QSaltLake Magazine | Issue 346 | April 2023

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Transgender Day of Visibility in Utah celebrates accomplishments, acknowledges hard work ahead

Friday, March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility in a year where transgender issues make headlines daily as conservative legislators and politicians target them

as part of a campaign led by well-funded Christian nationalist groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Visibility, transgender rights proponents say, is

vital to turn the tide of fear and hate directed at transgender people.

“We need visibility for all and, in particular, for our youth,” said Utah transgender activist Sue Robbins. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

Project Rainbow Utah has been busy the past few weeks placing transgender flags in the yards of supporters who make donations to support transgender nonprofits. The organization is also holding a rally and march at the Utah State Capitol Building at 5 p.m.

“Today we celebrate you, organizers said on their Facebook page. “We honor those who have accomplished so much before us. We uplift those speaking up as themselves, for themselves, and for all of us. This day is about celebration while still acknowledging we have so much work to do.”

More than 430 state bills have been introduced in more than 40 state legislatures, and over 20 have become law, including two in the state of Utah. Grassroots organizing has helped to prevent some proposed bills from becoming law, with over 90 percent of proposed bills targeting LGBTQ people last year failing to become law.

Young students have also joined in the fight against laws targeting transgender people by walking out of class to protest in coordination with students from other schools. Anti-transgender rhetoric has been amplified

on social media this week by far-right media personalities and members of Congress following a school shooting in Nashville where the gender identity of the suspect, Audrey Hale, remains unclear.

Surveys have found that policies preventing transgender people from accessing gender-affirming healthcare or using restrooms that match their gender identity are not overwhelmingly popular among most Americans. Organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU, and Lambda Legal, have argued that these policies are discriminatory. Court orders have blocked a number of anti-LGBTQ laws from taking effect in several states.

While litigation takes time, it has been successful in blocking some anti-LGBTQ laws. However, states that have passed laws targeting transgender people are becoming impatient. West Virginia has requested the Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s temporary injunction that has blocked the state from enforcing a law barring transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams for more than a year.

It will take time to repeal laws targeting transgender and LGBTQ rights. The outcome of upcoming state and federal elections, including the 2024 presidential election, will play an outsized role in determining what the future will look like for transgender Americans.

BY CRAIG OGAN

Guns and gays get Gonzales

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales faces censure by the Republican Party of Texas because he voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act and gun control in Congress. Censure by the party is extra-constitutional and means nothing, but Gonzales is one of the very narrow Republican majority in Congress, so censure has national ramifications.

Fighting the last war

It was only a matter of time before the anti-marriage equality force reared its head. Iowa voted to legalize same-sex marriage in 2009. Now eight legislators want to change that by amending the state constitution with a definition of marriage contrary to marriage equality. The resolution reads, in part, “The laws of nature and nature’s God, the state of Iowa recognizes the definition of marriage to be the solemnized union between one human biological male and one human biological female.” Leaders of the Republican lead legislature say the resolution “likely won’t get a hearing.” Even if it did, the federal “Respect for Marriage Act” and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling supersedes state law.

Tennessee drags drag

Some drag performance is now illegal in Tennessee after the state general assembly passed a bill criminalizing the performance in public places where children may be present. Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill within hours of passage. The law redefines “male and female impersonators” as adult cabaret performers and bans “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors.” Drag performances could not take place on public property or in venues accessible to minors. A violating drag performer can be charged with a felony.

Can animals be gay?

The Greek historical figure, Aristotle (384–322 BC), observed same-sex bonding behavior in pigeons, partridges, and quails. An ancient Egyptian writer, Horapollo (circa 4 AD), also wrote about observing it in partridges. Contemporary scientists do not call animals “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” or “queer” to avoid “anthropomorphizing” or “Disneyfying” animals and seeing them as “imperfect copies of humans.” Biologists have documented same-sex behaviors in over 1,500 species in every major animal group and significant geographic region worldwide, according to a University of California study. These behaviors can include sexual and genital contact; courtship, affection, pair-bonding behaviors (like hugging, nuzzling, licking, and grooming); and parenting offspring. The study posits that male sheep are quite gay.

Voters hotfoot Lightfoot

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for a second term failing to be among the top two spots in the city’s nonpartisan mayoral race. There will

be a run-off election since no candidate received over 50% of the vote. Competing for the office will be Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Lightfoot was the city’s first Black woman and openly gay person to serve as mayor.

Spacy-like accusations against conservative leader

A campaign staffer in the last Georgia Senate race has accused conservative activist Matt Schlapp of groping him. Schlapp is a former advisor to the last Republican president and was a Fox News contributor. He is currently chair of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the Conservative Political Action Conference. ACU is a 50-year-old think tank that is most famous for the CPAC conference, a testing ground for conservative ideas, and a showplace for Republican candidates. The accuser, Carlton Huffman, claimed violation of personal space, lewd comments, and unwanted touching. Schlapp denies the charges. Huffman has apologized for posting sexist and racist comments on his blog, saying he was young and is ashamed of past comments. He has also been accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward two women this year. Schlapp’s other problem is CPAC is losing its standing in the political world with dwindling attendance and media coverage. CPAC is criticized as becoming not much more than “a pagan fire dance” for the last Republican president who gave a two-hour speech at this year’s February gathering.

Presidential interview on stuff, LGBT

The current president gave a long interview touching on many LGBT issues to Kal Penn, a guest host of “The Daily Show.” He denounced legislation regulating surgical and pharmaceutical therapies of minors under consideration or passed in some U.S. States as “cruel.” He used a catchphrase from his mother to describe the legislation as “close to sinful.” He also decried the exclusion of classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in primary schools which Florida and other states propose. Discussing Penn’s pending marriage to his longtime boyfriend, the president offered congratulations and marital advice. Penn asked the president of his “epiphany’ in support of marriage equality. The president recounted he saw two men kissing while he was in high school, “I turned and looked to my dad. He said, ‘Joey, it is simple. They love each other,’” Biden said. “It’s just that simple.” After 50 years of ignoring his father’s sentiments, he became a supporter of marriage equality in 2012 after having voted for legislation such as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and “Defense of Marriage Act” and campaigning against marriage equality as late as 2008. His signed legislation to codify marriage equality, the “Respect for Marriage Act,” passed by Congress at his urging this year.

Brendan Fraser, best actor

The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences presented the Oscar for Best Actor to another straight-washed portrayal of a dying gay man. Brendan Fraser won for his portrayal of an overweight man, estranged from his family and suffering angst over

The top national and world news since last issue you should know

body issues in “The Whale.” Fraser joins other notable avowedly straight males who won Oscars playing gay men: Tom Hanks for “Philadelphia,” William Hurt for “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Capote,” Sean Penn for “Milk,” and Rami Malek for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Fraser appeared with gay-icon Sir Ian McKellen in “God’s and Monsters.” This time Fraser in the straight role and McKellen, the gay character.

Texas bill creates bounty hunt for drag queens

Texas Republican state Rep. Steve Toth’s proposed bill, HB 4378, which would allow individuals to sue anyone who hosts or performs in drag in the presence of a minor, has drawn criticism for its potential to target drag queens and transgender individuals.

The bill’s language does not allow for a defense that the minor was accompanied by a parent or guardian, which has raised concerns from activists. Critics argue that the bill’s definition of drag as any performance that is not representative of an individual’s gender assigned at birth could bar transgender individuals from performing in Texas, creating a dangerous culture of policing individuals’ identities.

Cicilline resigns from Congress

Rhode Island’s six-term Democratic Congressman, David Cicilline, announced his immediate resignation from Congress to become CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. Cicilline, who was a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, stated that

serving the people of Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District had been an honor, but leading one of the largest community foundations in the US was an extraordinary opportunity to have a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of Rhode Islanders. His resignation will prompt a special election to fill his seat, with Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee setting a date in the coming months.

Santos investigated for ethics, sexual violations

The U.S. House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. George Santos, R-New York, over allegations of ethics violations referred by the Office of Congressional Ethics. Santos, who was elected to Congress in 2022, released a statement expressing confidence that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. The Ethics Committee has the power to investigate and discipline members of the House for ethics violations, ranging from reprimand to expulsion from Congress. The investigation comes as House Democrats are pushing for a package of ethics reforms aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in Congress. The potential consequences of the investigation are unclear. Q

Rep. David Cicilline

A BRUTAL UTAH SESSION COMES

Ban on transgender treatments for minors passes in first days of the session; governor signs

First out of the gate for the 2023 legislative session was a bill sponsored by Sen. Michael S. Kennedy drafted a substitute bill to SB16, which would prohibit Utah doctors from performing “sex characteristic surgical procedures” on a minor.

Before the Health and Human Services Interim Committee hearing during the October interim session of the Utah Legislature, Kennedy said it was “with some reluctance that [he] enter into the policy debate regarding the health care of transgender minors.”

He went on to misstate the policies supported by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society, saying the organizations are against sex changes in minors.

He also characterized such surgeries as “weak” and “novel.”

In his new draft, the bill would require the Utah Dept. of Health to study hormonal and transgender treatments, require the Division of Professional Licensing to create a certification for providing “hormonal transgender treatments,” and prohibit health care providers from using hormonal treatments for any new patients, threatening such doctors with a malpractice suit.

Transgender advocate Sue Robbins explains the bill in lay-person terms.

“If you take this to a high level to weed out specifics, the bill allows continuing of existing, ongoing treatment programs for minors but will block new treatment programs. A study will be conducted by Health and Human Services and that will be used for future decisions by the legislature,” she said. “We have seen

this malpractice verbiage before and it ultimately makes doctors back away from providing healthcare either to remove risk or due to increased insurance. This is a very dangerous insertion.”

The bill passed its first senate committee on the second day of the session, and passed the Utah Senate the next day on a party-line vote.

The House passed the bill (also on a party-line vote) one week later, and the governor signed it the next day.

Conversion therapy bill goes from opening door to the practice to banning it, with clarification

In an August interim session of the Utah State Legislature, it became apparent that several LGBTQ issues would be brought to the 2023 Utah Legislative Session, including reversing the ban on so-called conversion therapy.

Legislators were still stinging that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s administration banned conversion therapy through a Division of Professional Licensing rule in 2020. The rule was nearly exactly that of a failed 2019 bill.

Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, brought the issue to the interim session out of “concern” about how the rule came to exist. He even went as far as to say that there was no need for a ban on the practice.

“There are past medical procedures that have been disfavored, and they drop out naturally,” Brammer said in the committee hearing on the proposal. He mentioned bloodletting, a practice that ended in the 1800s, as a procedure no longer used but never outlawed in the state.

“Why do we treat this differently?”

The committee passed the proposal favorably, and

Sen. Michael S. Kennedy

Rep. Mike Petersen

COMES TO A CLOSE

House Bill 228 was drafted by North Logan Republican Rep. Mike Petersen. It would ban such practices as electroshock and vomit-inducing therapies but would allow “talk therapy.”

“Imagine a 13-year-old girl. She’s experiencing body changes. She’s got all kinds of social pressures. She’s feeling confused and unsure about her gender. She wants to have an open and honest conversation, but she can’t because her therapist knows that by rule, they’re prohibited from doing anything but affirming the young girl’s idea she may be a boy,” Petersen testified.

Petersen said that the 2020 administrative rule governing conversion therapy was so restrictive it was hindering mental health professionals.

“Under the current rule, we’ve been talking with many counselors who have either restricted their practice or they no longer want to deal with minor patients. Here we are at a time in our state’s history where we are concerned about the problems kids are going through and this is the time we need to make sure that they feel free to talk,” Petersen added.

Equality Utah leaders saw the bill as opening the door to reintroducing conversion therapy. They began negotiating with Petersen and came to a compromise. The group endorsed Petersen’s substitute bill and thanked him for being willing to find a compromise.

“We’ve had important dialogue and have shared our concerns openly,” the organization said in a statement. “The 2nd sub continues to prohibit the very dangerous practice of conversion therapy for minors while providing greater clarification for Utah therapists, and accordingly, we support the advancement of HB228 as amended.”

The updated legislation focused solely on minors and allowed mental health professionals to provide care in a “neutral” way to assist a client seeking information about sexual

orientation or gender identity.

The bill went on to pass unanimously in both houses and was signed by the governor.

Utah state senator pulls bill to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in public universities

Utah Republican Sen. John Johnson of North Ogden shelved his controversial bill proposing the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and leadership positions at public universities in Utah, saying it was “way too harsh.” Johnson, a staunch conservative who opposes discussions of racism in classrooms, drafted SB283, which many see as the latest in a series of bills targeting diversity in the state.

The Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to move the bill to an interim study item. The decision was met with quiet claps and a few cheers from those in attendance who had come to oppose the measure.

Rep. Michael J. Petersen, R. North Logan, was the House sponsor of the bill.

The only Black state lawmaker in Utah, Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, made an impassioned speech against an earlier bill to restrict schools from asking an applicant anything about their work to further inclusion. She questioned the motivations behind the bill and the reasons why her colleagues were introducing it, saying, “I don’t know what we’re doing anymore … I don’t know what the fear is.”

Despite her impassioned plea, the House voted to pass HB451 on party lines and the bill was forwarded to the Senate.

The following day, members of the

Sen. John Johnson

Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee killed the bill 1–4, with only Johnson supporting it.

Johnson, while supporting the decision to pull SB283 for the current session, maintained that he stood behind his original motivation for drafting it, stating that many stakeholders had expressed concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion offices within public universities potentially prioritizing political or social ideologies over academic rigor and intellectual diversity. Johnson, who is also a professor at Utah State University, did not mention his position at the university during the hearing.

The senator stated that his bill aimed to safeguard institutions of higher education from DEI bureaucracies to help them maintain academic freedom. He also noted that roughly $11 million is spent on these programs at Utah colleges and universities every year and called for more accountability for that funding. Johnson is now pushing for a study on what the programs do and who they help.

He also acknowledged that he did not believe he had given all stakeholders a fair chance to weigh in and hoped to do so in the interim, stating that his proposal was meant to “bring people to the table and start honest conversations.” Johnson further added that he felt the original bill was “way too harsh” and that it was not his intention to eliminate Black history or any other protections for students. Instead, he believed that there needed to be a robust discussion on the issue.

The Utah Black Roundtable issued a statement opposing the original draft of the bill, stating that it would lead to people being “oppressed and discriminated” against. The group also questioned what had happened to the promises made by state leaders, including the governor, when they signed the Utah Compact on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in 2020, where they acknowledged racism and vowed to fight disparities. Utah Tech Leads, which represents the growing tech industry in the state, also opposed the bill, stating that it would hurt the ability of tech businesses to bring in new and diverse staff.

There was little discussion from the legislative committee on the bill after it was amended into a study item. Sen. Luz Escamilla, a Latino Democrat representing Salt Lake City, thanked Johnson for making the changes and

sparing her from “reading a five-minute speech” opposing the bill.

Senate and House Democrats earlier in the day released a statement supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the state and asked that any bill that was past that limited the ideals be brought up for reconsideration.

Bill in response to St. George drag shows not heard before end of Utah legislative session

A bill that would require cities and other subdivisions of the state to provide public notice that an event in a public space might have adult content failed only because the Utah Senate didn’t find time to pass it on the final day of the Utah 2023 Legislative Session.

HB 329 was sponsored by Rep. Colin Jack, R-St. George, who told St. George News that it was drafted in response to the public uproar that occurred last summer in St. George over the HBO “We’re Here” drag show.

“This bill is about protecting children and empowering parents,” Jack said in his testimony no less than a dozen times. “Parents have told me they feel disenfranchised in our public spaces.”

No public comments mentioned drag, even when Rep. Sahara Hayes, D-Millcreek, tried on the House floor to get Jack to give examples of what the bill is intended to cover.

The bill passed the House in a party-line 55-14 vote. It also passed the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee hearing and moved to the full Senate.

Jack said the bill purposely left out strict definitions of what adult themes may imply, leaving it to public entities approving an event permit to make that determination.

Groups and individuals spoke in favor of the bill on Monday, including the Utah Eagle Forum, Utah Parents United, and the Washington County Republican Women. Leeds Mayor Bill Hoster and St. George City Councilwoman Michelle

Tanner also lent their voices in support of HB 329. Tanner likened the bill to existing state law that requires coverings to be put over provocative magazine covers found in supermarket checkout lines.

