1534

June 18, 2014

Issue 1534

White House to proceed Bisbee Pride brings out the best of with federal contractor the weirdos, out-of-towners, and LGBT executive order miners for a banner year OBSERVER STAFF WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday the White House announced that President Obama will sign an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The move is the last significant action Obama is likely to be able to take to advance gay rights without the cooperation of Congress.

The executive action will have an impact on some of the biggest companies that do business with the government, including Exxon Mobil and Raytheon, reports the Washington Post.

Inside Lesbians and Hollywood’s old ‘wholesomeness’ code OP-ED on page 3

Texas GOP ‘exgay’ activist: I replaced my homosexual feelings with food

The order will protect employees of federal contractors in all 50 states, which is very important as 29 states have no workplace discrimination protection for LGBT people, reports Pink News.

Obama has been under pressure to sign an executive order due to the stalling of the broader Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Buzz Feed reports that the Obama administration has maintained in the past that the Employment NonDiscrimination Act is its preferred Continued on page 3

Canada trans boy, 12, given historic new birth certificate

By Joe Morgan GAY STAR NEWS A 12-year-old transgender Canadian boy now has a new birth certificate recognizing him as male.

The city’s mayor presented Wren Kauffman, from Alberta, with the new document at the weekend during the Pride festival brunch.

A spokesperson for Heather Klimchuk, the province’s culture minister, said the new certificate simply has a “M” instead of a “F.”

See: The good, the bad and the ugly on page 12

Gay bears set off orgy of comments Page 13

Sharing the good news of community support Page 7

A truck load of pridefully festooned revellers and one human-unicorn hybrid motor through Bisbee on Saturday at the mining town’s Pride in the Mountains 2014.

By Christopher L. Pankratz OBSERVER STAFF The mining town of Bisbee in its heyday was the third largest city west of the Mississippi bested only by San Francisco and St. Louis. Today the quaint well-preserved town of old Bisbee is a time capsule of turn of the century architecture populated with progressive folk who like being on the cutting edge of social change. The town was the first in Arizona to approve same-sex civil unions and is continuing to serve as an example in green living.

This past weekend at Bisbee’s annual “Pride in the Mountains” festival locals and

out-of-towners flooded the crowded streets and avenues of the mountain-side “minitropolis” to celebrate the diversity of outlandish characters that call Bisbee home. There were blokes in saloon dresses and madams in hipster suspenders.

Even the mayor, Adriana Badal, came out to co-grand marshal the parade along with national activist Stuart Milk.

We ran into the mayor Friday night — a full mooned Friday the 13th — in the saloon of the Copper Queen, Bisbee’s most recognizable hotel.

Badal instantly recognized us from last year and was overjoyed to ask how the Observer was doing. When

casually grilled over what the current scoop in Bisbee was, she related that they are still trying to work out the kinks in their plastic grocery bag ban. The Observer previously reported on the ban in an article headlined “Bisbee bag ban bound by bureaucrats.”

According to Badal, people think it is a tax but it is surely not.

A quick step outside onto the street where the Miners and Madames street party was overflowing down the road revealed a Bisbee crowd of locals and imports with lowered inhibitions and high opinions of their dance prowess. Yes, a fun Continued on page 4

Pride marches on here, there and elsewhere OBSERVER STAFF Across the country LGBTI’s and their supporters are taking to the streets to wave flags and cheer on the march of progress.

From LA to Boston cities have been painted rainbow for weekends of out-and-proud diversity typical of the evolving melting pot of the United States.

Kauffman and his family had filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission demanding the government recognize their son as a boy.

“If you’re not yourself, then it kind of gets sad and depressing,” he told CBC News last year. “I’m glad that I told everybody.”

In Alberta, it was law that said trans people must have reassignment surgery before they can be recognized as their true gender on their birth certificate.

Photo: Patrick Baz

A local judge shot this law down, saying it violated the rights of transgender people.

Cypriot policemen on their motorbikes escort people during the gay pride parade in Cyprus’ capital Nicosia. Cyprus’ first-ever Gay Pride parade took place in Nicosia, 16 years after homosexuality was decriminalized in the country.

Meanwhile in Zagreb, Croatia, 2000 took to the streets to march for LGBTQ rights with the help of police protection at the 13th annual Zagreb Pride Parade June 14.

The slogan “On the Right Side of the History” set the tone for the festival in the Croatian capital.

“Being on the right side Continued on page 5

Page 2

Gay marriage allowed in Russia (for Brits only) LONDON — A new measure will allow British homosexual couples to tie the knot within Russia, but the mastermind behind Russia’s so-called gay propaganda law Vitaly Milonov appeared unfazed, saying he would allow “monkeys and perverts” to be married as long as it did not concern Russians.

In a statement published earlier this month on its website, the British Foreign Office said its citizens would be able to register their same-sex marriage at consulates in 23 countries where gay marriage is not legal, including in Russia.

England and Wales legalized samesex marriage in July 2013.

In the statement, the British Foreign Office said all countries on the list had agreed to the initiative, which went into force on June 3.

The Russian law banning the “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors was denounced in the West as an infringement on the rights of Russia’s LGBT community.

Milonov, the St. Petersburg lawmaker who spearheaded the socalled gay propaganda bill that was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin last summer, dismissed the new initiative because it did not affect Russian citizens.

“The British consulates can do whatever they want,” Milonov told The Moscow Times. “They can marry monkeys and register perverts for all I care.”

In addition to Russia, British samesex couples will be able to marry in countries including Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia, China and Colombia.

Bionic strap-on claims to swell options for thinking inside the box DENVER -- Let’s get the giggles out of the way first, shall we?

The product is a “bionic strap-on” called ... er ... Ambrosia Vibe. It’s produced by a company called ... um ...

Orgasmatronics. And the guy behind it ... (shudder) ... goes by the pseudonym Dr. X. Treme.

We’re pretty sure he probably went by some other name when he earned a PhD in applied physics from Yale University and a math/physics double major at the University of California at Berkeley. If indeed he did those things.

But hey, we got this sh!t from a press release so who knows whether any of it’s true.

According to the press release, when the Ambrosia Vibe is stimulated, it transmits some kind of signal and delivers a corresponding vibration to the wearer because of a “sense vein” running up the underside of the device.

Someone at the Observer used to have a penis that beeped every time a hot bottom wiggled his ambrosia, so we understand the concept even though advancing years pretty much killed the dick-beep.

OBSERVER Final capital to get this animal on the market is being raised through crowdfunding via Indiegogo, in case you might want “the unique opportunity to be a part of this historic union of science and sex and help progress the evolution of human sexuality.”

It’s also claimed to be dishwasher safe ... if you trust it in proximity to other things you might eat.

More information is available at orgasmatronics.com or twitter.com/ Orgasmatronics.

The Observer stands firmly on the side of scientific achievement.

American Medical Association adopts transgendersupportive birth certificate policies CHICAGO — Last week, the American Medical Association adopted a report which recommends that states eliminate the requirement for transgender individuals to “undergo surgery or accept sterilization as a condition of obtaining an accurate birth certificate.”

The report also states that gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition and that “the only effective treatment of [gender dysphoria] is medical care to support the person’s ability to live fully consistent with one’s gender identity.

Efforts to change a person’s gender identity are futile and, like sexual orientation change efforts, can have a disastrously negative impact on the patient.”

Obama crashes with gay couple in California PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- President Obama chose to spend his three-day Father’s Day Weekend in Palm Springs staying at the home of White House decorator Michael Smith and his partner, U.S. Ambassador to Spain James Costos, according to the Associated Press.

Smith and Costos live in Spain, but vacation in California. Smith previously oversaw the redecoration of the Oval Office for the Obama administration. The two helped fundraise for the reelection campaign as well.

While in California, Obama attended a Democratic National Convention fundraiser in Laguna Beach and spoke at the University of California, Irvine.

