Remember. Celebrate. Act. Stonewall Rebellion
50th Anniversary
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the 2019 new england pride guide is Proudly produced by The Rainbow Times.
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Table of contents. Boston Mayoral Proclamation | p6
Editor’s Welcome to Stonewall 50: Remember. Celebrate. Act | pp 8 & 9
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In a Stonewall Sate of Mind: The Holy Trinity of Stonewall | pp 10, 32, 60 & 62 Did you know? A look at some past LGBTQ achievements | p 11 Is Pride a Safe Space? Invisible priviledge that centers on the “gay experience” is not safe for the rest of us | p 12 7-year-old gives back to LGBTQ Youth Organization, other non-profits, formed business to help those in need | pp 15 & 58 Top 20 Cities for LGBTQ Retirement in 2019 | p 16
A Changing Landscape: Transgender Travel slowly improves but many obstacles remain | pp 20, 22-23 The Frivolist: Stay at one of these 6 LGBTQ-Welcoming Hotels for WorldPride NYC - pp 24 & 25 Same-Sex Marriage Study, 15 year post marriage equality in Mass. | pp 28-30 Being Trans, Genderfluid & an Artist | pp 33-34 & 37 Salem Mayoral Proclamation | p 38 Welcome to Salem: Mayor Driscoll on Stonewall & Pride | p 39 Celebrating Pride in Unexpected Places | pp 40 & 42 Our Pride Event Picks | p 44 The Listings: New England Pride Events | pp 46-50 & 52 The Listings: Transgender-Specific Marches, Events & Conferences | p 54 Hairpin Drop Heard Around the World: 50 Years Since the Birth of Gay Liberation | pp 55 & 56 Poem by La Espiritista | p 62 Advertising Index | p 61
Do you know our backstory?
The Rainbow Times is the sole producer of the New England Pride Guide 2019. Award-winning and Boston-based, The Rainbow Times is the only minorityowned (partly women, partly Latinx, partly Native American, partly transgender) publication dedicated to the LGBTQ+ communities and its allies. Founded in 2006, The Rainbow Times has become New England’s largest LGBTQ newspaper. The Rainbow Times stands out from other LGBTQ pubs through its bold reporting and exclusive in-depth stories. Written by LGB PoC, trans people of color, trans mainstream women, and non-trans allies—each person falling on different places of the gender spectrum and from various racial and ethnic backgrounds—are all also veteran journalists and understand the ins-and-outs of reporting for marginalized groups. Intentionally, The Rainbow Times ensures that its reporting highlights the various intersectionalities found within our vast community. The Rainbow Times is also the most transgender inclusive LGBTQ publication in the region.
life-saving. gender affirming. eradicating bias. every day. More on Trans Services & Training at ProjectOut.org
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Welcome to
stonewall
Remember. Celebrate. Act. By: Nicole Lashomb Editor-in-Chief
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his year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the penultimate moment of truth when the LGBTQ community rose up to counter the police brutality and harassment it faced on the streets of San Francisco. Those brave humans didn’t just rise up to counter beatings, harassment and gross injustice that night; they rioted to say no more in the strongest of terms possible. Fast forward to 2019. Prides all around the world this year have largely focused their marches, parades, and celebrations around the Stonewall Rebellion theme, honoring the legacy of those that sacri-
ficed so much, so that the LGBTQ community could have liberation, equal rights and protections, and be valued as human beings, instead of as second class citizens. They fought for an inclusive society, where all queer folks were full members of society with the same rights and privileges that its counter parts took for granted. We’ve come a long way since that June 28, 1969 night when our very own took to the streets and risked their lives so that we could enjoy the level of acceptance that we have today and that should be celebrated, undoubtedly. There are more Americans in support of the LGBTQ community than ever before and the LGBTQ Equality Act (https://is.gd/9WrJIe) passed the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time since 1974. Those victories should be celebrated. This year also marks the 15th anniversary of marriage equality in Massachusetts and that, too, should be celebrated. But, how far have we actually come? And, how far do we have left to carry that torch once the music dies down, the parades and marches are over, and when the excitement of the season dwindles? As you will read in the pages of this year’s New England Pride Guide, the Stonewall Riots may have served as the catalyst for change, yet, the very people responsible for sparking our LGBTQ movement today are still under vehement attack by society, by the institution through systemic oppression, by our government, by police, and even by members within our own community. see stonewall on page 9
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stonewall from page 8 Those very people whose names we hear far too little—two trans women of color, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, and a black lesbian who also performed as a drag king, Stormé DeLarverie, were the initiating movers, shakers and heroes that sparked the uprising action that summer night and because of them, the LGBTQ community stands where it does today. The irony is ubiquitous. According to a report (https://is.gd/uJnOWm) by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Public Radio, discrimination in the LGBTQ community is still pervasive, especially for LGBTQ people of color. “LGBTQ people of color are at least twice as likely as white LGBTQ people [to] say they have been personally discriminated against because they are LGBTQ when applying for jobs and when interacting with police, and six times more likely to say they have avoided calling the police (30 percent) due to concern for anti-LGBTQ discrimination, compared to white LGBTQ people (5 percent),” the report read. Today, trans women of color are murdered, harassed and beaten at disproportionately alarming rates (https://is.gd/Dzz7uy), women’s reproductive rights are under attack and Roe v. Wade has a real possibility of being overturned, which affects roughly half of the LGBTQ popu-
“... Two trans women of color, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, and a black lesbian who also performed as a drag king, Stormé DeLarverie, were the initiating movers, shakers and heroes that sparked the uprising action that summer night and because of them, the LGBTQ community stands where it does today.” lation. Virtually no civil rights are safe at this point with the Supreme Court being the most conservative we’ve seen in modern history. As we celebrate the battles won, we must remember our past and the wars waged to get here and prepare for those yet to come. We owe it to our foremothers and Stonewall survivors to act to protect our future, their legacy and the LGBTQ community still under siege, especially at the intersection of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. As Stormé DeLarverie said, “Aren’t you guys going to do something?”
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In a Stonewall State of Mind
The “Holy Trinity of Stonewall–Marsha P. Johnson, Stormé DeLarverie, and Sylvia Rivera!” stonewall yesterday
By: ben power*
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istory is but storytelling. Who tells our queer and trans stories? Let it be we and let our stories be true. Ever in my memory is an incident in the late 1960s in Chicago when I was in my teens. I started going to lesbian, gay, leather, and drag bars before I could legally drink, searching for someone–anyone–who was like me: a semi-homeless, working-class transgender boy completely alone with no words yet for who I was. This bar, the Lost & Found, had opened on Chicago’s north side in 1965, just after I turned 15. It was a blue-collar, heavily wood-paneled dyke bar but gender non-conforming stones like me from the poor class, gay men, drag queens and kings all sought community there. The windows on the place were dark so no one could see inside. The locked and heavy wooden door had a small, circular window out of which the bouncer checked before letting you inside. No one who looked straight got in–and no cops, either. Behind the door of the Lost & Found was the entire queer world, to me. It existed only within the confines of that space and did not exist anywhere in society outside of it. The minute the door opened and I stepped inside that smoked-filled bar, I crossed over into the world of my people. If only for a fleeting couple of hours, I left Planet Cis Heterosexual behind. It may be hard for young people to imagine today, but a queer bar was the only place we
could see each other back then. We had a blast there, meeting others like ourselves for the first time or dancing with friends or lovers, but it was fraught with fear and danger, too–secretive clubs were a collective closet. A lesbian owned the Lost & Found, but the Mafia working with the Chicago PD shall we say, regularly “managed” the place. There were state laws against crossdressing. Stones who came in wearing front-zippered pants had to take them off and put them on in reverse, with the zipper in the back, if trouble arose. Under the law, a person must wear at least three articles of clothing that matched their gender assigned at birth. It was illegal to “conceal one’s sex in public.” Police harassed lesbians and gay men just for dancing with each other, but patrons of the bar whose skin was dark or whose clothing was gender nonnormative were the biggest targets. Not until 1973 was the anti-crossdressing law in Illinois struck down. What I remember at the Lost & Found was a large brick crashing through the front window. This was the Mafia intimidating the bar owner into paying up–or else. The “or else” was the cops responding to the shattered glass, and thus ensued a raid where patrons were terrorized, busted for gender non-conforming attire see state of mind on page 32
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Did you know!? stonewall yesterday
1969
Unlike what whitewashing has done to the Stonewall Riots, this 50th Stonewall Anniversary should not be celebrated without the name Stormé DeLarverie, a butch lesbian and Drag King who, upon being arrested & brutalized at the Stonewall Inn, yelled for the crowd to “do something” and therein the first Stonewall riot started at 1:20 a.m. on June 28, 1969.
In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage.
Over the following five years, LGBT activists and allies fought to defend the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling against attacks by local and national religious right organizations and elected officials.
Older Americans Act.
In 2012, the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Elder Affairs was the first to designate LGBT elders as a population of greatest social need under the Older Americans Act.
40th Anniversary of the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights This year, in October, marks the 40th Anniversary of the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which drew an estimated 75-125K individuals marching for LGBT rights.
Hate Crimes Prevention Act
October 28 will mark the 10-Year Anniversary of Pres. Obama signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
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Is Pride a Safe Space?
Invisible privilege that centers on the “gay experience” is not safe for the rest of us. stonewall today
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By: Just JP* Special to TRT
alking down Boylston during the second Saturday of June every year makes me feel seen and happy. I remember the first time I went to Pride, I rode on the Three Strange Women float alongside fabulous drag performers and made glittering, sparkling new friends. I felt safe. Safety is a difficult topic to discuss in the context of the LGBTQ community. To start, we should acknowledge that there is not an LGBTQ community, it’s a conglomerate of different communities that are grouped together based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which are then fragmented as racism, classism, transphobia, ableism and other types of oppression many times run rampant and unchecked within our circles.
Photo: Eric Magnussen, @ericrichardmagnussen
their Pride celebrations around their safety. It is hard to go to Pride and be confronted with an ex who was abusive, or with friends who don’t believe that we’re survivors of abuse. see safe space on page 14
Even though it may not feel like it, the LGBTQ communities in Massachusetts are quite small. It gets smaller once we start accounting for other identities, like race and ability. Pride, for many LGBTQ people, is not a safe place. After 50 years of pride, many white gay men feel safe in Pride, and the privilege of safety has been slowly but steadily extended to most parts of society as well. Lesbian, bisexual, queer and transgender folks are sometimes excluded from Pride celebrations as many of the parties and events center on the ‘gay experience.’ Often than not, these exclusions are done unintentionally, as privilege is invisible. Many times, producers may not be purposely excluding people from LGBTQ events. Some examples on how exclusion may happen is: lack of accessibility through gendered bathrooms, bathroom stalls that don’t lock, equating penises with manhood, exorbitant entrance fees, only including hypersexualized fit men in ads, not booking AFAB (assigned female at birth), Transgender and Black performers, etc. And there is one type of exclusion that is at times even more invisible, the exclusion of survivors of abuse from a space by welcoming abusers into our spaces and not holding them accountable. LGBTQ survivors of abuse often have to plan 12 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
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safe space from page 12 The Network/La Red, an LGBTQ domestic violence organization, defines abuse as a systemic pattern of behaviors in which one partner non-consensually uses power to try to control the actions, beliefs, thoughts, body and spirit of a partner. The Network/La Red uses ‘partner abuse’ instead of ‘domestic violence’ to be inclusive of all types of relationships. Abuse happens in LGBTQ relationships because abuse isn’t about gender; it’s about power. Abuse isn’t about who is physically stronger or who is assigned male at birth (AMAB). There are many ways in which people who abuse can take power from their partners; sometimes it may not even include any physical tactics, although isolation is a common tactic that abusers use to take power from their partner(s). When we turn a blind eye to abuse and refuse to hold people who abuse accountable for their actions, we embolden them to keep abusing. As people who abuse take power from their partners without their consent, they often see silence and support from the community as permission to keep abusing. Then, the onus of safety is placed on the survivors. Survivors often need to “safety plan” around big groups of people, usually choosing to skip on events that would make them less isolated because they suspect their abusive partner, present or past, may be in the room. As relationships change, start and end, we must always be vigilant to signs of abuse around
us, believing and supporting survivors while looking at the context of their stories. Context is important, since abuse is a pattern. By being present and listening to survivor’s stories, we acknowledge that what they lived is real, while gaining a better understanding of the patterns of their abuse. Because of this ever-changing truth, there is no such thing as a safe space. Spaces can only strive to be safer spaces. Safer spaces are aware of how the systems exclude LGBTQ people, and push against that exclusion with open, transparent efforts of integration that start by following the lead of those being excluded. Safer spaces are aware of abuse, reject working with and supporting the work of abusers, take steps to prevent sexual assault and take allegations of sexual assault seriously. I am excited to go to Pride this year, and I can rest easy because I know for a fact my ex, who was abusive, isn’t going to be there and my friends believe and support me as a survivor. I also know from experience that I am made to feel included in the many pride celebrations. That privilege of safety means I have the responsibility to tirelessly work to make the spaces I am in safer for all. *Just JP is an educator, drag performer, community organizer and writer, as well as the winner of the first cycle of Worcester Drag Wars. They host a monthly dance party, Serving Face, every second Fridays at Jacque’s Underground. You can follow them at @dragqueenjp (https://bit.ly/2rVR5V4).
