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Comings & Goings
Shakir named president of Philly’s Mazzoni Center By PETER ROSENSTEIN
opportunities for healing, and a lot of opportunities for The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the growth. The organization provides excellent care, and professional successes of our community. We want I’m hoping that my work in supporting our community to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for in the place I consider home, can really help expand their business, joining boards of organizations and access to that care to more people.” other achievements. Please share your successes with Prior to joining SMYAL, Shakir worked at the Human us at: comingsandgoings@washblade.com. Rights Campaign where he served as a director of The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ the D.C. and Maryland marriage equality campaigns, college students to share their successes with us. If you and in his most recent role, led the Historically have been elected to a student government position, Black Colleges and Universities Project, working to gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and make campuses safer and more inclusive of LGBTQ beginning your career with a great job, let us know so students, faculty, and staff. we can share your success. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Shakir is the son Congratulations to Sultan Shakir on his new of teachers. He is a graduate of Baltimore’s Peabody position as president and CEO of the Mazzoni Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, with an Center. Nu’Rodney Prad, president of the Mazzoni emphasis on double bass performance. His earliest Center Board of Directors, said, “Sultan’s innovative thoughts of community organizing were about approaches, organizational leadership, and SULTAN SHAKIR sharing his passion for classical music with other intersectional lens in fostering inclusive spaces make young African-American males in Baltimore at a time him extraordinarily qualified to lead our organization when as many Black males were dropping out of high school as graduating. “I decided into the future.” it was more important for me to change the world than to be an entertainer,” he said. On accepting the position Shakir said, “Looking at how SMYAL has grown over the Shakir has been honored with the Community Circle Award by Baltimore Black Gay past seven years, and the really solid position that it’s in today, I feel now would be Pride, named Jewel of the Month by the National Black Justice Coalition, and won the a time where I’m sure I could transition out without it having any negative impact on DC Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance Distinguished Service Award. the organization. I’m really excited to join Mazzoni Center. I think there are a lot of
D.C. reinstates indoor mask mandate
December 22, the rapid antigen COVID-19 tests will be available at eight District D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Monday that the city has reimposed its libraries, six days a week,” according to the statement. “District residents will be able to requirement that masks be worn in indoor public places beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, access a maximum of two kits per day and proof of D.C. residency will be required,” the Dec. 21 until Jan. 31, when city health officials will decide whether the mandate should statement says. continue. The new mandate and expanded testing announcements The mayor also announced that her administration has put come after the city released data showing that for Friday, Dec. in place a new vaccine mandate requiring all D.C. government 17, the Department of Health reported 844 new coronavirus employees, contractors, interns, and grantees working for the cases, the highest single-day total since the pandemic began city government “must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2020. As of Dec. 17, the seven-day average of new cases and must have a booster.” in D.C. reached 360, which also marks the highest average The new vaccination mandate will not allow city government increase since March of 2020. workers or contractors and grantees to “opt out” of the The DOH data continue to show that the overwhelming vaccination requirement by getting a weekly COVID test. majority of new COVID cases in which someone becomes ill is The new mandates, which Bowser said would be put in among those who are unvaccinated. place through a declaration of a public health emergency, The reinstated mask mandate retains the same provision would be accompanied by an expansion of the availability of as the city’s earlier mask mandate that exempts people from free COVID-19 self-testing kits in at least 36 sites across the wearing masks while eating and drinking at bars, restaurants, city, including eight public libraries. nightclubs and other establishments that serve food and “The Test Yourself Express program will provide residents Mayor MURIEL BOWSER reinstated the city’s mask mandate effective Tuesday. beverages. with free at-home rapid Antigen COVID-19 tests,” a statement (Screen capture via YouTube) LOU CHIBBARO JR. released by the mayor’s office says. “Beginning Wednesday,
Blade Foundation awards 2021 scholarship
The Blade Foundation, a non-profit that funds enterprise journalism projects and scholarships for aspiring journalists, announced the recipient of its 2021 scholarship last week. The $3,000 scholarship goes to Meghan Brink, a political science and journalism student at the University at Albany, SUNY. “As a bisexual journalist who highly respects the work and goals of the Blade Foundation, I am honored to have been selected for the 2021 Blade Foundation LGBTQ Journalism Award. This scholarship is an immense help in funding my education in political science and journalism. I send extensive thanks to the scholarship selection committee for their time and consideration.” Brink is credited with reviving the defunct student newspaper, the Albany 0 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • LO CA L NE WS
Student Press, spearheading the restoration of the 100-year-old news organization and building the staff to 160 students. She is expected to graduate in December 2022 with a bachelor’s degree and in December 2023 with a master’s degree in political science. “We are thrilled to present our 2021 scholarship to Meghan Brink,” said Blade Foundation Executive Director Kevin Naff. “Her reporting experience and impressive efforts to revive her student news organization impressed all of us. She has a long and exciting career ahead and we wish her the best.” The Blade Foundation awarded its first scholarship in 2019; it also awards two annual fellowships in journalism reporting. Applications for the 2022 fellowships will be accepted beginning Feb. 1 at bladefoundation.org. FROM STAFF REPORTS
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Sentencing postponed for two defendants in D.C. trans murder case Prosecutors, defense attorneys mum on reason for delay By LOU CHIBBRO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com
Attempts by the Washington Blade A sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. to reach attorney Dorsey Jones, who’s 20 for two of four men originally charged representing Shareem Hall, and attorney with first-degree murder while armed in Jonathan Zucker, who is representing the July 4, 2016, shooting death of D.C. Cyheme Hall, have been unsuccessful in transgender woman Deeniquia “Dee Dee” an effort to determine the reason for the Dodds was abruptly cancelled last week sentencing delay. without a reason shown in the public court Also not responding to a Blade inquiry records. about the reason for the sentencing delay The D.C. Superior Court’s online records was Judge Lee’s law clerk, who court for defendant Shareem Hall, 27, and his observers say would likely know the details brother, Cyheme Hall, 25, shows that a of the case. status hearing rather than a sentencing D.C. attorney Tony Bisceglie, who has hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 28 for practiced criminal law, told the Blade Shareem Hall and March 4 for Cyheme Hall. one reason for the postponement of the The two men, who have been held sentencing could be a request by the without bond since the time of their arrest in Hall brothers through their attorneys to the Dodds case in 2016 and 2017, pleaded withdraw their guilty plea on the secondguilty to a charge of second-degree degree murder charge. Judges have murder in 2019 as part of a plea bargain approved withdrawals of a guilty plea in offer by prosecutors. Under the plea offer past cases based on the circumstances of they agreed to testify as government the case, according to Bisceglie. witnesses at the 2019 trial of the other two One possible development is that that men charged in the Dodds murder, Jalonta the defense attorneys and prosecutors with Little, 31, and Monte T. Johnson, 25. the U.S. Attorney’s Office are negotiating a That trial ended when the jury was unable new plea deal in which the guilty plea for to reach a verdict on the murder charge second-degree murder is withdrawn so against Little and Johnson, prompting DEENIQUIA ‘DEE DEE’ DODDS was killed in 2016. (Photo via Facebook) that the Hall brothers could then plead Judge Milton C. Lee to declare a mistrial. guilty to the same lower charge of voluntary Lee agreed to a request by prosecutors manslaughter to which defendants Little to schedule another trial for Little and and Johnson were allowed to plead. Johnson on the murder charge, but that never happened. “It could be that the government is reconsidering,” Bisceglie said. “There D.C. police said Dodds was one of several transgender women that the are any number of possibilities. There’s no way to know,” he said unless the four men targeted for an armed robbery on the night of Dodds’ murder in attorneys or prosecutors agree to disclose what’s happening in the case. locations in the city where trans women were known to congregate. Police The public court docket shows that the status hearing for Shareem Hall is said Dodds was shot after she fought back when the men attempted to rob scheduled for Jan. 28 at noon before Judge Lee. The docket shows the status her. hearing for Cyheme Hall is scheduled for March 4 at 11:30 a.m. also before The postponement of the sentencing for the Hall brothers came just over a Judge Lee. week after Lee, who continues to preside over the case, sentenced Johnson Since status hearings are open to the public, it’s possible but not certain and Little on Dec. 10 to eight years in prison and five years of supervised that the reason behind the delay in the sentencing will become known probation upon their release in the Dodds murder case. But the sentence through statements made by the parties at those hearings. was for a single charge of voluntary manslaughter, which prosecutors offered At the time of the sentencing for Johnson and Little, the D.C. Center for to Johnson and Little in September 2021 in exchange for their agreement the LGBT Community’s Anti-Violence Project submitted a community impact to plead guilty after the murder charge and other gun related charges were statement to the court calling on Judge Lee to hand down the maximum dropped. sentence for the two men. The plea agreement included a promise by prosecutors with the Office “We adamantly request that the court impose the maximum sentences of the United States Attorney for D.C. to ask the judge for the eight-year allowed, reinforcing respectful and impactful consequences to these sentence for the voluntary manslaughter offense that under D.C. law carries a defendants for their violent crimes,” the Anti-Violence Project’s statement possible maximum sentence of 30 years. says. “Additionally, we ask that you take into consideration the perceived In handing down his sentence, Lee gave Johnson and Little credit for the vulnerability of the victim of the defendants’ violent crimes as a transgender time they have already served in prison since their respective arrests. Johnson woman of color whose rights and life were targeted in a way that confirms has been held without bond for five years and six months since his arrest in they did not matter to the defendants,” the statement says. the Dodds case in September 2016. Little has been held for four years and 10 “This victim’s attempt to defend herself from their violence was answered months since the time of his arrest in February 2017. with lethal brutality,” the statement continues. “Her voice is silenced, but the William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, has declined grief and outcry for justice from the LGBTQ+ community rises to honor her to provide a reason for why the sentencing hearing for the Hall brothers was death and demand effective and responsive protection for the lives of all “vacated” as stated in the public court docket and why status hearings were LGBTQ+ people targeted by future criminals.” scheduled for the two men instead of a sentencing hearing.
