Xtra, Toronto's Gay and Lesbian News

WANTED: GAY MEN OF COLOUR U of T study to explore body image ›11

TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

#717 APRIL 19, 2012

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DRAMATIC RECOVERY Kathleen Turner speaks on addiction, healing and performing High ›17

COMMENT 7 XCETERA 8 NEWS 11 OUT IN THE CITY 17 XPOSED 25

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Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

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FIND FILMS. BUY TICKETS. ENGAGE.

CALL ME KUCHU

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

D: Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Katherine Fairfax Wright | USA | 87 min

THE GREAT LIBERTY

WILDNESS

D: Åsa Blanck, Klas Ehnemark | Sweden | 79 min

D: Wu Tsang | USA | 74 min

When a man is murdered in a sensational crime of passion in small-town Germany, his estranged son travels back in time using cassette tapes and home video to reveal a father’s quest for sexual and social freedom.

The historic Silver Platter Bar in Los Angeles comes to life, guiding the viewer through its past and present as a safe haven for the Latino transgendered community. Creativity flourishes and cross-generational queer alliances grow in this anything-goes playground.

The formidable efforts of charismatic Ugandan activist David Kato to fight the Anti-Homosexuality Bill—proposing death to HIV positive men—result in both a hard-won victory and a devastating loss for the gay community.

WED, MAY 2 9:45 PM ISABEL BADER THEATRE THU, MAY 3 7:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX SAT, MAY 5 9:00 PM ISABEL BADER THEATRE

SAT, APR 28 6:30 PM ROM THEATRE MON, APR 30 4:30 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX SUN, MAY 6 9:15 PM ISABEL BADER THEATRE

WED, MAY 2 9:45 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX THU, MAY 3 7:00 PM ROM THEATRE SUN, MAY 6 9:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

CANADIAN PREMIERE

WORLD PREMIERE

THERE IS NO SEXUAL RAPPORT

UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT UP

SHE SAID BOOM: THE STORY OF FIFTH COLUMN

A stationary camera captures the “making of” moments between prolific French pornographer HPG and various partners, in this tragic, empowering, and titillating exposé.

A stunning mise en scène of orifices shows the banality, creativity and artifice of manufacturing sexual fantasies.

D: Jim Hubbard | USA | 93 min

D: Kevin Hegge | Canada | 64 min

Radicalize or die. Those were the only options for HIV-positive people in the 1980s until a ragtag faction took on government policy and the media in one of the most empowering activist moments in recent history.

Toronto’s queer art-punk scene of the 80s comes alive in grainy Super-8 glory through the lives and music of Fifth Column, the subversive, all-female art-punk band, and their colourful collaborators.

SAT, APR 28 8:45 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA MON, APR 30 10:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX SAT, MAY 5 9:00 PM CUMBERLAND FOUR

WED, MAY 2 9:30 PM CUMBERLAND FOUR FRI, MAY 4 3:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX SUN, MAY 6 1:15 PM THE REVUE

FRI, APR 27 7:15 PM THE ROYAL CINEMA TUE, MAY 1 9:00 PM CUMBERLAND FOUR FRI, MAY 4 7:00 PM FOX THEATRE

D: Raphaël Siboni | France | 79 min

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XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012 TORONTO’S GAY& LESBIAN NEWS

Roundup #717

WORLD BANK

APRIL 19, 2012

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

INTERNATIONAL

Gay rights setback Liberia is one of just two African countries led by a woman. However, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, its president, recently spoke out against decriminalizing homosexuality in Liberia.

Legislators there also recently introduced two new bills that could see gay people imprisoned or given the death sentence.

›15

NEWS

OUT IN THE CITY

REGULARS

Up in smoke

Living with Henry

Comment ›7 Xcetera ›8 Xposed ›25 Index ›27 Classifieds ›27

Studies have found gay and lesbian Canadians smoke at twice the rate straight people do. For this reason a coalition of public health experts has launched a new campaign to help smokers quit. >12

Homophobia in Oshawa A newspaper publisher’s attack on Oshawa’s gay community and a local councillor and ally has galvanized support for the queer cause there.

Xtra speaks with the man and woman at the centre of the controversy. > 13

COVER STORY

Kathleen Turner Body Heat sexpot Kathleen Turner will soon touch down in Toronto to star in the Mirvish production of High, a play about a young gay hustler addicted to meth and the nun who tries to rescue him. Xtra chatted with Turner about her own addiction struggles. >17

Toronto playwright Christopher Wilson’s musical about HIV recently took the Fringe and the Next Stage festivals by storm. Now it’s headed to Broadway, and Wilson is hoping Toronto arts types will come out to a fundraiser to help it get there. >19

COLUMNS

ONLINE

Editorial ›7 Fraser’s Edge ›16 Porndoggy ›29

WorldPride

LISTINGS

With two years to go before the international event hits Toronto, plans this month kicked into high gear. WorldPride organizers are hosting several community planning sessions, and Xtra looks into how you can get involved. >xtra.ca

Titanic connection Xtra chats with Billeh Nickerson about his recent project, a collection of poetry about the doomed voyage and its Canadian connections. >xtra.ca

MEET YOUR PERFECT MATCH

Art & photography ›18 Dance ›18 Film & video ›18 Health & issues ›18 Leisure & pleasure ›18, 20 Music ›20 Print & readings ›20 Stage ›20

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SEND US YOUR BIRTH & ADOPTION ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR PRIDE & JOY NEWSLETTER - Each year the LGBTQ Parenting Network is happy to include a large

Published by Pink Triangle Press

section at the back of the Pride & Joy newsletter that announces the children that have joined our families.

If you have had a child or grandchild join your family and would like to announce their arrival in Pride & Joy, PLEASE SEND AN ELECTRONIC PHOTO DPI AND WORDING WORDS MAX FOR AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO PARENTINGRESOURCES SHERBOURNE ON CA The newsletter will be out for Toronto Pride, 2012.

Matt Mills

3UPPORTING /UR 9OUTH 3/9 SEEKS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ,'"4 YOUTH UP TO THROUGH THE ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF ADULTS WORKING TOGETHER WITH YOUTH 7ORKING WITHIN AN ANTI OPPRESSION FRAMEWORK 3/9 DEVELOPS INITIATIVES THAT BUILD SKILLS AND CAPACITIES PROVIDE MENTORING AND SUPPORT

AND NURTURE A SENSE OF IDENTITY AND BELONGING

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HEY QUEER & TRANS YOUTH!

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

Brandon Matheson

Natasha Barsotti, Warren Brown, Layla Cameron, Tyler Dorchester, Chris Dupuis, Jeremy Feist, Brad Fraser, Adam Glen, Beth Hong, SeraďŹ n LaRiviere, Aaron Leaf, Justin Ling, Anna Pournikova, Simon Thibault, Matt Thomas, Katie Toth

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ASSIGNMENT EDITOR Danny Glenwright COPY EDITOR Lesley Fraser NEWS REPORTERS Andrea Houston, Rob Salerno CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lucinda Wallace PRODUCTION MANAGER Leslie Miller GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Andrew Tran, Darryl Mabey, Bryce Stuart JUNIOR ADVERTISING DESIGNER

Ashley Calla ADVERTISING & SALES DIRECTOR Ken Hickling NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Jerey Homan NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER Derrick Branco RETAIL ACCOUNTS MANAGERS

Mike Mooney, Brian Garrison ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR Gareth Kirkby DISTRIBUTION & COMMUNITY RELATIONS COORDINATOR Craig Palmer CLIENT SERVICES & ADVERTISING ADMINISTRATOR Eugene Coon CUSTOMER SERVICE John Webster ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Cassidy Phillips

Issn 0829-3384 Printed and published in Canada. Š2012 Pink Triangle Press. Xtra is published every two weeks by Pink Triangle Press.

PINK TRIANGLE PRESS Founded 1971 DIRECTORS Jim Bartley, Gerald Hannon, Jennifer O’Connor, Maureen Phillips, Ken Popert, Gillian Rodgerson, Tori Smith AUXILIARY DIRECTORS

Glenn Kauth, Didier Pomerleau HONORARY DIRECTOR Colin Brownlee PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ken Popert CEO, DIGITAL MEDIA David Walberg CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Andrew Chang

PINK INK is an informal creative writing drop-in for queer, trans and 2-spirit youth aged 14-29. )T RUNS WEEKLY FROM PM ON 3ATURDAYS 2OOM 3HERBOURNE (EALTH #ENTRE You don’t have to identify as a writer and you don’t have to worry about spelling. Everybody’s story is important. Nobody can tell your story but you. LEARN solid writing, editing, performance and publication skills. Come have FUN, CREATE, WRITE, and CHILL! Snacks and tokens will be provided. &2%% #ALL OR EMAIL VPINKINK GMAIL COM FOR MORE INFO Artistic Director Michael Trent

FRUITLOOPZ PRIDE youth stage is back again this year. We provide a safe space for LGBTQ and differently abled youth to autonomously and creatively express themselves. Come out for an amazing youth showcase! We are also currently accepting submissions for volunteers and performers!

0LEASE DIRECT ANY INQUIRES TO FRUITLOOPZ SOY GMAIL COM Let’s connect.

ESSENCE: A youth-centred group where queer, trans and questioning youth gather to uncover, discover and recover our deeper selves. Come learn, socialize and share wisdom through workshops, guest speakers and discussions about different non-denominational and queer-positive ideas and practices of spirituality, faith and community. Facilitated by Adam Benn. 4HURSDAYS PM #ONTACT X ABENN SHERBOURNE ON CA TO REGISTER

Confronting our past, with love A re-imagined performance

by Michael Trent based on Mitchell Rose’s Following Station IdentiďŹ cation (1974)

ALPHABET SOUP: If you are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, 2 Spirited or Questioning, under 20 years old and in school or planning to return to school, check us out!

4UESDAYS PM 3HERBOURNE (EALTH #ENTRE 3HERBOURNE 3T #ONTACT *OHN FOR MORE DETAILS AT JCAFFERY SHERBOURNE ON CA OR X NEWCOMER IMMIGRANT YOUTH PROGRAM (EXPRESS): A safe and supportive space where newcomer and/or immigrant queer youth ďŹ nd a safe space to gather, share ideas, questions, and most of all HAVE FUN! Interested? 4UESDAYS PM 3HERBOURNE (EALTH #ENTRE 3HERBOURNE 3T %MAIL 3UHAIL SOYNEWCOMER SHERBOURNE ON CA OR CALL BLACK QUEER YOUTH (BQY): A safe space for Black, Mixed, African/Caribbean Youth under 29, who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual and questioning. Come chill, learn and socialize, free food & drinks - Spread the word! 7EDNESDAYS PM 3HERBOURNE (EALTH #ENTRE 3HERBOURNE 3T %MAIL ,ORELEI BQY SHERBOURNE ON CA OR CALL TRANS_FUSION CREW: A warm, inclusive space for transgender, transsexual, intersex, two-spirit, gender-questioning youth and our allies to chill out, make art, share information, get connected with referrals and work on amazing activist projects. 4HURSDAYS PM

EMAIL TFC SHERBOURNE ON CA OR CALL 9ASMEEN AT

ADAPTATION PROJECT Dancemakers Centre for Creation in the Distillery

April 19 – 29, 2012 Preview April 18

For tickets: 416-367-1800 / dancemakers.org

Photo: David Hou Dancers: Amanda Acorn, Benjamin Kamino and Robert Abubo Design: Jonathan Kitchen, jakcreative.com

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editorial › feedback › debate

Comment The Donald’s fixation Naked Eye Natasha Barsotti

T

HE DONALD HAS A BIRTHcertificate-conspirac y fetish.

After making the where of Barack Obama’s birth the cornerstone of his short-lived, Apprentice-like run for president, Mr “You’re Fired” or, to be precise, his Miss Universe franchise, decided to query the birth-gender credentials of trans contestant Jenna Talackova.

Unless we were born yesterday, we all know pageant organizers first disqualified Talackova for not being a “naturally born” woman, then reinstated her — and finally went a step further. In the future, trans contestants can apply and are welcome in the competition, organizers say.

All is apparently well on the pageant front. End of story.

But even as the storm in a teacup was being sorted, The Donald, being The Donald, felt the need to deal the ultimate Trump card on Barbara Walters’ ABC vehicle, 20/20.

Curious isn’t it, he posited, that if you combine Ms Talackova’s first name, Jenna, with the first three letters of her last, Tal, you come up with . . . JENNATAL? And for pseudodramatic effect, the raj of rugs produced a cue card displaying his discovery in all-caps.

Too much of a planetary alignment to be an innocent coincidence, he facetiously concluded, complete with schoolboy smirk.

That Jenna is working this.

And so, after declaring he “couldn’t care less” if Talackova competes or not, all of a sudden there’s the spectre of a conspiracy and — well, looky here — a potential ratings bonanza on pageant night.

