QSaltLake Magazine - October 16 2006 by QSaltLake Magazine

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Utah’s Gay and Lesbian Newspaper October 16–31, 2006

GLBT Community Center of Utah Changes Its Name, Logo Larabee: ‘Our core mission will not change’

Salt Lake Plays Host to Gay Basketball Tournament Teams from as far as London to compete

The Fall of Rep. Mark Foley ‘HIV is a Gay Disease’ Ad Campaign Causes Stir Colorado Faces Opposing Gay Votes

Ten Minutes with Fergie Mecham: America’s Most Unwanted Q Agenda

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WORLD AND NATIONAL Advocates Vow to Appeal Calif. Anti-Gay Marriage Ruling

by Anthony Cuesta Sacramento, Calif. — Advocates for gay rights in California plan to appeal a state appeals court decision Oct. 5 to uphold a ban on same-sex marriage, the latest in a string of recent setbacks for same-sex marriage. In a 2-to-1 decision, a panel of the First District Court of Appeals overturned a 2005 ruling by a lower court judge in San Francisco that denied same-sex couples the right to marry as unconstitutional. This summer, high courts in New York and Washington State also refused to strike down laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. But unlike in those states, activists in California still have another chance to get the state’s marriage laws overturned. They and their opponents have said they expect the California Supreme Court to settle the issue. “While we are disappointed that the Court of Appeals ruled against our families, we are confident that we will prevail and that the California dream will be available to all,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California. Opponents of gay marriage praised the court’s decision. “The court understood that marriage has a meaning, and that unless you redefine marriage all the arguments the other side have made are meaningless,” said Glen Lavy, an attorney for Alliance Defense Fund, which asked the appeals court to overturn the lower court ruling. Only one jurisdiction in the United States, the state of Massachusetts, allows same-sex couples to marry, based on a controversial court decision in 2003. But those marriages aren’t recognized by other states and Massachusetts law prohibits non-residents from seeking marriage licenses there, reports CNN. California and five other states — Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii and Maine — have established either civil unions or domestic partnership laws that provide many of the benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Sept. 30 that will allow gay or lesbian couples to file joint state tax returns for the first time.

Canada Anglican Archbishop Suspended for Lesbian Wedding Toronto, Ont. — A former top Anglican archbishop in Canada was suspended from performing marriages for the rest of the year because he officiated at a same-sex wedding this summer. The move to marry a lesbian couple by Archbishop Terence Finlay, retired bishop for Toronto, has sparked added interest because he was noted for Archbishop Terence Finlay having fired a priest in 1991 for having a homosexual relationship. Shortly before he retired in 2004, he admonished a Toronto priest for performing

a same-sex marriage. “The couple I married are very close friends of our family. I’ve known one since she was a small child,” Finlay told the Anglican Journal. “Her father was one of my theological professors and he was an honorary assistant in one of my parishes, and over the years, our families have remained very close.” Rev. Sara Boyles, minister at Toronto’s Holy Trinity Church who was publicly scolded by Finlay in 2003 for performing a same-sex marriage, applauded his action, saying it will give strength to the movement to have homosexual unions recognized by the church. “It’s the calling of the church,” she told the Toronto Star. “He has acted with integrity.” Finlay’s action is certain to aggravate strains in the world Anglican Communion, which is on the verge of schism over the issues of permitting active homosexuals in the priesthood and blessing homosexual unions. The diocese of New Westminster, B.C., permits its priests to bless gay unions, but nowhere in the Canadian Anglican Church are homosexual marriages permitted, though they are legal across Canada. Boyles said that, despite Finlay’s assertion that he does not want to be a leader on this issue, the blessing of a same-sex marriage by such a respected church leader will have a big impact. —AC

Colorado Ballot Includes Two Gay Rights Proposals

By Anthony Cuesta Denver, Colo. — Two proposals regarding same-sex couples that appear to contradict one another have made their way onto Colorado’s November ballot. Referendum I proposes legalizing domestic partnerships, which would confer a variety of rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples. Amendment 43 would add a constitutional amendment defining marriage as “one man and one woman.” Although the two appear to be in opposition, proponents of Referendum I said that the two can co-exist. “It’s not about marriage,” said Pat Steadman, a Denver attorney working with the nonprofit Coloradans for Fairness, which supports the referendum. “It really sidesteps some of the controversy around that gaymarriage debate.” A Colorado Senate candidate disagrees. “It’s a little bit deceptive in the way (Referendum I) is worded. You can call it whatever you want. It’s still marriage,” Ron Tate of Bayfield, a Republican candidate for state senate, said. The greatest opposition to the referendum comes from people who, like Tate, say it conflicts with a religious belief that marriage should be defined as one man, one woman. But Steadman says the measure is not about changing the definition of marriage. Traditional marriage is among Tate’s top three or four issues as a candidate, because he believes a stable household with a mother and a father is best for children. Tate’s opponent, incumbent Democrat Jim Isgar, said he supports Amendment 43. The Herald reports that Amendment 43 would not change the current law in Colorado. It would amend the constitution to say that marriage is between one man and one woman. In 2000, the Legislature passed a law to say exactly that. But if Amendment 43 passes, the definition could be changed only

by another popular vote. Jon Paul, leader of the pro-43 group Coloradans for Marriage, said a constitutional change is necessary to protect the definition from “activist judges.” “In a couple of years, we are sure to see a redefinition of marriage, either in the courts or in the Legislature,” Paul said. “Marriage has been around for centuries and thousands of years. Once you start to change that definition, you cheapen the institution of marriage.”

Ad Campaign Causes Stir for Declaring HIV a ‘Gay Disease’

By Anthony Cuesta Los Angeles — The L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center launched an advertisement campaign this week that describes HIV as a “gay disease” in an effort to target men who have sex with men who have become complacent about HIV/AIDS, the Los Angeles Times reports. Supporters of the campaign — which uses the tag line “Own It. End It.” on billboards and in magazines — say the focus on women and other vulnerable groups in the fight against HIV/AIDS has left many men who have sex with men with a false sense of protection from the disease, even though they still account for the majority of people living with the virus in the U.S. and Europe. “It is indisputable that in Los Angeles HIV has a hugely disproportionate affect upon gay and bisexual men of all races and ethnicities,” Lorri Jean, chief executive of the Gay and Lesbian Center, wrote in a statement published on the “Own It. End It.” website. “While men of color represent the largest group of people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County, it is rarely noted that the vast majority of them are gay and bisexual men.” According to Jean, about 75 percent of HIV cases in Los Angeles County occur among MSM, which is “somewhat at odds with data from other parts of the country,” where HIV cases are increasing among women and injection drug users. Data from the Center for Disease Control show that men who have sex with men account for 45 to 50 percent of recent HIV cases nationwide. Jean said the aim of the campaign is to prompt a dialogue and reinvigorate advocacy among the MSM community rather than detract from efforts to reach vulnerable people outside the community. However, some AIDS advocates have expressed concern that the campaign will fuel stigma surrounding the disease and make women and heterosexual men reluctant to seek testing and treatment. AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein criticized the campaign, saying heterosexuals are most at risk of HIV transmission. “It is a disease of the immune system,” he said.

Congress Once Again Disses Domestic Partner Benefits Bill

By Bryan Ochalla Washington, D.C. — Once again legislation that would provide benefits for domestic partners of federal workers has been brought before members of Congress, and once again they’ve gone home without voting on the matter. Late last month, Senators Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) introduced in the Senate the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, which would provide benefits to federal employees’ same-sex partners on the same basis as spousal benefits — including participation in retirement programs, compensation for work injuries and life and health insurance. In addition, the bill would subject federal employees with domestic partners to the same obligations as federally recognized married couples, such as anti-nepotism rules and financial disclosure requirements. Co-sponsors of the bill included Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer of New York, Barbara Boxer of California, and Ted Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts. Smith, who has backed similar legislation in the past (including the Domestic Partner Health Benefits Equity Act, which would end the taxation of domestic partners employer-provided health care benefits, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation), explained his support on his website. “Federal workers should be able to extend their benefits to loved ones,” he said. “I believe we need to rid the workplace of discrimination, not just in hiring decisions but also in the rights and privileges afforded employees.” “This bill is very affordable,” the newly independent Lieberman, locked in a tough battle for re-election against Ned Lamont, said in a statement. That sentiment is supported by information from the Congressional Budget Office which, based on the experience of private companies and state and local governments, has estimated that offering benefits for same-sex domestic partners of federal employees would increase the cost of those programs by less than one half of one percent. More important than the bill’s affordability, Lieberman added, is that “it’s the right thing to do. Many leading employers, including my home state of Connecticut provide benefits to domestic partners. It’s time for the federal government to catch up as extending benefits to domestic partners is fair and will help federal agencies compete for the most qualified personnel.” Currently over 8000 private-sector companies make benefits available to employees’ domestic partners, including a majority of the Fortune 500. Top corporations that provide such benefits include General Electric, Chevron, Boeing, Texas Instruments, Lockheed Martin and BellSouth. In addition, the governments of 13 states, including Connecticut and Oregon, and 139 cities and towns provide benefits to domestic partners of employees. Although the bill’s dismissal by the Senate may be seen as discouraging, spokesmen for both Lieberman and Smith said its introduction was intended to ensure the issue will once again come up for consideration next year. If and when it does, supporters are likely to face an uphill battle — Congress has rejected previous attempts to introduce domestic-partner benefits to the private sector in part because it would reopen debate on the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

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The Fast Fall of Mark Foley By Andy Hume Congressman Mark Foley avoided coming out, though he had a male partner for nineteen years. Foley has been asked about his sexual orientation by opponents and reporters since his first Congressional campaign in 1994. Now that he is America’s best known internet sexual predator — compelling him to resign his House seat — Foley took a page (so to speak) from Jim McGreevey’s playbook and improved on it by declaring himself an alcoholic, a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, and gay. Foley finally came out just when no one wanted him to. It is scoundrel time in Washington, D.C., and this scandal threatens to bring down the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill. This cabal, led by Speaker Denny Hastert, has survived a bungled war in Iraq, tax cuts for the rich, shredding the Bill of Rights, ignoring the separation of church and state, and cynical gay-bashing votes on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. They are being done in by lust — a lust for power, a lust so strong that they tolerated Foley. The web in this case is intricate, starting with Foley. It is a rogue’s gallery of the powerful and their enablers. It makes the McGreevy story look like an after-school special. And there is plenty of blame to go around.

Foley, a West Palm Beach center-right Republican, voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allowed states to not to recognize legal gay nuptials performed in other jurisdictions. Foley did not support the anti-gay marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Foley earned an 88 percent rating in 2004 from the Human Rights Campaign — the same percentage given to New York’s Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton. That rating came in a Congress that was rarely permitted to vote on gay bills. HRC gave thousands to Foley in recent campaigns, ignoring the fact that he contributes to a Republican majority whose stockin-trade is gay bashing, including a firstcampaign contibution to Utah Rep. Chris Cannon, who said of Foley, “Mark Foley was irritating. You don’t need gaydar to understand he has certain dispositions.” Joe Solmonese, HRC’s president, issued a written statement condemning Foley’s “horrible behavior,” (see the Opinion section) but he, like other gay leaders, won’t confront the role the closet played in Foley’s misdeeds. “It’s a tragedy for him and his family,” Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, told

the Miami Herald. “I don’t want to get into the pain of the closet. It’s irrelevant if he’s gay or not.” Patrick Sammon, executive vice president of Log Cabin Republicans said, “I don’t think it has anything to do with the closet, but with bad character.” Andy Tobias, the out gay treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, said, “As somebody who has met Foley personally and has mutual friends, I am sad for Mark and I hope he doesn’t go to jail. The last time I saw Mark, he was 19 years into a relationship. That was sad that it had to be hidden.” Of course, millions of people have come out of the closet. Some have served in Congress. Foley’s Republican colleague, former Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona, came out in 1996. Democratic Rep. Barney Frank came out in 1987 and was fully supportive of gay rights going back to his days as a state legislator As for the view that the closet played no role in Foley’s downfall, J. Jennings Moss, who covered Foley and Kolbe for The Advocate ten years ago, wrote, “By staying so deep in the closet and browbeating others to keep his secret for him, Foley probably thought he was invincible. But secrets have a way of bringing down the powerful.” Out gay Democratic New York State Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell gets it. “There is a high price to pay for being closeted, whether compromising your judgment or acting out in ways that are dangerous to you and your health and well-being,” he said. “I feel fortunate and blessed that I did not get into politics until I felt comfortable in my own skin.” Dr. Jack Dresher, a gay psychiatrist and author of “Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man,” said, “The closet creates some very unsavory types. The problem with people hiding something fundamental to who they are is that it takes a lot of psychic energy to lead double lives. They will often take very anti-gay positions, like the former mayor of Spokane, Jim West.” “You also see it among kids while struggling with their sexuality they will point the finger at other gay kids.” If they stay closeted into adulthood, “when they think no one is watching they make tremendous errors of judgment,” Drescher added. It can be even worse for closeted people in power. “They confuse the powers of office with personal power and become convinced they can do no wrong or suffer consequences, “ Drescher said. He extended his analysis to the Republican leadership. “They protected Foley for over a year and now they’re turning on him,” he said. “They’re all in the same position. Gay people aren’t the only ones with closets and secrets.” Indeed. Hastert recently read a statement condemning Foley then walked away while the press corps shouted questions at him. What did Hastert know and when did he know it? He then gave an interview to Rush Limbaugh and blamed the scandal on

Democrats and the pages themselves. Tom Reynolds, the Buffalo-area congressman who heads the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee is saying that he told Hastert about the Foley instant messages months ago, conversations the speaker claims he cannot recall. At a public event this week, Reynolds surrounded himself with children in an effort to avoid questions on Foley. Reynolds claims to have had no knowledge that his out gay chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, a former chief of staff to Foley, was helping Foley with damage control last week and tried to cut a deal with ABC News, which broke the story of the scandal, to stop the network from going public. Fordham resigned on October 4. Conservatives are now leaning on Hastert. House Majority Leader John Boehner (ROhio) threw Hastert overboard, telling a Cincinnati radio station, “I believe I called the speaker and he told me that it had been taken care of. My position is it’s in his court, it’s his responsibility.” Some rightwing spin meisters prefer to lay the blame elsewhere. Newt Gingrich went on Fox News to say that the Republican leadership was worried that had they been “overly aggressively” in their initial response “they would have been accused of gay bashing.” Family Research Council chief Tony Perkins told the Christian News Service that members of Congress “did not want to appear ‘homophobic.’” NGLTF’s Foreman responded with “Cut me a break!” in a press statement he said “the Republican leadership in the House has never hesitated to attack gay people.” Democrats are perhaps overeager to use the issue. They are overplaying their hand, often referring to the pages as “children,” when they were teenagers. And journalists call Foley a pedophile, a term for people who have sex with pre-pubescent children, something that is not alleged against Foley. “Mark Foley wasn’t a pedophile,” Johnson said. “He’s a repressed gay man and because of that repression, his sexuality played out in dangerous ways such as acting like a predator.” If only Foley had spoken with his colleague Barney Frank (D-MA). The lesson of the Foley case, he said on a visit to New York, is “don’t be closeted. I lived it myself. You cannot deny your physical and emotional needs.” He added that he was “way too cranky” when he was in the closet. Or Foley could have listened to Doug Jennings, a 19-year old gay activist from Southern Utah. “It’s a choice to be in the closet,” he said. “If I can live in conservative southern Utah and be out since I was 14 and have a great high school and social and family experience and be OK, then Foley has no excuse and neither does Jim McGreevey … I’ve never had the emotional energy to be who I’m not.”

