Xtra, Toronto's Gay and Lesbian News by Pink Triangle Press

SEX AND SCIENCE

LESBIAN COUGARS

Minister turned oﬀ by jerk-oﬀ video ›10

Older lezzies seek younger women ›27

TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

#720 MAY 31, 2012

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OF TORONTO PWA FOUNDATION ›19–26

SEXCRIMES With a Conservative government, are the scales of justice tipping? ›13

COMMENT 6 XCETERA 7 NEWS 9 OUT IN THE CITY 27 XPOSED 34

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XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

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XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

CAPTIVATING IS IN SEASON. TICKETS NOW ON SALE

EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH

STEWART GOODYEAR: THE BEETHOVEN MARATHON

An Opera in Four Acts by Robert Wilson – Philip Glass

Produced in association with The Royal Conservatory

Choreography by Lucinda Childs

June 9 | Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning

June 8–10 | Sony Centre for the Performing Arts North American Premiere

Pianist Stewart Goodyear, world renowned for his stylistic elegance and exquisite technique, undertakes the Herculean challenge of playing all 32 Beethoven sonatas, in the order they were composed, in a single day.

“It is undoubtedly the most spectacular work of the twentieth century.” –Le Figaro “An experience to cherish for a lifetime.” –John Rockwell, The New York Times With Support from:

Presented in three parts: 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm. Tickets available for each individual part. Save 15% when you purchase two and 20% when you purchase all three concert parts.

Major Media Partner:

Photo: Érick Labbé

Arts Partner:

PLAYING CARDS 1: SPADES

SADEH21

Directed by Robert Lepage

Ohad Naharin | Batsheva Dance Company

June 13–17 | Joey and Toby Tannenbaum Opera Centre

June 14–16 | MacMillan Theatre

North American Premiere

Tel Aviv’s acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company presents an electrifying new work choreographed by the company’s artistic director, Ohad Naharin.

North American Premiere

Presented in English, French and Spanish, with surtitles. This production includes strong language and nudity. Parental discretion is recommended. THE MCLEAN FOUNDATION

Marketing Partner:

Photo: Gadi Dagon

With Support from:

Gala Opening Night Performance in support of: With Support from: Marketing Partner:

OPENING WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

TORONTO CARRETILLA INITIATIVE

SOON IS NOW

June 9–10 | The Distillery Historic District

June 9 | Airship 37, Studio 2, 37 Parliament Street, south of Mill Street

1000 TASTES OF TORONTO™ June 9–10 | The Distillery Historic District Toronto’s top chefs take to the streets for President’s Choice® 1000 Tastes of Toronto™, an annual Luminato highlight. This year, each of the more than three-dozen chefs has been asked to create a favourite dish from their childhood, integrating Canadian ingredients. Attendance is free, and every culinary delight is priced at just $5. Presenting Partner:

Dubai Bold on Fluo Green, 2010 – CORNO/SODRAC (2012)

Equal parts sculpture, performance and social experiment, Austrian artist Rainer Prohaska’s mobile kitchens will be assembled to create a communal meal alongside the perennially popular President’s Choice® 1000 Taste of Toronto™. The Toronto Carretilla Initiative will continue throughout the Festival, June 11–17, at various downtown locations. Visit luminato.com for schedule details.

VISIT LUMINATO.COM FOR FULL FESTIVAL DETAILS For tickets call 416-368-4TIX (4849) or visit luminato.com Groups (10+) call Luminato Group Sales at 416-368-4849 Download Luminato’s FREE 2012 Mobile App at www.luminato.com/mobile

JUNE 8–17, 2012 | luminato.com |

In an all-day, loft-style party, internationally acclaimed Canadian artist Corno, celebrated for her high-energy, expressionistic style that incorporates luscious and audacious female ﬁgures, creates 10 large-scale paintings that pay homage to femininity. Performance art by Charlie Le Mindu and music from top Toronto DJs complete the festivities. Presenting Partner:

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

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indexdirectory.ca NEXT TORONTO RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 15

Acco mm od Resources ations Acco untants Banking Ba Apartments Ar t Ga Ad ult Adve rtising Busin ess &nkruptcy Bars & Clubslleries Ar t Supplies Agencies AIDS/HIV Butchers Ca Profe ssional Orga Bicycles Bookkeep Ar tis ts Ar ts & Craft Co mm un ity rpet Cleaning Cater niz ati ons Busin ess ing Books & Magaziness Contrac tin Grou ps & Se rviceing Chat Lines Chee Su pp lie s & Se rvice Crises Servig & Renovations Co s Co mp ute r Co ns se Shops Chocolatierss Dermatologces & Shelters Cros okwa re Cosmetic ultan ts Co ns tru cti on Gardening y Drag Enter tainms-Dressing Dating Se Services Counsellin Graphic De rvi g ent Events & Barbers He sig Framing &ces Dental Services alth & Person Services Grocery Gy Posters Fu Home Impro nal Care ms Ha rnitur Inves tmen vements & Repairs Health Food & Nutritir Removal Hair Stylist e Ho t s ion Se tel Ho rv rvi s Illu me ce strators Ins s Jewe Leather Lif Furnishing el elle ler ery ry y ura Certified/Ree Legal Services Lim& Jewellers rs Juice Ba nce Interior Designs Kitch chens Lawy & Storage gistered Massage ousine Services Lo rs Kit wye ers rs Personal TraMusic Optical Serv Meats & Delicatesse cksmiths Massage ices Optom ns iners Pet ind exdirec Ph ho Care tory.ca etrists OrgaMortgages Moving oto og grra Pet Sit ap ph h errss Plu ting & Board nic P lum Fo Publicationshe mb od biing Pa i ng g Po iticcia int ing Pet Sto c ian an nss Pssy res & Supp ing Re creati on Real Es tate Real liti ycch h ho olo log lies gi Es ist st Re ts tat s f fl fle P Ps e ex sy xo Ag yc olo ch gen Cafes Sexu log ho ents gy o th y Re no ts Real Es he erra aap py y Ta x Se rv iceal Counselling Spa va tio ns & Re R sto rat tate Inves tments Tree Service s Te lec om mu nic Services Ta ke Ou t ion s Re sta uran ts & at ion s Tra & Delivery s Trophies Yoga ns Ta Up g Accomm po tto ho rta lst oin tio ery Web Sit g mmo od dat da ati tion tio on HIV ns Accoun es Wedding n Trave l Agen cie s IV R Resourc ur unta tan s Wome ntttss Adult Apa art rtm Banking Ba es Ap ultt Adve me m en nts ts Art Ga errti tising Agenn’s Services alle lle llerries es A Arrtt S Busin ess &nkruptcy Bars & ClubsG cies cie ess A Supplies AID IDS DS lie Artis S/ / Bic Pr t ofe yc st ts les ss Arts & Craft Butchers Ca Bookkeep ional Orga a Co mm un ity rpet Cleaning Cater niz ati ons Busin ess ing Books & Magaziness up ps ps & Se rv ing Chat Lines Chee Su pp lie s & Se rvice Contrac tin y Grou ice s Co C mp Ren no p ute r Co ns se Shops Chocolatie s ov Crises Servig & Re va ati tio on ns s Cook rs ulttan ces & Shelt a nttss Co ns Derm ers Cross- wa re Cosmeti r ato tru cti o n tollog D ag Serrvic Dressing Da eticc Se ice ag En ess Counse on E Gardening y Dr ting Servi vic nm l ling llin m Graphic De tter ttaiinm Ev ve en ntts Fra & Barbers He sign Serviceent E F ming &ces Dental Services s alt Gr P Po h oc & ste st ery Pe rs Furn Ho rsonal Care om Gy me e Im rniit mp itu turre pro rov e ve Health Food ms Hair Removal HaFu em me en nts ts & Repairs Inv ve esstm ir Sty & Nutrition tm me i s Ho en nt rviice H tel elss Illu Home Furni lists ces ewel usstra Leather Lift Serrv rat ato to ors elle shings rss Ins ler ery Insu ry y & Jewellestr ura e Legal Se Jew ranc nce e Int I ter In Certifi eri er r rs rv io rtifie or Jui ice r De ce ed s e d/ sig s Lim /R Barss Kit gn Re n eg ou gis isttered Me Kitch K chen e s Lawy Music Op ats & Delicasine Services Locksm wye pti ers ticca rs tes tessens iths Massag Pet Care Peall Services Op n ptom metr rtga etris eag ge isttss Organics Mortg es es Movin ving Plu mb ing t Sit ting & Boarding g & Storag Food Painting rage Po P oli liti Pe g tic Pe cia t ers ian St rso ns ores & Su on s Ps yc ho log Estat na al Trainerss TOeRO ReNT all Es pplies Photo O’S ist s Psyc ho tat tate GA e Ag AYge Reno en &nt BUva h otth graphers LE ts Re SIN SBal he errap tioES IAEs apy Pu ns S&DI Ntat t e Inv P ub ReRE Inve blilicccaati sto CT esstm Servi OR rat tio tm ntts Recre on Ys Resta te ion nss Real s Ta FALce Tak al L 201 cr ation e Ou urants & Caen Outt 1 ke o Refle Transpo fl livery xolog fes ry Ta lo y rtation Tra& Delive Sexual Coun tto oo oin oing g Ta vel AgencieTatt Tax Sites Wedd x se Se lling Spa rvi ces Telecom s ings Wome mu mun n’s ServiceTree Services Troph lec nic ati atio on nss ies Upholst ica s Yoga ery Web

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EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Devin Casey, Tyler Dorchester, Chris Dupuis, Jeremy Feist, Julia Garro, Jeremy Hainsworth, Matthew Hays, Ryan G Hinds, Boyd Kodak, Michael Lyons, Serafin LaRiviere, Marcus McCann, Anna Pournikova, Drew Rowsome, Bradley Turcotte, Sasha Van Bon Bon

Brandon Matheson ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Matt Mills ASSIGNMENT EDITOR Danny Glenwright COPY EDITOR Lesley Fraser NEWS REPORTERS Andrea Houston, Rob Salerno

LISTINGS EDITOR Drew Rowsome 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 Jeﬀrey Hoﬀman 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

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

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1000islandstourism

.com

Québec

Montreal

Ontario

Ottawa

417

416

Gananoque 401

Toronto

Brockville

401 Exits Kingston 645, 647, 648

New York

U.S.A.

Photo by Julianna Harbec.

Summer Solstice – Pride in the 1000 Islands – June 22, 23, 24, 2012

FRIDAY – Rainbow Rendezvous at the Gananoque Inn & Spa. Evening at the 1000 Islands Playhouse (including a pre-show mixer on the deck) www.1000islandsplayhouse.com.

SATURDAY EVENING – Free concert at Joel Stone Park including Jarvis Church, Suzie McNeil and on stage with Circus Orange and their amazing pyrotechnics and acrobatics.

SATURDAY – Spend the day in the islands and take advantage of special kayaking packages, guided hikes, Gananoque Boat Line cruises, shopping or cycling.

SUNDAY (Noon-3pm) – Rainbow Family Day at Joel Stone Park featuring local entertainment and motivational speakers.

*DQDQRTXH %RDW /LQH

For festival updates visit www.1000islandstourism.com or call 1-800-561-1595.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012 TORONTO’S GAY& LESBIAN NEWS

Roundup MAY 31, 2012

#720

SAME-SEX LEGAL ISSUES JANICE P. WARREN BARRISTER & SOLICITOR

416-323-7767 jwarren@tcn.net Immigration: Same-Sex Sponsorship Applications from Canada & Overseas U.S. Work Permits

CYNTHIA BOROVOY WARREN BARRISTER & SOLICITOR

416-964-0900 cbw@cbwarrenlaw.com Domestic Matters: Domestic Agreements Real Estate: Purchase, Sale & Mortgages: Estate Planning: Wills and Powers of Attorney

30 St Clair Ave W Suite 400, Toronto ON M4V 3A1

OUT IN THE CITY

Beyond Bozo The Toronto Festival of Clowns is back with a lineup that includes everything from traditional clowning to the dark side of the genre.

›30

NEWS

Farewell to George’s Play After a decade on Church St, George’s Play has closed its doors, and its owner says he has no plans to open elsewhere. › 9

FEATURE

Sex and the law Canadian law has often viewed sex through a moralistic, Christian lens. With several important sexrelated cases before the Supreme Court, from polygamy to sex work, Xtra takes a look at what’s at stake and why we should pay close attention. › 13

OUT IN THE CITY

Luminato Toronto artist David Bateman’s Luminato installation looks at the War of 1812 and the controversial Toronto magistrate Alexander Wood. › 27

VIDEO

Marcus Mojo Recently, Xtra proﬁled the quadruple threat pornstar. View a video interview with Marcus Mojo from Next Door Studios. › xtra.ca

ONLINE

Gay minister vies for top job Reverend Gary Paterson, of St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church in downtown Vancouver, is one of 15 nominees from across Canada being considered for the position of moderator. Paterson is one of three openly gay candidates. › xtra.ca

REGULARS

Comment › 6 Xcetera › 7 Xposed › 34 Index › 36 Classiﬁeds › 36 COLUMNS

Editorial › 6 Toronto at Night › 32 Porndoggy › 38 LISTINGS

Art & photography › 28 Leisure & pleasure › 28 Music › 31 Health & issues › 33 Stage › 33

Premiere Hotel for Pride Toronto 2012 Brand New Multi-Million Dollar Renovation Less than 5 minute walk to Church St. ÕÀ iÌÊ,iÃÌ>ÕÀ> ÌÊUÊ*Ài Õ Ê-Õ ÌiÃ Book your room now before we’re sold out

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30 CARLTON STREET TORONTO, ONTARIO M5B 2E9 COVER PHOTO BY N MAXWELL LANDER

Front Desk: 1-416-9776655 Fax: 1-416-6462182

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

editorial › feedback › debate

Comment Careful with Rob Ford Editorial Matt Mills

F THERE’S ONE CITY IN WHICH its mayor should proclaim, in front of world media, a theme day speciﬁcally intended to highlight discrimination against sexual minorities with the intention of turning not just judicial and legislative wheels, but also the hearts and minds of those who harbour irrational hate for queer people, Toronto is it. But Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has never been a friend to queer communities and has in the past steadfastly refused to attend queer events, especially Pride Week celebrations. His appearance at the city proclamation event for the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on May 17 is a good thing, I suppose; a good thing for queer communities. After saying he wouldn’t attend the IDAHO event, effectively assuring himself that few critics or hecklers would show up, Ford stepped under the warming May sun before a podium at Toronto City Hall and the assembled crowd of queer people and their allies to read from a framed copy of the proclamation: “I, Mayor Rob Ford, on behalf of Toronto City Council, do hereby claim May 17, 2012, as a day against homophobia and transphobia in Toronto and encourage the people of Toronto to send a strong message to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirited and transsexual communities — like all the communities are welcome, safe and valued in this great city we call Toronto.” He kind of stammered through the piece, ﬂubbing a few words, but he got it out in the end. “I think that the mayor has really demonstrated tremendous leadership today,” Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam told Xtra reporter Andrea Houston. “I think he should be congratulated. It’s a very positive day; it’s an upbeat day. I don’t want to take anything away from him . . . I’m pleased that he showed up.” It was a sentiment echoed by many queer people there. I, incidentally, was not there, but I notice that missing from the media coverage of the event — missing entirely from Xtra’s coverage of the event — is the context of Ford’s record,

his past conduct with respect to queer people, and even the history behind IDAHO. IDAHO was born as part of an international conference on LGBT human rights held during the first World Outgames in Montreal in the summer of 2006. The product of that conference was the Declaration of Montreal, the final clause of which called on countries of the world and the UN to recognize and promote IDAHO. Then-Toronto mayor David Miller issued the first IDAHO proclamation in the city. Toronto has issued the same proclamation each year since, including in 2011, after Ford became mayor. Ford was in the news in 2006, too. On April 15 that year he was thrown out of a Leafs game at the Air Canada Centre after a confrontation with a man in the crowd in which he blustered, “Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?” On May 23 that year he cast the sole vote in council against installing three roadway banners, at virtually no cost to the city, welcoming participants to the International AIDS Conference held in Toronto later that summer. On June 28 that year, in a debate about city funding for community-based HIV prevention programs, Ford told council, “If you’re not doing needles and you’re not gay, you won’t get AIDS probably.” He voted against the motion at hand then, too. During the 2010 mayoral election campaign, Ford sort of strangely apologized for the remark and his record on HIV issues, but, once elected, he voted against city funding for gayspecific HIV-prevention programs. And, of course, one of his first acts as mayor was to call for a review of city spending that included deep cuts to virtually every queer-related institution that takes city money. And we should all be familiar with Ford’s crusade against Pride. Last year, Pride Week was added to the list of city proclamations only after the city was reminded to do so in the media less than two weeks before the event. Forgiveness is nice. Ford should have the chance to turn over new leaves with respect to queer people, and queer people should be magnanimous about it when and if his gestures are meaningful and sincere. Let’s just not forget who we’re talking about here as we congratulate him on his reading skills. Matt Mills is editorial director of Pink Triangle Press.

“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 Wellesley Park BUILD A PLAYGROUND FOR neighbourhood children or maybe a miniature golf course [“WongTam Wants Residents to ‘Occupy’ Wellesley Park,” Xtra #719, May 17]. Or throw in a wading pool, similar to the one behind Eaton’s College. In one corner of the lot erect another statue to some obscure gay folk person. Get backbencher Glen Murray to give the $400,000 cheque destined for Pride Toronto to pay for it all. This would be a good use of taxpayers’ money. Michael F Pare Toronto, ON

Fear of faggotry ONCE AGAIN, XTRA COMpletely misreads its readership [“Fear of Faggotry,” Xtra #719, May 17]. We are thinking people with minds and lives of our own. We don’t need some self-appointed moral authority to come in and tell us how to be authentically gay. And we absolutely don’t want to hear from some strange self-hating man who uses the word faggot and thinks he is being raw and transgressive. It’s pretty pathetic. It is also pretty deceptive. He says he wants an “honest conversation.” But what he really wants is to lecture and browbeat others to embrace his way of living over their way of living. If Sycamore wants to be a “faggot” who spends his life prattling on about “desire,” then he should go for it. Let others live their lives and pursue their dreams. Xtra, if you think that the gay and lesbian community wants to get lectures on how they need to be “queer” and marginalized, you are sadly mistaken. David Bastian Vancouver, BC

Inevitable Rob Ford column THIS DEBATE HAS BEEN simmering for a while when really it shouldn’t [“The Inevitable Rob Ford Column,” Xtra #719, May 17]. Yes, Rob and Doug are buffoons, and yes, they may harbour some poorly disguised homophobia, but so what? Many who held such attitudes changed their minds after attending Pride. As long as someone is outwardly respectful and doesn’t interfere with others, why should they be unwelcome at Pride? It’s a celebration not just for queers, but for everyone. Building walls between us will get us nowhere towards our goals. It suits Pride Toronto and our community well to take the high road and demonstrate that the mayor is rejecting us and not vice versa. If the Fords and their allies pursue policies and actions against our interests, then we should join the club and oppose them — but the bottom line is that Rob was elected by our fellow Torontonians and we have to make the best of it until we have a chance to vote again. Hatred, especially when it becomes action, only breeds further

WE DON’T NEED SOME SELF-APPOINTED MORAL AUTHORITY TO COME IN AND TELL US HOW TO BE AUTHENTICALLY GAY.

