Washington Blade, Volume 55, Issue 39, September 27, 2024
(Photo courtesy of Sam Alleman)
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Saturday, October 5 | 10 –5
A free LGBTQ+ History Month Celebration at one of Virginia's most beautiful museums. Just 1 hour from DC!
Free admission to the MSV galleries & 7-acre gardens. Enjoy drag shows with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Heidi N Closet, expert-led talks, vendors, music, food/drink, and more.
Historian Sergei Troubetzkoy shares the story of William Haines, a Shenandoah Valley native and one of Hollywood’s first openly gay stars
Siren’s Table Talk with drag queen Siren Kelly
Author Elyssa Maxx Goodman Glitter and Concrete book talk & signing Drag shows starring Heidi N Closet and a dazzling lineup of performers
Glass artist Craig Mitchell Smith shares the inspiring story behind his sculpture A Faggot’s Tale, on view for the first time in 17 years. See 30 of his stunning floral glass sculptures on view in the MSV gardens
Snyder-Hall thanks lesbian community after winning in Delaware
14th District state House candidate sees 2024 as ‘femininomenon’
By JOE REBERKENNY
Following a close three-way primary race in Delaware’s 14th District, voters chose Claire Snyder-Hall to face Republican Mike Simpler in November for control of the district’s seat in the Delaware House of Representatives.
Snyder-Hall sat down with the Washington Blade after winning the primary to discuss her plans for the general election, her goals moving forward, and why she dubs this election “the year of the woman.”
“I decided to run because I felt really overwhelmed by all of the negative things that are happening in the world,” Snyder-Hall said when asked about why she decided to get involved in local politics. “While I loved my job as the head of Common Cause Delaware and working on democracy agenda in Delaware, there’s a range of other issues I care deeply about, and I just felt like I have to do something.”
For five years, Snyder-Hall led the Delaware office of Common Cause, a non-partisan organization dedicated to strengthening democracy across the state. Prior to her work at Common Cause, she taught political science at schools across the country for 20 years, including Princeton University, Rutgers University, Hunter College, Illinois State University, New College of Florida, and most recently George Mason University. She explained that because of her experience she stood out against her opponents.
“Things like more long-term care options, more mental health services, drug treatment, wraparound services,” she explained are at the top of her list.
In addition to those services, she highlighted the plight of many trans youth. A recent study of anti-trans legislation from The Williams Institute has found that 93% of transgender youth ages 13-17 in the U.S., (an estimated 280,300 transgender youth) live in states that have passed or proposed banning access to gender-affirming care.
“The challenge when you’re running in a Democratic primary is to differentiate yourself,” Snyder-Hall said. “I have, because of my five years as the head of Common Cause Delaware. I’ve developed a strong network of good relationships on the ground in Dover.”
Those relationships, she argues, will allow her to make the changes at the state level during a time that has been described — to put it lightly — as politically tumultuous.
“This is the most important election of our lifetime. Choice is on the ballot. LGBTQ+ rights are on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot,” Snyder-Hall said. “And in eastern Sussex [County] our quality of life is on the ballot. And I just felt like I had to do something positive.”
That positive thing, Snyder-Hall explained, involves her three-part plan to protect rights in Delaware.
“There are three really important components of this job, and I take all of them very seriously. One is advocating for your district. Making sure that our district gets the money we need.”
In June, the Delaware House passed its 2025 Operating Budget of $6.1 billion to support critical programs across the state. If Snyder-Hall wins, she wants to see some of that money going to the state’s neediest residents.
“We have a lot of trans people who are moving to Delaware, fleeing persecution in other states. We want to make sure we have the services that are needed to get them up, going, and situated in the community.” Snyder-Hall said. “First thing, bringing resources back.”
“The second thing,” she continued, “is serving constituents. When constituents have a problem they need to have somebody that can call. Unfortunately, a lot of times it takes a phone call to your elected official to get something going.”
“And then the third thing, and this is one that I think sometimes doesn’t get enough attention, is that I want to be at the table when the laws are made for the state,” Snyder-Hall added. “So as a rep, I’m representing my district, but I’m also a participant in the overall governance of the state, and all three of those components are important for the job.”
In addition to the three components of doing the job properly, Snyder-Hall also pointed out she wants to help change the way campaigns are run in the state following Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long’s finance scandal. Last year, the Associated Press discovered Hall-Long failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans in her finance reports.
“Campaign finance reform is a big one, particularly in light of some of the things that have happened recently in Delaware,” Snyder-Hall said. “I’d like to see the creation of an inspector general’s office to look for fraud, waste and abuse, and corruption. It would be a nonpartisan office so it’s not somebody’s political career.”
Snyder-Hall was able to secure the Democratic primary win without the endorsement of longtime incumbent District 14 Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, who has held the seat since 2002. Schwartzkopf has been a longtime LGBTQ ally, supporting marriage equality, non-discrimination protections, and hate crime legislation in the Delaware House. He also served as Speaker of the House.
Schwartzkopf endorsed Kathy McGuiness, who came in third in the primary with 26.91% of votes (1,238 votes) following Marty Rendon in second with 31.83% of the votes (1,464 votes). Snyder-Hall won
with 41.26% of votes (1,898 votes).