GLBTCCU Becomes ‘Utah Pride Center’ Larabee: Change in name does not change the Center’s focus The Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah may be one of the longest organization names in the state, but that is not the only reason its board of directors unanimously voted to change it to the Utah Pride Center. “We have always thought of ourselves as a statewide organization,” said Valerie Larabee, the Center’s executive director. “When we are in Salt Lake and we approach people and other organizations, they kind of shrug and say, ‘that’s a mouthful.’ But in other, more rural areas of the state, they just choke. We’re throwing all of these terms — all of which carry a certain connotation.” Larabee says the new name is much more approachable, especially for those in outlying ares of the state. Because the Utah Pride Center is cognizant that many who come to the organization may not yet associate the concept of “pride” with their sexual orientation, the tagline, “serving the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender community” was added. The tagline more specifically defines the organization’s focus, with the hope that in time, the need for the label will dissipate as the

individual gains self-esteem, self-worth and becomes proud of who and what, they are. “We do want to be clear about our focus,” Larabee explained. “On all graphics, our logo will be accompanied by our tagline.” The Center took over the organization that oversaw the annual Utah Pride celebration in 2002 after it ran into financial trouble.

“Much of our work is Pride [festival] related,” said Larabee. “We work over six months of the year on it. We make no money on Pride, but we see it as an important program of the Center. This name change helps us align the organization to the program.” “Our name change naturally evolved. Not only is it much easier to write, to say, and to remember – PRIDE is the battle cry of the

GLBT movement,” said Fran Pruyn, board chair of the Center, “The [Utah] PRIDE Center is inclusive, it is positive, and it is immediately recognizable as belonging to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.” Indeed the idea of inclusivity spawned the alphabet soup of letters used by many queer organizations. Some, including the publisher of this newspaper, argue that the effort to include may actually be excluding those who do not feel they belong in any of the four delineated groups. The term “queer” is seen by many as derogatory and is rarely used in organizational names. The new name was rolled out at the National Coming Out Day breakfast held by the Center on October 11 and the group’s web site reflected the change the night before. Larabee said that she feels that the community has begun to come together more now than in the recent past. When she took the reigns in 2004, the Center was in financial trouble and many in the community were at odds with the group. Today, the Center is as stable as it has ever been. “The new name appropriately reflects the struggles and accomplishments of our history and the promise of our future,” said Larabee, “Our core mission will not change. We’re dedicated to serving Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender population.” Q

Quotes from Utahns on Mark Foley REP. CHRIS CANNON:

“These kids [pages] are precocious kids. It looks like uh, maybe this one email is a prank where you had a bunch of kids sitting [around] egging this guy on.” “The world’s a complicated place, and we just need to do the best we can.” “There are creepy people out there and they just need to avoid them parents need to educate the their children about pedophiles” “It’s not a coincidence, it’s a cover-up,” that Foley helped sponsor a bill to criminalize internet exlpoitation of children while he was co-chair of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. Cannon knew Foley “quite well” but found the six-term Florida congressman “irritating,” particularly in some of his mannerisms. “You don’t need ‘gaydar’ to understand he has certain dispositions.”

CLIFF LYONS TO CANNON: “Well, you don’t need ‘bigot-dar” to recognize a bigot either. You just need to wait. Eventually, the bigot comes out.”

SEN. ORRIN HATCH:

REP. JIM MATHESON “”

On House Speaker Hastart: REP. ROB BISHOP: “I give him the benefit of the doubt. I believe him when he said he didn’t know about that. ... I cannot imagine someone with that kind of a background would do anything like a cover-up.”

CANNON: “I think that conservatives ought to back off a bit. The bad guy is gone, and let’s see what we can do to make the program safer.”

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“It’s really unsettling to me that someone who worked so hard to pass what everyone is saying is a landmark child-protection law could do something like this. I just don’t understand it.”

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LOCAL

Salt Lake to Play Host to National Gay Basketball Tournament by Michael Aaron

michael@saltlake.com

The newly-formed National Gay Basketball Association is holding the first Salt Lake City Classic, a tournament drawing ten teams so far from as far away as London, England. Slated for the weekend of October 27â&#x20AC;&#x201C;29 at the University of Utah HPER Complex, organizers are expecting be-

tween 100 and 150 athletes to participate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have room for four more teams,â&#x20AC;? said local organizer Jeff Sanchez. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love for more locals to get involved and create some more teams.â&#x20AC;? The NGBA is run by Mark Chambers of Long Beach, Calif. Organized over two years ago, the association largely took off as a result of the Gay Games in Chicago

The Long Beach Ballers basketball team, winners of the gold medal for Mens Open A at Gay Games Chicago, will be in Salt Lake to compete in the Salt Lake City Classic tournament.

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just this year. Chambers has won four medals at the Games since 1990 in Vancouver, but this year his team, The Long Beach Rebels, was shut out after just two games. Chambers is well-regarded as an avid organizer for gay basketball. Outsports named him Outsportsman of the Year in 2005, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mark is the heart and soul of [Long Beach, Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s] Lambda Basketball â&#x20AC;Ś There would be no gay LA basketball without Mark Chambers.â&#x20AC;? Long Beach Lambdaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s league will be bringing four teams, including the Long Beach Ballers who knocked Team Utah out of gold medal contention in Chicago

and went on to win the gold themselves in Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Open Play. Salt Lake came home with the bronze. Chicago and San Francisco will each send two teams, including the San Francisco Rock Dogs, this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gold medal winner in Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Open B. London, Houston, Phoenix and Dallas will send a team each and currently Salt Lake is hosting two teams. The weekend will tip off with a welcome party Friday night, and game play will begin at 8:00 a.m. Saturday. Games will run through 4:00 p.m. Saturday and from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday. Spectators are welcome and admission to the games is free. Social events are planned each night, including a costume party with the theme â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymesâ&#x20AC;? Saturday night at Mynt Lounge. An Associate Press story back in July tried to stir politics into the decision to have the games in Salt Lake. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The National Gay Basketball Association is coming to play a tournament in one of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most conservative states this fall,â&#x20AC;? read the storyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first paragraph. Organizers didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rise to the bait. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Participants say theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not concerned that Utahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conservative religious and political climate will impact the games,â&#x20AC;? the story continued. The NGBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to â&#x20AC;&#x153;unite athletes and culture through basketball.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we can have a positive experience and get people excited about basketball, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the key,â&#x20AC;? Chambers said. For more information about the tournament, visit ngba.us and click on the SLCC Tournament link.

GAY History Month Gay and lesbian publications across the country, with a combined circulation of over a half million, are joining the Gay History Project in celebrating National Gay History Month. Here are 31 stories of 31 lives of 31 people — one for each day of October.

James Baldwin

b. August 2, 1924 | d. November 30, 1987

James Baldwin was an African-American writer whose novels and essays captured the conflicted spirit of late 20th century America.

“I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

Father Mychal Judge b. May 11, 1933 | d. September 11, 2001

Father Mychal Judge was a Franciscan priest and Fire Department of New York chaplain who died heroically on Sept. 11, 2001. He has been called a “Saint of 9/11.”

Shortly before entering the World Trade Center on 9/11, Father Judge rejected an offer to join Mayor Giuliani, choosing instead to step into harm’s way to be with the FDNY and victims of the terrorist attack. A Reuters photograph of Father Judge’s body being carried from Ground Zero by rescue workers made him an international icon of heroism. Father Judge was a hero to many long before his death. He was beloved by Fire Department of New York personnel and their families and a champion of New York’s homeless, AIDS patients, gay and lesbian Catholics, alcoholics, immigrants, and disaster victims. Born in Brooklyn to Irish immigrant parents, he was only six when his father died after a long illness. As a boy, Judge was inspired to enter the priesthood by the Franciscan friars at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi near Penn Station in Manhattan. In the early years of his ministry, Father Judge served two parishes in New Jersey, where he gained a reputation as “the listening priest.” During his service as Assistant to the President of Siena College, Father Judge confronted his alcoholism and achieved sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous. In the 1980’s, Father Judge was among the first clergy to minister to AIDS patients, who at that time were considered untouchable. Through the organization Dignity, he ministered to gay and lesbian Catholics even after the Church excluded them from worship. In 1996 Father Judge led a memorial service on the beach at Smith Point, Long Island for the families of the victims who lost their lives in the nation’s second worst air disaster, the explosion of TWA Flight 800. More than 2,000 people attended. Father Judge received numerous posthumous honors, including France’s highest recognition, the Legion of Honor. His FDNY fire helmet was blessed by Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

Ellen DeGeneres b. January 26, 1958

Popular comedian Ellen DeGeneres was the first openly gay actor to portray a gay character on a leading primetime television program. “For me, it’s that I contributed . . . that I’m on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That’s to me the most important thing, that my hour of television is positive and upbeat and an antidote for all the negative stuff going on in life.” In April 1997, Ellen DeGeneres, the star of her own popular sitcom, “Ellen,” took a step that was a turning point in her personal life and her career: she outed herself and her character on primetime television. Her coming out led to a storm of media attention, including her photo on the cover of Time Magazine with the tag, “Yep, I’m gay.” There was also criticism that the show was now “too gay.” For a time after her public declaration, her career suffered from backlash.

Sylvia Rivera

b. July 2, 1951 | d. February 19, 2002

Civil rights pioneer Sylvia Rivera was one of the instigators of the Stonewall uprising, an event that helped launch the modern gay rights movement. “I’m not missing a minute of this, it’s the revolution!” Seventeen-year-old drag queen Sylvia Rivera was in the crowd that gathered outside the Stonewall Inn the night of June 27, 1969, when the Greenwich Village gay bar was raided by the police. Rivera reportedly shouted, “I’m not missing a minute of this, it’s the revolution!” As police escorted patrons from the bar, Rivera was one of the first bystanders to throw a bottle. After Stonewall, Rivera joined the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) and worked energetically on its campaign to pass the New York City Gay Rights Bill. She was famously arrested for climbing the walls of City Hall in a dress and high heels to crash a closed-door meeting on the bill. In time, GAA eliminated drag and transvestite concerns from their agenda as they sought to broaden their political base. Years later, Rivera told an interviewer, “When things started getting more mainstream, it was like, ‘We don’t need you no more’.” But, she added, “Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned.” Sylvia Rivera (né Ray Rivera Mendosa) was a persistent and vocal advocate for transgender rights. Her activist zeal was fueled by her own struggles to find food, shelter, and safety in the urban streets from the time she left home at the age of ten. In 1970, Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to help homeless youth. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP), an organization dedicated to ending poverty

and gender identity discrimination, carries on Rivera’s work on behalf of marginalized persons. In 2005, a street in Greenwich Village near the Stonewall Inn was renamed in Sylvia Rivera’s honor.

Volker Beck b. December 12, 1960

Volker Beck is one of Europe’s leading advocates of GLBT rights. A member of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, Beck is the father of the German Registered Partnership Act. “Human rights that do not apply to everyone are not human rights at all.” Prior to becoming politically active in the peace movement in the 1980’s, Volker Beck studied at the University of Stuttgart. In 1985 he joined the Green Party. In 1987, he became responsible for GLBT issues in the Green Party caucus in the Bundestag. From 1991 to 2004, Beck was spokesman for the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany (LSVD). He is credited with placing the issue of samegender partnerships and a GLBT anti-discrimination law on the parliamentary agenda. Beck has represented Cologne in the Bundestag since 1994. He is Green Party Whip for the Alliance 90/Greens caucus, a member of the Greens’ party council, and human rights spokesman for the parliamentary group. He was legal affairs spokesman for the Alliance 90/Greens parliamentary group (1994-2002) and political coordinator of the Working Group on Internal and Legal Affairs, Women and Youth within the parliamentary group’s executive committee (1998-2002). Volker Beck believes that Germans must assume responsibility for their history before they can shape a future. He has sought compensation for victims of National Socialism, including financial reparations for persons subjected to slave labor under the Nazi regime, and advocated such acts of remembrance as the construction of a Holocaust memorial. Beck serves as a trustee of several foundations that remember victims. Since 1992 he has lived with his partner in Cologne, Paris and Berlin. In May 2006, Beck was attacked and injured by right wing extremists at Russia’s first gay rights rally in Moscow. Images of his bloodied face published in the media evoked strong reactions internationally.

Keith Haring

b. May 4, 1958 | d. February 16, 1990

Keith Haring was one of the most influential visual artists of the late 20th century. His bold, cartoon-like images are indelible icons of American art and popular culture. “My contribution to the world is my ability to draw. I will draw as much as I can for as many people as I can for as long as I can.”

As a young artist living in New York City in 1980, Keith Haring had an epiphany: “One day, riding in the subway, I saw this empty black panel where an advertisement was supposed to go. I immediately realized that this was the perfect place to draw. I went back above ground to a card shop and bought

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It is often the outsider who divines truth most clearly. James Baldwin, to whom many doors were closed by virtue of his poverty, his race, and his sexuality, was a prophet and truthteller whose writing searingly delineates the soul and image of 20th century America. In 1953, the publication of Go Tell it on the Mountain heralded the debut of a major literary voice. James Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical novel depicts much of the writer’s painful early life. Like Baldwin, John Grimes—the novel’s bright, sensitive protagonist—battles poverty and suffers at the hands of a brutal stepfather in Harlem. Like Baldwin, John Grimes becomes a precocious storefront preacher at the age of 14. As a gay African-American, Baldwin struggled with his identity in a racist and homophobic society. His disgust with the racial climate in the post-World War II United States impelled him to move to Europe, where he wrote Go Tell it on the Mountain (1953) and his other early major works: the essay collection Notes of a Native Son (1955) and the play The Amen Corner (1955). His second novel, Giovanni’s Room (1956), deals explicitly with homosexuality. It was published at a time when few other writers dared to publish gay-themed works. After Baldwin returned to the United States in 1957, his writings increasingly reflected his engagement in the struggle for African-American civil rights. He explored black-white relations in a book of essays, Nobody Knows My Name (1961), and in his novel Another Country (1962). In The Fire Next Time (1963), Baldwin declared that blacks and whites must find ways to come to terms with the past and make a future together or face destruction. His incorporation of gay themes evoked savage criticism from the black community. Following the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X in the late 1960’s, Baldwin became increasingly pessimistic about the possibility of a positive relationship between the races. He returned to Europe and lived out his remaining years in the South of France, where he died in 1987. Baldwin received many awards, including France’s highest civilian award, Commander of the Legion of Honor, presented by President François Mitterrand in 1986.

“The first thing I do each day is get down on my knees and pray, ‘Lord, take me where you want me to go, let me meet who you want me to meet, tell me what to say, and keep me out of your way.’ “

DeGeneres returned to the national spotlight when she was chosen to host the Emmy Awards only a few weeks after the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the ceremony she quipped, “We’re told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?” She was praised for her poise and decorum in emceeing the awards show. Ellen DeGeneres attended the University of New Orleans and worked at a variety of jobs before she entered stand-up comedy. Her selection by cable channel Showtime as The Funniest Person in America led to opportunities to appear on television. During her first appearance on The Tonight Show, DeGeneres was the first female commedian ever invited to sit on the sofa and visit with Johnny Carson. She has been labeled a “female Seinfeld” for her quirky observational humor. In 2003 she launched her daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It won 15 Emmy Awards and is the first talk show to win the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show for its first three seasons. In 2005 DeGeneres was again selected to host the Emmy Awards, this time just three weeks after Hurricane Katrina. She joked, “You know me, any excuse to put on a dress.”

