Outwords March 2012 Issue 191

queer views, news, issues

RuPaul’s

Drag Race the glamour of

Paul Daigle

HIV in

retreat?

Altona’s

shame

Outwords | March 2012 | Issue 191 | Serving the GLBT Community Since 1994

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inside

5

28

Homophobia in the classroom editorial

6

Prop 8 hits the wall

191

14

20

Evan Biddell: not for the faint of heart fashion column

20

international news

RuPaul breaks the fourth wall

8

24

Ontario vs the Catholic Church

26

30

28

green

A world of estrogen

26

Managing a sustainable world

An obsession with clothes

A teen’s heroic act

national news

10

are we winning the war against AIDS?

Irresistible chemistry in the Xenaverse

18

Pap tests help prevent cervical cancer.

(204) 788-8626 1-866-616-8805

outwords

editorial

Serving the GLBT Community Since 1994 Issue 191• march 2012

Published by the outwords volunteer staff:

Rachel Morgan editor

Abandoning the children

Gord McDiarmid General manager

M. Buchanan art director & layout

Dylan Bekkering Assistant layout

Devin Frezzi Advertising Relations Co-ordinator

Barry Karlenzig Financial officer

Terry Wiebe, Gord McDiarmid distribution Vic Hooper web manager

RuPaul photo by Mathu Andersen Front page photo

Rachel Morgan, Michele Buchanan, Dylan Bekkering, Corey Shefman, Katrina Caudle, Peter Carlyle-Gordge, Jason Vanrooy, Nancy Renwick, Alana, LajoieO’Malley, Jason Clevett , Jefre Jicholls contributors to this issue

Debbie Scarborough, Helen Fallding, Shayne Duguay, Gail Eckert, Scott Carman, Kevin Hills, Sky Bridges, Dale Oughton, Diane Ready, Liz Millward board of directors

outwords

201-63 Albert St. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1G4 Phone: (204) 942-4599 For office hours, please call.

General Inquiries: info@outwords.ca

Editor: editor@outwords.ca Creative: creative@outwords.ca Advertising: advertise@outwords.ca Distribution: distribution@outwords.ca Accounts: billing@outwords.ca Event Submissions: calendar@outwords.ca Letters Submissions: letters@outwords.ca Website: www.outwords.ca Outwords provides news, analysis and entertainment for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and queer community and its allies. GST 89671 7618RT, ISSN 1715-5606 (print) ISSN 1715-5614 (online) Canada Post Publication Licence 416 99032, Contents copyright © 2011 Outwords Alll rights reserved. Outwords is a member of the Manitoba Magazine Publishers’ Association. Articles are not necessarily the views of the staff, management, or board. We accept no liability for our advertisers’ claims.

editorial rachel morgan

Altona is a pretty little town about two hours south of Winnipeg. It’s known for its tree-lined streets, well-kept houses and welcoming stores. It’s also the site of a nasty battle over whether Grade 5 students are old enough to be exposed to the idea that there are more sexualities than heterosexual.

The battle began when two teachers at West Park School in Altona posted cards declaring their classrooms safe place for GLBT kids. The cards had a rainbow flag at the top with the word “Ally” on it. Below the flag there was this statement: “As an Ally, I support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Two-Spirit, intersex, queer, and questioning individuals, families and communities. As an Ally, I will work towards a more aware, affirming, safe and open work environment in both policy and practice.”

The two teachers were among a group of educators who took a one-day sensitivity course at the Rainbow Resource Centre in Winnipeg last October. There was no problem with the rainbow cards in the classrooms until a student asked one of the teachers what the word “bisexual” meant.

The teacher explained it means someone who likes boys and girls.

That was hardly a call to arms for kids to grow up gay, but parents objected.

Some said it was inappropriate to expose kids of that age to different kinds of sexuality. One man called it “soft activism.” Others argued it is up to parents – not teachers – to teach kids about alternate forms of sexuality. And a few said they felt it was unfair to allow anti-homophobia cards in schools when it was so difficult to bring religion into the classroom. One parent said: “This is not about being homophobic or

anti-gay. This is about being age appropriate. We just want our kids to be kids.”

That’s a total sham. Despite what they say, there’s no question these parents are homophobic. They have draped themselves in a false cloak of respectability by claiming to be concerned parents watching out for their children. One has to ask – in what way are they protecting their kids?

The rainbow cards are a statement that kids are safe from harassment and bullying. They serve no other purpose.

There is no attempt by anyone to lure children into a gay life. There is no attempt to usurp the role of parents in teaching their kids about sexuality. The rainbow cards are not “soft activism” as some claim. This is not like holding prayers in school or placing a crucifix on the wall.

How can it possibly hurt kids to know that there are other forms of sexuality?

Despite the call to let “kids be kids,” children in Grade 5 are not as innocent or ignorant as the Altona parents pretend.

They have access to TV, movies, books, newspapers, radio and the Internet. By the age of 10, children are very much aware of the differences between boys and girls.

They are aware of their own burgeoning attractions – whether to the same or opposite sex. And GLBT kids are prone to confusion, bullying and suicide. To pretend otherwise is dishonest. To let the kids suffer in isolation in the name of propriety is criminal.

The teachers who took the Rainbow Resource Centre’s training did the right thing. It’s too bad we can’t make the Altona parents take the same sensitivity training – for the sake of the children. O

a student asked one of the teachers what the word “bisexual” meant

www.outwords.ca // outwords, march 2012

4 5

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

APPEAL COURT

OVERTURNS

PROP 8

LOS ANGELES »

Proposition 8 — a

communities to enact

A U.S. federal appeals

response to an earlier

most laws they believe

court has declared

state court decision that

to be desirable, it

California's same-sex

legalized gay marriage

requires that there be

marriage ban to be

— was a violation of

at least a legitimate

unconstitutional. The

the civil rights of gays

reason for the passage

ruling puts the bitterly

and lesbians. However,

of a law that treats

contested, voter-

the appeals court said

different classes of

approved law on track

gay marriages cannot

people differently. There

for a likely appeal to the

resume in the state

was no such reason

U.S. Supreme Court. A

until the deadline

that Proposition 8 could

three-judge panel of the

passes for Proposition

have been enacted,” the

9th U.S. Circuit Court

8 sponsors to appeal

ruling states. Backers of

of Appeals ruled 2-1

to a larger panel of

Proposition 8 said they

that a lower court judge

the 9th Circuit. If

would ask the Supreme

correctly interpreted

such an appeal is filed,

Court to overturn the

the U.S. Constitution

gay marriages will

ruling.

and Supreme Court

remain on hold until it's

precedents when he

resolved. “Although the

declared in 2010 that

Constitution permits

Trans flight attendants

HIRED!

