4. THE PRIDE LA, NOV. 20, 2015

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11.20.2015 L.A.’S EARLIEST

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AIDS HEROS FIRST RESPONDERS ⚫ 19

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CALIFORNIA ⚫ 3

THEPRIDELA

@THEPRIDELA | ISSUE NUMBER 4, VOLUME 1 | NOV. 20 - DEC.4, 2015

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Advocates renew push against Houston like ballot initiative SAN DIEGO ⚫ 4

Toni Atkins, out former CA Assembly Speaker, is one tough cookie EDITORIAL ⚫ 10

G.O.P. presidential candidates speak at “Kill the Gays” rally PARIS RESPONSE ⚫ 12

French LGBT leaders gather in AviWORLD AIDS DAY 2015: Empowerment takes many forms. These individuals are among gnon tens of thousands of people in the Los Angeles area who have made a difference in the fight against AIDS. POZ Magazine’s California HIV Leaders ⚫ 6 & 7

World AIDS Day: Local Heroes thrive in the fight against HIV

⚫ Charlie Sheen may have stolen the spotlight this

World AIDS Day but The Pride and Poz Magazine wanted you to meet some champions.

⚫ Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 78 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 39 million people have died of HIV.

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11.20.2015

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11.20.2015 LGBT Rights TAKING NOTE

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LOS ANGELES

BALLOT

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Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance was overturned and CA LGBT groups are focusing on defeating a similar ballot question here

⚫ BY MATTHEW S. BAJKO

California groups take Houston loss to heart, resolve to fight similar bill California backers of a Houston-style ballot initiative have until December 20 to gather 365,880 valid signatures to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot.

T

he defeat earlier this month in Houston of a sweeping anti-discrimination ordinance, due largely to transphobic messaging centered on fears the local law would allow male sexual predators into women’s restrooms, has raised concerns a similarly focused campaign could succeed here in California.

Post election coverage of the defeat in Texas saw headlines equating the loss to the passage in 2008 of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in the Golden State.

Just as the LGBT groups who waged the marriage fight seven years ago faced criticism for ignoring communities of color and failing to put LGBT people front-and-center in their advertising, the leaders of the pro-gay Houston campaign were called out for not targeting people of

color or showcasing the stories of transgender people in their advertising.

But LGBT leaders in California told the The Pride, L.A. post the electoral defeat in Texas that they have learned from the mistakes made during the Proposition 8 battle and vowed not to repeat them as they prepare to defeat an expected ballot measure next fall that will center on transgender people’s access to public restrooms.

Asked if the state’s LGBT groups (or community as a whole) will be prepared in time to prevent what happened in Houston, longtime San Francisco-based transgender advocate Cecilia Cheung told the The Pride, “We are. California LGBT groups have taken the Prop 8 lessons to heart and have built a diverse, statewide coalition that is prepared to fight the ballot

measure.”

In a fundraising appeal sent two days after the November 3 election to members of Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy group, Executive Director Rick Zbur wrote that Houston’s “harmful campaign” did not go unnoticed here on the West Coast.

“Opponents of fairness will stoop to any level of fear mongering and misdirection to try and thwart our progress. It’s startling – and the worst part is they have plans to bring these same fear tactics to a statewide anti-transgender ballot question here in California,” wrote Zbur. “But we won’t stand by and let them spread lies about transgender Californians – we’re going to fight back with the truth.”

Since June anti-LGBT groups under the banner of Privacy for All have been circulating a ballot measure that would require people to use facilities in government buildings and public schools based on the gender they were assigned at birth.

It is part of the ongoing efforts by anti-LGBT groups to repeal AB 1266, the School Success

LEFT, CALIFORNIA EQUALITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RICK ZBUR; CENTER, FORMER ASSEMBLYMAN TOM AMMIANO; RIGHT: TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST CELIA CHEUNG

and Opportunity Act, authored by gay former Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) that went into effect January 1, 2014.

An effort that year to qualify a ballot measure overturning AB 1266, which requires public schools to allow transgender students access to various facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, failed. Court challenges to the law were also unsuccessful.

The latest ballot measure is titled “Limits on Use of Facilities in Government Buildings and Businesses.” Beyond placing restrictions on how transgender people could use public bathrooms, it would also allow anyone offended by the presence of an individual in a restroom to sue that person for $4,000 in damages, as well as attorney’s fees.

Backers of the proposed initiative have until December 20 to gather 365,880 valid signatures to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot.

“Any effort to gather signatures in California is a gargantuan undertaking and doing it around the busy holiday season presents additional challenges.

But as we showed with 2008’s Proposition 8, wide coalitions can work to thwart the liberal agenda,” California Family Alliance research analyst Lori Arnold wrote in a piece circulated this month .

Yet LGBT organizations in California are not waiting to see if their foes succeed in submitting the needed signatures.

They have been meeting over the last five months to organize a

response well ahead of Election Day next year.

They are prepping to roll out a public education campaign by the end of December aimed at educating voters about the transgender community. The Brown Boi Project, API Equality, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and TransLatina Coalition are all part of the organizing committee.

The main groups leading the effort, EQCA and the Transgender Law Center, are hiring dedicated staff to work on the public education efforts.

“One of the things we have learned, and they were aware of,” said Zbur, referring to the Houston LGBT leaders, in a recent interview with the The Pride “is it is really hard to educate people about the challenges transgender people and their families face as well as the talents and gifts the community offers.”

The task is doubly difficult amid a bitter election battle, added Zbur.

“That is why we are very focused here in California on a broad-based education campaign in advance of a ballot measure campaign,” he said.

“It is easier to educate people when not in the midst of a highpitched political election where the other side is able to play off fear and lack of understanding.”

Despite the recent media coverage of trans celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, the majority of people have never personally met a transgender person, said Zbur. He cited research that has found only one in 11 people personally know of a transgender person.

