Q mag v1i29 | June 14, 2018

Q

June 14, 2018

Where to Do Up

STONEWALL MONTH

inform | inspire

QUEER SUMMER

Atlanta’s hottest LGBTQ events and secrets to thriving all season

Welcome Back

SCOTT THOMPSON

+

Showing Off That

BISEXUAL VISIBILITY

Keeping Up with

NOSY, PICKY QUEERS The Weekly Print Publication of Project Q Atlanta

Q News

The Queer Agenda

Q Shots

Q

EDITOR’S NOTE

Coming in

HOT

Our summer preview issue heats up the LGBTQ-ATL

WHAT MAKES SUMMER, WELL, SUMMER? Is it the outdoor concerts?

Poolside downtime? One-night-only shows? Stonewall Month specials, or other annual sure bets for fun? Whether it’s performances, people, pools, Pride or parties, this issue of Q is here for you with a preview of all that’s good in gayborhood.

The jam-packed schedule of queer special events for this weekend alone might be enough to overwhelm the uninitiated, but we know locals can handle a deep dive into all of the best bets through Labor Day in our Summer Vibes feature. Get psyched for it with the scoop on what’s up for Peach Party, Stonewall Month, Joining Hearts and beyond.

MIKE FLEMING

Just to put you over the summertime edge, the Queer Agenda calendar adds more happenings for this week. Looking out for you overachievers, 10 Queer Things offers advice for those who might be a little overcome with the heat, humidity and crush of options that summer brings to Atlanta.

EDITOR & PUBLISHER

Speaking of bringing it to Atlanta, queer comic alum Scott Thompson makes a triumphant return to his uber-gay The Kids in the Hall roots. Our Icons interview asks about his Buddy Cole Monologues, landing this week at City Winery, and talks about why that iconic character is ripe for the current-day queer femme resistance.

Local comedian Ian Aber was so inspired by his talk with Thompson, he mined his own thoughts for this week’s Q Voices column on visibility.

Of course, weekly features are just as hot and sticky as ever. The Q helps three queer Atlanta villagers with issues, including a tendency to compare other people’s social media highlight reels with their own behind-the-scenes footage. Q Shots captures shenanigans at recent events, and the Community column meets this year’s recently announced Atlanta Pride parade grand marshals.

Like I said, we’re here for you this week and every week. Hit me up at mike@theQatl.com, and enjoy this issue as well as the whole summer ahead.

It’s a lot, but you can handle it.

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Q MAGAZINE THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF PROJECT Q ATLANTA PUBLISHERS INITIAL MEDIA, LLC MIKE FLEMING PUBLISHER & EDITOR MIKE@THEQATL.COM MATT HENNIE PUBLISHER & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MATT@THEQATL.COM RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & GENERAL MANAGER RICHARD@THEQATL.COM ADVERTISING SALES RUSS YOUNGBLOOD SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE RUSS@THEQATL.COM ART DIRECTOR JOHN NAIL JOHN@THEQATL.COM PROJECT Q ATLANTA PATRICK SAUNDERS EDITOR PSAUNDERS@THEQATL.COM CONTRIBUTORS IAN ABER LAURA BACCUS GABRIELLE CLAIBORNE BUCK C. COOKE BRAD GIBSON TAMEEKA L. HUNTER SUNNI JOHNSON ERIC PAULK VINCE SHIFFLETT ALEXANDRA TYLER

DISCLAIMER The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors do not necessarily reflect opinions, beliefs or official policies of Q Magazine or its publisher Initial Media, except where individual publishers’ names specifically appear. Appearance of photos, credits, or names in this publication neither implies or explicitly states the sexual orientation or gender identity of its subject.

