September 23, 2021
Out On Film Curtains Up on Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival
Tom Prior Heats Up Cold War in ‘Firebird’ 5 Frontrunners for Mayor Make LGBTQ-ATL Promises Your Instacrush Probably Says That to All the Guys
And...ACTION! NEVER ONES TO REST on our laurels, LGBTQ Atlanta keeps up its relentless forward pace with the 35th annual Out on Film Festival. This issue of Q ATLus lays out our pics for best of the fest.
Our cover package includes an interview with the men of Firebird, this
year’s Opening Night feature film. It continues with virtual and in-per-
son screenings like the Q ATLus cover guys from Boy Meets Boy, as well as more info on a festival filled with some 150 titles.
As you know, Q won’t rest on its laurels either. This week, we grill the
frontrunners in the Atlanta mayor’s race over LGBTQ issues. We profile trans men throughout history, and we find solid advice on that online crush you can’t get out of your head.
As the citywide spotlight lingers on Out on Film, we also direct your
attention to the best Q Events of the future and the best Q Shots photos of weekends past. When you’re done reading this issue, find fresh
content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at theQatl.com, and we’ll be back next week.
MIKE FLEMING EDITOR & PUBLISHER MIKE@THEQATL.COM GRAPHIC DESIGN DECATUR ATLANTA PRINTING JOHN NAIL, DESIGNER DECATURATLANTAPRINTING.COM
LOCAL ADVERTISING INFO@PROJECTQATLANTA.COM RIVENDELL MEDIA NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM 212-242-6863 theQatl.com 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
VO LU M E 4 I S S U E 4 0 S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 1
HISTORICAL FIGURES
Men You Might Not Know Were Trans
COVER
18
8
At the Movies
Out on Film Picks for 2021
11
15
NEWS
EVENTS
Atlanta’s Next Mayor on LGBTQ Issues
Liked It So Much, They Bought It
Five Frontrunners 10 Q Things................. 8 Q News...................... 11 Q Events.................... 15 Q Shots..................... 23 Q Map........................ 26 Q Advice.................... 29 6 theQatl.com
Out & About
Q ADVICE
Over the Moon Might Meet Him Before You Marry Him
29
Q
10 THINGS
10 famous and infamous trans men to remember By Mike Fleming
Robert Eads
WHEN 10 Q THINGS LISTED LGBTQ POP culture legends, transgender men were harder to bring to mind. I consulted a trans male friend.
The subject of the documentary Southern Comfort, doctors initially refused to treat Eads’ ovarian cancer. He died of the disease and his story helped change awareness and medical practices.
“We are so invisible,” he said. “I really don’t know a name that’s even close to that kind of stature. Brandon Teena is known for being murdered. Chaz Bono is really just Sonny and Cher’s kid.” “That’s a whole other 10 Queer Things right there,” I said. And so it is.
Aydian Dowling
This internet hottie turned heads when Men’s Health included him in a cover model contest. He lost but did get a special-edition cover.
Albert Cashier
A Union soldier in the Civil War, he fought in more than 40 battles.
Alan L. Hart
A radiologist, he developed a way to diagnose Tuberculosis earlier than ever before. He was one of the first Americans to undergo a hysterectomy for gender reassignment therapy. 8 theQatl.com
Kye Allums
The basketball player came out and became the NCAA’s first openly transgender Division I athlete. Now he is a lecturer and author.
Wilmer ‘Little Ax’ Broadnax
This gospel singer traveled with groups including Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. His gender “secret” was only discovered during autopsy.
Kylar Broadus
An attorney with a focus on LGBTQ equality, he is founder of the Transgender People of Color Coalition and co-founder of the Transgender Law & Policy Institute.
Dante ‘Tex’ McGil
The notorious gangster dabbled in pimping and money laundering but was eventually imprisoned for tax evasion. He is the subject of the upcoming film Rub & Tug.
Harry Allen
A mythical figure in the American West, newspapers salaciously reported his trans truth alongside his hard-drinking, fist-fighting and prostitute-frequenting life.
Rev. Louis Mitchell
The first trans board member of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, he’s a preacher and an engagement coordinator for an interfaith group.
SOURCES: RANKER, THE ROOT, ALL PEOPLE
theQatl.com 9
NEWS
Andre Dickens
Sharon Gay
Kasim Reed
Felicia Moore
Q
The FRONTRUNNERS
Top 5 mayoral candidates talk LGBTQ issues By Patrick Saunders WITH LESS THAN TWO MONTHS BEFORE Atlanta elects a new mayor, LGBTQ and allied voters face a crucial decision about who leads the city through 2026 — and possibly 2030. From a whopping 14 candidates, five have emerged from the scrum to lead the race to replace Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Project Q asked the frontrunners about a slew of issues and got some promises. Turn the page to find out how Atlanta’s next mayor would tackle HIVm hate crimes, LGBTQ representation at City Hall and equality.