“Some of what we are dealing with is educating the public about people they don’t know as well as they do others in the LGBT community. It is not that different an issue as we faced as L, G, B people around the marSOCAL continued on p. 5

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Sacramento ELECTIONS

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11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

CALIFORNIA

⚫ BY MATTHEW S. BAJKO

Assembly Speaker’s aggressive bid for colleagues seat California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins is determined to remain in the Assembly despite term-lmits and says she will seek the seat of a friend and colleague

O

utgoing lesbian Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) officially kicked off her 2016 bid for a state Senate seat over the weekend, yet she already has amassed a large campaign war chest for her race next year.

Termed out of the Legislature’s lower chamber next December, Atkins shocked the Statehouse in September when she announced she would run against state Senator Marty Block (D-San Diego) next year for his Senate District 39 seat.

In explaining her decision to reporters, Atkins claimed that Block had agreed to give up his seat after one term, so she could run. Block admitted to reporters that the two lawmakers had discussed such an arrangement but insisted he never agreed to step down next year.

Supporters joined Atkins last Saturday, November 14, in San Diego’s Golden Hill Park to kick off her bid to oust Block from office next fall.

Atkins, a former San Diego councilwoman and interim mayor, had been raising money to run for Block’s Senate seat five years from now. She had nearly $968,000 in her 2020 campaign account by November 5, according to a recent report

by MapLight, a nonprofit research organization that tracks money’s influence on politics.

Atkins’ 2020 haul, money she can use for her contest next year, placed her second among the top five candidate-controlled campaign committees that have raised the most money for upcoming elections.

In first place, according to MapLight, was Lieutenant Governor

TONI ATKINS

Gavin Newsom who is running to be governor in 2018, when Governor Jerry Brown will be termed out of office. The former San Francisco mayor had raised $3,545,595 between January 1 and November 5 this year for his gubernatorial race.

(Newsom endorsed Atkin’s Senate bid on October 29, adding to his political feud with state Senate President Kevin de Leon , D-Los Angeles, who in September had said Senate Democrats would back Block’s re-election effort. Last week, it was reported de Leon had withdrawn two Senate staffers on loan to Newsom’s office, widely viewed as furthering the rift between the two up-and-coming Democratic leaders.)

And in third place in MapLight’s report was state Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), who has netted $554,075 for his re-election campaign next year. He is seeking a third two-year term in the Assembly.

Due to Atkins’ lame duck status in the Assembly – she was first elected to her 78th Assembly District seat in 2010 under rules, since changed, barring her from seeking more than three consecutive two-year Assembly terms – Atkins is stepping down from the powerful speaker position next

year.

Succeeding her will be Assemblyman Anthony Rendon (D-Los Angeles). His election in September by his Democratic colleagues, who control the Assembly, marks the first time a straight lawmaker has won the speakership since 2009, when gay former Assemblyman John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) became the first openly gay lawmaker named to the post. (Perez was sworn into the position in March 2010.)

Rendon is expected to become speaker-elect in early January, when the state Legislature reconvenes, and will be sworn in several months later. Under the state’s new term-limits rules, he could potentially serve as speaker until 2024.

It remains to be seen if Atkins, by relinquishing the speaker’s gavel and the influence that comes with it to shape legislative priorities in Sacramento, will be able to maintain her impressive fundraising totals going forward.

Atkins has yet to file a full fundraising report for her 2016 campaign account. But based on the filings for her other active campaign accounts, she likely has close to $1.6 million to tap into for her race against Block.

She also controls a ballot measure committee that still had $287,465 as

of July 1 that could also potentially be used for her 2016 Senate run.

According to information filed with the secretary of state, Atkins this fall transferred $800,000 in leftover funds from her 2014 Assembly race into her 2016 Senate campaign account.

There is now nothing left in her 2014 account, according to the most recent filings, nor is there anything remaining in her 2020 campaign account. In October, she transferred $792,270 from that account into her Atkins for Senate 2016 campaign account.

Block, meanwhile, reported having $78,869 in his 2016 re-election campaign account as of July 1, according to the most recent financial disclosure filings. In July the California State Council of Laborers PAC gave him an additional $8,500.

According to Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy group, Atkins is one of seven known non-incumbent gay or lesbian Democratic candidates seeking state Senate or Assembly seats next year. All but one are running for office in southern California districts.

No known out Republicans, so far, have announced campaigns.

Candidates for state office have until March 11 to file with elections officials ahead of the June 7 primary.

Of the current seven members that comprise the LGBT Legislative Caucus, Atkins is the lone out lawmaker this election cycle seeking to switch legislative chambers.

Lesbian state Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) and gay state Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Los Angeles) are both seeking re-election to their seats next year. Also running for re-election are gay Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) and lesbian Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), the current chair of the LGBT caucus.

Gay Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and gay Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park) are both termed out of office next December and are not running for a new political office in 2016.

11.20.2015 Community TRANSGENDER

LOS ANGELES

#iaintcait

⚫ 5

“I aint Cait” forces confront Jenner

Jenner’s purse has never matched her shoes. Her politics are famously out of step with her identity and surely are responsible for his many fits and starts along the road to being open about his gender preference.

C

aitlyn Jenner was forced to face the music of a long simmering undercurrent of transgender community rage as I Am Cait met I Ain’t Cait in the streets of Chicago.

More than 1,000 people attended the 7th annual Speaker Series for the Chicago House, an LGBT and AIDS social services organization where Caitlyn was the featured speaker.

Proceeds from the event benefit Chicago House’s Trans Life Center.

As she exited the luncheon Jenner was confronted by local trans people.

Caitlyn, who will vote Republican, stopped to meet with one of the protesters who shouted “You are an insult to trans people, you are an insult to women.” She was told to back off. “Don’t touch me,” one activist shouted.

“Caitlyn Jenner, who said in a segment on her hit new reality TV series I Am Cait, regarding people who rely on social services to get by: ‘You don’t want people to get totally dependent on it. That’s when they get into trouble.

‘Why should I work? You know, I’ve got a few bucks, I’ve got my room paid for,’”.

SOCAL continued from p. 3

“A key part of that is really featuring transgender people and also helping the public understand their families and the communities that support them,” said Zbur, who added that the campaign would also include speakers of at least one Asian language. “We don’t have enough funding to include all of the various languages that are part of the API community.”

