Outwords March 2013 Issue 199

OutWords // Letter to the Editor

queer views, news, issues

FASHION

(A)DRESSING

ALL THE SENSES ANGLICAN CHURCH MOVES TOWARDS ACCEPTANCE

GIO’S CLOSES ITS DOORS

BIF NAKED BARES ALL THE FIGHT AGAINST

HOMOPHOBIA IN SPORTS

Outwords | March 2013 | Issue 199 | Serving the GLBT Community Since 1994 March 2013

// www.outwords.ca // 1

“ I am an Academic Advisor specializing in Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). I am pleased to provide a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.”

Lauren Waples RPL Advisor

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.ca or 204-632-2404 www.rrc.ca/LGBTTInitiative

OutWords // Index

18

PRIDE REVEALS 2013 THEME

19

COMEDY TROUPE BRINGS ACTION BACK HOME

20

GIO’S SAYS GOODBYE

6

U.S. SUPREME COURT DEBATES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

22

WHERE CIRCUS MEETS SYMPHONY

8

CANADA ELECTS FIRST OPENLY GAY PREMIER

23

SPORTS COMMUNITY BECOMING LGBT FRIENDLY

ANGLICAN CHURCH ADVANCES ACCEPTANCE

26

EXPOSING BIF NAKED’S POSITIVITY

29

LEGISLATING NATURAL PROTECTION

30

THE ART OF MENTORSHIP

31

DECODING INTERNET PRIVACY

5

11 14

THE NEW OUTWORDS EDITORIAL

INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS

NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS

THE SCENTS OF THE SEASON FASHION FEATURE

GREEN COLUMN

SPIRITUALITY COLUMN

TECH COLUMN

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 3

MY KNOWLEDGE of business WILL open doors MY KNOWLEDGE, EARNED AT UCN. BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEGREE The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree is a 2+2 year program that will prepare you for a professional career in business administration, management, and leadership. Graduates of this program will have the knowledge of business, economic, political and philosophical context in which business and society function. Once you graduate, the world of business is at your fingertips.

mine For more information please contact: Jackie Hartman, Administrative Assistant at jhartman@ucn.ca or 1-204-677-6391

OWN YOUR FUTURE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE NORTH

OutWords // Editorial

PUBLISHED BY THE OUTWORDS VOLUNTEER STAFF: EDITOR : Ksenia Prints SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR : Miles McEnery NEWS AND MUSIC EDITOR: Danelle Cloutier ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Graeme Coleman

EDITORIAL

KSENIA PRINTS

SPORTS, BOOKS AND MOVIES EDITOR: Meg Crane FASHION AND BEAUTY EDITOR: Jefre Nicholls FOOD AND LIFESTYLE EDITOR: Shayna Wiwierski ART DIRECTOR & LAYOUT : Dylan Bekkering ASSISTANT LAYOUT : Michele Buchanan FINANCIAL OFFICER: Darron Field DISTRIBUTION: Jared Star, Terry Wiebe WEB MANAGER: Vic Hooper SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Cheryl Ezinicki COVER PHOTO: Darron Field CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE: Peter Carlyle-Gordge, Ashleigh Mattern, James Ouellette, Jenny Marrin, Marina Koslock, Larkin Schmiedl, Jason Clevett, Corey Shefman, Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, Ray Buteau BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Debbie Scarborough, Diane Ready, Kevin Hills, Barbara Bruce, Sky Bridges, Dale Oughton, Darron Field , Helen Fallding, Shayne Duguay, Gail Eckert, Liz Millward 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: sales@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 © 2013 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.

THE NEW OUTWORDS

RENEWING AN 18-YEAR OLD MAGAZINE IS NO EASY FEAT

L

aunched by a collective in November 1994 under the title of Swerve, Winnipeg’s first LGBT magazine looked quite a bit different than the glossy publication you are reviewing right now. It was a black-and-white affair with a folding layout that unabashedly discussed sexuality, identity and politics from queer perspective. The images were bold, the words cutting, and the nowoutdated design proclaimed: “we’re here and we’re queer!”

Fast forward more than 18 years into the future, OutWords has a much different feel to it. The community that produces, drives and inspires this magazine has also changed: being out is now a lot more accepted, LGBT issues permeate political discussions, and queer views, news and issues are no longer relegated to community-specific publications. Is there still a point to an LGBT magazine?

We at OutWords feel there is. On the first day of February, Winnipeg Pride had its launch party at Gio’s. Many attended, danced and shared in the joy and pride of being able to be out in your own town. And yet one Winnipegger experienced the evening quite differently. On his way to Gio’s that night, Tyler was stopped by a few men in a car, who used the opportunity to yell profanities and bash him for his sexuality. Disheartened by the event, Tyler attempted to partake in the fun of Pride, but his heart just wasn’t in it (read more about the experience on page 18).

Events like this demonstrate just why an LGBT magazine is still necessary. Winnipeg’s LGBT community needs to have a voice of its own. OutWords exists for that purpose. But we also think change is good, which is why you may soon start to notice differences. The changes will be slow and gradual in some cases (we have new sections and section editors, with articles divided by subject), but sudden in others (most monthly issues from now on will be themed). Some of you may not like them at all, while others will embrace them. The changes will create questions and provoke debate, and that’s just what we want.

We’ll be here to hear about it. Whether you write us a letter, tweet us at @OutWords or post on our Facebook page, you’ll be taking part in the community dialogue. You’ll be supporting OutWords in the easiest way: by speaking your mind. And we’ll be here to report on it, as long as there’s a need.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 5

OutWords // International News // Compiled by Peter Carlyle-Gordge

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT IGNORES LGBT RIGHTS For the first time ever, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear challenges to DOMA and Proposition 8.

Photo by Justin Sullivan of Getty Images.

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CHALLENGES TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN WASHINGTON — For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases challenging a state law banning samesex marriage, as well as a federal law that denies same-sex married couples the federal benefits that heterosexual married couples receive.

Theodore Olson, a Washington lawyer, is leading the California case against Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment in California that overturned a state law allowing same-sex weddings.

The second case the nine-member court plans to hear challenges the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which requires the federal government to deny benefits to same-sex couples who married in states allowing such unions. According to The New York Times, this case concerns Edith Windsor, a New York City woman, who faced a tax bill of around $360,000 after her same-sex spouse died.

The court is expected to hear the cases in March and a ruling is expected in June.

Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed opened Europe’s first gayfriendly mosque but critics call it an aberration.

FIRST GAY-FRIENDLY MOSQUE AN ABERRATION, CRITICS SAY PARIS — Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, a gay French Muslim and feminist, opened a prayer room near the end of 2012 on the outskirts of Paris, described as Europe’s first gay-friendly mosque.

The Islamic scholar said he attends the Grand Mosque in Paris but he wanted to create a more “inclusive” place for gay, lesbian and transgender Muslims because many of them feel uncomfortable praying in established mosques.

“They don’t want to be ostracised because they wear earrings or because they’re effeminate or they’re transgender, something that’s pretty obviously rejected in many mosques in France,” he said.

According to , Muslim leaders in France have criticized Zahed’s inclusive mosque.

“We know that homosexual Muslims exist but opening a mosque (for them) is an aberration,” said Abdallah Zekri, the chairman of France’s Islamophobia Observatory.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s LGBT community is outraged at the government’s refusal to carry out public consultations about bringing sexual orientation under the existing anti-discrimination legislation.

