Pgn070618 by The Philadelphia Gay News

pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Vol. 42 No. 27 July 6-12, 2018

Family Portrait: Doug Greene: actor, artist, survivor PAGE 27

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM

Summer arts and concert preview

DVLF finally elects executive director PAGE 2

PAGE 25

Tabu to relaunch as gay bar

Catholic agency offers to cease ‘pastoral references’

By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com

The Gayborhood’s Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar is moving , and its owners are officially re-introducing the longtime late-night establishment as a gay bar. The owners have purchased the iCandy building, triple the size of Tabu’s current location, at 254 S. 12th St. The new locale will open Sept. 24. “I am guaranteeing that there will be no question that when you walk into the bar on opening night, you’re in a walking into a gay bar,” said Jeff Sotland, one of the owners. “When we opened Tabu, we made a conscious decision to not call ourselves a gay bar,” he added. “We were opening a sports bar in the gay section of town, intending to be as welcoming to absolutely every single person in the community, geographically and demographically, as we could,” he said. “Times are changing, and we are off that. We are coming out of the closet.” Sotland said that over the last couple of years, Tabu’s owners were looking at options to expand the business, as it outgrew the building that has housed the sports bar since 2010. The move has been in the works for the last seven months, he added. Tabu will move from its twostory, 3,500-square-foot space to iCandy’s 12,000 square feet on three levels, including a roof deck. New sound and video systems will be installed in the first-floor sports bar and on the third floor, which will PAGE 15 be Tabu’s new

Attorneys for Catholic Social Services recently told a federal judge the agency will stop requiring “pastoral reference letters” from prospective foster parents if a freeze on foster-child referrals to CSS is lifted. U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker must decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction lifting the freeze on foster-child referrals to CSS that was issued because the agency wouldn’t accept same-sex couples as foster parents. On June 18, during an injunction hearing, CSS Secretary James Amato testified that the agency requires “pastoral reference letters” from all prospective foster parents — thus raising concerns among city officials that CSS also discriminates against atheists and agnostics. In a June 21 letter to Tucker, city attorneys noted the letter requirement as another reason the judge shouldn’t lift the freeze. But in a June 25 letter to Tucker, CSS attorneys promised to stop requiring the letters if she issues an injunction permitting additional foster-child referrals to CSS. “[The] letters are not necessary for [CSS] to provide foster-care services consistent with its religious mission,” they wrote. Kenneth A. Gavin, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, had no comment last week when asked if CSS would adopt a publicly accessible antibias policy covering atheists, agnostics and LGBT people. CSS provides foster-care services for 107 children in city custody, but said it will have to end the program within the next several months unless the freeze is lifted. In separate contracts, CSS receives about $8.5 million annually from the city to provide “congregate-care” services for at-risk children who don’t have foster parents. In a related matter, the city announced on June 28 that it has resumed foster-care referrals to Bethany Christian Services of the Greater Delaware Valley, an agency that reportedly turned away a lesbian couple who wanted to be foster parents. Bethany, which has been providing foster-case services in Philadelphia for 20 years, recently adopted an antibias policy that satisfies the city’s nondiscrimination requirements, according to a city press release. A spokesperson for Bethany declined to provide a copy of the policy to PGN but cited “a long-standing history of partnering with government and secular organizations to aid children in crisis” in a PAGE 15

CREATING HISTORY: Kelly Burkhardt (left) indicates which portion of a story should be copied during the first William Way LGBT Community Center’s LGBTQ digitizing day June 30. The archive outreach for photos, diaries, letters, posters, buttons, badges, clothing and other miscellaneous ephemera is an ongoing process of collecting and cataloging the lives of LGBTQ people in the Greater Philadelphia area. This particular event was aimed at urging people of color and women to participate in greater numbers, although no one was turned away. The next digitizing day is scheduled for Oct. 27. Contact archives@waygay.org for more information. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Lansdale poised to pass LGBT ordinance By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Lansdale, a borough in Montgomery with 16,000 residents, is poised to become the next municipality in Pennsylvania to enact an LGBT civil-rights ordinance. So far, 49 municipalities in the state have enacted such ordinances, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown. Borough officials had planned to discuss the ordinance at a council meeting July 3. The measure is expected to come up for final passage at the borough council’s Aug. 13 public meeting, said Mayor Garry W. Herbert Jr. The proposed ordinance bans discrimination in the areas of housing, employment, commercial property and public accommodations within the borough. The protected categories include race, color, age, religious creed, ancestry, sex, national origin, handicap or use of guide or support animals, sexual orientation

and gender identity/expression. The ordinance also creates a five-member human-relations commission that will mediate antibias complaints filed with the borough manager. Complainants and respondents also have the option of utilizing an outside mediation agency. During a June 29 informational meeting sponsored by the borough, some residents asked if “political affiliation” could be added to the protected categories. But after the meeting, Herbert told PGN that “political affiliation” won’t be added and the commission won’t accept political-affiliation complaints. Herbert also noted that the ordinance doesn’t give commissioners authority to determine whether any type of unlawful discrimination occurred in the borough. If mediation isn’t successful, a complainant may file a civil action in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, where remedies could be PAGE 2 obtained, he said.

PGN LOCAL

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Resource listings

By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com

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 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.; 215-763-8870

• GALAEI: 149 W. Susquehanna Ave.; 267-457-3912, galaei.org. Spanish/ English

• Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad

St.; 215-685-1821

The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund elected an executive director nearly seven months after the resignation of his predecessor. Social-justice professional Juan Franco was one of 65 candidates who applied for the position at the LGBT grantmaking organization, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Fernando Gonzalez, president of DVLF’s board of directors, said Franco’s background in fundraising and building relationships made him the ideal fit. “[Franco] has a track record and results in both his professional and volunteer work. We know that he will play a key role in fostering philanthropy by and for our diverse and vibrant LGBTQ community in the years ahead,” said Gonzalez. Franco previously worked for Temple University’s School of Social Work on HIV prevention and communications strategies in the underserved Latinx community and other marginalized populations. He also served as a navigation specialist at Mazzoni Center and as a congestive-heart-failure outreach worker and interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients at Temple University Hospital. Franco said he “plans on hitting the ground running” to move DVLF’s mission forward. “My priorities for the organization involve strengthening our relationship with

our donors, establishing relationships with organizations and community members,” Franco said. “My focus as I step into this position is to reengage our legacy members to ensure that DVLF has a successful future.” The fund’s Legacy Society counts more than 50 members and a pipeline of $13 million of planned donations from members who named DVLF as one of their beneficiaries, Gonzalez said. Franco added that he’s already involved with reviving DVLF’s Distinguishing O f f i c e r Program, which provides future leaders of the LGBTQ community with advancement opportunities through leadership and skills-building workshops. The program will be operated in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs, the William Way LGBT Community Center and Independence Business Alliance. “I want to help the community in advancing opportunities for people who don’t necessarily have many,” Franco said. n

• 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

Meet DVLF’s new executive director

LANSDALE from page 1

Lansdale is located 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia, in the center of the North Penn Valley. Herbert praised the proposed ordinance. “Lansdale is going through a resurgence,” he said. “There was a time when businesses moved out during the ’80s and ’90s and the borough was on the ropes. But we’re starting to see more businesses move in, more events in the borough and more interest in our community. We believe ordinances like this will make us more attractive to businesses and residents because they make us a more open and welcoming community.” Richard R. Buttacavoli, president and vice chair of the Montgomery County LGBT Business Council, said in a statement that businesses are watching state legislatures and local councils and “investing in areas that foster diversity and inclusion, because that leads to a robust workforce and oper-

ational excellence. Municipal leaders in Montco realize this.” LGBT protections are an investment in stronger communities and a stronger economy, Buttacavoli said. Human-rights ordinances “encourage LGBT entrepreneurs to open shop in these welcoming communities. Equally important, they protect employees and customers from discrimination.” Anwar Muhammad, owner of Black Reserve Bookstore in Lansdale, said such a measure is long overdue. “All citizens should be protected [from discrimination] and this ordinance tries to protect everybody. Why would anybody be against it?” Muhammad asked. “I’ve been black for 39 years. I know what it’s like to face discrimination. People are being injured on a daily basis. This ordinance should have been passed years ago. It’s sad that we need it, but we don’t live in an ideal world. It’s long overdue.” n

“We believe ordinances like this will make us more attractive to businesses and residents because they make us a more open and welcoming community.”

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is Mytesi? Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:

Tired of planning your life around diarrhea?

Enough is Enough Get relief. Pure and simple. Ask your doctor about Mytesi.

Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi? Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant? • Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother? • It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines? If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi? For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist. To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com

Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.

Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com. NP-390-18

• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

RELIEF, PURE AND SIMPLE

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

News & Opinion

10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Mark My Words Street Talk Transmissions

Columns

14 — Out Law: On religious freedom

Arts & Culture

25 27 29 34 36

— Feature: Origins of “Pose” — Family Portrait — Scene in Philly — Out & About — Q Puzzle

“It’s not just about being a different kind of Republican; it’s about being a different kind of public servant. It means putting people ahead of party and politics.” ~ Bob Hugin, N.J. Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, page 8

A MOMENT OF SILENCE: Nathan Avakian addresses the audience prior to the silent short film program June 30 in Greek Hall at Macy’s. Avakian provided the accompanying organ music for the films and was also the programmer of the student shorts from the International Youth Silent Film Festival. The highlight of the screening was the silent 1919 German film “Different From the Others,” considered the first gay feature film in the history of cinema. About 100 people attended the qFlix Philadelphia fundraiser. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Action Wellness announces board changes.

PGN 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506 Phone: 215-625-8501 Fax: 215-925-6437 E-mail: pgn@epgn.com Web: www.epgn.com

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

Creep of the Week: Sarah Huckabee Sanders thinks that defending Trump merits civility in return.

Managing Editor

Kristen Demilio (ext. 215) editor@epgn.com

Advertising Sales Joe Bean (ext. 219) joe@epgn.com

Staff Writers Adriana Fraser (ext. 206) adriana@epgn.com

Prab Sandhu (ext. 212) prab@epgn.com

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

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

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

And the Barrymore Award goes to ...

Art Director/ Photographer

Scott A. Drake (ext. 210) scott@epgn.com 267-736-6743 Graphic Artist Sean Dorn (ext. 211) sean@epgn.com

Philadelphia Gay News is a member of: The Associated Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Suburban Newspapers of America

Why would you want to go to a concert featuring this guy? Koz.

Copyright © 1976 - 2018 Copyright(s) in all materials in these pages are either owned or licensed by Masco Communications Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliate companies (Philadelphia Gay News, PGN, and it’s WWW sites.) All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission, modification, public display, and public performance of our materials is prohibited without the prior written consent of Masco Communications. To obtain such consent, email pgn@epgn.com Published by Masco Communications Inc. © 1976-2018 Masco Communications Inc. ISSN-0742-5155

National Advertising Rivendell Media: 212-242-6863

The views of PGN are expressed only in the unsigned “Editorial” column. Opinions expressed in bylined columns, stories and letters to the editor are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of PGN. The appearance of names or pictorial representations in PGN does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that named or pictured person or persons.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

GAY FOR PLAY: The Philadelphia Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chorus (inset) reprised its appearance from a few years ago and performed the National Anthem at Phillies Pride Night June 28 at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia Department of Human Relations Executive Director Rue Landau (right), throwing to her son Eli behind home plate, performed one of the ceremonial first pitches. It was the third official Pride Night hosted by the Phillies after 12 years of community-driven LGBT nights at the park. The Phillies won, 4-3, bringing their Pride Night win-loss record to 3-12. Photo: Scott A. Drake

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Action Wellness elects four board members By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com Action Wellness appointed three new officers to its board of directors as the organization looks to expand service to more individuals living with HIV and other chronic illnesses. The board elected Rochelle Laws as president, Jefferey Alexander as vice president, Whitney Strickland as secretary, and renewed Frank Pittner’s term as treasurer. Action Wellness, previously known as ActionAIDS, provides medical, vocational, educational and family services for those living with HIV and other chronic illnesses in the Greater Philadelphia area. In 2016, the organization changed its name and broadened its focus from providing services to people only affected with HIV/ AIDS to all people living with chronic diseases. Action Wellness serves an estimated 4,000 people each year and offers a range of free medical and social services.

Laws, who has served on the board for the last four years, said the new members are focused on attracting more clients. “The organization’s mission has changed in the last two years. We’ve grown in terms of who we’re servicing and the services that we provide. Our work and what we do hasn’t changed. We’re developing strategies to expand our reach to more individuals living with chronic illnesses while making sure that they’re receiving the services that they need and deserve,” Laws said. Pittner said Action Wellness secured a majority of its funding through the 340B Pharmacy Program, which accounted for nearly 46 percent of its revenue in 2017. According to Action Wellness’ 2017 annual report, the organization took in nearly $14 million in rev-

enue to support its services. These services include: case management, medical and pregnancy care, emotional support, employment and educational resources and a prison program. Action Wellness’ latest program, Club 1509, provides men and transgender people of color preventative medication against HIV, as well as educational, housing and employment resources. Strickland, who previously led monthly training sessions for incoming volunteers, said she would like to see more outreach events at senior centers. “Older people are living longer with chronic illnesses and we need to directly address and engage them more,” she said. “We’re still educating JEFFEREY ALEXANDER (CLOCKWISE seniors on sex and sexuFROM TOP LEFT), ROCHELLE LAWS, FRANK ality as well as discussing PITTNER AND WHITNEY STRICKLAND the resources and services

we provide that enhance their quality of life.” Pittner said he anticipates Action Wellness will service nearly twice the amount of people in five years’ time. “Action Wellness fully utilizes its expertise in providing a wide range of meaningful services to people with serious needs but limited options. I expect us to double our clientele if we continue our momentum.” Alexander stepped down from serving two terms as president and remains on the board as the vice president. He said the 2019 board of directors already knows how to work together in providing clients with the services they need. “I’ve been involved with the organization for over 13 years. We’ve all worked together, we all know each other and we’ve all been part of the transition from ActionAIDS to Action Wellness. Our longterm board members really know and believe in our mission. That won’t change as we take on more clients.” n

“Queerbook” connects LGBT performers nation-wide By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com A drag-king performer is assembling an LGBTQ-themed yearbook dubbed “The Queerbook” to celebrate performers and entertainers in Philadelphia and other major cities. Chris Jennings is a freelance portrait photographer from Baltimore who actively competes in drag-king contests. Jennings, who prefers the pronoun “they,” is calling on LGBTQ dancers, actors, singers, comedians and other performers throughout the country to be part of the project “The Queerbook.” The book will be printed at the end of Jennings’ national tour next year and will feature images from different shows featuring drag kings and queens, burlesque shows, musical performances and stand-up comedy routines. Jennings will be in Philadelphia Oct. 20, Pittsburgh Sept. 9, Brooklyn Oct. 8 and Seattle Nov. 8-9. The yearbook recognizes local ambassadors within the LGBTQ community and provides an opportunity to raise their profiles, Jennings said. “Queer performers give their time and energy to help create fun environments at Pride festivals or other events that feature LGTBQ entertainers. I want to provide an opportunity for performers to have a dedicated space that

announces to the world exactly who they are and what they do,” Jennings said. Jennings — who has spread the word online — described the open-casting-like

taken. Jennings said the idea for the yearbook came to them when local newspaper photographers would take their picture at drag-

MIRAGE J. CRUZ, MR. GAY UNITED STATES 2017 (LEFT) AND DRAG QUEEN PARIAH SINCLAIR Photos: Chris Jennings

sessions where participants fill out a form and provide a yearbook-like quote. In each city, performers will gather together for a photo shoot that resembles school-picture day, photographs Jennings has previously

king and Pride events and never ask for their name. Since launching the project in February, Jennings organized the first stop on the photo-shoot tour in Baltimore on June 24.

