O&AN | October 2016

CHASE

SANSING

BREAKS OUT

GAY CORRECTIONS OFFICER FINDS ESCAPE IN MUSIC OUTANDABOUT NASHVILLE.COM

OCTOBER 2016

VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 10

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14 YEARS

OF LGBT NEWS

INSIDE THE NASHVILLE OPERA’S 2016/17 SEASON A LOOK AT MURFREESBORO’S FIRST PRIDE FESTIVAL

NomiNatioNs are Now opeN for our

2016 reaDers’ choice awarDs O&AN Faves & Raves – our LGBT readers’ choice awards – begins its two-week nomination process on October 1.

Readers can log onto the O&AN website October 1 – 15 and nominate their favorite LGBT and LGBT-friendly individuals, businesses, and community events in over 50 categories.

Once the nominations have been tallied, readers will then be able to vote on the Top 3 nominations in each category.

Voting will begin on October 21 and continue until close of business on Friday, November 4.

Winners will be unveiled in the O&AN year-end Faves & Raves issue in December.

outaNDaboutNashViLLe.com /OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE /OUTANDABOUTNASH Celebrating 14 yeArs of bringing Tennesseans LGBT News.

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10.16

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN

Mr. Priebus, As an openly transgender lesbian woman who subscribes to the Austrian School of economic thought, I am writing to inform you that I must decline to support the current Republican Party candidate in favour of Hillary Clinton in the forthcoming election, and I will likely decline support in future elections.

I came of age in the Reagan era when supplyside theories and active strikebreaking were considered to be really good ideas. I considered myself a budding fiscal conservative then, when people of my age and orientation were supposed to find a path to the Democratic Party.

I really do not believe the overwhelming majority of Reagan conservatives then would ever support what this current crop of Republican candidates profess and advocate. While many would have argued that private matters should remain private regarding LGBTQ issues, the pursuit and attempted crushing of this community would have been deeply frowned upon if not outright opposed. Reagan conservatives feared LGBTQ people because of AIDS, not because they were harbingers of the coming Antichrist.

I am very much aware that the policies advocated by the Democratic opposition have a rather good chance of taking the American economy back to the 1970’s Stone Age, and I will be thinking of this letter as I line up for my mandatory National Health Insurance card on a cold winter’s day in the near future as joyful, Canadian-inspired volunteers attempt to cheer me on with song, slogan and respectful police presence. I will attempt to smile as I am repeatedly informed of how great the new programme is and to not visit the community clinic unless it is a real emergency ... making a

four week in advance reservation first.

But I no longer care about that. I care more about the freedom required for myself, my soulmate and all others chosen to enjoy the unrequested blessing of LGBTQ-ness without fear or harm. I will no longer support any political party whose supporters dare to advocate any kind of cultural or religiously-inspired superiority over other peoples, no matter how much better their economic policies may be.

I will happily adjust my thermostat, cover myself in red ochre and chant when I get really sick, if that leads to the permanent political marginalization of the blatantly hateful, religiously-fueled, extremist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, right-wing crazy people currently pitching your party’s candidate, using arguments dredged up from Fox News and Russian television and forgetting how those m-f’ers in stahlhelms and feldgrau uniforms nearly conquered the planet believing and pitching this same hateful, wrong-headed, antiSemitic, mind-blowingly evil sh*t, killing a whole lot of innocent people before the rest of the world could get their heads out of their a**es.

Mr. Priebus, I ask you to please take a second look at what your party’s candidates say about people like me and others who are not like you. Please reflect upon their language and ask yourself if what they are saying dovetails with what you wish to actively support. I seriously doubt Mr. Lincoln would ever want to be associated with this crowd. When you listen to the nominated candidate of your party, do you hear the voice of Mr. Reagan? Or someone else?

Think it over.

Julie Chase

FAX 615-246-2787 PHONE 615-596-6210

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CONTRIBUTORS

Writers: Eddie Charlton, Julie Chase, James Grady, Roman Laws-Milburn, Amy Sulam, Paige Turner, Bobbi Williams Photographers: Stephen Bloodworth, James Grady, Julius Greene, Brandon Partin Cover Photograph: James Grady Cartoon: Damon Xanthopoulos National Advertising Representative: Rivendell Media 1248 Route 22 West Mountainside, NJ 07092 212-242-6863

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LEGAL Out & About Nashville strives to be a credible community news organization by engaging and educating our readers. All content of Out & About Nashville is copyrighted 2016 by Out & About Nashville, Inc. and is protected by federal copyright law and shall not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. All photography is licensed stock imagery or has been supplied unless otherwise credited to a photographer and may not be reproduced without permission. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representations does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of the person or persons.

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OCTOBER 2016

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NASHVILLE REP ANNOUNCES INGRAM NEW WORKS FELLOW LGBT PLAYWRIGHT CHRISTOPHER DURANG TO BE IN RESIDENCE STAFF

Each season, Nashville Rep welcomes four emerging playwrights and one established playwright into its Ingram New Works Project, a nationally recognized new play development program that cultivates and amplifies new voices for the stage and expands the creative capacity of Nashville by connecting artists and audiences across extraordinary new works.

Selected emerging playwrights make up the Ingram New Works Lab, directed by Nashville Rep’s Playwright-in-Residence Nate Eppler, and the established playwright serves as the Ingram Playwriting Fellow.

These up-and-coming voices are joined by, and receive feedback from an eminent playwright-in-residence, the Ingram New Works Playwriting Fellow.

The Nashville Repertory Theatre recently announced that LGBT playwright Christopher Durang will join the Ingram New Works Project as the Playwriting Fellow for the 2016-17 season. Durang, who holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, has had a stellar career, winning a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller, the CBS Playwriting Fellowship, the Lecompte du Nouy Foundation grant, and the Kenyon Festival Theatre Playwriting Prize. In 1995 he won the prestigious three-year Lila Wallace Readers Digest Award, and as part of his grant, he ran a writing workshop for adult children of alcoholics. Durang also served as co-chair with Marsha Norman of the Playwriting Program at the prestigious Juilliard School in Manhattan until 2016.

Durang’s works include A History of the American Film (Tony nomination, Best Book of a Musical), The Actor’s Nightmare, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You (Obie Award, Off-Broadway run, 1981-83), Beyond Therapy (on Broadway in 1982), Baby With the Bathwater (Playwrights Horizons, 1983), The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Public Theater, 1985; Obie Award, Dramatists Guild Hull Warriner Award), Laughing Wild (Playwrights Horizons, 1987), and Durang Durang, a show which included a Tennessee Williams parody, For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls.

“I have been a fan of Christopher Durang’s since I was in school and saw a student production of Beyond Therapy.

So funny, so deranged,” says Nashville Rep’s Producing Artistic Director René D.

Copeland. “His unique and sharp comic voice has influenced a generation of theatre artists and goers, and ever since the establishment of the Ingram Fellowship he has been on my short list. I’m just a little breathless that he has accepted our fellowship this year, and I am thrilled to get to share him with Nashville as he works on a new play that will be a part of our Ingram Festival next May.” The Fellow joins the Lab playwrights for Playwrights Week in January, helping critique and shape their work, and serving as a mentor for the early career playwrights. “Writing can be very lonely,” says Christopher Durang. “I find it helpful to be around a table with other writers, who can give feedback to one another. Thus the Ingram New Works Fellowship easily fits into helping writers as they move along on a play.”

Beyond being an opportunity to connect the Lab Playwrights and the Fellow, Playwrights Week is the first chance Nashville audiences will get to connect with this season’s playwrights.

As part of this season’s Playwrights Week, Nashville Rep will host a REPaloud staged reading of Durang’s Beyond Therapy, one of the plays that brought national acclaim to Durang’s work. The event will take place Saturday, January 14 at OZ Arts Nashville.

