Washington Blade, Volume 54, Issue 26, June 30, 2023

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Sarah McBride announces run for Congress in Delaware

After months of speculation and anticipation, Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride has announced her run for Congress.

If elected, she would be the frst and only transgender person in Congress. No other trans people have announced their run for Congress, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.

“Blocking out the noise and focusing on what actually matters isn’t easy. That part takes more than coffee,” McBride said in her announcement video she posted to Twitter. “It takes guts and a backbone.”

Despite possibly cracking the glass ceiling for trans people in Congress very soon, McBride did not emphasize — or even mention — her gender identity in the two-minute video. She instead focused on her role in passing paid medical and family leave in Delaware, which takes effect in 2026. She mentioned her gender identity only briefy in a string of tweets under her announcement video.

McBride told the New York Times that her identity is not particularly important to voters.

“What comes up is that we need creative and courageous leadership that will meet this moment with meaningful action for people’s lives,” she said in a 2020 interview.

Nevertheless, McBride is no stranger to cracking glass ceilings.

She was the frst openly trans person to work at the White House, where she was an intern during President Barack Obama’s administration, and became the frst openly trans state senator in the country in 2020.

Accolades and support quickly poured in from LGBTQ advocacy organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Victory Fund, and fellow politicians. Half of Delaware’s state senators and 10 out of 41 Delaware state representatives have endorsed McBride, according to her website.

“Her trailblazing campaign is both a sign of hope for the LGBTQ+ community and a rallying cry,” said Victory Fund President Annise Parker in a press release. “We must continue organizing, continue running for offce and continue voting. Our rights depend on it.”

David Mariner, the executive director of Sussex Pride, said he’s “very excited” that she is running.

“I’ve known Sarah for years and she has always been passionate about Delaware and supporting Delaware’s residents, and I think she will do an excellent job,” he said, emphasizing that Sussex Pride cannot endorse candidates.

“Sarah has got to speak up for the transgender community,” added Sussex Pride board member Kathy Carpenter, who is a trans woman. “Sarah is not familiar with the downstate experience. In southern Delaware, we don’t even have gender affrming care.”

PFLAG Rehoboth did not immediately respond to a voicemail. CAMP Rehoboth Vice President Leslie Ledogar praised McBride.

“Especially in light of the increasing disparagement of our transgender community members, I personally have a lot of respect for Sen. McBride, especially in light of the current negative climate particular surrounding transgender members of our communities,” Ledogar told the Washington Blade.

If elected, McBride would take over Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Blunt Rochester announced her run for U.S. Senate after seven years representing Delaware in the House, where, if elected she would be the frst Black person and frst woman from Delaware.

McBride said she wants to build on her success as a state legislator, propelling policies like paid family leave, gun regulations and reproductive rights in Congress.

JOEL LEV-TOV

Delaware library forced to take down Pride fag

A Delaware library was forced to take down its Pride fag last Friday, causing outrage from some.

“I was super proud of my library (where I work) for putting a pride fag outside this month,” Milton, Del., library employee Jillian Brenneman wrote in a now-deleted post on Facebook. She did not respond to a Facebook message asking for comment. “That is until Sussex County Government decided they needed to be homophobic and force us to take it down.”

Reached by phone Monday, Sussex County Department of Libraries Director Rachel Lynch said the fag’s removal was a county decision. The county only allows American fags, Delaware fags, and Sussex County fags to be fown outside of the building. A Sussex County spokesperson confrmed that in a short interview and said that fying the three fags is not a written policy. Rath-

er, Chip Guy said, it is a custom.

The decision to take down the Pride fag left Fred Munzert, who runs the Milton Theatre, disappointed.

“I know our staff was really excited to see the library put the Pride fag up. It made them feel comfortable,” he said in an interview. “It made them feel good about the town that they lived in and worked in.”

Munzert has led a campaign to “paint the town rainbow” since 2019, where the theater gives out Pride fags to people and businesses. He’s seen more and more Pride fags around town since his campaign.

The display, though, doesn’t come without its opponents in the town of about 3,500 residents. He said Milton Theatre staff have received plenty of emails and phone calls about the fags – one told him that he must display the American fag alongside it and even gave him an

American fag to hang up.

“I’m just always surprised, like, just do your thing. I’ll do my thing,” he said. “Nobody’s bothering anybody.”

Hanging the fag was Milton Public Library Director Jill DiPaolo’s idea, Munzert said. Before the county removed the fag, he said DiPaolo emailed him to apologize and said it was a decision from higher up. DiPaolo was unavailable to comment and did not immediately return a voicemail.

Since the fag’s removal, some staff members haven’t felt accepted by the county anymore, Munzert said. Guy, the Sussex County communications director, said the county was just enforcing county norms.

“The county is not sending a message or a symbol,” he emphasized.

JOEL LEV-TOV

Rehoboth prepares to celebrate Independence Day

Here’s what’s going on in the Rehoboth area for Independence Day, from music to freworks.

FIREWORKS : Rehoboth’s annual freworks display will be held along the beach and boardwalk on Sunday, July 2 at around 9:30 p.m. Fireworks are launched from south of Rehoboth Avenue and are visible up and down the beach and boardwalk. Entertainment at the bandstand starts at 8 p.m. Free.

FIREWORKS ON A BOAT : If you want to make the weekend even more memorable, consider going on a cruise a little north of Rehoboth aboard the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. It advertises music, food, and drinks with musical guests Bachman & Polk as well as John

King. The ferry leaves Lewes at 6:45 p.m. on Monday for a roughly four hour cruise. $35 for children, $55 for adults.

MUSIC: Various bands are performing at the bandstand on Sunday and Monday, from the Fabulous Greaseband to Sam Grow. All free.

The United States Navy Band is performing from 8-9:30 p.m. on Friday

The Faboulous Greaseband is performing Sunday from 2-6 p.m

Jim Long is performing from Sunday 3-7 p.m at the Paradise Grill, 30 minutes away from the beach Garden State Radio is hosting from 7-11 p.m back at

the beach on Sunday

On Monday, Sam Grow is performing from 6-10 p.m. at the beach

NIGHTLIFE: Diego’s Bar & Nightclub is offering a host of events, including splash parties, DJ Mags spinning July 2 and 4 from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Ada Vox performs July 5 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Pamala Stanley performs at Freddie’s on Saturday, July 1, 8-11 p.m. and Sunday, July 2 for a pre-freworks T-Dance from 6-8 p.m. DJ Chord spins at Aqua Grill on July 1 at 9 p.m. Pianist Nate Buccieri is back at the Blue Moon, Sundays-Thursdays 6-8:30 p.m.

JOEL LEV-TOV

Del. state Sen. SARAH MCBRIDE (Blade fle photo by Michael Key)

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Blade joins VP Harris at Pride month appearances in NYC

Delivers remarks at Stonewall Inn and campaign reception

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

NEW YORK — The Washington Blade joined Vice President Kamala Harris on a trip to New York on Monday, where she made a surprise appearance at the Stonewall Inn and delivered remarks at an LGBTQ campaign reception in support of the Biden Victory Fund.

Her frst stop began with a briefng and tour of the Stonewall National Monument by Shirley McKinney, Christopher Street Manhattan Sites Superintendent for the National Park Service. The visit came just ahead of the upcoming 54th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969, which marked the beginning of a nascent movement for LGBTQ civil rights in America.

Harris then proceeded into the bar, where she was joined by its current owner Kurt Kelly and television producer and talk show host Andy Cohen.

ris said.

Later, addressing reporters gathered outside the bar, the vice president said, “I’m here because I also understand not only what we celebrate in terms of those fghters who fought for freedom, but understanding that this fght is not over.”

“Anti-LGBTQ book bans. A policy approach that is ‘Don’t Say Gay.’ People in fear for their life. People afraid to be. These are fundamental issues that point to the need for us to all be vigilant, to stand together,” Harris said, adding, “I feel very strongly no one should be made to fght alone.”

Just before departing en route to the Upper East Side, Harris fnished her remarks by discussing how working toward a more just country is both noble and necessary. “Fighting with pride is about being a patriot,” she said.

After taking the stage at the 24th Annual LGBTQ+ Leadership Council Gala, a campaign reception supporting the Biden Victory Fund, Harris began her remarks by proclaiming, “Pride is patriotism,” adding, “There is nothing more patriotic than celebrating freedom, which includes the freedom to love who you love and be who you are.”

She then told the crowd about her visit to Stonewall where, she said, “I refected on the determination and dedication of patriots like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson” along with the late political consultant Jim Rivaldo, who helped elect gay rights icon Harvey Milk to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 and then served as campaign manager for Harris when she was frst elected to serve as the city’s district attorney in 2004.

seek to undermine legal precedent and strip away basic freedoms,” Pelosi said.

Describing the ascendence of anti-LGBTQ sentiment in America, Harris pointed to the rise in extreme rhetoric, threats, and violence targeting the community, noting the Human Rights Campaign’s proclamation of a state of emergency for LGBTQ people earlier this month.

More evidence of the precarity of the community’s rights and freedoms at this moment, Harris said, comes from the same institution that made equal marriage the law of the land, “the court of Thurgood [Marshall] and RBG,” which “will soon rule in a case that could allow businesses to refuse to serve” LGBTQ Americans. A decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis might come this week.

Extremists on the right, the Vice President warned, are working to claw back rights and freedoms across the board. They “have a plan to push their agenda as far and as wide as they possibly can,” she said, “to attack hard won rights and freedoms state by state. To attack the right to live as your authentic self, to attack the right to vote, to attack the rights of workers to organize, to attack the right to make decisions about one’s own body.”

Harris added, “And by the way, a year after Dobbs, it is clear these extremists also plan to ban abortion nationwide. Nationwide.”

However, she said, in the face of these challenges, thankfully voters have rejected extremism and embraced leaders who “have empathy,” those with “curiosity, concern, and care for the struggles of other people.”

Noting how “it was a drag queens fghting on our behalf” to defend patrons against yet another police raid on that fateful summer night in 1969, Kelly asked the vice president, “isn’t that ironic where we are today?”

This year has seen the introduction of a furry of discriminatory bills in conservative states that target drag performances and performers.

“Yes, I know,” Harris responded. “It’s outrageous.”

“There are over 600 bills that are being proposed or passed, anti-LGBTQ+ bills,” she said. “I was honored to perform some of the frst same-sex marriages in our country back in 2004. I look at these young teachers in Florida who are in their 20s, and if they’re in a samesex relationship, are afraid or fear they might lose their jobs.”

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, signed into law last year by the state’s Republican governor and 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis, criminalizes classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. Critics say its overly broad language means an LGBTQ teacher’s decision to display a photo of their family could violate the law and result in penalties, including termination.

“So just thinking about the symmetry there, it pains but it also reminds me that we can take nothing for granted in terms of the progress we’ve achieved,” Har-

“Jim would tell me about the early days of the gay rights movement,” she said, “stories about bringing folks together from the civil rights movement and labor rights movement and women’s rights movement to fght for and to secure freedom.”