More than 25 performers participated. Jennings said the project is an opportunity for LGBTQ performers to meet, connect and share their experiences as queer entertainers. Finn Gerhardt, a new drag-king performer from Baltimore, participated in the first “Queerbook” shoot and said it provided them with a sense of community that they’ve never felt before. The photo shoot also helped them land a performance opportunity. “It was so wonderful to be around so many other amazing performers and artists, many of whom I’d never met before. We talked, we listened, we laughed, we shared. I’ve never felt a sense of community and commonality with other performers quite like that. I even got my next gig out of the event,” Gerhardt said. “I left feeling so much gratitude for the friends I made and feeling honored to be counted among so many wonderful queer voices.” Most of the entertainers work in the same city and didn’t know each other before the photo shoot, Jennings said. “We’re building a queer collective of influencers. We are more than entertainers. We are leaders, we are inspiration, trendsetters, educators, role models, mentors and so much more.” n Performers and entertainers interested in participating in the Philadelphia leg of “The Queerbook” tour can contact Chris Jennings at thequeerbook.com.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

REGIONAL PGN

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N.J. Republican Senate candidate pro-marriage equality By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com Former pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin is looking to be the first Republican in 46 years to serve as a New Jersey senator who is pro-choice and supports marriage equality. Hugin, a Marine Corps veteran who retired in January as executive chairman of Celgene Corp., is looking to unseat twoterm Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez in the midterm elections in November. Menendez was under Senate Ethics Committee investigation on charges of bribery and corruption after allegedly accepting gifts, campaign donations and vacations in exchange for political favors. The charges were dropped. Hugin described himself as a “different kind of Republican” in his latest TV ad, saying he supports abortion rights and samesex marriage. The commercial featured clips from his June 5 acceptance speech after winning the Republican primary. In the ad, Hugin says to a crowd of supporters: “It’s not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s about working together. That’s what we need more of in Congress. That means being a different kind of Republican. I’m pro-choice, pro-marriage equality and I strongly support equal pay for equal work.” His campaign priority, Hugin said, is putting the people of New Jersey first. “It’s not just about being a different kind of Republican; it’s about being a different kind of public servant. It means putting people ahead of party and politics,” he said. “Most people appreciate the fact that I’m not someone who will just toe the party line and blindly side with my party on every single issue. My values and principles have not and will not change based on others’ support or dissent.” In his primary victory speech June 5, Menendez criticized Hugin’s ad, accusing him of “election conversion.” Hugin was a Trump delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention, then served as finance chairman for Trump’s New Jersey campaign and donated $100,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC. When asked about support for Trump, he replied, “I don’t need to create distance from anyone. I am more than happy to run on my experience as a U.S. Marine, a business leader and someone who has consistently outlined positions in this campaign that put New Jersey first.” In May, Hugin said at a roundtable discussion with Seaside Heights business owners that it was “ridiculous” that the Trump administration is seeking to cut $107 million in Hurricane Sandy relief money that was previously awarded to New Jersey. Hugin also said he opposed the $7 billion in cuts the Trump administration is seeking from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). n

“Most people appreciate the fact that I’m not someone who will just toe the party line and blindly side with my party on every single issue. My values and principles have not and will not change based on others’ support or dissent.”

PGN directory ads are terrific way to tell people about your services. Spend as little as $50 a week when you run for a minimum of 8 weeks.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Lesbian-owned company uses off-color acronyms to bolster LGBTQ youth

“What I wanted to do was really connect to LGBTQ youth, basically, because some individuals in my family were going through figuring out their gender identity,” Neal said. “So, I decided to create a T-shirt line that, for one, would help in-the-closet youth feel like they didn’t have to be there.” As the co-owner of MarketHers, a business that equips LGBTQ women of color with a digital-marketing education, and with a background in nonprofits and youth programming, Neal has the resume to back her business goals. Acronyms are newer territory; the idea came after a night out for drinks in the Gayborhood two years ago. “I was with my best friend Stephanie Acevedo and we were sitting in my car, smoking some weed, and we started coming up with these lesbian acronyms just randomly off the tops of our heads,” Neal said. “We were cracking up all night and

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T:5.6”

Fame Neal’s favorite shirt says “COOCH.” The Cs and H are scrawled in curvy, marker-thick font and the Os have been replaced by pink-frosted doughnuts that’d make Homer Simpson say “mmm.” Underneath the letters are the words they stand for: “Courageously Overcoming Obstacles + Challenges Homosexually.” “I think it resonates with a lot of people,” Neal said. The design is one of seven available for purchase through Neal’s T-shirt company, Lezcronymz, that launched online last month and uses loud logos and “off-color” acronyms to dispel gay stereotypes. Her target audience is teens.

were like, ‘You know what? We should put these on T-shirts.’” The acronyms, which have reached an inventory of 100, use words such as “DYKE,” which Neal has included to ally herself with the movement to reclaim what was once offensive language. “You take the word dyke — originally it was meant to offend people in the gay community,” said Neal. “We’ve repurposed the word into the acronym: Dildos, Yahtzee, Kissing, Everything — random-ass shit. What I’m trying to do is repurpose a lot of stereotypes that were placed on us through acronyms, basically to take the power away from the word.” Neal’s shirts also feature marijuana-friendly designs. A T-shirt that reads “HEMP” stands for “Happily Exploring Man-Free Panties.” Lezcronymz also posted a promotional photo of marijuana on Instagram as part of their “4:20” p.m. site launch on June 22. Neal, who intends to donate a percentage of her sales to LGBTQ youth programming, is aware that the Lezcronymz’s slang and drug content may be controversial for prospective partners looking to raise awareness. But she has a plan. “When it comes to working with the different schools and Project #: PR12242 youth, we’re going to Retouch have#: None a blind process Client: MGM Resorts International where you don’t have Division: MGM Resorts International, to Borgata identify yourself Photo: Fame NealProduct: our company in Job with #: 10903035 4:02 PM order to be a Print/Export recipient Time: of 4-5-2018 the benefit Scale: itself,” Neil said.Print “We do100% understand that Name: Joe.Congo Lezcronymz is a User bit off-color and it is a bit Proof #: 1 much, so you canPM: receive the funding from None us without actually saying, ‘Hey, InDesign Version: CC 2018 we’re partnering with Lezcronyms.’” Eventually, Neal hopes to supply her T-shirts for LGBTQ youth events in the city and to collaborate on hosting get-togethers and contests as a way of creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth. A brickand-mortar store is also in the works for next year, she said. For now, Neal just wants her shirts to catch as many eyes as possible. “Visibility is the whole point of my shirts and that’s why they’re so: What the hell does that say?” Neal said. “Not everyone is OK with being visibly gay, but I think it’s important for those who feel comfortable to show that pride, because you never know who you’re going to pass who might want encouragement.” n Slug Name: CRAFT MagNwp

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL

Creep of the Week

D’Anne Witkowski

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Editorial

Funding discrimination The city has resumed contracting with Bethany Christian Services for foster-care and adoption services after the agency agreed to comply with local law and not discriminate against LGBTQ couples wishing to participate in the program. Religion is a protected class in American federal law, but gender/sexual identity is not. However, in Philadelphia, along with other municipal pockets across the state, antidiscrimination laws make LGBTQ people equal to everyone else. In other words, if a religious organization accepts city funds to fulfill contracts, members of that organization are not permitted to deny candidates who believe or live differently — in Philadelphia, at least. That Bethany, a Michigan-based global Christian organization, has agreed not to discriminate is the beginning of the story, not the end. Bethany’s decision to accept LGBTQ foster parents should be viewed both with skepticism and vigilance to ensure this actually happens. “Our faith calls us to work with vulnerable children and families and therefore, it is important that Christians remain in this space,” Bethany said in a statement. “To that end, while we will remain compliant with the law, we also remain committed to our Christian beliefs and core values.” The exclusion of LGBTQ people from fostering is part of Bethany’s Christian beliefs and core values. Outside Philadelphia and in areas where local funding is not tied to antidiscrimination laws, Bethany can continue to take public funding and deny foster eligibility to LGBTQ people. Certainly federal law allows it, as the nondiscrimination section of Bethany’s website reminds us: “Under the Affordable Care Act Final Rule for federally funded health programs and activities, Bethany Christian Services and its subsidiaries do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.” We would do well to remember that the Founding Fathers did not actually believe that all were created equally. Two-hundred and forty-two years later, we’re still fighting for it. n

We want to know! If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.

There’s been a lot of talk about “civility” lately, which was triggered by the owner of a restaurant asking a woman who is known worldwide for lying on the behalf of a white-supremacist administration headed by a man who is trying to, and succeeding in, turning America into a dictatorship. So, if the story about Sarah Huckabee Sanders being refused service at the Red Hen in Virginia has you more worried about Sanders getting her feelings hurt than about the fact that the government Sanders works for is putting babies in cages, then you don’t deserve civility. In other words, fuck you. Now, I know that some people will read my “fuck you” as “sinking to their level,” but fuck that. Americans have normalized this descent into fascism from day one, and I’m not having it. And when I say “Americans,” I’m talking about white people, primarily cisgender heterosexual men. And, wouldn’t you know it, this particular demographic happens to also be the one that is either: 1) OK with Trump and that they are not worried or 2) Tells the rest of us that we need to fight fascism with civility. That is not how it works, folks. Being nice doesn’t save lives. It doesn’t change hearts and minds. And it sure as hell isn’t going to save our democracy. According to an interview with the restaurant owner in the Washington Post, some of the employees at the Red Hen were gay. I’ve heard the argument that throwing Sanders out of a restaurant was a missed opportunity for gays to show Sanders, and the world I guess, how they “are capable and people worthy of respect.” Um, no. It is not the job of the oppressed to prove their humanity to the oppressors. Racists aren’t racist just because they haven’t encountered enough nice black and brown people. Homophobes don’t hate gays because they just haven’t had the right one wait on them in a restaurant. Misogynists don’t hate women just because they haven’t met the right one yet. This stuff comes from deeply rooted hate and fear. Ain’t no amount of nice gonna cure that.

I’ve heard white people saying that Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her father Mike Huckabee used to be good Christian people with values and whatever happened to them? Not surprisingly, the people I’ve heard say this are straight white guys. Of course they can look back on Mike Huckabee’s long career in the public eye and see a nice guy who plays bass guitar and tells corny jokes but who maybe is a little too conservative for their tastes. As a woman married to a woman, I have no fond memories of Mike Huckabee. His entire career, he has sought to deny me the right to be married and the right to make the most basic decisions about my reproductive health. Now he’s posting openly racist stuff on Twitter in defense of Trump’s take-your-baby-at-the-border policy and people are surprised? It’s all part of the same package, folks. So, yeah, I don’t owe him or his daughter any kindness. They have shown none to the most vulnerable populations in this country. They have used their power to perpetuate hate. So yeah, fuck them. Of course, incivility is not the answer. We can’t “go-fuck-yourselves” out of this mess. Yes, we must keep speaking out against the hate and evil we are seeing. We must never stop that. But words only go so far. Two of the most powerful words are “I voted.” The people leading our country are evil. They have no moral compass. And, yes, there are valid complaints to make about the Democrats putting them in cages. Let’s make this blue wave happen. And then hold them Democrats fucking accountable like our lives depend on it, because they do. n

Racists aren’t racist just because they haven’t encountered enough nice black and brown people. Homophobes don’t hate gays because they just haven’t had the right one wait on them in a restaurant. Misogynists don’t hate women just because they haven’t met the right one yet.

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.

OP-ED PGN

We will not fail you We at PGN grieve the murder of five will be on that list — we already have journalists in Annapolis last week. And we been. This publication was on the hit list of applaud the determination of the staff of the KKK. the Capital Gazette to carry on and conAnd this message goes out to our tinue what good journalism is: to print the very own community. Our reporters news and community information so that were threatened during the Mazzoni and citizens can be informed, regardless of the PhiladelphiaFIGHT problems. We did not harm that may occur. shrink from our responsibilities That’s important for you as then, and won’t in the future. our readers to know, but our But we will do something difreaders, I presume, know our ferent. When one of our reporthistory and what we’ve endured ers is threatened by a protester, over the years. You may not it will be reported in these have contemplated the threat pages. that LGBT newspapers in parWhile we fight that fight, ticular are going through at this we are personally as an indusvery time. try being attacked by Trump’s As Trump continues to call tariffs. One of his tariffs hit out “fake news,” it makes every newsprint — the very paper you reporter in the nation a target. are reading. This is an attack The mean-spiritedness and hoson the press. Think of how you tility he breaths and the anger learned about Trump’s kidhe instills in his most fervent napping of babies: That was a Mark Segal free press. Think of who keeps of supporters, coupled with the violence he has bull-horned the light shining on the Nizah from the podium, ensure that harm will Morris case: a free press. It’s a free press eventually come to journalists. he wishes to silence. Journalists are already seeing these It’s a sad week for journalists, but it also attacks. What you are not seeing is how serves to make us realize and appreciate reporters covering the presidential rallies our responsibilities. We will not fail you! n are being hassled both verbally and physiMark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s mostcally. Reporters do their job — they don’t award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You complain about it. If and when this pattern continues, those can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/ followers will pick targets they feel are PhilaGayNews. against their political grain. LGBT media

Mark My Words

Transmissions

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

I’m not crazy The World Health Organization is dropping transgender identities from its list of mental disorders in its newest edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. That’s not to say that transgender people won’t be represented in the book, used as a diagnostic text for all sorts of health management across the world. Transgender people are simply being removed from the list of mental disorders, and being added to the section on sexual-health conditions. It’s a move that a lot of transgender people have advocated for over the years, depathologizing transgender people while still providing an in-road for medically necessary care. Still, it is the step in the right direction, on a trek that started decades ago, when the place to find transgender-specific issues wasn’t even under mental-health disorders, but in the criminal

code. Most know that one of the ways the police would harass the clientele of the Stonewall Inn was to use anti-crossdressing laws, which stipulated that people had to wear at least three items of their birth gender in public at all times, or else you could be hauled off to jail. It’s laws like this that started to fade away, oddly enough, with both the depathologizing of homosexuality and the pathologizing of transgender identity. Of course, having transgender people in texts like the ICD as well as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has served transgender people both to aid in the decriminalizing of transgender expression, but also to allow transgender people to access healthcare. Nevertheless, this has always come with a sort of “monkey’s paw”’ curse attached: in order to access hormone

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Street Talk Should the New York City Police Department apologize for its actions during the Stonewall uprising? "Absolutely. It's never too late to apologize for something. The level of violence the police exerted was unconscionEmily Campbell able. It never flight attendant should have South Philadelphia happened. There was no reason for it. And I think the gesture would improve community relations with police."