BANGKOK, Thailand » Thailand’s first transgender air stewardesses have taken part in PC Air’s inaugural flight from Bangkok to Surat Thani. The new airline took on four transgender crews last year when hiring thirty in-flight staff. PC Air boss Peter Chan told the Daily Telegraph last year: “I think these people can have many careers – not just in the entertainment business – and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess. Thailand is considered one of the most tolerant countries towards the wide spectrum of transgenderism.

BUDAPEST, Hungary »

Hungary’s new constitution, which bans gay marriage and does not explicitly protect gay people from discrimination, has come into force despite public unrest.

POSITIVE EFFECTS What is Inside and OUT? A guide produced by www.getion.ca to share information about sexual health. This monthly print series is adapted from the booklet.

Request a full copy of “Inside and OUT” at coordinator@getiton.ca or download it online at:

A Healthy Release – Coping with Stress There are many ways that we cope with stress. Some of the ways are healthy, while others can put us at risk.

Positive stress makes us motivated, energized, and focused. Negative stress makes us feel out of control, worried, and unproductive.

Situations alone can be both positive or negative. It’s the way we understand them that influences whether they will become a positive or negative stressor in our lives.

Stress on GLBTTQ People Being invisible in society can create added stress which can affect our home life, friendships, work relationships and intimate relationships.

Too much negative stress can lead to other illnesses, including anxiety disorders, addictions, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.

Some of these are urgent and need immediate professional help. In Manitoba, call the 24 hour Klinic crisis line at 1-888-322-3019 (TTY 784-4097) for information and support.

T OU

www.getiton.ca

Improving our health benefits ourselves, our community, and all of society.

Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia can negatively affect our health. One way to fight these and other oppressions is to outlive them!

&

OUT

IDE INS INSID& E

www.getiton.ca, the GLBTTQ Sexual Health Promotion Coalition website, promotes sexual health awareness to help prevent sexually transmitted infections (STI).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WorldPride 2012 gearing up!

LONDON, England » Planning for London WorldPride 2012 has kicked into high gear, as organizers prepare to host the biggest Pride event in Britain’s history. “Like everyone else, we’ve been hammered by the recession the past couple of years,” says Paul Birrell, chairman of Pride London, which is organizing the event. “Whether it’s because of the WorldPride brand or because sponsorship is picking up more generally, we appear to be in a much better position than we’d hoped for.” The two-week festivities will take place from June 23 to 8 July 8. The festival is expected to attract between 1.5 million and two million revellers. It has a $2 million budget.

Archbishop

ATTACKS

YORK, England » The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, second most senior bishop in the Church of England, has been

Gay Marriage

denounced by gay rights campaigners and has also received racist e-mails after publicly opposing gay marriage, which the government says it is considering.

Peter Tatchell, co-ordinator of the Equal Love campaign, told a protest at Yorkminster recently “Archbishop Sentamu is a religious authoritarian who

Gay spies welcome LONDON, England » MI5, Britain’s counterintelligence agency and ‘employer’ of fictional James Bond, used to worry that any of its closeted gay employees might be blackmailed by the Russians. How things have changed.

The British spy agency has now been listed as one of the most gay-friendly organizations in Britain. The list was compiled by Stonewall, an equality charity, based on 7,500 confidential surveys sent out to gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees/MI5 ranked 62 out of 100 gay-friendly British employers – a welcome sign for the intelligence agency, which recently said it wants to employ more recruits from a variety of backgrounds and sexual orientations.

wants to impose his personal opposition to same-sex marriage on the rest of society.” The Anglican church is split over gay rights and also the ordination of women. It has lost a large part of its flock as a result.

FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE Knowing the Signs Even the smallest changes in our regular health and routines can signal that something is out of balance. Some of the signs might include: headaches, muscle tension, disturbing dreams, defensive reactions to people, and changes in appetite. Discussing these changes with your health care provider or someone else that can help is important. In the meantime, there are many ways to help manage stress: spending time with friends, listening to music, journaling, meditation, physical activity, and breathing exercises are all great ways to cope.

When our mental health is affected by our experiences, it can be valuable to find a support network of those who can help. Our diverse lives and experiences are to be celebrated. All of us can benefit from learning how to enhance and protect our mental health despite homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and heterosexism.

A healthier community is a stronger community.

As we get stronger, the positive impact can create a positive cycle of change.

Free safer sex products are available at Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Rainbow Resource Centre and the Gay Men’s Health Clinic.

For information regarding STI, HIV, and where to get tested call the Sexual Health Info Line at 204-945-2437 or 1-800-782-2437.

NATIONAL NEWS

Ottawa to clarify law OTTAWA » The federal government is moving quickly to make it clear foreign couples who marry in Canada have a legally recognized marriage and can also get divorced here. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said: “I will be looking at options to clarify the law so that marriages performed in Canada can be undone in Canada.” Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his government had no intention of reopening the issue of same-sex marriage and there is no hidden agenda at work.

The issue centres on a single case involving a foreign lesbian couple, who were married here and returned seven years later seeking a divorce. A government lawyer argued that, since both lived in jurisdictions that didn’t recognize same-sex marriage — Florida and the U.K. — the marriage licence issued in Canada wasn’t legally valid, and thus a divorce couldn’t be granted.

Church vs state battle may end in court TORONTO » A fight is brewing between the Catholic Church and the Ontario government over the question of gay-straight alliances in schools. Ontario Education Minister Laurel Broten is insisting that all of the province’s publicly funded schools must establish clubs specifically targeting the bullying of gay, bisexual and transgender students and that students take the lead in the group, including naming the club. Meanwhile a new Catholic school document recommends a generic name for these clubs — steering clear of student dialogue groups called “gay-straight alliances” (GSAs) that are deemed too controversial by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association. The church also wants strict guidelines on how the groups operate, while the government insists students should be in charge of them. Stay tuned for a fight that may well end up in court.

Gay rage

ALLEGED VANCOUVER » A Crown prosecutor has urged a B.C. Supreme Court judge to reject a "homophobic rage" defence when sentencing a 65-year-old man convicted by a jury of the August 2004 stabbing death of a 79-year-old man in a Downtown Eastside hotel. Prosecutor Geordie Proulx told Justice Gail Dickson at a Feb. 6 hearing that George Phillip Holt "lost it" when Reginald Haynes offered him $50 for oral sex. Holt had gone to Haynes to get money to buy crack cocaine, he said. The court heard that Haynes died within 10 minutes of being stabbed 134 times on Aug 27, 2004. A jury convicted Holt of second-degree murder in November 2011. He was not arrested for the killing until December 2009. Defence lawyer Steve McMurdo told Dickson that Holt had been sexually abused in mental institutions and was "very uncomfortable" if he was touched in any way by a male. "He does not respond this way if he is touched by a female," McMurdo said.

