pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 43 No. 14 April 5-11, 2019
Family Portrait: David Lebe focuses on light PAGE 29
Alleged discrimination in the DOJ
PAGE 2
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Valley Youth House scores big funding increase PAGE 6
David Charles Abell conducts a Philly POPS tribute to Cole Porter PAGE 30
HRC awards high marks for PA companies
Chicago elects the nation’s first black lesbian mayor By Victoria A. Brownworth PGN Contributor
By Josh Middleton PGN Contributor Major companies in Pennsylvania are on the right track when it comes to meeting the needs of LGBTQ employees, according to a new survey by the Human Rights Campaign. The 17th annual Corporate Equality Index rated more than 1,000 national companies and law firms on their commitment to providing equal and inclusive practices, policies and benefits to LGBTQ workers. Out of the 48 companies surveyed in Pennsylvania, half of them earned a perfect score of 100 and a spot on the HRC’s “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” list. Those include The Hershey Company, IKEA, Giant Food Stores, PNC and 10 Philadelphia-based outfits, including Aramark, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Ballard Spahr LLP. The average score for Pennsylvaniabased companies and law firms is 87 percent. Besides the 100-point scorers, 11 corporations earned 90 points and above, including Wawa and Comcast NBCUniversal. Three companies including American Eagle Outfitters earned 80 points and above. “What I see when I look at the Pennsylvania numbers is a very strong showing of companies that are committed, and I think that’s reflective of the results nationally — that more companies are actually very committed and doing a lot of good work in this space,” said Beck Bailey, acting director for the HRC’s Workplace Equality Program, which works yearround to compile the annual Corporate Equality Index. To gather the necessary data, the HRC invited every company on the Fortune 1000 and American Law 200 to participate, and then invited any company with more than 500 full-time employees to voluntarily take part. The organization rates the entire Fortune 500, whether they actively participate or not. Companies are rated on a broad set of criteria in four categories: Do they offer LGBTQ-inclusive nonPAGE 12
“A PROUD DAY FOR BLACK QUEERS IN PHILADELPHIA” depicts Philly LGBTQ community leaders of color in celebration of Black Pride’s 20th anniversary. For more on this event, see OUTPour on page 11. Photo: Jamal Harrington
LGBT candidate takes on long-time incumbent to move city forward By Josh Middleton PGN Contributor A decade of working in city government and volunteering for community groups and nonprofits has given Lauren Vidas a valuable piece of insight that’s fueling her run for City Council: A lot of good can happen in communities when government is working properly. And right now, she said, it’s just not. That’s why she decided to launch a bid against Second District Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, citing corruption in
the body that has the city “sliding back into the bad old days.” “We’re really at a crossroads here, and I wanted to jump into the race because the city’s changing very rapidly,” Vidas said. “It’s becoming less and less affordable; our poverty rate is still headed in the wrong direction. It just doesn’t feel like there’s a sense of urgency about solving any of these problems in the way that there should be.” Vidas’ experience in the chamber goes back to 2008, when she served as legislative aide to Councilmember Bill Green. She made waves in that role when she successfully sued Mayor Michael Nutter to stop the closure of several library branches. In 2010, she was hired to serve as an assistant finance director in the Nutter administration, where she said “ethics and transparency and good government were really beaten into you every day as part of your job and commitment to the city.” PAGE 20
First. Black. Lesbian. Mayor. Of. A. Major. U.S. City. It is difficult to overstate the historic nature of Lori Lightfoot’s landslide victory to become the next mayor of Chicago. In a runoff that pitted two black Democratic women progressives against each other, Lightfoot’s win puts LORI LIGHTFOOT her not only in one of the highest-profile positions for a black woman, but also makes her one of the highest-placed LGBTQ people in U.S. politics. After she was declared the winner of the nation’s third-largest city with 70 percent of the vote, Lightfoot spoke to a jubilant crowd at her victory party Tuesday with her wife, Amy Eshleman, and their 11-year-old daughter Vivian by her side. “Out there tonight, a lot of little girls and boys are watching,” Lightfoot said. “They’re watching us, and they’re seeing the beginning of something, well, a little bit different. They’re seeing a city reborn.” Lightfoot said it again Wednesday morning as she took to greeting Chicagoans with the traditional subway glad-hand as they commuted to work. “We felt very comfortable that we would have a nice margin based upon our internal polling and what we were hearing from other people across the city, but to sweep all 50 wards with that kind of margin, obviously it’s historic and it’s very, very gratifying.” Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims called Lightfoot’s win a “rainbow wave.” “Did you know that only 0.1 percent of all elected officials in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ?” Sims posed, highlighting the Victory Fund’s efforts to elect LGBTQ politicians. Lightfoot ran as the outsider candidate ready to break with the legendary Chicago PAGE 17 political machine
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 5-11, 2019
Resource listings Legal resources • ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215-592-1513; aclupa.org • AIDS Law Project of PA: 215-587-9377; aidslawpa.org • AIDS Law Project of South Jersey: 856-784-8532; aidslawsnj.org/ • Equality PA: equalitypa. org; 215-731-1447
• Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations — Rue Landau: 215-686-4670 • Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-7603686; ppd.lgbt@gmail.com • SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-920-9537
• Office of LGBT Affairs — Amber Hikes: 215-686-0330; amber.hikes@phila.gov
Community centers • The Attic Youth Center; 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331, atticyouthcenter.org. For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. • LGBT Center at the University of Pennsylvania; 3907 Spruce
St.; 215-898-5044, center@dolphin.upenn.edu.
• Rainbow Room: Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center
Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext. 9065, rainbowroom@ppbucks.org.
• William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220, www.waygay.org.
Health and HIV testing • Action Wellness: 1216 Arch St.; 215981-0088, actionwellness.org • AIDS Healthcare Foundation: 1211 Chestnut St. #405 215971-2804; HIVcare.org • AIDS Library: 1233 Locust St.; aidslibrary.org/ • AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800-6626080 • Bebashi-Transition to Hope: 1235
Spring Garden St.; 215769-3561; bebashi.org • COLOURS: coloursorganization.org, 215832-0100 • Congreso de Latinos Unidos; 216 W. Somerset St.; 215-7638870 • GALAEI: 149 W. Susquehanna Ave.; 267-457-3912, galaei. org. Spanish/English • Health Center No. 2: 1720 S. Broad St.; 215-685-1821
• Mazzoni Center: 1348 Bainbridge St.; 215-563-0652, mazzonicenter.org • Philadelphia FIGHT: 1233 Locust St.; 215-985-4448, fight.org • Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center: 1201 Locust St.; 215985-9206 • Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207
Other • Independence Branch Library Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection: 215-685-1633 • Independence Business Alliance; 215-557-0190, IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com
• LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK • PFLAG: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 • Philly Pride Presents: 215-875-9288
LGBT employees confront Attorney General over discrimination By Victoria A. Brownworth PGN Contributor DOJ Pride, a group representing the Department of Justice’s LGBTQ employees and contractors, has delivered a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr about the “declining morale” of, and outright discrimination against, LGBTQ workers. The group cited two main concerns: the lack of a DOJ-issued Equal Employment Opportunity statement, and the results of an October 2018 survey that showed only 31 percent of respondents felt the department valued its LGBTQ employees. The organization’s survey found that “morale is low among LGBTQ individuals currently employed in the Department, and that the Department is not recruiting and retaining top LGBTQ talent,” the letter stated. Many survey respondents found the culture at DOJ to be overtly hostile to LGBTQ workers. In addition, men deemed not masculine enough were passed over for promotions or entrance to the FBI, while LGBTQ women were outright ignored in hiring. Fewer than 10 percent of respondents felt that the DOJ attracted and retained the best LGBTQ talent. DOJ Pride’s concerns come at a time when the Department of Justice has been following President Trump’s lead on antigay and trans policies. In 2017 and 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions precluded LGBT people from filing discrimination suits based on Title IX, even though lower courts had ruled in favor of gay and lesbian complainants specifically under Title IX, which bars discrimination based on sex. Three major cases — one involving a gay man and two involving lesbians — were poised to go to the U.S. Supreme Court after having been won at the circuit-court level based on Title IX. Sessions refused to allow any cases dependent on Title IX provisions to move forward, ostensibly siding with discriminatory practices against lesbians and gay men. Conversely, during his confirmation hearing, Barr said that anti-LGBTQ discrimination should be illegal. He also agreed with Sessions’ position that such discrimination is not illegal under federal law at this time. DOJ Pride’s survey found that the DOJ itself was a discriminatory workplace, with only 43 percent of LGBT employees feeling that “the Department of Justice does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.” Comments from the survey underscore the many biases against LGBT people working at and for the DOJ. One respondent claimed to be leaving the department “in part due to the DOJ’s treatment of its LGBTQ employees,” and another said that
gay and/or Latino agents in the FBI academy are discriminated against and evaluated more harshly. Another agreed that the FBI academy dismissed gay agents because they are not “‘bro-y’ or masculine enough.” The letter from DOJ Pride also stated that Sessions had failed to issue an Equal Employment Opportunity statement expressing commitment to a workplace “free of discriminatory harassment,” and that none had been issued since former Attorney General Loretta Lynch under the Obama administration. PGN reached out to the DOJ for a response. In a statement, DOJ spokesperson Kelly Laco replied it was DOJ policy to create and sustain a work environment “free from harassment based on sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or political affiliation, among other factors.” “The Department of Justice is committed to implementing policies that will ensure equal employment opportunity in all aspects of the Department’s daily operations and hiring practices,” Laco added in the statement. Amber Hikes, executive director of the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs, told PGN the complaints at DOJ were concerning on many levels. “It is unacceptable for any person to feel unwelcome or discriminated against in their workplace. This alleged behavior is particularly concerning coming from an institution such as the Department of Justice, which is supposed to enforce the law and protect the interests of our country and its residents. All members of the LGBTQ community are deserving of protection under the law, as has been demonstrated by numerous federal court decisions in recent years.” Hikes cited Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination legislation to protect LGBTQ people. “We have been on the frontlines of fighting against discrimination for decades, with antidiscrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity on the books since 1982 and 2002, respectively. I’m proud that in our city, it is illegal for employers, housing providers, businesses, providers of public accommodations and city services to discriminate against anyone because of their gender identity, sex or sexual orientation. No one’s legal rights should be curtailed because of who they are, how they identify, or whom they love,” said Hikes. “I hope that leadership at the DOJ is willing to take the concerns of current and former employees seriously and help foster a more welcoming, inclusive environment for LGBTQ individuals moving forward.” n
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News Briefing Independence Business Alliance has something for everyone in April Make new connections with Professional Women’s Roundtable and Independence Business Alliance members at an informal happy hour. Network with local professionals in a variety of industries; learn more about the educational, developmental and volunteer opportunities available to members; and about the IBA’s Women in Business event series. 5:30-7:30 p.m., April 6 at Porta, 1216 Chestnut St.
New book on ‘America’s most forgotten athlete’ Through the 1920s, everyone seemed to know who Bill Tilden (1893-1953) was. The Philadelphian was a world-renowned tennis player and his talent helped shape the sport into the form it is today. According to Amazon’s review, Tilden faced a lurid fall from grace when he was arrested after an incident involving an underage boy in his car. Tilden served seven months in prison and then tried to explain himself to the public, only to be ostracized from the tennis circuit. Sadly, his final years were much constrained and lived amid considerable public shunning. Now, a book of his legacy is out – “American Colossus: Big Bill Tilden and the Creation of Modern Tennis” – and author Allen Hornblum will speak 7 p.m. April 16 at The Cynwyd Club. The event will be free but reservations are requested at CynwydClub@CynwydClub.com.
The IBA, in partnership with PHLDiversity and the African-American Chamber of Commerce, also invites guests for a candid conversation exploring the intersection of LGBT, African-American, Black and business communities. Delve into the impact diverse professionals can have in the workplace, in entrepreneurship, taking our seat at the table and our ability to change the narrative of under-representation. It’ll be an honest dialogue among community and business leaders. 6-8 p.m., April 11 at WeWork, 1601 Market St.
McCarter Theater Center offers LGBT night packages
Join the IBA at Victoria Freehouse in Old City for its April ConnX networking mixer, featuring a special presentation of the IBA/Delaware Valley Legacy Fund LGBT Business Scholarship. It’ll be a chance to make new connections with the LGBTQ business community and build business relationships. Free for IBA members; $15 for non-members. Cash bar with drink specials. 5:30-7:30 p.m., April 16 at the Victoria Freehouse, 10 S. Front St.
The 2019-2020 season Pride Nights are: • “Gloria: A Life” – Sept. 19, 2019 • “Frankenstein” – Oct. 24, 2019 • “Goodnight Nobody” – Jan. 23, 2020 • “Sleuth” – March 19, 2020 • The Refuge Plays – May 21, 2020 For more information or to buy tickets, go to https://www.mccarter.org/tickets-events/ subscriptions/theater-subscription. n
“So-called conversion therapy is a debunked practice that’s tantamount to child abuse and is proven to have dangerous consequences for its victims. Google and other platforms that have pulled this app are taking an important step to protect LGBTQ youth.” ~ HRC President Chad Griffin, on Google pulling an anti-gay ministry app, page 13
Every season, the McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, N.J., sets aside a Thursday evening during select performances and designates them as Pride Night Parties. They have become some of McCarter’s highlight evenings. Each package includes a pre-show party with hearty appetizers, giveaways, special guest appearances and a cash bar. All parties start at 6 p.m.
