猀愀氀琀 氀愀欀攀 洀愀最愀稀椀渀攀
唀吀䄀䠀ᤠ匀 䜀䄀夀Ⰰ 䰀䔀匀䈀䤀䄀一Ⰰ 䈀䤀匀䔀堀唀䄀䰀Ⰰ 吀刀䄀一匀䜀䔀一䐀䔀刀 䄀一䐀 䄀䰀䰀夀
匀攀瀀琀攀洀戀攀爀 ㈀ 㔀 䤀猀猀甀攀 ㈀㐀㜀 䜀愀礀匀愀氀琀䰀愀欀攀⸀挀漀洀 䘀刀䔀䔀
䘀刀伀一吀刀唀一一䔀刀匀
唀琀愀栀 䰀攀猀戀椀愀渀Ⰰ 䜀愀礀 愀渀搀 吀爀愀渀猀⨀ 挀愀渀搀椀搀愀琀攀猀 猀栀漀眀 猀琀爀漀渀最 椀渀 瀀爀椀洀愀爀礀 攀氀攀挀琀椀漀渀猀 倀䰀䄀一ⴀ䈀 吀唀刀一匀 ㈀㔀 ∠ 一䔀圀 䐀䤀刀䔀䌀吀䤀伀一 䘀伀刀 唀吀䄀䠀 倀刀䤀䐀䔀 䌀䔀一吀䔀刀 ∠ 唀吀䄀䠀 䈀伀夀 匀䌀伀唀吀匀 ∠ 䴀伀刀䔀 倀刀䤀䐀䔀匀
2 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
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gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
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4 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
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gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
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september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
first person
Giddy as a school boy BY MICHAEL AARON
I have
to tell you, I haven’t been this excited about the future of QSaltLake than I am today. Part of the reason is that, today, we are 100 percent debt-free. I have many people to thank for that, including many of you are reading these words right now. Another part is that I have been able to take care of many of the problems that come from neglecting a house for 11 years as payroll always came first. Replacing failing appliances (including a furnace), finally installing rain gutters so the foundation will no longer continue to settle, etc. We also have enough in the bank to run for a few months in case something catastrophic happens. This is the position I’d hope to get to before I died under the pressure of too many hats, and here we are. I seriously can’t thank enough those who supported us through our campaign back in 2012 and those who advertise with us and make this publication possible. I also can’t thank Craig Ogan enough. He pretends like he is retired, but keeps plugging away with me, pushing us to be better, more marketable and more creative in attracting revenue. He is, in fact, on vacation today, as I type this, but he’s obviously working because I keep getting emails and calls from him. I promised myself that when we made it to this point that I would hire an editor to both take the load off of me and
make the product better. Into my lap falls John Hales. This is his first issue and you will see his byline on many articles in the news section. Over the next few months, we will be working on his ideas to make this publication even better than it is today. John was the managing editor at the Sanpete Messenger and, like my previous editor Seth Bracken, did a stint at Deseret News. He is excited to pick up QSaltLake and run with it. The other major reason I am so positive, is that I just got back from Las Vegas and QSaltLake is now a founding member of the newly formed National Equality Publishers Association. This group has huge plans on collaboration among publishers of LGBT newspapers and magazines, attracting national ad buyers to the local publications and sharing resources. You would think there was already a national LGBT press organization, and you would be right. But few (in fact five) publications qualify to join, because only they print the required 100,000 copies a month. Just the four days of talking to these other publishers sent me back home with more ideas than I could possibly accomplish in the short term. Some are included in this issue. Others I took care of on Facebook the day I got back. Along with our new columnists I announced last month, watch for the changes as we continue to grow. Q
FIRST PERSON | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 5
夀漀甀 渀攀攀搀 愀 氀愀眀礀攀爀⸀ 圀栀攀爀攀 搀漀 礀漀甀 猀琀愀爀琀㼀 䈀礀 挀愀氀氀椀渀最 䌀栀爀椀猀 圀栀愀爀琀漀渀 䰀愀眀 ∠ 䘀愀洀椀氀礀 䰀愀眀 ∠ 䌀爀椀洀椀渀愀氀 䰀愀眀 ∠ 䰀䜀䈀吀 䄀搀瘀漀挀愀挀礀 䌀栀爀椀猀 圀栀愀爀琀漀渀 椀猀 愀 琀爀甀猀琀攀搀 渀攀最漀琀椀愀琀漀爀 愀渀搀 琀爀椀愀氀 愀琀琀漀爀渀攀礀 眀椀琀栀 攀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀 愀挀爀漀猀猀 琀栀攀 猀琀愀琀攀 漀昀 唀琀愀栀⸀ 䔀瘀攀爀礀 渀攀眀 挀氀椀攀渀琀 爀攀挀攀椀瘀攀猀 愀 昀爀攀攀 椀渀椀琀椀愀氀 挀漀渀猀甀氀琀愀琀椀漀渀 眀椀琀栀漀甀琀 愀渀礀 漀戀氀椀最愀琀椀漀渀⸀
䌀栀爀椀猀琀漀瀀栀攀爀 圀栀愀爀琀漀渀
䄀瓷瓷濷狷滷旷秷 懷瓷 䰀懷矷 䌀愀氀氀 㠀 ⴀ㘀㐀㤀ⴀ㌀㔀㈀㤀
昀漀爀 愀 昀爀攀攀 挀漀渀猀甀氀琀愀琀椀漀渀
䌀栀爀椀猀 圀栀愀爀琀漀渀 䰀愀眀Ⰰ 䰀䰀䌀 圀 䈀爀漀愀搀眀愀礀Ⰰ 匀琀攀 㔀 匀愀氀琀 䰀愀欀攀 䌀椀琀礀Ⰰ 唀琀愀栀 㠀㐀 挀栀爀椀猀眀栀愀爀琀漀渀氀愀眀⸀挀漀洀
6 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | FIRST PERSON
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
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STAFF | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 7
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
staffbox publisher/editor Michael Aaron
copy editor Tony Hobday designer Christian Allred sales Craig Ogan, Steven Simmons contributors Diane Anderson-Minshall, Chris Azzopardi, Lynn Beltran, Paul Berge, Jeff Berry, Dave Brousseau, Tyson Daley, Jack Fertig, Greg Fox, Charles Lynn Frost, Oriol Gutierrez Jr., Bob Henline, Tony Hobday, Christopher Katis, Princess Kennedy, Rock Magen, Sam Mills, Mikey Rox, Gregg Shapiro, Petunia Pap Smear, Steven Petrow, Ed Sikov, Peter Stoker, Marci Taylor-Rizzi, Ben Williams, D’Anne Witkowski
2015
distribution Rose Dadkhah-Jazi, Patricia
Dadkhah-Jazi, Michael Hamblin, Bob Tubbs, Jason Van Campen, Tad Wada publisher
Salt Lick Publishing LLC. 222 S Main St, Ste 500 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 tel: 801-649-6663 Contact emails: general: info@qsaltlake.com editorial: editor@qsaltlake.com sales: sales@qsaltlake.com
Check us out online at: GAYSALTLAKE.COM FACEBOOK.COM/QSALTLAKE TWITTER @QSALTLAKE
QSaltLake Magazine is a trademark of Salt Lick Publishing, LLC. Copyright © 2015, Salt Lick Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted or reproduced without written permission from the publisher. 15,000 copies of QSaltLake Magazine are distributed free of charge at over 300 locations across the Wasatch Front. 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 Magazine is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons. Printed in the USA on recycled paper. Please recycle this copy when you are through with it.
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NEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 9
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
Colorado court: cake shop cannot refuse service to gays The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday unanimously ruled that a cake shop cannot refuse service to a gay couple. It upholds a finding from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that the shop’s owners had violated state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. The court found that Masterpiece Cakeshop of Lakewood, Colo. had discriminated against David Mullins and Charlie Craig in 2012 when they came to the bakery to order a wedding cake for a private wedding reception. Masterpiece owner Jack Phillips informed the couple that, due to his religious beliefs, he was refusing to provide cakes for same-sex weddings. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed suit in 2013 on behalf of Mullins and Craig. Later that year, an Administrative Judge Robert Spencer of the Colorado Office of Administrative Courts ruled that Masterpiece had illegally discriminated against the couple.
Obama appoints first Trans* woman of color to White House post President Obama appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan to serve as an Outreach and Recruitment Director in the Presidential Personnel Office. Formerly the Racial and Economic Justice Initiative Policy Advisor at the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), Freedman-Gurspan started her new job at the White House Aug. 18. While transgender persons have worked in civil service positions and in various federal agencies or been appointed to presidential commissions and boards previously, Freedman-Gurspan is the first openly transgender appointee to work inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Texas Republican Leader: Fight ‘Homofascists’ With Swords The leader of the Conservative Republicans of Texas has embarked on what his group calls the Faith Family Freedom Tour, giving fiery speeches in which he claims “homofascists” are trying to take over America. Steve Hotze also claims there is a “homosexual manifesto” that will make the hackles “stand up on the back of your neck when you see what they have planned.” Speaking to a half-empty room at a Houston hotel, Hotze warned “just like there was a communist manifesto, there’s a homosexual manifesto” according to the Texas
news The top things you should know happened last month (Full stories at gaysaltlake.com.) Observer. Hotze told the room he believed the manifesto is a serious declaration of war on straight people. H is referring to a satirical essay published in 1987 about a future where gay men rule the world and oppress straight people. The first line of the piece, which explains the essay is a “cruel fantasy,” was removed from copies handed out to convention attendees.
Trump: Being gay shouldn’t be a reason to fire workers When Meet the Press host Chuck Todd asked Donald Trump if private companies should be able to fire workers just because they’re gay, the Republican presidential aspirant said, “I don’t think it should be a reason.” He referred to recent court decisions on the matter, which may have been the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruling in July that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans such discrimination.
Suit Challenges Mississippi’s Ban on Adoption by Same-Sex Couples Four couples have sued to overturn Mississippi’s ban on adoption by same-sex couples. The couples, all female, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Jackson. The Campaign for Southern Equality and the Family Equality Council are also plaintiffs in the suit. The suit charges that the ban, enacted in 2000, is unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 decision making marriage equality the law of the land as well as its 2013 ruling that struck down a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Mississippi is the last state that explicitly bars same-sex couples from adopting, the suit notes. “The Mississippi adoption ban is an
outdated relic of a time when courts and legislatures believed that it was somehow OK to discriminate against gay people simply because they are gay,” the suit further states. Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican, issued a statement saying he hopes Attorney General Jim Hood “will vigorously defend the State of Mississippi against this lawsuit.”
Chris Christie vetoes New Jersey trans* birth certificate bill again For the second consecutive year, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill that would make it easier for transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates. The measure that would have allowed trans people to make the change to their lived gender as long as they have certification from a doctor that they have undergone clinically appropriate transition treatment, which could include hormone therapy or other procedures and is not limited to surgery, reports NJ.com. Current standards require the person to have undergone surgery, which many transgender people cannot afford and others do not seek. Christie, who vetoed a similar bill in January 2014, cited concerns about fraud as the reason for his action. “I remain committed to the principle that efforts to significantly alter State law concerning the issuance of vital records that have the potential to create legal uncertainties should be closely scrutinized and sparingly approved,” he wrote in a statement explaining the veto.
Houston Mayor Sued Over LGBT Rights Law — Again A conservative Christian pastors’ group in Houston has once again sued Mayor Annise Parker over issues relating to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, a city law that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Houston Area Pastors Council Monday sued Parker for legal fees and damages associated with an earlier suit, which had accused city officials of impeding the group’s efforts to put the equal rights ordinance to a popular vote. The City Council passed the ordinance in May 2014, and shortly thereafter, opponents led by the pastors’ group circulated petitions seeking to put the measure before voters. They claimed to have the 17, 269 valid signatures necessary to put the ordinance on the ballot, but city officials said many signatures were forged. The petitioners filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s findings, but a judge ruled that they were 565 signatures short.
10 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
THE FRONTRUNNERS Lesbian, Gay and Trans candidates show strong in Utah primary elections
BY MICHAEL AARON
Three months ago, it may have only been Jackie Biskupski, herself, who could foresee that she would emerge from the Salt Lake City mayoral primary as the top vote-getter. In one of the largest primary election turnouts in city history (largely due to it being the first mail-in ballot primary), Biskupski bested incumbent Ralph Becker 46 to 31 percent in a 5-way race. Biskupski’s sexuality simply didn’t matter in the liberal city which is an oasis in the conservative to ultra-conservative balance of the state. Also at the top of the heap is openly-gay Derek Kitchen, who married his partner, Moudi Sbeity
this summer in a public ceremony in the city’s center. Kitchen garnered 36 percent of the voted cast in the City Council District 4 race, doubling his closest competitor’s showing. “Salt Lake City has embraced openly gay candidates in the past, so this is not new, but it’s becoming more pronounced,” Deseret News columnist and political consultant LaVarr Webb said in an interview with KSL News. “It’s part of a broader culture of change that’s not just in Salt Lake City, but also across the country where there is clearly momentum in supporting and acknowledging gay people and their rights.” “We’re excited about these results,” said Aisha Moodie-Mills, president and CEO of the Victory Fund, whose mission is to elect LGBT officials. “Electing LGBT candidates is so important to changing politics and giving hope to folks in places like Utah, where it’s still hard to be out and honest about who you love or how you identify. That’s why over the next 83 days we’re going to work hard to make sure these candidates have the support they need to win.” In the Midvale City Council race, Sophie Hawes-Tingey was successful in advancing to the general election with 38 percent of votes cast, and will face incumbent Paul Glover. She hopes to be the first openly transgender person to win election in the state. In all, five LGBT candidates were on primary ballots in Utah, including Dave Robinson for Salt Lake City Mayor and Babs De Lay for Salt Lake City Council District 4.
SALT LAKE’S LGBT POWER Utah, especially Salt Lake City, has a very powerful LGBT political community, dating back as far as the 1970s when Stephen Holbrook, who went on to found KRCL Radio, was elected for three terms to the Utah State Leg-
islature. While known more as a peace and racial equality activist than a gay man, he made waves among the suit-and-tie conservatives with his long hair and beard. Biskupski was the first openly lesbian or gay person elected in the state when she won a seat in the Utah State House of Representatives in 1998. Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka openly declared war on her campaign months before the election and paid to have 6,000 mailers sent to all voters in the district that said “homosexuals subvert fidelity in marriage, lure young people, scorn traditional morals and openly break the laws they find irrelevant.” The Republican candidate, Bryan Irving, minced no words in saying he opposed Ruzicka’s tactics. “With people like Gayle Ruzicka involved, it almost makes me want to be a Democrat,” Irving then told the Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t think I would have won. But she cost me about 10 points. Somehow the party has got to get a leash on her.” Biskupski was in the legislature for over 12 years, handily winning election a total of seven times. Biskupski helped pave the way for Scott McCoy and Jim Dabakis to become state senators and Christine Johnson and Brian Doughty to also become Utah House members. In Salt Lake County, Arlyn Bradshaw won his seat on the Salt Lake County Council in 2010 and in Salt Lake City, Stan Penfold won a city council seat in 2012. Both still hold their elected positions today. Should Biskupski win the mayoral race, she will not be the first openly gay mayor in the state, as that title was taken in 2001 by Willy Marshal in Big Water, Utah, population 468..
MAYORAL RACE Biskupski announced her candidacy in January on a platform of support for education and small businesses and improved air quality, as well as “a commitment to fairness and equality for all.” On April 6, Sen. Jim Dabakis announced he would also run for mayor, a decision he would back down on nine days later after a sit-down with Biskupski. Dabakis publicly endorsed Biskupski in his announcement of his withdrawl. A move by Mayor Ralph Becker to remove Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank from his duties in mid-June PHOTOS: TRAVIS BURROUGHS
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
set the mayor’s standing akilter and his four opponents blasted not his decision, but his timing and how he handled it. Political insiders say that women, especially, were unhappy with Burbank because of his handling of a sex harassment case, as well as his decision not to process hundreds of backlogged rape kits. The candidates also railed on the mayor for the problems around homeless services in the Rio Grand District. Becker does have a history of progressing equal rights for LGBT people, including creating a human rights commission to draft nondiscrimination ordinances, which were passed in 2009, and a “mutual commitment registry,” so named to avoid the appearance of running afoul of then-Amendment 3 that specifically prohibited domestic partnerships or civil unions, that passed in 2008. Both measures were picked up and passed by a number of cities across the state. Should Biskupski be elected mayor, Salt Lake City will be the third-largest city with an openly-gay mayor, after Houston (Annise Parker) and Seattle (Ed Murray). Hawes-Tingey, if elected would be one of only a handful of openly trans* current elected officials in the entire country. Q
NEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 11
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12 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
An interview with Utah Pride Center’s new executive director BY JOHN HALES
Marian Edmonds-Allen says she was a little surprised at what she found during her first week on the job as the Utah Pride Center’s new executive director. Edmonds-Allen took up the reins at the Center on Aug. 3.
