San Francisco Bay Times - December 7, 2017

AO KU N G P M E DY O C R KO S H E IVE R SA RY !

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December 7 - 20 2017 | sfbaytimes.com SEE PAGE 15

Flame On, Hanukkah

PHOTO BY PAUL MARG OL IS

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PHOTO SOURCE: SHAARZAHAV.ORG

HANUKKAH SPECIAL SECTION PAGES 15–17

In the News

Compiled by Dennis McMillan U.S. Supreme Court Begins to Undermine Marriage Equality The U.S. Supreme Court has begun to undermine marriage equality, just two years after it became the law of the land. In deciding not to take up Pidgeon v. Turner, the court said that same-sex married couples are not de facto entitled to benefits. The ruling by the Texas Supreme Court sided with Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks, who sued the City of Houston, and then Mayor Annise Parker. The suit came in response to Parker extending benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees. The decision not to take up the case by the U.S. Supreme Court, doing so without comment, is especially troubling considering it is hearing a so-called “religious freedom” case involving a Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. If the court rules in favor of the baker, Jack Phillips, it could set another precedent of granting those with anti-LGBTQ views a license to discriminate. (For another assessment, please read Ann Rostow’s column, page 14.) lgbtqnation.com LGBT People Will Suffer Under Trump’s Tax Plan The current tax bill in the Senate would devastate support systems and services for LGBT Americans, especially transgender people, by making deep cuts in their accessibility to healthcare and other programs they rely on, according to several analysts. The bill would raise the cost for people living with HIV/AIDS, cut food stamps, housing and homelessness efforts, and lead to cuts in Medicare and Social Security—all being social programs important to the LGBT community. This tax bill will repeal Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate provision used extensively by people living with chronic health conditions, like those with HIV/AIDS. It will penalize people who lose their insurance and who are unable to replace it within 63 days, by forcing them to pay a 30-percent surcharge on their insurance, which would last a year. “For transgender people living with HIV, in particular, this bill could mean the loss of life-saving treatment and fuel an epidemic that the U.S. government has ostensibly pledged to end,” said Kris Hayashi, the executive director of Transgender Law Center. towleroad.com Cliff ’s Variety Approved by SF Small Business Commission for Legacy Business Registry Cliff’s Variety was unanimously approved by the San Francisco Small Business Commission for the Legacy Business Registry. The Registry recognizes longstanding, community-serving businesses as valuable cultural assets to the City. There are currently 115 small businesses on the Legacy Business Registry. Cliff’s Variety was founded in 1936 as a hardware and variety store. During the Harvey Milk era, the store was pivotal in shaping the history and identity of Eureka Valley. As the neighborhood began to evolve into the gay mecca it is today, Cliff’s Variety was the first straight-owned business on the block to hire openly gay employees. Cliff’s Variety has moved several times since its founding, but never more than two blocks from its current location at 479 Castro Street. Celebrated for its quirky window displays, Cliff ’s Variety is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in San Francisco. We are proud that Cliff’s Variety presents the 24/7 live-streaming Castro Street Cam. sfbaytimes.com/castro-street-cam/ Castro Students Commemorate World AIDS Day with ‘Project Inscribe’ For the third year in a row, students from the Harvey Milk Civil Rights

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Academy commemorated World AIDS Day by writing the names of people lost to AIDS in chalk on the sidewalk of Castro Street. The event, “Project Inscribe,” began with students and their teachers gathering inside Strut, the Castro’s health clinic for gay, bi and trans men. Several speakers told the children about the history of the AIDS pandemic and of the importance of remembering those who were lost. Students were then given a card with the name of a person lost to AIDS, and they wrote in chalk the names on Castro Street sidewalks from Market to 19th Street.

Some of the names were from the local community and some were from the AIDS Memorial Quilt. hoodline.com President Trump Insulted the LGBT Community on World AIDS Day On World A IDS Day, President Tr ump, l i ke t he presidents before him, released a proclamation.

But unlike former president Barack Obama‘s proclamation, it made no mention of the groups most affected

by HIV/AIDS: the LGBTQ community and people of color. “Not only did the White House statement on World AIDS Day fail to mention the population in which two-thirds of HIV cases in the U.S. occur—gay and bisexual men—it also failed to point out the disproportionate impact in communities of color, for gay and bisexual men of color, particularly young men of color, or for transgender women,” said Scott Schoettes, HIV/AIDS project director for Lambda Legal. lgbtqnation.com National Endowment for the Arts Rejects Grant Application for San Francisco Mime Troupe The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has rejected the Tony and OBIE award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe’s (SFMT) 2018 grant proposal for $25,000. The only other time the SFMT was rejected for an NEA award for their summer show funding was for Oil and Water, which debuted in 2013. On June 26, 2017, Breitbart News published an article entitled “Trump NEA Grants $20k for Lesbian Illegal Alien Musical,” using the SF Mime Troupe’s summer musical about immigration, Walls, to vilify SFMT. Saying that the NEA was funding “… a San Francisco musical about a criminal illegal alien lesbian with mental health issues who is in love with an immigration agent, Breitbart News was bolstering the case made by President Trump for defunding the NEA entirely. sfmt.org CDC Report Finds Frequency of HIV Testing and Time from Infection to Diagnosis Improve A new CDC report, “CDC Vital Signs: HIV Testing and Diagnosis Delays,” finds that HIV is being diagnosed sooner after infection than was previously documented. According to the report, the estimated median time from HIV infection to diagnosis was three years in 2015. CDC previously estimated that, in 2011, the median time from HIV infection to diagnosis was three years and seven months. The seven-month improvement is a considerable decrease over a four-year period and reinforces other recent signs that the nation’s approach to HIV prevention is paying off. Overall, 85 percent of the estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in 2014 knew their HIV status.

CDC estimates about 40 percent of new HIV infections originate from (continued on page 30)

Wrapping Up the Year with Real LGBT Sexual Liberation zine’s Person of the Year, generously making room for far worthier people to grace its cover.

Andrea Shorter

At most years’ end, many of us are just thankful to have made it through, keeping our heads above water, and that we’re here to see another 12 months come to pass. Even so, this year will definitely end with particularly undeniable remarkable moments in American history to date.

This first year of an absurdly twitter riddled Trump Presidency, and all of its sulfuric volcanic lava that has since flowed to scorch the earth, is likely to outpace any other socio-cultural-political series of events.

Tis’ the season for year-end wrap ups of the news highlights before we ring in the New Year. There will be the usual array of most spectacular spectacles in the worlds of entertainment, sports, science, technology, and politics cast against the not so categorical incidents of tragedies and inspiring stories in celebration of the human spirit. Here and there will be “Persons of the Year.” Thanks to President Trump for, yet again, so gracefully and eloquently expressing his disinterest in being named as Time maga-

I’m not an avid end of year list keeper, but I do think it would be fair to say that a very close second to more or less surviving to date a Trump Presidency would be the continual onslaught of sexual harassment and assault revelations and allegations involving powerful figures in entertainment, media, and politics. In addition to the numerous harrowing and horrific accounts of gross sexual misconduct primarily involving media figures Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Charlie Rose, and most recently Matt Lauer, gut wrenching accounts ac-

Cross Currents

corded to highly regarded political figures U.S. Senator Al Franken and U.S. Representative John Conyers elevated concerns about abuses within the corridors of power from D.C. to Sacramento and beyond.

While a prosecutor, controversial U.S. Senatorial candidate Judge Roy Moore of Alabama appears to have held a side career of preying upon underage girls and young women.

As “openly held secrets,” his offenses were rampant to the extent that he was virtually banned from a shopping mall. Similar to the ascension to the presidency of self-professed serial sex offender Donald Trump, it is expected that Alabama voters will nevertheless send Moore on to Washington, D.C. With the vast majority of objects of prey being cisgender women, the victimization of men to similar abuses of power has been nearly overcast and overlooked. #MeToo accounts from footballer turned comic actor Terry Crews, and long-embattled former child star Cory Feldman, who was subjected to sexual harassment and (continued on page 30)

International Activist Hiker Chiu Helps to Lead the Way on Intersex Social Justice in love with a young woman, and felt “all kinds of excitement.”

6/26 and Beyond Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis When Taiwanese and international intersex activist Hiker Chiu as a teenager saw their childhood medical records for the first time, one question kept resounding in their mind: “Am I a monster?” It was Chiu’s reaction to reading the Chinese dictionary translation of the word “hermaphrodite” as “a female and male in the same body.” Chiu saw no hope for the future, and thought there must be no “other people like me in the world.” Chiu had an even more terrifying thought: “You are a person that nobody loves” because “you’re like a monster.”

Chiu became part of the gay and lesbian community and initially found welcome and acceptance. But after a ten-year relationship, Chiu’s lesbian partner said she wanted to break up because, as she put it, “You are too much like a man.” Chiu felt “kicked out by the lesbian community” and asked if “I’m too much like a man” then “what can I do?”

Chiu might have wanted to become part of the gay male community, but horrific surgery performed on Chiu at age six—and without consent—foreclosed that possibility. “I was born with … ambiguous genitals,” Chiu said. “But I was a healthy baby. But people, doctors, think you have to be ‘either or.’ If you are a girl, you cannot have such a large clitoris, which looks like a penis. No. So, they removed it without my consent.”

After the relationship breakup, Chiu

ganization and thought, “Maybe I am one of them. This is my community.”

Chiu “really wanted to communicate with other intersex people who speak Chinese,” and founded OIIChinese, and translated the website into Chinese. They still had not met any other intersex people in person, however, and knew of no such person in Taiwan.

They decided to remedy that by traveling to San Francisco and other parts of the United States to meet intersex activists, including local activist David Cameron Strachan. The face-to-face meetings were transformative. “It was very powerful,” Chiu said. “Very powerful.” Chiu found them to be “all excellent people.”

Perhaps most importantly, Chiu experienced their love. “I got so many hugs from them.”

The American activists taught Chiu that “you have to share your story to

But life had something different in store for Chiu. Chiu embarked on a years-long journey that brought them out of despair to become the first Taiwanese intersex person to “come out publicly and intentionally” and as an international LGBTIQ activist. We had the great fortune to meet and interview Chiu at this year’s Taipei Pride celebration.

Happy Holidays to You & Yours From All of Us at the San Francisco Bay Times 4

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Chiu was raised as a girl, but as an adolescent felt as if something “kind of weird” was going on when they didn’t develop breasts or have a period and, in fact, grew “some moustache” and a male Adam’s apple.

Not menstruating was particularly difficult because of Chinese cultural pressures on women to marry and have children, and Chiu again wondered, “If a woman cannot have children, could she be loved by someone else?”

felt isolated and alone. But in 2008, a friend told Chiu “there’s a word— intersex—that describes your situation.” Chiu saw the Argentinean movie XXY, which is about an intersex teenager. Chiu’s reaction was: “Oh my god, there’s someone else like me!”

As a young person, Chiu vowed simply to give up on love for self-protection, but something unexpected happened. “Cupid targeted me, and, yes, I was caught! If you intend not to believe in love, it doesn’t mean that love wouldn’t come to you.” Chiu fell

Chiu then discovered Organization Intersex International (OII) online, and was shocked to learn that there was “not just one person like me; there are so many!” OII was very “empowering” for Chiu. They conversed with other intersex people through the or-

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney with Hiker Chiu and others at Taipei Pride

reach out,” both to enable other intersex people struggling with their identity to find community and to educate medical professionals about intersex people. Chiu returned home and decided to come out as intersex at the Taipei Pride parade as a way “to show my gratitude to those intersex activists in the U.S. who teach me and hug me and help me. I wanted to share their love.”

Chiu now feels they belong, not just to the intersex community, but also (continued on page 30)

LGBT History Is Worth Noting • Sally R ide, the f irst A merican woman and gay person in space who later encouraged girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and who lived with her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy, the executive director of Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego;

Assemblymember Phil Ting When California students learn about civil rights, in addition to studying Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s “I Have a Dream” speech and discussing Cesar Chavez’s championing of farm worker’s rights, students will also learn about the country’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, and his work for LGBT rights.

Just six years ago, students learning about historical LGBT figures was a dream that had yet to be realized.

But that all changed in 2011 after former Senator Mark Leno passed Senate Bill (SB) 48, The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, which requires that state public schools include in textbooks the contributions of LGBT people and people with disabilities.

Due to the State Board of Education’s extensive process for selecting textbooks, California last month finally adopted ten textbooks for K–8 classrooms that follow the requirements under SB 48. For years, the contributions of the LGBT community remained hidden in the shadows. Among those covered in these new history and social science textbooks are:

• Ellen DeGeneres, beloved Emmy-award winning television host and comedian who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, who came out on national television in 1997; and • “One-Eyed Charley” Parkhurst, a bandit-shooting stagecoach driver between San Jose and Santa Cruz who was revealed to be born a woman upon “his” death, and incidentally was the first woman in America to vote in 1868, decades before the 19th Amendment.

The inclusion of LGBT individuals who made great contributions to our state and country’s history, economy, and culture is a further mark of how far we’ve come.

Critics have argued that it’s inappropriate for teachers to discuss the romantic partners of historical figures like Sally Ride or Harvey Milk, but it is crucial that we show students that any person, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, is valuable and can make phenomenal contributions to our society.

While the LGBT community has made a lot of progress in recent years, the fact remains that more than half of LGBTQ students have felt unsafe at school, according to the 2013 Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education

Network (GLSEN) National School Climate Survey. The Center for Disease Control found that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are nearly five times more likely to attempt suicide than straight youth.

At the forefront of making students feel safe at school and preventing LGBT youth suicide is combating bullying. It has become critical for us to teach our students that LGBTQ people are individuals who deserve the same respect to which we are all entitled. Updating our textbooks to ref lect those values is a major step forward toward achieving this goal.

Including LGBT history as a part of school curriculum will help California students to learn that LGBT people have always been valued members of our society and are also people who have made considerable strides and improvements to the world we live in. A safer, more accepting environment in our schools can help facilitate discussions about how LGBT people have, for many years, lived in the shadows and, as a result, allow our students to live free and open lives with the acceptance that they deserve.

Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City, and parts of South San Francisco.

Fighting to Keep Oakland a Sanctuary City non-criminals, and is acting to strike fear into communities based on their ethnicity and national origin, and has become an arm of Trump’s racist agenda. Sending our officers to assist ICE takes them away from fighting violent crime in our community.

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland City Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan In August 2017, the Oakland Police Department knowingly assisted with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in West Oakland. OPD’s participation contradicts the fact that Oakland is a Sanctuary City, and that on July 18, 2017, the full City Council unanimously voted for my legislation calling for the City to “immediately” cut ties with ICE. As we discuss collusion with inappropriate behavior by ICE in our city, I wanted to share some information about their recent behavior. First, to make clear, I am not suggesting that we not act when we have evidence of a real crime—regardless of the nationality of the person involved. We should use our law enforcement resources to prevent and respond to violence and serious crime, no matter who commits it.

It has become clear, however, that ICE is now intentionally targeting

Furthermore, the actions of ICE, including deportation actions at schools, hospitals, and courthouses, threaten the integrity of families and our vital public institutions. When victims and witnesses of crimes are afraid to come forward, it makes all of us less safe, and undermines the effectiveness of our police department.

Oakland provided police for an ICE action that resulted in someone not accused of crimes facing deportation. A family was torn apart and made to suffer. When something similar took place in Santa Cruz, local leaders acknowledged they had been fooled by ICE, and that they would not let it happen again.

The Oakland Administration should not be fooled twice—neither by allowing our police to participate, nor by providing false statements to the press for ICE. As it says in Exodus 23:9, “Do not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

For live updates, please follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter: Kaplan4Oakland C o u n c i l m e m b e r A t - L a r ge R eb e c ca Kaplan was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016.

She also serves on the Board of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and as the Chair of the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC).

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World AIDS Day 2017 - December 1 Photos by Rink Also on Friday morning, organizers at Grace Cathedral’s AIDS Interfaith Memorial Chapel held a morning prayer service, a labyrinth walk and the reading of names from the Book of Remembrance.

At the National AIDS Memorial Grove, a midday program featured former President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker, marking an important official visit to the Grove, which he designated as a national monument in 1996.

