the magic salad bowl in his garage,” or: “...popular star was only 36,” or: “...common product causes sudden death in women over fifty.” It happens all the time.

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AFRICAN QUEENS

SHERIFF OF THE YEAR IN 2011

In news of far away places, the city of St Petersburg has passed a law forbidding the promotion of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism in a move that has something to do with national politics in Russia. We are urged to boycott the area, and I for one am canceling all my upcoming trips. And while we’re on the subject of bad foreign laws, Uganda has brought its anti-gay bill back from the dead, although the latest version does not call for capital punishment, nor does it criminalize people who fail to report gays and lesbians to the authorities.

You know what? I’m canceling my trips to Uganda as well, along with my plans to visit Cameroon (where 10 women were arrested for being gay last month) and Liberia (where a measure was introduced to make homosexuality a first degree felony punishable by a decade behind bars). I hear Baltimore is nice in the springtime.

So what about that gay sheriff and Congressional candidate in Pinal County, Arizona? By now I’m sure you’ve read about PAUL BABEU (see “THE FINAL FIGHT,” in this issue, page 42) the bald border hawk who allegedly threatened to have his Mexican ex-boyfriend deported for outstaying his student visa. The ex went public, forcing Babeu out of the glass closet and leading him to resign as the co-chair of Mitt Romney’s Arizona campaign.

Looks like the kerfuffle didn’t hurt Mitten’s chances in the state primary, which he won handily on February 28. As for Babeu, he is continuing to deny the accusation and he’s still running for Congress, bless his hard little heart.

Oddly, conservatives seem to be sticking by their man, although recently, Babeu’s sister told the press that her baby brother was having an affair with a 17-year-old student when he was headmaster of a school for troubled youth in Stockbridge, Massachusetts about ten years ago. I suppose we’ll see if this little scandal brings down the man who was named Sheriff of the Year in 2011.

NOM THAT DONOR I should also tell you that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a First Circuit ruling forcing the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to reveal its donors under Maine election law. Back when we were fighting for Maine marriage in 2009, NOM contributed a bunch of money to the other side’s campaign organization. The organization, Narrow minded Maine People Who Hate Gays, reported the NOM donations as the law required, but NOM itself refused to say where it got the cash, rendering the whole concept of financial disclosure meaningless.

The good guys sued and won what is now officially a final victory in the First Circuit, so NOM will be forced to show its hand.

Here’s hoping that the legal ordeal makes some deep-pocketed NOM contributors think twice about writing a check in the future.

These days, it’s not cool to see your name on the LGBT community’s Enemies List. Yes, we have one. And no, it’s not illegal or unconstitutional. We have every right to confront people who finance anti-gay campaigns.

BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID DAVY JONES died! If you don’t know the name, never mind. Oh, and a giant asteroid is heading for Earth in 2014. Watch out everyone. If the asteroid doesn’t get us, I just learned that prescription sleeping pillsm triple your risk of cancer and heart attacks and may even be as dangerous as smoking.

Why do we even bother to struggle through the day?

What with the end of the Mayan calendar next December and the rest of it, Davy Jones may be the lucky one, slipping off to the beyond with a peaceful coronary rather than sticking around for the apocalypse with the rest of us suckers. Pass the Ambien and sign me up with the Mormons just in case.

NOW VOYAGERS I was watching a trashy true crime show on one of those fringe cable channels when I was appalled to see it being hosted by Commander Riker of Star Trek Next Generation.

I can’t remember the actor’s name, but surely it hasn’t come to this. Considering that Star Trek NG is replayed daily ad infinitum, I would think that he’d have royalties coming out of his ears.

When I complained to Mel about what I felt was something of an insult to me as a Star Trek NG fan, she pointed out that CAPTAIN PICARD is the voice on those National rent-a-car ads! I hadn’t noticed, but it’s true. He’s gone from “Make it so,” “In my ready room,” and “Earl Grey.

Hot,” to: “You Go, Business Pro, You Go!” I feel a bit defeated.

ANN ROSTOW writes news analysis columns for THE FIGHT and other gay publications across the country. Rostow can be reached at: arostow@aol.com

THEFIGHT

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ELLEN’S AGENDA

THE AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION: “WHAT MAKES ELLEN DEGENERES DANGEROUS IS THAT SHE’S A NICE PERSON.” BY

T

he recent campaign against Ellen DeGeneres by the American Family Association epitomizes the total intellectual bankruptcy of the antigay movement. Even though their so-called “One Million Moms” project failed to find any plausible reason why she shouldn’t be the new spokesperson for J. C. Penney, they didn’t let that stop them they went right ahead and said she’s wrong for the job simply because she’s gay. No further explanation was needed beyond that. She’s gay, and that’s bad, and that’s all there is to it.

According to these million moms, just hiring someone who’s gay is so intolerable to “traditional families” that they supposedly won’t want to shop at J. C. Penney now. That’s not just offensive to gay people. It’s offensive to those families, because it implies that this entire category of people is so uniformly homophobic that they can’t even bear to do business with a company that employs gay people. What makes them think every “traditional family” would agree with that?

They further demand that J. C. Penney “remain neutral in the culture war.” But since when does neutrality require the total exclusion of gay people from jobs just because they’re gay?

How could that possibly fall under any imaginable concept of what it means to be neutral? It sounds more like they’ve tried to redefine “neutral” as only doing what they want, and to do otherwise must be a departure from that. How else could someone believe it’s neutral to discriminate against gay people for no reason whatsoever?

After their attack on Ellen backfired tremendously, they sent

THEFIGHT

ZINNIA JONES

out an email claiming that “Ellen is attempting to indoctrinate our children.” Apparently she’ll be doing that via her role as a department store spokesperson, in which she’ll naturally be serving as an exponent of sexual morality. Clearly, that must be what J. C. Penney hired her to do. If they did decide to replace her, do those million moms expect that someone more representative of “traditional families” would use their position to instruct people on how they should be having sex? “Attention shoppers: Please don’t be gay! It makes a million moms really sad!”? How is this even tangentially related to their job? Are company spokespeople supposed to be a source of moral guidance now?

But they didn’t stop there. The American Family Association’s radio host Fred Jackson was unusually revealing when he said, “What makes Ellen DeGeneres dangerous is that she’s a nice person”. And he’s right: Ellen is dangerous. Not to the rest of us, of course. No, she’s dangerous to these people. She provides them with no way to use her as an example of the alleged depravity, sickness and misery of gay people. She’s proven that

Since when does neutrality require the total exclusion of gay people from jobs just because they’re gay? an openly gay woman can be accepted, appreciated, and even admired by middle America and “traditional families”. She absolutely overturns their reality in a way they cannot respond to without retreating to simple prejudice.