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.

hatred and gives the Fords an excuse to continue their stance. This is probably the ﬁrst time that Rob has been forced to confront his “fears.” As with anyone, we should make it as easy as possible for him to evolve if he is capable of it. I urge Pride Toronto to invite and to continue to invite the mayor every year. Personally, I would be thrilled if Rob Ford attends — not because I support him or feel I need his approval, but because of the message it will send to other ’phobes and the affirmation of humanity’s capacity for change and to let go of hatred. Tom Lovely Scarborough, ON ONE YEAR’S NON-ATTENdance might have been explicable as a possibly semi-legitimate scheduling conﬂict. Two years’ nonattendance, not so much. The Pride committee did well to make the invitation to Ford this year, well in advance of the festivities and promising to deal with whatever legitimate concerns he might have had. It made it perfectly clear that Ford doesn’t want to go to Pride on homophobic principle. There’s nothing wrong with wanting the top elected official in Toronto to be present at one of Toronto’s biggest public festivals, especially if it’s associated with a minority’s acceptance. Had Ford made a habit of boycotting Caribana (too, or instead), allegations of his racism might have gotten more tenure. Randy McDonald Toronto, ON

comment I hope this once and for all will end the Pride committee’s invites to Rob Ford [“The Inevitable Rob Ford Column,” Xtra #719, May 17]. If they again invite him next year, I think the community should demand their resignations. Rob and Doug Ford are homophobes through and through, same as Stevie Boy Harper. You don’t invite your enemy to your party; you invite your allies only. John M Gaynes London, ON To comment, go to xtra.ca.

QuAIA at Pride SAYS PRIDE TORONTO COchair Francisco Alvarez of the tensions that have clouded the Pride parade these past couple of years [“QuAIA Likely to March in Toronto Pride,” xtra.ca, May 13], “I hope we are past those disagreements and we can all work together rather than against one another. I hope everyone accepts

everyone else’s right to be there and express their opinions.” This is a wonderful thought and all, but such a reality will never be possible so long as the dispute resolution process continues to exist. That is to say, if Francisco Alvarez is actually committed to such a future, then he would stop deferring to the DRP’s supposed “expertise in human rights arbitration” and get Pride Toronto to step forward and officially recognize QuAIA as a legitimate human rights group within Toronto’s LGBTQ community — proudly, publicly and unequivocally. Only then will the question surrounding QuAIA’s right to participate in Pride be put to rest and the antagonism he complains about be dissipated sooner, rather than later. Start representing your constituent communities and organizations, Pride Toronto, regardless of their politics, manner of expression or proﬁtability. Start living up to your festival’s motto: Celebrate [the diversity of Toronto’s LGBTQ communities, tensions and all] and Demonstrate [your unfaltering pride in them, regardless of these tensions]. Martin Otarola Toronto, ON IF QUAIA OR XTRA TRY TO ban Israel from WorldPride in 2014, then it will be clear they do support censorship or attacking people for who they are, and free speech and freedom of expression will be a joke. Also, it is not much of a secret they do attack other LGBT organizations that want to either highlight LGBT rights in Israel or even organizations who want to hold conferences there. They have a clear example of this on their webpage. Ben Johnson Toronto, ON

Pride funding IF COUNCILLOR PASTERNAK really believed that QuAIA is divisive and harmful to the social fabric of Toronto, he would be opposing not only the $123,807 cultural grant to Pride Toronto, but also the $300,000 in in-kind city services, like policing and garbage, that Pride Toronto receives [“Pride Doesn’t Qualify for City Funding: Councillor,” Xtra #720, May 31]. It seems odd to deny Pride Toronto $123,807 because of QuAIA but still let them receive $300,000 in free services. Evan Toronto, ON PASTERNAK WON HIS SEAT as councillor with less than 20 percent of the vote. Fully 80 percent of his constituents wanted someone else in the job. If he fucks with Pride funding, I, for one, will be donating to his opponents in the next election. Frankly, if it wasn’t for twits like Pasternak making a fuss, nobody would pay attention to QuAIA any more than they do the Raelian space cult, which has also marched at Pride. Paul Toronto, ON

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

noteworthy › updates › ephemera

Xcetera

Compiled by Jeremy Feist

COCK COUTURE

BUY THE NUMBERS

Dressed to the nine inches

Paying the rentboys In the interest of, um, research, we checked out the numbers on rentboy.com to see how they stack up across the country.

Pride’s just around the corner, and what better way to say, “Please, please, PLEASE do me” than dressing head-to-toe in penises? Well now you can, for the low, low price of $170.62 — plus your dignity.

NUMBER OF RENTBOYS PER PROVINCE

This is why we have Regretsy. etsy.com

PENIS SHIRT $9.99

It also doubles as the world’s most appropriate jizz rag. betterthanpants.com

211

PENIS HAT $6.26

AVERAGE HOURLY RENTBOY RATE ACROSS CANADA

PENIS PANTS $154.27

Ironically, these will give you the worst case of camel-toe ever. baskosters.com

TYING THE KNOT

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Looks like someone’s ﬁnally going to make an honest man out of Marvel’s Northstar, one of the ﬁrst openly gay superheroes in comic books. In an upcoming issue of The Astonishing X-Men, Northstar (née Jean-Paul Beaubier) is set to propose to, and marry, his long-time boyfriend in New York City. Although oddly enough, most of the X-Men in attendance couldn’t even be bothered to rent tuxes for the event, which is just . . . seriously, what the hell?

FAMOUS PEOPLE’S TWATS

? ? Who said twat ?

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B) “Oh man . . . totally went to the grocery store with chocolate on my face. Adjusting to life outside the studio is awkward.” C) “I recently adopted a highway, since I am unfortunately unable to have a biological highway.” D) “You know you had a good workout when you go to sit down & take a shit & your pretty lil legs give out on u!”

1. Megan Amram, writer & funny lady @meganamram 2. Tegan and Sara, singer/ songwriters @teganandsara 3. Brandon Wilde, porn actor & model @brandonwildexxx 4. Jack Mackenroth, designer & athlete @jackmackenroth ANSWERS: A4, B2, C1, D3

A) “Before I criticize someone I walk a mile in their shoes. And then I start by criticizing their shoes.”

TWITTER.COM

MATCH THE TWEET WITH THE TWEETER

In an open letter to Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, as published on The Huﬃngton Post, gender-queer teenager CJ Kellman asked the social network to include options for people who don’t identify as male or female. Which isn’t too much to ask when you consider that Facebook was recently valued at $104 billion. I’m pretty sure they can aﬀord to include intersex options.

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XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

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more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

dispatches › issues › opinion

Upfront NEIGHBOURHOOD

IF THEY WANT SOMETHING MORE VANILLA, THEY STICK TO THE SECOND FLOOR. BUT THERE’S ALWAYS GUYS WHO BECOME CURIOUS ABOUT THE HEAVIER STUFF, AND THEY EVENTUALLY VENTURE UPSTAIRS. Peter Bochove › 12 ONTARIO NEWS

George’s Play shuts its doors Landlords wanted a quieter business, says owner Rob Salerno AFTER DENYING FOR MONTHS rumours that George’s Play was about to close, the owner of the popular Church St nightspot abruptly shut its doors May 20. Some of its more popular events will continue across the street at Flash, but the closure adds another set of papered windows to the Church-Wellesley Village. George Pratt, the owner of both clubs, says that Play isn’t being shut down because of ﬁnancial troubles but because he couldn’t come to an agreement with the bar’s landlord over renewing the club’s lease. The landlords, who live directly above the bar, weren’t pleased with the amount of noise coming from

THEY WANTED NO NOISE AFTER MIDNIGHT. THAT’S PRETTY HARD IN A GAY BAR. — owner George Pratt Play and had wanted Pratt to close the bar nightly at midnight as part of the new lease. Pratt says that would have been unworkable for the busy bar, which had been on Church St for 10 years. “They wanted no noise after midnight. That’s pretty hard in a gay bar,” he says. Pratt had been trying to get the landlords to soundproof the bar so the noise wouldn’t be an issue, but the landlords wouldn’t agree. Knowing that the bar’s 10-year

lease would expire, Pratt took over the space once occupied by Bigliardi’s restaurant to open Flash as a backup plan. “I’ve been going through this for three years now. The future was obviously not with them,” he says. “I was right: here we are at the end of May and we weren’t able to get a lease.” Pratt says the monthly rent was $10,000, but the bar could easily afford it. Nevertheless, he has no immediate plans to reopen Play in a new space. “At the present time we’re going to concentrate on operating Flash,” he says. “Certain aspects of Play have already been moved over to Flash. The bingo’s here already — has been for two months.” Flash, which is normally considered a strip club, operates as a dance club on Fridays and Saturdays on its main ﬂoor, with strippers performing upstairs only. Play’s former landlords could not be reached for comment before press time. The closure is the latest in a stream of closed storefronts on Church St. Crepes closed earlier this month, Reither’s supermarket closed suddenly in March, and the Village Rainbow Café has been closed since January. David Wooten, the manager of the Church-Wellesley Village BIA, says that the Village Rainbow is ﬁnally officially dead and that the property manager may have already found a new tenant to take over the space, but he could not give any more details. For more information on Church St closures, visit xtra.ca.

George’s Play has closed its doors after 10 years on the Church St strip. ROB SALERNO

Education Minister Laurel Broten announces the change in language at the Sheraton Hotel. ANDREA HOUSTON

Ontario tightens Bill 13 so school boards can’t reject GSAs Coalition lawyer anticipates court challenge by Catholic trustees Andrea Houston ONTARIO EDUCATION MINISTER Laurel Broten announced May 25 that the government has tightened the language of its Accepting Schools Act, Bill 13, to ensure that students at Ontario Catholic schools who want to form school-sanctioned gay-straight alliances (GSAs), and who want to call them gaystraight alliances, will not be forbidden from doing so by school administrators. The change came on the heels of a strong push by queer Catholic students and community activists after it was revealed that the language was left intentionally vague in an effort to avoid a court challenge by Catholic trustees. Throughout May, the standing committee for social policy at Queen’s Park heard deputations on the legislation. Many religious groups and parents spoke strongly against Bill 13 and GSAs, calling the legislation a “radical sex education agenda.” Broten says it was the deputations by queer youth who have been ﬁghting for GSAs that made her rethink her position. “During those hearings, we heard loud and clear that it is important that students who want to establish studentled, single-issue groups like gay-straight alliances in their schools should be

supported and allowed to do so,” she says. “We also heard that they should be allowed to call these groups gay-straight alliances . . . It should not be up to us at Queen’s Park to determine what these groups should be called. We believe it should be up to the students. Student voices are what really matter.” In the initial version of Bill 13, school administrators could refuse to let students give their school-sanctioned groups or clubs any name that included the word gay. The language in the legislation left a loophole, which was conﬁrmed to Xtra by the president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA). Nancy Kirby told Xtra on May 15 that GSAs would never be allowed in Catholic schools. But a new line has been added to Bill 13: “For greater certainty, neither the board nor the principal shall refuse to allow a pupil to use the name gaystraight alliance or a similar name for an organization described in clause.” Claire Purdy, a Toronto Catholic school student who has been trying for more than a year to get recognition for a GSA in her school, cheered when she heard the news. “Oh wow! That’s so great,” she says. “I am jumping up and down. “This means that students now have a newfound hope that their schools can’t

shut them down. It will give so much more confidence to the gay youth, and the straight youth, who want to start a club where everyone feels accepted and united, called whatever they want, and they can’t be turned down,” Purdy says. Ontario GSA Coalition lawyer Doug Elliott says the language change makes the legislation airtight. “It’s a home run,” he says. “It’s exactly the clarification we were hoping for. At first, the Liberals were hesitant to go the extra mile, but I am pleased that they have, and I think it’s supported by the vast majority of the people in Ontario.” Elliott says he still anticipates a court challenge from the Catholic school boards. The issue has already divided the Progressive Conservative caucus. “This now puts the ball in the court of the Catholic school trustees,” he says. “If they want to object, they will have to fight this. We now have additional ammunition. This now makes my job easier if we have to go to court, which I think we will.” NDP education critic Peter Tabuns has been relentlessly pushing this issue in Question Period. “I think that we’ve had an impact on them. We’ve raised this issue in the house from the day they introduced the bill,” he says. “Ultimately, it all hit home. The students and deputations were very powerful.” As Xtra goes to press, the legislation is moving to a clause-by-clause reading. A final vote will likely happen before the end of May. The legislature is set to rise for the summer on June 7.

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

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Masturbation video removed from Ottawa exhibit Heritage minister recommends scitech museum censor educational work Bradley Turcotte AN EDUCATIONAL SEX EXHIBIT AT the Canada Science and Technology Museum has been edited after Heritage Minister James Moore deemed a video animation portraying masturbation too racy. The display, titled Sex: A Tell-All Exhibition, was conceptualized by the Montréal Science Centre in 2010. Sex was previously exhibited uncensored in Montreal and Regina, where it generated no controversy. The interactive presentation addresses a variety of topics, including proper condom use, information on sexually transmitted infections and the reality of same-sex relationships. It also features floor-to-ceiling photos of nude models and a short film explaining orgasms. Moore attended a preview of the exhibit along with school board and public health officials. It was the negative feedback the museum received after these previews that influenced the decision to remove the masturbation video and increase the age of admission from 12 to 16. Children under 16 are allowed entry if they are accompanied by an adult.

Another source of contention is a question-and-answer board that addresses anal sex. The question asks participants why so many boys want to have anal sex; the answer informs listeners that anal sex isn’t for everybody, but they should try anal intercourse to see if it is for them. Olivier Bouffard, media relations officer for the Canada Science and Technology Museum, says that although the museum removed the masturbation video and raised the required age for entry, the question regarding anal sex will remain part of the exhibit despite calls for it to be removed. “There were a certain number of people who made their views known, unfavourable views of this exhibition,” Bouffard says. “Judging and gauging by the reaction that we got, that’s why we made the decisions we made. The museum stands by those two decisions.” Bouffard went on to say that the museum has received 100 complaints, versus 60 compliments, regarding the

The Sex exhibit was previously showcased in Montreal and Regina. It runs in Ottawa until 2013. BRADLEY TURCOTTE

content of the exhibit. Attendance has doubled since the censorship was enacted. When asked about this issue during a press conference for the 10th anniversary of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, MP Libby Davies criticized Moore’s suggestion that the exhibit be censored. “I think very simply that if science doesn’t include sex, then what other things are we going to exclude from science?” Davies said. “We’re talking about diversity here today, but certainly sex and science would go together just like any other topic in science. It seems transparently obvious that the scientiﬁc world includes sex;

I THINK VERY SIMPLY THAT IF SCIENCE DOESN’T INCLUDE SEX, THEN WHAT OTHER THINGS ARE WE GOING TO EXCLUDE FROM SCIENCE? —Libby Davies that’s what the museum is all about.” Sex: A Tell-All Exhibition runs at the Canada Science and Technology Museum until January 2013.

THE FUTURE OF OUR LAND, WATER AND CLIMATE IS AT RISK. AND SO ARE THE VOICES OF CANADIANS. SILENCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ON JUNE 4, 2012 SPEAK OUT. blackoutspeakout.ca :\WWVY[ *HUHKH»Z JOHYP[PLZ HUK [OL YPNO[Z VM HSS *HUHKPHUZ

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

PRIDE NEWS

PROUD LIFE

Pride doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t qualify for city money: councillor

Sharon Flannigan

For more on this story, visit xtra.ca.

Boyd Kodak and Devin Casey

HARON FLANNIGAN, WHO died in Toronto on Feb 15 at the age of 60, touched many lives in her years at the centre of Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay scene. Her world revolved around a deep-rooted love of music and her vision of a safe environment to hang out, party, talk, play music, dance . . . and just enjoy our community. At a time when it was dangerous to be gay, lesbian or trans, Sharon helped us all celebrate who we were. Anyone who met Sharon was struck ďŹ rst by her kindness and generosity, her wicked sense of humour and above all, by her wonderful spirit and seemingly boundless energy. Sharon was fearless in her pursuit of equal rights for all who danced on her ďŹ&#x201A;oor, but she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just DJ the soundtrack to our revolution, managing Decoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and opening the Blue Jay Club and Flanniganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s; she was a tireless fundraiser, hosting beneďŹ ts for AIDS and other community charities and causes. She was always willing to acknowledge those who went before, sharing stories and history with her younger friends. For many of us, she was our ďŹ rst role model â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just want

to be around her; we wanted to be just like her. When Sharon found out that the MisďŹ ts, Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst and, at the time, only female bar pool team, needed a home bar to play from, she stepped up and saved them. Sharon welcomed the whole team â&#x20AC;&#x201D; dykes and trans men and women â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with strong open arms . . . but there was no pool table at Flanniganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, the bar sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d opened in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s east end. That didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop her. Sharon found us a pool table: a huge, professional billiards table comprising a massive piece of slate the size of a swimming pool and an equally heavy base. The bar access was straight up an iron staircase with the requisite Victorian twists and turns. Moving that table into our new home showed Sharonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true colours. None of us could manoeuvre the table up those stairs, so Sharon walked into the downstairs straight bar and announced that she needed help getting her pool table up the stairs. Beers would be on the house. A crew of strong arms appeared. And that table got up those stairs and we won a fair few games on it. Besides her deep love for her gay community, Sharon was a conduit of love to her family, friends and the wider

Sharon Flannigan (right) with her sister Jean Waring, in December 2011.

world. One of a large, loving family, she never missed an event with her parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and greatnieces and -nephews. All the residents at her momâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seniorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; home looked forward to her visits because she had a smile and a joke for everyone.

The ďŹ nal months of Sharonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s illness were hard, but she was surrounded by a loving community of family and friends and by her lover, Susan Craig, all of whom survive her. Appreciated, loved and missed by so many. Always in our hearts.

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EVEN THOUGH TORONTOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ECOnomic development committee approved funding for Pride Toronto (PT), one city councillor still says he wants to hold back funding to ensure the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) does not march in the parade. Councillor James Pasternak says he plans to submit a motion at the next council meeting, on June 6, in an effort to withhold Prideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $123,807 cultural grant until after the festival. About $300,000 worth of in-kind city services, including policing and garbage cleanup, would not be affected, Pasternak says. After the May 22 meeting of the economic development committee, which endorsed more than $6 million in grants to 10 Toronto arts organizations, Councillor Josh Colle, who did not reply to Xtraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request for comment, told reporters he will support Pasternakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motion, saying the city should not fund Pride if QuAIA is permitted to march. The comments have put PT on alert, with renewed fears that funding is once again at risk. PT executive director Kevin Beaulieu says board members are meeting with all city councillors to impress upon them the importance of the Pride festival. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pride has been ruled by the city manager to be in compliance with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-discrimination policy,â&#x20AC;? he says. Pasternak, who met with PT cochair Luka Amona and board member Evan Dean to discuss QuAIA on May 24, says both sides â&#x20AC;&#x153;agreed to disagree.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The bottom line is QuAIA makes the parade ineligible for funding,â&#x20AC;? Pasternak says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fund demonstrations and we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fund groups that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t comply with our anti-discrimination policy.â&#x20AC;? In 2010, council passed a motion requiring that groups participating in any Toronto festival comply with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-discrimination policy. Last year, city manager Joe Pennachetti released a report that stated QuAIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in the parade did not violate the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s antidiscrimination policy. But Pasternak says the report is not valid because he tacked on an amendment before the vote. As a result, he says, council voted to reject the report and sent it back to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;tightened up to say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Israeli apartheidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is discriminatory and offensive terminology.â&#x20AC;? Councillor Shelley Carroll says Pasternak is incorrect. She says the city manager was clear and his opinion â&#x20AC;&#x153;laid this issue to rest.â&#x20AC;? QuAIA has been at the centre of controversy for more than two years. The Community Advisory Panel (CAP), which was created as a result of the dispute, recommended that Pride set up an armâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-length arbitration panel to resolve any complaints. The decision by the dispute resolution committee will be ďŹ nal.

