February 25, 2021
Yesterqueer
The more things change…
10 Gamechangers in LGBTQ History LGBTQ Change Makers Under the Gold Dome A Gay Rush to Judge Sec. Pete Buttiegieg
Days of
OUR LIVES
THOSE WERE THE DAYS, and these are the days. This issue of
Q ATLus keeps tabs on LGBTQ history, acknowledges where we are, and meets people working to ensure our role in the future. 10 Q Things rounds up milestones in LGBTQ history that
changed the world beyond Stonewall, and the cover story looks
back at queer faces of the past to reveal that love is, was and will always be love.
In current political moves, a local guy calls out haters who don’t appreciate what Secretary Pete means for the moment and the
movement. We also meet a state Senator’s queer chief of staff who wants Georgia’s LGBTQ people to wield our full powers.
This issue also points you to Q News you can use and Q Events
for your virtual and distanced pleasure. We wrap with the Q Map
to get you around town, Q Advice for a sad gay homewrecker, and
our invitation to visit us for new content every day at theQatl.com.
RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & SALES RICHARD@THEQATL.COM 404-917-9678 JOHN NAIL ART DIRECTOR JOHN@THEQATL.COM
MIKE FLEMING EDITOR MIKE@THEQATL.COM RIVENDELL MEDIA NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM 212-242-6863 theQatl.com 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 14 FEBRUARY 25, 2021
GAY 101
Moments in LGBTQ History
COVER
18
10
Past Perfect Days of Future Past
12
14
NEWS
COMMUNITY
Landmark effort clears hurdle
Kris Brown Queering the Capitol
Eye on Eagle
Gold Dome
Voices.............................. 8
Q ADVICE
Q News.....................… 12
Only Married Men Will Do
10 Q Things.................. 10 Q Community............... 14
Wants It
Q Events....................... 23 Q Map.......................… 24 Q Advice...................… 29 6 theQatl.com
29
3964 Atlanta Road • Smyrna, GA 30080 679-370-9854 • www.doctorjeffords.com
• • • • • • •
Male Enhancement NeoGraft Scarless Hair Transplants Gynecomastia Liposuction Facial Surgery Laser Hair Reduction CO 2 Fractional Laser
Happy with your
GENES?
Consider Liposuction of your chest, abdomen, and love handles for the perfect fit!
“TOP DOCTOR” –Atlanta Magazine
Keith Jeffords, MD
Board Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
marketing heroes. we are your courageous brand champions in a world full of villains, leading your business on a path towards exciting new quests.
web design / social media / branding / graphic design / advertising lgbt certified
valiantmarketing.com facebook instagram linkedin @valiantmktg
theQatl.com 7
Q
VOICES
Rush to
JUDGMENT
Don’t reduce Secretary Pete or the moment ALMOST A YEAR TO THE DAY AFTER PETE Buttigieg became the first openly LGBTQ person to win a major party primary or caucus for the presidency, he was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation with a swift and bipartisan Senate confirmation. At the ceremony, his beaming husband Chasten accompanied him and congratulated him with a hug and kiss. The poetry of Pete’s historic candidacy came to a wholly satisfying fruition with Pete’s installment as the first openly gay person to become a Senate-approved presidential cabinet member.
crowd would be caught dead perpetuating. I clapped back pretty hard, especially to people I’ve never heard from who responded to my post about Pete with “hilarious” memes to undermine the historic day. “I just thought it was funny,” one said, dissembling. “Well, I just thought fuck you,” was my less-than-enlightened reply. We have to be better than this. If we want respect, we have to treat each other with respect. And grace. If we want to avoid being seen as frivolous subversives, we have to display dignity and decorum. If we want a place at the table, we have to learn some manners.
WHAT YOU REALLY SAY
Those memes say more about those who perpetuate them than they do their intended targets. False pictograph binaries and tritely playing with language to disempower someone in public life, or self-referential cliches just to get attention, are mechanisms that reveal your weak intellect. They say nothing about the character of the person you intend to satirize.