Q Magazine and the author of each article published on this web site owns his or her own words, except where explicitly credited otherwise. Articles herein may not be freely redistributed unless all of the following conditions are met. 1. The re-distributor is a non-commercial entity. 2. The redistributed article is not be sold for a profit, or included in any media or publication sold for a profit, without the express written consent of the author and this publication. 3. The article runs in full and unabridged. 4. The article runs prominently crediting both the author’s name and “courtesy Q Magazine.”

theQatl.com

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pres ents

GEORGIA EQUALITY’S 14TH

EVENING FOR EQUALITY 2018 June 16, 2018

The InterContinental Hotel Buckhead FOR TICKETS AND INFO

GEORGIAEQUALITY.ORG

INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 1 ISSUE 29

JUNE 14, 2018

ICONS

The Bitch is Back

18

COVER STORY

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Summer Preview

LGBTQ-ATL’s best summer events 10 QUEER THINGS

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Survival Skills

26 Weekend Vibes

Take the heat and thrive this season COMMUNITY

13

Pack Leaders

30 Ten Hut

Atlanta Pride’s 2018 Grand Marshals

FEATURES Q Voices

8

Queer Agenda

22

Q Shots

26

The Q

38

38

33 Bathing Beauties theQatl.com

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Q

Q VOICES

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Visibility

Why is it so hard for so many of us to let bisexuals be bisexual?

JUNE IS PRIDE MONTH, AND AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, it’s in June because that’s when the uprising at the Stonewall Inn occurred. Of all the of the important lessons to learn from that watershed moment for the modern queer rights movement, the biggest may be its proof that visibility is key to our progress and our future.

And make no mistake: It’s not just straight people who fall all over themselves when they meet a queer person who

doesn’t fit their stereotype to a tee. We run this game on each other within the queer community, most frequently on folks who identify as bisexual.

We act as if bisexuality is somehow the tableside guacamole of sexuality, and we all are entitled to sit back while they prove they are actually bi while we sip on margs and judge.

Many people on the queer spectrum love to tell bisexual

people about themselves. Maybe it’s because some of us or

someone we knew identified as bisexual on our way to how

we now identify. Maybe it’s because we think our “gaydar” is

never wrong. Most commonly, it happens because the bisexual person is not in a same-sex relationship.

Often, the word “visibility”fails bisexual

I was born gay. In retrospect, everyone in my life agrees: I was gay from jump. But all that behavior, aka my personality, was discouraged.

I was systematically taught to hide that part of me, to create my closet. Closets may as well be coffins for what they do to us and make us do to each other.

people. Somehow queer people have assumed

agency of what it means to be visibly bisexual.

We act as if bisexuality is somehow the ta-

bleside guacamole of sexuality, and we all are entitled to sit back while they prove they are actually bi while we sip on margs and judge.

The number of bisexuals who are out is IAN ABER When we come out, often it is not all at once. growing, and it looks much like the rest of We have to come out again and again throughthe LGBTQ queer alphabet looks: not like out our lives. To sexual partners, friends, family, coworkers the majority’s stereotypes of us. Sometimes bisexuality is and eventually the world. Hopefully, you reach a point that going to appear heteronormative, but to treat a person who you are mostly just out all the time and that is your life: A identifies as bisexual who is not in a same-sex relationship state of visibility. as straight makes a queer person the instrument of enforcing The experiences of visibility are vastly different among LGBTQ people. For me, I feel as out as I have ever been in my life. I’m nightly talking about my life as a queer person at comedy shows, but I still have people tell me they were surprised that I was gay after shows, or that I don’t act “gay,” which is not the compliment they think it is.

For the record, I think I am very obviously gay. My father used to tell me I had “Flamboyant Hand Gesture Syndrome” as a child. Any time I’m talking, my hands are like two hummingbirds trying to escape my body.

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the hetero norm.

Instead, embrace that person as part of the community. Know that our numbers are increasing. Just because you think their presentation is straight, expand your mind on what it means to be queer.

Visibility is about using all your senses, not just your eyes. If they tell you they bi, they bi. K bye.

Ian Aber is a standup comedian, show promoter, columnist and queer culture sponge living in Atlanta.