— compiled by Scott Drake and Lenny Cohen
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Thinking Queerly PA facilities for homeless youth get more federal money Kristina Furia
Thinking Queerly explores the psychological and social experiences of being LGBT in America and sheds light on the importance of LGBT community members prioritizing their mental health.
Only in
By Lenny Cohen PGN Contributor An organization that started helping vulnerable, abused and homeless young people more than 40 years ago is getting almost $3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD awarded Valley Youth House more than $2.9 million to renew and start more Rapid ReHousing programs around southeastern Pennsylvania. That’s an increase of $500,000 over last year’s grant. VYH’s Rapid ReHousing programs provide housing and support services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness, enabling them to transition to permanent housing and self-sufficiency. In Philadelphia, the money helped VYH to provide young adults with extended financial assistance, as well as more housing and additional emergency services through its street outreach team. “The HUD funds awarded to VYH through the Philadelphia [Continuum of Care, part of the city’s Office of Homeless Services] assist young adults with rent payments, housing-stability coaching and related support services,” said Allison Moore, senior vice president of the organization’s southeast programs. “The increase in funding allowed our agency to help more people move into stable housing, making
their experience with homelessness rare, brief and ideally non-recurring.” VYH was started in Lehigh Valley in 1973 to ensure youth there had access to shelter and counseling. Its Pride program, now 10 years old, is the longest-running housing program for LGBTQ youth in Philadelphia.
Part of the Pride program is the advocacy campaign #CouchesDontCount. Studies show 7 percent of U.S. youth are homeless, and that 40 percent of them identify as LGBTQ. In Philadelphia, a recent youth count suggested as many as 64 percent of homeless youth are couch-surfing or staying with friends or acquaintances. Also, VYH was licensed as a National Safe Place Agency last month.
“Safe Place is an outreach and prevention program for young people in need of immediate help and safety,” explained Joelle Pitts, director of Bucks and Montgomery County programs. “We are excited to be a part of this nationally recognized program that will allow us to better incorporate our community and local businesses in our attempt to create a safety net for young people who need a caring adult or a safe place to turn to in crisis.” VYH will also host special events to support its programming. “In June, we will once again partner with the Philadelphia Department of Human Services in our annual Backpack Challenge,” said Shawn Mack, development officer for the southeast region. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to connect with us to ensure that all youth in foster care receive the necessary supplies to start the school year.” VYH will host its first golf tournament in September, and its annual “Always Bet on Youth Casino Night”in October. VYH has more than 250 residential sites throughout Pennsylvania and anticipates housing 300 children and 650 young adults across 18 counties this year. For more information, visit https://www. valleyyouthhouse.org or call 610-820-0166 ext. 1824. n
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Victory Fund focuses on Philadelphia City Council By Lenny Cohen PGN Contributor
Eating Out Should Be Fun! Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month - and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.
A national organization that promotes openly LGBTQ candidates for elected office just announced three additional endorsements in Philadelphia’s upcoming primaries. The Victory Fund previously endorsed three candidates for the city’s judiciary and now is promoting Council candidates as well, citing a chance to make history. “While Philadelphia has a vibrant LGBTQ community, they have never had representation on the City Council, whose legislation and policies deeply affect their lives,” said Annise Parker, Victory Fund’s president and CEO, and Houston’s mayor from 2010-16. “Now we have three opportunities to change that, with extraordinary and diverse LGBTQ candidates who will each bring unique and important perspectives to the Council when elected. Philadelphians have an opportunity to make history come November — and Victory Fund is all in to help make it happen.” The organization is endorsing Adrian Rivera Reyes and Deja Lynn Alvarez, who are running for Council at-Large seats, and Lauren Vidas in the Second District against
incumbent Kenyatta Johnson. Rivera Reyes and Alvarez will be listed first and second, respectively, on the ballot of 30 Democrats. Ballot position is arguably the most important factor in winning a crowded race. “Those ballot positions and their robust campaigns make them strong contenders for the May primary election,” stated Victory Fund in a press release. All three candidates expressed appreciation and excitement for Victory Fund’s support. “I am beyond grateful, humbled and honored to receive the national endorsements of both the Victory Fund and the Trans United Fund. To be amongst a group of such leaders is an honor,” said Alvarez. “There is power in representation, and currently the LGBTQ-plus community has no representation on City Council,” Rivera Reyes said. “Our voices deserve a seat at the table. As a member of City Council, I will be the warrior for equality and opportunity that our community deserves. With Victory Fund’s help, we will make history in Philadelphia!” There are seven Council at-Large seats up for grabs and 37 candidates — down from 41 — running for them. The top five
of 30 Democrats and seven Republicans will each advance to the November general election, when the seven seats will be determined. Meanwhile, Vidas is facing an incumbent who also served as a state representative. “It’s an honor to join this list of so many barrier-breaking candidates and elected officials,” she said. “If elected, I will aggressively fight to ensure every member of our community has access to affordable housing, critical health services and the family-sustaining job opportunities that we so desperately need in Philadelphia.” The Victory Fund had already endorsed three LGBT Democratic candidates to be judges on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Two of them remain: Tiffany Palmer and Henry Sias. Wade Albert has since dropped out. There are now 33 candidates — 32 Democrats and one Republican — running for six judgeships. There had been 40. Winners serve 10-year terms. The deadline to register to vote is April 22. You can register at https:// www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/ VoterRegistrationApplication.aspx. n
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Trump’s transgender military ban just a week away from going into effect By Lenny Cohen PGN Contributor The Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving openly in the military is set to start on April 12, unless the president has a change of heart. The only thing left is the wait, preparation and anxiety among service members who will be affected. On March 26, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court lifted the last of four injunctions that had stopped the ban. Two days later, the House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution formally condemning the Trump administration’s transgender military ban. The vote was 238-185. Every Democrat backed the measure, but only five Republicans did. Bucks County Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was among them. “Serving and protecting our nation should be open to all who
are physically, psychologically and medically fit to serve,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said. “Our nation must cherish all who are willing to put their lives on the line to preserve and protect our freedoms, and keep our families safe.” Starting April 12, any service member who enlists or who has not already come out as transgender would have to serve in the gender they were assigned at birth. A transgender person who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria won’t be allowed to serve unless a doctor certifies they have been stable in their biological sex for three years, and they have not transitioned. Troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria after they join the military can be discharged if they are “unable or unwilling to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with their biological sex,” according to
a Pentagon memo. That’s compared to the former “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy for gay, lesbian and bisexual people, but not transgender people. But currently serving troops who already came out will be grandfathered in, so they can continue serving openly and receiving medical care. “We are concerned by the serious harms that the imminent enforcement of the ban is already causing, both to the military and to transgender service members, many of whom are now scrambling to come out and initiate a gender transition before the April 12 deadline in order to be included in the so-called ‘grandfather’ provision,” read a joint statement by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. “The government’s plan is already wreaking havoc in the lives of dedicated trans-
gender troops who must now face the grim choice of suppressing their identity or leaving military service, to the detriment of their fellow service members and national security.” The groups say nearly 50 former military leaders and national security officials conclusively decided there is no basis for the ban and have criticized it. Those people include two former secretaries of defense, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a former director of the National Security Agency. It was only on June 30, 2016, President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter started letting transgender people serve in the military. That was based on a two-year review that determined there was no valid reason to exclude qualified personnel simply because they are transgender. But less than 13 months later,
President Donald Trump tweeted “the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” Lawsuits were filed and in March 2018, the President accepted the plan that was recommended by his then-defense secretary, James Mattis. The Pentagon verified numbers first reported by USA Today that since 2016, the U.S. military has spent nearly $8 million for transition-related care for 1,500 transgender troops. That includes 161 surgical procedures. The Pentagon’s annual budget is nearly $600 billion. The Pentagon argues the new policy is not a ban since currently serving transgender troops can continue to do so, and other transgender people will be allowed to serve in their biological sex. n
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EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL
Creep of the Week
D’Anne Witkowski
Donald Trump (yet again!)
Editorial
Stoning! What’s next? Perhaps a modern modest proposal This week, new laws took effect in Brunei making gay sex and adultery not only punishable by death, but death by stoning. There has been a worldwide outcry over the laws, from celebrities such as Elton John and George Clooney calling for a boycott of Brunei-owned hotels to civil-rights groups and world leaders condemning the practice as brutal, inhumane and downright unfathomable. It’s right to be outraged. But in some ways, isn’t outrage the obvious course? At a time when the world — including our very own country — continues to take steps backward in the arena of already-secured LGBT rights, perhaps this is a chance to consider going even further back. The very idea of stoning conjures up English class, when most students of a certain era were forced to read “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. A short story first published in 1948, it’s about a fictional small town that holds an annual lottery. Everyone in the town gathers stones for the event. What you learn at the end is the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death. The story of course was fictional, but talk about art imitating life. Since we’re going back in time, perhaps the next step should be a 21st-century version of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” The essay, written in 1729, proposed a way to decrease Ireland’s surplus population by selling babies for food. It specifically targeted the poor while suggesting that, by offering up the poor children, it would prevent them from being a burden to their parents or the country. Ancient societies practiced infanticide. Religion stopped it. While Swift’s essay was meant as satire, perhaps there was something to it. Maybe the next country — maybe even the United States — wanting to get rid of LGBT people can try a modest proposal of sorts. Identifying who is LGBT in infancy may be a challenge, but by selling those babies for food, two birds could be killed with one stone (no real pun intended). The LGBT population would be trimmed significantly and eventually obliterated, and those who live in food desert areas will have more healthy choices without the government having to invest one dime. OK. So, just as Swift was being ridiculously outrageous in his attempt to get his message across, this is not a sincere proposal. That said, the saddest thing is that, as outrageous as the idea is, it almost seems as if anything is now possible. n
Well, the Mueller report is out and to hear Donald Trump tell it, the entire thing contained only a hand-lettered note on wide-ruled notebook paper that read, “I like you. Do you like me? Circle YES or NO.” I, like many people, believe the entire report needs to be released. But I also never believed that Mueller alone could save us. Trump’s presidency is such a colossal mess that one man, even one man with a team of lawyers and a huge budget behind him, cannot save us. Now Trump and his supporters feel vindicated, getting matching “NO COLLUSION” tattoos on their pasty white butt cheeks. Regardless of what the Mueller report says, or doesn’t say, that doesn’t change the fact that we have a dangerously unstable and incompetent leader at the helm. Trump is unfit for office. But he is also pretty popular with Republicans. Why? Because he’s fulfilling his main campaign promise: “I will hurt the people you don’t like!” Mexicans? Check. LGBTQ people? Check. Muslims? Check. The poor? Check. AfricanAmericans? Check. The list goes on. Here’s the thing: The Republican Party has been preaching for decades that government is bad, that it can do nothing positive and that the smaller it is, the better. So their appeal to the average Republican voter is, “Government ain’t gonna do shit for YOU, but at least it’s gonna do shit to THEM.” That’s how you get people to vote against their own interests. It’s pretty bleak stuff. But let’s not lose our collective minds. Or try not to, at least. Because we really need to keep them if we want Trump the hell out of office in 2020. Something to remember: Democrats took control of the U.S. House in 2018. That’s not nothing. It’s not enough, mind you, but it’s a start. Also, as Mark Harris wrote on Twitter, “without collusion, I’m concerned that the only thing Democrats will be able to use against Trump in 2020 is literally every other issue.” In other words, try something like healthcare (suggested slogan for Democrats: “We aren’t the ones actively trying to kill you!”); the environment (same slogan applies); Social Security (suggested slogan: “No cat food for Grandma!”); public schools (“Stupid is painful, so let’s not”); equality (“We’re the only party that thinks LGBTQ people are human”); criminal-justice reform (“Let’s stop murdering black
men and locking the rest of them in prison for no good reason”); etc. And yet, the Democratic Party has a long history of disappointing the very people it needs support from. If Democrats are to win, my advice: Knock it off, Democrats. Look, you don’t need to go very far back in history to see how we got to this point. In fact, you can’t go very far back in history because the United States is still a baby as far as countries are concerned. We’ve witnessed the Democratic Party scrambling to get back to being the party of the people. But there is so much work to do. It’s frustrating to a lot of younger and more liberal folks that Democrats aren’t unanimously calling for single-payer healthcare, reparations for racial injustice, breaking up corporate juggernauts and impeaching Trump. But change is slow, and difficult. The Democratic Party isn’t a jet ski that we can just flip to change directions. It’s a huge cruise ship that takes a long time to turn around. And in the meantime, deck chairs and tables are sliding back and forth and crashing into people as the ship navigates some rough seas. That said, it’s survivable for most people. But it sucks. And the best way to get through this mess is to work together. Any Democrat vying for the party’s nomination would make a far superior leader than Trump. Even the terrible ones. Seriously, the bar really couldn’t be set lower. Trump is an ignorant and cruel man. So it’s no surprise that he’s governing that way. The country is looking to the Democrats to counteract this. But “love thy neighbor” is a hard sell, even though I think some famous guy said it once. It’s hard to convince someone that they should care about other people if they, you know, don’t. Trump cares only about himself. He is a disaster. Democrats are the only party offering disaster relief. So, we need all hands on deck. n
“Trump cares only about himself. He is a disaster. Democrats are the only party offering disaster relief.”
