QSaltLake April 12, 2012 Queer Prom

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April 12, 2012 Issue 204

Spring Formal BYU Students Do Day of Silence Queer as Fashions ‘It Gets Better’ Video Activities Hal (Sparks)

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4 WORLD NEWS NEWS

APRIL 14, 2012

‘Bully’ receives PG-13 rating

By Seth Bracken

Director Lee Hirsch and The Weinstein Company announced today that the documentary Bully will receive a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America in time for the film’s April 13 expansion to 55 markets, and that despite three minor edits, a major scene in the movie that had been at the forefront of the film’s ratings battle will be kept intact.

The MPAA had been at the center of an extraordinarily popular online petition on Change.org, started by bullied high school student Katy Butler, urging the MPAA to drop the film’s original R rating, which was given because of some explicit language.

More than 500,000 people, including 35 members of Congress and celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Meryl Streep, expressed their support for Butler’s petition.

“On behalf of the more than half a million supporters who joined me on Change. org in petitioning the MPAA, I want to express how grateful I am not only to the MPAA for lowering the rating without cutting a vital scene, but to all of the people who used their voices to put a national spotlight on this movie and its mission,” said Butler, who started her campaign after experiencing severe bullying in school.

“The brief usage of language in this film reflects what so many kids hear each day in school when they’re being bullied. No one removes it from the halls and playgrounds of schools.”

Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change. org, congratulated Butler on her successful campaign to change the film’s rating to PG-13.

“Katy Butler has inspired so many people, and a ratings change, with her powerful campaign,” said Rattray. “When Katy began her campaign, many people doubted a 17-year-old girl would be able to change Bully’s rating. Change.org empowers people to stand up to bullies everywhere, from the classroom to the boardroom. Today’s

staff

publisher Michael Aaron editor Seth Bracken arts & entertainment

editor/ofc mgr Tony Hobday

news is yet another example of people using Change.org and the power of social networking to turn seemingly impossible challenges into real change.”

Katy Butler is one of millions of people who are turning to Change.org to start campaigns on issues they care about. To date, over 100,000 people have started campaigns through the site and people are winning every day.

Butler said that the awareness her petition campaign created around bullying shows that there is a national movement of people who care about this issue and won’t let it be silenced.

“I wish ‘Bully’ was around when I was in ‘Bully’ opens in Salt Lake City on April 20 at middle school, and experienced some of the Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway.

ACLU investigates Ala. initiative At first glance, it appears that voters rejected an Anchorage, Ala., ballot initiative to protect against bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity. According to initial returns, with 97.5 percent of precincts reporting, Proposition 5, failed by a 58–42 percent margin.

However, upon further examination, it was discovered the vote had major problems. Election officials ran out of ballots in several precincts due to an unprecedented number of voters. Because of this, actual election results could be weeks, or even months away. Voters also selected a mayor and voted on other initiatives. The anti-bias measure had widespread, bipartisan support from elected officials and party leaders.

Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted in favor of the proposition, and told the Alaska Dispatch, “I think this is overdue and we make sure that within this community that there’s no discrimination and there’s no tolerance for any discrimination at all.” She was one of the Republican votes to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in December 2010.

The group pushing the proposition, One Anchorage, released a statement, saying the group was “disappointed at the interim election results” but “could not be prouder of the honest campaign we ran.” “The foundation you have laid with us over the past year will serve as the basis of future victories for equality.”

Jim Minnery, president of the Alaska Family Council, which lead the opposition to the equality measure called the results “extremely gratifying.”

The ordinance was originally passed the Anchorage Assembly in 2009 but was vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is looking into voter concerns about the lack of ballots and other issues and has established a phone line that voters can call with complaints. The ACLU is considering legal action, Jeffery Mittman, the ACLU executive director told Anchorage Daily News.

“We want to be aware of whether there were irregularities to the extent that voters were disenfranchised,” he said.

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worst bullying I could imagine,” said Butler.

“But it makes me incredibly happy that kids in middle school and high school today will be able to see a film like ‘Bully’ and share that experience with their friends.”

Butler’s campaign attracted support from major international celebrities, with Ellen DeGeneres inviting Butler to appear on her show and urging viewers to support the petition, and Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Demi Lovato, Randy Jackson, Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa, Justin Bieber, and Drew Brees all encouraging their fans to sign Katy’s petition or show support of Bully.

Butler’s petition also gained support from 35 members of Congress, who endorsed a congressional sign-on letter issued by Rep. Mike Honda (D-California).

Copyright © 2012, Salt Lick Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted or reproduced without written permission from the publisher. 10,000 copies of QSaltLake are distributed free of charge at over 300 locations across Utah. Free copies are limited to one per person. For additional copies, contact us at 801-649-6663. It is a crime to destroy or dispose of current issues or otherwise interfere with the distribution of this newsmagazine. Publication of the name or photograph of any individual or organization in articles or advertising in QSaltLake is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons. Printed in the U.S.A. on recycled paper.

Please recycle this copy when you are through with it.

ISSUE 204

QSALTLAKE

Quips & Quotes ❝❝

The only reason why the number of supporters for same sex ‘marriage’ may be increasing is because people are sick and tired. Homosexuals have made people sick and tired. Homosexuals have absolutely nothing good to contribute to family life, which is what marriage is all about.

A sterile union (between same sex couples) is never in need of marriage, and has nothing good to contribute to marriage or family life. Absolutely nothing.”

A b p t l c

n h w J t w S

M —Maine anti-gay activist Paul Madore, e in a press release announcing the e formation of No Special Rights PAC a

❝❝

If you believe as we do that marriage and sexuality should only be between a man and a woman, please help us stop Mitt Romney. When you vote tomorrow, please vote for social sanity and Rick Santorum, not for homosexuality and Mitt Romney.”

i b p f w m

s W —Pro-Rick Santorum robo-call g to Wisconsin voters s

❝❝

I don’t come before you with a checklist of items promising that I will be an advocate for you on each and every one of them. My opponent has already started down that road, promising to support everyone’s pet project. That’s not the way I have ever operated.”

s

e g a

w r p

—Republican Sen. Scott Brown a in the Bay Windows g

❝❝

I think if President Obama came out as gay he wouldn’t...

President Obama is not going to lose the black vote no matter what he does. I don’t understand this particular strategy. Certainly, our numbers are a little bit more — because we’re more religious as a community — a little bit softer on some of this stuff, but it’s not a hardcore issue for that many African Americans. I don’t even understand the argument that gay marriage is a threat to marriage.”

—White House adviser Van Jones

QSALTLAKE.COM

ISSUE 204

APRIL 14, 2012

NEWS

Anti-gay Liberian group issues hit list

An anti-gay group distributed fliers in Liberia with a “hit list” of people who support gay rights and threatened to “get to them one by one.” The fliers are just the latest in a hostile national debate about the country’s gay rights position.

Liberian lawmakers recently introduced new legislation that would criminalize homosexuality and make it punishable with jail time, if convicted. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf vowed last month to maintain an existing law criminalizing sodomy, which prompted a statement from the U.S. State Department decrying the efforts.

The fliers distributed were signed by the Movement Against Gays in Liberia. The flier stated that those involved in promoting equality “should not be given space to get a gulp of air.”

“Having conducted a comprehensive investigation, we are convinced that the below listed individuals are gays or supporters of the club who don’t mean well for our country,” the flier read. “Therefore, we have agreed to go after them using all means in life.”

While no individual members of MOGAL signed the flier, Moses Tapleh, 28, told The Washington Post he was affiliated with the group. He said the threats should be taken seriously.

We will get to them one by one,” Tapleh said. “They want to spoil our country.”

When asked what actions might be taken he said they could be subjected to “dangerous punishments” including “flogging and death.”

The list includes the names of two men who tried in January to legalize gay marriage. The pair has since been subjected to protests by mobs and threats of violence.

The campaign push came just a month after the United States announced a new government policy to push for the decrim-

5

‘Ex-gay’ movement leader Dr. Byrd dies

inalization of homosexuality around the globe. Just as in other African countries where homosexuality remains a difficult topic for public discussion, the announcement was condemned by Liberian officials

Dr. A. Dean Byrd, former president of the “ex-gay” National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, died April 4 of leukemia.

A convert to the Church of Jesus Christ and media outlets. Although sodomy is of Latter-day Saints, Byrd was also on the currently outlawed, Liberian law does not Evergreen International board of trustees address homosexuality. and wrote several articles for Ensign, the church’s magazine. He authored over 100 publications on human sexuality and the ability to change a person’s sexual orieneration and Integration Movement, Ro- tation. He also spoke and testified against lando Jimenez, said the suspects should be adoption rights for gay couples. charged with torture as well.

Byrd was the foremost proponent of the Zamudio was left for dead in the park so-called reparative therapy among Morand later found. He was transported to a mons. In a post on the group’s website on his nearby hospital where he later died. The death, NARTH called him, “a true clinical piU.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights oneer paving the way for many others in the called on Chile to pass a new law against treatment of unwanted homosexual attrachate crimes and discrimination. tions. He had been a member of the NARTH The law, which has been up for debate Board of Directors for more than a decade for more than seven years, was opposed by and made a tremendous contribution to the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches early work in establishing NARTH as a relisaying it could be a first step toward gay able scientific and research organization.”

NARTH was founded in 1992 to promote marriage, which Chile forbids.

The law defines discrimination as “any psychiatric therapy to “treat” homosexualdistinction, exclusion or restriction that ity. Although it promotes itself as a profeslacks reasonable justification, committed sional organization, less than a quarter of by agents of the state or individuals, and its 1,000 members are mental-health prothat causes the deprivation, disturbance or fessionals. A recent report by the Southern threatens the legitimate exercise of funda- Poverty Law Center described the group as the “main source of anti-gay ‘junk science.’” mental rights.”

Chile passes law after fatal gay bashing After seven years of delay and only weeks after a gay man was severely tortured and beaten to death, Chile’s Congress passed an anti-discrimination law.

Four suspects, some of whom have criminal records for attacks on gays, have been arrested in the death of Daniel Zamudio. Prosecutors have asked for murder charges in the case. Zamudio, a clothing-store employee, was attacked David Zamudio in a park on March 3 as he left work. The suspects beat him for an hour, burned him with cigarettes and carved Nazi symbols into his body with knives. The leader of Chile’s Gay Lib-

not as I do

Mormons dress up downtown

Tens of thousands of shoppers flooded downtown Salt Lake City with the opening Sheriff sentenced in drugs-for-sex scandal of the new City Creek Center. LDS Church Former Arapahoe County, Colo. sheriff and Bishop David Burton said the mall was built, conservative Republican, Pat Sullivan, 68, was “Because Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah, sentenced to 30 days in jail for his meth-for-sex it’s important that it is ‘dressed appropriately.’” arrest last year. After the sting on Sullivan, police Undoubtedly there are economic impacts to searched his home and found gay pornography, nearby businesses and Salt Lake City. But guns and condoms. Sullivan was arrested after according to the Church’s own numbers, it offering drugs in exchange for sex to an informant. allocated $30.7 million in cash to non-Mormon Also during the sting, he broke out a portable DVD specific charity work from 1984 to 1997. But it player, put on gay porn and said, “This is ... what I invested more than 50 times that amount in a high-end shopping mall is apparently just think you’ll enjoy; real young guys.”

“dressing appropriately?”

Therapist disciplined after divulging confidential BYU-patient info A porn-addiction therapist was reprimanded by the state for discussing private information, without his patient’s permission, with the LDS Church leaders and Brigham Young University.

The patient said that the claims made by Jodi Nan Hildebrandt were false and that they led to his loss of privileges in the Mormon Church and his expulsion from BYU. Hildebrandt, who is a professional counselor, will be on probation for 18 months and must meet more than 22 conditions.

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6 LOCAL NEWS NEWS

APRIL 14, 2012

Duchess Burlesque Proudly Presents: HELP from Above

Our Store volunteer assaulted A man attempted to force his way into Club Try-Angles on April 5 around 9 p.m, police said. Salt Lake City Police dispatchers received multiple calls throughout the day about a man carrying a rifle case and trespassing on private property in the area of Club Try-Angles (900 S. 250 West).

Donald Bickell, 51, tried to enter the bar carrying the rifle case, police said. As he was turned away by the doorman, Matt Mulliner, Bickell put the rifle case up to Mulliner’s face and told him, “I am about to end your life,” Mulliner said.

“I was just outside the bar when he walked up to me and asked me for a cigarette. I told him I didn’t have one and that he was not going to be entering the bar with that bag,” Mulliner said. “It was at that point that I felt very threatened and thought to myself, ‘this man is going to try and get in the bar and hurt everyone inside.’”

Mulliner went back into the club, locked the door and called police. The suspect was located nearby. Officers said they found no

rifle in the rifle case. However, they did find an almost empty bottle of vodka and a utility knife. Bickell was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of aggravated assault.

“He didn’t appear drunk. He was lucid and that’s what was so scary,” Mulliner said. “There was something heavy in that bag that filled it out. It wasn’t empty and he was holding it like he was going to use it.”

Mulliner said the man did not use gay slurs or appear to know one way or the other about the bar being a gay bar.

Also on Thursday, April 9, a volunteer at Our Store, a thrift shop used to raise money for the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah, was punched in the face and kicked in the side after he attempted to thwart a robbery by two men.

After the two adult men purchased a table, Tom Shoemake, the volunteer, noticed an empty stereo box and confronted them about it, police said. One of the suspects punched and kicked him, then fled west on 300 South. Their vehicle is described as

David Bickell

an older white Jeep Cherokee. One suspect is a white male, in his mid 20s, 6 feet tall with a medium build. The second suspect is also a white male in his mid 20s, 5 feet, 6 inches tall with a medium build. Both were described as having brown hair, and wearing white T-shirts and baggy jeans.

The victim was transported to the hospital with a minor injury to the face. Shoemake also said on Facebook that he had broken ribs.

Senate candidate would classify homosexuality a disease One Utah Senate candidate said he would simply responded with the following: try to reclassify homosexuality as a disease The short and the long of it is: I am if elected. not in favor of any special rights for hoWhen Senate candidate, and Orrin mosexuals and I disagreed with the reHatch opponent, Jeremy Friedbaum was cent supreme court decision to strike as asked by David Nelson, founder of Stoneunconstitutional state laws that crimiwall Shooting Sports of Utah, about what nalized homosexual activity, but I am in he would do to protect gay rights as well as favor of Second Amendment rights for all Second Amendment freedoms, Friedbaum U.S. citizens.

