Julyaugust2015

PORTLAND

The many faces of

INSIDE: Dykes on Bikes, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, New Queer Spaces, Darren Davis, #LOVEWON, and much more!

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Vol.3 No.7 July/August 2015

By Eric Sellers

BOLIVIA CARMICHAELS

Steve Strode, Realtor

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2 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

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PQ TEAM Melanie Davis

Owner/Publisher melanie@pqmonthly.com

chris Àlvarez

Art Director chris@pqmonthly.com

editorial TEAM daniel borgen

Editor daniel@pqmonthly.com

Leela Ginelle

Regular Contributor leela@pqmonthly.com

Matt Pizzuti

Regular Contributor info@pqmonthly.com

Belinda CarRoll

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Web Editor Amanda@BrilliantMedia.company

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lynda Wilkinson Sales Representative lynda@pqmonthly.com

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photographers Oscar Foster

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contributing writers

TJ Acena, Belinda Carroll, Marco Davis, Gula Delgatto, Andrew Edwards, Leela Ginelle, Sossity Chiricuzio ,Shaley Howard, Konrad Juengling, Richard Jones, LeAnn Locher, Michael James, Monika MHz, Miss Renee, Katey Pants, and, of course, your PQ Editorial Team

SO WE HAVE MARRIAGE… This is an amazing hallmark in our queer history and so many have an isolation unit, where she was then sexually assaulted twice by the same sacrificed for the right to be equal in the eyes of the law regarding mar- guard. After the second rape, INS officials told her that she could either riage. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said it best: “No longer may this lib- transfer to a mental institution, county prison, or give up her asylum claim. erty be denied.”

We owe a debt of gratitude to Jennicet Gutiérrez, who took the one shot But let’s talk about the elephant in the room; we have our own LGBTQ she had, and with all of her did what most would never do: she spoke up community who booed undocumented immigrant for the ones who have no voice, and she won! and transgender Latina demonstrator Jennicet Guti“ICE will allow for the placement of a transgender érrez and FAMILIA TQLM founder, in what President woman consistent with their gender identity, meanObama refers to as “The People’s House,” for intering that a transgender woman could be with biological rupting his speech during The Annual White House females,” ICE’s deputy assistant director of custody proPride Celebration. Mainstream media for an entire grams, Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, said recently, according new cycle only reported on a heckler being removed to the Associated Press. from “my house,” as it was put by POTUS. Sadly, this does not make it any safer. Violence against What’s wrong with this picture? migrant women at the border is not random or isolated: According to Isa Noyola, who shared with The according to the UN Development Fund for Women report, Advocate, “Gutiérrez was in a room full of national at least 60 to 70% of undocumented women migrants LGBT leaders who gathered to celebrate the many who cross the border alone experience sexual abuse. The accomplishments of the movement. You would imagdanger is even greater for migrants from Central Amerine this would be a place to feel seen, safe, and valiican countries, who must pass through two militarized dated. That was not the case. borders—between Guatemala and Mexico, and between “As soon as Gutiérrez proceeded to speak truth and Mexico and the U.S. Sexual violence often occurs while ask the president as to why he is not releasing our trans being robbed, as “payment,” or in exchange for not being detainees who face violence, the crowd began to jeer, apprehended or detained by immigration authorities. boo, and hiss. As she continued, the crowd then began I thought people were not to be subjected to cruel and to drown her and chant, ‘OBAMA! OBAMA!’ unusual punishment?

“A transgender woman of color and undocumented Definition: cruel and unusual punishment definileader in the immigrant rights and LGBT movement tion is punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendwas booed and silenced by not only the state, but by ment to the Constitution. Cruel and unusual punishment the very same movement that purports to uplift and includes torture, deliberately degrading punishment, or celebrate the transgender community.” punishment that is too severe for the crime committed.

Our sister publication, El Hispanic News, has cov- At least 60 to 70% of undocumented women migrants who Now, within our own U.S. borders we have just as ered the problems detainees face at the U.S./Mexican cross the border alone experience sexual abuse. much to fear as members of the LGBTQH community. border, including the violence against all women, and The murder rate of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, border security’s unwillingness to allow trans individuals to stay in deten- transgender, queer, and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) is at its highest, according tion cells that match their identity. Women are being brutally attacked, to a recently released 2011 report from the National Coalition of Anti-Viorepeatedly raped, and gang raped. #Not1More lence Programs (NCAVP). The report also shows that transgender women, In the case of Christina Madraso, a trans woman, she sought asylum in people of color, and youth and young adults are at a disproportionately the U.S. after being badly beaten for her gender identity in Mexico. How- high risk of being victims of what the NCAVP terms hate violence. ever, her nightmare began when she was detained in the Krome Service So yes, we have marriage, and in some states we can even smoke pot legally.

Processing Center, where she was placed in the men’s ward, and faced However, we are far from free and even further from being totally equal.

--Melanie Davis, Publisher harassment by guards and other detainees. She was then transferred into

A SMATTERING OF WHAT YOU’LL FIND INSIDE:

ON THE COVER

The Many Faces (and History) of Bolivia Carmichaels.........................Page 4 Force of Habit; Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Celebrate 10 years...Page 6 New Government Study on Trans Lives...................................................Page 8 The Creative Genius behind Darren Davis...........................................Page 11 Love Won; a Marriage Retrospective....................................................Page 12 A New Day at Q Center..........................................................................Page 13

503.228.3139

The Evolution of SMYRC..........................................................................Page 15

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Your Brand New Calendar--and To-Do List...........................................Page 16 New Queer Bar Euphoria, Microfilm, The Benefits of Gusbandry........Page 20

THE NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE OF PQ MONTHLY IS RIVENDELL MEDIA, INC. BRILLIANT MEDIA LLC, DBA EL HISPANIC NEWS & PQ MONTHLY.

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This month’s cover was shot by the brilliantly talented Eric Sellers, who sought to capture the many personalities of Bolivia Carmichaels’ most beloved characters and impersonations. There is Reba, Lucy, Bette--and many more. Catch the hardest working drag queen in the city every Sunday night at CC Slaughter’s, during the Superstar Divas Megashow.

Plus: LGBT Youth Celebrate Pride at MacLaren Correctional Facility, Queer Pioneer Dr. Alan Hart, Queer Heroes NW, Our Midlife Adventure (Not Crisis) Pt. 3, Embody, This Ends Badly, ID Check, Lady Chronicles, The Home Front, and much more! Not seeing what you’d like to read? Email Daniel@PQMonthly.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 3

FEATURE

THE MANY FACES (AND PASSIONS) OF BOLIVIA CARMICHAELS

By Shitney Houston with Daniel Borgen, PQ Monthly

to be slammed into the lockers. You know, we weren’t really out like that in those days. But we have come a long way. It’s really exciting to You know her, you love her, you’ve cersee the kids these days. They are really, almost tainly seen her. She’s at CC’s, hosting events forcing themselves, “I am out of the closet!” at CC’s, performing at Peacock in the Park, But back in the late ‘80s and in the ‘90s, no, I doing a show at Darcelle’s, working the AIDS didn’t feel like I’d have been very safe if I were Walk stage, competing in La Femme, hosting to come out. her own radio show, coaching new queens in PQ: So who were you coming out to? the art of drag—you name it, Bolivia CarmiCarmichaels: Well, the first person I came chaels is doing it. She’s Reba, she’s Lucy, she’s out to was my best friend, Rita. Then I came Bette—and she’s one of the kindest, most out to my mom. Then I started going out to passionate people around. (And she wants the City Nightclub. And that was the all-ages you to make some noise the next time you’re night club, and everyone was welcome there. at a drag show.) PQ sat down with our city’s It was a lot of fun. They did shows. There was beloved icon—and boy, did Bolivia dish: a dance floor, an upstairs and downstairs.

PQ: Congratulations on your fairly recent Upstairs there was the pool tables and that’s anniversary for your show at CC’s. where all the gothic people hung out. So I Bolivia Carmichaels: I know! Eight-year started going out there when I first came out, anniversary for The Superstar Divas. I just about 18. had my 11-year anniversary of working there.

PQ: So when you came out to your friends I was doing Carnivàle De Bolivia at CC’s—and and family, how did it go? that was all me. Jeez. It was a very long show.

Carmichaels: It went well. My mom I had some guests. I was the host. I was the climbed in my lap and cried for me. She was “It’s great. I love it (The Superstar Divas Megashow) so much. It’s my baby. It’s what I wanted to create; it came from the heart. I chose MC. I had to borrow my dad’s big shop flashworried about how the world was going to the right people, Honey and Ginger.” light for a spotlight. treat me—you know, my safety, my life. And how difficult a life it would be PQ: Ha! That’s funny. for me—which, in all actuality, hasn’t really been that difficult. I mean, if you Carmichaels: There was no spotlight when I first started, no security at want life to be difficult, it will be difficult. It’s how you deal with the things the door, no back bartender. Only one bartender in the front and one in that are handed to you. Sometimes you’re handed something really awful.

The Rainbow Room; we didn’t have that many people coming yet—then But what do you do with that? Do you learn from it? Or do you angrily carry when I brought on Honey [Bea Hart] and Ginger [Lee], boom! it with you? It’s how you decide to respond. If you take a second to stop and PQ: So you’ve been doing the Diva Show for eight years. How’s that feel really respond to things, everything goes a lot smoother. So coming out was now? not a terrible, terrible thing for me. I felt very empowered by it. Especially Carmichaels: It’s great. I love it so much. It’s my baby. It’s what I wanted here in Portland, being in a city, away from the country; I wouldn’t be able to create; it came from the heart. I chose the right people, Honey and Ginger. to live in Scappoose, on Dixie Mountain. Even still to this day certain rural And when Ginger decided to leave, I had a hand in choosing—I don’t know, areas aren’t exactly safe for us.

I think I had a hand in it, I gave my opinion—but I felt Topaz and Isaiah PQ: When you were a young gay man, were there people in your life, or were good matches for the show. And it’s fun. I love it a lot. even not in your life, you found inspiring—maybe you had role models, or PQ: Bolivia, where did you grow up? people that you looked up to?

Carmichaels: Well, from 3 to 11, I grew up on Dixie Mountain. Then we Carmichaels: I think I looked up to all those kids that were younger than moved down into North Portland. I went to Ockley Green Middle School and me at the City Nightclub. I was like, “Wow! You guys are 15 and 16!” I was like Jefferson High School. Ockley Green was where I started to play the trumpet.

19 or 20 and got shivers and was inspired by the fact that they already knew, PQ: The trumpet?! already out, already strong, and already there with their people. I mean, I’m Carmichaels: I really know how to blow. sure not everyone was so strong. But we all found ourselves there. I found PQ: What was your experience like as a young gay boy in Portland? myself there. I really did.

Carmichaels: I fell in love in the 7th grade. We were best friends. I fell in PQ: So when did Bolivia first start to appear? Was it when you first came love, I really did. I would say he had some kind of feelings for me because out? we were together a lot, in many senses. But we never discussed it, never Carmichaels: It was later. I remember telling my roommate at the time, talked about feelings. Here I am falling in love and not knowing how to Belinda Carroll, that I’d never really do drag tell him I’m falling in love. Or even knowing what that kind of feeling was.

It was for Halloween, just for shits and giggles. I’d never have a closet full PQ: When did you come out? of drag, maybe an outfit or two, maybe a hair, a little box of makeup.

Carmichaels: I came out when I was 18, after I graduated from high school. I didn’t want Once I saw Lady O at the City Nightclub doing a Whitney Houston number. Her whole to come out in high school; I didn’t think it was a very safe place to come out. I didn’t want throat was singing! The way her mouth moved—she was always one of my drag inspi-

I’m not passionate about getting a crown on my head or a sash or a medallion. Those are trinkets.

The real reward is the smile or admiration or the love people give back to me.

BOLIVIA CARMICHAELS page 5

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FEATURE

“Now, Reba was just handed to me, honestly—I was never a big country fan. But as I started doing the impersonation of her and studying her, I really understand why she is the queen of country. Her voice is so rich.”

BOLIVIA CARMICHAELS Continued from page 4

rations. She was at the City Nightclub a lot and was Miss Gay Portland too. She actually beat me the one time I ran for Miss Gay Portland. I was so upset that she was running. But I had already told them I was running, so I had to follow through with it.

I was about 20 when I started doing drag. I starting going to Embers once I was 21. I would watch the shows

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there. I didn’t want to be in drag there, just watch. Study, see what the ladies were doing, and figure out what was going on. I met Linda Lee, Tiara Desmond, Patti O’Dora, Holly Andrews, Pookie J. Bush, Raven, all these people. Oh my God, you really should mention all these names! You need to use them in the article.

Now, Tiara Desmond would tell you that I was stalking her. But I tell you to this day that I was studying her. I want to make that clear! I really enjoyed her style. I loved how she held herself, her grace, her poise.

So I started doing shows at Embers. I asked if I could do a number there at Linda Lee’s show on a Monday night.

Then they would ask me to come in. I hit the big time when I was asked to come in on the weekends. Pookie J. Bush was the Friday host. Patti O’Dora was the Saturday host. When I was asked by either one of them to come in, I was like, yeah! Eventually, I was cast on Saturdays. I started hosting Monday Night Madness with Butch Bitch Mitch, one of the first few drag kings in Portland. And Krystal Lynn had me be her co-host on Wednesday nights. Eventually I had my own show there called “Get Your Rocks Off with Bolivia Carmichaels.”

PQ: Describe your drag style back then.

Carmichaels: It was all Bette fucking Midler! A lot of Bette Midler, every now and then Celine Dion. I dropped to my knees a lot, ran and slid. I’d later do stuff like Pat Benatar and Joan Jett. Bette is one of my top divas. I love Reba McEntire too. Now, Reba was just handed to me, honestly—I was never a big country fan. But as I started doing the impersonation of her and studying her, I really understand why she is the queen of country. Her voice is so rich.

PQ: Take us on a journey from your early days at Embers to how you’ve gotten where you are now.

Carmichaels: I was at Embers for a total of nine years, then I started picking up gigs at CC Slaughters. I would have other day jobs too—but I didn’t want a day job. This is what I want to do for a living. I figured, if I could get one night here

or there, there are six other nights that I can somehow try to fill up at other places or with other gigs. Eventually, I had two nights at CC’s and one night at Embers. But that didn’t sit well with Embers. They wanted me to make a choice.

I’ve worked at Darcelle’s, too, throughout this whole period. I consider Embers, CC’s, and Darcelle’s my home. I’ll do anything for them. So, I started picking up other nights at CC’s and it just sort of snowballed, working five nights a week and people are seeing me all the time, you know, on a nightly basis, not just on a weekly basis.

It’s a blessing I am where I am today. I hope that I don’t falter. I hope I don’t let people down. I mean, sometimes that happens. But I hope I don’t let people down in some sort of major way to where I lose my livelihood, I lose my career, I lose the respect and trust of the community.

PQ: Have you done a lot of pageants or competitions?

Carmichaels: No, I wouldn’t say I’ve done a lot. What really fulfills me is going to work and seeing people, hugging them, catching up, listening to their problems, giving some advice if they want, just chatting, you know, buying them a drink, stuff like that. I’m passionate about that. I’m not passionate about getting a crown on my head or a sash or a medallion. Those are trinkets. The real reward is the smile or admiration or the love people give back to me.