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Blade gets designated seat in WH briefing room
The Washington Blade, the nation’s oldest LGBTQ newspaper, has secured an officially designated seat in the White House James S. Brady briefing room, marking the first time an LGBTQ publication has been afforded the honor. The White House Correspondents Association, which is responsible for the seating assignment in the briefing room, made the announcement last week as part of the updated seating chart, which will take effect on Jan. 3. Chris Johnson, White House reporter for the Blade, will be responsible for filling the seat for the LGBTQ news outlet. According to the WHCA, the seating assignment represents 65 different news organizations and entities and of those outlets, a total of 14, or 22 percent, are receiving their firstever assignment. Steven Portnoy, WHCA president and White House reporter for C-SPAN Radio, said in a memo changes were made “to enhance diversity in the briefing room,” including seat designations for “organizations that target Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ audience” as well as publications “across the ideological spectrum.” The Blade is set to share a seat with the Boston Globe.
Blade White House reporter CHRIS JOHNSON now has a designated seat in the White House briefing room. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The two publications have made an arrangement to rotate a presence in the seat on a weekly basis. The seat is in the seventh group and next to a seat shared with the Daily Caller, a conservative publication, and EWTN, a social conservative news outlet billing itself as a global network for Catholicthemed programming. The seating assignment marks the latest development in the Blade’s reporting on the White House and integration in the White House press corps. “Thank you to the Correspondents Association for this designation,” said Blade editor Kevin Naff. “This was decades in the making and a credit to the hard work of Chris Johnson and Lou Chibbaro Jr. before him. This will enable us to devote more focus to national political news impacting the LGBTQ community.” In 2013, the Blade earned a spot in the White House in-town pool rotation, a system giving reporters the responsibility of shadowing the president of the United States and reporting back on his movements and statements in the form of pool reports for the entire White House press corps. FROM STAFF REPORTS
Senate confirms Gifford as State Dept. chief of protocol
RUFUS GIFFORD was confirmed as State Department chief of protocol. (Photo public domain)
The U.S. Senate confirmed Rufus Gifford on Saturday as chief of protocol for the State Department, giving him the distinction once again of the rank of ambassador and a lead role in diplomatic engagement for President Biden. The Senate confirmed Gifford for the role unanimously by voice vote as part of a series of votes on Biden’s ambassadorial nominees who were similarly confirmed on a voice vote. The confirmation marks a return to foreign affairs for Gifford, who had served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark, a role he obtained after his work as a fundraiser for the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the 2008 and 2012 elections. During the 2020 presidential primary, Gifford early on endorsed Biden for president and became a top adviser and deputy campaign manager. The chief of protocol for the State Department
is responsible for being on the front-lines of engagement in U.S. foreign policy, which means being the gateway between foreign leaders and the president. For example, Gifford would likely be a point person for any meeting between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, making an openly gay man the face of the United States for a country in talks with a leader who has rolled back LGBTQ rights and looked the other way amid violence against LGBTQ people in Chechnya. According to a White House bio, Gifford is actively engaged as a civil society leader and has promoted and sponsored a variety of organizations, including UTEC in Lowell, Mass., the LGBT History Museum in New York, the Human Rights Campaign and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass. Gifford received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1996. CHRIS JOHNSON
Queer Kentucky raises money for tornado victims
Queer Kentucky – an LGBTQ+ nonprofit located in Louisville, Kentucky – has extended a helping hand to LGBTQ+ Kentuckians affected by the recent tornadoes that ravaged parts of the state by giving out approximately $7,000 in aid, according to Spencer Jenkins, the group’s founder and executive director. Jenkins told the Blade that Queer Kentucky’s effort was able to give 25 LGBTQ+ people affected by the storms around $300, most of whom were Black, brown or Indigenous. “They are usually the most marginalized within our own community, so we were very grateful to be able to do that for them,” he said. “There were a lot of trans people that needed assistance, a lot of nonbinary people. So, I mean, we were able to impact the marginalized of the marginalized.” However, Jenkins wishes he could do more. “Unfortunately, we only had $7,000. And we wanted to be able to give $300 each, so that they can actually do something with the money,” he said. “$100 is great, but I’ve kind of always been on the thought that $300 is a super impactful amount to give to someone.” The tornadoes tore through Western Kentucky – and parts of Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas – last week. One of the twisters, originating in Arkansas and ending in Kentucky, spun for more than 200 miles.