Monday the president returned to the heterosexually inhabited historic casita at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

113-year-old woman marries her boy toy in nursing-home nuptial BACHU COUNTY, China -- It may be a little late for spring, but love -- the intergenerational-plus kind -- is certainly bustin’ out all over.

Hot on the heels of the Internet kerfuffle over Kyle Jones, 31, and Marjorie McCool, 91, going public with their five-year sexual relationship in

WEEKLY

June 18, 2014

Pittsburgh, a 113-year-old woman in China has married her boy toy.

The groom is a lad of 70.

The New York Daily News reported that Azatihan Sawuti met her sweetie in December at the nursing home where they both live.

He didn’t waste any time proposing, but the feisty supercentenarian turned him down -- she said he was too young for her.

Aimti Ahemti said he doesn’t care about the age gap, and proposed for a second time in April. By then, Sawuti was either convinced or just gave in.

Sawuti knows a thing or two about how to keep a man happy, though: “She takes good care of me and gives me her portion of meat during meals,” the happy new husband said.

Pro-gay, pro-woman Mormons threatened with excommunication Two Mormons who have gained national attention for pushing their church to ordain women to the priesthood and to accept openly gay members were notified earlier this month that they face excommunication for apostasy.

The two are Kate Kelly, a human rights lawyer who founded the Ordain Women movement, and John P. Dehlin, the creator of a popular online forum for Mormons and a doctoral candidate in psychology who has published his research into the problems faced by gay church members.

It is the first time since 1993, when the church ejected a handful of intellectuals known as the “September Six,” that it has moved so forcefully to quash such prominent critical voices.

The move is a sudden change of course for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had been working to project an image of greater diversity and openness.

-- The New York Times

Starbucks to offer ASU tuition for its 135,000 employees PHOENIX -- This may make dealing with a customer demanding a grande, non-fat, soy cinnamon dolce latte worth it.

Starting in the fall, Starbucks is offering free tuition for baristas who work 20 hours a week and enroll in Arizona State University’s online courses in their junior and senior years.

If they enroll as freshmen and sophomores, they are eligible for $6,500 on average in scholarships at a school where tuition runs from $480 to $583 per credit hour.

The new, no-strings-attached program could make a massive difference in the lives of 135,000 Starbucks workers.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced details of the plan on Monday along with ASU President Michael Crow and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

-- AZcentral.com

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June 18, 2014

OP-ED

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

Page 3

Lesbians and Hollywood’s old ‘wholesomeness’ code been a wariness of niche content as being a “not profitable” endeavor, but it’s time for that backward thinking to be laid to rest.

By Allie Esslinger THE ADVOCATE For decades, major films were governed by the Motion Picture Production Code, which called for “wholesomeness” and “correct thinking” coming out of the studio system. Hollywood policed itself and eventually was officially censored by the government starting in 1930 based on community standards demanding moral guidelines for the content of films.

Over time, those standards began to change, and by 1959, the letter of the law — which up until this point had been a list of “Don’ts” and “Be Carefuls” — began to evolve based on the shift of society’s collective thinking. By that point, a production code-approved film could deal with almost anything that wasn’t gay.

Regulations barred movie studios from positively portraying LGBT people, particularly women, until 1968. Decades later, films still struggle to feature deep, female queer characters.

Section II of the code dealt with outlawed homosexuality on screen until the code’s end in 1968. Today, in 2014, Section II is being reclaimed as a film company that acquires, creates, and showcases premium LBTQ content across our network of streaming channels.

equal protection under the law. We are dedicated specifically, though, to better representation for LBTQ women in popular culture because there is an undeniable gap in the representation of men and women, across niche and mainstream media alike.

43 are female-focused. It’s a 3:1 ratio of gay male-focused content versus everything else. And those 43 titles are only .003 percent out of almost 14,000 films and TV shows on the site that are classified as portraying a prominent LBTQ storyline.

We, of course, believe in the importance of the overall LGBTQ movement and uniting together for

On Netflix, for example, the Gay and Lesbian category holds only 179 titles for viewers to stream, of which

The traditional production and distribution cycle is something that the entertainment industry is working to address across markets and genres.

But it’s something that has affected the LGBTQ communities more directly, for a longer time, than it has been an issue for the industry at large. There has always

White House to proceed with federal contractor LGBT executive order Continued from page 1 path for LGBT workplace protections, but Monday’s announcement signals an acknowledgement that, despite Senate passage last fall, the bill is not likely to move in the House this year.

Although the specifics of the White House plans were not yet known, the order likely would either amend an earlier executive order signed by President Lyndon Johnson banning

federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin or would be modeled after that order.

A Washington Post report notes that many gay-rights activists described the executive order as the fourth and final step that Obama can take as president to expand protections for gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

QUALITY THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE Relaxing~Invigorating true tantric experience Creating a safe space for men and women Call Marc at 881-4582 By appointment 7 AM-7 PM, Tue - Sat

We as a community have the opportunity to combat this outdated theory and prove the viability of our domestic emerging market by showing that supply and demand applies to us. More importantly, if our creative producers, directors, writers, and filmmakers are given the chance to tell our stories, ones that are not whitewashed by the entertainment industry for the sake of broad-market appeal, the LGBTQ community will support and drive marketability of diverse content that is created in partnership with a distribution company that can build an audience throughout the entire life cycle of a project.

Visibility remains a large part of what we mean when we say #BetterRepresentation but what is also important is the creation of diverse stories, different formats, and contemporary issues being presented in contemporary styles that resonate across communities. Section II is building a hub for curated, high-quality LBTQ films and series because we believe that the lack of access to this content has a negative effect on our community and on society as a whole.

Furthermore, we truly believe this is something we can continue to help fix.

Continued on page 13

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OBSERVER

WEEKLY

June 18, 2014

Police officer kisses boyfriend in front of Westboro Baptist Church protest

Waitress fired after calling group ‘gay bitches’ on receipt

By Nick Duffy PINK NEWS

By Nick Duffy PINK NEWS A waitress who labelled a group of customers “gay bitches” has been fired for doing so.

A police officer has been derided by the Westboro Baptist Church after sharing a kiss with his boyfriend in front of their protest.

A complaint was filed earlier this week at the District of Columbia Office of Human Right by LGBT rights-based law firm Lambda Legal, on behalf of trans woman Amira Gray.

The infamous anti-gay group was protesting during Washington, D.C. Pride, when the uniformed officer was photographed kissing his boyfriend in front of their picket line.

Gray alleged she was given the receipt with the anti-gay slur at Bistro 18, a hookah bar in Washington, D.C., while out socializing with friends.

The Arlington officer, D.J Salter, was snapped kissing his boyfriend Mark Raimondo in the picture.

The pair told the Gaily Grind they “wanted to show everyone that you should be proud of who you are regardless what some people think.”

The Westboro Baptist Church tweeted its disgust at the kiss, referencing an officer who resigned after refusing to work at a Pride parade and claimed the U.S. is trying to turn all cops gay.

Libby Phelps — the granddaughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps — last week posed for the NOH8 campaign.

Following the death of the church’s pastor Fred Phelps earlier this year, his grandson Zach Phelps-Roper split away from the church and condemned it as a “mind trap.”

He recently claimed that his grandfather had recanted his anti-gay views before his death, leading to him being forced out the church by the more militant members.

According to Bilerico, a statement from Bistro18 confirmed the waitress has been fired.

Arlington (Va.) officer D.J. Salter and his boyfriend, Mark Raimondo, “wanted to show everyone that you should be proud of who you are regardless what some people think,” when they kissed in front of the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest of the Washington, D.C. Pride.

Bisbee Pride brings out the best of the weirdos, out-oftowners, and miners for a banner year Continued from page 1 time was had by all.

to stroll down Main Street with fanfare and flamboyance.

So much fun it seems that some party-goers didn’t make it home in time to get to work the next morning.

While waiting for the Saturday morning parade in the shaded entryway of Bisbee Antiques and Collectibles which was supposed to open at 10 a.m., we encountered owner Jim Varner stumbling in shortly after that boasting that he had stayed out into the crack of dawn after partying hard at the street dance.