The one thing I would specifically do for the homosexual community is try to get homosexuality reclassified as a mental illness, so some insurance companies could cover the expense of treatment should someone want medical help in recovering from what I consider a sexual addiction.

Sincerely, Jeremy Friedbaum

Networking Socializing Community Service Business Building

UtahGayChamber.org

U.S. Senate candidate Jeremy Friedbaum (R-Provo) believes homosexual activity should be a crime and would work to reclassify homosexuality as a disease.

QSALTLAKE

Qmmunity

Suspicious man threatens Try-Angles door man;

By Seth Bracken

ISSUE 204

The Republican’s other campaign promises include mandating random drug testing for members of Congress, abolishing the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Education, ending the welfare program and ending income taxes.

His website also states that he would end the granting of citizenship to those who are not born in the nation and referred to some people as “anchor babies.”

On April 14 at the Fort Douglas Post Theater on the University of Utah campus, this 18 and older show will have a Goddess-themed vaudeville show featuring exotic dance, magic, live music and comedic pantomime. All proceeds will go toward a hand-washing and femininehygiene campaign in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Volunteers will travel to India and spend three weeks teaching the importance of and providing the means by which villagers can wash their hands with soap.

This will dramatically decrease the spread of disease and improve the lives of villagers. The feminine-hygiene campaign, in conjunction with Eco Femme, will empower woman and girls in the village. Raffle items will include large-ticket selections including a tablet, a TV and a camera.

WHEN: April 14, 8 p.m.

WHERE: Fort Douglas Post Theater, 245 S. Fort Douglas Blvd., UofU COST: $10

Gay Day at the Zoo Enjoy the warm weather and exotic animals at the zoo on the most fabulous day of the year. The Escape is hosting Utah’s only Gay Day at the Zoo. It’s a blast! It’s a laid back setting and very easy to make new friends. Wear red to show support and identity with the community.

WHEN: May 19 WHERE: Hogle Zoo, 2600 Sunnyside Ave. INFO: tinyurl.com/gayanimalsutah

Pioneers in HIV The second annual Pioneers in HIV is a celebratory recognition of those Utahns at the forefront of HIV care. The event is sponsored by the Utah AIDS Foundation, the LDS Church and Zions Bank.

WHEN: May 2, 6 p.m.

WHERE: Hilton Hotel, 255 S. West Temple COST: $100 per person, a table of 10 is $1,000 INFO: utahaids.org

HRC Utah Gala Dinner and Silent Auction Join the Human Rights Campaign’s “Make Equality Count,” dinner and auction. The gala is quickly approaching and there are a number of ways to impact queer equality and the Gala Dinner is an important one.

The event brings together many influential leaders in this realm and is a significant revenue-raiser for HRC’s work.

WHEN: June 9, 6 p.m.

WHERE: Grand America Hotel, 555 S. Main St. COST: $175–225 INFO: hrc.org

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QSALTLAKE.COM

ISSUE 204

APRIL 14, 2012

NEWS

Anti-gay Utah group decries BYU panel discussion

Reparative therapies can cause a false hope and bring about extreme depression, said Jerry Buie, owner and director of Pride Counseling.

“I work a lot with gay and lesbians that have tried those therapies and my obserBy Seth Bracken 777 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City, a panel of vation is that they are more severely and After a panel of openly gay Brigham Young legal and psychology experts will present chronically depressed. They’re discourUniversity students announced they will the dangers of such therapies. aged and often quite suicidal. The idea be answering questions for other students The American Psychological Association that their sexuality needs to change runs about what it’s like for them on campus, also disagrees with SOL and says that re- so deep, and these programs just reinforce a local activist group went into overdrive, parative therapies like his do not work, and that. Ultimately, it comes down to thinking slamming the panel. Sociology professor can cause significant harm. if my sexual orientation doesn’t change, Charlie Morgan is organizing the forum “There has been no scientifically ad- it’s because of my own lack of effort, which which is being advertised as “Everything equate research to show that therapy simply isn’t true,” Buie said. Q you wanted to know about being gay at aimed at changing sexual orientation To read the full letter calling for the abolition BYU but were too afraid to ask.” The panel discussion will be held with several sociol- (sometimes called reparative or conver- of the group, go to standardofliberty.org. For ogy and psychology courses and is not an sion therapy) is safe or effective,” the APA more information about the panel discussion said in a press release. from the SPLC, go to splcenter.org. approved public event.

However, a group which bills itself as a resource that tries to make gay people turn straight, The Standard of Liberty, is decrying the efforts to have an open discussion on campus. Asking that all students participating first be grilled to ensure they have not had sex before, and that they all be forced to divulge any information about sexual abuses in the past, SOL is calling the event “harmful” and “ill-conceived.”

Recently, Mormon-owned BYU changed its strict honor code restrictions and now allows homosexual students, provided they do not act on the feelings and remain celibate and dateless. In an attempt to open dialogue about what it’s like for students who identify as gay on campus but choose to follow the rules, the forum is just one in several groups which provide support for gay students.

However, SOL is questioning the wisdom of the panel and claims that BYU’s honor code unfairly respects gays and lesbians.

“Gay activism has done a great job presenting homosexuality as harmless, equal to heterosexuality, even virtuous, honest, Students at Brigham Young University gay people,’” another video presenter said. praiseworthy. But homosexuality is not filmed an ‘It Gets Better’ YouTube video Calling on other young, gay Mormons harmless, natural to the human body, chaste, and spoke out about the increasing under- to not lose their motivation in living and pure or wholesome in any form. The very standing of homosexuals within the Mor- striving, the video presenters acknowlnature of homosexuality is out of bounds,” a mon Church. Members of the Understand- edged the immutable characteristics of letter on the SOL website states. “The ques- ing Same-Gender Attraction Group talked homosexuality. tion is; how can homosexuality be all right in about when they first realized they were “I would ask God if I read my scriptures principle, as in homosexual attraction, but gay and how others reacted to it. every day, and I pray every day, would you wrong in practice, as in homosexual behav“I looked at myself in the mirror and please make me straight? Nonetheless, it ior? If we concede that it is right in principle, said, ‘Andy, I think you might be gay,’” one never went away,” one of the speakers said. isn’t the next step to accept the practice, even of the featured speakers in the video said.

BYU’s USGA is an unofficial group of celebrate it? Mustn’t we?”

There are gay men, lesbians and a bi- students, faculty and friends who wish to Claiming to have books and support for sexual person featured in the video whose strengthen families and the BYU commuthose who want to change their sexual ori- message is that even at BYU, it does get nity by providing a place for open, respectentation, SOL calls homosexuality a men- better. While current policies on campus ful discussions. tal illness and insists that in place of open ban all homosexual activity, it is no longer To watch the video, go to bit.ly/HVfD5s. dialogue, students should be schooled on against honor code policy to be gay. Recent ways to change sexual orientation. Howev- movements on the campus have brought er, no procedures or evidence of the process an extended light to the existence of gays being practical or possible are provided. and lesbians on campus. There have been In fact, The Southern Poverty Law Cen- more support group meetings and panel ter is speaking out against groups, such discussions open to students.

There more than 1,500 LGBT students on as SOL and others, and showing how the attempts at so-called “ex-gay” therapies campus, the video said.

“I felt really alone and thought, ‘God are not only ineffective, but dangerous. On April 12, 7 p.m., at the First Baptist Church, doesn’t love me because he doesn’t love

BYU students release viral ‘It Gets Better’ video

7

Poll: Mormon stance on gay marriage causing loss of faith The church’s opposition to California’s Proposition 8 and its overall stance on homosexuality are the main contributing social factors causing people to leave the Mormon faith, according to a recent nonscientific survey.

The study conducted by Mormon Stories, a nonprofit support community committed to helping Mormons in faith crises, found most frequently that there are various factors in most people’s decisions to lose faith in the Mormon Church.

However, the four most common factors contributing to disbelief are ceasing to believe in the church’s doctrine and theology, studying church history, losing faith in Joseph Smith and losing faith in the Book of Mormon. The three principle social issues for people leaving the faith are the church’s stance on homosexuals and Proposition 8, women and race.

More than 50 percent mentioned a moderate to extremely high cost to relationships with parents. One third indicated a similar cost to a relationship with spouse.

“The saddest thing to me is the extent to which marriage and other family relationships are being damaged or destroyed over these issues,” said John Dehlin, executive director of Mormon Stories. “I’d like to hope that Mormons can work together to end our cultural tendency to reject those who question their faith.”

The three lowest ranked reasons are some that Mormon leaders have touted: the desire to engage in behaviors viewed as sinful, becoming offended by someone at church and lacking meaningful church friendships.

Nearly 3,400 participated in the online study.

For the most recent survey results, go to WhyMormonsQuestion.Org

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8 NEWS

APRIL 14, 2012

April 20 — Day of Silence speaks up for LGBT youth

By Seth Bracken

“The issue at hand is the bullying, harassment, name-calling and violence that students see and face in our schools daily,” the press release read. “The Day of Silence is an activity created and led by students to educate their peers and bring an end to this harassment.”

The Utah Pride Center will host a series of activities on the weekend after the Day of Silence, including the Youth Empowerment Summit and Queer Prom. Students around Utah will be participating, but there are some activist groups calling for students to protest their silence by walking out of classes. The anti-gay American Family Association, along with other regional and national groups, is asking students to leave school if other students are participating in the silence.

“School administrators err when they allow the classroom to be disrupted and politicized by granting students permission to remain silent throughout an entire day,” the AFA said in a press release. “The Day of Silence requires that teachers either create activities around the silence of some or many, or exempt silent students from any activity that involves speaking. Furthermore, Day of Silence participants have a captive audience, many of whom disagree with, and are made uncomfortable by, the politicization of their classroom.”

Calling the Day of Silence an encroachment on religious freedoms, the AFA is encouraging parents to call schools and demand they not allow students to remain silent during classes. Q

On April 20, schools around the globe will be a little quieter. The National Day of Silence has grown from its humble one-school beginning in 1996 to students around the world who take the day to be silent, in protest of mistreatment of queer individuals. The day is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which provides educational resources and legal support for students who participate in the day.

“GLSEN’s 2009 Nat i o n a l School Climate Survey found that nearly nine out of 10 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school, and more than 30 percent missed at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety,” a GLSEN press release stated. “Moreover, two of the top three reasons students said their peers were most often bullied at school were actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression.”

While students have the right to participate in the Day of Silence before school and during breaks, they do not have the right to remain silent in classes. However, students are advised to speak to teachers and administration beforehand to alert them For more information about the Day of Silence to their plans and ask for the staff’s coop- activities in Utah as well as other youth activities on April 20-21, go to utahpridecenter.org. eration.

Archuleta execution stayed The execution by firing squad of Michael Anthony Archuleta, set for April 5, was halted while he appeals the case in federal court. Archuleta appealed five times in state courts. Prosecutors did not object to the stay which was signed by U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell.

Archuleta, 49, was convicted for the 1988 slaying of Gordon Ray Church, a gay Southern Utah University student.

During the trial, Archuleta was named the primary perpetrator and received the death penalty, while his partner to the crime, Lance Conway Wood, was sentenced to life in prison.

Church met Archuleta and Wood at a convenience store parking lot on Nov. 21, 1988. Wood, a blond 18-year-old at the time, approached Church, who was sitting in his white 1978 Ford Thunderbird, and asked if

he wanted company. Church said yes.

The three men drove up Cedar Canyon where Archuleta put a knife to Church’s back and cut him. Church broke away and ran. Wood tackled him and broke his arm.

Archuleta cut him again on the neck and then forced him over the hood of his car and raped him.

Archuleta pulled tire chains from the trunk of the car. He bound Church with the chains, and the pair hooked the jumper cables to Church’s testicles and then to the car battery. Then they threw him into the trunk of his car, drove him to a remote location and began beating him with a tire iron. Church was raped anally with the tire iron and his liver was punctured. They dragged his halfnaked, dead body off the side of the road and covered it with tree branches and dirt.

The pair got back in Church’s car and

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Transgender survey participants sought for driver license treatment Going to get your driver’s license shouldn’t be dehumanizing. Yet, that’s exactly how many transgender Utahns feel when they attempt to accomplish this simple, and necessary task. We have talked with the Drivers License Division about the discrimination and unfair treatment people have experienced and they have told us they need more information: Where discrimination happened, what the situation was and what was the outcome.

Help the Transgender Education Advocates of Utah gather critical information about your Department of Motor Vehicles/ Drivers License Division experience. Help create good policy and guidelines for DLD/DMV employees.

Together we can help create a fair and just DLD/DMV experience.

If you identify as transgender, please take a few minutes to complete a very important survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6THDFBB. The date collected will be used for Drivers License Division training and advocacy as well as for gathering demographic information for local organizations that serve the transgender community.

Please pass this info on to other transgender individuals you may know.

This survey is intended to gain a better understanding of the specific needs of drove to Salt Lake City. Fearful of Archuleta, Wood went to his parole officer and confessed to the entire crime. The two are now disputing who played the more active role in the rape and murder.

During the original trial it took the coroner two and a half hours to share all the terrible details of the trauma done to Church’s brutally beaten body and how he died. The original court judge put a gag order on reporters because of how violent and terrible the details of the crime were. The Salt Lake Tribune-veteran reporter, Chris Jorgensen, called it the most appalling story he had ever covered and possibly the worst murder in Utah history.

In May, Archuleta asked that his case to be reopened, citing his former attorneys were ineffective. He and his lawyers said he deserves a new trial in light of a 2009 statement from his co-defendant who took primary responsibility for the murder. Q

anyone who has a gender identity or expression of gender that is outside of their assigned gender at birth or traditional gender roles. This may include, but is not limited to, individu-

als who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, gender queer, gender variant, female, male, effeminate or butch.

This study is being conducted by Candice Metzler and Transgender TEA of Utah in an effort to examine specific issues associated with things like employment discrimination, homelessness, access to health care, possible mistreatment by the DLD and more. The information will help us to connect with the community we serve and better understand the issues which are impacting our community. It will also help us to prioritize the numerous issues which need addressing and provide supporting evidence when we approach organizations like the Utah DLD. This is a unique opportunity to be heard and have an impact on the issues that are important to you.

Petition to bring ‘Bully’ to Salt Lake launched

More than 13 million children in the United States will be bullied this year. And students who identify as queer are up to two times more likely to report being verbally or physically harassed. A recent documentary, simply titled, Bully, documents the plight of students and the inaction of school administrators and some parents.

The film has only been released in select markets. But film producers started a contest and the top 10 cities with the most votes will have screenings of the very important film, along with a visit by film director Lee Hirsch.