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council voted down a motion to launch a public consultation in November 2012, but LGBT rights groups had hoped that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying would use his policy address to revive the idea.

Instead, while outlining the government’s policy proposals for its five-year term, Chun-ying announced that the government has no intention of holding public consultations on the issue.

“Society is deeply divided over this issue. Some are in support from the perspective of equal opportunity. Others are concerned that launching a consultation exercise may deal a blow to family, religion and education,” Chun-ying said in his speech.

After Chun-ying’s speech, three Hong-Kong based gay rights organizations announced they will form a coalition to push for new laws.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s policy address confirmed the government’s refusal to hold consultations about LGBT rights.

Photo by Philippe Lopez for AFP/Getty Images

I AM EIG I AM DISCOVERING

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OutWords // International News

NYC’S FIRST GAY CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER IS ENDORSED FOR MAYOR NEW YORK CITY — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recently endorsed New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the first woman and openly gay official elected to that position, in her race to be New York City’s next mayor.

“Whether it’s equality for all New Yorkers, great public schools, or 21st-century infrastructure, Chris is ready to fight for the city New Yorkers deserve,” HRC president Chad Griffin said in a press release. The HRC, self-described as the largest civil rights organization for LGBT equality, noted Quinn’s work for LGBT rights, funding for HIV/AIDS services, ontime and balanced budgets and prevention of teacher layoffs and firehouse closings.

But Quinn has faced multiple bumps in her campaign for mayor, including being criticized for a campaign finance bill in December that opponents said would tear a loophole in the city’s spending rules.

She was booed by a crowd of labourfriendly educators and their allies when she arrived to speak at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem in November.

Even so, after Hurricane Sandy, Quinn recorded the highest job approval ratings of her time as speaker. She also recently received an endorsement from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, one of the most powerful labour organizations in the city.

Quinn is expected to face at least three opponents in the Aug. 3 Democratic primary.

The Human Rights Campaign endorsed Christine Quinn, the first openly gay New York City Council speaker, in her bid for Mayor.

Nepal will host the United Nations regional seminar about sexual orientation and identity human rights.

UN SEMINAR AN ACHIEVEMENT IN FIGHT FOR EQUALITY IN NEPAL NEPAL — LGBT activists said Nepal’s foreign ministry accepting an offer to host a United Nations regional seminar on LGBT human rights is an achievement in the fight for equality in Nepal.

Nepal has received funding from the Norwegian government to host the seminar about sexual orientation and gender identity human rights in Kathmandu in March or April 2013.

“It speaks volumes to the success of the LGBT rights movement in Nepal that the United Nations has identified it as the host country,” said Sunil Pant, chair of Nepalese LGBT activists Blue Diamond Society and a former member of Parliament.

Pant suspects the UN chose the Himalayan nation as the location for the seminar because Nepal recently officially recognized a third gender, “other,” on ID cards and sexual orientation and implemented gender identity education in high schools.

Government officials, scholars and activists from around the Asian region will attend the seminar and submit recommendations to the UN Human Rights Commission meeting coming up later this year in Geneva.

At first, I am motionless. I am under a spell that I do not understand. Slowly, the rhythm takes over and I know a joy that will be a part of me for the rest of my life. I am small, but this music makes me feel as big as the sky.

GHT YEARS OLD. THE POWER OF MUSIC.

The excitement and desire to study and perform music were something I felt early on, and that has never left me. From the moment I arrived here, the faculty and students embraced my passion. I love being a professor at the U of M and I will continue to be a driving force behind the growth of jazz in this community. I have always believed jazz can be a powerful tool for unifying people and cultures. And after what I have experienced around the world and now in Manitoba, I know it.

The University of Manitoba has helped me discover new ways to express myself and allowed me to share my passion with an entire province.

I AM AN EXPLORER. Steve Kirby is a professor and the director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba.

umanitoba.ca/explorer

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 7

OutWords // National News // Compiled by Peter Carlyle-Gordge

TWENTY RCMP OFFICERS TACKLE HOMOPHOBIA WITH IT GETS BETTER VIDEO Openly gay Kathleen Wynne won the race to become Ontario premier in January.

Photo by Frank Gunn, CP.

OPENLY GAY ONTARIO PREMIER WILL HAVE TO MEND UNPOPULAR LIBERAL PARTY TORONTO — Ontario Liberals have elected an openly gay female as their new premier to replace scandal-plagued Dalton McGuinty, who resigned after forcing a pay freeze to reduce the province’s $11.9 billion deficit.

Former education minister Kathleen Wynne won the race in late January with 1,150 delegate votes at the convention, with longtime Liberal Sandra Pupatello finishing second with 866 votes. After her swearing in, Wynne will become the sixth female premier in Canada.

She will have her work cut out for her because the Liberal party is deeply unpopular.

According to CTV News, public sector unions,

The Capital Pride hopes to pay off its debt in time for its 30th anniversary in 2016, largely accumulated due to a street party in 2004.

CAPITAL PRIDE AIMS TO PAY OFF LARGE DEBT OTTAWA—The Capital Pride board said it hopes to pay off its $48,348.90 debt in time for its 30th anniversary in 2016.

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including teachers, protested loudly outside the Liberal leadership convention about Bill 115, a controversial piece of legislation that dictates the terms of teachers’ contracts and restricts their ability to strike. The government has repealed Bill 115, but protesters vow to use their organizational might to defeat the Liberals in the next election.

Some think Wynne’s premiership will be short lived and the Ontario Liberal party is a sinking ship because it’s overwhelmed with financial scandals and a minority government.

Wynne said she would immediately try to meet with the opposition party leaders in an effort to make her minority government work.

Capital Pride owes $20,030 to the City of Ottawa, $14,318.90 to Fleet Pro Lighting and Sound (FPLS) for services provided in 2004 and 2005, and $14,000 to a private loan, according to Xtra.ca.

The organization has a written debt-repayment agreement with the city but not with FPLS or the private debtor.

Board member Elliott Youden said previous boards didn’t keep complete records of the organization’s debt, forcing current board members to investigate the amount of money owed to each lender. The organization acquired double the amount of debt that they have now after it hosted an expensive street party in 2004 on Bank Street.

The board is working with FPLS and the private debtor to forge written debt-repayment agreements so the festival can be debt-free in three years.

“To pay it all off in one lump sum would cripple us and leave us with no capital for this year,” said Youden.

SURREY, BC—The RCMP has added a 10-minute video to the It Gets Better movement that features 20 Mounties describing the challenges they faced growing up, how they dealt with feeling different, and their decision to come out to their families.

Constable Cheryl Letkeman led the RCMP’s initiative, joining the other 50,000 videos in circulation that aim to inspire hope in young people who confront homophobia.

Letkeman, who is with the Surrey RCMP Youth Unit, said she was inspired to get RCMP members involved in the It Gets Better project after noticing a number of American police forces had posted videos to the campaign’s website.

“I think it’s important for youth to see police officers, or people that they tend to look up to, provide positive role models for kids who might be getting bullied or targeted because of their actual or perceived sexuality,” Letkeman told reporters.

Constable Cheryl Letkeman, who speaks candidly about her challenges in her own video in the series, led the RCMP It Gets Better video initiative.

Image from Letkeman’s Youtube video.