At least 75 people have died from the storms in Kentucky, with 16 people still missing and about 3,280 without power. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) described the event as one of “the worst tornado events” in state history. But the actual effect that the extreme weather had on the LGBTQ community will likely never be known because states generally do not collect that demographic data in times like last weekend. Though Jenkins didn’t have any specific numbers, he thinks that the tornadoes have left many queer people – at least 100, he estimates – in Kentucky with almost nothing. He came to this conclusion because of how many people reached out to his group in need of assistance. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden traveled to Kentucky to survey the damage and announce that the federal government would cover 100% of the costs of emergency work for the first 30 days after storms. “You know, the scope and scale of this destruction is almost beyond belief … These tornadoes devoured everything in their path,” Biden said at a press conference in Dawson Springs, Kentucky – one of the hardest-hit areas. ZACHARY JARRELL
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‘Ex-gay’ leader confesses to having gay sex in ‘multiple falls’ “Given the tawdry revelations, Truth Wins Out calls on the Freedom March to permaJeffrey McCall, founder of the “ex-gay” group Freedom March, which organizes rallies nently shut down and stop conning people into believing that they can ‘pray away the across the country to promote religious oriented conversion therapy to change somegay,’” Besen said. one’s sexual orientation from gay to straight, posted a message on Facebook last month Truth Wins Out has joined other LGBTQ advocacy groups in pointing out that all the admitting to “multiple falls” last year in which he had sex with men. nation’s major medical and mental health pro“Every time I fell I would truly repent and turn fessional organizations, including the American away again,” he stated in his Facebook message, Psychiatric Association and the American Medical which first appeared on Nov. 6. “I would feel Association, strongly oppose so-called converGod’s love, mercy, and forgiveness sometime besion or “reparative” therapy on grounds that it is fore I could even finish the prayer,” he said. harmful to those who undergo such therapy. “I never want to be someone who can’t share McCall couldn’t immediately be reached for about my own struggles,” McCall wrote. “In 2020, comment. The Freedom March Facebook page I met someone that I was trying to help…which says the organization held its most recent march [led] to me being unfaithful to Jesus and giving and rally in late October and early November in my heart away,” he stated in his posting. “After West Palm Beach, Fla. The group held a rally on denying what I wanted with him I then went on the grounds of the Washington Monument in to fall sexually with a man when I felt wounded D.C. in June. and lonely. This led to multiple falls with men over An announcement on the Freedom March time.” Facebook page says McCall has just released a McCall’s Facebook and Instagram posting, personal memoir that he wrote in the form of a which was little noticed at first, was discovered paperback book called “For Such A Time.” The earlier this month by Wayne Besen, executive diannouncement says the book “discusses his inrector of the LGBTQ advocacy group Truth Wins volvement in homosexuality, illegal drugs, alcoOut, which since 2006 has waged public awarehol, prescription pills, partying, and his transgenness campaigns opposing the “ex-gay” moveAbout 200 people gathered on June 5 for a Freedom March rally to promote dered life as Scarlet.” ment. Besen immediately sent a statement with the debunked theory that gays can change their sexual orientation. (Blade photo by Michael Key) “Jeffrey McCall is a self-serving con artist who the text of McCall’s Facebook posting to Truth runs a fraudulent organization that preys on vulWins Out’s contacts. nerable and desperate LGBTQ people who grow up in religions homes,” Besen said in “Truth Wins Out condemned Freedom March founder Jeffrey McCall today as a hyphis statement. “If McCall had an ounce of integrity, he’d apologize for his rank hypocrisy ocritical fraud after he admitted online to multiple hookups and romantic attachments and shut down his odious Freedom March racket before it ruins more lives,” Besen said. with men, even as he continues to shamelessly lead ‘Freedom March’ parades of soLOU CHIBBARO JR. called ‘ex-gays,’” Besen said in a Dec. 15 statement.
FDA slow in responding to calls for end to ban on MSM tissue donors
As of early this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had yet to respond to a Nov. 29 joint letter by 52 members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate calling on the FDA to end its policy of restricting the donation of human tissues such as corneas, heart valves, skin, and other tissue by men who have sex with men, or MSM. The letter is addressed to Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccerra. The FDA is an agency within the HHS. The letter says the FDA’s restrictions on MSM tissue donation date back to a 1994 U.S. Public Health Service “guidance” related to the possible transmission of HIV, which stated that any man “who has had sex with another man in the preceding five years” should be disqualified from tissue donation. “We also call your attention to the broad consensus within the medical community indicating that the current scientific evidence does not support these restrictions,” the letter states. “We have welcomed the FDA’s recent steps in the right direction to address its discriminatory MSM blood donation policies and urge you to take similar actions to revise the agency’s tissue donation criteria to align with current science so as not to unfairly stigmatize gay and bisexual men.” The letter adds, “In fact, a recent study in the medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology estimated that between 1,558 and 3,217 corneal donations are turned away annually from otherwise eligible donors who are disqualified because of their sexual orientation, an unacceptable figure given widespread shortages of transplantable corneas.” The letter continues, saying, “FDA policy should be derived from the best available science, not historic bias and prejudice. As with blood donation, we believe that any deferral policies should be based on individualized risk assessment rather than a categorical, time-based deferral that perpetuates stigma.” U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), the nation’s only out lesbian U.S. senator, and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) are the two lead signers of the letter. All 52 signers of the
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letter are Democrats. Among the others who signed their names to the FDA letter are four of the nine openly gay or lesbian members of the U.S. House. They include Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Richie Torres (D-N.Y.), Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), and Mark Takano (D-Calif.). Also signing the letter are D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). In response to a Dec. 21 email inquiry from the Washington Blade, FDA Press Officer Abigail Capobianco sent the Blade a one-sentence statement saying, “The FDA Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wisc.) is a lead signer of the will respond to the letter diletter to the FDA. (Photo by Chris Schmitt Photography) rectly.” The statement didn’t say to whom the FDA would respond or when it would issue its response. LOU CHIBBARO JR.
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‘Unprecedented’: Vatican official apologizes to LGBTQ Catholics Synod of Bishops deleted, reposted link to pro-LGBTQ video By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com
“We wrote to the Pope in April, introducing In a development that Catholic Church ourselves as an organization, providing him observers consider to be unprecedented, with a brief history, including two major a high-level Vatican official apologized last censures by church officials,” DeBernardo told week to LGBTQ people and to the Mt. Rainier, the Blade. Md., based LGBTQ Catholic group New Ways Among the issues he said his group raised Ministry for removing from a Vatican open with the Pope was a 1999 decision by the forum website a link to an LGBTQ supportive Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine for video on New Ways Ministry’s website. the Faith to prohibit the two co-founders of The apology by Thierry Bonaventura, New Ways Ministry – Sister Jeannine Gramick communication manager of the Vatican-based and Father Robert Nugent – from engaging in General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, pastoral work with gay people. came five days after New Ways Ministry The National Catholic Reporter, which released excerpts from two letters that Pope published a story about the Pope’s letters to Francis sent to New Ways Ministry in May and New Ways Ministry, reports that the 1999 action June of 2021 praising the organization for its against Gramick and Nugent was based on work in support of LGBTQ Catholics. claims by Vatican officials that the two LGBTQ According to the National Catholic Reporter, supporters promoted “ambiguities and errors” conservative Catholic media outlets reported in their ministerial work. that Bonaventura removed the link to the The newspaper, which operates New Ways Ministry video from the Synod’s POPE FRANCIS wrote two letters to New Ways Ministry. independently from the Catholic Church, website on Dec. 7 after he learned that the U.S. (Image courtesy of C-SPAN) points out in a Dec. 8 story that the notification Conference of Catholic Bishops censured New sent to Gramick and Nugent prohibiting them Ways Ministry in 2010 because of its support from providing pastoral support for homosexuals was signed by then Cardinal Joseph for civil marriage for same-sex couples. Razinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Supporters of New Ways Ministry believe Bonaventura may have issued his apology DeBernardo told the Blade New Ways Ministry decided to release excerpts of the and subsequently reposted the video link to the Synod website after learning that the Pope’s two letters rather than the entire letters because some of the content “were Pope himself had expressed a favorable opinion of New Ways Ministry in his recent pastoral and personal