Varner noted that the crowd and parade were both much larger than last year’s. Many of the entries were notably from Tucson including the three dueling pride-like organizations: Tucson Pride, Tucson LGBT Freedom Day Parade, and Southern Arizona Pride, as well as Water of Life Metropolitan Community Church, Wingspan, and the AIDS Ribbon Tucson. It seems that Tucsonans can’t get enough of the Bisbee Pride experience, just a couple hours south towards the border.

Varner blasted tunes from a small speaker into the street which was lined with rainbow flag cape-wearing lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transfolk, and allies of all kinds waiting for the parade

After the parade, the crowds dispersed into the city-wide Pride taking refuge from the sun in hundred-yearold taverns and quaint curiosity shops.

Around every corner there was someone with rainbow accessories eyeing local merch and trinkets or just hiking the multitude of stairs which make up the alleyways and shortcuts of the town built into the side of a mountain.

At the main park, there were drag performers and musicians playing to a beer garden full of budding patrons who had made their rounds through the booths offering services, merchandise, and information.

Bisbee Pride was perhaps better attended this year due to the fact that it did not conflict with Flagstaff Pride which last year fell on the same day. This year Flagstaff Pride is June 28-29. If you missed Pride in the Mountains, perhaps Pride in the Pines will get you out.

The statement read: “The management at Bistro18 took extreme and immediate measures in dealing with the situation.

“The employee was fired that night and Gray received an apology from the employee and the management as well as her check was waived to express the apology.

“Bistro18 does not and will not tolerate any discrimination in the business as it has been hosting customers and employing regardless to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, and national of origin.”

Zakaria Ibrahim, a legal consultant for the bar, told Bilerico: “We are all human beings. We can choose what we want to do in our lives. Everyone has their own thing. We have that right.

“We serve the public. It doesn’t make a difference who you are or what you do. Everyone is welcome. Why would we turn away customers? We need all our clients to sit in the same atmosphere.

“It was one bad server. I’m Iraqi but that doesn’t mean I’m Saddam Hussein or think like he did. Don’t judge us by one person’s actions.”

Deputy Legal Director Hayley Gorenburg said: “We invited people to tell Bistro 18 the conduct their employee, detailed in the complaint, violates the law.

“That’s why there are processes for complaints like this one, to make sure discrimination is addressed. The point is to make sure the community knows their rights to address grievances.

Businesses need to know the law.”

Your face here

June 18, 2014

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

Page 5

Pride marches on here, there and elsewhere

A proud and portly Portland geisha grins gregariously on the sidewalk during Portland’s 2014 Pride Parade.

Continued frpm page 1 of history is being on the side of the oppressed, disempowered, invisible and overlooked . . . to be on the margins today, in resistance tomorrow, and in freedom forever,” the organizers said in a statement.

shadow on the city’s first-ever Pride.

Only a few hundred people were expected to attend the parade, but when several thousand out and proud supporters showed up so did violent protestors. Police had to break up fights and escort attendees to safety.

In Zagreb the Homophobe of the Year award went to Zeljka Markic, the leader of the conservative campaigning group In the Name of the Family who oppose LGBTQ equality.

Titled “A Family Affair,” the 10th Athens Pride held on central Klafthmonos Square was supported by nearly a dozen embassies including those of Britain, the U.S. and Canada.

In Portland, Ore., parade marchers celebrated the reinstatement of samesex marriage. Less than a month ago a judge struck down the state’s marriage ban.

“This year, we focus on the concepts of equality and freedom of choice from the perspective of family life as defined by every LGBT person, and specifically on the legal recognition of all LGBT families,” the organizers said.

Pittsburgh, Pa., made Pride headlines after video of a police officer grabbing a teen girl by the neck, bending her over, and repeatedly punching her in the side went viral. The mayor of Pitsburgh has launched an investigation into the incident. Ariel Lawther, 19, was charged with resisting arrest and released on $5,000 bond. Reports conflict on whether or not Lawther fought back.

In Nicosia, Cyprus, haters cast a

The mostly Catholic city of Braga, Portugal, celebrated its second Pride Parade coinciding with the founding of the city’s first LGBTI rights group: Braga Fora do Armário or Braga Out of the Closet, in April.

In Arizona, we have seen Phoenix and Bisbee Prides with Flagstaff Pride coming at the end of the month, Sedona in September and Tucson Pride in October.

A viral video captures a police officer aggressively arresting a 19-yearold Pride attendee in Pittsburgh, Pa.

OK, where to begin . . . In Tel Aviv there were these half-naked hotties, one of which was proudly showing his favorite nipple, wristband and a fuchsia-colored feather headdress during Israel’s 2014 Pride event.

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OBSERVER

WEEKLY

June 18, 2014

Southern Baptist Convention: Trans people don’t exist

By Jay Michaelson THE DAILY BEAST Forget decades of scientific studies and transgender people’s own lives — the Southern Baptist Convention has gone ahead and decided gender is only about your junk.

“Gender” refers to one’s felt, and societally constructed, sense of being male, female, or somewhere in between. As understood by a generation of psychologists, sociologists, and other scientists, it is distinct from sex, which has to do with biology, genitalia, and genetics. Put roughly, sex is between your legs. Gender is between your ears.

Not so, the Southern Baptist Convention said this week. An expert team — no, wait a minute, an entirely unqualified assembly of 5,000 people who know nothing about gender — just voted to deny decades of scientific studies, as well as thousands of transgender people’s own lives. Nope, they said, gender is about your junk, and transgender doesn’t exist.

As easy as it is to ridicule this resolution, and ridicule it I shall, it is also a sustained, informed critique of contemporary understandings of gender.

Somebody has read their Judith Butler.

And as such, it bears closer inspection, if only because it may be a harbinger of conservative attacks to come.

Of course, for the Baptist Convention, this was a matter of theology, not rationality. It says right there in the Bible, “male and female created he them.” And God don’t make no mistakes. If you’ve got a penis, you’re a man, plain and simple.

Interestingly, the Baptists omitted from their resolution the biblical verses that talk about “eunuchs who are born so from their mother’s womb” (Matthew 19:12) and contemporaneous Jewish discussions of people we would today call intersex (BT Hagigah 4a).

The Baptists also omitted discussion of other ways in which the soul (or the brain, if you want to be materialistic about it) finds itself at odds with the body. Is coloring one’s hair also an affront against the Divine? Is wearing glasses?

But let’s set aside theology. What’s most interesting about this resolution is how much it understands about the transgender experience — but how much it still misses the point.

On the one hand, the Baptists are quite up to date on their estimate of the U.S. transgender population (700,000), the reclassification of transgender from a disorder to a dysphoria (dysphoria is a mismatch; disorder is a pathology), and the scattered, limited progress trans folk have made toward gaining access to

health care and being treated according to their felt gender rather than their born sex.

condition resulting from humanity’s fallen nature, but God has decreed that it not be so? Isn’t that a contradiction?

There is no hysteria here about cross-dressing men lurking in bathrooms, a motif endlessly repeated by right-wing nuts, as recently as last week, despite its total idiocy. (Since when do male sexual predators need the cover of law to cross-dress, enter women’s restrooms, and commit acts of violence? They seem to be doing just fine without such stratagems.)

And where in the Bible is “gender identity” used as an analytical category in the first place? (Hint: nowhere.)

It conflates sex and gender, saying “male and female” are “embedded in the biology of the human race.” But that’s about sex, not gender. Then it says masculine and feminine roles are distinct in the Bible. Fine — many (though not all) transgender people

From there, the resolution unravels.

Continued on page 15

And while the litany of pending legislation is a bit hyperbolic, it’s not fantasy, either. Trans folk aren’t coming to seduce your kids, according to the Baptists’ resolution. They’re just asking to be treated as human beings, not discriminated against, not marginalized, and not be fruitlessly “converted.” All of which is too much for the Southern Baptist Convention.

So far, so good — sort of. But then the resolution goes astray, very subtly, but also very severely.

