SFGN 04/14/22 V13iss15

LOCAL NAME GLOBAL COVERAGE APRIL 14, 2022 VOL. 13 // ISSUE 15

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TRUMP SLAMS BIDEN FOR AFFIRMING AND PROTECTING TRANS YOUTH

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April 14, 2022 • Volume 13 • Issue 15 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

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O

n Trans Day of Visibility, President Joe Biden released a set of policies that will help support and protect trans youth.

Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump held a rally in Michigan April 2 where he slammed the Biden administration’s stance on trans youth, according to the NY Post.

“This week the Biden administration released guidance endorsing hormone therapy, puberty blockers and sex-changing surgeries for children and minor youth,” Trump said. “Can you imagine a child and then they grow up and they say ‘why the hell did you do that to me mom or dad or government?’”

Biden though isn’t backing away from supporting trans youth and their parents despite conservatives’ efforts to keep them from transitioning.

Biden also vowed to fight the anti-trans bills that states have been passing around the country.

• Texas banned trans athletes from competing in on sports teams for the same gender as their gender identity.

• Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a proclamation declaring the runner-up in a national swimming championship to be the “rightful winner” after trans athlete Lia Thomas won the event.

• Some Idaho lawmakers have proposed sending parents to prison for life for providing

“AFFIRMING YOUR CHILD’S IDENTITY IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL THINGS YOU CAN DO TO KEEP THEM SAFE AND HEALTHY. YOU’RE SO BRAVE. YOU BELONG AND WE HAVE YOUR BACK.” - Presiden Biden

THERE’S MORE ONLINE! SEE OUR NEWS IN VIDEO! Online now!

2

• 4 .14 . 2022

Senior Feature Columnists

Brian McNaught • Jesse Monteagudo

Special to SFGN Steve Rothaus

Correspondents

President Biden pledges support for the trans community. Image via The White House.

gender affirming care to their children.

The two fact sheets “Gender Affirming Care and Young People” and “Gender-Affirming Care is Trauma-Informed Care,” offer guidance for adolescents who might be struggling with their gender identities, which includes social and medical transition options.

“Medical and psychosocial gender affirming healthcare practices have been demonstrated to yield lower rates of adverse mental health outcomes, build self-esteem, and improve overall quality of life for transgender and gender diverse youth,” the document by the Office of Population Affairs states.

The documents help parents understand what gender affirming care means.

“Who the hell would have even believed that we’d be talking about this stuff?” Trump asked.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network document states that the practices are not child abuse, and are likely in response to a Texas law passed in February, the NY Post reported.

Biden pledged this support for the trans community in a video March 31, stating to parents, “affirming your child’s identity is one of the most powerful things you can do to keep them safe and healthy. You’re so brave. You belong and we have your back.”

A Gallup survey published in February found that about 0.7% of Americans identify as trans, which makes up about 10% of the LGBT community.

“With their extremist sex and gender ideology the Democratic party is waging war on reality, war on science, war on children, war on women,” Trump said.

In the video address, Biden added “To everyone celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility, I want you to know that your president sees you [...] for who you are: made an image of God and deserving of dignity, respect and support. We know it’s hard when there are those out there who don’t see you, don’t respect you.”

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SFGN COVER: James and Robert Moon with Dasha Shareiko and her mother, Vita Dagaeva, at MB Pride. Credit: Carina Mask.

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BY PIER GUIDUGLI AND NORM KENT South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations in SFGN. SFGN contracts with independent entities for stock images. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

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4 .14 . 20 22 •

3

FEATURE UKRAINIANS

WILTON MANORS GAY COUPLE OPENS THEIR DOORS

TO UKRAINIANS FLEEING THE WAR Steve Rothaus Special to SFGN

W

ilton Manors couple James “Jim” and Robert “Robbie” Moon have long been leaders in the LGBT community, throughout South Florida and around the world.

Jim, a Miami attorney and Navy veteran, serves as co-chair and national board member of A Wider Bridge, a New York-based organization that connects LGBTQ groups in the United States and Israel; chair of the SAVE Foundation and a board member of SAVE. Robbie, his husband of seven years. He is also an interior designer.

Days after Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, the Moons turned to social media to find ways to help embattled Ukrainians.

“Watching everything that’s happening in Ukraine, it broke our hearts,” said Jim, 54.

“We felt we wanted to do something. Even though refugee status hadn’t been given to Ukrainians, I felt maybe there were some who were stuck here and couldn’t go home. Like, they were traveling on a tourist visa and found out their town was invaded and couldn’t go home.

“I joined a Facebook group called North America for Ukraine. That’s what you do these days. You try to find someone who wants to help. I joined the group and made a post: ‘Hey, if anybody needs help, I’m in Wilton Manors.’”

Within hours, the group put the Moons in touch with Dasha Shareiko, 21, and her mother, Vita Dagaeva, 52, who desperately wanted to escape the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.

“Dasha, hi! I live in Wilton Manors [Fort Lauderdale area]. I actually commute to Miami for work,” Jim quickly messaged the younger woman. “I have a guest room and may be able to help!”

Immediately, Dasha called Jim, who then FaceTimed her back “so she could see the house” and the Moons’ dog, Boomer.

“Once I talked to her on FaceTime, and we showed her the house, everything clicked. I got a really good feeling and that was it. The rest was history,” said Robbie, 41.

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Dasha Shareiko (right) and her mother, Vita Dagaeva, at MB Pride. Credit: Carina Mask.

The Moons also disclosed something else to Dasha: “We told her we were a gay couple, to make sure that wasn’t an issue with her,” Jim said.

“That was low on the list of her concerns.

When people are bombing you, you have other issues to think about.”

What Dasha didn’t reveal at the time: She’s a lesbian.

A month later, Dasha finds that whole conversation a bit amusing. Back in Kyiv, being queer is no big deal, she said.

“I have an ex-girlfriend. She lives in St. Petersburg [Russia]. No one had questions about it. Nobody cared. It wasn’t positive, it wasn’t negative, it was just neutral,” said Dasha, who is out to her family and friends back in Ukraine.

“We do have Pride parades,” she said.

“Several years ago, there was a lot of drama.

There were police involved, not like here.

They were not participating in the parade.

They were trying to hold back those on the other side of the conflict — those against

Pride.”

Dasha said that even though Americans had been told during the winter that Russia was about to attack Ukraine, few in Kyiv really understood war was coming.

“We were talking about this with Jim and he said, ‘You had to know.’ I said, ‘No, no one knew. No one expected.’ I had the most mundane Thursday. The same as Wednesday.

The whole week.

“On Thursday, I remember my mom waking me up at 6 a.m. I was mad at my mom because I still had one hour on my alarm. She looked at me in the way mothers usually do, when something wrong has happened. ‘It’s war.’

That’s it. All the words I heard from her.”

Dasha searched social media for “war in Ukraine.”

“I saw reports of bombings near Kyiv. [My mother] heard the explosions. I saw all the destruction. The bombs. I texted everyone, not ‘Hello’ or ‘Good morning,’ but ‘What do we do?’”

Dasha — still dressed in her pajamas —

and Vita took their car for gas and drove 20 minutes looking for an open station. Finally, they found one with a three-hour wait for fuel.

Then, they stopped at a grocery for food.

“By that time, I was nearly hysterical. I tried to cry but I didn’t have time for that. I had to hold it in.”

“Several hours after we got home, I sat with my mom and said, ‘OK, what now?’ She said we were going to evaluate our options.”

Before COVID hit two years ago, Dasha and Vita had planned a road trip to Romania.

Suddenly, they realized that’s how they’d escape Ukraine: “We already had the route planned and it seemed like a safer place to be,” Dasha said.

They gathered the few belongings they could take: “Two backpacks and a bag. I have a laptop. We also brought some jewelry, some gold. We thought we had no other way to get money, which we never did. It’s our B plan,” Dasha said. “We left on the second day of the bombing, Friday, Feb. 25.”

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Dasha at Miami Beach Pride. Credit: Carina Mask.

They barely made it out in time: “A couple of Dasha said that since coming to South hours after we reached the Romanian border, Florida, she is numb. after we had just crossed the bridge, our “I haven’t felt a thing for a month. I wanted military blew it up,” Dasha said. to cry for two weeks straight. I didn’t have time She doesn’t have a driver’s license, so her for that. I wanted to call everyone, but I didn’t mom drove them all the have the energy or the way to Istanbul. “We emotional capacity to do couldn’t leave our car in that. After a month, you “I HAVEN’T FELT A THING Turkey, so we drove it have nothing left in you.”

FOR A MONTH. I WANTED back to Bulgaria, some Her father and brother random place, some are still in Ukraine, TO CRY FOR TWO WEEKS small village, God knows serving in the military.

STRAIGHT. I DIDN’T HAVE where. We took a bus Her grandparents and back to Istanbul.” sister-in-law — who gave TIME FOR THAT. I WANTED There, they bought birth to a baby boy in two plane tickets from March — have scrambled TO CALL EVERYONE, Istanbul to Miami, where to different parts of the BUT I DIDN’T HAVE 10 days after they fled country for safety.

Kyiv, the Moons would “Almost every THE ENERGY OR meet them. member of our family “When they flew in, is in a different place in THE EMOTIONAL CAPACITY when I got to the airport, Ukraine,” Vita said. “My TO DO THAT. AFTER A MONTH, mother is 80 years old there were two news crews there,” Moon and alone in Kyiv, because YOU HAVE NOTHING recalls — not to greet we couldn’t take her with Dasha and Vita, but to us. She screamed and LEFT IN YOU.” cover the arrival of a cried and wouldn’t leave - Dasha Shareiko, 21 Ukrainian family of 11 because it’s her home.” being met by MiamiBoth Dasha and Vita Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava “and a lot of have no idea when they might go back or if Orthodox Jews.” they even want to.

Vita, a professional cook, and Dasha, a writer “If we return home, there’s going to be and casino game designer, are officially in the nothing there,” Dasha said. “A third of the United States on tourist visas and unable to country has fled. The Ukrainian economy work. They are helping pay back the Moons was already in ruin. After everything that by cooking and caring for their three- has happened, everyone deserves a good bedroom home. life.”

HOW TO HELP Jim and Robbie Moon have set up a GoFundMe to raise money for Dasha Shareiko and Vita Dagaeva’s expenses in America. So far, about $8,000 has been raised Journalist Steve Rothaus covered LGBTQ issues for 22 years at the Miami Herald. @SteveRothaus on Twitter.

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5

LGBTQIA BITES

BY KENNEDY MCKINNEY

IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THE G Transgender

MARVEL’S ‘IRONHEART’ INTRODUCES TRANS CHARACTER Marvel is set to introduce a new transgender character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the new Disney+ series “Ironheart.”

The series focuses on genius teen inventor Riri Williams, who just created the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. According to POC Culture, Marvel is looking to cast a minority trans woman for one of the main roles.