messages which it was not appropriate or relevant to release.” letters to the LGBTQ ministry. He said the decision to release the excepts was made after a National Catholic Reporter Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, said in a statement journalist contacted the group for comment after the newspaper learned that the link that the New Ways Ministry video, among other things, encourages LGBTQ people to to the New Ways Ministry video had been removed from the Vatican based Synod’s participate in Synod consultations. The Synod provides advice to the Pope on a wide website. range of church-related matters. “We made the decision that we would let him know about the papal correspondence DeBernardo said it was someone from the Vatican, not New Ways Ministry, who as a way to show that Pope Francis was indeed genuinely interested in LGBTQ people, placed the link to the LGBTQ group’s video on the Synod’s website. as evidenced by the fact that he was in supportive correspondence with New Ways,” “In recent days, I have personally taken the initiative to de-publish a post promoted DeBernardo said. by the reality ‘New Ways Ministries’ for internal procedural reasons,” Bonaventura says “In two letters to New Ways Ministry this year, Pope Francis commended the in his apology, which he posted on Facebook. “This brought pain to the entire LGBTQ organization for its outreach to the LGBTQ community and referred to one of its cocommunity who once again felt left out,” he said. founders, Loretto Sister Jeannine Gramick, as ‘a valiant woman’ who suffered much from “I feel I must apologize to all LGBTQ people and to the members of New Ways her ministry,” the newspaper reports. Ministries for the pain caused,” Bonaventura said. He added that he reposted the link “Written in Spanish on official Vatican stationary, Francis’ letters mention that the Pope to the New Ways Ministry video on the Synod website. He also posted in his Facebook is aware that New Ways Ministry’s ‘history has not been an easy one, but that loving one’s message a link to the Synod’s resources web page, suggesting that LGBTQ Catholics neighbor is still the second commandment, tied ‘necessarily’ to the first commandment should submit messages on the site. to love God,” the National Catholic Reporter story continues. “Certainly, LGBTQ groups and those groups who feel they live on the ‘margins’ of “Thank you for your neighborly work,” the newspaper quoted Francis as telling the Church can direct their contributions, resources, or what they want to share with the DeBernardo in a June 17 letter. In that same letter, the Pope also expressed praise for whole people of God to [this website],” he wrote. Sister Gramick. “I know how much she has suffered. She is a valiant woman who makes “New Ways Ministry warmly accepts the apology of Thierry Bonaventura,” DeBernardo her decisions in prayer,” the newspaper quoted the Pope as saying. said in a Dec. 13 statement. “Apologies are powerful in their ability to build bridges “It helped me a lot to know the full story you tell me about New Ways Ministry’s of reconciliation and justice,” DeBernardo said. “Mr. Bonaventura’s kind words and his history,” the newspaper further quoted the Pope as saying in a May 3 letter. “Sometimes reposting of the video will be effective in helping to repair the rift that exists between we receive partial information about people and organizations, and this doesn’t help. LGBTQ people and Catholic institutions,” he said. Your letter, as it narrates with objectivity its history, gives me light to better understand “We appreciate that apologies are never easy to make,” DeBernardo continued. “New certain situations,” National Catholic Reporter quoted the Pope as saying to DeBernardo Ways Ministry had not requested one, making this gesture all the more authentic,” he in the May 3 letter. said. “Vatican officials rarely apologize, and they almost certainly have never apologized “In ongoing communications with us and with others, it is clear that Pope Francis wants to LGBTQ people or an LGBTQ Catholic Ministry,” said DeBernardo. LGBTQ ministry to thrive,” DeBernardo said in a Dec. 13 statement. “He has publicly “This action signals that Vatican officials are becoming aware of how their decisions emphasized that he wants all people to participate in synod discussions, especially impact LGBTQ lives,” he said. “It also reveals a desire to repair damages they may have those who have been marginalized or alienated from the church,” he said. caused. In these respects, this is an historic moment.” “This unprecedented apology from a Vatican office corrects the earlier mistake and DeBernardo said Pope Francis’s two letters to New Ways Ministry came in response to amplifies, even louder, the welcome that Pope Francis has extended to LGBTQ people,” messages that he sent to the Pope discussing problems LGBTQ people and New Ways said DeBernardo. Ministry have faced with Catholic Church officials, including the Vatican. 1 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • I NT E R NAT I O NA L NE WS
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DE C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 3
Chile’s new president is LGBTQ rights supporter
Chilean Congressman Gabriel Boric on Sunday won the second round of the country’s presidential election. Boric, who previously led a student protest movement, defeated José Antonio Kast, a far-right former congressman, by a 55.9-44.1 percent margin. Boric will succeed President Sebastián Piñera when he takes office on March 11. Boric’s election comes less than two weeks after Piñera signed a marriage equality bill into law. The law takes effect on March 10. “Chile has spoken,” tweeted Movilh, a
Chile has a new president, Gabriel Boric.
Chilean LGBTQ rights group, after Boric defeated Kast. “Democracy, equality, justice advances.” Emilia Schneider, who became the first openly transgender person elected to the Chilean congress last month, also applauded Boric’s election. “Hope always defeats fear,” tweeted Schneider. “We are going to need the same organization and commitment that we showed in this second round (of the election) to defend a transformative government.” MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Senegal seeks to further criminalize homosexuality
Lawmakers in Senegal plan to introduce bill that would further criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. Souleymane Diouf, a spokesperson for Collectif Free du Sénégal, a Senegalese LGBTQ rights group, told the Blade in an email the bill would add the “crime of homosexuality” to the provision of the country’s penal code that “already targets LGBTI people.” Article 319 of the Senegalese penal code states anyone convicted of “any indecent or unnatural act committed between individuals of the same sex” faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 1,500,000 CFA (West African CFA) francs ($2,579.70.) Diouf told the Blade that “any LGBTI person” would face between five to 10 years in prison and a fine of between 1,000,000-5,000,000 CFA francs ($1,719.80$8,599) if lawmakers approve the bill. “It is paradoxical that people want to increase the penalties for homosexuality in our country, especially since there is already a legal arsenal against LGBTI people,” said Diouf. Alioune Souare, a member of the Senegalese National Assembly, told Reuters he helped write the bill that was to have been introduced by the end of last week. Diouf said Collectif And Samm Jikko Yi — an anti-LGBTQ group that roughly translates as the “Values Defense League” — is behind the effort to introduce the bill. It remains unclear whether Souare and/or other lawmakers have officially put forth the
measure. Senegal is a former French colony in West Africa that borders Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. Senegal is among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations are criminalized. Mauritania is one of a handful of nations in which homosexuality remains punishable by death. Then-President Obama in 2013 discussed Senegal’s LGBTQ rights record with reporters after a meeting with Senegalese President Macky Sall that took place in Dakar, the country’s capital. The press conference took place a day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. “When it comes to how the state treats people, how the law treats people, I believe that everybody has to be treated equally,” said Obama. “I don’t believe in discrimination of any sort. That’s my personal view. And I speak as somebody who obviously comes from a country in which there were times when people were not treated equally under the law, and we had to fight long and hard through a civil rights struggle to make sure that happens.” (Editor’s note: Souleymane Diouf is a pseudonym. Colin Stewart of Erasing 76 Crimes, a website that documents the impact of criminalization laws around the world, translated Diouf’s responses to the Blade’s questions from French into English.) MICHAEL K. LAVERS
France passes bill to ban conversion therapy
A bill in France to ban conversion therapy now awaits President Macron’s signature.
French lawmakers last week approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the country. Têtu, an LGBTQ magazine in France, notes anyone who “practices, (engages in behaviors), or (makes) repeated comments aimed at modifying or repressing a person’s real or supposed sexual orientation or gender identity that physically deteriorates their physical or mental health” would face two years in prison and a €30,000 ($33,778.50) fine. The penalties would increase to three years in prison and a €45,000 ($50,667.75) if the person who undergoes conversion therapy is a minor. The National Assembly in October unanimously approved a conversion therapy ban bill. The chamber and the French Senate agreed to the measure that passed on Tuesday. France would join Malta and a handful of other countries to ban conversion therapy if President Emmanuel Macron signs the bill. A bill that will ban conversion therapy in Canada received final approval in the country’s Senate on Dec. 7. The measure will take effect next month after it received royal assent. MICHAEL K. LAVERS
1 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • I NT E R NAT I O NA L NE WS
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DE C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 5
Always in my heart...
SHARITA GRUBERG is the vice president of the LGBTQI+ Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress.
MARK BROMLEY is the chair of the Council for Global Equality.
