PGN Feb. 18-24, 2011 edition by The Philadelphia Gay News

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Tryouts for gay “Jersey Shore” go “Under the Boardwalk”

Sixty-five men are currently participating in HIV vaccine research in Philadelphia. Meet two of them. PAGE 15

Family Portraits: Alison Lin

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Feb. 18-24, 2011

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Vol. 35 No. 7

Fallout continues from priest arrests By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com

SOLD FOR A SONG: Mark Stambaugh (standing, center) was one of six eligible bachelors from the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus who lined up last weekend to auction themselves off. The annual date auction, hosted by Ed Stash (left) and Dennis Kalup (right), was held Feb. 11 at Voyeur, with proceeds going to benefit the chorus. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Marriage-equality, No cuts to HIV/ civil-union bills hit AIDS programs the PA legislature on the horizon By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com

By Sam Martino PGN Contributor

Two Pennsylvania legislators paid a fitting tribute to Valentine’s Day with the announcement of measures that would recognize the relationships of same-sex couples. State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17th Dist.) and Rep. Mark Cohen (D-202nd Dist.) participated in a press conference Monday in Harrisburg’s Capitol Rotunda as part of LGBT Freedom Week to unveil their respective marriage-equality and civilunions bills. Both lawmakers proposed the bills for the first time in the last PAGE 17

In his 2012 budget proposal, President Obama has a message: “We have to live within our means, and make a down payment on our future.” For the moment, the programs near and dear to the hearts of LGBTs and those with HIV/AIDS appear to be safe — some might even see funding increases. Obama released his $3.7-trillion 2012 budget proposal Monday; the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1. President Obama promised not to cut programs, but to rather increase funding PAGE 24 for research for HIV/

The Philadelphia District Attorney last week filed charges against a former Archdiocesan official for his alleged role in covering up instances of sex abuse, in what is considered to be the first case of its kind. Monsignor William Lynn, who served as the Archdiocesan secretary for clergy under former Archbishop Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, was arrested on two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Also arrested last week were the former Rev. Edward Avery, 68, and the Revs. Charles Engelhardt, 64, and James Brennan, 47. Police also arrested Bernard Shero, 48, a

AVERY

BRENNAN

teacher at St. Jerome in the Northeast. Avery, Engelhardt and Shero are all accused of raping the same male student at St. Jerome’s in the late 1990s, while Brennan, who also worked at St. Jerome, is accused of raping a teenage student at a suburban parish in 1996. Brennan, Avery, Engelhardt and Shero face charges of rape, corruption of minors, aggravated assault and other charges. All four and Lynn were released Feb. 11 after posting bail. The Archdiocese is now also facing a lawsuit filed Monday by a 28-year-old man who alleges he was molested by a seminarian in the early 1990s and also by a priest at Malvern Preparatory. The PAGE 26

ENGELHARDT

LYNN

SHERO

More questions than answers in silicone pumping death By Victoria A. Brownworth Special to PGN Claudia Aderotimi came to Philadelphia from London on Feb. 6 on a quest for a sexier body, but will return home in a body bag. The 20-year-old British-Ghanian woman died after an illegal pumping procedure at the Hampton Inn hotel near the Philadelphia Airport on Feb. 7 went fatally

wrong. An aspiring singer and hip-hop dancer in London’s Hackney neighborhood, Aderotimi had come to Philadelphia for a buttocks-enhancement procedure with several friends, one of whom had the procedure as well. She was, said friends, “looking for a bigger booty” to help her get gigs in hiphop honey videos. Aderotimi and her companion, whose name is being withheld by police, came to Philadelphia for a similar PAGE 38

Special anniversary issue ��

Commemorative coverage begins on page��27 � � � ��

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2 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

4 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Contents Meet two guys who met through the PGN classifieds 20 years ago and are still going strong.

NEWS

EDITORIAL/OP-ED

Local News 5 News Briefing 8 Media Trail 48 International News 39

Editorial Creep of the Week Mark My Words Street Talk Letters/Feedback

10 10 11 11 11

FEATURES

Crime Watch 35th Anniversary Section

25 27

ARTS & CULTURE SECTION

A recap of 35 years of PGN entertainment interviews and feature stories that just might surprise you.

What does February make you think of? Poll results from our online survey as of Feb. 16:

40% Another month of cold and snow 15% Valentine’s Day 5% 3-day holiday for Presidents Day 17% All of the above 23% Nothing special Go to www.epgn.com to weigh in on this week’s question:

How long have you been reading PGN?

Philadelphia Gay News 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506

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Phone: 215-625-8501 Fax: 215-925-6437 E-mail: pgn@epgn.com Web: www.epgn.com

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Publisher

Advertising Manager Greg Dennis (ext. 201) greg@epgn.com

Editor Sarah Blazucki (ext. 206)

Advertising Sales Representatives David Augustine (ext. 219) david@epgn.com

Mark Segal (ext. 204) mark@epgn.com

sarah@epgn.com Staff Writers Jen Colletta (ext. 215) jen@epgn.com

Amy Mather (ext. 214) amy@epgn.com

Larry Nichols (ext. 213) larry@epgn.com

National Advertising Rivendell Media 212-242-6863

Writer-at-Large Timothy Cwiek (ext. 208) timothy@epgn.com

Office Manager/ Classifieds Don Pignolet (ext. 200) don@epgn.com

Art Director/ Photographer Scott A. Drake (ext. 210) scott@epgn.com Graphic Artist Sean Dorn (ext. 211) sean@epgn.com Executive Assistant/ Billing Manager Carol Giunta (ext. 202) carol@epgn.com Philadelphia Gay News is a member of: The Associated Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Suburban Newspaper Published by Masco Communications Inc. © 2011 Masco Communications Inc. ISSN-0742-5155 The views of PGN are expressed only in the unsigned “Editorial” column. Opinions expressed in bylined columns, stories and letters to the editor are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of PGN. The appearance of names or pictorial representations in PGN does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that named or pictured person or persons.

LOCAL 35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

JOINED IN FAITH: About 20 faith leaders from around the region came together at the William Way LGBT Community Center for the third-annual Interfaith Breakfast Feb. 11. Rabbi Linda Holtzman (left), senior rabbi at Mishkan Shalom, delivered a special presentation on her own experiences as an openly lesbian rabbi. The event, organized by the center’s Out and Faithful Committee each year to mark National Freedom to Marry Week, is meant to unite leaders of faith in the conversation about marriage equality. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Council hearing set for human-relations measure By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com A committee of Philadelphia City Council next week will hold a public hearing on the proposed measure to revamp the city’s nondiscrimination law. The ordinance, introduced Feb. 3 by Councilman Bill Greenlee, will come before the Law and Government Committee at 10 a.m. Feb. 24 in Room 401 of City Hall. Greenlee is chair of the committee, on which the measure’s cosponsor, Councilman Bill Green, also sits. A bill introduced the same day by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown that would mandate that certain city contractors provide domestic-partner benefits has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. Greenlee’s measure would provide for a complete overhaul of the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which, among other stipulations, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, public accommodations and employment. His proposal, drafted in conjunction with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, which enforces the nondiscrimination law, would amend the language of the law to allow for uniform definitions throughout. Greenlee noted that certain portions of the law have been updated over the years while others have not, leading to internal discordance as well as a disconnect with language in state and federal laws. “The key here is that we’re bringing this law up to date,” Greenlee said. “We need to keep pace with policy changes on the federal level. This hasn’t been done on this scale in 60 years, and we need an up-to-date law that reflects 2011.”

Relevant to LGBTs are such changes as the updating of the definition of “familial status” to include one’s life partner. The process for registering as life partners would also change, with partners having to be in an interdependent relationship for at least three months, as opposed to the current six-month limitation, and present at least two pieces of evidence documenting the relationship, contrary to the current three pieces. The bill would also strengthen the power of the Human Relations Commission. Currently the commission can impose fines of up to $300, but Greenlee’s bill would elevate that fee to $2,000. In employment cases, the commission will be empowered to take such actions as ordering reinstatement and hiring and upgrading with or without back pay, while in housing situations the panel can mandate a property owner sell, rent or lease property. Greenlee noted the expanded power will be especially meaningful to LGBT residents, who often have no other recourse, since state and federal laws lack protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. “The local Human Relations Commission is really the one place the LGBT community has to file with when they’re discriminated against,” he said. “So that’s why it’s really important that we finally get this done and move forward quickly.” Greenlee said he’s anticipating “smooth sailing” with the bill. “We’re hoping to get it done reasonably quickly,” he said. “Things get bogged down with the budget in March, so we’re hoping to get it out of committee quickly, and I really don’t foresee any problems there. With the responses I’ve gotten from the rest of Council, I’m pretty positive.” ■

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

6 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

LOCALSPECIAL EDITION 35TH ANNIVERSARY

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Deportation delayed for Philly couple By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The Department of Homeland Security gave a local gay couple the only Valentine’s Day gift they were hoping for: the temporary delay of a deportation order that would have taken them a world away from one another. On Feb. 14, just three hours before Anton Tanumihardja was scheduled for a flight back to his native Indonesia, DHS granted his request for an emergency stay, allowing him to remain in Philadelphia for the time being with his partner of seven months, Brian Andersen. “We literally received the information in the last minute,” Andersen said Tuesday. “The best way to describe the situation, and I know this is cliché, is as if a weight was lifted from our shoulders. It gave us a chance to breathe a little and enjoy one another’s company.” In honor of the occasion, the couple went out for a Valentine’s Day dinner at Café de Laos in South Philadelphia and, back at home, watched “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” “This seems like a simple evening to most, but for us it was so incredibly special to have this opportunity to spend Valentine’s Day with that ‘someone spe-

cial,’” Andersen said. The stay allows Tanumihardja to remain in the country until the Board of Immigration Appeals rules on his motion to reopen his asylum case, a filing he submitted last September. A decision is anticipated before this September. Tanumihardja came to Philadelphia on a six-month tourist visa in 2002 and, when that expired, he was granted a two-year work visa. Since that time, he has repeatedly sought asylum, citing the dangerous conditions facing gays in Indonesia, as well as Catholics and ethnic Chinese, two other groups with which he identifies. His motion was repeatedly denied, and his final deportation was ordered for Feb. 14, although the BIA had not yet ruled on whether it would revisit his case. The couple sought assistance from online campaign Stop the Deportations, which works for justice for same-sex binational couples. Under current U.S. immigration law, American citizens cannot sponsor a same-sex partner for citizenship, while heterosexual married couples can. Stop the Deportations circulated the story and encouraged supporters to contact Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano and urge the delay. “I knew the deportation branch had the power to make this decision,” said

TANUMIHARDJA (LEFT) AND ANDERSEN

Lavi Soloway, co-founder of Stop the Deportations. “But I also appreciate that it’s difficult to take the time to review each and every case and make compassionate exceptions — I wish there were the resources for that. So this is a fairly extraordinary event that essentially has given Anton the opportunity to live to fight another day.” Andersen said he and Tanumihardja know their relief could be short-lived if the BIA decides against reopening the case, at which time the deportation order would

immediately go into effect. “We are thankful for each and every moment we have together and have to treat it like our last,” he said. “This isn’t a permanent fix, but it is a bittersweet victory that will allow Anton and I to be together and continue to fight the battle to keep him in the U.S.” Soloway said his organization will continue to offer support to the couple, who also pledged to work with Stop the Deportations to fight for more equal immigration treatment for same-sex couples. Soloway said Tanumihardja’s ordeal puts a public face to a situation that countless couples have been made to endure. “This is a very important learning moment for our community and for the administration,” he said. “This represents the plight of so many gay and lesbian American citizens who have partners who are foreign nationals and for whom no legal avenue exists to keep that person in the United States. That is the persistent, ongoing problem that needs to be addressed and what’s happened in the last few days with Anton is the epitome, the ultimate example, of the need for public-policy and discretionary measures put into place to ensure that these things aren’t happening, that gay and lesbian couples aren’t torn apart.” ■

8 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

REGIONAL 35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Fair for LGBT youth

News Briefing Hearings continued in domestic case Trials are still pending for Luis Berrios and partner Jason Mendez, who were arrested during a domestic disturbance and contend that police officers were unnecessarily rough and used homophobic and racist language. Berrios and Mendez, who were arrested at the end of December on assault charges, were supposed to face preliminary hearings at the end of last month, but they were postponed because of snow. Mendez had his the hearing Feb. 3 and is scheduled for a trial at 10 a.m. Feb. 28 in Room 606 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St. Berrios’ proceeding was rescheduled for Feb. 14, but Mendez, who is still in police custody because the arrest violated his probation, and who was supposed to testify, was not present. Berrios’ trial was subsequently scheduled for 10 a.m. March 29 in Room 906 of the CJC. The pair alleges that several officers who responded to a neighbor’s call reporting their fight used the word “fag” numerous times in addition to excessive force. The Police Advisory Commission and Internal Affairs Bureau are both investigating. Berrios said Internal Affairs interviewed him earlier this month. The head of Internal Affairs, Deputy Commissioner Stephen Johnson, who is also the police LGBT liaison, said the bureau has 75 days from the date the complaint was filed, in this case Jan. 4, to render judgment.

DVLF to thank volunteers LGBT grantmaking agency Delaware Valley Legacy Fund will host a community event to thank its current and previous volunteers and raise awareness about volunteer opportunities. The event will be held from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 24 at CITYSPACE, 2200 Walnut St. Representatives from DVLF committees will be on hand to explain the work they do, and newly appointed executive director John Moeller will also be available to meet with community members. For more information, contact Moeller at 215-563-6417 ext. 117 or info@dvlf. org.

The Educational Justice Coalition will host its second-annual LGBTQ Youth Empowerment Fair from 4-6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at the William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. The event, themed “One-Stop Shop,” is meant to provide youth with a vast array of resources for educational, health and social-service organizations. LGBTfriendly colleges, trade schools and employers will also be in attendance. The free fair will feature special guest speaker and anti-bullying advocate Joey Kemmerling and will be followed by the “Fiercest Life Youth Party” from 7-9 p.m. in the center’s ballroom. Admission to the party is $5 or $3 if guests attended the fair. Free rapid HIV testing will be provided at the event, and those who get tested will receive free admission to the party. Organizations interested in having a table at the event should contact Quincy Greene at 215-985-6757 or quincygreene@gmail.com.

Gay travel expo AAA South Jersey will host its thirdannual Gay Pride Day Travel Expo from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 5 at the Collingswood Senior Center, 300 Collings Ave., Collingswood, N.J. The show, themed “Taste the Travel,” will showcase gay-friendly travel packages, cruise vacations and other vendors. The free event is open to both AAA members and non-members and will feature door prizes. For more information, call 1-888-5779AAA ext. 2600.

Craigslist trial continued A man accused of defrauding several gay men in an Internet scheme is scheduled for trial next month. Michael Daniels will stand trial at 9 a.m. March 3 in Room 502 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St. The trial has been continued several times in the past few months. Daniels was arrested in October 2009 and charged with numerous counts of impersonating a police officer, kidnapping, burglary, theft, conspiracy, false imprisonment and other charges. Daniels allegedly responded to several advertisements placed on Craigslist by men looking for sex with other men and, dressed as a police officer, threatened to arrest the men for not verifying his age unless they paid him. ■

PGN

— Jen Colletta

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

10 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITORIAL SPECIAL EDITION

Creep of the Week

D’Anne Witkowski

Vision America

Editorial

The PGN time machine Putting together this issue has not been unlike Michael J. Fox getting launched into the past in a DeLorean “Back to the Future”-style. Moreover, it has been an all-consuming, sometimes scary, exhausting, sanity-testing experience that we somehow found worthwhile ... but may not want to do ever again if we have anything to say about it. A scant few of us at PGN were here from the start. Some of us were born around the time the paper launched. And the rest were in diapers when PGN blew out the candles on its 10th birthday. For most of us here at the paper, the 1970s and most of the ’80s were either a blur of cartoons, juice boxes and Happy Meals or something out of a documentary or VH1 talking-head show. In putting together this special issue of the paper, we have to tip our collective hats to anyone who was fighting the good fight back then, navigating the sexual, social and political revolutions without the benefit of the Internet, computers, cell phones and very little, if any, mainstream media coverage. How you survived those times and kept the train on the rails is amazing and inspiring. We can only imagine what some of the trials and tribulations — and victories — were like. Even with the wealth of knowledge available, many in the community today don’t know what it felt like to watch helplessly and fearfully as more and more obituaries piled up from a then-unknown disease — while the nation at large seemed, at best, indifferent. Many don’t know what it was like not to have a voice in the media or politics — to fight not to be invisible. Society is far from perfect now. Frankly, the LGBT community has a long way to go to get to fair. Being able to stop for a moment and look back and glean what we can from the past almost seems like a luxury now, when people as a whole are always in a rush to push forward and onward. For what it’s worth, we hope you find something of intellectual value in this issue. If you lived through those times, enjoy the trip down memory lane. If you didn’t, we wish we had more pages to give you a bigger taste of those days. Actually, we don’t, because it’s been backbreaking work this week. We’ve consumed far too much caffeine and chocolate. We can’t spell or think coherently and the words and images are blurry. But you get the idea. ■

Every year, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference is a hot bed of antigay ranting. CPAC 2011 was no exception, despite the fact that GOProud, a gay Republican organization that thinks the Log Cabin Republicans are crazy lefties, was welcomed with open arms. Kidding. GOProud was not exactly welcomed, but they were there anyway and were even CPAC sponsors. This caused a right-wing shit storm of homo-induced hysteria. For one thing, Vision America, Pastor Rick Scarborough’s organization that seeks to erase the separation between church and state, boycotted CPAC. According to the Vision America website, one of its founding principles is “Personal Decency and Moral Integrity.” They believe that “God established human sexuality for the physical expression of love and commitment between a man and a woman in holy marriage. Apart from that divine intent, sexual activity becomes nothing more or less than the selfish manipulation of another human being for personal satisfaction or financial gain.” So I guess it’s really not a surprise that gays at CPAC would totally freak them out, since they think gays are pretty much sexmaniac perverts against God. Vision America even took out a full-page ad in the Washington Times that reads, “CPAC is betraying conservative principles and threatening conservative unity by creating the false impression that gay activism is somehow compatible with conservatism.” Which begs the question, if gay conservatives don’t exist, then is GOProud pretend? Or just delusional? The ad continues, “The self-proclaimed gay Republicans support hate crime laws (which will be used to bludgeon the church) and oppose the Federal Defense of Marriage Amendment, without which judges will ultimately legislate homosexual ‘marriage’ — making the natural family an endangered species.” That’s right. If gay people get married, then families headed by heteros will start to die off. Because gays will destroy their habitat. And eat all of their food. And kill all of their babies. That’s just how gays roll. The ad features a photo of Ronald Reagan looking really sad. The message is that today’s CPAC makes him cry, or it would if he were still alive. There’s also

this Reagan quote: “Without God, there is no virtue, because there is no prompting of the conscience ... And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.” Underlying message: True conservatives don’t mingle with gays because gays are godless and are destroying democracy. “Ask yourself: Would CPAC allow participation by the Democratic Socialists of America? Why is the free market an inviolable conservative principle, but not family values?” the ad asks. “Why does it profit us to gain tax cuts and lose the family — the foundation of a free society?” Oh, I get it. This is like sibling rivalry. Who does Daddy Conservatism love best, Baby Money or Baby Morality? Well, guess what? You don’t need morality to make money. If anything, capitalism seems to demonstrate that morality actually works against you. And Baby Morality is just so selfrighteous, always into everybody else’s business. And I think we’ve seen enough conservatives embroiled in sex scandals, gay and straight, to prove that “family values” only matters when it works to get votes. Antigay organizations like Family Research Council, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, Liberty Counsel and American Family Association followed Vision America’s lead, boycotting CPAC all because GOProud was there. Ain’t no way they were going to share a conference center with a bunch of queers. FRC’s Tony Perkins explained that the reason his group was boycotting the conference was because homos are clearly trying to destroy conservatism. “Any group that purports to be conservative should not attempt to destroy the foundations of conservatism itself, and we will not aid and abet such groups by partnering with them,” he continues. In other words, attending CPAC is akin to giving comfort to the enemy. And to Vision America and all of the other CPAC boycotters, homos are always the enemy. Maybe they’re finally realizing that it’s a losing battle. ■

I think we’ve seen enough conservatives embroiled in sex scandals, gay and straight, to prove that “family values” only matters when it works to get votes.

D’Anne Witkowski has been gay for pay since 2003. She’s a freelance writer and poet (believe it!). When she’s not taking on the creeps of the world, she reviews rock ’n’ roll shows in Detroit with her twin sister.

35TH ANNIVERSARY OP-EDSPECIAL EDITION

Reflecting on battles won definitely not limited to police hiring, lesbian I’ve been very emotional in the last few weeks. After all, 35 years is a big deal. nuns, runaway gay children, the homeless At milestones like this, we often reflect on in our community, HIV/AIDS, community funding, equal employment and domesticthe past. I’ve been paging through 35 years of PGN. partner rights. As a community, we did all that — and It has been an emotional journey. I was so busy on that journey that I never we won many battles. Today, our had much time to look back. community has three out city Until I did so — looking at the judges; has had an open lesbian, wealth of community and PGN Alba Martinez, as president of history and achievement — I that same United Way that once never realized how hard it really refused to fund LGBT organizations; and had a gay man, was. We just fought the fight that had to be fought. Andy Chirls as chancellor of the This newspaper has survived Philadelphia Bar Association. We bomb threats, broken windows, have active community, health graffiti, suicides, death threats, and youth centers. And this paper, cars deliberately plowing into your newspaper, has grown to our vending boxes, the trashing be the nation’s most award-winning LGBT weekly, one that even of our offices and the American Nazi Party putting us on its hit interviews soon-to-be presidents. list. And I can’t help but get emoOn occasion, PGN staff has tional when I think of our start, had to watch police cart their Mark Segal in a building with no electricity, no plumbing and, when it rained, publisher off to jail. When United Way wouldn’t fund needed a plastic tarp. I’m not only proud of this paper, but proud too of LGBT organizations, I secured my neck to their front door. Many a TV station was the community we serve, and look forward disrupted or, for my last visit to jail, I toiletto the future battles we’ll wage together to bring growth and services to our community. papered WCAU-TV after they did biased and negative news reporting on our comWhen this paper started, we weren’t taken munity. And that was when I was beginning seriously. We changed that in our second issue with a groundbreaking interview with to use my parenting skills with my nephew. He watched Uncle Mark being handcuffed the governor of Pennsylvania. At that point, and hauled away. (A good civics lesson?) no other LGBT medium had ever spoken to such a high-level elected official in its pages. Certainly one of the many family moments We made it a point if you were running for members of the PGN staff have had. The staff truly makes this paper and there have office, you’d speak to the LGBT community through its media and be accountable. Even been births in our family and, of course, a candidate named Barack Obama came to deaths. But through all of this, we have built a know that. But it goes further. It’s not only speaking to the LGBT community, it’s keepcommunity together and have held true ing the promises of equality. to our mission of being a communication platform for debate within our community. PGN’s mission has not changed and we hope, along with our community, that we There is no issue that cannot be discussed. Sometimes it brings us pain, as we can’t only have helped society change. In 1976 — 35 portray the lighthearted side of the commuyears ago — I really didn’t understand what nity, as some would like us to do. I was signing up for. Today, I look back and tears well up. There are too many memories, When there are issues in this community, these are the pages where those issues are some good, some bad. If history is any lesson to us, the history lesson to our commudiscussed and sometimes resolved, or where nity through the last 35 years is: This paper we agree to disagree. Most importantly, we have chronicled the growth of the commuproves this community is on the move and, nity. And the pages of this paper over the after reading many of those papers over the last few weeks, late into the night, I predict years clearly show that growth. When we started in the 1970s, it was usual our community has a bright future. ■ for us to cover events like police raids on gay bars and the D.A. investigating the wholesale Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He is the blackmailing of gay men. PGN took on orga- nation’s most-award-winning commentator nizations such as the American Red Cross, in LGBT media, having recently received Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Way and, the 2010 Columnist of the Year Award from the 2,000-member Suburban Newspapers of sadly, we chronicled the brutality of hate crimes and murders. America. He can be reached at mark@epgn. We pushed every envelope, including but com.

Mark My Words

Tell us what you think Send letters and opinion column submissions to: pgn@epgn.com; PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147; fax: (215) 925-6437.

Please include a daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, style and space considerations.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Street Talk Is Philadelphia ready for an openly LGBT City Council member? “Definitely within the next eight years, we’ll have an open lesbian or gay on City Council. But it might take longer to Ryan Dieringer have an open musician transgender. South Philadelphia My impression of the prevailing sentiment of the city is that it’s moving in the right direction — I’m surprised we haven’t had one already.”

“Oh yes. My feel of the city is that it’s a very welcoming environment. People are open-minded here, and accepting of everybody. It’s a good city.”

“Yes. If the candidate has composure, skill, decency and integrity, they’ll get in regardless of sexual orientation or gender Andre Henson identity. But student they must West Philadelphia present themselves with a respectful stature. Over-the-top flamboyancy isn’t going to make it.”

“Yes, as long as they aren’t pushing a negative stereotype, or being too flaming: Philadelphia Danny Middleton can be very performer prejudiced at Northeast times. But it’s Philadelphia come a long way. I think we can get past the prejudice, and get a member of our community on City Council.”