To join the contest and bring Bully and dirctor Hirsch to Salt Lake City, go to ­movies.eventful.com. To watch a trailer of the film or find out more information, go to ­thebullyproject.com.

QSALTLAKE.COM

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NEWS

Univ. of Utah Ally Week to spark bullying awareness The University of Utah’s Ally Week will focus on bullying and its impact on students and society. The week of events will be held April 16-20 and will include a keynote address from queer-rights activist Jaime Nabozny. There will also be two screenings of a film about Nabozny called Bullied.

Nabozny’s life changed drastically when he was targeted in middle school for being gay. His years of harassment ended with a beating that put him in a hospital and required abdominal surgery. After realizing that many other young people endured similar fates he decided to fight back. With the help of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Jamie won a landmark lawsuit in federal court that establishes that all young people including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender deserve a safe educational experience.

The Southern Poverty Law Center pro-

Utah Ally Week SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

PHOTO: TOM WEBER

The third annual Rocky Mountain Olympus Leather Contest will be held April 20-22 at the Paper Moon, 3737 S. State St. The lineup of events include not only the competition to crown Mr. and Ms. Rocky Mountain Olympus Leather, but also classes and a meet and greet. The contest is a feeder for the International Olympus Leather Competition and attracts participants from surrounding states. Last year’s winner, Utah Rox went on to win the national competition.

“The contest and weekend have really grown and evolved,” said Andrew Love, producer of the event. “We are here to have a great time and to showcase the best Utah has to offer. There’s much more to the leather and fetish community than most people know.”

The events kicks off Friday, April 20, 2:30 p.m., with workshops designed for everyone, even those who are completely unfamiliar with the leather and fetish community. That night, at 7 p.m., a meet and greet will be held for contestants to mingle with judges and spectators, and their behavior and attitude will be measured throughout the entire weekend.

“We look at what’s inside the person, not just if they’re attractive or not,” Love said.

The workshops continue Saturday, April 21, 9 a.m., leading up to the competition at 6 p.m. The contest will consist of an interview with a panel of expert industry judges and a multifaceted performance.

The Fantasy series consists of acting out a fetish or fantasy. It might include chore-

Tuesday, April 17

Thursday, April 19

Film: Bullied 12:15–1:30 p.m.

College of Law, Sutherland Moot Courtroom Documentary and discussion with student group Outlaws

Open Safe Zone Training 1–4 p.m.

Willard Browning Bdg 617

Annual Social 3–5 p.m.

Student Union Den

Wednesday, April 18

Friday, April 20

Film: Bullied Day of Silence Rally 12–1:30 p.m.

1–3 p.m.

Student Union Building, Student Union Patio Saltair Room Silence is a Drag Show Film and keynote address 10 p.m. to midnight from Jamie Nabozny Sugar Space, 616 Panel: Bullying Wilmington Ave. 2–3 p.m.

Hinckley Caucus Rm OSH 225 Hinckley forum panel discussion with Jamie Nabozny

duced the documentary film that chronicles his life. Jamie now speaks out for the millions of kids bullied in schools every day.

He travels the country and shares his story so that no child has to endure what he endured. Jamie was recently named a Defender of Human Rights by the Robert F. Ken- By Seth Bracken nedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

After a sold-out success last year, the secFor more information, go to lgbt.utah.edu. ond annual Southern Utah Equality Celebration is expanding to host 400 guests.

Nearly doubling in size, the upcoming fundraising dinner will include a live performance and an awards ceremony. Guests are encouraged to wear a costume to accent the event’s theme, Equality Evolution. ography to a fantasy of being a bulky bodyWith no gay bars, pride centers or other builder or a French maid, Love said. overtly visible signs of gay people, it’s easy “The key is to take it in a different directo ignore the issue, said Linda Stay who, tion and have fun with it. Creativity always along with her husband Steven, is copays off,” Love said. chairing the dinner. The first year’s event Next will come the Fetish Image portion. yielded funding for an awareness and eduThis is when the contestants demonstrate cation campaign that included a billboard a concern for the community. This could inalong the freeway as well as participation clude advocacy for HIV and AIDS education in three fairs: the Washington County Fair, and education about the leather community. the What Women Want Show and the “The Fetish Image is not how you look, Home and Garden Show. but how you demonstrate concern for the “We’ve become very well known for community,” Love said. “It’s how you carry fighting against causes; fighting against yourself throughout the weekend.” encroachment on marriage equality, fightThroughout the performances travel basing against discrimination,” Steven said. kets with various items are auctioned off and “But here’s an opportunity to celebrate. We sold by the contestants. The money raised can make the community more visible.” from the baskets pool together to help the To be held May 19 at the beautiful Coyote winners travel to the national competition.

Gulch Art Village, in Ivins, Utah, the event Each contestant is asked two questions will honor local queer-rights activists Diduring the Fetish Image portion; one is ane Bernard and George Stoddard along silly and lighthearted and the other is a with the University of Utah St. George serious assessment of commitment to the HIV Clinic staff. The evening will include leather and fetish community. a silent auction, live music and a dramatic Judging will be done using an Olympic performance.

Scoring System where the high scores and “We’re going to use this money and oplow scores in each category will be discardportunity to help make the gay commued. Judges’ score cards will be collected and nity more visible in Southern Utah,” Linda tallied at the end of each segment of the said. “There is such a strong and powerful contest. The winners will be announced community down here, but no one knows on stage at the end of the contest. about it. Everyone ignores it. No one wants The weekend will finish Sunday, April 22, to have to address the issue.”

10 a.m., with more workshops. The classes The planning process has proved to be will be hosted by various professionals and useful and it has helped start conversaexperts from around the nation. Q tions that lead to more understanding, For a full lineup, tickets and scheduling infor- Linda said. The local department of tourmation, go to rockymountainolympus.com. ism has even helped fund the event.

Rocky Mountain Olympus Leather to hold third annual competition

By Seth Bracken

Monday, April 16

Film: Bullied 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Salt Lake City Library Documentary and community panel Jaime Nabozny

9

So. Utah’s ‘Equality Evolution’

“We have seen so much progress in the last year. We’re starting conversations and seeing so much progress,” she said. “We are looking forward to this dinner and we think it will be as big of a success as last year. People who went to the event described it as a spiritual experience.”

Most people just want to ignore the fact that there are gay people in Southern Utah, said Benjamin King Smith, former president of the Queer-Straight Alliance at Southern Utah University. There are cases of discrimination every day, especially in the workplace, Smith said.

“I know of a lot of cases of discrimination,” Smith said. “Most cases are covert discrimination and there’s not a lot of people who are willing to stand up and say, ‘I’ve been discriminated against.’ And it’s not because it doesn’t happen.”

The first year’s planning-committee meetings attracted around a dozen people, but this year’s initial gathering brought out more than 80 people, Linda said.

While people who live in Southern Utah may not have access to all the resources available in Salt Lake, there are great people and great progress happening, said Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah.

“I see the growth in Southern Utah and it is all coming about because of fantastic people who are doing fantastic things,” Balken said.

However, there is still room to grow, Linda said.

“I still know people who are losing their jobs when they are outed at work. I know people who are afraid to tell their friends and families they are gay. We have so much work to do, but the celebration is a great place to start,” she said. Q For more information and to buy tickets to the event, go to equalityutah.org.

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snaps & slaps

SNAP: Democratic Party to endorse gay marriage?

Nancy Pelosi, Democratic convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa and nearly two dozen senators and other highranking party members have called on the Democratic Party to embrace a marriage-equality platform. Former Democratic Party chair Howard Dean recently spoke with President Barack Obama about his possible endorsement of the movement. Although he has said his stance on marriage equality is “evolving,” he has yet to endorse same-sex marriage.

SLAP: Malaysian TV bans gay content

from the editor The true impact of Mormon charity

I

By Seth Bracken

f you ask LDS Inc. how much money their church has donated to charities in the last two decades or so, a big number is thrown out: $1 billion. That’s right, an impressive billion dollars donated around the world since 1985, when the Mormon Church first started to track their donations and make a significant effort to make their kindness known publicly.

Mormon.org proudly displays this number and touts the absolute brilliance and Christ-like nature of their donations, averaging more than $37 million a year. What it doesn’t talk about is the way those funds are allocated. There are various projects within the Mormon Church, including fast offerings, mission programs and other programs that are considered donations.

One of the main ways of divvying out donations is through fast offerings. These are monies that are donated by Church members who want to give directly to those who need food and other basic necessities. As someone who has been on the side of deciding who gets these funds and who doesn’t, I can tell you the recipient’s

activity in the Mormon Church is a main deciding factor.

Mormon missionary funds go to pay for young men, and some young women, to circle the world preaching their faith. This is considered a vital piece to each young

The Church’s financial worth is more than $30 billion man’s salvation and much emphasis is placed on its importance. Donations are given for these young people to walk the streets of foreign countries, and yet most of these funds are not given to directly help the poor and needy. In place of service, the average Mormon missionary’s day consists of talking to people in bus stations and

preaching repentance.

There’s no way of knowing exactly how much money LDS Inc. has donated to charities in the last quarter-century. But we know it wasn’t actually $1 billion. You see, the Mormon Church doesn’t have to disclose its finances or how much money it has in reserves.

What we do know is that it’s in the business of agriculture and owns one of the largest peanut producing companies in the nation. It also owns more than 500,000 acres of farmland around the nation and has one of the nation’s largest radio chains. Its private business holdings put the Church’s financial worth at more than $30 billion with an annual revenue of more than $5 billion, according to a Time investigation. Meaning over the last 27 years, the Mormon Church donated less than 20 percent of one single year’s revenue to charity.

The newly opened City Creek Center is part of an estimated $5 billion revitalization project in Salt Lake City. Even given the benefit of the doubt and following all the Mormon Church’s own numbers, over the past seven years of construction, the church has donated $260 million to charities, or about 20 times less than the single real estate project in Salt Lake City.

Admittedly, the mall is gorgeous and provided thousands of jobs in a down economy. The mall’s stunning walkways and fountains are a beautiful spring companion. But stop the charade of altruism and Christ-like mantras condemning gays and advocating for so-called morality. The Mormon Church is a business. Q

Malaysia governmental officials have issued a directive to state-owned TV stations banning all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters.

The Information Department banned all shows featuring such characters.

The ban is effective immediately and an official said,”If it means canceling some of the shows, so be it.” He also added that the decision was to stop the “influence” of the LGBT community. The decision will be extended to private-run TV stations in the near future, although no date or deadline has been set.

SLAP: Russian activists arrested Two activists holding signs that simply read “Gay is normal” were arrested in St. Petersburg, Russia. The arrests were the first test the city’s “gay propaganda” law which bars and criminalizes gay groups, gay books and newspapers, pride events and promotion of homosexuality. Alexei Kiselyov and Kirill Nepomnyashy were arrested under the new law. Police said the two were participating in one-man picketing, meaning no city approval was needed. They were not standing together or yelling anything, and had they been protesting other laws, it would have been legal. Each will be fined 5,000 rubles, equivalent to about $175.

QSaltLake welcomes your letters to the editor.

Please send your letter of 300 words or less to letters@qsaltlake.com.

We reserve the right to edit for length or libel if a letter is chosen for publication.

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11

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County conventions are here

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By Bob Henline

ake up Salt Lake County! By the time this column hits the streets the Salt Lake County Democratic Party Nominating Convention will be but a short few days away. It’s being held Saturday, April 14, at Murray High School. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m.

While this column is more focused on convention and the 1,300 or so Salt Lake County delegates, the argument will hopefully need to be made again as we move toward the general election in November.

This year will be Mayor Peter Corroon’s last in office. Unless you’ve been living under a political rock for the past several months, you know that the Democratic Party has two candidates for Salt Lake County Mayor, with five on the GOP side. I’ll discuss the GOP candidates in a later column, after they’ve determined their nominee.

Today, I’m going to discuss the Democratic race between Sens. Ben McAdams and Ross Romero.

Let’s face it, 2012 is going to be a tough year for Democrats in Utah. With Mitt Romney the likely GOP nominee, most politicos see a higher than average Republican turnout in Utah as people flock to the polls to vote for “one of their own” (although I still don’t see how any average American could possibly equate that to Mitt.) What this means in practical terms is that Democrats further down the ballot will have to overcome that increase in GOP turnout.

In order for Salt Lake County to continue on the path that has been set by Corroon, we need to make sure that our strongest possible candidate is on that ballot; a candidate with a track record of reaching out and drawing support from the other side of the aisle without compromising the values we hold dear as Democrats in Utah. That candidate, in my opinion, is Senator Ben McAdams.

In the time that I’ve been involved with Utah’s LGBT community, as an activist, a columnist, and as a member of the Board of the Utah Stonewall Democrats, I’ve not seen anyone stand out for equality as strongly as McAdams.

He was instrumental in the crafting and passage of Salt Lake City’s landmark nondiscrimination ordinances, which have become the model for 13 other municipal ordinances across Utah.

This year McAdams again brought his nondiscrimination bill to the Utah State Legislature. After its defeat last year, however, he took a different tactic. He brought together leaders from Utah’s business community, religious community and even found a Republican co-sponsor in Rep. Derek Brown of Cottonwood Heights. In spite of all that, unfortunately, the power of Utah’s hate machine was stronger — this time — and the bill died in front of the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee.

While I’m generally not one for patience and “moral victories,” it’s pretty easy to see that there is some level of progress being made on this issue. McAdams had led the legislative fight for equality for Utah’s LGBT community, building a strong coalition without compromising our Democratic values and ideals.

Part of the problem that I see facing us, both within the LGBT community and as Democrats in general, is that we’re so used to being pushed around by Utah’s GOP majority that we’re willing to settle for any table scraps that might be tossed our way.

If we’re ever going to break that cycle, we need to change our mindset. We need to be willing to stand up and fight for our values, we need to make the sometimes difficult choice of demanding that support from our political leaders in exchange for our support of them.

McAdams has shown that he shares a desire for LGBT equality, and that he will fight for it. He not only proposes legislation, he works for it, fights for it and doesn’t let go. That commitment, that leadership, is why I’ve chosen to support McAdams in his bid to succeed Mayor Peter Corroon. I hope that on Saturday you join with me in nominating the next mayor of Salt Lake County, Ben McAdams. Q

Let’s face it, 2012 is going to be a tough year for Democrats in Utah.