204.985.9200 OUTNABOUTTRAVEL.COM 8

outwords, march 2012 // www.outwords.ca

NATIONAL NEWS

Girl Guides consider trans members

25 year Milestone celebrated

OTTAWA » The historic Girl Guides of Canada is wrestling with a very modern question: Whether to allow transgender girls — children who were born male but identify as girls — into their troops.

“Our board is seeking advice from medical and law professionals, and will deal with requests on a case-by-case basis,” said Deborah Del Duca, CEO of Girl Guides of Canada. “Girl Guides of Canada strives to ensure environments where girls and women from all walks of life, identities and lived experiences feel a sense of belonging and can fully participate.” The volunteer service organization was recently asked if they would allow transgender girls into their organization. The Canadian request was made after a Colorado Girl Scouts troop was asked to include a transgender girl into their ranks. The American group eventually agreed to admit the child.

TORONTO » Ontario’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans community has celebrated a 25th anniversary milestone. In late 1986, the provincial legislature passed Bill 7, an amendment to the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) prohibiting discrimination against gay and lesbian people. Bill 7 came at a time of increased awareness of the need for gay and lesbian rights following bathhouse raids by police, which mirrored widespread social discrimination. “It is easy to forget that before this turning point in our history, the law said it was fine to deny a rental accommodation, a seat in a restaurant, a hotel room, a job, a mortgage or a membership in a union to someone simply because of their sexual orientation,” said NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo.

Pansexual support group SASKATOON » The Avenue Community Centre

for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Saskatoon has started a new support group for bisexuals and pansexuals after two women inquired if there was one. Cateryna Matieshin, 18, a co-facilitator of Bi-Group, says bisexuals and pansexuals face specific issues. “People are less understanding of us,” she says, “It’s harder to come to terms with being bisexual or pansexual, because you want to be able to call yourself straight or gay.”

Matieshin called the centre in September looking for a support group and was put in touch with Selene, the other co-facilitator, who realized she was attracted to women three years ago and is now coming to terms with being bisexual while married to a man.

The Avenue Community Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Saskatoon will also soon be home to a new sexual health clinic for men. The clinic will offer a full range of

Smokeless Pride

testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in a queer environment.

OTTAWA » Organizers of Capital Pride are worried the City of Ottawa’s proposed expanded smoking ban will hurt attendance at this summer's Pride festival. The proposed bylaw will effectively prohibit smoking in all outdoor areas under the city's jurisdiction, including Marion

» Peter Carlyle-Gordge is a Winnipeg-

based freelance writer.

Dewar Plaza, the venue for Capital Pride celebrations. “If the proposed bylaw goes through, we hope that this year's festival season will have a grace period and [provide] education from Public Health for all festival attendees," says Loresa Novy, chair of Capital Pride.

www.outwords.ca // outwords, march 2012

9

t a e r t e r in t a e r t e in r On June 5, 1981, a medical journal in the United States documented a mysterious illness that had killed five men in Los Angeles. That was the first reference to what would later be known as AIDS, an illness that initially had no treatment and would cause the premautre deaths of hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

By Peter Carlyle-Gordge

10 11

outwords, march 2012 // www.outwords.ca

The first case was diagnosed in Britain in December of that year and soon after Canadian doctors began to see its deadly effects, too. There was a generalized terror over the disease that was first associated strictly with gay men. HIV and AIDS, now widespread among heterosexuals, was another stick with which to beat the GLBT community and it was its members who suffered most, before organizing and demanding, loudly, that something be done.

In Winnipeg, people like Dr. Richard Smith helped establish Village Clinic to cope with the crisis, though they had little to offer by way of treatment. Smith and others felt helpless as they waited for medical researchers and drug manufacturers to catch up. Winnipeggers saw scores of their friends, often in their twenties and thirties, die unpleasant deaths, often wasting away.

To make matters worse, some people became judgmental, including many churches. Some nurses, dentists and other professionals were also prejudiced against anyone even rumoured to have the dreaded HIV virus. One Winnipeg man could only get dental treatment when all the other

AIDS-related deaths at lowest level since 2005 t a e r t e r in t a e r in ret patients had left. Even then, the dentist and his staff insisted on wearing masks and taking other embarrassing and unnecessary precautions.

An isolating and fatal disease was made worse by the lack of emotional or other supports and some of the worst and most bigoted, ignorant and judgmental offenders were in the allegedly ‘caring’ professions.

Some members of the GLBT community volunteered their time to raise funds and help in any small way they could. But a significant number stood terror-struck on the sidelines, or worse, ignorantly indulged in social exclusion and malicious gossip, which further isolated those suffering with HIV. Medical staff at Village Clinic did their best with limited resources. They also tried to educate the general public to stop fearing HIV as much because it is not easy to transmit and certainly can’t be contracted from toilet seats or from sharing food with an HIV patient.

Slowly, a cocktail of drugs was developed. People began to improve and stopped dying.

Back in 1996, I organized Spirits Rising, a World AIDS Day memorial and celebration service at the Metropolitan Community Church on Kennedy Street. We filled the church with more than 250 people, brought in the national AIDS quilt and had a wonderful program of music including a Ravel piano duet by Laura Loewen and Dr. Carol Wiebe, herself a physician and AIDS pioneer at Village Clinic.

We also had moving poetry and prose, with readings by the late novelist Carol Shields and by many others, including Sister Mary Coswin of the Benedictines, along with directors from several of the city’s AIDS organizations. St. Benedict’s also organized an annual retreat for those diagnosed with HIV. At the church service, people were invited to light candles for those they had lost to the disease and I remember being astonished by how many candles were lit

as names were read out. The grief in that church was palpable; the tears plentiful.

There was a sense of powerlessness, helplessness, sadness and anger.

“It really is awful,” one woman said to me. “I’ve been to so many funerals that I’ve actually forgotten some of those who died. This service brings it all back and it is terrible.”

The church was filled with flowers, all donated by florists or bought with charitable funds. When the service ended, the attendees were told to take them all away and give them to anyone they knew who was still afflicted with the disease.

The mayor of Winnipeg, Susan Thompson, personally paid for two large floral arrangements and also chose a couple of readings for the service. Many faulted her for not allowing the raising of the rainbow flag at City Hall, but she was very much aware of the terrible toll AIDS was taking on the GLBT community and it mattered greatly to her.

www.outwords.ca // outwords, march 2012

10 11

hiv/aids is now officially considered a chronic condtion That was 16 years ago and it showed that finally a lot of people did care. But the graveyards kept filling up. Now fast forward to 2012. There is no doubt that HIV, though not yet beaten, is in retreat. Thanks to great advances in medicine the virus is being repressed, if not totally eliminated. Most people testing positive today can expect to live a fairly normal life, provided they stick faithfully to their medications and eliminate excessive drinking or drugging.