Everyone has a real life, and that real life kind of sucks just a little bit. During their time around me, I want people to feel just a little lighter. Their load is a little lighter. Things are a little easier, a little funnier. I want to lift people up, allow them to lean on me if they need it.

You can find Bolivia Wednesday through Sunday at CC Slaughters. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, before CC’s, you can find her at Darcelle’s. On Fridays, before CC’s, she’s on Wild Planet Radio, 99.1 FM, 3pm until 6pm. And, of course, The Superstar Divas perform at CC’s every Sunday night at 8pm.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 5

FEATURE

SISTERS’ SPEAK Aspirant – A person, regardless of gender, interested in becoming a Sister, who attends meetings and events for a minimum of three months to learn more.

Postulant – The first official stage in becoming a Sister, a minimum of three months. A gray cowl is given, and white face makeup is allowed, but the Sister’s lips remain unmade.

Says Sister Helen, “The symbolism of having no lips is that you’re there to watch and learn, observe.” Sister Krissy adds, “It’s all about going inward to learn about the Sisters, our House, our Sistory, etc.”

Novice – The second official stage in the process, a minimum of six months, involving a Novice Project and the personal selection of a “Mother” Sister. A white veil accompanies this period, as does a smaller version of the FP coronet, the “Fruitcup.” Says Sister Helen, “After all this, almost a year now, we want to know what you’ve learned.” Sister Krissy: “And who you are as a Sister through this process—what have you discovered about your calling and what kind of Sister are you?”

FP or Black Veil – A Fully-Professed Sister, at which point a black veil is given, but “You can wear anything,” Sister Helen explains. “I usually have something glittery and leopard print when I’m out. Once you get your black veil and you become an FP, I always equated that to, ‘Okay, I was in high school and then I was in college when I was a novice and now I’ve got this job, and now it’s on-the-job training.’

You’re still learning from the other Sisters.”

Manifest – When a Sister “puts on” their persona and is present in the community.

Mishface – Going out without white face, coined for founding Portland Sister Missionary Position. “You usually put on big sunglasses,” Sister Helen explains.

Angel – “Angels are usually people that are integral to what we do,” says Sister Krissy. Examples: Woody Clarke, Lisa Watson.

Saint – “A Saint does work in the broader community, does significant work for the LGBTQ community. They may not even be people we know,” says Sister Krissy. Examples: Darcelle and Roxy, Tammy Faye Messner.

Sistory – Sisters history.

Anynun/Somenun – A variation on anyone/someone.

Cornette – The headpiece worn by a Sister on which a veil is attached. Each house has a unique veil and usually a slang term to refer to it. Portland–Fruitbowl, Seattle–Doughnut, San Francisco–Earboobs, Los Angeles–Hoobie Doobie.

The Erykah Badon’t – When a Portland Sister tucks her veil up inside the Fruitbowl.

Guards – A Fully-Professed member of the Sisters who serves an important support role to assist in the Sisters’ ministry. Usually a masculine persona.

Conclave – Annual meeting when Sisters come together in a single city to learn together, have workshops, and put on events. Portland hosted Conclave in 2011.

Nuns of the Above – A Sister who has passed away. “Portland has two Nuns of the Above who watch over us,” says Sister Krissy, “Sister Tasha Salad and Sister Barbi Mitzvah.”

10th Anniversary Events

Sat., Aug. 15, 3-9 p.m.

Wicked Little Town: A Decade of the Portland Sisters Crush Bar, 1400 SE Morrison Block party and grant presentations “Fund raising. Fun raising. And consciousness raising. It’s what we do!”

Cover: $5 Sun., Aug. 16, 1 p.m.

Origin of Love: Brunch with the Sisters and Hedwig Sing-a-Long Crush Bar, 1400 SE Morrison “We’ll be showing the movie itself and when the songs appear in the film, Sisters (and others) will be performing along with the song a la Rocky Horror.”

Cover: $20 includes a set brunch menu, $10 admission to the movie only (you can order separately off the regular menu) Get updates at the Sisters’ Facebook page: facebook.com/ PortlandSPI, and website: portlandsisters.org.

6 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

FORCE OF HABIT: PORTLAND SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE MARK 10 YEARS OF SERVICE

Sisters from all over the world converged on Portland during the 2011 Conclave.

By Amanda Schurr, PQ Monthly

Their benevolent presence is felt all over the city, at parties, benefits, and bingo nights. In full white face and donning their “fruitbowl” cornettes, they pass out condoms and lube, connect people with HIV-testing resources, and raise funds for various charities. They distribute hugs freely, they listen, they offer sincere and compassionate counsel.

They’re the Portland Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and in August they celebrate a decade of supporting the local LGBTQ community.

It’s a joyful milestone for this, the Order of Benevolent Bliss—one chapter of an international assembly totaling more than 600 Sisters—that began with San Francisco’s “Mother House” in 1979. PQ Monthly sat down with current Sister Krissy Fiction, a member of nine years, and Sister Helen Baak, a member of six years, at Crush—the host for their 10th anniversary weekend—to talk about their mission, community, and “Sister moments,” what Sister Krissy describes as “the irreverent and the comical mixed in with the profound.”

PQ Monthly: Tell us about how the Sisters got their start.

Sister Krissy Fiction: So it started in 1979. Four guys, they had leftover Sound of Music outfits, they went out on The Castro, they kind of became a thing, and in the early 1980s the AIDS crisis hit and they started to mobilize around that. And the early years, you know… Seattle’s an older house, there’s Los Angeles, Paris was an older house, but it wasn’t until about right about when we started [in Portland], like 10, 15 years ago, it just started going crazy.

Sister Helen Baak: It seems like every month there’s like a new mission house that pops up…

Sister Krissy: The whole country, they’re just all over.

PQ: What drew you to being a Sister?

Sister Helen: I turned 40 and for me it was time to start giving back. I tried other things, and I was like, “This isn’t what I want to do, I want to get out there, I want to do something.” So actually I used to be roommates with Sister Reva. She had sent me a picture years earlier saying, “Oh, I’m now Sister Reva Lation,” And I was, “Oh my god, that’s it…” and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I was driving to work to Vancouver every day thinking of Sister names, I was thinking of events that I could do and all that stuff before I even knew about it, and so finally I sort of said, “You know what? I’m going to try this.” It’s a way for me

to be able to give back to the community, but I also get to have fun doing it. There’s a lot of business that goes along with it but when it comes down to it, you know, standing on the street corner in my stripper boots with a cocktail in my hand, taking pictures with people and hugging them when they ask and talking to them when they need someone to talk to, that kind of thing, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work but a lot of fun at the same time.

Sister Krissy: We talk about this a lot. We are nuns. We don’t dress like nuns, we don’t act like nuns, we don’t pretend to be nuns, we are nuns for our community and we have a calling. Every nun has their own calling that they bring to the order, whatever that is. For Helen it could be community volunteer work, fundraising; for me it could be more spiritual, and I think for my journey there is a lot of spirituality to it, but we’re not a spiritual order. We’re not a religious order. There’s Sisters who are Roman Catholic, there’s Sisters who are pagan, there’s Sisters who are atheist, but we all take a vow—to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt. For me, those are spiritual principles. I used to be a Lutheran minister so spirituality is a big part of my life. And for me the Sisters is a way of putting my spirituality into practice, and putting it to work in the community in a way that is positive and fun, queer-affirming.

I love the irreverence and the way that we can use humor and satire to make points. I think of us as sacred clowns in a sense or, you know, the jesters. If you think about court jesters, they were the ones who could speak truth.

PQ: I’m curious as to the innate religion aspect of the Sisters. Were the original founders in San Francisco Catholic?

Sister Krissy: No, I think there was intentional… For the longest time people would be, “Oh, you’re mocking nuns and you’re mocking Christianity,” and I would always be defensive, like, “No, we’re not mocking,” but I’ve kind of changed my view over the years. I do think that it’s satire.

And I think that satire has an important place.

Sister Helen: There’s a little bit of homage in satire.

Sister Krissy: There is. I mean, on one level we emulate nuns, right? We hold them because they are our models, especially the religious women—they’re models of service and commitment.

Sister Helen: They devote their lives and they’re strong.

Sister Krissy: But there is a little bit of satire of the FORCE OF HABIT page 7

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FEATURE structure, the system. A lot of people, especially queer people, have grown up with Continued from page 6 the message that we are abominations, that you’re sinful, that who you are is not okay, and so I think by using satire and humor… to me, it’s a healing process. We’re representing that force that has kept them down but as nuns we’re saying that you’re loved just the way you are. Period. No exceptions. We’re flipping that message on its head.

Sister Helen: There’s a lot to criticize in the Catholic Church, let’s be honest. I mean, I grew up Catholic, I went to Catholic school all through eighth grade, the whole thing, and now I’m this nun…

PQ: Do you feel like you’ve reclaimed that with the Sisters? How much did your background factor into it?

Sister Helen: It was definitely a draw but I think, like Krissy said, I like to think of it as emulating. I revered them. There were nuns that I feared. There were some evil ones but there were ones that were some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, some of the most loving, and they teach and then administer to their sick and they go out into the community and they help the homeless and the hungry and all that kind of stuff. And that’s what we do. We just do it on a different level, and we do it dressed like a clown.

PQ: What does being a nun mean for you now, and where do you see the Portland Sisters going?

Sister Krissy: For me, I am a nun. I feel like I have adopted the promulgation of universal joy and expiation of stigmatic guilt as a core principle of how I want to live my life and who I want to be. To me that’s the ideal. It’s seeing that you’re not defined by the labels that other people put on you, that you’re loved and worth loving just the way you are. And so, on my good days, I try to live that out even as who I am in my secular life. That’s what it means to me to be a Sister.

I think, too, obviously we’ve been fighting for rights and for equality. I won’t speak for Helen, but to me, like when

FORCE OF HABIT

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I was in Seattle, I was there to celebrate that we took this huge step forward in marriage equality. But I feel like the future for the Sisters is maintaining our radicalness of who we are. I don’t want to become just the status quo clown nun that gets invited to parties. There’s a little part of me that wants to be there still for the queerdos, and the outcasts and those people that don’t fit into that traditional mode.

Sister Helen: If I can interject, some of our founding members, before there were Sisters, in San Francisco, they were at the White Night riots, they were t h r ow i n g Mo l o t ov cocktails when Harvey Milk was murdered and things like that.

We started as activist people, ready to pick up a brick when we needed to, and hopefully we don’t have to go to that extreme anymore but… We love being grassroots.

Sister Helen Baak and Sister Krissy Fiction Sister Krissy: You know what made my heart sing, like at Seattle Pride this weekend, what really made me so happy and even emotional during the parade is being able to, with so many people there, I just kind of picked out people… those little queer kids at Pride, that maybe their parents don’t even know they’re there or hate that they’re there, or they’re trying to figure out where to fit in. We’re there telling them that they’re worthwhile, that they’re loved.

Sister Helen: Yeah, that’s my favorite part of Pride, the people on the sidelines. You see those people that are so excited to see you, and they may have never been to an event, but they’ve been to our website, they know who we are. And they’re all waving and you can’t help but just run up and give them a hug, and you can feel it when you get that hug back.

You just kind of whisper in their ear, “You’re an amazing, beautiful person,” and they are truly. It’s so incredible.

Sister Krissy: I think those are the real nun moments. Just being able to have that individual connection and know you’re making a difference even to one person, that you’ve either empowered them or given them tools or built their self-esteem even a little bit. Even though we’re not the biggest house of Sisters and we’re not making $20,000 a year, we’re still able to reach people.

Sister Helen: I will always be a Sister. It’s now part of my core being, my soul. I could step away from the order for 10 or 20 years, but I will be a Sister. I knew this when I started having dreams with Sisters in them. [laughs] Not even as main characters in the dream… there would just be a random nun somewhere like it was no big deal.

This interview has been edited and condensed. Visit PQMonthly.com for much more from our conversation.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 7

FEATURE

NEW STUDIES SEEK TO UNDERSTAND TRANS EXPERIENCES, AND IMPROVE THEM

By Leela Ginelle, PQ Monthly

instability; it’s another to know trans people are four times as likely as the general population to live in extreme poverty (with a household income of less than $10,000 a year).

That the link to a discrimination survey was accessed over 15 thousand times in the past four years shows the need the survey filled.

The NCTE itself was started in 2003 in Washington, D.C. in donated office space, and without a budget. Through vibrant actions, like its annual Capitol Hill Lobby Day, it quickly grew in stature and profile. The NCTE has won victories, such as the 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act—the first federal law to offer protections to trans people, and its executive direc-

have been related to the deceased’s gender identities, and reported as such by the media—there could be many more If you’ve heard or read any of the painful and, at times, we don’t know about. Collectively, they confirm lingering shocking statistics about the transgender community used beliefs, ones we must extinguish, that there is no place in by advocates, journalists, and lawmakers to demonstrate the world for trans individuals and that we shouldn’t be here. the staggering amounts of discrimination and self-harm It’s hoped that the U.S. Trans Survey will help combat those faced by trans individuals in the U.S., chances are those figideas, and catalyze lawmakers and activists to continue workures came from the 2011 report, “Injustice at Every Turn.” ing to reverse the injustices faced by the trans community.

The report, which collected data from the National TransSuch work is precisely the focus of a new national gender Discrimination Survey, helped put numbers to the study to be undertaken at Columbia University, San Franpowerful, and, at the time, virtually unchecked stigma of transcisco State University, and the University of Georgia. The phobia in our culture. Hearing some of the more shocking five-year project, funded by a $2.9 million grant from the findings from the National Institutes survey, such as of Health, hopes to news that 41 perhelp people better cent of transgenunderstand how der respondents trans people’s idenhad attempted tities develop, and suicide, 27 perimprove life outcent had lost a comes for trans job due to their folk. gender identity, “It’s about creand nearly one ating better health in five had expeoutcomes for transrienced homegender people lessness, helped across the lifesawaken people With the emergence of trans celebrities, like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, and acclaimed trans-oriented entertainment, like Amazon’s “Transparent,” and Netflix’s new “Sens8,” it’s perhaps more important than ever to pan and ultimately to the need to reducing the mascapture an accurate picture of the real, lived trans experience in the U.S. help support and sive amounts of disadvocate for the trans community. tor, Mara Keisling, is an effective, steady advocate. crimination they face,” said Anneliese Singh, a professor in The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), Keisling herself proved meme-worthy on a recent counseling and human development services at UGA, who’s which, along with the National LGBTQ Task Force, con- C-SPAN appearance. Responding to a caller who asked, “I heading the team there. ducted the 2011 survey, has announced its plans for a fol- am wondering who made the law that taxpayers have to Those administering the study will conduct interviews low-up: the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey (USTS). The NCTE says pay for sex changes for people in prison?” Keisling quipped, and surveys with trans individuals. They’ll then use the the effort, called “the largest survey ever devoted to the “I believe it was Thomas Jefferson.” Mic drop. information to put social services and support networks lives and experiences of trans people,” will be conducted With the emergence of trans celebrities, like Caitlyn in place for the trans community. These efforts are vital, every five years.