“Yes, an apology would be appropriate. At the time, police had destructive policies and behaviors that harmed Mikaela Jensenpeople. An Roseman apology legal-content writer would show South Philadelphia that police are working with the community to prevent something like that from happening again.”

"Granted, Stonewall was a long time ago. But the issue is still relevant today. So I think an apology should be Matt Riggs made. Social barback justice is Queen Village always important. Stonewall is still prominent in the minds of many people, though maybe not within the mainstream."

"Yes. The police haven't acknowledged their wrongdoing. An apology would be a step in the right direction. A Harley Rohrman small step, server but still Cape May, N.J. a step. It might take another 50 years for the police to apologize. But I'm very optimistic they will someday."

treatments, surgeries, and such, one had to be willing to agree that they had a mental issue, long after it became clear that this isn’t so much a problem with one’s mind, but with one’s body. Allow me a moment of “Transgender 101.” While the exact causes are still unclear, it appears that a lot of transgender people have disunion between their mind and their physical body, potentially caused during early development while still in the womb. Our brains go one way while our bodies go quite another. I should add here that in spite of people shouting about deities “not making mistakes,” there is actually a lot of wiggle room in how the human body comes together, and a lot of opportunity for variety. This is not only why we even have transgender people, but also why not all transgender people may exhibit the same elements to their identities. Regardless, this pathologization that has been present all these years may be

a part of why society views transgender people as having a mental problem. It was, literally, what we had to accept for care in the first place. I’m sure that years of popular-culture representation of transgender people as either goofballs like “Corporal Klinger” or monsters like “Jame ‘Buffalo Bill’ Gumb” haven’t helped either. Regardless, the ICD — and by extension, healthcare professionals who use it — may now view transgender people in a new light. Indeed, part of the reason behind the change was specifically to “reduce stigma” that transgender people face in accessing care. It’s not a perfect move, however. After all, having gender identity stuff listed under “sexual health” in ICD-11 is still a bit of a misnomer, and doesn’t really fit well in the category. You see, that’s also where you find, oh, sexually transmitted infections and paraphilias. The latter is a conPAGE 19

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Media Trail Massachusetts House approves gay conversion therapy ban Bostonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NBC 10 reports the Massachusetts House has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would ban so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;gay conversion therapyâ&#x20AC;? for minors. The bill passed on a 137-14 vote June 27. Supporters of the ban say the therapy, which aims to alter a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sexual orientation, is widely discredited by medical and mental-health associations. They say the therapy is premised on the belief that being LGBTQ is an illness that needs to be cured. Supporters say the therapy can lead to depression and suicide in young people. Opponents of the ban say the state shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come between a patient and a therapist. They say if gender identities exist on a spectrum, the state shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cut off therapies that addresses gender identity. The bill now goes to the Senate. About a dozen states have passed similar bans.

PGN

Ohio bill seeks to require notification on transgender kids The Dayton Daily News reports a bill introduced in the Ohio House would require state teachers and school counselors to notify parents whose children identify as transgender. The bill, sponsored by two southwest Ohio Republicans, seeks to give parents the right to withhold gender-dysphoria treatment from their minor children. Rep. Paul Zeltwanger, of Mason, said he wants to protect parental rights and that once children reach age 18 they can â&#x20AC;&#x153;do whatever they want.â&#x20AC;? Rep. Tom Brinkman, of Cincinnati, said he knows one transgender person but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak with any transgender people before introducing the bill. The stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; union opposes the legislation. President Becky Higgins of the Ohio Education Association said the union believes students should be guaranteed a â&#x20AC;&#x153;safe and inclusive environment.â&#x20AC;?

New Orleans mayor to create task force on LGBTQ issues The Miami Herald reports issues affecting LGBTQ people, particularly ones that

disproportionately affect those of color, will be a focus of a task force. Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced June 24 that the task force will study issues LGBTQ people face and submit recommendations for solutions to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Human Relations Commission. The commission will oversee the task force and recommend candidates to serve on it. Cantrell said she will create a city strategy guided by the recommendations. The mayor made the announcement during a service at St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s United Methodist Church commemorating the 45th anniversary of an arson fire that killed 32 men at the UpStairs Lounge, a French Quarter gay bar. The Office for Victims of Crime, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, reports that two-thirds of the transgender community have been victims of sexual assault. Roughly half of hate crimes are against the LGBTQ community, which also has far higher rates of HIV contraction between people of color than the white non-transgender segment. Most indicators suggest those living in New Orleans face even greater inequities, the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement said. SarahJane Brady, of the Forum for Equality Louisiana, said the task force is necessary and will expose discrimination. Brady said New Orleans is a beautiful and diverse city but still struggles with bias, discrimination and inequality. Vincenzo Pasquantonio, executive direc-

tor of the commission, said more information about the appointments and a timeline for when the work will be completed will be available in the coming weeks.

Montana transgenderrestroom initiative attempt falls short The Great Falls Tribune reports an attempt to let Montana voters decide whether to prohibit transgender people from using the restrooms and locker rooms of their choice has come up short. Supporters of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Montana Locker Room Privacy Actâ&#x20AC;? got fewer than 10,000 of the more than 25,000 signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. They had until June 20 to submit enough signatures. Montana Family Foundation CEO Jeff Laszloffy declined to discuss the initiative with the newspaper. Similar legislation failed in the Montana Legislature in 2017. Laszloffy previously has said that allowing transgender students into the locker rooms and bathrooms of their choice threatened â&#x20AC;&#x153;the privacy and dignityâ&#x20AC;? of non-transgender children. Transgender advocates praise the initiativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s failure. n â&#x20AC;&#x201D; compiled by Larry Nichols

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PGN

International Sweden to open first LGBT football stadium A sports stadium in Sweden is becoming the country’s first to have LGBT status and has been designed to be as inclusive as possible. The stadium hosts multiple events including football and music concerts and will feature gender-neutral toilets, accessible dressing rooms and staff that’s trained in LGBT issues. Studenternas stadium, in the student city of Uppsala, is an hour north of Stockholm. Danne Eriksson, the municipality’s marketing director for sport and leisure said, “Uppsala municipality aims to be open and inclusive, where everyone has the same rights and possibilities. We want to guarantee equal treatment in all areas, regardless of gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.” Eriksson added that the stadium’s status was “part of the wider work” for Uppsala to be more LGBT-inclusive after a detailed plan was created for the area in 2017. The LGBT-certified stadium will “increase the feeling of belonging, comfort

and safety and it will improve the knowledge and understanding of LGBT people and equality,” Eriksson added. The stadium is currently undergoing major renovations and will be reopened in 2020. Its LGBT status will be valid for two years after it opens. In 2015, the country opened its first LGBT-certified swimming pool, which has changing rooms designed for the queer and trans community, as well as disabled visitors and people who need more privacy while changing.

Istanbul Pride organizers say they will march despite a ban Turkey’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex activists say they will go ahead with a Pride march despite a ban. Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Committee tweeted it would march in the city’s Taksim neighborhood. Organizers said in a statement that the governor banned the march “unlawfully” for the fourth year in a row. They said the ban violates their freedom of assembly and have vowed to march. Since 2015, the governor has cited security reasons and public “sensitivities” as grounds for the ban. Prior to that, Turkish authorities allowed Pride marches to take place for more than a decade since the first one in 2003. Up to 100,000 people attended Istanbul Pride in 2014. Although homosexuality and transsex-

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

uality are not illegal in Turkey, LGBTI+ people face discrimination and hate crimes.

Trans woman crowned Miss Universe Spain 2018 A 25-year-old trans woman was crowned Miss Universe-Spain on June 30 in a historic moment for the country. Angela Ponce is the first transsexual to win the prestigious crown in Spain and will represent her country in the Miss Universe 2018 pageant. Her victory coincides with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community’s celebration of Pride Month. Ponce, who underwent surgery for sexual reassignment, previously represented Cadiz in Miss Spain World 2015 but failed to get the crown. In 2012, the Miss Universe Organization allowed transgender contestants to compete in the international pageant.

Hosting World Cup makes Russia more gay-friendly, for now The World Cup is making Russia look almost gay-friendly. Russia normally outlaws what authorities call gay propaganda to minors. Simply hanging a rainbow flag can lead to arrest. But the international scrutiny that comes with hosting the event has forced Russian

authorities to be more lenient to LGBT activists. Gay activists in Russia say they are glad nations didn’t boycott the World Cup over the antigay law. They hope this shift lasts beyond the tournament, and that the World Cup will leave a changed nation in its wake. The next World Cup faces even more issues for gay rights. Gay sex is illegal in Qatar, the host of the 2022 tournament.

UK couple wins court ruling in fight for civil partnership Britain’s Supreme Court said the ban on civil partnerships for different-sex couples is “incompatible” with human-rights laws, a decision supporters hope will pave the way for such unions. Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, who want to avoid the patriarchal baggage of marriage, said they face discrimination because only same-sex couples are eligible for civil partnerships. Britain’s government has argued it needs time to study the impact of gay marriage on civil partnerships before deciding whether to extend them to everyone, abolish them or phase them out. Justice Brian Kerr wrote that the government position “cannot be characterized as a legitimate aim.” Though the July 27 ruling “does not oblige the government or Parliament to anything,” the couple hopes it will pressure the government to change the law. n — compiled by Larry Nichols

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Thinking Queerly

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 Online and in print every second Friday.

LEGAL PGN

SCOTUS ruling for Masterpiece Cakeshop and Arlene’s Flowers requires increased vigilance of marketplace discrimination Earlier this month, the precedent in circuit courts, as Supreme Court ruled narwell as give anti-LGBTQ activrowly in favor of Masterpiece ists who only read headlines Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips reason to think they’ve won a in his anti-LGBTQ discrimi“license to discriminate.” nation case. In the 7-2 opinion, Neither SCOTUS ruling the court ruled Phillips had decides the major question: not received fair Do “sincerely held treatment for his religious beliefs” religious beliefs by supersede the rights the Colorado Civil of LGBTQ citizens Rights Commission. to conduct business The majority jusin public accomtices held that, modations with based on the landignity, free from guage used by the harassment and disCCRC in formal crimination? While public hearings, LGBTQ advocates the Commission find the Masterpiece held animus against Cakeshop deciPhillips’ religious sion disappointing belief that he could Angela because it didn’t set not bake a wedding regardGiampolo precedent cake for a same-sex ing discrimination couple, calling his against LGBTQ beliefs rhetorical and despipeople on religious grounds, cable, and comparing them to the worst also did not happen: defenses against slavery and SCOTUS did not agree with the Holocaust. Phillips that religion is grounds Then, just three weeks later, to refuse service to same-sex SCOTUS granted the appeal couples. of a Washington state florist, Two dissenting justices, Barronelle Stutzman, who Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and maintained providing flowSonia Sotomayor, blasted the ers for a same-sex wedding in majority opinion’s reliance on a 2013 went against her religious case in which the CCRC ruled beliefs and her “relationship in favor of bakers refusing to with Jesus Christ.” SCOTUS bake a cake for someone else vacated the Washington state under different circumstances: Supreme Court’s ruling against that of William Jack. In Jack’s case, the cake he Stutzman, sending the case requested included hateful, back to the lower court to be antigay messages. Ginsburg reconsidered in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop opinion. stated the bakers in that case treated Jack as they would While I agree that the holdany other customer requesting ing was narrow, LGBTQ the same service, refusing the individuals have reason to be messages on the cake, not his concerned. The lack of clear religious beliefs behind the guidance from SCOTUS in request. Ginsburg stated, “The religious-freedom-to-discrimbakers visited by Jack would inate cases risks undermining have sold him any baked goods the very foundations on which they would have sold anyone this country’s civil rights were else. The bakeries’ refusal built. to make Jack cakes of a kind President Trump has they would not make for any appointed several conservative customer scarcely resembles federal judges to the bench Phillips’ refusal to serve Craig and, by pushing decisions and Mullins: Phillips would not back to lower courts, it gives sell to Craig and Mullins, for no the opportunity for these conother reason than their sexual servative judges to side with orientation, a cake of the kind anti-LGBTQ activists and set

Out Law

he regularly sold to others.” What is most striking and pointed out in the dissents is that Craig and Mullins were denied services long before they were able to articulate what they wanted the cake to look like, negating the similarity and comparison to William Jack’s case entirely. So, yes, the holding in Masterpiece Cakeshop was narrow, but do not kid yourselves: It will have, and already has had, an impact on the LGBTQ movement. While these rulings have not changed laws affecting LGBTQ citizens, they present a serious risk of undermining civil-rights law in the name of religious freedom. It will invite further lawsuits for the courts to consider, and, given there are cases around

cates everywhere will be further emboldened to discriminate against LGBTQ citizens, and likely won’t take the time to read the nuanced opinions and facts of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. They won’t consider this very-narrow ruling for what it is, instead interpreting it as a sweeping “license to discriminate,” and further dividing us as a country. There is no better time to dust off complacency and rise in solidarity than Pride Month. We, meaning both LGBTQ individuals and our allies, must go to the voting booth at every opportunity and vote for candidates that authentically back our principles and values. Then, we must pressure those lawmakers to add sexual orientation and gender identity

While these rulings have not changed laws affecting LGBTQ citizens, they present a serious risk of undermining civil-rights law in the name of religious freedom. They will invite further lawsuits for the courts to consider and, given there are cases around the country for photographers, calligraphers and printers already raising this same question, SCOTUS has not given adequate guidance. the country for photographers, calligraphers and printers already raising this same question, SCOTUS has not given adequate guidance. Second, those cases working through the courts now, and potential future lawsuits, will be heard by lower courts, leaving interpretations up to federal judges who’ve been appointed by the Trump administration, who are significantly more conservative and sympathetic to the religious right. This leaves the LGBTQ population particularly vulnerable. Third, anti-LGBTQ advo-

into states’ protected classes to ensure that the religious right to discriminate is not held higher than our civil rights. Before Pride was a parade, it was a march. We marched and protested to win every single advance we’ve gained since Stonewall, and we need lawmakers who aren’t afraid to stand with us and recognize us as full and equal citizens in the eyes of the law. November elections are almost upon us, and those with the responsibility to write and enact our country’s laws need to hear us coming. n

Philadelphia Gay News

PGN BETHANY from page 1

statement. “Our faith calls us to work with vulnerable children and families and therefore it is important that Christians remain in this space. To that end, while we will remain compliant with the law, we also remain committed to our Christian beliefs and core values. We hope that all community organizations can work together in partnership to be a part of the solution, offering services to vulnerable children and families.” On June 29, PGN filed a state Rightto-Know Law request with the city Law Department for a copy of Bethany’s new antibias policy. The RTKL allows citizens to request public records from agencies. PGN’s position is that, as a city subcontractor, Bethany’s antibias policy should be publicly accessible. As of presstime, the request was under review, a city spokesperson said. Margaret A. Downey, president of the Freethought Society, said all city funding to CSS and Bethany should be “frozen” until both groups produce written antibias policies covering the LGBT and nontheist communities. “It’s absolutely unacceptable for any city funds to go to an agency that discrim-

inates against the nontheist community,” Downey told PGN. “The city’s nondiscrimination rules clearly forbid discrimination on the basis of religion, and that includes people without a religion. What do we have to do — declare atheism a religion before the city takes us seriously? It’s ridiculous.” Downey added: “I would hope the LGBT community would stand with the nontheist community in our quest to ensure that CSS and Bethany have written, publicly accessible antibias policies inclusive of both communities. Nontheists always have stood with the LGBT community on so many of their battles. None of us should be treated as a second-class citizen.” The controversy involving CSS and Bethany came to the public’s attention in March, after the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Bethany turned away a lesbian couple who applied to be foster parents. The news coverage prompted an investigation by city officials, resulting in a freeze on foster-care referrals to both Bethany and CSS. In May, CSS filed suit against the city, claiming officials were infringing on CSS’ free-speech and religious-freedom rights. Tucker is expected to hand down a decision on CSS’ preliminary-injunction request later this month. n

“I would hope the LGBT community would stand with the nontheist community in our quest to ensure that CSS and Bethany have written, publicly accessible antibias policies inclusive of both communities.”