Harris then turned to acknowledge another anniversary that was marked on Monday, the eighth year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges, establishing the nationwide constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

“That progress is not inevitable. It does not just happen. It takes steadfast determination and dedication,” she said, “the kind of determination and dedication possessed by people like Jim Obergefell.”

After thanking Obergefell — who was in the audience, earning a round of applause — Harris said, “it saddens me to think and then talk about aspects of the moment we are in. A moment when LGBTQ+ people and families and freedoms and basic rights are under attack in our country.”

Hours after her remarks, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement marking the High Court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling that echoed Harris’s warning:

“Despite the progress that has been made, the fght against LGBTQ+ discrimination remains more urgent than ever as right-wing extremists across the nation

They elected governors who “vetoed bills that would hurt transgender children and who signed bills to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination,” Harris said to raucous applause, pointing to Democratic Govs. Kathy Hochul (N.Y.) and Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.), both in attendance.

President Joe Biden, she said, is this kind of leader — famously unafraid to proclaim his support for marriage equality in 2012 before many others did, and then running on a platform in 2020 that “promised to not only protect but to expand the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people” while “the other side continued their attacks” against them.

In anticipation of the threat posed by conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s stated interest in revisiting Obergefell, Biden codifed legal protections for same-sex and interracial couples by signing the Respect for Marriage Act in December, Harris said.

Ten years ago this week, after refusing to defend the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage as California’s attorney general, “I had the privilege to pronounce my friends Kris Perry and Sandy Stier spouses for life,” Harris said.

A full circle moment came at the signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, she said, where “Kris and Sandy were there on the White House lawn with their four sons” alongside the “families, people from every background, every walk of life, understanding what it means to have a president, to have an administration, who has their back.”

Vice President KAMALA HARRIS speaks near the Stonewall National Monument. (Blade video screen capture by Christopher Kane)

Bisexuals: The neglected stepchild of the LGBTQ rights movement?

Activists say disparaging views from gays and straights are lessening, but bias continues

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Bisexual rights advocates point out that a recent Gallup Poll using scientifcally proven polling techniques shows that 58.2 percent of people in the U.S. who make up the LGBTQ community identify as bisexual.

And for many years, bi activists say, earlier polling data have shown that people who self-identify as bi have comprised close to 50 percent of the overall LGBTQ population.

Yet in spite of this, a half dozen prominent bisexual rights activists interviewed by the Washington Blade who have been involved in the LGBTQ movement for 20 years or longer say bisexuals for the most part have been neglected and treated in a disparaging way in the early years of the post-Stonewall LGBTQ rights movement.

Things began to improve in the past 15 years or so, but misconceptions and biased views of bisexuals among lesbians and gays as well as in the heterosexual world continue to this day, according to bisexual rights advocates.

These advocates point to the one major stigma they have had to endure for years—the belief that they cannot make up their minds or they are hiding the fact that they are gay men or lesbian women.

“For the record, I state that bisexuality is not a counterfeit behavior or a phase,” said longtime bisexual rights advocate Cliff Arnesen in a statement to the Blade. “It is a true sexual orientation of physical and emotional attraction to both genders,” he said. “I believe some of the apprehension to a person’s bisexual orientation lies within the mindset of people who oppose the concept of bisexual people having ‘heterosexual privilege,’” Arnesen says in his statement.

Arnesen, 74, a resident of Canton, Mass., is a U.S. Army veteran and has also been an advocate for military veterans, both LGBTQ and straight. He says one of the highlights of his many years of activism took place May 3, 1989, when he became the frst known openly bisexual veteran in U.S. history to testify before a committee of the U.S. Congress on behalf of LGBTQ and heterosexual veterans.

Among the issues he discussed in his testimony, Arnesen says, were HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, homelessness, gays in the military, and the then Uniformed Code of Military Justice sodomy law impacting LGBTQ people in the military.

He also told the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs in his 1989 testimony about efforts by him and other LGBT veterans to advocate for the upgrade of less-than-honorable discharges of people in the military based on their sexual orientation.

“Bisexual people have always made enormous contributions of beneft to the larger gay community,” Arneson told the Blade. “Yet historically we are marginalized by many in both the gay community and society,” he said.

“To counter that marginalization, we bisexual people must use the ‘key of visibility’ to enlighten and educate the masses as regards to their preconceived misconceptions of bisexuality.”

Arnesen is among at least fve other elder U.S. bisexual rights advocates who told the Blade they are seeing positive changes in recent years for bisexuals, including among the national LGBTQ organizations that, according to these activists, ignored the ‘bi’ in the movement for far too long.

Among them are longtime D.C. residents Loraine Hutchins, who co-founded the organizations BiNet USA

and the Alliance of Multicultural Bisexuals, and A. Billy S. Jones-Hennin, who in 1978 helped launch the National Coalition of Black Gays, the nation’s frst advocacy organization for African-American lesbians and gay men.

Jones-Hennin is also credited with helping to organize one year later the frst national March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979. During the same weekend of the march, he helped to convene what observers call an historic National Third World (People of Color) LGBTQ Conference at D.C.’s Howard University.

Hutchins, co-editor of the acclaimed 1991 book, “Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out,” holds a doctorate in cultural studies and has taught sexuality and gender and women’s studies at Montgomery College and Towson University in Maryland.

of Health and Human Services offces rather than at the White House.

Dawson, who is from the United Kingdom and now works as a flmmaker based in Austin said the meeting was productive but she and other bi activists would like the Biden White House to hold an offcial White House reception for the bi community like the reception it holds for the full LGBTQ community.

“We want more bi organizations to contact us,” Dawson said in describing the work of BiPlus Organizing U.S. “I estimate that there are at least 20 bi organizations nationwide,” she said, with most of the groups being locally based. “I see change coming,” she added, saying the younger generation of LGBTQ people, including bisexuals, are becoming more supportive of bi rights.

Many bisexuals now identify as ‘bi-plus’

Jones-Hennin, who attended the frst White House meeting with bisexual rights advocates during the Obama administration, said the lack of information about bisexuality in the media and from gay rights groups going back to the 1970s played a role in his own coming out process as a bisexual man.

“I started as straight and then as a gay man,” Jones-Hennin recalls. “I at frst did not buy into the idea of being bi,” he said. “Bisexuals have been erased and to a certain degree that’s still happening. We need more visibility of bi,” he said.

Jones-Hennin said he and his husband, who spend part of each year in their homes in Mexico and in D.C., now proudly identify as bi plus.

His reference to the term bi-plus or bi+ is part of the defnition of bisexuality that bi rights advocates have been using to be inclusive of those who identify as pansexual as well as those who are both transgender and bisexual.

Hutchins is now retired and lives in a retirement community in Montgomery County, Md. She told the Blade she has seen some positive changes in recent years within the overall LGBTQ rights movement and LGBTQ rights organizations toward bisexuals. She notes that the National LGBTQ Task Force’s current executive director, Kierra Johnson, identifes as bisexual.

The Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights advocacy organization, “have gotten much stronger on understanding bi advocacy or bi education,” Hutchins said.

But despite this, she said, she doesn’t see suffcient advances regarding the needs of bisexual people being fully taken up at the federal policy-making level, including in the administration of President Joe Biden, even though she sees the Biden administration as being better than previous administrations on bisexual issues.

BiPlus Organizing U.S., a national coalition of bisexual rights organizations, reports on its website that bisexual advocates held “three important convenings with the White House” during the Obama administration in 2013, 2015, and 2016. It says a small group of bi activists met with White House offcials and offcials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2022 under the Biden administration during Bisexual Awareness Week.

Fiona Dawson, one of the co-founders of BiPlus Organizing U.S., said the meeting between bi advocates and the Biden administration offcials took place at the Department

“Bi+ people may use many terms to describe their own sexual identities, including queer, pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual, and heterofexible,” according to T.J. Jourian, Ph.D., and author of a January 2022 article on bisexuality for the publication Best Colleges.

In his article, Jourian quotes Massachusetts-based longtime bisexual rights advocate and author Robyn Ochs as providing her own interpretation of being bi.

“I call myself bisexual because I acknowledge that I have in myself the potential to be attracted – romantically and/or sexually – to people of more than one sex and/or gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree,” Ochs says in a statement.

Bisexuals more likely to have mental health problems: study

Hutchins, meanwhile, points to a report released on June 13 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that shows that adults who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual are more likely to have mental health problems than their straight counterparts. But the study also shows that people who identify as bisexual have a higher rate of mental health problems, including suicidal ideation, than gays and lesbians.

LANI KA’AHUMANU and LORAINE HUTCHINS circa 1992 (Photo courtesy Hutchins)

Advocates speak out about combatting bi erasure

LaNail Plummer, a mental health therapist and licensed professional counselor who serves as CEO and clinical director of the D.C.-based Onyx Therapy Group, said she has seen from her therapy and counseling practice that the mental health issues faced by bisexual people are often the result of discrimination and negative treatment they receive from both the heterosexual community and from gays and lesbians.

Plummer, who herself identifes as bisexual, told the Blade in a phone interview that bisexuals often go through a coming out process that’s more complicated and involves less peer support than the coming out process for gay men and lesbians.

“There’s a lot of people who are bisexual in a world that seems to be centered around polarity,” Plummer said. “It is complicated for bisexual folks because bisexual folks can and will likely date people of the opposite sex at different times,” she said, requiring to some degree that they must “come out” in a same-sex relationship and later in an opposite-sex relationship.

Bisexual people face additional “stressors,” Plummer said, when they are in a relationship with a partner of the same sex because that partner sometimes manifests fear that their bi partner will leave them for someone of the opposite sex.

“I have a person I know who identifes as bisexual and she has a wife,” Plummer told the Blade. “And every time the person that I know goes out, the wife, who identifes as lesbian, gives her a really hard time, by asking are you going to be with a man today? What happens if a man comes up and talks to you? How are you going to respond to them?”

That type of dynamic, according to Plummer, often prompts bisexual people to go back into the closet and withhold their identity as bi to someone they are dating or in a relationship with who may be of the same sex or the opposite sex.

Plummer and bisexual rights advocates say this type of stress placed on bi people is usually based on misconceptions and bias against bisexuality that bi advocates say they hope will continue to decline with improved education and understanding of bisexuals.

Elder activists hopeful that bias is declining

Ochs told the Blade in an interview that she has been an activist in support of LGBTQ and bisexual equality for more than 40 years, with a focus on issues of concern to bisexuals.

“And I would say the frst 30 of those years I felt we were beating our heads against a stone wall,” she said in describing efforts to advance bisexual rights. “It was so frustrating. I saw little progress. I felt like we were having the same conversations over and over and over,” she said.

“We continued to be ignored in all sorts of media, both mainstream media and LGBTQ media,” she recounted. “It would have been inconceivable up to about a decade ago for an out bisexual person to have ever been appointed as head of any national LGBTQ organization,” she said.

