Washington Blade, Volume 53, Issue 49, December 09, 2022

Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s feud with gay Hill staffer

TIM HYSOM speaks for frst time since becoming target of harassment, page 16

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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i m on erf a e e igion set for premiere oc mentar e p ores cha enges face b eer atho ics

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

feat re ength oc mentar fi m ca e on erf a e e igion , hich e p ores ho re igion has p a e a ea ing ro e in perpet ating anti attit es an high ights the cha enges an aspirations of atho ics, is sche e for a specia screening on ec at the treet inema he fi m s irector is ga fi mmaker, actor, an rights a ocate a a i t as oint pro ce b a i an his h sban , attorne an atho ic a ocate ark c ermott he premiere sho ing of the fi m is being hoste b ea ffirmations, s fi m festi a he fi m foc ses on the atho ic h rch beca se it is one of the argest re igio s orga ni ations in the or , an beca se its anti stance is kno n an gro ing more har ine, at east in some circ es, a statement anno ncing the sho ing of the fi m sa s he narrati e of the fi m is shape b the process of a fine art pro ect creating nprece ente , photographic iconograph epicting es s as a member a of the com m nit , represente b m tip e mo e s, the statement sa s a i an c ermott to the ashington a e in a o inter ie that pro ction of the fi m as comp ete at the en of g st of this ear, an it has since been sho n at fi m festi a s across the an o erseas t as honore as the est eat re i m at the oronto i m esti a

ne of the things e isc ss in o r fi m an the a this makes it contemporar , an e en pertaining to this horrib e shooting at the nightc b in o ora o an the ar io s other attacks on the comm nit , is the fact that the ast ma orit of anti an homophobic be iefs, inc ing a s an egis ation, are on the basis of re igion, a i sai

inet something percent of homophobia an anti be iefs are on the basis of re igion, a i sai he an c ermott sa in research fin ings a i an c ermott sai one of their ob ecti es for the fi m, hich inc es inter ie s ith ea ing atho ic acti ists an s pporti e atho ic priests, as to sho ho images of the ch rch an es s thro gh art an iconograph going back se era cent ries has impacte the re igio s ie s of atho ics, inc ing atho ics mong the s pporti e peop e inter ie e in the fi m inc e ister eannine ramick, a atho ic n n ho co fo n e e a s inistr , the atho ic a ocac

organi ation arianne rke, presi ent of ignit , the nationa ath o ic gro p an ather ames artin, a es it priest, a thor, an o tspoken a ocate for s pporti e po icies in the atho ic h rch a i an c ermott point to their fi m s gro n breaking se of a form of iconograph that the an their creati e team, inc ing photographers, create as part of an art pro ect to make the ch rch s imager more e coming to peop e he i ea behin this is in hristianit an atho icism, es s has a a s been portra e one a for the ast , ears, c ermott to the a e hat he has been portra e as a hite man of orthern ropean escent ith b on hair an b e e es n as e set p the fi m, e ante to cha enge that histor of art, change it, he sai , to sho that the i ine is in a of s, inc ing peop e c ermott an a i to ho the con cte a casting ca for actors an mo e s to portra es s as peop e ho ere high i erse b a of ethnicit , gen er, an gen er e pression o their ama ement, abo t peop e respon e to the casting ca n o t of that enormo s gro p e se ecte nine mo e s, a i sai n the peo p e e cast are tr a i erse arra of peop e representing ifferent ethnicities, ifferent races, ifferent gen ers, ifferent bo t pes, he sai e ante to cast peop e ho not on ere mo e s b t actors an peop e ho tr i entif ith this topic, a i sai e era of the actor mo e s are inter ie e in the fi m, ith some escribing their o n e periences as a person of faith in a ch rch that is sometimes not accepting of them a i sai se era tho san sti photos ere taken of the nine mo e actors se ecte to portra es s e sai abo t of the photo images ere se ecte to be sho n in the fi m in hich the actor mo e s portra es s in ario s stages of his ife as escribe in the script res, inc ing scenes of the cr cifi ion he sti photos are sho n in a ramatic presentation at the conc sion of the fi m, ith each of the mo e actors e hibiting high emotiona facia e pressions, especia as the are sho n tie to a cross ith a cro n of thorns c ermott sai he an a i came p ith the fi m s on erf a e tit e from a bib ica passage kno n as the ook of sa ms in hich the bib ica fig re a i sa s hi e pra ing to o , praise o beca se am fearf an on erf ma e ib ica scho ars ha e sai the or fearf as se in that bib ica passage b a i as inten e to mean ith great re erence, heart fe t interest an ith respect ark c ermott an a a i to the a e that hi e their fi m sho s the har ship face b atho ics an peop e of faith, man peop e of faith, inc ing the re igio s e perts the inter ie in the fi m, be ie e atho icism an re igion in genera can be inter prete to be s pporti e of a peop e, inc ing peop e t the t o sa a positi e perspecti e on ho re igion has an contin es to impact peop e, s ch as the stor to in their fi m, is nee e ort percent of o r home ess ki s are percent, c ermott sai n e kno h the en e p home ess he got thro n o t of their ho ses b their o n fami , he sai n it s a most a a s beca se of their fami s re igio s ie s e c ermott, ne in three ki s in the ast ear contemp ate or serio s think abo t s ici e ccor ing to he an a i , stress or con ict ith their fami s re igio s be iefs is er often the root ca se of stress an epression among peop e he are hopef , the sai , that their fi m i be seen b man facing these prob ems an ho ma be he pe b the fi m s strong message that it s ok to be a person of faith an e create this for those ho m st see this, so the on t fee that a , sai a i ickets for the ec , p m screening of on erf a e e igion , hich is open to the p b ic, can be p rchase on ine or at the treet inema at the time of the sho ing if tickets are sti a ai ab e trai er pre ie of the fi m can be ie e here on erf ma efi m com o can fo o ne s of the fi m on socia me ia, instagram com on erf a e o ie

‘Wonderfully Made LGBTQ+R(eligion)’ premieres in D.C. on Dec. 12.

Ruby Corado describes D.C. civil case as ‘persecution’ asa b fo n er c aims boar appro e transfer of , in f n s

By ERNESTO VALLE

(Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers translated this interview from Spanish.)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Casa Ruby founder Ruby Corado told the Washington Blade on Friday during an interview in the Salvadoran capital the allegations that officia s ha e ma e against her amo nt to perse cution.”

his is persec tion, ora o sai ring an inter ie at a an a a or coffee shop t the en of the a am intereste in peop e kno ing a these things, beca se am a h man rights acti ist an hat is happening to b ora o sho be an a arm for an h man rights efen er.”

he epartment of man er ices on ept , , informe asa b it as not going to rene its ann a , grant that, among other things, f n e asa b s emergenc o barrier she ter for home ess o th an a ts ora o ring the inter ie ith her in a a or sai asa b remaine open and was not in debt, even though she said the D.C. go ernment i not pa the organi ation for si months he staff as a a s pai , beca se the organi ation s principa mission is gi ing ork to a of those peop e that nobo ants to emp o , she sai he go ernment as of to a o es s aro n a mi ion o ars for ser ices e pro i e an e ha e ne er been reimb rse , no ne s paper has sai this

he ffice of the ttorne enera in a ci i com p aint it fi e in perior o rt on , , a ege ora o io ate the cit s onprofit orporations ct in connection ith its financia ea ings perior o rt ge an a a son ater p ace asa b n er recei ership

he name the an a ston o n ation, a base organi ation that pro i es ho sing ser ices for home ess o th, as the cit s recei er he an a ston o n ation in a pre iminar report it fi e on ept sai asa b sho be isso e n amen e ci i comp aint the ffice of the t torne enera fi e in perior o rt on o a eges ora o ith re more than , of asa b f n s for na thori e se in a a or he amen e comp aint, among other things, inc es three new defendants to what legal observers say is the e i a ent of a go ernment a s it against ora o an asa b he ne efen ants are imite iabi it companies that ora o create an contro s he in clude a new version of Casa Ruby called Casa Ruby LLC, oing b siness as o ie ea th ne ma eha iora ea th an ig oba ogistics , oing b siness as asa b harmac

he amen e comp aint notes ora o c aime the ne companies an especia the pharmac ere part of asa b s mission, b t she ne er recei e the asa b boar of irectors appro a to create them he attorne genera s office has sai the boar rare met an fai e to pro i e an o ersight of ora o s ac tions.

ccor ing to the amen e comp aint, ora o trans ferre arge s ms of mone from asa b to these companies n at some point she transferre f n s from the ne companies to her o n persona bank acco nt oth the origina comp aint an the amen e com p aint a ege ora o transferre as m ch as , of

Casa Ruby’s funds to create what she said was a new Casa Ruby in El Salvador that the board approved. But the earier an amen e comp aints a ege the boar ne er a thori e the a a or operation he amen e comp aint sa s ora o bet een pri an eptember transferre more than , from t o asa b re ate acco nts to ac co nts she he n er her birth name in t o a a or banks t sa s the asa b boar ne er a thori e an of these transfers.”

Corado told the Blade she feels targeted because she always tells the truth. Corado added people are distracte from the tr th beca se of a s stem that benefits from ies an efamation eop e kno m ork an ha e seen me orking an beca se of this there are man peop e ho contin e to s pport me, she sai

tries that inc e atema a an icarag a ora o a so enie the a egation the ma orit of asa b emp o ees ere pai ess than an ho r, hich is ess than the minim m age as of , he minim m age on that ate rose to an hour.

oes the prosec tor ant to spen reso rces in es tigating Ruby Corado and throwing away her work — as they have wanted to do for the last eight years — instead of fee ing the nee , sai ora o et them o it he pro ect that presente as a priorit that res i ent i en ha , hich as gi ing mone to s to ens re that peop e on t contin e to migrate, a e ora o i n t in ent an thing that asn t a rea on the agenda.”

ora o note she as among the an interse acti ists ho met ith i en in ent an ta ke abo t hat the barriers ere, she sai ne of them is oca go ernment re ationships ith the comm nit ora o sai she has more information that she can not reveal,” but stressed she will do it through the court s stem ora o to the a e she as afrai to speak p beca se she i not ant to eopar i e asa b s funding.

he ne t co rt hearing in the asa b ci i case is sche e to take p ace on an , an ora o is e pect ed to attend.