The sheer breadth of her achievement incinerates their claims that gay people are doomed to a life of isolation, desperation and ostracism. The only way they can try to rescuscitate their failed perspective is by working to force that exclusion and disapproval upon Ellen herself, as if to prove that life must really be that bad for gay people - and if it’s not, they’ll do their damnedest to make sure that it is. This is their last resort: trying to roll back progress by hand.

And how dare these “million moms” suggest that motherhood must mean shielding children from the fact that gay people can be successful? Fuck everything about that! Children deserve better than to be told that happiness and accomplishment are off-limits to anyone who isn’t straight. I’d rather have my kids “indoctrinated” by Ellen, because they should know that the world can be theirs no matter who they love. And I bet there actually are a million moms who agree with that.

Read more commentary by Zinnia Jones at: www.zinniajones.com/blog

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PEOPLE WHO HATE ME DON’T KNOW ME. I believe in karma.

If I was doing something wrong or bad it would come back to bite me.

WHITE, BLACK BY PHOTOGRAPHY GROOMING

MARK ARIEL J. HORTON ISRAEL GARCIA

& GRAY

THE PREMIER PRODUCER OF GAY NIGHTLIFE AND ENTERTAINMENT, WHITE PARTY’S JEFFREY SANKER, ON COMING OUT TO HIS FAMILY, WORKING AT STUDIO 54, AND DEALING WITH HATERS THEFIGHT

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D

ubbed the “the sultan of soirees,” promoter JEFFREY SANKER has been credited a s being “the father of the modern gay event party.” The “White Party Palm Springs,” Sanker’s trademark extravaganza, has evolved into the nation’s largest gay dance music festival, attracting more than 30,000 attendees from every corner of the globe.

Megastar entertainment has become a hallmark of the White Party.

LADY GAGA, ANASTASIA, TONY BRAXTON, DEBORAH COX, BOY GEORGE, GRACE JONES, JENNIFER LOPEZ, KELIS, KE$HA and KIM ZOLCIAK, have all graced the stage at Sanker’s events.

Helping to launch the careers of hundreds of new and up

WHEN DID YOU COME OUT? My sister told me I was gay when I was 17. She just knew. I wasn’t really sure. I felt an attraction to guys, but I always had a girlfriend as well. I actually dated the same girl for four years, up until college. When I went away to college in the mid seventies I realized there was another life. There were gay clubs in Washington DC - or “bisexual clubs” as they used to call them back then - so I went to one of these clubs and I walked in and I knew I was home.

HOW DIFFICULT WAS THE COMING OUT PROCESS FOR YOU? While I was relieved and accepting of myself, I was also a little homophobic. I felt a little ashamed and guilty and I was scared to come out to my family. There really wasn’t anyone to talk to about it back then. When I finally came out, in my late 20s, my mother was like well tell me something I don’t know. She said they had known forever but didn’t want to bring it up until I felt comfortable talking about it. I realize today how lucky I was to have these kind of parents. They are amazing... they know all of my friends and all of my ex-boyfriends. In fact I wish they would stop sending birthday cards to my exes because I don’t talk to them anymore.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO PRODUCTION AND EVENT PLANNING? I had a job at a New York City ad agency as a junior account executive that I didn’t really like. At the same time I used to go to Studio 54 five nights a week. After a few months my manager at the agency called me in and said to me: “I’m going to do you a favor and fire you.” So I went to STEVE RUBELL [co-owner of Studio 54] and said you got me fired and I need a job. So I started working at Studio 54. They had decided to launch gay nights at the Studio so I helped get that started. After that, I started working at almost all the big clubs in the city.

& coming performers and DJs over the years, prompted one magazine to comment: “the two best friends a DJ can have are MADONNA and Jeffrey Sanker.”

Originally from Washington DC, Sanker’s passion for parties began during the early eighties in New York City. After working at such legendary locations as Studio 54, Palladium and Private Eyes, where he fine-tuned his skills as a promoter and special event producer, Sanker moved to Los Angeles. His innovative technique of using landmark venues for trend-setting themed events has been credited for breathing new life into the Los Angeles scene.

In an interview with THE FIGHT Sanker talks about coming out to his family, working at Studio 54, unsafe sex and drug use.

names and addresses of boys. I went back to New York City and mailed out the invitations from there to Los Angeles, and hosted my first LA party. It was a huge event.

SO THE SAME SUCCESSFUL NEW YORK FORMAT WORKED IN L.A. AS WELL? Not at all! A week later, after that first event, I put on another party and it was a huge failure. New York is very different from Los Angeles. A different type of music, different types of people, Angelinos are more into fitness and they don’t go out as much during the week. There were many things I had to learn when I came out here.

WHEN DID YOU FEEL YOU “HAD IT DOWN?” I m still learning! It changes constantly; it’s not just one formula. Everything evolves; you have to stay current with the times, young people, older people, changes in music trends.

In this business you have to stay youthful. I don’t mean that in a physical sense, I mean that more as a mindset... I like Tony Bennet as much as I like Nicki Minaj. You have to stay on top of trends and technology and in general what’s happening in the world.

HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO CRITICS WHO CLAIM YOUR PARTIES ARE BREEDING GROUNDS FOR UNSAFE SEX AND DRUG USE? We do not condone drug use and we always promote safe sex.

We hand out safe sex kits, and we distribute pamphlets about what drugs do to you and what kind of interactions they have with alcohol. We have a medical team at every single event.

Nobody has ever died at any one of my events. Are some people going to be reckless? Sure, there are always going to be reckless people out there. But we do the best we can to discourage bad behavior.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO MOVE TO LOS ANGELES?

DOES IT BOTHER YOU WHEN IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOME PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DON’T ALWAYS HAVE YOUR BACK?

It was 1987, the AIDS epidemic had hit New York, many of my friends had died, and a lot of people were moving to California. A good friend of mine was dating DAVID GEFFEN. He called and told me that I should do in California what I do in New York because nobody was doing it here. I thought it was a good idea. I went to a club in Hollywood - it was called The Palace back then - now it’s the Avalon ... my famous night in New York was on a Wednesday so I told them I wanted Wednesday night. They were closed on Wednesdays so they agreed. I hired two cute boys to stand on the corner on Santa Monica Boulevard, next to Rage and got 2000

There will always be haters out there... I do as much as I can to support my community. I contribute to a few different LGBT organizations; I just don’t talk about it very much because I think that’s tacky. I’m happy when people in the community are successful. When I saw my friend JEREMIAH BRENT on the cover of you magazine (“Jeremiah, By Design,” THE FIGHT Issue 011) I was truly happy for him. I’m happy for my friend DAVID COOLEY and his success with The Abbey... People who hate me don’t know me. I believe in karma. If I was doing something wrong or bad it would come back to bite me.