In a novel theological gesture, the Baptist Convention ascribes trans people’s “perceived conflict between their biological sex and their gender identity” to be part of the “brokenness and futility” caused by the Fall. Got it? Eve ate the apple, therefore you experience gender dysphoria.

Yet the next line of the resolution states, “We affirm God’s good design that gender identity should be determined by biological sex and not by one’s self-perception.” Wait, what?

Gender dysphoria is an existential

Bisexual exhibit at GLBT history museum

By Marisa Riley BUSTLE SAN FRANCISCO -- Bisexuality, one of the less recognized and often criticized orientations under the LGBT umbrella, got a much-needed spotlight last week! The Advocate reports that the GLBT History Museum in San Francisco is dedicating its latest exhibit to bisexuality and the orientation’s somewhat unknown history with “Biconic Flashpoints: Four Decades of Bay Area Bisexual Politics.”

The exhibit, which opened last Thursday, will feature “never-beforeseen” artifacts, videos, and photos, provided by bisexual activists and archives. Also, courtesy of a partnership between GLBT History Museum and local GLBT leaders, the exhibit will focus on politics, history and culture behind bisexuality.

Though the exhibit is focusing on

political history in the Bay Area, it’s still a huge step as far as bisexual awareness goes. The sexual orientation and those who identify with it have often fallen under the radar in the past, or even received flack for it. Luckily, bisexual activists and celebrities like Evan Rachel Wood (she has all the bi-wisdom you could ever hope for) are speaking up in its defense.

If you do happen to be in the Bay Area this month, make a trip to the GLBT History Museum for a little bi-history. For everyone else, check out BiNet USA’s timeline to see how bisexual awareness has changed over the last 50 plus years.

(Seriously, do it. You’ll wish you’d written a thesis about the subject when you had a chance.) Or just celebrate Bisexual Awareness day on September 23!

June 18, 2014

Community Voices

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

Page 7

Sharing the good news of community support (professional event management and design) joined forces with TIHAN this year to support our Treasure for TIHAN fundraising event. More hearts that care, right here in a generous community.

By Scott Blades Executive Director TIHAN Negative news — it’s everywhere.

People complaining about what’s wrong with our country/state/city/community.

Anti-gay groups, businesses, politicians, and more — we give them so much attention. We hear it all the time: “Where’s the positive news? Why isn’t that getting any attention?”

Over 50 million people worldwide have chosen Aflac because of its commitment to providing customers with the confidence that comes from knowing they have assistance in being prepared for whatever life may bring. Right here in Tucson, Cathy Davis of Aflac is awesome, devoting so much of her volunteer time to serving the community through TIHAN, as our board president and a great volunteer.

I agree. There are amazing gayfriendly and HIV-friendly businesses and groups in our community who not only welcome and invite our business, they seek it out. Some are LGBTQowned or managed, but not all. But what they all have it common is supporting TIHAN and our programs supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. So I want to highlight some of them, sharing the good news of their generous support of our community. Please support them, as they support us!

We’re grateful for awesome locallyowned companies like Arizona Medical Transit, our title sponsor supporting Treasures for TIHAN this year. Need quality, safe, reliable, and caring transportation for yourself or a loved one to a non-emergency medical appointment? Contact AMT they will treat you right, and will be sensitive and culturally-sensitive too. The people at AMT are among the hearts that care in our community, and we’re grateful.

Here are more local businesses and groups that support our community that we want to highlight: Community Partnership of Southern Arizona is a community-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that individuals and families receive accessible, high-quality behavioral health services that are member and family driven, recovery oriented, respectful of cultural differences, and foster hope and self-determination. Its 24-hour crisis line is available seven days a week, in English and Spanish — 520-622-6000 or 800-796-6762. CPSA provides behavioral health support services in hundreds of ways and through hundreds of organizations in our community. TIHAN is grateful to be part of CPSA’s network of care, and grateful to partner with them to put on Treasures for TIHAN, our biggest fundraiser for HIV support services.

Laura G. Schoenfeld has practiced law in Arizona since 1996, concentrating in the areas of estate planning, probate/guardianship and real estate transactions. She opened her own

Braun, P.C., a local CPA firm is a proactive accounting and consulting Certified Public Accounting firm. Since 1982, the firm has provided quality services to its clients, offering a complete range of services for businesses and individuals. Braun, P.C. is a business that gives back generously to the community it serves!

law office here in Tucson in 2004, and continues to practice and speak in these areas of the law. In addition to being an excellent attorney to represent you, she also has a huge heart for the community in which she lives and serves. Her community involvement is exceptional, and Treasures for TIHAN thrives in large part due to the support of Laura and her firm.

For more than 15 years, Eric Galbreath, the graphic design talent of Eyelink Design Services, has been a supporter of TIHAN. His firm creates print materials as well as website design, and more. In addition to contributing excellent graphic design in support of TIHAN and our programs, Eric is an excellent painter and an allaround goodhearted member of our community. Thank you Eric and Eyelink Design for partnering with TIHAN and our compassionate response to HIV! Check out his work online at www. eyelinkdesign.com We are grateful to partner with Avella Specialty Pharmacy, another one of the sponsors for Treasures for TIHAN 2014. Many of our CarePartners count on Avella to get their lifesaving meds, and receive great support as well. Thank you Avella for providing excellence service, and supporting TIHAN and

those we serve!

The DesertLeaf is a tabloid-sized publication distributed by mail to the Catalina Foothills community, saturating this area more thoroughly than any other print media. Since 1987, they have informed the community about schools, people, businesses, restaurants, art, travel, political issues, community events and opinions, providing a wide variety of features and articles, including support of TIHAN. Goodwill of Southern Arizona offers free one-on-one job search assistance to anyone looking for a job (including tips on resume writing, access to computers for on-line job applications, interview practice and more). It also provides computer/customer service training to people and assist them in finding a job after graduation. To promote literacy, Goodwill provides free children’s books to low-income children. Goodwill is also a major employer in Tucson — employing more than 500 people. It believes in changing lives through the power of work — whether it is through supporting our CarePartners through job training, or supporting our Treasures for TIHAN benefit auction, Goodwill of Southern Arizona helps support people living with HIV, and we are grateful.

For the first time, PRO EM

Treasures for TIHAN is pleased to thank another sponsor: the Coalition for African American Health and Wellness.

A small organization with a big mission and a big heart, the coalition’s mission is to promote healthy living and improve the overall quality of life for African Americans and medically underserved people in the Tucson community. The coalition provides awareness, education, and advocacy about many health issues facing our community, including HIV and the disproportionate impact that HIV has upon communities of color. Thank you for your support of HIV awareness, and for your support of TIHAN and our compassionate response to HIV. We value our partnership with CODAC Behavioral Health Services. It is possible to have a healthy, productive life while in recovery from mental illness and addiction. CODAC helps make that possible, providing a full continuum of professional care to adults and teens who want help for behavioral health issues including substance abuse; trauma; depression, anxiety, anger, relationship troubles and other general mental health issues; and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and other serious mental illnesses and mood disorders. Thank you CODAC for your work, and for partnering with TIHAN to raise awareness, funds, and support for HIV. And we’re excited about your new program, Living Out Loud, an LGBTQ Health and Wellness Center!

And there are many more! Thank you to a generous community!

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Bisbee Pride brings out the best!

June 18, 2014

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Fireside Chat

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June 18, 2014

A funny thing happened on the way to the community forum: Living Out Loud

By Wendell Hicks Executive Director SAAF Going to visit a doctor can be anything but routine if you identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Intersexed. Finding a doctor who is not just tolerant or accepting of your sexual orientation or gender identity, but is truly knowledgeable about your health care needs can be daunting at best or seem almost impossible at worst. Especially if you have experienced discrimination in the past. Or you do not have health insurance.

That is why I’m very excited that CODAC will be opening Living Out Loud, a community health and wellness center that specifically provides services to people in the LGBTQI community.

Studies indicate that LGBTQI people are medically underserved.

