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January 26, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 4

Ari Gold Golden Boy of Gay Music

By A. Sebastian Fortino

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Bill Nelson: ADAP as Priority

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Reichen: Life After ‘A-List’

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Smithsonian Chief for Banned Video

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Les Ballet Trockadero

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Gay Rights

HRC to Share Historic Venue SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The nation’s largest gay rights group announced Tuesday that it plans to share the San Francisco storefront where Harvey Milk waged his historic political campaign with a nonprofit that provides suicide prevention services for gay youth.

The deal is aimed at quelling a tempest over the slain gay rights leader’s old stomping grounds.

The Human Rights Campaign said it would donate $10,000 a year and space inside the site of Milk’s old Castro Camera to The Trevor Project, which plans to run a crisis hotline there. The deal will continue for as long as the Washington, D.C.-based organization leases the store.

“We are honored to partner with The Trevor Project in offering this important resource for LGBT youth across the nation from such a historic location,’’ HRC President Joe Solmonese said.

January 26, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 4

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Milk became the first openly gay man to win political office in a major U.S. city when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

In the more than three decades since he was assassinated at City Hall along

with Mayor George Moscone, the building also has housed a clothing store, a beauty supply shop and a housewares emporium.

Underscoring the tensions within various factions of the gay rights movement, some of Milk’s friends and admirers had complained last month when the Human Rights Campaign announced it was opening a gift shop and information center at the retail site where Milk worked during the 1970s.

They said the organization’s philosophy of incremental progress ran counter to Milk’s uncompromising message of gay pride. AIDS Memorial Quilt founder Cleve Jones, who campaigned for and worked with Milk, said last month that an organization serving gay youth would be a more fitting to Milk’s memory. Jones applauded the agreement HRC struck with The Trevor Project.

“It is wonderful that Harvey’s message of hope will again emanate from the site of Castro Camera,’’ he said. “He spoke often of our responsibility to our young people and experienced firsthand the pain of losing loved ones to suicide....

I think he’d approve.’’

HRC plans to stock the store with clothing and household items bearing its logo, as well as merchandize carrying Milk’s words and image. Solmonese said a portion of the proceeds will go to a local elementary school named in Milk’s honor and the GLBT Historical Society.

Business Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Gary Senior Features Correspondents . . . . . . . . . . J esse Monteagudo Tony Adams Correspondents. . . . . . . . . . . P enn Bullock Alex Escobar Steve Fritz Jason Shutts Contributing Columnists. . . . W ayne Besen AJ Cross Susan Estrich Brian McNaught Leslie Robinson Editorial Cartoonists. . . . . . . S teve Sack Darryl Smith Calendar Editor. . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Clark

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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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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

Bill Nelson Tackles ADAP as #1 Priority

By Jarrett Terrill

S

enator Bill Nelson recently sent communications to both President Obama and newly elected Governor Rick Scott regarding ADAP – the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. ADAP has suffered a few cutbacks at the State level and at the Federal level where President Obama’s budget has not increased funding substantially enough to keep up with rising numbers of infections and increased demand on the program due to a sluggish economy.

As a result, Florida’s waiting list for treatment under ADAP comprises 50% of the nation’s total number of people waiting for life-saving medication.

Michael Rajner, an advocate for persons with HIV and AIDS, has been working closely with Senator Nelson on the issue. “This

was his first official correspondence with Governor Scott and I’m very proud of the Senator for making this a high priority,” says Rajner.

PB Prosecutor’s Office Opens Diversity Door

By Richard Gary

A

t the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Michael McAuliffe, State Attorney for the Fifteen Judicial Circuit of Florida, has revised his policies to allow employees to use family medical leave to care for domestic partners with serious health conditions. Previously, the policy was limited to employees’ spouses, parents and children.

The Council, a local nonprofit organization founded in 1988, is dedicated to dedicated to ending discrimination based on

sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. McAuliffe also updated his policies to prohibit harassment based on gender identity and expression.

“As State Attorney, I am committed to creating a work place that can bring out our employees’ best abilities and potential. That means no barriers based on sexual orientation,” said McAuliffe.

“State Attorney McAuliffe’s pro-family policies should serve as a model for his colleagues statewide,” said Council President Rand Hoch.

McAuliffe has informed the Council that he will advocate at the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association for statutory changes to extend domestic partner benefits to employees of the 20 state attorneys in Florida .

The Council is currently working on family medical leave reform with the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners and the City of West Palm Beach.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week Brings Message of Respect to Thousands of Schools This Week

By Staff Reporters

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housands of schools across the country will participate in GLSEN’s eighth annual No Name-Calling Week this week, a week of educational activities designed to address bullying and namecalling of all kinds.

A project of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and more than 50 participating organizations, and sponsored

by Cisco, No Name-Calling Week has become one of the most used and celebrated bullying prevention programs in the country.

“We are proud to support the work of thousands of educators and students who are using No Name-Calling Week to bring a message of respect to their schools,” GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. “One of the wonderful lessons from No Name-Calling Week is that we can empower students to work together to improve school climate for all students. Bullying is a public health

crisis in this country, but through programs like No Name-Calling Week, we know we can make schools safer and more affirming for everyone.”

Initially created for middle schools, No Name-Calling Week is now used in all grade levels. Schools Two schools that participated in past No Name-Calling Weeks around the country. participate in a vaNo Name-Calling Week was inspired students identified bullying, name-calling riety of ways, from hosting assemblies to hanging posters promoting respect to using by the young adult novel “The Misfits” by or harassment as somewhat serious or lesson plans that encourage students to in- James Howe, a story about four students very serious problems at their school. Adwho have experienced name-calling and de- ditionally, 69 percent of junior/middle high tervene when they hear name-calling.

“This is an extremely important message cide to run for student council on the plat- school students reported being assaulted or for students to hear, not just once a year, form of creating a “No Name Day” at school. harassed in the previous year and nearly a “From Teasing to Torment: School Cli- third said that school staff did nothing in rebut throughout the year,” said Susan Goldfarb, a teacher at Silver Lakes Middle School mate in America,” a 2005 Harris Interactive sponse when the incident was reported. in North Lauderdale, Fla. “It is vital that we report commissioned by GLSEN, found that To learn more about No Name-Calling Week, 47 percent of junior/middle high school visit NoNameCallingWeek.org. continue getting the message out.”

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Montel Wants His Medical Marijuana ANNAPOLIS, Md.– AP – Former talk show host Montel Williams has urged state lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana in Maryland, saying it has a role helping those with painful ailments such as his own.

The Baltimore native spoke Monday at a news conference with Maryland lawmakers who support legalized medical marijuana.

Williams, 54, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1990. He said he had been living with pain in his lower extremities, face and side for years and added that marijuana provided the only relief he could find.

“Marijuana may not work for everyone, but what it has done for me is given me my life back,” Williams told the

Frederick News-Post.

When questioned by The Associated Press, he declined to comment on how he obtains the drug.

The Maryland Senate passed a bill last year to allow physician-approved use of marijuana.

The House didn’t pass the measure but lawmakers say they’ll try again this year.

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Gay Parents Rule in San Antonio

By Advocate.com Editors

M

ore than a third of cohabiting same-sex couples in San Antonio are raising children, making it the city with the highest percentage of gay and lesbian parents in the U.S. New census data analyzed by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, shows that 34% of same-sex couples are raising children under 18 in San Antonio.

Jacksonville, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; Las Vegas; and the area around Providence, R.I., round out the top five areas with high concentrations of gay- and lesbian-led households with children. The top 15 ranked cities to fit the criteria do not include some of America’s largest cities, like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Chicago. Instead, many are concentrated in the South, like Houston and Dallas, or are less populous cities like Buffalo and Rochester in upstate New York.

Gary Gates, chief researcher at the Williams Institute, said the results show that gays and lesbians are more diverse than the stereotype of the white, affluent, urban male.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN BRIEFS Gay Head at Apple CEO Steve Jobs has taken an indefinite leave from Apple and, according to Valleywag, the man filling his shoes is gay. Apple COO Tim Cook has been described as a “lifelong bachelor” and “intensely private” by other media outlets, but Valleywag says it has confirmed through “two well-placed sources” that he is gay.

Reports Valleywag: “One tech executive who has spoken to multiple Apple management veterans about Cook was told executives there would support Cook if he publicly acknowledged his orientation, and even would encourage him to do so as he steps up his leadership role, but that they also had concerns about whether his coming out would impact the perception of the Apple brand.

The blog goes on to say that Cook would be the most powerful openly gay person in the tech world, followed by Microsoft’s head of HR, Lisa Brummel and Megan Smith, Google’s vice president of business development.

NYC Defends HIV PSA The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues to defend a controversial HIV/AIDS PSA that critics say

not consulted about the PSA, which the assistant commissioner said was in the making for more than three years.

Australian Gay Couple Wins Case

Scene from NYC Dept. of Health PSA on HIV/AIDS Prevention stigmatizes gay men.

According to the Housing Works blog, Monica Sweeney, the assistant commissioner of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at the department, credited the video with inciting necessary conversation about the disease, regardless of opinions. She spoke to more than 100 people gathered Thursday at a Ryan White Planning Council meeting in Manhattan.

“We need to think of all the possible ways . . . to get people’s attention, because HIV defi-

nitely isn’t on the front page anymore, at least not until this ad came out,” she said.

While some HIV/AIDS activists have expressed support for the PSA, a coalition of groups including Housing Works and Gay Men’s Health Crisis has denounced the ad, which uses graphic imagery to scare young men into using condoms. The PSA premiered in December and runs through January.

Members of the planning council, which wrote to Sweeney asking for the ad’s termination, also wanted to know why there were

A gay Australian couple that paid an Indian surrogate to give birth to twins won full parenting rights for the nongenetic father.

The Herald Sun reports that the Melbourne couple won the case in family court.

Their 20-month-old girls were born in Mumbai to an Indian woman who carried eggs from an anonymous donor impregnated with sperm from one of the men. Overseas surrogacy is booming in Australia.

“In this case, the children do not have the benefit of a mother, but they have the good fortune of having two fathers,” said Justice Paul Cronin, according to the Sun. “As a matter of law, the word ‘parent’ tends to suggest some biological connection, but ... biology does not really matter; it is all about parental responsibility.”

The couple’s attorney said the ruling could pave the way for other same-sex couples seeking full parenting rights in Australia.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

The High Price of DADT A new study by the Government Accountability Office has found that enforcing “don’t ask, don’t tell” cost taxpayers nearly $200 million between 2004 and 2009.