The White Party Palm Springs takes place April 6-9. For more info visit: jeffreysanker.com

THEFIGHT

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Eighty-five percent of the young people from a Harvard School of Public Health study who were gender nonconforming are heterosexual adults.

DEFYING

GENDER NORMS SOCIETY OFTEN ASKS INDIVIDUALS TO CHOOSE STRICTLY BETWEEN BEING MALE OR FEMALE, A DIFFICULT PROCESS FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T FEEL CLOSE TO EITHER BY

THEFIGHT

ANTHONY GARCIA

C

hildren who don’t act like other kids of the same sex- researchers call them gender nonconforming - are more likely to suffer physical, psychological and sexual abuse as well as post-traumatic stress disorder later in life, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health say. The research team’s work was published last month in the journal Pediatrics and is one of the first studies to look at gender nonconformity as a risk factor for abuse.

“Parents need to be aware that discrimination against gender nonconformity affects one in 10 kids, affects kids at a very young age, and has lasting impacts on health,” said researcher Andrea Roberts, the lead author.

Using the nationwide study Growing Up Today, researchers looked at responses from 9,000 young adults who recalled childhood experiences. These memories included feelings of masculinity or femininity, media characters they imitated and whether they suffered abuse.

Those who reported the most gender nonconformity were more likely to have been physically, psychologically or sexually abused, the study says. Young adults who didn’t conform to gender norms in childhood were twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder than those who did conform.

Children may suffer more abuse due to conflict with parents, however more conclusive studies need to be done to confirm this, Roberts said.

Transgendered adults often deal with the difficult process of negotiating their sex assigned at birth and how they represent themselves later in life.

“Just because a transgendered person may be assigned female does not necessarily mean that they aspire to acquire all of the characteristics of a man,” said Malic White, who is graduating from the University of Chicago in June with a bachelor of arts in gender studies and creative writing. “Society often asks individuals to choose strictly between being male or female, a difficult process for someone who doesn’t feel close to either.”

Kids often shift which gender they express during different periods of development but that does not mean they will necessarily identify as transgender, Roberts explained. Like their adult counterparts, these children are harassed for not adhering to accepted norms.

While many parents may think that questions of gender only emerge in those who will eventually identify as gay or transgendered, this may not always be the case. Eighty-five percent of the young people from the study who were gender nonconforming are heterosexual adults, a statistic that Roberts said was surprising.

Since gender issues can affect many children, Roberts said she sees the results of the study as an opportunity for adults to proactively help young people.

“Parents are in a strong position to protect and support their children for whatever situation they may be in,” she said. “Also, teachers or pediatricians can give support, acceptance and approval, which can be very beneficial to the child.”

Gender nonconforming individuals can face trouble as adults as well, according to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. The survey, conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, found that these people as well as transgendered adults faced discrimination at work, school and in health care scenarios.

Roberts and her team continue to research the issue to get a complete picture about why the abuse happens to these children, she said. Gender identification can negatively affect a broad range of individuals, prompting researchers to explore the nuances of each population.

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This op-ed first appeared on CNN’s In America blog site at: inamerica.blogs.cnn.com

THE BEARABLE

WHITENESS OF BEING GAY BY

ROB SMITH

U.S. ARMY AND IRAQ WAR VETERAN ROB SMITH ON TRUE COLORS, STEREOTYPES AND THE INVISIBLE MAN THEFIGHT

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I

’m a typical gay male with a defining feature that is atypical in my community.

When I log onto my computer in the morning I check my favorite gay blogs. There, I will undoubtedly see images of people who don’t look like me attached to stories written by other people who don’t look like me. Above the page and to the right of the text are ads for various products being sold. They are modeled by people who don’t look like me. Maybe they are the underwear models made to be eye candy for the brand being promoted. Perhaps they’re the people used to represent the typical gay couple that would be welcome on that cruise, or in that hotel.

When I see people who do look like me written about and shown on my favorite gay blogs, they will most likely share my skin color but not my sexual orientation.

They probably have gotten themselves into trouble for saying or doing something homophobic. When I see the story I will roll my eyes at their stupidity and steel myself for the onslaught of hateful comments that will populate the comment section. The comments always sting because they come from members of my community. I will know exactly what is coming but I read anyway. After years of reading such comments I wonder if this is what all the people in my community who don’t look like me are really thinking about those who do.

When I’m on the train, I read my favorite gay magazine. I can’t remember having ever seen someone who looks like me on the cover. When I read it I see more ads - for underwear, cologne, cruises, hotels, and clothes - with people who don’t look like me. None of the writers look like me, nor are there any stories about anyone who looks like me. When I finally see an advertisement with someone who shares my skin color, the advertisement is for HIV medication.

While I’m waiting for my friend in the gayborhood hotspot I notice that none of the bartenders, DJs, or waiters look like me, nor do most of the clientele. Out of boredom, I fiddle around with the Grindr mobile dating app on my iPhone. My screen is filled with different faces, bodies, and torsos of men in the area. One particularly handsome man attracts my attention, until I read the “NO ASIANS” typed in angry capped letters on his profile. I wonder how I would feel if I were Asian.

After having a few drinks with my friend, I walk home through the garment district in midtown Manhattan. I see a gay male couple walking hand in hand down the street. They also do not look like me. In fact, they look like they could be in one of the gay cruise ads I see in my favorite magazine. Their relaxed and happy faces turn frightened when they see me, and they immediately cease holding hands and separate. On this late night in an unfamiliar area of the city, I am not seen as a member of the LGBT community. I am black. I am male. I am a threat.

The wary looks and quickened paces of nervous white

women on the streets of New York are those I’ve become used to over the years, but the reaction from this gay male couple is different. My first instinct is to smile at them, but I don’t. I dart into the subway station and think about it during every second of the ride back uptown. I feel hurt, sad, lonely, and invisible.

I feel bad for this couple who, for whatever reason, think that they could be in danger around me just for being themselves.

I wonder what books they read, what shows they watch, what magazines they read. I wonder what gay “looks” like to them.

When I get home and turn on the television, I flip through all of the channels that seem to have more gay characters and person-

I see a gay male couple walking hand in hand down the street. They also do not look like me. In fact, they look like they could be in one of the gay cruise ads I see in my favorite magazine. Their relaxed and happy faces turn frightened when they see me, and they immediately cease holding hands and separate. On this late night in an unfamiliar area of the city, I am not seen as a member of the LGBT community. I am black.