Some people may hide their sexual orientation from their doctor, which means that specific health issues may not be addressed such as an increased risk for breast cancer in lesbians or a higher risk for sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis and HIV in sexually active gay men. Others, may avoid getting necessary medical care altogether. According to a 2010 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, of 7,000 people surveyed, 28 percent of transgender and gender nonconforming people postponed medical care when they were sick or injured due to concerns about discrimination.

Living Out Loud plans to offer holistic services for children age six and older, youth, adults, couples and families. Just a few of these include: • Primary Care medicine • Outpatient counseling, case management and peer support services • Wellness services such as yoga, meditation, exercise, and nutrition classes • Drop-in crisis intervention • Specialized services and support for transgender individuals All staff and volunteers will be LGBTQ-identified and/or allies who have experience working within the community.

Why did CODAC decide to start an LGBTQI-focused health and wellness center?

In many ways, Living Out Loud has its roots in two projects that served LGBTQ youth at Wingspan’s Eon Youth Lounge: the PRISM Project and Treatment Enhancement for Adolescents on the Move. SAAF and CODAC both served as collaborators with the University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women on these projects. iTEAM, which wraps up this year, provided substance abuse and mental health treatment and HIV prevention programming and testing to homeless LGBTQ youth. Jai Smith, a Health Educator with SAAF, and Joe Nutini, LMSW, a CODAC therapist worked on the iTEAM project until 2013.

Jai told me that there were many conversations with Joe, iTEAM and Eon staff about needs of iTEAM participants that weren’t being met. “The youth at Eon received HIV prevention, testing and crisis intervention through iTEAM, but had limited access to other services, especially medical care. Youth might ask about birth control. Or skip out on screening for a sexually transmitted infection, even though they had symptoms, because they felt intimidated when they were asked to pay a fee for services when they barely had enough money to buy their meals from the dollar menu at fast food places.” While services are available in our community for those unable to pay, health care systems and sites are often scattered and difficult to access, as well as lacking sensitivity to the needs of LGBTQI persons. People without funds, health insurance or transportation often need extra support to ensure they get the medical care they need.

updated their provider resource list last year. You can find it at http:// sagatucson.org/wp/?page_id=275.

Many of the recommended doctors on the list are not accepting new patients or have waiting periods of up to 3 months but will prioritize transgender people as their patients.

Last year, I had the opportunity to meet with a consultant who recommended that our community consider opening an LGBT-focused health care center. Great minds think alike. Joe and other iTEAM staff shared their dream about having a one-stop LGBTQI health and wellness center with leaders at CODAC including Aimee Graves, the Vice President for Resource Development.

Dennis Regnier, CODAC’s President and CEO agreed: “We have heard from our LGBTQ clients and from the greater LGBTQ community that they would like services that are safe and affirming of their identities and provides top of the line, expert care for their specific needs.”

Living Out Loud will fill a critical health care gap for the LGBTQI community, opening up opportunities that we may not even realize including future prevention efforts. In a community

needs assessment conducted by SAAF’s prevention staff in from 2011 – 2012, older gay men disliked the stigma of visiting an AIDS service organization or a clinic serving only people living with HIV/AIDS (whether they are HIV negative or positive), because if they were seen entering these facilities it would be assumed they had HIV/AIDS. SAAF and CODAC recently submitted a joint proposal to fund mental health, primary care, HIV and Hepatitis prevention and testing and HIV medical care in a one-stop location. If this grant is funded, these services would be offered along with many other services available at Living Out Loud.

Would you access health and wellness services from an LGBTQIfocused health center? Would you like a chance to give your input on how Living Out Loud can best create a safe, welcoming and health space for members of our community? CODAC wants to hear from you!

A community forum will be held at SAAF on July 22 from 9 a.m. – 11a.m. If you are not able to attend, but would like to provide input, please contact Aimee Graves, at 520-202-1722 or agraves@ codac.org.

How do most of us find the right doctor or health care provider?

References from friends are one way.

Through my years of work in the HIV/ AIDS field, I found my primary care doctors via recommendations of friends who are also physicians. I have been very happy with the care I’ve received, but I know that is not true for everyone.

Word-of-mouth may not always be reliable. One transgender person told me that although friends referred him to a doctor who identified herself as comfortable working with trans-identified people, she admitted she was not an expert around trans health issues.

In our community, organizations like Wingspan, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance and SAAF compile lists and keep current on LGBTQIcompetent health care and mental health providers. Jai noted that SAGA

This gorgeous boy is an extra-large love bug! Although Arlo looks mean and snarly, he’s the sweetest, kindest and most loving guy you could meet! He might have huge teeth, but has an adorable teensy “mew”.

He’s quite a collection of contradictions, our Arlo. He’s ten years old, and pretty calm, enjoying the afternoons at the Shelter, lazing about the patios and watching the pigeons strut by.

Arlo

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For immediate release:

Some upcoming Tucson entertainment to attend

Tucson Fringe Theater Festival call for submissions

16: by phone: 520-621-3341 (TTY) 520626-3980 or in person at Centennial Hall (1020 E. University Blvd.) or online at http://UApresents.org.

Ballet Tucson announces schedule for its 29th season

TUCSON — The Tucson Fringe Theater Festival announced its acceptance of performer applications for its 2014 festival.

The festival is an unjuried and uncensored performance, art, and theater festival promoting accessibility for presenting established and emerging artists, and unrestrained artistic freedom. All performance types will be eligible for selection.

Tucson Fringe is looking for writers, performers, actors, directors, sign twirlers, puppeteers, balladeers, auctioneers, playwrights, bards, jugglers, raconteurs, stage managers, state legislators, other clowns, artists, guitarists, creative alarmists, poets, thespians, musicians, sirens, comedians, really talented sign twirlers, dancers, prancers, knowers of answers, and other prognosticators.

Photo: Lisa Healey

For the season opener, founding artistic director Mary Beth Cabana has selected a triple bill of works including the world premiere of “Phantom of the Opera (the ballet)” with collaborative choreography by Cabana, Chieko Imada (assistant artistic director) and Daniel Precup (ballet master). Included on this program are the revivals of “Joplin,” with choreography by Mark Schneider and “Boler-O,” a pulsing, energetic rendition of Ravel’s popular music with visually compelling images and fresh choreography by Precup.

Clockwise from left: Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Alvin Ailey; a performer doing her thing at the 2012 Tucson Fringe Theater Festival; and company dancers with Ballet Tucson.

Photo: Normand Maxon

For the Christmas season, the company’s annual presentation of “The Nutcracker” is a holiday event for the entire family.

The festival will take place Sept.

12–14 at Club Congress. The priority deadline for performer applications is June 23. Interested performers may apply to for a single performance during the festival, or a two-night residency.

Interested artists can visit www. tucsonfringe.org for more information.

Photo: Ed Flores

UApresents ranks 10 ‘hot’ shows as single tickets go on sale With 2014-15 single tickets on sale as of Monday, you might want to know which UApresents offerings have sold the most tickets during priority sale to subscribers. In Letterman-style reverse order, here are the top sellers: 10. A Sondheim Evening. The work of America’s most revered songwriter will be showcased in Crowder Hall on Dec. 5.

9. A Far Cry. These Boston-based musicians are the hippest chamber orchestra you’ll ever see. Feb. 5 in Crowder.

8. Dianne Reeves. Who can resist her sultry jazz vocals? Live at the Fox Theatre on Jan. 18.

7. Ladies Sing the Blues. This is shaping up to be a big year for female singers. The songs of Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and others will be featured April 18 at the Fox. 6.

Murray Perahia.

One of

Ballet Tucson announces the repertory and performance schedule for its 29th (2014-2015) season which opens Oct. 17.

America’s great living pianists makes a rare Tucson appearance on March 10 in Centennial Hall.

5. Jay Leno. Not merely hilarious, Leno has been described as one of the nicest people in show business. He opens our season at Centennial on Oct. 25.