Corado was born in El Salvador.

She said one of the reasons she decided to open Casa b in the co ntr as beca se she nee e to hea in si e an take care of m se f from the tra ma she sai she s ffere ring the co ntr s ci i ar, from her ife on the streets of an from the oss of se era peop e close to Casa Ruby.

he a e in arch inter ie e ora o abo t the opening of Casa Ruby in El Salvador. r ork at asa b is to a oi s ffering an to offer s pport thro gh a iances, that is h e aim to share the programs for migrants that ork in ashington because we have seen that they work,” she said during an inter ie from asa b s ne office in an a a or, on arch , e i o a itt e more ork here in a a or so that the comm nit has greater access to these opportunities.”

Corado said part of this work included the purchase of a restaurant and nightclub in order to create jobs for peop e ora o a so opene a she ter ith im ited resources, not like what had been done in Washington an offere make p c asses an other orkshops that a o e c ients to earn ski s to s pport themse es ora o sai she began these pro ects ith mone she obtaine thro gh the sa e of her home in an through her own salary. Corado categorically denied allegations that she ith re more than , from asa Ruby’s bank accounts without the board’s approval.

ha e e er thing oc mente in riting, here the boar appro e m sa ar an a so here the , as appro e , sai ora o

Corado said the board always knew about the El Salvador project, which she said was part of her strategy for asa b to e pan its ork o tsi e the to co n

he sai she ha iss e reports abo t hate crimes in an the ffice of the ttorne enera i not ork with her. Corado said she once told D.C. Attorney Genera ar acine ring a meeting that she i not think he as oing eno gh to he p the cit s comm nit as on this man s b ack ist from that moment on, Corado said.

Corado once again described Racine’s allegations and the t eets he ma e against her as base ess, an she has ma e her opinion to the ge kno n

ne er kisse an one s ass on t e pect these peo p e no , after ears, to come an appro e m ork, ora o emphasi e he office of ttorne enera acine re ease a statement to the a e in response to estions abo t ora o s acc sations e opene an in estigation after p b ic reporting in the ashington ost on th s g gested Casa Ruby had engaged in serious violations of the istrict s nonprofit a s, hich o r office is respon sib e for enforcing, the statement rea r comp aint, an the remarkab e amo nt of e i ence e e nco ere in st a short time, speaks for itse f

Corado also said she continues to receive death threats, an her car as an a i e hen she as ast in D.C. as sta ing ith a frien an someone came to the apartment anting to h rt or ki me, she sai on t know.”

Lou Chibbaro, Jr. contributed to this story

Casa Ruby founder RUBY CORADO in El Salvador. (Blade photo by Ernesto Valle)

o o n o nt

shopping center hit ith homophobic, racist graffiti heriff s ffice seeks he p from p b ic to i entif s spects

he o o n o nt , a , herriff s ffice is seeking he p from the p b ic for its in estigation into an inci ent on ri a , ec , in hich an ni entifie s spect or s s pects spra painte anti , racist, an anti emitic graffiti at a shopping center

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

spokesperson for the heriff s office to the ash ington a e the graffiti, hich is consi ere an act of an a ism an is being in estigate as a possib e hate crime, as fo n painte on the si e of a b i ing that once ho se a oo ion s permarket at the o th i ing o n enter in hanti

he heriff s ffice i not isc ose the e act or ing of the graffiti t ne s me ia reports, inc ing a report b e s, sai the graffiti inc e a i s astikas, racia s rs, an the phrase stop hite genoci e mong the graffiti messages as the s mbo , hich in icates the perpetrator s en orsement of hite s premac an its be iefs, accor ing to a statement from the e ish e eration of reater ashington as reporte b the oca p b ication nsi e heriff s ffice spokesperson iche e o man sai another, simi ar isp a of hate graffiti as fo n on at r a behin the e ath e on b i ing at the nearb es an ing shopping center o man sai the heriff s ffice is a so in estigating that inci ent here is no p ace in societ for this beha ior, a state ment re ease b the heriff s ffice on acebook sa s he takes this er serio s an is orking ith o r station etecti es, choo eso rce fficers, an o r ask orce member, an is re ie ing socia me ia an other potentia ea s to etermine ho is responsi b e for this i e act, the statement sa s e are asking the p b ic for their assistance as e , it sa s f an one has information that ma be he pf , p ease ca etecti e orn a t at , the statement says.

o o n , hich escribes itse f as an a ocac organi ation that s pports e a it , anno nce on ace book that it organi e a ra on n a , ec , at the site of the graffiti at o th i ing o n enter to speak o t against hate he anno ncement sa s the gro p a so arrange for o nteers to he p remo e the graffiti after earning that the heriff s ffice oes not ha e a thorit to remo e s ch graffiti on pri ate propert

bo t oca resi ents oine the ra , hich took p ace a ong the si e of a e ars ark a here the graffiti ha been painte , the gro p sai in its acebook posting a goers he signs ith inc si e an s p porti e messages an a e at cars ri ing b , the post ing sa s t sa s that oca resi ent ante imbers, the o ner of imbers an scaping are, , o nteere his ser ices b bringing a po er asher to the site to remo e most of the graffiti

here his hoses o n t reach, oca ki s con erte the spra painte message of hate into cha ke messag es of o e, the o o n statement sa s o o n heriff s spokesperson o man sai there ere no p ates to report on the in estigation as of on a , ec

a e accepting app ications for ne fe o ship on o th

he a e o n ation anno nce it has opene the app ication process for a ne inter fe o ship he app ication is open for an aspir ing base co ege age o rna ist intereste in co ering o th he fe o ship r ns for eeks start ing an ar ith a , stipen e o s i be paire ith a a e e i tor for mentoring an reporting assign ments.

his fe o ship is foc se on iss es

omings oings

o ahe i opens irt a a firm

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

he omings oings co mn is abo t sharing the professiona s ccesses of o r comm nit e ant to recogni e those an ing ne obs, ne c ients for their b siness, oining boar s of organi ations an other achie ements ease share o r s ccesses ith s at comingsan goings ashb a e com

he omings oings co mn a so in ites co ege st ents to share their s ccesses ith s f o ha e been e ecte to a st ent go ernment position, gotten an e citing internship, or are gra ating an be ginning o r career ith a great ob, et s kno so e can share o r s ccess

ongrat ations to Babak Movahedi on the opening of his irt a a firm starte a irt a immigration a firm concentrating on fami immigration an b siness immigration, he sai ha e ha the p eas re of repre senting a n mber of c ients can app for per manent resi enc of the spo se or other fami members

MOVAHEDI

of a permanent resi ent, or citi en am icense to represent c ients in a states n , o ahe i opene a bo ti e a firm ith an internationa c ient base t foc se on rea estate a ,

impacting eer o th in o erage areas i inc e ho sing, coming o t, e cation, an more he fe o ship is f n e b a grant from the a or s f fice of ffairs

o ege st ents ma app b emai ing a etter of interest, res me, an inks to three riting samp es to e in aff, e ec ti e irector, a e o n a tion, knaff ashb a e com o phone ca s ea ine to app is ec

FROM STAFF REPORTS

ith an emphasis on con omini m con ersion rior to that he ser e as a pecia aster agistrate in iami each n that position he r e on a ariet of matters re ating to iami each co e, ser e as a fact fin er, an iss e r ings e orke c ose ith the hief pecia aster an i kno o ahe i from his ork as o n er of a chain of cocktai o nges in both an iami e o ne in both p aces er the ears, he has orke as a so o practitioner managing the a offices of abak o ahe i in an as of pont it e an ett ements e as a partner in stin o ahe i in e ser e as chief of part in the nite tates genc for nternationa e e opment an as presi ent, roperties nternationa e c rrent is a isiting rofessor, nternationa a an siness, choo of siness an ocia ciences, arce ona, pain o ahe i earne his bache or s egree in nternation a o itics, tate ni ersit of e ork, ton rook, in nternationa siness, eorgeto n ni ersit an ris octor, eorgeto n ni ersit , an aster of a in nternationa omparati e a , eorgeto n ni ersit

BABAK

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preme o rt hears ora arg ments in reati e case

he preme o rt on on a hear ora arg ments in reati e enis, a case that co carr broa imp ications for hether an in hich circ mstances states ma enforce certain non iscrimination r es against p r e ors of goo s an ser ices

he case as bro ght b ebsite esigner orie mith, ho so ght to inc e a isc aimer that her compan reati e o not e e op e ing anno ncement eb sites for co p es, b t isco ere that s ch a notice o io ate o ora o s anti iscrimination a s, hich in c e se a orientation as a protecte c ass er a s it against the state of o ora o, arg e b co nse from the anti gro p iance efen ing ree om , reaches the preme o rt fo o ing the r ing against mith from the th irc it o rt of ppea s, hich create a circ it sp it ith ecisions from the th ir c it an ri ona preme o rt r ing is e pecte to come in ne

he fact pattern in reati e c ose mirrors the case asterpiece akeshop o ora o i i ights om mission, here the preme o rt ec ine to r e on the broa er ega estions beca se it fo n the ommission e hibite hosti it to ar the re igio s ie s of the baker that ref se to esign a c stom e ing cake for a same se co p e

he high co rt has since mo e s bstantia to the right, ith a conser ati e s perma orit o ora o is one of states that enforces a s prohibiting b sinesses from is crimination base on se a orientation, an a r ing that o a o for broa constr e e emptions to be car e o t for firms base on their irst men ment protections o carr imp ications e be on the conte t of same se marriage

on a s ora arg ments foc se on pree isting an h pothetica cases that ere presente b co nse from both parties as e as b the stices, e amp es hose scope