“Nashville is a remarkable place to bring new stories to life. This is a dream for a playwright. The artists supporting you are extraordinary and there is a city-wide ever-growing appetite for new works. And now we get to bring an artist like Christopher Durang into the fold,” says Nashville Rep’s Playwrightin-Residence Nate Eppler. “He was my very first favorite playwright. I vividly remember the first time I read one of his plays; total comic absurdity wrapped around real emotion, real anxiety, real feelings. He absolutely exploded my ideas of what a play was supposed to be. It was the first time I really thought about maybe being a playwright. And now Christopher Durang wants to come to Nashville and build a play here. How amazing is that?”

The Ingram New Works Project culminates in the Ingram New Works Festival, a celebration of all five new plays fostered in the program that season. The plays are performed as staged readings with professional Nashville actors and are

Christopher Durang

an opportunity for Nashville audiences to be a part of this exciting process. This season’s festival is slated to run May 1020, 2017.

Nashville Rep’s Ingram New Works Project was created with the support of cofounder Martha R. Ingram to provide an opportunity for theatre artists to develop new theatre works while in residency at

Nashville Rep. Past Fellowship recipients include David Auburn (Proof, The Columnist), John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea), Theresa Rebeck (Bad Dates, Fever), Doug Wright (I am My Own Wife, Posterity), Donald Margulies (Dinner with Friends, The Country House) and Rebecca Gilman (Spinning Into Butter, Luna Gale.)

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O&AN CERTIFIED AS LGBT BUSINESS ENTERPRISE NGLCC RECOGNITION OFFERS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH STAFF

Founded in 2002, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) remains only national not-forprofit advocacy organization dedicated to expanding the economic opportunities and advancements of the LGBT business community. Indeed, with more than 800 certified LGBT Business Enterprises (LGBTBE), 140 corporate partners, and 60 local, state, and international affiliate chambers, the NGLCC is the largest LGBT business development and economic advocacy organization in the world.

The NGLCC’s ongoing mission is to connect its main constituency groups to advance opportunities for the LGBT business community: LGBT–owned businesses, affiliate chambers, corporate partners, and government agencies. Part of the way it fulfills that role responsibly is by certifying businesses as LGBTBEs. Early this year, O&AN began the lengthy process of working with the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce, one of the NGLCC’s affiliates, to apply for LGBTBE certification. With the help of corporate partner Wells Fargo,

the Nashville LGBT Chamber has been raising awareness about the NLGCC’s certification for LGBT-owned businesses for some time, as well as advocating for corporations and local governments to count LGBTBE’s in their diversity spending.

On September 1, 2016, O&AN received official notification that its application had been accepted and that certification was awarded. “O&AN is proud to have been certified as a LGBT Business Enterprise by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce,” said publisher Jerry Jones. “While the process was very involved, the exposure and access it brings has definitely made it worth the effort.”

With its certification, O&AN joins a handful of other local businesses that have completed the process, which gives them access to NGLCC resources, as well as networking and educational opportunities. Previously certified enterprises include Allard Ward Architects, BAM! Social Business, Kim Ewell – KE Innerworks, Schmidt Government Solutions, and Yuletide Solutions.

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THE 2016 OLYMPICS—LGBT NASHVILLE EDITION STIRRUP’S SPIRITED ANNUAL BAR OLYMPICS RETURNS JAMES GRADY

Photos: Stephen Bloodworth

This year, the once-in-four-years summer Olympics went to Rio, full of sports, speedos, and speedo related drama (thanks Ryan Lochte!). By the end of the events, we were all so Olympics-saturated that we might have missed the fact that our local LGBT Olympic Games—Stirrup’s annual Bar Olympics—were held at the end of August.

The Bar Olympics are a time honored tradition, dating all the way back to Stirrup’s classical era (about five years ago), when customer Todd Richards organized the first games. Explaining the venerable tradition, Stirrup’s sage, Timmy Harkum explained, “It’s not a fundraiser, it just got started as something fun to do on a Sunday afternoon. Teams pay $100 each to compete and the money is divided among the winners…”

Teams, including groups of friends and teams representing groups, from all across Nashville’s LGBT community have participated over the years, including the Nashville Grizzlies, Team Friendly, The Conductors, several softball and bowling teams, and others.

Rather than having a set schedule, word goes out from Stirrup about a month in advance summoning teams to compete in grueling competitions of strength and skill. “We’ve had shopping cart races and cantaloupe bowling,” Harkum said, giving examples. One particularly brutal competition involved forcing contestants to pick up marbles out of a kiddie pool with their toes—the twist being that it was a pool of ice!

“It’s kind of funny to watch,” Harkum explained of the athlete’s trials. Perhaps most humorous, and horrifying, he added, was the addition this year of a drag event.”

The event draws many spectators, and during the scoring of the events, onlookers and contestants alike compete in Stirrup trivia scavenger hunt inside the bar, as they await the outcome.

If you’ve never been to the event, look for word of it next year. Due to heat, Harkum says, it may be moving to a more comfortable date in October, so be sure not to miss it. @O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H

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LEADERSHIP CHANGES CREATE CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES FOR TTPC UPCOMING FUNDRAISING DINNER TO HIGHLIGHT GROUP’S MISSION

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The money, of course, helps too. “The fundraiser gives us the ability to get to these places and do our work of educating and finding new, local leaders. When we have events we might have to pay for the venues, or light refreshments—any time you have something free you get people out,” Arroyo added, laughing.

“We also need money to send people to leadership conferences,” Arroyo added.

“It also helps us attend pride events and support our outreach. We ourselves aren’t independently wealthy, and this fundraising is what keeps us going. The last mayors race was the first time we did endorsements and we will have them for the upcoming election at the state and local level. We sent out questionnaires to every person running for office and that takes money to print and send those out.”

Another priority, right now, is for the group to find a new lobbyist now that Richmond has stepped aside. “Right now it’ll be Kathy and myself heading down to Capitol Hill as we can. We both have jobs that makes that hard though, so we are looking at options,” Arroyo explained.

Those options may include partnering with organizations with aligned missions to share a lobbyist.

All of these efforts are necessary if the group is to grow, and continue to be one of the most active, progressive voices in the state. “We’d like to see it in every

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county, but we have to find the people who are willing to lead,” Arroyo said. “We are willing to bring the message, to do a town hall meeting, come in and talk to people about what we are doing and can do, especially when we are keeping track of bills and ordinances. We can’t be aware of everything that’s going on and so we need to expand our local leadership.”

“We are trying to organize our first town hall in Cookeville,” Halbrooks pointed out by way of an example.

The group is also looking at reaching out to communities in Hohenwald and Martin, Arroyo said. “From there,” he added, “we have to keep expanding, and that takes local people. Getting to them, and getting them involved, that’s our key issue.”

In areas where the group already has a footing, TTPC is seeking to expand its influence by building relationships with other community organizations. “One of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a board member of the TVals. Of course Chris Sanders at TEP is a wonderful ally,” Arroyo pointed out. “We have a lot of groups mixing and that’s part of the goal, getting other groups involved with us and getting involved with them. Of course focus on the ‘T’ but anything involving the LGBT we want to be a part of!”

And the dinner is a keystone for all of this. Over the years the event has grown,

but much more is needed. “We have a lot more people coming to the dinner, a lot more people aware of the dinner.,” Arroyo said. “We have some people who may not attend the dinner but buy tickets for people who may not be able to afford it.

One of our issues is some of our people can’t get a job, and that’s one of the things we’re working on… So maybe if you can’t come, you can donate a dinner!”

This year’s dinner will be keynoted by longtime TTPC ally Tennessee State Representative Johnnie Turner (D– Memphis), with entertainment by Sherry Gray and other friends of the organization.

As in recent years past, this year’s dinner is being provided, prepared, and served

by Nashville’s Music City Sisters, with a number of entrée options.

Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. and the event will be held from 6:00–8 :00 p.m. on October 15, 2016, and the event is again being held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville on Woodmont.