During those years, the Defense Department discharged 3,664 service members at a cost of $193.3 million, or $52,800 per discharge, according to the report.

About 96% of DADT-related expenses — or $185.6 million — was spent on recruiting and training personnel to replace service members who had been separated from the armed forces.

The GAO initiated the study to determine both the costs of discharges under DADT and the extent to which the policy has led to a brain-drain of service members with critical occupations and important foreign language skills.

Nearly 40% of service members discharged during the five-year period studied had held a position deemed critical or had crucial foreign language skills, including Arabic or Spanish.

DOETH / WIKIMEDIA

SFGN BRIEFS

Terry Jones

Pastor Barred from U.K. Conservative Christian pastor Terry Jones, who last year protested the candidacy of out gay Gainesville, FL. mayor Craig Lowe with a “No Homo Mayor” sign, has been barred from entering the U.K. for a speaking tour next month.

According to Thomas Crosbie Media, the British government cited the “extremism” of Jones, who last year also attempted to mark

the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by burning copies of the Koran.

A British Home Office spokesman said, “Coming to the UK is a privilege, not a right, and we are not willing to allow entry to those whose presence is not conducive to the public good,” reported TCM. Jones’s daughter and grandchildren live in Britain. He had accepted an invitation to speak to a group called England Is Ours in midFebruary, along with visits to other groups opposed to the expansion of Islam and the construction of mosques in the country.

Jones described the ban as “unfair,” according to TCM. Last spring, fearing for the loss of their tax-exempt status, Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center altered a controversial “No Homo Mayor” sign against then-candidate Craig Lowe, who won the mayoral contest in an April runoff.

French ‘Supreme Court’ To rule on Gay Marriage If you were one of the many people who assumed that France already al-

lowed Gay Marriage, you’d be wrong.

What France has is called a “Civil Solidarity Pact” and is much like a civil union is supposed to be. The pact carries with it all the same rights and responsibilities as marriage but without the traditional name.

The Constitutional Council – comparable to our Supreme Court of the United States – is charged with hearing a case from the plaintiffs Corinne Cestino and Sophie Haßlau. The “pacted couple” who are educators and parents have charged that the name of their union precludes them from raising a proper family. The Council is expected to give its decision on the matter by the end of this January.

The couple’s lawyer, Emmanuel Ludor has described the recognition as an “essential tool” for the couple to raise their children because certain codes in the nation’s laws do not directly apply to same sex couples with the current language. The High Court (which referred the case to the Constitutional Council) has described the case as part of “the evolution of manners and recognition.”

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Media Matters

Doritos Goes Gay

T

wo new Doritos commercials which are scheduled to air during this year’s Super Bowl in Dallas, TX have been raising more than eyebrows. Frito Lay’s signature brand has debuted two commercials with gay undertones that are sure to be the target of conservative groups across the nation on the days following the big game.

The first commercial features a “straight” man trimming the hedges of his yard while gazing at a bowl of Doritos in a pink cowboy hat in the neighbor’s yard.

Two gay men are seated poolside on both sides of the hat and are clearly guessing the sexual orientation of the other man staring at the Doritos. The commercial, titled “Told You So” ends with the straight guy’s supposed girlfriend walking outside and watching her boyfriend gawking at

the two gay men and their Doritos.

The other, even more risqué commercial sees two shirtless men in a steam room, one with nothing more than a Doritos bag covering his privates. These commercials are not to be missed and are worth watching the game for, even if you aren’t fans of the Packers or Steelers.

To see the commercials in their entirety, visit SFGN.com/Doritos.

Who Dropped the Soap?

L

ast week SFGN ran some controversial billboards featuring African Americans in Schenectady, New York, which promoted gay culture and lifestyles.

This week another ad basically asks ‘Who Dropped the Soap?’

Muddy York is a 40-member (shut-up) gay rugby club that competes in the To-

ronto Rugby Union “against predominantly straight teams.”

According to GJP advertising in Toronto, this poster is now currently up in a few locations in the city’s gay village. And causing some eyebrows to open.

It obviously makes some good clean fun of the popular fear most straight men have of showering with gays.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

By Jarrett Terrill

I

n the memorial for the victims of the Arizona shootings, President Obama brought cheers to the audience when he revealed that Congresswoman Gabby Giffords had miraculously opened her eyes for the first time moments after his visit with her.

Gifford’s shooting points out the importance of Living Wills, documents that issue directives to doctors on life support and assisted feeding orbreathing. The people who visit someone in a hospital and the people who make what are referred to as “end of life” decisions are faced with some difficult choices and a Living Will can only make those easier.

Ironically, Giffords was attacked right after she had explained the importance of a Living Will in the new healthcare reforms to her constituents on her website. Giffords cited many rumors, myths and misconceptions about healthcare reform, and gave the public bullet points in a “Myth vs. Fact” sheet on healthcare reform. Her website discussed Living Wills as an example of what “end of life” discussions might entail, relieving the apprehension that these new reforms would authorize actual euthanasia.

Living Wills are of unique importance for the LGBT community in Florida as well.

In Florida, hospitalization is a political and social point of contention for the LGBT community. Two years ago, even before

courtesy of terri schindler schiavo foundation

Beyond Living Well Is a Living Will

Florida’s notorious Amendment 2, which bans LGBT same sex marriages, Janice Langbehn, a lesbian, was denied even basic visitation with her dying partner, Lisa Pond, at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

On her blog last week, Langbehn wrote, “I know I will never hear ‘I am sorry’ from them, but I can hope that one day the top administrators can acknowledge how horribly they treated Lisa, our kids and me…”

Langbehn and Pond, not even Florida residents, suffered the wrath of homophobia

that is deeply codified in our laws. Visitation was not allowed for same sex partners. The national revulsion at this practice helped formulate President Obama’s newly enacted executive order, requiring hospitals to allow visitation by a patient’s closest companion (or “support person”).

However, if Lisa Marie Pond had been the victim of a critical wound to the head like Representative Giffords, an entirely different set of problems would have presented itself.

As American University law professor Nan-

cy Polikoff points out on her blog, Obama’s Executive Order does not include medical decision-making. That can present a unique problem for LGBT partners.

Many gay men and women are faced with anti-gay family members that they would not entrust an “end of life” decision to.

Without a living will issuing advance directives, Florida hospitals would be bound by law to follow the directives of distant family members over a lover’s wishes.

A living will, also known as an Advance Care Directive, is a document that tells doctors, attorneys and law enforcement which person in your life is responsible for executing decisions you’ve made about your healthcare if you are unable to speak for yourself.

Says Daniel W. Humbert, a Fort Lauderdale Attorney who has developed a specialty in estate planning, “a General Power of Attorney is very broad in scope and tends to give the Attorney-In-Fact (the person you designate) the power to do virtually anything. A living will is quite different.”

Humbert says that a living will is “where you can express your wishes for what they call extraordinary life-saving measures. This would be particularly important for a person who becomes incompetent or goes into a coma or something like that.”

“A living will is essential for everybody, but it’s particularly important to the gay community,” says Humbert. Laws and regcontinued on page 30

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

CampOUT: 30 Queer Kids in Birch Park for Four Days with ‘Uncle’ Luigi

By Tony Adams

W

hen Luigi Ferrer, Director of Programs at Pridelines Youth Services in Miami, brought 30 gay kids (and one straight girl with two lesbian moms) from the Miami-Dade school system to Fort Lauderdale’s Birch Park a week ago for a four-day camp, he was not sure what would happen. He was also aware of the many things that could go wrong despite careful planning and skilled management. His anticipation was mixed with some anxiety.

“About half of them were regular attendees at Prideline events, and the other half were from Miami Dade high schools. About half of the kids knew each other but some didn’t know anyone else in the group. These are city kids who started the weekend saying things like ‘We hate the outdoors’. We didn’t know what to expect but we had high hopes for the weekend.”

A year ago, Luigi discussed his idea for CampOUT with park ranger Mark Foley.

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“I envisioned a retreat primarily for kids who are leaders in their gay/straight alliance groups. At Pridelines, we are all about youth enrichment activities, and one purpose for CampOUT was to develop a youth counsel that would be trained to lead discussion groups and social gatherings. I also thought it wouldn’t hurt for these kids to learn about nature and to experience the real flora and fauna of Florida.” Mark encouraged him and arranged for support from Birch Park that would guarantee a safe and educational experience for the group. With the sponsorship of six advocacy groups: Safe Schools South Florida, Equality Florida, Sunserve, Red Cross, Drag It Out and The Alliance for GLBTQ Youth, parents received an invitation from the school board to register their kids for CampOUT, “a three-day Youth Leadership Development Retreat” with activities including “cabin camping, nature hikes, great food, campfires, interactive workshops and tons of fun!”

The sponsoring groups sent professionals to lead workshops about “Bullying, Safety and Self-Defense, Sex Education, Race and Social Justice Issues, Culinary/Healthy Eating Habits, Being a transgender Ally and Leadership and Career Building Skills”. Two of the youths at the camp were not fully out to their parents, but counselors were present to handle the worries and fears that might surface in the course of the weekend.

Parents concerned about the safety of their children would be assured by the proficiency of the staff and the meticulous agenda for the weekend, but they would also be comforted to know that leading the camp would be a man with twenty years of local leadership in LGBTQ advocacy and social service.

When Luigi Ferrer was in high school, there were no gay/straight alliances, no “It Gets Better” videos and no safe spaces for a teenager discovering his sexuality. Young guys like Luigi got their sex education cruising the beaches, bars and bookstores of Miami. In his early 20s, he became involved with a new organization that is now Pridelines, a community group “dedicated to supporting, educating and empowering South Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth in a safe and diverse environment.” Luigi went on to be-

come a marine biologist and a concerned environmentalist. He served as executive director for the Body Positive Resource Center and the Bisexual Foundation and held key management and program development positions with several national HIV specialty pharmacies. “I’ve always worked in Miami except for a stint with the Massachusetts Public Health Department – there was a love interest at the time that brought me up there – but after three winters I wanted to come home. I was working toward my degree in oceanography when I participated in a blood drive in 1985 and discovered I was HIV-positive. Suddenly the bottom of the ocean didn’t seem so important.

My priorities shifted. I had very few sex partners so I know that I was infected in 1979. I started on meds in 1986/87 when AZT first came out. I was taking 1600 milligrams a day and it felt like I was constantly punched in the stomach. It was like a ridiculously strong regimen. There was a time when I had zero T cells. Every time a new drug came on the market I’d try it.

