Metro - 4 - Jun 9, 2004

June 10 – 16

June 10 – 23 Volume 1 ■ Issue 4

Gay Pride Issue

Special pull-out section

State Withdraws Anti-Smoking Campaign Funds “Queers Kick Ash” T-shirt controversy blamed

Gay Families Dads join the fight for civil marriage rights Idaho Lesbian Wins Primary Election “I’m ready for anything,” she says Sports Pride Run-Walk-Roll adds the “Drag Dash” Arts and Entertainment Saturday’s Voyeur returns for its 26th season

Rally Draws

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EQUALITY

MEANS

EVERYONE During Pride month remember the people who raised their voices, risked their jobs and lives, and in some cases died so we can celebrate.

This November, we’ll need your voice for the most important election in history for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Utahns.

Make your voice heard.

www.equalityutah.org 4

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News WORLD AND NATIONAL

Lesbian Wins Idaho Dem. Primary If elected in November, educator and activist Nicole LeFavour will become Idaho’s first openly gay public official. Running against two other contenders for the party’s nomination, LeFavour won 55 percent of votes cast in the May 25 primary election and became the Democratic candidate for a seat in the Idaho state legislature.

In a strongly conservative state, the Boise district which LeFavour seeks to represent is traditionally a Democratic stronghold, making her the favored candidate in the race. “It’s the most progressive district in Idaho,” said LeFavour. “I was astounded and delighted to knock on 4,000 doors and find so many wonderful people in this district.”

During the primary campaign, LeFavour’s opponents did not make a big deal of the fact that she is a lesbian. “It was a really civil race,” she said.

Some radio commentators did try to use her sexual orientation as a wedge issue against her, and according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a non-profit organization that helps gay and lesbian candidates win elections, during her upcoming face-off against Republican opponent Alicia Cassarino, “Nicole may be targeted by … those that would seek to keep an open lesbian out of office.”

Still, LeFavour remains upbeat. “I’m ready for anything,” she said. — BB

Aussies Seek Gay Marriage Ban

Howard’s critics and Australian gay rights activists have accused the Prime Minister of not only trying to pre-empt the courts on the issue of same-sex marriage, but of adopting U.S. President George Bush’s tactics. Bush has repeatedly stated he supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. — JV

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has asked his parliament to amend the law to specify that marriage exists only between a man and a woman, and to prohibit gay and lesbian couples from adopting children from overseas.

If enacted, these changes would prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying in other countries and then applying to have courts recognize their unions at home.

While Howard said that he would like to ban gay foreign adoptions nationwide, Australia’s federal government has no power over adoptions. Thus, he would have no constitutional power to override the wishes of individual Australian states on the matter.

Howard has already announced that people in same-sex relationships would now be able to receive their partners’ state paid pensions, in a move many Australians see as a concession to gays and lesbians, who cannot legally marry under current Australian law.

Spain Grants Asylum to Gay Man On June 2nd, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s Socialist Spanish government granted political asylum to a gay Colombian man fleeing death threats and an assassination attempt after testifying against three police officers imprisoned for killing gay prostitutes in his home country.

John Jairo Romero, 40, who frequently changed his address and employed bodyguards to protect him, first fled to Ecuador to escape persecution. But when more death threats followed, he emigrated to the city of Valencia in 2001.

This is the first time an individual has re-

ceived political asylum in Spain on the basis of sexual orientation, according to Spanish press reports issued early this month.

An increasingly gay-friendly country, Spain also made international news in late May when officials announced plans to legalize gay marriage. Additionally, some Spanish regions already allow “registered cohabitation”, which gives gay and lesbian couples some of the same benefits as legal marriage. — JV

Mass. Group Seeks to Oust ‘Pro-Gay’ Judge In the wake of Massachusetts’ legalization of same-sex marriage, some state lawmakers have filed legislation to remove Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall from office for being biased toward gay people.

State representative Phillip Travis and a group calling itself the “Article 8 Alliance” created a resolution excoriating Marshall for supposedly unethical conduct, such as attending recognition dinners and pro-gay political events, as well as allegedly encouraging lawyers for seven gay and lesbian couples to sue for their clients’ right to marry.

Though against gay marriage, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has implied he will not support legislative measures to oust judges. A competing proposal, filed by Rep. Emile J. Gougen, seeks to remove several judges who ruled in favor of legalizing gay marriage, including associate justices John M. Graney, Judith A. Cowin and Roderick L. Ireland. Few in the legislature have supported this measure.

Under Massachusetts law, the governor can remove a justice if the Governor’s Council supports the decision. — JV

Montana Activists Combat Anti-Gay Amendment A Montana activist group is mobilizing to defeat an initiative to place an anti-gay amendment in the state’s constitution. The “Decline to Sign” campaign, run by a group called Montanans for Families and Fairness, seeks to educate voters and encourage them not to sign the anti-gay petition.

The petition is being circulated by the Montana Family Foundation, an organization closely aligned with the right-wing group Focus on the Family. According to Rob Hill, director of the “Decline to Sign” campaign, the petition is “a cynical attempt to play partisan politics with the constitution.”

While some polls indicate that the amendment might pass, the anti-gay group is unlikely to gather the 41,000 signatures in time to place the measure on November’s ballot, said Hill. “They’re relying very heavily on their churches to get signatures.”

The “Decline to Sign” campaign has been keeping a close eye on the anti-gay group’s tactics, filing complaints when the Montana Family Foundation failed to comply with the state’s stringent campaign finance laws, Hill said.

The anti-gay group is expected to redouble its signature-gathering efforts during a state primary election to be held June 8. To counter this effort, Hill’s group is training volunteers to use non-confrontational techniques in helping distribute literature at the polling locations. “We’re going to talk to people before they get to the signature table,” said Hill. — BB

Publisher Michael Aaron Editor Brandon Burt Events Editor Greg Harrison Sports Editor David Nelson Contributing Writers Scott Abbott Brandie Balken Lee Beckstead Xenia Cherkaev Janice Eberhardt Jace Garfield Ryan Oliver Hansen Ann Hess Beau Jarvis Lynette Malmstrom Laurie Mecham LaDonna Moore Sally Neilson William T. Park Scott Perry Nicholas Rupp Mandy Q. Racer Ruby Ridge Jim Struve JoSelle Vanderhooft Ben Williams Photographers Lucy Juarez William H. Munk Jim Ollett Shauna Sanchez Proofreader Nicholas Rupp Art Director Michael Aaron Graphic Designer Kris Kramer Marketing and Public Relations Director Chad Keller Sales Director and Office Manager Steven Peterson Sales Executives Jill Brooks Sebastian Cruz Jeff McElhiney Bob Tubbs Distribution Chad Keller, Director Courtney Moser, Northern Utah Copyright © 2004 Salt Lake Metro.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner, including electronic retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

One copy of this publication is free of charge to any individual. Additional copies may be purchased for $1. Anyone taking or destroying multiple copies may be prosecuted for theft at the sole discretion of the publisher.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or staff.

Salt Lake Metro is published bi-weekly on alternating Thursdays by

Metro Publishing, Inc. 352 S. Denver Street, Suite 350 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801) 323-9500 Fax: (801) 323-9986 JUNE 10, 2004

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LOCAL AND REGIONAL

Curtain Closes on Madstone’s Run Stating inability to “achieve its business goals,” Madstone Theaters closed its theater chain, ceasing operations at locations across the nation the first week in June, including its Trolley Square theater in Salt Lake City.

On June 1, Madstone closed its Georgia, Michigan and Arizona theaters; its remaining theaters in New Mexico, North Carolina, Colorado and Utah shut down June 7.

The chain’s theater in Florida will remain open, but under new management.

Madstone drew controversy earlier this year when its Trolley Square theater cancelled a planned screening of C. Jay

Cox’s Latter Days, which depicts a romance between a West Hollywood circuit clone and a hunky LDS missionary.

It was rumored that the screening was cancelled because of pressure from anti-gay religious groups, but Madstone contended that the film was “lacking in artistic merit.” Brooke Harper of the Salt Lake Film Society thought so too, but she begrudgingly agreed to a single screening at the Broadway Centre Cinema. The movie turned out to be so popular, Harper ended up running it for weeks at the Tower Theatre and later again at the Broadway. — BB

m p 7 4 y r F k a e ! t D S N E K e E E d i W Prf wishes everyone a HAPPY PRIDE TH 3 1 E N U J Y A SUND

The Staf

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TS WEEKLY EVEN

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ays at 8 & 11pm d n u S N E E R C ” on the BIG S “Queer As Folk and Friday! ay sd e Tu , ay d n u $1 Drafts S n the patio Sunday BBQs o ith DJ “P” w s st e u eq r c si u Monday night m a Light specials! n o r o C h it w s nday ts Mardi Gras Mo & Saturday nigh s ay id r F n o ” y DJ “BoyTo

SHAUNA SANCHEZ

Tony Butterfield and Paul Redd-Butterfield with their twin boys.

Gay Utah Dads Enter Fight for Family Equality

by Ryan Oliver Hansen A typical day in the Butterfield household includes multiple diaper changes, cleaning up scattered toys, and resolving battles — such as a tear-soaked, screaming fight over a favorite toy car — between the Butterfield’s two year-old twin boys.

But the battles between the twins are the least of Tony Butterfield and Paul ReddButterfield’s worries. They’ve taken on a bigger fight: the fight for gay marriage equality under the law.

They say they’re just as deserving of marriage as any heterosexual couple since they’ve been together for 12 monogamous years and their twins have been with them from the moment they were born through a surrogate mother. They’re aware of the upcoming conflict over gay marriage on a state and national level, and they’re ready for the battle.

Their weapon in the fight is their family story. They’ve opened up their family to the media because they say that most people who get to know them end up agreeing that, for the Butterfield family, marriage is only fair.

Most gay families aren’t comfortable being in the media spotlight. According to research performed by the Human Rights Campaign, 30 percent of Utah gay couples are raising children.

“We want to give a voice to all gay families.

I don’t know what people think our family is like, but it’s a lot more like other families than many people think. I think many people would look at our family and be rather bored, actually,” said Tony.

The Butterfields have made raising their twins their top priority. “It’s wonderful being a father. It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” said Paul, who has chosen to be a stay-at-home dad.

Tony believes it’s unfair that his partner doesn’t get recognition under the law for the work that he does in the home. “The work he does helps create a loving and supportive environment for our children.

That’s important for society. But the law sees Paul as a stranger living in my home working for my charity,” said Tony.

Paul agrees. “I need a raise,” he joked.

The Butterfields say that if people knew them, they wouldn’t discriminate against them. They believe stereotypical behavior

from the gay community — such as heavy promiscuity, drinking, and drug use — has made it harder for people to accept the gay community as a whole. “The overt sexuality is part of what gives us a bad name. People think they’ll come to our house and see nude posters on our walls,” said Tony.

Many blame societal homophobia for perpetuating negative gay stereotypes; others blame gay men themselves for the myriad challenges that hold back the gay community. But the Butterfields are anything but stereotypical. They’ve established a solid, committed relationship against social and

political odds — and they believe a number of factors contributed to this success.

For starters, both sets of the Butterfields’ “in-laws” have offered them full family support. During their Salt Lake Metro interview, Paul’s father, Buddy Redd — a gruff, oldfashioned man from a small town — was in their home for a visit, and gave his input: “That’s my son. I love him. That’s my sonin-law. I love him. Those are my grandkids. I love them,” said Redd.

Since the Butterfields have been in the media, things haven’t always been easy for the Redd family. “My family gets flack,” said Paul. “People brought it to their attention that they’ve seen me in the media. You have to be careful in small towns.”

Tony believes that the unconditional love and support he’s received from his family since his coming out has been a tremendous influence for good in his relationship. His mother, Bobbie Butterfield, along with many other family members, attends political events. “I tell everyone I have a gay son and that I’m proud of him and his family,” said Bobbie, who considers Tony and Paul’s relationship to be the strongest among the relationships of her eight children. “The gay community should look to them as an example and strive to have what they have. They had to overcome a lot of stigma, but it can be done.

Gay people don’t have to be promiscuous or have superficial relationships,” she said.

Bobbie Butterfield says that many of her children and 32 grandchildren are members of the LDS Church, which is well-known for its disapproval of gay relationships.

Even so, none of them oppose Tony and Paul’s family. “Who couldn’t help but love Tony and Paul? I don’t know how my LDS family members deal with the conflicts of belonging to a religion that discriminates against gay people. But they’re loving and supportive and as a family it’s never an is-

Adoption Laws Hurt Families, Children

by JoSelle Vanderhooft Like many lesbian couples, Wendee and Nicole Eldredge used an anonymous sperm donor to conceive their son, Cole.

While they have arranged for every possible legal protection — from living wills to co-guardianship papers and consent to treat hospital forms — Nicole, as Cole’s non-biological mother, still lacks several parental rights over her child, including the right to consent to her son’s medical treatment without the proper documentation in her possession.

In 2000, the Utah State Legislature changed the state adoption statue to prohibit all cohabitating couples, including gay and lesbian couples, from adopting children.

The law previously had allowed any adult to adopt a child at the court’s discretion.

Under this new statute, according to attorney Laura Milliken Gray, partners who have no biological relationship to their children are now barred from second-parent adoptions. Frequently used by stepparents when adopting their non-biological children as well as by gay and lesbian couples before 2000, such adoptions award non-biological parents full legal status over their children.

While Utah gay couples who want to adopt children in 2004 have some legal recourse to do so through co-parenting agreements and court-filed co-guardian-

ship actions, neither of these arrangements provide all the rights of a second-parent adoption. According to Grey, co-guardianship actions simply allow the non-biological parent in a relationship to act as his or her child’s co-guardian. This grants some rights, but not nearly as many as legal adoption.

Co-parenting agreements, on the other hand, work somewhat differently. “A coparenting agreement is just a contract the two parties enter into setting out what their intentions are and creating some rules for themselves on how to raise the child together and what would happen in the event their relationship ended,” said Grey, noting that such agreements plan for all contingencies and possibilities, including death, disability or the couple’s separation.

“We’re trying to protect gay families from intrusion by other family members or from third parties who may try to break up the family. But I’m also trying to protect gay families from themselves, in the event there’s a breakup so that both parents can continue their relationship with the child if that was their intention from the beginning.”

Gray, who performed “25 or so” secondparent adoptions for gay and lesbian couples between 1998 and 2000 calls the four-year-old change in Utah law “tragic.”

“Children gain a lot of legal rights through being adopted,” said Grey. “They get federal Social Security death and dis-

sue. Gay or straight—if you have good morals a relationship is forever,” said Bobbie.

Tony believes that the strong familial support adds a healthy pressure to stay together. “The family support really sets the tone. You don’t want to disappoint them. You have pressure that helps you stay strong. Our families don’t want us to separate,” he said.

The Butterfields consider their lifestyle choices to be a large part of their success. “We haven’t seen a bar in years. We’ve never had a partner other than each other,” Tony said.

His mother believes that the Butterfield’s monogamous relationship represents the ideal: “To have an open relationship, to me, is bogus,” said Bobbie. “You either have commitment or you don’t. Open relationships don’t represent a true commitment.”

Parental devotion, family support, and true commitment aside, many still believe the Butterfield children are being short-sided because there is no female parent in the home.

“I know exactly why people have that concern,” said Tony. “I have a wonderful mother and father. But I think these roles can be filled by [people of] either gender. When they talk about a mother, they talk about nurturing, care giving, and making a nice home.

We’re doing that. I’ll go crazy if my aunt tells me one more time that we mother our kids too much!” he said, laughing.

Others worry that the Butterfield twins are more likely to become homosexual. Tony believes this thinking is flawed. “I think you’d be remiss to not expect some sort of difference.

They will consider homosexuality more since they won’t think it’s an awful sin or taboo.

But in the end, if they’re heterosexual they’re heterosexual,” he said.

Neither Tony nor Paul is worried for their twins. “It may be an issue that they have gay parents,” Tony said, “but they’re already flirting with the girls.” ability benefits if the adoptive parent dies, the right to inherit from that parent, the right to get on that parent’s health insurance through that parent’s employment, and the right to stay with their non-biological parent if their natural parent dies or becomes disabled. The legislature just stripped those rights away and effectively bastardized these children because [these families] are unable to avail themselves of the protections available prior to the passage of that law. That really affected lots of families here.”

One of the effects this law had on the Eldredges was forcing Wendee back to work shortly after giving birth to Cole, since Nicole — having no parental rights with regards to their son in the eyes of the law — could not get him covered under her medical insurance policy. “It changed our family dynamic in that we still had to schedule daycare and we still had to work to be responsible parents and buy health insurance for the family,” said Wendee. “It was hard. I didn’t want to leave him. But we worked through it, and luckily we have a really supportive family who helped us out by watching him a few days a week.”

Despite having their families’ support, Wendee still says Utah’s current adoption law frustrates her, particularly because of its effects on older foster children — children who are frequently overlooked by families who want to adopt babies.

“We have a lot of friends who want to CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

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LOCAL AND REGIONAL NEWS

Interfaith Pride Celebrates Spiritual, Sexual Diversity

by JoSelle Vanderhooft Along with the usual parades and parties, Utah Gay Pride 2004 will also host an Interfaith Pride religious service involving representatives from Utah’s Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and Pagan communities.

Interfaith Pride held its first service at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in 2002. But, according to organizer Duane Jenkins, gayaffirming church groups such as the Metropolitan Community Church, Integrity (gay Episcopalians) and the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ had been holding special services on or around Pride Day for years before Pride Interfaith became a reality. Around this time, according to Jenkins, he and a handful of other local religious leaders decided to hold a multi-faith event after attending the National Religious Leadership Roundtable, an event sponsored by the Lesbian and Gay Task Force, Equal Partners of Faith and the Human Rights Coalition.

Jenkins, who represented Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons at the time, said he was amazed at the things he saw at the convention. “I started seeing what was going on around the country and what was happening in big and small cities the same size as Salt Lake, and felt that this [Interfaith Pride] was an important part of the queer movement,” he said.

Rev. Lee Shaw, Integrity chaplain and Interfaith Pride co-founder, shares a similar opinion about the importance of this ceremony. “We felt from the very beginning that we wanted to let the broader community know that the [gay and lesbian] community is not just the folks that the media focus on during Pride weekend,” he said. “We’re a very broad-based community and there’s a very real spiritual component to that. Just because you’re gay or lesbian doesn’t mean you can’t be spiritual as well.”

Although, according to Shaw, the actual Interfaith Service changes each year depending upon decisions made by members of that year’s planning committee, Jenkins added that some aspects of the ceremony remain the same from year to year. Along with music and readings from various scriptural texts including the Book of Mormon, the Torah, the Christian New Testament and Buddhist and pagan writings — as well as spoken testimonies about personal spiritual journeys — a “remembrance of those who have gone before us” also plays a large role in each Interfaith service, said Jenkins.

Typically, this includes lighting of candles and remembering queer civil rights leaders and individuals lost to suicide or disease.

Additionally, most ceremonies also celebrate families, including groups such as PFLAG and Family Fellowship.

Interfaith Pride’s organizers have always placed great emphasis on including people from several religious backgrounds. This year’s service, for example, will include representatives from the MCC, the United Church of Christ, Affirmation, the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, Integrity, the Tibetan Buddhists, Jewish Congregation Kol Ami and the Covenant of Universalist Unitarian Pagans (CUUPS).

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According to Lady Aisling (Maureen DuffyBoose), an Irish Traditional shamanic witch and board chairman for the Chalice of the Rainbow Flame chapter of CUUPS, the interaction between faith communities Interfaith Pride encourages is important in creating respectful dialogue about issues like sexual orientation and gender identification.

“I feel that it is vital that a gay person feel comfortable interacting with a Christian person or a pagan person, or a Christian person feels comfortable interacting with a pagan person or a gay person,” Aisling said.

“There is something to be said for simply being in the same room speaking to one another about our beliefs without there being fear or shame or avoidance.”

She also said this increasingly diverse involvement is important in helping queer individuals, particularly those still in the closet, find resources to help them reclaim their spirituality. “I believe it’s important to affirm that what we call God is basically our human understanding of something that we cannot possibly grasp. And so there is room there for a conceptualization and an understanding of the idea of Deity that is gay-affirming,” Aisling said.

“I am also concerned to make certain that in some way the Salt Lake gay community reaches out to people who don’t identify with being publicly gay. I think that it’s important that practically none of the religious groups in the Interfaith Pride Service is avowedly gay — we are all simply open and receptive,” said Aisling. “We may be reaching people that we never know we are reaching.”

This year’s Interfaith Pride service will be held 6:00 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at Wasatch Presbyterian Church, 1626 S. 1700 East. All are welcome, regardless of religious background, sexual orientation or gender identification.

Walk for Life Needs Participants On Saturday, June 19, the Utah AIDS Foundation will hold its 16th annual Walk for Life beginning with a 6:00 p.m. Quilt Ceremony at the Gallivan Center’s Folk and Bluegrass Festival. The Walk will officially begin at 6:30 p.m. and culminate inside the festival grounds at 8:00 p.m.

According to Jerry Rapier of UAF, attendance at this year’s Walk is vital because participation has been dwindling in recent years. In 1998, 2,500 people participated. Last year, only 250 walked — a trend he hopes to reverse.

“There’s a lack of social interest because people tend to think, for whatever reason, that AIDS and HIV is over, and it’s clearly not,” he said. “Actually the infection rate is increasing, so it’s time to remind people that we can’t continue to do the work we do without community support.”

Walk for Life participants may walk with friends, family, a requested “walk buddy” or their dogs. They also receive complementary tickets to the festival and have permission to bring their dogs inside. — JV For registration, pledge forms and a schedule of the Folk and Bluegrass Festival, visit www.

UtahAIDS.org or call 487-2323.

SHAUNA SANCHEZ

Queers Kick Ash members pose in protest of the Utah Department of Health’s decision to cut their funding.

Health Department Cuts Anti-Smoking Program Targeting Queer Youth

by Mandy Q. Racer Backlash: Rampant throughout the country, it is now keenly felt at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Utah. The May 5 suspensions of six teenagers from Hillcrest High School who refused to change their Queers Kick Ash shirts attracted the attention of not only the media, but the Utah Department of Health as well.