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GAY History Month Continued from previous page.

a box of white chalk, went down and did a drawing on it … I kept seeing more and more of these black spaces, and I drew on them whenever I saw one … People were completely enthralled.” His artistic influences ranged from Jean Dubuffet and William Burroughs to Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss. Haring’s vibrant visual vocabulary included cartoon-like crawling babies, pyramids, barking dogs, and flying saucers. Haring felt that art should not be a precious commodity accessible only to the privileged. He went on from his subway chalk drawings to place his images and sculpture in public places throughout the world. His personal symbol, the Radiant Baby, appeared on an electronic billboard in Times Square. He painted a mural on a section of the Berlin Wall. He often included the public in the making of art, once engaging 10,000 children in the creation of a 100 foot banner for the Statue of Liberty’s centennial. Haring’s desire to make his art available to the public led him in 1986 to open the Pop Shop, a unique retail store selling t-shirts, posters, and other merchandise bearing his signature images. The entire interior of the story was painted in his unique style. After Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, he established the Keith Haring Foundation to provide funding to AIDS organizations and children’s programs. Near the end of his life Haring used his imagery to promote AIDS activism and awareness. He died of AIDS-related complications at the age of 31 on February 16, 1990.

and the federal court’s ruling was vacated when Matlovich agreed to drop the case in exchange for a tax-free payment of $160,000. After his case passed from the headlines, Matlovich became active in gay rights and AIDS organizations. In 1986, he was diagnosed with AIDS. When he died in June 1988, he was buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC with full military honors. His headstone does not bear his name; it reads simply “A Gay Vietnam Veteran.” The words “Never Again” and “Never Forget” are chiseled beneath two triangles. Below them are these words: “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

Leonard Matlovich

“My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.”

b. July 6, 1943 | d. June 22, 1988

Sgt. Leonard Matlovich was the first person to fight discrimination against gays in the U.S. military. “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

Leonard Matlovich was a self-described “Air Force brat” who wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, an Air Force master sergeant. At age 19 he enlisted and volunteered for Vietnam. He served three tours of duty, earning the Bronze Star for bravery, the Purple Heart, and an Air Force commendation. Matlovich was an unlikely champion of gay rights. Religiously and politically conservative, he was brought up in a Catholic family and converted to Mormonism as he attempted to control his homosexual inclinations through strict religious beliefs. Sgt. Matlovich remained closeted in the gay-excluding military. But in March 1975, the decorated 12-year veteran handed his commanding officer a letter stating that “my sexual preferences are homosexual as opposed to heterosexual” and requesting a waiver of the military’s anti-gay policies because of his exemplary service record. The Office of Special Investigations declared Sgt. Leonard Matlovich unfit for military service and recommended that he be discharged. Matlovich’s challenge to the ruling thrust him into the glare of headlines. The New York Times wrote about him, NBC made a television movie, and in 1975, Matlovich became the first openly gay person to be on the cover of Time Magazine. In 1980 a federal judge ordered the Air Force to reinstate Matlovich with back pay. The Air Force negotiated a settlement with Matlovich

Barbara Jordan

b. February 21, 1936 | d. January 17, 1996

Representative Barbara Jordan (D-Texas) was the first African-American woman elected to Congress from a southern state. She was known as an outstanding orator and Constitutional scholar.

Barbara Jordan came to national prominence during the Watergate Scandal in 1974 when, as a freshman member of the House Judiciary Committee, she made an eloquent speech on the Constitution which was nationally televised in prime time. Her speech set the stage for President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Journalist Molly Ivins said of Jordan, “It seemed to me that the words ‘first and only’ came before Barbara Jordan[‘s name] so often that they seemed like a permanent title: the first and only black woman to serve in the Texas State Senate, the first black woman elected to Congress, the first black elected to Congress [since] Reconstruction, the first black woman to serve on corporate boards. She broke so many barriers.” The daughter of a Baptist minister, Barbara Jordan grew up during the days of segregation in Houston’s Fifth Ward. She earned degrees from Texas Southern University and Boston University Law School and was admitted to both the Massachusetts and Texas bars before becoming active in politics during the 1960 presidential campaign. In 1976, Jordan delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, a speech many historians consider the best political keynote speech in modern history. Jordan began to suffer the physical effects of multiple sclerosis in the 1970’s. In 1979, she retired from politics to become a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She addressed the Democratic National Convention in 1992. In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Jordan the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At Jordan’s funeral in 1996, President Clinton eulogized her: “Whenever she stood to speak, she jolted the nation’s attention with her artful and articulate defense of the Constitution, the American Dream, and the common heritage and destiny we share, whether we like it or not. “

John Boswell

b. March 20, 1947 | d. December 24, 1994

John Boswell was an esteemed historian who argued that homosexuality has always existed, that it has at times enjoyed wide social acceptance, and that the Church historically allowed same-sex unions.

“It is possible to change ecclesiastical attitudes toward gay people and their sexuality because the objections to homosexuality are not biblical, they are not consistent, they are not part of Jesus’ teaching; and they are not even fundamentally Christian.” John Boswell was a gifted medieval philologist who read more than fifteen ancient and modern languages. After receiving his PhD from Harvard in 1975, he joined the history faculty at Yale University. Boswell was an authority on the history of Jews, Muslims, and Christians in medieval Spain. He helped to found the Lesbian and Gay Studies Center at Yale in 1987. In 1990 he was named the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History. In 1980 Boswell published the book for which he is best known: Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. In this groundbreaking study, Boswell argued against “the common idea that religious belief—Christian or other—has been the cause of intolerance in regard to gay people.” The book was named one of the New York Times ten best books of 1980 and received both the American Book Award and the Stonewall Book Award in 1981. Boswell’s second book on homosexuality in history was The Marriage of Likeness: SameSex Unions in Premodern Europe, published in 1994. In it he argues that the Christian ritual of adelphopoiia (“brother-making”) is evidence that prior to the Middle Ages, the Church recognized same-sex relationships. Boswell’s thesis has been embraced by proponents of same-sex unions, although it remains controversial among scholars. John Boswell converted to Roman Catholicism as an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary, and remained a devout Catholic for the rest of his life. He was an effective teacher and popular lecturer on several topics, including his life journey as an openly gay Christian man. Boswell died of AIDS-related illness on Christmas Eve in 1994 at age 47.

Harvey Milk

b. May 22, 1930 | d. November 27, 1978

Harvey Milk became the first openly gay person to be elected to a significant public office when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He served 11 months before he was assassinated. “ The important thing is not that we can live on hope alone, but that life is not worth living without it. “

Harvey Milk was a New Yorker who migrated to San Francisco in the 1970’s, when an influx of gay immigrants from across the country was changing the Castro neighborhood into the city’s gay village. Milk opened a camera store and founded the Castro Valley Association of

local merchants. His willingness to represent the interests of local merchants with city government earned him the unofficial title of “the Mayor of Castro Street.” Milk discovered that he had a natural flair for politics. Milk was a political outsider and a populist who made his own rules. From his shop in the Castro, he ran grassroots campaigns based on relentless meetings, door-to-door canvassing, and media interviews. His supporters formed “human billboards” by standing along major thoroughfares holding placards. Milk’s first three tries for office were unsuccessful, but they gave him increasing credibility with the electorate. When Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, a lesbian wrote, “I thank God I have lived long enough to see my kind emerge from the shadows and join the human race.” Milk was shot to death in his City Hall office on Nov. 27, 1978, by Dan White, a conservative anti-gay former supervisor who also murdered Mayor George Moscone. White was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years imprisonment. City-wide violence erupted in San Francisco when White’s sentence was announced. Harvey Milk had forebodings of his assassination. He left a tape-recorded “political will” naming his preferred successor on the Board of Supervisors. On that tape he said: “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”

Lupe Valdez b. October 11, 1947

Lupe Valdez is the first woman, the first ethnic minority person, and the first lesbian to be elected Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas. “I decided to run because people have two choices in life. You can simply sit there complaining about something that’s broken or wrong, or you can get busy and actually do something about it.”

Lupe Valdez was a senior agent with the Department of Homeland Security when she reached a defining moment in her career. She had spent 24 years in law enforcement, beginning in the county prison system and moving into increasingly responsible positions with the General Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Customs, and the Department of Homeland Security. In 2004, she decided to gamble job security and retirement income to run for Sheriff. On November 2, 2004, Valdez became the first woman, the first ethnic minority person, and the first lesbian to be elected Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas. She ran as a Democrat in a heavily Republican state, which led The Dallas Morning News to comment that “Dallas County voters managed to shatter at least four different stereotypes in one fell swoop.” In addition to her other “firsts,” Valdez is the first former migrant worker to be elected Sheriff of Dallas County. She is the youngest of eight children. Her family followed the crops north to Michigan, picking green beans, beets, and sweet potatoes. Despite the challenges, Valdez’s mother was determined that her youngest child — and only daughter — would have an education. Valdez put herself through college by working two jobs. In six years she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. After college, she enlisted in the Army Reserves, where she rose to the rank of captain, serving in the military police and military intelligence. While serving as a law enforcement officer and federal agent, Valdez earned a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice.

As Dallas County Sheriff, Valdez is responsible for 7,000 prisoners and 1,322 deputies, detention officers and bailiffs. “Going from migrant worker to a professional, that was a challenge. Going from jailer to federal agent, that was a challenge.” Compared to all that, she says, this new job is “not a challenge.”

David Geffen b. February 21, 1943

David Geffen is a legendary music, theater, and film mogul. He supports philanthropic causes through the David Geffen Foundation. “Happy is harder than money. Anybody who thinks money will make them happy, hasn’t got money.”

Barney Frank b. March 31, 1940

Congressman Barney Frank (DMassachusetts) is the highest-ranking and longest-serving openly gay politician in the United States. “The issue is not that morals be applied to public policy; it’s that conservatives bring public policy to spheres of our lives where it should not enter.” Congressman Frank is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. Prior

Barbara Gittings b. July 31, 1932

Barbara Gittings is a Gay Pioneer who participated in the first organized annual gay civil rights demonstrations, helped convince the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, and helped persuade libraries to include gay content. “ As a teenager, I had to struggle alone to learn about myself and what it meant to be gay. Now for [48] years I’ve had the satisfaction of working with other gay people all across the country to get the bigots off our backs, to oil the closet door hinges, to change prejudiced hearts and minds, and to show that gay love is good for us and for the rest of the world too. It’s hard work — but it’s vital, and it’s gratifying, and it’s often fun! “ In the 1950’s gay activism was in its infancy. Describing those years, Gittings says, “There were scarcely 200 of us in the whole United States. It was like a club — we all knew each other.” Barbara Gittings began her career in activism in 1958 when she founded the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization. She edited DOB’s national magazine The Ladder from 1963 to 1966. In 1965 Gittings marched in the first gay picket lines at the White House and other Federal sites in Washington, DC to protest discrimination by the Federal government. She joined other activists in the first annual demonstrations for gay and lesbian civil rights held each July 4 from 1965 to 1969 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. These yearly protests laid the groundwork for the Stonewall rebellion in 1969 and the first New York gay pride parade in 1970. In the 1970’s Gittings campaigned with Frank Kameny and others to have homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders. She recruited “Dr. H. Anonymous,” a gay psychiatrist who appeared, masked, on a panel at the 1972 APA conference to tell his colleagues why he couldn’t be open in his own profession. In 1973, when the de-listing was announced, a Philadelphia newspaper headline announced: “Homosexuals Gain ‘Instant Cure’.” Gittings also crusaded to make gay literature available in libraries. Though not a librarian, Gittings found a home in the Gay Task

Force of the American Library Association, the first gay caucus in a professional organization. She edited its Gay Bibliography and wrote a history of the group, Gays in Library Land. Her campaign to promote gay materials and eliminate discrimination in libraries was recognized in 2003 by an honorary lifetime membership conferred by the American Library Association.

Phill Wilson b. April 29, 1956

Phill Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute. He is one of the most articulate spokespersons addressing HIV and AIDS issues in the African-American community. “AIDS has always been personal from the very, very beginning,” says Wilson. “In 1980 I discovered that I was gay. It just kind of happened, and I began to figure out what that meant. In that process I met Chris Brownlie, and we fell in love . . . and began a relationship that lasted until he died. In 1981 we moved to Los Angeles, and by that time we guessed that he had been infected along the way, and consequently we guessed that I was also infected, but we didn’t know.” Wilson didn’t know for certain that he was HIV-positive until he was 27. At that time, in the 1980’s, a positive test was assumed to be a death sentence. Wilson watched countless friends become ill and die. After Brownlie’s death, he channeled his anger into work for HIV/AIDS prevention. Wilson developed AIDS in 1990, and nearly died in 1995, but the development of the new antiretroviral drugs enabled him to recover. By 1999, when he was well enough to return to the frontlines of activism, Phill Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute. He has participated in the founding of several other HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations and has worked on HIV/AIDS policy and treatment internationally. He is credited with being the primary force in mobilizing the Black community against HIV/AIDS. On celebrating his 50th birthday in 2006, Wilson said, “I didn’t think 30 was an option, so to be 50 is amazing.” “I have lived an unbelievably blessed life. Now people may think that’s a bizarre thing to say for someone who’s lived almost his entire adult life with either HIV or AIDS. The truth of the matter is that I’ve lived a life where I’ve had the privilege of pretending that I can make a difference, and if I can hold onto that illusion, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Oscar Wilde

b. October 16, 1854 | d. November 30, 1900

Oscar Wilde is one of the greatest playwrights in the English-speaking world. “Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world, there are only individuals.”

Oscar Wilde gloried in flaunting his individuality during the Victorian Era, a period synonymous with social conformity and sexual repression. Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin to a mother who was a noted poet and Irish nationalist, and a father who was an eye surgeon. Wilde showed brilliance from an early age, winning prizes at school and university. At Magdalen College, Oxford Wilde adopted his signature flowing hair and flamboyant style of dress, openly scorned “manly sports,” and decorated his rooms with peacock feathers and beautiful objects. Wilde first became a public figure as a spokesman for the Aesthetic Movement, whose motto was “art for art’s sake.” After a lecture tour

through the United States, where he met poet Walt Whitman, Wilde said that “America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.” In 1892, the debut of his first play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, introduced London theatergoers to such Wildean trademark witticisms as, “My own business always bores me to death; I prefer other people’s,” and “I can resist anything but temptation.” Wilde’s plays sparkle with keenly observed satirical wit that punctures the stuffy pretenses of Victorian society. A turning point in Wilde’s life came in 1891 when Wilde, who was married and the father of two children, began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, known as “Bosie,” son of the Marquess of Queensbury. Infuriated by his son’s involvement with Wilde, the Marquess instigated legal actions that ended with Wilde’s conviction on a charge of gross indecency for “a love that dare not speak its name.” In April 1895, the night he was arrested for “indecent acts,” Wilde’s name was removed from the playbills outside theatres in London and New York where his hit plays “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “An Ideal Husband” were playing. Wilde was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment at hard labor. He spent the last three years of his life in poverty and self-imposed exile. He died in Paris in 1900 at the age of 46, his life undoubtedly shortened by the rigors of imprisonment. The continued popularity of Wilde’s plays and his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as numerous films and books about his life, have made him an icon of popular culture. His grave in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris has become a pilgrimage site.