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Georgia holding her rainbow sticker. Photo by: Christopher Padgett
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n 2016, a 10year-old from from Colorado appeared on Shark Tank with a business idea about “lemonade stands” and he was offered a deal (https://is.gd/ gIr0Nm) by Billionaire investor Chris Sacca, according to the Denver Post.
7-Year-Old Gives Back To LGBTQ Youth At 2 a
According to her father, she donated “all of the money earned, a couple hundred dollars, to the Salem YMCA children’s center where she was a weekly visitor.” That was the youngster’s first fundraising effort. years old she was already Her parents were behind the idea to budding entrepreneur teach their daughter about contributBy: chris gilmore | reporter ing to the community and helping others stonewall today who are in need.
Yet, pre-dating the boy in 2013, a 2-year-old in Salem Mass. had already started her entrepreneurial business similarly, but with a commitment to give back to humanity too, not merely just for-profit. Her father, Sully’s Brand owner Chris Wrenn, 43, explained that his daughter’s first lemonade stand was “recycled out of discarded pallets’ from his office, which he “built when she was two years old.”
“I got my lemonade stand when I was 2 and started selling lemonade for the YMCA at 3 and at 6 I started Georgia Made This [her website]”, said Georgia Wrenn, who will be 8 this summer, to The Rainbow Times. Shortly after turning just 3, Georgia, one of the youngest businesspersons in the commonwealth, was invited to sell lemonade at the Salem Peabody Essex Museum, PEM.
“This is something that has been very important for both Georgia’s mother, Elisabeth and I,” said Wrenn. “Giving back is one of the most important lessons that we can teach Georgia as she learns to be a little business person.”
Art runs in the family
Georgia, according to Wrenn, has been “drawing since she could hold a crayon.” But, creative talent isn’t a foreign concept to him or his father. Wrenn uses that talent when he showcases his art through Sully’s, the company he founded. That’s also when his fine arts degree comes in handy. see Georgia on page 58
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Top 20 Cities for LGBTQ Retirement in 2019 stonewall today
By: Yvonne feltman |guest contributor
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pproaching the Golden Years might bring visions of quitting a job, traveling, exploring new hobbies, or spending more time with friends, family or grand kids. For many aging adults, the idea of moving after retirement is exciting. The next phase of life can present many new considerations including location, healthcare options, cost of living, senior living facilities, culture, activities and weather. It can take a lot of planning, but there is even more to consider for older Americans who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ).
Currently, the national population identifying as LGBTQ is increasing— among the top 50 metropolitan areas, the LGBTQ population averages 4.5 percent according to recent estimates tracked by Gallup surveys.
For LGBTQ seniors, that percentage can be harder to calculate due to being less forthcoming because older generations of gay people may have been met with hate and resistance in years past. Many U.S. cities have made strides in LGBTQ protections over the past several decades, but not all cities are equally progressive. According to Gallup data, the percentage of baby boomers that identify as LGBTQ has even declined slightly since 2012. By 2050, the senior population is expected to double to an astonishing 88 million people aged 65 and older. Baby Boomers are largely responsible for this increase in the senior population, as they began turning 65 in 2011. As those numbers grow in the next few decades, more than ever before, older LGBTQ generations are in need of cities where they feel welcome. see lgbtq retirement on page 18
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lgbtq retirement from page 16 The cities were chosen based on multiple factors, including the percentage of LGBTQ population in the area, the city’s score according to the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index (HRC-MEI; https://is.gd/hrcMEI18), LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce presence, the number of gay-friendly senior communities, local and state legislation protecting the LGBTQ community, cost of living for the area, the city’s SeniorScore (https://is.gd/O8rdtF) and more
residents. LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods are nestled on both sides of the great Mississippi River dividing the city.
2. West Palm Beach, FL
Located along Florida’s Atlantic coast, West Palm Beach offers year-round sunshine that can’t be beat. There are lots of recreational activities and a range of dining, shopping, performances, museums, art, culture and festivals like SunFest. The downtown area is home to four distinct districts, and there are over 40
Below is a list of the best cities in America for LGBTQ retirement in 2019:
miles of pristine beaches like the dog-friendly Juno Beach.
1. New Orleans, LA
As for LGBTQ legislation, West Palm Beach has made significant strides over the last 30 years. The city has blazed a trail for other Florida cities and cities across the nation in their demonstration of support and policies protecting their LGBTQ community. In 2018 West Palm Beach earned a perfect score on the HRC-MEI. In addition, there are several elected officials in the city and county who are openly gay.
Scoring nearly perfect on the HRC-MEI in 2018, about 13 percent of New Orleans is over age 65 and just over 5 percent identify as LGBTQ. The city is one of a handful in Louisiana with an ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
There are several area LGBTQ groups and services in West Palm Beach, including:
A city rivaling San Francisco with its abundance of gay-inclusiveness and year-round LGBTQ specific events such as the Gay Easter Parade, Southern Decadence, the Saints and Sinners LGBT Literary Festival, and nearly a dozen gay bars sprinkled throughout the Quarter, the history-rich city of New Orleans has been a haven for the LGBTQ crowd since before the Civil War.
As advocates for the LGBTQ older adult community, NOAGE (https://is.gd/vRJpOp) was established to ensure that LGBTQ seniors live their best lives with the dignity, respect, and good health. There are several other LGBTQ resource groups throughout the city that are listed on the following websites: • Forum for Equality (https://is.gd/GUlC8D) • New Orleans Online (https://is.gd/T6k4hD) Nicknamed the “Big Easy” for a reason, New Orleans offers an easy, relaxed and affordable way of life. Cultural attractions and festivals, distinctive cuisine, and music provide this port city much to offer both gay visitors and
• Compass Gay and Lesbian Community Center (https://is.gd/r0lcLR) • Palm Beach Pride (https://is.gd/PvyPM1) • Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (https://is.gd/Ckqowg) • Palm Beach County NOW (https://is.gd/ OgE7Cb) • Equality Florida (https://is.gd/6KGcA7) • Prime Timers (https://is.gd/LibLxx) • West Palm Beach LGBT Meetups (https:// is.gd/yFZeia) • Gay Polo League (https://is.gd/IJuD9P) The SeniorScore for West Palm Beach is 74, which is higher than the national average. Palm Beach County has a high senior population of nearly 24 percent, and the LGBTQ population is estimated to be about 5 percent in the city.
read the rest of story online at www.therainbowtimesmass.com
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Changing Landscape: A
Trans Travel The travel experience is slowly improving for the transgender community, but many obstacles remain. stonewall today By: Andrew collins* travel columnist
“You could feel the electricity going through people. You could actually feel it. People were getting really, really pissed and uptight. I just said to myself, ‘Oh my God, the revolution is finally here,’ and I just like started screaming ‘freedom, we’re free at last!’” This is how Sylvia Ray Rivera, the Latinx transgender activist, described that momentous night of the Stonewall Riots, 50 years ago. Indeed, what most people consider the start of the modern gay rights movement began with a diverse crowd of patrons protesting outside the Stonewall Inn. Several of those brave souls, including Marsha P. Johnson—who would also become a prominent activist—were transgender. For LGBTQ travelers, the world has changed dramatically, largely in positive ways, since 1969. While virulent homophobia and discrimination still exists in far too many places, destinations and travel-related businesses all over the world now enthusiastically court and welcome gay travelers. But for transgender travelers, measuring progress—and deciding where to plan vacations—is a bit more complicated than for many other members of the queer community. “When travel locales are advertised to cisgender gay people, they tend to emphasize their own vibrant gay community,” said Gillian Branstetter, media relation’s manager of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), in Washington, DC. “Transgender people tend to be a bit more concerned with other issues while traveling, including their safety, privacy, and ability to go through airport security.” “There aren’t really locations, cities, or resorts that target or market to transgender people as a community,” said Branstetter. And while this has long been the case, and that transgender travelers are primarily only marketed to as part of the broader LGBTQ community, some destinations have, albeit relatively recently,
begun proactively reaching out to transgender travelers. A prime example is Fort Lauderdale, where tourism officials worked diligently to successfully convince one of the world’s largest transgender gatherings, the Southern Comfort Transgender Conference (SOCO), to relocate there from Atlanta in 2015. “Greater Fort Lauderdale is home to a thriving LGBT+ community, and we’re committed to inclusion and equality,” said Richard Gray, senior vice president of diversity & inclusion at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We’re continuously working to reach the transgender community to show them that we’re a destination that’s diverse, welcoming, authentic, and accepting—and most importantly, a destination where you can be free to be yourself.” These efforts shine through in the visitor bureau’s marketing materials, which depict transgender people—it’s still rare to see trans representation in marketing materials produced even by destinations with otherwise strong LGBTQ content, but these efforts are finally beginning to happen. The SOCO Conference, which started in 1991, will take place this year August 15–17 at Fort Lauderdale’s historic Riverside Hotel, which is set amid the stylish boutiques and restaurants of Las Olas Boulevard and just a short drive from the city’s stunning beachfront. Events include a mix of social and networking events, from a pajama party and river cruise to several lunches and dinners out on the town. Throughout each day of the conference, seminars and workshops address a range of topics, from doctors presenting the latest in new treatments and medical procedures to experts on insurance, ID documentation, and many other important issues. It costs $125 to register for the conference (there’s an extra cost for some activities), and the Riverside Hotel offers attendees special rates starting at just $89 nightly. Year-round, Fort Lauderdale has become one of the better destinations in the country for transgender travelers. The number of transgender residents is significant, and the broader LGBTQ community is more educated and in tune with issues that concern transgender people than in much of the country. This is generally the case among other cities with vibrant queer populations and progressive political leanings—think San Francisco, Washington, Portland, New York City, Seattle, and Chicago, to name a few. That said, according to a recent report by the NCTE, every single one of the police departments in America’s 25 largest cities has, thus far, failed to take adequate steps to ensure the safety and protect the rights of transgender people. On a more positive note, the Human Rights Campaign has identified more than 225 U.S. cities that have implemented a nondiscrimination ordinance that specifically includes gender identity (https://bit.ly/2YDUjKG). see trans travel on page 22