I am male. I am a threat. alities on them than ever before. I see Nate Berkus, Brad Goreski, Rachel Maddow, the characters on reruns of “Queer as Folk,” Rosie O’Donnell, Tabatha Coffey, the gay couple on “Modern Family,” and perhaps TV’s most recognizable gay teen, Kurt Hummel of “Glee.”

After a bit more television watching, I fall asleep for another day knowing that our community has so many colors, and still wondering why I can only seem to find one.

Rob Smith is a writer, lecturer and openly gay U.S. Army and Iraq War veteran. His work has appeared in USA Today, The Huffington Post, Metro Weekly and Salon.com among others. He is also a contributing author to “For Colored Boys ...,” an anthology featuring the stories of gay men of color to be released this month.

He can be reached at www.robsmithonline. com and on Twitter @robsmithonline

THEFIGHT

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GAY PERSONHOOD

WE ARE PART OF A LINEAGE - A HOMOSEXUAL BROTHERHOOD - REGARDLESS OF COLOR OR RACE OR ETHNICITY BY

N

o Asians.”

“No blacks.”

“White guys only.”

“Latins and blacks only.”

Statements like this on gay internet dating sites bring up many feelings for me as a gay Japanese Latino man. Hurt, anger, shame, confusion. We see society struggling with racism, heterosexism and homophobia. Destructive ways of oppressing a “someone” who then becomes - the “other.” So it is not surprising then that this could also affect how we relate to each other as diverse gay men.

For a long time I was only into white guys. However, I now realize that this isn’t just about who I am attracted to. What is happening internally when I exclude a whole group of other men seemingly based on a preference or type? Growing up gay left me with horrific toxic shame about being gay, along with inferiority about my race and ethnicity. When I look more closely into my

inner world, I see unconscious aspects in a preference for white guys only that aren’t quite as benign as I originally thought. It is also related to internalized racism and internalized homophobia.

How so? Seeing another gay man generally as a type or a race to accept or reject can take us out of seeing him as a person. He becomes an object. Gay men have been treated as “other” - objects to hate, ridicule, abuse. We internalize this. Unable to feel ourselves as persons, we became objects to ourselves filled with self-hatred, horrible shame, humiliation and defeat. I don’t like feeling this. So I, as we all do, have an amazing ability to defend against bad feelings through defenses. One defense is to project bad feelings onto others.

Instead of feeling the pain of insidious internalized homophobia and/ or racism, I can be rejecting of others as I have been rejected. I have sadly done this with other gay men of color.

THEFIGHT

THOMAS MONDRAGON, LMFT

As a gay Japanese Latino man, I have learned how through colonization, heterosexism spread its homophobic violence around the world attempting to erase vast memories, histories, rituals, writings, religious and spiritual ceremonies led and initiated by same-sex loving men and women. A psychological holocaust was perpetrated onto LGBT people all around the world. The repercussions are with us today still.

I knew Greece had a history of gay love and mentoring. Alexander the Great and Hephaestion, Achilles and Patroclus. The Renaissance had Michelangelo. But I was shocked to finally learn that Japan had a thousand year history of beautiful literature celebrating same-sex love among the samurai and Buddhist monks.

That ancient China had lusty stories of gay love among the imperial courts and its emperors. That Native American Two-Spirit individuals, holding the masculine and the feminine in one body, were often the healers and spiritual leaders. That throughout the Middle and Near East, same-sex love was glorified by authors such as Hafiz, a Persian Sufi mystic writing of the ecstatic love between men. And that many writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance were powerful gay and bisexual AfricanAmerican men and women.

In all cultures, homosexually oriented people were leaders with an ancient understanding of the psychic, spiritual and soulful meaning of same sex love. We gay men are part of a lineage - a homosexual brotherhood - where color or race or ethnicity isn’t a way to divide us but to support each of us doing our own psychological and spiritual work by looking within, confronting self-hatred, racism and internalized homophobia and other traumas of growing up gay.

Now when I see other gay men of color, when I see gay white men - instead of a preference checklist, I see individuals who look like me or don’t look like me but, who like myself can choose to more fully realize the erotic potential of gay personhood sourced in the gay mind and heart. Instead of objects, we can relate subject to subject - person to person - and have mirrored back to us the fiery vision of gay love.

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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ne of the frustrations for scientists working on HIV/ AIDS treatments has been the human immunodeficiency virus’ ability to evade the body’s immune system. Now an Indiana University researcher has discovered a compound that could help put the immune system back in the hunt, reports ScienceDaily at www. sciencedaily.com.

It’s not that the human immune system doesn’t recognize HIV. Indeed, an infection causes the body to unleash antibodies that attack the virus, and initially some HIV is destroyed.

But HIV is able to quickly defend itself by co-opting a part of the innate human immune system -- the immune system people are born with, called the complement. The complement includes a vital mechanism that prevents immune system cells from attacking the body’s own cells. HIV is able to incorporate a key protein in that self-protection mechanism, CD59, and by doing so makes itself appear to be one of the body’s normal cells, not an infective agent.

In laboratories at the Indiana University School of Medicine, ANDY QIGUI YU, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, is testing a promising compound that may counteract HIV’s ability to hijack the immune system’s protection mechanism.

“HIV is very clever. As it replicates inside cells, it takes on the CD59. The virus is covered with CD59, so the immune system treats the virus like your own normal cells,” Dr. Yu said.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced it had awarded nine new Grand Challenges Explorations Phase II grants, one of them to Dr. Yu. The new grant will support not only Dr. Yu’s research into compounds that may block the ability of HIV to hide behind the CD59 “cloak,” but also his work to identify the mechanism the virus uses to incorporate CD59.

“If we find that mechanism, then we can develop something to block that incorporation, and HIV may lose that protection from the immune system,” Dr. Yu said.

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WHY FIGHT

FOR MARRIAGE? LIKE THE FIGHT AGAINST SEGREGATION AND THE FIGHT FOR THE EQUAL RIGHTS ACT, MARRIAGE IS OUR SIGNATURE BATTLE, THE SINGLE ISSUE THAT TARGETS THE CORE STEREOTYPE OF ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY. BY

A

s you read this, sometime in the month of March, we are poised in an extraordinary moment in time. The fight for marriage, and with it the fight for gay equality in general, is gathering momentum for a definitive victory or a generational setback.

