2014-07-01 Outlook Ohio Magazine

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The Voice of Ohio’s GLBT and Ally Community

We ♥ Ohio People Issue

The

• James Obergefell • John Arthur • Cherno Biko • Gloria McCauley • Chris Cozad • Miquel Brazil • Lexi Staples • Michael Knote • Jacob Nash • Stephen Snyder-Hill • Valerie Mailman • Shannon Piper

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vol 19 • issue 2

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vol 19 • #2

the we ♥ ohio people issue

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snapshot: pride cincinnati, dayton, youngstown & columbus qmunity: kara mitchell

small pond: local liberation feature: jim obergefell & john arthur feature: cherno biko

feature: chris cozad & gloria mccauley

feature: miquel brazil feature: lexi staples

feature: michael knote feature: jacob nash the other side insightout the mario & debbie show gay games 9

deep inside hollywood interview: neon trees

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fashion forward: ohio t-shirts bookmark: steven snynder-hill i ♥ the nightlife

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the divine life

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a couple of guys

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outlook blog squad puzzling

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Our Independence Is Coming you are here

Happy post Pride everyone! It’s hard to believe that Pride has come and gone already. What an incredible experience this year was. Having launched statewide in June, Outlook made its way to every Pride in the state, visiting Cincinnati, Dayton, Youngstown, Columbus and Cleveland (we’ll hit Toledo in August). I even made it to Pittsburgh on our off-weekend to see what it was like on the other side of our booth.

The road trips were definitely worth it, and I highly recommend everyone to do “the great Pride circle” next year. Each Pride has its own way about it, and no two are alike. Each one is magical and quaint and full of life. Cincy’s seems to expand endlessly under the bridges at Sawyer Point along the Riverfront. Dayton’s takes root at Courthouse Square Downtown. Columbus’s fills Goodale Park in the Short North gayborhood, Cleveland’s is nestled on the lakefront in Voinovich Park behind the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame, and Youngstown sprouts up right in the center of their reawakening Downtown.

favor of freedom to marry (including Ohio), and three states with civil unions or domestic partnerships, we know it’s coming. Marriage equality will be here soon. And people not only feel that excitement, but they personify it in their posture. And the message is clear: This is where I live. This is my home. This is where I take my stand and fight. This is where I lead by living my life as I am.

They are proud of themselves, they are proud of their neighbors, they are proud of their towns and they are proud to be in Ohio.

We are too, and that’s what this issue is all about. Our love for Ohio and the people in it. This state is filled with amazing “regular folk” doing extraordinary things for our community. This edition features nine of them. We hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as we have enjoyed getting to know a lot of you this past month. It’s truly been an honor.

And as Independence Day is upon us, let’s take that energy from all those Prides and put it toward getting to know Though the scenery may be different, as each other better next door or the next are the people that attend, there is one town over. It is our connecting and workconsistent thread of unity: People are ing together that will win this war. It happy to be out celebrating who they are doesn’t matter if you’re a Brown or a with others in their community. Not that Bengal, a Mud Hen or a Clipper because they aren’t every year, but the energy in this fight we are one big gay state, this year was different. It was more ec- with one very important goal: our equalstatic, effervescent and even a little ity. more inebriated. But why?

Just imagine how fabulous the fireworks I think it has to do with the state of will be then. Have a wonderful summer!

LGBT rights in our country. With 19 states plus DC now having the freedom Christopher Hayes to marry, 12 states having rulings in Publisher

PUBLISHER Christopher Hayes HEADQUARTERS Outlook Media, Inc. 815 N High St, Bsmt Ste G, Columbus, OH 43215 614.268.8525 phone / 614.261.8200 fax SALES Chad Frye / cfrye@outlookmedia.com Conner McClure / conner@outlookmedia.com Spencer Tonoviz / spencer@outlookmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media - 212.242.6863 ADVERTISING DEADLINES Reservations by the 15th of each month.

Art in by the 20th.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bob Vitale / bvitale@outlookmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Erin McCalla / emccalla@outlookmedia.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chris Azzopardi, Bryan Cole, Debe, Orie Givns, Peyton Hardesty, Erin McCalla, Tom Muzyka, Mario Pinardi, Romeo San Vicente, Dan Savage, Regina Sewell, Debra Shade, Debbie Van Bommel, Bob Vitale ART DIRECTOR Christopher Hayes /art@outlookmedia.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / DESIGNERS Terron Austin, Cammie Blalock, Beth Brickweg, Linda Cox, Chris Hayes, Emma Parker, Gracie Umana, Bob Perkowski, Vision Video Productions CYBERSPACE http://www.outlookohio.com http://www.outlookmedia.com http://www.networkcolumbus.com http://twitter.com/outlookcolumbus http://facebook.com/outlookcolumbus Outlook is published and distributed by Outlook Media, Inc. the first day of each month throughout Ohio.

Outlook is a free publication provided solely for the use of our readers. Any person who willfully or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over more than 5 copies of any issue of Outlook with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading it shall be considered guilty of the crime of theft. Violators will be prosecuted.

The views expressed in outlook are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or personal, business, or professional practices of Outlook Media, Inc. or its staff, ownership, or management. outlook does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any interpretation, advice, opinion, or view presented.

Outlook Media, Inc. does not investigate or accept responsibility for claims made in any advertisement.

Outlook Media, Inc. assumes no responsibility for claims arising in connection with products and services advertised herein, nor for the content of, or reply to, any advertisement. All material is copyrighted ©2014 by Outlook Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

puzzling solution - puzzle on pg 54

On the Cover:

Stephen Snyder-Hill, photographed by Emma Parker. Stephen’s new book, Soldier of Change will be released in September. Read an excerpt on Page 48.

NEXT MONTH: the gay games 9 issue

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Cincinnati Pride 05/31/14 Photos by Terron Austin

Dayton Pride 06/07/14 Photos by Cammie Blalock

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Look for Cleveland Pride photos in our August edition.

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Pride Youngstown 06/07/14 Photos by Chris Hayes

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Check out our Facebook page for more Pride photos. Tag yourself!

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Network Columbus: Out With Our Elected Officials 06/11/14 Photos by Cammie Blalock

Columbus Pride 06/20/14 - 6/21/14 Photos by Chris Hayes, Beth Brickweg & Linda Cox

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Ohhh Myyyy!

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More Pride photos than you can shake a unicorn at can be found on our Facebook page.

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Columbus Pride 06/20/14 - 06/21/14 Photos by Gracie Umana

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Want to add your Pride photos to our Facebook albums? Email art@outlookmedia.com.

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The Month in Marriage

qmunity

First Lesbian Contestant Is Runner-Up in Miss Ohio

ALABAMA: A lesbian couple from Birmingham filed the third federal lawsuit challenging the state’s marriage ban on June 10.

COLORADO: A state judge heard arguments on June 16 in two lawsuits challenging the state’s marriage ban.

FLORIDA: Orlando and Miami Beach have filed briefs backing couples who want to overturn the state’s marriage ban. A federal judge will hear their case early this month.

Kara Mitchell of Columbus (pictured above in the black gown) was named first runner-up in the Miss Ohio pageant on June 21, the highest finish ever for an openly gay contestant in the Miss America system.

“I’ve had to miss Pride for the last three years,” said Mitchell, who finished in the Top 10 at last year’s Miss Ohio pageant. She also competed in the Miss Indiana pageant while earning her bachelor’s degree at Ball State University.

The 24-year-old won the interview portion of the finals-night competition, was named a swimsuit winner in the preliminaries and finished with $4,500 in scholarship money for a planned master’s degree in communications.

Mitchell made LGBT acceptance her Miss America platform, and she visited a number of LGBT groups in the months leading up to Miss Ohio.

She said after the pageant in Mansfield that she was looking forward to getting back to Columbus for the final events of Pride weekend.

“Kara represented our entire LGBT community in a way that no one ever has,” friend and consultant Tyler Houchin said via Facebook.

It was her last shot at the crown because of pageant age limits.

ILLINOIS: Clerks in each of the state’s 102 counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on June 1. Marriage equality is now fully observed in Illinois.

INDIANA: The state doesn’t honor out-of-state law licenses, so it doesn’t have to honor out-of-state marriage licenses, Attorney General Greg Zoeller argued in a June 18 brief asking a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling that would

force Indiana to recognize the marriage of a terminally ill lesbian.

KENTUCKY: A panel of federal judges will hear an appeal Aug 6 of a lower court decision ordering the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in places where they’re legal.

MICHIGAN: A panel of federal judges will hear an appeal Aug 6 of a lower court decision striking down the state’s marriage ban.

NORTH DAKOTA: Eight couples filed two lawsuits in June challenging the state’s marriage ban. All 31 states with bans in place now must defend them in court.

OHIO: FreedomOhio said it has decided not to push for a vote this fall on overturning the state’s 2004 marriage ban.

PENNSYLVANIA: The federal judge who overturned the state’s marriage ban ruled on June 18 that the Schuylkill County court clerk cannot stand in for Gov. Tom

Corbett and appeal the ruling. Corbett decided to let marriage equality stand without a challenge.

WEST VIRGINIA: A federal judge put a case challenging the state’s marriage ban on hold until an appeals court rules on the future of a ban in neighboring Virginia.

WISCONSIN: US District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled June 6 that the state’s marriage ban is unconstitutional, and more than 300 couples were issued licenses before she stopped weddings a week later pending state officials’ appeal.

LUXEMBOURG: The national legislature voted on June 18 for marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. Luxembourg is the 11th European nation to stand for marriage equality.

SLOVAKIA: Parliament bucked the global trend toward marriage equality and voted June 4 for a constitutional amendment that restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples.

“As progress spreads from state to state, as justice is delivered in the courtroom, and as more of our fellow Americans are treated with dignity and respect — our nation becomes not only more accepting, but more equal as well. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, we celebrate victories that have affirmed freedom and fairness, and we recommit ourselves to completing the work that remains.”

-President Obama 16

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Congratulations, Kara!

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DeWine Vows to Kill Anti-Bias Laws

Senate Confirms Black Gay Judges

tion against Ohioans based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

DeWine made the campaign promises in a survey of candidates by Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati.

The first-term Republican is challenged in the Nov 4 election by Democrat David Pepper, a former Hamilton County commissioner and Cincinnati councilman who has made an issue of DeWine’s ongoing use of taxpayer money to fight federal court rulings in favor of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, already on marriage equality. the record against LGBT civil rights, pledged in June that he would “work actively” to revoke In an interview published last month in Outstate laws and local ordinances that upset look, Pepper vowed to drop DeWine’s defense people’s religious beliefs. of Ohio’s marriage ban if he’s elected.

DeWine’s campaign didn’t respond to Outlook’s That means anti-discrimination laws in request for clarification of his Right to Life surColumbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, vey answers.

Akron, Dayton, Athens and other cities might well be in his sights for a second term.

According to Equality Ohio, there are 14 municipalities in the state that ban job discrimiIt also means DeWine could renew a push for nation against LGBT people. Twenty legislation that’s similar to a bill abandoned municipalities ban discrimination in housing, by sponsors earlier this year after they learned and 12 ban discrimination in public accomit would have opened the door to discrimina- modations.

“There is no asterisk next to the 14th Amendment that excludes gay persons from its protections.”

- US District Judge Barbara Crabb, Wisconsin

Darrin Gayles

Staci Yandle

The US Senate confirmed two openly gay, black nominees to the federal bench on June 17.

President Obama has nominated more black and more gay judges than any of his predecessors, according to Eric Lesh of Lambda Legal.

Senators voted 98-0 to confirm Darrin Gayles to the US District Court for South Florida. He’s the first openly gay black man to be confirmed as a federal judge.

Staci Yandle, confirmed to the US District Court for Southern Illinois by a vote of 5244, will be the second openly gay black woman to serve.

Gay and bisexual men (who have sex with other men) are about 17% more likely to develop anal cancer than men who only have sex with women. (cdc.gov)

PFLAG-Cincinnati Awards Two Scholarships

Oklahoma Candidate Not Against Stoning

straight-trans alliance at Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills High School and founded the Cincinnati Trans* and Queer TeenSpace.

He plans to study international affairs and economics at the University of Cincinnati and then help build safer communities for women and LGBT people in developing countries.

from God.” Scott Esk, running to represent Oklahoma City, made the remarks on Facebook last year.

His opinions were reported in June by theMooreDaily.com, an Oklahoma news site.