D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.
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Change is good? Change is good — at least that’s what so long, he can almost do it in his sleep. the expression is. At times it is, and other Scott has also taken the bulk of the photimes it’s not. But when you are tos that grace PGN’s pages, dealing with people, it’s also including the weekly “Scene in sometimes sad. We’re having Philly” photo pages, of which that issue here at PGN. he’s done probably close to 600 Scott Drake, our longtime in his tenure here. So, if you photographer/art director at know someone who has his layPGN, is leaving to follow a out and/or photography skills, dream. He purchased a bedhave him/her give us a call. and-breakfast in New Hope and Simultaneously, we are losing intends to be an innkeeper with Denise Fuhs. Denise initially his partner Micheal. came in as a consultant, then Scott’s the guy at PGN who agreed to take on the editorship lays out the print publication while we were in transition. She each week. In that capacity, he originally had agreed to a threeevaluates space and decides month stint and has stayed past where the ads go, and figures that time, and that is amazing. Mark Segal In that short amount of time, she out how much space remains and what copy will fit where. courted a host of new writers It’s almost a science. But he’s done it for who have brought new ideas to this news-
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paper. What few people knew was that her daily commute was almost two hours each way. I’m sure all would agree that her time with us has made this a much better newspaper. And don’t be surprised to see her byline from time to time. Scott moves on to a new venture and we wish him much success. As he told me, you will be seeing his byline in PGN as well. Denise is now a newlywed and we’re happy for her and very grateful to her for moving us forward. Both will be missed, and, as with most people who leave here, will remain part of the PGN family. n Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s mostaward-winning commentator in LGBT media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/ PhilaGayNews.
Gwendolyn Ann Smith
Our messy genders It feels like every day someone is attempting to legislate transgender people. While “bathroom bills” feel like they’re finally on the wane, laws around transgender medical needs, the right to serve in the military and so many more horrible bills are making their appearance. Oh, and of course, the other big fad: whether transgender people can participate in sports. Every time these rules come up, however, we’re left with one fundamental question: How does one define gender or sex? Buckle up. This one is gonna get messy. When a body is formed in the womb from a pile of cells, we initially have a single form of genitals. As a fetus gestates, this form differentiates: Things turn into a penis or a vagina, a pair of ovaries
OUTPour
or a pair of testes, labia or scrotal tissue. It’s really kinda wild. I’m also going to note here that some of these physical changes can lead to genitalia that some doctors will consider “ambiguous,” and which many of those same doctors decide to “correct.” This is just one intersex trait. Oh, and no, I’m not saying that transgender people are necessarily intersex, nor vice versa. Most of the time, people have two distinct forms of chromosomes that help determine sex. You likely heard about them way back in grade school. These help differentiate our proto-genitals during gestation, with XX bodies primarily developing as female and XY bodies as male. Again, biology isn’t perfect, and there are all sorts of variations. In addition to XX and XY, there are scads of variations:
XXY, XXXY, X0 and so on. There are also variations within the XX and XY that can come into play. In short, XX and XY are more of a guideline than any sort of rule. And in a world with 7.6-billion people residing in it, even the slightest variation is notable. Then you have sex hormones — amongst them estrogen and testosterone — that may affect a fetus. They’re super-powerful little things that can also play a part in the formation of a body — more on them in a moment, though. It’s commonly believed that somewhere in the formation of trans bodies, something might form a bit differently than others. Again, not the same, per se, as what an intersex person might experience, but perhaps similar. Our brains seem to expect one thing, while our bodies develop in a totally PAGE 16
Antar T. Bush
Happy 20th birthday, Philly Black Pride Black Prides came into existence because black queer leaders all over the country were raising awareness of HIV/ AIDS and the effect it had on communities of color. They didn’t want to throw a party. The genesis of Philly Black Pride came about in the fall of 1998 at the COLOURS Organization under Michael Hinson’s leadership. Hinson and other community leaders of color wanted to recognize and celebrate the duality of being black and gay. These LGBTQ leaders of color did not feel like mainstream Pride celebrations were reflective of the intersections of race,
gender identity and sexual orientation. Hinson recalls accusations of a lack of inclusion and racist practices from mainstream Pride organizations, so he did what black people have always done: Start their own. In the beginning, Hinson went to Philadelphia’s mainstream Pride organizers to discuss the African festival Odunde occurring at the same time as Pride. He pointed out how difficult it would be for LGBT people of color to attend both events and suggested Pride be on a different weekend, since Odunde celebrates the Yoruba
New Year. Hinson was told no by the organizers, and mainstream Pride continues to be held on the same weekend as Odunde. The Black Pride committee decided to have the weekend coincide with the Penn Relays because the weekend was already synonymous with black LGBTQ people in the city. However, as Black Pride began to grow and expand over the years, black queer leaders started to demand more from the Philadelphia government. It was Mayor John Street who issued the first Black Pride proclamation to the organization, recognizing its influence PAGE 16
Street Talk Do you believe there is still discrimination against the LGBTQ community? “Yeah. The community faces discrimination. I’m not a member, but I am an ally and I believe in intersectional femMcKenna Kelley inism so Student my politics Philadelphia definitely include gay and trans people. From what I’ve witnessed, I can definitely say I’ve seen discrimination.”
“As a trans person whose mom is a hot mess, I can definitely say there’s still discrimination against the community.”
Ace Hopfoll Student Philadelphia
“Yeah. I feel like there are a lot of hate groups that are still pretty active and some people try to ignore them. But it’s Evan Hamer important to Student acknowledge Philadelphia that they’re still around and will do bad things.”
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discrimination policies? Do their LGBTQ workers and their families have access to the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts? Do they encourage an inclusive workplace culture and display a public commitment to LGBTQ equality? Do they take part in responsible citizenship? The criteria was tougher than ever this year, said Bailey, which resulted in some major Philly corporations such as Comcast (90) and Urban Outfitters (75) actually slipping from the year before. “In the last 17 years, we’ve made four changes to the survey criteria. We are on our fifth set, which is the toughest, most stringent we’ve put out there,” he said. Nationally, despite the tougher slog, 572 of some 1,000 rated companies earned a perfect score. Other promising data shows that 93 percent of Fortune 500 corporations offer sexual-orientation nondiscrimination protections, 85 percent have gender-identity nondiscrimination protections, and 500 national employers have adopted supportive inclusion guidelines for transgender employees who are transitioning. “This really kind of shows that [being inclusive of LGBTQ employees] is the predominant and standard business practice,” Bailey said, adding the data acts as a compass of sorts for jobseekers, pointing them toward corporations that fully support their LGBTQ workers. “If I’m a jobseeker and I want to know if a company provides transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage, that’s something that’s really difficult to know until you work there, when you sit down and go over the benefits,” he said. “Our benchmark actually makes that information transparent and allows companies to reflect to LGBTQ jobseekers that they have these important benefits and practices to support them.” He called the CEI a win-win for businesses too. “It signals to consumers that these brands are committed to supporting the community. That’s good for the businesses to be able to let consumers know that, ‘Hey, I’m spending my money with a com-
pany that supports LGBTQ inclusion.’” So which companies in the commonwealth still have a lot of work to do? Fort Washington’s Severn Trent Services had the poorest showing at 15 points. Rite Aid, based in Camp Hill, scored 50 points. In Philadelphia, Pep Boys only achieved a score of 30, the second-lowest in the state. It was docked for, among other things, not offering equal medical and soft benefits to the domestic partners of same- and different-sex employees. And it earned only a fraction of the points allotted for prohibiting sexual orientation- and gender identity-based discrimination in the workplace. Pep Boys did not respond to a PGN request for comment. Surveys of this kind are especially valuable to consumers and jobseekers in Pennsylvania, a state that still lags behind in offering mandated discrimination protections for its LGBTQ citizens. The Pennsylvania Fairness Act — which would make it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in the workplace, housing and places of business — is currently garnering cosponsors and more momentum than it previously had. “It’s still in the early phases, and hasn’t been formally introduced,” said Jenna McGreevy, constituent-services advisor for Rep. Dan Frankel (D-23rd Dist.), who introduced the bill. “It currently has 85 cosponsors from both parties, which is a record for the bill.” It’s a matter of time but “somewhere in the near future,” she said, before the legislation gets officially introduced. For now, Bailey suggests that those looking to work in a safe, fair and inclusive environment scroll through the list of high-scoring companies on the HRC’s CEI. “These companies are saying, ‘Look, we’re not relying on the state to tell us the right thing to do. We’re going to be inclusive of LGBTQ folks and have LGBTQ and gender-identity protections, even though the state doesn’t mandate us to,’ because certainly it is the right thing to do, but also because it’s good for their business.” n
“It signals to consumers that these brands are committed to supporting the community. That’s good for the businesses to be able to let consumers know that, ‘Hey, I’m spending my money with a company that supports LGBTQ inclusion.’”