Thirty years agao, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis was seen as a death sentence, whereas today HIV/AIDS is now officially considered a chronic condition rather than a fatal disease. Patients taking antiretroviral therapy have roughly the same mortality risk as non-HIV individuals, according to Danish research published in the open-access journal PLoS One. True, some studies have shown HIV and some of the treatment drugs can result in later cardiovascular problems or kidney dysfunction. People who have lived with HIV for decades may die slightly earlier than non-infected people, but it won’t be from AIDS. A large international study has pro-

vided persuasive evidence of the long-term safety of antiretroviral therapy.

Writing in the online edition of AIDS, investigators from the EuroSIDA study report that prolonged use of antiretroviral therapy did not increase the risk of death from non-AIDS-related illnesses. “The results are reassuring that so far prolonged use of this therapy does not appear to be leading to increased risk of death due to some previously identified cumulative effect, or a drug effect whereby there is a long induction period before disease appears,” the authors say.

Some French researchers believe life expectancy is still a few years shorter than that of HIV-negative people. This might be because people with HIV seem to have an increased risk of some serious non-HIVrelated illnesses, such as diabetes. French research says factors such as being overweight or older do increase risks of diabetes for anyone, but they have also linked HIV infection with an increased diabetes risk.

However, this link is associated with treatment with some older anti-HIV drugs that are now known to cause certain long-term side effects.

The older drugs include d4T (stavudine, Zerit), AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir) and indinavir (Crixivan).

There is also some concern that another side-effect of some anti-HIV drugs may lead to thinning of the bones (osteoporosis).

UNAIDS estimates 700,000 deaths were averted last year because of better access to treatment. That has also helped cut new HIV infections, as people undergoing care are less likely to infect others. In 2010 there were an estimated 2.7 million new HIV infections, down from 3.2 million in 1997, and 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses, down from 2.2 million in 2005.

Around the world, there are some 34 million people, including children, living with the disease. The figures continue a downward trend. AIDS-related deaths are at the lowest level since their 2005 peak, down 21 per cent, according to the UN. The number of new HIV infections is also 30-50 per cent lower now than it would have been in the absence of universal access to treatment for eligible people living with HIV, according to the UN.

nprotec u e v a h r e v e n is is h t The moral of all make sure you get 12 13

outwords, march 2012 // www.outwords.ca

Some countries have seen particularly striking improvements. In Namibia, treatment access has reached 90 per cent and condom use rose to 75 per cent, which resulted in a 60 per cent drop in new infections by 2010. Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the most dramatic improvement, with a 20 per cent rise in people undergoing treatment between 2009 and 2010. About half of those eligible for treatment are now receiving it. UNAIDS says the full preventive impact of treatment is likely to be seen in the next five years, as more countries improve treatment.

The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is urging governments to keep up their funding.

“Never, in more than a decade of treating people living with HIV/AIDS, have we been at such a promising moment to really turn this epidemic around,” says MSF’s Tido von Schoen-Angerer/ “Governments in some of the hardest hit countries want to act on the science, seize this moment and reverse the AIDS epidemic. But this means nothing if there’s no money to make it happen.”

Besides the science and the treatment for those needing it, we still have lots to do

to overcome a lot of prejudice and ignorant ideas. HIV is a virus, not some highly contagious mark of the devil or moral turpitude.

Millions of children have it, as well as millions of heterosexuals.

Despite all the good news — better treatments and accessibility to them — it is still a fact that every day, 4,900 people die from HIV/AIDS and another 7,300 people are infected with the HIV virus. It knows no barriers of class, race, income or sexual preference.

Two-thirds of people living with HIV/ AIDS and three-quarters of deaths from HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. Those living with the virus don’t suffer alone – the disease also attacks their families and communities. 14.8 million African children have already lost one or both parents to HIV/ AIDS. But with adequate treatment, fully available in the West, it is no longer a death sentence and it should not be a social death sentence either.

It is up to all of us to become educated about the virus and to stop looking down on anyone who has been exposed to it. I know one man in his thirties who slept with another man, now dead, years ago. The man he slept with actually declared, when

asked, that he didn’t have HIV or AIDS and so they had unprotected sex just once. The man had lied. He later died. My friend, the younger man, was unlucky enough to contract HIV and lives with it quite well today.

He is well and much wiser.

The moral of all this is never have unprotected sex with someone you don’t know well. And make sure you get tested regularly if you are sexually active. Many infected people are still walking around untested. The longer they stay untested and untreated the dimmer their future prognosis and life span. And if you have serious addictions such as drugs or alcohol: clean up your act.

Today, there is tons of hope for an eventual cure, lives are much less blighted and undertakers have seen a sharp downturn in business. That all adds up to a brighter picture, but governments have to keep funding research and prevention and everyone can play a part in keeping that pressure on.

– Peter Carlyle-Gordge is a former president and fundraising chairman of Village Clinic Inc. and was also a board member of the Manitoba AIDS Hospice.

UNAIDS estimates 700,000 deaths were averted last year

ll. e w w o n k ’t n o d u o y e cted sex with someon

tested regularly if you are sexually active. www.outwords.ca // outwords, march 2012

12 13

Evan Biddell Fashion’s bad ass

By Jefre Nicholls

When we first met Evan Biddell he was a young, middle-finger throwing, cigarette-smoking contestant on Project Runway Canada. He more than made the cut winning at the tents that year and has been rewriting the rules of Canadian fashion ever since. OutWords sat down with the bad boy of fashion to talk everything from men’s wear couture to getting off Studio 54 regulars.

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outwords, march 2012 // www.outwords.ca

OW: How do you feel about being called a fashion rebel and bad ass?

EB: A bad ass eh? I think I was 23 when I came out on the fashion scene. It was more because I wasn't willing to do what they said that I was viewed this way.

I feel that in order to do anything original you have to be willing to be wrong. You have to do things that seem like they are the wrong thing to do but that's kind of how something gets originated. I'm not opposed to being viewed in this way – everybody needs a label. Right?

OW: Sure, I think in the past I have heard people refer to you as the Alexander McQueen of Canada EB: Well, I don’t know about that. I kind of put McQueen over here and everybody else is over there.

I don’t think he is really comparable to anybody, especially not myself. If any fashion designer influenced me as a kid it was McQueen, watching his career he was always the coolest by far, not just his clothes, but everything he did. Maybe that’s why people equate us together. But then again I can’t say it’s because I looked up to him that his influence has drawn parallels in my work now because everybody looks up to him. Not me, not anybody could ever touch what he was doing.

OW: We've seen you battle intergalactic robots with a light sabre before. What would you say has been your biggest battle to date?

EB: I think it’s a battle with myself and still trying to create who I want to be. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly who that’s going to be, like who that is. Right?

Maybe some people find it earlier, but I have been doing this since I was 15 years old and never really put a lot of own-es on it. I basically was just doing it – making clothing for my friends and making a living doing it. I was humble and I had a little shop. It then got taken to another plateau with all the media and the attention from winning Project Runway Canada, and my work began to evolve for that specifically.