Should the transphobic measure qualify for the ballot, EQCA is working with the American Civil Liberties Union and NCLR on what, if any, legal arguments could be made to spike it before it goes before voters. At this date, it remains to be seen if it will make the 2016 ballot.

“We don’t have a good sense of that,” said Zbur.

riage fight: people are not afraid of people they know and understand,” said Zbur.

“We know far fewer members of the public know transgender people. So part of this is about educating the broader community. We are much further behind in educating the public about the transgender community than we are about the LGB portion of the community.”

A group of national LGBT funders has contributed $1 million to pay for the education campaign, Zbur said, which will last for up to five months. It will run in various ethnic media outlets, feature transgender people and their families, and include transgender Spanish speakers to serve as spokespeople.

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HIV & AIDS

11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

>

FOCUS: WORLD AIDS DAY

Californians thriving with and leading in the fight against HIV “Living with HIV has changed tremendously in the past three decades, with advances in treatment being the biggest factor,” said Oriol Gutierrez, POZ Magazine editor-in-chief. The magazine highlights these California residents in its annual POZ 100 issue and The Pride salutes them in a professional capacity on prison release programs and in all manner of case management and educational positions. In 1998, he was selected as a delegate to the International AIDS Conference in Switzerland. Today he’s a case manager at Valley Community Healthcare in North Hollywood.

GILBERT BAZAN 53, NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA Gilbert became aware of AIDS in 1985 when it led to the death of his local church leader. In 1990—soon after testing positive for HIV himself— he began volunteering in the community. In Chicago, Gilbert facilitated support groups for newly diagnosed gay men with the Test Positive Aware Network. In Los Angeles, he co-founded the Positive 20s support group and volunteered at AIDS Project Los Angeles and Being Alive. Gilbert has served

JIM CHUD 58, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA “Housing as health care” is Jim’s specialty. The Yale graduate has spoken to Congress about the issue, and

he’s involved with the National AIDS Housing Coalition. All this despite a harrowing experience with an early drug trial that resulted in spinal damage—he lost 7 inches in height because of destroyed disks, leaving less room for his lungs, bowel and stomach. Jim has undergone 37 spine surgeries in the past five years alone. As such, he’s also a staunch advocate for disabled rights. And yet one of his biggest battles, he says, was getting sober 14 years ago. Medical records support his seroconversion back in 1977, before AIDS was even known. Today he’s working on a memoir that we can’t wait to read.

JOEL GOLDMAN 52, SANTA MONICA, CA After testing positive for HIV in 1991, Joel embarked on a North American speaking tour to tell his story and to warn teens about the risks of mixing

sex and alcohol. He kept at it for nearly 14 years, educating more than a million students at high schools, colleges and faith-based groups about the daily realities of HIV/AIDS. He has held staff positions at several acclaimed nongovernmental organizations, including the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Feeding America, and Malaria No More. Joel is the managing director of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, where he helps allocate millions of dollars in grants to some of the most at-risk populations in the global HIV epidemic.

GRISSEL GRANADOS 29, LOS ANGELES, CA Grissel is the co-director of We’re Still Here, a 2015 documentary that shares the stories of kids like her POZ MAGAZINE continued on p. 7

11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

to work with the Black AIDS Institute and AVAC, a global prevention group, to bring young advocates to the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, where they learn the science of HIV and how to share their knowledge.

POZ MAGAZINE continued from p. 6

who were born with HIV during the epidemic’s earliest days. The Mexico City native was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, and by age 12, she had already started her activism career—perhaps she takes after her mother, Silvia Valerio, another 2015 POZ 100 honoree!

Through work with groups like Positive Women’s Network–USA and the Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV/ AIDS, Grissel has helped carve out spaces for women, people of color and Latin-American youth living with HIV. Today she is a social worker at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she helps coordinate HIV prevention projects for young gay and bisexual men.

SHERRI LEWIS 61, LOS ANGELES, CA In 1981, Sherri was on top of the world, leading her band, Get Wet, to a Billboard hit and looking forward to major success. But bad luck and bad timing ended her career, and Sherri started using drugs full-time. She got herself in rehab, and after nine months she felt ready to start a new life. Then she tested positive for HIV. Sherri worked hard to keep herself healthy— made trickier with her hepatitis C coinfection—until antiretrovirals finally got her HIV undetectable (she hopes to be cured of hep C soon). She appeared in POZ in 1997 for her one-woman show Life Is a Beach and graced the cover in May 2008. Today, 31 years clean and sober, Sherri continues to put her entertainment skills to good use as an activist and educator—especially for women.

SILVIA VALERIO 47, LOS ANGELES, CA Silvia was living in Mexico City when she was diagnosed with HIV in 1991, but she traces the infection to a blood

transfusion in 1986. For nearly two decades, she has dedicated both her time and considerable skills to HIV advocacy and prevention, notably for the Latino community and for women.

(We bet she was a big influence on fellow 2015 POZ 100 honoree Grissel Granados, who is Silvia’s daughter!)

Currently in Los Angeles, she works as a peer navigator at nonprofit AIDS group Bienestar, where she focuses on linking HIV-positive transgender women to care. When not at work, she’s busy coordinating community events, working on the Los Angeles Women’s HIV/AIDS Task Force, or being the public face of HIV campaigns—proving that HIV advocacy is more than a full-time job.

JEFF TAYLOR 53, PALM SPRINGS, CA Jeff is a long-term survivor who also works on long-term survivor issues with the Reunion Project. And he’s dedicated to educating and empowering a new generation of activists. In Palm Springs, he produces a monthly HIV treatment education program called The Positive Life Series, with an emphasis on aging long-term sur vivors. As a member of the national community advisory board of the Martin Delany Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication (CARE), a network of U.S. and European researchers, Jeff champions scientific literacy. And he is part of an effort

RHONDA BARNES 53, ESCONDIDO, CA Rhonda tested positive for HIV three weeks after giving birth to her daughter. She was homeless at the time, but in healing herself, she discovered a gift for peer counseling that has defined her life. Rhonda has helped countless people with HIV in the San Diego area, lately through North County Health Services. She visits local high schools to talk about HIV risk, and she speaks at churches and recovery centers. She also provides a taxi service for medical appointments, is a meal delivery service for the homebound and loves to plan potluck dinners. When it comes to helping out, Rhonda is always ready!