an fact patterns reinforce the brea th of the ega iss es at p a in reati e o ora o o icitor enera ric son an rincipa ep t o icitor enera rian etcher pointe to the preme o rt s r ing in msfe or m for ca emic an nstit tiona ights, , hich fo n that the fe era go ernment ma ithho f n ing from ni ersities that, base on their ob ections to on t sk, on t e , ref se to grant mi itar recr iters access to their reso rces , resi ent an enera o nse risten ag goner cite the preme o rt s ecision in r e rish merican a , esbian, an ise a ro p of oston, , hich phe the right of pri ate organi ations to e c e participation b certain gro ps itho t interference b the state, e en if that inter ention b the go ernment as for the p rpose of pre enting iscrimination ch of the isc ssion ring on a s ora arg ments centere on hat kin s of goo s an ser ices ma be con si ere p b ic accommo ations an hich constit te ar tistic speech or e pression b the b siness pro i er so at iss e ere estions s ch as hether their ref sa to ac commo ate certain e ents i e , same se e ings are tantamo nt to ref sing goo s an ser ices to members of a protecte c ass of peop e n er the state s non iscrimi nation a s is esignate an anti e tremist gro p b the o thern o ert a enter n amic s brief as fi e in s pport of the go ernment b the corporate a firm hite ase a ong ith a coa ition of rights gro ps an ega a ocac gro ps the ationa ask orce, , the ationa enter for esbian ights, amb a e ga , an the man ights ampaign st t o eeks after a shooter ki e peop e, in re , an tra mati e so man others at b in o ora o prings, the nite tates preme o rt prepares to hear ora arg ments in an anti p b ic accommo ations

iscrimination case from o ora o, rote the ationa ask orce in a statement a ressing on a s ora arg ments

i eaton, the gro p s po ic irector, high ighte the im portance of p b ic accommo ations a s an con emne efforts b the opposition to ega i e iscrimination an seg regation in the marketp ace he brief s most important arg ment ifts p the po erf amic s briefs of the ega efense an cationa n an of the a ers ommittee for i i ights n er a , eaton sai hose t o briefs b enerab e ci i rights organi ations pro i e a etai e histor of p b ic accommo ations iscrimination against ack an ro n peop e in this co ntr s statement on on a to che on simi ar themes ranting the nprece ente free speech e emption so ght b petitioners in reati e enis o be a angero s change to ong stan ing constit tiona an ci i rights a t o ine itab ea to increase iscrimina tion not on re ate to peop e or e ings, b t a so for other nerab e pop ations inc ing omen, peop e ith isabi ities, an peop e of minorit faiths t s cr cia that stices of the preme o rt re ect iscrimina tion an affirm the e a ignit of e er merican ike ise, the ongressiona a it a c s re ease a statement e p oring the broa imp ications that co res t from the o rt s r ing on reati e the preme o rt co iss e a broa r ing that not on imp icates non iscrimination a s app ications to graphic esigners b t to a i e range of b sinesses pro i ing goo s an ser ices that ha e an artistic component broa r ing for the graphic esigner co not on pro i e a constit tiona basis for iscriminating against same se co p es, b t a so for iscriminating against a margina i e peop e c rrent protecte b p b ic accommo ations non iscrimination a s

CHRISTOPHER KANE

irst o t ga member of o se ies at

ormer ep b ican ongressman ames im homas o be, ho represente o thern ri ona in ongress for ears, ie at r a , ec of a stroke at the age of his h sban ector fonso confirme to ri ona me ia o t ets e be ongs to so man peop e, his h sban sai thro gh tears on at r a e ga e his ife for this cit e o e c son, he o e ri ona ri ona s ep b ican o ernor o g ce or ere ags at a state b i ings be o ere to ha f staff nti s nset n a in honor of the former congressman o be as the first open ser ing ga ep b ican in the o se of epresentati es ha ing ser e from to ring his ear ten re he ser e as chair of the bcommittee on oreign perations, port inancing an e ate rograms of the o se ppropriations ommittee n , o be he a press conference an o te himse f after his ote for the efense of arriage ct, this accor ing to po itica o rna ist ake apper as o e to the fact that o be as n er the impression he as abo t to be o te b a ga p b ication

ressing a gathering of og abin ep b icans an other ga ep b icans in , he sai he i n t ant to be a poster chi for the ga mo ement eing ga as not an is not to a m efining perso na, o be sai ring his first speech as an open ga a maker e a so sat on the nationa a isor boar of the og abin ep b icans

n ho e er, o be as a signator to an amic s brief in s pport of o ert rning a ifornia s roposition n a pri ate ceremon in after being together for

eight ears, o be an fonso ere marrie fonso, a anamanian nati e ho came to the nite tates on a bright scho arship to p rs e st ies in specia e cation ha been a teacher for t o eca es he co p e s n ptia s ere he at a pri ate e ent at the osmos b on assach setts e in ashington

o eca es ago, co not ha e imagine s ch an e ent as this o be possib e, o be to the a e in an inter ie in a of eca e ago co not imagine that o fin someone co be so compatib e ith that o ant to spen the rest of m ife ith that person o, this is a er o o s a for both of s he co p e ha to en re a ear ong separation hen fonso ret rne to anama hi e immigration iss es ere being sorte o t, a tho gh he as grante , esi enc a so knoen as a green car o be a so batt e his frien an fe o ep b ican, r i ona enator ohn c ain ho oppose the repea of the inton era on t sk on t e po ic , hich barre mi itar ser ice b ga an esbian mericans e repeate co sponsore a bi to scrap the mi itar s on t ask, on t te po ic at o s ith others in his part o er the iss e fter he eft ongress he contin e to be acti e in ep b ican po itics in en orsing former assach setts o ernor itt omne in his race for the presi enc against then inc mbent arack bama n an inter ie ith the ashington a e at the time, o be respon e to the anti ga ang age in the raft er sion of the ep b ican art p atform n a ition to en ors ing a e era arriage men ment, the p atform critici e

the bama a ministration for ropping efense of in co rt an ges for re efining marriage in fa or of ga co p es

o be pre icte the ep b ican p atform i be the ast one to inc e s ch ang age hat be the ast time that i be in the ep b ican art p atform, o be sai t on t be there fo r ears from no t s got its ast gasp on t be ie e it be there fo r ears from no ish it eren t there no , b t on t be ie e it i be fo r ears from no he iss e o er the rights of same se co p es to marr en e ith bergefe o ges, , the an mark ci i rights case in hich the preme o rt of the nite tates r e that the f n amenta right to marr is g aran tee to same se co p es b both the e rocess a se an the a rotection a se of the o rteenth men ment to the nite tates onstit tion st this eek prior to his eath, the espect for arriage ct passe the enate b a ote of

BRODY LEVESQUE

Re  JIM KOLBE (R-Ariz.) speaks at a press conference in for e n of an amicus brief su or n e o er urn n of the Defense of arr a e ade e o o by ae ey

Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s unprecedented

feud with gay Hill staffer im som speaks p b ic for first time since he became target of harassment b right ing a maker

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

After more than 20 years in public service working be hind the scenes on Capitol Hill, Tim Hysom never imagined he would be staring down the barrel of an Ethics Commit tee probe into whether he had brought discredit upon the U.S. House of Representatives.

Equally inconceivable was the barrage of intimidating and hateful messages from strangers that have persisted for months, which included credible threats of violence that prompted the U.S. Capitol Police to monitor Hysom’s home for concern over his and his family’s safety.

A longtime public servant whose career has included high profi e positions in the congressiona offices of emo cratic Reps. Adam Schiff (Calif.), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.), and ake chinc oss ass , som a so spent fi e ears at the Congressional Management Foundation working with ep b ican an emocratic members of the o se an Senate and served on the board of the House Chief of Staff ssociation, first as a ice presi ent for rofessiona e e opment and later as president of the staff organization.

Now he is still trying to piece his life and career back together after the fa o t from a con ict this s mmer ith Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Part of that effort, Hysom told the Washington Blade in an exclusive interview, is to go public after months of silence to tell the stor of ho the firebran congress oman, ho is poise to become a member of Republican leadership in the House next year, launched an unprecedented attack on him with the goal, he claims, of forcing him out of Capitol Hill.

Congressional staff are rarely the subject of complaints fi e to the o se thics ommittee or are the often otherwise embroiled in controversies and political debates among members that attract public interest and news cov erage.

he stor of reene s con ict ith som breaks from that precedent, serving as, potentially, a harbinger of what may come when she is seated alongside Republican leader ship in the next Congress.

n ebr ar , after ep arie e man h ng a transgen er ag o tsi e her oor in the ong orth o se ffice i ing, reene, hose office as irect across the hallway, put up a sign that read: “There are TWO gen ders: MALE & FEMALE…Trust The Science!”

When a series of stickers were placed on Greene’s signs over the course of several weeks earlier this year, she re ferre the matter to the apito o ice, hich i entifie Hysom in surveillance footage as the staffer placing the stickers on Greene’s signs. Using a point of personal privi ege, reene took to the o se oor in ne to rai against Hysom – then Auchincloss’s chief of staff – while admonishing the stice epartment for ec ining to bring charges against him.

reene s bse ent anno nce in that she fi e a complaint with the House Ethics Committee against Hysom. Those events earned some media attention at the time, mostly from right-wing outlets, but the full story and its fall out have not yet been revealed. Nor has Hysom responded publicly before now, either through his social media or in comments to the press.

Asked for comment, Greene shared the following state ment with the Blade:

“This has nothing to do with his sexual preference or ori entation, or the fact that he’s married to a man, but it has ev erything to do with the fact that he attacked me, a Member of Congress, and my First Amendment freedom of speech, my Christian beliefs and values. He also broke the law van

a i ing m office s propert m tip e times, as ca ght on camera, and continued to do it. He’s been arrested. Unfortu nate , the epartment of stice roppe the charges, b t I think they should have pressed charges. It’s outrageous that a chief of staff would continue such illegal behavior, an he sho be no onger emp o e in an office in the federal government.”

som pointe o t that in the first p ace, reene s eci sion to hang the sign seems to be a clear violation of House r es

hi e members are permitte to isp a ags ithin cer tain g i e ines o tsi e their offices in o se office b i ings, a policy updated in 2008 stipulates that: “Furnishings of any kind, including but not limited to furniture items (in cluding sign-in/registration tables, pedestals, easels, car pets, rugs and mats); shades, drapes, and screens; artwork, e hibits an posters an trees, o ers an other p ants may not be placed in a hallway or exit access.”