4. Sequence 8. These “urban grunge” circus artists from Montreal are a surprise hit at the box office. Feb. 15 in Centennial Hall.

3. The Hot Sardines. This jazz band manages to be retro and up-to-date at the same time. See them Jan. 23 at the Fox.

get enough of the company that has changed the world’s perception of American dance. They promise to repeat their signature work, Revelations, April 12 in Centennial Hall These are the shows that have sold the largest number of tickets, but some of the performances in smaller venues are already close to sell-out.

Move quickly if you want tickets for the Richter/Uzur duo or Pedrito Martinez at Club Congress, or for jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen and her trio outdoors at the Jewish Community Center.

As of this writing, 6684 tickets have been sold for the 29 UApresents events.

Single tickets are on sale as of June

Dance and Dessert 2015 will again feature an eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary ballet works with post-performance desserts from the area’s top restaurants and eateries.

The repertoire for this concert features the Ballet Tucson premiere of “No Holds (barre’d)” with fast-paced choreography by Kiyon Gaines of Pacific Northwest Ballet. The program will also include “Laura’s Women,” the late Ian Horvath’s signature work set to the haunting and emotional songs of Laura Nyro, along with the premiere of “Steps,” Precup’s new work which uses a collage of musical styles to explore the history of dance.

The season concludes with the fulllength “Sleeping Beauty” which returns May 2 – 3 after an absence of six years.

Please visit: www.ballettucson.org for show times, dates and ticket prices.

2. Audra McDonald. And why wouldn’t she be one of our top sellers?

She has perhaps the greatest voice ever to deliver the American Songbook, she just won her sixth Tony award, and she’s gorgeous. Unmissable on March 15 at the Fox. And now, the NUMBER ONE ticket seller for UApresents 2014-15 season . . .

1. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Tucson never seems to

Remember to send in your wedding announcements and photos to info@observerweekly.com so we can print them here for all the world to see.

Donations accepted.

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The good, the bad and the ugly:

Some news out of the Lone Star State be allowed the freedom to marry one another and be treated with dignity and respect.

party adopted a state platform endorsing the use of therapy to “cure” homosexuality.

It saddens me to know that you live your life in a society that views you as “different,” or as someone who should not enjoy the same basic rights as a straight person does. You are my daughter — you deserve the same love and acceptance and to share in the same freedoms to marry the person you love.

It reads: “We recognize the legitimacy and value of counselling which offers reparative therapy and treatment to patients who are seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle.”

As a society we should not tolerate acts of discrimination, hate or violence for any reason. We are all equals.

I remain committed to the cause of equality and most importantly in fighting to protect you and the children of all fathers. All men and women should have the freedom to choose their partner.

Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa

Texas senator writes heartwarming letter to lesbian daughter

By Joe Morgan GAY STAR NEWS A Texas politician has written an incredible letter to his lesbian daughter.

Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, a state senator, said it saddens him to know she lives her life in a society that views her as “different.”

“You are my daughter — you deserve the same love and acceptance and to share in the same freedoms to marry the person you love,” he said.

In 2013, Hinojosa sponsored a bill to legalize civil unions in the U.S. state, but in the letter he declares he now supports full equal marriage.

Read the entire letter: A Father’s Day Letter to my Daughter — By Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa Dear Kris, From the moment you breathed life, when you first smiled up at me, I knew how strong the love of a father could be. An unconditional love for such an innocent child that only a father could know. As you began to grow, I hoped for a safe environment for you and wanted to protect you from the harsh realities of this unjust world.

As you are all grown up now, you will still always be my little girl. I am very proud of you. I hope one day that you, too, can experience the love for a child.

But as you matured into a strong young woman, I began to realize there were cruelties I could not protect you from — simply because of your sexual orientation. I could not protect you from the discrimination, ignorance or hate.

And I hope one day that your children will live in a world where they will not need protection for wanting to marry who they love.

I knew that we have discriminated in our country against women until we gave them the right to vote. We discriminate, and often continue to do so, against African-Americans, people of Jewish descent, and Hispanics. However, I was unprepared for the discrimination you would experience for being gay.

Texas GOP ‘ex-gay’ activist: I replaced my homosexual feelings with food

With love, Dad

As your journey into adulthood revealed that you are gay, it made no difference to me. You are still my daughter. You did not change.

I will always love and support you unconditionally. Fathers love their children who have physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, or are multiethnic. There are all kinds of children. A father’s love is without end. Why would sexual orientation change anything?

I know you have encountered many challenges and struggles because of your sexuality, but I also know that my love has given you strength and courage.

Views are changing as people begin to accept and understand that same-sex couples are part of our communities, culture and country. They live in our communities, work in our communities, attend church in our communities, and volunteer for our military where they fight for our freedom and liberty.

They are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and colleagues and friends. Same-sex couples should

Lone Star Q reported that Jeremy Schwab — a former member of the progay Log Cabin Republicans group — was responsible for the provision, and posted a topless photo from his former acting career.

Schwab responded with a bizarre comment claiming that his homosexual thoughts have been replaced by food.

He said, “This picture was taken about seven years ago. It was BEFORE I came back to the Lord.

“I think in some ways food replaced sexual sin for me and now I can’t even get into my OWN pants.

“If you’d like to dialogue more about this platform plank and the significance it plays in protecting freedom of conscience for ALL – especially for many youth who consciously CHOOSE (of their own accord) to benefit from Reparative Therapy and other forms of emotional healing, please email me directly at: Jeremy@Joel225.org.”

In a post defending the platform proposal earlier this month, Schwab had written: “Activists have drafted a bill to be introduced in all 50 states which will ban or severely restrict access to Reparative Therapy and all other sexual orientation change efforts including religious counseling.

“A version of the bill will be introduced in the Texas legislature during the next term.

Photo: IMDB

Jeremy Schwab says he replaced his homosexual sins with food.

By Nick Duffy PINK NEWS The activist responsible for an endorsement of “ex-gay” therapy in the Texas Republican state platform says he replaced his homosexual feelings with food.

Last week, the Texas Republican

“This resolution does not state that a person cannot be gay, nor does it try to intimidate gay persons. It only seeks to protect the rights and health of selfmotivated individuals in the state of Texas.”

June 18, 2014

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Gay bears set off orgy of comments OBSERVER STAFF This is for those of you who like to watch bears misbehave in public.

You know who you are . . .

According to a report in the journal Zoo Biology, two male bears raised together in a Croatian wildlife park have engaged in oral sex over a period up to 10 years.

And often.

Observers from the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Department of Wildlife Conservation logged 116 hours observing the bears and recorded 28 instances of oral sex -- an average of about one every four hours.

During those instances, the roles of provider and receiver never varied.

Mercy. We all know bears in that kind of relationship, don’t we?

The researchers wrote: “The provider always initiated the contact involving vigorous penile sucking that appeared to result in ejaculation.”

And “If the receiver’s genitals were not exposed, the provider would push his head into the pelvic region or use his paws to separate the hind legs.”

The researchers also say these are “the first observations of long-term, recurrent fellatio in captive brown bears kept in proper conditions.”

That’s a reference to earlier cases of bear fellatio that have been recorded but were attributed to stress reactions from the conditions in which they were kept.

“After accessing and initial licking

Lesbians and Hollywood’s old ‘wholesomeness’ code Continued from page 3 We’re a new option for both filmmakers and audiences alike — a destination platform that will be an ally for both content creators and content consumers. The model for releasing a film is changing, and we are here to make sure that uncertainty doesn’t continue to marginalize content that features queer storylines. Knowing where a film can live takes away the pressure to modify its premise in order to ensure a distribution deal.

Trailblazers like Kathy Wolfe (Wolfe Video) and Lisa Sherman (LOGOtv) created a space for gay and lesbian content in the mainstream where none existed before. Without the work that they’ve done, SectionII.com wouldn’t even be a conversation. But because of them — and hundreds of people like them who have created beautiful art across formats and genres — we are able to be both an homage to the work that has come before us and a next step in the ongoing movement. The time has come for technology and content to merge and foster creativity as the next frontier for equality.