Tim Gill

b. October 18, 1953

Tim Gill founded the highly successful computer company Quark, Inc. and created the Gill Foundation, one of the first major foundations to benefit the GLBT community. “This fight is not just for the long haul. This fight is forever.” Tim Gill got hooked on computers when his high school acquired its first computer. It wasn’t long until he taught himself to create complex programs. Instead of following in his father’s footsteps as a physician as he had originally planned, he majored in applied mathematics and computer science at the University of Colorado. In 1981, Gill borrowed $2,000 from his parents and started Quark, Inc. The road to success was not without obstacles, but in a few years’ time the company became a leader in desktop publishing software. Gill established a reputation for innovative, socially conscious business practices. His name appeared on the Forbes 400 list of the nation’s wealthiest people. Gill began to speak out publicly as a gay man in 1992 when Colorado voters passed Amendment 2, which banned laws designed to protect GLBT people from discrimination. In 1994 he established the Gill Foundation with the mission of securing equal opportunity for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. In 2000, Gill sold his interest in Quark in order to devote his energies to the foundation. In 2004, the Gill Foundation endowment was $220 million.

Martina Navratilova b. October 18, 1956

Martina Navratilova has won 168 singles tennis titles, more than any other tennis player in history, male or female. She has won 58 Grand Slam tournaments, including a record nine Wimbledon singles titles. “The moment I stepped onto that crunchy red

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David Geffen has shaped popular culture for more than 30 years by launching the careers of many of the greatest performers of our time. His success in the entertainment business has come from his exceptional ability to spot and develop creative talent. Geffen began his career working in the mail room at the William Morris Agency, from which he rose rapidly to become an agent. In the 1960’s Geffen brokered the deal for Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young to appear at Woodstock. In 1971 Geffen founded Asylum Records, where he launched the careers of Jackson Browne and The Eagles and produced albums for stars including Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, and Joni Mitchell, whose song “Free Man in Paris” is a tribute to Geffen. In 1980, he formed Geffen Records, producing John Lennon’s last album and fostering the careers of such artists as Cher, Bob Dylan, Ashlee Simpson, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Weezer, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. In the 1980’s Geffen was a backer of the musical Cats, which became the longest-running show on Broadway. During the same period, he founded the Geffen Film Company, producing films such as Beetlejuice, Little Shop of Horrors, and Risky Business, the film that launched Tom Cruise’s career. In 1994 Geffen partnered with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to create DreamWorks SKG. DreamWorks won three consecutive best picture Oscars for American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000), and A Beautiful Mind (2001). More than ten DreamWorks films have box office grosses totaling over $100,000,000. Geffen is reputedly “one of the most brilliant dealmakers ever to work in Hollywood.” He became a billionaire after selling Geffen Records in 1990 and is listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Geffen has become known for his support of medical research, AIDS organizations, and the arts. His $200 million unrestricted gift to UCLA Medical School in 2002 was the largest bequest ever given to an American medical school. He has said, “I have no interest in making money any more. Everything I make in the entertainment business will go to charity.”

to entering Congress, he served in state and local government, including eight years as a Massachusetts State Representative, and three years as Chief Assistant to Boston Mayor Kevin White. During that time, Frank taught at several universities and published articles on politics and public affairs. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, Frank is the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. The Almanac of American Politics has called him “one of the intellectual and political leaders of the Democratic Party in the House, political theorist and pit bull all at the same time.” Politics in America has noted his “penchant for trying to match liberalism with hard-nosed pragmatism in order to move the legislative ball.” In 1987, seven years after he was elected to Congress, Frank disclosed his sexuality. He comments, “I tried every which way not to acknowledge publicly that I was gay and I said, ‘This was making me crazy,’ and I decided to acknowledge publicly being gay.” Frank is outspoken on gay and lesbian rights and on human rights. In 1988 Frank founded the National Stonewall Democrats. According to Representative Frank, the best perk a Member of Congress enjoys is being able, after reading about a problem in the morning newspaper, to go to the office the same day and begin working on a solution.

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GAY History Month Continued from previous page.

clay, felt the grit under my sneakers, felt the joy of smacking a ball over the net, I knew I was in the right place.”

Navratilova knew from an early age that she wanted to be a tennis player. At 16, she turned pro and two years later, she defected from her native Czechoslovakia to the United States. In 1981 she became an American citizen. Navratilova played a powerful serve-andvolley style of tennis the women’s game had not seen before. She pioneered attention to diet and cross-training for physical conditioning. Navratilova’s friend and former on-court rival Chris Evert said, “Martina revolutionized the game by her superb athleticism and aggressiveness, not to mention her outspokenness and her candor. She brought athleticism to a whole new level with her training techniques ... She had everything down to a science, including her diet, and that was an inspiration to me.” In 1981, Navratilova became the first athletic superstar to announce her sexual orientation. While her candor cost her millions in endorsement opportunities, her tournament winnings alone in 1982 made her the first female athlete to earn more than one million dollars in a year. Navratilova retired from women’s singles tennis in 1994, but continued as a mixed doubles player until 2006, winning a total of 175 doubles titles in her career. She has earned a reputation as an advocate of gay rights, the environment, animal welfare, and women’s issues. She spoke at the 1993 March on Washington and filed a lawsuit against the enactment Colorado’s Amendment 2, which banned legal protection for lesbians and gays in housing and employment. TV analyst Bud Collins said, “Martina is probably the most daring player in the history of the game. She dared to play a style antithetical to her heritage without worrying about making a fool of herself. She dared to remake herself physically, setting new horizons for women in sports. And she dared to live her life as she chose, without worrying what other people thought of her.”

Bayard Rustin

b. March 17, 1910 | d. August 24, 1987

Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the 1963 civil rights march on Washington. Rustin’s expertise in nonviolent direct action assisted King in shaping the African-American Civil Rights movement. “We are all one. And if we don’t know it, we will learn it the hard way.”

Bayard Rustin was raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania by Quaker grandparents who espoused pacifism. Rustin moved to Harlem in the 1930’s, the time of the Harlem Renaissance. He paid his New York City College tuition by singing with folk artist Josh White and became an organizer for the Young Communist League in their work against racial segregation. Rustin’s refusal to register for the draft in World War II resulted in his serving three years in a federal penitentiary. Although he was arrested 23 times for nonviolent protest, he never lost his conviction that equality should be pursued through nonviolent means. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Rustin organized nonviolent groups that became the foundation of the African-American Civil Rights movement, including the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Congress of Racial Equality,

and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1947, he coordinated the Journey of Reconciliation, an event that became the model for the Freedom Rides of the 1960’s. In 1955, Rustin was instrumental in organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As an expert in Gandhian nonviolent tactics, Bayard Rustin fostered nonviolence in the African-American civil rights movement. When Rustin arrived in Montgomery to assist with the bus boycott, there were guns inside Martin Luther King, Jr.’s house and armed guards posted at his doors. Rustin persuaded King and the other boycott leaders to commit the movement to complete nonviolence. A superb strategist, Bayard Rustin experienced prejudice because of his sexual orientation and his controversial political positions. He was often relegated to a behind-the-scenes role. Shortly before he died 1987, Rustin said at a gay rights rally: “Twenty-five, thirty years ago, the barometer of human rights in the United States were black people. That is no longer true. The barometer for judging the character of people in regard to human rights is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, [or] lesbian.”

Jim Kolbe b. June 28, 1942

Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona) has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985 and is the second openly gay Republican member of the House. “The cause for all gay persons . . . will be advanced when we focus not on what sets us apart from our fellow Americans but on what we share in common.” Congressman Kolbe is the first Republican to represent southern Arizona since statehood. He is recognized as a leading proponent of free trade. He serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the House Appropriations Committee, which funds most U.S. foreign aid programs, narcotics interdiction efforts, and counter-terrorism activities. Kolbe is known for his advocacy of Social Security and immigration reforms. The Congressman’s interest in politics began early in life. At 15 he left the family ranch in Arizona to serve as a Senate page for Senator Barry Goldwater. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University and an MBA from Stanford University. He was awarded the Navy commendation medal, “V” for valor, for his service in Vietnam. Prior to his election to Congress, he served in the Arizona state senate. Kolbe is currently the only openly gay Republican serving in Congress. When he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in 1996, Kolbe said, “This is the best day of my life, really. I feel a tremendous burden lifted. It’s a relief. I’m being totally honest about myself to friends and family. It feels wonderful.” In 2000, Kolbe became the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention. Currently completing his eleventh term in Congress, Kolbe has announced that he will not seek reelection for a twelfth term in 2006.

Adrienne Rich b. May 16, 1929

Adrienne Rich is one of the leading American poets. Her ability to combine poetry with politics has made her a model for poets and activists. “The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.” Adrienne Rich became a published poet in 1951 at the age of 21, when W. H. Auden selected her first book, A Change of World, for the Yale Younger Poets Prize. She has published nearly twenty volumes of poetry and several books of non-fiction. Rich’s poetry has been honored with numerous awards including the Academy of American Poets Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and a MacArthur Fellowship. Her collection of poems Diving into the Wreck received the 1974 National Book Award. The American Academy of Poets bestowed the Wallace Stevens Award on Rich in 1997 for “outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry.” “When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Revision,” Rich’s 1971 celebrated address to the Modern Language Association, challenged many traditional assumptions of literary scholarship and prompted the inclusion of women’s studies and feminist criticism in academia. Rich advocated equality for women, gays, and those disenfranchised by race and class. Rich is active in movements for GLBT rights, reproductive freedom, and the progressive New Jewish Agenda. In 1981, she received the Fund for Human Dignity Award of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In 1997 Rich declined the National Medal of Arts, saying, “Art ... means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of the power which holds it hostage. The radical disparities of wealth and power in America are widening at a devastating rate. A president cannot meaningfully honor certain token artists while the people at large are so dishonored.” In 2003, Rich joined other poets in protesting the war in Iraq by refusing to attend a White House symposium on poetry.

Ian McKellen b. May 25, 1939

Ian McKellen is one of the world’s most highly-regarded actors. Since the late 1980’s, he has been an activist for gay rights. “Try and understand what part you have to play in the world in which you live ... Discover what part you can play and then go for it.” Ian McKellen is best known for his movie roles as the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as Magneto in the X-Men films, and in the title role in Richard III. He has made more than 40 other features films over five decades. For much of his career he was primarily known for his work in London and New York theatre and as a preeminent Shakespearean actor. McKellen’s acting has been recognized by more than 40 major international acting awards, including two Academy Award nominations, a Tony Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cable ACE Award, a Golden Globe Award, and most recently, a Lifetime Achievement Golden Bear from the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. His legendary performances as Shake-

speare’s “Richard II” and Marlowe’s “Edward II” stormed the 1969 Edinburgh Festival. As leading man for the Royal Shakespeare Company, he played Macbeth opposite Dame Judi Dench, as well as Romeo, Iago, and Toby Belch, and performed in plays by Brecht, Chekhov, Ibsen, Jonson, Shaw, and Stoppard. On Broadway he was Saliere in “Amadeus” and most recently, the captain in Strindberg’s “Dance of Death.” Last year he achieved two long-time ambitions: a visiting role in the soap opera “Coronation Street” and a turn as Widow Twankey, the dame role in “Aladdin” at the Old Vic Theatre in London, where he lives. He was knighted for services to the performing arts in the Queen’s New Year Honours of 1990. In 1988 McKellen announced on BBC radio that he is gay, debating the UK government’s “Section 28” legislation that criminalized the “promotion of homosexuality.” Since 1994, McKellen has performed a oneman show, “A Knight Out,” about his parallel journeys as an actor and a gay man. The Los Angeles Times called the show “a moving and witty assessment of the conflict between our public and private selves.” McKellen will return to the Stratford stage in March 2007 in the role of King Lear, in the final production for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival, followed by a world tour.

Lowell Selvin b. April 15, 1959

Lowell Selvin created PlanetOut Inc., the leading global media and entertainment company serving the GLBT community. “What I always believed growing up is that I was going to be a builder, and I was going to build something that might in a small little way change the world. Never in my dreams did I believe that one of those things that I might have a hand in building would be a legacy in the gay community.”

Lowell Selvin raised the largest amount of capital ever assembled for a GLBT-identified business when, in 2001, he led the merger of PlanetOut Corp. and Online Partners into PlanetOut Inc., one of the largest online services in the world. In October 2004, PlanetOut Inc. became the first company serving the gay and lesbian community to be publicly traded on a major stock exchange (Nasdaq: LGBT). Selvin also presided over PlanetOut’s acquisition of LPI Media, which includes the publications The Advocate and Out, and travel company RSVP. PlanetOut’s mission is “to connect, enrich and illuminate the lives of gay and lesbian people everywhere.” PlanetOut Partners offers online portals in five languages and maintains offices in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Selvin began his career with a high technology business serving Fortune 500 companies. He served in executive positions with direct sales company Arbonne International and Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. He cofounded and served as executive vice president and board director for Degree Baby Products, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Selvin holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois. He is involved in numerous charitable causes, including being a founding member and chair of the Gay & Lesbian Network of the Young Presidents’ Organization and serving as advisory board chair for the Hebrew Union College’s Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation.

PlanetOut Inc., Selvin believes, communicates an important message to the GLBT community: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The company weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve created says: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You belong, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OK, and by the way, you can have a great and wonderful experience and we can build a valuable company.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

Andrew Sullivan

b. August 10, 1963

Andrew Sullivan is an author and journalist who regularly appears on national television and whose commentary is featured in major national publications. He is a leading advocate of same-sex marriage.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most successful marriages, gay or straight, even if they begin in romantic love, often become friendships. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the ones that become the friendships that last.â&#x20AC;? Andrew Sullivan was born in South Godstone, a small town in southern England, in 1963. After earning a B.A. in modern history from Oxford University he received a fellowship to study at Harvard University, where he earned a masters degree in public administration and a Ph.D. in government. In 1986, he began at The New Republic (TNR) and in 1991, he was named the magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s editor, the youngest in its history. In the five years Sullivan was at the helm, the magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s circulation grew and advertising revenues increased. Sullivan expanded TNRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sphere beyond politics to cover such cultural topics as same-sex marriage and affirmative action. He created a stir by publishing excerpts from the controversial study on race and IQ, The Bell Curve. In the 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sullivan became known for his writing on gay issues. His article â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Politics of Homosexualityâ&#x20AC;? has been called the most influential article of the decade in gay rights. Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality was the first book to advocate civil marriage rights for gay couples. Sullivan

also published Love Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, and Survival and edited a reader, Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con. As a practicing Catholic, Sullivan has challenged the Roman Catholic Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position on homosexuality. In Virtually Normal he takes the position that the Bible forbids homosexuality only when it is linked to prostitution or pagan ritual. Sullivan started his blog, The Daily Dish, in 2000. His articles have appeared in The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Esquire. He is a regular guest on The Chris Matthews Show, Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper 360Â°, Meet The Press, Face the Nation, Nightline, NPRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fresh Air and Larry King Live.

in Love, based on D. H. Lawrenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s novel. The film received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Screenplay. Faggots, Kramerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1978 novel, continues to be one of the best selling of all gay-themed novels. The Normal Heart, his 1985 play about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, holds the record as the longest-running play at Joseph Pappâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Theater in New York. His non-fiction book Reports from the Holocaust: The Making of an AIDS Activist, published in 1989, is an important record of AIDS activism. Kramerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1992 play The Destiny of Me was awarded an Obie, the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play, and the Hull-Warriner Award by the Dramatistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guild. Kramer was a founder of the AIDS advocacy organization Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Crisis. In 1987, he helped found ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). Kramer is a recipient of the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the first creative artist and the first openly gay person to be honored by a Public Service Award from Common Cause. Susan Sontag said of him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Larry Kramer is one of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most valuable troublemakers. I hope he never lowers his voice.â&#x20AC;?