For more information about the event, visit the TTPC at Facebook. com/tntpc, where the event page for the dinner can be found. Tickets to the event may be purchased, and annual dues may be paid, through the Eventbrite link found there.

Photos: James Grady

JAMES GRADY

One of the hardest working, but least wellknown, LGBT political advocacy groups in Tennessee is the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC). Last month, O&AN featured the organizations founder, long-time board member, and former lobbyist, Marisa Richmond on its cover alongside Nashville’s mayor, Megan Barry.

With Richmond stepping away from active, visible leadership in the organization and with a number of other executive shakeups, the organization finds itself at a turning point. But with all this change in the air, there are real possibilities for the organization to expand and grow, to develop new connections and find new ways of forwarding the rights of trans, and more generally LGBT, people.

But their next step is keeping up with the organization’s oldest tradition: its annual fundraising dinner, which will be held on October 15, 2016.

Nashville’s LGBT community’s philanthropic community life is saturated with fundraisers, and fundraising dinners, but the one hosted by the TTPC is unlike any other. Its beginnings are humble, and it’s stuck to those roots. Unlike many galas, at $25 a person, this opportunity to support the community are accessible to almost everyone, and through the generosity of donors who can buy extra tickets, TTPC is able to invite others to join in the event.

“The event started out as a spaghetti supper,” said ally and TTPC Middle Tennessee coordinator Kathy Halbrooks.

“Some people got together and put together a simple dinner of spaghetti and some sides, and it took off from there.” Richmond confirmed that the dinner has been around since the group’s founding—a way of bringing the tightknit, and back then even more invisible, community and its allies together around their common cause. It’s always been both a dinner and an opportunity to educate about the group’s mission, activities, and future goals.

“Our big goal—it’s not just a fundraiser—is to educate and inform,” said Shaun Arroyo, TTPC’s new president. “We want people to know that it’s a statewide organization. If people understand what we can do around the state, it makes our outreach easier.”

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OCTOBER 2016

STREET WORKS HIGHLIGHTS RISKS, FOSTERS RELATIONSHIPS ZERO (2) ZERO FOCUSES ON HIV, COMMUNITY POLICING descent are also disproportionately affected by the virus, and have seen spikes in infections. However, scientific advancements have shown that treatment, as well as education/prevention efforts can help us prevent new infections. The CDC predicts that increased regular HIV testing in combination with biomedical advancements could reduce HIV transmission to ZERO in the near future..

While educating the community about HIV, Street Works has also drawn attention to the public health epidemic in the U.S.—pathological police/community relations. Street Works hopes to keep this sort of tragedy from affecting Nashville by facilitating healthy relationships and dialogue between the community and local law enforcement.

Photos: Stephen Bloodworth

STAFF

On August 27, 2016, Street works hosted its ZERO (2) ZERO Community Block Party at 1709 Church St., featuring health screenings, food trucks, a school supply giveaway, live DJ, children’s fun area, and other vendors.

The goal of the event was to highlight new HIV scientific advancements that hold the promise of reducing HIV transmission to ZERO, while also celebrating the cooperation between police officers and the community in Nashville that has led to ZERO Police/Community incidents involving the shooting of unarmed men.

The CDC predicts that, given current trends persists, 1 in 2 African American Gay Men, 1 in 4 Latino Gay Men, and 1 in 11 White Gay Men will become HIV positive. Women of African American

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EATING DISORDERS COALITION OF TENNESSEE IS RENEWED OFFERS SUPPORT AND RESOURCES FOR RECOVERY

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off there was a deep rooted shame struggle that I had yet to even begin to tackle—my sexuality—which would be something that I would continue not to deal with for years.”

“All of that pressure pretty quickly spiraled into an exercise focused eating disorder during my freshman year of college,” she explained. “Pole vaulting continued to be a motivating factor for the eating disorder. I spent most of my free time exercising. And many of my athlete friends actually saw it as dedication to my sport.”

“As it grew into a full eating disorder, my thoughts and behavioral patterns became more twisted and harmful. I began skipping meals pretty often and watching how many calories I ate. I bought a scale to hide in my dorm room and went from 2-a-day practices to 3-a-day practices.

All the while, none of it left me feeling anymore satisfied. I was completely unhappy with my body image and had very little self-worth. I began to have passive suicidal thoughts.”

When a knee injury interrupted her training, Cooke focused on restricting calories, one way or the other. “Diet pills, laxatives and vomiting all became daily tools that I employed in order to try to get closer to this illusion of worthy and beautiful that seemed out of reach. Over the next year, all of these symptoms and motivations grew more serious. Passive suicidal thoughts became active, and I started self-harming, by whatever means I had.”

As those around her began to notice, they tried to help, talking to her about what was at the root of her issues and trying to keep her away from triggers. She had always avoided exploring that truth, a well of shame and self-criticism, but she also began to recognized how much she was suffering and how much she had lost, in terms of both health and relationships.

At last she decided to take a handle on the issue. “At the end of my sophomore year of college I quit pole vaulting. I changed my major and I started attended treatment 3 nights a week at the Renfrew Center in North Carolina. After several months of treatment, I ended up running

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OCTOBER 2016

away. Literally, I just left a letter for my parents and drove to Chicago with my best friend.”

Cooke wasn’t running away from treatment, she just felt the need to get away from the conservative environment she’d grown up around in order to learn about and acknowledge who she was.

While she ultimately wasn’t ready to embrace her sexual identity, fearing loss of her conservative support network, she did discover her deep love of songwriting, which she had begun experimenting with during therapy.

The next school year, she transferred to Belmont to study songwriting. Once in

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to coming out. After leaving EDCT and beginning to see a therapist again, she admitted that, “the biggest influence in my depression was that I knew that I was gay and had never told anyone or even acknowledged it myself. After that I began dating girls and started telling some of my friends and family.”

“Not dealing with my sexuality shaped one thing in me the most,” she added in retrospect, “which was a fearful shame tendency… It also made me really afraid to speak up about my feelings, for fear that they weren’t okay or valid or ‘holy.’ That last one comes from having spent my entire childhood in a Baptist

“Renewed serves as a valuable resource to the LGBT community”

Nashville, she found out about an opening for an intern at the EDCT (now Renewed).

“I applied hoping that it would provide both a financial support for my time in Nashville and hoped that it would create a strong support system for my health” she explained. “And that is exactly what it did for me.”

“I spent half of my time during the three years I worked there traveling to schools to share my story of recovery as a part of the Speakers Bureau program. I started to feel validation from vulnerability.

And ultimately I saw the support that I had around me.”

That validation helped pave her way

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JAMES GRADY

Back in 2014, O&AN profiled the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (EDCT).

Over the years the EDCT has grown and expanded its programs, and it has recently rebranded itself as Renewed, Eating Disorders Support.

In its new incarnation, Renewed remains a critical resource for the LGBT community. As Courtney Grimes, Renewed’s clinical director, pointed out, “Often times, the LGBT community can be particularly vulnerable to eating disorders.

Issues surrounding gender identity and body image can create a myriad of inner conflict, including feelings of inadequacy and loss of control. Additionally, external stressors such as coming out or discriminatory treatment can exacerbate depression and anxiety levels, leaving the individual feeling hopeless or alone.

Eating disorders can arise as a way to cope with or avoid these feelings.”

Kendall Cooke, who now lives in Nashville and volunteered with the EDCT, shared some of her story in order to give some insight into the way that eating disorders develop and impact LGBT people. Cooke grew up surrounded by sports—her dad was the director of the local recreation center—and by high school she had burned herself out on most things.

“My dad asked me if I would be interested in pole-vaulting since he had done it in high school and college, and he and I had pretty similar athletic abilities,” she said. “So I gave it a try and became pretty good at it, eventually deciding to continue to pursue it in college.”