Fixture of Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay community dies at 60

25 years of history is missing your stories. Please help us mark the 25th anniversary of PWA and contribute to the living history of HIV/AIDS in Toronto. Bring your mementos, photos and stories to a community event at PWA.

Making a positive difference.

2007

Andrea Houston

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Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

TOES IN THE WATER

Peeking into the darkness My first visit to the bathhouse is not what I expected Seraﬁn LaRiviere

S GOD IS MY WITNESS, I honestly thought there would be actual bathtubs. Okay, maybe not the traditional clawfoot numbers that our grandmothers relished back in the day, but I figured there’d be something along the lines of tasteful, Greco-Roman sorts of tubs, complete with alabaster statues and wistful-looking guys in togas. Yes, my first trip to a bathhouse is certainly an eye-opener. I don’t really know what to expect when I first approach the doors to Spa Excess, one of Toronto’s most popular bathhouses for gay men. I even wore my gardening shoes, in deference to some vague notion of sticky floors in dimly lit hallways. Imagine my embarrassment at what I discover beyond the classy oak doors that front onto Carlton St. It is spotless. A light scent of citrus lingers in the air as I am greeted by a friendly young man in the glass cubicle that stands between the outside world and what I had assumed was a veritable orgy of gay sex. But as I pass through the interior doors into the tub’s spacious bar area, the first thought that strikes me is how classy and, well, normal it all looks.

Sure, there are a couple of guys in towels sitting at the bar, but it’s nothing I don’t see every week in the Membership Plus area at the YMCA. Instead of the loud grunts I expected, soft music plays overhead. The sun streams through the windows, giving the room a peaceful, cheerful sort of look. It feels classy, clean and, dare I say it, respectable. Apparently I’m not the only newcomer who’s expected a dank hovel of depravity. “It used to be like that years ago,” says Spa Excess owner Peter Bochove. “These days people expect more than just a place to have sex. They expect it to be clean, polite and well run.” Spa Excess is Bochove’s second foray into bathhouse entrepreneurship. His ﬁrst club, the Richmond Street Health Emporium, was one of the establishments targeted during the infamous bathhouse raids of 1981. “They trashed it,” he says sadly. “Completely destroyed it. It broke my heart. It was such a beautiful place, and I’d built it from scratch. It killed me to see it ruined like that.” Instead of wallowing in defeat, Bochove found his activist spirit and fought back. He sued the city and won the right to operate as a bathhouse. His family even got involved, with his

ADAM GLEN

Dutch parents lobbying on his behalf. The victory was hard-won. “It took everything I had,” he says. “I was broke from the ﬁght.” Broke but not beaten. Bochove dove right back into business, rallying investors for Spa Excess and threatening the liquor board with a similar lawsuit if they denied his new venture a licence to sell alcohol to his customers. “It was a bluff, but it worked, and now I’m the only bathhouse with a liquor licence in the city.” As my guided tour continues, the club’s main attraction becomes more apparent. I am delighted to see at least

THESE DAYS PEOPLE EXPECT MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO HAVE SEX. THEY EXPECT IT TO BE CLEAN, POLITE AND WELL RUN. —Spa Excess owner Peter Bochove

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one hot tub, but I’m a little mystified when we enter the spacious marble restroom areas. What’s with the black glass over the urinals? “It’s one-way glass,” Bochove explains. “For guys who get off on watching someone take a piss.” On the second floor, the halls are dimly lit, lined with numbered doors that lead to small but tidy cubicles, each containing just a bed and a lamp. Some also feature two-way mirrors for voyeurs. Still, there’s nothing that really shocks me. Until, that is, we reach the third floor. There are slings and an orgy room that reminds me of the never-ending staircases in MC Escher’s Relativity. There are even ergonomic glory holes, brilliantly designed to allow fellatio recipients to stand behind walls on elevated platforms so their serviceminded brethren can stand comfortably while performing their tasks. My chiropractor would be so pleased. “It depends on what people are in the mood for,” Bochove says. “If they want something more vanilla, they stick to the second floor. But there are always guys who become curious about the heavier stuff, and they eventually venture upstairs. The more they come, the more relaxed they get with experimenting.”

Francisco Remolino Estate Manager MNPdebt.ca

Thousands march for Slutwalk 2012 THOUSANDS OF SLUTS AND THEIR allies marched from Toronto City Hall to Queen’s Park on May 25, chanting, “Yes means fuck me! No means fuck you!” Like the previous year, Slutwalk 2012 felt like a celebration. Marchers say they are sex-positive and ﬁghting back against victim blaming and sex shaming. They marched for the right to walk the streets safely and to live free of violence. Slutwalk ended with a rally in front of Queen’s Park. Speeches were made by Morgan M Page, trans program coordinator at the 519 Church St Community Centre; Michelle Chai, from Planned Parenthood; and activist Jules Kirouac and her mother, Deborah. Organizer Colleen Westendorf says there’s still a long way to go. “We want to bring more awareness to how sexual violence affects boys and men. As children, boys are just as likely to be victimized as girls,” Westendorf says. “Certain women are disproportionately affected, such as indigenous women, disabled women, trans women and women of colour.” Toronto’s march was met with widespread support, but in other cities where the event has been held, the reaction has been mixed, Westendorf says. —Andrea Houston For more on this story and a photo gallery from the event, see xtra.ca.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

N MAXWELL LANDER

COVER STORY

Our cover model, Monica Forrester, talks about being a sex worker on page 15. N MAXWELL LANDER

Legalunease With an unprecedented number of sex laws facing challenges in the courts, will judges find a backdoor way to uphold the old moral code? Marcus McCann Lesbian pornographer Susie Bright spoke without notes, off the cuff, pacing the stage of a lecture hall tucked into the basement of a staid, stone building at the University of Toronto. The ostensible subject was Bright’s recently released memoir, Big Sex Little Death, and her life as a pioneering publisher of the US porn magazine On Our Backs. Just three days earlier, a little further south on University Ave, the Ontario Court of Appeal had released a ruling on the constitutionality of three of Canada’s more perverse sex laws. The Bedford ruling had found prohibitions on bawdyhouses and living off the avails of prostitution unconstitutional but upheld the prohibition on communicating for the purpose of prostitution. Bright couldn’t resist. How could she? She applauded the decision while acknowledging its limits. She lauded Canada generally — the land of gay marriage and relaxed drug laws — for its sexual freedom.

And while sexual freedom is important in its own right — as in, why should the government tell people what to do with their bodies? — Bright also said it’s a proxy for other kinds of freedoms. If you want to see how seriously a country takes its civil liberties, look no further than its sex laws. When there’s a clampdown on sex, it’s usually a portent of other bad things to come. Later, in an interview with Xtra, Bright elaborated. “It’s the ﬁrst thing to go,” she says. “If you took the whole world, and looked at their legal and public policy and compared them to the general state of democracy in the nation, you would notice that how draconian the society is correlates with the amount of freedom they have to conduct their sexual lives how they want.”

continued on next page ›

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

Legal unease › continued from previous page

Sex, harm & Canadian courts “There’s no doubt that we are in an arena of flux right now when it comes to sexual freedom,” says Micheal Vonn, policy director at the BC Civil Liberties Association. Legal and political battles over sex work, polygamy, HIV nondisclosure and abortion could redraw the boundaries of our sexual lives. Meanwhile, our privacy is under attack, Vonn says, making our private sexual lives more open to government scrutiny than ever before. Canada’s polygamy law illustrates the point. The law is part of a suite of antiquated sex laws — like bans on immoral theatrical performances and sending scurrilous material through the mails. These laws are rarely used. In the case of polygamy, there hasn’t been a prosecution in 60 years. But the law has received renewed interest from the BC attorney general over the past five years, as pressure mounts on the government to arrest the polygamous men of Bountiful, BC. The problem is, the law is so broad that gay people in open marriages or straight people who have mistresses could ostensibly be caught. The attorney general asked the BC Supreme Court to rule on its constitutionality. Justice Robert Bauman’s 300-page decision shows Canada on the razor’s edge. The courts face a tough choice: should they uphold these old, morality-based laws, or should they employ a more secular analysis? Over the past 20 years, the courts have increasingly turned away from what they call the “community standards test,” a kind of public — read Christian — morality and toward what they call the “harm” test, says Kevin Kindred, a lawyer in Halifax and a volunteer with the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project. The Supreme Court used this model to analyze cases that challenge everything from marijuana to corporal punishment of children. The results have been mixed. Especially when sexual freedom is at stake, the courts have shown themselves reluctant to strike down laws outright. Still, at times, courts have criticized the method of their enforcement. For instance, in a challenge to importation bans on SM porn, border guards were chastised for singling out and confiscating gay erotica destined for Little Sister’s bookstore in Vancouver. At other times, they have upheld the challenged law, while redefining its scope, as was the case in the Montreal swingers’ club ruling in 2005. “In the swingers’ club ruling, it became very clear — and there’s a clear dissent — that any law that regulates people’s sexual liberties, it has to be based on harm,” Kindred says. “That’s progress. But there are a lot of different ways of looking at harm. There’s a whole lot of subjectivity built into it.” Because there are many ways to interpret “harm,” courts have a lot of leeway in ruling on sex laws. Courts have found leather and kink harmful to women. They’ve found public performances of sexuality potentially dangerous to children. And in so doing, they’ve upheld laws enacted out of Victorian moralism as being, essentially, good for us. The polygamy decision follows that trend. “It was painted as a terrific victory for polyamory, since it carved out an exemption for polyamory.

Bathhouses, bars & the law Gay bars and bathhouses have been the frequent targets of police raids. The Bedford decision declared the bawdyhouse law unconstitutional, which further weakens the provisions used to prosecute staﬀ and customers of bathhouses and makes future raids less likely. In April, the federal government announced it would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada. — Marcus McCann

However, if you look at the whole decision, it’s far from clear that they are exempted,” Vonn says. “Even if you agree with the ultimate outcome of the polygamy reference — and reasonable people can disagree about it — the logic of the decision is troubling,” Vonn says. “The court looked at problems with the law and said, ‘That’s okay because we’re protecting the Western idea of monogamous marriage.’” All of that will weigh heavily on the Supreme Court as it considers prostitution. In April, the federal government announced it is appealing the Bedford case to the Supreme Court of Canada. We’re at least a year away from resolution from the Supreme Court. Another challenge to the sex laws — a BC case — could also play a role. The Bedford case also underscores the limits of winning change from the courts, according to Patrizia Gentile, a Carleton University professor and co-author of The Canadian War on Queers: National Security as Sexual Regulation. After all, Bedford decriminalizes sex work for those who can afford to work from hotels or from home. The law most often used to target street-level sex workers — communicating for the purpose of prostitution — was upheld. “When we have human rights successes, or what are perceived as human rights successes, what we often don’t realize is that it only affects sectors of our communities,” Gentile says. And that means that lower-income queer, trans and minority sex workers will continue to face the brunt of enforcement — which is already the case. The failures of the missing women’s inquiry, with its focus on street-level sex work and indigenous women, underscore this point. Another contentious case — called Mabior, which asked the court to reconsider prosecutions for partners who don’t disclose their HIV status before having sex — was argued before the Supreme Court in February. A decision is due in the next few months. It will likely address whether HIV-positive people who use condoms or who have low viral loads are required to disclose their health statuses to partners. If they don’t disclose, they could face serious assault charges, some of which carry maximum sentences of life in prison. The court could go either way. But its decisions on HIV nondisclosure and sex work — as well as an inevitable, eventual challenge to Canada’s polygamy law at the Supreme Court — could prove a tipping point. Will Canadian courts reject sex laws unless they cause demonstrable harm, or will they ﬁnd backdoor ways to uphold the old moral code?

Harper’s war on sex Meanwhile, over the past ﬁve years, Parliament has had a constant diet of new sex laws to consider. Indeed, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delights in teasing voters with new and stronger forms of sexual regulation, if only as a way to torment the opposition. Lest we forget, when Harper was elected prime minister in 2006, he faced seemingly insurmountable challenges. Chief among them was the reality of a minority Parliament. He was forced to either cooperate with the Liberals or browbeat them into submission. He was also confronted by his socially conservative base. Their desires clashed with middle-of-the-road voters, who feared another culture war and who

Legal

WILLING PARTICIPATION PPUBLIC PUB PU UBL UB UBL BLI LIC ICC SSE SEX SEXUALITY EEX EXU XUA XU UAL UA ALIT ALI AL LIT ITTY TY Dancing

Cruising

Swinging

Private sex clubs Video booths Porn cinemas

Bathhouses

Nudity in some situations

On-stage sex acts

EXCHANGE EXC EEX XXC XCH CHA CCH HHAANNG NGE GGEE OF OF MONEY MOON ONE NNE NEY EEYY Making, selling & buying porn Hooking & escorts

AGGEE AGE AG

Body-rub parlours

Buying unrated porn

Non-exploitative madams

In-calls*

Private fantasy material with underage Teens taking characters photos of themselves

Sex between teens of similar ages

KINK KINK KI NK

Sexual fantasies Vanilla sex

Sex toys

BDSM

Chastity belts

Piss play

Scat play

Poppers Orgies

HEALTH HHE EEAAAL ALT LLTTTHH

Poz people who have sex that is not “a signiﬁcant risk of serious bodily harm” or who disclose their HIV status ﬁrst

* While the Bedford ruling struck down the bawdy-house law, it does not take effect until spring 2013.

were so important to a future majority victory. And ﬁnally, Harper had to contend with his own undisciplined and shallow caucus, many of whom were agitating on divisive issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Drafting new sex laws solved all these problems. After all, with new “protections” always a few votes away, opposition could be framed as sympathy for the perverts. Meanwhile, his socially conservative base — and caucus — could be rewarded in a way that middle-of-the-road voters could tolerate (and would ultimately reward). Moreover, unlike NDP and Liberal platform planks such as childcare or the Kelowna Accord, which cost money, passing new criminal laws doesn’t affect the budget bottom line, at least not immediately. It’s just one symptom of a hyper-partisan Parliament, says Casey Oraa, political action director for Queer Ontario, and it’s not going away. First, Harper raised the age of consent, from 14 to 16, over the objection of youth groups, Planned Parenthood and CLGRO, the predecessor to

Queer Ontario. Age of consent was renamed “age of protection.” It was followed by a barrage of anti-immigration bills: two anti-stripper bills (2008’s C-17 and 2009’s C-45) were introduced but floundered; however another bill, framed as the cure for human trafficking, passed later that year. The Conservatives followed up with the measures that ultimately formed the backbone of C-10, the omnibus crime bill. It imposes new mandatory minimum sentences for some sex crimes and makes it harder for those convicted to have their records suspended. “It comes from a socially conservative angle,” Oraa says. “They use marginalized groups, groups on the fringes, as scapegoats. It’s typical.” In April, Conservative MP Joy Smith successfully navigated a private member’s bill through the House of Commons that would add sex trafﬁcking to the list of extra-territorial offences that Canadian police can investigate abroad. Police — whose budgets are already stretched thin — were

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Four women at Toronto’s Brunswick Tavern sing “I Enjoy Being a Dyke.” Police are called and the women are charged with obstruction of justice.

Police raid Montreal’s Sauna Aquarius, charging 36 patrons under the bawdyhouse law.

Montreal’s Club Baths and Neptune are raided. Police take the Neptune’s 7,000name membership list.

A Montreal gay bar, Truxxx, is raided. Nearly 150 people are arrested and subjected to mandatory testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The next night, 2,000 Montrealers take to the streets in a noisy, tense protest.

Police raid the Barracks in Toronto, arresting 28. In the wake of the raid, the Right to Privacy Committee is established to ﬁght the charges.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

Further reading on xtra.ca

Illegal

SEX WORK

UNWILLING PARTICIPATION

Adult incest Sex with a dead body Sex with animals

Sexual assault

Nudity in other situations

ABORTION Catholic students asked to support motion to criminalize abortion bit.ly/Jsnint

An odd thing happened. Political commentators, opposition politicians and the public didn’t buy it. Instead, Toews was chastised for going too far — for trying to stifle debate with childish name-calling. “Happily, people went nuts,” says Vonn. “They said, ‘We’re not going to take that label.’” Lorne Gunter wrote in the National Post that Toews “confirmed civil libertarians’ fears” about lawful access. Andrew Coyne referred to the “general climate of hysteria” in Ottawa. In an unsigned editorial, the Calgary Herald described Toew’s comments as “absurd, insulting and offensive.” The Vancouver Province declared itself “disgusted” with the bill. For the first time in recent memory, Canadians refused to accept a sex-panic narrative to justify an intrusion into civil liberties.

Human traﬃcking

Meeting a minor online for sex Publishing stories or drawings of teens having sex

Selling porn to minors

Sex between a teen and a person in a position of trust

Creating porn using actors under 18 or who appear to be under 18

Taking the temperature of the nation

Porn that is “degrading” or “dehumanizing” Importing some BDSM materials Importing videos of people pissing into mouths, vaginas or assholes

Some information varies by province. Not intended as legal advice.

given no extra resources to conduct such investigations, so the bill may have more to do with optics than justice. And it’s optics — symbolic politics, according to Oraa — that are driving another private member’s bill. In May, Parliament had the ﬁrst hour of debate on Conservative Stephen Woodworth’s private member’s bill that calls for a special committee to discuss when life begins. An incremental approach to reopening the abortion debate was also put forward by Conservative Ken Epp in 2009, when he proposed that killing a fetus should be a distinct crime from killing a pregnant woman. “Religious lobby groups are being heard and are being invited to the table,” Gentile says. “There has been a real mobility of the religious right in a way that we can’t ignore.” Politicians, hemmed in by partisan politics, a squeamish electorate and socially conservative lobbyists, can turn too easily to sexual regulation as an easy win.

Supremely intimate: Canada’s top court could change the way you have sex bit.ly/y79Drz

NATURISTS Ontario judge upholds public nudity law: ruling won’t aﬀect TNT!Men or Pride bit.ly/zirAWu

THE VILLAGE Bringing sexy back to the Church St Village: is Toronto in the midst of a sex boom? bit.ly/JNfjmr URLS ARE CASE-SENSITIVE

Exploitative pimping

Communication for the purpose of prostitution

Poz people who don't disclose their HIV status before having sex that is “a signiﬁcant risk of serious bodily harm”

POLYGAMY BC court upholds polygamy ban, says polyamorists should be free to have multiple relationships bit.ly/KDHl4B

HIV CRIMINALIZATION

Coercion

“Public indecency”

Sex with someone passed out from choking

Federal government to appeal Ontario sex-work ruling bit.ly/Kyobdl

“It’s such an easy, infantile distraction,” Bright says. “They may have terrible economic practices, they may be facing corruption charges, there may be problems with the justice system, but just start shouting about children watching something shocking on television — it’s very juicy.”

Strains of resistance But not always. The Conservative government, long accustomed to justifying its agenda as a war on perverts, in February tried to frame debate on an internet surveillance bill in similar terms. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, in response to a question from Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia about the lawful access bill, retorted that the MP could “either stand with us or with the child pornographers.”

Legal analysis of sexual freedom takes you only so far. One can be free to engage in sex but still remain inhibited — because of social codes or other societal pressures. “I don’t want to overemphasize the effect of the state and the law in the way people live their lives,” Kindred says. Oraa and Gentile agree. Education, popular media, policing and the intersection of sexuality with gender identity, race and income all have a huge effect on how free people are to express their sexuality. Moreover, even during crackdowns on sexuality — when the morality-based laws are strictly enforced — people ﬁnd ways to resist, Gentile says. “Our communities are really resilient. No matter how disciplinary or regulatory things get in the legal or social context, our communities are really resilient. We will always ﬁnd pockets — or larger projects — where we can empower ourselves. Our communities constantly resist,” she says. So what about Bright’s invocation of sexual liberties as the canary in the coal mine? For Kindred, the litmus test is not sexual regulation, but whether or not there is active opposition to it. “The level to which a society is prepared to resist the regulation of sexual liberties is a good barometer for the sophistication of the civil liberties cultures generally,” Kindred says. If so, the country’s reaction to the internet surveillance bill may be a good sign, Vonn points out. “It’s really about dusting off our hands and saying, ‘We have work to do,’” Vonn says. “We have serious work to do.”