“It’s a very simple bill,” said Tanner. “We know it is harmful to children when they are exposed to certain adult behaviors and adult content. … We really, really need to put children first.”

However, the bill faced opposition from Equality Utah, the American Liberties Union of Utah, and others arguing that it doesn’t protect children as much as it violates the First Amendment and invites litigation.

“This bill is not constitutional,” attorney David Reymann said during a Senate Committee hearing. “It is a content-based restriction on free speech. … It is hopelessly and unconstitutionally vague. … It’s not a well-thought-out bill and is an invitation to litigation.”

Lyla Mahmoud of ACLU Utah said the bill might result in people feeling their free speech is being suspended due to not being able to hold a public event out of the worry it may be labeled as inappropriate. This, too, may lead to litigation, she said.

“In this bill, we’re not attempting to redefine any of that, and we’re not attempting to prohibit any kind of free speech,” Jack said during the hearing. “We’ve said that in the application, if the local standard deems that (the event) is legal, but maybe not good for minors, then it should have a notice so that parents will know whether or not to bring their kids to those events.”

The bill includes language meant to protect public staff who do the permitting, but parties that commented against the bill remained skeptical.

“It’s challenging for a city council to try and regulate this,” said Brian Allen, a member of the Cottonwood Heights City Council. “It’s fraught with all sorts of liability issues. You’re putting city councils in an awkward position.”

Jack told St. George News the bill “was on the right side of the First Amendment” and that “litigation is the threat people use for legislation people don’t like.”

In the final hours of the Legislative Session, the bill remained on the board, meaning it was not passed into law.

Rep. Colin Jack

‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill introduced in Utah Legislature

Seven days before the end of the Legislative session, a bill similar to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law was introduced by Rep. Jeffrey D. Stenquist, R-Draper.

The bill bans “classroom instruction or classroom discussion” on “sexuality, including sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade.

The short bill reads: Each LEA and each school shall ensure that classroom instruction or classroom discussion that an educator or other adult leads on sexuality, including sexual orientation or gender identity, as those terms are defined in Section 34A-5-102, does not occur:

(1) in kindergarten through grade 3; or

(2) in a manner that is not age or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

Florida’s law reads, Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Similar bills have been introduced to state legislatures across the country.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Forida’s law “hateful.” “I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community —

especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve,” Biden said in a tweet.

Since Florida passed the law, teachers have expressed confusion and frustration with the ban, and school libraries have been swept of all books for fear of being sued for discrimination be only removing LGBTQ-related books.

Stenquist rejected the characterization of his bill as a “don’t say gay” bill.

“What it really is, is about just saying, let’s have age-appropriate discussions in the classroom. These discussions are sensitive, and really, parents need to be aware and understand what’s being discussed around these topics with their children,” Stenquist told the Deseret News, saying he drafted the bill for a constituent who complained their child’s teacher “was introducing a few topics of discussion in the classroom that she felt were a little inappropriate.”

“So I looked into it to see, ‘What do we have as far as guidelines for teachers and schools that can put some parameters around that?’ and really found that we don’t have anything around classroom discussions and instruction,” Stenquist told the Deseret News. “And so I was happy to open the bill and say, ‘Let’s have this conversation about what might be appropriate.’”

Though the wording is nearly word-for-word as the Florida law, Stenquist says he wasn’t trying to model it after it.

“Equality Utah is very dismayed to see a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill introduced in Utah, especially when the Utah Leg-

islature enacted legislation repealing similar language from Utah code in 2017,” Equality Utah said in a statement. “This bill is damaging and stigmatizing to LGBTQ children and their families, and we will oppose it vigorously.”

Equality Utah leaders also said this is a bill that is going down the same path as other bills that the legislature has shied from.

Monday, Feb. 27, is the last day a bill can be first heard by a legislative committee, meaning the bill is unlikely to make it to the floor of either chamber unless it is pushed through by leadership or considered under suspension of the rules. Similar controversial bills have done so successfully in other legislative years.

Other LGBTQ-Related Bills

SB154 ADOPTION AMENDMENTS addressed a U.S> Su-

preme Court decision that allowed religion-based adoption agencies to deny services to same-sex couples. This bill created an adoption consortium that allowed agencies to pass couples to another consortium member if they were unable to handle their adoption.

HB209 EXTRACURICULAR ACTIVITIES wasn’t meant to address transgender participation in sports, but it was amended to include a provision that schools must collect and review birth certificates for participating student athletes.

SB100 SCHOOL GENDER POLICIES would have required school administrators to notify a parent if they wanted to be addressed by a name different than their birth certificate. It now only addresses students who want an official name change on school records. Q

Rep. Jeffrey D. Stenquist

Rep. Sahara Hayes is now Utah’s only openly LGBTQ legislator

Utah’s only currently openly gay legislator, Rep. Sahara Hayes, has become a prominent voice for LGBTQ rights in the state’s government.

Hayes represents Utah House District 32, which includes much of South Salt Lake, southwestern Sugar House and northwestern Millcreek.

In her first session, Hayes was immediately thrust into an emotional discussion about the community’s rights as the legislature moved to ban transgender-related surgeries and puberty blockers for children.

During the debate, Hayes spoke out against the effort, citing her close relationship with someone who is trans. She talked about how hard it was for her loved one to live “knowing you’re never going to have the body you want.” Hayes knew she might need to address an issue like this because a 2022 bill banning transgender girls from playing high school sports prompted her to run for office in the first place.

“H.B. 11 is actually a big reason why I ran for office because I do have a trans loved one,” she said. “It felt like there needed to be somebody that was directly standing in that line of fire. You see this group just getting vilified a lot, and used as a scapegoat. … It’s hard because I see the people that it hurts directly.”

Hayes believes that more representation from the queer community in government is necessary to ensure that the needs of LGBTQ people are heard and addressed.

“I think we need to elect more queer people. That’s just a fact,” she said. “I don’t speak for all queer people, and I think that’s important as well. … It’s hard to necessarily trust that somebody is going to be making the best decisions for your self-interest if they have never seen what your self-interest means.”

BILLS SPONSORED

Hayes proposed several bills this session, including one that would require school districts to provide age-appropriate firearm safety and suicide prevention materials as part of a suicide prevention program. HB481 passed through both houses and was sent to the governor’s desk for his signature.

She also sponsored a joint resolution that sought to extend ender reassignment surgical benefits to state employees and beneficiaries through the state’s health insurance program.

“Everyone deserves access to healthcare that is responsive to their individual needs,” Hayes told QSaltLake Magazine at

the beginning of the session. “I’ve seen first-hand how important gender-affirming healthcare is to the people that need it, and I want to help make it as accessible as possible. This resolution is a small step towards making gender-affirming healthcare more readily available to Utahns.”

The legislature failed to consider that bill.

BACKGROUND

Before running for the legislature, Hayes spent several years working for local governments and nonprofits. She previously worked for West Valley City’s Division of Arts and Culture and served on the Millcreek Community Council from 2020-2022. In the nonprofit world, Hayes said she had to focus on finding “creative and collaborative” solutions to a variety of problems – honing skills she expects will come in handy as a legislator.

“My view is that the government exists to serve its citizens and that it should be doing everything it can to uplift the people who call our state home,” she said. “I am a Democrat, but my goal is to serve my constituents, not subscribe to a specific ideology.”

Despite being one of only 14 Democrats in the Utah House of Representatives, Hayes works across party lines to address issues that are important to her and her constituents. She believes that Utah politics is presented to the public as a very ‘us vs. them’ mentality, and she would love to shift away from that narrative.

“Each one of us is up there because we want what’s best for Utah and our communities,” she said. “There are often different ways to reach that goal.”

Outside of her legislative duties, Hayes is an aerialist who has performed trapeze at events like Craft Lake City and the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. She is also a longtime knitter, after being taught by her mother as a child.

“I remember her sitting in meetings, turning out multiple hand-knit dishcloths that she would later gift to friends and family,” Hayes said. “I’ve learned from her example, and if I’m in an online meeting, there’s a very good chance that my needles and yarn will make an appearance.”

She lives in Millcreek with her partner, software engineer Lily Gilbert-Bland, and their rescue pets.

Hayes has become an important voice for the LGBTQ community in Utah and she hopes to continue fighting for the community’s rights and protecting the Great Salt Lake. Q

Utah Sen. Daniel Thatcher’s evolution on LGBTQ issues, warning for GOP

gender young man, a teenager. And his father told me the story of this kid’s life, of growing up, of how difficult things were,” Thatcher explained. “And I’ll tell you, it changed my life. It absolutely changed my life because when I hear people talking, it’s not generic. It’s not random. It’s not faceless. There are real people who are affected by anti-trans legislation.”

Thatcher said his revelations to fellow Republican lawmakers “was not well received.”

Republican State Senator Daniel Thatcher was first elected to represent the left-leaning West Valley City area in the Utah Senate in 2011. He told the New York Times in an interview for its “First Person” podcast that when he was first elected, he thought LGBTQ issues were “none of my business.”

“At the time, my attitude was more that it’s none of my business. It doesn’t matter if I like it or don’t. It doesn’t matter if I understand it or don’t. The question is, what should the government do about it? And the answer is nothing. We should leave you alone,” he said. “That’s why, when I was deciding to get involved in politics, I looked at both parties. And I chose to be a Republican because I believe that the government should do less things to us. And so for me, I was asked about LGBTQ issues when I was running. And my response was always, it’s none of my business. It’s none of my business.”

What changed over the years was his focus on passing an actual hate crime law in the state. The one on the books at the time was unenforceable and had, indeed, never been used successfully.

“For me, a lot of it comes back to working on this hate crime legislation. And that was what started opening my eyes to the injustice that was happening in the LGBTQ community,” he said. “The other part of my focus and work that

brought me to this position was the work that I’ve done on behavioral health and suicide prevention. And so as I started operating in the suicide-prevention space, one of the things that really stood out to me was how disproportionately it impacts and affects the LGBTQ community and, especially, transgender youth.”

“That’s part of the battle that I’ve been fighting all along. In many ways, I’m more libertarian in that I think the government should do less and leave us alone. However, we do have the Constitution. We do have the responsibility to protect and preserve rights,” he said.

In 2021, when Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, introduced her bill to ban transgender women from competing in school sports, Thatcher said he was concerned.

“I knew it was going to hurt people, both trans and not. I knew it was unconstitutional. So I knew it was going to be overturned. And one of the conversations that I tried to have with the trans community is — look, I can’t stop it. I will fight. And I will call it out. But I’m going to lose this fight. You need to know that. It’s going to pass. But the comfort that you should take is knowing that it will be overturned,” he said. “I’m not an attorney, and I can look at that and tell you this bill is unconstitutional on its face. You can’t single out a group for unequal protection under the law. This isn’t fuzzy.”

He had befriended a transgender man and he called him to ask about the disparity between suicide in the general community and suicide among transgender people.

“He called me back an hour or two later and said, will you come to my friend’s house? And so my wife and I went to a house. And I was introduced to a trans-

Redistricting, he said, made his controversial stands (at least in conservative circles) more problematic. His district went from leaning Democrat to fairly firm Republican. Delegates to the Republican State Convention, who basically choose who will represent their district on a much deeper level than the average voters, pushed him to change his stance on transgender athletes in schools.

“I had heard from my delegates, who said flat out, ‘If you don’t protect our kids from transgender people, then

I was introduced to a transgender young man, a teenager. And his father told me the story of this kid’s life, of growing up, of how difficult things were. And I’ll tell you, it changed my life.

you’re out,’” he said. “So I actually consulted with people that I love and people that I respect. And I said, look, here’s where I am. This is hurting me. This hurts my heart. But I don’t see any way I can fight this. I don’t see any way to win this. And I feel like if I do not vote for this bill, I probably lose.”

He went on to vote no on the bill, along with six Republicans and all Democrats. The bill, however, passed overwhelmingly.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed the bill, saying in part, “rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few.”

The legislature called itself into special session to override Cox’s veto. As Thatcher did the math of getting enough support to defeat the effort, he was coming up one vote short. He knew the override would happen, and his vote would make no difference. He talked with 80 Republican delegates of his district right after his no vote on the sports bill and “every single one of them said, ‘We are opposed to the position you took on this bill.’”

“I didn’t have one single delegate say, ‘We appreciate the principled stand you took.’ They didn’t care. They were so angry that I wouldn’t speak out against transgenderism that they told me flat out, ‘If you don’t override the governor’s veto, you’re fired,’” he told the podcast.

But his conscience, as in the previous vote, was weighing on him heavily.

“So I did consult, leading up to the override, with Equality Utah, and some friends there, and with the leading transgender voices, and with people that I love and care about. And so basically, the conversation was this — Look, I have three Republican challengers, all of whom are completely insane, none of whom would hesitate for a second to pass a bill that would hurt your kids and hurt your community. If I do what I think I’m going to do, I probably lose,” he explained. “And the person that I respect in the state of Utah more than anyone called me up. And she said, ‘Don’t be so selfish. We need you in the Senate more than we need you to fall

on a sword.’ It was the last person in the world I thought would ever counsel me to do different than my conscience.”

On the floor of the state senate, Thatcher took to the microphone when it was time to cast his vote on the veto override.

“All of these people who were in lockstep, saying, ‘We don’t want Thatcher, he’s a moderate. ‘We don’t want Thatcher, he’s a liberal,’ out loud, they were saying, ‘You’re dead. We’re not going to support you,’” he said. “But it’s a secret ballot. And more than 60 percent of them marked their ballot for me even after telling me they wouldn’t support me or wouldn’t vote for me. And so I don’t think it’s as bad as people think. But it’s still pretty dang bad.”

This year at the beginning of the legislative session, Republican leaders pushed several bills affecting transgender youth through with little discussion. Thatcher, who suffered a stroke in November, was the only Republican senator to speak and vote against the measures.

He testified that the bill banning doctors from treating transgender youth meddles in private family decisions, restricts health care for vulnerable youth, and could invite lawsuits against the state.

“I apologize for giving a lengthy explanation of my vote. But, as there was no debate, there’s really no other option,” he started. “Not one state that has passed a bill like this has actually had it upheld. So what we’re really doing here, it’s political theater because it won’t go into effect. So we won’t get any of the benefits from passing this bill. But we will get absolutely all of the harms.

“At the urging of several of my closest transgender friends, I considered, briefly, changing my vote so that I could do better at convention, so that I could win with the delegates, so that I can show that I’m conservative. Well, in my world, conservative does not mean turning your back on your principles. It does not mean voting against the Constitution. And it does not mean waffling when you know in your heart what the right thing is to do.

“Mr. President, I cannot support the veto override.”

When he gave that speech, he believed in his heart it was the last thing he’d do as a Utah State Senator. He went into the Republican State Convention knowing he would lose his seat.

“Every credible medical organization on the planet says that [treatment for transgender youth] is the safest, best, and most appropriate care to save those lives,” Thatcher said, testifying remotely while he recovered from several strokes.

Several bills passed the legislature and the governor signed them.

Thatcher still believes that these bills are political theater. They are being pushed by national organizations that control much of the Republican party.

“These Republicans didn’t wake up one day and say, hey, we’re going to go dunk on trans kids. They’re being manipulated,” Thatcher told the New York Times. “People will believe any lie if they want it to be true or if they’re afraid that it’s true. So there is some evil force that gets a benefit from pushing specific agendas. You’d have to think this is an organized agenda.”

On the New York Times podcast, host Lulu Garcia-Navarro noted that much of the anti-trans legislation is organized and well-funded by Christian nationalist groups like the powerful Alliance Defending Freedom, which have pushed copycat legislation all over the coun-

In my world, ‘conservative’ does not mean turning your back on your principles. It does not mean voting against the Constitution. And it does not mean waffling when you know in your heart what the right thing is to do.

WARNING SIGNS OF SUICIDE

• Talking about wanting to die

• Looking for a way to kill oneself

• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose

• Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain

• Talking about being a burden to others

• Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs

• Acting anxious, agitated or recklessly

• Sleeping too little or too much

• Withdrawing or feeling isolated

• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge

• Displaying extreme mood swings

The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. Warning signs are associated with suicide but may not be what causes a suicide.

WHAT TO DO

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide:

• Do not leave the person alone

• Remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt

• Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 9-8-8 or 800-273-8255

• Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional

try. They have succeeded in forcing the GOP to handle these polarizing issues, almost to the exclusion of more pressing country-building issues.

