Q inform | inspire
Serving You SWEET TEA
January 18, 2018
Reclaiming OUR TERMS
Easy Ridin’ with Atlanta’s
DYKES BIKES ON
Let Empathy Color YOUR QUEER YEAR The Right to Marry LIKE A KARDASHIAN
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Q Shots The Q Q Voices
EDITOR’S NOTE Q PUBLISHERS INITIAL MEDIA, LLC MIKE FLEMING PUBLISHER & EDITOR MIKE@QMAGATLANTA.COM MATT HENNIE PUBLISHER & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MATT@QMAGATLANTA.COM RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & GENERAL MANAGER RICHARD@QMAGATLANTA.COM ADVERTISING SALES RUSS YOUNGBLOOD SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE RUSS@QMAGATLANTA.COM ART DIRECTOR JOHN NAIL JOHN@QMAGATLANTA.COM CONTRIBUTORS IAN ABER LAURA BACCUS BUCK C. COOKE BRAD GIBSON SUNNI JOHNSON JAMES HICKS HEATHER MALONEY ERIC PAULK JAMES SHEFFIELD BO SHELL DUSTIN SHRADER DISCLAMER 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.”
Call Us By
OUR NAMES Turning words once hurled as weapons and wielding them as armor
DYKE. QUEER. PANSY. QUEEN. FAIRY. FEMME. Everything mean is fab again as LGBTQ people reclaim our time and remove the hurtful power others once had over us. It’s an apt concept for this issue of Q, where we celebrate queer Atlanta and all its facets and iterations each week. That starts most graphically with another stunning set of photos in James L. Hicks’ black-and-white community series that graces our cover. Atlanta’s Dykes on Bikes have a storied history in Atlanta, and they represent one of the first LGBTQ groups to embrace a word once considered an insult. In revealing rider interviews alongside their riveting portraits, meet the badass women reclaiming the road as well as the word. Their stories enticed me so much, I decided to expand their inspiration in this week’s 10 Queer Things feature. We dove deep into terms and phrases that were once hurled at us as weapons, but that we now wield as armor.
MIKE FLEMING EDITOR & PUBLISHER
While curating the former slurs and the accompanying visuals, there were so many more choices than just our requisite 10, so we hope you find it as empowering and compelling as we did, and that it inspires the addition of more examples to your own list.
Speaking of reclaiming a place in the community and expanding what it means to be queer in Atlanta, hear from Q Voices columnists James Sheffield and Ian Aber. They come at the new year from unconventional angles and ways that are alternately inspiring and hilarious. You’ll also meet event promoter, musician and drag artist Taylor Alxndr. In our People feature, we find out what her presence on the scene means to her and her loyal crowd, plus we taste her SWEET TEA variety show coming at you like a freight train this Saturday. Also hurtling towards us this week is the closure of yet another iconic eatery in Midtown, and an indictment in the killing of local trans woman Ava L’Ray Barrin. Her death during a dispute between rival groups in an Atlanta parking lot is in our Q News section. Like they do every week, our advertisers showcase products, services and venues for your use, our roving photographers snap your beautiful smiles for Q Shots, and our Life Judge is helping people shed light on their unending concerns and issues in The Q advice column. As our editor corralling it all, I’m here for your feedback as well. Write me any time at the address in our staff box. Reach publisher and editor Mike Fleming at mike@qmagatlanta.com. theQatl.com
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 1 ISSUE 9
JANUARY 18, 2018
WORD SALAD
Turning weapons to armor
19
COVER STORY
10
Biker Chicks
Q NEWS
13
Going, Going…
31 Game On
Cowtippers leaving behind queer legacy PEOPLE
16
Taste the Rainbow
33 Sister Act
Taylor Alxndr serves the ‘Tea’
FEATURES Q Voices
4
7
Queer Agenda
18
Q Shots
31
The Q
38
theQatl.com
38
35 80s Queens
theQatl.com
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6
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VOICES Q
The Year of
Empathy Let 2018 be the one queer Atlanta learns it’s seeing the humanity in others that makes us better as a whole QUEER COMMUNITY WORK IS RIDDLED WITH stressors. From elevated health and wellness disparities to the lack of funds in the Southeast, LGBTQ advocacy and organizing is not for the faint of heart. Even if you’re not connected to a specific group, simply identifying as a stripe in the rainbow is inherently political and comes with inescapable responsibilities, such as involuntarily being seen as a spokesperson for all things LGBTQ amongst our cishet friends and family. My personal role in community work isn’t the stuff HBO documentaries are made of. I’m mostly a paperwork guy, who also does chores. I don’t run programming or get voters fired up. I don’t get to many rallies.