Snyder-Hall mentioned that this win would not have been possible without the LGBTQ community in Sussex County.
“I want to say that the lesbian community came out extremely strongly to support our campaign,” she said. “We have a very large community here, not just in Rehoboth and my district, but even spreading out to the west and south. They supported me financially, very generously. They volunteered for me. They spread the word. They lifted me up. I’m so appreciative of their strength in that community. And also, it wasn’t just that. I also have a big network of gay male friends and straight friends.”
Snyder-Hall said that the number of votes she got speaks to her community’s aspirations for a leader.
“One reason I think that the women’s community came out so strongly for me, is because they know that I will represent not just the people that live in my district, but I’ll be representing our interests as women, as lesbians, and as Delawareans,” she added.
She also explained that this could be an indication of a “femininomenon” — to use lesbian pop star Chappell Roan’s made-up word — in government offices across the country.
“We’re going to get Kamala Harris as the first woman president. We’re going to get Sarah McBride and LBR (Lisa Blunt Rochester). LBR will be the first woman senator [from Delaware]. And, you know, hopefully Claire Snyder-Hall from the 14th. I’m very proud to be the first woman nominated to be the representative for District 14, and I’m also the first lesbian nominated to represent District 14.”
Blunt Rochester is poised to become Delaware’s first Black person and first woman Senator. Sarah McBride is slated to be the first transgender person elected to Congress.
“Sarah McBride is incredible. She is a star. She has it all. She has the part you can learn and the part you can’t learn,” Snyder-Hall said. “She’s going to be an incredible congressperson. She’s so young, and she’s going to be the first trans congressperson. She’s got it all. She’s super smart, charismatic, just good with people, good with communications. I think it’s really fantastic.”
She added that she was not surprised by this, which is one of the reasons she loves her state.
“Delaware is a very, very pro-LGBTQ+ state, and I think that it’s not a surprise that our first trans congressperson would come from Delaware.”
Delaware’s general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5. Voters will determine the race for the District 14 seat, the open congressional seat, and the Senate seat. This pivotal day will shape the state’s representation at both the state and national levels. For Snyder-Hall, this fight means more than just the office, but progress for Delawareans.
“I knocked on thousands of doors all over the district. And the thing is it’s not one person’s story, but just the connection, being able to look someone in the eye and talk about the district and what we can do to make things better, that’s the thing that keeps me going,” Snyder-Hall said. “Knowing that I can help people.”
CLAIRE SNYDER-HALL (Photo courtesy of campaign)
Government agencies to move out of building in November
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com
Although all D.C. government agencies located in the city’s Reeves Center municipal building at 14th and U Streets, N.W., will be moving out in November, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, which has been located in that building for more than 10 years, says it will remain there until its new office space in another building is ready to open.
Plans have been under way for several years to demolish the Reeves Center and replace it with a multi-million dollar redevelopment project that will include a mix of housing, office space, a hotel, and art, education, and retail space along with a public plaza and a 200-seat amphitheater, according to a recent report by the Washington Business Journal.
Among the city agencies scheduled to move out of the Reeves Center in November and to relocate to another city building at 899 N. Capitol St., N.E., is the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
“The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center has enjoyed being
at the Reeves Center and is looking forward to our move to our new space,” said Kimberley Bush, the LGBTQ Center’s executive director, in a short statement.
“At this time, we look forward to continuing to provide our supportive life and human services at the Reeves Center and throughout the community until we will be able to welcome our LGBTQ+ siblings into our new home,” Bush said.
Bush didn’t say when the LGBTQ Center expects to be able to move into its new office space at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W., in the city’s Shaw neighborhood, which is located one block away from the Shaw-Howard University Metro station.
The D.C. Council earlier this year approved $1 million in funding for fiscal year 2025 to support the build-out and construction of the LGBTQ Center’s space in the converted warehouse building where it will be relocating. The new space will be double the size of the current space in the
Reeves Center.
Ashley Smith, who serves as president of Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C.’s LGBTQ Pride events, which partnered with the LGBTQ Center in entering into a lease agreement for the Wiltberger Street building, said he expects the new Center offices to be completed and open in time for World Pride 2025, which D.C. will be hosting in June, if not sooner.
The Washington Business Journal reported that an official from the mayor’s office told the D.C. Council earlier this year that the Reeves Center will remain open until the end of 2025.
Man guilty in 2023 shooting of trans woman in D.C. apartment building
Jury rejects claim that victim was shot in dispute over sex act
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com
A D.C. Superior Court jury on Sept. 24 found a D.C. man guilty of aggravated assault while armed and four additional gun related charges for the Nov. 29, 2023, shooting of a female transgender sex worker in a Northeast Washington apartment building.
Following a four-week trial, the jury found Jerry Tyree, 46, guilty of one count of aggravated assault while armed, one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of felony possession of a firearm, and one count of attempted possession of liquid PCP.
The jury found him not guilty of a single count of attempted unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 13, 2024. Under the D.C. criminal code, Tyree faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison.
Testimony by key prosecution witnesses, including D.C. police investigators and Kayla Fowler, the victim in the case, Tyree and Fowler first met at the intersection of Eastern Ave., N.E., and Foote St., N.E., shortly before 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2023. Witnesses pointed out that the area is well known as a gathering place for female transgender sex workers.