Lady Justice speaks up Monica Forrester still loves being a sex worker. During her 30-year career, she has seen the industry change from a street-based world of fear and shame to a job she works with pride. After her Xtra cover shoot, Forrester talked with Andrea Houston about the legal ﬁght facing sex workers and her place at the front of the local movement. Forrester has worked for Black CAP and the 519 Church St Community Centre and is currently the community engagement coordinator at Maggie’s Sex Worker Action Project. In 2003, she led the ﬁrst ever Trans Pride Toronto contingent, an organization she founded. “In the ’80s there were no transfriendly spaces. Everyone would go to the street to meet up and engage, talk and socialize. There’s far more awareness and visibility for trans people now.” XTRA: What is the single most important demand that sex workers have? MF: Decriminalization. We want recognition by the wider public that this is a valid form of work . . . It’s legitimate, and people are being drawn to it. You can set your own hours. There is a dangerous side to sex work, but there are many jobs people take on a risk. That’s exactly why this is so important. We need safety. We need the system to work. We need to know we can call police when needed or have a security guard with us when needed. We need to know we can work in clean, safe spaces or within our homes without the fear of being charged.

How can we, as a culture, stop looking at sex work with a moralistic lens? So much of the problem is religion. For sex workers, and everyone, acceptance is really important. When you have family that accepts you, nothing else really matters. That’s something that a lot of sex workers lose. They lose their community because they can’t talk about it. And it’s usually because of religion. Some sex workers want to hold on to their culture and religion, but they don’t feel welcome in their church or ethnic-speciﬁc communities. So that’s really hard. So many sex workers never go home.” — Andrea Houston

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Police raid the Hot Tub Club in Toronto’s ﬂedgling gaybourhood.

Police raid four Toronto bathhouses in one night, arresting more than 250 men as found-ins at a bawdyhouse. Gays riot, igniting the political consciousness of Toronto’s gay community.

Police raid Remington’s, a Toronto strip club, to stop Sperm Attack Mondays, an evening in which the dancers jack oﬀ on stage.

Police arrest 19 men at the Bijou, a Toronto porn bar. They are charged with committing indecent acts because of the bar’s glory holes.

Nine male police oﬃcers raid a women’s bathhouse event. They lay charges for liquor licence violations. The organizers, a feminist collective, ﬁght the charges and win.

Police in Calgary raid Goliath’s, a bathhouse, and charge owners, managers and staﬀ with keeping a common bawdyhouse.

An investigation sparked by a post on a gay cruising website leads Hamilton police to raid the Warehouse Spa and arrest two patrons.

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

RESPECT PROTECT FULFILL

4TH

SYMPOSIUM ON HIV, LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS JUNE 14, 2012

4 th Symposium on HIV, Law & Human Rights Thursday June 14, 2012 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Delta Chelsea Hotel, 33 Gerrard Street West, Toronto www.aidslaw.ca/symposium As the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network prepares to celebrate our 20 th Anniversary in the fall, join us for this great annual opportunity to learn about HIV-related legal and human rights issues, explore new skills to advance human rights in response to HIV, and develop new partnerships. Symposium topics include: s 2EVIEWING THE CURRENT SCIENCE REGARDING ANTIRETROVIRAL TREATMENT as prevention, and a discussion of human rights issues raised by the scaling-up of this treatment. s $ISCLOSURE AND THE LAW REVIEWING NON DISCLOSURE AS FRAUD VITIATING consent and recent legal developments. s 4HE APPLICABILITY OF LAWS SUCH AS THE Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the recently ratiﬁed UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to people living with HIV.

20 1

SPECIAL EVENT

The World Premiere of Positive Women: Exposing Injustice Produced by Goldelox Productions and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network Thursday, June 14, 6:30 p.m. Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre 2OYAL /NTARIO -USEUM For more information and to buy tickets: www.positivewomenthemovie.org Positive Women: Exposing Injustice is a cutting-edge documentary exploring the impacts of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure on women in Canada. Q&A to follow. Director in attendance.

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

WORLD PREMIERE Thursday, June 14, 2012 6:30 p.m. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

What if you knew you could go to prison for something you couldn’t change? What happens if a woman does not disclose her HIV-positive status to a sexual partner? How does criminalization impact HIV-positive women in Canada, who are trying to live their lives in the shadow of stigma and fear? Does the law actually protect women’s health?

Positive Women: Exposing Injustice — a documentary that takes the audience into the hearts and minds of four HIV-positive women bravely speaking out on this important issue. A Goldelox Production

Director in attendance — Q&A after the performance.

FOR TICKETS: WWW.POSITIVEWOMENTHEMOVIE.ORG

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

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

TOES IN THE WATER

Female power A furtive first foray into a sex club for straight swingers SeraďŹ n LaRiviere

HIS CERTAINLY WAS A WEEK of ďŹ rsts for me. It began with my first trip to a bathhouse. Certainly, I was nervous during that fact-finding expedition, but given the gay atmosphere, I felt like I was on somewhat familiar ground. But now I was really wading into uncharted waters. So it was with ďŹ&#x201A;uttering stomach and trembling knees that I passed through the doors of Oasis Aqualounge, Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sex club for straight swingers. The ďŹ rst things I saw were tits. Lots of them. Big ones, small ones, perky ones, long ones; tits, tits, tits. And that was just the staff. A whole bevy of girls clustered around the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrance area, cheerfully chatting as though they just happened to have forgotten to put on blouses before going to work. It was oddly natural and a little endearing. One tall, bespectacled gal greeted me politely, expertly blocking me from entering the club without seeming aggressive or causing offence. Turns out that solitary men, gay or straight, arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t admitted to Oasis. You have to be a woman or be accompanied by one to get in. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a smart rule, when you think about it, and one put in place from the get-go by club owner Toni Johnson.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Otherwise it would just end up a sausage fest,â&#x20AC;? Johnson says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women need to feel comfortable here, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to do when thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bunch of single guys leering at you.â&#x20AC;? Despite all the tits â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I see plenty more as I make my way into the patronsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; areas â&#x20AC;&#x201D; there seems to be very little leering happening at this clothingoptional establishment. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lots of laughter, plenty of smiles, and â&#x20AC;&#x201D; oops! I just saw a girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s completely shaved beaver â&#x20AC;&#x201D; everyone seems to be having a friendly evening out with friends. Naked. The crowd deďŹ nitely leans toward a middle-aged demographic, though there are a few younger couples milling around the sumptuous outdoor pool area. But these skittish colts remain fully clothed, clutching to their drinks as they furtively look about in guilty titillation. Johnson gives me a guided tour through her establishment, clearly proud of the renovations sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done to the heritage space that previously housed a gay bathhouse, Club Toronto. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We gutted the place,â&#x20AC;? Johnson says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had the best time with it. It cost way more than I was prepared to pay, but it really was worth it.â&#x20AC;? Johnson certainly got her moneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth. The clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impressive staircase has been tenderly reďŹ nished, and the

baseboards and mouldings are either original to the building or exceptionally good reproductions. The main rooms are tasteful, with comfortable seating and soft lighting to ďŹ&#x201A;atter more mature complexions and ďŹ gures. Then, suddenly, the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main purpose hits me right in the face. Dead ahead of me, crouching on the most adorable red vinyl banquet, is an elderly man with his face ďŹ rmly planted between the legs of an audibly appreciative older lady. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moaning softly, twining her ďŹ ngers through whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left of his hair. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a scene that, given my own predilections, may not inspire arousal, but it still strikes me as sweet. Our society tends to banish any right to sexuality once we cross middle-age, and I love that this couple is openly, ďŹ&#x201A;agrantly ďŹ&#x201A;aunting their sex lives to anyone who might happen by. There are other such scenes as I continue my tour, brushing past happy couples and trios as I make my way to the main bar area. The eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show is about to start: an impossibly tall, drop-dead-gorgeous black woman named Shani will be teaching female patrons the art of booty popping and strip seduction. As Shani shepherds her nervous ďŹ&#x201A;ock onto the danceďŹ&#x201A;oor, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in awe of her conďŹ dence and encouragement toward the women as they lose their inhibitions and bump and grind on their men. The feeling here is unabashedly one of female empowerment. This ethic reaches its apex on frequent all-gal

Toni Johnson is the owner of Oasis Aqualounge.

nights, hosted by such places as Aslan Leather or the Pleasure Palace, where lesbian and bi women can get their freak on without having to worry about male voyeurs. Johnson welcomes these women, as she does anyone who is respectful of others and just looking to have a fun, sexy time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look, the bottom line is that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all sexual beings, men and women,â&#x20AC;? she

says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not up to any of us to judge whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fucking who, as long as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adult, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consensual and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun. And if they want you to join in, too, then thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all the more awesome.â&#x20AC;? Oasis Aqualounge is located at 231 Mutual St and offers a variety of membership options. For more details, visit oasisaqualounge.com.

HATE CRIME

Vancouver first in gaybashings again

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY The Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line is looking for a new

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

whose strategic vision and leadership will guide this dynamic organization. The Youth Line provides support services for youth, by youth that afďŹ rm the experiences and aspirations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, 2-spirited, queer and questioning youth in Ontario. Please check out our website for further details: www.youthline.ca. Application deadline is May 31st, 2012

The definitive online source for gay & lesbian media, including: q #SFBLJOH OFXT q %BJMZ CMPHT q 7JEFP JOUFSWJFXT q &OHBHJOH DPNNFOUT q &WFOU MJTUJOHT q 'BDFCPPL UXJUUFS BOE TP NVDI NPSF

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VANCOUVER REMAINED CANADAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S capital for reported gaybashings in 2010, despite an overall 18 percent drop in hate crimes in Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest cities and a drop in gaybashings of 5.6 percent, new Statistics Canada numbers show. While Toronto had more individual gaybashings than Vancouver â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 35 compared to 30 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s percentage of gaybashings out of the total number of hate crimes was more than twice as high. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any hate crime is disturbing,â&#x20AC;? says Vancouver West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but to see statistics [like that] is really disturbing.â&#x20AC;? In other parts of Canada, Ottawa reported 15 gaybashings, Montreal 13, Edmonton seven, Quebec City ďŹ ve, Calgary ďŹ ve, Hamilton four and Winnipeg one. Overall, Canadian police services reported 178 hate crimes based on sexual orientation in 2010, compared to 188 in 2009, 159 in 2008, and 71 in 2007. Sexual orientation accounted for 15.5 percent of all reported hate crimes in 2010, ranking third after race/ethnicity and religion. Though a lower percentage, compared to previous years, of gaybashings in 2010 were violent, they were still more likely to result in physical injury than other types of hate crimes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jeremy Hainsworth

YEARS OF HEART TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION AN XTRA SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

25 YEARS | TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION

MAY 31, 2012

PORTRAITS BY ADAM COISH

THE ESSENT Some of the PWA staff and volunteers in the welcoming reception area at 200 Gerrard St.

THE TORONTO PWA FOUNDATION The PWA mission: We engage people living with HIV/ AIDS in enhancing their health and well-being through practical and therapeutic support services and broader social change, and we inspire them to live into their dreams and discoveries. In 1987, a support group of people living with HIV (PHA) formed the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA). For 25 years PWA has provided critical services to more than 8,000 individual clients, delivered more than a quarter of a million meals, distributed more than $3.7 million to clients. The PWA Speakers Bureau volunteers have shared their personal stories with approximately 285,000 individuals in an effort to reduce stigma and transmission rates. Volunteers have provided more than 750,000 hours, and more than 50,000 individual donors have supported PWA. The numbers are large, the accomplishments are astounding and the individual stories, a sampling of which follow, are important as we move into yet another year with no end to the epidemic in sight. Please contribute your stories, remembrances, mementos and photos of the past 25 years of PWA at 25anniversary@ pwatoronto.org.

by MICHAEL LYONS

hen Bill Handley started working with the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, “we had funding for the Food Bank; it was for the food bags and things like that. We were not allowed to buy any food or we would lose funding.” Handley became PWA’s programs and services coordinator in 1994, in charge of the Food Bank and a number of other programs. At the time, PWA received most of its food through the non-proﬁt charitable organization Daily Bread, a support hub for the food bank community. Problems arose with Daily Bread’s rationing system; PWA’s portion was decreased because the organization reasoned that many PWA clients would also have access to drop-in centres and women’s and youth shelters that Daily Bread was already supplying. Handley had to seek outside help, eventually securing resources from Second Harvest, another provider, and Food for All Street Kids, a now-defunct independent food bank. Until Handley left in 2005, if the PWA Food Bank needed more supplies, the only thing they could do was appeal to the community. “If we wanted food we would work the clubs,” Handley says. “If I needed something like Kraft Dinner or whatever, we would do fundraisers. If you needed something you would have to go and do it yourself.” Kevin Borden took over as PWA’s food programs coordinator in 2007. “One of the reasons they brought me in was to try to build on what was already successful, and to bring it up to modern days and times,” Borden says. One of the main goals was to remove any potential stigma that might be attached to accessing a “food bank.” He spent the ﬁrst two years researching food bank models in the US. After surveying their clients, PWA changed the name to The Essentials Market. The distribution system was also changed, from a hamper program where volunteers would put together food packages and give them to each client. “They had no choice, no say, nothing like that,” Borden says. “A little degrading. Just making people feel like they were getting a handout.” This restructuring and rebranding turned the Food Bank into something more like a store, where clients come in, take a cart, and are able to select the products they want and need. “Again, a sense of empowerment, a sense of normality, like they’re just shopping like they would shop anywhere else,” Borden says. “We’re not kidding ourselves; it is a food bank, but the bottom line is that we try to create a more welcoming space where we try to make it more comfortable for them.”

Kevin Borden (above), Bill Handley (right) and Handley ( below right) in the Dec 4, 1997, issue of Xtra.

Borden sits on the board of Daily Bread and describes its relationship with PWA as vastly improved. “They encourage us, as well as the other 178 food banks in the city, to get additional donations if we possibly can. We get a lot of community support: Woody’s, all the bars, MCC, TICOT. We’re partnered with people like Whole Foods, who do a lot for us, and we also partner with Fresh Co.” Handley, who has returned to PWA as a case manager for benefits and assistance, recalls a time when the organization was staffed by seven, the food bank was no bigger than his current office, and they were serving 25 to 35 clients a week on very few resources. “If you needed something, you went out in the community and got it,” he says. “Everything’s really streamlined now.” The changes allowed the Food Bank to thrive; it now serves approximately 750 clients a month, with programs that offer meal supplements, assistance to those who are streetinvolved, assistance to primary caregivers, and more, all free to PWA clients. For Borden, one of the most exciting initiatives, finally coming to fruition after two years of planning, is three gardens in which organic fruits, vegetables and herbs are grown and then filtered back to the market. This means money can go toward buying other perishables. There are other benefits as well, Borden explains: “A lot of our participants are isolated, don’t like big crowds, so it’s a great place for them to go and work with the earth, get next to nature, and have solitude and still feel like they’re contributing to the community.”

25th Anniversary Opening Event June 4th, 2012 5–8pm

S AR

THE FOOD BANK

Making a positive difference.

Toronto People With AIDS Foundation 200 Gerrard Street East, 2nd ﬂoor Toronto, Ontario M5A 2E6

TEL:

(416) 506-1400 FAX: (416) 506-1404 www.pwatoronto.org Charitable Registration #: 13111 3151 RR0001

A TIMELINE

HIV/AIDS AND TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION

AN XTRA SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

TIALS

1986 The Toronto People with AIDS Coalition is formed: “We Stand and Fight” Toronto becomes the ﬁrst Canadian city to develop an AIDS strategy, which includes funding for community organizations The Ontario AIDS Network is formed The second Canadian AIDS Conference is held in Toronto The Canadian AIDS Society holds its ﬁrst AGM

Good Shepherd opens Barrett House, a ﬁve-bed AIDS hospice, in Toronto It’s determined that people with HIV/AIDS are protected against discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code The Ontario legislature amends the Ontario Human Rights Code to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation In Toronto, AIDS becomes the leading killer of men aged 35 to 44

MAY 31, 2012

People with Heart

TONY DI PEDE TREASURER, CHAIR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“i remember that day so clearly,” says Tony Di Pede of the 1989 demonstration that solidified his involvement with PWA. “I remember what I was wearing, how pissed off I was. I even had a cellphone — it was the size of a brick. It was my first demo, and it got me out of being a suburban fag living a quiet life in Etobicoke. I hadn’t even been to Pride.” When his partner Mel died, “I went to the Hassle Free and joined the support group that David Kelley ran. They said, ‘You need to get involved.’ I called PWA.” Di Pede put his accounting background to work as treasurer, though roles were loosely defined. “To be honest, a lot of it is a big blur. There were two staff when I arrived and 16 when I left in 1997. We were growing an organization, doing advocacy, and I think we were also running away. The more you got involved the less you had to feel. We went from 300 clients in a year to 9,000 to 12,000. It was like rolling out a carpet — it expanded faster than could be handled. And people were dying pop, pop, pop. It’s hard to imagine that in the midst of all that emotional turmoil things got done. Most people only knew that they had AIDS when they got really sick and died within a year. Three years was a long-term survivor.” When a video clip from a popular televison show was needed for the PWA Ovation Awards ceremony, there was an unfortunate delay. “We were all at brunch and Jim got on the phone. Some minion was not returning his calls. He blasted her, ‘You know, lady, you’re dicking me around and I need this. So get off your ass, ’cause by the time you get around to this I could be dead. I have AIDS and I don’t have time to waste.’ We all thought it was hilarious. Threequarters of those people are dead now. The history of PWA gets sanitized ’cause your heart gets numb to all the death. “We were so unbelievably busy, but it was a kind of coping mechanism. And that anger. It was a damn good anger that made us not wallow in our pain but fight for our community. It’s amazing what the community did. I came in when it was all set up, and those people were not well. Those people need to be honoured in a very profound way for making it happen. “It was so practical, so hands-on. Someone was going to benefit directly: food, housing, a massage, even from the advocacy. You could see someone getting helped. A client came in. You’d stabilize them, get them on Family Benefits Assistance, put them on a housing list, get them organized, give them a bit of money . . . the amount of stress reduction that provided. People did not know what to do. They’re in shock. That alone justifies the PWA Foundation. That’s already a huge monument to supporting our own.” Di Pede was there for many of the battles that PWA helped win. “The battle to make AIDS an invisible disability, to get recognized for the Ontario Disability Support Program. Doctors were rejecting PHAs left, right and centre. ‘This man’s practically palliative, what’s the problem?’ I don’t know how many appeals we fought — that our staff organized and filed the paperwork. Or when Toronto Public Health decided they wouldn’t fund any groups that wouldn’t state that PHAs should abstain from sex. We were ready to kill. That’s not the way to talk to sentient beings; it’s insulting and it doesn’t help prevention. At that point we got $300,000 from the city, but we decided it was unethical, too offensive. We ripped up the contract in their faces, saying we can’t live with ourselves. We probably shouldn’t have, but when there were organizations that screwed with PHAs we called them on it. We even took on campaigns we knew we’d lose.”