As far as being a label, and having something that people can identify with a signature, I think. I'm still developing it. Some might argue they can recognize my work from a mile away but I still feel like I’m developing it. You look at the seven collections I designed for Fashion Week, you put them side by side, and they could have been done by seven different designers. I don’t necessarily see why that’s a problem. I guess its more fun that way. And sometimes you have to stop having fun and take it more seriously, and that’s when you narrow your scope and become a more concentrated version of who you want to be.

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OW: Why do you think there are so many gay men in fashion?

EB: ‘Cause we all wish we could wear the clothes. (Laughs) Some of us do, Jefre.

I can certainly remember some of your outfits. I have been playing with fabrics and draping myself in silks since I was, like three. I was super gay as a kid, right? I mean I wasn't out of the closet or anything, but I was defiantly gay and everyone knew it. Gay men, we like femininity, and fashion is about

I have been playing with fabrics and draping myself in silks since I was, like three. femininity. It’s about manipulating that femininity and a lot of gay men fit that profile.

OW: Being a Prairie boy, yourself, how does growing up in what many would call an UN-inspiring place produce a creative inspired person such as yourself?

EB: Well, I think the coolest part about growing up in Saskatoon was that we knew what was going on in the world but it wasn't happening physically in our environment. We got all the magazines, we watched all the TV stations and we had the Internet. We knew what was going on in all those other places but no one really knew what was going on there. … I realized that Saskatoon wasn't really that cool once I left, but in its way it really is. Like, when I go back and go to the one gay bar there and see people sitting at the bar sipping absinthe as martinis, it’s cute. It’s the openness and freedom to create in an environment that doesn’t have influences in the same place dictating the standards of what you should be creating that allows for you to do what ever you want. You’re creating originality in a blank slate environment. Like the sky is enormous and so are the possibilities.

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OW: Is there any chance we will see a Biddell men’s collection anytime soon?

EB: You know I think men’s fashion nowadays is more interesting than women’s fashion. I think if more men would start coming out of their shell, myself included. I really just wear what I wear.

When I see a men’s wear collection it’s easier to see something new. We've seen so much for women, and we haven’t seen that much for men. It’s there. it’s happening now. Men’s wear is the new women’s wear. The next thing we’re going to see is men’s wear couture because I don’t think that happens – $60,000 suits.

OW: If so what does the Biddell man look like EB: Well he's very colourful. He's sporty.

He doesn’t take himself too seriously.

There is always a sense of humour there, and he's not so dressed up but he looks good. It’s not that he isn't taken seriously, but he walks on the edge of that line leaving some questioning – ‘Is this a joke?’ But after you look at him for a minute your reaction would be, ‘Yeah, that’s so smart.” He's actually stylish and has thought about it. I think that’s the guy that wears these clothes. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Definitely for the bold and the beautiful OW: What brought you to a small coal mining town for fall 2012?

EB: This was just to have some space and create without distraction. I am heading back to Toronto in March for Fashion Week, not to do a show this season, though. I have already done so many shows that I want to focus on the business and creating a product.

I'll do a show in the fall for the spring collections.

OW: If you could collaborate with any other designer/artist/musician living or dead who would it be and why?

EB: A collaboration with another designer, hey? I dunno, there are so many. Probably Grace Jones because I think she would want to go there. And that’s when I really get off, when I get to go there. I would get off on getting her off. We'll just put it that way.

– Jefre Nicholls is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and stylist.

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From the Xenaverse to Venice the Series In a time of reality TV, homophobic producers, and disappointing storylines, lesbians cried out for a hero. Her name was Crystal Chappell, a mighty daytime soap star, forged in the heat of battling to get Otalia to kiss.

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By Liz Millward

In 1995, when Xena: Warrior Princess and her soon-to-be soulmate, Gabrielle, hit the small screen, women were smitten. Many rushed to the newfangled Internet to find others who shared their enthusiasm and the “Xenaverse” was born. Much more than an online fan community, it was a place where women came out, made friends and met lovers.

It was also a very creative place. Online fanfiction (femslash) entertained fans who were frustrated that this obviously lesbian couple were constantly distracted from their weekly declarations of love by fight sequences or (horror) Joxer.

By the time the show ended in 2001, some fanfiction writers became so adept that they made the crossover from online bards to published authors. Melissa Good even achieved fan nirvana by writing an episode for the final season.

Post-Xena, the culture of writing online femslash continued. Now primed, Xenites saw subtext everywhere and on sites such as altfic. com and archiveofourown.org they paired women from many shows. But what had made XWP unique was the onscreen depiction of a loving and realistic long-term relationship between two women. Nothing else compared.

And then, to everyone’s surprise, Olivia Spencer (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia Rivera (Jessica Leccia) very slowly fell in love on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light. Here at last was another relationship between adults who were mature, smart and funny.

Remarkably, when that show faded to black neither woman lay decapitated on a bloody battlefield. No, they were happily living together raising their two daughters.

Viewers adored Otalia and since You Tube had been invented between the

demise of Xena and the advent of Otalia, they could create fanvids to reinterpret each delicious moment. The only problem? Otalia held hands, snuggled on their sofa and talked about sex, but they never kissed. Fan demands for a smooch went unheeded by network executives.

In 2001, heartbroken Xena fans only had fanfiction and Virtual Seasons (made up of screen grabs and written dialogue) to create the story they wished they had seen. Now, Otalia fans had Crystal Chappell. Taking their desires seriously, she and her friend, Kim Turrisi, set up a production company to make an online lesbian soap opera called Venice the Series (venicetheseries.com).

This is a fascinating – and innovative – twist on fan creations. Knowing that what Otalia fans really wanted was to see Chappell and Leccia in bed (they have irresistible chemistry), the new series gave them exactly that in its very first scene. Chappell also brought in a slew of famous soap stars (Nadia Bjorlin, Hillary B. Smith, Galen Gering) and other familiar faces (Dot Jones and Adrienne Wilkinson) to flesh out the soap opera. And it is a real soap, complete with love triangle, drama, humour, and lots of secrets.

Through Twitter and online forums fans provide feedback to Chappell and her team and have input into the music selections. To offset production costs and pay for server space viewers have to subscribe to the current season ($9.99) although they can catch up on the first two seasons for free on weekends on the Venice the Series YouTube channel. Sponsors now include Canada’s very own Red Canoe brand.

This model seems to be working – viewers feel a sense of ownership, and the actors and writers have creative freedom to tell stories, swear, and kiss. Now in its third

season, the show has already won an Emmy.

Not content with this success, Chappell is currently developing a new online soap opera, The Grove, in which she and Leccia will again play the lesbian couple at its core.

Fanfiction brought to life on your laptop.

Battle on, Chappell.