Q

AIN’T N

10 QUEER THINGS

Cruel summer? Summer sads are a thing.

Try 10 things to rethink the summertime blues

By Mike Fleming

E

xcitement at Memorial Day, thrill of Stonewall Month, and giddiness over new pool parties are gone. Netflix and Pornhub are endless, but their entertainment value isn’t. You don’t care if you never see another daiquiri, and it’s basically too hot to do anything but hole up near an air conditioner and pray for the sweet relief of fall.

There’s actually a reason for some of those summer doldrums.

For some people, the body has a tough time adjusting to earlier sunrises and later sunsets. Instead of waking and enjoying the extra daylight, you get the “sads.” Literally: SAD is an actual a thing – Seasonal Affective Disorder. It usually affects people in winter, but the Summer Onset variety is just as dangerous and, well, sad.

Getting the blood pumping keeps your mind sharp so the sads don’t eat you alive. One study found that simply walking three times a week can stave off mild to moderate depression.

Reality Check

No. Everyone on Facebook and Instagram does not have a better dog, significant other or summer celebration schedule better than you. Pick your head up off the keyboard. Some people do have more resources than others, but you can figure out how to make a version of the Good Life happen on your budget.

Brighten Up

But who cares why we feel this way, right? We just want it to stop. Make the most out of the warmer months and be ahead of the game by fall. Here are some steps that actually work.

It sounds like pop psychology, but surrounding yourself with light and color really helps you feel better. Wear bright colors, get out into that sunshine, work near a window.

Yes, really! You have permission. That blinding light through the window at the buttcrack of dawn may make sleeping sound impossible, but endless weeks of getting up with the sun could be taking its toll. Consider blackout curtains or a sleep mask to get those extra winks.

This is your go-ahead to eat dark chocolate and drink coffee, in moderation. They elevate the mood and ease anxiety. But don’t be fooled; other candy, carbs and processed sugar ultimately increases despair after an initial euphoria.

Sleep In

Lower Your Expectations

Counterintuitive? Maybe, but building up summer in your mind can create a disconnect when compared with reality. Be ready for a pop-up storm on picnic day. Expect ungodly long lines at Six Flags. If you’re prepared for the worst, you can be pleasantly surprised when everything goes fine. Pre-set your attitude and ability to go with the flow.

Build in Relaxation Time

Even the fashions are busier during summer. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you overdo any time, but burnout is even more possible during summer. Map out your down time.

Take some vacation days.

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Work It Out

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Eat Smart and Love the D

Your body gets most of its Vitamin D3 from the sun. If you’re avoiding the heat like the plague, you could literally be starving for D3. Consider adding a supplement if heading out is not in the cards for you.

Crank the Tunes

Enhance the mood with music, like a soundtrack for the movie of your summer life. Hint: Not Adele. It may look like a movie and sound like song, but that shit is depressing.

Make Plans

Looking toward the future can be one of the best spirit lifters.

Plan a vacation, a weekend, or just a night out on the town.

Just visualizing the future can help.

O CURE

theQatl.com

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GOOD EATS Your Guide To LGBTQ-friendly Restaurants

Come in to see why everyone’s talking about the serving dinner

Mon - Sat • 4 pm -10 pm brunch

All You Can Eat Prime Rib Carving Station $16.99

11 am -2 pm

1492 Piedmont Ave • Atlanta 404.343 .6514

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sunday dinner

3 pm - 7 pm

Tropical Flavors in Authentic Cuban Cuisine Featuring Original Mojito’s Midtown 216 Ponce de Leon Atlanta, GA 30308 404.607.1525

Lawrenceville 911 Duluth Hwy Lawrenceville, GA 30043 770.237.8889

papisgrill.com

Emory Point 1540 Avenue Pl Atlanta, GA 30329 404.320.0165

COMMUNITY Q

Leading the Pack

Meet your eight 2018 Atlanta Pride parade grand marshals

By Patrick Saunders

A DIVERSE GROUP OF ACTIVISTS, FAITH LEADERS, legal minds, educators and organizations are scheduled to lead the Atlanta Pride parade as grand marshals on October 14.