Eventually the pressures of competing in sports, maintaining grades to keep up with scholarship requirements, and general feelings of inadequacy built up to threatening levels. “College athletic pressure was the toughest I had felt to date… On top of that I already had some inadequacies about the college/career path I was pursuing… I had already changed majors and focuses a few times and still didn’t feel happy with what I chose, which was health and exercise science…”

“It was already a pretty toxic environment,” she added, “and to top it

church three times a week.”

Those struggling with eating disorders at any stage will find a community of support at Renewed. “Renewed serves as a valuable resource to the LGBT community,” said the organization’s president, Kathleen Yabroudy. “We are here to help those who struggle with eating disorders and co-occurring issues by connecting them to treatment providers that specialize in these areas and offering support programs that take place in a welcoming and inclusive environment.”

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17

CHASE

SANSING

BREAKS OUT

CORRECTIONS OFFICER FINDS ESCAPE IN MUSIC JAMES GRADY

From artists like Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley to contemporary music of almost every genre, themes of imprisonment have appeared in song, sometimes playing a sometimes covert, sometimes overt, role.

For example, from “Folsom Prison Blues” to At Folsom Prison and At San Quintin, Cash not only reflected on the prison experience but also brought his music into prison.

On a more symbolic level, themes of imprisonment and loneliness run deep in music, and these themes resonate deeply with LGBT musicians and fans. Local gay musician Chase Sansing knows a thing or two about feeling trapped and confined by his identity, but he also has some direct insight into that reality: his ‘day job’ is as a corrections officer in Middle Tennessee.

THE METAPHORICAL PRISON

Sansing grew up knowing he was different in the rural south. “I’m from a small town, Macon Mississippi... I went to a small high school, a small community college, and you know, when you’re from

18

a small town and you’re that different, when you even attempt to think about coming out, you first look around for people like you.”

Looking for role models or fellow travelers left Sansing feeling even more isolated. “Especially in small-town Mississippi,” he added, “you’re hardly ever gonna find someone who’s just out, that’s gonna come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I’m gay!’ So it was hard.”

This feeling of isolation, which is a shared experience of so many LGBT youth, deeply affected Sansing, and would ultimately drive his passion for music to new heights. “I got into a depression to where it was like, ‘Ok, I will never get to come out,’” he explained. “But I also got to the point where I thought that I’d never give myself the opportunity to come out, or fall in love with anybody, so I put all my interest in music … I’d let music be my love....”

While he had always had a love of music, Sansing said, “It grew to where it was more as time went on, and I pushed relationships away and focused more on

OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM

OCTOBER 2016

music. Every time I wanted to come out, I just focused on music more.”

While music provided a temporary escape from his feelings, however, avoidance did not solve the underlying issues. “It even got to a spot where I was so depressed, so down, that my first year of college, I just completely... I just failed every class I took. There were attempts of suicide there,” Sansing admitted.

He remembers the day when he had had enough clearly: he came home from college, came out to his parents, and told them of the struggles that had led to deep depression. “I told my mom, then my dad came home,” he recounted, “and we had a big conversation.”

When he admitted to suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts, Sansing’s parents sought help for him. “My mom took me to the clinic in my little home town. They sent us somewhere else, and we went there, and they sent us to the hospital in Memphis. I remember thinking that I didn’t care what happened to me at that point, because my secret had just come out, and I thought, ‘Somebody else

can fight for it, and somebody else can decide what’s gonna happen to me.’”

Ultimately Sansing would be admitted to the hospital, where he was confined to face one of the darkest moments in his life.

“I stayed for two days,” he said. “I can’t even explain my thought process there.

I just remember thinking that if I accept who I am, this is where I would have to stay for the rest of my life, somewhere like this. I was that messed up thinking about it. I convinced myself that if I was gonna be like this, I was gonna be up in a house of crazy people...”

That stay in the hospital was the beginning of a turnaround for Sansing.

His parents accepted him, but there was some concern on their part about how family might react. For the next few years, his mother encouraged him to keep his sexual identity secret from their extended family. But as time passed he grew more comfortable with himself, the urge to come out, to break out of his personal prison, grew too.

BREAKING OUT

Music was again essential in this process of self-acceptance. “From 2013– 15, I was working on my first album in Nashville, and I began recording some of my songs… I got into some that raised some questions. I started feeling like, to be a musician, you’ve got to put your feelings out there and you’ve got to say some things... When you can’t say them, you’ve got to play them, you know? So I decided to go through with that and put some songs on there that were questionable and kind of relatable to LGBT people and kind of expressed how I felt.”

“The most personal one would be ‘Would You Love Me?’ Before it was recorded it was called ‘Would You Love Me If You Knew?’ and that’s pretty much the whole big question,” Sansing added. “‘Ashes of a Boy’ was a song I wrote back at home in Mississippi when I was sitting at home on my bed with my guitar, and that song was actually a prayer that I turned into a song. Those two are really the ones that really do something to me, but there are others...”

In the process of writing music, he hit upon a vein so deep that a song became something more. “People always ask me what made me decide to write a book,” Sansing said of his autobiographical book, Backstage: The Truth Behind Me, “and my answer is always ‘Because a song became too long!’ I was writing this song and it just got so long, I was just like, ‘This isn’t a song, it’s a book.’ So I said to myself, ‘Ok, I’m going to write a book.’ Halfway through the book, I thought, ‘Well damn, who am I writing this book to? If I’m going to write a book who’s going to read it? This is everything about me...’”

With that swirling around in the background, personal tragedy would ultimately be the deciding factor. “What really made me say, ‘Ok, it is what it is, my family can know, I don’t care,’” Sansing explained, “was that on March 28 of last year, my cousin Lee, who was sixteen, had a baby daughter. Two days later he had a car wreck, and he died. That day I drove home and all my family was there. Everybody was crying, and that’s when I looked at my family and thought, ‘How could these people hate me? How could these people want to kick me out?

How could these people want to push me away?’”

Ironically, though, that same day something strange happened. “And so on my way back to Tennessee I started getting random messages from people saying, ‘We support you’ and ‘We love you’ and all that. And I found out that my mom came out for me that same day.”

THE LITERAL PRISON

While Sansing spent most of his life breaking free from the chains he felt, much of his life was leading him toward a career behind bars. “I kind of developed a love there with criminal justice like I did for music. I love it but I cannot explain why,” he said.

His fascination with criminal justice was sparked early on. “When you’re young and from a small town, you’re always like, ‘Where is that cop going?,’ when they go flying by you. There’s always nothing going on, so when something is going on everybody wants to follow the cop to see what’s happening! So when one of our 12th grade teachers took us on a field trip to the Delta State Penitentiary, I was excited for it, but I didn’t know that it was going to change my life.”

After community college, when Sansing transferred to MTSU, that interest was rekindled and expanded “My first year at MTSU my major was psychology.

I was talking to my advisor, and she said, ‘You could do social work, or be a police officer,” and I literally busted out laughing when she suggested that. I couldn’t see myself as a police officer or anything like that. But I said I would think about it. A few days later I changed my major to criminal justice… I actually failed my first criminal justice class--that was my first year of college and I already explained that--but I obviously passed the rest,” he added with a laugh.

Sansing began to gravitate toward corrections as his studies developed, and was fueled by documentaries he saw.

“When I started taking more classes I loved it, and started watching documentaries and shows about prison and jail, I got even more interested in that field. I actually originally wanted to be a prison psychologist but that changed after I heard some stories....”

For Sansing, work in corrections has necessitated constant self-awareness.

“With this field that I’m in, there’s always a constant question that I deal with: am I able to do it?” he explained. “I’m a small guy, I’m not a big tall guy that’s always loud. I’m probably the shortest guy working where I work. I hear it every day … and you’ve got to have your A-game on every day, because anything less makes you vulnerable...”

NEW LIFE, NEW MUSIC

So since his first album was completed and Sansing found his niche in corrections, how has his music continued to develop?