– Liz Millward is an associate professor with the women’s and gender studies program at the University of Manitoba.

www.outwords.ca // outwords, march 2012

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Drama queen RuPaul’s Drag Race spices up OUTtv

By Jason Clevett

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photo by Mathu Andersen outwords, march 2012 // www.outwords.ca

What better way to heat up the cold Winnipeg winter then the glamour, drama and intensity that is RuPaul’s Drag Race? Thirteen of America’s best queens battle it out, literally in one episode, for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar. The show airs Monday nights on OUTtv. Drag really breaks the fourth wall, if this life we are living is a play that we are all playing roles, drag breaks the fourth wall and says ‘Madam you know you are not who you are

The show was born of our love of drag and the need to show people the art of it. I grew up with it and for a good time there it wasn’t celebrated, it was the ugly stepchild of the gay movement.

pretending to be.’ I am surprised more people don’t embrace drag but I know why, because it tells on the ego,” Ru told OutWords. “(The show) is representing the different genres of drag. We are introducing drag to people who have never heard of it or seen it. Each time we put together a cast it has to represent many different factions.

In the case of this current season it is a little edgier then we’ve done before. We live in

the age of GaGa so a lot of the girls are not afraid to get crunchy and not so pretty.”

One may think it is hard to narrow down the 13 contestants from the thousands of audition tapes. Not quite, she explains. “It is very easy. Everyone who has a wig and a pair of high-heeled shoes thinks they can be on the show. The truth is we are looking for showgirls who have already proven themselves in clubs with the ability to become producers, artists, visionaries,

marketing people, designers, because if you are a showgirl you have to be all of those things. That really narrows it down. Once we get a good 20 people, which is very easy to do, then it becomes about what the ensemble will look like as a whole. There are times when we have had someone who didn’t work in the ensemble and we brought back the next season.”

The show has exploded, now seen in more than 21 countries around the world

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and having spawned spinoffs Untucked airing immediately after the show and RuPaul’s Drag U featuring women getting a “drag makeover.” Mondays are traditionally a slow night for bars, but those hosting viewing parties are finding their bars packed.

“I have to tell you I am most proud of that, to have a portal for these young kids to become famous and make money and for bars to celebrate drag. The show was born of our love of drag and the need to show people the art of it. I grew up with it and for a good time there it wasn’t celebrated, it was the ugly stepchild of the gay movement. To have these things happening on the night that it airs is just brilliant for me. I love that it is creating revenue and awareness, but on a deeper level I love that drag exemplifies what we are doing on this planet.”

RuPaul gave Out-

Words a hint of what we can expect as Season 4 progresses. “The kids this season are kind of fearless in a way that they are not concerned with looking girly-girl but with making a statement. We are going to get a lot of GaGa influenced performers in attitude towards show business – a sort of fearlessness. They are crunchier and more ‘monstery’ but still pretty amazing.”

The season has thus far featured challenges, including drag based on an apocalypse, featuring cameos by zombie queens, women’s wrestling, and creating music videos to RuPaul tracks. Every year features the return of some favourites, like the snatch game, along with new challenges.

“The challenges always start with what is underneath the hood psychologically.

Every single thing the girls have done on our show I have had to do in my career to make it work. Beneath it all we are looking to create situations where a psychological process happens and see who these people are and what they are working with. At my house I have a lot of games nights and new people come. One of the reasons I love to play charades is because on the spot, with a timer going,

Every year, people are very emotionally invested and some are very upset with me.

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a person has to make the choice whether or not they are going to make a fool of themselves and win at this game, or hide in their insecurities and let the time go by.

We are creating situations on the show that challenge each performer to really go for it or not. In this world if you are going to be here you have got to be willing to make a fucking fool out of yourself to get what you want done. That is how the challenges are born.”

The viewers end up picking their own favourites, and may have either cheered or booed the crowning of Bebe Zahara Benet in Season 1, Tyra Sanchez in Season 2, or Season 3 winner Raja.

“Every year, people are very emotionally invested and some are very upset with me. Some live and love the winner and others are like “No, no, no!” There are a lot of reasons for why the winner is chosen. A lot of the behind the scenes stuff I don’t see until I watch it on TV. I am surprised sometimes by some of their behaviour as you.

When I see the dark side of the moon in the interior illusions lounge it is like ‘Whoa, I didn’t know you had all of that!’ There was one point in last season when Alexis Mataeo and Yara Sofia both almost left the show.

I didn’t know that happened. Watching Yara be her own saboteur, I saw it onstage when she collapsed and just couldn’t go any further but on the actual body of the show I could see her own inner saboteur working on her earlier in the show and doubting herself. It was a very painful study in the human psyche. That is what makes the show so wildly incredible to watch is that this is all about the human spirit and its need to shine and have colour and love and beauty. That is ultimately what keeps audiences coming back.”

(RuPaul’s Drag Race, Monday nights on OUTtv, www.OUTtv. ca ) – Jason Clevett is a Calgary-based freelance writer.

The Mennonite connection

Teen risks ostracizing to create GSA For the first time since its inception, the Annual Sybil Shack Human Rights Youth Award has been presented for founding work on a gay-straight alliance (GSA).

Rebekah Enns, a student at Westgate Mennonite Collegiate in Winnnipeg, was presented the award last December after working with her school to spearhead the formation of a GSA. “At that particular school the topic of homosexuality is still quite controversial and she kind of put herself in the position of being criticized and ostracized a little bit,” says Cindy Murdoch, director of the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties, which presents the award. “She opened herself up to that because she believed strongly in creating a more safe and inclusive environment for all of the students at her school.”

Enns was nominated by her school’s guidance counsellor, who wrote in her nomination papers that setting up this group “took a great deal of courage as the topic of homosexuality is a controversial one in our community and Rebekah knew she was opening herself up to possible criticism and judgment.”

Enns, who lives in St. Vital and attends Bethel Mennonite Church in Fort Rouge,

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told The Lance community newspaper she came out to her parents at the end of 2010 and came out in the wider school community during 2011. After talking with friends, Enns approached the school’s principal, Bob Hummelt, about forming a student GSA group.

“Around the time I was coming out, we wished the school had a group like that.

When we talked to the principal, he was very interested,” Enns told The Lance, noting the alliance has about 12 members who meet monthly to discuss topics surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I try to do as much research as possible, as I want to teach people all sides of the story,” Enns told The Lance. “Even if people don’t necessarily agree with me, I want them to be empowered with as much information as possible,” said Enns, who hopes to become a portrait photographer after she graduates in 2013.

“There is lots of disagreement, as people are for and against it, but I don’t want people to jump to conclusions. I really want to help my community move forward and understand and accept each other. Everything I’ve learned from my pastors is about acceptance.”

By Shannon VanRaes Enns told The Lance that while she had “good support” from her parents, brothers and friends when she came out, she knows how difficult the process can be. “That’s why I wanted the alliance. It can be a very scary experience,” she said.