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trans travel from page 20 Have a look at this list, and you’ll find quite a few surprises. Tiny Montevallo is one of two municipalities (along with Birmingham) in Alabama that have such an ordinance. So, too, do nine cities in both Idaho and Kentucky. On the other hand, a number of prominent cities with sizable and highly visible transgender communities don’t have these local laws (many of them are, fortunately, in the 21 states with comprehensive statewide gender-identity protections). For many transgender people thinking about where to travel, concerns are less about tourist marketing campaigns and even specific legal protections and more just about local attitudes and the degree to which they can expect to feel safe and represented. Even if, for example, several cities in Idaho and Kentucky forbid discrimination on the basis of gender identity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these communities are especially woke in their attitudes about transgender rights. “Lexington is fine but not like the West Coast,” said a transgender man (who requested anonymity) who moved to Kentucky a couple of years ago. “The biggest issue is bathrooms. Most of the restaurants and bars don’t have single-occupancy bathrooms, and there are a few places where it feels pretty impossible to use the bathroom—no locking doors, no stall. Even when I do find single-occupancy bathrooms
here, they’re almost always gendered.” Conversely, although Houston’s infamously failed to pass gender-identity nondiscrimination ordinance in 2015, it’s still one of the better cities in the country when it comes to LGBTQ visibility, and it has a large and dynamic transgender community and excellent resources. The same could be said for Atlanta, which does have a law protecting transgender people. But Georgia and Texas are among 19 states in the country that receive a negative rating from the Transgender Law Center (https://bit. ly/2cHK6bT) on the basis of its gender-identity policies. In other words, there’s really no single metric or criteria for determining the transgender-friendliness of a place. Figuring this out requires a bit of sleuthing and ultimately considering a few different sources. Travel-related business and tourism offices, however, can take significant steps toward helping transgender visitors feel more welcome and safe. Inclusive messaging does help, not only as a welcome sign to the transgender visitors but also to heighten the awareness of these issues among cisgender allies. Hotels, restaurants, bars, and retailers can provide sensitivity training to their staffs about using neutral gender pronouns, make an active effort to employ transgender workers, and provide gender-neutral bathrooms. see trans travel on page 23
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trans travel from page 22 The aforementioned NCTE is a tremendously helpful resource for transgender travelers. It has highly informative sections on its website related to travel issues (https://bit.ly/30tBI5X) and airport-security screening (https://bit.ly/2KfP1Tn), a process that has become disturbingly more intrusive in recent years. According to the organization’s National Transgender Discrimination Survey, “nearly one in five transgender travelers reported being harassed or disrespected by airport security screeners or other airport workers.” In the face of these realities, NCTE’s section on airport security offers tips on how to pack and prepare in advance of air travel, what to do if your official ID differs from how you present your gender, what to expect from airport body scanners and during pat-downs, how best to communicate with TSA personnel, and what steps to take in the event of mistreatment or discrimination by airline staff or other officials. One factor that transgender travelers can consider when deciding where to go and which businesses to travel with is the degree to which companies have proactively worked to ensure
the safety and comfort of their transgender employees and clients. For example, Delta Airlines recently added “unspecified” and “undisclosed” as gender options for its passengers who identify as nonbinary. And, Airbnb requires all of its hosts and guests to agree to an anti-discrimination policy that includes gender identity, and the company has also joined several amicus briefs in support of transgender students waging legal battles. Also, according to a spokesperson for the company, in 2018 Airbnb launched a transgender employee group, Trans@, and “medical coverage for employees has also been expanded to now follow the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards of care.” Delta and Airbnb are among dozens of travel companies that score a perfect 100 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index (https://is.gd/Trans_Cei), along with American Airlines, Southwest, and United Airlines; Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels; Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines; and many other prominent industry members. *Writer Andrew Collins divides his time between Mexico City, Oregon, and New Hampshire. You can read more of his work at AndrewsTraveling.com.
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The Frivolist:
stay at one of these 6 LGBTQ-Welcoming Hotels for
WorldPride NYC stonewall today
By:mikey rox* special for the rainbow times
F
or the entirety of June (and the first time in its history), WorldPride lands in the center of the universe—New York City— to commemorate Stonewall’s 50th anniversary, which will culminate in the massive LGBTQ Pride March on June 30—and of course you’re gonna need a place to rest your pretty little head after each day’s blowout events. Consider booking these fine hotels that are welcoming our community with open arms.
1. INNSiDE by Meliá New York NoMad Recently TAG approved as a LGBTQ friendly hotel, INNSiDE (innsidenyc.com) by Meliá rolls out the proverbial rainbow carpet for queer guests who kick up their highest heels in spacious, stylish guestrooms that boast the most my-opinion-only comfortable beds (it’s like sweet-dreaming on a marshmallow) and
brim with natural light through oversized windows. The highly rated The Wilson restaurant, adjacent to the always-abuzz lobby, serves up affordable contemporary dishes (order the Brussels sprouts!) in the context of Manhattan dining prices, only to be usurped with walletfriendly starting stay rates of $199 a night. Meliá extends it commitment to our community beyond its physical presence as a key sponsor of the 34th Annual AIDS Walk in Central Park.
2. Arlo Hotels Arlo SoHo and Nomad boutique hotels (arlohotels.com), both of which feature floor-to-ceiling bedroom windows and stunning rooftops for sweeping views of Manhattan (plus a fullservice restaurant, bar, java shop, and 24-hour bodega for all your “supplies”), offers 15% off best available rates with code PRIDE at checkout as well as 15% off in the bodega and free coffee throughout your stay.
3. Crown Plaza HY36 The Hudson Yards-adjacent Crowne Plaza HY36 (crowneplazahy36.com) offers a Pride package for guests itching to get their party on upon check-in. Revelers who book the deal will receive a curated in-room gift bag—complete with Pride-themed bandanas, fans, and Absolut Rainbow Vodka minis—to pregame the parade, and the property will donate $5 to a select LGBTQ charity each time the package is booked. For LGBTQ couples inspired by all the love in the air, the hotel’s resident ordained minister can officiate the elopement of a lifetime on site. Paying homage to pioneering authors of the movement, the hotel also will display famed works of classic and modern LGBTQ literature throughout the common area and in-suite for guests to enjoy.
4. Moxy Hotels The newly opened Moxy Chelsea and veteran Pride destination Moxy Times Square (moxyhotels.marriot.com) will offer its Pre-Pride WarmUp package that includes access to exclusive LGBT celebrations, like the Pride Luminaries rooftop brunch and a historical excursion through Greenwich Village, plus a glass of champagne to toast LGBTQ solidarity upon arrival. In addition to the hotel package, which includes fabulous and complimentary Pride gear (packed with rainbow and glitter everything!), both properties will feature exciting programming see worldpride on page 25 24 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
worldpride from page 24 exclusive to each hotel, including a special #TALKAtMoxy at Moxy Times Square and an Instagrammable color explosion inside Putnam & Putnam’s flower shop at Moxy Chelsea.
5. Hilton Hotels Hilton’s Weekend Like a Local package includes 50% off Sunday nights plus discounts for local experiences when you book three nights
with Hilton (about 50 locations are available; travel.hilton.com) for WorldPride. Broadway shows, museums and galleries, world-class restaurants and that iconic skyline are all part of the Big Apple magic, and if you need a break from all the extra-ness of Pride proper, you can cop discounts through the hotel chain, including 50% off Unlimited Biking rental and tours, 30% off Roundabout Theatre tickets, 20% off siteseeing bus tours from On Location Tours, and
much more from participating partners. 6. AKA NYC AKA NY (stayaka.com) properties will provide travelers with Pride-themed items, a dedicated team of Pride experts to help navigate the abundant celebrations, special LGBTQ film screenings at select properties, and other exciting add-ons for travelers who book the WorldPride package. Each AKA location—in a different, vibrant neighborhood on Manhattan—will help
visitors immerse themselves in this year’s landmark celebration. To book this package, call the AKA hotel of your choice directly. *Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He spends his time writing from the beach with his dog Jaxon. Connect with Mikey on Instagram @mikeyrox (https://is.gd/ nuY3P6).
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Portland Pride
providence Pride
worcester Pride
north shore Pride
boston Pride
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For better and for worse:
Same-sex marriage, 15 years on Study on marriage equality evolution between younger & older generations stonewall today
It was in the differences between older and younger LGBQ people that I most clearly saw how much marriage has changed things. The young people with whom I spoke often seemed to be speaking a different language than their older counterparts. While older LGBQ people marveled at how they had “never expected to be able to legally marry in their lifetimes,” many younger people took their ability to marry for granted—so much so that it was often difficult for them to articulate why they wanted to do it. “It’s just what you do when you love someone,” they repeatedly said. They espoused cultural tropes like “first comes love, then comes marriage” and “if he loves me then he’ll put a ring on it,” that could have been plucked out of any heterosexual romantic comedy. They also expected their marriage proposals to have a cinematic romance to them, viewing elaborately planned proposals as a sign of their partner’s
By:abigail ocobock* special for the rainbow times
This May marks the 15-year anniversary of Massachusetts making same-sex marriage legal—the first state in the U.S. to do so. Since then, over a million people have married someone of the same sex. A record 4.5 percent of Americans now identify as LGBTQ, according to Gallup, with the biggest increases in LGBTQ identification found among millennials. Many millennials, and even more of Gen Z, came of age and entered their first relationships with legal marriage always as an option. They can’t remember, or sometimes even imagine, anything different. What impact has access to legal marriage had on LGBQ relationships? That’s what I wanted to find out, as I interviewed 120 of the country’s same-sex marriage trailblazers in Massachusetts. I write only of LGBQ people here because unfortunately no trans people took part. Research on their experiences is still sorely lacking. Married less than a year, millennial presidential hopeful and mayor of my home town, Pete Buttigieg, recently ascribed his marriage to husband Chasten the power to make him “a better person,” and bring him “closer to God.” I can’t say if marriage made any of the people I interviewed better people, and I certainly can’t speak to their relationships with God. But I know one thing for sure: having access to legal marriage changed their relationships in all kinds of ways, big and small, for better and for worse. The people I spoke to credited marriage with the power to shape everything from the minutia of who paid the rent or whether or not they stormed out of the house after an argument, to bigger relationship decisions like how they conceptualized and dealt with infidelity, and if and how to have children. The power of marriage also extended far beyond their private, couple relationships. They felt its impact in public, too, changing how they interacted with heterosexual strangers and participated in local LGBQ communities.