Finally, there were protease inhibitors. I try once year to share my story because the kids need to know these things or they will forget about the realities. At CampOUT, I used my story and a self help book for people with HIV called “The Color of Light” to guide a

daily mediation on forgiveness, nurturing the child within, reaching your dreams and preparing for success.”

Did CampOUT succeed? Well beyond expectations.

“One thing I did not expect was the transformative aspect of the experience. It led one boy to come out to his parents – we have followed up with them – and it changed a group of 30 kids into a family. They explored the world around them and the world inside them. By the end of the weekend, they were insisting that we do this again, and these are kids who ordinarily don’t go to summer camp because they would be picked on or harassed. Our main purpose in all the work we do is to improve the quality of life for the kids. Doing what we do for these kids is like parenting but I’m more like an uncle who arranges a first job interview or opens a door for them that their parents might not be able to do. Sometimes we are the ones who reconcile kids with their parents and can strengthen family bonds.”

Luigi and Ranger Mark say the park can handle up to 60 kids, and that based on their first experience, they will definitely do it again.

For more information about Pridelines: http:// www.pridelines.org/

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Brian McNaught

A Very Masculine Woman and a Very Effeminate Man Walked into a Bar…

By Brian McNaught

T

his is not a joke. A very masculine woman and a very effeminate man walked into a bar to get a drink, but neither could afford one. According to a new study released by the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, gender nonconforming people and transgender people live in extreme poverty at four times the national rate, and are twice as likely to be unemployed. If they’re persons of color, they fare far worse.

When openly gay actors Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch, from the popular television program Glee, won awards at the Golden Globes for best supporting actor and actress in a series, one might have been tempted to announce “Mission accomplished. The culture war has been won!” But it hasn’t yet, especially for people who make us uncomfortable because they are gender non-conforming. Young people refer to such nonconformance as “gender queer.”

Chris Colfer is effeminate, and Jane Lynch is a bit masculine, but they are very talented people. If you are a very talented, wealthy, likeable, and influential person, or you bring business or status to your employer, you can get away with being an effeminate man or a masculine woman. But if you’re an average person whose presentation of self exceeds traditional gender boundaries in mannerisms, voice level, attire, and other forms of expression you will have a harder time being embraced by the general public or making a living. Most employers, even those with policies that prohibit discrimination based upon gender identity or expression, are not comfortable having gender non-conforming people as the face of their company. Lower-paying back office positions can be found, but very effeminate men and very masculine women are unlikely to be in higher-paying front office jobs.

Many young, so-called “gender queer” people work at Starbucks, Target, and Walmart.

There’s a heavily tattooed, pierced, and bearded woman I know who works as a tattoo artist. I say, “Hi” to her when I see

her, but she generally doesn’t respond. She seems to have found her niche in the work she is doing. Her gender non-conforming appearance may even make her more attractive to those people who want to have their body tattooed or pierced. If she came to me for advice because she had changed her mind about the direction of her life, and now wanted to work on the trading floor at one of the major banks, I would suggest to her that her chances for success would increase if she shaved and took the giant rings out of her earlobes. She might respond, “But most banks prohibit discrimination based upon gender expression, don’t they?

Why would I need to change my appearance?” And I would probably respond, “I don’t know the answer to that question.”

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), according to most insiders, would pass the House of Representatives if it didn’t include gender identity (transsexuality) and expression (cross dressing and other gender non-conforming behaviors.) Most Americans oppose job discrimination based on sexual orientation, and there’s probably a survey out there saying they don’t want transsexuals fired either, but the majority of people are not yet able to say they embrace all expressions of gender. Most people, especially those in Congress, couldn’t yet get their arms around the bearded lady.

So, can we never claim success until socalled “gender queer” people win Golden Globe awards? Does the “T” in LGBT drag us down? Are transsexuals equally invested in the equality of men who only wear a dress occasionally? Should we be angry with the really masculine woman and the really effeminate man for coming into the bar and making us uncomfortable? Should we buy them a drink, or turn our heads and hope they leave?

Most non-political gay and lesbian people I know don’t really get the “transgender thing.” If they had the choice, they’d have the “T” dropped from the ENDA legislation so that sexual orientation protections would pass. In fact, a longtime gay activist said that very thing to me at a party last

week. “Why can’t we just first get employment protections for gay and lesbian people, and then work on transgender people?”

What if we dropped gender expression from ENDA and kept gender identity? Most banks actually say they prohibit discrimination based upon gender identity but they don’t include expression. It’s okay now to be a transsexual person but not one who pushes the boundaries on gender conformity.

If Chris Colfer in Glee didn’t have the great voice that he does, he might have a tough time finding meaningful work because of his effeminate speech and manner.

If effeminate men, regardless of their sexual orientation, are not successful in the arts, their job opportunities are often limited to floral design and hair styling.

It seems to me that though most gay men and women will never be considered “gender queer,” many of us walk at the edge of the boundaries of gender expression. If we win protections through Federal legislation for our sexual orientation, we may also need protections for our mannerisms. The same is true in corporate non-discrimination policies, which protect us until states or the Federal Government does so.

Until we gay men and women see our very real personal connection to the gay or straight person who pushes the gender expression boundaries, our success in the cultural war will be undependable. We will have won a battle, but not the war. We’re still vulnerable to discrimination.

The bearded lady scares me, and makes me uncomfortable. I say, “Hi” but I avoid her. Very masculine women can have the same effect on me, as can very effeminate men. But I don’t want them to be poor or unemployed. I don’t want to win my acceptance at their expense. And I want to understand and accept that my discomfort with them is a reflection of my discomfort with myself, and my fear that I don’t measure up as a “real” man.

Gender non-conforming people will only begin to win public acceptance when gay, lesbian, and transsexual people embrace them as equals and worthy of respect. I don’t have to have lunch with the bearded lady, but I want to make sure that she can afford

her own. This sounds very close to the feelings of some heterosexual people about me and my gay sexual orientation. www.brian-mcnaught.com

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Off the Wall

La Nuova Stella

By Pier Angelo Guidugli “It’s better to go crazy over beautiful girls than to be gay” – (Silvio Berlusconi’s wisecrack directed at his opponent for the Italian Premiership)

N

wikimedia / Fotoguru.it / Vincenzo Iaconianni

ichi Vendola is the new star of Italian politics: young, confident, catholic, communist and gay.

He has a good chance of becoming Prime Minister of Italy in the 2013 general elections, if not sooner, replacing the clownish right wing Silvio Berlusconi who has ruled the country on and off for the last two decades, thanks in part to his ownership of a conglomerate of media networks combined with a charismatic appeal reminiscent of Benito Mussolini.

Nichi Vendola is the governor of Apulia, one of Italy’s poorest and most socially conservative southern regions. Last March he was re-elected by comfortable margins and a recent poll found him as the best-liked “politico” in Italy. He has more Facebook fans than any other politician in Europe, he podcasts, posts blogs, tweets, and in his spare time he writes poetry.

Vendola is also the leader of a “postcommunist” party, vague and big enough to include greens, trade unionists, anti-mafia activists, feminists and of course gays. Born in Terlizzi, a province of Bari (Apulia), in 1958, he has been a member of the Communists Youth Federation since the age of 14.

He studied literature at the university, where he presented a dissertation about the controversial gay poet and movie director Pier Paolo Pasolini. He went on to become a journalist for the communist daily L’Unita’, which he would often read to the illiterate southern laborers.

He is a veteran founder of various civic associations – Arcigay, Italy’s leading gay rights groups; Lila, an AIDS awareness group, and Rifondazione Comunista, a loud and vocal defender of Italy’s social safety net.

Even if he doesn’t become Prime Minister, Nichi Vendola is having a big impact on the country’s perception of homosexuality, equivalent to the Harvey Milk of the 70’s. It-

aly lags behind almost all the other Western European democracies on gay acceptance.

Only in recent years has the subject been openly talked about but the Catholic Church continues to exert a tremendous influence on everyday attitudes even though Italians are not as religious as Americans and Church services are sparsely attended.

Another factor to consider is that Italy and Mediterranean cultures in general - are family-oriented societies where the malemacho ethic runs strong. Under these conditions it’s more difficult for gays to come out; many opt instead to lead a double life.

But homosexuality is not illegal.

Italy is also one of the few western European countries without legislation on samesex couples. The only attempt to rule on

Nichi Vendola

civil unions was a bill proposed by former Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s administration in 2007. It was never approved by Parliament amid opposition from Prodi’s own allies and the Catholic Church.

The latest legal battle stems from an initiative led by the “Certain Rights” advocate group and aimed at expanding rights for gay couples. Italy’s constitution and civil code does not explicitly ban gay marriages.

It is ironic because many of Italy’s greatest

and most venerated artists – Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo Da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Caravaggio among them – were homosexuals commissioned to produce stunning masterpieces for the Church itself. It is part of the Italian DNA to be schizophrenic in every aspect of their lives. There is a saying that wonderfully describes their character: “Italians enjoy creating chaos, as it provides them with a challenge to restore order.”

Having said all that, the continuous paradox is that Italy might become the first nation of Continental Europe to have an openly gay Prime Minister, and a communist one to boot.

Vendola’s popularity stems from an unorthodox way of governing his region. He has shown, among other things, that culture and the environment have the potential to create jobs and allow young people to come out of unemployment. As governor, he created the Apulia Film Commission that has already attracted the production of over 150 movies in his region and by promoting the development of alternate means of energy Apulia has become one of the country’s leaders in this field.

On several interviews he has stated that Italy is ready for a Prime Minister who is also homosexual. He does not believe that wearing an earring is a handicap: “Some people wear earrings others carry rosary beads in their pockets, what is the problem?”

He also does not find anything wrong with being communist and catholic, both have always been pillars and integral part of Italian society: “What’s important are the decisions that have to be made regarding the economy, social issues, public education, dignity in the workplace, liberty, and the restructuring of the financial world”.

He refers to the past 20 years as lost decades, meaning the extinction of a vibrant and politically sophisticated civic culture, causing millions of people to be caught in the orbit of right wing politics. Vendola is more committed to stirring up mass participation in politics than in “normalizing” the system.

Some of his poems have been recently collected in a book titled L’ultimo mare (“The last sea”). His figure has already inspired a biographical film, Nichi. This charismatic scrapper has the Italian right worried, and the gay world buzzing, after all he is frequently referred to as “The Italian Obama”: a politician whose candidacy has gone from impossible to compelling.

Go Nichi,Go!

Write to the Editor Please send your letters to: Letters to the Editor, SFGN 2520 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 OR EMAIL: editor@southfloridagaynews.com

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Political Analysis

Who Does Number Two Work for?