Embracing the health & resilience of our community Check out our website for information and a resource directory www.lgbtqtherapists.com

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lambda lore A Knickerbocker love story

T

By Ben Williams

he things they never teach you in high school English class about gay contributions to American and English prose are staggering. Oh, some brave pedagogues might allude to Walt Whitman or Oscar Wilde being a tad bit lavender, but most high school kids live in a homosexual knowledge vacuum. Gertrude Stein? Never heard of her.

However, I dare say even the most ardent gay English teacher has never heard of the homo poet, Fitz-Greene Halleck, even though he was known as the “American Byron.” So popular was Halleck that a granite statue was erected in his home

sanctity of marriage

town of Guilford, Conn. to his memory — the first of its kind for any American poet.

It’s ironic that Guilford, having hanged one of its founding fathers for sodomy, was the first town in America to honor (unbeknownst to them) a homosexual poet. William Plaine, the hanged gay Puritan, must have been smiling down from heaven on that day.

Now Halleck has not only one statue dedicated to him but he has two! Ten years after his death, another statue was erected in his honor in New York City’s Central Park in 1877. On that auspicious occasion, President Rutherford B. Hayes, joined by

The passion of heterosexual love

A Colorado woman who was Kim Kardashian back on the furious that her husband had left for two days, is suspected market Rebounding off of a 72-day mar- of finding him, ramming his riage, Kim Kardashian is back on car repeatedly and puncturing the market and has been seen a tire. She is also accused of making the rounds with Yeezy. threatening to kill two teenage That’s right, Kardashian and girl passengers. Nicole Steele, Kanye West have been spotted 36 was booked on suspicion together and are reportedly of domestic violence, harassdating. However, Kardashian ment, felony menacing, criminal says she’s not quite ready for mischief, reckless endangersomething serious so soon after ment and vehicular assault. her relationship with NBA star Police responded after someone Kris Humphreys. In a shockingly short marriage of 72 days, reported seeing a couple brawlKardashian filed for divorce cit- ing on the side of the road late ing irreconcilable differences. at night.

Three’s a crowd A British postal worker spent more than 305,000 pounds from the sale of his home on high-class prostitutes and then he racked up another 100,000 pound debt for more sex. Deryck Green, a self-described sex addict, turned to crime after his cash reserves ran out. He stole more than 28,000 pounds from the post office where he worked. He was sentenced to 17 months in jail and his wife is left with tens of thousands of pounds of debt. Green routinely paid more than 160 pounds per hour for sex.

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his entire cabinet, dedicated Hallecks’ likeness before no less than 30,000 admiring fans. His statue is still located on the Central Park’s Mall, though I am sure he would have rather been placed in the Rambles, that famous gay cruising spot.

Today, hardly anyone reads Halleck’s poetry except those who study homosexual themes in 19th century literature. But in his day, Halleck was big stuff and was associated with New York writers known as the Knickerbocker Group; James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving and all those guys you had to read in Early American Lit class. He was published with them, became famous with them and met with all the visiting writers of his day, including Charles Dickens.

Halleck’s shtick was writing poetry and while very popular and widely read 150 years ago, he eventually fell out of favor.

One of the reasons was because Edgar Allan Poe dissed Halleck and his boyfriend Joseph Rodman Drake, whom Poe called “second-rate and ordinary.” The reputations of both Halleck and Drake never quite recovered among literary eggheads after that.

But probably the real reason you never heard of him is because he was queer. In the late 19th century, as people got wise to homosexuals being in their midst, that was the end of Halleck ever being mentioned in high school textbooks. Moralists eventually caught on that his stuff was “infused with homosexual themes.” I imagine when the first Freudian read “Stiff memory is penetrated by a metaphoric dart, akin to Cupid’s arrow,’’ the jig was up.

It probably didn’t help either when the prominent poet Bayard Taylor published in 1870, Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania. Taylor dedicated his book “To those who believe in the truth and tenderness of man’s love for man, as man’s love for woman.” Taylor’s narrative recounted “an intimate friendship between two men” and perhaps because Taylor spoke at the dedication of Halleck’s monument in Guilford, his book is believed to be a fictionalized account of Halleck’s love for Drake. Taylor’s book is America’s first gay novel written a hundred years before the Stonewall Uprising.

Like many other gay young men, Halleck was drawn to New York City. In 1809, at the age of 19, he fell in love with a young Cuban named Carlos Menie, to whom he dedicated a few of his early poems. After that relationship ended, he met the beautiful Joseph Rodman Drake, a youth five years his junior. Although the teenager was studying to be a physician, he and Halleck found that they had a knack for drinking and writing poetry. They were young, talented and, not to mention, pretty, so they began hobnobbing with other writers. Halleck and Drake became part of New York’s literary society, the Knickerbocker Group.

As the youngest members of that group

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of authors, they did what young smart alecks always do, they satirized and challenged the era’s “sacred institutions.” And because Halleck was witty and charming, and Drake was graceful and beautiful, they were loved for writing their piercing verses about New York society.

In 1816, Halleck, who was “madly in love” with the 21-year-old Drake, got into a snit when he decided to marry a girl for her father’s money. Halleck wrote in his journal: “He has married, and, as his wife’s father is rich, I imagine he will write no more. HeO was poor, as poets, of course, always are,s and offered himself a sacrifice at the shrinet of Hymen to shun the ‘pains and penal-L ties’ of poverty. I officiated as groomsman, though much against my will. His wife wase good natured, and loves him to distraction.N He is perhaps the handsomest man in Newe York — a face like an angel, a form like anb Apollo — and, as I well knew that his person was the true index of his mind, I feltw myself during the ceremony as commit-W ting a crime in aiding and assisting suchb a sacrifice.” k Though Drake went on to become a phy-e sician, he and Halleck still collaborated,n though no longer cohabited. j Halleck made his mark in literary circles when he wrote the poem “Fanny” in 1819, a“ satire about Wall Street. The poem earnede Halleck his comparison to Lord Byron andn contains this veiled reference to his fond-s ness for men. r

H

Wine, wit, and wisdom, at a midnight rout, c From dandy coachmen, whose “exquisite” grin o And “ruffian” lounge flash brilliantly without, r Down to their brother dandies ranged within, t Gay as the Brussels carpeting they tread on, s a And sapient as the oysters they are fed on. t Also that year, Halleck and Drake pubt lished, anonymously, The Croaker Papers, r the first popular literary satire of New York society, and they became widely rec“ ognized as “among the leading literary pert sonalities and talents produced by Amerii ca.” The poems were of course the talk of the town, and so were Halleck and Drake. a At the height of his popularity, handB some Drake died in 1820 of tuberculosis i at the age of 25. Halleck “mortified with p grief” wrote a funeral elegy he called “On t the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake.” The first stanza reads, “Green be the turf abovei thee, Friend of my better days! None knew thee but to love thee, Nor named thee but top w praise.”

Millionaire and philanthropist John Ja-m cob Astor hired Halleck to be his personalp secretary and appointed him as one of thea original trustees of the Astor Library. Halleck was given an annual annuity from Astor’s estate in 1849, and retired to Guilford, where he lived as a bachelor with his sister Marie for the remainder of his life.

Halleck continued to be an American cultural celebrity until his death in 1867. The American Byron’s dying words were, “Marie bring me my pantaloons.” Q

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creep of the week NOM

d

DARRYL WOODS Psychic

y

By D’Anne Witkowski

H

ey girlfriend, what are you wearing to the race war? Some sexy camouflage chaps, perhaps? A rainbow stripped Kevlar vest? r Wait, haven’t you heard? The National Organization for Marriage is sponsoring some big gay people versus black people thing. I hear it’s going to be all the rage.

Like, literally, all of the rage. , How do I know this? Recently uncovsered court documents outline, in writing, NOM’s national anti-gay marriage stratwegy to “drive a wedge between gays and nblacks.”

- Now, why would they twant to do such a thing?

-Well, because gays and hblacks happen to be “two key democratic constitu-encies.” So you know it’s nothing personal. It’s just politics.

The document reads, a“We aim to find, equip, e n e rg i z e a n d co n nect African American -spokespeople for marriage; to develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; and to provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility , raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key. ...” w Oh, how clever. How nice. Especially the “fanning the hostility” part. If there’s one thing America needs when it comes to the issue of race, it’s a hostility fan. f Some people are, for some reason, upset about this. One of those people is Julian Bond, former chairman of the NAACP. Durs ing a recent interview with Anderson Cooper, Bond said, “It’s one of the most cynical things I’ve ever heard of or seen spelled out in this way.”

Bond also decried the idea that “these people are just pawns that can be played with — the black people who oppose gay marriage, and the black people who support gay marriage, can just be moved earound like pieces on a chessboard.”

- So if I understand correctly, Bond is

t

s

-

-

saying that black people don’t appreciate being pawns and having their beliefs exploited? Huh. You’d think a group like NOM, always so forward-thinking and considerate of each person’s inherent dignity, would have seen that coming.

NOM is, of course, banking on the argument that some people make against calling the fight for LGBT rights a civil-rights movement. When Cooper asked about this, Bond replied, “It is exactly the same. It’s a right that all Americans have, and no reason why gay and lesbian people ought not to have these rights, too. These are universal rights.”

Bond is, obviously, proof that not all black people are anti-gay. In fact, some black people are actually gay. Which means not all gay people are white. Which makes this whole race war idea pretty convoluted.

But it’s worth noting that gay Americans are not immune to racial divisions. A commentator on AmericaBlogGay wrote, “It’s all good and well to pretend that these divisions aren’t there while the mainstream is watching, but those among us who are black and gay know good and well that they are.”

In other words, yeah, it’s easy to point fingers at NOM’s indisputably racist strategy, but let’s not allow NOM’s horribleness to keep us from seeing that the fight against racism is no more a thing of the past than the fight against homophobia.

As Bond told the Human Rights Campaign, “NOM’s underhanded attempts to divide will not succeed if black Americans remember their own history of discrimination. Pitting bigotry’s victims against other victims is reprehensible; the defenders of justice must stand together.”

Of course, NOM would be the first to declare themselves as the victims in this rigmarole. And I’m sure this is all some kind of big misunderstanding. Hey, some of NOM’s best friends are black! But definitely not gay. Q

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APRIL 14, 2012

guest editorial Unicorns, glitter and rainbows: my path to destroying society

By Steven and Michael-John Bristow

L

et’s discuss a question that has weighed heavily on the minds of many of my heterosexual homies: Why do people turn gay? This is a difficult and sensitive topic for many gay folk. Allow me to clarify by sharing my own journey down the rainbow road of homosexuality.

You see, at a very young age I found myself plagued with a powerful biological urge to poop. No one sees anything peculiar about this urge, so nobody ever told me it was wicked, an urge for which I would be damned, so I very happily pooped whenever I saw fit. Sometimes I even took the time to enjoy its sweet relief.

Upon the arrival of puberty I found myself plagued with new things: hair where no hair grew before, pimples where before there was only undefiled alabaster skin, and a mighty biological urge to rid myself of the enormous sperm armies my body produced on an hourly basis. While those around me considered pooping — and even the enjoyment thereof — perfectly acceptable, I was taught that masturbation was evil and enjoying it ... well, that was evil cubed.

What does this have to do with being gay, you might ask? While I learned very early that masturbation was evil, no one informed me that it was so evil it would also turn me gay! Every time I released the fruit of my evil loins into a sock, shower drain or banana peel, I not only grew in my evilness, but became a tiny bit gayer.

I suppose, however, that I cannot blame masturbation for all my gayness. Try as I might, no matter how many torrents of loin fruit I released from my mighty scrotum, a little bit of straight still remained.

There must have been something else ... ah yes, I remember. One day I woke up and I thought to myself, “I want to be different from everyone around me, because being different is fun! People always make sure the different one is accepted, beloved and showered with kindness. I also enjoy being told that I am an abomination to God! And hey, life wouldn’t be a challenge if my country granted me the same rights under the law as straight people! Second-class citizenship worked so well for blacks and women that I’d be a fool not to want it for myself.” Reflecting upon how greatly the benefits outweighed the costs, I simply made the decision one day to be completely gay. I changed my sexual orientation with a mere thought, just like you could change yours if you chose. It’s as easy as changing clothes!

manicured lawn, and wrap it all up with the dream of adopting a child or two and saving them from the drastically overcrowded foster-care system. It’s a recipe for complete and utter disaster, I know!

It’s dripping with so much evil that Hitler just had an orgasm. Doing this destroys the sanctity of marriage, of course, because ... because it just does and I’m naughty like There are many benefits to being gay. For that. example, I get to destroy the very fabric of There is another arsociety and the family! Why, my daily plan- row in my engorged ner for this very day reads as follows: quiver of gaynessspreading. Did you  Destroy fabric of society know that just being  Quick lunch around gays makes  Dance to Lady Gaga like a little fairy boy you a flaming homo?  Ponder upon depth of own depravity My gay aura is so im Dinner mense that those  Sing songs about rainbows and butt sex around me often convert immediately to  Sleep. Gay sleep, which is totally different the way of the gay. Just last week at the from normal people sleep mall I passed a group of teenage boys and But how, precisely, does one go about as soon as my queer emanations washed destroying society? First, I take the hope over them, they broke out into a gay frenzy! of a monogamous relationship, add to it Like lovely little pixies they pranced to the my desire for a nice house and perfectly nearest Express store, shopped to their

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hearts content, giggled uncontrollably at cute boys walking by and held hands down the aisles. Justin Bieber himself could not have raised the flames any higher.

Another day I was enjoying a dip in a public pool. Tragically, my gay aura blocker — a manly swimsuit with pictures of power tools and Chuck Norris — failed and all that gooey aura got into the water. Children instantly turned gay, splashing each other with limp wrists and lisping happily, “I got you, you silly goose!”

An adult accidentally swallowed some water and soon doubled over on the pavement, puking up unicorns, glitter and episodes of Will & Grace. ‘Twas madness!

There you have it. I hope this very special educational article will clear up all the nasty rumors and lies spread about us gays.

Now if you’ll excuse me, a new episode of Glee is on. Q

There is another arrow in my engorged quiver of gaynessspreading

lipstick lesbian Learning to love me for me

W

By H. Rachelle Graham

e live in an age of plastic surgery, Botox and fad diets. Few seem happy with the body they were given and somehow want to change it. There are many advertisements in the media and on the news to show you how to get “a new you.”

I got lucky. I never wanted to change my body, until I became an adult.

As a little girl I could eat anything I wanted and never gain a pound. It seemed the more I ate cookies the more hyper I got and the more weight I lost. I stayed in the 110-pound range through high school and a few years after until I was introduced to weight-gaining tablets and prescription pills.