At last year’s White House correspondents’ dinner, Obama himself noted, in a ROFL riot of a Trump roast, that The Donald is wellequipped to get to the bottom of all manner of conspiracies. He even offered him a few suggestions for further investigation: moon landing — fact or fiction?; that 1947 UFO conundrum in Roswell, New Mexico; and what really happened to rap royalty Biggie Smalls and Tupac?

But forward to 2012, where the Miss Universe pageant could benefit from a good kick in the rat-

ings crotch. So what better way to get folks riled up than for Trump, and his made-for-straight-men’sfantasy-lives franchise, to focus on genitalia?

In his clumsily adolescent way, Trump — plus Walters’ own nailson-a-blackboard interview with Talackova about birth names, boyfriends, hormones and vaginas — has made discussion of gender identity, expression and transitioning glaringly and brashly Main St. No dry-as-dust, impenetrable gender-studies academic jargon in sight.

A poised Talackova has calmly asserted her womanhood and right to compete throughout the furore. And, absent the revelation of her birth, she looks, moves and plays the part of the traditional beauty contestant preparing for a performance of mainstream hyper-femininity.

WILL TRUMP’S PANEL OF SUPPOSEDLY IMPARTIAL PAGEANT JUDGES GET BOGGED DOWN IN A SILENT, COLLECTIVE MIND-FUCK AS THEY WATCH TALACKOVA STRUT HER STUFF IN EVENING GOWN AND SWIMSUIT? Yet Talackova’s pageant presence troubles norms of desire, attraction and beauty, the contours of which are both tangible and inexplicable.

How many men watching live, or in TV land, will be able to get past their instinctive “but she’s a dude” reflex and admit their attraction to her in a bar full of their buds?

How many women appreciate or envy Talackova’s cover-model looks yet still wonder about her masculinity and look for its vestiges — and find the mystique alluring?

And will Trump’s panel of supposedly impartial pageant judges get bogged down in a silent, collective mind-fuck as they watch Talackova strut her stuff in evening gown and swimsuit?

Or will they see her as she says she sees herself: a woman with a history, and a beautiful one, who can get the job done. Period.

Natasha Barsotti is an Xtra reporter in Vancouver.

“The outcome that we seek is this — gay and lesbian people daring together to set love free.” Xtra is published by Pink Triangle Press, at 2 Carlton St, Ste 1600, Toronto M5B 1J3.

INBOX ACT I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY that while ACT is no longer able to provide a wellness retreat for women living with HIV [“Federal Cuts Force ACT to Cancel Programs,” xtra. ca, March 31], nor implement the peer network for women with HIV from across Ontario as a result of the PHAC funding guidelines, ACT continues to offer a range of support programs for women living with HIV in Toronto, including social/peer support activities (Women’s Coffee Night and The Kitchen are two examples), counselling, case management and employment services that help women living with HIV return to the workforce.

John Maxwell Toronto, ON

Bill 13 protests MCVETY AND COMPANY expose their ignorance every time they open their mouths [“AntiBullying Bills Spark Queen’s Park Protests,” Xtra #716, April 5]. They obviously have no clue what they are talking about and are creating fictitious religious values, that aren’t Christian at all, and creating false myths about the issues facing LGBT students. Kudos to Christin Milloy for rallying all the students and MPPs to stand up to these fear-mongering bullies.

Jennifer McCreath St John’s, NL I’M A CHRISTIAN AND AM offended when Christ’s name is used for hate. Nowhere in the Bible does God or Jesus say gay is wrong or a sin. They do say be kind and help the meek and powerless, and Bill 13 aims to do that. Not helping a youth who’s being bullied because that youth is gay is perpetuating abuse. LGBT youth are being bullied to death. They need this bill. Blocking it is an act of ignorance, hate and aggressive politicking. It has nothing to do with good or God. Una Rose Toronto, ON TO THE SIKH WHO SAYS that the lifestyle may be strange or foreign to him and therefore should not be accepted, I submit: there are many things in Sikhism (turban, kirpan, etc) that are strange and foreign to me, just as there are things in Judaism (payot, tzitzis, eruv) and Catholicism (cannibalism, aka transubstantiation) that confuse me. Why would I want to ban these people from following their lifestyle, just because it is strange to me?

Rob Stewart Toronto, ON

Oshawa councillor OFF THE TOPIC OF HATE, which has no such place in this world [“Oshawa Councillor Subject to Homophobic Rant in Local Newspaper,” xtra.ca, April 9], Councillor England’s performance is nothing but energetic and lively. I was a member

TO ME, A PUBLIC WASHROOM IS JUST A PLACE WHERE YOU GO IN, QUICKLY USE THE FACILITIES AND THEN LEAVE.

Send your correspondence by mail to 2 Carlton St, Ste 1600, Toronto M5B 1J3, email comment@xtra.ca, or log in to xtra.ca and comment directly. We may edit letters.

and briefly a committee member for a leadership camp run by my school.

Such events are already all-accepting and preach acceptance, though, so my only question is why a specifically LGBT and allied camp need be organized when that is a message already present in Oshawa schools and their programs. She performed well, in good humour and spirit, and raised money for a cause that overall is one I support in teaching youth to be leaders, and responsible ones at that. Who better to raise money than an Oshawa community leader?

Joshua Taylor Oshawa, ON

comment There’s an Institute of Canadian Values? Whose values? [“Anti-Bullying Bills Spark Queen’s Park Protests,” Xtra #716, April 5.] I’m a Canadian who’s 52 years old, and there’s not a chance that these people represent my values. My values are the same as Ellen DeGeneres’s: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated, and helping those in need.

I’m also Christian, and these people are contradicting the way of Christ, who preached that you are to love your neighbour as yourself. It’s that simple. Let’s do our best to protect those kids who are gay, lesbian, bi or transgender/transsexual and are in an atmosphere where bullying prevails.

It’s the Christian thing to do.

—Teresa Windsor Toronto, ON To comment, go to xtra.ca.

Fetish Fair IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE the squabbling in the traditional gay village stop [“Local Merchants Axe Fetish Fair,” Xtra #716, April 5]. Why don’t a group of enterprising queer business types incorporate (non-profit) the Fetish Fair and move it somewhere else, maybe a different month (July perhaps). At one time Word on the Street was on Queen St W. Now it’s at Queen’s Park and bigger and better than ever. I am glad to see gay Toronto with a variety of queer events in the summer and not all on Church St. At one time there was just Pride in June and nothing else to look forward to for the rest of the summer. Now we have the Trigger Festival, which happens around Queen

and McCaul in early June; Toronto Queer Arts Festival, at Parkdale and Brockton Village, from Aug 10 to 18; Pride in late June/early July all over the city; Toronto Leather Pride and Queer Family Fair in the Church St Village in mid-August. The way I look at things, tourists are in the city all summer long, especially in August.

They will be looking for something different than Pride.

Michael F Paré Toronto, ON SO LET ME TRY TO UNDERstand this. WorldPride 2014 is coming to Toronto (probably due in large part to Toronto’s reputation for throwing a huge Pride celebration every summer, most of it located at Church/Wellesley) and the CWVBIA is de-gayifying/de-sexualizing Church/ Wellesley before the hordes of queer tourists arrive? Is it just me, or does anybody else out there think this is a really stupid development? Only in tight-ass Toronto.

Ken Toronto, ON

Bathroom predators TO ME, A PUBLIC WASHROOM is just a place where you go in, quickly use the facilities, and then leave [“Conservative MP Links Trans People and Sexual Predators,” xtra.ca, April 6].

If there is ever anyone in a public washroom who I find disturbing or threatening (eg, a mentally ill street person in the midst of a rant), I will simply leave.

I assume that most cis women are easily able to recognize male-to-female transgender persons. I also assume that if a cis woman feels uncomfortable about the presence of a MTF transgender person in a women’s washroom, she will simply leave the washroom. Isn’t that the way things work?

Shawn Martin Toronto, ON I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but in almost 40 years of using the men’s room, and almost a decade of using the women’s, I have yet to come across anybody in either who is naked, considering that nakedness is concealed within the stalls. Anybody who is acting inappropriately or needlessly loitering really stands out. As always with these bigoted arguments, the “predators in bathrooms” scares are red herrings at best.

Talia M Trenton, ON TRANS PEOPLE COME IN ALL ages and they all need to be able to pee without having to risk their lives and liberty every time they do it. And as for the bogeyman of “men in women’s washrooms,” we already have laws that cover this: trespassing, criminal harassment and sexual assault. Being trans in a washroom is not a crime, and I’m tired of people behaving as if it is, or should be.

Margaret Robinson Toronto, ON

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Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

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noteworthy › updates › ephemera

Xcetera

HAIL MARY

GIRL GONE

MILD

Amazing grace Do you pray to Lady Gaga? Do you believe Marilyn Monroe turned water into wine? Or that Amy Winehouse led her people out of Egypt?

Well, maybe a new line of oh-so-sacrilegious celebrity prayer candles is for you. With candles devoted to such gay deities as Nicki Minaj and Gwen Stefani, you too can say a little prayer.

Madonna is no stranger to breaking records, so here’s one more she can take credit for: her latest album, MDNA, has set the record for biggest drop in sales in its second week. After selling almost 359,000 copies in its first week, sales plummeted to approximately 46,000 in week two, a drop of almost 88 percent. On the plus side, Swept Away is no longer the worst-received thing Madonna’s ever done.

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SALES DROP

Compiled

by Jeremy Feist

MR GAY WORLD 2012 Say hello to New Zealand’s Andreas Derleth, the new Mr Gay World. The competition, held for the first time in Africa, brought men from all around the world together to compete for the title, with Derleth walking away the hunky victor.

GAY’S ANATOMY

After trans beauty queen Jenna Talackova was temporarily kicked out of the Miss Universe Canada pageant, and Donald Trump was accused of transphobia, The Don decided to come forward and explain away the accusations the only way he knows how: by pointing out that Talackova’s name contains the phrase “Jennatal.”

Suffice to say, English was not his major.

A Boston University study has found that lesbians who are out to their parents are less likely to have mental health issues and substance abuse problems than those who remain in the closet. On the flip side, men who come out to their parents are roughly on par with their closeted brethren when it comes to health issues.

Soooooo . . . good news, Marcus Bachmann.

THINKSTOCK

Trump denies transphobia

Healthy choice for lesbians is out

BREW-HAHA

Starbucks stocks soar despite boycott It seems nothing gets between people and their overpriced coffee. Despite a boycott of equal rights supporter Starbucks by anti-gay group National Organization for Marriage, stocks in the coffee giant soared in the same period the boycott was launched. In related news, Second Cup and Tim Hortons have asked NOM to boycott them, too.

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XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

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dispatches › issues › opinion

Upfront MILESTONE

FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, BIG TOBACCO COMPANIES ACTUALLY TARGETED THE LGBTQ COMMUNITIES WITH THEIR MARKETING. Donna Turner › 12

LOCAL NEWS

Liberals celebrate Charter anniversary

Phoenix rising More than 400 people, including Anna Penner (pictured), attended an open house at Glad Day to celebrate a new day at the old gay bookstore. The shop was recently rescued by a group of investors who have ensured the Yonge St institution will live to see another day. MICHAEL ERICKSON

CANADA’S CHARTER OF RIGHTS and Freedoms turned 30 April 17, so activists with the Queer Liberals came together at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives to celebrate.

But Stephen Harper’s Conservatives aren’t sharing the same sense of good cheer.

For Glen Murray, Ontario’s minister of training, colleges and universities, it’s also a time to challenge the mindset of the current federal government. “It’s a really

MPP Glen Murray.

vivid point in our history in terms of minority rights,” he says. “I just wish our government would pay as much attention to this as they do to the War of 1812.”

The federal Conservatives have come under increasing heat for their perceived silence about the Charter’s anniversary. Federal Liberal MP Justin Trudeau recently appeared on CTV to argue that the party is ignoring the document for partisan reasons. His late father, Pierre Trudeau, signed the Charter into law in 1982.

Meanwhile, reports say the government is devoting millions of dollars to remember the 1812 conflict between Canada and the US and is spending $7.5 million on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

For Murray, the importance of the Charter is personal. He recalls his groundbreaking run for the mayor’s office in Winnipeg in 1998 — which made him the first openly gay mayor of a North American city — and credits the Charter’s creation several years earlier. “It was in the wake of the Charter that most gay and lesbian and transgender people started running for elected office,” he says.

Penny Beams is the founder and co-president of the Queer Liberals, a partisan group that pushes for a queer-positive mandate within the Liberal Party. The event reminds her of the importance of staying active in the political sphere.

“It’s really important, especially considering the number of advances we’ve made in the past 30, 40 years,” she says. “Just because we’ve made them and we feel a certain sense of comfort . . . doesn’t mean those rights are forever.”