By Aug. 13, when she took a few moments to speak with QSaltLake, she said, “I thought I had a pretty good clue of what the Pride Center is about. Some things I did know about.” She knew, for instance, about the center’s mental-health services and about the programs for youth — not surprising, since she has herself been a strong advocate for various youth programs in the past. “But,” Edmonds-Allen said, “I was surprised to talk to the [Pride Center’s] program manager, and I was surprised to see, wow! There is a lot that happens here.” She had said basically the same thing in an emailed newsletter sent out to Center supporters and subscribers. Perhaps it was just a bit of hyperbole — or perhaps not — but Edmonds-Allen said she realized she knew “maybe 10 percent” of what the Center did. “Check out the Pride Center calendar
— you will be as amazed as I am,” EdmondsAllen wrote. Speaking to her, she seems eager and enthusiastic to let people know more about the Center. The newsletter is just one evidence of that: she intends to send out weekly newsletters and updates to keep people informed with what the Center is doing. It’s all part of Edmonds-Allen’s vision for the Center that can perhaps best be summed up with one word: Extension. She wants to extend people’s knowledge about the Center; she wants to extend the hand of cooperation and collaboration to other LGBT-centered partners and others in the broader community; she wants to extend the Center’s role; and she wants to extend both the effectiveness and the geographic reach of the Center’s impact. Several times during her conversation with QSaltLake, she issued an invitation to come down to the Center and see personally what it’s all about. “I’ll give you a tour,” she said, and the impression can’t be missed that she almost bursts with the desire to really let people see what it’s is all about. “It’s wonderful, the breadth of things that happen here,” she said. She wants to be accessible, she says. Even though she has an office, she says she’s created a little work station for herself up near the front of the building so she can see and interact with folks who come in. And in her newsletter, she says people can expect from her “not only a willingness to listen, but I will be asking for your thoughts, ideas and feedback.” “I am now and will continue to welcome to talk to everyone, because it’s important for me to get everyone’s feedback.” Her goal is that “everyone can feel really positive that, yes, this is their community center.” Part of that, she admits, will involve building bridges that, if not completely burned in the past, may have been a bit scorched around the edges. Due to various factors in the past she says, “There are people who have felt unheard. So that’s part of what I’m trying to do is listen to everyone and get their perspective.” She wants to work through miscommunications and misunderstandings that preceded her. “Let’s talk together and figure this out and move forward,” she says, adding that her initial outreach in this vein has been quite successful, and the response has been good. “I
have high hopes, very high hopes,” she said. That’s all in her effort to “strengthen our wonderful existing relationships with our fellow LGBT organizations,” she says. But partnering and collaboration don’t end there for Edmonds-Allen. She says it’s important to partner with social-service, governmental, educational, religious, and business institutions. “There are wonderful community partners everywhere,” she said. One of those that cannot now be ignored after its first-ever donation to the Pride Center is the LDS church. Despite the church’s stance in other areas of LGBT-related issues, is there perhaps a new era of relations beginning to emerge between the church and the LGBT community? “The short answer to that is yes,” Edmonds-Allen says. “I was invited to chat with some folks there and it was just kind of a get-to-know-you. They’re very open to being helpful. Obviously they have constraints. But I was really impressed with how open they were, and how they wanted to be helpful.” Speaking of new eras, how do recent advancements in what the LGBT community has wanted for so long (i.e., nondiscrimination laws, marriage equality, etc.) impact the role, purpose or even need for the Center? There are those that may see a reduced necessity for the Center in light of such progress — but Edmonds-Allen isn’t one of them. “It’s the opposite,” she flatly says. The emphasis might be different and changing, but the need is as great as ever, and perhaps greater, she says. “With all these wonderful changes there are also new needs that emerge. There are couples I know who are in their 70s or 80s. They’re coming out and getting married, and outing themselves to families and communities, and they need support. There are couples who are able to adopt children, and they need support. There are more and more trans youth who are coming out, and our schools have not caught up to this reality.” There are, she says, “A lot more requests in different areas. There’s more need in a lot of ways.” She mentions training in the workplace so that employers know better how to deal with the particular needs or issues of LGBT employees, or how to eliminate possible discrimination in the workplace. She says there are requests from families who realize having an LGBT child is a reality and want help to know how to navigate through it. Answering all those questions, all those needs, is one reason why Edmonds-Allen feels so strongly about establishing partnerships and collaboration.
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
“I’m a collaborator. It’s all about community,” she said. “One of the things the Pride Center needs to be a part of is empowering our community. It’s about strengthening our community. It’s about strengthening and creating more community partnerships, so that we can strengthen each other and improve our impacts.” But making sure all the right questions get asked, so they can then be answered, is something else she knows is important. That’s why one of her first efforts, which goes hand-in-hand with the massive outreach she’s doing, is a “needs assessment.” “We’re assessing our programs here at the Center,” she says. “We do a lot of things well,
but how can we make it better? What are we missing?” One such thing, she says, is the amount of resources to LGBT people outside the Salt Lake or Wasatch Front areas. She wants to fix that. Edmonds-Allen would like to see support services and programs available “within an hour of every queer person in the state of Utah,” she said, and she sees the Center as an obvious and integral part of the solution to that problem. “A part of that is for me to travel around the state,” she said. She wants to hold town hall meetings or other info-gathering and info-disseminating meetings. “It’s not just about Salt Lake,” she said.
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“How can we share those resources with each other for the benefit of everyone?” And that’s why Marian Edmonds-Allen says she’ll continue to extend herself to talk, and talk, and talk with people in order to get things done. She said as much in the first of her weekly newsletters: “If you have ideas had feedback on what you think your community center should focus on, please email me! I want to hear your thoughts, and so I am meeting with as many people as I can, as fast as I can. If you haven’t heard from me yet and would like to, drop me a line!” People can do so by sending an email to marian@utahpridecenter.org. Q
Local organizations try to create welcoming, nondenominational Boy Scout troops
The director of Restore Our Humanity says it is not his intention to create a “gay” Boy Scout troop, despite the fact that his organization was started primarily for LGBT-rights advocacy, and despite the fact that his effort to form a Scout troop follows on the heels of an announcement by the Boy Scouts of America that the BSA will no longer ban leaders who are gay. Mark Lawrence says he is indeed in the middle of a process to get Restore Our Humanity approved as a chartering organization for the Boy Scouts, and that the impetus of the effort was indeed the change in the BSA’s leadership policy, which it announced last month. But when asked if there was a danger that a Restore Our Humanity-sponsored Boy Scout troop might become known as the “gay” troop, Lawrence answered, “It’s kind of disappointing that that’s how the media has painted that … It’s funny that that’s how it’s being spun.” Lawrence says his objective is simply to expand the opportunities for scouting in the Salt Lake area (and possibly, later, throughout Utah), especially if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pulls out of its association with the Boy Scouts, as it has signaled it is considering. “It’s time for organizations like mine to step up and come forward,” Lawrence said. In early August, Lawrence began working on an application to the BSA for a Boy Scout troop that would be sponsored by Restore Our Humanity. Only a few days before, the BSA announced it would no long prohibit gay people from being scout leaders. So it would perhaps seem natural for people to make the leap that Lawrence was trying to create a troop specifically geared toward having gay scout leaders.
Lawrence admits there was a connection. “It’s the fact that we [Restore Our Humanity] are known as an LGBT-rights group; our primary focus up to this point has been with LGBT rights. So that’s why it made sense for us to do this now.” Restore Our Humanity was formed several years ago to combat Amendment 3, Utah’s prohibition against same-sex marriage. But Lawrence says his vision is for Restore Our Humanity to ease away from specifically LGBT issues, and to become an organization focused on more general humanitarian efforts. As such, he sees Restore Our Humanity poised to fill some of the void in scouting in Utah, whether or not the LDS church severs its relationship with the BSA. The LDS church, Lawrence says, currently sponsors about 97 percent of scout troops in Utah. After the BSA changed is leadership policy, a statement from the church indicated that the church may be rethinking its position as a major chartering organization for the Boy Scouts. “I have been told by several people that it’s been pretty obvious that the church has been planning to separate from Boy Scouts,” Lawrence said. “I’ve heard it’s been in the works for quite a while now. I think the LDS church should be applauded for what they have done for the Scouting program, but it’s time for the BSA to get back to its roots.” And that’s where Lawrence sees an opening for Restore Our Humanity. “Our objective is to make the Scout troop totally non-denominational. We will have chaplains, but we want to include all religions. What scouting is about is not any particular religious organization.” And, he says, there are many young men who “don’t want to be part of a Scouting troop that is run by a religious institution.”
He says he’s even had interest from LDS families who, though faithful in their church, nevertheless want a Scouting experience for their children separate from their religion. Lawrence said he had seen a good amount of interest expressed by both scouts and potential leaders. “We have, I believe, nine scouts that are already signed up on our website, and that’s good considering we really haven’t got the word out yet,” Lawrence said on Aug. 10. And of the several people who have shown interest in being a Scout leader with Restore Our Humanity, only one is actually gay, Lawrence said. Lawrence is continuing to seek people who might be interested in helping with a potential Scout troop. “There is an application. There is training for them, which we will provide. They do not have to have been Scouts themselves,” he said. He says he expects to face some obstacles in getting a troop approved. “The Great Salt Lake Council has already turned down three applications,” he said. “The new ruling will open some doors, but it’s sure going to be an uphill battle. I think they’re feeling that we’re going to go in there and force them to do something they don’t want to do. We just want to expand scouting in Utah.” Neither the Great Salt Lake Council nor the Boy Scouts of America would provide comment for this article. Q
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gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
Moab Pride: In a supportive town BY JOHN HALES
If you haven’t made your accommodation reservations for this year’s Moab Pride, festival organizer Amy Stocks has one thing to say: “Don’t wait!” The festival is scheduled for late September, but even though it’s held in a town with a population of only about 5,000, Stocks says she expects the place to fill up for this year’s event. In only its 5th year, “It’s really become a destination,” Stocks says. Moab Pride started in 2011 almost as a joke after Stocks asked tongue-in-cheek on Facebook if her small town would throw a Pride party for her. The response was real enough though, and Moab Pride emerged. The festival doubled in size during its first four years, Stocks estimates, from about 500 participants that first year to about 1,000 last year. “As people realize how accepting and supportive small towns can be, I think we’ve seen a lot of growth,” Stocks says. Let’s face it: In a town of 5,000 people, how many LGBT folks could there be? Stocks says the festival gets a lot of support from the LGBT community throughout Utah, particularly from the Salt Lake area and the Four Corners region in the southeast part of the state. But she also says there’s a lot of support from non-LGBT sources in Moab. “People say it’s the straightest Pride festival they’ve ever been to, and that’s because our allies are so strong,” she says. Stocks says events like Pride festivals shouldn’t be seen only in more populated areas. “Pride festivals in small towns are so important because people feel really isolated in small towns and not connected,” she says. “It’s so important for young people growing up [in a small town] to see that that there are other people like them and that they have that support.” This year’s Moab Pride Festival is Sept. 25-26, getting started at Moab’s Club Rio with an “Orange Party” meet-and-greet event at 8 p.m., featuring DJ Dan and DJ divaDanielle. The following day, beginning at 11 a.m. at Moab’s Swanny Park, is the festival’s “Visibility March,” which is in place of a more traditional Pride parade. Stocks says the idea is for the event to be more particiPHOTO: TRAVIS BURROUGHS
patory or “organic” as the festival’s website describes it. “It’s more about showing your pride by being part of it,” rather than just watching it go by, Stocks says. The march makes its way through downtown Moab before ending up again at Swanny Park, where the festival will continue throughout the day. Entertainment — including such acts as Talia Keys and the Ease, Bronwen Beecher, Indi Skies (and her troupe of drag queens), The Lovebirds and The Painbirds — will accompany the goings-on at the park until 6 p.m. An after party at Club Rio begins at 9 p.m. with Salt Lake’s DJ Morea and Mike Balance providing music.
While the Pride festival proper is that weekend, Stocks encourages folks to come down a few days early for Gay Adventure Week, “an event for adventure seekers and lovers of the outdoors and the official fundraiser for the Moab Pride Festival,” according to the event’s website. The week features activities that include biking, hiking, river rafting, jeep and hummer rides, horseback riding, hot-air balloon rides, ziplining and more. People can go for the whole week as a package deal, or take part in activities “a la carte.” More information is available at www.gayadventureweek.com. For more information about Moab Pride, go online to www. moabpride.org.
New Salt Lake task force to address HIV Access to health information and services, HIV stigma, HIV testing resources, PrEP education, are among some of the issues a newly formed task force at the Salt Lake County Health Department will address in the coming months. C Peter Stoker, MPH, CHES and Lynn Beltran, Epidemiology Supervisor, are heading up the effort. “We have invited leaders from many communities to help us understand the challenges we have in addressing LGBTQ+, communities of color and other impacted groups”, reports Peter Stoker. “The alarming increases in Sexually Transmitted Infection an HIV diagnosis and advances in pharmaceutical prevention are driving this effort.” Salt Lake County Health Department has free, confidential and anonymous testing at it’s facilities for over 40 years. The Utah Aids Foundation and Planned Parenthood of Utah have also been key components of the testing, prevention and
therapeutic services. Stoker says the SLCH wants to make sure that regular testing for all STI and HIV continues to be an important part of the County’s health services. The task force is composed of people working in the STI/HIV field in public and private capacities, media and with organizations with special cultural or linguistic expertise Peter believes that many great ideas were shared and difficulties identified including; health access, HIV stigma, HIV testing resources, PrEP education, among many others. Key issues were identified by attendees along with possible solutions to those issues. The purpose of this gathering is to help organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community become more streamlined and effective in their services. The group will have a follow-up meeting in October to discuss the 3 main key issues and devise a strategy as what to do next.
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
NEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 15
Provo: The Pride that could BY JOHN HALES
Organizers of the Provo Pride Festival say they’ve shown the naysayers. “Everyone said we couldn’t do it,” said event planner Tosh Metzger. “For years they said we couldn’t do it down here: ‘Who would go to Provo?’ It was kind of a hiss and a byword.” Even people in the LGBT community doubted how viable a Pride event could be in Utah County. But Metzger says that after two years, and a third just weeks away, Provo’s LGBT community has pulled together to create a successful Pride celebration. “We’ve found our voice,” Metzger says. Provo Pride is Sept. 19, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., at Memorial Park in Provo, and Metzger expects the event to continue to grow the way it did its first two years. “The first year had 27 booths, and about 4,500 people,” Metzger, who was one of the founders that first year, said. “Last year we had 8,000 people and 61 booths. This year, we’re expecting 10,000.” Not bad, especially since people who attend have to forego the drinking of alcohol — it’s against Provo City ordinances to have alcohol in the park. And that’s okay, Metzger says, going so far as to say that they don’t even want alcohol at their event. After all, it is Utah County, and Metzger and others know what they’re dealing with. “We know our market down here. We know what we can get away with. We know which buttons we can push,” he says. “Provo’s brand is family-friendly, old-fashioned, free. We know our brand. Let’s
do what we’re good at.” So far it’s worked, Metzger says, judging from the festival’s growth the first two years. The festival gets underway with a kick-off party at City Limits Tavern — where alcohol will be served — on Sept. 18 from 8 p.m.-2 a.m. DJ Bad Kitty will be spinning the music. The festival itself will feature food booths, information booths, arts-and-craft booths and the like. In keeping with the “family-friendly” nature, there will be a kids area with bounce houses, glitter tattoos and other fun stuff for the little ones. Entertainment will be provided by an assortment of acts including local bands; the all-volunteer, all-adult cheer squad, Cheer Salt Lake; and two drag troupes: a local one (the Divine Sister-Misters), and Caravan of Glam out of Portland, OR, who folks might have seen on America’s Got Talent. Events at the park will be followed by an after party, also at City Limits Tavern, from 9 p.m.–2 a.m. Though, admittedly, Provo’s particular style of Pride may not be many people’s cup of decaffeinated tea, it does have its fans. The Annual Interna-
tional Affirmation Conference is being held in Provo, Sept. 1720 precisely in order to align with Provo Pride, Metzger said. (Affirmation is a support organization for LGBT Mormons and their families, friends and church leaders.) “They chose Provo just because of Provo Pride. We’re happy about that,” Metzger said. Metzger said being gay and out and proud in Utah County has its own quirks. For instance, there’s “Family Homo Evening.” And on Aug. 16, Provo Pride sponsored the “Righteous Miss Provo”
Pageant. “We’re playing on the words of our culture. We make fun of our culture, but also keep it sensitive. I think it furthers our message,” Metzger said. That, too, seems to be working. By staying sensitive to the predominant religious/social culture, that culture may be becoming more sensitive to the LGBT “counter” culture in return. One sign of that? “We’re having a lot more businesses downtown hang flags during Pride week,” Metzger said. Q
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New Utah Log Cabin Republicans leaders hope to reinvigorate Despite the traditionally perceived alliance between the LGBT community and progressive or “liberal” politics, some people are thinking the time might be right to attract LGBT folks to a more conservative point of view. Melvin Nimer is one of those people. Nimer, himself an openly gay man, is president of the Log Mel Nimer Cabin Republicans, a caucus in the Republican Party made up of people who identify as both LGBT and political conservatives. He thinks the time may be right for some people to make a rightward shift in their political identification and voting patterns. “People come up to me and say, “I really am Republican, but I just can’t vote that way all the time,” Nimer says. That’s because the social-equality issues
that have fueled LGBT political passions have been so much a part of political considerations; social issues have overridden other concerns, Nimer says. But now, with Utah’s antidiscrimination law (SB296) passed last spring and the issue of marriage equality pretty much moot with this summer’s Supreme Court decision making it legal nationwide, Nimer says other issues may begin to be a priority and cause people to take a closer look at conservatism. “There’s parts of political philosophy that people get lost in,” Nimer says. “Social issues don’t belong in government in the first place. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t understand that. I’m a fiscal conservative, and the Republican Party and Republican philosophy generally is the fiscally conservative one. That’s why I’m a Republican.” Yet when it comes to the social issues, “We’ve been able to open doors within the Utah political framework,” Nimer says. Having LGBT voices on both sides, but saying the same thing, helped move things like SB296 along. “You can stand on your
hands and yell and scream and shout all you want to from the outside, but people aren’t going to listen to you unless you are on the inside,” he says. Nimer was voted president of the Log Cabin Caucus last June, when caucus leadership was reorganized. Nimer also served as president from 2008–2012, and has been a member of the board for the past three years. Nimer is the president and owner of New Start Business Services Inc., a small business accounting and tax practice. He is also co-owner of Air Sim Corp, an aviation training company. He served as treasurer of the Salt Lake County Republican Party for the past two years. Also elected were Jeffery Cahoon as vice president, Natalie Parkin as secretary, and Frederick Luchycky as treasurer. They will all serve two-year terms. “One of my goals right now is to reinvigorate the caucus and get people involved again,” Nimer says. Log Cabin Republicans of Utah meets the second Monday of each month (except July and December). Meetings are open to anyone who is interested. Q For more information, contact Nimer at info@melnimer.com or 801-657-9611.