Atlanta Pride announced the selections to coincide with its Stonewall Month slate of events.

“Our organization works hard to offer a slate of grand marshals from the wide range of diverse activists and community members among us. That commitment has held fast, and we believe that we have done that again this year,” said Jamie Fergerson, executive director of the Atlanta Pride Committee.

More about each grand marshal, via Atlanta Pride: MICKY BEE Micky is a black trans woman using cultural organizing to build transgender political leadership across the South. A German born Army brat, Micky has grown as part of a village of anti-racist white feminists, black trans women and HIV-positive black gay men.

In 2015, she co-founded Southern Fried Queer Pride (SFQP).

Currently, Micky is the Regional Organizer for TLC@SONG — a collaboration combining the feminist legal expertise of the Transgender Law Center (TLC) and the grassroots organizing of Southerners on New Ground” (SONG).

MONICA HELMS Helms served in the Navy from 1970 to 1978. She married in 1980, had two sons and now has three grandsons. She has written six books. She created the pink-and-blue-striped Transgender Pride Flag in 1999, and donated the original flag to the Smithsonian Institute in 2014. She co-founded the Transgender American Veterans Association in 2003. In 2004, she was the first trans person from the entire South selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

RABBI JOSH LESSER An Atlanta native, Lesser is rabbi of Congregation Bet Haverim. He founded Sojourn: The Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender & Sexual Diversity. He chairs the City of Atlanta’s Human Relations Commission, and serves on Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ LGBTQ Advisory Board. He is the rabbinic editor of Torah Queeries: A Weekly Commentary on the Hebrew Bible.

SCOTT TITSHAW Scott Titshaw teaches aspiring young lawyers as a professor and associate dean at Mercer University Law School, where he is faculty advisor for Project Equality, the student LGBTQ rights group. Previously, he practiced law for 12 years in Atlanta, helping people immigrate to the U.S. He has represented LGBT and HIV-positive asylum seekers and high school students fighting to form a gaystraight alliance. He created Sexuality & the Law courses at both the University of Georgia and Mercer, and he drafted a friend-of-thecourt brief on behalf of more than 50 law school professors supporting a challenge to Georgia’s anti-gay state constitutional marriage amendment. Scott has led the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia and the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Atlanta Chapter, and he has served on the board of Immigration Equality, the leading national organization fighting for LGBT immigration rights.

CRAIG WASHINGTON Craig Washington has 25 years of experience in community organizing, writing, and HIV prevention advocacy/program management. Craig is co-founder of the Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde Breakfast. He is a columnist who has written for various magazines and anthologies. He also serves as HIV Treatment Works campaign coordinator in Atlanta. He is developing an oral history project about black LGBT bars and clubs.

ANGELS IN ACTION/SHANE GARNER This group most often seen during Atlanta Pride with giant wings considers itself the silent barrier of love and compassion between Pride protestors and Pride attendees. Romaine Patterson began this movement for her friend, Matthew Shepard, which the group hopes to continue with the mission mantra, “Love truly will conquer all.”

THE PONCE CENTER (formerly Grady IDP) This nationally and internationally recognized center for a comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS care opened its doors in 1992 as the first of its kind – the only one-stop center in the country providing medical and social services for men, women and children, and the only place in north Georgia where uninsured AIDS patients could receive care.

BLACK MAMA’S BAILOUT ACTION This program of Southerners on New Ground is designed to bring attention to the destructive practice of the cash bail system. Black mothers are targeted at higher rates than other community populations, so the program also works to raise money to actually bail out those mamas who may otherwise sit in jail for prolonged periods. theQatl.com

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Q

ICONS

Scott Thompson’s Atlanta show resurrects queer Kids in the Hall character to help you #resist

Renaissance

MAN

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By Ian Aber

S

cott Thompson spent the ‘90s being the most fearless queer in comedy. As a member of the venerated comedy sketch troupe The Kids In The Hall, his character “Buddy Cole” became a comedy icon. Buddy’s time has come again, and it’s coming to Atlanta this week.