“I have actually finished recording my second album. I started recording cover songs to help myself in the studio, to help myself sing better and to help myself write @O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H

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better, to give myself a better idea of what I can write and what I can sing... I chose songs that were difficult songs, songs by Celine Dion and songs by Steven Tyler, songs that weren’t usually the kinds of songs that I would write.”

According to Sansing, this exploration has helped him develop his style and voice. “So I decided to take those to the studio and sing the difficult songs for me, my way, and record them so I could hear my voice on them, to see how I could make my voice grow and see how much it would change my writing and my style of writing... And I’ve got to say that it has helped so much!”

While he isn’t sure when he’ll release the album, Sansing said there are some previews out there. “There are a few that are already on YouTube that are on the album, and everything is finished but the CD cover, but I don’t know when I’m going to release that yet.” However, he has already started writing for his third album, his second of original music.

Sansing’s personal style is eclectic, so given his explorations with covers it will be interesting to see where he goes next.

“It’s definitely country, because I can’t change that. I’ve tried to step outside of it as many times as I can, but country is always going to be my root, whether I like it or not. I definitely can have some rock to me—I’ve been told that many times in the studio—dbut I can also have some of that Celine style slip in... She’s my favorite.

This cover album, I’ve literally covered about four or five of her songs.”

As he moves forward, Sansing looking back on his struggle to be himself, says that while some things have changed after coming out and accepting who he is, much has remained the same. “Since I’ve come out, the passion for my music is still there, but the constant go at things has slowed down just a little bit, and it’s actually a good thing. It feels like it’s flowing now. It’s caused me to relax.”

And he recognizes that he has been lucky in his coming out experience.

“There’s always gonna be people that disagree,” he said, “but I’ve honestly not had as many problems as I was told I was going to have, or thought I was going to have. The problems I did have were not many at all. There’s always going to be certain people that you can point out that might show a different reaction, and it’s sad to say that I was right about most of those.” Freedom has been worth that.

EXCERPTS FROM BACKSTAGE: THE TRUTH BEHIND ME

“When you fight who you are and what you are feeling on the inside, you become almost invisible, or so, I felt. I can’t tell you how many times people in high school asked me, “Why are you so quiet?” Co- workers and classmates still ask me that to this day. Everyone thinks I’m shy, but I’m really not. I mean, how can a shy person stand on a stage alone and sing and play a song he wrote?

Just because someone doesn’t talk much, doesn’t mean they are shy at all… it doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say. I had too much to say, I just feared saying it.”

“I remember the conversation clearly. I was sitting on my legs at the end of the hospital bed as the sun was just starting to set. It was bright. It was so bright. The sun filled the room with bright colors, mostly orange and yellow. It brought a warm feeling to the room. It almost felt like it was the beginning of spring right there in my hospital room. It was like a moment of peace. With me still on the bed, and the doctor still in the chair, he began to ask what were my favorite things to do. It was as if I were coming back to life again. I remembered how much I loved music and my dog, Rebel. I remembered how much I loved being with my family on Christmas Eve and how much I couldn’t wait to get back in college. I was finally breathing in fresh air instead of fear. I felt peace as the doctor asked about music. I told him that I had just created my first album. He encouraged me to stick to it even though he hadn’t heard anything from me. He must have seen the way I lit up. I told him that I could name every country singer that ever existed. He said, “Go for it.” I started and didn’t stop once to think. He was impressed. But as the sun finally had set, he stood up, shook my hand, and left the room. I never saw him again.”

“If it takes me coming out of the closet to save a life, then that’s what I have to do. I’m getting older now, and I’m no longer deathly afraid of myself like I was when I was a child.

No one should have to live in fear like I did. It damaged myself as a person. I’ll probably spend the rest of my life repairing myself, but I’ll do it knowing that I am proud of myself because I am who I am.” @O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H

21

OVER

the RAINBOW

GROUPTHINK GONE WILD

JULIE CHASE

I hate to criticize anything advocating full and equal recognition of LGBTQ people in the workplace, but...

The Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Human Relations Commission jointly published a paper over the summer recommending a process to allow local government employees “to selfidentify by sexual orientation and gender identity through an employee satisfaction survey,” according to the report.

It suggests the survey will be conducted by a third party and would measure “subjective employee experiences” while allowing “other socio-demographic groups” an opportunity to also selfidentify themselves. Citing input from the Center for American Progress institute and the AFSCME public services union, it advocates the need for a “voluntary” survey to address reported inequities in pay and “widespread discrimination” in the publicsector workplace “Allowing LGBT employees to self-identify will provide the information necessary to guide local government toward effective inclusionary policies,” the report says. “As the ‘It’ city, Nashville should strive for more than protection for its LGBT constituents and employees - it should aspire to equal recognition.”

I remember being forced to read George Orwell’s “1984” ... back in 1984 ... and a study of this policy paper brought to mind some disconcerting recollections of that cruelly imposed endeavor.

For example: “Why measure? Quite simply, what gets measured gets done...The ability to quantify the number of LGBT employees allow organizations to track their progress over time, particularly as it concerns diversity benchmarks and ongoing self-assessments...

It makes good sense to innovate existing data collection methods (or add new ones) to also track and gain a more complete picture of LGBT employees to significantly enhance diversity/inclusion initiatives.”

Ok, so is there some sort of plan to hire more LGBTQ people for local government jobs? If so, would that be the right move for the city to make?

“Moreover, the inclusion of an LGBT option for self-identification improves

22

workplace climate and fosters a sense of inclusion.”

No. I believe that overplaying our hand tends to cheese folks off. We need to stay more professional than our adversaries.

Under the “Strategies for Measurement” section, the report suggests the use of “anonymous engagement surveys” and optional amendments to “confidential employee records” as a way to “identify and quantify the experiences of LGBT employees”, as the Federal government and a nationally recognized bank are currently doing.

That sounds a wee bit creepy at the very least...

“Access to this data must be restricted to specified personnel for defined workforce management and development purposes.”

Right. Good luck with that…

“These strategies for collecting LGBT self-identification also allow employers to solicit other sorts of employee information— for example, that related to physical and mental disability, veteran status or religious affiliation. In fact, companies that allow LGBT self-identification often include these other demographic options...capitalizing on the opportunities to learn more about their employees.”

Paging Mr. Orwell…

“A commitment to deep inclusion requires widening the definition of workforce diversity beyond the usual metrics...and necessitates the option for employees to selfdefine in a variety of ways…”

Deep inclusion?

Necessitates the option? Danger, Will Robinson!

DANGER!!!

“Veterans make up an estimated 7.3% of the adult population in Nashville...

Additionally, the 2014 Religious Landscape Survey found that 71% of Tennesseans say that religion is ‘very important’ in their lives...For these reasons, both veteran status and religious affiliation should be included as other identification options for Metro employees.”

Veterans to the front of the government jobs and promotion queues? Agreed. But you do not need a special program for that.

Self-identifying religious people? Please…

“Allowing LGBT employees to selfidentify will provide the information to guide local government toward effective

OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM

OCTOBER 2016

Illustration: Melissa Gay

Wherein the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Human Relations Commission put their heads together and come up with a rather poor idea...

inclusionary policies.”

Perhaps, but…

“Moreover, it would prove a useful tool for Nashville’s own LGBT Chamber of Commerce…”

Yes, I’m sure it would. Points for honesty...

Legal protections and court decisions are sad necessities for us that should not be flaunted. We should recognize the need for such mechanisms, just as we recognize the need for this country to retain a strategic nuclear deterrent to keep hostile forces at bay. We recognize the need, but would rather do without...thank you.

All persons should be able to gain and retain employment in the American workplace without compromising who they are, but is the proposed idea the way to go?

It feels intrusive and does not pass the smell

test, at the very least. We do not have to potentially alienate the non-LGBTQ crowd by recognizing our community’s needs. We need a better idea from the Chamber and Commission, an idea that does not reek of techniques used by the former East German government.

The intention of both parties is correct, but the idea is quite poor. Please go back to the spiffy super-hetrodyne white board and try again.