TABU from page 1

performance space. The second floor will feature rotating DJs. Sotland said that eventually Tabu will host quarterly balls and nonprofit and community events. Stephen Carlino, another owner, bought iCandy’s building from its owner, Darryl DePiano. Both Tabu and iCandy will maintain their liquor licenses through the sale, but it remains unclear what will happen to iCandy. DePiano became embroiled in controversy after a video went viral two years ago of him using the N-word to describe iCandy’s customers of color. He did not respond to requests for comment about the rumors circulating online that iCandy would be closing its doors due to the backlash from the community. Last year, the COLOURS Organization, which provides HIV health and wellness services to the black LGBTQ community, provided antidiscrimination and antiracism training for DePiano and his staff. Damon Humes, COLOURS exec-

utive director, led the trainings and said that they were a step in the right direction for DePiano in repairing his relationship with the community, specifically the members of color. “It was an unfortunate misstep on Darryl’s part and his actions deserved consequences, but he made a conscious effort to make amends for that mistake,” Humes said. “I hope that Tabu will follow Darryl’s lead in continuing to do work in anti-oppression and discrimination training.” Sotland said that he and the other owners are not looking to rehash the negative history, but that he will continue to train his staff on being welcoming to all. “We’ve reached out to Amber Hikes from the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs and Rue Landau from the Commission on Human Relations to train our staff. Before we open, every staff member will go through implicit bias and discrimination training,” Sotland said. “We’re going to take the history of [iCandy’s] space and move it forward.” n

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PGN TRANSMISSIONS from page 11

cern. While these remain two very separate branches, bad actors could use this to say that the World Health Organization lists transgender people with pedophiles and those involved in bestiality. It would even be technically true, but as close as saying that corn chips and tampons are identical because you can get both out of a vending machine. In my opinion, not being seen as “disordered” at all would, in its own way, be preferable. Transgender people are no more “disordered” than, say, a left-handed person or a ginger: We’re a deviation from a supposed norm thanks to biological variation. Yet that brings us full circle. What would happen to transgender care if there were no “place” for us in the manual? Would a medical professional offer care if there wasn’t a code a clinician could point to in a book? Further, especially in a time when transgender rights are facing a dire threat from an openly hostile administration that is controlled by the fringes of religious conservatism, could we be so sure that we would not end up seeing such a move be used to further erode our rights, or even recriminalize transgender expression? Right now, we are able to claim our ground in no small part due to transgender identities having a scientific explanation. What happens if that weren’t there? That said, I would not wish to go back to having to jump through arbitrary hoops and accept a mental-disorder evaluation simply to access the care I can get today under modern informed-consent methods. Likewise, I do think we need to continue to press for better care for our community. Part of that, too, may be in understanding the innate variances in transgender identities and expressions, and understanding that we truly are not a “one size fits all” community but a panoply of possibilities, each with their own needs and desires. So this is a step, and likely a good one — but there’s a whole lot of walking left to do. n Gwen Smith still recalls the DSM code for gender identity disorder. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com,

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The Philadelphia Gay News won seven Keystone Press Awards this year, an honor that not only recognizes professional excellence, but journalism that “consistently provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers, and faithfully fulﬁlls its First Amendment rights/responsibilities.” The Keystone Press Awards are sponsored by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Aug. 4-10, 2017

Conversion therapy is child torture

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Mark My Words

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(“Lesbian couple turned away from PA bridal shop”: Jen Colletta)

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No matter how I put this, it feels like an understatement: We are living in increasingly frightening and dangerous times. This is especially true for those of us who are transgender. Sitting in a subcommittee right now in our House of Representatives is HR 2796, aka the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017. I’ve written about this before. It would do nothing less than void protections for transgender people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and “any federal civil-rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” Not apparently interested in waiting for HR 2796 to pass or fail, the Department of Justice — under “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions — has filed a legal brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express claiming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation. While the brief doesn’t mention gender identity specifically, we can guess where Sessions’ DOJ might side. Oddly enough,

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the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed its own brief, disagreeing with the DOJ. Meanwhile, a move by Congressmember Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) to ban health care for transgender military personnel and their families failed to pass in the House of Representatives, in spite of a pair of odd speeches in support by Congressmembers Steve King (R-Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). King conflated transgender troops to slaves forcibly conscripted and castrated in the Ottoman Empire and suggested that trans folks would join to somehow “game the system” for surgical care. Gohmert tried to draw a comparison between money spent for transgender care and that used to defeat “radical Islam,” as if one would take away from the other. While the Hartzler amendment failed, it apparently was not unnoticed by President Donald Trump, who took to Twitter for one of his now-infamous tweetstorm-cum-policy statements. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to

serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” This is all nonsense. Military leaders responded with surprise, having apparently not been consulted on this policy. What’s more, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford has stood in opposition, stating in a memo that there are “no modifications to the current policy until the president’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidelines.” To date, no such implementation guidelines have arrived. Trump seems somehow unaware that there are already transgender troops in our military. While reported numbers have varied from as little as 250 to as many as 50,000, a study by the Rand Corporation in June 2016 estimated somewhere between 1,320 to 6,630 active-duty trans service members out of a total pool of 1.3-million service members. What’s more, this same

Column: “Mark My Words: Obama made us cool; Conversion therapy is child torture; Glass half full of progress”

study noted that trans-related health care for these troops would cost somewhere between $2.4-$8.4 million per year. This is a drop in the bucket compared to current military spending. It is also a fifth of spending that the military currently doles out for erectile dysfunction medications to all troops, trans or otherwise. So we have a scattershot policy, dictated via social media without adequate consultation and not tethered in fact. Transgender troops are in no way bankrupting our armed forces, nor is there any evidence of them disrupting the service. Now, plenty have said that Trump’s tweets were nothing more than a distraction, something to steal the spotlight from news of the health-care bill and its failure, the increasingly dysfunctional administration or the continuing Russia probe. Maybe there is some truth to that, but I find myself considering that a distraction ceases to be a distraction when it is harming people. Trump’s insistence on attacking transgender soldiers, while his Department of PAGE 15 Justice and others attack

Vol. 41 No. 8

Editorial

Fluidity of freedom

Feb. 24 - March 2, 2017

Day in the Life of: digital agency executives CJ and Jolin Bachmann PAGE 9

Morris dispute gets a call for a public hearing

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM

Tim Cain reopens the “Boys’ Entrance” with latest album

PAGE 2

Guilty plea in Maya Young murder

As Pride Month comes to a close and Independence Day approaches, freedom has been a hot topic. While the word itself often signifies a fundamental, innate tenet upon which this nation was born, recent times have shown just how fluid of a concept freedom is. Two years ago, the LGBT community was celebrating marriage equality becoming the law of the land. Freedom to many at that time meant the ability to finally wed their partners, to join their names on legal documents, to create a family with fewer burdens. But just one year later, 49 people were gunned down at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando. The LGBT community was forced to re-examine the basic freedoms the incident threatened: the ability to be oneself, and associate as a community, without fear of violence or death. Weddings and legal paperwork took an immediate backseat. That back-and-forth seems to have been a recurring theme throughout LGBT history; when one hard-fought victory is won, another can cripple the community. Harvey Milk was elected in a historic move for LGBT representation in government, only to be gunned down. AIDS funding would be boosted in one part of the country and lost in another. A trans woman of color would grace the cover of a national magazine

as record numbers of trans women of color become victims of violence. And LGBT rights flourish under a progressive president only to be quickly yanked back by his successor. Freedom is a contextual concept, one that evolves with our progress and our pitfalls. In times of community successes, freedom may seem to be a finite, attainable goal, while in times of extreme crisis, the freedoms we once coveted may seem luxurious. What that dichotomy shows is that, while little is out of reach, little should be taken for granted. Our country and community are at interesting pinnacles right now; we’ve experienced tremendous gains but also seen the work that has fallen by the wayside. As a country, we’ve rebounded from a crippling recession but many blue-collar workers are suffering the impacts of globalization. As a community, we’ve won marriage equality and many other rights, but our most marginalized — trans individuals, elders, youth — continue to face serious hardships. Embracing our potential should be tempered by acknowledging the many gaps that need to be bridged — and the many more that need to be traversed as the concept of freedom continues its evolution. n

If you’re a school administrator, teacher was doing? Well, or even a whole school district and you under Obama, want to assert your right to discrimithe Education nate against some of your students FOR Department took REASONS, you’re in luck! The Education students’ comDepartment under Betsy DeVos ain’t plaints about gonna stop you. (Unless you’re against serious issues, white Christians probably.) well, seriously, This is especially true if you want to dis- and investigated criminate against transgender students. The whether such Education Department recently dropped complaints were cases in Ohio and elsewhere involving “symptomatic of transgender students being harassed and a broader problem, in part by examining at denied bathroom access, basically saying, least three years of past complaint data.” “This isn’t our problem.” In other words, if a student complains You’ll recall that under Obama, the that he or she was sexually assaulted at Education Department issued guidelines to school, the Education Department felt like schools about how to handle transgender they should probably find out if this was students so that their dignity is respected an isolated incident or a pattern of wider and their right to an education is not tramabuse. pled. But under Trump and DeVos, the Under DeVos’ leadership, however, Education Department ain’t care. they’re so busy trying to find ways to make Needless to say, those who support trans education into a for-profit enterprise that students are alarmed by the department’s they can’t be bothered with systemic civshrugging off the issue. Shannon Minter of il-rights abuses at school. Ugh. Civil rights the National Center for Lesbian Rights told don’t make anybody rich. the Washington Post, “They have just sent Of course, the department claims that a message to schools that it’s open season this whole “don’t-look-into-civil-rightson transgender students.” complaints-too-deeply” policy is to alleIn other words, it’s a pretty clear signal viate a troublesome backlog of cases. And that the Trump administration has zero while it’s true that a backlog of cases is a interest in hearing problem, their solusome transgender tion isn’t to hire the But it’s not just trans kid bitching about personnel needed having to pee in a to get these cases students DeVos wants bucket in the janiexamined. Their tor’s closet or some- to abandon. Civil rights solution is to simply thing. Suck it up, are such a drag, after all. stopIn looking. buttercup, as Trump a press release, supporters like to What do they do besides Sherrilyn Ifill, pressay right before they ident of the NAACP get in the way of privatiz- Legal Defense and head out to protest against Shakespeare. ing America’s education Educational Fund, But it’s not just said the Education trans students system so that rich ass- Department was DeVos wants to abdicating its holes can get richer? abandon. Civil “responsibility to rights are such a protect the rights drag, after all. What do they do besides get and dignity of our nation’s vulnerable chilin the way of privatizing America’s edudren during the most crucial years of their cation system so that rich assholes can get lives, threatening not only to stall progress richer? The Education Department’s Office on racial, gender and sexual-orientation of Civil Rights is so over crybaby civequality in schools, but to undo it altoil-rights wanters. gether.” According to the Washington Post, the As is the plan, of course. MAGA ’til you head of the civil-rights office “has directed puke. n lawyers to narrow the scope of investigations into sexual assault and discriminatory D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian school-discipline policies.” living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow What does this mean and how does it differ from what the Obama administration her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

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First place

In light of National March, organizers reschedule Philly Pride

Trial for alleged murderer of trans woman postponed until December

Scott Drake

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com A jury trial for the alleged murderer of trans woman Diamond Williams has been postponed until December. Charles N. Sargent stands accused of stabbing Williams to death with a screwdriver, then dismembering her with an ax, depositing her body parts in a vacant lot in Strawberry Mansion in July 2013. Sargent told police he acted in self-defense after Williams became violent during a sexual encounter. Advocates for Williams dispute that claim. Sargent’s trial was scheduled to begin Feb. 27, but his standby attorney, J. Michael Farrell, recently was convicted of multiPAGE 13 ple felonies in

D’Anne Witkowski

Betsy DeVos

Editorial: “Yes we can; Fluidity of freedom; pgn Philadelphia Gay News One year later, what have we learned?”

LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com June 30-July 6, 2017

Creep of the Week

Jen Colletta

By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

Photo Story/Essay: “2017 Philadelphia Women’s March”

NOT THEIR PRESIDENT: Hundreds protested in Center City Monday against restrictive policies and positions coming from the new Trump administration. The “Not My Presidents’ Day” march and rally, planned to coincide with the annual federal holiday celebrating American presidents, included remarks from speakers about LGBT rights, health care, immigration, racial justice, women’s rights and more. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Philly Pride Presents confirmed to PGN the organization will reschedule its annual Pride Parade and Festival for the first time in its 29 years. Pride will now be held June 18 at Penn’s Landing so it does not conflict with the Washington D.C. National Pride March on June 11, the local event’s original date. “It’s a decision that had to be made because even some people who work with us are going to go to D.C.,” said the organization’s executive director, Franny Price. “It was a decision that we never wanted to make but it was a decision to save the Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival and OutFest. We did not want to cause a conflict [with] the community [members] who would want to go to the march.” The National Pride March began as a Facebook event that grew to more than 31,000 confirmed guests and more than 109,000 guests designated as “interested.” Price said out of the previous 28 Philadelphia Pride PAGE 13 events, 25 have been held during

News Photo: “Not their president”

Philly gears up for LGBT conferences

Second place By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

Two LGBT organizations planning conventions in Philadelphia were represented at a local business luncheon Tuesday. PHL Diversity hosted its 11th-annual Business Opportunity Luncheon for professionals to network and learn about new business initiatives for the city. Kim Reed of Reed Development Group moderated a panel with representatives from Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), and the True Colors Fund. GLMA Executive Director Hector Vargas and True Colors Fund Executive Director Gregory Lewis answered questions from Reed about their organizations. GLMA will bring its 35th Annual Conference on LGBT Health Sept. 13-16 to the Doubletree Philadelphia City Center, 237 S. Broad St. During this conference,

Jeremy Rodriguez

GLMA will educate health providers and others on the health needs of LGBT people and their families. Additionally, GLMA will report the latest research impacting LGBT health. Vargas noted this is the first time the organization will host its conference here. “Philadelphia is a great place for us,” he said. “There’s a very vibrant LGBT community here. There’s a health center that focuses on LGBT health — Mazzoni. There’s a lot going on in the political and advocacy sphere around LGBT health both in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania.” Meanwhile, the True Colors Fund will bring its 40 to None Summit to the city in October. No location or exact dates had been finalized by presstime. During this two-day event, individuals addressing LGBT-youth homelessness across the country will meet up for sessions, performances, action-planning breakouts and networking opportunities. PAGE 13 “For us at the True