change or progress. Actively connecting the dots regarding how any person could find themselves in that same situation is empathy. Empathy creates a lens through which humanity is seen in every person, and interactions with people from all backgrounds reflects it. It spurs the elimination of systematic oppression, like barriers to health care, housing and employment. The greatest advocates demonstrate an eagerness to understand the obstacles that prevent others from living fruitful, stable lives. You won’t hear a truly empathetic advocate shame someone for not maintaining an HIV medication regiment. Instead, they actively seek to create an environment in which individuals are more likely to have the ability to stay on meds. Empathy becomes a driving force to breakdown barriers, not police behaviors. Like anything else worth doing, empathy takes work. It’s an ongoing process of evolution, but the effort brings rewards. We can practice it as individuals and as a group, from casual conversations to broader policy making. Empathy becomes a tool to expand our understanding.
JA M E S PA R K E R SHEFFIELD
I do like playing a supporting role, though. My job at the Rush Center allows me to witness some amazing advocates knocking it out of the ballpark on the regular. I take pride in the fact that I’ve set up tables and chairs and taken out trash for the best of the best. Superstars walk through our halls every day. Watching leaders, general volunteers and community members come together to make magic happen does provide a unique perspective on learning to be a better person and how to make a better community. There’s a common thread, and it’s an achievable New Year’s Resolution for all of us. The most effective, dynamic and well-respected people in our community have an unwavering commitment to empathy. Now, empathetic shouldn’t be confused with sympathetic. Feeling sorry for someone in a bad situation doesn’t create
When someone asks for their gender identity to be respected in pronoun usage, we don’t ask a litany of questions, we change our language.
When we acknowledge that many of us live paycheck to paycheck, and that one mishap could mean the loss of housing, we look at homelessness differently. When we admit that the majority of us have engaged is some form of sexual activity that others might label “risky,” we look at issues surrounding HIV differently. When we realize that the deepest, most trying problems that plague the most marginalized amongst us aren’t really that far from our own doorsteps, we start to see people in a state of struggle in a new light. When we ask ourselves how we would want to be treated during a time of hardship, our actions toward others change, and we become stronger as a community. Atlanta Writer and ‘Trans Hillbilly’ James Parker Sheff ield is director of organizational development at The Health Initiative. theQatl.com
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Q
VOICES
Own Worst
ENEMY This year my resolutions are a scam. This year, I’m playing dirty.
BABYLONIANS MADE PROMISES TO THEIR gods at the beginning of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts, because they were the worst to lend anything too, apparently. Romans began each year by making promises to their god Janus, which the month January is named after, which feels more like begging on a deity than a set of personal goals. Even I am not immune to the feeling of hope and renewal the new year brings. I always start my list of resolutions, my bullet-pointed road map to the new me, filled with a vision of a better self and a better world. The most common resolutions always make my list: lose weight, enjoy life more, improve finances/ reduce debt, improve career, be more spiritual, don’t drink Mountain Dew, be nicer to straight people… You know, the regular stuff.
I am still working those resolutions, just slowly and stealthily. As my neg mind picks apart every resolution as they come up, I add a little cardio to my life, I drink one less soda, I read one more page in my book, I take one more minute to plan my day. The whole time, the neg mind rages saying, “You’ll quit all this by February. You’ll still look like a hog on Groundhog’s day, bitch.” And sometimes the neg mind is right. It will wake me up at 2 a.m. to remind me of the fact that there is Baja Blast in the world, just out there, waiting for me to drink it, that I am failing before I actually succeed.
I am still working those resolutions. The whole time, the neg mind rages saying, ‘You’ll quit all this by February. You’ll still look like a hog on Groundhog’s day, bitch.’ But this year I’m playing a different game. This year I am playing dirty. My resolutions were all a scam, the same process I go through every year that my neg mind picks apart is just a misdirect. I only have one resolution this year and that is to piss my neg mind off with everything I do, to keep slowly improving myself in as many areas as possible to exhaust that inner negative voice for an entire year. I want it hoarse with it’s incessant negative talk track.