“If she can violate the standing rules of the House and hang offensive and abusive material in the halls of Congress under the guise of free speech,” Hysom asked, “doesn’t the Constitution also protect my right to free speech?”

He added that Greene’s response was disproportional in the extreme. “Placing a sticker on a sign that isn’t supposed to be there in the first p ace is har a high crime or mis e meanor.”

Greene had also hung a sign that read, “Let’s go Bran don” with the hashtag “#FJB”– both slogans used on the right as s bstit tes for the phrase, ck oe i en som said many House staffers were deeply offended by the dis play of a message so disrespectful of the sitting president of the United States, and in a public corridor of a House gov ernment office b i ing

As a gay man whose religious upbringing taught the im portance of love and respect as Christian virtues, Hysom was also offended when Greene hung the “there are TWO genders” sign to bully and taunt Newman.

After requesting a copy of the House’s policy governing ecorations in the ha a s of its office b i ings, he p t a sticker on Greene’s sign, which according to Hysom kicked off a back-and-forth exchange whereby Greene would oc casionally respond to the stickers by writing a message on the poster back to Hysom, once signed (heart) MTG. Most of the stickers contained Bible verses to point out her hy pocrisy, he said. When Hysom would put a sticker on one of Rep. Greene’s posters, she would take down the posters to replace them with new ones.

One sticker Hysom placed on Greene’s gender poster rea , r e iscip es of hrist on t sa the things o sa , act the way you act, or treat people the way you treat peo ple.”

Greene’s escalation of the matter came as a surprise, Hysom told the Blade. “The reality is that I challenged her hate speech in the halls of the Congress in a way that trig gered her and caused her to have a meltdown,” he said. “Her response was to send a like-minded horde of her fol o ers to harass an threaten me e a e , egrettab , there are likely to be other waves of hate and vitriol, but I on t be intimi ate b her or her hate fi e aco tes

First, pursuant to the investigation by Capitol Police, likely con cte at reene s behest, an affi a it in s pport of an arrest warrant was issued. (Contrary to what Rep. Greene told the Blade, Hysom was never arrested or charged with a crime.)

Then, in her 31-minute speech denouncing Hysom from the o se oor, reene trie to goa chinc oss into fir ing Hysom, while directing her supporters to bully and ha rass him.

Almost immediately, a deluge of threats and harassment started pouring in to Hysom’s personal and professional email and social media inboxes. He received a threatening letter at his home address. Many of the messages contained hateful anti-LGBTQ slurs. It continues to this day.

Now that the threats have died down, at least for now, Hysom said he is unsure whether his home is still being monitored by the Capitol Police, but the hateful messages have slowed, though they have persisted.

Amid the chaos following Greene’s speech, Lowenthal reached out to offer support to his former chief of staff and e ten e an offer for som to ret rn to his office in the months before the lawmaker’s planned retirement from Congress at the end of this year.

The congressman sent a statement to the Blade on his experiences working with Hysom:

“Standing up to bullies and railing against injustice, while demanding equity and grace in how we treat one anoth er, are ideals I have always aspired to. And yes, sometimes that demands what my dear friend John Lewis called ‘good trouble.’ Tim has always fought for these same ideals of jus tice and equality and he has demonstrated his above-andbeyond dedication to this institution more times than I can count.

“I have been honored to have him as a member of my staff, st as each of m staff ha e benefite , both persona and professionally, from working with him. The foundation of m s ccess in ongress has been the efficient an effec ti e office that im b i t for me an kept r nning smooth thro gh his more than eight ear ten re ith m office n espite his commitment to m office, he has a so e icat ed himself to the betterment of not only this institution as a whole, but to the development of the professional staff that works here.

“I can say without hesitation that Congress is a better insti tution for Tim being a part of it.”

For her part, Greene accused Hysom of targeting her for her gender and her religious beliefs. Among the messages she shared on Twitter were:

oon i en s i prosec te peop e for hate crimes if they dare try to stop trans strippers dressed in drag from grooming children at schools & in public, but they refuse to prosecute @JakeAuch COS Tim Hysom for hate crimes against my faith & gender and my district’s beliefs.”

n ake ch i o kno o r im som re peatedly targeted me? I have some of the highest number of eath threats in ongress, ith appro officia threats st this ear an one man on tria for tr ing to ki me o you or Tim Hysom know any of them? Is Hysom one?”

TIM HYSOM in front of the U.S. Capitol building (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

contingent to oin ationa igi for g n io ence ictims in Gays Against Guns plans Capitol Hill procession to honor those lost

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

s man as se era o en acti ists earing hite robes and carrying photos of victims of gun violence were planning a procession along city streets from the As You Are bar on apito i on e nes a afternoon, ec , to the nearby St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

he ch rch, ocate at t , , as sche e to host the th ann a ationa igi for ictims of n io ence beginning at p m on e nes a

The New York City-based group Gays Against Guns, which is organi ing the contingent, re ease a statement sa ing its members o be meeting at s o re at th t , ith po itica , comm nit base , night ife, an g n io ence pre ention a ies to fina i e p ans for the procession a few hours before the start of the vigil.

a a ker, one of the a s gainst ns ea ers, to the Washington Blade the group and its supporters have scheduled a press conference at As You Are on Wednesday at 3 p.m. to draw attention, among other things, to threats and anti protests against rag sho s o er the past t o weeks in cities across the country.

Walker pointed to news reports of hostile protesters, some armed with guns, assembling outside bars or clubs holding rag sho s in o mb s, hio ake an an t a er a e, a rora, an anhattan, taten s an , an ceansi e, N.Y. within the past two weeks.

Most of these reported attempts to intimidate people pa tronizing or participating in drag performances took place after the o shooting at the b ga bar in o ora o prings, o o , in hich a g nman shot an ki e fi e peop e an in re at east more

That shooting took place shortly before a drag show was sche e to take p ace at the b

he ationa igi for ictims of n io ence, set for p.m. Wednesday at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, was to take place shortly after speculation has surfaced that opposition to a drag show was the motive that prompted one or more as et ni entifie s spects to fire m tip e g nshots at e ectrica power substations in Moore County, N.C., causing a blackout affecting , resi ents

a enforcement officia s in estigating hat the ha e sai was a targeted attack aimed at knocking out the electric pow er substations also said they have no evidence yet as to what

the motive was for the crime.

But in its statement released this week, Gays Against Guns said the attack on the power substations took place shortly after a drag event was held in the town of Southern Pines in Moore County that drew opposition and protests from farright acti ists an anti com munity members.

no gh is eno gh the a s Against Guns statement says. “Our communities must take a stand and issue demands of our elected leaders, law enforcement, and the greater po it to take action on this threat to a mericans

The latest incidents targeting drag shows have taken place after po ice anno nce short after the b shooting in Colorado Springs that they were stepping up police patrols aro n estab ishments, inc ing ga bars

“At this time, there are no known threats to any events or ocations in the istrict, a o po ice statement sa s “MPD will continue to monitor the developments in Colora do Springs and share information with our local, regional and fe era a enforcement partners, the statement sa s

t a short time ater, on o , the epartment of Homeland Security issued a terrorism threat bulletin warning that domestic extremists have posted online praise for the b shooting s spect an ha e ca e for cop cat attacks

“Targets of potential violence include public gatherings, faith base instit tions, the comm nit , schoo s, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and per sonne , critica infrastr ct re, the me ia, an percei e i eo ogica opponents, the b etin states

“Some domestic violent extremists who have conducted at tacks ha e cite pre io s attacks an attackers as inspiration, the b etin contin es o o ing the ate o ember shooting at an bar in o ora o prings, o ora o — which remains under investigation — we have observed ac tors on forums known to post racially or ethnically motivated io ent e tremist content praising the a ege attacker, the bulletin says.

ark ee, coor inator of the D.C. Nightlife Council, a group rep resenting bars, restaurants, night clubs, and entertainment establish ments, said the community nightlife businesses welcome the increased police patrols of these establish ments.

“The local nightlife association has offered periodic security and active shooter training sessions for venue operators, managers, and staff for a number of years, most recent on o in con nction ith the resta rant association, ee said. “These specialized trainings feature presentations by both a nationa recogni e training firm an affi iate member nightlife security consultants and the D.C. Metropol itan o ice epartment, ee to the a e

“Nightlife hospitality establishments understand the impor tance of being constantly vigilant about, and prepared for, an an a inci ents that co occ r hene er peop e are gathere , he sai

Walker of Gays Against Guns said participants in the p anne procession from s o re bar to t ark s Church would be carrying photos or signs commemorating the ictims of g n io ence, inc ing ictims of the se nightc b shooting in r an o, a in ne in hich most patrons of the c b ere shot to death by lone gunman.

The Wednesday night vigil at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, among other things, i commemorate the th anni ersar of the Sandy Hook, Conn., school shooting incident in which peop e ere shot to eath, of hom ere chi ren, ac cor ing to a statement re ease b organi ers isit ashing tonb a e com for p ate co erage

“By this December, over one million Americans will be killed or in re b g ns since the an ook shooting trage , the statement says. “We urge you to join the gun violence prevention community in our collective effort to continue to shine a light on the devastating epidemic of gun violence in o r nation nti these g n eaths an in ries are re ce

Hysom assured the Blade he has not sent and would never send threatening messages to the congresswoman. Apart from the exchange over the stickers, he said he has ne er ha an contact ith reene or her office he poster reene took to the o se oor on ne – which misleadingly accuses Hysom by name of criminal conduct with photos of him taken from surveillance footage as h ng o tsi e reene s office in ong orth since that time. (It is unclear whether she brought it to her new space in the annon o se ffice i ing

hea of o entha s retirement, som sai he s ac tively job hunting. “I have some prospects, but nothing has materia i e efiniti e et, he sai t s a bit scar , b t re main hopeful. I’m an institutionalist and I love the House. I’ve spent more than ears tr ing to b i p the ongress and Rep. Greene has spent every waking minute of the last t o ears tr ing to tear it o n n terms of the impact of his con ict ith reene, som said, “Nobody on my side of the aisle puts any credence whatsoever into what Congresswoman Greene says, so

it’s not like people on my side of the aisle believe putting a sticker on her poster was a ‘hate crime’ or that a Bible verse on a sticker somehow means that I hate women or Christians. On the contrary, I simply tried to point out that what the con gresswoman says and does are not at a hrist ike

Still, the last thing Hysom was looking for was a public feud with the congresswoman. “Nobody that knows me would consi er me a rabb e ro ser, he said. “Walking by those hate f signs e er sing e a st fina got to me co n t et it go nans ere

And then, there’s the matter of the House Ethics Commit tee investigation.