This is the latest in a series of plans set out

by Marvel as they try to improve or increase or make greater their representation as they’ve had a few mishaps in the past. Marvel recently introduced their first gay superhero, Phastos, in Eternals and confirmed that the main character in Loki is both gender fluid and bisexual.

“Ironheart” is set to air sometime in 2023.

T

“Ironheart” comic book cover. Photo via Marvel.

... HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING IN THE LGBTQIA COMMUNITY

L

Lesbian

LESBIAN CHEF TO OPEN RESTAURANTS IN ATLANTA

Chef Deborah VanTrece, known for her unique take on global soul food, is set to open two restaurants in Atlanta. As a former model and flight attendant, VanTrece said her experience with travel led her to fall in love with many destinations and cultures and she used this influence in her own cooking.

“I love my restaurant’s neighborhood in West Midtown Atlanta,” VanTrece said.

“They have embraced me since we opened in 2017 and they supported us throughout the pandemic. It is a very progressive area, and the fabric of the neighborhood and its people is authentic and real. Atlanta has influenced my cooking to a certain degree because the soul of this city is like no other.

It is an energy and a vibe that spurs my creativity because you have people who

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Chef Deborah VanTrece. Photo via Facebook.

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LGBTQIA BITES

P

Pansexual

‘EX ON THE BEACH’ STAR COMES OUT AS PANSEXUAL

David Barta came out as pansexual during the premiere episode of MTV’s fifth season of “Ex on the Beach.” On the show, he shared his journey with sexuality.

“I think I’m here definitely to get to know myself better and accept myself more. A big thing that has been going on for me, behind closed doors, in the past year and a half or so, has been my sexuality,” Barta said.

He later took to Instagram, to define what pansexuality was and say that he’s more than just a title.

“Call it Pansexual, call it Bisexual, call it Sexually Fluid (my preference), or all of the above. It’s me. Above all these titles, I’m just David. I’m still the same exact person, just a little more honest and open to what life has in store for me.”

The current season of MTV’s “Ex on the Beach” is full of LGBT

David Barta. Photo via Facebook.

representation. Besides Barta, the cast comprises people identifying as gay, bisexual, and trans and airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. on MTV.

4 .14 . 20 22 •

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NEWS NATIONAL

BY GILLIAN MANNING

THE COUNTRY ACROSS

CALIFORNIA

MAN ARRESTED FOR ROBBING 20 VICTIMS VIA GRINDR Derrick Patterson, 22, was arrested on April 4 by FBI special agents. Allegedly, he robbed 20 men in California, using Grindr to find his victims.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from November 2019 to March 2022, Patterson used the dating app to find men and meet them at their homes or hotel rooms. Once there with him, he’d rob them and sometimes physically attack them.

During the robberies, Patterson allegedly pulled weapons — varyingly, knives or a taser gun — on his victims, then demanded money and their cell phones, before fleeing the scene with the victims’ wallets, according to the authorities. On other occasions, he would physically assault his victims as well.

Authorities say he would also withdraw

Derrick Patterson. Photo courtesy of US District Court.

money from his victims’ bank accounts and use their credit cards.

A victim in a 2020 attack was stabbed in the chest. They survived and were able to identify Patterson as their attacker.

If he’s convicted, Patterson could face up to 20 years in prison.

OHIO OHIO INTRODUCES BILL SIMILAR TO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW On April 4, Republican Ohio Reps. Jean Schmidt and Mike Loychik introduced a bill that’s similar to Florida’s recently passed “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The legislation says that neither public nor private schools can “teach, use, or provide any curriculum or instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity” in grades K-3, the Advocate writes. And for older students, these subjects can’t be addressed “in any manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

The bill also bans “any curriculum, instructional material, or assignment designed to promote or endorse divisive or inherently racist concepts.” This would include things like the “1619 Project” from the New York Times, a collection of

8

• 4 .14 . 2022

Ohio Reps. Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt. Photos via Facebook.

articles on slavery.

Teachers who break these rules could face suspension, and school districts could face a loss in funding.

“The classroom is a place that seeks answers for our children without political activism,” Schmidt said in a statement.

When reporters tried to ask her about the bill, Schmidt was seen on video fleeing from the journalists.

COVERING LGBT NEWS SWEEPING THE NATION

COLORADO

REPUBLICAN: PEOPLE SHOULD REACH A LEVEL OF ‘MATURITY’ BEFORE COMING OUT Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado turned to Twitter for a new controversial opinion. She’s proposed that LGBT people should remain closeted until they’ve reached a certain level of “maturity.”

“We require people to be 21 to purchase alcohol beverages, and 21 to purchase tobacco products,” she tweeted on April 1.

“Why is it so unreasonable to require people to reach a certain level of maturity before making life-altering decisions about their sexuality and identity?”

As the Advocate reported, social media users quickly flocked and called out her hypocrisy. One Twitter user included a photo of Boebert and her young children all carrying firearms.

“Doesn’t seem like age is a concern here,” they wrote.

Another wrote, “I highly doubt that you

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Photo via Facebook.

made the decision to be a straight woman after you turned 21.”

These anti-LGBT opinions are nothing new for Boebert, a supporter of Florida’s recent “Don’t Say Gay” law. She also supports the anti-trans sports bills that have progressed throughout the country, photographing herself with Oklahoma’s governor after their version of the bill had passed.

NEW YORK GAY BAR SET ON FIRE IN BROOKLYN, POSSIBLE ARSON Around 9 p.m. on April 3, a man with gasoline entered Bushwick’s Rash Bar, a popular spot for the LGBT community in Brooklyn.

Police say he used it to set the bar on fire. It burned rapidly.

“Then I realized I couldn’t breathe,” Tyler Glenn told the Gothamist. They were at the bar and suffered seconddegree burns. “The whole thing was in flames. I was banging on the walls and I couldn’t find the door and I could feel myself about to pass out.”

Claire Bendiner, the bar owner, told NBC New York about how quickly the events of the night took place. She also noticed that the perpetrator left his gas canister — a key piece of evidence.

While at the time of publication police have not called it a hate crime, bar owners

Screenshot from the surveillance footage of the arson suspect.

Photo courtesy of NYPD.

speculate that it could have been.

“This seems more targeted,” bar patron, Ashley Glenn (no relation to Tyler), told the Gothamist.

A man could be seen filling up a canister near the bar shortly before the fire, but a suspect hasn’t been identified yet.

NEWS INTERNATIONAL

BY EVERITT ROSEN

THE WORLD AROUND

EXPLORING LGBT NEWS EVENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE

ASIA

EUROPE

THAI CABINET REJECTS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL

HUNGARY RIGHTS GROUPS URGE VOTERS TO DEFEAT ORBAN’S LGBT REFERENDUM

When the cabinet rejected the Move Forward Party’s proposed Marriage Equality Bill, which attempted to legalize same-sex marriage in Thailand, the LGBT community in Thailand suffered a major loss.

This does not guarantee, however, that the plan will be fully rejected; it may still be introduced in Parliament for a first reading.

Following the weekly cabinet meeting, Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek informed Thai PBS World that the draft Marriage Equality Bill is comparable to the government’s proposed Civil Partnership Bill, which has previously been approved by the cabinet.

Despite the fact that both models aim to expand certain privileges now enjoyed by heterosexual married couples, the civil

Rachada Dhnadirek. Photo via Facebook.

partnership version has been criticized for not going far enough, such as not explicitly recognizing LGBT unions as marriage. Adoptions and the freedom to make emergency choices, as well as married couples’ social security benefits, are among the rights not included in the government’s proposal.

Human rights organizations in Hungary are pushing voters to cast blank ballots in a government referendum on LGBT issues that is being held concurrently with a national election, claiming that its passage will deepen prejudice against the LGBT community.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist up for re-election for a fourth time, has suggested a referendum on ruling party legislation restricting the teaching of homosexuality and trans topics in schools.

According to Reuters, Orban, who has pushed to promote social policies that he claims protect Christian values from Western liberalism, has prioritized gender issues and what he considers LGBT indoctrination in schools.

The referendum remains a fundamental

Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Photo via Wikipedia.

element of Orban’s policies geared at mobilizing his Fidesz party voters, despite Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine taking center stage in the run-up to the election.

AFRICA

SOUTH AMERICA

LGBT ORGS. IN UGANDA UNDER RISK OF CYBER ATTACKS

COLOMBIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RECOGNIZES NON-BINARY GENDER MARKERS

According to the KPU Digital Assessment Report, Ugandan LGBT rights groups are very vulnerable to cyberattacks, with many of them having no staff members educated in digital security.

The research is based on a survey of digital security knowledge among 12 LGBT groups in Uganda’s metropolitan districts conducted in 2021.

Eighty-three percent of respondents replied “no” to the study’s question about whether they do internal digital security evaluations for themselves and partners.

According to the research, organizational executives are also responsible for managing digital security systems, and they have limited access to digital management training.

According to KPU Executive Director Kasonko Ivan Fredrick, in Uganda,

KPU Executive Director Kasonko Ivan Fredrick.

Photo via Facebook.

activists must find a balance between publicizing LGBT rights and preserving the safety of their constituents.

The Colombian Constitutional Court has acknowledged a non-binary gender marker in a landmark decision. The ruling, which is the first of its type in Latin America, mirrors global trends of legal acknowledgment of gender diversity gaining traction, and is a critical step in safeguarding human rights.

While lower courts in Mexico and Brazil have made similar decisions recognizing third gender categories for non-binary people, the Colombian decision is the first to apply across a Latin American country, setting a significant legal precedent for gender diversity in the region.

According to the Human Rights Watch, Dani Garcia Pulgarin filed a petition with the National Registry of Civil Status in MedellÍn in 2019 to alter the gender marking on their national ID card to a third

Photo via Adobe Stock.

choice. Only “M” or “F” were permitted, according to the institution. Pulgarn petitioned the Ninth Notary of MedellÍn in 2021 to alter their legal gender marker to “X,” and legal name to “Dani,” a genderneutral name. The Notary was likely a no-show. This was the event that set this landmark decision in motion.

4 .14 . 20 22 •

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NEWS LOCAL

NEWS LOCAL

LIL NAS X HELPS LOCAL TRANS ORGANIZATION John Hayden

Bad Papi. Image via Bad Papi Miami, Facebook.

REFLECT & CELEBRATE QUEER FEST APRIL 16 John Hayden

D

Js will be spinning, drag artists will them cover the costs of sexual violence and be performing, and dancers will be allow them to gain financial independence, gyrating at the second Queer Fest. The which is especially important for survivors of event is going down this Saturday, April 16, intimate partner violence. from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. at The Set Miami.