Q mmunity OUTreach Resource Center Fall Soiree Last year, the Ogden OUTreach Resource Center surveyed the youth they were serving and found that two-thirds of them have suffered some kind of abuse, 40 percent were kicked out of their house by their families at least once, a third were currently homeless, half don’t feel safe at school. Almost two-thirds had attempted suicide. Last year this event raised over $10,000 to support the work of the organization. WHEN: Sept. 18, 6pm WHERE: Eccles Art
Mansion, 2580 Jefferson Avenue, Ogden COST: $35 or a table of 10 for $350 at OutreachResourceCenters. org/soiree_2015
Third Friday Bingo in the Park The Matrons of Mayhem take their bingo out to Sugar House Park during the summer months, so you can enjoy bingo, the fresh air, and semi-naked athletes playing in the grass. The queens will fire up a grill and party in the Fabian Lake Pavilion right beside the lake. Just as the Pioneers did, this will be a pot luck food event. The Matrons
provide hot dogs with all the fixins, paper plates, napkins, utensils, and you provide the rest, such as chips, drinks, salads, deserts etc. Benefits Camp Pinecliff Weekend. WHEN: Fri. Sep. 18, 7pm WHERE: Sugar House Park, 1350 E 2100 South COST: $5 first card, $3/ addl INFO: facebook.com/ matronsofmayhem.slc
2015 Allies Dinner Allies Dinner tickets are on sale now with the theme Queer New World. This year Equality Utah presents Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees as the keynote speaker and performer.
WHEN: Saturday, October 3, WHERE: Salt Palace Convention Center Grand Ballroom COST: $150/individual, $1,500 for a table of 10 INFO: EqualityUtah.org
Camp Pinecliff Weekend A camp for people with HIV/AIDS, their immediate family members, care providers and HIV/AIDS ministry volunteers in its’ 19th season, organized and staffed by ecumenical volunteers. Activities include hiking, volleyball, crafts, horseback riding, massage therapy and bingo. Camp Pinecliff has
the best menu in camp ministries, with meals ranging from pizza to turkey dinners, handmade Italian sausage and cold cuts. A round-theclock snack table full of fruit, soups, cookies and chips is available. Their rustic cabins offer comfortable accommodations. All you need to supply are the pillows and sleeping bags WHEN: Sept. 18–20 WHERE: Pinecliff Camp & Retreat Center, 4142 E Chalk Creek Rd, Coalville, Utah COST: $35 per person at bit.ly/pinecliff15 INFO: facebook.com/ pages/Camp-PinecliffWeekend
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Embracing the health & resilience of our community
Mr. Friendly Team Utah seeks to reduce stigma of HIV A local chapter of Mr. Friendly — an international, yet grassroots movement to reduce stigma of HIV, encourage testing for HIV, and improve quality of life for those living with HIV in friendly ways — was launched at the Utah Rebellion event in August this year. The group will host events in Utah and use social media to promote awareness about HIV and the latest developments in treatment, prevention and resources for our entire Utah community, positive or negative. They hope to also work with various local HIV-service agencies and assist with their outreach to our community.
To sustain the campaign, organizers will sell products that “help fight HIV stigma in friendly ways.” “We look forward to creating friendly conversations locally to promote the vision of a world stigma-free of HIV,” said Michael Sanders. “Please share our Facebook page and the information and articles that will be posted.” Sanders is seeking volunteers, whether they are positive or negative for the virus. He can be reached through the Facebook page. More information on the Mr. Friendly program can be found at mrfriendly.org. Team Utah’s Facebook page is facebook.com/TeamFriendlyUTAH.
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gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
GLAAD interviews young man a year after his video ‘How not to react when your child tells you that he’s gay’ went viral BY ADRIANNA REDHAIR, GLAAD PROGRAMS INTERN
In August
of last year, Daniel Pierce was kicked out of his home, physically assaulted and disowned by his family for being gay. He recorded the confrontation on camera and the footage was later uploaded to YouTube. Daniel received help from Lost N Found Youth, an Atlanta organization that helps homeless LGBT youth get off the streets, along with other services. We talked to Daniel nearly a year later to see how his life has changed. GLAAD: It’s been almost one year since you had to leave your home. In what ways has your life changed? How have you adapted and overcome the following adversity? Daniel: Almost every aspect of my life has changed in some way. A year ago I was planning for college and going to school full time. I was still very much a teenager. On Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 that all changed in a blink of an eye. I was homeless, with no car, no money, a busted lip and bruises... nothing but my dog and what few bags of personal things I could get. On Wednesday, August 27th, as I sat in my aunt’s living room looking at a pile of my belongings thrown into the floor, I felt as if life was over... I was beaten down and life was no longer as I knew it to be... it just didn’t seem real... honestly, a year later it still doesn’t. Thursday, August 28th, I woke up to hundreds of phone calls, emails, text messages, and Go Fund Me alerts. I had no clue what Go Fund Me was – I had never even heard of Go Fund Me. All I could see on the alerts was, “Name” gave “amount of money.” It was overwhelming. On Thursday, I met with Lost N Found Youth. A good friend of mine, Michelle P., is a volunteer for Lost N Found Youth and she got me in contact with Rick Westbrook and Charlotte Cagle who run Lost N Found Youth. Over the next few months I attended LGBTQ events to bring awareness to the issue of families disowning children because of sexual orientation. I attend school at Kennesaw State University and continued to work part time at The Good Dog Co. Atlanta, where I have worked since I was sixteen. I tried my best to regain a sense of normalcy to my life. Through hard work with a therapist, I have come to an understanding with reality and what happened almost a year ago. It’s not something that you get over – losing a huge part of my blood family is hard to compre-
hend. I had so much thrown at me so quickly; I never thought at nineteen-years-old, I would have to deal with attorneys, buying a car, financial advisers, public relations representatives, media and much more. It was something I had never even thought of. I never thought I would Google my name and see hundreds of articles about myself. But with all that has happened, so much good has come from it. I have met so many amazing people and I am so proud that my story has helped so many people and families. The love and support that I received from the community got me through this, and its continuing to get me through. Almost a year later, life is great. I have a wonderful partner David who
stood by me through it all and I have such a beautiful group of friends and chosen family who love me for being myself. I couldn’t ask for anything better than that. You received an overwhelming amount of support after the viral video of your family confronting and attacking you was uploaded to the Internet. Did you ever expect that type of public reaction? What does the support mean to you today? I honestly didn’t expect it to get past the eighty to one hundred friends on my Facebook, but it was only a matter of hours before it started going viral. The love and support I received from the community was amazing and overwhelming in a good way. It kept me going.
After losing your home, you received help and a place to stay from Lost N Found Youth. Now you are on LNFY’s Board of Directors. What is your hope for the future of LNFY and the future of LGBT homeless youth? Daniel: My aunt took me in and Lost N Found provided emotional support and resources to help me get back on my feet. My hope is that we continue the momentum here in Atlanta to get kids off the street. The bottom line is to keep people talking and keep the eye on homeless youth to educate families on homeless youth. My goal with my story was to bring some light to the homeless youth issue here in Atlanta. We have to lower the statistics here in Atlanta: over seven hundred LGBTQ kids are on the streets every night. These kids are being beaten and thrown out of their homes for being LGBTQ. So, my hope is to change that part so these kids are not thrown out in the first place. My hope for Lost N Found Youth is to grow the organization to every kid that comes to us. Lost N Found takes these kids in and gives them a family they can count on.
Now that you’ve overcome such a huge setback in your life, where do you go from here? What do you see yourself doing in the upcoming years? Daniel: Life is good now! I have a wonderful partner who loves me and supports me in everything I do. I have a new full time job as a legal assistant. In the next few years, I hope to help Lost N Found grow to help decrease the number of homeless youth here in Atlanta. I will continue to go to Kennesaw State University as a business major. I hope to eventually relocate to the West Coast with my partner to start a family and continue to work in LGBTQ rights and with homeless youth. Have you had any contact with your family since leaving home? Do you want to have con-
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tact with them? The only contact I have had with my family was with my grandmother. I was at the post office when she walked up to me. My only question to her was, “Why?” She was the one you first hear in the video saying that they love me, that she has known that I was gay since I was “tiny little boy,” but I made the decision to be gay. She was the one who told me I must leave the house. Her response to my question was that I attacked them and that they were telling me that I was welcome to stay. It was like a kick in the stomach to hear her try to rationalize what she and her family had done to me. It was in that moment that it became reality. It no longer seemed like a dream. I just got in my car and drove away. After that incident with her, I feel that it’s in my best interest for my well-being to not have a relationship with that part of my family. For other LGBT youth that come from unaccepting families, what advice could you give them? My
advice is to attend school, if possible, and find a group of friends that support you and love you. Chosen family is what will get you through this difficult time. Never give up hope. You will come out so much brighter on the other side. The road may be rocky, but keep going. Life is what you make it to be. If you have a local shelter or organization like Lost N Found, please reach out for their help. And remember that your gut feeling is normally right for any decision you make. If there are services in your area for homeless youth or youth who come from families who are not accepting of LGBTQ youth, seek counseling from them to help you mentally process what you are going through. Mental health is very important. Remember that you are loved! Q GLAAD is a media organization that promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. More information on GLAAD is at glaad.org and facebook. com/GLAAD
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P L A N N E D PA R E N T H O O D A S S O C I AT I O N O F U TA H
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20 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | VIEWS
views
“
“It was not my intention to judge anybody or to rankle anybody, or to put myself in some kind of superior position by any means. I think if people use PrEP as part of a responsible regimen of taking care of themselves and preserving their bodies and their wellbeing and the well-being of the people they’re having sex with, then more power to them. There was this thing that I was ‘slut-shaming.’ Anybody who knows me knows that that is the last thing I would ever do. I just think that we can’t let our guard down.” — Zachary Quinto to HuffPost, responding to criticism he received over his comments from November of last year saying younger gay men were complacent
“
The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health. Because of this I am going to step away from the game at this time.” —Michael Sam on leaving Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes after only 3 weeks, returning, and leaving again.
“
I’ve done some soulsearching. I’ve talked to Stefano a lot about this. I’ve realized that my words were inappropriate, and I apologize. They are just kids. You don’t need labels, baby labels. I think everybody chooses for themselves. I don’t know everything about IVF, but I love it when people are happy. It’s like medicine. Science has been put on the table to help people.” — Domenico Dolce doing some major backpedaling five months after ruffling feathers by saying he and Stefano “oppose” gay adoptions, IVF
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
“
What am I gonna say? I’m not gonna go out there and pretend that I have a 12-foot dick. It’s just not how I was raised, you know what I mean?… For a minute, the rumor was great. I saw my Twitter account rise. I was like, What is this popularity? Oh, oh, I see, it’s ’cause they think I have a massive penis. But we all had fun with it. I certainly did.” — Idris Elba discussing being objectified for photos that allegedly showed him to be incredibly well-endowed in his history-making interview as the first man to be featured on the cover of Maxim magazine
QSaltLake Magazine welcomes your letters to the editor. Email 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.
VIEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 21
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
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“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” —Bertrand Russell
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an answer to a question, or is art “the” question? Growing up I wasn’t privy to much art culture (unless Ogden’s Street Festival in the early ‘90s counts as art), so my answer will more than likely differ from those immersed in the arts at an early age. I do know, without hesitation, that art and human beings are complicated and intertwined subjects, that often times leave us more confused than certain. While I was skipping out on “culture” and instead attending festivals, I found that interactions with other people are an art form rarely recognized. I find it fascinating that all groups, types, shapes, colors of people will cram themselves into blocked off streets and hang out together. Big burly men are rubbing elbows with metrosexual men at the beer stands. Well-dressed women stand in line with T-shirt and skinny jean-clad women. Hipsters are sharing space with cowboys. Gay people are sharing space with straight people. Cats and dogs … well, you get the point. Isn’t it fascinating how each interaction between people is a canvas waiting to be deciphered? Watching these
interactions between people, outside of festivals and in the mundane moments of our lives, is a small reflection of our inner selves. How we interact with others says a lot about who we are. When I enter a space/ place I immediately see question marks. Each person is a story waiting to be told. Each person desires to be heard and understood. Each person is a canvas just waiting for someone to stop and reflect, decipher and take time to understand. Every space/place we enter, where other human beings are present, is a museum of art. Much like art, people come in different genres. You have your modern human, your pop art human, your classic human, etc. Because of these differences, the “viewer” will either feel an immediate connection or they will have to take more time to understand the meaning of the “art.” I urge you to start seeing other humans as question marks. Dig deeper, ask questions and pay attention to the nonverbal queues the other person is sending you. Too often we see others as periods or exclamation marks, but the true beauty lies in the questions we fail to ask. Human interaction is the truest art form there is in a world so large. To connect with a stranger, to truly begin to understand his story, is the salve needed in a world that is quickly becoming disconnected and wounded. Q
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22 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | VIEWS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
who’s your daddy?
A letter to Gavin Newsom BY CHRISTOPHER KATIC
It’s been
a few months now since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. The predicted wrath of God hasn’t come crashing down on us. Nor did the histrionics of evangelical preachers threatening to self-immolate come to pass. Of course, there are a few stalwarts who are refusing to do the job to which they were elected because somehow their religious freedoms would be violated by handing a marriage certificate to a couple of lesbians. Oh, and naturally, the Republican presidential candidates are tripping over themselves to denounce the SCOTUS decision as the end of world. Pandering to their fringe right wing, they promise a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as “between one man and one woman,” while making such outrageous comments about the Court’s
role that it makes people wonder if they ever took a high school civics class. But for the rest of the country life continues uninterrupted. We have one man to thank for marriage equality. It’s not Justice Kennedy (although he and the four “liberal” judges rightly deserve our unending gratitude); it’s California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. It was he who sparked the revolution that ended in the SCOTUS decision. So, if I may, I submit this open letter to Gavin Newsom. Dear Mr. Lieutenant Governor, In February of 2004, as Mayor of San Francisco, you decreed that lesbian women and gay men living or working in the City could lawfully marry. Critics within your own party assailed you. Republicans used the move to galvanize their base during a tough presidential re-election campaign by
cramming state Constitutional Amendments banning same-gender marriage on ballots. Utah’s was Amendment 3. By the time the California state Supreme Court halted the marriages a month later, nearly 4,100 couples had married. Kelly and I were one of them. As a matter of fact, we were among the last dozen or so couples married on March 11 before the Court ended it. Actually, marriage wasn’t something we really concerned ourselves with. We had taken all the legal precautions to protect ourselves, so what difference would a piece of paper make? Then one evening, shortly after the marriages began, we were watching the news and saw a lesbian couple descending the grand staircase in City Hall. One of the women was carrying a child. In unison, Kelly and I turned to look at our son sitting in his high chair smiling at us. Instinctively we knew that we had to get married. Our logic was simple: your decree would be overturned, and being married wasn’t going to change how we felt about each other anyway. But being parents added a new sense of duty to wed. We didn’t want
Gus one day to ask why we hadn’t married when we had had the chance, why
he couldn’t have legally wed parents like everyone else. Our small part of history on that day in March was captured forever by the news media. After the fact, we learned footage of the two men with the baby descending the grand staircase was apparently aired throughout the day. But my memories of that day were about the officiant telling us he had married his partner of over 30 years, how the people in City Hall erupted into applause when we walked down the staircase, and the sweet way my friend Teresa — our witness — cried tears of joy. But the memory I will always cherish the most was when I glanced over at Gus in Kelly’s arms and saw he was grinning from ear-to-ear. On behalf of all Americans and specifically the LGBT community, thank you, Gavin Newsom, for giving us marriage equality, Q
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
VIEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 23
creep of the month
Todd Courser BY D’ANNE WITKOWSKI
Michigan
State Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, two of the most right-wing and extreme members of the Legislature, have been doing it for quite some time now. Not surprisingly, Courser and Gamrat really didn’t want their affair revealed. Both are married, (not to to each other, duh) and both have multiple kids. But these things have a way of refusing to remain hidden. And so, on the day his affair was revealed, Courser lamented, “It’s a crushing
day for those who believe in traditional marriage and traditional morality.”