Make no mistake; we will win the war eventually. But the next couple of years will determine whether we win it now, or two decades hence.

Okay, okay. There are a few scenarios out there that fall in between this stark contrast. But basically, we’re looking at a U.S. Supreme Court decision on marriage most likely in mid-2014.

The outcome, in turn, depends on three factors; the composition of the Court, the specific legal questions under review, and the trends in public opinion and public policy throughout the U.S. during these next two years or so.

THE HAND OF FATE Factor one is up to the 2012 electorate and the hand of fate.

Obviously, if Republicans win the White House, Justice Ginsburg must stay healthy and she and the other four members of the left and center must avoid strokes, heart attacks and onrushing traffic.

If Obama is reelected, we can breathe a sigh of relief, although of course we maintain our best wishes for the justices’ well being--even the conservatives. We’re not Pat Robinson after all.

Factor two depends mainly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which will soon decide whether to take “en

THEFIGHT

ANN ROSTOW

banc” review of the Prop 8 case.

As you know, on February 7, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel issued an extremely narrow 2-1 ruling that struck Prop 8.

The opinion, written by one of the court’s most liberal judges, Stephen Reinhardt, completely avoided the major issues in the case. Reinhardt took no stand on whether marriage was a fundamental right or, if so, whether same-sex couples were included in that right. He also had no position on the crucial question of whether sexual orientation comprised a suspect class and whether gays and lesbians deserved heightened legal scrutiny when denied equal protection.

Instead, he crafted a tedious non-ruling, saying only that an electorate cannot strip a minority of a right without a reason that is rationally related to a legitimate interest. For Reinhardt, it didn’t matter that the right in question was marriage. It could have been the right to eat ice cream on Sunday. Whatever it was, he wrote, California voters could not take it away from a specific group unless they came up with some kind of justification.

Most analysts felt the limited ruling was designed to get rid of Prop 8 without roiling the larger waters that carry the hopes and dreams of gay couples towards their final reckoning with the nine justices. The opinion was so bland that the High Court might even have been inclined to duck the case entirely, restoring California’s same-sex marriage rights without threatening our smooth cruise towards national equality.

But it’s likely that the High Court won’t be presented with Reinhardt’s nuanced opinion after all. Instead, the Prop 8 proponents have asked the full Ninth Circuit to hear the case, a request

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that will be considered by the court’s 25 active judges.

If a majority of those 25 judges agree, the Ninth Circuit will empanel a group of 11 judges who will review Judge Vaughn Walker’s 2010 ruling from scratch. The panel will include Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, a Republican appointee who has shown some fondness for us in the past, along with 10 others picked at random.

Not counting Kozinski, the remaining 24 judges include just 8 GOP-appointees and 16 Democratic-appointees. This bodes well for a positive result should the court decide to step into the case. But then of course, the outcome will be appealed to the Supreme Court. And unless the Ninth Circuit follows Reinhardt’s strategy, the full court’s opinion will likely be far more expansive, presenting the Supremes with a scary all-or-nothing choice. (It’s doubtful the full Ninth Circuit will follow Reinhardt’s lead if they take the case, since the easier way to follow Reinhardt would be to decline review, sending Reinhardt’s decision directly to the Supremes.)

If the Ninth Circuit takes the Prop 8 case, it would probably be mid-2013 at the earliest until we have a decision. If the High Court then agrees to hear an appeal, they could put the case on their 2013-2014 docket and maybe decide towards the end of that term, in May or June.

But what if they had another marriage related case in hand? As mentioned before, the Prop 8 case in its original form asks whether marriage is a fundamental right, and if so, under what circumstances can the public deny its status to same-sex couples. By contrast, our legal challenges to Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) ask only whether the federal government can refuse to recognize those gay couples who are legally married in states like Massachusetts and New York.

six months behind the Prop 8 case. (Interestingly, the liberals on the full Ninth Circuit panel could delay their Prop 8 ruling in order to let the DOMA case get ahead. That’s what I’d do if I were one of them.)

If the full First Circuit declines review, the Massachusetts DOMA case will easily beat Prop 8 to the High Court. Why would that be significant? Quite simply because a High Court victory in the DOMA case could boost our chances for a good ruling on Prop 8, while a loss on Prop 8 could lower our chances for a victory against DOMA.

THE MOST DRAMATIC OPINION TO DATE Meanwhile, four other DOMA cases are running through the federal pipeline. Late last month, San Francisco-based U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White struck DOMA in the most dramatic opinion to date, ruling that sexual orientation should indeed be a protected class, that current Ninth Circuit precedent

All stigmatized minority groups are fighting a core stereotype.

Intellectual inferiority for blacks.

Weakness and gender roles for women. For us, it’s the idea that our sexual orientation is simply sexual.

THE COURT’S CONSERVATIVE WING If the Supreme Court strikes DOMA, it changes nothing save the legal standing of married gay couples under federal law. State laws on marriage remain the same, and arguably, the status quo returns to normal since, up until DOMA, the federal government has historically defined marriage according to state laws. For example, the second cousins married in Kentucky were married for federal purposes, even though they could not have been married in Maine.

In the Prop 8 case however, if the Supreme Court were to find a fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples, they would strike the laws of roughly 40 states and legalize marriage throughout the country in one sweep. It sounds great, but it also sounds suspiciously like something the justices would like to avoid.

Instead, the Court’s conservative wing could easily find a “middle ground” or even revert to the Reinhardt model, striking Prop 8 without advancing any gay rights. Under the circumstances, such a ruling would cause tremendous harm, because it would (presumably) overturn a good ruling out of the full Ninth Circuit and set in stone limitations on marriage, and gay equality in general, for years to come.

So the question becomes: Which case will be the first to hit the High Court’s docket?

Our most advanced DOMA case, the Gay and Lesbians Advocates and Defenders case out of Massachusetts, is sitting before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, where oral arguments will be held on April 4 and where one would expect a decision before year-end. If this case is also appealed and accepted by the full First Circuit, it will be running about

to the contrary was no longer good law, and writing in a footnote that marriage is a fundamental right extended to all couples.

Judge White’s ruling now goes to a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel so it’s probably about six months to a year behind the Massachusetts case in its trip to the High Court.

Two other cases are awaiting lower court decisions in New York and Connecticut, while a fourth case is pending in Oakland.

Other cases, including one filed on behalf of military couples, are in earlier stages.

So why are these other DOMA cases important, given that the Massachusetts case will likely be the one to reach the Supreme Court? It’s because of factor number three, possibly the most important ingredient in our stew of speculation.

Where will we be two years from now in our fight for marriage equality?

Will we be riding on wave after wave of positive change?