—Katie Toth

NEWS

Gay men of colour wanted for body-image study Warren Brown ONLINE SOCIAL SITES AND MOBILE apps such as Squirt and Grindr have transformed gay culture, leaving much less ambiguity about what people desire. Unfortunately, what is often revealed in online profiles highlights — and perpetuates — racial stereotypes.

People make assumptions and requests linked to a person’s physical traits, everything from penis size to body shape or sexual role, based on ethnicity.

“Little is known about how this impacts someone’s health and well-being,” says David Brennan, a researcher at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

“Racism is an ongoing and persistent experience which people are actively trying to figure out and navigate.”

Brennan and his team are conducting the Imagine Men’s Health Study to learn about those issues related to body image and sexuality encountered by gay and bisexual men of colour.

Because there is little information that speaks to this, there is little known about the health issues (both mental and physical) that sexual minorities experience.

In a separate study into the impact of racism on mental health, New York University’s Sumie Okazaki found that “we know much more about the

psychological processes of white individuals who hold varying levels of racial bias than about the psychological processes of non-white individuals who are directly or indirectly affected by racism.”

Brennan says the impetus for his study was a random sample study related to body image and eating disorders that was conducted during Toronto Pride in 2008. The feedback from many respondents indicated that the questions were directed at white men and didn’t address how one’s body image is affected by how one is perceived because of one’s race.

Brennan wants to find out if gay people of colour take more risks, sexually or otherwise. Does it change the way they think about meeting the needs of their sexual partners?

“In my own personal experience as a gay man of [Japanese descent] and [in my] professional experience of working primarily with LGBT people as a therapist, I have a sense that our social environments have not particularly embraced a racially diverse representation of bodies,” says Kenta Asakura, a PhD student who is working on the study.

In the multimedia short film Seeking Single White Male, Toronto artist Vivek Shraya explores this topic by looking at his Indian heritage and how it links to his encounters in the gay community.

“You are too attractive to be Indian,” one person tells Shraya. Another says, “You must be mixed.”

Marco Posadas, bathhouse counsellor and program coordinator with the Aids Committee of Toronto (ACT) says that one of the issues gay and bisexual immigrant men from visible

I HAVE A SENSE THAT OUR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS HAVE NOT PARTICULARLY EMBRACED A RACIALLY DIVERSE REPRESENTATION OF BODIES. —Kenta Asakura, PhD student minority groups face is a harder experience adjusting to the gay community environment in Toronto.

Community partners involved in the study include ACT, the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention, Asian Community AIDS Services, the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples. The results will be used to

develop policies and enhanced training programs for support organizations.

The study will also explore racial bias. In an initial qualitative study, a respondent mentioned that he would never date a white man because of issues arising from power differences and pressures from within his own community. Conversely, other participants noted they would not date a person of their own race.

Additional themes to be examined include alcohol, drug and porn usage.

The latter category will help researchers understand how one’s sense of self is affected by what one sees in pornographic media.

The team is looking for 400 men who have sex with men who identify as black/African/Caribbean; East or Southeast Asian; South Asian; or Latino/Hispanic/Brazilian.

Participants must be 18 years or older and residents of the Greater Toronto Area. Thirty-dollar gift certificates will be provided to those who are eligible and who complete the online study, which takes approximately one hour.

Brennan emphasizes the need for a mix of respondents from all age groups, as well as persons with physical disabilities.

For more information, contact David Brennan at 416-946-8831 or go to fluidsurveys.com/s/bodyimage.

12

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

ONTARIO NEWS

ADDICTION

Surgery no longer prerequisite for birth certificate change

Clearing the air

IN WHAT A LONDON LAWYER IS calling a “game-changing decision,” the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has struck down a rule that required trans people to undergo “transsexual surgery” if they wanted to change the sex category on their birth certificates.

Released April 11, the 95-page decision follows a challenge by a trans woman who complained she was discriminated against because she could not change her legal documents unless she had surgery. However, she did have surgery in 2008.

“She had an orchiectomy (the removal of the testicles), at least in part to satisfy the requirement to change the sex designation,” lawyer N Nicole Nussbaum explains.

The tribunal found that the Vital Statistics Act requirement that “transsexual surgery” take place prior to changing the sex designation on a birth certificate discriminates against trans people. The provincial government has been ordered to remove this stipulation.

“They completely knocked that out,” Nussbaum says. “The tribunal doesn’t have the authority to strike down a law, but they can say the law is not enforceable.”

Ontario now has 180 days to revise the criteria for sex designation change.

The precedent-setting decision could force changes to legislation in other provinces and territories, Nussbaum says. — Andrea Houston For more on this story, visit xtra.ca.

New campaign designed to get gay people talking about tobacco Katie Toth GAY PEOPLE SMOKE TOBACCO AT more than double the rate of the general population, according to information included in a new Toronto public-health campaign.

Stigma, stress and marketing campaigns targeted at gay people are all cited as aggravating factors, but the creators of the campaign hope that by getting people talking, they can get people quitting.

Members of Rainbow Health Ontario, Smokers’ Helpline and Toronto Public Health, along with design firm The Public, met April 11 to launch a provincewide media campaign called Clear the Air. “We did a survey at Toronto Pride and went around and asked LGBT folks if they smoked or not,” explains Rainbow Health Ontario’s Donna Turner.

“Thirty-three percent of LGBT people were smokers compared to 15 percent of the general population.”

Turner blames the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing.

“For many, many years, big tobacco companies actually targeted the LGBTQ communities with their marketing,” she alleges. “They saw our communities as a potential weak link . . . and

the possibility to get us more hooked.”

In the US, an American Lung Association report found that 22 percent of San Francisco LGBT organizations surveyed between 2002 and 2004 had accepted tobacco industry funding. “The leaders of those groups recognized that these donations were ideologically difficult to defend, but felt they were necessary to keep their programs solvent,” the report says.

In the ’90s, gay media outlets — often struggling to find revenue — were either ambivalent about or outright supportive of tobacco advertisement opportunities. In an interview with NPR, Jeff Yarbrough, former editor of The Advocate, pointed to the challenge for gay media to turn down ads — they were “in a beggar’s position, rather than a chooser’s position.”

Turner hopes Clear the Air will start a discussion about the way tobacco companies have pushed cigarettes in queer spaces. “I think when people realize that, they’ll feel like they want to fight back a little bit.”

Myriad factors can contribute to tobacco use, including homophobia and increased levels of stress. A bar-focused gay scene leaves many using tobacco as a social tool. Fear of homophobic or transphobic healthcare providers can

Rainbow Health Ontario’s Donna Turner wants gay people to butt out. KATIE TOTH

also lead to avoidance and may leave queer people less likely to discuss their options for quitting with a healthcare provider.

For Turner, the first step is talking to queer people about how to fight addiction in a way that doesn’t shut them out.

“The evidence is pretty clear that smoking causes all sorts of health problems,” she says. “Our communities are going to have higher rates of those health problems as well.”

Sheila Sampath is creative director at The Public, which handled the creative design of the campaign. Sampath saw deficiencies in traditional antismoking messages, which she thinks fail to acknowledge the reasons people smoke in the first place.

“We thought that it would be good to address those head-on, talking about how identifying as LGBTQ marginalizes you . . . and also kind of talk about that being a motivation to quit,” Sampath says. “The answer to both of those questions is because of our identity, because of our community, we’re driven to smoke, but we’re also inspired to quit.”

on the web Check out the campaign at ›clear-the-air.ca If you’d like to quit smoking and want to speak with someone about your options, call 1-877-513-5333 or visit ›smokershelpline.ca

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13

ONTARIO NEWS

Drag controversy in Oshawa Homophobic tirade galvanizes support for local gay community Justin Ling and Andrea Houston CLAD IN BLACK LEATHER JACKET, sunglasses and a fedora tilted just below his hairline, Bruno croons out “Just the Way You Are” to a smiling audience member who has lined up to hand him money. He accepts it, grinning. As the song ends, Bruno grabs a wad of bills and, with a wave, walks offstage.

“Let’s hear it for Bruno Mars, aka regional Councillor Amy England,” the emcee says, in the video made of the performance.

England was the special guest drag king at a March 31 gala hosted by the Durham Region chapter of PFLAG. The group was raising money for an LGBTA leadership camp designed to bring together queer and allied youth.

England was joined at the event by fellow Oshawa Councillor Bruce Woods.

England says the reaction afterward was immensely positive. “It really showed and highlighted how progressive our community actually is,” she says. “And how inclusive it can be.”

But not everyone was happy.

A long-winded headline on the front cover of the April 9 issue of Oshawa/ Durham Central newspaper proclaims, “Amy England takes dollar bills from lesbians [sic] mouth during perfor-

mance at parents/family of gay/lesbian gala many are left demanding disciplinary action be taken by city Oshawa has been shamed!!!”

The full story features pictures of England’s performance. The writer accuses England of “dancing around the stage in a very seductive fashion and what some call inappropriate manner.”

The article also contains interviews with five members of the community, including city council “watchdog” and Central columnist Bill Steele, who has twice tried and failed to unseat England.

In another article Steele accuses England of “trying to sell herself like a cheap crack hooker.” He wonders if England’s next performance will be in blackface.

Other interviewees call the performance “disgusting,” questioning what England was doing at “a freak convention.”

Publisher Joe Ingino has been vocal in his defence of the coverage, taking to social media to castigate England.

England says she was “shocked, saddened, then angered” by the article. The video shows the audience members, who were all 19 and older, acting relatively tamely during the performance.

“It was totally taken out of context and twisted into a very negative connotation,” England says.

The fallout has led to the creation

Oshawa Councillor Amy England performed in drag to raise money for PFLAG Durham.

of Boycott Hate in Durham Region, a website set up by members of PFLAG Durham that calls on the Central’s advertisers to end their relationship with the paper.

PFLAG Durham also held an event at city hall in support of England. According to a local news report, the event spread like wildfire over social media and pulled out approximately 50 people to show their support.

Meanwhile, four advertisers have left the paper because of its coverage of England’s performance. Maureen Clark, treasurer and past president of PFLAG Durham, says reaction to the campaign has been positive. “Some were quite shocked,” she says. The group is encouraging those who can’t

NATIONAL NEWS

FEDERAL NEWS

Gay Asian youth more likely harassed: study

Beauty queen saga highlights need for trans rights bill: MP

Beth Hong IN HIGH SCHOOL, DARREN HO REcalls boys writing, “Darren’s so gay” in his notebook or calling him girly. A shy kid who didn’t like standing out, Ho kept mostly to himself.

Now a 23-year-old linguistics major at Simon Fraser University, Ho says he couldn’t talk to his parents about what was going on in school or tell them that he couldn’t sleep at night. He was overwhelmed with fear about how they would react to his being gay.

Ho’s experience as a gay Asian Canadian teen is common in BC. A study released on March 28 from the University of British Columbia found that lesbian, gay and bisexual Asian Canadian youth are 30 times more likely to face harassment than their heterosexual peers.

They are also more likely to use drugs or alcohol, according to the study conducted by professor Elizabeth Saewyc.

The report’s findings were based on 5,423 Asian youth who completed the BC Adolescent Health Survey in 2003. Another key finding is the importance of relationships, particularly with teachers and family, in potentially alleviating some of the negative effects of racist and homophobic bullying.

“Family connectedness really does make a difference for sexual minorities,” Saewyc says. “Unfortunately, many feel that they have to deal with it themselves, which is a shame because they deal with homophobia, racism and discrimination.”

For more on this story, visit xtra.ca.

Andrea Houston AN NDP MP HOPES THE MEDIA furor around a trans beauty contestant’s disqualification from and then readmission to the Miss Universe pageant will provide momentum for his private member’s trans rights bill.

Randall Garrison’s Bill C-279, which would add gender identity and gender expression to the list of statuses protected under the Canadian Human Rights Code and amend the Criminal Code to include anti-transgender violence, assault and harassment, was debated in the House of Commons April 5.

The second reading of the bill received little media attention. Yet over the past several weeks almost every Canadian mainstream media outlet has covered Jenna Talackova’s story.

Garrison says people seemed to understand and relate to how insulting it must have been when Miss Universe officials told Talackova she could not compete because contestants must be “naturally born genetic women.”

More than 40,000 people signed a petition supporting Talackova’s bid to take part. The international outrage eventually forced pageant officials to reevaluate their position.

Donald Trump, who owns the Miss

Universe brand, responded April 4 on TMZ, the celebrity news website, saying Talackova is welcome to compete.

“The story of the Trump beauty queen left a lot of people scratching their heads, asking, ‘Why would anyone try and exclude this woman?’”

Garrison says. “That story has been very influential. It really focused a lot of people’s attention on the question of trans rights. It was so ridiculously discriminatory.”

Trump unwittingly stepped into the minefield of gender politics, Garrison says.