abigail ocobock. Photo: university of notre dame
commitment to them. In short, for younger people in same-sex relationships marriage has become a new gold standard—expected and necessary. This is not to say that older LGBQ people in long-term relationships don’t also marry or value its importance—oh, they do. But the proverbial ball and chain of marriage doesn’t weigh them down in the same ways. Over three quarters of people in their 20s and 30s told me it was important for them to marry their partners, but only a third of LGBQ people over 50 said the same. And when older people married they didn’t expect as much fanfare. Very few expected a formal proposal, viewing them as inappropriate or unnecessary at this stage of their lives or relationships. see marriage equality on page 29
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marriage equality from page 28 The older people I interviewed also seemed liberated from the kinds of pressures and problems marriage created in younger, newer relationships. Indeed, young people said they argued most about whether or not to marry. Now the be all and end all of their relationships,
people with whom I spoke appreciated being able to draw on the language of “husband” and “wife” to come out more easily. “Now you don’t even have to say you’re gay, you can just introduce your partner casually like straight people do,” a woman in her 40s explained. Moreover, regardless of whether or not they married, when marriage became legal, many ex-
“Young people saw marriage as saving them from wasting time on people who weren’t capable of making that kind of commitment.” they refused to enter relationships without the assurance of marriage and ended relationships when they got any whiff that their partners might not want to marry them. One young man whose previous relationship ended over marriage told me that now “marriage became part of the checklist, along with whether they had any criminal background” to be ascertained on first dates. Young people saw marriage as saving them from wasting time on people who weren’t capable of making that kind of commitment. Meanwhile, older people still cherished the commitments they had been able to make in the absence of law, without institutional and social support. It is not just LGBQ people’s private, couple relationships that have been profoundly changed by marriage; their community relationships have been altered too. In their relationships with heterosexuals, there was much to celebrate. The
perienced transformations in their self-esteem. “Now we can stand up tall and walk around in the world and just know that we are equal,” they told me. Although marriage may not have actually reduced the prejudice LGBQ people faced from heterosexual strangers and acquaintances, greater social inclusion seemed to give them a kind of fierce, “bring it” attitude when they confronted it. But, the more welcome and safe LGBQ people felt with heterosexuals, the less need there was to group together based on sexual orientation. Sure, LGBQ people still wanted to be friends with one another but they didn’t need to attend organized groups or events to meet because they were easily able to connect at work or their kids’ schools. “It’s not like you have to hunt to find gay friends anymore,” one man in his 40s put it. see marriage equality on page 30
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Younger people tended to see these trends as unequivocally positive. Older people mourned the once vibrant LGBQ groups that had closed their doors as “demand for them waned.” And they expressed “nostalgia for the in-community kind of feel” that dwindled along with the need to group together for solidarity, safety, and support. There are plenty of things marriage has not changed. Whether married or not, millions of LGBTQ people still live in states where they can be fired or denied housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Many people also shared the disappointment they felt on realizing that getting married couldn’t make family members accept them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, marriage often brought out the worst in people who had always treated them badly. Many described marriage as a “second coming out,” forcing people to re-live the rejection they had already endured from unsupportive family members. Nonetheless, overall same-sex marriage is a story of profound change. In just 15 years, same-sex marriage has become the law of the land transforming LGBQ relationships and communities. How one sees these changes, for better or for worse, depends in part on one’s age. Either way, there’s no going back. The young LGBQ people I met provide a glimpse into the future. It’s a future in which everyone is free to marry the person they love but faces the pressure of finding the “right one” and doing it the “right way.” It’s a future in which lovers are measured, coveted or abandoned based on their marriage material. It’s a future in which people
“The young LGBQ people I met provide a glimpse into the future. It’s a future in which everyone is free to marry the person they love but faces the pressure of finding the ‘right one’ and doing it the ‘right way.’ walk hand in hand, heads held high, but miss out on the kinds of meaningful connections and vibrant communities that are deemed no longer necessary. * University of Notre Dame Assistant Professor Abigail Ocobock obtained her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 2015, where she was a William Rainey Harper Dissertation Fellow. Dr. Ocobock’s research combines family sociology and gender and sexualities studies with institutional sociology. Her work is driven by empirical and theoretical questions about how social institutions impact our most private, intimate and familial relationships. She is particularly interested in studying how the institution of marriage shapes and constrains relationship aspirations, choices and experiences. Her current book project focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) individuals who gained access to legal marriage.
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state of mind from page 10 or same-sex touching, verbally abused with homophobic slurs by the cops, roughed up and beaten when they resisted arrest. That night, I saw butches and drag queens chew up and swallow their paper drivers’ licenses to protect their identities, and then give the cops fake names so they could not be outed to their families or employers. I was among the lucky ones who ran downstairs to the bar’s basement and escaped the cops, making our exit into the alley. What I remember at the Lost & Found was a large brick crashing through the front window. This was the Mafia intimidating the bar owner into paying up–or else. The “or else” was the cops responding to the shattered glass, and thus ensued a raid where patrons were terrorized, busted for gender non-conforming attire or same-sex touching, verbally abused with homophobic slurs by the cops, roughed up and beaten when they resisted arrest. That night, I saw butches and drag queens chew up and swallow their paper drivers’ licenses to protect their
the Stonewall was their home. They fought back to keep it. Four plain-clothes cops in dark suits and two patrol officers in uniform made the raid. When the uniformed cops arrived at the door, they yelled, “Police, we’re taking the place!” Over 200 people were inside the Stonewall. As usual, cops lined up men dressed as women and women dressed as men, and invasively checked their bodies for their biological sex, then arrested them. Scores of patrons escaped outside and gathered in front of the bar, shouting “Gay Power!” and singing “We Shall Overcome.” As if history had named the place itself, the word “stonewall” means “to block, to resist.” And resist they did! Outbreaks of violent demonstrations lasted through that night and the next, and erupted again a few nights later. What was different about a police raid this time was our response to it. Straight society for decades thought of homosexuals as meek and mild people who kept their heads down quietly or lived in the closet in fear. Bigots considered
“That night, I saw butches and drag queens chew up and swallow their paper drivers’ licenses to protect their identities, and then give the cops fake names so they could not be outed to their families or employers. I was among the lucky ones ...” identities, and then give the cops fake names so they could not be outed to their families or employers. I was among the lucky ones who ran downstairs to the bar’s basement and escaped the cops, making our exit into the alley. Police raids were a war waged against queer and trans people nightly at bars across the U.S. in the 1960s and for decades before. We were the downtrodden; ever living on the edge of society with laws against us, risking harassment or arrest just for being ourselves and reaching out for love. A few years after the Lost & Found raid, we heard in Chicago that a scene like this had a very different outcome at a bar in NYC. Ever since 1969, when I heard news about my queer and trans people rioting in rage and resistance, I have been in a Stonewall State of Mind.
“Stonewall” Means “To Resist” Planet Cis Het waged another routine police raid against poor drag and trans people primarily of color and young working-class gays and lesbians in the early morning hours of Friday, June 28, 1969–at a gritty, local dive in Greenwich Village at 53 Christopher Street, the Stonewall Inn. The bar catered to diverse patrons including the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community, drag queens, transgender people, effeminate young men, butch lesbians, male prostitutes, and homeless youth. At the time, the Stonewall Inn was Mafiaowned; its financial relationship with the NYPD solidified repeat oppression against its customers. When the NYPD was unable to get kickbacks from blackmail of wealthier customers at the bar, they decided to close down the place. However, to many of the “street kids,”
their loving nature to be an immutable weakness. The Stonewall riots broke that stereotype. This time, trans and queer people, fed up with oppression, waged a furious physical fightback against the cops. The intensity and duration of their resistance was new and reverberated throughout the nation and the world. At Stonewall, hundreds of queer and trans people fought the police with their fists and thrown objects. They pulled up a parking meter and used it to barricade police inside the bar, started fires, and damaged cars and property as crowds of 500 to 1,000 people rioted in the surrounding streets. Stonewall was the flashpoint that gave painful birth to the modern LGBTQ Rights Movement. For a complete history, see the Wikipedia page (https://is.gd/wikiStonewall), “Stonewall riots.” This was not the first street protest or group resistance by trans and queer people in the United States. In May 1959 at Coopers Do-nuts in Los Angeles, in response to police harassment, trans women, drag queens, lesbians, and gay men pelted the cops with donuts and hot coffee cups. On April 25, 1965, queer people of color, many of them cross-dressed, staged the Philadelphia Lunch Counter Sit-in in protest of denial of service there. Homosexuals and lesbians organized the Annual Reminder Day pickets each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and outside the White House in Washington, DC, protesting against employment discrimination and inequality. On July 18, 1966, a picket by trans women of color and queers over denial of service at Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco and arrests of males dressed as women resulted in a riot against police harassment. see state of mind on page 60
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“
Being Trans, Genderfluid, & an Artist stonewall today
By: la espiritista*
My name, La Espiritista, means “the spiritualist” in Spanish—the medium between this physical world and the spiritual world—a healer who is a conduit for receiving and delivering messages. I am a human who also happens to be an Author, Performance Artist, and trans (AFAB – Assigned Female At Birth). My transness is not binary, so I use the term non-binary some instances, but I mostly like the terms genderfluid and two-spirit for myself. Two-spirit is an umbrella term, which was created for the First Nations Peoples of this land of the U.S. who are both male and female, but these peoples existed and exist in indigenous communities throughout the entire world. My people come from Peru and Cuba, and although I am not entirely sure the specific indigenous ancestors I come from, because of accessibility and generational trauma, in respect to whatever the word was for my ancestors, I use this term. I will be releasing my first book of poetry But-
terfly: Una Transformacion this August 2019, which I am extremely excited to share with the greater sphere! The book is ultimately about transformation, which as artists we transform things all the time. see TGA on page 34
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TGA from page 33 We may transform our grief into beautiful poetry. We may transform our joy into high rhythmic vibes. We may transform our anger into an invigorating sex novel. The potential for transformation as artists is limitless and, as artists who are non-binary, we truly hold a deep integral understanding of this medicine in many ways. Right now, in this very moment, I can count the number of non-binary authors that have their book published with my own two hands. I can also count the number of non-binary authors who have been publicly recognized in one. How about those who are non-binary and people of color? Currently, I can’t think of any off the top of my head, which is a huge issue. There is an illusion of scarcity for artists who are non-binary, when in reality there is an abundance of us creating right here, right now. So often I hear stories whether in employment spaces, media, educational institutions, that there just weren’t “enough” folks who were non-binary who could fill the role, or who were qualified enough. The truth is that there are more of us that I can keep track on my hand, let alone my head that can fulfill and participate in many of these roles. We are ignored, while only a few of us are
granted a voice and a platform. Really, the folks who can be palatable enough for folks in power. We are expected to believe this is good enough—that since we know one story, we know them all.
There are so many struggles within the LGBT community as a whole because we all live within a spectrum of intersecting identities. We are all trying to figure out who our true authentic selves really are.
When we think about artists, we can see how one prompt can create so many variations of interpretation from it and it often baffles me how people can’t bridge how the same goes for folks who are non-binary. There is limitless potential for the way an identity and expression can unfold. Scarcity mentality is something I struggle with a lot and that I witness our community battling with daily, so I think it’s important to name it, call ourselves back, and transform it into gratitude, appreciation, and inspiration. For myself, as a person of color, I am born being told I lack and am inferior because of white supremacy. As a person coming from low socioeconomic status, I am facing the trauma from my past reality of lacking adequate access to resources such as sustainable food, clothes, and other basic needs. As a person who is trans and non-binary, I now have to face the truth that I really will never have it be simple and “straightforward.” There are so many struggles within the LGBT community as a whole because we all live within a spectrum of intersecting identities. We are all trying to figure out who our true authentic selves really are. Often times, I see conflict between people with different identities in the community and even with folks who identify the same way. For myself, my experience in the more mainstream LGBT binary community may not be understood. Folks usually assume I am trans masculine, a trans man, or a cis man, when all these are incorrect for myself. Some conflict may arise with folks who make similar decisions to transition medically like myself, but may identify in a different way, for example a binary trans man. see TGA on page 37
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TGA from page 34 I don’t think we can ever truly understand someone else’s experience to be quite honest, but I am dreaming a world where we can accept that we won’t ever understand everything and that even with that truth we are still responsible to create, hold, and manifest space where we can all coexist together. I exist to hold space for another’s healing process and that begins with
we can unite to uplift each other. I want to gently remind myself and us that we can always transform this for ourselves and remember that we are far stronger together. * La Espiritista (They/Them) is an author, performance artist, and healer based out of Seattle, WA (occupied Duwamish land). They are a co-founder of “Share the Spirit,” a small healing arts business that helps individuals
“We are ignored, while only a few of us are granted a voice and a platform. ... We are expected to believe this is good enough—that since we know one story, we know them all.” holding space for my full holistic being. Scarcity can be an ugly force to reckon with because so often it fuels our envy and jealousy. I think for people who are also non-binary, this can be a huge issue that really sets us back from achieving our highest and fullest potential. We can get so caught up in trying to compete with each other when, in reality, we need to be joining forces and creating new opportunities to collaborate. We need to come back to our centers and expand from there, find ways which
clear limiting beliefs, heal energetic wounds, and open creative channels. They are the author of “Butterfly: Una Transformación,” a collection of poetry which speaks about the process of inner transformation through four phases of metamorphosis: release. renewal. retreat. rebirth. Their art is a manifestation of their exploration of queer spirituality. You can pre-order“Butterfly: Una Transformación,” at https://is.gd/Espiritista.