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Google removes anti-gay conversion therapy app after months of pressure By Lenny Cohen PGN Contributor LGBTQ groups are claiming victory following Google’s March 28 decision to stop offering an app by a ministry that included material considered “ex-gay” involving conversion therapy, which is the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation. The group Truth Wins Out has been at the forefront in the fight against the practice. “Today is a major victory for those who want to protect LGBTQ youth from charlatans,” said Wayne Besen, Philadelphia resident and founder of Truth Wins Out. “We have clearly sent the message that dangerous and discredited products designed to ‘pray away the gay’ have no home on mainstream online stores.” Besen added that the app targeted LGBTQ youth with toxic messages of guilt and shame. Besen said Google removed the app partly because of a four-month pressure campaign that included a Change.org petition that received more than 142,000 signatures. While attempts to reach Google for comment were unsuccessful, Human Rights Campaign officials said part of the reason Google removed the app was because it had applied pressure on the company to do so. HRC had warned the company that its score on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index would be suspended when the index was released if the app wasn’t taken down. HRC considers its 2019 Corporate Equality Index “the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.” Google, according to HRC’s criteria in the 17th annual edition of its index, earned 100 percent, and it got the same perfect score in 2018. Google is also listed as one of the 181 major employers to have signed on to HRC’s push for the Equality Act, which would add clear, comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people around the country. The latest Index was released on March 28. The app had not been removed by Google and the company’s score was suspended. It was just the third time HRC has suspended a score. HRC’s previous decisions to suspend company scores were over discrimination lawsuits made by transgender
workers: Walmart in 2018 and Saks Fifth Avenue in 2015. Both suspensions were lifted after remediation. Later that day, Google removed the app. HRC verified the app’s removal and lifted the suspension and removed references to it. “We applaud Google for making the right decision to pull this app from their online store,” HRC President Chad Griffin said. “So-called conversion therapy is a debunked practice that’s tantamount to child abuse and is proven to have dangerous consequences for its victims. Google and other platforms that have pulled this app are taking an important step to protect LGBTQ youth.” In December 2018, Apple pulled the app and Microsoft did the same. Within days, Amazon did so as well. Google, however, kept the app up and would not respond to pressure by many groups to follow suit. “It is still unfathomable why Google stubbornly defended the indefensible for months, when the hateful and destructive content in this app should have been self-evident,” Besen said. “We hope this sends a powerful message that ‘pray away the gay’ products are unacceptable and have no place in a decent and civilized society.” The success of “ex-gay” or often-called reparative therapy has not been proven and is considered unnecessary, according to the American Psychiatric Association. “APA opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as ‘reparative’ or ‘conversion’ therapy, that is based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or is based on the a prior assumption that the patient should change his or her homosexual orientation,” according to a 1998 statement by the association. Besen added that his organization has discovered and exposed that many who have gone through the ‘therapy’ remain gay despite claims otherwise. The website of Living Hope Ministries, which was responsible for the app, includes things such as videos of young people telling their stories of what caused their same-sex attraction despite being raised with a church and links to “support groups for men, women, families and friends impacted by same-sex attraction.” The site also posted a letter from a church member upset about Apple’s decision to remove the app while criticizing Truth Wins Out. Find HRC’s 2019 Corporate Equality Index and the criteria it measured at https:// bit.ly/2CS9Huu. n
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Potluck PGBTQ seder slated for April 21 The major Jewish holiday of Passover is coming up, and there will be an LGBTQ community seder on the festival’s third night. It’ll take place April 21 at Calvary United Methodist Church, 801 South 48th Street, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Passover commemorates the ancient Hebrews’ liberation by God from slavery in Egypt, and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses. Because they left in such a hurry and could not wait for bread dough to rise, matzah is eaten, rather than leavened bread, during the eight-day holiday. This seder, with queer members of the Philadelphia Jewish community, will explore themes like queerness, trans identities, activism, liberation, and freedom. “Participants will have a chance
to reflect on the history of Jewish and queer struggles for acceptance, as well as meditate on a future where our intersecting identities are celebrated,” according to organizers, The LGBTQ Initiative of Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Philly and the Kol Tzedek LGBTQ Havurah. The event will be free but RSVPs at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/lgbtq-community-seder-tickets-57830021150 are necessary so organizers know how many people to expect. The meal will be potluck, so bring a vegetarian or vegan dish to share. It should not contain wheat, spelt, barley or rye – and all dishes should have a labeled ingredients list on an index card. n — Lenny Cohen
Another Pa. township passes nondiscrimination ordinance While Pennsylvania residents await a statewide Fairness Act to be passed, another area municipality passed its own nondiscrimination ordinance to protect LGBTQ and other people. The Upper Moreland Township Board of Commissioners on April 1 unanimously passed legislation which calls for “Establishing a Human Relations Commission, and to adopt an official policy of nondiscrimination in Upper Moreland Township, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, commercial property and public accommodations within the Township.” According to the Montgomery County LGBT Business Council, Upper Moreland in now the 21st
municipality in the county to pass such an ordinance. In August, West Norriton (also in Montgomery County) passed a similar ordinance. Human Relations Commissions were established in Norristown in July, and Lansdale in August, to protect people from discrimination on grounds including sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Montgomery County has the state’s third highest population, after Philadelphia and Allegheny (Pittsburgh) counties, and about 60 municipalities. Upper Moreland is about the 10th most populated. Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance has been protecting people from discrimination
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based on their sexual orientation since 1982 and their gender identity since 2002. More than 50 municipalities in Pennsylvania have enacted LGBT ordinances. Last month, state Rep. Dan Frankel’s office confirmed to PGN he has circulated the Fairness Act bill and is working to get the maximum number of cosponsors. Rep. Frankel (DPittsburgh) introduced the bill in the last session, but Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler County), as chairman of the House State Government Committee, let the bill die in committee for each of the past four two-year sessions. n — Lenny Cohen
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different direction. After we are born and begin to grow and mature, we may begin to realize that we are different. We might expect to be seen as a particular gender, but discover that others do not see us that way. As we reach puberty — and the hormones that are naturally produced in our bodies start to work their magic at puberty, we may even find our bodies shifting in ways we simply are not equipped to handle. For the most part, that’s what it’s like to be transgender. Once again, however, this is messy. Biology is not exact, and every one of us — trans or not — is affected by the DNA we inherit as well as the environment we form in. This brings us back to the basic question, however. How does one define sex or gender? If you define gender based purely on sex chromosomes, you end up leaving out a large number of people who do not fit the two pairs of chromosomes typically associated with one of two genders. This might give you a very basic framework, but you’ll quickly be overwhelmed by the number of people who simply do not fit such a limited framework. For that matter, how many of us even know what our sex chromosomes are? While you may feel it safe to assume you are XX or XY, odds are better than nil that you might be wrong. The same is true for any person you see. Much the same could be said about genitals, or gonads, or hormones. We live in a world where color and shade provide infinite variation, and seek to boil things
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OUTPOUR from page 11
and community empowerment. Mayor Street should be credited for not only expanding Black Pride, but also for appointing LGBTQ people of color to official positions in his administration. Socially, Philly Black pride has a tangible energy throughout the entire weekend; however, the unfortunate underbelly of the celebration are the deaths of so many black gay men from HIV. Black and brown LGBTQ people deal with much stigma. Since its inception, the Black Pride committee has needed to answer this call for awareness and education around HIV in the community, and that is how the sexual-health education portion of pride began. A proud day for black queers in Philadelphia! This year, OUTPour LGBTQ Productions celebrates Philly Black Pride’s 20th anniversary on April 25 by creating a 60-second video called “A Proud Day for Black Queers in Philadelphia.� The video includes more than 50 black queer leaders from the East Coast, among them Louis Ortiz, Tatyana Ali Woodard, Chris Hunter, Xander Lopez, Le Thomas, Jacen Bowman
down into two perfect, unchanging examples. This isn’t possible. I mentioned hormones earlier. If you talk to most transgender people who have started hormone replacement therapy, even in a world of such variation, you will find amazing similarities in their stories. For many, the experience of going into HRT is like seeing a weight lifted, the clouds parting or an incessant car alarm being silenced. It is an experience of “rightness� that is so universal it cannot be so easily brushed aside. This leaves only one common method so many laws use to determine sex or gender, and that is the birth certificate. This one may be the most problematic. I already mentioned the horrible treatment that so many people who were born intersex have faced here. For transgender people, our gender may not even be apparent when a medical practitioner looks at a fuzzy ultrasound or a freshly delivered baby and decides what gets written in on the form. We have to find out there’s an issue, often years after such a document is issued. Bodies are messy, and not just for transgender people. We come in all shapes and sizes, forms and appearances. Much of this changes over the course of our brief lifetimes. Expecting anyone to fit into one of two characters on a form may be foolhardy. In short: There is no way to make a simple legislative test for who is man and who is woman — and maybe it’s the wrong question to ask in the first place. n Gwen Smith’s body isn’t that messy, as she just showered a bit earlier. She can be found at www.gwensmith. com
Prodigy, Richard Laboy, Father Mann Prodigy, Amber Hikes and Deja Alvarez. I directed the minute-long video and Jamal Harrington took the photographs. It is based on the legendary Art Kane’s iconic photograph “A Great Day in Harlem.� I wanted to pay homage to Kane’s photo of the queer leaders featured, and a nod to strides and activism in the Philadelphia black and brown LGBTQ community. Black Pride continues time and time again to ensure its mission of inclusion is carried out. It is important to Le Thomas, president of Philadelphia Black Pride, to follow words with actions. He understands Philly Black Pride is a dynamic and diverse organization that needs to reflect the community accordingly. Black Pride knows there is still a lot of work that needs to be done as far as representation, inclusion and diversity in the weekend, but the weekend is always evolving, and always for the better. n Antar Bush is a public-health advocate, professor at West Chester University and executive producer of the online talk show OUTPour LGBTQ. He is committed to advocating for health equity in all communities. Follow him on Instagram @antarbushmswmph.
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against Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle, a longtime Chicago politician. It was an ugly campaign, with antigay attacks on Lightfoot that included leaflets left on cars outside black churches. Preckwinkle’s own campaign aide, Scott Cisek, had posted a comment on Facebook with a Nazi reference while discussing Lightfoot’s career as a federal prosecutor. Cisek eventually removed the post and apologized for it, but Preckwinkle herself never apologized. Some members of the Bernie Sandersaffiliated political group Democratic Socialists of America had also been vocal against Lightfoot, with handfuls of mostly white protesters claiming to be “Queers against Lightfoot” and claimingthe candidate was “a cop” and “bad for black and brown people.” Some DSA members have made similar claims about presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), also a black woman, who previous served as attorney general of California. There was a small but vocal disinformation campaign by self-proclaimed DSA members on both Facebook and Twitter, some of it incorporating screenshots of Cisek’s deleted post. Despite the controversies and machinations against Lightfoot, the outsider candidate pledging to take the city into a new era won over voters. “Being the first black woman and first lesbian to lead the city is monumental,” Lightfoot said in a TV interview Wednesday morning. “I think the most historic thing was beating the old, entrenched Chicago machine and getting such a resounding mandate for change.” Victory Fund President Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston, was the highest-placed openly gay elected municipal official before Lightfoot. Parker was in Chicago campaigning for Lightfoot on Election Day. “A black lesbian taking power in the nation’s third-largest city is a historic moment for so many communities that are too often ignored in American politics,” Parker said at the victory party. “Lori will certainly remain focused on the issues facing Chicago, but as the highest-ranking LGBTQ person ever elected mayor of an American city — a title she takes from me — she is also now a key leader in the movement to build LGBTQ political power nationwide.” Lightfoot’s win resonated over social media Tuesday night when news outlets called the election soon after polls had closed. She received congratulations from numerous LGBTQ nonprofits and elected officials. “Congratulations to Lori Lightfoot on her historic victory tonight as she becomes the first out LGBTQ person and first black woman elected mayor of Chicago,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. Also Tuesday, voters in Madison, Wisc., elected Satya Rhodes-Conway as that city’s first openly gay mayor. The 47-year-old defeated Paul Soglin, who was first elected mayor of Madison 45 years ago, served in three different stints and was known as “Mayor for Life.” n
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Conversion therapy: Not a new practice, but hopefully a new discussion until they were allowed to leave for school While acceptance of LGBTQ individand escape from there. Those that had supuals has been growing rapidly in the last portive friends or family were lucky, but decade, there are still subsets of people others had to find a way to support themwho abhor any orientation other than heterosexual. Coming out is never an easy selves by working whatever job a minor process for LGBTQ people, no matter could get. There are a sad, and alarmingly their age. For teens experiencing same-sex high, number of conversion therapy veterattraction, particularly those whose famans who commit suicide, either to escape ilies are deeply religious, there the torture at the time, or years are added fears: “What if they later, when the psychological kick me out?” “What if they damage they endured gets the disown me completely?” “What better of them. if they make me ‘pray the gay For these reasons, the away?’” American Psychological “Pray the gay away” referAssociation, the American ences the practice of conversion Medical Association, the therapy — the pseudoscience American Academy of Child religious extremists believe can and Adolescent Psychiatry, change one’s sexual orientation. the American College of Parents can legally force their Physicians, the American LGBTQ children into conversion Counseling Association, therapy in all but 14 states. And the American Psychiatric for those LGBTQ teens living in Angela Association and other highly the other 36 states, conversion boards of medicine Giampolo respected therapy is a very real fear. and psychology in the United States reject conversion The stories survivors of contherapy as a legitimate treatment. These version therapy tell are frightening to boards have called into question the ethics hear, even for those who are not LGBTQ. of the practice, particularly in the absence Survivors talk of forced exercise to the of research showing a scientific basis for point of exhaustion and vomiting, withchanging someone’s sexual orientation. holding of food, emotional abuse couched These medical and psychological as “social conditioning,” isolation, elecexperts all contend that same-sex attractric shocks as a form of aversion therapy tion is not a mental disorder in need of — including shocks to specific, intimate treatment and that sexual orientation canareas of the body — and being forced to watch explicit content to learn “right” not be changed. It is a normal, healthy from “wrong.” variation of human sexuality, and as such, One survivor, Alex Cooper, was held needs no intervention. Furthermore, the apart from her Mormon parents by another effects of conversion therapy on patients couple for eight months. First, she was are harmful, leading to increased anxiety required to learn how to be a good houseand depression, and intensified suicidal wife to “cure” her of being a lesbian. thoughts and ideation. When that didn’t work, she was sleep State legislatures are beginning to agree. deprived and forced to wear a backpack Besides the 14 states that already ban full of rocks that weighed 40 pounds to the practice for minors, bills to ban conrepresent the physical burden of being gay. version therapy are being raised in other states. Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Other survivors talk about being forced New York, Indiana and Minnesota have to wear sandwich boards bearing the words, “I’m gay. Save me from temptaall introduced legislation that would ban tion,” in their communities, because their the practice, and at least two of those have rehabilitation was a community effort. happened since the beginning of 2019. Others have mentioned enduring hours of Denver became the most recent city to ban talk therapy where they were repeatedly conversion therapy through a unanimous told same-sex attraction guarantees they city council vote on Jan. 7. would contract HIV, or that the only reaUtah is currently considering a bill banson they experienced same-sex attraction ning conversion therapy, introduced by was because they were sexually abused two Republican lawmakers, but the bill is when they were younger. For many who facing backlash from an interesting source. went through conversion therapy, the only While the Mormon Church put out a stateway out was to say the therapy worked ment that it does not intend to fight the ban, and they became straight, then live a lie a number of therapeutic professionals have until they could be free of the authority opposed the ban as too broad. They argue figures who forced them into conversion that it prevents them from providing necestherapy in the first place. sary talk-therapy treatments to clients who There are survivors who were able to are not comfortable with their sexuality. escape by calling friends or supportive Even if these professionals do not intend to relatives to come get them, sneaking out change their clients’ sexuality, they worry and running from the facility, or waiting that the ban will cause them to limit the
Out Law
help they provide out of fear that their conversation may violate the ban. New Jersey, one of the first states to ban conversion therapy, is also facing a lawsuit by the Liberty Council, a group that files lawsuits based on evangelical Christian values. This lawsuit asserts many of the same arguments as those opposed to the Utah ban —interference with the doctor-patient or counselor-patient relationship. The topic of conversion therapy has recently come into mainstream social consciousness, in part because of the release of two acclaimed films: “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” a Sundance award winner, and the higher profile film, “Boy Erased,” starring Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Lucas Hedges. “Boy Erased” is based on a true story and depicts a young man, 19, outed to his Baptist parents, who force him to choose between being ostracized from his family, friends, and faith, or attending conversion therapy. Both films are emotionally-charged and reach a broad range of viewers — one aimed at teens and the other at parents — hopefully showing a larger audience than has seen it before the dangers of conversion therapy. Neither film is the first of its kind, but the impact may be significant if the social landscape is ready to listen, and more importantly, do something about it. Conversion therapy is not a new practice, but it is being discussed in a new way from both sides. The silence surrounding conversion therapy is falling as survivors speak out and demand to be heard. The authors of many of these stories vividly describe the abuse, and in some cases torture, they endured as part of these conversion-therapy camps. Medical and psychological professionals say it’s not only unhelpful but harmful to those who go through it, and the only healthy choice is to ban this pseudo-therapy. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not mental disorders. They are not afflictions that need to be treated, or aberrations one can pray away. Hopefully, willing legislators, vocal survivors and continued discussion can stop this practice. LGBTQ teens, and even older members of the queer community, need to hear that their lives are not something that needs to be fixed, and they deserve love from, and not because of, who they love. That affirmation needs to be heard by the entire community, but most importantly by those most affected by conversion therapy — our young people. n Angela D. Giampolo, principal of Giampolo Law Group, maintains offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and specializes in LGBT law, family law, business law, real estate law and civil rights. Her website is www.giampololaw.com and she maintains a blog at www.phillygaylawyer.com. Reach out to Angela with your legal questions at 215-645-2415 or angela@giampololaw.com.