“After negotiating a price for oral sex, the defendant and the victim walked together into a nearby apartment building, where the victim performed oral sex on the defendant,” according to a statement released after the verdict by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C.
“The defendant then accused the victim of robbing him, and when she denied doing so, the defendant pulled out a small silver handgun and shot the victim directly in the penis before leaving the scene,” the statement says. “Police were called by a neighbor and the victim was transported to the hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries,” it says.
Evidence presented by police and the two lead prosecutors in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Cocuzza and Daniel Bromwich, showed that on Dec. 30, 2023, a month after the shooting, police arrested Tyree after finding him in possession of a gun that was found to be the same small silver handgun that was used to shoot Fowler.
Police witnesses testified that at the time Tyree was arrested
for possession of the handgun at a location less than a mile from where he allegedly shot Fowler on a staircase in the apartment building at 5920 Foote St., N.E., he was also found to be in possession of several glass vials, including one partially filled with suspected PCP.
Police and the two lead prosecutors presented ballistic and DNA evidence at the trial obtained by investigators that they argued proved “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Tyree used the gun in question to shoot Fowler at the apartment building following his claim that she stole money from his pants pocket while performing oral sex on him.
When questioned by his lead attorney, Sara Kopecki, Tyree testified at the trial that it was Fowler who had the gun and pulled it out after he accused her of stealing about $80 in cash from his pants pocket. Tyree told the jury, in response to questions from Kopecki, that he became alarmed and shocked when he saw Fowler pull out the gun, and he attempted to grab the gun from her, which led to a struggle during which the gun fired, and Fowler was struck by a single bullet.
Tyree testified that following the struggle and the firing of the gun, and after witnessing Fowler screaming in pain after being shot, he took the gun that he said had fallen on the floor, and left the apartment building out of fear that if he left the gun with Fowler, she might chase after him and shoot him.
Under questioning from prosecutors, Tyree acknowledged that he kept the gun for a full month until the time police found him to be in possession of it and that he never called police or dialed 911 for an ambulance to help Fowler after she was shot.
Defense attorney Kopecki argued before the jury that police and prosecutors were falsely claiming that Tylee owned the gun based, in part, by his past criminal record of being arrested on gun related charges.
At one point during questioning from one of the prosecutors, who asked Tyree if he knew that Fowler was a trans woman, he replied, “I’m not a homosexual. I don’t mess with men.”
Under questioning from his own attorney, Kopecki, Tyree began crying uncontrollably when asked about his past interaction with police. He told of being mistreated by police in the past and suggested that was why he did not call police immediately after the shooting on Nov. 29, 2923.
“You don’t trust the police?” Kopecki asked. “No,” he replied. Cocuzza and Bromwich argued that Tyree has a past arrest record with prior gun related charges and that the evidence in this case proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyree chose not to call police because he intentionally shot Fowler after falsely accusing her of stealing money from him.
The prosecutors also pointed to Fowler’s testimony that the dispute between her and Tyree appeared to have started when she requested that he wear a condom when she performed oral sex on him. She testified that during oral sex Tyree backed away from her, removed the condom, and masturbated until he ejaculated on the staircase landing where they had their sexual encounter.
Police testimony at the trial showed that investigators obtained a sample of Tylee’s semen from the scene of the shooting and used DNC testing to link the semen to him.
The jury handed down its verdict after Arthur had twice instructed them that they should not render a verdict of guilt unless they believe prosecutors have proved their case against Tyree beyond a reasonable doubt.
In a phone interview Tuesday evening several hours after the jury handed down its guilty verdict, Fowler told the Washington Blade she did not attend the trial following her testimony under court rules that don’t allow witnesses to attend a trial in which they testify. She said she learned about the verdict from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I was relieved, for one thing, and kind of happy that justice was served,” she said. She said was living in the area near where the shooting took place at the time it happened, but she has since moved to Baltimore.
“I left the area because it was harsh for me to live in the area after what happened to me. I was scared for my life.” She added, “I had to undergo two major surgeries. I had to wear a colostomy bag for three and a half months to let me urinate.”
At this time, she said, she has mostly fully healed. Asked what message she may have for the community, including the LGBTQ community, she said, “I would like them to be aware of their surroundings. Don’t’ trust everyone. Just be yourself and just be careful about what others may do to you because of the life we live.”
(Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)
NOVEMBER 5
2024 DC GENERAL ELECTION
VOTING
Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3 Vote
Harris campaign’s LGBTQ+ engagement director on winning in November Sam Alleman shares details of his personal and professional journey
By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com
Sam Alleman, national LGBTQ+ engagement director for the Harris-Walz 2024 campaign, talked with the Washington Blade last week for an exclusive interview about his work building and strengthening coalitions within the community in hopes of winning in November.
On the Democratic side, organizing LGBTQ voters for a presidential campaign goes back at least a decade, he said, to 2012 when Jamie Citron — currently the deputy assistant to the president and principal deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement — helped to lead these efforts on behalf of then-President Barack Obama’s reelection bid.
On Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Alleman said, it was Dominic Lowell working in close coordination with Sean Meloy, director of LGBT engagement for the Democratic National Committee, who now serves as vice president of political programs at the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute.