Miguel de la Cuetara
LGBTQI+ equality is central to health of our democracy
Eric Von Fitzwalter
U.S. in critical need of improvement
Timothy Maple Andrew Pennington Stephen A Smith Keith Stuffa Billy Williams
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Earlier this month, world leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector gathered virtually for the Summit for Democracy to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle today’s greatest threats to democracy. In advance of the summit, the Council for Global Equality—a coalition of LGBTQI advocacy organizations of which the Center for American Progress is a proud member—in collaboration with F&M Global Barometers published report cards assessing the extent to which participating states have fulfilled their obligations to ensure LGBTQI+ people are full citizens and able to contribute to and benefit from democratic institutions. Unfortunately, the United States’ score on the human rights of LGBTQI+ people is in critical need of improvement. While we scored a 70 percent on basic human rights—a C- if our country were a school—we received failing grades in protecting LGBTQI+ Americans from violence and upholding the socioeconomic rights of LGBTQI+ Americans. We clearly need to catch up on our homework. Why the terrible scores? A key reason is that LGBTQI+ Americans continue to lack comprehensive nondiscrimination protections at the federal level, leaving them vulnerable to discrimination in key areas of life such as taxpayer-funded programs like emergency shelters and in stores and restaurants. On top of that, this year marked the most anti-LGBTQI+ state legislative session in history, with transphobic attacks lodged at our most vulnerable community members: our children. From blocking access to necessary medical care, to prohibiting transgender kids from joining school sports teams, to erasing all mention of the existence of LGBTQI+ people from textbooks, more than 100 bills targeting transgender people were introduced in state legislatures last session. And school districts across the country are racing to pull LGBTQI+ -themed books and authors from library shelves. These attacks against the basic rights and dignity of LGBTQI+ people, and transgender people, in particular, have devastating consequences. It should come as no surprise that, according to a 2020 survey by the Center for American Progress, over half of transgender people reported avoiding public spaces like stores and restaurants in order to avoid the trauma of discrimination. In addition to being the most anti-trans legislative session, 2021 is also the deadliest year on record for transgender and gender-nonconforming people, with over 50 reported killings of transgender or gender-nonconforming people, the majority of whom were Black and brown transgender women. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, over 80 percent of Americans support protections for LGBTQI+ Americans such as those found in the Equality Act, which passed the House in early 2021 yet still awaits a vote in the Senate. The bill’s provisions also have support from majorities in every state across the country, regardless of political ideology or faith tradition. Despite the protections’ broad popularity, support among elected officials lags behind that of the people they are supposed to represent. Congress’ failure to enact massively popular legislation advancing LGBTQI+ equality while state legislatures launched attacks on transgender children emphasizes ADVERT ISING PRO OF how our country’s crisis in democracy impacts the basic rights of LGBTQI+ Americans. It also is reflected in our country’s dismal LGBTQI grades as compared to other countries participating in the Summit for Democracy this week. Unsurprisingly, research has shown a strong correlation between the strength of a country’s democratic institutions and the legal rights of its LGBTQI+ citizens. We are also coming to understand that the inverse is also true: The full and inclusive participation of LGBTQI+ citizens strengthens democratic institutions and the democratic process itself. ADVERTISER SIGNATURE By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the washington blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement, payment and insertion The Summit for Democracy is not the end but the launch of a year of action. LGBTQI+ schedule. Americans need the Senate to get to work and bring the country closer to realizing its founding ideals by passing the Equality Act. And to ensure our elected leaders better represent the American public, Congress should also pass the Freedom to Vote Act, which would strengthen the integrity of our elections and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Let’s work together to hold our elected representatives accountable for strengthening our democracy for all Americans and bring home straight As next year.
1 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • V I E WP O I NT
PETER ROSENSTEIN
is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.
Rehoboth Beach, a plea to get your COVID act together Bars, restaurants should require proof of vaccination to enter
This is a plea for one of my favorite places to get your COVID act together. I know so many wonderful business owners in Rehoboth and I am asking them to act now. We need to protect our community. COVID and its newest variant Omicron is here. None of us can put our heads in the sand and must acknowledge avoiding action is wrong. Omicron is just the latest variant, there will be more, and communities and businesses must face them head on. If we want to avoid the recurring shutdowns now happening in some countries, and we must, we have to do all we can to avoid spreading COVID. We know how to do that. It’s getting vaccinated, boosted, and wearing masks indoors when we are in large crowds or even with smaller groups of people we don’t know. It really isn’t hard to do. I recently traveled to Barcelona, Spain and took a two-week transatlantic cruise. I felt safer doing that than I have recently in Rehoboth Beach. I have given up on the Rehoboth Beach Commission acting. But months ago the theaters, gyms, and gay bars in D.C. began requiring proof of vaccination to enter. They did so out of compassion for their staff and patrons and without any city mandate to do so. They did it out of decency. It made sense and people felt safer when entering those establishments; business went up. Recently, Freddie Lutz announced he was going to require proof of vaccination and masks to enter Freddie’s Beach Bar in Crystal City, again without a mandate to do so in Northern Virginia. The response has been uniformly positive. People who had stopped coming to the bar contacted him and said they would now feel more comfortable coming in again. D.C. Mayor Bowser lifted the indoor mask mandate but most establishments continued to require them. Now with a huge increase in positive COVID tests the city reinstated it and people overwhelmingly are approving. It is better than closing down again. So I am forced to ask: Why aren’t the establishments in Rehoboth Beach doing something? Why are they putting their staff and patrons in danger by not having a requirement of proof of vaccination for entry? Why is it so difficult to have a sign on the door ‘masks required to enter’? Are they afraid they will lose a buck? Maybe they should think back to the same fears around when the first no-smoking laws were passed. Instead of losing business the opposite occurred. Think about it: Who are the people you want patronizing your business? Aren’t they the ones who care about each other enough to get vaccinated and wear masks? Those who have concerns for their neighbors, friends and loved ones. It is beyond comprehension that a business owner today is comfortable running a restaurant/bar/entertainment venue without a publicized policy stating all performers and staff have been vaccinated. That protects your customers and when you ask them for proof of vaccination it protects you and your staff as well. It’s a mutual thing. Maybe the many planned New Year’s Eve events at the beach would be a great the time to start a new policy for a healthy new year. We know talking closely without a mask to someone also not wearing a mask is the easiest way to pass on COVID. We also know a singer/entertainer spews out the COVID virus more than just someone talking. For that reason church choirs have their members sing with masks. A friend is in the choir at a Baptist Church in D.C. and at their Christmas program the choir sang beautifully with masks on. Vaccinated and tested soloists sang without one. At a political candidate’s event in D.C., I had to show proof of vaccination to enter and wear a mask. The same was true at the Kennedy Center and the Shakespeare Theatre where I attended performances. The Blade Christmas party was held at bar Number 9 in D.C., which required proof of vaccination and ID to enter. No one complained and instead many said without that they wouldn’t have come. Last September, Beebe Hospital canceled some elective surgeries because they were packed with COVID patients. This is happening around the nation again. Are the businesses in Rehoboth Beach going to add to the problem or start to become part of the solution? I have confidence knowing the business owners in Rehoboth care about their staff, patrons, and the community and will soon start to be part of the solution.
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V I E WP O I NT • D E C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 7
1 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1
LGBTQ-affirming holiday events, religious services By TINASHE CHINGARANDE
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community will host a Christmas Day Zoom Hangout on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 1 p.m. The Zoom link will be sent the morning of the event. For more information, please email adamheller@ thedccenter.org. “Not Another Drag Show” will be on Monday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. at Dupont Italian Kitchen. Join Logan Stone along with a rotating cast of DMV performers for a high energy good time show. More details are available on Eventbrite. Drag Bingo will be on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at Nellie’s Sports Bar. This event will be hosted by Sapphire A. Blue & Former Miss Gay Arlington - Deja Diamond. Prizes will be provided to all winners. More details are available on Eventbrite. All The Vibes will be on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 4 p.m. at Lost Society. This weekend rooftop experience is an experience of non-stop music, dancing, and good
vibes. There will be a crossover of genres and fusion of cultures. More details are available on Eventbrite. DC Lesbian Happy Hour will be on Friday, Dec. 31 at 10 p.m. at The Ven at Embassy Row Hotel. The event will be at the bar (Fred & Stilla) in the lobby (1st floor, to the right). Tickets on Eventbrite cost $30. Guests will also be able to buy tickets at the door for $40 (cash only), only if the event does not sell out at 200 tickets. More event details are available on Eventbrite. All Gay New Year Celebration will be on Friday, Dec. 31 at 10 p.m. at JR.’s. Music will be provided by DJ Andres who will play pop and Latin music. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite. The 8th Annual New Year’s Eve DC Times Square Super Party will be on Friday, Dec. 31 at 10 p.m. at Hard Rock Cafe. The dress code for this event is “fashionably trendy.” Tickets cost between $25 and $100 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
(Blade photos by Michael Key)
Religious Services Mount Olivet United Methodist Church
National City Christian Church
will have four services on Christmas Eve. Family worship will be at 4:30 p.m. on The Green. Traditional worship will be at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the sanctuary. The Way Modern Worship will be at 7:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Washington National Cathedral
will have the Carillon Recital on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 12:30 p.m. at the North Lawn. Cathedral Carillonneur Edward M. Nassor will be playing a recital. Visit the cathedral’s website for more details.
will have organ-playing by Kevin Biggins on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 9 a.m. in the sanctuary. More details are available on the church’s website.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
will have the Holy Eucharist sermon provided by the Rev. Will Morris on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 11:00a.m. More details are available on the church’s website.