At a time when all the queer comedic representation in sketch comedy featured straight people acting like gay people, Thompson was our man on the inside – a queer playing up the queer identity to read the heteronormative power structure while looking good doing it.

Once it ended, it was like watch out, because now that shit’s going to hit the fan. So that’s what it’s about The tour syncs with the re-release of Buddy Babylon: The Autobiography of Buddy Cole. What can you tell us about the re-release and any new material?

It’s the 20th anniversary, and when it was released in 1998, no one paid any attention. It was the thing that I’m most proud of in my career, but officially it got nothing. No one reviewed it. No one talked about it.

I think people were shocked by it. First of all, homophobia 20 years ago was so much worse, and gay people didn’t want to talk about it because at that time I was kind of a gay pariah and “Buddy Cole” was a gay pariah. No one was going to give Buddy any love on the gay side.

Buddy was a flaming beacon of queer comedic sensibility, and Thompson’s one-man show Apres le Deluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues shines it again on June 14 at City Winery. We catch up with Thompson to find out about the tour, how Buddy came to be, and the state of queer representation and visibility.

Gay pariah? To so many queer comics, you were an icon!

That’s absolutely wonderful to hear, and I love that, but those people you are talking about, you are comedians, but in terms of the greater population no, and until this day, I was never huge in the gay community.

What inspired you to resurrect Buddy Cole for this show?

It felt like the times were right. It just felt like the world had become very, very polarized.

It’s a real time of enormous change. Political correctness is really strangling popular culture, and those are all kinds of things that Buddy flourishes in.

Wasn’t that sort of what was happening when Buddy was introduced?

Yes absolutely. To me, it’s a very similar time to the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when “The Kids In The Hall” were in their heyday. That kind of paralyzing political correctness in society today was huge back then, and then it disappeared, as this will.

“The Kids In the Hall” were constantly in hot water from all sides like people are today left and right, and we thrived in it in a way.

We were always in trouble, always pushing the buttons, and people were furious on every side.

What is the meaning behind the title the show, Apres Le Deluge?

It means in French “after the flood,” so it is a reference to Marie Antoinette who said just before her head was cut off. “Après moi, le déluge,” which means “After me, the flood.” When the French got rid of the aristocracy, they thought they’d solved their problems, but all they’d done was exchange one problem for another.

She was saying, “Yes, we may be the devil, but we’re the devil you know, and when you get rid of us, all hell will break loose.” And that’s what happened.

So that’s it. And it’s also a nod to Buddy’s French heritage because he’s half French. And it’s also a third nod to The Kids in the Hall

Do you think part of it was because Buddy was effeminate and not some masculine role model?

Yes. 100 percent.

That’s crazy, because that is exactly what I loved about him – that you a gay man got to be this character that could ooze queerness, be nelly and fey, and still be powerful and smart and hilarious.

Absolutely. Gay men are in such denial. Hey they just refuse to accept the way we really are. You know what I mean? Most gay men don’t think they read gay, which is nonsense. Most gay men do.

And I think they look at Buddy Cole and see themselves, and they are ashamed. So I think Buddy Cole really exposes that self loathing that we still carry to this day.

What do you think is at the core of that?

As a minority group, we have a long way to go. We can’t acknowledge our own. Imagine if black people didn’t acknowledge other black people? Imagine if in Ebony magazine every month the cover was a white person who was an ally? That’s what we are talking about.

Buddy Cole was in many ways just the queen in me escaping and going “You can’t keep me down forever.”

Scott Thompson’s ‘Apres le Deluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues’ hits City Winery on June 14 at 8 p.m. citywinery.com, scottthompsonatl.com theQatl.com

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Q

VIBES

SUMMER, SLAYED

By Mike Fleming

G

ird your loins, children. Stonewall Month kicks off a series of events that keep your to-do list hot as the summer sun all season long.