OutWords // International News

Rental Diva owner Juliet Stewart said Thiago Derucio and Chris Prentice are responsible for the discrimination she’s received from the LGBT community.

RENTAL AGENT BLAMES GAY COUPLE FOR SLANDER FROM LGBT COMMUNITY

NDP Randall Garrison accused a group of Conservatives on the Justice committee of sabotaging a bill to protect transgender Canadians by stalling the legislation process.

CONSERVATIVES ACCUSED OF SABOTAGING BILL TO PROTECT TRANSGENDER CANADIANS OTTAWA—The New Democrat member of Parliament vying for a bill to protect transgender Canadians is accusing a group of Conservatives of sabotaging the legislation by stalling the process.

Randall Garrison accused the Conservatives on the Justice committee of running out the clock at a meeting to ensure Garrison’s changes to the bill wouldn’t get reported back to the Commons.

“I was very disappointed because I sought compromise across the aisle, we worked with members on the other side and had enough votes in committee and in the House to pass this bill,” Garrison told The Canadian Press.

Garrison changed the term “gender expression” and provided a definition for gender identity in the bill so that more Conservatives would support it.

But Garrison’s changes to the term weren’t reflected when the bill was sent back to the Commons after 60 days at the committee.

Garrison is accusing a group of Conservatives for stalling the legislation process because a large portion of the committee’s last meeting was spent raising objections to the definition of gender identity so MPs didn’t have enough time to conclude their clause-by-clause study.

TORONTO—Rental Diva owner Juliet Stewart is filing a counter-complaint against a gay couple who she said is responsible for the nasty response she received from the LGBT community.

“You don’t even understand what I’ve endured,” she told reporters. “Death threats, harassment, slander from the entire [gay] community. I had to call the police… Shame on these people who are calling and threatening me,” said Stewart.

Stewart denied Thiago Derucio and his boyfriend, Chris Prentice, their application to rent an apartment last year because her landlord explicitly told her not to rent apartments to gay couples. She said his discrimination is on religious grounds because he is a Seventh-day Adventist.

Derucio and Prentice have filed an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal complaint against the landlord and Stewart, the owner of the unlicensed rental agency in Brampton.

Stewart said she isn’t worried because people have a right to their religious views.

“Gay people have choices about who they are,” she told Xtra.ca. “Religious groups also have rights. This is religion versus homosexuality.”

She said Derucio should be held responsible for the backlash she has received from the gay community.

Compiled by Peter Carlyle-Gordge

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March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 9

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OutWords // News

Despite struggle, Anglican Church shines

A BEACON OF ACCEPTANCE SASKATOON-BASED LESBIAN PRIEST DEMONSTRATES THE CHANGING ATTITUDES IN THE CHURCH

By Ashleigh Mattern

O

n Sept. 30, 2012, reverend Emily Carr was ordained as an Anglican deacon in the diocese of Saskatoon. In some ways, the ordination was something she had been working towards for most of her life, having first found a passion for the church when she was still a child.

But this exciting event was tainted when a “small, very loud group” protested her ordination because she is married to a woman. This group included other priests in the diocese, as well as some Anglican parishioners.

“Because the church doesn’t recognize my relationship officially, for some people it seems like what I’m doing is sinful,” said Carr. “One of the things about being a leader in a church is that your life... has to reflect the values of your religion. And they don’t feel my life does.”

To protest, they sent mass emails across the diocese, using graphic, hateful language and making unfounded personal accusations about Carr’s lifestyle. Some church clergy also disagreed with her ordination. Days before, on Sept. 28, the bishops of Western Canada’s Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land met, passing a motion to say they didn’t approve of the Saskatoon bishop’s decision to ordain Carr. > Photography by Ashleigh Mattern

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 11

OutWords // News

“One of the things about being a leader in a church is that your life... has to reflect the values of your religion.”

- Emily Carr Of course, not everybody felt this way about her ordination. The night of the ceremony, the church was packed with supporters. “[Being ordained] is something that you work towards, but it’s also a blessing because the community has to put you forward and a community has to agree to a certain extent, they have to lift you up and realize this person has gifts for ministry.”

Despite the lack of support from some parishioners and clergy, Carr says the Anglican Church is heading in the right direction. “The Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon has evolved, it has really become an open, accepting place now,” she said.

“Things have evolved and begun to change in such a way that someone like me can do the work that I want to do.”

Change slow to come The Anglican Church of Canada does not perform same-sex marriages, though in some dioceses, they will bless a civil union that has already taken place. Eleven of the 30 Canadian dioceses bless same-sex marriages to varying degrees: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Montreal, New Westminster, Ottawa, Huron, Niagara, Toronto, Rupert’s Land (including Manitoba), Edmonton, and British Columbia. At the last convention of the Diocese of Saskatoon, a proposal to allow for same-sex blessings passed with 51 per cent of the votes, but because the votes were so close, a decision was made not to allow it.

The Anglican Church is a worldwide organization with a long history of tradition, so change comes slowly. Diocesan meetings, where decisions are made, only take place every two years or so, and a majority vote is required to pass. And though the organization is worldwide, some dioceses are slower to recognize change than others.

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Emily Carr (L) wants the gay community to know that the church, despite its problems, can be a place for people like her and her partner, Rebecca Brownlee (R). Photo by Ashleigh Mattern At the end of November, the Church of England’s general synod (the Anglican Church’s term for convention) voted to continue to ban women from becoming bishops. In Canada, women have been ordained as priests since the mid-’70s, with the first female bishop ordained in 1993, but feminism is still an issue in the church. Carr says there are still churches where people are uncomfortable with a woman priest.

Saskatoon-based Anglican priest reverend Dr. Bill Richards said the Church of England’s conservative decision against women bishops is a reaction to the changing role of the church in English society. The church in Canadian society is facing the same challenges.

“I think in part this issue is tied up with this anxiety about what the role of the church is, what the role of the Anglican church is in Canadian society. It’s unfortunate,” said Richards. “That’s where there should be a more honest discussion, too, before we start talking about sex.”

Richards is a professor of New Testament language and literature with the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad in Saskatoon, where Carr is finishing her theological studies. He preached at her ordination.

Opening faith to the LGBT community Carr faces homophobia on a regular basis through her work, but she believes in the church and has made a commitment to spread the word of the gospel.

“I’m for the church,” said Carr. “It’s not that I don’t recognize that there are problems—I do—but I also want the gay community to know that there’s a place for them in the church and that they’re a vital part of the community.”

She credits Integrity Saskatoon, part of Integrity Canada, for paving the way for her before she moved to the city to work in 2009. The group works towards the inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the ministry of the Anglican Church.

Other groups, too, are helping to open the church to all worshippers, such as Faith and Equality, a religious website for LGBT youth and families.

Change may be slow to come, but Carr is optimistic about the future. “There were times when we didn’t allow interracial marriages in churches; well that looks silly now,” she said.

- Ashleigh Mattern is a freelance writer and copy editor based in Saskatoon.

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OutWords // Fashion

Log on to OutWords.ca for a behind the scenes video and short film, “unScentsored” by Jefre Nicholls, filmed & edited

by Jenny Marrin.

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OutWords // Fashion

Tom Ford Noir de Noir Concentrated sex in a bottle, this combination of notes from Mr. Ford’s private blend collection is spun together with a seductive equation of saffron, black rose, black truffle, vanilla, patchouli, oud wood and tree moss.