Will we have equal rights in ten or twelve states? Will we have seen legal victories in four or five federal courts in a row? Will we have won ballot measures to uphold marriage laws and institute new ones?

Has public opinion continued to move in our favor at a rate of two to four percent or more per year?

Have more and more politicians switched their positions? Is it now considered a mainstream liability to oppose equality?

If all that comes to pass, we could possibly win an “all or nothing” case before the Supreme Court, and we would almost certainly win a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. But what if the situation isn’t so rosy?

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What if we lose, both the antigay ballot measure in North Carolina next May (which is possible under any scenario), and the anti-marriage ballot fight in Minnesota next November?

What if our recent legislative victories legalizing marriage in Washington and Maryland are reversed by voters next fall? What if Maine voters reject our marriage equality measure as well?

What if New Hampshire lawmakers repeal marriage rights and override the governor’s promised veto?

What if we lose some of those federal DOMA challenges, creating a split in the federal courts? What if public sentiment wavers or climbs a point or two, while a vocal religious right maintains the pressure from the other side?

What if the Supreme Court confronts a nation persistently divided and fractured on the issue of gay rights? What then? I’ll leave you to answer the question, but while we might still win a DOMA challenge, it’s doubtful that the justices will agree on a farreaching ruling in favor of marriage.

PANIC

ATTACKS THE LGBT COMMUNITY MAY BE PARTICULARLY SUSCEPTIBLE

MIXING WINS AND LOSSES Last month, the headlines screamed progress. We “won” the Prop 8 case. We passed marriage in Washington, in New Jersey (vetoed) and in Maryland. In San Francisco, Judge White struck the Defense of Marriage Act in no uncertain terms.

But like a tennis player who breaks serve only to lose her own, these victories have to be consolidated before they count.

Victories in district court must become victories in successive appellate courts. Marriage rights won in the legislature must be won again at the ballot.

And to continue the analogy, because we’re in the fifth set heading to the Supreme Court, we can’t afford to trade service breaks. Mixing wins and losses won’t keep us even. We have to pile up success on top of success before we face the justices.

Some of you out there may doubt the importance of the fight for marriage, wondering perhaps why we’re not tackling job protection, bullying, HIV, or some other item on the gay agenda.

But marriage, like the fight against segregation and the fight for the Equal Rights Act, is our signature battle, the single issue that targets the core stereotype of anti-gay bigotry.

All stigmatized minority groups are fighting a core stereotype. Intellectual inferiority for blacks. Weakness and gender roles for women. For us, it’s the idea that our sexual orientation is simply sexual.

For a time, opponents will try to create a compromise that allows them to maintain their core prejudice while doling out a political tidbit. Blacks can have their own “equal” schools.

Women can vote, but only because they’ll bring a (stereotyped) feminine perspective to the electorate. We won’t criminalize gay sex, but only because we respect a certain “live and let live” right to bedroom privacy.

To drive a stake through the heart of gay prejudice you have to make people recognize that sexual orientation is an ingrained characteristic for all of us, gay, bi and straight, rather than a peculiar predilection. Our marriages and families defy the idea that we are solely defined by sexual desire, and recognizing these relationships automatically turns the stereotype into an anachronism.

Of course, winning marriage rights won’t stop prejudice from continuing to run freely through society’s underground emotional sewage system. But like integration and equality for women, legalizing marriage will provide a filter that will save us from having to step in raw hatred every day. The sooner it comes, the better.

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I

BY DR. PHILIP PIERCE

t was the most terrifying experience of his life! Jon*, 29 years old and in excellent health, was driving on the freeway. Suddenly, his heart started pounding, he felt dizzy and his breath grew short. “I’m having a heart attack,” he thought,” as he veered off the road. With panting breath, Jon called his boyfriend, “I think I’m going crazy!”

It was not heart failure or insanity that was diagnosed that day when he arrived at the emergency room. Jon was one of the five per cent of Americans who suffer a panic attack at some point in his or her life. It’s an intensely scary experience, and if untreated, can lead sufferers to develop almost daily panic attacks plus agoraphobia (the fear of going places in which help might not be available). Research suggests that members of the LGBT community may be particularly susceptible to this disorder because of experiences of discrimination and oppression.

Fortunately, there is a relatively simple treatment for this problem! With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a 70-80% success rate for a panic attack-free existence is obtainable. The first step in therapy is psychoeducational _ the patient learns that panic attacks are physically harmless and are the result of the mind’s faulty evaluation that there is an immediate threat.

That mistaken judgment is based on a protective evolutionary response; thousands of years ago, sudden danger - such as an encounter with a saber-toothed tiger -required the caveman to have an immediate “fight or flight” response. His heart beat fast and his breath grew short to prepare him for battle or to run. Yet in our modern-day world, it is not a savage beast that is stalking us but our conscious or unconscious fears.

Diaphragmatic breathing and desensitization exercises as well as cognitive restructuring to challenge catastrophic thinking all play a part in treatment. Fear and anxiety are dramatically reduced and therapy can usually be completed in ten visits or less without requiring medication. *Jon’s name is a pseudonym and details have been changed to protect his identity.

Dr. Philip Pierce is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Beverly Hills and a Lecturer at UCLA. For more information, go to www.DrPhilipPierce.com

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A Caring Approach to Egg Donation Physician-recommended Beverly Hills Egg Donation continues to be one of the most highly regarded egg donor agencies in the industry.

Our “one agency fee until you’re pregnant policy“, in-person donor screenings and weekly cycle updates have made us one of the most successful egg donation agencies in the world.

All ethnicities Well screened donors Doctor recommended Specialized assistance for international clients

Professionals providing personal care to clients – worldwide To learn more, visit www.bhed.com or call us at US (310) 601-3132.

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BECOMING GAY PARENTS WHETHER OR NOT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BECOMES WIDELY LEGAL WORLD-WIDE, SAME-SEX PARENTING IS A DONE DEAL

T

BY MARK ARIEL

he Center for Surrogate Parenting, Inc. (CSP) in Encino is a surrogacy agency dedicated to helping intended parents achieve their dream of become parents, regardless of sexual orientation. “Every couple is special and we make no distinction between heterosexual intended parents and gay intended parents.

We ffocus on the desire and the intent of a couple to create their own family,” states CSP CEO KAREN SYNESIOU. For male gay partners who desire the opportunity to parent together there are only two choices: adoption and surrogate parenting. Adoption offers a couple the opportunity to give a baby who already exists, a loving home that the child may not have otherwise enjoyed. Surrogacy offers a couple the option to be biologically related to the child, to cause this particular genetic child to come into existence, to actively participate in the pregnancy and to be recognized on the original birth certificate as the legal parent of the child. Both options allow a couple to experience the joys of parenting. For many gay couples surrogacy is the preferred journey towards parenting.