I even came up with a personal slogan for The notion of another year of that voice IAN ABER this year, “Get It Queen In 2018.” But even wearing me down was too much to conas I make the list, my negative mind, that template, so after much soul searching I little voice in my head that never shuts up, is rolling its eyes at decided to make the neg mind my resolution. Not to the ever expanding list and starts commenting on the validity get rid of it, because I am not even sure one can, but to of my goals. exhaust it, to challenge myself everyday this year, just enough to send that voice into overdrive trying to pick “Lose weight and get in shape? Pick one hunny,” my neg my plans apart. mind hisses. “Drink more bone broth. Is that hipster talk for sucking dick?” it adds. My neg mind rips my new goals apart, one by one, before I even finish the list. So here I am left with a list of things I want for myself that not even I believe I can achieve, and we are only half way through January.
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So if you see me out walking somewhere, or in a store buying vegetables screaming at myself “Get It Queen In 2018,” know that I am not losing my mind, just putting part of it in its place. Ian Aber is a queer comedian and show promoter living in Atlanta. He never lends objects or money to Babylonians. Read his full column at theQatl.com.
The reviews are in! Wow. I just found Q, and it’s great!
Congratulations on the new magazine. Atlanta didn’t even know Finally! A queer publication what it was missing!
for everybody, not just some.
A gay magazine I actually want to sit down and read! I just wanted to tell you how much my husband and I love your new magazine…
omg I love your mag!
Q magazine is the best thing to happen to Atlanta in 2017! I thought I knew what to expect in local rags, but Q is totally different. I need to pick up more often.
Q is informative and
energetic, something that was sorely You guys are like a missing in the ATL. breath of fresh air.
Thank you for bringing Q to Atlanta! You guys should have done this years ago!
Atlanta needed this.
Readers love
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and your messages are the proof! Thank you for the support, and please continue reaching out!
Q
10 QUEER THINGS
Fairy
Queen Reclaiming
10 formerly derogatory words LGBTQ s have reclaimed as our own
F
m e m e
10
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k c i t s Lip ian Lesb
UEER
Pansy
OUR TERMS By Mike Fleming
Slurs are hurtful. When we use them as a term of endearment or twist the concepts, we remove their power and shift their meanings in our favor.
HO MO theQatl.com
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Q NEWS Q
Cowtippers to
CLOSE
in late January
COWTIPPERS – AN ICONIC AND POPULAR LGBT restaurant for more than two decades – is shutting its doors and closing in late January, likely making way for new Beltline-adjacent apartments.
Design Review Committee. It’s unlikely a sale would have closed on the restaurant site if the proper approvals for a redevelopment had not been received. As of today, no public submission for redevelopment has been made for the site. The Committee will meet for the first time in 2018 on January 17, with submissions due by January 10.” What Now Atlanta reports that the property, which sits at 1600 Piedmont Ave., is being sold to a developer, though Metrotainment Cafes’ wouldn’t say to which one. The site also says that, until the sale is complete, Metrotainment catering company Epic Events Catering will use the space for private events.