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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is showing his support for transgender Americans by displaying the new transgender pride flag placed outside his Burlington office, The Burlington Free Press reported. The independent senator said in a social-media post that discrimination has no place in society and he was displaying the flag as a show of support for transgender people across the United States. Sanders’ staff in Washington also noted the flag was put up ahead of transgender visibility day on March 31. The senator’s staff said the flag will remain in place for one week, as requested by the National Center for Transgender Equality. The transgender pride flag was designed by Monica Helms and was first flown at a 2000 LGBTQ pride celebration in Phoenix.
Jay-Z, Beyonce dedicate GLAAD award to her uncle Jay-Z and Beyonce have dedicated their GLAAD award to Beyonce’s uncle, who died of HIV-related complications, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. The musical power couple received the LGBTQ advocacy group’s Vanguard Award March 28 during its 30th annual media awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. The group says the award honors “allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people.” Jay-Z honored his mother, Gloria Carter, a lesbian whose story was featured last year in his song and video “Smile.” Beyonce told the audience one of her most beautiful memories about respect was on her tour “looking out from the stage every night and seeing the hardest gangsta trappin’ right next to the most fabulous queen.” She said witnessing the battle of her uncle Johnny was a painful experience.
Indiana shelves bill on requirements for ID gender Lawsuit seeks to strike down change Arizona ‘no promo homo’ Indiana lawmakers have shelved a bill that would’ve made it more difficult for law LGBT groups are suing Arizona over a state law that restricts discussions about homosexuality in HIV and AIDS curriculum, The Washington Post reported. The lawsuit filed March 28 on behalf of Equality Arizona asks a federal judge to strike down an Arizona law known as “no promo homo.” The 1991 law prohibits HIV and AIDS instruction that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle, portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle or suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.” The lawsuit says the law stigmatizes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and creates a state-sanctioned climate of discrimination. Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and the state Board of Education are named as defendants.
residents to change their gender on driver’s licenses or state identification cards, The Chicago Tribune reported. The bill was removed from the Indiana House’s calendar March 26. It would’ve required an amended birth certificate to complete a gender identity change on credentials issued by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The bureau currently accepts certified doctor’s notes when processing gender changes. The bill came after the BMV announced it was offering the third gender identifier “X” for transgender residents or nonbinary residents who don’t identify as male or female. House Speaker Brian Bosma says lawmakers decided to hold off following concerns about birth certificate inconsistencies. He says a special task force or study committee may need to study the issue. n — compiled by Larry Nichols
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International George Clooney calls for boycott of hotels over antigay law George Clooney is calling for a boycott of nine hotels in the United States and Europe with ties to the sultan of Brunei, which next month will implement Islamic criminal laws to punish gay sex by stoning offenders to death. The Hollywood actor wrote March 28 in Deadline Hollywood: “Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?” He wrote that you can’t shame “murderous regimes,” but you can shame “the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them.” Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah rules the oilrich monarchy with full executive authority, and the hotels are owned by the Brunei Investment Agency. An email seeking comment was sent to the agency March 29. The hotels are The Dorchester and Coworth Park in the U.K.; Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles; Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris; Hotel Eden in Rome; and Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan. The new laws go into effect April 3.
Chinese viewers balk at ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ censorship Moviegoers in China are criticizing a censored version of the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody’” which erases mentions of Freddie Mercury’s sexuality. The film chronicles the life of Mercury, lead singer of the legendary British rock band Queen. Chinese audience members say scenes in which Mercury reveals that he is not straight and that he has AIDS were cut or abruptly muted. A kiss shared by Mercury and his longtime partner, Jim Hutton, is also missing. While LGBT content is generally less taboo than other topics which Chinese authorities deem sensitive, same-sex relationships are still virtually absent from mainstream media. When Chinese video site Mango TV livestreamed the Academy Awards in January, “Bohemian Rhapsody” lead actor Rami Malek’s speech was subtitled to read “special group” when in fact he said “gay man.”
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Conservative congress on family divides Italy A congress in Italy under the auspices of a U.S. organization that defines family as strictly centering around a mother and father has made Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, the backdrop for a culture clash over family values, with a coalition of civic groups mobilizing against what they see as a counter-reform movement to limit LGBT and women’s rights. The World Congress of Families, which ended March 31, has revealed another rift in Italy’s governing coalition, as well as providing a platform for ultra-conservatives seeking to reopen the debate over abortion, legalized in Italy in 1978. Vice Premier Matteo Salvini, who says the question of legalized abortion is not on the government’s agenda, is a featured speaker at the congress Saturday. But the leader of the other main coalition party, the 5-Star Movement’s Luigi Di Maio, has described the event as ``medieval.’’ Still, Di Maio’s edict against the movement’s participation in the congress was defied by a senator, who spoke on March 29. Academics and political liberals have come out against the Congress, while a coalition of some 30 civic organizations collected 147,000 signatures to pressure _ unsuccessfully, the regions of Veneto and neighboring Fruili-Venezia Giulia and the city of Verona to withdraw their sponsorship of the event. Facing political pressure, Premier Giuseppe Conte’s office did withdraw its support, and even the Vatican has kept its distance, with secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin saying that “we are agree on the substance, but not on the mode.” Joseph Grabowski, spokesman for the International Organization for the Family that organizes the congress, said the event is non-denominational and without political affiliations. “We welcome anyone who shares the just basic values that there is a plan and a beauty and in the design of human sexuality and the complementarity of the sexes and that marriage is a stabilizing force for society,” he said. Yuri Guaiana, a spokesman for LGBT rights group All Out, said Italy is a natural target for such an organization. He noted that three government ministers are speaking at the event, indicating an affinity for the conservative message, and that the rights for gays and women in Italian society are relatively recent and still fragile. “Italy is a country that has a very recent history of democracy,’’ Guaiana said. `”Rights like the right to choose for women what to do with their body and the right for same-sex couples to be recognized are very, very recent. So they’re probably trying to pick on Italy because it’s probably the most fragile country in Western Europe.” n — compiled by Larry Nichols
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These days, Vidas says, city government seems to be heading in the opposite direction, where the politically connected are favored over everyday citizens. Vidas described her “get-up-and-go drive” as the main thing that sets her apart from opponent Johnson, who was first elected to City Council in 2011. “I have plans. I have ideas. I have a vision for where I think the Second District can go,” she said. “I’m just much more aggressive in terms of trying to get ahead of problems rather than being forced to react to them. It’s easier to not let the fire start than it is to put it out.” Nowhere is this more true than in the city’s growing affordable-housing crisis, which she plans to improve by fixing the broken property-assessment system, preserving programs that provide affordable housing to residents and creating a system to keep rental costs down. “[Affordable housing] is a problem that we’ve seen tracking and trending for years, and the city still hasn’t had a meaningful response,” Vidas said. “It’s [the number-one issue] for me, because it impacts everyone’s day-to-day life. It’s hard to have a job if you don’t have a roof over your head. It’s hard to send your kids to school and expect them to get a good education if they don’t have a consistent and safe place to sleep. So I think it needs to be a priority to provide every Philadelphian with a right to an affordable home that they can enjoy with their families.” Vidas resides in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood with her dogs Alfred and Louie and cat Marmalade. She has a partner, Vanessa, whose support she credits with keeping her sane during the grueling campaign season. If her run for Council is successful, the born-and-bred Philadelphian will be the first openly gay candidate to serve in the chamber, and she already has ideas for policies that would improve issues for the LGBTQ population. “The city leads the way in terms of the protections that we offer to LGBT residents in Philadelphia, but I think we can always do more — particularly in looking at the trans community,” Vidas said. “When you look at the rates of violence against, particularly, trans men
and women of color, it’s shocking and it’s deplorable and we as a city need to step up and really ensure that those folks are safe and protected in the same way that cisgender members of the community are.” Some ideas she has in that realm include updating policy protocol in a way that prohibits deadnaming, and working to ensure incarcerated trans men and women are able to go to a prison that reflects their gender and not what’s on their ID. Vidas said she also wants to work with the First Judicial District to make it easier for people to update their names legally. But really, she said, all the issues that she wants to focus on could be considered LGBTQ issues, particularly education, which Vidas cited as a key component to local economic growth. “When I talk to LGBT groups, I notice that we only talk about issues that affect our community, but if you are a gay parent with children, education is an LGBT issue. It affects all of us.” Her stance on education involves finding a more cost-effective way to fix up local schools so that students can learn in safer environments. Vidas applauds Mayor Kenney’s effort to eliminate the School Reform Commission, but says that’s just round one of the battle. “We still have a long way to go to ensure that we have a fair-funding formula, to ensure that teachers and principals have the resources they need to educate. It will be right up there with affordable housing in terms of something that I strive to deliver to neighborhoods.” At the end of the day, the neighborhoods are where Vidas plans to focus, namely on day-to-day improvements that will better the lives of those in the Second District — like cleaner streets and well-kept public spaces. “It’s little quality-of-life issues that I think are really important, because those are the problems that you can solve,” she said. “It’s both looking at tackling those larger, more difficult, ingrained inequities, but also focusing on the wins where you can get them, like ensuring we have clean streets and libraries and recreation centers that are open for our kids six, seven days a week.” n
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News Analysis
It’s not just Joe Biden. LGBTQ women are harassed more often than their straight counterparts By Victoria A. Brownworth PGN Contributor Lucy Flores could be any woman — straight, bisexual, lesbian trans. That she’s a well-known Nevada politician with the kind of life story that elevates her to star status is why former Vice President Joe Biden was in Nevada to endorse her for a Lieutenant Governor run in 2014. At that time, Flores alleges, Biden put his hands on her shoulders, smelled her hair and then kissed her on her head. Flores described the incident and how it made her feel in an op-ed in The Cut on March 29. Several presidential candidates have spoken out in support of her including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Obama HUD Secretary Julián Castro. Flores detailed her feelings at the time: “Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me? My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me.” Just days after Flores’ story made headlines, Amy Lappos, a former congressional aide told her own tale of an encounter with Biden in which he took her face in his hands and seemed about to kiss her, but instead rubbed noses with her. That incident took place in 2009, when Lappos was 33 and Biden was in his late 60s. Biden’s alleged behavior with Flores and Lappos should surprise no one. Biden is known for touching women. And until Flores spoke out in this era of #MeToo, only a few women journalists have called him out on it. The narrative has long been “that’s just Biden being Biden.” Yet this is the man leading in all the polls for the Democratic nomination. Men in power touch women without consent; it is a fact of female life. That sexual harassment takes many forms has been clear ever since Anita Hill first challenged Clarence Thomas in 1991, when she bravely told her story of sexual harassment by Thomas when she worked for him at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That lesbian, bisexual and trans women face even more sexual harassment than their straight counterparts is rarely mentioned, yet it factors so heavily into work-
place experiences for LGBTQ women that many have lost employment over it. That’s what happened to Amalia Diaz, a high school teacher at a school in New Jersey, when her principal discovered she was a lesbian after running into her and her girlfriend one weekend. “The harassment was constant,” she said. “Comments about my clothes, my hair, the fact that I taught a gym class — all really old-school homophobia,” Diaz said. “I knew he was trying to force me out so he didn’t have to explain a firing, but I decided to leave at the end of the year. It just got to be too much.” Diaz said the harassment she experienced from her principal turned sexual almost immediately. “He would ask me how I knew I was really gay. He said he thought maybe I was too young to have decided something ‘so permanent.’ He was just relentless. He tried to get me to talk about my sex life. I guess he knew I wasn’t going to report him because I feared for my future employment and what he might do to damage that.” Actress Ellen Page had her own experience of sexual harassment on a film set. She revealed the experience in 2017 via Facebook and an appearance at SXSW. She said director Brett Ratner made explicit comments about her sexuality in front of several cast and crew members on the set of “X Men: The Last Stand.” Page, now 32, was only 18 at the time and not, she explained, fully out to herself let alone others. In front of the full cast and crew, Page said Ratner looked at a woman “10 years her senior,” pointed to Page and said to the woman, “You should f*ck her to make her realize she’s gay.” Page said, “I was a young adult who had not yet come out to myself. I knew I was gay, but did not know, so to speak. I felt violated when this happened.” According to the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ people experience more sexual harassment and sexual violence than other groups. Bisexual women experience the most harassment and assault of any group. Sexual harassment can lead to sexual assault among vulnerable groups, as outlined in numerous studies. That fact has clear application to LGBTQ women in particular. Page said when Ratner outed her, “I
According to the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ people experience more sexual harassment and sexual violence than other groups. Bisexual women experience the most harassment and assault of any group.