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Welcome:
Salem Mayor On Stonewall & Pride stonewall today
By: mayor kimberley driscoll* special to the rainbow times
I
port of our LGBTQ neighbors and friends. They strengthen our city’s fabric and we value their important contributions to all that makes Salem the vibrant community that it is today. This year, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, our nation continues to struggle in the fight for full equality. Pride Month is a chance to not only celebrate those victories that we’ve achieved together, but to also recommit ourselves to all the important work that remains to be done. And I hope you’ll take this opportunity to join with me in doing just that. Happy Pride—and onward!
am so proud that Salem is Photo by: John Andrews once again celebrating Pride Month! While famous for a tragic episode of *Kim Driscoll is Salem’s first woman Mayor. discrimination and persecution in 1692, Salem Salem has been forward-looking under Kim’s has come a long way in its commitment to the administration. From one of the first nonadvance of human rights and social justice. discrimination ordinances in Massachusetts Today, we are a community that places tremenand a 100% score on the Municipal Equality dous value on ensuring equal protection under Index, to major investments in veterans’ benefits, the law—no matter who you are, who you love, to the first age-friendly action plan certified in where you come from, or how you identify. Mass. and the new senior center, Salem, under Mayor Driscoll, has been—first and foremost— More than three decades after the Witch Trials, about including and welcoming everyone. Kim’s our history has led us to become a city that does leadership has helped transform Salem into what more than simply recognize our diversity: we Boston Magazine called in 2013 one of Massachampion it. In Salem, we welcome all people chusetts “Best Places to Live.” In 2017, Kim was to visit, live, study, and work in our incredible, elected to her fourth term as Salem’s Mayor and hip, and historic community. she remains just as optimistic and hopeful about Salem’s future, and just as committed to leading Salem is at the forefront of equality and we this great city forward. Read the rest of Mayor’s stand in unequivocal solidarity with and supDriscoll bio here (https://bit.ly/2YyHHEF).
Proud to stand with the LGBTQ community! Happy Pride! State Representative Paul Tucker
- Paid for by the Committee to Elect Paul Tucker -
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Providence Pride Illuminated Night Parade Credit: Providence CVB
Celebrating Pride in Unexpected Places: Intimate Prides That Will Still Blow Your Mind
stonewall today By: Andrew Collins* Travel Columnist
I
f revel in the camaraderie and positive energy of attending Pride festivals, or even if you just have a mild interest in LGBTQ history, New York City is great place to be in June. In 2019, the city—and, in fact, all of New York State—hosts a monthlong series of events that will both commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and celebrate WorldPride (held on U.S. soil for the first time since it began in 2000). WorldPride–Stonewall 50 (2019-worldpride-stonewall50.nycpride.org) is presenting dozens amazing parties, rallies, and cultural programs, culminating, of course, with the legendary NYC Pride March, on Sunday, June 30. Countless Pride festivals and marches take place during June Pride Month, including a number of high-profile ones—Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC among them. But many other destinations, especially those outside the United States, stage their Prides at other times, often in summer or fall. It’s worth noting that the size and popularity of a festival doesn’t always correspond with the city it’s held in. It might surprise you, for example, that Columbus Pride draws among the largest crowds in the country, far more than any other Ohio city and even more than Chicago. The largest Pride celebration in Florida? It’s not Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or Orlando, but rather
the laid-back and increasingly hip Gulf Coast city of St. Petersburg. Another point to keep in mind: when it comes to enjoying Pride festivals, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Although it can be exhilarating to join thousands of allies at a major gathering, smaller Pride celebrations offer certain advantages. They’re usually free or inexpensive but still often book the same top-name music and comic acts that appear at larger events—and it’s easier to get close to the stage when the crowd is smaller. More intimate Prides can also feel friendlier and more community-oriented, and they frequently offer excellent programming for families, teens, seniors, and others who might feel a bit overwhelmed by bigger gatherings. In the spirit of celebrating Pride in less obvious places, here’s a look at 10 underrated favorites throughout the U.S. and Canada. Allentown, PA (bradburysullivancenter.org/pride) One of several popular and well-attended Pride events in Pennsylvania, beyond the expectedly big and lively celebrations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Lehigh Valley Pride is held August 18 in Allentown and is produced by that city’s first-rate Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center. Some 5,000 participants attend this colorful festival, which is headlined this year by RuPaul Drag Race stars Silky Nutmeg Ganache and A’Keria C. Davenport and includes a rally, kids and teen spaces, drag bingo, and a big after party. see unexpected places on page 42
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unexpected places from page 40 Asheville, NC (blueridgepride.org) A liberal beacon in a deeply divided “purple” state that’s been at the heart of some notorious recent LGBTQ rights battles, Asheville has a tremendous amount going for it as a queer travel destination: a super-inclusive LGBTQ scene, outstanding craft breweries and restaurants, cool arts galleries, and proximity to spectacular natural scenery, from the 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate to magnificent Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On September 28, the city hosts the Blue Ridge Pride Festival, an event that began just 11 years ago and has been instrumental in promoting LGBTQ visibility, diversity, and education throughout all of western North Carolina. Burlington, VT (pridevt.org) As summer draws to a close in the bucolic Green Mountain State, bustling Burlington hosts Vermont Pride. The main events take place on Sunday, September 8, and include an early afternoon parade through downtown that ends near gorgeous Lake Champlain at Battery Park, where a diverse, family-friendly festival offers dancing, poetry, burlesque, and music. This final weekend caps off a full week of LGBTQ events that include kid-friendly dragqueen story hour, a women’s tea dance, a Pride brunch, and more. Harlem, NY (harlempride.org) Not only does every borough in NYC hold its own Pride festival, the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem—long one of America’s thriving hubs of African American culture—has been the site of an increasingly popular Pride celebration since 2010. With WorldPride– Stonewall 50 taking place the same weekend in lower Manhattan, you can bet that this year’s Harlem Pride, which includes a number of events throughout the month of June and concludes with a 10th Anniversary Celebration Day on June 29, will be extra special. New Orleans, LA (togetherwenola.com/pride) Perhaps no American city is more famous for celebrations than New Orleans, which has held a raucous gay Southern Decadence weekend every Labor Day since 1972, not to mention over-the-top Mardi Gras parties for more than 200 years. Although this bastion of queer culture organized its first Pride in 1971, the event was pretty low-keyed for a time and has only recently developed into the spirited three-day festival it is today. Held the first weekend of June, Pride comprises fabulous galas and balls, the highlight of which is a Mardi Gras–style Pride procession through the French Quarter. Palm Springs, CA (pspride.org) The West Coast’s premiere queer resort destination, Palm Springs has for years drawn its biggest LGBTQ crowds for two circuit party events in April, Dinah Shore Weekend and White Party. But as this small city’s year-round community has grown and diversified in recent years, Palm Springs Pride—held the first weekend in November—has become a firstrate celebration in its own right. Featuring a Stonewall Equality Concert, a two-day festival centered around downtown and the lively gay bar strip on Arenas Road, and a Sunday Pride
Parade, it also takes place during a particularly beautiful time to visit Palm Springs. Be sure to set aside an extra day to explore nearby Joshua Tree National Park and ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to 8,500-foot Mt. Jacinto. Providence, RI (prideri.org) One of the New England’s top LGBTQ festivals, Rhode Island Pride in Providence is one of only few such celebrations that stage a Pride Parade after dark. Held this year on June 15, the PrideFest and Illuminated Night Parade take place in the heart of this progressive and vibrant city’s downtown, with the festival running throughout the afternoon along South Water Street and featuring several notable bands and drag talents, a kids zone, and a Ferris Wheel. The wildly colorful and festive Night Parade, which included a record number of floats and contingents last year, kicks off outside City Hall at 8:30 p.m. Salt Spring Island, BC (daissi.org/salt-spring-pride) This epically picturesque jewel of the Canada’s Gulf Islands, easily reached from Vancouver and Victoria by ferry, has just 10,000 yearround residents but a remarkably active and visible LGBTQ community. Pride here is a relaxed five-day affair held the first weekend after Labor Day and drawing a mix of locals and tourists. Gatherings are friendly and welcoming and have in the past included poetry readings, drag karaoke, salmon barbecues, waterfront picnics, and a parade and party in the island’s scenic main village, Ganges. Santa Fe, NM (pridesantafe.org) Known for its easy-going, local vibe, Pride in the so-called City Different takes place the last week in June. In addition to several parties and a Saturday Pride Parade, notable events over the weekend include a birdwatching trek at the Audubon Center, a comedy night with Vickie Shaw, and a “sensual art show” at Santa Fe’s dazzling, one-of-a-kind art space, Meow Wolf. Long a haven of artists, writers, musicians, and other creative spirits, this stunningly situated, outdoorsy city in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains has become especially popular with LGBTQ retirees over the years, which gives Pride here a more multi-generational feel than some. Calendar note: the world-famous summer-long Santa Fe Opera kicks off the same weekend as Pride. Saskatoon, SK (saskatoonpride.ca) This fast-growing, livable city in the heart of Canada’s Prairie Provinces has a stellar queer scene that’s especially fun to experience during its mid-June Pride celebration. Top activities during this eclectic nine-day festival include Pride at the Movies, a family barbecue, openmic and storytelling gatherings, and a “queers without beers” sober dance. During the big final weekend, revelers gather for a two-day Pride in the Park festival overlooking the beautiful South Saskatchewan River and a Saturday procession that’s considered the largest parade of any kind in Saskatoon. *Writer Andrew Collins divides his time between Mexico City, Oregon, and New Hampshire. You can read more of his work at AndrewsTraveling.com.
42 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
the
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 43
our pride picks. May 31; Pride Family Movie Night
8p; Boston Common; Boston, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/trtfb19
June 1-30; World Pride 2019: Stonewall 50; NYC Pride FMI: https://is.gd/ trtfb19
June 2; AIDS Walk & Run
DCR Hatch memorial Cell; Boston MA; FMI: https://is.gd/gUgMVJ
June 4; Pride Lights: Honoring Lost Ones to HIV Epidemic 6-8p; Blackstone Square Park; Boston, MA; FMI: https:// is.gd/vf10Uy
June 5; Stonewall Uprising Documentary 6:30-8p; Boston Public Library; 700 Boylston St, Boston, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/ vf10Uy
June 7; Boston Dyke March;
6p; Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common, Boston, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/bosdyke
June 7; Official Night Parade Dyke March 8:30p; Downtown After Party Providence, RI; FMI: 9p-1a; Bella Luna & Milky Way, The Brewery 284 Amory St, Jamaica Plain MA 02130; 21+; Dine, Drink & Dance; DJ MaryAlice; Full menu served till 10:30p. FMI: https://is.gd/ Kporter19
June 8; Cambridge Pride Brunch
9-11 am; Cambridge City Hall; 795 Massachusetts Ave; Cambridge, Mass.; Accessible; Free Bus to Pride March; delicious food; Community Recognition Awards. FMI: 617-349-4692 (voice), 617-492-0235 (tty).