1987 The ﬁrst anti-HIV drug (AZT) is released

PWA’s ﬁrst three directors are Jim St James, Rodney Polich and Ray Barnard

The PWA Coalition meets in a room at the not-yetopened Casey House

PWA’s ﬁrst AGM is held in September

PWA incorporates as a not-for-proﬁt and becomes the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation

PWA distributes $13,524 in ﬁnancial assistance to PHAs from October 1987 to March 1988 PWA pauses operations after the death of 16 (of 20) staﬀ members in October

Tony Di Pede was the poster child for several PWA ad campaigns.

Di Pede believes that PWA was instrumental in creating self-sufficiency and pride. “There was a subtle subversiveness in the mission statement — signiﬁcant and appropriate representation by PHAs are to be part of the staff and board. This ﬁght for self-determination by all people wasn’t just in Toronto; it was happening everywhere, but we were the only organization to achieve it.” Di Pede moved on from PWA and has been active in many groups, but he remains a self-described “observer. I was a different person then. These are better times — for some. That’s why PWA is there and needs to be until the epidemic is over. They make life better for a lot of people. To help somebody in need — there’s just not enough of that in this world, so three cheers for surviving 25 years.” — Drew Rowsome

People with Heart

ANONYMOUS STAFF MEMBER

only one of the interviewees decided, after a lengthy and emotional interview, not to be identiﬁed. While he works at PWA and is very articulate and charming, the stigma of coming out as a PHA in these pages was too much for him to deal with at this point in his journey. “Things are great now with the medications,” he says. “Stigma is the worst piece of it right now. Five years ago — surprise! — my baseline bloodwork revealed I was HIVpositive. There was nothing physiologically. HIV is only my work and popping three pills a day, but the stigma is overwhelming. I’m always making assumptions of what other people are going to think of me. I can live with HIV otherwise.” Working at PWA creates a safe space, “but it’s a bubble. I had volunteered on the front desk for a year, but to come back as a client — I really struggled with that. When I became HIV-positive, I knew so much on the community level; I was privileged, but all of a sudden logic was not ruling. I was devastated. They understood.” Having made the step, he is working at living outside the bubble of PWA. “It feels that, logically, the community would be supportive. Twenty-ﬁve percent of gay men are HIV-positive — how can they not be compassionate?” — Drew Rowsome

1988 Casey House Hospice, founded by June Callwood, opens Several ethnocultural AIDS organizations are formed in Toronto AIDS Action Now! (AAN!) forms in Toronto. AAN!’s ﬁrst news conference attacks the federal government for lack of action on treatment access and drug trials

Jake Epp, federal minister of health and welfare, is burned in eﬃgy at an AAN! demonstration, held during a national AIDS conference in Toronto, to protest treatment issues and a lack of overall policy commitment on AIDS The Canadian AIDS Society releases its report on safer sex guidelines The ﬁrst World AIDS Day is held Dec 1 PWA becomes a registered charity

PWA’s ﬁrst beneﬁts and assistance coordinator is hired and sees an average of 15 new clients a day The Toronto premiere of Larry Kramer’s play The Normal Heart raises funds for PWA One of PWA’s founding members is Chuck Grochmal. Chuck’s Xtra column on living with AIDS runs from April 5, 1988 to Jan 24, 1990

VISION I 22

25 YEARS | TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION

MAY 31, 2012

THE MERGER THAT NEVER WAS

People with Heart

GREG DOWNER SERVICE ACCESS MANAGER

“my background is

in hospitality,” says Greg Downer, PWA’s service access manager. “Everything from dishwasher to manager of a high-end restaurant. This is similar to 1,200 restaurants. Busy is an understatement. I work with the front desk, who do intake for everyone who comes in. There are about eight new clients a week and 14 service-access volunteers who can handle walk-ins. There are 25 providing for 2,500 individuals who access services annually. It’s constant. Someone is always asking questions or in need. Some we see once — they get on ODSP [the Ontario Disability Support Program] and are on their way; some come every day for coffee. They can drop the veil of HIV when they walk in here and be themselves. There is still so much stigma. We can’t even talk to clients if we meet them on the street — we have to protect confidentiality.” Downer understands the clients’ reactions. “People who come in recently diagnosed — everything they’ve learned or know gets thrown out the window when it’s your own experience. I had an extra level of internalized stigma. My mother and aunts were public nurses; sex and sexuality were open subjects. I remember Aunt Jean pulling out the condoms or an array of them on a tray when I was 20. On some level I thought, ‘This should never have happened to me.’” Downer first came to PWA in 2003 “at the worst point in my life. I became a client. I had lost my job, had a meth addiction and was isolated from friends and family. My case manager, who has since passed away, got me into a recovery program. I was too embarrassed to apply for social assistance. I couldn’t survive on ODSP, so I came to the food bank after a job interview — I was wearing a suit and tie. It was embarrassing and humbling with all the clients in line whose needs were even more. It’s worse at street level.” Downer was still in recovery when he joined the Speakers Bureau. “It was only a year later, and the first question I got was ‘You’re HIV-positive — this is god’s punishment.’ I said, ‘If that’s all you’re leaving with, then I’ve failed you.’ But then someone comes up and you’ve connected, maybe only with one person, but you’ve challenged their position of who PHAs are. The evaluation cards often say, ‘You look like my brother or someone I might date.’ We wear our hearts on our sleeves — it’s an ongoing part of my therapy, a reminder of where I’ve been. I can just show.” Downer insists his story isn’t unique. “The vast majority who work here have been through that informal cycle, but now it’s written into our strategic plan. It’s very rewarding. We facilitate possibilities. Living with HIV I felt my life was shattered, my dreams were gone. But I got engaged and figured out that I wasn’t alone.” — Drew Rowsome

1989 Activists take over the opening stage of the ﬁfth International AIDS Conference, in Montreal, demanding that governments take more action and that the voices of people with AIDS be heard The Montreal Manifesto, an international bill of rights for PHAs, is published The ﬁrst national Aboriginal Conference on HIV/AIDS is held

1990 PWA receives core funding from the Ontario AIDS Bureau and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care The PWA drop-in centre begins providing info sessions, yoga, massage and haircuts The PWA Speakers Bureau is founded

After 2,282 Canadians have died of AIDS, the federal health minister, Perrin Beatty, announces the ﬁrst National AIDS Strategy The Canadian HIV Trials Network is established

by JULIA GARRO

t was a time that nearly changed the face of AIDS activism in Toronto: in the fall of 2004 the membership of the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation narrowly rejected amalgamation with the AIDS Committee of Toronto — twice. “It was a surprise to imagine that the vote was the same twice in a row knowing that there were some different people involved,” recalls then-PWA board chair Robert Sirman. “It was a surprise but, frankly, a fact that a third of the members did not wish to see the two organizations amalgamate.” The rules required two-thirds of each group’s membership to vote in favour of forming a larger and arguably improved AIDS service organization (ASO). ACT’s members responded with better than 80 percent, but PWA was mere votes away from tipping the balance in favour. Economically the proposed merger made sense. Amid fears of dwindling funding, the new mega-ASO would save on administrative costs — one board, one executive director, one fundraising department — allowing more money to be put toward programming.

The difference in the client base and between the cultures of the two organizations led some PWA members to campaign against the merger. “Those opposed to the merger were saying that PWA served a much poorer clientele than ACT did and that a merger would basically involve PWA being absorbed by ACT,” McCaskell recalls. “Therefore the people that PWA served would end up without a home to go to. What they were arguing was that the class differences within the community had become so great that one organization couldn’t serve both ends of the spectrum.” When the first vote failed, it was by so small a margin that a second vote was held. Sirman says he believes this was key to moving forward with the final decision. “I think the closeness of the first vote — less than one percent to hit that threshold to get it through — created an uncertainty, and I think there would’ve been some lasting doubt. The fact that there was the second vote and the outcome was the same made it easier to accept the results — that there was something meaningful going on here and that the organization was choosing its destiny.” Since that time PWA has gone its own way, moving out of the building at 399 Church St it once shared with ACT

MURRAY JOSE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“after the merger

conversations there was a mandate — we had to get stabilized, positions filled, word out to the community, find a better accessible space,” says Murray Jose, who has been the executive director of PWA for the past seven years. “So many services are in old crumbly basements. What does a safe space mean? Light, warm and welcoming — feeling worthy. We did come into our own a little bit.” Jose is rightfully proud of the space at 200 Gerrard St, where clients and visitors are at ease as soon as they walk through the doors. Stigma or not, there are some serious smiles on everyone involved. “We did strategic planning last year and found two key areas to explore,” Jose says. “Health promotion in a holistic fashion — we already do but need to be more intentional. There is no info on why some live longer and healthier lives. We think it’s complementary therapies that help them stay focused and relaxed. “The other is engagement. The value of having people with AIDS involved in every aspect of what we do. It can’t be tokenism; it has to be concrete and at every level — the majority of the board, several executive directors, including myself, many of the staff and many of the volunteers. It had evolved naturally, but now we’re more intentional about it. Our first focus is providing services, putting food on the table, but we can effect change beyond our clients. Engagement across the spectrum. This was new to us. People can develop skills and move into a position or back to work. We’re not just providing direct services.” Jose also speaks about poz prevention (“not ‘You HIVpositive people wear condoms,’ but by recognizing and supporting everyone’s sexual health”), advocacy (there was a “session where we matched medical students and PHAs in dinners and one on one. The medical system still doesn’t have it right; there are horror stories that should be 20 years ago. PHAs have actually stepped in and filled the gap”), the Speakers Bureau (“When a volunteer goes out into the community to speak, we can’t just throw them out there. We can’t set them up for failure”) and fighting stigma

AAN! organizes a major demonstration to protest the call to quarantine sexually active poz people by Ontario’s chief medical oﬃcer of health, Richard Schabas. Plans are blocked, and every community AIDS organization in Ontario calls for Schabas’s resignation Charles K (Chuck) Grochmal dies of AIDS at Casey House.

AAN! sets up the Treatment Information Exchange (TIE) to increase access to information about cutting-edge treatments

1991 TIE becomes the Community AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE), an independent charitable organization

(“When online cruising you read something like ‘Clean, you be too.’ That's just wrong”). The words and ideas ﬂow naturally and quickly, and Jose’s passion is obvious. “And how do we make it better?” is tagged on to many sentences. “The other theme that emerged was dreaming,” Jose says of the strategic planning session. “We were hearing that PHAs were putting their dreams on hold. They were not feeling worthy.” For PHAs, just surviving can be allconsuming. “It impacts their ability to go to bars, to have a relationship.” If PWA can take some of the pressure off, then PHAs can begin to dream again. “I’ve been 18 years in the public health sector, and there is still so much to keep me challenged. Our only clients are PHAs. We are a PHA-driven organization. What does it mean to live positively? What is the vision of what we can offer? This is an amazing place to work. We have great skills and knowledge, but if we see someone as a client or a number and not someone to learn from, then we’re not doing it right. We’ve updated our mission to broader social change.” — Drew Rowsome

The Red Ribbon, which will develop into an international symbol of AIDS awareness, makes its debut at the 45th Tony Awards The Ontario AIDS Bureau is established within the Ontario government Black CAP, initiated in the late 1980s, is incorporated The Prisoners’ HIV/ AIDS Support and Action Network is formed as a grassroots response to the emerging AIDS crisis in the Canadian prison system

1992 The Canadian HIV/ AIDS Legal Network is established Ontario’s Ministry of Health establishes anonymous HIV-testing sites PWA supports and administers funds for Voices of Positive Women (until 1994) The PWA Food Bank is established PWA establishes the Treatment Resources Program

AN XTRA SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

to open new offices at Gerrard and Sherbourne streets. “The move totally blossomed PWA as an organization in terms of programming and leadership,” says executive director Murray Jose, who adds that there’s more room and greater accessibility and that the new offices better reﬂect the ethos of the organization. “Clients felt it at 399 Church without us trying to create it, but the physical space wasn’t matching the experience,” Jose says. “Coming out of the merger really focused what we looked for.” Jose says there’s also a lasting appreciation for how important PWA’s culture is. “What we learned in the community planning was that people really value choice. We want the services we need, in the geographical area that we need, in an organization that has a culture relevant to who I am. People did not want an ASO superstore, which is what they perceived the merger would have provided.” But as feared, HIV/AIDS funding has become scarcer since 2004. Jose says that PWA has responded by working more closely with other ASOs and sidestepping territorialism. “There’s always been recognition of the potential value

of partnering, even among people who didn’t agree with the merger conversation . . . making sure that there’s efficiencies and making best use of dollars.” Looking back, Sirman says that PWA grew through that process of considering the merger, even though it never came to pass. “I think that it has proved to be another form of empowerment for the organization to have gone through a period of considering its options and deciding consciously and deliberately to pursue a particular course, and that course was consistent with the course that had been laid out from the beginning. “At the same time I don’t want to deny that there was a lot of tension through that period and some people had doubts whether we should even be entertaining any other course of action. And you’re a little terriﬁed that that might leave lasting wounds.” But Jose says there’s “very little” ongoing impact. “Understandably, at the time emotions were high. It was hard to stay objective and to believe that everyone was acting in the best interests of PWA. It was emotional, and it did take some time to heal, but I think very few are holding on to that. I haven’t heard anyone mention it in years.”

SHANE PATEY

THERAPEUTIC CARE COORDINATOR

“i began volunteering 11 years ago,” says Shane Patey, who is moving to a new position at PWA after being the therapeutic care coordinator. “I had just finished my undergrad in environmental sciences at Waterloo, and my thesis was a guide to alternative therapies for people with HIV. I was also a food stylist, so the Pie in the Sky fundraising program was a natural fit, and I chaired it for five years. When the role of therapeutic healthcare coordinator was created, I applied.” Patey worries that some of the services he oversaw are “programs that get seen as extraneous. Haircuts, massage, acupuncture, a shamanic healer — all those things have a high cost out in the community. For someone on disability, this actually increases their income by providing a service they don’t have to pay for. But it’s priceless to have someone feel good about their appearance, to have someone looking after them. That connecting with a service provider, especially something like massage, helps lift the feelings of being someone who is feeling untouchable.” The practitioners are volunteers who find they get as much out of the encounters as the clients. “We partner with five professional schools, and we provide space for their clinical time. It validates our clients, but the practitioners also have contact with PHAs, and their perceptions are blown wide open. When tasked with growing this program I wondered how I was going to get people who do this for a living to do it for free. But most of them want to be healers. They get to help manage cancer, tinnitus, mobility issues — it gives them a rich pool of experience. Being HIV-positive makes our client, but the clients can access for any reason. One client was bound to a scooter and after acupuncture and massage could stand up. He said, ‘I can shower alone.’ His dignity was returned.” PWA partners with the Sherbourne Health Centre naturopathic clinic, which Patey believes is important. “We’re not adding more pharmacology but addressing the issues. People save on painkillers, and the comfort of not having to worry about a bout of diarrhea or having your energy back puts life in a more manageable place. Just managing the HIV is a challenge, and it can get in the way of thinking about their overall health. Those on a subsistence income can think about their health in a bigger way.” — Drew Rowsome

CLIENT & VOLUNTEER

“gipa/mipa [greater involvement of people with AIDS/Meaningful involvement of people with AIDS] — we’re all tired of hearing it, but experiencing it is different,” says Richard Dalton. “PWA lives it and breathes it.” Dalton is a fast-talking live wire whose past as a streetinvolved punk who transformed into a high-powered salesman hasn’t faded. “PWA really helped me develop as a person beyond HIV. It’s been an interesting journey,” he laughs. “I tested positive four years ago. I worked in fashion retailing for a big international company. I was knee-deep in cocaine with bottle service everywhere, and my addictions led to HIV. I became real bad real fast, and in six weeks my T-cells dropped to AIDS level. I had to confide in someone, and it was a bad disclosure. I got legal advice from a lawyer and HALCO and took a settlement and walked away from a career. I was careerless, facing poverty, had lost my identity and was going through recovery at the same time. And still I wasn’t desperate enough — I didn’t want to identify as HIV-positive. I grew up with safe sex; the stigma really comes up. “Finally I came into PWA for a bag of food. I was embarrassed but it was the best decision I ever made. They invited me to a speakers’ evening, therapy and support groups — this was the missing piece. I was told, ‘Hey, get off your ass” and that I didn’t have to be a monk and go into seclusion. PWA helped me grow and find my legs again. They’re not bringing HIV people in to stuff envelopes; it’s not just getting labour — the sky’s the limit. Each person needs something different out of it, but it’s also, What can this person contribute?” Dalton worked at the front desk before being invited to join the Speakers Bureau. “Who am I to speak about my experience? No one’s HIV is more important than anyone else’s. But it’s all about where you fit into the landscape. This is still out there, and it is still going on. We’re just so familiar with it that we’re in denial. I had my tail between my legs about being HIV-positive, but within six months I had gone from being afraid to access a food bank to speaking in front of over 800 people.

“HIV is a crash course in humanities. My relationship with the gay community wasn’t healthy — it was just the bar scene. Now I see there is this rich community of activists. HIV was the entry point, but I don’t want to work just with HIV; I want to work with gay street youth. I’m going to George Brown in the fall to become a community worker. I can be a catalyst for change. HIV and PWA were the twoby-four in the back of the head to make it happen. “Some people criticized me for living and breathing HIV. ‘You’re drowning in it; this can’t be healthy.’ But it gets me out of my HIV. I’m not a victim. It’s all the inbetween stuff that’s not on the brochure — the haircuts, the theatre, the inspiration. My turning point from a health perspective was getting that ﬁrst massage. It all recontextualized. Someone was putting care into my well-being, and it was the ﬁrst time I’d been touched in a long time. It got the ball rolling for self-care. For them it was just part of a day’s work, but what it meant to this individual is huge and symbolic. Lots of healing has nothing to do with your blood count.” — Drew Rowsome

1993

1994

PWA and ACT move to oﬃces at 399 Church St

The AIDS Memorial opens in Cawthra Park

PWA supports and administers funds for Positive Straight Men

The Krever Commission is established to investigate HIV in the Canadian blood supply

The Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV (GIPA) Principle is formalized at the Paris AIDS Summit, with 42 countries signing on to “stimulate the creation of supportive political, legal and social environments” for PHAs

The Good Samaritan Dinner is held for volunteers (most of whom are PHAs) and becomes PWA’s Annual Holiday Dinner

People with Heart

RICHARD DALTON

PWA receives the ﬁrst grant to a Canadian HIV/ AIDS organization from the MAC AIDS Fund

MAY 31, 2012

After years of pressure from AAN! the Ontario government announces that a catastrophic drug program will be implemented in 1995

1995 On World AIDS Day, three AIDS groups serving Toronto’s Southeast Asian communities join forces to form a new coalition agency: Asian Community AIDS Services PWA receives an award for its participation in the education of U of T medical students PWA supports and administers funds for Positive Youth Outreach (now an ACT community program)

1997

A new family of antiretroviral drugs, protease inhibitors, is approved in the US

HAART becomes standard treatment

1996

The AIDS programs of various UN agencies combine to form UNAIDS

The success of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is the big news at the 11th International AIDS Conference in Vancouver

Ontario begins viral load testing

PHAs establish the Canadian Treatment Action Council Sutherland Chan partners with PWA to provide the ﬁrst student massage clinic for PHAs

The Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network is established

25 YEARS | TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION

MAY 31, 2012

THE BIKE RALLY WOLFGANG HOCK

A FIRST-TIME RIDER PREPARES by MATT MILLS

Promotional campaigns for the Friends for Life Bike Rally over the years.

Matt Mills is editorial director of Pink Triangle Press.