Just kidding. That’s what he said after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality while Courser was defending traditional marriage with his penis. Now, rumors about the affair had been swirling for months. Political sex scandals are a dime a dozen these days, but what makes this one interesting is that Courser and Gamrat are conservative Christians who seem to think they are holier than thou. Oh, and the gay sex Courser paid for “behind a Lansing nightclub!” Except that never happened. Courser just wanted people to think it had. Back in May, an anonymous email making all sorts of colorful allegations against Courser was sent to Republicans across Lansing. “He is a bi-sexual porn addicted sex deviant!” the email reads. “He is a gun toting bible thumping cock sucking freak! His whole (personality) is a sham!” The entire email is riddled with typos and grammar errors. It’s the kind of thing that even your most insane right-wing uncle wouldn’t forward.
Courser has now admitted to sending the email out in order to cover up the news about his affair.
“My actions in and around these events and the email that was sent to misdirect attention were my doing both in planning and execution,” he said in a statement on his website. See, the accusations in the email are so ghastly, that an affair with a female colleague seems tame by comparison. And, of course, what could be more terrible than being gay or bisexual! Even Courser admits that it was a bad idea. “I was running on no sleep for days and no food and was simply on auto pilot” when he released the email, he says. Sounds a lot like the “Twinkie Defense.” Granted, Courser’s email blast might seem to many like a very immature, and totally crazy, way to avoid taking personal responsibility for his actions. And that’s exactly what it was revealed to be during a taped conversation Courser had with an aide during which Courser spilled the beans about the plan and wanted the aide to send out the email. And the aide was all, “Bro, that’s crazy,” and Courser was like, “Just do it,” apparently unconcerned that asking his aide to take a fake sick day to send out fake incriminating spam email is spending tax payer money for such a thing. Which is illegal. But the aide wouldn’t. And instead he handed over the recordings he made to The Detroit News and now Courser and Gamrat are back in the spotlight, both under investigation and hopefully about to lose their jobs. Courser has apologized and admitted to the affair, but claims the email was a very clever and calculated move to deal with some anonymous figure or figures trying to blackmail him to get him to resign. In other news, Courser is a very big fan of Spy vs. Spy. To borrow from a sage’s own words, “It’s a crushing day for those who believe in Courser’s bullshit.” Q
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24 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | VIEWS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
queer shift
Gay Men Aloud BY CHARLES LYNN FROST
Gay Men
Aloud is a new group for maturing gay men. The group is open to all gay men, and will meet the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at the First Baptist Church, 777 S. 1300 East, in the north end cultural hall at 6:30 p.m. Parking is behind the church and
entry to the gathering is also in the rear of the building. There will be signage to direct people to the new and exciting group. There has for sometime now been a request for gay men to meet and discuss issues relevant to their lives, their
FOR
M
GAY MEN ALOUD 1st & 3rd Mondays, First Baptist Church, 777 S. 1300 E. 6:30-8pm. (Beginning 9/21/15) What is Gay Men Aloud? GMA is a bimonthly mature gay men’s group that brings together gay men to share, learn, interact, make friends, reconnect with tribe and community, discuss relevant issues and concerns, listen to experts in many arenas and have fun. facebook.com/groups/Gay.Men.Aloud/
experiences and their aging, hence the creation of GMA. There will be two formats for the two monthly meetings, one — an open forum with questions about an important topic to gay men, and the other — an expert presenter who will focus on a specific topic, and then lead a Q&A from the group. GMA is also for reconnecting as maturing gay men, sharing, learning, interacting, making friends, and discussing relevant issues and concerns. Aging in general can be a process that can be laced with many stressors; physical limitations, a gradual dependency on an already over-burdened healthcare system, suitable housing, and sufficient income, navigating governmental and community systems, and isolation from limited family resources. Although the stressors of aging are similar between gay and straight males, they are compounded for maturing gay man by certain societal
stigmatizations and surviving in a youth-centric gay culture. Invisibility increases regardless of social involvement, as does blatant and subtle ageism and even discrimination in certain individuals. GMA will explore solutions to these aging issues, along with many other topics the group will determine. Gay Men Aloud will be an open and affirming group, with the desire to have the group create the programming that best meets their current needs, issues and concerns. GMA is a safe sanctuary for open-minded, lively, and courteous discussion, as well as information gathering, learning and creating sustainable lives for all its gay maturing members. If you’ve questions please go to Gay Men Aloud on FaceBook and join our group. We anticipate and are planning a robust and exhilarating time. Q Gay Men Aloud can be found at facebook.com/groups/Gay.Men.Aloud/
Equality Through Business
Open to corporations of all sizes, sole proprietors and independent agents regardless of sexual orientation, this is a great place to meet other professionals, make business contacts, promote your business and work for the enhancement of UtahGayChamber.org Utah’s gay and lesbian community.
VIEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 25
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
Q health
2015’s biggest health concern BY PETER STOKER
Porn!
That’s right, pornography. This, alone, is one of our generation’s biggest health issues. So what is it about porn that causes millions of people to suffer physically, mentally and emotionally? After all, some people believe that porn is a healthy sexual activity and a harmless matter of personal choice.
PHYSICALLY Porn has numerous effects on the body, including destroying a man’s ability to have real sex with a real partner. With more and more porn use the brain begins to create new pathways to recognize what’s pleasurable. What that means is that the brain gets wired to be turned on by porn and a man can no longer achieve an erection with a real partner; resulting in erectile dysfunction. After some time, some of the brain’s dopamine receptors will shut down, making it difficult to be turned on even by porn.
MENTALLY Depression, anxiety and loneliness are major problems in our
world today, but did you know that porn is a major cause of all three of these issues? Because of porn users’ desire to keep their use a secret, their relationships ultimately suffer, leaving them lonely and vulnerable to developing other psychological problems. Studies show that porn users also commonly develop body-image issues, low self-esteem and insecurity.
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EMOTIONALLY Humans have a need for intimacy and porn tries to fill that need with something fake. Not only is porn not fulfilling, it can also ruin any real intimate relationships the user has. Porn portrays sex as being all about the individual’s pleasure. Porn has become a public health crisis. Its vicious cycle traps millions of people, who are suffering from its effects. Sexuality should be intertwined with love and romance. Porn causes viewers to see those they love as toys to be played with. Love should be deep and intimate and exciting and fun … and real. Q
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26 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | VIEWS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
lambda lore
Stonewall was a drag BY BEN WILLIAMS
According
to Erica Kay Webster, one of the last remaining trans persons who was at the Stonewall Uprising in 1969, “We were all labeled Drag Queens.” Three “drag queens,” who later became identified as transgender women, are Yvonne Ritter, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. All three are strongly associated with the Stonewall Uprising that took place the last weekend of June. Although these individuals had a role in the events
Marsha P. Johnson
of that night, so did hundreds of other gay men, lesbians and trans of all backgrounds. Ritter was living at home in Brooklyn — known to her family as Butch — when she went to the Stonewall Inn to celebrate turning 18 on June 27, 1969. Coincidentally, also celebrating a birthday that day was an eccentric African American street person, Johnson, who turned 25 years old that day. Johnson was one of the city’s best known drag queens and street personality in the village. Once, appearing in court for prostitution, the judge asked her, “What does the ‘P’ stand for?”, and Johnson gave her customary response — “Pay it No Mind.” This phrase became her trademark
for the rest of her life. Johnson, who suffered from schizophrenia, had a close friend — if not her closest — Rivera, who would turn 18 years on July 2. Shortly after midnight, the sixth precinct police raided the Stonewall Inn and Ritter said she was “scared to death.” She was being arrested for being in drag, which was illegal in New York. Taken out of the bar and into a paddy wagon, she thought at the time, “This isn’t happening.” Ritter was pushed in the police van which had “already more people than could fit.” When the police once again opened the doors to shove in more drag queens, Ritter took the opportunity to “skip out.” Ritter didn’t get far in her black evening gown and black fish net stockings and black pumps before being spotted by a young policeman. The cop looked at Ritter and said, “Hey, you!” and detained her. Ritter pleaded, “Please, it’s my birthday, I’m just about to graduate from high school, I’m only 18,” and surprisingly the cop let her go. Ritter ran for the subway and all the way home she was “scared to death that my father would see me on the television news in my mother’s dress.” For the next couple of days Ritter kept watching to see if there was anything on the news about the riot, but “there wasn’t and I graduated from high school without my parents ever finding out where I’d gone to celebrate my birthday.” Rivera’s story was completely different from Ritter’s. She left home at age 10 in 1961 and hustled to survive on 42nd Street. “The early ’60s was not a good time for drag queens, effeminate boys or boys that wore makeup like we did. Back then we were beat up by the police, by everybody. I didn’t really
come out as a drag queen until the late ’60s. I remember the first time I got arrested, I wasn’t even in full drag. I was walking down the street and the cops just snatched me.” Where Sylvia Rivera was on the night of June 27 is challenged by several different accounts told by her over time and by eyewitnesses of the event. No doubt she was at Stonewall but whether it was the first night or the second seems to be a mystery. At least one Stonewall historian, David Carter, has put under question Rivera’s links with the Stonewall Inn protests, based on these contradictory statement and by testimony by early gay rights activists who said that Johnson denied that Rivera was present at the riots. In some accounts Johnson was identified as one of the first to fight back in the clashes with the police amid the Stonewall riots. Others state that Sylvia Rivera was the first one to fight back and start the riot. Others claim a butch dyke took a swing at a police officer who was shoving her into the paddy wagon. As in many events that only take on significance years later, no one was there who recorded exactly how the riot unfolded. For any one faction to try to claim credit for starting the Stonewall riot is patently false. It was a spontaneous event fueled by many extraneous events all which led to different myths on how it played out. Stonewall historian Martin Duberman in his 1993 accounting of the event places Rivera at the scene of the riot the first night. “From this point on, the melee broke out in several directions and swiftly mounted in intensity. The crowd, now in full cry, started screaming epithets at the police — “Pigs!” “Faggot cops!” Sylvia [(Ray) Rivera] and Craig [Rodwell] enthusiastically joined in, Sylvia shouting her lungs out, Craig letting go with a fullthroated “Gay power!” From Duberman’s research and interviews, Rivera was certainly at the center of the riot but it was the crowd that was screaming when she joined in. Rodwell who founded the Oscar Wilde Bookstore in 1968 would have certainly been a reli-
VIEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 27
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
guest editorial able witness as he would have known most of the characters in the village. Ritter also said that Rivera was one of the people there and was mad and drunk. Though, as she was scared to death for her predicament, Ritter could not have been a totally objective witness, especially as Rivera and she became friends over the years. Still others even reported that it was Johnson who was having a birthday party in the Stonewall Inn instead of Ritter. Others reported Rivera saying that when the riot began she was outside and went to get Johnson to take part in the uprising. In Carter’s book he claims that Johnson was the person who “really started it” on the first night of the riots. It certainly could have been Johnson as one of many onlookers who was looking for a fight. For the most part, Johnson had the same personality no matter how she was dressed, though there were also times when Johnson would assert a male identity. Those who knew Johnson’s schizophrenic personality said it would come out as a dual personality, known as Malcolm Michaels, who could “become a very nasty, vicious man, looking for fights.” After Stonewall, in 1970, Johnson and her close friend Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). Together they hustled tricks to provide food and clothing for young drag queens, trans women and other street kids who were living on the Christopher Street docks. Rivera’s experiences made her focus on advocacy for those who, in her view, mainstream society and the assimilation sectors of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT/queer) communities were leaving behind. In the 1980s Johnson continued her street activism as a respected organizer with ACT UP during the AIDS crisis. Together they were a visible presence at gay liberation marches and other radical political actions. As for Ritter, she began her transitioning after high school and went back to school to work on a bachelors in psychology, and later became a nurse. She was a tireless and dedicated worker taking care of gay men dying during the 1980s. After becoming sober, Ritter had less and less to do with Rivera and Johnson. In an interview she credited getting an education for getting her away from “the crazy girls.” “That’s not to say that I’m better than anybody, it’s just my story,” she said. “I needed to stay away from some people.” Q
Both Stonewall and Stonewall deserve your attention BY MARK SEGAL
It’s been
amusing and angering watching the debate and suggestion of a boycott over the forthcoming film Stonewall. The reality is that nearly all the people on both sides have one thing in common: They weren’t there. And they are speaking for those who were there, acting as if we are not alive and cannot speak for ourselves. This shows a lack of understanding of our own shared LGBT history. I was the founder of Gay Youth New York, and I was also a member of the Action Group started by Marty Robinson. We were the ones who wrote “Tomorrow Night Stonewall” in chalk on the walls and the street that infamous night. That, along with other factors in New York at the time, led to the formation of Gay Liberation Front, while Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson formed Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, the first trans organization in America; Stonewall’s perceived lack of acknowledgment of Rivera’s and Johnson’s contributions seems to be the central reasoning for a boycott of the film. Michael Lavery and I are the last two members of the Action Group. There are also six original members of Gay Youth New York. Then there are my brothers and sisters in Gay Liberation Front who participated in the riot or, as others in our group labeled it, rebellion. We are all able to speak to the truth or lack thereof of the actions and activism in the film, but as yet you have not heard our voices. Those of us involved at Stonewall, Gay Youth New York, or those first stormy three years of radical activism of Gay Liberation Front and then Gay Activists Alliance — which this film portrays — still debate what actually occurred. We all have our own perspectives. Until he died earlier this year, my close GLF friend Jerry Hoose and I debated it even as we cried on a Skype call moments after President Obama’s now- famous inauguration speech where he mentioned Selma, Seneca Falls, and Stonewall. Here’s the simple fact, so simple that it amazes me it has not been made crystal clear and not a point of debate: Once Stonewall was raided and the crowd became angry and it looked as though something might happen, only drag queens, homeless kids, people like
me who thought they had no future, and a few activists stuck around. At that time, if you were employed or privileged in any way, you were in the closet — and didn’t want any trouble. So you high-tailed it out of there back to the anonymity of your home. Marty, of the Action Group, saw the rebellion as an opportunity to galvanize folks; the drag queens and street kids were fighting for their home, and, as for people like me, it made us realize the power of our community and provided a sense of pride that led me to GLF and to create Gay Youth NY. There was another fundamental at play here, and it was a social, economic, and political one. Gay Liberation Front was the first in-your-face LGBT organization, and in 1969 that meant that we were not conformist, and many people stood clear of us and wanted our history to die, especially that history of drag queens and street kids. We were not the image the conformist community wanted. It would take AIDS to get privileged gay white men into activism in large numbers. How radical were we? Harvey Milk was living in New York City at the time and he stayed clear of us. So we in GLF — youth, trans, people of all political spectrums — had a bond. We debated everything, including our identity, which meant a clear discussion of racism and sexism. The only exception was our mutual goal of creating a community. I understand the people calling for a boycott. They understand that after the demise of GLF and later GAA, trans people were minimized in our community, and they are concerned the film will repeat that. It is possible, but I don’t believe that anyone who does the simplest amount of research would change that part of our history. I’ve been a publisher chronicling our community for 40 years now and am wondering how you can boycott something you haven’t seen and that is a fictional movie based on a true story. If you want to know the facts rather than fiction, read David Carter’s book Stonewall or any number of LGBT history books. That’s where the truth is, not in your local multiplex. Mark Segal is publisher of Philadelphia Gay News and an award-winning commentator in LGBT media.