Antonio Brown
theQatl.com 11
MAYOR CANDIDATES continued
Atlanta City Councilmember Andre Dickens
VOTERS ELECTED ANDRE DICKENS TO the Post 3 At-Large post in 2013. That makes him one of three mayoral candidates to have won a citywide election. The Atlanta native is a businessman, nonprofit executive and engineer. Equity and inclusion have been “core principles of mine throughout my life,” Dickens said. “That applies across the board regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.” He said as mayor that he would hire a director of HIV prevention and would assign a lawyer from the city’s legal department to the city’s beleaguered HOPWA Advisory Committee. Dickens vows to keep a full-time LGBTQ liai-
son in his administration and expand the work of the LGBTQ Advisory Board.
The City of Atlanta “must acknowledge” the disproportionate incidents of violence against Black trans women, Dickens also said.
Attorney Sharon Gay
SHARON GAY WAS EXECUTIVE COUNSEL and deputy chief of staff to former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, and former vice president of governmental affairs for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. She is now a senior counsel in public policy practice for Dentons, the world’s largest law firm. Gay said her commitment to LGBTQ equality comes from early in her life. “My sensitivity was first honed while growing up in a small town with classmates who were scared to come out and were sometimes bullied,” she said. “I tried to be a friend and protector for them.” Gay said she would work with public health officials and use her mayoral platform to “inform, educate and advocate” for renewed attention to HIV.
Gay vowed to continue the established traditions of a full-time LGBTQ liaison and an LGBTQ advisory board during her administration. “Our vibrant LGBTQ population is part of the rich fabric of Atlanta and part of what makes our city special,” she said.
Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed VYING FOR A SECOND STINT AFTER serving as Atlanta’s mayor from 2010-2018, Kasim Reed also served in the Georgia legislature from 1998-2009.
During his time in the legislature, Reed sponsored an LGBTQ-inclusive hate crimes bill, defended LGBTQ adoption, co-sponsored the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and voted 12 theQatl.com
against a same-sex marriage ban. His spokesperson, Anne Torres, pointed to Reed’s five consecutive perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index during his time as mayor. Reed also appointed the city’s first-ever openly LGBTQ chief of the Atlanta Police Department, served as honorary co-chair of the Mayors for
the Freedom to Marry campaign and authorized the permanent installation of Midtown’s rainbow crosswalks. As mayor this time around, Torres said Reed would leverage at least $10 million of federal funds to fight the city’s HIV epidemic. He would also extend and expand the city’s HIV Executive Fellow position to increase HIV testing and access to PrEP. Torres said Reed would appoint a full-time LGBTQ liaison and LGBTQ Advisory Board.
Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore FELICIA MOORE BACKED MARRIAGE equality in 2012, when it was still banned in Georgia. She has 23 years on city council, including four as council president. She launched her mayoral campaign in January, saying she would advocate for the city’s LGBTQ residents and others who “fight to be seen.”
Moore pledged to make fighting HIV a priority if elected. Moore’s commitment to LGBTQ issues comes from her connections to queer supporters, volun-
teers and family members, she said.
“I know the challenges of the community,” Moore said. “I care for people, period. I’m just a people person.”
Atlanta City Councilmember Antonio Brown IF ELECTED, ANTONIO BROWN WOULD be Atlanta’s first-ever LGBTQ mayor.
Brown pulled off a surprise victory in 2019, winning the District 3 seat by 82 votes to become the first Black LGBTQ member of the Atlanta City Council.
Among his campaign projects, Brown plans an expert roundtable discussion to figure out how to cut HIV rates and deaths in Atlanta by 40-percent. “The discussion will be happening during my campaign so that when I’m elected, there’s a plan in action already in place to move forward,” he told Project Q. Brown also wants to create a new LGBTQ community center in Atlanta.
“I think it’s time that we have a community center for the LGBTQ+ community where they can
have an environment that is conducive of success where they can have access to resources and opportunities housed in this center,” Brown said. A federal grand jury indicted Brown on seven fraud charges in 2020, and the ongoing case advanced this year to trial. Brown maintains his innocence, and no trial date is set. Read full interviews and ongoing Atlanta election coverage at theQatl.com.
theQatl.com 13
Q
NEWS
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Q Events
The Best LGBTQ Things to Do in Atlanta This Week THURSDAY, SEPT. 23
Glitz & Glam
Dinner and a show in Atlanta’s drag restaurant and bar. Make reservations @ Lips Atlanta, 6 p.m., 9
p.m. and the Taboo Show at 11:30 p.m. lipsatl.com
SUNDAY, SEPT. 26 Honey Pot Bear Night
How sweet it is when you dip in your paw @ Hideaway, 8 p.m. Go early to spill the ‘T’ with Mother
featuring drink specials and DJ Rob Reum, 2 p.m. Sunday Funday
Gather at the rainbow cross-
walks, then step into one of gay Atlanta’s biggest bar traditions.