“[Republicans are] being told this is a social contagion. These kids are popping up because we’ve made it popular. Bullshit. It’s becoming more common because it is becoming safer. It is not safe. But it’s safer,” he said. “As it becomes safer for people to come out, more and more people are going to realize this is someone I care about. This is a family member. This is a friend. This is a friend’s kid.”

“My best friend from college has a trans kid. One of my dear friends from high school reached out to me completely out of the blue last year and said, ‘Hey, we haven’t spoken since high school. But I have five kids, and two of them are trans. Thanks for sticking up for my kids.’”

Asked how he reconciles his stands on LGBTQ issues with his faith, he said it comes down to his belief in a loving god.

“I have had people who claim to be Christian reach out to me and tell me that I can’t be a Christian unless I hate certain people,” he said. “Well, I don’t know who your Christ is, but he kind of sucks.”

Garcia-Navarro also asked about how he fits into the Republican Party of today, versus the party it once was.

to happen, we have to start electing people with moral fortitude. If you don’t know what your core principles are, then it’s easy to fall for the flavor of the week. What are we mad about this week? We have to run a bill.”

“I liken politics these days to 3-yearolds playing soccer. Do you ever watch three-year-olds play soccer? They don’t know where the lines are. They don’t know where the goals are. They just want to kick the ball. And it’s just this mass of every single kid on the field, all running around, trying to kick the ball. They don’t care where it goes. They just want to kick the ball as hard as they can. That’s politics today.”

On the issue of transgender rights, Thatcher believes these bills and this rhetoric will come back to haunt the Republican Party.

“This is not sustainable, and it’s going to be pretty hard to come back from this position. But as more and more voters have more and more people in their lives that they care about, this is something that is going to lead to single-voter change,” he said. “I think what’s going to happen is the first party that says, ‘You know what? We are going to come back to the Constitution. We’re going to be about individual rights. We’re going to protect civil liberty.’ I think that’s the party that wins for the next 10 years.” Q

This story is based on an interview for The New York Times podcast “First Person” by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

THE

NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE 9-8-8

A free, 24/7 service that can provide suicidal persons or those around them with support, information and local resources.

“There are Republicans that I can’t vote for,” he said. “But the problem is there is no space for me in the Democratic party that doesn’t believe in smaller government, that doesn’t believe in more individual rights. So as a whole, I can’t change parties because the other side doesn’t believe in keeping government within the bounds of the Constitution.”

“But more and more, the Republican Party doesn’t do that either,” he continued. “I still have hope that they’ll come around. If we want that

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned that someone you know may be, resources are available to help. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 is for people of all ages and identities. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.

They’re being told this is a social contagion. These kids are popping up because we’ve made it popular. Bullshit. It’s becoming more common because it is becoming safer.

“We are delighted to welcome Elder Holland as our commencement speaker this year,” Southern Utah University President Mindy Benson announced to the school’s graduating class. “His southern Utah roots and dedication to education and learning are timely as we wrap up our 125th anniversary year. His address will offer inspiration to our graduates to embrace lifelong learning and give back to their communities as they leave SUU and continue to build their lives.”

Many students, especially those who are LGBTQ, are not so “delighted.” They created an online petition to have the apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints removed as speaker.

“Jeffery R. Holland is a leader in the LDS church that has openly opposed LGBTQ+ individuals by calling for ‘musket fire’ toward the community. He has further disregarded the achievements of LGBTQ+ individuals within his own community and opposed the recent statements of the LDS church in regard to accepting LGBTQ+ individuals,” the petition reads. “Including Holland in the Commencement proceedings of SUU would fail to serve the student body, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community and students who do not follow the religious teachings of the LDS church.”

Holland was born and raised in nearby St. George, Utah, and was

president of Brigham Young University through the 1980s. He’s been a member of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1994, making him the fourth-most senior apostle.

At an address to Brigham Young University staff, Holland told a story of now-president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Dallin Oaks, who retorted “I would like to hear a little more musket fire from this temple of learning” during a discussion of the church’s doctrine of the family and defending marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Holland went on to elaborate about what he called the “metaphor” of “musket fire.”

“Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith,” he said. “My Brethren have made the case for the metaphor of musket fire, which I have endorsed yet again today. There will continue to be those who oppose our teachings, and with that will continue the need to define, document, and defend the faith.”

Holland also talked of students and parents being “confused about what so much recent flag-waving and parade-holding on this issue means.”

In an op-ed to the Ogden Standard-Examiner, Keith Burns and John Lindsay wrote that Holland (and others) use divisive and dangerous words when talking about LGBTQ-related issues.

“As we strive for greater unity and understanding, we should avoid portraying people who disagree with us as ‘the adversary’ and worthy of ‘musket fire,’” they wrote. “Terms like ‘flag-waving’ and ‘parade-holding’ to describe LGBTQ+ activism is belittling, condescending and ignorant. In Utah alone, LGBTQ+ people have been advocating, protesting, and expressing grievances for decades. In fact, if it were not for the ‘flag-waving’ and ‘parade-holding’ of thousands of dedicated LGBTQ+ activists, Utah would certainly not have had the advancements in LGBTQ+ legal and civil rights it has seen in recent decades.”

Holland also took former BYU Valedictorian Matt Easton to task for his 2019 graduation speech, where he called himself a “gay son of God.”

“If a student commandeers a graduation podium intended to represent everyone getting diplomas in order to announce his personal sexual orientation, what might another speaker feel free to announce the next year until eventually, anything goes? What might commencement come to mean — or not mean — if we push individual license over institutional dignity for very long? Do we simply end up with more divisiveness in our culture than we already have — and we already have too much everywhere,” Holland said.

Burns and Lyndsay wrote that Holland’s words were a “gross misinterpretation of Easton’s speech, saying it was far from “commandeering a graduate podium,” and was actually “faith-affirming, uplifting, and filled with gratitude for the wonderful experience that BYU had provided him.”

After SUU’s announcement, SUU Pride Alliance posted on their Instagram account:

“On behalf of the Pride Alliance Board, we express our sincere disappointment and absolute opposition to the decision to have Jeffrey R. Holland as this year’s commencement speaker. The decision to bring Elder Holland to campus will hurt many members of our campus community and reflect poorly on the university.”

At press time, the change.org petition had over 15,000 signors. Q

SUU students demand removal of LDS apostle Holland from commencement speech

PHOTO: CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Utah Pride 2023 will be ‘Unapologetic’

Utah Pride Center announced the theme and dates of the Utah Pride Festival for 2023. Leaders went to the community to vote for the theme earlier this year, and the community chose “Unapologetic” for this year’s event.

Britt Martinez, adult programs manager for Utah Pride Center, offered up this theme.

“Unapologetic to me means living in authenticity regardless of how the world views us. We are what we are and we’re not taking no for an answer,” Martinez said in a statement.

“This year, that’s exactly the message our community chose to represent our celebrations in June: being Unapologetic is coming out to celebrate our identities together free from fear and imposed standards, free to express our wholeness and beauty,” event leaders stated.

The event will take place June 1 through 4 at Washington Square in downtown Salt Lake City.

On June 1, there will be an event titled “Utah Pride Live!”

On June 2, the March & Rally will take place, plus an opening concert.

Saturday, June 3, brings Youth

Pride, a Pride Drag Brunch, and the first day of the Utah Pride Festival.

On Sunday, June 4, the annual Utah Pride Parade and Utah Pride Festival will take place.

COMMITTEE

This year’s organizing committee will be Jonathan Foulk, co-CEO of development and operations; Rosa Bandeirinha, communications director; Ted Nicholls, operations director; Zeb Williams, special events manager; and Chad Call, parade director.

The committee is taking applications

for additional committee members and organizers. Committee meetings are about 2 hours per week through March, with two extra hours in April and May. In June, it will be all hands on deck.

VENDORS & FOOD TRUCKS

Those who wish to have a booth at the festival can apply now. Applications close on April 29th and will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Acceptance status notifications will be sent weekly. Applications received after April 29th may be placed on a waitlist and will be subject to a non-refund-

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able late application fee.

Vendor fees have increased this year. A 10×10 booth will cost $1,500 for applications received by April 29 and $2,000 for late applications. Nonprofits, schools, churches, and governmental agency fees are $750 and $1,000. Food vendors pay 15 percent of sales after taxes and tips, plus participation in providing meals for volunteers.

Some artists reached out to local media about the increase in this year’s booth fees. Last year, the Festival offered a small group of artists and small businesses a shared space, resulting in a $400 fee. Organizers said that artists or businesses who want to combine on their own this year can make an application to do so.

“We share everyone’s frustrations about the cost increases,” Bandeirinha told the Salt Lake Tribune, adding that the nonprofit’s operation costs have “gone up exponentially.”

“We want to invite these small businesses and small individuals to actually see where your money is going,”

Foulk told Fox 13 News. “It’s not just to put on this festival, it’s actually to provide life-saving programs and services, and that’s why we’re here.”

Financial assistance can be applied for at vendors@ utahpridecenter.org

PARADE APPLICATIONS

Parade applications open March 1 and close April 29. Applications will eventually be live here.

SPONSORS

There are three types of sponsorships available for this year’s Pride — Community (businesses with under $5 million in annual revenue), Local (businesses and organizations with annual revenue between $5 million and $100 million), and Corporate (over $100 million in annual revenue).

A brochure for sponsors is available here

VOLUNTEERS

Hundreds of volunteers are needed to help run the festival, plus to help run peer-to-peer programs at the Center. Applications will open soon here Applications for performers, sponsors, vendors, and volunteers are at the new utahpride.org website.

National softball tournament to be held in SLC in May

Salt Lake City was selected by the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance to host its annual LGBTQ+ softball tournament. The games will take place from May 26-28, at the Valley Regional Complex in Taylorsville and the Larry H Miller Softball Complex in Millcreek. Teams from NAGAAA organizations across the United States and Canada will compete in the elite A and B divisions to determine the NAGAAA Cup Champions.

In addition to the tournament, teams will also have the opportunity to qualify for the Gay Softball World Series. The public is invited to attend and show support for the participating teams. A big party will be held to bring the community together in support and unity.

Salt Lake City was chosen as the host city due to its natural beauty and the warm welcome

extended by the entire culture. NAGAAA Commissioner John Deffee expressed his surprise at the friendliness and acceptance shown by Salt Lake City’s residents.

With more than 80 percent of NAGAAA’s teams located on the West Coast, attendance is expected to be robust, with an estimated 1,100 attendees. The tournament is anticipated to have an estimated economic impact of more than $1 million on the community.

Clay Partain, managing director of Sports Salt Lake, highlighted the city’s inclusive culture, which embraces differences and encourages new perspectives. Tanya Hawkins, Co-CEO at the Utah Pride Center, emphasized the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in athletics to create a safe and welcoming place at sporting events. Q

Rally and march at the Utah State Capitol for Trans Day of Visibility

A rally and march are scheduled for March 31 to celebrate the 14th annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender-nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.

To commemorate the occasion, Project Rainbow Utah is organizing an all-ages trans rally and march, starting at the Utah State Capitol Building at 5 p.m. The rally will take place from 5 to 5:30 p.m. The march will go from 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. to City Creek Park, where there will be speakers and a youth open mic through 7 p.m. Additionally, an incredible 21+ event will take place at a certain

club after the march, which is sure to be unforgettable.

More information and updates will be on Project Rainbow’s social media platforms, including an after-party at a 21+ venue.

Trans flags can be ordered for your yard from projectrainbowutah.org to provide support for trans and non-binary youth.

The Human Rights Campaign estimates there are more than 2 million transgender people across the United States.

“We are parents, siblings and kids. We are your coworkers, your neighbors and your friends. We are 7-yearold children and 70-year-old grandparents,” HRC wrote in a statement. “We are a diverse community, representing all racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as all faith traditions.”

Elevation Utah 2023, aka Utah Gay Ski Week, was a success

For the past 20 years, Tom Whitman has been hosting the annual Elevation event, also known as Gay Ski Week, as a way of providing an alternative activity to the bar and nightclub scene. Starting at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California, Whitman added Park City in 2011. The four-day event took place this year from February 22–26

Whitman said that when he added Park City, he had to do his due diligence to figure out whether the town and venues would welcome an LGBTQ+ event. “The response was

amazingly supportive,” he said. Elevation offers a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals to honor their identities and share experiences through skiing and snowboarding. Whitman creates an outstanding lineup of entertainment, including world-class DJs, drag queens, performers, and dancers, on top of several themed events that are included throughout the week, like the onesie party and neon party. Event venues in each town that have been long-time supporters of Elevation are sought out from year to year.

QSaltLake Lagoon Day set for Aug. 13

One day each summer, Utah’s queer community floods Lagoon theme park with red. Members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters will take over the park for the QSaltLake Day at Lagoon this year on Sunday, Aug. 13.

The event attracts hundreds of people each year, possibly as many as 2,000. Supporters are encouraged to wear red shirts and stop by the QSaltLake pavilion — the Honey Locust Pavilion— for a group photo at 4 p.m. and to mingle with other queers and allies. The pavilion is open the entire day and is a popular place to have lunch, take a break, and mingle with the Matrons

of Mayhem. The event is also sponsored by Club Try-Angles, which will open at 6 p.m. that day so employees can join in the festivities.

QSaltLake Lagoon Day is open to all participants, and there will also be many people who are not aware of the day, but the overall atmosphere is very open and accepting.

This year, Lagoon is scheduled to open its next in-house coaster creation after seven years of construction. It has already been named one of the 10 most anticipated new theme park rides for 2023 by coaster enthusiasts. Q

A discount code for online tickets will be available at the end of July

“Each of our LGBTQ+ ski weeks has become a favorite week of the year for the local communities and ski area employees,” Whitman said. “It is so gratifying to hear, year after year, that they look forward to this event like none other on the schedule. Staff at our venues dress up for the theme parties, locals look forward to the events, the entertainment, and the vibe in town, whether they are LGBTQ+ or allies of the community.”

Gay Ski Week seeks to create a warm, friendly atmosphere for the LGBTQ+ community, inherently encouraging attendees and locals to topple barriers and be open-minded in their interactions. Over two decades of hosting the experience have proven that it creates a vibe

superior to any ordinary gay nightclub, he said. Everyone from novice skiers just getting started to advanced ski enthusiasts can feel included with plenty of other activities available if skiing isn’t their thing.

Whitman shared that Elevation has a special place in his heart, not only because it is the longest-running event he has produced, but because each year he meets amazing people from around the world who share at least one of his passions – skiing/ snowboarding and gathering with his LGBTQ+ community. “Elevation is populated by friendly, fun, sexy guys and girls. Every year since the first event, I have made new friends that I treasure to this day,” he said. Q

Marlin Criddle

Oct. 19, 1946–March 12, 2023

Marlin Glenn Criddle, born Oct 19, 1946, in Honolulu, Hawaii, died March 12, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. He was the son of Charles Glenn Criddle and Zella Luella Frandsen and the eldest of five siblings.

The gay community of Salt Lake owes a debt of gratitude to this pioneering son of pioneers.

He won the testimony of the year award from friends for coming out during a testimony meeting in his UCLA student ward. He completed a master’s degree in Linguistics and later a J.D. in Law at Loyola of Los Angeles.

After the death of his partner, Dennis Akazawa, Marlin came to Salt Lake to pursue a passion for genealogy. He met David Turner, his husband, at a protest at Salt Lake City Hall. It seems the Utah Eagle Forum objected to the mention of gay victims in the Anne Frank Holocaust exhibit.

Discovering the drive of the gay community, he decided he could stay in Salt Lake. He opened a law practice serving mostly clients with HIV. Many were never able to pay. He received the Kristen Ries Community Service Award and was one of the first openly gay attorneys to speak out.

He became board president of the Utah Stonewall Center, which is now the Utah Pride Center. He often spent nights on the phone pleading for the building rent.

A highlight of his time in Salt Lake includes singing with Salt Lake Men’s Choir, the Tuesday Night Movie Group, the Wednesday Men’s Sack Lunch, and dinner with Craig and Ernie while telling David to stop cheating at cards.

David knew he could love Marlin when, early in their relationship, Marlin clipped a car while parking at the bar. He insisted on putting his name and number on the car because he always tried to do the right thing.