QKA is an organization funded by a $100,000 yearly grant, which is renewable for up to three years every June. Jennifer Nuttall, director of adult programs at the Center, was informed by the department that the grant would not be renewed. Nuttall paraphrased the department’s letter, which said that the grant was not to be “overshadowed by unrelated advocacy efforts or activities.”

“It’s completely a political move,” Nuttall said. She drew a connection between the grant’s rejection and the fact that it’s currently an election year: that this was clearly a political decision. “None of that should come at the expense of a public health issue,” Nuttall said. “That’s not very ethical.” Nuttall also drew attention to the fact that Dr. Scott Williams, executive director of the health department, was appointed by the governor.

An appeal is impossible, because the department is protected by a “no-fault clause” written into the grant, which allows them to cancel the grant at any time, for essentially any reason.

The program, now out $200,000, must search for alternate sources of funding, none of which will come close to the planned figure of $300,000, which would have been used to counteract “big tobacco, [which] has marketing campaigns directed specifically at GLBTQ youth.” Big tobacco has been proven successful thus far, Nuttall said “58 percent of gay youth 18-24 smoke versus 35 percent of the general population of that age group,” she said.

QKA was championed by the youth, both straight and gay. This support was evidenced by the kids who proudly wore the shirts to school. Hillcrest was not the only high school that forbade students from wearing the shirts. Mina Jamali, 16, an Olympus High School student, refused to change her shirt. School officials called her father. Questioning the officials’ motives, Jamali said, “That same day, I saw at least five kids with marijuana leaves on their belts.”

Kylee Darby, 15, of Kearns, was told that the word “queer” is seen as offensive to some. She feels, however, that gay and lesbian students are being unfairly targeted

for wearing T-shirts with a pro-gay message. “Look at who is wearing the shirts,” Darby said. “You know what’s offensive to me? Being called a fucking dyke.” Darby and Jamali both described moments where anti-gay epithets were used and school officials had turned their backs. But when she wore her “queers kick ash” T-shirt, Darby was threatened with the police and Juvenile Hall. She zipped up her jacket, covering the shirt.

The kids who had been suspended from Hillcrest hesitantly approached the Center staff, worried that they would be reprimanded for their defiant efforts. “We told them, ‘You did exactly what you should have done. We’re proud of you,’” Nuttall said.

The now famous T-shirts will be available for purchase at the Queers Kick Ash booth on Pride Day.

Adoption CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

have children however they can and feel compelled to adopt foster kids or older kids who have been mistreated by their traditional families,” said Wendee. “They are not allowed to adopt. To me, that’s a travesty.”

“I would think purely from a financial perspective that these children are clogging up the foster care system and tax dollars are paying for them,” Wendee added. “Why wouldn’t [the legislature] want them to be at least fostered if not adopted by a loving family that could provide for these children financially and emotionally, and love them?”

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WILLIAM H. MUNK

LOCAL AND REGIONAL

Court Rings in New Reign presents a special gay and lesbian night at the

On Sunday, May 30 the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire ushered in its 29th reign, to be known as “The Court of New Possibilities and the Reign of Open Minds, Open Eyes and Open Arms.”

According to Empress XXIX Syren Vaughn, this year’s court wants to accomplish a variety of things, including being more receptive to the community’s ideas about what events the court should do. “We want to be more inclusive than exclusive,” she said.

Vaughn co-reigns with Emperor XXIX Michael Sperry.

The first event of the reign will be the Gay Pride Pageant at the Trapp Door, 615 W. 100 South, 8 p.m., Friday, June 11. — JV

Notable Quotes “I cannot tell these couples I can’t marry them and uphold my oath of office. Essentially, Judge Kavanagh is telling me to disobey the Constitution. That’s something I can’t do.”

— New Paltz, New York Mayor Jason West reacting to the Ulster County Supreme Court Justice’s ruling that he is disallowed from further performing same-sex marriages.

The Artifact Exhibit September 18, 2004 The evening begins with a Titanic-themed dinner party at Third & Main Bar and Grill by Chef Paul Willardson.

The 200-artifact traveling exhibit covers 10,000 square feet of exhibition space and allows you to experience what life was like aboard the ship. Our package includes the audio tour.

After the tour, a captain’s reception will be held.

Ticket packages may be purchased with or without the dinner.

For ticket info, please call the Metro offices at 801-323-9500 or go to www.slmetro.com

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“The Reagan administration’s policies on AIDS and anything gayrelated resulted — and continue to result — in despair and death.”

— Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force, in a letter — released after Reagan’s death on June 6 — written to his late best friend who died of AIDS in 1995.

“Don’t you just want him?”

— Actress Sarah Jessica Parker at the 2004 Tony Awards Show, referring to hunky actor Hugh Jackman who had just introduced Parker and out actor Nathan Lane to the stage.

“He just won’t return my calls.”

— Lane, in response to Parker.

“The term ‘kicking ash’ is not a pleasant term. To me, that’s a very negative connotation.”

—Ted Lovato, executive director of the Jordon School District, on why the district is offended by an anti-smoking T-shirt slogan popular among gay youths.

“You know what’s offensive to me? Being called a ‘fucking dyke.’”

—Kylee Darby, 15, who was threatened when she wore one of the “queers kick ash” T-shirts.

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Opinion

Smoke and Mirrors As smokers die off from lung cancer, emphysema and a host of other smoking-related illnesses, tobacco companies have to continually replenish their customer base. Easier said than done — most people are too smart to buy a product that is addictive, overtaxed, unattractive and deadly.

Because of this, tobacco advertisers cynically target teenagers and other disenfranchised populations who are less likely to listen to authority figures’ messages about what is good for them. According to a 2003 report by the Centers for Disease Control, 22.9 percent of high school students are cigarette smokers, and more than six million of them will eventually die from smoking. More young people than ever have heard the message that smoking kills, and yet many of them are still not listening.

The youth market represents a bonanza for tobacco advertisers — they know that if they can capture the rebellious hearts, impressionable minds and pink little lungs of the under-18 set, odds are that those kids will grow up to be lifetime smokers. And queer youth are a particularly desirable demographic for the predatory purveyors of tobacco.

Not only are teens generally unaware of their own mortality, tobacco advertisements typically feature “rebel” images.

Traditionally, these are types like James Dean or the Marlboro man, but the images are continually updated in accordance with the latest market research. Such images appeal particularly to queer youth, for whom simply existing is often viewed as a rebellious act by close-minded authority figures.

“Gay and lesbian youth have been particularly targeted by the tobacco industry and are at greater risk for tobacco use than other kids,” according to William V. Corr, executive director of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a group that discourages smoking among youth populations. “Tobacco prevention efforts cannot succeed without aggressive, creative and effective outreach to those most at risk.”

So the way to counteract Big Tobacco’s effective — and lethal — marketing strategy is to make not smoking a rebellious, exciting and edgy activity. This is why the “queers kick 12

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ash” campaign, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Utah, has been so effective. The “queer” identity is automatically edgy and exciting, while “kicking ash” represents a vigorous and suitably violent response to an industry seeking to kill its customers.

Of course, it was bound to make a lot of people here uneasy. This is Utah — we don’t do edgy. We don’t do exciting or rebellious. We’re most comfortable when our youth can be seen skipping demurely to Sunday school, wearing ribbons and patent-leather shoes. When we see kids sporting T-shirts bearing words that are (gasp!) almost bad, we clench up faster than you can say “Ruzicka.”

The tight-assed response by educators who threatened students with suspension for wearing “queers kick ash” T-shirts may ensure that the anti-smoking campaign will be seen as hip and rebellious by teenagers, but the resulting controversy frightened the Utah Department of Health so badly it reneged on its funding deal with the Center, leaving gay and lesbian youth as vulnerable as ever to the nefarious forces of evil. Take that, queer kids!

At first it was unclear which part of the slogan all these people objected to — was it the “queers” part, or the “kick ash” part? Turns out it was both. Ted Lovato, executive director of the Jordan School District, said that the bit about kicking was too violent and promoted bullying, while the word “queer” was unpleasant. “What’s going to prevent a dumb jock from coming up to these kids and saying, ‘I don’t like queers?’” he said.

Well, in fact — nothing’s preventing anti-gay bullies from doing that, or worse things. That’s the whole problem, and the T-shirts don’t have anything to do with it.

The fact that schools have never put much effort into preventing anti-gay bullying is a big reason reclaiming the queer identity has become such a necessary and healthy activity for gay youth. Why is it that those who are in the education and health businesses can’t be bothered to educate themselves on what’s really necessary to help those kids?

From the Editor Pride: What’s the Point?

by Brandon Burt In the last few years, the question has been asked more and more in the gay and lesbian media: Is Pride still relevant?

Things have changed so much over the past 30-or-so years that to some the parades, the pageantry and the parties are starting to look a bit shopworn — or worse, have become actively injurious to the gay rights movement.

For the most part, the reports of Pride’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Attendance at Salt Lake City’s own Pride Festival continues to increase, and year by year the crowd becomes more and more diverse. The parade still features the old standbys: Dykes on Bikes and floats carrying shirtless muscle boys, leather daddies and drag queens (long may they all wave.)

The sight of thousands of half-naked freaks descending gleefully upon Washington Square makes the more conservative members of our community cringe. “This is not who we really are,” they shriek. “You’re just giving ammunition to our critics!”

They’re missing the point. Gay Pride is a festival. It is meant to be a joyous occasion, and something of a spectacle. The way we dress and act in our parade is no more representative of the way we comport ourselves in daily life than Mardi Gras represents typical Catholic behavior. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade features leprechauns, yet nobody believes the Irish are three feet tall and run around wearing silly green suits. What if, every July 24, Mormons put on their suits and gave tearful, inspirational speeches from behind little rolling pulpits? Would anybody even bother showing up for the Days of ’47 Parade?

No — the reason they dress themselves up as pioneers, clowns and Lamanites is because that’s their idea of fun.

Every culture has to set aside a little time each year to act a little silly.

Yes, Pride gives Pat Robertson the opportunity to refresh his lurid and outrageous stock footage. But face it: Religious fundamentalists would paint us as slavering perverts even if we showed up wearing suits and ties. Neoconservatives would say we were hell-bent on destroying society even if each of us spent the entire month of June volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Our political enemies lie about us on a regular basis — it’s pointless for us to worry about whether we’re giving them ammunition when they make most of their ammunition up anyway.

Another complaint against Pride comes from those who affect a more blasé attitude. “Why should we be ‘proud’ of being gay?” they yawn. “Sexuality is an innate trait — are straight people ‘proud’ of being straight?”

The point is that pride (with a small ‘p’), genuine pride, is the best antidote for the shame some still seek to impose on us. In a society that continues to treat us as secondclass citizens, that oppresses us and attempts to pin the blame for that oppression on our own shoulders, it is not enough for us to simply try to get along. The societal changes our movement has brought about were not achieved by people who were willing to meekly accept whatever those in power were willing to grudgingly bestow.

Sexual shame is a marvelous control mechanism — as long as people are convinced that there is something deeply, fundamentally wrong with them, they won’t stick up for their rights. They won’t organize and band together with other “deeply flawed” individuals who mirror their own internal loathing. They may even become convinced that they deserve the second-class status that has been foisted upon them.

In this respect, sexual pride is a radical concept. It allows us to accept, on a core level, that we deserve equality. Perhaps straight people aren’t consciously proud of their sexuality — but maybe they should be. Make no mistake: It’s all about controlling the masses. The same forces that work to make gay people feel ashamed of our sexuality also work to make heterosexuals ashamed of theirs. We just figured it out a little sooner, is all.

And Pride (with a capitol ‘P’) is a commemoration of this powerful discovery.

Letters Equality treats equally Editor: I would like to extend my thanks to Ruby Ridge for the kudos about the Utah Log Cabin Republicans. Those kind remarks can be made about all of the members of our intrepid group. However, I believe Equality Utah was unintentionally criticized for partisanship. I will not repeat the epithet allegedly used by their staff to describe Republicans.

Though some staff members of Equality are very active in the Democratic Party, the organization and the board of directors are non-partisan. Equality Utah’s original incarnation, Unity Utah, helped us start a Log Cabin chapter in Utah two years ago. They have continued to be generous in other ways.

We are very grateful for their assistance.

Kevin Cromer Utah Log Cabin Republicans

Keller Deserves Respect, Praise Editor: I had the great fortune to attend the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire Coronation this past weekend. I must stay what an outstanding job the entire Court has done.

Congratulations to Mark and Heidi for raising much needed money to improve lives.

Over the past year, the RCGSE has become an organization that deserves a second look by many of us. It should not be taken lightly, and should be held with regard for more than its checkbook.

I was reminded of what outstanding work has come from the organization when the pictures of the AIDS memorial were shown.

It was disturbing to me to me to hear some of the comments made about its creator Chad Keller, and the great deal of disrespect by many towards him. I will admit through watching him that he can be quite obnoxious in his compassionate and creative way.

All in all I have found however that he has given freely of his time, talents, energy, and money to make the world a better place. For that we should hold him and others like him in high regard.

He has assisted many organizations and people in the community often without praise or credit. Salt Lake Metro will go far, I am sure, with his efforts.

Congratulations again to the RCGSE, Salt Lake Metro, and most importantly to Chad Keller. Well done!

Dirk K. Bennett Salt Lake City, UT

Letters to the Editor Salt Lake Metro welcomes letters from our readers. Rants, gushes, thoughtful diatribes, pats on the back, incredulous expressions, rabble-rousing raves and maudlin sob stories are all welcome!

Write us at: Metro Publishing, Inc. 352 S. Denver Street, Suite 350 Salt Lake City, UT 84111

or email letters@slmetro.com.

Salt Lake Metro reserves the right to edit for clarity and brevity. Letters under 300 words are given preference. True, full name, address and phone number must be included for verification purposes.

Reagan vs. FDR Editor: June 6, 2004: a day that will live in infamy.

Why is this you ask? Let me tell you. It’s because you are about to witness the most vile display of Republican propaganda that you will have ever witnessed up to this point in your tiny life. Mark my words and watch what begins to roll off those airwaves in the next few days.

Ding dong the jackass died.

The jackass died.

The jackass died.

Ding dong the jackass died.

It’s about fucking time!

The following statement scrolled across the bottom of the screen this afternoon as I watched Barbie Walters bemoan the death of Ronald Reagan (as if it was a loss or something — go figure): “Left office with the highest popularity rating of any president other than FDR.” Okay. Let me get this straight: FDR stands in terms of presidents of the United States of America third only to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Everybody knows that the new Republicans have had a hardon for years to find a “pubby” (and this is not a fake term — they really call themselves this) who could be as cool as FDR. Now they actually believe that Ronnie is the man for the job. He’s the one they will hold up to the world, as the latter-day pubby, graced by God himself.

Hmm — let’s compare and contrast. FDR led this country through the Great Depression; Ronald Reagan led this country into the Great Repression. FDR reluctantly took this country into WWII, when there was no other choice left but to stand up for humankind. In doing so, he not only got us through it, but he ushered the United States of America into an

unprecedented leadership role in international politics, of a type that had never before been seen in the history of western civilization. Ronald Reagan gleefully tried to lead this country into WWIII and lay waste to western civilization. (Of course, where he failed, his good buddy G. W. Bush may have succeeded.)

Failing this, he decided that we would be better served by him signing more executive orders than any other president in history — executive orders that became law at signing, whether Congress or the American people liked it or not. But fear not, all of this was orchestrated under the careful scrutiny of the Reagan family astrologer.

(One wonders when exactly the Alzheimer’s truly kicked in — possibly a bit sooner than one might think.) To this day, we don’t have full disclosure as to just what these “laws” actually encompassed.

FDR stood up for the Americans that were out there trying to make livings for themselves and for their families. He instituted programs that allowed common people to work for a living and actually benefit from their hard work. Ronald Reagan deregulated the banking industry, allowing the richest fucks in America to fleece the common people in order that they would not benefit from their hard work — no matter how hard they tried.

Reagan instituted the ridiculous philosophy of trickle-down economics. How bizarre that all of us egotistical Americans would accept a philosophy that put us in the place of dogs living happily, lapping at the feet of fat and happy, rich and greedy capitalist pigs: “Maybe if master is good to me, some of the crumbs from his lusciously-laden table will trickle down onto the floor here so I can gobble them up!”

It’s even more bizarre that to this day, idiot-ass politicians still glibly proclaim the

The Reagan Legacy

by Ric Kasini Kadour How will gay men remember Ronald Reagan? What didn’t kill us made us stronger.

Between 1981 and 1989, over 70,000 Americans died of AIDS and another 45,000 people were living with the disease. While it is difficult to imagine the legacy of our current president without thinking of the over 3,000 people who died on September 11, 2001, AIDS is mysteriously absent as the country mourns the loss of Ronald Reagan and remembers his legacy.

On July 3, 1981, The New York Times published an article about a rare cancer outbreak among gay men in New York and California. With that, awareness of a horrible disease decimating gay men entered the national consciousness. In office for only five months, President Reagan had already survived an assassination attempt and secured a 25 percent tax cut from Congress.

Ronald Reagan was a great leader in many ways. He set in motion the end of the Cold War. He was decisive and inspirational. When suicide bombers killed 241 Marines in Beirut and the space shuttle Challenger exploded, Reagan reassured an unsteadied nation.

As the small outbreak grew into a national epidemic, the Reagan Administration remained, at best, indifferent and, at worst, counterproductive. His administration repeatedly proposed less and less

funding to respond to the AIDS crisis than its own scientists recommended. Administration officials lobbied Congress against adequate funding levels. These actions left government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, already financially emaciated by Reagan’s budget cuts, unprepared and unable to respond to the disease.

Reagan stocked his Administration with religious fundamentalists who saw AIDS as God’s curse on the homosexual. The 1980s were a time of great sadness and loss; entire social circles were decimated. Gay men saw thousands of their lovers and friends die while public officials made AIDS jokes and openly condemned gay men who, in their eyes, were getting what they deserved.

In the ’80s, Reagan was vilified in gay circles as a homophobe who condemned AIDS victims to die through a policy of neglect.

Today, gay men’s anger comes less from disagreements over public policy or the outcome of congressional budget debates, and more from Reagan’s willingness to turn his back on a group of Americans and for kicking gay men when they were down.

Apologists for Reagan, like conservative columnist Deroy Murdock, take issue with such assessments and point out that Reagan commented on AIDS as early as 1985.

Those comments only came after AIDS was seen as a threat to non-gay America.

In 1990, Reagan filmed a public service

virtues of trickle-down economics, despite that fact that the entire theory has proven to be at best an utter fabrication and at worst an utter slap in the face to us poor peasants who weren’t born as Reagans, Bushes, Perlmans, Cheneys, Quayles, or Rumsfelds.

W. Scott Neff Murray, UT

Kids Need Their Uncle Editor: I hope the Utah gay community can help me or knows someone who can.

I am looking for my brother. His name is Morgan Floyd. We lost contact more than a year ago when I moved and lost his phone number — it is not in his name. I am desperate to find him.

I know many of our family disowned him or at least were awful to him about being gay. I miss him terribly and it is driving me crazy not knowing if he thinks I haven’t called for the same reason.

Last time we spoke, he was living in Salt Lake with some friends. I think he was quite out in the gay community there. I am hoping someone might know him or be able to help me pass out flyers at the local “family” clubs and centers there so he can contact me, or I him.

Please let me know if there is anything you can do to help me or know someone who might have any ideas. I am getting desperate to reach him, it has been such a long time. I need my brother and my kids need their uncle!

Amber Martin Talebi Oklahoma City, OK Readers with information regarding the whereabouts of Morgan Floyd may contact Amber Talebi in care of Salt Lake Metro.

E-mail editor@slmetro.com or call (801) 323-9500. — Ed.

announcement for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation which some said amounted to an apology for his actions while in the White House.

Reagan’s late and brief comments on AIDS do nothing to change the fact that by the end of his second term, 115,786 Americans were diagnosed with AIDS; 70,313 Americans had died of AIDS; and over two-thirds of those cases were gay men.

No apology can be made for someone who chose political gain and security over the needs of the sick and suffering.

The Reagan Administration’s apathy towards AIDS did not have entirely negative consequences. The vacuum of national leadership became a wake-up call to gay men who became politically active like never before. One must wonder whether or not ACT UP (AIDS Committee to Unleash Power) would have come into existence were it not for Reagan’s persistent silence.

Upon realizing that our nation would not be there for us when we needed it the most, gay men took matters into their own hands, built community organizations to care for people with AIDS, researched and designed prevention strategies, raised millions of private dollars, and ultimately revolutionized public health in America.

Ronald Reagan’s legacy is a belief in a nation where government takes a smaller and smaller role in the lives of its citizens.

In this sense, gay men exemplified exactly how much the people can do when government does not care.

JUNE 10, 2004

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United Against Hypocrisy

by William Todd Park Thirty-five years ago, history was made. In the wee hours of the morning of June 28, 1969, a group of revelers routinely rounded up by police at the Stonewall Inn bar decided they would not be walked on as second-hand people anymore. The would-be detainees pelted police with coins — a gesture to protest payoffs. But coins turned into rocks and beer bottles, and the situation escalated into a full-fledged riot. Over the course of the week, confrontations with police ensued and in the end no more would the stereotypes hold true. No more would gays and lesbians retreat in fear from police. No more would the gay community allow itself to be marginalized in this country.

The Stonewall Riots forever changed the way gays and lesbians were perceived.

Peacefully, and unashamedly celebrating Gay Pride in full view of the local and national community is possible because of those activists who had the guts to stand up and be counted in the face of overwhelming social opposition and physical threats.

Same-sex couples walking hand-inhand on Salt Lake City streets is still as rare

as an open beer bottle, yet the fact that some 35,000 people came together for the 2003 Gay Pride celebration at Washington Square is testimony that the gay community is thriving in a predominantly religious culture. We’ve come a long way, baby!