At first, as the weight put on, I didn’t see myself as any different as the skinny Hollywood types. I’d even laugh at the occasional “fat” joke, not understanding why my friend snickered my way. As if, why do I have the nerve to laugh? It took many more instances for me to get it, to look in the mirror and see something other than the skinny girl I used to be.

The last instance included someone I thought was a best friend and her boyfriend. The friend and I went shopping at J.C. Penny where we encountered someone who apparently had a question for me.

they decided to leave mean voice mails. I didn’t want to change my phone number so I just waited for it to pass while not giving them the time of day.

But I came from this experience with a real understanding of my body. I no longer denied I was 80 pounds overweight.

I tried every diet humanly imaginable.

Some would make me lose. Some would make me gain. But most of all I still hated me and my body. I lost 40 pounds but couldn’t manage to lose any more and keep it off.

I started to forget about my body after I graduated college. I started to become active in volunteering politically and within the community. I even started therapy where I learned there was nothing wrong with being me.

It took me awhile but, at about 30 pounds more than I wanted to be, I learned to love and accept my body the way it was. The I’m not really sure why Jessica (that’s mean comments went right through me what we’ll call her) felt the need to tell and didn’t pierce the heart. me such terrible news. I found out later I had so many qualities that seemed to she just wanted to hurt me. Her boyfriend melt the fat away. I ignored the pounds I didn’t like me and he wanted to get revenge carried and let the kind people that surfor some careless thing I said about his rounded me tell me I was beautiful and weight, since he weighed more than 250 make me feel so. I didn’t need plastic surpounds. gery or fad diets. I just needed to accept My self esteem slowly went to hell as me. Q But I didn’t know anything about it until I went home to what I thought was my safe parental house. My friend told me over the phone that the woman with the wig at J.C. Penny wondered how far along I was in my pregnancy.

It seemed the more I ate cookies the more hyper I got and the more weight I lost.

QSALTLAKE.COM

ISSUE 204

Q health What is an undetectable viral load?

By Lynn Beltran

H

VIEWS

APRIL 14, 2012

IV has come a long way in the past 30 years. Since it first appeared on the scene we have witnessed the epidemic go from an almost certain premature death of those infected to what is now considered to be a manageable condition.

We have gone from not knowing how HIV was transmitted in the very early years to understanding exactly how it is and is not transmitted. Culturally, we have gone from a sense of fear to a sense of complacency. We have gone through various iterations of anti-retrovirals with each new generation more effectively staving off AIDS. We have changed our language about HIV and our strategies in motivating our communities to prevent it.

Recently, many in the HIV community have become focused on the term “viral load.” An HIV patient’s viral load is represented by the number of virus cells detected in the blood, or more specifically, the number of HIV particles detected in a milliliter of blood. The fewer the number of copies of virus in the blood, the less likely a patient is to be immune-impaired, and more likely healthy. HIV anti-retrovirals are designed to keep the viral load down; that is their primary mission. When the viral load drops below a certain level, it’s considered to be undetectable. This simply means that the number of copies of the HIV in that milliliter of blood is too few to count; having an undetectable viral load does not mean that the virus is not present in the blood, nor does it mean that the patient is cured.

At some point several years ago there was a rumor swirling around that Magic Johnson was cured of HIV. This rumor, as it was, started because it was announced somewhere that his viral load was undetectable. This began around the time that

newer generations of HIV anti-retrovirals were truly showing to be efficacious in staving off AIDS, which translated to fewer deaths in HIV patients and a better quality of life. Remember, the role of the HIV anti-retroviral is to interfere with the virus’ ability to inject its DNA into healthy cells and make more copies of itself.

Johnson had access to the best medical care and access to the newest generations of anti-retrovirals as soon as they were available. Johnson, as an elite athlete, responded extremely well to medical intervention. At no point was Johnson, or anyone else with an undetectable viral load, cured of HIV. But still, people love to announce that their viral load is undetectable. This is indeed cause for a patient to celebrate because it means that they are healthy, and likely will remain so throughout their lifetime — as long as the drugs continue to work. Problems are occurring because many are using it to imply that having an undetectable viral load means that they can no longer transmit the virus to others.

Hence, condoms not needed.

This type of thinking is inaccurate; it’s a numbers game. Again, the virus is still present in the infected blood and other body fluids. The number of copies of the virus is low in someone whose levels are undetectable. Having unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive with an undetectable viral load is similar to gambling — the odds may be low but they are there. I have had patients who seemingly were exposed to HIV for several years before they became infected, and I have had patients that seemingly became infected after a one-time exposure.

The take home message here is that it only takes one virus cell to infect another person. Having an undetectable viral load does not mean that someone has been cured. Someone with an undetectable viral load can still transmit the virus. Q

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dept. of corrections In our March 15 ‘Gay Wedding Issue’ a regrettable error was made in describing who furnished the wedding cakes for the two QSaltLake weddings. Segna Batty’s and Elecia Hardy’s wedding cake was, in fact, made by Hanna Ferguson of A Piece of Cake. QSaltLake apologizes to Ferguson for the error and thanks her kindly for contributing the beautiful cake.

Those interested in purchasing a cake or other items should email pieceofcake.hf@gmail. com.

APRIL 14, 2012

where’s the party? gay saltlake .com

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thinking out loud In a family way Why reproductive rights should matter to the LGBT community

I

By Abby Dees

f you’re like me, you don’t think a whole lot about birth control. You probably don’t have much heterosexual sex, though I shouldn’t assume, and you likely believed that we’d come to a grudging truce around a woman’s right to control her reproductive life. In the ’80s and ’90s, of course, abortion was the battleground of the culture wars; nowadays we all know that it’s about the gays.

Which is why I have this queasy feeling that I’ve time traveled back about 30 years. Abortion is the hot topic and I notice that plastic jewelry and jumpsuits are back at Macy’s. No one’s talking about gay marriage, and women are on TV explaining why having sex for pleasure doesn’t make them sluts.

Has the far right (and by that I also mean the 2012 Republican presidential candidates) given up on the gays? Are fundamentalists going retro?

It would be nice to imagine they’ve gotten tired of us. Maybe we can worry about other things now, like whether Martina Navratilova has had some work done.

But don’t relax just yet.

The far right still has us on radar. Today’s crusade against women’s sexual autonomy is only a redecorated version of the same moral outrage that has always given them such good political traction.

There’s good reason for LGBT people to pay close attention to what’s happening to reproductive rights.

Consider the new breed of abortion laws, such as a Texas law that forces women seeking an abortion to endure an internal ultrasound, a detailed description of the fetus, audio of its heartbeat and a 24-hour waiting period. This isn’t about health concerns, just morality. In fact women report that the experience is degrading, complicated, and, in essence, medical rape. They’re being put through the wringer for making personal choices about their bodies. Sound familiar?

Women can exempt themselves from part of the requirement by signing a sworn affidavit that they got pregnant through rape or incest. In other words, they didn’t mean to have sex; someone

made them. If the real issue here were the sanctity of life, I don’t see why rape should let anyone off the hook. But proponents of these laws say they exist to “protect women.” I’m wary of this word, “protect,” when I see the harm done to LGBT people in order to “protect” the family.

A bill recently passed the Arizona House that would force doctors to lie about the risks of breast cancer associated with abortion (there aren’t any, by the way) to scare women out of terminating their pregnancies. This protects women from the truth, evidently. Hiding the facts has been a frequent anti-gay tactic too. For example, the Prop 8 people successfully sued to permanently seal the video record of the federal Prop 8 trial, a record that beautifully demonstrates the importance of LGBT rights. In Tennessee, legislators are trying to forbid any discussion about LGBT lives in school, as if ignorance were a moral virtue.

Almost all of this moral hypocrisy is wrapped in the mantle of religious freedom, as in, “Your laws about equality and respect for people trample on our religious rights.” The far right howled when Obama pushed for contraception coverage in business run by religious institutions. If you heard any Rush Limbaugh last month, you heard some of the story.

What you might have missed amid all the outrage about Rush’s “slut” and “prostitute” language is how he reframed the debate so that people who are restricting women’s freedoms were presented as the real victims — victims of religious persecution. This is a continuing trope also used against LGBT people for ostensibly forcing our lifestyles on God-fearing folks, in violation of their First Amendment rights. It’s a clever trick.

This shows how quickly issues that we thought were settled ages ago suddenly become debatable again. History proves that progress can turn on a dime, but I don’t really think that’s happened yet.

Still, we’re far from being able to sit back and chill, assured that everyone’s freedoms are here to stay. Q

This isn’t about health concerns, just morality

QSALTLAKE.COM

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APRIL 14, 2012

18 FEATURE

Queer Prom offers gathering for hundreds of Utah youth

By Seth Bracken

T

im’s first prom started off like many others. He had a rented tuxedo, a beautiful boutonniere — blue to match his eyes — and he waved goodbye to his mom as he drove away. He picked up his date who was dressed in a short, black skirt and tight black tank top. Her eye shadow was dark and she greeted him with a peck on the cheek.

They held hands as they walked to his car and he opened the door for her.

“I’ll never forget what her mom said as we got in the car,” Tim said. “She stuck her head out the door and yelled, ‘Have a

great time at the gay prom!’ I had always wanted my mother to have the same kind of attitude, but she thought I was going to a regular prom, not the gay one.”

The couple made their way to the Salt Lake City Library and joined the more than 700 hundred other teens who were there to dance, hang out and just be together in a nonjudgmental and safe atmosphere.

“It was the first time I had been to a gay event. I couldn’t believe how many people there were who were just like me. It was just so amazing to be able to hang out with so many other

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gay people,” Tim said.

Although he is out to a few of his friends, the high school junior is not open about his sexuality with his parents. He said he is waiting until he graduates high school and moves away for college where he hopes to study veterinarian science before he drops the bombshell on his parents.

“I just don’t know how they would react. I think they would be really, really angry with me. They’ve talked about gay people before and it’s never been pretty,” he said. “But until then, I am going to keep going to the prom and other activities. It helps me get by.”

Just like Tim, hundreds of students gather each year for the queer-inclusive prom celebration. It is the culmination of a weekend’s events that include a Youth Empowerment Summit and a Day of Silence. This year’s prom and YES Summit are sponsored by the Utah Pride Center and held April 20-21.

The YES Summit will have three sections of workshops; one for high school students, one for college students and a third for parents, families and friends, said Danielle Watters, the Center’s director of community support and wellness services.

The summit will attract youth and families from around the state and will be held at Westminster College. Kicking off at 9:30 a.m., the summit is a gathering place for queer student alliance members and others interested in being involved. The queer and ally support group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will also be participating and offering workshops during the summit. Although many of the classes will be specific to an age group, lunch and other breaks will give everyone a chance to mix and mingle, Watters said. From 4:30 p.m. until the dance opens, volunteer estheticians will help prep youth with their makeup and hair.

Queer Prom will be chaperoned and alcohol- and drug-free at the Salt Lake City Library on April 21, 8 p.m. A live disc jockey, food, free HIV testing and just an overall welcoming environment for all queer and allied youth will make this gathering the party not to miss. People ages 14-20 years old are invited to attend.

“This year’s theme is Indestructible, based on the song by Robyn,” Watters said. “I think the song and theme really demonstrates the attitude that we all dare to survive and resist in our own ways. Rather than hope and wait for something better to come, we’re in the fight now.” Q

For more information and to purchase tickets in advance to the YES Summit and Queer Prom, go to utahpridecenter.org.

QSALTLAKE.COM

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APRIL 14, 2012

FEATURE

STEINBECK’S CLASSIC NOVEL COMES TO LIFE

OF MICE AND MEN

BY CArLISLE FLOYD

MAY 5–13, 2012 | CApITOL ThEATrE

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20 FEATURE

APRIL 14, 2012

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Spring formalwear has the bold, the bright and the beautiful J ackets, vests, blazers and mermaid-style dresses in bright colors and animal prints are in fashion. There’s no doubt about it, this is the season of bold, bright and beautiful.

Look for neon orange, pink and blue in dresses and tans and navy blues in men’s wear. Pair the colored suit with a bright shirt and patterned tie and the outfit is set to impress, said Adam Weber, co-founder of custom menswear company Dress Code.

“We’re seeing all kinds of colors this year. The shirts and liners of the jackets are especially great for the spring and you can do all kinds of things with them,” Weber said. “Also, you can add a patterned tie to a bright shirt and the contrast will really make it pop.”

Due to rising temperatures, blazers and vests are also very in this year, he said. Adding a vest to a suit makes it a more versatile option and allows for more layers. Also, the fitted blazer can bring more options and let people roll up the sleeves for different looks perfect for a warmer climate, Weber said. Dress Code offers personalized customer service in homes and offices and sells for a fraction of the price of other similar companies.

“The vests are looking more colorful and looks are getting a little edgier,” he said.

Suit jacket styles remain relatively stagnant through the years, but a two-button jacket is coming back and offers a sleeker look that works for all body types, he said. Double-breasted is a terrific choice for summer and is a stand-out look that can help make an impact.

On the dress aisle, neon colors and tight fits such as mermaid cuts and high-lows, where the dress is high in the front and low in the back, are flying off the shelves, said Wendy Tate of Just Girl Stuff.

“Utah is a little behind the trends in New York and other places, but we’re starting to see a sleeker look, more pageant-style dresses,” she said. “Also animal-print patterns are extremely popular this year.”

The mermaid cut is tight-fitting until about mid-waist, where it balloons out. The tight fits are paired with the colors and patterns. Also, empire and drop-waist, or gown-style dresses, are always in-style in Utah, she said.

Whether it’s men’s formal wear, elegant gowns or somewhere in-between, go bold, go bright, go beautiful.

For more information about Dress Code, go to dresscodecustom.com. For Just Girl Stuff, go to justgirlstuff.com or call 801-334-0636.

QSALTLAKE

QSALTLAKE.COM

ISSUE 204

APRIL 14, 2012

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ith home style consultants and complete personalization, the custom menswear company Dress Code manages to offer fitted clothing at a fraction of the normal cost.

Perhaps it’s due to the innovative business model founded by Adam Weber and Chase Murdock. In place of storefronts and advertising budgets, Dress Code sends a stylist to the home or office of the customer. Or perhaps it’s because all the clothing, including blazers, suits, shirts and slacks, comes directly from the manufacturer, cutting out the middle-man. Whatever the case may be, the customized and tailored suits, ranging from $249 to $349, are affordable and stylish.

“We have style consultants who will take measurements and make suggestions, but ultimately, how the suit looks and feels is completely up to you,” Weber said. “We have so many different fabrics, buttons, liners and other options to choose from.”