He thinks the obvious discrimination has helped bring attention to the issue. “It’s focused MPs onto the issue as well, so it has been helpful,” he says. “Also, public opinion is changing fast, and that’s helped to move along members of Parliament.”

This is the second time trans rights have been debated at the federal level. Last year, Parliament passed Bill C-389, a private member’s bill introduced by former MP Bill Siksay, but the bill died in the Senate when Parliament was dissolved.

Garrison knows there is a good chance Bill C-279 will not pass. It returns to the House for a second debate and vote in late spring. If it passes that hurdle, the bill will be sent to the justice committee. “This is the crucial vote,” Garrison says.

or won’t leave the paper to put rainbow flags in their advertisements.

On April 10, Steele resigned. He has since publicly and privately apologized to England and has sent an earnest letter to Xtra detailing his support for gay rights. Both England and PFLAG Durham accepted his apology.

Clark defends not only England’s participation in the event, but her commitment to PFLAG Durham. England comes to just about every meeting, Clark says, and did so long before she became a councillor.

Ingino, for his part, says those who think the article is homophobic “are being used. These are fools.” He says the gay angle was used only to create a hook and sell papers.

“Constituents who see this are baffled that someone who is supposed to uphold the ethics and the morality of the community is so blatantly disrespectful towards city council,” he told Xtra. He calls the article “quality journalism” but admits that the most salacious part of it — the quotations from “taxpayers”— was a selection of letters sent to the Oshawa Central and that no effort was made to contact any other sources.

Ingino took to Facebook to confront those who led the campaign against his article. In a 72-hour back-and-forth, he launched a caps-lock-charged rant, calling the gay community a “circus act” and “creepy,” lamenting that “we are being forced to accept that a gay youth gala is acceptable.” He called England’s behaviour unbecoming, as her duty is to represent “hard working straight people.”

England is appalled. “This type of hate is unacceptable in my book,” she says.

She counts herself a strong ally of the queer community, having gone so far as to train her campaign volunteers on maintaining positive and inclusive spaces during the last council election.

She even mentioned her support for the community in election pamphlets.

Far from being discouraged by the article, “it fuels the fire to continue fighting for equality,” she says. “Equality is more powerful than hate.”

And if a charity comes knocking for a repeat performance?

“Of course I will,” England says.

LGBTQ Family Picnic!

In celebration of

International Family Visibility Day: A celebration of all people who raise children Face-painting by the fabulous Buttercup, button-making, food, and we will gather for a group photo!

Bring your own picnic blanket and lunch! The LGBTQ Parenting Network will provide pizza, snacks and drinks.

Sunday May 6 10:00am - 1:00pm at Christie Pits (Christie and Bloor)

14

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

COMMUNITY NEWS

NATIONAL NEWS

Loss of Fetish Fair reflects a changing Village

Gay man murdered in Halifax

Andrea Houston THE CO-CHAIR OF THE CHURCH AND Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area (BIA) says local merchants are adapting to a changing neighbourhood. Just don’t call it “family-friendly.”

BIA manager David Wootton, who did not return Xtra’s calls for comment, recently wrote an email to Xtra to express disappointment that the words “family-friendly” were used to describe the BIA’s decision to cancel its annual Fetish Fair and replace it with “inclusive events,” such as a sidewalk sale.

Liz Devine, the BIA co-chair and the president of Rainbow High Vacations on Church St, says merchants have been making an effort to appeal to families, among other people, in recent years. “We would rather call it neighbourhood-friendly, communityinclusive, “ Devine says.

Those aren’t the words George Giaouris, owner of Northbound Leather on Yonge St, uses. “Let’s call this what it is,” he says. “Trying to soften the Fetish Fair and put in bouncy castles, like they did last year, it killed it. When you’re thinking fetish, you don’t want little kids running around. So I think the BIA made a bad move. Put the family event on another weekend.”

The cancellation of Fetish Fair is a major blow, he says, and signals the “desexifying” of the Village. “This is yet another unique experience that has been removed from the list of reasons to go to the Village,” he says. “The more the neighbourhood is homogenized, the more bland it becomes, and the less interesting.”

Giaouris says the event has always been very well attended, profitable, unique — and it attracted people to the Village.

That’s not actually the case, Devine says. “Most businesses were either closed or reported decreased business on Fetish Fair day. Very few BIA businesses participated as vendors in the Fetish Fair.” However, she could not provide a number to indicate how many vendors are members of the BIA. Steamworks general manager John Broadhagen, a long-time sponsor of Fetish Fair who sits on the BIA board, says it wasn’t very popular with some merchants. “Many of the business owners on Church St are straight. And they don’t get the whole fetish thing.”

Kink lovers protest changes to the Fetish Fair in 2011. The opening of Loblaws (background) means Church St merchants are looking at new ways to bring shoppers to the Village. ANDREA HOUSTON

The BIA plans to replace the fair with new events that will be more welcoming to those outside the gay community, Devine says, such as families living in the new condo towers. The weekend events throughout August, which may or may not include a sidewalk sale, will not have anything to do with fetish or kink.

“Our neighbourhood is changing pretty dramatically, and the BIA is quite aware of that,” Devine says. Since

THE COST OF FETISH FAIR IS A DROP IN THE BUCKET, REALLY. BUT WITH SO MANY PEOPLE OPPOSED TO IT, IT’S TOUGH TO KEEP IT GOING. —John Broadhagen, owner of Steamworks Loblaws moved in, small businesses have been struggling. “You’re seeing the gentrification of the whole downtown district. On Church St, small independent stores are moving out. Xtra moved off Church St and is being replaced by a medical centre. That reflects the changing demographic,” she says.

However, the BIA set aside $87,500 in its 2012 budget for two new 22-foot

rainbow-swirl signpost markers to welcome visitors to the Village.

While he didn’t have an exact date, Broadhagen says the markers will be installed at either end of Church St soon.

“I think [the markers] are a lot of money for what we’re getting. The cost of Fetish Fair is a drop in the bucket, really.”

The BIA is trying to reshape the community, Broadhagen says. “Are we really a family community? Sure, there’s gay families, gay marriage and gay adoption, but, come on, there are not a lot of kids here. So is [the BIA] making the best move? I don’t think so, but that’s just my personal opinion. I was disappointed.”

There is a long history of mixed messages and attitudes about the Fetish Fair.

Last year the Fetish Fair was rebranded as the Church St Village Fair. At the time co-chair Avery Pitcher told Xtra the BIA wanted the event to be more “inclusive and geared to all ages.”

To protest the change, a large group of leather and kinky folk marched through the fair, chanting, “This is what Leather Pride looks like!”

“That was a slap to the BIA,” Broadhagen says. “I have a strong leather background . . . I didn’t like that [the leather and fetish folks] were segregated last year. I spoke out against it.”

Devine says the BIA exists to serve its members — the local businesses that provide the association with annual

funding — not the community at large. “[Preserving the sex-positive image of the Village] isn’t the responsibility of the BIA. It’s a broader responsibility of the community,” she says.

Throughout its seven-year history, the Fetish Fair has faced several threats, yet Wootton had always insisted the BIA supported the festival. In 2010 he told Xtra it is an integral part of the Village.

However, that same year, Wootton admitted that some area businesses do not want to be associated with fetish or sex.

In 2009, the Fetish Fair was in danger of a funding cut, so the event’s former executive director, Cam Lewis, and other organizers lobbied the board and area merchants.

“Fully funding the Fetish Fair was a no-brainer,” Lewis, who declined to comment, told Xtra at the time. “After all, the Fetish Fair brings people to the Village, elevates the gayness of the Village; it drives business to [BIA] members, it showcases local talent, and it is the second-largest outdoor fair in the Village. Only Pride is bigger.”

According to its budget summary, $40,000 was allocated to the fair in 2011, but Devine says it cost between $60,000 and $70,000. “As a result of that, the BIA has no funds, like zero, to do any neighbourhood marketing initiatives.”

The total BIA levy for 2012 is $233,730, up from $231,933 in 2011.

xtra.ca Wondering what other readers think?

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A WELL-KNOWN GAY ACTIVIST and former editor of Halifax gay paper Wayves was killed near a gay bar in the early morning of April 17.

According to the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, police were called to an area near Menz & Mollyz on Gottingen St at about 2:30am, where they found Raymond Taavel injured and bleeding. He later died at the scene.

Police arrested a 32-year-old man a short time later in connection with Taavel’s death.

“It’s incalculable, he was such a beautiful spirit,” says Halifax activist Hugo Dann. “Anyone who got involved in gay rights in Halifax knew Raymond. Raymond took his knocks, but he never stopped smiling and he never failed in kindness.”

Kevin Kindred, of the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, says Taavel was well respected in the community.

“I think I have the same sense of shock as everyone else who is connected to the community,” Kindred says. “It’s hard to say what the impact will be. I think people will exercise caution when they go out; at the same time, the community tends to respond to these things viscerally, and people will want to claim back their power and claim back their rights to feel safe on the streets.”

— Simon Thibault For more on this story, visit xtra.ca.

PRIDE NEWS

Serb activist chosen as grand marshal PRIDE TORONTO HAS CHOSEN TO honour Serbian activist Goran Miletic as its 2012 international grand marshal, it was announced April 17.

Miletic has worked with several human rights organizations to lobby for the adoption of anti-discrimination legislation in Western Balkan countries and is the program director of an organization that aims to defend civil and political rights in that region.

Queer people in Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslav states face heavy social stigma and officially sanctioned discrimination despite steps that have been taken in recent years to enact anti-discrimination laws and the growing influence of the European Union’s human rights laws in the region.

In recent years, gay pride events in Miletic’s native Belgrade have been banned or have met with extreme violence from protesters.

“We look forward to having Goran in Toronto during Pride Week so we can learn firsthand about the struggle for basic human rights in Western Balkan countries and share this story with Toronto,” said Pride Toronto’s Frank Folino in a press release.

Recent months have seen some progress in the Balkans. Albania’s first Pride march is being planned for May, and a Serbian judge sentenced Mladen Obradovic, the leader of the extremist group Obraz, to 10 months in prison for uttering death threats that led to the cancellation of the 2009 Belgrade Pride parade.

— Rob Salerno

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

15

INTERNATIONAL

Homophobia in Liberia West African country latest to introduce anti-gay legislation Aaron Leaf

Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left), shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize with Leymah Gbowee (right). GLOBAL FUND FOR WOMEN

most completely abandoned by government. Their vulnerability affects all areas of their lives from every quarter — church, school, employers, landlords, media, street mobs, rapists, predators, political actors, opinion leaders, family.�

In Horton’s memory, pre-war Monrovia was not a dangerous place to be gay. As long as you were “private� about your sexuality it was largely tolerated.

Among the capital city’s Christian elite, gays “were known for throwing the best parties.â€? In the hinterland, depending on one’s traditional practices, there was a level of acceptance for both homosexuality and gender switching. Zoes, the traditional priests who led secret societies, according to Horton, were not homophobic. Even the iconic images of the Liberian war, rebel soldiers ďŹ ghting in wigs and women’s dresses, was “all part of the culture.â€? “But going through war,â€? says Horton, “things happen in the mind.â€?

Being gay in Liberia is illegal: “voluntary sodomy� is punishable by up to a year in jail. However, the US State Department’s annual Human Rights Report found no instances of the law being used in recent years and no reported instances of violence against gays.

But in recent months the issue is everywhere: in newspapers, on campuses and debated on many of Liberia’s raucous call-in radio talk shows. In early April, the anti-gay group Movement Against Gays in Liberia (MOGAL) distributed leaets with a “hit listâ€? of supporters of gay rights in the West African country.

Meanwhile, legislators have introduced two new bills that would make homosexual acts punishable by jail time or worse. One bill, known as the “Kill the Gays Bill,� was drafted by Senator Jewel Taylor, wife of former dictator Charles Taylor, and calls for a minimum of 10 years in jail and a maximum of the death sentence for engaging in homosexual acts.

The catalyst for recent events was Hillary Clinton’s now famous speech in Geneva to mark the UN’s Human Rights Day in which she declared gay rights to be human rights and outlined steps she was taking as secretary of state to use US foreign policy to promote the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities.

Horton was so moved by the speech she cried, but at the same time it gave her an uneasy feeling. “America has

beautiful rhetoric,� she says, “and I think her commitment is genuine. But I can’t take any Western politician seriously. It’s all political. We know in Africa that they have arbitrary application standards. It’s hard to miss when you’re on the receiving end.�

And indeed, many Liberians took the speech as an admission that the US was meddling in internal politics: pushing a pro-West, pro-homosexual, “colonial� agenda. Last October, British Prime Minister David Cameron provoked a similar backlash when he said he’d cut British aid budgets to countries that persecute homosexuals.