Investigative Reporting: “Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation”

NORTHERN NETWORKING: City Fitness hosted ConnX Feb. 21 at WeWork at Schmidt’s Commons. The traveling monthly social brings together members and supporters of the Independence Business Alliance, the region’s LGBT chamber of commerce. Guests enjoyed beer and wine and food from SNAP Kitchen while they networked and explored the co-working space at WeWork. Photo: Courtesy of Independence Business Alliance

(Coverage of Nizah Morris case: Timothy Cwiek)

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Conversion therapy is child torture To the entire LGBT community: psychiatry put its hand in with aversion Let’s begin as a community to state the therapy, which uses the Pavlovian dog-like truth without putting lipstick on a pig. training to force us to be heterosexual with Personally, it sickens me when I see somea handful of horrific tortures. There’s the one from GLAAD or HRC on television electric-shock system, some connected to calling conversion therapy genetics, water treatment — “praying the gay away.” That hey, they had it before President is downright as truthful as a Bush — and then there were Donald Trump tweet, and might drugs of various types, some show how we attempt to soften of which stopped people from our message for consumption breathing before an antidote by the mainstream. Or, it might was administered. They lost a hide something very sad: our few on that one, but hey, better own attempt to not accept what dead than a fag. has been done to us as a collecNow comes conversion tive community for years — and therapy. But this one targets that, my friends, is torture. mostly children whose parents We use terms like hate are now trying to “save” them. crimes, pray away the gay … Almost all the types of torture but much that has been done to I’ve listed above have been “cure” LGBT is sheer torture. used in some of these converMark Segal sion camps … and others. ABC And yes, I’m even talking about the water torture. So once again, News investigative reporter let’s go back in recent history to make the Brian Roberts did one of the best onepoints and hopefully get us back on the hour reports on this practice on “20/20.” right track, as we are literally fighting to It showed corporal punishment, imprisonsave children’s lives. ment and lots more. For years, going back even before there I think you get the idea. It’s time to were lobotomies — oh yes, many lobotspeak out strongly. Say it loud, say it omies were performed on LGBT peoclearly: Conversion therapy is child torture. ple — society attempted to try and find n a way to “change” us, making us holy Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning comheterosexuals. When threat of religion mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then and criminal justice began to fail, medical I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & science showed up with lobotomies. Then, Noble or at your favorite bookseller.

Mark My Words

Transmissions

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Aug. 4-10, 2017

Vol. 41 No. 18 May 5-11, 2017 Family Portrait: Spotlight on Samy el-Noury

PA Supreme Court says SEPTA not bound by Philly antidiscrimination laws

PAGE 37

PAGE 2

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Celebrations of Philly Black Pride

Fellowship awarded to GALAEI youth-program leader PAGE 8

PAGE 13

State agency: We’ll accept LGBT antibias complaints

Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Under proposed guidance posted on its website April 28, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will investigate LGBTQ-related antibias complaints, despite the lack of an LGBTQ-inclusive statewide antibias law. The guidance notes that Pennsylvania’s antibias law covers sex discrimination, and multiple courts have ruled that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination. However, neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Pennsylvania Supreme PAGE 28

FINAL BOW: At the April 29 “Shut Up & Dance” performance, longtime producing director Ian Hussey announced he was passing the baton for next year’s show to Alexandra Hughes. The annual Pennsylvania Ballet production raised more than $161,000 for MANNA, which provides nutritional meals to the ill. Nearly 1,400 people packed Forrest Theatre for the 25th-anniversary performance. Photo: Scott A. Drake

D.A. candidates address crime, corruption, community By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The race for Philadelphia’s next district attorney is wide open. Seven Democratic contenders will vie for the nomination May 16, with one Republican running unopposed. The primary comes just weeks after current District Attorney Seth Williams was federally indicted on corruption and bribery charges. PGN spoke with all of the candidates about their vision for the District Attorney’s Office, and how the local LGBT community can be incorporated into those plans.

Larry Krasner Throughout his candidacy for district attorney, Larry Krasner has spoken about resisting the Trump administration, ending mass incarceration and standing up for civil-rights. During his 30 years as an attorney, he stood up for organizations such as ACT UP, Black Lives Matter and other organizations relating to LGBT rights, disabled people and immigrants.

PGN: There have already been nine transgender women of color murdered across the nation this year. If elected, what will your office do to combat violence against transgender individuals in Philadelphia, specifically women of color? LK: If and when there are incidents, I will have my supervisors and my prosecutors take those charges incredibly seriously. When I see violence involving a trans victim, to me, a red flag goes up immediately to see if this is a hate crime. I have been there when this Philadelphia Police Department wouldn’t take hate crimes seriously and, to me, that’s unacceptable. You have to have a police department that treats everybody equally and cares about everybody’s issues and that doesn’t consider certain people to be less than human. I think by using the office as a bully pulpit, being as serious as possible about properly prosecuting these cases, working with the police commissioner to

According to documents PGN exclusively obtained, a state commission is investigating Rep. Brian Sims following scrutiny about his travel reimbursements and speaking fees. PGN obtained a copy of an Ethics Complaint Form from a source whose identity we are withholding. The individual filed the complaint with the State Ethics Commission, contending Sims, the first LGBT person elected to the state legislature, violated the state Ethics Act. According to the Ethics Act, “No public official or public employee shall accept an honorarium.” A March 31 letter from the Ethics Commission, signed by Executive Director Robert P. Caruso, that was given to PGN states: “The Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission has initiated a full investigation in relation to the complaint” that the individual filed. Caruso told PGN he was not permitted to comment on the investigation or the complaint. PAGE 28

do police trainings around this issue or to make sure the trainings are adequate, I believe we could make a difference and make the situation better for trans people.

Endorsements

District Attorney: Larry Krasner City Controller: Alan Butkovitz

PGN: If elected, will you assist PGN in our ongoing efforts to settle all open-records litigation for access to Nizah Morris records? LK: The short answer is yes. I am a great believer in providing information to the press. However, when you ask a candidate what will you do when you are in office and that candidate doesn’t have all of the information, you’re basically inviting a candidate to make promises that may or may not be appropriate. Every bit of my instincts favors transparency but if I were to find something in the file that the mother or the father of Nizah Morris didn’t want revealed, then that is something I would have to look at. Assuming that the family of Nizah Morris wanted the information revealed and assuming the law permitted it, I would like there to be the maximum amount of transparency and I would like to assist in getting all information out PAGE 19 about that incident.

Superior Court Maria McLaughlin Carolyn Nichols H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. Commonwealth Court Ellen Ceisler Todd Eagan Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Lucretia Clemons Mark Cohen Leon Goodman Shanese Johnson Vikki Kristiansson Zac Shaffer Henry Sias Dan Sulman Stella Tsai Philadelphia Municipal Court Marissa Brumbach George Twardy

Street Talk What foreign land would you like to visit this summer? "Calcutta, India. There's such an amazing culture of spirituality there. I would find that very inspirational. The symbols Ennis Carter and art that executive director I would see Gayborhood in that city would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Transition the battlefield No matter how I put this, it feels like an understatement: We are living in increasingly frightening and dangerous times. This is especially true for those of us who are transgender. Sitting in a subcommittee right now in our House of Representatives is HR 2796, aka the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017. I’ve written about this before. It would do nothing less than void protections for transgender people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and “any federal civil-rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” Not apparently interested in waiting for HR 2796 to pass or fail, the Department of Justice — under “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions — has filed a legal brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express claiming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation. While the brief doesn’t mention gender identity specifically, we can guess where Sessions’ DOJ might side. Oddly enough,

pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Best Breaking News Story

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

First place

What foreign land would you like to visit this summer? "Calcutta, India. There's such an amazing culture of spirituality there. I would find that very inspirational. The symbols Ennis Carter and art that executive director I would see Gayborhood in that city would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Transition the battlefield

Best Breaking News Story

(“Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation”: Jeremy Rodriguez)

Street Talk

To the entire LGBT community: psychiatry put its hand in with aversion Let’s begin as a community to state the therapy, which uses the Pavlovian dog-like truth without putting lipstick on a pig. training to force us to be heterosexual with Personally, it sickens me when I see somea handful of horrific tortures. There’s the one from GLAAD or HRC on television electric-shock system, some connected to calling conversion therapy genetics, water treatment — “praying the gay away.” That hey, they had it before President is downright as truthful as a Bush — and then there were Donald Trump tweet, and might drugs of various types, some show how we attempt to soften of which stopped people from our message for consumption breathing before an antidote by the mainstream. Or, it might was administered. They lost a hide something very sad: our few on that one, but hey, better own attempt to not accept what dead than a fag. has been done to us as a collecNow comes conversion tive community for years — and therapy. But this one targets that, my friends, is torture. mostly children whose parents We use terms like hate are now trying to “save” them. crimes, pray away the gay … Almost all the types of torture but much that has been done to I’ve listed above have been “cure” LGBT is sheer torture. used in some of these converMark Segal sion camps … and others. ABC And yes, I’m even talking about the water torture. So once again, News investigative reporter let’s go back in recent history to make the Brian Roberts did one of the best onepoints and hopefully get us back on the hour reports on this practice on “20/20.” right track, as we are literally fighting to It showed corporal punishment, imprisonsave children’s lives. ment and lots more. For years, going back even before there I think you get the idea. It’s time to were lobotomies — oh yes, many lobotspeak out strongly. Say it loud, say it omies were performed on LGBT peoclearly: Conversion therapy is child torture. ple — society attempted to try and find n a way to “change” us, making us holy Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning comheterosexuals. When threat of religion mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then and criminal justice began to fail, medical I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & science showed up with lobotomies. Then, Noble or at your favorite bookseller.

Second place Jen Colletta

General News/Weeklies: “Lesbian couple turned away from PA bridal shop” pgn Philadelphia Gay News

LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Vol. 41 No. 18 May 5-11, 2017 Family Portrait: Spotlight on Samy el-Noury

PA Supreme Court says SEPTA not bound by Philly antidiscrimination laws

PAGE 37

PAGE 2

Honorable Mention Jeremy Rodriguez

General News/Weeklies: “City releases Gayborhood racism ﬁndings, recommends training”

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Celebrations of Philly Black Pride

Fellowship awarded to GALAEI youth-program leader PAGE 8

PAGE 13

State agency: We’ll accept LGBT antibias complaints

Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

do police trainings around this issue or to make sure the trainings are adequate, I believe we could make a difference and make the situation better for trans people. PGN: If elected, will you assist PGN in our ongoing efforts to settle all open-records litigation for access to Nizah Morris records? LK: The short answer is yes. I am a great believer in providing information to the press. However, when you ask a candidate what will you do when you are in office and that candidate doesn’t have all of the information, you’re basically inviting a candidate to make promises that may or may not be appropriate. Every bit of my instincts favors transparency but if I were to find something in the file that the mother or the father of Nizah Morris didn’t want revealed, then that is something I would have to look at. Assuming that the family of Nizah Morris wanted the information revealed and assuming the law permitted it, I would like there to be the maximum amount of transparency and I would like to assist in getting all information out PAGE 19 about that incident.

Endorsements

District Attorney: Larry Krasner City Controller: Alan Butkovitz Superior Court Maria McLaughlin Carolyn Nichols H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. Commonwealth Court Ellen Ceisler Todd Eagan

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Lucretia Clemons Mark Cohen Leon Goodman Shanese Johnson Vikki Kristiansson Zac Shaffer Henry Sias Dan Sulman Stella Tsai Philadelphia Municipal Court Marissa Brumbach George Twardy

PGN

Pennsylvania locations (non-Philadelphia)

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

locations outside Pennsylvania

Allentown • Allentown Brew Works, 812 Hamilton St. • Bradbury Sullivan Center, 522 w. Maple St. • Candida, 247 N. 12th St. • Stonewall, 28-30 N. 10th St. • Annville • Lebanon Valley College, Sheridan Ave. • Bethlehem • LGBTQ Services Lehigh U, 25 Trembley Dr. • NOVUSACS, 1565 Linden St. • Bloomsberg • Bloomsberg University LGBTA Center, 400 E. Second St. • Bristol • Bristol News World, 576B Bristol Pike • Center Valley • Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Rd. • Chester • AIDS Care Group, 2304 Edgemont Ave. • Widener University, 1 University Place • Collegeville • Adult World, 3975 Ridge Pike • Doylestown • Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S. Main St. • Siren Records, 25 E. State St. East Stroudsburg • Rainbow Mountain Resort, 210 Mt. Nebo Road • Easton • La Pazza, 1251 Ferry St. • Gibson • Hillside Campground, 1 Creek Road • Glen Mills • Imago Dei MCC, 1223 Middletown Road • Glenside • Keswick Cycle, 408 N. Easton Road • Harrisburg • 704 Strawberry Cafe, 704 N. Third St. • AIDS Community Alliance, 100 N. Cameron St. • Brownstone Lounge, 412 Forster St. • MCC of the Spirit, 2973 Jefferson St. • Stallions, 706 N. Third St. • Huntingdon • Huntingdon Valley Library, 625 Red Lion Rd. • Kutztown • Kutztown University, 15200 Main St. • Lancaster • Downtown Books, 227 N. Prince St. • Sundown Lounge, 429 N. Mulberry St. • Tally Ho Tavern, 201 W. Orange St. • Lansdale • Gwynedd Vet Hospital, 1615 W. Pointe Pike • Lehighton • Woods Campground, 845 Vaughn Acres Road • Levittown • Levitt Books, 7406 Bristol Pike • Media • Media Theater, 104 E. State St. • Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Suite 115 • Unitarian Universalist Church, 145 W. Rose Tree Road • New Hope • Cornerstone Gym, 419 York Road • Havana, 105 S. Main St. • John & Peters Place, 96 S. Main St. • Karla’s Restaurant, 5 W. Mechanic St. • La Chateau Exotique, 31A W. Mechanic St.• New Hope Lodge, 400 W. Bridge St. • Raven, 385 W. Bridge St. • St. Philips Church, 10 Chapel Road • Triumph Brewing Co., 400 Union Square Drive • Wishing Well B&B, 114 Old York Road • New Milford • Oneida Campground, 2580 E. Lake Road • Newport • My Buddie’s Place, 2380 Susquehanna Road • Newtown • Bucks Co. Community College, 275 Swamp Road • North Wales • Adult World, 608 Upper State Road • Old Forge • Twelve Penny Saloon, 535 Hickory St. • Phoenixville • Artisans Gallery and Cafe, 234 Bridge St. • Steel City, 203 Bridge St. Quakertown • Adult World, 880 S. West End Blvd. • Reading • Berks Aid Network, 429 Walnut St. • Dan’s at Green Hill, 2444 Morgantown Road • Reading Adult Center, 316 Penn St. • Rosemont • Rosemont Station, Airdale Road & Montrose Ave. • Sharon Hill • Sharon Hill Medical, 907 Chester Pike • Spring City • Spring Hollow Golf Club, 2250 Schuylkill Road • Swarthmore • Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Parrish Hall • Villanova • Villanova Station, Spring Mill Road near County Line Road • Warminster • Planned Parenthood of Bucks Co., 610 Louis Dr. • Wayne • Central Baptist Church, 106 W. Lancaster Ave. • Stafford Station, Old Eagle School & Crestline roads • Wayne Station, N. Wayne & West Ave. • Wynnwood • Wynnwood Station, Wynnewood & Penn roads • West Chester • Chester County Books, 975 Paoli Pike • Wilkes Barre • Heat, 69-71 N. Main St. • Willow Grove • Barnes & Noble, 102 Park Ave. •