Sheryl Swoopes

Larry Kramer

b. March 25, 1971

b. June 25, 1935

Larry Kramer is an award-winning playwright, commentator and pioneering AIDS activist. â&#x20AC;&#x153; Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all going to go crazy, living this epidemic every minute, while the rest of the world goes on out there, all around us, as if nothing is happening, going on with their own lives and not knowing what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like, what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going through. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re living through war, but where theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re living itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peacetime, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all in the same country. â&#x20AC;&#x153; After graduating from Yale University in 1957, Larry Kramer began his professional life in the film industry. He co-produced and co-wrote Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, which became the number one film in Britain. He wrote the screenplay for and produced Women

Sheryl Swoopes is a professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the female Michael Jordan.â&#x20AC;?

league when she was seven. In 1988 she led her high school team to the Texas state championship. As a collegiate player at Texas Tech, Swoopes led the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball team to the NCAA title in 1993 and was voted the NCAA Final Four MVP (Most Valuable Player) after setting a championship game scoring record. She also received the Naismith Award as National Player of the Year. Swoopes was a member of the US Basketball Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Team that won gold medals at the Olympics in 1996, 2000, and 2004. She is the first woman to have a Nike athletic shoe named for her, the Air Swoopes. When the WNBA (Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Basketball Association) was organized, Swoopes was recruited for the Houston Comets during their inaugural season. She joined the team a few weeks after giving birth to her son and, despite playing only the last third of the season, led the Comets to the 1997 WNBA championship. The Comets went on to win the first four WNBA titles. In ten years with the Comets, Swoopes has accumulated more than 2,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, 300 career assists, and 200 career steals. She has been WNBA Most Valuable Player three times, more than any other player. In 2005, Sheryl Swoopes became one of the highest profile professional athletes in a team sport to come out publicly when she announced that she is a lesbian. She and her partner, former Comets assistant coach Alisa Scott, are raising Swoopesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; son.

Alan Turing

b. June 23, 1912â&#x20AC;&#x201A; |â&#x20AC;&#x201A; d. June 7, 1954

Alan Turing led the British codebreaking team that broke the German Enigma Code, thereby shortening World War II, saving many lives, and helping the Allies to win the war. Turing is considered the father of computer science.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.â&#x20AC;? Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional basketball did not yet exist when Sheryl Swoopes was growing up in Brownfield, Texas. She discovered her passion for the game by playing with her older brothers and began competing in a local childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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1 4 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 6

GAY History Month Continued from previous page.

... one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.”

Alan Turing was by nature skeptical and indifferent to conventional values. While often at odds with authority, he made remarkable connections between apparently unrelated areas of inquiry, including treating symbolic logic as a new area of applied mathematics. As a fellow at King’s College, Cambridge, Turing wrote “On Computable Numbers,” his landmark paper published in 1936, which is considered the founding work of modern computer science. After completing doctoral work at Princeton University, Turing returned to Britain in 1938 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Turing’s potential ability as a code breaker had been identified at and he had been introduced to the secret operations at the Government Codes and Ciphers School in London. On September 4, 1939, the day after Britain declared war on Germany, Turing reported to work at Bletchley Park, Britain’s code breaking center. At the conclusion of the war, Turing’s ambition was to create a computer, but the classified status of his wartime work prevented him from realizing that dream. His contention that the computer could rival the computing power of the human brain correctly anticipated the field of Artificial Intelligence. In the postwar years, Turing competed as a distance runner, reaching near-Olympic times in the marathon. Asked why he engaged in such demanding training, Turing replied, “ I have such a stressful job that the only way I can get it out of my mind is by running hard.” ‘ Alan Turing lived at a time when homosexuality was regarded as a mental illness and homosexual acts were illegal. Despite his critical wartime role, when his relationship with

a Manchester man became public, he was charged with “gross indecency” and forced to accept hormone treatment with estrogen. He also lost his security clearance and was no longer able to work as a cryptographer. Turing died in 1954 shortly before his 42nd birthday after eating a cyanide-laced apple. His death was ruled a suicide.

Walt Whitman

b. May 31, 1819 | d. March 26, 1892

Walt Whitman is considered by many to be America’s greatest poet. He liberated poetry from the constrictions of European models and created a genuinely American style of verse. “I celebrate myself, and sing myself …”

Walt Whitman is best known for Leaves of Grass, his groundbreaking volume of twelve untitled poems first published in 1855, which heralded a new, uniquely American style of poetry. Whitman continued to revise and expand Leaves of Grass for the rest of his life. The first few editions were poorly received. Leaves of Grass was censured by some prominent American intellectuals because of its innovative, unstructured verse and its celebration of sexuality, which they found obscene. Whitman was born in Long Island, New York, into a Quaker family. Largely selfeducated, Whitman supported himself as a printer, teacher, and journalist while he pursued his vision of a new form of litera-

ture that would express America’s destiny as liberator of the human spirit. Leaves of Grass reflects Whitman’s belief that poetry should be simple, with the natural rhythm of spoken language and without orthodox meter or rhyme. During the Civil War, the poet served as an unofficial nurse in an army hospital, caring for his brother and other wounded Union soldiers at his own expense. When the war ended, Whitman, who was already internationally famous, remained in Washington, DC, working as a clerk in the Department of the Interior. However, when the Secretary of the Interior, James Harlan, discovered that Whitman was the author of Leaves of Grass, Harlan fired the poet. Whitman is widely considered to be the father of modern American literature, but during his lifetime he remained more highly regarded in Europe than in the United States. In 1882 Oscar Wilde, who was on a lecture tour of America, visited Whitman at the poet’s home in Camden, NJ. Afterward he said of Whitman, “He is the grandest man I have ever seen, the simplest, most natural, and strongest character I have ever met in my life.”

Jean-Michel Basquiat b. December 22, 1960 | d. August 12, 1988

Jean-Michel Basquiat was a graffiti artist whose painting became a major force in revitalizing American art in the late 20th century. “SAMO© as an end to mindwash religion, nowhere politics, and bogus philosophy” Basquiat grew up in a middle class environment in Brooklyn. His father, an accountant, was Haitian and his mother was Puerto Rican. As a teenager, he left home to live in lower

Manhattan, selling hand-painted t-shirts and postcards on the street. His work began to attract attention around 1980 after a group of underground artists held a public exhibition, the Times Square Show. Basquiat’s unique visual lexicon compounded of “graffiti symbols and urban rage” (Publishers Weekly) challenged accepted notions of art. His vivid paintings incorporated such diverse images as African masks, quotes from Leonardo and Gray’s Anatomy, Egyptian murals, pop culture, and jazz. His personal visual vocabulary included three-pronged crowns and the © symbol. Critics called his work “childlike and menacing” and “neo-primitive.” Basquiat associated with other “Neo-Expressionist” artists whose work drew from popular culture, including Andy Warhol, Julian Schnabel, and Keith Haring. Haring said of Basquiat’s early work: “The stuff I saw on the walls was more poetry than graffiti. They were sort of philosophical poems ... On the surface they seemed really simple, but the minute I saw them I knew that they were more than that. From the beginning he was my favorite artist.” Embraced by the art world, Basquiat soared to international fame. In 1982 his work was exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Rotterdam and Zurich, and he was the youngest artist ever to be included in the prestigious German exhibition, Documenta 7. In 1985 he appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine. The artist’s close friends became increasingly concerned about his drug use and erratic behavior. Jean-Michel Basquiat died at the age of 27 of a heroin overdose.

Elton John b. March 25, 1947

Elton John has sold more than 250 million records in a career that spans more than three decades. He has been honored with a knighthood for his work on behalf of AIDS research and education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The great thing about rock and roll is that someone like me can be a star.â&#x20AC;?

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight. The son of a former Royal Air Force trumpeter, he was a musical prodigy, playing the piano at the age of four. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music for six years before leaving school for the music business. A turning point came when he connected with lyricist Bernie Taupin through a music magazine advertisement both men had answered. Their first collaboration, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Scarecrow,â&#x20AC;? was recorded in 1967, beginning a songwriting partnership that continues to the present. About the same time Reginald Dwight legally changed his name to Elton John, in tribute to musicians Elton Dean and Long John Baldry. In the 1970â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s John became known for his energetic performances and his flamboyant stage wardrobe, including a large collection of outrageous spectacles. Many considered the Elton John Band to be the greatest act

Coming Out by Ben Williams

ben@qsaltlake.com

Jim Hormel

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In 1992 when Jim Hormel sought to become a United States Ambassador, he had no idea it would take seven years and a bruising political battle to achieve his goal. Ironically, he had enough votes from both Democrats and Republicans to win confirmation, but

three anti-gay Senators repeatedly blocked his nomination from coming to a vote. At the same time, special interests launched a slanderous public campaign against him. The Senate never voted, but President Clinton made Hormel U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg in a 1999 recess appointment. Following Hormelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment, the State Department made major revisions to its regulations, including measures that for the first time allowed gay Foreign Service officers to bring their partners on overseas assignments. Jim Hormel was born in Austin, Minnesota on January 1, 1933. He graduated from

4th of July. It was so long ago.â&#x20AC;? It also bothers me to no end when I see our institutions using erroneous dates when it would be just as easy to find the correct ones. For example, the official website of the GLBTCCU has the wrong date for when the Utah Stonewall Center had its grand opening. It was June 1, 1991 not 1992 as posted. I know. I was there. I was taught in college that the first thing an oppressor does to strip a people of an identity is to distort or destroy their history. However the first thing an emerging people does to empower themselves, is to reclaim their history and their myths. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always felt that the agendum of sexual assimilationists was to deny that queer people have a distinct and valid history separate and apart from heterosexuals. Assimilationists donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be thought of as different, so queer history has no relevance to them and, in fact, is often viewed by them as being detrimental to the absorption of queers into mainstream banality. Some assimilationists maintain we are only a minority defined by our oppression. Take away the subjugation and there would be no minority. A divergent position from this view is one held by queer constructionists who believe, as I do, that we are indeed a real and distinct minority; defined not only by our sexual orientation but by our collective consciousness, mores, icons and history. While our collective consciousness may have rationally assured us that we must all â&#x20AC;&#x153;hang togetherâ&#x20AC;? or the â&#x20AC;&#x153;establishmentâ&#x20AC;? will hang us separately, I believe

there is an innate, non-rational, spiritual (if you will) component that makes queer people inherently different from heteropeople. No one would refute that our human brains, flooded with either estrogen or testosterone, do perceive the world basically the same, but still with enough subtle differences to justify saying that men and women have distinct weltgeist insights in philosophizing about history. Why can it not be argued that queer people who are a melding of these two genders cannot also have a conceptual view of the world that is different from heterosexual men and women? German historian George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel wrote that â&#x20AC;&#x153;The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.â&#x20AC;? Thirtyseven years ago, an Hegelian paradigm shift in the collective consciousness of queers occurred that held that we are not just defective heterosexuals but an oppressed minority crying out for freedom. Therefore, for the first time ever, queers fought back against centuries of institutionalized bigotry and oppression that had branded us as either evil criminals, sexual depraved insane people or enemies of God. After the rebellion on Christopher Street convoluted the heteroestablishment, the 1950s beat poet Allen Ginsberg observed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the wounded fag look was gone forever.â&#x20AC;? The Stonewall Revolution was the catalyst for a new social movement called Gay Liberation. Within a few short years antiquated laws based on religious prejudices and scientific non sequitur premises gave way to activists mobilized against

b. January 1, 1933

Jim Hormel is a philanthropist and community leader who was the first openly gay United States Ambassador. â&#x20AC;&#x153; I learned in the civil rights era that nobody gives you anything â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you have to fight for it. The same is true of our effort today to bring equality to all Americans.â&#x20AC;?

MLS

Swarthmore College and now serves on its Board of Managers. He earned a JD degree from the University of Chicago Law School and later served as its Assistant Dean and Dean of Students. Hormel served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1995 and to the United Nations General Assembly in 1996. He has also been active in Democratic politics and has served several times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Hormel sits on the boards of several national and Bay Area (California) political and cultural institutions. He is chairman of Equidex, Inc., a family-run investment firm. Hormelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philanthropy and activism center on promoting human rights and equality. In 1995, he established the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the new San Francisco Main Public Library, which houses one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of GLBTQ literature. Q For more information on the Equality Project and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history, visit glbthistorymonth.com

our tormentors. The greatest example of what radical activism was able to achieve occurred in 1974 when the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of mental disorders. Not all the heroes of one of the greatest civil rights movements of the 20th century were in New York City or San Francisco. The spirit of Stonewall spread like manna from heaven to Los Angeles, Portland, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta and even Salt Lake City within months. In October 1969, Pam Mayne, Ralph Place and other like minded young â&#x20AC;&#x153;radicalâ&#x20AC;? anti-war activists brought gay liberation to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City, Crossroads of the West, the center and soul of gay oppression in the Rocky Mountains, has a litany of outstanding heroes who could stand toe-to-toe with any other recognized national leaders. People who were willing to put their jobs, reputations, even lives on the line to make Utah a better place for queer people to live. These homo-people stayed to fight the good fight here, when it was much easier to flee elsewhere. How we dishonor our heroes when we forget that we are here today because they were queer yesterday. Without Women Aware would there be a Swerve today? Without the Gay Student Union of University of Utah there probably would be no Gay/ Straight Alliances of today. Without the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire certainly there would be no Utah AIDS Foundation today. I submit that there is a connection between the queers of 1969 and the queers 2006. Go out and find it because it is Gay History Month. Q

O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q S A LT L A K E â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q â&#x20AC;&#x201A;1 5

A former assistant director of the Utah Stonewall Center once stated the reason the board changed the centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah was because Queers were basically too ignorant of their history to know what connection Stonewall has with being queer. He claimed that since gay history is not taught in school, people seeking services from the center would be confused by the name Utah Stonewall Center. I was a little skeptical that this was the real reason that the center changed its name. However, later upon hearing another board member also state that the name was changed because people were unfamiliar with the association of Stonewall with our history, I wondered if we really are that uninformed or just the people running our institutions? Perhaps it is true that homosexuals in Utah do not know their history or their place in it. But whose fault is that? Shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the education of our people be advanced by our queer leaders by using terms from our history rather then abandoning them? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kind of a Catch 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; if we say we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use the words from our history because no knows about them, how will they ever be learned? To forget Stonewall is akin to saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forget the

in the rock world. John had a string of seven consecutive Number One records, 23 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10 singles, and six Number One hits. He has the distinction of having had a top 40 single every year from 1970 to 1996. In the 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s John turned his talents to film and musical theater. In 1994, his collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice on the Disney animated film The Lion King resulted in a soundtrack that won both an Academy Award and a Grammy and remained at the top of the Billboard chart for nine weeks. He later worked with Rice on the film El Dorado and the musical Aida, which won both a Tony award and a Grammy. John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friendship with Ryan White and Freddy Mercury inspired him to establish the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992. He announced his intention to donate all future royalties from sales of his singles in the U.S. and U.K. to AIDS research.

1 6 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 6

Gun Fluff Tasteless, Ignorant

HIV

Editor, I had hoped for more from my friends at QSaltLake. After working with Michael Aaron and Joselle Vanderhooft for almost a year, I’d come to expect a higher level of journalistic instinct and critical analysis. Which is why the fluff piece “Gays With Guns” [Oct. 1, JoSelle Vanderhooft] that somehow warranted the cover of the last QSaltLake was so upsetting. Why doesn’t QSaltLake question David Nelson on his ties to the racist and controversial Utah Minutemen Project? Why doesn’t QSaltLake investigate the membership number claims Nelson makes? Does that 430 count of members include my “membership” of his website under a false name (I’m a noted gun-control advocate and signed up to learn more about the rhetoric and propaganda his group promotes)? Couldn’t QSaltLake find a single member of our community who opposes gun ownership, who thinks the Second Amendment is flawed and outdated in a world where “bearing arms” isn’t about muskets and swords anymore? Shame on you for running an article that further legitimizes the agenda of a man who, in my experience, has proved to be a single-issue fanatic, a bully and a propagandist who will align himself with racists and bigots to support a narrow agenda not reflected in the larger queer community. Even the photo, with the tuxedo and gambling chips (echoing a James Bond image), romanticizes violence in a way that victims of handgun crimes and accidents would find tasteless and ignorant.