28 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | FALL ARTS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
25 years ofPlan-B BY JOHN HALES
Plan-B
Theatre Company isn’t a specifically “gay” or LGBT dramatic organization. But, the troupe’s producing director, Jerry Rapier, says, “We’re pretty gay.” That’s not simply because most of the organization is made up of those who are L, G, B or T (Rapier jokes that if the general population is about 10 percent LGBT, Plan-B is the opposite). The company really does make it a conscious point to perform LGBT-themed drama as part of its broader mission to produce “unique and socially conscious” theatre. “Our interest in doing that is simply to assist in the [LGBT] movement in the way that we can,” Rapier said in a recent interview with QSaltLake. For 25 years, Plan-B has been the place for alternative (as the name suggests) theatre of one sort of another. The company started out itself as an alternative, Rapier explains. Plan-B founders Tobin Atkinson and Cheryl Ann Cluff had been theatre students at Southern Utah State College (now Southern Utah University). Plan “A” was for them to go off to New York City and become famous actors. Plan “B” would be to somehow do the kind of theatre that they seldom if ever saw performed in Salt Lake City. As things would have it, Plan “B” won out. “We were very much a bohemian, itinerant company for the first decade,” Rapier says. They performed in many and varied types of spaces, “Very rarely in an actual theatre,” Rapier says. The focus of the group was on original works by Atkinson himself. “Then Tobin decided to join the Army at the age of 35,” Rapier says. Atkinson left, and Rapier came on in his place. That was in the 2000. A year later, the company had a huge success, and somewhat of a turning point, with its production of The Laramie Project, a play about the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998. It was the first time the play was produced by anyone other than the original creators, the Tectonic Theatre Project. “It was a big gamble the creators of that show took on us,” Rapier says. “We were very small. No one knew who we were.”
But the production was a success, so much so that, says Rapier, “It helped us really focus our mission on socially conscious theatre,” and a bit more specifically, “It solidified our commitment to producing at least one LGBT-focused play each season.” The company has done that ever since. “We’re really interested in in plays about queer people, their lives and their issues,” Rapier says. He says the company’s goal is not simply to give volume to LGBT voices, but to even give volume to voices that, even within the LGBT movement itself, are sometimes unheard inside that movement. Rapier says there are two plays in particular that really received notoriety for not only speaking to the LGBT community, but helping the broader community at large understand how difficult being gay in this particular place can be. They were Facing East and Borderlands. “Facing East” was written by Carol Lynn Pearson, and shows the story of an LDS mother and father coming to terms with the suicide of their gay son as they come to know their son’s partner. The play was so successful that ran for a time off-Broadway, and toured in San Fransisco. “It was a huge mile-marker in the development of our company,” Rapier says. The other play was by Plan-B resident playwright Eric Samuelsen, called Borderlands — “a piece,” says Rapier, “about coming out in many different ways.” Both plays addressed the influence the LDS church can have on being gay in Utah. “Those two plays really reverberated in the community at large,” Rapier says. Rapier says such plays (though he includes all “socially conscious” plays in this, not simply those highlighting LGBT issues) allow people an entry point into aspects of issues that are otherwise closed due to dogma or ideology. “Theatre gives us the opportunity to take the big idea and make it personal,” he says. The company’s website puts it this way: “We believe the best way to serve our community is to reflect it onstage — to create
conversation, to provide an opportunity for patrons to think a little differently, to consider a point-of-view that may have been previously foreign, to listen in a way they may have not have before.” That the company has achieved this is perhaps reflected in the many awards and recognitions it has received throughout the years. A by-no-means exhaustive list includes the following: • Utah Governor’s Organization Leadership in the Arts Award (2015). • Salt Lake City’s Mayor’s Artist Award for Service to the Arts by an Organization (2015). • Transgender Education Advocates of Utah’s Organization of the Year (2013). • Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Award – Organization (2011). • Transgender Education Advocates of Utah’s Organization of the Year (2010). • Equality Utah’s Allies for Equality Award – Organization (2007). • 20 QSaltLake Fabby Awards (2005–present), including ‘Best Local Theatre Company’ all 11 years the award has existed. • 49 City Weekly Slammy/Arty Awards (2000–present), including ‘Best Local Theatre Production’ 13 of the past 14 seasons. While it sounds evident Rapier is proud of Plan-B’s fulfillment of the “socially conscious” portion of its mission, to celebrate its 25th year the company is honing in on the other part of its mission — to produce “unique” works. “We wanted to shake ourselves out of our comfort zone a little bit,” Rapier says. This year, the company is producing its first-ever original musical, which also happens to be this year’s LGBT-themed production as well. The play is called K ingdom of Heaven. “It focuses on a Mormon housewife who discovers drag, and finds that she feels a lot more comfortable with who she is as an individual the more involved she gets performing as a drag king,” Rapier says. That however, is Plan-B’s season finale, running March 31-April 10, 2016.
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
Plan B’s 2015-1016 season:
Plan-B and KUER’s Radio West with Doug Fabrizio. The program has become a Halloween tradition, and for the 10th anniversary the production is moving back into the studio for a live broadcast 11 a.m. on KUER (with a recorded rebroadcast at 7 p.m.). In order to keep a spooky surprise, “We’re not promoting it like a regular show,” Rapier says. “Our hope is to get at least one listener to completely lose their shit!”
FALL ARTS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 29
The play is about a woman who literally gets lost in time: Megan is a refugee who may never get back to her husband and normal life, and she bemoans her bad fortune. But the story of fellow refugee Chuck is even more complicated and intriguing than her own. “Based on a True Story” examines relationships and choices, and the ways our narratives affect the way we view ourselves. “It really asks the question, ‘How true are the stories we tell ourselves?’” Rapier says.
THE KREUTZER SONATA, BY ERIC SAMUELSEN OCT. 18-NOV. 9, 2015
This play is about a man who is driven mad by Beethoven’s music and the idea that his musician wife is having an affair with another musician she plays with. Whenever he hears Beethoven’s music, all he can think of is the two of them together, and he eventually murders them both. The play is accompanied by a live performance of Beethoven’s music by Utah Symphony musicians Kathryn Eberle (violin) and Jason Hardink (piano). “It’s not for theatrical purists, and it’s not for classical music purists,” Rapier says. “We’re creating something that is its own thing. The piece gives these two highly regarded, very proper musicians a chance to let loose a little bit.”
BOOKSMART,
BY ROB TENNANT DEC. 3-13, 2015
On the surface, this world premiere is about the hell of working retail during the holidays. Underneath, it’s about the effects of big-box retailers not only on those whom they serve, but on those who work for them: underemployment, income inequality, job insecurity and crushing debt. It tells the story of Casey, a bookstore clerk who has had it with his job, holiday crowds and rude customers—and makes a momentous decision in response. “It’s very funny; it’s very dark,” says Rapier. “It wouldn’t be as dark in May as it is in December. But for a holiday show, it’s a little dark. There will be no cast members joining hands and singing Christmas carols in this one.”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN,
BOOK AND LYRICS BY JENIFER NII, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY DAVID EVANOFF MARCH 31-APRIL 10, 2016
When a Mormon housewife finds her true calling as a drag king, what will be the impact on her marriage, family, friendships, and her faith? In an exploration of a conversation that is growing nationwide, the play examines what happens when how a woman is supposed to function, and how she wants to function, are not the same thing in a religious context. “It’s very universal in its approach to what it means to be a woman who doesn’t fit into the faith that she loves,” Rapier says. Q For more information about Plan-B Theatre Company, or to purchase tickets for individual plays or for the entire season, go to www.planbtheatre.org.
RADIO HOUR EPISODE 10: OTHERWHERE MATTHEW IVAN BENNETT OCT. 30, 2015
This is the 10th collaboration between
BASED ON A TRUE STORY, BY ELAINE JARVIK FEB. 25-MARCH 6, 2016
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gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
Fall Arts in Salt Lake Ballet West BALLETWEST.ORG
ICONIC CLASSICS NOVEMBER 6–14
Sailors on leave during World War II start the show off with a bang in Jerome Robbins’ and Leonard Bernstein’s charming and playful Fancy Free. Then the soulful poetry of Jirí Kylián’s Petite Mort’s On an Overgrown Path set to a solo piano cycle by Leoš Janácek. The program concludes with George Balanchine’s and George Bizet’s Symphony in C – performed in its complete form for the first time in Utah!
THE NUTCRACKER DECEMBER 10–27
No holiday season is complete without the festive cheer of The Nutcracker. This holiday favorite that has charmed families for generations throughout the nation. Take a magical journey to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy for lively and colorful dances from around the world. This is Ballet West’s 60th production of Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker, making it the longest-running full production in America.
dancers from the Children’s Dance Theatre alongside RDT alumni, seven of whom are graduates from Virginia’s Tanner Dance Program at the U of U.
Ririe Woodbury RIRIEWOODBURY.ORG
FALL SEASON SEPT 17–19
Together Alone: part 1, a world premiere by company artistic director Daniel Charon, is an intimate examination of existing in a digitally saturated world; how relentless connection can actually lead to new types
a musical adaptation of the Stephen King novel focuses on an awkward teenage girl with telekinetic powers whose lonely life is dominated by an oppressive religious fanatic mother.
Pioneer Theatre Co. PIONEERTHEATRE.ORG
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF SEPTEMBER 18–OCTOBER 3
One of the most beloved musicals of all time, with an enduring score featuring “Tradition,” “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” Fiddler on the Roof is a musical for fathers and daughters, daughters and mothers, husbands and wives—in short, a musical for the whole family!
Utah Symphony’s 75th Anniversary Concert with Lang Lang
Repertory Dance Theatre RDTUTAH.ORG
RITUAL
OCTOBER 1–3
Contemporary classics that feature constantly evolving patterns infused with ceremonial memory. Works pay homage to community rituals, rites of passage and celebration. Molissa Fenley’s Energizer, with exuberant, aerobically demanding movement, and playfully precise steps woven into evolving patterns; Elisa Monte’s Pigs and Fishes is a driving piece on the formation of society through converging forces; Dabke is a powerful contemporary work by Zvi Gotheiner; CHANT by RDT alum Tim Wengerd.
REVEL
NOVEMBER 19–21
Crippled Up Blues, pairs RDT alum William Evans and Emmy Award-winning musician/folklorist Hal Cannon; Claire Porter’s Sentence to Sentence involves dancers speaking (and dancing); a Utah premiere of Jack by Joanie Smith with a new take on a classic nursery rhythm; and a Tribute to Virginia Tanner by Jacque Lynn Bell will feature
of solitude; a world premiere by New York choreographer Adam Barruch who has a fascination with the human body and the way it functions; and Doug Varone’s States Rendered with a dark intensity and compelling physicality.
Utah Rep UTAHREP.ORG
AMADEUS SEPT. 11–26
A tale of breathtaking dramatic power weaving a confrontation between the mediocre composer Antonio Salieri and the subject of his tormented rage, the greatest musical genius of all time, Wolfgang Mozart.
CARRIE
OCT. 29–NOV. 14
Regional Premiere of the Musical Thriller,
OUTSIDE_MULLINGAR
OCTOBER 30–NOVEMBER 14
In a tiny rural village in contemporary Ireland, Anthony and Rosemary have grown up on adjoining farms. They’ve known each other since Rosemary was six years old and Anthony pushed her into a ditch, and Rosemary swore eternal hatred—or is it eternal love?
Utah Opera UTAHOPERA.ORG
TOSCA
OCTOBER 10–18
A fiery, young diva, Floria Tosca, is forced to play a role she never imagined when she becomes trapped between her allegiance to her rebel lover and the scheming of a vicious police chief who will stop at nothing in his lust for her. The explosive triangle
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
comes to a heart-stopping conclusion in one of opera’s most intense dramas. Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY FESTIVAL
Lang Lang. Proceeds from this event will support the Utah Symphony’s performance at Carnegie Hall in April. Recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine, Lang Lang has inspired billions of people around the world with his commanding piano technique.
The Symphony will perform Beethoven’s 1 through 8 in 4 nights each weekend.
Park City Institute
Utah Symphony UTAHSYMPHONY.ORF
SEPT. 11–19
SCI-FI SPECTACULAR WITH MARINA SIRTIS SEPTEMBER 25–26
Star Trek Next Generation’s Deanna Troi will host as the Symphony plays music from science fiction classics from Star Trek to Star Wars to Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
75TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT WITH LANG LANG OCTOBER 1
A black tie event featuring Thierry Fischer conducting the Utah Symphony with pianist
FALL ARTS GUIDE | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 31
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gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
UFMA brings exclusive landscape painting masterpieces to Utah A rare gathering of British landscape paintings and photographs by legendary artists opens at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on August 29 for a 15-week fall run. The UMFA is one of four exclusive U.S. museums to host The British Passion for Landscape: Masterpieces from National Museum Wales, and the only venue in the American West. More than 60 oil and watercolor paintings and photographs, drawn from the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, chart the rise of landscape art in Britain through works from such masters as J. M. W. Turner, John Constable, Claude Monet, Thomas Gainsborough and Richard Wilson. “Not since the UMFA hosted Monet to Picasso from the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2008 have Utah audiences had access to artists of such art historical significance here at home,” says Gretchen Dietrich, UMFA’s executive director. “This exhibition gives Utahns a unique opportunity to experience Turner, Constable and Monet right here in Salt Lake City.”
The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales. Curators are Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University, and Oliver Fairclough, Keeper of Art at National Museum Wales. The UMFA will offer several free public programs in conjunction with the exhibition, including a talk by Barringer on Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm. The British Passion for Landscape begins during the Industrial Revolution and explores the eras of romanticism, impressionism and modernism through the postmodern and post-industrial imagery of today. The work references both the poetry of landscape and the environmental threats posed by industrialism — key themes that persist in British art today and Dietrich believes will resonate with Utah audiences. “Utah and Great Britain share some unique cultural ties and qualities,” she says. “Both places are famous for stunning scenery celebrated by many great artists over
time, and both know the tensions that can arise between a bucolic and an industrial vision of the land. On a more personal level, many Utahns’ cultural roots are in Britain, so these places and their history will resonate with many in our region.” Visitors can explore the landscape tradition more deeply, through examples made closer to home, elsewhere in the Museum this fall. Constructing the Utah Landscape, on view concurrently with The British Passion for Landscape, guides visitors of all ages in a hands-on exploration of landscape technique. An interactive exhibition in UMFA’s Emma Eccles Jones Education Gallery showcases more than a dozen objects from UMFA’s Art of Utah and the West collection, including works by Maynard Dixon, LeConte Stewart and V. Douglas Snow. “Whether you’re an art historian, an artist yourself, or someone who is visiting an art museum for the very first time, you can immerse yourself in truly masterful works of great beauty and emotional depth that will resonate with your own personal experiences of the land around you,” says Luke Kelly, the Museum’s curator of antiquities and the curator in charge of the installation in Utah. Q
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FALL ARTS GUIDE | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 33
Tour the British countryside. Be home by dinner.
The British Passion for Landscape
MASTERPIECES FROM NATIONAL MUSEUM WALES August 29 - December 13, 2015 PRESENTING SPONSORS
Curator Talk: Tim Barringer October 22, 7 p.m.
John Constable, A Cottage in a Cornfield, 1817. Oil on canvas, 12 3/8 x 10 1/4 in. National Museum Wales (NMW A 486). Courtesy American Federation of Arts.
umfa.utah.edu/BritishLandscapes
Katherine W. Dumke and Ezekiel R. Dumke Jr. Special Exhibition Endowment
This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Amgueddfa Cymru– National Museum Wales. The exhibition tour and catalogue are generously supported by the JFM Foundation, Mrs. Donald M. Cox, and the Marc Fitch Fund. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane and Christie’s. MARCIA AND JOHN PRICE MUSEUM BUILDING
34 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | A&E
ANNUAL EVENTS
Tony’s Gay Agenda BY TONY HOBDAY
September is brooding in mysticism, satanism, crystal balls, black eyeliner, alien autopsies, quidditch, moonwalking, MURDER, SHE WROTE … ummm, I may have added one too many eye of newt to my cauldron of booze. Anyhoo, the following are full of music, dancing, vampires, zombies, chainsaws, garden shears, Shirley Maclaine … definitely too many eye of newt.
FRIDAY — DARK ARTS 11 FESTIVAL Area 51, 451 S. 400 West, through Sunday, times vary. Three-day pass $30, 24tix.com
— THRILLER 25 FRIDAY
Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St., Park City, through Oct. 11, times vary. Tickets $23-35, egyptiantheatrecompany.org
DANCE Aptly named, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company opens with FALL SEASON, an exhibition of choreography by three “kinetically charged” choreographers: Daniel Charon, Adam Barruch and Doug Varone. The show is a mixed bag of intensity, solitude, sensory overload and physical fluidity.
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
— FALL SEASON 17 THURSDAY
Jeanne Wagner Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, through Saturday, 7:30pm. Tickets $17.50-30, arttix.org
CONCERTS Like their predecessor, HOWARD JONES, who was a pioneer in new wave and synthpop music in the 1980s, LDS heartthrob BRANDON FLOWERS and the AQUABATS bring their own styles of the genres — although the Aquabats add comedic antics and costumery ... Holy Toledo, Batman! Among the grunge and punk rock music are the fabulous BABES IN TOYLAND and THE HOME TEAM. Last but not least is country girl-turned-chic, TAYLOR SWIFT ... shake it off gurl, there’s no shame in making your own clothes!