Why Marco Rubio is Almost Guaranteed the Republican Vice Presidential Nomination and What Makes Him Dangerous for Gay Floridians

By R.E. Frederique

I

t took only a few minutes after Marco Rubio was pronounced the winner of the Florida U.S. Senate race for the pundits to declare him the front runner for the “number two” spot on the 2012 GOP presidential ticket. Indeed, on the surface, Mr. Rubio looks like the perfect “fit” for the vice presidential nomination, no matter who is at the top of that ticket.

What makes Rubio, the darling of the Tea Party, such an obviously ideal vice presidential candidate? Matched with almost all the potential GOP presidential prospects, he would both balance and complement the ticket. (The one exception would be Jeb Bush, in which case Rubio would be disqualified because he is a resident of the same state as Bush.) You cannot say that about any other Republican politician.

As Mitt Romney’s running mate, Rubio offers geographical balance – Romney being from New England and Rubio in the South. Rubio would also bring the Tea Party under the tent of a Romney candidacy – an important factor since the Tea Party movement has not been very friendly to moderate traditional Republicans like Romney.

Matched with Sarah Palin, Rubio brings with him Florida’s 27 electoral votes – she would need a running mate from one of the 5 highest electoral vote states in order to have any chance to win. With Huckabee, Barbour or Gingrich, Rubio would solidify the South. Any candidate with a solid block of states from Florida all the way to Arizona already in their corner going into the election would be hard to beat.

More importantly, Marco Rubio has the potential of bringing in the Latino vote.

This demographic was an unexpectedly huge factor in getting Obama elected, and was the decisive margin in defeating Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle in the recent Nevada senatorial race. In many ways, Rubio is the GOP’s answer to Obama as far as ethnic political progression is concerned.

When you add to all that the fact that

Rubio is good looking, intelligent, well spoken, exudes a lot of energy (not all negative) and, most importantly, is a Tea Party politician who doesn’t seem to have some screws loose (actually, the only one I can think of), what you end up with is a very attractive option for the vice presidential spot.

But if it looks too good to be true, that’s because it is. Marco Rubio may look like the ideal presidential running mate on paper, but on closer examination, he may turn out to be more of a liability for the GOP. For example, how would Rubio’s positions on gay rights be judged by voters of all political persuasions across the country, when close to 50% or a majority of them have polled in favor of these civil rights?

Mr. Rubio, who is 35, seems to be at odds with his own generation on these issues.

Even among Republicans under 40, a majority are in favor of gay rights such as the recent repeal of DADT, gay adoption, protection against employment discrimination and even civil unions.

Last year, Rubio was the keynote speaker at the Florida Family Policy Council

(FFPC) Annual Public Policy Dinner. The Florida Family Policy Council is affiliated with Focus on the Family and, together with Rubio in the state legislature, is primarily responsible for passing Florida Constitutional Amendment 2, forever banning same-sex marriage and any other relationship recognition for LGBT couples. The FFPC is also opposed to gays and lesbians being allowed to adopt. They seem to have lost that battle.

But with Rubio, the new Tea Party Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi now in their corner, they are not giving up.

As stated before, Marco Rubio, being the son of Cuban immigrants, should be an ideal candidate to bring in the Latino vote all over the country. Except that Rubio is virulently anti-immigrant. In campaigning across the country, he would have to explain to Latino voters in states like California, Texas and New Mexico, especially those from Mexico and South American countries, why he feels anyone from Cuba who wants to be a citizen of the United States should be allowed to do so, while anyone from any other Hispanic country should not. Since he speaks Spanish

fluently, he will be able to explain to them, very carefully, why he feels that way. Similarly, he’d have to explain (very carefully) to Haitian-American voters and African-American voters why no one from Haiti should be granted asylum upon arriving to the shores of the United States, while light-skinned Cubans should have that right.

Rubio also opposes ENDA, a position not likely to win over any minority groups.

As a national candidate, Mr. Rubio would have to explain his association with the FFPC, the organization behind Florida’s restriction on women’s choice, requiring that women view an ultrasound before they are allowed to have an abortion. How is this and anti-gay rights positions shared by Rubio consistent with the Tea Party’s declared manifesto against government intrusion in our lives? It isn’t. That’s one of the contradictions that Mr. Rubio would have to very carefully navigate during the course of a national campaign. He seems to have painted himself into a corner, and unless he is as skilled as Charlie Crist was in making quick 180 degree turnarounds, the national press is not going to let him off the hook so easily.

But never underestimate the chameleon in any politician. Mr. Rubio has already begun to distance himself from the Tea Party movement, declaring in the last days of his senatorial campaign that he was not a slave to the movement. He further distanced himself in the aftermath of the election, most recently condemning the hateful rhetoric that supposedly led up to the shootings in Tucson. Such rhetoric is the hallmark of the Tea Party Movement. Like all other politicians, Rubio’s success will depend on how skillful he is in moving toward the center while bringing those who got him elected in the first place along with him. Where does that leave the LBGT community? While the Log Cabin Republicans are becoming more prominent and successful both in Florida and nationally, Rubio himself is not likely to stray so far from his base as to embrace them.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Business Profile

Mark Elderkin Gay Ad Network: Connecting Our Community

By Joey Amato

M

any start-up publications have a difficult time reaching potential advertisers on a national level as a result of minimal budgets and limited distribution. However, Mark Elderkin has a solution. He is the founder and president of Gay Ad Network, the category leader in gay media networking.

“Recently, we have become the first gay media property to surpass 2 million unique users in the United States as measured by comScore Media Metrix,” states Elderkin.

The data from comScore Media Metrix reported that in May 2010, Gay Ad Network reached 2.17 million unique users, which is greater than the cumulative audience reported for MTV’s Logo sites, Gay.com, Ad-

vocate.com, and Out.com combined.

Gay Ad Network receives over 6 million unique users per month across 290 popular LGBT web sites, blogs and social networks.

“Over seventy new sites based around the world have joined this year, including Gay Europa, Dallas Voice, Gay Guide Network, Holidays Out! UK, Georgia Voice, Gay Socialites, GayCalgary, Best Gay Cities Las Vegas and Gays.com,” Elderkin tells SFGN. Ranked as the largest U.S. gay media property, Gay Ad Network provides online, mobile and video advertising services to global and national brands targeting the LGBT market and is an NGLCC Certified Business Enterprise.

“Gay Ad Network is a collection of several hundred publishers that team together in a unique way to reach the LGBT market.

Over 600 sites are registered to the network, although not all are active. 300 have

received significant increases in traffic from being a part of the network,” Elderkin adds.

The company handles all administrative aspects for its publishing partners including billing, collections and reporting.

Currently, Google, Logo and Here are the main competitors to the company, which claims they are first in the space. “We are unique to the market,” Elderkin proudly tells us.

The company, which began in 2007, is

headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, where Elderkin resides but maintains a sales team operating out of Los Angeles.

“We wanted to identify new market opportunities. It’s almost impossible for publishers to reach national advertisers and our company can provide them an ideal outlet.

The only way small publications can succeed is to team up against the majors.”

Gay Ad Network combines the largest targeted gay reach with quality content from a diverse group of online publishers.

Content channels include news, style, travel, business, health and fitness, pop culture, entertainment, young adult, community and family.

The company offers the convenience of an ad network combined with the benefits of direct site buying on quality gay-oriented web sites. In addition, Elderkin is capable of building campaigns that span both large and small web sites and reach more of the gay market than an individual publisher is able to.

Elderkin states joining Gay Ad Network offers three primary benefits to publishers: efficiency through campaign optimization by removing under-performing sites; the ability to target campaigns by site content and audience; and the ability to syndicate rich media and customized marketing programs across numerous gay and lesbian web sites.

For more information, please visit Gayadnetwork.com.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Jesse’s Journal

Married to the Accordion

By Jesse Monteagudo

A

ll my life, I’ve been drawn to intelligent, talented people. Though I have no musical talent myself, I recognize it when I see it, both in the entertainment field and in my personal life.

My first partner was (and is) a great singer whose voice and showmanship often eclipsed his professional life as a lawyer.

Michael Greenspan, my life partner since 1985, is also a great singer, an incredible performer, and a brilliant instrumentalist. I am obviously biased. What makes Michael different from most other singers or musicians is that he plays the accordion.

In his 1992 thesis, “Accordion: Historical and Personal Perspectives,” Michael divided all those who play the squeeze box between “the accordion player, who relegates the instrument’s occasional use to the most informal musical applications, and the accordionist, who recognizes the tremendous range and potential of the accordion and devotes a primary part of his/her musical life to understanding and perfecting the craft.”

Michael is definitely an accordionist. When I first met him, he was a full-time musician; performing with the folk group, the American Balalaika Company. Though Michael has since gone on to a stellar career in education, he never dropped the squeeze box.

He is the Cantorial Soloist for Congregation Etz Chaim, a spiritual home for LGBT Jews and their friends in South Florida. As “Misha,” Michael plays venues all over Florida, specializing in Jewish and international

folk music. He has recorded two CD’s as a solo act and one – “Fire and Passion” -- with the American Balalaika Company.

All this makes me an accordion spouse, which is more time-consuming than being married to a freelance writer/journalist and community activist. Like many of you, I grew up with all the prejudices and misconceptions that surround accordions and those who play them: from “Lady of Spain” jokes to the popular view of the “typical” accordionist as an 80-year old Italian in a bad polyester suit and cap.

Michael, whose relationship with the accordion is more intimate, admits that “accordionists are sensitive to the stereo-typical attitudes about their instrument and they devote much of their musical energy to perfecting its expressive potential.” On the other hand, as the master of such an “unusual” instrument, Michael stands out the way that, say, pianists or guitarists don’t.

How many synagogues have an accordionplaying cantor?

There is more to the accordion than polkas.

In his liner notes to the CD compilation “Legends of Accordion” (Rhino Records), Eddie Gorodetsky, editor of “Accordion Player Magazine,” wrote that, “for non-accordion lovers it’s easy to find reasons to hate the instrument.

After all, much French music is played on it. But substitute ‘Cajun’ for ‘French,’ and suddenly it’s a different story. And fine Cajun stomps are just the tip of the musical iceberg that is accordion music.

Jazz, blues, country, and zydeco are all richer for the musical instrument that The Who paid tribute to in one of their later singles.” Two of our most dynamic musical genres, “Tejano” (Tex-Mex) and “norteño” music, thrive on accordions: In the words of Ramiro Burr, author of “The Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music” (Billboard Books), “the button accordion and the melodic hooks that it produces are indispensable to Tejano and norteño music,” as proved by artists like Emilio, La Fiebre, David Lee Garza, La Mafia, Mazz and the late Selena.