A few key happenings serve as cornerstones to summer in the LGBTQ-ATL, and a star field of satellite events fan out from them. To kick things off, Atlanta Pride Committee officially sanctions LGBTQ events from serious to just-for-fun in its Stonewall Month slate through June.

Keeping things Pride-ful all summer, the guys at GA Boy Productions return with their annual Peach Party weekend. On top of that, all are welcome to Southern Fried Queer Pride, a celebration of QTPOC (queer and trans people of color) and other underserved LGBTQ communities.

Of course, we can’t forget that as many gay men in Speedos as the fire marshal will allow will pack into the pool at Piedmont Park for Joining Hearts and its satellite parties. Beyond Productions brings beats to this year’s official after-parties at 595 North. Black Gay Pride closes the season over Labor Day with thousands of guests and dozens of parties and plenaries.

Here’s the skinny on those cornerstone events, followed by a calendar of our selections for summer’s best bets through the very last splash.

Queer calendar heats up with LGBTQ Atlanta’s biggest summer shows, specials and soirees 18

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THIS WEEK

UPCOMING IN JUNE

Friday, June 15

Wednesday, June 20 – Sunday, June 24

Peach Party Kickoff with DJ Nina Flowers Heretic, 10 p.m. peachpartyatlanta.com Peach Party Afterhours with DJ Deanne BJ Rooster’s, 3 a.m. peachpartyatlanta.com

Saturday, June 16

Southern Fried Queer Pride Five days, a dozen events The Bakery southernfriedqueerpride.com

Evening For Equality Gala with Georgia Equality InterContinental Atlanta Hotel, 6 p.m. georgiaequality.org Rainbow Pub Crawl 11 Venues, starting at My Sister’s Room, 7 p.m. mysistersroom.com Atlanta Freedom Bands 25th Anniversary Concert The Galloway School, 8 p.m. atlantafreedombands.com Peach Party Main Event with DJ Micky Friedmann Heretic, 10 p.m. peachpartyatlanta.com Peach Party Afterhours with DJ Alexander BJ Roosters, 3 a.m. peachpartyatlanta.com

JULY Tuesday, July 10

Wednesday, June 20 Wanda Sykes & Tig Notaro with Atlanta Pride Fox Theatre, 8 p.m. atlantapride.org Friday, June 22 Atlanta Braves LGBT Night SunTrust Park, 7:35 p.m.

LNFY.org

Atlanta Pride Run & Walk Piedmont Park, 8 a.m. frontrunnersatlanta.org

June 29 – July 2 Atlanta Bear Festival Courtyard Executive Park & Atlanta Eagle atlantabearfest.com

Saturday, June 23 Unity Ball with DJ Ree De La Vega wussymag.com Sunday, June 24 Atlanta United Unity Night with LGBTQ fan club All Stripes Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 1 p.m. facebook.com/groups/allstripesatl

The Wound with Atlanta Pride & Out on Film Rush Center, 7 p.m. outonf ilm.org Friday, June 29 – Saturday, June 30 Broadway & Peachtree with Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus Out Front Theatre Company voicesofnote.org

Peach Party Deck T-Dance Midtown Tavern, 3 p.m. peachpartyatlanta.com

Friday, June 29 Queer History Live Relapse Theatre, 8 p.m. comedyian.com

Peach Party Closing Party District Atlanta, 7 p.m. peachpartyatlanta.com

Queeriety Show: Pride Month The Village Theatre, 11 p.m. facebook.com/queeriety

Saturday, July 28 Serving For Equality with HRC Atlanta Sharon Lester Tennis Center, 6 p.m. hrcatlanta.org Tuesday, July 31 Pentatonix Chastain Park chastainseries.com