“The committee is still de liberating on what to do next. hese are ncharte aters, Hysom said. Republicans on the committee are perhaps unlikely to cross Greene and vote with Democrats to dismiss the complaint, while Demo crats would be unlikely to assist Greene in her quest to further punish Hysom by voting with Republicans to move forward and impanel an investigative subcommittee.

With the members dead locked, the matter could die with the end of the current Congress, though the commit tee co ote to e ten the case into the pcoming th Congress.

The House Ethics Committee declined to comment.

a king b those hatef signs e er a fina got to me

Gays Against Guns planned a march for Dec. 7. as n on ade e o o by ae ey

Re  MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE R a ade o o by ae ey

GUI MOHALLEM

is the head of Voto LGBT in Brazil.

magine a gro p of inners here o fin on one hite man he recent e ection in ra i not on bro ght back former resi ent a, b t a so o b e the n mbers of o t representati es in both the nationa an state egis a t res t of these e ecte officia s are omen, are ack an fi e are trans here is on one hite man in the group.

omen, an ack peop e ha e a a s sho case po itica ea ership in their comm nities t the path to oc c p a space in ra i ian instit tiona po itics is often io ent an e pensi e n recent ears, man organi e socia mo e ments ha e irecte their efforts to set the agenda for p b ic ebate into the intersectiona rea m an s pport comm nit ea ers n a po ote con cte in ring the São Paulo Pride parade, the biggest in the or , on percent of ri e partic ipants s r e e tho ght that identity matters when choosing a can i ate n , percent be ie e so.

espite the man obsta c es an io ence the face, Brazilian LGBT+ leaders are gaining po itica po er, often being the most ote in i i a s in their states or cities an trans omen ho on big in their cities in a ance to higher positions in o r peop e a omen ere e ecte to congress hree of them ack an t o of them trans, a ma or breakthro gh for po itica participation n ra i , campaigns are p b ic f n e a pa ers mone goes to parties ea ership ho can prett m ch o hate er the ant ith it here are r es ma e to fight the n errep resentation of omen an ack pop ation, b t the are often corr pte b fra art ea ers are often o er rich hite cis men ho foc s their efforts an financia s pport to o a ies po iti cians recei e an a erage of percent of the ega imit for hat parties can pro i e to a sing e can i ate hen inter ie ing of those ho ran in , e came across three trans om en ho i n t ha e eno gh to eat ring their campaigns an sti on their seats r ote is the cheapest in the e ection market nce e ecte , officia s often face iscrimination from their peers in the chambers, man times from their o n parties n a po e i in e fo n that more than ha f of part members reporte facing iscrimination n those ho eci e to report it fo n that there s no acco nt abi it for phobia insi e the parties ot to mention the constant eath threats that especia

ack an especia trans omen face hen e ecte or r n ning for office it o nse or enn rio , ho is ack an trans, ha to ee the co ntr in after p b ic sec rit forc es ref se to offer her protection, hich as her ega right n she kept getting eath threats from a congressman, from his officia abinet s emai rika i ton an a a abert, the first trans omen e ecte for congress in , ha to con ct campaign acti ities ith arme sec rit an b etproof ests t seems ike the or is ooking for the too s e are e e oping to fight e tremism an phobia nternationa organizations have long supported many of those initiatives. The partnership and support from organi ations ike the ationa emocratic nstit te an the ictor nstit te ha e been f n amenta to promote a comprehensi e approach to s ch a comp e issue.

ote s inno ati e re search strategies ha e a po it ica an historica importance e to the ack of officia ata abo t the pop ation in ra i esearch has been fundamental for us, not only to gi e isibi it to o r iss es an set the agen a for p b ic ebate, b t a so to better strategi e here to a ocate reso rces ince e ha e been in estigating the parties, con cting in epth inter ie s ith can i ates an ca c s e e pro ce a ist of o t can i ates in the e ection c c e ith their racia an i entit se f ec are hat ha ne er been one before e e offere irect s pport thro gh organi ing a series of ebinars, creating o n oa ab e too kits, con cting pres s re campaigns on parties, obb ing the preme ectora o rt for them to pro ce officia ata on o r ea ership, creating a ga er ith o er can i ates an their priorities, an offering confi entia ps cho ogica s pport, es pecia after s ch a io ent campaign t o be ishonest, tho gh, to c aim an part of s ch as to n ing ictories ach of those can i ates str gg e to r n their n erfinance an n erstaffe campaign, an sti cre ate strategies to reach an amp if their a ience bri iant so, e are not the on ones on the task here are other organizations who are great examples and partners. ra i s recent e ection res ts sho s that an intersectiona approach to the iss e of po itica representation is not on possib e, b t potent can i ates earne o er mi lion votes. Of those votes, a third went to trans women. Seven in ent to a ack can i ate ra i ian oters are sho ing s hat kin of emocrac the are i ing to fight for itho t i ersit there is no emocrac

Underfunded, undermined, an nabashe ictorio s in ra i o ntr s po iticians are bringing i ersit to emocrac

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Washington Post reporter Paul Schwartzman, who is a good writer, is apparently trying to get us to change our view of the vile Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). He also asked us to care about what former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) is doing now. Last week he claimed Greene is adopting a more measured tone in Congress. Back in October he wrote, “What does Madison Cawthorn do now?” My thoughts on that were: Who gives a f—k?

Just last week, Greene tweeted about D.C., as reported by Petula Dvorak in the Post, “Washington, DC is a crime ridden hell hole.” “Congress should revoke home rule. Our nation’s Capital is an embarrassment.” Greene also tweeted as recently as this past June calling for the end of Pride month, wildly claiming that straight people will become extinct — and claiming, with the usual dearth of evidence, that the Uval de gunman was a “cross-dressing loner.” Guess Schwartzman thinks that is a more measured tone. I am not sure why anyone would want to make Greene sound like anything other than the sick person she is. Doing so on the front page of the Post Style section is disgusting.

I don’t know if these topics are assigned to Schwartzman or if he comes up with them himself, either way the Post should be embarrassed to publish them. Greene said, as reported by CNN, “January 6 was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants.” On the 2020 presidential election: “I proudly objected on Jan. 6,” Greene said. “I would object again today because I know for a fact there was so much wrong in that elec tion and I believe it was stolen. Do I know how? No, I don’t know how.” Not only is she vile, she is dumb, and based on that I don’t know what it says about the people who vote for her. But the reality is the Post shouldn’t be trying to give her any good press. She is as bad as Trump, Kanye West and all their cohorts. It makes one wonder if the ost an ch art man i soon fin a a to sa something positi e abo t est

Part of the problem in our country today is people trying to make the likes of Taylor Greene in any way acceptable — they are not. The next time Greene again says something outrageous, which of course she will, are Schwartzman and the Post going to apologize for this column? The better choice would have been not to write it, or p b ish it, in the first p ace ho are the rea ers the ost thinks i care abo t this? Which of their readers are clamoring to read such a column? Again, it’s not only the Post publishing stories like this, but they have made themselves an easy target.

Post columnists Erik Wemple and Dana Milbank have both written about how wrong the Post, and numerous other publications, got the election. How they fol lowed the pack predicting a red wave and how Democrats, and President Biden, were all being set up to lose the Congress. I wrote about this in the Blade. Where are the apologies? Where have they been from any of the media, at least what people perceive as the liberal media — Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, MSNBC — that all got it wrong and not one of them has apologized to their readers or viewers for misleading them.

t is getting har er an har er to fin an me ia that isn t simp ri en b ratings or clicks on their website. The Post has such outrageous headlines on their web site for co mns appearing in the print e ition that o can t e en fin the co mn Known as clickbait, it has taken over. The Post should remember they aren’t the Na tional Enquirer, but maybe that’s their goal.

We need to marginalize the haters. We cannot normalize them if we want to save our country. That doesn’t mean the Post and other publications shouldn’t report on what they do, but it should be reporting, not trying to make them acceptable, which is what Schwartzman’s column seems to be trying to do for Greene. The headline alone does that as on the front page; it reads “A different shade of Greene,” and on the second page of the story continues, “Once a MAGA megaphone, now a more measured voice.”

One must seriously question whom the Post thinks they are talking about.

WaPo’s disgusting effort to rehabilitate Marjorie Taylor Greene We need to marginalize the haters, not normalize them

ohn aters intro ces the or to his roommates a timore se m of rt sho cases fi

By ED GUNTS

As open as he is about his childhood and his movies and the ca ses he s pports, riter an fi mmaker ohn aters re mains guarded about his personal life.

rom aters books, inter ie s an speaking engage ments, fans kno that he s ga an ho his ongtime frien s are he kno he has three resi ences in a timore, e ork, an an rancisco an that he spen s his s mmers in ro inceto n he kno here he p ans to be b rie , an ith hom t aters re ea s itt e abo t his most intimate relationships.

ha e to ta k abo t m mo ies ha e to gi e inter ie s to promote hat m oing, he once sai t no one rea kno s m persona ife n if o on t ha e a persona ife, fee ba for o o it as a bit surprising this fall to hear aters ta k abo t the room mates he i es ith, as if he s a co ege ki in the freshman orm, or he s renting out rooms to cope ith in ation

During a press briefing abo t a new exhibit at the a timore se m of rt, aters o n teered that he has roommates in each of his three resi enc es n man cases, he sai , he s ha these roommates for ears n the re not members of his bio ogica fami he chose to live with them.