Jere Keys San Francisco, Calif.

Embrace ALL of Our Constitutional Rights

If you’re HIV-positive, we would like to hear about your experiences. We are offering cash incentives up to $20 to anyone who is willing to fill out a confidential 10-minute survey or take part in a brief focus group. Focus group referrals will also receive $20 compensation. Contact Mike at the Utah Department of Health (801) 538-6221 • mlowe@utah.gov

Editor It was great to see a long-time rights advocate on the cover of QSaltLake. While the issue of guns and gun control is a hot button topic, it is important that we get the community to create the right internal policies that embrace this second amendment issue. Our community has enough of its rights taken away by the federal and state government that we cannot afford to allow this to become a wedge issue among gay citizens. It is clear that a gun on the table will harm no one. It is clear that a gun in the possession of an educated, monitored and skilled owner will only serve to protect person and property and will be used on very rare occasion. It is the gun in the hands of the unstable, the extremists and criminal-minded that will be used against the innocent. If we are to ban guns at events like Pride Day, then are we to ban mace, knives or walking sticks? They all can be used in defense of one’s self. Further, state and federal law cannot be trumped by a policy of individuals who themselves seem to live in fear. If we cannot insure within our own community all that is currently guaranteed by the bill of rights, then we have no place touting our cause in the legislative halls. Thank you David Nelson for reminding

us of all of our liberties and for the debate that your current issue brings to the table.

Wade Preston Salt Lake City UT

Smoking SCUM Editor: I have been struggling with quitting smoking for the last year; I’m eating better, I’m jogging, but I’ve had real difficulty ridding myself of this addiction. Well. First, I learned that the tobacco companies have been systematically increasing the nicotine level of cigarettes over the years. But the real kicker was in your column [“Get the Nurse: Smoking Gays,” Jennifer Medvin, RN, Oct. 1]: that I am part of Project SCUM. Thanks for the kick in the ass/wake up call. I’m a bleeding heart liberal, and I’ve allowed corporate America to dictate my behavior. While it may not work for others, this is a message that resonates with me.

Karen Belcher Salt Lake City

The Reports of My Death are Greatly Exaggerated Editor, I wish to thank Ben Williams for his Lambda History article in the October 1 issue of QSaltLake. The article shared his experience in regard to Affirmation, Wasatch Chapter. Unfortunately the article lead the reader to believe that the Wasatch Chapter has disappeared — “is no more.” I believe this statement needs some clarification. The Wasatch Chapter, which has continued to this day as an organization, is affiliated with the national organization Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons. As the local leadership reorganized recently, the national organization approached us and suggested a name change that would be recognizable to more people around the world. The change from Wasatch to Salt Lake was suggested, debated and approved. The same chapter, with a new name Affirmation — Salt Lake will continue to cosponsor the weekly Wednesday movie nights with Reconciliation at the Sugarhouse 10 Theaters. First and third Sunday meetings with guest speakers, workshops and the annual and semi-annual mission reunions and firesides will also continue to take place. Occasionally other activities such as camps, service projects and educational initiatives will be scheduled. The chapter will also continue to be part of the Utah Pride Interfaith planning committee, now looking forward to its sixth year. As the publicity chair and Interfaith Pride Chair, I look forward to many years of continued involvement in the chapter, serving the queer and questioning Utah LDS community.

Duane Jennings Salt Lake City

QSaltLake welcomes letters from our readers. Please email them to letters@qsaltlake. com. Letters may be edited for space and suitability. We suggest keeping letters to less than 400 words. Please include your full name and contact information for verification.

Sin Spin

by Joe Solmonese

Human Rights Campaign

It occurs to me, in watching the Republican leadership and their allies scramble for an alibi that flies in the scandal surrounding Congressman Mark Foley, that no one is stating one obvious fact: that for all Americans, gay or straight, it is simply unacceptable to engage in solicitous behavior with minors. Why do I feel the need to state the obvious? Because while Foley leaves town, his colleagues are rushing to get back on message with less than five weeks left to the midterm elections. And when all else fails this group, they fall back to a timetested formula: blame the gays. This narrative begins with the Family Research Council, the hatemongering right-wing group which is claiming that Foley wasn’t stopped because of a culture that “rejects sexual restraints in the name of diversity.” They would be hard-pressed, however, to find any credible organization or person who finds that sexual harassment and solicitation of a teenager fall under the rubric of diversity. But this didn’t stop Newt Gingrich from going on Fox News to say that the GOP leadership didn’t act because they were afraid of being accused of gay bashing. Oh really? The same GOP leaders who are trying to write gay people out of the Constitution chose not to investigate pedophile behavior because they were worried that they might be branded as homophobic?

This has nothing to do with homophobia. This is about the sexual solicitation of minors. In fact, The Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90 percent of pedophiles are men, and that 98 percent of those men are heterosexual. So who is to blame for the Republicans’ mishandling of Foley’s crimes? Somehow,

If Republicans are smart they’ll admit their complicity, establish safeguards to better protect these young pages and realize that blaming gay America for their misdeeds and mishandling won’t fly this time. we are told it is the larger culture. Somehow it is gay people. And, somehow it is the Democrats even though they knew nothing about Foley’s actions, and, in fact, were kept in the dark by the Republicans overseeing the page program. The public and responsible members of the press cannot and should not accept these preposterous assertions. Speaker Hastert, Congressmen Shimkus and Boehner, and others in the GOP leadership knew for months that Foley was a threat and they did absolutely nothing. The responsibility to protect those

pages lies solely with them. They can’t even get their stories straight about who knew what and when. Even the White House has fallen into this hypocrisy when spokesman Tony Snow chimed in by calling these simply “naughty e-mails.” No one in America knows a responsible adult who would ever send those e-mails to a teenager. We didn’t need to wait for the instant messaging. And no one knows a responsible adult who would cry at the graduation ceremony for pages and then squire one off to a celebratory dinner in his BMW. As gay Americans, we are sitting on the sidelines of this scandal like everyone else. But unlike other Americans, we find ourselves targeted once again by a cynical Republican leadership for behavior of one of their own that is not only reprehensible, but possibly criminal. We will not stand for this smear campaign and we don’t believe that the American public, or voters in Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Reynolds’ district, will either. Reynolds is one of many in the leadership who clearly knew about Foley’s behavior but instead of taking action accepted a $100,000 check from the Florida congressman. If Republicans are smart, they’ll do several things immediately: admit their complicity, establish safeguards to better protect these young pages and realize that blaming gay America for their misdeeds and mishandling won’t fly this time.

*AMES (ICKS

Joe Solmonese is president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights organization with over 650,000 members nationwide.

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With new residents moving in by the week, it’s becoming easy to see why The Residences is one of the best investments a home buyer can make. Don’t miss the opportunity to own one of these handsomely appointed condominiums. Make the connection – The Residences at Central Pointe.

YOUR FAVORITE SWEET TRANSVESTITES ONSTAGE SINGING LIVE AND SYNC • $5 DONATION • FRIDAY OCT 20, 9PM FOLLOWED BY A TOAST-THROWING, DAMMIT JANET, TIME WARP ON-SCREEN SHOWING WITH FULL ROCKY HORROR CAST HEADS UP • 1330 S STATE ST • FRIDAY OCTOBER 20 • 9PM

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Rehabracadabra by Ruby Ridge

ruby@qsaltlake.com

So, darlings, I know about .0000247 percent of you went to the Gay Men’s Health Summit last weekend, where they told you its not politically correct to rip on people’s addictions etc, but I have to ask ... have you been watching the whole Congressman Foley debacle on the news channels? DerrrrrRAMA!!! Just when you think this Congress couldn’t get more corrupt, ineffective or slimy, along comes some Republican closet case flirting with an underage Congressional page. Mary Mother of Jesus, just shoot me now! Pumpkins, I have no idea if the whole situation is true, a prank, or even if a crime occurred, but I sure know a preelection distraction when I see one. At least when President Clinton made out with an intern, it was consensual; she was of the opposite sex and of legal age. I mean that was just good old-fashioned hetero-adultery by the book! So anyway … here’s my beef with the whole tacky affair: I am so sick of people (especially conservatives with that holierthan-thou façade) that screw up big time and when they get caught, slink off into a rehab facility and blame some convenient addiction while their handlers spin the press. Yes, Mel Gibson and Rush Lim-

America’s Most Unwanted by Laurie Mecham laurie@qsaltlake.com

You know how straight, white, Christian Amerika just hates us faggots? It has gotten better over the years, but this marginalization has unified us. The bigotry that we have experienced has also served as a catalyst. Six states have constitutional amendments to prohibit same-sex marriage on their ballots in 2006. From all of the rhetoric and the political maneuvering, you would think that, as we look at the rankings of minority groups on America’s Fecal Roster, gays would top the list. We’re number one! We’re number one! But hold on there, Mary. The University of Minnesota is conducting a research project which monitors attitudes of the population in respect to different minority groups, and they recently published some interesting findings. Before I reveal the results, let’s go back to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where Bob Barker is waiting with five beautiful and talented finalists. Our finalists were selected by the Gallup Poll, who asked self-reported “unprejudiced” adults this question: “If your party nominated a generally well-qualified person for president who happened to be a (BLANK) would you vote for that person?” For this survey, (BLANK) was Atheist, Baptist, Black, Cath-

baugh, I’m talking about you! Not only did Foley play the “addiction card,” he played the card that pushed me right over the edge ... the “I was abused as a child by clergy card.” Waaahhhh ... you spineless weasel! Why don’t you take some personal responsibility for your own sleazy actions, you office-abusing creep, and that goes for all of the Republicans who knew what was going on and still covered it up. Now here’s the uncomfortable part for

If you are supplying alcohol or drugs, inviting minors, or not insisting on party goers practicing safe sex, then you should be strung up by your nads. us, Muffins … we have crap going on in our community that we cover up with a wink and a nod everyday. Yes, I’m talking about private sex parties, barebacking, minors and meth. At some point we all need to have a serious discussion about

olic, Homosexual, Jewish, Mormon(!), and (shudder) Woman. You will be shocked to learn that a 1978 poll showed that the most discriminatedagainst characteristic was homosexuality; only about one in four Americans would vote for a well-qualified homosexual, or should I say a well-qualified “self-pro-

AND—more evil than fags and scarier than towelheads, America’s Number One Least Trusted Group is, (drum roll, please) claimed homosexual.” Of course, that was before TV-loving families’ hearts were warmed by the fun-filled antics of the characters on Queer as Folk. Since then, gays and lesbians have made impressive gains in acceptance. These days, about three in five breeders would consider voting for a knob jockey or a muff diver. So which group are Americans so down on? Their study showed that the least trusted groups in the country include • Homosexuals (natch) • Recent immigrants • Muslims AND—more evil than fags and scarier than towel-heads, America’s Number One Least Trusted Group is, (drum roll, please)

these problems (not just a few people singing to the choir at a gay men’s health summit) because turning a blind eye to them is only making things worse. Now, before you get instantly defensive and start firing up the e-mails, let me say this — if someone wants to have private sex parties in their own home with consenting adults, then knock yourself out. It’s a free country (for now) and as long as you don’t park in the neighbor’s driveway or trample their begonias, then I’m fine with that. But here’s where I get testy: if you are supplying alcohol or drugs, inviting minors, or not insisting on party-goers practicing safe sex, then you should be strung up by your nads. In these days of rampant STDs and addictive behaviors, there is no running to rehab claiming you didn’t know better. Petals, bad things can happen when you mix impairment and anonymous group sex (and don’t get me started on the whole underage thing), so if you are throwing a sex party in your home, you need to educate yourself about the health impacts, legal issues and your responsibilities as a host. And no … inviting a gay cop to party doesn’t mean you can get out of jail free! Ciao, and be careful out there Peaches! Ruby Ridge is one of the more opinionated members of the Utah Cyber Sluts, a Camp Drag group of performers who raise funds and support local charities. Her opinions are her own and fluctuate wildly due to irritability and hearing gay men glorifying barebacking.

• ATHEISTS! Yes, in spite of the ignominy of the other groups, apparently atheists are the black hole that is sucking more of the goodness out of the country than any other minority. Over 50 percent of Americans say they would not vote an atheist into office even if he/she had appealing political views. What can you do to ‘em? You can call them “atheists,” but they don’t care. They don’t have the tax-exempt status of a church that can be threatened. And they’re tricky, because they can remain hidden within other groups and you have to root around to find them. I hope that you’ll be attending the political debates so that you can pose questions that will reveal any atheists in the mix. The thing is, atheists are stealing the votes that would otherwise go to gay candidates. That’s why we have to out them — out them all! By the way, outside of Utah, Mormon candidates have a 79 precent approval rating, with only 17 percent of the population saying they would not vote for a Latter-day Saint. That’s who we need to work with. Let’s think ahead to the next election so that we can present our own slate of candidates. We’ll convince a bunch of atheists to run opposite our candidates, who will all be gay Mormons! I’ll be at the Affirmation conference in Portland this month — I’ll start scouting for candidates. p.s. Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry — but they didn’t ask about marrying a homosexual, because it sort of goes against that whole sanctity-of-marriage thing. Laurie Mecham is a God-fearing carpet muncher.

Blogs

Chad Keller & Mark Thrash Insearchof@qsaltlake.com

Maybe it does take the month of October for some people to “come out” and openly share their gayness. Former Congressman Mark Foley recently made an official announcement that he is a gay man. It took a scandal before this could happen… drama queen. Foley was caught sending inappropriate e-mails and text messages to male teenage Pages. We found it quite humorous that all this happened during National Coming Out Month. Is that what you guys meant by the importance of October? Long before National Coming Out Day, October was Gay History Month. Recently, we’ve been chastised for our lack of contributions to the preservation of gay history. This scolding came as a result of our failure to create personal blogs. We’ve been told blogs will play an important role in the interpretation of gay history. So, with this coming out scandal that is now a part of “our history,” and Ben Williams’ nagging, we’re going In Search of the Importance of Blogs… MARK: When Grandmama Williams was telling us we should create our own blogs, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What the hell is a blog, and why do I need to create one?” Does chatting online count as a blog? After all, it is recorded in some server far, far away. So, while I was doing my normal business at the computer, I pulled the definition from online.

BLOG: I’m a frequent, chronological publication of your personal thoughts and -Web links. I’m often a mixture of what is happening in a person’s life and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people.

CHAD: Blog, you sound like a meddling drag queen. I can barely find time to meet with Mark and write this article. Besides, my personal thoughts would either get me sued for slander, arrested under the oPatriot Act, or just plain in trouble with the wife of the boy next door. At least on paper I can practice restraint.

MARK: Are you sure that this column won’t get you arrested? Besides, exactly when do you practice restraint? Well, don’t worry, your secrets about the guy next door are safe with me. If they were included -in some damn blog, then there’d be too much evidence.

MARK: I didn’t need to read any of the local blogs to know that I find the process boring. See where having a record of Foley’s personal thoughts got him? Hmmm… maybe the mistake was that he didn’t blog. I guess the difference is

CHAD: And take the novelty away! That would be like removing poppers from 1970s gay history. Anything kept online is subject to binary corruption and real time scrutiny. Any good therapist would tell you to buy a notebook and write until your heart’s content. Where thoughts and feelings can be shared without the unwanted prying eyes of others. MARK: Ben did tell us that you can keep a hidden blog too. So, maybe that’ll ease your concern about the judgment of others. Even during my studies in the field of psychology, I never put much credibility into the value of journals. Ultimately, the one-on-one interaction of openly and directly sharing your thoughts with someone you trust is much more therapeutic.