2nd & Chestnut sts. • 2nd & Walnut sts. • 3rd & Chestnut sts. • 3rd & Market sts. • 3rd & Spruce sts. • 4th & Bainbridge sts. • 4th & Chestnut sts. • 4th St. bet. Arch & Market sts., by Holiday Inn • 5th & Spring Garden sts. • 5th & Spruce sts. • 6th St. & Washington Square West • 7th & Pine sts. • 8th & Market sts. • 8th & South sts. • 8th & Walnut sts. • 9th & Market sts. • 9th & Pine sts. • 10th & Market sts. • 10th & Pine sts. • 10th & South sts. • 10th & Spruce sts.• 10th & Reed sts. • 11th & Arch sts. • 11th & Locust sts. • 11th & Pine sts. • 11th & Walnut sts. • 12th & Filbert sts. • 12th & Locust sts. • 12th & Manning sts. •12th & Spruce sts. • 12th & Walnut sts. • 13th & Arch sts. • 13th & Chestnut sts. • 13th & Locust sts. • 13th & Pine sts. • 13th & Sansom sts. • 13th & Spruce sts. • 13th & Walnut sts. •15th & Spruce sts. • 16th St. & JFK Boulevard • 16th & Market sts. • 17th & Lombard sts. • 17th & Pine sts. • 17th & Spruce sts. • 18th St. & JFK Boulevard • 18th & Locust sts. • 18th & Market sts. • 19th & South sts. • 20th & Fitzwater sts. • 20th & Locust sts. • 20th & Pine sts. • 20th & Sansom sts. • 20th & Vine sts. • 21st & Walnut sts. • 22nd & Chestnut sts. • 22nd & Market sts. • 22nd & South sts. • 22nd & Walnut sts. • 23rd St. & Fairmount Avenue • 27th & Poplar sts. • 28th & Girard sts.• 29th & Girard sts. • 30th & Market sts. • 34th & Spruce sts. • 34th & Walnut sts. • 36th & Walnut sts. • 37th & Spruce sts. • 38th & Chestnut sts. • 38th & Spruce sts. • 38th & Walnut sts. • 40th & Walnut sts. • 40th & Spruce sts. • 63rd St. & City Ave. • 69th St. SEPTA station • 505 S. Fourth St. • Broad & Chestnut sts. • Broad & Ellsworth sts. • Broad & Race sts. • Broad & Spruce sts. • Broad & Walnut sts. • Front & Girard sts. • Germantown & Girard sts. • Juniper & Market sts. • Main & Cotton sts. • Main & Levering sts. • Passyunk Ave & 10th & Reed sts. • Passyunk & Mifflin sts. • University City SEPTA Station • Walnut & Dock sts., by Ritz Movies • Welsh Road & Roosevelt Boulevard • Wyndmoor SEPTA Station •

All of these locations are now visible on a zoomable Google Map at

DELAWARE Rehoboth Beach • Canal Side Inn, 34 Sixth St. • Proud Bookstore, 149 Rehoboth Ave. • Rigby’s Bar & Grill, 404 Rehoboth Ave. • Shore Inn, 37239 Rehoboth Ave. • Wilmington • AIDS Delaware, 100 W. 10th St. • Crimson Moon, 1909 S. Sixth St. •

NEW JERSEY Asbury Park • Georgie’s, 812 Fifth Ave. • Paradise, 101 Asbury Ave. • Atlantic City • Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, 1 Borgata Way • Oasis, 32 S. Tennessee Ave. • Ocean House, 127 S. Ocean Ave. • Rainbow Room, 30 S. Florida Ave.• Ritz Condo lobby, 2715 Boardwalk • South Jersey AIDS Alliance. 10 Gordon’s Alley • Bordentown • Shoppe 202, 202 Farnsworth Ave. • Brigantine • Laguna Grill, 1400 Ocean Ave. • Camden • Honor Box, PATCO Ferry Ave. Station • Cherry Hill • The Bagel Spot, 600 N. Kings Hwy. • Collingswood • Honor Box, PATCO Collingswood Station • Groove Ground, Haddon Ave. • Egg Harbour City • Red Barn Books, 1204 White Horse Pike • Egg Harbour Twp. • Atlanticare, 6550 Delilah Ave. • Galloway • Pride Alliance Stockton College, 101 Vera King Farris Dr. suite 240 • Gloucester City • Red Barn Books, 600 Rt. 130 South • Haddonfield • Honor Box, PATCO Haddonfield Station, PATCO Woodcrest Station • Hammonton Club Revolution, 19 N. Egg Harbor Rd. • Highland Park • Pride Center of NJ, 85 Raritan Ave. • Lambertville • Buck’s Ice Cream, 25 Bridge St. • St. Andrews Church, 50 York St. Lebanon • LGBT of Hunterdon Co., 126 Petticoat Lane • Lindenwold • Honor Box, PATCO Lindenwold Station East • Honor Box, PATCO Lindenwold Station West • Mountainside • Rivendell Media, 1248 Rt. 22 West • Oaklyn • Sacred Green Earth, 511 Whitehorse Pike • Princeton • LGBT Center, Princeton University, 246 First Campus Center • Vineland • J&J News, 729 N. Main St. • West Berlin • Red Barn Books, 597 Route 73 North • West Cape May • Gables of Cape May, 600 Park Blcd. • Westmont • Honor Box, PATCO Westmont Station •

NEW YORK Blooming Grove • Help Inc., 48 Sylvan Trail • New York City • Lesbian and Gay Services Center, 208 W. 13th St.

honor box locations

http://www.epgn.com/pages/where_to_find

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Family Portrait Out & About Q Puzzle Scene in Philly PAGE 30

‘Pose’ co-creator on the show’s groundbreaking authenticity By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com FX dance-musical series “Pose” is heating up the airwaves and making history by exploring the clashing social scenes of the ballroom culture and affluent high society in 1980s Manhattan. Besides merging high drama, high fashion and high times, the show features the largest cast of transgender actors in starring roles, as well as the largest recurring cast of LGBTQ characters ever for a scripted series. Ryan Murphy (“Glee”, “American Horror Story”) created “Pose” with writer Steven Canals at least in part to bring LGBTQ visibility to a wider audience. As a young, queer kid in the Bronx in the 1980s, “I never saw myself reflected in film and television,” Canals said. “More representation matters. I know that if I had seen myself, my own experience would have been normalized — I definitely would have spent a lot fewer years battling internalized homophobia.” In the minds of the writers, the political climate of the 1980s is just as relevant today. “We recognized that there are parallels to the experience that marginalized communities were having in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan that are very similar to what is happening today.” Television and film tend to depict stories about marginalized communities and individuals in ways that sanitize their stories at best, and whitewash or straight-wash the narratives in more egregious cases. Canals said there was no way he was going to allow that to happen with “Pose.”

“Our modern gay audience has very discerning tastes and I think that they are looking for an authentic story,” he said. “And how can we tell a story about the ballroom community and trans people of color and not have them as part of the storytelling process? It was essential and important that we had authentic casting, that we have trans women of color play trans women of color. It was important for us to have consultants from the ballroom community be part of the writing process and the production. It makes for a more authentic story.” Another aspect of the show that Canals felt important to get just right was the look, the sounds and the feel of the era, which he said involved a lot of study and exploration behind the scenes. “We spent a lot of time researching beyond just the fashion,” he said. “We researched the music and the culture of the time. What exactly was happening in New York in the late 1980s. We spent time scouring documentaries and journals and old newspapers and film and television so that there was a real texture to the show. That comes through in every part of the production, but certainly fashion.” Even though “Pose” focuses on a particular part of the LGBTQ experience during a specific time in history, Canals said those who are unfamiliar with that scene and that era can still take away an understanding. “It would be easy to put ‘Pose’ in a box,” he said. “‘Oh, that’s the trans show. That’s the queer show. That’s the dance musical.’ Thematically, ‘Pose’ is about family at its core. It’s a story about resilience — a universal theme is something that any audience member of any identity

can connect with. We’re obviously dealing with the colors and vibrancy of the ballroom community, but any audience member coming in will recognize they are getting so much more than that.” “Pose” isn’t all parties and runway walks, as the show deals with the darker parts of the era as well. Still, Canals said that for him and the cast, the show is something of a dream he never thought would come true. “I grew up a poor brown kid in the Bronx,” he said. “I never dared to allow myself to dream of this life, to have the opportunity to tell stories and to have a collaborator like Ryan Murphy and FX. Truth be told, despite the fact that we are capturing a certain time in New York history and we don’t shy away from the HIV and the crack epidemic of the 1980s and how it affected black and brown people, the show is still filled with aspiration and hope and all of us bring that to work every single day.” Canals said he hopes the show’s acclaim and positive reactions will keep the doors open for queer and trans actors and stories. “I know that progress is slow. I hope the critical response to ‘Pose’ will be eye-opening for Hollywood. They’ll see that the queer and trans and intersectional communities are not monolithic. There’s a diversity of experience in every community and there are more stories to be told. With a show like ours, we can tell a multitude of narratives, which is lovely.” n “Pose” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on FX. For more information, visit www.fxnetworks.com/shows/pose.

STEVEN CANALS Photos: FX

Page Page Page Page

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

PGN

PGN PROFILE

Family Portrait

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Suzi Nash

Doug Greene: A survivor Doug Greene is a Philadelphia-based installation artist, designer, actor and my new bud. We met last week at an Our Night Out event and I was drawn to his quiet energy and warmth. Greene has done work with Philadelphia faves such as The Bearded Ladies, Quintessence, Brat Productions, Renegade Theatre Company and many others. We met for a chat at another Philly favorite, Writer’s Block Rehab. PGN: You work in several different media — talk more about what you do. DG: I’m a performer and a member of Curio Theater Company in West Philadelphia, but I perform all over the city — whoever will hire me. I’m a set designer, and designed sets for groups like the Bearded Ladies, Tribe of Fools and a lot more. I’m also a puppeteer. I wear a lot of hats. PGN: You work with some heavy hitters. DG: Yeah, I try to keep busy. I also make a lot of objects, props — things like that. I recently made several puppets from garbage because one of the themes in the Bearded Ladies show is about the trash we throw in the ocean. PGN: Do you perform or just design the puppets? DG: I toured with a children’s show for years and worked all sorts of puppets from sock puppets to a giant monster held above my head. I find joy in bringing something inanimate to life. PGN: Do you have any siblings? DG: I have two brothers who were killed when I was younger. I now have four stepbrothers and four stepsisters, so lots of nephews and nieces. PGN: Oh my. Did you lose both brothers at the same time? DG: Yes, they were killed in a car accident. They were in a small car and got hit by a tractor-trailer. PGN: How did you find out? DG: They were on vacation going to the Grand Canyon. My dad was riding his motorcycle while they were driving. So he saw it, basically — not the initial impact, but the immediate aftermath. I found out when my grandmother called me. At the time, I was in a production of “As You Like It” at college. My mom was visiting me to see the show, so I was the one who had to tell her. My 17-year-old brother was driving and my other brother was only 14. Life-changing. PGN: Where’d you grow up? DG: I grew up in Stroudsburg, up in the Poconos. But I’ve been in Philly for 15 years. PGN: Describe your day today. DG: I have a green house-cleaning business, so this morning I cleaned a few

houses, then I fixed a couple of trash puppets at the Wilma Theater for the Bearded Ladies and then I was working on a proposal for a design I’ll be doing later, then therapy and then I met with you. PGN: Did you go to school for theater? DG: I did, I went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The school existed before the state, so it’s very confusing. It was founded in the early 1800s as a women’s teaching college. It’s in the state school system, and the year I graduated high school, the school started an honors scholarship. I got a really great package, and studied theater and minored in women’s studies. PGN: When did you come out? DG: When I was 16. It was not a very liberal area to come out in, but luckily I had a small group of artsy friends. We were all weird, or “alternative” — with dyed hair and weird clothes from the Salvation Army. Before that, it was pretty rough. I had an eating disorder, which is pretty classic for a guy dealing with sexuality. When I was really depressed, my doctor asked if I’d had any suicidal ideation and I said yes, so I was sent to a teen-inpatient place for a little while. I got out but I still felt that if people knew, they’d hate me, so I tried to kill myself and OD’d on pills. I was in a coma for a while and then went back to the inpatient thing. This time I realized that this was something I couldn’t kill and decided to embrace it. I’d been bullied quite a lot before that, but when I went back to school, I was surprised at how many people were happy to have me back. I became less apologetic about every part of my life. And my parents were just happy to have me alive. PGN: Thank goodness. What are some of the things you have coming up? DG: Bastille Day at Eastern State Penitentiary with the Bearded Ladies. If you’ve never seen it, this is the very last year that they’re doing it. We’ll have Marie Antoinette at the top of the wall saying, “Let them eat Tastykakes” as she hurls them from the wall. John Jarboe plays Edith Piaf, who is your spirit guide for the day. I’ve designed for the event for the past four years and I’ll be playing a role as well. There’s a guillotine and a lot of watermelons lose their heads that day. There will be singing and dancing as well. It’s the most fun I have all year. PGN: Craziest mishap on stage? DG: One time we were at the Wilma doing a show and this kid wandered in with a video camera and came right up to the actors. In character, I tried to escort him out of the theater and he punched me in the face! The audience thought it was part of the show at first until the other cast members came running over. But we kept going with the show. PGN: Best $100 you ever spent?

DG: My first tattoo was $100: “Non, je ne regrette rien.” It’s from the Edith Piaf song and means, “No, I have no regrets.” I also have a crown from the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat; it was a recurring image in his paintings. The history of art is that only people like Rockefeller and the pope got their portraits painted in regal fashion, so he’d do Jackie Robinson or MLK with a crown to elevate them because they deserved to be revered. For me, it reminds me that I’m a prince and that I deserve a crown and I deserve to be in the art canon. I also have tattoos based on a fabric design of Ray Eames. Most people gave credit for the famous Eames chairs to her husband Charles, though she was equally responsible for the designs. I have one of the patterns she did get credit for tatted on my forearm. It’s a reminder not to live under anyone’s shadow. PGN: Any famous relatives or ancestors? DG: My great-great-grandfather was the Strawberry King of Syracuse, N.Y.

PGN: It happened Labor Day and you just got the order? DG: Yes; Because of it, I’ve come to see how broken the system is. The police have one set of paperwork, one computer system and a different type of language than the courts do. You start out with a temporary order of protection, and they tell you it’s your responsibility to have it served to your abuser. You can have a friend do it or you can go to the police. The police will then tell you it’s not their job, but you have to insist. PGN: It must be terrifying, especially in your situation. Normally someone could try to keep a low profile after something like that, but as an actor that’s the opposite of what you do. What you’re doing is posted everywhere. DG: Yes, and I had to drop out of a few projects because of broken bones and the time needed to heal. In the time since, I’ve designed four shows and been in three and, yes, it’s a worry that the person could show up at any time. On the other hand, theater is what’s kept me going, and given me something to do.