June 8; LUSH: Official Womxn Pride Party
9p-2a; ICON Nightclub, 100 Warrenton St Boston; 21+; Kristen Porter Presents Dyke Night® hosts the longest running most award winning womxn pride party in the city; FMI: https://is.gd/ Kporter19
June 15; In Harmony: Free Concert Celebrating Pride
5-6:30p; Mathewson St. United Methodist Church; 134 Mathewson St, Providence, RI; FMI: https://is.gd/ trtfb19
June 15; RI Pride Illuminated
https://is.gd/trtfb19
June 19; LGBT Pride Celebration Luncheon; 12 noon; Free luncheon with entertainment, DJ, and line dancing; Duxbury Senior Center; 10 Mayflower St; All welcome; FMI: https:// is.gd/Rln3ap
June 22; North Shore Pride Parade 2019
12-1p; Salem Common, N Washington Square, Salem, MA; Parade will kick-off at Shetland Park and lead to the Salem Common where the festival will take place. $ prize awards for parade entries. Prizes will be awarded at the Festival on the Salem Common following the Parade. FMI: https://is.gd/ nsp2019
June 22; North Shore Pride Festival 2019 1-5p; Salem Common, N Washington Square; Salem, MA; FMI: : https://is.gd/ nsp2019
June 26; Pride Luncheon for LGBTQ Veterans and Their Allies; 11:30a-1p;
Northampton VA Medical Center; FMI: 413-584-4040 x2933
44 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
pride events. P-TOWN PRIDE
May 31 to June 2 Provincetown, MA https://bit.ly/2rYyack
BOSTON PRIDE
May 31 to June 9 Boston, MA bostonpride.org
HULL PRIDE June 1 Hull, MA hullpride.net
SANFORD PRIDE PICNIC June 1 Sanford, ME https://bit. ly/2YuxYPU
SOUTH COAST PRIDE
June 1 New Bedford, MA https://bit.ly/2Vv1KSJ
CENTRAL MAINE PRIDE
June 2 Waterville, ME https://is.gd/0iMlcb
CONCORD PRIDE
June 2 Concord, NH prideconcordnh.org
QUINCY Q PRIDE DAY June 2
Quincy, MA qprideday.com
BOSTON DYKE MARCH June 7 Boston, MA bostondykemarch. com
PRIDE PORTLAND!
June 7-15 https://is.gd/tN46bf
HALLOWELL PRIDE June 7-9 Hallowell, ME https://bit. ly/2w81Mpn
BELFAST PRIDE
June 8 Belfast, ME https://bit. ly/2Wbmgw0
FAIRFIELD COUNTY PRIDE
BANGOR PRIDE June 22 Bangor, ME https://bit. ly/2Q7yHDw
CAPE COD PRIDE
June 22 Hyannis, MA capecodpride.org
PORTSMOUTH PRIDE June 22 Portsmouth, NH https://bit. ly/2WQEq3b
BAR HARBOR PRIDE June 27-30 Bar Harbor, ME barharborpride.com
NASHUA PRIDE
June 29 Nashua, NH https://bit.ly/2JJxoJY
June 8 Norwalk, CT https://bit. ly/2nc50mm
PEABODY, MASS PRIDE
MIDDLETOWN PRIDE
PRIDE LEWISTON-AUBURN
June 15 Middletown, CT https://bit. ly/2VMwyTN
RI PRIDEFEST June 15 Providence, RI www.prideri.org
More on page 52
regional
June 29 https://is.gd/kPU4n2
June 29 Lewiston, ME https://bit. ly/2WbIQoa
RURAL PRIDE NH
July15 Claremont, NH https://is.gd/Vg1jtu
NORTH SHORE PRIDE NOWOCO June 20-22 PRIDE Salem, MA northshorepride.org
July 19-21 Fitchburg, MA https://is.gd/P53Xre
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 45
the listings
50 NYC Pride
pride 30-June events. May 2; Womxn of FMI: https://is.gd/ trtfb19
May 28; Black Pride, Latinx Event Happy Birthday, Marsha! Screening & Panel Discussion; 6-9p; Strand Theater (Dorchester, MA);
May 31-June 8; Boston Pride
Boston MA; FMI: https://is.gd/bp2019
May 30; Pride Sports Event; Daybreaker Yoga & Dance
6-8a; 1 Faneuil Hall Square; Boston, MA
May 31; Flag Raising Ceremony
Noon; City Hall; Boston, MA; FMI: https:// is.gd/trtfb19
May 31; Pride Family Movie Night 8p; Boston Common; Boston, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/trtfb19
June 1-30; World Pride 2019 | Stonewall
trtfb19
June 1 (4:30-7p) June 14 (2-9p) June 20 (6-10p)
Events to commemorate the Color Week- 50th Anniend versary of P-Town; FMI: https:// Stonewall
wocw.org/
May 31 & June 1; Boston Gay Men’s Chorus presents: God Save the Queens
8p; NE Conservatory’s Jordan Hall; $20.00$125.00; Featuring music from The Beatles, Sir Elton John, the Spice Girls, Sting, David Bowie, Boy George, Wham, One Direction, Adele & Queen!; FMI: https:// bit.ly/2HkGtal
May 31-June 2; Provincetown Pride FMI: ptown.org
May 31; 3rd Annual Pride Idol
Mirabar Bar; Rhode Island; 7:30-11:30p; FMI: https://is.gd/ trtfb19
June 1; Pride Day @ Faneuil Hall 12-5p; Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston; FMI: https://is.gd/
Real Arts Ways; 56 Arbor St; Hartford CT; FMI: 860.232.1006
June 1; Join Racial Justice Rising for a free film followed by a discussion
10:15a-12:15p; Doors open @ 9:45a; First Congregational Church, 43 Silver Street, Greenfield; FMI email@racialjusticerising.org to reserve child care (include number and ages of children).
June 2; Boston Gay Men’s Chorus presents: God Save the Queens
8p; New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall; $20.00$125.00; Featuring music from The Beatles, Sir Elton John, the Spice Girls, Sting, David Bowie, Boy George, Wham, One Direction, Adele and, of course, Queen!; FMI: https://bit. ly/2HkGtal
46 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
the listings
pride events. June 2; AIDS Walk & Run
DCR Hatch memorial Cell; Boston MA; FMI: https://is.gd/gUgMVJ
June 7; Official Dyke March After Party
9p-1a; Bella Luna & Milky Way, The Brewery 284 Amory St, Jamaica Plain MA 02130; 21+; Dine, Drink & Dance; DJ MaryAlice; Full menu served till 10:30p (reservation & advanced tix recommended); FMI: https://is.gd/Kporter19
June 4; Trivia Eleganza Extravaganza June 8; 7:30-10p; Register Cambridge your team; Win Prizes; Pride Club Cafe Boston; Brunch Boston, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/Rln3ap
June 4; Pride Lights: Honoring Lost Ones to HIV Epidemic 6-8p; Blackstone Square Park; Boston, MA; FMI: https:// is.gd/vf10Uy
9-11 am; Cambridge City Hall; 795 Massachusetts Ave; Cambridge, Mass.; Accessible; Free Bus to Pride March; delicious food; presenting the Community Recognition Awards, the Bayard Rustin Service Award, and the Rose Lipkin Scholarship Award; FMI: 617-3494692 (voice), 617492-0235 (tty).
June 5; Stonewall Uprising Documentary June 8; LUSH: Offi6:30-8p; Boston cial Womxn Public Library; 700 Boylston St, Boston, Pride Party MA; FMI: https:// is.gd/vf10Uy
June 7; Boston Dyke March 6p; Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common, Boston, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/ bosdyke
9p-2a; ICON Nightclub, 100 Warrenton St Boston; 21+; Kristen Porter Presents Dyke Night® hosts the longest running most award winning womxn pride party in the city; FMI: https:// is.gd/Kporter19
June 9; JP Outdoor Block Party with the Divas, Dogs & Drag King Show
1-8p; Outdoor 1 Perkins Ave, between South Huntington Ave & Centre St Jamaica Plain; Entrance at Hyde Square; All Ages; Over 2K womxn, queer, trans & nonbinary folk, drag kings & queens, along w/ families & friends of all ages take over Perkins Street for a fun outdoor party w/cash bars & food truck. Kids Zone features face painting, games, dress up photo booth, & Drag Story time (2p). After the show, the street morphs into one giant dance floor with DJ L’Duke (LeahV) until 8p. FMI: https://is.gd/uOpgAA
June 10; Panel Discussion: In Search of Stonewall;
6:30p; Boston Public Library; FMI: https:// is.gd/trtfb19
More Events on Page 48
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 47
the listings
https://is.gd/trtfb19 June 18; 2019 Lynn Pride Flag Raising Ceremony 6-6:45p; Lynn City Hall; FMI: https://is.gd/trtfb19
pride events. June 19; June 13; Justice for All: GLAD’s 2019 RI Event
6-8p; Providence Art Club; 11 Thomas Street, Providence, RI; FMI: https://is.gd/ neu5vr
June 15; In Harmony: Free Concert Celebrating Pride
5-6:30p; Mathewson St. United Methodist Church; 134 Mathewson St, Providence, RI; FMI: https://is.gd/trtfb19
June 15; RI PrideFest: Live Your Truth
11a-7p; Not Free; FMI: https://is.gd/trtfb19
June 15; RI Queer Pride Party 8p-2a; FMI: https:// is.gd/trtfb19
June 15; RI Pride Illuminated Night Parade 8:30p; Downtown Providence, RI; FMI:
LGBT Pride Celebration Luncheon 12 noon; Free luncheon with entertainment, DJ, and line dancing; Duxbury Senior Center; 10 Mayflower St; All welcome; FMI: https:// is.gd/Rln3ap
June 20; Rainbow Elders Luncheon Club
Provides a hot meal to LGBTIQA people 60+, their friends & any supportive members of the public at large; $3 suggested donation to elders; South County Senior Center; Noon; 67 N. Main Street , South Deerfield, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/trtfb19
June 21; The Rainbow Times’ Pride Kick-Off Benefit cruise 7-9:30p; Pickering Wharf, Salem, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/ trtcruise19
NORTH SHORE PRIDE The Rainbow Times is the proud Main Media Partner of this pride in 2019. Events in purple.
June 20; North Shore Pride InterFaith Service 2019; 7-9p; Tabernacle Church Salem, 50 Washington St Salem, MA; More than a dozen North Shore churches, temples, synagogues and spiritual communities will come together to celebrate our shared commitment to the values of community, diversity, and equality for all that drive our 50+ year movement for equality; ASL; FMI: https://is.gd/ nsp2019
June 21: North Shore Pride Kick Off Party 7p-12a; Derby Restaurant Salem; FMI: https://is.gd/ nsp2019
June 22; North Shore Pride Parade 2019 12-1p; Salem Common, N Washington Square, Salem, MA; The 2019 North Shore Pride Parade will kickoff at Shetland Park and lead to the Salem Common where the festival will take place. $ prize awards for parade entries. Prizes will be awarded at the Festival on the Salem Common following the Parade. FMI: https://is.gd/ nsp2019
48 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
the listings
pride events.