Jenner and Laverne Cox, and acclaimed trans-oriented as trans people have historically faced massive discrimiThe USTS’s administrators say the survey is “for all trans entertainment, like Amazon’s Transparent and Netflix’s new nation in medical settings and homeless shelters, leading identities, including trans, genderqueer, and non-binary Sens8, it’s perhaps more important than ever to capture an them to shun services altogether, and creating increased people, and will be the largest and most diverse trans accurate picture of the real, lived trans experience in the vulnerability in their lives. sample to date.” Individuals interested in participating U.S. Often drowned out in the well-meaning and welcome Singh has said this new project is unique, in that it takes in, or helping to promote the survey, can visit the website new interest in trans narratives is the horrible persistence action in addressing trans stigma, as opposed to reacting to ustranssurvey.org to sign up. of death surrounding us. crises faced by trans individuals, such as HIV infection. “Once Data, like the kind resulting from “Injustice at Every Just this year in the U.S. there have been 10 reported we know more about transgender identity development, we Turn,” is vital for policy and advocacy work. It’s one thing suicides by trans youth, and 9 reported murders of trans will be able to develop better intervention and prevention inito vaguely understand trans people experience financial women. These deaths represent only those recognized to tiatives so transgender people can thrive,” she said.

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NEWS

VOICES

THE HOME FRONT SCOTUS: Bring it On Home

By Steve Strode, PQ Monthly

My last few articles were happy and lifestyle-oriented. This one is more nuts and bolts. But please stay with me.

Not everyone will get married. And for those who have no intention of it—both straight and queer—the winding road to achieve marriage equality may have become dusty and tired. But there are shortterm and long-term economic benefits for our communities.

In true Realtor fashion, I offer the follow disclosures: Disclaimer Number One: I cannot give financial advice. Please consult with a financial advisor for anything financial-related you are about to read (preferably a PQ advertiser, which enables the paper to exist).

Disclaimer Number Two: I cannot give legal advice. Please consult your attorney for anything legal-related you are about to read (and yep, preferably a PQ advertiser which enables you to get print & online LGBT news for free!).

As I was reading the various news about the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, it hit home how interconnected the issues of marriage equality and lifelong economic well-being are. Home ownership is the single largest way wealth is created in this country. Every three years the Federal Reserve conducts a Survey of Consumer Finances. So consider this: in February, their findings revealed that the average homeowner has a net worth of $194,500, while the average net worth of a renter is $5,400; that’s a 36-times difference.

So how does marriage equality help?

While not necessarily in the buying process in places like Oregon and Washington, it helps in other ways, such as the sexy areas of death and taxes. For example, it will benefit same-sex married couples with their estate planning; they can now transfer unlimited wealth from one spouse to another upon death without that immediate tax bill.

It’ll also help in our retirement years. PBS News Hour just published a report entitled “Hurray if you’re gay! Time to get what’s yours from Social Security.” Same-sex married spouses can now collect spousal, widow(er), child-in-care spousal, and mother or father benefits. It’s the additional peace of mind that has been afforded mixed-gendered married couples for generations.

Here again, additional financial security may mean the ability to remain in one’s home and not become a burden on others.

On taxes, well, that’s another story. The number of returns needed for same-sex married couples is simplified. Beyond that is way

outside my realm; from what I understand some folks win, some lose. Get professional help.

On the heels of marriage equality, there is much work to be done—like, RuPaul-sized heels. There are both attitudinal and legal barriers that the LGBT community must overcome for full equality. In Oregon and Washington, we live in our bubbles of protection. Are there violations? Of course— but we have recourse and the law on our side. By contrast in most states, employers can fire someone for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Landlords can evict us. In a study by the Center for American Progress, 10% of lesbian, gay and bisexual workers, and 26% of transgender workers were fired in the past five years.

Job loss equals economic setback. Does it delay the ability to buy a home, or jeopardize our ability to stay in the one we have?

Absolutely. Remember that equation of 36-times greater wealth among homeowners? Every setback makes that more and more unlikely for members of our community.

Fortunately for us, many small and large businesses, along with professional organizations, are more progressive than state laws. Protections are written in to company policy or labor contracts, or in the by-laws of the organization. It’s true in my profession. A real estate agent who is a Realtor is bound by a code of ethics. We cannot deny equal services on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Yes, I’m proud of that. But many landlords and sales agents aren’t part of my trade association; and in the majority of states that do not prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBT folks may be simply be out of luck.

That probably translates to the high rate of fear among the LGBT community about housing. In June’s RealtorMag, it was published that nearly 3/4 of us nationwide are significantly concerned about housing discrimination—either in renting or home buying. Here again, we’re fortunate. Both Oregon and Washington have fair housing councils and laws that protect us on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

We are again at a new crossroads, and reminded how lucky we are to be on the Left Coast. Elsewhere, same sex couples can get married—then offered no protection against housing or job discrimination.

They can get married, then fired for the act of doing so. Admittedly not a positive way to end this, but I’ve been called a Pollyanna more than once, and this is no time for complacency. Love Wins, but Law Rules.

Steve Strode is a broker with RE/MAX equity group in Portland. In his free time he trail runs excessively, then posts sweaty selfies on Facebook with his running buds.

He may be reached at stevestrode@equitygroup.com. pqmonthly.com

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facebook.com/pqmonthly JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 9

NEWS FEATURE

VOICES

This Ends Badly Fight or Flight, Pt. 2

By Michael James Schneider, PQ Monthly

When I woke up that morning, getting into a physical altercation with a bigot was the last thing I thought I would be doing.

I had been puttering around my house when the word “faggot” came through my open windows that hot day. It was barked in a harsh male baritone in the context of a conversation, and then it was repeated. It had startled me so much to hear that ugly word in my own space that I stood up from a sitting position in the middle of my living room. I stood for a moment, letting the feelings wash over me.

I felt like I did that time the bullies loomed over us underclassmen at Denny’s, so many years before. I felt the way I did when my friend Helen told me in high school that my secret crush intercepted the note I wrote to her, telling her that I was deeply infatuated with him.

At the time, 20 years ago, I panicked.

I spent the night unable to sleep. I went to school the next day, terrified that every single person in the school now knew I was gay. Helen told me hurriedly that Mark wanted to meet me later. I went to the meeting meekly, scared that he would be there with all his friends, that he would want to kick my ass. Instead, he apologized for grabbing the note from Helen, and although he didn’t reciprocate the feelings, he and his friend promised to keep my secret. They kept it, all the way through graduation.

I wasn’t out in high school. Hell, no one was in Albuquerque High School in the late 80’s...except Jack. I remember Jack’s first name and what he looked like clearly, his sometimes-colored, short-cropped hair, his fashionable Chelsea boots. I remember how he walked down the halls of our high school: with a sense of purpose, like he owned the place, his head held high. Amazingly, I never saw him bullied or beat up, but in retrospect it seems inevitable he was.

Jack influenced me. He was without question the first peer I ever saw who was proud of being queer, unabashedly out in a time and place that was hostile to him. I regret not getting to know Jack.

Back to present day: I stepped out of my building into the summer sun. I looked to my left, and there was not one but two figures sitting in the shade, just below my window. I took a deep breath and walked toward them. With every step I got more information about them. With every step I grew calmer and calmer, my fists loosened, my fingernails no longer pressing into my palms. With every step I knew this wasn’t going to go at all how I thought it would.

I reached them, one man and one woman, him reclined on the grass of the lawn; she sat in a portable chair. They

10 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

were both elderly; his voice from inside had sounded like the voice of someone in his 30s or 40s, not this man easily in his 70s. Neither looked up at me, they just gazed into the distance, silent. I cleared my throat.

“Hey, has anyone passed by here?” I asked, knowing no one had.

The man looked up at me, directly in the eye. “No, it’s just been us here for a few minutes.”

Hearing his voice, it confirmed my suspicion: the voice I heard was his. I decided to be direct: “Did you just say the word faggot?” I emphasized the last word, but almost garbled it. My mouth formed around it, spat the word out as if the word tasted vile. I never say the word, even in the company of friends...some of whom can pull off saying it in a funny context, us all tacitly acknowledging that we don’t mean it in a hateful way. Apparently I never got used to using the word in any context, much less jokingly.

“No, uh.” The man sighed, seeming to make a decision. “Yeah, uh, you may have heard me at my, uh, most passionate...”

I cut him off. “Well, someone gay lives here,” I pointed at my window, “and it’s me.

I don’t want to hear that word in my home.”

He was visibly startled. “I, uh, know a couple of homo—uh, fag—uh, gays and they’re OK guys.”

“I don’t really care what you think about gay people. I just don’t want to hear that word in my house, okay?”

The woman next to him never looked over, just gazed off into the distance.

Whether in obliviousness or embarrassment or spite I’ll never know. “OK,” said the man in a small voice, looking confused.

I walked back inside, and they left the lawn shortly afterwards. The thing that struck me was how confused he was, and it wasn’t due to age. No, he was sharp as a tack. It was that he didn’t even know what words to use for gay people. I wondered what that felt like, to grow up in an environment where it was okay to hate, to be surrounded by friends and family who agreed with the words you used, and then suddenly be in a world where if you use those same words, strangers will come up to you and confront you. What a charmed, privileged life I’ve been living, if I’ve only had to call out homophones and bigots these few times in my life. Some people have it worse. Some people have it way worse.

I dug out my High School yearbooks, got on the computer, and started the search for Jack.

To be concluded in Part Three. Part one can be found in June’s issue.

Michael James Schneider is based in Portland, OR. He writes for his wildly unpopular and poorly-named blog, BLCKSMTHdesign.com. pqmonthly.com

FEATURE

GETTING GRAPHIC: BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS DARREN G. DAVIS TALKS THE POWER OF COMIC BOOKS

Cover Artist: Joe Paradise

By Amanda Schurr

For our Pride 2015 cover, on which we wanted to recognize superheroes of the local LGBTQ community, we went straight to the guy who knows a thing or a thousand about the comics realm. Bluewater Productions’ Darren G. Davis has published more than 1,000 titles, with subjects including presidential candidates, literary classics, pop icons, and Honey Boo Boo. Also an award-winning comic book writer, Davis’ work has been featured on everything from CNN and Time Magazine to the Tonight Show and Perez Hilton. His Lost Raven made headlines for including one of the first HIV-positive protagonists in a YA graphic novel.

And he’s got a memorabilia stash of nerdgasm proportions.

A tour of Davis’ home, specifically a second-story room he calls the “neurotic black frame zone,” is a fanboy’s or girl’s dream—“It’s kind of like my childhood coming back,” he says. Autographed covers of comic books, signed posters, photos of celebs, action figures, collectibles and other technicolor kitsch line the walls—there’s William Shatner,

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Adam West, Britney Spears, RuPaul, even Gloria Steinem and Hillary Clinton. It’s all in a day’s work for Davis, who got his start at E! Entertainment Television before moving to USA Network, Lion’s Gate and, eventually, DC Comics, where he marketed videogame package art, DVD menu designs, and other services of the company’s artists.

A bit of divine inspiration prompted Davis, who says he never felt comfortable doing his own illustrations, to envision his first original title, The 10th Muse. “I was watching Xanadu, my favorite really, really, really bad film,” Davis explains. “I thought, ‘Okay, what can I do to make this cool?’” The self-professed “very good control freak” created “the world, the bible” of the series, and then gave it to a writer to dialogue, script and put together. Released in 2000, the first volume sold upwards of 100,000 copies.

Other original titles followed for Davis, who moved from Los Angeles to the Pacific Northwest—first Washington State, then Portland—and founded his own studio, Bluewater Productions, in 2007. Though Davis says these days he finds more joy in the conceptual details—he assigns the actual visuals and dialogue to the industry’s most respected artists and writers—he’s authored his share of comic books.

Among them is Lost Raven, a groundbreaking title that seems all the more revolutionary considering his target demographic: men ages 18-35.

Davis, who came out at 27 and was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1999, describes the book as both a blessing and a curse. “I’ve always been out about my status from the day that I found out. It was such a hard adjustment,” he recalls. “I was so conflicted, so I wrote in a journal. Years later I thought, ‘How cool would this be to take my journal entries, the raw, bitter shit from hell, and put them into a graphic novel and tie some fiction into it, too?’ So during the day he’s finding monsters on this deserted island and at night he is basically reflecting about what it’s like to be HIV-positive. He finds out and then sails the seven seas and gets shipwrecked on this government-run island that’s doing DNA testing on humans—because you have to have some sci-fi stuff….”

“I wanted to show a story that was not about health issues but more about emotional issues,” Davis continues.

“I thought, ‘Okay, if I’m going to do this book, I have to own it,’ and so I owned it and it’s made differences in people’s lives, which I’m proud of.”

Those lives include younger readers, thanks to a shift in focus away from comic book stores to the public education system. Davis says he was a “library kid” and “reluctant reader” whose father threw a comic book in front of him—it was easier to read. “Now I want to make sure that

the comics are good for kids,” he says. “I love when a kid comes and picks something up that I’ve done, I love teaching kids, I love going to the libraries, going to the schools, and these kids are so not jaded yet and they love it.”

“I’m teaching kids how to be creative without needing to know how to draw,” he adds. “I think a lot of kids get so deterred if they hear the word ‘comic book,’ like you have to be this great artist. As a kid, I wanted to be an artist but I was not very great, so I go in and teach kids that you can team up with this person, you can be a writer, you can be a creator, you can do this.”

Davis says he lives by spreadsheets, but to speak with him it’s obvious the creativity doesn’t quit. Neither does he—“Ambien is my friend,” he quips. At any point in time, he estimates he has some 40 timely projects in the pipeline, from public figure-driven comics like the illustrated celeb profiles of Fame and 15 Minutes to the Political Power series, to toy licensing and TV show development based on Bluewater characters. He loves a good pop culture mashup: His Bond Girl-esque title Victoria’s Secret Service was optioned for a feature film, and he’s working on what he calls an updated version of The Picture of Dorian Gray that’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gossip Girl.” He says, “I’m really good at bringing past characters back into modern day,” noting the recent launch of a comic in which Shakespeare’s Juliet didn’t die but was merely in a kind of frozen stasis, a la Captain America.

After 15 years in the business, Davis appreciates the trade-offs of reaching the next generation of readers in a digital, tablet world. “I think it’s pretty much all going to go print-on-demand,” he observes. “The brick-and mortar stores will actually be gone. Graphic novels will still exist but it’s going to take away the collectability. On the flip side, as a reluctant reader I have read more books on a Kindle in the last year than I probably have read [otherwise] in the last 10 years, and I’m not afraid of books like Gone with the Wind. I was always intimidated by reading that kind of stuff and now I’m reading anything and everything. I’m reading all the V.C. Andrews books right now, so…” He trails off.

“I’m proud to be who I am, and what I’ve accomplished.

Because I do think I’m Darren first, then I’m gay, then I’m HIV-positive, but I always am Darren. I don’t like to label myself, but I’m totally proud of who I am.”

Davis motions to the Xanadu-inspired cover for 10th Muse he produced in homage to his “all-time favorite,” Olivia Newton-John, autographed and on proud display in that neurotic black frame zone. “I got to interview her,” he says giddily. “Nobody will ever hear that interview, ever.

It’s so in the vault—I totally geeked out.”