PGN: What was the most trying part of the situation? DG: I had a lawyer through legal aid and right before my court date they said, “OK, when you go in there … ” and I said, “Wait, when I go in. Won’t you be there?” They said, “No, you had to specifically ask for a lawyer in the courtroom if you wanted that.” So I had to be my own lawyer and cross-examine him about the attack. I would throw up after every interaction I had with him. It was awful. I was hyperventilating and shaking. And with the broken system, you’re called to court at 9 a.m. but there are a hundred other cases scheduled for the same time so I was there from 8 a.m.to 5:30 p.m. and I had to sit Photo: Suzi Nash in the same waiting room PGN: I see you got that crown legitimately. as my abuser. Instead of Meat-eater or vegetarian? just having separate rooms, DG: I’ve been vegan for 15 years and vegetar- they have police posted because of the vioian for 25. lence that can flare up. This year has seen a lot of being put in impossible situations PGN: A pivotal moment for you? and learning how the system works. I’ve DG: On Labor Day last year, I met someone and decided I need to share this story as the first we were seeing each other for about three weeks step to helping people learn to navigate. before he beat me up, really badly. So I’ve spent the last year dealing with the police and the PGN: Well, thank you for sharing it. n court system and, just a few weeks ago, I was To suggest a community member for Family granted an order of protection against him. Portrait, email portraits05@aol.com.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

SUMMER PREVIEW 2018:

Might as well fiddle while the world burns…

JULIE GOLDMAN (from left), KATHLEEN MADIGAN, KIM JEONG By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com

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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.

The hottest months of the year are back, along with many opportunities to empty your bank account for any form of sonic or entertainment Xanax to sublimate your sense of rage and doom, as well as keep your attention away from the mounting pile of socio-political horror that pours forth like lava from a raging volcano. Anyway, whether you are sticking to the humid urban jungle for your good times or fleeing to the closest shore to get away from it all, there are tons of entertainment options to keep the summertime fun flowing for anybody of any legal age. You know, until the days start getting shorter and the militarized police start forcefully shooing people off the streets for government-mandated curfews and brainwashing. With that, get your credit cards ready and your SPF50 out — it’s time to summer.

Comedy/Humor

Kathleen Madigan: Boxed Wine & Bigfoot Tour The comedian performs 9 p.m. July 14 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Jeff Dunham The comedian and ventriloquist performs 4 and 8 p.m. July 22 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Jerry Seinfeld The comedian and talk-show host performs 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609317-1000.

Jennie McNulty The out comedian performs 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at The Rrazz Room, 385 W. Bridge St., New Hope; 888-596-1027. Gabriel Iglesias: One Show Fits All World Tour The comedian performs 8 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Ken Jeong The comedian and actor performs 9 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Dave Attell The comedian seen on Comedy Central performs Sept. 6-9 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-496-9001. Wanda Sykes The out comedian performs 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215-572-7650.

Music

Lindsey Sterling + Evanescence The orchestral rock groups perform 7 p.m. July 17 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-3651300. Britney Spears The pop star performs July 19-21 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Beck The alt-rock singer-songwriter performs 8 p.m. July 20 at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing, 601 N. Columbus Blvd.; 215922-1011.

Craig Shoemaker The comedian performs 9 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000.

Yes The classic prog-rock band celebrates its 50 years with a performance 8 p.m. July 20 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-625-3681.

Julie Goldman The out comedian performs 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at The Rrazz Room, 385 W. Bridge St., New Hope; 888-596-1027.

Weezer and The Pixies The alternative-rock groups perform 7:30 p.m. July 21 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300.

Jim Gaffigan The comedian performs 7 and 10 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000.

Prophets of Rage The rap-rock supergroup performs 9 p.m. July 24 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000.

PGN SUMMER PREVIEW from page 30

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

event and travel photography

HEATING UP: Rob Zombie (clockwise from top left), Bruno Mars, Weezer, Stevie Wonder, Prophets of Rage, Gladys Knight Kesha and Macklemore The pop artists perform 7 p.m. July 25 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300.

Chicago and REO Speedwagon The classic rock bands perform 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300.

David Byrne The Talking Heads singer and mastermind performs 6:30 p.m. July 27 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300.

Rise Against & AFI The alt-rock bands perform 7 p.m. Aug. 4 at Festival Pier at Pennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing, 601 N. Columbus Blvd.; 215-922-1011.

Panic at the Disco The rock band performs 7 p.m. July 27 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543. The Smashing Pumpkins The alternative-rock band performs 7 p.m. July 28 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543. Jay-Z and Beyonce: On The Run II Tour The rap and R&B superstars perform 7:30 p.m. July 30 at Lincoln Financial Field, 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way; 267-5704000. My Bloody Valentine The alt-rock shoegaze band performs 8 p.m. July 30 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-625-3681. Radiohead The experimental-rock band performs July 31-Aug. 1 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543.

Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper The iconic singers team up to perform 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City; 609-348-7000. Phish The rock band performs Aug. 7-8 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300.

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AC ul t ure rts

Nightlife, Concerts, Art Exhibits, Readings, Cabaret, Films, Theater, Food, Books, Music, Sports and Travel

Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson The shock-rockers perform 7 p.m. Aug. 9 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300. 311 & The Offspring: Never-Ending Summer Tour The alt-rock bands perform 7 p.m. Aug. 10 at Festival Pier at Pennâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing, 601 N. Columbus Blvd.; 215-922-1011. Counting Crows The alternative-rock band performs 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609365-1300. PAGE 36

Because Life Is More Than Just Gay News

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

SUMMER PGN PREVIEW

Rehoboth Beach: Fun under the sun and on the dance floor By Fay Jacobs PGN Contributor We all know about the “It Gets Better” campaign, which lets our questioning or bullied youth know that light, love and fun await them. And one of the places where it gets better all the time is Rehoboth Beach, Del. While Rehoboth has become a year-round LGBT hometown and resort, summertime is primetime for pride, with an awesome list of events and activities, with art, music and culinary delights. After the July 4 celebrations come the hot eight weeks of summertime. Not only are the beaches filled with LGBT people, but all of downtown Rehoboth is hopping with gallery openings, drag shows, cabaret performances and legendary events like Drag Volleyball and Sundance 2018, a weekend of auctions and dance parties taking place this year on Labor Day weekend. Entertainment rules the weekend of July 13-14, with two great shows at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center (Rehoboth’s LGBT nonprofit). On July 13, the super-talented songwriter, performer and gay musical-comedy icon Tom Wilson Weinberg will be on stage for one night only. The musical revue is titled “Please Listen Closely as My Menu Has Changed,” and will feature songs, stories and even a rap number. Tickets are $25 and are available at camprehoboth.com. Weinberg’s shows are filled with humor, satire, politics and queer history. He is wellknown for his groundbreaking LGBT musi-

cal-comedy shows, including the off-Broadway hits “Ten Percent Review” and “Get Used to It.” On July 14, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., will take the stage with cabaret “It Takes Two,” for shows at 5 and 8 p.m. Soloists from the chorus join for a series of bawdy duets and sensual tangos, telling stories in song. “It Takes Two” highlights relationships between lovers, friends, frenemies and family. When the GMCW comes to Rehoboth, it’s always a sell-out, so get your tickets ($25) now at camprehoboth.com. Also for the theatrically inclined, Clear Space Theatre Company, at 20 Baltimore Ave., has a stellar lineup this summer with “Footloose,” “Mary Poppins” and “The Rocky Horror Show.” If you feel like congregating right downtown by the ocean, the Rehoboth Bandstand has some wonderful acts for its 56th season, with concerts at 8 p.m. Fridays -Sundays. Wander about by the boardwalk, grab a slice of Louie’s Pizza or check out the food, drink and entertainment at the Purple Parrot Restaurant and Biergarten. Fine-arts lovers are rewarded every August with the gigantic outdoor show at the Rehoboth Art League, this year on Aug. 4-5 and 11-12. More than 125 artists and artisans from around the country will display and sell their arts and crafts on the Rehoboth Art League’s 3.5-acre historic wooded campus in Henlopen Acres. Combine feeling campy and sporty with the legendary Drag Volleyball Tournament on Poodle Beach the Sunday of Labor

Day weekend. There are two long-time volleyball squads — mostly but not exclusively men — practicing their game and thinking about high heels, high hair and their improbable 29-year history of drag volleyball. The players are at work right now, making plans for spike heels and spiked volleyballs. The famous game day boasts hilarious costumes, coordinated routines and a lot of satire. This year, should we expect political satire as the athlete-drag queens play and perform to a diverse crowd? With speakers blasting music — mostly disco — and thousands of viewers lining the boardwalk and sand from Prospect Street to (how appropriate) Queen Street, it’s something to see. City police officers guard the dunes — and enjoy the game — as the entire beach comes alive with spikes, serves, cheers, dancing and the occasional naughty sight gag. And finally, the summer caps off with the 31st Annual Sundance Weekend. The silent and live auction features more than 650 items, music and exquisite food and drink from our culinary coast. The event boasts

the presence of a huge chunk of the LGBT community and our allies, raising funds for CAMP Rehoboth. The event is topped only by the actual Sundance — an explosion of design, lighting and big-name DJs. This year, Sundance has a new twist — it’s two dances, two DJs, for one ticket on one night. The doors will open at 7 p.m. for the Disco Classic Tea Dance featuring legendary Studio 54 and Saint DJ Robbie Leslie. The Saturday night fever (on Sunday) will flow from the disco era seamlessly into the evening for the contemporary club mix by Sundance headliner DJ Joe Gauthreaux. The music will never stop, so come early and stay late. So head down 95 and Route 1 this summer. From fun for foodies to boardwalk and beach time, hot happy hours to late-night clubbing, there’s always something surprisingly gay waiting for you in Rehoboth Beach. n

Gordon’s Pond: Where the girls are By Fay Jacobs PGN Contributor If you head to Rehoboth Beach, you’ll find Poodle Beach at the south end of the boardwalk and Gordon’s Pond Beach in Henlopen State Park. Poodle has long been known as the men’s beach, with Gordon’s Pond a hit with the women. It all started back in the late 1960s, when the Army used the Henlopen Park area as a military resort. At the time, its name was Whiskey Beach. Signs posted there remind beachgoers of its history as a drop-off point for bootleg liquor in the 1920s. “In the late ’60s through the ’70s, it was a very rowdy spot,” recalled longtime Rehoboth resident Natalie Moss. “You could drink and buy burgers from a little stand in the parking lot.” At that same time, Rehoboth’s fledgling gay community flocked to the beach at the southern end of the boardwalk. There, beginning in the late ’70s, the beach was mixed with men and women. Some people flaunted the rules, drinking alcohol and the women sunbathing topless. There were arrests, and antagonism between the crowds and the police.

This was long before LGBTQ nonprofit organization CAMP Rehoboth came into being and forged a better working relationship between the Rehoboth police and the LGBTQ community. “I remember the police standing on the edge of the boardwalk, just daring people to break the rules,” Moss said. “Because of the police pressure on Poodle Beach, women started going to the newly developed state-park beach above North Shores.” Located a mile up from the Rehoboth boardwalk, the new park no longer permitted liquor on the beach and misbehavior in the dunes. At first, the girls congregated strictly on the right side of the rocks facing the ocean. If there were guys there, they stayed on the left side. “Every weekend, you’d see the same people there, and we forged great, long-lasting friendships,” said Moss.

In those days, it was a delight to be at the beach with same-sex pals, away from the prying eyes, stares and overt disapproval of the straight-family crowd. To keep it that way, the women who gathered on blankets and under umbrellas would react if they saw straight families encroaching on their territory. The women would start kissing their partners, and inevitably, the interlopers would disappear further down the beach toward Rehoboth. One of the Gordon’s Pond traditions has been a July 4 “parade” led by one longtime Rehoboth resident. She and a group of about

20 women, dressed in over-the-top patriotic gear, celebrate on the beach, with other beachgoers falling in line for the parade. It’s a blast, and it was scheduled again this year. The Gordon’s Pond beach area remains an extraordinarily popular spot for the women. These days, you are more likely to see men and women on both sides of the rocks. Leashed dogs are welcome with their humans. A renovation and expansion occurred in 2014, with the addition of a picnic pavilion. As for the family crowd, the gayby boom has made the beach area much more hospitable to youngsters. In an amusing twist, this year it’s an unguarded beach, so alcohol is once again permitted. No hanky-panky allowed in the dunes, though; the friendly park rangers still patrol. The park is accessible along Ocean Drive until it dead-ends at the park. There’s a large parking area, but it still fills up quickly on the weekends. Out-of-state residents pay a $10 admission fee; Delaware residents pay $5. You’ll see lots of women congregating, lots of dolphins swimming, a close-up look at the World War II-era towers on the beach and a historic landmark for the LGBTQ community. n

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS

Theatre Philadelphia’s Barrymore Awards go for gender inclusiveness

SATUDAY NIGHT’S ALL RIGHT FOR FIGHTERS: The Foo Fighters bring their wildly successful Concrete And Gold Tour to rock the house 7:30 p.m. July 7 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J. For more information or tickets, call 856-365-1300.

FOR OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL AT THE 2017 BARRYMORES. Photo: Wide Eyed Studios

By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor Theatre Philadelphia is readying the launch of its 2018-19 Barrymore Awards season with a new approach: greater inclusion and diversity. Nationally recognized as a totem of artistic excellence for professional theater for designers and directors as well as performers, the Barrymores award four cash grants of more than $75,000 each year to artists and organizations, and also recognize honorees with lifetime-achievement awards. “We recognize that the Barrymores are one of the most visible celebrations of theater in the Greater Philadelphia region, and we wanted to reflect the larger community that we are drawing both artists and audiences from, “ said Theatre Philadelphia executive director Leigh Goldenberg. Last year, the organization began an effort to ensure that the nominating artists who judge their fellow artists were more representative of the larger, diverse community in terms of race, gender and sexual orientation, Goldenberg said, adding, “We’re continuing this into the current season as well.” Of the 12 judges for the 2018-19 awards, six identify as people of color, as opposed to only two judges in 2017-18. And there are now eight cis-women, up from six, and one identifying as nonbinary, last season. “Our oversight and inclusion committees went out into the communities and expressed welcome and invitation — which is different than just opening our doors,” said Goldenberg. Also new this year: Each performance category at the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre will be gender-inclusive, with binary male and female designations replaced with inclusive performer categories.