Foundry United Methodist Church
will host “Tidings of Joy” on Sunday, Dec. 26 at 11:15 a.m. online and in-person. More details are available on the church’s website.
D E C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 9
New theater: ‘Pretty Woman’ and it’s Britney, bitch Two musicals to check out on D.C. stages By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Tony Award-winning choreographer/director Jerry Mitchell has had a long and loving relationship with the film “Pretty Woman.” In a recent phone call, he recalls, “When I first saw the movie, I was dancing in ‘The Will Rogers Follies’ in the early 90s. It was the perfect Cinderella story, and I fell in love.”
JERRY MITCHELL
admires and whose company he enjoys. “We change up tours, and I like to get in there and do the changes. Also, I’ve had a ball with cast. Adam Pascal who plays Edward sings the shit out of the show. I wanted to give him the time he deserves. And the new Vivian, Olivia Valli (Frankie Valli’s granddaughter), is terrific. She’s brought a sense of humor to the show. The two are sensational together.” There’s also some empowerment happening at Shakespeare Theatre Company where Broadway bound “Once Upon a One More Time” is making its world premiere. Penned by gay playwright Jon Hartmere, the musical employs familiar fairytale princesses and almost equally familiar Britney Spears’ tunes in telling a story about equality and elusive happiness. The plot’s premise is promising. A group of fairytale heroines kill time backstage until they’re called on to act out their part when a child somewhere in the world is reading their story. Not surprisingly, Cinderella is the busiest of the storybook stars. She’s also the most dissatisfied. Overworked, underpaid, and not secure in her relationship with Prince Charming, she yearns for more. Then enters Notorious OFG (Original Fairy Godmother) with a gift in tow – a copy of Betty Friedan’s 1963 bestseller “The Feminist Mystique.” Just what the princesses need to guide them from a life of obedience and dulcet tones to something better. Labor strikes, change, and bold moves ensue. As Cinderella, standout Briga Heelan boldly leads the large cast as a burgeoning new woman. Justin Guarini makes for a nicely naughty Prince Charming. And amusingly turned out in a sequined mother-of-the-bride dress and sparkly running shoes, Brooke Dillman is more Hollywood’s aw-shucks Jane Withers than the famously abrasive Freidan. When one of Spears’ more than 20 songs (“Lucky,” “Stronger,” “Toxic,” etc.) drop into
(Photo by Christopher DeVargas)
From the start, Mitchell harbored the idea that “Pretty Woman” would make a good musical. And 30 years later, after successfully directing and/or choreographing movies to Broadway musicals (“Hairspray,” “Kinky Boots,” “Legally Blonde,” and “La Cage,” to name a few), Mitchell met “Pretty Woman’s” director, Gary Marshall, who asked him to tackle an adaptation of the popular flick that made Julia Roberts a star. It wasn’t a hard choice for Mitchell, 61. “Pretty Woman” is essentially a two hander about unlikely couple Edward Lewis and Vivian Ward, a wealthy businessman and free-spirited prostitute, who find happiness together against the odds. Despite the trite aspects of the story, Mitchell sees more to it than that. “She’s in the ashes but gets herself out by finding some self-worth. It’s a good female empowerment story that I’d like to tell my own nieces. And we amplify that aspect in the musical.” Helmed by Mitchell, “Pretty Woman: The Musical” premiered in Chicago before opening on Broadway in 2018, and closing over a year later after a successful run. And in just a few days, the touring production is coming to Washington’s National Theatre. Mitchell sort of fell into directing movies to musicals. He has an explanation: “I don’t think most people read books like they used to. They watch movies and it’s a faster turnaround. A producer might think ‘this is great source material for a good musical.’ And that’s why I think so many movies are thrown at creative types rather than books.” Born with a natural athleticism that compliments his dance ability, Mitchell began acting and dancing as a kid in community in theater in his hometown of Paw Paw, Mich. Once in college at Webster University in St. Louis, he immersed himself further in dance and acting, and, says Mitchell, “came out the minute [he] stepped on campus.” He left school early to pursue a professional dance career. Moving from dancer to choreographer to director isn’t an easy task, he attests. “By 23, I knew that I wanted to be on the other side but I also knew that through dance I’d get to work with some of the great choreographers. And that came true in spades for me: Dancing allowed me to work with people like Agnes de Mille, Michael Bennett, and Jerome Robbins.” Mitchell, who lives in New York with his fiancé actor Ricky Schroeder (“Not to be confused with Schroder the movie actor – my Ricky is younger and better looking,” says Mitchell), is an integral part of the national tour. He fills the production with people he
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BRIGA HEELAN, EMILY SKINNER, TESS SOLTAU, MIMI SCARDULLA in ‘Once Upon a One More Time.’ (Photo by Matthew Murphy)
the story, fans in the audience ‘ooh and ah’ in recognition and delight. Some fun instances include the Prince’s admission of infidelity with “Oops, I Did It Again,” and Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters’ “Work, Bitch.” Sometimes glittery and loud and other times subdued, the production boasts colorful, witty costumes and artful, first rate projections. But despite good design, stellar voices, and a terrific band, something’s amiss. And ultimately, as we knew they would, each of the princesses finds their own voice including the mute Little Mermaid. But despite the occasional cleverness, it’s a tale that never lands. Like the old stories the musical wishes to rewrite, it’s all too predictable.
