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July 30, 2014 // vol. 5 // issue 31
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BIGOT florida’s syphilis problem • 6
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pronoun preference: going gender neutral • 11
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Stories on SFGN.com Last week’s hottest items couldn’t wait to be printed...
Compiled by Nicole Wiesenthal
Appeals Panel Strikes Down Virginia Gay Marriage Ban
1 2 3
(SFGN) On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Virginia struck down Virginia’s gay marriage ban against samesex marriage declaring it unconstitutional, increasing the likelihood of the case being addressed by the Supreme Court. The judges ruled 2-1 against the ban placed in 2006 stating marriage could only be between opposite-sex couples, according to USA Today.
The decision supported a ruling made in February that found the ban violated the equal protection clause. The circuit court holds jurisdiction over Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The panel awaits permission from circuit clerks to decide whether or not the decision will reach the Supreme Court.
Ground Breaking Study in Philadelphia Points to HIV Cure (PGN) Temple University School of Medicine this week released a groundbreaking HIV/AIDS study that researchers say could bring the world one step closer to a cure. For the first time ever, researchers were able to completely eliminate latent HIV-1 virus from human cells in a laboratory setting.
Dr. Kamel Khalili, professor and chair of Temple’s Department of Neuroscience, said his team hopes to eliminate every single copy of HIV-1 from the patient but said researchers have to develop a method to deliver the therapeutic agent to every single infected cell.
Judge Strikes Down Colorado Gay Marriage, Stays Ruling (AP) A federal judge in Denver declared Colorado’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional on Wednesday, but he issued a temporary stay of the ruling to give the state until next month to seek an appeal. Judge Raymond P. Moore’s ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed July 1 by six gay couples who asked the court for an injunction ordering
that the state’s ban no longer be enforced. Colorado Republican Attorney General John Suthers and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper had requested a stay so the issue could eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court - though both agreed the state ban should be declared unconstitutional.
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July 30, 2014 • Volume 5 • Issue 31
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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Naked Rowers Raise Money to Fight Homophobia Nicole Wiesenthal
The Warwick University rowing team in England is helping to eliminate homophobia in sports by raising money in an interesting way. The team strips for a good cause as they raise money by selling calendars depicting the team nude and in various poses. They set up a crowd-funding page to raise money to produce the calendar. The producers depict the boys, who all look like Abercrombie models, their bodies molded by training in one of the toughest sports in the world, having fun in the nude, outdoors. The boys also sell t-shirts, hoodies, a signed poster and video. The calendars will sell for about $17, funds, which will go to an organization called Sport Allies, which fights homophobia and bullying. “I’ve had the chance to meet people from the LGBT community that I might not otherwise have met,” said Laurence Hulse, a 2014 centerfold and one of the calendar organizers, according to Outsports. “I’ve
Picture: http://www.warwickrowers.org
been able to hear about their experiences of being bullied, and struggling to come to terms with their sexuality. I hope that this is something our calendars and our films can help to address. Not just by funding our outreach work, but by making a statement. We don’t mind who enjoys the calendars and films. We have fun creating them and we want everyone to have fun looking at them. It’s all good!” The boys don’t mind and are glad to help fighting against homophobia. They’ll be attending Manchester Pride in August.
Born in Fort Lauderdale and Raised in Broward County • Graduated from Pompano Beach High School Single Dad, three sons • Trying cases for close to 30 years Spent first half focusing on prosecuting rapists and career criminals Joined his father's law practice, Bailey, Bailey & Bailey as a criminal defense attorney Defended numerous cases from misdemeanors , to major crimes- including capital cases Served as Chair of the ESE Advisory Commission as well as representing numerous students with special needs before the School Board • Handled Federal Civil Rights Cases, 2002- 2007 Member of Autism Society of America/Broward Chapter Supported by Emilio Benitez, Esq., Rae Chorowski, Esq., and Joanne Lewis, Esq. Cell 954-668-1078
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News Briefs
Gay man arrested after
baby girl dies in hot car
Compiled by Nicole Wiesenthal
(AP) A gay Wichita, Kansas man who was trying to adopt a 10-month-old girl with his partner was arrested on suspicion of aggravated child endangerment Thursday when the infant died after he forgot that he had left her and another child inside his car in scorching 90-degree weather. Wichita police and the state are now trying to piece together why this tragedy happened and why the men didn’t realize the children were missing for so long. An NBC News report says Seth Michael Jackson, 29, and his 26-year-old partner Payton Schroeder were in the process of adopting the 10-month-old girl known as Anna, and Kadylak,
G
ay Porn Star Arrested at LAX After Meth Found in Anus (EDGE) British gay porn star Bruno Knight used some of the skills he’s picked up in the adult film industry, which led to his arrest at Los Angeles Airport on June 16 for trying to traffic samples of crystal meth from the U.S. to the U.K. via his anus. British newspaper International Business Times reports. Knight, real name Philip Gizzie, tried to board a Virgin Atlantic flight at LAX that was headed to London last month but was stopped and questioned by customs officers who were tipped off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Authorities noticed something was wrong with the porn actor after he was allegedly “moving erratically” and “sweating profusely.” Knight told the authorities he was partying in Hollywood with friends for a few days and said he took methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and GHB. According to gay porn news site Str8Up Gay Porn (NSFW), Knight, who did not check any luggage, was with his partner Alister McCalister. He was then taken to a holding room and admitted he was carrying three packets of crystal meth in his anus. According to reports, he was able to remove two packages of drugs himself but he was taken to Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, Calif., to have the third pack removed with an enema. In total, the drug packages weighed a total of nearly eight ounces - almost a half a pound.
B
runo Knight, British gay porn star
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when the girl died helplessly in the car. According to The Wichita Eagle , the other child that was left in the car escaped before things got dangerous. The men have two adopted children and were caring for a total of six children, ranging in age from 10 months to 18 years. Lt. Todd Ojile explained to the Eagle that an emergency dispatcher received a call at about 6:41 p.m. Thursday alerting them of the incident. Investigators say that the baby girl had been left strapped in a car seat in the back of a four-door sedan Dodge Charger with tinted windows for approximately 2 hours.
WW S
oman Booted From aterpark Over exuality, Swimwear
According to Str8Up Gay Porn, Knight is currently being held at Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center and awaiting charges. He’s reportedly waived his right to have a preliminary hearing, which means he could be seeking to arrange a plea bargain.
W D D G ’S
ad ho Beat Daughter to eath to ‘Turn Her ay entenced
(EDGE) A Michigan man who told police he beat his two-year-old daughter to death in 2011 in an attempt to turn her gay so she would avoid men was sentenced to 40-years in prison with a non-parole period of 18-years and nine months Monday. According to MLive.com, Donovan Lamar Haynes, 23, was sentenced for beating his daughter, Ti’Airra Woodward, to death after pleading no contest to second-degree murder. As the publication points out, “a no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but treated as such a sentencing.” Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah also sentenced Haynes to serve a concurrent five-to15-years in prison for first-degree child abuse. Haynes’ attorney Elbert Hatchett called him “deranged” just before Farah sentenced the father for biting and beating his toddler. Before Farah handed down his sentence, he read a report that claimed Haynes beat the girl in an attempt to turn her gay, hoping she would avoid men like Haynes, who has a history of treating women poorly. “You don’t beat her in hopes she’s going to turn gay,” Farah said. He added Haynes should have used his own life experiences to teach his daughter how to deal with problematic men. He also said Haynes beat his daughter to toughen her up. Ti’Airra was pronounced dead at Hurley Medical Center after she stopped breathing at her Flint Township, Mich., home in July 2011. The attorney also said Haynes needs to undergo psychological counseling while in prison. soflagaynews //
CM
alifornia Updates and odernizes Family Law
(SFGN) Proactive California seeks to update family and parental laws in order to reflect an evolving and changing society. The previous laws harken back to a simpler era when white men and white women married for life and had children who lived in black and white, when mention of gay marriage would spark confusion and outrage. Now that people marry who they’d like regardless of race or gender, families come in all different colors and same-sex marriages happen daily, legislators realized they had to change the law to reflect the new American family. They introduced the bill Ab2344, dubbed the “Modern Family Act,” to address court cases and situations in which families have same-sex parents or non-biological parents. The act will make it easier for parents to adopt children who are not biologically related to a child, but married to the biological parent, to adopt the child.. No longer would parents be investigated or attend a court hearing. The bill clarifies the legal and financial obligations of surrogate mothers and sperm donors, which is helpful in a world of increasing technology. “Most of the laws we have in place deal with the use of these technologies once they have already been used and the child is born,” said Lisa Ikemoto, a University of Californa at Davis Law professor specializing in reproductivetechnology issues, according to the SF Chronicle. The act has passed in the Assembly with a 62 to 4 vote. The decision will be officially made when lawmakers return from recess.
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(EDGE) A woman from Indiana claims she was kicked out of a Michigan waterpark on July 9 because she is a lesbian and because she was wearing men’s swimming trunks, Indiana ABCaffiliate station WRTV reports. Jill Sweeny, of South Bend, Ind., says managers at WildWater Adventure in Muskegon, Mich., kicked her out of the park because of what she was wearing and because she is lesbian. Sweeny and her partner held their bachelorette party at WildWater with family and friends. They were only at the park for three hours before Sweeny was asked to leave. A supervisor stopped Sweeny when she was about to go on a slide. Sweeny says she was wearing men’s swimming trunks, a tank top and a sports bra. She said she read the park’s rules online, which “requires all participants to be in swim suits.” The guidelines also say street clothes, like athletic clothing and jeans, are not allowed. WRTV contacted WildWater Adventure officials and the general manager told the news station Sweeny violated the park’s rules. Officials said the sports bra counted as street clothes and was prohibited. WRTV told Mark that Sweeny felt she was targeted because she is lesbian. Sweeny says the park doesn’t have any rules about gender specific clothing. She called the incident “embarrassing,” adding that it “hurts.” Sweeny has contacted a number of lawyers who handle discrimination cases, adding she isn’t looking for money; just an apology for how she was treated. Schaefer says he prays for an outcome that would help “heal ... the wounds of homophobia.”
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news local Pride South Denise Royal
There were no resignations, no fireworks and very little drama at the recent Pride South Florida board meeting on July 22, 2014. That follows the recent resignations of four board members this year. During Tuesday’s meeting, it was recommended that all board members change their phone and email passwords and logins. The organization is still trying to move past June’s Stonewall Summer Pride event. One meeting attendee described it as a disaster. Pride South Florida is still working to collect money from the event and pay all of its vendors. PSF is still about $6,000 in debt, but that should be corrected soon. “We’re trying to put together all the pieces from Stonewall that we don’t have at the moment. We’re moving forward. We’re paying the bills as they come in and are verified. We’re moving forward with Pride Fort Lauderdale next spring,” said Rocky Bowell, President of Pride South Florida.
Florida Tries to Move on Past Drama There was a motion during the meeting to expand the board executive committee. There was a concern that the committee coordinators had too much power that led to the group’s current financial crunch. Treasurer Bonnie Maicher explained the inner workings of the board and the role the executive board played. The board voted unanimously not to expand the committee. Nominations for new board members were accepted. They will also be accepted at the next meeting on August 12. Interested board members must have attended three consecutive board meetings to run for a spot. Final elections for board members are August 26. Nominees will address the board at that meeting. “We need to know everybody’s plan for this board and everybody’s intentions. We have so much potential, but we keep tripping over our own feet,” Bowell said during the meeting.
Florida’s Syphilis Problem Broward leads the way in new infections Denise Royal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the rate of new syphilis cases is skyrocketing nationwide. Florida is at the forefront of the trend – leading the country in new syphilis cases. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is looking to stem the tide on that trend. Despite its name, it’s a public health organization, not just an AIDS organization. It began as an AIDS hospice program but has since branched out to support the treatment of many public health threats including STD’s. And Florida can use all the help it can get. The state saw 4,470 cases of syphilis diagnosed at varying stages – primary/ secondary (also known as infectious) syphilis, early latent syphilis, and late latent syphilis – throughout 2012, according to the Florida Department of Health. Compare that to California which reported 2,953 cases of primary, secondary, and congenital syphilis, which is when a child is born with syphilis due to its mother’s undiagnosed or untreated infection.
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Last September, AHF sent informational mailers about the dramatic increase of syphilis in Broward County during the past decade or so, to some 22,000 residents to encourage people to get tested. The mailer noted several staggering statistics about syphilis in Broward County to include: Syphilis cases in Broward County have increased by 400 percent since 2000, since 2005, the rates in Broward are two-times that of the rest of the state of Florida and that 19 million Americans are infected with STIs annually, and only half are aware they are infected. “Even after those mailings, Florida is still on the top five list. The infection rates have not gone down,” said Albert Ruiz, AHF’s Director of Wellness Center Programs. “When we partnered with Broward County to open the STD clinic in Fort Lauderdale, our testing numbers and client visits were nearly doubled. So the mailers did bring awareness. However, the infection numbers have not gone down. So this issue requires continued education soflagaynews //
and reminders to people that are sexual active that being screened is part of their health care routine.” AHF is also cautious when it comes to pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. AHF has expressed public concern that people incorrectly using the new HIV prevention strategy could lead to a continued rise in rates of syphilis, which can be a devastating and even deadly disease if left untreated. This week at the International AIDS Conference in Australia there was a lot of hype and optimism about the drug. But AHF officials are still cautious. Ged Kenslea is AHF’s Communications Director. He attended the conference in Australia.
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“If anything, the PrEP results reported [from the iPrEx OLE (Open Label Extension)] study results released show how critical adherence is to the efficacy of PrEP for HIV prevention and I would argue they were mixed at best, and, in fact, underscore many of the concerns that AHF has regarding the CDC & World Health Organization’s recent recommendations for widespread scale up of PrEP to targeted highrisk populations,” he told SFGN. According to Kenslea the bottom line for people here: PrEP will not protect you from syphilis. When taken correctly and used with condoms, PreP has a 96 percent for protecting users from HIV. If you’re taking PrEP and you’re not using a condom, you’re not protected against HPV,Photo: syphilis, or gonorrhea. credit of CNN.com
news bites
by Nicole Wiesenthal
K
enya’s High Court Allows Trans Rights Group to Register
Photo: wikipedia
(EDGE) The Kenyan transgender rights group Transgender Education and Advocacy (TEA) won a major court battle this month when the country’s high court ruled that the government’s Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) board must allow them to register. Gay Star News reports that Justice George Odunga had criticized the NGO board, saying that the way TEA had been treated was “unfair, unreasonable, unjustified and in breach of the rules of natural justice.” Odunga ordered the board to reimburse TEA members Audrey Mbugua, Maureen Muia and Annet Jennifer for the three years of legal costs they had incurred in the fight. The board said that they couldn’t register TEA as an NGO because the names of the people there didn’t match their birth gender, but Odunga noted that since all three had legally changed their names via deed poll, this action was unconstitutional, as it denied registration due to gender.
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G
uyanese Gay Prostitues Stabbed Dead, Suspect Commits Suicide
(EDGE) The main suspect in the stabbing murder of two gay sex workers in Guyana’s capital of Georgetown last week died on Sunday, July 20 at Georgetown Hospital after confessing to the murders and setting himself on fire. News Source reports 31-year-old Samuel Bristol of Nabacalis, East Coast Demerara, set himself on fire in the Regent Street area close to City Hall just before sunrise that Sunday. Bristol reportedly threw fire on his boyfriend, a sex worker, and then tracked down two other sex workers and stabbed them to death.
G
ay Marriage Legalization Could Bring Over $180M to Texas
(EDGE) A new study revealed this week that if gay marriage was legalized in Texas, it would generate at minimum $14.8 million in sales tax revenue to state and local governments and as much as $181.6 million, Gay Star News reports. According to the independent think tank the Williams Institute’s report, the U.S. Census says there are 46,401 samesex couples living in Texas. The institute came to their $14.8 million calculations based on only half of those couples legally tying the knot in the next three years if gay marriage is legalized in the Lone Star State. The group’s senior counsel Christy Mallory said the report was only the latest of a number of similar studies that show same-sex marriages makes financial sense for America.
P
arliament House files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
(SFGN) Parliament House, Orlando’s popular gay club and resort which has been around since 1975 and houses 11 gay bars, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday citing $15.5 million in debt. Fans of “Parks and Recreation” might recall the time Tom Haverford intended to start a club by not charging attendees and giving out free iPads to guests. Parliament House may not have been as frivolous with their money, but during the recession they defaulted numerous loans, resulting in their declaration of bankruptcy, said bankruptcy attorney Scott Shuker, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Parliament House hopes to remain in operation despite its bankruptcy, restructuring its loans and slowly repaying the debt.
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news national
US Ain’t Too Hot with Human Rights These Days When it comes to human rights standards for LGBT people, social science and legal analysis give the US a bad mark Sasha Razumikhin
Adam Romero, an Arnold D. Kassoy Scholar of Law and Senior Counsel at UCLA’s Williams Institute, told the State Department on July 8 that “U.S. is failing to comply with international human rights standards in relation to LGBT people.” And that’s a pretty big deal. “Addressing documented discrimination in the United States is critical to the United States’ credibility on international human rights issues,” said Andrew Park, director of International Programs at the Williams Institute and co-author of the Williams Institute’s statement presented by Romero. The failure is a result of assessing the U.S.’s response to suggestions it got in 2010 from the United Nations Human Rights Counsel. In writing, the U.S. accepted the following three recommendations:
Recommendation 86.
Undertake awareness-raising campaigns for combating stereotypes and violence against LGBT people, and ensure access to public services paying attention to the special vulnerability of sexual workers to violence and human rights abuses.
Recommendation 112.
Take measures to comprehensively address discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Recommendation 116.
Continue its intense efforts to undertake all necessary measures to ensure fair and equal treatment of all persons, without regard to sex, race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, and encourage further steps in this regard.
Even though the U.S. has made significant federal progress recently, “a majority of states fail to provide legal protections for LGBT people and families, despite evidence of persistent
Research shows that 37 percent of lesbian and gay workers and 90 percent of transgender workers continue to face workplace discrimination. Because U.S. law does not include a prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, it is not in compliance with international human rights standards. Census data shows that LGBT people, particularly people of color, face higher rates of poverty. International standards concerning race discrimination require the government to combat discrimination that threatens the health and wellbeing of LGBT people.
and pervasive discrimination, economic vulnerability, and violence and sexual assault,” according to the Williams Institute. Here are some statistics it references:
Surveys of LGBT people show that survivors of violence continue to face mistreatment by police when seeking assistance from them. Police officers should receive more training and support about how to appropriately respond to LGBT people. LGBT people in detention, particularly transgender people, face high rates of violence and sexual assault. The government should ensure the human right to safety and health for those in detention.
Smoking is Bad for HIV Positive People Sasha Razumikhin
Smoking is bad. But it can be worse, especially if you’re HIV-positive — and the CDC wants you to know it. To do so, it’s enlisted Brian, a gay HIVpositive man who got a stroke as a result of his smoking. He’s the centerpiece of the CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign, the part of it dealing with people who are HIV-positive. He stars in a video (http://bit.ly/UnyxZS) to raise awareness of the complications. In the video Brian talks about his experience rebounding from advanced HIV infection, how despite successfully controlling his HIV he continued to be a smoker, and how he went on to develop a stroke that required surgery on an artery in his neck. “It took a stroke for me to actually stop smoking,” Brian said. “Smoking is something that you do have control over. You can stop. And it’s worth your life to stop smoking.” As part of the campaign, Dr. John T. Brooks, a medical epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division
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of HIV/AIDS Prevention explains how we now understand HIV and smoking both exacerbate each other: “Even when your HIV is well managed, there’s still a level of chronic inflammation. This HIV-related inflammation is a risk for many of the same health problems that smoking causes. When a person has HIV and smokes, emerging data suggest there is a combined negative effect,” Brooks said in a release. “If a person’s HIV is under control, the risk of smoking remains and becomes a greater and often leading preventable risk for illness and death.” Here an interesting statistic: In 2009, an estimated 42 percent of HIV-positive individuals smoked, compared with 20 percent of the general population. Dr. Tim McAfee, the head of CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health, said “We’re especially concerned with how people with HIV overlap with the LGBT communities, another population we soflagaynews //
Photo Credit of CDC know smokes at much higher rates than the general public.” Dr. Scout, the Director of CenterLink’s Network for LGBT Health Equity, is glad to see the CDC take this approach with anti-smoking awareness. “Three years ago CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers Campaign created one little rainbow ad. Last year they created a print ad featuring two lesbians. This year we see them not only creating this new ad featuring an HIV+ gay man, but also buying placement for it in dozens of LGBT specific regional and national media outlets,” Scout said. Here’s another interesting statistic from
SouthFloridaGayNews
the CDC: HIV-positive smokers are more likely to develop HIV-related infections than a nonsmoker with HIV, including thrush and Pneumocystis pneumonia, a dangerous lung infection. Dr. Brooks also noted there appears to be no major drug interactions between medications for HIV and smoking cessation that would limit using cessation medications in most HIVinfected smokers. “These new Tips ads speak to vitally important information that HIV-positive tobacco smokers need to hear,” said Dr. Scout, “that once your HIV is under control, the next greatest threat to your health has a cure.”
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news national
First Ever White House Global LGBT Human Rights Forum Christiana Lilly
Photo: CNN.com
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The White House hosted its first ever forum to expand the rights of LGBT people around the world. At the Global LGBT Human Rights Forum in June, leaders from the private sector, activists, faith leaders, and others were invited to participate in the discussion. “The goal of the forum was to bring these various parties together to have a cross-sector conversation about this important issue,” said Ned Price, assistant press secretary and director for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council. Topics of discussion at the forum included how to eliminate laws around the world that infringe on LGBT rights, responding to human rights cases, protecting refugee and asylum cases, and more. Part of the process is reporting on human rights issues around the world — the U.S. Department of State releases country reports on human rights practices annually. “We discuss LGBT issues with a range of governments — from those that share our positions to those with whom we have profound disagreements,” Price said. The Global Equity Fund, founded in 2011, has raised more than $12 million to protect human rights of LGBT people in more than 50 countries. The U.S. has also conducted training
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with the United Nations when dealing with LGBT refugees. Keeping American LGBT travelers safe is important too, and the department has write ups online on every country, detailing information for travelers including local customs, religion, known scams, political upheaval, and the dos and don’t of being in the country. They also have a section devoted to LGBT rights, telling travelers how LGBT people are viewed in that country, what their rights are, and what to be careful of. “There are a number of countries that provide legal protections to those who are LGBT. Unfortunately, there are others that do not, and a significant number that even criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations,” according to the department. For example, the department explains that in Saudi Arabia, LGBT relations are criminalized and can be punishable by fines, jail time or death. On the other hand, in Italy travelers are told that there are no legal restrictions on LGBT people. The department also has a page devoted to more specific information on travel documents for transgender people, LGBT parents, those with HIV, and other travel tips.
feature
A Pronoun By Any Other Name Some trans folks are bending the rules of grammar and going gender neutral Nicole Wiesenthal He or she? How about “they”? Some transgender folks are forgoing the traditional pronouns of “he” and “she” and instead asking to be referred to as “they” creating a grammatical nightmare for English teachers. As any grammarian will tell you the pronoun “they” is used to refer to two or more people, but more importantly, to some trans folks, it’s gender neutral — whereas he and she are singular, but gender specific. And that creates a grammatical dilemma. Unlike some languages English does not have gender-neutral singular pronouns so for people like Jack Qu’emi, Brent Stanfield, and Megan Rohrer they say the language doesn’t accurately represent who they are so they’ve decided to rewrite the rules and use “they” in the singular. “I get a lot of people saying that’s not grammatically correct,” said Jack Qu’emi, a 23-year-old student at University of Central Florida. “Usually, my first response is: Ok, my gender identity is more important than your grammar preferences, and, on top of that, singular ‘they’ has been used for hundreds of years by people like Shakespeare.” Fred Fejes, a journalism professor at Florida Atlantic University, said the word became popular in the 70s as part of a feminist movement against a male-dominated language. Since then, it has come to be a representation of people who don’t fit as part of either gender. “I’m female-assigned at birth, and I’m feminine presenting, and a lot of people assume I use ‘she,’ but I think that ‘they’ is a lot more inclusive,” said 26-year-old Ray. “I identify a lot more as a feminine person than as a woman. I started using gender-neutral pronouns impulsively, and it felt really good, and I’ve been using them ever since.” Qu’emi said the word shouldn’t be an issue because it’s also used colloquially today. Those who use the pronoun have come up with different ways to explain it. Taylor Collins, a 19-year-old University of Southern California student, uses the example of talking about a person of an unknown gender in a mascot outfit at a basketball game. While 21-year-old Brent Stanfield uses heritage, and famous public figures, to explain the decision to go genderneutral. “I think it can be helpful to talk about
more famous people and instances of gender bending, like using Lady Gaga to help people understand that sometimes you can mix genders or be something out of male or female,” Stanfield said. “I think for me as a Native American, I can also sort of talk about different Native American cultures. Some of them would have more than two gender roles.” Every day those who use “they” face challenges because of the lack of representation and general awareness of the existence of people who don’t identity as either “male” or “female.” “One of the hardest parts are identification issues,” Qu’emi said. “You’ll be addressed based on your legal name, like on the phone they don’t care what you look like because they can’t see you. They go by what is a feminine or masculine voice.” Qu’emi also has trouble when going to restaurants, doctors, clinics or the DMV and faces a lot of microagressions. A microaggression is an interaction between those of different races, cultures, genders or sexual orientations, which can be interpreted as small acts of mostly nonphysical aggression. The term was coined in 1970 by Chester Pierce, a noted psychiatry professor. “Misgendering me is a microaggression, like casually being cissexist or casually not including agender individuals, casually saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’” Qu’emi said. “Cissexism” is where non-trans (cisgender) people consider themselves superior to trans people. “I guess I don’t have to listen because you’re not addressing me. It usually comes exclusively from people, from individuals, and 98 percent of the time it’s done without people knowing they’re doing it.” People like Stanfield don’t feel comfortable using “they” outside of a safe setting. “My pronoun preference and gender identity aren’t considered to be a serious option,” Stanfield said. “Like something only someone in a liberal arts college would come up with.” “They” still remains the only comfortable option for those who choose to identify with it. “I’m gender fluid,” Collins said. “People can call me ‘she’ or ‘he’ and that’s fine, but I think ‘they’ is a good default for me. Most of the time I feel kind of gender neutral, and if people don’t know how I’m feeling that day,
then ‘they’ is the best pronoun to go with.” “They” offers people a chance to define themselves how they choose. “I’m just in a place where I want to feel safe and loved and have a gender that just doesn’t feel that it’s giving anyone false information, because I really like my body, and my way in the world is in a transition place,” said Megan Rohrer, a 33-year-old transgender pastor. “’They’ accomplishes that in a way that ‘he’ or ‘she’, which tend to tip towards one side of the binary, don’t.” Those interviewed agreed that education and public attention can bring more
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acceptance. “As long as it’s controversial and media is talking about it, the more people are going to learn,” Rohrer said. “If there’s not a way to educate a lot of people across different cultures, there’s not a way for me to find true acceptance. As long as there’s controversy, people become more comfortable just through talking about it. If their first reaction was ‘I’m upset,’ their third reaction would be, ‘Oh, I heard that,’ and their third reaction would be more tolerant and accepting.” As Stanfield puts it: “Even if it wasn’t grammatically correct, why does it matter?”
SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 7.30.2014 //
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feature religion
We Are Mormon. We Are Gay.
Affirmation seeks to help gay Mormons reconcile sexuality and faith Christiana Lilly
As a junior at Brigham Young University, John Gustav-Wrathall was struggling with his sexuality, he was suicidal, and devastated over the idea of leaving behind the Mormon church that had been his entire life. “It was one of the most painful things that I ever went through,” he said. That year, he did leave the church and discovered himself over the next few years, finally coming out. Today, he is happily married to his husband and works with Affirmation, a group for LGBT Mormons. At Affirmation, LGBT Mormons can find support, and they are encouraged to discover a balance between their sexuality and religious beliefs in a way they feel most comfortable with. “We as an organization don’t really prescribe for people how they need to make that reconciliation, but we do provide support and we’re a community,” said GustavWrathall, now the senior vice president. The group began in 1978 at the BYU main campus in Provo, Utah, as a gay and lesbian group. They used a pseudonym to maintain confidentiality, as it was a tough time to be gay for many students throughout the country. “That was a very difficult time and you could be expelled from the campus just for being gay,” Gustav-Wrathall said. “It was very risky to be out at BYU and out in the church
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at all really.” Times have changed since the 70s, and now, the school has an openly organized LGBT group, Understanding Same-Gender Attraction (USGA) that meets weekly. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints preaches that there is no acceptable sexual expression outside of a heterosexual marriage. However it does not condemn members for their same-sex attraction and believes that it’s the act of same sex, which is the sin, just as it is for unmarried heterosexual partners. “The Church’s standard for morality is the same for everyone, no matter which gender one feels attracted to,” according to the church’s website. “Neither the Lord nor His Church can condone any behavior that violates His laws. Again, we condemn the immoral behavior, not the person.” Anna Empey joined Affirmation a little over a year ago and now serves as the social media outreach lead. She learned about the group while at school at BYU and was encouraged to share her story at an Affirmation conference. Finding the group was “too good to be true,” she said, finding comfort in being around people who weren’t telling her how to live her life and instead gave her unconditional love. It wasn’t until she was almost done with college at BYU, and having suicidal thoughts,
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that she came to terms with her same-gender attraction. Her coming out was positive with her parents, but she has lost a few friends. “I just knew that I was different and that scared me,” Empey said. “I can’t tell you how hard I prayed for God to change who I was, to fix me because I really felt like I was broken.” Empey is still deciding whether to be with a woman, or marry a man, an option she said she would only take if God wants her to. Gustav-Wrathall’s battle was during the 80s. He left the church his junior year of college and then came out a few years after. In 1992, he met his husband, who is not Mormon. However, the church had been a major part of Gustav-Wrathall’s life — he served missions for the church in France and Switzerland and had dreamed of becoming a church historian. In 2005, he had what he called a “spiritual experience,” wanting to return to the church. Through prayer, he says God told him he did not need to leave his husband but that he should return to the church. “On the one hand, feeling very committed to my relationship with my husband and feeling like that was blessed by God, and on the other hand, feeling that I needed to be close to the church and get as involved in it, as active in the church as I could,” he said. He found Affirmation that year and served as the contact for his state, Minnesota, and found a Mormon ward where he could worship, even though he is not considered a member in full standing. “The members of that ward and the bishop of that ward were very happy to have me come back to the church, which kind of shocked me,” he said, although there were a few members who were uncomfortable with his homosexuality.
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While there has been progress in the Mormon Church — more than 300 straight and gay Mormons joined Salt Lake City’s Pride parade in 2012 — there have also been setbacks. The church has been supportive of ordinances providing protections for gay couples, but was also strongly in support of California’s Proposition 8 in 2008, going so far as to provide much of the funding to make sure the proposition passed, which banned gay marriage. Affirmation has chosen not to get involved in politics. “The primary mission of our organization is really focused on that reconciliation that individuals need to make within themselves and also helping to further reconciliation and dialogue between gay and straight Mormons,” Gustav-Wrathall said. “We have a free speech policy, so individual members can certainly speak out and say what they think about things like that, but we as an organization have been pretty deliberate about avoiding taking an organizational position on things like that.” For members like Empey, her goal is to reach out to others who were in her place just a few years ago, confused about their sexual feelings and how it fits into the church. Although she’s still in her journey of reconciliation, she’s made a new goal to attend church more often and to only tackle one problem at a time. “I know that I have contemplated committing suicide, and I don’t want anyone else to think that they should do that because this is a part of who they are,” she said. “Sometimes you want to give up, but I just want them to know that they have other choices.” Visit Affirmation.org for more chapter locations and for more information.
Let’s talk about a contingency basis.
www.kenkeechllaw.com soflagaynews //
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisments. Before you decide, ask the lawyer to send you free written information about the lawyers qualifications and experience.
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feature
B: The Forgotten Letter The in-betweeners, not gay, not straight Sasha Razumikhin
What’s harder than not belonging anywhere? Try belonging everywhere. You’re a friend to everyone and subsequently an enemy to many. It must be so easy for you, people might say, you can just switch it off, and go for her or him, or whatever you wish. Why complain? Because desire isn’t a fancy, you think, but you can’t communicate this to a heterosexual who thinks you’ve got it made, or to a homosexual who thinks you’re abusing the fringed acceptance that’s been creeping in for LGBT people during recent years. You’re somewhere in between, in a world neither here nor there. You’re on your own, and you need to find a voice and a community. Enter Faith. Not faith the word, but Faith Cheltenham, president of BiNetUSA, an organization over two decades old and self-described as “America’s umbrella organization and voice for bisexual, pansexual, fluid, queeridentified and all other of us ‘somewhere in between’ people…” “We definitely have a large number of bisexual people in the U.S.,” Cheltenham told The Mirror, adding that BiNetUSA was founded in 1990 “out of a need for a national advocacy organization for bisexual people.” What is a bisexual person? The answer isn’t as clean cut as some may think, Cheltenham said, leading to a myriad of societal complications. “We identify ourselves as bisexual if we recognize in ourselves the ability to be attracted to more than one gender,” she said. It’s unusual to be attracted to both genders at the same time. Attraction morphs and changes over time with no clear range of when it might switch or slowly recede from one gender to the other. That’s how the nickname “fluid” became prominent. It’s an easier way to explain one’s sexuality than simply saying “bisexual,” to which most respond with resounding misconceptions. “That’s something we work to educate people on,” Cheltenham said. “Many mainstream organizations and publications, as well as LGBT organizations, refuse to let that definition live. But we bisexual people know that doesn’t really work for anybody.” By “we bisexual people,” Cheltenham is referring to a substantial portion of the LGBT community. According to LGBT think tank The Williams Institute, 51 percent of people within the LGBT community are bisexual. “It’s not about who we are with, it’s not
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about who I am with right at this moment,” said Ellyn Ruthstrom, president of the Bisexual Resource Center, an almost 30-year-old group geared toward raising awareness of bisexual issues. And there’s more data, according to BiNetUSA: Bisexual men are 50 percent more likely to live in poverty than gay men; bisexual women are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as lesbians; bisexual men and women are at least one-third less likely to disclose their sexual identities to their doctors than gays or lesbians. (For more, see sidebar). With these numbers, bisexual people should be out and proud, but it’s not that way. “We come out all the time. Everyday, multiple times a day. It’s a very different type of experience than a gay or lesbian might experience,” Cheltenham said. “As gayness has become norm, bisexuality has become more queer.” Having a high population doesn’t mean having loud voices around the country. Bisexuality is on the fray. It’s misunderstood, it’s stereotyped into obscurity, it’s everything that was wrong with lesbianism and gayness in the ’80s. Few know what it is, or how it works, less are willing to do anything about it. But like all things, it gets better, if slowly at that. “I’ve been out as a bisexual for a long time, almost 25 years. I’ve seen a great deal of difference in that time. I’ve seen it improve. I have high hopes. Sometimes it’s confusing when we see the good effects in certain populations, but I can’t answer when it will finally break through,” Ruthstrom told The Mirror. “These past few years have been very significant for us because of how diverse sexualities have been discussed publicly. That’s a really positive thing. It’s hitting lots of different media so people can be exposed to the concepts more.” In a study that looked at LGBT-focused philanthropy over 40 years, from 1970 to 2010, Funders For LGBTQ Issues found that out of $771 million in grants, projects and other types of funding, $84,000 went to bisexual related groups or issues. To soflagaynews //
“As gayness has become norm, bisexuality has become more queer.” put that in perspective, consider this: The transgender community got $17 million. Further perspective? $84,000 out of $771 million is about a hundredth of a percent, or .01 percent of the pie. “It rounds up to zero,” Cheltenham said. Policies for bisexual people? Nil. Legislation for bisexual people? Nil. Protections? Nil. In fact, Google considered “bisexual” a “dirty” word until 2012. In an algorithm that removed words from search results in an attempt to get rid of pornography from showing up, a list of words were restricted. This changed when pressure from U.S. groups, namely BiNetUSA, forced the search giant to reconsider its tactics. “One reason it’s hard for people to get their heads around it is that people like simplicity. They like binaries. Gay/straight is easy. But there’s this whole other area in human sexuality, and that makes it more complex for people to get it,” Ruthstrom said. “I’m continually amazed at how hard it
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is for some people to get it, even when they know bisexual people, they see bisexual people in relationships, they see them get married. They don’t seem to hold onto that concept of bisexuality for very long. They see a person’s partner as a definition of that person’s sexuality.” BiNetUSA and the Bisexual Resource Center are here to help. They put the information in this article into fact sheets, spread them around the country and attempt to educate both the heterosexual and LGBT communities. “When someone hears the word bisexual, there’s an immediate stigma,” Cheltenham concluded about the uneducated mass. Coming out is a daily occurrence. And is followed by questions. Responses aren’t supportive, they’re jealous. Jealous of an instantaneous fluidity and choice that is simply not there, that is simply incorrect, that is simply stigmatizing. “We’re not gay, and we’re not straight.” They’re in between.
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column seeing in the dark
Are ‘The Ugly Laws’ Still Alive in the Gay Community? Belo Cipriani
Looking good is all about feeling good, and I was feeling great one San Francisco night when I ran into some childhood friends. My enthusiastic greetings were met with icy glances and cold words. Our meeting quickly went sour and they began to beat me. My face was their primary target, and each strike left me more hurt and confused. Bleeding and blinded, I was abandoned on the cement. I went through numerous surgeries and even temporarily gained my vision back, but blindness won the battle. I spent the first couple of months questioning everything I knew, including my looks. It’s a sad state of affairs that Hollywood never portrays the blind as being beautiful. Thus, I assumed I had become ugly as well. But with the help of therapy and the support of friends, I slowly began to build my confidence. Seven years have passed since I lost my sight and I’m now doing things that seemed impossible when I was newly blind. I live alone in Oakland, California, rely on my guide dog, Oslo, for mobility, and work as a writer full-time. I also go out on dates and have been engaged twice. But while I have learned to do everything the blind way, I always find myself teaching others how to interact with me — something I’ve become better at with time. And, one of the main themes I battle with, especially in the gay community, is the importance of beauty. For instance, I met Jacob at a bar. His jokes and comical punch lines had won me over. Our dates always ended with my stomach hurting and my eyes tearing from so much laughter. We had taken a two-week break while I retired my first guide dog, Madge, and completed the two-week training with my second dog, Oslo. Jacob had stopped by my place to meet my new set of eyes. “He’s adorable!” Jacob cheered. “You two look great together.” I leaned my head on his shoulder and told Jacob I thought we looked good too, feeling
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his arm tense up. “What’s wrong?” I asked, hearing him sit up and walk on the linoleum floor. He drew a big breath. “I sometimes wish you could see me,” he shared. “I wish you knew what I look like.” “I do know what you look like,” I replied. “I’ve touched your face plenty of times.” “It’s not the same. I’m really average looking Belo, and people always give me a knowing look when we are out,” Jacob sighed. It wasn’t the first time insecurities around his appearance came up, but it was the first time he mentioned others. “Knowing look?” I inquired, my voice dry. “What do you mean?” “The look that says ‘if you could see, you wouldn’t be with me.’” I felt my throat tighten. Even though I live in a pitch-dark world, I still lived in a seeing universe ruled by laws of physical beauty. And no matter what I would say, I could not give him the validation he sought. Not wanting to argue, I changed the conversation and suggested we grab dinner in San Francisco. The drive over the Bay Bridge did us well. We were laughing and cracking jokes the entire ride. It was an unusually warm San Francisco evening and we opted to eat on the patio of a Castro Street bistro to give Oslo more leg room. Like his predecessor, Oslo kept receiving compliments for his great looks by people passing by. One guy even asked to photograph my eighty pound black lab. The stranger handed me his card and said, “I’m Steve and I’m an amateur photographer. I would love to shoot your pup next weekend.” Thinking nothing of the gesture, I took the man’s card and agreed to call him soon. “You know that was a ploy to pick you up,” Jacob hissed, munching on ice. “He looked at me and then gave you a look. You just
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couldn’t see it.” “Oh come on!” I shouted, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. “That’s not true.” Jacob remained quiet the rest of the evening and seven days went by before I heard back from him. I was sitting at my desk, working on an article when his email came in. As the screen reader read his note in the phonics voice, I grew restless. His words were simple. The message said he couldn’t date me anymore because I needed someone more like me. “More like me?” I mumbled. “What does that mean?” I began to reflect on insecurities. In losing my sight, I was forced to face all of my worries at once, helping me learn how to deal with them. And while dating a guy who wasn’t hot may have been an initial concern, it no longer bothered me. I did a quick web search for ugly laws, hoping to find an inspirational article. But, instead, I found the contrary. My search yielded The Ugly Laws of the United States that were enforced from the 1860s to the 1970s. During this time, several American cities had regulations that fined anyone with a physical disability that was considered too hideous, if they were seen in public. As I continued to read, I felt lucky not to have been around in that time. Then something clicked in my head. The ugly laws haven’t been abolished. They are still around and even more prevalent in the gay community. These are the same rules that make many gay men join a gym and seek the latest fashions. Although I enjoy nice things, it felt good to have my blindness keep me free from the ugly laws. Belo Cipriani is the Writer-in-Residence at Holy Names University, a spokesperson for Guide Dogs for the Blind, the “Get to Work” columnist for SFGate.com, and the author of Blind: A Memoir. Learn more at BeloCipriani. com.
column off the wall
Men Who Moisturize
Exploring the rise of ‘manscaping’ and its relation to the evolution of a gay friendly society Pier Angelo Traditional definitions of masculinity have experienced a real shake up in the last two decades. The metrosexual, a straight man meticulous about his grooming and appearance — with David Beckham as its poster child — came first, followed by men coming out as bisexuals and more recently by the “Yummies” or Young Urban Males. They are the twenty or thirty somethings that, for lack of other life projects, spend most of their money embracing customs and attitudes once deemed the province of women: pedicures, facials, manicures, aromatherapy, eyebrow waxing, expensive haircuts and clothing. Traditional masculine norms have always included avoidance of femininity, restricted emotions, sex disconnected from intimacy, endless pursuit of achievement and status, self reliance, strength, aggression and, of course, homophobia. “Real” men believe they are not supposed to take interest in their appearance apart from being clean and adequately clothed. They often turn to self-deprecation or embarrassment should anyone make a favorable remark about their looks. In our culture, masculinity is a form of sexuality that it is much cruder, simpler and more binary than its female counterpart. It’s hopelessly defensive, almost an ideal of racial purity. Most straight men are incapable of transcending traditional sexual categories. Surging tolerance for homosexuality is, albeit slowly, changing all that. Gay men provided the early prototype for metrosexuality by pioneering the business of accessorizing and combining masculinity with desirability. Shows such as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” “Will & Grace” and “Queer as Folk” have redefined traditional masculine norms. Men’s fashion magazines like Details, Men’s Vogue, GQ to name a few, go after what their editors call “men who moisturize.” This has been a bonanza for manufacturers of grooming and care products. Hair serums, exfoliating scrubs and eye creams are reaching a wider male audience. Even the most feminine obsession of the last twenty years, Botox, has crossed over to men. In the U.S. alone, Botox treatments for men have seen an increase of 300 percent in the last ten years with an increase of 6 million treatments in 2013 alone. Researchers say that global sales of male toiletries other than razors and shaving creams will rise 5 percent next year to almost soflagaynews //
$18 billion. These companies have been able to convince men to pay attention to their looks by stressing the fact that their skin is thicker, tougher and oilier, hence in need of more specialized products. These men are targeted with words such as “resolutely masculine” or “modern and timeless.” L’Oreal, one time the kingdom of women, now appeals to half of American men over 18 who use the brand’s moisturizers, facial cleaners or self tanners as part of their daily routine. A great shave at one of Manhattan’s highend Fellow Barbers costs $40, an old tradition that is finding a new space, and many men think it’s worth every penny. Urban gay enclaves have always been dotted with beauty farms, look around Wilton Manors for example, now these establishments are branching out. A membership men’s salon, with a safe “butch” name, Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club, recently opened in Boca Raton. Its concept is to make male customers feel comfortable, not just for haircuts but for manicures, pedicures, back waxing and facials. Complimentary beverages, shaving products that make you think beyond your razor, and other amenities, are available for men who want to be pampered. And even though a good part of straight society might still see this trend as a rest stop on the “highway to homo” its sociological impact in the long run can only be positive. It’s a form of gender integration and subtle revolution without political overtones. The concept of what’s accepted as “masculine” will continue to shift and become more fluid, styles and behaviors which were always an integral part of the woman’s domain are being absorbed by its male counterpart at an increasing rate. Finally, even bullies who make fun of other boys if they step just a little outside of the rigid masculine stereotype will mercifully become a thing of the past.
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cover
Miami Judge Becomes 2nd to Overturn Florida Same-Sex Marriage Ban Associated Press
(AP) MIAMI — A Florida judge on Friday overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in a ruling that applies to MiamiDade County, agreeing with a judge in another county who made a similar ruling last week. Still, no marriage licenses will be issued for gay couples in either county any time soon to allow for appeals. The ruling by Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel mirrors the decision made earlier by Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia. Both found the constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 2008 discriminates against gay people. They said it violates their right to equal protection under the law guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. “Preventing couples from marrying solely on the basis of their sexual orientation serves no governmental interest,” Zabel wrote. “It serves only to hurt, to discriminate, to deprive same-sex couples and their families of equal dignity, to label and treat them as second-class citizens, and to deem them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of our society.” The effect of Garcia’s ruling was put on hold when Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi filed notice of appeal. Zabel also
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stayed the effect of her ruling indefinitely to allow time for appeals, which could take months, and Bondi promptly followed up Friday by filing an appeal notice in the Miami-Dade case. The county of 2.6 million people is in the top 10 in population in the U.S. Both judges were appointed by former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and have been reelected. The legal battleground will next shift to the Miami-based 3rd District Court of Appeal for both cases, and most likely after that to the state Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Friday’s ruling was cause for celebration for gay couples across the Miami area. “It means so much for a court to recognize our family and say that we must be treated equally,” said Catherina Pareto, one of the plaintiffs in the case. “We love this state and want nothing more than to be treated as equal citizens who contribute to the community and help make Florida an even better place for everyone who lives here.” Same-sex ban supporters argue that the referendum vote should be respected and that Florida has sole authority to define marriage in the state. The Florida amendment defined marriage as a union
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between one man and one woman. Gay marriage proponents have won more than 20 legal decisions around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Those rulings remain in various stages of appeal. Many legal experts say the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately have to decide the question for all states. Bondi said in a statement about the Monroe County case that “with many similar cases pending throughout the entire country, finality on this constitutional issue must come from the U.S. Supreme Court.” Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow gay people to marry. Republican Gov. Rick Scott has said he supports the amendment but opposes discrimination. His top Democratic challenger, former Gov. Charlie Crist, supports efforts to overturn it. Florida has long been a gay rights battleground. In the 1970s, singer and orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant successfully campaigned to overturn a Dade County ordinance banning discrimination against gays. The county commission reinstated those protections two decades later.
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In 1977, Florida became the only state prohibiting all gay people from adopting children. A state court judge threw out that law in 2008, finding “no rational basis” for that ban, and two years later, the state decided not to appeal, making gay adoption legal. Gay marriage opponents said the rulings overturning the same-sex marriage ban disenfranchise nearly five million voters — the 62 percent who approved it nearly six years ago. Repealing the amendment would require at least 60 percent support. “With one stoke of a pen, a mere trial judge has attempted to overthrow an act of direct democracy by five million Floridians who defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” said John Stemberger, president Florida Family Policy Council, which pushed for passage of the amendment. The cities of Orlando, Miami Beach and Key Biscayne filed legal papers supporting the gay couples’ quest to have the marriage ban ruled unconstitutional. A separate lawsuit is pending in Tallahassee federal court seeking to both overturn Florida’s gay marriage ban and force the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
opinion for becker or worse
Hey Pam Bondi: Stop Defending Discrimination John Becker
As I sat down to write this week’s column, a judges alike are decisively smacking down every wonderful news alert flashed across my screen: argument our opponents make, from their the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit historically ignorant appeals to tradition (“every affirmed a lower court ruling striking down society throughout history has viewed marriage Virginia’s marriage discrimination amendment as between a man and a woman”) to their as unconstitutional. The court held that the scientifically discredited claims that children fundamental right to marriage includes the right do best when raised by their biological, married for gays and lesbians to marry the person they mothers and fathers. There really are no new love, and that that fundamental right supersedes arguments left. Perhaps someone should alert Florida state-level efforts to deny same-sex couples the Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi. After freedom to marry. Marriage equality advocates and LGBT legal two state judges declared the Sunshine State’s groups quickly pointed out that the ruling ban unconstitutional, Bondi doubled down on doesn’t just nudge Virginia closer to marriage her defense of marriage discrimination, telling equality, but the other states in the Fourth reporters that she had no choice but to appeal the rulings: Circuit (North Carolina, “If the voters choose South Carolina, and “If the voters choose to pass it, it’s my job to West Virginia) as well. defend it. It’s not up (Maryland has had legal to pass it, it’s my job to one person to pick same-sex marriage to defend it. It’s not up and choose. That’s why since January 1, 2013.) we have voters… It has And just hours later, the to one person to pick nothing to do with first domino fell: Roy and choose. That’s anybody’s personal Cooper, North Carolina’s beliefs.” Democratic attorney why we have voters… That’s a nice general, announced at a It has nothing to sound bite, but it’s press conference that he do with anybody’s also total malarkey: would no longer defend in recent years, the his state’s marriage ban. personal beliefs.” attorneys general of Cooper said: at least seven states “In all these cases challenging state marriage laws, our office along (California, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, Oregon, with other attorneys general and state attorneys Pennsylvania, and Virginia) have all stopped across the country have made about every legal defending their states’ bans on same-sex argument imaginable. Since the U.S. Supreme marriage after reviewing them and concluding Court ruled in Windsor, all the federal courts that they are unconstitutional and therefore have rejected these arguments each and every indefensible. Attorney General Eric Holder came time. So it’s time for the State of North Carolina to the same conclusion in 2011 when he dropped the federal government’s defense of DOMA. And to stop making them.” The demise of Virginia’s discriminatory the Republican governors of Nevada, New Jersey, amendment, he added, showed that North and Pennsylvania stopped defending their state Carolina’s ban “almost certainly will be bans in light of pro-equality court rulings. There is ample precedent for dropping the overturned as well.” When it comes to marriage discrimination, Cooper concluded, “There are defense of a clearly unconstitutional law, so Bondi is being patently dishonest when she really no arguments left to be made.” He’s right, of course: the Virginia ruling is pretends she doesn’t have a choice in the matter. the 29th consecutive legal victory for marriage The truth is, she does – and Bondi’s made hers: equality advocates, and it marks the third time she has chosen to pander to the anti-LGBT base a federal circuit court of appeals has weighed in of the Republican Party rather than obey the on the issue. In state and federal courts across the United States Constitution. And sadly, same-sex country, Democratic- and Republican-appointed couples in Florida are paying the price. soflagaynews //
SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 7.30.2014 // 19
lifestyle speak out
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What story should the LGBT community be following this week? SFGN Staff
This week SFGN launches “Speak OUT” a weekly feature giving a regular voice to South Florida LGBT leaders. Below are some of their answers:
“
The LGBT community should be following Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Zabel’s well-reasoned opinion joining Monroe County Circuit Judge Garcia in finding Florida’s samesex marriage ban to be unconstitutional. Also this week, the 4th Circuit US Federal Court of Appeals in Virginia upheld a trial court opinion finding Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. Across the country courts are finding that marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the US Constitution and that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are discriminatory. — Michael C. Gongora, former Vice Mayor of Miami Beach
“
With November 2014 hosting midterm elections during a term that has seen so much political growth for the LGBT community, it is vital that everyone who has the right to vote get educated and make their vote count. With all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate being contested, there is an opportunity for change on the issues that impact us as a community. Issues like Equal Rights, LGBT Discrimination and Health Care can all be addressed with the right elected officials. The LGBT Community cannot afford to be an inappropriately represented this November. — A.J. Alegria, President of Impulse Group — Fort Lauderdale
“
Currently I’m most interested in following the lawsuit General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper. On April 28, 2014, a group of clergy members, people of faith, and same-sex couples filed a new federal lawsuit in North Carolina seeking the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, claiming the marriage ban violates THEIR religious freedom. Welcome back, Religious Left! — Toni Armstrong, Founder/Director of BLAST Women of WPB Visit SFGN.com/SpeakOut to see more of this week’s responses. Send an Email to Jason.Parsley@sfgn.com if you know of a LGBT community leader that should be or wants to be a part of this list.
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lifestyle bata’s beats
Morrissey - World Peace is None Of Your Business John Bata Photo by: Morrissey Official Facebook
Morrissey is a dark comedy, which is how he describes the state of the world around him through his lyrics. The first few notes of “World Peace Is None Of Your Business,” his 10th solo studio release, starts off a little slow mixing cultures from different continents, utilizing tribal native American drums serenaded by the gentle cry of an aboriginal Didgeridoo, signaling that the listener might be in for something different from past efforts. However, WPINOYB is not Morrissey’s Graceland. As the melody kicks in, it’s clear that has little interest in changing too much, but in the end just enough to make this one of his best solo efforts and it is also his most eclectic LP since Kill Uncle in 1991. At times it is a rousing rallying cry for the disenfranchised and 99 percent movement. He sings in Spanish while trying to appeal to his growing fan base in Latin America. He splices in a flamenco guitar solo during Neal Cassidy Drops Dead, a song about the famous Beat Poet. It’s hard not to imagine him performing live, skulking around onstage with a rose in his mouth. Don Juan is a gentle lullaby as he croons while rhyming T-bone steak with cancer of the prostate, chastising meat eaters and hockey players all in one pass. His thoughts go deeper into the idea that society still generalizes that one can not be a true man if he is not eating dead animal carcasses. Meat is Murder. He is set in his ways. WPINOYB has memorable moments and some of them are up there with his most lauded material. “Istanbul” is a highlight as
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well as “Staircase At The University.” Their lush atmospheric qualities remind one of “Viva Hate” from 1988. The melody is classic Morrissey and has a nice driving baseline juxtaposed with his unique vocal runs. He teases us with the lyrics, “You should not mess with arrangements,” but there is an experimental quality to the sound here while retaining what makes Morrissey, Morrissey. This is classic Morrissey and at times it is thrilling. “Smiler With A Knife” a song about suicide or rape or oh who cares, it is lyrical genius and why Morrissey is up there with some of the greatest lyricists of all time. On the uplifting yet extremely dry, “Earth Is The Loneliest Planet Of All,” I couldn’t help but think, “but what about Mars? Kick the Bride Down The Aisle? I feel you Morrissey. MountJoy has echos of Marr’s psychedelic guitar, which made the Smith’s track, “How Soon Is Now,” a classic. It is a welcome return and reminder of where he came from. World Peace Is None Of Your Business is disjointed at times, but not an indication that Morrissey should get in touch with Johny Marr just yet or not--as soon as now--but one day in the near future would be nice. World Peace Is None Of Your Business was released on July 15. John Bata is from Denver, Colorado and a local resident of Fort Lauderdale since 2013. He is a published poet and music aficionado. Currently he DJ’s at Ramrod on Sundays and a DJ since 1992 in Washington, DC, New York City and Fort Lauderdale. One of his passions is to spotlight the latest in indie and underground dance music.
lifestyle books
Ted Olson and David Boies
The Prop 8 lawyers in their own words
By David-Elijah Nahmod Fresh on the heels of the well received HBO documentary “The Case Against 8,” which is a filmed record of the landmark lawsuit that restored marriage equality in California and helped open the marriage floodgates around the country, comes “Redeeming the Dream: The Case For Marriage Equality.” The just published book has been coauthored by attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, the legal team who took the Proposition 8 lawsuit all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Proposition 8 was the voter approved ban on same sex marriage in California. Passed in 2008, it took away the right of same sex marriage from the state’s LGBT couples. The Prop 8 case was one of two marriage equality suits which went before SCOTUS in June 2013. Equality advocates were shocked and overjoyed when they scored a double victory on that historic day. Ted Olson explained the books title. “We felt that there was a dream in California that had been taken away,” he
said. “But the dream was still there. We read a lot of Dr. King during the case.” In 1963, Martin Luther King delivered the historic I Have A Dream speech at the March on Washington, which was a turning point for the Civil Rights movement. Many in the LGBT community were apprehensive about the legal team of Olsen and Boies. Olsen is a conservative, while Boies is a liberal. The pair were legal adversaries during the infamous Bush v. Gore case in which the Supreme Court put a stop to the Florida recount, and resulted in the George W. Bush presidency. “We felt passionate about our cases during Bush v. Gore,” Boies said. “But we are not enemies. I respected his integrity. Lawyers ought not to be enemies when they are on opposite sides. “We’ve got to work together and find common ground.” Olson, who remains a supporter of former President Bush, addressed his commitment to the Prop 8 case. “Marriage is a conservative value,” he said. “To build a family and to raise
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children in a stable environment, well, what are we thinking to say that this is wrong? I feel passionate about equality. California is such a beacon of diversity, how could they do this? We thought that if we put our firms together people would see that this is a nonpartisan issue, and we would win in the court of public opinion.” Boies recalled the Winter of 2004 when former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied then state law and allowed Del Martin and Phylis Lyon, a lesbian couple who’d been together since the 1950s, to get married at City Hall. “It was Newsom who brought me faceto-face with discrimination,” Boies said. “I remember the TV images of people coming to San Francisco to get married and seeing the joy in their faces. It was important from that moment on to establish marriage equality. Equality is important. When you deprive rights, it establishes that the government thinks that certain people are second-class. We try, in the book, to explain the stories of
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our plaintiffs, who are wonderful people.” Those plaintiffs are lesbian couple Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and gay couple Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo. Thanks to the courageous vision of their attorneys, they, along with thousands of other LGBT couples, are now legally married. The story of their remarkable journey makes for riveting reading in “Redeeming the Dream.” “There have since been identical ruling in places where you wouldn’t expect to see such rulings, like Texas, Oklahoma and Utah,” Boies said proudly.
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F O R
SFGNITES
T H E
J.W. Arnold
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THUR DINING
W E E K
O F
j u l y
3 0
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a u g u s t
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2 0 1 4
W W W . S F G N . C O M
7/31
Miami Spice, Miami-Dade’s two-monthlong dining festival, kicks off tonight with the Iron Fork gala from 7 – 10 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE 2nd Ave. in downtown Miami. Taste the specialties of more than 50 restaurants, sample cocktails at 18 bar stations and mingle throughout 75,000 sq. ft. of displays, entertainment and silent auctions. Proceeds benefit Share Our Strength. Tickets are $50 general admission and $85 VIP early admission at Ticketfly.com. For information about Miami Spice dining specials in August and September, go to MiamiAndBeaches.com
FRI
DINING
8/1
Just how daring of a diner are you? Catharsis Restaurant & Lounge, 1644 SW 8th St. in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, offers its unique “Dining in the Dark” meal tonight at 9 p.m. Served blind-folded in total darkness, each course is a surprise until the host begins explaining the ingredients involved. While the menu changes each time, diners with dietary restrictions can be accommodated upon reservation. Who is feeling adventurous tonight? Cost is $79 per couple and wine pairing is available for $15 per person. For reservations, call 305-479-2746.
SAT
Theater
latest fanciful creations is currently on display at the Art and Culture Center in Hollywood through Aug. 17.
Submitted Photo
8/2 SUN
The brilliant, critically-acclaimed concert production of Frank Loesser’s classic musical, “The Most Happy Fella,” from Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach, has been extended through Sunday, Aug. 3. Under the direction of Clive Cholerton, William Michals stars as an older Napa Valley wine grower and Jessica Hershberg plays a young waitress who agrees to be his mail-order bride—sight unseen — in 1927. The staged reading features a full cast with musical direction by Howard Breitbart. Tickets are $40. For tickets and show times, go to PalmBeachDramaworks.com.
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EGO artist Nathan Sawaya comes face L to face with his multicolored alterego. “In Pieces,” an exhibition of Sawaya’s
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FUNDRAISER
8/3 MON
FEAST Miami brings food and art together to create community. FEAST Miami (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) is a meals-based micro-funding project that consists of a series of vegan pop-up dinners at local art venues. Funds raised will be used to financially support new and emerging creative projects. The first FEAST Miami dinner will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at Emerson Dorsch Gallery, 151 NW 24th St. in Miami. A minimum donation of $60 per person is suggested. For more information and reservations, go to FeastMiami.org
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THEATER
8/4 TUE
Mondays are no longer dark in professional theaters across South Florida. Every Monday through Aug. 25,the South Florida Theatre League presents Summer Theatre Fest, free readings of new plays by local playwrights at member companies. Tonight, experience “It Feels Good” by Michael Yawney at GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables at 7:30 p.m. Yawney’s play explores the education of an underage gay man who hangs out at the local night club. For more information and a complete list of Theatre Fest play readings, go to SouthFloridaTheatre. com.
SouthFloridaGayNews
ART
8/5
We all played with LEGO bricks as kids, but internationally renowned artist Nathan Sawaya has taken sculptures with those colorful plastic blocks to an entirely new level. “In Pieces,” an exhibition of sculptures and mixed-media works at Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, 1650 Harrison St. through Aug. 17, builds upon Sawaya’s previous body of work with sculptures that are integrated into large-scale photographs by Australian photographer Dean West. The center is open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and weekends from 12 noon – 5 p.m. For information, go to ArtAndCultureCenter.org.
a&e television
Rich Kid Jonny Drubel Wants You To Know “Coming out Matters” David-Elijah Nahmod
On August 3rd, E! will debut the second season of “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills,” a reality series focusing on a group of twenty-something millionaires and billionaires in 90210, perhaps the world’s most famous zip code. The show has proven popular with audiences, consistently pulling in an average of one million viewers per episode. “Rich Kids” though has been criticized for promoting materialism and for flaunting wealth that hasn’t been earned, yet cast member Jonny Drubel is proving himself to be more than just a shallow member of the idle rich club. When asked by one interviewer how much his family was worth, Drubel, 25, said “I’m too classy to say.” Speaking to SFGN by phone, Drubel spoke eloquently about his love for his Jewish heritage, his commitment to family, and of “Coming Out Matters” — his pet project. “Coming Out Matters” is an online space where LGBT people, along with friends and family, can share their personal stories. The idea is to make LGBT youth feel supported and safe. The openly gay rich kid knows how important it is for LGBT youth to experience the kind of acceptance he got from his own family. Drubel launched the site in partnership with “Students Moving America”, a nonprofit which “empowers students to take action.” “I was lucky that my parents were treehuggers, hippies,” Drubel said. “They told me they loved me, supported me, and asked me who I was dating.” The young man wasn’t so lucky in school. He was, at that time, 350 pounds, and was bullied relentlessly. “It was really bad,” he said. “Words do hurt you. I didn’t tell my parents about it, I was ashamed that I couldn’t stand up for myself. A lot of gay kids don’t tell their parents.” Drubel objects to the common usage
of the word bullying in popular culture, pointing out to cast members of the “Real Housewives” series bandying the word about over every minor disagreement. “No! You’re taking away from the word,” he said. He pointed out that coming from wealth isn’t a shield. “If kids want to bully you, they will. Some of it’s torture.” Drubel today is a slimmed down, softspoken young man who’s using his wealth and new found fame for the greater LGBT good. He pointed to the recent “It Gets Better Project” in which people from all walks of life shared stories of bullying from their pasts, assuring kids not to worry, that things would get better. “What happens until it gets better?” Drubel asks. “How about an online community where people can share those stories?” He refers to “Coming Out Matters” as “my baby” and reports that his partners at “Students Moving America” help promote equality in schools. “We have a long way to go,” he mused. “We have to make sure kids are safe. Kids in Kentucky, for example, can come to our site, share their stories, and hear stories they can relate to. So far we have 15,000 submissions, mostly videos. That’s 350 hours of content. Every single submission tells a story.” The “Coming Out Matters” site features a link titled “How It Works”, which offers easy instructions on making a submission through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or You Tube. The “Live Stories” option allows visitors to hear the stories of others. Drubel said that he’ll be talking about his own experiences of having been bullied on the second season of “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.” Look for it on E! starting August 3. Online: ComingOutMatters.com. soflagaynews //
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a&e film
Pride and Progress in the Holy Land
E
liad Cohed
David-Elijah Nahmod
When people think of Israel, images of violent conflict often come to mind. Founded in 1948 in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the country’s original purpose was to give the Jewish people a safe haven in their Biblical homeland. Israel’s Arab neighbors didn’t take too kindly to the new arrivals. And so many wars have been fought over that tiny strip of land. Things have improved considerably in recent years. Though the conflict with Palestine has yet to be resolved, Israel has enjoyed a lasting peace with Egypt and Jordan, two of its immediate neighbors. Though parts of Jerusalem and small towns like Bnai Brak and Bet Shemesh remain strongholds of the conservative Ultra-Orthodox community, other parts of the country, like the beachfront city of Tel Aviv, have become an oasis of liberal tolerance and openness. Tel Aviv has in fact become one of the world’s gay meccas. The Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, has undergone a sea change of it’s own. Israel can now boast about having some of the strongest federal LGBT equality laws in the world. It’s the only country in the Middle East to offer such benefits to its LGBT citizens. Many Americans retain an outdated
perception of Israel. In “LGBTQ Life In Israel: A Progressing Journey,” a short film produced by Blue Star PR, interviewees in San Francisco’s Castro District assume that their Israeli counterparts live under the harsh umbrella of oppression. As the film progresses, we hear a different story from within Israel’s borders. Blue Star PR is a non-profit public relations firm, which seeks to dispel the popular, if sometimes false myths people have about life in the Holy Land. Blue Star’s Write On for Israel Program affords young filmmakers an opportunity to make films which tell Israeli stories. “LGBTQ Life in Israel” was produced as part of Write On For Israel. Shai Doitch runs the Agudah, Israel’s primary LGBT advocacy group. “Things have changed dramatically,” he says in the film. “We’ve gone from being on the outside of Israeli society into the mainstream of society. But it’s like anywhere else in the world. As long as you go outside from the main city, it’s much harder to be gay.” Haya Shalom, a lesbian volunteer organizer for Jerusalem Open House, the capital city’s community center, feels that the country has a long way to go. “Israel wants to show that it’s one
of the most progressive countries in the world,” she said. “By law, yes, we have good laws. You cannot practice law unless society is educated and open.” The film shares the story of Jonathan Danilowitz, a flight attendant for El Al Airlines. Many years ago, Danilowitz filed suit so that his boyfriend could get spousal benefits. He won, and the floodgates were opened. A national workplace anti-discrimination law, covering sexual and gender identity, went into effect in 2004. LGBT people have been able to serve openly in the Israeli army for twenty years. Eyal Magen tells viewers that the Tel Aviv Pride Parade is now funded by Tel Aviv City Hall, with many leading politicians in attendance. This is an absolute first for the Middle East. Even the Orthodox have had to face the truth, with LGBT Orthodox Jews saying that they don’t want to give up their orthodoxy, or their homosexuality. Israel isn’t perfect, but in the ultraconservative, war ravaged Middle East, it’s a beacon of hope, the light at the end of the tunnel. For more information on “LGBTQ Life In Israel: A Progressing Journey,” visit www.bluestarpr. com.
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a&e film
Gay Men Dancing
New Films ‘Test’ and ‘Five Dances’ released on DVD David-Elijah Nahmod
Test: Better Than Most Hollywood Blockbusters
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Chris Mason Johnson’s “Test” is a quiet and reflective story set in 1985 San Francisco. The AIDS crisis is escalating, and everyone is terrified. Is the virus sexually transmitted? Is it airborne? Will condoms really offer protection? It’s into this frightening new world that Frankie (Scott Marlowe), an understudy in a modern dance company, begins to spread his wings. He’s looking for love, and trying to find his place upon the stage. As he tries to navigate the now dangerous world of gay sexual encounters, Frankie enters into a friendship with fellow dancer Todd (Matthew Risch), an older, veteran dancer with the company. Todd is a “bad boy.” As he regales Frankie with tales of his sexual conquests, including his plans to make a little extra money through hustling, an unlikely friendship develops. At first disgusted by Todd’s conduct, Frankie is nonetheless drawn to him. Their friendship deepens as Frankie prepares to take the newly developed HIV test. Lovely and lyrical, “Test” effectively captures the terror that gripped the hearts of gay men during the mid-1980s. First time actor Marlowe makes a sensational debut as a shy young man who’s forced to face the harsh realities of the world he’s come out into. Though new to the world of dramatic film acting, 33-year-old Marlowe is a seasoned dance veteran. A performer with the LEVYdance company in San Francisco since 2005, he stepped into the role of the company’s Associate Director in 2011. Several sequences in which Frankie takes to the stage are magical as Marlowe reveals his elegantly graceful, and sometimes acrobatic moves.
SouthFloridaGayNews
“Test” was produced on a shoestring budget. It’s dialogue heavy. Yet it’s far more interesting a film than any of the big Hollywood blockbusters can ever hope to be. Part history lesson, part character study, “Test” is a classic example of how mesmerizing movies can be when talented actors play fully developed characters and get to speak well written lines in a story of substance.
Five Dances: Charming Coming of Age Tale
Equally low budget and equally riveting, Alan Brown’s “Five Dances” is a charming coming of age tale. Openly gay Broadway hoofer Ryan Steele plays Chip, a young dancer finding his footing in a modern ballet company while he comes to term with his sexuality and finds his first love. Steele, an accomplished dancer, beautifully conveys the character’s graceful moves and budding emotions as Chip rehearses the five dance pieces he’s been cast in. Chip is at first terrified and repulsed when fellow dancer Theo (Reed Luplau) expresses both a sexual and romantic interest in him. “I’ve never done this before,” Chip says timidly, as he attempts to push Theo away, whom he clearly cannot resist. As Chip’s mom tries to pressure him into returning home to the Midwest, he and Theo fall deeply in love. “Five Dances” is a lovely variation on a classic theme which was often portrayed in older Hollywood films: the wide-eyed, small town innocent comes to the big city in search of their dreams. “Five Dances” beautifully puts a gay face on that theme in this shamelessly romantic and moving fable.
a&e theater
New Play Explores the Dark Side of Miami Nightlife J.W. Arnold
For a generation of gay men, nightclubs were a magical refuge from the homophobia of friends, coworkers and even family, an energetic “Never Never Land” where seemingly everyone — and everything — was accepted. Playwright Michael Yawney, a former New Yorker who once worked in one of those clubs, knew that world well. “The public sees this fantasy of the club, the extravagant decorations and beautiful performers who emerge from nowhere,” he explained, “but what happens when all of the guests are drunk and happy and get to go home and the staff have to stay and mop up?” Nearly a decade after relocating to South Florida, Yawney explores the darker side of the nightlife industry in a new play, “It Feels Good,” that will get its first reading on Monday, Aug. 4 at GableStage in Coral Gables as part of the South Florida Theatre League’s Summer Theatre Fest. Yawney, whose most recent work explored
the public anti-LGBT crusades of Anita Bryant, decided to write the play after talking to students in the high school and college classes he know teaches. He realized that while gay and lesbian youth may have found greater acceptance from their families and peers in recent years, many still seek “artificial ecstasy” at the clubs and must deal with the adult repercussions that follow. “The play started from a conversation with other high school teachers,” recalled Yawney, who spent 16 months penning the script. “We were concerned about students moving into situations with older people.” The plot centers around a middle-aged gay man who becomes involved with a college freshman and introduces the youth to the world of nightclubs and drugs on Miami Beach. He is one of those people who “creates that fantasy,” as Yawney puts it, while his best friend is a middleaged club owner whose girlfriend is half his age.
Photo: news.fiu.edu
They have been together for nearly 10 years. “It sounds seedy, but it grew out of my time living in Miami and hearing about a lot of these intergenerational relationships,” he said. “ I really didn’t understand the attraction. Why would an 18-year-old be attracted to a man in his forties?” Ultimately, the young people in his play must make some difficult choices. Yawney said, “After a point, the sun rises and the hangover comes on, along with the decision of what to do with their lives. Do I grow up or stay Peter Pan forever?” The playwright is looking forward to the GableStage premiere, under the direction of Joe Adler. Adler and his audiences rarely shy away from “edgy” topics, so Yawney is confident they will be engaged with his play’s dark story. In fact, Adler chose the play through a blind process,
without Yawney’s name attached. “The beauty of this program is that theaters are able to expand their range with plays that may or may not fit their audiences….and gauge what material their audiences might accept,” he said. “The festival has been a tremendous success for everyone.” He’s also looking forward to valuable feedback from the director and cast in the hopes his latest work will be fully staged soon, the ultimate goal for any playwright. Michael Yawney’s “It Feels Good,” will receive its first reading on Monday, Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. The reading is free. For more information about the South Florida Theatre League’s Summer Theatre Fest, free weekly play readings through Aug. 25, go to SouthFloridaTheatre.com.
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a&e television
Sally Jessy Rides Again The Queen of Daytime TV Returns
Photo by Andrew Werner
Erik R. Caban Named one of the 25 Greatest Radio and 25 Greatest Television Talk Show Hosts of all time, Sally Jessy is still most recognized for her prominent and leading talk show “The Sally Jessy Raphael Show” aka Sally, which she hosted for two decades. In 2002, Sally decided to cancel the show after years of her producers succumbing to ratings of trashier talk shows like “The Jerry Springer Show” and “Maury,” forcing her to host episodes where she sent kids to boot camp and revealed the results of paternity tests on air. Sally has been very vocal about her disdain of these episodes, although her gay fans love them to this day. Returning to her roots, Sally hosted a daily Internet radio show, Sally Jessy Raphael on Talknet from 2005 – 2008 that aired in syndication on local radio stations and XM Radio. In 2010, Sally capitalized on the world’s fascination with pop culture, viral videos and her own timeless notoriety, launching her very own YouTube channel. On it, she spoofs reality TV and answers questions from fans. From radio to Daytime TV to the internet, it was just a matter of time before Sally took over Gay-time. This year marked Sally’s return to – not only - a series but to a new medium. In January, she launched a new web series Sally Jessy Rides on LogoTV. com, the LGBT network. The series was created by Spinboi Films, which is owned by Sally’s manager Patrick Hartz and his partner Jason Fine. The unconventional series takes Sally out of the studio and onto the streets – literally. Each episode features Sally along with a celebrity guest in a different mode of transportation or public setting as she interviews them with her unique brand of journalism. Guests have included Perez Hilton, Rachel Dratch and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 5 winner, Jinkx Monsoon, whom she bluntly quips in the episode, “Speaking of machinery, where do you put your junk?” SFGN chatted with the 79-year-old Emmy-award winning, red-spectacled talk show siren about the new series, a potential Sally reunion show, her gay iconic status and her love of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Tell me about the new series. How did you come to team up with LOGO? Between radio and T.V., I’ve done thousands of interviews over the years, and they were always in a chair or in front of a studio audience. My producers and I
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thought it would be fun to have the outside world, in an uncontrolled environment, be our studio audience this time around. And wow, did that turn out to be a trip! As far as Logo, I’m a huge fan of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and I was doing a lot of live Tweeting during the show. Then, the network started doing a lot of on-air shoutouts to me, and the next thing I know, we’re talking about doing a web series. The first season ended in February. Will there be more episodes? If so, who are some of the celebrity guests will you be riding with? [I’m] not sure if we’ll do any more yet, but I’ve got a long list of people I’d like to interview…including RuPaul, among others! You said you’re a huge fan of RuPaul and “Drag Race.” Have you been invited to be a guest judge yet? Yes, I’m a huge fan! I was asked to be a judge on season 6 but unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out. There’s always season 7. (WINK, WINK)
the law as a 36-hour Las Vegas marriage like Britney Spears had. So, naturally, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut! I don’t have much of a filter these days. [Laughs]
“I’m Still Sally” and your YouTube videos are great! Did this show kind of stem from that?
Do you ever hear from former guests?
Thanks! We had a lot of fun doing those spoofs. “I’m Still Sally” wasn’t an interview show like “Sally Jessy Rides.” It was more of me spoofing the popular reality shows of that moment because we were thinking of doing a mock show, like “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” about me trying to make a comeback in reality TV. “Sally Jessy Rides” is more of what I’m known for, which is interviews — but in this case — with a twist. You’re a pioneer in the talk show arena, featuring drag queens and dealing with serious LGBT issues on your show as well as being outspoken about LGBT rights. Thank you for saying that. I’m a strong believer in human rights, whether it is gay rights, the civil rights movement, women’s lib, etc – equality in general. In particular, I have a huge number of very important people surrounding in my life who happen to be gay. It crushed me that their long-term relationships had less validity in the eyes of soflagaynews //
I do hear from former guests on Facebook all the time, and they’re usually very sweet messages updating me on their lives or thanking our show for helping them reunite with someone. Most of the time, they’re people asking for copies of the episodes they were on. And no, I don’t have them! [Laughs] Which wayward teen that got sent to boot camp was the biggest mess, in your opinion? Wow, we did so many of those “boot camp” shows that it’s hard to think of just one that was “the worst” but the ones that still stand out to me are the brats who threatened me or my staff personally. I would get right back in their faces because hey, it’s not nice to fool with Sally Jessy [Laughs]! Have you ever thought about doing a “where are they now?” show featuring some of those memorable guests? That’s actually something we talk about a lot – and may still do one day. We have some
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interesting format ideas for it, too! You’ve been with your husband for - what’s it been - more than 50 years! Any tips you can offer to help couples maintain that longevity? The secret to a long marriage is mind control devices [Laughs]. Actually, my best advice is to respect each other, love each other and most importantly, make each other laugh every day. What is the best advice you’ve received and who was it from? I’ve received a lot of advice over the years - good and bad - believe me! But since I’ve been let go from nearly 20 jobs in media during my career, I can say the best advice I’ve ever received was from my mother. She told me, ”Sally, never give up, no matter what. You’d make a lousy secretary.” I guess those jobs were the majority of options for most ladies in those days. And she’s right. I would have made a lousy one! More Info.: Who: Sally Jessy Raphael What: Sally Jessy Rides Where: LOGOTV.com Twitter: @SJRaphael Facebook: facebook.com/ TheSallyJessyRaphael
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outeats Special Advertising Section Calamari Salad Jay Rinaldi
No one wants a big heavy meal during the dog days of summer. A great chilled soup & a lovely, yet satisfying salad is just the ticket on such a hazy, lazy, day of summer. Try this salad with a chilled soup, say my gazpacho, and relax the day away. As prepped in order: In a skillet: 2 tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
over med heat. Chop 3 cloves of garlic and 5 roma tomatoes to cook down some. About 5 minutes. Add sea salt & red pepper flakes to taste. Meanwhile, put calamari into a plastic bag, season with salt n pepper, and massage. Then add calamari to skillet. Cook only one minute then off heat.
In bowl: Zest of lemon & 1 tbsp of juice 2 tbsps capers Salt & pepper 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil Whisk these together to form dressing Strain liquid from skillet and put seafood n tomato mixture in bowl. Add dressing. Stir & garnish with chopped parsley. Enjoy.
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broward county * Starlight Musicals
Aug. 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Holiday Park, E. Sunrise Boulevard and Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Enjoy music under the stars from the comfort of your picnic blanket or lawn chair -- The Brass Evolution plays classic rock ‘n’ roll. Call 954-828-5363 or visit FortLauderdale.gov.
Re-Designing Women
Through August 3 at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive in Fort Lauderdale. A parody of the ‘80s sitcom, when a design firm is about to go under, an ex-beauty queen has the brilliant idea of turning their workplace into a reality show. Tickets $30. Call 954-678-1496 or visit EmpireStage.com.
* Crosby, Still & Nash
PARK - CARNIVORES TOUR will perform LINKIN Aug 8th at 7pm at the Cruzan Amphitheatre.
Aug. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The awardwinning band has rocked the world since their debut in in your best ‘80s gear for music from the era of 1969. Tickets $49 to $99. Call 954-462-0222 or hair bands and “Sixteen Candles.” Free. Visit visit BrowardCenter.org. Facebook.com/SunsetCoveAmphitheater.
Palm palm beach county
* Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden
Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. at Cruzan Amphitheatre, 601 Sansburys Way #7 in West Palm Beach. Through Aug. 3 at the Don & Ann Brown Nine Inch Nails performs in support of their Theatre, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach. 2013 album, “Hesitation Marks,” joined by A musical based on the 1925 play, “They Soundgarden in a duo show that hasn’t been Knew What They Wanted,” about a couple so seen since 1994. Tickets $52 to $429. Call 561desperate for love that they almost blow their 795-8883 or visit CruzanAmphitheatre.net. chances. Tickets $40. Call 561-514-4042 or visit PalmBeachDramaWorks.org. Free Friday Concerts Fridays at 7:30 p.m. at the Delray Beach Center * Shawn Thomas for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Enjoy live music from the comfort of your picnic Church of the Palm Beaches, 4857 Northlake Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. A part of the church’s monthly “Soul Search,” Christian recording artist Shawn Thomas will perform. Free. Call 561-775-5900 or email info@ mccpalmbeach.org.
The Most Happy Fella
blanket or lawn chair every week, for free! Call his disheveled apartment teaching English 561-243-7922 or visit DelrayArts.org. composition online When he wants to reach out to his daughter, he finds she’s turned into an Miami unhappy teen. Tickets $42.50 to $45. Call 305miami-dade county 446-1116 or visit GableStage.org
* Mid-Life 2! (The Crisis Continues)
Through Aug. 17 at the Actor’s Playhouse, 280 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. Sketch and musical comedy pokes fun at growing old and midlife crises. Tickets $45. Call 954-444-9293 or visit ActorsPlayhouse.org.
* The Whale
Becky’s New Car
Through Aug. 17 at the Main Street Playhouse, 6766 Main St. in Miami Lakes. Becky takes a job at a car dealership, and when a customer mistakes her for a widow, she goes along with it and leads a double life. Tickets $18 to 25. Call 305-558-3737 or visit MainStreetPlayers.com
August 17 at the Biltmore’s GableStage, H2OMBRE PALM BEACH COUNTY PARKSThrough AND RECREATION PRESENTS 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. A Through August
31 at the Adrienne Arsht 600-pound gay man lives as a recluse in Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. More than 6,000 gallons of water is used in this incredible show melding aerial feats, thumping music and visuals. Tickets $50 to $125. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org. Third Thursdays at the Perez Art Museum Miami, 101 W. Flagler St. in Miami. Come out for live music from DJs and musicians by the bay. Drink specials available. Free with museum admission. Call 305-375-3000 or visit PAMM.org.
* Carnivores Tour: Linkin Park, 30 Seconds to Mars and AFI
Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. at Cruzan Amphitheatre, 601 Sansburys Way #7 in West Palm Beach. The three heavyweight rock bands hit the stage for a night of great music. Tickets $52 to $429. Call 561-795-8883 or visit CruzanAmphitheatre.net.
* On the Roxx
Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater, 20405 Amphitheater Circle in Boca Raton. Dress
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PAMM Outdoor Music Series
The Big Show ROXX will be performing Aug 9th ONatTHE 7pm at the Sunset Cove Ampitheater. soflagaynews //
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Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. at Just the Funny Theater, 3119 Coral Way in Miami. A collection of comedy mixing the likes of improvisation and sketches. Tickets $12. Call 305-693-8669 or visit JustTheFunny.com. * Denotes New Listing
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Beginners LGBT Square Dancing
July 31 from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at Island City Park Reserve, 823 NE 28 St. in Wilton Manors. The South Florida Mustangs are the world’s longest running LGBT square dance club. No partner needed. Cost $5 Call 305-3431710.
Days Without Sunshine: Anita Bryant’s Anti-Gay Crusade
Through July 31 at Stonewall National Museum Wilton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. An exhibit of memorabilia from the days of fighting for LGBT rights in South Florida, including the battle against Anita Bryant. Visit Stonewall-Museum. org..
Memories
Through July 31 at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. LGBT seniors display artwork promoting themes of equality, health and love. Opening reception is July 1 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Exhibit closed July 5. Free. Call 954-463-9005 or email galleries@pridecenterflorida.org
* When the Stars Begin to Fall: Imagination and the American South
Aug. 3 to Oct. 12 at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, One E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Thirty-five artists create “outsider” art of black life in the South from 1964 to present. Call 954-525-5500 or visit MOAFL.org..
KID Hero 5K
PFLAG
1626 or visit CompassGLCC.com.
Tuesdays in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Southwest Ranches. A support group for parents of LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and locations.
L.I.F.E. Project
Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Get the tools you need to treat your HIV positive diagnosis and live a full, productive life. Free. Call 954-463-9005 or visit PrideCenterFlorida.org.
Sober Sisters
Mondays at 6:15 p.m. at Lambda North, 18 S. J St. in Lake Worth. A support and discussion group for female recovering alcoholics. Visit LambdaNorth.net.
July Business Alliance Mixer
July 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Blue Martini, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. in West Palm Beach. Meet with other members of the Pride Business Alliance. Call Compass at 561-5339699.
Transgender Advisory Board
Yoga Among the Orchids
First Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at T House at FUSION, 2304 NE 7th Ave. in Wilton Manors. Give your input on how to better the transgender community. Call 954-2130610 or visit T-HouseOnline.com
Wednesdays at 9 a.m. at the American Orchid Society, 16700 AOS Lane in Delray Beach. Practice your yoga in the presence of beautiful, calming orchids. $20 a class. Call 561-404-2011 or visit OrchidWeb.org.
GayWrites
Voices of Pride
Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Stonewall Library, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Come join us and write your memoir, poem, blog, novel or short story. Free. Email garri1@earthlink.net
Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Join the Gay Men’s Chorus as they practice every week. Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com
SunServe Youth Group
Overeater’s Anonymous
Tuesdays and Thursdays in Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Ranches, Coral Springs and Hollywood. A support group and night of fun for LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and times.
Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. A safe place to discuss their eating habits and goals. Free. Call 561533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com
Safe “T” Transgender/ Gender Variant Group
Coming Out Support Group
Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at SunServe South, 2312 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Those who consider themselves to be transgender, transsexual or gender queer are invited to join this drop in support group. Call 954-764-5150 or visit SunServe.org.
Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. a Compass GLCC of the Palm Beaches, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Get support as you explore your sexual identity and be your true self. Call Forrest at 561-479-8313.
Rapid HIV Testing
Wednesdays 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. A support group for gay and bisexual men who are infected or impacted by HIV/AIDS. Visit PozitiveAttitudes.com
Mondays and Thursdays from 4 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Knowledge is power, and you can find out your status in less than 20 minutes. No need to make an appointment. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.
STD/STI Testing
Shutterbugs
POZitive Attitudes
Aug. 2 at 7:30 a.m. at Huizenga Park, One E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. A 5K run to benefit Kids in Distress of Broward and Palm Beach County Pre-Registration by August 1 is $35 for adults, $45 day of. Email Or contact: events@kidinc.org or visit KIDHero5K.kintera.org
Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Do you know your STD status? Get tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in a safe environment. Call 954-566-3553 or email freeHIVtest@pridecenterflorida.org.
Third Mondays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Love photography? Join BLAST and other women to explore the art of digital photography. Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com
* Coffee & Conversation
Survivor Support
Green Market
First and third Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Broward Health Imperial Point Hospital cafeteria, 6401 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Find support from counselors and peers who have lost loved ones to suicide. Call the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention at 954-384-0344 or visit FISPOnline.org.
Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Regular Coffee & Conversation with Dave Harvey of Sun Health Insurance followed by Betty Rosse at 12:30 p.m., with “How to be in harmony in the midst of chaos.” Cost $5 for lunch. Call 954-463-9005 or visit PrideCenterFlorida.org.
Gender Bender Youth Group
Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SunServe Campus, 1480 SW Ninth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A group for LGBT youth 13 to 21 to discuss gender, gender expression, binary systems, friendship, family and whatever else comes up! Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com
Man2Man Discussion
Mondays 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. A weekly informal discussion group among gay men of all backgrounds. Contact John Beuscher at 954-202-4469 or email johnnybushwick@aol.com.
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Beachcounty palmPalm beach * Summer Sushi & Stroll
Aug. 8 from 5:30 top 8:30 p.m. at the Morikami Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road in Delray Beach. Stroll through the gardens with taiko drumming, sake tastings, bites from Cornell Cafe, and sno cones. Tickets $8 adults, $6 kids. Call 561-495-0233 or visit Morikami.org.
Zumba Fitness
Mondays at 6 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Get moving with a certificated Zumba instructor for an infusion of exercise and dance moves. Donation of $5 or more. Call 561-324soflagaynews //
Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon at West Palm Beach Waterfront, 101 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. A relaxing morning of shopping through green vendors and live entertainment. Contact Katrina Resch 561822-1520 or KResch@wpb.org.
Rusty Gordon GLBT Democratic Caucus
Third Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Meet other like-minded people in this group open to the public. Free. Call 561533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com
PFLAG
Third Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Temple Shaarei, 9085 Hagen Ranch Road in Boynton Beach. A support group for friends and family of LGBT youth. Call Carole 561-716-9464 or Joyce 561-292-3273.
LGBT Bereavement Group
Second Mondays at 6 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Join bereavement
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specialists and others experiencing loss. Free. Call 561533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.
PBC Gender Support
First and third Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. A support group for transgender individuals of all ages. Contact Heather Wright at A1AHeather@aol.com.
Miami county miami-dade * Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders 2015 Swimsuit Calendar Unveiling
Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Fontainebleau’s LIV Nightclub, 4441 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. Get a copy of the new cheerleader calendar and check out new swim looks in a fashion show from Miss Fanatic, Luli Fama, Jypsea Swim, and others at 8 p.m. Tickets $25, $30 at the door. Visit DolphinsCheerleaders.com/Unveiling.
* Masquerade Ball
Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at theBiltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. A Venetian-style gala supporting Pridelines Youth Services. bring your elaborate masquerade mask -- Beatnix in South Beach will take 20 percent off if you mention the gala. Tickets $150. Visit PridelinesMasquerade.com.
HIV Support Group
Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at South Beach AIDS Project, 1234 Washington Ave. Ste. 200 in Miami Beach. A support group for those who are HIV positive. Free. Call 305-535-4733, ext. 301 or email support@ sobeaids.org.
Modern Buddhist Meditation
Mondays and Tuesdays at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Find inner peace with instruction on meditation with Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu. Cost $10 and $5 per class. Call 786-529-7137.
Book Study
Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu, will lead classes on learning the foundations of Buddhism. Call 786-5297137.
Prayers For World Peace
Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon at he Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist teacher, Todd Ellenberg will lead prayers and meditation. Cost $10. Call 786-529-7137.
Community Yoga Series
Third Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m. at jugofresh Wynwood Walls, 222 NW 26th St. in Miami. Yoga instructor Dawn B. Feinberg leads a monthly yoga class in the middle of Miami’s art district. Mats are available, but yogis are encouraged to bring their own. Free. Call 786-472-2552.
Miami Log Cabin Republicans
Fourth Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. at Casa Larios, 7705 W. Flagler St. in Miami. Meet with other like-minded people and hear from speakers in the community. Visit LogCabin.org/chapter/florida-miami.
Sex Talk
Second and fourth Thursdays at Pridelines, 9525 NE Second Ave. #401 in Miami Shores. Conduct outreach events, record video messages, participate in a series of performances, and organize special events with a purpose. Free. Visit Pridelines.org..
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To place a Classified Ad, call Jason Gonzales at 954.530.4970 or visit SFGN.com home & garden attorneys employment/jobs licensed massage TRAVEL AGENT PART TIME Full service travel agency located on Wilton Drive seeks experienced part time travel professional. Must have good internet and communication skills. Ability to assist clients with airline, hotel, cruise, and tour package reservations. Call 954-5652345 for an initial phone interview. COMPREHENSIVE AIDS PROGRAM The Comprehensive AIDS (CAP) Program of PBC is recruiting county wide (Belle Glade, Delray Beach, and WPB) 10-15 people who are HIV positive to become Peer Advocate Leaders (PALs) by completing the PAL training. For additional information and how to apply please visit: http://www.foundcare.org/ HIVServicesJobOpenings EOE/M,F/DFWP
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HUSBAND FOR RENT! Is he procrastinating home repairs? He says he will do it tomorrow?? After the football game?? We fit right in - in the house or the yard, small or big jobs: tile, dry wall, paint, plumbing, roof leaks, broken furniture, irrigation, fences, and more!It doesn’t cost to hassle us to see the work - so why wait? Neat, clean work for a reasonable price. Call Haim at 954-398-3676, sidnalll@yahoo.com
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INCREDIBLY AWESOME BODYWORK IN WPB In-calls at a private studio 15 minutes west of PBIA. Intuitive, experienced licensed massage therapist offers affordable rates 7 days, early to late. SUMMER SPECIAL for new clients only, $40 for 1 hour! Calls only 561254-8065 for the very best massage experience you can get HANDS DOWN! #MA51008
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pets/supplies Dependable Reliable Service Delivered with Love and Respect
rent/lease fort lauderdale MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE: 1/1 $750/month, all tile, eat in kitchen, W/D. May be able to help w/ move in costs, call for details. 954-527-9225
furnished housing **PERFECT RELOCATION RENTALS** *4-WEEK+SPECIAL FROM $295/WEEK* Award winning gay apartment hotel. All the comforts of home. Beautifully furnished & fully equipped studio, 1 & 2 BR apartments with full kitchens. All men, clothing optional, heated pool, laundry, private parking. Central to Wilton Manors & Haulover Nude Beach. Wifi, utilities, cable TV, and phone included. Long term monthly rates available for 3 months+. Pets always welcome. Gay owned & operated. Celebrating our 17th year. Call Joe or Jack at 954-927-0090 or visit www.libertysuites.com
ron@ronspradlin.com Ron Spradlin
LIC # 11000106488
real estate business opportunities GAY APARTMENT RESORT HOTEL PERFECT FOR WORKING RETIREMENT Rare opportunity to enter the booming Fort Lauderdale Gay Accommodations Market. Owners retiring and offering the award winning Liberty Apartment Suites in Dania Beach, with 11 beautifully furnished apartments with full kitchens. Established 17 successful seasons with high repeat and referral guests. Currently operated as self-catering, limited service, vacation & extended stay resort hotel-potential for growth and expansion. Immaculate Condition, Turn-key business, All Inclusive. Offered at $950,000. Qualified Buyers Only - For info, contact: Joe Van Eron 954-383-5548 or Joe@LibertySuites.com
rent/lease fort lauderdale COMPLETELY RENOVATED: Super Large Fully Furnished One Bedroom With Den Facing An Amazing Butterfly Garden. Granite Counter Top, King Size Bed. Price Included Internet Cable TV Water And Electricity Great Central Location Min To Wilton Manors Night Life The Beaches. $1500 A Month Eli 954-638-7034 COMPLETELY RENOVATED: Studio Fully Furnished With A Full Kitchen, Granite Counter Top, Stand Up Shower, Gorgeous View Of The Butterfly Garden. Price Included Internet Cable TV Water And Electricity Great Central Location Min Drive To Wilton Manors Night Life The Beaches. $900 a Month 954-638-7034 soflagaynews //
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