Murdoch says part of the award’s goal is to increase youth awareness of human rights issues and encourage community involvement. The association also encourages social justice through clubs and in youth leadership programs.

In recent years there has been an increase in youth involvement in human rights issues, Murdoch says. In one instance a youth group decided to fight intolerance at their school by making and releasing a video about homophobia and the negative impact it has on all students.

“I think we’re seeing more emphasis in a lot of different areas and I think youth are really becoming more active in the human rights movement ... and that has a real impact,” Murdoch adds.

– With files from The Lance.

– Shannon VanRaes is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer.

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Truth is se

By Katrina Caudle

The universal search for love can sometimes seem even more difficult when paired with the overwhelming heteronormativity of our world. Luckily, there are professionals dedicated to helping us queers find our love matches.

Emily Wilcox has been working as a relationship coach for six years, specializing in women’s issues. She recently published 100 Lesbians Walk Into a Bar, a book full of questions from real couples she’s helped and the advice she’s given them. Her passion for helping others with their love lives comes from her life-long fascination with psychology of relationships in particular, how we relate, why we tend to sometimes lose ourselves in relationships, and why we get so devastated when we lose them.

“I’ve always been interested in the relation of the two,” says Wilcox. “I really wanted to find out why we think the way we do and act the way we do in our relationships. Our intimate relationships are very different. When you’re dealing with lesbian relationships, you’re dealing with two women. There’s a lot more estrogen going on. It’s a little more multifaceted.

Clearly the male-female relationships have problems of their own.”

Wilcox’s writing career began with various publications, sometimes doing entertainment news reporting, before she began pursuing coaching full time.

“I always kind of did it on the side. It was

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JUST ask Emily Wilcox

always sort of my passion,” Wilcox explains. “The writing was paying the bills.

I made the leap when I started combining my relationship coaching with my writing. I started writing for a publication giving dating advice and relationship advice. “ How important are relationships? “I think relationships account for 80 per cent of our quality of life,” says Wilcox.

“Everyone wants love. And everyone is either seeking relationship or seeking to get out of a relationship. So we all kind of came to this earth to seeking connections. We want to feel this connection with people. Some people – I personally feel we don’t need another person to feel whole or a connection. We need people – sometimes we feel like having a significant other will make our lives seem fuller.

But really it’s having people to share our life with. There’s a stigma – oh you’re single – and it shouldn’t be that way.”

Wilcox’s practice includes a holistic view of her clients and life. She gets to the centre of the individual’s heart, using practical and soulful advice hard won from her own journey to self-love and acceptance.

“I think everyone feels happy helping people. We’re at our best when we’re giving,” says Wilcox . “I think for me there’s a bit of selfishness. It feels very good to help people. I have struggled with my own issues in my childhood and my life.

I suffered from depression – everything was very dark. I was able to bring myself, along with help, out of it and into a completely different person today. I was able to do this – from the negative to the positive – so I know it’s possible. So when I

meet with women who are struggling with it – I literally know it’s possible to transform that into something else.

“I want everyone to know this is possible. You don’t have to be trapped in your mind. There are things you can do to find yourself and create yourself. A lot of times we walk through life choosing to be the person we decided on as kids. Sometimes we don’t stop to think to decide again. We don’t stop to create ourselves again. Abuse, abandonment issues, neglect – whatever we suffered as children we tend to carry through to adulthood. But we can wipe that slate clean and create something totally different.”

“In general, especially women but men, too, are so afraid to be vulnerable because if we’re vulnerable we may be rejected for who we are. In terms of being authentic, sometimes we put on a persona of what we want people to see so we’re not judged for what we are.

When we’re with someone we can feel it energetically when someone isn’t being authentic.

“Once we reveal our authentic self, we open ourselves to rejection. It’s possible, but when we’re authentic it’s much easier to be loved because we’re being our true selves. Whatever the issue is – someone is going to love because you are that. As long as you’re open about who you are. It’s truth that we love about people. Truth is sexy.”

In a sea of relationship advice that tells you to be one way or another, much of which instructs us how to change ourselves to make ourselves more attractive, the gentle advice to just be ourselves is a

sexy breath of fresh air and almost revolutionary. Instead of celebrating the self, Wilcox asks us to look at the love we already have within us as a powerful truth that allows us to open our hearts to becoming more compassionate, fierce individuals.

“When you lack self love, we’re trying to get it from the person we’re with.

Then we’re OK, then we’re lovable,” Wilcox says. “But it doesn’t happen that way. It’s impossible. We can never get that love from outside sources. We have to start with ourselves. A lot of times women feel in order to have love or self worth that we need to fix something about ourselves. We all have flaws. We can be a little nuts. Women feel like they need to fix themselves before they can be loved. But really there’s nothing to fix. Women are worthy of love exactly as they are in this moment. I have a million flaws. I can’t wait until I fix them to accept love.”

Wilcox’s own story of self-love shows the commitment needed to really love yourself as the most important person in your life and the rewards to be had on that journey. “I had to do a lot of introspection,” she reflects. “I had to question my thoughts and beliefs. So any thoughts and beliefs that would pop into my head – it was a diligent process when I realized I had to find my love for myself.

I literally had to write down where every thought and belief came from. I knew it didn’t come from me, it came from something in my past. It was a combination of that and thinking what do I now want to believe, what do I want to create for myself. It was creating a manual for myself.

“It’s like being a newborn baby but you’re able to do it again. I remember one day I was sitting in my living room.

I was working on this collage. I was literally sitting there and suddenly my entire mind and perception and reality changed. It literally happened in a moment. It was from everything I was doing – but I know exactly when that transformation happened. I felt it. It was really profound. Change is gradual but transformation is instantaneous.”

– Katrina Caudle is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer.

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As much as the dance, it’s the costumes that audiences remember after the curtain goes down at the ballet. The dancers enthrall us with their grace and athleticism. The costumes entrance us with their glamour and exoticism. But while we get to know the faces and names of the dancers, the costume designers remain hidden and anonymous behind the scenes. And that’s just fine with Paul Daigle, who created the fabulous costumes for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s recent production of Svengali.

“It’s hard to get a profile in Winnipeg for the production side of the arts,” says Daigle.

“There’s not really a vehicle. We’re not supposed to be out front and centre.” While Daigle wouldn’t have it any other way, it can mean that audiences never fully appreciate the work and creativity that goes into the costumes.

“Everything you see on stage was once a role of fabric,” says Daigle, who is just one member of a team. “There’s a room of 20 people just working on the costumes. Most designers don’t make what they design. To get something from the page to the stage, hundreds of hours of work went into them. They’re so labour intensive. From there, we have to ask does the design work with the movement? Sometimes it doesn’t and you have a big mess.”