AUGUST Erasure World Be Gone Tour Tabernacle, 8 p.m. tabernacleatl.com Atlanta Dream Pride Night Georgia Tech Pavillion, 6 p.m. atlantapride.org

Saturday, August 4 M60 Madonna’s 60th Birthday Bash Heretic, 10 p.m. hereticatlanta.com Sunday, August 5

Thursday, July 19 Indigo Girls Chastain Park, 8 p.m. indigogirls.com Saturday, July 21 Shine: Joining Hearts 31 Greystone @ Piedmont Park, 5 p.m. joininghearts.org Illuminate and Radiate Joining Hearts Afterparties 595 North Center, 10:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. facebook.com/beyondATL Xion with DJ Phil Romano BJ Roosters 3 a.m. – 7 a.m. xionatlanta.com Sunday, July 22 Backpack in the Park Cator Woolford Gardens, 6:30 p.m. forthekid.org Tuesday, July 24 Pride Night at BB&T Atlanta Open with Atlanta Team Tennis Association Atlantic Station, 5:30 p.m. atta.org

Janelle Monae Tabernacle, 7:30 p.m. tabernacleatl.com Thursday, August 30 – Monday, Sept. 3

Black Gay Pride Atlanta atlantaprideweekend.com Peach Tennis Tournament with Atlanta Team Tennis Association Piedmont Park atta.org Dragon*Con Downtown Atlanta Hotels dragoncon.org The Queer Agenda event calendar with even more events appears on Page 22, and an updated weekly version runs every Thursday on theQatl.com. theQatl.com

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Q

THE QUEER AGENDA The Best Queer Things To Do in Atlanta This Week

June 14 – June 20

ATLANTA’S FIRST URBAN WINERY, INTIMATE MUSIC VENUE, RESTAURANT, bar & PRIVATE EVENT SPACE

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ATLANTA PRIDE STONEWALL MONTH

June specials continue on June 16 with Atlanta Pride Run & Walk @ Piedmont Park, frontrunnersatlanta.org, and Evening For Equality @ InterContinental Buckhead, georgiaequality.org. June 17 brings the LGBTQ History Trolley Tour @ Center for Civil & Human Rights, atlantapride.org. On June 20, it’s the comedy double bill of Wanda Sykes & Tig Notaro (photo) @ Fox Theatre. atlantapride.org

THURSDAY, JUNE 14

Scott Thompson The out Kids in the Hall comedian stages his one-man stand-up act @ City Winery, 7 p.m. Read his Q interview in this issue. citywinery.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 15

The Misandrists Out director Bruce LaBruce’s tale of intrigue about the feminist Female Liberation Army and a secret man in their basement lands @ Plaza Atlanta, all week. plazaatlanta.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 15 – SUNDAY, JUNE 17 Peach Party Weekend GA Boy’s annual dance party series brings international DJs like Nina Flowers, Micky Friedmann (photo) and Alexander to clubs including Heretic, BJs and Midtown Tavern. Get details in Q’s summer preview in this issue. gaboyevents.com

SATURDAY, JUNE 16 Rainbow Pub Crawl Don your rainbow gear for drink specials when you hit 11 venues in the area of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue, starting @ My Sister’s Room, 7 p.m. mysistersroom.com Ariel Zetina The ever-churning mind of DJ Vicki Powell brings another amazing guest DJ to her Deep South series @ The Music Room, 10 p.m. atlmusicroom.com Icon The party series honoring influential divas continues, this time with Selena, Gloria Estefan, JLo & Celia Cruz in their sites @ The Deep End, 10 p.m. cocktailbaratlanta.com

650 NORTH AVENUE NE, SUITE 201, ATLANTA, GA 30308 PONCE CITY MARKET CITYWINERY.COM/ATLANTA | 404.WINERY1 22

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Pride Concert Atlanta Freedom Bands 25th anniversary concert, including best selections from their history and a world premiere piece by Rossano Galante @ The Galloway School, 8 p.m. atlantafreedombands.com Find the full Queer Agenda calendar with dozens more events each Thursday on theQatl.com.