— BABES IN TOYLAND 1 TUESDAY
Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8pm. Tickets $22, 24tix.com
— THE HOME TEAM 2 WEDNESDAY
The Loading Dock, 445 S. 400 West, 6:30pm. Tickets $10, 24tix.com
FRIDAY — HOWARD JONES: 4 THE SONGS, THE
PIANO & THE STORIES Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St., Park City, through Sep. 6, times vary. Tickets $39-65, egyptiantheatrecompany.org
— TAYLOR SWIFT Energy Solutions Arena, 301 S. Temple, 7:30pm. Tickets $36.50136.50, smithstix.com
— AQUABATS 26 SATURDAY
The Depot, 400 S. Temple, 7pm. Tickets 21+: $20 Adv/$25 Day Of. Under 21: $22 Adv/$27 Day Of, smithstix.com
28
MONDAY — BRANDON FLOWERS The Depot, 400 S. Temple, 8:30pm. Tickets $35, smithstix. com
MOVIES Premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Grandma is a comedy drama coming-of-age story of sorts starring the iconic comedian Lily Tomlin. The film also stars Laverne Cox, Marcia Gay Harden and Judy Greer. What an amazing cast of groundbreaking and talented actresses!
— GRANDMA 25 FRIDAY
Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway, times vary. Tickets $6.75-9.25, saltlakefilmsociety. org
THEATRE Utah’s Pioneer Theatre Company and Broadway Across America stage classic musicals this September that are set during social and economic turmoil in different parts of the world. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF delves into Jewish beliefs and traditions in Imperial Russia; and, 42ND STREET takes a lighthearted look at the unwavering American dream of success and stardom during the Great Depression.
FRIDAY — FIDDLER 18 ON THE ROOF Pioneer Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, UofU, through Oct. 3, times vary. Tickets $40-62, pioneertheatre.org
— 42ND STREET 22 TUESDAY
Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, through Sep. 27, times vary. Ticket prices TBA, arttix.org
A&E | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 35
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
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hear me out
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
Miguel, Kacey Musgraves
Also Out
BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI
MIGUEL, WILDHEART Carnal sex is the gateway to bittersweet romanticism on Miguel’s modern-lustand-love odyssey, Wildheart. And the pompadoured R&B seducer’s third studio album is not beating around the bush. Or is it? In the most literal sense, it is; real-life sex is a raw, uninhibited Xtube clip – at least in Miguel’s dirty mind. “I’m your master, babe,” the 29-year-old dreamboat declares on “The Valley,” getting his rocks off D’Angelo style as a pulsating drone and his fan-inducing falsetto works in conjunction with the song’s X-rated setting: the San Fernando Valley, the world’s notorious porn mecca. Its sex-positive takeaway is commendable on its own. Miguel, though, is much too artistically discerning for such simplicity (you’ve obsessively listened to his debut, Kaleidoscope Dream, right?), and when he contextualizes his sexual desires, he takes you to the third dimension. Sex isn’t just sex anymore. It’s “coffee in the morning,” and, of course, cuddles and conversation – all of which are the basis for “Coffee,” the post-fuck phase. And then, maybe it’s love (“Waves”). Or maybe it’s not… anymore (“Leaves,” a devastating dose of summertime sadness). Despite a hypersexualized exterior, there’s an unexpected plethora of psychological feelings to sift through on Wildheart, and an even wider range of musical influences. One of those muses is, without question, Prince. The veteran’s presence is undeniable throughout this rock- and electro-infused R&B scorcher, a sumptuous, intoxicating and top-shelf set. Grade: A-
KACEY MUSGRAVES, PAGEANT MATERIAL Kacey Musgraves was part of the change that country music needed. Guys can love guys and girls can love girls and so what, she proclaimed on “Follow Your Arrow.” Though her Grammy-winning breakthrough anthem matter-of-factly advocated for queer acceptance, the 26-year-old Texan was knocking down doors left and right on her defiant gem-of-a-debut Same Trailer Different Park. That hasn’t changed much with Pageant Material, which works both for and against her. On the follow-up to Same Trailer, Musgraves assures us she’s not done taking the piss out of people who sniff around in other people’s business (“Biscuits”), and despite modest fame, she maintains an outsider disposition on the title track. She’s also still smoking pot. That easy-going, every-girl authenticity gives Musgraves a leg up on Pageant Material, when some of the album’s weightless songwriting can’t live up to its predecessor’s sly, no-sweat scribes. “High Time” is a grass-swaying good time that epitomizes Musgraves’ sonic simplicity; that feet-up, chill-out sound is her trademark, but on Pageant Material, it’s paired with vague, vanilla riffs that only scratch the surface of family, love and dogma from her seemingly endless supply of “be yourself” stock. Buttons are still being pushed, just not with the same innovativeness as before (remember “It Is What It Is,” about casual hook-ups?). “Biscuits” is a fine song, though. And even if it’s another shoulder shrug to all the haters, you can’t deny the cuteness of every metaphor on “Cup of Tea.” Pageant Material, then, is the dreaded sequel. Same trailer; different, less-interesting park. Grade: C+
ADAM LAMBERT, THE ORIGINAL HIGH Ladies and gentleman, please welcome Adam Lambert to the Serious Phase of his career. The third installment in the rocker’s post-Idol career isn’t merely here for your entertainment. And the makeup? It’s gone. Lambert still keeps it in the clubs on The Original High; refreshingly, though, he tries on some new chic sounds, venturing outside his glam-rock romps to spotlight some of his most personal lyrics to date.
JOY WILLIAMS, VENUS Still biting back tears caused by the cataclysmic split of folk duo The Civil Wars last year? Sorry to say, but Joy Williams’ solo comeback album won’t do much to dry your eyes. With her soothing, supple voice, Williams distances herself from her rootsy work with ex-bandmate John White only to take on a decent-but-overwrought genre jumble: synthy trip-hop, late ’90s Lilith pop and smatterings of too much of just about everything else.
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, HOW BIG, HOW BLUE, HOW BEAUTIFUL The dog days are gone… and so are the days when English super-vocalist Florence Welch unleashed her colossal voice like a fireworks show finale. Her belt still bursts from within the deepest depths of her soul, but on her junior release, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, it’s used sparingly. Welch’s career so far has been, in large part, defined by her lung power. Not anymore. This one’s a big, beautiful slow-burn. Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate and chris-azzopardi.com.
Q&A | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 37
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
the bookworm sez BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
“STONEWALL: BREAKING OUT IN THE FIGHT FOR GAY RIGHTS” BY ANN BAUSUM C.2015, VIKING $16.99 / $19.99 CANADA 120 PAGES
Your favorite hang-out isn’t all that fancy. It’s comfortable, though: you’ve got places to sit, flat surfaces for your stuff, and your friends are always around. Best of all, nobody says you can’t be there; everybody’s welcome all the time. It wasn’t always that way, though, as you’ll see in “Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights” by Ann Bausum. There was a full moon that night, and it was hot. Not hot like you’d describe a person but “beastly hot,” weather-wise — and it was hotter inside New York’s Stonewall Inn. For years, it’d been illegal in many cities to dance with someone of the same sex. With a few rare exceptions, being gay could get you fired from work, rejected by family, and generally ostracized; if you were a man wearing women’s clothing, you could be arrested immediately. But the Stonewall allowed dancing, drinking, crossdressing, and the police looked the other way because, says Bausum, the Mafia had ties to the Stonewall and bribes kept things running. By June 1969, this covert freedom started causing problems: “closeted homosexuals” involved in an international bond scandal were spotted at the Stonewall by “organized crime operatives” with blackmail on their minds. The New York police department was ordered to close down the Stonewall. In the hot early morning hours of June 28, they raided the packed bar. It didn’t go well. As partiers and staff were arrested, a crowd began to form to taunt police – and it grew as people ran to pay phones to call friends. Some of those arrested were freed; others were roughly handled. Bausum says that one of the latter, a lesbian, asked the crowd if they were going to do anything about it – and they did. At first, pocket change rained down on the police, then pebbles, stones, bottles, and burning containers. Some of the officers took refuge inside the bar, awaiting back-up that didn’t arrive for nearly an hour as two thousand people raged on the streets. Riot crews eventually showed up, and were mocked. The unrest, says Bausum, lasted several nights — but what lasted longer was that lesbians and gay men suddenly knew that they weren’t alone. Although it can become somewhat florid
for the sake of drama, “Stonewall” is a nicely surprising book filled with history that few younger people may know. The surprise comes in what author Ann Bausum shares, which seems tame by today’s news, perhaps even quaint: nobody was seriously hurt, and the single death was accidental and barely related. That almost made me afraid readers might forget that the riot marked the coales-
cence of activism for gay rights, but Bausum anecdotally reminds us repeatedly of Stonewall’s importance. She then goes on to look at activism at other times in LGBT history. This book is meant for teen readers ages 12 and up, but it might be a challenge for those on the younger end and it certainly can be enjoyed by adults unfamiliar with this event. If that’s you, then “Stonewall” is rock-solid. Q
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38 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | FOOD&DRINK
food & drink Australia Is Regaining Its Mojo BY DAVID WHITE
Australian
wine has
fallen out of fashion. In the late 1990s, Americans became obsessed with wines from the Land Down Under. For most of this millennium’s first decade, fruit bombs with quirky names and eye-catching labels flew off the shelves of U.S. retailers. But sales soon began free-falling. Between 2008 and 2013, the U.S. market for Australian wine declined by more than 20 percent. Finally, though, Australian vintners are beginning to recognize what went wrong -- and working to show America that they make plenty of fine wine. Their efforts could soon pay off. The collapse is easily explained. Thanks largely to Yellow Tail, Australia became synonymous with the bargain bin. That became a liability as consumers grew interested in more serious wine. Aspirational drinkers eschewed Australia’s
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
cheerful, sweet offerings and instead looked to California and Europe. Plus, competition at the bottom end of the market is fierce. Conditions there are impacted by currency fluctuations, trade politics, and agricultural policies. So it’s impossible to dominate the bargain bin indefinitely. Indeed, as the Australian dollar strengthened, it became harder for Yellow Tail’s many imitators to compete. Consumers spending less than $7 per bottle were easily satisfied with alternatives from Chile and Argentina. Consumers also soured on Australia’s expensive wines. Consider the wines of AmonRa, which retail for $95 per bottle. Robert Parker, Jr., the world’s leading wine critic, awarded the producer’s 2012 bottling 97+ points, describing it as “a beast . . . that is densely packed with black fruit.” There’s an audience for highoctane wines, to be sure. But that market has shrunk dramatically in recent years as consumers have embraced more elegant, food-friendly wines. Chester Osborn, chief winemaker at d’Arenberg, an iconic Australian winery founded in 1912, has felt Australia’s crash. And he agrees with this assessment. “There are a few wines that have been pointed out as
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representative of Australia, but they’re exactly the opposite of what we should be known for,” he said last week. “There are thousands of wineries here.” When we chatted about Yellow Tail and its imitators, Osborn pointed to America’s cheapest offerings. “It’s like saying that the jug wines from California’s Central Valley represent the whole of California -- or the whole [of] the United States.” A salient observation, considering Australia is about the same size as the continental United States. At the top end, according to Osborn, “the wines that got lots of reviews were often just the really ripe ones, which is unfortunate because there are so many great wines here that aren’t fat and overripe.” Osborn has no reason to be bitter. His wines, which range in price from $11 to $99, have always been praised by Parker and other critics. And unlike Australia’s most bombastic offerings, Osborn’s wines age gracefully. Fortunately, Osborn is beginning to see renewed interest in his wines -- and brand Australia -- from sommeliers and retailers across the United States. He believes that American consumers will soon take another look. “[Over the past few years], buyers were telling me, ‘no, Australia is not that interesting.’
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But now, it’s completely different,” Osborn continued. “The gatekeepers are once again saying, ‘yes, I’m really interested in Australia. There are some great wines there that we’ve really forgotten about.’” One of those gatekeepers is Andrew Limberg, the general manager of Rose’s Luxury in Washington, D.C., one of the nation’s hottest restaurants. When adventurous drinkers visit, Limberg loves pouring wines from Anton Van Klopper, a winemaker in Australia’s Adelaide Hills who is praised by natural wine enthusiasts for rejecting irrigation, harvesting by hand, and relying on native yeasts for fermentation. Limberg typically presents one of two wines from Van Klopper: A Sauvignon Blanc that’s 50-percent skin fermented or a Pinot Noir that’s somewhere between red and rosé. Both wines are cloudy, crunchy, and absolutely captivating -- unlike anything one would expect from Australia. Take note. From classic wineries like d’Arenberg to upstart operations like Anton Van Klopper’s, Australia offers plenty of wines worth drinking. Q David White is the founder and editor of Terroirist.com, which was named “Best Overall Wine Blog” at the 2013 Wine Blog Awards. His columns are housed at GrapeCollective.com.
FOOD&DRINK | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 39
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
Dining Guide DODO RESTAURANT thedodorestaurant.com 1355 E 2100 South 801-486-2473 A unique neighborhood bistro with a relaxed sense of style. A staple of the Salt Lake experience for more than 30 years as a neighborhood gathering place. Our American Bistro menu and fine selection of local ales and wines are complimented with a casual upscale warm environment.
EGGS IN THE CITY 1675 E 1300 S 801-581-0809 Breakfast or lunch in a friendly, warm and hip environment. The converted garage is now a stylish, enticing eatery. Try the eggs Benedict, French toast, custom-tailored omelets, huevos rancheros or cheese
blintzes for breakfast.
MAZZA MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE mazzacafe.com 15th&15th 801.484.9259 9th&9th 801.521.4572 Enjoy fresh, authentic Middle Eastern cuisine such as Falafel, Shawarma, Kebabs, dips and salads. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
OFF TRAX offtraxslc.com 259 W 900 S, 801-364-4307 Home of the Happy Hangover. Breakfast, lunch. Sunday brunch and weekend after-hours. Gayowned and operated. Next to Club Try-Angles.
OMAR’S RAWTOPIA omarsrawtopia.com 2148 S Highland Dr 801-486-0332 Omar prepares all raw, live and organic food from scratch with absolute love to create amazing
food that is powerfully healing for your mind, body, and spirit.
SAGE’S CAFE sagescafe.com 234 W 900 S 801-322-3790 Sage’s Cafe relocated to the Central 9th Business District in the original and iconic Jade Cafe.
SQUATTERS PUB BREWERY squatters.com 147 W 300 S, 801-363-2739 1900 Park Ave, Park City 435-649-9868 Salt Lake’s original brew pub featuring award-winning fresh brewed beers, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Private banquet facilities available.
TAKASHI offtraxslc.com 18 W Market St 801-519-9595 Open for lunch, dinner or cocktails, Takashi has been the QSaltLake
FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN AND HAVE A BITE TO EAT. COFFEE BURGERS SANDWICHES SOUPS SALADS APPETIZERS BREAKFAST BRUNCH POOL TABLE VIDEO GAMES OPEN Mon-Thur 8a–6p Friday 7a-3p AND After Bar Closing Fridays and Saturdays
259 W 900 S 801 364-4307
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readers’ choice for sushi in Salt Lake City since the Fabby Awards were invented. Open til 10pm Mon–Thurs., 11pm Fri and Sat. Closed Sunday
VERTICAL DINER 2280 S West Temple 801-484-8378 Vegan diner serving down-home comfort food and breakfast all day. Specialties include fried faux chicken, blueberry pancakes, and hand cut french fries. Also serving fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate, and more.
WASATCH BREW PUB wasatchbeers.com 250 Main, Park City 435-645-0900 At the top of Main Street and a local favorite since 1989, Wasatch Brew Pub serves lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, along with award winning beers and full liquor service. Private banquet facilities available.