“BIPOC folks have always faced Bad Papi will host the party, with marginalization in America in all facets performances by more than a dozen artists, of our society, whether it was because of including Miss Toto, La King, and Brenda colonization, slavery, exploitation, or more,” Renee. The event is being staged by the Reflect Nguyen said. “In addition, different BIPOC Collective, an organization formed by three groups face distinct experiences of oppression FIU students in 2019 that fully developed and privilege because of their intersectional during the pandemic. While the party will be identities and their varying histories. The fun, the cause is very serious. reasons behind why Black “The atmosphere of this folks face sexual violence venue is cool and hip,” “QTBIPOC ARE MORE compared to Indigenous Amelia Leon, Reflect’s Public folks compared to Asian folks SUSCEPTIBLE TO Relations Director, said. compared to Latinx folks “The lighting will be blue/ may be very different. But SEXUAL VIOLENCE purple as those are the colors what we are seeing overall THAN THEIR NONthat represent survivors of is an epidemic of sexual sexual violence and domestic violence among all BIPOC QUEER, WHITE violence.” communities, especially those COUNTERPARTS.” Reflect Collective reflects who are Black. Black women the power of youth to develop have extremely high rates of - RAINN and the HRC fresh perspectives and bring sexual violence, with almost change. In 2019 they held half having experienced some Queering Sexual Assault Prevention, with 14 form of intimate partner violence. Indigenous queer performers and about 100 attendees. women are disappearing at staggering rates, The National Sexual Violence Resource and most cases involve sexual violence Center says sexual violence has a lifetime against them.” cost of $122,461. Leon, and their partner Ti Ti All proceeds will go to the Queer Survivor Nguyen, knew they had created an impactful Grant. event; unfortunately COVID came along and In addition to the show, on-site HIV testing delayed the second event until this weekend. will be available. There will be free therapy QTBIPOC are more susceptible to sexual and victim advocates for survivors at the violence than their non-queer, white event, provided by Survivor’s Pathway. A counterparts, as reported by RAINN and the Queer Survivor Art exhibit will display art HRC. QTBIPOC people are often the ones made by queer survivors. Food and mocktails facing these financial burdens the most. will be served. Many of the performers are Nguyen, who is also Reflect’s Internal Affairs survivors of assault, and all are allies.

Director, had the idea to give grants directly to Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for QTBIPOC survivors of sexual violence, to help everyone else.

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Lil Nas X. Photo via Facebook.

L

il Nas X posted his pregnancy pictures seven months ago and now he’s delivering for his favorite causes, including Transinclusive in South Florida.

The artist created the registry so fans could donate to causes close to his heart. Now Transinclusive Group says the effort raised a half-million dollars, some of which will go to them. Each track on the Montero album was dedicated to a different organization, and Transinclusive is the beneficiary of all money donated to the title track, Montero.

“The Montero baby registry was created to send resources to grassroots groups serving the most vulnerable,” Lil Nas X said. “Funds raised will go to people living with HIV and inspire a new generation of leaders who will keep pushing for HIV education and one day, a cure.”

“We celebrate Lil Nas X for taking this important step so that others can follow his lead,” said Tatiana Williams, Executive Director of Transinclusive Group. “Being included on Lil Nas X’s registry has provided invaluable visibility to the important work Transinclusive Group is doing in South Florida and beyond and we are grateful for the outpouring of support and love that we have seen as a result. The funds that his fans have donated, along with Gilead Sciences’ generous matching of contributions, will help to accelerate our efforts to address stigma and racial disparities and help Transgender individuals access resources and assistance through our emergency crisis fund and our new housing initiative.”

Despite only being about five years old, Transinclusive Group has quickly made an

impact in lifting up South Florida’s trans community. Last week, they celebrated Trans Day of Visibility at Hamburger Mary’s, shining a spotlight on local artists and making sure their voices are heard. “Our Transinclusive Group team had such an incredible evening hosting a Transgender Day of Visibility celebration of trans joy and community at Hamburger Mary’s while surrounded by so many of our trans and nonbinary siblings, close friends, and amazing community partners,” Transinclusive Director Nic Zantop said.

Zantop says events like this one are more important than ever. “Even during a year that has already been filled with so much adversity, there is power in being united in solidarity, holding space for each other, and celebrating our own joy and resilience.

It was so exciting to have a safe, supportive space where seasoned talent could perform alongside newer voices in community, and where personal stories of our trans experience could uplift and inspire. We’ve already received lots of positive feedback from attendees who are eager for our next event, and we’re really looking forward to creating more spaces for trans joy to blossom!”

Their outreach is especially needed for trans people of color. Black people are 13% of the U.S. population but make up 40% of new infections. The disparity is blamed on racism, socioeconomic marginalization, barriers to healthcare, housing, and transportation. Transinclusive Group is vocal in its mission to concentrate focus on serving people of color.

NEWS NATIONAL

LGBT ORG CANCELS FOX NEWS News outlet stripped of equality status

Kim Swan Fox News has a history of sharing misinformation and disinformation about the LGBT community. Now the Human Rights Campaign has taken action against the conservative news outlet and removed its status as an LGBT-preferred employer.

Senior Press Secretary of HRC Aryn Fields claimed that Fox News’ coverage of the LGBT community is “perpetuating stigma and marginalization of trans and non-binary people,” according to The Hill.

“At a time when transgender people – especially transgender children – are under attack in statehouses across the country, rhetoric has real consequences,” Fields said.

HRC dropped the network’s Corporate Equality Index score from 100 to 75 due to the network hiring contributors who “continue to deny the existence of trans people, minimize the violence trans individuals face, refer to parents of LGBTQ+ youth as perverts, or equate leaders of LGBTQ+ diversity and

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“Each of these actions happened in the last 72 hours. Enough is enough,” Fields said.

However, Fox News defended itself telling The Hill that it offers a variety of LGBT benefits such as puberty blockers, reduction of thyroid chondroplasty or tracheal shave, and mastectomy surgery for adults. It also pointed out that they recently hired Caitlyn Jenner, a trans woman, as a contributor.

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NEWS NATIONAL

STATE DEPT. ADDS ‘X’ GENDER TO PASSPORTS Kim Swan The U.S. is saying goodbye to the gender binary — at least as far as passports are concerned.

On April 11 the U.S. officially started to add “X” as a third gender option to passports.

Last year Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the State Department would allow applicants to “self-select their gender as ‘M’ or ‘F,’” according to the Washington Blade.

In 2015, Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as non-binary, filed a lawsuit after the State Department denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym received the first gender-neutral American passport in October 2021.

“The Department of State has reached another milestone in our work to better serve all U.S. citizens, regardless of their

Dana Zzyym, the first American to receive a genderneutral passport in October 2021. Photo via Facebook.

gender identity,” said Blinken in a statement March 31. “In June, I announced that U.S. passport applicants could self-select their gender and were no longer required to submit any medical documentation, even if their selected gender differed from their other citizenship or identity documents.”

He noted the “X” option will be available for other forms of documentation next year.

and

and

4 .14 . 20 22 •

11

NEWS LOCAL

J.R.’s SNAPSHOTS

OF THE

From your life... into our pages! SFGN takes a weekly look at a community that has stood together through countless trials and victories in the past year alone.

At The Clevelander for pre-Miami Beach Pride Parade gathering, Ethan Calloway of the WSVN 7 morning news team with entertainment reporter Alex Miranda for Deco Drive.

Ujima Mens Collective Executive Director Lorenzo Robertson with AHF Palm Beach Pharmacy representative and advocate Eddie Sweet at the 20th Anniversary SunServe Gala.

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WEEK Photos by J.R. Davis

John Alicea with wife and Director of Transgender Services of SunServe Misty Eyez Alicea at the 20th Anniversary SunServe Gala.

Broward College student Kyle Fedas, development intern, with Gary S. Hensley Director of Operations of SunServe at the 20th Anniversary SunServe Gala.

NEWS NATIONAL

NEWS NATIONAL

GAYS AGAINST GUNS RESPONDS FUND LAUNCHES TO PROTECT TRANS YOUTH; TO BROOKLYN ATTACK $1.5 MILLION FUNDRAISING GOAL John Hayden Kim Swan

A

merica is once again watching the aftermath of a bloody mass shooting.

A gunman opened fire on a subway car filled with passengers during Tuesday morning rush hour in Brooklyn.

As of this writing, 16 people are reported hurt with 10 of them in critical condition.

Smoke was seen billowing out of the subway car as people ran out to safety. A massive manhunt is underway for the shooter, who police believe was acting alone.

Florida is no stranger to mass gun violence, with the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland coming to mind. Shortly after the attack in Brooklyn, Gays Against Guns (GAG) responded. Their board secretary, Jay Walker, said, “[Tuesday’s] subway mass shooting and the wave of gun violence in our city in recent months reflect just how vulnerable New Yorkers, and all Americans, are to the over-proliferation of guns throughout our society.”

GAG formed in New York City after the Pulse shooting in Orlando. While New York has strict gun laws, GAG’s Walker says a lack of help at the federal level limits what the state can do. “New York has long had very strict laws limiting the ability of the vast majority of New Yorkers to legally purchase, own, and carry guns; but, due to the absence of effective and comprehensive federal gun violence prevention [GVP] laws, countless weapons are trafficked into NYC on the Iron Pipeline from southern states with weak-tononexistent GVP laws. The result is the kind of carnage we saw in Brooklyn.”

SITUATION COULD GET WORSE New York is known for its strict firearms laws, but that could soon change. Their century-old laws are under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. GAG is bracing for a potentially devastating decision.

GUTTING NEW YORK’S POLICY COULD, ALONG WITH FEDERAL INACTION, QUICKLY MAKE A BAD SITUATION MUCH, MUCH WORSE.

I

Gays Against Guns board secretary, Jay W. Walker.

Photo via Facebook

“If that case, New York State Rifle Association v. Bruen, brought by an NRA crony organization, is decided by the conservative majority on behalf of the plaintiffs, then New York’s existing centuryold gun laws could be found unconstitutional and be invalidated in one fell swoop.”

Gutting New York’s policy could, along with federal inaction, quickly make a bad situation much, much worse.

“The presence of such a thriving black market in firearms makes that sad reality all the more deadly,” Walker said. “Rather than just dealing with all of the illegally trafficked guns, we will then also have to deal with a proliferation of legally purchased guns, which can only make matters even more dangerous for every New Yorker.”

Walker said the next development is easy to predict.

“Our worst fear is that we will see an escalating arms race between law enforcement and organized criminals in cities across the country, making all of our communities, but particularly poor and working-class communities of color, far, far less safe than they already are during this current wave of gun violence.”

SUPPORT FROM PARKLAND PARENTS In January, GAG held a rally to raise awareness of the looming decision. In attendance were Patricia and Manuel Oliver.

They lost their son, Joaquim, at Parkland. At the rally, Manuel Oliver said, “We realized that gun violence goes far beyond our schools. It makes sense for us to meet with other groups. Gays Against Guns does a lot of things the same way that we do them.”

The Olivers founded Change the Ref, an organization dedicated to empowering young people to make social change through education, conversation, and activism.

n response to the numerous anti-trans bills introduced across America, a fundraiser launched to help protect trans youths’ rights.