Along with feeling all the different fabrics and seeing all the color options, the style consultants will measure in 25 different places to make sure the suit is exactly the right fit. After the suit is selected and ordered, the customer will receive periodic updates about the process of making and delivering the clothing. After four to five weeks, the consultant will return and do a final fitting to ensure it is the best suit possible.

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If any alterations need to be made they will be done locally within a few days.

“We have a 100 percent fit and satisfaction guarantee,” Weber said. “If you don’t like the fit or the fabric, we’ll fix it completely or get you a whole new suit. We are so confident in our suits.”

And although the company has only been around for about a year, there is already a 45 percent reorder rate and word is spreading fast, Weber said. With service along the Wasatch Front, from Ogden to Provo, there is no excuse to buy a suit anywhere else. The company is even expanding to Las Vegas soon.

Along with suits, Dress Code offers fitted vests, blazers and shirts. The right look can make all the difference in a job interview or date, Weber said. The option to have a perfectly fitted outfit at an affordable price really makes Dress Code stand out from other clothing retailers. All body sizes and ages are able to find the clothing that flatters their body types. From slender to husky, everyone should take advantage of the fitted clothing, Weber said.

“We really offer something no one else has,” Weber said. “The clothing is of the highest quality, the prices are affordable and the service is terrific, and all of that is brought to your home or office.” Q

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APRIL 14, 2012

22 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT gay agenda

Filthy and fashionable

By Tony Hobday

To my discomfort, like when I haven’t had enough fiber, I learned Gordon Ramsey will have yet another obnoxious reality show starting soon called Hotel Hell — aren’t we already in hell just hearing about the dink? Plus, Shannen Doherty (you know, that literal witch from Charmed) has her own reality show coming to WE network, where apparently cameras follow her around as she yet again weds some dink — that’s so Tori! Frankly, I’d rather suffer through a Hallmark Presentation tearjerker starring Patty Duke as an aging worm breeder who becomes grief-stricken by a hammertoe.

12

QQ Ballet West’s dynamic spring season opens with the Utah premiere of George Balanchine’s lush and romantic Emeralds, set to the music of Gabriel Fauré. This is the first ballet in Balanchine’s transcendent full-evening trilogy, Jewels. It’s apparently not about emeralds at all, or any other jewel; it’s about the costumery — so don’t get your tutu in a tussle as this is nothing like Romancing the Stone. In Emeralds, the dancers wear calf-length tulle skirts (probably in green) and represent romance as they move about the stage.

7:30pm, through April 21, Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South. Tickets $18–74, 801-355-ARTS or arttix.org.

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saturday — Even if

you’re not a sexy papa of twin boys named Chase and Benji, and even if you’re not a sinewy, spurred cowboy hankering for a slab of moose jerky, you should take part in the Utah Gay Fathers Association’s first annual Spring Fling Cowboy Roundup. This fundraising event will include raffle prizes, western-inspired tapas, cash bar, live deejay and awards rec-

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QQ If you missed Holi, Festival of ­Colors in Spanish Fork a couple weeks ago — you know, the event that the Brits called the “Filthy Festival,” which got the Hindu’s gamchhas all up in knots — well, the rainbow is making it’s way into the city, and I highly recommend this wonderful, inclusive festival.

However, seeing as a gay man’s mouth is perpetually propped open at all times, I also recommend tying a hankie or a gamchha over it or you’ll get a familiar weird taste. Just sayin’!

The festivities include live music, bonfire, food and gifts.

Noon–6pm, Salt Lake Krishna Temple, 965 E. 3370 South. Tickets $2, prepay (recommended) at utahkrishnas.org or at the festival gate.

17

tuesday — The Salt Lake

Community College is going all Ugly Betty! Ok, probably not, she was so 2010. It’s the return of RAW COUTURE, the college’s Fashion Institute fashion show.

Check out what’s hot in Utah’s fashion world from the top student designers of the Fashion Institute’s programs. So pull out your best Marc Anthony ... please betch, don’t dis me, he’s fucking Jaclyn Smith on a stick!

thursday — The

UPCOMING EVENTS Jun. 13 Melissa Etheridge Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre

Jun. 22 kd lang Peppermill Concert Hall, Wendover

Jul. 2 The B52s Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre

Jul. 5 Foster The People Saltair

Aug. 4-5 “8” The Play (a reading) Rose Wagner Center

classic musical romp, Little Shop of ­Horrors, returns to the Utah stage in this special, fundraising-engagement run, presented by Wasatch Theatre Company. Ticket proceeds will go to the Salt Lake Education Foundation for disadvantaged youth in the Salt Lake valley. The musical chronicles the story of Seymour, orphaned and living with a flower shop owner, Mr. Mushnick. The business is not doing well when Seymour happens upon a strange plant that changes his life.

Who doesn’t love a man-eating fly trap? ... Ah, I’ve just described Jim Smith in accurate detail.

Perfume Genius See April 14

8pm, through April 21, Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $20, 801-355-ARTS or arttix.org.

QQ Also opening under the Rose Wagner roof tonight is Plan-B Theatre Company’s The Scarlet ­Letter, adapted for the stage from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic American novel. Adulteress Hester Prynne bears an illegitimate child with an unknown lover; she must wear a scarlet A on her chest as a constant reminder of her shame, as her husband seeks revenge.

8pm, through April 22, Studio Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $20, 801-355-ARTS or arttix.org.

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friDAY — The super fabulous Ellen Barkin stars

in Shit Year, a dramatic story about a renowned actress who gives up the craft, moves to solitude, rekindles a brash affair with a young actor and becomes unhinged as she struggles to reclaim her ego while dealing with her estranged brother and an off-kilter neighbor. The steamy Luke Grimes co-stars. The screening is part of the UMOCA Creativity in Focus Film Series.

7pm, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 20 S. West Temple. Free, utahfilmcenter.org.

ognition. Must be 21 or older, and western wear is suggested.

4–9pm, private residence at 2215 E. Aspenwood Way, Sandy. Tickets $25/single or $40/couple, utahgayfathers.com.

QQ Seattle-based singer-songwriter ­Perfume Genius (aka Mike Hadreas) comes to Salt Lake City promoting his sophomore album Put Your Back N 2 It. Now, this has not been substantiated, but it’s been rumored that porn star Arpad Miklos will do a live reprise with Hadreas on stage, embracing each other tenderly while in nothing more than their skivvies. Haawwwt!

7pm, Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West. Tickets $10–12, 24tix.com.

7:30pm, Jeanne Wagner Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $25, 801-355-ARTS or arttix.org.

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thursday — One night,

as Callie and Sarah take a walk through New York’s West Village, they share their first kiss. It’s a cataclysmic leap of self-awareness, trust and caring. But it too provokes a violent attack by an angry naysayer that transforms their lives in ways they could never anticipate. Stop Kiss sounds dark and heart-wrenching, but the play, by Diana Son, is actually quite funny as well as moving.

7:30pm, through April 22, Studio 115, Performing Arts Bldg., 240 S. 1500 East, UofU. Tickets $7.50–10, 801-581-7100 or kingtix.com.

QSALTLAKE.COM

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APRIL 14, 2012

friday — The Utah Symphony, with conductor Jerry Steichen, presents Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to The Beatles.

According to the website, the concert will feature “all the timeless Beatles classics performed with such perfection that you’ll feel like a teenager again.” Now, since I wasn’t born until 1981, I feel like a teenager only when I hear the classics from Brandy and Alanis Morissette. Tehehe! Anyhoo, this concert does have the makings of a groovy, psychedelic night.

8pm, through Saturday, Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple. Tickets $27–85, 801-355-ARTS or arttix.org.

QQ Who doesn’t love jazz dance? Please girl, it morphed from the fabulous “Jazz Hands,” so its gotta be good. The University of Utah presents the first annual Live to Dance, a performance highlighting several jazz styles including hip-hop, contemporary, lyrical, Fosse, Broadway, thrash and more. Choreographers include Alex Fetbroth, Sara Pickett (woohoo!) and Tamara Squires.

7:30pm, through Saturday, Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle, UofU. Tickets $8-12, 801-581-7100 or kingtix.com.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

QQ After all the bullying the MPAA received over the R rating of the documentary Bully, it’s a wonder how the film is still slated to hit the big screen. Ha! Just kidding, don’t beat me with your Wonder Woman lunchbox. Honestly, I’ve heard nothing but great things about this flick, so even if you aren’t in school anymore, bullying happens at many stages in life (just ask poor Joshua Jones, he takes a whipping daily, but then again he really likes it!) and this film could possibly offer some help.

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Opens today, Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway. Tickets $6.25–8.75, saltlakefilmsociety.org.

saturday — It’s that time

again for the queer and ally youth to don their best duds (Is duds too old-fashioned?), find a date or a friend or an entourage (Is entourage too Frenchy?), and boogie woogie woo (Now that one they’ll get!) on the dance floor.

Yessiree, it’s the Queer Prom. Now, just a bit of advice for all the youngsters: You won’t need your Facebook, Grindr, Twitter or What’s New Pussycat? apps, there will be plenty of hookups right there in the same room. I’m not advocating premarital sex, but please, it’s freaking prom night. Just be super safe and don’t bully each other.

8pm–midnight, Salt Lake City Library, 210 E. 400 South. Tickets $5/adv–$10/at the door, 801-5398800 or utahpridecenter.org.

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Exploring the breadth of human experience.

Sponsored by:

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APRIL 14, 2012

24 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Queer as Hal W

ISSUE 204

QSALTLAKE

By Seth Bracken

hether you know him as Michael Novotny from Queer As Folk or his many appearances on VH1 specials or E!’s Talk Soup, Hal Sparks has one of those memorable faces. With an infectious smile and a comedic styling reminiscent of comics much older than the 42-year-old actor, he’s bringing his

stand-up tour to Salt Lake City, April 22, 7 p.m. He’ll be performing at Wiseguys Trolley Square. Tickets are $20 and available at wiseguyscomedy.com.

Sparks spoke with QSaltLake about what to expect at his show, some of his pet peeves and the importance of staying CPR-certified.

For people who only know you through your acting, how would you describe your standup comedy? Umm ... gosh, it’s so hard to say whether it’s more brilliant than funny or more funny than brilliant. Honestly, it’s about social and political issues, without mentioning politics. It’s about religion and sex, without mentioning religion.

I think it’s the comedian’s job in the world to be part bullshit detector, part social CSI member. There is a lot of built-up stress that people deal with in their lives. Our lives get stacked on with stuff we don’t know or understand and it’s irritating. It’s unworkable and we don’t have a solution for it. To me, the comedian’s job is to let that valve open.

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I listened to your comedy album, Escape from Halcatraz and I absolutely loved it! I found myself chuckling along the whole way. Could you talk to me about your writing process? I have comedic influences that are a decade older than I should. I grew up without a TV so my comedic influences were from the ’50s and early ’60s. My contemporaries were listening to Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby; I was listening to Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, George Carlin. Guys who are in their mid-50s listened to everything I did. I lived out in the sticks in Kentucky so my comedic influences were a little different.

My writing process might be a little older as well. I usually start by sitting down and thinking, ‘according to news reports and scientific studies, what is causing people the most stress in society?’ I let it sink in and talk about it frankly. If I think we’re all fucked, I’ll say it. If people are overreacting and making a bigger deal than I think they should, I’ll say that as well.

Is it tough to make the transition from dramatic to comedic? I think it is for some people. For me, it just feels logical and normal. But really, it’s just dealing with honest emotion in a different way. I think great comics make great dramatic actors. If we didn’t care a lot, we wouldn’t bother.

The most extreme adage of this is Andrew Dice Clay playing that super tough guy to mask what he would perceive as his own weakness that women have the upper hand.

With everything else you’ve done in your career are you tired of being identified as Michael from Queer as Folk? I don’t. It’s work that I’m proud of. I think people remember me from a certain show or role and that’s their favorite, but I am lucky to be able to be proud of all the work I’ve done.

Some people remember me as that VH1 guy and the guy from Talk Soup. You’ll see what you want to see.

It’s kind of like with a band where one fan loves the second album and another loves the first or third. It’s not to say that one album is better or less important than another.

I’ve made a career of being an affront to other people’s bigotry. When I first signed up for Queer As Folk, people warned me that it would hurt my future career options and people would pass me over because I worked for that show.

But to me that wasn’t ever a problem, ‘You mean I won’t get to work for bigots? Oh, how sad. In fact, give me a list of people who pass me up just because I worked for that show so when I see them I can kick them in the nuts.’

save the date

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

That being said, I do find it creepy when someone calls me Michael. I think that person is probably a whack job. In fact, that’s one thing I would want everyone to know: that when you see your favorite actors at the mall or whatever, whether they’re from True Blood or QAF don’t call them by their character’s name.

After QAF, did you fall into your role as a queer-rights activist, or was it a conscious effort? I think it’s the other way around. Being that you care you find a show like this.

You’re not going to get big Leviticus fans auditioning for the role of Michael. I doubt Kirk Cameron is going to be accidentally cast in the QAF spinoff and decide, ‘Hey, you know what? I was wrong about all that.’

The role on QAF was very different and there was a lot of push-back. We all got death threats. I got more than most others because I did a lot of the press.

But I’ve loved being involved and I do events for the HRC, GLAAD and I’ve been working with the LGBT Super PAC to get President Barack Obama re-elected. I’ve also been asked to be a grand marshal for pride parades, I really appreciate it and I’ll be there, but I think it’s a bit odd. I think they should have a gay person do it. After all, it’s their pride. I think it’d be kind of like asking Mel Gibson to grand marshal a St. Patrick’s Day parade just because he played in Braveheart. It’d be like having C. Thomas Howe lead a million-man march. It’s just a bit fucked up.

What other projects are you working on now? Well I am in a Disney XD show called Lab Rats. It debuted three weeks ago. It was the most popular launch in Disney XD history. We just wrapped up the first season and it will air through the summer.