Kizzey Hammond case worker Los Angeles

Letters and Feedback In response to “Trans sex worker to face murder trial,” Feb. 11-17: Why are you referring to this woman as “Herman”? Why do you put her chosen name in quotation marks? What a slap in the face. This is such a blatant disregard for her identity. Completely disrespectful and inappropriate. I would expect such ignorance from a mainstream newspaper but from the PGN? How sad that a newspaper that purports to be the mouthpiece for the LGBT community still refers to a transwoman as Herman. Please at least attempt to be forward-

thinking and progressive. This is such an embarrassment. It’s not 1978 anymore. Our community has grown and evolved. It’s time for you to grow up, too. Thank you. — my name In response to “Appeal denied for officer who sided with antigay protesters,” Feb. 11-17: Good riddance. Probably one of the financial supporters of those nutcases. By the way, central PA is a hotbed of far-right “anything but” Christians. ■ — steve kay

12 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

LOCAL 35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Performance promotes visibility of trans artists, community By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Transgender and ally performance artists from the region will come together early next month and lend their voices to raise funds for a national transgender public-awareness campaign. Mixtape: A Trans and Queer Showcase, 9 p.m. March 4 at Tritone, 1508 South St., will raise money and awareness for Legalize Trans*, which launched last summer. The party will feature 14 performers, including The Liberty City Kings’ Notorious OMG, Good Asian Driver’s Kit Yan and poet Wordz, as well as several drag, spoken-word and burlesque artists. Co-organizer Joe Ippolito said the event seeks to raise $1,000 for L ega l i z e Tr a n s * and, more importantly, enhance the trans community’s visibility. “There’s a lot of discussion in the grassroots trans community about wanting to move away from the LGB community because of a lack of inclusion and support around trans causes from the larger LGB community,” Ippolito said. “So with this event, we really want to drive home the idea that we’re here too and we’ve supported the causes of the larger community for so many years and we really need that same support.” Trans activist Asher Kolieboi began the Legalize Trans* initiative in August, offering an array of T-shirts and buttons carrying the trans-centered logo, a response to American Apparel’s Legalize Gay merchandise line. “It started off just as a project, a topsurgery fundraiser, but it’s really grown,” Kolieboi said. “I’d seen the Legalize Gay shirts but I thought that something needs to be done that’s more inclusive of queer or trans people. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve gotten so many e-mails and letters and Facebook messages from not just trans people but allies, parents, siblings, partners.” Mixtape hopes to also draw in support from that ally community. “I think gender presentation is something that affects all people in our society, in particular the LGB community, with women who may present as more masculine and men who present more effeminate,” Ippolito said. “This is something that impacts all of us and supporting individu-

als who are challenging those ideas further is really important, and I think it can be a real education opportunity as well. The LGB community can start to see and learn more about all of the great things the trans community is doing here in Philadelphia.” Ippolito noted the list is continuously growing. He said Philadelphia is quickly becoming a small Mecca for transgender individuals, many of whom move to the city to transition because of its central location and affordability, and often stay because of the opportunities and resources. “I think the Mazzoni Center and their involvement in putting on the TransHealth Conference each year has really put Philadelphia on the map in terms of trans-related issues. And we have t h e Tr a n s h e a l t h Information Project, which is the first and only trans organization that’s solely run by trans people Joe Ippolito for trans people. So there’s a lot of attraction here for this community.” Mixtape co-organizer Jess Kalup noted, however, that the progress and accomplishments of the transgender community don’t receive the attention they should, an oversight the event hopes to rectify. “In general there aren’t very many positive displays and representations of trans folks,” she said. “It’s mostly transphobia on the news or on television; the media likes to sensationalize the community, especially trans women and trans people of color. Legalize Trans* was founded by a trans-masculine Liberian, and with this organization and with Mixtape, where a lot of the performers are trans people of color, that’s actually valued. This event doesn’t look at the community as statistics but as talented performers and artists.” Ippolito said that while the performers all offer their own unique brand of entertainment, the lineup also reflects the diversity of the LGBT and ally communities. “We have a really diverse group of people performing. We wanted to have a lot of different communities represented, so we have trans women, trans men, genderqueer individuals, people of color — just a real mix, and that’s what we were hoping for. We wanted to show the diversity of this community’s supporters and the diversity needed to move forward.” There is a suggested $5-$10 cover for the event. For more information on Legalize Trans*, visit www.legalizetrans.com. ■

“This is something that impacts all of us and supporting individuals who are challenging those ideas further is really important.”

LOCAL 35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Police release duplicate Morris homicide file By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com More than eight years after her death, police have released the homicide file for Nizah Morris. The file, lost since about 2003, was recently discovered in the city’s archives unit. The case has never been solved. Morris was a transgender woman found on a Center City street with a fatal head wound during the earlymorning hours of Dec. 22, 2002, shortly after receiving a courtesy ride MORRIS from Philadelphia police. She died two days later, on Dec. 24, from the blunt-force trauma to her head. The crime remains unsolved, and the police and District Attorney’s office continue to investigate. Due to a 2008 court order calling for transparency in the Morris case, a copy of the file was supplied to PGN on Feb. 10. Common Please Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan signed the order after PGN filed a Right-to-Know request seeking complete 911 records related to the incident. The Police Advisory Commission, which is investigating the matter for possible police misconduct, had not received its copy of the file at press time. Three Philadelphia police officers — Thomas Berry, Kenneth Novak and Elizabeth Skala — responded to emergency calls about Morris that morning. The first 911 call placed on her behalf was at 3:07 a.m. by a woman identified only as “Anisa.” Morris was severely inebriated, lying in the street near Key West Bar at Juniper and Chancellor streets. Skala and Novak were dispatched to investigate, and paramedics also were summoned. Because Morris only wanted to go home, Skala canceled paramedics and gave Morris a ride to 15th and Walnut streets, where Morris said she lived. Berry said he saw Skala and Morris during the ride, on the 1400 block of Walnut. He offered his assistance, but it wasn’t needed, he said. A few minutes later, Berry returned to the area and spotted Morris at 16th and Walnut streets, with the fatal head wound. Berry wrote a police-incident report. Novak said he didn’t reach Juniper and Chancellor streets in time to assist Morris, but he visited her about two hours later at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, when hospital staff summoned police because they thought Morris was an assault victim.

No report of courtesy ride The homicide file indicates that detectives knew nothing about the Morris courtesy ride in the initial phase of the homicide investigation. On Dec. 25, 2002, the day Morris was declared a homicide victim, investigators wrote a memo seeking 911 recordings for the incident at 16th and Walnut streets. It wasn’t until Dec. 31 that investigators initiated a request for 911 recordings for the incident outside Key West. Part of the confusion was due to the lack of an incident report filed about the courtesy ride. Numerous computer documents in the file indicate that the officers didn’t think the head-wound victim was the focus of the 911 call at Key West. Thus, there was no need to document the ride with a report. When questioned by the PAC in 2006, Skala said she first thought Morris was the target of the Key West call, but couldn’t remember whether that perception changed later in the morning. The 911 recordings might provide clarity, but no 911 tapes or transcripts were included in the duplicate file supplied to PGN. Scene at Walnut Street Oscar Padilla, the first witness at the postinjury scene, said Morris was lying on her back in the middle of the street, naked from the waist up, with her clothes pulled over her face, when Padilla spotted her. Padilla said Berry almost drove past the scene. Berry said he was flagged down by motorists, and parked his police vehicle on the southwest corner of the intersection. David Brennan, another motorist, said he was traveling westbound on Walnut Street about 3:45 a.m. and stopped near Morris, because Berry was parked alongside her, blocking traffic. Berry denied repositioning his vehicle from 16th Street to Walnut. He said Officer Michael Givens was blocking traffic on Walnut Street. Givens has never testified publicly about his role in the incident, and no information about his participation in the incident was contained in the homicide file. Brennan also said he saw Berry place a jacket over Morris’ face as she was put into the ambulance. Berry said he has no recollection of doing that. Brennan said Morris was lying in the street when he arrived, and remained in that position for several minutes before being placed in the ambulance. But the two paramedics, Teresa Height and Stephen McCarthy, said they arrived at the Walnut Street scene at 3:32 a.m., and promptly placed Morris in the ambulance. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital records state that Morris arrived at the emerPAGE 14 gency room at 4:13 a.m.

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

14 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

MORRIS, from page 13

The homicide file contains no explanation from Height or McCarthy as to why it took approximately 40 minutes to transport Morris six blocks to the hospital. “We ended up assuming that the patient fell on her face and was injured that way,” McCarthy said, indicating that they didn’t think Morris was a brain-trauma victim. Berry’s report According to police guidelines, Berry wasn’t required to write an incident report, because Morris was believed to be simply a hospital case, and was not transported to the hospital by police. If Berry had transported Morris to the hospital, he would have been required to write a report. Still, officers have the discretion to write a report, and Berry’s report proved to be a useful point of reference when all three officers arrived at Jefferson Hospital a few hours later. Berry said he stayed at the Walnut Street scene until 4:06 a.m., spending some of that time preparing the incident report, after Morris was put in the ambulance. The homicide file contains two copies of Berry’s report. The first report lists two pseudonyms for Morris: Jane Doe and John Doe. It also lists the letters F and M for Morris’ sex. A second copy of the report only contains the pseudonym Jane Doe, and the letter F for the person’s sex. Also, the investigation-control number is missing in the sec-

ond version of the report, which could have been redacted or rewritten. If paramedics arrived at 3:32 a.m., that means Berry spent about 34 minutes on the report. Yet he didn’t use any of that time to contact Skala to ask if she knew Morris’ name or address. Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesperson, denied police made any redactions to Berry’s report. Evers said Berry wrote two similar reports — possibly to clarify in his second report that Morris wasn’t a male.

sion to a supervisor reviewing the paperwork that morning. The patrol-log times of Berry and Skala overlap at 3:25, indicating a continuous link between Berry, Skala and Novak on the courtesy ride. But if Berry checked “R” for radio call on his patrol log, that would indicate that 911 calls for the post-injury scene were placed by 3:25 — the same time that Skala’s log indicates she was with an uninjured person.

Officers encountering Morris according to patrol logs 3:10 NOVAK (3:10-16) -------------

3:20

3:30

3:40

3:50

4:00

(drunk call, Juniper and Chancellor streets)

SKALA (3:10-26) ---------------------------------(courtesy ride)

BERRY (3:25-4:06)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(wounded hospital case, 16th and Walnut streets)

“There were no redactions; the second report is a clarification,” Evers told PGN. Evers said he would try to contact Berry for more details. Numerous documents state that Berry went to Walnut Street after responding to a radio call, but Berry said he happened on the incident on his own, prior to any contact with a dispatcher. The discrepancy could be significant, because the paperwork of all three officers indicated they worked on one continuous hospital case. An additional radio call documented by Berry would have given a different impres-

Ascertaining what the officers said they told a supervisor, Sgt. Michael Dougherty, could clarify the issue. But those conversations have not yet been revealed publicly. The 911 recordings also could provide clarity, but a search warrant for the “enhanced 911 system” indicates that the complete 911 transcripts were placed under court seal at some point. Toxicology report On Jan. 28, 2003, homicide investigators received the toxicology results for Morris from Jefferson Hospital. The results state

that Morris had a blood-alcohol level of .342, which is three times the legal limit if Morris were a motorist. Additionally, traces of marijuana were detected in her system. This information wasn’t supplied to the Police Advisory Commission, and its initial report on the Morris case referred to lab results from the Medical Examiner’s Office. Those results didn’t detect any alcohol or drugs in Morris’ system, most probably because the autopsy was conducted three days after the substances were consumed. The Jefferson Hospital findings tend to corroborate statements by several witnesses that Morris had to be assisted into Skala’s vehicle by onlookers because Morris was too impaired to stand or walk on her own. But Skala said that Morris could walk on her own, and she saw her do so both before and after entering her cruiser. Paul Gisondi, another witness, told homicide investigators that Skala had two encounters with Morris that morning. During the first encounter, Skala drove by in her cruiser and told Morris that she couldn’t keep lying in the street with her breasts exposed, at Juniper and Chancellor streets. Several minutes later, Skala returned to the area and gave Morris the ride, Gisondi said. Skala denied having a prior encounter with Morris. “I don’t know Paul Gisondi, I don’t know what he saw, thought he saw, what he said or what he did,” Skala told investigators. ■

LOCAL 35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philly does its part for HIV vaccine research By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com When asked why they wanted to participate in an HIV vaccine trial, two local men had the exact same response: Why not? For Gary Wilson and Josh Edwards, the decision to sign up for the University of Pennsylvania’s current research study on an HIV vaccine was a no-brainer. “If I can be a help to something that could end up working and help to prevent this disease, of course I would want to do it,” Wilson said. Wilson and Edwards are two of 65 local men who’ve so far made the decision to join the HIV Vaccine Trial Network (HVTN)

“I’m an infectious-disease specialist, and when I finished my training in 1987, HIV infection was the most important infectious disease of the time,” Frank said. “Over the last couple of decades, we’ve made a huge amount of progress in our ability to control HIV replication and keep people living healthy, normal lives who have the disease. But we haven’t done a lot in terms of preventing new people from getting infected, and there are a number of different medical interventions being explored, with vaccine research being one of those. But the way we prevent diseases in our world is mostly through vaccines — it’s how we prevent measles, polio, influenza — and so if we had an effective vaccine, it’d be the simplest

GARY WILSON (LEFT) AND JOSH EDWARDS AT PENN Photo: Jen Colletta

505 study operating out of Penn, a trial that is also being conducted at a handful of other sites around the country. The study is looking at HIV-negative men who have sex with men between ages 18 and 50. Trial participants receive what is known as a naked DNA injection comprised of some segments of the HIV virus once a month during the first three months of the study, followed by a booster in the sixth month designed to elevate the immune response. The men, half of whom are given placebos, come in periodically for follow-ups and must monitor their temperatures for a few nights following the DNA injection. The researchers follow them for between three and five years. Participants are compensated travel expenses and $35 for every study visit. Dr. Ian Frank, with the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine, said the area of vaccine research has grown organically as treatments have become more readily available.

prevention strategy and the one most likely to be effective worldwide.” Frank noted that in 2009, researchers in Thailand were able to find success and cut infection rates in a study that combined two former proposed vaccines, although much more research is still needed. The field of vaccine research is reliant upon the participation of volunteers like Wilson and Edwards. Others may be hesitant to get involved because of the false impression that someone can contract HIV from the injections, which Frank said is not true. Both Wilson and Edwards said they too had such worries when they were investigating the study, but the researchers at Penn assuaged those fears. “They really reinforced the fact that this isn’t made from live virus, which would be risky,” Edwards said. “The fact that there’s no chance of actually getting it from this vaccine put my mind at ease.” Some people are also put off by the fact that they could test posiPAGE 16

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION VACCINE, from page 15

tive for HIV in the future — based on the common HIV antibody tests — even though they don’t have the disease. “One of the biggest obstacles to participation is that there’s a chance that they’ll develop antibodies against the vaccine, which would make them test positive for HIV through the kinds of testing that are routinely performed,” Frank said. “So people would rather not test positive because that could be an impediment to getting life insurance or other concerns people have, even though they don’t have HIV, but people want to avoid that potential scenario. But that’s going to be an issue with every vaccine.” Edwards, 31, a West Philadelphia resident and an employee of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said that possibility wouldn’t be enough to prevent him from participating. Both he and Wilson, 24, were too young in the late 1980s and early 1990s to see the disease at its height, but Edwards said he appreciates that HIV is still a very real epidemic, whose impact on his own life motivated him to sign up for the study. “Being slightly too young, I wasn’t a witness to the devastation of the ’80s, but even today I know a bunch of people living with HIV and I know people who’ve passed on because of complications from HIV and PA MARRIAGE, from page 1

session but neither moved out of committee. Leach’s marriage bill was again introduced with two cosponsors, Sens. Jim Ferlo (D-38th Dist.) and Larry Farnese (D-First Dist.). Cohen’s measure saw See related story increased support this year, with 41 cosponsors, as opposed to 32 last session. All cosponsors are Democrats. Following last fall’s midterm elections, the GOP now controls the House. Cohen said that, no matter the political climate, the LGBT and ally community must present a strong front in favor of the measure. “I think it’s tough under Democratic control, as well as Republican control,” he said. “It’s a process that’s slow and has to be member by member where people have to hear from their constituents that this is something they favor.” Cohen said the dialogue that has occurred since his introduction of the bill last year contributed to the increase in the number of cosponsors. “I think the more people become familiar with this and discuss it, the more supportive they become,” he said. Cohen said the bill actually has far more support than it appears — he’s gotten commitments from several-dozen legislators who said they’d vote for it but were hesitant to be cosponsors. Cohen said he’s going to press for public hearings on the measure this session and, if the bill were to get stymied in committee, he would consider introducing it as a floor amendment.

AIDS,” he said. “It may not be as devastating and prevalent as it was in the past, but it’s still around and it’s still a major issue. People just aren’t as attuned to it as they once were.” Wilson, who moved to North Philadelphia from New Jersey seven months ago, said he first learned about HIV at the age of 9 or 10 and, as he grew older, he worked in the HIV prevention field in his home state. “I always try to educate people and educate myself as well,” he said. “This is an epidemic and it’s killing people, and the older generation gets that more than the younger. We’re not sure this vaccine is going to work, but we’ve got to make the effort. It’s a start, and we’ve got to start somewhere.” Penn’s HIV Vaccine Trials Unit will host the Mr. and Ms. Lady V drag pageant from 7-10 p.m. March 6 at Voyeur, 1221 St. James St., to identify two ambassadors for HIV vaccine research. The two winners, one who will compete in the men’s category and the other in women’s drag, will help the agency promote awareness about vaccine research and HVTN 505. The winners will be awarded $1,000 each — $400 of which will be presented at the crowning and $600 throughout the year for appearance fees. There are also cash prizes and gift cards for runners-up. For more information, visit www.phillyvax.org/v. ■ “I would like to have a floor vote,” he said. “I think we can get at least 70-80 votes and if there were an organized effort by supporters to talk to members of the legislature, I think we could get a majority. By reintroducing this now, two years in a row with more support in Page 29 the second year — even though the Democrats got creamed in the elections — I think shows that this is a proposal that makes political sense for legislators in Pennsylvania. I think this is something that could pass the House and could pass the Senate and be signed into law if members are contacted and pressed on this.” About 75 people turned out for the press conference to announce the bills Monday, and 50 activists took to the streets for a marriage rally in the evening. Among the cosponsors are Democratic Philadelphia lawmakers Reps. Kevin Boyle (172nd Dist.), Vanessa Lowery Brown (190th Dist.), Michelle Brownlee (195th Dist.), Lawrence Curry (154th Dist.) Kenyatta Johnson (186th Dist.), Babette Josephs (182nd Dist.), Michael McGeehan (173rd Dist.), John Myers (201st Dist.), Mike O’Brien (175th Dist.), Cherelle Parker (200th Dist.), Tony Payton (179th Dist.), James Roebuck (188th Dist.), Curtis Thomas (181st Dist.), Jewell Williams (197th Dist.) and Rosita Youngblood (198th Dist.). Philadelphia Democrats not currently cosponsoring the bill are Reps. Brendan Boyle (170th Dist.), John Sabatina (174th Dist.), Angel Cruz (181st Dist.), Bill Keller (184th Dist.), Ronald Waters (191st Dist.), Louise Bishop (192nd Dist.) and Rep.-elect Maria Donatucci (185th Dist.). ■

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

18 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Abington allies continue fight for LGBT ordinance By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Last month the Abington Township Commission rejected a bill that sought to provide nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community in a resounding 10-5 vote. Two local women, however, haven’t accepted defeat and are pressing their elected officials to right that wrong. Following the Jan. 13 rejection of the bill, proposed by out commissioner Lori Schreiber, Abington residents Theresa Keenan-Flite and Dianna Pax, both straight allies, launched Abington Against Discrimination and Defamation, drawing support from 60 people at their most recent meeting. Pax said she and Keenan-Flite were, like the majority of residents at last month’s vote, surprised and dismayed by the action taken by their commission. “ I t wa s r e a l l y emotional in many Theresa ways,” she said. “There were a lot of people telling personal stories about discrimination they’ve faced — not just LGBT people, but black people, Jewish people — so there was a real feeling of shame when they turned this down. There were a lot of tears and then this sense of, we need to get ourselves together and do something to stand against this.” Keenan-Flite said the transition from sadness to anger was a quick one. “When they voted against it, there weren’t many dry eyes in the room. We basically mourned for a few moments and, by the time we got to the back of the room, we were like, we need to do something,” she said. “We didn’t know what ‘do something’ really meant, but we knew we weren’t going to stand for this. The citizens of Abington did not want this, and that was very clear from the room full of people who were there supporting the ordinance.” Schreiber said she received just one phone call from a man who had reservations about the measure and two e-mails from constituents against the bill, but all other feedback was positive. Following the vote, Keenan-Flite and Pax took down the names of residents in attendance and launched a website and Facebook page. Abington ADD has encouraged its members and supporters to contact their legislators and urge them to pursue the issue. During the Feb. 2 public-affairs meeting of the commission, president Carol

DiJoseph introduced a new version of the nondiscrimination measure, although in a different form. The new version does not include the proposed human relations commission, a volunteer panel that would have investigated complaints of discrimination. DiJoseph’s measure would allow for complaints to be filed with the Township Manager and the Township Police Department. Pax noted, however, that an external human-relations commission is a lessintimidating body than the police department. “People who would be filing a complaint have been victimized and many will likely be afraid of approaching law enforcement,” she said, noting that the township police chief presented a PowerPoint at last month’s meeting detailing the policies in place and recommending the measure not be adopted, an action she surmay have Keenan-Flite mised swayed some of the lawmakers to vote against it. Other changes are also in place, such as the inclusion of organizations that are “segregated by gender” under the exemptions. “I couldn’t believe they even want to use the word ‘segregated’ in this ordinance,” Keenan-Flite said. “The original ordinance would have protected everyone and given a neutral, well-tested body to handle complaints, but it’s been completely watered down now. There are so many loopholes.” Schreiber said the new bill is too relaxed to be effective. “There’s some real ambiguous language,” she said. “The way it’s written, there are no timeframes, such as these certain things have to happen in this many days, so there’s no real structure to it. There’s no mention of how people would be trained to take complaints, who’d be chosen to be in charge of that — it refers to volunteers and staff, but that could be just about anyone. It doesn’t feel to me as if it’s really safeguarding people’s rights.” Schreiber said the commissioners had mentioned forming a committee to evaluate the legislation, but she hasn’t heard anything on that front. The vote went nearly along party lines with all Republicans and one Democrat voting against the bill. Schreiber said some legislators had credible concerns about the religious exemption, which she said has since been rewritten to communicate that the PAGE 20

“We basically mourned for a few moments and, by the time we got to the back of the room, we were like, we need to do something.”