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Film classics for a queerer Christmas From Rudolph to John Waters, five seasonal favorites By JOHN PAUL KING
When it comes to LGBTQ Christmas movies, it’s safe to say we’ve gone from famine to feast. Not so long ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find a holiday film in which LGBTQ people even existed, let alone had anything to do with the plot; in 2021, however, it’s difficult to even count the number of queer Christmas stories being offered to make our Yuletides just that much gayer as we sit down with our families and friends to let our food digest in front of the TV. This is, of course, great news – but let’s be honest. While we can all be thrilled that there are finally heartwarming Christmas movies being made about LGBTQ people finding true love during the holidays, that doesn’t necessarily mean we all want to watch them. If it feels like we’re talking about you, then you’re in luck, because the Blade has assembled a few suggestions for seasonally appropriate movies and shows that are decidedly NOT the kind of Hallmark-style trope-fests that now represent the norm in holiday entertainment – and while they may not always have “officially” LGBTQ characters or storylines, they may not all be “politically correct,” and they may not really even all be about Christmas, they all have the kind of non-conformist appeal that somehow makes them quintessentially queer. 1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) OK, it’s not a movie, and it’s gotten a lot of flak in recent years for a plot that involves bullying, male chauvinism, verbal abuse at home and in the workplace, and a group of socially ostracized pariahs who are finally “redeemed” only because they possess skills that can be exploited by the capitalist hierarchy in which they live – but this RankinBass stop-motion classic also carries a deeply subversive undercurrent of queer empowerment that puts it at the top of our must-see holiday viewing list. It’s chock full of “coded” characters, from aspiring elf dentist Hermey to at least half the inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Toys, and it’s a musical – both of which are reasons enough for it to have become a beloved tradition for at least a couple generations of queer kids who have grown up watching it. But more than that – even more than the obvious couple status between Hermey and his rough-and-tumble ginger bear companion Yukon Cornelius – it depicts a group of individuals who, having been relegated to “other” status by the community around them, find acceptance, companionship, inspiration, and a higher purpose with each other. On the surface, perhaps, it’s a morally questionable tale of finding a way to “fit in” to a culture that doesn’t have a place for you, but the story it REALLY tells is about finding your chosen family – and it’s hard to think of a more LGBTQ-relevant Christmas message than that. 2. Female Trouble (1974) You’ve seen the memes, now see the movie. Before John Waters became a queer icon, he was an underground filmmaker whose work was designed to shock and disgust anyone who wasn’t cool enough to laugh at it – and for many of his faithful longtime fans, this over-the-top saga of a teen delinquent named Dawn Davenport (played to sublimely antisocial perfection by the great Divine, Waters’ once-and-forever muse) who grows up to embrace a life of crime and beauty is the pinnacle of his entire, gloriously trashy ca-
reer. The scene in which Dawn takes out her anger at not getting the black cha-cha heels she asked for by trashing the family Christmas tree was iconic decades before it became the inspiration for countless seasonal social media posts, and it strikes a hilariously relatable chord for any viewer – queer or otherwise – for obvious reasons. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg in a movie packed with such non-PC absurdities as a pair of evil salon owners who mainline eyeliner, ketchup-soaked games of “car crash” on the living room sofa, and the ongoing efforts of Aunt Ida (snaggle-toothed Waters stalwart Edith Massey, at her batty best) to turn her nephew gay because “the world of the heterosexual is a sick and boring life.” Trust us on this one – it may not be big on Christmas spirit, but it’s the perfect palate cleanser after all that holiday sweetness you’ve been feasting on since Thanksgiving. 3. Carol (2015) If you are in the mood for a Christmas romance but would prefer something with more substance than the usual sparkly fluff, you can’t do better that Todd Haynes’s modern classic about two 1950s women – a young aspiring photographer and a well-to-do older woman in the middle of a difficult divorce – whose chance meeting at a store counter leads to a life-chang-
staple. 4. Tangerine (2015) Things are unapologetically queer in this shot-on-an-iPhone indie darling from filmmaker Sean Baker, which takes place in the streets of Hollywood on Christmas Eve. An episodic and interwoven tale of a fresh-out-of-jail trans prostitute who goes on a quest with one of her fellow sex workers to find the boyfriend/pimp who cheated on her, it’s audacious, inappropriate, racy, hilarious, heartbreaking, sassy, sweet, outrageous, and everything else you might expect from a movie about trans sex workers – starring, incidentally, two authentic trans women, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, in the leads. More importantly, it never treats its characters as anything less than fully human, even when they are engaged in shady behavior (and there’s lots of shady behavior), and it never judges them; instead, it takes us into their world for a while and shows us that, just like the rest of us, sex workers need a little Christmas cheer, too. 5. Home for the Holidays (1995) Rounding out the collection and bringing it full circle is this ensemble dramedy directed by Jodie Foster, a seminal holiday film that goes for a deep dive into dysfunctional family
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
ing love affair. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1952 novel by Patricia Highsmith and brought to the screen with loving care (not to mention an eye for period detail) by one of the queer cinema’s foremost auteurs, it offers career-topping performances from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in a mesmerizing lesbian love story that rises as effortlessly as a butterfly above the oppressive circumstances of its retro setting. And while the season is only incidental to its narrative, the fact that things don’t go in the direction we expect is enough of a Christmas miracle to make this sumptuous film a legitimate holiday
2 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1
(Image courtesy NBC Universal)
drama. Yes, it has all the cliches – a divorced mom (Holly Hunter) loses her job and goes back to her hometown for Christmas, where she spars with her parents (Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning) and assorted other relatives, connects with her gay brother (Robert Downey, Jr.), and finds love where she least expects it – but it’s also smart, genuinely funny when it’s trying to be (and not when it isn’t), and has a refreshingly positive queer character who steals every scene he’s in. Is it a masterpiece? Probably not, but it’s more authentic (and much better acted) than most entries to the genre.
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King’s Highway
(Photo by Lance Gerber)
4 fabulous brunch options in Palm Springs
Good food, plentiful cocktails, and high style to start the day By EVAN CAPLAN
Brunch — that all-day weekend affair — is where days can begin, and end. In a town that already wakes up early, brunch has a special place among meals. With the cooler weather, there’s no better time to head to Palm Springs for a taste of the brunch festivities it has to offer. Below, four distinctive – and distinct – brunch options. Jake’s: Helmed by industry veterans (and gay men) Chris Malm and Bruce Bloch, Jake’s is an institution, as much a destination as it is a spot for locals. The goal of Jake’s, says Malm, is to make it “a hip, fun dinner party with good friends.” At brunch time, plan to spend some time with other new besties, Mary and Rita. Jake’s offers one of the most extensive and diverse brunch cocktail lists in Palm Springs: 10 Bloody Marys, six mimosas, six margaritas, seven “refreshers,” several other cocktails, and of course, rosé. It’s no surprise that the bartender has collected awards. The shaded, cozy patio is also a hit. Lined with soaring, 20-foot Ficus trees, locals refer to it as “The Ivy” of Palm Springs. In the winter, there’s space for heaters; summertime brings in misters. As for the dishes, it’s the crab cake benedict that repeat customers dive in for. There’s also a tempura softshell crab BLT that’s a menu mainstay. Malm points out that the tater tots, infused with truffle, “are incredibly popular.” Finally, if you’re especially lucky, you’ll meet Jackson: a West Highland Terrier who serves as mascot (though he won’t serve your mimosa). Oscar’s: Located in the heart of Palm Springs, Oscar’s is the town’s epicenter for full-octane energy. While the party rarely stops at Oscar’s, Sunday brunch turns it up to an 11. The restaurant didn’t hold back by christening its Sunday event as the “Bitchiest Brunch.” It doesn’t hold back. The show’s drag queen star is Anita Rose; she’s supported by a rotating cast, bringing distinctive attitude and style to brunch. Soon after pandemic restrictions were lifted, Oscar’s restarted the brunch party, taking advantage of one of its biggest selling points: a patio that can seat up to 120. Dan Gore, the owner and a gay man, said that the restaurant quickly outgrew one showtime. They quickly added a second. There’s now a full three seatings (9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.); two outside and one inside. One of the reasons that this brunch has been wildly popular is that Oscar’s can draw “different kinds of families and feel welcome and accepted. It’s not just entertainment by fabulous performers, but also a loving, safe space. It’s an all-ages event.” Of course, Oscar’s serves bottomless mimosas; there are also super-size (16-ounce) Bloody Marys. To dine, it’s a classic egg-focused menu, with omelets and eggs 2 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • DECEMBER 2 4 , 2 0 2 1
Benedicts. Pancakes, French toast, breakfast tacos, and bagels and lox round out the menu. After brunch concludes, adult diners tend to hang out for another of Oscar’s mainstays: afternoon tea dance. Parker: As quintessential Palm Springs as it gets: Parker is an upscale resort designed by Jonathan Adler. Its restaurant, Norma’s, distills that chic styling into brunch. Norma’s serves breakfast all day and all night, but brunch is the time to see and be seen. The extensive patio and wraparound orange banquette allow for both peoplewatching and nature-watching. Inside, white stone and wooden accents keep things cool. A Parker representative notes that “the concept of breakfast at Norma’s can be a no-holds-barred extravaganza of decadent proportions,” something that certainly extends to brunch time. Diners can start off minimalist with an egg white omelet – or go maximalist with the “zillion dollar lobster frittata,” on which diners can toss an ounce of Sevruga caviar. There’s a slew of traditional carbheavy diner items, like blueberry pancakes and chocolate French toast. Gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options abound. In terms of cocktails, there’s a short list of classics (Bloody Mary, mimosa), plus French and Californian roses, as well as glasses (or bottles) of Dom Perignon and Veuve. King’s Highway: Infused with the desert spirit, King’s Highway brings chic to cactus country. Snug inside the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, King’s is a roadside diner with retro nods (it used to be a Denny’s) and handsome saddle leather banquettes. Khuong Phan, food & beverage communications director at the hotel, notes that “we’ve kept that same diner vibe and spirit… but we’ve completely made it Southern California contemporary.” Beveled mirrors slope above the bar for some surreptitious people-watching; the outdoor patio is just as welcoming, situated as it is next to the popular pool. Beyond coffee and pastries, substantive and diner-forward entrees include Belgian waffles, bagel sandwiches, and biscuits and gravy built on pork sausage. East Coast visitors will feel comfortable with the salmon lox plate; locals dig in to the homey and filling King’s Highway Breakfast of eggs, potatoes, and sausage. Additional salads, sandwiches, and burgers are available after 11 a.m. To drink, detoxers may wish to choose the Sunrise (orange, coconut water, lemon, ginger, turmeric). The date shake is concocted with local dates, plus oat milk and vanilla ice cream. Naturally, there’s a Bloody Mary, using housemade mix. Another tropical-style drink is the Pina Antigua: pineapple rum, rye, and creme de banana. A popular local bottle shop, Dead or Alive, curates the wine list.