PHOTO BY PAUL MARGOLIS

On the eve of World AIDS Day, the National AIDS Memorial Grove hosted its annual Light in the Grove fundraiser, which includes a reflective candlelight gathering and walk through the redwoods, a reception and dinner, plus artistic performances and an awards program. On Friday morning, December 1st, World AIDS Day was observed in the Castro with the Insight Project’s day-long inscription activity where students from Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy joined adults in creating writings and drawings on the sidewalk of Castro Street.

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Rapport and Connection Are Critical to Work Success and Satisfaction ings of overwork go away. When the “other” is considered first, by everyone, people relax and work with an abundance of energy, wisdom and creativity. When people are trusted to care for themselves, as well as for the company, the sky is the limit.

Career Wisdom Julie Gleeson I recently interviewed a wonderful career counselor who was hired to help a start-up company retain employees. As we spoke about the issues, it became clear that all of them were indicators of lost connection, trust or both.

People feel overworked—like their boss doesn’t care about them. They feel unrecognized and siloed. When they feel all of these things, they at least want to be paid well for the job that they hate. Addressing such concerns circumstantially, one by one, is a nightmare—and is almost never sustainable, even if there is some improvement. It is a bit like herding cats.

But get to the heart of the matter, and something extraordinary happens.

When the leadership and staff listen to connect with each other, the feel-

What exactly is connection? It is a feeling, and it includes things like respect, warmth, trust, and rapport. It is a setting aside of the annoyances in service of understanding. We all know it when we feel it.

I recently heard about a very successful company that was growing and thriving—at the top of its industry— and with a very stable staff. It caught the eye of a national consulting firm that convinced the ownership that they could be even better if a little pressure was applied to the employees. People were told (not collaborated with, but told) that they needed to produce more.

The employees were monitored and watched. If they took a moment to relax, there were raised eyebrows from the new consultants on site. The staff complained, and were told either to get with the new program, or leave.

Many did indeed leave.

It took a wise leader to finally wake up to the violation of trust that was occurring. The consultants were released, but trust and respect had to be re-established—a slow process, to say the least. The organization took a long time to heal.

Round About for the Holidays From Union Square to Nob Hill, the Castro and beyond, our legendary photographer Rink has been capturing the spirit of the holiday season all over town.

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Consider what you struggle with at work. Do you experience respect for and from the others at your job? Are you listening to others and being listened to, and listening with full attention? Or are you actually doing three other things at the same time? If you feel defensive, try letting that go. If someone else is defensive, try listening to them more deeply. The more connection and rapport you can engender, the more the struggles will stop, and people will naturally take wise, respectful and insightful action.

Oh, and that career counselor? She is relieved to know that she only has to concentrate on one thing. Her work will be done in a month or so, but her anxiety is lessened now that she knows that focusing on connection will turn the tide in favor of retention, satisfaction and stability.

Julie Gleeson is the Co-founder of Career Wisdom Institute and the Founder of The Art of Living, Inc. She brings over 25 years of experience as a consultant in the fields of career designing, couples mentoring and resilience, stress and overwhelm elimination. Julie also co-authored a best-selling book, “Inside Job, 8 Secrets to Loving Your Work and Thriving.” She can be reached at Gleesonj@CareerWisdomInstitute.com or 925-408-8422. Check out her website for more information: www.careerwisdomintitute.com

Photos by Rink

A Primer on How to Shop for Health Insurance on California’s Individual Market during Open Enrollment

By R. Ruth Linden, Ph.D. For many of us, reviewing our health insurance coverage or selecting a new plan inspires dread. How to select the right plan or anticipate unexpected healthcare needs eight months down the road? Would an HMO, such as Kaiser, be the best choice? If purchasing health insurance paralyzes you with fear, be assured that help awaits. You don’t have to go at it alone, but you do need to act soon.

Enrollment Deadlines

R. Ruth Linden, Ph.D.

As if health insurance weren’t already complex enough, this year, there are various open enrollment deadlines to keep in mind. For Medicare beneficiaries, the open enrollment deadline for original Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, Supplements (Medigap plans), and Part D prescription drug coverage is today: December 7.

If you are currently on original Medicare with a Part D plan, it is advisable to use the tool at Medicare.gov to check whether your current drug plan provides the most cost-effective coverage. (See https://www.medicare.gov/find-aplan/questions/home.aspx) Plans change their drug formularies every year and fiercely compete for new members by lowering their rates. Your insurance agent or a health advocate can show you how to use this simple tool that can save you hundreds of dollars.

For those who purchase coverage through an insurance agent or directly from an insurance plan, the (re)enrollment deadline is December 15.

For those who purchase their health plans on the state exchange, Covered California, there are several different deadlines depending on when you enroll.

Coverage through Covered California is available to any individual California resident or family at all income levels needing insurance. For those whose anticipated 2018 income will fall between 138% of the Federal Poverty Level or FPL (approximately $16,643 for a single individual) and 400% of the FPL (approximately $48,240 for a single individual), a tax credit in the form of a subsidy or premium assistance may be available.

Covered California Enrollment Deadlines Date of Enrollment

Coverage Begins

Before December 15, 2017

January 1, 2018

December 15–31, 2017

February 1, 2018

January 1–15, 2018

February 1, 2018

January 16–31, 2018

March 1, 2018

If you are currently a Medi-Cal recipient, or would like to apply for MediCal, there are no formal deadlines. You may apply whenever you wish, either through Covered California or your county human services agency. Contact information for your local human services agency may be found here: http:// www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/Pages/CountyOffices.aspx Finally, if your health insurance coverage is provided by your employer, check with your workplace benefits department for information about deadlines and enrollment support.

There is one exception to these deadlines, known as a qualifying life event or special enrollment. Consumers who experience a qualifying life event may enroll in a Covered California plan outside of open enrollment. Examples of qualifying events include, but are not limited to: • a consumer who loses existing health coverage; • a Covered California enrollee who experiences a significant income change that renders them newly eligible or ineligible for help paying for insurance; • a consumer who turns 26 years old and is no longer eligible to stay on a parent’s plan; • a consumer who moves to California from another state, or relocates to a new region within California that allows them to gain access to new Covered California health insurance plans (this also applies to individuals who are released from jail or prison); • entering into a marriage; • becoming a citizen, a national, or becoming lawfully present (where the individual was not previously lawfully present).

Anthem Blue Cross Subscribers For 2018, Anthem Blue Cross has withdrawn from 16 of California’s 19 healthcare regions. Going forward, Anthem will offer Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) plans only in Santa Clara County, five Central Valley counties, and 22 Northern California counties. Members in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Monterey County and elsewhere must select a new insurance provider. This affects about 153,000 Covered California consumers.

On the bright side, more than 84 percent of doctors contracted by Anthem are also available through another health plan.

Free and Confidential Enrollment Assistance: • Use Covered California’s “Shop and Compare” tool to make apples-to-apples, side-by-side comparisons between plans. See https://apply.coveredca.com/apspahbx/ahbxanonym.portal?_nfpb=true&_st=&_nfls=false&_ pageLabel=previewPlanPage# • Obtain skilled assistance over the telephone in multiple languages from Covered California’s service center by calling 800-300-1506 or 888-889-4500 (TTY) • Live chat with a member of the Covered California support team here: https://coveredca.custhelp.com/app/chat/chat_launch • Get in-person enrollment assistance from a Certified Enroller organization listed here: https://apply.coveredca.com/hix/entity/locateassister/searchentities • Request help from a Certified Insurance Agent listed here: https://apply. coveredca.com/hix/broker/searchlist?location.zip=94133&distance=5&la nguagesSpoken=English&submit=Search (continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Divorcing Family in January Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com

Examined Life The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men.

We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

The Bay Times is proud to be the only 100% LGBT funded and owned newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco.

Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

Beth Greene Abby Zimberg

Design & Production

Kate Laws Business Manager Blake Dillon Calendar Editor

Kit Kennedy Poet-In-Residence J.H. Herren

Technology Director

Tom Moon, MFT Dave has fallen into the depression he regularly feels at the end of the year.

He tries to explain it all as Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it doesn’t take us long to find a deeper cause.

In late December, he will be going “home for the holidays.” Every year for a week, he leaves his friends and his husband and boards a plane to fly fifteen hundred miles to spend a week in a cold house with people he neither trusts nor respects. Dave travels alone because his family are all self-described evangelical Christians and his husband is no longer welcome there because he made the mistake of being a little too frank about his atheism. They are, however, willing to tol-

erate Dave’s “gay lifestyle,” as long as he doesn’t insist on talking about it.

dence over the families and friendships we’ve created for ourselves.

His older brother will be there—the brother who bullied and assaulted him throughout their childhood, and who, along with his parents, now alternately denies that it ever happened and jokes about it. There will be a lot of drinking, and there will certainly be a few ugly scenes between family members. There will be a lot of racist talk, and in the background, FOX news will be blaring continually. “Maybe this will be the last year I go,” Dave says, but he says that every year. I made a mental note to remind him of this statement when he returns in January.

Most people seem to follow one set of rules governing what is acceptable behavior from friends, and another governing what is to be tolerated from families. Too many of us ref lexively put up with levels of abuse and insensitivity from blood relatives that we wouldn’t dream of tolerating from anyone else. Too many of us believe that we have a duty to be always willing to forgive, no matter how badly we’re treated. In addition, ending familial relationships is still stigmatized the way divorce once was.

Among many law professionals, January is known as “Divorce Month,” because so many unhappy spouses, after faking it through the holidays, finally make the break in the new year. But what if the dysfunctional relationship isn’t with a partner, but is with a family member? Is January a good time to consider severing a relationship with family members who are making you miserable?

It’s so hard for many people even to consider doing that. Our families have been with us our whole lives, and with so much shared history, separating can feel like amputating a vital organ. That may be why, for many of us, it feels as if family loyalties take prece-

But there are specif ic signs that a family relationship may be toxic, and therefore potentially dangerous to continue. If you feel depleted when you’re with the person, if you’re constantly angry and/or if you feel used or manipulated, then maybe it’s time to move on. More seriously, if you feel yourself getting emotionally or physically ill when interacting with a relative—if contact results in back and stomach problems, ulcers, migraine headaches, etc.—it may be t he body’s way of saying, “Enough.” But perhaps, most seriously, if you’re feeling intimidated or physically threatened, it’s probably time to end the relationship.

It’s common to assume that we’re stuck with our families, and that we

have no choice in the matter, but it doesn’t have to be this way. As adults we have the power, if only we’ll claim it, to decide who belongs in our “family of choice” and who doesn’t. One way to begin making those decisions is to examine our relationships, and to ask ourselves these six basic questions: 1. Is the relationship characterized by mutual affection and respect?

2. Do I trust this person?

3. Do I feel safe in the relationship?

4. Do I feel supported in my life goals and values?

5. Do I know and feel known by this person?

6. Do we enjoy each other’s company?

If the answer to all or most of these questions is no, then it may be time to move on. If, in the vital area of sexuality, we LGBT people are able to break the mold and to decide for ourselves what kind of lives we want to live, then surely, we can also find the courage to do the same in our intimate relationships.

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please visit his website http:// tommoon.net/

Carla Ramos Web Coordinator Mario Ordonez Juan Ordonez Distribution

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Thom Watson, Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Elisa Quinzi, Randy Coleman, Debra Walker, Wendy Ross, Howard Steiermann, Andrea Shorter, Tom Temprano, Lou Fischer, Karin Jaffie Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg ADVERTISING Display Advertising Standard Rate Cards are available online at sfbaytimes.com or calling: 415-503-1375 Custom ad sizes are available. Please inquire! The Bay Times reserves the right to reject any advertising at the discretion of the publishers.

SF Sketch Randy Coleman Randy Coleman hails from New York, but has lived in San Francisco since 1975. Coleman shares that before moving to the Bay Area, he studied Art History and Architecture at Boston University while working as a resident artist for architectural rendering at a Massachusetts historical society. “All of my life I’ve been an artist,” Coleman says.

“To know me is to know that I have a passion for art and architecture. I love this project for the San Francisco Bay Times, and hope that you enjoy my sketches.”

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© Randy Coleman, 2017

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GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow Are We Going Down?

Friends, I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach right now. I’ve rewritten the start of this column a few times because I can’t handle the possibility that we might lose the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. And yet, during oral arguments December 5, Justice Kennedy made a big point about “tolerance and acceptance,” two attributes that he feels are “essential to a free society.” According to Justice Kennedy, the state of Colorado’s anti-discrimination law that forces cake “artiste” Jack Phillips to serve everyone on an equal basis, gay or straight, “has neither been tolerant nor respectful of Mr. Phillip’s religious beliefs.”

Was Kennedy just expressing a contrarian view? Sending a little shade Colorado’s way before rejoining Team GLBT? Or is he poised to undermine his legacy as the gay rights justice by ruling that anti-discrimination laws are riddled with gay exceptions? For the record, everyone agrees that racial bias in public accommodation can be outlawed regardless of anyone’s opinion or faith. The question here is whether or not sexual orientation discrimination deserves that same level of legal opprobrium. The answer, amazingly, might be no.

It’s never a good idea to anticipate the Court’s decision based on oral arguments, but you know we all do it. I can’t help but look back to a time before the 2016 election, when the future of the Court seemed to present a choice between Merrick Garland and someone even more progressive.

Would Hillary stick with Garland, we wondered? Or would she give us her own pick? Why not! And why not use some of her fresh political capital to nominate someone really progressive, and really young!

Instead we got Neil Gorsuch, and an aging judicial champion who might decide to cap his life’s work with a warm gesture of tolerance and acceptance. Much like our President implied that we might show a little compassion towards those on the white power side of the Charlottesville protests.

I intended to throw a few snide comments towards the insufferable David Brooks, who recently wrote that the gay men who wanted a wedding cake should have been “neighborly” rather than litigious, perhaps inviting Jack Phillips over to their house for dinner and a discussion of sexual orientation and faith, or something like that. Once again, for the record, Jack Phillips broke the law. His adversary is not the gay couple, who obviously went elsewhere for their wedding cake, but the state of Colorado!

And once again, no gay couple wants to buy a cake from an unwilling vendor. But nor do any of us want vendors to be able to flout anti-discrimination laws at will, laws we struggled to achieve through the political process and want to see enforced. Is that “intolerant” of us, Justice Kennedy? I guess it might be.

P.S. I just saw that CSPAN will play the audio of the oral arguments on Friday, December 8, at 5 pm Pacific.

Houston, Everything’s Okay In other Supreme Court news, I was surprised when the justices decided not to intervene in that weird case out of Texas. Last June, the Texas Supreme Court implied that the extent of same-sex marriage rights remained an open question, allowing a lower state court to continue to grapple with the legitimacy of Houston’s employee benefits plan. That decision was appealed, but instead of slapping the Texas Court as the justices did to Arkansas and Alabama earlier this 14

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year, the Supremes declined to accept review.

The decision to sidestep review, I gather from legal experts, was likely due to the fact that the case is still in litigation and the Texas decision was not definitive. It’s as if someone made an interlocutory (mid-case) appeal to the Texas Supreme Court asking whether or not slavery was legal and the Court said it would be up to the lower court to determine the answer. No, the Court did not say slavery was legal. But what the hey? Why hedge to begin with?

Here, by declining the review, the Supreme Court did not say that Texas “has the right to deny gay spousal benefit” (I’m talking to you, Daily Beast). Nor (hello, Newsweek) did they say that “same sex couples don’t get the same marriage benefits as heterosexuals in Texas.” Sloppy headlines like these were numerous, and even though the situation is somewhat complicated, there’s no excuse for incompetent editing.

The bottom line is this: there’s simply no doubt that the Supreme Court will enforce the basics of marriage equality. Alabama tried to disallow a lesbian couple’s adoption from out of state, and Arkansas tried to delete a mother’s wife from their child’s birth certificate. In both cases, the High Court waved them off in no uncertain terms. There’s no way that the High Court would let a public employer ignore marriage equality, period.

The Hills Are Alive I’m not discussing Australia. You know why, don’t you? Australia has made a fool of me in the past, and I won’t fall for their shenanigans again!

I suppose in my heart of hearts I do expect that Parliament will pass marriage equality in short order. And I suppose I also expect that they will do so without adding a set of onerous antigay amendments to the eventual bill. But I will believe it when I see it.