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20 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Haverford approves nondiscrimination measure By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Haverford became the 19th jurisdiction in the state this week to offer discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Haverford Township Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 Feb. 14 to approve its LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance on second reading. As it passed by a 5-3 vote with one abstention at last month’s commissioners’ meeting, the measure is now adopted into law. Haverford is technically the 20th municipal governing body to have approved an LGBT-inclusive ordinance: The Hatboro Council did so last fall, but that measure was vetoed by the town’s mayor. The Haverford measure, introduced in the fall by Commissioner Larry Holmes, bans LGBT bias — as well as discrimination based on a number of other characteristics, including race, religion, age, ancestry and disability — in housing, employment, commercial property and public accommodations. The ordinance will also create a humanrelations commission, consisting of volunteers appointed by the township commission, to investigate complaints of discrimination. Under the measure, the commission is authorized to hand down fines of up to $5,000 for violations of the law. A working group made several changes to the ordinance since last month’s vote, including increasing the number of members of the human-relations commission from seven to 11, and lowering the fine from the proposed $10,000. The measure saw bipartisan support, with Holmes being joined by Democrats Dan Siegel and Rob Trumbull, as well as Republicans Bill Wechsler and Mario Oliva. The four remaining Republicans on ABINGTON, from page 19

law does not apply to religious organizations, but she’s concerned about the motivations behind some of the dissenting votes. “I think some people did have legitimate concerns with the language of it, but I also think there may be some other people who are going to continue to find problems with it,” she said. “Even the people who voted against it keep saying that, of course they’re against discrimination, but unless they’re really willing to bring everybody to the table and make a really strong ordinance that has been reviewed by experts in the field, lawyers, the Human Relations Commission, the Anti-Defamation League, it’s hard for me to believe that. It’s one thing to pay lip service and say you’re against discrimination but unless you really think about what many, many experts say is the best way to do this, then there doesn’t seem

the panel voted against it. P e n n s y l va n i a H u m a n R e l a t i o n s Commission chair Stephen Glassman, who worked closely with the group on the language in the bill, said the measure is “very strong and very good.” “It’s really as strong as you can get at the local level in a state that has not yet passed this at the state level,” Glassman said. While there were some detractors who spoke at the meeting, supporters outnumbered opponents, and Holmes said the discourse that preceded the vote was largely positive. Holmes noted that the four commissioners who voted against the measure expressed concerns about such issues as redundancy with state law, not necessarily with the basic tenets of the ordinance. In fact, the commissioners unanimously approved a resolution following the vote that urged the state legislature and governor to adopt a statewide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination measure. Holmes said the commission will likely begin advertising for candidates for the human-relations commission by next month’s township commission meeting and, from then, will begin interviews. Holmes said that much of the credit for the new law should go to the many township residents whose stories made an impact on their elected officials. “There were a lot of people who made a point to thank me for sponsoring the ordinance, and I want to make the point back to those folks that this only happened because people opened their lives to us,” he said. “They talked about their own experiences and shared personal things at meetings and before the public. Those are the true heroes of this ordinance, not just the politicians sitting at a board meeting. The outcome of this was really positive, and I hope that Haverford Township is setting a good example for the rest of Pennsylvania.” ■ to be a clear explanation of why they won’t go with what’s been shown to work.” Keenan-Flite and Pax encouraged supporters to write letters to the editor about the issue in regional newspapers and contact the legislators to encourage them to keep working to create the strongest LGBT ordinance possible. “We need to make sure they understand why it’s so important to get these local commissions as many places as we can,” Keenan-Flite said. “The LGBT community isn’t covered by our state law, so as many local municipalities that we can get offering these laws and these commissions, the better.” For more information on Abington ADD, visit www.pureportals.com/abingtonagainstdiscrimination, search for the organization on Facebook or e-mail abingtonadd@gmail. com. ■

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Options for victims explored at police meeting By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com A representative of a local victim’s services agency briefed the Police Liaison Committee last week on the routes people can take when they find themselves to be victims of crime. Alison Sprague, executive director of Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia, was a special guest speaker at the LGBT panel’s Feb. 10 meeting at the William Way LGBT Community Center. The city offers assistance programs out of the police department or district attorney’s office, or through one of several local nonprofit agencies, like Sprague’s, and another that covers Center City. “Even if we can’t fix what happened for people, we will walk through the process with them, because it can be complicated,” Sprague said. While victims are encouraged to contact the service, Sprague’s organization also receives police reports each day and follows up in writing with the victims, detailing the services the organization offers. The agency will work with the victims to help them fill out police reports, connect them with detectives, accompany them to court proceedings and link them to victims’ compensation. Last year, her group worked with more than 3,000 victims and dispersed about $600,000 to approximately 200 victims. The reimbursement program, funded through fees offenders have to pay, does not apply to personal items — such as cell phones, purses or other belongings damaged or stolen in a crime — but can be applied for medical-related products, counseling expenses, lost earnings or funeral expenses. The program is a payer of last resort and, for instance, would cover medical bills only if the victim does not have insurance. In order to qualify, victims must be willing to file a police report and cooperate with authorities, as well as wade through the red tape associated with the process. Sprague noted her agency and the others in the area offer referrals to sexual- and domestic-violence agencies for victims of such crimes. In addition to Sprague’s presentation, the committee also heard from Lt. Frank Palumbo, the new head of Police Service Area 3, which covers the Gayborhood. Just prior to the meeting, Palumbo was involved in breaking up a “flash mob” of youth who were congregating around 15th and Chestnut streets. Palumbo said such occurrences have been originating both around City Hall and on South Street in the late-afternoon hours and have spilled over into the Gayborhood. Palumbo said he’s in the process of formulating an action plan to address the flashmob phenomenon in the area, and Deputy Commissioner Stephen Johnson, liaison to the LGBT community, noted that law

enforcement continues to monitor socialnetworking sites, allowing them to thwart at least four recent planned flash mobs. Committee member Matt Miller, owner of 13th Street Gourmet Pizza, commented that the coming warm weather often brings out large crowds of youth in the Gayborhood corridors, especially on Wednesdays for Woody’s 18-and-over night, that have occasionally resulted in fights. Palumbo said Sixth District Capt. Brian Korn is aware of such situations, and they will discuss a plan to stem that trend this spring. The committee also reviewed last month’s Police Advisory Commission at the William Way LGBT Community Center, during which Luis Berrios spoke out about his alleged case of police brutality. Johnson, who works in Internal Affairs, said his department had been aware of the complaint prior to the meeting, and that investigators are staying on the case. He pledged they would investigate “vigorously without bias” to arrive at a “concise and definitive conclusion.” The PSA3 meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building, 1001 Locust St., Room 224. ■

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22 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

24 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

BUDGET, from page 1

AIDS. He has promised support for the National Institutes of Health by an increase of $74 million, for a total of $3.2 million by 2012. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS program will also see an increase of $88 million for care and treatment of people with HIV/ AIDS. Overall funding for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy program will expand care, research and prevention with a budget increase of $2 million, for a total of $28 billion, in 2012. The main goals of NHAS are to reduce HIV, increase access to care, optimize health outcomes and reduce HIVrelated health disparities. The budget also allocates money to increase funding for HIV/AIDS prevention. The budget would fund prevention programs to help reduce high-risk behaviors associated with HIV transmission. The president also has promised to maintain funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS at $335 million. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Division will also see an increase of 11 percent in funding: This investment will enforce civil-rights protections for people with HIV/AIDS and fight to reduce stigma and discrimination against those living with the disease. On a conference call Tuesday, when asked what programs will be cut for people living with HIV/AIDS, Jeffrey S. Crowley, White House Office of National AIDS Policy Director, said, “The President is making increases and no cuts to programs for HIV and AIDS.” Support for equal rights for hospital visitation will continue, and the Department of Health and Human Services will ensure that hospitals with patients who are on Medicare and Medicaid will continue to receive the dignity they deserve in their time of distress: LGBT individuals, as well as widowers and widows, have the right to choose who can visit them regardless of whether that person is a family member, spouse or friend. Hospitals can no longer dictate who can and can’t visit patients; the president

has promised to continue his full support on this issue. Support for federal employee domesticpartnership benefits will continue, which provide the same benefits to same-sex couples as it does to opposite-sex couples. These benefits include health insurance, dental, vision, life insurance, vacation and relocation benefits. Antibullying and hate crimes are also on the president’s radar, with a budget of $132 million for state and local grants to support the implementation of programs to prevent bullying, harassment and substance abuse. These programs would promote the emotional and physical health of students. Obama has also promised to continue to support the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act with a 5-percent increase to fight hate crimes. Other programs have not fared as well: With a goal to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion over the next 10 years, there are proposed cuts across the board. The lowincome home-energy programs would receive reduced funding, as well as community development programs. Additionally, Obama will continue the newly instituted federal civilian pay freeze for the next two years.

Social Security would receive a 9-percent increase from 2010 funding levels, but the new budget also asks for outdated or ineffective programs to be terminated. There have been more than 120 terminations or reductions resulting in a budget savings of $20 billion each year. Obama said the budget proposal, which is already garnering harsh criticism from Republicans, reflects hard choices. “So even as recovery begins to take hold, we have more work to do to live up to our promise by repairing the damage this brutal recession has inflicted on our people, generating millions of new jobs, and seizing the economic opportunities of this competitive, new century. “These must be the priorities as we put together our budget for the coming year. The fiscal realities we face require hard choices. A decade of deficits, compounded by the effects of the recession and the steps we had to take to break it, as well as the chronic failure to confront difficult decisions, has put us on an unsustainable course. That’s why my budget lays out a path for how we can pay down these debts and free the American economy from their burden.” The full budget proposal can be viewed at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget. ■

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Gayborhood Crime Watch The following incidents in the Midtown Village and Washington Square West areas were reported to the Sixth Police District between Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Information is courtesy of Sixth District Capt. Brian Korn; Stacy Irving, senior director, Crime Prevention Service; Center City District; the Police Liaison Committee and Midtown Village Merchants Association. To report crime tips, visit www.phillypolice.com or call 215-686-TIPS (8477). REPORT: At 10 a.m. Jan. 31, a male on a black mountain bicycle pushed a woman down and took her purse in the 1300 block of Walnut Street, then headed west on Walnut. The offender was described as a black male in his 20s, 5-foot-9, with a thin build and wearing a black knit ski mask, a black Tshirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. ARRESTS: At 1:10 a.m. Feb. 1, 6th District officers arrested two males for summary offenses at 1100 Spruce St. ARREST: At 9:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 6th District officers arrested a male for a summary offense at 1218 Spruce St. ARRESTS: Between 8:30-9:15 p.m. Feb. 3, 6th District officers arrested four males for obstruction of a highway related to prostitution at the following locations: 1200 Locust St., 1200 Spruce St. and 1300 Pine St. REPORT: Between 4 p.m. Feb. 3 and noon, Feb. 4, a 6-foot by 6-foot banner was stolen from the front of the Day Spa, 315 S. 13th St. ARREST: At 4:30 a.m. Feb. 4, 6th District officers arrested a male for a summary offense at 209 S. 13th St. ARREST: At 10:40 p.m. Feb. 4, 6th District officers arrested a male for obstruction of a highway related to prostitution at 1200 Locust St. REPORT: At 9:55 p.m. Feb. 5, a male followed a man into the first-floor restroom of the DoubleTree Hotel, 237 S. Broad St., then pushed him against the wall and took cash from his pocket. The offender was described as a black male, 6-foot, with some facial hair and wearing a green jacket. REPORT: At 12:50 a.m. Feb. 6, at least five males grabbed another man, outside 901 Clinton St., struck him and went through his pockets. The males fled north on 10th Street when a witness yelled “police.” Nothing was taken. The offenders were described as black or Hispanic, ages 15-20. ■

PGN

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

26 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

PRIESTS, from page 1

suit names as defendants the Archdiocese, current Archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali, former Archbishop Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, Lynn and Archdiocesan victim-service officials, charging that the defendants conspired to cover up the case. In addition to recommending the criminal charges, the grand-jury report suggested a complete overhaul of the Archdiocese’s reporting procedure. Following the report, the Archdiocese announced it has retained a consultant to advise Rigali, created a Delegate for Investigations position and hired psychologist Joseph Cronin for a newly created Clergy Support Associate position. The grand-jury report that led to the arrests found that Lynn “knowingly allow[ed] dangerous priests to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to children.” The report detailed that, according to documents furnished to the grand jury by the Archdiocese, Lynn and Bevilacqua were informed in 1992 that Avery was accused of assaulting another boy, James, in the 1970s and ’80s, who said Avery repeatedly plied him with alcohol and fondled him. Following an Archdiocesan investigation, Lynn recommended to Bevilacqua that Avery be sent to St. John Vianney Hospital

for evaluation, where he was found to have a mood disorder and alcohol-abuse problems. He spent several months in an inpatient program for sex offenders at the hospital, during which time the report states Bevilacqua instructed Lynn to tell parishioners that Avery had a health problem. When Avery was discharged from the hospital in October 1993, hospital personnel recommended he be assigned to a ministry without exposure to adolescents and other vulnerable minorities and be admitted to a 12-step program. Lynn, however, recommended he be assigned to Our Lady of Ransom parish, which houses a grade school, in the Northeast, and Bevilacqua ultimately assigned him to St. Jerome, which also has a grade school. St. Jerome’s pastor, the Rev. Joseph Graham, testified before the grand jury that he was not aware of the allegations against Avery, and Lynn did not tell him he was assigned to an aftercare team to follow up on Avery’s case. “The evidence before the grand jury makes clear that, after assigning Father Avery to live at St. Jerome, a parish with an elementary school, the Archdiocese hierarchy did virtually nothing to minimize the continued danger that the priest posed to children,” the report stated. Avery was arrested last week in connec-

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tion with allegations that he assaulted a fifth-grader at the school between 1998-99. The boy, identified as Billy, served as an altar boy and told the grand jury he was first assaulted by Engelhardt, whom he said gave him wine and pornographic magazines before forcing him to engage in sex acts with him. Billy said Engelhardt told Avery what happened, and Avery then approached him and assaulted him, telling him “God loves you and everything is OK.” The following year, Billy said Shero offered him a ride home from school and raped him in his car. Billy’s mother said she noticed a “dramatic change in his personality” during that time, as her son dropped out of sports and stopped socializing with his friends. She said he started smoking pot at age 11 and, by the time he was in high school, progressed to painkillers and later heroin, finally admitting to the abuse while in rehab. Brennan is accused of raping a 14year-old boy, identified as Mark, in 1996. Brennan had become friendly with Mark’s family during his ministry at St. Andrew’s Church in Newtown and allegedly showed him pornography and raped the teen during an overnight stay at his apartment. The teen told his parents the following day, but the report said Brennan denied the rape and said Mark viewed the pornography on his own, an account the teen’s parents believed. As a result of the incident, the report says Mark developed “significant psychological and substance-abuse problems” and attempted suicide. Brennan was appointed to St. Jerome’s in 1997 and Assumption B.V.M. the following year, during which time he wrote Lynn and requested assignment to a monastery. He spent seven months in an abbey, then returned to parish ministry. He was removed in 2006 after Mark made the allegations. Prior to the alleged rape, Lynn received “multiple formal complaints” alleging Brennan’s inappropriate contact with other boys. In particular, the report says he hosted loud parties in his residence during his time

at Cardinal O’Hara High School, serving alcohol to minors, and had a male student living in his residence with him for several months, telling the nuns in the residence that the boy was his nephew. In addition to the cases documented in the report, the grand jury also described a number of “representative cases” in which Lynn knowingly placed priests who’d been accused of abuse in positions where they could still have contact with minors. The report alleges that more than threedozen priests are still in active ministry despite accusations of inappropriate behavior or sexual abuse of minors. Rigali released a statement last week saying that “there are no Archdiocesan priests in ministry today who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them.” On Wednesday, the Archdiocese announced it had placed three of the priests named in the report on a temporary leave and is continuing to review the cases. The report states that the jurors, in reviewing Billy’s and Mark’s cases and the sweeping 2005 grand-jury report that alleged abuse by at least 63 Archdiocesan priests, were “appalled by the cynical and callous handling of clergy abuse by the Philadelphia Archdiocese hierarchy, up to and including the Cardinal.” “We would like to hold Cardinal Bevilacqua accountable as well,” the report continued. “The grand jurors have no doubt that his knowing and deliberate actions during his tenure as Archbishop also endangered thousands of children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese,” noting, however, that there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing in Billy’s or Mark’s case. The jurors also said the cardinal’s health is a “consideration,” as the 87-year-old suffers from dementia. The suit filed this week names two men included in the 2005 grand-jury report, former priest Martin Satchell, who underwent sex-abuse therapy in 1993 and left the priesthood in 2004, and the Rev. Richard Cochrane. ■

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Role of PGN evolves with community By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com

Since the 1976 launch of Philadelphia Gay News, the publication has interviewed countless politicians, community leaders and entertainers, tracking the progress and pitfalls the LGBT community has experienced.

While the community has undergone tremendous changes in the last threeand-a-half decades, PGN’s commitment to meeting the needs of that community has remained constant. When the paper launched, just the notion of a publication with the word “gay” emblazoned upon it was groundbreaking. Philly Pride Presents executive director Franny Price said that, prior to PGN, she remembers having gay newspaper Drum mailed to her house, and it came packaged wrapped in other newspapers. “It was really a big change when all of a sudden you could get something other than through the mail,” she said. “There was really no other source of news like this before PGN.” Irene Benedetti, a former PGN staffer who lived in Center City in 1976, recalled the surprise she and a friend shared upon noticing the paper’s first edition. “I had a gay male friend who used to stay at my apartment every weekend, and I remember he came in one day and had the Gay News and he was so excited and said, ‘Irene, look, we have a gay newspaper, look

at this,’” she said. “When it first started, that was a lot of people’s reactions. People were so excited to see that, boy, we can actually know what’s going on now.” Don Pignolet, PGN o ffi c e m a n a g e r w h o ’s worked at the paper since its launch, said the publication has always sought to “inform and entertain the Philadelphia gay community with relevant and accurate information that could not be found elsewhere.” “There was no Internet back then, so people couldn’t get information like they can today,” Pignolet said. “It takes 10 seconds now to Google something but, back then, to get the information you might have to go to the library and spend the entire day there. I think that’s something people have a hard time fathoming now.”

The idea of a gay community newspaper was not just novel to the community itself but also to the mainstream leaders in the city. Tommi Avicolli Mecca, a former reporter and managing editor who worked at PGN throughout the ’80s, said that, as the paper began to grow, it became a formidable opponent for those accustomed to suppressing the gay community. “Back then we were blazing a lot of trails,” Avicolli Mecca said. “We put a lot of politicians, service providers and other people in the city on notice that we were watching and we were going to hold them accountable for homophobia or neglect of the community. That was something new back

then. No other papers had done that. There were Gay Liberation papers, but those were more concerned about having a forum for manifestos and our ideas and the idea of revolution, but PGN was really the first one that comes along and decides to hold people accountable.”

That same approach continued as the AIDS epidemic began to scourge the city in the 1980s. “When AIDS happened, PGN was absolutely there that decade,” Avicolli Mecca said. “We put everyone on the spot — the Health Department, other agencies that weren’t doing what they should have been doing to combat the disease.” Longtime local business owner Bill Wood said the struggles PGN covered, and uncovered, may have gone unnoticed by some in the gay community otherwise. “Without PGN, a lot of the fights with City Council and different gayrights things wouldn’t have really come to the forefront because nobody else knew about them. The Inquirer, the Daily News, the Bulletin — they weren’t carrying anything about these issues at the time,” he said. “Especially in the early days, if it hadn’t been for PGN, people wouldn’t know what was going on.” As the paper fought to expose injustices against the community, the community itself was able to gain more credibility among the local mainstream population. Victoria Brownworth,

who’s written for the paper since its inception, said a turning point for PGN was the investigative Pulitzernominated series she wrote about mismanagement at LGBT social-service agency Eromin Center. “That really caused quite the furor. It was our first real investigative piece and it went on for quite some time and resulted in the center being shut down and people investigated by the police. It was such a huge story, and no other gay paper had really done anything like that before,” she said. “It was a risk that could have killed the paper — in fact, someone involved in the center came in and offered to buy up all the papers to keep it from going out, but [publisher Mark Segal] stood behind the story. That changed the direction of the paper, and I think from then on we became a newspaper of record and people began to really take note of the community a lot more. I

think PGN became a central factor in the larger straight community’s recognition of how important the gay and lesbian community is to the overall political and social structure of the city.” As the community gained more footing, other publications in the area also began to cover LGBT issues, but Wood noted PGN has remained at the helm. “PGN used to be the only one around, but now things are a little bit more diluted, with there being two other free papers in Center City that cover gay events,” Wood said. “But PGN is still there

in the forefront and bringing things up first.” Trans activist Kathy Padilla said PGN’s involvement in cases such as Nizah Morris, a transgender woman whose murder is still unsolved, reflects the paper’s commitment to the journalistic principle of “comforting the afflicting and afflicting the comfortable.” “That’s the one role I think PGN has really embodied very, very thoroughly,” she said. “If you look at Nizah Morris, everyone else left that crime completely, completely uninvestigated because of who she was. But PGN has continued to stand up for her and it’s going on 10 years now.” Lee Carson, president of the Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council, noted that in recent years, PGN has also effectively reached out to “various sub-communities and worked to diversity the paper’s content, with more articles from lesbians, transgender and people-of-color communities.” Early community activist Kay Lahusen said one of PGN’s greatest strengths lies not necessarily in its ability to represent the community to external forces but rather to itself, which she said is “invaluable.”

“It’s a great bonding tool,” she said. “It’s a great promoter of a sense of a community in Philadelphia. I really look forward to getting every issue. I’m so grateful it comes rolling in here every week.” Price concurred and said

the paper has been essential in connecting generations of LGBT people. “Most of our community knows who most of our community is because of the newspaper,” she said. “Unless you attend every little function, you wouldn’t know who our leaders are or who our activists are or what the organizations are. A lot of people wouldn’t know other community members locally and even nationally if it wasn’t for the paper.”

The multifaceted role PGN has played in the community in its 35 years is one rarely seen elsewhere but is vital, Brownworth said. “There are very few papers like PGN left that are reporting the real gay news of the local community,” she said. “That’s really key. PGN and the [San Francisco] Bay Area Reporter are really the only independent gay newspapers left focusing on community news, and I think we can’t underestimate the importance of that. Until we have our equal rights, we need newspapers like PGN to stand behind us and talk about our needs and our concerns.” ■

28 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

35 years of PGN adventure By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com When I think about the past 35 years at PGN, the technological upgrades are the most tangible changes that come to mind. I wrote my first PGN story in 1977 while still student. (Yes, I was a very advanced elementary-school student!) PGN operated on a shoestring budget in the 1970s — not that we’re The New York Times today. But it always felt as if you were flying by the seat of your pants. We didn’t even have unlimited long-distance phone service. I’ll never forget the look on publisher Mark Segal’s face when he saw the $900 phone bill I generated while investigating anti-LGBT insurance discrimination in America. But Mark was a good sport, and paid the bill without as much as a grumble. He never quibbled about expenses when it meant getting the news in a fair, accurate and comprehensive way. Still, we all breathed a sigh of relief when PGN finally got unlimited long-distance. Back then, PGN was at 13th and Locust streets. Because that was the center of the city’s red-light district at the time, there were plenty of sex workers to walk past on your way to the office each morning. Conversely, there was always lots of police protection. I remember when I got my first death threat at PGN. I ran out the door and found a police officer right on the corner. He looked at the note and in a kindly manner said, “Son, you don’t have to worry about this. It’s the threats you won’t hear about that could be a problem.” It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but it calmed me enough to return to work. We received national news through a clipping service. Each week, an envelope full of clips would arrive at the office, and we would search for something newsworthy.

It was slim pickings, even for a monthly paper. I can remember wondering if we’d get enough real news to fill the paper. Now the paper is published weekly, and there are always plenty of potential news stories to sort through. In the early days, I typed my articles on a manual typewriter, which colleague Victoria Brownworth once called a Mattel toy! An editor would edit my copy by hand, then the typesetter would input it. The print that came out of the typesetting machine was cut into columns with an X-Acto knife, then laid out on large light tables, secured in place with a wax roller. We would eagerly await the finished product from the printer, hoping everything came out OK. Those were the days before the Internet. We did our fact-checking by telephone or by hoofing it to a nearby library. I often beat a path to the old Free Library Mercantile Branch at 10th and Chestnut streets to do research for a story. Later, the Inquirer and Daily News permitted us to use their library, which had thousands and thousands of clips on almost every subject imaginable. Of course, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Even today, telling someone you’re a PGN reporter seeking an interview can still elicit a hostile reaction. But those reactions aren’t as frequent — nor as extreme — as in the 1970s. The hang-ups, laughter and mocking aren’t as prevalent. In the early days, I can remember seeing people plunk 50 cents into a PGN box and furtively grab a paper — glancing around to see if anyone was looking. That might still happen today, but at least the papers are free. And I’ve even seen some folks reading PGN on buses and trains, which is always a sight to behold. ■ Timothy Cwiek finally got an e-mail account in 2007.