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40 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | A&E
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
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Anonymously, Barry BY JOHN P. WILKES
I want
to see Barry live. I want to meet him, shake his hand, and thank him for everything. You might think, from the amazing State of the Union address he delivered and his staunch refusal to quack like a Lame Duck, wielding the mighty weapons of Executive Order and Presidential Veto that I mean our president, “Barry” Obama. But no, he is not the man to whom I refer. I am talking about an equally famous, perhaps even more popular person. I was on shaky ground one night, contemplating a return to a life of rejection, hiding in the shadows, and feeling isolated and ashamed. I needed a meeting. I located and entered the nearest church basement. A large room was full of people clutching coffee cups and downing doughnuts. Someone called for attention and asked everyone to take a seat. First came The Karaoke Prayer
Grant me the serenity to accept The songs that make the whole world sing, The courage to sing those songs which I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. Then we all recited The First Step “We admit that we were powerless against Barry, and that our lives had become unmanageable.” “Who would like to share?” came the invitation. I was the first to stand. “My name is John, and I like Barry.” “Welcome, John. Keep coming back!” “Thank you. I have been Barry-free for 20 years now, but he’s coming to my town and I don’t know if I can resist the temptation.” “Work the program, so the program can work for you,” I heard the chants of support and encouragement. “Call me, or your sponsor,” a few in the group who really wanted to help chimed in. “You do have a sponsor, don’t you?” “I did,” I replied, “but he succumbed to the Greatest Hits box set.” “I relapsed for six months after watching that Family Guy episode where Joe, Peter, and Quagmire go to His concert,” a man in the crowd interrupted. “I lived in a storage unit filled with case lots of Ramen noodles,
laid on an U.S. Army cot, and listened to a scratchy 45 rpm of “Mandy” over and over on a Kenner Close ’N Play phonograph. It was a nightmare.” The moans of pleasure and the sighs of disdain were numerous. One man fainted dead away, and someone had to splash water on his face to revive him. Once he was back in his seat, I continued sharing. “It started in junior high school for me,” I confessed. “I was already a big Carpenters user and partook in a bit of non-‘Saturday Night Fever’ Bee Gees now and then, too.” Audible but nonjudgmental gasps rippled across the room. A woman stood up, and in a cigaretteand-whiskey-ravaged voice proclaimed, “’My name is Lola. I was a showgirl.’ This is the one that got me hooked.” Her raspy snarl broke into song, “When will our eyes meet? When can I touch you? When will this long yearning end?” Then the entire room joined in, “And when will I hold you...again?” Suddenly, all the Friends of Barry in the room were singing “Weekend In New England” amid shouts of, “What’s the date?” “Where is the venue?” “When do tickets go on sale?” This meeting of Barry Lovers Anonymous quickly descended into utter chaos. I left the group that night singing, “Last night I waved goodbye…” The Twelve Steps had failed me. I was even more determined to be present at Barry’s upcoming performance. I had no choice. I had owned every album, knew every word to every song, and was intrigued by the questionable gender identity and sexual preference of the man, the legend. The Barry. After all, doesn’t he write “the songs of love and special things,” “the songs that make the young girls [and me] cry?” He even wrote some Rock ‘n’ Roll so we could groove. Barry’s hold over me is insurmountable. Barry is my Higher Power. Damn you to hell, Manilow! See you soon. Please do “Copacabana.” Q Gay Writes is a DiverseCity Series writing group, a program of SLCC’s Community Writing Center. The group meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month, 6:30-8pm, 210 E. 400 South, Ste. 8, Salt Lake.
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
A&E | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 41
mr. manners
Procrastinate no more BY ROCK MAGEN
I am
usually a highly productive person, both at work and at home. I usually don’t mind the clock on my iPhone because there’s no time to look at it. But, alas, I am also an excellent procrastinator. My to-do list is always dozens of notes tucked away in an app that if you were to check my phone use history ranks among the most used — always running silently in the background. Coupling my short lived attention span with my ADHD, I am constantly jumping from one thing to another. That is probably why it is no surprise that while writing this article I am shopping at Banana Republic online, perusing Delta for flights, casually checking work emails, and glaring at my phone waiting for my wonderful boyfriend to text me that he has finished work and awaits my company. I’ve got great excuses, mind you. The best is that I work best under pressure. Unfortunately the research I just tried to Google in an effort to validate that statement doesn’t support me in the slightest. Studies from the University of Calgary reveal that 54 percent of procrastinators are men, and those guys tend to be poorer, less healthy and less content than men who don’t procrastinate. I don’t feel any of those effects in the immediate term, however I am not one to wait around and see what comes of it. Reams of research have determined that we (gay men among the leaders of the pack) are programmed to prefer quicker, smaller rewards to larger, more delayed prizes. That’s why, most of us, can’t resist a dessert, that final drink offered by friend — or the allure of a shiny new “toy” — and in the process miss out on the chance to own a home near the
beach. Research also deems that it is the reasoning behind so many failed New Year’s resolutions. I am not one to put all my stock into one piece of scientific research; I tend to prefer multiple opinions. However, if you are one (like myself) who finds himself succumbing to bouts of procrastination and would like to break the cycle, here is the best “prescription” for building a strategy to bet back on the productive course: See the Slack: People who wish to break a habit have to first recognize that they are doing it. This principle readily applies to procrastination; you have recognized you are wasting time you don’t have before you are ready to break the cycle. Don’t wait to be Inspired: Inertia is stronger than inspiration — from any source. Our motivational state will rarely match the task before us; you don’t look at an obstacle that exists and just readily expect to tackle it, there is always that need to push yourself in the direction to start. The overall lesson here is that it’s not about how you feel, it’s just about getting started. Don’t Wait! Period. Don’t think about starting your task, just start! You’ll be in the groove in no time at all. According to one study, “Attitude follows behavior, not vice versa.” It’s really magical. So, it’s time to close our web browsers, set that phone to “airplane mode,” and dive into the tons of tasks that await us all. Whether it be a gym goal, a work project, a personal dream, it’s time to up our game and be productive. So quit reading about my habits of “multitasking” and delaying what’s before me, and get out there to accomplish the items staring at you from the todo list on your notes app. Q
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42 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | COMICS
BRONICORNS! — The adventures of two brothers going to BYU
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
Brought to you by UGSA BYU, by Aaron Austin and Nathan Cunliffe
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: HINT: FRONT RUNNER
KICK SKIP JIBE USA
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cryptogram A CRYPTOGRAM IS A PUZZLE WHERE ONE LETTER IN THE PUZZLE IS SUBSTITUTED 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=I
A NX GLQ A NX. A JAVE GLNH A JAVE. A JQCE GLNH A JQCE. A TQ GLNH A GNKH. DEH QRR XI WNOV NKT TENJ GAHL AH. AH’Z XI JARE, KQH IQSUZ. _ __ ___ _ __. _ ____ ____ _ ____. _ __ ____ _ ____. ___ ___ __ ____ ___ ____ ____ __. __’_ __ ____, ___ _____. PUZZLE ANSWERS ON PAGE 54
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
COMICS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 43
44 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | PETS
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
NKUT super adoption october 2 and 3 | UTAH STATE FAIRPARK Friday noon -7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Hundreds of adorable animals are waiting to meet you! Free admission and parking. Adoption fees start at $25 for cats, $50 for dogs and include spay/neuter and vaccinations.
adopt a new best friend. Save one to help Save Them All®.
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utahfoster@bestfriends.org or 801-574-2417
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september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
Pet Month of the
Off-Leash Dog Parks
salt lake
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46 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | A&E
TOP-SY TURVY ACROSS 1 Sitcom with a cross-dressing corporal 5 Wonder Woman weapon 10 Moved one’s ass 14 Food on the floor, maybe 15 Waters of the sound? 16 Where pirates moor 17 Web info source 18 Friend of Ricky Martin 19 Fleecy females 20 Where do you find a gay man who is an ___ ... 23 Wilde country 24 Go-getter 25 Philip Johnson contemporary 27 Doubtfire’s title 30 Do-___ (desperate) 33 Chicken hawk and falcon 34 Old nuclear power org. 35 Alpine Austrian region 36 _The Name of the Rose_ writer 37 _ ___ Ghost_ (Mailer novel) 40 It changes a señor’s
gender 41 Kaplan of Kotter fame 43 “Candle in the Wind” subject 44 David Bowie genre 45 ... who wants to seduce desperate ___? 48 Yokohama yes 49 Mail order abbr. 50 Answer to the riddle 59 Fashion designer Jacobs 60 “In your dreams!” 61 Shared coin 62 On an Olivia cruise 63 Like Baldwin in Paris 64 Amsterdam transport 65 Two-master 66 Penetrate 67 It may get pussy DOWN 1 Rita’s second name 2 ___ mater 3 Alien’s anal insert? 4 Bound, at a gay rodeo 5 Hit the road 6 Melissa Etheridge’s “Don’t Look ___” 7 Place for your first mate 8 Nintendo rival 9 Mild oath
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
q scopes
10 Thespians may chew it 11 Penetrating tool 12 Green beginner? 13 ___ Moines, Iowa 21 Like Emma Donoghue 22 Traffic noise 25 Self-description from one’s knees? 26 Book after Jonah 27 Racer Andretti 28 Hang loose 29 Triangular treat 31 Vowels of Sappho 32 Jack of old oaters 38 That’s Rich! 39 John Q. Public 42 Morally upright 44 Inspector’s gizmos in a Rupert Everett flick 46 Copland capability 47 AP rival 50 Noncommittal words 51 Gemini org. 52 Barrymore of _Boys on the Side_ 53 Shakespeare’s “anon” updated 54 Boob, to a Brit 55 Way to have one’s meat 56 _Kiss of the Spider Woman_’s William 57 Carhop’s carrier 58 _ ___ Like it Hot_ ANSWERS ON PAGE 54
BY SAM KELLEY-MILLS
biggest of differences.
ARIES March 20–April 19 The path to freedom appears in the form of passion and good spirits. It’s amazing how good someone makes you feel when things get a little tough. Don’t grow dependent on others for happiness, but if an opportunity for it exists, take advantage of it. Strength spawns from coziness, especially in matters of the heart.
SCORPIO Oct. 23–Nov. 21 A period of intense emotional strain will lead to an increase of desires. Give into temptation with a sense of modesty, and satisfaction will be more abundant. An increase of finances will come available, but conservation would be wise. Save for something you really want while being aware of hard times ahead.
TAURUS Apr 20–May 20 Priorities of equal importance flood your agenda. Discouragement ensues without a clear first step, and progress is stalled. Career woes should be handled lightly, while relationship and family matters demand a direct approach. Patience is good, but don’t delay. Draining the pressures of life will provide immediate relief.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22–December 20. Friends from the past will appear in a quick and surprising manner. Welcome or not, there are memories attached to these people. Buried emotions will rise to the surface. Evaluate your feelings carefully and tread lightly. The past is remembered differently from others. Misunderstandings could result in conflict.
GEMINI May 21–June 20 The future seems unclear and a path undefined. This would be fine if you knew the general direction things were going. A normal sense of adventure is notably missing, but do no fret. Life continues moving forward and will eventually show its cards. Now is not a good time to gamble, so some caution would be wise. CANCER June 21–July 22 You’ve kept a big secret for a while. However, everyone already knows what the secret is! Don’t fear letting friends know what defines you, as it will make the world much easier to deal with. Being out of your comfort zone could take time to adjust to, but being exposed can be very liberating. Freedom is a gift to your self. LEO July 23–August 22 A helping hand comes from a family member. A humble nature will emerge as a result, and a new perspective will shape your outlook. Spend time with those close to you, and don’t let a moment of anger overcome your sensibilities. Staying calm when things heat up is encouraged. The last thing needed right now is deep regret. VIRGO August 23–Sep. 22 A big change is coming, so be prepared. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like everyone is too busy. But it’s a good time for reflection and personal expression. Splurge a little, but don’t venture too far from the familiar. A neat friend will make a surprise appearance. However, be aware of some romantic intentions. LIBRA Sept 23–October 22 Dreams can be frightening if truth is mistaken for logic. Don’t blow things out of proportion without measuring the extent of reality. Family members take advantage of insecurities, so avoid a tragedy before it starts. If things don’t feel right, make the necessary adjustments. Small changes make the
CAPRICORN Dec 21–Jan 19 There is no such thing as a perfect life, but perfect moments are possible. Great moments will occur during this time, especially in business matters. An intriguing opportunity will be a powerful lure. Be cautious with individuals who seem too willing to give. Open arms could be a trap. Set restrictions and stand firm. AQUARIUS Jan. 20–Feb. 18 Running away feels good from time to time. This will ring true during this time, Aquarius. Personal entanglements are bound to get sticky, but a little distance will help in overcoming the mess. Eliminate one problem at a time, and free time will flow your way. Relax with a clear head. A good cry could also be cleansing. PISCES Feb 19–Mar 19 Feeling through a problem is only part of the process. Embrace both reason and instinct when finalizing a crucial decision. A career development will cause both delight and frustration when too many options become available. The future isn’t certain, but consequences are. Do what feels right to your head and heart. Balance. Q
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48 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | HEALTH
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
positive thoughts
HIV Is Not Your Enemy BY MYLES HELFAND
Please
don’t be afraid of HIV. It doesn’t deserve it, and you
deserve better. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not anti-fear. I’ve got a whole mess of fears myself — of failure, of illness, of crossing the hectic street outside my office in Manhattan. I’ve got fear pretty down pat. Heck, it’s even healthy. Fear is one of our most fundamental human instincts. It helps keep us safe. I even think it’s healthy to have some fear when it comes to HIV. It’s OK to fear becoming infected with HIV, and it’s OK to be scared of what HIV might do to your body if you’re positive, or to be concerned about the potential side effects of treatment. Those fears can be good if they result in action that makes us better. If we’re appropriately afraid of becoming infected with HIV, we’ll (hopefully) learn more about how the virus is transmitted and the right ways to protect ourselves, and we’ll seek to make changes in our lives that reduce our risk. For some of us, that’ll mean using condoms or starting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). For others, it may mean leaving an abusive relationship, or challenging conditions such as poverty and lack of safe housing that put many at greater risk. If we’re living with HIV and afraid of what comes next, we’ll (hopefully) talk to our doctors and read information on reputable websites, like the four sites who have teamed up to write this monthly column, so that we can ease that fear with information and a plan forward. But to fear HIV itself? That’s where I think we run into problems. Fearing HIV because it exists isn’t logical: HIV itself is not some kind of cold, calculating, devious enemy that seeks to destroy us. It doesn’t care about us at all. It just wants a place to live, and we happen to be a pretty hospitable environment. Nonetheless, a whole lot of us fear HIV itself. Maybe part of that is sheer, animal instinct, but I think much of it is learned. Over the years, an endless array of awareness
campaigns has cast HIV as a villain to be conquered, as though it were some kind of inherently evil creature. We’re at war with HIV, the common refrain goes (I’m as guilty as anyone of using it), and in that life-ordeath fight, the virus is the big bad. But here’s the thing: When we see HIV as a vicious enemy, many of us — far too many –tend to start seeing HIV-positive people as enemies by extension. “Those people!” we think. “They allowed this thing to get inside them. They’ve put others at risk. They bear as much blame as the virus itself.”
When HIV-negative people become HIV positive, that fear — that judgment, that blame — needs somewhere to go. A lot of the time, it lashes out in two directions: inside, toward themselves; and outside, toward the person they think they got HIV from.
This can also be the reaction when HIV-negative people find out that a person they’ve been intimate with has HIV, even when there’s little or no risk of transmission and they remain negative. This is how stigma happens, and when it happens, discrimination follows. It’s how people — Americans, in 2015 — get sent to prison for HIV exposure, some serving terms that are longer than sentences for voluntary manslaughter. These people didn’t share their status because they were afraid. Afraid to be judged. Afraid of the stigma. Afraid to be alone. And, in some cases, maybe at least a little afraid of themselves. It’s a cycle that feeds on itself. We see it in too many HIV education advertisements; one recent campaign features a couple in bed, one partner facing toward us, the other sitting behind them and looking down at them, wondering, “Do I trust him (or her)?” Screw that. Preventing HIV isn’t about whether we trust our partner. It isn’t about fearing the virus or people who live with it. Those instincts are the reason HIV continues to thrive in so much of the world, the U.S. included. Fear breeds stigma, and stigma breeds silence. No, preventing HIV means caring about
ourselves enough to understand what HIV is, how it works and what the risks are. And it’s about respecting ourselves enough to know that we’re worth the steps we can take to keep ourselves, and others, as healthy as we deserve to be. I’m not saying it’s easy to do this, neither for us as a society nor for you and me as individuals. But we need to, or HIV will continue to hurt us in ways that go far beyond the damage it does to our bodies. Maybe it can start with HIV education efforts that focus less on fear, and more on self-respect. In mid-July, humanity lost a man named Bob Munk. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, and immediately dove into AIDS activism, which became his passion. He was a brilliant, kind, deeply caring man. One of his most enduring legacies is AIDS InfoNet, a Web-based effort he started in the early years of the Internet to create and distribute a huge array of fact sheets on HIVrelated topics to as many people, in as many languages, as he could possibly manage. These fact sheets are short, to the point, easy to understand and deeply rooted in reliable research. They say to people: “Here’s what we know. We trust you with this information. Read it, learn it, and use it to make life better.” In a world so often gripped by an obsession with using fear as an HIV prevention tool, Bob Munk opted to take the high road: education, empowerment, self-care. His fact sheets have helped countless thousands, and they push back against what sometimes feels like a relentless tide of fear, stigma and ignorance. I think he had it right. Fear of HIV isn’t the answer, and doesn’t help anyone. We need to respect ourselves, and each other, enough to ensure that we each understand HIV so that we can help one another get past it. We deserve that. Q Myles Helfand is the editorial director of TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.com. Find him on Twitter @MylesatTheBody. This column is a project of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, TheBody.com and Q Syndicate, and QSaltLake Magazine
HEALTH | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 49
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
fitness
Supp, bro? BY TYSON DALEY
Of typical
questions I receive in the gym, those regarding supplements are at the top of the list. Everyone’s heard that you need your weight-gaining shake right after you lift weights, but only if it’s immediately after your creatine-pump-volumizer shake. And if you didn’t have a muscle-exploding pre-workout drink before even driving to the gym then that whole training session was a waste anyway. Jokes aside, while there are some supplements that I highly recommend, depending on your specific fitness goals and personal needs, most supplements I’ve come across are money-making gimmicks. There actually are only two basic supplements I recommend to anyone looking to enhance their fitness. The first is a basic whey protein powder; preferably one that’s low in sugar and fat. Fortunately there are many delicious shakes that fit that profile. This type of protein powder will be ideal for your post-workout needs
as well as times that you might make a shake as a snack or meal replacement. The other supplement is Branched-Chain Amino Acids, or BCAA’s for short. These are the most basic building blocks of muscle. These “complete” certain types of protein and increase how much is bioavailable for muscle growth. I’d recommend to sip on these during your workouts but the actual timing of this isn’t as important. Some of these supplements actually make for a low- to no-calorie drink that can be a good replacement to soda. At the end of the day, supplements should do just that: supplement already effective training and nutrition. If your diet and exercise aren’t adequate, no amount of protein shakes can change that. Q
Tyson Dayley trains clients at the Sugar House 24 Hour Fitness by appointment. He is also available for private training in noncommercial settings. He can be reached at tyson@qsaltlake.com
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50 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | FRIVOLITY
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
the frivolist Insta-Fam: Getting to Know a Few of Instagram’s Rising LGBT Superstars BY MIKEY ROX
CHRIS SALVATORE
SHAKEIA MCCALL-BARNES
ACTOR/SINGER CHRISSALVATORE.COM AGE: 30 IG HANDLE: @CHRISSALVATORE # OF FOLLOWERS: 98K
COMEDIAN/SPEAKER/EDUCATOR KIACOMEDY.COM AGE: 30 IG HANDLE: @KIACOMEDY # OF FOLLOWERS: 7.3K
Name five character traits your ideal dude must have. They have to have a sense of humor first and foremost. I would also like them to not be shy when it comes to decision-making time, like where to go on dates. I like to be with someone who is confident in himself. I like good kissers, too! Sexual chemistry is important to me. Also, I am 6-foot-3, so ideally someone around my height I find makes things better.