Meanwhile, Mel and I have been watching Janet King on Acorn TV. Every week, we seem to discover another TV service. I’m waiting for our various TV bills to equal our mortgage. At any rate, Janet King is a lesbian prosecutor in Sydney, knee deep in rectifying public corruption and solving crimes. Put it on your list.

I’m having trouble focusing on the many interesting GLBT developments of the week, given my obsession with Masterpiece Cakeshop. I’m annoyed that, instead of cautious optimism, I will have to suffer through months of fearful anxiety before this case is done. Plus, not only have I rewritten my column and fallen behind, but I’ve also had a couple of nips out of the Cognac bottle. I always drink when I encounter upsetting information. So, sue me.

Call a lawyer and sue me, sue me, what can you do me? I love you.

Give a holler and hate me, hate me, go ahead, hate me. I. Love. You. Here’s something from the news list to get us back on track. Did you read about the two men who took a photograph of themselves mooning at a temple in Thailand, put it on Instagram and got arrested? San Diego residents Joseph and Travis Dasilva, both 38, will have to pay a fine and will never be allowed back in Thailand. Was it worth it, guys?

It’s kind of funny, I suppose. On the other hand, 38 is a little old for these kinds of hijinks.

Finally, I don’t know if it was the Cognac or what, but I just saw a news clip that said marriage had finally arrived in Australia! Yay!

But, it turns out that was Austria, not Australia. Fooled again! The Sound of Music Constitutional Court legalized same-sex marriage effective by January 1, 2019, making Austria the 25th country to offer equal marriage rights to gay and straight couples. I’m sure Australia will not be far behind.

Patience Rewarded A transgender professor, Rachel Tudor, has just picked up a cool million and change from the coffers of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, after five plus years of complaints and litigation. Tudor was first denied tenure based on her gender identity in 2009/2010. She complained, and she was again denied, this time ostensibly in retaliation.

In 2015, Tudor’s case was picked up by the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII, as you know, bans discrimination in the workplace because of sex and other factors. Many courts, in turn, now believe that discrimination against GLBT men and women is a form of sex discrimination and is therefore illegal. Oh, and the Obama Administration felt the same way, which is why his Justice Department initiated a Title VII case against the school.

Tudor, in turn, intervened to advance her own lawsuit.

As you might imagine, however, the Trump administration reversed course and the Trump Justice Department backed out of the suit, leaving Rachel to pursue her case alone.

Happily, in late November, a federal jury agreed that she had indeed suffered illegal discrimination, awarding her $1.16 million in damages.

Meanwhile, the question of whether or not Title VII covers gays and/or transgender individuals remains perhaps the most important unresolved GLBT legal issue. We have a petition before the Supreme Court that asks whether or not a lesbian was unfairly fired from her job at a Georgia hospital under Title VII, but who knows whether or when the justices will take review.

Men at Work A Vanderbilt professor has just finished a study that suggests gay men are no longer earning less than straight men. Indeed, after years and years of falling continually short, for whatever reason, gay men now seem to earn about ten percent more than straight men. Of course, this is just one result, a paper that analyzed data from a “major federal survey in the U.S.,” but so what? You go, gay guy!

I guess lesbians have always ranked a little ahead of our straight sisters, again for whatever reason. On the other hand, Ladies, I think we’re all making less than the men, regardless of sexual orientation.

Speaking of men and women, have you seen the campaign ad by the woman who’s running for Attorney General of Michigan?

“Who can you trust not to show you their penis in a professional setting?” asks Dana Nessel, staring into the camera.

“Is it the candidate who doesn’t have a penis?”

“I’d say so.”

I must admit, I’ve never had a naive view of powerful men. But these guys lately are even worse than I thought.

They’re not just worse, they’re deluded. Heavy-set middle-aged blowhards imag ining that attractive young women would actually find it sexy to watch them jerk off into a potted plant, or walk around the office in (continued on page 31)

Happy Hanukkah from t he San Francisco Bay Times 25 Years of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™: San Francisco’s Longest-Running Comedy Show San Francisco’s annual Jewish Christmas tradition, Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™, celebrates it 25th Anniversary this December 23–25. The legendary Jewish-comedy-on-Christmas-in-a-Chinese-restaurant extravaganza has been featuring famous Jewish comedians—including the late Henny Youngman and Shelley Berman—Chinese food, and Yiddish proverbs in its fortune cookies (“With one tuchus, you can’t dance at 2 weddings”) since 1993. Kung Pao is San Francisco’s longest-running comedy show and caters to over 2000 people annually, some of whom have attended every year.

Kung Pao takes place over the course of 3 nights during Christmas (December 23–25) with 2 shows a day: a 5 pm Dinner Show (7-course banquet) and an 8:30 pm Cocktail Show (vegetarian dim sum)—for a total of six shows. In the spirit of the retirement communities in Florida, all shows are now Early Birds, starting an hour earlier than they used to in past years.

Kung Pao is the brainchild of San Francisco-based Jewish comedian Lisa Geduldig and solves the age-old question, “What are Jews supposed to do on Christmas?” In October of 1993, Geduldig was booked to perform at The Peking Garden Club in South Hadley, Massachusetts, at what she imagined would be a comedy club, but upon her arrival she discovered it was a Chinese restaurant.

A phone conversation the following day with an old friend from Jewish summer camp about the irony of telling Jewish jokes at a Chinese restaurant led to the idea of Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant, and a brainstorming session of Jewish, comedy, and Chinese food-related words led to the name, “Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™.” The creation of “Kung Pao” is a twist on the unwritten law that Jews must go to a Chinese restaurant and a movie on Christmas. Geduldig will appear in a new Canadian documentary, I’m Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas, which will air on Canadian and European TV this month.

We recently caught up with Geduldig, as she was working on the finishing touches for this year’s silver anniversary edition of Kung Pao. San Francisco Bay Times: Congratulations on 25 years of Kung Pao, a great and clever concept that seems to become more relevant with each passing year. Please share some of your thoughts about the event’s history, from those earliest shows to the present.

Lisa Geduldig: I started Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ in 1993 when I was 31 and had been doing stand up for 4 years. I had never produced an event before but had the idea of Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant and couldn’t get it out of my head. I thought the event would take place once, but it sold out, and each year I continued to add shows, and they continued to sell out.

And here we are in 2017 celebrating our 25th (Silver) Anniversary, and I’m pushing 56. Who would’ve thought? Henny Youngman graced our stage (in 1997 at the age of 91) for his last show ever. Shelley Berman and David Brenner have performed, as have a veritable who’s who of Jewish comedians: Carol Leifer, Elayne Boosler, Judy Gold, and many others.

This year, I decided to do a “Best of” and bring back 3 past headliners: Cathy Ladman, Wendy Liebman, and Gary Gulman.

San Francisco Bay Times: How has Kung Pao evolved over time?

Lisa Geduldig: We started in 1993 with one show. We now have 6 shows over the course of 3 days. We have big names; household name comedians headline. Henny Youngman headlining the show on its 5th year put the show on the map, as did The New York Times article (www.nytimes.com/1994/12/24/arts/jewish-comics-make-ita-not-so-silent-night.html) we scored the second year. We have repeat attendees who

come every year; some started with a party of 2 and grew to reserving a full table of 10.

The lineup used to be a combination of queer and straight Jewish comics, as it was last year, but I need more comics to come out or switch teams. I’m the only queer comic this year, but everyone is LGBT friendly. And no one voted for Trump.

The charity aspect began spontaneously at the f irst show. Since then, we have raised 10’s of 1000s of dollars for various charities (www.koshercomedy.com/beneficiaries/). The concept is Tzedakah—charity, with social responsibility. We founded a “Comedy Clinic” at the local Jewish nursing home. The bi-weekly class continues to this day. It’s one of our proudest accomplishments.

The shows have gotten earlier! They used to take place at 6 pm and 9:30 pm, but a few years ago in the middle of the 9:30 pm show I thought, “This is too late for me!” So now they’re at 5 pm and 8:30 pm, Early Birds, in the spirit of the State Bird of Florida.

San Francisco Bay Times: To what do you attribute Kung Pao’s timeless appeal? So many other comedy shows have failed or otherwise just aged out, but yours keeps going strong.

Lisa Geduldig: Two thousand people still attend each year (3 days/2 shows a day). We’ve given thousands of people in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond a tradition. Kung Pao has served to give Jews and others who don’t celebrate Christmas a sense of belonging at a time when many feel alienated.

Some “Kung Pao-ites” have attended for 20+ years; one couple comes up from L.A. every year. We’ve formed a family. And we’ve lost some of our Kung Pao attendees who have become family members including: Howard Siegel (PFLAG dad/father of Stuart Siegel) and Marty Sussman (father of queer journalist, Matt Sussman).

The event is still popular because of the concept and because we offer stellar entertainment. Every year, the regular customers tell me, “This was the best year yet.” The show will continue for as many years as 2000 people still want to attend.

For tickets and additional information: www.trilog yticketing.com/kosher/ S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

DEC EM BER 7, 2017

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Happy Hanukkah from t he San Francisco Bay Times

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH EPSTEIN DIAMOND/CASTRO BENEFIT DISTRICT

Hanukkah Brings Light and Warmth to December

By Howard M. Steiermann The lyrics to “Let It Snow” start out: “Oh the weather outside is frightful.” Growing up, I didn’t mind Chicago’s snowy, frosty winters, although I still shiver whenever I recall scraping the ice off my dad’s car.

PHOTO BY PAUL MARGOLIS

I moved to San Francisco 30 years ago from Chicago. One might then think that I would not be affected by San Francisco’s mild winters, yet I am. Thankfully, I have little need for long underwear and thick down coats piled over sweaters. What does affect me is how early the sun sets, and the resulting shortened days and long dark nights. I find myself hesitating to venture out in the darkness.

I wonder whether I am particularly prone to shying away from darkness due to feeling unsafe. It has been years since I’ve checked under the bed for monsters. But growing up and knowing I was different, I had to guard against my peers, figuring out I wasn’t like them. (Even though I didn’t realize until my 30s it was due to being gay.) Darkness equaled vulnerability to me. Vulnerability meant I could be hurt.

I am not alone in being negatively affected by the change in seasons. The medical community has titled it Seasonal Affective Disorder, which results in the oh so appropriate acronym SAD. Many cultures and religions have incorporated lights to counterbalance winter’s darkness. Countless rituals include the lighting of candles, accounting for the fact that one third of U.S. candle sales occur during the December holidays.

The word Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) translates to “dedication.” The Temple was rededicated after Jews fought to pray again in their desecrated sacred space. As a child, I was taught that we light candles for eight days because the oil found in the Temple, which should have lasted for only one day, instead lasted for eight.

A small group of Jews stood up to those in power. Hanukkah celebrates this victory of the underdog versus the powerful. Hanukkah highlights and celebrates the difficulty of maintaining our true and full identities against the easier path of assimilation to the mainstream.

Rabbi Cheryl Peretz gives additional meaning to the Hanukkah story. She taught: “Each night’s candle will burn until all that is left is the small wick of flames desperately trying to continue to revive itself as it starts to burn low.

And, inevitably, sad as it may be, it will eventually burn out. And, what will we do? The next night, and each night thereafter, we will not only relight that candle, but we will also add more light to the menorah, increasing the light shining from our homes.

We know all too well that the task of shining light into the world is as challenging today as it was (during the time of the Temple rededication).

Lighting the Hanukkah menorah invites us to ignite the flames of our own souls, to find the spark that cannot be extinguished, that can burn not just for eight days, but for the entire year. As the light of our menorah burns, our internal light must also be kindled in the fight against darkness of evil, assimilation, and indifference. The menorah reminds us of the miracle that no matter how dark life may be, hope and faith can inspire a source of light deep within each of us.”

During these times of darkness, I remember that each night an extra helper candle is used to light the other candles. This reminds me that we all need assistance in letting our own unique light shine. By lighting lights during darkness, we bring much needed illumination to help shine the way to our goals.

Let us rededicate ourselves to who and what are important to us.

By not giving in to the impulse to retreat from the darkness, we can actively work to make the world a better place. Our country seems quite fractured.

PHOTO BY PAUL MARGOLIS

I always figured it was the eight days of presents that made me enjoy Hanukkah. Now I understand that it was also the candle lighting ritual of the holiday.

The candles we light, starting with one on the first night and adding another candle each night, bring physical as well as metaphorical warmth into my life.

Scenes from previous years’ Sha’ar Zahav Hanukkah in the Castro

I hope the realities around gender, race and economic inequality are finally being heard by those in power, and those with privilege.

To give us strength as we approach the Winter Solstice when daylight is at its shortest, here are two fun Hanukkah festivities sponsored by and/or for the LGBT community: Sha’ar Zahav’s Third Annual Hanukkah in the Castro Wednesday, Dec 13 (second night of Hanukkah) 6:00 pm Jane Warner Plaza at Castro & Market Street Light candles, sing, spin the giant dreidel, eat sufganiyot ( jelly donuts) and dance! Congregation Sha’ar Zahav is teaming up with Castro Merchants again to host this fun-filled evening to celebrate light and community. Bring your own menorah (BYOM)!

HanuCON - Your Big Queer Hanukkah Party Saturday, Dec 16 Doors open at 6:00 pm Oasis Nightclub - 298 11th St., San Francisco $10 Ticket - General Admission $25 Ticket - Includes a latke with a shot of vodka We’ll have latkes, vodkas and a mishmash of folks. The first 50 people in the door get their very own blue and white hat. This will be an evening of community hosted by the infamous faux queen Miss Shugana (reigning Grand Duchess of San Francisco) in conjunction with Keshet, the National Jewish LGBT Organization, and Sha’ar Zahav.

The candle lighting will be led by Rabbi Copeland.

And for hoop fans: Jewish Heritage Night with the Golden State Warriors!

The Bay Area Jewish community will be out in full force on Thursday, December 14, when the Warriors take on the Dallas Mavericks on the third night of Hanukkah. The doors open at 6:00 pm, and tip-off is at 7:30 pm.

Each Jewish Heritage Night ticket holder will receive a commemorative Warriors menorah at the event. Ticket holders are also invited to a special post-game Menorah Lighting Celebration and Q&A with Warriors forward Omri Casspi, the first Israeli-born player to appear in the NBA!

Howard M. Steiermann is an Ordained Ritual Facilitator based in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.SFHoward.com

Hanukkah: Shaken with a Southern Baptist Twist The announcement that this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times would include features on Hanukkah and food put a huge smile on this face. Both have played important roles in my life. I decided to pass on the food option. After one year in San Francisco, my doctor asked, “Are you just eating your way through the city?” Still am. I’m far from being an expert on Hanukkah, but the Jewish holiday, the friend who introduced it to me, and its lessons have changed my life forever. The Festival of Lights shed a light on me.

It’s also about memetics: many lasting ideologies are propagated in spite of truth or logic. Beliefs that survive aren’t necessarily true. They survive because they are good at surviving.

TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig

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SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S

It was a swelteringly hot, late August, in 1963. A young teenage misfit entered the halls of McClean Junior High School in Fort Worth, Texas, for 7th grade—sometimes known as pubescent hell. He felt “different” in so many ways: chubby, glasses, braces, some skin “issues.” He was not comfortable in his own skin, but at least was smart and witty. There were lots of reasons to feel different and outcast. Even worse, his big brother was in the 9th grade. He was a cool kid and wouldn’t acknowledge they were related.

DE C E MB E R 7 , 2 0 1 7

That young man was me. It didn’t take long to find people like myself hanging out at the corner of the playground— awkward, uncomfortable, frightened. One of the new clan was named Alan Hamill. He, too, shared the things that made us “other,” except the pimples. But he had something else on his “other” list. He was Jewish in the Land o’ Baptists. Oy. I was equal parts fascinated and wary.

It was an instant friendship. We bonded over lots of things, including our shared dislike for all things sports and the dreaded locker room before P.E. We became BFF’s. There were sleepovers, but never anything inappropriate. On Saturday mornings, instead of playing tag football, Alan introduced me to the finer things in life at the local retail outlet: Neiman Marcus.