The fund on pledge.to will provide money to organizations that provide services to trans youths and advocate for their rights, according to the page. These include the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, which addresses the inequities faced by the Black trans community, and Equality Florida, which is dedicated to securing equality for all LGBT people.

As of April 13, it raised $751,349 of its $1.5 million goal.

Many bills that target LGBT people, mostly trans, have been introduced and passed in the U.S. Texas passed a bill that bans trans athletes from competing in sports teams that align with their gender identity. In fact, the state is suing the Biden administration for having policies that protect trans people.

Also in Texas, 130 books about gender and sexuality have been removed from the shelves, according to the Advocate. It is one of the largest book removals in the country, with 75% of them featuring LGBT characters.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, which prohibits classroom discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation in K-3. A group of LGBT

Photo via Adobe.

students and activists has sued him over this law.

DeSantis also signed a proclamation declaring the runner-up of a swimming championship event as the “rightful winner” after Lia Thomas, a trans woman, won.

In Idaho, some lawmakers have proposed sending parents to prison for life for providing gender affirming care to their children.

In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem also signed an anti-trans sports law like the one in Texas. In February, a reporter asked her opinion of the fact that nearly 90% of the LGBT community reported that they deal with anxiety or depression.

The governor appeared to be very confused.

“I don’t know,” Noem responded. “That makes me sad, and we should figure it out.”

To learn more on how to help, visit transweek.com.

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NEWS NATIONAL

FOX NEWS HIRES CAITLYN JENNER ‘I’m Humbled by This Opportunity’ Kim Swan

T

he irony could not have been greater.

On the International Day of Transgender Visibility Fox News announced they had hired Caitlyn Jenner as a contributor.

Jenner, a trans woman who ran an unsuccessful campaign for California governor in 2021, will offer commentary and analysis on various Fox News channels. Her first appearance took place on the network’s flagship show, “Hannity.”

“Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all,” said Suzanne Scott, Fox News Media CEO. “She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community and her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience.”

Jenner said in a statement she was “humbled by this unique opportunity” to speak directly to Fox’s audience.

Jenner’s first claim to fame was as an athlete, winning the men’s decathlon event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

These days though Jenner is most known for being a reality TV personality. She described herself as “economically conservative, socially progressive” in a People magazine interview in 2020.

But her recent positions on LGBT rights, especially trans issues, have called into question how socially progressive she really is.

Jenner has a rocky relationship with the LGBT community. She vocally supported former President Donald Trump’s campaign

“THAT’S WHY I OPPOSE BIOLOGICAL BOYS WHO ARE TRANS COMPETING IN GIRLS’ SPORTS IN SCHOOL, IT JUST ISN’T FAIR. AND WE HAVE TO PROTECT GIRLS’ SPORTS IN OUR SCHOOLS.” - Caitlyn Jenner

FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR

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• 4 .14.2022

Caitlyn Jenner in 2017. Photo credit: David Fitzgerald/ Web Summit via Sportsfile/Wikimedia Commons

in 2016. However, when Trump made the decision to reverse trans access to public school bathrooms, and banned trans people from serving in the U.S. military, she criticized him for it.

But she’s also previously come out against trans women in sports saying to Fox News earlier this year, “All of this woke world that we are living in right now is not working. We need to protect women’s sports.”

It’s not the first time she’s spoken out against trans athletes either.

“That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school,” Jenner said in a video obtained by TMZ shortly after she announced her campaign for governor in 2021. “It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”

In her first appearance as a paid contributor she told Sean Hannity, “As you know, I am trans but I’m not a trans activist. That’s just one part of my life. There’s so much more to me. But I think in the [...] midterms coming up, LGBT issues are going to be very big issues, and I’m looking forward to covering those.

But there’s so much more to me than that, obviously.”

Hannity asked her about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida recently signed into law and whether she thought it was a good idea or bad idea.

She said she was “all for parental rights” while noting she has 10 children and 20 grandchildren.

NEWS NATIONAL

NEWS INTERNATIONAL

BUTTIGIEG DECLARES MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’S MARRIAGE REMARKS ‘NONSENSICAL’ Kim Swan

CITIZENS DIVIDED OVER MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN CUBA Everitt Rosen Cuba’s communist government is attempting to garner support for a new family law that would allow same-sex marriage and strengthen women’s rights. But according to NBC News, experts and a recent poll suggest that an impending referendum vote will not be a rubber stamp.

In the midst of a government campaign to foster free and candid discourse, lukewarm support for the measures, which contrast with the island’s established “machista” culture, threatens to deliver state-backed supporters a loss.

The proposed 100-page code, which is being debated in town-hall style sessions around Cuba, brings together a slew of new family-related rules. It repeals various laws enacted in 1975 under the presidency of former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

The new code would make same-sex marriage and civil unions legal, enable

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro. Photo via Wikipedia.

such couples to adopt children, strengthen women’s rights, and encourage equitable household responsibility sharing. Prenuptial agreements and assisted pregnancies are among the innovations included.

Pete Buttigieg in 2019. Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr.

P

ete Buttigieg wasn’t going to let Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s remarks on his marriage slide.

At a rally in Georgia, Greene commented on Buttigieg’s marriage with his husband, Chasten, according to The Hill.

“You know what? Pete Buttigieg can take his electric vehicles and his bicycles, and

“SO THEY’RE GOING TO KEEP TRIPLING DOWN ON ANYTHING THAT CAN DIVIDE AND DEMONIZE AND DEMORALIZE, AND THROUGH THAT CAPTURE ATTENTION.” - Pete Buttigieg UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

he and his husband can stay out of our girls’ bathrooms,” Greene said, who was there in support of former Sen. David Perdue who is running for governor of Georgia.

Buttigieg, the U.S. transportation secretary, said her comments were “nonsensical.”

“The reason you hear somebody like that making nonsensical, literally nonsensical comments like that — I don’t know what you’d do with an electric vehicle in any bathroom — they don’t want to talk about what we’re actually working on,” Buttigieg said during an appearance on Yahoo! News’ “Skullduggery” podcast.

“So they’re going to keep tripling down on anything that can divide and demonize and demoralize, and through that capture attention,” he added.

This happened before Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that bans classroom discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation in K-3, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Buttigieg told Yahoo! News that the law is “hurting kids.”

“I think about what life might be like for our kids when they start school. If they were in a place like Florida, it might stop them from mentioning they had a great time over the weekend with their dads,” he said.

4 .14 . 20 22 •

17

Publisher's Editorial

CONVICTIONS

THE CANCER COMEDY CHRONICLES, PART 4 DEMENTED COMEDY FROM A CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC CONTRARIAN

Norm Kent

norm.kent@sfgn.com

‘FINAL NOTICE’ So the cancer patient said “screw it all,” and went on a short hunting expedition to Africa. Felt great when he came back, but immediately went to see his oncologist for an update.

“What’s the good word, doc?”

Doctor: “Well, I have good news and bad news.”

Patient: “Give me the good news first.”

Doctor: “You have only 30 days to live.”

Patient: “But doctor, I told you I wanted the good news first.”

Doctor: “That was the good news. The bad news is we have been trying to reach you for a month.”

‘POTENTIALLY SURVIVABLE’ Potential. I think I hate that word. But in all honesty, my doctors are transparent and straightforward, telling me encouragingly that the early staging of my cancer makes it “potentially very survivable.”

This of course reminded me of a great baseball story. Fifty years ago, NY Mets manager Casey Stengel pointed to his star 17-year-old rookie, Ed Kranepool, and said, “in 10 years, he has the potential to be a superstar. Now that 20-year-old guy over there in right field? He has the potential to be 30.”

As for me, well, the 1960 Mets star Ed Kranepool is my age, has a new kidney, and he is still here, so why not me? My plans are to be at the Opening Day game today at Marlins Park. Maybe I won’t be their shortstop in 10 years, but I can be playing in the SFAAA over 80 leagues. Rocky, don’t bat me first, though. I may be slow running the bases with my walker.

LSD FLASHBACKS Originally, I did not mind getting older. But on second thought, my body is taking it very badly. One body part laughs at the other to

18

• 4 .14.2022

see who has it worse, I want to be 21 again and ruin my life differently. I still remember doing LSD one night in my college dorm, waking up the next morning, eating Chinese food off the floor with some naked guy by my side. I remember asking him if I was the only one he had ever been with. He said, “Yes, all the others were nines and tens.”

SFGN March 31, 2022 volume 13, issue 13.

‘YA GOTTA BELIEVE’ Tug Mc Graw is an ex-NY Mets baseball player and World Series hero from the ‘70s who I admired immensely, who died of brain cancer way too young. I pinned his 1973 Topps baseball card to my ceiling in my townhouse 40 years ago, and it is still there — a bit dusty perhaps. Full of enthusiasm for the game he loved, Tug McGraw left an indelible mark on baseball.

When he won a World Series with the Phillies, baseball bonuses were a lot smaller.

Asked what he was going to do with his $12,000 earnings, he said, “I am going to spend 85% of it on wine, women, and partying. The rest I am going to squander.”

Sounds very gay to me. Actually, Tug’s son, the singer Tim McGraw, helps keep his brain cancer foundation alive. You can donate online at tugmcgraw.org/donate.

OVER 60 AND THE SFAAA This next vignette is dedicated to all those of us who have ever played in the Master’s Division of the over 60 South Florida Athletic Association. You have this nightmare that one day, at the age of 70, you are going to hit what you hoped would be a game winning homer on the softball field but sliding into home plate you collide with the catcher and go into cardiac arrest. The last words you ever hear will be an umpire shouting “You’re out!”

It happened to Saul of Wilton Station.

Tragic. He was playing softball with his lifelong friend Jerry when he suffered a fatal stroke running the bases too hard. The next day at his funeral, Jerry looked down at Saul,

in his casket, a baseball glove in one hand, a mimosa in the other, and said, “Rest in peace, Saul. For your sake, I only hope there is baseball in Heaven.”

Just then, from the rafters, Jerry heard a deep barreling voice, and looked up. It was Saul, saying, “I have good news and bad news for you, Jerry. There is baseball in Heaven.

In fact, the good news is that the gay World Series starts tomorrow. The bad news is that you are pitching.”

SOCIAL MEDIA AND SLANG I am sure one thing today’s generation of youth will do as it rewrites history is butcher the English language on social media. It will have no punctuation and many misspelled words. No, I just do not buy into the contemporary retort that speaks the words: “Well you know what I meant to say.” Maybe so, but it is not a felony to use complete sentences, good grammar, and proper spelling to say it. The reality is that most Instagram users have never been known to use a word that might send a reader to a dictionary, if they even know what that is.

RON DESANTIS AND SFGN Ironically, the satirically biting cover we ran on the front page of SFGN two weeks ago has not gotten as much play as we would have liked on Facebook, because while they have no problem carelessly posting false facts, reckless lies, and poisonous political dialogue, they ban four letter words and cursing.