WANDA LONDON 57, SAN DIEGO, CA Wanda was a social worker living in Indiana when she was diagnosed in 1996. Though frightened, she began educating herself on her new status, which led her to The Aliveness Project of Northwest Indiana. In 1997, the AIDS service organization offered her a

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job as a community spokesperson and later a care coordinator. In 2012, she retired to California, where she went right back to activism. Today she’s a health educator with the San Ysidro Health Center’s Women Partners Program, promoting HIV prevention ser vices among women who are intimate partners of incarcerated or recently released men. Wanda has devoted herself to empowering and educating other women the way The Aliveness Project helped her so many years ago.

TEZ ANDERSON 56, SAN FRANCISCO, CA After dealing with depression, nightmares and suicidal thinking—common among many long-term survivors— Tez finally recognized the symptoms as post-traumatic stress and gave the condition a name: AIDS Survivor Syndrome (ASS). An activist and public speaker, he founded Let’s Kick ASS in 2012. Working to combat the symptoms and isolation of the syndrome, the group now has chapters in San Francisco, Palm Springs, Portland and Austin. The group also launched National HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day, marked each June 5.

VINCE CRISOSTOMO 54, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Vince understands how dif ficult LATINO continued on p. 18

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LOS ANGELES

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OUR CONCERN THE PRIDE L.A.

11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

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EDITORIAL VIEW

⚫ COMPILED FROM RIGHT WING WATCH

GOP Candidates campaign at ‘Kill The Gays’ hate rally Literature was distributed at a recent GOP forum that detailed local strategies to impose Biblical law acrors the country

R

ecently in Iowa extremist pastor Kevin Swanson was joined by three Republican presidential candidates , United States Senator Ted Cruz, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Arkansa Governor Mike Huckabee.

The trio stood by Swanson as he delivered a series of rants about how the biblical punishment for homosexuality is death, Harry Potter is bringing God’s judgment on America, and how if your gay child gets married you should show up to the wedding covered in cow manure.

During his remarks, Swanson reiterated his view that both the Old and New Testament require the death penalty for the crime of homosexuality, as well as his position that any Christian who attends a gay wedding can only do so in order to hold up a sign informing the couple that they ought to be put to death.

He drove home his point with a passionate declaration that if he ever found out that his own sons was gay and that son invited him to his wedding, he would show up covered in “sackcloth and ashes” and then smear himself in cow manure as he sat on the steps of the church and wailed lamentations.

“There are families, we’re talking Christian families, pastors’ families, elders’ families from good, godly churches,” Swanson said, “whose sons are rebelling, hanging out with homosexuals and getting married and the parents are invited. What would you do if that was the case? Here is what I would do: sackcloth and ashes at the entrance to the church and I’d sit in cow manure and I’d spread it all over my body. That is what I would do and I’m not kidding, I’m not laughing.”

“I’m grieving, I’m mourning, I’m pointing out the problem,” Swanson

screamed as he went off about people trying to “carve happy faces on the sores” of a society that is utterly “messed up.”

Swanson closed out the “liberty” conference with a fiery speech in which he proclaimed that although he does believe in the death penalty for gays, he wouldn’t advocate for the government to execute gay people — or, at least, not yet.

The conditions aren’t right, Swanson explained. The culture hasn’t fully embraced his movement’s version of Christianity, and therefore gay people don’t know that homosexuality is a death penalty crime that they must renounce before it provokes divine destruction.

He said he would recommend that the government wait to impose the death penalty until the culture shifts, giving gays time to repent.

Philip Kayser of Biblical Blueprints told one breakout session at the conference that while it may be unrealistic to expect the national imposition of biblical law at this point, it can still be achieved at state and local levels. He urged government officials like Davis to flout the federal government in order to impose their religious beliefs over whatever jurisdiction where they have sway.

Such “interposition” is justified, Kayser said, as long as public officials do it in a “biblical and Christ-centric” way. “In my book, she is a hero,” Kayser said of Davis. “Magistrates must follow Christ in their interposition.”

Kayser, like Swanson, has repeatedly backed instituting the death penalty for gay people in order to comply with biblical dictates, a position he outlined in a pamphlet he distributed at the summit. (Kayser’s pamphlet also calls for capital punishment for blasphemers, Sabbath-breakers, apostates and witches.)

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow ran a segment on the conference, but other than that, as a number of commentators have noted, the media has been strangely silent on the Republican candidates’ participation in this event.

Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu reports that she reached out to the campaigns of the three can-

didates, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal (who has since dropped out of the presidential race), and found them rather reluctant to talk about it.

Before the conference, Cruz had been asked about his participation by CNN’s Jake Tapper, but brushed off the question.

Calls and emails seeking a reaction to Swanson’s remarks by spokespeople for Cruz and Jindal went unanswered.

Huckabee’s spokeswoman Alice Stewart asked for documentation and was sent a video link. She responded the next day saying, “Gov. Huckabee appreciated the opportunity to speak with an audience in Iowa about the importance of standing up for our religious liberties.”

Basu also reached out to The Family Leader, an influential Iowa conservative group that sponsored Swanson’s conference and will be hosting candidates for a “presidential family forum” later this week. A Family Leader spokesman at least went as far to say that the group doesn’t condone executing gay people, but didn’t comment on the wisdom of sponsoring Swanson’s conference: Asked if Vander Plaats or the Family Leader condemn Swanson’s remarks, Drew Zahn, its director of communications wrote in an email: “The Family Leader absolutely condemns any call for violence against homosexuals.

Our involvement with the conference was intended to advocate and preserve our First Amendment religious liberties and the rights of conscience for all Americans. The Family Leader consistently advocated the Bible’s principle of treating others as you would be treated, a principle come to life in the friendship between TFL President Bob Vander Plaats and One Iowa’s Donna Red Wing.”

But Zahn wouldn’t say whether the organization would express those views to Swanson.