June 29; Peabody Pride! 3-9p (3-5 Family Friendly—5p, Rainbow Flag raising—9p City Hall lights up in rainbow colors); 1 Lowell St., Peabody; FMI: https://is.gd/ kPU4n2
June 22; North Shore July 21; Bear Pride Festival Week 1-5p; Salem Common, N Washington Square; Salem, MA; FMI: : https://is.gd/ nsp2019
P-Town; ptownbears. org/
July 24 Aug.17; King for a Day June 22; North Shore Drag King Pride Adult Course After Party Dates and times Murphy’s, Salem, MA; FMI: https://is.gd/ nsp2019
June 22; North Shore Pride Youth After Party FMI: https://is.gd/ nsp2019
June 26; Pride Luncheon for LGBTQ Veterans and Their Allies
11:30a-1p; Northampton VA Medical Center; FMI: 413-5844040 x2933
June 27-30; Men of Color Weekend P-Town FMI: https://is.gd/ WbveEs
vary; Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA; 18+; From persona development to makeup, costuming to choreography, working the stage and the audience-this course covers everything you need to know about your mansformation & provides guidance from professions working in the industry. All levels & all orientations/identities/ humans aged 18 & older welcome. Week 4 you will show off your new King persona on stage in a live show; FMI: https:// is.gd/6NAxxF
July 27-Aug. 3; Family Week
gathering; All Family members; From Sunrise to sunset; FMI: https://is.gd/7faOtw
Aug. 15-24; P-Town Carnival “The Enchanted Forest” Parade
Aug. 22; FMI: https:// is.gd/bM0J2N
Aug. 17; King for a Day™ Drag King Show
8-9:30p; Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave, Boston; 21+; Drag Boston brings you the King for a Day™ Drag Show celebrating the mansformation of our newest King for a Day Workshop graduates. Limited VIP Seating; purchase/ reserve early. Come early to enjoy dinner & save 20% off food purchase w/advanced tix. [Not a dinner theater.]; Tix: https:// is.gd/GAh8PC
Aug. 31- Sept. 8; Pride VT; Parade & Festival Sept. 8; FMI: http:// pridevt.org
More Events on page 50
P-Town, MA; Largest LGBTQ families
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 49
the listings
have a safe &
pride happy pride! In solidarity, events. The Rainbow Times’ staff Sept. 11- Oct. 5; King for a Day Drag King Course
Dates and times vary; Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave, Boston; 18+; From persona development to makeup, costuming to choreography, working the stage and the audience-this course covers everything you need to know about your mansformation and provides guidance from professions working in the industry. All levels & all orientations/identities/humans aged 18 & older welcome. Week 4 you will show off your new King persona on stage in a live show; FMI: https://is.gd/6NAxxF
Boston; 21+; Drag Boston brings you the King for a Day™ Drag Show celebrating the mansformation of our newest King for a Day Workshop graduates. Limited VIP reserved table seating; purchase early. Come early to enjoy dinner & save 20% off food purchase w/ advanced tix. [Not a dinner theater.]; Tix @ https://is.gd/GAh8PC
Oct. 14-20; Women’s Week; P-Town
FMI: https://is.gd/ wwptown
Oct. 20-27; Fantasia Fair
P-Town; FMI: https:// is.gd/akW1rM
Sept. 28; Pet October 25; Appreciation 20TH Annual Weekend Spirit of JusP-Town, MA; tice Award FMI: https:// Dinner is.gd/38uRDZ Oct 5; King for a Day™ Drag King Show
* Check dates and information with each organization prior to attending any of these events.
Disclaimer: The Rainbow Times, LLC, its New England Pride Guide, its management, nor any other entity that the company oversees are not responsible for date changes, last-minute discrepancies nor cancellations made to the events on this list by their organizers.
6:30-11p; Boston Marriott Copley Place; 110 Huntington Ave, Boston; FMI: https:// is.gd/IqtIEq
8-9:30p; Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave, 50 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 51
regional
pride events. NEW LONDON PRIDE
August 23-26 New London, CT newlondonpride.com
WORCESTER PRIDE September 4-7 Worcester, MA worcesterpride.org
HARTFORD
CAPITAL CITY PRIDE September 7 Hartford, CT hartfordpride.org
PRIDE VERMONT September 8 Burlington, VT pridevt.org
PRIDE NEW HAVEN September 16-22 New Haven, CT https://bit. ly/2w8LRqE
SPRINGFIELD MASS PRIDE
*Check dates and information with each organization prior to attending any of these events. The Rainbow Times, LLC, its New England Pride Guide, its management, nor any other entity that the company oversees are not responsible for date changes, last-minute discrepancies nor cancellations made to the events on this list by their organizers.
Date TBD Springfield, MA https://bit. ly/2Q8JAoI
52 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
PROUDLY by your side everyday
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 53
the listings
Transgender Marches, Events, & Conferences Professionals for Trans Rights May 31 https://bit. ly/2VyikRM
Pride Toronto Trans March
June 21 https://bit.ly/2VK5lBj
San Francisco Trans March
Aug. 1-4 San Diego, CA https://is.gd/XmyxJB
Beyond Gender Conference
August/TBD https://is.gd/pENzo8
Southern Comfort Conference
June 28 https://bit. ly/2JMTRpv
Aug. 15-19 https://is.gd/eOZTJ9
Trans Pride Seattle
Oct. 19 Richmond, VA https://is.gd/ ties2019
June 28 https://bit.ly/2VKiWII
San Francisco Trans March
Virginia TIES
Fantasia Fair Provincetown 2019
Oct. 20-27 P-Town, MA https://is.gd/MuIjOi
NY Coming Out Trans Conf.
Oct. 30-Nov.3 New York City https://is.gd/Xg9ZYf
Gender Revolution
Nov. 9 Location TBD https://is.gd/sydgd9 * Check dates and information with each organization prior to attending any of these events. The Rainbow Times, LLC, its New England Pride Guide, its management, nor any other entity that the company oversees are not responsible for date changes, last-minute discrepancies nor cancellations made to the events on this list by their organizers.
June 28 https://bit. ly/2VMBp7L
Texas Trans Nondiscrimination Summit June 28-29 Houston, TX https://is.gd/OJDoMK
Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference July 25-27 https://is.gd/ptwc19
Gender Oddysey 54 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
“Hairpin drop heard around the world”:
50 Years Since
Stonewall & the birth of Gay Liberation stonewall yesterday & today
By: keegan o’brien*newall
F
ifty years ago this June, in the summer of 1969, patrons at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City, fought back against abusive police, and in doing so launched the modern, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer movement. With the Supreme Court’s historic legalization of samesex marriage in 2015 and increased acceptance and representation of LGBTQ people in popular culture, it’s undeniable that we have come a long way—from a time when cops routinely raided gay bars, and being “outed” guaranteed a person would be labeled a sexual psychopath, black listed, ostracized by friends and family, and legally barred from employment in most occupations. It’s no exaggeration to say that many of the freedoms experienced by LGBTQ people today would have been inconceivable just a couple generations ago. But with Trump’s election in 2016, all of that has come under threat. From the Administration’s attacks against trans people to support for so-called “Religious Liberties” and “Bathroom Bill” legislation, many of the gains won in previous years have come under attack from a well-organized, highly funded right-wing assault. The outcome has been disastrous, especially for the most vulnerable sections of the LGBTQ community—people of color, trans people, and queer youth. In response, mainstream
keegan o’briennewall
LGBT organizations—also referred to as Gay Inc. —have not organized a serious resistance. Instead, they remain tied to Corporate America and prefer a strategy that relies exclusively on lobbying the Democratic Party rather than confronting the institutions of political power that have the money and resources to implement impactful legal and structural reforms. In this context studying the Stonewall Rebellion and the gay liberation movement provides activists and radicals with lessons for confronting the political challenges we face today and rebuilding a movement for sexual and gender liberation.
The Formation of a Movement
While people have been sexually intimate with others of the same sex since the beginning
of time, the social construction of a gay identity is a new phenomenon. It was only through the development of capitalist industrialization and the accompanying emergence of large urban centers, and the transformative effect this process had on social life, that the material conditions for the development of an LGBTQ identity and community became possible. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, an extensive underground gay world began to develop in major U.S. cities. However it was not until World War II—what many gay historians refer to as a national “coming out” experience— that LGBTQ history would undergo a qualitative turning point. The 1950s ushered in a period of conservatism along with growing cultural attention to homosexuality. On the one hand, McCarthyism unleashed a government-sponsored witch-hunt against communists and leftists and a widespread campaign known as the Lavender Scare (https://is.gd/ AMdO10) to remove gays and lesbians from government occupations. Police surveillance and repression against gay bars and cruising spots intensified, creating devastating consequences for those who were caught. Gay men who were arrested would have their name and picture published in the newspaper, which would more often than not lead to them being fired from their job and ostracized by their friends and family. During the 1950s and early ’60s, there was an unparalleled outpouring of representation and discussion of gay people in literature and the media. Although media representation was negative, associating homosexuality and gender transgression with criminality and mental illness, this growing visibility showed socially isolated LGBTQ people that there were others like them, and even—most importantly, where to find them. see gay liberation on p 56
New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 55
gay liberation from pg. 55
Far from shrinking, the LGBTQ world continued to expand and become more visible in an era of growing repression—a contradiction that would inevitably give way. The first gay political organization in the United States was the Mattachine Society (https://is.gd/vzW2XX). Founded in 1951 by Harry Hay (https://is.gd/l3u5Je), a former Communist Party militant, Mattachine considered itself a homophile organization. It argued that homosexuality was a natural sexual preference and that homosexuals were an oppressed minority who deserved full political and legal equality. In its early years, Mattachine organized an impressive campaign against police entrapment and the harassment of gay men. Mattachine created ONE, the first nationwide gay magazine, and established chapters around the country with thousands of cumulative members. But Mattachine remained underground and never became a mass movement. Hay and other radicals were pushed out of the organization in 1953 as the group shifted to the right under the pressures of McCarthyism, and shortly thereafter retreated from its initial plank. The organization now held that homosexuality was a mental condition, encouraged its members to seek treatment, and abandoned political agitation. Two years later, the first lesbian organization, the Daughters of Bilitis (https:// is.gd/8BXtBY), was formed by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. The group also put out the first lesbian magazine, The Ladder (https://is.gd/WtRCno). However, like Mattachine, the Daughters of Bilitis was heavily influenced by the oppressive climate of McCarthyism and remained a self-help organization for most of its existence, shied away from
open political agitation, and never grew beyond a couple hundred active members. But in the mid-1960s, things started to change in the homophile movement (https:// is.gd/ITMQPW). The Civil Rights Movement had transformed American society and overturned Jim Crow. Inspired by African Americans who defied racist oppression and terror, young homophile activists who had not been politically active during McCarthyism began to push for Mattachine to take a more militant, combative stance.
In a New York City speech Frank Kameny (https://is.gd/ flwNPK) argued, “not only is homosexuality not immoral, but homosexual acts engaged in by consenting adults are moral, right, good, and desirable, both for individual participants and society.” This was a sharp break from Mattachine’s official position that members should seek out medical treatment. The New York City chapter elected a slate of young militants who convinced the group to do something previously unheard of—organize public demonstrations advocating gay rights and challenge the psychiatric establishment’s position on homosexuality. The first two protests were pickets at the White House and the United Nations, followed by a yearly demonstration called the “Annual Reminder”
outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall where picketers were required to dress respectably in shirts, ties, and dresses. The goal was to demand equal treatment under the law while showing Americans that homosexuals were just as patriotic and respectable as everyone else. In San Francisco, important homophile activism had begun in the early 1960s. In 1961, bar owners and patrons formed the Tavern Guild to organize against police crackdowns on gay bars, and by 1964 progressive religious leaders and homophile activists had banded together to create the Council on Religion and the Homosexual to provide services to gay street youth and helped create Vanguard, the first LGBTQ youth organization. In 1966, San Francisco saw its own precursor to the Stonewall confrontation, the Compton Cafeteria Riots (https:// is.gd/y7Eu84). Compton Cafeteria was a regular hangout spot for gay and trans street youth and drag queens. One July summer night police were called in to raid the restaurant, and a police officer grabbed a drag queen by the arm, provoking her to throw a cup of coffee in his face. This spurred other gay customers to resist— they turned over tables, threw their dishes, kicked out the windows, and began fighting with the police.