Yes, he’s running in 2014. And yes, that’s A.D. A Republican candidate for the Oklahoma House of Representatives came under fire in June for advocating that gays and lesbians be stoned to death because “it came directly

outlookohio.com

One person on Facebook responded, “So just to be clear, you think we should execute homosexuals (presumably by stoning)?” Esk responded: “I think we would be totally in the right to do it. That goes against some parts of libertarianism, I realize, and I’m largely libertarian, but ignoring as a nation things that are worthy of death is very remiss.”

Esk told the website, though, that “I have no plans to, you know, reinstitute that in Oklahoma law.”

“Federal courts are charged with providing everyone with equal access to justice, and yet justice has not always been a reality for some,” Lesh said. “A diverse judiciary serves not only to improve the quality of justice, but to boost public confidence in the courts.”

Molly Little is co-president of Miami Colors, the gay-straight alliance at Miami University-Middletown, and she was president of student government on the campus. She’s a sociology major who wants to work in higher education.

Two young people whose career plans include helping LGBT people on college campuses and around the world were awarded $2,000 college scholarships in June from PFLAG-Cincinnati.

Jason Hettesheimer restarted a gay-

I think he doth stone too much. Glass houses, my friend. Glass houses.

PFLAG-Cincinnati has awarded college scholarships for 22 years. Funding came from the Imperial Sovereign Queen City Court of the Buckeye Empire (ISQCCBE), the Paul Delph Scholarship Fund and individual donors. july 2014

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small pond

T Time

Shirt Business Lifts Columbus Couple & Community

by Alisa Caton Local Liberation brings a whole new meaning to the term “family business.” For Valerie Mailman and Shannon Piper, creating their Columbus T-shirt company wasn’t just a way to support their family, it also allowed them to have one.

and went to the Short North to sell Tshirts,” Mailman said.

man. The Homohio name lives on as their LGBT line of shirts.

They walked the streets, went into bars and restaurants, and told their story. The two had no idea how popular their shirts would become.

In order to be more cost effective - and stay true their local roots - Mailman knew she would need to learn how to screen-print shirts at home. She researched and watched videos on YouTube, went out to collect all the tools she needed, and became determined to learn the process of screening.

“I remember this guy came up to us on the street and said, ‘I’ve been for looking for you guys. My friends told In June 2012, Mailman and Piper me about these awesome shirts,” found themselves drowning in legal fees for a custody battle over their two Mailman said. “It just kind of rolled into something awesome.” little girls. The couple needed something to help them pay the bills that were piling up. Piper had seen T-shirts After seeing how receptive people were to the gay and lesbian T-shirt design sold as a successful fund-raising item, so she thought they should give and the idea of an LGBT-owned shirt company, Mailman wanted to go one it a try. step further than fundraising. She They put together the design for their wanted to create Local Liberation. first shirt - the word “Ohio” with the gender symbols interlocked as the O’s Originally called Homohio, they - ordered some from a printing com- changed their brand name in March pany and took to the streets. to avoid pigeonholing themselves.

“We wanted people to know that there “We literally filled our back packs up was more to us than just being gay with T-shirts, and our kids’ wagon, and being a gay company,” said Mailoutlookohio.com

After a few failed attempts, and worrying a panicked Piper who thought she had wasted their last $200 on equipment, Mailman finally got it.

“We were successful in making our first screen and we are still using that screen today. It has a lot of memories, that stupid, old screen,” she said.

During the week, after their day jobs as sign language interpreters at Columbus State Community College, they print T-shirts for hours. On the weekends, they pack it all up and

head to street fairs and festivals. They Their creativity is not going unnoticed.

Local Liberation was one of the spotboth admit that their favorite part is light vendors at Columbus Pride this being out and about. year.

“We are out there talking to people, Family continues to be at the heart of and people are talking to us and telling us their story,” said Mailman. the company and its success. Piper’s “A mom came in one time and said, ‘I brother, Ty Williams, and their friend, Lindsay Tiech, took to the streets with just found out my son is gay and I need a shirt to support my gay son.’” them in the very beginning and continue to help sell at events.

Not on the festival circuit? You can Local Liberation’s biggest fans, visit their website, locallib.com, and though, are the two little girls who inpurchase apparel there. spired it all. They are often seen runMailman said it surprises them that ning around at street fairs, or making their own bracelets they sell on the they are one of the few Ohio compaside to visitors of the Local Liberation nies to print LGBT-themed clothing.

“It’s pretty amazing how many people booth. have reached out to us. I feel like, in a They love to brag about the T-shirt small way, our shirts are making a company they own. positive change,” she said.

“I love that we have openly, in-yourface, gay shirts,” said Piper. “We are both creative, witty people so we just put that on to the shirts.”

Be on the lookout for Outlook Ohio Proud T-shirts like last month’s cover... coming soon!

“I think it is really instilling a great work ethic in them. It’s done a lot to make them more confident,” Mailman said. “We have really great memories doing this.” july 2014

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feature

We ♥ Jim Obergefell & John Arthur

Their Personal Fight Made a Case for Us All

photos: Emma Parker

by Bob Vitale John Arthur told a friend that she didn’t know how to talk to guys. So he was going to take her out and show her how it’s done.

“That guy likes you,” she told him later about the friend of some friends - Jim, his name was - who had come down to Cincinnati from Bowling Green to spend part of the holidays.

“Nah,” Arthur told her.

“We were together 20 years and 10 months,” Jim Obergefell says, sitting at the dining table of the couple’s condo in Cincinnati’s Over the Rhine neighborhood.

Obergefell just tried watching the video of their July 2013 wedding, but he couldn’t get past John’s first words to the camera.

It’s too soon after his husband’s passing, 20

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from ALS, last October. And John Arthur, at age 48, passed too soon. Just two years earlier everything was fine, until they both noticed he had been walking a little differently.

Arthur saw the doctor in June 2011. By June 2013, he was bedridden.

They didn’t set out for a fight.

“It gave us both something to fight for.”

Obergefell and Arthur flew from Cincinnati to Baltimore on July 11 on a medical transport plane, spent 56 minutes on the ground, were married in a 7½-minute ceremony in the plane’s cabin, and flew back home as federally recognized spouses.

The fight started when a mutual friend put them in touch with Cincinnati attorney Al Gerhardstein. Gerhardstein knew that the men, now considered legally wed in the federal government’s eyes, would be separated again soon in the eyes of Ohio.

Friends and family had been asked via Facebook for ideas and connections to make the trip happen, and they responded instead with donations that covered the $12,700 cost of the plane.

Crossroads Hospice, which gives its patients the gift of a perfect day, arranged the ambulance ride to the airport.

The Supreme Court decision required the federal government to recognize samesex marriages performed in Maryland and other marriage-equality states, but it didn’t force Ohio to allow or even recognize a gay couple’s legal union.

** It was June 26, 2013, when the US Supreme Court nullified a portion of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and ordered the federal government to recognize all unions performed in marriage-equality states.

“We were so not gay activists,” Obergefell says. Like many couples, they once decided they didn’t need government sanction for their relationship, but marriage suddenly carried more meaning after the ruling.

They had the should-we discussion and decided they should.

The Cincinnati Enquirer documented the couple’s wedding with a story and video that ran three days later, on July 14. ** “I think it was a good thing for both of us,” Obergefell says of what came next.

John and Jim collected art and enjoyed traveling.

John Arthur, who was able to witness history and marry the love of his life during his last months, would be listed as unmarried when the Ohio Department of Health had to issue his death certificate.

“They had already accepted what was happening, and they were prepared,” Gerhardstein said of Arthur’s terminal illness. But they weren’t ready to accept outlookohio.com

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being told that the marriage Arthur said made him feel like a full citizen would be wiped off the record of his life. ** “We had no plans, no thoughts, no idea whatsoever,” Obergefell said about challenging Ohio’s 2004 constitutional amendment that restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples only. In The Cincinnati Enquirer video, he said: “It doesn’t matter to us what Ohio says at this point, because we know that isn’t going to change.”

Now it’s changing in Ohio and all around the country, in no small part because of the lawsuit filed on July 19, 2013, in the US District Court for Southern Ohio.

Obergefell and Arthur sued - and won the right - to have Arthur recorded as married and Obergefell recorded as his surviving spouse on the state-issued death certificate.

Theirs was the first post-DOMA lawsuit to challenge any part of a state’s marriage ban. The case has been cited repeatedly in the past year as federal judges have rescinded restrictions and demanded recognition of same-sex marriages in state after state.

In Cincinnati, US District Judge Timothy Black issued a temporary restraining order against the state three days later, extended it in August and applied it in December to all death certificates issued by the state for married, gay residents.

their rights.

Arthur got to see the couple’s first court victories before his death on Oct 22. And in addition to the ensuing legal victories for all Ohioans and the precedent set for gay and lesbian Americans nationwide, the lawsuit gave Arthur and Obergefell something else to focus on during Arthur’s final months.

They received more than 300 cards from around the world wishing them well.

Friends with whom they had lost touch found them once again. Arthur would get a laugh when news accounts referred to him and his husband as gay activists.

But the activism felt good, Obergefell said.

“So much of our world was out of our control. It gave us both something to fight for. It felt good to push back.”

A federal appeals court will hear Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s appeal of the couple’s legal victory on Aug 6.

Obergefell feels proud every time he sees a new federal court decision from a new state where a marriage ban has been struck down and equality has been declared the law of the land.

“It means I’m protecting our relationship, our marriage, and I want to do it for everyone else,” he says. “I look at it now and I think, what a great legacy for John.”

Gerhardstein, who represented same-sex couples in a later suit that orders Ohio to recognize all same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, said he was prepared for a long, slow march toward marriage equality.

After two wins in five months, a third federal suit filed by Gerhardstein’s law partner on behalf of Ohio couples seeks total revocation of the state’s marriage ban. ** “He said, ‘You realize this will all be on you,’” Obergefell says, recalling a conversation with his husband as they were discussing whether to take on a fight for outlookohio.com

A friend’s child said she drew John and Jim, above, eating lunch on a restaurant patio.

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feature

by Erin McCalla

We ♥ Cherno Biko

Trans* Activist Hits the Ground Running

photo: Emma Parker 22

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It has been a year since Cherno Biko came out as trans* on their 22nd birthday and quit their job at a bank to be a trans* activist for people in Columbus, in Ohio and around the nation.

“I like trans* with an asterisk. To me the asterisk stands for the umbrella,” Biko said. “So there’s transvestite, transsexual, transgender. I like the asterisk because for me it creates space for people who define themselves after that.”

der activist Janet Mock for the weekend.

Biko also attended a recent Salvation Army conference in Columbus that focused on the issue of human trafficking. Gov. John Kasich made an appearance to sign a bill that increases penalties in Ohio for those who pay for sex with minors.

But Biko wasn’t interested in speaking with Kasich. They were more interested in sharing the struggle of transgender people with social workers at the conference. One current concern is a Biko also prefers the gender-neu- law in Arizona that gives police tral pronouns they, them and the power to arrest people simply they’re. because they look like they might be sex workers.

“Really, identity is political for me,” Biko said. “Because to me, “There’s a trans* woman in Arigender is a social construct just zona named Monica Jones who like race. It’s completely made up. was arrested for ‘manifestation It’s false. But it has very real im- of prostitution.’ She didn’t actuplications in our society. So I do ally do anything. She just acemploy the use of gender-neutral cepted a ride,” Biko said. “But pronouns, politically.” manifestation of prostitution leaves intent up for the state’s Biko decided to come out as discretion. It just depends on how trans* after experiencing loss in you look. So basically, she was their family and community. They walking while trans* and walkhad met CeCe Dove, a 20-yearing while black, and she was old who was among three trans- found guilty of manifestation of gender women killed last year in prostitution.

Northeast Ohio.

“And that’s because social work“When I came out ... it was in re- ers are working with the police sponse to my brother being mur- who are working with the dered and CeCe Dove being Catholic Church on a project murdered,” Biko said. “And so where they raid hotels and escort when I wrote that blog post [for sites and streets and pick up Outlook, in July 2013] ... it was these women and put them into from feeling like I was the next the system. But it’s not really one. Feeling like my time was helping them.” being limited, like my time was running out.”