One wonders how far down this road the GOP is willing to allow candidates to travel. Neither the party nor the candidates can be allowed to plead ignorance about antigay extremists.

PUBLISHER & EDITOR TROY MASTERS

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

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11.20.2015

> Senator Ted OUR CONCERN THE PRIDE L.A.

‘PHOBE WATCH

Cruz, fascist Turkey

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RESPONDING TO TERRORISM

11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

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France

Nous entrerons dans la carrière Quand nos aînés n’y seront plus; Nous y trouverons leur poussière Et la trace de leurs vertus.

⚫ BY GERARD KOSKOVICH

Vive la France French LGBT activists convene national gathering in shadow of terrorist attacks

O

n the evening of Friday, November 13, I was in the city of Avignon in Southern France for the start of a historic weekend: The Etats Généraux LGBTI (National LGBTI Conference) was opening at Avignon’s ornate 19th-century city hall with a speech by Mayor Cécile Helle followed by a festive reception.

More than 250 activists from throughout the country were on hand to take part in two days of discussions about the future of the LGBT movement following the successful campaign for marriage equality in France.

Celebrated stage director Olivier Py, head of the Avignon Theater Festival, also addressed the crowd, telling us that he had once thought of himself only as an artist who happened to be gay, but had come to embrace belonging to the LGBT community. The very notion of distinct communities often makes the French nervous, as they fear that identifying with such groups can produce isolation and separatism – yet Py received rousing applause when he reminded us that LGBT people have created “a beautiful community ... a community that has always been about love and about peace.”

We didn’t yet know that at virtually the moment when Py was speaking, a wave of attacks was underway 430 miles to the north in the French capital. Only as my friends and I settled in at a late-night

restaurant across from City Hall on the Place de l’Horloge did the news begin to filter in.

Checking the tweets on his smartphone, fellow activist Olivier Nostry told us about reports that gunfire had broken out in Paris. By the time we returned to our hotel, the nature of the events was clear: terrorists had struck cafes, a concert hall and sites near a major soccer stadium where a match was in progress, leaving behind carnage and a growing death toll.

A solemn but determined group of activists gathered the following morning at the FabricA, the headquarters of the Avignon Festival, where the meetings of the National LGBT Conference were set to take place. Police reinforcements in uniform and plain clothes were stationed at the entrance to provide increased security for the complex. With activists filling the seats of the main theater, the organizing committee came on stage. Conveners Christine Nicolas and Erwann Le Hô stepped forward, and Le Hô addressed the hall. He stated that the conference would not be canceled – and his brief yet moving words made clear why the work should continue despite the somber news: “We welcome you to the FabricA this morning with heavy and shattered hearts. ... Our thoughts this morning of course go out to the families of the victims. And we’re also thinking in particular of the activists from Paris who are here in Avignon this weekend.

We hope that you have been able to hear from your loved ones and that all of them are safe.

“The terrorists will have won if fear overtakes us, if we hide in our homes, if we see others as representing danger rather

ORGANIZERS OF THE FRENCH NATIONAL LGBTI CONFERENCE ANNOUNCE A MINUTE OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE TERROR ATTACKS IN PARIS. HOLDING THE MICROPHONE: ERWANN LE HÔ.

than an opportunity.

“And that’s why we’re present today: to say that we are here and that horror will not overwhelm us. We are united. We are opening our doors, coming together, having discussions, exchanging ideas, getting to know each other in all of our differences, continuing to question ourselves so we can advance our movement. ...

“Those are the things we believe in,” Le Hô continued.

“Those are the things that will thwart the plans of obscurantists and fanatics of all kinds.

And that’s why we are here in Avignon this weekend. More than ever, as our friends from ACT UP say, ‘Action = Life.’”

The participants took up this call with working sessions on Saturday and with report-backs and discussion of strategies and goals on Sunday. In a video posted on the conference Facebook page at the end of the first day of deliberations, Christine Nicolas emphasized the objectives of the gathering, which stood in

stark contrast to the events in Paris the night before: “How can we continue evolving together, how can we continuing advancing the movement, how can we avoid being isolated from one another, how can we sustain the value of togetherness? Those are the questions we have to address in the workshops.”

Nicolas also emphasized that developing responses to those questions “doesn’t mean speaking with a single voice. ... We’ll remain diverse – and that’s our strength.”

By all accounts, the conference was a success, laying the groundwork for future annual gatherings and opening the way to better coordination of the LGBT movement in France.

At present, the country has no organization equivalent to the National LGBTQ Task Force in the United States and no yearly national gathering for activists and organizers equivalent to the Task Force’s Creating Change conference. The discussions in Avignon may

very well lead to ongoing coalition-building that could create similar structures in forms adapted to the needs of French culture and the French movement.

Whatever the long-term outcomes of the National LGBTI Conference, the fact that the deliberations went forward in a productive way despite the shadow of very dark news from Paris was a forceful reminder that no one in France is prepared to give in to fear. Despite a range of opinions expressed in the workshops, one common commitment was clear for all the activists who were present: our “beautiful community” in France will continue striving to build a society of greater openness and respect.

Gerard Koskovich is a San Francisco-based queer historian and rare-book dealer who spends several weeks in France every fall-winter.

11.20.2015

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FILM

11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

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NEW LGBT CINEMA

⚫ BY STEVE ERICKSON

The Danish Girl is a sensual trans awakening set in Paris Cisgender casting as trans characters may be The Danish Girl’s biggest flaw.

S

ome critics have spent the past few years complaining about the lack of mainstream films depicting gay, lesbian or trans characters. Well, be careful what you wish for. It’s ironic that even though our community has more rights now than we did in the ‘90s, we’re less visible on movie screens. But over the past year, a small canon of mainstream-aimed films about queer or trans people has emerged: “The Imitation Game,” “Freeheld,” the

notorious “Stonewall” and now British director Tom Hooper’s “The Danish Girl.”