While it’s true that the gay community is making progress in terms of acceptance, we still walk that fuzzy line between acknowledgement and affirmation. It’s fair to say though that the line will continue to fade in the coming years. In order to speed that process along, though, we need to look within our own ranks to ask the tough question: Are we guilty of the same bigotry that has demonized us for so long?

It was the spirit of the women’s liberation, civil rights, and anti-war movements of the 1960s that put the wind beneath the gay rights movement’s wings. Ironically, it is often that same unifying spirit that has been responsible for resentment and a divisive undertone within the gay and lesbian community as a whole. Epithets and slurs merely perpetuate a sense of self-loathing that we have for so long fought to overcome.

How often do we refer to ourselves by the same condemning insults that, in a dark back alley, would kick that fight-or-flight response into high gear? For some, it’s a way to disarm others or to assert confidence in

oneself. For others, it engenders a sense of solidarity. Yet, regardless of the seemingly innocent intent, so many of us still bristle at the insulting terms — a ghost that hasn’t been released to find its place of rest.

How often do you hear gay men make disparaging remarks of their lesbian co-laborers or conversely, how often do you see the ladies turn their noses in disgust at the men who come to a lesbian bar as guests?

Are we still so narrow and selfish in our thinking to continue snubbing each other, when in reality, it’s time to grow up and rise above the immaturity that engender that kind of behavior. Moreover, we have to move beyond the insecurity that spawned political correctness into an all-encompassing mutual respect.

Perhaps worse still is an open disdain for heterosexuals. The overwhelming majority of our neighbors are straight. If there were ever a time to build bridges rather than widen chasms, it’s now. Verbal jabs at potential allies are little more than feeble attempts to compensate for other shortcomings. The truth is that this kind of behavior is the very bigotry we are trying to defeat.

Our biggest detractors will continue to attack us using the same tired Chicken Little rhetoric and lame arguments, but until our united presence as a community pushes beyond political special interest and internal backbiting, we risk being nothing more than hypocrites ourselves.

Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. are to this day icons of civil liberties because they were steadfast and unquestionably on moral high ground. Carrie Nation, a symbol of the Prohibition movement, stood on moral high ground of her own making to push through a constitutional amendment to outlaw liquor. Thankfully, the American people recognized that our foundational document was designed to grant liberties rather than restrict them on moral interpretation.

Our challenge is to overcome another’s morality that labels us inherently as immoral. Rather than mindless assimilation into a system that discriminates, we have to rise above the pettiness and simply do and be better. Some of us are already are. A recent story on National Public Radio featured Abigail Garner, who was raised by gay parents. Because of her unique upbringing, her sense of family was much broader and she was able to positively impact more people than her peers who were raised by heterosexual parents. A legacy in the making, she is but one example of ordinary members of the gay community who quietly, but deliberately prove that we aren’t less capable, less loving, or less moral.

Of course, the challenge in overcoming our detractor’s labels is to defeat the hypocrisy within our own ranks before it makes our efforts measure up like gay.com inches.

Sickness of Apathy Infects Our Ranks

by Mandy Q. Racer I’ve attended a great number of gay and lesbian events recently and have come away from them in disgust because the attendance was either ridiculously low or completely nonexistent. Mayor Rocky Anderson spoke in our defense at a May 14 rally for equal marriage rights. The turnout?

Forty people. At most.

Public support for preceding and subsequent events — both political and recreational in nature — has been equally disappointing. As Rocky addressed the “crowd” (I am forced to use the term very loosely) I was overcome with chagrin. The rally was meant to honor Carrie and Elisia Ross-Stone, who are biking across America in support of equal marriage rights. However, during the entirety of their weekend stay, they met only the tiniest fraction of our community. What kind of honor is that?

I know we are much larger than this.

I’ve been to Pride Day in years past. Most likely, you have, too. You remember covering the grass with your blankets in front of the stage, crowding under the shade in the beer garden, dancing amid hundreds on

Salt Lake Metro is PROUD to be an official sponsor 2004 Utah Pride 14

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the blacktop. What happens to our masses during the rest of the year?

We’re sick. An age-old, pernicious virus, curable but nonetheless thriving, has overcome our ranks and bled us nearly dry. Apathy. Laziness. Indifference. The last episode of “American Idol” is far more important to us than putting a stop to the mean-spirited and anti-gay proposed amendment to Utah’s constitution.

It doesn’t matter to you that you have been singled out as unequal, undeserving, inhuman. You are not bothered by the fact that the president will do anything in his power to strip you of your basic human rights, even when he promises to go so far as to mutilate the U.S. Constitution.

I hear the whisper of dissension amongst you. You disagree with my charges. I disagree with you. Every time you choose to not attend a political rally, to not volunteer an hour of your time at an event, to not vote, you send the message: “I do not care.”

The current backlash against our recent successes is nothing in comparison to the months that lie ahead. Our opposition is mobilizing against us. They have money.

Their ranks are swollen. They will win. Unless you get off your ass and stop them.

Volunteer. Vote. Without you, we are lost.

AberRant Pride My Ass

by Laurie Mecham This year, I am proud to be an Americ — oh, wait.

Thank God that isn’t the assignment.

OK, Pride. Pridey-pride pride.

Well, as your grandfather says, it reminds me of a time years ago: Elderly, fabulous, lavender-haired actor and gay icon Quentin Crisp was in Salt Lake City. I think it was for one of his films or a film retrospective. Anyway, as I recall, his visit occurred around the time of Pride weekend. My friend Winnie was hosting Mr. Crisp (subject of Sting’s “An Englishman in New York”) and she asked him what he thought about gay pride celebrations. His reply (paraphrased) was, “Well, I don’t know what there is to be proud about. It’s not as if you’ve done anything. I suppose you could be proud that you’re not ashamed of being gay.”

And how, gentle reader, do we express our pride and our shamelessness? We have a parade. A big, fun, brash, colorful, in-yourface Gays of ’47 parade. (Credit is due to Fran Pruyn for suggesting this Pride theme, which I hope will be adopted next year.)

The parade always causes a wee bit o’ controversy. For one thing, you’ve got the beautiful, nearly naked, spray-painted men wearing heels, feathers, and whatnot. I don’t think it’s the near nudity that people who aren’t Gayle Ruzicka find upsetting. I think it’s that we (a) want to have that body, or (b) want to have that body.

Then there are our drag queens. Anyone who doesn’t love a drag queen is simply fabulous-impaired — end of conversation.

This brings us to the leathermen, those perennial instigators of controversy. As I see it (although by now you should know that I am incredibly young and naive), for leathermen the pride parade provides a twofer. It is an opportunity for them to say, “I am gay, and by the way this is how I like to express my sexuality. Oh, and P.S.: Here are my ass cheeks.”

We all know that there are many objects of queeriosity — that’s part of the fun. And, by the way, I would like to get credit for my personal contribution to the parade each year as I wisely choose not to march in assless chaps.

Still, the controversy comes in here because the media love a good show, and scandalous showiness is what the rightwingers focus on as exemplars of gayness.

I have heard people express the desire to address this controversy by holding a separate parade — a fetish parade or whatever — that would be more inclusive. That way the world could see that leather and nudism and vinyl and other fetishes that my mother will not allow me to enumerate are not unique to homosexuals.

This alternative parade idea does hold some appeal for me simply because I would so enjoy gawping at the ever-hopeful contingent marching behind the banner identifying them as “Bi-Curious Couples, Still Looking. Didn’t You See Our Ad?” Gay Pride is of course more than just a parade. It is also the Day of a Thousand Drunken Revelries. Like many anniversa-

ries (and newspaper editors), it prompts us to think back on history, to question ourselves, to tell stories, and to examine the personal meaning it holds for us.

So what, exactly, do we have to be proud of? In asking that question, I have to start by asking myself. The very first thing that comes to mind is that I am incredibly proud of my children. I have two — a woman and a man. They are both smart, interesting, complex, thoughtful and beautiful people with fine asses — and I had something to do with their being. In terms of gay pride, I came out to them when they were 16 and 12, and they have been amazing. They are both blessedly comfortable with sexuality — their own and that of others.

Next on the old pride résumé, I guess I would put my activism. I am “writing” for this here paper (at least until I get found out). I am proud of Salt Lake Metro and proud that it is here. I also volunteer quite a lot. I have been active in voter registration this year. Proud of that.

That’s about it for me. My personal Gay Pride Inventory is complete. The rest of it has to be collective. There are hundreds of names — names that are unknown to me — of people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude that I can be out, that I don’t fear for my job or my safety. So many have paid the costs so that we have hate crimes legislation in a number of states that aren’t Utah, we have gay characters on television, we have accurate-ish information in the media about gays.

We have out gay politicians and other professionals. We have straight allies who see us clearly for what we are — attractive, intelligent, affluent people with incredibly exciting sex lives. Or career-driven singles.

Or stay-at-home moms and dads. Or starving college students.

My proudest moment for this community was the final night of the legislative session. I received e-mail messages from Equality Utah, Stonewall Democrats and HRC Utah. I forwarded the messages to everyone I could think of. The legislature was slated to consider an amendment to the Utah State Constitution that would limit the definition of marriage to a man and a woman. HRC had made 300 stickers for people to wear. The stickers ran out, and folks just kept coming. We stood outside of chambers and sent notes in to our state senators and representatives. A lot of people were asking the legislative staff to help them identify their representatives. I realized that this was probably the first political action for many of these folks — fan-freaking-tastic! They showed up, they made a lot of noise, they wrote to their legislators. You can bet your ass — chapped or not — that they are going to vote.

Utahns can be proud of a couple of other things, too. Maybe we as homosexuals can’t marry here, but at least our straight friends who are of different races can marry!

Yee-haw, 21st Century! (If anyone knows the Utah State Song, please begin to hum it softly at this point.) And Utah isn’t Virginia, where not only can queers not marry or create civil unions, they can’t even make contracts to attempt to obtain a few of the benefits which are freebies in straight marriage. Yup, no powers of attorney, no wills, no medical directives. “Y’all faggits cain’t git

none o’ that!” barefoot Virginia legislators screeched gleefully, spitting tobacco juice and hopping up and down in homespun overhauls. At least here in Utah, before the legislature cuts out your civil rights, they give you a lovely standing ovation first. It’s kind of like getting a corsage from the guy who later slips GHB in your drink.

But anyway.

Pridey-pride pride.

Pride is the voters, the volunteers, the marchers, the families. It is GLSEN, the gay-straight alliances, the Queer Prom, PFLAG. It’s you and me coming out to our neighbors, our employers, our children, and (gasp!) our parents because it’s about damn time that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which stipulates that “No state shall … deny to any person the equal protection of the laws,” starts applying to, well, any person.

It’s simply being ourselves, taking our

places, and quietly or not-so-quietly claiming our rights. Pride is our community, local and worldwide, yesterday and today, frustrating and wonderful. Judy Rosen wrote about Quentin Crisp in Salon.com, “At the root of Crisp’s act was a kind of radicalism: Mocked and brutalized for his flamboyant effeminacy, he nonetheless chose to live, beginning in the London of the 1930s, ‘not merely as a self-confessed homosexual, but a self-evident one.’ He tinted his hair lilac, wore eye shadow, pert scarves and silk blouses, and transformed himself into a walking, quipping objet d’art.

It was this feat of defiant self-invention that eventually brought him celebrity.”

Happy Pride Day, everyone. Be yourself — or be something even more interesting. And don’t worry about hecklers. I’ll be watching your ass.

Laurie Mecham struggles daily with lactose intolerance.

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Ruby Ridge Living Parade Etiquette 101

by Ruby Ridge Well, it’s that time of year muffins: It’s time for the annual Pride Parade through the quiet streets of Salt Lake City — and by all indications, the 2004 Parade should be one to remember!

The Utah Cyber Sluts (including yours truly) will once again be coordinating the June 13 spectacle, so we get all sorts of questions from folks about the route, the floats, the order of step-off, and how to deal with the bible-thumping protesters. So, petals, let me fill you in on some of the behind-thescenes decisions that shape the Parade. Let’s start with the most common questions: Why do you use State Street and 200 East?

Why can’t we march past the temple? Why can’t we start at the Capitol, the Gateway Mall, or Liberty Park? Why? Why? Why? Well, muffins, it’s a question of logistics and an increasingly complex downtown that has Trax lines, bicycle paths, lane barriers and new angle parking in the middle of some key streets. By having the parade start on State Street at 300 South, returning just a block to the east saves everyone involved a lot of hassles. The parade participants — many of whom also have booths in the Pride Festival — can park close to the festival grounds surrounding Library and Washington Squares.

Parade spectators can watch the parade assemble and step off, and then walk a block east and watch it come down 200 East. The Salt Lake City Police Department and the city transportation people have fewer roads to close for a shorter period of time. It’s a win-win all around.

Who decides what order the parade goes in? The Sluts, God, and the random forces of the universe — that’s who. We use the

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registration entry forms which are cut off a week before the parade to get a rough idea of who has amplified sound systems, who has equestrian units, who has to be onstage for the opening ceremonies and a number of other criteria to space out the entries.

Last year we tried a flexible multi-lane step-off area on Broadway which worked really well and kept the parade flowing — although the police were getting really miffed by the Queer Aquatic Club’s elaborate choreography, which we all thought rocked big time!

Ruby, what about the street preachers and protesters? Well, darlings, as obnoxious as they are they have a right to protest — within bounds. We see the same people year after year and they are typically vocal but harmless. I am more concerned that someone from our community will overstep their bounds and get physically confrontational. This would not be a good idea, because that type of exposure and martyrdom is exactly what these protesters crave — in fact, with their taste for high drama, the protesters might as well just get rid of the tawdry T-shirts and become drag queens!

(Oops — was that my out-loud voice?)

Why isn’t there a judging review stand where the entries can be announced like they used to be? Because it slows things down and it’s too much work for too little return. We have four awards that we bestow to the folks who, essentially, put in the most effort — no muss, no fuss.

So now that you know a little background, I hope you all enjoy the 2004 Pride Parade. Think about how you can get involved next year with a float or entry from your club, work, or community group.

Because, sweeties, we all know bigger is always better!

Ruby Ridge is one of the more opinionated members of the Utah Cyber Sluts, a camp drag group that raises funds for local charitable causes. Her opinions are her own and fluctuate wildly due to bloating, cramping, and general irritability.

A Thousand Words The Block

by Scott Perry

1976 As Bicentennial America poured itself into skintight disco-wear, and feathered its hair a la Toni Tennille, I trudged through life as a 14 yearold, four-foot-11, pot-bellied redhead.

Reaching barely high enough to pull the cable, I signaled the end of my bus ride. The buzzer groaned and the brakes screeched, “Have a nice day,” as I wobbled my way to the rear door. I bounded down the steps onto the sidewalk of my home away from home. The Block was bordered

by Main Street to the west, State Street to the east, 200 South to the north and 300 South — “Broadway” — to the south. With its new trees and fountains, alleys and dirty sidewalks, uptown was a place I could go to escape, explore and talk to strangers. With few friends to hang around with, I’d hop on the bus alone. It didn’t bother me. It was my ritual. It’s what I did.

My trek began with a stroll through J.C. Penney and a silent debate over the purchase of a new can of tennis balls. My current ones had lost their brilliant yellow phosphorescence. Not so much from actual tennis matches, but from Muffy’s dog slobber or handball practice in our greasestained driveway.

I wandered off to the boys’ clothing department where I fingered through the newest assortment of rayon shirts, airbrushed with bad likenesses of Hollywood icons — Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe. I had never seen their movies but was nonetheless infatuated by them. I flipped through the racks of Angel Flights and Saddleback jeans, but with lots of baby fat and little cash, haute couture took a back seat.

I relegated myself instead to Auerbach’s bargain basement. Making my way past the cosmetics and jewelry to the front door, I stopped to thumb through the records: Kiss, ABBA, Peter Frampton. Nothing here, either. I was done with Penney’s.

I think I was the only 14 year-old boy in the world who would thrill to a walk through Woolworth’s. A bright plastic mushroom lamp or smiley-face paperweight were a sure bet to brighten up my otherwise abhorrent home life. Records to drown out the drunken rantings of my mom and stepdad. Posters to cover the holes in the walls caused by their throwing of whatever was handy.

The smell of Woolworth’s fried chicken floated from the snack bar. I felt a rush of comfort that I couldn’t find anywhere else.

I remember two waitresses in pink-striped seersucker dresses. One, a buxom blonde with lots of makeup, 20-something. And the other, the spitting image of my Grandma: thin, with graying hair and cat-eye glasses. I liked her a lot. She was probably the main reason for my downtown jaunts, although we never conversed. She would merely cast a scrutinizing glance at me and ask, “What would you like?” Summer’s fare was always a banana split. Winter’s, an

apple dumpling.

Restlessly pivoting from side to side on the seat of my chrome-plated barstool, the grandma-waitress slid the banana split to me like a bowl of milk to a stray cat, diverting my eyes from the blonde waitress as she flirted with a guy at the end of the counter. I was trying to figure out if he was he her boyfriend or just trying to be. Whatever the case, it looked like they enjoyed one another’s company. I hoped to find that someday.

I scraped the melted remains of ice cream and strawberry topping from the bottom of the dish. It was time to move on. I threw my wadded napkin into the dish and grabbed my check. Then with the panache of Cary Grant, I pitched a 50-cent tip onto the boomerang Formica.

At the register, the grandma waitress took my money and asked how everything was. “Fine,” I smiled, relishing her concern, and made my exit through the swirly plastic gateway. I stopped to look at Mad magazine and thumb through a Jaws paperback.

Chapter eight was the big “sex chapter” that all the guys in school read so often their books automatically fell open to it. They panted and giggled at the mention of the tits on Sheriff Brody’s wife. No matter how many times I read it, I was never impressed.

My great escape continued into the misty rainforest entry of Keith Warshaw & Company. The Boston ferns, wicker peacock chairs and hanging brass monkeys all seemed so exotic. There were brands of coffee and piles of strange, fresh produce I never saw at our corner grocery. It was like going to Morocco (wherever that was) and I felt like Humphrey Bogart (though I didn’t know much about him, either). I walked past the bakery — its éclairs were always a perfect follow-up to the sundae. That dessert was also part of the ritual. A flight of rough-hewn cedar stairs led to my Mecca: the book and magazine department, where I would spend hours looking through pages of art, photography, cartoons, and Hollywood.

I’d take my leave through the south exit where Broadway Music was my last stop of retail therapy.

My ritual over, I still didn’t want to go home. Dry leaves swirled around my ankles and I headed east to the Broadway Theatre.

The Shootist was playing, starring John Wayne, Lauren Bacall and Ronnie Howard.

It didn’t seem fair — he was a redhead, and nobody teased him. The theatre lobby was musty and cluttered with posters of old movies I’d never heard of. The man at the ticket booth (which doubled as the snack bar) was no Roxy usher either. But I have never been intimidated by strangers. I gave him a smile and asked for a ticket, then

wandered into the theatre to watch the show with the rest of the bored, lonely people.

The movie ended as shadows sprawled over the cola-stained sidewalks. I shuffled back to the bus stop, taking the long way around the block. I shuffled down State Street and peered through the dirty windows of the Army/Navy Surplus Store where I had bought a navy belt the week before: my only stitch of trendy clothing. Past the lacquered log exterior of Wolfe’s and the ornate iron work and plastic flowers of Señor Pepés, I rounded the corner at the Astronaut Lounge where a whiff of spilled beer and stale smoke reminded me of home. I really hated to go. I walked slower, but dawdling became increasingly difficult when the only diversions were a pay phone and the vacant J.C. Penney parking lot.

As I waited for number 17, Poplar Grove, I thumbed though more magazines at the Magazine Shop then grabbed a marshmallow oatmeal cookie for the road.

I settled into my seat and stared ahead where an older couple took their place on the sideways bench behind the driver, she with a clear plastic knitting bag; he, in blue trousers and a greasy pin-striped work shirt. During the entire trip home, they rocked back and forth in perfect synch with the buzzer cable, speaking not a word. I wondered if they loved each other as much as the waitress and that guy. I wondered if they were fighting. I wondered if their kids awoke last night to the slamming of a door and stomping feet, hearts pounding as the sounds of breaking glass and drunken fuck yous broke their sleeping silence. Did their kids call the cops to help end the fighting, embarrassed, dreading their arrival? Those thoughts clouded my head as I stared blankly out the window and rocked back and forth with the man, the woman and the buzzer cable as the bus snaked its way along its route.

Turning this corner and that corner, it seemed to take forever to get home, which was fine. I hated the silence that awaited me even more than the din from the night before.

“Outside the display windows of what used to be JC Penney were men — posed and looking like mannequins.”

1984 The brakes of my Toyota squeaked. The slamming of the door and clack of the lock signaled another night’s return to block 57, referred to as “the block.” I was 22. My home life was still empty, but the deafening silence was due to the lack of people, not people ignoring each other. I continued to ransack the home furnishings departments in search of knickknacks to fill my empty apartment.

With no family and few friends, “the block” was still a place to escape, explore and talk to strangers. It was still a ritual.

I sheepishly made my way past J.C. Penney’s. It had closed a few years earlier.

So did Woolworth’s. Their windows, once full of posters advertising soap suds, were now smeared with it in an attempt to keep people from looking in at the empty fixtures.

The clean, exotic scents of Keith War-

shaw & Co. were choked with graffiti and urine. John Wayne and Lauren Bacall were kicked out of the theatre by B-grade karate movies. Even Ronnie Howard’s red hair was gone. All that remained were the alleys, dirty sidewalks and the magazine shops.

Outside the display windows of what used to be J.C. Penney were men, posed and looking like outdoor mannequins.

Scrutinizing glances still asked, “What would you like?” Some brought back a wave of nostalgia with their decade-old Angel Flights and rayon shirts. I debated the selection: too cowboy, too queeny, too gross, not interested. I walked past one who had once shared my company and we both looked the other way. I shopped desperately, looking for anything to take back to my empty apartment, but inventory was in short supply.

I backed out of the parking spot, as “Smooth Operator” seeped from my stereo.

I decided to circle the block just once to be sure I hadn’t missed anything, then again, turning this corner and the next one. I’d never get home at this rate. But that’s okay.