It is commonly argued that homosexuality is at odds with “traditional�

African culture. Leaders such as Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe have called homosexuality a Western invention.

There are many country-speciďŹ c cases that dispel this myth, the least of which is that many countries, more than 30 in sub-Saharan Africa, continue to enforce laws created by colonial regimes outlawing homosexuality and “sodomyâ€? — laws that have since been abandoned in the European countries that created them.

When Sirleaf says, “We like ourselves just the way we are,� it’s a signal to con-

on the web For more on this issue, search xtra.ca using the following article titles: › A good day in Ghana › Trying not to be afraid in Burundi › Hillary Clinton’s historic UN speech

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IN A MARCH 19 VIDEO, FORMER BRITish prime minister turned shadowy philanthropist Tony Blair and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize–winner, sit awkwardly at a table while being grilled about anti-sodomy laws in Liberia.

Asked by Guardian reporter Tamasin Ford if she’d sign a bill decriminalizing homosexual acts, Sirleaf replies, “No, we like ourselves just the way we are. “We have certain traditional values in our society that we’d like to preserve,� she continues.

Until this interview Sirleaf’s views on gay rights were not widely known.

Considered a progressive by the international community, she had largely been silent on gay issues.

The video came as a shock to Stephanie Horton. A Liberian living in the United States, Horton, the founder of Seabreeze, a journal of Liberian writing, didn’t really consider herself an activist until recently.

But this year, as the anti-gay rhetoric in Liberia became more heated, Horton decided to take a stand. Using the international attention generated by Liberia’s 2011 Nobel Peace Prize win, Horton decided to write an open letter to Leymah Gbowee, the Liberian woman who shared the prize with Sirleaf and Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman.

Before winning the Nobel and becoming a YouTube sensation for the lively wit she displayed during a taping of The Daily Show, Gbowee was best known in the West as the star of Abigail Disney’s harrowing documentary about the Liberian women’s movement’s attempts to stop the civil war there.

In her letter, Horton challenges Gbowee, who has taken no public stance on gay issues, to use her celebrity as a leader on human rights to stand up for the gay community in Liberia. The most passed-around portion of Horton’s letter, posted on dozens of blogs about Africa and gay rights, cites this passage: “LGBT Liberians live in fear, disempowered and daily imperiled. The war for them has not ended. Their lives are defined by danger and violence, persecution, hate speech and threats, discrimination and harassment. They are stigmatized, publicly rejected and al-

stituents that she will not rock the boat.

On the other hand, there’s no indication she will support a law that condemns gays to death.

Liberia is not the ďŹ rst African country to engage in this debate. Horton blames politicized Christianity, which she believes unites recent legal attacks on gays in countries as diverse as Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria and Liberia, countries on opposite sides of the continent but connected, Horton believes, by “a new virulently homophobic religion.â€? It’s a kind of Christianity pushed by adherents in the West that is ďŹ nding fertile ground in places with quickly growing church populations and corrupt lawmakers.

Horton is not alone in this belief. In Massachusetts, where non-citizens can sue Americans for violations of international law, the human rights organization Sexual Minorities Uganda is suing American pastor Scott Lively, accusing the evangelist of “helping spread propaganda and violence� against gays in Uganda for his alleged role in helping draft that country’s harsh anti-gay law.

Both the UK and the United States have now said they will consider a country’s treatment of sexual minorities when allocating aid. But what about Canada?

According to a spokesperson in the office of Bev Oda, minister for international cooperation, “Canada takes human rights, including the persecution of LGTBQ individuals, into consideration when determining the most effective distribution of aid.�

When asked what that means in speciďŹ c cases, the spokesperson says, “I can’t speculate on hypothetical developments, but I assure you, Minister Oda will continue to consider the human rights situation, including the rights of LGBTQ individuals, when distributing Canadian aid.â€?

Meanwhile, Horton doesn’t know if Gbowee personally read her letter, but her sources in Liberia tell her it was widely read there. Though it has received plenty of attention both internationally and in Liberia, Horton has yet to hear any official response.

228 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5A 2E8 5 t ' E: robert@apply2canada.com www.apply2canada.com

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Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

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BISEXUALITY

Born which way?

Fraser’s Edge Brad Fraser

T

HERE ARE A NUMBER OF things that bother me about the entire “born this way” mantra that has overtaken the queer community these last few years.

Frankly, it’s just way too simple.

First of all, after a great deal of study from various angles, no one has ever managed to prove conclusively whether gay people come out of the womb with their sexuality decided or whether our preferences are formed by a variety of integers that can occur throughout various developmental periods of our lives.

The only thing studies have proven, like all studies of human sexuality, is that clear of any moralistic manipulations or interpretations, human sexuality is a part of human nature that is perversely slippery about being pinned down to any absolutes. It influences all of us to varying degrees, according to age and health — and what people actually do while having sex and what they’ll admit to publicly are often very different things.

It’s well documented that a large majority of people of the same sex imprisoned together will form all sorts of couples and alliances — regardless of their orientation.

We all know, or know of, people who lived gay and straight lifestyles at different times in their lives. And not always in the “coming out later” stories we’re accustomed to. The lives of many queer artists throughout Western history are filled with stories like that of bad-boy poet Rimbaud, who enjoyed a notorious relationship with another drunken poet, Verlaine, and later, after the relationship imploded, returned to his wife.

A multitude of the most beautiful Hollywood actresses from the Golden Age, many of them married and mostly het, had relationships and affairs with notorious playwright Mercedes de Acosta over the decades, although none of these lovers were with her when she died penniless and forgotten in New York years later.

Many of us have had one or two “straight” boyfriends or girlfriends who were experimenting, confused or seeking to be something more interesting. Plus, there are many out and happy gay men or lesbians who have, for many reasons, found themselves in bed with partners of the opposite sex once or twice. And let’s not forget those gay men and lesbians who marry one another to live lives they’re comfortable with rather than move into a strange world that might frighten them. Some of these relationships are the most successful I’ve seen in terms of longevity and pure enjoyment of one another’s company.

American columnist Dan Savage often speaks about how the idea of bisexuality is maligned by our community because so many people who turned out to be truly queer hid behind that convenient, safer-seeming label at some point. These people often see anyone else using the term as liars because that’s what they were when they used it.

These bi-deniers, to my mind, are the equivalent of the straight people who think all gay people are gay by choice and should be able to just turn it off. Both groups show an inability

to recognize and acknowledge the fact that not everyone has the same sexual feelings they do. It suggests a simplistic regimentation of thought and a complete lack of empathy and imagination.

Of course, there are truly bisexual people who are equally comfortable — or uncomfortable — with either sex. To say, as many gay people do, that they lack commitment is the same thing as saying all gay people have shallow relationships. Both are generalizations that make the hater comfortable. Just as a straight person announcing that he or she has tried gay sex to another straight friend generally gets a disapproving reaction, so too will the gay dude who confesses to his boy pals that he’s just had sex with a woman. Many people wish sexual feelings were nice and neat, resolute and unwavering, and I suspect their trying to impose those qualities on our sexual desires comes from a hidden inability to do the same thing to theirs.

An excellent example of this sort of thing comes from the greatest homophobes. Santorum, Gingrich, Robertson, Toews and the rest of their ilk are always droning on about our “chosen lifestyle.” And they play this trope because, for them, it’s true. They know

WHO CARES IF ANY LEGAL, CONSENSUAL, SEXUAL OR INTIMATE BEHAVIOUR IS CHOSEN OR IF WE’RE BORN WITH A DESIRE FOR IT? they are gay inside, desperate to have hot sex with other men, but, because of their small minds, non-existent imaginations and sad religious upbringings, they truly do, every day, choose not to be the horny jizz-pigs they know they are.

And still we allow these dolts and their religious brethren to frame the argument for equality for queers with such a pointless question. Who cares if any legal, consensual, sexual or intimate behaviour is chosen or if we’re born with a desire for it? We live in a democracy. Adults are allowed to do what they want to.

There are no religious groups trying to take rights away from men who prefer to fuck women up the ass or women who prefer to get it that way.

Where are the sex police denouncing their degenerate “chosen” lifestyle?

They don’t exist because any other group would tell these people, quite rightly, to go fuck themselves and give up the fascist need to try to control the behaviour of the minority.

So it’s time we stopped indulging this particular debate on any level.

No one’s religious disapproval trumps another individual’s right to freedom and equality. If you don’t approve of what others are doing, don’t do it.

That’s the only argument anyone needs.

Brad Fraser is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. Fraser’s Edge can also be found at xtra.ca.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

17

arts › entertainment › leisure

Out City IN THE

SOME PIECES HAVE THIS QUALITY OF MUSICAL EMBROIDERY, LIKE TINY THREADS OF SOUND WEAVING OVER AND THROUGH EACH OTHER. Christopher House ›20

ON STAGE

the deets HIGH

GETTING

Tues, May 8–Sun, May 13 Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St W mirvish.com

KATHLEEN TURNER FREE MINI FILM FESTIVAL Sat, April 28 Carlton Cinema, 20 Carlton St Peggy Sue Got Married, 1:15pm Romancing the Stone, 4:15pm War of the Roses, 7pm Body Heat, 9:15pm A $5 donation to YouthLink is recommended

HIGH

Serafin LaRiviere

F COURSE IT’S THE voice that hits you first, deeper than many men’s voices, yet unmistakably feminine.

Seductive. Smoky. Instantly recognizable. Kathleen Turner makes Lauren Bacall sound like a soprano.

She looks damn good, holding strong at 57 years young after a shaky spell in therapy for chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

The sexpot ’80s siren came through that struggle, evolving into a serious actress of a certain age.

Good thing, too, given the heavyweight stage roles she’s taken on in the last few years. From The Graduate to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?, Turner’s seasoned but beautiful visage has only accentuated the acting chops that kept her on Hollywood screens long past the point most actresses’ best-before dates pass. Still, it’s largely stage roles that keep her busy these days, including a much-anticipated upcoming run in Matthew Lombardo’s High, a play about drugs, sex, faith and despair.

It’s not an easy play. Lombardo eschews the glamorization of party culture as he paints a vivid and all-too-real picture of a young gay hustler’s methamphetamine addiction and the troubled nun who tries to save him. As Sister Jamison Connelly, Turner is called upon to be both tough and funny as she coaxes, cajoles and bullies Cody Randall into facing up to his addiction. It’s a brutal journey for the pair, as Connelly’s own history of drug and alcohol abuse both helps and hinders her work with Cody.

“I think Jamie is trying to save herself,” Turner says. “One of the most intriguing things about her is that she comes across as being really strong, but she’s so dam-

After struggling with addiction, Kathleen Turner finds a natural euphoria in theatre

THE ABUSING OF ALCOHOL WAS HELPING THE PAIN, BUT THEN IT WAS STARTING TO SCREW MY MIND UP.

aged. How did she go from years of her own damage and self-destructive behaviour to helping others through their own passage?

This is a real journey that this woman’s been on.”

As Sister Jamie and Cody continue their dance of clashing and connecting, it becomes clear that Lombardo’s tale of drugs and recovery isn’t some after-school TV special set onstage. Jamie is at least as foul-mouthed as her young charge, and there are no tidy solutions provided to the scourge of crystal meth — something that first attracted Turner to the piece.

“It’s such a terrible addiction,” she says.

Sister Jamison Connelly (played by Turner) helps young gay hustler Cody Randall (played by Evan Jonigkeit) recover from a meth addiction in High.

MIRVISH

“The most destructive there is, I think. We know that methamphetamine literally destroys synapses in the brain, and it takes at least five years for them to grow back.

Matthew believes very strongly that there is no cure, that without constant vigilance you can fall back into the patterns you had before. It’s always there waiting.”

As a recovering addict himself, Lombardo’s script is all too real — perhaps a factor in High’s prematurely cancelled run on Broadway in April of last year. Turner readily admits the team was unprepared when it hit the Great White Way but points to the play’s enduring life as a touring show as proof of its appeal.

“We screwed up on Broadway,” she says. “I think we rushed it a little. It’s the brilliance of hindsight. I didn’t buy it, and neither did the audience.”

Nevertheless, Turner believed in the play, and in Sister Jamison’s path from addiction to healing. It’s a journey the actress has shared, if in a somewhat more subdued fashion. Diagnosed with crippling rheumatoid arthritis back in 1992, Turner turned to alcohol to dull the pain. While it helped her to maintain a gruelling career schedule, it quickly became clear that something was amiss.

“I was self-medicating,” she says, with refreshing candour. “It’s very hard to describe what it’s like to live in a state of chronic endless pain, knowing there is no posture, no one thing that will give you relief. The abusing of alcohol was helping the pain, but then it was starting to screw my mind up, and I can’t act well if I can’t think properly. I mean, for me, it’s my daughter and acting. That’s all that’s important.