Will SFGN go to Facebook Jail if we dare post the cover online? I may make some jokes about my own life, because, well, he who can laugh at himself will never cease to be amused. But attacking the lives of our transgender population, and the loves our fellow LGBT citizens have for each other is no joke. It is just cruel, worthy of censure and condemnation. From a governor, it’s inexcusable.

Not many of us like Ron DeSantis, but at least he is also intensely disliked by his friends. I stand by the words on our cover.

You are who you are, and like the words from “La Cage aux Folles,” you are God’s creation. Don’t let anyone ever put you down. You can do that on your own.

COLUMN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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MIAMI-DADE

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MIAMI BEACH PRIDE WRAPS SUCCESSFUL 13TH YEAR Jose Cassola “WHAT AN AMAZING WEEKEND OF LOVE AND GAY PRIDE!” That’s how Paul Thomas, member of the at the Celebrity Cruises stage and Sunday Board of Directors at Miami Beach Pride, afternoon after the parade. On Saturday summed up the weekend-long festivities evening, Elias posted on Facebook: for this year’s Pride, which included exhibits, “I just want to say that I’m really proud that performances and the traditional parade I’m gay and that I rocked that stage tonight. down Ocean Drive on Sunday afternoon.

Also, I’m proud that I’m born and raised in Miami Beach Pride is a multi-day Miami and that I was the only act playing celebration of arts and culture for the with a live band and that I just performed at LGBT community, featuring special events, Miami Beach Pride and that when I was 18 family-friendly activations, social mixers I turned down a full scholarship to college and world-class entertainment. and instead chose to follow my dreams. I’m Run this year from April 1-10, this was thankful for all that because being on that Miami Beach Pride’s 13-year anniversary, stage tonight and sharing that energy with as it originally launched in April 2009. my community and my fans made every The inaugural Miami Beach Pride sacrifice worth it. I’m on cloud nine right celebration took place with more than now and never have I felt more sure of my 15,000 spectators, far surpassing path and purpose. Just, thank you.” organizers’ expectations. Today, it is the Sacks, who has performed at Miami leading LGBTQ+ cultural arts organization Beach Pride several times over the years, in South Florida, regularly attracting more said she is “always blown away at the than 170,000 attendees annually. events and the hardworking team that plans “Pride is the best energy of the year,” said many events over the course of months for Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen a week’s worth of amazing concerts and Gonzalez, who rode in Sunday’s parade parties.” with former Miami Beach Mayor and “Wow, what an amazing weekend founder of Miami Beach Pride Matti Bower. performing, not once, but twice for one of “The colors, the music, my favorite prides, Miami the love and the perfect Beach Pride,” Sacks said.

“PRIDE IS THE BEST April weather make it one “I am always honored to ENERGY OF THE YEAR. of my favorite events here be a part of Miami Beach THE COLORS, THE on Miami Beach.”

Pride. I hold it near and MUSIC, THE LOVE AND Added Kevin J. dear to my heart. Thank THE PERFECT APRIL Clevenger, executive you so much, Bruce director at Pride Fort Horwich, for having me WEATHER MAKE IT Lauderdale and former back and to the amazing ONE OF MY FAVORITE development director Miami Beach Pride team EVENTS HERE ON at SMART Ride: “Miami that works so hard taking MIAMI BEACH.” Beach Pride was a blast. the best care of every I know it wasn’t easy detail and of everyone.

- Kristen Rosen Gonzalez putting an entire festival Much love!”

MIAMI BEACH COMMISSIONER together in six months This year’s Celebrity but [organizers] rocked it. I got to sell a Grand Marshal was LGBT actor, model and few families their first Pride flag and I’m so YouTuber Max Emerson, who joked when happy I got to experience it. I can’t wait until he first got the message asking him to be next year.” a part of Miami Beach Pride, he thought he Performers included international House was being pranked. artist Beth Sacks and local LGBT singer “I’m still waiting for Ashton Kutcher to Robbie Elias, who has toured with Daddy jump out from behind the DJ booth or Yankee. Elias performed Saturday night something,” laughs Emerson, who moved

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Photo courtesy of Matti Bower and Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.

to Miami from Vero Beach, Florida at 18 years old and attended the University of Miami.

Emerson said, “As a closeted queer kid growing up in a place like Vero Beach, which some people call the redneck riviera, I’m fully aware of the systematic hate and shame that kept me in the closet. You don’t need any legislation for that. Of course, right now that hate is law and we have a lot of work to do. So, thank you so much for having me as your Grand Marshal and for giving me this opportunity to fight this law and to help organize people to do everything they can to make sure we have equal protections and opportunities where we live, work and play. This is a massive overwhelming honor, but more than that it’s given me a huge sense of purpose and I’m really grateful for that.”

Added Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez: “As we celebrate Miami Beach Pride, I want to recognize the openly gay

city commissioners who have served and who continue to serve our community.

I am honored to be the fourth openly gay commissioner in Miami Beach and grateful to the leaders who have paved the way, including my friends Michael Góngora, Victor Diaz and my colleague, Commissioner David Richardson. You are all trailblazers!”

The Pride parade kicked off Sunday with a special reception at the Wolfsonian.

Throughout the day, spectators and attendees could visit the Legacy Couples exhibit at the Art Deco Welcome Center and the Trans tent at Lummus Park, featuring Borinquen Medical Center and Survivors Pathway, local organizations that provide services for the transgender community.

“The trans tent at Miami Beach Pride was an important part of the weekend for our local trans community,” said Joval Valdivia, an outreach specialist for Borinquen. “At Borinquen and Surviors Pathway, we offer

MIAMI-DADE

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Photo courtesy of Nancy Suarez, Nathan’s Bar.

many services to the LGBTQ community — mental, medical, case management and much more.”

Vanessa Monroe, a transgender woman and regular performer at Nathan’s Bar, said manning the trans tent with fellow trans performers like Fantasia Royale of Palace Bar was a “fabulous experience.”

“The T tent is a safe space for transpeople, where everyone was welcomed,” Monroe said. “I met many wonderful people from the LGBTQ community. Having Borinquen and Survivors Pathways there was a pleasure. They are great organizations with great programs offering help for all your needs, from substance abuse to mental health to lawyers and many more services.”

Fay Albernas, host of “The Fay What?

Show” and Queer News Tonight, broadcast live on Facebook during the parade.

“I was beyond excited broadcasting from iconic Ocean Drive with thousands of LGBTQIA folks and those who love and support us,” Albernas said. “Thank you, allies. We will not be silenced. Happy Miami Beach Pride!”

Nathan’s Bar hosted the Pride afterparty and T-dance, featuring Wizard of Ozthemed performances from drag artists Dasha Sweetwaters, Nelly Norell, Regina Cocoa Lords, Brianna Bawdyy Kane and burlesque performer Sofia Luna. The theme

of Miami Beach Pride this year was “there’s no place like home.”

Nathan Paul Smith, the owner of Nathan’s Bar, gives a platform to mostly trans performers like Regina Cocoa all year round.

This year for Trans Visibility Day on March 31, Cocoa marked the occasion by posting on Facebook about her experience as a transgender woman.

“I choose to be out and visible every day of my life but today I celebrate with the rest of my trans fam,” wrote Cocoa on Facebook on March 31. “As trans people, we are very frequently told we should not exist, we are looked at like freaks, we are discriminated against, etc. Laverne Cox once said ‘it is revolutionary for a trans person to choose to be seen and heard in a world that tells us we should not exist.’ Visibility is so important.

Through being visible, we show the world we are here, we are normal, we are beautiful, we are present, and we aren’t going anywhere.”

Cocoa concluded her post by asking allies to take the time to celebrate a trans person.

“If you are or ever have been attracted to a trans person, rock that shit with pride,” Cocoa said. “If you have a loved one that’s trans, celebrate them. If you’re a fellow trans person, rock your identity loudly, just as long as you don’t put yourself in danger.

Be visible. We are here.”

Courtesy of Miami Gay News.

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LIFESTYLE TWO GUYS AND A DOG

SEXUAL THOUGHTS IN KINDERGARTEN Brian McNaught

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lthough born in Detroit, I was in Flint, Michigan, for kindergarten through third grade. During that time I was very aware of my attraction to the bodies of older men.

I didn’t nurture such thoughts, and no one around me talked about sexuality.

My first source of excitement was my older brother’s neighborhood friend, Eric. As a young teenager, he was tall, had wavy blond hair, and when he shot hoops in his driveway, he wore a tank top. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, but I wasn’t sure why. I was afraid of the intensity of my attraction, as it was a new emotion for me. I wasn’t attracted to my brother, but his friendship with Eric increased the amount of time I got to watch him in that tank top. “Pick me up, Eric. Pick me up.”

In that same time period, this best little Irish Catholic, parochial school angel was in Florida with my family for Christmas. One day, a friend of my father’s, whose name was Mr. Strong, took off his clothes and put on his bathing suit at the same time and place as did my younger brother and I. He didn’t turn around when he took off his underwear as I was accustomed to doing. I snuck a look at his body, his hairy chest, his pubic hair, and his penis, and it was as if a huge wave hit me full force. I was mesmerized. I wanted the moment to last forever.

Later that day, when our family and Mr. Strong’s family were on a pleasure boat, I jumped on Mr. Strong’s lap before his son got the chance. My dad was sitting across from us, his lap empty, and I remember feeling guilty, and not wanting to hurt my father’s feelings. So, I eventually climbed down. But for the time I was in Mr. Strong’s lap, and felt the warmth of his adult male body, with his hairy arms around me so that I didn’t fall off, I was in a heavenly place I’d never been before.

Dad had many friends who came to the house with their wives, or alone, for drinks and cards. I had my favorites, like Mr. Mitchell. I also was attracted to the father of my friend, Todd.

Once when we were playing cards, my leg rubbed against his and shock waves electrified my entire body. I wanted more.

Please, let’s touch again.

I knew not to mention these feelings to anyone. A good boy like me wasn’t supposed to have such thoughts or feelings. When I went to confession, which we did as first graders, I’d tell the priest that I had impure thoughts. He never pursued it. What could a 7-year-old be thinking about that was “impure”?

I’ve been a homosexual my entire life, including when I was a youngster, and I needed help understanding my attractions.

What do you call them and where do they come from? Are they normal? Will I outgrow them? Am I a bad boy despite my intense spiritual relationship with God? And, was it a sin for me to look at the scantily clad body of Jesus hanging on the cross in Church, and at pictures of St. Sebastian whose near naked body was shot with arrows?

I KNEW NOT TO MENTION THESE FEELINGS TO ANYONE. A GOOD BOY LIKE ME WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAVE SUCH THOUGHTS OR FEELINGS.

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Photo via Adobe Stock.