Cowtippers has been home to drag “Heifers,” multiple beer busts, fundraisers, political stump speeches, sexy car washes and so much more since it opened in 1993. It’s the second of a one-two punch to LGBT staples in recent months. Jungle closed in November and now Cowtippers will be no more on Jan. 28, according to Tomorrow’s News Today. “Popular Midtown eatery Cowtippers Steaks & Spirits will close at the end of business on Sunday, January 28. The restaurant, located on Piedmont Avenue near its intersection with Monroe Drive, has been in business since 1993. Cowtippers, like a number of other in-town eateries, is owned by Metrotainment Cafes. While a representative for the restaurant confirmed the closure, they did not shed any light on the reasoning or timing of it.” The closing of Cowtippers comes less than two years after nearby property that includes Smith’s Olde Bar was sold, raising speculation that the restaurant would be next. Cowtippers wasn’t included in that sale. But the pressure and allure of a sale might have been too much for Metrotainment to resist. The company – which also owns popular LGBT haunts Joe’s and Einstein’s – paid $1.2 million for the property in 2002, the website reports. “Local sources indicate that the property was sold for the construction of a high-rise apartment building. While this has not been verified, it would not be shocking considering the multi-family construction boom across key intown markets. That said, the Cowtippers property reportedly lies within the Atlanta BeltLine planning area, and any planned redevelopment must therefore be presented to the BeltLine
For their part, Metrotainment CEO Jeff Landau confirmed in a written statement that Cowtippers is closing and that the company is “weighing options” on the future of the property. He also thanked patrons for more than two decades of support. “Metrotainment Cafes can confirm that Cowtippers will unfortunately be closing at the end of this month. The restaurant has been a part of our restaurant group for a very long time, and we’re proud of the more than 20 years we have been in business, but with the changing climate of the city, we are going to close the restaurant and turn our attention to our other successful concepts including Hudson Grille, Einstein’s, Joe’s on Juniper, Hudson FC and Guaco Joe’s,” said Metrotainment Cafes CEO Jeff Landau. “Metrotainment Cafes still owns the property and we are weighing several options including selling the restaurant and property. In the interim, we will use the space for private events handled by our catering company, Epic Events. We are thankful for the many years of patronage from Atlanta and looking forward to continued success with our other concepts as we continue to grow in this city.” theQatl.com
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Q
Q NEWS
Murder indictment handed down in killing of transgender Atlanta woman By Matt Hennie THE TRANSGENDER WOMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING Atlanta trans woman Ava Le’Ray Barrin during a parking lot fight between rival groups of friends was formally indicted by a grand jury on murder charges. A Clarke County grand jury indicted Jalen Breon Brown, 21, on charges of malice and felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime in the June 25 killing of Barrin, according to Online Athens. The indictment was handed down January 2. Police say Brown shot Barrin, 17, in the chest in the parking lot of an Athens apartment complex during an argument that didn’t initially include Brown or Barrin. Neither of the women lived in the Riverview Apartments where the shooting took place. Brown lives in Athens and Barrin (photo) lived in Atlanta. Brown, 21, was quickly arrested by police when they found him in the Riverview Apartments complex after the shooting. Brown was booked into the Athens Clarke County Jail and was held there without bond until August, when a judge granted a $100,000 bond. Brown claimed she shot and killed Barrin in self-defense, according to the Banner-Herald.
Via Facebook
for her in Athens, and Atlanta attorney and trans activist Jamie Roberts held a moment of silence for Barrin during a reception honoring her and other Atlanta Pride parade grand marshals in the days after Barrin’s death. Black Transwomen, a Dallas-based non-profit that advocates on trans issues, said Barrin’s death is a reminder of the dangers that trans people face. The group also criticized media outlets for misgendering Barrin in reports about her murder.
Though Brown claimed he shot Jernigan in self-defense, police charged him with murder and aggravated assault. The alleged murder weapon was recovered at the scene, police said.
Black Transwomen, Inc. is saddened that we must comment on the death of another trans woman of color in Ava Le’Ray Barrin.
The fatal shooting occurred as an argument escalated, said Epifanio Rodriguez, spokesman for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
What saddens and infuriates us as an organization that seeks to represent and empower Black trans women is that Ava was just 17 years old and hadn’t even had a chance to follow her dreams yet.
Rodriguez said investigators did not believe Brown’s self-defense claim based on witness interviews and evidence collected at the scene. Police ultimately said that self-defense story didn’t match evidence found at the apartment complex. Via Online Athens: “It did not hold up because (s)he fired toward the victim prior to the fight, and a fight does not constitute deadly force,” Athens-Clarke County police Capt. Jerry Saulters said. Barrin, a native of Oceanside, Calif., lived in Atlanta at the time of her death. Friends held a candlelight vigil 14
Ava Le’Ray Barrin
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And as usual, the Atlanta and Athens, GA media outlets reporting on the story once again played into the infuriating pattern of disrespectfully misgendering a Black trans woman in death. Barrin was one of at least 23 transgender people killed in the U.S. last year. She was also one of at least four transgender Georgia women killed in 2017. The others were Tee Tee Dangerfield, Scout Schultz and Candace Towns. A fourth trans murder victim, Chyna Doll Dupree, had ties to Atlanta.
Podcast Q is where we talk to newsmakers, influencers, entrepreneurs, elected officials and activists so you know what's happening in LGBT Atlanta.
Q Every Wednesday.