Life was good. In fact, as 9th grade approached, we decided to try out for cheerleader (yes, there were boys on the squad). Shockingly, we made it! It was fantastic being that close to the football players on the bench—or is it the dugout? There are no pictures to share, because my cousin’s boyfriend burned our house to the ground the month before I went to college. (That is a tease for another article.)

Alan’s family accepted me with open owned the Westcliff Hardware and G ebrated Christmas at the store and H I went to my first Jewish wedding—h troduced me to noodle kugel, latkes an loved it all. I loved them.

For all the wonderful shared discoveries matic and confusing difference. Alan’s lieve in hell. Mine told me that Alan was ing straight there.

The repetition of that dogma was cons was something wrong with a religion t best friend to hell. And yet it was simply peated over and over and was unquesti people in my life. It became my truth.

We remained friends through high sch in 1969 and went our separate ways. A lege in Boston, Massachusetts; I went Before departing, I wrote Alan a goodb how much his friendship had meant to the intro. The purpose of the letter was

Photos by Sandy Morris

‘Women’s Celebration of Chanukah’ Moves to Oakland LGBTQ Center for 20th Anniversary

By Rachel Ginsburg, J.D. In 1994, I was at a lesbian and gay Christmas party in Marin County, and there was the usual hubbub of drinking, talking, and a football game on the TV, until I took a moment to light a Hanukkah menorah in the corner.

Suddenly, everyone began to gather around us as we said the prayers and lit the candles. I then realized that there was a need for a sacred Jewish space among us at the holidays.

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

The following year, I went to the Montclair women’s potluck, which was a monthly gathering for lesbians, and I found some interested Jewish lesbians. We took it from there and created the Women’s Celebration of Chanukah. (Editor’s note: For more information about the different spellings of the word for the festival, see: http://www.dictionary.com/e/chanukah/) The formula was to have multiple hostesses and they all invited their friends, so that was what made the party work. This was all about growing community, one segment at a time. We discovered that, for Jewish lesbians during the Christmas season, it filled a purpose. The party brought together those who were Temple-affiliated and had no way to express their lesbianism, and those who were non-religious but had no way to express their Jewishness.

arms. His parents Gift Shop. They celHanukkah at home. his sister’s. They innd Carshon’s Deli. I

s, there was one dras religion didn’t bes most assuredly go-

stant. For me, there that would send my y a fact that was reioned by any of the

hool. We graduated Alan went off to colto Abilene, Texas. bye letter. I told him o me. That was just s to tell him that my

At f irst, we thought that we should rotate the party among several houses, but that didn’t work so well. I decided just to do the party at my house. Then lesbian musicians started coming—and they weren’t even Jewish!

A jam began where anyone could play and sing along.

Some women were better than others, but it wasn’t like an open mic.

This was a musical free-for-all, and it was wonderful.

So, we just kept doing the party, year after year, and different women would take turns being co-hostesses. Women got together, and couples met here who later married each other. Mary Watkins would play the piano if we asked, and once she started playing it was … wow! Other people met each other playing at the party, and formed bands as a result.

Food was always a big piece, too.

Latkes are critical, and they’re good when they’re hot, so we had three teams of latke makers frying them in the kitchen. People would line up for them coming off the stove, and devour them slathered with applesauce and sour cream. There was a bountiful potluck as well.

After we’d done the Hanukkah party for a while, we started to notice that some women of color would show up, but it was st i l l a predom inantly white event.

A round the same 2011

2011

Hosts for 1995’s Women’s Celebration of Chanukah

time, I co-produced an event called Mega Mixx that brought together women from the African-American, Latina, disabled, Asian and deaf communities. After that, Hanukkah became much less white as the musical component grew. Black, Asian and Latina women started showing up at the party and making music.

The musicians came and brought their non-white friends, and that has continued to this day.

Sandy Morris

The party has always been open to anyone who wanted to come. We held the first one in 1995, and fifty women showed up. By the time I stopped throwing it at my house in 2015, we still had around 100 women attending. This year, we’re celebrating the party’s Twentieth Anniversary by having it at the new Oakland LGBTQ Center. We chose the Center because it celebrates age, race and gender diversity with real joy and energy—and it’s time more women discovered what a gem it is.

the traditional Hebrew prayers.

Then we say a goddess prayer that I wrote years ago, for women who don’t get into the Jewish thing:

At each party, there is a moment of magic that happens when we quiet ever yone down and say, “Let’s make this a sacred space,” and we say

Blessed is the winter, a season of rest and renewal, a time for restoring and replenishing the earth.

For the Lighting of the Candles Blessed are festivals and seasons for joy.

Blessed is this festival of winter, which brings us together as Jewish women and as Lesbians to celebrate traditions of our own.

Blessed is the power of light to dispel darkness.

Blessed be.

2009

Mary Watkins and Shari Kline

We have been in a world that’s either all Jewish or all lesbian, but this goddess prayer bridges the gap and gives us our own space.

This year we will be sharing the magic at the new OakBarbara Johnston land LGBT Center on Sunday, December 17, from 4 to 7 pm. Latkes will be served and music will be made.

We’re hoping every woman reading this, Jewish or not, will come for a celebration that’s as unique as it is traditional. Bring your musical instruments if you want, and pre-made food and non-alcoholic drinks to share. Kosher is not required, and you can bring your own menorah and candles, too.

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center is at 3207 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland (entrance and elevator on Rand Avenue). Parking is available in nearby lots and on the street. Donations of money to fund the Center will be gratefully accepted.

Photos by Sandy Morris

greatest failure in life up to that point was not being able to bring him to a saving knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hoped that he would someday experience salvation so we could both go to heaven—because that was not where he was headed. Alan never acknowledged receipt of my letter, and communication ceased suddenly and completely.

Fast forward almost twenty years. I had come out and found myself in Dallas, Texas, conducting the gay men’s chorus. It was 1987. I had found my logical family. One day, I asked a chorus member for a recommendation for a physician in Dallas. He said, “I have the best doctor in the world. His name is Alan Hamill.”

I didn’t know what to do. Should I contact him? Did he hate me for my ignorance and arrogance? Embarrassed, I called. He immediately set me at ease. He welcomed me to his practice and into his life with the same openness and warmth his family had shown me some 25 years earlier. No guilt. No blame. No hellfire.

He had become the most amazing holistic physician. He was a light in the entire community. He understood the

healing power of music as well. It was amazing having my junior high BFF as my doctor. Ten years later, Alan abruptly announced he was closing his practice. He had fullblown AIDS and could no longer care for others. He needed to care for himself. Within 6 months, Alan was gone.

I was honored to be included in the huge tribute to Alan’s life at his home synagogue in Fort Worth. I was not prepared for what I experienced. One person after another stood to share stories of this beautiful gay man. Others spoke to the tragedy of lives taken too soon by the AIDS pandemic. These people celebrated the whole person I had known and loved. Nothing was hidden. No shame. Just broken hearts missing him. Hell was not mentioned.

By that point, I had already been to countless funerals for my friends who had died. The vast majority never mentioned that the person who had passed was gay, had AIDS or left behind grieving partners, longtime companions whose names were never mentioned. Many turned into riproaring, Bible-thumping revival services. Note to husband Dan: Don’t even think about allowing such a thing!

Rachel Ginsburg, J.D., is a Bay Area-based attorney specializing in family law.

My “truth” about who was going to hell and who was not was shattered by my Hanukkah-celebrating chosen family.

I decided to join them in their belief that there is no hell— except the one we manage to create on earth.

Now, my apology. I tricked you. The article wasn’t so much about Hanukkah. Sorry about that. It was about a story brought to mind by thinking about Hanukkah—the precious memory of a best friend whose life and faith changed mine.

For me, it was a miracle! It didn’t last 8 days, but 50 years.

As we all celebrate Hanukkah this season, I will light a candle for Alan and thank him for the light his life poured onto and into mine. It will be a festival, of the best kind. And I’ll probably head to Miller’s East Coast Deli!

I have been changed for good.

Happy Hanukkah.

Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. sfgmc.org

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Love Is in the Air, So Why Not Cut Your Hair?

by Timothy Avalos As a barber in the heart of San Francisco, I have a book of married gay men who have said that they want to get remarried and to use our services at their wedding. Still others tell me, after the fact, that they wish they had known about our unique business before their ceremony took place.

Here’s why: Topshelf Grooming, is a mobile men’s barber shop. We provide on-site, day of barber services throughout the Bay Area.

Our mobile shop comes with 2 barber chairs, 3 TVs, surround sound, darts, poker, cornhole game, bourbon and cigars. We provide any service you can get in a brick and mortar, including haircuts, hot towel straight razor shaves, beard trims and facials.

The following are some tips in case you are considering using a mobile barber shop, and particularly for a special occasion such as a wedding ceremony.

1. Most importantly, never do something different with your hair than usual. Nothing looks worse than the one time you shaved your entire face for a special set of photos. The pictures end up not looking like you!

2. Day of haircuts can be cut to look like a week grown out, if that is your style.

3. If you have a favorite barber, the pre-existing connection can help on the big day. I have to say, though, that in my humble opinion, our barbers are the best in the Bay Area. We create each package with barbers to fit the groom and his particular needs.

4. Style is important, but fun is mandatory. Make sure that on the big day of your celebration you are not getting ready in a closet or basic hotel room. Enjoy a comfortable environment that will lead to great photos.

5. For the ultimate comfortable environment, consider treating yourself and your loved ones to a mobile spa day.

Our motto is: “Every man deserves a tailored look.” For your wedding day, bachelor’s party or any day, we hope to help you with your hair and skin care needs.

Timothy Avalos is a barber at Topshelf Grooming. To learn more about this mobile barber shop, please visit http://www.topshelfgrooming.com/

Frederick Sullivan and Jaime Botello, who oversee the Weddings & Occasions page for the “San Francisco Bay Times,” are the talented wizards behind Sullivan-Botello Events (http://sullivanbotelloevents. com) and SnB Party Rentals (650-877-0840, www.snbpartyrentals.com). Both are Certified Wedding Planners with extensive experience in creating memorable, personalized events for special occasions. Their rental service is incredible, offering everything from beautiful gold Chiavari chairs to LED dance floors, and all at competitive prices. They are the creators of the Gay Vanity Wedding Show and are longstanding members of the Golden Gate Business Association, which is the nation’s first LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DE YOUNG AND LEGION OF HONOR

Covered Vessel in the Form of a Ballplayer, Guatemala, Teotihuacan Culture (600 AD) At the de Young

Covered vessel in the form of a ballplayer,” Guatemala, Teotihuacan culture, 600 AD. Earthenware, pigment, 10 ¾ x 15 ½ x 8 ½ in. (27.3 x 39.4 x 16.5 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum purchase; Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Trust Fund and Unrestricted Art Trust Fund; 1997.135a-b

Since ancient times, a ritual ballgame has been played throughout Mexico and Central America for religious, economic and territorial reasons. This hollow vessel depicts an athlete reclining on his left side with his right arm raised. The specific meaning of the hand gesture is unknown. He appears to be wearing a rough-textured protective garment, perhaps fashioned of fur. There is a gauntlet on his left arm and a protective girdle that pads a U-shaped yoke around the waist. A mask of Tlaloc (the rain god) forms a protective kneepad. The body of the figure bears vestiges of ritual body paint, rendered in striped and triangular patterns on the face, arms, chest and back.

The face, head and body of the figure were created by a press-mold technique, but the legs and arms were formed by coil construc-

tion. The individual facial features and textured costume details were applied with special tools. White paint was applied to the eyes, teeth, padded areas and neck ornaments. The facial features and arresting stance seem particularly dramatic. The intense face may even be a portrait. The ear lobes of the figure are pierced, as is the back of the head. These perforations likely held costume elements or decorations, such as an elaborate civic headdress or possibly plugs of hair.

The flat, circular lid on the figure’s upper hip is actually a separate piece that lifts off. It is tempting to think that a specific ballplayer may have been commemorated here and that the vessel may have been a kind of game trophy. Perhaps it was used to hold precious materials, such as cacao beans or ritual offerings.

For more information: https://deyoung.famsf.org/

The Legacy of Marsha P. Johnson

By Lyndsey Schlax (Editor’s Note: Teacher Lyndsey Schlax of the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts launched the nation’s first on-site high school LGBT course in 2015. She has resumed teaching that groundbreaking class. In this column, her students share their thoughts about LGBT-related matters, including their concerns, what they have learned in class and more. Each of the below paragraphs was written by a student from grades 10–12 after watching the documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. Johnson (1945–1992) was a transgender activist who participated in the Stonewall Riots and was found dead a few decades later in the Hudson River. Johnson’s death was originally ruled a suicide, but many now believe that she was murdered.)

Watching The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson by David France in our LGBTQ class opened up my eyes to all of the unheard voices within the community and how neglected transgender individuals have been since the beginning of the LGBTQ movement. I believe that this movie should be presented to more students and even more adults to raise awareness of all the unequal treatment towards transgender individuals. This documentary made me sad and happy at the same time. I was sad that Marsha’s death was swept under the rug like dust, yet happy that she has impacted so many lives and brought hope to people. As a class, we also had the great opportunity to Skype with the director of the film and ask him multiple questions while he explained the birth of his project and the ups and downs that he faced during the process of making it.

Although I had heard of Martha P. Johnson and her fame in New York City, I had no idea that she was murdered. This is often the case with queer history. The only parts that are even remotely known are those regarding performers and famous people. It is important that this practice changes.

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson helps to broaden our understanding of queer history.

As a transgender woman, The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson really spoke to me on a personal level. It was heartbreaking to find out that the murders of trans women, and especially trans women of color, aren’t seen as important to the justice system. It’s so wonderful to know that there

STUDENT VOICES are a few people like Victoria Cruz out there who are trying their hardest to avenge Marsha and all of our other fallen trans brothers and sisters. I have a feeling that this film will spark a discussion in our country, and hopefully will tie some loose ends.

I had never heard Marsha P. Johnson’s name in my life until watching the documentary by David France.

Marsha was an enthusiastic, passionate transwoman who was murdered in New York in 1992. Her story is barely told elsewhere, which is why I was excited to be able to talk with the director about his work and to thank him for teaching others about Marsha. If you have time, please watch the film as well. It’s on Netflix and it is well worth watching!

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson is an intriguing f ilm that delves into past abuses in order to shine a light on current ones, specif ically in the trans community. While the movie is beautifully done and the messages conveyed are inspiring, the true power of the movie lies in the way in which activists are utilizing the film to bring awareness to their (continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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From the Coming Up Events Calendar See page 28 Sunday, December 10 - Tammy Hall Trio @ SFJAZZ Center, Joe Henderson Lab, 201 Franklin Street. One of the Bay Area’s best pianists performs a new program: Lush Life: Music for Falling In/Out of Love. 6pm. sfjazz.org

Thursday, December 21 - Jason Brock’s 5th Annual Holiday Show with Paula West @ Oasis, 298 11th Street. Brock and West—two Bay Area favorites—are back in San Francisco with another fantastic holiday show.

8pm and also on December 22. jasonbrockvocals.com

Smuin’s The Christmas Ballet Includes Hanukkah Candle Blessing, World’s Longest Boa and Tap-Dancing Trees

Michael Smuin (1938–2007) founded his namesake dance company in 1994. Since then, the company has pushed the boundaries of contemporary ballet within a distinctly American style, engaging and delighting audiences with uncommon physicality and expression. As Artistic Director since 2007, Celia Fushille has maintained Michael Smuin’s legacy while enriching the company’s impressive repertoire by collaborating with inventive choreographers from around the world, commissioning world premieres, and bringing new contemporary choreographic voices to the Smuin stage.

The second act of T he Christmas Ballet kicks off with a red-hot costume change. In Cool Christmas, the dancers perform a lively medley of modern festive numbers including the flirty Smuin favorite “Santa Baby,” featuring the world’s longest feather boa, and a swinging “Jingle Bells Mambo” by Val Caniparoli.

Also on the bill are “Christmas in New Orleans,” a fun and light-hearted “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and the return of the delightful tap-dancing Christmas trees featured in the tongue-in-cheek “Droopy Little Christmas Tree.”