t for those h ngr for morse s abo t aters pri ate af fairs, these aren t e act romantic roommates he m se m e ent as a pre ie for oming ttractions he ohn a ters o ection, an e hibition of orks of contemporar art from aters persona co ection, that r ns nti pri , n roommates, aters e p aine at the briefing an in a go mobi e narration that accompanies the sho , is the term he ses to refer to the orks of art at his ifferent homes roommates that s hat e a a s ca e m art co ection, he sai at the me ia e ent ca art m roommates beca se i e ith them, he e p ains in the tape narration ook at them e er a e i e in a comm ne

aters notion of art orks as roommates is not ne e rote abo t it in a chapter of his book, o e o e s, in hich he escribes the art in his homes as roommates, ha ing traits that he ikes an seeks o t for a of his homes e sai he prefers the companionship of art roommates to i e ones

o sirree, no rea ife peop e sharing m bathroom or rea ing m ne spapers before me he o e nstea , i e ith artists ike e e is one of m roommates isitors to aters homes, inc ing g ests at his ann a hristmas part in a timore, ha e been ck eno gh to see hat he s ta king abo t he e hibit is the first time he s shared his companions on such a large scale.

art of the f n of the e hibit for him, aters sai ring a a k thro gh of the sho , has been seeing his roommates

mmaker s ec ectic co ection

from his three different residences, in the same space for the first time, in some cases si e b si e

he e ne er met each other before, he sai t as ike [the curators] were introducing different artists that should ha e met a ong time ago ho gh he s perhaps best kno n for fi ms s ch as air spra an ink amingos, bestse ers s ch as o e o e s an arsick, an nicknames s ch as he ope of rash an he rince of ke, aters, , is a so a is a artist an note art co ector e as the s b ect of a retrospecti e entit e ohn a ters n ecent pos re at the an the e ner enter for the rts in o mb s, hio, in an e has t o orks on ie in the inaugural show at the be se m that recent opene in ashington, , e er i s ohn an ho a he orks on view in “Coming ttractions ere culled from a larger gro p of abo t orks that aters, a a timore nati e an tr stee, has agreed to leave to the museum when he dies.

aters gift to the inc es orks b artists other than himself, in a ariet of art forms aters a so onate prints, sc p t res, mi e me ia an i eo pieces that he create is gift i make the the greatest sing e repositor of his is a art ork an i enab e it to pro i e, in perpet it , a comprehensi e ie of his ision an approach to making and collecting art.

hen aters gift as anno nce in , irectors prom ise the m se m o ha e a pre ie of hat s to come hi e he as sti a i e, an this is it of the orks in the sho are on oan from aters an i go back to him hen the show is over.

In return for his gift, the museum board said it would name restrooms an a rot n a after him hat asn t a p t o n no n for his ra nch h mor an offbeat a of thinking, aters specifica aske to ha e his name on the restrooms, the first at the that are a gen er hristene ast fa ith a first pee b trans artist an ac ti ist i abeth offe , he ohn aters estrooms are right ne t to he anc orman an tan e a aroff enter for the t of rints, ra ings an hotographs, here om ing ttractions opene on o he m se m has a so agree to isp a prominent fi e orks from the co ection, inc ing one b aters, at a times oming ttractions is one of t o aters re ate m se m e hibits opening o er the ne t ear, a ong ith ope of rash, a career retrospecti e at the ca em se m of o tion ict res in os nge es in ates for the retrospec ti e ha e not been anno nce n ike n ecent pos re three ears ago, oming t tractions oesn t inc e orks b aters nstea , it pro

in ne e hibit

i es an insi er s ook at his tastes in contemporar art, an ho he i es ith art, b foc sing on orks b others that he has co ecte an isp a e at his homes in a timore, e ork, an an rancisco

The guest curators are photographer Catherine Opie and m ti me ia artist ack ierson, both of hom ha e been frien s ith aters for ears an are represente in his co ection oth i entif as eer, as o man of the artists repre sente in the e hibit he sho is organi e b ei a rothe, the m se m s ssociate rator of ontemporar rt mong the feat re orks are paintings, sc pt res, pho tographs, an prints b iane rb s an o in ike e e in herman omb n arho hristopher oo , ar immons an others he m se m refers to the e hibit as a c tting e ge artic ation of merican in i i a ism, partic ar as it re ates to eer i entit an free om of e pression of ohn has been a go to for me, as a o ng eer, sai pie, ho has a portrait of aters in the sho he orks represent a t pe of contemporar art that the m se m act a st oesn t rea ha e, rothe sai aters co ection is a re ection of his persona it an imagination, pie an ierson sai in a oint statement

“Our hope is to share with audiences another aspect of ohn s creati e ision b offering a g impse into hat he a es artists ho are nafrai to take risks, ho o not com promise, an ho create their art on the margins

he roommate reference co ha e been a one iner, b t aters takes the i ea an r ns ith it, b i ing on hat he rote in his oommates chapter in o e o e s he e ighte me or ma e me angr or ma e me a gh or tho ght i something in a ne a , he sai of his com panions he st cha enge me an ante to i e ith them beca se art s o r roommates o i e ith them for e er

n ta king abo t his roommates, aters makes it seem as if the are sentient beings ho ha e min s, fee ings an per sonalities of their own, and who can interact with each other, perhaps when the museum is closed.

e paints a pict re of his roommates being the art or e i a ent of the robotic hosts in s est or , or the e hibits from ight at the se m an its se e s, mo ies in hich orks of art come to ife

aters ta ks abo t his roommates hanging o t together, kno ing the re in the home of the one o ection ith its price ess paintings b enri atisse an other masters e thinks abo t ho the re a sting to their temporar home e m ses abo t them e e oping re ationships the co n t ha e in the ifferent resi ences an becoming frien s e imagines his roommates p otting ith each other e fanta si es abo t them sneaking o t of the ga er the re in an exploring other parts of the museum.

ske at a onors e ent ho he thinks his roommates are getting a ong in their ne setting, aters i n t miss a beat think the re so happ to meet each other, he sai n the a ant to gang p an scare he e e t s not that m ch of a stretch to think in those terms, since man of the orks in aters co ection are images either of his frien s the ate ookie e er , or b his frien s incent eranio , or both san o e s ra ing of ink to e

he c rators are going a ong ith it, too, ta king abo t in tro cing ifferent orks so the can be in con ersation with each other.

‘Coming Attractions: The John Waters Collection,’ is an exhibition of 83 works of contemporary art from Waters’ personal collection. (Photo by Mitro Hood)

sho cases ohn aters persona art co ection

“John delights in the fact that these works, all pulled from ifferent homes, are meeting each other for the first time, Grothe said at the press preview, pointing to a wall with works from three different residences.

“How great does this wall look with Richard Tuttle on the left, the sculpture by Vincent Fecteau in the center, and Gary immons on the right she aske here s a ot to sa abo t each artwork, but for now we should just appreciate the bud ing of a ne frien ship bet een these pieces

The curators positioned certain works to show how they begin to speak to one another in ifferent a s, pie sai hro gho t the e hibition, o notice these itt e groupings...that we ended up putting together so that they co ha e a con ersation Was anyone left out of the party? ierson sai he regrets that there isn t an ith asse moment in the sho , in honor of the character ho p a e ith the gg a in ink amingos, so her oice co be part of the mi m s re co ha e fo n one, he sai he on piece that o remin me of her is one that i n t b b t ish i , b eorge to , aters sai e ma e fake aster eggs, b t the co ector hi es them in their house so no one ever sees them. And you forget them, your se f, that o ha e them n then o re going thro gh an o ra er h here s a piece of art bo ght ring the onors e ent, rothe aske aters hat his homes feel like with much of the art out on loan. She said people at the museum are worried about him, living without his roommates. Waters said his homes look and feel empty. t ooks ike m mo ing, e er here, beca se the i n t take e er thing, he sai o there are big ho es in the a ,

an irt

aters sai he keeps thinking o ise a er sho come o er, a reference to the artist ho s ma e a career of st ing an oc menting art insta ations t s a great insta ation for her to o

Waters went even further in the taped narration, likening his residences to scenes of a crime, still in disarray.

“They have come to all my homes and taken half the stuff off the a s, he aments o no i e in aban one s ats that ook ike art robberies happene in m ho se

At the same time, he admits, his roommates look good in their museum setting.

o can see them so m ch better, he sai on t ha e good lighting. They cleaned them, too. They were dirty, some of them

en tho gh the sho st opene , aters is a rea thinking abo t hat happens after it comes o n t s eir , he sai t s going to be har to p t them back here the ent after seeing them in here together

Waters said he thought about putting his roommates back ifferent , taking c es from the e hibit an preser ing some of the ne re ationships forme at the m se m e sai he s gratef to the c rators for coming p ith a ho e ne a to show them off.

a be m going to ne er be ab e to hang it back the a it as an ha e to p t it back the a o i it, he to the curators at one point.

But ultimately, he said, he decided against shifting every thing aro n h go , that o rea be comp icate , he sai have to move all the furniture and change everything. So they

i go back, one aters sai he kno s that on t be as m ch f n for his roommates, not hanging with their new friends. But he notes this isn t the ast time the see each other, since the be returning to the museum eventually.

fter a , he sai , the kno that a ater, after m ea , the get together again

John Waters shows off his impressive art collection in a new BMA exhibit. (Photo by Mitro Hood)

o i a gift g i e ooks omething for e er rea er on o r ist

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

(Editor’s note: Each week in December, we feature holiday gift ideas. Previous installments are available at washingtonblade.com; next week: Local Gift Guide.) he tree ooks magnificent o r ki s i a great ob ecorating the parts o as signe to them o took pict res this ear, beca se the rea o t i themse es o o re rea a most for the ho i a s, e cept for those fe trick gifts that o st can t seem to fig re o t o abo t books as to rap, happ to get, h not ook for these great books or the person on o r ist ho o es ark, gothic ro mance m steries, rap p “Mourning Light” b ichar oo kin t s the stor of a man ho can t et go of the g i t he fee s since his o er ie oinci enta , that eath happene on the e act same a he met another man that he can t stop thinking abo t he person on o r gift ist ho o es a goo memoir i ant to rea “A Place Called Home” b a i m bro t s a ta e of home essness, foster care, coming o t, an ho sheer etermination p t that a in one man s past f there s someone on o r gift ist ho ma e a iffi c t ecision this ear, “Families We Keep” b in ec ek an mma os e mith is a book to caref rap p t s a ook at in i i a s ho ha e eci e to stick ith their fami ies, tho gh there ma contin e to be

a str gg e for acceptance or a tota ack of it t means ork, an this book might he p no o r giftee e before gi ing this book nti recent , there rea ha en t been a ot of books abo t bise a it , hich is h o might ant to gi e “Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality” b ia ha to someone specia here s a ot to kno abo t the s b ect, from genetics to ega ities, ce ebrities to monogam he trans rea er on o r gift ist i ant to o n “Fat, Crazy, and Tired: Tales from the Trenches of Transformation” b po caster an athan, ho rites that being fat as har er than being ack ee ess to sa , this book is f nn an inspirationa , an o r giftee i o e it air it ith “Side Affects: On Being Trans and Feeling Bad” b i a atino f o r giftee sometimes str gg es, this book is great ackno e gement or the rea er ho o es histor , “The Women’s House of Detention” b gh an co be the per fect gift this ear t s the stor of a prison in e ork s reen ich i age hich, for near ears, as the an ing p ace home ai for tho san s an tho san s of omen, gen er nonconforming peop e, an transgen er men nge a a is as there o as fe ni hak r his book takes o r giftee there, too rap it p ith “Manifesting Justice: Wrongly Convicted Women Reclaim Their Rights” b a ena eet

CALENDAR |

Friday, December 09

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Center Aging Friday Tea Time will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, contact Adam (adamheller@thedccenter.org).