“So, that’s the background. The good part is that’s no longer true,” Ochs said. “There is much more cultural representation now with musicians, politicians and public fgures coming out as bisexual and pansexual.”

She pointed to the two prominent national LGBTQ organizations that currently have top leaders who identify as bisexual. The two are Kiera Johnson, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, and Erin Uritus, CEO of the national LGBTQ group Out & Equal.

Another longtime bi advocate currently based in San Francisco, Lani Ka’ahumanu, is widely recognized as a leader in national social justice movements, including Native

American, feminist, anti-war, and LGBTQ and bisexual rights movements. She is also an acclaimed author and poet whose writings appear in 20 books, including the book she co-edited with Loraine Hutchins, “Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out.”

Her online biography says Ka’ahumanu, like other bi activists, evolved from a suburban housewife in a heterosexual marriage with children in the 1960s and an amicable divorce with her husband before she came out as a lesbian.

“I was a lesbian for four years in the ‘70s,” she told the Blade in a phone interview. “And then I fell in love with a bisexual man and came out in 1980 as bi,” she said, adding that she continued, sometimes despite fellow activists who were skeptical about bisexuality, in her involvement in the feminist and LGBTQ rights movements.

She became the frst known out bisexual to serve on the board of directors of a national LGBTQ rights organization in 2000, when she was appointed to the board of the National LGBTQ Task Force, where she served until 2007.

Ka’ahumanu agrees with other bi rights advocates that things have improved in recent years for the bisexual community in the political and social landscape. But she said she was startled earlier this year when expressions of bias toward bisexuals surfaced, of all places, at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s annual Creating Change Conference held in San Francisco last February.

In her role as an elder and mentor to young bi activists, she said, she attended one of the conference’s bisexual workshops. “And hearing what some people said, it was the same stories from the ‘80s and 90s,” she recounted. “You know, you need to make up your mind. People were still being trashed for being bisexual within the lesbian and gay community,” said Ka’ahumanu.

“And that part kind of threw me,” she recounted. “I said, are we still in this place of being invisible?” she asked. “A lot of people still can’t step outside of that either or thing.”

Ka’ahumanu made it clear that most of the other sessions of the Creating Change Conference, which marked the beginning of the Task Force’s 50th anniversary, appeared supportive of the LGBTQ organization’s progressive and supportive views and policies on LGBTQ issues.

Shoshana Goldberg, Public Education and Research Director for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ political advocacy organization, said that like the LGBTQ community as a whole, recent developments have been “mixed” for bisexuals in the U.S.

“Bisexuals, particularly bisexual women of color, consistently earn less than the average American worker, and even less than their LGBTQ+ peers,” Goldberg said in a statement. “Many of the health disparities seen between LGBTQ+ and cis/het folks are magnifed for bisexual people, and bisexuals continue to face biphobia from both straight and queer communities, and bi-erasure from all sectors of daily life,” Goldberg stated.

HRC offcial Rebecca Hershey, who works on diversity and inclusion issues, said HRC has been addressing issues of concern to the bisexual community through, among other things, its LGBTQ Coming Out Guides, which offer information to “dispel myths and address stereotypes about bisexuality.”

HRC also supports the annual Bisexual Health Awareness Month and in 2019 released its Bi+ youth report, which analyzed a survey HRC conducted of close to 9,000 teens to “help shed light” on the experiences of bi+ youth nationwide.

Bi rights advocates say the national LGBTQ organization GLAAD, which focuses on improving fairness in media and

entertainment industry portrayals of LGBTQ people, has also acted as a strong advocate for bisexuals. In the 11th edition of its Media Reference Guide, GLAAD includes a detailed write-up on how the news and entertainment media should report on or portray bisexual people.

“By being more cognizant of the realities facing bisexual people and the community’s many diversities, and by fairly and accurately reporting on people who are bisexual, the media can help eliminate some of the misconceptions and damaging stereotypes bisexual people face on a daily basis,” GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide states.

Arnesen, the elder bisexual rights advocate who his bi colleagues refer to as an icon in the bi movement, sums up his sentiment as a bisexual advocate in his statement to the Blade.

“As a Bisexual human being, I am mindful that I stand upon the shoulders of the innumerable and courageous GLBT+ pioneers and advocates for ‘equality’ who came before me,” he wrote. “Fate just happened to put me in the right place, at the right time to advocate for ‘equality’ on behalf of my bisexual brothers and sisters; and our country’s GLBT and Heterosexual veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces,” he states.

“Today, the love of my life of 33 years is a heterosexual woman named Claudia, whom I love with all my heart and soul,” he says. “As a bisexual person I have been doubly blessed to know the love of both men and women during my life’s journey, and I cherish those memories within my heart.”

Additional information about bisexual rights issues and the state of the bi movement can be accessed through BiPlus Organizing US and its member organizations:

• BiPlus Organizing US

• Bisexual Resource Center, biresource.org

• Bisexual Organizing Project

• Los Angeles Bi+ Task Force, labitaskforce.org

• Bi Pan Organizing Project of Minnesota

• Bisexual Organizing Project

ABILLY JONES-HENNIN (Photo courtesy Hennin)

Pioneering LGBTQ rights advocate Lilli Vincenz dies at 86

Helped organize protests in early 1960s, co-founded Washington Blade

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

LGBTQ rights activist, psychotherapist, and documentary filmmaker Lilli Vincenz, who played an important role in helping to organize groundbreaking gay rights protests outside the White House and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in the 1960s, died June 27 of natural causes at her residence in an assisted living center in Oakton, Va. She was 86.

Vincenz is believed to be the first known lesbian to participate in a gay rights protest in front of the White House in April 1965, when she joined pioneering gay rights leader Frank Kameny, seven other gay men, and a bisexual and straight woman in a first-of-its-kind White House protest calling for equal rights for homosexuals.

The protest took place about two years after Vincenz also is believed to have been the first lesbian to join the Mattachine Society of Washington in 1963, which was D.C.’s first significant gay rights organization co-founded by Kameny and gay activist Jack Nichols in 1961. The Mattachine Society of Washington led the 1965 White House protest and other 1960s era gay protests in D.C.

According to a biographical write-up on Vincenz by lesbian historian Lillian Faderman for the current Mattachine Society of Washington that was reconstituted years later by D.C. gay rights advocate Charles Francis and others, Vincenz participated in other protests in the 1960s in support of what was then known as the homophile movement.

Among them were protests outside the Pentagon and the U.S. Civil Service Commission in Washington, which oversaw enforcing the federal government’s policy at the time of firing gay men or lesbians found to be working at federal government agencies.

Vincenz joined Kameny and other D.C. Mattachine Society members in another historic first in a protest outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall beginning in the mid1960s in support of homosexual rights.

Faderman’s biographical write-up on Vincenz says that in 1968, Vincenz brought her 16-millimeter movie camera to the Independence Hall gay protest to film what became the fourth annual Remembrance Day gay picketing at Independence Hall.

It would become the start of Vincenz’s practice as an amateur filmmaker to film other early gay rights protests and other gay events, including the 1970 gay and lesbian rights march in New York City to commemorate the first anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York’s Greenwich Village that’s credited with rapidly advancing the modern LGBTQ rights movement.

In 1966, according to Faderman, Vincenz was named editor of the D.C. Mattachine Society’s monthly newslet-

ter called The Homosexual Citizen. In 1969, Vincenz and D.C. lesbian activist Nancy Tucker co-founded an independent gay newspaper as a spinoff of the Mattachine newsletter called the Gay Blade, which later evolved into the Washington Blade.

Vincenz was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1937 and lived through World War II and the fall of the Nazi regime before immigrating to the U.S. in 1949 with her mother and sister at the age of 12.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in French and German at Douglas College in New Jersey in 1959 and a master’s degree in English at Columbia University in New York City in 1960, according to a biography on her by the LGBTQ organization Equality Forum.

The biography says Vincenz enlisted in the U.S. Army’s Women Corps or WAC after completing her master’s degree. But she was discharged from the Army after serving nine months at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C. on grounds of homosexuality. According to the Equality Forum write-up, she was outed by her roommate, which led to a general discharge under honorable conditions.

While involved in gay rights endeavors in the 1970s, Vincenz received a second master’s degree in psychology from George Mason University in Virginia in 1976. In 1990, she received her Ph.D. in human development at the University of Maryland, according to a write-up on her background by the Library of Congress.

That write-up came about shortly after Vincenz donated her papers and the films she had made of LGBTQ rights events in 2013 to the Library of Congress. The donation included some 10,000 papers, photographs, 16mm movies, and memorabilia collected over a period of more than 50 years.

The Library of Congress statement says the donation of Vincenz’s papers and memorabilia was made through her agent, Charles Francis, the co-founder of the Kameny Papers Project, which facilitated the donation of Kameny’s papers to the Library of Congress in 2006.

It was at the time of her discharge from the Army in 1963 that Vincenz became involved with the Mattachine Society of Washington, according to the Library of Congress statement. Her LGBTQ rights activities continued through the 1970s while she also began her private psychotherapy practice with a focus on mental health issues faced by lesbians and bisexual women.

In 1971, Vincenz supported Frank Kameny’s campaign for the D.C. congressional seat in his role as the first known openly gay person in the country to run for public office. Kameny lost the election but is credited, through

help from Vincenz, with opening the way for other LGBTQ candidates to run for and win election to public office.

Through most of the 1970s Vincenz hosted the Gay Women’s Open House in D.C. as a means of providing a safe space for lesbians to socialize and discuss what was then referred to as gay activism. She continued her activism in the 1980s and 1990s and during the peak of the AIDS epidemic she provided support for gay men through her psychotherapy practice, according to fellow activists and friends. Among the organizations she became involved with was the Daughters of Bilitis, a national lesbian rights organization.

People who knew Vincenz have said she and her domestic partner since 1986, Nancy Davis, hosted many LGBTQ-related events in their Arlington, Va., home where the two founded an organization in 1992 called the Community for Creative Self-Development.

D.C.’s Rainbow History Project says in a write-up on the two women that they called the organization a “holistic learning community for empowering gay women and men and all gay-friendly people, creatively, spiritually, and psychologically.”

Davis died of natural causes in 2019 at the age of 82.

“Lilli honored us all by donating her thousands of pages of papers, photographs, and iconic historical documentaries, ‘The Second Largest Minority’ (1968) and ‘Gay and Proud’ (1970) to the Library of Congress,” Francis said. “Through her gift, Lilli’s films now belong to the American people as does her legacy.”

Vincenz’s friend Bob Brown said Vincenz is survived by a nephew and three nieces and many friends. He said plans for a memorial service for Vincenz would be announced sometime later.