There was nothing there but silence.

1993 My brakes don’t squeak anymore. I slam the door of the Subaru and lock it. Dressed like Fred Astaire but feeling like Ginger Rogers, I fly down Main Street. My shiny black shoes click against what used to be a dirty sidewalk. The bulldozers have done their work and construction crews have packed their trailers. Now, on the corner where J.C. Penney once stood, anchoring all of block 57, stands a monolithic new office tower with a gleaming copper top. Keith Warshaw’s tropical garden has made way for a splashing wall of water that cools a dozen or so kids and dogs playing underneath.

Everything here is brand new. Good friends, a new home, and a refurbished relationship with my family has replaced the need for downtown moonlight prowls.

As with “the block,” time and apathy took their toll with me, too. My body and spirit had fallen prey to the countless hours spent here. Regardless of the time spent shopping, I was never able to find anything to fill my emptiness. Those who tried to see through me were impaired by my own soap-smeared windows. Then blight struck and I became so dirty, so rundown that I could only throw up my hands and say, “Tear it down. Let’s do it over.”

I stop in front of what used to be Woolworth’s and grab a fruit punch from a street vendor. I am on my way to meet some new friends — The Salt Lake Men’s Choir.

We are performing this afternoon in the grand opening ceremonies of the new block 57, or Gallivan Utah Center as it will now be called. It is bustling with dignitaries and festooned with balloons and flags. A reflecting pool shimmers in the bright summer sun and people wander giddily from sculpture to planter box. As I take my place on the stage of the amphitheater, I find myself still surrounded by men, rigid as soldiers, intent on looking their best.

But now, the scrutinizing glances have been demolished by smiles.

Silence has been replaced with song.

Renovation is a remarkable thing.

An earlier version of this story was published in Catalyst Magazine.

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Red~Hot ... Again After nearly four years focusing on his family and himself, RuPaul is back in the spotlight with a new album, a reinvigorated attitude, and a rare Salt Lake City appearance for Utah Pride.

by Nicholas Rupp

W

hen RuPaul Andre Charles was born in November 1960, his mother predicted that her baby boy would one day become an international superstar because, she said, “Ain’t another motherfucker alive with a name like that!” While that may be true, there’s more than just his name that’s unique to the largerthan-life drag queen.

By the end of the ’90s, RuPaul had taken his trademark “Glamazon” style, fierce wit, and unabashed opinions through nearly every pop culture medium. After years of performing in Manhattan nightclubs, RuPaul’s big break came in 1993 with the hit single “Supermodel (You Betta Work)” and major label debut album, Supermodel of the World. Over the next 6 years, he received an Emmy nomination for his work (as a man) in the TV movie A Mother’s Wish; released two more albums; appeared in several films, including the Brady Bunch movies and the gay indie favorite But I’m a Cheerleader; hosted his own talk show on VH1; wrote a best-selling autobiography, Lettin’ It All Hang Out; and through a high-profile endorsement deal became the “First Face” of MAC cosmetics.

After all that, it was no wonder that in 2000, right after the unveiling of his wax

portrait at Madame Tussaud’s museum in Times Square, RuPaul decided to take a break to focus on his extended family and “the man I love.” He says, “I needed to reconnect with a part of me that I had left behind and devote time to my personal growth.”

Now, RuPaul is geared for a comeback of queen-sized proportions. Later this month, his new dance CD, RuPaul Red~Hot, hits store shelves. He says, “I felt compelled to make this CD because of what’s happening socially and politically in the world right now. I’m ready to shake things up a bit. I’m recharged, looking good and feeling gorgeous … and ready to let them have it!”

RuPaul spoke with Salt Lake Metro last week to talk about his new music, his passion for people, and his upcoming visit to Salt Lake City. He once famously said, “You’re born naked and the rest is drag.

I think everyone is in drag — I just have more fun doing it.” After just twenty minutes with him, it’s clear that RuPaul has more fun doing just about everything.

RuPaul: Hey, Nicholas!

Salt Lake Metro: Hi, how are you?

I’m good. Just stuffing down this last bite of my chicken salad.

Busy day today, huh?

Oh, you said it! But I still have my wits about me, though I’ve been up forever and by the end of this I may start to go wacky on you.

Well let’s get started so you can be done with your day. Tell me about the new album.

It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s got fun, great dance stuff that people expect from me, and also some meaningful messages. You know, a lot of people have asked me about political aspects of my album and I’ve told them that any time a person does whatever they want to do, it’s a statement. So this album is political in that respect. I talk about love, the man I love, what that love means if we’re men, if we’re women, whatever. I talk about my own personal journey, which is a very political thing. It doesn’t talk specifically about Iraq or the president or whatever,

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FEATURE but I’m talking about political statements of a personal nature, of being yourself.

more radical side of the gay community, could be damaging to the cause.

What do you think about that?

You came to the Sundance Film Festival in 2000 with “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Had you been to Utah before that?

Conservatives who want to fight the movement have already made up their minds. Drag queens are not going to make anyone’s opinion worse. Whatever their mind’s set at, it’s done. Any smart person knows that one part of a community does not represent the whole group. It’s kind of shortsighted to think that one could. We see Rush Limbaugh on television; that doesn’t mean that all conservatives are big, fat, drug addict liars.

Oh yeah! I’m a graduate of Bring’em Young University. You ever been to Bring’em Young?

I have, I’ve been there. They’re very nice.

And so young!

SATURDAY JUNE 12 5-PM ON THE PATIO

Yeah, young and married.

I know, right! What’s with that? Now, are you from Utah?

I am. I’m a native.

Oh, wow. What part?

Salt Lake City.

I was there for a private party once. A guy had me come there for a private party years ago. I can’t remember his name. It was about ’96 I think.

What did you think of Utah before you’d been here? I know the reputation precedes it.

Actually, in 1980 I drove by myself from Chicago to San Diego and I went through Utah. I remember getting dizzy going through all the curves around the mountains, but it was just turning into springtime so it was icy in places and snowy in places and I just remember thinking it felt like an acid trip — it was so beautiful.

What about socially or politically: any thoughts on our culture here in Utah?

Well, you know, listen … to each his own. I grew up in that sort of hippy mentality that you can just do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else. And you know, religion is not something I like to dwell on. It has its place for a lot of people. My own personal view is that it’s not something that I’d like to be involved in, but if they get something out of it, good for them.

You’re performing at The Vortex on Sunday night, our Pride Day; will you be in the parade?

I’m not going to make the parade. Right before, I’ll be in Brazil and we’ll be flying in just in time to make it to the club.

In fact, right when the offer from Salt Lake came in I got invited to do Rio de Janeiro the same night and they were offering more “goodies” and stuff, but I thought, “How often do I get to go to Salt Lake City to perform?” Honestly — I thought I was needed in Salt Lake City more, and I don’t know when I’ll be asked to come back to Salt Lake.

There’s sometimes an attitude among the proponents of the gay marriage movement that drag queens, or the

Let me tell you something: people always forget that the modern gay rights movement was started by drag queens.

It’s funny — black people in this country in the ’50s and ’60s were trying to assimilate and say to the world at large, “We are not only as good as whites, but we can be better.” The people who personified that were Diana Ross and Bill Cosby. When hip-hop came along, it became cool to say, “You know what? We’re gonna act like nig-gaz from the ghet-to and it’s fine!”

And that’s when people like Diana Ross became out-of-chic, because of that. So, I can’t wait for the day when gay people take on what they used to think of as their “poor relations,” when they take on being fem or sissy or whatever and say, “Hey, this is us, be what it may — we’re making no apologies.”

Every culture does that, you know, has that sort of evolution where we used to say, “Oh, we want to pretend like we’re straight. We can be as normal as anybody else.” Until someone thinks, “You know what? We fucking are what we are!” I can’t wait for the day when men — you know, men — are prissy and fem and fey!

You’ve had notable success as a male actor. Would you like to do more work outside of your female persona?

I have to be honest; it’s not the most fulfilling for me. I don’t think of myself as an actor at all. I’ve done films and I’ve acted but I don’t think of myself as an actor. As an artist it doesn’t fulfill me the way I wish it did. I wish that I could finish a scene and go, “Ooh, I loved that! That was great!” But I’ve never felt that. I’ve always done it because I loved the project or what it meant, but as an artist I’ve never loved acting the way I love music.

What’s your proudest accomplishment as an artist?

As an artist? My book. My book got to reach a lot of people. It achieved what I’m trying to do with this new album. Some funny, ha-ha, light humor balanced out with some really strong messages that I think haven’t been dealt with.

What are you passionate about?

Music. Music is number one. But you know, I love people and I love unraveling their personalities and getting to CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO SALT LAKE METRO

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RESTROOMS

Health & Ed Booths

Main Stage Schedule

Market Place Booths

Sports & Recreation Booths

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City and

Emcee County Kevin Cruise

Food Court

First Aid

Drinking Fountain

Socia

Building Men's Choir 11:00 - 11:30 Opening Ceremonies 11:30 - Noon Saliva Sisters Noon - 1:00 Lisamarie & the Codependents 1:00 - 2:00

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Cente Pavilio

GLBTCCU

400 South

Legend

Library

Children's Area Restrooms Drinking Fountains Art Show Film Festival

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Political Stage

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VIP Volunteers Administration

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Acoustical Stage Schedule Emcee Laurie & Micaela For Rent Noon - 12:45 J. Nelson Ramsay 12:50 - 1:30 Leraine & Kathryn 1:35 - 2:15 Kevin Allred 2:20 - 3:00

Old Library

Bronwen Beecher 3:05 - 3:45 GiGi Love 3:50 - 4:30

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500 South

Trace & Her Delightful Band 4:35 - close

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2004 PRIDE GUIDE Utah Pride 2004 Corporate Sponsors B.W. Bastian Foundation Bud Light Washington Mutual Julie Brizzee, Citywide Home Loans Gastronomy, Inc. Wells Fargo American Express Turpin & Associates Marquardt & Fadel Mortgage Financial Group Rainbow Mountain Realty All Event Rentals Dignity Memorial AAA of Utah Pride Counseling Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Neil Glover

Media Sponsors U92 & Power 107.9 The Pillar Salt Lake Metro KRCL Panacea Media

In-Kind Sponsors Bud Light Gastronomy, Inc. Sax Romney Florist Salt Lake Metro JetBlue All Event Rentals Chevron/ Texaco The Target Group Log Cabin Republicans

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Grand Marshal Bruce Bastian Bruce W. Bastian, respected Utah philanthropist and cofounder of WordPerfect will be featured as the Grand Marshal during the 2004 Pride celebration scheduled for June 11-13.

Bruce Wayne Bastian was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, on March 23, 1948. He was the fifth of six children in a conservative, Mormon family, and lived in Twin Falls until moving to Provo, Utah in 1966 to attend Brigham Young University.

He received a BA in Music Education and a MA in Computer Science from BYU. After leaving BYU in 1978, Mr. Bastian and his faculty advisor, Alan Ashton, started a small software company offering word processing software on mini computers. In 1983, soon after the IBM Personal Computer was announced, Mr. Ashton and Mr. Bastian rewrote their word processing product to run in the PC world. That product was named WordPerfect.

Until the mid 90's, Mr. Bastian served as Chairman of WordPerfect Corporation and also directly led all international operations of the company. WordPerfect became the best-selling wordprocessor in several regions of the world as well as the USA. Since the merger of WordPerfect and NOVELL Corporation in 1994, Bastian has spent an increasing amount of time devoted to charitable causes and philanthropy. Bastian’s foresight and generosity have provided more personal and financial support to local Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community organizations than any other single individual. He is also a major donor for several national GLBT organizations.

Bastian learned of the need for equality from his father who taught him to be free from prejudice and give back to those less fortunate. Bastian recalls stories of how his father gave food from the family-owned grocery store to those who needed it, and how his father and older sister took food to black musicians who were not allowed to enter the all-white restaurants in Idaho before the Civil Rights era of the 60's.

His foundation, the B.W. Bastian Foundation has adopted a policy of only supporting organizations that wholeheartedly embrace the principle of equality. Bastian funding places a strong commitment on programs and organizations that benefit, encourage, and preserve the rights of individuals, and promote equality for the GLBT community.

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sort of discover them. I love playing charades and I have a lot of parties where we play charades and games.

People work out a charade or a puzzle and in that moment when they’re playing you can see how they work, how they think, who they are. It’s a gift.

Someone is generous enough to allow us to see their process and you can fall in love with them. I love that — absolutely love that.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure? Something that people would be surprised you listen to?

You know, I’m never ashamed of the stuff I like to listen to. Some of the stuff I like that I’m listening to now is Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn. I’m listening to the new Blondie album, The Curse of Blondie, and Alicia Keys, The Diary of Alicia Keys. At the gym the other day I was listening to Jody Watley’s Greatest Hits. But guilty pleasures … I love Aaron Tippin — he’s a country singer. I love a lot of country. I love Shania.

I think people are surprised when gay men love country music.

Well, it’s passionate and it’s emotional.

It’s like a show tune.

It is like a show tune. I don’t want to generalize but a lot of us have a lot of feelings that are very, very sensitive, so some of the music that goes along with it — we love that. Have you heard Pam Tillis’ stuff?

Yeah.

Oh my god, she’s amazing. Just amazing. She’s probably, well — okay, I’ll say it: She’s probably my favorite female in country, but you know I can change my mind anytime. See, Dolly is in a whole league of her own. Dolly is beyond that realm.

On RuPaul.com you keep a weblog, an online journal; what prompted you to start and what keeps you writing as openly as you do?

I started writing when I was sort of living underground so people could have a connection with what I was doing and get a clear view of me outside of what they read or saw on television.

I don’t know how much longer I will do it now that I’m getting back on the road and more involved in my public life. I don’t know if I can handle it then.

It becomes very personal. When you’re doing the writing on an out-there level, it’s giving up part of yourself. Since I wasn’t giving putting the music out there I felt like I could give this part of me, but now that the other work is gonna be out there, I’ll probably take a break from the weblog for a while.

You’ve been successful with music, with books, with movies and TV. What’s next? What do you want to accomplish?

I’d love to produce other people and, you know, manage and guide other artists.

Is there anyone in particular you’d like to produce right now?

I definitely want to produce someone who isn’t known yet. I also want to have a line of clothes and a line of makeup. I’d love to be like Suzanne Somers with all that stuff.

We’re out of time, but thank you for talking to me.

Oh, thank you, Mr. Rupe. Wait, how do you pronounce your last name?

Rupp.

Rupp. (long pause) Well, can I call you Rupe?

You can. You can call me anything you want.

In your day-to-day life, you are not in drag. You go to work and you put on your work outfit, right?

All right, Mr. Rupe. You know, if you asked me to marry you I’d RuPaul Rupe.

Yes, absolutely. I dress as a woman to perform and it pays the mortgage.

I’m in business and that’s what the customers want.

We could probably work that out.

How much of your work outfit is currently your creation and how much is publicists and stylists and makeup artists? Because I imagine when you were starting out it was all you — all your creativity and hard work.

Well, the idea of how I want to look is my idea and I work with a lot of people who can help me make it happen. I know what works for me and what works for my age and my body and stuff so I have the idea of it and how I want to come across, but within that context I’m very open to what the others have to say. They know me very well and what I want.

Okay! (laughs) Thanks again.

Thank you, sweetheart!

Right before his disappearance from the public eye RuPaul said, “I’m 6-foot4 in my stocking feet. But with my hair, my heels and my attitude I’m through the motherfucking roof, baby!”

A few minutes with RuPaul and there’s little doubt that his four-year-old proclamation is as true now as it ever was.

RuPaul will perform at The Vortex, a private club for members, 404 South West Temple, on Sunday, June 13.

JUNE 10, 2004

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METRO PICKS Thursday, June 10 WE TWO BOYS TOGETHER CLINGING... The Utah Pride Film Festival is showing Wilde, a story of Irish-born author Oscar Wilde, the quintessential 1800s queer, and his relationship with a young Oxford undergraduate, played by the yummiest of yums Jude Law. It is likely this relationship that Wilde penned the now-famous phrase, “In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”

7pm, Salt Lake Public Library, 200 E. 400 South, Free. 539-8800. Films run through Sunday, June 13. Complete schedule at UtahPride.org.

8:15 and 8:30am starts, though the Drag Dash starts fashionably late at 9:15. Memory Grove.

539-8800.

PASS THE GREEN JELLO. Gamofite, Gay Mormon Fathers, hosts a family reunion. Bring your children, partners, family members of any kind and your favorite pot luck dish.

Eating begins at high noon. Drinks, desserts, plates and utensils provided.

11am–4pm, Liberty Park, approximately 11th South near 700 East. Mike Green, 521-8035 or mikeyg117@aol.com

GET ROOKED ON MAIN. Compete in the Second Annual Chess on Main tournament in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City.

DYKES ON HIKES. Gather at the State Capitol Building’s south lawn and walk with the Dyke March. Organized by sWerve for women to be visible — make signs; make noise; bring a banner, a drum, or whatever moves you; join the women’s marching band. What will your sign say? “BYU Dykes?”

“Dyke Grandmas?” “Dyke for a Day?”

Noon–7pm, Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore, 254 S. Main Street through June 19 (except Sunday) www.SamWellers.com

4:30pm, State Capitol south lawn. Rep. Jackie Biskupski speaks at 4:45. March takes off at 5pm. www.sWerveUtah.com

STICK WITH THE WHITE, IT DOESN’T STAIN YOUR TEETH. The event that is quickly becoming known as the place to dress up and be seen is the annual Grand Marshal Reception for Utah Pride. Philanthropist and WordPerfect founder Bruce Bastian is this year’s grand marshal.

BECAUSE YOU GOTTA HAVE FAITH. Representatives of a variety of religious organizations will conduct the annual Pride Interfaith Service. Music from the Salt Lake Men’s Choir and messages from Christian, Jewish, Pagan and Buddhist groups.

Friday, June 11

6pm, Salt Lake City Library Outdoor Terrace, 200 E. 400 South. Tickets $25 at 539-8800.

Saturday, June 12 FRUITS AND NUTS. Join your friends and neighbors in Pioneer Park for the absolute freshest in produce from the Intermountain West.

Round out your summer menus with artisan cheese, fresh baked bread, honey, fresh fruit, herbs, even organic meats and seafood. Fresh-cut flowers, container gardens, water wise perennials, natural candles, decorative garden art.

8am–1pm, Pioneer Park, 300 S. 300 West. Saturday mornings through October 16. www.DowntownSLC.org

CAN I CRAWL? The Pride 5K Run/Walk/Roll starts collecting at Memory Grove between 7 and 8am and heads up to the capitol building, through City Creek Canyon and back to the Grove. This year also includes the “100 Yard Drag Dash.” See the full story in the Sports section.

6pm, Wasatch Presbyterian Church, 1626 S. 1700 East, Salt Lake City.

MOON WALK ON THE STREETS. Kick up your heels on the streets of Salt Lake for the Pride Dance. Food, beverages and a sneak peek at the Pride site.

Members of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir in Sydney Australia getting ready to perform for the Opening Ceremonies of the Gay Games. Their summer concert is Sunday, June 20 at 7:30 pm at the Jeanne Wagner Theatre, 138 W. Braodway.

RAINBOW PARAPHERNALIA AND SKIN GALORE. 35,000 people can’t be wrong. The gay community’s event of the year features everything from the Salt Lake Men’s Choir to Salsa Brava and the Saliva Sisters. Booths, beer, bands and banners.

11am – 6pm, Washington and Library Squares, 200 E. 400 South.

JAZZ UP TO WIND DOWN. This year, try a different winddown. Salt Lake Metro is hosting a quiet evening at Third & Main Bar and Grill with a buffet by Chef Paul Willardson and live music by Shane Sim, Syren Vaughn and Wendy Bradshaw with her jazz trio. Bradshaw is releasing a brand new CD and will be featuring several songs from it.

6pm, Third & Main, a private club for members.

280 S. Main Street. $10 benefits local gay and lesbian nonprofits, 323-9500.

6–10pm, 400 S. 200 East.

Tuesday, June 15

I KNOW! Comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer tickles the funniest of bones for two shows. Westenhoefer is the most straight-talking lesbian in comedy: Her humor comes not from an offkilter persona, elaborate set-ups, or shock value, but an understanding of the intense silliness of everyday life.

Where else will you hear “My cell just went dead—I must have entered into the extended area where you can’t bitch at me!”

BEACH BLANKET ZION. Salt Lake Acting Company brings back the irreverent Utah staple, Saturday’s Voyeur. See the story in this section. Plays through August 22.

8pm and 10:30pm, Modiggity’s, a private club for members, 3424 S. State Street. Tickets $15–20 at 832-9000.

Sunday, June 13 PULL UP A CURB. The annual Pride Parade has gotten larger and larger every year.

Under the control of the Utah Cyber Sluts once again, it is sure to kick off on time!

10am, Leaves Broadway and heads up State Street to South Temple, to 200 East and south back to Broadway. A map is in this issue’s pull-out Pride Guide. 539-8800.

7:30 Wed–Thurs, 8pm Fri–Sat, 2pm and 7pm Sun. Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North.

Tickets $39–54 at 363-SLAC or 355-ARTS.

Wednesday, June 16 TIBETAN DANCE FEST. The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts of Dharamsala, India will perform “Dances From the Roof of the World.” The two hour performance by eighteen artists will take you back to the happy days prior to the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese Communist regime.

7:30pm, Jeanne Wagner Theatre, 138 W. Broadway.

Tickets $15 at 355-ARTS.

Thursday, June 17 GRAB A SANDWICH AND HEAD TO THE PARK. Lunch Brunch continues at the Gallivan Center as Scherzando Winds plays classical and chamber music in the open air.

Noon–1pm, Gallivan Center, 50 E. 200 South.

Weekdays through September 16.

Friday, June 18 THE FIRE WITHIN. An open reception to present “Inner Illumination,” a solo show by local artist Sally Neilson. “Life reflects what you want to see,” said Neilson. “The thing I love about being an artist is everyone sees something different.” Part of the monthly gallery stroll.