Women in their Twenties and Thirties i be at p m on oom his is a socia isc s sion group for queer women in the Washington, D.C. area and a great way to make new friends and meet other queer women in a fun and friendly setting. For more information, join WiTT’s closed Facebook group.

Saturday, December 10

Virtual Yoga Class with Charles M. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. Guests are encouraged to RSVP on the DC Center’s website, providing their name, email address, and zip code, along with any questions they may have. The link to the class will be sent out at 6 p.m. the day before the event.

Universal Pride Meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. For more information, emai s pport esk the ccenter org or the gro p s faci itator an arias gmai com

Sunday, December 11

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Coffee + Conversation” at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for those looking to make more friends in the LGBTQ+ community and trying to meet some new faces after two years of the pandemic. This event is free and more etai s are a ai ab e on entbrite

Brewed Up Drag Brunch will be at 11 a.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. The event will be hosted by Desiree Dik and will feature performances from Bombalicious Eklavar, Millie Maringue, Evry Pleasure and Pup Indigo. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on entbrite

Monday, December 12

Center Aging Monday Coffee and Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. LGBT Older Adults — and friends — are invited to enjoy friendly conversations and to discuss any issues you might be dealing with. For more information, visit the Center Aging’s acebook or itter

Not Another Drag Show will be at 8 p.m. at Dupont Italian Kitchen. This event will be hosted by Logan Stone and will feature a rotating cast of local DMV performers. Admission is free an more etai s are a ai ab e on entbrite

Tuesday, December 13

Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This peer-facilitated discussion group is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so. For more information, visit the Coming Out Discussion Group acebook page

Trans Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide emotionally and physically safe space for transgender people and those who may be questioning their gender identity or expression to join together in community and learn from one another or more information, emai s pport esk the ccenter org

Wednesday, December 14

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants an seekers, inc ing the ong term nemp o e , impro e se f confi ence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email centercareers@thedccenter.org or visit www.thedccenter org careers

DC Fray will be hosting a Free Bingo Series event at 7 p.m. at As You Are DC. There will be a game night host, bingo materials including daubers, and awesome prizes. This e ent is free an more etai s are a ai ab e on entbrite

Thursday, December 15

The DC Center’s Food Pantry Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, emai s pport esk the ccenter org or ca

“Wasted & Gay Thursdays” will be at 9 p.m. at Wasted Lounge. The event will be hosted by Nelly Nellz and there will be music by DJ Ro. Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

CAMP Rehoboth hosts handmade market

CAMP Rehoboth Community Center will host “Holiday Handmade Market” on Friday, Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. at the Elkins-Archibald Atrium. This event, featuring LGBTQ and ally artists and craftmakers, will also spotlight Robb the ke , ho i bring his signat re a aiian air to cherishe ho i a c assics There will be a variety of businesses selling their products such as Alni CBD (body care and CBD products), Bev Pasquarella (paintings and prints), Brad Cox (photography), and Gifts from the Sea (sea glass and shell art), among others. or more information, isit ehoboth s ebsite

Eckington Hall plans ‘Holidaze’ market

Eckington Hall and DC Bouldering Project will join forces for “Eckington Place Holidaze,” a holiday market, on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m along the Woonerf on Quincy ane

The event will feature vendors selling a variety of goods such as jewelry, art, ceramics, vintage clothing, candles, books, collectibles, food and beer. Some of the vendors include Denise Lee Art, Love Soultry, Laura Bryant Art, Simple Pleasures and Capital intage, among others

For more information, visit Eckington Hall’s website.

The holidays are here, bringing markets and bazaars to the area.

Trans soprano leads glorious 18th century ‘Christmas Oratorio’ isgi ings abo t fitting into

m sic or pro e n arrante

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

When it comes to opera, Elijah McCormack, 28, is typically cast as children. The talented trans male soprano looks young and sings high, so outside of an educational setting where he’s played adult parts, playing extreme youths has become a sort of musical niche.

“It would be really cool to do a baroque opera and actually sing the primary male lead,” he opines good naturedly before avowing a passion for both opera and his other ork singing sacre m sic as a gro n p at far ng concerts an festi a s

On Saturday, McCormack joins the Washington Bach Consort at Strathmore as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, a glorious 18th century Baroque telling of the Nativity, sometimes billed as Germany’s “seasonal equivalent to the English-speaking world’s “Messiah.”

“The oratorio is lovely. There are two soprano arias: one is bouncy and exciting and the other meditative. I like them both,” he says.

hi e this is his first time performing at Strathmore, he’s sung with the Washington Bach Consort before. The consort’s artistic director Dana Marsh met McCormack at Indiana University’s Historical Performance Institute (where Marsh is a professor and McCormack graduated in 2019 with a master’s of music) In recent years, Marsh has invited him to sing with the consort as both soloist and ensemble member. McCormack cites Marsh as a formati e in ence an great he p McCormack grew up in Connecticut (where he’s currently based) surrounded by classical music. In addition to a lawyer father passionate about the Romantics (Mahler, Strauss, Wagner), there were many choir practices and performances at the local Episcopalian church, and some pre-transition musical theater parts in high school including Grandma Tzeitel in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

“I liked musical theater; it didn’t like me,” he says wryly.

During his undergrad years at Skidmore, a liberal arts college in upstate New York, McCormack was a studio art major with a concen-

tration in painting who did loads of singing too. Still, as a trans male soprano, he wasn’t sure there would be a place for him in the professional musical performance world.

In 2016, near the end of his senior year, something rare and wonderful happened. Skidmore uncharacteristically staged a fully produced Baroque opera, “Serse” by Handel, and McCormack was cast as the secondary male lead, a role originally written for a castrato hat e perience of singing as rea affirming for me s en kne there were roles for me and music that suited my voice.”

He had realized he was trans at 17 and transitioned socially at Skidmore. “For me personally, it was a fairly uncomfortable way for me to spen m first ears in co ege t one point, tho ght abo t hormone therap an fig ured that “Serse” would be the last hurrah of my soprano voice. But because I loved singing soprano so much, I didn’t do it.”

Other changes were made without regret, however. He credits top surgery in 2014 with improving both his general quality of life as well as his singing abilities. No longer having to bind his chest, like many trans men and trans masculine people do, his singing markedly improved.

so, misgi ings abo t fitting into the m sic world have proved unwarranted.

a s, a king into an a ition room is the hardest part. I tend to think they know I’m queer but maybe they’re unsure exactly what a or of the rainbo am, sa s the pri e in ning singer. “So far, being visibly gender nonconforming, especially in a traditional space ike o t pica fin ith c assica m sic, hasn’t elicited negative reactions. People don’t understand everything, but I’d say the world is catching up in terms of how to talk to and about people of various gender experiences.”

t o er t o ho rs is ach s hristmas rato rio too heavy for the casual listener?

“Depends on attention span,” he says. “But as things go, it’s accessible — fun, joyful, and a goo time n it s not one of the s a ho i day things you’re likely to have already seen a million times.”

Soprano ELIJAH MCCORMACK

raming gnes nearths historic trans narratives for engaging

doc ioneering fig re beat the cis hetero patriarch at their o n game

By JOHN PAUL KING

You might assume in 2022 that information about our cultural heroes from the past would be readily available. After all, we carry the entire repository of human knowledge, or at least the potential for accessing it, in the palm of our hands; if someone has made a significant impact in o r histor , e en ithin the histor of a specific com munity, it stands to reason that a factual chronicle of their life would exist.

hat happens, tho gh, hen an important fig re is part of a com munity that has been historically disregarded by the mainstream narrati e hen the in ence the e cast across the ears has been buried deep in anonymity by a determined effort to marginalize or even erase the community they represent?

hat s the estion e p ore in raming gnes, a ne fi m from transmasc ine ana ian irector hase o nt o r inar an that blends documentary, narrative, and speculative analysis as it goes on a eep i e into the b rie case fi es of an infamo s gen der health study headed by psychiatrist Robert Stoller at UCLA in the s an s he gnes of the tit e refers to the pse on mo s gnes orres, ho as one of o ens of in i i a s inter ie e as part of the research about transgender identity.

gnes, portra e in o nt s mo ie b ackar r cker ranspar ent , has become egen ar ithin the trans comm nit for s ccess f na igating an instit tiona s stem to access the gen er affirming care it would otherwise have denied her. At a time when surgery was only granted to intersex individuals, she lied about having taken estrogen to feminize her body from an early age, claiming instead to have been born with physiological characteristics of both genders; she was given access the procedure, which was performed in 1959, and continued to participate in the study. Years later, she confessed her ruse to Stoller, who was then forced to retract and rethink the fin ings hich ha forme part of the basis for his in entia rit ings around transgender identity — writings, it should be said, that approache the s b ect as a patho og an consi ere it a ps cho logical condition to be corrected or prevented.

t s eas to see h gnes o be a heroic fig re to to a s trans community. After all, she not only beat the cis-hetero patriarchy at their own game, she also managed to single-handedly sabotage the credibility of theories that were being used to legitimize anti-trans bias. Though her real identity may be forever hidden to us, her audacity alone is more than enough to elevate her to the status of trans icon.