looked down at my feet, didn’t say a word and watched as no one else did either. This man, who had cast me in the film, started our months of filming at a work event with this horrific, unchallenged plea. He ‘outed’ me with no regard for my well-being, an act we all recognize as homophobic.” The blowback when women reveal their experiences can be intense, as the reaction to Flores indicates. At a symposium on sexual harassment in the workplace in November 2018 at USC, Anita Hill said while she thinks “much has improved in terms of the courts and society recognizing that sexual harassment is harmful and against the law, there is still much work to be done,” such as exploring how sexual
assault impacts the lives of transgender women of color and others who are not the stereotypical image of a rape victim — a young, attractive, white woman. The former vice president continues to weigh his 2020 chances, but now that the issue of Biden’s behavior has finally been raised, it’s unlikely to be dismissed. There is an opportunity here for a teachable moment that exposes not just Biden, but the culture that allows men to sexually harass women and creates an atmosphere of permissibility for that harassment and much more. Hill said sexual misconduct “should be treated as a public-health issue, a public-safety issue, a business issue and a civil-rights issue.” For everyone. n
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entertainment Blending porn, murder and humor By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor
amusing as he calls on the resident fluffer, known as “The Mouth of Gold” (Pierre Pirol), to get Thierry (Félix Maritaud) to inject some life into a sex scene. Set in 1979 Paris and in the gay-porn Likewise, a film-within-a-film depicting world, “Knife+Heart,” opening April 5 a double orgasm is pretty funny. Moreover, at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse, is a after Anne is called into the police stacheeky queer thriller. Not only is director/ tion to be questioned by a detective about co-writer Yann Gonzalez’s tongue planted Fouad’s death, she recreates the interrogafirmly in cheek — his film features comic tion scene with cheesy, sexy verve in one porno humor — but he also takes some of her films. Titled “Homocidal,” Anne has real chances, most of which pay off. the on-screen detecThe film opens with a tive play footsie with sequence that cross-cuts Archie-as-Anne’s between sex and death. crotch, while Thierry Fouad (Khaled Alouach) grinds his concealed is an adult-film star who erection into the desk. meets an untimely end Gonzalez doesn’t when a masked man ties feature anything him to a bed, strips him particularly explicit naked and murders him in these adult-film with a dildo that doubles scenes, save for a as a knife. quick, flaccid cock Meanwhile, Loïs (Kate shot when an actor Moran) is editing Fouad’s takes off his underlatest sex film for her lover wear. (He throws it at Anne Parèze (a delicious Archie, who sniffs it Vanessa Paradis). It will hungrily, generating a be the last film Loïs works NICOLAS MAURY IN THE laugh.) However, there on; she is breaking up FILM-WITHIN-A-FILM, is a rather graphic with Anne after 10 years “HOMOCIDAL” blow-job murder together. Anne is bereft, involving the dildobut what is equally troucum-knife in one of the film’s more violent blesome is that her actors are being killed sequences. off one by one. But Gonzalez is deliberately going over “Knife+Heart” has considerable fun in the top here, so viewers are more likely to its first act depicting porn films. chuckle than scream at the violence. Even Anne’s righta stage performance that Anne watches in hand man, a lesbian club mixing sex and blood, actor-director ecstasy and pain, is more funny than Archibald it is scary. (Nicolas The film also features a strikMaury), is VANESSA PARADIS (CENTER)
Comics Family Portrait Out & About
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Q Puzzle Scene in Philly
ing sequence involving the actors and some drag queens that get involved in the “Homocidal” production celebrating the completion of the film with a picnic. But a sudden storm ends the party, and while Anne is off talking with Loïs about their relationship status, another actor is murdered. Unfortunately, as stylish and as clever as all these aforementioned moments are, “Knife+Heart” loses steam when it shifts away from the porn world and the murders and focuses on Anne trying to figure out “whodunnit.” Throughout the film, Gonzalez has several negative-image scenes — of a fire and of a man screaming — that may be Anne’s visions or perhaps her memories. These shots are later revealed to have meaning, but viewers may be less interested in puzzling them out. As Anne follows the trail of a grackle’s feather to a mysterious couple — one of whom has a rare genetic disorder — things just start getting weird for the sake of being weird. These elements gild the lily and deflate the energy. A subsequent visit Anne makes to a forest cemetery features too much exposition and too little emotion. “Knife+Heart” starts to generate more impatience than intrigue. And it is a shame that the film goes slack, because Gonzalez is shrewd enough to provide a nice homage to “Andy Warhol’s Blow Job” featuring Thierry, or an inventive moment of voyeurism when Anne spies on Loïs through a peephole in her editing suite. There are also some dreamy scenes from “Homocidal” that play throughout “Knife+Heart,” but as the film climaxes in a porno theater — where Anne goes to watch “Homocidal” on endless loop with an
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Cole Porter tribute PAGE 30
audience — the convergence of all the plots and characters fails to satisfy. The actors do their best with mixed results. Paradis has some appeal when enticing a handsome young man to join her stable of adult-film performers, and she is expressive in mourning her failed relationship with Loïs. However, it is difficult to care about her
FÉLIX MARITAUD, PIERRE EMÖ AND JÉRÉMY BENKEMOUN character. She comes across almost like an avatar, going through the motions of the porn world, her personal life and the crime-solving without feeling. Gonzalez may have wanted the actress to be detached, but if so, it is a curious choice. Better is Maury as Archibald. He provides the film with some camp humor and his scenes performing as Anne in “Homocidal” are especially droll. “Knife+Heart” may be over-ambitious in its heady mix of porno and murder, but what it does well is worthwhile. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 5-11, 2019
MUSIC PGN
The re-release of the ‘Cruising’ soundtrack sure to wow listeners By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor
Q Puzzle Auto Eroticism Across
1 Start of a quote by Amanita on “Sens8” 4 Kate McKinnon bits on “SNL” 9 More of the quote 12 “___ your pardon!” 14 Like sex with a historian? 15 Like the Indy 500? 16 “Zami: A New Spelling of My ___ ” 17 Former hotelier Helmsley 18 Nabor’s branch, on TV 19 More of the quote 22 Went lickety-split 23 Consenting votes 24 International agreement 27 Pool parties? 31 Fagged out 32 Come together 35 Sound of three men in a tub 36 Besides that 37 Hotties 39 Activist Clare Boothe ___ 40 ’70s org. of kidnappers 41 Like Trump’s ego 43 k. d. lang’s “Big
Boned ___” 44 More of the quote 47 Hub-to-rim lines 48 Author Crowley and others 49 End of the quote 53 Moby Dick chaser 56 Ballet rail 57 Added stipulations 61 Time that drags 62 Rampagers go on it 63 Big top barker 64 Cheese for Ms. van de Kamp? 65 Goes public 66 “Hair’s” “___ to Be Hard”
Down
1 Brief amount of secs? 2 Israeli statesman 3 DeGeneres voice role 4 Like one’s nuts, perhaps 5 Rub the right way 6 Party to 7 Jessica of “Fried Green Tomatoes” 8 Log Cabin lists 9 Job for Burr’s Mason 10 Zenith 11 B’way locale 13 Forget to use the KY? 15 Lyricist Bill of “Side Show” fame
20 Still getting around 21 Mouthful for a stallion 24 Blows away 25 Where to find Norma Bates 26 One of a nice pair of melons 28 Chewy candy 29 Wilde with a statuette? 30 “A Boy Named Sue” writer Silverstein 32 Whipping boy 33 Vet, of a sort, for short 34 Son of Eric the Red 37 Gay nocturnal flyer? 38 Enjoys the bedroom, perhaps
41 Gladly, old-style 42 Airline to Ben Gurion 45 Safe to swallow 46 Line of Todd Oldham clothing? 50 Part of APR 51 Pitcher Hershiser 52 Russian river 53 Vestment for Mychal Judge 54 Heston’s “Ben ___ ” 55 Disney prince 58 Three R’s supporter 59 Article of Marlene Dietrich 60 Like a cunning linguist
The controversy surrounding the 1980 film “Cruising” — a psychological thriller about a serial killer preying on gay men in 1970s New York City — will probably never die. But the original soundtrack lives on — and has actually gotten new life with a recently expanded re-release on the Waxwork label across three vinyl LPs. The re-release offers music that never made it onto the originally released 1980 soundtrack, including five rare Germs songs recorded specifically for the album. It also has a new leather-faced cover that’s sure to arouse curiosity. The film “Cruising” by director William Friedkin — who also directed 1973’s “The Exorcist,” 1971’s “The French Connection” and 1970’s gay classic “The Boys in the Band” — is set in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District leather-bar scene at the tail end of the ’70s. The murder-mystery finds Al Pacino at his twitchiest as a police detective who goes undercover in the city’s S/M gay subculture to nab the serial killer. Turning himself into a decoy, the Pacino character learns what he believes are the rules and signals of the cloistered S/M society and heads into NYC’s dark, famed leather spaces, such as The Anvil, Ramrod, Mineshaft and Eagles Nest — the latter two of which barred Friedkin from their premises when they discovered how demonizing of the gay community the director was (to say nothing of building upon clichés too tired even by ’70s standards). The NYC gay community protested loudly about the making of the film as it happened, even disrupting many of its nighttime street shoots. While gay-rights advocates objected to the film’s turning the leather scene as a whole into a perverted nightmare, the man who wrote the newspaper articles that inspired the script, Arthur Bell, eventually called the film “the most oppressive, ugly, bigoted look at homosexuality ever presented on the screen.” At the same time, however, the community was also frightened. Released one year before the first reports of AIDSrelated illnesses in New York City, the gay community in 1977-78 was already terrorized/demonized by the six gay “bag murders” — where each victim was mutilated, dismembered and their remains wrapped
in black plastic bags. These mindless killings were what inspired Friedkin to make “Cruising.” But what inspired him to craft such a dark film with the even-darker sounds of hardcore punk (The Germs), rolling funk (Mutiny) and barrelhouse rocking blues (Willy DeVile) at a time when disco ruled the gay dance floor? Those questions and more can now be considered anew with the re-release. Disco by the end of the ’70s had become the mainstream pop charts’ de rigueur go-to setting, as well as the soundtrack to gay dance floors across the country. Friedkin was looking for something beyond Donna Summer and KC and the Sunshine Band. “I didn’t think [disco] fit the mood of the film, so I decided to replace it,” stated the director in the reissue’s liner notes. What he and legendary producer and music director Jack Nitzsche came up with was something aggressive, hostile and unsympathetic to its characters and their dance floors, but one that equally matched the film’s insistently averse tone. One way this happened was through the use of Mutiny’s ugly, but danceable, brand of heavy funk on “Lump” and “The Ballad of Captain Nymbad.” The same can be said of Mutiny bassist Barre Phillips’ “A-I-A” and its sweat-filled pulsating grooves and elegiac melodicism. Who danced to that? DeVille, one of the punk era’s greatest vocalists (and a favorite of Bob Dylan), sounds so rowdily masculine and over-lubricated on the “Heat of the Moment,” it would be comical if it weren’t so beautifully brawny. Even the queercore likes of Rough Trade and their trip of tracks such as “Hurry” were gloomily out of touch with the mainstream, yet justifiably dank for “Cruising.” What sets the densest tone of dread, however, is the use of The Germs’ disturbing and rabid brand of hardcore punk. Legendarily closeted and drug-abusing Germs frontman Darby Crash made moodiness and menace his best friends on the contagious “Not Alright,” the clammy “My Tunnel” and the disturbingly lurid “Going Down.” Maybe this wasn’t what was the musical reality of the “Cruising” soundtrack in 1979-80 when poppy disco ruled the roost, but it’s just what the film’s impending doom needed — especially considering the heartbreak of AIDS that would follow this flick’s release. n
PGN
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PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 5-11, 2019
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Capturing the chase for freedom By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor
what was happening. When I arrived at [the southern Mexican city of] Tapachula, I met Kevin, who was a transgender man. We became friends and traveled together most of the journey until arriving at Tijuana. He is a friend of a young man I met last summer covering La Bestia, also known as the train of death. La Bestia is a train used by migrants to move from the south of Mexico towards the border towns. Many people strap themselves to the top of the cargo train in order to ride. The ride is very dangerous because the Mexican police as well as
Mexico-born artist Ada Trillo had her first exhibition at the Rittenhouse area’s TwentyTwo Gallery in 2017. The inspiration came from her homeland: drug-addicted Mexican sex workers at the “intersection of sympathy, dignity, and hope.” The black-and-white photographs lent each subject an elegance of line and an air of regality. Since that time, Trillo’s work has been included in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Two years later, with “Chasing Freedom: Migrant Caravan Portraits,” the Philadelphia-based Trillo moves her lens to the currency of life along the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, she continues to find love and dignity among the ruins; a sense of intimacy among the South and Central American refugees. Trillo found and photographed a group of LGBTQ caravan members from Honduras, including a wedding between two young men. It was a risk taken by all, as gay marriage is illegal in Honduras. Trans and gay KEVIN AT THE BORDER WALL IN TIJUANA Hondurans face violence in their own Photos: Ada Trillo country and are easily targeted even in a caravan. One brave soul, “Kevin,” born biologi- organized-crime groups attack the migrants, cally female, is an example of those who got kidnap them and sometimes kill them. Last into the United States. Not everyone will be year there were an estimated 20,000 kidnappings of migrants in Mexico. The young man so fortunate. who I met while documenting La Bestia got Trillo spoke to PGN about her work. deported from Arizona to Honduras, and he wrote to me in October via Facebook to join PGN: With this trip and exhibit, you didn’t the caravan. I joined him and his friends in start out looking for an LGBTQ angle, corTapachula. rect? What were your initial intentions — personally, aesthetically, politically? PGN: How did these newer efforts and ideas AT: My intention was to document what I differ from the photos in your first exhibisaw with photographs. The LGBTQ “angle” tion, the disparate women of your homeland? wasn’t something I anticipated, but someAT: They are connected because it’s givthing that presented itself organically. It’s ing a voice and giving dignity to people that are vulnerable. We need to create an awareness of these important issues and we need to help because that’s how the world will become a better place. A percentage of the proceeds from the work will go to the Minority Humanitarian Foundation, who are doing great things on both sides of the border. I also made a Go Fund Me using one of my pictures to get formula for infants at the Benito Juarez shelter because there was almost none and the mothers were desperate. If we all put our little grains of salt into what we can, things can be better.