Secretary Pete handled his SCOTT confirmation hearings with the KING Secretary Pete, as a politician and a calm of a seasoned pro athlete. private citizen, does not represent He dismantled and disarmed the hyperbolic and all queer people. Nor does James Cordon in The hyper-partisan questions of trolls and opportunists Prom. Nor do you. like Senator Ted Cruz, whose petulant and snarky tone seemed anachronistic. Pete is a military veteran who speaks seven languages and plays piano. He seems like he’d be fun In aw-shucks photos, Pete and Chasten hug. Vice at a party but definitely not the life of the party. President Harris beams broadly underneath her mask and puts her hand over her heart, not as a gesture of patriotism but of heartwarming romance. Ain’t love grand?
CAN’T HAVE ANYTHING NICE
Then the memes started. Friends and even some strangers started sending me “hilarious” internet fodder made by bored homosexuals looking to make an impact. Crude commentary talked about what it might mean to have a gay man in the cabinet office of Transportation Secretary. They were not clever. They were filled with stereotypes and debased references to gay male sexuality that no straight person outside of the Capitol riot 8 theQatl.com
We have to quit trying to make Pete be something that he’s not. Let’s let Pete be Pete, and let’s encourage other queer people to run for office and represent themselves, their country, and the broader spectrum of the LGBTQ community. How you perceive yourself, your sexuality and your community is your business. Don’t project that mess onto Secretary Pete. He’s got enough on his plate for now. Secretary Pete Buttigieg is an historic figure. Only a punk would reduce him to crude memes and stereotypes about gay men. Don’t be like that, y’all. Scott King is a writer and thinker living in Atlanta.
theQatl.com 9
Q
10 THINGS
It Got
BETTER
10 great LGBTQ victories that changed modern American history January 1958
The Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Post Office must deliver America’s first widely distributed gay publication, ONE: The Homosexual Magazine, which it had refused to do.
November 1950 The “pro-homosexual” gay group Mattachine Society was formed in Los Angeles. Through the ‘60s, they met to socialize and organize actions like “Sip Ins” at straight bars.
January 1975 The first marriages between gay couples took place in Boulder, Colo., when a clerk granted six marriage licenses before the state attorney general intervened and shut it down.
1973 The American Psychiatric Association voted to stop classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, later removing it as a disorder from its diagnostic manual in 1987. 10 theQatl.com
1977 Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay people to be elected to public office in the U.S. and became a national figure.
1980 and 1992 Democrats took the first political stands for LGBT rights. Gay rights was added to the platform in at the 1980 Democratic National Convention. In 1992, Bill Clinton became the first candidate to include the word “gay” in a nationally televised speech. In 2009, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to acknowledge LGBTQ rights in a State of the Union address.
1979 The first of four historic LGBTQ marches on Washington drew an estimated 75,000 people to the National Mall to raise awareness for LGBTQ civil rights.
2000, 2004, 2013, 2015 First, Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions for gay couples. Then in 2004, Massachusetts legalized full marriage rights for same-sex couples. In June 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, and in June 2015, the same court declared marriage equality a Constitutional right.
October 2009 Some 20 years after their violent bias-motivated deaths, the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act became law.
2010 & 2015 The U.S. Senate voted to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in December 2010, allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. President Obama officially revoked the statute in September 2011. In June 2015, sexual orientation was added to the military’s non-discrimination policy, and the next month, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that the military would lift a ban that prevented transgender Americans from serving openly. theQatl.com 11
Q
IN BRIEF
21 Atlanta companies scored perfectly on LGBTQ equality SOME 21 METRO ATLANTA-BASED corporations, law firms and financial institutions notched a perfect score on how they approach LGBTQ policies, employees and customers in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index.
Companies across the nation were rated on their nondiscrimination policies, equitable benefits for LGBTQ employees and their families, support for an inclusive culture, and corporate responsibility. Up from 16 perfect scores in 2020, the annual report scored 36 Georgia companies overall, with several making improvements in their scores over previous years. All of the Georgia companies with perfect scores are in Atlanta. Five of them earned 100
percent on the index for the first time ever: Fisher & Phillips, Invesco, Newell Brands, Randstad USA and Westrock. Truist Financial picks up where its predecessor SunTrust left off and scored a 100.