Because of those teaching moments, Biko was selected as a Since then, Biko has traveled all part of the 2014 Trans100, a colover the country to speak about lective “glimpse of greatness” in issues facing transgender peothe transgender community. They ple. Last month, they presented a shared the honor with, among workshop in Philadelphia called others, Mock and Orange Is the May We Share Your Umbrella?: New Black star Laverne Cox. How to Create Space for Folks Like Us and ended up rooming Biko is on the board of TransOhio. with writer and fellow transgen- They’re also interning with EqualCherno sure knows how to match their outfit to some scenery.

ity Ohio and Why Marriage Matters, working on marriage equality and equal housing and employment.

But life isn’t all about activism.

Biko is single and wants to find love and be in a relationship.

“I’m really attracted to trans* men right now. I identify as pansexual. For me, bisexual doesn’t create space for people who exist outside of that binary. I am falling in love with all my black trans* men.”

While making a living as a speaker is their goal, Biko is willing to pay their own way to put in the work to get their name out there, to build their brand. The majority of Biko’s support comes from their mother and from the community.

“The community has taken me under their wing ... and I prefer it that way because I’m accountable to them.”

According to Biko, the most pressing issue in the trans* community right now is not criminalization, access to healthcare or violence, but self-hate.

“I internalized racism, transphobia, misogyny, and I enacted those things on myself and the people in my community,” they said. “It made me hate myself and the people most like me. And unlearning those things was the hardest and most beneficial thing I could have done.”

With all their ambition and dedication, you might think there’s a grand five-year plan for Biko.

But when they see themselves in the future, Biko says: “I simply want to be alive. The life expectancy of a trans* woman of color is 35 years old.”

“I can see myself aging. That alone is enough for me.” outlookohio.com

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Is that a lemur on your shoulder, or are you just happy to jazz me?

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We ♥ Chris Cozad & Gloria McCauley Stirring the Pot

photo: Emma Parker

by Peyton Hardesty

Together, they’ve made a very good impression on many people’s lives.

“We met thirty-two years ago,” says Chris Cozad, talking about partner Gloria McCauley as the two sit on their porch of their Columbus home.

“Well,” McCauley says. “Thirty-two and a half, but who’s counting?”

“Thirty-two and a third. I am.”

McCauley and Cozad are one of Ohio’s LGBT power couples. They started BRAVO, the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization, in 1996, and they started the Ohio Lesbian Festival in 1989.

McCauley is the executive director of BRAVO today. Cozad is a member of the Columbus Community Relations Commission and serves as Mayor Michael Coleman’s liaison to the LGBT community.

They’ll be honored in October by the Legacy Fund of the Columbus Foundation for their contributions to the LGBT community.

Although they playfully disagree about their relationship’s vintage, both agree on where it got started. Kind of.

“I met her at a Theresa Trull concert over at OSU. But she met me at a bar four hours later,” Cozad remembers. “I guess I made a good impression.”

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In the early 1980s, as AIDS began claiming friends’ lives and the federal government banned gay men from donating blood, they helped organize a local group that encouraged fellow lesbians to become blood donors.

McCauley started an anti-violence program, a precursor to BRAVO, while working at Stonewall Columbus in the early 1990s. It made a bit of headway, she said, but it had limited practical impact.

People would call a hotline, and someone would record hate crimes. It was more of a statistics project than the sort of activism they’d hoped for. It was also underfunded, McCauley said, and it began feeling like a dead end.

She and Cozad started BRAVO with a small group of activists. Even though it was a shoestring operation - most of the funding came from the members themselves - they could finally begin accomplishing things.

In addition to hotlines - 1.866.86.BRAVO from anywhere in Ohio - they built relationships with local law enforcement in Columbus so crimes could be reported quickly and without shame.

McCauley even established a schedule of monthly visits to the Columbus Division of

Police, where she trains officers and lectures on the importance of equality. She still conducts training sessions today.

“When I first started doing it, there might be a few who would come up to me after the session and ask me, you know, things like, ‘My brother’s gay...,’ and they’d be careful that no one heard them,” McCauley said.

“Today, though, people will raise their hands straight up and say without hesitation, ‘I’m gay, and...’. It’s incredible. They’re just so out.”

Simply being out can make a huge difference, McCauley said. “It’s much harder to be a homophobe when your neighbor, or your sister, or whoever, is gay.”

In announcing its honor for McCauley and Cozad, the Legacy Fund called the couple “unyielding champions of LGBT equality and education.”

“They have traveled extensively in Ohio and around the country providing training, technical assistance and consultation to communities, organizations, conferences, law-enforcement agencies and service providers,” the Legacy Fund said.

BRAVO, now a statewide organization, boasts that 40 percent of anti-LGBT crime is reported to law enforcement today. Before BRAVO started, though, the number was

closer to 7 percent.

The couple’s other creation, the Ohio Lesbian Festival, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with this year’s run, Sept 19-21 outside Pataskala, 25 miles east of Columbus.

The original idea was to host a one-day picnic for a group of female friends. It has evolved into a three-day festival of music, comedy, crafts and workshops.

McCauley and Cozad were also instrumental in establishing Columbus Pride, which has grown from 100 people in 1981 to an estimated 400,000 last month.

Cozad recently introduced the mayor at a Pride kickoff ceremony at Columbus City Hall.

She recalled how early lobbying for LGBTfriendly legislation was met with vocal opposition from pastors and political foes.

At an event that culminated in rainbowcolored spotlights shining on City Hall, Cozad reminded people that Pride is also about fighting for civil rights and justice.

“You’ve got to get people uncomfortable,” she said earlier that day on her front porch.

“Get ’em thinking about it. They’ve got to be thinking about it in order to change anything.”

“I enjoy being a spoon,” Gloria adds. “Stir the pot.”

The Ohio Lesbian Festival is Sept 19-21. More info: ohiolesbianfestival.wordpress.com.

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Nude Boys and Dog sounds like a ’90s alt-rock cover band.

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Ehhh batter, batter, batter.... Swaaawing, batter!

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We ♥ Miquel Brazil

Taking HIV-Prevention Message Out Where It’s Needed Most: the Community

photo: Bob Perkowski

by Orie Givens You might think Miquel Brazil works in creative services or media by the work that he does. But he’s really just using those skills to fight HIV/AIDS - and to support the community he loves.

“I just always had a need to express myself and how I felt about whatever,” said Brazil, director of prevention programming at the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland. “I guess that translates into what I ended up doing as an adult.”

In fact, his role working to educate LGBTQ people about HIV/AIDS is more like a jack-ofall-trades.

wholeheartedly to the cause of HIV prevention and youth, and it shows in everything he does.”

It’s that mix of different hats, and Brazil’s love for the people he works with, that has kept him there for more than seven years.

“He is doggedly tenacious about prevention for young people,” said Jones, who first met Brazil 12 years ago when he started coming to AIDS Taskforce events. “He cares deeply about the effects of not getting young people all the information they need to protect themselves.”

That work also comes with its share of pressures. He says his visibility in the community causes him to be more concerned about the impact he has on others.

Brazil says it’s hard to describe a typical day, and his work is just as much interactive and artistic as it is administrative. He’s developed social-media campaigns to target youth, helps manage a youth-focused center for queer people of color and has directed an award-winning video for HIV prevention.

“There are people who are making decisions in their lives because of the decisions I’m making in my life,” Brazil said. “I have to be very mindful of those decisions, then, because somebody’s looking.”

Taskforce Executive Director Tracy Jones called his efforts for the community “innumerable” and says Brazil is “dedicated

But he admits one of the challenges with his role is that he can’t be an expert to everyone about everything HIV-related.

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“The course of the work helps you know and understand a lot, but I also recognize the fluidity of sexuality and the individualism of it,” he said. “And that there are some aspects of how some people express themselves sexually and their gender and how it relates to their risk for HIV that I may have never encountered before.”

Despite the limitations, he values the work he is able to do with Cleveland-area LGBTQ youth, and the youth value him, too. Jones said the youth Brazil mentors lovingly call him “Soccer Mom” because of the care and concern he shows toward them.

“He’s a ball of energy - and the young people love that,” she said. “He’s into art and fashion and all the things young people are into.”

Jones added that Brazil’s ability to adapt to the changing landscape of HIV prevention and the diversity of their clients has helped their organization expand the reach for all communities, especially youth.

And as Brazil demonstrates through his work, he thinks the key to preventing HIV is to look at more than the virus itself and to empower people to make better choices.

The Cleveland AIDS Task Force now has a mobile HIV-testing vehicle.

Housing, education and other issues tend to come before health, and he thinks that what he calls “medicalization” of HIV/AIDS is just one step in the prevention and treatment battle.

“Addressing the sociocultural needs of people is what is going to ultimately give them the best chance of making the healthiest kinds of decisions,” Brazil said. “If I don’t have a place to stay, whether or not I take my medication on time or get my prescription filled is not my priority today. I’m trying to figure out where I’m going to sleep tonight,” Brazil explained.

That’s not to say he doesn’t support new innovations in the HIV fight such as Truvada, the Pre-exposure Prophylaxis treatment approved by the FDA this year.

But the decision whether or not to take the drug is personal, he said, even for him.

Taking his work personally is probably the part of Brazil that makes him so effective.

He’s not working for a community. He’s working for his community.

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We ♥ Lexi Staples Building Pride and Helping Expand Toledo’s LGBT Scene

photo: Chris Hayes

by Bob Vitale

She’s the director of Pride Center 419, an LGBT “I love Toledo,” she said. “But I always community meeting space opened last sum- thought, why does Toledo not have a Pride? No It allows her to go out and enjoy a party once one had stepped up to the plate.” in a while, rather than being the one who The world didn’t seem ready for the young Lexi mer inside the Collingwood Arts Center in Toledo’s Old West End. plans it.

Staples.

An LGBT community center had been talked When she wrote a book report on Ani DiFranco, And until May, she owned Outskirts, the city’s about for a while in Toledo as well, but the city lesbian bar, which she and her mother bought had been without one for about a decade. a classmate asked if she was bisexual. in 2008. Staples’ dad had died the year beToledo Pride When she wore a “Boycott Homophobia” shirt, fore, and she and her mom wanted something Pride Center 419, inside the arts center where toledopride.com a teacher told her, “That’s disgusting.” to fill the time they had devoted to caring for Staples is the office manager and events coorhim during his illness. dinator, hosts meetings for organizations such Friday, August 22 “I had my head shaved since I was 12,” she as Young, Gay & Proud, a new support group Nite Glo 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, says. She came out as a lesbian at 15.

“She was like, ‘Hmm, why does it have to be a for black gay youth.

Walk and Roll @ the University of lesbian bar?’” Staples said. “But that was the Toledo. 8:30p.

Although she found acceptance at home - “I first place I ever felt comfortable.”

She’s usually on the start-up side of things, so was raised by Unitarians” - and there was it wasn’t an easy decision to close Outskirts.

Saturday, August 23 support in places like People Called Women, Sherry Tripepi, executive director of Equality The place often was often described, both by Pride Parade @ Washington and Toledo’s feminist bookstore, Staples often Toledo, called Staples a “big-picture thinker.” Staples and her customers, as a bar-slashOntario streets, Downtown. Noon. didn’t feel like she fit in.

The LGBT civil-rights group also was there at community center. Its closing leaves Toledo Pride Festival @ Promenade Park, the founding of Toledo Pride, which has atwith just four LGBT bars and clubs.

Water Street and Jefferson Avenue, Her family had moved from Toledo to a comtracted bigger crowds each year.

Downtown. Noon-midnight. munity just over the Michigan state line, and But Staples is ready for a new chapter. she found the lack of diversity stifling.

“She is able to achieve goals like nobody I’ve Sunday, August 24 ever seen,” Tripepi said. “If you have an idea, She and Nicole, her partner of seven years, Sunday Funday @ Promenade Park, She’s making sure today’s LGBT kids in Toledo you definitely want her on your side.” plan to get married. They’re also planning a Water Street and Jefferson Avenue, don’t feel the same way. family and are working through the process of Downtown. Family-friendly activities That description matches pretty well with Sta- artificial insemination. start off the day, and there’s fun for The 34-year-old helped start Toledo’s Pride cel- ples’ story of Toledo’s first Pride festival, which grown-ups afterward. Noon-3p for ebration in 2010 and has led its growth from grew out of a conversation about what the city “As much as it sucks for Toledo not to have a family events; 3p-10p for music, food 2,500 people that first year to an expected really needed. lesbian bar, we’re not sad about it closing,” and beer.

20,000 over its next three-day run in August.

Staples said.