Claiming he wanted a Viking funeral, Marlin’s cremains will be taken by ferry to the waters of Puget Sound. David regrets he will be unable to set the ferry on fire. Q

Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce opens Southern Utah chapter

BY PETER REYNOLDS

Southwestern Utah will soon have added support for the LGBTQ community. The Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce formed its first regional chapter in Southern Utah. Led by Southern Utah Chamber Chair Mel Nimer and Southern Utah Safe Zone Chair Amberlyn Storey, the chapter will provide businesses and community members in Washington County and the surrounding area opportunities throughout the year to access business development resources and funding, book free SafeZone inclusivity training for their staff, and connect with other like-minded business owners.

“As the Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce and SafeZone Utah, we are committed to supporting a healthy economy throughout our State, to providing opportunities for LGBTQ+ and Allied businesses to thrive, and to fostering inclusive and welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ community mem-

bers,” Liz Pitts, CEO and president of the Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber wrote in a statement. “Operating a chapter in Southern Utah is critical to our mission, and we are thrilled to be working in support of local businesses and community organizations in Washington County and the surrounding area.”

“What we see is larger numbers of college students coming into the area who are generally very open to LGBTQ+ issues, and a growing and diverse group of new residents arriving from other states. We want to promote a welcoming business presence,” Nimer said.

Member businesses and affiliated agencies in five southern counties will be invited to participate in the new chapter.

Local government leaders have participated in local unifying efforts, including St. George Mayor Michele Randall and at least one St. George City Council member.

Chapter members are helping to promote a drag bingo fundraiser in St. George, conducted by Safe Zone Utah, a program that was spawned by the Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. Drag Bingo will be presented April 2 from 6–8 pm at Caffe Elevato in St. George. For further details or to make a donation of door prizes inquire at Amberlyn.Storey@safezoneutah.org.

Other chapter events in southern Utah are currently in planning for late Spring.

The Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce promotes business contacts, works with economic development, and provides fundraising for community activities without regard to sexual or gender identity or gender expression. A member directory is published on its website, listing member corporations, sole proprietorships, and independent agents.

SafeZone is a network for awareness and education, and in Utah is sponsored by the Chamber. The Southern Utah SafeZone trainer is Amberlyn Storey.

SafeZone shares resources for anti-bullying, domestic violence, homelessness, and suicide prevention. Storey offers local businesses a two-hour experiential program for employees on creating a “safe zone” within their company. Two other trainers are located in central and northern Utah Q.

Mel Nimer Amberlyn Storey

views quotes

Dear fellow citizens,

We, The B-52s, are deeply concerned about the numerous new bills that promote transphobia and discrimination against transgender individuals and drag artists, which have been introduced in the United States. We strongly denounce these bills and stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community.

It is unacceptable that in the 21st century, we are witnessing such blatant attempts to undermine the rights of individuals based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. These bills not only violate the fundamental human rights of the affected individuals but also perpetuate a toxic culture of hate and intolerance that has no place in our society.

Join us in denouncing these bills and standing in support of our LGBTQ+ community. Together, let us work towards building a society that reflects our shared being and is truly just, inclusive, and welcoming for all.

With love, The B-52s

Drag queen story time, not KKK

I went to a Drag

Queen

Story Time at a local bookstore today.

Before it started, the kids were given cardboard people to decorate. They were given sewing supplies, glitter, sequins, markers. They were talking and laughing and creating.

The Queens read 3 books, all centered around creation and how one object can be repurposed into so many different things.

Before they started reading, a deaf person taught the kids ASL signs for words

that they would hear in all 3 books — sewing, create, colors, etc. The kids used these signs when they heard the words in the stories.

The main Queen wore a dress that she sewed herself using old T-shirt’s to demonstrate how objects can be repurposed.

The most famous of the books was Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors,” and the main Queen sang it while someone else turned the pages so the kids could see the pictures.

The kids felt free to call things out during the

BY BECCI MALAN BY THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE COMMUNITY PUBLISHED BY QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE GET LISTED AT SALES@QSALTLAKE COM

readings. “My mom says that to me!” “It should be a tank top next!” They were involved. They were signing. They were participating.

It ended with a song the main Queen wrote about creating oneself and one’s life and continuing on even when it is hard. A behavior or a habit can be repurposed just as much as fabric.

It was amazing.

It was good for my mental health.

It taught the kids so many valuable lessons about inclusion and creativity and perseverance.

And my heart breaks because this is also what a state says is more dangerous than KKK meetings. What this state made illegal, while KKK meetings are allowed to continue. Q

National Log Cabin Republicans

BY D’ANNE WITKOWSKI

Inthe grand tradition of the Log Cabin Republicans siding with people who hate them, they have asked far-right commentator and self-proclaimed internet troll Isabella Riley Moody to be one of their 2023 Outspoken Ambassadors.

LCR describes their ambassadors as “fearlessly and unapologetically outspoken” people who have “charismatic and thoughtful perspectives at a time when so many people feel bullied into silence.” And who, exactly, feels bullied into silence? Maybe the trans kids who have become the target of Republican legislatures all over the country and who often have little to no community support and are lucky if they have support from their own families?

Of course not. The people being “bullied into silence” are the ones who want to do and say whatever they want, no matter how hurtful, no matter how much it inspires bigotry that leads to violence, no matter how untrue, without any consequences.

“[These] anti-left free-thinkers are ready to inform, inspire, and amuse as they join the only media outlet dedicated to pushing back against radical gender and alphabet nonsense,” reads the Outspoken editorial announcing the 2023 Ambassadors.

Yes, you read that right. The group that represents LGBTQ+ Republicans refers to the struggles of LGBTQ+ people, specifically trans and nonbinary folks, as “radical gender and alphabet nonsense.” Not only that, they claim that Outspoken, a publication of LCR, is the “only media outlet dedicated to pushing back” against this. It’s a wild claim considering that right-wing media outlets are everywhere, from the mainstream (Fox News) to the fringe (World Net Daily) to the white guy with a microphone on YouTube variety (too many to mention). I think Outspoken might be giving themselves a little too much credit here. But, I mean, maybe they mean they’re the only LGBTQ+ media outlet dedicated to deni-

grating LGBTQ+ people and their rights.

On Feb. 15, the same day the ambassadors were announced, Moody posted a graphic featuring a photo of herself with “Outspoken Ambassador” and the Outspoken logo to Twitter. “This is

Keep in mind, it’s not like March 7 is the first time Moody has expressed abhorrently anti-LGBTQ+ views. It’s not like the Log Cabin Republicans didn’t know who she was and what she thought. It’s that the Log Cabin Republicans, like all Republicans, exist to “troll the left.” They have no serious policy ideas that will actually help anyone but the rich. They think government is the enemy. They have no respect for Democracy. And they have been swinging ever more wildly toward the right for decades.

By the way, Isabella Riley Moody’s name has since quietly disappeared from the Outspoken Ambassador list.

That’s not to say that they scrub all of their mistakes off of their website. Take the 2020 Outspoken editorial “Why same-sex marriage will never be overturned, despite media fear-mongering.” Their reasons why marriage equality is safe include: “Overturning Obergefell would create utter chaos and personal hardship” and “Closely fought landmark cases do not get overturned even when the losing faction becomes a majority.” Oh, and they also say that Trump would never support such a thing.

literally SO GAY!” she wrote. “Happy to be a the token straight homophobic bitch ambassador for @GetOutspokenUSA!”

But, spoiler alert, she likes gays as much as LCR does, which is to say, she doesn’t.

On March 7 Moody tweeted, “Being a homosexual and proclaiming it PROUDLY has ZERO PLACE inside the Republican Party or within the conservative movement. Just as Christians should be ashamed of and repent for their sins, so too should homosexuals be ashamed, and repent. Further, being ‘gay and proud’ is itself GROOMING. If you’re gay and flaunting it proudly, you’re recruiting. And you should STOP it. NOW.”

Wow, what a fearless and unapologetic anti-left free-thinker! What a charismatic and thoughtful perspective! Somebody call every Pride parade and get this woman on a float, stat!

Keep in mind, this was published two years before Roe v. Wade, a “closely fought landmark case” establishing abortion as a constitutional right, was overturned by the most right-wing Supreme Court in ages, thanks to Trump. And all of their other “reasons” are moot. The Supreme Court doesn’t give a fuck about public opinion or personal hardship — Roe was supported by the majority of Americans, and overturning it has definitely caused personal hardship. And Trump is fucking gleeful about it. To think that he wouldn’t support overturning marriage equality using the court he handpicked shows just how out of touch and full of shit the Log Cabin Republicans are. Q

D’Anne Witkowski is a writer living with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBTQ+ politics for nearly two decades. Follow her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

PHOTO VIA TWITTER

SUU should be ashamed of commencement speaker choice

BY BILLY CLOUSE

Ofthe millions of potential commencement speakers they could have chosen, Southern Utah University picked perhaps the worst option: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 2021, Holland said he “would like to hear a little more musket fire” when he referenced the LGBTQ community. While metaphorical, that comment was made shortly after the shooting of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner, a lesbian couple, in Moab.

Selecting someone who uses such hateful and violent rhetoric when talking about a minority group shows that SUU doesn’t value its queer students. Even worse, they chose him in a year when the legislature has repeatedly and viciously targeted LGBTQ, especially trans, Utahns.

For some background, I began attending SUU in August 2016. Just over a year later, I came out as gay. And as great as it felt to come out, my life wasn’t just sunshine and rainbows after that.

It’s hard enough being openly queer in Utah. It’s even harder when you are geographically isolated.

An act as simple as hanging rainbow banners in St. George was met with

outrage. My classmates repeated hateful ideas from church leaders, saying that my desire to fall in love and get married was simply Satan seeking “to distort marriage.”

Combine all that with my not-sogreat mental health, and I didn’t think I would survive until graduation.

In a press release, SUU President Mindy Benson said Holland was partly chosen due to “His Southern Utah roots and dedication to education.” If a speaker with a similar background had called for “musket fire” against members of the LDS Church, would they have been chosen despite their past rhetoric?

Of course not.

To be clear, my opposition to Holland has nothing to do with his religious beliefs. Any number of LDS leaders would make great speakers. And to his credit, Holland is a pretty good orator.

My problem is that Holland’s hateful and violent rhetoric helped degrade the mental health of SUU’s queer students. And as an alum who attempted suicide more than ten times while a student at Southern Utah University, I feel betrayed that my alma mater would choose to honor him as a commencement speaker.

In college and since graduating, I’ve served on several university committees. Much time and thought go into significant decisions like choosing a commencement speaker.

And that fact makes it worse because it means that SUU’s administration looked at their options, considered how they would affect LGBTQ students, employees, and alums, and chose Holland anyway.

They knew this would hurt us, and they inflicted that pain anyway.

Southern Utah University ought to be ashamed. Q

—@ luxaetern4e

Raised in the heat of the Las Vegas Valley, Billy Clouse embraced his queer identity among the red rocks of southern Utah. He works as a visual storyteller for non-profit organizations and higher education institutions. In his free time, he is a practicing artist exploring queerness and religious trauma.

“BYU

students are accepting and christlike.” What someone put on my car that has a pride flag on it:

who’s your daddy

It takes a village

BY CHRISTOPHER KATIS

Fortwo centuries, divorce in America was extraordinarily rare. When my maternal grandparents ended their marriage in the early 1940s, only two in every 1000 marriages were dissolved. However, starting in 1960, those numbers began to rise, almost doubling by 1980. And just like my mom and her siblings, kids of divorce almost always lived with their mother. In fact, in 1968, barely one percent of kids of divorce lived only with the father — and today, only 4.5 percent of divorced dads have the kids.

The rise of mom-only heads of households led to debates about the importance of fathers — and men in general — in the lives of children. But what about the need for women in the lives of kids? There doesn’t seem to be as much debate. Even with changing attitudes about parenting, based on a history of women overwhelmingly being the caregivers, they’re still the default primary custodial parent.

nearlyBut what if there was never a dad in the first place? Like single moms, two moms seem to hear the same tired trope about the need for a male influence. But what about two dads with no mom in the picture?

I reached out seeking expert opinion on the topic of the importance of women in the lives of kids with two dads. I was actually surprised at the number of people who suggested women are vital in the lives of children with two dads because they are more nurturing, loving, and compassionate — traits that men, apparently, lack.

To me, these characteristics attributed to women seem to stem from the long-held notion that women are meant to raise the children. Dr. Carolina Estevez, Psy.D, a clinical psychologist at Infinite Recovery in Austin, Texas agrees. She suggests, “Since women are generally assumed to take the bulk of child-rearing responsibilities, they

are supposedly more nurturing even if men can be just as nurturing.”

According to Dr. Estevez, more important than the gender of parents is how they parent. She argues that kids with two dads aren’t at a disadvantage from kids with straight male-female parents when the fathers are present and loving.

This view was echoed by Florida-based licensed mental health counselor and national board-certified therapist Courtney Hubscher of GroundWork Counseling. She says, “The most important aspect of a parent is not their gender; what I believe is most beneficial for children is loving, consistent, and nurturing parents.”

That’s not to say that women aren’t important in the lives of children, because they obviously are. My sons definitely benefited from the amazing women in their lives — from my mom to their aunts, cousins, and godmothers. Dr. Estevez says, “The presence of women in the lives of kids with two gay dads can be meaningful, as it provides the children with a positive example of strong and supportive female role models in the family.”

Here’s the reality, kids do the best, in my opinion, when they have a variety of people in their lives. Each of us brings a different perspective and different contributions valuable to a child — men and women alike. Gay dads (and single straight fathers) don’t need a female influence in their kids’ lives because women have a monopoly on being nurturing and loving any more than lesbian moms (and single straight mothers) need a male in the lives of their kids because the guys are exclusively strong and independent. We need everyone — men, women, non-binary — involved in the lives of kids because to raise happy, well-adjusted, confident, and strong children. It really does take a village. Q You can contact Dr. Carolina Estevez at infiniterecovery. com and Courtney Hubscher at groundworkcounseling.com.

REKINDLING A FIRE!!

WALLACE

Thurman was a queer Black man in Salt Lake City at the turn of the previous century. He attended West High School, the University of Utah, and Calvary Baptist Church.

He was also the heart of the Harlem Renaissance.

And he has been erased from Utah history.

FIRE! is a play for now, connecting two Utah writers of color separated by a century, the careers of both cut tragically short. Revisiting Jenifer’s first work as her final Plan-B production is a fitting farewell to a barrier-breaking writer in conversation with and celebration of another.

In addition to launching Jenifer’s playwriting career, FIRE! provided Carleton Bluford the unique opportunity to inhabit a character who faced many of the challenges he also faced growing up Black in Utah. This seren-

JENIFER NII’S PLAY STARRING CARLETON BLUFORD AS WALLACE THURMAN RETURNS TO PLAN-B

THEATRE

INTERVIEW BY JERRY RAPIER

dipitous fusion of actor and role gave Carleton the confidence to view himself as an Actor with a capital A, as well as sparking his own playwriting career.

In 2010, FIRE! focused on the power of this place we call home. In 2023, the play comes full circle, insisting that kindred spirits Jenifer Nii and Wallace Thurman claim their space in Utah history through the power of Carleton Bluford’s singular performance.

BOTTOM OF FORM

In the fall of 2021, playwright Jenifer Nii was diagnosed with hippocampal atrophy: portions of her brain are calcifying. She is no longer able to

write plays and is losing her ability to communicate in any form. The following Q&A is excerpted from a series of conversations she and artistic director Jerry Rapier recorded between the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022, compiled by Education Coordinator Sharah Meservy. What inspired you to pursue playwriting? I saw a Marsha Norman play at the University of Utah that really knocked my socks off. I hadn’t had an experience like it before with any other art form I’d been exposed to previously. Something about the experience of being in a tiny theatre with other folks, sharing in something thought-provoking, gut-punching, eye-opening — something happening right then, right there. I was really moved, and I wanted to be a part of it. You spent a good part of your professional life as a reporter. How did that inform your playwriting? Part of what I loved about journalism was the fact that it required a lot of research and constant learning. On any reporting “beat,” you have to work really hard to know your subject, so you understand nuance and context in addition to whatever is happening to spur the story of the day. I learned to really love research and study, which ended up helping me a lot in my playwriting. Especially when

I was writing about events or people who actually existed, like Mr. Thurman. I knew it wasn’t enough just to read everything I could that he’d written. I also had to understand the period, the places, who his peers were, and what THEY were creating, so I could get a better sense of the factors that may have been pushing/pulling him.