“Something that we’re very proud of as the little crew of folks who all are friends,” Alleman said, “is really building off each other’s work to continue scaling this and building out infrastructure to organize within the community.”
He added that in 2020, Reggie Greer, who led LGBTQ engagement for the Biden-Harris campaign and is now the State Department’s senior adviser to the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, “was dealt the very difficult hand of a global pandemic.”
He explained, despite the challenges, Greer and others managed to build “a wonderful program that’s very much virtual, put forward from folks that did this work and were online,” which has shaped efforts through to this day as the Harris-Walz campaign seeks to “really get people back in person” as they focus their push in, especially, the seven battleground states.
The goal, Alleman said, is “not losing the virtual component, but complementing it” to “get people back on board, back to the event, back to the rally, back to the business that is a presidential campaign in 2024.”
“That’s a question and a piece of this work that is not necessarily unique to the LGBTQ+ portfolio,” he said. “But then it’s been something that we’ve worked through, and I think getting that from 2020 and rebuilding and fleshing that out has been a top priority.”
“We have wonderful working relationships with Liam Kahn over at the DNC right now,” Alleman said, referring to the committee’s director of LGBTQ+ coalitions, “and then, of course, my counterpart in finance, James Conlon, we work hand in glove as a team to execute on all of this work,” together with “my deputy, oh my gosh, he just started, I’m so ex-
cited, Cesar Toledo — who is like an absolute force and really runs the day to day of the organizing program.”
For his part, Alleman’s career has taken him from organizing work as a college student for then-Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis to campaign work for Clinton to the center of the reproductive rights movement at Planned Parenthood to the White House and, now, the Harris-Walz 2024 race.
“I started on the campaign in April of 2024,” he said, working on behalf of what was then the Biden-Harris ticket, while before that, “I was at the DNC for two and a half years. So I started over there as the LGBTQ coalitions director in October of 2021 and helped to manage all their LGBTQ+ programming through the midterm elections.”
Alleman continued, “I was also the regional coalitions director for the Midwest. We affectionately called it the “snow belt,” but [it was] our Great Lakes and Northeast states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire in 2022 as well, working in that pod in tandem with all of our state programming.”
When transitioning into the new role, Alleman said “it was keenly important” for him to facilitate the continued investment in building “infrastructure for our community at the DNC” which is something the organization has shown is a priority focus.
“At the DNC, the work is very infrastructure focused,” he said, through the vehicle of coordinating with “our state parties” and “making sure that they have the resources to do this work to mobilize voters.”
Alleman added that a few dozen state Democratic parties have LGBTQ caucuses, so at the DNC he was working to “make sure that they were getting organized” in coordination “of course, with the partners, too.”
Asked to compare his experiences working in similar roles for the committee and then the presidential campaign, Alleman said “The party has a bigger responsibility, I should say, to think about the totality of the ticket” which means considering questions like “how are we getting resources to [down-ballot] races, like city council members and state reps and state senators?”
He noted “there are a lot of LGBTQ state reps and state senators with big names [who are doing] amazing work in this moment.”
By contrast, “when we’re here on the presidential [ticket] it’s a lot of the same strategies and tactics, but really homed in on our battleground states, really homed in on [the question of] ‘how are we building out capacity to talk to those voters where we know our pathway to victory is?’”
In between the Clinton campaign and the DNC was a long stint at Planned Parenthood, Alleman said, an opportunity that found him
via a friend who reached out after Trump’s victory in 2016.
Packed into the Javits Center, where the Clinton team had organized what they — and most Americans — expected to be a victory party, Alleman said “everything changed from that point on” as “things that had felt so certain and so set in terms of what I was planning on doing, just sort of all changed.”
“I feel like it was that way for so many of us, both in terms of work, our personal lives, everything that happened in 2016,” he said. “And so I got a call from a friend — a good friend of mine who’s still one of my best friends, actually, I just officiated her wedding.”
“Everything really just sort of clicked there,” Alleman said, adding, “I worked at Planned Parenthood for five or six years, doing various jobs,” starting with the Metropolitan Washington affiliate where he worked to “plan the logistics and busses for the Women’s March” in 2017 to protest Donald Trump’s election.
Reproductive rights, he said, is “a big part of my story and why I’m in the work.”
Alleman is a Texas native. In college, he worked for the campaign of then-state senator Wendy Davis, who famously held a 13-hour-long filibuster in 2013 to block legislation that would have imposed harsher abortion restrictions.
“I’m originally from Plano,” he said. “By virtue of being from Texas, these things that feel like very big issues now have sort of always been litigated, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, in our state based off just conservative extremists,” adding, “we would call them MAGA Republicans now.”
While he was always supportive of reproductive rights, Alleman said that as a young man who was grappling with his sexuality and on his own coming out journey, he did not fully understand “the totality” of those freedoms and how they intersect with other core American values.
“A very important part of my story, and a big part of why I do this work, is my sister,” Alleman said. Just seven months after getting health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, he said his sister was “diagnosed with breast cancer at a Planned Parenthood health center via a breast exam.”
While she “is now cancer free and in remission and doing very well,” Alleman said, “I don’t know what my family would have done if we had not been able to access health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.”
“It would have bankrupted my family,” he said, “and I would have dropped out of college. I wouldn’t be sitting here today, right? Like, nothing that happened would have happened, would have been possible. She very well may not be alive, you know?”