“I finished my work commitment and went to a clinic to find out exactly what this was. I did two weeks there and learned, thankfully, that it was not my path. But it certainly informed me about Jamie and gave me great compassion towards her.”

Now in remission from the arthritis, Turner credits both medical treatments and physiotherapy for the suppleness of movement she now enjoys. “You have to keep moving,” she says. “I don’t care how much it hurts, you have to get into the pool and move. The water will give you the resistance and support you need to keep going.”

It also helps in keeping up with her talented (and breathtakingly gorgeous — look out for his full-frontal!) co-star Evan Jonigkeit as they reunite to tour with the retooled production. “He’s one of the best actors I’ve come across in a long time,” Turner says. “He was the easiest thing to cast. I read with him, he walked out of the room, and I said, ‘We got it, guys.’

“You have to be careful because you’re going to end up working with these people as equals, so you don’t want to create any sort of barrier or class system. You need to be co-workers, and I couldn’t ask for better in Evan.” Certainly a far cry from some of her less-amenable co-stars over the years.

While Turner has nothing but praise for most of her acting comrades, there have been one or two misfires.

“I like all my movies, frankly,” she says.

“Except for Switching Channels. I got stuck with Burt Reynolds when I was supposed to be with Michael Caine. But I was pregnant, so we had a schedule to keep.”

She cites Romancing the Stone and War of the Roses as two of her favourites, but, despite a slew of film classics, Turner admits to feeling most at home on the stage.

“In film, a lot of the times I feel very contained,” she says. “They’re always saying I’m too loud or I’m acting too big.

But then I get to go on stage and go, ‘Ploof!

Yeah! Don’t stop me now!’”

18

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

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xtra.ca Toronto Dance Theatre presents Rivers, April 25–28.

(See story, page 20. )

The definitive news source for gay and lesbian Canadians ART & PHOTOGRAPHY Its Teeth in His Body, Out of 60 Dogs Benjamin Edelberg’s mixed-media and collage art inspired by porn and vintage car-crash photos takes form in a new exhibition. Opening reception Sat, April 28, 7pm. Runs till Fri, May 4. Forgetus Collective, 163 Sterling Rd. benedelberg.tumblr.com

DANCE Anastasia Ballet Jörgen showcases a new work, set during the Bolshevik Revolution, inspired by the life of Anastasia, the tomboy daughter of Russia’s last czar. Sat, April 21, 7:30pm; Sun, April 22, 2:30pm. Betty Oliphant Theatre, 400 Jarvis St. $22–69. balletjorgencanada.ca

Rivers Toronto Dance Theatre presents gifted dancer Christopher House’s new work, set to Ann Southam’s piano piece of the same name. Live accompaniment by renowned pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico. Runs Wed, April 25– Sat, April 28, 8pm. Sat matinee, 2pm.

Harbourfront Centre, 207 Queen’s Quay W. $15–40. tdt.orga

FILM & VIDEO The Feminist Porn Awards: Screening and Panel Discussion

SCI-FI SPECTACULAR with

George Takei

A screening of sultry films by Buck Angel, Erika Lust and more.

Discussion moderated by CoCo La Creme. Thurs, April 19, 9:30–11:30pm.

Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St W. $15. goodforher.com

HEALTH & ISSUES Bisexual Men of Toronto A support and discussion group for men identifying as bisexual, curious and questioning. Tues, April 24, 8–9:30pm. Sherbourne Health Centre, 333 Sherbourne St. Free. bimot.ca

Indoor Golf and Skills Clinic

LEISURE & PLEASURE Older LGBT Social Meet new friends at this afternoon social and take part in gentle exercise. Light refreshments, coffee and tea provided. Transportation available. Thurs, April 19, 2–4pm.

SPRINT, 140 Merton St. Free.

7th Annual Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards Gala Celebrate feminism and porn simultaneously. Performances by CoCo La Creme, Ill Nana and Oliveor-Oliver, with sassy MCs Ryan G Hinds and Elvira Kurt. Fri, April 20, 9pm. Berkeley Church, 315 Queen St E. $25 advance, $30 door, $85 VIP. goodforher.com

Making Open Relationships Work Relationship expert and author Tristan Taormino offers sound advice for setting boundaries, bettering communication and negotiating effectively. Sat, April 21, 11:30am– 2pm. Good For Her, 175 Harbord St. $33. goodforher.com

LGBT Paintball Bang, bang: 100 rounds of ammo and an afternoon of unadulterated fun. Sat, April 21, 1pm. Gladiator’s Arena, 3475 Danforth Ave. $45. getoutcanada.com

PFLAG Annual BowlA-Thon Fundraiser

Tee off for a nine-hole round in a high-definition, realistic golfing environment. A half-hour tips-andskills session kicks off the afternoon; rentals included. Sun, April 22 25, 3pm.

Lakeshore Links, 750 Lakeshore Blvd E. $40. getoutcanada.com

Fat Sex Workshop Courtney Trouble leads a discussionbased workshop for lovers of all shapes and sizes. Topics include selfesteem, body politics and fucking.

All genders welcome. Sun, April 22, 7–8:30pm. Come As You Are, 493 Queen St W. $25. comeasyouare.com

Indoor Beach Volleyball Pound some balls, mingle in the courtside patio bar and make new mates. All skill levels welcome.

Mon, April 23, 7–9pm. North Beach Volleyball, 74 Railside Rd, North York. $15. getoutcanada.com

Salaam Support Group A safe and non-judgmental forum for queer-identified Muslims to discuss faith, spirituality and sexuality. New and seasoned members welcome; refreshments provided. Tues, April 24, 6:30–8pm.

The 519 Community Centre, 519 Church St. Free. salaamcanada.com

Lesbian Sex 101 Learn surefire strategies to get her number and get her going. Preregistration recommended. Tues, April 24, 7–9:30pm. Good For Her, 175 Harbord St. $33. goodforher.com

An afternoon of 10-pin bowling, with families and allies working to raise funds and increase PFLAG’s presence in Toronto schools. Sat, April 21, 1–3pm. Bowlerama, 5429 Dundas St W. $50–100 goal per player, $200– 500 per team. pflagtoronto.org

Indie Wedding Show

Intro to Counselling

Ultimate Frisbee and Brewery Tour

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Learn the basics of psychotherapy with inspiring and established therapists working in the field.

Sun, April 22, 1–2:30pm; 3:30– 4:30pm. The World’s Biggest Bookstore, 20 Edward St. Free. thehealingteam.org

There’s more to life than Vera Wang.

Forty independent vendors bring their unique talents and visions to the table.

Sat, April 28, 10am. The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St W. $10. drakehotel.ca

Get your blood pumping with other Frisbee fanatics in a historic setting.

Finish off the afternoon with a delicious tour of Amsterdam Brewery.

Sat, April 28, 11am. Fort York, 100 Garrison Rd. $20. getoutcanada.com › continued on page 20

Tue, May 1 at 8pm | Wed, May 2 at 2pm & 8pm ROY THOMSON HALL

Jack Everly, conductor George Takei, host | Kristen Plumley, soprano Etobicoke School of the Arts Chorus Set your phasers to stun as George Takei and the TSO take you on a journey through a galaxy of great music from movies like Star Trek, Star Wars, and E.T. Tickets start at $29!

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XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

FUNDRAISER

Henry hits New York

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Chris Dupuis TAKING HIS HIT MUSICAL LIVING with Henry to New York isn’t just an artistic accomplishment for Christopher Wilson. It’s also a measure of the progress that’s been made around HIV. Wilson, who has lived with HIV for nearly a decade, couldn’t have presented his work in the US two years ago because of its decades-long ban on HIV-positive people. Struck down by the Obama administration in 2010, the discriminatory legislation had stopped many artists and activists from travelling to the US. “Playing a show in New York is a dream come true for any theatre artist,�

Wilson says. “I was barred from doing that for a long time, but it’s an honour and a privilege to share this work with this community. New York is the mecca of musical theatre, and it’s also a place where AIDS had, and continues to have, a huge impact.�

Born at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival and remounted in January 2012 at the Next Stage Festival, the work details the complexities of living with HIV in the post-medication era. After testing positive, Michael (Ryan Kelly) must deal with the impact of the disease on his best friend (Lizzie Kurtz), his mother (Mary Kelly) and his husband (Jay Davis). Through the process, Henry

Kirk J. Cooper

B.A., LL.B.

)HYYPZ[LY :VSPJP[VY 5V[HY`

Ryan Kelly and David Silvestri star in Living with Henry.

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PIERRE GAUTREAU

(David Silvestri), the virus personiďŹ ed as a jealous lover, haunts his interactions.

While the show began as a means of untangling Wilson’s experiences with HIV (he describes it as a “dramatically liberated autobiography�), the work is more than just self-examination.

Advances in treatment may have made HIV a manageable illness, but Wilson finds the gay community’s shifting response concerning. “Now that people aren’t necessarily dying, the pressure is off and there is somewhat of a complacency developing,� he says. “But that all changes when the issue is thrust in your face through a diagnosis or the disclosure of a sexual partner. While fear and stigmatization are counterproductive, so is indifference.�

While some artists might be overly

concerned with the tantalizing future prospects for a Big Apple hit (we Torontonians do love when our talent breaks out elsewhere), Wilson’s focus is on more immediate questions. “Right now I’m just concentrating on getting the money together to get the show to New York,� he says. “If we sell out and a big commercial producer gets interested, that’s great. But for now I’m taking things one step at a time.�

the deets A BLOCK TO BROADWAY! Fundraiser to get Living with Henry to New York Mon, April 23, 8pm Bathurst St Theatre 736 Bathurst St artsboxoďŹƒce.ca

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6D834 4E4=C ;8BC8=6B (¸" Daily happenings across the city

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20

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

DANCE

listings ›

For more listings, go to xtra.ca to a psychiatric ward, returns for an encore performance. Sat, April 21, 8pm. Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St. $25. mickeyandjudy.ca

› continued from page 18

LEISURE & PLEASURE (CONT) Running Group

Brothers Karamazov An all-female cast reinvents the Richard Crane stage adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s final novel. Featuring Melee Hutton, Anita La Selva, Nicole St Martin and Ashley Bryant. Runs Fri, April 27–Sun, May 20. Various showtimes. Odyssey Studio, 636 Pape Ave. $29. wordsmyth.ca

Lace up those pumped kicks for a fivekilometre run. Become a stronger, faster runner and meet new friends.

All skill levels welcome. Sun, April 29, 9am. Church St Public School, 83 Alexander St. $5. getoutcanada.com

MUSIC An Evening with Measha Brueggergosman

Paul Hutcheson’s Spring Fling The OUTtv comedian hosts six underground comics, including Shawn Hitchins, Evalyn Reese, Chris Gibbs.

Sat, April 28, 8pm. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. $10. buddiesinbadtimes.com

The star soprano and diva extraordinaire gives an intimate twoset performance. Fri, April 20, 7pm.

Trinity St Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St W. $58. measha.com

PRINT & READINGS Queering the Way Toronto Launch Celebrate the Hogtown launch of Queering the Way: The Loud & Queer Anthology. Readings by steen starr, Nick Green, Beau Coleman and others. Tues, May 1, 7–9pm. Glad Day Bookshop, 598 Yonge St. Free. guysindisguise.com

STAGE slut (r)evolution

Forever Plaid

Paul Hutcheson’s Spring Fling is on April 28. to illustrate a few chosen moments in the artist’s unapologetically sexual life.

Opening performance by acclaimed comedian Paul Hutcheson. Fri, April 20 and Sat, April 21, 9pm. The Sixth Gallery, 1642 Queen St W. $10 advance, $12 door. brownpapertickets.com

Mickey & Judy

Award-winning writer and playwright Cameryn Moore’s follow-up to Phone Whore blends memory and manifesto

Michael Hughes’ semiautobiographical cabaret, detailing the artist’s trajectory from off-Broadway

The Real World?

Toronto Dance Theatre’s latest promises simple adventure

Richard Rose directs a heavyweight cast in the Michael Tremblay classic.

Featuring Matthew Edison, Cara Gee, Sophie Goulet, Tony Nappo, Cliff Saunders, Jane Spidell and Meg Tilly. Runs Wed, May 2–Sun, June 3. Various showtimes. Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. $21–51; student, senior discounts available. tarragontheatre.com

Chris Dupuis

JAMES AND JAMES/Toby Salvietto

PRESENTS

AROUND THE WORLD

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JUNE 14TH - MONTREAL, 8PM Le National www.admission.com,

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Many Rivers to cross

One for the money. Four young, dumb, full-of-cum singers are killed in a car wreck en route to their first big concert in this homage to the guy groups of the 1950s. Runs till Sun, April 29. Various showtimes. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington Ave. $45. lowerossingtontheatre.com

(416) 872-1212

www.pamann.com

ANN SOUTHAM MADE MUSIC THE way she lived life: quietly, minimally and without apology. The Canadian composer, who died in 2010, became internationally known for her delicate piano and electronic works in the 1960s, when composing was still an all-boys’ club. A collaborator from Toronto Dance Theatre’s earliest days, the company’s new piece, Rivers, is scored by one of Southam’s best-loved piano works of the same name.