As the decade came to a close, the United States was experiencing the largest social upheaval and political radicalization since the mass movements of the 1930s. It was only a matter of time before the gay movement would be affected. read more online at: therainbowtimesmass.com & Catch part 2 in our june ed.
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Georgia from page 15 “I built a little table for her to draw at and she spends part of every day sitting at it,” he said. “Her grandfather Roro is a landscape painter, so it runs in her family. I work with her to pick each item to have made, and I order them all through my company.” Drawing on a T-Shirt What Georgia does today started in 2017, when Wrenn’s own company (Sully’s Brand), which has catered to Boston sports fans for 20 years, gathered her art and put it on a t-shirt during Halloween at their vendor table. “In 1st grade, I drew three drawings at first and my dad made them into pins and shirts of each character” said Georgia, explaining how her art first got noticed. “I thought it would be cute to make something different that repped the Witch City with Georgia’s art,” Wrenn remembers. “She drew a skull,
Rainbow pride pin & nAGLY Recently, Georgia designed a new piece and decided to donate all proceeds from this item, a rainbow pride pin, to an LGBTQ-youth organization, nAGLY. The pin was recently released, just in time to celebrate the LGBTQ community. “Pride month was coming and the rainbow represents the colors of nAGLY,” Georgia said. “nAGLY helps a lot of kids. And I’m nice, and a business owner, and part of a community. nAGLY gives kids a place to go.” Not only is she busy with school, business and philanthropy, Georgia still finds time to volunteer for noble causes. “Georgia has also been a volunteer at a soup kitchen in Lynn, Mass. called My Brother’s Table, where her aunt is the operations manager, and has visited with and assisted that population since she could walk on her own,” said Wrenn proudly.
Georgia with her “Georgia Made This” stand, her dad, Chris Wrenn, on the left, and Georgia’s mom, Elisabeth Wrenn, on the right. Photo: Mel Taing/Peabody Essex Museum
ghost and a jack-o-lantern and they turned out so cute, but when I got the shirts in I remember thinking ‘oh man, I hope our friends and family buy these!’ Thankfully, tourists loved them and they sold out that weekend. We had to print more for our friends!”
Future plans include possibly adding a transgender flag color piece to her collection.
What makes this family and Georgia unique is that her business continues to give back to the community and to other disenfranchised groups. “We donated all of the profit from [the t-shirts’] sale, over $2,100, to her elementary school,” Wrenn added.
When she thinks of herself in terms of what’s she’s doing, the talented artist explained how she finds joy in what she does.
And Georgia carries her parents’ teachings very seriously. “My mom is a social worker at HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change) and I know the golden rule is treat people the way you want to be treated,” said the almost 8-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist.
“She’s had several requests since launching this collaboration with nAGLY, so we are going to work on something new,” Wrenn added.
“It’s also fun to be one of the only kids in my school that has their own business,” Georgia said. Georgia’s Pride rainbow pins, patches and stickers are available online at GeorgiaMadeThis. com, in Salem at Roost & Company, and at nAGLY. To read Georgia’s blog visit https:// is.gd/bZLQh4. Check out Georgia’s IG Page here (https://is.gd/mDlMzm).
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We Remember. pulse orlando. June 12, 2016
#neverforgotten New England Pride Guide 2019 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • 59
state of mind from page 32 The rioters shattered the windows of the restaurant and damaged property in the surrounding neighborhood. For a complete list, see the Wikipedia page (https://is.gd/e2B8OT) “List of LGBT actions in the United States prior to the Stonewall riots.” The Stonewall Rebellion took place in NYC in the spotlight of the U.S. national media. Perhaps wide attention to the rioting made Stonewall the tipping point into a LGBTQ Rights Movement that continues to this day. To put Stonewall in context, the 1960s was a decade of protest and movement- formation on
is now widely recognized as the person who threw the first object outside the Stonewall, igniting the physical fightback against the police. Sylvia Rivera, a Puerto Rican/Venezuelan drag queen, was not present on the first night of Stonewall but participated in the riot on ensuing nights. Today considered the Mothers of the Transgender Movement, Sylvia and her friend Marsha worked tirelessly for street trans people and incarcerated trans women. Rivera was initially active in the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance before forming her own organization in 1970, S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Actions Revolutionaries), to help homeless transgender women in NYC.
“[The officer] then yelled, ‘I said, move along, faggot.’ I think he thought I was a boy. When I refused, he raised his nightstick and clubbed me in the face.” all fronts. The Black Civil Rights Movement, the anti-Vietnam War Movement, the Women’s Liberation Movement were all engaging in organized or spontaneous demonstrations in U.S. streets. All Americans, including LGBTQs, had watched the Watts riots on TV. Chants of “Black Power!” led to “Gay Power!” Slogans such as “Black is Beautiful!” helped conceptualize “Gay is Good!” In shouts of “Gay Pride!” echoed “Black Pride!” Many, if not all, of the Stonewall rioters were already activists in the
“Queer and trans historians have for decades noted that a black stone butch lesbian, crossdressed in a man’s leather jacket and pants, was at the center of the uprising.” great social justice movements of the day.
Shine the Spotlight of History on Stormé DeLarverie Despite early attempts at whitewashing the history of who the pivotal actors were at Stonewall into a false narrative of white gay men leading the charge, eventually the truth emerged. Historical facts continue to surface.
But what exactly happened at the Stonewall to so enrage the crowd? Queer and trans historians have for decades noted that a black stone butch lesbian, crossdressed in a man’s leather jacket and pants, was at the center of the uprising. After a long time of speculation about the identity of this person, today we know that this was Stormé DeLarverie. Stormé DeLarverie (1920 – 2014) was a black drag king who frequently cross-dressed off the stage as well. During the 1950s and 1960s, DeLarverie was part of the legendary drag troupe, The Jewel Box Revue. About 25 men performed in women’s clothes, and she, the only female in the troupe, performed dressed as a man. In an era still marked by segregation, the Revue featured both black and white performers and attracted a mainstream mixed-race crowd, playing regular shows at the Apollo Theater and traveling the country to perform in major cities. Even after the group disbanded, it continued to live on in popular culture. Quite a few friends, eyewitnesses, and historians over the years have identified DeLarverie as the tough cross-dressing dyke handcuffed and clubbed by the NYPD, which evoked enough outrage to spur the crowd to action. Charles Kaiser identified DeLarverie as the Stonewall Lesbian in his book, The Gay Metropolis. The New York Times a few times mentioned her scuffle with the police at Stonewall. Then in the January 2008 issue of Curve Magazine in a detailed interview with Patrick Hinds, DeLarverie identified herself as the Stonewall Lesbian and finally took credit for catalyzing the riot. see state of mind on page 62
Marsha P. Johnson, a black transgender woman, 60 • TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • New England Pride Guide 2019
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Eastern Bank | Inside front & back cover North Shore Pride | Inside Back Cover Boston Gay Men’s Chorus | p 3 Project Out, Inc. | pp 4 & 57 Fenway Health | p 5 Maura Healey | p 7 Mayor Marty Walsh | p 7 Sen. Elizabeth Warren | p 7 Deb Goldberg, State Treasurer, | p 8 Speaker Bob DeLeo | p 9 State Rep. Liz Malia | p 9 Governor Charlie Baker | p 11 The Network La Red | p 12 All of Us New England | p 13 Wash Ashore Beer Company | p 14 Congressman Joe Kennedy | p 16 Boston City Councilor Tim McCarthy | p 16 Osher Lifelong Living Institute | p 17 Susan Bailis Personalized Assisted Living | p 17 5 Star Travel Services | p 19 Beth Israel Lahey Health | p 21 Fairfax Cryobank | p 22 Cooley Dickinson Hospital | p 23 Holyoke Community College | p 24 Health Imperatives | p 25 Dignity Boston | p 26 Department of Veterans Affairs | p 26 Aids Walk Boston | p 26 Spaulding Rehabilitation Network/Partners Healthcare | p 27 Hurley Event Photography | p 29 Tom O’Toole, Jr. | p 29 Arbor Health/The Triangle Program | p 30 Philly Trans Wellness Conference | p 31 Brattleboro Retreat | p 33 OUT MetroWest | p 34 Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth | p 35 Boston Elder Info | p 36 Atrius Health | p 37 Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll | p 39 State Rep. Paul Tucker | p 39 Health Quarters | p 41 Highlands Inn, The | p 41 AlwaysFits.com | p 43 Disability Resource Center | p 43 Salem Chamber of Commerce | p 43 Hawthorne Hotel | p 51 Northey Street House Bed & Breakfast Inn | p 52 Rainbow Times, The | p 53 Laura Assade, Justice of the Peace | p 54
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state of mind from page 60 She said, “[The officer] then yelled, ‘I said, move along, faggot.’ I think he thought I was a boy. When I refused, he raised his nightstick and clubbed me in the face. It was then that the crowd surged and started attacking the police with whatever they could find.” The cop clubbed DeLarverie for, as one witness claimed, complaining that her handcuffs were too tight. Bystanders recalled that DeLarverie sparked the crowd to fight when she looked at bystanders and shouted, “Why don’t you guys do something?” After an officer picked her up and heaved her into the back of the patrol wagon, the crowd became a mob; it was at that moment that the scene became explosive. For more information, see https://is.gd/iFmggD. All hail the Holy Trinity of Stonewall–Marsha P. Johnson, Stormé DeLarverie, and Sylvia Rivera! All three were visibly gender non-conforming people of color attacked by the cops for their non-binary gender expression and their race. Did the officers stop to ask them what their sexual orientation was? Almost certainly not, but were hostile to them as “faggots” or “queers.” Can we not see that Stonewall was as much, if not more, of a transgender uprising as it was a gay and lesbian one? Gays and lesbians joined in on the melee but trans people of color were the first warriors outside the Stonewall, sparking our freedom movement against oppression.
Stonewall Now! The Stonewall Inn was a building–a place where we could be ourselves. No community can exist without a space in which to do so. Stonewall was also an uprising, a rebellion, and a riot. Stonewall ultimately was our Revolution, the action that asserted our human rights.
“Can we not see that Stonewall was as much, if not more, of a transgender uprising as it was a gay and lesbian one? Gays and lesbians joined in on the melee but trans people of color were the first warriors outside the Stonewall, sparking our freedom movement against oppression.” they have, they do not know that it was a riot. Commercialized Prides continue to obscure our angry, activist past. It is not in the interest of a capitalist, racist, patriarchal country to provide information about a working-class, queer rebellion. In this era of Trumpism when trans and queer rights are being reversed or denied, it is more important than ever to teach the facts about the Stonewall Rebellion and to take action in a Stonewall state of mind! *Ben Power Alwin is the executive director of the Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation, Inc. and the curator of the Sexual Minorities Archives (https://is.gd/smaBPow).
Most schools do not teach the history of Stonewall. Most youth have never heard of it, or if
15. Genderf#ck Fluid and f#ck are my favorite words. F#ck for f#ck your binary ideology. Fluid as in I will be the ebb which trickles right through your constraints. I am over, over explaining myself, so here it is plain and simple: My soul is a fluid femme genderf#ck. Te rezo a ti todos los días. My spirit is free flowing with the harmonious range of the Andes mountains and the tumbao of Havana’s waters. *From La Espiritista’s Book “Butterfly: Una Transformación A Book of Poetic Prayer”, which you can pre-order at https://is.gd/Espiritista.
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