6pm, New Visions Gallery, 47 E. 400 South.

GROWLING BELLIES. Stephen Brown’s SB Dance company presents Strictly From Hunger, which tucks a twist on Kafka’s short story about starving for attention into an abstract landscape inspired by the wire designs of Alexander Calder. The Salt Lake Tribune has called SB Dance “firmly rooted in the weird and wonderful.”

8pm, Leona Wagner Box Theatre, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $15 at 355-ARTS. www.sbdance.com.

Saturday, June 19 SWEET SIXTEEN. THE 16th annual Walk for Life presented by the Utah AIDS Foundation is the key public fundraiser for the organizations services to people affected

by HIV/AIDS. A bluegrass festival sets the mood prior to and after the Walk.

2:30pm Bluegrass festival, 5pm registration, 6pm address by Mayor Anderson, 6:30 walk. Gallivan Center, 50 E. 200 South. www.UtahAIDS.org

Sunday, June 20 BOY BANDS TO BETTE. Salt Lake Men’s Choir presents its summer concert, “Classic Pops” featuring music of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s by popular artists. See a preview of the concert at Utah Pride on the main stage at 11am.

7:30pm, Jeanne Wagner theater at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway.

Tickets $10–15 at 355-ARTS.

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Community Calendar Arts First & Third Wednesdays 7-9pm DiverseCity Writing Series.

Free writing workshop for all ages and writing levels. The Center, 361 N. 300 West Sara Gunderson (801) 957-4992

Third Fridays 6-9pm Gallery Stroll. Several dozen of Salt Lake’s finest galleries remain open until 9 p.m. for viewing. Laura Durham (801) 533-3582

Men’s Groups Second & Fourth Tuesdays 7:30-9pm Gay and bisexual men support group. 18 years and older.

Friendship, conversation. Gallery Room at the Center, 355 N. 300 West. gmsgglccu@yahoo.com

Northern Utah

3-4:30pm Public Safety Liaison Committee. Police are available for discussion regarding the safety of the gay and lesbian community. Gallery Room at the Center, 361 N. 300 West 7:30-9pm Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays. Group meeting. Black Box Theater at the Center, 355 N. 300 West

Fourth Tuesdays 7pm Human Rights Campaign meet-up. Organize against the Federal Marriage Amendment. Multiple locations. hrc.org

First Wednesdays

7-8:30 Integrity potluck. Open to all; a fun social gathering. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4615 S. 3200 West IntegrityUtah.org

Wednesdays Noon Men’s sack lunch. A purely social group of local men meet to eat and chat. Gallery Room at the Center. 361 N. 300 West

Wednesdays 6:45pm Food, Flicks and Fags. Meet in the pool hall of Brewvies to pick the flick of the night. Admission $2.

Men and women 21 and older. 677 S. 200 West 7:30pm Lavender Tribe. A spirituality group that explores everything from auras to Zen meditation. Dave, (801) 521-3857, www.lavendertribe.org 7pm* Affirmation/Reconciliation Movie Night. A combined activity for those from an LDS background. Sugarhouse 10 Theaters, 2227 S. Highland Drive.

(801) 296-4797 *time depends on movie schedule

5:30-7pm Utah Stonewall Democrats.

Executive committee meeting to discuss strategy. Black Box Theater, 355 N. 300 West. njmikeutah@yahoo.com, www.UtahStonewallDemocrats.org

Thursdays

First Sundays

Fridays

10am-1:30pm Human Rights Campaign steering committee meeting.

Gallery Room at the Center, 361 N. 300 West. HRCSaltLakeUT@aol.com

Eleventh Day of Every Month 3-4pm Homeless Youth Task Force.

Group meets monthly to address the needs of homeless youth. Gallery Room at the Center, 361 N. 300 West

Religious Sundays 4pm Affirmation. Gay and lesbian Latter-day Saints. SLC, Ogden and Provo meeting sites. Rick Bickmore, (801) 860-6497, www.affirmation.org 9am First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake. 569 S. 1300 East. (801) 582-8687 9am Holladay United Church of Christ. All are welcome in our diverse community of faith. 2631 E. MurrayHolladay Road (801) 277-2631 9am Glory to God Community Church. 375 Harrison Blvd., Ogden (801) 394-0204

7:30pm Line Dancing. Utah Gay Rodeo Association offers free lessons. Paper Moon, 3737 S. State Street.

7-11:30pm Off the Wall Improv. Stand up comedy featuring up-and-coming comics from across the nation. Black Box Theater at the Center, 355 N. 300 West Jake Arky, (801) 824-1359

Second Sundays 1pm South Valley Potluck Club for GLBT people that live between I-215 and the point of the mountain. draperlastresort@aol.com.

Second or Third Weekends 7pm Spicy Dinner Group. Casual suppers held at various locations in the Salt Lake City area. Bring your signature dish whether it is Gumbo Florentine or chicken vindaloo. Logan, (801) 654-2849

Various Weekends Couples Social. Salt Lake Couples is a social group for long-term, committed couples. Strengthening relationships, social networking, fun. Jesse, (801) 231-7776, groups.yahoo.com/groups/ slcouples

Southern Utah Third Tuesdays

9:30am Provo Community Church.

175 N. University Ave., (801) 3759115

7pm Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays. Claudia, (435) 673-3356

11am Integrity. Episcopal ministry.

(801) 566-1311

Wednesdays

11am Glory to God Community Church. 375 Harrison Blvd., Ogden (801) 394-0204 11am Metropolitan Community Church of SLC. 823 S. 600 East.

(801) 595-0052 Noon Restoration Church of Jesus Christ. 2900 S. State Street. (801) 359-1151

JUNE 10, 2004

Second Mondays

7:30-9pm Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Group meeting.

Black Box Theater at the Center, 355 N. 300 West

Second Tuesdays

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Social

Pride Alliance of USU. Meets while school is in session. TSC 335.

Courtney Moser, (435) 753-3135, cmoser4@comcast.net, www.usu. edu/pride

7:30pm Log Cabin Republicans. Salt Lake County Building, 2001 S. State Street, room N4010. www.LRCUtah.org

SALT LAKE METRO

Family Fellowship. A diverse collection of Mormon families engaged in the cause of strengthening families with homosexual members. SLC, Ogden and Provo.

Gary or Millie, (801) 374-1447, wattsfam@aol.com, www.LDSFamilyFellowship.

Second Tuesday

First Tuesdays

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7pm Reconciliation. For those wishing to hold to some of the tenets of the LDS church. Regular lessons taken from approved church manuals. Russ (801) 2593800, (801) 296-4797

7pm Dinner and a Homo. An evening of fun and flicks with the community.

Bijou Theater at Bluff and Sunset, St. George. Aimie, (435) 635-0624, sugltcc@yahoo.com 5pm Southern Utah University Pride Club. All are welcome to participate.

The Blue Kat, 90 W. Hoover Street, Cedar City. laundra@suu.edu, www. suu.edu/orgs/pride

First Wednesdays

Thursdays 6pm Slug Rugby. Salt Lake Rugby Assoc. meets for practive and play.

Women of all levels welcome.

Sugarhouse Park, 2100 S. 1300 East. www.slugrugby.org

7:30pm Alternative Gardening Club.

Learn about plants, trees and foliage in general. Meet at the Sugarhouse Park Rose Bldg. in the northeast corner of the park. Don (801) 484-6414, roylance@msn.com.

7pm Goodtimes Bowling League. Bonwood Bowl, 2500 S. Main St. Singles, beginners welcome. $10/night. Scott Millar, (801) 832-9745

Sundays

7-8pm Queer Utah Acquatics Club.

Fairmont pool, 1044 E. Sugarhouse Dr. douglaskf@aol.com, quacquac.org

11am Latte Day Saints. Sunday morning coffee, bread and conversation.

Xetava Gardens in Kayenta. 815 Coyote Gulch Court, Ivans Aimie, (435) 6350624, sugltcc@yahoo.com

Third Sundays 7pm Family movie night at Doug and Kim’s. Movie, popcorn and socializing. Doug or Kim, (435) 668-9702

Special Interest First Tuesdays 7-9:30pm Bi-Poly Group. Bisexual and Polyamorous group meeting. Black Box Theater at the Center, 355 N. 300 West

Wednesdays 6pm BDSM Discussion Group. Utah Power Exchange’s weekly coffee klatch. Stonewall Coffee Co., 361 N. 300 West. UtahPowerExchange.org

Last Thursdays 7pm Utah Bear Alliance. General meeting for bears, cubs and admirers. Black Box Theater at the Center, 355 N. 300 West. Noal Robinson, (801) 949-3989

First Fridays 10pm Wasatch Leathermen’s Assn.

Social/service organization for gay men into the leather lifestyle. Meet & Greet at Club 161, 161 S. Pueblo St. omahajay@yahoo.com

Third Saturdays 10am Western Transsexual Network.

Meet and discuss issues relating to gender change. Gallery Room at the Center, 361 N. 300 West 7pm Engendered Species – Crossdressers and Transgender people.

They meet most weekends for dining and discussion and always the third Saturday for an open house. The Center, 361 N. 300 West, (801) 320-0551

First Sundays 11am Utah Bear Alliance brunch.

Social/service organization for Bears, Cubs and their admirers. Call for locations. Noal Robinson, (801) 949-3989 4pm Wasatch Leathermen’s Assn.

Social/service organization for gay men into the leather lifestyle. General meeting at Club 161, 161 S. Pueblo St. omahajay@yahoo.com

Sundays 4pm Latin Divas. Latin drag organization plans for shows, activities and fund raisers. Black Box Theater at the Center, 361 N. 300 West. Juan Lopez (801) 577-5927

Sports and Fitness

Tuesdays and Thursdays

First and Third Saturdays 10am Lambda Hiking Club. Parking lot at 700 E. 200 South. Day hikes, overnight hikes during summer. Winter activities. Bring sturdy shoes, sun protection, food and water. Randy, (801) 532-8447, GayHike.org

Sundays 2pm Northern Utah Women Recreational Opportunities Club. Social organization for women in the Ogden area. groups.yahoo.com/group/OgdenOutdoorWomen 11am-3pm Pride Softball League.

Come join – we will fit you onto a team. Jordan Park, 1000 S. 900 West.

Kaos168@hotmail.com

Varying Saturdays 11am Utah Singles for single lesbian women. The Center, 361 N. 300 West. groups.yahoo.com/group/lesbian_singles

11am-Noon Queer Utah Acquatics Club. Water polo. Fairmont Pool. 1044 E. Sugarhouse Drive. Men’s and women’s teams; beginners and advanced teams. douglaskf@aol.com, quacquac.org Noon Slug Rugby. Salt Lake Rugby Assoc. All women of all levels welcome.

Sugarhouse Park, 2100 S. 1300 East. www.slugrugby.org

Youth Ages 13-19 Unless noted otherwise, activites for youth are held at: Youth Activity Center at the Center, 355 N. 300 West. “bob,” (801) 539-8800, ext. 14

First Wednesdays 7pm Young Women’s Support Group.

Open discussion, activities.

Second & Fourth Wednesdays 7pm Queer Slam. Open workshop for all young people into poetry slams and gettin’ the word out!

2:30pm Soccer. Fairmont Park, 2300 S. 1100 East. Open play. Martin Grygar, (801) 231-9453, jesper2@hotmail.com

Third Wednesdays

3pm Volleyball. Fairmont Park, 2300 S. 1100 East. Open play. Martin Grygar (801) 231-9453, jesper2@hotmail.com

Thursdays

3pm Basketball. Fairmont Park, 2300 S. 1100 East. Pick-up games.

Martin Grygar, (801) 231-9453, jesper2@hotmail.com 11am-3pm Pride Softball League.

Hundreds of players of both genders.

A fun social gathering. Newcomers welcome. Jordan Park, 1000 S. 900 West. kaos168@hotmail.com

Third Sundays 11am Stonewall Shooting Sports shoot. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Lee Kay Center for Hunter Education and Public Shooting Range.

6000 W 2100 S. StonewallShootingSportsUtah.com

Saturdays or Sundays 10am or Noon Motorcyclists. Gay Bikers of Utah meet most weekends to ride through different scenic areas.

Beans & Brews Tuesdays 6pm to decide route. 5900 S. State. Jamie, 598-0760, gaybikersofUT@yahoogroups.com

Substance Abuse Tuesdays 8pm Alcoholics Anonymous. St. Paul’s Church, 261 S. 900 East

6pm Slug Rugby. Salt Lake Rugby Assoc. meets for practice and play.

All women of all levels welcome.

Sugarhouse Park, 2100 S. 1300 East. www.slugrugby.org 6:30pm Frontrunners/Frontwalkers.

Walkers make a 3-mile loop, runners do a 4-mile run at Sugarhouse Park. Meet at the northeast corner of Sugarhouse Park in the Garden Ctr parking lot. Geoff, (801) 712-9558, alliance@aros.net, FrontRunnersUtah.org

8pm Alcoholics Anonymous. Washington Terrace, 4601 S. 300 West, Ogden

Second Tuesdays

Sundays

6:30pm Frontrunners/Frontwalkers. A beautiful route through north Bonneville Drive and up City Creek Canyon. Group meets at 11th Avenue and B Street, near the guardrail. Geoff Partain, (801) 712-9558, alliance@aros.net, FrontRunnersUtah.org

6:30pm sWerve Monthly. Gathering for lesbian and bisexual women to meet in a safe, social environment.

SwerveUtah.com.

9am Frontrunnrs/Frontwalkers. Liberty Park/Avenues routes. Meet in front of Barbacoa Mexican Grill, 859 E 900 South. Geoff Partain, (801) 712-9558, alliance@aros.net, FrontRunnersUtah.org

Wednesdays

Wednesdays

Third Saturdays

Sundays

Mondays

7pm-8:30pm Stonewall Shooting Sports meeting. Doug’s Shoot and Sports, 4926 S. Redwood Road. www.StonewallShootingSportsUtah.com

Women Lesbian support group. Call to get info.

University of Utah Women’s Resource Center. 581-8030, www.sa.utah.edu/women

Fridays 7:30-9pm Alcoholics Anonymous.

Español. Gallery Room at the Center, 355 N. 300 West 8pm Alcoholics Anonymous. St. Paul’s Church, 261 S. 900 East

Saturdays 6pm Alcoholics Anonymous. St. Mary’s Church, 50 W. 200 North, Provo 3pm Alcoholics Anonymous. Jubilee Center, 309 E. 100 South, rear door

Testing Mondays 5-7pm HIV Antibody Testing. Drop In. Free first Mondays. Utah AIDS Foundation 1408 S. 1100 East. Tyler 801-487-2323 Second and Fourth Wednesdays Free HIV/STD testing and counseling.

Gallery Room at the Center, 361 N. 300 West

7pm In Tune. For young singers, songwriters and musicians.

7pm Young Men’s Group. Ages 13-19.

Open discussion and activities determined by participants and facilitator.

Fridays 7:30pm Movie night.

Saturdays 2pm Queers in Action. Want to hold a “Queers for Peace” sign at a rally, plan Utah’s Queer prom, or start your own group? Join us.

4pm Gayme Time. PlayStation2, XBOX games. Use ours or bring yours. Board games and cards also available.

First Saturdays Generation Gap. An opportunity to share coming out stories and other queer stories between generations.

Stonewall Coffee Co., 355 N. 300 West. “bob,” (801) 539-8800, ext. 14

Third Sundays 2pm Collage of Utah. Support group for children of gay or lesbian parents.

Youth Activity Center at the Center, 355 N. 300 West Erica Summers, (801) 583-5300

Young Adult Ages 18-30 Mondays 7:30pm University of Utah Lesbian/Gay Student Union. Union Building, Rm 411.

(801) 587-7973, www.utah.edu/lgsu 7pm Pride Alliance of USU. Meets when school is in session. TSC 335.

(435) 797-4297, www.usu.edu/pride

Tuesdays 8pm Weber State University Delta Lambda Sappho Union. Junction Room, Student Union. Katharine MacKay, (801) 626-6782, Julie_Drach@hotmail.com

Wednesdays 5pm Southern Utah University Pride Club. All welcome to participate. Blue Kat, 90 W. Hoover Street, Cedar City laundra@suu.edu, suu.edu/ksuu 7pm Salt Lake Community College GLBT Student Union. South City Campus, Room W111G. Gordon Storrs, (801) 957-4562, Gordon.storrs@slcc.edu.

Saturdays Various times Gay LDS Young Adults, An organization that welcomes everyone but has a focus on young adults with an LDS background. glya@hotmail.com, glyautah@yahoo. com, www.glya.com

Fighting The Man Saturday’s Voyeur 2004 Stands up to the Utah Legislature

by Rebecca Vernon

“This stuff is addictive,” says Nancy Borgenicht, co-writer/director for 26 years of Saturday’s Voyeur. She ain’t referring to anything you did last weekend — Borgenicht is talking about the oldest male-dominated profession in the world: politics.

And Voyeur 2004 promises to be “very political, very political,” says Borgenicht.

The plot’s web is based on the recent year’s actual conflict between the ex-Dead Goat Saloon’s strip-tease agenda clashing with too-close-to-the-temple Utah Legislative laws. It all begins when “Daniel Darker,” the proprietor of the “Crazy” Goat Saloon, finds that it’s easier for him to deal with Utah’s convoluted Sexually Oriented Business (SOB) and liquor laws by running a raw n’ wild strip joint than a more “tasteful” burlesque show. He still runs into plenty of problems though, and finally decides to take on The Man face-to-face.

With three loveable retired strippers in tow, he visits the Utah State Capitol during the final day of the 55th session of the Utah Legislature, where the strippers disguise themselves as famous political figures and shake up the “onlyin-Utah” debates and bill-passing with sass and style.

Borgenicht and co-writer/director Allen Nevins didn’t just peruse an Alpine High 11th-grade U.S. Government textbook to learn how the Utah Legislature works. Besides reading approximately five national and local newspapers a day for pretty much their entire life, clippings of which are strewn all over their homes, they actually spent a “fair” amount of time attending Legislative sessions over the last year, observing the nuts and bolts of committee hearings, floor debates, and the “threering-circus” manner in which lobbyists, the media and legislators interact.

“I would say that in Voyeur’s portrayal of the Legislative session, it’s all quoted or directly paraphrased from things we actually heard at the sessions we attended, and you wouldn’t believe some of the things that go

on,” says Borgenicht with a dry chuckle.

“There was a lot of time spent debating about getting us out of the UN,” she says.

“We took all the language out of that bill and turned it into a song for Voyeur, which the strippers — disguised as Gayle Ruzicka and Al Mansell — sing, ‘Pull out, pull out!’

So it becomes something sexy, you see.”

Borgenicht and Nevins probably didn’t directly observe three chorus boys playing in front of the Dead Goat Saloon and bursting into the Legislature as “Queer Eyes for the Legislative Straight Guys,” which takes place in Voyeur. Still, one can always hope.

Voyeur gets sympathetic with the legislature’s Democratic minority with a twist on Outkast’s “Hey Ya” pop hit.

“It’s a ‘don’t-give-up’ kind of song — just get out there and register people to vote!” says Borgenicht. “I would ask Democrats up on Capitol Hill, ‘How can you keep doing this?’ and they would reply, ‘We have hope.’ There is hope. There’s a right-wing Republican majority in power, true, but some of them have only won by 20 votes. I mean, that’s nothing.

“Everything is just so clubby and comfy up there on Capitol Hill,” she continues. “It’s kind of not their fault, but you just have to insert yourself in their world.”

Which is exactly what Daniel Darker and the strippers do in this year’s Voyeur.

“Voyeur’s ultimate fantasy,” laughs Borgenicht, “Is that the little guy goes after the big guy and the big, dominant guy learns and changes a little and everyone learns to love each other. And of course, the way we get there is through relentless satire and humiliation,” she finishes slyly.

Borgenicht says she likes this year’s Voyeur “enormously,” and is extremely proud of the writing, which Nevins handles while Borgenicht writes and arranges the music. But don’t ask her what her favorite version of Saturday’s Voyeur has been over the years.

“That’s like asking which child is your favorite. The capacity for love is infinite.

Don’t go there.”

“Saturday’s Voyeur” runs Wednesdays-Sundays through Aug. 22, Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North.

Pray for Salivation

by Sally Neilson Ever seen three ladies parading around with giant pairs of lips strapped to their heads? How about wearing matching skirts looking like Chinese lanterns while singing some outlandish song? If so, you’ve seen the Saliva Sisters.

A long-time staple at Utah Pride, this year they’ll be doing some new songs and releasing An Unnatural Act, a new self-produced DVD featuring live performances of many of their popular numbers.

Twenty years ago, Rebecca Terry Heal was first approached by Michelle Nunley, one of the original Sisters, to do a show together.

The first outfit? A circle skirt, tank top and a pillbox hat. A performance was born.

“We were retro; we were young; we were skinny; we were cute,” laughs Heal. “We sang two or three tunes, but none of it was parody. It was just supposed to be campy.” It was at that time that Joe Redburn saw them at the Park City Arts Festival and invited them to perform at the Sun. At the time, the Sun was the hippest gay place in town, and its patrons loved the Sisters. “I don’t think the Saliva Sisters would have had a future if it hadn’t been for the gay community.” And, at the gay community’s insistence, they came back again and again.

Kristen Merrill continues the story. “The place was packed. I couldn’t even get to the stage,” said Merrill. “Afterwards, when we’d gotten into our civilian clothes, everyone’s talking and I’m trying to get through to get to the door, and there’s this guy that goes, ‘I just loved the fat one on the left!’”

Since then, the Saliva Sisters have performed at every Pride festival. Heal adds, “We premiere things at Gay Pride that we don’t do anyplace else — that’s kind of a test for us.” Karen Nielsen-Anson is the newest edition to the Saliva Sisters. She hits the three-year mark in August. “I am riding this amazing wave that got started 20 years ago and having the time of my life!” said Anson.

The Saliva Sisters travel extensively throughout the U.S. doing various private corporate shows, end-of-year parties and tributes. “It’s a riot,” said Anson. “We get together to do shows, we rehearse, like, once a year maybe.” There is more laughter at the table as Anson continues, “It’s a lot

of improvisation. It’s a very creative, funny process in creating songs together.”