The Florida Legislature and governor believe that children like me shouldn’t hear the word “gay” in school from kindergarten through third grade because it will confuse them, and make them want to experiment. They also don’t want them to learn about gender identity because it will make the boys want to be a girl. Some of them probably actually believe they’re doing a good thing, but that’s because they don’t know the stories of boys and girls like me. They haven’t heard the stories of children who knew from the get go that they were attracted to their own sex, or born in the wrong body.

In my book for children who are age 4 to 10, a little girl asks her cousin “What’s ‘gay?’” A mourning dove that was listening in tells them, “It’s a way to love.” Wow! My life from kindergarten through third grade would have been a lot less stressful, a lot happier, a lot more open if I, and all my classmates, learned that “gay” is just a way to love. Other birds start chiming in telling the children that boys and boys, and girls and girls, can play house together, and that there are gay animals too, such as a moose named Larry. If I had that book read to me by my teacher at that time in my life, I would have been much more likely to tell my mom and dad that I was attracted to older men.

My mother suspected as much but never said anything. She thought that if she kept her eye on me, and protected me from the wrong people, that I’d eventually enter the seminary to become a priest, or get married to one of my many girlfriends.

When I was in fourth grade, and we moved to Grand Blanc, I clearly remember my mother saying, “Stay away from the next-

door neighbor’s son.” She never said why, until later in life she told me he was gay. Can you imagine that if I knew as a 10-yearold that “gay” was “a way to love,” I’d have made a beeline to the neighbor’s house and asked their adult son tons of questions.

But I was being protected against myself.

You may feel these words are harsh, but I’ve come to believe that I was the victim of child abuse. I was abused because no one would help me understand my feelings. There were no laws forbidding teachers from talking about being gay, but in the 1950s no one ever mentioned the word, especially the nuns who taught me. Every example that was given to me in my classroom “Think and Do” books was about a heterosexual family. I easily picked up that if I ever spoke about my feelings there would be harsh consequences. But that didn’t stop me from being attracted to Eric, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Strong, Todd’s dad, and dozens of other men on television. I’m grateful to them all for being in my memories the men who helped me awaken to my sexual orientation.

Please say “gay” to children. Telling them that it’s a way to love won’t confuse them, nor will it make them gay. It will assure them that if they are attracted to people of the same-sex they are normal, and good, and much loved.

Those of you who are gay or transgender, and can recall your childhood feelings of awareness, please tell your stories. Write them in social media. Help others understand why forbidding teachers to talk to youngsters about sexual orientation or gender identity does the children great harm. It’s abuse.

Brian McNaught has been a leading educator on LGBTQ issues globally since 1974. He has made his many books and DVDs available for free at Brian-McNaught.com. The New York Times named him “The Godfather of gay diversity training.” Brian has a weekly YouTube/FaceBook podcast called, “Are You Happy Without the Movie?”

PA L M B E A C H

PALM BEACH PRIDE HEADLINER

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YOLI MAYOR ON WHAT PRIDE MEANS TO HER Sean Conklin YOLI MAYOR, A CUBAN-AMERICAN MIAMI NATIVE, WAS THE HEADLINER FOR THIS YEAR’S PALM BEACH PRIDE. MAYOR ATTENDED THE PRIDE FESTIVITIES WITH HER GIRLFRIEND AND PERFORMED TO THE AUDIENCE OF REVELERS SOON AFTER COMPASS’ MASS WEDDING CEREMONY. MAYOR REACHED THE SEMIFINALS OF AMERICA’S GOT TALENT IN ITS 2017 SEASON AND HAS BEEN PERFORMING PROFESSIONALLY EVER SINCE. MAYOR ALSO AUDITIONED FOR THE NEWEST SEASON OF AMERICAN IDOL, AND HER AUDITION AIRED THE NIGHT OF HER PRIDE PERFORMANCE. PRIDE IS BEING AN UNSHAKABLE TREE IN YOUR TRUTH

across her face as she said, “I wish for us to become a more curious humanity.

Let’s ask more questions and throw less punches.”

Pride holds a special meaning to Mayor.

As a queer woman, Mayor understands what Pride represents for so many people.

REPRESENTING THE “Pride is a sense of assurance, regardless COMMUNITY IS KEY of the moment in your life, regardless of how you are doing emotionally, financially Mayor’s favorite part of any pride … it is being settled in who you are.” celebration is the people she gets to Mayor explained that she had once meet. She loves to be around people who been asked during an online interview are open about who they are and proud of if she was gay, which she answered who they are. She loves to see people who truthfully. The interviewer unapologetically represent offered to scrub that for their community because “I NEED US TO the interview, but Mayor she understands the value GO BACK TO declined. Mayor understood of that representation.

WHERE SCHOOL the value and power she had “Now you’ve got the token IS A SAFE in representing the LGBT gay character, and I love community in her art. Being that because there’s a sense PLACE FOR asked if she wanted to scrub of inclusion. There’s a sense OUR CHILDREN, her sexual identity from the of no more being ignored.

LGBTQ+ AND interview just reminded her Stonewall was not for no OTHERWISE.” of how proud she was to reason,” Mayor said. be herself and to be part of The fact that the media - Yoli Mayor such a vibrant and diverse now expects there to be HEADLINER FOR THIS community. an LGBT character in every YEAR’S PALM BEACH PRIDE “A part of Pride is being an show, and that there is unshakable tree in your truth.” usually more than one, represents progress to Mayor.

A MORE CURIOUS HUMANITY KEEP SAYING GAY Mayor also wants to see more humanity brought back to our everyday “I definitely need my community to go lives. She has seen too many people back to saying gay.” responding to adversity with anger and Mayor did not mince words when violence. She hopes that when people asked about her vision for the LGBT do not understand something that they community. The recent attacks on LGBT respond with questions, rather than anger youth in the state from the “Don’t Say and fear.

Gay” law weighed heavily on her.

A thoughtful and inquisitive look spread “I need us to go back to where school

Yoli Mayor headlining at Palm Beach Pride. Photo by J.R. Davis.

is a safe place for our children, LGBTQ+ and otherwise.”

Mayor wants youth to know that she believes in them and encourages their authentic expression.

“The healthiest thing you can do is to express yourself, and if you are a young queer teen who is looking for an outlet, music and art and creation is the perfect way to do so and have a voice.”

THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT Mayor was particularly emphatic about the value of the allies in her life, and making sure that other LGBT youth had access to similar support. She referred specifically to aunts as well as teachers and the Gay/Straight alliance at her school growing up. She knows that not every child can be out and proud at home.

“The Gay/Straight Alliance opened my eyes and and helped me to understand

things … I realized when I understand something, I process it better. I needed the Gay/Straight Alliance at my school.

I needed understanding aunts and understanding teachers because we don’t always have a situation at home.”

Mayor also emphasized the need to support members of the LGBT community in their art and business. She encourages LGBT community members to shop at LGBT-owned businesses and to stop supporting anti-gay businesses, like Chick-fil-A. MAYOR’S RETURN TO THE NATIONAL STAGE Mayor auditioned for the 2022 season of “American Idol.” Her audition aired after the Oscars on March 27, the same day she performed at Palm Beach Pride. She sang an original song called “Beautiful Broken Things” and was voted forward to the next round, officially becoming an “American Idol” contestant.

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LIFESTYLE FOOD

PASSOVER AND EASTER RECIPES AUNT RUTH’S MATZO BALL SOUP

Rick Karlin

A

s a child growing up in a mixed household (my father was Jewish, my mother was Lutheran) I was always a little confused by Passover and Easter. Both are religious holidays, and it was also the only time in my family that we ate fish. We’d have fish every Friday during Lent, leading up to Easter, and then at the Passover seder we would have gefilte fish. I grew up in a mixed neighborhood (Jews and Catholics) and until I was about 10 years old, I thought Passover meant a sale on fish.

To add to my confusion, these were both holidays that moved around the standard calendar. As a child I didn’t understand that the holidays are based on the Gregorian and Jewish calendars, I just knew I could never predict when the holiday would occur. Sometimes it was near my birthday in March, at other times near my sister’s birthday in April. What I did know is that I loved going to my grandmothers’ houses for the feasts. This year Passover begins after sundown on Friday, April 15 and ends in the evening of Saturday, April 23, and Easter is smack dab in the middle of that on April 17.

My parents and both my grandmothers are long gone and, while I’m not religious, I still go to my in-laws’ for the Passover seder and

occasionally celebrate Easter with friends.

I dug way back in my family cookbooks to share some favorite recipes for both holidays.

The recipes, of course, can’t be swapped back and forth, as the Passover recipes all have religious significance. Leavened bread or bread products are prohibited during Passover to honor the fact that the Jews had to leave quickly to escape slavery in Egypt and didn’t have time to allow their bread to rise. Special matzo crackers and matzo meals are used as a primary starch, as are potatoes.

Of course, ham, an Easter mainstay, is also out. So, I’ll share recipes from Grandma Emily (online at SFGN.com) for Easter and Grandma Sara for Passover.

1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 cup matzo meal (approximately) 2 eggs

Image courtesy of Rick Karlin.

SARA’S GEFILTE FISH Basically, a fish meatball. It’s a laborintensive recipe, but it can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator (in fact it’s better the next day).

Ingredients 12 cups water or fish stock 1 onion 3 carrots 2 stalks of celery and 1 lb. whitefish, pike or carp 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon kosher salt

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Directions: Place fish stock or water in a large pot, add ½ onion, 1 carrot and celery to the pot.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

While the broth heats, add a carrot and remaining ½ onion into a food processor and chop finely.

Add fish and pulse until the fish is almost a paste.

Transfer fish mixture to a bowl.

Add in the salt, sugar, pepper, parsley, eggs, and matzo meal.

Mix and form into oval balls (football shaped), place on platter.

Chill fish balls 5-10 minutes.

Drop the fish balls into simmering liquid.

Cover and cook 30 minutes.

Remove from liquid, place on platter, and refrigerate until serving.

Place on leaves of endive. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve with horseradish.

Can be made a few days ahead. Store the matzo balls in a separate container so they don’t get soggy. Then add to the soup to warm through.

Ingredients Broth: 1 roasting hen (4 to 6 pounds) 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 1 lb. carrots, coarsely chopped 6 celery ribs, coarsely chopped 1 coarsely chopped sweet onion (reserve half a cup) 2 garlic cloves, minced ½ teaspoon pepper 1 bunch minced fresh parsley (reserve 2 tablespoons) Matzo Balls: 2 eggs 2 tablespoons schmaltz (chicken fat) -may substitute vegetable oil 2 teaspoons everything bagel seasoning ½ cup finely chopped onion 2 tablespoons minced parsley ½ cup club soda 1 cup matzo meal

Image courtesy of Rick Karlin.

Directions: Place chicken in a large soup kettle, add chicken, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and enough water to cover the chicken.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat; simmer for 5565 minutes or until meat is tender, skimming the surface as foam rises.