Yes we’ve made progress at every point of measure across the social and political spectrum, but what we’ve learned about acceptance and representation in the last 40 years is that we can’t rest. We can’t settle for what is given to us as a placeholder for what we deserve, what we want, and what we need.

festivals that screen over 500 new LBTQ features, shorts, and series. In 2012, only 17 of these films made it to theaters; in 2013, the number was 12. Unless you were lucky enough to catch a premiere at a festival, the odds that you would’ve seen the overwhelming majority of this new content is low. But with the growth of online and mobile Video on Demand options, there’s no reason that these titles should be impossible to access.

of the penis, the provider would find a more comfortable posture, such as sitting or lying. . . Once actual sucking started, neither bear changed position.”

sex’? I could have told them that :D

Once again, sounds like universal bear behavior, doesn’t it -- the unique part is that this took place outdoors in front of an audience. . . Oh, wait --

Cal: In Croatia? God help them. The church will be in to exorcise them.

Lead researcher Agnieszka Sergiel theorized that the unusual behavior may not have been sexual in origin but developed because the bears were orphaned at an early age.

“Forced early-weaning and subsequent deprivation of proper and sufficient stimulation of the suckling reflex can result in teat-searching behavior persisting into adulthood,” the team wrote.

Needless to say, readers could barely wait for the climax to. . . (snort) . . . “mouth” their own comments.

ian123: Satanic bears clearly, let’s just hope they don’t start eating shellfish.

Madgeographer to Cal: They can have CP there, if they were human.

Truth: No doubt government thugs with church backing will begin a campaign of intimidation and will prohibit the reporting of this to the under-18s as gay propaganda.

Neil Rhodes: Not quite the article I was expecting (or hoping for). Ah well, some other time perhaps.

The Observer understands that some of you will want to hibernate alone for a few minutes after reading this. Just remember: There’s a whole newspaper here to be read; life isn’t only about bear sex.

James J: Gay bears ‘enjoy oral The entire film ecosystem is in flux, and unless we foster development of the content we want to see, we will once again be lost in the margins of the stories that are being told. Section II launched this month with a Beta version of the site and a crowd funding campaign on Seed & Spark to kick off a year of audience engagement and content development.

We have to raise 80 percent of our $50,000 goal in order to get the green light and move forward with our plans to upgrade the site, continue our acquisitions and licensing, and begin shooting our first original series this summer. But we can do so much more: if just 1 percent of the LBTQ population — or a fifth of one percent of the movement at large — donates $25 each to our campaign, we can create content at a pace that’s never been attempted and deliver it to an audience that’s never had the chance to consume its fair share. It’s not just one film project; it’s thousands.

And it’s community standards demanding #BetterRepresentation for LBTQ women in popular culture.

Each year, there are 225 LGBT film

We are constantly looking for caring and fun volunteers!

Please call TIHAN office for information of next Volunteer orientation 520-299-6647 ext. 204 or volunteercoordinator@tihan.org Contact Alicia Talerico, Office and Volunteer Coordinator

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OBSERVER WEEKLY As Clark Saw It

Monday 12-3 p.m.

4-5:30 p.m.

4:30-6:30 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

7-10 p.m.

7-8:30 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

6 p.m.

Tuesday 3-8 p.m.

4 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

Wednesday 3-8 p.m.

12-1 p.m.

3-4:30 p.m.

4:30-6 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

7:30p.m.

Thursday 3-8 p.m.

4-5:30 p.m.

5:30-6:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

7-10 p.m.

Friday 4 p.m.

SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources LGBTQA Support Group. LGBTQ Affairs Office, UA Student Union level four.

SAGA Desert Boyz for trans masculine folks 3rd Tuesdays SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources Pink Triangle AA Meeting, 439 N. Sixth Ave. Everyday.

Gender Spectrum support Group. UA Campus Health Service Building Room C312. $5 TMC Hospice LGBTQ Grief Support Group. 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, Peppi’s House Chapel, 2715 N. Wyatt Drive. RSVP at: 520-324-2438.

Wednesday Night Christian Bible Study, Cornerstone Fellowship Social Hall, 2902 N. Geronimo Ave. Weekly Bears Coffee at Crave, 4530 E. Broadway Blvd.

Yoga at Fluxx $5 suggested donation.

Saturday 2:30-4:30p.m.

2nd Saturdays

Bears of the Old Pueblo Potluch 2nd Saturdays 520.444.2275 Transparents For parents of trans kids. RSVP SAGA to attend.

11a.m 2-5 p.m.

2:45 p.m.

3-5p.m.

5:30 p.m.

Zoe’s World

By Zoe

SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources Support Group for Transgender Survivors of Sexual Trauma, SACSA, 1600 N. Country Club Queer People of Color & Two Spirit support group. African American Student Affairs MLK Center, 1322 E. 1st Street.

Write Now! a writer’s group open to all at Revolutionary Grounds 606 N. 4th Regardless of… NA LGBT Meeting, Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd.

Weekly Meditation Classes in Central Tucson, cost: $10, Kadam Meditation Center Arizona 1701 E. Miles St. SAGA Desert Partnerz for cis-gendered 4th Thursday Triangle Tribe, Men’s Support Group. Call 520-398-6826

5-10 p.m.

5:30-6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

10-12 p.m.

By Gary Clark

Mah Jongg Mondays Himmel Park Library. Ages 50+, 1035 N. Treat.

In Our Own Voices, Women’s therapy group for survivors of sexual trauma, SACSA, 1600 N. Country Club, 520.327.1171 Cancer Support Group for LGBT People, Arizona Cancer Center at UMCNorth, Rm 1127, 3838 N. Campbell Ave. 520.694.0347 Regardless of… NA LGBT Meeting, Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd.

SAGA General for trans forlks and allies 1st Monday SAGA Desert Girlz for trans Femanine folks 2nd Monday Reveille Men’s Chorus Open Rehearsal, Rincon Congregational Church, 122 N. Craycroft Tucson Women’s Chorus rehearsal.Call for details: 520.743.0991 Desert Girlz meeting at Wingspan PFLAG en Español Meets the 1st Monday of each month at Fortin de las Flores: 243 W. 33rd St.

Wingspan’s Eon Youth Program New Youth Orientation Fridays at 4p.m.

Youth Center Open M-F G3 anniversary party at Aloft Tucson 1900 E. Speedway Blvd.

Oasis LGBT Social Group. Email oasis.wingspan@gmail.com Bingo at MCC Every Friday call 207-9354 for info.

Sunday 9-11 a.m.

10-11.30 a.m.

June 18, 2014

Co-ed Softball, all abilities welcome. Oury Park, 600 W.St. Mary’s Advice For Life & Prayers for World Peace. Buddha’s teachings, Kadampa Meditation Center Arizona 1701 E. Miles St. LGBT Buddhist Meditation Group meets every Sunday at The Three Jewels, 314 E. 6th St. in Tucson. Meditation sessions with readings, recordings, and discussion. Welcoming to all.For information call Jim at 520-884-4218.

Zumba at Fluxx. $5 suggested donation.

Mamasitas! Men’s Sports club at Menlo Park The New Men’s Massage Group. June 15 @ 4p.m. Call Marc at 881-4582 to sign up. Or email bleu55@gmail.com in advance. It’s a great place to meet men. Safe, non-sexual but very sensual and a little erotic. Donation.

Men’s Social Network “H” Club open to entire LGBTQ community. This is a fun discussion, learning and participation group meeting for discussions on major words beginning with the letter “H.” Doesn’t meet the 1st Sunday of the month.

Puertas Abiertas Latin/Hispanic LBGTQ/Ally support group meeting at Wingspan 430 E 7th St – every 3rd Sunday of the month at 5:30pm.

"Your circumstances do not define your life."

-- Valerie Gatto, Miss Pennsylvania USA, who revealed during the Miss USA pageant that she is the product of her mother being raped while leaving work at the age of 19

For Rent

Employmnet

Looking for One Mature Person working or retired for my 1-br, 1-ba house. Has A/C, washer-dyer, shaded 1 car off-street parking, private front, side and a tiny back yard.