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Marriage bills in the region By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com This week the Pennsylvania legislature saw the introduction of the second incarnations of marriage-equality and civil-union bills. While the likelihood of success this session doesn’t seem high, LGBTs in a handful of states, including several in the region, are also gearing up for similar fights. ��

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Delaware Activists in Delaware are pressing their elected officials to work on a bill this session to grant same-sex couples the right to marry. The Delaware Right to Marry Political Action Committee formed in the fall and, after a fundraising campaign, commissioned a public-opinion poll on samesex marriage, conducted by Public Policy Polling, the results of which were released last week. The poll found a majority in favor, with 48 percent of Delawareans who support marriage equality, 31 percent who strongly oppose, 16 percent who somewhat oppose and 5 percent who are unsure. Bill Humphrey, statewide director of the PAC, said the results have surprised some people but reflect that marriage equality could be on the horizon. “Public opinion has shifted in Delaware

in recent years,” Humphrey said. “Most people were under the impression that the state hasn’t come as far along on gay issues as it should, but what we found is that a lot of people actually have.” Humphrey’s agency drafted a version of a marriage-equality bill based on New Hampshire’s successful legislation, which sought to emphasize that the law applied in civil, not religious, settings. The organization has presented the proposed bill to a number of legislators and, while they have seen support, they have not yet secured a lead sponsor in the House or Senate. Humphrey said the recent poll results should bolster their argument, however, and he’s optimistic that the measure could be introduced in the coming months. The Senate considered but ultimately rejected a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2009, but it is not clear if the legislation will be re-introduced. Maryland The Maryland Senate is expected to vote this month on a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee held a hearing Feb. 8 on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, a sevenhour proceeding during which about 140 witnesses testified, split evenly for and PAGE 37 against the bill, although

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

30 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

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By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com In the past several years, a number of LGBT publications have closed their doors completely. Others have opened windows into the world of online news. And still others, like PGN, have married the two concepts into a hybrid news format that is looking to satisfy generations of gay readers. When PGN started in 1976, the local LGBT community was largely getting its news from sources like newsletters and journals published by activist groups, while throughout the country, a handful of gay newspapers had began to surface, like The Advocate, the Washington Blade and Bay Area Reporter. “In the early days, the gay press was really a source of information for many people who weren’t comfortable being out,” said Chuck Colbert, contributor to LGBT trade publication Press Pass Q. “Any word and any piece of information you could get was welcomed.” Colbert said the early newspapers were often led by gay activists, so many of the publications had a distinct advocacy thrust. The 1980s saw a rise in the number of gay publications being churned out, with the launch of such newspapers as New England’s Bay Windows, the Dallas Voice, Chicago’s Windy City Times and Southern Voice. The more expansive the industry became, the more skilled the publications became at upholding the elemental tenets of the field, Colbert said. “I think over time, gay media really emerged as professional news outlets that were vital to communities in major metropolitan areas,” he said. “Today, you still have some of the longest-standing foremost gay publications still operating, and it’s because they became increasingly professional in terms of the basics of journalism, with fact-checking, reporting as objectively as possible, getting angles from different perspectives.” As LGBT media outlets gained credibility, Colbert said mainstream journalists began to look to those in the gay media field as experts, seeking information and often advice on coverage of LGBT issues. “With the kinds of reporting that came out of these publications, there was a huge shift in how respected we became by other media outlets,” Colbert said. That trend also surfaced with advertisers, as LGBT-focused publications across the country began to compete for the business of non-gay companies who increasingly

recognized the value of the LGBT market. The Internet Age, however, has turned the journalism industry on its head, with mainstream and niche publications striving to adapt to the new ways in which the public gets its news. In 2007, the Houston Voice transitioned to an all-online newspaper, just two years before it and a number of other publications, such as Southern Voice, South Florida Blade and Washington Blade, were abruptly shut down by joint publisher Window/Unite Media, LLC, which filed for bankruptcy. Washington Blade was resurrected by a group of employees within a week and the following year retained the rights to its former moniker, while Southern Voice relaunched in the spring of 2010. PGN launched its website in 1996, and the site has undergone a host of facelifts since. The emergence of LGBT-focused blogs contributed further to the complexity of the changing industry, Colbert said. “I think that’s the big challenge now, how will publications in big cities compete with bloggers and the whole revolution in the way we get media now,” Colbert said. “You’ve got bloggers like Towelroad, Bilerico and Pam [Pam’s House Blend], to name a few, that are doing a lot of the same things gay media has been doing. But I still think there’s a role for niche publications like PGN because there are accepted standards of journalism that I think will always be of value. The bloggers are helpful in many ways, but I think there’s something different about a measured, thoughtful media presence in our community, especially in states where equality is barely inching forward.” To contend with the continuously evolving industry, Colbert noted that some publications, like PGN, have redoubled their efforts to provide hyperlocal coverage, underscoring the necessity and relevance of a community publication. “It’s that concentrated focus on Philadelphia and the local angle that no one really offers as much in depth,” he said. While the gay-press industries of 2011 and 1976 are two wholly different entities, Colbert said he doesn’t see the significance of an ink-on-paper representation of the gay community ever completely subsiding. “It’d be really sad if we didn’t have that, because these papers are visible, tangible signs of a gay community and that’s really important. Not everybody is using apps and laptops for their information. There’s just something about going into a coffee shop and having that physical paper in front of you.” ■

Philadelphia Gay News

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

NJ men find 20-year-romance in PGN personals By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com “S.J. Between Shore & Phila.” The title caught Jim Conover’s eye immediately as he perused the personal ads in PGN in the fall of 1990. The then25-year-old resident of Mays Landing had never responded to a personal ad before, but was intrigued by the prospect of someone who, like himself, had the New JerseyPhiladelphia connection. So, on Dec. 7 of that year, he sat before a typewriter and composed a two-page letter to GN Code 8033. And at the end of last year, Conover and 8033 celebrated their 20th anniversary. The man behind the ad was Craig Gardner, then 28, who happened to live just a mile from Conover in the same town. In 1990, at a time without Internet dating and with cell phones just making their appearance, there was only one gay bar in Mays Landing and one in Atlantic City. Gardner said the social prospects for gay men were very slim, so he turned to PGN’s personals, which at the time typically spanned more than a dozen pages. After placing his ad in the Nov. 30 issue of PGN — the first and last time he ever did so — Gardner received a manila envelope from PGN for several weeks with the letters and photos of people interested, some of whom he said he eventually met in person but wasn’t compatible with and others who were just a bit too “bizarre.” Eventually, Conover’s letter reached Gardner. In it, Conover described what he looked like, his education (“a graduate of Villanova, yes, I still have the halo over my head to prove it”), some of his tastes (Guess jeans, Polo sweatshirts, Halston cologne) and his likes (Stephen King, Dean Koontz, “L.A. Law” and “Murphy Brown”). “I suppose that if I had to ‘analyze’ myself, I would say that basically I am a no-bullshit, straight-forward kinda guy. Doesn’t that sound like it came from a TV script?” he wrote. Gardner said he was immediately interested and wrote back, and Conover responded with his address and not a phone number — although he said he realizes now it would have been easier to change a phone number than an address if his blind date wasn’t what he’d hoped. Gardner followed up with his phone number and, although they said they normally would have met at a public place, the proximity of their houses led them to first meet at Conover’s townhouse Dec. 23. As soon as he got to the house, Gardner was impressed. “It was Christmastime, and the front part

CRAIG AND JIM

of the townhouse just looked like the window display at Macy’s,” he said. “There were these big hand-blown glass Christmas balls in the window, and when I went in there was this beautiful furniture and the Christmas tree and decorations in the formal living room, and I thought, Wow, he has really good taste. But then he goes, ‘Oh, this is my roommate’s stuff,’ and we go back to the family room and there’s his surf board against the wall, a poster and this worn-out sofa, and I was like, Oh, bummer.” Gardner was first taken by Conover’s height, and Convoer said he was struck by how tight Gardner’s jeans were. Despite that initial reaction, the couple hit it off on that first night. “We kissed on the first date, slept together on the second date, and moved in together on the third,” Gardner joked. “I guess he liked my jeans.” Before the move-in, Gardner spent two weeks in Russia, during which time he couldn’t contact Conover. “I came home and was going through my messages on my answering machine, and there were some from Jim and he was like, ‘I know you’re not home, but I just wanted to say hi.’ Another said, ‘It’s snowing today and I was thinking of you.’ And I was so excited to see him, so he came over and then he just never left,” Gardner said. The pair spent all of their free time together and, when Conover told Gardner he had a question for him, Gardner said “yes” before the question was even asked, knowing that Conover was going to propose he move in with him. The pair lived at Gardner’s home for about a year before m ov i n g t o E g g Harbor Township, w h e r e t h e y ’v e stayed for the past two decades. “Our families get along so well,” Gardner said. “Our moms just love and adore each other, they’re like girlfriends. We have dogs who are like our children, and we’re surrounded by great friends. Of course, we don’t have a perfect relationship — we’ve had our ups and downs that I think make it real. But when we have had problems, we’ve been committed to working things out and we have.

“We’re best friends,” he added. “We love humor, and that’s helped us get through the difficult times. Kind words and the compliments also help; that’s why we’ve always done so well. And more important than the words ‘I love you’ is doing things to demonstrate that love. Like Jim wrote me a note on a Post-It when we first got together and, 20 years later, I still carry it in my wallet. Or I’ll come home and he’ll have folded my laundry, just little things like that, and that’s how we show each other we love each other every day.” Conover said he didn’t expect to find love through the personals, but rather make connections that were difficult to find at the time. “I don’t think I was thinking at the time that I was going to find somebody who’s my soul mate; it was just more of a venue to attract a different caliber of people than

you’d meet at a bar,” he said. Once they met in person, however, Gardner said he knew Conover was the one. Before he saw him, Gardner had reoccurring dreams with Conover’s face in them, surrounded by ivy-covered buildings, which he said looked very much like the buildings at Villanova University, which Conover attended. “I’ve met the man of my dreams, literally,” he said. The fewer-than-50 words that initially sparked Conover’s interest ultimately led him to someone with whom he now shares his life. The letter he wrote back to Gardner now resides in their bedside night table, and Gardner said he reads it every anniversary. When asked if they envision being together in 20 more years, Gardner said yes, while Conover replied, “Oh, I’m not going anywhere!” ■

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

35 years of milestones

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By Jen Colletta and Scott A. Drake

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

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State Senator Christine M. Tartaglione

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

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In the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Aﬀection, we have

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Congratulations to Mark Segal and the staﬀ of the Philadelphia Gay News— the most honored LGBT paper in the nation on 35 years of excellence in journalism! In Service,

Congratulates Philadelphia Gay News For their 35th Anniversary Edition

Blondell Reynolds Brown Councilwoman At-Large

Senator Christine M. Tartaglione serves the 2nd Senatorial District 1061 Bridge Street 127 W. Susquehanna Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19124 Philadelphia, PA 19122 (215) 533-0440 (215) 291-4653 Paid for by the Friends to Elect Christine M. Tartaglione

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35 years of LGBT bars

C.R. Bar/MSA 6405 Market St. (1973-86) 51 Club 58th and Baltimore (1976-77) BJP 53rd and Market (1991) Mahogany 5103 Market St. (1984) Owl’s Nest 48th and Market (1983-86) Chesnut Lounge 47th and Chestnut (1973-77)

Terminal Bar 13th and Filbert streets (1977-79) Track 7 1226 Filbert St. (1965-77) The Back Door 3535 N. 13th St. (1976-80) Winding Staircase 845 N. Broad St. (1976-79) Smart Place 922 Arch St. (1978-86) El Bravo 3600 N. Fifth St. (1978-86)

inb

(20

Market Kurt’s 1229 Chestnut St. (1985-92)

Chestnut Blue Parrot 1302 Drury St. (1988-1991) Drury Lane (1956-1986)

Adonis (Bus.) 2026 Sansom St. (1986-)

Sansom Danny’s (Bus.) 133 S. 13th St.(1980-)

M&S, 1215 Walnut St. (1984) Kennel Club (1983-96) SMC Club (1982-83) Rainbows (1980-82) Loft (1980-83)

Catacombs 1127 Walnut St. (1979-84) Seasons (1977-80) Second Story (1976)

Walnut Woody’s 202 S. 13th St.(1980-) Gatsby’s 227 S. Broad St. (1980)

Stir 1705 Chancellor St. (2008-) The Post Bar (1976-2007)

Sisters 1320 Chancellor St. (1996-) Key West 207 S. Juniper St. (1982-2008) Your Place (1982)

Backstage 1415 Locust St. (1974-86)

Locust

New Westbury 271 S. 15th St. (1988-92) Westbury (1961-88)

Knock 225 S. 12th St. (2007-)

Tavern on Camac 243 S. Camac St. (1999-) Rafﬂes (1982-99) Maxine’s (1962-81)

JP’s 1511 Spruce St. (1978-86) Roscoe’s (1975-77) Allegro 1412 Spruce St. (1962-80) Spruce

13th St.

Pine

Lombard

ICandy 254 S. 12th St. (2011-) 12th Air Command (1996-2010) Hepburn’s (1991-95) Equus (1978-91) Pepper Box (1976-77)

Venture Inn 255 S. Camac St. (1976-)

12th St.

Westbury 261 S. 13th St. (1994-)

Odyssey II 1526 Delancey St. (1981-84) Steps (1973-80)

Giovanni’s Room (Bus.) 345 S. 12th St. (1984-)

Special thanks to Bob Skiba and the John J. Wilcox Jr. Memorial Library and Archives for historic information.

Rodz 1418 Rodman St. (1991-96)

South

Broad

Tyz 1437 South St. (1992-96)

Voyeur 1221 St. James St. (2009-) Pure (2004-09) Two-Four Club (1986-04) DCA (1976-86) Cell Block (1976-83) Q Lounge 1234 Uncles 1220 Locust St. Locust St. (1985-) (2009-2011) Bump (2002-09)

2-4-7 247 S. 17th St. (1971-1996)

Astral Plane 1706 Lombard St. (1976-2007)

The Bike Stop 206 S. Quince St. (1981-) Mamzelle’s (1982-86) New Forrest (1980-83) After Dark (1977-80) Scarlet’s (1976-77) PBL Club (1974-81) Forrest (1962-76)

Club Body Center 1220 Chancellor St. (1995-) Chancellor Athletic Club (1988-95) Back Street Baths (1981-86)

Bac k 614 stage S (198 . Fou 0-19 rth S t. 94)

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION MARRIAGE, from page 29

the spectator crowd was comprised of many more LGBTs and allies. The bill is expected on Feb. 17 to easily pass out of committee, most of whose members are cosponsors. The measure would need affirmative votes from 24 senators to pass and so far has public commitments from 23, with four undecided or unwilling to reveal their stance. Last week, the number of supporters had been at 20, but Democratic Sen. Jim Brochin announced last week that he would vote in favor of marriage equality, saying he found the opponents’ testimony during the hearing “appalling.” Following a Valentine’s Day blitz of calls and visits from LGBT advocates, Sens. Edward Kasemeyer and Katherine Klausmeier also announced they would vote for the measure. The bill has seen support from just one Republican, Sen. Allan Kittleman. If the Senate approves the bill, it is expected to pass the House successfully and Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he would sign it. New York After the failure of a marriage-equality bill in late 2009, advocates are again gearing up for a fight this year. The New York Senate currently has a Republican majority, but the Democrats hold a majority in the House, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a strong supporter of marriage equality who said last week he would lobby legislators on the issue. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said last week he expects Cuomo to address it in a program bill — a package of bills introduced on behalf of the governor — and he would pass it along to out Sen. Thomas Duane to spearhead it, who said last month he would be taking up the issue within weeks. Skelos said he expects the Senate to vote on the bill by the end of June. The Assembly has passed the marriage measure several times. Rhode Island Lawmakers in Rhode Island, one of the only states in New England to not have marriage equality, are seeking to abandon that title this year. Rep. Art Handy introduced a same-sex marriage measure to the state House last month, and the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill Feb. 10, drawing support from hundreds of LGBTs and allies. Sen. Rhoda Perry introduced the companion bill in her chamber, where the bill is expected to have a tougher time. Competing against the marriage-equality bill is a measure that seeks to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex unions, an action that would require approval by the state’s voters. Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox is openly gay, and the marriage-equality measure has the support of Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who urged lawmakers in his inaugural address last month to move quickly to pass the bill this session. The state has offered domestic partnerships for same-sex couples since 2002. ■

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION SILICONE, from page 1

procedure in November 2010, but neither woman had ill effects at that time. According to Lt. John Walker of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Southwest Detective Division, who is handling the investigation, the procedure the women had is illegal here and in the United Kingdom. Walker said that buttocks-enhancement surgery is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration when sealed silicone implants or fat injections are used. The FDA confirmed that silicone injections have been illegal for over 40 years. The injections are considered excessively dangerous because silicone migrates through the body and can easily move into the bloodstream or collect in the lungs and heart, causing pulmonary failure and/or cardiac arrest. Aderotimi’s procedure was done by injecting industrial silicone directly into her buttocks. This silicone is similar to sealants used in tub and window caulking. The injection site is then sealed with Super Glue. This procedure is increasingly common at transgender “pumping parties.” The cause of death is pending autopsy results, which will take at least six weeks. Aderotimi’s companion, who had the buttocks and a hip enhancement, was hospitalized, but has experienced no ill effects at this time, police said. She is cooperating in the investigation. Walker said that until the autopsy results are in, “legally speaking, no crime had been committed since we only have a death at this time. Should the autopsy results prove that [silicone injection] was the cause of death, then we would be looking at charges, including a possible murder charge.” At the very least, the death of Aderotimi, if proven to be caused by the injections, would result in an involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a 10-year sentence. The person likely to be charged with her death is being investigated, but has not yet been located by police nor come forward. Police identified a person of interest: Padge Victoria Windslowe of Ardmore, a self-described Goth hip-hop singer known as “Black Madam.” Windslowe is reportedly a transwoman who is well-known within the African-American transgender community. Windslowe has also been described on Internet sites as “an injections doctor” and “transgender doctor.” There are no indications that Windslowe has any medical training or certifications. “We want to speak to her and give her a chance to speak to us,” Walker said. “If she performed the injection,” as sources told police, “she will be a person we need to talk to.” Another transwoman from the exclusive Saddle River, N.J., community allegedly arranged the procedures with Windslowe at the Hampton Inn for the women via the Internet. The woman allegedly had similar procedures performed by Windslowe since 2008. Saddle River police have questioned the woman, whose name is being withheld, but declined to comment to PGN. Walker told PGN that the woman has

spoken with police and discussed numerous aspects of the case and has “been cooperating with us, fully.” Police have not charged her at this time. According to the police timeline, the procedures on Aderotimi and her companion were completed at approximately 1:30 p.m. Feb. 7. An hour later, Aderotimi began complaining of chest pains and then began having difficulty breathing. Three hours after the procedure, Aderotimi was rushed to the hospital. She was pronounced dead at 1:32 a.m. Feb. 8 of apparent cardiac arrest. Windslowe had already left the hotel by the time Aderotimi was hospitalized. The investigation included a search warrant served on Windslowe’s residence. Walker said police were looking for “specific items,” including Super Glue, used to seal the injection site. Walker said numerous items were found at Windslowe’s place that were “of interest and concern,” including “injectables and cosmetics” she allegedly sold online. Illegal silicone injections into the buttocks, face, breasts and hips are increasingly common in the transgender community because health insurance does not cover such body-modification procedures. Ron Powers, director of programs at Mazzoni Center, voiced his concerns over the illegal body-modification procedures. “As a health-care organization, we don’t support or encourage do-it-yourself silicone injections or street hormones,” he said. “All kinds of complications can arise, and these procedures really must be medically managed.” Sympathetic to the issues involved, however, Powers added, “Silicone injections [like Aderotimi had] may be more of an issue of body image rather than gender identity. Understanding that body image — whether transgender or cisgender — can mean someone feels so compelled to change something about their body, I can only advocate doing that in a medically controlled way.” Powers noted that Mazzoni is “concerned about the specific dangers of using street hormones and street steroids” to enhance or alter the body by transgender persons, particularly youth, who are most likely to seek out illegal sources for body modification. Powers urged transgender persons seeking transition help to come to the center, and reinforced that “Mazzoni’s medical care is available regardless of ability to pay or whether you have health insurance.” Walker said that since the Aderotimi case has been in the news “we have been getting calls about similar situations from different people.” No deaths have been reported, he said, adding that Aderotimi was “absolutely not” transgender — but “there have been cases with other medical problems. It is of concern to us because these young ladies who seek out these procedures are doing so with unlicensed people and are experiencing medical problems as a result.” Walker added, “The price of beauty is very huge and people take risks. Society demands beauty and itself is at fault. Everyone wants to be more attractive. And now this young lady is dead.” ■

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

International Budapest Pride banned over ‘traffic concerns’ Police have banned this year’s Budapest Pride festival in June, ostensibly because it will cause too much traffic disruption. Gay-rights advocates in the Hungarian capital claim the decision, announced Feb. 14, was politically motivated and are planning to challenge it in court. Permission had already been granted for the event and organizers applied for an extension to the usual route to march past parliament.

SAME TUNE, DIFFERENT YEAR: Hungarian riot police arrest a protester who demonstrated against the participants of the annual Gay Pride march in Budapest, Hungary, July 7, 2007. PGN file photo

They hoped to hold a rally to protest Hungary’s new constitution, which includes a ban on gay marriage. But after agreeing to stop the march before reaching parliament, they were told that permission for Pride had been withdrawn entirely.

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The reason given — that traffic would be disrupted — was rejected by organizers. Sandor Steigler, head of the organizing Rainbow Mission Foundation, said, “We suspect that the decision was politically motivated ... a lot of things have happened in politics since the last march.” Budapest Pride has been heavily guarded by police in the last two years. In 2008, 1,500 people joined a gay-rights demonstration and Hungarian police used tear gas and a water cannon to clear the route for marchers. There were also violent scenes at Pride in 2007, which was plagued by skinheads and fascists shouting abuse and throwing petrol bombs at the peaceful marchers.

U.K. may lift ban on gay church ceremonies Lawmakers in the United Kingdom plan to lift the ban on same-sex civil-partnership

ceremonies in churches. The Sunday Times reports Liberal Democrat Equality Minister Lynne Featherstone will present a timetable to allow the unions in religious buildings and a proposal to end the ban on same-sex marriages. Religious groups will not be forced to perform the ceremonies. The Church of England is one organization that opposes the law. A spokesperson for the Church of England told the BBC: “Given the Church’s view on the nature of marriage, the House of Bishops has consistently been clear that the Church of England should not provide services of blessing for those who register civil partnerships.” Synagogues and mosques are also covered under the new legislation, though homosexuality is forbidden under Orthodox Judaism and Islam. The U.K. has granted 26,000 civil partPAGE 40 nerships to same-sex

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

40 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

INTERNATIONAL, from page 39

couples since they were legalized in 2005.

Gay English bishop dies at 89 Derek Rawcliffe, the first Church of England bishop to be open about his homosexuality, has died. He was 89. St. Aidan’s Church in Leeds, which celebrated a requiem Mass for Rawcliffe on Feb. 6, said he died Feb. 1. Rawcliffe disclosed his homosexuality on television in 1995, when he was serving as an honorary bishop in the Ripon and Leeds diocese. He was dismissed the following year for conducting blessings of same-sex couples. In an interview with the Yorkshire Post in 1995, Rawcliffe said he faced the issue of his sexual identity when he was working in Melanesia and realized he loved a young man who had made approaches. “I began to love everybody in a new way and to see that in spite of our sins and failings, God loves us,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. Later, however, Rawcliffe befriended and corresponded with Susan Speight, who had what he called a “miraculous healing” from a disease that had put her in a wheelchair. He said he asked, “God, do you want me to marry her?” and he did so in 1977. She died in 1989. Rawcliffe served as bishop of Glasgow and Galloway from 1980-91. In retirement, Rawcliffe continued to minister at St. Aidan’s. “Derek has contributed substantially in

Leeds, both to our worship through St. Aidan’s and to the care of and concern about asylum seekers,” said John Packer, the bishop of Ripon and Leeds.

Thai airline trains transsexual flight attendants Four Thai “ladyboys” have been recruited as flight attendants for a start-up charter airline that says it will be Thailand’s first to include transsexuals among its cabin crew. P.C. Air, which will fly to several Asian destinations starting in April, had its first training session recently for 30 recruits, including four from “the third sex.” Thailand is known for its tolerance for transvestites and transsexuals, known locally as “katoeys” or “ladyboys.” An annual transsexual beauty pageant is broadcast nationally, and Thai doctors’ well-honed skills at sex-reassignment surgery — and inexpensive prices — have made Bangkok a sex-change capital. But while katoeys are prominent in entertainment, frequently appearing on television series and in cabaret shows, other job opportunities are limited. “I had applied to many airlines and was repeatedly turned down. They said [it was] because I was a transsexual, not a real woman,” said Phuntakarn Sringern, 24, from Bangkok. “This is the first time somebody told me to come as I am and put on my best dress.” Company president Peter Chan, 47, who worked as a flight attendant for 10 years, said he doesn’t “see any reasons we cannot

let ladyboys work as flight attendants” as long as his carrier complies with civil aviation laws. “I think it’s time for the Thai society to be more open and support freedom of all sexes,” he said. The airline has separate orientation sessions for male and female recruits, and the transsexuals have been placed with the natural-born women. LIPSTICK 101: Transsexuals Chayathisa Nakmai (left), Nathatai Chan said the trans- Sukkaset and Dissanai Chitpraphachin take a makeup training sexuals must live course to prepare for the inaugural flight of P.C. Air in Bangkok. up to feminine stan- Photo: AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit dards. “For ladyboys, we have to spend more than one day with them to make sure they can keep their feminine personalities. Their voices and their postures must be naturally A Swiss court on Feb. 14 decided to feminine and they must be very patient,” deport an Iranian gay man, convicted of he said. trafficking heroin, back to his home counBecoming a flight attendant has long try. been the dream of Dissanai Chitpraphachin, The 35-year-old man argued that he 23, a native of Mahasarakam province in could face severe persecution should he Thailand’s rural northeast and a former be forced to return to Iran. The Federal winner of the Miss Tiffany pageant for Administrative Tribunal seemed to doubt transsexuals. the man’s life would be in jeopardy should “When I was young, I couldn’t take my he be sent home. The court stated, “In eyes off those nicely dressed ladies in the practice, homosexuality is tolerated by the airline commercials every time they came [Iranian] authorities when it is not done on the screen,” Dissanai said. “I simply openly in view in an offensive manner.” want everyone to open up their hearts and The man argued that things for gays judge us by our work, not because of our had worsened since President Mahmoud sex.” PAGE 42 Ahmadinejad took power

Swiss officials to deport Iranian gay man

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INTERNATIONAL, from page 40

in 2005. The court said that argument did not hold up because the man had visited Iran two times after 2005.