Find us on iTunes, Google Play and wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. theQatl.com
Q
PEOPLE
‘
SWEET TEA
questions what our queer art spaces look like and how they can function
’
better to bring us together.
Taylor Alxndr by Kahdria Davidson 16
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Taste Her
Taylor Alxndr brings ‘qweirdos,’ drag and garage pop together for a unique queer variety show
SWEET TEA By Sunni Johnson
W
hen the queer variety show SWEET TEA first debuted in January 2014 at Noni’s on Edgewood, host Taylor Alxndr had no idea what kind of adventure would lie ahead. With a handful of performers who radically transcended the cookie cutter female impersonator, the handful of performers that cold January night left the accrued audiences craving more of the numbers that celebrated their uniqueness. SWEET TEA quickly became a monthly soiree, first at the now-defunct Hangar, then at Eyedrum until mid2017. It’s next event is set for Saturday, January 20 at Mammal Gallery. “I think what SWEET TEA has established is an all ages queer space where so many forms of queer art meet,” Alxndr says. “SWEET TEA questions what our queer art spaces look like and how they can function better to bring us together.” But SWEET TEA is just one of many integral queer events Alxndr puts her heart and soul into making happen. Somewhere in the midst of organizing events and working on her own personal performances while holding down a job, Alxndr and friends also created Southern Fried Queer Pride, an organization “committed to queer and trans art, activism, and community” that throws an LGBTQ festival in both Atlanta and now Durham, N.C. Few people juggle as much as she does in a month’s span, but the love and commitment to keep these scope-broadening events going are met with enthusiastic community involvement. With a long standing run, SWEET TEA is constantly evolving with more agency than ever, according to Alxndr.
“We’ve switched up the formula and are planning bigger shows and productions that can occur at various venues all over the city,” she promises.
Saturday’s SWEET TEA displays some fanciful alterations to the event’s initial style. Where there has always been a presence of drag, music will take the helm for 2018’s first edition. Alxndr is a musician herself and has gradually been incorporating musical performance into events. Her curation of high kick, lip-synced tradition can be found in her most recent event, AMEN! Every first Thursday at Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room bar. Alongside music by Alxndr and MonteQarlo and some high-octane drag, Saturday includes garage pop group Chick Wallace, fronted by queer installation artist Melanie Paulos, as well as drag king Mystery Meat and self-described “qweirdo” gypsy goddess Maya Wiseman. Trans-identified Mystery Meat’s over-the-top confrontational style is in many ways the art punk of ATL drag. He speaks highly of SWEET TEA’s offerings among Atlanta’s somewhat limited queer sphere: “From what I’ve seen, they make space for every kind of person to perform, all kinds of identities and forms of art, which is powerful and important in its own way,” Mystery Meat says. “Not something you see a lot of at the moment, and the variety and homemade feel to it is very pleasant.” This will also be the first edition of SWEET TEA that has incorporated an artists’ market. Wares will range from rad DIY stickers, buttons, cards, zines, prints and patches by Shady Kimzey to artworks by Shanisia Schadenfreunde. SWEET TEA takes place Saturday, January 20, 9 p.m. at Mammal Gallery, 91 Broad St. SW. All ages. tayloralxndr. com/sweettea theQatl.com
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Q
THE QUEER AGENDA The Best Queer Things To Do in Atlanta This Week
January 18 - January 24
THURSDAY, JANUARY 18 Project Cosplay
Birthed in the ballrooms of OutlantaCon in 2010, this queer event series with At-
lanta’s LGBTQ sci-fi/fantasy gamers takes
on a “Really Bad Movies” theme @ Joystick Gamebar, 9 p.m. outlantacon.org
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20 Field Day Kickoff
The annual gay day of throwback yard
games with a grown up twist for charity returns, but not before beer busts and
organizing meetings, this one with a Solo
Cup tournament and more @ Woofs, 2 p.m.