Remove chicken and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Strain broth and skim fat, add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, pepper, parsley, and remaining salt.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk eggs and schmaltz or oil.

Add matzo ball mix, parsley, and onion.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? 

Add club soda and toss with a fork until combined.

Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Remove and discard skin and bones from chicken; chop chicken and add to soup.

Bring to a boil.

Drop 12 rounded tablespoonfuls of matzo ball dough into boiling soup.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a matzo ball comes out clean (do not lift cover while simmering).

With a slotted spoon, carefully remove matzo balls.

To reheat and serve, bring soup to a simmer, and immerse matzo balls for 15 minutes.

Remove from soup with a slotted spoon, place one in each soup bowl.

Ladle soup over top. and matzo meal.

Mix and form into oval balls (football shaped), place on platter.

Chill fish balls 5-10 minutes.

Drop the fish balls into simmering liquid.

Cover and cook 30 minutes.

Remove from liquid, place on platter, and refrigerate until serving.

Place on leaves of endive. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve with horseradish.

VISIT SFGN.COM/FOOD!

Rick Karlin is SFGN’s food editor.

Visit SFGN.com/Food to read his previous reviews. Have a culinary tip to share? Email Rick at RickKarlinFL@gmail.com.

The views Rick expresses are his own and do not represent the opinion of SFGN.

MORE PASSOVER AND EASTER RECIPES Visit SFGN.com to find out more. Image courtesy of Rick Karlin.

LIFESTYLE WHAT TO READ

‘READY WHEN YOU ARE’ Terri Schlichenmeyer

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oud thunder-booms. Spiders and snakes.

The number 13, clowns, cemeteries, and heights.

There are a lot of things that you can fear, just as there are a lot of ways you can overcome phobias, if you want. Vanquish those shivers by taking classes, being brave or, as in the new novel, “Ready When You Are” by Gary Lonesborough, you can let someone gently help you.

If he had to admit it, 17-year-old Jackson Barley had a love-hate relationship with Christmas.

He loved its traditions, and because it was something out of the ordinary.

When hanging out with your mates on the Mish is all you normally do, it’s nice to have the holidays to break up the same-old. But over Christmas break, his Aunty Pam always brought his cousins around and the house was full of little kids. Jackson loved his younger brother and his cousins, but man, could they make a racket!

This year, another thing was unusual: Aunty Pam arrived Christmas Eve with a teenager she was caring for, a boy named Tomas who’d just gotten out of juvie. Of course, Jackson’s mother said that Tomas could bunk in Jackson’s room and that wasn’t cool, not at first. Jackson’s mind was elsewhere: his girlfriend broke up with him for reasons he couldn’t discuss.

For most of his life, he had known that he was “different.” He tried to be like other boys, but it just didn’t work that way and he was afraid to even think about his feelings.

And now there was this outlaw kid, another Aboriginal boy like him lying on a mattress in Jackson’s bedroom and oh, Tomas was beautiful.

THOUGH YOU’LL LIKELY FIND THIS NOVEL IN THE YOUNG ADULT SECTION, IT’S ABSOLUTELY APPROPRIATE FOR GROWN-UPS WITH FOND MEMORIES OF FIRST LOVE. “READY WHEN YOU ARE” HAS ITS LOWS, BUT IT MIGHT ALSO MAKE YOUR HEART GO BOOM.

Gary Lonesborough.

Image via garylonesborough.com.

Book Cover via Amazon.

But Jackson wasn’t gay, or at least he wasn’t ready to be. He wanted a summer with his mates, and girls, but he wanted Tomas to kiss him, too. How could he be true to himself? And what would people think?

There are three main characters in “Ready When You Are”: Jackson, Tomas, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol, and teenagers who are often excessively drunk, which almost totally mars the sweetness of this novel. Put aside endless Outback parties and repetetive beach forays, though, and you might be charmed by this familiar-not-familiar boy-meets-boy tale.

In placing his novel in an Aboriginal community, author Gary Lonesborough gives U.S. readers a unique setting and immersion in a culture where life feels more relaxed than perhaps they’re accustomed to — yet, coming-out struggles for gay teens still exist.

This leads to a story that, scene-for-scene, is predictable and common in YA romance novels — an aspect the genre’s most fervent readers passionately rely on. They’ll also love Jackson, a boy in a man’s skin who acts responsibly and genuinely, but who’s not yet too self-assured about it. Life through his eyes is the best part of this book.

Though you’ll likely find this novel in the Young Adult section, it’s absolutely appropriate for grown-ups with fond memories of first love. “Ready When You Are” has its lows, but it might also make your heart go boom.

“Ready When You Are” by Gary Lonesborough c.2022, Scholastic PUSH $18.99 245 pages

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Open Closet

OUT

CONVICTIONS

Avraham Forrest

I

’m out.

Not out like a lost dog; out like a rocket slipping through the ozone skin of the atmosphere. Out like a scream, like a pent-up bullet.

Coming home for spring break made me apprehensive as usual. I packed my jeans and sweaters; unassuming clothing, like I was smuggling something. I had the thought of telling them. After all, an unusual amount of drama usually accompanies a visit home in my family.

I had originally planned to not say anything, hopeful for a spring break with minimal revelations, but one night at the dinner table my mom asked me about the articles. These articles, specifically.

When I was still closeted to my parents I knew subtlety was probably my best option for the time being. However, for those who know me, I am not a subtle person. I wanted to catalog my experiences and I didn’t want to be quiet.

So, in my efforts to remain temporarily closeted to my family, I decided to write a series of published articles on my gender.

Genius, I know.

But the thing is, I don’t regret it. At one point in writing these articles I had the thought that my parents would see them, but at the same moment I realized I didn’t care. I love my parents, but I realized I was letting the fear of their reaction hinder the exploration of my gender. I was ready for the other shoe to drop.

I was ready to come out.

And it went well.

My mom and stepfather were understandably confused, but loving and supportive. My dad and stepmom accepted me with open arms. They read every article I posted, and the stories did most of the talking.

Photo via Pixabay.

I always speak better with written words. I think it’s because I am able to spend time with what I want to say. So, to my family reading this, allow me to say what I didn’t know how to say aloud.

Mom, I love you. You are the single strongest woman I have ever met. If I gain any amount of your strength in this life, I know I can handle whatever is waiting. Dad, I love you. You’ve taught me that patience is a superpower and much more valuable than it seems. Stepmom, I love you. You’ve shown me what a passionate life looks like. Stepdad, I love you. You’ve shown me the impact of spiritual growth.

I’ve done a lot of thinking. For the past year, I have been out to those near me as nonbinary. It hurt me to not be able to tell you, but I needed to find the right time. I know there’s going to be a lot of questions and a pretty heavy adjustment period. But even with all of the changes I am still Avraham. The future may be a bit complicated, but your love and willingness to understand makes me feel safe.

I am beyond lucky to have that.

To my family, I love you. To those still closeted, it’s a process, and never apologize for waiting for the right time. There is no correct way to come out. Just know that there are people who love you, and support is closer than you ever think.

Avraham Forrest is a writer from Indiana. They attend Indiana University. In their spare time they enjoy baking and jogging. Follow on Instagram: avraham_forrest.

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COMMUNITY OUTL

K

BOYNTON BEACH’S NEW GAY MAYOR SWORN INTO OFFICE Ty Penserga being sworn into office as Boynton Beach’s first out mayor. “This is a surreal moment for me,” Ty Penserga told supporters during his victory speech at a local brewery in Boynton Beach March 8. “What you have taught me and what you have given me is an opportunity to fight for all of you. This is the opportunity to do the work.” Photo credit: Rolando Chang Barrero.

SPORTS PLAYING WITH PRIDE

GAY TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE ADMITTED TO BYU Everitt Rosen

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• 4 .14.2022

T

y Wright, a track and field athlete, was named after former Brigham Young University quarterback Ty Detmer, so it’s no wonder that he would end up at BYU. Wright enrolled knowing he was gay at a school not known for being LGBT-friendly.

“I am absolutely out,” Wright revealed on the podcast “The Queer Athlete,” hosted

by Emma Gee, who is LGBT and a former member of the BYU track and field team. “If someone asks, I’ll tell them, and I’m not going to hide anything anymore. I’ve decided to share that aspect of my life with anyone who is interested, but I haven’t made a public post about it.”

Wright, 20, was raised in Shelley, Idaho, a Mormon-dominated town where he and his family grew up. Despite knowing he is gay from a young age, the four-time Idaho high jump champion was so focused on his athletic career and securing a scholarship that he

Tyler Wright. Image via byucougars.com.

didn’t give his sexuality any thought when he selected BYU.

A&E CABARET

FGO EXPLORES LOVE DURING THE 1950S LAVENDER SCARE J.W. Arnold

Andres Acosta and Hadleigh Adams star in the opera “Fellow Travelers,” opening April 23 at Lauderhill Performing Arts Center. Credit: Dan Norman Photography.

W

hile the heyday of classical opera may have been the 18th and 19th centuries, Florida Grand Opera (FGO) travels back in time to the not-so-distant past with its next production, Gregory Spears’ “Fellow Travelers.”

Based on the best-selling novel by Thomas Mallon, the 2016 opera is set during the Lavender Scare, a lesser-known, but longerlasting byproduct of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a 1953 executive order prohibiting homosexuals from holding government positions. The policy subjected hundreds of suspected gay and lesbian government employees to investigation, interrogation, persecution, resignations and firings.

The contemporary opera explores the romance and heartbreak between two men during this era of paranoia and persecution that lasted long after McCarthy was discredited. A chance meeting between young college graduate Timothy Laughlin (Miami native Andres Acosta) and handsome State Department official Hawkins Fuller (Hadleigh Adams) results in both Tim’s first job and first love affair with a man. Part love story and part political thriller, the opera explores their budding romance and efforts to avoid detection.

“Fellow Travelers,” will receive its Florida premiere at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, April 23–28.

“We are proud to stage this important and moving piece of contemporary opera,” said FGO General Director Susan T. Danis. “Via the medium of the musical human voice and the stories of these men, we revisit a critical time in American history with new eyes and

understanding.”

New Zealand baritone Hadleigh Adams, who wowed audiences earlier this season in FGO’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” warned that “contemporary” opera in this case should not elicit “alarm sounds.”

“It’s beautifully tonal, even for nonmusicians,” Adams said. “The music is so stunning, so evocative, so lyrical, with moments of intense Verdian lyricism in the piece.”

He went on to discuss the medium of opera to tell this story: “Opera by its very nature is melodramatic with big emotions sung in a large way. Puccini once said [his] operas were about the big lives of little people. ‘Fellow Travelers’ is primarily a love story — set against this historical context — about someone wanting more than they give and another who needs more than the world can give … and they collide. It’s such a unique experience to have a gay love story told on stage. The ‘greatest gay love story in opera’ sounds so trite.”

The 37-year-old Kiwi first performed the role five years ago, but still plans to bring a fresh perspective to this production.