The “Legends of Accordion” CD features such artists as Dick Contino (of course); polka kings Myron Floren, Lawrence Welk and Frankie Yankovic; Cajun/ zydeco greats Clifton Chenier and Andrew Cormier; Tex-Mex mavens Flaco Jimenez and Steve Jordan; and accordion jazz-beaux Angelo DiPippo, Guy Klucevsek and the Art Van Damme Quintet.

As an accordion spouse, I accompany Michael to gigs all over Florida, often enough to make me more familiar with his repertoire than anyone else, except the artist of course. I also accompanied Misha to some of the Florida Accordionist Association’s annual SMASH conventions, weekend gatherings in Orlando devoted to all things accordion. Here accordionists and accordion players came out of their squeeze box closets to play their chosen instruments, listen to music and bask in

an accordion-friendly environment.

There, Michael shared the stage with such greats as the “K” Trio (a family act), the one and only Tony Lovello (“the Liberace of the Accordion”), Jimmy Bubaloni (“Mr. Versatility”), Joe Zalewski (“Mr. Orlando”) and Mari Carmen Vasquez (“the Latin Diva of the Accordion”). Though the accordion SMASH is not my idea of a good time, I’ve learned to appreciate the instrument and its music to make those weekends enjoyable enough, even when the 80-year old Italian gentleman in a bad polyester suit and cap plays.

In his accordion thesis, Michael wrote “that people who remain committed to the accordion do so because of the addicting effect of feeling musical sound course through their bodies. No instrument has a more intimate relationship with the body than the accordion. Every reed sounded goes through not only the instrument itself, but also through the body cavity of the player as well.” As one who has had an intimate relationship with an accordionist for over 25 years, I can sympathize with that statement, even though I never squeezed a squeeze box myself. But I learned to accept the accordion as part of our life together, till death do us part.

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and activist who lives in South Florida with his accordion-playing partner. You can commiserate at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

By Chris Azzopardi

S

ome people had a hard time sitting through The A-List: New York, Logo’s tawdry teledoc about a gay gaggle that got eye-roll reactions from viewers who couldn’t completely look away. Imagine starring in it.

Reichen Lehmkuhl, who became the show’s punching bag for nasty names, looks back with regret that you didn’t see him like you should have. But he’s learned to get on with his life and focus his attention on the future – one that includes a film based on his first book (a follow-up to 2006’s Here’s What We’ll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force is in the works) and exploring other avenues of his bottomless ambition as a political activist, model, musician and jeweler (seriously: he has his own line).

In a recent chat with Lehmkuhl, the 37-year-old got personal about his hurt feelings, how the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” affected him, his book-turnedmovie, and his take on ex-boyfriend Lance Bass seemingly copying his career.

You were called lots of nasty names for your behavior on The A-List: New York. How do you feel about the way Logo cast you?

It hurts. If it didn’t hurt, I think there’d be something wrong with me. I see myself differently. Clearly when I look at my life I see myself being raised in a trailer park and breaking into a successful military career, serving my country and graduating from the Air Force Academy.

After getting out and writing a book that sticks up for our entire community and cries out for help from everyone to get rid of a policy that’s going to help a lot of other anti-gay policies fall, to see anyone in the community turn around and call me a douche bag, it just makes me say, “Wow.” I watch A-List with different eyes, I’m sure.

I guess if I were watching the show from those people’s eyes, maybe I would think I was a douche bag, too.

For the complete article, go to: sfgn.com/reichen

Life After A-List

Reichen Lehmkuhl candidly talks reality TV regrets, DADT and ex Lance Bass’ career copycats

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Nightlife by J.W. Arnold

I

f you could invite any four people from history to a dinner party, who would you invite? A lot of you out there might get all academic and suggest Jesus or Shakespeare or Abraham Lincoln.

I think I would go for the divas—definitely Judy Garland and, since nobody said they had to be dead, follow up with Barbra Streisand, Joan Rivers and Cher.

And, just for the record, Cher and Joan have had so much “work” done, they might as well be dead, because, one way or another, all the original Which is the real Tina Fey? parts are gone! Just kidding…..

Well, it’s probably never gonna happen, You,You’re Perfect, Now Change. At 10:15 but South Florida audiences are going to p.m., the second show will feature the cast experience the next best thing this weekend performing a variety of musical numbers when The Manor presents “A Night at the that are guaranteed to have you clapping and Birdcage” with four of the most amazing snapping along. celebrity impersonators, Joe Posa (Joan Friday, Jan. 28 Rivers), Steven Brinberg (Barbra StreiAND Saturday, Jan. 29 sand), Tommy Femia (Judy Garland) and Thirsty Burlington (Cher). But these he Lords South Beach is the hot new performers are more than just impersongay hotel in Miami Beach and on Friday ators, they actually sing, and believe me, you and Saturday nights, the hotel’s restaurant, won’t be able to tell the difference from the Cha Cha Rooster, hosts a cabaret originals! show and dinner.This week, Kimona, the The ladies take the stage at The Manor, enigmatic chanteuse known for her “vo2345 Wilton Dr., on Friday, Jan. 28 and Satcal acrobatics”, returns again for another urday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m. on mesmerizing engagement. Show times are Sunday, Jan. 30.Tickets are $25 general admis- 8:30 and 10 p.m.You’ll find the action at 1120 sion and $40 for VIP seating at The Manor.

Collins Ave. In addition to An Evening at the Sunday, Jan. 30 Birdcage, there are several opportunities to catch live performances at local bars outh Florida favorite Cashetta presand clubs this week: ents three shows in the Manchester Room at Georgie’s Alibi. If you haven’t seen Wednesday, Jan. 26 Cashetta, she’s a multitalented performer who sings and does magic. She’s also pretty ill’s Filling Station welcomes the cast darned funny, so don’t miss one of the shows of Showtime Theatre in Boca at 8, 9 and 10 p.m.The Alibi is located in the Raton to the stage tonight at 8:30 p.m. with selections from the Off-Broadway hit, I Love Shoppes of Wilton Manors.

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S

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Ari Gold: Golden Boy of Gay Music Performs at FORTitude

By A. Sebastian Fortino

In “Ride to Heaven”, Gold sings out “A native New York boy who never learned efore there was Sam Sparro and the Scissor Sisters there was Ari how to drive, you seem like you might be my kinda guy,” he then mentions a “stick Gold, who never hid or denied shift I’d like to take for a test drive.” In “Mr. his sexuality. Gold helped lay the foundaMistress” he describes a relationship betion for out musical artists, singing about tween a closeted married man and his “on gay life and themes. the side” gay lover. Gold requests, “Please “Baby Daddy, from Scissor Sisters used don’t call me the next time that she is to play guitar for me, and I absolutely love gone away.” In “Good Relationship” he Sam Sparro,” said Gold of the Australian musician. “You never know how your music sings about the often-difficult struggle to find – and keep – a good man, saying that and your energy on this earth effects he wants to break the cycle of “where one people, so if I have helped paved the way guy likes the other one who likes another that’s awesome. Being openly gay wasn’t one who likes the other.” a question for me, but it certainly was a Yet, the gay themes in his work don’t question for the people around me.”

Gold went on to say being an openly gay appear to alienate straight fans and that he has never had issues communicating to an performer is still a big “question mark,” audience. He has performed his love song and incorporating aspects of gay life into their work is still a question mark for some “Bashert”, which is Yiddish for “destiny” or “meant to be” at one lesbian, two gay, and artists, who fear such topics could narrow their appeal. It is true that many gay artists three straight weddings.

“The fans know when they are seeing allow themselves to come out to the pubsomething authentic, and they respond to lic, yet many of those artists refuse to talk that,” said Gold, which reminds us that art about their personal lives as gay people.

Meaning, they will not publicly speak about is a universal form of communication.

Of course while maintaining a presence their same sex-relationships. For Ari Gold, and fan base among mainstream audiences however, this is not the case. it is important to Gold that he work for the His smooth, R&B-reminiscent, flowing betterment of the gay community, which lyrics are remixed into lush, soulful dance tracks, about modern, urbane gay life. Gold he believes is still in a social and political enjoys the process of sending out his songs struggle. That’s why he agreed to come to Fort Lauderdale for the FORTitude event to be remixed by DJs, and gives them free benefiting amFAR, and will be appearing reign in the studio. on FORTrocks Sunday, February 20 with “Every song I have ever written comes Martha Wash, Deborah Cox, and more perout of my own personal experiences and formers to be announced. He has lent his it’s so much fun to be able to write pop time to amFAR before, just last year when songs about things that nobody sings he did a show with Deborah Harry. about,” Gold said about his songwriting.

B

“I opened for Martha Wash at Lincoln Center, and then this past summer at Summerstage in my hometown of NYC, so I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with

her again,” said Gold.

For more information on FORTitude, please visit FORTitude.com

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Smithsonian Chief Says Banned Video from Gay Exhibition a Work of Art

By Sue Manning Associated Press

By Karl Hampe

THE REGULARS

LOS ANGELES – After complaints prompted him to cut a 4-minute video from an exhibition about gay contributions to art, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution became the target in a national censorship debate.

Wayne Clough didn’t publicly defend his decision until earlier this week when he told The Associated Press he pulled the video because the controversy had overshadowed the exhibition and threatened to spiral beyond control into a debate on religious desecration.

On Thursday, he used the Internet, a Town Hall Los Angeles luncheon and a brief news conference to say he would make the same decision over again – but he would handle it better.

He’s working on a more efficient way to round up advice from his directors and consultants when events move swiftly and he is looking at ways people can tell him what they want, he told reporters. He said he’d talked to hundreds of people in the last few weeks and had received piles of e-mails.

“I respect and appreciate the opinions and advice they have shared with me, particularly with respect to how the Smithsonian communicates and consults on important issues. I am committed to improving these processes so that this Institution can meet the challenges of its public mission, including our role in educating about complex topics that involve

social transitions or incorporate, in art or objects, cultural or religious symbols,” he wrote on the Smithsonian’s website.

The furor started after Clough received complaints from the Catholic League about “A Fire in My Belly,” a video by the late David Wojnarowicz. The league called ants crawling on a crucifix sacrilegious, and Republican congressional leaders also spoke out. The video was cut the day the complaints were made public.

The video was part of an exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery titled “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.” It opened in October and is scheduled to run a few more weeks.

Dozens of museums around the country rallied to show the video and it is posted on several Internet sites.

Clough said he cut the video to save the other 100-plus pieces in the exhibit and preserve the Smithsonian’s long-term stability.