woofsatlanta.com Peaches Sk8 Day
The deviant Southerners of Rotten Peaches welcome pros and amateurs alike for this queer skate day @ Fourth Ward Skate Park, 2 p.m. rottenpeachesatl.com
Drag Queen Story Time
It’s that time again. Kids and adults alike will love Edie Cheezburger
reading to children @ Posman Books, 3 p.m. posmanbooks.com Sweet Tea
The gang’s all here for a queer variety
show and revue that you won’t soon forget @
Mammal Gallery, 9 p.m. Read our preview in this issue. tayloralxndr.com/sweettea
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24 Sonia Leigh
Country. Blues. Rock. Nobody puts baby in a corner. Lesbian singer-songwriter Sonia
Leigh hits the stage with Mando Saenz @
Eddie’s Attic, 7:30 p.m. Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
The city’s largest film festival returns with an LGBTQ-inclusive lineup through February 15. Look for five screenings of “The Cakemaker,”
with a gay baker and weary widow seeking mutual catharsis @ multiple venues. ajff.org 18
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Q
Writers! Photographers! Q magazine and Project Q seek to expand our pool of contributors Reporting, commentary, event pics, portraits and photo essays. Help us express Atlanta’s diverse LGBTQ perspectives on a one-time or recurring basis. Samples to mike@qmagatlanta.com
COMMUNITY Q
BIKER CHICKS
Hit the road with Atlanta’s Dykes on Bikes
By Mike Fleming
S
ure they have a reserved spot at the front of each Atlanta Pride parade, but the badasses of Dykes on Bikes are so much more.
Marilyn Nieves, more on Page 30 theQatl.com
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COMMUNITY, Continued
Yuliana Caicedo
‘I always LOVED the idea of riding with a group of STRONG, MOTIVATED WOMEN that embraces their sexuality LIKE ME.’
Photos By James L. Hicks Shot on location in Little Five Points, Atlanta 20
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M
uch of Queer Atlanta may know them solely from their reserved spot at the front of the line in the annual Atlanta Pride parade. Dykes on Bikes is so much more. Turn the page for our cover feature.
What started in 1976 at San Francisco Pride became a trademarked name in 2006 after a long legal battle over the word ‘dyke,’ says Amy Ferzoco, president of the Atlanta chapter. As president the last few years, Ferzoco has focused on breaking “bull dyke” stereotypes and “making the group accessible to all queer women while maintaining and celebrating the iconic legacy of rad dykes on motorbikes leading Pride,” she says. “We refuse to conform to gender roles, we aim to ravage patriarchy, serve to remind people that it was women and drag queens who led the Stonewall riots, and make it known that our feminist butch roots in WWII mirror the gay men’s leather roots,” Ferzoco adds. Intersectionalism was a major focus for 2017, so flag bearers “who flew their freak flags high and proud: bi, pan, trans, women of color, polyamorous, kinky” are now regular part of the Dykes on Bikes parade contingent as well. The group also led last year’s Dyke March during Atlanta Pride, and beyond the festival, they fill their calendars with rides and socials around the region and beyond. It’s something they hope you’ll consider joining, Ferzoco says. “We have two criteria for members, the first being that members must have a motorbike,” Ferzoco says. It doesn’t matter what you ride, it matters that you ride. Second, a lot of people think we are only open to the traditional image or stereotype of “dyke,” but we are open to any woman, any bike, and that manifests in a magnificent group of queer-centric women.” “I encourage any babe with a bike reading this to join us,” she adds. Read Ferzoco’s full interview at theQatl.com, and keep turning the page to enter the world of these fascinating local queers. We asked each member to give us their take on being part of the crew, and their answers appear alongside their portraits in our second installment of James L. Hicks’ photo series on LGBTQ Atlanta groups. Visit Dykes on Bikes at facebook.com/groups/dykesonbikesatlanta
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COMMUNITY, Continued
Michelle Seegler
‘I ride with DYKES ON BIKES, because of their PRIDE, DIVERSITY, STRENGTH, and PRESENCE in our LGBTQA COMMUNITY.’
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COMMUNITY, Continued
Nicho Jones
‘I ride for ‘wind therapy,’ and WHO BETTER to ride with than SISTERS who KNOW and LOVE you for WHO YOU ARE!’
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Amy Ferzoco
President, Dykes on Bikes Atlanta
‘I ride because I’m so FUCKING PROUD to be a LESBIAN and love being on TWO WHEELS surrounded by OTHER QUEER WOMEN!’ theQatl.com
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COMMUNITY, Continued
Cori Barniak
‘Once I looked BEYOND the MACHO-STEREOTYPE, I found a group of BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORS, proud of their lifestyles and eager for the open road; I FOUND MYSELF.’