The current day Mattachine Society of Washington produced a film on Vincenz’s life that focuses on her role as one of the first to film historic LGBTQ events, especially her film ‘Gay and Proud’ that captured the gay march in 1970 in New York to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Among those interviewed in the Mattachine film and who praised Vincenz’s work were U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), lesbian historian Faderman, and gay historian Eric Cervini.

The film, which Mattachine official Charles Francis says captures the essence of Vincenz’s work and legacy, can be viewed on YouTube.

LILLI VINCENZ died June 27 of natural causes. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Club Q shooter sentenced to life in prison

In a press conference Monday after the fi nal court hearing, El Paso County (Colo.) District Attorney Michael J. Allen announced that a plea deal had been reached with the shooter in last November’s mass shooting at the LGBTQ entertainment venue Club Q. Colorado Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Michael McHenry accepted the plea deal worked out with Allen’s offi ce where Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, pleaded guilty to fi ve counts of murder in the fi rst degree, 46

counts of attempted murder in the fi rst degree.

McHenry said that Aldrich will receive fi ve consecutive life sentences without the possibility for parole on the murder charges, and will also receive 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murder counts, which totals 2,208 years, followed by mandatory periods of parole. This is a fi nal decision — a trial cannot happen at a later date.

BRODY LEVESQUE

Biden warns GOP is coming for marriage equality

President Joe Biden last Friday warned that if Republicans win next year’s elections, they will go after the right to privacy that has provided the basis for legal protections for same-sex marriage and access to contraception.

“These guys are serious, man. I — I said it when the decision came out, and people looked at me like I was exaggerating,” he said. “But they’re not stopping here.”

Biden delivered the remarks during an event hosted by America’s largest pro-choice organizations in commemoration of the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Americans’ constitutional right to abortion.

Joining the president at the Mayflower Hotel in D.C. were his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Also in attendance were senior administration officials and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who spoke before Biden took the stage.

Repeating his call for Congress to pass legislation restoring the reproductive freedoms that were erased with the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Biden also denounced the abortion restrictions that were since passed in red states.

“They’re not stopping here,” he said. “Make no mistake, this election is about freedom on the ballot.”

Representatives from the abortion rights groups hosting the event — Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and NARAL Pro-Choice America — endorsed Biden’s bid for re-election, likely a signal of his campaign’s confidence that reproductive rights will be a defining feature

of the 2024 presidential race. Also on Friday, the White House issued an Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Contraception along with a fact sheet providing an “update on the work of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access and the administration’s ongoing efforts to defend reproductive rights.”

program; improve Medicare coverage of contraception; ensure “robust coverage” of contraception for service members, veterans and federal employees; increase contraception access for federally supported healthcare programs; improve access to affordable contraception provided by employer sponsored health plans and institutions of higher education; and support research documenting gaps and disparities in access to contraception.

The White House’s fact sheet, meanwhile, summarizes the Biden-Harris administration’s work fighting for reproductive rights in the wake of Dobbs. This has also included a series of actions contained in two executive orders along with those in Friday’s.

Among other moves, the administration has worked to ensure access to medication abortion, protect the freedom to travel across state lines for medical care, safeguard the privacy of health information and partner with statewide abortion rights advocates.

On Saturday, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, issued a press release committing the organization to fighting on behalf of reproductive freedom.

The executive order delineates a series of actions including plans to improve access to affordable contraception for those with private health insurance; improve access to over-the-counter contraception; support family planning services and supplies across the Medicaid

“LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately affected by abortion bans,” according to the press release. “Even prior to the Dobbs decision, lesbian, bisexual, and queer cisgender women reported higher rates of unwanted or mistimed pregnancies relative to heterosexual women, often due to the discrimination that they face in healthcare settings.”

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Former mayor indicted for second time on child porn charges

In a little-noticed development, a Prince George’s County, Md., grand jury on May 25 issued a second indictment charging the gay former mayor of College Park with a total of 140 counts of possession and intent to distribute child pornography.

The new indictment against Patrick Wojahn includes the initial 80 counts of alleged possession and intent to distribute child porn included in an earlier indictment issued by a Prince George’s County grand jury on March 28.

But the latest indictment, considered a superseding indictment, adds 60 new counts to the charges pending against Wojahn. It brings the number of counts for possession of child porn, which is listed as a misdemeanor, to 40 and the number of counts for intent to distribute child porn, which is considered a felony under Maryland law, to 100. That brings the total number of charges pending against Wojahn to 140.

Online records with the Prince George’s County Circuit

Court, where the case against Wojahn is pending, show that a jury trial for the case is scheduled to begin on Aug. 7. The court records show that Wojahn has and continues to be held in jail since the time of his arrest after a judge denied his request for bail.

The first indictment came just under four weeks after Prince George’s County police announced on March 2 that they had arrested Wojahn, 47, on 56 counts of possession and distribution of “child exploitive material.”

Police charging documents said Wojahn allegedly had uploaded and/or shared at least 56 videos or still images on the social media app Kik depicting explicit sexual acts between adult men and prepubescent boys, depicting prepubescent boys engaging in sex with each other, or engaging in masturbation.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

El Paso County District Attorney MICHAEL J. ALLEN on June 26, announces plea deal with shooter in the Club Q mass shooting. (YouTube screenshot from KRDO)

President JOE BIDEN at the Rose Garden of the White House (Screenshot/Independent UK)

PATRICK WOJAHN (Mugshot courtesy of the Prince George’s County Police Department)

KAYLA REED

is an assistant professor and Discovery,

Systems, & Digital Strategy Librarian

at Grinnell College. Her research and teaching centers on diversity and LGBTQ+ issues, with a focus on asexuality.

A

As an asexual woman, I stand in solidarity with the transgender community; from an A to the Ts, I see you. But the problem is not enough people do. A lack of authentic, multifaceted representation has caused harm to both of our communities and it’s time for a change.

Shrouded in misinformation and hearsay, the trans community faces persecution daily. Many individuals who do not know any trans people do not understand them, nor do they have access to quality depictions of the trans community in the media. So, they have become the target of political fearmongering painting trans individuals as immoral entities instead of human beings. Despite most favoring protecting trans rights, in 2022, there were 174 anti-trans laws proposed and 26 passed; 2023 has already seen 537 with 63 passed.

Asexuals are not under attack the way trans individuals are, but our “invisible” orientation does lead to misinformation. After all, most people shorten it to LGBT, no A in sight. Asexuality is the lack of or low sexual attraction to others. There is a broad spectrum of asexual identities, which are better defined on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Most asexuals struggle just to discover themselves and then to find relationships that fit their needs. We can be the target for corrective rape, poor healthcare, and other challenges in our day-to-day lives, but it is harder to call people who are less sexual than most sexual deviants, an insult hurled frequently at the trans community. But perceptions and treatment of both the A and T of LGBT+ can improve with positive, authentic representation in the media.

Many of the myths that are used against the trans community come from harmful representation. Lindsey Ellis did a captivating video essay about pop culture transphobia that shows where ideas like trans individuals attacking women in the bathroom came from. Some of the language being used to attack the trans community is very similar to that used in the 1980s against the gay community. “Grooming” and the idea that the LGBT+ community has inappropriate relationships with children has been around for more than a century and is used even today to justify attacking LGBT+ individuals in legislation and daily life. But history shows we can make progress on knocking down these stereotypes with more inclusive media.

Representation in media has the power to build empathy, self-esteem, and social change. With more diversity portrayed in media, people are exposed to more variety of stories, opening up possibilities for connection and empathy. We have seen representation change the culture of the United States. Until the 1990s gay men were not represented in media as main characters, only as side or “lesson of the week” (usually related to AIDS) characters. But shows like “Will & Grace” started changing the

public perception of gay individuals. As more complex representation became common, stereotypes were challenged, and acceptance began to grow. Today, six in 10 adults express positive views of same-sex marriage. That number was unthinkable in the 1980s. Changing our representation in media has the potential to transform how our communities are perceived and treated by others.

For representation in storytelling to be authentic, it must include authentic perspectives. A trans individual can bring in a perception that simply cannot be recaptured by even the best-intended CIS creator. This is not to say that CIS creators should avoid trans characters; however, there must be genuine expression in the representation. In addition to authenticity, we need multifaceted representation. Queer stories that always follow tropes are not interesting. There will always be persecution for being different and thus we will always see that storyline, but we don’t need it in every piece of media. Instead, we need characters who are more than their identity. “Schitt’s Creek” offers a perfect example. The character of David Rose is not straight, but there is no homophobia on display in the small town. Children’s media, much like young adult fiction, has recently offered more quality representation, such as Steven Universe, SheRa and the Princesses of Power, and Owl House, that all display LGBT+ characters and relationships without homophobia. The characters are just people who fell in love or people who are different, but who are judged the way any person should be, based on their character and choices.

Trans representation is getting better; there are more characters and shows branching out but at a much slower pace. In “Orange is the New Black,” one of the most interesting characters is Sophia Burset, a side character we see every few episodes played by Laverne Cox. I want more. I want more trans characters who are people, who get to make mistakes and grow, who are main characters. And I want more asexual characters.

Asexual representation has also been slow to come to mainstream media. Poor or troublesome portrayals where asexuality is a thing to be cured or the character is sadistic, such as in House and Dexter, are harmful and misleading. But shows like “Sex Education,” with admittedly a small side character (but a very good discussion of asexuality from a main character) or Bojack Horseman’s complex character Todd Chavez offer better, more authentic depictions of asexuality. Entertainment giant Disney has LGBT+ characters in shows and as side or background characters in movies but has yet to feature LGBT+ main characters in any movies. Would there be backlash? Yes. There always is. But genuine portrayals can also quietly change minds and sometimes even hearts.

From an

to the Ts: We see you

‘Invisible’ orientation leads to misinformation

CHRIS WOOD is executive director of LGBT Tech.

Exploring impact of Artificial Intelligence on LGBTQ community

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into our daily lives has been revolutionary and much more rapid than anyone could have predicted, especially in the last few months with the launch of ChatGPT and similar applications. It has streamlined, automated, and started to change numerous sectors of society, but this rapid technological advancement has many experts sounding the alarm about the unknown and unforeseeable consequences of AI’s broad adoption across society and its potential impact on marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ+ community.

Advancements in technology, accessibility, and connectivity, such as AI, have played a key role in enhancing visibility, building community, and promoting inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community. For example, social platforms powered by AI algorithms have enabled LGBTQ+ individuals to connect, share experiences, and establish supportive networks on a global scale. Further, AI has the power to harness machine learning techniques to analyze massive datasets, which could solve challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community for decades. On a more human level, AI-powered personal assistants can reduce feelings of alienation simply by recognizing and respecting all genders. But with all the significant aspects of AI that are possible, we must ensure that we recognize the potential harms that AI could have on the LGBTQ+ community as well.