We asked our readers what question they wanted to ask you and Shaun Carley asked ‘Do you stay CPR certified?’ He remembers hearing you had saved someone’s life. Yes, I’ve done CPR three times in my life. A little over a year ago, I did CPR on a gentleman in LAX. In 1996 I did CPR in the Spectrum Club in Los Angeles when teaching kung fu. And I did it once when I was 19. It’s important to know how to do it and stay certified. Q

May 2

June 9

August 3–5

acluutah.org

hrc.org

kimballartcenter.org

Email arts@qsaltlake.com

May 19

June 21–24

April 20

tinyurl.com/gayzooutah

uaf.org

May 24–28

July 20–23

Day of Silence dayofsilence.org April 21

Queer Prom

Bill of Rights Celebration Gay Day at Hogle Zoo RCGSE Coronation XXXVII

HRC Gala Dinner Utah Arts Festival Pionude Day Campout

rcgse.org

umen.org

June 1–3

July 13–15

Utah Pride Festival

utahpridecenter.org

utahpridefestival.org

May 1–9

June 9

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Damn These Heels Film Festival

Park City Arts Festival August 5

QSaltLake Lagoon Day qsaltlake.com August 5

August 26

Pride Center Golf Classic

October 7

Natl Coming Out Day Brunch

utahpridecenter.org

utahpridecenter.org

September 26

November 12

EU Allies Dinner equalityutah.org

TransAction Gender Conference utahpridecenter.org

SAGE Garden Party

September 28–29

utahpridecenter.org

moabpride.org

World AIDS Day

October 5–7

utahpridecenter.org

gaydaysanaheim.com

December 7–9

August 10–11

Women’s Redrock Music Fest

damntheseheels.org

redrockwomensfest.com

Journey to Magical Peru

Salt Lake Men’s Choir Summer Concert

July 26–29

August 18

Utah Bear Jamboree

Pocatello Pride

QueerSpirit.org

saltlakemenschoir.org

utahbears.com

pocatellopride.com

Moab Pride Festival Gay Days Anaheim

December 1

October 6

Pink Dot Utah

Salt Lake Men’s Choir Christmas Concert

pinkdotut.org

saltlakemenschoir.org

APRIL 14, 2012

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Jason Mraz won’t give up Pop star talks supporting LGBT community and his ‘open’ sexuality,

By Chris Azzopardi

H

and clarifies ‘Instinct’ interview

ow cool is Jason Mraz? For one, his unwavering fight for equal rights led him to shoot a Human Rights Campaign video recently; he’s also waiting to wed until everyone can, and not long ago, he united with Cyndi Lauper to tell the world that he, too, gives a damn.

And hey, it doesn’t hurt to know that he’s laid-back in the sack. Not just as a curious kid, but even now as an adult who, as he told us during this interview, is down for some three-way fun. As Mr. Feel-Good releases his fifth album, Love is a Four Letter Word, we got Mraz on the phone for a candid catch-up on music, marriage and the evolution of his wordplay — and set a few things straight: his

PHOTO: Emily Shur

misleading words in Instinct and how, when it comes to sex, he’s “keeping his options open these days.”

So, the grungy look: Is that what happens when you make an album about freedom and love and everyone getting along? Yeah, maybe so. I certainly admire John Lennon, George Harrison and David Crosby — the guys before me that did it. I think it’s a rite of passage that not necessarily every artist has to go through, but I feel that I have to experience.

And I’m enjoying it.

What about the boyish geek in pink? Is he still in there? Yeah, of course. From that I sprang.

How have you changed since Waiting for My Rocket to Come? You know what, I’m still scared. And from that fear, I’m still hopeful. I still don’t know what I’m doing and from not knowing, I’m still very excited. those contradictions are what keep me going. That’s the kind of stuff I continue to write about. I guess how I’ve changed is that I’ve learned to just accept what is. I certainly try to influence and inspire, but I am also not attached to the outcome, and I didn’t know those things during Rocket. I was just like, “Give me a pack of cigarettes and let’s go.” And now I don’t smoke anymore. I have more tools under my belt.

So your rocket finally came? Yeah. But I want it to get off! (Laughs) I tried to get it off. I jumped off several times actually, like “Ooh, OK, this is what this feels like. Yeah, no thanks. Let me start over.”

Between doing the Human Rights Campaign PSA recently, a Give a Damn video and being on the cover of Instinct, how do you feel being a poster boy for gay rights? I love it, because this is my way to finally fight back.

There were a few kids in high school who called me a fag or just would always intimidate me, and I didn’t know at that time what I was going to grow up to be or who I was going to grow up to be. I hadn’t had enough intimate experiences to know, so as a young man I questioned how my sexuality was going to evolve.

My best friend in high school came out when I was a senior and I thought that was the bravest thing anybody could do, to stand up and truly be themselves. I’m not bashing my town, but at that time in my life there were other kids who bullied those who were gay or different. I ended up just leaving town for many reasons, for pursuing a dream mostly, but I didn’t feel encouraged or inspired by my peers.

Now that I have this opportunity to shine a light on the subject and be a straight man and be outspoken, I’m making up for that lost time — I’m making up for that kid, that geek in the pink, that didn’t stand up — and I’m using my voice now for good, and it makes me feel really darn good.

You mentioned experimenting as a young person, but now you identify as straight.

Early in your career, however, I recall you stating that sexuality is fluid and that everyone is somewhat bisexual. Have you changed your mind? Are you still keeping your options open? Yeah, I’m keeping more of my options open these days. The older I A get, the more fearless I become. That’s not to say I’m absolutely fearless. (Long pause) Man, I should be really careful with my words, especially with this question.

p

Talk about the “straight” label itself, do you dislike labels? If we were to live in a society that was equal, those labels wouldn’t really exist or matter — except maybe at the DMV or someplace where, for some reason, you have to put down gender, race or age. I don’t get it. I don’t get why sexuality has to be such a big deal. You know, I’ve been invited by couples to join them, and I’m really turned on

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by that. (Laughs) I’ve never taken them up on it, though.

We can leave it at that, then. Your decision to wait to wed until there’s marriage equality was a bold move to make, especially since — according to the recent Instinct interview — it became one of the reasons your relationship with Tristan Prettyman ended.

To people who might not understand your decision to wait, what kind of message are you hoping to send? I would like to add that my words in Instinct may have been written or may have been spoken incorrectly. It wasn’t that my partner wasn’t into the fight for equality, she absolutely was, but it was the frustration in the partnership, the waiting, that was one of many factors that made it difficult.

I can’t speak for her anymore because we’re not together, but for me it was a great opportunity to experience what it feels like to only be able to go so far in a relationship, which I know some of my gay and lesbian friends have experienced. They’re like, “Well, we’ve been together for seven or eight years, we’ve even got a kid, yet we can’t get married.

We can’t get the tax benefits. We can’t visit each other in the hospital.” It just seemed very unfortunate.

So, my personal protest really gave me that kick in the stomach that I wasn’t expecting: “Oh man, this really is frustrating,” because my partner really wanted to get married, and I saw that and I acknowledged it but I’d already committed to this and I surprised her with it. She said, “All right, let’s go for it.” But it wasn’t easy.

“I Won’t Give Up,” the first single from your upcoming album, could be a love letter to

puzzle solutions

the gay community. Have you thought about it that way? I wanted the song to be able to connect with anyone who has something worth fighting for — whether it’s the fight for equality or someone who just wants to lose five pounds. The song is available for anybody’s fight. Hopefully, though, I never see the song on two sides of the same fight. That would be awkward.

Love is a Four Letter Word lacks the scatty wordplay we’ve come to know from you.

What’s that all about? It shows up in a different way now. That scatty rap and wordplay is still in the core of my writing and what I do; for instance, the bridge of “I Won’t Give Up”: “I don’t wanna be someone who walks away so easily/I’m here to stay and make the difference that I can make.” The essence of that is a scatty, rappy wordplay all about alliteration and rhythm. On this album I wanted to have an intention with the words and have an intention with the lyrics rather than just pass it off as goofy wordplay.

Since the album’s all about love, and without quoting Whitney Houston, what’s the greatest love of all? Oh man. I think it’s the love of oneself, because it’s once you truly love and accept yourself that you can accept others loving you and you walk around with the confidence and strength to love others and actually be of service to the world, so it’s that — accepting and loving oneself. And it has nothing to do with being self-absorbed.

It’s just getting over your shit so you can step out into the world and make a difference. Q Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com.

Cryptogram: As with many controversial issues, the passage of time makes us more comfortable with change.

Anagram: day of silence

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Electro Stimulation toys for a shockingly good time, at Cahoots Open Daily from 10am–9pm

878 EAST 900 SOUTH • 538-0606

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APRIL 14, 2012

28 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Not Quite Urbane Across 1 Lesbos, e.g.

5 Places for tools 10 Todd Oldham designs 14 Broadway light 15 Lily Tomlin, for one 16 Sitcom radio station 17 Good at evasion 18 Shelley Duvall role in Popeye 19 “Now ___ me down to sleep ...”

20 LGBT group at 40-Across 23 “His Master’s Voice” label 24 Adventure without a Trojan?

25 Show-off on the stage 27 Women who don’t sleep with men wear them 29 Frida Kahlo’s woman 31 Give a piece of one’s mind 32 Kiss of life 35 Edna and others 36 Tickle pink 37 Gay guy, in slang 39 Nannies’ cries 40 Where Urban Meyers coaches football 43 Sonny, to Chaz

46 Broadway Annie, and others 47 Scandalous suffix 50 Gertrude Stein, e.g.

52 Get closer to 54 Punishment used

by Meyers which he changed because of LGBT protest 58 Dangerous sprayers 59 Poseidon’s place 60 Where a cobbler puts the tongue 61 Result of getting rearended 62 1814 treaty site 63 San Francisco’s Nob ___ 64 Slight advantage 65 Loafer bottoms 66 JFK predictions

11 Word sung with a long O? 12 Uncertain subject 13 Undercover agent 21 Dull routine 22 Imitated Eminem 23 Greek P’s 26 Worship service, for Malcolm Boyd 28 Prefix with China 30 Dick, for one 32 Jockey’s prod 33 Door instruction 34 First name among lesbian writers 37 Dalmatians, often 38 Guys at South Beach?

41 One to blow on 42 Old head 43 Trick 44 Blown away 45 Greg Louganis speDown cialty 1 Disney’s Monsters, ___ 2 Edward Albee Pulitzer 47 Kind of wonder 48 Chicago university Prize work 49 Photog Adams and 3 Republican erection? namesakes 4 Lord of the Rings 51 Beau chaser singer 53 Question about a 5 Dresses down cross-dresser, perhaps 6 Like old socks, maybe 7 What a guy does noc- 55 Canyon comeback 56 Stagger from a Cukor turnally film?

8 Temperamental types 57 Social activist Addams 9 Public outbursts PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ARE ON PAGE 27 10 Tiny stick

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase that can be made using the letters from another word or phrase. Rearrange the letters below to answer:

Name GLSEN’s Annual event on April 20

fancy seed oil ___

__

_______

ISSUE 204

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ISSUE 204

APRIL 14, 2012

cocktail chatter El Nuevo Mojito

‘W

By Ed Sikov

e’re in the port of Old San Juan / We have a boat we can sleep on / Hundreds of drag queens in full bloom / Hundreds of fat men in steam room!” My singing drives Dan nuts. I don’t know why. Just because I can’t hit the notes. But for once I got a laugh.

The Neue Weimar, the VSOP Caribbean cruise ship we’d taken for our belated honeymoon, had a spa, and we found that the “spa” area was ... how shall I put it? ... heavily populated. There were many men, a lot of them shaped like our planet. They could no more wrap a bath towel around their waists than could Kirstie Alley at her greatest tonnage.

Spending a week with 2,000 men is an anthropological experience: the size of a flaccid dick varies greatly among the general population and crosses all boundaries of race, ethnicity, age, girth and intelligence. We required a lot of thermal therapy; the hot tub became our second home aboard the Neue Weimar.

At one point, a strapping young stud appeared at the hot tub’s entrance; all eyes turned as he strode to the towel rack and whipped off his towel. There were murmurs of appreciation at his god-like ass, but also audible groans of disappointment at the sight of his Midget League meat. Moments later, a stooped old man tottered in and nobody gave him a second look until he was halfway down the steps into the tub, at which point the crowd suddenly gasped at his absolutely mammoth shlong — proof that one should never judge a cock by its cover.

I was also amazed by the alcohol consumption on the cruise. Every hour was happy hour, except that all the drinks were full price. The ship had at least 15 bars, and most were busy all day.

Some guys were tanked by noon, passed out by

2, back at it at 5, flying high through dinner, still drinking at 10, 11, and midnight, and staggering around the open top deck, the ship’s equivalent of a back room, at 3 in the morning. I’m not passing judgment, believe me. The whole point of a cruise like this is to ditch your everyday life and have nothing but fun, fun, fun ’til your bank takes your credit card away. Still, having had my share of encounters with the severely inebriated, I must warn: too much alcohol thwarts the project. And nothing is as hard-on-dampening than the sound of one’s trick heaving into the toilet in the next room.

This is not the proper way to launch into this week’s recipe, but a slap in the face is an effective rhetorical device. Our cocktail this week is Caribbean: the mojito. A Cuban drink, the mojito is made of rum, mint, a bit of lime juice and simple syrup — rather like a mint julep, only with rum instead of bourbon. But I’ve adapted it. Like mint juleps, traditional mojitos are easy to make if you have slaves to make them for you. This one’s easy for everyone.

They could no more wrap a bath towel around their waists than could Kirstie Alley at her greatest tonnage

El Nuevo Mojito Put fresh, washed mint leaves into a shaker with ice, and add a few drops of simple syrup and a few drops of lime juice. Pour in as much rum as you like; any type will do, since the mint and lime will overpower the rum’s subtleties.

Shake hard and serve over ice.

Notes: 1) Most recipes call for muddling the mint with a muddler or a fork. I say phooey. It’s a waste of energy, and the result is that you’ll end up with bits of mint stuck to your teeth. 2) If you use the repulsive Captain Gorgon’s spiced rum – the “spice” is obviously arsenic – I’ve got a voodoo doll with your name on it. Q

G E T YO U R V I Q C A R D AT

VIQCARD.COM

FOOD & DRINK

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logically without guessing.

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29

8

4

Cryptogram

9 7

5 1 4 8 9 7 5 3 7 1 4 2 6 7 9 6 7 9 8 5 3 6 8 4 8 5 3 1 8 4 8 5 7 5 1 8 2 5 2 8 4 7 3 9 1 4 8 2 2 4 9 1 6 9 8 7 7 1 2 9 4 5 4 3 9 5 9 6 7 3 8 1 3 4 6 2 7 1 4 6 8

Anagram

APRIL 14, 2012

30 NIGHTLIFE

Q giggles

ISSUE 204

she culture A night of epic proportion

O honor roll

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These businesses brought you this issue of QSaltLake. Make sure to thank them Pride Massage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-486-5500 Pride Tours USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pridetoursusa.com with your patronage.