DJ: Gay hatred is everywhere in Uganda BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills says that the situation for gay people in Uganda was far worse than he expected. While working on an upcoming documentary, the gay Radio 1 presenter said he feared for his own safety in the country. Mills met antigay MP David Bahati as part of filming for “The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?” When the presenter said he was gay, Bahati became enraged and the film crew fled. Later, they heard that Bahati had sent armed police to a hotel he thought they were staying in. “I was really frightened,” Mills said. “It’s just something that you wouldn’t think would happen. It was a real shock to the system and we were told to lie low. I wasn’t aware before I went about what was going on in Uganda. I met gay people in safe houses because they had to flee their homes. The newspapers print their names, their photos, even what car they drive. These people are just hounded. It’s so bizarre that somewhere just seven hours away by plane can be so different.” During filming, Mills met victims of homophobia and the pastors preaching against homosexuality. “All the gay people we met had a story about how they had been tormented or attacked,” he said. “There was a guy we saw in hospital, he had AIDS and was very ill. But because they knew he was gay, he wasn’t getting the right treatment. He’s dead now. Then there was a girl called Stosh, who had to go into hiding after her face was plastered across the newspapers. It’s all very well reading about these things, but when you actually go to Uganda, you realize how bad things are. It was a lot worse than I expected.” Gay people in Uganda have “an air of optimism,” he said. “But they’re faced with every pastor, every teacher in every school, saying the same thing. They think things will change but it’s going to take a long time.” When asked how attitudes could change, Mills said: “I don’t really know. The West has been quite vocal and President Obama publicly denounced Uganda but [the preachers] still say homosexuality is un-African, that it is against the family. “They think it was brought in by the West,” he said. Many of those he met had been accused of “promoting” homosexuality and “recruiting” children. The film crew also saw firsthand the

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influence Western preachers have on antigay sentiment in Uganda. “It’s all wrapped up in Christianity and evangelicalism,” Mills said. “And Americans come over to preach. We went to a sermon and saw a guy from Atlanta preaching gay hate.” He added: “I went to Uganda with the aim of making a fair and balanced film but in two weeks, we couldn’t find any [nongay] person saying that homosexuality was OK.” “The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?” aired on the BBC on Feb. 14.

an interview with The Associated Press, he called homosexuality “a culture away from our culture.” Gay-rights activist Lorraine Setuke called Motloadi’s comments “barbaric.” Motloadi’s views are not uncommon on the conservative continent. Botswana is among dozens of African countries with antigay laws, though prosecutions there are rare.

Botswana pol defends antigay comments

Israel plans to expel the German partner of an Israeli killed in a 2009 shooting at a community center in Tel Aviv, an official said Feb. 9, prompting appeals from the gay community leaders and an Israeli lawmaker to let him stay. Thomas Schmidt, 27, began the bureaucratic process of registering himself as the partner of an Israeli citizen in 2008. But less than a year later, a masked gunman opened fire at a meeting of gay and lesbian youth and killed two Israelis, including Schmidt’s

A prominent Botswana politician is defending antigay comments he made, despite criticism from gay-rights groups in the southern African country. Deputy Speaker Pono Motloadi disparaged gays late last month during a meeting organized by AIDS groups on the subject of preventing the spread of HIV in prisons. In

Israel: German partner of victim must leave

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

partner, Nir Katz, 26. It was the worst assault against Israel’s gay community. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to bring the killer to justice, while other Israeli leaders vowed efforts to promote tolerance toward gays and lesbians in Israel. Police continue to search for the assailant. Schmidt, who has lived in Israel since 2004, wishes to remain in the country, said Nirit Moskovich of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which represents Schmidt. He has grown close to the family of his slain Israeli partner and does not maintain contact with his family in Germany, Moskovich said. Sabine Hadad, a spokesperson for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said Schmidt’s case was brought last year before a special humanitarian committee, which ruled that Schmidt could extend his stay in Israel for nine months only. When Schmidt arrived at the Interior Ministry recently, he was told his visa had expired and would not be renewed. Schmidt says he was never informed of the nine-

month restriction, Moskovich said. Nitzan Horowitz, Israel’s only openly gay lawmaker, wrote in a letter to Israel’s interior minister that “there would be no damage to the state of Israel if such a positive person as Thomas Schmidt, in light of the difficult and extraordinary circumstances, would stay with us here.” Yonatan Gher, head of a Jerusalem gay community organization, harshly criticized the decision to expel Schmidt, saying “While one lone person committed the hate crime” in Tel Aviv in 2009, “today, the country is committing a hate crime.” Gher said that “Israel claims at every opportunity how open and accepting it is to the gay community. Now it has the opportunity to put those words into action.” Israel does not permit same-sex marriage but recognizes same-sex couples who marry abroad.

Drug dealing alleged on gay cruise A cruise-ship passen-

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION INTERNATIONAL, from page 43

ger from California has been arrested for allegedly selling drugs to fellow passengers on a Caribbean cruise. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jeffrey Quniones says 51year-old Steven Barry Krumholz of West Hollywood, Calif., was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Allure of the Seas had come from the Bahamas on a charter billed as the “world’s largest gay cruise,” run by Atlantis. Court records show that customs agents boarded the ship Feb. 9 in St. Thomas and found drugs on one passenger. The passenger told agents he bought the drugs from Krumholz. A search of Krumholz’s cabin yielded more than 140 Ecstasy pills, nearly 3 grams of methamphetamine and $51,000 in cash. While waiting for the suspect to return to his cabin, two more passengers came to buy drugs, according to the affidavit. Defense attorney Gabriel Villegas declined comment Feb. 11. The Allure of the Seas, which shares the claim of world’s largest cruise ship with a sister vessel, departed Port Everglades, Fla., on Feb. 6 with some 5,400 passengers

in a trip chartered by Atlantis Events Inc., of West Hollywood. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Ship owner Royal Caribbean International said it has a zero-tolerance policy on illegal drugs at sea and that it cooperated fully with authorities.

Polish pol condemned for antigay comments Poland’s governing party has reprimanded a lawmaker in its ranks for an antigay remark and moved to punish him. Tomasz Tomczykiewicz, Civic Platform’s parliamentary leader, condemned the remarks by Robert Wegrzyn on Feb. 10, calling them “stupid” and “irresponsible.” He filed a formal complaint demanding that Wegrzyn be punished and fined. Wegrzyn apologized on Feb. 10 for the remark, in which he criticized the prospect of marriage among men but said he’d “gladly watch” lesbians. He said he is not homophobic, but conceded that the remark was sexist. He could be fined up to 1,000 Polish zlo-

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

tys ($350).

Soccer player wants athletes to come out If German soccer player Manuel Neuer had his way, gay athletes would come out of the closet. In a recent interview with German celebrity magazine Bunte, the 24-year-old Schalke goalie, who helped the Germans finish third in last year’s World Cup, said fans are more concerned with an athlete’s abilities than they are with his sexuality. “Yes, those who are homosexual should say so. That would take a load off their minds,” he said. “And the fans would get over it quickly. What is important to them is the performances on the pitch of the player, not his sexual preferences.” To date, the only German soccer player to come out is former regional league player Marcus Urban, who went public about his homosexuality several years after his retirement from the sport. ■ — compiled by Larry Nichols

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Media Trail Six arrested at Chicago marriage bureau The Windy City Times reports six activists were arrested Feb. 14 at the marriagebureau office in Daley Plaza after they insisted on a marriage license for a samesex couple. The activists, from area pro-LGBTQ groups, were responding to a call from GetEQUAL and Marriage Equality USA to raise awareness about marriage equality. Cassandra Avenatti, Lindsey Dietzler, Corrine Mina and Noa Francis Shayden approached the marriage counter and asked for a license for the couple, Judy Heithmar and Danelle Wylder. The others took turns reading from the list of 1,138 rights denied to LGBTQ couples by the federal government. Although Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a civil-unions bill into law recently, activists wanted to convey that it’s not enough.

School district, teacher settle complaint MyCentralOregon.com reports the Beaverton School District has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a discrimination complaint by a student teacher reassigned last fall for talking to a fourth-grader about gay marriage. The district and Seth Stambaugh said Feb. 11 they reached a settlement after mediation. A joint statement said the school district also agreed to “provide leadership training concerning issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.” Stambaugh’s lawyer says he will finish his internship at Sexton Mountain Elementary School in June and plans to graduate this summer from Lewis & Clark College. In October, a 9-year-old Sexton Mountain student asked why Stambaugh wasn’t married. Stambaugh, who is gay, said it was not legal for him to marry. A parent overheard this and complained to the district.

AF predicts smooth end to gay ban The Denver Channel reports some gay and lesbian graduates of the Air Force Academy predict the school will make a smooth transition when the military ends its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule this year. Greg Mooneyham, an academy graduate, says he doesn’t think the change will be a

big issue. Mooneyham is executive director of the Blue Alliance, an association of gay and lesbian alumni. The Defense Department is moving to lift the ban on openly gay servicemembers at the direction of Congress and President Obama. Air Force Academy officials say they can’t discuss their preparations because they’re waiting for guidance from Air Force higher-ups. But the academy superintendent told cadets, faculty and staff in late January, “We will get this right.”

Spanish radio drama tackles LGBT issues The San Francisco Chronicle reports a new Spanish-language radio drama is helping to break the silence surrounding homosexuality in California’s rural communities. The radio novela premiered Feb. 11 across the Central Valley. The program, “Bienvenidos a Casa,” or “Welcome Home,” tells the story of Carlos, a gay Latino teen who is rejected by his community, then eventually finds acceptance. Radio novelas are popular in Latin America, and agricultural workers here often listen to the radio when working in the fields. Activists say this is the first time information about LGBT issues is reaching rural Latinos in an accessible format.

Motor City Pride moves to Detroit Advocate.com reports the annual Motor City Pride festival plans to move from Ferndale to downtown Detroit this year and to expand from one day of celebration to two days. After a 10-year run in Ferndale, organizers say the move to Hart Plaza will allow the June 4-5 Motor City Pride festival to draw a larger crowd and expand. The festival, which turns 25 this year, aims to accommodate more people and expand activities.

University prez says policy should protect gays Anchorage Daily News reports University of Alaska president Pat Gamble is recommending adding sexual orientation as a protected status under the system’s nondiscrimination policies. Some UA students and employees have lobbied for years to amend the policy to include LGBT individuals. The proposed amendment will be considered by regents at their meeting in Anchorage. The change would add “sexual orientation” to a list of protected categories in the existing nondiscrimination policies. ■ — Larry Nichols

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AC ul t ure rts

35TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE STORY SPECIAL EDITION

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Those were the days... PGN looks back at its early decades of entertainment By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com

Philadelphia Gay News has seen some ish in its 35 years. It would take an army of writers a good number of months to sift through the thousands of pages PGN has put out over the years to find all the juicy entertainment nuggets the paper has published. Unfortunately, we only had one writer and few weeks to pan for bygone gay entertainment gold. Still, there is a lot to be learned from poring through old issues of PGN. The 1970s-era papers were particularly eye-opening. It’s like that decade was a dark-mirror universe of the times we live in today. Cherry Hill, N.J., now a suburban enclave overflowing with shopping centers, was a nightlife nerve center back in that day, with discotheques and live music venues drawing the top pop stars and comedians of the day. Atlantic City was hopping as well. Body hair and mustaches ran amok. PGN’s standards for nudity in the paper were way, way, way more relaxed than they are today. Movies were good. Concert tickets to the hottest shows were cheap and home/ personal electronics were outrageously expensive (did people really lay out $1,000 for a VCR in 1980?). Then the cultural sea change that was the 1980s hit. The movies were still good for the most part, but disco’s popularity had flamed out, politics got meaner and more complicated, the dark side of recreational drugs reared its ugly head

and AIDS cast a huge shadow over pretty much everything that would come after it. The dawn of the 1990s showed some promise on a social level. And as most, if not all, of you witnessed for yourselves, there were brighter and darker times ahead. What follows is a list of notable events and happenings in entertainment starting from when the paper launched in 1976 up until all those editions drove us completely sharpened-pencil-to-thenearest-eye-socket mad, which was somewhere around the early to mid1990s. It wasn’t always pretty, but, damn it, it was what it was. Enjoy ... 1976 January: PGN reprints the Washington Star expose about ex-NFL player Dave Kopay coming out just a month earlier. PGN reviews “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” February: PGN interviews out singer/ songwriter Janis Ian for the first of many times. March:Philadelphia-based activist group Dyketactics successfully protests the screening of the controversial slasher film “Snuff,” which was filmed in South America and claimed to have an actual murder spliced into it. It is pulled from the Regency Theater after only two days. Where was this group when the “Saw” and “Hostel” franchises launched? The comic strip “Doonesbury” introduces a gay character and a significant number of readers and newspapers freak out.

Bette Midler faces a backlash from her gay fans when she is reported to have made antigay remarks in the Chicago Tribune. We guess all was forgiven at some point ... April: After a less-than-well-reviewed performance at Valley Forge Music Fair, is Bette Midler’s star fading? PGN prints a photo essay of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Somewhere in 2011, PGN’s photographers and writers are boiling with envy. PGN reviews the autobiography of Tennessee Williams. May:PGN reviews ”Taxi Driver” starring Robert DeNiro and a teenaged Jodie Foster. Giovanni’s Room bookstore is sold by Pat Hill and bought by Dyan Dreisbach and Jennifer Turner.

PGN Reviews “Stay Hungry,” the film debut by bodybuilder and future cyborgturned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. October: Shirley Basset and Joan Rivers perform at the Valley Forge Music Fair. Top ticket price: $15. 1977 January: Liza Minnelli performs at the Latin Casino Jan. 17-27. February: PGN reviews “A Star is Born” starring Barbra Streisand and calls it a “cinematic miscarriage.” PGN interviews sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. March: PGN interviews former NLF player Kopay, who appears for an autograph session for his new book at Together Books and Crafts. April: The Valley Forge Music Fair hosts performances by Sonny & Cher and Charo. July: PGN reviews “Star Wars” and the new sitcom “Soap.” Would you believe “Star Wars” was the more believable of the two? October: Antigay activist Anita Bryant gets a pie in the face on live TV courtesy of gay activist Tom Higgins. December: PGN interviews Patti LaBelle.

June: The Lavender World’s Fair in Los Angeles is a bust as organizers ran out of money to pay for anyone working the event, including performers The Pointer Sisters, who backed out at the last minute.

Donna Summer makes her Philadelphiaarea debut at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, N.J.

September: PGN does a Fall Fashion Preview. Even though it’s in black and white, it’s still kind of painful to look at today.

1978 February: PGN features an article on Grace Jones

54 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

and John Travolta. Guess which one probably wouldn’t talk to us today??? March: PGN interviews Henry Winkler, who at the time was starring in the film “The One and Only,” where he plays an aspiring Broadway star who ends up a professional wrestler. No, seriously ... PGN interviews Wayland Flowers and Madame. Who knew the puppet and her career would outlive him? Current PGN scribe Tim Cwiek covers the protest of Anita Bryant’s concert in Reading. April: The Village People perform April 25-28 at Gatsby’s. Apparently Cherry Hill, N.J., was the bomb in the 1970s. PGN interviews Joan Rivers (long before all the plastic surgery), who was promoting her film “Rabbit Test,” about a man who gets pregnant. Thirty years later, she’ll take credit for Thomas Beatie. PGN interviews movie star Kris Kristofferson. May: PGN interviews comedian David Brenner, who explains the abrupt cancellation of NBC sitcom “Snip,” where he played a hairdresser who works with his ex-wife under an openly gay boss. He said NBC thought the show was too offbeat, even though it was a huge hit in Australia.

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

1979 January: PGN pans “Moment by Moment,” a drama featuring a romance between Lily Tomlin and John Travolta. February: Many, many editorials and opinions about serial killer John Wayne Gacy. PGN interviews actress Jacqueline Bisset. PGN reports Michael Jackson has reservations about playing the role in “A Chorus Line” of a dancer who got his start as a female impersonator because he was worried about the effect on his image. Actual quote: “Because of my, some people already think I’m that way.” Um ... wow! March: Mark Segal interviews Tim Curry from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” PGN interviews “Chorus Line” star Michael Bennett. PGN reviews “The Deer Hunter.” April: PGN raves about Diana Ross’ recent concert at the Spectrum. May: PGN talks to Divine. PGN gives the thumbs-up to “Alien,” starring Sigourney Weaver.

June: PGN does a feature on the “VD monster.” The list of diseases you had to watch out for circa 1978 were gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis, amoebiasis, herpes, venereal warts, crabs, scabies and cancroid. That “monster” is cute and cuddly by today’s standards.

PGN reports local businesses are banking on the videocassette recorders as the future of electric entertainment.

PGN interviews actress Jane Fonda.

July: PGN talks to comedian Tim Conway.

Patti LaBelle performs at the Academy of Music June 9-10. Top ticket price: $8.50. August PGN interviews singer Nona Hendryx. September PGN interviews actor Tony Randall. November PGN interviews comedians and cannabis enthusiasts Cheech and Chong. PGN reviews “The Wiz,” starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, calling it fun but flawed.

PGN reviews and raves about “The Muppet Movie.” PGN examines the controversy and protests following the making of the film “Cruising,” a movie about a serial killer

who stalks gay men in New York City. August: PGN reviews “The Amityville Horror,” “More American Graffiti” and a new rock opera called “Evita.” September: PGN talks to hit Broadway musician Harold Prince. October: PGN puts out special discothemed issue ... in which record executive Ray Caviano declares that disco is going out of fashion. November: PGN reviews “The Rose” and hails Bette Midler’s performance. December: PGN reviews “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Quadrophenia.” 1980 January: PGN takes The Village People to task for appearing in a TV special with antigay crusader Anita Bryant. PGN does a feature article on Eartha Kitt. February: Gerald Walker, author of “Cruising,” talks to PGN. Opening of “Cruising” draws 100 protesters. Disco diva Donna Summer becomes a born-again Christian. March: PGN reviews the debut album from The Pretenders. Popular gay disco DCA is heavily damaged by fire March 16. PGN reviews “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” May: PGN interviews singer Sylvester. June: PGN gives glowing reviews of “Fame” and “The Blues Brothers,” but gives Stanley Kubrick’s take on Stephen King’s “The Shining” less than stellar praise. July: PGN talks to The Village People, who are promoting their critical flop and soon-to-be cult classic “Can’t Stop the Music.” August: PGN does a cover story on poppers. (The current editor

would never green-light that story.) [Editor’s note: Not true. On second thought, maybe not.] 1981 January: Staff writer Rich Grzesiak writes an article about how to build a reasonably priced record collection from various record stores. Remember record stores? Of the 11 businesses mentioned, only three still remain in some way, shape or form in Philadelphia: The Book Trader, Giovanni’s Room and Wooden Shoe Books. May: Actor Tony Randall agrees to star in “Love, Sidney,” an NBC sitcom about a gay man, and his relationship with a single mother and her 5 year-old daughter whom he invites to live with him. It ran for two seasons. June: PGN reviews summer blockbusters “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “History of the World Part I” and “Clash of the Titans.” Only “Raiders” got a good review. WTF? July: PGN interviews Angela Lansbury — when she was still a theater/film superstar and shortly before her TV career took off. PGN reviews “Cannonball Run” and “The Great Muppet Caper.” Reviewer Larry Vitacco didn’t think too much of “Cannonball.” Luckily he didn’t have anything but praise for “Caper,” because otherwise, we’d be ready to fight. August: PGN interviews John Waters, who had just recently released his film “Polyester.” Waters is still considered far from mainstream. September: PGN visits the Reno Gay Rodeo. This is probably the last time travel was sanctioned for a story. October: Cover Story: Drugs. (Once again, the current editor would never let us get away with that.) November: PGN reviews, and likes, “Halloween II” and “Time Bandits.” December: Wow! With articles titled “Have yourself a rotten little Christmas” and “Gay ghosts of Christmas past return

to haunt the holidays,” we realize people in 1981 were just as jaded about the holidays as people are now. 1982 January: Divine performs Jan. 17 at Rainbows on Walnut Street. PGN interviews Edith Massey and Divine. February: PGN reviews “Making Love,” a mainstream drama about a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality. March: PGN talks to out author Randy Shilts prior to the release of his book “The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.” April: PGN does a special S&M-themed issue. (Current editor would never let us get away with that.) 1983 July: Marvin Gaye performs July 9 at the Spectrum. Sylvester performs July 10 at DCA. David Bowie performs July 18-21 at the Spectrum. October: PGN interviews feminist activist Gloria Steinem.

1984 February: PGN reports Eddie Murphy’s antigay jokes have resulted in a backlash from gay record stores, who pulled all of Murphy’s records and videotapes.

The Venture Inn turns 150.

March: PGN debates lesbian roles in feature films such as “Personal Best” and “Silkwood.”

April: PGN reports on “Cagney & Lacey,” which was canceled, then brought back after fans launched a letter-writing campaign. The controversy around original cast member Meg Foster is examined. Foster was replaced by Sharon Gless because executives thought that Foster too aggressive and too likely to be perceived as a lesbian by viewers.

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

May: PGN declares Annie Lennox, Joan Jett and Jamie Lee Curtis as the newest pin-up infatuations for young lesbians. June: PGN praises Dolly Parton’s performance (and her rack) in “Rhinestone.” 1985 July: PGN reviews “Pumping Iron II: The Women” in the Lesbian Voice section. August: Rock Hudson goes public with the fact that he has AIDS. Joan Rivers criticized Hudson in the press for not going public with this information sooner. PGN lauds Boy George for being an out and outspoken rock star. Disneyland reverses a 28-year-old ban on samesex dancing at Magic Kingdom. November: NBC airs “An Early Frost,” one of the first major films to deal with the subject of HIV/AIDS. 1986 January: PGN reviews “The Color Purple” starring future superstars Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. July: PGN talks to Donna Deitch, producer and director of “Desert Hearts.” August: PGN reviews summer blockbuster “Aliens,” starring Sigourney Weaver. PGN interviews jazz singer Nancy Wilson. September: Local bars screen the season premiere of the new season of “Dynasty.” October: PGN talks to former Supreme Mary Wilson.

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1987 January: PGN interviews adult-film actor and model Jack Wrangler.

PGN lists the 10 reasons you shouldn’t watch “The Late Show with Joan Rivers.”

February: Patti LaBelle donates 80 percent of the proceeds from her Feb. 20 concert at Forrest Theater to AMFAR.

June: U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) comes out.

August: PGN reviews “Full Metal Jacket.”

November: PGN interviews Randy Shilts, author of “And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic.”

December: Sylvester performs on Dec. 6 for over 4,000 people attending a benefit for the John Locke Fund, which offered assistance to people with AIDS.

1988 February: PGN praises the TV show “21 Jump Street,” starring Johnny Depp, for its handling of a plotline dealing with AIDS.

March: The death of porn star John Holmes from AIDS sends shockwaves through the porn industry, prompting a movement for mass testing of porn stars.

April: A memo from the Coors Brewing Company is leaked in which a marketing researcher from the company suggests that trying to convince the gay community to drink Coors beer is a lost cause.

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

March: PGN writer Cliff O’Neal, openly gay and a heavy-metal fan, wonders why activists aren’t hopping all over Guns n’ Roses for some of the antigay lyrics on the band’s new EP “G’N’R Lies.” After a few phone calls, he gets his wish. PGN hails the ABC network for airing the mini-series “The Women of Brewster Place,” which features a lesbian couple among the main characters. April: Keenan Ivory Wayans, in an interview to promote his new film “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” defends his brother Damon against accusations of homophobia stemming from a routine he did in HBO special “Partners in Crime” with Robert Townsend, in which he joked about chasing effeminate gay men. [Side note: We guess Coors and the gay community reconciled at some point in the last year because, damn, there’s a lot of Coors ads in the paper.] 1990 August: Sandra Bernhard talks to PGN about her relationship with Madonna ... and the film she’s about to start work on, “Hudson Hawk.” Ugh ... If only someone would have stopped her. September: Whoopi Goldberg talks to PGN about her new movie, “Ghost.” October: PGN reviews “Henry and June.” Automaker GM gets in hot water with gay activists after a promotional video circulated to Chevy dealers in which the Japanese-made competition are referred to as “little faggot trucks” hits the news. November: GM apologizes for the promotional video flap.

May: Jesse Jackson talks to PGN about antiSemitism and homophobia.

PGN weighs the pros and cons of the controversial “Men On ... ” skits on the TV show “In Living Color.”

PGN does a story on gay and lesbian characters appearing in mainstream comic books like “Superman” and “Green Arrow.”

1991 April: Presuperstardom Ellen DeGeneres performs April 4-6 at the Funny Bone on South Street, a club that seats around 200 people.

1989 February: PGN interviews Penn & Teller.

May: In a heated exchange, gay activist group Queer Nation takes Arsenio Hall to task during a taping of his late-night

talk show for not having more openly gay guests after the show didn’t book Gus Van Sant to promote his film “My Own Private Idaho.” Thanks, YouTube: www. youtube.com/watch?v=VxGQzs22K3s November: Basketball star Magic Johnson reveals he has HIV and retires from professional basketball. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury goes public with his HIV/AIDS status. The next day he dies.

musician Me’Shell NdegeOcello, who has just released her debut album on Madonna’s Maverick Records. 1994 January: PGN reviews Depeche Mode’s “Devotional,” home video from their recent world tour. PGN interviews out screenwriter Ron Nyswaner about his new film, “Philadelphia.”

1992 January: Mel Gibson goes on an antigay tirade in an interview with a Spanish magazine.

PGN interviews Cyndi Lauper.