AI systems are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on. If the data used to train AI algorithms is biased or discriminatory, it can perpetuate and amplify existing prejudices against the LGBTQ+ community. For example, facial recognition technology has shown higher error rates for gender non-conforming individuals and people of color, leading to potential misidentification and discrimination. Similarly, AI algorithms can inadvertently exclude LGBTQ+ individuals if they are not adequately represented in the training data. This lack of data can result in limited access to resources, services, and opportunities. For instance, AI-powered job recruiting platforms may use biased algorithms that discriminate against LGBTQ+ job applicants, perpetuating inequality in employment opportunities. AI-powered recommendation algorithms on social platforms can also lead to online echo chambers. LGBTQ+ users may find themselves predominantly exposed to content from similar perspectives, which can limit their understanding of broader societal contexts. This isolation can exacerbate the issues of marginalization rather than ameliorate them.

Adversely, and even more alarming, the same is true for those using AI who are not part of the LGBTQ+ community and might find themselves in an anti-LGBTQ+ echo chamber perpetuating the worst myths and misconceptions about LGBTQ+ individuals without context or balance. Even if we can provide and train the AI systems with the vast amounts of personal data around the LGBTQ+ community, it raises concerns about our privacy and security, especially for LGBTQ+ individuals who may face threats or discrimination. If this sensitive data falls into the wrong hands, is misused, or, even worse, weaponized against our community, it could harm LGBTQ+ individuals or entire portions of the LGBTQ+ community.

Undoubtedly, these issues around AI and marginalized communities like the LGBTQ+ community are serious and deserve urgent attention. Solutions are being proposed and implemented to mitigate these risks. AI ethics researchers and engineers are working tirelessly to increase transparency and accountability in AI systems, using techniques such as explainable AI (XAI) and independent auditing. Activists are pushing for more straightforward regulations on how AI is used, especially around privacy and data use.

Most importantly, inclusivity must be a priority in the continued development phase of AI. This includes not only considering LGBTQ+ identities when designing AI systems but also increasing diversity among the engineers and developers who build these systems. The involvement of diverse voices can provide more holistic perspectives, leading to more equitable and fair AI systems.

Ultimately, the impact of AI on the LGBTQ+ community is profound and multifaceted. On the one hand, AI has the potential to promote connection, inclusivity, and understanding. On the other hand, it can perpetuate biases, invade privacy, contribute to marginalization, and harm if not appropriately managed.

AI’s responsible and thoughtful use can contribute to a more inclusive society where the LGBTQ+ community is recognized, respected, and empowered. By addressing the potential pitfalls and maximizing the benefits of AI now while there is still time, we can strive for a future where technology catalyzes positive change and social progress.

If data used to train algorithms is biased, it can perpetuate prejudice

OUR OUTSIDE BIERGARTEN IS OPEN!

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

Congressional Republicans screwing around again And it will only get worse with Cabinet impeachments planned

Every time you turn around Republicans are doing something that shows us why they must all be defeated.

In the past week, Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Republican bimbo from Colorado, tried to introduce a privileged motion to get a vote to impeach President Biden without any hearings or rationale. Just because she could. Speaker McCarthy couldn’t totally stop her but had her agree to send it to committee. Then you saw a catfght between Boebert and the other bimbo Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). According to Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, “Congresswoman Jewish Space Lasers then confronted Boebert on the House foor and called her a “little b----” who “copied my articles of impeachment,” according to a Daily Beast account that Greene confrmed.”

Then, “On Thursday, Greene and GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.)  introduced resolutions to ‘expunge’ Trump’s two impeachments.” These people are sick. Then you had Republicans censure Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for his work on President Trump’s impeachment. This was introduced by newly elected congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) who is so stupid she didn’t even understand the difference between reserving her time and yielding it. This is today’s Republican Party.

Then they took aim at D.C. According to the Washington Post, “The $25 billion fscal 2024 spending bill for fnancial services and general government, unveiled Wednesday in the Republican-majority House Appropriations Committee, contains some long-standing policy riders that restrict how local D.C. funds can be used (because D.C. is not a state, Congress has oversight of the city’s laws and can restrict how the city uses its local funds). Such proposals include measures that prevent D.C. from using local funds to subsidize abortions for low-income people and block the city from implementing a legal market for recreational marijuana sales. But some other proposed riders astounded local lawmakers, including a provision that would prevent D.C. from using its automated traffc cameras — a move they said would upend the city’s budget. The bill would also repeal a 2016 measure permitting physicians to  help terminally ill patients die, known as the “Death with Dignity Act.” Additional restrictions would prohibit D.C. from using any funds to implement a law passed last year that would ban right turns on red, or using money to enforce a law that protects D.C. workers from discrimination based on their reproductive health decisions.”

Republicans intend to go further and introduce impeachment resolutions against a slew of Cabinet members. These, of course, will go nowhere but they create headlines the MAGA Republicans like. MAGA Republicans get their fellow Republicans to vote with them by threatening them with primaries if they don’t. They couldn’t care less about doing anything for their constituents, it’s all about creating havoc and getting a headline.

DINNER: LUNCH: HH:

WED - SUN 3 - 10PM

WED - FRI 11:30 - 2:30PM

WED - FRI 2 - 6PM

Will it work? I don’t think so. But once again we will be looking at off-year elections in Virginia like we did in 2019 to see what they portend for Democrats in 2024. In the Virginia primary elections, we saw a couple of Republican MAGA Trumpers, like Sen. Amada Chase, who called herself ‘Trump in heels,’ defeated. Democrats were also smart. While they elected some progressives in safe blue Districts in Northern Virginia, they went with the more moderate candidates in the swing districts. The ones who can win on issues like keeping abortion legal in Virginia, and gun control, without having to deal with attacks on them for supporting far-left issues. This is what we will have to do around the nation if we intend to keep the presidency and the Senate, take back the House and win more state legislatures.

It will be very informative to know what percentage of voters came out to vote in the Virginia primary. In November this year, and in 2024, it may all come down to how many voters each party can get out to the polls. Right now, Republicans in Virginia have the House of Delegates, and Democrats have the Senate. The slim Democratic majority in the Senate is what has managed to keep right-wing Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, in check. A positive result from the Virginia primary is eight LGBTQ+ candidates came out of it winners and will run in the general election. The eight include Adam Ebbin and Danica Roem for the Senate; and Laura Jane Cohen, Joshua Cole, Kelly Convirs-Fowler, Rozia Henson, Adele McClure, and Mark Sickles for the House of Delegates. I urge your support for each of them. To guarantee a win, you must remind everyone you know that their vote counts.

Still mad about Belinda Carlisle

Iconic singer releases new tracks, slated to perform in D.C.

By GREGG SHAPIRO

Belinda Carlisle is the definition of a music legend. From her beginnings as drummer Dottie Danger, an interim member of L.A. punk band the Germs, to co-founding the all-female band the Go-Go’s, where her trademark vocal belt and distinctive dance moves made her all the rage, Carlisle grabbed our attention and never let go. After three albums with the Go-Go’s, Carlisle launched a successful solo career, even earning a Grammy nomination for the song “Heaven Is A Place On Earth.” She regrouped with her former band members for 2001’s “God Bless the Go-Go’s,” reissued in an expanded edition in 2021, and has toured with the band (who were the subject of an acclaimed 2020 documentary) on and off for years. The host of “Mad About Music” on SiriusXM’s 1st Wave channel, Carlisle, the mother of a gay son, is also known for her activism for the LGBTQ community. For her new five-song EP “Kismet” (BMG), Carlisle has teamed up again with Diane Warren (writer of Carlisle’s hit single “I Get Weak”) for a delightful set of tunes. Belinda made time for an interview in advance of the EP’s release.

She is performing in D.C. as part of “A Capitol Fourth,” PBS’ annual Independence Day celebration on the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Your new EP is titled “Kismet,” which is defined as destiny or fate. Would it be fair to say that it was kismet that you would work with Diane Warren again?

BELINDA CARLISLE: It was complete kismet [laughs] That’s what it was. I mean I wasn’t planning to really do anything new. My son (James) ran into Diane at a coffee shop in L.A., and she asked, “What is your mom doing? Let’s call her.” She called me and said, “Come to the studio. I have some songs for you.” I was like, “Oh my God! Do I really want to do this? It’s a big commitment.” But you can’t say no to Diane. I went to the studio, and she played me the most amazing songs. It was almost like the universe saying you’re not meant to slow down right now. So, here I am talking to you.

BLADE: Your history with Diane goes all the way back to your 1988 hit single “I Get Weak.” What makes Diane the kind of songwriter whose compositions are a good fit for you?

CARLISLE: She has a really good sense of what I am, who I am, how my voice sounds, and everything. I have a good sense of that, too, thank God. As with any songwriter, including Diane, I just know it right off melodically. There’s a type of melody that’s a little bit melancholic, but very beautiful in the same way that “Big Big Love” is on “Kismet.” She played me songs that I just knew would be good for me, and that she thought would be good for me, too. She was right! We were both in agreement on

most everything creatively with this.

BLADE: Last summer, “Entertainment Weekly” included your rendition of “I Get Weak” on its list of “The 20 best Diane Warren songs.” What does it mean to you have made that list?

CARLISLE: It is an amazing song, and to be on that list…I had no idea. She’s written for everybody, so it’s quite a compliment I would say.

BLADE: I really like the song “I Couldn’t Do That To Me,” and I’m glad you included a power ballad on the EP. Can you say something about how you approach ballads, as opposed to more rhythmic or rocking tunes?

CARLISLE: That is really hard to nail, generally, not just vocally, but usually production-wise, too. I’m working with Mati Gavriel, who produced everything. It was like that song had to have a little bit of restraint and then build it, but it was strange because we didn’t know what kind of approach we were going to take with that song. It kind of revealed itself in the studio when I was doing the background vocals on that song. It started reminding me a little bit of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” I wanted it to have that element of restraint. I think we achieved that. I think it’s an amazing song and it’s one of my favorites off the EP.

BLADE: “Big Big Love” sounds like it could become a summer tea-dance classic…

CARLISLE: …[laughs] I hope so!

BLADE: Especially in the hands of the right DJ or remixer. What would it mean to you to have the LGBTQ community embrace the song and take it to the top of the Billboard Dance chart?

CARLISLE: That would be it for me! To be able to walk into a gay bar seeing it on the monitor or blasting? That would be amazing. My son, who you probably know is gay, is like, “Mom! This could be amazing in the clubs.” I hope so!

BLADE: “Sanity” is by far the most dramatic track on “Kismet.” It’s the kind of number you could imagine a drag queen having a field day with. Have you encountered drag queens doing Belinda Carlisle numbers over the years, and if so, did you have a favorite performer and song?

CARLISLE: I haven’t really seen somebody as me singing, no. But I would love that. “I Couldn’t Do That To Me” would be perfect, or “Sanity” or “Heaven (Is A Place On Earth.” I mean there’s plenty to pick from through the years. That would be epic.

BLADE: Speaking of drag queens, the LGBTQ commu-

nity, especially the drag and trans communities are under attack from conservatives across the country, and around the world. As the mother of a gay son, as well as a longtime ally, do you have any thoughts about that?