A trademark of Smuin is its beautiful staging. All aspects, from the lights to the props to the cascade of “snow”

KT Graham: The dance f loor is made up of two parts: the sub-floor and the marley top layer. The subf loor, composed of two layers of wood atop foam blocks, gives a bit of cushion to the floor so the dancers can jump and land more safely than on a hard surface, like plain wood or concrete. It is stored in 5’x5’ sections, and fitted together in an interlocking pattern on the stage. Marley is a very smooth, linoleum-like material that offers a flat, even surface for the dancers to jump, turn and roll safely. Marley is stored in large rolls, and is spread out tightly on the floor and held down with a special tape to minimize bubbles and wrinkles—all of which can impede a dancer’s turns.

PHOTO BY KEITH SUTTER\SMUIN BALLET

The first act, Classical Christmas, features the dancers enrobed in brilliant white costumes, performing traditional holiday favorites including Michael Smuin classics “Bach Magnificat” and “Ave Maria,” Seiwert’s joyful “Sleigh Ride,” and Michael Smuin’s nod to Hanukkah, “Licht bensh’n” meaning “Candle Blessing.”

San Francisco Bay Times: It’s our understanding that the most important part of setting the stage is the dance f loor, called “marley.” What is it made of, and what goes into the set-up?

San Francisco Bay Times: The Christmas Ballet is separated into two acts: Classical Christmas, which is staged in white, and Cool Christmas, which is performed in red.

How many set changes do you make during the intermission?

KT Graham: We change the colored “gels” in many of the 400+ lights hanging over the stage. We also change the curtains surrounding the stage from black to red— the “borders” covering the hanging lights, the “legs” or “wings” curtains on the side of the stage, as well as the backdrop. The crew is working hard to make all those changes during the 15-minute intermission!

San Francisco Bay Times: How long does it take to load in the f loor, lighting, curtains, and sets?

KT Graham: Load-in and focusing the lights takes about 20 to 22 hours over two days with a crew of 15 people! Including hanging electricals, we use more than 30 hanging “pipes” or pieces of scenery. We also have to set up the hundreds of props used by the dancers. Fortunately, we rehearse the more complex Act Two first, and then Act One so that we’re all set up for our dress rehearsal the

KIT’N KITTY’S

QUEER POP QUIZ

next day! We also prepare for the new works on the program, including staging and lights, which our lighting designer creates on the fly.

San Francisco Bay Times: The Christmas Ballet is known for its classic wintry snow at the end of each performance. How does this magic happen?

KT Graham: In most of our venues, we hang a long tube with small holes in it and fill it with snow (flame-proof confetti)! It’s moved by pulleys, which shake the snow out. When snow falls over the audience, it is thrown by the spotlight operators from the catwalk to add to the effect. After the show, we refill the tubes with snow first and sweep the stage afterwards—what a mess!

San Francisco Bay Times: What keeps you coming back to The Christmas Ballet?

KT Graham: I’ve been with Smuin since 1997, and I still love the excitement of seeing all of the pieces come together for the first time each year. It’s a new puzzle to solve from scratch each time, because we shift the order of the show. During the production, I love to sit backstage calling cues, and hearing how the audience reacts to the show. It’s a real adrenaline rush!

GOLD STANDARD Who of the following was an out musician featured in the 2010 Olympics’ opening ceremonies?

A) k.d. lang B) Ricky Martin C) Shakira Harris D) Lance Bass ANSWER ON PAGE 30

PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN\SMUIN BALLET

The 2017 edition of The Christmas Ballet features three saucy world premieres: one by acclaimed Choreographer-in-Residence Amy Seiwert, another created by Smuin dancer Rex Wheeler, and a debut number choreographed by dancer Erica Felsch. The Christmas Ballet is touring the Bay Area and is now in Mountain View (through December 10), before the holiday run wrap up at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco (December 14–24).

at the end, enrich each performance.

We recently caught up with Kathryn “KT” Graham, Smuin’s Production Director and Stage Manager, to learn what goes on behind the scenes of The Christmas Ballet.

PHOTO BY KEITH SUTTER\SMUIN BALLET

Smuin makes the holidays sizzle with its annual yuletide celebration of dance, The Christmas Ballet. With a stunning and original array of ballet, tap, and jazz, this joyous showcase of styles offers both sugar and spice, with the surprise unwrapping of new treats every year.

Behind the Boa

The mother of all boas belongs to Smuin and is brought out for their sexy rendition of “Santa Baby,” which we look forward to seeing each year. The boa is said to be the longest in the world. Measuring 42 feet long, it is in actuality seven 6-foot boas that were carefully sewn together. This, and other props, take a beating on stage, as one might imagine with all of the choreography, set changes and more. Smuin Artistic Director Celia Fushille shared a stage secret with us: When props are damaged, or sometimes fail, “they’re getting tossed off stage” when the lights go out. To the audience, each show looks seamless, but that is thanks to Fushille and her talented team.

Karin Jaffie as Kitty Tapata hosts Miss Kitty’s Original Trivia Nights at The Wild Side West on Wednesday nights from 8 pm–11 pm, 424 Cortland Avenue in San Francisco. As Tapata says, “It’s free, fun and friendly! To play is to win!”

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Putting on the Glitz: San Francisco’s Golden Age of Female Impersonation

Faces from Our LGBT Past Dr. Bill Lipsky She was one of the comeliest performers ever to grace a San Francisco theater, and was honored by men and emulated by women. Elegance, poise, bearing—all were hers. Onstage she was the fascinating widow, the crinoline girl, cousin Lucy. Offstage she was Julian Eltinge, the most famous and extraordinary cross-dresser in the world.

San Francisco always welcomed female impersonators. At the city’s first public performance, on June 22, 1849, Stephen Massett—a composer whose popularity then rivaled that of Stephen Foster—did “an imitation” of a world famous prima donna absoluta and impressions “of an elderly lady and a German girl.” His audience included four women, “probably all there were in town.”

Paul Vernon

ations.” He joined Haverly’s United Mastodon Minstrels as a “burlesque prima-donna” in 1880, appearing as Olivette in Billy Taylor and Olivette and the heroine Lean-O’er-Her (née Leonora) in the troupe’s perversion of Il Trovatore. He also performed as the Goddess of Liberty in the grand finale.

In an era when virtually every minstrel shows featured cross-dressing men, Vernon and his many counterparts were accepted readily by their almost entirely male audiences. If their characters were innocuous and inoffensive, or obvious and farcical, then no one saw a challenge to traditional masculine roles and identifications; any personal femininity was simply “a very f inished piece of actJulian Eltinge ing.” Only portrayals of “a certain class of effeminate young man” were considered distasteful.

When San Francisco’s own Bothwell Browne— born in Denmark, raised in San Jose—confronted those conventions, he found limited accepHorace Massett never performed in wom- Lingard tance. His production of the play an’s clothes, but Omar Kingsley Miss Jack in 1911 failed because did. As Ella Zoyara, “the greatthe entire cast cross-dressed. He est female rider that Europe had more success as Cleopatra had ever seen,” she first perin The Vampire of the Nile. Variformed in San Francisco in ety called it “the best staged, 1863; later the San Francisproduced, costumed, and co Chronicle described her as elaborate dancing turn that “more daring and brilliant ever left the Pacific Coast,” than any equestrienne that but others found it too sensual had or has appeared before and too seductive because of an American audience.” After the unsettling questions about two years touring the gender and sexual atWest Coast, she sailed traction it raised. for Australia.

Browne’s greatest triBecause K ingsley umph came in Mack dressed “in female atSennett’s 1919 f ilm tire on steamers, on comedy Yankee Doodle the streets, in hotels, in Berlin. Playing Capand in the circus,” tain Bob White, he wrote the Chronicle afimpersonates a womter his death in 1879, an who seduces memthe surprise of those bers of the German who saw him one day high command, inin 1866, “ just after a cluding the Kaiser, to performance, in male get their war plans and attire, and swearing military secrets. After like a Gulf pirate, was a second, less successvery great.” With the illusion forev- ful screen appearance and a decline er shattered, he never again tried to in theater bookings during the 1920s, deceive anyone about his gender, al- he left performance to teach dance in though he continued to appear pro- San Francisco. fessionally as a woman.

No one, however, eclipsed the accomIn 1868 and 1869, Kingsley ap- plishment of Julian Eltinge, who balpeared in San Francisco as Ella. In anced convincing femininity on stage 1870, however, he billed himself as with comforting masculinity off stage “Omar Kingsley, Champion Rider of for more than a quarter century. As the World,” the same year that Wil- ladylike as he appeared in the theliam Horace Lingard made his lo- ater, his publicists always were careful cal debut. Unlike Ella, he specialized to explain that “his assumed womanin lightning costume changes, “by liness was a triumph of art over virile which,” one reviewer wrote, “Venus nature.” Not everyone was enchantwas changed into Adonis.” Never ex- ed, of course. “When Julian Eltclusively a female impersonator, “this inge entered,” W. C. Fields quipped, man,” he noted, “had a great variety “women went into ecstasies over him. of costly dresses, such as are worn by Men went into the smoking room.” females, as well as clothing worn by His debut performance in San Franthe male fraternity.” cisco, a triumph, was in 1905. When A few years later, Paul Vernon be- he returned in 1912, he appeared in came one of the most popular vaude- the title role of The Fascinating Widow, villians in San Francisco, which was his signature part and greatest sucdescribed by the historian Laurence cess. As a famous female illusionist, Senelick even then as “a city already he published the Julian Eltinge Magaknown for its taste in transvestite zine of Beauty Hints and Tips for womperformance.” Critics praised Ver- en, endorsed a line of corsets, and non’s “wonderful female imperson- marketed his own cold cream, liquid 22

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Bothwell Browne

Omar Kingsley as Ella Zoyara

Julian Eltinge, 1910

whiting, and powder. Lured to Hollywood, he was the most successful female impersonator in film until Lassie.

With the waning of vaudeville during the 1920s, female impersonation as mainstream entertainment went into decline. Attempts to revive it in the early 1930s, during the so-called “pansy craze,” met with opposition, even in San Francisco. Some persevered. In 1936, when Finocchio’s opened in North Beach, it began presenting drag shows exclusively, became a major tourist attraction, and lived on until 1999. Today, in the brilliance of Donna Sachet and others, a glamorous heritage, dating to the Gold Rush, endures.

Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of “Gay and Lesbian San Francisco” (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors.

Congratulations to Donna Sachet & the

Songs of the Season

team on your Silver Anniversary

Songs of the Season - 25th Anniversary Edition Photos by Rink It has often been said that “the holidays don’t begin until you’ve seen Donna Sachet’s Songs of the Season.” For three consecutive evenings, November 27, 28 and 29, Halcyon on 11th Street was aglow with smiles and laughter, hugs and handshakes, and even a tear or two as Donna presented her 25th and possibly final Songs of the Season, a benefit for PRC and AIDS Emergency Fund.

Guest entertainers included Sharon McNight, Dan O’Leary, Kippy Marks, Leanne Borghesi, Brian Kent, Jason Brock, Adam Reeves, Paula West and Kenny Nelson, all of whom entertained the audiences wth their favorite songs and holiday classics.

Congratulations to Donna and creative producers Richard Sablatura and Michael Loftis. San Francisco Bay Times was proud to serve as media sponsor for this important and very popular benefit.

CASTRO STREETCAM presented by

sfbaytimes.com

items of the week A little something for everybody!

Green

Wake & Bake

A pocket guide to pot, Green delivers the planet’s best bud photography with over 150 strains, plus a breezy description of the bud and its essential stats.

What better way to start your day than with a cup of Joe and your favorite baked goods!

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he hustle and bustle of the “shopping season” has begun. Take a minute to breathe and be grateful for our amazing community. Nobody is perfect, but we are pretty darn lucky to have each other.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Cliff’s.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Scorchingly Intense Call Me by Your Name Emphasizes Sensuality, Not Sexuality Gary M. Kramer: I’m curious: what were you like as a teenager?

Film Gary M. Kramer Call Me by Your Name, gay filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s extraordinary adaptation of André Aciman’s novel, opens December 15 in the Bay Area.

The f ilm depicts the slow-burn— but scorchingly intense—relationship between Oliver (Armie Hammer), a twenty-something summer intern, and Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a seventeen-yearold, in Northern Italy, 1983.

Guadagnino, working from a script by gay f ilmmaker James Ivory, mines i nc r ed ible s ex u al tension between his romantic leads.

Viewers will ache along with Elio as this lush romance unfolds. The f ilmmaker emphasizes sensuality, not sexuality, and in doing so he creates tremendous emotion.

Guadagnino recently chatted with me for the San Francisco Bay Times about making Call Me by Your Name.

Luca Gaudagnino: I am the third and last child in my family, which led me to be independent. I was really in my own mind, and developing the wonderment of what I wanted to do—become a filmmaker. I had a camera. I was very alone and had few friends. I didn’t join the dance floor.

Gary M. Kramer: You are an openly gay filmmaker, but this is your first film where a gay relationship is the central focus. Can you talk about that?

Luca Gaudagnino: This is an Anglo-Saxon perspective. I am more interested in psychoanalysis, and the unconscious of people. I want to delve into that. What is the measure of our desires, whatever the gender?

My agenda is to tell the stories of my characters.

Gary M. Kramer: What I love about your cinema is the sensory experiences. How do you create the tactility of feeling and emotions? (continued on page 31)

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun support of HIV/AIDS, LGBT communities, and civil liberties. Longtime activist and Board Chair Mike Shriver presented the award to Leno. The Senator remarked, “We need to pick up our banner and continue the fight,” because “AIDS is far from over.” He noted the Creator had said let there be light, and joked, “What is it about gay men and light?”

Sister Dana sez, “So far, DarnOld Trump has undone over 100 positive rules good for the nation that were initiated by President Obama. So, this is Making America Great Again??

As if!”

On the eve of WORLD AIDS DAY, “LIGHT IN THE GROVE” (continued on page 31) brought together nearly 600 people in support of the NATIONAL AIDS MEMORIAL mission.

During the event, much of the Grove’s ten acres was illuminated in white lights and candles to honor the sense of loss and to celebrate the spirit of light and life.

We guests experienced a candlelight vigil at the Circle of Friends.

I had the great privilege of sitting and chatting with philanthropists and hosts Al Baum and Robert Holgate. The evening included special musical and artistic performances in the grove and later inside and onstage with Stefanie Keys and her band. Keys said she loved her gay dad who had passed from AIDS years ago.

Former State Senator Mark Leno received the “Lifetime of Dennis McMillan (aka Sister Dana) with Gary Virginia Commitment” award for his de- at the Academy of Friends Holiday Reception on cades of unwavering philanthro- Wednesday, November 29, at Williams-Sonoma in Union Square py, activism, and leadership in 24

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PHOTO BY PAUL MARGOLIS

By Sister Dana Van Iquity

Grove Co-chairs Lance Henderson and Jane L. Breyer spoke of the important mission of the national memorial, which is all volunteer and donor supported. Regional Vice President Jean-Marc Halbout of Quest Diagnosis (KnowAboutHIV.com) noted that one in seven have HIV but have not been tested or are aware of their status. Executive Director John Cunningham talked about the Grove’s importance. The National AIDS Memorial Grove was created more than twenty-five years ago in

Bay Area Pro Sports Teams Paid More Attention to the LGBT Community in 2017 Fitness SF Trainer Tip of the Month

hundreds and thousands of gay sports fans who gather there to catch our favorite pro and college sports teams on the big screen. Talking sports is a great ice breaker, especially if you are rooting for the same team or if you have developed a similar disdain for a particular rival city or college.

John Chen Looking back at this year in sports, I and my friends have noticed that professional sports teams, from the Oakland Athletics to the Golden State Warriors, paid a bit more attention to our LGBT community than in years past. When they do, we love it.

For example, Rich Sucre, President of Bay Area’s LGBT volleyball group Balls of Furry, excitedly exclaimed, “At the game, I am twice as gay!” when he and his fellow volleyballers attended the 3rd annual Oakland A’s LGBT Night. Vincent Fuqua, San Francisco Gay Softball League Commissioner, felt equally honored and grateful when the defending NBA Champion Warriors offered his league 103 tickets to their LGBT Night.