Marvel superhero Northstar from the comic book series “Alpha Flight” comes out. March: The Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Task Force pickets the movie “Basic Instinct” at Sam’s Place movie theater because the film is offensive to women and lesbians. 1993 May: PGN does a feature on writer Neil Gaiman and his hit comics series “The Sandman,” which features gay and lesbian characters. June: RuPaul performs at Philly Pride. Dear God! Zima runs a full-page ad in the paper. July: PGN reviews “The Firm,” starring Tom Cruise. PGN interviews “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening. August: PGN goes behind the scenes of the HBO mini-series adaptation of “And the Band Played On.” October: PGN interviews out punk-rock band Pansy Division. November: PGN talks to out singer/

PBS airs Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” unedited on WHYY-TV Channel 12, drawing a flood of protests from the right — and even more support from fans of the series. February: PGN interviews Melissa Etheridge, who had just come out the year before. March: PGN runs the final interview with out author Randy Shilts’ (“And the Band Played On”), who died of AIDS in February. April: PGN interviews writer/director Andrew Fleming about his new film “Threesome.” PGN interviews John Waters, who is promoting his new film “Serial Mom.” And the rest is history. (Translation: we could not go on.) If you are reading this, you lived through the rest of this timeline. And if you didn’t, do your two mommies or two daddies know that you’re reading their paper? ■

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Family Portrait

PORTRAIT 35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Suzi Nash

Alison Lin: HotPot and bubble tea According to RainbowRumpus.org (a fabulous LGBTQ site for kids), in southern China during the late Qing Dynasty, two unrelated women could join together in an oath of sisterhood known as the Golden Orchid Society. The society comprised women who took an oath to the goddess Guan Yin (believed to be transgender) to never have sexual relations with men. Women chose to join the society for lots of different reasons, one of which was a desire to marry a woman. Once married, the women lived together and cared for each other and their families. In a journal written in 1937, a traveler described “two women [who] dwell together, always existing as if they were one woman. They are as close as a stalk of grain coming through a stone.” The Golden Orchid Society is, alas, long gone, but there is a new group for queer Asian and Pacific Islander women, trans and gender-nonconforming folks. This week we spoke to Alison Lin, one of the founders of HotPot! PGN: Tell me a little about yourself. AL: I was born in Baltimore, Md., but I grew up in a small town called Westerville outside of Columbus, Ohio. I have a younger brother, Chris. My dad is retired but he did IT, computer technology work. He’s Chinese American. My grandmother was pregnant when she immigrated and he was almost born on the boat coming over to the States. My mom is a librarian. She’s white, of German-English descent, dating back to colonial times. PGN: My mother was a librarian too. What was your favorite book? AL: I really liked “The Paper Bag Princess.” It’s about a princess who’s engaged to be married to a handsome prince when a dragon burns her kingdom and kidnaps the prince. She sets out after them in a paper-bag dress after her clothes get destroyed in the fire. She rescues the prince but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her in her tattered clothes and tells her to return when she looks suitable. She realizes he’s a jerk and leaves. PGN: What are two family traditions that you enjoy? AL: My mom always gave us Advent calendars. I loved the artwork and the excitement of opening the door and getting a little gift each day counting down to Christmas. My dad loved games, so we played a lot of mah-jongg, which is a traditional Chinese game, as well as other board games. And food — sharing food with large multi-course meals. My dad is the cook of the house and makes delicious dishes, whether it is salmon with ginger and scallion or a spaghetti and meat sauce.

Then he usually beats us all in card games. PGN: Was it difficult being mixed? AL: Being that we were in a mostly white, small town, I think the difficulty was the exaggerated interest in someone for being a little bit different. There was also some racism and bullying because of identifying as Chinese. PGN: What’s great about being biracial? AL: Getting to experience different cultures. Going to big Chinese banquets and weddings as well as celebrating Christmas and holiday traditions from my mom’s side of the family. I got to enjoy both cultures and being mixed also allowed me to develop an appreciation for others who were different for all sorts of reasons. PGN: We just started the Year of the Rabbit. Do you celebrate Chinese New Year? AL: It’s been a while, but recently I started doing some traditional things like eating long noodles and dumplings, called jiaozi. On New Year’s Day, you’re not supposed to wash your hair because it washes away the good luck. So I make sure to do it the night before. You’re not supposed to sweep or dust either — again, to keep in the good luck of the New Year. You do clean prior to New Year’s to get rid of any residual bad luck from the previous year. PGN: What were you like as a kid? AL: I was a little bookish, but I was also kind of theatrical. I did a lot of dancing, jazz and ballet. PGN: How were you as a big sister? AL: [Laughs.] Bossy! I liked to be in control! We have a video from when Chris was young where I’m opening all his Christmas presents for him. PGN: What was your best subject in school? AL: It was always math and science. PGN: And what do you do now? AL: I help coordinate the Connect to Protect coalition at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We work to prevent HIV infection in young gay men and other men having sex with men, 12- to 24-year-olds. PGN: Is it very prevalent with youth under 15? AL: Under 15, it’s mostly preventative work that we do, a lot of educational work. People aren’t aware what a huge epidemic it is in Philadelphia. We have rates of HIV that are four or five times the national average and a large proportion of that are youth between 17-24. We don’t focus on individual behavior; we focus on structural

change. We work with other organizations like the Y-HEP, The Attic and Youth Emergency Services to find things that are upstream that we can work on that will reduce rates down the line. For instance, a youth who gets thrown out of the house due to family conflict and becomes homeless is going to be at risk for unsafe sex and contracting HIV. What can we do to create safe housing for them? That sort of thing, not just telling an individual to wear a condom. We try to work on structural changes that we can address. PGN: Where did you go to school? AL: My undergrad was from a little college in upstate New York called Hamilton College. It was a liberal-arts college with a strong science program, so I was a chemistry major with a French minor. I got a fellowship that allowed me to travel abroad for a year studying grassroots women’s literacy programs. I went to

on things like women’s health or the rights of girls to go to school. One moment that comes to mind took place in Vanuatu. There was a woman, Vesale, who took me under her wing. She taught literacy in a rural area that was about an eight-hour hike from her village and she took me with her for one of the trips. It was moving how important it was for her and really made you think, why, in this area — where there were not many books or things to read — why was it so critical? But she understood that knowledge was power. There was no running water, no electricity, all the structures were bamboo and still it was important enough for her to walk for half a day to share her knowledge of reading. PGN: What did you learn from the experience? AL: I learned an appreciation for humanity and the many different lives and ways that people live, but also that we’re all connected. We all live in the same world and what we do here has an effect on people across the world and vice versa. There’s a lot we can learn from other societies: how to be more considerate of each other, how to respect nature where we live, that subsistence farming is connected to Wall Street. It made me want to be involved in programs that are producing change in a larger way: to recognize that there are bigger influences that impact our individual behavior.

PGN: How did you first know you were gay? AL: I had a huge crush on a woman. I was living at home with my parents after my year abroad and I was volunteering for the 2004 presidential campaign. She was the volunteer coordinator and I was really drawn to her. We started dating and I started crossing the Photo: Suzi Nash important people off my Haiti, Cameroon, Senegal and Vanuatu. That got list who I needed to tell. I me interested in the connections between was very fortunate that I got support from social change, health and sexuality, so I everyone, including family. went back to school and got my master’s in public health from Columbia University. PGN: Did you have any feelings toward women before that? PGN: What was memorable from your AL: I think I was always curious, but I time abroad? didn’t know anyone gay growing up, so it AL: It was moving to see communities never seemed like an option. In college I working together to improve their own thought about it, but I had an absolutely well-being. I worked with a lot of groups fabulous boyfriend who I was in love with,

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION PORTRAIT, from page 61

so I wasn’t looking to date anyone else. PGN: Back to health issues, I know in the black community there’s a high rate of diabetes and obesity. What health issues affect the Asian community? AL: Well, diabetes. Asians across the world have the highest prevalence of diabetes. Hepatitis B and liver cancer are also huge problems. There are more Asian people infected with hepatitis B than non-Asians. It affects hundreds of millions of Asians. HIV is also rising for those who get tested. Of course, though we get clumped together, it varies among different groups of Asian and Pacific Islanders. PGN: Totally switching gears, I read your bio and it says you’re into bubble tea. What’s that? AL: It’s a sweet tea beverage invented in Taiwan. It’s got a tea base mixed with fruit or fruit syrup and/or milk with large tapioca balls at the bottom. It’s kind of a smoothie. They shake it to mix the ingredients, creating a foam on the top. My favorite flavor is Karo, which comes out purple. PGN: You’re into gardening; what’s your favorite thing to grow? AL: Last year I grew cucumbers and sugar snap peas, which were delicious! Refreshingly crisp. PGN: What’s a time period you’d like to visit? AL: I had a lot of fantasies as a child about living in the Victorian Era, wearing the long flowy dresses. PGN: Others are embarrassed when you ... AL: Bring Tupperware out at fancy restaurants! It drives my brother crazy. PGN: Did you have a blanket or stuffed animal? AL: Yes, I had “blankie.” It had a little turtle in the center and was bordered with different colors. I kept it around all through middle school, parts of high school and then it went on a shelf during my college days. It’s still at my parents’ house. PGN: Who would you like to sit next to at a dinner party? AL: My maternal grandpa. He passed away when I was 4. I have memories of sitting next to him down in Florida, eating popcorn and laughing and having a good time. PGN: What’s an early memory? AL: I have a very strong memory of my mother getting ready to go to the hospital to give birth to my brother, her and my dad prepping me to be a big sister. They got me a little T-shirt that said, “You’re going to be a big sister!” and my mom recorded lullabies for me to listen to while she was gone. I made her a pillowcase in preschool that showed her with her big baby bump in stick figures. PGN: What was the first R-rated movie you

ever saw? AL: Was “Dirty Dancing” R? I remember sneaking to watch it at a friend’s house and we’d fast-forward to the sex scenes. PGN: What’s HotPot!? AL: We are a group of queer women, trans and gender-nonconforming folk who get together to decide what a queer, API [AsianPacific Islander] community looks like to us and think about what issues we want to take political action on. We’re not just a social group, though that aspect is important to us. Sharing good food is actually part of our mission statement! PGN: What are some of the issues that have come up? AL: I’m proud to say we raised $4,000 to send seven people to the first-ever daylong Queer Asian and Pacific Islander Institute. One of the things on the top of the list was immigration reform as it relates to the LGBT community. There are people who are at risk for deportation back to countries where homosexuality may be illegal or considered incitement for rape or murder. We had a get-together to hear stories about the challenges that LGBTQ immigrants face in this country. We heard personal experiences as well as stories from providers and community leaders. More than 120 people came. We had to turn folks away at the door due to capacity. PGN: What do you say when people ask, “Why do you need your own group, aren’t we all one big gay family?” AL: I think a lot of people wonder that. Even though there’s so much diversity within HotPot! — class, ethnicity and culture, etc. — we share similar experiences of racism, family, what home means to us. Sometimes in the larger LGBTQ communities, we can be tokenized. We are the “other.” Our group actually helps to diversify Asian for me. I enjoy learning about other people’s cultures and traditions. In addition, it is a foundation from where I can build bridges with other Asian/API communities around common concerns like immigration reform. HotPot! is a place where we can be our whole selves and that includes our ethnic identities. PGN: Anything on the horizon? AL: Well [on Feb. 19] we’re volunteering at ASIAC’s Lunar New Year Banquet at Hibachi. They are the fiscal sponsor for HotPot! It’s going to be great: They’ve got music, great food, a silent auction and a raffle. Tickets are still available. This spring, we’re going to have a community event focusing on the idea of home and what it means. For some people, home is a place they can never return to, geographically. For some, home is a group of people that you have chosen to be family. HotPot! is a place where I find one of my community homes and we want to share that. For more info on HotPot!, visit www.qpaonline.org/hotpot.php. ■

To suggest a community member for “Family Portraits,” write to portraits05@aol.com.

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Journalist’s debut novel focuses on gay teen underground By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com In his debut novel, journalist Tomas Mournian didn’t have to venture far from his work for inspiration. Inspired by Barbara Walters’ “20/20” report about gay teens sent to boot camps, Mournian researched and wrote an article for the San Francisco Bay Guardian about teens who escaped from abusive camps and found refuge in safehouses. The article, “Hiding Out,” was syndicated internationally and inspired the creation of a short film, produced by George Michael and screened at Equality Rocks. Mournian based “Hidden” on that article. The novel follows a group of LGBTQ teens struggling to resolve traumatic experiences and find physical and emotional sanctuary while living with a group of strangers until they turn 18. Mournian said his research took twoand-a-half years. “It was split between the safehouses and then I did a huge amount of academic research,” Mournian said. “I was really curious about knowing why this was happening. What’s the legal reason for this?” Even though the struggles of LGBTQ youth have received a lot of mainstream press in the last year, Mournian said for the most part, gay teens — especially those who are homeless — still have it bad. “Queer youth never stop being at risk,” he said. “Twenty percent of homeless youth are gay and they represent 5 percent of the population. Where the kids end up was really the focus of the novel. What happens once you’ve been through this process, whether you’ve been kicked out or put through reparative therapy? What happens to you now? What happens to you now is just as bad as it ever was. “The government put out this thing called ‘The Critical Role of Family Support in LGBT Youth’ and the government is trying to intervene, but queer youth still don’t have any legal rights. They have no recourse to physical or verbal assault. In school, they don’t have any U.S. history that includes information about them like Harvey Milk or Kate Millett. They have no place to go if their family kicks them out. They’re not integrated into the adult LGBT community. I mean, they’re much discussed, but not part of the discussion. So I think that there are solutions that people are starting to put

forth, but it remains to be seen if there are any benefits for queer youth.” Mournian added that the issues LGBTQ youth face are complicated by a lack of understanding or the ability to properly address the problems on both sides. “It’s challenging to straight people because when your kid is kicked out or ends

TOMAS MOURNIAN

up homeless on the street, that’s like your muchvaunted heterosexual parenting skills are a failure,” he said. “I think for the adult queer comm u n i t y, it’s challenging because there’s a sense of helplessness. Really, realistically, what are you supposed to do for a 12-year-old who is being bullied in Joshua Tree or the Inland Empire? There’s such a disconnection. Maybe by telling this story, people will see that things really suck for kids and can go really horribly wrong. I don’t know how much a novel can change the world. I’m optimistic but it remains to be seen. I think it’s important that these stories are told because queer youth are still invisible in gay culture and in the larger culture.” Mournian will read from his novel at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St. For more information, call 215923-2960. ■

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

LGBT reality show to hold casting call in Philly By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Are you ready for your close-up? Good, because a new reality show will hold open casting calls at Woody’s Bar, 202 S. 13th St., Feb. 23 and 26. Under The Boardwalk Productions is looking for the next LGBT reality stars for a pilot shooting this spring. The unnamed show will find the cast living in a beach house on the shores of Atlantic City for the coming summer. Yeah, we know what it sounds like. But this show isn’t trying to be a gay version of “Jersey Shore.” We hope ... Producer Kate Siegel said early press about the new program has been the source of the comparisons to the aforementioned reality show. “That’s the way it’s been talked about in headlines but that’s never been the intention,” she said. “You can say that about many reality shows. It’s more like ‘The Real World’ than it is ‘Jersey Shore’ in the sense of we’re putting different-minded people in a house together.” Siegel, a Princeton University senior and LGBT ally, said she was inspired to put together this new reality show because of the segments of the LGBT population that weren’t being served on television.

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“The idea came from the fact that, on all sorts of reality shows today, you have the token guy or the token lesbian,” she said. “I just thought it would be interesting to have a show that represented the LGBT community in its entirety and where it showed people’s identities beyond their sexual orientation on a heterosexual-based reality show. I thought it would be interesting to have a show with an entirely LGBT cast so you can get to know the people underneath that label.”

Kim Friedman, the show’s director and an Emmy-nominated director of prime-time TV shows “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Star Trek Voyager,” “Star Trek Deep Space Nine” and ”L.A. Law,” said they are trying to attract a wide range of LGBT people to the show’s casting calls. “It’s totally open,” she said. “We’re going to have an open casting call and put together people that really represent all different facets of the community. We’ve already had one audition and we were shocked by how

many people came out. We held it at a little club in Hammonton, N.J., Club In or Out. We thought we’d like to start small. Well, the next thing we knew, there were 300 people lined up. It was an amazing evening and we found lots of people.” “There’s no specific ideas or guidelines,” Siegel said. “We’re just waiting to see who comes in the door and anything we think is going to be compelling.” Still, Friedman said some who auditioned haven’t fully embraced the idea that this show isn’t going to be anything like “Jersey Shore.” “We’re not just looking for Italian people,” she said. “A lot of people came in trying to be guidos and guidettes. They were funny and we wouldn’t say no to that. But we’re not looking for that. One of the things that will set us apart is that we thought it would be intriguing to put people together so it wasn’t all just gay men in the house or all lesbians and one gay man. We want to mix it up and see it as a larger community.” Under the Boardwalk Productions will hold open auditions for its new reality show at 4 p.m. Feb. 23 for individuals 1820 years old and 2 p.m. Feb. 26 for individuals 21 and older at Woody’s Bar, 202 S. 13th St. All auditions, which consist of a simple videotaped interview, will be held on Woody’s main dance floor. For more information, visit www.woodysbar.com. ■

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Over the hill? 35 years of gay cinema By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor Thirty-five years ago, American films did not present many — or many positive — images of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people. In 1976, there were only two mainstream American releases — “The Ritz,” directed by Philadelphia native Richard Lester, based on Terrance McNally’s popular play about a mob flunky hiding out in a gay bathhouse, and “Norman, Is That You,” a smarmy situation comedy about an African-American man bringing home his gay white lover (Dennis Dugan), a flamboyant, swishy stereotype. And while few actors were out in those days, openly gay Truman Capote turned in a funny, lisping appearance in the comedy “Murder By Death,” alongside Philly native Nancy Walker. These films arrived (and some quickly went) the year after Al Pacino starred in “Dog Day Afternoon,” about a man who robs a bank to pay for his lover’s sex change. According to Ray Murray, president of the TLA (aka Theatre of the Living Arts), which operated as a repertory cinema in 1976, “All the queer films [of that period] had asterisks next to them because each character was flawed in an obvious way: deranged (“Dog Day Afternoon”) or cartoons (“The Ritz”), who never really come to life.” Then there was the campy musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Made in 1975, it didn’t develop into a cult phenomenon until 1976, when it started appearing as a midnight movie at places like the TLA. “It took a while to catch on,” remembered exhibitor Murray about the early screenings of “Rocky Horror.” “There was no stage show at first. It was an interesting crowd — very gay — and it was nothing like it turned out to be. People just liked it. Eventually, it turned over to a straight crowd, a younger crowd, then it became interactive. “That film had the greatest impact,” Murray added, indicating that other than a few art-house releases, most queer films never played mainstream movie theaters. “There was not an established gay filmmaking culture at that time.” One native Philadelphian who worked at telling queer stories was Andrew Brown. In 1976, Brown was filming subjects for “Word Is Out,” a documentary released the following year. Featuring interviews with a cross-section of members of the queer community — who only had sexual orientation in common — the film offers poignant, emotionally charged portraits of 26 gay men and women. Over the phone from his current home in San Francisco, Brown explained that the film was made to “break stereotypes

and make ‘gay’ universal. Gay is not just a white male thing. There are gradations.” Brown said he and his fellow filmmakers, Nancy Adair and Rob Epstein among them, made the film “To help change laws. There was talk about a movement that tried to suppress the gay movement. And campaigns

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WORD IS OUT

to stop gay teachers from teaching.” He recalled this was right after the American Psychiatric Association dropped homosexuality as a mental illness, and around the time Anita Bryant was waging her antigay campaign. Two of the subjects featured in “Word is Out” were filmed in Philadelphia. Michael Mintz, from Princeton, was an outspoken college student who had been attacked on campus, and Donald Hackett, a married man who lived in West Philly, did not identify with gay culture. “He represented the average black man who came out after marriage,” Brown said. “Today we’d call that being on the down-low. Michael was the opposite of that.” While these images were certainly useful to Brown and his film, the filmmaker himself found little or no queer content on screen, save for one film that’s etched in his memory. He recalled, “John Waters’ ‘Pink Flamingos,’ which I saw at TLA, that stood out in my mind — a transsexual showed up for the opening!” For “Flamingos” filmmaker Waters, 1976 was the year he was making “Desperate Living,” his outrageous comedy about criminal women. Over the phone from his home in Baltimore, Waters put this project in the context of films from the era. “‘The Boys in the Band’ [1970] was

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CINEMA, from page 69

a great period piece, but that was the gay scene I ran from. I might be gay, but I’m not this!” he insisted. Instead, Waters found his positive images elsewhere — in the underground films of Andy Warhol, Paul Morrissey and Jack Smith. “That was the most positive thing for me ... [Their films] were so confusing to people. Gerard [Malanga, who appeared] was straight. A fat girl got naked. Everyone looked sexy and was on drugs. They got me through. They were the most positive — because they weren’t clichés, sad or [whining], ‘Help us!’” Waters doesn’t think of “gay cinema” as a genre, insisting, “I’ve always been against gays using their sexuality for an excuse for quality. If a [good film] happens to be about gay people, great!” As the underground made strides — like Warhol and Morrissey, Waters produced an exciting new film every few years — Hollywood’s efforts to represent LGBT voices were more sporadic. In 1982, there were a surprising number of queer-tinged titles. In addition to the soapy gay coming-out drama “Making Love,” and the insulting mismatched gay-cop comedy “Partners,” there was the sporty lesbian romance “Personal Best” and two multiple-Oscar-nominated cross-dressing films, “Victor/Victoria” and “Tootsie.” That same year, John Lithgow was also nominated for an Oscar for his portrait of a transsexual in “The World According to

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

classics. “Desert Hearts” writer/director Donna Deitch, on the phone from Los Angeles, reflected back on her development as a filmmaker. “What inspired me to become a filmmaker was the Vietnam War. I began as an anti-war documentary filmmaker,” she explained, indicating that she was not interested in or looking at queer films until she was preTHE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW paring “Desert Hearts.” Garp.” The following year, Linda Hunt “[Researching] ‘The Killing won the Best Supporting Actress Academy of Sister George’ or ‘The Children’s Award for playing a man in “The Year of Hour,’ there never had been a film Living Dangerously.” Her competition was made about a same-sex female relaCher, who was nominated for an Oscar for tionship that didn’t end in a bisexher role as a lesbian in “Silkwood.” In 1985, ual triangle or a suicide,” she said. William Hurt won the Best Actor Oscar for Deitch’s lesbian romance was very his turn as a gay prisoner in “Kiss of the successful for its time and is signifSpider Woman.” While these performances icant for featuring positive images provided some exposure for LGBT char- and characters. She acknowledges acters — and provided actors with juicy that if she wanted to make “Desert parts — the real strides were being made in Hearts” now, she could get anybody American independent cinema. she wanted in terms of an actor. “Those parts are a bit of a calling For us, by us card now,” she observed. However, Films such as the lesbian romance “Desert at the time, the situation was quite different. Hearts” in 1985 and gay dramas about Despite the Academy Award nominations AIDS — “Parting Glances” in 1986 and the aforementioned performers received, “Longtime Companion” in 1989 — started most actors in the 1980s were reluctant to a trend of queer films made by queer film- take gay roles. makers catering to queer audiences who “People would not come to a casting seshungered for accurate reflections of their sion [because it was a lesbian film] — and lives. All three titles are now considered they weren’t even playing the leads. They

DESERT HEARTS

did not want to be in a film like this,” Deitch recalled. She wanted Patricia Charbonneau to play the seductive Cay Rivvers after seeing her 8-by-10 photo on the casting director’s coffee table. The roles Charbonneau and her co-star Helen Shaver played were quite controversial, Deitch observed. The lack of a queer wave in the mid’80s was not based on the lack of success

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of “Desert Hearts,” which received positive reviews and made money. The reason queer films were not more prominent was because such indie films did not measure up to other releases in the box office. Ironically, after “Desert Hearts,” Deitch started directing for the small screen, helming the Oprah Winfrey project, “The Women of Brewster Place.” She explained that there are more opportunities and jobs for female filmmakers on TV. “You don’t see women directing feature films by hire,” Deitch insisted. “Women filmmakers generally direct projects they have written or cowritten. The power in Hollywood reflects greater society. There are fewer opportunities for women.” New Queer Cinema Queer cinema didn’t find its next toehold in American culture until the critic B. Ruby Rich identified “The New Queer Cinema” movement in the early 1990s. At the time — halfway between 1976 and today — there was an explosion of American queer

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

filmmaking: Both Jennie Livingston’s drag documentary “Paris is Burning” in 1990 and Todd Haynes’ queer triptych “Poison” in 1991 were followed in quick succession by Tom Kalin’s “Swoon,” a reimagining of Leopold and Loeb, and Gregg Araki’s HIVpositive lovers-on-the-lam film “The Living End” in 1992. Other queer voices soon appeared. Rose Troche’s lesbian romantic

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

comedy “Go Fish” created a stir in 1994. Todd Verow released his risky adaptation of Dennis Cooper’s “Frisk,” and Maria Maggenti’s interracial romance, “The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love,” came out in 1995. By the time Cheryl Dunye’s Philadelphia-set “The Watermelon Woman” unspooled in 1996, LGBT filmmakers were seemingly everywhere. These filmmakers were LIVING END marching to the beat of their own drums. They worked independently, often on micro-budgets and with attitude and/or style that frequently challenged conventions and stereotypes. In a recent phone interview, New Queer Cinema pioneer Gregg Araki admitted that it was music, rather than film, that prompted his development as a creative artist. “I was so heavily influenced by punk,

post-punk and alternative music. That whole scene was about doing your own thing, and being against the mainstream. So when I started making my movies, they were personal to me. I wasn’t trying to represent gay people. I was expressing myself in a way that was not concerned about what others would think. Being gay and wanting to tell a gay ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ love story was natural, and there would be dudes making out in it. ‘The Living End’ was very much my headspace and my frustration and anger and angst and confusion — specifically about the AIDS crisis and the Republican government being unresponsive.” Araki looks back at the 1970s, which featured male sex symbols/movie stars [e.g., Burt Reynolds], but the representation of attractive guys wasn’t out there. Nowadays, he sees more queer images. “Things are much more open today — so sexualized. It’s more difficult to be a repressed closeted gay guy now with a wife and kids, living a lie, tamping [sexuality] down. We live in a culture where queer imagery and male

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CINEMA, from page 71

fetishizing images are so prevalent.” Still, when Araki thinks back to the queertinged films he saw in 1976, he mentioned the TV movie “Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway,” which starred Eve Plumb — Jan from “The Brady Bunch.” He fondly and gleefully recalled details of this TV movie: “Her boyfriend [Leigh J. McCloskey] was a male hustler, and there was a sequel [“Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn” in 1977] about him being a male prostitute in Hollywood. I remember it had quite an impact on me.” The New Queer Cinema filmmakers burst on the scene in a very “in-your-face” style — but they were hardly gone in a flash. Haynes, Araki, Verow, Troche and Dunye have sustained long, busy careers — and developed loyal followings — in features and television over the last two decades. But while independent queer cinema has established a niche for talent, are these films and filmmakers moving more toward the

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

mainstream — or have audiences changed, and become more receptive to queer stories and characters? Murray offers his thoughts on the trends he has seen as a DVD distributor: “Most people will say the last few years have been rough on gay film because it’s not been able to become a viable submarket. With the increasing social acceptance of gays, the prominence of well-written gay/ lesbian characters on TV and the rise of the Internet, independent gay/lesbian film has lost much of its relevancy to younger audiences. So today, it is an increasingly older audience that watches, rents and buys independent gay/lesbian films.” Perhaps this is because older viewers fought for acceptance and for positive queer images, whereas younger viewers had less of a struggle to find queer lives on screens. Then again, maybe the shift happened in Hollywood. Deitch thinks so, citing Hilary Swank winning an Oscar for playing a transgender teen in “Boys Don’t Cry” in

1999, followed by the breakout success of “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005. She observed, “‘Brokeback Mountain’ really stood out. It was the convergence of the stars, script and director. The film hit on every point.” That film’s success, Deitch said, paved the way for more mainstream queer films, like the current Oscar nominee “The Kids Are All Right,” directed and co-written by out filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko. Which begs the question: Has film shifted from near invisibility in 1976 to a saturated, almost post-gay era in just 35 years? That may be in the eye of the viewer. For some viewers, queer cinema has already lost its novelty. Waters says he watches films from a gay perspective: “I can appreciate them from an angle the director didn’t intend.” Maybe this is the most appropriate way to view films in 2011. ■ Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews.”