CARLISLE: I don’t understand non-acceptance. It’s hard for me to get my head around. I think it’s very sad. My son came out when he was 14. What kind of world is he going to live in? What kind of world is it going to be for him? Since then, it’s been like 10 steps forward and then five back. We’re in five back period right now. It’s heartbreaking. But I think you just have to keep at it. Hopefully, we’ll get to a place where there’s acceptance of everyone. That’s all I can hope for.

BLADE: Back to “Kismet,” for a moment. Is there any possibility that these songs might be incorporated into a full-length album, or that you have a different full-length album in the works?

CARLISLE: I have a completely separate project that we started doing before the pandemic with Gabe Lopez, who is a great songwriter. He works on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and all sorts of stuff for RuPaul. He’s a great artist, himself. I have a project with him that I have to finish, which I’ll probably finish early next year. I don’t ever plan things. I just kind of wing it as I went along. Working with Diane and Mati was such an amazing experience that I’m totally open to doing something else. I don’t know what that is. I don’t know when, because my life is pretty full, but if something comes along that I love, I’ll make time for it, for sure.

BLADE: Do you have plans to perform live shows in support of “Kismet”?

CARLISLE: I have a string of dates on the East Coast in July, and I have a string of dates on the West Coast in August. I have Australia at the end of the year. People can go to the Facebook page and see what those dates are; they’re up there.

She’s got the beat! BELINDA CARLISLE performs in D.C. next week.

LIVE LAWN

Live from the Lawn concerts are always free and family friendly. Concerts take place on Wednesdays at 7pm.

GUDELSKY GAZEBO

FELLOW PYNINS

July 5

CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND

July 12

CECILY

July 19

CARLY HARVEY

July 26

INCENDIO

Aug 2

LAKOU MIZIK

Aug 9

UKEFEST FINALE

Aug 16

COOL CONCERTS

Kids concerts take place on Thursdays at 7pm. Concerts last 60 minutes, so you’ll be home for bedtime.

FALU’S BAZAAR

July 13

r k s

SONIA DE LOS SANTOS A CELEBRATION OF LATIN AMERICA

July 20

DANCE PARTY WITH FYÜTCH

July 27

DAN + CLAUDIA ZANES

STRATHMORE.ORG | 301.581.5100 | 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852

Live from the Lawn, Fellow Pynins by Justin Gordon, Cecily by Mansa Johnson, Carly Harvey, Live from the Lawn by Dylan Singleton, Lakou Mizik by Maxence Bradley

Fyütch by Sam Popp, Sonia De Los Santos by Miguel Herrera

CALENDAR |

Friday, June 30

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Social @ DIK Bar” at 7 p.m. at Dupont Italian Kitchen. This event is ideal to make new friends in the LGBTQ community or just to unwind and enjoy extended happy hour. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

“Queer Burlesque Show”will be at 8 p.m. at A League of Her Own. This show will celebrate diversity and inclusivity and showcase a variety of talented, local performers from the LGBTQ community. Guests will be mesmerized by the stunning costumes, daring dance routines, and sultry music. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

“HAUS of C.U.N.T” will be at 7 p.m. at 1831 M St., N.W. This event will be a celebration of DMV’s LGBTQ scene hosted by Bombshell Monroe and featuring performances from local artists. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Saturday, July 01

LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment free. There are all sorts of activities like watching movies, poetry events, storytelling, and just hanging out with others. For more details, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.

Sunday,

July 02

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Coffee & Conversation” at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is ideal to make new friends in the LGBTQ community. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

“Saintly Sunday” will be at 10 p.m. at Saint Yves. Guests are encouraged to come enjoy hip hop, afrobeats and soca music, dancing, and good vibes with amazing people. The event is free before midnight and after, tickets cost $20. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

Monday, July 03

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 Facebook or Twitter.

“Azadi Festival in Washington DC | Uniting Through Iranian Culture” will be at 1 p.m. at Shipgarten. This event is a unique cultural experience featuring prominent activists, live entertainment, and an Iranian Bazaar. Early bird tickets cost $12.33 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Tuesday, July 04

VIP Nightlife will host “DC July 4th Pier Pressure Red, White & Fireworks Cruise” at 6:30 p.m. at Inner Harbor Spirit Yacht in D.C. Guests are encouraged to cruise in style with a premium open bar, two levels of music, a fireworks skyline and landmark views aboard Inner Harbor Spirit DC. Tickets start at $189 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

“AfroCode DC Denim & Kicks Day Party” will be at 4 p.m. at Decades DC. This day party will feature a fusion of hip hop, afrobeats and soca music. There will also be non-stop music, dancing and good vibes. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, July 05

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, 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.

Center Aging Women’s Discussion and Social Group will be at 6 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This group is a place where older LGBTQ+ women can meet and socialize with one another. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.

Thursday, July 06

Virtual Yoga Class with Jesse Z. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a weekly class focusing on yoga, breathwork, and meditation. Guests are encouraged to RSVP on the DC Center’s website, providing your name, email address, and zip code, along with any questions you may have. A link to the event will be sent at 6 p.m. the day before.

OUT & ABOUT

D.C. ready to celebrate Independence Day

No one does July 4 quite like D.C., with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., and the Independence Day Parade from 11:45 a.m.-2 p.m. along Constitution Avenue fro 7th to 17th streets. The fireworks start at 9:09 p.m. on the Mall.

La Vie will host a 4th of July party at 4 p.m. at its Penthouse. There will be stunning views, delicious food, and fireworks. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Upstairs at the Morrow will host a rooftop party at 12 p.m. at The Morrow Hotel. There will be performances from DJs, specialty cocktails and a view of the fireworks on the 4th. There will also be a vibrant rooftop playground with panoramic views of the city, with indoor and outdoor space featuring lounge-style couches, fire pits, and a wrap-around bar. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

THRōW Social DC will host “The DMV’s Biggest 4th of July Weekend Bash” at 1 p.m. There will be cold drink and shot specials, grilled hot dogs and burgers, fun backyard games, live DJs and more. Cover charge for the event is $5 and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Kick Axe Throwing DC will host “The DMV’s Biggest July 4t Cookout” at 1 p.m. There will be drink and beer bucket specials, patriotic shots, axe throwing, games, live music and more. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Legendary Events will host “4th of July Day Party” at 4 p.m. at Society Rooftop. There will be food, drinks and hookah. This event is free before 5 p.m. More details are available on Eventbrite.

D.C.’s fireworks on the National Mall kick off Tuesday at 9:09 p.m.

Rorschach play follows boozy journey of bisexual singer Angel

‘Angel Number Nine’ to premiere July 7 in unlikely locale

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

D.C.’s pioneering Rorschach Theatre doesn’t shy away from seemingly impossible projects. In fact, that’s what the nearly 25-year-old company finds most appealing.

Continuing in that tradition, Rorschach’s latest offering, “Angel Number Nine,” is poised to make its world premiere on July 7 in the former home of Rochester Big & Tall, a sprawling two-level downtown retail space close to Farragut North.

Adapted from the samenamed novel by James L. Rogers III, “Angel Number Nine” follows the boozy, late-night journey of Angel, a young bisexual singer as she tours with her fledgling rock group through the clubs of the ’90s East Coast music scene. Along the way, Angel meets Cupid (literally), prompting her to unpack a lot of emotional, un-dealt with stuff. Angel’s processing and pursuing of relationships is a through line. Each scene of the play is from Angel’s POV. There are some filmed flashbacks and dream sequences, and live rock music (volume decreasing ear plugs are provided on request).

Jenny McConnell Frederick, Rorschach’s intrepid co-artistic director who’s directing the production, explains, “When I first read the novel, I knew that I wanted to live in this world and wanted to share that world with audiences. I’ve been kicking around the idea for a while.”

Creating that world as a two-act immersive play/rock experience (the ground floor is a 360-degree exhibit on highlights and hidden histories of D.C. music history and downstairs is a ‘90s-era bar and rock club for where “Angel Number Nine” is performed)

has been a challenge admits McConnell Frederick, but not one she hasn’t relished. “With found spaces, things happen that wouldn’t happen with blank slate black box,” she says. “I love working with remnants from the store. Things just manifest. For instance, what was once a huge display for neck ties now makes the perfect back wall for the bar.”

Is there anything that she’d like to wave away with a magic wand? “There is one column I’d tear down if it didn’t mean the building would come down with it. Yes, I’d like to get rid of that. That column is my nemesis.”

While Shawn Northrop’s original music is intrinsic to the piece, “Angel Number Nine” isn’t a musical per se. The songs aren’t about plot points, but more a gateway into Angel’s psychology and relationships.

The cast is comprised of 11 actors, a few of whom are nonbinary. There are also queer characters, but that’s not the focus, says McConnell Frederick. “We’ve created an environment where some characters are gay or bisexual and no one blinks an eye.”

Nonbinary actor Kate Kenworthy stars as the titular Angel.

New to Washington, Kenworthy graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York last year and moved to D.C. in October. Playing Angel is a bit of a departure from past roles, which include Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” as well as a departure musically. “My background is folk and blues. I play acoustic guitar. It’s been fun getting familiar with the ‘90s grunge rock scene…definitely a new space aesthetically.”

And as far as familiarity with bar scenes? “Not so much. I’m a homebody if truth be told.”

Still, Kenworthy, 24, relates to Angel as a person from what seems their distant past. “She’s similar to how I was in and first year of college when I figuring out my sexuality and entrenched in depression and less healthy relationships. I’m different now.”

Rorschach’s mailing address is Atlas Center for the Performing Arts, but its venues are varied. They include a 100-year-old church, the Parks at Walter Reed (an outdoor response to the pandemic), and numerous other nontraditional spaces explored extensively in Rorschach “Chemical Exile,” an immersive story set in eight disparate locations throughout the District.

For “Angel Number Nine,” the Golden Triangle, a group dedicated to enhancing D.C.’s central business district, connected Rorschach with Lerner Enterprises who donated the vacant space for June and July.

Still, the arrangement isn’t entirely without costs, McConnell Frederick notes. Beyond usual production expenses, there’s the pricey punk signage, lighting equipment, and the utilities for an over 6,000-square-foot space. It adds up quickly. But again, it’s all about making the seemingly impossible possible.

Rorschach wouldn’t do it any other way.

LAUREN FARNELL, BILLY BOB BONSON, VERONICA BUNDY, JAMES CARLOS LACY, and KATE KENWORTHY

(Photo by DJ Corey Photography)

It’s a fun ride for fans to ‘Asteroid City’

Large

ensemble of players in a story that takes unpredictable, absurd turns

It’s tough being a Wes Anderson fan. If you are one, you know exactly what we’re talking about. Loving the work of America’s most eccentric flmmaker means accepting the fact that there will always be a signifcant number of other people who can’t stand it, and that any effort to explain why you like his flms to someone who doesn’t has almost as much potential for being divisive as a conversation about politics, though the stakes are admittedly much lower.