Waldi wears Noir de Noir by Tom Ford, available at Holt Renfrew & Harry Rosen in Canada and tomford.com worldwide; I HEART TOM T-shirt, custom made at Local Shop Awesome; Swarovski black crystal sunglasses by BCBG; Jeans, leather jacket and sneakers, stylist’s own.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 15

OutWords // Fashion

DSquared2 - HeWood Everything you think it’s going to be, and more, DSquared2’s quirky, just-can’t-getenough bouquet is one you won’t soon forget. For the man who wants to make an unforgettable mark, this woodsy aura of white spruce, amber, musk, vetiver and cedar will have all those who come in contact cooing m-hmmm.

Waldi wears HeWood by DSquared2, available at the Bay; Cranberry thermal underwear from American Apparel; Caribou winter boots by Sorel; Emporio Armani underwear, model’s own; Plaid shirt & wool socks, stylist’s own.

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OutWords // Fashion

Prada - Amber pour Homme Duality resides in this premiere fragrance from Prada.

The soft sensuality of amber is juxtaposed with woodsy undertones, making this beautiful fragrance the epitome of feminine masculinity.

Waldi wears Amber pour Homme by Prada, available at the Bay; Pearlencrusted jock, stylist’s own.

Givenchy Play Sport Energize with this everyday invigorating fragrance for the guy on the go. Punches of citrus, mint and ginger with an underlying amyris wood note centre the scent, producing a bright, happy burst of bottled electricity.

Waldi wears Play Sport by Givenchy, available at the Bay; Neon orange angora toque from Danier; Ski goggles by Smith; Electric yellow jogging shirt by Nike Pro Combat; Compression leggings by Under Armour.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 17

OutWords // Entertainment

PRIDE WINNIPEG HAS A LOT TO CELEBRATE PRIDE 2013 THEME ANNOUNCED

By Meg Crane

T

hough this year’s Pride Winnipeg theme was rolled in by members of the Winnipeg Roller Derby League as the room filled with smoke, upbeat music and rainbow-coloured lights, the theme itself carries a serious message. EquALL, the theme of the 26th Pride Winnipeg festival, is meant to be a reminder that we are still fighting towards equality for all.

“The idea with the ‘ALL’ spelled wrong and upfront is that you’re drawn to that first.

It reads backwards: ALL equal. That was the idea with the imagery,” said Pride Winnipeg’s vice-president Craig Theriault.

Theriault said that in the Pride 2013 logo, the letters A-L-L are transparent to symbolize transparency, marked in different colours to represent the diversity of the LGBTTQ* community, and look like a house of cards to symbolize that the gains made globally by LGBTTQ* communities are still threatened.

“Even though we have made great strides in the equality of LGBTTQ** rights, we also have some losses that we do have to remember,” said Theriault, mentioning recent anti-gay legislation passed in Uganda and Russia. “We want to make sure our brothers and sisters around the world are remembered at Pride events.”

Locally, Pride Winnipeg has a lot to celebrate.

“It was a huge year for us. We have a lot to be thankful for,” said Pride Winnipeg’s president Jonathan Niemczak. In the past year, Pride Winnipeg gained international attention for lighting up the Legislative

18 // March 2013 // www.outwords.ca

Gay bashing outside Gio’s

mini-series, Out + About.

The day after the press conference, the theme was revealed to partygoers at the Pride 2013 Launch Party at Gio’s, along with the first episode of Out + About, starring locals Graeme Coleman and Kelsey Heide. In this first episode, Coleman and Heide asked people at Polo Park Shopping Centre “What’s your pride?”, which was the theme of the episode. A new video will be uploaded monthly.

Though the LGBTTQ* community still has a lot of work to do to fully reach equality, the shift in focus over the years from fighting for equality locally to discussing global equality, hosting events and pushing into the mainstream, says something about the strides that have been made.

Tyler, who recently moved back to Winnipeg, decided the Pride 2013 Launch Party at Gio’s would be the perfect place to reintroduce himself to the local LGBTTQ* community. Although a welcoming environment awaited him inside the club, he was met with hostility outside its doors.

He and a female friend had decided to walk to Gio’s together.

“When we got about one block from Gio’s there was a car driving slow towards us,” Tyler said.

“Are you gay?” yelled someone from inside the car. After Tyler responded that he was, the men made several crude comments.

Tyler realized that it could be a potentially dangerous situation, so instead of standing up for himself as he might otherwise have done, he continued walking.

Half a block closer to Gio’s, another car was parked. The car’s windows were open and the passengers had heard what had been said by Tyler and the men in the car.

“Fag. You’re a fucking faggot,” a man yelled out the open car window.

Tyler’s friend stood, arms crossed, and stared at them as they continued to yell before she and Tyler walked into Gio’s. They decided to try to have a good night despite what had happened. Tyler only stayed at Gio’s for an hour.

“I couldn’t really enjoy myself. I felt terrible inside. So I decided to leave,” Tyler said.Tyler has been living on the West Coast and combating homophobia for the past few years.

“It’s really hard when you experience it,” said Tyler, who said he is not often subjected to homophobia. “It’s a very harsh reminder of what reality really is.”

Homophobia in Canada is slowly becoming more unacceptable, but homophobic comments and slurs are still quite commonplace. No one should have to face this type of abuse, especially outside the doors of an LGBTTQ*-friendly establishment such as Gio’s.

- Meg Crane is OutWords’ sports, books & movies editor.

Give Tyler your support or share your own story by tweeting @OutWords or sending a letter to the editor.

Assembly of Manitoba building during Pride Winnipeg’s 25th anniversary.

Winnipeg was also announced as the host of the 2014 Fierté Canada Pride and InterPride Region 7th Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting.

“We’ve started to participate in community events outside of Pride as well,” Niemczak said, pointing to their float at the 2012 Winnipeg Santa Claus Parade and a recently launched YouTube

“Even though we have made great strides in the equality of LGBT* rights, we also have some losses that we do have to remember.”

- Craig Theriault

OutWords // Entertainment

THE

ACTION IS BACK

Hot Thespian Action members (l-r) Jacqueline Loewen, Ryan Miller, Shannon Guile, Jane Testar, Garth Merkeley are back in Winnipeg after pitching their show to different networks. Photo courtesy of Hot Thespian Action.

WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL FAVOURITE RETURNS HOME AFTER A BIG ADVENTURE

By Marina Koslock

H

aving surpassed all expectations last year in both attendance and magnitude, the directors, actors, and audience of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival are prepared for yet another year of belly-hugging laughter. And before the curtain rises on the 12th production of Winnipeg’s funniest festival, OutWords sat down to talk to one of the largest success stories it helped launch, Hot Thespian Action.

A seasoned comedy troupe with members of the LGBTT* community and favourite at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Winnipeg’s own Hot Thespian Action has just returned from Toronto off a whirlwind of success and are ready to get in front of the lights of the stage again. After receiving critiques and strategizing how to pitch for their show with the producers at Original Pictures, the troupe dove headfirst into preparing for their pilot pitches at Shaw, Rogers and Bell Media.

“It was stressful to say the least,” said Garth Merkeley, a member of Hot Thespian Action. “Once we got in there, we realized the people we were pitching to were just people – important, intimidating people, but people nonetheless.” In fact, Merkeley recounted how they broke into unplanned song mid-pitch while in the boardroom with the Shaw executives, giving them a taste of who they really are. While waiting to hear back from the networks, the group is focusing on the coming year and all the possibilities that lie ahead for them. A lot of the decisions will not be made until the group receives feedback from their pilot pitches, but as they see it, all the possible outcomes are favourable to their careers.