“Acting is reacting, right? I don’t like to make dramatic choices before I’m in the room,” Adams said.

Adams did note that even though the opera is set nearly seven decades ago, the story is remarkably relevant after the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“There’s a line near the end where Tim wants to help the Hungarians, who were being occupied by the Russians,” he pointed out. “It just emphasizes the evil that some can bring into the world, regardless of the era”.

Florida Grand Opera presents Gregory Spears’ “Fellow Travelers,” April 23–28 at Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, 3800 N.W. 11th Pl. in Lauderhill. Tickets start at $21 at FGO.org.

4 .14 . 20 22 •

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Bad Papi, a Cuban drag artist, performed a poem at the end of the event after the movie “Before Night Falls: The Poetic Life Of Reinaldo Arenas.”

O, Miami is an organization that produces an annual, monthlong poetry festival with the goal of reaching every person in Miami-Dade County with a poem during the month of April. This year the organization has several more upcoming programs geared toward the LGBT community including a Drag Poetry Slam April 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arts Learning Lab, 5712 NE 4th Ave in Miami. The event will include drag poetry featuring 6 performances lip-synched to six poets’ words. The event page describes it as “Blending music, dance, theatrics, prose, and audience participation, Drag Poetry aims to integrate the worlds of drag and poetry in a night of unique collaboration; it wishes to answer what happens when we push the boundaries of expectation within art forms that challenge what is real and what we can create from them.”

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• 4 .14.2022

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LIFESTYLE photos

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PRIDE 2022 PALM BEACH PRIDE 2022 TOOK PLACE IN LAKE WORTH BEACH

Day two of Palm Beach Pride was the annual parade, with Deon Jefferson and T.A. Walker serving as parade commentators.

Photos by J.R. Davis

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• 4 .14.2022

A&E FILM

‘THREE MONTHS’ A FLORIDIAN AIDS DRAMA FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION David-Elijah Nahmod

“T

hree Months,” the new film by Jared Frieder streaming on Paramount+ starting Feb. 23, is an AIDS drama for the millennial generation. Set in Hollywood Florida in 2011, the film stars gay actor/singer Troye Sivan as Caleb, a young gay man graduating from high school who may have been exposed to HIV during a one-night stand with a foreign tourist. As he waits for his final test result over a period of three months, Caleb hangs out with his lesbian best friend Dara (Brianne Tju) and has a summer romance with a closeted young man from India (Viveik Kalra). He also watches “The Real World: San Francisco,” an MTV produced reality series from the 1990s featuring the late Pedro Zamora, an HIV positive young man who may have been the first out gay person to appear on television and to get a national spotlight.

It’s an important film for younger generations to see as Frieder’s screenplay underscores the fact that AIDS is no longer the death sentence it was 30 and 40 years ago, and that it is possible for people to live full, rich lives while living with HIV. In an interview, Frieder admits that the film was inspired by events in his own life. Like Caleb, Frieder is a “nice Jewish boy” from Florida, and, also like Caleb, Frieder is gay.

“A lot of the experiences I’ve had I wanted to reflect in this film,” Frieder said. “But the real reason I wrote it is, this is the type of movie with a queer protagonist that I wish as a queer kid growing up in Florida that I had. It would have made me feel a little bit less alone and more understood. It’s important for me to tell stories like that so I can hopefully do the same for others.”

And there is indeed a lot in the film that younger generations can relate to. Caleb, whose father had died of a heart attack some years ago, lives with his grandmother (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn) and her live-in boyfriend (Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr.).

They accept Caleb for who he is, though his mother, an Orthodox Jew, does not. In a scene that bristles with intensity, Caleb reaches out to his mother after he’s dumped by his boyfriend. Mom, whose religious beliefs do not allow her to be tolerant of Caleb’s lifestyle, backs away when he begins talking about the fact that he may have contracted HIV. Frieder made a surprising choice when writing his screenplay. He does not let the audience know Caleb’s final test result.

“For me the whole message and the point of the film is that he’s going to be okay, no matter what,” Frieder said. “It’s one of the first things when I first started crafting the script that I knew would be a part of the story because I want to create that dialogue, that conversation. I want to get in the pool and splash around and say hey, look over here, let’s talk about this thing that we’re not talking about.”

The auteur hopes that viewers will in fact talk about the fact that HIV is no longer a death sentence.

“We need to fight the shame and stigma and the deeply rooted homophobia around the disease,” he said. “I think that it’s also a movie about what it’s like to wait, and I think that’s never been more relevant than right now, as we’re all waiting in a COVID-19 pandemic for the world to resume. Yes, we have to wait, but we should fight for the things we want while we wait and continue to live life.”

Burstyn’s role in the film is relatively small, but the veteran screen legend, whose acting career goes back more than 50 years, gives a strong performance as an old woman who struggles to be the mother Caleb needs.

Frieder has nothing but praise for the actress.

“Sometimes I feel like it was a dream,” he said of Burstyn. “Am I going to wake up and I imagined all of this? She is one of the reasons I got into the art of making films.”

Frieder named some of his favorite Burstyn films, such as “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Last Picture Show,” “The Exorcist,” and of

The promotional image for “Three Months.” Credit: Paramount+.

course, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” the film for which she won her Oscar.

“She’s inspired me since I was a kid,” he said. “And so to be able to work with her and to listen to her and to learn from her, and to watch how she inhabits character, how she humanizes these stories and operates as an artist is something I will take with me for the rest of my days.”

Frieder had similar praise for his star, Troye Sivan.

“He is such a talented actor, and I’ve always been a fan of his as a musical artist and a singer and musician,” Frieder said.

“I love pop music. And so to be able to see him do his first lead role as an adult, where he’s literally carrying the film on his back, he’s in every scene, he has to express every emotion, and he does so in such a naturalistic, grounded authentic and honest way. But with a magnetism that makes you unable to move your eyes from him. I think that people are going to be truly astounded by his work in this film.”

Frieder feels that it’s important for people

to be out. As a Floridian he’s appalled by Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit the word gay, or any discussion of homosexuality or gender identity, from being mentioned in schools. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has expressed support for the bill.

“Luckily my parents are incredibly compassionate people who helped fight for my rights,” he said. “I’m so grateful to have been in such an accepting family who celebrate my sexual identity. But I know all too well that there are so many people I grew up with who did not have that experience, and for me to be an out filmmaker who can be out and proud and show people there is nothing to be ashamed of, in fact my sexual identity is one of my favorite elements of my identity, it brings me all my joy. I’m so proud of it, and hopefully that can inspire and help other people to come out when they feel safe enough to do so.”

He hopes that his film will help to bring about some compassion toward LGBT people.

“I really hope this movie gets to do that,” he said.

Look for “Three Months” on Paramount+.

4 .14 . 20 22 •

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A&E FILM

CONVICTIONS

EDITORIAL CARTOON

OUTSHINE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO MIAMI

WITH 45 FILMS, EVENTS

By Andy Marlette

J. W. Arnold

T

MASTERWORKS V Season Finale Concert!

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• 4 .14.2022

he OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival returns to Miami, April 22 to May 1, with a full schedule of more than 45 feature, documentary and shorts screenings, talkback sessions with filmmakers and actors, and glitzy parties.

“This year’s OUTshine Film Festival theme is ‘Find Yourself Here.’ Audiences of all ages and backgrounds can find themselves represented and reflected in our films and can enjoy this experience with friends and family to spark meaningful conversations,” said Mark Gilbert, board chair and interim executive director. “Additionally, for the first time, in partnership with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, we’re reaching out to Latin American visitors with special travel packages to connect them via culture and film to our already diverse Hispanic community and word-class attractions and hospitality.”

The festival opens on April 22 at the Black Archives – History Lyric Theater with “B-Boy Blues” (2021), a feature based on the groundbreaking 1994 novel by James Earl Hardy. Class and culture clash when a college-educated journalist from Brooklyn and a homeboy bike messenger from Harlem fall in love. According to Gilbert, the film can best be described as “Moonlight” meets “Queer as Folk,” an unapologetic celebration of African-American gay men.

An opening night party will follow the screening with guest of honor and festival Vanguard Award-winner Patricia Velásquez.

The Venezuelan actress is best known for her portrayal of Anck-su-namun in “The Mummy” (1990) and “The Mummy Returns” (2001). She has also appeared on television, including “Arrested Development” and “The L Word.” A philanthropist, Velásquez is the founder of the Wayuu Taya Foundation, dedicated to aiding Venezuelans struggling along the Colombian border. She was appointed the UNESCO Artist for Peace and is a Goodwill Ambassador at the Organization of the American States.

On April 23 at Regal Cinemas South Beach, the festival will present its Ladies Spotlight film, “Anaïs in Love” (2021), a French comedy about a young woman who becomes entangled in a complicated love triangle.

The festival Centerpiece film, “Girl Picture” (“Työt Työt Työt”) (2022), will be presented on April 28 at Miami Beach Botanical Gardens. This Sundance Film Festival Audience Award-winner offers the

The OUTshine Film Festival opens in Miami on April 22 with “B-Boy Blues,” a drama described as “Moonlight” meets “Queer as Folk.” Credit: IMDb.

heart-warming story of three girls coming of age in Finland while redefining relationships and sexuality along the way.

The Australian feature “Lonesome” (2021), the Men’s Spotlight film on April 30 at Regal Cinemas South Beach, promises to take audiences on the thrilling, hedonistic, erotic journey of two men who not only seek sexual fulfillment, but also acceptance and a meaningful bond.

The festival schedule includes the North American premieres of “All Our Fears” (2021), a Polish drama directed by Lukasz Ronduda, and “Swing Ride” (“Calcinculo”) (2022), an Italian-Swiss drama from Chiara Bellosi, along with the U.S. premiere of “What We Know” (“Lo Que Sabemos”) (2021), a Catalan romance from director Jordi Nunez.

Other notable OUTshine entries include “The Divide” (“La Fracture”) (2021), a French comedy-drama directed by Catherine Corisini and winner of the Queer Palm (Best LGBT Film) - Cannes Film Festival; “Finlandia” (2021), a Spanish romance from Horacio Alcala; “Framing Agnes” (2021), a Sundance Next Innovator Award-winning trans documentary from director Chase Joynt; and “Private Desert” (“Deserto Particular) (2021)

by Aly Muritaba, a Brazilian submission to the 94th Academy Awards.

OUTshine concludes on May 1 at the Sandrell Rivers Theater with “Cop Secret” (2021), an Icelandic action comedy, and the festival’s annual audience film awards soiree.

Gilbert emphasized, “As part of our inclusive mission, we’ve lowered admission packages and we’re offering special pricing and at-home viewing options to reduce the financial burden for all. It’s important to us to foster a sense of belonging through these shared creative endeavors.”

The OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami runs April 22 to May 1 at venues in Miami and Miami Beach. For a complete schedule and tickets, go to OUTshineFilm.com.

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