It also means putting up with the fact that his quirky directorial aesthetic, which has been parodied for decades now by TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “SNL” and become the inspiration for a massive explosion of AI-aided spoofs all over social media – is now enshrined in popular culture as an easy target for satire, almost certainly familiar to more people as the butt of a joke than as the stylish work of a meticulous auteur. To be fair, though, the jokes are usually funny, and many of those send-ups were made by Anderson fans themselves, paying tribute to the uniquely fey cinematic style they love.

The director’s latest, “Asteroid City,” is bound to provide considerable fodder for both heated debate and high-concept snark; indeed, it is such a “Wes Anderson flm” that it sometimes feels like it is making fun of itself –and whether that is a good thing or not may depend on how you feel generally about Wes Anderson flms. Explaining it is complicated, but we’ll try.

The bulk of the movie takes place in a fctional tourist town in the American Southwest – built around the site of an ancient meteorite impact – in 1955; it chronicles an unexpected and mysterious event that occurs there during a convention of junior astronomers, as well as the subsequent impact it has on their lives. Yet the fctional town itself is also fctional, the creation of celebrated mid-century playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton), and the story we are seeing is in fact his most famous play; the flm simultaneously chronicles that background saga, as told via a vintage TV anthology series, complete with “re-enactments” of crucial episodes that took place during the creation and production of the play itself.

As for the characters, the main focus lands on former war photographer Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), whose genius teenage son (Jake Ryan) is being honored at the convention. There’s also a famous movie

By JOHN PAUL KING

star (Scarlett Johansson) and her daughter (Grace Edwards), a fellow honoree. Others in the mix include Augie’s disapproving father-in-law (Tom Hanks), an Army general serving as host for the event (Jeffrey Wright), the easygoing town mechanic (Matt Dillon), the politely brilliant astronomer in charge of the local observatory (Tilda Swinton), and the shifty manager (Steve Carrell) of the town’s lone motel, where the entire visiting entourage is staying. Outside the action, as it were, we also get to meet the gifted stage director (Adrien Brody) and pioneering method acting teacher (Willem Dafoe) who helped bring the play to life, and the austere but friendly television host (Brian Cranston) who ostensibly presides over it all. And these are just the most prominent of the flm’s two dozen signifcant characters.

All of that seems like a lot, even for a Wes Anderson movie, which typically features a large ensemble of players in a story that takes unpredictable (and often absurd) turns. Factor in the element of campy homage to the nostalgic science fction movies of old, complete with UFOs and all the alien conspiracy theories those carry with them, and it becomes apparent that there are a lot of layers here.

Yet those elements are merely a premise, a conceit that establishes the rule of a game that proceeds to get even more “meta” from there. Actors appear in dual roles, both as their character in the central narrative and the fctional-real-life performers that portray them; there’s an inversion of styles that seems to dovetail in on itself, in which a theatrical play is experienced as a contemporary flm, the “true” story about said vintage play is set up as vintage TV documentary, and supposed real-life events are presented as scenes from a play – a hall-of-mirrors pattern that suggests the fourth and unseen perspective of a real life audience – which means us - viewing the flm itself. Anderson’s movie, as it turns out, is perhaps meant really to be about us, all along.

Even if that interpretation is on target, there’s still plenty of room for the signature Wes Anderson style, in this case taken to new heights of exaggeration; the familiar pastel color palette is now hyper-saturated, evoking hand-tinted vintage postcards or the lurid technicolor of 1950s cinema; that connection is underscored by countless nods to iconic flms of the period, including Johansson’s image

as both a Hitchcock-inspired icy blonde and an earthy Ava Gardner-esque sex goddess, with a dash of Liz Taylor thrown in for good measure.

Then there’s the inescapable fact of its mid-20th Century setting, which evokes not only the kind of corny “alien panic” sci-f movies “Asteroid City” affectionately lampoons, but the strong current of worldwide trauma that emerged in the arts and culture of the era. After two world wars and a bomb that introduced the permanent threat of nuclear doomsday to their psyche, humanity was – understandably – preoccupied with fnding meaning in a universe that suddenly felt indifferent, and the artists of the day led the search. Since Anderson’s bemusingly post-modern reassembly of these elements is centered on an imagined theatrical masterpiece that emerged from within that zeitgeist, it’s hard not to see a connection being drawn to our own time, when new daily threats force us to endure a similar state of perpetual existential crisis. In any case, Anderson’s familiar blend of precocious whimsy and melancholy nostalgia is tinged with a more profound sadness this time around, even if it is effectively counter balanced by a light heart.

What strikes us at more personal level, though, is the subtle but signifcant queer core that stems from the creation of the play-within-the-movie by a Tennessee Williams-esque tragic genius – whose presumed queerness is revealed in a scene too exquisitely orchestrated to spoil. It seems a minor touch, but rather than some token effort at inclusion, it feels like a nod to the unsung infuence of queer artists, whose outsider status throughout history has granted them an observer’s eye which has played an important role in showing the rest of society the things it might have trouble seeing for itself – as the best artists have always done.

We could say more about this flm – the sublime performances, which manage a wealth of emotional range inside the “Andersonian” parameters of the cast’s deadpan delivery; the impossibly kitschy handmade scenery; the self-referential humor that bubbles under so much of what appears on screen – but we won’t. If you’re a fan, you’ll want to pick through the details for yourself.

If you’re not, we know nothing we can say will convince you to see it anyway, and that’s probably for the best.

A scene from ‘Asteroid City.’

Susanna’ reveals 1950s

By KATHI WOLFE

In the 1950s and 1960s, you could lose your job, scorned by your neighbors, arrested and/or institutionalized, if you were openly trans or cross-dressed in public.

Yet, during this draconian – anti-queer time, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found a safe haven in a modest house in the Catskills in New York. For a few days, they could live in this house, known as Casa Susanna. There, they could fulfill their dreams and discover their true selves. In a rare reprieve from hiding, they could meet other people like themselves; and live and dress as women.

“Casa Susanna,” an engrossing, moving documentary, which aired on June 27 on PBS’s “American Experience,” offers a revealing look into this underground network.

The doc, directed by filmmaker Sebastian Lifshitz (“Wild Side,” “Little Girl), and executive produced by Cameo George, tells the story of a chapter of LGBTQ history that has long been invisible. “Casa Susanna” will stream on PBS platforms, including pbs.org and the PBS App, through July 26.

The documentary uses a trove of color photos of the people who sought refuge at Casa Susanna, archival footage and personal remembrances to tell its story.

The photos of life at Casa Susanna were found by collectors Michael Hurst and Robert Swope at a New York flea market. In 2005, Hurst and Swope published the photos in a book titled “Casa Susanna.”

Queer icon Harvey Fierstein wrote a play “Casa Valentina” that was inspired by Casa Susanna. The play was performed on Broadway in 2014.

In the documentary, we learn about what queer life was like at Casa Susanna from four people who were

there in mid-century.

This isn’t a fast-paced, action-packed doc. But, it’s far from a “teachable moment. Watching “Casa Susanna” is like seeing photos of long-lost relatives.

The 137-minute doc’s slow pace is captivating. “Casa Susanna,” now, is just a few empty buildings. But in its heyday, it pulsed with queers.

In other places in the Catskills, hetero Borscht belt comedians entertained. At Casa Susanna, trans women and cross-dressing men performed. Not always as showbiz stars. Often, they dressed as who they wanted to be: ordinary women such as housewives.

The most moving story is that of nonagenarian Katherine Cummings. At the film’s beginning, Cummings, a trans woman, visits the old Casa Susanna buildings. Though, all that’s visible are the facades of empty buildings, she recognizes the theater where trans women and cross-dressing men performed decades earlier. Cummings was born in Scotland in 1935, and raised in Australia. Born as a man, she moved to Toronto. From there, she went to Casa Susanna to meet people like herself. While she lived as a man, she was named John. As John, she married and had three children. Cummings died in 2022. The documentary is dedicated to her.

“People used to love to be here,” Cummings says, “They had total freedom. A total chance to be themselves.”

Another elder, Diana Merry-Shapiro, a trans woman born in 1939, tells an engaging story. She was born in an Iowa farm town and later lived in California and New York. During her life as a man, Merry-Shapiro, then named David, married a woman and was a cross-dresser. After the

marriage ended in divorce, she had gender affirmation surgery. She then married a man. After that marriage broke up, she was a computer programmer at Xerox. She married Carol, a woman, in the 1990s. The couple live in New York.

Another of the documentary’s storytellers, Betsy Wollheim, born in 1952, cisgender and president of Daw Books, is, at times, refreshingly angry. Donald Wollheim, the science fiction writer, was her father. A cross-dresser, he along with his wife (Betsy’s mother), went to Casa Susanna. This was kept secret until Betsy’s mother was dying. Betsy reveals that her father sometimes was abusive toward her. She believes this may have been because he had to be closeted about his cross-dressing.

The fourth storyteller, Gregory Bagarozy, a cisgender, hetero man, is personally connected to Casa Susanna. The (now-deceased) Marie Tonell, who co-owned Café Susanna with her spouse (the late) Tito Arriagada, was Bagarozy’s grandmother. Arriagada, first a cross-dresser, later lived as a trans woman named Susanna Valenti.

If you’re sensitive to language, be warned. Often, the people who tell their stories in “Casa Susanna” use terms that were said in the 1950s and 1960s. Words like “transvestite” and “transexual,” which aren’t used today, are used.

Though some of the storytellers in the doc, later, were in same-sex relationships, in mid-century, Casa Susanna didn’t welcome gay people. This is part of the extreme homophobia of the time of the Lavender Scare, Bagaroxy says.

“Casa Susanna” is a fascinating window into hidden queer history.

‘Casa

underground safe haven for trans women

PBS doc tells story of LGBTQ history that has long been invisible

(Image via PBS)

3 Reasons Why We Can’t Wait For Sawasdee DC Thai Festival This Independence Day weekend,

On Sunday, July 2, the Thai Embassy is hosting Sawasdee DC on the National Mall to celebrate 190 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and the United States. With a starstudded line-up of performers, delicious food vendors, and ample activities to enjoy, it’s sure to be a festival unlike any other.

Sawasdee DC will take place from 10 am to 6 pm, on 3rd/4th Street of the National Mall. It features Thai pop performers, New Orleans Jazz music, Thai massage, traditional food and dance, a Muay Thai demonstration, and more.

Here are three reasons we are especially excited for Sawasdee DC!

1. Dance to Thai pop’s frst LGBTQ+ group among a star-studded musical lineup

Thailand’s frst LGBTQ+ pop group, 4mix, will take to the stage for their frst performance in Washington, DC. Their upbeat music, affrming lyrics, and gender non-conformity have made 4mix explosively popular among fans. Since their debut in May, 2021, the band has taken the music world by storm, with a fanbase that stretches from Thailand, to Latin America, and beyond.