Cocktails, food, shows and fun
@ X Midtown, 4 p.m. through 12
Out on Film A whopping 150 titles over 11 days means that
Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival is back, baby. Virtual and in-person screenings are the must-do of the week, including Opening Night film Firebird @
Midtown Art Cinema, through Oct. 3. Read our top picks in this issue. outonfilm.org
FRIDAY, SEPT. 24 F*ck It Friday
Drop in on a full day
and night of anything goes. When the sun goes down, find DJ
Mr. Richard on deck @
Hideaway, 2 p.m. – 3 a.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 25 Freshwater
The LGBTQ Book Club discusses Akwaeke
Emezi’s stunning debut novel. Charis hosts @ Zoom, 10 a.m. charisbooksandmore.com
midnight. facebook.com/xmidtownx
TUESDAY, SEPT. 28 PALS Trivia: Designing Women Gather online and challenge other gay experts on the
classic sitcom. Hosted by and benefiting Pets Are
Loving Support. Register in advance for the event
link @ GiveSignUp, 8 p.m. palsatlanta.org
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29 Switch!
Taylor Alxndr brings her
draghouse down on MSR. Get ready for midweek
performances, music and fun
@ My Sister’s Room, 10 p.m.
mysistersroom.com
Find the full weekend calendar of LGBTQ events each Thursday at theQatl.com
theQatl.com 15
theQatl.com 17
Q
COVER
FORBIDDEN Out on Film opens with gay Cold War true story By Patrick Saunders
Love
A YOUNG PRIVATE IN THE COLD WARera Soviet Air Force risks his freedom and his life after falling for a daring fighter pilot in Firebird. The film opens Out on Film on Sept. 23, and we spoke to the film principals, including handsome star Tom Prior, as your intro to the festival. Firebird is a true story based on Sergey Fetisov’s memoir The Story of Roman. The path from page to screen began a decade ago when screenwriter, director and producer Peeter Rebane came across the book. “It almost felt unbelievable that such a love story could exist in the Soviet Air Force,” Rebane told Project Q Atlanta. “We’ve seen other forbidden love stories,” he added. “For me this was a totally new discovery.” Lead actor Tom Prior connected with Rebane in 2014 after starring in that year’s popular movies The Theory of Everything and Kingsmen: The Secret Service. “We got on really well right away,” Prior said. “I was fascinated by the story.”
Trouble in Russia They shot a Firebird teaser in 2015 to help raise the financing for a full-length feature. Prior’s script suggestions then turned into a co-writ18 theQatl.com
ing gig, and the pair spent the next two years writing, rewriting and restructuring.
“Through many, many, many drafts together, we ended up coming to something that we were happy with and felt that worked,” Prior said. The pair started shooting in 2018, with Oleg Zagorodnii joining the cast in the key role of the love interest and fighter pilot Roman. The final edit came last fall, and BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film hosted its premiere in March. A screening at the Moscow International Film Festival followed. Rebane said they were “shocked” to get the invitation considering the film’s gay storyline and the country’s long anti-LGBTQ record. “LGBT people don’t exist in Russia.’ That’s actually the rhetoric,” Prior said. “It’s astounding.” The first screening went peacefully, but negative reactions in the press and a letter from the Russian government banning the film came in the run-up to a second screening, according to Rebane. “They actually canceled all of our tickets and invites, so it played to an empty hall,” Prior added. The next screening was the U.S. premiere of Firebird at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco. “Which was the exact opposite,” Rebane said. “Amazing.”
‘Firebird’ screens on Sept. 23 at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 7 p.m., then streaming online through Oct. 1.
theQatl.com 19
OUT ON FILM continued
‘Amazing opportunity’ at Out On Film If anything, the experience in Russia reiterated why Rebane and Prior set out to make the film. “It’s so important to tell a story like this and say these people exist, and why can‘t they love as rightly as you love?” Prior said. “These are two people who just want to be together no matter what.” Rebane hopes the message of Firebird spreads beyond Russia to other anti-LGBTQ countries around the world.