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Come to Toledo Pride and check out our publisher’s brother’s band, Arctic Clam.

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by Erin McCalla

world answering private messages and providing support to fans who are seeking help.

Michael Knote wants you to have a grand ol’ gay day. And he’s posting plenty of content on his Facebook page to make sure you do.

We ♥ Michael Knote Piqua Man Helps People Have a Gay Day

Followers of the page have used the inbox to ask for advice on coming out, to seek refuge and - at the darkest of times - announce their It all started in 2011 with the death of 14-year- plans for suicide. Have A Gay Day works with old Jamey Rodemeyer, a high school freshman local, national and international law enforcein Buffalo who committed suicide because of ment to reach out to people before it’s too late. the constant bullying he encountered for being bisexual. Knote, who lives in Piqua, started a While Have A Gay Day volunteers have helped memorial page on Facebook and went to Buf- dozens of people, Knote often thinks about the falo to attend the teen’s memorial service. one case where help didn’t get there in time. It happened in Queensland, Australia.

After Rodemeyer’s death, Knote wanted to create a safe place online that was all-inclusive “There wasn’t enough information on the perand all-accepting. A place to spread positivity son’s profile to properly locate them. Most peoand share content that made people smile. ple don’t know that we will track them, but we With a play on the iconic 1970s “Have a Nice take suicide very seriously.”

Day” yellow smiley face, Have A Gay Day was born.

Knote stresses that Have A Gay Day is a labor of love and community, and he doesn’t promote His Have A Gay Day Facebook page now has his site to make money for himself. There have more than 662,000 followers from all over the been offers, though. He once turned down world. $20,000 to purchase the Have A Gay Day name and page.

The majority of followers on the page are under 35 years old, and more than a third are under “We sort of laugh about it now.” the age of 17, Knote said. “We talk to kids as young as 10 or 11 years old.”

While there are T-shirts, bumper stickers and bracelets, the goods are either given away “What young person has not heard ‘that’s so (stickers and bracelets) or the profits are dogay!’ as an insult? In some schools, it’s a daily nated to charities (T-shirt sales benefit the Los occurrence,” said Amy Eldridge, executive diAngeles homeless). Donations are accepted, rector at Kaleidoscope Youth Center. “Exuberbut Knote is reluctant to ask fans for money. antly reclaiming ‘gay’ as a positive asset is They’re often kids with no disposable income. part of accepting and loving who we are, and is especially important to young people who may “It’s all about giving back, taking every dollar just be finding or looking for positive supports and stretching it,” he said. and sense of community in their lives.”

Growing up in a Christian community in GeorKnote has shared between 40,000 and 50,000 gia, Knote never imagined this is where his life images with his fans, and at the beginning he would lead. But he’s embracing his role in the was posting about 40 times a day. He posts community and has ideas for other projects photos, cartoons, inspirational quotes, personal such as a mobile community center and a safe testimonies and questions that have been sub- space network. mitted by fans of the page. Now, he posts around five to 10 times each day and is very in- He recently launched a phone line called Prism. volved with the comments section.

It’s not a suicide hotline or crisis line, but a resource for those who just want someone to talk But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. to.

Because Facebook recently changed its algorithms, Knote worries his page isn’t appearing in his fans’ newsfeeds.

Would you like a Have A Gay Day bumper sticker?

Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Have A Gay Day, 1268 E Ash St #132, Piqua, Ohio 45356.

photo: Emma Parker outlookohio.com

“The Trevor Project normally focuses on the crisis rather than people who just want to talk,” he said. “Normally, they will limit their times for people who want to come out, or who are seek“We’re concerned we aren’t reaching the people ing resources. Sure, there’s Google, but somethat need to be reached with positivity,” he times, people just want to talk to someone. I said. think we’ll definitely change the shape of things.”

Knote mediates comments and is respectful of each part of the LGBTQAA community and “If you treat people like they matter because takes all their suggestions to heart. He has be- they DO matter,” he said, “people will eventutween 70 and 100 volunteers from all over the ally notice.”

outlookohio.com Most of us at Outlook have a gay day everyday.

Our straight sales guys? Every now and again.

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We ♥ Jacob Nash

Activist Turns Transphobic Reporting Into Teaching Moment

by Bryan Cole It was April of 2013 and a friend forwarded Jacob Nash an article from The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

“It was shortly after it had been released,” Nash remembers. “I was trying to find out what’s happening, what’s going on.”

The headline, which would spur a national discussion, read: Oddly Dressed Body Found in Olmsted Township Pond Identified.

The article described the murder of Cemia “CeCe” Dove, a 20-year-old transgender woman from Cleveland who was found in a pond three weeks after she was reported missing. In addition to describing her gender expression as odd, the article referred to her throughout as a man. Many felt it turned her death into a punchline.

Nash, an activist and diversity trainer, saw an opportunity for outreach and education. Although GLAAD has developed guidelines for journalists writing about LGBT issues and people, many still don’t know how to properly address transgender people. They use terms that have long been outdated. Some outlets even use descriptors like “fooling” and “pretending” to describe the trans community, despite advocates’ condemnation of such words.

“Something needed to happen.

People were angry,” Nash recalls.

He knew what some activists might do: simply boycott the paper. Instead, Nash worked with local, state and national groups to facilitate an intervention with The Plain Dealer itself.

By choosing to attribute its coverage to ignorance rather than malicious transphobia, Nash turned the newspaper’s blunder into a teachable moment.

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He credits his outreach instincts to an optimistic worldview. “I’m a glass-full kind of There’s no equality until we are all equal.

guy,” he reflects. “Most people really do have good intentions.”

Phyllis Harris, executive director of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, was a part of the coalition that formed to address the coverage.

“We thought a positive way to approach it would be to offer to educate the PD editorial board about trans people and trans culture,” she says.

Nash and Harris sat down with editors and writers and spoke about the importance of accurate and inclusive coverage of the trans community. Overall, the meeting was productive, and Nash was pleased to see The Plain Dealer’s staff show a desire to better their reporting.

Its coverage of the trial and sentencing of Dove’s killer used the terms and pronouns that Dove would have wanted.

“This is a community that’s often marginalized and misunderstood.”

Nash’s desire for change isn’t naïve; he has seen progress happen firsthand. When he transitioned in 1998, society was less welcoming. A self-described “accidental activist,” Nash was pushed into advocacy in 2002 when he and his wife tried to get a marriage license and were denied. The story made headlines, which caused even more problems.

“I was outed by a judge,” he says, and the legal battle was covered by the papers. “We had such a difficult time.”

The Akron resident is a former executive director of TransFamily, Northeast Ohio’s transgender support and advocacy group. He has a master’s degree in psychology from Cleveland State University.

Even as he felt anti-trans bias, Nash could feel the social climate changing over the past 15 years-plus. He remembers the 2000s as a time when trans visibility was growing, citing

Barbara Walters’ landmark coverage of transgender youth as particularly influential.

And the momentum hasn’t slowed. Writer and activist Janet Mock recently made headlines when she criticized Piers Morgan’s insensitive questions, and Laverne Cox has risen to prominence as fan favorite Sophia on the Netflix hit Orange Is the New Black.

“They are both trans women of color who are willing to speak out,” Nash says.

The presence of multiple transgender celebrities is something Nash thinks is virtually unprecedented. Laverne Cox was even featured in a recent Time cover story, which asks if society has reached “the transgender tipping point.”

Nash was thrilled to see her grace the cover, but he’s hesitant to make such a declarative statement. “I think we’re getting there, but we’re not quite there yet.”

Since becoming an activist, he has worked as an independent consultant specializing in diversity training and cultural competency. Whether he’s talking to youth or adults, social workers or doctors, his strategy is usually the same.

“More often than not I disclose my transgender status,” he says - but only after he’s been speaking for a while. By coming out halfway through a seminar, he’s able to surprise his audience into re-evaluating their preconceived notions.

“Most people think there are only trans women,” he says.

Even for those who are more knowledgeable, hearing Nash’s story can be instructive.

For Phyllis Harris, that’s why he’s so invaluable.

“He shares his lived experience as transgender to promote moving toward full equality for all people.” outlookohio.com

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Take your new Audi to Melt and Arch City!

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the other side

What have you done for me lately?

Lots!

by Debra Shade I am always finding myself in deep debate on what Blacks are doing for each other in the LGBT struggle for equality. I am sometimes at a loss to identify a need for separating the struggle by race.

When tasked with choosing folks of color standing as advocates for those of us in the LGBT community, I almost wanted to pick a different topic. After thinking on it, I am surrounded by folks who making major differences, and it would be an insult if I didn’t take the opportunity to say: I see you!

To every single person regardless of color who is reaching back, forward and sideways to fight a cause or save a life, I thank you. Thank you, thank you! It is tough to stand alone and navigate this crazy space, but knowing we are not alone makes a world of difference. What you are doing is making a world of difference.

As LGBT individuals, we are all in the same struggle. Aren’t we? But after much debate, I have to say we’re not. And that makes it necessary to ensure that there are advocates addressing race-specific struggles.

For that reason I chose to spotlight two of Columbus’s finest who have made major impacts on many lives in the Black LGBT community, from youth to seniors.

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Letha Pugh, co-owner of Bake Me Happy and a former Stonewall Columbus board member, has a passion for working with people; however, she has a special place in her heart for seniors.

She served for six years on the board of Stonewall, Columbus’s LGBT community center, because she said they did good work. She found that she would be able to make an impact from grant-writing to what we now know as the Trailblazers, a Stonewall group for

Bake Me Happy, which Letha and her wife, Wendy Miller-Pugh, started in 2013, is gluten-free baking at its finest. (Outlook featured the couple and their business in our January 2014 issue.) As business grows, Letha and Wendy share a strong message: “The last thing that needs to hold

I am surrounded by folks who making major differences, and anyone back is their it would be an insult sexuality.” if I didn’t take the opportunity to say: I also want to share with you the spirit of I see you!

Gamal Brown, who

LGBT people 50 and older.

For her, it’s not just a black thing.

“I can’t turn my back on black people,” she stated firmly. But she noted that some seniors would seek her out to share their own sexual orientation and share time with someone they saw as “like them.” She dreamed of creating a program where LGBT seniors could socialize.

works with youth. For the last three years, he has been the director of achievement for Magic Johnson’s Bridgescape academies. He also is the owner of Onyx Dance Columbus.

Gamal says you need to understanding the demographics of the youth you’re helping, but you can’t label them all LGBTQ and think you’re providing assistance by treating everyone the same.

said. “We need to continue to work on issues of the race, but not necessarily separate.”

Gamal was instrumental in granting full funding for a 30-student trip to New York, where they will see A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway and tour the Apollo Theater and all the historical sites.

His commitment to LGBT youth showed at the prom for Capital High School, a Bridgescape school in Columbus. All of the students - gay, straight and lesbian - shared the dance floor with no issues or qualms.

Kudos to Gamal for standing in an era of leadership where treading LGBT waters is rough (and at times raging) and letting the youth in his care know that there is always hope and support in living their lives.

The message is clear. We are watching future leaders of the LGBT community, and I am grateful that there are many individuals working with multiple groups and causes of all races.

I hope that I do not stand alone in saying: Thank you.

Debra Shade is an author and owner of Shade Media in Columbus. You can find her on Facebook at Shadyontop, follow her on Twitter @shadeyontop, or find her books at Amazon.com or a Lion’s Den near you. The Other Side runs every month in Outlook, written alternately by Debra and Columbus writer James Blackmon.

“There is no need for separation of racial causes within the LGBTQ community,” he

Bake Me Happy’s Oatmeal Cream Pies are the bomb!

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Someone didn’t wear sunscreen at Pride.

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Ben was so good last month. He made up a song about Columbus Pride on the fly with the orchestra!

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insightout

I Do...Better

by Regina Sewell

In 2004, President George W Bush rallied voters by pushing marriage bans across the nation. Ohio was one of the casualties of the right-wing assault. And the price we paid went beyond financial benefits and a marriage license that required legal help to dissolve.

Mark Hatzenbuehler, a psychologist at Columbia University, researched the impact of marriage bans. He found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people who live where same-sex marriage is banned were 37 percent more likely to struggle with depression or bipolar disorder, 42 percent more likely to struggle with alcohol abuse or addiction, and 248 percent more likely to struggle with anxiety.

In these states, the significant negative impact on mental health only affected lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Straight people did not experience such dramatic declines in mental health.

The negative findings make sense.