She was, however, not the only one. The interviews – which were con cte b socio ogist aro arfinke , to er s co aborator on the study – also document the lived experiences of many other anon mo s participants, an o nt s fi m positions gnes as on the best-known among what was, in fact, a much wider and more diverse sampling of individuals, all with relatable stories about living a trans life in mid-century America. These include trans women of color as well as trans men, who were far outside the boundaries of what most Americans were willing to accept in an era when Christine Jorgensen prett , b on e, an respectab c t re as the on face of transse a it in the p b ic e e

n raming gnes, o nt e e ates a han f of these ns ng trans pioneers alongside Agnes, collaborating with several notable trans performers besi es r cker, nge ica oss ose , en ichar s rs etcher , a o f a erio, i as o ar , an tephen ra are among the cast to re enact their inter ie s ith arfinke on cam era. Eschewing a straightforward approach in favor of a more artful conceit, these segments are presented not in their clinical setting, b t in the st e of a ike a ace st e inter ie of the era, ith o nt himse f taking on the ro e of arfinke opposite each of his s b jects. Even further, he intersperses the re-enactments themselves with footage and interviews documenting the creation of the segments something akin to a making of specia feat re b i t right into the movie itself – and commentary focused on putting these historical

snapshots of trans life into the context of what we now understand about transgender identity.

hi e it a might so n a tri e art , the fi mmaker maintains a loose, accessible, even playful tone to the style – while still respecting the subject matter, and the subjects – that no doubt contributed to the mo ie s in of both the ience ar an the nno a tor ri e at this ear s n ance esti a ather than interr pting the o , this st istic format i minates the materia as e go, gi ing s a chance to share the insights of the artists as they work to bring these n ggets of histor to ife, an offering an opport nit to re ect on ho these ong hi en ta es of eer e istence connect to o r o n in the here and now.

et there are times in raming gnes partic ar in its atter ha f hen one can t he p b t fee fr strate b a sense of istance e are ultimately given only snippets of these compelling narratives and left only with conjectured facts that can be extrapolated from contextual circumstance or by reading between the lines; the onscreen discussion around them – helped immeasurably by the availability of ang age aro n the s b ect matter that i n t e ist at the time the were recorded – serves to enlighten, to amplify, and to humanize, but we are never allowed to get deeply enough inside them to really know the people at their center.

hat, of co rse, is the ans er to the estion e pose in the be ginning. When the record of our heroes has been suppressed, all we have left are icons. We can surmise, project, interpret, and guess as much as we want, but we can never know much, if anything, about them beyond whatever words they may have left us. In the case of Agnes and her fellow interviewees, those words reveal much about what it was like to be trans in their time, and verify many of our assumptions about it while contradicting others.

They tell us things about their feelings, their relationships, their self-esteem, their survival tactics, and many of the other universal touchstones of experience that can evoke solidarity between generations an era apart; beyond these things, they tell us nothing, and we can on re , ike the artists ho came together to create raming gnes, on o r imaginations

It helps that each of the performers seems deeply invested in their character – further proof, if any were needed, of the value of lived experience over outsider assumption when it comes to acting in such roles – and that the vintage segments are executed with meticulous skill and attention to detail. And if we are denied, perhaps, the opport nit to f access the i es of the peop e o nt s mo ie profi es, e are welcomed into the conversation about them – indeed, into the whole creative process – by the artists who brought them to us. raming gnes is c rrent in a imite theatrica r n before e pan ing to se ect cities nation i e f it oesn t make it to a screen near o , on t orr it s s ate for a streaming eb t early next year.

CHASE JOYNT and ZACKARY DRUCKER in ‘Framing Agnes.’

Sondheim book makes you feel like you’re having drinks with an icon

By KATHI WOLFE

“My idea of heaven is not writing,” the iconic gay composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is reported to have said.

“On the other hand,” Sondheim, who died last year at 91, was, thankfully, as he reportedly said, “obviously compulsive about it.”

“FINALE: Late Conversations With Stephen Sondheim,” a new book by New Yorker staff writer D.T. Max is good news for on heim s m tit es of aficiona os “I’m not good. I’m not nice. I’m just right. I’m the witch. You’re the world,” Sondheim wrote in “Into the Woods.” Whether you’re a teen in a production of “Into the Woods,” a Boomer who came of age with “Company,” an 80-some thing who fondly remembers “Gypsy” or an artist who iden tifies ith n a in the ark ith eorge, o kno o couldn’t have hung out in Sondheim’s world. re ent , profi es of ce ebrities are take o ns or s ck ups. Max avoids these pitfalls.

In “FINALE,” sometimes Sondheim is witty, entertaining, hospitable (his staff offer Max wine) and generous (Sondheim tries to he p a fin a p pp for his fami t other times, Sondheim talks hatefully about his mother (who sounds like a cool customer) and cops to not reading much, though he loves “The Catcher in the Rye” because of its dialogue. Sond heim veers away from the orthodox take on Hitchcock. “Ver tigo,” he says, is overrated. His fave “Hitchcock” movie was “Shadow of A Doubt.”

In “FINALE,” Max makes us feel like we’re having drinks with Sondheim.

It wasn’t easy for Max to have informal, entertaining, illuminating conversations with Sondheim.

There’s always some drama, metaphorically, some seduc tion involved when a reporter attempts to interview a celeb. This was even truer with Sondheim, who zealously guarded his privacy.

rofi es are fra ght efforts, a rites, rofi es of the fa mous famously fraught.”

ome riters on t bring the iffic ties of their ork from getting the interview to coaxing candor and new reveals from interview subjects who’ve been burned by social media) into their reporting.

But in “FINALE,” Max doesn’t just clue readers into the vexations involved in nailing and conducting his interviews with Sondheim. “FINALE” is structured around his quest to discover revelations about Sondheim. His search for insights into on heim s ife an creati e process becomes, fig ra tively, a Broadway show. In this vein, the book’s chapter titles range from re e to ition, an ar to pening ight, pri to osing ight, arch to rtain

The main focus of “FINALE” is Sondheim. But Max is a char acter in the narrative.

Sometimes this is off-putting. Do we need to learn where Max went to school, where he grew up or what movies he en joys? (He agrees with Sondheim about “Vertigo.”)

Does it shed light on Sondheim when Max spills his feel ings (from angst to enthrallment to disappointment when Sondheim cancelled appointments) around writing about Sondheim?

But though, at times, there’s too much of Max, sometimes his presence adds to the story.

Max, like many who’ll read this book, grew up loving Sond

heim. Max’s uncle was a playwright, and he was introduced to Sondheim, when his mother brought home a signed recording of “Side By Side” after a benefit t he s not an expert on musical the ater.

He views Sondheim with the admiring, but unprofessional, gaze of many theatergoers. This serves readers well. It keeps the conversations lively and un-pedantic.

‘FINALE: Late Conversations With Stephen Sondheim’

By D.T. Max

c.2022, Harper/HarperCollins $20.99 | 225 pages

Most of the book is a series of one-on-one conversations that Max has with Sond heim at his home in New York City and his house in Con nectic t on heim s ogs an h sban eff om e an er in an o t on heim ta ks abo t not being ab e to finish a musical that he’s working on. He remembers that decades ago, one day, Katharine Hepburn, then his neighbor, came by hen he as p a ing the piano, composing ipe o n she told him.

It’s doubtful that Sondheim, given the time when he grew up, would have talked about being gay. (Though he never denied his sexuality.) Still, I wish Max had asked him about it.

This is a minor quibble. “FINALE” will be catnip to lovers of musicals.

Holiday Show

The Gay Men’s Chorus performs annual concert at Lincoln Theatre

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and the GenOUT Youth Chorus performed “The Holiday Show” last weekend at the Lincoln Theatre. The Chorus has performances scheduled for Dec. 9 and 11. For tickets and showtimes, visit gmcw.org.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

LEASING SOON IN LOGAN CIRCLE.

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Vivre is a new designer apartment community featuring one-, two-bedroom floorplans and crowned with two incredible penthouse residences with sweeping rooftop terraces and unmatched finishes normally only found in luxury condominiums.

There is still a housing shortage but you may be able to get a deal

Multiple offers still happening in some places

During the pandemic we heard a lot about the supply issue and the high demand for housing. Lately the focus has been on higher interest rates and homes sitting on the market longer than they were.

However, I did an open house in Ellicott City this past weekend and the home had two very busy open houses and got six offers by the end of the weekend. One woman who came through said a house in that neighborhood got 15 offers a few weeks prior to this weekend. Buyers are still trying to buy, and there really is just not enough inventory for the demand, which is going to get worse once the rates start to come back down and even more buyers decide to hit the market.

I usually tell my buyers that winter is one of the best times of the year for them to make a move. Now, maybe it’s still hard for families in Howard County to buy that ream ho se, b t that s a so a specific section of the mar ket. If you are interested in a condo in the city, I have been showing another client of mine a few condos that have been sitting on the market and I believe we could get the sellers to offer closing cost assistance.

• Closing cost assistance might be something you can ask for.

• Down payment assistance is available from D.C., Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and PG County

• o e ban s a e s e a ro ra s for rs re sponders, maybe even up to $10,000

• Winter is in some cases the best time to be a home buyer.

The big takeaway here is that if you are in the market for a condo in the city, you just might be able to give yourself a wonderful holiday gift and get a sweet deal or some closing costs assistance. The other thing to be aware of is that many of the jurisdictions in the D.C. area have some sort of down payment assistance programs. If you would like to learn more about your option, reach out to your trusted Realtor today. If you don’t know one, call me!

By JOSEPH HUDSON

Believe it or not, winter can be a great time to buy a home.

JOSEPH HUDSON

is a Realtor with The Rutstein Group of Compass. Reach him at joseph@dcrealestate.com or 703-587-0597.

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