Who are a few of your comedy idols? Some of my comedy idols are Melissa McCarthy, Eddie Murphy, Rickey Smiley and Wanda Sykes, because they all started off doing open-mic standup comedy and were able to turn that into amazing careers in entertainment. They also took risks and stayed true to themselves, and the world fell in love with their comedy. They have influenced me the most, because their stories and careers encourage me to continue to do what I do.
Where’s your favorite place to kick it in L.A.? This is gonna be such a ‘dad’ answer but probably the dog park. My furry child, Bobby, has a lot of energy and needs to run free. There’s also a lot going on at dog parks, which can be highly entertaining. What’s your next project? I will be joining the cast of The Horizon, an Australian web series, which is kind of like Queer as Folk. We start filming this summer!
it comically juxtaposes real-life issues like war, racism, death and American history while still cracking my side makes it the winner in my book!
CONNOR FRANTA
YOUTUBER YOUTUBE.COM/CONNORFRANTA AGE: 22 IG HANDLE: @CONNORFRANTA # OF FOLLOWERS: 3.4M
Why do you think you appeal to so many online/social media users? I think people are attracted to normal people doing great things. I get inspired every single day by my YouTube friends dominating everything from the music industry to the fashion industry. We’re at the brink of a new era where anyone, including you reading this article, can achieve great things – all you need is an Internet connection.
Favorite sitcom of all time? My favorite sitcom of all time is The Cosby Show, regardless of Bill Cosby’s fall from grace. It showcased a successful and diverse family and addressed difficult issues and concerns, but still managed to be hilarious. Who didn’t want to be Rudy, Theo or Denise Huxtable in the ’90s?
How do you keep your YouTube content dynamic and intriguing? Variety and consistency is key in keeping your audience engaged with your creations. I never want to fall into a cycle of uploading videos I feel aren’t somewhat unique to me or unique to the space. I’m always trying to add a bit of flare and a twist to my content to keep my viewers interested.
Funniest movie of all time? The funniest movie of all time is absolutely Forrest Gump! The way
Who are some of your favorite YouTubers? I’m a huge fan of the entire YouTube community. Each
creator brings his or her own strengths to the table. Currently, I’m particularly captivated by what Joe Sugg, Marques Brownlee, Natalie Tran and Casey Neistat are creating. It’s all so good!
PATRICK JANELLE
CO-FOUNDER OF SPRING STREET SOCIAL SOCIETY & THE LIQUOR CABINET SSSSOCIETY.COM AGE: 33 IG HANDLE: @AGUYNAMEDPATRICK # OF FOLLOWERS: 382K
You were recently awarded the first Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Instagrammer of the Year Award. To what do you owe that honor? I won the award for the Instagram work I did with the Thom Browne team, integrating the designer’s pieces into my lifestyle over the series of two weeks after I was nominated. The nomination itself was a huge surprise, and I’m not actually sure how the CFDA found out about me – but I couldn’t be happier! Tell me a bit about Spring Street Society... Spring Street Social Society started as a series of cabaret shows in my backyard at the time, which was on Spring Street in SoHo. It has since become a series of different types of events, including dinners and social salons in empty buildings around Manhattan. We’ve also grown a membership following,
A&E | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 51
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
in which guests can apply to become members for exclusive access to some of our activities. The events are always different, but some things stay the same: the location is announced the morning of the event, performances are an integral part of each gathering, and no two events are ever the same. Oh, and there are always cocktails. Which is a good segue to the next question: What’s the Liquor Cabinet all about? The Liquor Cabinet is a company I founded with my two brothers. We are developing an app and a website that will act as the authoritative place to get information about liquor and cocktails. As a culture, we are increasingly interested in the origin of what we eat and drink, but this type of information for liquor is either untrustworthy or hard to locate. We aim to be the go-to destination whether you’re looking for cocktail recipes or general information about a spirit you’d like to learn more about.
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What advice do you have for
LUKE & ADAM MONASTERO
other trans* who may be having
TWIN YOUTUBERS YOUTUBE.COM/THEMONASTEROTWINS AGES: 22 IG HANDLES: @MYNAMEISLUKE, @ADAMONASTERO # OF FOLLOWERS: LUKE, 4K; ADAM; 6.4K
a hard time right now? Trust the process, stay positive, and have patience with yourself and others. Embrace each step forward, and celebrate them. It really is a beautiful journey.
Which one of you is older? Adam: Luke is older by two minutes, which doesn’t bother me – but the fact that he’s an inch taller does a little. Ever had a crush on your brother’s date/boyfriend? Luke: No, I don’t think that would never happen because Adam likes younger guys and I like older guys. Using only three adjectives, describe your brother. Adam: Funny, sociable and trustworthy. Luke: Creative, ambitious and very articulate. Q Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He lives with his dog Jaxon and is on Twitter @mikeyrox.
Who is your favorite superhero? Captain America. What’s on your summer playlist? A whole lot of indie folk.
7 8 9 4
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FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER YOUTUBE.COM/GORILLASHRIMP AGE: 26 IG HANDLE: @GORILLASHRIMP # OF FOLLOWERS: 11.6K
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52 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NIGHTLIFE
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
princess kennedy
Death of a Kennedy BY PRINCESS KENNEDY
I relocated
back to the 801 almost nine years ago — a conscious decision I made in solidarity with family. My parents left shortly after I moved to San Francisco for Manhattan. Right before they left I received a worrisome phone call from my mother with a story of my father going for a walk and getting lost. Worrisome because he got lost in the neighborhood they lived for 30 years. This sparked a bit of concern because we had lost dad’s mom to Alzheimer’s a few years before and, although there is no proven heredity, one can’t help but let one’s mind run such thoughts in the given scenario. I come from a fairly large Mormon family. My father, a convert, had a possession in the church and mom was raised tried and true. Much like the subject of my transness, we didn’t discuss unseemly things that upset mother and this included daddy’s health issues. In fact to this day she’s hard pressed to acknowledge anything but the normal effects of old age. I had pretty much resolved any issues with my family before I left for San Fran. I no longer got hellfire lectures. I returned the favor on my gay rights agenda and quite frankly, genetics or otherwise, I’m totally ok with not talking about stuff for the sake of conflict and stress. My parents knew exactly what I was about and I resolved that people (Mormons) need something to wake up for everyday, so like it or not we all compromise and that is what part of being a family was about. The ’rents moving to NY was kind of a godsend. I left SLC with a proverbial middle finger, vowing to never set foot in this backwater hellhole again. I spent a ton of time in NY during those days being an ‘It-Gurl.’ My parents, located in the heart of Lincoln Center on the Upper West, gave me a desirable zip code in the art world that opened doors. So of course I took advantage and Eddy and Suzanne were all too happy to comply. I saw them a hell-of-a-lot more than I would have living in Salt Lake. They knew exactly what my life was about, even sharing in the excitement of my success and we were able to grow much closer during those years out of the shadow of the Zion Curtain.
On my trips to the East I would notice small things about my father — a frequent repeat of a story, random stories of childhood we had never heard and an all-too-troublesome blankness. My mother, again, never acknowledged anything, but also never let him out of her sight, developing an ever-present Nancy Reagan quality — answering for him, total decision making, etc. Flash forward to 2006 when I got the call that it was time for them to come home to Utah. All mother dearest would say is that daddy had some health issues and the slower pace of Salt Lake would be better. After some deep soul searching I decided that, A) that sounded pretty good after a solid decade of partying around the globe and B) in the twilight of my parents’ lives I couldn’t not be there to help in any way, as they had been there for me and I didn’t want to have to live someday with regret. So I moved back. My father slowly progressed with obvious, yet mild, dementia. Slow being the operative word. I foolishly self diagnosed a timeline in SL for about five years — get mother settled and boom, off to a new adventure! Luckily, I fell madly in love with my home town and dad never left the stages of early onset. My five years turned into eight. Last October dad had a sever stroke. I sat vigil bedside in the hospital thinking this was it. Unfortunately that lasted another 10 grueling months until he passed two weeks ago. I had no idea that what I thought would be a relief to pain and indigence would turn into the most emotional week of my life. It seems when your parents die you revert back to a 16-year-old. I had to deal with family I never see. Kids of my nephews taunting me with, “Are you a boy or a girl?” started it and I was sent back to an ugly place in my life where my familial relationships were horrible. Suddenly I could only think of the toxic relationship I had with my father, he hated me! My idea of sport was hunting for bargains and fishing for compliments. He never let me forget what a disappointment I was and I had fucked everything up for their religious afterlife plan of salvation. The pressure sent me spiraling into a drug and alcohol bender that lasted for three days. I found I had to give a speech at the
funeral. What was I to say? Lie? Everything was great! All I could focus on was how much I had looked forward to this day, once upon a time, and the guilt was insurmountable. After a day or two of sobriety I was able to think a bit clearer and remember how, when faced with diversity, he loved and supported me. Given our situation, he came through and never once looked sideways at me in my long blonde locks, full face of makeup and stiletto nails. He was affectionate and would call to ask me over because he missed me. He was my daddy. I found closure, I had the opportunity to share an honest picture of daddy that so many who knew him religiously didn’t know and a side my siblings didn’t get to share. I could make a room full of old Mormons listen to the reality of this world for five minutes and this was the eulogy I gave. My fondest memory riding on my pop’s shoulders up and down the malls where mom’s shops were. (I was raised in malls. Surprise). From those experiences with daddy I was set up with a with valuable life lessons of being an expert window shopper, the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone and sauntering at a glacial pace, daydreamimg. A quality I have from my father is that he was a bit of a rebel, but my teen angst was uncharitable. Admittedly our relationship became strained as we entered those years. We realized we didn’t have much in common. We got trapped in an ugly cycle of fear and frustration and, I’m sure we would both agree, that wasn’t our finest moment. But it’s OK because we eventually realized we were placed with each other as a test and, through a series of hurdles, we gained an unparalleled prize that I, and I alone, got to share with him. For two very opposite people we became strong enough to set aside emotion and principle, we gained understanding, eventually acceptance and ultimately judgment-free love and mutual respect. What an amazing gift to not only learn from a parent but teach to get to teach in return. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the friends I have whose fathers turned their backs on them due to ignorance or religious intolerance. I’m proud to know that mine would think that unconscionable. I felt lucky that my father intended for me to spread this to an audience I might not normally get to speak to. I think that we share the same intention that, if I got at least one parent to go home and tell their kid they loved them, then everything we went through was worth it. Now, if your daddy is still with you, put down this paper, go call him and tell him you love him. Q Princess Kennedy can be contacted at Theprincesskennedy@qsaltlake.com
september 2015 | issue 247 | gaysaltlake.com
NIGHTLIFE | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 53
54 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | FINAL WORD
gaysaltlake.com | issue 247 | september 2015
the perils of petunia pap smear
and was nervous about the oppressively suffocating closeness of the machine. He told me of his cave-spelunking exploits where he squirmed along with only a half inch of space to spare for about one hundred yards before he reached safety. Damn him, even after two Valium, all I could envision while being sucked into the infernal machine was being in a cave with a half inch of air. Talk about a blood pressure spike!
A tale of hypertension BY PETUNIA PAP SMEAR
Church-sponsored electroshock aversion therapy to change sexual orientation, it only brought on a case of deeply buried posttraumatic stress disorder. We continued moving from one torturous machine to another. With each new agony I would loudly exclaim increasing pain. I even tried to flirt my way to freedom with him by batting my eyelashes, but bless Cade’s stunningly handsome heart, he was having none of it. Finally, he put me on THE RACK, or in other words, put me on a traction machine where he bound my head up in a noose and then tried to pull it off my shoulders. After several horrendous sessions like this, I was re-evaluated by the doctor and he ordered a kinder gentler therapy regime. Now, it ended up after a few not terrible stretching exercises that Cade took my head in his hands and placed the top of it directly against his rockhard abs and gave my neck a 20-minute massage, all the while telling me stories of Texas in his cute southern accent. OMG ... I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I explained to Cade that I was going to have an MRI and that I was extremely claustrophobic
As always, these events leave us with several burning eternal questions: 1. Should beautiful medical professionals include a handsomeness handicap on the blood pressure readings? 2. If I had been wearing breasticles would they have impaled both my lungs or would they have broken through the windshield giving me an escape route? 3. If I had been wearing breasticles would I have been top heavy enough to send the truck tumbling off the cliff? 4. Would the lighted breasticles have been of sufficient brightness to enable the airrescue helicopter to land? 5. Should I get a new job directing nighttime landings at the airport? 6. Are all physical therapists trained in the Marquis de Sade School of Torture? These and other important questions to be answered in future chapters of: The Perils of Petunia Pap Smear. Q
PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
Cryptogram: ‘I AM WHO I AM. I LIKE WHAT I LIKE. I LOVE WHAT I LOVE. I Anagram: JACKIE BISKUPSKI DO WHAT I WANT. GET OFF MY BACK AND DEAL WITH IT. IT’S MY LIFE, NOT YOURS.’.
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Of course there was a fourhour wait until my spousal unit would arrive. I was left to languish there alone in the curtained-off section of the emergency room without fresh eyeliner and lipstick, and chipped nails — as God as my witness, I had chipped nails. I struggled between losing consciousness and catching glimpses of Dr. Adonis as he went about his other duties. Finally Mr. Pap Smear arrived and with the help of three nurses, was able to move my spasming bulkitude to the car. The four-hour ride home seemed to take at least 24. Every single little bump in the road was nearly like a death sentence. I swear that it even hurt my chest when a bug splattered on the windshield. Mr. Pap Smear, after getting me home, poured me into the recliner, which was destined to become my home for the next few weeks. On Monday I went to see a local doctor. After closer examination he explained that I probably had damaged disks in my neck and he spoke the two most dreaded words in the English language. “Physical therapy.” With much trepidation, I slowly entered the physical therapy room. I noticed in a quick cursory glance the many varied torturous machines crowding the place. My apprehension was greatly relieved when I was introduced to my therapist, Cade from Texas. What can I say, he was gorgeous. He had a gymnast’s build and spoke with the cutest Southern drawl. And then we began. First he connected me to an electroshock device that is supposed to relax the injured muscles. But as a veteran of
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to health and vigor is fraught with danger and excitement. As many of you may know, I was injured in a one vehicle rollover in the middle of the night in mid-June in Nevada. I was examined by a very handsome doctor in the hospital in Elko. He did a CAT scan and determined that nothing major was broken. He did comment that my blood pressure was elevated. Well, every time I looked at Dr. Adonis’ perfectly proportioned, firm, rounded tushie — that you could bounce a coin off — wiggling around in his “come hither” tight pants, and his gym-worthy biceps protruding his rather formfitting black scrubs, of course my blood pressure would rise. Every time he touched me, I nearly stroked out. I was relieved when Dr. Adonis said he would release me from the hospital but I was also heartbroken I would not be under his care any longer. He did, however, give me morphine as a consolation prize. Side note: I have always feared being in a wreck while wearing my blinking breasticles. For this reason I can often be found getting nearly naked in the Club Try-Angles parking lot prior to driving home. I was experiencing massive pain in my chest from being compressed by the shoulder belt, so much so I could not take a full breath or move by myself. At six on Sunday morning, I called Mr. Pap Smear, disturbing his beauty sleep. In the sweetest, most pitifully vulnerable voice I could muster, I asked “Honey, could you please drive to Elko and pick me up?” I was sure to pause and cough at least three times for dramatic effect.
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