The loudest voices in the same-sex marriage debate for a long time have been right-wing fundamentalists who have declared us to be sick, sinful degenerates. Their outrageous claims invited even the more restrained voices to quote the gospel according to the religious conservatives. Colleagues, childhood friends and family members felt free to say that homosexuality was a sin and that we should not be allowed to marry.

These sorts of negative encounters, whether in person or through some form of media, left many of us feeling the sting of our marginalized status. They also left us walking through the world with a heightened sense of selfoutlookohio.com

protection, always on the alert, bracing against homophobic comments and expecting to be treated poorly.

While banning same-sex marriage has had a harmful effect on the mental and physical wellbeing of gay, lesbian and bisexual people, legalizing same-sex marriage has had significant positive effects.

Hatzenbuehler looked at the impact that legalization of same-sex marriage had on health. Using data obtained before and after Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, he found gay and bisexual men had a 13 percent reduction in health-care visits and a 14 percent reduction in health care costs. They also were less likely to be diagnosed with stress-related problems like hypertension, depression and adjustment disorders.

Another group of researchers found that legal recognition had a significant impact on same-sex couples.

Ellen Riggle and Sharon Rostosky of the University of Kentucky and Sharon Horne of the University of Memphis compared people who were in legally recognized same-sex relationships with those who were in committed but unrecognized same-sex relationships. Research participants in legally recognized relationships reported less internalized homophobia, fewer symptoms of depression, lower stress levels and more meaning in their lives than their peers without legal recognition.

Other research provided similar results. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 72 percent of married gay and lesbian people reported that they felt more committed to their partners, 70 percent re-

Marriage Equality Is Also a Health Issue

ported that they felt more accepted by their communities, and 93 percent of children with same-sex parents reported feeling happier and better off.

They argue that these positive findings are a direct result of the legalization of marriage in

breaking up.

The positive impact of marriage equality doesn’t seem limited to gays and lesbians.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first five states that legalized same-sex marriage had 20 percent lower divorce rates than the rest of the country.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people who live where same-sex marriage is banned were 37% more likely to struggle with depression or bipolar disorder, 42% more likely to struggle with alcohol abuse or addiction, and 248% more likely to struggle with anxiety.

Massachusetts.

Adam Fingerhut of Loyola Marymount University and Natalya Maisel of UCLA found that like their straight counterparts, married gays reported significantly lower levels of depression and anxiety and better mental wellbeing than their non-married peers. They also reported greater satisfaction with their relationships.

Legal recognition tended to strengthen partners’ commitment to each other, partly because legal recognition created a barrier to

The future of Ohio’s marriage ban has been in limbo since US District Judge Timothy Black ruled in April that the state must recognize same-sex couples’ out-of-state marriages the same way it recognizes all other legal marriages performed elsewhere.

That ruling has been appealed by Attorney General Mike DeWine, and another federal lawsuit is pending that seeks to strike down Ohio’s marriage ban entirely.

Although the outcome is still up in the air, it’s clear that marriage equality is worth fighting for. The positive psychological benefits of legal marriage go far beyond the pocketbook.

Regina Sewell is a licensed mental health counselor. To ask her a question, propose a column topic, read about her approach to counseling, or check out her books and other writing, visit reginasewell.com. Insight Out runs every other month in Outlook.

Insurance companies should get behind marriage equality just to keep their profits up.

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the mario and debbie show

by Mario Pinardi and Debbie Dash

MARIO Alexander Hamilton. He is the first founding father to have a widely known sex scandal and never truly apologized for his indiscretions, but instead graphically spoke of them in public discourse. Who doesn’t love a play-by-play description of a scandalous booty call?

vs

Who is the sexiest founding father?

I love a big, obnoxious frozen cocktail in the summer; the bigger the glass, the giddier I am. A frozen Mai Tai is my favorite. Here is the traditional recipe: 1 part dark rum, 1 part golden rum, 1/2 part orange Curaçao, 3/5 part freshly squeezed lime juice, and 3/5 part Orgeat syrup. Garnish with a sprig of mint and orange wedge.

Well, I am a vegetarian so I enjoy a tofu-based hot dog dressed with cole slaw, onion, mustard, cheese and hot sauce. Yummy and spicy, like me.

What is your favorite summer cocktail?

July is National Hot Dog Month. How do you dress your dog?

Because I am a Broadway boy, I love the Ohio Theatre in Columbus. I am truly entralled whenever I see a show there. I can imagine all of the performers and shows, past and present. Plus, at any Ohio Theatre show, you can witness the art of cruising. Those theater gays know how to throw a stare or two.

This one is hard for me; I adore them both. If you put them in a cage, Penny is a handy girl. I see her home improvement creations she posts on Facebook, so I would say Penny, because she may have a hack saw hidden in those bodacious boobies of hers. But Nina may have a dagger stashed in a leg garter. I would bill this Pink Flamingos II: Drag ’Til Death.

Go back to Fox News Union hater, no rail John.

Entitled old twat.

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What is the best Ohio landmark?

Who would win

in a cage match: Nina West or Penny Tration?

Haiku!

John Kasich

The drunk insights of the world’s foremost queer ba r flies!

DEBBIE Benjamin Franklin, of course! And when I say “sexy,” I mean his superior intelligence. Smart is sexy to me.

Who doesn’t love a good frozen or fruity drink in the summer? Amy from Union Café in Columbus created a cocktail for me that (I think) had lemon and orange vodka, peach schnapps, St. Germain, Sprite, orange and cranberry juices. We called it the “Fabulous Debbie.” I will be slurping that up on a patio real soon!

Hebrew. Hebrew hot dogs with mayonnaise (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it), Grey Poupon, American cheese, minced red onion and sauerkraut. I boil it in beer - if I can spare one.

I would say the best Ohio landmarks are the Middle Woodland and Hopewell Indian earthworks, effigies and mounds in Southeastern Ohio. As a student of archaeology, it’s amazing to see these sites are still there.

Runners-up: Ralphie’s Christmas Story house in Cleveland and Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton - where the aliens are.

I know what Mario would say… so … Go Nina! Go Nina!

Glitter her in the eye! Backstitch her interfacing!

Un-snatch that snatch!

Stupid, backward man We pay our taxes, also DOMA has to go!

Got a question for our house booze hounds? Send them to editor@outlookmedia.com

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outlookohio.com new content daily

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I wonder if there is someone who has never missed a Thursday for piercings?

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I want all the homes!

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photo: John Faler

gay games 9

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

CLEVELAND,AKRON AND THE WORLD ARE READY FOR 9TH GAY GAMES

by Tom Muzyka We’re entering the final stretch, sports fans, so close to a touchdown. It’s that time every four years when a congratulatory butt pat on the soccer field is exactly what it seems, and the erotic tension between the opposing teams isn’t just in my head.

It’s the final inning before the 2014 International Gay Games kick off in Cleveland.

(Let’s see how many incorrect sports terms I can use in a row. I’m an amazing athletic supporter.)

As you should know by now, the Gay Games run from Aug 9-16 in Cleveland and Akron, with participants from over 40 countries. The every-four-years event began in 1982 to bring a global community together in friendship, to experience participation, to elevate consciousness and self-esteem, and to achieve a form of cultural and intellectual synergy.

But really, who needs an excuse for toned men and women getting sweaty and tackling each other?

The Games are open to all and encompass more than 35 sports and two cultural events, band and chorus. Sports range from body-building to softball to triathlon. I wanted to register for Competitive Gossiping, but no one returned any of my calls on that one.

To date there are more than 6,000 regis-

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tered participants, with an estimated 20,000 total attendance of spectators throughout the week. Organizers originally had estimated 10,000 participants from around the world.

With the finish line in sight, I’m going to provide my own version of sports commentary and give you a blow-by-blow account of the action. Visit gg9cle.com to register, buy tickets, and get more information about competitions, parties and events.

If You Want to Play...

Registration for participants closes for good on July 15. General registration is now $275, and there are additional fees per sport, ranging from $45 for the openwater swim to $300 for sailing. Registration includes admission to the opening and closing ceremonies and a week of free rides on public transportation in Cuyahoga, Lake and Summit counties.

If You Want to Watch...

Most competitions are free to attend. Tickets are required for the opening and closing ceremonies (Aug 9, $20-$75; Aug 16, $15); band and choral concerts (Aug 12, $30; Aug 13, $30; or $48 for both); bodybuilding, dancesport, figure skating and rodeo; and various Gay Games parties and events.

If You Want to Party...

The Opening Ceremony on Aug 9 at Quicken Loans Arena includes Lance Bass, the Pointer Sisters and Tony Awardnominated actress Andrea McArdle.

On Aug 10, a 10-hour dance party (to be followed by 10 hours of regrets and sleeping it off) will take place in the Festival Village in Downtown Cleveland.

Boy George and DJ Marc Vedo will headline a White Party on Aug 11 at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in Downtown Cleveland. Tickets are $40-$50, or $250 for admission plus a two-hour cruise with open bar and appetizers.

There’s a women’s party - the Official Female Pride Party - on Aug 13 at the Velvet Dog in Cleveland. Tickets are $25-$50.

Indigo Girls will perform at Lock 3 in Akron with the Anne E Dechant Trio and Hannah Thomas on Aug 14. Tickets are $10.

Festival Village will have nightly entertainment hosted by Pandora Boxx. Headliners include Detox, Ana Matronic, Bright Light Bright Light and more.

The week concludes Aug 16 with the Closing Ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, followed the Seven Deadly Sins After Party from 10p-2a at the House of Blues in Cleveland. It’s your last chance to sin with a gold medalist, or if you can’t manage that, a three-way with two silvers.

And for those who can’t wait for the Games to begin, there’s an ongoing roster of events already under way.

We’ll see you in Cleveland!

MORE INFO If you live in the Northeast Ohio region, you won’t have much trouble being close to the action. But if you’re from out of town or out of state, you’ll want to plan in advance, as hotels are filling up.

Both the Gay Games and Positively Cleveland list available lodging and can suggest other activities to keep you occupied if you’ve been put in the penalty box. There are plenty of restaurants and bars to balance out all of the athleticism going on. (There’s a National Hamburger Festival in Akron on Aug 9-10.)

More information on tickets for any of the concerts, sporting events or parties can be found at the Gay Games website, gg9cle.com. The current schedule of events is also listed there. For other information on the Cleveland area, including hotels and restaurants, you can visit Positively Cleveland at thisiscleveland.com. And check out the August issue of Outlook, which will focus on the 2014 Gay Games.

Cleveland and Akron have added LGBT sections to their tourism websites: Cleveland: thisiscleveland.com/planning-tools/lgbt Akron: outinakron.org july 2014

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Lips like sugar... sugar kisses....

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deep inside hollywood by Romeo San Vicente

ÂMagic MikeÊ Sequel: More Skin, Less Serious

ÂIndependence DayÊ Sequels Sans Smith

Queer Rising Star: Desiree Akhavan

IsnÊt That Dragon Trained Already?

If you saw Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike, you know that it was, at its core, a serious-minded film, a little bit about half-naked expression and a lot about downbeat economic recession.

Hey, remember Independence Day? Sure you do. It was one of the biggest boxoffice successes of the 1990s.

You don’t know her yet, but you will soon enough.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is already receiving the kind of reviews usually reserved for prestige-level Pixar releases. So here comes the greenlighting of the next sequel, How To Train Your Dragon 3.