4Mix is just one of many talented performers on the Sawasdee DC lineup. The Thai pop singer Ally will make her Washington, DC debut, too, and Wendell Brunious will lead the New Orleans Quintet in a performance to honor the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej was a lover of jazz music and composed dozens of jazz songs himself. Brunious, who once performed for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, will play a selection

of songs written by the late king. For this reason, Brunious’ performance at Sawasdee DC will be especially meaningful.

2. Pick up some Muay Thai tips from Thailand’s most famous kickboxer

Musicians won’t be the only stars to grace the Sawasdee DC stage. Buakaw is joining the lineup of performers for a Muay Thai demonstration in his frst appearance in Washington, DC.

Buakaw has earned global renown for his championshipwinning Muay Thai, and is considered one of the best kickboxers in Thailand’s history. With a career spanning more than 290 wins and several championship titles, Buakaw is known for his work ethic and credited with Muay Thai’s recent growth in global popularity.

The Thai Embassy is thrilled to welcome this kickboxing legend to the District for the frst time!

3. Celebrate many different aspects of Thai culture

Food, traditional dance, Thai massages — you name it! Sawasdee DC will feature a wide range of entertainers, vendors and activities that celebrate Thai culture.

Throughout the performances, an array of delicious food vendors will prepare a wide variety of traditional Thai dishes for attendees to enjoy as they watch traditional Thai dancers and other performing artists. Afterward, explore the broad range of activities at Sawasdee DC, including a Thai massage.

Want to learn more about the festival? Visit www.sawasdeedcthaifestival.com for a closer look at the fun that awaits at Sawasdee DC. We can’t wait to see you there!

Sawasdee DC brings an array of music, food, dance, performers, and more to the National Mall to celebrate Thai and U.S. culture.

(Graphic provided by the Thai Embassy)

Thailand’s most renowned kickboxer, Buakaw Banchamek, will perform a Muay Thai demonstration as part of Sawasdee DC.

(Photo provided by C.P. Group)

4mix, Thailand’s frst LGBTQ+ pop group, will take to the stage at Sawasdee DC.

(Photo provided by 411 Records)

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A delicious range of traditional Thai dishes will be available to try at Sawasdee DC.

(Photos provided by the Thai Embassy)

you’ll be happy you stayed in town.

Celebrating 40 years of ‘Dykes to Watch Out For’

By KATHI WOLFE

“I like seeing queer people falling in love in Christmas movies,” a 70-something, hetero friend who’s a queer ally and a Hallmark movie aficionado told me recently. “We get to kiss, queers, should, too.”

Forty years ago, in June 1983, when Alison Bechdel’s iconic comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” (DTWOF) was first published in the Pride issue of “Woman News,” this conversation would likely not have happened. Then, “Ellen” was only an ordinary person’s name. No one would have watched “The L Word” or have known what it was. And, electing a lesbian U.S. senator (such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.) would have been unthinkable.

“Dykes to Watch Out For” ran until 2008. The comic strip ran in the “Funny Times” and in many queer papers. Several book collections of DTWOF were published, including: “Dykes to Watch Out For” (1986), “New, Improved Dykes to Watch Out For” (1990) and “The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For” (2008).

It’s hard to convey how groundbreaking DTWOF was (especially in the 1980s and early 1990s) at a time when there was virtually no representation of queer life in pop culture.

Set in a small city (some think it might be Minneapolis), “Dykes” tells the story of a group of lesbians – their friendships, exes, love lives, struggles against the patriarchy, work lives – their cats.

DTWOF was diverse long before “diversity and inclusion” became buzzwords. The comic strip’s characters include people of color. There’s concern about disability accessibility. Other aspects of lesbian life aren’t neglected: there’s therapy

and a vegan café.

The characters in DTWOF grew up and older in “real time” during the strip’s 25-year run. Bechdel, whose 2006 memoir “Fun Home” was adapted into the Tony Award-winning musical of the same name, has said DTWOF is “half-op-ed column and half endless, serialized Victorian novel.”

The protagonist of “Dykes To Watch Out For” is the lovable, neurotic kvetch Mo, who along with some of the other characters works (for a time) at Madwimmin Books. Some of the other characters include: Lois, a feminist “Casanova” and activist; Ginger, a professor; Sparrow a former women’s shelter director who identifies as a “bisexual lesbian;” Clarice, Mo’s ex and a lawyer; Toni, Clarice’s partner and a CPA; Harriet, a human rights lawyer; and Jezanna, the owner of Madwimmin Books.

To the delight of generations of readers (from Boomers to 20-somethings), neither Bechdel nor the DTWOF characters take themselves too seriously. They care deeply about the political (the cruelty of Ronald Reagan’s treatment of people with AIDS, unjust wars, etc.) and their personal dramas (from coming out to whether to embrace monogamy). But, they get how absurd — how overly earnest — they can be.

To commemorate DTWOF’s 40th anniversary, Audible has released a spectacular three-hour adaptation of “Dykes to Watch Out For” as an audio series.

You might wonder how well DTWOF, a comic strip combining indelible drawings with, by turns, funny, poignant, smart dialogue, could be performed in a sound-based medium. You needn’t worry. Through an alchemy of writing,

direction, acting, narration and podcast production, DTWOF has been superbly translated into sound. Proving that while a picture may be worth a thousand words, there’s nothing more intimate than listening to a story you love.

Playwright Madeleine George (“Only Murders in the Building”) adapted DTWOF for the Audible series and Leigh Silverman (“Violet”) directed the adaptation. Alana Davis, Faith Soloway and Bitch scored the series.

The Audible adaptation of DTWOF combines stories from the first three years of the strip. One of the lovely things about it is that the cast is so queer – from Jane Lynch, the series’ narrator, to author Roxanne Gay, who plays Jezanna.

I don’t know if there’s an afterlife. If there is, I hope it’s narrated by Lynch. Listening to Lynch tie the story of the series together is like hearing the Voice of God. God as a combo of a lesbian (Vince Scully, sports announcer, and a dyke Edward Everett Horton (from the Bullwinkle cartoons).

Carrie Brownstein (“Portlandia”) nails Mo. You’re right in Mo’s head as she obsesses about whether to call Harriet and ask her out. Harriet has given Mo her phone number two months before. (This is in the 1980s, long before texting.)

Along with the cast, which is a stellar ensemble, the series is filled with memorable, moving, energizing soundscapes: from lesbian softball players batting to footage from the 1987 National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights.

Audible brings popular comic to life.

Baltimore

Pride Parade, festival held over weekend

The Baltimore Pride Parade was held on Saturday, June 24. Gov. Wes Moore served as the parade’s grand marshal. The Baltimore Pride Festival was held in Druid Hill Park on Sunday, June 25.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Linus Berggren)

Dreaming of homeownership at the beach

In Coastal Delaware, there are multiple options when buying, including land lease

By JUSTIN NOBLE

Welcome! Likely you are planning or are already at the beach for a wonderful 4th of July weekend. It never fails, I’m sure, whenever you are in town with your friends enjoying the beach that you imagine yourself here for the summer. Putting down roots and purchasing a beach home in the Coastal Delaware towns is a dream for many and it can also be a reality for you. Like every real estate market things are vastly different from market to market and often even within a market — differences from town to town are often found.

It is important to work with a Realtor that is well versed in each coastal town and sub market.

Home ownership is sometimes only ownership of the home itself. In some seaside towns there are ownership types called “land leases” where you only own the physical property on the land and not the actual land itself. This type of ownership type is most commonly found in mobile home parks, however there is also a portion of land between Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach in Delaware where the land is leased. When you have a land lease - you own the property on the land but the land itself is often held by a land company. When this occurs you pay a monthly land lease payment to the owner of the land. Usually this means you have a mortgage payment for the actual home plus a lease payment for the land. When exploring this option be sure to speak with a Realtor familiar with this type of ownership as the tax implications are different from that of a fee simple home ownership model.

In some sub-markets there are also options to own a timeshare ownership model. While rare, these models do exist and allow for fexibility within the ownership model. With a timeshare model you essentially own a share of time for that specifc property. That means that you are only permitted to use that property during a specifc time for a specifc time. This model is usually found in more resort-like areas such as Florida near Disney, Mexico, and other tropical locations. This model is by far the more cost effective model of ownership, however it is also the model that comes with the largest list of regulations and ownership rules.

A model that is not often found in sub-markets like the coastal Delaware region are co-ops. This type of ownership is often found in New York City, sometimes in D.C. With this ownership style you own a “share” within a corporation – that corporation being the entity owning the building in which you live. There are specifcs on what you can and cannot do within

the building regarding your shares or use of your unit. Oftentimes this affects the ability to rent out your unit, have pets etc. Again, this ownership model is not often seen in the Delaware beach towns, which is good if you are looking to rent out your property.

The next ownership style is what some might call a hybrid between land lease and co-op ownership. Condominium ownership is when you own the unit you live in, you have a deed for said unit, but you have many items that are seen as a common element. Often these areas that are common elements are hallways, balconies, parking areas, the roof, storage space, amenities, etc. While you own what is within your four walls, the other items on the property that you do not own are shared expenses between the other condo owners. This makes it a little more bearable to replace a roof or cover the expense of food insurance. Condominium ownership is more lenient on regulations that pertain to pets, rentals, etc. However, it is important to note that while often rentals and pets are allowed, there are often stipulations around what type of rentals, dogs, etc., that you can have.

When considering each ownership type it’s important to think about what you want for yourself. Do you plan to use this property every weekend, do you hope that you can pay the mortgage by renting it out, or do you have friends and family members that you know will use the unit more often than you will? All of these factors are important when considering what type of real estate ownership works for you.

At the end of the day, while we are sitting on the beach soaking up the rays and kiki-ing with friends, dreams of homeownership at the beach might foat in our minds. These dreams can become a reality with several ownership types at our disposal. Again, it is important to remember that you should align yourself with a well qualifed and educated Realtor that is versed in all things relating to that specifc town and type of ownership that you wish to purchase.

JUSTIN NOBLE

is a Realtor with Sotheby’s international Realty licensed in D.C., Maryland, and Delaware for your DMV and Delaware Beach needs. Reach him at 202-503-4243, Justin.Noble@SothebysRealty.com or BurnsandNoble.com.

If you’re headed to Rehoboth Beach for July 4th, consider buying in the resort town rather than just visiting. (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2023 ADM 741

NAME OF DECEDENT: ETHEL HUDGINS-FORREST

Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

Alvin Forrest, whose address is 507 Quintana Pl, NW, Washington, DC 20011 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Ethel Hudgins-Forrest who died on March 16, 2021 without a Will and will service without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be fled with the Register of Wills, DC, Building A, 515 5th Street, NW 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001, on or before 12/30/23. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of wills or fled with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/30/23, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of frst publication: 6/30/23, Alvin M. Forrest, 202-726-5934

True Test Copy, Nicole Stevens, Register of Wills

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