BEST of the FEST
“The least we can do is lend our support in terms of time and attention,” Rebane said. “And also for people in those countries to feel some hope.” The festival demand for Firebird is so great, it opens both Out On Film and the Reeling Chicago Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on the same night. Rebane attends the Chicago screening, and Prior plays special guest in Atlanta. “I’m super fascinated and super grateful to be able to travel to parts of the world that I’ve never been to,” Prior said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be the opening night film in Atlanta, so I’m so grateful to be attending.” “It’s really a project that goes to the heart and that we’ve been working on for a long time together,” Rebane added. “It’s been a long road, and I’m really glad to be able to screen it for the audiences in Atlanta.” The 2021 virtual Out on Film festival includes the in-person movies the day after they screen, as well as titles that are online only. Visit outonfilm.org for tickets and information on 150 titles. 20 theQatl.com
Jump, Darling In a heart-tugging drama you won’t forget, actor turned drag queen Russell gets a wrenching ultimatum. Overcome by indecision, he escapes to his grandmother’s house in the country. This film features the incomparable Cloris Leachman in her final role. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Sept. 24, 7 p.m., then streaming online through Oct. 2.
All Boys Aren’t Blue Bernard David Jones, Dyllon Burnside, Thomas Hobson and Jenifer Lewis bring George M. Johnson’s words to life in this dramatic reading of the book of the same name. Each of the characters represents Johnson at different stages of life. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Sept. 26, 7 p.m. then streaming online through Oct. 6.
Boy Meets Boy Featuring this week’s Q ATLus cover guys, Harry has partied for 48 hours when he meets Johannes on the dance floor. With 15 hours until his flight home, they spend an unforgettable day wandering the city, with each forced to confront his own truth. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Sept. 28, 9 p.m., then streaming online through Oct. 6.
No Straight Lines Five scrappy queer comic book artists journey from DIY work and isolation to the cover of Time Magazine and the international stage. Features Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Rupert Kinnard, Mary Wings and Jennifer Camper. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Sept. 29, 7 p.m. then streaming online through Oct. 7.
Being Bebe
Down in Paris This world premiere follows Richard, a film maker in his forties overwhelmed by anxiety. He walks off set and wanders through the night on no sleep. He meets many people and must confront his fears and desires before the first light of dawn.
The incredible rise of the first ever winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race — the legendary BeBe Zahara Benet. Winner of the 2021 Best Documentary Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Sept. 29, 9 p.m., then streaming online through Oct. 7. Visit outonfilm.org for online passes, tickets and information on 150 titles.. theQatl.com 21
22 theQatl.com
ATLANTA BEAR PRIDE AT HERETIC
Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com
Q SHOTS
PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
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Q SHOTS
PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD
24 theQatl.com
MULTIVERSE FT. ROCK M SAKURA AT MSR
Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com
theQatl.com 25
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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
26 theQatl.com
Bars
Restaurants North Ave. NW
North Ave. NW
Clubs Retail/Services
Not Shown
Future 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
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2 Juniper St. NE
85
Peachtree St.
75
West Peachtree St. NE
8th St. NE
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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
3
5
4. Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
tA ve .N E on m ed
Dr. NE
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5. Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 6. Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE
Monroe
Piedmont Park
1. Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
3. Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE
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Ansley Park 2. The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE
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1. Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE
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7. Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 8. Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE
theQatl.com 27
Q Advice
Virtual
REALITY
Your Insta-Crush Doesn’t Want to Date You
Q
I slid into the Instagram DMs of a popular influencer. He responded, and even
though he has a monstrous following for his sexier content and sponsored merch, we connected on a deeper level.
Before you even think it, yes, he definitely knows who I am, and we talk often.
Now I’m trying to decide how to get to the
next level. He’s definitely one of these online
hot bodies, but he’s also one to post 900-word captions on serious topics. Should I appeal to
his serious side, or compliment his #protestsexy hashtag?
Every once in a while, I feel like he’s a messy flirt starved for attention. Other times, he might not
respond to me for days. Then I wonder if maybe he’s the strong silent type that I need.
Maybe he embodies the crazy that’s good for
sex and the calm that’s good for a mate. Before I
decide if I want to pursue a relationship, how can I figure out which side is the real him? Dear Fanboy: First step might be to meet the guy in person. I say that half-hoping you are kidding, but
knowing that online fantasies can feel real. Step
2 is to slow your roll long enough to ask yourself some questions.
How many people might DM with this person
every day? Depending on his reach and the nature of his content, it could be a lot. How many would you be comfortable with on an ongoing basis?
How good do you think this person is at curating
his content and interacting with his fans? Is there
a chance he’s activating those energies to generate interest when he chats with you?
Now consider your dilemma over “the real him.” In a live-and-in-person relationship, you would
already have a better idea which parts of him are
authentic. Grubbing through his posts for clues to the truth, which he curates for profit, might not ever reveal his true, offline self.
Can you say with any certainty that he would even be interested in a date, much less meeting you
in person? Prepare for what you would do if his answer is no.
There’s a good chance your relationship is virtual, not reality. Fantasize all you want, but leave it in
the app. If you push it past that, maybe run a test: Stop DMing and see how long it takes to hear back from him.
The Q is for entertainment, not counseling. Send burning Qs to mike@theQatl.com.
ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD GIBSON
theQatl.com 29
W W W . O U T O N F I L M . O R G