Lawmakers want to modernize Georgia’s HIV laws Eagle building clears another hurdle for landmark status
ATLANTA’S URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION unanimously approved recommendations to designate two neighboring buildings, including the former home of the Eagle, as historic landmarks, despite the sometimes-strenuous objections of the property owner. The decision kicks off a legislative process to rezone the two properties on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The process includes a public hearing by the Zoning Review Board and a vote from Atlanta City Council. An attorney for Shahzad Hashmi, the Gwinnett psychiatrist who owns both buildings, said Hashmi hired engineers and architects to study the structural integrity of the two buildings.
The buildings, both over a century old, were constructed as residences then significantly altered in the mid-1900s to convert them into commercial buildings. Both are in severe disrepair.
Historic Atlanta’s LGBTQ Historic Preservation Advisory Committee applauded the commission’s votes to move the effort forward. 12 theQatl.com
A BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO partially decriminalize HIV in Georgia is underway at the Gold Dome. Critics say current HIV laws aren’t rooted in science and stigmatize people living with HIV. Senate bill 164 would require prosecutors to show a person charged with exposing someone to HIV through sex had an “intent to transmit HIV” and posed a “significant risk of transmission” based on current science. Current Georgia law makes it a crime for people living with HIV to have any sex or donate blood without disclosing their status. Senate bill 164 would require prosecutors to show a person charged had an “intent to transmit HIV” and posed a “significant risk” based on current science.
The bill removes criminal penalties for people living with HIV who share needles or donate blood. It also decreases the penalty for HIV-positive people spitting or using other bodily fluids on police and corrections officers.
Instagram.com/theQatl
Q
COVER COMMUNITY
IDENTITY
Politics
Inclusivity integral to LGBTQ staffer’s capitol experience By Mike Fleming KRIS BROWN LEARNED A LOT RUNNING political campaigns, but identifying as queer was their first foray into political awareness. It’s a path that now finds them as a legislative staffer at the State Capitol. “As queer people, we are hit with policies that infringe on our rights usually before most of our peers start caring about politics,” Brown told Project Q. “It is nearly impossible to be apolitical in a queer body.”
Brown, 31, got their political feet wet while running their partner Liliana Bakhtiari’s 2017 campaign for Atlanta City Council. Bakhtiari lost by a razor-thin margin, but the candidate – and her partner – were just getting started. Four years later, Bakhtiari is running for council again , and now with several other races under their belt, Brown is chief of staff for state Sen. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat. “I managed now-Sen. Michelle Au’s campaign, and after her victory, she requested I stay on as her chief of staff,” they added. “I jumped at the Photo by Keilan Scott Photos Q ATLus covertophoto by David Martinez opportunity continue spanning my scope of 14 theQatl.com
experience and to keep investing in a Senator I believe in.” One of two Asian-American state Senators in Georgia, Au never overtly asked about Brown’s LGBTQ identities.
“It is actually super refreshing,” Brown said. “I mean, that is the dream right? That eventually, our identities as queer people are not our only signifiers, but that we are simply valued for the people that we are, for our work ethic, and for what we bring to the table. I am very grateful to Sen. Au for that.” Still, being openly LGBTQ under the Gold Dome is a position that Brown does not take lightly.
“It is nearly impossible to be apolitical in a queer body.” — Kris Brown “It is very empowering as a queer person to be down at the Capitol, working so closely with legislators, and having the opportunity to speak up and provide an LGBTQIA+ perspective to all of the important conversations that we are having,” Brown said. Those important conversations include some anti-LGBTQ bills, as well as some pro-LGBTQ proposals.
PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM
Kris Brown at the Georgia state Capitol on Day 1 of the 2021 legislative session.