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Jeff Williams Taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-971-6287

Omar’s Rawtopia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-486-0332

Dr. Douglas Woseth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801-266-8841

cryptogram A cryptogram is a puzzle where one letter in the puzzle issubstituted with another. For example: ECOLVGNCYXW YCR EQYIIRZNBZN YZU

PSZ! Has the solution: CRYPTOGRAMS ARE CHALLENGING AND FUN! In the above example Es are all replaced by Cs. The puzzle is solved by

recognizing letter patterns in words and successively substituting letters until the solution is reached. This week’s hint: A = Y

Theme: A quote by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., speaking about her party’s shifting views surrounding LGBT issues.

Iu tjsk giva yxvsdxbfdujiw juucfu, skf miuuihf xn sjgf gizfu cu gxdf yxgnxdsiowf tjsk ykivhf. __ ____ ____ _____________ ______, ___ _______ __ ____ _____ __ ____ ___________ ____ ______.

QSALTLAKE

S

By Annalisa Millo

ne’s first steps into The Tavernacle should be cautious in order to avoid being overwhelmed by the enormous energy it emanates. I recently had the chance to make my first visit — it was a Saturday night, the bar was packed beyond belief, and for obvious good reason.

By packed, I mean I was genuinely concerned about the fire marshal showing up at a moment’s notice, but I’m sure they do a good job at regulating the capacity. As it turned out, packed was a great thing.

The night that I went there were several, at least half a dozen, groups celebrating birthdays; plenty of (responsible) debauchery was being had by all, including a middleaged woman celebrating her birthday by singing and dancing to “I Touch Myself” on top of the pianos with a feather boa.

I couldn’t help but root for her — I love seeing that kind of exuberance.

The location is wonderful. Nestled in with some of my favorite local shops and galleries in the city, The Tav has played an essential role in developing the neighborhood surrounding the 300 South and 200 East intersection over the last 10 years.

I was greeted with a smile from the very amiable door staff. The particular bartender who was attending to our first round of drinks seemed to struggle with multitasking a bit, but efficiency and speed aside, he was convivial and pleasant, and he slung a decent drink. However, it would be only fair to mention that it would be pretty hard to botch my partner’s and my order of a gin and tonic and a bottle of Stella.

The cocktail servers were excellent at making consistent rounds in a cheerful manner, ensuring everyone had a fresh drink, despite barely being able to maneuver around the minimal space between people and tables, and what seemed like a pretty overwhelming crowd to serve, considering the staff-to-patron ratio. Not to mention, let’s be honest, the cocktail servers were total babes.

No complaints about that part.

Clearly, people come to this bar for the pianos. In this case, I loved that all the tables surrounded the two pianos on a raised stage.

The three pianists alternated between the two pianos, each with their own style, but all three were astoundingly capable of captivating and

engaging the entire audience.

I’m not sure if I saw a single person who wasn’t either singing with nearly bursting lungs, or with at least a highly amused grin. The scene was picturesque, like an old-time British pub.

I half expected them to serve the beer in those metal steins with the lids, and for all of us to put our arms around each other in song, with beer sloshing all over the floor like you see in the movies.

On that particular weekend my sister and I happened to be entertaining our cousin who was in town from Seattle, and I was happy to see that our cousin was impressed and enjoyed herself fully.

It was also my sister’s first visit to The Tav; she was impressed enough to decide on the spot that she’d have her bachelorette party there next month.

I was pleased to run into some old friends, to sing jovially along with all the other patrons, and to wonder if the female pianist could beat me in a wrestling match, as we were all in awe about the fit state of her upper body.

We met her husband, I believe he said she does yoga. (I think I might be gay!)

Speaking of which, The Tavernacle makes evident strides toward being inclusive and contributory to the queer community. I, and many queer friends of mine, have reports of being very comfortable and happy with patronizing this bar, and I have yet to hear any sort of discrimination against queers, as I have unfortunately heard occur even with a couple certain self-branded “queer-specific” bars and clubs in Salt Lake City.

In the end, I was very happy about my experience, slightly disappointed that I took so long to visit in the first place, but I look forward to many more visits to The Tavernacle in the future. I don’t see this bar going anywhere anytime soon, and it was obvious in the first 10 minutes I was there why I hear of so many birthday and similar celebrations that take place there. It seems like a place to have a night of epic (for want of a better word — feel free to smack me for using that word) proportion and stories to tell the next day without fail. I’m not sure what it is, but whatever they are doing at The Tavernacle, they are doing it exactly right. Q

I’m not sure if I saw a single person who wasn’t either singing with nearly bursting lungs, or with at least a highly amused grin.

QSALTLAKE.COM

ISSUE 204

APRIL 14, 2012

NIGHTLIFE

31

Salt Lake City’s gayest cocktail

P

atios are opening in Salt Lake and drinks are getting fresher, brighter, fruitier. With more bar options than Tara Reid could crash, Salt Lake City has some tasty cocktail, martini and beer options. But for those looking for something a little more bright, fresh and gay, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to try all the queerest that Salt Lake has to offer.

From cosmos to mojitos, there’s more than enough to keep any gay well-watered. After making the rounds, we are ready to crown Salt Lake City’s Gayest Cocktail of 2012.

3. JAM Grape Shet With Three Olives Grape Vodka, Grape Pucker and Sprite, JAM’s own Grape Shet is, well, the shet. With just enough kick to know you’ve got a real drink, but fruity enough for any queer, this is the perfect summer companion.

4. Club TryAngles Cyber Slut Punch Strap in boys, the Cyber Slut Punch is packed with fruity deliciousness that really masks the alcohol. Grab a drink, a companion to share one and head out to the patio where the men are hot and the night is cool.

5. Dick N’ Dixie’s 1. The Tavernacle Key Lime Pie The first sip of Kami’s Key Lime Pie cocktail is creamy and refreshing. The whipped-cream vodka and sour mix make for a truly inspired summer taste of key lime pie. Imagine eating a 4th of July treat while getting a pleasant, light buzz. Mixed with the company of a sexy and funny creator of the drink, this cocktail earns the honor of the Gayest Drink in Salt Lake City.

2. Bar X The Pink Lady The chic, western motif and the dimly lit interior is the perfect place to try Bar X’s delicious Pink Lady. The gin, applejack, house-made grenadine, lemon juice and egg white cocktail is unique in flavor and texture.

The creamy meringue-like drink has a tart taste that’s sure to please.

The Horny Toad The rum-based cocktail is fruity, fun and flashy, just like the perfect date! The amiable atmosphere and companionship of Amber Holcombe, the bartender and master mixologist of the drink, make Dick N’ Dixie’s the perfect neighborhood bar. Stop by on a weekend for a young, hip college crowd.

Can you say frat boys?

6. The Trapp The Empress Fit for any queen, king or other gay royalty, The Trapp’s Empress has two kinds of rum and pineapple juice. The island-blend drink would fit perfectly on any Caribbean island, or if you can’t make it to the Virgin Islands, grab a friend or two and head down to this classic neighborhood haunt. Q

Try our wild coconut, curried wild rice

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APRIL 14, 2012

32 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TAROT Forecasting, Answers and Solutions to Your Life’s Questions at Gaea Univers Tarot.

$20/60 mins. or $10/30 mins.

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DARRYL WOODS Q scopes Psychic

Think ahead, Aquarius!

by Jack Fertig

Mars is finally turning direct on the 13th! As he starts moving forward, heal recent blow-ups and resentments. He’s opposing Neptune, so overeagerness and hypersensitivity may aggravate raw wounds. Time is on your side. Easy does it.

Mention this ad for 10% discount

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ARIES (March 20–April 19) Rash impulses, touchiness and pushing yourself too hard will only invite trouble. Resisting those demons is a huge challenge right now. Practice meditation, _moderate_ exercise, patience and sympathy. If you can’t be nice, take a long meditative walk.

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Christian Allred Design LET ME HELP YOU BRING SOME

TAURUS (April 20–May 20) Your financial intuitions are good, but you need to discuss them with your banker or accountant who might improve on them. Sexual innovation will help your partnership, but again, better to consult rather than to act on impulse.

t

GEMINI (May 21- June 20) Charm wins attention and admirers, but real love and commitment take more.

Think seriously about where you want to be in 20 years and discuss that with your (prospective) mate. Your boss’s insanity is not your problem; how you respond to it is.

y

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Listen carefully to colleagues for chances to improve working relationships.

Your personal relations are a bigger challenge as you feel pulled between love and work. Right now work has to come first. Your partner will understand.

u

LEO (July 23–August 22) As your friends look to you for leadership it’s too easy to fall into pleasant routines. Take a creative challenge and push for something new and different. If you can wait a week or two to make any financial decisions.

TO YOUR IDEAS AND PROJECTS

i

VIRGO (August 23–September 22) Er… who’s being irritable and hypersensitive? It’s too easy to blame things on

ISSUE 204

QSALTLAKE

your partner. Even a long, strong marriage needs clear boundaries. Clearing the air can be helpful, but solutions will come later. Be patient.

o

LIBRA (September 23–October 22) Your flirtatious instincts could upset your sweetie. Take care of what you already have going! A little fresh air and innovation are necessary to keep a relationship alive, but you have to work together on that!

p

SCORPIO (October 23–November 21) Losing some friends could be good, but slow down and think hard about who you want in your future. A great new passion is probably just a passing fancy, but why pass it up? Just be careful of expectations and prophylaxis.

[

SAGITTARIUS (November 22–Dec 20) Throw yourself into your work. Even if you’re feeling disconnected and just running on momentum you can get a lot done.

Seeking attention and promotion will backfire.

Just keep your shoulder to the wheel. Rewards will come later.

]

CAPRICORN (December 21–January 19) Rumblings close to home point to domestic trouble on the horizon. Those problems aren’t serious — yet. Take some time off from work; make time your mate. Work together on changes. Flowers or dinner out are nice surprises. Redecorating on your own isn’t.

q

AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18) Those cuties flirting with you are probably partnered. Nothing wrong with flirting as long as you’re careful. Getting too witty will undermine caution. Think ahead! Write down those bons mots that are too incendiary for conversation.

w

PISCES (February 19–March 19) Domestic and professional relationships can bolster each other, but prioritize the professional for now. It’s hard to maintain focus and people are pulling you in different directions. Principles will offer direction. Focus on what is important in your life and who will fall into place.

Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977, is available at 415-864-8302, starjack. com and QScopes@qsaltlake.com.

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APRIL 14, 2012

34 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

M

dating diet What doesn’t kill you (makes you stronger)

by Anthony Paull

PINK PIG

y god Becky! The new ‘IT’ boy in the neighborhood is a serial rapist.

He’s the hottest thing since those hideous lawn globes. He’s in all the papers. I want him. I have to have him for status — to be a disgusting social climber — but he won’t come to my window. At night, I keep it open waiting for my Peter Pan moment, but I must not shave my ass enough because he never shows. He’s probably holding out for a local celebrity like my neighbor who’s famous for meth teeth and a magnificent yard full of nightblooming jasmine. At dusk, the flowery aroma fills my room like sweet perfume.

“Did you hear?” she asks, finding me at the mailbox. Her eyes go wide. “He waits for people to fall asleep. Then he strikes.”

“Like Santa?” I ask.

She raises an eyebrow, huffing and puffing.

“You have nothing to worry about. He only assaults older women.”

“Well let me know when he switches to young men. Baby gets cold.”

I know. I know. I shouldn’t be desperate, but my boyfriend’s been on a business trip for 16

days. I need attention; it builds my self-esteem.

I can look. I just can’t touch. Well I can touch but only if I’m raped by a douche searching for a golden girl. Then I’ll say he made me do it. “He’s a bad man who made me do bad things!” Is that how it works? There has to be a power differential, I hear. Well if so, let me get this right. If the rapist and I share the same age, gender, and height, does that mean I’m not good enough?

Fine! I didn’t want to get raped anyway.

“Oh come on. You’re pissed off because he didn’t pick you?” my friend Ryan asks when he calls to check on me.

“I get sensitive when I’m alone.”

“No. You get psychotic.”

He has a point, but at least I put myself out there. He’s 34 and a virgin because he hasn’t met the right “one” to share his life with. It’s admirable but I wish he had the guts to bang a serial rapist or someone. He’d get street cred, and I wouldn’t have to suffer through listening to him complain that there’s no one out there.

That’s his biggest problem, he refuses to go out.

“How do you expect to meet a guy?” I inquire.

“He’s not going to crawl through your window.” I

catch myself, giggling. “Well, he might.”

“Stop it. I’m not losing it to some rapist.”

“That’s your issue. You’re too picky.”

OK. Maybe I’m overdoing it, but he is selective. He won’t use an online dating service because he doesn’t want friends to find him pathetic. He won’t go on Grindr because it’s too slutty. He refuses to hit up the gay bar. Then he calls me crying because nobody wants him.

“Nobody wants you because nobody knows you exist,” I say.

He sees the point, asking for advice. “Where should I go to meet a guy?” He wants him to be eloquent and cerebral — a man who can carry an in-depth conversation about the arts. In other words, he wants a theater nerd, so I send him to a play about gay men who wish they had vaginas. I thought it would be the perfect place for him to find a match. I didn’t think he’d actually talk to someone.

“I was sitting by this nice man but he kept hushing me when I would try to start a conversation.”

“Why?” “He wanted to hear the actors.”

Yes. Ryan’s officially that guy, the one who’s been out of the game for so long that he doesn’t know where the field is. I love him but he’s been sheltered to the point that he’s become borderline autistic. I’m so ugly. Why would anyone date me? I don’t even know why I try. It’s hopeless. Often, he tells me he can’t stand the risk of rejection.

ISSUE 204

QSALTLAKE

How many people have friends like this? They criticize themselves, only to find failure when they try because they have no clue what to do.

“Did you talk to him during intermission?” I ask.

“No,” he says sheepishly. “I didn’t want to come on too strong so I just stared at him from across the room, near the entrance, hoping he’d make eye contact.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah. But he looked away, rushing to the bathroom.”

“And?” “I followed him, pretending to wash my hands.”

“OK. See. That’s called stalking,” I advise.

“Yeah, he darted off, changing seats during the second act.”

The situation has led Ryan to isolate further.

I only hear from him once a week when he calls to remind me he’s alive. He keeps busy, working a job and watching the news. Tonight he calls to say he saw an artist’s sketch of the man crawling through people’s windows. It made him sad — the thought of a rapist taking advantage of the innocent.

“I don’t know how you keep your window open,” he says.

“I refuse to hide.”

“Why? Aren’t you afraid he’ll hurt you?”

“Not really. I’m more afraid of not smelling the flowers.” Q

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QSALTLAKE.COM

ISSUE 204

APRIL 14, 2012

BACK NIGHTLIFE PAGE

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