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 11

FEATURE

#LOVEWON; MARRIAGE IS OURS June 26, 2015. Do you remember where you were when same-sex marriage, which began as long ago as the Court’s better, and that we should take the long view even when it the Supreme Court ruled—5-4—that states cannot keep contrary 1972 decision in Baker v. Nelson, has ended as it seems like we’re losing. The world needs people who know same-sex couples from marrying, and all states must rec- must always have ended, with the recognition that Amer- this, and know how to do it. ognize same-sex unions? June 26, the day the 103-page ican families are as diverse and wide-ranging as the Amer“What’s next? Let’s take all that beautiful energy and make Obergefell v. Hodges was handed down, is a new Stone- ican people themselves. On this great day, which, coin- sure that tragedies like the one in Charleston never happen wall of sorts—a spectacular day for LGBTQ people—and, cidentally, corresponds with the 46th anniversary of the again, that if love is love then hate is hate, and that every life in fact, all Americans. Despite lost to racism or bigotry is unconscionable. Let’s start by pockets of resistance, gay marputting an end to gun violence and reform our corrupt and riage is now simply marriage— racist justice system, and demand accountability from law and it’s the law of the land. PQ enforcement and from each other. We have been given the has been collecting responses gift of knowing our own potential, and it’s up to us to build it from local LGBTQ leaders, folks into something bigger than any of us could dream.” who’ve dedicated their lives to In July 2013, Portland attorney Lake Perriguey initiated the movement. the federal court challenge to Oregon’s ban on same-sex Mark Johnson Roberts is a marriage. He says: family law attorney for Gevurtz “The choice to marry, or not to marry, is a fundamenMenashe and has been a legal tal right, even for gay and lesbian people, and the governadvocate for Oregon’s gay and ment may not violate the guarantee of equal protection lesbian citizens since 1991; of the laws by excluding gay and lesbian people from full he is former president of the participation in this fundamental civil right.

Oregon State Bar as well as the “The Supreme Court today recognized and respected Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law the inherent human dignity of gay Association. Roberts writes: and lesbian people, and appreciated I remember election night “In the much-anticipated as vital the choices that we make as decision in the consolidated in 2004, struggling to gay and lesbian individuals, and how cases of Obergefell v. Hodges, the these choices relate to laws created understand how we could United States Supreme Court by other human beings that might held that marriage is a fundareduce our dignity and limit our lose the Measure 36 mental right under our national choices in a manner that is different campaign when we knew constitution—a fundamental “Some will complain that the Court’s decision has foreclosed further debate on this issue, but truthfully, there than the way those laws affect straight right that cannot be denied to is no further debate to be had.” --Mark Johnson Roberts (far left, with Gov. Brown and his partner, Jay). people. we were on the side of love same-sex couples without run“The dignity afforded by our govning afoul of the constitution’s equality guarantees. modern gay-rights movement in 1969, and fairness. What happened ernment to gay and lesbian people is, “Speaking for the Court, Associate Justice Anthony Ken- Americans have a great deal to be proud today, finally equal to that of other citnext was both epic and nedy observed that ‘the constitution promises liberty to and thankful for.” izens in our country. No more. No less. all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific Roey Thorpe, Director of Advocacy “And this dignity applies to the utterly simple: we didn’t give rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define Programs for Equality Federation and fundamental choice of whether to up. We doubled down, we and express their identity.’ One of those rights, the Court former Executive Director of Basic marry, or whether to stay a lifelong held, is marriage. The Court has recognized marriage as Rights Oregon: It is not the governmetabolized all that sadness bachelor/ette. a fundamental liberty at least since the 1967 decision in “I remember election night in 2004, ment’s nor a majority of voters’ whim Loving v. Virginia, in which a unanimous Court ruled that struggling to understand how we could and outrage into passion and to limit this decision for us. the right of marriage could not constitutionally be denied lose the Measure 36 campaign when “This case is about much more determination.” to interracial couples. we knew we were on the side of love than marriage. The Supreme Court --Roey Thorpe, Equity Federation “Following the Loving precedent, the Court observed and fairness. What happened next was decision recognizes that gay and lesthat American family life has expanded over the last 50 both epic and utterly simple: we didn’t bian people are entitled to personal years or more to include many same-sex couples and their give up. We doubled down, we metabodignity and autonomy when it comes children. The continued exclusion of same-sex couples lized all that sadness and outrage into passion and deter- to making fundamental choices, and to the civic equality from marriage in those circumstances created two classes mination. when the government holds a monopoly in handing out of families in our country and demeaned same-sex couples “People talk about momentum and tides turning with- certain rights and privileges. and their families. The Court’s decision today recognizes out thinking about what it takes to make that happen.

“The Supreme Court’s recognition and affirmation of our marriage in America for what it is—an ever-changing insti- Which is how it should look: effortless, inevitable. But we inherent dignity as gay and lesbian people will inspire and tution that provides comfort and support to the family, the know different, that today love won because of the multi- quicken the spirit of our country, young and old, gay and basic foundational unit of our society. tude of people in Oregon and across the country who have straight, and queer and trans, as we collectively celebrate “Some will complain that the Court’s decision has fore- sacrificed so much so that we could get to this moment. our Nation’s inclusivity in recognizing these fundamental closed further debate on this issue, but truthfully, there is no “And so the Supreme Court ruling holds a very special principles of what it means to be a citizen.”

--Compiled by Daniel Borgen further debate to be had. The national conversation about meaning: that we can–and have– changed the world for the

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VOICES

FEATURES FEATURE

“WE WANT THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW IT IS TRULY A NEW DAY AT Q CENTER”

By Leela Ginelle, PQ Monthly

she had little understanding of or interest in the feelings of those hurt by what transpired.

In speaking of these events, and to those affected by them, Pabalate strikes a personal, It was only last December when the future of Q Center looked bleak. After multiple con- compassionate tone. troversies, which damaged the center’s relations with the African-American and trans women “I’m sorry for your trauma,” he says. “I’m sorry that yet another institution that was populations, the leadership and board revealed its coffers were empty, and, after an attempt supposed to have your back failed you. As a transgender woman and a person of color to merge with Basic Rights Oregon failed, their board and executive director resigned. who share an identity with some of you, Stacey and I are here to heal, lead, and be in solAfter a heroic effort by the remaining staff and interim board through the winter and idarity when possible and/or appropriate.” spring, however, as well as generous support from Basic Rights Oregon and multiple “Frankly, the relationships that were damaged or broken and the people who have donors, Q Center’s course appears to have been righted, and its announcements have been traumatized, offended, or excluded weren’t hurt by a building,” he continues. “They the ring of good news. were hurt by people in positions of power who didn’t understand The William G. Gilmore Fund of the Oregon Community Founthe impact of their actions or their privilege. We know that the hurt dation recently awarded Q Center a $25,000 grant, which it’s used and trauma caused by past leadership doesn’t just go away. Stacey to help hire new Executive Co-Director Justin Pabalate. Pabalate and I want to build new relationships with the community and try will share the executive director role with longtime Q Center staffer our best to atone for past transgressions.”

Stacey Rice, who helped manage operations through the center’s Rice concurs. “Unfortunately over the last few years, Q Center rocky recent past. had sent the message that certain communities were not welcome Q Center board Chairperson Athen O’Shea believes the choices here,” she says. “It was and is a heartbreaking thing to me and runs of Rice and Pabalate are important not just for the valuable expercounter to the inclusive way that I have always viewed the world tise each brings to their role, but for the message they send about and had hoped for Q Center. We want the community to know that the center going forward. “It’s no accident that Q Center’s executive it is truly a new day at Q Center and that the things that happened co-directors are a trans woman and a queer man of color,” O’Shea before are unacceptable as we move forward.” says. “For marginalized people, being able to meet the leadership O’Shea, who was a member of the interim board, which held of any organization and see ourselves represented, listened to, and Town Halls to hear from community members last winter, is frank empowered is essential. As a community center we’re also comwhen discussing past problems. “The proposed forum about blackmitted to building relationships across identity, starting with our face and the New Narratives group were hurtful to a lot of people own leadership.” in our community, and they’re just the two most prominent exam“Promoting Stacey to Executive Co-Director, Operations and Proples we know about,” he says. “Both incidents highlighted the need grams, was an easy decision given her professional background in to listen to people directly impacted by oppression, in these cases business management, marketing, and community relations and anti-black racism and transmisogyny.” her history with Q Center,” O’Shea continues. “She received a stand“Over the past six months we’ve initiated structural and policy ing ovation from the community at one of our town halls, which is change at Q Center, starting with who it is that leads the organizaa recommendation you can’t ignore. She oversees our day-to-day tion,” he continues. “Of the seven board members currently three are operations and directs programs and community events.” people of color, one is African American, and two are trans women, O’Shea was just as effusive in his praise for Pabalate. “Justin’s New Executive Co-Director Justin Pabalate (left) will share the and we are still recruiting.” background in managing financial systems for a credit union and Executive Director role with long time Q Center staffer Stacey Rice.

The center introduced a new non-discrimination policy this building a development portfolio for Basic Rights Oregon made him past spring, O’Shea says, introduced and shepherded into adopa strong candidate for overseeing Q Center’s financial affairs. His passion for grassroots tion by Devon Rose Davis, the first trans woman to serve on Q Center’s board since Laura fundraising and social justice—particularly racial and trans justice—fits with the direc- Calvo. “The policy offers broad protections and guidelines for creating a safer and more tion we’re seeking for Q Center,” he says. welcoming community at Q Center,” he says. “Training participants are given scenarios Rice says working with the board as it navigated through the recent turmoil inspired based on real incidents to practice interrupting racism, transphobia, and transmisogher to want to assume co-leadership duties at the center. yny at Q Center.”

“A few months ago, the interim board sat down with staff, one by one, to talk about the Q Center’s leadership knows the vital role the center can play in LGBTQ community future of Q Center,” she says. “Up to that time, the interim board, necessarily so, had been members’ lives, and hopes it will be embraced again by all who can benefit from it. “We prototally focused on Q Center triage to address the overwhelming problems and issues they vide a safe place for LGBTQ people, which even in Portland is needed especially for somehad been handed them back in December 2014. It was during the meeting I had with the one who has just come out and is exploring who they are,” Rice says. “We provide a central board that plans for Q Center going forward were outlined in regards to stabilizing oper- place for community to gather whether it is for community dialogue, support, or events,” ations and for growth to take place, and it filled me with such excitement and it made me she continues, citing the more than 30 support and affinity groups that meet there regularly. want to be a part of the new Q Center going forward.”

Pabalate has a personal history with the center. “It’s important to know that when I Both she and Pabalate view their new roles as a chance to heal the hurts caused in the first arrived in Portland it was the volunteers at Q Center that first welcomed me, and I past within the community by events at Q Center. The most prominent of these involve became the Tuesday night front-desk volunteer,” he says. “It feels wonderful to be able Shirley Q. Liquor and the New Narratives Conference. to return at a time that I can give back to Q Center.”

In spring 2014 local gay bar The Eagle invited blackface drag queen Shirley Q. Liquor “We are focused on making sure that Q Center is a welcoming space to everyone and to perform her shockingly racist act here in Portland. Though the show quickly sold out, are working on bringing more diversity to the Q Center space,” Rice says about the organews of it led to a widespread backlash and a near immediate cancellation. In its wake, Q nization’s future. “We will continue to be transparent and accountable to the commuCenter planned a panel discussion about racism within Portland’s LGBTQ community— nity. We are focused on rebuilding the many relationships that Q Center damaged over featuring a roster of all-white “experts.” A call went out from the city’s African-American the last few years and we hope that this will lead to new community collaborations.”

LGBTQ community to boycott the panel, and the event was quickly scrapped, with little Pabalate agrees, and notes he’s looking forward to using his new position explanation given, leaving the sense that the organization’s leaders were both insensitive to help create real change for those who’ve been hurt by racism and transphobia. and incompetent regarding matters of race.

“As a queer person of color in Portland, I’ve lived through and understand some On Memorial Day weekend of 2014, Q Center hosted a conference called New Nar- of the overt and nuanced racism that is not only in the city but has festered in the instiratives, which was planned in conjunction with Radfems Respond, a transphobic event tutions that our communities depend on,” he says. “I’ve witnessed and tried my best to put on by trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), who argue trans women are men, fight against transphobic practices my friends and colleagues have been subjected to. I and should be excluded from women’s spaces. Though New Narratives was planned and believe in using the power of the privileges that I do have to serve my community and carried out by trans women, there was alarm among the trans community that Q Center fight against systems of oppression that keep us from moving forward. I see this role as a would host a gathering with such associations. The response from then-Executive Direc- vehicle which will allow me to help facilitate the empowerment of those in our commutor Barb McCullough mollified many in the trans community, and suggested instead that nity who will ultimately help me break those systems of oppression.” pqmonthly.com

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 13

VOICES

ID CHECK

FINDING TRUE COMMUNITY AT PRIDE

By Leela Ginelle, PQ Monthly

Exceptional, personalized, comprehensive care for your best friend.

1737 NE Alberta suite 102 Portland, OR 97211 Call: 503-206-7700 We are proud to welcome our new associate

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In writing, I use the term “community” seemingly all the time in reference to trans* people, or, more broadly, LGBTQ people. Since I seem so often to be arguing for equality or against discrimination when I write, I suppose the word is meant to convey something monolithic: not just me, but everyone thinks you should or shouldn’t do this or that.

Life is infinitely more complex than a blog thesis, though, and the idea of a queer community in my true heart calls to mind something spectacularly diverse.

Most often, I encounter the “community” online, where folks are disembodied, and their voices, stripped of context, are cranky.

Queer folks gripe about straight folks, and, in smaller groups, trans folks bemoan cis ones. It’s a place to air out wounds and see parts of ourselves reflected.

In daily life, I seldom see other trans people. I’m a bit of a homebody, and, unless I make a point of it, my circumstances often don’t cause me to intersect with my community. For this reason, Pride was a bit stunning this year. In under twenty four hours, I attended two trans events with upward of a thousand people: the t-party and the Trans March.

It’s hard to describe what was special about this. Some of it was just seeing friends, many of them, all in one place.

But there was something, as well, about having my identity reinforced wherever I looked. Nothing about transness needed to be explained, no 101 understandings needed to be affirmed or enacted to help other people “get” things so progress could continue.

Daft theories of mine could be floated— peculiar ideas about identity I won’t be discussing here—could be shared (and, at times, seconded!), because everywhere around me cis normative ideas of identity had been already swept from the table.

I generally don’t like to admit I need things, because I grew up in a situation where needs—emotional ones, and those regarding safety—were themselves off the table. To say I needed the connection I felt at those events strikes me reflexively as indulgent. I’ve survived deprivations much greater than not having lots of trans friends around me. That said, leaving each event, I felt a buoyancy—striking for its unfamiliarity.

It reminded me of going away to college, where, like Harry Potter at Hogwarts, for the first time I sensed I belonged.

Having been forcibly acculturated male, and spent decades hiding and fearing my identity, it took time to work through my deep seated transphobia. Being with other trans folks, for quite a while, I felt discomfort and judgment. I was fighting for something I wanted, but was deeply ambivalent about my identity—and any reflection of it brought forth a painful stew of emotions.