He told AP the museum is expecting “very difficult budget situations” with Congress in coming months because of the federal deficit. About 65 percent of the Smithsonian’s budget comes from public funds.

Some accused Clough of censorship and

organizers who took part in the march.

“If people do not stand up to this kind of oppression, it will lead to more problems.

People take these freedoms for granted and assume they will always be there. It doesn’t matter if people agree or disagree with us as long as they are aware, taking part in discussions and drawing their own conclusions,” he said.

Two protesters tried to interrupt Clough’s speech, but were quietly escorted out of the ballroom.

What is censorship? Clough asked reporters.

“Censorship is when you are making a judgment about a work of art and you’re making a judgment about whether that work of art, per se, should be part of an exhibition.

That’s not the basis of my decision. The basis of my decision was to protect an exhibition and thinking about the whole institution itself and thinking about the audiences we serve. That’s part of my job,” he said.

Clough said Thursday he considers the video, left incomplete when Wojnarowicz died of AIDS in 1992 at age 37, a work of art. “Of course, it’s a work of art. I have no issues about that at all.”

Two other works by Wojnarowicz remain the decision drew rebukes from the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Andy in the exhibit. Other contributing artists are Warhol, Jasper Johns, Thomas Eakins Warhol Foundation and other artists with and Annie Leibovitz. It’s the largest exhibiworks in the exhibit. tion ever staged by the Portrait Gallery.

During his appearance inside the MilDoes Clough wish the video were still part lennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, about 25 protesters from the Cen- of the exhibit? “In a perfect world, of course, ter for the Study of Political Graphics and a but I don’t live in a perfect world,” he said.

And when you look at the exhibit as coalition called LA Raw marched outside. a whole, “we chose to do what no other “We look at this as censorship,” said Elzo Rillo, and artist and one of the LA Raw museum did or would do,” he said.

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Florida Grand Opera R

Photo by Gaston de Cardenas

J.W. Arnold

eaders may never have heard of French opera composer Jacques Offenbach (who was actually born in Germany), but they have probably heard his music. The “Can-Can” from Orpheus in the Underworld, themes from his ballet Gaite Parisienne, and the “Barcarolle” from his opera The Tales of Hoffman have long provided the musical accompaniment for Looney Tunes, Disney and Smurfs cartoons.

Florida Grand Opera takes on Offenbach’s Tales as the second production of the 2010-11 season with a quirky, clever production that was the brainchild of Stage Director Renaud Doucet and Set and Costume Designer Andre Barbe—a team both onstage and off.

Based on the stories of poet E.T.A. Hoffman, Offenbach had intended this opera to be his legacy, but his sudden death left it unfinished. Over the years, attempts were made to finish the work and this version came together from notes discovered hidden away in a European castle.

Essentially, Hoffman (David Pomeroy) is entranced with singer Stella (Elizabeth Futral).

At the goading of his mates at a local pub, he entertains with a series of fanciful stories of his loves—each embodying characteristics of Stella.They are the robot Olympia, the sickly singer Antonia and the seductive courtesan Giulietta, all performed by Futral.

Offenbach’s score is not the most tuneful and much of the three-and-a-half-hour production (a prologue, three acts and epilogue with two intermissions) is spent advancing the complex story through recitative.

Offenbach the composer is at his best with the boisterous drinking songs, marches and waltzes that must have pleased his French audiences 150 years ago. Conductor Lucy Arner expertly guides the fine singers and orchestra through the opera, and Futral, Pomeroy, and especially Bradley Garvin, portraying multiple antagonists in different acts, all deliver outstanding musical performances. But it is the Doucet and Barbe production that provides the magical setting for Offenbach’s music.

The creative duo reimagined the premise, bringing a statue of the composer to life

(Matthew DiBattista) and inserting him into each scene, seemingly orchestrating the characters, conducting the music and ultimately completing his work, in the guise of various supporting characters who appear throughout the work. Barbe also created an effective minimalist set—they were brought to Miami

by FGO last season to stretch a tight recessionary budget—that creates the illusion of a labyrinth, mimicking the complex tales Hoffman weaves throughout the opera. Sliding panels periodically open to reveal new paths and lead Hoffman to his next destination.

Scene from Florida Grand Opera production of The Tales of Hoffmann: Elizabeth Futral as Olympia and David Pomeroy as Hoffmann

Barbe’s costumes also take a fanciful turn, at times reminiscent of film director Tim Burton’s wacky takes on Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Beetlejuice. His costumes for Act I, featuring the robot girl Olympia, are especially creative and somehow allow the singers to also sing, especially during Futral’s technically challenging (and flawlessly sung) aria, “The Doll Song,” in which her character must periodically be wound up. Also look for the creative use of puppets throughout, especially the huge figure the features prominently

in Act II as Antonia’s dead mother reaches out to her before her own death.

Tall tales deserve an equally creative production and Florida Grand Opera definitely delivers with its Tales of Hoffman.

The Tales of Hoffman Florida Grand Opera Jan. 28 and 30, Feb. 2 and 5, Arsht Center, Miami Feb. 10 and 12, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale Tickets and more information at FGO.org

24

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

To list your event in Matt’s Datebook, send all the information to Matt.Clark@SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Broward Center

Miniaci Performing Arts Center

201 Southwest 5th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 (954) 462-0222

3100 Ray Ferraro Jr Blvd, Davie, FL 33314 • (954) 262-5480

February 1. . . . . . Barry Douglas February 2. . . . . . Improvised Shakespeare February 5. . . . . . An Evening with Diana Krall February 7. . . . . . Jean-Yves Thibaudet February 9 . . . . . . Jackie Ryan in this Heart of Mine February 11. . . . . Great Big Sea February 11-13. . The Tales of Hoffmann

Parker Playhouse 707 Northeast 8th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (954) 763-2444 February 10. . . . . The Pink Floyd Experience February 12 . . . . Knuffle Bunny February 14. . . . . Tango Inferno

Aventura Arts & Cultural Center 3385 NE 188th Street, Aventura, FL 33180 • (305) 466-8002 February 5. . . . . . The Wizard of Oz February 9-13. . . Time After Time: The Song of Jule Styne

February 9. . . . . . The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman February 12. . . . . South Florida JAZZ: Brazilian Trio February 13. . . . . Beauty and the Beast

Miramar Cultural Center 2300 Civic Center Pl, Miramar, Florida 33025 • (954) 602-4500 February 11. . . . . D ance Theater of Harlem Ensemble February 12. . . . . The Music Man, Broadway Revival

Adrienne Arsht Center 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33132 • (305) 949-6722 February 2 . . . . .

February 2-6. . . .

February 3-4. . . .

February 9. . . . . .

February 10. . . . .

February 10-13. .

Chamber Orchestra Kremlin CROWNS Wait, Wait... Don’t Tell Me Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Clay Aiken HAW/Rennie Harris Awe-inR spiring Works February 11-13. . Miami City Ballet: Program III

Shirley MacLaine at the Kravis Center

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts State Road 710,West Palm Beach, Florida 33404 • (561) 833-8300 February 1-6. . . .

February 2-6. . . .

February 8-13. . .

February 7. . . . . .

February 7-8. . . .

February 8. . . . . .

February 9-10. . .

February 11 . . . .

February 12. . . . .

February 13. . . . .

February 14. . . . .

February 14. . . . .

Capitol Steps Young Frankenstein Capitol Steps 102 Years of Broadway Deutsche State Philharmonic Shirley MacLaine An Evening of Rodgers & Hart with The John Pizzarelli Quartet Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons Abba the Concert Peking Acrobats Dmitry Kouzov, Cello Dudu Fisher

Rising Action Theatre 1480 SW 9th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 • (954) 561-2225

JANUARY 19 – APRIL 17, 2011

February 1-14. . . Killing of Sister George

Bank Atlantic Center

Presented by Exhibits Development Group in cooperation with Cosprop Ltd., London, England Sponsored in part by:

1 Panther Pkwy, Sunrise, FL 33323 • (954) 835-8000 February 14. . . . . Andrea Bocelli February 20. . . . . Ozzy Ozbourne

Maltz Theatre 1001 East Indiantown Road,, Jupiter, FL • (561) 575-2223 February 5. . . . . . One Man Star Wars Trilogy Show February 7. . . . . . The Jazz Singer – The Movie February 9-10. . . Defending the Caveman February 11. . . . . Barrage February 13. . . . . A Tribute to Louis Armstrong

Hard Rock Live!

1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, FL 33314 • (954) 797-5531

bocamuseum.org | 561.392.2500

February 4. . . . . .

February 10 . . . .

February 16. . . . .

February 25. . . . .

Penn & Teller Enrique Iglesias – Euphoria Tour Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons George Lopez

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

CUT! Costume and the Cinema: Exhibit at the Boca Raton Museum of Art

By A. Sebastian Fortino

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Both costumes are from the exhibition Cut! Costume and the Cinema.

Courtesy of the Boca Museum.

Keira Knightley wore this costume as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, in The Duchess (2008).

Costume Design

by Michael O’Connor, Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design.

hat would films be without costumes? Costumes set the scene, perhaps more so than dialogue and sets define the film. Of course it is very easy for a film set in present day to dress and outfit their characters. For those productions, in some cases, wardrobe staff can purchase off the rack. However, when you are outfitting actors for a period film, much more design, craftsmanship, and attention to detail is demanded.

When creating clothes from centuries past, designers must thoroughly research that era.

Finer points, such as the person’s position in society, must also be taken into account. Although not represented at the Boca show there is a story from Hollywood about costumes used in Gone With the Wind.

A lead actress in the film suggested that the production was wasting money on the gowns worn by Scarlett’s sisters and that they did not need to be composed of imported lace, silk and other fine touches, as the characters rarely appear on screen. David O. Selznick, the producer of the film told her that if they were playing the aristocratic daughters of a wealthy plantation owner in the Old South, they would dress like they were the daughters of a wealthy plantation owner.

More than 40 costumes from cinematic roles are represented in the exhibit, from 25 films. Each of the pieces are true works of art. Included among that number is as a lavish 18th Century gown worn

by Keira Knightly’s title-character in The Duchess, Johnny Depp’s swashbuckling outfit from Pirates of the Caribbean, a green velvet medieval gown worn by Angelica Huston in Ever After, a distressed leather jacket worn by Daniel Craig in Defiance, and a lavish brocade coat worn by the late Heath Ledger in Casanova define the era. They each define the class, and status of the characters.

All of the costumes represented in the show were made by British costumer, Cosprop, Ltd.

Heath Ledger wore this costume as Giacomo Casanova in Casanova (2005).