Alleman continued, “And so, the importance of healthcare and access to affordable
healthcare, and then the ability for us to have bodily autonomy and then control of our own decisions and destinies, has always just been something that has been critically important for me.”
“We talk about all the accomplishments that we’ve seen from the Biden-Harris administration,” he said, like “the Affordable Care Act and what that means, but my story is an example of the impact of that, [of] what this actually means for people to have access to health care and health insurance, what this actually means for people to be able to go to their Planned Parenthood health center and feel safe in accessing reproductive health care in its totality, from abortion to breast exams.”
He described falling “in love” with the work at Planned Parenthood as well as with the movement for reproductive freedom. “I moved up to the national office about six or seven months after starting at the affiliate on their political team,” he said, “and ended as their national political manager before moving over to the DNC.”
From there, Alleman said, “I worked at the DNC for two and a half years managing the LGBTQ coalition work” during which time “we were really proud of the Biden-Harris administration, but it always felt [like] it was so clear where we would probably be in terms of who we were running against, right, where we are today in 2024.”
So the focus remained, he said, on “what was at stake, not only in the work that we needed to get done politically to, you know, get infrastructure done, get the Inflation Reduction Act done, make sure that we help the Senate and House as best we could in the midterms, so that we can continue achieving things like the Respect for Marriage Act — but as well, to put us in as best a position as possible to take on what was the looming threat to our democracy, and what is the looming threat to our democracy, that is Donald Trump.”
Alleman added, “And we see now” from “Project 2025” what “things will look like should he win — though we have, I think, a pretty good plan to keep that from happening.”
“I consider myself first and foremost an organizer, and there’s nothing more powerful for an individual than knowing your story and being able to tell that and stand in its truth and what that means for you and your power,” Alleman said.
SAM ALLEMAN (Photo courtesy of Sam Alleman)
FBI reports rise in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes
The FBI’s annual Crime in the Nation report, released on Monday, shows a significant increase in hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ community in 2023.
More than 2,402 incidents related to sexual orientation were reported, up by more than 500 cases from the previous year.
The gender identity category included over 400 anti-transgender incidents and 146 targeting gender non-conforming individuals.
For the second consecutive year, more than one in five hate crimes were motivated by bias against the LGBTQ community.
The report references Human Rights Campaign research highlighting the disproportionate impact on Black trans women.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called for comprehensive non-discrimination protections, improved law enforcement reporting, and an end to divisive rhetoric.
“We must turn the tide so that LGBTQ+ people can feel safe everywhere,” Robinson said.
GISSELLE PALOMERA
NC gubernatorial candidate Robinson likes trans porn: CNN Biden sets record for number of confirmed LGBTQ judges
Far-right anti-LGBTQ North Carolina lieutenant governor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson enjoys transgender pornography, according to a report published by CNN on Thursday.
The controversial official has made deeply offensive and incendiary remarks about trans people, but privately on the message board of Nude Africa, an adult site, he said, “I like watching tranny on girl porn!”
Robinson denied the report, but CNN linked the anonymous account to Robinson via a slew of matching biographical details and a username and email address he has used in the past.
“This is not us. These are not our words. And this is not anything that is characteristic of me,” Robinson said. “I’m not going to get into the minutia of how somebody manufactured this, these salacious tabloid lies.”
The lieutenant governor, who is Black, also made racist comments on the forum. Responding to news of then-President Barack Obama’s dedication of the national monument to Martin Luther King, Jr., Robinson wrote, “Get that f*cking commie bastard off the National Mall!”
“I’m not in the KKK,” he added. “They don’t let blacks join. If I was in the KKK I would have called him Martin Lucifer Koon!”
Additionally, CNN reports, “Robinson also used homophobic slurs frequently, calling other users f*gs” and “in a largely positive forum discussion featuring a photo of two men kissing after one returned from a military deployment, Robinson wrote the sole negative comment.
“That’s sum ole sick a** f*ggot bullsh*t!” he wrote.
Along with the Republican Party of North Carolina, Robinson’s uphill candidacy against Democratic state attorney general Josh Stein is supported by Donald Trump.
CHRISTOPHER KANE
The U.S. Senate voted 52-41 on Tuesday to confirm Mary Kay Costello as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, thereby setting a record for the number of LGBTQ federal judicial appointments made under the Biden-Harris administration, 12.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights says less than three percent of the country’s nearly 900 federal judges are LGBTQ. Until this week, the ObamaBiden administration had appointed the most, 11, over two terms.
Costello is a prosecutor who has served as assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia since 2008.
In a post on X, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic majority wrote that she “exhibits a breadth of experience and a strong dedication to public service” and is “ready to serve as a federal judge.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the Democratic majority whip and chair of the committee, shared another post on X celebrating the administration’s record-breaking number of LGBTQ judicial appointments, writing, “We’re diversifying the federal judiciary for generations to come.”
CHRISTOPHER KANE
Alsobrooks grows lead over Hogan in new polls
Maryland’s Senate race is one of a handful of federal races poised to decide which political party wins control over Congress. That means there’s plenty of polling, as the candidates and other interested parties search for indications of which way voters will go.
Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan and Democrat and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are vying for the open seat, along with Libertarian Party candidate Mike Scott and independent candidate Patrick J. Burke.
The Baltimore Banner will keep a running compilation of polling. We’ll summarize recent polls, tell you what to know about how and why they were conducted — and who paid for them — and what they tell us about the state of the Senate race.
As the season charges toward the November general election, here’s a running list of the latest surveys.
Public Policy Polling: Alsobrooks leads Hogan, 50% to 33% Who did the poll: Public Policy Polling, a Democrat-
ic-leaning firm out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Results were released on Sept. 19.
What they found: Alsobrooks holds a 50% to 33% lead over Hogan, with Scott at 6% support and 12% undecided.
With Scott excluded, Alsobrooks leads Hogan, 52%37% with 11% undecided. Read more.
Methodology: Public Policy Polling surveyed 543 registered voters on Sept. 16-17. The margin of error is 4.2 percentage points.
Key takeaways: Alsobrooks is building on a lead that Public Policy Partners found in a June poll, where she was ahead 45% to 34%.
Hogan and Alsobrooks have similar favorability ratings, 44% for Hogan and 43% for Alsobrooks. But a significant portion of those polled, 33%, weren’t sure whether they had a favorable or unfavorable view of Alsobrooks — a sign that she’s still not well-known to Maryland voters.
Hogan continues to show some crossover support from Democrats, which is necessary for a Republican
to win statewide in Maryland. This poll found that 15% of his supporters had voted for Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election, in line with Emerson’s poll earlier this week and below what most analysts believe Hogan needs to win statewide.
Emerson College:
Alsobrooks leads Hogan, 49% to 42%
Who did the poll: Emerson College in Boston conducted the poll in partnership with media organizations DCNewsNow and The Hill. The poll was funded by the parent company of the news organizations. Results were released on Sept. 17.
What they found: In the matchup between the two candidates, Alsobrooks has 49% support to 42% for Hogan, with 9% of those polled undecided.
Methodology: The poll questioned 890 likely Maryland voters on Sept. 12-13, using text-to-web and an online panel of voters. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.
BALTIMORE BANNER
North Carolina Lieutenant Gov. MARK ROBINSON (R) (Screen capture: Forbes/YouTube)
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
(Public domain photo)
Jill Biden headlines UN LGBTI Core Group event
General Assembly taking place this week in New York
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
First lady Jill Biden on Sept. 23 headlined an LGBTQ and intersex rights event that took place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
“Our humanity — that simple fact — guarantees us certain rights,” said Biden in her speech at the U.N. LGBTI Core Group event. “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you were born, or who your parents are: Being human is enough.”
The European Union and more than three dozen countries are members of the Core Group, a group of U.N. member states that have pledged to support LGBTQ and intersex rights.
The Netherlands and Argentina, which currently co-chair the Core Group, and Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, organized the event. Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights, introduced the first lady.
Biden in her remarks referenced O’Shae Sibley, a gay man who was stabbed to death in July 2023 while vogueing at a Brooklyn, N.Y., gas station.
She noted the Human Rights Campaign last year “declared a ‘state of emergency’ for LGBTQI people in America, because states across our country passed an unprecedented number of discriminatory laws.” Biden also said consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in more than 60 countries around the world.
“We’re not going to stand for hate, discrimination, and violence in our own country,” she said. “We won’t stand for it anywhere in the world.”
Biden noted “more countries” in recent years — Singapore, the Cook Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and Barbados, among others — have decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. Biden also highlighted other countries — Greece, Liechtenstein, Estonia, Cuba, and Chile, among others — in recent years have extended marriage rights to samesex couples.
“These are big victories — ones that bloom across history,” she said.
“But our triumphs live in the small mo-
ments too — moments that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago: Walking down the street without fear. Co-workers who use your chosen name and pronouns. Kids with two moms or two dads at the playground. Coming together for LGBTQI rights during the United Nations General Assembly,” added Biden.
The promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad has been a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris administration’s overall foreign policy.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2016 spoke at a Core Group event that took place on the sidelines of that year’s U.N. General Assembly. He described the LGBTQ and intersex rights movement as the “civil rights issue of our time.”
“Discrimination against anyone for their sexual orientation and gender is anathema to most basic values,” said Joe Biden.
Other participants in the Core Group event include:
• Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp
Georgia lawmakers pass package of anti-LGBTQ bills
US has sanctioned country’s leaders for ‘serious human rights abuses’
By ROB SALERNO
In a move that has drawn international condemnation, the Georgian government passed a package of draconian anti-LGBTQ bills through parliament Sept. 17 in a unanimous vote that was boycotted by the opposition.
The new law, dubbed the Law on Family Values and Protection of Minors, bans recognition of any same-sex relationship, ban adoption by transgender people or non-heterosexuals, ban the promotion of same-sex relationships or LGBTQ identities including through the media or public gatherings, and ban legal gender change or medical interventions for gender reassignment. The bills mirror similar bills passed in Russia, which have led to a serious and escalating crackdown on
LGBTQ people.
President Salome Zourabichvili has said she intends to veto the legislation, but the ruling Georgian Dream party has enough votes to override any veto.
Opposition parties have been boycotting parliament since the government passed a “foreign agents” law that requires any organization receiving funds from outside the country to register as an agent of a foreign power. Critics said that the bill was a clear mechanism to defund or discredit the opposition, the media, and the nongovernmental organizations.