Sing with the Salt Lake Men’s Choir! Join the finest group of gay guys in the valley ... Just ask us! Thursday nights at 7pm at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1700 S. Foothill Blvd. Join now to be part of the Holiday Concert! See saltlakemenschoir.org/join

CHAD: Ben also said we both have a lot to share with the community from our unique perspectives. Mine would be one long sentence with no commas or periods. All said in one big, long breath. A blog is a warning to your enemy and shows a lack of interpersonal skills. I’ve been told it will revive the art of letter writing but that would require picking up a pen. MARK: Maybe blogs have just been misused. I agree that online communication is a downfall to one’s ability to effectively interact with another live being. The online world has created its own language. The use of codes and abbreviations has decreased the ability to talk with someone without the protective barrier of a keyboard and computer screen. CHAD: I have respectfully disagreed with Ben and many others on how we should preserve our personal and community history. I don’t care about one fruitcake’s incessant whining about David Nelson or the dude in Denver’s favorite list of breakfast cereals or the local lesbian who thinks single gays discriminate against lesbians with babies. All of that is irrelevant to history. MARK: But you’re missing one important factor… each of them prompted you to read their thoughts. Not only did you read their thoughts, you even find yourself going back to them for updates from time to time. So, which prying eyes are you worrying about exactly? Hmmm … Hmmm … just a thought. CHAD: Whore … thus my journal is kept under lock and key, and everyone knows that the prying eyes you should be most worried about are mine. I’ve never said that their blogs were bad. I’ll give anyone the right to their personal feelings and thoughts, but bloggers seem to suffer from Warhol syndrome. It seems we both agree that blogs have their place, but are not that important. Anything that provides one with a personal outlet for their feelings has some valid use in this world. However, like most fads, blogging too has become overrated and gone to extremes. Chad agrees to blog once a week when a blogging feature is added to the QSaltLake web site. Mark agrees to blog when he can automatically forward his entries via text messaging from his cellular phone. Q

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CHAD: I perused some of the local, more n notorious gay bloggers. From their postings, they all share far too much intimacies about their personal lives. I find bloggers to be a sad, lonely group of people. Until I watched you cruising away on one of your favorite gay sites … they were all . there, and I bet they weren’t getting any then either.

keeping them tucked away in an online journal instead of sharing them directly with someone.

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By Tony Hobday

tony@qsaltlake.com

Many weeks ago, while vending at the downtown Farmer’s Market, a passer-by flanked a derogatory remark at Q’s reputation, simply saying, “Oh, that’s just porn.” Well, I say pshaw to her ignorance and bias. Yes, we can be off-color and a bit predisposed to bitchiness, but our aim is to provide relevant news to our community and a little humor, misguided as it may be. Please send us your thoughts about the quality of our paper—are we really just porn? Email letters@qsaltlake.com, today.

16MONDAY

Q Whether you envision him as a large, clunkety, horrific grunt with a flat head,

broccoli skin and bolts protruding from his neck like handlebars or as a misunderstood embodiment of one’s self-loathing and fear, Frankenstein is mainstream Halloween terror. Join The Academy of Performing Arts as they share this uncanny story of our unequivocal need for kinship and affection, and the morally-stripped steps we take to keep them. 7:30pm, Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays through October 30. Special engagement on October 31, The Academy of Performing Arts, 3188 S. 400 East, Tickets $10-12, call 8982728 or 486-2728.

17TUESDAY

Q If you’re not into “scary”, then keep clear of the RC … hehe! There is alternative entertainment available for those feign of heart. It’s called The World According to Sesame Street. This feature-length documentary film presented by the Salt Lake

KRCL 90.9 FM Your Source For QUEER News & Issues

City Film Center explores the complexities of producing international versions of the long-running television series. With the help of Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, Snuffaluffagus (my favorite muppet), Grover and of course the homoerotic Bert and Ernie, the film outlines how social change can come from unlikely sources. 7pm, City Library Auditorium, 210 E. 400 South. Free. 746-7000. Q For those who typically hibernate during Winter’s reign of terror— their abodes stocked with junk food, old movie classics and layers of chenille blankets, may I suggest the Stay Balanced Workshop, a nine-week course to help cleanse the body, improve stamina (honestly…), eliminate illnesses and lose weight (seriously…). Now is the time to keep the energy flowing for a healthy body, mind and spirit…and sex drive. 7–9pm, Tuesdays through Dec. 19, Water & Wellness Center, 1055 E. 3300 South. $250 registration fee, call 712-0169.

18WEDNESDAY

Q Stereotyping is socially caustic, but “in”stereotyping is … well, just as nasty, but also fun. Really, homos love animals, it’s a given—cats, dogs, birds, hamsters…ok, scratch the hamsters, this isn’t porn. Alcoholic homos also love martinis. Now put all these crutches together in a room with the homos, and you’ve got No More Homeless Pets in Utah and Tails at the Mynt, a fund raiser party auctioning off cute bachelors and bachelorettes. 8pm, Mynt Martini Lounge, 63 W. 100 South. Tickets $15, includes one drink and hors d’ouvres. Visit utahpets.org.

21SATURDAY

Now Queer This Wednesdays 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Queer Theory, Music & Activism

RadioActive

Weekdays Noon – 1:00 p.m. Interactive Current Event Forum For Progressive Thinkers

Tune In & Tell A Friend

Q The first of two superb masquerade balls scheduled for this month is the Masque for AIDS. This benefit supports the Utah AIDS Foundation, and offers an affordable menu at Butterfly restaurant, a live auction, music by DJ Georgee, prizes and cash bar. Masques are required, costumes optional. 8pm–Midnight, The Depot, 400 W. South Temple. Tickets $50 and up, call 487-2323 or 800-865-5004. Q Hardcore talent is improvisation. I’m going to put my level of improvisational talent to the test, right now. To be honest, I couldn’t stand watching the television show Whose Line is it Anyway?—Drew Carey is like irritable bowel syndrome; no matter how hard you push, you never really get rid of it. Sufficed to say, I have little to no personal knowledge of Colin Mochrie’s and Brad Sherwood’s (co-stars of the aforementioned television hit) comedy improv flair. So to improvise, I will say they definitely look funny. 8pm, Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple. Tickets $34.50–45.50, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org. Q The Imperial Rainbow Court presents their annual Rainbow Awards and Candidate Kick-off party hosted by Emperor & Empress VI Russell & Dionna. 9pm, The Brass Rail, a private club for members, 103 27th Street, Ogden. $5 at the door. Q Fire in the hole! That’s what the lesbians will feel when they hear the hot, burning music of Shelby Music & The Underground Singers. Hmmm…maybe we’re like soft porn. Four enchanting local female singers are scheduled to perform: Shelby Hansen, singing Beatles’ and Doors’ covers; Shelby Jr., belting rap and hip-hop; Nicole Larson,

serenading original R&B; and Alexa Slaymaker, covering popular R&B. 7–8:30pm, The Center, 355 N. 300 West, Free. Call 253-2624 for more information.

22SUNDAY

Q My friend Steve is a chef, and I have recently nicknamed him Chef Bree—a vicious hybrid of Bree Van De Kamp (Desperate Housewives) and Chef Gordon Ramsey (Hell’s Kitchen)—because he’s a meticulous cook and believes “presentation is everything”, plus he’s a raving lunatic in the kitchen. When we all get together for a potluck, it’s usually mayhem. So I’m looking forward to the LGBT and Allies Community Potluck, which is sure to be a much more relaxing social event than I’m used to. 2pm, Holladay United Church of Christ, 2631 E. Murray-Holladay Road. Free, but obviously bring some grub. 633-5070.

23MONDAY

Q Chris Carrabba, the boy-next-door singer/songwriter of the emotionally distraught Dashboard Confessional, brings the acoustic indie-emo rock band to town tonight. Teens of any sexual preference will connect with DC’s uninhibited songs — often through an immature approach — of teenage love. If you’re over the age of 20, you may rather wish to schedule a wax session. But then again, age and maturity are not exactly congruent in everyone. 7:30pm, McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem. Tickets $24–30, call 888-TIXX or visit smithstix.com.

24TUESDAY

Q Are you a habitual liar? Do you have chronic tunnel vision? Are you socially paranoid? Do you believe your butt is growing because your wife is pregnant? If you answered yes to any one of these questions, perhaps Alchemy-Exploring Human Consciousness can help you overcome habitual patterns and preconceived ideas that batter your brain process. 6:30-8:30pm, Healing Spirit Arts, 300 E. Atwood Blvd. (4500 South). Tickets $15/preregistration, $20/at the door. Call 209-7714. Q Funny gay men are … well, humorous. Take, for instance, David Sedaris. He has a firm grasp of the gay man’s wacky, whimsical ways of dealing with family, friends, lovers, drugs, booze, pets, hygiene, and much more. If you miss tonight’s reading, run out and buy his books — the man’s a stitch. 8pm, Capitol Theatre, 200 S. 50 West. Tickets $27.50–32.50, 355-ARTS or arttix.org.

25WEDNESDAY

Q Writing is a serious pain in the derrière; it’s time consuming, doesn’t think twice about handing out aneurysms like candy and will cheat you of your sanity. But I absolutely adore it. The same goes for reading; if books didn’t exist, the shear unhappiness of our own realities would skyrocket the suicide rate. Sorry for the morbid, pessimistic spiel. I know what will cheer me up — The Great Salt Lake Book Festival. The annual statewide celebration brings readers and writers together. An amazing lineup of authors, journalists, publishers and more will hold discussion panels, book readings and signings, and interviews. There will be workshops on poetry, bookbinding and letterpress printing among many others. Children’s activities will be

26THURSDAY

Q The University of Utah’s Performing Dance Company is thrilled to bring Martha Graham’s critically acclaimed PANORAMA to the Utah stage for the first time. The legendary choreographer creates an uncompromising force of movement as 33 phalanxes, dressed in red, are deployed to fly, swirl and bound throughout the space. 7:30pm, Thursdays-Saturdays through November 4, Marriott Center for Dance, 330 S. 1500 East, UofU. Tickets $7-10, call 581-7100.

27FRIDAY

Q I wouldn’t think gay men would lose touch of their self-awareness, I mean most of their egos are the size of Fire Island. But what the hell do I know, right? Anyhoo, in conjunction with Pride Counseling, CELEBRATING QUEER SPIRIT: A GAY MEN’S RETREAT is a three-day event focusing on increasing self-esteem and healthier life choices and behaviors. A ceremonial Native American sweat lodge (it’s a wonderful cleansing ritual) is scheduled. Today through Sunday, Wind Walker Ranch, 11550 S. 6400 East, Spring City. Registration $35o, includes room, meals and retreat activities. Visit queerspirit.org to register. Q The stunning internationally-acclaimed pianist, AWADAGIN PRATT, accompanied by the Utah Symphony, will titillate audiences with his energetic interpretation of Mozart’s Concerto No. 23. Don’t miss this striking concert performance. 8pm, Tonight and Saturday, Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple. Tickets $12-56, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org. Q Who’s that freakishly tall slut that writes for this paper? I’m not thinking Michael, he’s just a slutty titmouse…hehe! Oh, I remember…she’s part of the camp drag group Cyber Sluts, and she shamelessly asked us to promote their Halloween show, SLUTS ON A PLANE. Their outfits alone would make a great Halloween show. Get ready to laugh your nipples off. 9pm, The Paper Moon, a private club for members, 3737 S. State Street. $5 at the door.

Q Although I do love tricks (what gay guy doesn’t?), I’m not the main attraction of Hogle Zoo’s BOO AT THE ZOO (my nickname’s Boo, for those of you not in the loop). Kids and those odd adults who still like to ‘trick or treat’ may do so today with the animals. Parents, don’t be concerned when your children come home with bags full of raw meat, hay, rotten leafy greens and deer pellets. 9am-3pm, Hogle Zoo, 2600 Sunnyside Avenue. Free with price of admission.

31TUESDAY

Q My roommate and I are going as Mulder and Scully (The X Files) this HALLOWEEN. Yes, it’s a bit on the dull side, but I’ve had a crush on David Duchovny for years, and since I have as much a chance of bagging him as Anna Nicole Smith has of learning parental skills, I figure I’ll be David for a day and bag myself. Who or what will you be this year while you’re patronizing any one of the many bashes tonight?

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By Giuseppe Verdi

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savor the agony of love . or wallow in it . tickets $10 and up. call 355-arts (2787).

UPCOMING EVENTS

Pet Shop Boys, November 3, E Center PWACU’s Living with AIDS Conference, November 4, Westminster College Howard Jones, November 18, Kingsbury Hall

Thanks To The GeorGe s. and dolores doré eccles FoundaTion

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28SATURDAY

Q The Community Writing Center invites the public to share their horror fiction, non-fiction and poetry tonight at their HAUNTED TALES reading. I’m sure we all have some memories that still haunt us and would scare the bejesus out of people. So pull ‘em out of the closet, baby and share … we’re listening. 7-9pm, SLCC Community Writing Center, City Library, 210 E. 400 South, Suite 8. Free, call 957-4992 for more information. Q Approximately 46 gay or gay-curious men in one room together for an hour and half without fondling and macking on each other is pure blasphemy, I say. In retrospect, it’s also pretty damn entertaining. The Salt Lake Men’s Choir presents THE RHYTHM OF LIFE, its first concert under the direction of the new artistic director, Dennis McCracken. Don’t miss Michael and Christian singing a duet together, as well as some charming do-wop renditions. 7:30pm, Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South. Tickets $15, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org. Q Find out whose masquerade ball masques are featured in the Women’s Art Center’s GO WILD MASQUERADE BALL and fashion show fund raiser. A silent auction is also scheduled. I’ve always loved a masked man … uh, except for that one guy. He should have the mask permanently adhered. Oh, I’m such a bee-atch! 7-11pm, Women’s Art Center, 345 Pierpont Avenue. Tickets $15, call 577-8367.

Illustration: Traci O’Very Covey

available and a rare-books silent auction will be held. Today through Saturday, City Library, 210 E. 400 South. Free. Visit utahhumanities.org for more information (a complete festival program may be printed at the site). Q I’ve always considered Fiona Apple a downer, but apparently her current album is less angry and haunting. Good for you, girl … attitude is everything, food isn’t bad, either. She’ll be in concert tonight as part of the University of Utah’s two-week Pride celebration. 8pm, Huntsman Center, 1825 E. South Campus Drive, UofU. Tickets $11-50, call 581-UTIX or visit utahtickets.com.

2 2 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 6

‘The Rhythm of Life’ Persuades Us

Salt Lake Men’s Choir’s fall concert is the first with a new director By Tony Hobday

tony@qsaltlake.com

Your advertisers make QSaltLake possible. Tell them you saw their ad in QSaltLake

It has been rumored — be it as far back as six years ago, and not in accordance with the mission of “camaraderie” — the Salt Lake Men’s Choir was just a spitting contest between the members, an internal competition of vocal strength and a bouncy room of inflated egos that ultimately diminish the choir’s credibility. Michael Aaron, a member of the group since 2002, disagrees. “It’s a family, and with any family there are internal squabbles and different personalities. With few exceptions, when it comes to the concerts, it’s only about the music.” The rumor may have been truth at some point in the choir’s history, but its resurgence is unlikely due partly to the appointment of the new artistic director Dennis McCracken two months ago. McCracken’s tenacity and professionalism persuades members’ opposing personalities to stay in sync and machismo out of the limelight. This power of persuasion will be heard in SLMC’s October 28th fall concert, “The Rhythm of Life,” and the audience is bound to be satisfied, despite the group’s minor technical hiccups. Though, as I judge by a rehearsal several weeks before the performance, these hiccups may likely be cleared up by the scheduled concert date. The spotty rhythm during The Nylons’ Happy Together slightly hinders an otherwise delightful rendition of the song.