JOHN WATERS

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Outward Bound

Equality Pennsylvania’s MISSION is: to use partnerships and coalition-building to achieve equality for LGBT Pennsylvanians through

EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, & POLICY REFORM The Equality Pennsylvania family of organizations consists of Equality Pennsylvania, a 501(c)(4) organization focused specifically on advocacy, coalition-building, and organizing, and Equality Pennsylvania Educational Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to achieve equality for LGBT Pennsylvanians through outreach, education, and policy reform.

Visit our website: www.EqualityPA.org

Doing what counts.

Daniel F. Doyle Assistant Vice President Branch Manager

Daniel.Doyle@susquehanna.net www.susquehanna.net

200 S. Newtown Street Road Newtown Square, PA 19073-4000 Tel 610.356.1574 Fax 610.356.1656

Jeff Guaracino

Plan spring flings and summer vacations now You work hard! You deserve a vacation. Vallarta, based on double occupancy. For a Part of the fun of travel is in the planning full itinerary of trips, visit www.atlantisevand the anticipation. So, what are you wait- ents.com. ing for to plan your next trip? I’ll admit the real fun of a getaway or Get away with R Family Vacations vacation comes by actually going on it Travel guru Gregg Kaminsky has transand posting photos on Facebook so that all formed R Family Vacations. If an entire your friends can share in your trip. When ship of gay men is not your idea of a vacayou really think about it, vacations aren’t tion, then the R Family Group Cruises a luxury: They are a necessity that make us happier. Vacations expose us to other cultures and new places, and offer a chance to reconnect with friends and family or to meet someone new. Vacation companies that customize trips for the LGBT community have not pulled back in this recession. In fact, our favorite companies have not only survived, but thrived. Here are five top choices for where to spend your hard-earned LGBT dollars, with companies and places that ATLANTIS TOOK OVER ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S care about our community.

ALLURE OF THE SEAS

Sail away with Atlantis Vacations Last week, Atlantis Vacations made travel history when the gay-tour operator completed a weeklong cruise for 5,400 people on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, one the world’s largest passenger vessels. Stunning the global travel industry, Atlantis announced its second cruise on the same ship in 2012 for another 5,400 guests. Atlantis is the only company to be able to buy out this megaship. Congratulations! This achievement shows that the LGBT community is strong and resilient. Moreover, an Atlantis vacation costs LGBT travelers much more than a traditional voyage on Allure of the Seas. Despite the recession, gay and lesbian travelers want value but are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars on a vacation designed just for them. If you are interested in an Atlantis Vacation, there is still time for a March spring break on Atlantis’ Southern Caribbean cruise. A limited number of cabins are still available, starting at $1,299 per person. Or check out Club Atlantis Cancun in April, with rooms starting at $1,299 per person. Atlantis’ 20th Anniversary Mediterranean Cruise in August is already sold out. If a cruise is not your thing, Atlantis is also offering two all-gay Club Atlantis resort vacations this year. Club Atlantis Cancun runs April 23-30 at Club Med Cancun, and next fall’s Club Atlantis Vallarta weeklong all-inclusive begins on Nov. 5. Prices start at $1,299 per person for Cancun and $1,399 per person for Puerto

might be just for you. “R Family Summer Reunion” is setting sail on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Jade Aug. 6-13 from Venice, Italy, to four incredible Greek islands. Guests will explore spectacular views in Corfu, picturesque Santorini and, of course, the beaches in gay-friendly Mykonos. And for the first time, R Family Vacations is offering an adults-only trip on the NCL’s Epic called “R Time.” This trip departs March 5 from Miami. Families that fell in love with R Family’s traditional format will want to book the “Summer Camp 2011” at the Club Med Sandpiper in Florida in July. This all-inclusive resort is a short drive from the Palm Beach, Fla., airport. American Airlines is offering a 5-percent discount on airfare if you use the code “9371AN” when booking your flight. Also, R Family Vacations is offering a $300 discount if you book now. For more information visit, www.rfamilyvacations.com. Olivia takes women to the islands Olivia is going to Hawaii Oct. 29-Nov. 4. Enjoy the scenery of majestic mountains and the sea on the sunny Kohala Coast on the tropical Island of Hawaii at the fivestar Mauna Lani. Travel+Leisure rates this property as one of the “Top Hotels in the World,” and Olivia is taking over the entire resort. Olivia is also taking guests on “Ultimate Escapes” to China, Europe and Alaska. Olivia still has cabins available starting at $1,899 for the Mexican Riviera Cruise setting sail March 26. Check out www.olivia.com for all the details.

Quick spring break destinations If the snow and cold are getting to you, plan a short trip to Key West for Gay Spring Break. Check out the new website, www.gaykeywestfl.com, for ideas on places to stay, things to do and places to eat. Key West is a magical place where the minute you disembark from the plane at the tiny Key West International Airport, you know you arrived somewhere special. Check out the Island House for incredible winter, spring and summer deals and lots of free extras included in the room rate, such as free parking, complimentary evening cocktails and free WiFi. Local gay trips Don’t forget that you also can vacation close to home. We’re lucky to live in a gorgeous area of the country with so much to do. Spend a weekend in Bucks, Delaware, Chester or Montgomery counties. See what’s new in our hometown. Even if you live in town, sleep over in a hotel and get room service. Plan a weekend in Atlantic City and take in a show. Jump on Amtrak and see where it takes you. Remember, travel is something you’ve earned. ■

Jeff Guaracino is a vice president for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and the author of “Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing.” He has learned how to find the best deals and travel resources for the LGBT community. For local travel, check out visitphilly.com.

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Loews congratulates PGN on 35 Years! Get 10% off Loews Best Rate with booking code “LGBT.”

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Gay Canadian late-night talk show catches on in U.S. By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Up north in a magical, mystical wonderland called Canada, they have a channel called MTV. But this isn’t the MTV we came to know and love, and then later hate with raw venomous passion, as MTV Canada host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani explained. “We still do the ‘Jersey Shore’ and ‘Teen Mom’ but we also have a bunch of different talk shows for youth,” said Sovani. “We also do a lot of social programming. We have a show called ‘MTV Impact,’ where we talk about everything from gay bullying to what’s going on in Egypt. We play music videos. It’s a lot more concentrated on everything that people care about: social issues to music video and pop culture. Not just the slush.” One of MTV Canada’s non-slushy shows has trickled down to the States via the Logo Network. Cult hit “1 Girl, 5 Gays” is a latenight roundtable talk show where Sovani pitches not-appropriate-for-daytime questions about sex, love and life to a group of gay guys, eliciting equally inappropriate answers. According to producer Garrett Wintrip, the formula for the show came as a result of trial and error. “About a year ago, my boss came to me and wanted to do a relationship or sex

show,” Wintrip said. “We toyed around with doing an open-format show where a lot of young people would just talk about their relationship and sex experience. So we taped a show with 13 young people, gay and straight, and it just seemed really unfocused and it seemed like people weren’t willing to share. I’m a gay guy and I was brainstorming about how we can make this show better. I was thinking about how all the gay people that I know don’t have their guard up as much when they are talking about sex and relationships. So we thought we’d try it with gay guys and it worked out.” The resulting show became so buzzed about in Canada, it wasn’t long before people in the U.S. started to take notice and wanted in on the action. “To work in television in Canada, it isn’t on the scale that it is [in the U.S.],” Wintrip said. “We were kind of blown away when they showed interest in it. From what I understand, it was one of the guys’ fans from the show who messaged [website] AfterElton. So we kind of got discovered through them from a fan, which is amazing.” The Logo Network soon picked up the show and was impressed enough to pick up a second season. Wintrip said the show’s popularity has allowed it to expand upon the pool of gays

that make up the panel. “We accumulate people as we go along,” he said. “We started with maybe 10 guys and periodically we have auditions and we add one or two to the rotation. We have about 15-20 guys that we rotate in and out, but we’re always looking for new people. We hold open auditions and ask the same questions we ask on the show, and we get a sense of who stands out in the group.” Wintrip added the program now has gay guys from the States clamoring to be on, despite that it tapes in Toronto. “Since Logo picked us up, we have people driving in from the States,” he said. “We had guys from Buffalo and Cleveland come in for auditions.” “People constantly send us e-mail and Facebook messages about being on the show,” Sovani added. “1 Girl, 5 Gays” airs weeknights at midnight on Logo. For more information, visit www.logotv.com. ■

ALIYA-JASMINE SOVANI

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

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Diners swarm Honey’s for great food By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Given the steady stream of customers from across the spectrum of age, culture and social status that keeps the tables packed all through the bohemian confines of Honey’s, 800 N. Fourth St., this eatery really doesn’t need us singing their praises. But, dammit, we’re going to do it anyway. They can always expand. Breakfast food is king at Honey’s and probably what first hooks the vast majority of devotees because 1) it is so freaking good; 2) the cooks make everything they possibly can in house and from local ingredients and 3) it’s available all day. Warning: If it’s the weekend, be prepared to wait. It’s worth it, but you are going to wait. For traditionalists, there are buttermilk pancakes ($6 plain, add $1 for add-ons such as bananas, chocolate chips, berries, etc.), biscuits and gravy ($5.50) and challah French toast ($7.75). Vegetarians can get down on Honey’s vegetarian chicken-fried steak ($8) or the tofu scramble ($7.25), with peppers, onions, tomatoes and hand-cut fries. Penny-pinchers can get their fill with the bargain breakfast: two eggs, a potato latke, grits or home fries, toast and coffee ($3.95). The truly adventurous should head straight for the enfrijoladas ($7), flour tortillas stuffed with eggs, beans, salsa verde, black-bean purée, sour cream and onions and topped with a micro green salad. Chorizo, tofu, veggie sausage or other breakfast meats can be tossed into the mix — but the dish is strong enough to satisfy without, and elevates breakfast food to a high art. Elsewhere on the menu, perfectly executed down-home goodness abounds. The fried green tomatoes ($5.50) and the guacamole ($5.75) are a snacker’s paradise. Here’s where the beauty of Honey’s really kicks in: For every dish that is refined excellence, there is a dish that sounds and looks like it flew screaming and on fire out of the imagination of a really hungry pothead. Which is where the Frito chili pie ($6) comes in. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Take a pile of Fritos, throw some chili (beef, chicken or veggie ... they thought of everything), tomatoes, cheese and jalapeños on top and bake. Some sour cream and guacamole later, and you’re done. It isn’t brain surgery, but it is damn tasty. It might not be candlelight and soft-music fare, but

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if you and your friends are ever halfway through a waterpipe and listening to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” this dish will be calling your name. Then there was cake. Is it wrong to eat cake with breakfast? Bill Cosby once pointed out that there were eggs, milk and wheat in cake. Mmmmm. Cake. Honey’s has thick, luxurious chocolate cake ($6), a slice as big and as thick as a small mattress. If you must indulge, enlist help, even if you have to ask strangers. Don’t worry, they will thank you for it. Oh ... we have to leave. People are waiting for our table. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or anything after, Honey’s is the queen bee. ■

The Westbury Congratulates PGN on 35 Outstanding Years! We are the Gayborhood’s First Craft Beer Sports Pub KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OUR NEW MENU COMING SOON

The Westbury 261 South 13th St. Philadelphia, Pa

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35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

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Lady Bunny brings new show to Allentown By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com This isn’t the Year of the Rabbit. It’s the Year of the Bunny. That’s Lady Bunny, bitches! The drag superstar, musician and allaround showstopper has always had a busy schedule, filming music video clips for YouTube and bouncing around the globe from her home base in New York City for her many DJ gigs and personal appearances. This year is no exception. In the midst of all her performances, Lady Bunny is about to begin filming the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag U” for the Logo Network. But before all that TV fun can begin, Lady Bunny is hopping through the area for a performance on a bill that includes Gunner from gunnerworld.com, Feb. 24 at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. Yeah, we know. Organize a carpool with some friends or something. PGN caught up with Lady Bunny while she was doing her thing on the West Coast, and she gave us the skinny on what new outrageousness she plans to let loose when she blows through the area. PGN: Everybody we’ve talked to is being hush-hush about the details of your upcoming show in Allentown. Can you tell us anything about it? LB: No. [Laughs.] It wouldn’t be a secret. I’m just teasing. I do have lots of new material and I will be making my rap debut, since that seems the way to go. I do a lot of song parodies, so I’ve added a lot of new songs and one of them is set to a popular rap song, so look out Jay-Z and Kanye West — Lady B and her hippity-hop is about to burst on the scene. I’m also doing a comical tribute to the movie “Burlesque.” I’m about to do a YouTube movie about “Burlesque” but it hasn’t been seen very much on stage. That’s a new component to the act. I’ve been doing these YouTube [videos] and there’s one that’s really popular called “The Ballad of Sarah Palin.” I don’t know whether I’m going to perform this because it’s not all together suitable to a nightclub. It’s more for a cabaret environment. PGN: Are there any hip-hop artists in particular that you draw inspiration from for your new act? LB: Absolutely none. I don’t care for rap.

I think it has a lot of negativity toward women and gays. The imagery is very violent. It glamorizes gangsters and thuggery. I don’t care for it. I like rap that makes me laugh and I do like vulgar material. Lil’ Kim has been up front like “I’m a slut” with her raps. If you’re going to be a slut, be a proud slut and wear it out there for everyone to see without shame. If there was a rapper that I liked, it would be her. And my rap is certainly rather risqué. PGN: Is there going to be a second season of “Drag U”? LB: There is. I’m starting to film that with Ru in March. So, yes, that is coming up again and I’ll be getting away from the blistering cold for a month, which I will certainly enjoy. PGN: Did you think that “Drag Race” would catch on in the mainstream like it did? LB: Well, Ru has certainly had a knack for hitting the nail on the head and defining a cultural moment. “Supermodel,” when he put that out, the whole world was buzzing about Naomi Campbell. It certainly brought drag to the forefront and made it relevant again. It is reality TV, so we all know reality TV isn’t always real. People get so wrapped up in “Drag Race” and whether it’s fair or not. It’s reality TV. They set up situations and it’s not like they’ve gone around and found the very best queens to compete in the show and whoever wins the show is the best drag performer in the country. That’s just not the way it works. They just pick a mix of people that are going to make interesting TV and that’s what he’s done. PGN: Do you think with the popularity of “Drag Race” and “Drag U” that you’ll be able to bring back “Wigstock” someday. LB: I gave that event 20 years and it was loads of fun, but New York was a different place then. Never say never, but it’s just not on my list of things to do. We’re going to change up the format of “Drag U,” which was not as popular as “Drag Race,” and see if we can fine-tune that and get it to be more popular. That’s pretty much my main focus for now. I’m still going around DJing and performing a lot.” ■ Lady Bunny performs Feb. 24 at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. For more information, visit maingateclub.com or www.ladybunny.net.

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35TH ANNIVERSARY TELEVISION SPECIAL EDITION

Worth Watching THE NEIGHBORHOOD GETS SKUNKED UP: Out comedian Wanda Sykes lends her distinctive voice to the character of Stella the skunk in the animated feature film “Over the Hedge,” airing 9 p.m. Feb. 19 on ABC. Photo: Dreamworks Animation

RACE REDEUX: Eleven former teams that fell short of the glory of winning return for “The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business,” including gay father and son team Mel and Mike White and goth couple Kent Kaliber and Vyxsin Fiala, at 8 p.m. Feb. 20 on CBS. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS

COMING OUT IN CLEVELAND: Cleveland’s longtime friend and coworker Terry (center) reveals he’s gay and dating a guy named Paul (left, voiced by Justin Timberlake) on a new episode of “The Cleveland Show,” 9:30 p.m. Feb. 20 on Fox.

THE FUND HOUSE: Out character Cameron (right, Eric Stonestreet) preps for a huge fundraising event and enlists help from hubby Mitchell and nephew Luke — who might not be the best choices, 9 p.m. Feb. 23 on “Modern Family.” Photo: ABC/Adam Larkey

Q Puzzle Now Don’t Get All Het Up Across 1. Julianne of “The Hours” 6. Sondheim’s Sweeney 10. Deer, or without a dear 14. Some Autobahn autos 15. R.E.M.’s “The __ _ Love” 16. Q to a Scrabble player 17. Big Board listing 18. Marina sight 19. “Exotica” director Egoyan 20. Start of a quip 23. Canon camera 24. “Mamma ___!” 25. Songwriter Porter 26. More of the quip

Q PUZZLE, from page 23

35TH ANNIVERSARY COMICS & Q PUZZLE SPECIAL EDITION 31. Events for Bruce Hayes 34. Lover boy? 35. Alley from Moo 36. A doctor makes you strip for it 37. Greasy spoon, e.g. 39. Lay an egg 40. Lobster eater’s wear 41. Arrange by penile length, e.g. 42. Drinks at the Boston Eagle 43. More of the quip 47 “I’ve had it!” to Gomer 48. Brain test, for short 49. P. Hearst’s kidnappers 52. End of the quip 56. Morales of “Mi Familia” 57. Six-shooter name 58. Loaded for bear 59. Path on top of a dike 60. Canal of Sal 61. Patricia Nell Warren work 62. Home, to Dave Pallone 63. Open position? 64. Former NFL player Tuaolo

Down 1. Stroke with an upright stick 2. Openly gay with 3. Ban targets

4. Costa ___ 5. Nose rubbers 6. Lincoln’s head covering 7. Taking action 8. Bottomless 9. Kimberly Peirce, e.g. 10. Lube or vibrator, to a sex shop 11. Evita, for example 12. It’s for skin 13. Pink diamond, for one 21. Bathtub booze 22. Expresses awe 26. Rep. foe 27. Proclivities 28. Stuff from your shaft 29. Shakespeare’s Othello, for one 30. Actor Omar 31. “Fancy” singer McEntire 32. World War II alliance 33. Way to go, in San Francisco 37. World War II soldiers 38. SEP, e.g. 39. Sarah Palin imitator Tina 41. Like a tight opening 42. Dance in a song by 25Across 44. How punctual people come 45. Like the big top 46. Variety of cat? 49. Aida was one 50. Carafe size 51. Speedy train

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

52. Cruising 53. Time of “Camelot” 54. “Would ___ to you?”

55. The Brewer twins, for short 56. Come out on the beach

84 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

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35TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURES SPECIAL EDITION

Spring and love are in the air Winter doesn’t end for a few more weeks, but you can already smell a little spring in the air. I can’t wait for the sun to finally break through all these clouds and start to warm things up. I’ve already got my trips to Hillside and Sandy Hook all planned out! The Philly Tattoo Convention rocked

to find a bigger venue next year. But I have to admit, I didn’t mind being stuck in the middle of that crowd of hot, sweaty, tattooed guys one bit. My only problem was I kept forgetting that I wasn’t at IML or MAL. I think I fell in love with about 200 men and 50 women in the first half-hour alone. There were so many drop-dead gormen and Jim Kiley- geous women there, Zufelt and everyone

Leather Lookout

My husband Mike and I went to the tattoo convention last month with our friends Tony and Damon and we had a blast! It was everything we expected and more. The convention just keeps getting bigger. We went on Saturday night around dinnertime. The crowd was decent when we arrived, but the longer we stayed, the more packed it got. Hotel security even had to close off the third floor for a while because it was filled to capacity. Since all the tattoo artists were set up on the third floor, you can imagine how the people on the second floor reacted when they blocked off the escalators. The organizers really need

Congratulations, PGN! I want to take a moment to congratulate PGN on its 35th anniversary issue. In 1976, I was in second grade at Foulk Road Elementary School in Wilmington, Del., and that summer I remember taking my first trip into Philadelphia. It took me until the early ’80s to find and pick up my first copy of PGN. I never would have dreamed that I’d get the chance to write for them one day. PGN was a beacon of hope for me back then, and I hope they continue being one for future generations for many years to come!

LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES: Chris, Zech and Martin were just a few of the many revelers at the Philadelphians MC Valentine’s Day Social on Feb. 12 at The Bike Stop. Photo: Jim Kiley-Zufelt

was showing off their body art. Throw in the beards and the piercings and it was almost too much to handle! Liberty Bears — gone fishing

Gay Philly’s Favorite Photographer Scott A. Drake • 267.736.6743

This marks the first time in over 20 years that there has not been an active bear club in Philadelphia. The Liberty Bears’ website, Facebook page and Yahoo group will all remain online and will be used to disseminate information about other regional bear events. Watch these sources for information about when the Liberty Bears may be ready to host activities once again. Here’s wishing that day comes very soon. I sincerely hope this break is a short one and that the Liberty Bears come roaring back to life better than ever.

I am very sad to report that the Liberty Bears have gone on an indefinite hiatus. Despite the success of Bears on Liberty Weekend last October, the club has been struggling with some issues related to turnout and logistical support. President Thom Caggiano said the club is not going away forever, but he cannot say exactly when they’ll return.

Blue Collar Boot Lust On Feb. 19, the Keystone boys of Leather will present Blue Collar Boot Lust, their signature party, at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St. The ice and snow has finally receded, so haul out your boots and stomp on down to The Pit Stop. The boys will give them the attention they need and get them shined right back up. They’ll also have specials and other surprises, so get your gear on and come out to party with Philly’s favorite boys! Check out their Facebook page for more information.

LOCAL CLUBS & EVENTS — KEYSTONE BOYS OF LEATHER: Meetings every third Thursday at The Bike Stop, 7:30 p.m. Next meeting: March 17. www.keystoneboysofleather.org — PHILADELPHIANS MC: Meetings every first and third Monday at The Bike Stop, 7:30 p.m. Next meetings: Feb. 21, March 7 and 21. www.philadelphiansmc.org — WOOF! PHILLY: Every Sunday at 5 p.m. at The Gold Club, 1416 Chancellor St. www.woofphilly.com ■ Questions? Comments? Contact Jim at LeatherLookout@gmail.com.

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

86 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

OUT & ABOUT The week ahead Fri. 01/18 Cookies & Milk — The Movie, that is! Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County hosts a screening of the Academy Award-winning film “Milk” from 8-10 p.m., W. Rose Tree Road, Media; 610-566-4853. Herb Alpert The hit-making trumpeteer performs at 8 p.m. at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215-5727650. The Bacon Brothers Movie star Kevin and brother Michael

play country music at 9:30 p.m. at Sellersville Theater, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville; 215257-5808. Stimulus The monthly LGBTQ dance party returns 10 p.m.-2 a.m. at Marathon Grill, 929 Walnut St.; www. stimulusphilly.com.