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The benefits of running high Many amateur athletes use cannabis to enhance performance By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
‘Runner’s High’ By Josiah Hesse
c.2021, Putnam | $28 | 308 pages
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The top of the mountain is well above your head. You can’t see it from the bottom, but you’ve been there a time or two. You’re going up there again, in fact, on a trail that’s filled with rocks and branches, streams and trees, and seems to go straight up. You’ll run it, all of it, and as in the new book “Runner’s High” by Josiah Hesse, you’ll go high. For most of his life, Josiah Hesse looked at exercise as something like punishment. He hated the very idea of competition, and any kind of physical effort reminded him of high school “locker rooms” and “homophobic meatheads who threatened my safety.” These thoughts were drifting through his mind when, in 2015, he was waiting for the start of a marathon and noticed discarded edibles wrappers in a garbage can. He’d brought edibles along and had planned on “discreetly consuming” them; by the end of the race, he was joyful and “giddy” and had discovered something he believes is “underreported.” He thought he was alone in his enjoyment of running high, but Hesse found a surprise: many athletes – particularly distance runners, he says – use CBD, THC, and marijuana to enhance performance. It’s quietly common in amateur sports and, he avers, though most organizations ban or discourage it, marijuana use is also well-known in pro sports. Science, he says, has proven in many ways that marijuana and its derivatives can actually help athletes. The human body contains cannabinoid receptors; it’s well-known that marijuana works to eliminate pain and induce relaxation, and it can decrease anxiety. Hesse noticed that “ripping a bong” before he ran made running more like “play”; if couch-potatoes could tap into that feeling, then maybe, Hesse posited, they wouldn’t be sedentary. So why isn’t marijuana legal and easily available, then? Says Hesse, “Enter Big Tobacco, Alcohol, and Pharma.” Getting any useful information out of “Runner’s High” is very clearly, pure and simple, going to depend on your stance on the use of marijuana. If you’re steadfastly negative, you can stop here and page ahead. Lean toward the positive, and author Josiah Hesse still won’t make things easy for you. Readers, for example, will quickly notice that several iterations of the word “play” show up in this book really often, which is generally distracting and doesn’t, until toward the end of it, leave much room for serious discussion on what he’s found. While there is a good amount of science-and-businesslike dialogue here, the antsy insistence on “play” overshadows it. Others, particularly those who are specific in their usage, may find deep offense in labels like “stoner,” “pothead runners” and “dirtbag.” Casual use of user slang also changes the tone of this book, from investigative to impudent. For athletes who want to make their daily run fun, or for “couch-monsters” who need impetus to get up and go, there’s a lot of solid science to be had inside “Runner’s High.” If you aren’t anywhere convinced, though, this book could be a mountain of controversy.
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Valerie M. Blake
is a licensed associate broker in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia with RLAH Real Estate. Call or text her at 202-246-8602, email her via DCHomeQuest.com, or follow her on Facebook at TheRealst8ofAffairs.
Topical real estate Christmas carols Getting into the holiday spirit with song
6 smoke detectors, 5 cans of paint, 4 tubes of caulk, 3 flood lights, 2 window locks, and a raise in my rent for next year.
By VALERIE M. BLAKE
Last year, the pandemic kept us from seeing loved ones over the holidays. As you decide whether to venture out this year, this song may be on the tip of your tongue.
For some, Christmas Eve means midnight mass or other church service that celebrates the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. For others, it’s a time for gathering around the tree or the fireplace and singing carols while sipping eggnog (perhaps laced with brandy, rum, or bourbon), while opening just one present before Santa Claus brings the real loot the next morning. This month, I thought I’d share some of my favorite real estate Christmas carols – with apologies to the original lyricists. Feel free to sing along with this one if you’ve ever driven to a pop-up Christmas tree store, picked out your favorite, and had it tied to the roof of your car only to get home and struggle getting it into the house.
(TO THE TUNE OF I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS) I’ll be home for Christmas. Covid won’t stop me. Triple vaxxed and double masked, I’ll see my family. I don’t need to fly there, take a train or bus. I can drive to meet them or Zoom there if I must. As you hang your stockings on the fireplace mantel and put cookies and milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve, remember whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year when you sing this song. (TO THE TUNE OF WHITE CHRISTMAS, WITH PAINT IN SHERWIN WILLIAMS 0055) I’m dreaming of a white kitchen just like the one I saw today, so I need to plan it with Sea Pearl granite and accents of stainless steel. Maybe I’ll have a blue island to go with walls of Light French Gray. And I’ll add some white subway tile before all those things go out of style.
(TO THE TUNE OF O CHRISTMAS TREE) O Christmas tree, I curse at thee. You won’t fit up the stairwell. My condo hall is much too small. I’m thinking this won’t end well. I want a tree to decorate but you will not cooperate, so Christmas tree, I’ll donate thee to some deserving charity.
And for my Jewish friends, whose Hanukkah celebration came early this year, I couldn’t let the holidays go by without a Christmas song for you too.
This next song may serve as an annual reminder to winterize your home and have your chimney inspected. (TO THE TUNE OF THE CHRISTMAS SONG) Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. I forgot to check the flue. Smoke now billowing into the room is causing us to cough and spew. As we run outside to catch our breath and clear our heads, our eyes are watery and red. Next year, never fear, I’ll be sure the flue is clear or serve popcorn instead. Have you ever wanted to bang on the ceiling of your apartment to tell your upstairs neighbors to celebrate more quietly? If so, here’s your song. (TO THE TUNE OF DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?) Said my husband to me on Christmas Eve, “Do you
hear what I hear? Listen, it’s coming from upstairs! Do you hear what I hear? The groans, the moans, the squealing of delight. They will keep us up through the night.” I replied, “You’re probably right.” A good landlord will make sure you have the proper tools to keep her property in good shape, but it may come at a cost, as this song explains. (TO THE TUNE OF THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS) On the 12th day of Christmas, my landlord gave to me: 12 furnace filters, 11 child-proof latches, 10 LED bulbs, 9 picture hangars, 8 bristle brushes, 7 tubs of spackle,
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(TO THE TUNE OF I SAW THREE SHIPS A SAILING) I ate Chinese on Christmas Day. My Christian friends were all away. They know that I don’t celebrate with turkey, green beans and dressing. There was no need for me to cook or entertain in the breakfast nook, so I went out for Wonton Soup, some Peking Duck, and a Mooncake. So, my friends, as I close out 2021, let me serenade you with this last little ditty to show my appreciation... (TO THE TUNE OF WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS) I wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope you get all your wishes. I’m thankful for all you bishes, and I’ll see you next year!
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