Pocketed in the chorus of Send in the Clowns, lisps — the devilish angst facing many gay men — lend to an unpolished glassy sound. Plus, some members forced to book-reading the music during the rehearsal robs them of McCracken’s charge toward aesthetic finesse; and may rob the audience of their handsome faces. In contrast, the 90-minute choral showcase will open strong with a soulful interpretation of Swingin’ with the Saints and a beautifully-performed Cantique de Jean Racine. The highlights of the show, however, are undoubtedly the boisterous duet of The Shoop Shoop Song, performed with charm and zestful facial expression by kissing buddies Michael Aaron and Christian Allred, and the playful rendition of Mister Cellophane, gleefully sung by Mike Green, Larry Herndon, Tony Dujmovick and Scott Perry — sure to be the show-stopper of the night. The overall expectance of the glorious choral music will be met by this genuine choir of increasing membership. The 30 percent increase in the two short months since McCracken’s appointment brings its current count to 46 members. It’s still just a drop in the bucket compared to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s 360 members, but “Utah’s Other Choir” holds an upbeat connection between the bass, baritone and two-tiered tenor sections, which makes for uplifting entertainment, obliterating headbobbing boredom. “The Rhythm of Life” plays one night only at the Black Box Theatre (Rose Wagner Center). Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at arttix.org or by calling 355-ARTS.

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Ten Minutes w/ Fergie

times there’s no other way for me to say things than to be politically incorrect. RVM: On “Glamourous”, you claim to be unaffected by money and fame. Are you really still Stacy from the block? Fergie: I’m from a cul-de-sac, okay? (laughs) I definitely am still that girl who gets home and goes straight to Jack in the Box or Taco Bell right after I land at the airport. And I’m still that girl who likes to go home and watch Everybody Loves Raymond with my mom. That’s what I enjoy. RVM: But you must enjoy spending your cash. Fergie: I’m not going on the huge shopping sprees that you see some of these girls go on, but I’m starting to actually buy things, and it feels kind of naughty. Like, I just got the Fendi B. bag, and I bought a Valentino purse and a big Burberry bag with a big ol’ chain on it. You have to remember, I was collecting unemployment when I joined Black Eyed Peas, so I really appreciate the worth of things. I have a room full of clothes at my mom’s that I don’t know how to throw out because I still have that weird feeling that I’m not going to get anymore. RVM: You had a small role in this summer’s

Poseidon and now, you have a role in the Robert Rodriguez-directed zombie half of next year’s Grind House. Has acting always been a goal? Fergie: It’s definitely a passion of mine. I took theater classes for a year long after my childhood acting days, when I had no idea what I was doing. It was strictly a creative outlet for me, because I wasn’t being satisfied in that way in Wild Orchid at the end. I learned the process of acting, and I’m experimenting with it a little bit as I have time. I want to earn my place in that world, so small roles are key for me right now. RVM: Right on. What about Black Eyed Peas fans who are afraid you’re breaking up? Fergie: We’re not breaking up! We say it at every show because it’s always the question. But we are going to take a break from touring, because at the end of the year it’ll be four years straight. So I think that’s enough of a chunk of tour for a while as the Peas. RVM: So what would the Peas be without Fergie? Fergie: I don’t know. (Pause) Well, I definitely think it would be a different color. Fergie’s solo debut The Dutchess is in stores now.

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By Ross von Metzke I still remember the first time I knew Fergie was going to be huge. But her name wasn’t Fergie yet! Back then she was Stacy Ferguson, graduate of The Disney Channel school of performing arts (aka Kids Incorporated) and lead singer of the bubble gum pop trio Wild Orchid. The songs were cheese, the Guess? outfits they were paid to wear made them look like Valley Girls Gone Wild. But there was this voice. A voice that once toured as a backup singer for Chaka Khan, the then platinum blonde Ferguson had a tone that could rattle the rafters on R&B/dance hits like “At Night I Pray” and “Talk to Me.” Wild Orchid never really took off, and quickly went from opening act for the likes of Cher and ’NSync to another casualty of an over-crowded music industry. Then, one day, cruising down the freeway, this song came on the radio. Shut Up, just Shut Up / Shut Up, the lead singer pattered in an unmistakable tone. Stacy had returned, now as Fergie (part of a catharsis that came out of parting ways with Wild Orchid)—lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas. The oft-critically acclaimed band went from being a force of nature on the indie scene to selling 10 million plus albums and dominating the airwaves on MTV. Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson had arrived, and four years later, she arrives again—this time with her solo debut, The Dutchess. We sat down with Fergie to discuss the new album, her hunk of a boyfriend Josh Duhamel and her battle with crystal meth (and subsequent message for the gay community). Ross von Metzke: I hope you know you’re one lucky bitch. Most gay men would kill to come home to Josh Duhamel (Fergie’s boyfriend, star of TV’s Las Vegas) Fergie: (Laughs) Oh, I know. You don’t have to tell me! RVM: And for your lesbian fans: Have you ever experimented with a woman? Fergie: Definitely. I’m just saying yes. RVM: So which female celeb would you go gay for? Fergie: Hmm (pausing to think). Oh, who’s Marilyn Manson’s…? RVM: Dita Von Teese? Fergie: Yeah! RVM: That’s a hot choice. How aware are you of your gay fan base? Fergie: Well, when I was in Wild Orchid, we toured with and opened for Cher. And we did gay Mardi Gras in New Orleans. So a lot of gay people have been loyal and followed my career since then, which is nice. And now, after joining the Black Eyed Peas and going through the growth that I’ve gone through, being comfortable wearing gowns again and stuff like that, I’m able to explore that part of my personality again, and I think the gay community appreciates that. RVM: The gay community is all over your first single, “London Bridge.” Do you ever have the gay audience in mind when you write or record? Fergie: I’m not thinking of any audience. I’m just writing and creating. But I definitely have some big ballads on the album that the gay community will appreciate more than the hip-hop crowd. And I think they’ll enjoy “Fergalicious”, because it’s a great dance song—and there are subliminal meanings, of course. And “Finally”, which I did with John Legend, who plays piano. It’s a very simple, stripped-down, classic ballad where I just stand there and sing. RVM: Are those love songs about Josh? Fergie: I’m not saying who the songs are about! They’re about a few different relationships that I’ve had, and they’re all true. But you have to realize that these songs were written over a seven year period of time, and I’ve had different boyfriends throughout that period. Josh and I are going on two years right now. I’m very excited, I’m actually flying back for our anniversary this weekend—one day, then I fly back out. RVM: What do you two have planned? Fergie: I don’t know, I’m sure we’ll just have a date night. We’ll probably go to a nice dinner, and I don’t know if we want to do much else. I think we’ll be anxious to get back home! RVM: (laughs) Many songwriters say that the best songs come from a place of heartache and pain. What do you think? Fergie: A lot of my songs are beautiful love songs

and testaments to loves that I’ve had. The conflicts on this album are more about my struggles with drugs. “Voodoo Doll”, for example, has to do with the demons versus the angels within yourself, and “Losing My Ground” is about what I went through when I hit bottom. RVM: And hitting bottom for you was crystal meth. Crystal use has reached epidemic proportions in the gay community. As someone who successfully kicked the habit, what’s your message to gay fans who might be headed down that path? Fergie: In my experience, ecstasy led to crystal meth, and I just think that people don’t know how addictive that drug is. It’s so cunning because it’s such a fun drug at first. You lose weight and look great for a while, but I don’t care if it takes six months or five years, it will creep up on you. Don’t be fooled and think you’re special. RVM: Your album has a Parental Advisory. Does being a bit dirty just come naturally? Fergie: I think it’s more raw. Sometimes I’m a little too blunt, but that’s who I am. We are releasing a clean version because I don’t want to exclude my younger fan base. But at the same time, I want to say what I want to say, and some-

2 4 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 6

Horoscopes

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O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q S A LT L A K E â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q â&#x20AC;&#x201A;2 5

What is it about October that gives our goosebumps, goosebumps? Could it be all those planets circling in sensuous, sexy Scorpio? Planets schmlanets. Become a hot orb around which all others circle and keep an eye out for any stray landing craft. ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20) Sniff. The must be something in the air this October that makes you so sizzly, alluring and just plain sexy. This is not time to sit home and contemplate your navel. Make your month a time to remember by heading out to the meet market. Jupiter brings you a bit of luck so you can attract anyone you want. Do I smell BBQ, Ram? Or is it roadkill? TAURUS (Apr 21 - MAY 21) Relationships take center stage during October. Maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because there are so many planets in Scorpio or maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because you might have been a bit neglectful. Whatever it is, use your considerable charm to repair, recharge, renovate or reconstruct current partnerships. Those Bulls who are out standing in their field can make a deep impression. GEMINI (May 22 - Jun 21) A little elbow grease will get the job done ... if that is what you want to do, Twin. You are coming off a party high. Life slowly becomes more serious and requires you to be more responsible and detailed oriented. Why not make the most of the month by working hard and applying yourself to whatever task is at hand. No names please. CANCER (Jun 22 - Jul 23) Crank up the bubble machine and be prepared to have fun all through October. Yippee! All this Scorpio energy will infuse each creative event with power, excitement and romantic mystery. Crabs will not only be the life of the party, they will have their choice of the best of the best. Why do you have to choose? Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t this a two-party system anyway? LEO (Jul 24 - Aug 23) This is an excellent time to turn your attention to anything having to do with home and family. October brings warring factions together and enables you to sooth over the rough edges. Not a moment too soon, Lion. While it is never possible to compromise on certain things, you may find yourself agreeing to disagree. Well it is a start. VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) Talk, talk, talk. What is it about October that will make Virgins so eloquently vocal? Not only can you say what you mean, you can also say it with verve and charm. What a nice change from the usual moan. But donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let your best ideas float into the general air. Propel them into strategic territories. Make your point and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let it get dull. LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23) If money has been tight, you may see some relief during October. It may be that a lump sum will come your way or that you will be able to focus more successfully on the fiscal nitty gritty. Whatever it is you have a rare opportunity to expand your asset base and build a nest egg. Will you make it into a fluffy souffle or just continue to scramble? SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 22) All eyes are upon you. Will you rise to the occasion or fade into the sunset? Go get â&#x20AC;&#x2122;em, Scorp. October demands that you show yourself, warts and all, to a bevy of fanatic admirers. Not only will you be worshiped like the deity you always thought you were, you will also manage to pull the strings and control all the action. Ainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t life grand? SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 - Dec 22) There are times when you are especially intuitive and October is one of those times. Archers can plot their way through any dense fog of intrigue and manage to get ahead of the crowd in any endeavor. Make it pay off in no uncertain terms especially when it comes with no obvious reward to you personally. Give back, get back. CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20) The parade takes you to new neighborhoods, new hangouts and fast new friends. And when I say â&#x20AC;&#x153;fastâ&#x20AC;? I mean â&#x20AC;&#x153;fastâ&#x20AC;?! Your life becomes a revolving door of festive folks. Who turned you into a social director, Cap? Slow it down and enjoy it more. October is really a time of establishing and cementing contacts. Remember to pack the glue. AQUARIUS (Jan 21 - Feb 19) Who charged up your corporate rocket? Aquarians need to tinker with their finely calibrated system. Are you content with just being another cog in the machine or do you want more control? October offers you time to review and insight to understand the finer points of business development. Plan for an expansion ... or at least a new development. PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20) Just when you thought it was time to dust yourself off and get back on track, a plethora of planets in Scorpio goad you into adventure. So be it, Fish. October is not the time to form roots as much as to extend your reach into new fertile soils. You can also settle some long disputed legal issues. Good thing too - itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to move on.

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by Ross Von Metzke buzz@qsaltlake.com

Alright folks. We all remember the days (sometime between Mermaids and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Believeâ&#x20AC;?) when CHER had barely two nickels to scrape together. She hocked shit on QVC, started up her own furniture lineâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;at one point, there was even talk of a hair care line. But that all changed, beginning with the aforementioned gay anthem of all time and culminating in the decades long goodbye tour that still hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite bid gay America adieu (sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning to pop up in Vegas for an unspecified amount of time next year). But Cherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s found yet another way to bring in the bucksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;garage sales, and the first offloading of her shit brought in a whopping $3.4 million. Now the moneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to charity (unlike the last go around which went to pay a mortgage), and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean to suggest Cherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parking it in a beach chair at the top of her Malibu mansion making change out of a tin lunch pail. But she did offload the better part of her worldly belongings to downsize and make room for a whole new era of Cher. Goodbye goth. Hello LAURA ASHLEY?

Who knows what Cherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poison of choice will prove to be in the coming months. This is the woman of reinvention, so I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put anything past her. But the fact that she advertised the selling of her household treasures to gay audiences nationwide made me ponder. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have much of a need for wrought iron crosses or ceiling high apothecaries. But if the bitch got rid of a genuine Cher doll for less than $100, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m gonna be pissed â&#x20AC;Ś and if she handled the auction herself, well â&#x20AC;Ś words cannot console. Something I can wrap my heart around these daysâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;GEORGE CLOONEY. Over the years, George has had to contend with many a rumor: that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a womanizer, that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be an eternal bachelor, that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engaged to TERI HATCHER, even that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gay (remember the word that he and BRAD PITT had plans to turn Laguna Beachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Boom Boom Room into a bed & breakfast? Yeah, that was hot.) Well now, George claims to have the perfect solution to end curiosity about his love life once and for allâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;date everyone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Here is my theory on debunking photographs in magazines, you know, the paparazzi photographs,â&#x20AC;? he told Vanity Fair in the October issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to spend every single night for three months going out with a different famous actress. You know, HALLE BERRY one night, SALMA HAYEK the next, and then walk on the beach holding hands with LEONARDO DICAPRIO.â&#x20AC;? Halle? Eh! Salma? Getting warmer. Leo? Ding, ding, ding. Now that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d pay to see photos of. But not some cheap satirical

send-upâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;no pictures of Leo and Geo skipping down the beach as CHARO serenades the pair. No shots of the two sharing a Midori Sour after a Cher concert. I want something realisticâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;something old school Hollywood. You know, Leo and George caught in the actâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;maybe salsa dancing in South Beach. How hot would that be? OK, so we all know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be a fake. If George was gonna go for a guy, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably more an ORLANDO BLOOM typeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a guy, but with a softer side. Still, staged or not, kudos to George for once again putting his mouth to good use. Anyone else clamoring for a SPICE GIRLS reunion? After months of maybes, it looks like things might just be moving forward finally, thanks to MEL B. who, in between nurturing EDDIE MURPHYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s totally inappropriate advances, found time to gather the girls in England for a pow-wow of sorts. Mel has yet to see Geriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s baby, which supposedly was the catalyst for the meet and greet. But sources say the girls are really getting together to discuss plans for a reunion tourâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and with Victoria the only one really making any noise solo (OK, not soloâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;she makes noise because her hubby DAVID BECKHAM is the hottest man alive), lord knows the girls certainly need the publicityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and possibly the cash? Emma and Mel C. have done decently as solo artists across the pond, but Geri has a new baby to care for and not much cash coming in, a reporter from the London Mir-

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