Anson has been active in the theater community for many years, and has performed at Salt Lake Acting Company and at Lagoon.

It was when Nunley had health problems that Anson took her place — after auditioning on her own front lawn!

What’s the best thing about being a Saliva Sister? “Performing,” Merrill says with a smile.

“Trying to upstage each other!” Anson adds.

“It’s material that we feel good about, that we must sing because we live in Salt Lake City,” Heal cuts in. “We’re the answer to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”

“Something in our souls must leap out of our mouths,” laughs Anson, “and we have to sing these lyrics that we’ve fasted and prayed about.” There’s another round of laughter.

You’ve got to love smartasses. “It gets us into trouble from time to time.” Anson says.

Most of the credit for lyrics goes to Merrill.

During the interview, the Sisters sang some lyrics from their song “Gay Mormon” (sung to the tune of the Beatles’ “Daytripper”): She’s a sweet spirit, She tried to fit in all her life.

She’s a sweet spirit, With a crush on the first counselor’s wife.

The Saliva Sisters hold a tremendous amount of gratitude and appreciation for where their lives have taken them. “There are so many years, so many great stories,” Anson says. “Our performances at the gay bars have just been memorable on many different levels — from falling flat on our faces to being triumphant!”

“We owe so much to the gay community because they really did, all those years, embrace us,” added Heal. “[They] made us feel like we could do something and be somebody. They kicked us into doing more material and whenever we’ve tried something new, we’ve gone to them first and they really loved us through it all.”

“I think they really just want to wear our costumes,” added Merrill thoughtfully.

The Saliva Sisters will perform at noon at the Utah Pride Festival, June 13, where their new DVD, “An Unnatural Act,” will also premiere.

The DVD will be available at Cahoots, 878 E. 900 South; Holladay Music, 2191 E. 3300 South; or from their website at www.SalivaSisters.com.

JUNE 10, 2004

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John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a burned-out, alcoholic counterterrorism veteran who takes a job as bodyguard for a 9-year-old girl (Dakota Fanning) in kidnap-plagued Mexico. But this strange film can’t decide whether it wants to be the story of a downcast man redeemed by contact with a child who loves him, or a standard-issue Hollywood revenge flick with extra helpings of graphic violence. As soon as the audience wraps its collective mind around Washington’s moody performance and Fanning’s poised-beyondher-years personality (and impending kidnapping), the tone abruptly changes and bodies start getting mowed down. The unlikely pairing of a veteran Oscar winner and a whip-smart little girl makes the first half of the movie completely watchable; yet a Walking Tall/Punisher-style vigilante bloodbath makes the second half a big, yawning anticlimax.

Grade: C+ / Kinsey Scale: 1 (Washington is now somewhat notorious for his career advice — which went something like this: never kiss another man onscreen — to a young Will Smith, just as that actor was preparing to play gay in Six Degrees of Separation. Washington went on to star in Philadelphia. Supporting cast member

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SALT LAKE METRO

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SAVED! (Not yet playing in Utah.)

Shocked when her boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust), reveals that he’s gay, born-again Mary (Jena Malone) sleeps with him in the belief that Jesus wants her to set him straight. When Dean is sent away for therapy and she finds herself queasy with morning sickness, Mary creates a scandal at her Christian high school as she begins to question her faith. A talented ensemble lets the one-liners fly in this satirical teen comedy that genially skewers rigid beliefs and the social purgatory of adolescence with equal abandon. Some characters are little more than rabid Christian stereotypes.

But that barely detracts from a movie that delivers a message of unconditional love, acceptance, and, yes, faith — along with the belly laughs.

Grade: A- / Kinsey Scale: 4 (A minor subplot involves Dean’s learning to accept his sexuality and finding a boyfriend in spite of therapy that encourages him to renounce his homosexuality. Malone and co-stars Heather Matarazzo, Martin

JUNE 10, 2004

Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) ignites a powder keg when he runs off with Spartan king Menelaus’ (Brendan Gleeson) wife, Helen (Diana Kruger). In answer to this insult, Menelaus’ brother, Mycenaean king Agamemnon (Brian Cox), unites the Greek tribes to make war on Troy. Joining him in the campaign is godlike warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt), fighting for neither king nor country, but purely for glory.

13 GOING ON 30 Disappointed when the cool kids desert her 13th birthday party, Jenna Rink (Christa Allen) makes a wish to be “30, flirty, and thriving.” In the morning, Jenna (now played by Jennifer Garner) wakes up to find herself morphed into a highly successful Manhattan magazine editor, but with the emotions of her teenage self and no memory of the last 17 years. This

When Dr. Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) arrives in Transylvania to vanquish the vampire Dracula (Richard Roxburgh), he finds himself in a country teeming with monsters that include

Top Ten Queer Films

by Xenia Cherkaev In celebration of Pride Week, I am taking a hiatus from current film reviews to present a list of the ten best queer films of all time.

Ma Vie en Rose — dir.

An upper-middle class French family moves into a polite suburb with their seven year-old son Ludovic, who likes to dress up like a fairy princess and believes that he will be a girl in the near future.

Trouble escalates as Ludo sets his eye on marrying his father’s boss’s son. Georges Du Fresne plays the little transgendered Ludo innocently and naturally. Watch it with your mother and cry accusingly.

Querelle — dir. Rainer Fassbinder, 1982, Germany/ France. Based on the

Jean Genet novel by the same name, Querelle is a fantasy world in which all men seem to have sex with all other men while being perfectly masculine.

Thieves, sailors, cops, pimps, and murderers are all passionately caught together. Set against colorful theatrical backgrounds, the film is a dreamlike collection of sexy, dangerous men whose fight scenes turn into sexual dances as they pass in and out of the fog.

Bound — dir. Andy and

MGM/UA STUDIOS

Alain Berliner, 1997, France

SOUL PLANE On NWA Airlines, negative stereotypes rule: black passengers drink malt liquor and eat fried chicken; white passengers are named “Honky”; Latino characters’ entrances are accompanied by mariachi trumpets; Middle Easterners are turbaned terrorists; women are “bitches” and “ho’s”; and gay male flight attendants squeal, bat their eyes, and wear a lot of lip gloss. Meanwhile, the plot of this ensemble Airplane-style spoof involves a hip-hop airline that caters to African-American passengers with a high tolerance for incompetent, dope-smoking pilots (Snoop Dogg), trash-talking crewmembers (Mo’Nique and Loni Love), and the likelihood of a fatal crash. And as offensive as it is — and it is — the movie aims low and hits its mark with plenty of throwaway humor and crudely inventive visual style.

Grade: C+ / Kinsey Scale: 2 (There are plenty of gay jokes flying around the cabin of this plane, and all of them are homophobic. Whether or not they should be seen as more or less offensive than the other thoroughly racist and sexist content is up to individual viewers. Sensitive persons should probably stay away. But for queer audiences interested in witnessing how far gay men still have to go with regard to African-American comedies of this sort, film school begins here. The one gay character with a name is flight attendant Flame — played by Gary Anthony Williams. Cast member Tom Arnold was a regular on Roseanne, a sitcom that broke lots of TV ground with its lesbian content.)

VAN HELSING

STRAND RELEASING

TROY

OFF WHITE PRODUCTIONS

When her sister and brother-in-law die in an auto accident, fast-living fashion executive Helen (Kate Hudson) must step in to raise her nephew and two nieces. She’s absolutely unprepared for the responsibility and needs constant help from her other sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), a Supermom who resents being passed over for the job of guardian. In this painfully predictable and unfunny big-screen sitcom, Helen finally learns the true meaning of family, parenthood, and life, thanks to her exposure to the bratty kids and the nearpoverty living conditions their presence creates. Every so often, Hollywood likes to sell this sort of lie to remind everyone unfortunate enough to buy a ticket that true happiness is the simple life of family values and store-brand macaroni-andcheese. Don’t swallow it.

Grade: D / Kinsey Scale: 1 (There’s a vaguely gayish atmosphere created by Helen’s nameless, disposable, gay fashion-world “friends.” Also, Hudson played a budding lesbian in Robert Altman’s Dr. T and the Women, Cusack starred in In & Out, and co-star John Corbett was a regular on Sex and the City.)

They could have called this delightful sequel Meet the Parents, if that title hadn’t already been taken, because it sums up the plot nicely. Shrek (the voice of Mike Myers) and his new bride, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) in tow, visit the land of Far Far Away to show Fiona’s parents (Julie Andrews, John Cleese) that she’s happily become an ogre in order to marry Shrek.

Appalled that his daughter has wed a monster instead of the self-absorbed Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), the king enlists the help of a mean-spirited Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) in an attempt to steal Fiona back. What follows is witty, sweet, and love-affirming, leaving behind the smutty double entendres and (most of) the low-brow flatulence humor of the original. It’s that rarest of sequels — one that’s vastly superior to its precursor, and one that will leave you happily ever after.

Grade: A / Kinsey Scale: 2 (Although there’s no explicitly queer content, it could be argued that the story, with its “love whom you choose” message, is a metaphor for same-sex marriage; in addition, one of Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters (voiced by Larry King) is a man in drag.

Myers played gay in 54, Andrews starred in Victor/Victoria, Saunders stars on TV’s Absolutely Fabulous, and Antonio Banderas, who voices Puss-in-Boots, is a veteran of Pedro Almodovar’s films and played gay in Philadelphia. Everett, it goes without saying, is gay full time.)

WELLSPRING CINEMA

RAISING HELEN

SHREK 2

Larry Wachowski, 1996, USA

Almost Querelle from a lesbian angle, Bound is butch/ femme fantasy at its best. Corky, a butch thief, gets out of jail and takes a job restoring a swanky apartment next door to a mafia boss and his beautiful mistress Violet. Violet seduces Corky and together they try to rob the mafia.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch — dir. John Cameron Mitchell, 2001, USA

To leave East Germany, Hansel has a sex change operation and becomes Hedwig. The operation gets horribly botched, and he is left in a sexual limbo — neither male nor female. In America, his boyfriend runs off with Hedwig’s music, which rockets him to his own superstar career. All this leaves Hedwig a heartfelt hard-rocking Farrah Fawcett imitator.

JET TONE PRODUCTION

MAN ON FIRE

Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), homeschooled in Africa her entire life, moves to America and quickly finds herself at what can only be described as Lord of the Flies High School, where the caste system is vicious. Simultaneously falling in with the “art weirdos” (read: queer kids) and the “Plastics” (rich, beautiful girls), she’s put up to the prank of infiltrating the latter to exact revenge on them for their years-long torment of kids lower on the social totem pole. The snag: in doing so, she finds herself craving their attention, acceptance, and access to cute boys. Saturday Night Live writer Tina Fey’s script is a dead-on attack of the uniquely horrible world of adolescent females, and it only suffers when forced to make nice in the third act. So while not the classic teen-angst comedy that was Heathers — where the revenge took on unapologetically murderous dimensions — it’s still a hilarious glimpse of high school hell.

Grade: B / Kinsey Scale: 4 (Co-star Daniel Franzese plays the type of rebellious, chubby, high school gay boy you wish you had had the nerve to be, and co-star Lizzy Caplan is his comrade in popular-kid terrorism — a maybe-lesbian-maybe-not girl named Janis Ian. These two steal every scene they’re in, and if there were such a thing as artistic justice in Hollywood, they’d get their own queer Ghost World-esque sequel.)

This Greek mythology “lite” transforms formidable legend into soapy melodrama, wasting fine individual fight choreography, luminous cinematography, and Eric Bana’s transcendent performance as Paris’ protective brother, Hector. Inane dialogue, battles rendered in obvious CGI, and the egregious miscasting of the wimpy Bloom and petulant Pitt doom this would-be epic.

It’s all cheese, no whiz.

Grade: C- / Kinsey Scale: 2 (Achilles’ exceptional closeness with his cousin Patroclus leads one to wonder how Greek these Greeks really are. The battle togs of both sides reveal lots of shapely legs, and Bloom and Pitt display their bare bottoms — the best argument for why either was cast. Cox, Bloom, and co-stars Sean Bean and Peter O’Toole have all appeared in queer-themed films.)

WELLSPRING CINEMA

In his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) learns that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), an inmate of Azkaban prison for his role in the death of Harry’s parents, has escaped and may be coming for Harry next. That’s the simple version: the more complicated tale involves shape-shifting animals, mistaken identities, time travel, and a very large teenager-hungry tree. Meanwhile, the kids in the cast are maturing, growing into their roles without a trace of awkwardness. The most important development, though, is the film’s running time.

Even though the books get longer as the series goes on, this film installment is a little shorter than the first two, thanks to a looser, less slavish devotion to its source; as a result, it plays much more briskly.

That may upset literal-minded devotees of the novels, but will delight those who want their movies to actually move.

Grade: A / Kinsey Scale: 1 (The cast has lots of experience in queer-themed projects. Oldman played Joe Orton in Prick up Your Ears; co-star David Thewlis was Paul Verlaine in Total Eclipse; Emma Thompson recently appeared in Angels in America; and Julie Walters costarred in Billy Elliot and the independent films Sister My Sister and Just Like a Woman.)

MEAN GIRLS

Donovan, and Mary-Louise Parker have all appeared in queer-themed films. And ever since former child star Macaulay Culkin returned to the camera after eight years, he’s appeared in this, Party Monster, and on Will & Grace.)

LEAN-CLAUDE

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Mickey Rourke played a drag queen in the little-seen indie film Animal Factory, and co-star Radha Mitchell played a lesbian in High Art.)

COLUMBIA/TRI-STAR

Climatologist Jack Hall’s (Dennis Quaid) dire warnings of a new ice age come true as tornados demolish Los Angeles, baseball-size hail rains over Tokyo, and a tsunami swamps Manhattan, all in advance of a mega-storm that will freeze the northern hemisphere. As if worldwide catastrophe weren’t enough, Hall also faces the possibility of losing his teenage son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who’s trapped in the New York Public Library.

This disaster melodrama rises above its inane plot on the strength of Quaid’s roguish charm, an excellent supporting cast, and superior computer-generated special effects, particularly as the twisters lay waste to L.A. But genuine thrills are kept to a minimum, thanks to too many action scenes that amount to little more than people trudging through snow.

Grade: B / Kinsey Scale: 1 (Quaid played the closeted husband in Todd Haynes’ Far from Heaven. Co-stars Ian Holm, Dash Mihok, Sela Ward, Tamlyn Tomita, and Perry King have all appeared in queer-themed projects.)

REPUBLIC STUDIOS

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

NEW LINE PRODUC-

Now Playing

romantic comedy adds a fresh twist to a well-worn plot by adding a backstory that covers those missing years, as Jenna realizes that her accomplishments and popularity came at a terrible price.

The comely Garner displays a charming flair for sometimes boisterously physical humor that is well-matched by Mark Ruffalo as an old friend who never quite got over an adolescent crush.

Grade: B+ / Kinsey Scale: 1 (Andy Serkis plays Jenna’s gay boss. Ruffalo appeared in 54, and co-star Joe Grifasi had a recurring role on the queer sitcom Some of My Best Friends.)

Kinsey Scale: 0 – not gay at all 6 – Gay as a bunny.

Frankenstein’s creature (Shuler Hensley) and a werewolf (Will Kemp). Though he likes to work alone, Van Helsing makes an exception for the headstrong Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale), the woman he’s vowed to protect and who insists on teaming with him to vanquish the festering evil. Jackman’s charm, coupled with some excellent special effects and a wonderfully atmospheric prologue that evokes the spirit of ‘30s-era horror classics, promise a bang-up frightfest.

But the movie quickly deteriorates into a monster mishmash, thanks to banal dialogue, overly frantic and pointless action scenes, and an inane story.

Grade: C- / Kinsey Scale: 2 (There are homoerotic overtones to interactions between Van Helsing and Dracula and between Anna and Dracula’s brides.

Jackman is currently playing gay singersongwriter Peter Allen on Broadway in The Boy from Oz. Beckinsale and costars Kevin J. O’Connor, Robbie Coltrane, and Samuel West have appeared in queer-themed films.)

Show me Love — dir.

Lucas Moodysson, 1998, Sweden. Originally titled Fucking Amal, it had to be renamed Show Me Love for U.S. distribution. The former title carries more meaning. The story of life in a ghastly small Swedish town named Amal where two girls fall in love.

Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert — dir. Stephan Elliot, 1994, Australia

Three drag queens drive across the Australian outback in a bus they have christened Pricilla and have fabulous adventures with the hard-drinking locals and the Aborigines, all with a healthy level of shadethrowing bitchiness and stiletto heels.

Paris is Burning — dir. Jennie Livingston, 1990, USA. A documentary

about the drag balls in Harlem in the late ’80s at which poor Black and Latino gay men give everything they could earn, steal, or hustle for one night of high-fashion glory.

Madame Sata — dir.

Karim Ainouz, 2002, Brazil

A film about Joao Francisco dos Santos, born circa 1900, sold at the age of seven for a mule and grew up to be a street-fighting pimp and drag queen in Rio’s tough Lapa district. Santos is all man, all woman, all the time, and this film pulses with color and sexuality.

Happy Together — dir.

Wong Kar Wai, 1997, Hong Kong

Yiu-Fai and Po-Wing come to Argentina for a romantic holiday only to suffer a hideous break-up and become stranded. The film explores a cyclical and pathological relationship between two men emotionally estranged from their home and from each other.

Before Stonewall — dir. Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg, 1984, USA

This documentary about American gay life from the 1920s to the “official” birth of the gay rights movement in the 1969 Stonewall riots is a fascinating collage of archive footage, personal histories, and old film clips reliving the twilight world of lesbian pulp fiction and red neckties.

Book Marks

by Richard Labonte

A Son Called Gabriel, by Damian McNicholl. CDS Books, 352 pages, $22.95 hardcover.

Gabriel, the narrator of this spirited novel, is a sensitive 5 yearold in 1964, bullied mercilessly at school and already aware he’s not like other boys. By story’s end in 1978, he’s a sexually active, semi-closeted young queer, facing university and the future with measured self-confidence. Coming-out novels are nothing new, but McNicholl brings unsentimental warmth and engaging realism to his story, and that’s part of the appeal of A Son Called Gabriel. So is its setting — a Northern Ireland where Protestant oppression clashes increasingly with IRA militancy, where a rigid Catholic culture rules, and where homosexuality is a considerable crime against both God and nature. The comic courage with which Gabriel survives his rough passage through adolescence is a particular grace note. Comparisons to Jamie O’Neill’s At Swim, Two Boys are inevitable, but Gabriel holds its own — it’s not as politically charged as that much-honored novel, but McNicholl’s affable voice captures the wary innocence and budding sexuality of youth with polished originality.

Hancock Park, by Katherine V. Forrest. Berkley Prime Crime, 244 pages, $22.95 hardcover.

Kate Delafield is back, as conflicted and compelling as ever. Hancock Park sees the Los Angeles detective spending more time in court than at grisly crime scenes, as an unctuous defense lawyer shreds her case against an abuser accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife. But for longtime fans who embraced the series when it debuted 20 years ago with Amateur City, the well-crafted mix of police procedural and courtroom sparring in the eighth book is but half the pleasure. Just as absorbing are Kate’s own demons: her strained relationship with lover Aimee, her bouts of disillusionment with police work, and her growing dependence on a stiff drink or three to get her through the night. Forrest, her prose as brisk as ever, adds new stress to Kate’s life: Dylan, a teen niece she’s never known because of her brother’s homophobia, is a runaway on L.A.’s seedy streets — and she’s a girl determined to be a boy. Forrest has always kept her mysteries fresh by weaving contemporary queer concerns into the storylines, so introducing a new, transsexual character is a natural evolution. And it’s a sure bet that Dylan and her transformation will figure in the next Delafield.

Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People, by Joan Roughgarden. University of California Press, 474 pages, $27.50 hardcover.

Birds do it, baboons do it, even fish swimming in the sea and lizards lazing in the sun do it — express gender fluidity and same-sex orientation. So why not women and men?

That’s the brilliantly argued crux of Evolution’s Rainbow, a controversial consideration of evolution, genetic determinism, and the spectrum of sexual activity in the natural world. Roughgarden is an acclaimed professor of biology at Stanford University, and an MTF transsexual. All the aspects of her self — scientific curiosity and intelligence, personal emotion and experience — are fused in this revolutionary affirmation of life’s rainbow of diversity. The result is a challenging yet seductive book that explores everything from the asexual procreation of aphids to the sexual complexity of humans. Along the way the author refutes the absolutism of Darwin’s theory of evolution, challenges social-science orthodoxies, and even bitch-slaps fundamentalists who misread the Bible. This book’s blend of hard science, progressive politics, and sharp thinking declares that sexual ambiguity ought to be embraced as a norm, not feared as a threat — a splendid thought.

Hot Sauce and Razor Burn, by Scott & Scott. Romentics, 248 pages each, $13.99 paper.

Hot Sauce, Razor Burn, Spare Parts (forthcoming) — there’s a clever rhythm to the titles of these winsome romances. Scott (Pomfret) and Scott (Whittier), real-life lovers, have perfected a queer Harlequin formula that’s all about heartfelt love, mildly naughty sex, and happy endings. In Hot Sauce, first of the Romentics

Romances, Troy is a devilishly handsome scion of a wealthy family, and Brad is a hunky, blue-collar-born, self-taught master chef.

Troy’s snooty mother disdains Brad’s bad breeding and schemes to undercut their passion. But love conquers all. In Razor Burn, the second novel, Blayne is a closeted workaholic scion of the mega-successful Mandatory line of male cosmetics, and Ben is an unemployed but brilliant coffee-shop layabout. Blayne’s tight-ass father hates that his son is a homosexual and plots to deny them their passion.

But — guess what? — love conquers all. The Scotts are a lean writing machine, their plots are imaginatively implausible, and their books deliver angst-free gay love stories. Simple, but not simpleminded, pleasures.