Across the Bay, the San Francisco Giants have hosted an LGBT Night for the last 15 seasons, attracting thousands of proud local baseball fans from our community. In the South Bay, the San Jose Sharks, one of only five National Hockey League teams ever to host an LGBT Night, have openly and proudly supported LGBT youths. This past June, I attended the first ever LGBT appreciation game hosted by San Francisco’s newest professional sports team, the SF Deltas Soccer Club.

Hanging out at Hi-Tops, the Bay Area’s one and only dedicated LGBT sports bar (and grill), I am among the

Our Warriors, like the Lakers and Celtics teams of the past, have transcended to becoming a nat ional brand that is followed by adoring fans everywhere. On October 25 of this year, when the Warriors became the first defending NBA Champion to host an LGBT Pride Night, they demonstrated acceptance, inclusion and equality to local fans, as well as to a national audience.

Hundreds of my friends (OK, many, many of them are acquaintances) attended that historic evening and came away with a great sense of pride, not to mention a plethora of souvenirs.

The A’s, Giants, Deltas and Sharks have all embraced diversity and inclusion like the Warriors have, by understanding that their fan base is as diverse as the world itself. When Sucre told me that he felt “twice as gay” at the A’s LGBT game, I understood that meant he felt a great sense of pride, happiness and gratefulness, and that he felt free to be who he is.

Although our pro football teams, the 49ers and Raiders (soon to be Las Ve-

Exercise: Mobility & Stretching “In this 9-to-5 world, sitting down has become a big issue, resulting in bad posture and hunched shoulders. Help to correct this by laying face down on a mat, and reaching your hands up in the air in front of you. Stretch them out in a V formation. Next, reach your hands down above your lower back in the same V formation. This will help with mobility and better posture.”

PHOTO BY JANE HIGGINS

Sports

Chatting with so many LGBT sports fans, it’s fair to conclude that gays are just as passionate about their teams as anyone. Local LGBT sports fans are extremely proud and happy that our Bay Area pro sports teams support LGBT equality and inclusion. Pro sports teams, especially championship ones, achieve great visibility and popular culture influence. Their messages are heard loud and clear, not just locally, but also across the country.

Cheri Chan, Fitness SF Mid-Market

gas Raiders), do not host game day LGBT events due to an extremely limited number of home games compared to the other sports, the 49ers have reached out to their LGBT fans through community relations and in other ways. I have no comment on the Raiders, since they are leaving.

I’d like to mention, though, that the Los Angeles Rams just this year became the first—and only—pro football team to sponsor an entire Pride event: Venice Pride (in Los Angeles).

The New England Patriots sponsored the 17th Gay Bowl (gay flag football national championship) hosted by Friends, Lesbians and Gays (FLAG), Boston’s gay f lag football league.

Come on, 49ers! If you are reading this, San Francisco Gay Flag Football would love to work with you! ( Just a little shameless plug.)

I am extremely proud and happy to be a part of the Bay Area LGBT sports community. I am also a somewhat fanatic sports aficionado watching and attending as many local pro sports teams as time and money allow. What I am most happy and proud of is that my local pro sports

Reduce Standing Joint Pain

Tore Kelly, Director of Creative & Social Media for Fitness SF, provides monthly tips that he has learned from professional trainers. For more information: fitnesssf.com

teams support me, include me and speak out on my behalf. Their collective voices became louder, and their messages of inclusiveness gained strength, in 2017. Much work still needs to be done, but their impressive efforts are at least headed in the right direction.

John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball and football teams.

Take Me Home with You!

begins. It’s easier to nip the ache before it begins than to soothe it once it starts, but either is good! Doing these moves helps to soothe impatience and anxiety too. I suggest that you try them now while you’re reading this article, so that they are easy to recall when you need them.

Tapper Toes

Easy Fitness Cinder Ernst Have you ever been uncomfortable, or even miserable, when you are standing for a length of time? During the holiday season, you might find yourself in more such situations than normal, like when waiting in line or mingling at a party. Standing pain can take the fun out of your holidays, or even make you dread events that you might otherwise look forward to attending.

Today I’m going to give you some discreet maneuvers, which you can do to soothe standing joint pain while strengthening your leg and core muscles. The soothing comes from the “motion is lotion” effect—bringing blood flow and joint fluid to the area.

The strengthening comes from intentionally firing your muscles, a process that at Easy Fitness we call Intentional Muscle Recruitment, or IMR. Try to remember to incorporate some of the moves before the standing ache

Alternate a tap on one foot, and then the other. Gently lift your toe, put it down and then do the other side.

When you lift your toe, you stretch the calf muscle for a second while you increase circulation in your lower legs. Stretching your calf muscle helps to prevent, or soothes, foot pain. Tapper Toes will challenge and improve your balance.

Salsa Hips Did you know that salsa dancers get their hips moving by bending one knee at a time? It works like this: Stand with your weight even on both feet, bend your right knee a bit and your left hip moves up and out a bit.

Salsa Hips bring blood flow to your knees, hips and lower back. You can add a little heel lift to the knee bend to increase the range of motion. Motion is lotion!

Weight Shifting Here’s where you use IMR and get some strengthening happening. Most people will shift their weight from side to side while standing. If you happen to have a “sore side,” then you probably shift to the other side without even thinking about it. Here’s what works better: Start in good standing pos-

ture with feet flat, your weight evenly distributed between the heels and balls of your feet (so that you can wiggle your toes). Lift your ribcage and hold your head high. Now, intentionally shift your weight to the left leg.

When you shift, squeeze your left butt cheek. (You may not even know that you can squeeze one butt cheek at a time. I’ll bet you can’t wait to try it.)

Hold the butt squeeze for two breaths, and then go back to the center. Next, do the right side. As you get better at this, you can hold the squeeze longer by taking more breaths. Eventually you can make this a balancing act by picking up the foot you are not standing on.

Take your time with these moves.

Only do what feels right for you. Pay attention, be gentle with yourself, and have fun!

Cinder Ernst, Medical Exercise Specialist and Life Coach Extraordinaire, helps reluctant exercisers get moving with safe, effective and fun programs. Find out more at http:// cinderernst.com

Frank and Stein

“My name is Frank, and I’d like to introduce you to my feline friend and secret keeper, Stein! As you can probably tell by our names, we belong together. Stein and I are best friends, and we’re looking for a home that we can share. I’m very outgoing, while Stein can be a little shier, so we balance each other perfectly. We both love to cuddle with our human friends ... and we’d love to meet you!”

Frank and Stein are presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Frank and Stein.

To meet Frank and Stein and other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit: San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus 250 Florida Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415-522-3500 Aside from major holidays, the adoption center is open Mon–Fri: 1–6 pm and Sat– Sun: 10 am–5 pm. Free parking is available for those wishing to adopt!

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup

For more info, please visit sfspca.org/adopt S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Anne Gimbel Looks to the Future of Maitri Recently we reported that Maitri Compassionate Care, which provides residential care for people living with AIDS, has a new Executive Director. Anne Gimbel, the former Regional Director of the Alzheimer’s Association of Coachella Valley that includes Palm Springs, was chosen for the position.

Gimbel is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has worked in both Chicago, her hometown, and Los Angeles. She had prior experience as the Executive Director of Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a nonprofit that covered the entire state of Illinois for many years, and served as the Director of Development at Make-A-Wish Foundation in Century City and Geffen Playhouse during the fourteen years that she and her husband lived in Santa Monica.

Gimbel has now been at Maitri for just a little over a month. We were delighted to catch up with her at this busy time. We asked her why she chose to make the move to Maitri.

“I accepted the position of Executive Director at Maitri Compassionate Care because my experience with respite and end-of-life care most mirrored this mission, and most recently, I have loved being involved with families in the Palm Springs area with these same issues,” Gimbel told the San Francisco Bay Times.

“Maitri’s reputation is so long-lasting and deep within the community that it is a pleasure to be here.”

She shared her vision for the non-profit, both its present and future.

“At the beginning, I will be listening and learning from this excellent management staff and Board of Directors, and I will be enhancing the good work that is being done here with a love of this community,” she Resident Jasmine with Anne Gimbel, Executive Director of Maitri Compassionate said. “Building on this knowledge and dedication of Care our team, I hope to enable our programs to grow and develop, to expand our care, and to raise more funds to accomplish this.”

Since 1987, Maitri—a Sanskrit word that means “compassionate friendship”—has been providing 24-hour care to men and women living with HIV/AIDS. We congratulate the organization on its 30th anniversary, and look forward to following the work of Gimbel and her team in the years to come.

A Life Saved by Maitri

By Anne Gimbel Barbara came to Maitri almost 10 years ago for the first time, and was struggling for many of her prior years. She was diagnosed HIV positive. Her life and health changed drastically, and she needed support badly. “I had issues interfering with my health, and I needed support to get strong again,” she said.

When Barbara was diagnosed with advanced AIDS, a social worker told her about Maitri. Her life began to turn around for the better. She said, “Maitri saved my life not once, but three times when I fell and needed help to get up again and survive.”

“Maitri is like my family and is a safe place, but it also provides medical stabilization for people like me,” she added. “I am so happy to say I am now stronger.”

At Maitri, we are giving Barbara—who spent so many years on the streets—the compassionate care she so desperately needs and deserves. “The services at Maitri are first class, and I am truly grateful for all the love and compassion I have received since I have been here,” Barbara recently said. “I feel whole once again and excited to resume my life with a positive spirit and renewed health.”

Join us in giving others like Barbara—the homeless, underprivileged, and poor, who bravely face a life and death struggle with late-stage AIDS, and chronic illnesses—a second chance at a full and independent life. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today to support Maitri’s good work for both our hospice

Anne Gimbel with Barbara

and medical respite residents. We are approaching our 31st year of service to the San Francisco community.

Maitri has faced increased demand for our services this year, making your gift all the more critical—and impactful. Thank you so much for your generosity and for remembering Maitri’s residents during the holidays.

For more information, and to make a donation, visit: www.maitrisf.org/kinds-of-donations/ Anne Gimbel is the Executive Director of Maitri Compassionate Care. maitri.org

As Heard on the Street . . . What is a favorite holiday season memory?

26

Caresa Capaz

Mathew Denckla

Beth Feingold

Lawrence Wong

Bong Vilk Leas

The first SantaCon, when the rain poured all the way to Civic Center.

Everyone sang “Soggy Santa”

“The Boxing Day I spent with my British BFF in Charlettesville, Virginia, and it has become an annual pleasure for the last 22 years!”

When I was with my godchildren in Chicago, where we went to the zoo and rode on swings

“When my invalid father said that he enjoyed the holiday when everyone was together and happy and healthy”

“Spending time with my husband, every year for the last 23 years!

And I look forward to more”

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Charles Farriér of Crumble & Whisk Turns Cheesecakes into Irresistible Works of Edible Art

At a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is mulling over Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission—after Masterpiece refused to create cakes for same-sex wedding receptions—it does our cheesecake-fueled hearts good to profile a baker who is out and proud, and who derives joy from tailoring his cakes to his loyal clientele’s needs.

In our case, a relative who loves cheesecake is pre-diabetic. “No problem,” Farriér said, while carefully taking down the order. He then whipped up the most delicious sugarfree desserts. He also offers an incredible Vegan Delight cake with hints of vanilla and lemon.

His team specialties in artisan cheesecakes. Crumble & Whisk makes traditional New York-style (I Love New York) and various scrumptious chocolate versions, but also features seasonal flavors like Beet and Berry, which marries roasted organic baby beets with blueberries, lemon, and a fruity red wine reduction. For the holidays, Farriér has f lavors like Pumpkin Spice with Bourbon, Winter White Chocolate with Cranberry Purée, and even Dirty South, which includes roasted organic sweet potatoes, brown sugar, spices and—you guessed it—bourbon again, but this time in a caramel drizzle.

We enjoyed our recent conversation with this talented dessert craftsman.

San Francisco Bay Times: Have you always enjoyed cooking and baking? Who were some of your early mentors, and what are some of your fondest memories related to food and cooking?

Charles Farriér: I have always enjoyed all aspects of the culinary field. I am proficient in both savory cooking and pastry arts. As a culinary professional, I have been learning about food since childhood. My mentors consist of my father, culinary instructors, celebrity chefs, and other local food businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco Bay Times: How did you get started in the food business?

Charles Farriér: I was invited to a company party at my former place of employment.

I baked a strawberry cheesecake and it was a big hit at the party. My co-workers raved about the cheesecake, and they insisted on me selling the product. It was at that point, I had a vision for my own business.

San Francisco Bay Times: Why did you decide to focus on cheesecakes, in particular?

Charles Farriér: In the beginning, I was doing brunch catering and cheesecakes. However, cheesecake sales grew too rapidly for me, and my creative spirit was more geared towards the artistry of cheesecakes.

San Francisco Bay Times: Your cakes come in a variety of flavors, some of which are very inventive. Did you develop all of your own recipes? What inspires you when coming up with unique flavor combinations?

Charles Farriér: I developed all of my own recipes over the years through trial and error, so it took a lot of dedication, finances, and critical thinking to master my baking formulas. My flavors are inspired by the four seasons, availability of ingredients, trend ing ing red ients, food magazines, dining out, and chef friends.

San Francisco Bay Times: What are some of the challenges that you have faced, owning and running your own small business, and how have you resolved these challenges?

Charles Farriér: I have had to overcome many obstacles with the operation of this business.

The most stressful part of running my own business was being the only baker for a few years. Another business challenge is keeping a steady clientele. I have hired a fulltime baker and our business contracts are growing around the Bay Area. Also, Crumble & Whisk is preparing to launch our products nationwide.

San Francisco Bay Times: What advice would you give to others, and particularly individuals in the LGBT community, who are hoping to start their own business?

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER VIEGAS

Charles Farriér is the Monet of cheesecakes.

His colorful creations, often topped with edible flowers and glistening jewel-like fruits, are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate.

We first met him at the Millsmont Farmers’ Market in Oakland, and were impressed by both his delicious desserts and his sincere passion for baking.

Charles Farriér: I tell aspiring business owners to go after their goals and to be a fighter. You should never be ashamed of yourself, or your past, and you should always push to better yourself. Also, you need to study all aspects of the business field you plan to pursue.

San Francisco Bay Times: Most importantly, how can we buy your yummy cheesecakes, especially now that the Millsmont Farmers’ Market has ended for the year?

Charles Farriér: Our cheesecakes are available through our website (crumbleandwhisk.com). Also, you can find our products at Urban Village Farmers Market on Fridays and Sundays in Old Oakland, the Ferry Building (CUESA) on Saturdays, and the Montclair Farmers Market (in Oakland’s Montclair Village) on Sundays. Also, we are available for catering personal and corporate events. crumbleandwhisk.com

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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COMING UP

Compiled by Blake Dillon

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS sfbaytimes.com

7 : Thursday

8 : Friday

88th Annual Golden Gate Park Tree Lighting & Winter Carnival @ John McLaren Lodge, 501 Stanyan Street. Free activities include carnival rides, cookie factory, arts and crafts for kids, visit from Santa plus live music and entertainment. 6pm. sfrecpark.org

The 32nd Annual Christmas Revels @ Scottish Rite Theatre, 1547 Lakeside Drive. “A Scottish Celebration of the Solstice” is the theme of this annual community pageant featuring professionals and local amateurs singing and dancing their hearts out to music from diverse cultures and ritual traditions. 8pm and continues December 9-10, 15-17. calrevels.org

Winter Lights in Golden Gate Park @ Conservatory of Flowers Illuminated Artwork SF, 100 John F. Kennedy Drive. A stunning new light art installation, Photosynthesis: Love for All Seasons, will be unveiled at the landmark location. 7pm. sfrecpark.org Author Talk: Finding the Soul of the Sixties @ GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street. Journalist Carol Blackman presents her new non-fiction book based on local history during the 1960s, including the story of activist José Sarria and the movement for LGBTQ equality. 7-9pm. glbthistory.org Drag Queens on Ice 2017 @ Union Square Park, Geary and Powell Streets. Colorful drag personalities return to the ice for the 8th year for a night of lip-synching and lipstick that’s sure to have audiences of all ages laughing and dancing.