What do you find most interesting about Wallace Thurman? He was so far along. He saw and thought about and understood complex issues enough to shine a light on them — looking out and looking within. I don’t know if that makes sense. But he was devoted to fomenting change and growth — which means that he was willing to ask questions of and even criticize his own community, his friends, himself. That takes work and courage. Thurman was part of a movement wherein people of color were (re)claiming their voices as artists. Thurman was one of few voices saying, “Yes, we are a part of a movement to free ourselves from oppression — racial and societal and artistic. But in our fight against these oppressions and injustices, we ought not forget what we are fighting for and who we are fighting with so that we end up elevating the whole. We have to expect more from ourselves, the very best of

ourselves, so we become and show who we really are.” I think he was saying, “Yes, we can be artists, because we are human. But we should aspire to be artists who create art that is of quality.”

In what ways are you similar? I think I really was inspired by his questioning nature and his desire to understand.

You and I have talked about how complicated it was to grow up in Utah as a person of color. What commonality do you see between your experience growing up here and that of Wallace Thurman’s? Aha! I was just talking with someone, and the person said something about how I was one of the “safe” colored people. Which is something I’ve heard a lot but have struggled to understand/navigate. And I remember how struck I was when I was researching Thurman that he felt he was considered “too Black,” even within the creative, “progressive” communities he inhabited. There are nuances to race issues.

What are your thoughts on the erasure of Wallace Thurman from Utah history? I think he is someone we can be so proud of, as Utahns, for all the right reasons. He was audacious. He was a pioneer. He was principled and strong. He saw potential in people and communities and was courageous enough to ask tough, sometimes unpopular questions in the hope that, in finding honest answers, we’d rise up stronger together. What do you like most about your play FIRE!? Carleton Bluford.

What do you hope the audience will be talking about on their way home from FIRE!? I hope they’ll be talking about how they’ll share his story. Q

If he were alive today, what would you want to ask him? I’d want to know if he felt loved. I desperately hope he did.

If he were alive today, what would you want him to know about you? That I’m better for having studied his life, and that I am grateful.

Jenifer

Nii has premiered her plays FIRE!, THE SCARLET LETTER, SUFFRAGE, RUFF!, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE WEIRD PLAY, and THE AUDACITY at Plan-B Theatre. This revival of FIRE!, running April 13–23, is the company’s love letter to her and her work, with Carleton Bluford returning as Wallace Thurman, directed by Jerry Rapier. It will be accompanied by a free Utah Black History Museum exhibit April 14–16. Tickets and details at planbtheatre.org/fire

Far right: Jenifer Nii, PHOTO: KYLAN BROWN

Middle: Wallace Thurman PHOTO: PUBLIC DOMAIN

Right: Carleton Bluford, PHOTO: RICK POLLOCK

Rock’ star Brian Falduto releases debut ‘Gay Country’ album

Former

child actor Brian Falduto, who gained international recognition for his role as “Fancy Pants” in the hit movie School of Rock, has transformed himself into a bonafide country star with the release of his debut album “Gay Country.” The 8-track LP, which was released on March 10, features anthemic, playful, and heartfelt songs that pay homage to classic 90s/ early 2000s country music.

Co-written by Falduto and recorded in Nashville, “Gay Country” is a celebration of the queer country genre that has been missing from mainstream music for too long.

Country Love Song,” went viral on TikTok, receiving love from Falduto’s School of Rock co-star Jack Black and influencer Tate Hoskins.

Throughout the album, Falduto honors the country stars of his youth, including Dolly Parton, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts, and The Chicks. He hopes that his music will provide a sense of joy, laughter, and belonging to those who need it most.

Falduto established himself as a passionate singer-songwriter and recording artist in 2020 with the release of “God Loves Me Too,” a song and music video that offers love and acceptance to queer youth of faith. The song was chosen as the Loud & Proud feature on Apple Country’s Proud Radio and garnered support from LGBTQIA+ organizations such as The Trevor Project, GLAAD, and Beloved Arise.

a queer country artist hasn’t been easy. He once struggled with his identity as an artist in the country music lane, fearing that his queerness would not be accepted by his audience. However, thanks to the influence of trailblazers like Kacey Musgraves, Orville Peck, Lil Nas X, TJ Osbourne, Brandi Carlile, and Ty Herndon, Falduto has learned to embrace his true self and boldly pursue his passion for country music.

Falduto’s “Gay Country” album is a testament to his growth and self-discovery as an artist. He hopes that it will offer a space for fellow queer country fans to connect with themselves and each other. Falduto is excited to continue achieving country accolades with love, passion, and empathy, and to prove that being true to oneself is the key to success. Q

Brian Falduto is available on Insta-

We Help You Help.

When you help care for a loved one, you take care of ever y thing . But are you taking care of yourself?

AARP can help with information and useful tips on how you can maintain a healthy life balance, care for your own physical and mental well-being, and manage the challenges of caring for a loved one. Because the bet ter care you take of yourself, the bet ter care you can provide for your loved one.

You’re there for them. We’re here for you.

Find free Care Guides to suppor t you and your loved one at AARP.org /caregiving

‘School of

Jinkx Monsoon coming to Salt

Lake in ‘Everything at Stake’ tour

The Queen of all Queens is ready to cast her next great spell. Two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon will launch her biggest tour to date with Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake and will be heading to Salt Lake City’s Eccles Theatre.

For the first time ever, Jinkx and her musical main squeeze Major Scales will tour with a full rock band performing a decades’ worth of covers and original music from her critically-acclaimed albums (The Ginger Snapped, The Inevitable Album), along with new songs from her upcoming 3-part album The Virgo Odyssey. Known for her electric and eclectic performance style, “Everything at Stake” shows Jinkx weaving together tales from her enigmatic life in a show where music, comedy, witchy magic, and camp-fantasy collide. At a time when everything is at stake, get ready for a spellbinding,

bombastic, and revolutionary experience straight from the heart of this “internationally tolerated” superstar.

Monsoon says, “It’s all been building to this! ‘Everything at Stake’ marks my biggest concert tour ever— where I get to flex every one of my performance muscles with my musical partner in crime, Major Scales. What’s most exciting is, we’re coming to over 40 cities across North America, many of which will be for the FIRST TIME! I know, crazy, right? In these tumultuous times, it’s important to unapologetically claim our space as queer and trans people; to celebrate the revolutionary act of drag and living one’s truth. I’m getting my broom ready. I can’t wait to see you soon. Mama loves you.”

The tour announcement comes during a whirlwind year for Monsoon. In January, she made her Broadway debut (a lifelong goal since she began doing drag at 15) in

one of the longest-running shows on Broadway, “Chicago,” playing Matron “Mama” Morton. Hailed as “one of the great belters presently working on the American stage” by TheaterMania, Monsoon’s run has already proven to be an overwhelming success. Playbill reported she’s drawn in standing-room-only audiences, making Chicago the top-performing show last week by capacity. She kicked off her press tour for Chicago by becoming the first RuPaul’s Drag Race queen to guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers, which quickly went viral when it hit online for her celebrity impressions. She’s also recently appeared on CBS Mornings, Good Morning America. Last summer, Jinkx competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7, becoming the first drag queen in Drag Race “herstory” to win the crown

twice, earning the coveted title “Queen of All Queens” in a competition against previous winners. Her most recent tour was the critically-acclaimed theatrical spectacular, “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show,” co-starring with her best friend and fellow drag superstar, BenDeLaCreme. The 2022 tour became their highest-grossing holiday tour to date and is expected to return for its sixth year this holiday season. Jinkx also released her latest studio EP, The Virgo Odyssey: Prologue (PEG Records), spawning cult hits like “Know-It-All” and her dazzling cover of “Strange Magic” by Electric Light Orchestra.

The summer concert tour will perform in 44 cities across the U.S. and Canada from June 12 through August 14. She will be at the Eccles Theatre in Salt Lake on August 2. Tickets are available at jinkxmonsoon.com Q

PHOTO: ALEX WHITE

Queen OF HER OWN ACTIONS

Country superstar

Shania Twain on what LGBTQ+ allyship means to her

BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI

Thefirst time I connected with Shania Twain in 2017, the country-pop music icon didn’t pull any punches, saying “equality should be a no-brainer” as she spoke thoughtfully about her relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. Twain stood firm on that throughout our conversation, speaking out against supremacy (“supremacy of any sort is just poison”) and pledging to be the kind of ally we hope all gay icons will be.

In Twain’s case, she is in the same unique, bridge-building position as someone like fellow country superstar Dolly Parton — they both excite dads and drag queens, but for very different reasons.

If we’re speaking about Twain’s queer appeal, look no further than “Giddy Up!,” the first song off Twain’s sixth studio album, “Queen of Me.” It’s a song that would sound right at home in some Texas yeehaw gay bar but, like her hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” could just as easily get some conservative, beer-guzzling dad to loosen up as he bellows the country bop’s fun, flirty and frankly very gay hook. (At a Shania Twain show, to which I have been, trust me when I say these things happen.)

Twain recently reconnected with me to talk about the new album, which we did. But our interview landed in places Twain herself said she appreciated as she was able to reflect on how her words —

not just the ones she writes — matter.

Aside from talking about what the album’s title really means to her and admiring the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made, Twain, native to Canada, spoke candidly about how a comment she made to The Guardian in 2018 about Donald Trump — “I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest” — affected what some LGBTQ+ fans thought of her. When I asked Twain about her Trump remark, her manager requested we avoid “political questions.” Twain, though, said she would decide for herself whether she was going to answer the question, which she did. The “queen of me” in action.

So “Queen of Me,” let’s get right to it. There’s definitely a let loose vibe on this album that I think we all can appreciate after the last few years. How would you describe the spirit of this album and how you came into it? I’m calling the “Queen of Me” album my happy album because it was literally an exercise during Covid — ’cause I wrote all the songs during Covid. And it was an exercise of just getting myself into a better frame of mind, a more positive frame of mind. Writing lyrics that would make me smile, make me laugh, make me wanna dance. It was like a self-help, well-being exercise to write these songs. And they ended up just being very uplifting. That’s also how I narrowed down the songs, you know? I wrote three albums worth of songs during Covid ’cause I was just bored and I ended up being very creatively productive. I narrowed it down to songs that took me to that happier place.

The title itself is so you, Shania, because you are sort of the country queen of empowerment. Like you, LGBTQ+ people really have to become the master of our own universes. So I’m wondering, did the title happen to come out of any conversations that you had over the years with any LGBTQ+ people in your own life that you’re close to? Or were you thinking of them in the process of naming this album or working through the songs? I’m close to so many LGBTQ+ people. They’ve been part of my creative teams over the years, and they’re just part of my life. You’re all part of my life, you know? You’re part of my inspiration. The “Queen of Me” title was directly inspired by self-empowerment. “What am I really the queen of?” I’m just the queen of myself. I’m not the queen of anyone or anything else. I shouldn’t have any control over anyone else; no one should have any control over me either. And so I really felt motivated to express it for myself and to share it.

I’ve had people in my life going through gender confusion and gender change. Just all of the sadness that I’ve

seen that’s so unnecessary. I’m just an all-inclusive person. I believe to each his own. And we should all have the right to have that confidence in ourself to be ourself. So, on “Queen of Me,” I’m not what you tell me I am. I’m what I proclaim I am. So, don’t let anyone tell you what you are.

When I last saw you on tour, there was so much gay energy, from dancers in cowboy hats and chest-baring leopard print to Elijah Wood, the trans person killing it on drums. Your audience is a mix of drag queens and conservative dads, and you are one of those rare artists who can bring polarized political communities together. How intentional on your part is it to bring a certain level of gayness to a Shania Twain show? Let’s start with this — when it comes to talent, there’s two things [about] people that I want to be around when I’m in a professional or creative environment. I want people with good character, honesty and talent. And so whoever falls in there is in my circle. And so it’s more about the inclusivity than anything.

If I was exclusive I would say, “well, I only want this,” and I think we would all miss out on a lot of exceptional talent. My criteria is good people and talent. And any LGBTQ+ energy or people that are in my environment are there just on merit. And I think that’s more valuable than actually specifically being… I don’t wanna be good “for a woman.” I don’t wanna be respected just ’cause I’m a woman. I wanna be respected, period. And this is where we really make our mark. And I think it’s very important.

This is why “Queen of Me” is so the song: “I’m not a girl, I’m not a boy, I’m not a baby, I’m not a toy.” These are all the things I’m not, as being my label. And now let me tell you who I am. And that’s personal. I don’t know if everyone will relate to that, but that’s my feeling about it. I don’t want to be strong for a woman; I just want to be considered strong. And that’s even in “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” It’s an internal thing. It’s how I feel.

I’m thinking about your message of inclusivity, which is something we talked about at length in 2017. Then, in June 2022, you sent out a message on your socials for Pride Month saying, “I believe in equality. …And I stand with you forever.” And during our conversation, you really drove that message home. I know you have since apologized for what was perceived as support for Donald Trump when you spoke with The Guardian in 2018 — [Twain’s manager asks that we move on: “We’re not gonna talk about politics on this call.”] You can ask the question, and then I can decide if I wanna answer it or not. That’s fair. What I’d like to know is how it affected you after that comment was made knowing how upset it made some members of the queer community. So what I will say:

I’ve always rejected anyone who makes someone feel that they are not worthy or they have to be excluded for some personal judgmental reason. And I’m not a politician. I’m not somebody that follows it well enough to speak on it. I regret speaking on it because by doing that — and this goes for everything as well — in that setting, I wasn’t able to explain why and what elements, the whole picture.

So realizing after how hurtful it was to even say that, I really regretted it. I thought, “Wow. I would never wanna support a policy that would ever do that.” I would never personally do that. I think it’s also good to… let’s just not judge each other, you know? Let’s be open like we’re doing, and honest. And understand each other.

So in the greater understanding of it, anyone that criticizes the importance of the LGBTQ+ community does not belong anywhere in my support system. So no. We need more love. We need less criticism, less judgment. And that means for everything, everyone. And everyone has a right to their own opinion. I regret that anyone felt that I would ever have felt that it was OK to exclude LGBTQ+ [people].

As a gay person who has been affected by administrations and also has been a fan of yours since I was a kid, I appreciate you answering that question. Totally. I so understand that. I think it’s important, though, that we separate... our policies are… it’s its own realm. And I should never have spoken on it. Period. It sounds like you don’t go through life thinking about how big your platform is. And that was good learning for me, as well. That’s a very good point because as our world expands and our awarenesses expands, the “Queen of Me,” that was a big part of defining myself for myself. Saying, “OK, you’re queen of your successes and you’re queen of your failures. You’re queen of your good judgment and bad judgment.” You gotta take responsibility for yourself. And the way I feel now is probably not the way I’m gonna feel in five years from now about certain things. Because the world is evolving all the time. And it’s changing. And change with the right intentions is only a positive thing. We need change. We need to evolve. We need to mature. And this has been a great… it’s been a great eye-opener for me. Understanding too that, yes, it’s more important to me as I get older, I care less about people’s criticism. But I care more about my effect on others, and that’s just being more aware of what that really means. It’s great to talk to somebody, one-on-one, about how what one person said, even though not directed in that way at all, affected you and probably so many other people. And then in turn affected me in a very positive way. It’s good. Reflection does a lot of good. We learn so much. Is there anything else you’d like to say on that note before we move on? No, I’m good, and thanks. I’m glad that we got to revisit the question and with a clear objective. Let’s talk about how Pride is only just around the corner. Pride is just around the corner. There’s so many wonderful things to be said about that. I mean, so much more freedom to be gained in all realms of society. But the LGBTQ+ [community], I admire the courage because I think that the community has taken strides forward. In my own adult life, period, it’s been leaps and bounds. I’ve got so many friends in the creative world. I mean, [fashion designer] Marc Bouwer is one of them. We’ve been working together

for over 20 years. And there was no such community power and support then. It didn’t make a difference for our communication, one to one. We were always friends. There were never any barriers there, one to one. But I was so aware of the struggle. It’s just good and very rewarding to see so much advancement. I mean, Kim Petras, for example. So 20 years ago, that’s not that long ago; even 15 years ago, even 10 years ago. Would that moment have been possible? Or would it have happened? And Kim is the most — you know, should I say she or they? Correct me so that I get it right. Kim uses she. I wanna get it right. Thank you. So Kim is the most angelic person. Genuinely sweet, kind, and I could sense that she was at peace with herself. I hope that that is the case, ’cause that journey has… I haven’t asked her about it. But I know it’s been difficult. It takes courage. It’s difficult. It’s challenging. So I just wanna say that Kim is courageous with grace. When you think of your longstanding relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, what does it mean to you to be an LGBTQ+ ally now? It’s very important. I write music to communicate. I write music to relate to people. And so I’m trying to build relationships through music and friendships through music with people that I can’t know in person. It’s my avenue. It’s my way of reaching out. And so what I say really does matter to me, and what it means to everyone else that’s receiving it. And, I mean, mostly through the music, obviously ’cause I do more music than I do talking. That’s my real language, you know? Writing, and writing lyrics. Encouraging and inspiring. That’s what I look to music for — for inspiration. When I’m on a tour in a show and I’ve got an audience there, we are on the same page. We’re all from very different backgrounds. We’re all different ages. We are all coming from different cultures, realities…

You are the bridge. But music is the bridge, not me. So what I say is very important in that sense. You know, it’s the music that should do all the talking. Q

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Chris Azzopardi is the editorial director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BB GUN PRESS

Maddy

Founder, @CafeMaddyCab

A GAYER ‘SCREAM’

BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI

Ittook five “Scream” movies and 25 years before LGBTQ+ horror fans got what the original film only alluded to: full-blown, uncoded queerness. Kevin Williamson, the openly gay screenwriter of Wes Craven’s 1997 slasher satire, pleased many queer fans last year when he confirmed the widespread theory that the original killers, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher, had a relationship that was, he said, “very sort of homoerotic.”