Featured Excerpt: Our species isn’t divided into two classes, normal and different. Our species is naturally a rainbow of normalcies in every bodily detail. The distinction between male and female, as defined by gamete size, does not extend with similar clarity into genotypes, chromosomes, biochemistry, hormones, morphology, brains, mental capacities, gender identities, or sexual orientations. Apart from gamete size and associated plumbing, nearly every male trait is naturally possessed by some female, and nearly every female trait is naturally possessed by some male.

— from Evolution’s Rainbow, by Joan Roughgarden

Books to Watch out For: Coming soon would be Joel Derfner’s Gay Haiku, said by the publisher, Broadway Books, to be “a humorous collection” of poems reflecting contemporary gay life.

The classical haiku follows a relatively rigid format of three lines of five, seven, and five syllables, demanding a discipline that possibly adds a veneer of sophistication to the book. That can’t be said of a previous collection of formula poetry, Donald Dimock’s bawdy 1995 book, Limericks Modern and Gay: “There was a young fellow named Tucker/Who, instructing a novice cock …”

You get the idea.

With dozens of biographies already in print, is there really anything new and startling about the life of Oscar Wilde? Biographer Neil McKenna thinks so: The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde, which raised eyebrows when published in Britain in 2003, concentrates on Wilde’s sexual conquests and declares he was more predator than victim. The U.S. edition is due in September from Perseus Books.

Just weeks after the Romentics Romances became available off-the-shelf as well as over the Internet comes news that their authors, Scott Pomfret and Scott Whittier, have sold reprint rights to a mainstream publisher. The first novel, Hot Sauce, is due from Warner Books in time for Gay Pride in June, 2005.

Richard Labonte has been reading, editing, selling, and writing about queer literature since the mid-’70s.

Red,White & Bubbly Celebrate Today

by Beau Jarvis The word “Champagne” conjures up images of celebration and special occasions. Has it always been this way? Well, yes actually.

From 898 to 1825 the kings of France were crowned in Rheims, the major city in the French region of Champagne. Locally made wine flowed freely at these events.

However, it wasn’t until the end of the 17th Century that this wine became bubbly.

The advent of glass bottles combined with the cool climate in Champagne resulted in a “wine of stars,” as Dom Perignon purportedly described.

How did this happen? It was all very much unintentional and completely natural. Wine stored in the cellars of Champagne began to ferment in the autumn. The quick arrival of winter in this northerly region temporarily halted the fermentation process. A portion of unfermented, natural sugar remained in the wine (quick chemistry lesson: Yeasts feast on sugar in grape juice, converting the sugar to alcohol and then belch out carbon dioxide).

As spring arrived and temperatures rose, fermentation commenced again. Carbon dioxide gas, the natural by-product of fermentation, was produced and captured inside the newly-invented glass bottles. Et voila!

Sparkling wine, as we know it, was born.

Fine Champagne (i.e. sparkling wine from the region of Champagne) is the embodiment of elegance. It pairs superbly with practically every food on a menu. Of course, most of us aren’t able to regularly

buy a bottle of luxurious Krug Grande Cuvée, priced at one Benjamin and a Ulysses.

Fortunately there are a number of sparkling wines that can be had for around $10.

This makes it possible to celebrate with bubbly almost as often as we’d like. These value-priced sparklers are not as elegant and rich as Champagne, but they are nice, tasty wines that can lend a touch of class to Wednesday evening’s fridge raid.

Believe it or not, the Spanish company Freixenet makes more sparkling wine than any of its Gallic neighbors to the northeast. Spanish bubbly is called Cava. Cava literally means “cellar,” which is where Spanish sparkling wine is made and aged using the metodo classico (Champagne method). Cava is generally very dry and lacks the yeasty/biscuit-like character that Champagne groupies love. However, it tastes great and its ultra-zest makes for a food-friendly wine. (Being around 10 bucks doesn’t hurt either.) If you are a Cava virgin I suggest you start with either Segura Viudas Brut Reserva ($8.95) or Aria Brut ($10.95). Both are very zesty, very crisp and very yummy.

Italians call their sparkling wine Prosecco. It’s named after the Prosecco grape, which was traditionally the primary ingredient in Italian bubbly. Currently, numerous grape varieties are used in the production of Prosecco. The Italians make much of their bubbly using the ominous-sounding “tank method.” Instead of fermenting and producing bubbles in individual bottles, Prosecco is fermented in a large tank. The bubbly is then bottled under pressure to maintain its bubble-producing carbon dioxide gas.

Generally speaking, Prosecco is quite crisp and racy. Its aroma zigzags around

scents of green apple, citrus and mineral.

A sip of Prosecco yields a fresh bite that tickles the salivary glands. After one sip your mouth usually begins to water. Of course this makes it a perfect partner for any food that can accommodate increased flavor volume. From popcorn to scungilli pomodoro, Prosecco adds another flavor dimension.

Who wouldn’t want a glass with dinner?

Prosecco isn’t quite the value that Cava often represents. However, many Proseccophiles maintain that it is a more unique bubbly. You be the judge. Zardetto Prosecco Brut ($14.95) is a fine representative Italian bubbly. Another to try is Rotari Brut Arte Italiana ($14.50), which is actually made by the Champagne method. “Arte Italiana” seems to possess both Prosecco and Champagne characteristics, making it a must-try.

Still feeling a little guilty about opening a bottle of bubbly — even value-priced bubbly — on Thursday evening for no apparent reason? Allow me to provide you with some reasons to celebrate on any day of the week: • Celebrate who you are.

• Celebrate your friends.

• Celebrate your family.

• Celebrate your lover.

• Celebrate your pets.

• Celebrate that tomorrow is Friday.

• Celebrate the smile on your face.

Add bubbly to lunch or dinner a few times a month. You don’t need a special occasion. Create an occasion and share it with a friend. Then, sit back and see how much better life can be with a few bubbles.

Cheers!

Beau Jarvis is a Sommelier, wine consultant and wine educator. He operates BasicJuice.com — an independent wine review and info website.

JUNE 10, 2004

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Queeriscaping Doing What Feels Natural

by Brandie Balken “Just living is not enough — one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”

— Hans Christian Anderson

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Since I’ve come out, Pride Day has become my favorite holiday. I look forward to it every year, anticipating the one weekend when I can kiss my girlfriend in downtown Salt Lake City and not receive so much as a sneer.

The PDA issue is actually a rather touchy one between us. I am of the mind that if it feels natural and you’re not doing it to make a political point, a quick kiss or handholding in public is appropriate. She is of the mind that it makes everyone feel uncomfortable — her included.

This is not to say she won’t tolerate me taking her arm when we’re walking or let me hug her goodbye, but she is far more attentive to the opinions of onlookers than I am.

I believe we should all be allowed to express love without fear of violence. We should all be able to act naturally.

So, with Pride Day fast approaching, I’m basing this column on what feels and is natural — something we can all agree upon.

As you may have expected, it always comes back to gardening for me.

I’m speaking of the most natural of all the plants, the natives. You may be asking yourself at this very moment: “Why do I care about native plants?” “Is the interesting part of this column over?” “Should I stop reading now?”

Native plants are amazing in that they require basically no care once they’re established. Planting natives in your garden is a demonstration that you support integration and diversity, that you not only understand the information nature is offering us, but that you also respect it. These plants are wonderful because they thrive in our very specific climate, and also support the native fauna. You can be a gracious host to visiting butterflies, moths and birds.

I will begin with my personal favorite, of which there are many varieties: Penstemon spp. Most varieties of Penstemon have an upright growth habit, 12-30 inches tall with flowers in the blue-violet range, although there are some red-, white- and pink-flowering varieties. They are great attractors of butterflies. Depending on the variety, they begin blooming from early May to late June.

The blooms generally last four weeks. Don’t be deterred by the short bloom time — the flowers are spectacular. If you love a true blue flower as I do, these are a great choice.

The most readily available are P. psuedospectabilis (Canyon penstemon) and the P. strictus (Rocky Mountain penstemon).

Oenothera spp., or Evening primrose.

These are low mat-forming plants, with fragrant nocturnal flowers. The blooms are white, yellow or pink. These also begin blooming in spring and early summer, with blooming season lasting four to six weeks.

The easiest varieties to find are O. caespitosa (White evening primrose) O. flava (Yellow evening primrose) and O. pallida (Pale evening primrose).

Sphaeralcea coccinea, or Globe mallow.

These are medium-sized upright plants, generally eight to 16 inches with beautiful gray-green foliage and pale orange flowers.

They begin blooming in late May, and can bloom through frost.

Datura spp., or Jimson weed. These are fantastic plants! They are bush forming, 18-24 inches tall with a creeping habit. They have lovely blue-green foliage and continually produce big, stunning, purple-white, trumpet-shaped flowers. Two things to note: These plants reseed themselves and do not come back from the root — either let them go to seed or save the seedpods in the fall and sow them in the spring. If you see them growing by the road in mid or southern Utah, it’s quite easy to start your own plants by pocketing a spiny seedpod and sowing it in your own garden. Secondly, all varieties of Datura are poisonous due to alkaloids present in all the tissues. The easiest varieties to find are D. meteloides, D. fastuosa and D. wrightii.

Achillea spp., or yarrow. These plants are a must-have for every garden. They are bush forming, 12-20 inches tall and two to three feet wide. They have soft, fern-like foliage, producing long-lasting floral heads in white, pink or yellow. If the flowers are cut, they often force a second blooming cycle and the cut flowers make wonderful additions to dried arrangements. There are quite a few introduced garden varieties of yarrow, but the natives we love are A. filipendulina, A. millefolium, and A. lanulosa.

All these are herbaceous plants that produce showy flowers. They are all sun lovers, but will tolerate partial shade. You may have also noticed that there are only five plant genera listed above. Of course, there are hundreds of other plants native to Utah. The trick is finding them at a nursery.

I have chosen these plants for their showy flowers, extended bloom times, and hearty dispositions. In other words, these are plants that seem natural anywhere, plants that everyone can agree on — including my girlfriend and me.

Brandie Balken is a horticulturist in Salt Lake City and can be seen at Cactus & Tropicals.

Department of Corrections A photo of Carrie and Elisia Ross-Stone (May 27, page six) was credited to Salt Lake Metro photographer Lucy Juarez.

The photo was actually taken by Shauna Sanchez, another of our photographers.

In “Carey to Play Benefit Concert for Equality Utah” (May 27, page 25), it was reported that Michael Mitchell had organized the 2002 Center Peace event at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Utah. In fact, the event was organized by Maryann Martindale, board president at the Center.

Feature and cover photos in the May 27 issue were taken by William H. Munk.

Sane Advice A Gentle, Angry People

by Lee Beckstead, LaDonna Moore, Lynette Malmstrom and Jim Struve

We begin this week’s column with the following Pride Day recollection from LaDonna and Lynette: A relatively small group of hardy souls gathered on the steps of the Utah State Capitol for the second, of what was to become annual, Gay and Lesbian Pride March. We use the term “march” because we’re not sure that 100 or so people constitute a parade. It was a lively group, filled with exhilaration and apprehension. We gathered our few banners and signs and headed down Main Street with a police escort. On we marched, past the temple. Curious onlookers stood with gaping mouths, while others cheered or applauded. We were buoyed by shouts of support and affirmation, but we were ever aware that our limited numbers added to a feeling of vulnerable exposure. Washington Square was our destination. As we arrived, we were met by a group of antigay protesters, with children in tow, shouting and waving signs of hatred: “God Hates Fags” and “Queers Deserve AIDS.” Our reactions were mixed. There was a palpable fear of a confrontation but also anger that these people would interrupt our efforts to stand up in pride. We shuffled about, uncertain how to proceed with this unexpected turn of events. Our first reaction was “they have no right to be here…no right to spread their toxic ideas.” Then we were reminded that freedom of speech and the right to assemble were among the reasons we had gathered: freedom for all.

The podium was set up on the steps and the protesters lined up behind it so the crowd faced them. Without a directive, we made a collective, perhaps intuitive decision: We turned our backs on the protesters, bringing the microphone to the newly established front of the gathering. This gave the odd appearance that the protesters were now among us, not opposing us. We then began singing, “We are a gentle, angry people.” A few more hostile shouts and the protesters dispersed. We continued with the rally, more passionately than before. We can’t guess what might have happened if we’d engaged in a battle of who’s right, who’s wicked, etc. but we’re certain that we couldn’t have come to a peaceful solution or a meeting of the minds. We chose instead to honor our reason for gathering: to rally for solidarity and pride, to make room for all at the table.

So, what does this story have to do with mental health? Quite simply, experiencing fear and intimidation can be emotionally distressing. This poignant vignette illustrates, however, how facing fear allows the possibility for empowerment and how the creative (vs. aggressive) expression of anger can be transformational. This vignette also emphasizes that to remain “gentle,” we must respect diversity and self-expression.

Pride Day provides an opportunity for each of us to step beyond our fears and to “come out, come out wherever you are!” Pride Day especially allows safety in numbers, which creates an environment within which we can appreciate the experience of affirmation for self and others and celebrate loving ourselves for being just who we are.

Pride Day can also be a time of reflection and risk-taking where we gauge our own responses to fear and in what circumstances we dare to stand up for ourselves.

You might want to take time to notice how fear currently influences your life. Here are a few suggestions that might support your self-expression and counter fear: • Consider attending one of the Pride Celebration events. Use the experience as a sort of incubator in which you are mindfully aware of how it feels when affirming people who are not fearful surround you.

• Consider marching in the Pride Day Parade. Notice how it feels when you walk through the throng of cheering spectators. Notice how it feels when you walk past the occasional heckler. Be aware whether you are fearful that you are risking being seen by a spectator who may not have previously known you are gay.

• Whether you march in the parade or just attend as a spectator, consider making a sign or a chant that transforms a source of fear into a creative expression that is empowering.

• If you are angry about something connected to being gay, the Pride Festival may provide you with constructive channels to deal with your feelings.

Check out the organizations and booths at the festival, sign petitions, volunteer, or join or create a community group. If you can’t attend the festival, use Pride as a focus to write a letter that expresses your anger to a politician, newspaper or corporation.

• If it feels too scary to participate in public Pride Celebration activities, consider ways you can safely express yourself and explore your feeling of fear. Perhaps you could make a personal commitment to seek counsel with a friend or therapist to help you better understand and manage your fears.

Consider setting a goal that you will be able to tolerate your fear in a way that allows you to attend Pride Day in 2005. Consider visiting a familiar venue (shopping mall, grocery store, or hiking trail) on Pride Day — use the opportunity to visualize how the experience would be different if you could shed your feelings of fear and proudly affirm your personal identity.

Pride Day allows an opportunity to stretch beyond our fear, providing an environment in which we can feel proud, gentle and lovable. Be sure to take advantage of Pride this year.

Lee Beckstead, PhD; Lynette Malmstrom, lcsw; LaDonna Moore, lcsw; and Jim Struve, lcsw are all private practice psychotherapists in Salt Lake City. If you would like them to address your issues in a future column, e-mail SaneAdvice@SLMetro.com.

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Sports

by David Nelson Sports Editor SALT LAKE CITY — Utah AIDS Foundation leaders announced their plan for the 16th Annual Walk for Life, a five-kilometer pledge walk, on June 19 to raise money for people affected by HIV/AIDS. The walk is associated with the Gallivan Center Folk and Bluegrass Festival, and will begin at the center at 2:00 p.m. with sameday participant registration. Registration will cost $15 for adults, $5 for pets, and free for kids 12 and under. Preregistration isn’t available as planned at Madstone Theatres because of its closure.

The festival music performances will begin at 2:30 p.m. and offers the best in local and regional folk and bluegrass music in a full day of live performances, and food, beer, soda and water. Performers from across the intermountain region will grace the stage until 10:00 p.m. The craft marketplace offers unique items while the kids can amuse themselves at the just-for-them activities center.

Mayor Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson will welcome walk and festival participants with a walk Quilt Ceremony at 6:00 p.m. on the Center Main Stage. Walkers will step off at 6:30 p.m. and return to the festival before its end at 8:00 p.m.

Participants are encouraged to walk alone, or with family, friends, coworkers or their dogs. Walkers may also request to be introduced to other “Walk Buddies.” All registered participants receive complimentary festival tickets and have special permission to bring their dogs inside the festival grounds.

Incentives include a Walk for Life pin for those participants who fund-raise at least $100, a pin and hat for at least $250, and a pin, hat and admission to the foundation “500 Club Party” at Squatters Brew Pub on July 13, including a club polo shirt for those who raise at least $500.

For more information about the walk, contact organizers by visiting the group web site at www.UtahAIDS.org or by telephoning 487-2323 or toll free at (800) 865-5004.

IAN BRITTON

AIDS Walk Turns ‘Sweet 16’ at Folk Fest

‘Drag Dash’ New to Pride Race

by David Nelson Sports Editor SALT LAKE CITY — Frontrunners-Frontwalkers of Utah leaders announced their plan to include a 100-yard Drag Dash as part of their hosting on June 12 of the annual Utah Pride Run-Walk-Roll at Memory Grove Park.

Describing the dash as “anything goes,” organizers explained that “Taffeta and polyester, high heels and Doc Martins, colorful cosmetics, and butch al naturale ... this event promises to answer the alluring question: If it’s fashionable, how fast can you run in it?”

The humorous fun run is expected to give some — maybe plushy-furry — levity to the traditional five-kilometer timed wheelchair race at 8:15 a.m., and timed run and untimed fun-walk at 8:30 a.m. that has earned a permanent spot among the weeklong kick-off activities for the Sunday Pride celebration. The Drag Dash will begin at 9:15 a.m.

Registration will cost $20 through June 11, and $25 for same-day registration.

Incentives include race bags for registered participants, as well as prizes and awards.

For more information about the competition, contact organizers by visiting the group web site at www.frontrunnersutah.org.

S.F. ‘Fog’ Score Bingham Cup

by David Nelson Sports Editor LONDON — Players for the San Francisco Fog rugby football club took the title at the Bingham Cup RFC tournament on May 29 and 30 by a score of 26-7 over the Village Spartans in the cup finals.

Founded in 2000 by Derrick Mickle, the Fog RFC was the first rugby club in the western United States geared primarily toward gay men and men of color.

The club’s inaugural year was nothing if not typical: the first practice, the first match, acceptance into the local union, and a great deal of fun — but it had an unexpected and unfortunate ending. Four days before the Fog’s preseason training was to begin in 2001, the team was thrust onto the international spotlight when one of its members, Mark Bingham, was killed aboard one of the airliners hijacked on Sept. 11.

Nine months later, in consultation with Mark’s mother, Alice Hoglan, and the other IGRAB member clubs, the Fog once again stepped onto the world stage as organizers (and eventual winners) of the first international gay rugby tournament, whose trophy is named in Mark’s honor.

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In the season just ended, the Fog experienced tremendous growth as a team, averaging 17 points a game in league play, and as a club, reaching new membership, sponsorship and fund-raising milestones.

As defending Bingham Cup champions, the Fog’s first side is thrilled to be bringing the tournament trophy to the birthplace of rugby, where it can be displayed for the pleasure of the other IGRAB clubs as well as rugby supporters from all over — at least until it’s time to load it back into its carrying case for the long journey back to San Francisco.

Fog players arrived at the finals by beating the Washington Renegades by a score of 32-3 in the quarterfinals and the Sydney Convicts by a score of 6-3 in the semifinals. Spartans players earned their finals spot after beating the Gotham Knights by a score of 32-0 in the quarterfinals and the Kings Cross Steelers by a score of 3-0 in the semifinals.

Other teams in the cup lineup included the Atlanta Bucks, Boston Ironsides, Caledonian Thebans, Dallas Diablos, Emerald Warriors, IGRAB Barbarians, LA Rebellion and Seattle Quake.

Quite a Racquet: Gay Tennis Tournaments Open Up the Courts

by Jim Provenzano Tennis tournaments are at their peak in the summer, offering gay and lesbian athletes a chance to perfect their swings and serves.

This very individual sport retains a strong sense of community. Players who have just met and longtime opponents play together in doubles. Sometimes, instructors even play against their students.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Washington, D.C., New York, and San Francisco hosted large tournaments. San Francisco’s Gay & Lesbian Tennis Federation (GLTF) is one of the oldest of gay tennis groups, having hosted one of the first national gay tournaments, the United States Gay Open (USGO).

In the Men’s Open Singles, Curtis Dunn defeated Kerry Mitchell, 7-6, 7-5. “We hadn’t played in a tournament, but we practice every week,” said Dunn, who takes lessons from Mitchell. “We know each other’s game inside and out.”

When asked just after his victory if his goal was to defeat his coach, Dunn said, “No, I just wanted to come out and play well.”

Mitchell, who’s won the Men’s Singles for several consecutive years, joked, “You wanted to beat me!”

Mitchell recalls the early years of gay tennis, when San Francisco was one of the only cities hosting tournaments. “Then Los Angeles and Atlanta got one,” he says.

“Everybody traveled to those, because they were big events. The ones that were established first are still the bigger events.”

Upcoming events in San Diego (July 3-5), Vancouver (Aug. 3-5), and Atlanta (Sept.

3-6) will each attract hundreds of players.

Mitchell estimates up to 25 gay tournaments annually. “Other clubs have their own tournaments and bring people in,” he says, adding that many players, however, limit their travels to tournaments near their home cities.

Diane Lebow and Claudia Diorio traveled from Seattle to San Francisco and competed together in the Women’s Pairs, making it to the finals. They credit the Seattle Tennis Association (STA) with getting them on the courts.

“I didn’t get serious until I joined the STA,” says Lebow. “It was a way to play tennis but also meet other gay and lesbian people.”

They’ll be playing in Seattle’s Evergreen 2004 tournament, held July 2-4. As in most tournaments, a wide range of categories offers opportunities for all skill levels.

Diorio didn’t play any sports until picking up a tennis racket five years ago. To improve, “I started working out with a trainer to have stronger muscles,” she says.

One of few women’s tournaments, the upcoming Bayou Women’s Tennis Tournament in New Orleans, held in October, is high on Diorio’s to-do list. When asked if she knows if the event is lesbian-focused, she smiled. “I don’t know, honey, but I just know it’s all women!”