“There are a few pieces of legislation to keep an eye on this session this year, both bad and good,” Brown said. Brown said LGBTQ voters have a say in what happens and can wield that power. “I think my biggest encouragement would be to stay engaged in your local and state politics,” they said. “It is easy to get caught up in the hype of the
huge federal races, but your state and local government are way more accessible and responsive to their constituency.” “The issues that directly affect LGBTQIA+ people are often determined in our state and local governments,” Brown added. “You can call and email legislators, and every floor session and committee meeting is live-streamed. Do not be shy about making your voice heard. It is your government.” theQatl.com 15
Q
COVER
18 theQatl.com
Face VALUE
Vintage photos show love is love and gender is fluid, whatever the era
Compiled by Mike Fleming LOOKING BACK HELPS US LOOK forward. While earning your Gay Card necessarily includes learning LGBTQ history, all the written pop trivia and milestone tidbits in the world can’t tell queer personal stories quite like a single vintage photograph. An increasing number of books, sites and queer academics are collecting these images for posterity, and we find ourselves mesmerized by the results like no other medium reflecting our LGBTQ past. The more things change, the more some LGBTQ stories stay the same, and its written all over the faces on the following pages. Sources: HomoHistory.com, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, The Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity, The Invisibles
theQatl.com 19
YESTERQUEER continued
20 theQatl.com
theQatl.com 21
Q Events
The Best LGBTQ Things to Do in Atlanta This Week THURSDAY, FEB. 25
Pump No cover plus a local favorite in the booth spell good trouble @ Heretic, 10 p.m. hereticatlanta.com
SATURDAY, FEB. 27 Tales of the City Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ Book Club reads the Armistead Maupin classic then chats about it online @ Zoom, 10 a.m. charisbooksandmore.com Queen
It’s A Sin
It starts with the spin.
Get in on one of the gayest things to happen
DJ Queen headlines a
on streaming since, well, last month. Russell T.
slew of drag queens in-
Davies’s AIDS drama doesn’t hit every note right,
cluding Ravion, Pryncess
but it’s still a touching tale of era-specific gay life @ HBO Max, through March 18.
Carter, Malachi and birthday queen Syraja (photo) @ My Sister’s Room, 10 p.m.
Spark Game Night
mysistersroom.com
DJ Darlene finds you playing games with the
SUNDAY, FEB. 28
Jameson Wheel of Prizes and other surprises @ Hideaway, 8 p.m. facebook.com/atlantahideaway
DJ Nina Flowers The RuPaul finalist-turned-DJ loves
Thirsty Thursday Smirnoff specials and gogo boys. Hence the name
Atlanta so she returns to pump the afterhours Xion beats @ Wish Lounge, 3 a.m. facebook.com/
@ X Midtown, 9 p.m.
xionatlanta
facebook.com/XMidtownX
FRIDAY, FEB. 26 Glitz Dinner and a show every
TUESDAY, FEB. 30 Trivia Tuesday Drop in on a full afternoon and evening of spe-
night. Come see why
cials, and don’t forget Trivia Tuesdays with a $50
they call it “the best
bar tab prize @ Hideaway, 9 p.m. Happy Hour
place to celebrate any-
specials every weekday, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. facebook.
thing” @ Lips. lipsUSA.com
com/atlantahideaway theQatl.com 23
on tA ve .N E dm Pi e
4
9
11th St. NE
8
10th St. NE
Amsterdam Ave.
Dr. N E
Piedmont Park
14th St. NE
12th St. NE
12
Mon roe
West Peachtree St. NE
E
75
t. N eS tre
85
ach Pe
Spring St. NW
Q Atlus Map
10 5
Virginia Ave. NE
1 9th St. NE
227 10th St. NE 2. Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE 3. Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE 4. My Sister’s Room 84 12th St 5. X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE 6. Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
24 theQatl.com
Bars
Restaurants North Ave. NW
North Ave. NW
Clubs Retail/Services
Not Shown
Future (opening soon) 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180
8. Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE
Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE
9. Joe’s onRalph Juniper McGill Blvd. NE 1049 Juniper St NE
Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE
10. Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE Highland Ave. NE 11. Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Eagle) 12. Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE
The T 465 Boulevard SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE
Ponce De Leon Pl. NE
3
Key
Ponce De Leon Ave. NE
7. Flex 76 4th St NW
Ponce De Leon Pl. NE
r. NE roe D Mon
Charles Allen Dr. NE
11 6
St. Charles Ave.
Glen Iris Dr. NE
1. Blakes on the Park
NE
NE
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Ave.
Spring St. NW
7
2 Juniper St. NE
85
Peachtree St.
75
West Peachtree St. NE
8th St. NE
Lin
dbe
rgh
Dr.
1
E
be
Lidde ll D
Ch
6
7 re
i esh
11
ne
rR d.