Iranian-American next-wave talent After the titillating marketing campaign, Desiree Akhavan you’d have been forgiven (if you’re a gay (pictured, on the left) is a writer and filmman or straight woman, at least) for feel- So what if nobody quotes it or loves it in the maker whose first feature, Appropriate ing a little cheated out of the muchway they love something like Titanic or 3 Nin- Behavior, is making waves on the filmpromised equal-opportunity prurience at jas: High Noon at Mega Mountain? Money festival circuit. It’s drawing attention for its the multiplex. The sequel, however begets money, and that’s why, 20 years later, hilarious, fresh approach to the problem of This was probably inevitable. Director Magic Mike XXL - is shaping up to be a it’s time for not one, but two sequels. identity and visibility for queer women of color. Dean Deblois (Lilo & Stitch) reportedly little different. had always imagined the Dragon story to ID Forever Part 1 and ID Forever Part 2 will Akhavan stars in the film as Shirin, the perfect be a trilogy. And when your project manChanning Tatum (pictured) is writing the be brought to you by gay Hollywood power Persian daughter who’s also bisexual and ages to hit that sweet spot of nearly screenplay (this makes sense; he began player Roland Emmerich. feels like she’s failing at all her various unanimous acclaim, fan support, merhis career as a stripper), and he plans to identities. chandising opportunities and TV spinoffs, tell the story of the wilder, more aggresSo far, there’s no sign of a Will Smith buy-in there’s no reason not to keep digging in sively sexual aspects of the job. Specifi- he reportedly has turned down the sequels Call it the LGBT Tiny Furniture if you must. Be- that garden. cally, a Soderbergh-sanctioned, but Bill Pullman (pictured) is reported to be cause while comparisons to Lena Dunham semi-autobiographical account of the back on board. We can assume that there will may seem very easy at this point, they’re also The plan right now is a 2016 release date, time Tatum was “in a dark U-Haul with a also be a new batch of alien invaders to out- not completely out of the question, as Akhawith main voice actor Jay Baruchel albunch of these guys, and we’re doing menace the kinder, gentler monsters of 1996. van will also co-star on the upcoming season ready on board. Other returning cast will drugs driving up to the stripper convenof Dunham’s Girls. no doubt follow. Big question, though, for tion.”

After that’s handled, Emmerich has anthe openly gay, bearish Deblois: Now that nounced a sequel to another of his ’90s titles, We don’t believe in pitting women against Part 2 has given us the first animated Soderbergh won’t direct, but he’ll be diStargate. More on both as they develop, but all each other ’round these parts – unless it regay Viking (Gobber the Belch, pictured), rector of photography and editor. It also we really want to know is will Stargate: The sults in a spectacular, Dynasty-level, wigwhat will happen to him in Part 3? appears that a lot of the original film’s Next Space Whatever bring The Crying Game’s pulling catfight in a fountain, then yes, by all hot cast members will return. So gather Jaye Davidson out of acting retirement? means, go for it – we’re just excited for the al- The world awaits an answer. your single bills and be ready to make it liance of two young voices making strong work rain when XXL hits theaters in 2015.

Fingers crossed. for new queer female voices in filmmaking.

So don’t forget, it’s spelled A-k-h-a-v-a-n. outlookohio.com

Seriously, how can it be less serious?

Romeo San Vicente, once experienced, is rarely forgotten. He can be reached at DeepInsideHollywood @qsyndicate.com. july 2014

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xxx

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interview

“I currently have GROWLr because I like masculine, hairy guys I guess we call them bears - so I have the app for that.”

- Tyler Glenn

TheBook ofTyler Neon Trees Frontman Talks Reconciling Gay Mormonism and Bear Lust

by Chris Azzopardi

that way, and I still have a lot of faith in God and in a lot of the teachings of the church.

Neon Trees frontman Tyler Glenn is still figur- Obviously there are things I scratch my head ing out what it means to be a gay Mormon. at, but I’ve always been that way. I just wasn’t Not just how both modifiers can exist simulta- so quick to throw away that part of me and neously, but if it’s even possible that they do. accept this other part of me. ... I want to be open and honest and say I have these beliefs, The alt musician spoke candidly on the heels that I have these feelings, and I’ve acted on of the band’s latest album, Pop Psychology, re- these feelings and this is who I am. vealing how he’s not letting others - not even the Mormon church - define his relationship CA: The Mormon church is tolerant with God and sharing one of the reasons he of homosexuality as long as you recently came out: to find love. abstain from homosexual relations.

How are you able to reconcile MorChris Azzopardi: What does being a monism and homosexuality in gay Mormon mean to you? How are terms of establishing physical relayou able to be both without feeling like tionships? What happens when a contradiction? you’re in a relationship, and are you Tyler Glenn: Because there were things about in one? the church they didn’t agree with, or they deTG: I wish I could find a relationship. I don’t cided they wanted to live a different lifestyle want to sound like I’m on the prowl, but when I regardless of sexuality, I had seen so many of came out, part of it was because I want to find my friends fall away from the church, even if love. ... I’ve never been all about the random they didn’t necessarily want to. They just felt hook-ups, although I’ve had those experilike they had to pick one or the other. ences, but that’s just not who I am. ...

I’ve never felt like I totally wanted to do everyYou know, I identify as Mormon because I bething that I was told I had to. I’ve always been lieve in it, and regardless if, at some point,

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don’t know, man. I would love that, of course. they decide to say, you can’t be [Mormon], I still won’t let someone here on Earth define my faith or my relationship with God and my be- CA: You’ve done some browsing on gay apps, presumably Grindr and liefs. I will still identify with those beliefs.

CA: So, if your bishop does not approve of your relationship with another man, you wouldn’t walk away from the church?

Scruff. Do you get recognized?

TG: I actually try to stay off the apps, but I have been on them before. When I was on them I didn’t ever have a face photo, but I currently have GROWLr because I like masculine, hairy guys - I guess we call them bears - so I have the app for that. But I’m not actively on it, so I don’t know if people are recognizing me or not.

TG: I don’t think I would be the one walking away, but I would probably be removed from the records … I haven’t actively gone to church in about seven or eight years. I’ve always kind of felt like I didn’t fit in, but at the same time I love serving the mission, I love the CA: How has being an openly gay man influenced you on stage? Now teachings, I love The Book of Mormon. There that you’re not hiding, can you be are a lot of things I really, really believe in.

CA: Do you think the Mormon church will one day support gay marriage?

yourself more than ever?

TG: Oh yeah. Man, it’s crazy. Just being able to say, “I think that guy is cute” around my friends - just normal things that people get to TG: I know that in recent years there’s a lot more acceptance. ... There are a lot of gay cou- do - I get to do that now. Not having to lead a different identity every time I’m around a difples that actually live in my mom’s city who ferent person is really freeing, and it’s made are also Mormon that go to church and hold callings, so that’s something you don’t see in performing really effortless. the media. They’re actually actively able to Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate, the internaserve; they’re not married, but they live totional LGBT wire service. Reach him via his website at gether and they’re able to hold callings. But I www.chris-azzopardi.com.

Hey Bob, has Tyler hit you up yet on GROWLr?

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fashion forward

We ♥ Ohio T-Shirts photos by Emma Parker

We grow soybeans and build cars and sell insurance and play football. We’re from Ohio. We don’t do swagger.

But we’ve noticed a trend lately. People are wearing their Buckeye pride front and center.

Whether proclaiming “Columbus ’Til I Die,” “Cleveland That I Love” or “I Party in Toledo,” Ohio shirts are in vogue.

Thanks to Ohio companies Local Liberation, Lamp Apparel, 1803 Clothing Co, Cincy Shirts, CLE Clothing Co and Homage for sharing some of their designs with us.

Bottom Row: Leon, Emily Routson (“Ohio” by Homage), Megan O’Dell (“C-Bus” by Lamp Apparel).

Middle Row: Melissa Hornor (“Athens, Ohio” by 1803 Clothing Co), Harvey Cooper (“Cleveland, Center of the Universe” by Homage), Vince Crawford (“3C” by Local Liberation), Hannah Parker (“Ohio Boombox” by Local Liberation), Stephanie Hurst (“Heartbeat of Ohio”

by Local Liberation).

Top Row: Densil Porteous (“O-H-I-O” by 1803 Clothing Co), Austin Lanz (“Cincinnati Airport” by 1803 Clothing Co), Courtney Carlson (“Columbus Lambda” by Local Liberation).

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The doggie is Leon...

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He’s a good boy.

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Local Liberation, Columbus locallib.com CLE Clothing Co, Cleveland cleclothingco.com ⬅ ➡

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Lamp Apparel, Columbus lampapparel.com july 2014

He is sure, for sure.

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1803 Clothing Co, Westerville 1803clothing.com

Homage, Columbus homage.com

Cincy Shirts cincyshirts.com outlookohio.com

How do you show your Ohio spirit?

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bookmark

Freedom Fighter Columbus Army Sergeant Turns For a few days in September 2011, Stephen Snyder-Hill was the big issue of the 2012 presidential race. Right after the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy against openly gay service members was lifted, the Army sergeant from Columbus submitted a question via YouTube to candidates in a Republican primary debate.

He identified himself as a gay soldier and wore a T-shirt with ARMY on the chest in big letters. As his question was broadcast to GOP debaters and debate-watchers, his name and the words “Serving in Iraq” appeared on the screen.

He was booed by a few audience members and was never defended by any of the men and women who were vying to become commander-in-chief.

“We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders - one of whom could end up being the president of the United States - being silent when an American soldier is booed,” President Obama said at the time.

Snyder-Hill is still in the US Army Reserve but back in Columbus with his husband, Joshua.

The two are active in the fight for equal treatment of gay and lesbian military families and marriage equality for same-sex couples.

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His book, Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement, will be released in September by Potomac Books. It will be available on amazon.com.

Here is an excerpt, courtesy of Snyder-Hill and his publisher.

by Stephen Snyder-Hill

We boarded the plane. I sat down and closed my eyes. I looked down at my watch.

December 4, 2010, 22:16. Could this be happening again? My mind was like a film projector, flickering back and forth between thoughts - my first deployment to Iraq 20 years ago for Desert Storm, my boyfriend Josh, my parents, my brother, my pets - then back to Josh. We had been dating only a few months, but I knew this was the person I wanted to spend my life with. We’d had to say goodbye underneath an escalator, where no one else could see us. Knowing I was leaving for war, knowing I might not ever see him again, I held him tighter than I’d ever held anyone. All around us husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, hugged and kissed each other in plain sight, without secrecy, without shame. Josh and I wiped our tears dry and left our hideout in opposite directions so people didn’t notice. This is the real face of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

A voice on the loudspeaker shot me back to

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Jeers Into Activism

the present moment: “Ladies and gentlemen, your in-flight movie is going to be Brokeback Mountain.” Everyone burst into laughter. I sat there, hurt and speechless. I was headed to Iraq, to live with these people for an entire year, and they were sitting here mocking me, and they didn’t even know it. These people were now my family; they were the only thing I had as I left everything else behind. Words can’t express the emptiness of leaving everyone you love to go to war, knowing that your new family feels this way about you (or people like you). Just the other morning, I’d had to listen to them break out in song about some guy taking it up the butt. Didn’t they know there could be someone on that plane who was gay or had a gay child or gay friends? Then again, why worry when you have a law that backs you? “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was their green light to bully me. I looked around again at all those people laughing. I felt cold and empty, and that was not from knowing I was headed off to a war. *** I woke up on the morning of September 20 [2011] and had this simple thought: I am safe. I don’t have to accept anyone saying ignorant things around me anymore. I don’t have to worry someone will see me holding Josh’s hand anymore. I don’t have to ever hide another fucking picture in my own house anymore. It was like being a POW for 40 years, having someone unlock the door, then stepping outside to feel sunlight on your face.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I started waving a rainbow flag wherever I went. I just went about my day as I always had done. I was a soldier just like before, but now I was a soldier who no longer had to worry about losing his job, losing his retirement, losing everything he had worked over 20 years to build. I saw on the Internet that some people were planning on coming out instantly, but I kept thinking about what [US Rep. Michele] Bachmann [a Minnesota Republican who at the time was running for her party’s presidential nomination] had said about reinstating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I started wondering if this was just another trap for gay people. We will give you freedom, let you come out, then reinstate the ban and kick you all out. Tease you with a taste of equality and then rip it right out of your gay hands.

It must have been fate that I saw a commercial around that time on Fox News for the upcoming Republican primary debate, scheduled for September 22, 2011. The commercial said you could submit a question via video, and it just might make it into a final pool that would be aired live. It started out like a fantasy, the frightened child who envisions standing up to the bully while everyone cheers him on. Then the reality set in, all the bad things that could come out of this. ... I didn’t know if it would even get noticed. This was Fox News, after all.

George Takei wrote the forward to Steve’s book and visited Columbus for Pride in June.

photo: Emma Parker

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sponsored by

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The House of Troy: the little ingenue that could.xxx

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nightlife

COLUMBUS/CENTRAL

CLEVELAND-AKRON/ NORTHEAST

THURSDAY, JULY 3 Red, White & Boom! @ Downtown Riverfront, Columbus, 43215; 614.299.9221; redwhiteandboom.org: The fireworks start at 10p, but the party lasts all day from Bicentennial Park to the Arena District. There are four music stages and a 6p parade on Main and Front streets. Noon-11p.