“If our pilot is green lit, then we dive into crazy pilot mode and all that it entails,” Merkeley said enthusiastically. “If the networks are interested, but the pilot isn’t quite where they want it, then that means a lot of writing and re-writing. And if they are not interested at all, then we switch gears and start pursuing our next path.” The group

intends on broadening their audience by maintaining their YouTube channel, hoping to reach more sketch fans and possible job opportunities. They’ll also be keeping their Winnipeg fans happy by sticking around for festival season.

“It’s where we started and it’s where we built most of our fan base,” said Merkeley.

“As long as we have the option, we will try to fit as many festivals as possible, including the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and the Fringe Festival, into our year.”

The Winnipeg Comedy Festival runs April 8-14. Tickets are on sale already online or at the Gas Station Arts Centre, so make sure to pick up yours while they are still available, or you will surely not be the one with the last laugh.

– Marina Koslock is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 19

OutWords // Local

SHOT THROUGH THE

“THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY” FORCED TO CLOSE DOWN

By Graeme Coleman

G

io’s Club and Bar on Smith Street experienced a list of lasts as it made its way to the closing night on Feb. 16, including their last Pride launch, last women’s night, last karaoke, last Genderfest party, and other classic events for the LGBT* community.

The Oscar Wilde Memorial Society, Inc. (OWMS), the non-profit organization behind Gio’s, explained that the bar was shutting down due to financial difficulties.

Barry Karlenzig, treasurer of the OWMS, said the bar had been experiencing financial issues due to three main factors.

The first being the social acceptance that Manitoba has grown to have of the LGBT* community.

“Ten years ago, you had the fear of going to a straight bar and being bullied, whereas now it’s more socially acceptable,” said Karlenzig.

Neighbouring competition and the prevailing use of social media were also attributed to the hardship of Gio’s. When it comes to meeting people, there are more options now than when the bar thrived.

“We’re about the fourth or fifth gay bar that closed in Canada within the past six months and it’s all because of the same things,” said Karlenzig.

The volunteer board of the OWMS

The “heart of the community,” Gio’s closed on Feb. 16.

20 // March 2013 // www.outwords.ca

Photo by BrentYoung

believes they have done everything they could to reduce debt and increase attendance by cutting costs and making many memberrequested changes.

Following the bar’s closure, the property owner of 155 Smith Street plans on demolishing the 60-year-old building, where Gio’s spent the last decade of their 31 years in continuous operation. Gio’s will be replaced by condominiums or apartments.

The OWMS stated the landlord’s future plans had no bearing on the closure, as he had been “magificently patient” with the club’s problems throughout their tenure.

Jonathan Niemczak, president of Pride Winnipeg, is sad to see Gio’s leave the downtown area.

“It’s disappointing because that area there, with Fame and Club 200, has sort of become our own little LGBT* club district,” said Niemczak. “It was convenient for the community too, because you could hit up all three locations in one night.” Niemczak said he saw Gio’s as the LGBT* community’s central location, their city hall.

Beyond being a great location, Gio’s lived up to its tagline as “the heart of the community.” The OWMS founded their own charitable organization in 1992, called Gio’s Cares. The organization works to improve life for those living with HIV/AIDS and promotes safe sex, prevention, and testing.

Gio’s Cares also conducted food banks.

OutWords // Local

“Gio’s is where I felt my best, where I felt safe, happy and wanted.”

- Kerry Dale Kerry Dale wholeheartedly believes Gio’s was the “heart, soul, and home of our community.” Like many others, it was where he felt comfortable; it was where he discovered Satina Loren, his drag counterpart who would earn the title of Entertainer of the Year in 2011 and compete to be Canada’s Next Drag Superstar in 2012.

“My first time going to Gio’s was when I was 19. It was a Diva’s Reunited show where they had gotten a bunch of past reigning Mr. and Ms. Gio’s to perform. It was my first drag show and my first experience in a gay bar, which was overwhelmingly positive,” said Dale.

“Gio’s was where I got my first taste of drag and eventually it is where I met Lita and Symara, who would eventually become my drag mothers.”

“Gio’s is where I felt my best, where I felt safe, happy and wanted.”

Niemczak has hope that a reinstated Gio’s can once

again become all that it has been for the community, if a suitable location is found “Even though they are losing the building, it wasn’t so much the building that was the heart of the community - it was Gio’s, the organization,” said Niemczak.

At press time, the OWMS board announced it was on the lookout for a cozier venue in three areas: downtown, Osborne Village and the Exchange District. They plan on holding fundraisers to reduce debt in the meantime.

“If we find a smaller venue, that’s great. If we don’t, we have to close and not reopen,” said Karlenzig. “Then at least we know Manitoba has become more acceptable where we’ve done our role.”

What do you think about Gio’s leaving Smith Street?

Tweet us at @OutWords and let us know!

-Graeme Coleman is OutWords’ entertainment editor and reporter.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 21

OutWords // Entertainment

SETTING THE CIRCUS TO MUSIC COMPELLING CIRQUE DU SOLEIL COLLABORATION REACHES WINNIPEG

By Larkin Schmiedl

W

by Larkin Schmiedl

Cirque Musica brings together daring performance acts with exceptional classical musical. Courtesy of Cirque Musica

here circus meets symphony and music comes alive onstage in the bodies of some of the world’s best circus performers, you’ll find a show that’s making its Canadian premiere in Winnipeg this April. Cirque Musica is a collaboration between performers from Ringling Bros. Circus, Barnum & Bailey, Cirque du Soleil and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) for a special sensory experience.

“The show is an integration between the worlds of cirque and symphony,” says Steve Cook, who comes from both backgrounds himself and is the creator and producer of the show. “The audience takes a journey.”

Performer Matt Roben plays MC during that journey in the role of comedic host.

Raised in California, Roben collaborated with Texas-based Cook a couple of years ago and has been involved in the show ever since.

“It’s nice, [because] the symphony crowd gets a little lighter of a show and the non-symphony crowd gets to appreciate a symphony through kind of a POPS show, that might bring them in because of the circus - but they might start to realize ‘wow, this symphony thing’s pretty cool.’ It’s a lot of fun,” said Roben.

Besides classical and popular hits, the show features original music by Emmy

and Academy Award-nominated composer Marcelo Zarvos. The past two years, Cirque Musica performed across the United States, but Cook says they are excited to share the entertainment with Winnipeg. The show is family-friendly and appeals to all ages.

“What we’ve seen is it enables the audience to enjoy this great music in a whole new way. They’re clapping and cheering as they’re hearing Copland, and they’re on their feet when Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto plays. We have a flying violinist who plays that piece in the air,” Roben said.

“The most enjoyable part for us as circus performers is having the live symphony behind us. It’s such an incredible feeling, having 100 of essentially the world’s greatest musicians sitting behind us, playing.”

The troupe will arrive in town in mid April and, after only one or two rehearsals with the symphony, the collaboration will be ready to hit the stage. Music will be conducted by the WSO’s Richard Lee. Ticket prices to Cirque Musica vary according to seating. See www.wso.ca for more details.

The show will run April 26 - 27 at 8 p.m. and April 28 at 2 p.m.