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COMMUNITY, Continued
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Dykes on Bikes Atlanta ‘Are we hot women riding motorbikes? Yes. Are we kind of like the bouncers of Pride? Yes.
More importantly, Dykes on Bikes spans generations and identities, so we have this unique outlook on what it has been like to be a queer woman in the past, what it is like now, and what it can become as we progress as a society.’
– Amy Ferzoco, Dykes on Bikes Atlanta President
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COMMUNITY, Continued
Marilyn Nieves
‘I enjoy riding with a WOMEN’S GROUP that is ALL-INCLUSIVE and a NO JUDGMENT ZONE. You show up AS YOU ARE and ride.’
Marilyn also appears on Page 19
30
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT WOOFS
Q SHOTS Q
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD theQatl.com
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Q
Q SHOTS
MIDTOWN ROUGE AT BLAKE’S
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD
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SATURDAYS AT MY SISTER’S ROOM
Q SHOTS Q
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD theQatl.com
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Q SHOTS
NEW YEAR’S EVE AT BURKHART’S
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD
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HEYDAY AT THE BASEMENT
Q SHOTS Q
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD theQatl.com
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Q SHOTS
SATURDAYS AT TEN
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD
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THEQ?! Gold Plated
GAY GAY?
Does sex with a transman remove your Kinsey 6? Is marriage a requirement? Life Judge knows.
Q
I’m gay-gay. I’m not Platinum Gay because I was birthed vaginally, but I’m definitely Gold Gay. Other than being born, I’ve never touched a vagina, and I have never had any kind of sexual contact with a woman. I can’t imagine I ever will. Lately I’ve seen some hot images and videos, and I started wondering. If I have sex with a trans man who identifies as gay, and my penis penetrates his vagina, am I still considered a Kinsey 6? Dear Curious Unpacking every last piece of that baggage might take more space than we have, but let’s put away some of your biggest concerns. In the 1950s, a scientist named Kinsey tried to put homosexuality into perspective and created a sliding scale for sexual attraction. Then at some point in the overall unfortunate 90s, some bar queens created categories of vaginal contact based on precious metals. Now combining them decades years later, you wonder if you can maintain your ranking in both if you have sex with a man you’re attracted to. To play the game momentarily, you could decide that sex between men is still “gay gay,” as you put it so you’re still a 6 according to 60-year-old psychological classifications. Perhaps you’re a 5.9. But is that better or worse? Is your rating worth maintaining? You could also say that vaginal contact changes your metallic composition from Gold to… Silver? Is that an upgrade or a demotion? Is Silver Gay better or worse than Platinum Gay? Is there a Bronze medal if you do the transman but only in the butt? Is there a Diamond category? Should we call a jeweler? It’s probably human nature to try and make order of the chaos that is life, but free your mind with this: Systems that put people in boxes are for suckers. There are no categories. There is no scale. Science tells us that humans are capable of infinite combinations of attractions, that they sometimes morph, sometimes stay the same, and that they are all good. 38
theQatl.com
There’s nothing to gain or lose by exploring your sexuality or “changing categories.” I will always tell two consenting adults who want to have sex that hurts no one to do it. Embrace your entire spectrum. You’ll likely shine even more brightly when you leave Platinum and Gold behind.
Q
My social feeds are packed with LGBTQ weddings. Not just longtime couples, but queers getting married for any reason, no reason and without reason. One friend threw an extravagant ceremony after knowing the woman six months. My girlfriend and I are taking it slower than that, but after three years, we are starting to intertwine our lives and think about making it official. We don’t’ want to hop a bandwagon, but board a forever train. How can we be sure we’re ready? Dear Cold Feet: Sometimes the right to marry means the right to do it like a Kardashian – without much forethought. The good news is that other people’s choices have nothing to do with you and your dearly beloved. What others do is none of your concern, and you can’t discern their thinking anyway. Forget everybody else. Now there’s room in your head to focus and ask some questions. What would need to happen before you feel ready? How do you compare on the big four: Politics, Religion, Sex and Money? Would you be unfulfilled if you remain unmarried? Discuss the whys and wherefores. Find the answer together. You can’t be totally sure or predict the future, but you can enter into it more securely. The Q is intended for entertainment purposes and not as professional counseling. Send your burning Qs to mike@qmagatlanta.com. Illustration by Brad Gibson
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