But the franchise’s 2022 relaunch, also named “Scream,” went beyond queer coding. The film introduced Mindy Meeks-Martin, a queer Black horror film geek who managed to survive yet another Woodsboro massacre at the terrifying hands of Ghostface.

With a pronoun pin, an array of progay shirts and a girlfriend she’s not shy about kissing, Mindy, who is played by Jasmin Savoy Brown, returns queerer than before in the new “Scream VI.”

There’s also, of course, the fact that she’s no longer living in the small town of

Woodsboro but New York City — a move that, despite the group’s effort to escape and heal from their gory, gruesome past, proves useless after Ghostface follows her and the “core four,” Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her twin brother Chad (Mason Gooding), to the Big Apple.

As for Brown, she’s leaving her mark on more than just an iconic horror franchise: on “Yellowjackets,” the Showtime series about a group of plane crash survivors returning for a second season on March 24, she portrays the teenage version of Taissa Turner, who is also queer. Recently, Brown talked about “Scream” gay fan fiction (she felt that sexual tension with Amber, too), her influence on Mindy’s queerness and how progress for LGBTQ+ characters in horror movies is sometimes as simple as just getting stabbed like everyone else.

I was going to tell you that you are my favorite character of the core four. I don’t want to make anyone jealous, but they have to understand that I’m incredibly biased here because I’m also queer. Right, OK? Well, here’s my question for you.

We’re going to turn the tables here. I’ve been interviewed all day. If someone else in the core four were to come out as let’s say bi, who would it be and why?

Oh, it would be Mason. That’s what I think. It would totally be Chad, right? It would totally be Chad. Purely wishful thinking, and I can’t be the only man out there who’s wishing that. [Laughs.] I think most queer men are wishing that. And Mason said today, if we survive and if they write that as his story that he would be happy to play it and he could see that for Chad. So let’s make it happen. Petition for Chad to be bi. Where’s that paper at? I’m ready to sign. So I want to start, and this is not a spoiler because it’s in some of the photos that have circulated, but in the movie, you wear a Lavender Menace shirt. Yeah, how cool is that?

It’s very cool. And please tell me that that was ripped right off of a hanger in your own closet. Oh, I wish. I wanted to keep that shirt so bad. But that I owe

Jasmin Savoy Brown is on a mission to make Mindy, her ‘Scream VI’ character, as queer as she can

all of the credit to my incredible wardrobe team who helped me bring Mindy to life on “Scream VI.” They were like, “Mindy’s in college and so she’s exploring her identity. Maybe she’s exploring with her gender.” I said, “I think Mindy is exploring all of those things and is expressing herself in her clothing and her style.” Now that she’s in school in New York, she’s learning about Stonewall and she’s learning about amazing queer poets and making her own clothes, like the Lavender Menace [t-shirt]. And I’m really excited for people to see that. What was it like for you as a queer person to be part of that process? It was just such an honor and so much fun because it’s very collaborative with this group of filmmakers, which isn’t always the case. Mindy’s onscreen kiss in “Scream V” was my idea that they accepted and same with the kiss in this film. And I appreciate that they’re welcoming feedback in ways that we can help bring her queerness more to life than it already is on the page. But I also love that Mindy is a queer person who’s experiencing trauma separate from the fact that she’s queer. The trauma that she’s dealing with is the same as everyone else: getting stabbed and everyone you love dying. But her trauma has nothing to do with coming out or being gay. No one could care less. How happy did it make you to be able to delve even deeper into Mindy’s queerness in this movie? I’ve been following this franchise for a long time, so I know how rooted it is in queer theories. But to be a part of someone’s journey as an overtly queer character has to be exciting, but maybe it comes with a lot of pressure. There is pressure, but the pressure for me comes from a place of wanting to do right by the fans, and especially the queer fans who have stuck by this franchise. They stuck with this franchise for five movies before they got a character who was out and queer. And now for her to come back, I really want everyone to be happy and proud and so that’s where the pressure comes from.

But to get to dive more into her queerness was really fun. And if Mindy survives, I hope that we would get to continue to explore that, and that maybe the queerness onscreen will just continue to multiply, that it won’t just be Mindy and a friend or a girlfriend, but maybe the random cop or maybe Ghostface is wearing stilettos. Who knows? In my mind, Ghostface is wearing stilettos now. I’m not sure I can see any of the screen movies now without Ghostface in some pumps, so thank you so much. You’re welcome. Thank you TikTok for giving me that image in my head. Pole-Dancing Ghostface, I’ll never unsee it.

we wouldn’t be so violent and angry. What do you hear from queer fans who see themselves in Mindy and what does that mean to you that they do? Oh, it feels so good. It’s like a relief that people are seeing themselves and feel represented and celebrated. It’s a relief and it’s exciting because I know how that feels. I know what it feels like to see myself on screen. And it’s something that fortunately is happening more and more. And it’s just such a concept to me that teenagers today will grow up having always seen themself on screen. That’s so cool. And to be a small part of that means a lot to me.

Yeah, I love seeing all of the art. People

Maybe there’ll be a Ghostface coming out movie. Honestly, I would cry. That’s why Ghostface is so angry. Funny that you mention that. What did you make of Billy and Stu’s relationship? Did you ever think there was some kind of romantic — Gay stuff? I’m sure there was some gay stuff. There so often is gay stuff that is hidden behind toxic masculinity and anger and violence. And perhaps if as a culture we embraced our gay stuff with more ease,

are so creative and so talented. And I haven’t really read any ... I did read one fan fic. It was like, Mindy and Amber [from “Scream V”] were in love or something, and I thought that was funny. There was definitely some chemistry between Mindy and Amber in the basement when Mindy was like, “I’m the killer.” We were like, “Are we about to kiss right now?”

Oh, people were thinking that that was going to happen? I think because we were thinking it might happen! In the moment it was kind of hot. I don’t know why.

Was there talk about that behind the scenes? I think we’re past the point of coding things… It might be more because Gen Z, pretty much everyone is queer, kind of, right? I think there just is sexual chemistry. Also, Gen Z just isn’t afraid of or shying away from their sexual energy or chemistry as much as generations past. I think they’re probably the least Christian generation that we’ve had in this country, so they’re not afraid of sexual feelings. So I don’t think anything was coded. I think there just were vibes just for vibes. People caught that. Going back in your own life, when did you first experience queer representation in the way that people are experiencing it with Mindy? And what did that mean to you? I know it happened before this, but the first thing that comes to mind, the first time I fully saw myself, every box ticked, was an episode of “Easy” called “Vegan Cinderella” with Jacqueline Toboni and Kiersey Clemons, an interracial, lesbian couple. One is vegan. They’re young and they’re trying to impress each other, and they’re early in their queerness. And she literally looked like me and Jacqueline Toboni ‘s character looked

a lot like my ex in certain ways. And it was just like, “Whoa, this is actually my life and it’s so modern and they’re young and they’re having little dinner parties,” and that was so exciting. And also, they’re both really good actors.

I would love to do a project like that. But it meant so much to me. I didn’t know how hungry I was for it until I saw it. And I was like, “Oh my god, this is what it’s like to be a white man? No wonder they have the biggest egos ever because they’re constantly walking around seeing themselves reflected. That’s really cool.”

I think that the horror genre as a whole has not been especially kind to the queer community when it comes to representation. It sounds like you can at least acknowledge that because you’re shaking your head based on what you know. Oh, absolutely. I don’t think it’s just the horror genre’s fault. I think every area of Hollywood was afraid of embracing queerness in a commercial sense for a long time, the same way that we’ve been afraid of all powerful beings, aka minorities. And that’s a shame because we’ve had many amazing stories to tell for a really long time. And queer people were used as

bait and then tossed to the wind, whether that be in kill scenes or whatever.

But it’s really exciting that now “Scream” has a gay character who’s experiencing trauma, but the trauma isn’t that she’s gay, and that’s only fair. Mindy should also be getting stabbed up and chased and hurt and crying and screaming, but nothing to do with her sexuality. And that’s exciting and I hope that more of every genre continues to follow in the footsteps of these films and employ queer actors and have queer characters, but never talk about their queerness because what does that have to do with the story? Nothing.

I want to ask you about “Yellowjackets” because that’s also been a big queer role for you, playing Taissa. What can you share about Season 2? What can fans expect from her journey? Well, Tai is just as gay as ever before. More hungry than she’s ever been before, probably older and younger. I can say that everything that you expect will be exceeded, that it’s really disturbing, and that everyone’s acting is even better than it was before. That’s the thing, is these casting directors did an amazing job. Obviously casting lookalikes

or essence-alikes, but also casting really strong actors. You have to be really good. Because this season especially, my god, all of the scenes are traumatic. And some scenes you’ll shoot for five hours, and it’s literally just experiencing a trauma over and over and over at every angle. You have to kill it every time, and everyone does. I’m really proud of everyone’s work.

I don’t know how much you think about your influence, but last year, for example,

you made it on the Out100 list. What would be your message to queer Black youth who might be like, “How did Jasmin get to where she is right now, and how do I do that?” What a question. I can go so many directions with that. I think it comes down to community. I grew up in Oregon. And I love my friends and family from Oregon, but/and it’s a really white space. And so no matter how excellent I was, I was never going to feel that good because when you don’t have anyone that

looks like you, that represents you in the room you’re in, you have no one to really see you and tell you that you’re on track or tell you that you’re loved and safe.

And so moving to L.A., I really was intentional about finding a community of my people, of queer people, of people of color — not just Black people, but anyone that isn’t just straight and white. My friend group is really diverse and really colorful in every aspect of that word. And so I have people that really see me and know me and can lift me up when I’m feeling bad and can say, “You’re killing it, girl.” Or like, “Hey, you need to take a nap.” Or, “Hey, I’m going to go grab you some food.” And we really lean on each other, and I think that’s the key to so much of my success: the people that I surround myself with. So surround yourself with good people chosen and make sure it’s a diverse group. Ties right back in the “Scream VI.” Q

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

Born This Gay

7 Autoerotic beneficiary

11 new concepts and one venerable outlet hits pause

BY JOSHUA JONES

Thismonth, we plan to check out French-themed ADELAIDE AT LE MERIDIEN and HOMECOMING SOUTHERN KITCHEN on 200 and West Temple. Follow our social media for our reports! In the meantime, here are some exciting openings to look forward to: We begin where we left off in our last On The Street column: a mysterious bar on 400 South that is promising authentic tiki drinks and animatronics in a whimsically-themed world. Well, we now have a name and date: NEPTUNE’S PALACE is working towards an early summer opening (DABS-dependent). The name truly lives up to the Willy Wonka-meets-Hunter S. Thompson

vibes that we’ve heard about through the rumor mill.

Highly-anticipated, THE LOCAL MARKET AND BAR opened. We got a sneak peek of the casual corner food hall with eight concepts on 200 East and University Blvd (400 S.) and will be back soon. Highlights? Well, the bar of course, staffed with mixologists that made a fine Moscow Mule. POP’S BURGER served a deliciously moist cheesy burger on a spongy bun, and THE CEREAL KILLERZ KITCHEN has over 100 cereal styles from around the world, generously served over ice cream.

We’re excited that the 48-year-old JUNIOR’S TAVERN , a venerable drinking hole where denizens of all salaries rub shoulders with one another, has been purchased by Bob McCarthy from longtime owner, Greg Arata. Bob owns two of our other favorite places in town: GARAGE ON BECK and STONEGROUND. We’ve heard he wants to polish the place but leave the best vestiges like the beer can collection, pool table, and even the film encyclo-

pedia (it’s a great way to strike up a conversation).

HOTEL MONACO opened in 1999 and it remains near the top in our rolodex of recommendations: consistent quality at BAMBARA , considerate cocktails at THE VAULT, quirky and cozy rooms. But nearby competition from newly-opened Hyatt Regency, ELEMENT, and LE MERIDIEN have convinced the brass that a full polish is due. Scheduled to begin in April and completed by late summer, the rehaul includes all 225 rooms, Bambara gets a facelift, and (we’re most excited about this) a dramatic and moody update and expansion to The Vault.

At City Creek Center, Ogden-founded PEARL

MILK TEA CLUB has opened. Located near VRX Pharmacy. They will serve boba smoothies, pearl milk teas, and coffees. Also, another Utah company, THREAD, who makes slim wallets, will open soon next to Donovan Mitchell’s STANCE

BRICK AND MORTAR , a fine establishment on Edison Street, has decided to cash in its chips and rebrand itself

as MAYOR VOSS. Between the 1880’s and the 1920’s Edison Street was the heart of the Black community. Horace Voss was a influential Republican and served in the state capitol in 1903, his picture still hangs inside the senate chambers. After claiming domestic abuse and filing for divorce, Mayor Voss was murdered and the killer was caught (not his wife). For the full story, check out historian Rachel Quist’s and KUTV’s Jamie McGriff story. Finally, late-breaking news that City Creek Center’s Chick-fil-a will be closed for renovations for a couple weeks. On the day we noticed it boarded up, mourners were discovering other food stalls at the food court, including BOCATA , the pizza oven sandwich shop, as well as the venerable TASTE OF RED IGUANA offering a daily special: mango enchiladas with rice and beans for the absurd price of $6.75. Two great local options to explore while the Chick is breaking those eggs. Q

Joshua Jones is the director of communications and marketing at the Downtown Alliance at downtownslc. org, where this column was first seen.

Be kind to restaurants, staff

BY JENNIFER BURNS

Timeshave

drastically changed over the past three years, especially for restaurants.

When we critique our dining experiences online, it is not fair to apply our old standards for eating out without factoring in that new reality. Between staffing shortages and rising prices for ingredients — and the difficulty of passing those costs on to customers — some restaurants are barely staying open.

Having been an entrepreneur most of my life, I can tell you that starting and running a business is tough — and starting and running a restaurant is insanely hard.

First, restaurants are usually run on some of the lowest profit margins of any business, so everything has to be near perfect at all times in order to even make a profit.

Second — and this applies at any level of restaurant — the day-to-day remains some-

what the same, a non-stop changing process. New staff, new cooks, training kitchen and front-of-house employees, new recipes, new systems and adapting to the guests. Like a well-oiled machine, these areas all need to gel at the same time to fully function.

Restaurateurs these days are dealing with the constant necessity of finding good staff. Some live paycheck to paycheck and have other personal challenges, which can affect the day-to-day operations. Yes, that’s true in other sectors of business, but the restaurant and retail, brick-and-mortar businesses have higher costs when those factors arise. Without trained employees, ready to go during open hours, the restaurant may have to stay closed or give their customers an experience that’s below expectations.

We see the saying on social media, “Be kind; you never know what a person is going through.” Can we apply that to the restaurant industry, including the entire staff, especially emerging from tough times?