HELP WANTED: Responsible man or woman to do house cleaning and yard work once a week, a few hours at a time in midtown. Must have own transportation.

Smoking out side only but prefer non smoker.

Grant and Park area. $500 a month.

You pay utilities. Sweet Little Place.

Hopefully long term as have been the last three tenants.

Call 520-440-2413 if interested.

Thanks~

Call Marc: 520-881-4582

Classifieds rate: $30 for up to 30 words for 30 days.

Contact Observer Weekly at 1830 E. Broadway Blvd, #124-215 Tucson, AZ 85719 or 520-818-0909

June 18, 2014

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

Page 15

Southern Baptist Convention: Trans people don’t exist Monday BRODIES TAVERN - Service Industry Night 7 p.m.- 2 a.m. $2.50 House Well, Long Islands, Margaritas on Tap, $3 16 oz. BudBud Light-Mic Ultra Cans, Fireball Shots.

IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9p.m. Taking Back Mondays hosted by Diva featuring *3-4-1 Well Vodkas (Regular, Grape & Cherry) 9 - Close. Karaoke Inside or Lounge on the Patio 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. Free pool noon-4 p.m. Free music, WiFi Noon-2 p.m.

Tuesday BRODIES TAVERN - Two Buck Tuesday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $ 2 House Well, Fire Eater Shots, $2 Margaritas on Tap, $2 Long Islands IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m.; Taco Tuesdays. $1 Tacos. Drink Specials 9-Close: Mix-n-Match Mexican Beer Special, Tequila Specials (Patron $6, Milagro $4.50, Hornitos $4, Cuervo $3.50), Million$DJ Inside 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. Free pool noon- 4 p.m. Free music, WiFi noon- 2 p.m.

Wednesday BRODIES TAVERN - Whiskey Wednesday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3.25 Jack-Jim BeamJameson-Fireball-Makers Mark-Johnny Walker Red, $5 Redds Balls IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m., “Viva La Diva” Drag Show Hosted by Diva at 9.

“Whiskey Breath” Drink Special Every Wednesday 9-Close. $2 Well, $3 Call, $4 Select Top Shelf Whiskey and Scotch Blend Whiskies. Million$DJ Inside after the drag show. Party on the Patio with DJ Import 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. Free pool noon-4 p.m. Free music, WiFi noon-2 a.m.

Thursday BRODIES TAVERN - Customer Appreciation 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. Two-for-One Well-Domestic Bottles, Margaritas on Tap House Kasiz Shots IBT’s - Therapy every Thursday. All Day *2-4-1 Drink Specials (excludes top shelf, wine & draft). Million$DJ Inside at 9 p.m., DJ Sid the Kid on the Patio 9 p.m. GoGo Boys @11 p.m.

LOOKS - 6 p.m. to Close VENTURE-N - Open 10am. Free pool 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free music, WiFi 10 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Friday BRODIES TAVERN - Get the Party Started Friday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3 Malibu Rum Black-House Long Islands-Pucker Vodka, Margaritas on tap-XX Pints IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m., Flawless Fridays featuring “Absolutely Flawless” Drag Show hosted by China Collins @ 9 p.m. DJ Import Inside after the show, Million$DJ on the Patio 9pm. GoGo Boys @11p.m.

LOOKS - 6 p.m. to Close. Karaoke 8 - 12 a.

VENTURE-N - Open 10 a.m. Free pool 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free music, WiFi 10 a.m.- 2 a.m.

Saturday BRODIES TAVERN - Back Pocket Sabado Latino 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3 Magaritas on tap-Corona Bottles, $3.25 Latin Beers-XX Micheladas, $1 Tequila Shots-Corona Ritas IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m., Karaoke on the Patio 5 - 8 p.m., “Saturday Night Starlettes” drag show Hosted by Janee Starr 9pm, Million$DJ on the Patio 9 p.m., DJ Import Inside after the drag show.

LOOKS - 6 p.m. to Close VENTURE-N - Open 10 a.m. Free pool 10.a.m. - 4 p.m. Free music

Sunday BRODIES TAVERN - Funday 7 p.m. - 2 p.m. $2.50 House Well, $3 House Long Islands, Tap Magaritas, $1 House Kasiz Shots, $1.75 Domestic Pints IBT’s - Happy Hour 12-9 p.m., Karaoke 4-8:30 p.m. “Cheap Ass Sunday’s” 9-Close feat. 2-4-1 Drinks and Bottle Beer (exclude top shelf, wine & draft), Karaoke Inside 9pm; DJ Sid the Kid on the patio 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. BBQ Burgers or Hot Dogs, Fries. Free Pool Noon-4 p.m.

Free Music, WiFi noon-2 a.m.

Continued from page 6 yearn to take on their felt gender role.

Ironically, it’s been well-observed that many trans women, for example (again, many, not all) tend to dress, act, speak, and otherwise present as exceptionally “feminine,” more so than most cisgender — i.e., non-transgender — women. So none of this has anything to do with real transgender experience.

And finally, what refuge does the Southern Baptist Convention offer the transgender person, who for their entire life has felt ill at ease in their own body and who, according to our best statistics, are 10 times more likely to attempt suicide than a cisgender person?

“We invite all transgender persons to trust in Christ and to experience renewal in the gospel.”

Well, there’s a great idea. “Pray the Gay Away” hasn’t worked for 30 years.

The major ex-gay organizations have disbanded. So let’s try that method with trans people…sure, that’ll work. “Hold Hands to Can the Trans,” anyone?

And for good measure, the resolution goes on to oppose the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, oppose affirming psychological counseling for trans folk, oppose protecting gender-variant people from discrimination, and oppose hormone or gender-reassignment surgery of any kind. Because if someone’s considering trusting in Christ, it’s always good to experience legal, familial, and institutional persecution first.

We’ll probably see more resolutions like this one, combining thoroughness and incoherence. As they were by gays and lesbians, conservative Christians are threatened by transgender people for the same reason they were threatened by Galileo: Because the world just isn’t the way their traditions say it is. Gay people exist; they love people of the same sex. Trans people exist; they experience their gender as different from their sex. It has always been this way (cf. Queen Christina of Sweden, Joan of Arc), and no amount of persecution, past or present, can change that fact.

Conservative Christians also are threatened by transgender people because the hierarchies of male and female are essential to the forms of social control their ideologies seek to promote. Patriarchy is powerful, but it is also fragile, and transgender people confound its simple dichotomies.

None of that, however, refutes the facts. Scientists, you see, are experts.

They don’t have political agendas — at least they’re not supposed to. They’re not always right, but their methods are clear and objective. They’re supposed to review the thousands of case histories of children and adults suffering from gender dysphoria and the thousands more of successful gender reassignment, and tell us what the facts are. Whether those facts match the cosmology of an Iron Age text is not their problem.

But it is ours. Essentially, the Baptists’ document states, “We don’t

like the effects of transgender reality, so we’re simply going to deny that it even exists by misquoting the Bible instead of engaging with the evidence.”

It is a radically anti-science, antirational position, albeit couched in calm, even analytical terms. Like Galileo’s interlocutors, the Southern Baptist Convention wants to send us back to the Dark Ages, when the Bible was the only guide to the world.

If they would keep this agenda to themselves, I wouldn’t mind. It would help us all if everyone who disbelieved in science would just stop using it. No cars, no medicine, no microwaves, no phones — just unplug from everything science has given you and leave the rest of us alone.

But that is not their agenda. By taking positions on public, secular law that are based on non-rational misreadings of sacred text, the Baptist Convention’s resolution is harmful to the idea of democracy itself.

Not as harmful, of course, as it is to transgender people who find themselves trapped in communities ruled by this cruelty and ignorance. As for them, I agree with the Southern Baptist Convention that we should pray for their well-being. Indeed, God help them.

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June 18, 2014