Sat. 01/19 A Penny for Your Thoughts The William Way LGBT Community Center hosts a guided discussion on issues that impact lesbian, bisexual and questioning women, 4-7 p.m., 1315 Spruce

St.; 215-732-2220. Flogging Molly The Celtic punk band performs at 7 p.m. at House of Blues, 801 Boardwalk; 609343-4000. Lady Gaga with Scissor Sisters and Semi Precious Weapons Good luck finding tickets to this concert at 7 p.m. at Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City; 609348-7000. Buckcherry The hard-rock band performs at 8 p.m. at Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800-745-3000. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic The funk star and his band perform 8 p.m. at Keswick Theatre, 291 N.

35TH ARTS ANNIVERSARY & ENTERTAINMENT SPECIAL LISTINGS EDITION

Keswick Ave.; 215-572-7650.

Sun. 01/20 The Bad and the Beautiful The 1952 film starring Kirk Douglas is screened at 2 p.m. at Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610-917-0223. Louder Than a Bomb The film about four Chicago highschool poetry teams as they prepare for and compete in the world’s largest youth slam is screened at 4 p.m. at Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-0223. Darryl Wayne The author of “Don’t Tell Nobody! A Forbidden Desire Not Forever

MILK & COOKIES: Interweave at Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County hosts a screening of the Academy Award-winning film “Milk” starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the slain gay-rights advocate and the first openly gay man to be elected to office in the state of California, at 8 p.m. Feb. 18, W. Rose Tree Road, Media. Admission is free and refreshments are provided (hence the cookies), but guests are encouraged to bring pantry items for the Media Food Bank. For more information, call 610-566-4853.

Vulnerable” hosts a reading at 5:30 p.m. at Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.; 215-923-2960. Animus with Philadelphia’s Belly Dance Spectacular The culturally diverse instrumental group performs at 7:30 p.m. at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400. Lisa Lampanelli The insult-comic performs at 8 p.m. at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way;

609-317-1000.

Mon. 01/21 Rutgers University Women’s Basketball Coach Vivian Stringer The author of “Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph” shares personal stories of adversity and reveals how coaching underdog basketball teams to victory has enabled her to transform the lives of countless young

players, 5 p.m. at Penn Bookstore, 3601 Walnut St.; 215-898-7595. John Mellencamp The rock singer performs at 7 p.m. at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215790-5847. The Goonies The ’80s adventure film is screened at 8 p.m. at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888.

Debbie Stoller The author of “Stitch ‘n Bitch Superstar Knitting: Go Beyond the Basics” hosts a reading at 7:30 p.m. at Central Library, 1901 Vine St.; 215-686-5322.

Tue. 01/22

Fri. 01/25

Wanda Jackson The “Queen of Rockabilly” performs at 8 p.m. at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400.

Writer/comedian Michael Showalter The author of “Mr. Funnypants” hosts a reading at 4 p.m. at Penn Bookstore, 3601 Walnut St.; 215-898-7595.

Wed. 01/23 Trey Anastasio The Phish frontman performs at 8 p.m. at Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800745-3000.

Thu. 01/24 PLAY ‘PINK HOUSES,’ MAN!: Roots rocker John Mellencamp screens a documentary about the making of his new album “No Better Than This” before taking the stage to rock the house at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. For more information, call 215-790-5847.

American Rhodes Scholar from Johns Hopkins University while the other serves a life sentence in prison, hosts a reading at 6 p.m. at Penn Bookstore, 3601 Walnut St.; 215-898-7595.

Wes Moore The author of “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” a true story of two boys with the same name: One becomes the first-ever African-

Tomas Mournian The author of “Hidden” hosts a reading at 5:30 p.m. at Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.; 215-923-2960. Spring 2011 Gryphons Season Kick Off Party The gay rugby team kicks off its 2011 season with raffles and drink specials, 6-9 p.m. at Woody’s, 202 S. 13th St.; phillygryphons.org.

35TH ARTS ANNIVERSARY & ENTERTAINMENT SPECIAL LISTINGS EDITION

Opening Fruitville/The School Papers AxD Gallery presents an exhibition of two series of intimate, seldom-seen works by artist Douglas Witmer, Feb. 25-April 2, 265 S. 10th St.; 215-627-6250. Jurowski Conducts Prokofiev The Philadelphia Orchestra performs with the Georgian-born violin sensation who, at age 16, won the silver medal at the Sibelius International Violin Competition, Feb. 1820 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847. Shen Yun The classical Chinese dance and orchestral performance comes to town at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22-23 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847. Tchaikovsky and MacMillan The Philadelphia Orchestra performs with composer James MacMillan, Feb. 24-26 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847.

Continuing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer People’s Light & Theatre presents an adaptation of Mark Twain’s American classic, through March 13, 39 Conestoga Road; Malvern; 610-644-3500.

Amadeus Walnut Street Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning play about the legendary composer, through March 6, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. Attic Youth Center Queerealities: Posters for Change The William Way LGBT Community Center, through Feb. 28, 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220. Condensation: Works by Alexander Conner The William Way LGBT Community Center, through Feb. 25, 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore Theatre Exile, through March 13 at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey St.; 215-218-4022. Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence Philadelphia Museum of Art, through March 13, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Nocturne Flashpoint Theatre Company, through Feb. 26, Second Stage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St.; 215-665-9720. Oscar Nominated Documentary Short Films The 2011 nominees are screened through Feb. 24 at Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610-917-0223. The Peacock Male: Exuberance and Extremes in Masculine Dress Philadelphia Museum of Art, through June, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. Resisting Racism: 30 Years of Men of All Colors Together The William Way LGBT Community Center, multicultural organization, through March 25, 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220. To Love, Honor and Obey? Stories of Italian Renaissance Marriage Chests

EASTERN GRANDEUR: Shen Yun, the classical Chinese dance and orchestral performance company, returns to Philadelphia for its fifth consecutive year showcasing traditional Chinese culture through choreography, costumes, music, ancient legends and modern tales of courage, compassion and grace, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22-23 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. For more information, call 215-790-5847.

Philadelphia Museum of Art, through July, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100.

Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Diversions, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: diversions@epgn.com. Notices cannot be taken over the phone.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Virtues and Vices: Moralizing Prints in the Low Countries, 1550-1600 Philadelphia Museum of Art, through Feb. 27, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.

Closing Guys and Balls: A Football Musical Penn Glee Club presents the story of a football team on the brink of dissolving unless they can start winning some games, through Feb. 19 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215-898-3900. Race Philadelphia Theatre Company, through Feb. 20, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215-985-0420. Romeo & Juliet The Opera Company of Philadelphia, through Feb. 20, at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847.

SHORT ‘TERM’ THRILLS: The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents “Terminus,” an onstage thriller which finds three flawed individuals ripped from their daily lives in Dublin and thrown into a fantastical world deep in the bowels of the earth, through Feb. 20 at Harold Prince Theatre, 3680 Walnut St. For more information, call 215-898-3900.

Stomp The percussive, wildly popular Broadway show runs through Feb. 20 at Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847. Harold Prince Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215898-3900. Terminus The Annenberg Center for the Performing Woman/Object Arts presents the story of three people ripped AxD Gallery presents an exhibition of Larry from their daily lives and thrown into a fantas- Wood’s works of sculpted steel evoking tical world, resulting in an audacious drama of shapes of the female body, through Feb. 19, interlocking monologues, through Feb. 20 at 265 S. 10th St.; 215-627-6250. ■

35TH ANNIVERSARY COMMUNITY SPECIAL EDITION

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â&#x2013; ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215592-1513 â&#x2013; AIDS Treatment hot line: 215545-2212

â&#x2013; The COLOURS Organization Inc.: 112 N. Broad St., third floor; 215-496-0330 â&#x2013; Equality Pennsylvania: 215731-1447; www.equalitypa.org

â&#x2013; Mazzoni Center Family & Community Medicine: 215-563-0658 â&#x2013; Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833

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â&#x2013; SPARC â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-9209537 â&#x2013; Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207 (staffed 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays, and 6-9 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)

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â&#x2013; Equality Forum: 215-732-3378

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Health

Anonymous, free, conďŹ dential HIV testing Spanish/English counselors offer testing 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, 166 W. Lehigh Ave.; 215-763-8870 ext. 6000.

HIV health insurance help Access to free medications and confidential HIV testing available at 17 MacDade Blvd., Suite 108, Collingdale; Medical Office Building, 722 Church Lane, Yeadon; and 630 S. 60th St.; 610-586-9077.

AIDS Services In Asian Communities Provides HIV-related services to Asians and Pacific Islanders at 340 N. 12th St., Suite 205; 215-536-2424.

Mazzoni Center Free, anonymous HIV testing; HIV/AIDS care and treatment, case management and support groups; 21 S. 12th St., eighth floor; 215-563-0652. www.mazzonicenter.org.

Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative Free, anonymous HIV testing from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursdays at 1207 Chestnut St., fifth floor; 215-851-1822 or 866-222-3871. Spanish/English

Mazzoni Center Family & Community Medicine Comprehensive primary health care, preventive health services, gynecology, sexual-health services and chronicdisease management, including comprehensive HIV care; 809 Locust St.; 215-563-0658.

HIV treatment Free HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment for Philadelphia residents are available from 9 a.m.-noon Mondays and 5-8 p.m. Thursdays at Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad St.; 215-685-1803.

Washington West Project Free, anonymous HIV testing. Walk-ins welcome 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday; 1201 Locust St.; 215-985-9206.

Professional groups

â&#x2013; Greater Philadelphia Professional Network Networking group for area business professionals, self-employed and business owners meets monthly in a different location throughout the city, invites speakers on various topics, partners with other nonprofits and maintains a Web site where everyone is invited to sign up for e-mail notices for activities and events; www.gppn.org. â&#x2013; Independence Business Alliance Greater Philadelphiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LGBT Chamber of Commerce, providing networking, business development, marketing, educational and advocacy opportunities for LGBT and LGBT-friendly businesses and professionals. Visit www.IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com for informa-

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â&#x2013; Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations: 215-686-4670

â&#x2013; Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia GALLOP holds board meetings at 6:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month at 100 S. Broad St., Suite 1810; GALLOP also provides a free referral service; 215-627-9090; www.galloplaw.org.

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â&#x2013; Philly Pride Presents: 215875-9288

â&#x2013; Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection at the Independence Branch of the Philadelphia Free Library: 215-685-1633

tion about events, programs and membership; 215-557-0190; 1717 Arch St., Suite 3370.

â&#x2013; National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association The Philadelphia chapter of NLGJA, open to professionals and students, meets for social and networking events; www.nlgjaphiladephia.org. â&#x2013; Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus A regional organization dedicated to promoting gay and lesbian tourism to the Greater Philadelphia Region, holds meetings every other month on the fourth Thursday (January, March, May, July, September and the third Thursday in November), open to the public; P.O. Box 58143, Philadelphia, PA 19102; www.philadelphiagaytourism.com. â&#x2013; Philly OutGoing Professionals Social group for gay, lesbian and bisexual professionals meets for social and cultural activities; 856-8579283; popnews19@yahoo.com.

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â&#x2013; Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 267-216-6606; ppd. lgbt@gmail.com

â&#x2013; Mazzoni Center: 215-563-0652; www.mazzonicenter.org. Legal Services: 215-563-0657, 866-LGBTLAW; legalservices@mazzonicenter. org

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â&#x2013; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK

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â&#x2013; AIDS Law Project of Southern New Jersey: 856-933-9500 ext. 221

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Key numbers

â&#x2013; AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania: 215-587-9377

â&#x2013; William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center: 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220; www.waygay.org. Hours: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Peer counseling: 6-9 p.m. Monday through Friday Library hours: 3-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 3-6 p.m. Tuesday; noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers: New Orientation: First Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.

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â&#x2013; Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania 3907 Spruce St.; 215-898-5044; center@dolphin. upenn.edu, Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday

â&#x2013; Rainbow Room â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Bucks Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Allies Youth Center: 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays: Doylestown Planned Parenthood, The Atrium, Suite 2E, 301 S. Main St., Doylestown; 215348-0558 ext. 65; rainbowroom@ppbucks.org

Community centers

â&#x2013; The Attic Youth Center: For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. Groups meet and activities are held from 4-8 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays; case management, HIV testing and smoking cessation are available Monday through Friday. See the Youth section for more events. 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331

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Community Bulletin Board

88 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

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Classifieds PGN does not accept advertising that is unlawful, false, misleading, harmful, threatening, abusive, invasive of another’s privacy, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful or racially or otherwise objectionable, including without limitation material of any kind or nature that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, provincial, national or international law or regulation, or encourage the use of controlled substances. All real-estate advertising is subject to Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and ﬁnancing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability). PGN will not knowingly accept any real-estate advertising that is in violation of any applicable law.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

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VENTNOR, NJ, FACING THE BAY House and Adjacent Lot (inground swimming pool). 1st floor 3 bedrooms, bath, living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room and deck. 2nd floor 2 bedrooms, bath, efficiency kitchen, living room, dining area and deck. Central Air. Corner Property. Call 215-468-9166 evenings only. $675,000.00. Also property for rent1500.00 month plus utilities. _______________________________35-10

Upstate NY Land Bargains 7.5 Acres w/ Beautiful Trout Stream Frontage - $29,995. 23 Acres w/ Road & Utilities $39,995. 7.75 Acres w/ Beautiful Views, Road & Utilities - $19,995. Financing Available. Call 800-229-7843 Or visit www.LandandCamps.com _______________________________35-07 Potter County - Keating Twp. 17 Acres borders state forest and public snowmobile trail. 20 minutes from Coudersport. Electric, perc, $72,900. Owner ﬁnancing 800-668-8679. _______________________________35-07

12TH & DICKINSON AREA Furnished Townhouse for rent: 3 levels. Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 2 bedrooms , bath. Very Unique. 1500. mo plus util. (negotiable). Call 215 468-9166 after 6 pm. or 215 686 3431 daytime. _______________________________35-10 RITTENHOUSE SQUARE AREA Studios & 1 Bedrooms - Call for Availability (215)735-8050. _______________________________35-12 JEFFERSONVILLE, NEAR K OF P, BLUE BELL Large efﬁciency on private wing on home with large yard. Private bath, entrance, kitchen. $495/mo. + elect. & sec. dep. Call 610-5396381, leave message. _______________________________35-07

SALE

RENT

VACATION

RENTAL

Noon - 1:00 PM 2155 Montrose St. New construction on large corner. 3bd, 2.5 ba. Deluxe granite and S/S kit. wood floors, finished lower level, rear garden, roof deck. Tax abatement .......................................$425,000 927 Spruce St. Unit 2R Deluxe Junior 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath with new kitchen. Unit contains a queens size Murphy bed. (parking available for just $20,000) ....................................................$199,900 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM 3716 Baring St. New Listing. Large Victorian Twin in Powelton Village. First floor as large living, dining room and deluxe kitchen and half bath. The two upper levels contain a total of 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. Restored for today’s living with old world charm. ...................... ...................................................................Priced to sell $365,000 1109 Spruce St. Units 2R, 3R and 4. New condo conversion. Boutique Building. Two 1 bedrooms and 1 large loft all nicely renovated with low taxes and condo fees. ............................................ .....................................................................$175,000 to $225,000

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REAL ESTATE

SALE

Open Houses Sunday Feb. 20, 2011

255 S. Hutchinson St. (between 9th and 10th off Spruce St.) Historic, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath on charming cobblestone street in heart of Washington Sq. West......................................................$250,000

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REAL ESTATE

Dan Tobey

The Curtis Center 1401 Walnut St. 8th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102

215.546.2700 Business • 267.238.1061 Direct 215.432.7151 Cell • 215.546.7728 Fax dtobey@cbpref.com • www.cbpref.com

PGN

AFFORDABLE FORT LAUDERDALE All Gay Resort. Apts., full kit, 10 min Gay Nightlife, beaches, attractions. Clothing opt. pool, WiFi. 877-927-0090, www.LibertySuites.com _______________________________35-15 OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND Best selection of affordable rentals. Full/ partial weeks. Call for FREE brochure. Open daily. Holiday Real Estate. 1-800-638-2102 Online reservations: www.holidayoc.com _______________________________35-07

OPEN HOUSE - Sunday, Feb. 20th 2:00-4:00 699 School Road, Blue Bell, PA

Elegant custom contemporary home situated on a private, spectacular wooded lot. This one-of-a-kind showcase property boasts soaring visual drama throughout 4 levels of living space. Breathtaking views from every window. Unique design features include: Rocky Mountain quartzite ﬂoors, glass-walled sunken living room, designer chef’s kitchen, 3 ﬁreplaces, & much more. An exquisite setting for gracious entertaining. Convenient to Rt. 202 into New Hope; easy access into Center City via Rt.476. More info at: www.699schoolroad.com $790,000

Myrna Malkin

215-603-3581 Mbmalkin@aol.com

Weichert, Realtors

215-646-1700 x163

90 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

HELP WANTED TRUCK DRIVERS WANTED! 2011 PAY RAISE! UP TO $.52 PER MILE! HOME WEEKENDS! EXCELLENT BENEFITS! NEW EQUIPMENT! HEARTLAND EXPRESS 1-800-441-4953 www.heartlandexpress.com _______________________________35-07 Attention Reefer, Tanker, Flatbed Drivers Needed! If you’re ready to be the best, join the best! Experienced or recent grad with CDL welcome. Call PrimeInc. Today! 1-800-2770212 www.primeinc.com _______________________________35-07 Earn A Solid Paycheck at Western! Van-avg pay as high as $0.35cpm. Flatbed-avg pay as high as $0.39cpm Both including Bonuses and Extra Pay Items. Plus New Equipment and Great Home Time. CDL-A,6mo.OTR. 888-801-5295. _______________________________35-07 Drivers- Flatbed OWNER OPERATORS Up to $1000 Sign-on Bonus! Earn $1.85/mi or more! No age restriction on tractors /trailers. CRST Malone 877-277-8756 www. JoinMalone.com _______________________________35-07 GO REGIONAL NOW! Outstanding MILES; WEEKLY Home Time; TOP Pay & Equipment; 1 yr CDL-A experience required. Hazmat & TWIC preferred. EEOE/ AAP 866-322-4039 www.Drive4Marten.com _______________________________35-07 $$$ Van/Flatbed Drivers $$$ Small Company... Big Beneﬁts. Don’t Be A # at the Big-Box Carrier! Excellent Equipment! Class A CDL w/1yr Exp needed. www.CresslerTrucking. com 888-872-5336. _______________________________35-07 LOCAL SHUTTLE DRIVERS NEEDED! Mountain Top, PA. Home Daily, multiple shifts, Weekly OT available. Class-A CDL and 6 months experience required. Call Tim @ 570-474-3190. _______________________________35-06

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

HELP WANTED

PGN HIRING

Advertising Sales Representative PGN currently has a position available for an advertising sales representative. Our ideal candidate must be a proven go-getter – someone who thrives on a new opportunity and is experienced in sales. Qualifications:. Two years of sales experience Strong verbal and writing skills, with excellent phone skills Excellent interpersonal and team skills Knowledge of local media market and/or LGBT community a plus Computer literacy a must, including proficiency in Microsoft Office Salary/Benefits: Salary plus bonus. Our benefits package includes medical and dental insurance, paid holidays and vacation and a casual work environment. Older applicants joyfully accepted. PGN, 505 S. 4th St., Phila. PA. 19147 Please Contact: Tami@epgn.com

EOE

PGN’S COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE

resOURce COMMUNITY

ROOMMATES

SERVICES

PGN WILL NOT PUBLISH RACIAL DISTINCTIONS IN ROOMMATE ADS. SUCH NOTATIONS WILL BE EDITED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. ___________________________________ GREATER NE PHILA. Have your own bedroom in a beautiful split level home with 2 gay men. House is 4 BR, 2 full baths, W/D, upper and lower decks, use of kitchen. Property is by Welsh & the Boulevard, 1 min. to 58 bus. We ask only that you be at least reasonably neat and employed. Rent is $600 + 1/3 utils. Contact Dave at 215-698-0215. _______________________________35-10 RIDLEY PARK HOUSE SHARE, $600 Skg single working NS M/F, no pets or children. 3 BR house, close to train, 15 min to CC. TV/Internet. Full hse priv. Utils incl., off st. pkg, great yd. & patio. Jim, peyton4321@yahoo.com _______________________________35-08 Carpeted room for rent, $1500 block of Reed St. in South Philly. $400.00 a month. Call 215-350-4997. _______________________________35-07

AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for high paying Aviation Maintenance Career. FAA approved program. Financial aid if qualiﬁed -Housing available. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance (888)349-5387. _______________________________35-07 ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE From Home. *Medical *Business *Paralegal *Computers *Criminal Justice. Job placement assistance. Computer available. Financial Aid if qualiﬁed. Call 888-220-3984 www.CenturaOnline.com _______________________________35-07

BUSINESS

AUTOS

OPORTUNITIES Do you earn $800 in a day? Your Own Local Candy Route! 25 Machines and Candy All for $9995. 877-915-8222 All Major Credit Cards Accepted! _______________________________35-07 Frac Sand Haulers with complete rigs only. Tons of Runs in warm, ﬂat, friendly and prosperous Texas! Great company, pay and working conditions. 817-769-7621, 817-769-7713. _______________________________35-07

ADOPTION PREGNANT? Why answer only one adoption ad... Forever Families Through Adoption offers you many different families/ options to consider. Call Joy: 866-922-3678 Financial assistance available. _______________________________35-07 UNIQUE ADOPTIONS Let us help! Personalized Adoption Plans. Financial assistance, housing relocation and more. Giving the gift of life? You deserve the best. Call us ﬁrst! 1-888-637-8200 24-hours hotline. _______________________________35-07

MARKETPLACE

Listings for everything you need. Click the resource button on the home page to start

STEEL ARCH BUILDINGS Huge Savings on some of our Winter Clearance Buildings. Selling for Balance Owed, Plus Repos. 16x20, 20x24, 25x30,etc. Supplies Won’t Last!!! 1-866-339-7449. _______________________________35-07

TOP $$ PAID $$ For junk cars and trucks/heavy duty trucks. Lost title OK. Free towing. Call 215-370-5419. _______________________________35-07

FRIENDS

MEN

LOOKING FOR ROMANCE Attractive GWM, warm, sensitive, caring, 48 y.o. with a smooth gymnast build looking for other GWM, 30-50, who is also in good shape. I live in NE Phila. I’m looking for guys who are also sensitive, caring with a fun personality. If this sounds interesting to you feel free to call me, David, 215-698-0215. _______________________________35-10 Got a big torpedo? Fire it into a white butt. Call 8-11 PM, 215-732-2108. _______________________________35-09

Erotic Dungeon Master

6’, 165 lbs., 60 year old Master, greek active, french passive requires obedient slave for training, S&M, B/D, W/S, etc. Limits respected and expanded. Assistant Master wanted. Call Dave at 215-729-6670, day or evening. _______________________________35-15 Looking for attractive shemale who loves to be fondled and caressed. Would like to fulﬁll your needs. Call 610-494-0406. _______________________________35-07 GBM, 39, TOP, 5-10’165 lbs., athletic build looking for a bottom to have an LTR with. NO GAMES. Call 215-350-4997. _______________________________35-07 Muscular male, 64 seeks same. John Larish, 575 Laurel Terrace, Pottsville, PA 17901 _______________________________35-09 WM, NE Phila. If you’re looking for hot action, call 215-934-5309. No calls after 11 PM. _______________________________35-10

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FOR SALES

WOMEN Looking to meet honest, fun, open, outgoing, affectionate woman for relationship and friendship. I am petite, 5’2”, reddish hair, blue eyes, electic mix! I’m a fun, open, outgoing person! Call 215-906-7471. _______________________________35-07

FRIENDS

Real Estate Directory

Females, TS, lesbians. All ages, sizes. People of color welcomed. I’m a single M. Domination scenes wanted. I’m bottom. 215-634-2652. _______________________________35-08

FRIENDS

MEN

FRIENDS

MEN

Xdress sex party. CD house orgy every Sat. nite. GWM couple ISO GWMs 18-40 yrs. for 1 on 1 and group sex. Stockings, pantyhose, etc. Starts 9 PM Sat. Call Sat. 7-8 PM 856910-8303, ask for Mark. ADULTPGN PERSONALS _______________________________33-24 GWM, Italian, top or bottom, 7” cut. Also into assplay, toysFRIENDS & water sports. Bi, straight, out of towners welcome. Day or night. Call Jeff at 215-850-7900. _______________________________33-18

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

Str 91

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*Half Price Rooms - Don’t stay home alone when you can JOIN US for TAIL GATE SNACKS & WATCH THE GAME... February 6th, 2011 • TIME: 3:30pm - ??

P.A.N.G. Party (Philadelphia Area Naked Guys) February 20th, 2011 • TIME: 3pm-6pm NO STRINGS ATTACHED!!! February 26th, 2011 • TIME: 10pm-3am * DJ Zathan Radix, Food Catered by Tommy D, HOT Dancers and so much more...

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92 Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 18-24, 2011

35TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION