8. THE PRIDE, JAN. 14, 2016 by THE PRIDE LOS ANGELES

the pride

45 YEARS 1.14.2016 JUST DON’T MISS THIS MOVIE ⚫ 16

THE PRIDE LA IS DISTRIBUTED DOOR TO DOOR IN WEHO AND HOLLYWOOD AND IS AVAILABLE AT KEY LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT LOS ANGELES

WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM

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ISSUE NUMBER 2, VOLUME 2 1 JAN. 15 — JAN 28, 2016

LOS ANGELES

THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER

POLITICS ⚫ 6

New laws enhance the lives of California’s LGBT community ANALYSIS ⚫ 7

2016 may decide how long the LGBT golden moment will last BUSINESS ⚫ 8

A straight owned, Chinese based corp buys Grindr, yes NATIONAL ⚫ 7

Obama’s final State of the Union WOMAN LOVE: THE PRIDE LA SALUTES JEANNE CODOVA, PICTURED HERE (RIGHT) notes LGBT heroes WITH HER WIFE, LYNN BALLEN.

Tribute to a Civil Rights Pioneer:

Jeanne Córdova

⚫ After a lifetime of groundbreaking community activism and entrepreneurialism, legendary lesbian journalist and author has bequeathed $2,000,000 to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice

⚫ “I wish I could still write about this kind of love more eloquently. Lesbians do have a special love for one another. I have felt it many times when women are with each other,” she wrote days before she passed.

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New Genvoya is now available

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Actual Size

One pill contains elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF). Ask your healthcare provider if GENVOYA is right for you. To learn more visit GENVOYA.com

Please see Brief Summary of Patient Information with important warnings on the following pages.

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LOS ANGELES

Brief Summary of Patient Information about GENVOYA GENVOYA (jen-VOY-uh) (elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide) tablets Important: Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA. There may be new information about GENVOYA. This information is only a summary and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your medical condition or treatment.

What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA? GENVOYA can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis may happen in some people who take GENVOYA. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms, which could be signs of lactic acidosis: • • • • • • •

feel very weak or tired have unusual (not normal) muscle pain have trouble breathing have stomach pain with nausea or vomiting feel cold, especially in your arms and legs feel dizzy or lightheaded have a fast or irregular heartbeat

• Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems may happen in people who take GENVOYA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large and you may develop fat in your liver. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: • your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) • dark “tea-colored” urine • light-colored bowel movements (stools) • loss of appetite for several days or longer • nausea • stomach pain • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking GENVOYA for a long time. • Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. GENVOYA is not for use to treat chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). If you have HBV infection and take GENVOYA, your HBV may get worse (flareup) if you stop taking GENVOYA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. • Do not run out of GENVOYA. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your GENVOYA is all gone. • Do not stop taking GENVOYA without first talking to your healthcare provider. • If you stop taking GENVOYA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking GENVOYA.

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What is GENVOYA? GENVOYA is a prescription medicine that is used without other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older: • who have not received HIV-1 medicines in the past or • to replace their current HIV-1 medicines in people who have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months, have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is less than 50 copies/mL, and have never failed past HIV-1 treatment HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. GENVOYA contains the prescription medicines elvitegravir (VITEKTA®), cobicistat (TYBOST®), emtricitabine (EMTRIVA®) and tenofovir alafenamide. It is not known if GENVOYA is safe and effective in children under 12 years of age. When used to treat HIV-1 infection, GENVOYA may: • Reduce the amount of HIV-1 in your blood. This is called “viral load”. • Increase the number of CD4+ (T) cells in your blood that help fight off other infections. Reducing the amount of HIV-1 and increasing the CD4+ (T) cells in your blood may help improve your immune system. This may reduce your risk of death or getting infections that can happen when your immune system is weak (opportunistic infections). GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses. Avoid doing things that can spread HIV-1 infection to others: • Do not share or re-use needles or other injection equipment. • Do not share personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades. • Do not have any kind of sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood. Ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to other people.

Who should not take GENVOYA? Do not take GENVOYA if you also take a medicine that contains: • alfuzosin hydrochloride (Uroxatral®) • carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®) • cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®) • ergot-containing medicines, including: dihydroergotamine mesylate (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine tartrate (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), and methylergonovine maleate (Ergotrate®, Methergine®) • lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®) • midazolam, when taken by mouth • phenobarbital (Luminal®) • phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®) • pimozide (Orap®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®) • sildenafil (Revatio®), when used for treating lung problems • simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®) • triazolam (Halcion®) • the herb St. John’s wort or a product that contains St. John’s wort

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What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking GENVOYA? Before taking GENVOYA, tell your healthcare provider if you: • have liver problems including hepatitis B infection • have kidney or bone problems • have any other medical conditions • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if GENVOYA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking GENVOYA. Pregnancy registry: there is a pregnancy registry for women who take HIV-1 medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry. • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take GENVOYA. – You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. – At least one of the medicines in GENVOYA can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if the other medicines in GENVOYA can pass into your breast milk. – Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how GENVOYA works. Some medicines may interact with GENVOYA. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. • You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with GENVOYA. • Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take GENVOYA with other medicines.

How should I take GENVOYA?

• Take GENVOYA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it. GENVOYA is taken by itself (not with other HIV-1 medicines) to treat HIV-1 infection.

• GENVOYA is usually taken 1 time each day. • Take GENVOYA with food. • If you need to take a medicine for indigestion (antacid) that contains aluminum and • • • •

magnesium hydroxide or calcium carbonate during treatment with GENVOYA, take it at least 2 hours before or after you take GENVOYA. Do not change your dose or stop taking GENVOYA without first talking with your healthcare provider. Stay under a healthcare provider’s care when taking GENVOYA. Do not miss a dose of GENVOYA. If you take too much GENVOYA, call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away. When your GENVOYA supply starts to run low, get more from your healthcare provider or pharmacy. This is very important because the amount of virus in your blood may increase if the medicine is stopped for even a short time. The virus may develop resistance to GENVOYA and become harder to treat.

LOS ANGELES

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What are the possible side effects of GENVOYA? GENVOYA may cause serious side effects, including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA?” • Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known. • Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking GENVOYA. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking GENVOYA if you develop new or worse kidney problems. • Bone problems can happen in some people who take GENVOYA. Bone problems may include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones. The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. • These are not all the possible side effects of GENVOYA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. • Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. General information about the safe and effective use of GENVOYA. Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Patient Information leaflet. Do not use GENVOYA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give GENVOYA to other people, even if they have the same symptoms you have. It may harm them. This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about GENVOYA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about GENVOYA that is written for health professionals. For more information, call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.GENVOYA.com. Keep GENVOYA and all medicines out of reach of children. Issued: November 2015

EMTRIVA, GENVOYA, the GENVOYA Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, TYBOST, and VITEKTA are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2015 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GENC0002 11/15

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CALIFORNIA CIVIL RIGHTS

1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

VISIBILITY

⚫ BY SETH HEMMELGARN

New laws and initiatives take effect enhancing the lives of California’s LGBT community In 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed a record number of new programs and laws protecting civil rights of LGBT people in California.

Y SETH HEMMELG A R N | Wi t h t h e beginning of the new year, several California laws af fecting LGBTs have gone into ef fect. The legislation addresses collection of data on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as providing benefits to transgender people, among other areas. Arguably the most consequential bill to advance last year was Assembly Bill 959, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and T ransgender Disparities Reduction Act authored by Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). It requires four state agencies to start collecting demographic data on gender identity and sexual orientation by July 1, 2018. The bill specifically instructs the departments of health care services, public health, social services, and aging to collect the “voluntary self-identification infor mation” pertaining to LGBT people. “After years of being left out of statewide demographic data, LGBT individuals will now be able to share their experiences to provide much-needed data to understand and ultimately reduce long standing health disparities that have dispro-

portionately impacted these communities,” stated Chiu. Equality California sponsored AB 959. Rick Zbur, EQCA’s executive director, has told the Bay Area Reporterthat he expects to see state for ms and computer systems be updated with LGBT -specific questions prior to the deadline set in the legislation. “I think many of the agencies will do it faster,” said Z b u r. “ F r o m o u r p e r s p e c tive, we didn’t want to give them too much time but enough time to update their forms under the normal rotation for updating forms and computer systems. This is not a hard thing for them to do.” Like the other LGBT -r elated laws, AB 959 took effect Friday, January 1. One of the many other bills Gover nor Jerry Brown signed into law was gay Senator Mark Leno’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bill 703, which requires out-ofstate companies bidding on state-funded contracts to offer their transgender employees the same benefits other employees receive. California-based companies are already required to do so. Specifically, the bill prohibits a state agency from

AB 959 SEEKS TO ENSURE AN ACCURATE CENSUS REFLECTION OF THE NUMBERS OF LGBT FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS IN CALIFORNIA. IT IS AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT BILLS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN 2016.

entering into a contract in the amount of $100,000 or more with any company that does not offer equal benefits based on an employee’s gender identity. “Denying equal benefits to employees at the same company based on gender identity is harmful and wrong,” Leno stated. In a brief call this week, he added, “Our tax dollars should not benefit businesses that discriminate.” Geoff Kors, government policy director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a co-sponsor of the bill, noted that the legislation makes California the first state in the nation to refuse to contract with businesses and other entities that discriminate against their transgender employees in benefits. Brown also signed Leno’s

SB 731, which requires the consideration of gender identity when of ficials place youth in the state’s foster care system. Supporters argue that the policy will result in transgender foster youth being placed in appropriate homes where they feel safe and accepted. NCLR youth policy director Shannan Wilber said in an email that the nonprofit has “received many calls from transgender foster youth who have experienced bias and mistreatment in foster and group homes, subjecting them to instability, trauma, and poor outcomes.” Another new law, AB 87, authored by Assemblyman Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) , p r o hibit s pe r e mpt o ry challenges during the jury selection process of a prospective juror based

on an assumption they will be biased because of his or her gender identity, gender expression, ethnic group identification, genetic infor mation, or disability. “This new law will take a modest but necessary step to ensur e that defendants are allowed a trial by an impartial jury that reflects a cross section of the population in a community,” Stone stated. AB 830, which Brown also signed into law, allows transgender crime victims, as well as anyone subjected to violence due to their sexual orientation, to bring a civil action for damages against the responsible party. Lesbian Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), chair of the NEW LAWS continued on p. 8

1.14.2016 CALIFORNIA NEWS & POLITICS

⚫ BY LISA KEEN

LOS ANGELES

GENDER

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2016 may decide how long the LGBT golden moment will last

Despite profound progress on LGBT civil rights you can be fired for being LGBT in most states. In some places marriage equality is at risk.

Y LISA KEEN | Coming off another high achievement year, the LGBT community can relax and take it easy for a while now, right? The federal Defense of Marriage Act is gone. Same-sex couples can obtain marriage licenses and recognition in all 50 states. LGBT people can serve in the military. LGBT people working for the federal government can file em-

ployment discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Those working for companies that contract with the federal government now have protection under a presidential executive order. Those visiting a samesex spouse in the hospital are also protected by a presidential executive order. And, perhaps most importantly, the current presidential administration has made clear, through actions and words, that it will stand up for the civil rights of LGBT people. This is the LGBT Golden Age, right? That may depend on whether LGBT people seek 24 karat gold equality or something less pure, and the length of that Golden Age, however pure it might be, may be short-lived, depending on how certain lawsuits and presidential campaigns turn out this year. In terms of the quality of LGBT

equality, under federal and state laws, Americans are protected from private job discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. But there is no federal law prohibiting private job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. And of the 50 state laws prohibiting discrimination in private employment, only 22 prohibit sexual orientation discrimination and only 19 prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This is why so many legal activists were quick to note, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision (Obergefell v. Hughes) striking down state bans on marriage for same-sex couples, that LGBT people “can be married on Saturday and fired on Monday.” There is also a looming threat to 2016 continued on p. 12 MARRIED SATURDAY, FIRED MONDAY.

⚫ BY LISA KEEN

Obama’s final State of the Union notes LGBT heroes While the President mentioned the word gay one time, he did so in the context of a heroic marriage equality movement that he said represented America’s best.

Y LISA KEEN | In his eighth and final State of the Union address, President Obama on Tuesday seemed intent on both acknowledging the nation’s rifts and binding together those disparate parts with a “common creed” devoted to democracy.

Unlike in some previous addresses, President Obama did not call for specific actions to promote equality for LGBT people, but he did pay tribute to both large and small victories of the movement. He referred to marriage equality once, uttered the word “gay” once, and urged Americans to appreciate and celebrate the nation’s “diversity” and “commitment to the rule of law.” And he included lesbian astronaut Sally Ride in his short list of American histor ical legends. “[W]hen I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen, inspired by those voices of fairness and vision … –voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, im-

migrant or native born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Amer icans first, bound by a common creed,” said President Obama. “I see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him ‘til he can run a marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on. It’s the son who finds the courage to come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son over rides everything he’s been taught.” Lorri Jean, chief executive officer of the nation’s largest LGBT community and health center, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, called it “Obama at his best.” “I can remember hearing Presidents give speeches that included a line or two that was more historic

or that moved me more strongly,” said Jean, “like when [President Bill] Clinton mentioned gay and lesbian people from the capitol steps in Arkansas the night he first won the Presidential election. Or, in last year’s State of the Union, when Obama mentioned transgender people. But I do not remember any previous State of the Union address that has seemed as aspirational and optimistic–that represented the kind of clear -eyed leadership that our nation so desperately needs.” “From an LGBT perspective, I was happy to hear him highlight the fact that ending HIV/AIDS is within our grasp. I liked that he mentioned Sally Ride. And, I was really touched by his use of a coming out metaphor as an example that epit-

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1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

⚫ BY TROY MASTERS

A straight owned, Chinese based corp buys Grindr, yes Hoping to offer “something more” to users, the app sells to a straightowned Chinese based firm

t’s hard not to notice that Chinese investment companies are on a huge spending spree in Los Angeles. Just last week Universal Pictures Legendary Entertainment group was snapped up by Wanda Group for nearly 3.5 billion dollars. Chinese cash has made Beverly Hills and Bel Air richer than ever. But who would have imagined the spree would extend to gay sex hookup apps? Grindr, of all things. Whatever you are looking for — bears, twinks, meth, NSA, quickies, muscles, daddies, cuddles — you can find it on Grndr, where more than 2 million folks sign on everyday looking for something like love. PNP anyone? But Grindr, like everyone in a sur face relationship, has worried users are looking for something more and that it’s value may dwindle unless it offers more. Grindr just wants to be part of your life, and so is seeking ways to give users incentives to spend less time with apps like Scruff and Tinder.

NEW LAWS continued from p. 6

Califor nia Legislative LGBT Caucus, authored the legislation, which clarifies that legal remedies for the victims of violence motivated by a person’s gender are also available to transgender people and others who’ve been targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some new laws are meant to protect LGBT students. A s s e m b l y w o m a n S h i r l e y We b e r (D-San Diego) authored AB 329, the California Healthy Youth Act. It requires sex education for students in grades seven to 12 to provide medically accurate and age-appropriate instruction on LGBT youth

MÓCHUÁNG, AH, ERRR, GRINDR, IS DOWNLOADED AND DELTED REPEATEDLY BY THOUSANDS OF USERS EVERYDAY, LOL. PNP?

Last year it was revealed that Grindr expected to generate about $38 million in cash flow from adver tising and subscription revenues. Perhaps not enough to sustain the company. Grindr has allegedly sought investments from a number of sources in the past year. Enter the $93 mil-

lion facelift. Grindr, an app that single reinvented sex in the geo-locating modern age, has give majority owner ship to Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology Co. for a reported $93 million. That investment places a value of $155 million on the company.

and families, and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and pregnancy. AB 827, authored by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), calls for the creation of a training program to help teachers combat bullying and support LGBT youth who are coming out of the c l o s e t o r b e i n g t a rg e t e d b y o t h e r students. Among other bills that took effect last week is Chiu’s AB 960, which modernizes California law to protect families using assisted reproduction methods. Under the new law, sperm donors will not be legally considered a parent and unmarried people using assisted reproduction would have the same par ental rights as married parents.

AB 865, authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas), requires recipients of California Energy Commission grants or loans to increase procurement from minority-owned business enterprises, including those run by LGBT individuals. Looking ahead Another bill of significant benefit to the LGBT community that passed in 2015 was AB 339, authored by gay Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park). It caps the amount an individual pays out-of-pocket at $250 for a single 30-day prescription. Backers of the bill, which will go into effect January 1, 2017, expect it will be a boon for those Califor nians with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and

Grindr claims 2 million daily users and has sought to expand — beyond sex — the role it can play in users day to day life. The the investment is said to be sought for such expansion. Grindr, which launched in 2009, has faced unexpectedly stiff competition from Tinder since then. Grindr claims to have generated $38 million in 2015 advertising and subscription revenue. “For nearly seven years, Grindr has self-funded its growth, and in doing so, we have built the largest network for gay men in the world,” founding Chief Executive Joel Simkhai said in a blog post announcing the funding Monday. The cash investment, it is hoped, will mean “business as usual,” with “a renewed sense of purpose and additional resources.” Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology Co. went public on the Chinese stock market in 2015 and sells mobile gaming applications for var ious smart-phone platforms. The company has also invested in a grocery delivery company, livestreaming apps and an online shopping. The investment is noteworthy because it is the first LGBT organization to have ever recieved financing from a Chinese firm and because LGBT people are largely shunned in China.

other diseases. EQCA backed several successful bills in 2015. In a recent interview, Zbur said “a very high priority” for EQCA this year is modernizing the “draconian” laws related to HIV transmission. Current laws are used to “intimidate” people who ar e living with H I V, h e s a i d , a n d “ t h e y a r e r e a l ly out of step with other kinds of transmission laws for other diseases.” Ac c o r ding t o EQCA, many pe o ple who are living with HIV “remain criminalized for their status, often facing severe sentences for engaging in any sexual act without disclosing their status, regardless of the level of risk associated with the behavior.”

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State of the Union is strong omizes what makes America great,” said Jean. “Plus, I loved his concept of unarmed truth and unconditional love having the final word. Anytime that happens, our community benefits.” Both President Obama’s address and the Republican Party’s response, delivered by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, spoke against conflicts that target religions. President Obama said he opposes “politics that targets people because of race or religion,” but he said nothing of those who use religion to target people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Haley said that, if Republicans held the White House, “We would respect differences in modern families,” an apparent reference to same-sex couples marrying. But she said Republicans would “insist on respect for religious liberty as a cornerstone of our democracy.” She said nothing of the constitution’s equal protection clause and attempts by some to claim that personal religious beliefs trump that clause. “I was far more impressed by Governor Nikki Haley and her call to ‘respect differences in modern families’ while at the same time balancing that respect with a concern for religious liberty — a position Log Cabin Republicans has long advocated,” said national Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory Angelo. “It was refreshing to see a Republican explicitly acknowledge that on a major national stage.” Unlike in previous addresses, President Obama did not point to guests in the gallery to illustrate issues he talked about in his speech. Two gay men were among the 23 guests seated with First Lady Michelle Obama in the Congressional gallery during the State of the Union. One was Jim Obergefell, a lead plaintiff in one of four cases that successfully challenged state bans on marriage for same-sex couples. The other was Ryan Reyes, whose partner Daniel Kaufman was killed during the December 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino. The White House press release characterized Obergefell, who hails from Cincinnati as an “accidental activist,” who challenged Ohio’s refusal to recognize his marriage to John Arthur on Arthur’s death certificate. The couple, who had been together for 20 years, became the focus of national attention in 2013 when they

LOS ANGELES

had to rent a private jet to enable Ar thur, who was near death from ALS, to travel to Maryland so they could obtain a marriage license. The press release identified Reyes as an “activist” who spoke out following the Kaufman’s death at the hands of two Muslims to discourage hostility toward Muslims. Reyes, who contacted The Pride LA from The White House where his mom was hosted while he attended the State of The Union Speech, said that sitting behind Michelle Obama in an empty chair that represented Daniel Kaufmann, his partner, who was killed after he saved 4 people in the terrorist attack in San Ber nardino was “like being suspended in grace.” Another LGBT activist in the Congressional gallery Tuesday night was 32-year -old Alicia Garza, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, an organization to respond to anti-black racism in American society. Garza attended as a guest of her member of the House, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). Anti-gay activist Kim Davis was also in the House chamber for the State of the Union. Davis is the county clerk in Kentucky who refused to enforce the U.S. Supreme Court decision that said state bans on mar riage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional. She did so, claiming it would violate her religion to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couNEW LAWS continued on p. 11

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RYAN REYES, PARTNER OF SAN BERNARDINO VICTIM DANIEL KAUFMAN WAS HOSTED AT THE WHITE HOUSE

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ALABAMA

1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

REBEL CHALLENGE TO SCOTUS

GAY MARRIAGE

⚫ BY TROY MASTERS

Alabama’s Supreme Court defies SCOTUS on Gay Marriage….again Judge Roy Moore, a religious zealot who has made a career of thumbing his nose at the US Constitution does it again

PUBLISHER & EDITOR TROY MASTERS

troy@smmirror.com CONTRIBUTORS MATTHEW S. BAJKO, CYNTHIA LAIRD, HENRY SCOTT, CHARLES KAISER, LISA KEEN, MAER ROSHAN, KIT WINTER, BRAD LAMM, DAVID EHRENSTEIN, STEVEN ERICKSON, ORIEL GUTTIEREZ, SETH HEMMELGARN, STEVE WEINSTEIN, CHRIS AZZOPARD, DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL, ALLEN ROSKOFF, JOHN PAUL KING

labama’s notorious Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, has crawled back from the grave of the same sex mar riage debate and ordered the state’s probate judges to cease issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a late-game but defiant move against a Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling that legalized same-sex unions and enshrined it as a constitutional right. Mobile County immediately stopped issuing marriage licenses altogether, a move clearly animated by antigay animus and which has become common practice in several Southeastern U.S. counties. Notices posted in Mobile said that the county was “not issuing marriage licenses to any applicants until further notice.” Moore, a devoutly religious conservative Republican, has been relentless in his attempts to prevent same-sex marriages in Alabama and has several times issued similar orders. Prior to the June 2015 SCOTUS ruling a U.S. District Court had found the state’s ban on samesex marriage unconstitutional. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court had declined state requests for a stay and ordered Alabama to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Some probate courts began issuance but Moore or dered them to stop, maintaining his authority trumped federal court or ders. He maintained this posture even afer June’s definitive SCOTUS ruling

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declared that same-sex marriage is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and requires states to issue licenses to people of the same sex and to recognize marriages performed in other states between two people of the same sex. Moore now argues, in part, that probate judges should not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples until a case that is before his court on the matter has been resolved. He said this has prompted “confusion and uncertainty” among Alabama probate judges about how to apply the SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriages. He describes Alabama as a state struggling with how to interpret the law: “Many probate judges are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in accordance with Obergefell; others are issuing marriage licenses only to couples of the oppo-

site gender or have ceased issuing all marriage licenses. This disparity affects the administration of justice in this state.” The order has provoked a range of reaction. Some called for Judge Moore’s retirement while many just rolled their eyes. “Moore is violating his oath to respect and comply with the law. This is Judicial Activism at it’s worst,” said Keith Ingram, Community Or ganizer for Equality Wiregrass, an LGBT advocacy group in Southeastern Alabama. Equality Wiregrass and other organizations throughout the state have called for action. Alabama’s Attorney General, Luther Strange, who opposes same-sex marriage, has acknowledged that without a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages the ruling by the United States Supreme Court’s decision stands.

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LOS ANGELES

⚫ 11

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1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

> Dont’ get too comfortable; 12

2016 PREVIEW

A VERY GOOD YEAR?

LGBT EQUALITY

it’s not over... 2016 continued from p. 7

LGBT equality under “Religious Freedom Restoration” laws. Twenty-one states already have such laws, giving persons and businesses a path to circumvent non-discrimination laws by claiming their religious beliefs require discriminating against LGBT people. And, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 12 more states will consider adopting such legislation this year. Opponents of equal rights for LGBT people have been trying this religious exemption argument for years, but following last June’s marriage decision, those efforts increased. Florists, bakers, wedding vendors, and others have tried to use such laws to avoid doing business with same-sex couples getting married. And there’s concern others might use them to deny LGBT people jobs, housing, and service in restaurants and hotels. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to take a case to test the constitutionality of such laws in the LGBT context. It refused to hear a wedding photographer’s appeal in 2014, but more lawsuits are coming through the system and the argument is evolv-

ing to include the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. Just last month (December 16), a Massachusetts judge ruled that –despite an exemption for religious institutions to the state’s human rights law-- a Catholic school did not have constitutional protection to violate a state law when it rescinded a job offer to a food services employee “because he was a spouse in a same-sex marriage.” The school had argued it had a First Amendment freedom of expression right to deny employment to a man married to a man. But the judge agreed with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, who sued the school on behalf of the gay employee. GLAD expects the school to appeal. And because the case involves a federal constitutional issue, it could end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. In another case, the Lexington-Fayette Urban Human Rights Commission is suing a commercial printing company for using that same freedom of expression argument to refuse to print tee shirts for a gay pride event. “If that argument were sufficient to allow [the company] Hands On Originals—a for-profit business that markets its services to the public at large—to violate the antidiscrimina-

ALABAMA SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE IS FOMENTING A REBELLION AGAINST WHAT HE CALLS JUDICIAL OVER-REACH BY THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.

tion laws, a host of other businesses would be able to engage in illegal discrimination as well,” argued a December 28 friend-of-the-court brief from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Several county clerks –most notoriously Kim Davis in Kentucky—have tried to cite their personal religious beliefs as justification for refusing to enforce the Obergefell ruling’s requirement that same-sex couples be treated as other couples in obtaining marriage licenses. The ACLU is representing several same-sex couples in a lawsuit against Davis that is now pending before the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Oral argument on that appeal could come as early as this month. Jon Davidson, national legal director for Lambda Legal, noted that some states are trying to avoid recognizing marriages of same-sex couples who married before the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell. One of Lambda’s lawsuits, filed last month in a federal court, challenges North Carolina’s refusal to issue corrected birth certificates for two children born to a lesbian couple who married in Canada in 2003. The National Center for Lesbian Rights has one of the more important post-Obergefell cases, pending now at the U.S. Supreme Court level. It

is challenging a decision by the Alabama Supreme Court to refuse to recognize in Alabama a lesbian’s adoption of children she raised from birth with the children’s biological mother. The adoption took place in Georgia in 2007 and, since the women’s relationship broke up, the biological mother has sought to block the other mother from visitation. NCLR legal director Shannon Minter says NCLR hopes the Supreme Court will agree to review the case. As the group’s brief notes, “all families who obtained adoption judgments in [other] states may now have a parent whom Alabama courts may hold to be a legal stranger to her children in Alabama.” On December 14, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of the Alabama Supreme Court decision until the full court can decide whether to take the appeal this year. And some efforts to thwart full equality for LGBT people are using a combination of legal arguments and political tactics. “Plan A was stopping LGBT equality. Plan B is using [religious] exemptions,” said ACLU LGBT Project Director James Esseks in a recent telephone conference with reporters. “Plan C” appears to tie scare tactics in political messaging to misrepre2016 continued on p. 13

1.14.2016 2016 continued from p. 12

sent the impact of non-discrimination laws. In the upcoming state legislative sessions, said Esseks, many predict a “tremendous wave of anti-trans bills” prompted in large part by the vote in Houston in November. In that vote, citizens repealed a new law prohibiting discrimination based on a wide variety of characteristics. Their votes seemed largely persuaded by a campaign from opponents who claimed the prohibition of gender identity discrimination would lead to sexual predators attacking young girls and women in public restrooms. The anti-trans trend is longstanding. When the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, it explicitly excluded from protection “transsexualism…[and] gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments.” Last month, a case GLAD is involved in challenged that exclusion in a hearing before a federal judge in Pennsylvania, said GLAD Executive Director Janson Wu. The U.S. Department of Justice also submitted a brief that argued that gender dysphoria should not be excluded from ADA’s definition of disability, and a decision is expected this year. There are other political influences on legal rights for LGBT people this year: One is a serious effort to denigrate the authority of the judicial branch to declare which laws are constitutional and which are not. Nearly all of the Republican presidential hopefuls have loudly proclaimed they think the Supreme Court exceeded its authority by declaring state bans on marriage for same-sex couples to be unconstitutional. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who is currently leading the large field of candidates in Iowa, called the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges “lawless” and likened the five justices who supported it to “jackboots” in Nazi Germany. Obviously, there will be much at stake legally for LGBT people in who is elected president in November. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton issued a FactSheet on December 17, detailing how, as president, she would attempt to “fight for full federal equality for LGBT Americans.” Among other things, she says she would “work with Congress to pass” a federal law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in “employment, housing, schools, access to credit, public education, jury service, and public accommodations.” And she says she would also support efforts by the courts to interpret existing federal law prohibitions on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Donald Trump, who is leading the Republican field in New Hampshire and in nationally based polling of Re-

LOS ANGELES publican voters, is “one of the best, if not the best, pro-gay Republican candidates to ever run for the presidency,” according to the Gregory Angelo, head of the national gay Republican group, Log Cabin Republicans. Trump, he added, opposes an amendment to the federal constitution that would ban marriage for same-sex couples, and he supports amending the Civil Rights Act to include a prohibition against sexual orientation discrimination. But Trump has also said that, while he acknowledges the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell as the law of the land, he does not support “gay marriage.” And he hasn’t been pinned down on other issues relating to the LGBT community

specifically. Cruz, the Iowa frontrunner in the Republican presidential field, said in his first 100 days he would fight for the “First Amendment Defense Act,” which seeks to circumvent laws prohibiting discrimination against same-sex couples by urging that such discrimination is a product of a person’s free exercise of religion. It also seeks to prohibit the federal government from taking any adverse action against a person who “acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman.” Cruz is one of two Republicans still in the race (the other is Ben Carson) who

⚫ 13

signed the National Organization for Marriage’s pledge, promising to “work to overturn” the right of samesex couples to marry and to change all “regulatory, administrative and executive actions” to “be consistent with the proper understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.” The outcome of that presidential race is far from predictable at this point. But one thing does seem clear: Whatever “golden” moment the LGBT community might be enjoying now, the line ups in the courtroom and political arena this year will almost certainly have a significant impact on how lasting and solid that moment will be.

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1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

FOUNDER

OBITUARY/TRIBUTE

⚫ BY RIESE,WRITTEN FOR AUTOSTRADDLE.COM

Jeanne Córdova, pioneering lesbian activist & author, dies ‘Butch Chicana Lesbian Feminist Outlaw,’ Cordova donated $2 million to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation.

eanne Córdova, the legendary lesbian activist, publisher, and writer, passed away early Sunday morning at the age of 67 after an extended battle with cancer. She was in her Los Angeles home with her partner of 25 years, radio talk show host L ynn Ballen, as well as her friends Jenny Pizer, Doreena Wong and Dina Evans. Córdova’s contributions to the lesbian community cannot be overstated, and they will continue on, as she chose to bequeath $2 million to The Astaea Lesbian Foundation for Justice to create The Jeanne R. Córdova Fund. The Fund will be devoted to the support of organizations focusing on movement building, human rights and journalism with a specific focus on Latina lesbians from South/Latin America and South African women; lesbians, feminists, lesbian feminists, butch and masculine gender nonconforming communities. “I feel strongly that we should not think heterosexually [about wealth], like ‘I’ll give it to some random relative that I’ve never met,” Córdova said of her decision to make this donation. “We need to think about giving to our gay or lesbian youth and institutions like Astraea or other lesbian organizations. They’re the ones who are nurturing our real daughters right now, around the world.” In these infinitely more accepting times, it’s more important than ever to remember, pay tribute to, and cel-

CORDOVA IS PICTURED HERE AT ONE OF AMERICA’S EARLIEST LESBIAN POLITICAL GATHERINGS, JUNE OF 1971.

ebrate the lives of foremothers like Córdova. Especially right here, in this space, right now, because we would not exist were it not for all the publications for lesbian, queer

and bisexual women that came before us — the community they built, the stories they shared, the political issues they hashed out and the divisions they investigated. In an e-mail

last year, Córdova told me she felt Autostraddle was “worthwhile in the same way” as her pioneering publication, The Lesbian Tide. It was an incredible compliment. The Lesbian Tide began in 1971 as a newsletter for the Los Angeles chapter of the lesbian rights organization Daughters of Bilitis. In her 2015 “Letter About Dying, to My Lesbian Communities” quoted above, she recalled that “from the age of 18 to 21, I painfully looked everywhere for Lesbian Nation. On October 3, 1970, a day I celebrate as my political birthday, I found Her in a small DOB (Daughters of Bilitis) meeting. That’s when my life’s work became clear.” However, The Tide‘s young radicals often clashed with elder DOB activists and in 1972, it split from the DOB with Jeanne Córdova as editor. “Bigger things were happening than DOB,” she told Rodger Streitmatter, as quoted in his book Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America. “I was 23 years old and wanted to cover them my way.” A survey in the late ’70s of Advocate readers found a whopping 97% of its audience to be men, and Córdova wanted The Lesbian Tide to provide for lesbians what The Advocate did for its community. The two most prominent lesbian publications of the ’70s — a veritable golden age for lesbian publications — were The Furies and The Lesbian Tide. Starting with about 100 readers, by 1977 the magazine had a circulation of 3,000 and was sold in eighty bookstores. It is estimated that in 1975, around 50 lesbian publications existed and collectively boasted around 50,000 readers, which unfortunately didn’t exceed that of The Advocate‘s circulation alone. It was much harder to reach out to and build community amongst lesbian women, who often lacked the economic mobility white gay men had greater access to because of The Patriarchy. The Tide was specifically a lesbian feminist publication, defining lesbian feminists as “women who devoted themselves entirely to women for social, emotional, physical and economic support.” It abandoned fiction, a mainstay of other lesbian publications, in favor of news and reporting on cultural issues. “I CORDOVA continued on p. 18

1.14.2016 CALIFORNIA COURTS

⚫ BY STAFFF

LOS ANGELES

JUDICIARY

Lesbian judge to Court of appeals G

ov. Jerry Brown announced Wednesday the appointment of San Bernardino County Presiding Judge Marsha G. Slough to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Riverside. She will be the first openly gay justice in the history of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, if confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Slough, 57, of Redlands, has been presiding judge of San Bernardino County since 2012 and has served as a Superior Court judge in the county since 2003. After a dozen years as a San Ber nardino Superior Court judge, Slough said she is ready to take her career to the next level. “I was very excited to receive the call from the Governor’s office,” Slough said Wednesday. “To say that I was deeply honored seems like such an understatement to the level of excitement and honor I truly feel.” As to making history being the first openly gay judge appointed to serve on the Fourth District Court of Appeal? “One of the things I have truly appreciated about Governor Brown is the importance he places on the issue of diversity, regardless of what the diverse nature is,” said Slough. “It’s important to reflect that the bench is a reflection of the people we are charged to serve.” The Fourth District Court of Appeal reviews and rules on appeals from six Southern California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Orange, Imperial and Inyo. It is divided into three divisions, with the

second division located in Riverside and handling appeals from San Ber nardino, Riverside and Inyo counties. Prior to her appointment as a judge, Slough was an associate at the law office of Welebir and McCune in Redlands and a partner at Raynes and Slough, also in Redlands, in 2002 and 2003. She also was a partner at the law firms of Foster, Driscoll and Reynolds in Riverside and Markman, Arczynski, Hanson, Curley and Slough in Brea. Slough, who earned her Juris Doctor degree from Whittier Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Ottawa University, will succeed retired Justice Betty A. Richli on the Fourth District Court of Appeal if confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, whose members include state Attorney Gener al Kamala Harris, Chief Justice of California Tani Cantil-Sakauye, and Fourth District Court of Appeal Senior Presiding Justice Manuel A. Ramirez. Brown also on Wednesday announced the appointment of two local attorneys to the San Bernardino Superior Court bench: Rancho Cucamonga sole practitioner Carlos M. Cabrera, 46, and San Bernardino County prosecutor Bryan K. Stodghill, 46, of Claremont. Slough said it should take between 30 and 60 days for the Commission on Judicial Appointments to confirm her place as a justice on the appellate court. “If all goes well with that, I look forward to start getting busy,” Slough said.

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JAN. 30, 2016

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FILM REVIEW 45 YEARS

1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

MOVIE PICK

⚫ BY JOHN PAUL KING

“45 Years” Is time well-spent, my friend... 45 YEARS DIRECTOR: Andrew Haigh WRITERS: David Constantine (short story), Andrew Haigh (adaptation) STARS: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James TIME: 95 minutes PLAYING: Laemmle Theatres, Los Angeles

oughly midway through “45 Years,” there is a discussion about the buildup of melted glacial ice due to climate change, and how it will eventually break through the geography that contains it to come cascading down the mountainside and obliterate everything in its path. It’s an ominous scenario which provides a vivid metaphor for the process of emotional devastation charted by out British writer/director Andrew Haigh in this, his latest slice-of-life drama about the complexities of a relationship. Adapted from the short story “In Another Country,” by David Constantine, “45 Years” follows an aging couple, Kate and Geoff (screen legends Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay), through the week before a party celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary. As they go about the business of planning the event, Geoff receives a letter notifying him that a body has been foundthat of his former girlfriend, who perished in a fall while they were hiking through the Alps together, 50

years ago. Though Kate has known of this occurrence, the news triggers a resurgence of long-withheld memories in Geoff, and as they gradually come to light she begins to question everything she has assumed about her relationship with her husband, and to suspect that their long and seemingly happy marriage has been built upon a lie. In a way, Haigh’s latest film serves as a companion piece to his previous feature, “Weekend,” Both are, at their core, about a relationship threatened by the emotional baggage of past experiences; in one, the ability of the couple to open up to each other allows them a hope of breaking through the boundaries between them, while in the other a lack of openness results in a gulf which may ultimately be impassable. Though the former film features two young gay men at the possible beginning of their relationship, and the latter is about a mature heterosexual couple at the possible ending of theirs, they could essentially be bookends of the same story, each serving as a

CHARLOTTE RAMPLING AND TOM COURTENAY IN 45 YEARS (2015)

mirror in which we can find food for thought about the way we deal with our own baggage. Once again,” Haigh’s screenplay relies heavily on naturalistic dialogue, allowing him to direct his actors towards emotional honesty and coax from them the nuanced perfor mances required to reveal the layers between the lines. It was this meticulously-crafted realism that brought acclaim to “Weekend,” and in “45 Years” it is perhaps even more tangible. One reason for this, of course, is that here he is blessed with two of the most gifted film performers of their generation, both clearly still at the top of their form. Courtenay, evoking memories of the young, passionate intellectu-

als he portrayed in the British social realism cinema of the early sixties, is superbly opaque as Geoff. The qualities of those youthful char acters are here transposed into an older iteration, so that the “angry young man” has evolved into a grumpy old one, and the aloof emotional distance now disguises itself behind the distracted dottiness of the aged; we never doubt the honesty of the feelings he expresses, but we are never sure how many others he obscures behind that benevolent mask, nor can we tell if he is hiding them even from himself. As much as Courtenay is guarded, Rampling wears her heart on her sleeve. With the likable but inscrutable Geoff as her husband,

it is Kate’s perspective we must share, and the actress uses all her long-renowned intelligence and bravery to show it to us with absolute clarity. Taking us on a downward progression, from the easy confidence of a woman in complete control to the insecurity of one uncertain of everything upon which she has built her life, it is up to her to provide the movie’s emotional center. She is more than up to the task; her luminous perfor mance is no less clear for its sublime subtlety than her beauty is diminished by the lines which grace her iconic face. As great as both stars are individually, “45 Years” works because together they are incandescent. The

relationship they por tray feels so heartbreakingly real that at times one almost for gets the film is not a documentary- and it is here that credit must come back around to Andrew Haigh, who has not only provided the collaborative freedom to cultivate the brilliance of his stars, but used a sure hand behind the camera to merge subdued realism with visual poetry in a way that asserts itself as pure cinema without ever being flagrant. It is a rare movie that allows its major revelations to take place without a single line of dialogue to underscore the moment; “45 Years” is self-assured enough to do so, and Haigh is a strong enough director to pull it off.

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1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

CORDOVA continued from p. 14

didn’t want my lesbianism to be just a matter of sexuality,” Córdova said. “I felt it was more political than that really.” The Tide solicited stories from readers around the country and prioritized lesbian voices, wholeheartedly refusing to use straight people or gay men as sources of information or funding. At a time when the position of women in American culture was even worse than it is today, this type of insular movement building was crucial and empowering. Despite the generally anti-trans sentiments of lesbian feminists of the era, The Tide had a lesbian transgender photographer, and Córdova recently told writer Anna Mollow “anyone who called herself a woman was welcome to serve on our staff.” More recently, Córdova also publicly supported the inclusion of trans women at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Although what they were able to pay their writers wasn’t much — often only five dollars — it was important to Córdova that nobody was working for free. She was the only full-time employee of the magazine, making a salary of $7,500 a year (around $21k in today’s money) by the time the magazine folded in 1980. They struggled to survive off advertising solely from lesbian businesses and often directly asked their readers for money (in all caps, obvs).

The-Lesbian-Tide

The Lesbian Tide covered a myriad of issues and topics: politics, education, butch/femme roles, motorcycle racing, lesbian music, the Goddess movement, non-monogamy, dyke

separatism and more. (You can read a sample issue of The Lesbian Tide here.) Córdova was also the first lesbian journalist to talk about lesbian BDSM, however, recalling in Unspeakable, “Feminists were obsessed with politically correct sex. We had more letters on our S & M coverage than any other subject in our nine years of publishing.” The Tide‘s community carried over into real life, too: on a smaller, local

level, they formed their own softball and football teams and did things like hosting fund-raising events for lesbian prisoners. In 1973, Córdova and the staff of The Lesbian Tide were key organizers of the National Lesbian Conference in Los Angeles, which was, at its time, the biggest gathering of lesbians ever. Previously, Córdova had organized the West CORDOVA continued on p. 19

1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

Jeanne Córdova, well done CORDOVA continued from p. 18

Coast Lesbian Conference in 1971 and would go on to serve as a delegate to the first National Women’s Conference in 1977. In 2010, she chaired the Butch Voices Confer ence in Los Angeles. The Lesbian Tide is only a one part of her prolific life’s work as an editor, writer and journalist. As an investigative reporter and

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thologies including The Right Side of History: 100 Years of LGBTQ Activism, Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, Untangling the Knot: Queer Voices on Marriage, Relationships and Identity, Persistent Desire: A Femme Butch Reader and Lesbian Nuns: Breaking the Silence. Córdova was also very involved as an activist in the ’70s and ’80s, helping to found the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the Democratic Party, serving as the media director to de-

“Jeanne called her activist experience ‘a wild joyous ride.’ Indeed, Jeanne’s leadership has made the journey better and more joyful for all of us. I won’t say rest in peace, because if there is an afterlife, Jeanne is raising a ruckus and making change. She was one tough dyke whose legacy warrants our admiration and respect.” -- Lorri L. Jean, Los Angeles LGBT Center Human Rights editor for the Los Angeles Free Press, she interviewed activist Angela Davis and Emily Harris of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, she produced The Community Yellow Pages, an LGBT business directory. In 1987-1992 she published the The New Age Telephone Book and, from 1992-1994, produced Square Peg magazine, which (according to Unspeakable) focused on “the lesbian and gay good life.” It included club listings and an advice column with a lesbian and a gay psychotherapist, as well as featuring lesbian comics like Suzanne Westenhoefer and Lea DeLaria. Square Peg is also notable for its valiant effort to get Jodie Foster to come out after winning her Oscar for Silence of the Lambs (no luck). In 1997, she published The Spirit of Todos Santos, an arts & culture magazine serving the town of Todos Santos in Baja California Sur, Mexico. She published three books, most notably When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love & Revolution in 2011, which you should probably buy and read today. Her work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Nation, The Washington Blade, The Bay Area Reporter, The Advocate, The Lesbian News and The Los Angeles Village View. Essays have appeared in an-

feat the Briggs Initiative, and serving as president of the Stonewall Democratic Club. After selling The Community Yellow Pages in 1999, she moved with her partner L ynn Ballen, the daughter of South African freedom fighter Frederick John Harris, to Mexico, where they co-founded The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, AC, a nonprofit focused on economic justice. They returned to California in 2007, where they co-founded LEX – The Lesbian Exploratorium and created the Lesbian Legacy Wall at ONE Archives (Córdova had been elected Board President of ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives in 1995). Ballen and Cordova continued hosting and planning history-themed lesbian feminist cultural events together in California throughout their lives together. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, and by 2013, it had metastasized to her lungs and to her brain. The chemo that fought the cancer also produced increasingly unbearable side effects. “The choice appears to be living with chemo for ever off and on, or dying,” she wrote in her letter. “I will make that choice soon enough.” Being an organizer and journalist in the lesbian, gay, feminist, and women of color communities—and loving it–has been the focal point, of my life. It has been a wild joyous

ride. I feel more than adequately thanked by the many awards I have received from all the queer communities, and through all the descriptions and quotes in history books

that have documented my role as an organizer, publisher, speaker, and author. Thanks to all of you who have given me a place in our history.”

⚫

1.14.2016

LOS ANGELES

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Large-scale rooms with soaring ceilings

Two brick patios with sweeping views

Private yard with pool/spa, patio, bbq & views

Large step-down living room with large window

Wood-paneled office/library

Remodel, expand or build new

Available for 1-2 year lease at $11,900/month

Wonderful flow from dining area and office

Over 7,000 sq. ft. + pool, spa, koi pond

CalBRE# 00902158

310.230.7373

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