Whether or not same-sex marriage becomes widely legal world-wide, same-sex parenting is a done deal.

CSP helped their first gay couple become parents in 1987.

“In those days there were very few doctors willing to participate in gay surrogate parenting,” says Synesiou. “We certainly lost referrals from some existing couples and professionals because CSP believed in gay parenting. We know that making a right decision has a price, but that is minor in comparison to the pride we feel at the families we have helped create. We believe that all our couples deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion and that they deserve to have their decision to become parents recognized and supported. At CSP we look at the relationship between two people who deeply desire to experience parenting together and we are proud to offer our assistance.”

For more information about The Center for Surrogate Parenting visit their website: www.gaysurrogacyagency.com or call: 818-788-8288.

For over 20 years, HRC Fertility has been helping the community build families through surrogacy, egg donation and other reproductive procedures.

Call one of our offices to set up a consultation today!

Robert Boostanfar, MD

Michael Feinman, MD

Encino Westlake Village West Los Angeles

David Tourgeman, MD

(818) 788-7288 (805) 374-1737 (310) 481-0881

(866) HRC-4IVF (472-4483) www.havingbabies.com THEFIGHT

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ERASING UNDER EYE

BAGS

STEM CELL EYE LIFT AND OTHER ADVANCED EYE LID SURGERY TECHNIQUES

O

BY NATHAN NEWMAN, MD

ne of the first areas to show signs of aging is the under eyes. Our eyes are the focus of our face. As we age our eyebrows droop, our eyelids wrinkle and fall, and we develop “bags� and dark circles under our eyes. These changes result in an undesirably tired, aged and sad look. Fortunately, advances in medicine and cosmetic surgery can now reverse much of this aged look with little to no down time, with nominal discomfort, without scars, without the need for general anesthesia and with minimal risk. Below, I will discuss the options available in eye rejuvenation.

WHAT CAUSES UNDER EYE BAGS? The sagging of the eyebrows, upper eyelids are from a combination of the natural aging process and our lifestyle. As we age, the fat in our face starts to shrink and reduce in volume. The cheek fat under the eyes also deflates and the veins become visible through the thin skin giving us the appearance of dark circles. As a result of this volume loss in the cheeks, the support fat that the eyeball sits upon may also become visible and appear to bulge as bags under the eyes giving a tired and aged look.

UNDER EYE REJUVENATION The most natural and logical way to correct the undesired effects of volume loss due to fat shrinkage and deflation is to replace the volume with what was there before, with fat. Under local anesthesia, the fat can be taken from any part of our body and injected into other areas (eyes, face, nose, hands, calves, buttocks, etc.) to sculpt the area and to fill it and restore volume. The fat contains the most concentration of adult tissue stem cells of any organ in the body. These mesenchymal stem cells have tremendous regenerative and rejuvenative capacities and are essential in correcting and maintaining the needed volume under the eyes. The Stem Cell Lift(r) procedure entails removing fat from the body using mini liposuction techniques; separating, concentrating and activating the stem cells found in the collected fat and preparing them for injection into the under eye and cheek areas. The stem cell rich fat restores the youthful volume, corrects the under eye bags and becomes part of its surrounding tissues.

The Stem Cell Lift(r) gives a scar free and natural appearing look with long term benefits and with minimal risk.

ADVANCES IN LOWER EYE LID SURGERY Blepharoplasty is the eyelid surgery done to get rid of the excess skin on the eyelids and to remove the bags under the eyes. In the past all the fat under the eye was removed which resulted in a more hollowed and therefore older appearance. Today, the fat is not removed but rather repositioned to fill the hollowed area under the eye. The amount of fat removed is to provide natural look and not a hollow, sunken or pulled look, as was done in the past. The lower eyelid fat is reached from inside the eyelid, leaving no visible scar on the face.

This procedure does not require general anesthesia and is indicated in hypertrophic under eye fat pads.

Advanced cosmetic surgery techniques offer better, safer and more natural treatment methods to correct under eye bags. A face-to-face consultation is essential to establish individualized treatment plans that will optimally give you your desired cosmetic results.

Advanced cosmetic surgery techniques offer better, safer and more natural treatment methods to correct under eye bags.

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Dr Nathan Newman, a world renowned cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills, is the innovator of the Stem Cell Lift(r). To learn more about Dr. Newman and his advanced cosmetic surgery procedures please visit NathanNewmanMD.com or Stem-Cell-Lift.com. To schedule a private consultation with Dr. Newman, call 310-273-3344.

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REAL. RAW. LIVE.

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BREAK ROOM CAFE FRESH, WHOLESOME, DELICIOUS FOODS TO FUEL YOUR BODY FRESH JUICE BAR

323-963-5500 Open 8am Daily, 7 Days a week www.realrawlive.com (323) 461-4545

3244 CAHEUNGA BLVD, STUDIO CITY www.thebreakroomcafe.com

3/8/12 2:13 PM

GROUPS COMPILED BY CHRISTOPHER PERKINS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 ELEVATION MAMMOTH 2012 Tom Whitman Presents Mammoth Gay Ski Week. For more info visit: www.mammothgayski.com

Mammoth’s 10th annual gay ski week.

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 L.A. FASHION WEEKEND Sunset Gower Studios, 1438 N. Gower St., Hollywood.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23 LIVE TO TELL THE STORY Eleven, 8811 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, 6:30pm-10:30pm.

Benefiting The Getting Unstuck Project.

One woman show clearly illuminating that anyone can be at risk for HIV infection. Guests will be treated to a night of great food, drinks, music and powerful prose about being victorious in the face of adversity.

For more info visit: losangelesfw.com

Fall/Winter 2012 showcase. Includes BETSEY JOHNSON, ASHLEE BROOKS, LIZZIE PARKER and more.

SATURDAY, MARCH 24 LGBT FILM FESTIVAL The Ray Stark Family Theatre, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, 3pm-6pm.

For more info visit: http://sait.usc.edu/lgbt

Short films of USC students and alumni that are about, of interest to, or made by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or intersex people.

SATURDAY, MARCH 17 2012 HRC GALA DINNER Ritz Carlton/Jw Marriott At La Live, 900 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, 5:30pm-9pm. For more info visit: hrcladinner.com

Hosted by CHELSEA HANDLER, honorees include CHRIS MATTHEWS and CHALIZE THERON. Special appearances by Mayor ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA and actor JOE MANGANIELLO. NATIVE AMERICAN HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY Plummer Park,7377 Santa Monica Blvd., WeHo, 10am-5pm.