Costume Design by Jenny Beavan.

Seeing the costumes makes the viewer realize that making these clothes is more akin to couture clothing than one might think.These costumes must be built to fit the person, as they were in centuries past, and no detail must be overlooked as a modern camera zoom leaves little to the imagination.

“This exhibition allows us to get closer to the stories portrayed on screen and to appreciate the quality of the costumes up close, sometimes they are only fleetingly glanced at on the screen,” said Wendy Blazier, Senior Curator at the Boca Museum of Art. The show opened on January 19, and will close on April 17, so you have plenty of time to loose yourself in the artistry of these costumes and revisit your favorites.

For more information please visit, BocaMuseum.org

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Heard it on...

College Student Sues Hooker New York Magazine reports this week that a college student from the Big Apple, one Hubert Blackman, went to Vegas, got a little wasted and ordered a prostitute to come up to his room. According to him, the woman performed a lap dance for $155 and “a sex act” for another $120. But then, instead of staying for the agreed-upon hour, When they refused to give him a reshe left after just 30 minutes. The next fund, he tried the police, who much to his morning, Blackman, hungover and dissatisamazement told him that prostitution was fied, called the agency to complain.

Birdcage at the Manor

By A. Sebastian Fortino

comes largely from the physicality that’s involved. In addition to Joan Rivers he oe Posa, a renowned celebrity imappeared as Susan Lucci as her character personator, will emcee as Joan Rivers Erica Cane during a Halloween episode on January 28 and 29 at 8:30 p.m. of All My Children, roughly 10 years ago. and on Sunday January 30 at 6:30 p.m. at On his website there are photos of him as The Manor. Other scheduled performers Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Gloria are Steven Brinberg as Barbra Streisand, Estefan and other celebrities. A recent, fun Tommy Femia as Judy Garland, and Thirsty opportunity for Posa was imitating Tina Burlington as Cher. Posa will imitate the gossip queen and comedian while the other Fey’s character on 30 Rock, Liz Lemon.

When you go to his website you performers promise to deliver an evening of are instantly amazed at the sheer live vocals, not lip-syncing. variety of characters that Posa “Doing comedy as Joan is a lot differcreates. He told SFGN and says ent than lip-syncing,” said Posa. Being the there is a fine line between emcee of events is kind of new for me. I never thought I would do stand-up which is being a drag queen, mainly associated with nightclub a hard nut to crack, but I love the improviacts, and a drag sation and the comedy that I have to bring to Joan. I was trained as a dancer, so I never performer or celebrity imperthought I would do this.”

Like many creative people, his career do- sonator.

“Being a dancer, I approach the ing impersonations came quite by accident, impersonation physically at first,” mainly performing at friend’s parties who said Posa. “There is a difference suggested he do it professionally. between dressing up as someone Posa, a New York native who makes his and impersonating them. I need primary home in Boston, says the chalto get the mannerisms and the lenge that comes with bringing reality, and authenticity to the people he impersonates physical qualities down first. I have

J

actually illegal in Vegas and thus they couldn’t help him. They referred him to the Better Business Bureau. But Blackman, who by this time was feeling dissatisfied, cheated, dirty and had an unexplained “medical condition,” related to the event, filed suit against the escort service.

“I also would like to get my $275 payment back and a $1.8 million verdict for the tragic event that happened,” Blackman said in the suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, the paper said. Here at SFGN we are hoping his suit has a happy ending.

Lynch Says Gay Actors Denied Leads Glee’s Jane Lynch has suggested that openly gay actors and actresses are often prevented from landing leading roles in Hollywood.

In an interview with AfterElton, the star expressed a

to channel and know what makes them tick to bring them life. I need to know the yin and the yang.”

Someone like Joan Rivers for instance, whom he has also appeared with in character, is known to be very sarcastic.Yet, she is very compassionate in her personal life, lending her name and making appearances to notable causes around the country.

“If I don’t tap into all facets of their personality, the character doesn’t ring true with me and therefore can’t ring true with the audience,” said Posa.

He has been very successful in his career and has appeared on all three of the major networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Many performers who impersonate women – or who identify as drag performers – often find a transition to mainstream media and entertainment difficult.

“Doing these celebrity impersonations legitimizes my work,” said Posa who also noted that no one whom he has impersonated was offended by his attempts. “If I am able to successfully impersonate whim I choose there are

belief that studio executives remain unconvinced that audiences will accept gay actors in a wide variety of roles.

“I think because since most of the world is straight... We want the audience to project their hopes and dreams for love and romance onto those actors,” she said. “And if it’s not in some way possible – maybe never, probably – in [the audience’s] mind that it could never happen, then [studio executives are] not going to do it.”

She continued: “I’ve never been turned down for a role because I’m gay... I don’t find Hollywood, in my own experience, to be homophobic... But I do think the straight folks will continue to play the straight roles.”

Lynch married her longtime partner Dr. Lara Embry in Massachusetts last year.

platforms for my work.”

Although he does not adopt a drag persona – such as Hedda Lettuce, or Lady Bunny – he does perform as an emcee once or twice a month on his home stage, and he admires the work that goes into their performances.

“My home stage is Club Café in Boston, which my partner owns,” said Posa. “There’s even a new dressing room called the Posa Powder Room for performers to get ready before performing. I love Boston, but hopefully within a year or two we will relocate here full time.”

So, as Posa and his Joan only here for a short time, make sure you head to The Manor this coming weekend for one of three performances. In addition to the live singing of Babs, la Garland and Cher he promises a sexy male, Florida’s own Rod Stephens who will be assisting the “ladies” while on stage and gradually wearing less and less.

“He does a lot of private events and will add a little bit of a risqué edge to the show,” Posa added. “He’s a really sweet guy and the other performers are amazing.”

For more information about the show, please visit TheManorComplex.com For more information on Joe Posa, please visit JoePosa.com

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Sidelines Gears Up for the Big Game

Elton John Feels Like ‘Second-Class Citizen’ Performs at Fundraiser to Fight Gay Marriage Ban

F

ootball fans everywhere have been scrambling to make plans to celebrate football’s biggest game, the Super Bowl. This year, the extravaganza takes place in the home of the Dallas Cowboys, the enormous Texas Stadium.

With the Black Eyed Peas performing at half-time, the game will surely be one for the record books.

Super Bowl Sunday at Sidelines is often viewed as a sacred event and owners, Laurie Whittaker and Marty Kildea will not let their devout followers down. Sidelines will once again offer its loyal patrons and fans a deluxe buffet of barbeque chicken and ribs and all the fixins’, fantastic giveaways and prizes.

The bar features 16 flat-screen TVs, for optimal viewing of the game.

For more information, visit Sidelinessports.com.

Richard Mushet / WIKIMEDIA

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International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

By Derrik J. Lang

fied with his civil partnership in England. He sang a different tune Wednesday when he LOS ANGELES -- Sir Elton John is “fed up” praised the effort to overturn Proposition 8 with being a treated like a “second-class cit- and promised to do everything he could to izen” in the U.S. That’s why the 63-year-old support it, even though he is British.

The couple’s son, Zachary Jackson gay singer said he took a stand last week Levon Furnish-John, was born in California during a performance at a private Beverly through a surrogate mother. John said he Hills fundraiser for the ongoing legal chalwas disappointed that members of the lenge to California’s gay marriage ban.

Church of England questioned his parentThe outspoken British piano man, who became a parent to a baby boy on Christmas hood in the days following his son’s birth.

He insisted that he’s not against religion Day with partner David Furnish, added that and that “Jesus was a wonderful, compas“as I get older, I get more angry about it.” sionate man, who forgave on the cross.”

“In this country, we need more dia“Everyone is entitled to have their own logue,” he said during an interview Friday. beliefs and their own spirituality,” said John.

“We don’t need any more stone throw“The big difference is that the dogma of ing. We don’t need any more vitriol. We need people to say, ‘OK. I’m straight.You’re the church can be so hateful and divisive.

It’s stuck in the stone age. We don’t live in gay. Let’s get along. I’m Republican.You’re the stone age anymore. The church is losing Democratic. Let’s work together.’ I’m sick people left, right and center because people and tired of people being hateful to each are fed up with the rhetoric that they’re other in this country.”

John disappointed some gay rights activists giving them.” after California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage passed in 2008 when he said he Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/ had no desire to get married and was satisgaysouthflorida/#ixzz1BxvFV9Zi

AP Entertainment Writer

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

South Florida Symphony Launches 2011 Season Meet & Greet Reception Introduces New Board

Advertorial

Kalis-McIntee Offers All Funeral, Cremation and Transfer Services

W

hat you expect from a funeral establishment... embalming, preparation, and refrigeration on premises. We do not use “middle men” to care for your loved one. If you choose another funeral service provider, ask where your loved one’s remains are.

Ask where the embalming and preparation are done. Ask where they are held until the cremation process is approved. Don’t be surprised if your loved one is at a facility other than the “funeral home” you have entrusted with their final arrangements.

For more information:

Kalis-McIntee Funeral & Cremation Center 954-566-7621 2505 North Dixie Highway Ft. Lauderdale/Wilton Manors, FL www.kalismcintee.com email: kalismcintee@fdn.com

By A. Sebastian Fortino

I

n 2009 the Broward Center hosted the inaugural performance of the South Florida Symphony, and instantly became the region’s newest classical sensation. Despite being classical in genre, they have been described as a hot performance. On Tuesday, February 1 the symphony welcomes the community to a Meetand-Greet reception at the Josephine S. Leiser Opera Center, in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Upcoming events and activities of “classical proportions” will be announced.

There, new and future fans, can meet board members and celebrated music director and maestra of the symphony, Sebrina Maria Alfonso.Alfonso, collectively with other patrons of the arts established the Key West Symphony Orchestra 13 season ago. In 2009, together with president and CEO Jacqueline Lorber she expanded the orchestra’s reach into what is now known as the South Florida Symphony.

New board chairman Jim Rickard explained why he was compelled to get

involved with the symphony.

“I knew that the quality of the performances, the excellent musicians, unique guest artists and programming could only enhance the cultural life of South Florida,” said Rickard. “I know I speak for the board members of our commitment to the South Florida Symphony becoming an integral part of our cultural landscape.”

To support the symphony being a landmark on that landscape they will host Brahms, Beethoven, and Brunch on Sunday, March 6, from noon-3:00 p.m. at the Leiser Opera Center. The brunch will feature a movement from a Beethoven string quartet will be followed by a full performance of Brahms’ Quintet in F Minor.