Julie Chase is the pen name for a local 40-something trans woman. A graduate of The University of the South at Sewanee, she loves butterflies, strong women and the Austrian School of Economics.

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OCTOBER 2016

OperaticClassics

World Premier

FROM TO A THE NASHVILLE OPERA’S EXCITING 2016-2017 LINEUP new works to introduce to local audiences.

The bookends of the 2016-2017 season are by composers who are indisputably part of the classical music “hall of fame”: in the opening slot is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and the closer is Carmen by Georges Bizet. The two central operas are Glory Denied by Tom Cipullo and Three Way by Robert Paterson with libretto (text)

by David Cote, works by living composers with very different stories to tell.

I spoke with Katie Arata, community engagement manager for Nashville Opera, about how to approach seeing an opera for the first time, what to expect, and the season’s productions. Opera has traditionally been an activity for the rich, but Nashville Opera is committed to making opera in Music City as accessible as possible.

“We offer backstage tours and insight talks before each opera performance,” said Arata, “and I hope every newcomer has the chance to partake and learn a little bit more about what they will see that night. If you’re a newcomer to Nashville Opera, find me! I still read the plot synopsis before every opera I see; I’m not fluent in another language, so I read the supertitles, and I love to talk music of all kinds. Also, you can wear whatever

you want to the opera, whether that’s your go-to denim or your favorite formal attire.

We’ll be happy to see (and meet) you in whatever outfit you don.”

Nashville Opera also has a group geared toward young adults interested in opera called Forté, Arata said. “[It’s] our outlet for young creatives and professionals.

This is a great way to meet new people, enjoy a night out in Nashville and become a part of the experience that opera is really all about.”

Opera blends music, visual art, and drama in a way few other art forms can, all in the service of telling an exciting story.

Take Don Giovanni, for example: the amoral nobleman Giovanni has abandoned one young woman, murdered another’s father, and crashed the wedding of a third to steal her from her new husband, all the while attended (and assisted) by his servant Leporello. Eventually, however, he is faced with the consequences of his actions.

“This production of Don Giovanni is a John Hoomes original,” Arata explained, “visually-arresting, magnetic and bold.

It will captivate you from the downbeat and keep you enthralled for the entire production.”

The music encourages such an approach - some 200-plus years later, Mozart’s score is full of great tunes, an easy listen for the opera newbie. One naughty highlight is Leporello’s Catalog Aria, where he sings impishly of Don Giovanni’s 2065 female conquests, even breaking the list down by country of origin! “No matter if she’s rich, ugly or beautiful; if she wears a skirt,” Leporello chuckles, “you know what he does!”

Carmen is stamped on the popular imagination thanks to the melody of its signature aria “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” (Love is a rebellious bird). We simply call it the Habañera; it pops up in an astounding number of movies and advertisements. The song is tobacco factory worker Carmen’s warning to infatuated young soldier Don José that she is alluring but dangerous: “If you don’t love me, I’ll love you,” she sings in French, “but if I love you.... Watch out!”

Ms. Arata informed me that “this production will be a new one... sensual and captivating, very different from our previous production of Carmen.” Bizet’s opera is set in sunny Seville, the same city that serves as backdrop for Don Giovanni; it follows

Photos: Courtesy of Nashville Opera

EDDIE CHARLTON

Nashville’s moniker, “Music City,” is usually taken as a reference to its status as country music’s headquarters, and no one who spends significant time here can deny our deep connection to country. But the city is home to a variety of music scenes, each robust and active in its own right. Classical music is no exception.

One of Nashville’s musical crown jewels is its professional opera company, the Nashville Opera Association. Since its founding in 1981, Nashville Opera has become a well-respected, artistically vibrant force, not just locally but nationally.

The company has mounted two operatic world premieres—Grammy-winning songwriter Marcus Hummon’s Surrender Road in 2004 and Herschel/Garfein’s Elmer Gantry in 2007. More recently, the Opera’s groundbreaking 2015 multimedia production of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas (created by artistic director/ CEO John Hoomes) debuted at New York City’s Lincoln Center this past June.

Nashville Opera’s upcoming season is a perfect example of Hoomes’ knack for presenting classics in a fresh, engaging way, while still keeping an eye out for worthy

@O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H

25

the unlucky Don José’s doomed love for Carmen, who treats him like a plaything, ending up more intrigued with handsome, flamboyant toreador (bullfighter) Escamillo.

As with Don Giovanni, this is an easy listen with plenty of hummable melodies, including the Habañera mentioned above and Escamillo’s main aria, the Toreador Song.

26

These “traditional” operas complement each other surprisingly well; Mozart’s story of the womanizing Count versus Bizet’s tale about a fiery, independent, overtly sexual outsider, each trailing their respective string of broken hearts.

In contrast to these tales of pleasureseekers wreaking havoc is Tom Cipullo’s

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OCTOBER 2016

Glory Denied, “the true story of a Vietnam veteran who was also America’s longest held POW,” based on an oral history taken by journalist Tom Philpott, Arata explained.

It chronicles Col. Jim Thompson’s time in the jungles of southeast Asia and his struggle to adjust after returning to an America very different than the one he left. “This narrative is layered with so many emotions and experiences connected to the identity of countless Americans who served and saw their loved ones serve.”

The “four” characters are actually older and younger versions of Jim and his wife Alyce; Cipullo’s score is vivid and dynamic, cinematic even, edgy with sudden bursts of soaring melody (Younger Alyce’s “My darling Jim” is a standout). Prepare for wrenching drama in the second half, where Jim returns to find that a desperate, lonely Alyce, whose memory sustained him during his captivity, has told their children he is dead and started an affair with another man.

Perhaps the cheekiest of the season’s offerings is Paterson/Cote’s Three Way, a set of three one-act operas wrapped up in a single package. “I’m most excited about Three Way, our world premiere that will also be performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music next June. Besides it being a premiere,” Arata added, “this piece is what opera is all about: artistically celebrating the human experience.”

The collection’s title doubles as a provocative slang term, and yes, the unifying thread here is the offbeat, seriocomic way these three tales deal with

love, sex and desire. The first, “Safe Word,” is a dominatrix fantasy gone horribly awry (or has it?), while the central piece, “The Companion,” tells the story of a woman, her android companion/cyberspouse, the support tech who upgrades the android’s software, and the ensuing love triangle. The finale, “Masquerade,” looks in on an erotic masked ball in a country mansion—think Eyes Wide Shut minus the spooky stuff, plus singing. The music here is bright, quirky and accessible; if singing in other languages isn’t your thing and/or you enjoy musical theatre, you might start your operatic exploration here.

For those interested in a more hands-on role with the Opera, Arata was pleased to report that this is very possible. “There are tons of ways to get involved with the Opera, and we’ve got opportunities for people of all ages. You can volunteer with the opera and help on the nights of the performances and also at our administrative offices.”

More information on these opportunities, the young professionals group Forté mentioned earlier, and how to purchase tickets for this season’s productions can be found at the company’s website, nashvilleopera. org. The season opens with Mozart’s Don Giovanni at TPAC’s Jackson Hall, October 6 at 7 p.m. and October 8 at 8 p.m.

Eddie Charlton is a local singer, voice teacher, and music director who performs with the Nashville Opera Ensemble.

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On August 28, 2016, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, held its first annual Pride festival, joining an ever-growing list of southern cities that celebrate one thing the LGBTQ community holds in common: our PRIDE. Held in the hometown of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), it wasn’t surprising that there was an impressive turnout from the student body, which showed its support along with the locals.

Entering Murfreesboro Pride through a Rainbow balloon arch, one encountered a sea of vendors, organizers, attendees and of course the great entertains playing Murfreesboro Pride—#BoroPride. There were no protesters at Whether that is luck or whether that is the unfettered notion that maybe, just maybe, things are changing even in the smallest of places? One can only hope.