8-9:30pm. unionsquareicerink.com

Holiday Gaiety with Armistead Maupin & The SF Symphony @ Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue. Novelist Armistead Maupin will join the San Francisco Symphony with artists Peaches Christ, Cheyenne Jackson, Bob the Drag Queen and more for something a little more naughty than nice. Maupin will read wickedly funny excerpts from his coming of age memoir. 7:30pm. sfsymphony.org UHAUL SF @ Oasis, 298 11th Street. Featuring DJs Silly Syl, Ms. Jackson and Ripley, this is a party for girls who love girls, and happens every second Friday. 10pm2am.uhaulsf.com Norm Lewis Wishes You a Swingin’ Christmas @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason Street. A leading man in numerous Broadway shows, Tony-nominated Norm Lewis made history as the first African American character in

Phantom of the Opera. 8pm continuing December 9 & 10. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

9 : Saturday SantaCon 2017 @ Union Square, 333 Post Street. Bring an unwrapped toy that can be donated to the U.S. Marines Corps Toys for Tots campaign and join the celebration by being one of 8000 dressed in a Santa suit of any kind, plus Elves are always welcome.

12pm. santacon.info/San_Francisco-CA/ Dance-Along Nutcracker @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street. “Nutcrackers of the Caribbean” is the theme of the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band’s annual frolic where audience members participate by dancing to live music from Tchaikovsky’s classic performed by the Band and also enjoy the show performed by Bay Area theater and cabaret stars. 3pm & 7pm shows continuing on December 10, 11am & 3pm. dancealongnutcracker.org Dance Your Story Workshop for Trans/LGBTQ Older Adults and Seniors @ SF LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. Led by award-winning choreographer and dancer Sean Dorsey, the workshop is welcoming to all levels. 1-3pm seandorseydance.com Salvation Sisters 2017 @ 18th and Castro Street. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will ring bells and raise awareness, funds and eyebrows in support of DrawBridge to help Kids Access Art. 6-8pm. drawbridge.org Sarah Bush Dance Project’s Homeward World Premiere @ Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz Avenue, Berkeley.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of her dance company, artistic director Sarah Bush presents choreography about the variety of emotions around the concept “home.”

7:30pm. sarahbushdance.org 13th Annual Happy Homo Holi-Gays Ho-Down @ Lookout, 3500 16th Street. A fundraiser to benefit wildfires victims, featuring a Christmas costume competition and many dancers, prancers and vixens. 9pm-2am. lookoursf.com

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nual romp around the Castro is a benefit for the SF AIDS Foundation and all are welcome. 10am-4pm. santaskivviesrun.org Holiday Craft Fair @ Harvey Milk Center for the Arts, 50 Scott Street. Local artists offer handmade holiday gifts for sale and art activities for all ages will be featured. 11am-4pm. hmcaevents@sfgov.org Santa Rosa Gaydar Event @ Graton Resort & Casino, 288 Golf Course Drive West, Rohnert Park.

Santa Rosa Gaydar and Northbay L Scene present an evening of free bingo with fun prizes, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and more.

1-5pm. santarosagaydar.com Mama’s Annual Christmas Toy Drive @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk Street. Collette Legrande-Ashton and Aunt Charlie’s host Mama Reinhardt’s Annual Christmas Toy Drive for Camp Sunburst. 4-7pm. auntcharlieslounge.com Tammy Hall Trio @ SFJAZZ Center, Joe Henderson Lab, 201 Franklin Street. One of the Bay Area’s best pianists performs a brand new program titled Lush Life: Music for Falling In/Out of Love. 6pm. sfjazz.org Jane Lynch @ The Venetian Room, Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street. Performing songs from the Top 20 Billboard album A Swingin’ Little Christmas, Lynch will be joined by special guests Kate Flannery (NBC’s The Office), Tim Davis (Glee) and the Tony Guerrero Quintet. bayareacabaret.org

11 : Monday The Hello Girls: America’s first Women Soldiers @ The Commonwealth Clug, 110 The Embarcadero. Author Elizabeth Cobbs will discuss the captivating story of America’s first women soldiers and their fight of equality. commonwealthclub.org A Dyke, A Pervert and a Transwoman Walk into a Bookstore @ Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street. Authors Deb Busman, Jordy Jones and Natasha Dennerstein will read from their recent works. 7-8pm. dogearedbooks.com

Klimt & Rodin: An Artistic Encounter @ Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue. The exhibit pairs selections from the Legion of Honor’s Rodin collection with signature pieces by Klimt, many making their first visit to the U.S. 9:30am-5:15pm, Tuesday-Sunday through January 28. legionofhonor.famsf.org

Winter Fairyland Dragshow Fundraiser & Holiday Party @ Lake Merritt Hotel Terrace Room, 1800 Madison Street, Oakland. A fundraiser supporting Oakland’s new LGBTQ Community Center, the evening will include food, spirits, disco dancing and a line-up of drag performers paying tribute to stars of yesteryear led by emcee Cruzin’ Da Loo. 6-10pm. oaklandlgbtqcenter.org

10 : Sunday

12 : Tuesday

Santa Skivvies Run 2017 @ Lookout, 288 Noe Street. This an-

GGBA Holiday Make Contact @ Bernstein, 555 California,

Suite 4400. The Golden Gate Business Association’s monthly networking mixer will be hosted at the wealth management company Bernstein located on the 44th floor of the Bank of America Building. 6-8pm. ggba.com Holiday Soul with the San Francisco Symphony @ Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue. The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir joins the Symphony along wth vocalists CeCe Winans, Edwin Hawkins and Paula West for a evneing of soul, jazz and Christmas classics with vocal fireworks and foot-stomping energy. 7:30pm. sfsymphony.org HRC Night at the Theater Aladdin@ SHN Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market Street. Discounted tickets (promo code: HRCSF) plus $5 to support HRC’s fight for LGBTQ equality. 8pm. shnsf.com/online/article/alladdin LGBTQ Alumni Mixer @ Le Meridien Hotel, Lobby Lounge, 333 Battery Street. Alumni and their friends are all welcome at the monthly networking events in the Bay Area and beyond. josephlee94108@gmailcom

13 : Wednesday Uptown Homos @ Uptown, 200 Capp Street. Hosted by Kelly Robbie Hansen every 2nd Wednesday, this is a free party for all: trans, non-binary folxs, QPOC, femmes, butches, unicorns, dykes and everyone in-between. uptownalmanac.com Annie Leibovitz @ Nourse Theater, 275 Hayes Street. Leibovitz will present a selection of defining works from her newly published Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016. 7:30pm. cityarts.net Michael Feinstein’s Home for the Holidays @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason. Twotime Grammy Award-nominated Michael Feinstein returns with classic standards from the Great American Songbook. 8pm. feinsteinsatthenikko.com Tapata Trivia Round UP! @ Wild Side West, 424 Courtland Avenue. Kit Tapata hosts the weekly trivia competition held on Wednesdays with music and live improv at the popular Bernal Heights location. 7-9pm. tapatatwins.com

14 : Thursday 25th Annual Hand to Hand Luncheon @ Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason. Project Open Hand’s annual luncheon and awards program with emcee Renel Brooks-Moon and honorees Linda Glick, Barbara Garcia, Gilead Sciences and Giants Enterprises.

11am-1:30pm. openhand.org/events Sparkle: Annual Trans Winter Ball @ Gray Area/Grand Theater, 2665 Mission Street.

Hosted by the SF LGBT Center’s Trans Empowerment Program, the evening includes dining, drinks and performances. 5:30-8pm. sfcenter.org

multi-platinum selling Windham Hill series will present a program of original and traditional acoustic music in a joyous holiday concert.

8pm. thefreight.org

HRC-SF Holiday Party @ HRC, 575 Castro Street. Mingle, catch up and celebrate the holiday season. 7:30-9pm. hrc.org/local-issues/community/sanfrancisco

Katya: A Holiday Spectacular @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 222 Mason Street. Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy’s drag performance brings an evening of banter, ball gowns and songs ranging from holiday fair to pop era and disco.

8pm. feinsteinsatthenikko.com

A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason Street.

Ninjaz of Drama’s production of Shakespeare’s most popular comedy.

8pm. Selected dates through December 30. ninjazofdrama.com

15 : Friday LGBTQ Night at The Hard Nut @ Zellerbach Hall Berkeley.

Cal Performances invites the LGBTQ community with a special offer (Promo code: LGBTQ) to The Hard Nut featuring a rollicking gender-bending performance by the Mark Morris Dance group of Tchaikovsky’s classic Nutcracker. 8pm and additional dates through December 24. calperformances.org Big LGBTQ Mixer - Holiday Party! @ LYFT, 185 Berry Street.

Hosted by Equality Federation, the event brings together hundreds of LGBTQ people ready to mix and mingle. 6-8:45pm. equalityfederation.org Jammin’ Jo’s Winter Dance @ Sky Room, 2600 Watt Avenue, Sacramento. Casual to formal attire, the event is hosted by Jolanne Hugs Tierney. 7pm-12am. meetup.com/ Jammin-Jo-Sacramento/

16 : Saturday Kit ’n Patty’s 6th Annual Charity Giftwrap @ Cliff’s Variety, 479 Castro Street. Empress 49 Patty McGroin and Mr. Gay SF 2012 Kit Tapata will set up their Holiday Helpers Gift Wrap shop in front of Cliff’s Variety with proceeds to benefit Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center. 10am-4pm. prrcsf.org Queer Holiday Fair @ Qulture Collective, 1714 Franklin Street, Oakland. Qulture Collective includes queer makers of something for everyone on your list. qulturecollective.com Kitka’s Wintersongs @ Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento Street. The acclaimed women’s ensemble presents its annual winter concert showcasing seasonal music from a variety of Eastern European ethnic and spiritual traditions. oldfirstconcerts.org

17 : Sunday Bay Area Rainbow Symphony Winter Concert @ Herbst Theatre, Taube Atrium at the Wilsey Center, 401 Van Ness.

Guest conductor Cyrus Ginwala leads a program featuring Copland, Prokofiev and Shostakovitch. 2pm. bars-sf.org Christmas Holiday Party with Stephanie Teel Band @ Sausalito Cruising Club, 300 Napa Street, Sausalito. The popular “barge” location attracts women for dancing and a buffet. 6-9pm. stephanieteel.com

18 : Monday Macy’s 31st Holiday Windows & Pet Adoptions @ Union Square, 170 O’Farrell Street. SFSPCA’s pop-up adoption center inside Macy’s Holiday Windows. Daily 11am-1pm, 5-7pm through January 1. sfspca.org Home for the Holidays at Carolwood @ Walt Disney Family Museum, 104 Montgomery Street in the Presidio. The annual seasonal exhibit celebrate’s Walt Disney’s love of trains. 10am-6pm Daily except Tuesdays. waltdisney.org

19 : Tuesday Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine @ Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addition Street, Berkeley. Written in 1941, the play is a timely examination of moral obligation, sacrifice and what it means to be American.

8pm through Dec 31. berkeleyrep.org

Zoolights at Oakland Zoo! @ Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. Enjoy the Bay Area view from festively-lit gondolas, a music-themed light show, the express train and more. 5:30pm and additional dates through January 1. oaklandzoo.org Question Bridge: Black Males @ Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland. A selection of videos featuring more than 160 black men from across the U.S., answering each other’s questions on family, love, interracial relationships, community, education and wisdom.

Wednesdays–Sundays through February 25. museumca.org

20 : Wednesday Golden Gate GAYME Night @ Lookout, 3600 16th Street. A benefit featuring cocktails and silly games to support the Sonoma County Food Bank. 7-10pm. lookoutsf.com Queer Youth Meal Night @ San Francisco LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street. Dinner is served every Tuesday evening for LGBTQ youth ages 18-24, with drop-in mental health and HIV Testing services available and opportunities to connect with community service providers from LYRIC, Larkin Street, HRTC and Street Soccer USA. 5-7pm. sfcenter.org

21 : Thursday ’Tis the Season for Science and Holiday Ice Rink @ California Academy of Sciences @ Golden Gate Park, 55 Music Concourse Drive. The Academy’s annual holiday exhibit celebrates how animals adapt in snowy ecosystems; and the outdoor Holiday Ice Rink has skating sessions available daily. 11am-5pm through January 7 (check special schedule for Christmas Day). calacademy.org Jason Brock’s 5th Annual Holiday Show with Paula West @ Oasis, 298 11th Street.

Brock continues his tradition of singing Holiday songs. 8pm and also on December 22. jasonbrockvocals.com

Maitri’s Holiday Open House @ Maitri Compassionate Care, 401 Duboce Stret. Featuring delicious holiday food, beverages and live music, this popular annual gathering supports Maitri’s programs and welcomes volunteers, supporters and friends who meet residents and enjoy the cozy fireplace and holiday tree. 2-5pm. maitrisf.org Harvey Milk Club’s 40th Holigay Fête @ Galeria de la Raza, 2857 24th Street. Tasty nosh and fortifying libations punctuated with a little auctioning and the coming year’s board nominations. 3-7pm. milkclub.org Krewe de Kinque Benefit: It’s A Mardi Gras Holigays! @ The Edge, 4149 18th Street. Krewe de Kinque’s monthly beer and soda bust benefit will celebrate the magic of the season with DJ Jack Rojo, emcee Ladycuki and more entertainers.

4-7pm. qbarsf.com/edge Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice with Barbara Higbie & Friends @ Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley. Celebrating the Solstice, Grammy winning and nominated artists from the S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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NEWS (continued from page 2) people who don’t know they have HIV. The report concludes HIV is being diagnosed more quickly, the number of people who have the virus under control is up, and annual infections are down. edgemedianetwork.com Gay Reporter Not Invited to White House Christmas Party Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, a reporter in the press corps working for an LGBTQ news website, says he was not invited to the Christmas party at the White House. “I assumed it was an oversight because I’m at the White House every day and contribute to the pool reports,” Johnson said. But when Johnson reached out to Trump officials to ask why he was not on the guest list, he received no answer. Johnson has also publicly sparred with White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, whom he says freez-

es him out and never calls on him for questions. “The lack of invite is very consistent with me being ignored by Sanders during the press briefings,” Johnson said. edgemedianetwork.com

constitutional ban on marriage equality with her platform based on improving traffic, jobs, schools and equality. facebook.com/events/803848993120989

State Delegate-elect Danica Roem to Appear in Castro for Meet and Greet

Castro Neighborhood All Decked Out for the Holidays

State Delegate-elect Danica Roem (D) of Virginia will hold a casual meet-and-greet as she prepares to make history as the nation’s first out-and-seated transgender state legislator when she is sworn in on January 10. The venue she chose was purposely in the Castro neighborhood at Beaux, 2344 Market Street, 11:30 am-3 pm. Roem is a 33-year-old step-mom, a lifelong resident of her district, and authored more than 2,500 news stories as the lead reporter of the Gainesville Times. On November 7, she defeated a 26-year Republican incumbent who authored Virginia’s

As the carol goes, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas,” and all of the other fall/winter holidays in the Castro. From the silver and red bows on Market Street median palm trees, to the lighted sidewalk trees along Upper Market, to the 28’ decorated and lit holiday tree at the Bank of America Plaza—the Castro is fully decked out for the holidays. The Tree and decorations will be up until right after New Year’s Day (except that the Market Street sidewalk trees will stay lit until after the Martin Luther King three-day weekend through January 15). castromerchants.com

SHORTER (continued from page 4) assault by high-level Hollywood executives, remained the chief highlighted reports.

nor is acceptable. It is reprehensible and unlawful for what should be very obvious reasons.

Then came allegations against House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey by a fellow actor who was, while a minor, subjected to Spacey’s aggressive advances. A cascade of multiple accounts of harassment and assault involving Spacey resulted in his swift removal from his hit Netflix series and replacement in a film production by veteran actor Christopher Plummer.

Still, the realities of straight men and LGBT people as subjects of sexual harassment and assault should not be further overcast by this latest of unsettling developments. According to the Centers for Disease Control, lesbian, gay and bisexual people are subject to sexual violence at similar or higher rates than heterosexuals.

Other sources indicate that approximately half of transgender people and bisexual women will eventually experience sexual violence their lives.