Let’s open our hearts and minds to the current reality when analyzing our experiences, writing reviews and social media posts on restaurants. Let’s promote growth, so more doors stay open for business. Let’s consider the human factor, before

immediately jumping to Yelp to write a negative review or post on social media pages.

If your dining experience is really unpleasant, consider reaching out to the owners or managers first, to possibly get an explanation or solution. You may help educate the right person or people who can actually do something productive to improve or change.

If you immediately post about your negative experience, you’re costing the restaurant future customers, affecting staff morale and the bottom line. These actions may have a trickle-down effect: Margins being further tightened, business slowing down, people losing jobs — maybe, in the end, the restaurant being closed permanently.

Remember mom’s words — “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” — on an open, public platform without first going to the source (the owner or manager) and expressing your experience so they can work positively on fixing it.

You never know what someone is going through, so be kind. We are all human. Q

Jennifer Burns is a TV cooking host, food writer, and author of “Cooking Delight.” She can be found on Instagram and TikTok at @jbcookinghost, or online at hostjenniferburns.com. This column originally appeared in the Utah Eats newsletter.

REVIEW BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

Gray Love: Stories About Dating and New Relationships After 60’

EDITED BY NAN BAUER-MAGLIN

AND DANIEL E. HOOD, C.2023, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS, $24.95, 303 PAGES

It was supposed to be a nice night out. But you drove around and around looking for the restaurant, and once you found it, you learned that you needed reservations. Practically before the evening started, you sensed that your food could be as cold as your date. As in “Gray Love,”

edited by Nan Bauer-Maglin and Daniel E. Hood,

look-

q scopes

APRIL

BY SAM KELLEY-MILLS

ARIES March 20–April 19

A failure in communication with a friend can cause some problems. Remember that we are all human, and the failings of others are mistakes, not assaults. More likely than not, a friend’s carefree attitude is simply their way of dealing with their problems. Take a moment to do the same and simply chill out for a bit.

TAURUS Apr 20–May 20

Constant nagging from someone is getting on your nerves. While it may not actually be so bad, the constant pressure is getting you down. Take some time to simply get away and find a sense of normal again. Rest in a place where the mind can reset. Your personal matters and career can wait. Work on yourself now.

GEMINI May 21–June 20

The beauty of nature is going to be a great inspirational source during this time period. With weather that is ever-changing and a hot-and-cold dynamic occurring, much of your duality is represented by the world itself. This could be a good time

ing for love wasn’t like this when you were younger.

You thought you’d be happy alone.

After the divorce, the funeral, the last break-up, you didn’t think a little you-time was a bad idea. And it wasn’t – but love, someone to go to the movies with or dine with or snuggle with, seems more and more appealing now. Today, though, as the forty-two essays in this book confirm and as you’ve learned, that’s easier said than done.

You want a partner, someone your age, but you fear becoming a caretaker. You like doing your own thing, but having someone around to do it with would be nice. You have company, but you are “without intimacy.” Or you don’t want a full-time someone, but it’s scary to think about “falling off a ladder alone.”

So you go online because, well, people don’t meet like

to be involved with the creative process and share what you see with others.

CANCER June 21–July 22

The beauty of nature is going to be a great inspirational source during this time period. With weather that is ever-changing and a hot-and-cold dynamic occurring, much of your duality is represented by the world itself. This could be a good time to be involved with the creative process and share what you see with others.

LEO July 23–August 22

There’s nothing totally wrong with switching up the orders of operations. The more tasks are piling up, the more boredom tends to set in. Keep things interesting by having dessert first, playing before work, and taking different positions than normal. It’s a good time to break the norms and alter perceptions for the better.

VIRGO August 23–Sep 2

The need to flex the muscle of authority could be a turn-off to others. Don’t be so impressed by your accomplishments that it undermines your efforts to gain respect. A friend or lover is finding an obsession rather weary, but don’t let this get you down. Find satisfaction through casual fun and lay off the need to prove yourself.

they used to. That’s when you learn that dating sites are generally ripe with people who lie about their ages, who seem clingy, or who want things you can’t give, “the Uncertain, the Angry… the Unattractive,” and – let’s be honest – jerks. Unlike real life circa 1973 or 1993, there’s nobody to vouch for singles online.

You wonder, “What would I wear?” You learn about scams the hard way, while tales of love at way-up-there-ages are inspirational. Experimenting with same-sex, different-sex, and different race isn’t off the table, but nobody’s asked – or you did, and it was wonderful and why didn’t you do that before? Love is love. You date the wrong people; you date the right people; you’re exhausted and disappointed. And sometimes, even for a while, you’re someone’s “‘sweetie.’”

According to a study quoted in “Gray Love,” about twenty-five percent of American

adults live alone. If you’re one of them and open to a relationship, you need this book.

Just know that this is not a how-to manual. Editors Nan Bauer-Maglin and Daniel E. Hood don’t offer advice in their introduction, and most of their storytellers didn’t Ann-Landers their way into this book. Instead, you’ll read tales of dating and mating gone happily right and very, very wrong, told in ways that will make you laugh, sigh, and know that you’re not alone in your late-life search for love. The mixture here is diverse and wide: if one tale makes you want to swear off dating forever, the next one offers Happily Ever After.

Be aware that a few of the tales inside “Gray Love” flirt with the explicit, and others might ruffle a feather or two. Still, it could be great to share it with a millennial or older GenZ’er. If you see this book on a bookshelf, take it out. Q

LIBRA Sept 23–October 22

Follow through on tasks that have fallen behind. The saying, “better late than never,” can be applied in many ways, whether it be business or the bedroom. Communication has fallen by the wayside, and there is a lot of confusion surrounding your recent actions. Rest assured, others will listen. So explain.

SCORPIO Oct 23–Nov 21

It’s getting warmer, and so is your temperature, Scorpio! It may seem like a prime time to get out there and look for adventure. Stay out of danger by keeping close to those you know, and don’t travel far from home. The ability to control emotional responses may be compromised, especially regarding personal interactions.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 22–December 20

No is going to desert you at this time, despite a few moments of despair. Stay focused on working on yourself and become your own pleaser. Fate has a way of bringing tragedy in threes, and you’ve already received two in a row. While this may not be quite obvious to some of you, rest assured, some letdown is possible.

CAPRICORN

Dec 21–Jan 19

A fellowship of friends and lovers is going to lead to nice times. Enjoy what you can and do your best to stay safe. There could be drama, but that is to be expected. No one is trying to bring you down, despite some suggestions. Allow good feelings to be channeled into the work you are doing. It never hurts to feel inspired.

AQUARIUS Jan 20–Feb 18

Whatever is troubling you will likely affect others if not kept in check. The worst thing you can do is spread negativity, which has a tendency to bounce back. The best course of action is to take a submissive role and allow others to show what it really means to be happy. Realize that sometimes the best action is no action.

PISCES

Feb 19–Mar 19

During what is turning out to be a lull period, spend time gaining focus. Get involved with projects and meet with people you’ve been putting off for a while. Someone may challenge your opinions in a seemingly offensive manner but don’t take it too hard. It has more to do with a competitive need than discrediting your ideas.

Long COVID-19 Justice

A new organization addresses the needs of people living with HIV and long Covid

BY SARAH HAMILTON

JD

Davids

has long played an important and visible role in the HIV response. He continues to do so today, working at the center of many intersecting issues, including chronic illness, social justice and — as the founder of Strategies for High Impact (S4HI) and its Network for Long COVID Justice — the impact of the Covid pandemic.

S4HI recently announced a new $1.5 million investment from the Balvi Fund, a scientific investment and direct gifting fund supporting high-value Covid-related projects that will bring cutting-edge communications science to the advocacy efforts of people living with long Covid and other chronic conditions. S4HI is also a recipient of the first allocation of the Disability Frontlines Fund of the Third Wave Fund.

Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) recently interviewed Davids to hear about his work and what people affected by both HIV and long Covid need most. Below is an edited excerpt. Tell us about the work you’re doing now and why it’s so important to you. I was concerned, even in the earliest days of the Covid pandemic, when it was described as something that wasn’t much of a concern because it was only going to affect people who are already sick or disabled. No one in the media or the government was talking to people who were sick or disabled about what this may mean for us. So I pulled together a webinar in early March 2020 to ask people with chronic conditions, “What are your concerns? What are your questions?” Since then, I’ve stayed really centered in the emergence of COVID-19 as a chronic condition.

We’ve been able to connect the history and present day of HIV advocacy and service delivery with this new, emerging community of highly affected people in the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, we’ve been able to have long Covid

research advocates meet with HIV treatment activists who have been working within and outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health for years. Together, we were able to talk about the strategies and structures of research advocacy. We’ve been able to talk about Covid and long Covid through an HIV community lens.

It’s really stunning how much people have not been able to dial into the particular information that they and their communities need. We are trying to bridge that gap. We’ve heard so much misinformation. We are trying to break through the noise to give people the information — and the humanity — they need.

Where have you seen progress?

And where are the biggest challenges?

In the beginning of the pandemic, as operations shifted more to remote and virtual work, there was, in some ways, a flourishing of access. Case managers got iPads to rural folks so they could get online. Organizations helped pay for cell phone connections. I was working closely with The Reunion Project [an alliance of long-term survivors of HIV] when the pandemic started. We turned meetings into webinars, and people who had never been able to come in person were able to participate. Events like these are very concrete measures against isolation. Today, there have obviously been changes in the capacity to treat Covid. And access to vaccination has reduced

rates of severe disease and mortality. However, there are people who remain at high risk or are in community with people who are at high risk. Even the baseline of risk might be uncomfortably high if more was known about what it’s really like to live with these kinds of complex chronic conditions and how much it affects your life.

What do community members need from funders?

In the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, people were moved to contribute billions of dollars in rapid relief, across all sectors of philanthropy, to do anything they could to make things work. But, as we know well in the HIV community, there is a difference between an ongoing versus an acute disaster. And we didn’t see a recognition that the situation was likely to continue.

Even before the pandemic, there was never anywhere near adequate support for disability justice and disabled organizers. COVID-19 and long Covid raise the bar for understanding and being transparent about the complexities of funding. It’s not going to work

to have one-year program grants change everything when ableism is a structural condition that’s baked into our society. There’s a lot to do to be able to shift funding and power in a way that is untethered from ableist standards.

We need to be able to recognize how people of color and disabled, queer and trans people and immigrants have crafted worlds of survival and interdependence. How do we apply resources to what disabled people living with forced poverty and huge rates of marginalization and isolation have learned from one another by taking care of one another? How can we start recognizing and supporting that?

Look to the caregivers and program leaders in the communities. Provide capacity building, technical assistance and training support to mentor people so that they are able to be the leaders. They already are leaders, but help them with the skills that will allow them to teach others to lead too. We already know how to do this — it’s been the most vibrant part of the HIV community response.

What lessons learned from the HIV response can be applied to long Covid?

Long COVID is not one thing. We need to emulate what we have across the spectrum for HIV — the Ryan White CARE Act, wraparound services and the understanding that it’s not just

about treatment but also access to housing and support, etc. In the case of complex chronic conditions, there’s a need — just like there is with respect to HIV — for provider training.

There’s a need for provider and service infrastructure as well as education about long Covid. We need to bring information, treatment, care and support to the millions of Americans who are dealing with it, many of whom were already chronically ill. How do we work within the care and service sectors that exist — for HIV, for diabetes, for elder care — to be able to bring rapid relief? How do we bring economic support for people who have lost their capacity to work? There’s a lot that we could do right now.

I’m confident that we’re going to have treatment for at least a big slice of people with long Covid. What we need to be doing now is treatment preparedness. With HIV, we had effective treatment available in the United States and other wealthy nations for years before activists around the world united to bring the price down through generics and extend access worldwide. We need to ensure Covid treatments are going to be available to people worldwide.

How can HIV-informed funding be applied to long Covid? One key is to center the caring economy

and caring work. The origin of the HIV community was people caring for one another and demanding that the government and funding entities also care.

What does it mean to center us in terms of our wisdom and our methods without requiring chronically ill and disabled people to be marginalized, impoverished and isolated? That means really supporting community-level solutions, not just paying for what it costs to provide them but leveraging these models so that we can bring things to scale in other places.

We’ve seen from the HIV response that we can have incredible breakthroughs and treatments and still lack access and experience enormous loss. We need to have systems in place to actually get treatment to people. No pure biomedical solution can do the work on its own.

There’s a lot going into technological fixes that aren’t going to reach many of those who are most affected. But we need the low-tech stuff. We need childcare, training, economic supports, housing. We need all of that. Let’s not make all the same mistakes again. Let’s get to what works. Q Go to StrategiesforHighImpact.org to learn more about Davids and this work. Sarah Hamilton is operations director at FCAA.

kink alley

What price, visibility?

BY ALPHA MERCURY

One wayI view our Kink/ Leather/Fetish/ BDSM community is through its relationship to the larger LGBTQ+ community and the way their developments have paralleled and diverged.

I’ve written before about what I call the “Kink closet.” The Kink closet mirrors the more widely-known “closet” that many LGBTQ+ people remain “inside” until they decide to “come out” of it and reveal their authentic selves to various people and groups in their lives. Someone in the Kink closet is a person who hides the fact that they are kinky from the other people in their lives, the wider world in general, or both. The Kink closet exists because there is taboo, stigma, and shame attached to being kinky by much of the vanilla (non-kinky) world, just as there is to being LGBTQ+ by much of the heterosexual/gender-normative world. Even some kinky people who are Out-and-Proud about being LGBTQ+ are in the Kink closet.

Big Gay Fun Bus April 8 2023

As the Republican Party tries to force the country into a new Jim Crow-styled Era of legislated discrimination and erasure of LGBTQ+ people, I’ve been thinking a lot about visibility. With visibility comes scrutiny. LGBTQ+ people are more visible in American life now than perhaps ever before in our nation’s history. We’ve made so much progress since that fateful night in June 1969, yet so much work needs yet to be done. And at the same time, the Republican Party, which like all conservative movements is reactionary and invested in maintaining the status quo, has seen our progress and not only wants to halt it but to reverse it.

What does it mean to be visibly kinky? Many of us in the Kink/Leather/Fetish/ BDSM community who are involved in TPE (Total Power Exchange) relationships wear ornaments that symbolize those dynamics. Collars are a common example. A collar is either a leather strap

of varying width worn around the neck, or a length of chain worn the same way. Collars are frequently secured in place with padlocks. I wear my collar all the time. It never comes off unless it’s being cleaned or changed out for a different one. My collar is a symbol of my bond with the man with whom I’m in a relationship and our respective positions within that dynamic. I am very proud of my collar. When I’m out in public, I sometimes get lingering glances directed at my collar from people around me, and sometimes direct questions from total strangers. When questioned, I answer truthfully, adjusting the amount of detail based on the situation.

There have long been those within the Kink/Leather/Fetish/BDSM community who resist visibility and prefer Kink to remain something outside of mainstream society. They like the rebel/ outlaw mystique of Kink and want the community to stay in the shadows. It’s important to point out that many of these people don’t see themselves as in a closet. They just find that part of the allure of Kink is its transgressive nature. They imagine that mainstream acceptance of the Kink/Leather/Fetish/ BDSM community lifestyle would rob it of some (or all) of its appeal.

For me, this appetite to retain outsider status is parallel to (among other things) something that happened within the LGBTQ+ community in the lead-up to the marriage equality battle that was fought some years ago. One might assume that all LGBTQ+ people wanted the right to marry whomever they chose, but that isn’t the case. Before everyone eventually united behind the marriage equality cause, there was a faction of the community that thought our energy was better spent elsewhere. Their view was that LGBTQ+ people are not heterosexual or heteronormative, so why are we asking

to be included in a practice/custom that is the very definition of patriarchal heterosexual normativity? They were saying that standing up and declaring, “We are something different from you and want to be recognized as such” and, “We want exactly what you have,” were contradictory statements. That we should be working for other rights and protections, not for the dubious privilege of participating in the very institution whose oppressive paradigm we take exception to by our very existence.

I think the argument the anti-marriage equality faction made is applicable to our status as members of the Kink/ Leather/Fetish/BDSM community. Do we want mainstream acceptance? Do we want to be seen as “just like” vanilla people, or do we want to maintain our outlaw status? What would be gained or lost in either case? Should kinky people be more visible? What would a more visible Kink community look like? If we became more visible, and thus more scrutinized, would we be subjected to the same onslaught of tyranny that the LGBTQ+ community faces right now?