There were a lot of smiles and even some free hugs (my personal favorite). #BoroPride was also a sea of human billboards, as t-shirt slogans abounded.

T-shirts declared everything from “God Loves Everyone” to the LGBTQ battle cry of “NO H8TE.” This reporter promises that the square in Murfreesboro has never been so full of PRIDE. There were several heterosexual couples with their children. When asked

28

why they were attending #BoroPride they replied that they just wanted to teach their children to love everyone and to respect everyone. Well played, parents.

The entertainment kept the crowds excited and engaged. Some of the top acts included headliner Ryan Cassata, a drag show hosted by Iona, DJ CronunDrum (Tyler Croney), The Pleading, Radical Arts, and Night Sabers, with 107.5 The River’s producer Zac from Woody & Jim in the Morning and local drag queen, Iona, as MCs for the event.

When asked what was the one thing that he took away from the festival, Brandon Partin said, “Hearts are opening and more people are realizing that we as LGBT individuals matter and are recognized by society not only in larger areas but even in rural towns.”

The festival also brought light to a number of supportive groups. Pride festivals around the country shines a light on these organizations at these events. Most often than not people do not know how to get into contact with these groups and PRIDE festivals are the perfect place to receive great exposer to the community.

Different denominations of church organizations were there reaching out to so many different people and were well received. Also, the Murfreesboro Cold

OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM

OCTOBER 2016

Patrol was there, introducing crowds to their refreshing mission. All too often, LGBTQ persons coming out lose access to their homes and support group. that’s where The Murfreesboro Cold Patrol comes in with help and support.

Walking around and mingling with everyone, Garrett Smith, who works at PLAY in Nashville pointed to the importance of the event, saying, “Murfreesboro has needed its own pride for a long time with the college here and everything.” Several people said that they were “happy” and how “awesome” having a Pride celebration in Murfreesboro.

Another attendee appraised the event well: “Murfreesboro Pride had a wide variety of vendors ranging from the Human Rights Campaign to inclusive churches in the local area, as well as public officials in the Murfreesboro area. Justin Miller and Laura Bohling attended, as well as the Rutherford County Democratic Party. But overall, [for] its first annual pride, for the size of the event, I believe it was very successful. Considering the area it was held at, there were no outsider issues, the entertainment was well managed, and everybody seemed to enjoy their time together.”

The rapidly growing city just to Nashville’s south is also charting a course

toward a great second annual #BoroPride next year, as well. With the real estate boom in Nashville pricing some out of that market, Murfreesboro has seen its share of newcomers, including a spike in its LGBTQ population, and #BoroPride is a sign of that growth.

Nevertheless, launching and growing Murfreesboro Pride is built on the foundation of a lot of hard work that goes into creating, organizing, and pulling off a successful day, and the kudos go to local LGBTQ leaders and volunteers who take time from their families to give back to our community.

For that effort the TEP and the plethora of people that invest time should always be given a huge round of applause.

The awareness these festivals bring to local communities are a priceless gift that was hard to imagine just a few short decades ago. The take away from #BoroPride and other festivals in Tennessee is this: support your local community leaders. Volunteer.

Volunteering is a priceless gift that helps the LGBTQ cause more than you imagine. These festivals give us a chance to show that we are a part of what makes up each community’s diverse population and to remind ourselves and those around us that diversity is not our problem—it is our promise. Live Long And Prosper.

@O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H

29

Photos: B. Partin, BBB Photography

30

OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM

OCTOBER 2016

SNARKOLOGY: WE HAVE A WIENER DISCLAIMER: Amy Sulam is a comic, and not everyone thinks she’s as funny as she does. We condone nothing she says, particularly not if you decide to take the following seriously. It should not be taken as such.

AMY SULAM | @Amysulam

Ladies, don’t you just love opening up your Facebook Messenger app to find that, out of the kindness of his heart, some jerk off has sent you a picture of his genitals? No doubt fishing for a compliment! Straight guys, we can’t take you ANYWHERE on social media.

And now the burden is on you: if you don’t respond he could harass you further, call you a b!$%#, but, hell, he could do that if you do respond.

Sometimes you just delete and block.

But the burden falls on us to do so.

And Facebook is largely no help.

They are more concerned playing name police in the LGBTQI community. You lose access to your account indefinitely for changing a name that reflects your correct gender, but go ahead, send as many dick pics as you want. We’ll punish the girls if they try to humiliate you the way you humiliated them.

If you follow me on Facebook,

minimum. Why? I’m glad you asked.

taken down, which I think is bullshit. You

guide lines to reflect that if you send

Why shouldn’t the question posed

invaded my space without permission,

unsolicited nudes

to him. I am the victim here. This is

and you must be punished. Facebook

should be suspended from the site.

me fighting back. When asked why I

will take down memes friends make to

I don’t understand why guys do

would post them, like the men are being

make fun of these guys and suspend us.

this. Has it ever worked? Like you send

victimized, that reflects rape culture.

But nothing happens them? Excuse me,

a picture of your dick and suddenly the

See If Joey Douchebag walks up to

I think that’s a wrong.

recipient is banging at your door? If it

to someone, you

me in person and exposes himself, he’s

If you send pictures of your junk

has happened, it’s rare. Usually it just

committed a misdemeanor offense. If he

to people who didn’t ask to see them,

leads to some skeeved out girl either

does it on Facebook, as long as it’s in

you get what you deserve. Just like in

sending you a nasty message or deleting/

a private message, it’s okay. Even if the

real life, if you flash granny and granny

blocking you. I post them—if not the

WOMAN DOESN’T WANT IT.

twists your testicles, you had it coming.

pictures, straight out tag the sender, all

I think Facebook should amend its

mutual friends, etc., etc., in a written

Sometimes my dicks of shame get

“I DIDN’T ASK FOR A PICTURE OF YOUR GENITALS, SO I GUESS WE’RE BOTH SURPRISE WINNERS TODAY.”

post about the picture sent to you by this person, and offer to DM screen shots to interested parties.

I mean, when was the last time some chick was like, “Yeah! Totally!

This isn’t creepy at al!” And, seriously, participation trophy generation, just cause you have a dick doesn’t mean it’s a “good one.” Y’all will send pics of some of the scraggliest, dingy, little, bent-weird, broom-handle looking thing

you’ve at least once seen me post a

like you’re really putting some hot stuff

picture some guy sent me of his junk,

on display. You oughta be ashamed of

and I’ll tag him, his friends, his mom,

yourself for not only carrying is around

etc. And my followers have a field day.

but showing it to other people.

One time I did this and the guy wrote

I mean if you like someone on

me, “I did ask for all this,” to which I

Facebook, how about messaging them

responded, “I didn’t ask for a picture

“Hello!” and asking about hobbies or

of your genitals, so I guess we’re both

something normal. Here’s how to know

surprise winners today. “

if someone wants a picture or your stuff:

At any rate, yes, if some rando

They will ask. Likewise, if they want to

sends me unsolicited picture of his

send you one, they will let you know.

junk, I’m posting it and tagging him at

Now shake hands and be good, genitals. @O U T A N D A B O U T N A S H

31

own community would be helpful. We cannot want equality yet treat our own community the way some do.

Is there ever any shade between trans kings and your everyday drag king? If so why do you think that is?

Yes, because some feel it is not as hard for us to give the illusion since we transitioned.

But I disagree. We have challenges as trans kings that are the same as theirs and some new challenges as well.

A KIKI WITH PAIGE TURNER | @PaigeTurner01

Hello Untuckers! It’s that time again— time to get untucked and behind the gaff/ binding of another legendary performer.

This month we had a great kiki with former Mr. USofA Jordan Allen! He has been a big dog on the Nashville scene for years, gathering a huge following and even larger drag family! He is a no B.S. kind of guy and takes his art just as seriously as the next King or Queen. Few know much about his personal life unless they know him in his everyday life, which is why I wanted to kiki with him and see what ‘T’ he could spill for our readers. This is one untucked you don’t want to miss, so sit back and unbind with this drag king edition of Nashville Untucked!