- Larkin Schmiedl is a freelance journalist based in Kamloops, B.C. He hosts a weekly LGBTQ-issues radio show, Gaydio, and acts as LGBTI contributing editor with rabble.ca.

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22 // March 2013 // www.outwords.ca

OutWords // Sports

OUT OF THE CLOSET AND INTO THE LOCKER ROOM IN THIS FIRST PART OF THE SERIES, WE EXPLORE THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA IN SPORTS By Peter Carlyle-Gordge

M

any supposed barriers fall as social attitudes become more progressive and accepting, but one of the last icy, fear-founded outposts of discrimination is the world of sports.

Locker rooms should be safe and sports venues should be free from homophobia.

Athletes should be judged on talent, heart and work ethic, not sexual orientation. And though the GLBT community has made a lot of progress over the years, professional sport still remains a bastion of institutionalized homophobia.

In the last couple of years some athletes have come out publicly. Often, these sports heroes have come out once safely retired; however, Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas, British cricketer Steven Davies, president and CEO of the Phoenix Suns NBA team Rick Welts, and

ESPN morning sports personality Jared Max all came out in recent years while still active professionals. The Puerto Rican featherweight Orlando Cruz recently became the first active boxer to announce publicly that he is gay and a former Vancouver Whitecap soccer player came out publicly in 2011, making him the first North American professional soccer player to do so.

In Britain, no top flight footballer has come out since Justin Fashanu 22 years ago, but Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard has made a move in the right direction by writing passionately about the need for a gay hero.

“As a footballer, I think first and foremost that a homosexual colleague is afraid of the reception he could get from the fans. My impression is that the players would not have a problem accepting a homosexual,” Lindegaard wrote on his blog. “Homosexuality in football is a taboo subject. The atmosphere on the pitch and in the stands is tough. The mechanisms are primitive and it is often expressed through a classic stereotype that a real man should be brave, strong and aggressive. And it is not the image that a football fan associates with a gay person.” >

LE THIS ARTIC ED BY S P O N OR PROUDLY S NES

ND JO BANVILLEEARCHANTS WINE M

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 23

OutWords // Columns/Opinions

Having such major role models for young GLBT people is a priceless asset The Federation of Gay Games provides opportunities for GLBT athletes to be active in sports in a safe environment, while engaging straight athletes in clubs or sports competitions. In numerical terms, that is perhaps more significant for many than finding an ‘out’ pro athlete.

But having big names coming out is nonetheless very important, because of the media hoopla such events can generate.

Like it or not, it helps change people’s wider perceptions of what

it means to have openly ‘out’ people in every walk of life. Having such major role models for young GLBT people is a priceless asset in the battle to kill shame and stifle internalized homophobia and self hate.

HOW YOU CAN PLAY IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE Having admitted that so far, some progress has been made, when will it be safe for athletes in all sports and all leagues to come out and face the – hopefully – happy music?

Supporters of the You Can Play project hope that time will be soon. You Can Play is a group of leading athletes dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, regardless of sexual orientation.

The project works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete and be judged only by their performance as an athlete. By enlisting high profile supporters, You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.

You Can Play was born out of a tragedy. The project was started

by Patrick Burke, a talent scout for the

“YOU MAY BE PLAYING ALONGSIDE SOMEONE WHO IS GAY, BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO THEY ARE”- Patric Burke 24 // March 2013 // www.outwords.ca

OutWords // Sports

Philadelphia Flyers. Burke says he was totally sideswiped when his brother Brendan came out publically in 2009. He made Brendan swear on the Stanley Cup that it was not a joke and he really was gay. Finally convinced, Burke apologized to Brendan for ever having said or done anything to make him feel uncomfortable. It was then that Burke began thinking about the negativity gay people face in sports.

On Feb. 5, 2010, Brendan, only 21 at the time, died in a car accident. That was when Burke and his father Brian realized they needed to do something concrete to honour Brendan’s memory. The two men decided to advocate for the GLBT community in professional sports.

With the help of Glenn Witman and Brian Kitts, co-founders of the gay advocacy group GForce Sports, Patrick Burke and his father gathered funding and wrote to every NHL team about what he wanted to do.

And so, You Can Play was born.

“I just always think that I wish Brendan had had someone fighting for him when he was in high school,” Burke said. “I wish that Brendan had had gay role models in the sports world that he could reach out to, or that he could look at and say, ‘OK, this guy did it so I can too.’”

General managers wrote back quickly and within 72 hours, the Burkes had a list of 35 NHL players willing to publicly endorse the idea of making sports welcoming to GLBT people. Support for You Can Play project by NHL players empowered NFL players—who can be very powerful straight allies—to speak out against homophobia.

THE SUPPORT IS OUT THERE A recent ESPN poll of professional athletes found that 61.5 per cent and 92.3 per cent of NFL and NHL players, respectively, support gay marriage. The hope is that this multiplies and cascades in the homophobic sports world.

Burke regularly gives speeches at GLBT events, high schools, and anywhere else the project could make a difference. He

said a second wave of players is already committed to keeping the campaign going.

Some professional athletes are speaking up as individuals and collectively as teams to support equality and criticize homophobia.

“I’ve had a positive response wherever I’ve gone,” Burke says. “The younger generation is very much on board with this.

A Sports Illustrated survey a few years ago said 80 per cent of readers would be fine with supporting gay athletes.”

He said no major player has yet come out publicly, but it is well known in the business that some NHL players have boyfriends.

“The gay population at large is estimated between four and ten per cent, but even if you conservatively said it’s just one per cent, that means that statistically the NHL in any given year has at least seven to nine gay players and likely more,” Burke says. “There are about 750 players in the league, so you can do the math.”

But, Burke says, “it is still very difficult for a major player to publicly admit he’s gay even if some of his teammates know or suspect he is.” He says that people fear that coming out may damage the team spirit and stereotyped images of extreme masculinity, that are so central to the professional sports culture.

“It’s a very isolated culture,” Burke says. “Athletes tend to just hang out with other athletes. They practice with them and socialize with them as part of a team.” Gay athletes keep quiet strictly from fear that coming out will destroy their careers or career opportunities, so it will take a great deal of courage for a non-retired player to make that first leap.

“You may be playing alongside someone who is gay, but you have no idea who they are because of this,” Burke says. “By raising awareness through You Can Play, our aim is to make it a little easier for the time when professional players do decide to publicly come out. We can raise consciousness and make that trip a little easier by encouraging straight teammates to support them and let them know it’s OK to be gay. They will know there are sixty or seventy guys out

there who support them and respect them as players and as people.”

Burke says attitudes are slowly changing in the sports world and the community at large. You Can Play has had strong support from educators, team managers and players, as well as funding offered by foundations and many private donors.

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the You Can Play project recently announced a partnership dedicated to ensuring equality for all of the CWHL’s athletes, coaches, staff, and fans.

“You Can Play will work with the CWHL to find new and creative ways to ensure that lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes are ensured a safe environment, free from homophobic language and other forms of homophobia,” reads a You Can Play project press release.

In December, You Can Play announced a partnership with the America East conference. The conference office, along with student-athletes, coaches and administrators from all America East colleges and institutions will combine with You Can Play to help educate and change the culture and improve the treatment of GLBT athletes in the locker room and on the playing field. America East is the first Division One athletic conference to partner with project.