For more info visit: www.apla.org/native_american

“2nd Annual Celebrating All Life & Creation Pow Wow.” THE COLOR PURPLE Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, Thurs-Sat, 8pm, Sundays 3pm.

THANK GAYS IT’S FRIDAY STANDUP COMEDY Every Friday, 8:30pm. MJ’s Bar, 2810 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles. 323-650-1503 GAY & LESBIAN SALSA Every Monday, 8pm. Little Temple Bar, 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Silverlake, 90029. gaysalsanight@yahoo.com or www.facebook.com/ gaysalsanight 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

For more info visit: livenation.com

LOS ANGELES PRIME TIMERS Social group for older mature gay men and admirers www.laprimetimers.org

Lesbian singer/writer performs, MIGHTY PIPES: GAY MEN’S CHORUS First Congregational Church Of Los Angeles, Saturday, March 24, 8pm, Sunday, March 25, 3pm & 7pm.

LOS ANGELES GAY BRIDGE CLUB http://www.communityvisions.org/IAGLBC

For more info visit: www.gmcla.org

LOS ANGELES GAY FOR GOOD Gays making a commitment to volunteer for social welfare and environmental service projects. www.gayforgood.org

Two hundred and twenty-six voices will ascend to the rafters, belting uplifting songs that range from choral classics to glam rock hits.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 THE DINAH SHORE WEEKEND Multiple locations in Palm Springs.

For more info visit: thedinah.com

The largest girl party music festival in the world.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6 WHITE PARTY PALM SPRINGS Multiple locations in Palm Springs.

For more info visit: jeffreysanker.com

The largest gay dance music festival in the world.

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GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES www.gmcla.org

GREAT AUTOS OF YESTERYEAR The largest LGBT classic car club on the West Coast. www.greatautos.org

Musical adaptation of ALICE WALKER’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (and the popular 1985 STEVEN SPIELBERG film) spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story.

For more info visit www.lamarathon.com

CLUB NUR Gay Middle Eastern clubnur.com

ANI DIFRANCO Orpheum Theatre, 842 South Broadway, Los Angeles, 8pm.

For more info visit: celebrationtheatre.com

SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012 LA MARATHON Dodger Stadium LA, 1000 Elysian Park Ave., 6am-5pm.

ASIAN/PACIFIC GAYS AND FRIENDS www.apgf.org GAY ASIAN PACIFIC SUPPORT NETWORKwww.gapsn.org LOS ANGELES GAY AVIATION CLUB Pilots, Flights Attendants, Mechanics. www.unusualattitudes.info

LOS ANGELES GAY/LESBIAN SCIENTISTS www.lagls.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 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

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THE REPUBLICAN

CLOSET MICHELANGELO SIGNORILE: “THE COMBINATION OF THE CLOSET AND POWER IS DANGEROUS -- NOT JUST TO THE INDIVIDUAL, BUT TO MANY OTHERS AS WELL.”

P

inal County Sheriff Paul Babeu may or may not have threatened to deport his former boyfriend back to Mexico, but the scandal that erupted last month, and which forced the GOP Congressional candidate to resign as Mitt Romney’s campaign co-chair in Arizona, does underscore one salient fact: closeted gay public figures are compromised, always harboring a secret they fear may get out. That often inspires them to go to great lengths in deceiving the public,” says journalist Michelangelo Signorile, host of “The Michelangelo Signorile Show” on Sirius XM’s OutQ. In an op-ed in The Huffington Post, Signorile reveals how the closet may have corrupted the Arizona Sheriff. “Babeu spent years covering up his sexual orientation, often supporting politicians who’ve pushed anti-gay policies. A frequent guest on Fox News, he’d appeared in a John McCain for President ad -- a veteran of the war in Iraq supporting a candidate who was a driving force against the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” writes Signorile.

“Babeu is now trying to portray himself as the victim, someone under attack by the media and others for his sexual orientation. But LGBT Arizonans have been under attack from GOP-inspired anti-gay ballot measures for years, and Babeu hadn’t thought it important enough to talk about.”

“Suddenly we’re learning of his positions on gay rights,” reveals Signorile. “He now says he supports same-sex marriage and repeal of DADT. When was this GOP Congressional candidate going to tell voters about these positions, which put him with a tiny minority of House members (only 15 GOP House members voted for DADT repeal, while the GOP House leadership is defending the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court)?”

The Phoenix New Times reporter who broke the story, Monica Alonzo, told Signorile that Babeu has dodged questions about these issues at every turn so far. “Was he going to espouse his enlightened positions on these issues before November, or was he going to eventually offer hardline anti-gay positions to get elected in his very conservative district?”

Trying to save his political career, Babeu has mentioned Congressman Ron Paul and his brand of libertarian Republicanism in several of his press appearances in the past few days while espousing his positions on gay marriage and gays in the military.

THEFIGHT

“But Ron Paul wasn’t the man Babeu was backing for president while in the closet,” reveals Signorile. “Up until a few weeks ago he was campaigning for Romney as Romney’s Arizona campaign co-chair. Romney wants a federal marriage amendment -- one of the most most anti-libertarian policies in this election campaign and something to which Ron Paul is staunchly opposed. And Romney was opposed to repealing DADT (even though he’s now content to let it be). Battling Santorum’s surge, Romney has been pushing a thoroughly antigay line, attacking gay marriage at every turn and talking about ‘traditional’ values.”

“It’s amazing how coming out of the closet has propelled Sheriff Babeu to publicly espouse a whole other brand of Republicanism than the one he was embracing just days ago.”

It’s just one example of how the closet corrupts -- and how coming out liberates.

“Because he was hiding his sexual orientation,” says Signorile, “Babeu wasn’t out in the gay community, meeting people publicly and being comfortable with who he is. He was online looking for secret hook-ups and putting his career at risk by sending his naked photos to strangers. Nothing at all wrong with looking for sex online, but you have to wonder how much of it Babeu would be doing if he was simply able to be open about being gay.”

“And then there’s the alleged threat of deportation of Jose Orozco, the former boyfriend, if he spoke about their gay relationship. If true, this would not be the first time a politician with a secret tried to silence someone through intimidation.”

“The closet does a lot of damage to an individual’s self-esteem, living a lie and feeling less than others. But the combination of the closet and power is dangerous -- not just to the individual, but to many others.”

Read more Michelangelo Signorile at: www.huffingtonpost.com

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