I can’t say if it’s time that’s helped change that, personal healing, the increase in acceptance culturally, or some combination of those factors, but I’m happy that reaction has ceased. Instead, at Pride, I felt a freedom surrounded by other trans folks and allies, an unconscious relaxation in response to seeing the thing that made me different from those around me, become the thing that made me the same.

The things we were talking about in person weren’t the things we talk about online. Being together our minds didn’t seem to be on institutional transphobia, statistics from the “Injustice at Every Turn” survey, or “shit cis people say” (OK, maybe a little of the last one); instead there seemed to be a deep appreciation of the events and each other’s presences—or, at least, that’s what I was feeling.

I had helped organize the Trans March this year, and I was fortunate enough to have had a play of mine selected for this year’s Outwright Festival, which took place just after Pride weekend. All around me I saw people I’d been working with, to help create community—not the word in quotes employed to make a point, but the moments I was experiencing, when we gathered to share and celebrate our lives together.

The points we always make, those that trans people online say, seemingly ad infinitum, because we’re always challenged: that we’re who we say we are, and we deserve an equal place in the world, seemed to materialize at the picnic and march. We had time and space to be ourselves. In each other’s presence, we were free from challenges, discrimination, and slurs.

I like to think moments like that can be transformational. That community will mean something different to me, having experienced it so manifestly and tenderly in those moments, and that trans people— including myself—will never again seem shameful or laughable to me, as those bigoted stereotypes I’d absorbed communicated, because now I have scores of friends and acquaintances whose humanity reveals the lie of such prejudice.

Ginelle is a playwright and journalist living in Portland, OR. You can write her at leela@pqmonthly.com.

14 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

pqmonthly.com

FEATURE

SMYRC CELEBRATES BIG GAINS, BIDS FAREWELL TO PROGRAM COORDINATOR Gender Minority Youth Resource Center, or SMYRC—was facing its own uncertain future and in need of a new home.

SMYRC was cut from Portland’s troubled Q Center and grafted onto the broader New Avenues for Youth, an established youth-focused nonprofit with a larger budget and dealing more specifically with at-risk youth and homelessness. Since then the program has branched and blossomed, and will soon be saying goodbye to the gardener who tended the transition as Program Coordinator Micheal Weakley prepares to move abroad.

“We officially joined New Avenues March 16—they were able to give wages that matched other nonprofit employers, as well “We officially joined New Avenues March 16—they were able to give wages that matched other nonprofit employas other incentives that are needed,” Weakers, as well as other incentives that are needed,” Weakley (right) said. “They invested quite a lot of money into ley said. “They invested quite a lot of money making the program grow. Being integrated into the New Avenues staff has been helpful.” into making the program grow. Being integrated into the New Avenues staff has been

By Matt Pizzuti, PQ Monthly helpful.”

The change brought the program from its former locaDuring a period of upheaval in Portland’s LGBTQ non- tion on Sandy Blvd. to Downtown Portland at 1220 SW profit community this spring, the program seeking to serve Columbia St., where New Avenues is housed.

Portland’s most at-risk LGBTQ youth—the Sexual and More recently, starting June 1 SMYRC won a major

pqmonthly.com

increase in funding through a grant from Multnomah Count y, enabling staf f members to work f ull time and increasing the program staff to 6 so services can expand.

There’s now a program for young adults age 20-25 who’ve aged out of SMYRC’s youth-only programs but could still use the social support, as welly as monthly field trips.

Meanwhile, SMYRC continues to run the locally-developed Bridge 13 Training teaching health care workers or local organizations and businesses how to deal sensitively with trans and LGBTQ youth.

Weakley, who has been in nonprofits 15 years and arrived in Portland from Arizona about a year ago, will be leaving the organization, the industry—and the country— after his last day with SMYRC on August 3.

His next stop will be Mexico City, followed by an extensive trip through Europe and then back to Mexico. “I’m a nomad by heart,” Weakley said, “I’ll probably spend the rest of my life travelling and teaching and I’ve got no particular desire to nest.”

“I took on the responsibility to get SMYRC to the next level when I got hired by the Q center, about a 5-month commitment, and I’m confident in the work I’ve done,” he said. “I’m ready to choose a different lifestyle, and give other younger, cooler people the opportunity to take my job.”

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 15

FEATURE GET OUT WEDDINGS

VOICES STYLE DECONSTRUCTED

1

FRIDAY, JULY 17

GET

OUT! Want more? We’ll give you ever ything. Head over to pqmonthly.com and check out our online calendar of events , submit your own events, and peruse photos from your reporters-abouttown. Also, remember to carefully examine our weekly weekend forecast — with the latest and greatest events — each Wednesday (sometimes Thursday), online only.

--DANIEL BORGEN

Peep Show’s Austin Invasion: It’s time for another amazing show and this time around these kids have two very special guests flying in all the way from Austin, Texas—so prepare to be shocked and amazed by Cupcake and Debbie Penetration as they perform in Portland for the very first time. PLUS! Brand new Peep Show Star Search champion Jeff True Jones will return to dazzle you once more. Add to that many more of your favorite Portland performers, like CJ Mickens, and you have a night of dreams. (PLUS many more of your favorite Portland performers!) 8pm, Analog, 720 SE Hawthorne. $7 GA, $10 reserved seating.

SATURDAY, JULY 18

Drag Brunch: It’s been a while, but Valerie DeVille and Nikki Lev are bringing back the Drag Brunch... now at Local Lounge, and now on a Saturday. Think of it as a self-care afternoon of happy eating and drinking with two of the wildest drag talents in town as well as some amazing TBA guests. They’ll start around 1, 1:30ish, depending on the crowd, but everyone will be hanging out from noon on, and playing hot music, and Valerie herself plans to dance until she’s too faded to continue. Local Lounge, 3536 MLK.

2

EVERY SUNDAY

Samuel’s Hangover Happy Hour.

Bloody Marys, friends, food, beats by Art of Hot and guests. It is an excellent recovery scenario. Mingle with queers in a very chill setting. 2pm-7pm, Killingsworth Dynasty, 832 N Killingsworth. Free.

Superstar Divas. Bolivia Carmichaels, Honey Bea Hart, Topaz Crawford, Isaiah Tillman, and guest stars perform your favorite pop, Broadway, R&B, rock, and country hits. Dance floor opens after the show. The Drag Queen Hunger Games are over, and the shows must go on! Check out the newest and freshest Diva hits. 8pm, CC Slaughters, 219 NW Davis. Free!

DANCE

IT OUT

EVERY MONDAY

Family Home Evening. A weekly, post-work lounge party every Monday night at Vault, featuring DJ Orographic (Bridge Club, Queerlandia) and occasional special guests (Sappho fills in now and then). Jens Irish serves you happy hour all the livelong night. 7pm-11pm, Vault, 226 NW Twelfth.

16 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

MONDAY, JULY 20

Would you like to volunteer at this year’s Portland Latino Gay Pride Festival? Want to know more about Portland Latino Gay Pride 2015? Here’s your chance! Appetizers, refreshments, and lots of information and networking will be served up at La Bonita North.

5:30pm-7:30pm, 2710 N Killingsworth.

The days are longer! Summer is here! Get your sweaty, active socializing on. Gay Skate is a joy. Meet queers and mingle with them outside the bar setting—maybe your dream lover will ask you to hold hands during couples’ skate. And there are themes now! Themes!

(Check online and Facebook for the latest.)

Come dressed to impress and win beautiful prizes, and look for our publisher, who’s always handing out copies of PQ. And, you know, you’ll probably get a date. Every third Monday.

Food drive for Take Action Inc. 7pm, Oaks July 19th Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way. $6.

FRIDAY, JULY 24

Club Kai-Kai: Lifted straight from the event listing (thanks, Buckmaster): “Babies, 4th Friday is upon us, and that means it’s time for a Kai-Kai! If you made it to last month’s debut, you know that this is a sweaty, sexy, drag-a-licious dance party of melted makeup and discarded clothing. If you need a refresher on the premise, here you go: You dance, impromptu drag performances happen while you’re dancing, you may feel a track and jump on stage and perform, and… you kai-kai with that gendernaut grinding up on you. Also, the unofficial theme is MTV Beach House/The Grind circa ‘97 (because it’s fucking hot right now, and you should be living). For this month’s

FIRST THURSDAYS

Hip Hop Heaven. Bolivia Carmichaels hosts this hip-hop-heavy soiree every Thursday night at CCs. Midnight guest performers and shows. Remember those midnight shows at The City? Bolivia does!

9pm, CC Slaughters, 219 NW Davis. Free.

FIRST SATURDAYS

Sugar Town. DJ Action Slacks. Keywords: Soul, polyester. Great place to find the ladies, to mingle, to get your groove on.

9pm, The Spare Room, 4830 NE 42. $5.

SECOND TUESDAYS

Bi Bar. Every second Tuesday at Crush, and it’s an open, bi-affirming space for music and mingling. Correction: Bi/ Pan/Fluid/Queer. 8pm, Crush, 1400 SE Morrison.

SECOND FRIDAYS

Slo Jams is a Queer Modern R&B and Neo Soul Dance Night at Local Lounge. DJ II TRILL (TWERK) and DJ MEXXX-TAPE lay down everything from Mary J // Jagged Edge // Keyshia to Badu // Lauryn, etc. 10pm, Local Lounge, 3536 NE MLK. $5.

SECOND SATURDAYS

Hot Flash: Inferno. (Second and Fourth Saturdays) In the heart of Portland is where the women are—dancing the night away and burning up dance floors the second and fourth Saturdays of every month

Kai-Kai we got some of PNW’s best nightlife professionals to k you more entertained than a festival goer on ecstasy.” Sound goo Good. 9pm, Lovecraft, 421 SE Grand. $5.

Turnt Up! is a dance party for queers and queer sentiments. It featu a combination of performance, live m sic and deejays from near and far. T night is for those who want: cosm level dance music, a place to turn look and an intimate dance floor to your flirt on. What you’ll hear: Und ground dark disco, house, garage, a techno. Organized by club creatu July 20th DJ Sappho and Dillon Martin. 9:30p The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont. $5-7. Note: This is the very l Turnt Up! And it features Amoania (Seattle) and Chelsea Starr.

SATURDAY, JULY 25

Once again, it’s time to announce Portland’s Seventh Ann Women’s 3x3 Basketball Tournament, a Benefit for HRC, Sa day, July 25 at Irving Park. Last year saw 28 teams of women regi to play and this year will be just as exciting, surely. Nike is once ag the Presenting Sponsor, along with loads of other community businesses and individuals. There will be raffles, prizes (including a trip to Mexico), and everything you could dream of. There’s a three-point shooting contest, a “spirit award,” and four brackets in which to compete. Competitive: if you want challenge of playing against the better teams and want more co petition; Recreational 30 and under: if you are just playing for

at Trio. Welcoming all women, queers, and their allies. DJ Lauren jo Wildfire, and this night features dancers from up and down the corridor. 6pm-10pm, Trio, 909 E. Burnside.

Mrs.: The queen of theme welcomes its new hostess, Kaj-Anne P per! Okay, she’s not new anymore. But we love her so. And dyna DJ duo Beyondadoubt and Ill Camino. Costumes, photo booths the hits. Lots of ladies, very queer. 10pm, Missis pi Studios, 3939 N. Mississippi. $5.

THIRD WEDNESDAYS

Comedy at Crush: Our own Belinda Carroll an slew of locals rustle up some funny. Special gue and Crush’s signature cocktail and food men Donations, sliding scale. (Comics have to eat drink, too, so give!) 9pm, Crush, 1400 SE Morrison.

Queens of the Night: Alexis Campbell Starr. That’s all you need to know. But there’s more: She always welcomes a special slew of talented queens for a night that takes Hip-Hop from beginning to end. 8pm, Local Lounge, 3536 NE MLK. Free.

THIRD THURSDAYS

Polari. Troll in for buvare. Back-in-the-day language, music, and elegance. An ease-you-intothe-weekend mixer. Bridge Club boys make the music. Bridge tunnel patrons have no idea what to do with us when we pour in. H It’s always the Thursday we go to press. What serendipitous fortu 10pm, Vault, 226 NW 12th. Free. pqmonthly.com

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want to support equality, have a good time with friends and you are 30 years or under; Recreational 30-40, if you are just playing for fun, want to support equality, have a good time with friends and you are between 30-40. Recreational 40 and over: if you are just playing for fun, want to support equality, have a good time with friends and you are 40 and over. Irving Park, NE Seventh and NE Fremont. http:// hrc.org/pdxbasketball.com.

Also on tap for HRC: their annual Gala.

The Portland Gala is an unforgettable night under the stars on the breathtaking lawns of the Lewis and Clark Estate Gardens.

July 25th The gala attracts some of HRC’s most active supporters and allies, as well as business leaders, elected officials, and entertainers. They invite you to be a part of the event as they celebrate this critical and exciting moment in the history of LGBTQ equality. Tickets on sale now. VIP Reception, 5pm-6pm; gala dinner and auction, 6pm-10pm. Ticket info: https://boxofficetickets.com/go/event?id=299093.

That evening, Blow Pony gets a special shout-out for booking one of our favorites, Shitney Houston. Two giant floors. Wide variety of music, plenty of room for dancing. Rowdy, crowdy, sweaty betty, the one tried and true, after all these years. 9pm, Rotture/ Branx, 315 SE Third. $5.

SUNDAY, JULY 26

July 24th This is one of my favorite events ev-

ery single year—Bat ‘N Rouge! It’s a no-holds-barred queer softball tournament showdown.

Bring the whole family and come cheer on your favorite team alongside dancers, a band, cheerleaders,

THIRD SATURDAYS

Burlescape! Burlesque and boylesque wrapped in a taste of tease! Zora Phoenix, Isaiah Esquire, Tod Alan.

(And there’s more than that, kids.) Zora is a treat and a treasure—and so are her shows. Try one out! 9pm, Crush, 1400 SE Morrison. $10. We’re featuring all of Zora’s events online, so get on the net.

Gaycation: DJ Charming always welcomes special guests—and here you’ll find everything lesbian, gay, and in between. Be early so you can actually get a drink. Sweaty deliciousness, hottest babes. THE party. Yes, boys, even you can hit on Mr. Charming. We know you want to. 9pm, Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison. $5.

Undergear: Eagle Portland’s monthly underwear, jock, mankini, etc., fetish party every third Saturday.

Free if you arrive before 9pm or if you use free clothes check upon entry after. After 9pm arrivals who do not check clothes must pay $5 entry. Clothes check and raffle prize provided by Cub Cleaners.

FOURTH FRIDAYS

Twerk. DJs ILL Camino and II Trill.

Keywords: Bring your twerk. The city’s longest-running queer hip hop/R&B party—where artists, deejays, performers come to mix, mingle, and move on the dance floor.

We promise you you’ll move all night long. 9pm, Local Lounge, 3536 NE MLK. $5.