THURSDAY, JULY 3 Fourth of July Weekend @ Freedom Valley Campground, 1875 US 250 S, New London, 44851; 419.929.8100; freedomvalleycamping.com: It’s a whole holiday weekend of activities at Ohio’s campground for men. Thursday’s big event: an underwear party and cocktails at Site 3.

Boom! With Bianca del Rio @ Axis Nightclub, 775 N High St, Columbus, 43215; 614.291.4008; axisonhigh.com: The winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6 headlines the annual Fourth of July party. With Nina West, Virginia West and DJ Rob Engel. 10p-4a; $10-$20 (tables $50-$100).

SUNDAY, JULY 6 Great Lakes All Star Mister, Miss and King @ Cocktails Akron, 1009 S Main St, Akron, 44311; 330.376.2625; theallstarproductions.com: Talent, evening wear, three-minute presentations and Q&A. Hosted by Danyel Vasquez, Stevie Reese Desmond, Izaya Cole and Sassy Sascha.

8p (registration at 5p).

FRIDAY, JULY 4 Doo Dah Parade @ Short North, Columbus, 43215; 614.228.0621; www.DooDahParade.com: It’s been voted the city’s best parade, and we all know how reliable elections are in Ohio. 10a-6p.

TUESDAY, JULY 8 Film and Discussion: The Rugby Player @ Trinity Commons; 2230 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, 44115; pflagcleveland.org: PFLAG Cleveland hosts a showing of the 2013 documentary about Mark Bingham, an openly gay man killed in the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and his mother. 6:45p-8:15p.

MONDAY, JULY 7-MONDAY, JULY 28 Film: Sirk/Hudson @ Grandview Heights Public Library, 1685 W 1st Ave, 614.486.2951, www.ghpl.org: Each Monday in July, the library will screen a Douglas Sirk melodrama from the 1950s, all starring Rock Hudson. In order, the featured films are Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind and The Tarnished Angels. 6:30p8:30p.

SATURDAY, JULY 19 SUNDAY, JULY 20 A Star is Born @ Ohio Theatre, 39 E State St, Columbus, 43215; 614.469.0939; www.capa.com: In this Judy Garland tour-de-force (was Judy ever not in a tour-de-force?), a talented young girl rises to fame while the career of the man who discovered her falters.

Sat at 7:30p, Sun at 2p and 7:30p. $4.

THURSDAY, JULY 31-SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 Bear Camp 2014 @ various locations; columbusbears.org: The 20th annual gathering hosted by the Columbus Ursine Brotherhood includes Friday and Saturday night bar crawls, lube wrestling at AWOL/The Barracks, a pool party at Club Columbus, and the Mr. AllOhio Bear and Cub contests. 3p (registration); $119.

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SUNDAY, JULY 13 Cleveland Bears Annual Picnic @ Edgewater Park, Cleveland, 44102; clevelandbears.org: Meet near the Wagner statue, upper lot. Hot dogs, buns, condiments, charcoal and picnicware will be provided; Bring a dish of food to share, your favorite non-alcoholic beverage and a chair. 1:30p (lunch; arrive earlier).

SUNDAY, JULY 20 Cleveland Out and About Hike and Cookout @ Holden Arboretum, 9550 Sperry Rd, Willoughby, 44094; clevelandoutandabout.org: The group will follow a moderate two-mile trail at Little Mountain, on the border of Geauga and Lake counties. It’s a natural area with dramatic rocks, crevices and towering conifers.

Everyone is welcome to a cookout afterward. 1p (meet at the visitors center).

SUNDAY, JULY 27 Broadway Standing Ovations @ Blossom Music Center, 1145 W Steels Corners Rd, Cuyahoga Falls, 44223; 216.231.1111; www.clevelandorchestra.com: A concert of Broadway showstoppers, including selections from Phantom of the Opera, Rent and Les Misérables, as well as Christina Bianco serving up impressions of Julie Andrews, Barbra, Judy Garland and more. 7p; $23-$85.

DAYTON/WEST

CINCINNATI/SOUTHWEST

TOLEDO/NORTHWEST

SATURDAY, JULY 5 The Importance of Being Earnest @ Brookeville Community Theatre, 770 Arlington Rd, Brookville, 45309; 937.833.3531; www.brookvillecommunitytheatre.com: Oscar Wilde’s farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements and entanglements. 8p; $15.

FRIDAY, JULY 4 Ault Park Fireworks @ 3600 Observatory Ave, Cincinnati, 45208; 513.221.2610; www.aultparkac.org: Independence Day celebrations begin with a parade and contest and finish with music and concessions. Parade and contest at 11a, DJ and food from 6p-10p.

FRIDAY, JULY 4 Red, White, KaBOOM @ Promenade Park, Toledo, 43604: The annual event will once again light up the sky on Toledo’s riverfront. Food and drinks will be on sale. 6p-10:30p (fireworks at 10p).

FRIDAY, JULY 11-SATURDAY JULY 12 Altar Boyz @ Schuster Center, 1 W 2nd St, Dayton, 45402; 937.228.7591; www.schustercenter.org: A satirical musical about a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio. Fri at 8, Sat at 2p and 8p; $20.

SATURDAY, JULY 5-SATURDAY, JULY 26 Bye Bye Liver: The Cincinnati Drinking Play @ Below Zero Lounge, 1120 Walnut St, Cincinnati, 45202; 800.650.6449; www.byebyeliver.com: 628 Productions presents sketch comedy that satirizes drinking and engages with the audience. 8p; $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

FRIDAY, JULY 11-SUNDAY, JULY 20 Les Misérables @ The Ritz Theatre, 30 S Washington St, Tiffin, 44883; 419.448.8544; ritztheatre.org: An international smash-hit, “Les Mis” tells an interwoven story of love and war in 19th century France. 7:30p all days but July 20, 2p. $10-$15.

TUESDAY, JULY 8-SUNDAY, JULY 13 Oliver! @ Loveland Stage Company Theatre, 111 S Second St, Loveland, 45140; 513.443.4572; wwwlovelandstagecompany.org: The musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver! focuses on a boy who runs away from an orphanage and joins a gang of pickpockets. 7p all days but Sunday, 2p; $12.

SUNDAY, JULY 13 Sarah McLachlan @ Toledo Zoo Amphitheater, 2 Hippo Way, Toledo, 43609; www.toledozoo.org: The multi-platinum singer will perform as a part of the Toledo Zoo Concert Series. 7:30p. $38.50-$76.

SUNDAY, JULY 13 REPLAY America: The Ultimate ’80s Festival @ Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd, Kettering, 45429; 937.296.3300; www.fraze.com: The Go-Go’s, Patty Smyth of Scandal, Martha Davis & The Motels and Naked Eyes featuring Pete Byrne will take you on a trip to when acidwash jeans and legwarmers were popular... the first time. 7:30p; $35-$145.

FRIDAY, JULY 18-SUNDAY, JULY 27 Hairspray @ Encore Theatre, 991 North Shore Dr, Lima, 45801; 419.223.8866; www.amiltellers.org: The popular musical about a dance-loving teen who combats segregation in 1962. $5-$17.

FRIDAY, JULY 25 Ab Fab Friday @ Masque, 34 N Jefferson St, Dayton, 45402; 937.228.2582; www.clubmasque.com: The Masque wrestling team will be refereed by drag queens Sinthia D Meanor and Montana McDaniels. 11p; $7-$10.

FRIDAY, JULY 18 Suicide Is a Drag Benefit Show @ Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E 6th St, Cincinnati, 45202; 859.816.8983; afsp.donordrive.com/event/dragshow: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Cincinnati chapter’s third annual drag show and raffle to address suicide in the LGBT community. There’s also a best nautical dress contest. 9:30p (doors opan at 8p); $5 online at above address, $8 at the door.

THURSDAY, JULY 24 Dolla Holla @ Bretz Nightclub, 2012 Adams St, Toledo, 43604; 419.243.1900; FB: Bretz Nightclub: Every Thursday all drinks are $1 (add an extra $1 for Red Bull) and Thunderpussy puts on shows at midnight and 1a. 10p; $6-$8.

GAYING IT UP IN MANSFIELD

by Bob Vitale

People ask Sam Ramirez why he had to open a gay bar in Mansfield.

“Because we need it,” he always replies.

Sami’s, the first gay bar in Mansfield since 2003, will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, July 19, with the same things he hopes will draw customers every other night: dancing, drag and an atmosphere where everyone gets along.

“I tell people, ‘Leave your bigotries at the door.’”

Ramirez owned Mansfield’s last gay bar, Hollywood Nights, which closed more than a

decade ago. He’s been open since March, but he saved the celebration for summer.

Sami’s bills itself as the only gay dance club between Columbus and Cleveland. It’s a space that would make bar owners in both towns jealous.

Inside, there are two pool tables, a 15-by-30foot dance floor and a big round bar that sits between the two. There’s a stage outside, along with another bar, a fire pit and picnic tables.

The crowd is usually about 50-50 gay and straight, he said, but Ramirez hopes it tilts more to the gay side. He has big plans for weekly drag shows and monthly extravaganzas. He’d like to bring in queens from both

For more events, sign up for our weekly eblast!

cities to his north and south on I-71.

Just having a place to go for a beer is good enough for some.

“There was nowhere to go,” Kim McKinney said of Mansfield’s decade without a gay bar.

“You had to go to a straight bar, but you couldn’t be yourself.” outlookohio.com

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OHIO LGBT NIGHTLIFE ROUND UP

BARS & CLUBS Akron

Adams Street 77 N Adams St Akron, Ohio 44305 330.434.9794 adamsstreetbar.com Cocktails 1009 S Main St Akron, Ohio 44311 330.376.2625 FB: Cocktails Akron Interbelt 70 N Howard St Akron, Ohio 44310 330.253.5700 interbelt.com Square Nightclub 820 W Market St Akron, Ohio 44310 330.374.9661 squarenightclub.com Tear-Ez 360 S Main St Akron, Ohio 44311 330.376.0011 tear-ez.com Canton Crew 304 Cherry Ave NE Canton, Ohio 44702 330.452.2739 crewnightclub.com Studio 704 704 4th St SW Canton, Ohio 44702 330.453.1220 Cincinnati Below Zero 1120 Walnut St Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513.421.9376 belowzerolounge.com outlookohio.com

The Dock 603 Pete Rose Way Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513.241.5623 FB: The Dock Complex

The Hawk 11217 Detroit Ave Cleveland, Ohio 44102 216.521.5443 thehawkbar.com

Club 20 20 E Duncan St Columbus, Ohio 43202 614.261.9111 FB: Club 20

Home Base Tavern 2401 Vine St Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 513.721.1212 hbtpride.com

Leather Stallion 2205 St Clair Ave NE Cleveland, Ohio 44114 216.589.8588 leatherstallion.com

Club Diversity 863 S High St Columbus, Ohio 43206 614.224.4050 clubdiversity.biz

Old Street Saloon 13 Old St Monroe, Ohio 45050 513.539.9183 oldstreetbar.com

Mean Bull 1313 E 26th St Cleveland, Ohio 44114 216.812.3330 meanbull.com

Exile 893 N 4th St Columbus, Ohio 43201 614.299.0069 exilebar.com

On Broadway 817 Broadway St Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513.421.2555 FB: On Broadway Bar

Twist 11633 Clifton Blvd Cleveland, Ohio 44102 216.221.2333 FB: Twist Sc

Level Dining Lounge 700 N High St Columbus, Ohio 43215 614.754.7111 levelcolumbus.com

Serpent 4042 Hamilton Ave Cincinnati, Ohio 45223 513.681.6969 serpentbar.com

Vibe 11633 Lorain Ave Cleveland, Ohio 44111 216.476.1970

Slammers 202 E Long St Columbus, Ohio 43215 614.221.8880 FB: Slammers

Shooters 927 Race St Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513.381.9900 FB: Shooters Bar Simon Says 428 Walnut St Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513.381.7577

Columbus AWOL 49 Parsons Ave Columbus, Ohio 43215 614.621.8779 FB: AWOL Bar

Cleveland

Axis 775 N High St Columbus, Ohio 43215 614.291.4008 axisonhigh.com

Bounce 2814 Detroit Ave Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216.357.2997 bouncecleveland.com

Cavan Irish Pub 1409 S High St Columbus, Ohio 43207 614.725.5502 FB: Cavan Irish Pub

Cocktails 9208 Detroit Ave Cleveland, Ohio 44102 216.961.3115 FB: Cocktails Cleveland

Circus 1227 N High St Columbus, Ohio 43201 FB: CircusShortNorth

Southbend Tavern 126 E Moler St Columbus, Ohio 43207 614.444.3386 FB: SouthBendTavern The Toolbox Saloon 744 Frebis Ave Columbus, Ohio 43206 614.670.8113 FB: TheToolbox Saloon Tremont Lounge 708 S High St Columbus, Ohio 43206 614.445.9365 FB: Tremont Lounge Union Café 782 N High St Columbus, Ohio 43215 614.421.2233 columbusnightlife.com

Wall Street Night Club 144 N Wall St Columbus, Ohio 43215 614.464.2800 wallstreetnightclub.com Dayton Masque 34 N Jefferson St Dayton, Ohio 45402 937.228.2582 clubmasque.com MJ’s Cafe 119 E 3rd St Dayton, Ohio 45402 937.223.3259 mjscafedayton.com Stage Door 44 N Jefferson St Dayton, Ohio 45402 937.223.7418 FB: The Stage Door Lima Somewhere 804 W North St Lima, Ohio 45801 419.227.7288 somewherelima.com Mansfield Sami’s 178 Wayne St Mansfield, Ohio 44902 419.522.1500 FB: Sami’s Bar Sandusky Crowbar 206 W Market St Sandusky, Ohio 44870 419.624.0109 sanduskycrowbar.com

Submit your bar & club listings to editor@outlookmedia.com.