This group is the exact opposite of the radical formal and political values of ‘90s New Queer Cinema: it’s assimilationist, sexless and ideologically middle-of-theroad. Shall we call it “New LGBT Cinema”? (Its politics can be summed up by the fact that “Stonewall” director Roland Emmerich thinks “straight-acting” is a compliment and uses it without irony.) While these films seem largely aimed at heterosexuals, “Freeheld” and “Stonewall” were outgrossed by the far more uncompromising“Tangerine.” If not for an ending full of mixed messages, “The Danish Girl” could

have been the best of this admittedly dubious group.

In 1926 Copenhagen, Einar (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) are both painters. Einar’s career is going better than hers. However, their marriage begins to evolve when Einar develops a fondness for women’s clothes. He quickly starts to dress as a female alter ego called Lili and poses for Gerda’s paintings in drag. Gerda’s new style and subject matter takes off, but she doesn’t realize that Einar is transgender: Einar really is Lili. Lili quickly exhausts the possibilities for help offered by ignorant doctors, but the couple moves to Paris in search of more open-minded surroundings.

‘THE DANISH GIRL’ TRAILER SHOWS EDDIE REDMAYNE TACKLING NEW ROLE, NEW GENDER. SCREENPLAY: LUCINDA COXON (SCRIPT), DAVID EBERSHOFF (BOOK); CAST: EDDIE REDMAYNE, ALICIA VIKANDER, BEN WHISHAW.

Many trans people find the casting of cisgender actors as trans characters as offensive as blackface. One doesn’t have to go that far to be dismayed when minstrelsy like Jared Leto’s performance in “Dallas Buyers Club” wins awards while trans actors not named Laverne Cox are largely out of work. There’s something screwed-up when “Tangerine” gets called revolutionary simply for casting trans actresses as trans women. Eddie Redmayne does seem to have done his homework, but his performance is most convincing when Lili seems neither fully male nor female. (Two gay-bashers pick up on this quality and are driven to violence by it.)

The film could have made a political statement by casting a trans actress as Lili, but I’m not sure if she could pull off the scene in which the character poses nude in front of a mirror and gazes at her male chest and genitals in disgust.

This is yet another story of transition; one wonders why so many narratives about transgender people focus on this stage of their lives, just as coming-out stories about gay men and lesbians flourish.

Hooper has tamed the visual eccentricities that made “The King’s Speech” so grating to watch, although he’s also gotten rid of the hints in “Les Misérables” that he might be developing a personal style.

The look of “The Danish Girl” is much calmer: lots of closeups, and the occasional longshot picture-postcard vista of a city. When Lili and Gerda go to Paris, there’s an obligatory image of the Eiffel Tower, because the city just wouldn’t

be recognizable without it!

One thing that distinguishes “The Danish Girl” from films like “The Imitation Game” is that it’s not afraid of sex and nudity. “The Imitation Game” depicted an Alan Turing who spent all of World War II chaste and celibate. Basil Dearden’s “Victim,” made before homosexuality was decriminalized in the U.K., might actually be more daring in its portrait of gay characters. The strongest element of “The Danish Girl” may be its acknowledgement of the sensual world.

When Lili puts on makeup, one senses her delight on her eyes and lips. Her relationship with Gerda is honestly sexual. Her enthusiasm for the possibility of gender confirmation surgery is also something she feels in her flesh.

Here, the film goes drastically awry. I can’t go into details without giving away the ending. I will just say that a plot development intended to be dark and romantic just seems clichéd and stereotypical instead. “The Danish Girl” obviously wants to be a story about a woman striving for freedom in a dangerous world, but it’s not as liberal as it thinks it is.

THE DANISH GIRL Director: Tom Hooper Writers: David Ebershoff (novel), Lucinda Coxon (screenplay) Stars: Alicia Vikander, Eddie Redmayne, Tusse Silberg PLAYING: ArcLight Hollywood and Landmark Theatres

11.20.2015 FILM

>

LOS ANGELES

HISTORY REPEATS

⚫ BY JOHN PAUL KING

Trumbo is a well-timed reminder

TRUMBO FAMOUSLY LIKED TO WRITE IN HIS BATHTUB. I GUESS YOU COULD SAY HE HAD A “CLEAN” WRITING STYLE.

“Through the periphery of Trumbo’s story, we are given glimpses of careers destroyed, lives ruined, and good people forced to betray their friends and their ideals. The result is a film that delivers a timely socio-political warning about governmental overreach…”

W

hen most younger Americans hear the phrase “Cold War,” it likely conjures vague impressions of backyard bomb shelters and spy vs. spy intrigue in far-flung corners of the world; but when confronted with the acronym “HUAC,” odds are good that many of them will be able to come up with nothing more than a blank stare. That’s a pity, because in today’s political climate, the history of the House Un-American Activity Committee should be an essential cornerstone of our cultural knowledge. For that reason alone, “Trumbo,” director Jay Roach’s new biopic about the most

prominent member of the so-called “Hollywood Ten,” is a must-see.

I won’t go into detail about the anti-Communist hysteria in post-WWII America- after all, this is a film review, not a history lesson. Suffice to say that Dalton Trumbo was a prominent Hollywood screenwriter, called before congress to answer questions about his affiliations to the American Communist Party. Standing on his constitutional rights, he refused to cooperate; not only was he convicted of contempt, political pressure on the TRUMBO continued on p. 17

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TRUMBO continued from p. 15

Hollywood establishment resulted in a blacklist which prevented the hiring of film artists who would not testify before the congressional committee, and he was left with no means to make a living despite being one of the most lauded scribes in the industry. “Trumbo,” recounts this history, and goes on from there to detail the story of the writer’s determined climb out of the ashes.

John McNamara’s screenplay focuses its attention on the man himself, giving us a whirlwind tour of his 13-year struggle, and intertwining the political with the personal through an emphasis on private scenes- as well as some healthy dashes of humor along the way.

Through the periphery of Trumbo’s story, we are given glimpses of careers destroyed, lives ruined, and good people forced to betray their friends and their ideals. The result is a film that delivers a timely socio-political warning about governmental overreach, disguised as a safe, middle-of-the-road narrative.