Turnt Up! is a dance party for queers and queer sentiments. It features pqmonthly.com

and ridiculous antics. Park admission-suggested donation ($5), beer and vodka garden ($20), a fundraiser for AIDS Walk Portland. Teams: The Golden Girls (drag queens) vs. Baywatch (speedo-clad men) vs. Orange is the New Black (sexy ladies) vs. The Big Bang Theory (cutie nerds). 11am-4pm, Erv Lind Stadium, 1120 SW Fifth.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8

Tribal: The Oregon State Leather victory party. You are invited to the sixth annual victory celebration for Mr. and Ms. Oregon State Leather, Oregon State Bootblack, and Oregon Puppy 2015! This is a time to gear June 26th up and rub...shoulders...with your local leather tribe and fellow kinksters. Snacks will be provided and the incredibly hot staff of the Eagle Portland will be mixing up your favorite drinks. There is no cover (21+ w/ ID) and all are welcome. The event is hosted by its creator, Dominic Chevalier, American Leatherman 2014, and Eagle PDX. 9:30pm, 835 N. Lombard.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9

Superstar Divas—Honey Bea’s Birthday Edition. Bolivia Carmichaels, Honey Bea Hart, Topaz Crawford, Isaiah Tillman, and guest stars perform your favorite pop, Broadway, R&B, rock, and country hits, and the Queen of Mean will enJune 26th sure the night is filled with evil and shaaaaade.

8pm, CC Slaughters, 219 NW Davis. Free!

a combination of performance, live music and deejays from near and far. This night is for those who want: cosmic level dance music, a place to turn a look and an intimate dance floor to get your flirt on. What you’ll hear: Underground dark disco, house, garage, and techno. Organized by club creatures DJ Sappho and Dillon Martin. 9:30pm, The Liquor Store, 3341 SE Belmont. $5-7.

FOURTH SATURDAYS

Blow Pony. Two giant floors. Wide variety of music, plenty of room for dancing. Rowdy, crowdy, sweaty betty, the one tried and true, even after all these years. 9pm, Rotture/Branx, 315 SE Third. $5.

Judy on Duty. Lesbian hardcore. Judys, Judes, and cool-ass freaks. Dance it out.

DJ Troubled Youth. Organized by Ana Margarita and Megan Holmes. 10pm, High Mark Water Lounge, 6800 NE MLK.

LAST SUNDAYS

Sabbathhause Discotheque, gay night is back at Aalto Lounge and it is bigger and more queer than ever before. Featuring some of the best deejays and performers around and hosted by night hawk Chanticleer Tru. 8pm, Aalto Lounge, 3356 SE Belmont.

3

WEDDINGS FEATURES VOICES GET OUT THE BRILLIANT LIST

SUNDAY, JULY 19

Bridge Club is pulling a Missy-Elliott-one-time-exclusive and reassembling for this super special summer gig.

This is the only Bridge Club scheduled for the summer (say it isn’t so), so mark your calendars and DON’T MISS IT. Troubled Youth, Orographic, Huf ‘N Stuf, Hold My Hand, Pocket Rock-It (#beautysecrets), and all the faces you’ve come to know and love over the years. Seven hours, five deejays, the glory that is White Owl’s patio—and, of course, free as always. There will be much water-cooler talking about this fiesta. That’s a hot club. 3pm-10pm, White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE Eighth.

PQ PICKS

SATURDAY, JULY 25

Portland Latino Gay Pride invites you to watch the documentary “El Canto del Colibrí” at the Hollywood Theatre. Panel to follow the screening with the presence of Director Marco Castro-Bojorquez and families featured in the film. (Spanish with English subtitles.) “El Canto del Colibrí” is a story of Latino fathers dealing with issues of immigration, faith, marriage equality, machismo, culture, and the process of their LGBTQ children coming out. Responding to requests from “Tres Gotas de Agua” audiences around the world, the filmmakers are taking this journey by inviting Latino men to speak frankly about delicate and deeply personal topics. This film will address political issues about LGBTQ families, social oppression, shared responsibility, and acceptance of LGBTQ people as members of Latino families. 6:30pm, Hollywood Theater, http://hollywoodtheatre.org/portland-latino-gaypride-presents-el-canto-del-colibri/.

SUNDAY, JULY 26

For this year’s annual Portland Latino Gay Pride Festival, festival architects will have everyone celebrating in the streets. PLGP is partnering with Crush Bar for a block party you don’t want to miss. Live performers, deejays, exhibitors, carne asada, elote, and margaritas are just some of the wonderful things to expect. How does one celebrate 10 years of PLGP? With a 10-member salsa band, of course.

Salsanova is Portland’s newest Latin and Salsa dance band, formed in 2013. This 10-piece group has some of the area’s best musicians, all of whom have a love for Latin music and a dedication to playing it with authenticity and soul. Commemorative 10-year-anniversary T-shirts will be on sale, designed by Pablito. Festival and sponsor exhibitors will have valuable information to share—plus reina performances, vocalists, a piñata raffle, and much more. This event is 21+, and a suggested $5 donation goes to the PLGP Scholarship Fund.

5pm, Crush, 1400 SE Morrison.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 17

VOICES FEATURES

GLAPN VOICES

Photo by J Tyler Huber.

EMBODY The Right to Bare Arms

By Sossity Chiricuzio, PQ Monthly

It’s a right-based on an ownership you’ve been convinced you don’t have.

Ever feel like there’s a conspiracy to make you hate your body? That you spend so much time and money trying to achieve an impossible ideal? It’s not you, it’s true.

Shame sells.

You can’t escape your body, or having it on view to the world. Images everywhere show you how to buy your way into the impossible ideal, or minimize the proof that you failed.

How do we reconcile this with self-love? Or even with temperatures in the nineties?

Here in Portland we’re lucky enough to have multiple clothing stores that push back against shame in regards to fat bodies.

I bet some of you just winced at that word.

Ever wonder why? It’s just an adverb, after all. A descriptor, a body type. When did we decide it also meant horrible? A curse to find a magic spell for?

The only spell you need is one that sets you free. I’ve interviewed Annie and Carlee from Fat Fancy, and Gaya from Savvy Plus to get some tips towards that goal.

PQ: Hot temperatures generally mean less clothing, but body shaming and body image are still very much a thing. How have you seen this reflected in your shoppers, and how do you handle it?

Annie: Occasionally it comes across as a self-deprecating statement. I might point it out, and counter it. Talk them through it if it feels right. Plant a seed for the idea of an alternate point of view.

We have a zine we just made that is meant to give ideas to people who may want to get into body and fat positivity and acceptance, so I might suggest the zine too.

I think actually being okay with yourself and your body can sometimes result in less fat shaming and/or make it easier to deal with when it does come up.

Gaya: When my customers talk negatively about their bodies, I sometimes respond by pointing out how beautiful their bodies are. I say, “Let’s embrace them, to choose to participate in life and not be on the sidelines.” I suggest they try on different styles and sizes and find what feels good.

PQ: How do you feel body image issues have changed (or not) in the last 5 years?

Gaya: I think it has changed thanks to people in their twenties and thirties and social media. Their attitudes are much healthier and I don’t see as much body shaming. The younger generation seems to embrace their bodies; I am totally inspired by them.

Carlee: We have all come in contact with this media focus on “The War on Obesity.”

This messaging is pretty pervasive and reinforces an already fatphobic society we have to live in every day. It’s exhausting. How-

ever, there has also been a powerful and growing Body Positive Movement to counter this.

We have seen the rise of Fat Fashion blogs, Fat Positive social medial groups, new plus size clothing lines, and in general the idea of body positivity entering the mainstream.

PQ: Bare arms are a big stumbling block for many fat folks. How do you handle that topic/what is your advice for folks looking to embrace that option?

Annie: I have two approaches. One is to jump right in and try it and see what happens. Wear something sleeveless out of the house. Notice that the world doesn’t end.

Feel how good it feels. Do it again.

For those who may be really unsure about it, I say, try going sleeveless in the house first. Then, try it for a quick jaunt to the grocery store or walking the dog. As you get more comfortable, wear it out more.

Notice that no one really cares and it feels really good! It’s so freeing! You deserve to wear what you want. It’s hot out and there’s no reason you should suffer.

If someone is going to judge you because of the way you look, that’s someone you don’t want in your life anyways. You are a divine being who is perfect in this moment.

Carlee: I always tell people that their arms are beautiful and there is nothing wrong with them. My message is always the same. This is sometimes the first time they may hear this. Ultimately, they must come to the decision about whether or not to show them entirely on their own. That is a process that’s different for everyone.

PQ: Is there anything else you’d like to leave our readers with as food for thought, either as fat folks, or allies?

Gaya: It’s not about the size, it’s about how it fits...does it feel good? Does it look good? Who cares what size it is. Love yourself for who you are today, not tomorrow or yesterday.

Carlee: To non-fat folks: Please learn about what body shaming is and don’t do it. I hear and see this in the queer community way too often. It’s hurtful and not OK. Being smaller bodied doesn’t make you morally superior nor does it give you permission to shame folks. You can do better.

Annie: The road to self-acceptance is a journey. I recommend starting on your journey as soon as possible if you haven’t already. Sometimes you might take two steps forward and one step back, but it’s a journey that is so worth embarking upon.

As allies, please interrupt diet talk and negative body talk when you see it happening.

That is super helpful!

Search online: fatfancyfashions.com, savvyplus.com, dreamboatcoaching.com, carolrossetti.com.br, #losehatenotweight, and #haes.

If you have topics you’d like me to cover, products you’d like me to review, people you’d like to hear from, or resources to share, please get in touch! Sossity@PQMonthly.com.

18 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

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PERS{ECTOVES FEATURE

QUEERING SACRED SPACES: CREATING SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY THAT REFLECTS QUEER LIVES

By Leela Ginelle, PQ Monthly

the outsiders, and the people on the margins.

“I don’t know where the images of Jesus we have in our culture come from, but those images don’t reflect the Jesus I see in the gospels,” they continue. “That Jesus isn’t holding a lamb in his arms, trying to convert people. He’s saying, ‘Follow me. Come radicalize the world. Come find your true calling.’”

desiring a spiritual connection, or with pastors, in order to talk about what Queering Sacred Spaces means. They Almost as soon as the Supreme Court decided the Conhope to begin training chaplains in hospitals soon, citing stitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry the unmet needs of transgender patients as a motivator. in its Obergefell v. Hodges decision, national news outlets “I’ve asked doctors if they’ve ever mentioned the spirrushed to conservative pastors to convey the latter’s angry, itual aspect of transitioning to their trans patients, and disapproving responses, reinforcing, yet again, the connecthey’ve said ‘no,’” they say. “And it’s evident they’re saying tion between religion and anti-trans, anti-queer, that because they assume no one’s safe for the and homophobic attitudes in our culture. patients to talk to, and that’s not all right.” Finn’s It’s this connection that Queering Sacred observed an even more troubling problem among Spaces seeks to challenge. An emergent minishospital staff. try proposal approved this winter by the Evangel“There are suicidal trans people who walk into ical Lutheran Church of America, QSS is spearthe emergency room, and they’re misgendered by headed by Queer Mission developer Finn. the staff,” they says. “If someone’s suicidal, and Finn says they felt a “call to mission” that led they go to an emergency room, it’s usually a last them to develop Queering Sacred Spaces. Launchresort. If they’re misgendered on top of that, they ing such a mission while still a seminarian, as they might get the sense that there’s no hope.” are, is unusual, Finn says, but the need to create a Pastor Finn hopes to train chaplains to advovision of the gospel reflective of the lives of queer cate for trans patients with the emergency room people was too strong for them to ignore. staff—and help educate the chaplains about “Queering Sacred Spaces is a ‘ministry queer identities at the same time. Like Queering probe,’” Finn says. “We’re investigating whether Sacred Spaces itself, it’s a project that’s stretchthere’s a desire to create a spiritual commuing the church to reflect what Finn sees as its nity that affirms queer people. A community true mission. that’s not just ‘safe’—because we all know what “If Christianity is living its true call,” they say, it’s like to be in a place that’s supposedly ‘safe’ “there’s a place within it for everyone. Not just a for queer people, but a community that really place where you just sit once a week on Sunday, affirms queer lives.”

“Queering Sacred Spaces is a ‘ministry probe,’” Finn says. “We’re investigating whether there’s a desire to create a spiritual but a place where you find affirmation, and libSo far, the answer to the question has been community that affirms queer people.” eration, and where you bring your broken parts “yes.” Queering Sacred Spaces was visible during and experience a radical welcome. The church is Pride weekend, participating in the Trans March, where Thus far, Queering Sacred Spaces has been mainly a trying to shift itself to be more authentic, where the whole they jumped in front of bigoted protesters and began sing- “virtual community,” Finn says. This month, though, it will experience can be present—the doubt as well as the faith.” ing a rousing hymn, and greeting visitors from their booth begin a Bible Study group called “Queering Up Scripture.”

Finn acknowledges the church has been far from welat the festival.

The group will look at stories from the Bible, like the story coming to the LGBTQ community in the past, and that Finn says they encountered some skepticism at the of Ruth and Naomi, the story of the Eunuch, and the disci- changes in that regard are still recent, noting the Lutheran festival they believe was born of a disillusionment experi- ples’ stories, from a queer perspective. “We spend a lot of church has only been ordaining openly LGBTQ ministers enced by queer folk in our society. “People asked us, ‘What time in our culture looking at the verses in the Bible that since 2009. “Before that, you had to risk being disciplined are you selling?’” they say. “We told them, ‘We’re not selling supposedly condemn homosexuality,” they say, speaking by the church, which meant being stripped of your posianything. We’re just here to tell you God loves you.’ Some of the practice favored by many conservative evangelicals. tion, or remain closeted,” they say. people said, ‘I see you’re handing out communion. I haven’t “I don’t want to spend any time there.”

“The Synod is being stretched by this mission,” Pastor received communion in so long. Can I have it?’ There was a Instead they’ve enjoyed sharing the Bible with queer Finn says. “Even the name Queering Sacred Spaces is a chalreal hunger for spiritual community that I think comes from folk who have had no previous exposure to it. “It’s amaz- lenge. In some ways the work starts there.” a sense of not belonging common to the queer community.” ing to see how they respond to how radical these stories For Pastor Finn, however, the queer community is the are when they’re told from a queer perspective, instead of To learn more about Queering Sacred Spaces, visit queerperfect audience for the gospel. “I have a belief that Jesus a conservative perspective,” Finn says. ingsacredspaces.org, or the Queering Sacred Spaces Facebook was a queer person,” they say. “If you read the stories of Finn has also been spending time doing one-on-one group. Finn can be reached by email at pastor.finn@queerJesus, and look at the people he mingled with, they were outreach, either with trans and queer community members ingsacredspaces.org.

Always have supported LGBT rights, Always will.

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FEATURES

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 19

NIGHTLIFE

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Next year’s theme and location are all set: Saturday, May 21, and the theme is The Walking Red. You heard it here first, children of Red Dress!

Local promoter Samuel Thomas (Local Queen / Portland Queer Music Festival) has announced plans to create a new queer-centric and electronic music club in the longtime Rotture/Branx space. You’ve enjoyed his Pride parties and quarterly extravaganzas, imagine what’s going to happen with an all-queer, all-the-time space!

Rotture/Branx has announced they will be closing immediately, with most shows moving to alternate venues. The 315 SE 3rd location will undergo a remodel with an opening date of July 24th under the moniker Euphoria—a historical throwback to the space’s origins as an original Portland alternative nightlife space.