Costume design wasn’t his first foray into ballet. “Once upon a time I was a dancer,” Daigle reminisces. “I studied fine art in the ‘70s.

from the

By Katrina Caudle

I studied to be a painter in Halifax. In the middle of that degree I discovered dance.

I really found that I loved it. I put painting away.”

In the ‘80s, Daigle found himself in Winnipeg at the RWB dance school and was accepted into the company. He stayed here for more than 20 years. He moved back to the Maritimes in 2000 and is currently designing for theatre companies in the east.

Svengali was the first ballet Daigle had done in years.

“Jeff Heard, who was the production manager when I was with the dance school, knew I was interested in design. He recommended I spend a winter in Banff for a design mentorship. I was apprenticed with opera designers. From then on I’ve been working as a designer, mostly in dance.”

One of Daigle’s most enduring bodies of work has been the costumes he designed 10 years ago for the RWB’s production of The Nutcracker. The designs are still being used for the present production.

“It’s set in Winnipeg,” Daigle says of the Nutcracker. “The concept is before the First World War. It was a lot of fun to think about how people dressed then. I’m obsessed with clothes, I always notice what people are wearing. It was so exciting in Winnipeg then. Winnipeg was the height of luxury. It

equaled Chicago in art and culture. Living in Winnipeg is like a goldmine of beautiful things and interesting stories.”

Daigle’s creations all carry an distinctive, elegant sophistication and sparkle of enchantment, from the gorgeous silk organza of Mother’s costume in Svengali to the whimsy and colour of the costumes for the Nutcracker.

“Your creativity will carry through your whole life,” Daigle shares. “Now that I’m in my 50s, I can say, yeah that’s me. I’m seduced by the glamour of the 1950s, midcentury Paris and London. In Svengali, the ‘50s glamour rears it’s head. Every chore-

ographer has a way to express their vision. I was allowed to let my imagination run wild there. I’m also a big fan of some designers – I can see their influence in my work.

There’s a dress in Svengali inspired by one of the costumes for the Sound of Music. It was worn by the girlfriend of the captain’s fiancee. She’s got a really great dress on and I’ve always loved it. Very simple and chic.”

The RWB’s current production, Giselle, opens March 7 and runs until the 11th.

– Katrina Caudle is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer.

page to the stage

greening money…

Can bean counters save the environment? green Alana LajoieO’Malley

Lest we lose sight of the bigger picture in our frenzy to commiserate about Canada’s embarrassing showing at and around the international climate talks at COP-17 in Durban, now might be a good time to pause to think about the Rio+20 conference coming up in June. It’s kind of a big deal – or at least it could be if it goes well. It was at the first Rio conference – commonly called the Earth Summit – that the term ‘sustainable development’ became the catchphrase that it is today.

“Sustainable development should meet the needs of current generations without harming the ability of future generations”

real kind. I hope this means that delegates try to figure out how to make it normal for governments and institutions around the world to consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the things they do.

How might this actually become a normal way of doing business? That’s the kicker. It turns out that it is kind of hard to figure that out. True, 2011 was the year when people around the world demonstrated their anger at the cracks in the system, the wheels of unsustainable economic development are, shall we say, well oiled.

The challenge facing delegates of Rio+20 is to rescue ‘sustainable development’ from the garbage heap of political doublespeak…

Sustainable development should meet the needs of current generations without harming the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Sounds siimple enough, but fancy footwork around defining ‘needs’ means that the meaning of ‘sustainable development’ is regularly turned on its head in the interest of sustaining the unsustainable status quo. And the status quo benefits from some pretty serious inertia – a thing set in motion will stay in motion and all that jazz.

The challenge facing delegates of Rio+20 is to rescue ‘sustainable development’ from the garbage heap of political doublespeak by securing political commitment for sustainable development – the

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Governments and corporations have well-established annual budgeting processes. They engage in lengthy debates about where to allocate money, and they are capable of keeping track of what actually happens once the budget is passed.

But ask a government or a corporation how much water or oil or wood it plans on using in a year, or how many of its employees have mental-health challenges, and at best you can expect a report outlining two-year old environmental and social statistics. Imagine for a minute a request for financial information being treated the same way.

Backwards, I tell you. But you’ve got to give it to the money types. They know

how to manage spending – by keeping meticulous records. What if at Rio+20, we looked a bit more seriously at tapping this skill for the benefit of the environment?

These economic and financial systems that keep rolling despite monumental setbacks might be models for, rather than impediments to, sustainable development. For all the things they do that totally suck, they do for the most part succeed at what they were designed to do - manage money.

Canada might offer up an innovative idea at Rio+20. Instead of building sustainable development silos that sit at a distance from goliaths like the World Bank, the IMF, national central banks and federal reserves, we might start doing things the other way around. We might require these institutions to manage, budget and report on the stuff that money is just a proxy for anyway – the use of natural resources and sustenance for thriving communities.

It is just an idea. Maybe even a really bad one. But hey, it can’t be as bad an idea as stumbling out of Kyoto. Canada’s got nothing to lose by suggesting the international community give it some thought.

– Alana Lajoie-O’Malley is the director of Campus Sustainability at The University of Winnipeg.

“It’s important to me that members of the LGBTT Community have an accessible and friendly ear.”

Adrian Johnson Educational Assistant, Library

Embracing the Community Red River College’s LGBTT Initiative fosters the development of a safe campus environment, in which everyone has the chance to work, learn and access services in an inclusive, welcoming manner.

RRC’s Ally Project supports LGBTT staff, students and faculty by identifying campus Allies who can provide a safe and inclusive space.

For more information: Nora Sobel, LGBTT Initiative Staff Lead nsobel@rrc.mb.ca or 204-632-2404. www.rrc.ca/LGBTTInitiative

by traCy

LettS

a comedy oF MannerS, without the MannerS DIreCteD by MILeS Potter

MARch 15 – ApRIl 7 “a rancidly funny account of two couples tiptoeing around their mutual dislike” –The GuArdIAN

the gloves come off when two couples come together to discuss a playground scrap. When the façade of politeness begins to fade, social niceties give way to a knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out battle… served with dessert and espresso.

SPonSoreD In Part by

a Co-ProDuCtIon WIth WARNING Strong language

oN SALe Now!

Gail

and the late

Babs Asper

StarrIng Martha henry

MARch 8 – 24 “Flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years” – New YOrK TIMes With the Westons, family time is blood sport. Leading the way through a minefield of dark secrets, repressed truths and emotional savagery is the pill-popping mommy dearest who stirs the toxic brew with perverse delight. generouSLy SPonSoreD by WARNING Contains script-specific smoking of non-tobacco products, adult themes, mature content, strong language

204-942-6537 clIcK www.mtc.mb.ca cAll

Doowah Design Inc. Client: MTC Job no: 2592 Insertion: Outwords God of Carnage/August: Osage County ad / CMYK / 7” x 9.5”

DIreCteD by ann hoDgeS