“For LGBT athletes currently attending these schools, or who may be considering which school to attend in the future, today is truly a game-changer,” Burke wrote in a press release. “We will work hard to help America East create inclusive locker rooms through education, policy creation, and programs which will help shape the culture of athletics at each school.”

Progress is slow, but at least it is progress. Changing minds and attitudes sometimes takes decades, but the momentum in the sports world is finally building up.

For more information, check out: http://youcanplayproject.org/ - Peter Carlyle-Gordge is a Winnipeg- based freelance writer, former producer for CBC radio and former MacLean’s writer.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 25

OutWords // Columns/Opinions

Through breast cancer and divorce, Bif Naked has a new album and a memoir in the works

B

if Naked’s journey to the top wasn’t a simple climb. After being adopted by missionaries and growing up in Kentucky, Naked’s family eventually settled in Manitoba. She studied theatre at the University of Winnipeg, but soon discovered music as her calling. Six albums later, with hit songs like “Spaceman,” “Lucky,” “I Love Myself Today” and “Tango Shoes,” the 41-year-old singer has toured the world and experienced many incredible things.

But Naked has also faced her share of hardships, including a battle against breast cancer in 2008 and a divorce in 2011.

“I don’t even know where to start. I’ve been going through a divorce, I’ve been on tour, I made a record, am writing a book. I’ve had heart surgery, my dog almost died twice. So many things have happened,” Naked told OutWords on the phone from her Vancouver home. Having gone through ordeals that would cause many people to crumble, Naked’s relentless positivity is both inspiring and at times surprising. She credits her outlook on the world with keeping her so happy with life.

“I know that I don’t have to watch my parents get disemboweled in a war, which is what goes on in the rest of the fucking world,” she said. “Having a global awareness about what real struggle really is keeps all of us positive and feeling gratitude every day. We are so lucky and blessed every day that we are not trying to escape war or being killed.”

“Kids don’t want to think about it because they have a hard enough life, but it makes us grateful and more respectful of other people, knowing how

Photo Courtesy of Bif Naked

the naked 26 // March 2013 // www.outwords.ca

OutWords // OutWords Letter to the // Music Editor

much they go through all the time.” At this repertoire. I think we will just have to put point her “senior dog” Nicklas barked in out another acoustic record with those songs the background. Bif Naked’s devotion to on it.” animals and her pets is as well-known as her On “So Happy I Could Die” she sings, “My music. whole life I was never good enough.” Yet the “He had a big year too,” Naked said. “Right message of the song is quite uplifting, and after I was in the hospital he went into the those that feel they are “not good enough” hospital and was intubated. I had to sign a can find a lot of hope in it. do-not-resuscitate order for him this year.”

“All of us feel like we are not good enough Naked’s dog has a flat at some point, or trachea and a Cushing’s disease someone has made diagnosis. Yet the operation us feel that way went well and, as is evident from and reinforced it Nicklas’ Twitter account, “he is for us. … The song just doing so well and thriving.” is about deciding Naked describes how to just get on with she has altered her home to your life and not make it happier for her dog, feel bad about including sleeping on mats yourself anymore. on the floor instead of a bed.

Get rid of your “With Anastasia [the singer’s shame,” she said, bichon frisé, who died while adding that many Released in December, the record features acoustic versions of favourite of her songs are quite she was recording The Promise], songs and two new tracks. she had eight back surgeries, so I positive. never had furniture ever. It was “I have never never an option,” explains Naked. She got actually written an angry song, they have all furniture for others who stayed in her house, been breakup songs. The delivery probably but got rid of it each time they moved out. seems angry in a way. I always thought “It is really nothing for me not to have a bed “Tango Shoes” was a joyful song, and or furniture. All I need is a dining room “Spaceman” is a song about longing.” table that seats 20 people and a dog bed for Naked sees similarities between her Nicklas, and I am happy.” songs, both old and new. “I have all of the Naked will be hitting the road again same hopes and dreams that I always did— soon in support of her newest album, the wish we all share to love and be loved Bif Naked Forever: Acoustic Hits & Other and speak up if somebody hurts us. I feel Delights. Released in December, the record like it is the same.” features acoustic versions of favourite songs Her honesty about the challenges in and two new tracks. “We had been doing her life has always been part of her music. acoustic shows for a couple of years and kept She will be revisiting some of the darker getting so many requests from the audiences moments in her life in the autobiography for us to put it on a disc they could buy at she is working on. “It is a labour of love. It the shows. That inspired us to make it,” is uncomfortable to write a lot of the stories; She said. “Many of the songs we recorded it is a little heart-wrenching, some of them,” didn’t make it on the album. It was very she said. “As a kid who was adopted in India hard to select. There is just so much in the and whose parents are missionaries, I can

truth

see why there is an interest. I am trying to honour my parents in the book and it is an interesting thing to be able to objectively try and endeavor to record your memoir.”

But honesty remains key for Naked, both in songs and in her autobiography. “My very first single in my lifetime was a song called “Tell On You” about being raped.

Once I put that out there, everything was easy. I wrote a song called “Chotee” about terminating a pregnancy that I didn’t want to terminate. So it wasn’t that difficult for me to write about painful stories in the book because I have been writing painful stories in my songs for many years.”

The music world has changed a great deal since Naked released her self-titled debut in 1995. The opportunity to interact with fans and share her activism via social media brings a whole different connection.

“It is very simple: the fans have access to the artist... That is one of the beautiful things about our era in life and technology. It allows people to have access to organizations and people they didn’t have before. It allows people to have a voice, impact and affect, make change.”

“It is a gift, really, for any artist or organization to be able to directly communicate with the people that are reaching out to you. It means everything to me. If I was told tomorrow that I couldn’t promote charities or causes that I feel passionate about, I would just deactivate my account. What is the point if we can’t try somehow?” she said.

Bif Naked sees a purpose for herself and her music. “It is such a small thing to do to promote something for the well-being or benefit of others. It is the least we can do as people who use technology. I think it is my responsibility, and I feel so fortunate to be able to do it.”

- Jason Clevett is a Calgary-based freelance writer.

By Jason Clevett

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 27

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OutWords // Columns & Opinions

RIGHTS OF THEIR OWN SOME COUNTRIES ARE BEGINNING TO RECONSIDER THE DIVISION BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURAL RIGHTS

I

t’s kind of endearing, in a way. You get on the bus after LIVING GREEN work to go home ALANA LAJOIEand at the next O'MALLEY stop, a gaggle of teenagers walks on.

They act as if they exist in a world of their own, like there’s no one else around. They monopolize the entire vehicle with their loud conversation and smelly snacks. Books are put down. Other conversations are stopped out of necessity. Other passengers are just minor nuisances, to be moved as far away from the teens as possible or get off a few stops early to make more room for them to spread out. Those darn kids … thinking they’re the centre of the universe again.

Push those pesky “other ones” aside and spread out, eh? Sounds kind of familiar.

There are seven billion humans on the planet. Those of us who aren’t poor have spent a few centuries now clearing away, hunting, or fishing the habitat and sustenance of other species so that we can have bigger homes, more access to energy,

more consumer goods and more luxurious food.

We act as if we exist in a world of our own, like there are no other species around.

We monopolize the entire planet with our noisy, stinky cars, buildings and factories.

Other life cycles are stopped out of necessity.

Other species are just minor nuisances that will (and should) move as far away from us as possible or go extinct to make room for us to spread out.