Some might argue that the story of this dark chapter in Hollywood history might be better told by a less “Hollywood” movie. Even through its darkest moments, we know that the hero will triumph and the powers that oppress him will be vanquished. Most were not so lucky; their careers were permanently derailed, and the few survivors still had to wait years after the blacklist fell before getting work. In addition, though it strives to convey the complex ethics of the situation, it paints at least one character (notorious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper) as a clear target for the audience’s moral outrage without offering any satisfactory insight into the motivations which may have driven her. It should also be said that “Trumbo” “re-arranges” facts for smoother story-telling- standard movie-making procedure, perhaps, but regrettable, nonetheless.

Such quibbling aside, the film delivers a solid, honorable account of a determined man’s journey through darkness. Contributing to that is a meticulous recreation of the mid-century period, achieved through set and costume designs that convey the passage of time by reflecting subtle changes in the prevailing styles. More important, though, are the strong performanc-

LOS ANGELES

es, provided by an ensemble ranging from familiar Oscar-winners to relative unknowns. A few standouts: Michael Stuhlberg, portraying actor Edward G. Robinson through suggestion rather than impersonation; John Goodman, hilarious as the no-nonsense producer who employed Trumbo during the blacklist; and Helen Mirren as Hopper, who reveals the tough-as-nails power-player masquerading as a blowsy busybody while still managing to give us glimmers of her humanity- despite the script’s failure to do so.

The impressive cast, however, rightly takes a back seat to Bryan Cranston, who displays his astonishing range with every subtle shift of expression. He completely inhabits the larger-than-life Trumbo with an authenticity that never makes him seem affected. He’s a delight to watch- the image of him doggedly typing away in the bathtub is bound to become iconic- but never afraid to show us Trumbo’s ugly side; and despite his exceptional work throughout, he saves the best for his final, moving recreation of a late-in-life speech that and leaves us with a powerful impression of Trumbo’s integrity.

That integrity, of course, is a given from the beginning of the film; but “Trumbo” is not meant to surprise. It is meant, rather, to retell of a story that should always be retold. As its postscript reminds us, the Communist witch hunt affected people in all segments of the population, not just members of the Hollywood elite. Though set in a time gone by, the film is chillingly contemporary; and if paranoia and political opportunism can combine to persecute a wealthy white man, then who is really safe? It’s easy to point out that none of us are Trumbo- but his story serves as a reminder that he could be any one of us.

TRUMBO Director: Jay Roach Writers: John McNamara, Bruce Cook (book) Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren PLAYING: ArcLight Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, Landmark Theatres

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11.20.2015

LOS ANGELES

POZ continued from p. 7

and isolating life can be for long-term HIV/AIDS survivors. As a gay Chamorro (Pacific Islander) activist originally from Guam, Vince began his activism in the HIV community in New York City in 1985. He currently chairs the HIV and Aging Workgroup for the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services, and he’s the program manager of the Elizabeth Taylor 50-Plus Network for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, based at its new medical center, Strut, in the Castro.

Vince builds community by helping folks come out of isolation and depression and regain a sense of purpose and human connection.

addiction and incarceration to return to school and thrive, completing her associate’s degree in chemical dependency, bachelor’s degree in social work and master’s degree in social work in just eight years. Jolene chooses this work because she understands exactly how important it is for the HIV community.

FELICIA FLAMES ELIZONDO 69, SAN FRANCISCO, CA In her own words, Felicia is a “screaming queen, a pioneer, a legend, an icon, a diva, a 28-year survivor of HIV and a Vietnam veteran.” She underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1974 and has survived physical attacks, rape and imprisonment because of hate and discrimination.

When she was diagnosed with HIV, Felicia was volunteering for ARIS Project to help people with AIDS in San Jose, California. She started doing drag to further her activism, and has been raising funds and awareness for 28 years now. The San Francisco resident has made about 80 panels for the AIDS Memorial Quilt and remains involved with the trans community.

This year, Felicia was honored as a Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal in San Francisco’s Pride Parade.

JESUS GUILLEN SOLIS 55, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Need some support? Consider joining Jesus’s new HIV Long Term Survivors Facebook group, which he started this summer to help HIV-positive people overcome isolation and the unique challenges that come with growing old with the virus. Already, the online group has more than 700 members who talk about everything from stigma to side effects in a closed forum. Jesus also co-founded gay Latino group AGUILAS in the ’90s. Today he is a veteran of San Francisco’s HIV planning commission and sits on the board of Catherine’s House, an HIV/AIDS retreat and organic farm in the Sier ra Nevada foothills. He’s also a cancer survivor, a photographer, and a singer and composer of HIV-related music.

JOLENE FORD 47, SACRAMENTO, CA As a clinical case manager at Sunburst Projects, Jolene empowers children, youth and families living with and affected by HIV. Sunburst Projects provides mental health services, family-centered case management and HIV-positive support groups, among other services, to enhance the lives of the HIV community. Jolene overcame

ARTURO JACKSON III 55, SACRAMENTO, CA After seroconverting in the early ’80s, before HIV even had a proper name, Arturo worked 13 years at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He witnessed thousands die, while he remained relatively healthy.

Arturo committed himself to documenting the realities of the epidemic.

At the height of “gay panic” he was the

HIV/AIDS editor for San Francisco’s Sentinel newspaper. In 2002, Arturo earned his master’s in social work.

Since then, he has helped seniors faced with elder financial abuse, and he managed Open Arms, a homeless shelter for people with HIV. He has also been a social worker at Inland AIDS Project. In 2008, he co-founded Strength in Numbers Sacramento.

Lately, he has hosted a monthly potluck for HIV-positive people at the local LGBT center.

NANCER LEMOINS 59, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Since testing positive in 1986, Nancer has been using her art as a tool to fight stigma and to educate and empower. A grantee of the California Arts Council for many years, she has taught printmaking at SOMAR TS, been an art teacher in San Francisco and Oakland, and worked as an artist-in-residence at the University of San Francisco. She also works at Hospitality House, a drop-in art center for homeless and disenfranchised people. As she ages, Nancer says, her art grows more socially and politically oriented. Lately she has been focusing on older women, whom she feels are sorely underrepresented in HIV/ AIDS conversations; for example, she approaches this subject by silkscreening pictures of older women onto the soles of men’s shoes.