Euphoria will be Portland’s latest club focused on dance music, underground DJs, and drag talent: local, national, and international. On the heels of Stag, it’s very nice to see queer spaces opening— not closing—in the Rose City. Grand Opening headliners are Willam & Manila Luzon (both from RuPaul’s Drag Race). Friday, July 24, 8pm. Euphoria, 315 SE Third.

Find more information and keep up to date with the latest information on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/pages/Euphoria-Nightclub.

More great news for queer spaces: With the significant support of Portland’s Radical Faerie community, Emily Waterpony has opened Triumph Coffee at the site of the recently defunct 3 Friends, where the Faeries had held their Saturday Coffees for over 13 years. Let’s support Emily and help create a queer/ queer-friendly daytime space to hang out with our tribe. 201 SE 12th at Ash. Red Dress Party recently offered their checks to charity, donating $4,000 to Our House and another $4,000 to Cascade AIDS Project. See, all that fun and partying and you still get to be a do-gooder. Next year’s theme and location are all set: Saturday, 20 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

May 21, and the theme is The Walking Red. You heard it here first, children of Red Dress!

“The Benefits of Gusbandry.” Take note: Love is so gay. At her debaucherous 40th birthday party, serial relationship-killer Jackie meets handsome and charming thirty-something River.Their ensuing adventures in self-medication, late-blooming, and questionable judgment lead them to discover a raucous new kind of “significant otherness.”

From The Advocate: “The Benefits of Gusbandry” follows a straight woman and gay man attempting to act like functioning adults, and having way too much fun in the process. On why she chose to tell this story via the web, Portland-based filmmaker Alicia J. Rose explains: “I’m kind of an early adopter, and I’m all for a format that has no rules. To me, there is no show right now that really encapsulates the beauty, the relationship, the reality, the fun, the insanity that really happens in a relationship between a woman and a gay man. I hope that you can all learn what a gay husband is, and maybe go out and find a ‘gusband’ of your own.”

Time is running out, so support their efforts today: http://www.seedandspark. com/studio/benefits-gusbandry.

Portland, Ore. electronic duo Microf i l m re l e a s e d t h e i r f o u r t h s t u d i o album, 1,000,000 Neon Hz this July. These ten tracks showcase a cleaner, leaner sound than their previous album AggroPastels, and pays tribute to the duo’s electropop heroes, a reverence for techno, a steady four-to-thefloor rhythm section, and a psychedelic eye on the dancefloor. The perfect set of summer dance anthems for your feet-moving and ear-occupying pleasure.

Take, for example: Song 1: “If You’re Waiting for That Kiss (You’ll Be Waiting for the Rest of Your Life)” (commentary from Matt COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS page 21

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CALENDAR COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Continued from page 20

Keppel of Microfilm): This is a great punchy, poppy opener for the album. Friend Pete Ellison likened it to “Basement Jaxx, if they were from Detroit.” I wanted the story to be a duet and thought of it as a kind of prequel to the Pet Shop Boys song “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” with Dusty Springfield; how this couple met originally before splitting apart. We needed a “Dusty” and fantastic soul belter April Brown fit the bill. A time-travelling prequel to an ‘80s classic. Check out the gamelan sounds (the clangy, metallic percussion) that Matt Mercer used. Weird and cool. Stream the album by typing this link into your browser: https://soundcloud.com/microfilmmusic/sets/1-000-000-neon-hz/s2LcvW. And go buy their album on iTunes and Bandcamp.

At a unique Pride celebration at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility June 27 in Woodburn, Oregon, American Leadership Forum of Oregon Executive Director Kendall Clawson let incarcerated LGBTQ youth know that the outside world cares about their lives.

Clawson, former deputy chief of staff for Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and Gov. Kate Brown as well as former Executive Director of Portland’s Q center, was an honored guest and speaker at the event. The facility was the first in the nation to offer a formal support group to LGBTQ-identified youth.

“It was really something amazing, something that (historically) just doesn’t happen,” Clawson said. “They put a lot of effort into making sure it was an event that was fun and safe for LGBT youth.”

Community groups and nonprofits including PFLAG, Transactive, Cascade AIDS Project and Pride Northwest came to table at the event.

MacLaren, a men’s juvenile justice facility, houses 130 youth—one of the larger youth facilities in the state—who committed a crime and entered the corrections system before age 18, and who are currently age 12 through 25.

pqmonthly.com

“It’s the only facility with this mature a support group for gay, lesbian and trans youth,” said Joe O’Leary, Deputy Director of the Oregon Youth Authority. “We hope other facilities will follow suit.”

O’Lear y said there is reason to think events like Pride could improve relationships and ultimately the recidivism rates for LGBTQ youth, although it’s too soon to come up with statistics.

“One of the most determinant factors in recidivism rates and success is rapport with counselors, staff and each other,” he said. “It’s about MacLaren, a men’s juvenile justice facility, houses 130 youth—one of the larger youth facilities in the state—who committed a crime and learning about and respecting entered the corrections system before age 18, and who are currently age 12 through 25. each other as accepted human beings. Can I quantify it exactly right now? No, I wish I could. crowd of about 40 youth, parents and OYA staff. “Today, We know they have capacity to do great things if we’re able know that you are loved. Know that today represents to steer them the right way.” people who were always considered as ‘other’ and we Oregon Youth Authority Communications Deputy Direc- matter. We don’t need to know you personally to be a tor CJ Drake offered a similar account. He said the LGBTQ part of a larger community that wants you to be your group, called Two Spirits after a Native American concept true, authentic selves.” of gender diversity, was started by the growth with the Clawson told PQ Monthly afterward that she wanted to encouragement of staff. convey that times have changed, and LGBTQ people have “Anecdotally, and based on discussions I’ve had with the ability to be recognized. the youth and I’ve had quite a few of them, the youth who “Even in that space, there is the ability to create commuare involved definitely feel it’s a positive force in their lives nity,” she said. “A lot of people came out to support them. and allows them to discuss issues and concerns they have. It was our way in which the community on the outside was That can only help them have more productive and crime- able to show love and support to them on the inside—and free members of society after they leave.” send that message that we love them, we care about them But Clawson’s words to the 40 youth, parents and and we support them.” staff at the event emphasized the present. “You have --Compiled by Daniel Borgen and Matt Pizzuti created an amazing sense of community,” she told the

JULY/AUGUST 2015 • 21

FEATURE NIGHTLIFE

PORTLAND’S DYKES ON BIKES RIDE INTO SAN FRANCISCO

By Gabriela Kandziora, DOB President

For Dykes On Bikes® Portland Chapter, June was amazing. June, the global Pride Month, is always awesome but this year, for the Dykes On Bikes® Portland Chapter, Pride Month was epic. Your DOB PDX Chapter represented Portland and all of Oregon at not only Portland and Central Oregon Prides, but also for the first time at San Francisco Pride. DOB PDX just returned from this “Herstory-making trip” down to San Francisco. Our adventure started on Thursday, June 25 with the DOB PDX convening at 7 a.m., loading up our S.A.G. (Supply and Gear) Vehicles with our flags, backpacks, coolers filled with sandwiches,

waters, Monster Energy drinks, Pabst Beer, and Three Olives Vodka—the water and Monster to get us there, the alcohol to chill us when we are settled in San Francisco and ready to start the party. (DOB PDX never drinks and rides.)

Our chosen route was down I-5. The motorcycles were cushioned between a lead and sweep S.A.G. (Supply and Gear) Vehicles. We moved as fast as possible down Interstate 5.

It was grueling. The traffic and heat were super intense. Our MC arrived in San Francisco, unloaded, parked, unpacked, changed clothes, got settled at Hotel Diva and then got right into the thick of the parties: the Dyke March, the Pink Party, The Dykes On Bikes® Party— so many parties. Later that night we were treated to a VIP lounge at the Eden Signature Party, thanks to our media sponsor PQ Bay Area. Miz Chris, producer of all the amazing Eden parties (including EdenPNW.com, October 2015 in Seaside, Oregon) treated the DOB PDX to a delicious bottle service along with a few gorgeous women to mix and pour for us. Dancing, drinking, laughing, being together enjoying not only making “Herstory” by riding down to San Francisco to ride with the Mother Chapter: San Francisco Dykes On Bikes® but also being in the city just days after the Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality nationwide. The entire Bay Area was ecstatic about this ruling. Everyone was so happy to finally be validated with equality nationwide.

I was proud of our DOB PDX Sunday morning. Even after having a fantastic time and staying out late, the entire MC was ready at 8 a.m. to roll out of the parking garage to line up for the San Francisco Pride Parade. The motorcycles looked fantastic decked out with the global DOB flag, our Portland MC flag, our Pride flag, and of course, our American flag.

Our MC looked sharp in our black cuts with our patches proudly displaying our authenticity as an official Dykes On Bikes® chapter. The streets were empty so early in the morning but as we got closer to Market and Beale streets—the head of the parade lineup—things got real, thousands of people all preparing for the parade. With hearts pounding and smiles on our faces, we were directed by the San Francisco DOB to line up behind them.

Our bikes roared as we rolled forward, ahead of all the other bikes, to park two-bytwo behind the bikes of the Patches of the Mother Chapter MC. San Francisco DOB MC has chapters all over the world. The original founders fought for five years to finally be granted the trademarked Dykes On Bikes® and San Francisco DOB continuously strives to uphold their mission of spreading queer visibility globally. It is the dream of every patch RIDE INTO SAN FRANCISCO page 23

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FEATURE

RIDE INTO SAN FRANCISCO Continued from page 22

in any DOB chapter to ride with the Mother Chapter of Dykes On Bikes®. And here we were, Portland’s DOB Chapter, excited and happy to be lining up behind some amazing patches of San Francisco DOB. We met Soni Wolf—Secretary, a Patch since 1978; Jen F.— Vice President; Mindie Dodson—President; and the other Patches of San Francisco DOB MC. It was a truly thrilling moment.

The singular reason we rode down to San Francisco and went through hell on I-5 was upon us. A woman at the head of the parade was signaling us five minutes to takeoff… then finally two minutes to takeoff… the DOB started their engines… then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and GO! The crowd roared and snapped photos as the DOB began to roll, leading off the 2015 San Francisco Pride Parade. It was simply overwhelming to hear all the love and support from the crowd.

All the way down Market Street hundreds of thousands of people were lined along the parade route cheering us on. Over 400 motorcycles and scooters were part of this ride. The intense sound of the crowd and the bikes was simply amazing. The bikes continued to honk and rev their motors all the way down Market Street. It was one of the most empowering moments of our lives.

As the police escorted us to our parking, the DOB PDX had the biggest smiles on our faces; the crowd was still cheering us on and snapping photos. One by one, our MC parked and dismounted their bikes jumping up and down, hugging each other, cheering each other on. We had done it. We had planned, raised money, traveled, navigated our way to San Francisco—all to achieve one of our biggest goals: to ride with the DOB SF MC in the San Francisco Pride Parade. All the sweat, heat, sore muscles, effort, sacrifice, lack of sleep had been worth this exhilarating moment in our Herstory.

Every Patch of DOB PDX is in gratitude to our Sisters of the San Francisco Dykes On Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent in upholding the mission of queer visibility globally and in continuing the DOB WMC since 1976. After many hugs and smiles, we all went to a restaurant and lunched, celebrating a victorious Pride Ride together in this most historic San Francisco Pride.

All the Patches were chumming it up and laughing, bonding with SF DOB Patches.

Come Monday morning we met Miz Chris for breakfast in Oakland and she guided us out to the road that would take us to Highway 101. This was a gorgeous ride back to Oregon—and much cooler. Our MC rode through the magnificent redwoods, we saw elk, and the views were spectacular.

Needing to spend one more night before we would make it home to Portland, we opted for the very pretty Blue Lake Casino along the Pacific Ocean. Our MC continued to bond and enjoy one another’s company over dinner and gambling.

There is a pretty tight bond that happens when you ride together, sweat together, look out for each other on the road, and go through emergencies together. DOB PDX stayed together and had each other’s backs during this ride—that is what riding as an MC is all about. Yes, we had pqmonthly.com

some challenges—heatstroke, a downed bike, a broken wrist, but we overcame them together—as a team, a “chosen family,” and we did everything with love and kindness toward each other. As President of Dykes On Bikes® Portland Chapter, I have never been more proud of our MC. Our beloved supporters: Pride Foundation, Pabst Beer, Monster Energy Drinks, Three Olives Vodka, Bridge City Medical, Eden Pride Parties, PQ Monthly and PQ Bay Area supported us throughout this entire adventure. There were several people who were paramount to DOB PDX achieving this goal: Miz Chris from Eden Parties, treating us VIP all the way and helping us navigate on our way out of San Francisco/Oakland; Paulie Morgan—BamBam’s partner, Sweep S.A.G. Vehicle with bike trailer and coolers; and Angela, newly named “Brooklyn Queens” by the DOB PDX, driver of Lead S.A.G. Vehicle.

Dykes On Bikes® Portland extends a deeply heartfelt “Thank you!” to everyone and our supporters involved in this epic adventure in achieving our first major goal.

When you have a chance, congratulate your local Dykes On Bikes® Portland Patches, “spreading queer visibility one motorcycle ride at a time”: Melanie Davis aka “Chica V”—Webmaster; Gus Wolter— Treasurer; Cassie Moore aka “First Patch”— Secretary; Scotty Scott aka “Sarge”—Sergeant-at-Arms; our Patches: Teri Bunker aka “Doc NP,” Candy Miller, Jill King, Pam Golden aka “BamBam,” Laura Mangano aka “LKat,” and me, Gabriela Kandziora—President. Each Patch works hard to be a positive representation to the world as a Dykes On Bikes® Patch. When we wear our cuts, we tell the world, “We are queer and we are here riding out, loud, and proud!” Along the route to San Francisco and back, we had dozens of people honking for us, giving us the thumbs-up, and asking for photos. The DOB PDX MC is designed to be blatantly queer… attracting people our way. Make no mistake that we spread queer visibility with each motorcycle ride. Our MC has gotten hugs from Christian motorcycle groups as well as Brother Speed and Shadows MCs. The thing about riding a motorcycle is that you belong to a family who accepts you, no matter what. And, as ambassadors for our queer community, the DOB PDX MC takes advantage of this opportunity to spread queer love every single chance we get.

It was an amazing time riding with the Mother Chapter. Dykes On Bikes® Portland plans on doing it again in 2017 or 2018.

Anyone is welcome to ride/drive with us on any of our adventures. Next on the itinerary is a trip to the Dunes in Florence, leading off the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and then Eden PNW. Our 2016 adventure will be either Sturgis or New Mexico— you are welcome to join us on these great memory-making, queer visibility-spreading adventures. You will have the time of your life with Dykes On Bikes® Portland Chapter.

To donate to our 501c3 to help support our mission of “queer visibility one motorcycle ride at a time,” please visit our website: DykesOnBikesPortland.com. Every donation is greatly appreciated. You can find Dykes On Bikes® Portland Chapter and San Francisco Dykes On Bikes® Chapter on Facebook.

ARTS & CULTURE

LIFE IS GOOD. ENJOY THE RIDE!