Eating Out Should Be Fun! Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month
- and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.
LA BODA
PGN: What is the best, most accurate description you can make of meeting this caravan from Honduras and the gay wedding party? And when exactly did this all happen? AT: The people from the caravan were beautiful, humble people wanting to work, to contribute. Many were facing horrible circumstances that forced them to flee. The life expectancy for trans
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PGN PROFILE
Family Portrait
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 5-11, 2019
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Suzi Nash
David Lebe: Picture-perfect exhibition at PMA I recently had a chance to go into the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the first time. It’s a lovely building and currently housing “Long Light” — an exhibition featuring a collection of photographs from David Lebe. The exhibition showcases 145 photographs beautifully displayed to honor his different styles developed over five decades. It includes his powerful representations of gay experience and living with AIDS. Lebe’s experiments with light and paper are beautiful and haunting. His series of pinhole photography shows what can be done with a little ingenuity and a lot of creativity. His skills as an artist and technician are matched by the raw emotion captured in his photographs. PGN: I understand you were born in Manhattan. Do you come from an artistic family? DL: Yes. I was born and raised there. My family wasn’t necessarily creative, but they were appreciative of the arts. I don’t know that they were crazy about me going to school for it, but they were still supportive. I went to The High School of Music & Art in Harlem and then the Philadelphia College of Art, which was later renamed the University of the Arts. PGN: Do you have siblings? DL: I was adopted, and the only child. PGN: When did you first discover your love of photography? DL: I got my first camera what I was about 7 years old. A little Brownie camera I got at a birthday party or something. I was always fascinated by picture magazines and images. As a child, we’d go to museums sometimes and I enjoyed looking at the artwork. And of course being gay, I somehow instinctively knew that being in the arts was a safe place to be. I think that played a role, and I wasn’t particularly good at academics. I’m slightly dyslexic and I had a rough time with school except for my arts classes, where I felt I had an edge. Since I’d always been intrigued by photography, it seemed like a natural choice. I had a small darkroom in the bathroom of our little apartment so I’d started making pictures even before I studied it. Coming home from high school, I’d often stop at the Met and the Museum of Modern Art. They didn’t have photography at the Met, but you could find it at MoMA and independent galleries. Back in those days, there were very few colleges where you could study photography, maybe three in the country. My parents were protective and didn’t want me to go too far, so Philadelphia was the logical choice and that’s how I ended up here. PGN: Were you out before you came to Philadelphia?
DL: No. I was late to the party! I’m terrible with dates, but I think it was around ’72. I finished school in ’70. I never actually graduated. I was short a few credits. And then in about ’72, I came out to a few friends first. Very quickly after that, pretty much everyone knew in Philadelphia. But I didn’t come out to anyone in New York, where my family was. PGN: Do you remember your first gay bar? DL: That took me a while. I used to have panic attacks whenever I got near a gay bar. I can’t remember the first one, but later I recall going to a place called The Steps on Spruce Street. Later still, there was Equus and the DCA Club. PGN: What made you so fearful? DL: I don’t know. It was just the time and the atmosphere around me. You know, there were three things that you only were allowed to talk about in a whisper: homosexuality, mental illness and alcoholism. The idea that I might be gay was … it just seemed impossible to me, even though deep down I knew I was. But I told stories to myself. I would tell myself that I was just a late developer and that any day I would start being interested in girls. I felt like a pre-pubescent girl who hadn’t developed breasts yet. I was just behind the curve. By the time I was 15, I knew it wasn’t going away, but I didn’t share it with anybody for a long time. It was a very difficult and painful time for me. I was even suicidal at one point. But when I did finally come out, there was this exhilarating euphoria about me. It was like the whole world was reborn. It was an amazing time. Though I’d still have those panic attacks if I got anywhere near a gay bar, it was like a form of PTSD. It didn’t matter that I was out to everyone I knew in Philadelphia, friends, coworkers, anyone that mattered. It was odd. I had no reason to panic, but I couldn’t control it. By the time I finally began to get it under control, the AIDS epidemic had started. PGN: Did your artwork help you get through it? DL: It did. I came out in my art before I ever said anything to anyone. I started making pictures that were, I thought, pretty suggestive — never intending to show them to anyone. But it wasn’t long before I started showing them to other people. PGN: Were they photos of males or yourself? DL: Most of them at the beginning were probably images that most people wouldn’t have even read as gay, but I was hypersensitive about it. There’s a pinhole picture in the exhibit called “Wink” and I think of it as my first “out” picture. It’s a picture that I took of a statue that was in front of Memorial Hall. It was a sculpture of two men wrestling. They’re nude, and
kind of have their asses in the air. I took a picture of myself standing in front of the ass side, looking at the camera. So it was a subtle nod. And then I took a few nudes of myself and my partners. My work largely comes out of my life. So what was happening was what came out in my work. I didn’t try to hide anything. I didn’t try to be confrontational, but what I did was to never censor my work, to always be open. Even when I was teaching, I was out to my colleagues and to my students. There again, I was too chicken to say anything out loud, but I would show a slideshow of my work and it was pretty apparent. It would be totally dark and I’d be in the back of the class and would come out that way. I did that with every class. This was around 1975 and even though it was an art school, I was the only out teacher there. There were some who were out to their colleagues and would bring their partners to functions, but never said a word in the classroom. When I was in school, I did not know a single out person at the school —
helpful to those I never met but who knew of me being gay. Just to be visible. PGN: It’s funny because you seem to be such a private person, but through your work you were able to be honest about not just your sexuality but also your battle with AIDS. DL: Yeah. I wasn’t about to go in the closet about something else when that came along. The slogan back then was “Silence = Death,” and it was very true. I had no hesitation, though I didn’t tell the family for a while. PGN: What happened when you did come out to the family? DL: It was not easy. I sat in Giovanni’s Room and wrote them a long letter. I didn’t hear from them for two weeks after that, and they normally called at least once a week. They weren’t answering the phone, so I had to drive up to confront them. At first, they acted like they didn’t know, which angered me. It seemed so obvious. It felt like they didn’t really want to look at who I was. They claimed they were shocked. It was a different and difficult time. PGN: When did you meet your partner Jack? DL: We met in Philadelphia in 1989. He was the curator of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. We were both HIV-positive. Then, just a few years after we met, we moved to where we are now, in New York’s Hudson Valley.
PGN: What’s prompted you to move so far away? DL: Well, frankly, we thought it was our last adventure. Back then, we thought everything was short-term. It was going to be a short-term relationship and a short time up there. It was before the drug cocktails they have Photo: David Lebe now. Our immune sysat an art school of all places. tems were compromised PGN: Did you find you had students who and the pollution here was exacerbating came to you for support after learning you the problems. We wanted someplace were gay? that was clean where we could grow our DL: Oh yes. I had many students come own food and eat healthy for the time out to me and I was able to help provide we had remaining. I sold my house in them with some information and services. Philadelphia. Jack cashed in his life insurI read the PGN and Au Courant, so I knew ance, and we built our house there. We of places to send students for help. It was never expected to be here this long. wonderful. There were a lot of touching memories from that time. I’m sure it was PGN: Yeah. It was PAGE 34
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 5-11, 2019
ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
Philly POPS heat up spring with Cole Porter tribute By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com The Philly POPS are getting into the swing of spring with “Cole Porter’s Broadway: Too Darn Hot,” a tribute to the legendary gay composer, songwriter and Broadway icon. Philly native and musician David Charles Abell will guest-conduct the performances, which run April 12-14 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The shows also will feature guest vocal appearances by jazz stylist Catherine Russell and Broadway stars Lisa Vroman and Ben Davis. In a chat with PGN from his home in London, Abell said he discovered and became enamored with Porter’s music back in an era when finding music was a more complicated task. “I went to Yale as an undergraduate. While I was there, I discovered a very obscure room on campus, and tucked away in a corner were gramophones and sheet music and player pianos. It was called Historical Sound Recordings. This was an era before all the recordings in the world were available to anyone with an iPhone or a computer. “I didn’t know much about the American Songbook at the time,” Abell added. “There weren’t even CDs then. This was 1977-1981. So, the way to discover these songs was either through sheet music or old recordings. This whole world of the 1930s and 1940s opens up to me as well as the great songs and musicals that were written at the time. There are lots and lots of songs that became pop hits. It just turned me on to the American Songbook and Cole Porter in particular.” Abell said that, while “Too Darn Hot” is a tribute concert, he will try to pepper
COLE PORTER
the performances with his knowledge about Porter’s life and times. “I always like to include some edutainment, which seems to be appropriate for a POPS concert because people come to have a good time. But there is so much interesting information to give them about Cole Porter. There’s just a lot to know. I’ll try to slip in bits and pieces of biographic information and give them a sense of what Cole was like and what his world was like as well.”
DAVID CHARLES ABELL While he expects the audiences to be longtime fans of Porter’s music, Abell said he hopes younger audience members hopefully will be entertained and discover where some of the music they’re into today draws its influences. “I think the audience will be all over the map. The age spread will be from 6 or 7 to 96 or 97. Some of the older people that grew up on Cole Porter songs will know them.” Abell explained that most of the songs were popular in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s when Porter was still alive. But then many of the songs got a second wind with the swing revival in the 1950s. It was a time when Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald recorded albums of Porter songs. “So we will have orchestrations from the original Broadway show from the ’30s and ’40s, but we will also have some swing arrangements from the 1950s. Some of the younger people will not know Cole Porter at all, but there’s a lot to discover. It’s fun. It’s naughty. It’s entertaining. And it’s often poignant and romantic as well. So I want to show his range and get people excited about who he was.” n The Philly POPS and Abell perform “Cole Porter’s Broadway: Too Darn Hot” April 12-14 at The Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-893-1999 or visit https://phillypops.org.
Theater & Arts All Mozart The Philadelphia Orchestra performs April 11-13 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. All-Stravinsky Program The Pennsylvania Ballet celebrates the music of famed Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky with four diverse and captivating works set to his music, through April 7 at Kimmel’s Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Anastasia Broadway Philadelphia presents the romantic and adventure-filled new musical about a brave young woman out to discover the mystery of her past, April 9-14 at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Arte Povera: Homage to Amalfi ’68 Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition recreating one artist’s reactionary exhibition against minimalism and pop art, through July, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Brian Posehn The comedian seen on “Big Bang Theory” and “Mr. Show” performs April 11-13 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-496-9001. Chelsea Handler The comedian and TV personality performs 8 p.m. April 12 at The
SYNC-ED UP: Pop/R&B singer and superstar Justin Timberlake brings his “Man of the Woods Tour” back to Philly, 7:30 p.m. April 9 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-3899543.
Met, 858 N. Broad St.; info@ TheMetPhilly.com. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime Walnut Street Theatre presents the adventure focused on a teenage sleuth, through April 28, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. Dieter Rams: Principled Design Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition surveying the designer’s prolific body of work — from radios, clocks and cameras to kitchen appliances and furniture, through April 14, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. How To Catch Creation Philadelphia Theatre Company presents the story of four artists and intellectuals in San Francisco who are struggling to nurture creative impulses and establish a legacy in both their professional and personal lives, through April 14 at
Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215-9850420. Kate The Unexamined Life Walnut Street Theatre presents at production examining the life of Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn, through April 7 at Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St.; 215574-3550. Kun-Yang Lin/ Dancers Dance Affiliates presents the Phillybased dance group, April 12-13 at Harold Prince Theater, 3680 Walnut St.; 215898-3900. Laverne Cox The transgender activist speaks 8 p.m. April 12 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215-572-7650.