1998 PHAs become eligible for ODSP (the Ontario Disability Support Program) as a result of eﬀorts by PWA and other groups

The Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation is formed

Canadian Blood Services assumes full responsibility for Canada’s blood supply system, supplanting the Canadian Red Cross

PWA partners with the College of Naturopathic Medicine to oﬀer a naturopathic clinic (now oﬀered at the Sherbourne Health Centre)

PWA starts the ﬁrst needle exchange speciﬁcally for PHAs

People with Heart

MICHAEL CRESS CLIENT, VOLUNTEER & RIDER

“friends for life is not just a figurative term but also a literal one. The best and closest friends I’ve made have been on the bike rally,” says Michael Cress, who is a veteran of 10 rallies. “The first time I worked on the food crew because I wanted to give back. I saw how much fun it was and got hooked with biking after the second year. I work as a fundraiser for Casey House, so as co-chair for two years I was able to help the riders raise funds. It’s a daunting task — the ride and the fundraising. There was a period of donor fatigue. AIDS was the go-to charity with celebrities, but then it goes out of fashion. Infection rates are up due to fatigue. PWA is relevant for someone newly infected or someone who’s been infected for 25 years.” Cress had firsthand experience of the value of PWA. “I tested positive in the summer of 1987. I lost two friends immediately, and there was no treatment. I avoided the drugs as long as possible — more people seemed to be getting sicker than anything else with AZT — and stuck to holistic treatments throughout the ’90s. I only went on the cocktail because my T-cells went so low I had no choice. I had, like, 10 T-cells. It was intimidating and scary. The PWA treatment resource coordinator helped. His whole being was to be on top of the treatments and the side effects. He had the same knowledge as most AIDS doctors — more than most doctors. There were not as many options as there are now; the guy was amazing. It was very daunting to ask for help, to walk through those doors — there’s still a stigma. But it’s a safe, discretionary environment. And the ride is a safe, discretionary environment. We did create a dialogue among HIV-positive riders and created a day for those willing to self-identify. It was a real eye-opener. For years I was on the ride and people would say, “I would never know you were positive.’ For a rider with HIV, it can be very empowering because you’re not defined by being positive.”

SHERRI BYER

started covering HIV discrimination issues in 2006 while living in Vancouver, after I stumbled, quite accidentally, across the case of a gay man who was fighting aggravated sexual assault charges for allegedly failing to disclose his HIV-positive status to sexual partners. He was treated horribly by police and even more appallingly by members of his own community of gay men. The deeper I dug, the worse the story seemed. The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to rule on the complexities of two HIV-nondisclosure cases later this fall. That ruling may have a profound effect on how the criminal justice system, and wider society, approaches HIV disclosure. And since 2006, community-based HIV support organizations like PWA have taken deep programfunding cuts. PWA needs your financial and community support now, just as it did 25 years ago. Every rider I’ve asked over the years about the PWA Friends for Life Bike Rally has told me roughly the same thing: “It’s so much fun, and it will change your life. You should do it, you’ll love it.” Every year for the past five, in March, around the time I notice the days getting longer, I’ve said to myself, “This will be the year I take the plunge. This will be the year I register for Friends for Life.” But life is full, time is precious and fleeting, shit happens. It was never so much the week away or fear I wouldn’t be able to complete the route. It was the larger time commitment, the money to be raised, the training rides to take. There always seems to be a summer story that needs careful attention at Xtra. How could I reasonably blow off a significant series of events just to go for a bike ride? The rally simply seemed to call for more time — or rather an advance promise of more time — than I had to give. This year was no different. Then the rally came up in a meeting with the good people from PWA about their 25th anniversary plans. They suggested, then, that I go. Before I knew it, I had volunteered — or was volunteered — to ride a bicycle almost 600 kilometres in high summer. Honestly, it’s a bit of a relief. I needed an excuse to finally commit. I’ve raised some money, started my training regimen and am really looking forward to the big ride and the ways in which it will change my life.

The bike rally has grown significantly and now accounts for approximately 30 percent of PWA’s funding. “The first year I rode, we didn’t break the $500,000 mark. There were maybe 140 riders and maybe 50 to 75 crew. Now it’s $1.2 to $1.5 million. There’s always need for crew but lots of volunteers. It’s a well-oiled machine. It’s summer camp for adults, but if you go to PWA you see the direct results. You’re doing it for people who can’t and who need it more than you do. There’s a lifetime of experience in six days. All the small towns come to expect us and cheer us on. It’s something you don’t ﬁnd in everyday life. And there’s nothing like cycling through Picton wondering, ‘Where do I turn?’ and ﬁnding a drag queen and a guy in a gold lamé bathing suit pointing the way.” — Drew Rowsome

1999

2000

2002

The Ontario HIV Treatment Network launches, with Anne Phillips and Murray Jose as co-chairs

HIV treatment is eﬀective in reducing mother-tochild transmission during pregnancy

HIV becomes the leading cause of death worldwide for people aged 15 to 59

The ﬁrst Friends for Life Bike Rally raises $44,498

The Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment, with representation from the legal, health, settlement and HIV/AIDS sectors, forms to improve treatment and service access for marginalized people with HIV/AIDS

More than 40 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, half of them women; nearly 25 million have died

2001

PWA launches the Pie in the Sky fundraiser

ACT and PWA develop the Employment Action Program, which helps PHAs update their skills and provides help with resumés and job placement

PWA adopts a provocative position in support of medicinal marijuana

The Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV (GIPA) Principle is endorsed by 189 United Nations member countries as part of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS

PWA launches the Food for Life meal-delivery program

2003 InSite, North America’s ﬁrst supervised injection site, opens for drug users in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

PWA partners with the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment to develop the HIV Medication Access Project for marginalized people, which becomes a formal PWA program within a year

2004 The proposal to amalgamate PWA and ACT fails to receive the required support from PWA members

THANK YOU AN XTRA SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

MAY 31, 2012

SPEARHEAD’S DWAYNE BRYK & TICOT’S CANDICE KELLY FUNDRAISERS

the list of organizations and people who have raised money to keep PWA going is huge. The coin box — “Please give a quarter for a quarter century. Making a posi+ive difference” — program is being ramped up, and MLT, Pie in the Sky, the Pride and Remembrance Run, the Tighty Whitey Car Wash, MCC, the Joy Drive and other programs have also contributed. PWA is extremely grateful to all the community members who have dropped off nonperishable food items. “We’re all either infected or affected,” says Dwayne Bryk. “I became aware of PWA’s Speakers Bureau program in 1995 or ’96 as a result of the progression of my HIV. What it gave me was aspects of emotional and spiritual healing. I became a storyteller of my experience.” Bryk was a schoolteacher when he discovered he was HIV-positive more than 30 years ago. “I was living with HIV in a classroom and a workplace at a time when HIV/AIDS could not be openly spoken of. The ramifications could be termination. The birth of the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation in 1987 was the day that I no longer felt alone.” Bryk has been active in Spearhead for even longer. “It’s a brotherhood of men not only wanting to be together socially, but asking, ‘How can we help?’ Each year the membership invites organizations to come in and make a presentation. It’s always a difficult choice. PWA has been the recipient for three years, but this year Spearhead has taken on Youth Line.” As Mr Spearhead 2011, Bryk devoted a lot of energy to fundraising for PWA. “I made a plea to stay on as a fundraiser for food programs. Last year we raised $7,000, and every penny counts. I want to raise more this year but also to have some fun.” Bryk pulls out a Friend of the Foundation Award from PWA that he received for his work. He laughs, “And they gave me this for having fun.” Bryk says, “The most exciting moment when I became Mr Spearhead 2011 was when I was invited to come down to the Essentials Market. What I envisioned and what I experienced were totally different. What PWA has done is humanize the experience of living with HIV by making it possible to access something as basic as food and human-

2006 Amalgamation discussions help to identify PWA and ACT partnership opportunities and to clarify PWA’s work as a separate agency

2005 PWA participates in the AIDS Bureau’s regional planning process, which leads to a strategic plan for Toronto HIV services PWA becomes a trustee and host of the Toronto HIV/AIDS Network, with Murray Jose as co-chair

The 15th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) is held in Toronto AIDS deaths fall, but health complications emerge Ontario introduces pointof-care rapid HIV tests PWA leads the creation and coordination of the PHA Lounge at AIDS 2006 PWA begins a long relationship as the beneﬁciary of the Home + Style studio tour and furniture sale

izing it by making it shopping and interacting with the staff. It should be a model for that type of service.” The Imperial Court of Toronto (TICOT), also celebrating its 25th anniversary, has raised $28,453.56 for PWA as of May 22, 2012. Reigning Empress Candice Kelly was also Empress IX: “I remember friends saying, ‘Can you help me?’ and all I could do was take them to PWA and ask for help. We didn’t know where to turn. That’s how I got involved.” Raising money for food for PWA has been a constant for Kelly. “When I first became empress, the founder of TICOT gave me a job. All of the past empresses were weighed and timesed by three. That was the amount of food I had to collect. Over 9,000 pounds, and back then it was really tough. But my kitchen was full of food, and we finally collected almost 22,000 pounds. I went to the food bank as empress in my crown and gown and helped give out coupons. I’ve been ill most of my life — I had polio, but I’ve never been HIV-positive — and I was helped out so much during my childhood that I enjoy the charity side of things. Different empresses pick different charities, but PWA and Food for Life really need the money. Let’s have a good time and raise money. I want people to laugh, ’cause if you don’t you’re just going to cry. And I spent enough time sitting at home and crying.” The empress has got down and dirty, with stints as kitchen help at AIDS Ottawa and calling Bingo at Traxx. “A lot of the customers were clients of PWA, and they didn’t push me aside because I wasn’t sick. They weren’t afraid to hold and be held. They treated me as part of the family. I can remember a friend who wanted to be part of the group and just take from PWA. There are assholes in every part of the community. He ended up HIV-positive and died. I keep saying, ‘Play safe, kids,’ but it’s like talking to a wall. I don’t hesitate to tell anyone to go to PWA and talk to them. There’s not as many sick now, thank god, but I do have lots of friends who have been ill forever. We lost a lot in the ’90s, but now the pills are better. Twenty-five years is a celebration — a celebration of keeping people alive.” — Drew Rowsome

2007 Concerns about the criminalization of HIV and a lack of rationale for charges grow PWA provides early leadership as part of the new Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law and HIV Exposure PWA holds ﬁrst Tighty Whitey Car Wash

2008

25 years TORONTO PWA FOUNDATION This anniversary supplement would not have been possible without the help of Joan Anderson, Stafford Henry ( below) and Robert Tomas.

Photos of PWA staff and volunteers were taken by Adam Coish.

Pie in the Sky (above top) and the Tighty Whitey Car Wash (above) are two popular fundraisers.

2009

The 10th Friends for Life Bike Rally raises $1,214,627; the 10-year total passes $5 million; more than 300 cyclists participate, supported by 100 crew members

The groundbreaking Poz Prevention resource materials, developed in partnership with the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance, are recognized internationally

PWA moves to a larger space at 200 Gerrard St E to meet service needs and create “a welcoming space”

2010 PWA presents a poster at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna highlighting Poz Prevention PWA launches the Love Ball bowling fundraiser

Please contribute your stories, remembrances, mementos and photos of the past 25 years of PWA at 25anniversary@ pwatoronto.org.

2012 The Collaboration for HIV Medical Education research study, whose goal is to educate medical students, receives funding, with PWA as a co-principle investigator and community partner

2011 The Friends for Life Bike Rally raises $1.26 million; overall total is $9.1 million PWA reveals a new strategic plan: Engaging, Building Capacity, Empowering Dreams

The City of Toronto threatens service cuts to its budget, including AIDS programs; council saves services by two votes PWA now supports the following programs as trustee: the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment, the Toronto HIV/AIDS Network, the Circle of Care, Latinos Positivos PWA marks its 25th anniversary

MAY 31, 2012

25 YEARS | TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION

more at xtra.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

arts › entertainment › leisure

Out City IN THE

LUMINATO

DON’T BE A HERO. RUN AWAY FROM A HARSH SITUATION BEFORE IT DAMAGES YOU. Kamal Al-Solaylee ›29

ON SCREEN

Alexander Wood exposed The Encampment examines infamous scandals Chris Dupuis THOUGH DAVID BATEMAN HAS HAD his share of sexual scandals, he’s always managed to avoid the clutches of the law. “I must have been out of town during the bathhouse raids,” the Torontobased writer and performer laughs. “Given the time I came out, I’m lucky I never had any of those experiences.” While his own illicit encounters have often been the subject of his art, Bateman’s installation for Thom Sokoloski and Jenny-Anne McCowan’s The Encampment takes on the infamous scandal of Alexander Wood.

The rapist was never located and rumours Wood had fabricated the case as an excuse to see a bunch of young men’s dicks began to circulate. He eventually ﬂed to Scotland after public perception of his presumed homo leanings had decimated his business. “He’s been hailed as a queer hero because he was persecuted for being perceived as queer, but we don’t know anything more about his sexuality than that,” Bateman says. “There were some questions around the choice to erect a statue in his honour because of his history. But we glorify all kinds of war heroes for dubious reasons. I like the fact the Toronto queer community

A SMORGASBORD OF

QUEER

S T R O SH

“I’m looking to queer the notion of a public monument,” says David Bateman (right).

Made up of 200 identical white tents, each with an interior designed by a different artist, the work addresses historical figures connected with the War of 1812. “Public monuments are typically permanent and unquestioning in their approach to the subject or event depicted,” Bateman says. “I’m looking to queer the notion of a public monument, both by building it to a questionable character and making it from things salvaged from the garbage and past performances. I’m still figuring out the specifics, but my big fear is that it will look like my bedroom when I was a teenager.” Despite the two Toronto streets that are named after him and an eightfoot-tall statue to boot, the true story of Alexander Wood is somewhat of a mystery. Born in 1772 in Scotland, he made his way to the city of York in 1791 to establish himself as a merchant. Successful in business, he eventually became a magistrate, but things began to unravel in 1810. He interviewed a group of young men, telling them that a Miss Bailey had accused them of rape and claimed to have scratched her assailant’s genitals. To prove his innocence, each was required to expose his privates for Wood’s inspection.

Cougar Lesbians Go to College, appearing in the Slap ’n’ Tickle program on June 7, is a tongue-in-cheek how-to guide for older lesbians looking to bed younger women.

Worldwide Short Film Festival launches June 5 has this symbol that’s a bit shady.” Though the installation of Wood’s permanent monument at the corner of Church and Alexander streets in Toronto passed with little local controversy, Bateman points out there were problems with it in other parts of the country. At the time it was installed he was working in Kamloops, BC, and the local paper was up in arms about Toronto’s memorial to a perceived pervert. “Monuments say a lot about the culture that produces them, and if we end up with a very rightwing government, they may want to get rid of it,” Bateman says. He pauses and laughs. “Of course, if they wanted to replace it with a statue of Cher, I’d probably say yes.”

the deets THE ENCAMPMENT A Thomas+Guinevere creation Part of the Luminato festival Fri, June 8–Sun, June 24, 7:30–11pm Fort York National Historic Site 250 Fort York Blvd, Toronto thomasandguinevere.com luminato.com For a video overview of Luminato, visit xtra.ca.

Chris Dupuis ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT THE teeming volume of content on the internet has fractured your attention span, leaving you unable to consume video material longer than just a few minutes? Fear not: the Worldwide Short Film Festival is packed to the brim with cutting-edge work, suitable for those with the concentration abilities of a gnat. Now in its 19th year, the annual six-day event brings some of the world’s best micro-cinema experiences to Toronto. Though there’s no queer-specific program, works by queer artists are sprinkled throughout the calendar. The Slap ’N’ Tickle program features a bevy of quirky, sexy works, many with a comedic edge. “It’s just as funny as the comedyspeciﬁc programs we have,” says festival programmer Andrew McIntosh. “The act of sex can be inherently ridiculous, and this program looks at it from that angle. I like to think of it as works that will tickle your funny boner.” Cougar Lesbians Go to College, one of a selection of shorts created by Second City Chicago, is a tongue-in-cheek how-to guide for middle-aged dykes

hoping to bed nubile college girls; waiting for them to stop puking before you go in for the kiss is key. In a totally different tone is Norwegian director Vebjørn Guttormsgaard Møllber’s dreamy Anti-Reproductive Mating Ritual, which features Scandinavian skater boys rubbing their dicks together in an icy setting. Though it’s not speciﬁcally queer, 030, a music video for Danish rockers The Good The Bad, features an underwear-clad groupie getting it on with an electric guitar. Also on the bill is Toronto up-andcomer Adam Garnet Jones’s new short, Liar. A hit at this year’s SXSW film program, the dense and complex work follows a teenaged girl who decides to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend after he breaks up with her because he’s gay. “Her friend convinces her he’s just lying to get out of the relationship,” McIntosh says. “We often think of teenagers as being comparably simple in how they operate. But this work

the deets WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Tues, June 5–Sun, June 10 worldwideshortﬁlmfest.com

shows the complex power plays that come up when teens and sex collide.” If you like a bit of international scandal mixed in with your flick, Bradley Manning Had Secrets is for you. Based on transcripts of the online chats between the young soldier and the WikiLeaks hacktivist who identified him, the work explores the lesser-known part of Manning’s story: his desire to transition from male to female while serving in the US military. “It tells two parallel stories of his desire to be honest with the world about who he is and reveal the secrets his government is hiding,” McIntosh says. “It’s a part of his story that’s been lost since all the focus has gone to his choice to out his government’s shady activities.” Though casual ﬁlmgoers don’t often consider shorts as staples of their cinema diet, McIntosh says that may be changing. “There’s been a lot of talk in the last few years about the feature ﬁlm being in decline,” he says. “But shorts have this incredible creativity and vitality, partly because it’s often artists who are at the beginnings of their careers. These works restore my faith in the art of cinema.”

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

listings ›

For more listings, go to xtra.ca

xtra.ca

Sissies and Psychopaths runs till Sat, June 23

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY Mount Royal Book Release Party Utopia Dystopia Tightrope Books presents a

Get the inside scoop! Visit xtra.ca and check out our daily blog entries

Ged Quinn’s new portfolio features etchings with hand-applied watercolour and landscapes that bring art history and mythology to the foreground. Runs till Sat, June 9. Paul Petro Contemporary Art, 980 Queen St W. Free. paulpetro.com

Sissies and Psychopaths Acclaimed artists Peter Kingstone and Daryl Vocat exhibit a collaborative series of prints that examine queer sexuality through the eyes of a child. Runs till Sat, June 23. George Gilmour Members’ Gallery, 401 Richmond St W. Free. openstudio.on.ca

LEISURE & PLEASURE Pleasure Lab: Your Erotic Anatomy & SelfPleasuring Skills

Out in Schools wants to hear from youth! YAAH we do!