In the Spacey matter, it was equally offensive to many that in his released statement on the matter of sexual impropriety involving a minor, he finally came out as a gay man. The subject of Spacey’s sexuality has long been speculative. Coming out as gay amidst charges of sexual misconduct against a minor incited a twitter outrage initially led by out actor Zachary Quinto, Mr. Spock of the new Star Trek movies franchise. The reckoning against Spacey’s shameful implication that being gay was summarily congruent with his statutory offenses involving a minor— the cruelest stereotype of homosexuals as being predatory pedophiles—was immediate and cut deep.

Being gay has zero to do with causation of abuse of children or minors. No responsible adult, gay or straight, would nor should contest that any manner of sexual conduct towards a child or mi-

For LGBT students, various on campus surveys across the country indicate that these students are twice as likely to experience some form of sexual harassment or assault, further highlighting the case for making Title IX protections and response to on campus assaults a priority.

In the workplace, while several gains have been made to create more LGBT inclusive environments, sexual harassment remains a concern. Throughout much less progressive times, sexual harassment against LGBT people was often used or implicated in threats of outing individuals. This type of threat was not only known to be directed from straight people, but it also occurred among and between ourselves. The stigma, shame and all but

guaranteed social ostracism were potent and terrifying forces, effectively working to further marginalize, criminalize, and confine us to a dark, shadowy closet. One would hope that those times of enduring harassment for fear of being outed are long over, but as the national discourse on sexual misconduct evolves, the similar and unique impacts on LGBT people are being further and more seriously explored.

The LGBT movement for the liberation of all healthy sexuality in an expansive spectrum should be celebrated as breaking down barriers that impede our full experience as human beings.

It should not be misconstrued as an invitation to hyper sexualize our experiences to the point where boundaries against abuse, harassment, or assault are considered non-existent or dissolvable.

Standing against such violations is core to our long-fought cause that all persons be treated with dignity and respect—no matter their gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Andrea Shorter is President of the historic San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. She is a longtime advocate for criminal and juvenile justice reform, voter rights, and marriage equality. A co-founder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition, she was a 2009 David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

GAFFNEY & LEWIS (continued from page 4)

KIT’N KITTY’S

QUEER POP QUIZ ANSWER (Question on pg 21) A) k.d. lang

Edmonton-born k.d. lang performed Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” live at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Her performance moved Cohen to quip that the song could be “put to rest. It’s really been done to its ultimate blissful state of perfection.”

to the lesbian, gay, and “maybe” heterosexual, and other communities as well. Indeed, Chiu said, “Now I find my community in the world.” Chiu often gives talks and is co-chair of ILGA– Asia (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association). As one of the early Asian intersex people to come out, Chiu is “working on reaching out to people in Asia to make the voice in Asia heard.” When the ILGA-Asia regional conference was held in Taipei in 2015, Chiu “gathered for the first time in history six or seven intersex activists from Asia and we came out publicly in the Taipei Pride parade.” This month, Chiu will continue this work at the ILGA-Asia conference in Cambodia.

Ref lecting back on adolescence, Chiu said, “I think my body insisted to be a naturally intersex person.” This describes who Chiu is. As we listened to Chiu’s story, we identified with much of it, even though we are not intersex. Meeting LGBTIQ peoLINDEN (continued from page 11)

ple who confront formidable challenges and then use their lives to make the world better for others never fails to inspire us and to give us joy.

Chiu’s story in a testament to the power of resilience, persistence, love, connection, international organizing, books, movies, the internet, cross-cultural understanding, empathy, gratitude, benevolence, and hugs. We feel lucky to have shared hugs and much more with Chiu, and in gratitude we share their story and love.

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008.

Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

• Use this link to get telephone assistance within 30 minutes during regular business hours (9 am to 5 pm) from a Covered California Certified Enroller: https://app.bigwavesystems.com/lp/a8c3085e-e597-4ac8-ba23-42f245fdfa11 • Contact an independent health advocate for assistance. Note: Health advocacy is a fee-based service.

If you have questions about how health advocacy can help you to access the best possible healthcare, please email me at ruth@treeoflifehealthadvocates.com or call me at 415776-5901.

R. Ruth Linden, Ph.D. is the Founder and President of Tree of Life Health Advocates in San Francisco. She works with adults with complex illnesses—individuals with multiple, chronic conditions who may have been failed by the healthcare system. Dr. Linden has expertise in breast cancer, long-term care, clinical trials, and the end of life.

STUDENT VOICES (continued from page 19) local communities. The director, David France, notified us of the many contexts in which the film has been shared since its release only a short while ago. The most touching story was one in which an Arkansas town, after the murder of a trans woman in the community, shared the film to help educate, grieve, and give hope. David France has helped to advocate for the rights of the T in LGBTQ that is so often forgotten.

Thank you to David France, director of The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, for giving us an inside look into his documentary. The film touched on an important story that is often lost in mainstream and even LGBTQ+ media due to inter-controversiality in the community. The film sheds light on just how hostile and forgetful a community can be on a figure who did so much for them. It was an astonishing and eyeopening film, and provided a progressive outlook for documentaries in general.

Lyndsey Schlax has been a teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District since 2008.

She is uniquely qualified to address multiple areas of LGBT studies, having also specialized in subjects such as Modern World History, Government, Economics and U.S. Politics. She is a National Board Certified Teacher, and earned her M.A. in Teaching at the University of San Francisco.

For more information about the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, please visit http://www.sfsota.org/ 30

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ROSTOW (continued from page 14)

KRAMER (continued from page 24)

an open robe. I don’t think so! Weinstein? Have you looked in a mirror lately?

Luca Gaudagnino: Cinema is a language where we try to immerse an audience in these stories. It can evoke warmth, coldness, fear; I think that it is an experience I enjoy at the movies—being immersed in that. As a filmmaker, I try to encompass that. I believe in the full experience of an emotional journey.

in this sense. Sometimes, the level of censorship we suffer comes from within.

Gary M. Kramer: I think Oliver giving Elio a foot massage is sexier than the film’s blowjob scene. How did you approach the sensuality in the film?

Luca Gaudagnino: I believe in duality. We are in an angry time, where anger is the first step—there is hatred and suspicion toward the other. Call Me by Your Name is about compassion, and complete surrender to the “otherness” of the other to become a better person. That plays as a counterpart to this hatred. I think the film has been perceived as a soothing balm.

I like to think that. I received an email from a handsome young man, a straight son of a friend. He said the film reminded him of his first love and how much he suffered and withdrew and became colder [after the relationship ended]. He didn’t know how to deal with the damage. This film showed him. There is nothing more precious and beautiful than a reaction like that.

That said, I think gay women have a more realistic view of men than our straight sisters, because we have so many gay male friends. We love them, but we know them. Horn dogs one and all.

Why should the straight guys be any different?

Oh, and one more thing. What’s up with George H.W. Bush? How hard is it to retain a little dignity when you’re a former President of the United States and you’re pushing the century mark to boot? What’s with the hands? What’s with the “David Cop-a-feel” jokes? Is this a dementia symptom? Or is it just a last spurt of toxic masculinity/fun for a man who is beyond any kind of real punishment?

Make It Stop!

Mel has the TV on, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ monotone is audible in the distance as pleasant as fingernails on the blackboard. My God, what an odious human being—a holier than thou know it all, who condescends to professional journalists who have ten times her knowledge, ten times her ability, ten times her talent. It’s infuriating to watch or listen to.

Indeed, it’s almost impossible to watch the news in general. Addicts that we are, we wind up clutching the remote control, poised to “mute” at the drop of a hat as soon as Trump appears.

We’re also ready to mute a few others, and I often let the captions run, so we can see what’s going on without being subjected to the horror of their smug sanctimonious voices.

As for Trump, his vocabulary seems to be shrinking by the day, along with his grip on reality. I vacillate between thinking a weak Trump is better than a strong Pence, and thinking that even Pence is an acceptable price to pay for getting this abomination out of the White House. Right this second, I’m ready for Pence. And more Cognac. arostow@aol.com

Luca Gaudagnino: That’s a testament to the quality of my actors. They are so committed that they make their characters blossom on screen. I agree that the manipulation of the feet is much more [erotically] charged than the intercourse we could have visualized.

Gary M. Kramer: How did you work with the actors to create their chemistry?

Luca Gaudagnino: I told them not to take the characters too seriously. Make them lively. I wanted them to feel they knew each other a long time as a family, not actors acting as a family.

Gary M. Kramer: There is a very emotional father/son scene in the film. Can you talk about your experiences with your parents, perhaps when you came out to them?

Luca Gaudagnino: This is not an autobiographical film, so that’s a complicated question to answer. My parents were not like Elio’s, and I wasn’t like Elio. The way I felt guided or misguided by them was less vocal. For instance, when I was a kid, I was directly and indirectly told that Italian culture was the most important thing.

As for my coming out, I never had a necessity to come out because I was always the person I wanted to be—and that was never interfered with. I was maybe privileged

Gary M. Kramer: Call Me by Your Name is a box office hit, and has earned critical praise and awards.

Why do you think this film has connected so strongly with audiences?

Happy Holidays Photos by Rink

A holiday window at Out of the Closet on Polk Street

Gary M. Kramer: On that same note, I like how Oliver impacts Elio’s life. What person or relationship inf luenced your outlook on life?

Luca Gaudagnino: My partner, whom I’ve been with for the past 9 years. He’s the most important person in my life and I’m happy were still together. © 2017 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

Holiday tree at Tiffany’s in Union Square

SISTER DANA (continued from page 24) San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a place where those impacted

by AIDS could both grieve and begin the process of healing. In 1996, legislation sponsored by U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi was signed into law by President Bill Clinton that elevated the Grove as this nation’s sole federally-designated National AIDS Memorial. He said nearly three decades into the epidemic, more than 70 million people around the world have been infected with the HIV virus with 35 million people having died from HIV and AIDS-related causes. While much progress has been made in preventing and treating HIV, 36 million people are currently living with the virus. New advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and medicine are helping nearly 20 million people live with the disease. In the United States alone, 1.1 million people are currently living with HIV, with the number of new cases having dropped by nearly 20% since 2008.

The next day, officially WORLD AIDS DAY around the planet, more than 1,300 Grove supporters, community leaders and dignitaries, gathered under the tent in the Grove, including President Bill Clinton, World AIDS Day keynote speaker (recalling the dark days when HIV was a death sentence, and how far we have come since those times).

Others attending included Mayor Ed Lee, State Senator Scott Weiner, Assemblymember David Chiu, Treasurer Jose Cisneros, Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, John Cunningham, Mike Shriver, Jean-Marc Halbout, David McMurry, honoree, retired Global Public Health Manager at Chevron, Ruth Coker Burks, honoree, known as the “Cemetery Angel,” and Pedro Zamora Scholarship recipients/students.

STRUT is winding down its second year of providing programs and services to our communities, including their community events, Magnet sexual health clinic, substance use programming, and community programming. As their last monthly art exhibition for the year, “PHYSIQUE AND FANTASY ” was the title of the Exhibit and Opening Reception for the art of Oscar Gallegos Zamora, now on display at STRUT at 470 Castro Street. At the reception, Community Organizer Baruch Porras-Hernandez introduced the man of the hour, Zamora, properly decked out in gold sequinned plunging neckline micro-mini-dress. He said he originally started out with cigar box frames, but eventually graduated into much larger box frames.

His collage series explores the complicated history of gay media and the great artwork that can be created when the male gaze is combined with a love for kitsch, camp, and queer aesthetics. His artwork plays with the concepts of masculinity and femininity while exploring his complicated love/hate relationship with both.

His pieces look at sexuality as something that can and should be fun, silly, and fabulous. Let me tell you— it was difficult to pick my faves this time, because they are all so terrific, but I will say that my favorite was “The Saint,” appealing to the nun in me as the saintly subject had many arrows piercing his rope-bound body, but surrounding him were comforting angels, butterflies, and doves. Appealing to my show biz brain was “Fame & Fortune,” depicting an oldtime male vaudevillian dancer wearing nothing but fishnets, a top hat, and cane—as the curtain opens for a dazzling performance. My third choice is “Bad Boy,” because it’s a hot, young biker guy looking bad to the bone, and yet surrounded by pansies and butterflies—so how bad can

he really be? Sister Dana sez, “Don’t miss these fantabulous art pieces— here to enjoy all month long.” strutsf.org Some of us Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence went out carolling for charity in the Castro. We sang both sacred and profane carols—but mostly tunes with modernized, partly sexualized, definitely politicized lyrics as “protest songs for a better world and for the people in changing times.”

For example, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Trump” (a Grinch parody), “Deck the Drag Queens,” and “Little Leather Boy,” (a sexier version of “Little Drummer Boy”). But I didn’t care so much for “Sister Dana Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”

THE SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE are thrilled to support 22 organizations changing hearts and lives in their communities.

We distributed grants to the following charities: we love punks and we love lunch, and Punks with Lunch provides food and harm reduction to people experiencing homelessness.

Rainbow Street is a JordanianAmerican NGO working with local activists to provide essential resources for LGBT people in the Middle East and North Africa. The Third Muslim promotes the work of emerging and established artists, whose work investigates the intersections of Islam and queer and/or transgender experience as political, spiritual and/ or ideological identities. Palace of Trash members are alumni of that pornographic pestilence known as the Thrillpeddlers of Hypnodrome, and inheritors of the Cockettes tradition that helped spawn, among other tawdry children, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Bad Business Model Bikes restores bicycles and gives them away to folks who need them. The Oakland-based Black Teachers Project (BTP) fosters eq-

uitable schools for students of color by supporting, sustaining, and training Black teachers. The Renegade Library is a pop-up LGBT library that brings a library experience to queer neighborhoods in Houston, Texas. Also, these foundations received grants: Human Rights Pen Pals, Healing Waters Wilderness Adventures, Lavender Library and Cultural Exchange, Perfectly Queer, Purple Heart Anglers, Night Ministry, Trans and Queer Land Project of West Virginia, OLAS/LGTB Sanctuary Project, Left Coast Theater Company, D-SINE/Backstitch Studio, Alpha Gamma Sigma at City College of San Francisco, Recycled AIDS Medicine Program, Howard Grayson LGBT Elder Life Conference, and Detour Dance.

Sister Dana sez, “Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, so come indoors where it’s warm and enjoy these upcoming holiday events.”

SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS presents ELFSTRAVAGANZA: MAKING THE NORTH POLE GAY AGAIN on December 8 & 9 at Nourse Theater, 275 Hayes Street. Elfstravaganza delivers exactly what you expect from SFGMC at the holidays: gorgeous music, jubilant production pieces, and heartwarming moments. You’ll hear plenty of classic holiday favorites, alongside some new works that are sure to warm your heart and get you in the festive mood. Over-the-top production numbers will be mixed with stunning, tender moments—all done up with SFGMC’s trademark flair.

Additionally, the Chorus is joined by the dazzling drag superstar Katya Smirnoff-Skyy for these performances. sfgmc.org ARTSAVESLIVES December 8 show is at the studio/performance space at 518 Castro Street, 6–8:30

pm, free with refreshments and entertainment galore. It will be hosted by artist in residence Thomasina DeMaio. Approximately 20 artists’ works will be on display there through December, but if you come there on December 8, you’ll get to meet some of the artists in person.

Each year, the SAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN/GAY FREEDOM BAND selects a theme to blend with Tchaikovsky’s classic “Nutcracker Suite.” The result: DANCEALONG NUTCRACKER, a funfilled musical production brimming with wit, artistry, and ingenuity. The talented cast sings and dances their way through a parody version of the Nutcracker. And when the “DanceAlong” sign flashes, the audience is invited to dance. Saturday, December 9 & 10, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, 701 Mission Street.

DanceAlongNutcracker.org CONGREGATION SHA’AR ZAHAV at 290 Dolores Street is leading the lighting tradition. Please join them for this centuries’ old tradition on the second night of Hanukkah. There will be live music and dancing, games, a giant dreidel to spin, sufganiyot for all (traditional jelly donuts), and a festive time to be had by everyone. Plus, a giant menorah will be lit! Bring your own menorah to light, too. Thanks to Rabbi Mychal Copeland, Cantor Sharon Bernstein, and everyone at Congregation Sha’ar Zahav for leading the event.

Sister Dana sez, “Funny thing that back when I was in civics class and learned how a bill becomes a law, there was no mention of Republican Congressmen keeping the bill secret from the Democratic Congressmen and the public. Funny thing?

Funny business!”

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