Those darn humans. Hey, wait a second!

Ecuador’s new constitution includes a chapter titled Rights for Nature. It’s the first country to entrench in law the idea that non-human parts of ecosystems have inherent value and rights, whether or not their destruction will have an impact on human life. Rather than treating nature as property under the law, Ecuador’s constitution acknowledges that nature in all its forms has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles.

And, the people of Ecuador now have the legal authority to enforce these rights on behalf of ecosystems. The ecosystem itself can be named as the defendant.

On March 30, 2011, Richard Frederick Wheeler and Eleanor Geer Huddle invoked this right in the Provincial Court of Justice of Loja in favour of Nature – more specifically the Vilcabamba River – against the provincial government of Loja. The case was based on the risks to the Vilcabamba River caused by a project to widen the Vilcabamba-Quinara road. The defendant – Nature— won.

It’s certainly an interesting concept – extending the same legal mechanisms we use to protect human rights to the non-human world. It might be an interesting thing to try out in Canada, eh? We are, after all, highly regarded for our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It may be true that those adventures with self-involved teenagers on the bus are endearing. But I think that it’s only because we know that eventually they’ll grow out of it. One day, they’ll look up and see the world around them and understand it doesn’t exist solely for their benefit and entertainment.

They may even learn to behave accordingly.

The question is, will we?

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

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 29

OutWords // Columns & Opinions

SPIRITUALITY RAY BUTEAU

An older gay speaker begins to mentor two unruly youth

T

he Rainbow Resource Centre’s youth co-ordinator began the meeting.

“I received a letter from Robert, an older gay resource speaker, who was wondering whether anyone would be interested in taking part in a mentorship program?”

“That man is out to be a martyr,” Danny whispers to Tom. “It would involve being matched up with an older mentor to meet on a regular basis,” the co-ordinator continues.

“I’ll take the bait,” Danny whispers.

“Boundaries, such as how often, for how long and where to meet, along with agreeing to no other activities together, will be respected. A set number of meetings would

30 //

be agreed upon by both parties before deciding whether to continue meeting together. Robert asks that any feedback be given to me as co-ordinator,” he concludes.

True to form, Danny flares up.

“I have a question and it’s quite simple, why?”

Tom, to get Danny worked up even more, adds, “Why not?”

The co-ordinator explains, “Robert feels there is a real disconnect between the older gay community and the younger generation.”

“An opportunity for them to remind us of the good old days,” Danny whispers.

The co-ordinator continues, “Who, when they see the younger generation, are thinking ‘been there, done it and survived.’”

“Yeah, but many of them survived to become grumpy old bitches,” Danny adds.

“Robert feels it would be a valuable experience for both parties,” says the co-ordinator.

“Oh he does, does he?” Danny mumbles. “Don’t all these programs have a trial run?”

Tom whispers to Danny, “I know you’re up to something.”

Danny adds, “While the group gives its feedback, I could ask Robert if we could meet on a trial basis.”

Tom whispers again to him, “What you won’t do for a free coffee.”

Tom adds out loud, “I think if this is supposed to be a trial program, then there should be more than one person in it. So I’d like to ask Robert if he’d be willing to meet with both of us.”

“At the same time?” Danny blurts out.

“For the first meeting, yes, then we’ll let Robert decide how to proceed,” Tom suggests.

The group agrees to the trial run and continues with their agenda. *** A week later, the three amigos meet for coffee. After greeting each other, Robert says, “You’d think that at my age I’d realize that suggesting something to your group could open the possibility of such a surprise response of enthusiasm. Or is this sabotage?”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Danny innocently adds.

“Where did you get that line?” Tom asks Danny.

“My grandmother used to say it all the time. I knew it would sound familiar to someone,” Danny says. “I’m only interested in talking about my own personal issues.”

“No kidding,” Robert smiles back.

“And I’m only interested in talking about my guilt issues,” Tom adds.

“Tell you what guys,” Robert suggests, “I’ll meet with you once a month, Danny.

And once a month with you, Tom. Then we’ll all meet together once a month to discuss the topic of relationships. How does that sound?”

“Only once a month?” Danny asks.

“You’re kidding, right?” Robert responds, suspicious of Danny’s quick acceptance of his trial mentoring program.

“Perhaps you should be more careful what you ask for,” Danny says, laughing.

“And starting to mentor the both of you is my New Year’s present?” Robert asks.

“Two for one,” Tom adds, toasting their drinks to the New Year.

In the next issue, Robert meets with Danny for his first mentorship meeting.

- Ray Buteau is a former Catholic priest and author of the book No Longer Lonely. www.raybuteausweb.com.

OutWords // Columns & Opinions

TECHNOLOGY COREY SHEFMAN

READING BETWEEN THE TERMS

Why Instagram users are wrong to complain about their privacy violations

A

little while ago, Instagram, the photo-sharing service that lets people upload pictures from their cell phones with the always-classy sepia filter (among other ‘old-time’ filters), changed its terms of service. Terms of service are legal documents that every app, website, program and service we use on the Internet has – though good luck finding most of them. The terms of service describe the relationship between the user and the service provider, laying out the rights of both sides.

Normally, terms of service are pretty standard. They make sure that companies can’t be sued when users do something stupid, often guaranteeing users maintain ownership over the content they upload.

But the changes Instagram made to their terms of service were a bit different (see sidebar). In short, they gave Instagram the right to profit off your images, by using them in its own advertising, or by selling your photos to other companies. Of course, you won’t ever see the money – these are Instagram’s profits.

And this made the Internet angry.

These are our photos. Valuable shots of our meals, snowy trees, Starbucks cups and vacation beaches. What right does this big Internet company have to make money off our “intellectual property”?

There are two problems with the righteous indignation of Internet users every time a service changes its terms of service (whenever Facebook changes its terms, half the users threaten to quit).

First, most of these services are free to use.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr – nearly all of the websites and apps we use on a daily basis are either

free, or cost us way less than they actually take to run. How do we expect them to continue operating? Second, we need to stop treating the content we share with these services the same way we treat actual creative content.

We’ve become very used to jumping from one online service to another without having to pay. And, with good reason; the Internet is about openness and communities without borders. The “pay walls” being put in place by major media outlets are the opposite of this – they turn people off and reverse the democratizing effect of the Internet. But at the end of the day, companies operating services on the Internet need to make money. So they turn to monetizing what makes their services tick – for Instagram, it’s your photos. For Facebook, it’s your interests.

And you know what? I’m okay with them using what I upload if it means I get to keep using their services. Because the picture of my dinner on Instagram (I don’t actually upload pictures of my food, but you know what I mean) is not art. It’s sharing. And if you actually are taking photographs as art or commentary, they should be going to an actual photography service like Flickr.

The Internet in 2013 is a very different ecosystem from the Internet as we knew it in 2000, 2005, or even 2010 (in 2005, Facebook was less than a year old). As the Internet changes, we have to adapt with it.

We can’t continue sharing content in the same ways we used to; our digital society won’t tolerate it. Technology keeps moving forward – and we need to do our best to keep up.

Two of the key changes to Instagram’s terms of service: •“Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue.

To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/ or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”

•“Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service.

Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service, except that you can control who can view certain of your Content and activities on the Service as described in the Service’s Privacy Policy…”

– Corey Shefman is a geek, and proud of it.

March 2013 // www.outwords.ca // 31