What were some hardships you faced growing up?

You got all day? I have experienced all types of abuse—abandonment, rape, bullying, mental illness in my family. I have been disowned by most of my family.

I have faced a lot of hardships in life, but it made me who I am today, and I am stronger for it.

How would you explain being transgender to someone who may not understand it?

Sexuality is who you are attracted to.

Gender Identity is what you identify as. I just explain that being trans is not a choice.

Living in a body that does not match your insides is like being in prison, and transitioning is getting a pardon from a life sentence. And I ask them to imagine having the body of the opposite gender they identify with and how that would make them feel.

Do you find yourself more attracted to men, women, or both, and why?

I am attracted to women, although after transitioning I am more open to understanding that love comes in the form of a human and gender is not as important.

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What is the biggest misconception about being transgender?

That it somehow makes us less of a man if we are a transman, or less of a woman if you are a trans woman. We are viewed as lesser than cis men and woman, even in the LGBTQ community.

What do you think has been the hardest part of transitioning?

I would say not having insurance that covers the medical attention that a trans person needs is the hardest part. So having to cover it all out of pocket has been a struggle. I definitely think that our insurance in this country needs to really be addressed for the trans community.

You had top surgery awhile back: do you feel as thou it has made you more complete? Why? Absolutely! It changed so much about my life. It was like that is what I needed for me to feel whole and for the world around me to accept me as the man I am. To feel rain on my skin, to swim with no shirt, to just feel okay with the body looking back at me in the mirror. It made me so much happier after surgery. I felt like I was finally normal.

What advice who you give to someone who feels they may be transgender?

Worrying about how the people I loved and cared would take it… Some were supportive, and some decided they did not want me in their life anymore.

How do you feel that the Nashville community feels about transgender individuals? How does that make you feel?

I feel some people are amazing. But as a whole we have a long way to go. I see such disrespect and belittling happen to trans people all the time, treating them like they are not men or women, like they are less than somehow… Saying hurtful things about them… Using the wrong pronouns and acting like it is no big deal… I think that education about trans people in our

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OCTOBER 2016

to learn how important makeup is. That or they become cocky and big headed but again that is any entertainer’s mistake to be that way.

So you are a former Mr.USofA: any other national crowns you have your sights set on?

I have a few.... You will just have to stay tuned to find out!

What would you say makes a king a good entertainer?

You have to have a desire to learn and grow all the time. Listen to those around you, take advice and critical criticism and to pass on the knowledge you have learned to others.

What advice would you give to the kings out there that want to win a national title?

Compete! You will grow so much more by competing and putting yourself out there.

And remember what you do off stage is just as important as on stage. People are always watching, so be a professional and stay humble!

What in your opinion is the biggest mistake drag kings today make as performers?

I would say not costuming and taking time

What is the hardest part of pageant preparation? Why? The money! Pageants are expensive as heck. I spent ten grand on my quest for my

national title. It is the hardest part for sure.

What are some big things we can look forward to seeing from you this year?

I am emceeing a lot of events coming up.

I am emceeing some pageants, as well as the LGBT ball. I will be hosting USofA Nationals for Diva, Classic and Male Illusion. And I might have a few other things up my sleeve… Shhh!

Miranda’s

ADULT STORES

Where can our readers keep up with you?

My Facebook-@kingjordanallen and my Instagram @jordan_allen24 You can also catch me on ladies’ night every Thursday at PLAY!

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Friday Night Leather Party and Saturday Night Costume Contest! Prizes for best costumes.

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33

THIS TRANSGENDER LIFE Photos: Julius Greene

A LITTLE DITTY BOBBI WILLIAMS

Many men were privately in relationships with the women who were actively seeking suffrage. Many whites were in private relationships with blacks fighting for Civil Rights, unwilling to run the risk publicly but supportive nonetheless. And behind many ‘out’ gay men and women were ‘straight” people, lovers who, likewise, acted on the ‘down low.’

Many in the transgender community have similar relationships. “I define myself as a straight man,” said Jack, who is in his early thirties and in a relationship with Diane, an attractive, middle-aged transwoman whom he often meets for cocktails and a private tryst. “I have never been attracted to men, so I don’t identify as gay or bisexual,” Jack said.

I asked Jack how long he has been attracted to transwomen. “At least since I was a teen,” he said. “I remember seeing Eddie Izzard in Dress to Kill. I wasn’t necessarily attracted, but I wasn’t repulsed either. I began watching transwomen in porn with other women and finding that much better than watching just two straight women. And from there everything just kind of snowballed.”

“And when did you act on that?” I asked.

“It was a few years after, with a pro,” he said, laughing. “I convinced her that I shouldn’t have to pay her. She seemed to enjoy it too much… I guess that scratched the itch just enough to motivate me to explore it further.”

“I identified as a straight male crossdresser, for a long time,” Diane explained. “Then one night at a gay bar I used to go to, I mentioned it and a friend said, ‘Bullshit… You just haven’t met the right man.’ She was right. Not long after, the right man came along … a really polite and respectful guy. I guess you could say he romanced me…”

I ask each of them if their relationship is only sexual. “Yes,” Jack said. “But we’re friends too. I guess we put a little spin on the ‘friends with benefits thing.’” In fact, all of his relations with transwomen have been primarily sexual. “Unfortunately, there haven’t been any that weren’t. Ours,” he gestured to Diane, “is the closest to being more. But we’re very open. We aren’t exclusive.”

Diane nodded. “I guess it is, but we are very good friends. I mean, sometimes when we’re together, we don’t even have sex; we just spend a long time talking. I think the most important aspect of the relationship, for me at least, is that it affirms my feminine identity. He interacts with me as a man to a woman.”

Jack has also had relationships with cisgender women, so I asked, “How would you compare those with your relationships with transwomen?”

“Well,” he said, “If I’m seeing a cisgender woman and a transgender woman, it’s no different than seeing two women,

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OUTANDABOUTNASHVILLE.COM

OCTOBER 2016

regardless of their gender identity. The problem is that It always becomes a juggling act. The relationship with the transwoman collides with the other relationship.

But usually the sex is better with the transwoman.”

“How about a long-term, live-in relationship with a transwoman?” I asked.

“I’ve never really given myself a chance to date a transwoman.” Jack said. “On a couple occasions when I met someone that could have happened with, I also was in a relationship with a cisgender woman. But if the transgender relationship were exclusive, I would definitely consider it.”

“And you?” I asked Diane.

“I’d think a long time before committing to it,” she said. “Years ago, before I came out, I was married to a cisgender woman. Then

about my interest, and I’m afraid of how much shit I would get from everyone else.

They all think I’m just an average guy.”

Diane likewise replied, “I don’t share the intimate details of my sex life with them, or with anyone, for that matter. I wouldn’t be talking to you if you hadn’t assured me of our anonymity.”

“And how about your social life,” I asked them. “Do you all do anything politically or socially to help the cause of transgender people?”

“I’m out,” Diane said. “And I have actively worked for transgender rights. It’s not an issue in my life.”

“I support equal rights,” Jack replied. “And socially, if I hear people express bigoted views I speak up and try and educated them as best I can. But I know I can do more.”

we separated, and she threatened to expose me. That was not a good experience. We divorced, and I never looked back. I enjoy the freedom I have now too much to get very serious with anyone.”

When asked if friends and family know of their interests, Jack said, “I’m pretty sure my immediate family would be understanding,” then paused. “To tell the truth, none of my friends or family know

“And what of a transwoman who transitions,” I asked him. “If Diane completed that process would you no longer be interested in her?”

Jack took a moments, then said, “I don’t know… I suppose if I truly love the person, allowing them to find themselves wouldn’t turn me off, but…” As his voice trailed off, they looked at each other, and then Jack leaned over and kissed Diane on the cheek.

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