I don’t have answers to these questions, and certainly would not presume to tell others how they should live their lives. These are just things I’m thinking about these days. What do you think?

Have thoughts, questions, or comments about this column or anything to do with Kink? Write to me at kink@qsaltlake.com and I’ll answer them in an upcoming column. Be safe and have fun out there! Q Alpha Mercury has been an out-and-proud member of the Kink/Leather/Fetish/BDSM community his entire adult life. He has a degree in film production from the University of Southern California and is a published author of erotic fiction. Alpha Mercury lives with his Leather Family in Salt Lake City.

Petunia’s Perils are Now in Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle

Petunia Pap Smear has been writing and publishing her perils in QSaltLake Magazine for 15 years. That’s over 175 columns of her best and worst times. Now, you can get all of them in one place — a 355-page book available in pa perback, hardcover, and Kindle through Amazon.

setting Utah State University on fire, losing his keys in a cruisy park restroom … you get the picture.

Ruby Ridge, aka Donald Steward, even looked up from his new Aussie home to celebrate.

book is hilarious, with the right level of risque.

Yes, it is not for the faint of heart. There’s a reason they tore down the LDS ward church building the day after he was baptized in it.

But it is absolutely the best toilet-side book you could ever buy.

Petunia Pap Smear is the camp drag persona of Courtney Moser. Born and raised on a potato and sheep farm in Dayton, Idaho, he now lives with his husband of 33 years in Salt Lake City. He is the Queen Mother of the Matrons of Mayhem, which raises tens of thousands of dollars for charities each year. His activism began in Logan, Utah, in the 1980s and continues. He was awarded the Kristen Ries Community Service Award at Utah Pride in 2015.

The book has stories of his life as a budding queen schlepping sheep shit, almost

meltdowns. Now a collection of Petunia Pap Smear’s wrote. “Face it Utah — God’s listening!” Close friend, Dennis

McCracken, artistic director of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir waxes poetic about Petunia.

“Petunia’s main goal in life is to make sure those around her laugh and enjoy the moment. Nothing beats a trip to Savers or a buffet with her,” he said.

And since many of her stories begin or end at Club Try-Angles, owner Gene Gieber had to chime in.

“Petunia’s favorite pastime is attending buffets. Treat this book like a buffet. Even when you’ve had enough, you will still read for more,” he said.

The book is currently available only through Amazon at amazon.com/ author/petuniapapsmear

Watch for events and potential in-store purchasing opportunities soon. Q

Q mmunity groups

BUSINESS

LGBTQ-Affirmative Psycho-therapists Guild of Utah

 lgbtqtherapists.com

* jim@lgbtqtherapists.com

Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce

 utahlgbtqchamber.com

* info@utahgaychamber.com

LGBT & Allied Lawyers of Utah

 lgbtutahlawyers.com

* lgbtutahlawyers@gmail.com

Utah Independent Business Coalition

 utahindependentbusiness.org

801-879-4928

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-7233

YWCA of Salt Lake

 ywca.org/saltlakecity

322 E 300 S

801-537-8600

HEALTH & HIV

Peer Support for Mental Illness — PSMI

Thurs 7pm, Utah Pride Ctr

Planned Parenthood

 bit.ly/ppauslchiv

654 S 900 E 801-322-5571

Salt Lake County Health

Dept HIV/STD Clinic

610 S 200 E, 2nd Floor

Walk-ins M–F 8a–5p

Appts 385-468-4242

Utah AIDS Foundation

 utahaids.org

* mail@utahaids.org

150 S 1000 E

801-487-2323

Weber-Morgan Health

Mon., Weds 1-4:30p

477 23rd St, Ogden Appt 801-399-7250

HOMELESS SVCS

VOA Homeless Youth Resource Ctr, ages 15–21

880 S 400 W 801-364-0744

LEGAL

Rainbow Law Free Clinic

2nd Weds 6–7:30pm probono@law.utah.edu

POLITICAL

Equality Utah

 equalityutah.org

* info@equalityutah.org

376 E 400 S 801-355-3479

Utah Libertarian Party

Mail address: 129 E

13800 S #B2-364

Draper, * chair@ libertarianutah.org

866-511-UTLP

Utah Stonewall Democrats

 utahstonewalldemocrats.org

 fb.me/ utahstonewalldems

RELIGIOUS

First Baptist Church

 firstbaptist-slc.org

* office@firstbaptistslc.org

11a Sundays

777 S 1300 E 801-582-4921

Sacred Light of Christ

 slcchurch.org

823 S 600 E 801-595-0052

11a Sundays

SOCIAL

Alternative Garden Club

 utahagc.org/clubs/ altgardenclub/

1 to 5 Club (bisexual)

 facebook.com/ groups/1to5clubutah

blackBOARD

Men’s Kink/Sex/BDSM education, 1st, 3rd Mons.

 blackbootsslc.org

blackBOOTS Kink/BDSM

Men’s leather/kink/

fetish/BDSM 4th Sats.

 blackbootsslc.org

OWLS of Utah (Older, Wiser, Lesbian Sisters)

 bit.ly/owlsutah

qVinum Wine Tasting

 qvinum.com

Seniors Out and Proud

 fb.me/soaputah

* info@soaputah.org

801-856-4255

Temple Squares Square

Dance Club

 templesquares.org

801-449-1293

Utah Bears

 utahbears.com

 fb.me/utahbears

* info@utahbears.com

Weds 6pm Raw Bean

Coffee, 611 W Temple

Utah Male Naturists

 umen.org

 fb.me/utahmalenaturists

* info@umen.org

Utah Pride Center

 utahpridecenter.org

* info@utahpridecenter.org

1380 S Main St

801-539-8800

Venture OUT Utah

 bit.ly/GetOutsideUtah

SPORTS

QUAC — Queer Utah

Aquatic Club

 quacquac.org

* questions@ quacquac.org

Salt Lake Goodtime

Bowling League

 bit.ly/slgoodtime

Stonewall Sports SLC

 fb.me/SLCStonewall

 stonewallsaltlakecity. leagueapps.com

385-243-1828

Utah Gay Football League

 fb.me/UtahGayFootballLeague

Venture Out Utah

 facebook.com/groups/

Venture.OUT.Utah

SUPPORT

Alcoholics Anonymous

801-484-7871

 utahaa.org

LGBT meetings:

Sun. 3p Acceptance

Group, All Saints

Episcopal Church, 1710

Foothill Dr

Tues. 8p Live & Let

Live, Mt Tabor

Lutheran, 175 S 700 E

Wed. 7p Sober Today, 1159 30th St , Ogden

Wed. 7p Bountiful

Men’s Group, Am.

Baptist Btfl Church, 1915 Orchard Dr, Btfl

Fri. 7p Stonewall

Group, Mt Tabor

Lutheran, 175 S 700 E

Crystal Meth Anon

 crystalmeth.org

USARA, 180 E 2100 S

Clean, Sober & Proud

Sun. 1:30pm

Leather Fetish & Kink

Fri. 8:30pm

Genderbands

 genderbands.org

fb.me/genderbands

LifeRing Secular Recovery

801-608-8146

 liferingutah.org

Weds. 7pm, How was your week? First

Baptist Church, 777

S 1300 E

Sat. 11am, How was your week? First Baptist Church, 777

S 1300 E

LGBTQ-Affirmative Psycho-therapists Guild of Utah

 lgbtqtherapists.com

* robin@lgbtqtherapists.com

Survivors of Suicide Attempt

 utahpridecenter.org/ mental-health/sosa/ YOUTH/COLLEGE

Encircle LGBTQ Family and Youth Resource Ctr

 encircletogether.org

fb.me/encircletogether

91 W 200 S, Provo, 190 S 100 E, St. George 331 S 600 E, SLC

Gay-Straight Alliance Network

 gsanetwork.org

OUT Foundation BYU

 theout.foundation

 fb.me/theOUTfoundation

Salt Lake Community College LGBTQ+

 slcc.edu/lgbtq/

University of Utah LGBT Resource Center

 lgbt.utah.edu

200 S Central Campus

Dr Rm 409, M-F, 8a-5p 801-587-7973

USGA at BYU

 usgabyu.com

 fb.me/UsgaAtByu

Utah State Univ. Inclusion Ctr

 usu.edu/inclusion/ Utah Valley Univ Spectrum

 instagram.com/ spectrum.uvu

Weber State University LGBT Resource Center

 weber.edu/ lgbtresourcecenter

Shepherd Union Suite 323 Dept. 2117

801-626-7271

Westminster Diversity Center

Bassis 105, M-F 8a-5p

 westminstercollege. edu/diversity

Utah Pride Center

Weekly drop-ins and activity nights held at the Utah Pride Center, 1380 S Main St. Some require registration at utahpridecenter.org/ programs/

ADULT & SENIOR

Silver Pride Senior (50+) Mon 2–4 pm, in-person.

Neurodivergent

Support & Social Club, Mon 6–7 pm, In-person & virtual Bi+Pan Support & Social Club, Mon 6:30–7:30 pm, Inperson & virtual registration req’d Trivia Night (21+ Mon 7:30–9 pm, in-person (no more than 6 per team).

Health Insurance

Help From Take Care Utah, Tue 3–5 pm, in-person, 18+.

Gay Men’s Peer Support Group, Tue 6:30–8 pm, in-person, 18+ * billblevins@ hotmail.com

Pride in Recovery, 18+ Tue 7–8 pm, in-person

Gay Men’s Sack

Lunch, Wed, Noon–1 pm, in-person, any gay male-identifying humans 18+.

Women’s Support Group, Wed, 6–7 pm, in-person & virtual, registration req’d

LezBee Honest Support & Social Club, Wed, 7–8 pm, In-person & virtual, registration req’d

Trans/Nonbinary Support Group, Thurs 6–7:30 pm, In-person & virtual, registration req’d

Queer People Of Color Support & Social Club, Thurs, 6:30–7:30 pm, Inperson & virtual, registration req’d

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: Want QSaltLake to sponsor your group or event? Go to: bit.ly/qsponsor or use the QR Code

Parents & Caregivers

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Game Night, 18+ Fri 5:30–9 pm, in-person, Families Like Ours, Sun 3:30–5:30pm, in-person

YOUTH & FAMILY

PROGAMS

Youth 10–13 Support Group, Tue 5–6pm pm, registration req’d

Youth 10–13 Activity Night, Thu 5–6 pm, registration req’d

Youth 10–13 Free Time Hours, Tue/Thu

3–8 pm, reg. req’d Teens 14–17 Support Group, Mon 5–6 pm, registration req’d Teens 14–17 Activity Night Wed 5–6 pm, registration req’d Teen 14–17 Free Time Hours, Mon/Wed 3–8 pm, registration req’d

JOIN OUR GROUP OF ACTIVE OUT SENIORS

Our Vision is to reduce social isolation and loneliness, improve the health and well-being of older adults and to empower them to lead meaningful and connected lives in which they are engaged and participating in the community. Our Mission is to reimagine aging by empowering older adults to live life to the fullest potential guided by these five pillars:

• Cherish the Journey

• Encourage the Body

Recent events: Snowshoeing, Bingo, Valentines Pot Luck & Dance, Movie Night, Walking Groups, Theater groups

• Inspire the Mind

• Nurture the Spirit

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Find us at SeniorsOutAndProudUtah.org and Facebook.com/SOAPUtah

HHawkes Family Law

A down-to-Earth law rm that aims for solutions, not ghts. We help you develop the most cost-effective strategy to meet your goals for the case. Our mission is to give a voice to underrepresented people and to empower our clients through a wide variety of legal services.

261 E 300 S #200 Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 danielle@hawkesfamilylaw.com

Puzzle Solutions

the perils of petunia pap smear

The tale of a homo on the range

BY PETUNIA PAP SMEAR

Theroad to Wyoming is fraught with danger and excitement.

Once upon a time, many, many bingos ago, I had occasion to deliver a small package to a soda ash mine in Wyoming, way off the beaten path in the middle of nowhere.

Because this was just going to be a quick there-and-back day trip, I loaded up Queertanic with the barest of necessities; five gallons of Diet Mountain Dew, 12 ham sandwiches, seven pounds of M&Ms, and three pounds of glitter, along with seven caftans and three beehive wigs, and hit the road.

As Queertanic entered Wyoming, I was greeted by a forlorn-looking billboard in a field of scrubby sagebrush stating, “Welcome to Big Wonderful Wyoming.” Not an impressive beginning, but hope springs eternal. I began singing “Home on the Range” and searching the horizon for buffalo, antelope, and deer.

After several hours of driving through the empty scrubland, barely passing any other vehicles, I came upon the turnoff to the mine and was greeted by a sign saying, “SHAFT #5, Tight Hole, No entry without permission, Men working.” Startled by the message on the sign, I slammed on the brakes, Queertanic’s wheels locked up, and skidded to a stop in the gravel. Shafts and tight holes! What self-respecting drag queen wouldn’t get just a little bit excited about the prospects of what may lie ahead? I immediately began to make plans for my “home on the range.”

I paused, looked in the mirror, and made sure my mascara wasn’t clumping and that my hair was on straight so that I could present my best self at the shaft entrance. I walked up to the door, with the ever-present wind blowing my skirt up around my breasticles. I couldn’t hold the skirt down because my hands were busy gripping my hair so that it would stay atop my head. Trembling with anticipation of meeting up with a hunky

miner, I rang the bell. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, but probably only two minutes, the door began to slide open. I put on my biggest smile in anticipation of meeting a knight in shining armor. The door fully opened, and I was able to meet my would-be future paramour. My hopes and dreams were suddenly dashed upon the dusty gravel when a dirty little old dwarf of a gentleman who could best be described as Gimly from Lord of the Rings, stood there and grabbed the package from my hands and sent me, crestfallen, on my way.

Dejectedly, I climbed back into Queertanic and began the journey home. Just as I was on the outskirts of Kemmerer, a huge antelope bounded out of the sagebrush directly in front of Queertanic. I shrieked. I’m sure dogs in Evanston a hundred miles away heard me. I didn’t even have time to react and hit the brakes. BOOM! The beast crashed into the hood of Queertanic. The airbag deployed, violently punching my breasticles into my chest, so much so that it knocked the wind out of me.

I was able to bring the car to a stop. Wheezing and disorientated, I got out to survey the damage. The hood was crunched, and oil and antifreeze were gushing everywhere. The antelope was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the creature went off to roam with the buffalo and play with the deer. I looked around for help. I could see a Chevron station a couple of hundred yards down the hill, so I got back in the car and coasted down the hill, and pulled into the parking lot right behind a Wyoming police cruiser.

The officer got out of his car and approached my severely damaged and leaking Queertanic. He was gorgeous and was wearing a very well-fitting uniform! HUBBA HUBBA! Suddenly, I couldn’t catch my breath. I’m not sure if it was still the effects of the airbag deployment or his stunningly handsome magnificence that took my breath away. He strode

up to my window and asked me what happened. In my best “damsel in distress’ fashion, I recounted the harrowing incident. Officer Studly told me there was a repair shop further down the hill. So, I coasted the severely damaged Queertanic another 300 yards downhill to the shop with the officer following behind me.

By this time, it was evening, and the repair shop was closed. So, I just parked Queertanic by the door, and Officer

Studly said that he would help me locate a hotel room for the night. He called every hotel in town. No vacancy! So, then he invited me to ride in his patrol car and drove me to the Best Western hotel. The manager graciously allowed me to wait in their lobby until the long-suffering Mr. Pap Smear could come and rescue me.

As per usual, my husband did not have his phone ringer turned on, so he did not get the message until the next morning. So, I spent all night watching TV in the lobby. At least the couch was comfy. Come morning time, the hotel served breakfast to their customers. I was starving. I pretended to be a hotel guest and snuck in line for a plate of biscuits and gravy. Salvation! After arriving home and getting in the shower, I discovered two painful breasticle-shaped purple bruises on my chest to remember the experience by. This story leaves us with several important questions:

1. Should I install drilling equipment into my breasticles for future tight holes?

2. Should I have asked to examine shafts 1 thru 4?

3. Do I need airbags in my breasticles?

4. Should I get a purple bra to match the bruises?

5. How much jail time is standard for a starving queen stealing breakfast?

These and other eternal questions will be answered in future chapters of The Perils of Petunia Pap Smear. Q

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