Both the foreign agent law and the anti-LGBTQ law had already drawn criticism from the international community, but the passage of the anti-LGBTQ law brought a new
round of diplomatic condemnation.
The U.S. announced financial sanctions and travel bans on dozens of Georgian leaders it says are complicit “undermining democracy” and “serious human rights abuse.”
The EU had already frozen accession talks with Georgia after the foreign agents bill was passed. This week, it announced it was considering removing access to visa-free travel to the EU for Georgian citizens.
The U.N. Human Rights Office also called on the Georgian government to rescind the law.
“We are deeply concerned that this law may encourage hate speech, lead to more incidents of violence, and reinforce stigma, intolerance and misinformation,” spokesperson
• Ricardo Lagorio, Argentina’s permanent representative to the U.N.
• Graeme Reid, the independent U.N. expert on LGBTQ and intersex issues
• U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
• Former Finnish President Tarja Halonen
• Deputy Luxembourgish Prime Minister Xavier Bettel
• Chilean Social Development and Family Minister Javiera Toro Cáceres
• European Union External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino
• Colombian Multilateral Affairs Vice Minister Kandya Obezo
• French LGBT+ Rights Ambassador-at-Large Jean-Marc Berthon
• Vanessa Dolce de Faria, the high representative for gender issues in the Brazilian Foreign Affairs Ministry
• Philippe Kridelka, Belgium’s permanent representative to the U.N.
• Vanessa Frazier, Malta’s permanent representative to the U.N.
• David Sigurdsson, director of U.N. Affairs in the Icelandic Foreign Affairs Ministry
• Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin
• Ugandan activist Gloriah Dhel
• Filipina activist Venus Aves
Throssell said in a
That statement proved to be sadly prophetic. The day after parliament voted to pass the anti-LGBTQ legislation, Georgia’s most prominent trans woman was murdered in her home.
Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was a model and social media influencer. She was found dead in her apartment after neighbors heard screams. A 26-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the crime.
New Seychelles penal code to include LGBTQ-inclusive hate crimes provisions
Penal Code Amendment Bill passed by 18-8 vote margin
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Lawmakers in the Seychelles on Sept. 18 approved a bill that will add an LGBTQ-inclusive hate crimes provision to the country’s penal code.
The National Assembly by an 18-8 vote margin approved the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The hate crimes provision specifically includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV/AIDS status, among other factors. The bill states anyone convicted of a hate crime based on the outlined characteristics could face a fine and/ or up to two years in prison for the first conviction and a fine and/or up to three years in prison for any subsequent convictions.
“The inclusion of hate speech as an offense within the penal code (Cap. 158) provides for the intention to incite hatred towards a person or group of persons based on their protected characteristics, through various forms of communication or behavior, if the expression is perceived to be threatening, abusive or insulting,” said Attorney General Frank Ally in a July 1 letter that detailed the bill.
Human Dignity Trust, a London-based NGO, in a press release notes it has since 2020 “provided legal assistance” to Ally’s office “to draft the hate crime components of the bill.” The group also highlighted Mark Walters, a professor at the University of Sussex in England, “for his invaluable expertise
and contribution to the drafting process.”
“The changes to the penal code will provide new and meaningful protections for people targeted simply because of who they are, and encourages marginalized communities to report crimes,” said Human Dignity Trust Chief Executive Téa Braun. “By enacting this law, the Seychelles has taken a strong stance against hate-motivated violence, ensuring that the most vulnerable members of society are protected.”
South Africa is the only other African country that includes sexual orientation and gender identity in its hate crimes law. Seychelles in 2016 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Liz
statement.
President SALOME ZOURABICHVILI says she will veto measures (Euronews screenshot)
Spiritual Healer Ruby
BILL KIBLER
a Marine veteran, manages GayVeterans.us.
New website expands horizons for LGBTQ veterans
GayVeterans.us was launched in February 2024 and has rapidly grown, providing expansive support for the LGBTQ+ veterans community. Established by three LGBTQ veterans and a Rabbi ally, who were frustrated with the bigotry and discrimination in their Beirut veterans organization, they created a non-profit, charitable organization. This new venture offers a welcoming online community safe zone for all LGBTQ veterans, free from the discrimination they faced for more than 35 years.
Initially a community resource directory, it has now blossomed into a fully fledged online community. Aa powerful journey of empowerment and unity with GayVeteransUS-Inc. and our dedicated website, GayVeterans.us. We are a community-driven platform passionately supporting over 1 million LGBTQ veterans, active-duty military, and allies across the United States. An organization at the forefront of LGBTQ advocacy within the LGBTQ veteran community. Here’s why our partnership is a game-changer:
Our impact extends beyond our website, reaching a diverse audience through our strong presence on major social media platforms. Within our portal, as a publisher with a versatile audience, we cover various sectors such as retail, travel, books, clothing, electronics, health & beauty, and more. GayVeterans.us was established and is continually managed by Bill Kibler, a completely hearing-impaired and disabled Marine veteran, alongside his fellow Beirut veteran, John Kiknslow, a survivor of the Beirut bombing on Oct. 23, 1983. Dedicated to aiding LGBTQ veterans, Bill and John ensure that their voices are heard and their needs addressed. They are supported by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, also a Beirut veteran and the first responder at the explosion site.