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Q SHOTS

WEEKENDS AT BULLDOGS

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

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PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD

Photo courtesy the Wilson Campaign

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Q SHOTS

BIG PEACH POOL PARTY

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PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD

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Q SHOTS

MANSHAFT AT HERETIC

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

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PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD

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Q SHOTS

STUDS & SUDS CAR WASH AT BJ ROOSTERS

PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

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Atlanta Bondage Club You're bound to have a good time!

Sunday, June 17, 2018 32

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2:00pm - 6:00pm

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www.Manifest4U.org 2103 Faulkner Rd NE Atlanta, GA 30324

BOYS OF SUMMER SWIMSUIT CONTEST AT MARY’S

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

Q SHOTS Q

PHOTOS BY LAURA BACCUS theQatl.com

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AV200 AT EMORY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

Q SHOTS Q

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Smart men’S Center 4799 Olde Towne Pkwy. #202 Marietta, GA 30068

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Q

THEQ?!

Nosy, Picky

& SNEEZY

Keeping up with the queer Seven Dwarves is impossible, so stop comparing their social media highlight reels to your behind the scenes

Q

There I am, doing my morning scroll through Facebook World, and I see that a person I know is posting from the airport with their new love interest, whom they are taking home to meet the parents for the first time.

Sweet right? Well, kinda.

It was less than a year ago that this same friend was married to a different person, going through a horrible divorce, and posting their woes on social media. I got curious and went further back.

Same scenario with yet another person a couple years before, only without the marriage.

I took a trip down memory lane on several friends’ and acquaintances’ feeds who end one relationship and find love a second time. And a third. And a fourth. Always monogamous love forever amen. Until it’s not.

Just a few months after splitting with my significant other of several years, the last thing I want to do is go on a date, let alone be in a serious relationship. What am I missing?

Dear Nosy: Well, you’re not missing time on your hands. I get the temptation to ogle and judge, especially when this person puts it all out there to collect “likes” and comments.

It’s true that some people can’t be alone. Being in a relationship is the end-goal, so they don’t have to face themselves. They perpetually force the wrong person into their scenario, and they repeat the mistake over and over.

On the surface, we can’t justify the perpetual loop of breakup-love-breakup again. But as compelling as the gossip may be, it’s a waste of time. Without inside info on this person’s thought process, we can’t know what’s right for them.

It’s good you brought it around to your own situation. You may be a little envious of happy couples right now, possibly afraid to dive into another relationship. Hang in there. Your timing is your own, and you’ll know when it’s right.

Do stop comparing your life to others’ social posts, though. It’s none of your business, and you’ll make yourself miserable comparing their highlight reels to your behind the scenes.

38

theQatl.com

Q

On paper, I know what I want in a guy, but no matter how I try, I always end up with the wrong ones in bed. I want a great husband, but that type of guy doesn’t turn me on. How can I get a guy who’s good for me on the streets and under the sheets?

Dear Picky: This is the classic struggle between big head and little head. Your adult self thinks it’s in charge, but your inner child formed your sexual tastes at a young age.

There are a few lines of thought. Some say marry Mr. Right and be open to other sexual partners. Others say literally force yourself to go after a different type, citing high satisfactions rates in arranged marriages.

Call me a hopeless optimist. I believe there are plenty of guys you’d love to take home to Mother who would do things with you that would make Mom blush. It may take a more focused eye, but hold out hope.

Q

When I’m about to have sex, I sneeze. Is this just me being crazy, or is this an actual thing?

Dear Sneezy: It’s both! We’re all crazy, so there’s that, but impending sex does cause some people to sneeze. When your horny brain titillates spongy areas with lots of capillaries, signals can misfire on the way to erogenous zones and detour to the nasal passages. Other people experience tearing and salivation.

The Q is for entertainment purposes and not professional counseling.

Send your burning Qs to mike@theqatl.com.

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