“It is with great excitement that we invite the community to our upcoming events,” said Jacqueline Lorber, the symphony’s CEO and president. “We look forward to stirring the souls of those who share our passion for classical music.”

For more information, please visit SouthFloridaSymphony.org

Bernie & Marcia McIntee

Come See Who Goes To the Big Game!

2031 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors, FL 954.563.8001 Sunday, January 23, 2011 SideLinesSports.com NFC Game @ 3 PM • AFC Game @ 6:30 PM

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January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Partner Planning Financial protection begins with a plan.

Actually, a complimentary consultation.

While financial planning is important to everyone, for gay and lesbian partners it can be crucial.

Let Morgan Stanley Smith Barney help you develop a plan that works for you now and in the future.

• Protect your income and assets • Take advantage of a thorough financial plan • Develop a strategy based on your specific goals

Daniel M. Pye

Vice President 2400 E. Commerical Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

954-267-5683 daniel.pye@mssb.com

Living Will continued from page 11

ulations concerning those extraordinary circumstances and the decision-making process favor family members. Since the legal definition of a family member varies from state to state, this can pose a problem if you don’t have a living will.

“If you have been designated a healthcare surrogate, you are going to be in a lot stronger position to carry out your partner’s directives.”

– Scott Weiss

Fortunately, the LGBT community in South Florida has a wealth of attorneys with the skill set to work on these documents for you, and many advertise in this paper already, including the firms of Selzer and Weiss, as well as Shawn Newman, Greg Ka-

bel, and George C. Castrataro.

Says Jeff Selzer, of Wilton Manors, “There is no doubt that the best way to plan for tomorrow’s crisis is to secure a living will today, when you have time and can think out a plan.”

“If your partner is the one you want to make those kinds of decisions, you need one of the other elements of a living will,” Humbert explains. “That is an opportunity to name what we call a ‘health care surrogate’. It can be your partner, or anyone you trust. You can make your surrogate one of your family members or not.”

Some law firms will process a living will for free and others will incorporate it into an estate planning package, but in any situation, there’s really no reason not to have a living will and plenty of reasons why we should have one set out.

The living will also speaks for you if you become incapacitated and cannot speak for yourself. The hospital treating you will look to that document for directives on who should make decisions for you. In fact, without those directives, a family member could arguably have to go to court and seek a court appointed guardian to make those decisions for you. And that could be someone you don’t even know.

Says Scott Weiss, “if you have been designated a healthcare surrogate, you are going to be in a lot stronger position to carry out your partner’s directives.”

One website that will allow you to make prudent judgments in these matters is ‘The 5 Wishes’ by Aging with Dignity. The Five Wishes Documents are very thorough – offering everything from religious preferences, to comfort levels with other specified person’s decision-making abilities, to even “things you want your loved ones to know if you pass away.”

To learn more about Hospital Visitation for the LGBT Community, visit Nancy Polikoff’s blog: http://beyondstraightandgaymarriage.blogspot.com/

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor.

The appropriateness of a particular insvestment or startegy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstanes and objectives. © 2010 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

To discuss preparing a Living Will, please visit any number of the attorneys who advertise with us in SFGN including Daniel W. Humbert: http://www.humbertlaw.com/ To complete The 5 Wishes Document Online, visit: http://www.agingwithdignity.org/fivewishes.php

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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POMPANO BILL

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Catching My Breath

Bittersweet Day

By Joey Amato ‘Catching My Breath’ is a personal reflections column about gay life.

If you want to ‘catch your breath,’ submit your stories to editor@southfloridagaynews.com’

T

oday is bittersweet for me. On one hand, I am sad that I am leaving a great publication in South Florida Gay News, but on the other hand, I am excited about my new venture.

Since the inception of SFGN, we have become your favorite community newspaper and I thank you for your support and dedication over the past year.

The team at SFGN is one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of working with, all quarterbacked by publisher Norm Kent. Without such a great team of individuals, none of this would have been possible. A special thanks to Norm, who took a leap of faith in creating the newspaper and who gave me the opportunity to start writing again.

I remember my first and only interview

with Norm. The office at that time was under construction, with nothing but a desk and a few chairs. When I walked in the door, the first thing Norm said was, ‘why are you so dressed up?’ I was probably wearing my favorite Hugo Boss suit. I guess I impressed him, because I was basically hired on the spot. I thought ‘that was easy’. Little did I know that I was about to be part of something great. I am so thankful to be given the opportunity.

Norm is the nucleus of the organization and the reason why we are all able to do what we love. So, one of the most difficult things I ever had to do was tell him I was leaving for another publication, although not necessarily a competing one.

Earlier this month, I decided to take on the role as Associate Publisher/Editor in Chief of

OMG! Magazine, arguably one of the fastest growing LGBT lifestyle publications in the country. With distribution in Tampa Bay, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Las Vegas in addition to South Florida and Key West, I am really looking forward to the challenge of taking the magazine to the next level and spotlighting the best our community has to offer.

In the past two weeks, people have called to congratulate me and have called to tell me I’m crazy. Some can’t understand what the allure OMG! has on me.

Others haven’t even seen the publication yet and have ridiculed my decision. But the move should come as no surprise. I began my publishing career at Orlando Style Magazine, the city’s best luxury, After announcing he was leaving SFGN, lifestyle publication. I guess you can say Joey sought comfort from a J.Mark’s mojito at our first anniversary party, held at J.Mark’s Restaurant.

I’m going back to my roots. like to thank Norm, his business partner For those who aren’t familiar with OMG!, I ask you take the time to visit our Piero and the staff of SFGN for a boat load website OMGmag.com or pick up an issue of memories and wish them all the best in at one of your favorite hangouts. Although 2011. The newspaper will always hold a the magazine is based in Tampa, I will still place in my heart. be calling South Florida home. Feel free to call and say hi.

Joey’s replacement, Jason Parsley, a news So with this, my final contribution to writer for the Forum Publishing Group, will South Florida Gay News, I would once again assume editorial duties beginning next week.

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33

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

VIEWS OF THE NEWS SFGN First Anniversary Celebration and Benefit for Tuesday’s Angels at J.Mark’s Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

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34

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Crossword Puzzle

Howling Mad

Across 1 Stone Butch Blues hero 5 Disney canine 10 One way to cook fruit 14 Protected from the wind 15 Vietnam capital 16 Cry after getting the shaft 17 Ed Wood role 18 Susan of Goldengirl 19 Lacking manners 20 Subject of the movie Howl 23 Chemical suffix 24 Classic jag 25 Wicks of the WNBA 26 Queen in Romeo and Juliet 28 Caesar’s body 30 The ___ Game 32 Brian of figure skating 33 Come out on the beach 36 Not as crazy 37 With 43-Across, event in the movie Howl 40 Library ID 43 See 37-Across 44 Bring home the pork?

48 Ref’s call 49 Chambered mollusks 51 Gielgud’s john 52 Metallic organ?

54 Blew it 56 Portrayer of 20-Across in Howl 60 With mouth wide open 62 French toast 63 Not a done deal 66 Dancer Taylor 67 Reader computer program 68 Put out 69 Kind of jack 70 Dragged behind 71 Robert of The Defenders

Down 1 A left or a right 2 Blanche Wiesen Cook subject 3 Wall Street bears 4 Big top performer 5 “Much obliged!”

6 It’s low for a butch’s voice 7 “No” voter 8 Drops trou 9 Puts on the wall 10 Having forgot the Aqua Lube 11 Uma of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues 12 When queening usually occurs 13 Feeling of hitting rock bottom 21 Outlying community 22 Wild animal 23 The Name of the Rose writer 27 Three Musketeers unit 29 Worker at the bottom 31 Davidson of The Crying Game 33 Sandy-colored 34 “So ___” 35 Sons of, at Beth Chayim Chadashim 38 Eyes, at 53-Down 39 Like Romeo and Juliet 40 Morticia Addams’s cousin 41 Join the Kneelers 42 Greeting from Gide 45 1984 Lily Tomlin movie 46 Sturgeon stuff 47 Head movement 49 Locale for Brando’s Apocalypse Now 50 McKellen of The Da Vince Code 53 Name of many a gay bar 55 More frigid 57 Introduction to masochism 58 Go smoothly 59 Country bumpkin 60 Quick on the uptake 61 Queer in Quebec 64 Shakespeare’s “Phooey!”

65 Jan. 1 until now See solution on page 35

35

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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Solution to Crossword Puzzle on page 34

36

January 26, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Men in Tights… and Much More!

Jackie Gleason Hosts Male Ballet

Trock Raymonda’s Wedding Sascha Vaughn

By J.W. Arnold

M

en in tights are a common sight at the ballet, but when Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo takes the stage you’re liable to see men in tights and men in tutus, too.

The all-male ballet company, founded in 1974 and lauded by critics and fans alike, returns to Miami Beach’s Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theater next week for another unique interpretation of classics from the ballet repertoire.

Artistic Director Tory Dobrin, a 30-year veteran, says the company got its start in the years following the Stonewall riots when the gay community enjoyed a “golden age” of public expression, mocking the traditional

gender stereotypes of middle America.

But, he also points out, while audiences were always in on the “joke,” the company took on the great ballets and presented parodies, but was never just a drag act.

“The company has been all over the world, but it’s not so much a gay show because we really don’t address gay issues,” Dobrin explains.

“But there’s still a gay sensibility in the show, exposing audiences to gay culture in a way.”

The company has come a long way from its earliest years when the Trocks performed in New York City loft spaces far from the lights of Broadway or Lincoln Center.

In fact, Dobrin says the biggest change since the company’s founding is its audiences: “The only difference is that society is differ-

ent, and so Trockadero is different now, too.”

Infamous theater critic Clive Barnes once called the dancers “faggots making fools of themselves in public.

The “Trocks,” as they are affectionately known are now attracting young dancers right out of the leading dance academies, he says, “a career choice,” noting the international critical acclaim for the company’s dance technique and choreography, as well as a global performance schedule that takes young dancers around the world.

For the Miami Beach performance, the Trocks will dance Act II of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” the company’s most famous and popular dance, as well as a parody on contemporary choreographer Merce

Cunningham, an 1840s “Pas de Quatre,” and “Raymonda’s Wedding,” set to music by Russian composer Glazunov.

A company that keeps many major works in repertoire, the Trocks also occasionally perform works rarely seen outside of Russia, including ballets only performed by the Bolshoi Ballet, and even then, was last seen more than 20 years ago.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo will present one performance only, Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. at The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theatre, 1700 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

Tickets are $25 - $75 at ConcertAssociation.org or by calling (305) 532-9898. For more information about the Trocks, go to Trockadero.org.