Join our Youth Steering Committee If you are under 25, and want to get involved with Out in Schools, join YAAH

(Youth Allies Against Homophobia) today! Details at OutinSchools.com

Learn 20 hot and handy techniques for self-pleasuring with Carlyle Jansen. Women only. Thurs, May 31, 7–10pm. Good for Her, 175 Harbord St. $33. goodforher.com

Cupcake Decorating for Beginners With the ladies of Wisteria Lane bidding adieu, what better time to brush up on your cupcakedecorating abilities? Fri, June 1, 8pm. Le Dolci, 1006 Dundas St W. $49. getoutcanada.com

Shabbat Pride Service Celebrate Pride with an unaﬃliated, inclusive and egalitarian congregation. Torah readings, music, and contemporary and traditional readings. Post-service Kiddush lunch; free childcare available. Sat, June 2, 10:30am. Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, 750 Spadina Ave. Free. shirlibeynu.ca

Halton Pride Enza Supermodel Anderson hosts an all-day celebration of Halton’s diverse queer community, with live music, DJs, familyfriendly activities and more. Sat, June 2, 11am. Central Park, Burlington. Free. haltonpride.org

Founding Media Sponsor

Enza Supermodel Anderson hosts Halton Pride on Sat, June 2

night of ﬁlthy dancing to mark the release of Basil Papademos’s new book. Wed, June 6, 7:30pm. Revival Bar, 783 College St W. Free. basilpapademoswriting.blogspot.com

The Drinks Show The city’s sexiest and most innovative bartenders ﬂaunt their daring creations with riﬀs on traditional and contemporary cocktails. Think Don Draper. Fri, June 8 and Sat, June 9, 6pm. 99 Sudbury, 99 Sudbury St. $23. drinksshow.ca

Bi Brunch Coming out as bi has its own set of challenges and barriers. Mingle and dine at this friendly, informal monthly brunch. Reservation under TBN. Sun, June 10, noon. Churchmouse & Firkin, 475 Church St. Free. torontobinet.org

Naked Swim Get wet with the babes from TNT!Men. Tues, June 12, 8:15pm. Harrison Pool, 15 Stephanie St. $8, $5 members, $4 students. tntmen.org

The Annual 519 Gala Philanthropist Salah Bachir presents an elegant evening of music, ﬁne food and community connection. Blues singer Jackie Richardson headlines. Sat, June 9; 6pm cocktails, 7pm dinner. The 519 Community Centre, 519 Church St. $500, $5,000 table of 10, $10,000 VIP table. the519.org

Canes and Caning A workshop led by canemaker Adrian details the broad range of sensations caused by rattan canes. Bend over, baby — I’m going to make you smile. Sat, June 9, 7:30–9:30pm. Come As You Are, 493 Queen St W. $30, sliding scale available. comeasyouare.com

Kinky Women and Trans Brunch Throw back a pint or six and put your boots up at this kinky brunch. Sun, June 10, noon. O’Grady’s, 518 Church St. Free. torontoleatherpride.ca

Embracing Our Fantasies A fun and interactive workshop with Gaia Morrissette that explores the limitations of desire, sexual culture and fantasy. Tues, June 12, 7:30– 9:30pm. Come As You Are, 493 Queen St W. $30, sliding scale available. comeasyouare.com › continued on page 31

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XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

IN PRINT

A MEMOIR OF

EXTREMES The extraordinary journey of Kamal Al-Solaylee Matt Mills AT 17, WH I L E L IVI NG I N CAI RO, Kamal Al-Solaylee resolved to teach himself English as a kind of passport to the West. “The potential of being arrested or going to prison for practising homosexuality was not good enough for me,” he says. “I knew that I could do better.” But the political and economic chaos that beset Egypt in the early 1980s led the Al-Solaylee family to flee to their home country, Yemen. It is a place from which they had escaped years before with barely more than the clothes on their backs and where building the free and open gay life Al-Solaylee wanted for himself seemed even more unlikely. Still, he managed in time to arrange a student visa to the UK, eventually earning an advanced degree in literature, before winding up in 1996 in Toronto. He earned his first reporter’s credit as a contributor to Toronto’s gay press. “I started my career as a journalist as a copy editor for the Church-Wellesley Review in 1996,” he says. “My first byline in Xtra was a story about women and style in January ’97. I still remember; I got paid $50 for it.” He went on to build an impressive career. He landed a job at Report on Business magazine before becoming a respected theatre critic at The Globe and Mail. He has more recently dedicated himself full-time to teaching as a journalism professor at Ryerson University. It has so far been a grand,

courageous and successful journey. But in 2006 Al-Solaylee returned to Yemen to visit his extended family and was deeply disturbed by what he found. His brothers and sisters seemed defeated by the economic and political conditions there. Their health seemed to be suffering. They seemed to have lost a sense of hope, the belief that they could make their own lives better. But most of all, says Al-Solaylee, he was shocked by the level of religiosity that had taken hold of his formerly secular family. “I remember a conversation with one of my nieces; she was 12 or 13 years old at the time,” he recalls. “I simply asked her, What kind of music do you listen to? She said she doesn’t listen to music because it is the work of the devil. I didn’t know how to react to that. These are my brother’s children and here I am in Canada, a critic reviewing musicals for a living.” The experience led Al-Solaylee into a deep depression for a time but eventually motivated him to write his ﬁrst book, Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes. It’s partly his story, that of a gay man building a better life for himself; partly the story of the lives of Al-Solaylee’s extended family. “I’m a supporting character in a book set in the Middle East and Canada,” he says. “It’s about my relationship with my family. It’s about coming out as a gay man in the Middle East, then pursuing the life I wanted for myself.” Intolerable is an important and captivating read for those interested in is-

THIS BOOK IS VERY MUCH A GAY MAN’S STORY. IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY I TOOK TO LIVE IN A PLACE THAT IS ACCEPTING, WHERE I CAN BE AT HOME. —author Kamal Al-Solaylee MATT MILLS

sues of immigration and homophobia in the shifting social and political cultures of the Middle East. It’s also an inspiration for those who have, or will one day, changed their lives in order to live more openly with their sexualities. “I hope anyone who reads this book in a small town or a home environment or culture that is violent or homophobic comes to learn that you can get out and it’s okay to do so,” Al-Solaylee says. “Don’t be a hero. Run away from a harsh environment before it damages you. Find a place in the world where you

can build your own community and a system of support. Find what makes you happy.” Visit this story on xtra.ca for a video interview with Al-Solaylee.

the deets INTOLERABLE: A MEMOIR OF EXTREMES Kamal Al-Solaylee HarperCollins $28

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED Every Friday until June 22, 6 – 11 PM*

Drink, dance, and explore galleries throughout the Museum FRIDAY, MAY 18 – Inside Out Film Festival sneak peek and a performance by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. PLUS, c5 Lounge ticketed Swank Cabaret event with Christian Jeffries. Call 416.586.7928 for cabaret reservations.

www.rom.on.ca/fridays #FNLROM * Galleries close at 9:30 PM, but the party goes on. Last call is 10:15 PM.

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BREAK OUT YOUR RED NOSES AND slip on your big ďŹ&#x201A;oppy shoes: the Toronto Festival of Clowns (TFC) has returned with frivolity, tragedy and delights for all ages. It truly is the little festival that could, given its modest start just seven years ago. But under the guidance of founders Adam Lazarus and Dave McKay, TFC has emerged as an international showcase of the myriad disciplines that make up the clown genre. Sure, there are plenty of the classic goofy antics that make kids cheer and the young at heart smile, but Lazarus, McKay and their gang wisely incorporate elements that give the art form its daring and poignant edge. Bouffon, the dark and gritty side of clowning, ďŹ gures largely in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival, with works by such renowned artists as clown master Philippe Gaulier. Also presenting this year are two of Lazarusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former students from the National Theatre School of Canada, Phil Luzi and Stephen JackmanTorkoff. Their pieces are directed by Lazarus in true bouffon style, incorporating elements of comedy, pathos and horror into a mĂŠlange that promises to be both challenging and highly entertaining. Jackman-Torkoff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s piece, Baby, introduces the audience to an endearing misanthrope eager to be loved. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the ďŹ rst show I ever wrote,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basically about me and my life, just bigger, louder and more vulgar.â&#x20AC;? Like his creator, Baby is black, gay and adopted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was really nervous when I ďŹ rst performed it,â&#x20AC;? JackmanTorkoff says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even my parents were really awkward after seeing it. But afterwards my mom was like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Is it about me? No? Oh, well youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very talented!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Performing bouffon is often a risky venture, as it requires the clown to present less-than-lovable characteristics to the audience. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the nature of the art form to provoke even as it entertains, dancing the ďŹ ne line

Festival of Clowns founder Adam Lazarus (left) is directing former student Phil Luziâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s piece in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event.

between offensive and funny. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that awkward laughter, where people are wondering if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay to think something is funny,â&#x20AC;? Jackman-Torkoff says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But then again, I like that awkwardness.â&#x20AC;? By highlighting bouffon and bringing in a major player such as Gaulier from Paris, Lazarus and McKay are reminding us of the more subversive elements and politics of clown performance. Like the fool tweaking the kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nose, bouffon speaks truth to power, holding up a mirror to ourselves and others and forcing us to look at the uglier side of society. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compelling theatre that can be as hilarious as it is disturbing. It also occasionally masquerades as something else. One need only look at Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brilliantly eccentric writer/ performer Keith Cole to see the bouf-

fon ethic of unfiltered social commentary and a joyous lampooning of societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foibles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Keith is absolutely bouffon,â&#x20AC;? Lazarus says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He is so funny and so audacious, and he makes you question what art is. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so balls-out. Literally.â&#x20AC;? And while bouffon enjoys a heightened profile at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival, Lazarus promises a wide variety of diversions for crowds of all ages. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have vaudeville acts, music, comedy, cabaret and even some mime stuff,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But not irritating mime stuff.â&#x20AC;?

the deets TORONTO FESTIVAL OF CLOWNS Thurs, May 31â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sun, June 3 Scotiabank Studio Theatre 6 Noble St torontofestivalofclowns.com

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listings › › continued from page 28

MUSIC Gale and Vancourt Yuk Yuks veterans David Gale and Randy Vancourt slay the crowd in a balls-out set of funny tunes. Fri, June 1 and Sat, June 2, 8pm. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament St. $20 advance, $25 door. pubaret.com

A Very Chris-Terical ’90s Cabaret Laugh, cry and shake a tail. Musical director and accompanist Chris Tsujiuchi kicks up his heels for the third annual ’90s cabaret. Featuring Stacey Maroske, Vaughn Harris, Wade Muir, Melissa Azore and others. Fri, June 1 and Sat, June 2, 8pm. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. $10. buddiesinbadtimes.com

That Choir Record Release Party Craig Pike conducts the a cappella choir in well-known and obscure works. Featuring music from That Choir’s last four seasons. Mon, June 4, 8pm. St Patrick’s Church, 141 McCaul St. $20, $15 arts workers/seniors, $5 students. thatchoir.com

Spectra Formerly known as Queer Idol, the performance showcase features promising talent facing oﬀ in two rounds. Hosted by Mandy Goodhandy and Deb Pearce. Fri, June 8, 10pm. Goodhandy’s, 120 Church St. $7. goodhandys.com

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

ON SCREEN

Out of The Celluloid Closet Jeffrey Schwarz on his new documentary film about Vito Russo Matthew Hays JEFFREY SCHWARZ SAYS ONE OF the most empowering things he did upon coming out of the closet was to pick up a copy of Vito Russo’s book The Celluloid Closet. “That really rocked my world,” Schwarz recalls. He wasn’t alone. Soon after the book was first published in 1981, it became a rallying cry for more diverse representations of gay and lesbian characters in film and TV. Russo analyzed hundreds of popular films, pointing out that when gay and lesbian characters did appear, they were either pathetic victims or sadistic killers, and almost all of them were dead by the final credit roll. The book had such a huge impact on Schwarz that when he learned that the gay Oscar-winning filmmaking team of Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman were setting out to make a documentary based on it, he contacted them and offered to apprentice, at no charge. “That was my break into filmmaking,” Schwarz recalls. In order to be a part of the project, he moved from New York to San Francisco and eventually helped with the editing of the film. Now, Schwarz has taken his considerable research into the life of Russo and turned it into a beautiful and evocative documentary portrait, titled simply

Vito. “About five years ago, it struck me how very important it would be to have a documentary portrait of Vito,” Schwarz says. “I thought, ‘This needs to be done.’ The thing about Vito is he would go on to become a hugely important AIDS activist. So his life was a way to map out gay life, from the preStonewall era through much greater liberation to the AIDS crisis. I wanted to tell all those stories through his eyes.” As it turned out, Schwarz had a wealth of archival material to draw from. When Epstein and Friedman made their 1989 AIDS documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, one of the people they chose to proﬁle was Russo, who was then battling the disease. “I had a lot of outtakes to look at, and Rob and Jeffrey were very generous with their time and material.” By this point, Russo had become a very public face of the epidemic, criticizing the government and pharmaceutical companies for their apathy in fighting the disease. Russo famously said that “AIDS is a test of who we are as a people” and co-founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) with playwright and activist Larry Kramer. Common Threads would go on to win an Oscar, and Epstein and Friedman took their Oscar to Russo’s hospital room to share it with him. “I really

In the aftermath of Stonewall, Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of queer representation in the media. RICK GERNHARTER

wanted audiences to know about Russo’s brave ﬁght against AIDS and his role in creating ACT UP. I think some young people don’t even know what that is, so it’s important for them to learn this bit of history.” Schwarz says a real boon to Vito came when it was picked up by HBO. “They do such great work. Now a huge audience will get to learn about Vito’s life and work when it’s broadcast there.” Schwarz has travelled extensively with

Vito on the ﬁlm-fest circuit and says that experiencing the film with audiences has been truly gratifying. “I’ve been so touched by many of the responses I get. People who lived through the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic have thanked me for making it. It really is the story of an entire generation. I felt a heavy sense of responsibility to get that right.” For information on how to see Vito, visit vitorussomovie.com.

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Spectra takes place Fri, June 8

Get It Got It Good Almost Not Quite presents an evening of ﬁlm, music and dancing, with performances by the legendary GB Jones, Minus Smile and Opera Arcana. A screening of Vivek Shraya’s What I Love About Being Queer gets the party started. Sat, June 9, 8:30pm. Cinecycle, 129 Spadina Ave. $5–10 sliding scale. › continued on page 33

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RON HYDE

I dare you to relate Toronto at Night Ryan G Hinds

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Gay Minnesota man beaten after saying he’s gay

AM RESOLUTELY AND FIRMLY opposed to the proposition that Donna Summer is a retro holdover. She is for me very much connected to the here-and-now. Sure, she ruled the disco era, but the Summer I will miss is the one who continued to make music right up until her death on May 17. I didn’t grow up listening to her music on my parents’ record player, but I did hear her plenty on danceﬂoors during the last decade. When I think of her, I think of dancing to “Crayons” at Crews & Tangos in 2008. I think of Ill Nana DiverseCity Dance Company’s choreography to “Bad Girls” at last month’s Feminist Porn Awards. And I remember that I most recently heard “I Feel Love” played at Buddies in March. With that in mind, I’d like to send a virtual slap to commenter Anonymous 4:47pm on that unnamed gay-gossip and pointless-bitchery website I like who, on the day Summer died, wrote, “Next! Everyone gets old sooner or later. She’s not my era, so cry away, eldergays . . . I can’t relate.” Next yourself, honey. That mindset, that you need to relate to everything, takes away your chance to feel the

thrill of discovering the amazing or unexpected. I like to deliberately step out of my own zone of things I relate to. It’s a principle I applied to this year’s Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. Film as a medium should take you away to somewhere new. But with the many screenings on offer at Inside Out, it’s so easy to pick an itinerary of only films you relate to. The Inside Out program guide actually encourages this, for example, by grouping short films together into Boy Shorts and Lady Shorts programs. I purposely checked out a night of Lady Shorts and saw some great things I would never have seen otherwise. I didn’t relate to the characters or stories, but I took them on their own terms and was entertained. Ditto Margarita, a Canadian feature about a Mexican nanny who forms a tight bond with the teen she looks after while trying to elicit commitment from her commitment-phobic lawyer girlfriend. Cue lesbian sex, fear of deportation and iPhone drama. Christine Horne as the lawyer girlfriend manages to find some sympathetic notes in a character I was ready to dismiss. And it’s fair to say nothing in there really has anything to do with my life. Still, I ultimately found it a moving film about chosen

[THE] MINDSET, THAT YOU NEED TO RELATE TO EVERYTHING, TAKES AWAY YOUR CHANCE TO FEEL THE THRILL OF DISCOVERING THE UNEXPECTED.

She ruled the disco era, but the Summer I will miss is the one who continued to make music right up until her death. BLOGS.ETCANADA.COM

family. It did what every good movie should do: took me into its world and entertained me. When I checked out one of the Boy Shorts nights, expecting to find cinematic comfort food in relatable characters, I was left surprisingly wanting. A comedy about gays on Fire Island, Half-Share, offered up lame stereotypes, silly sight gags and a forced plot. It felt dated in a bad way, not in a fun, retro way, and reinforced the worst clichés about queer film festivals. On the upside, nothing prepared me for The Crown Jewels, a bizarrely beautiful feature-length Swedish film

with themes of interracial sex, classism, fantasy, pathos and howl-outloud humour. The Crown Jewels was a wildcard flick for me, and knowing nothing about it going in really let the film work its magic. Inside Out is at its best when films you’ve seen still rattle around in your brain days after you’ve seen them. I wonder what Anonymous 4:47pm would make of The Crown Jewels, though I can guess what he would think about the Inside Out opening gala, at which DJ Shane Percy played the entire 17 minutes and 47 seconds of Summer’s “MacArthur Park” suite. Dancing around and singing with folks who don’t remember the ’80s, let alone the ’70s, says something lovely to me about the power music and film have to bring us together. After mourning a singer who has been part of all our lives and gathering together in the dark to watch something unexpected flash across the screen, I relate really well to many people I didn’t much relate to before.