Toledo Bretz 2012 Adams St Toledo, Ohio 43604 419.243.1900 FB: Bretz Nightclub Legends Showclub Toledo 117 N Erie St Toledo, Ohio 43604 567.315.8333 Mojo (Formerly Rip Cord) 115 N Erie St Toledo, Ohio 43604 567.315.8333 legendsbartoledo.com R-House 5534 Secor Rd Toledo, Ohio 43623 419.474.2929 Warren Funky Skunk NiteClub 143 E Market St Warren, Ohio 44481 FB: Funky Skunk NiteClub Youngstown Utopia Video Night Club 876 E Midlothian Blvd Youngstown, Ohio 44502 330.781.9000 FB: Utopia Youngstown

BATHS Club Columbus 795 W 5th Ave Columbus, OH 43212 614.291.0049 the-clubs.com Flex 2600 Hamilton Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114 216.812.3304 flexspas.com july 2014

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savage love

by Dan Savage

demographic, age-wise (I’m q I’m70),abutbitIoutamofstillyouran usual avid reader. This is true, not a Penthouse letter.

My cousin and I have flirted and joked about getting it on together for about 50 years or more. Now she’s divorced and having the time of her life. The other day, she told me what she’d really like is to have a “lesbian experience” with me watching and then joining.

I’m so crazed with lust that I’m having a hard time thinking straight. This is a kinky dream come true! I love oral sex, and with two pussies to eat, etc., the whole thing sounds just great! What I don’t know is how to contact

for you, OBA, for acknowledging that you’d love a lusta “Good crazed encounter with your cousin and a third,” said Joan

someone to do this.

I don’t want someone who’s got a disease or someone with a boyfriend just waiting to break in and rob everyone. How do I make contact with someone and then arrange such a thing? How would I ensure that my concerns are dealt with?

Is using an escort service any guarantee of any degree of safety? I would love some good advice. Got any for me? If you answer, you can call me...

- Old But Alive ging for clams in their pants.

Price, author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud About Senior Sex. “I hope you’re indulging that lust with plenty of hot talk, make-out sessions and role-playing as you figure out how to make your fantasy a reality.”

OK, back to Price’s advice...

But we’re not talking about marriage. We’re talking about scorching-hot 70-something-on-70-something action between two people who share a grandparent. (In the “both descending from” sense of the word.)

Breaking in one last time: Use condoms, even if there’s no risk of pregnancy, as condoms decrease your risk for contracting - or passing along - many STIs. (People always talk about sex workers as if they’re the source of all STIs. But where do sex workers get STIs? From their clients.)

“Another way to go, as you suggested, is to hire someone,” Price said. “The advantage of a paid escort is that you can choose the woman and spell out exactly what fantasy you I was going to let Price field this one solo, as she’s the expert want her to provide. She’ll be experienced, creative and toon senior sex. But I’m going to break in to note that while tally focused on your pleasure.” cousin-on/in-cousin action strikes many people as very deeply squicky, there’s nothing illegal or dangerous about Breaking in again: Yes, yes, yes! Hire someone! Hire somecousins - even first cousins - doing it. one immediately - and hire someone older, and someone who has been in the field for a while (look for reviews online), Indeed, first-cousin marriage is legal in 25 states. It’s as they’re less likely to rip you off or play you. banned in Ohio and all neighboring states, but cousins’ marriages performed in states where they’re legal are recog- “As for getting a disease,” concluded Price, “you will use nized in all states where they’re not (unlike same-sex marsafer-sex practices with either a paid escort or a new friend riages). that’s a given! Don’t even consider otherwise.”

OK, back to Price’s advice...

“Start hanging out at lesbian bars and other social venues,” Price said. “Don’t go in aiming to pick someone up right off the bat - you don’t want to come across as predatory and creepy. Instead, go on a date with your cousin, dance, chat up women who are friendly. You could make great connections if you’re open and take your time.”

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I’ve got to break in again. Loath as I am to contradict Price who is my guest - don’t hang out in lesbian bars, OBA. About the only thing lesbians hate more than opposite-sex couples prowling for “thirds” in their bars is sharp fingernails digjuly 2014

Hey sailor...

There’s no way to eliminate the risk, but you have to decide if the possible risk of contracting an STI is worth the certain reward of a three-way with your cousin. And I think we both know the answer to that question.

Joan Price blogs about sex and aging at NakedAtOurAge.com. Follow her on Twitter @JoanPrice.

Savage Love appears every month in Outlook and every week at outlookohio.com. You can email Dan Savage at mail@savagelove.net, follow him on Twitter @fakedansavage or listen to his weekly podcast, “Savage Lovecast,” every Tuesday at thestranger.com/savage. outlookohio.com

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the divine life by Debé Cancer (June 21 - July 22) As another year draws to a close, are you happy about what you accomplished? Knowing you, you’re probably not, but opportunity still comes knocking on your door. Will you answer it or pretend you’re not home? Luckily, Mercury leaves retrograde on July 1, so come out and get things back into motion.

Time to get your groove back, baby!

Leo (July 23 - August 22) You’ve been in a powerful, sexy place for a few months, but now your thoughts turn more philosophical. Getting Zen is more important than getting laid right now; expand your consciousness instead of your conquests.

Ommmmm.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22) Gurlllllll, who knew you could be so playful?

Social engagements and romantic rendezvous look very promising this month. Maintain order - you are still a Virgo, after all - but otherwise it’s time to feel your way.

Libra (September 23 - October 22) Your 10th house is rocking so it’s a great time for career goals, but balance your business with pleasure. Yes, work is hot, but so is your lover. Spend some quality time home on the range, cowpoke. Try to get your rest, too. You need it.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Be careful in your relationships this month as emotions run high. Channel that energy into creative ventures instead, where you can really shine, and you’ll be constructive instead of destructive. Much better.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) Your financial planet, Saturn, is ready to play nice again. Career and finances improve, and so does health. Your love life could be the weak spot, so be careful with that bold mouth of yours. You can be too honest sometimes. Rein it in.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19) For a realistic, steady earth sign, you are getting all touchy-feely this month. If you are not committed, you may want to get close to more than one playmate. You are tapping into that sensual nature of yours and your mojo is workin’. Lucky partner(s).

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Love is in the air, and you are an air sign. You are getting the look from those around you. Interested? Go for it, but beware the marriageminded. You may not be ready for a white picket fence yet.

outlookohio.com

Pisces (February 19 - March 20) Finances take center stage this month. Good or bad, they are more exaggerated than usual. On the flip side, the watery planets around you make it easier for fishes to swim, so intimacy and fun is yours for the taking. Dive in!

Aries (March 21 - April 19) It’s time to lie in the bed you’ve made for yourself. Whether it’s satin sheets or a hay bale, you’ve got to own it and get comfy. Try a little introspection (ouch!) and work on your goals.

Time to make plans and act on them.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) How do you feel about change? There’s a lot going on around you so hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. You are busy this month, but take some time for yourself or you will be a bitchy bull. Nobody likes a bitchy bull, baby.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) Communications have been prickly, but things improve in July. A new person or opportunity arrives on your doorstep. Or maybe a new person with an opportunity will make you an offer you can’t refuse. Dazzle them with your wit and creativity.

“Crabby” celebrities: Jane Lynch, Arthur Ashe, Meryl Streep Handy Tip: Star of Neptune Cancerians are known for their deep sensitivity. A marker of great sensitivity and deep understanding is a Neptune star.

Debé is a well-known local palmist, adviser and teacher in Columbus. She is available for personal readings, parties, events and workshops. Contact her at www.enchantedelements.com, www.palmistrybedebe.com or 614.633. 6402.

I wonder if they know we are coming?

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outlook’s blog squad

Every month in print and every Monday online, we ask Outlook readers to do our work for us as members of our blog squad.

If you want to share your rants, raves or observations, join the Squad! Contact Erin McCalla at 614.268.8525 x2 or erin@outlookmedia.com.

Sarah Buffie, Cincinnati

Top 5 Things I’ve Learned About Being A [Gay] Parent 5. Maintaining perspective is the secret to an ongoing happy heart.

4. Humility, as a result of self-awareness, is a practice and a necessity.

3. Loving attention is profoundly basic and free!

2. It’s a full time job - no rest for the weary.

1. Exercising the “patience muscle” is better than any workout at the gym.

July 14 Topic: The Intersection of Gay and Parenting Emma Parker, Columbus

Top 5 Tips For Beginning Wedding Photographers:

5. Get to know your couple.

4. Set expectations.

3. Provide the couple with ample examples of your style.

2. Poses that work for straight couples might not always work for LGBT couples.

1. Have fun!

July 21 Topic: Why I love photographing same-sex weddings

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july 2014

So Sophia

Across 1 Not rosy 6 Wild pig 10 Top 14 Palmer of The Boys From Brazil 15 Tops 16 Kahlo’s cross 17 Visibly shocked 18 Stick it in a tough guy 19 HIV exam, e.g.

20 Sophia Burset’s job on Orange Is the New Black 23 Film set VIP 24 Chicago paper, for short 25 Hot stuff 27 Advocate.com, for one 30 State of being gai?

32 One-armed bandit’s opening 33 Love Songs poet Sara 35 Succeeds a la Log Cabin 38 Thomas ___ Edison 39 Erie, to fifty million Frenchmen 41 Hard to come by 42 Whoopi and others, in The Lion King 45 Annie showstopper 48 Knock off 49 The King and I setting 50 Plague for payment

51 Act up, e.g.

54 “I ___, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly” 56 Went down on 57 Sophia’s job before transitioning 62 Puts on the dog?

64 NASCAR driver Yarborough 65 Use your tongue forcefully 66 Sitting sound 67 Sometime defender of gay rights 68 A bit, informally 69 “I’m too ___ for my shirt” 70 Maude producer 71 In a state, in southern states Down 1 Vanilla 2 ___ Gay Hamilton 3 Educational level of many fairy tale lovers 4 On the ball 5 Family 6 Glenn Burke’s sport 7 Expresses awe 8 Biscotti flavoring 9 Gear for going to the rear 10 Be in a cast 11 Type of fraud for which Sophia was imprisoned

Sophia’s anatomy lesson was one of the highlights of Season 2.

12 Samuel Barber’s output 13 Word on some condom wrappers 21 Musical meter maid 22 ___ in the hay 26 It’s human 27 Place for Young men?

28 Depend (on) 29 Transgender actress who plays Sophia 31 You really suck if you use them 34 Less nuts 36 Drop ___ (moon) 37 Assured, with “up” 40 Synonym of 20-Across 43 “Yeah, right!”

44 Impassive 46 Bamako’s country 47 Cry of panic 51 Sounds like Fierstein 52 Scrabble piece that often goes with the Q 53 Smidgen 55 Ecstatic spasm, like an orgasm 58 Anne Hathaway’s __ Enchanted 59 Pastry with fruit, perhaps 60 Caesar’s last question 61 Realize, as profits 63 Professional voyeur? outlookohio.com

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outlookohio.com

xxx

july 2014

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