E r. N
2
ulk
9 NE
5 4
Leno x Rd .
Lam
Manchester Rd. NE
Dr.
Fa
ircle NE nt C mo d e Pi
P
Rd. N
10
NE
las
ista
85
rt
ve. sA ter
Lav
Alco S t. NE
Piedmont Ave. NE
3
NE
8 E
d. N eR
dg
Bri
Key
Bars Restaurants Clubs Retail/Services
Cheshire Bridge Road 5. The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
9. Gravity Fitness 2201 Faulkner Rd NE
2. Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE
6. Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
10. Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
3. Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE
7. Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
11. Tokyo Valentino (Cheshire Bridge) 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
4. BJ Rooster’s 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
8. 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
nr Mo
3
5
Pied
4. Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
tA ve .N E on ed m
r. NE
Pi
5. Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 6. Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE
D Monroe
Piedmont Park
1. Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
3. Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
8
6
Ansley Park 2. The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE
E
4
r. N
7
D oe
2 1
Morningside Dr. NE
mon t
Ave. NE
1. Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE
Key
Bars Restaurants Clubs Retail/Services
7. Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 8. Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE
theQatl.com 25
Q Atlus Map Directory The businesses on the preceding pages are integral parts of Atlanta’s LGBTQ landscape. Those listed in boxes are consistent Q partners and community allies. BARS, CLUBS & RESTAURANTS Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE BJ Roosters 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Blakes on the Park 227 10th St. NE Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Future 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180 Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE Joe’s on Juniper 1049 Juniper St NE Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Mama’s Cocina 1958 Piedmont Road NE Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE My Sister’s Room 84 12th St Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
26 theQatl.com
Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE
Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW The T 465 Boulevard SE Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE
RETAIL & SERVICES 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Atlanta Eagle) Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thrift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE
ADULT Flex 76 4th St NW Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Starship Galaxy/Starship Novelties 2273 Cheshire Bridge Road NE Tokyo Valentino 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
Q Advice Cheater,
CHEATER
Why am I only attracted to married people?
Q
Having traveled the marriage route, done the domestic partner thing and traveled down the breakup and divorce roads, I finally realize that the single life is for me. So many times, I was hurt so deeply, two-timed so frequently and played so thoroughly that keeping relationships casual feels just right for me.
Those people got the best parts of your exes — the sex, intimacy and romance. You got the dregs — lies, coverups and gaslighting. Now, the addition of some helpless person waiting at home makes you the person with all the power. There’s also built-in intrigue and drama being “the other person.” Now you get to be the tempter, the forbidden one. You are the mysterious and alluring fantasy, and that feels pretty good in the moment.
My trouble is that, despite their assurances of the opposite, most single people deep down want that one magical date that turns into their ever-after. It turns me off of being romantic or sexual with them, but I found a work-around, albeit one that kind of bothers me: Dating married people. Online ads for people looking to cheat on their partners guarantee my desire to remain uncommitted, and right or wrong, it actually turns me on. Just the thought of helping them cheat really gets me going. On the one hand, the cheating is their problem and not mine, but having been the cheated-upon partner, I feel guilty as hell. What is wrong with me? Dear Cheater: Avoiding commitment lays the foundation for your fortress against vulnerability. That alone would not be simple to dismantle, but you have a whole building on top of it. You internalized the pain of risking emotional intimacy so much, it releases the adrenaline of revenge. Then you taught yourself to release it as sexual energy. You felt powerless, but the power in that scenario wasn’t your ex’s either — it lies with the person with no strings attached.
After the moment passes, you feel guilty, and that’s good news: It means buried under your own baggage, you care. You feel bad because you are participating in hurting someone else, and that’s not who you want to be. Your work to protect yourself almost worked too well. Now you may be ready to start disassembling the fortress. You don’t have to date for permanence, and you may never want to, but you can address your feelings around vulnerability and emotional safety. Consider professional help to become more open with others, including potential dates who are available to you without cheating on someone. Consider fantasy roleplay for the excitement without the real-life fallout. Experiment with your concept of yourself and what you deserve. Q Advice is intended for entertainment, not professional counseling. Send your Qs to mike@theQatl.com. ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD GIBSON
theQatl.com 29