IN PRINT

DIY kink More adventures in adult playtime Sasha Van Bon Bon

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IT MAY SEEM LIKE AN ODDLY MATERnal thing to write about an advice guide on BDSM called How to Be Kinkier: More Adventures in Adult Playtime, but honestly, what a nice book Morpheous has written. Prepare to be taken on an adventure, folks, one that will have you beaming with possibilities when you’re done. The word porn has become synonymous with any particularly arousing presentation of anything; we use the term “food porn,” for example, to denote the glamorization of sustenance. You could, in that same way, call How to Be Kinkier kink porn, or maybe even porn porn. Morpheous fetishizes fetish. The detailed and delicious photographs (all by Morpheous) on how to create your own balloon anal beads and yarn microbondage beg for the book to be featured in the craft aisle. The section on how properly to peel a piece of ginger for a ﬁgging scene might make the book best suited to the cookbook aisle. And then there’s the ﬁre-cupping photo spread. Eastern medicine? Very few erotic stones are left unturned in this extensive, thoughtful and beautiful guide. It’s humorous, too, a refreshing change from so much discourse about BDSM. Along with chapters outlining intense scenes,

there are small bits of info smattered throughout: the melting temperatures of wax (is it any surprise that religious candles melt at the lowest temperature and are therefore the safest to use?); and the saucy tip that covering a person’s feet in lube and letting it dry will make them extra ticklish. How to be Kinkier is positive and welcoming, a perfect companion for those both new and seasoned in the world of BDSM.

the deets HOW TO BE KINKIER: MORE ADVENTURES IN ADULT PLAYTIME Morpheous Green Candy Press $25

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HEALTH & ISSUES Glam! Cancer Can Sux It Edition An epic evening of standup comedy and music, with all proceeds beneﬁting the Pat McFarlane Cancer Research Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. Performances by Sara Hennessey, John Hastings, Marilla Wex, LeeAnne Galloway, Alberta Darling and more. Tues, June 5, 8pm. The Supermarket, 268 Augusta Ave. $10. glamcabaret. blogspot.com

Bisexual Women of Toronto This safe and non-judgmental peer-support meeting is a prime opportunity to access resources and community. Thurs, June 7, 8–10pm. The 519 Community Centre, 519 Church St. Free. torontobinet.org

STAGE Einstein on the Beach The Luminato festival brings Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s collaboration to the stage for the ﬁrst time in North America outside New York City. Fri, June 8 and Sat, June 9, 6pm; Sun, June 10, 3pm. Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front St E. $30–183.50. sonycentre.ca

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

ON SCREEN

Child’s play Patrick Wang on his indie-hit feature In the Family Matthew Hays TWO CRITICALLY PRAISED FILMS of the past few years, The Kids Are All Right and Beginners, have focused on the lives of gay people and their families. Now, Patrick Wang’s directorial debut, In the Family, makes for another impressive look at the distinct challenges gay parents can face. The ﬁlm tells the story of two dads (played by Trevor St John and Wang himself ) who dote on their loving son (Sebastian Banes, in a remarkable performance for a child actor). But when St John’s character, Cody Hines, is killed in a car accident, his partner, Joey Williams, learns that Hines’s will does not properly leave him with custody of their son, who is handed over to Hines’s sister. This, of course, leads to heartbreak — but also to Wang’s character learning how to create a situation where he can maintain contact with his six-year-old child. Wang, an openly gay, 35-year-old actor, says he was prompted to make the ﬁlm precisely because he didn’t know anyone who was in a gay-parenting situation. “I had read [activist and author] Evan Wolfson’s book, Why Marriage Matters. It struck me how uncomfortable some people are with the issue of

same-sex marriage and the problems that can come out of not having those unions recognized.” What’s striking about In the Family is how very realistic the acting feels. And thankfully, despite the topic, the film never feels maudlin or overly sentimental. “With subjects like this, there’s a fine line between being nuanced and being an after-school special. I was very conscious of that throughout the shoot,” Wang says. Not surprisingly, Wang cites filmmakers Tony Richardson and John Cassavetes — both known for their work with actors — as major influences. “Whenever things would get tough during filming, I would read Cassavetes on Cassavetes. That got me through the hard times.” Equally inspiring is the story behind the film. Wang’s own perseverance is truly impressive: In the Family is now gaining great reviews and box-office traction, but it is no instant-success story. The film’s growing notoriety has come after it was rejected by 30 (count ’em – 30!) film festivals. “It has been a wild ride,” Wang concedes. “For half a year, no one wanted the film. No one seemed to like it. I had to ask myself, ‘Am I a delusional director?’ I had to keep cutting to Plan B, then Plan C, D

Patrick Wang directs and stars in a ﬁlm Roger Ebert called “one of the year’s best.”

and so on. Usually, with a film like this, you play one of the major festivals and that’s your launch.” But without TIFF or Sundance, Wang took the direct move of opening the film himself, without a distributor, in New York. That meant crucial press screenings, where he could finally have his feature seen by critics. That led directly to two important reviews: The New York Times praised In the Family as “remarkably fresh and unpredictable,” while Roger Ebert called it “one of the year’s best.” Not too shabby for a low-budget feature made by a first-time, unknown director. “There’s not a huge culture of ad-

venturousness in ﬁlm, so when you do something new, it’s not always rewarded. It’s lovely that people are coming to the ﬁlm and connecting with it — that’s very rewarding,” Wang says. “And it’s a relief, though all of our problems aren’t solved. It’s still a great deal of work.”

the deets IN THE FAMILY Opens in Toronto on Fri, June 1 Carlton Cinema 20 Carlton St Canada Square 2190 Yonge St

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Miss Conception Live The bodacious diva with thighs of thunder takes her Stage to Screen show to the big time. This isn’t the Super Bowl halftime show — live singing and hilarity guaranteed. Two nights only. Fri, June 8 and Sat, June 9, 7:30pm. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. $25 advance, $30 door. missconception.ca

Rent The legendary Broadway musical about a group of young people struggling to survive on the mean streets of New York’s Lower East Side hits Toronto’s west side. Runs till Sat, June 16, various showtimes. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100 Ossington Ave. $45–60. lowerossingtontheatre.com

ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A PRIDE WEEKEND PACKAGE A two night stay for two guests, Saturday June 30 & Sunday July 1 at the Holiday Inn Downtown Toronto! Breakfast included both days. Prize value of $600. To enter, send your name & contact info to contest@xtra.ca by June 21st. Only winners will be contacted.

Toronto’s on ntto’ to o’’s ga g gay ay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

XPOSED Anna Pournikova

Fawno had a b-day barbecue with her lovely lady, Azuree. It was pretty tame when I was there, though I doubt that lasted long, since people were gifting her 60s of Jameson like good friends should. See that smile on her face? That’s a smile that can be created only by the thought of a night of total debauchery ahead. Case in point: look at these two goofs. You just know they like Jameson and a good party. Vassil and Steve Rock helped with the beers and barbecued sausage like pros.

The other key component to a successful barbecue is babes. Check, check: two foxes, Kiyo and Elyse, provided lovely conversation as we downed nibbles and talked about the necessity of cider as a starter in the summer.

You’ll never believe the story that Armando told me at Friday Night Live at the ROM: he was kidnapped in Venezuela, so he moved here with his family. He was intense and excitable and looked a lot like JD Samson, which was very, very sexy. The dancefloor was bumpin’ — Friday Night Live is always a good mixed bag.

Tawiah and Olive or Oliver were two of the gorgeous specimens prancing through the ROM, in six-inch stilettos, no less. It’s surreal to see real live sexy beasts among the beasts of days gone by. It’s like a walking photo shoot in there, I swear. Liz Trinnear purposely wore her hair down for the Iggy Azalea show ’cause so many fans had her signature highponytail rocking. David and I did a good job of judging the slutty crowd (not in a good way — in a sad, sad way). Now we’re best friends in our hate for sad sluts.

It was so hot in the Annex WreckRoom for Yes Yes Y’all that my camera got all fogged up. I had to take this picture of Adam and Veronica four times before I was back in the game. They were not impressed, as evidenced by the look on Adam’s face. Rell and Jay were reluctant at first, but I fluffed them into submission. They were cuuuute on the dancefloor at Yes Yes Y’all and were totally unaware of their cuteness till I almost begged to take their photo. Hot to trot. Nothing like a bit of racist fun in a cab by Laura Jane to get me in the mood to dance. In all seriousness, we made fun of her feather hat so much that I think she was just trying to make jokes, too. And ooh la la, did she ever.

This photo of Jason Wells just kind of had to be included for the following reasons: he’s very dapper and dashing and handsome; he creates a lot of the décor for Sodom at Goodhandy’s, including a giant painting of Bald Britney at the most recent party; and finally, because I’m dying to tell you that the theme for the next Sodom is Sodom Is Burning, an homage to the famous documentary Paris Is Burning. Hello — best theme yet. You’d think they planned it, but nope. Trexx and Grandtheft just share a brain when it comes to matching wardrobes. In fact, they tried to keep straight-faced for this pic at the Iggy Azalea show but couldn’t help but burst into fits of giggles every time they looked at each other.

IMMIGRATION LAW Michael Battista Barrister & Solicitor Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Immigration/Refugee Law Proveemos Servicios Legales en Español s Same-sex sponsorships s Refugee claims

s Appeals s Skilled workers Proud to be serving the community for over 16 years 160 Bloor St. East, Suite 1000 Toronto, Ontario M4W 1B9

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XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

NIGHTCLUBLISTINGS THURS, MAY 31

MON, JUNE 4

Retro Thursday brings it back, with DJs Sumation and Rob Ladic spinning old faves. Check out the Retro Nintendo Lounge. 10pm. The Barn, 418 Church St. $5. thebarnnightclub.com

SINGular Sensation Mondays belts out the musical theatre open-mic night, with Jeny and Donavon. 9pm. Statlers, 487 Church St. No cover.

FRI, JUNE 1 Gitch Underwear Party: Tighty Whities makes it minimal and sex, with DJ Blackcat and host Todd Klinck. 9:30pm. Goodhandy’s, 120 Church St. $6 before 11pm, $8 after, $5 students. goodhandys.com Bitch Tap rocks thy genitals away, with DJ Madame Hair. 10pm. The Cloak and Dagger, 394 College St. No cover. cloakanddaggerpub.com

SAT, JUNE 2 Tortured Soul celebrates 10 years of its live deep-house act, with DJs Groove Institute, Chris Sakai and GaDJet, while Chico Pacheco bangs the percussion. 10pm. Revival, 783 College St. $20. torturedsoultoronto.eventbrite.com. unitedsoul.ca Tapette hits the crowd with très gaie French pop and dance, with DJ Phil V. 10:30pm. Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St W. No cover. henhousetoronto.com Absolut Sultry Saturdays keeps it coming, with DJ Cajjmere Wray spinning. Byzantium, 499 Church St. No cover. byz.ca

SUN, JUNE 3 Old School Show, with Georgie Girl, at 6pm; Day-Rama Show, with Donnarama and Daytona Bitch, at 9pm; Georgie Girl and Donnarama welcome Sofonda and guest at 11pm.Woody’s, 465 Church St. woodystoronto.com

WED, JUNE 6 Snakepit hisses for the mid-week queer dance party. 10pm. Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St W. No cover. henhousetoronto.com College Night is unstoppable, with DJ Sumation ﬁlling up the danceﬂoor for Hump Day. 10pm. The Barn, 418 Church St. No cover. thebarnnightclub.com

SUN, JUNE 10 Industry Sunday toasts the sexy nightlife. 8pm. Boutique Bar, 506 Church St. No cover. boutiquebar.ca

MON, JUNE 11 Glitz and Glam Monday gets devious, with Carlotta Carlisle and Candice Kelly, at 9pm; Devine Darlin and Nikki Chin get dirty at 11:30pm. Crews and Tangos, 508 Church St. No cover. crewsandtangos.com

TUES, JUNE 5

Mile High Tuesday ﬁlls the cockpit with ﬁrst-class beats, with DJ Turt McGurt in the captain’s seat. 8pm. Boutique Bar, 506 Church St. No cover. boutiquebar.ca

DJs Dani Toro (Barcelona) and Shawn Riker bring the beats that bring the boys in. 10pm. ﬂy, 8 Gloucester St. $10 before 11pm, $15 till 1am, $20 after. ﬂynightclub.com

Australian Alex James Hopkins brings his beautiful music to the stage. 8pm. Statlers, 487 Church St. No cover.

Joy: The Reunion is at Buddies on June 8

Dirty Bingo gives out special naughty prizes, with strip rounds and general mayhem. Hosted by trash-mouthed trailer park twins Lena Over and Gloria Hole. 9pm. Zelda’s, 692 Yonge St. No cover. zeldas.ca

Varsity Tuesday brings the collegiate types into the strip club, while So You Think You Can Strip? gets them on stage. 5pm–2am. Remington’s, 379 Yonge St. Regular rates, no cover with student ID. remingtons.com

FRI, JUNE 8 Fierce & Flawless, with Katherine Dior, Heroine Marks and Ivory Towers, at 8:30pm; Indigo Vibes, with DJ Roxanne, in Tangos and Club Lite, with DJ Relentless, in the Zone, both at 10pm; Bitchapalooza, with Daytona Bitch and special guests, at 11:30pm. Crews & Tangos, 508 Church St. $5 after 11pm. crewsandtangos.com B.East, with Chris Munro, Dale C and Blu Energy Canada presenting the oﬃcial launch of Blu Energy drink. DJ Cory Activate spins house and top 40s. 10pm–3am. WAYLA, 996 Queen St E. $5. facebook.com/beastatwayla

THURS, JUNE 7

HOT Mess: FlawLez Edition moves in. Hosted by Tina Timebalm, with DJs Torus and daVinci and performances by O Nouveau. 10pm. Alto Lounge, 582 Church St. No cover before midnight, $5 after.

Smirnoﬀ Best Chest Contest, hosted by Georgie Girl, with DJ Mark Falco and a Prism ticket giveaway. Midnight. Woody’s, 465 Church St. No cover. woodystoronto.com

Jackson Family Values: 5th Edition, with DJ Doctor Baggie, ﬁlls the video-danceparty screens with Michael, Janet and the rest — even La Toya. 10pm. Revival, 783 College St. $7. jacksonfamilyvalues.com

Joy: The Reunion brings together old friends, with DJs Scott Cairns and Mark Falco on decks; art installation by Drasko Bogdanivic. 10:30pm. Buddies, 12 Alexander St. $20 advance, $25 before midnight, more after, $15 reduced guestlist. joythereunion.com, buddiesinbadtimes.com

SAT, JUNE 9 Stage-to-Screen hits the stage, with Miss Conception, back from her stint in Mexico, belting it live. 7:30pm. Buddies, 12 Alexander St. $25 advance, $30 door. missconception.ca Get It Got It Good screens Vivek Shraya’s What I Love About Being Queer at 9pm; Q&A at 9:30pm; performance by Opera Arcana, featuring GB Jones and Minus Smile, with DJs Mama Knows, DJVS and Leila P spinning at 10:15pm. Cinecycle, 129 Spadina Ave. facebook. com/almostnotquitecollective Hot Ash gathers stogie studs and their admirers on the patio for a cigar celebration, with Bootblack Jake. 10pm. Black Eagle, 457 Church St. No cover. blackeagletoronto.com

FML Monday has rotating DJs and cute bartenders. 10pm. The Vic Public House, 580 Church St. No cover. thevicpubtoronto.ca

TUES, JUNE 12 The Beautiful and the Damned, with the oﬃcial Pride-aﬃliated event Queer Dissident Voices, presents cabaret, comedy and poetry by local performers and guests. 7pm. Zelda’s, 692 Yonge St. No cover. zeldas.ca

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

Toronto’s gay & lesbian news

XTRA! MAY 31, 2012

Toronto’s online directory of gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses

indexdirectory.ca

indexdirectory.ca ACCOMMODATIONS - BRITISH COLUMBIA The Eagle’s Nest B&B

FIREPLACES 866-766-9350

ACCOMMODATIONS - ONTARIO Holiday Inn 416-542-6008 Neill-Wycik Summer Hotel 416-977-2320 Trinity House Inn 1-800-265-4871

ACCOUNTANTS Hema Murdock C.A.

416-696-6653

ADULT Stag Shop

416-323-0771

ADVERTISING Raymond Helkio Advertising /Design

raymondhelkio.com

AIDS/HIV RESOURCES Canadian Seed Exchange Medical Compassion Clinic

416-850-3795 647-291-0420

ALTERNATIVE HEALTH My CannaMeds

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PAINTING

360 Living Inc

416-920-7200

FLOORING Craftwood Flooring

416-750-9097

Crewman & Co 905-824-2557 416-266-4674 416-929-7222

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LJ’s Laser Hair Removal Clinic 647-971-9855 Hamilton location 289-237-7089

PHARMACIES

Ragga Hair and Beauty Salon 416-368-8113

647-348-0104

HEALTH & PERSONAL CARE

PHYSICIANS Dr David W Grossman

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

HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

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BARS & CLUBS (TORONTO) Fly Nightclub Woody’s / Sailor

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Kenton Waterman, Investors Group Financial Services 416-860-1668

INVESTMENT SERVICES Kenton Waterman, Investors Group Financial Services 416-860-1668 Juice Box

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LASER EYE SURGERY Clearview Institute 416-406-6228

CINEMAS 416-494-9371

CLEANING & MAID SERVICES 647-448-5213

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C’est What? Brew/ Vin Pub Restaurant 416-867-9499 Cora Breakfast & Lunch Carlton St 416-340-1350 Wellington St 416-598-2672 Fire on the East Side 416-960-3473 Hair of the Dog 416-964-2708 The Blake House 416-975-1867 The Churchmouse & Firkin 416-927-1735

Ontario-Wide Financial Corp 416-925-3974 416-429-0150

MOVING & STORAGE

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SPA SERVICES LJ’s Laser Hair Removal Clinic 647-971-9855 Hamilton location 289-237-7089 Gemini Tees

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Homes for sale

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SHOPPING Front Door Organics

Blue Cross Animal Hospital 416-654-5029 416-239-9565 416-259-2181

PROUD LIVES

Commemorate those who have recently passed away. This space is donated by Xtra. Call 416-644-5214 for more information. Please limit text to 50 words or less. Ideally, photos will be digital images at 2” x 3” with a resolution of 250dpi.

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RESTAURANTS & CAFÉS

TANNING SALONS

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Our meetings are informal, conﬁdential and very helpful. We’re here to support you on your journey.

RENOVATIONS & RESTORATIONS

416-968-6437

ENTERTAINMENT Village Vapor Lounge

905-373-2236 416-703-0600 416-200-0969

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 416-975-8555

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DENTAL SERVICES Adelaide Dental Dr Kevin Russelo & Associates Galleria Dental Yonge & Bloor Dental

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CJH Tax Services

COUNSELLING Becky Liddle Change4U2 David W Routledge Phillip Coupal Counselling

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647-918-6369

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Doc’s Leathers & Motorcycle Gear

LEGAL SERVICES 905-824-2557 416-985-8639

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LAWYERS Abrams & Krochak 416-482-3387 xt 22 Adam Weisberg 416-603-3344 Cynthia Borovoy Warren 416-964-0900 David M. Cohn 416-777-1100 Harvey L Hamburg 416-968-9054 Janice P Warren 416-323-7767 Kirk J. Cooper 416-923-4277 Law Oﬃce of El-Farouk Khaki 416-925-7227 Michael Battista 416-203-2899 Morzaria Law 647-259-1990 Paul T. Willis 416-926-9806 Robert G Coates 416-925-6490 Zubas + Associates Employment Law 416-593-5844

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REAL ESTATE AGENTS Gaelen Patrick Joe Sipione, Bryant Renovations

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Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto Rainbow/Carlton Cinemas

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Gay Fathers meets at 8 PM the second and fourth Thursday of each month:

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Porndoggy Jeremy Feist

OR SOME REASON, PORN fans have this weird obsession with the morality of gay-forpay pornstars. Maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just my ironic detachment talking, but it seems odd that someone would be so heavily invested in gay porn that the idea of straight penises going in gay asses causes some sort of cataclysmic tear in the fabric of reality that would invite The Outer Gods into our world. To this I say, relax. In the grand scheme of things, self-identifying straight men using their gender ďŹ&#x201A;uidity to make a living isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really that big a deal. And besides, if someone is willing to go gay for $500, chances are they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a zero on the Kinsey scale to begin with. The most common argument is that straight men donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t perform as well as gay men. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not going to make any sweeping statements declaring one inherently better than the other, but on a case-by-case basis, there are straight men who deliver. Look at Samuel Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Toole, Jeremy Bilding, or Zeb Atlas; they identify as straight but have made it big in gay adult entertainment. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re successful not just because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hot â&#x20AC;&#x201D; although that helps quite a bit â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but because they perform well. On the other hand, certain gay performers look like they walked right off the pages of Faces of Meth.

Zeb Atlas identifies as straight but is a successful gay pornstar because heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hot and he performs.

The second argument I usually hear is that straight guys are taking jobs away from gay performers. Holy shit â&#x20AC;&#x201D; where to begin. You know your argument is dead in the water when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essentially just a coherent version of South Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classic â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dey took yer jerrrrrrbâ&#x20AC;? line. There is no such thing as a ďŹ nite amount of porn; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a creative ďŹ eld fuelled by performance. There is an inďŹ nite number of jobs that can be created. There will always be more roles and scenes written. This is like being mad at someone for breathing because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking your air. The ďŹ nal argument they usually throw out is the idea that straight guys are just using gay men to support themselves. As opposed to gay men, who apparently work pro boner out of the goodness of their hearts. Yes, straight men get paid for doing gay porn. Trading goods and services

for monetary reward is the basis of our economic system. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how that works. And yes, some straight performers are greedy and selďŹ sh, but the same can be said for certain gay performers. And when you factor in how many gay-for-payers do charity events to give back to the community, this point doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really have legs. The problem with arguments like these is that they cut both ways; yes, some gay-for-payers are shitty, but some gay-for-reals are shitty, too. If a straight guy sucks at performing on camera, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a legitimate argument. But you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make sweeping generalizations about people based on their sexual orientations in order to protect your own kind. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what politicians are for. Jeremy Feist is a Toronto pornstar. Porndoggy appears in every issue of Xtra.

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