Such an event has a big draw in a sport where, surprisingly, female participation remains limited.

“I think a lot of lesbians have self-esteem issues. Sometimes, competition is difficult for them,” says Diorio. “Maybe they can’t afford it. But it’s not like tennis is an expensive sport. You play outside for free.”

But when it comes to competition, Lebow suspects that travel and entry fees may be a hindrance to lesbian participation.

Age plays a factor as well. “A lot of lesbians, when they’re younger, play softball or basketball,” says Lebow. “They pick up tennis or golf when they’re older. They’re also a little more settled down. The average age of women playing at this tournament is in their 30s or 40s.”

But both women agree that tennis is a sport that can be played at any age and at plenty of recreational tournaments that aren’t specifically gay. “But I love the fact that this is a gay open,” says Diorio.

Part of the gay aspect is a certain level of campy fun at social events. At this year’s GLTF banquet, comedian Mark Davis told tennis jokes, and a silent auction and raffle for prizes (including adult DVDs and Barbie dolls) covered costs and raised funds for local AIDS charities.

One of the attendees at both the banquet and tournament was Mike Vuong.

He played doubles with Brian Sinclair, whom he met at a previous tournament in Sinclair’s hometown of Portland.

“I’d seen him play, and our styles complement one another,” says Vuong. “Brian usually plays on the outside. I like to play on the deuce side. He’s a great server. I love to return at the baseline [nearer to the net].”

A native San Franciscan, Vuong wasn’t openly gay until his 20s, and he credits tennis with helping him come out.

“It was 1997,” Vuong recalls. “It had been raining for two months. It finally stopped, so I drove to a tennis court, and saw two guys who happened to be gay. They introduced me to the GLTF, and I’ve been playing with them ever since. So, they helped me come out. It was great.”

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Venture Out

Paper Moon* thepapermoon.com

Equestrian

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Utah Gay Rodeo Association Utah Cyber Sluts Bingo!

Radio City Lounge ugra.net groups.msn.com/utahcybers Looking to join a group of gay or utah.citysearch.com/ Fans Outdoors lesbian sports enthusiasts? Salt profile/10384552 MoDiggity’s Sports Pub* Lambda Hiking Club Lake Metro brings you this list of Trapp* and Trapp Door* modiggitys.com gayhike.org community resources. thetrapp.com Try-Angles*clubtry-angles.com Sports Sunday at Trapp* and Northern Utah Women ROC Aquatics groups.yahoo.com/group/ Trapp Door* Vortex* 801-363-2623 Queer Utah Aquatic Club ogdenoutdoorwomen thetrapp.com quacquac.org

Bowling

Athletics City of Hope Run and Walk for Hope cityofhope.org Frontrunners/Frontwalkers Utah frontrunnersutah.org Gay and Lesbian Coed Indoor Soccer League 801-299-0909

Gay and Lesbian Soccer jesper2@hotmail.com

Utah AIDS Foundation Walk For Life www.utahaids.org Utah Pride 5K Run-WalkRoll www.utahpride.org

Billiards and Darts Axis* clubaxis.com Brass Rail* utah.citysearch. com/profile/10407360

MoDiggity’s Sports Pub* modiggitys.com

Sports Sunday at Try-Angles Shooting clubtry-angles.com Stonewall Shooting Sports Federations of Utah stonewallshootingspo scott.millar@comcast.net rtsutah.org Gay and Lesbian Athletics Cycling Foundation glaf.org Skiing Gay and Lesbian Motorcycle Federation of Gay Games Utah Gay and Lesbian Ski Riders of Utah gaygames.com Week gayskiing.org/skiing/ groups.yahoo.com/group/ Gay Outdoors indexu.htm Salt Lake Goodtimes Bowling League

gaybikersofut

gayCyclingUtah groups.yahoo.com/group/ gaycyclingutah

Taco Wheels Moab Mountainbiking alysonadventures.com/bike/ gay/moab.htm

Utah Gay Mountain Bikers groups.yahoo.com/group/ utahgaymtnbike

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Softball

GaySports gaysports.com gUTsports groups.yahoo. com/group/gutsports

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womenssportsfoundation.org

* private club for members

glccu.com/programs.html Homophobia In Sports Project homophobiainsports. Volleyball com Gay and Lesbian Volleyball Outsports outsports.com 801-328-8891 x339 Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 To get your group added Gay Sport and Cultural to this list, sned details to Festival montreal2006.org sports@slmetro.com Women’s Sports Foundation

JUNE 10, 2004

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SALT LAKE METRO

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Presents the DOWNTOWN

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neighbors in the cool, green of Pioneer Park for the absolute freshest in produce from the mountain west. Round out your summer menus with artisan cheese, fresh baked bread, honey, fresh fruit, herbs, even organic meats and seafood.

• For your home—fresh cut flowers, container gardens, water wise perennials,natural candles, decorative garden art and incredible artwork. • Don’t forget that craft artisans present their wares in the second annual Downtown Art and Craft Market. This wonderful new market is a great place to shop for “one of a kind” gifts for any occasion.

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Saturday Mornings @ Pioneer Park 8 am to 1 pm | 300 w 300 s | June 12 to Oct 16 Thanks to our Sponsors

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JUNE 10, 2004

StarGayzer

by Madam Lichtenstein

Hurry and cash in on the serendipity this week when a blast of planetary oomph propels us into outer space. Zesty Mars and practical Saturn get happily goosed by lucky Jupiter and surprising Uranus. Grab onto a shooting star! Anyone we know?

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ARIES (Mar 21 to Apr 20) There is something delicious in the air. Could it be the goings on of the gay ram as happy homemaker? Domesticity reigns and so do you when a confluence of outer planets spices your stew. Make your surroundings comfortable and relaxing. But life is not just home and hearth right now. It is time to tend to your family garden. Are there a few weeds among the roses?

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TAURUS (Apr 21 to May 21) Stray thoughts take you far this week. A swirl of outer planets charges your brain cells and pumps out quite a number of excellent theories and opinions. But don’t just sit there and contemplate your navel, queer bull. Take it to the streets, take it to a political power base, take it to the media. Use that fabulous mouth for more than creating a stiff breeze. Whoosh and it’s gone!

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GEMINI (May 22 to Jun 21) Someone has short-shrifted your major assets while you concentrated on the small change, pink twin. Step back and view the big picture when planets shine a spotlight on your finances. There is something fiscally funky that, upon further examination, can result in a nice windfall. Carefully review the bottom line and reach between the cushions for any spare change.

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CANCER (Jun 22 to Jul 23) Gay crabs can bottle and sell their charm if they can capture every oozing drop. A confluence of four planets gives you great charisma and makes you a superstar with an adoring following. Better hurry and make all the friends and connections you can. Before you know it you will turn back into a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas — or something like that.

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LEO (Jul 24 to Aug 23) There is something in the air that catches your imagination and makes you rather prophetic. Take advantage of your sixth sense and go with your gut and intuition. Proud lions revel in their psychic power. While you channel the spirits, give a “thank you” to Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter who conjure up easy access to luxury, money and sex. Some bastards have all the luck.

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VIRGO (Aug 24 to Sep 23) Queer virgins need to spread their wings and make the most of every friendship while four planets heat up the skies. Sometimes you chafe at the trade-off between dependence and independence in relationships. But now, each scenario seems to offer a happy balance. And who knows? Something merely platonic can evolve to much more than a warm handshake. Shake it baby!

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LIBRA (Sep 24 to Oct 23) If you have been plotting and planning your big move, this week may offer you a hint that a great opportunity is near. Go for the gusto and take a chance on a new professional challenge when four planets dance among the suits. Gay Libras must summon their courage and climb to the heights. Before you know it, everyone will be looking up your shorts. Wear underwear.

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SCORPIO (Oct 24 to Nov 22) Proud Scorps wax nostalgic at all their youthful high jinx. Remember when … ? Ah well, nobody really cares who and what you did, pardner. Instead of lounging around thinking of the past, why not go out and create a little future? Four planets now command you to explore and experience life to the fullest. Explore who and experience what? Well let’s just see.

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 to Dec 22) Queer archers find that they possess more sizzly magnetism than usual when outer planets stir their hot sauce. Sex finds you, lover, at work, at the supermarket, around the neighborhood or even at the dentist.

You do not have to go out and trawl for it. But don’t waste your sweet tooth on penny candies. Be discerning for a change and select from the high-end confectionary.

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CAPRICORN (Dec 23 to Jan 20) Sitting at home on another Saturday night? Don’t worry, compadre, the confluence of four planets now guides you to a new, happy relationship. But do not sit at home and wait for it to be delivered to you like a bag of chicken. Fortune smiles upon you if you go out and seek it. Travel far afield. Pick up a copy of The Field Guide to Rare Birds and check out the plumage.

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AQUARIUS (Jan 21 to Feb 19) Little pebbles can pile up and make impressive monuments if everything is in balance. Four planets are now in a position to make your molehills into great mountains if you have the desire and drive. Aqueerians are given a rare opportunity to show what they can do on a small, detailed level and have their efforts magnified and appreciated. What else can be magnified and appreciated?

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PISCES (Feb 20 to Mar 20) Ideas and other creative impulses ferment and pop when four planets converge this week. Massage your gay muse and see what can happen and who you can inspire. Guppies make surprisingly great first impressions and attract some fairly extraordinary people. Don’t waste a moment, cousin. Make things happen. You can hit a high note now even if you can’t sing.

Cruise TheStarryEye.com for prescient horoscopes and insightful articles. Madam Lichtenstein is the author of the highly acclaimed “HerScopes: a Guide to Astrology for Lesbians” from Simon & Schuster.

This book would have won the Pulitzer had the voting not been rigged.

JUNE 10, 2004

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Comics

A COUPLE OF GUYS Dave Brousseau

ADAM & ANDY James Asal

BITTER GIRL Joan Hilty

WordSearch

HIDDEN MESSAGE: COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE

Crossword Puzzle

Check us out online at slmetro.com 42

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Roommates ROOMMATE(S) for Craftsman bungalow.

Westminster college area. 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths. Off street parking. Lots of storage and garden $300-$500 deposit required. No cats. Jeff 582-9828

For Rent ONE BEDROOM, one bath. Just remodeled. 3001 S 200 East. $500/mo. 801278-9642, 801-359-0586, ask for Connie.

Real Estate GAY NEIGHBORHOOD. 1936 Tudor, 4 Bd, 2 bath in the West Capitol Hill neighborhood, 242 W. Reed Ave (740 North) $149,900. John P Poulos 801641-8998 poujoh@wfrmls.com THREE FOUNTIANS EAST condo 2-bdrm 1.5 bath Remodled new a/c & heat tile & paint large master a must see Team Kener Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 440-9001

SPECTACULAR SOUTH Jordan home w/ Midas creek in back yard 5-bdrm 5242SF on .63acre lot w/basement dance/exercise room $449,000.Team Kener Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 440-9001 WEST VALLEY CITY homes 3 bdrm 1.5 bath 1900sf one level $129,900./ 5 bdrm 2bth large lot 2184sf $134,900 Team Kener Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 440-9001 GREAT EAST SIDE 2 bdrm home $119,900. Refinished hardwoods new carpet and bath wonderful roses Team Kener Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 440-9001 PARK CITY CONDO overlooks ski jump.

South views. All amenities, pool, hot tub.

Great getaway or rental. Built 2002 1 bed, 1-1/2 bath, 162,000, furnished. Larry Horton Snow Properties 597-1088 2 BOUNTIFUL FOOTHILLS Homes, streams, horse property, secluded.

419,900 - 729,000 Larry Horton Snow Properties 597-1088

AVENUES CLASSIC Remodel, Frenchcontemporary, large master bedroom, bath with jetted tub. Spacious gormet kitchen, Viking, sub-zero, 3 bed 2-1/2 bath. 329,900 Larry Horton Snow Properties 597-1088 BRIGHTON CABIN. Year-round access.

Panoramic views of ski resorts and mountains. Log 2-story. Sleeps 8, 279,900 Larry Horton Snow Properties 597-1088 HEBER GETAWAY Townhome. Views of Mt Timpanogas, pastures, 3 bed, 2-1/5 bath, 149,900 Larry Horton Snow Properties 597-1088 CLEAN, CLASSY cottage on the sunny side of the street. 3 bedrooms on one level, hardwood floors, new roof, updated kitchen. $94,900 in Rose Park. Brad Dundas, Stonebrook Realty 550.0330 MAINTENANCE FREE, 1992 Multi. 3 Bd., 2 bath, 2 car garage. Vaults and a .17 acre park-like yard to die for. Room to grow. $167,500. 1782 W. Alps Way. Dawn Colbert, Signature Group 979-3558.

SUGARHOUSE Old charm. Hardwood floors, Ingelnook, tapered pilasters, solarium off formal dining. Original gumwood never painted over. 4 bd, 2 bth, mother-in-law. $189,900. Dawn Colbert, Signature Group 979-3558.

URBAN CONDO at the Dakota lofts-1 BR $124,900. See tours at urbanutah.com. Babs De Lay, Broker cell: 201-UTAH DOWNTOWN TWIN HOME – model unit $138,650. 3BR/2BA, only one left. 586 No. 800W. See tour at urbanutah.com.

Babs De Lay, Broker, cell: 201-UTAH URBAN FARM! (almost!) Downtown mansion on .29 AC w huge garage + shop. 4 BR/4BA $234,900 See tour at urbanutah.com Babs De Lay, Broker, cell: 201-UTAH

Commercial Real Estate NEED A CHARMING Yet Professional Office? Downtown—Versatile Spacious 2 Story Brick Office Bldg @ 116 So. 500 E. For Sale @ $460K or Lease $11/SF Tom 534-1573 CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE, new office condos. Starting at $125,000 10020 S. Redwood Rd. Custom Built or lease to own. Dawn Colbert, Signature Group 979-3558.

SELLER FINANCING, 4771 S State Street. 2700 sq. ft. building Remodeled.

Off street parking lot. Udot count over 40,000 cars per day. $474,000. Dawn Colbert, Signature Group 979-3558.

9.93 PRIVATE, wooded, serene acres in Summitt CountyViews and quiet.

Utilities available. Minutes from Park City. $275,000. Can build res. or duplex only.

Dawn Colbert, Signature Group 979-3558.

Home Furnishings CANDLESCAPE.COM your online CANDLE Store! Order online and mention slmetro for an additional discount. We carry a wide variety of Glass Candles and supplies. A Gay Owned Company.

Pets FEELING CATTY? Wnat something furry snuggled up to you at night? Newborn Kittens ready to adopt Now. Owner Desperate; Allergic. (801) 261-5442.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Don’t miss an issue of Utah’s gay and lesbian biweekly newspaper. Subscribe today for $24.95 for 26 issues at www.slmetro.com/subscribe or call 801-323-0727.

For Sale or Trade GET THAT HOURGLASS SHAPE YOU CRAVE! Custom Corsets:women/men, brides/grooms, drags/doms. Top quality waist compression for fashion & fun. saltlaketightlacer.com 801-596-2210 SAW SOMEONE and traded glances?

Want to get a second chance on meeting them? Get a “Missed Connections” ad for a dollar at www.slmetro.com/ classifieds or call 801-323-0727.

Misc SALT LAKE METRO is seeking Pen Pals elementry or middle school aged children of a gay families to participate in Inspire the Child. Child will Pen Pal cooraspond with an assigned local gay community leader. Parents please call Salt Lake Metro at 323-9500 to discuss or have child placed in program.

DO YOU HAVE talent...I bet you Do.... Performance artists of all kinds may submit a letter of interest and a summary or demo tape of their work to Chad Keller c/o Salt lake Metro PO Box 252 Salt Lake City, UT 84110. Seeking performance artsist of all kinds for parties and events of all kinds.

SERVICE DIRECTORY Artists ARE YOU A starving visual artist? Show your art and maybe make some $. Bring portfolio to the Salt Lake Metro office at 352 S. Denver St. Artists who seek to sell considered first. Portfolio review any M-F Noon to 5:30 p.m. Call 323-9500 for info.

Attorneys MARLIN G. CRIDDLE, P.C. Serving Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. Estate Planning, Probate, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy, Corporations/ Business. 474-2299. marlincriddle.com

Bars CLUB 161: WHERE THE MEN ARE 161 So. Pueblo St. (1440 West) Open Tue.-Sun. 7pm-2am. SEE AD INSIDE. Look for drink specials thru the week.

801-363-8161

Community Groups HEADS UP! We are a fun group of friends looking for others to join us to help us review movies and restaurants.

Seeking all lifestyles with no experience. Call 801-879-5564 if interested.

Estate Planning Services JANE MARQUARDT & DOUG FADEL Attorneys at Law, providing estate planning services, designed to your unique family situation. Trusts, wills, partnership agreements, estate admin. 801-294-7777

Handymen ADVANTAGE CLEANING Systems.

Painting, Carpet cleaning and installation, landscaping, hauling. You name it, we’ll do it! (If it’s legal) 502-6071.

Jewelers CUSTOM DESIGN JEWELRY. Relaxed atmosphere. All types of stone settings.

Commitment rings, wedding rings, earrings, pendants. Repairs welcome. Charley Hafen Jewelers. Trolley Square. 521-7711

Massage Therapists BEST THERAPISTS, Best Price, Best Place, Best Hours. Call for appointment 486-5500. Pride Massage. 1800 South West Temple, Suite A224.

MAN’S TOUCH. Stimulate your senses, or feel deep peace with a relaxing full body massage. Call Therron for an appointment 801-879-3583 for $5 off mention this ad. LMT#5608006 BIG HANDS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE 6’3” LMT downtown In/Out call. You should get the deep relaxation you pay for. Call Ben @ 913-1803 LMT #5606773-4701

Mobile Phones FREE PHONES for all “Family” members.

Camera phones $49.00. Keep your current mobile number. Call James at Penny Phones (801) 808-9898. Many Carriers & Plans.

Performers DO YOU HAVE a talent that scares your mother or other half? Seeking performers of the macabre and other edgy over the top types for The Knightshades’ Pandominuim Carnival this fall. Submit a letter with pictures, demo or video tape. to Knightshade c/o PO BOX 252 SLC, UT 84110

Photo Restoration FIX YOUR PHOTOS. Restore and/or colorize old photos. Retouch or alter in any way. Call 856-5780 or email staysik@hotmail.com

Real Estate Agents NOT YOUR FATHER’S Realtor®. Brad Dundas, Stonebrook Real Estate Inc. 550-0330 or bradley@xmission.com. www.saltlakesgayrealtor.com

Travel 10 NIGHT MEXICAN Riviera Cruise w/ air from SLC, $1,119 pp. dbl. occ. Nov 26, 2004. Ocean view cabin. Includes all taxes. Call Rod at (888) 280-6673 or visit www.rodscustomtravel.com

PERSONALS Missed Connections EUROPEAN CONNECTION SAT 5JUN04 2PM you on date in blue shirt me red hair in white shirt wearing glasses RHUBARB FESTIVAL – While the Ugly Truck Parade went by, you walked the other way in a cowboy hat and a strut that should be on film. I said hi and you looked back yards later and winked.

REPLY TO BOX 12, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

SALT LAKE MEN’S Choir concert. You sang in the front row. I was in the front row of the audience, I’ll be at the summer concert wearing a pink corsage.

CAFE TRANG – You in the convert.

BMW, me in my Jeep. You took your laundry to the cleaners. We were all eyes. Wish I could have waited for you to come out. REPLY TO BOX 4, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

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Men for Men CUTE STUD for luv. GWM 38 yrs old seeks GWM 35-55 for long-term relationship. NS, ND a must. Check out my profile at outinsaltlakecity.com - UtahGrungeBoy. REPLY TO BOX 1, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

IT’S GETTING LONELY here under this bridge. Need some hot hunks to play “strip Monopoly” or other such nonsense with. I promise you won’t get stuck in the mud. Let’s Play!

REPLY TO BOX 2, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

MODERN AESTHETIC 28 SWM Gay. Downtown seeks partner for conversation, arts performances, etc. Love travel, cooking, fine dining.

REPLY TO BOX 5, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

$1 PERSONALS extended through June. Go to slmetro.com/classifieds and get yours today!

GRYFF - Hot fun intellectual artistic spritualist/pagan Bi 32WM 175# 6’ seeks openness honesty fun-loving individuals to expand friendship base, and possibly more. Must be free-spirited and NO jealousy REPLY TO BOX 7, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

LOOKING FOR LOVE in all the wrong places? Join Utah’s Hottest Gay Community for FREE and see what you’ve been missing! www.gaysinglesmeet.com

Women for Women WF, 38, busy and a little shy,looking for friend or more, esp other classy smart professional women. Wild side likes to romp and shop during stolen afternoons but can behave, too.

REPLY TO BOX 3, PERSONALS@SLMETRO.COM

NEW IN TOWN, or interested in meeting new friends? Come to sWerve monthlies, 3rd Saturday of each month, GLBT Center. Info 539-8800 ext. 25 or www.swerveutah.com (join email list!)

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JUNE 10, 2004

IT’S TIME. Don’ t Amen d.

NOW IS THE TIME TO STAND UP If you have ever thought to yourself, “When the time comes, I’ll do whatever I can to make a difference,” now is that time.

it. This time, we’re standing up for our selves, our families, our relationships and our lives.

For the first time in Utah’s history, Utah voters are being asked to permanently enshrine discrimination into our state constitution by not only banning gay marriage, but also any type of relationship that isn’t marriage between opposite sex couples. It’s discrimination against lesbian and gay families, plain and simple. And it’s just plain wrong.

We need your help. Please consider donating your time, your energy or your money to the Don’t Amend Alliance to fight this unprecedented, unnecessary amendment. You don’t have to promise us every waking hour to make a difference.

And you don’t have to be rich, either. Every hour and every dollar will help us find and educate fairminded Utahns about this hurtful amendment.

We need to let our fellow Utahns know that this time it’s going too far. This time, we’re not going to allow

175 W. 200 South, Ste. 2006 SLC, UT 84101

Join us in the fight. Together we can win.

(801) 746-1314

www.dontamendalliance.com JUNE 10, 2004

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