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By Robin Will, President, GLAPN

This story is inspired by an old newspaper in GLAPN’s collection: a full-page article in the Oregonian of July 14, 1996, by Tom Bates, addressing the history and controversy surrounding Dr. Alan L. Hart.

Hart graduated from University of Oregon Medical School in 1917, underwent a hysterectomy, and lived as Dr. Alan L. Hart until his death in 1962, writing novels, building a career in radiology and public health, and marrying twice along the way.

His is the first documented transgender male transition in the United States.

It is clear that Alan Hart intended to be remembered as a man. On his instruction, his personal letters and photos in a safe deposit box were destroyed after his death. His widow, Edna Ruddick Hart, whom he married in 1925, was likewise reticent, refusing interviews until her own death in 1982. On the record, the Harts were a prosperous, childless couple: a successful doctor/researcher and his wife, enjoying Edna’s extended family, joining the ACLU, and serving in their Unitarian Church.

“He must have had nerves of steel,” said the late Brian Booth, a student of Oregon fiction, in the Oregonian in 1996, reflecting on the self-censorship that must have been necessary for a man in Hart’s position.

Hart almost got away with it. Connecticut was a long ways from Oregon, and at the time of Hart’s death in 1962, the time was not yet ripe for histories celebrating sexual minorities. However, apparently there were some loose ends somewhere, and Alan (formerly Lucille) Hart showed up on the gaydar of a New York-based historian, Jonathan Katz. Hart was outed–as a lesbian!–in Katz’ Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A., published in 1976.

Katz was shrewd enough to identify Hart from an anonymous case study that her psychiatrist had published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders in 1920.

Dr. Joshua Gilbert, a University of Oregon psychiatrist, had worked with Hart through his transition, and had reached the pioneering–almost heretical–conclusion that “from a sociological and psychological standpoint [Hart] was a man,” and that living as a man was his only chance for a happy existence.

(It was a revolutionary thought in 1920, and it was still radical when it was raised again in 1961 by another University of Oregon psychiatrist, Dr. Ira Pauly.)

Once the Alan-Oregon-Lucille connection had been made, investigation wasn’t easy, but it was possible. Hart had left a substantial paper trail in Oregon. He attended high school in Albany; he had attended Albany College (later Lewis & Clark) and, briefly, Stanford, leaving evidence in all three places; he had earned his M.D. under

his own name at University of Oregon. Yearbooks and local newspapers had the stories.

In the spirit of early gay liberation, eager to promote any positive gay role model (and with naïve trust in Katz’ research and conclusions), a young political action committee called Right to Privacy, based in Portland, adopted the young doctor as a sort of mascot, and named their annual fundraising party The Lucille Hart Memorial Dinner. Beginning in 1981, it became a major event on Portland civi c - s o c i a l - f u n d ra i s i n g scene.

However, there was a problem–or a cluster of problems–involved in RTP’s adoption of Lucille Hart. First, nobody except Jonathan Katz appears to have believed that Lucille Hart–or Alan Hart, for that matter–was a lesbian. Second, related to the first, Portland’s trans community was beginning to find its voice.

They rightly identified Alan Hart as a man, and they resented the A-List Gays’ appropriation and misgendering of Hart for promotional purposes. Bits and pieces of that battle are still visible online. In 1996, when Right to Privacy changed its name to Right to Pride, the name “Lucille Hart Memorial Dinner” was retired.

In the meantime, somebody else was investigating Alan Hart, someone unconcerned with gender politics. Brian Booth, a Portland attorney who knew almost everyone in Oregon fiction, was trying to figure out how Dr. Alan Hart had published four well-reviewed novels set in the northwest without attracting any local notice or leaving a trace of his existence. He probably wouldn’t have figured it out if he hadn’t stumbled on the Lucille Hart controversy.

Booth hired Thomas Lauderdale, fresh from Grant High School and on his way to Harvard, to start investigating Hart’s background. They read the novels, collected the reviews, gathered yearbook photos and school literary magazines, and apparently interviewed people who had known Hart as a child. With the eventual help of GLAPN founder Tom Cook, a local trove of Hart data and memorabilia have accumulated–waiting for a historian to sort it out.

In conclusion, there is no conclusion.

Anybody with a Multnomah County library card can read The Oregonian’s July 14, 1996 article online. There is an admirably thorough and recently-maintained Wikipedia entry on Alan Hart. GLAPN doesn’t know who maintains it. If anyone has investigated Jonathan Katz’ research by perusing his personal papers, archived in New York, results have not reached GLAPN yet. Thomas Lauderdale and Tom Cook are the two individuals in Oregon–aside from the keeper of the Wikipedia article–who know the most about Alan Hart. Lauderdale is busy playing music. Cook is enjoying his retirement, but GLAPN has all of his notes. It will be interesting to see what happens next. pqmonthly.com

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Zan Gibbs, pictured here with Jinkx Monsoon.

Zan Gibbs helped found SMYRC (Sexual Medical School, he was advocating for trans Minorities Youth Resource Center) in 1998 patients–specifically, sex reassignment surwith two youth, and headed the program gery–as early as 1961. for 12 years.

By that time, surgery had progressed to One of the features that set SMYRC apart the point of having real potential for trans at the time – and distinguishes it now – is the people. The case of Oregon’s Alan L. Hart notion of youth empowerment: youth run (1917) was the first known use of surgery in the program, and the “director” facilitates. transition. There were accounts of surgical Not all director-types are cut out to work that reassignments in Europe in the 1920-1930s, way, because it gives up a lot and Christine Jorgensen’s wideof control. On the other hand, ly-publicized transition (in Densexual minority youth, already mark) in 1952 moved discussion living on the edge, aren’t into out of academic circles and into having another set of grownups the popular press. telling them what to do, and Understanding the psycholthey’ll abandon programs that ogy of transgender people has treat them that way. been a slower process. Being Today that approach has a trans was generally undername: “anti-oppression prinstood as a mental illness, ciples with high-risk populaand attempted “cures” could tions.” It worked over and over be cruel and were certainly at SMYRC, and 12 years worth pointless. Clinicians such as of former SMYRC youth look Dr. Pauly (and endocrinoloDr. Ira Pauly in his college days. up to Zan as a role model, a gist Dr. Harry Benjamin, who mentor, a source of inspiration, a leader, consulted and collaborated with Pauly) and a very, very good listener. began to understand that their transgenWhen Zan left SMYRC, she left a strong der patients, instead of being mentally ill, tradition of youth empowerment, which were quite accurately describing their sitpersists in the organization, although the uations, and that for some, surgery was the original SMYRC youth have long since aged only alternative. It was a radical position to out of the program take at the time. Ira Pauly devoted most of SMYRC survives today, in part, because his career, at University of Oregon and at of this tradition and Zan continues to use the University of Nevada at Reno, to trans these skills in her work in public health. issues, and served as president of the Harry Zan continues to do anti-oppression work Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria in Portland, leading racial justice trainings Association (now the World Professional for a variety of constituents.

Association for Transgender Health) from In the winter of 2014, Zan joined the 1985-1987. interim board at Q Center, sharing her speIra Pauly was an outstanding football cial brand of anti-oppression leadership as and rugby player at UCLA, and with Pauly the organization learned to listen to, and starting both as center and linebacker, went honor, its clientele. The picture shows Zan to the Rose Bowl in 1953. The photo is from with a former SMYRC youth, the amazing that era.

Jinkx Monsoon.

PQ Monthly will be occasionally printDr. Ira Pauly is a cisgender straight man, ing Queer Heroes from June 2015 throughbut as a psychiatrist at University of Oregon out the rest of the year. pqmonthly.com

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THE LADY CHRONICLES

The Supremes, Marriage, & Michael: a Retrospective

By Daniel Borgen, PQ Monthly

When I was young, during some of my most formative years, in the gray and tan Pentecostal church on Glisan my parents and I attended, I spent a lot of time searching for myself during altar calls. Altar calls were arguably the most important part of the church service—it was the time you really got your soul right. You made yourself vulnerable, elders gathered ‘round you, laid hands on you—usually on your forehead, sometimes on your chest, and whispered—maybe yelled—spiritual directives and various verbal missives in your ears.

Spittle sprayed in your ear, sweat beaded up on your forehead, dripped down your back, your soaked underarms stained your new blue shirt—altar calls were a production and you were the star.

As an angst-filled, hormonal teenager, these moments provided an emotional catharsis that felt really good in the short term—in the moment, I felt relieved, pleased to have done what I was supposed to do, thrilled I’d “gotten right with God”; but altar calls wreaked havoc on me in the long term, when I was alone in the dark and I couldn’t sleep. As an angst-filled, closeted teenager, those dark nights were filled with dread. Had God told someone my secret?

Were the elders on to something? (Insomnia became the rule, and not the exception.)

I knew my entire world would collapse if anyone knew my big gay secret, and it took all the effort I could muster to keep that truth under lock and key.

During many an altar call, elders channeled the Almighty and gave me a definitive glimpse into my future. I would be a missionary one day, and I would marry either Julie or Amy, two girls I attended church with. Either of them would make great wives, they’d be dedicated to me and to mission work, and we’d spend years in Central America or maybe even Africa.

Marriage was a routine theme, as one obviously couldn’t find fulfilment, in Pentecostal terms, without a spouse. It was a very Christian version of “The Bachelor.”

These were the ideas that formed my earliest thoughts on marriage; it was nothing I was interested in, because for me it meant I’d be trapped, forever, with missionaries and altar calls and nosy elders.

A few years after I graduated high school, tried my hand at Bible College, and eventually came flying out of the closet at breakneck speed, I met Michael. He was my third boyfriend, and also the most handsome man I’d ever met. He lived in Oregon City with his parents, drove a big red truck, listened to country music, and worked for Wells Fargo. He had black hair and blue eyes and was so wholly different from anyone else I’d known romantically—prior to him, pqmonthly.com

most boys I fooled around with I’d met at The City Nightclub (during my top secret weekend getaways) or on blankets at Peacock in the Park (we were all club kids and we all craved a good time). Michael was different—he camped, loved the country, didn’t care much for the city, made me watch horror films, and he wanted to get married someday.

To me, then, clearly, the thought of Michael and I marrying—even in a distant future that was so vague I couldn’t conceive it—was utter insanity. I could barely hold his hand in the movie theater, I was so terrified of what people thought. Even after we’d dated awhile, and he’d playfully mention it now and then, I bristled at the thought.

“You’re nuts,” I’d tell him. “Two men can’t get married.” “Not yet,” he’d reply. “But they will someday, just you wait.” Eventually, Michael got to me, because I started to think about it too.

After he and I ended—and after weeks of listening to Toni Braxton’s “Un-break My Heart” on repeat—I really started to fantasize about marriage. It wasn’t ever about conformity for me, nor was it about wanting something just because straight people had it. It was about marching the man I loved down to a private beach, inviting my best friends, making the most beautiful flower arrangements anyone had ever seen, exchanging some well-written vows, and having a party. Obviously, it wouldn’t be Michael—or even Jacob or Alan or anyone who came after him—but it’s still something I think about. Maybe a beach, maybe a backyard, maybe in wine country—a lovely little celebration with all the people I love.

Perhaps it’s one too many Julia Roberts movies, too many pop ballads, a lifelong “Days of Our Lives” obsession—it doesn’t really matter. I want it.

On June 26, 2015, the day the Supremes handed down their decision legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, I thought about Michael. That sweet, soft-spoken boy from the country with the big truck and love for Trisha Yearwood knew all along that it would happen. Michael, the guy who’d force me to spend the night in tents and who loved beer but didn’t love the nightclubs—I bet that boy got his wedding. (I spent a fair amount of time scouring social media to find out for sure—alas, he’s a ghost.) On June 26, 2015, I cried. I cried for Michael and for me and for all my coupled friends and for everyone who wants to get married. Though we still have so much work to do, I marvel at how far we’ve come.

Also, I have several weddings to attend this summer.

Michael 1, Church Elders 0.

Daniel@PQMonthly.com.

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FEATURE

OUR MIDLIFE ADVENTURE (NOT CRISIS!), PT. 3

By Kim Dunn and Laura Waters, Special for PQ Monthly

We left Paris in June last year, for its outright opposite – the Dutch province of Fryslân.

On Airbnb we found a quaint little 2-bedroom cottage at a vacation/camping community for about $1,000 for the month. Of all the places we stayed on our trip, it was probably the most at home we felt (not that we knew that at the time.) It had a comfortable couch and bed, a large family dining table, an amazing shower, and a backyard.

We didn’t have these sorts of creature comforts much again. The place had toys, a TV, a small lake and sand, a playground, and nature everywhere.

This month was important for our family. Going to a place with nearly nothing to do but walk and talk with the cows and frogs gave us time–space–to be. It was here that we really began to connect with each other, and leave behind the chaos of how we were going to pull off this trip and the realization that we were really doing this trip. We were alone, together. For 8 more months. At our best, we played with Legos, colored, painted, played soccer. At our worst we fought. Think about it—we were together constantly. What would happen if you were with your partner and child for 30 days, alone, in the country, with no one around that spoke English?

We walked a lot. We talked a ton. At the time it was laughable this place we put ourselves in. The only Americans for hundreds of miles, walking for hours just to get groceries, the only people not riding bikes. In hindsight, it was our sweetest month together.

Where we went in the Netherlands is probably not a destination for anyone reading this (except my friend Kelly, whose family is from there), but if you get a chance, look it up. Fryslan, or Friesland, with its beautiful landscape dotted with windmills and charming architecture, warm crunchy stroopwafels, canals and hand-cranked bridges would be a lovely vacation on a bike or by boat.

And, not gonna lie, the mayonnaise on fries was amazing.

W e l e f t Fr i e s l a n d f o r 3 wet cold days in Amsterdam, followed by our first house-sitting gig in hotter-than-hell Copenhagen. Copenhagen is another place probably not on your list. It’s hard to get to, expensive, and the summer

is short. We will feel forever grateful that because of our house-sitting job we were able to visit Copenhagen with free lodging. Copenhagen is small and magical, with stunning parks full of people just hanging out together, good food, great conversation, a stunning harbor, culture, the Little Mermaid, and if you’ve got kids I think Tivoli is better than Disney. We would housesit again, and did another time on this trip, but in general I’d say that living amongst other people’s stuff is kind of weird. We took care of two cats (Tom and Lucy), which Tatum loved.

Now, it was about this time in the trip where plan-everything-so-nothing-unforeseen-can-happen Kim and why-are-you-so-worried-everything-will-work-out-perfectly Laura encountered a snag. We had to leave mainland Europe in three weeks – legally. The Schengen visa agreement only allows Americans to be there for 90 days at a time, 90 days within a 6 month period. We’d decided we were going to the UK but we had nowhere to stay. Laura had been emailing with a lovely lesbian named Bea in Bristol for about 6 months. Months prior, Bea’s place was booked by someone else just shortly before we planned to book it.

But, not to worry, Bea was building an apartment in her backyard and it would be ready for us, she’d said. We were excited, as by now it felt like we were friends with Bea. We were expecting to formally book her place through Airbnb when the email came in saying the place wouldn’t be ready.

There were some major construction delays and it would not be possible for us to stay. We didn’t have anywhere to go now, had to leave for the UK in 3 weeks, and everything we could find (now that it was summer, there was little inventory) was grossly out of our price range. …to be continued.

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