A date for the Barrymores is not yet set (usually they are in October). Four performing categories will no longer be tagged with specific genders, Goldenberg said. “So it will be an ‘Outstanding Performer’ or ‘Outstanding Supporting Performer,’ with eight recipients instead of the four that were designated for each gender. Now there are many different options that can shake out — two women, two gender-nonconforming artists, two men. This should be interesting.” Pax Ressler, a genderqueer composer, music director, designer and performer, said it’s about time. “For gender non-binary people — who identify as neither exclusively male or female — this change is welcome, overdue and necessary. Philadelphia has an incredible amount of nonbinary talent, including many performers who are eligible for Barrymore Award nominations this season. With the feedback of nonbinary artists, Theatre Philadelphia recognized that asking these artists to choose a gender-binary category for their nomination is unacceptable and avoidable,” Ressler said. Ressler was quick to note that Philly is now joining the ranks of other theater communities, such as those in San Francisco, Chicago and Toronto, that have made this inclusionary change to its award considerations. “I believe any step that moves our theater community towards justice and equity is a step towards recognizing excellence that’s alive and well in Philadelphia,” Ressler said. “Non-binary artists are a vital part of Philadelphia’s theater landscape, and opening these award categories to all makes it possible to affirm their gifts. This is the Philadelphia theatre community I want to be a part of.” n

Theater & Arts Agnes Martin: The Untroubled Mind/Works from the Daniel W. Dietrich II Collection Philadelphia Museum of Art presents paintings and drawings exploring the ideas that shaped Martin’s minimalist art, through Oct. 14, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. Biting Wit and Brazen Folly: British Satirical Prints, 1780s–1830s Philadelphia Museum of Art presents the appeal of caricature in Georgian England and the ways in which those images teased and provoked audiences, through Aug. 22, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. Design in Revolution: A 1960s Odyssey Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibition of pop art and psychedelia from the civilrights and anti-war

movements are on display through Sept. 9, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Experiments in Motion: Photographs from the Collection Philadelphia Museum of Art presents a photographic exhibition where artists stop, extend and rearrange time for their own creative ends, through August 19, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. Face to Face: Portraits of Artists Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition exploring how photographers helped craft the public personas of their creative subjects in this stunning collection of rare photographs from the museum’s collection, through Oct. 14, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Jean Shin: Collections Philadelphia Museum of

Art presents an exhibition by contemporary artist Shin (American, born in South Korea in 1971) in which she transforms everyday objects into dynamic works about connection and belonging, through July 15, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Keith Smith at Home Philadelphia Museum of Art presents five decades of the Rochesterbased artist’s mixed-media photographs, prints and books, through July 8, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Rachel Rose: Wil-o-Wisp/The Future Fields Commission Philadelphia Museum of Art presents

contemporary video installations that ruminate on our imagesaturated culture and histories of the past, through Aug. 19, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. Weeding Out The Stoned Some comedians get high and take the stage while the audience tries to figure out which one of them could pass a random drug test at work, 8:30 p.m. July 13 at Good Good Comedy Theatre, 215 N. 11th St.; 215-399-1279.

Music Foo Fighters The rock band performs 7:30 p.m. July 7 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 856365-1300.

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.

PGN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LISTINGS

songwriter and activist performs with her band 8 p.m. July 13 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400.

Nightlife

A JAZZY BLOW-OUT: Out platinumselling, Grammy-nominated saxophonist and bandleader Dave Koz’s Summer Horns II tour returns with a show featuring his fellow jazz and R&B instrumentalist peers, 8 p.m. July 12 at Xcite Center, 2999 Street Road, Bensalem. For more information or tickets, call 888-5887279.

O-Town The pop boy band performs 8 p.m. July 8 at The Foundry, 29 E. Allen St.; 215309-0150. Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers The classic rock bands perform 7:30 p.m. July 11 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 856365-1300. Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tour The out saxophonist and bandleader performs 8 p.m. July 12 at Xcite Center, 2999 Street Road, Bensalem; 888-588-7279. Kool & The Gang and En Vogue The R&B groups perform 8 p.m. July 12 at Dell Music Center, 2400 Strawberry Mansion Drive; 215-685-9564. Shania Twain The country-music star performs 8

p.m. July 12 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-336-3600. Vans Warped Tour The punk-rock and metal bands and skateboarders make one last go-round for this traveling festival 11 a.m. July 13 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd.,Camden, N.J.; 856-365-1300. Ms. Lauryn Hill The R&B singer celebrates the 20th anniversary of her blockbuster debut album, 6:30 p.m. July 13 at Festival Pier, 601 N. Columbus Blvd.; 215-922-1011. Taylor Swift The pop superstar performs 7 p.m. July 13-14 at Lincoln Financial Field, 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way; 267-5704000. Sharon Katz & The Peace Train: Side-By-Side CD Release Party The out singer-

Cabaret Sauvignon Lili St. Queer performs her solo cabaret show 8 p.m. July 6 at Franky Bradley’s, 1320 Chancellor St.; 215-735-0735. Bearlesque The bear burlesque show comes out of hibernation 9 p.m. July 6 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215964-9675. Mimi Imfurst Presents Drag Diva Brunch Mimi Imfurst, Bev, Vinchelle, Sutton Fearce and special guests perform 11 a.m.-2 p.m. July 7 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555. Nudey Tunes: Corsets of Nature An original burlesque show featuring live music, 10 p.m. July 11 at Franky Bradley’s, 1320 Chancellor St.; 215-735-0735. Philadelphia Burlesque Festival The opening night of the burlesque extravaganza, 8 p.m. July 12 at Franky Bradley’s, 1320 Chancellor St.; 215-735-0735.

Outta Town Barry Manilow The out singer performs July 6-7 at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way,

Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Death Bed: The Bed That Eats The campy horror film is screened 9:45 p.m. July 6 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. Karen Akers The singer performs 8 p.m. July 7 at The Rrazz Room at the Clarion Inn & Suites New Hope, 6426 Lower York Rd.; 888-596-1027. Puddle of Mudd, Saving Abel and Sponge The alternativerock bands perform 8 p.m. July 7 at The Block at Harrah’s Casino & Racetrack, 777 Harrah’s Blvd., Atlantic City, N.J.; 800-480-8020. Bullit The 50thanniversary screening of the classic action film starring Steve McQueen, 1:30 p.m. July 8 and 7:30 p.m. July 9 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. Matt Alber The singersongwriter performs 8 p.m. July 7 at The Rrazz Room at the Clarion Inn & Suites New Hope, 6426 Lower York Rd.; 888-596-1027. Blobfest Classic horror film “The Blob” is celebrated all weekend with screenings July 13-15 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

Gay filmmaker’s “Cakemaker” mixes love, loss, and pastry By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor

shoot the baking montage. The kitchen is also a place where Anat seduces Tomas, creating a love triangle of sorts with the ghost of Oren. Graizer emphasized that the sex between Anat and Tomas is not about their sexuality. “When I wrote the film, it was clear to me that [this sex scene] would happen. Tomas is gay, but he can do it. When I tried to think — is it possible or not? — it didn’t matter.” The sex is about more than sex, the filmmaker said.

Out gay writer-director Ofir Raul Graizer’s gentle, absorbing drama, “The Cakemaker,” opening July 6 at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse, begins with businessman Oren (Roy Miller), a married father from Israel, frequenting the café in Germany where Tomas (Tim Kalkhof) works and bakes. The two men initiate a passionate tryst that ends unexpectedly when Oren is killed in a car accident. This tragedy prompts Tomas to travel to Jerusalem to visits the café owned by Oren’s widow, Anat (Sarah Adler). When Tomas gets a job washing dishes for Anat, he starts baking cookies for her café. However, he is not Jewish, so his pastries are not kosher. Yet they are a success, so Anat works around the kosher law to sell them. She soon initiates a deeper, more personal relationship with Tomas — TIM KALKFOF AS TOMAS IN THE CAKEMAKER unaware he was her husPhoto: Strand Releasing band’s lover. Via Skype from Germany, where he has emigrated, the Israeli-born “They fuck, but it’s about connecting after filmmaker spoke about making “The being alone and feeling the presence of Oren Cakemaker” and the intimate connection in the kitchen with them. For her, it’s defythat develops between Tomas and Anat. As ing the memory of Oren, saying, ‘I can do both grieve for Oren, they comfort them- what I want.’ And for Tomas, it is saying, selves with food. The film features many ‘I want this, I want to try this. She is good, scenes of characters preparing food and eat- and open to me, and I can take Oren’s place. ing as a way of coping with their loneliness This is the way I can do that.’ It may not be conscious, but it’s beyond the definition of and palpable sense of loss. And food is a key element in Graizer’s sexuality.” life. A gastronomist, the filmmaker said he As “The Cakemaker” shows, the charteaches cooking and is writing a cookbook. acters ultimately find themselves through He highlighted the connection of food and breaking social laws. Significantly, Graizer feelings, recalling how his family gathered does not condemn his characters for their together on Friday evenings to break bread, deceptions. and the sense-memory pleasure of, say, eat- “I can be angry with Oren for having ing a birthday cake your mother made when an affair, or for Tomas giving Anat sex, and touching her, which she needs,” he you were a child. Moreover, Graizer’s emotional bond to said. However, the film allows audiences to food was emphasized when the filmmaker understand the reasons for the characters’ moved to Berlin. “I was with a group of behavior. immigrants and we got together and cooked “It was important to show why Oren made and rolled eggplant and talked about the his choice to find a job out of Israel and in difficulties and adventures we had,” he said, Berlin. Oren is gay. He came from a reliciting an example of how food bonds people. gious family. He married a secular woman The filming of “The Cakemaker” was and raised a son,” the director added. also an adventure for Graizer, who shot it Tomas’s relationship with Oren is only in 21 days and for less than $200,000. He seen briefly in “The Cakemaker.” However, described it as a “guerilla movie,” recount- it is critical to shaping the film’s power. ing how people objected to the filmmakers Graizer acknowledged he deliberately downposting a non-kosher sign in Anat’s café plays the relationship between the men: “In window for a key scene in the film, forcing the beginning, you don’t think it’s a great the crew had to hang it, shoot and then leave. love; it’s an affair more important for Tomas Likewise, a montage featuring Tomas bak- than Oren.” ing chocolate cakes was filmed only when But it soon becomes clear how importthe production’s cameraman and sound guy ant the relationship has been for the lonely sneaked into the location on a Saturday Tomas — and this is what makes “The (when Jerusalem observes the Sabbath) to Cakemaker” resonate. n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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SUMMER PREVIEW from page 30

SUMMER SIZZLES: Janelle Monae (clockwise from top left), Evanescence, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Radiohead, Elton John, Marilyn Manson Gladys Knight & The O’Jays The classic R&B singers perform 8 p.m. Aug. 12 at The Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave.; 215-546-7900. Pentatonix The vocal pop group performs 8 p.m. Aug. 14 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300. Breaking Benjamin and Five Finger Death Punch The hard-rock bands perform 6 p.m. Aug. 15 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300. CAKE and Ben Folds The alternative rockers perform 7 p.m. Aug. 16 at The Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave.; 215-546-7900. Cher The pop icon performs Aug. 17-18 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000.

Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville; 215-257-5808. Earth Wind & Fire The R&B group performs 8 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Made in America Festival Nicki Minaj and Post Malone headline the outdoor concert featuring Meek Mill, Janelle Monae, Diplo and more, Sept. 1-2 at Benjamin Franklin Parkway; www. madeinamericafest.com. Elton John The classic rock and pop singer performs as part of his farewell tour Sept. 11-12 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543. Bruno Mars and Cardi B The R&B-pop singers perform Sept. 19-20 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215-389-9543.

3 Doors Down & Collective Soul The rock bands perform 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000.

Chrisette Michele The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer-songwriter performs 8 p.m. Sept. 20 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215-572-7650.

The Descendants The alt-rock band performs 8 p.m. Aug. 23 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-625-3681.

Nightlife

I Love the ’90’s Tour Salt-N-Pepa, Coolio, 2 Live Crew, Biz Markie, Rob Base and more perform 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J.; 609-365-1300. Stevie Wonder The R&B legend performs Aug. 25-26 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. King’s X The rock band featuring out bassist Doug Pinnick performs 8 p.m. Aug. 26 at

FREAQ — A Boys of Summer Adventure The fetish-themed dance party heats up 1p.m.-3 a.m. Aug. 4 at Voyeur Nightclub, 1221 St. James St.; 215-735-5772. Simply Barbra Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Funny Girl Steven Brinberg performs a Barbra Streisand tribute 8 p.m. Sept. 1 at The Rrazz Room, 6426 Lower York Rd.; 888596-1027. ºNicky as Carol Channing: A Musical Revue Vaudeville lives again when this singer puts on a tribute performance 8 p.m. Sept. 15 at The Rrazz Room, 6426 Lower York Rd.; 888-596-1027. n

Q Puzzle Oscar, But Not an Award Across

1 “Rocky Horror Picture Show” following, e.g. 5 Cruising areas 9 Suitcases 13 Area east of the Urals 14 Grace, or will to be diplomatic 15 Come out 16 Swarm 17 Tennis stadium in Queens 18 Italian sports car, briefly 19 Actor currently directing and playing the title role in a movie about Oscar 22 Sex-toy batteries 23 One who wears very little clothing 24 Put it in a stallion’s mouth 27 What you must remember, as time goes by 30 Queen bee’s mate 34 From the top 36 Cole Porter’s “___ Gigolo” 37 Transnational money 38 Pictures from the movie about Oscar? 41 GLAMA award, e.g. 42 Old Spanish queen

43 Went lickety-split 44 Panache 45 Bad bottom-line news 47 St. of the Cathedral of Hope 48 Print measures 50 Long sandwich, for short 52 Steppenwolf song about Oscar? 59 Melville novel about a mutiny 60 On top of that 61 Lubricates 63 Avoid premature ejaculation 64 Serengeti sound 65 Kind of child 66 Family diagram 67 Macho man 68 “Coming of Age in Samoa” author

Down

1 Roof animal of Tennessee 2 Visitor at lesbianation.com 3 In ___ of 4 Home of the Buccaneers 5 Patrick Stewart’s Enterprise, for one 6 Over and done 7 Masseuse’s target 8 Carell, who played Bobby Riggs in “Battle of the Sexes” 9 Hairy gay guy, redundantly? 10 Trucker’s rod 11 Present

12 Online exaggeration, perhaps 20 Enjoy Stephen Pyles 21 Church leader 24 Gathering places for Gaius Julius 25 Words before water or pursuit 26 Opening for a bopper? 28 Push forward 29 Larry Kramer’s “Just ___” 31 Phrase from Ripley 32 Cathedral word in gay Paree 33 Flynn role opposite Davis 35 Circle on a Bernstein’s staff 39 “___ we a

pair?” 40 Durable 1960s game show 46 Word before generis 49 Flies like an eagle 51 Emulate a pansy 52 Make a break for it 53 Barbra’s “Funny Girl” co-star 54 Name repeated in a Stein quote 55 Rorschach stain 56 Biblical birthright seller 57 Wine partner 58 Enchanted Disney character 62 “Providence” lead role

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, May Term, 2018, No. 2989. Notice is hereby given that on June 14, 2018, the petition of SHAWN WILLIAM CHEN was filed, praying for a decree to change his name to SHAWN WILLIAM SHAFIEI. The Court has fixed August 2, 2018 at 12:30 P.M., in Room No. 691, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA for hearing. All persons interested may appear and show cause if any they have, why the prayer of the said petition should not be granted. ________________________________________42-27 Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, June Term, 2018, No. 001647. NOTICE is hereby given that on June 20, 2018, the petition of Tanisha Amber Washington was filed, praying for a decree to change petitioner’s name to Dvon Nyshyne Washington The Court has fixed August 2, 2018 at 1:00pm, in Courtroom No. 691, in Philadelphia City Hall as the time and place for the hearing of said petition. All persons interested may appear then and there and show cause, if they have any, why the prayer of the said petition should not be granted. ________________________________________42-27

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com July 6-12, 2018

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