“I really admired the joy she took in creating,” says choreographer and company head Christopher House.

“A lot of people make good work but don’t really enjoy the process.

For Anne the creative act was sheer pleasure.”

Southam began working with TDT founder Patricia Beatty in the mid’60s, shortly after Beatty returned from New York, bringing modern dance with her to Canada for the first time. The relationship was symbiotic; the company gave Southam carte blanche to experiment musically and her financial contributions kept the lights on in the early years.

House met Southam when he joined TDT in 1978, and he danced numerous pieces she’d scored in his early years. He reconnected with her work after she died, when he dug up a handful of old audio cassettes she’d given him in the 1980s.

“Her compositions celebrate these repetitive structures, which pays homage to the work traditionally performed in society by women,” he says. “Some pieces have this quality of musical embroidery, like tiny threads of sound weaving over and through each other.”

Born in 1937 in Winnipeg, Southam was an heiress to the Southam media fortune and lived a creative life unmarred by financial concerns.

Raised in uptight Forest Hill, after her parents relocated there in 1940, she never fit in with high society. Preferring cropped hair and sweatpants to bouffants and evening gowns, she revelled neither in wealth nor femininity. She never married but

TOP: “There’s a daredevil quality demanding the performer be very much in the moment,” says choreographer Christopher House.

GUNTAR KRAVIS ABOVE: Ann Southam first worked with Toronto Dance Theatre in the mid-’60s.

maintained several long-term relationships with women, the first one beginning in the early ’60s.

“Coming from a wealthy family made it easier for her not to be limited by sexuality or gender,” House says.

“She was quite a feminist in a time when it wasn’t considered acceptable and made a name for herself in an entirely male-dominated industry.”

True to Southam’s spirit, Rivers is scored simply, with the piano played by virtuoso Christina Petrowska Quilico. The company’s 10 dancers perform on a stripped-down set, embodying Southam’s creative approach.

“Her compositions have these rigid structures, but there’s a daredevil quality demanding the performer be very much in the moment,” House says.

“We’re aiming for that in the dancing as well, trying to have them approach the work as an adventure, being open to celebrating each instant.”

the deets RIVERS Toronto Dance Theatre Wed, April 25–Sat, April 28 Fleck Dance Theatre Harbourfront Centre 207 Queen’s Quay W tdt.org

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

“KATHLEEN TURNER IS BRILLIANT! IT IS BY FAR THE BEST THING SHE HAS EVER DONE!” – Rex Reed, New York Observer

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21

22

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012 The all new

HOT DOCS

Hegge interviews artist Vaginal Davis, who collaborated with GB Jones and Bruce LaBruce.

When queer punk exploded Documentary is a love letter to the spirit of Fifth Column Matt Thomas IT ALL STARTED WITH FIFTH COLumn. At least according to Kevin Hegge, who has immortalized the queer punk icons in a new documentary.

“I was always talking to people about the way Toronto was during the ’80s and how the art community and the queer community and the punk community did and didn’t gel and what came out of that, and it all seemed to lead back to Fifth Column and what they were doing,” Hegge says.

She Said Boom, Hegge’s documentary about those years, is screening as part of this year’s Hot Docs festival.

Started in the early ’80s by artists GB Jones and Caroline Azar, Fifth Column was a groundbreaking group of musicians dismissed by the mainstream press as too experimental, too feminist and too queer. “There was a really farout recklessness to their sound, kind of like an experimental space-aged Archies, but there are lots of pop-music elements, too,” Hegge says.

Fifth Column stuck out like a sore thumb in the punk scene, thanks to cheeky tracks like “The Fairview Mall Story,” which related the true story of the arrest of 32 men in a washroom sex sting and the media’s publication of their names. The video featured artistic collaborator Bruce LaBruce go-go dancing.

Jones and LaBruce later created the punk zine JDs in a dingy Queen St apartment in 1985. It became a manifesto for a new scene and genre that would eventually be known as homocore or queercore.

“They created a whole new demographic based on this ideal notion that Toronto had tons of these hot gay punks, bands and filmmakers, but it was really just what they were doing and dreaming up,” Hegge explains, noting that the movement was widely imitated, eventually becoming the forerunner for the “out-of-the-box queer culture” that produced events like Will Munro’s monthly Vazaleen party.

Shot over three years in Toronto,

New York and Berlin, She Said Boom traces Fifth Column’s history by employing their edgy, eye-popping films and archival performance footage and photographs. Hegge also speaks with collaborators and artists who’ve been inspired by the band, including avant-garde performance artist Vaginal Davis and Le Tigre frontwoman Kathleen Hanna.

Hegge chose to create polished, high-definition pop-art caricatures of his core subjects’ personas to contrast

THEY CREATED A WHOLE NEW DEMOGRAPHIC BASED ON THIS IDEAL NOTION THAT TORONTO HAD TONS OF THESE HOT GAY PUNKS, BANDS AND FILMMAKERS. —filmmaker Kevin Hegge the film’s otherwise lo-fi complexion. Hegge sat with LaBruce in a gay strip club and even had a late-night exchange with the mysterious Jones in High Park. “We had to drag this generator out there; it was pretty cold and you had to run into the trees to pee,” he recalls. “Literally 25 feet away were swarms of men cruising the park, and I remember thinking, This is so appropriate, it’s a good omen.”

For more on this year’s hottest gay documentaries, visit xtra.ca.

the deets SHE SAID BOOM: THE STORY OF FIFTH COLUMN Hot Docs film festival Fri, April 27, 7:15pm, Royal Cinema Tues, May 1, 9pm, Cumberland 2 Fri, May 4, 7pm, Fox Theatre hotdocs.ca

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

IN PRINT

MUSIC

Tradition, meet Canada BACK

IN THE GAME

Ottawa author explores struggle of gay Middle Eastern immigrants Layla Cameron

T

HE WINNING ENTRY OF A national literary contest tells a story that is often lived but rarely spoken about.

In The Lebanese Dishwasher, Ottawa author Sonia Saikaley tackles the taboo subject of homosexuality in Middle Eastern immigrant communities. Her book won the 2012 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest.

“The Lebanese Dishwasher was selected because of the elegance of its style and the strength of its story,” says Luciano Iacobelli, co-founder of Quattro Books, which runs the annual contest. “It concerns itself with two cultures, Lebanese and Palestinian, and it deals with the issue of homosexuality within these cultures. The book is about a minority within a minority.”

The novella’s protagonist is Amir, a gay man who immigrates to Montreal from Lebanon after suffering through civil war and a traumatic childhood. He finds a job as a dishwasher in Montreal but continues to struggle with his past.

At work he meets a man named Rami who gives him hope and serves as a companion.

“My initial response,” says Mark McCawley, editor and publisher of the online magazine Urban Graffiti,

“was that it was a splendidly written, sensitive depiction of a same-sex relationship . . . that avoided both traditional immigrant stereotypes and any clichéd depictions of gay lifestyle . . . It is neither a ‘gay’ book nor an ‘immigrant’ book. The book is essentially a love story and a uniquely Canadian one.”

While she is not a lesbian, Saikaley knows the problems gay immigrants encounter.

She says the reality is that many gay Middle Eastern immigrants remain closeted even after they come to Canada. “In my own community, it’s rarely spoken about,” she says. “I grew up in a traditional Lebanese household, and I find the most important thing is marriage and having children.”

Iacobelli expects some within immigrant communities will be upset by the book’s content. “I’m sure some people will be shocked and morally outraged,” he says.

However, he says the invisibility of the struggles of gay people is a universal issue.

“If these realities are not faced, they lead to ignorance and cruelty, and the result is unhappiness for all,” Iacobelli says. “My hope is that some of these people will

“In my own community, it’s rarely spoken about,” says Ottawa writer Sonia Saikaley of homosexuality.

read the book and see that love happens between two members of the same sex in much the same way that it happens between a man and a woman. It’s the same joy. It’s the same loyalty.”

the deets THE LEBANESE DISHWASHER Sonia Saikaley Quattro Books $14.95

Rufus Wainwright releases his new album, Out of the Game, April 24.

To watch our video interview with Wainwright, visit xtra.ca.

DEBUT EP INCLUDES THE HIT SINGLE

“GLAD YOU CAME”

10

00

AVAILABLE APRIL 24

SPECIAL EDITION ONLY

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Toronto’s Gay & Lesbian Business Directory – is online!

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Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

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NEIGHBOURHOOD

Serving fresh fruits Local grocer knows how to please Church St shoppers SeraďŹ n LaRiviere YOU KNOW THE OLD JOKE, OR VARIAtions thereof: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Go to Church and Wellesley to ďŹ nd a bunch of fruits and some fresh meat.â&#x20AC;? While this cute saying holds true for a variety of indulgences, the centre of the gay village has long been blessed with some ďŹ ne independent grocers. One of the jewels of the street is Pusateriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, a classic fruit and veg store known for impeccably fresh produce and a gay-embracing atmosphere.

Having recently celebrated its 45th anniversary, Pusateriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has remained an anchor for many of the other Village businesses, offering local shoppers a cluster of well-maintained, competitively priced alternatives to big-box grocery stores. Certainly, there have been some recent closures since the arrival of the Loblaws juggernaut several blocks south, but for consumers looking for fresh local produce, there really is no comparison. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We handpick everything,â&#x20AC;? says coowner Tony Cerminara. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every morning Frank [Mangione] goes down to the Ontario Food Terminal at 5:30am to pick up produce from the market there. As much as we can, we get our produce from local farmers, and I think it really shows.â&#x20AC;?

Mangione is the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other coowner and the son-in-law of Joe Pusateri, who opened his shop back in 1966. Though now retired, Joeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s penchant for carrying only the best-quality fruits and vegetables still holds true, as does his fair-minded ethic in dealing with an astonishingly long-term staff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Joe did a great job in keeping those employees,â&#x20AC;? Cerminara says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got our manager who has been with us for 25 years and a cashier whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been here the same. We try to make it a hospitable environment for everyone.â&#x20AC;?

Marcy Rogers is one long-time customer who recently crossed the aisle to put on one of Pusateriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trademark green aprons. A well-regarded writer and poet, Rogers landed a job there a year ago to help make ends meet and couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be happier with the result. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been shopping here for 20 years,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always loved this place because they treat their customers like family, but they also treat their employees the same way. They knew my situation, and I think they went out of their way to make sure I had the opportunity to make a living.â&#x20AC;?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s undeniable that the proximity of the new Loblaws has affected Village business somewhat, but Cerminara points out that his family-run store of-

Marcy Rogers was a loyal customer before Pusateriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s put her on the payroll.

ANDREA HOUSTON

fers services that would be impractical for a big-box grocery behemoth, such as home-delivery and a responsive product request system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Loblawsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; coming really forced us to step it up a little,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve expanded our

organic presence substantially, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still all handpicked every morning.â&#x20AC;?

Pusateriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is located at 497 Church St. Visit them at pusateri.ca or ďŹ nd them on Facebook, under Pusateri Fruit Market.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

XPOSED

This is Korey Schaefer doing his best not to look like a total creeper.

He is failing miserably, by the way. We see right through it.

Anna Pournikova

If you’ve ever been to the Junos, then you know it’s the most fun the Canadian music industry has, despite the clinical treatment of the whole thing and the disorganized promoting of JunoFest and the fact that no one knows where anything is or how to get around. And there are lots and lots of laughs, like this one had by Chris Unwin on the dancefloor of an Ottawa bro-bar the Friday before the awards. Good times, people, really good times.

Diggy DJed at the bro-bar, called Tila Tequila, on the Junos weekend.

And here’s where it gets interesting: at said bro-bar were Deadmau5, Jian Ghomeshi, Don Allen (of Liberty Group) and members of the band Down with Webster, surrounded by frat boys, weird DJ gear and beefy guys in deep-Vs serving from the open bar. It was that amazing. Only at the Junos, people.

25

Let me set this up for you: this is Cedric Gasaida, aka Starving Yet Full, in his “day outfit,” standing outside Ritual nightclub in Ottawa like it ain’t no thing but a chicken wing. Respect.

One of the best shows was Austra and Azari & III at Ritual for JunoFest. Small venue, big acts, tons of fun. The crazies who showed up in the green room were worth the drive alone.

And here are two of my favourite crazies: ET and Alphonse from Azari & III. Nothing beats running into scrappy friends from your hometown when you’re out of town.

The battle of the Madonna parties raged for weeks on end; Clinton’s got in on the action with Philip Tetro, flanked here by DJs Lindsay and Brittney. It was a lovely evening that included lots of cute boys, some serious daggering

by Tetro and a spontaneous full dance routine with chairs by two party-goers that was met with whoops and hollers.