WANDA LONDON 57, SAN DIEGO, CA Wanda was a social worker living in Indiana when she was diagnosed in 1996. Though frightened, she began

educating herself on her new status, which led her to The Aliveness Project of Northwest Indiana. In 1997, the AIDS service organization offered her a job as a community spokesperson and later acare coordinator. In 2012, she retired to California, where she went right back to activism. Today she’s a health educator with the San Ysidro Health Center’s Women Partners Program, promoting HIV prevention ser vices among women who are intimate partners of incarcerated or recently released men. Wanda has devoted herself to empowering and educating other women the way The Aliveness Project helped her so many years ago.

BILL SNOW 68, FORESTVILLE, CA Short of finding a cure, one of the biggest wins in the fight against AIDS would be the development of a vaccine. Bill has advocated for a vaccine since 1990, through ACT UP New York and ACT UP Golden Gate, and through work with several clinical trial networks of the National Institutes of Health, where he helped establish community advisory boards and served as a community representative on management groups of the trial networks. In 1995, he co-founded AVAC (which provides global advocacy for HIV prevention), and today he’s the director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. What’s more, Bill is now leading efforts to promote coordination and collaboration among HIV vaccine researchers, developers and funders.

ACINTIA WRIGHT 52, SACRAMENTO, CA She’s the education, testing and outreach coordinator at First Step Wellness Center, but Acintia’s HIV advocacy extends throughout California (the state legislature recognized her for community involvement) and all the way to Ethiopia (where she helped set up the CDC’s HIV prevention program Sister to Sister). Back home, she’s an ally with Positive Women’s Network– USA, s he c o -fo unde d t he Wo man 2 Woman support gr oup for African-American women, she’s the previous chair of the Faith-Based Action Coalition, and she’s a ministry leader at Chosen Few Ministry. Oh, and one other thing: She’s the very proud mother of four college graduates.

thepridela.com

11.20.2015 The Historian

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OUR LIBERTY, OUR LIVES

⚫ BY WES JOE

LOS ANGELES

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LGBT folks have not always been a welcome part of LA life; there are people, place and events that paved the way. We remember them.

EARLY AIDS

Part One of a brief history of AIDS in L.A. Organizing around the AIDS crisis in Los Angeles began to take shape in 1981 and was in full bloom by the end of that decade. Groups that emerged at that time are still prominent.

D

ecember 2nd. World AIDS Day. Thirty-four years of epidemic.

In 1981 Michael Gottlieb was a young immunologist at the UCLA Medical Center. He noticed the unusual incidence of an odd strain of pneumonia among gay men receiving care at the hospital. He and his colleagues published an account in a medical journal that spring, which was largely ignored. But weeks later, doctors in New York announced the bizarre outbreak of a rare cancer, Kaposi’s Sarcoma, in that city’s gay community.

And Gottlieb’s phone was ringing off the hook. Though we now know that HIV made the jump to our species decades before, 1981 is generally considered the year it was “discovered,” and Gottlieb credited as discoverer.

He was ultimately denied tenure – according to some because the hospital sought to become a transplant center, rendering any association with AIDS undesirable. Gottlieb went on to start his own practice, which counted many PWA’s -- including Rock Hudson, among its patients. In 1985 he co-founded the Amer-

ican Foundation for AIDS Research with Elizabeth Taylor. Joel Weisman, one of his UCLA colleagues and an openly gay man, co-founded AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1982 and was an original co-chair along with Diane Abbitt. In the early days APLA operated its hotline out of a closet at the Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Center.

APLA was just the beginning. A rainbow of activity emerged. Rev. Carl Bean founded the Minority AIDS Project in 1985 to serve the African-American community. That year also saw Ron Rose start Being Alive, People with AIDS Coalition. In 1986 members of the lesbian and gay temple, Beth Chayim Chadashim, founded Project Nechama. The following year Asian Pacific Lesbians and Gays helped form the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team. And Bienestar, which was to become the largest by far of any of these groups, was founded in 1989 by members of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos. Emotional and spiritual needs were also met by groups that included Northern Lights Alternatives, Shan-

SECOND VIGIL AT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY/UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HOSPITAL, JULY 9, 1988.

ACT UP/LOS ANGELES RECORDS, 1987-1997

ti, the Center for Living and Louise Hay’s Hay Rides at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium.

In 1985 APLA staged its first AIDS Walk in West Hollywood, a community that had won cityhood the previous November. 1985 was also the year Rock Hudson announced that he had AIDS. Just another person among hundreds of thousands – but his disclosure brought the epidemic home to mainstream America.

And diminished some of the estrangement experienced by those afflicted.

But Lyndon LaRouche’s Proposition 64 still made it onto the California ballot in 1986. Among its provisions – mandatory HIV testing and the potential for opening quarantine relocation camps. The community mobilized, the suits of the Municipal Elections Committee cooperating with the No on 64 and “Stop the AIDS Quarantine” activists who organized a 4,000 person march past LaRouche’s offices in Atwater. With initial polls indicating easy passage, the measure was defeated with a No vote of 71%.

Many LA residents par ticipated in the 1987 LGBT March on Washington, where they met the New York activists who had formed the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power in March that year. ACT-UP LA was formed in December.

Meetings were held in Plummer Park, with offices eventually established above what’s now Intelligentsia in Sunset Junction. The group conducted numerous actions. Perhaps the most significant were a series of protests and vigils at County Hospital.

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11.20.2015

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“A CINEMATIC LANDMARK.” PETER DEBRUGE, VARIETY

“A BEAUTIFUL AND POIGNANT LOVE STORY THAT TRANSCENDS STEREOTYPES OF GENDER, SEXUALITY AND ROMANCE.” ERIN WHITNEY, HUFFINGTON POST

“YOU CAN’T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF EDDIE REDMAYNE WHO IS FLAT-OUT FABULOUS. Tom Hooper has crafted a work of probing intelligence and passionate heart.”

PETER TRAVERS, ROLLING STONE

THE DANISH GIRL - Final THE PRIDE LA 10" X 11.7" 4C