Long Light Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition featuring the photography of David Lebe, through May 5, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Mimi Imfurst Presents Drag Diva Brunch Mimi Imfurst and special guests perform 11 a.m.2 p.m. April 6 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555. New Chinese Galleries Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition exploring 4,000 years of Chinese art, through summer, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Pinkalicious: The Musical Walnut Street Theatre presents the
Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Out & About Listings, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: listings@epgn.com. Notices cannot be taken over the phone.
ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
party returns, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. April 6 at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St.; 215-627-1662.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 5-11, 2019
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Philly restaurants uncork for Wine Week
A Night of Negativity: The Birthday Roast of BEV Bev welcomes her funniest gal pals to roast her for her birthday, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. April 6 at Tabu, 254 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675.
SURELY, LAVERNE: Emmy-winning transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox comes to the area for a livespeaking engagement, 8 p.m. April 12 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside. For information or tickets, call 215-572-7650.
kids’ musical about eating too many cupcakes, through April 14, 825 Walnut St.; 215574-3550. Pride & Joy: The Marvin Gaye Musical The Kimmel Center presents the musical telling the untold love story of Anna Gordy Gaye and the iconic R&B singer April 10-21 at Kimmel’s Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Romeo and Juliet The Philadelphia Orchestra performs Prokofiev’s three suites from the classic tragedy, through April 6 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Treasure Island Arden Theatre Company presents the swashbuckling pirate tale through June 2, 40 N. Second St.; https:// ardentheatre.org. Whitman, Alabama Philadelphia Museum of
Art presents an exhibition that brings Walt Whitman’s poem “song of Myself” to life through the voices of Alabama residents, through June 9, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.
Music Fleetwood Mac The classic-rock band performs 8 p.m. April 5 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543. Trey Anastasio The jam-rock icon performs 8 p.m. April 5 at The Met, 858 N. Broad St.; info@ TheMetPhilly.com. Havana Nights A celebration of Cuban music and food, 9 p.m. April 5 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400. Muse The rock band performs 7:30 p.m. April 7 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215389-9543.
Justin Timberlake The pop/R&B singer performs 7:30 p.m. April 9 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543.
Nightlife Comedy Shoe Gates A variety comedy showcase featuring musical acts, standup, improv, sketch, storytellers and more, 7:30 April 5 at L’Etage, 624 S. Sixth St.; 215-592-0656. Happy Bear The bear-themed happy hour, 5-9 p.m. April 5 at Tabu, 254 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675. Mr. Philly Drag King 2019 Philly Dyke March calls all amateur drag kings from the Philly, Jersey and Delaware area to the stage, 7-9 p.m. April 6 at William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220. Bearracuda Philly The annual Bear
30 Rock: Drag Queen Takeover Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney hosts and evening of drag and comedy, 7-9 p.m. April 9 at L’Etage, 624 S. Sixth St.; 215-592-0656.
Outta Town Disenchanted! Storybook heroines tell it like it is in this musical comedy that turns fairytales upside down, through April 6 at Bootless Stageworks, 1301 N. Broom St., Wilmington, Del.; 302-887-9300. One Night of Queen The Queen tribute band performs 8 p.m. April 5 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215572-7650. Alien The the classic sci-fi horror film is screened, 9:45 p.m. April 5 at The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. HAIR The countercultural musical is staged, April 5-13 at Rowan University’s Tohill Theatre, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, N.J.; 856-256-4545. n
Photo: Courtesy of Panorama
By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Philly Wine Week, already in midswing, caters to wine enthusiasts and novices alike, offering an affordable and fun way to broaden their wine horizons. If you only go to one restaurant during Philly Wine Week, we highly recommend Panorama at Penn’s View Hotel, 14 N. Front St. For starters, the menu is excellent and finely crafted to complement the extensive wine selection. Panorama, with its tranquil Old City location, also boasts a custom-built 120-bottle wine keeper (which we are told is the largest wine preservation and dispensing system in the entire world). The restaurant’s sommelier, William Eccleston, is a cofounder of Philly Wine Week, which debuted in 2014. “For someone who is a hardcore wine connoisseur, there’s going to be something [exciting],” he said. “There’s going to be really cool things that they aren’t going to be able to find in any other format in any other restaurant.” Eccleston said what makes the week special is having affordable options to taste wines by the glass. Often these are vintages that only may be found in a private and deep wine cellar. He explained that during the week, which runs through April 7, participating restaurants might open bottles that are 20 or 30 years old, that wine lovers may never get to taste otherwise. “We have small pours that are presented as a very affordable option to taste. Or [it could be] very expensive bottles poured from a magnum or a 3-liter bottle. So exposure to something that you might not ever have, even if you are the most hardcore wine aficionado, is one touch point,” Eccleston said. “But the biggest
thing is that this is designed to make wine accessible for everybody. The cool thing is we’re making it information-driven and affordable at the same time.” Philly is an eclectic city known for many things, but wine probably isn’t in the top 10 things that come to mind when people think about what Philadelphia and the surrounding area does well. But Eccleston said Philadelphia is indeed a region to be reckoned with as far as its wine scene goes. Philly Wine Week shows off the city’s unique taste and charms. “New York can be really intimidating,” he said about Philadelphia’s reputation in the wine community compared to other cities. “A lot of times the price tags in New York are really high. The cool thing about Philadelphia is we’re taking the intimidation out of it, especially for Philly Wine Week. A lot of places are dedicated to selling very good wines at very good price points, and making it a lot simpler to understand and enjoy. “It’s amazing how many sommeliers and rising sommeliers there are in Philadelphia,” Eccleston said. “People who are here are very dedicated and really passionate about wine. People that are doing things here are doing it because they have a love and a passion for it and they are going to create their niche. “There are so many wine-driven restaurants that have great segments of a wine list or great overall wine lists that they’ve curated. We wanted an opportunity to shine a light on those programs and really show how world-class Philadelphia is as a wine destination.” n Philly Wine Week runs through April 7. For a full list of participating restaurants and events, visit https:// phillywineweek.org.
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Wedding Services Directory
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Art exhibition helps mark holistic wellness center’s recent opening in Gayborhood By Gary L. Day PGN Contributor
Walsh eventually plans to present upwards of four exhibitions each year, with the belief that artistic expression is an important tool in processing emotional issues for the artist and the observer. “The process of creating is an intimate practice,” he said in a statement.
A community holistic wellness center last week celebrated its relocation into the heart of the Gayborhood by opening its first art exhibition. Emerge Wellness is a psychotherapy agency that focuses on gay-affirming approaches to mental health. In keeping with its holistic approach, Emerge offers treatments that go beyond the standard therapy sessions, such as massage and crystal therapy. The exhibition features work by 10 Philadelphiaarea artists, most of whom are LGBTQ. It explores the ideas of personal growth and self-actualization. F o u n d e d “WHERE THE WOOD DRAKE RESTS (DETAIL)” BY T.J. WALSH in 2015 by Photo: Courtesy of the artist K r i s t i n a Furia, Emerge Wellness moved to its current location at “Art-making is a meditative, reflective, 1221 Locust St. in November. Furia said physical, emotional and spiritual practhat being located conveniently in the tice. Creating something that comes out heart of the Gayborhood fits in well with of ourselves, releasing part of us into the overall gay-affirming approach the the world to be experienced by others organization takes in its services. (Note: is something that many people in our Furia is the author of the “Thinking culture do not experience. This intimate Queerly” column that appears regularly practice of pulling from within and connecting with the deepest parts of our in PGN.) The founder said she hopes that EW’s beings is beautiful because it’s natural, new location will serve as a community pure and uninhibited. It’s being human resource above and beyond its function on one of its most raw levels.” as a wellness center, offering services For this inaugural exhibition, Walsh and facilities similar to those offered by drew on artists he personally knew. For William Way Community Center. But future exhibits, however, he plans to while William Way’s focus is primar- issue open calls for submissions from ily in the realm of social, historical and the community. political community, EW’s focus will Walsh, who identifies as bisexual, has be on activities that promote mental and included several of his own works in the exhibition. He said painting helps him physical wellness. “I believe that mental health is depen- deal with the emotional stresses that dent on physical wellness,” Furia said. come after long days of dealing with clients’ problems. He described it as “And the reverse is just as true.” Last week, EW opened its first art “emotional palate cleansing.” n exhibition, centered on the theme “Personal Psychology.” The exhibition “Personal Psychology” will be on display through the was curated by T.J. Walsh, one of EW’s end of May. For more information about the exhibit or therapists and an artist in his own right. Emerge Wellness, visit emergewellnessphilly.com.
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Philadelphia Antiques and Art Show 2019 April 26—28 Preview Party April 25
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Above: Sauceboat, 1800–1809, by Jean Simon Chaudron (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Richardson Fund and with funds from the bequest of Mrs. James Alan Montgomery, 1991-1-1)
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CHASING FREEDOM from page 28
women in El Salvador is 35 years and there has been a 400-percent increase in the number of trans women murdered there since 2003. The maras (gangs) have taken over the country and the youth. That’s why the caravan had so many unaccompanied minors, because they are recruited between ages 10 and 12 to join the gangs. If they resist, they’re murdered, so the parents prefer for them to leave because it’s safer than staying. Many families seeking asylum, including pregnant women, walk up to 10 hours at a time because they could not get rides. Children with special needs are not getting their proper medicine. We have a humanitarian crisis that needs to be addressed. Again, the idea is to open a space that increases awareness around the human-rights violations of asylum-seekers. PGN: Who were these two young marrieds, and what was the ceremony like? AT: I don’t want to say the name of the location, as it just reopened and they offer migrant services there. The ceremony took place on the front porch of the restaurant that was decorated with colorful streamers and ribbons, white roses embellished the ledges, and the [rainbow] flag was beautifully draped in the background. Multiple couples filed down the steps one by one to be married, and as they kissed, rice was thrown in the air. The trans woman in my photograph (a guest, not a participant) caught the flowers thrown by one of the couples. The wedding was a delightful surprise in a time PORTRAIT from page 29
scary back then. So many people were dying so quickly, it was crazy. I remember seeing a coworker on a Friday, and by Monday he was gone. I didn’t even know he was sick. DL: Yes. You couldn’t walk down the street without passing a building or a window with a bulletin or memorial about someone who’d died. They were everywhere. We were lucky in that we didn’t do anything rash like max out our credit cards like a lot of people did, thinking they didn’t have long to live. Jack was more conservative and optimistic than I was. PGN: That was another area of your work that was raw and real: the pictures of the model Scott showing the Kaposi sarcoma lesions caused by AIDS. That was pretty brave to show at a time when people were trying to hide their status. DL: Well, he was pretty out there, a writer and a porn star. I met him at a time when I was really shut down, so it was very helpful to me. PGN: Changing subjects: How does it feel to have a retrospect of your work back here in Philadelphia? DL: I’ll tell you, we drove into Philly over the Betsy Ross Bridge and the sky was turning with the colors of dusk; the lights of the buildings in the skyline were just starting to twinkle. It was very beautiful.
of suffering. We had music and everyone was happy because, in the northern triangle, gay marriage is illegal, so to have the joy and the freedom of finally being allowed to marry your loved one was absolutely beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing that I was able to photograph the event, though I didn’t seek out that particular community. They, like the others who allow me to photograph them as part of my work, are trusting me with their image and I hope I have served their trust. I don’t use long lenses. The people in my photos and I are eye to eye. There is a certain amount of access that I am given as a person of color, as a mother, as a woman. PGN: How do you see the LGBTQ border struggle as differently dangerous? AT: Like unaccompanied minors and others, LGBTQ people are more vulnerable for many reasons. In one sense, their visibility makes them targets for abuse and trafficking. A portion of the LGBTQ community got separated in Mexico City and they took buses separately to Tijuana and stayed in different housing because some of the members of the caravan were being abused. This is horrible and just shows how difficult things were and are. Ignorance, lack of respect, intolerance, transphobia and homophobia are common in Central America, and are now being actively promoted by the current U.S. administration. That can be deadly. n “Chasing Freedom: Migrant Caravan Portraits” opens April 5 at University of the Arts — Gershman Hall Studio Theater.
And though it’s changed, there was still a lot of it that was recognizable. We came up the Parkway past the Franklin Institute, and it was very emotional both for me and for Jack. I mean, those were the days of my youth in my 20s and 30s. I loved this city, and it was very emotional being back here. We live a very quiet life in Upstate New York. It was exciting to be here with people who came from all over the country to see my work. Between opening night and all the parties and events we’ve gone to, it was quite intense and very moving. It was a dream in a way. PGN: It seems that your legacy is twofold: the impact you’ve made as an openly gay teacher and artist and the technical side as a photographer and the techniques and innovations you’ve developed to create your art. DL: When I came up as a photographer, it was very male-dominated and macho. It was very buttoned-up. There were all these rules you were supposed to follow to compose a shot. I was always trying to push the boundaries. Despite photographs then having a small section in MoMA, there was still a question as to whether or not it was art. I tried to open it up, make it more like a painting. To incorporate some of the things I’d seen and learned going to all those art museums as a kid. I was always pushing boundaries. I feel good about that and I think it comes through in the show. n
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