The definitive news source for gay and lesbian Canadians

Hey, sexy lady — show me your tits. I know it’s vulgar, but Raymi the Minx is all about reverse feminism feminism. And zooey, what a nice pair they are. Goes great with the Parts & Labour hat and the food stations of tacos and perogies.

Mother of Gay or Straight Son(s)? $50 for 1/2 hour You are invited to participate in a study on the possible biological basis of sexual orientation.

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Mothers will fill out a short questionnaire and give a small blood sample.

Please contact Dr. Anthony Bogaert (Brock University, St. Catharines, ON) at tbogaert@brocku.ca or 905-688-5550 ext 4230 for more information.

ESTATE PLANNING ROBERT G. COATES B.Sc., LL.B., TEP

If you decide to participate, our researchers will come to your home or place of mutual convenience.

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xtra.ca

The Parts & Labour folks launched a new catering menu at their sister venue, The Hoxton. It was attended by ravenous fans of food and open bars, but the feature that stole the show was, hands-down, Castor Design’s Winnebago out back that was serving champagne and fresh-shucked oysters. Melanie (pictured) and I thought it was a classy touch, with cast-iron wood-burning stove and everything.

SI N

This sexy bitch is David Robert. I keep running into him on dancefloors, and it never fails to warm my little black heart. The exuberance on this one is so infectious, I bet he’s great at make-up sex.

1981

26

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

NIGHTCLUB LISTINGS THURS, APRIL 19 Ladyplus Parties, with t-girls performing and DJ Todd Klinck spinning. 8pm.

Goodhandys, 120 Church St. $5 before 11pm, $10 after. goodhandys.com Heart Throb: Porn-o-Rama, with DJ Betti Forde spinning. Hosted by Lexi Tronic and Drew DeVeaux. 10pm.

Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St W. No cover. henhousetoronto.com

FRI, APRIL 20 The 20th anniversary, hosted by Farra N Hyte. Performances by Nicole, Charo, Nuri, Luna Mercedes and Sasha, with DJs Kno and Flaco on the decks.

Special club history gallery, plus gifts for everyone. Runs till Sat, April 21. 9pm.

El Convento Rico, 750 College St. $10. elconventorico.com Underbear Party raises funds for the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, with DJ Robotic Kid on the decks.

Sponsored by Out on the Street and Calvin Klein. 10pm. Black Eagle, 457 Church St. No cover. blackeagletoronto.com Pornstar/producer Ace Rockwood releases his NY Sex Chronicles DVD with a massive party, featuring giveaways and prizes for voguing. DJ Blackcat spins sexy beats to add to the heat. 10pm.

Goodhandy’s, 120 Church St. $10 with flyer, $15 without. goodhandys.com

Jackhammer: Where the Men Are, with guest bartender Francis Gaudreault, of Pitbull Toronto, and DJ Dwayne Minard.

9:30pm. Out Lounge, 540 King St W, Oshawa. $10. outlounge.ca

THURS, APRIL 26 Inside Out Launch Party: Lights! Camera!

Auction! DJ Craig Dominic spins and Chy Ryan Spain and Fluffy Soufflé perform.

7pm. Burroughes Building, 639 Queen St W. Suggested donation $10. insideout.ca

Sodom: Return of Superheroes & Villains, hosted by Judy Virago, with Nikki Chin as Catwoman, Tyler Gledhill as Batman and Adam Norrad as Robin.

DJ Sumation spins action tracks.

Hero art show by Ricky Kruger. 10pm.

Goodhandy’s, 120 Church St. $7 before 11pm, $10 after, $5 students all night. sodom.ca

FRI, APRIL 27 Regiment: Kilt and Uniform Night brings out the men who like uniforms.

Bimonthly. 9pm–2am. The Black Eagle, 457 Church St. No cover. blackeagletoronto.com Fuck U Fridays, with DJs Triple-X and CJ Sleez spinning retro tunes and rock classics; the Midnight Erotic Cabaret knots knickers, with Wry and Ginger, Sexy Mark Brown and Vivek Shraya. 10:30pm–2:30am. Buddies, 12 Alexander St. $5.

SUN, APRIL 22 Stage-to-Screen Show, with Donnarama and Daytona Bitch, at 6pm; the Drag Legends Show at 9pm; Georgie Girl and Donnarama welcome Sofonda, Charo Batista and guests at 11pm. Woody’s, 465 Church St. No cover. woodystoronto.com Lady G and guests at 7pm; Sexy Sundays, with Devine Darlin and friends, at 9pm. Kera Keys and Farra N Hyte at 11pm. Crews & Tangos, 508 Church St. No cover. crewsandtangos.com

MON, APRIL 23 M Factor Mondays, with River City Junction and Elana Harte playing great music. 7pm. The Old Nick, 123 Danforth Ave. No cover. facebook.com/ mfactormondays

SAT, APRIL 21

TUES, APRIL 24

Cherry Bomb, with DJs Denise Benson and guest Lucie Tic entertaining queer women and friends. 9pm–3am. Andy Poolhall, 489 College St. No cover before 10pm, $7 after. andypoolhall.com

TICOT Toonie Tuesday fundraiser, with Candice Kelly and Nikki Chin, at 9pm; Vocal Rehab, with DJ Elyse, in the Zone and All Request, with DJ Quinces, in

SAT, APRIL 28 Nikki Chin hosts Sodom on April 21.

Tangos, both at 10pm; Bittersweet, with Honey Brown and Olyvia Chin, at 11pm.

Crews & Tangos, 508 Church St. No cover. crewsandtangos.com

WED, APRIL 25 Red Party taints men in the bathhouse.

9pm. Spa Excess, 105 Carlton St. Regular rates apply. spaexcess.com That’s So ’90s trivia night stumps the twinks. 9pm. WAYLA, 996 Queen St E. No cover. whatareyoulookingatbar.com

ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN Win a copy of The Wanted EP, (Special Edition with bonus tracks) & Poster, courtesy of Universal Music!

To enter, send your name & contact info to contest@xtra.ca

by April 26th . Some restrictions apply.

Only winners will be contacted.

Bears, Baths & Beyond has fuzzy guys frolicking, 10am–3pm; DJ Danny White spins, 7pm–1am. Steamworks, 540 Church St. Regular rates apply. steamworksonline.com DJs MRK and Tigerblood spin intense and sexy sets. Mixed crowd. 10pm–3am. The Mod Club, 722 College St. $10 cover, $5 guest list. themodclub.com Mr Big, with DJs Dwayne Minard and BoyUK spinning huge beats. 11pm.

Smith, 553 Church St. $5 till midnight, $10 after. 553church.com

SUN, APRIL 29 25th Anniversary of Triangle Squares brings the hoe down for a square dance.

2:30pm. The 519 Community Centre,

519 Church St. No cover, but registration required. trianglesquaresflyin. wordpress.com Hardcore XXXtra Nasty Amateur Night brings out the hardcore boys to do the sexy in the bathhouse. 7–9pm.

Steamworks, 540 Church St. Regular rates apply. steamworksonline.com

MON, APRIL 30 Mix Fix Mondays has rotating DJs spinning the best of disco, ’80s, ’90s, hip hop and more. 9pm. Crawford Bar, 718 College St. No cover.

TUES, MAY 1 T-Girl Lust, hosted by Ladyplus, with t-girl go-go shows, Mandy Goodhandy and DJ Todd Klinck. 8pm. Goodhandy’s, 120 Church St. Booth membership is $10/day, $25/month. goodhandys.com Fooftastic Karaoke. 10pm. WAYLA, 996 Queen St E. No cover. whatareyoulookingatbar.com

WED, MAY 2 It’s Hump Day, with DJ Mark Falco and day prices all night long. 9pm.

Woody’s, 465 Church St. No cover. woodystoronto.com

For complete listings on the go, scan the QR code below or visit xtra.ca.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online directory of gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses

indexdirectory.ca

indexdirectory.ca ACCOMMODATIONS - BRITISH COLUMBIA The Eagleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest B&B

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ARTS & CRAFTS Wise Daughters Craft Market 416-761-1555

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BANKRUPTCY MNP Ltd

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CINEMAS Rainbow and Carlton Cinemas 416-494-9371

CLEANING & MAID SERVICES CondoFresh

647-448-5213

COMMUNITY GROUPS & SERVICES AIDS Committee of Toronto Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives (CLGA) Enterprise Toronto Rainbow Ballroom & Latin Dance Club of Toronto

416-340-2437 416-777-2755 416-392-6646 416-779-0662

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416-201-3000 416-466-2129

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OPTOMETRISTS Dr Jason Hershorn

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Spiritual services

Notices

Christian Healing Service

OUTNPOZ

Notices

For HIV-positive people, their friends, family, and caregivers.

Eucharistic liturgy including sacrament of anointing of the sick.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church (Sherbourne north of Wellesley). Wheelchair accessible.

Saturday, April 21st, 2012 - 7:00pm All welcome to join with us, third Saturday of every month.

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Our meetings are informal, conďŹ dential and very helpful. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to support you on your journey.

Please visit our website: www.gayfathers-toronto.com

T-SHIRTS Gemini Tees

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VIDEO/DVD RENTALS 416-586-9914

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WINERIES

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TRAVEL AGENCIES

416-651-8889

Commemorate those who have recently passed away.

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Call 416-644-5214 for more information.

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Front Door Organics 416-201-3000 Midtown Dental Centre 416-966-DENT(3368)

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PHARMACIES

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ACCOUNTANTS

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27

416-920-WINE

Watch for the release of the 2012 spring edition of Index in the May 17 issue of Xtra.

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Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

HELPFUL TIPS Clarity is key.

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Hair/skin & beauty WWW.GANYMEDE.CA Professional hair removal by certiďŹ ed specialist. Waxing, electrolysis and laser. Clean, private, downtown location. By appointment only. Call Darcy at 416-979-8801.

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more at xtra.ca

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

29

FETISH

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Porndoggy Jeremy Feist

A

BIG PART OF PORN IS acting. Not acting in the way Meryl Streep or George Clooney act, mind you, but more in the sense of . . . bravado, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s less about creating characters than it is about ďŹ&#x201A;aunting machismo and chemistry and committing to a certain niche of sexuality. Jock, twink, bear, muscle man, whatever. You have to know what kind of sexual imagery it is you portray and what kind of sexual imagery you yourself are actually into, then ďŹ nd a reasonable middle ground between the two competing notions.

Not everyone thinks this way.

Case in point: a porn model niche I call â&#x20AC;&#x153;diet kink.â&#x20AC;? Maybe youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen them: they refer to themselves as â&#x20AC;&#x153;kinkâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;fetishâ&#x20AC;? models because they put on leather jockstraps once, despite having no prior experience or interest in kink. As I said, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet kink: it tries to approximate the ďŹ&#x201A;avour of kink, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something just ever so slightly off about it that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit well.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the thing: thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s noth-

ing wrong with someone who isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet kinky but wants to branch out.

There is, however, something wrong with someone who coopts the fetish community for the sake of self-promotion. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sheep in wolfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing, essentially. Throwing on a leather jockstrap and getting fucked in a sling for a paycheque makes you kinky the same way starring in Doctor GoodFuck, PhD makes you a trained physician.

There are pornstars out there who have devoted time to the kink community, learned the finer intricacies of BDSM play, and practise it in their day-to-day lives. Van Darkholme, Tony Buff, Derek da Silva â&#x20AC;&#x201D; these are men who actually understand how fetish works. The twink in the borrowed, ill-fitting harness? Less so.

The best fetish scene Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever seen in a mainstream porno came from the directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cut of Falcon Studiosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; XXX. It involved da Silva getting into some ďŹ re play with Scott Campbell, which can be an extremely risky scene without proper training. Now imagine if, instead of someone with da Silvaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience, you brought in some diet kink star to try it out. Bestcase scenario, he looks like a moron.

Worst-case scenario, he causes serious bodily damage.

Unless youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a kink expert like Van Darkholme, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attempt fetish porn.

This is not to say that my judgment of diet kink stars is permanent and unchanging.

If a performer wants to explore BDSM and incorporate it into his work, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful. Find someone in the kink community who is willing to teach you rough play, broaden your level of experience and comfort with it, and learn how to play safely and intelligently. A massive part of kink is trust, and if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be bothered to learn how to do things properly, no one will trust you enough to let you play with them. Being a fetish star requires a level of intelligence and understanding that you simply canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get by donning a couple pieces of leather.

Jeremy Feist is a Toronto pornstar.

Porndoggy appears in every issue of Xtra.

GET ALL THE INCHES YOU WANT! Call 1-800-268-XTRA to book your classiďŹ ed or book online at xtra.ca

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Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! APRIL 19, 2012

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