Throughout his Navy tenure, he advocated for LGBTQ rights, even delivering the prayer at the 2010 presidential ceremony repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” His younger brother Joel, a renowned artist, succumbed to AIDS in 1986. Another LGBTQ veteran, Bonnie Tierney, is globetrotting during her retirement and plans to return to the States this fall. She regularly checks in to monitor our progress. As a proud non-profit organization based in Tennessee, we are in the process of securing IRS §501(c)(3) status. With our low operational expenses and utmost transparency, your contributions will enable us to expand our services and support LGBTQ veterans in a meaningful way.
Our newly launched community portal offers a safe space for LGBTQ veterans to connect, share experiences, and access valuable resources. With 45+ groups and user-created groups, forums, chatroom, videos, and more, our members have a platform to support one another. A safe space for LGBTQ veterans to connect, share experiences, and access valuable resources.
We have partnered with Wreaths Across America’s 2024 Campaign and will be assisting the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio of San Francisco in remembering and honoring our LGBTQ veterans by laying Remembrance wreaths on the graves of our nation’s fallen heroes. All LGBTQ organizations are welcome and encouraged to register under our LGBTQ Veterans sponsorship umbrella. Details can be found on our website, gayveterans.us.
Based on the responses so far, I know we’re making an impact on LGBTQ veterans’ lives, and that’s the rewarding aspect of our efforts. We have lots more on the horizon.
GayVeteransUS-Inc. is a non-profit, charitable organization in the State of Tennessee and has applied for IRS §501(c)(3) status, allowing you to deduct donations as charitable contributions on your tax filings. GayVeterans.us is run by veteran volunteers, so our expenses are extremely low – no rent, no payroll, nothing fancy. Each year GayVeterans. us will file a publicly available Form 1099 with the IRS allowing you to see how money is spent.
CHARLES FRANCIS is president of the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., and author of rchive ctivism emoir of a ni uel ast ourne
JEFF TRAMMELL was a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Advisory ommittee for the a esbian emembrance Pro ect and was senior adviser for matters in the ore and err presidential campai ns
Nazi-era rage against gays emerges at Leipzig Pride event
We must not normalize or ignore the violence that occurred
Imagine marching with the diverse thousands in Washington, D.C.’s Pride parade, then suddenly you are confronted by hundreds of men, mostly blonde, wearing black, shouting in your face to disrupt the march. Separating you from them are helmeted riot police with German Shepherds. You blink your eyes in disbelief. You hear the anti-gay epithets shouted in German. ou recoil at obscene placards depictin stic fi ures loc ed in se with a red prohibition slash he blac white and red colors of the eich ash there is another a with an ron ross Pr oud-German-National,” one sign says.
1933? Welcome to Christopher Street Day, 2024 in Leipzig, Germany. Named in homage to the site of the Stonewall Riots, Christopher Street Day (CSD) is the oldest Pride event in what was East Germany, formed in 1992, three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This year, CSD Leipzig has never held such si nificance not ust in erman but for us all
At the Leipzig CSD, there was an overwhelming number of friends and allies, facing some neo a is at the barricades but the political si nificance is impossible to i nore n recent da s the erman far ri ht e tremist roup lternative for erman f won the most seats in hurin ia and nearl won the most seats in a on he rhetoric was about immi ration and nationalism, but on CSD the target was Pride with a shocking re-emergence of Nazi-era rage a ainst homose uals he determination of the marchers on hristopher treet a was inspira tional, in the face of this violent hostility from AfD’s thugs.
But this has happened before. In 1922, a young gay veteran and survivor of World War I, Bruno Vogel, broke with his family and left home while he was attending the University of Leipzig. He formed a same se friendship lea ue for homose uals that would meet re ularl in a restau rant for communit and discussion about homose ual human ri hts and ustice iscovered b a nus irschfeld a erman ewish doctor and researcher who founded the nstitute for e u al Science in Berlin, Vogel’s friendship league blossomed both in Leipzig and in Berlin where he went to wor for irschfeld n 2 o el wrote an openl a and pacifist novel lf about two colle e preparator school students lf and eli and their love endin with eli s death in the trenches of orld ar a nus irschfeld assembled the lar est librar on se ualit ender and homose ualit in the world is librar includin lf alon with thousands of volumes was ransac ed and burned b a is in a public bonfire he inister of a i propa anda oseph oebbels wrote in o to decadence and moral corruption es to decenc and moralit in famil and state ou do well to commit to the ames the evil spirit of the past o el left erman before the bonfire later to write about it all and be interviewed in ondon before he passed away. Otherwise, the name of his friendship league in Leipzig may have been lost to histor t was ir the erman word for we or us
n 2 2 the nited tates olocaust emorial useum mounted a historic e hibition entitled a i Persecution of omose uals 4 his was the first time the olocaust emorial useum focused on this tar eted communit ccordin to the e hibition s materials on cerned that ‘degeneracy’ carried in the male ‘Aryan’ blood would weaken the ‘masculine discipline’ of the German nation,” the Nazis launched their violent assault against suspected queer ermans he useum s e hibition was both coura eous and roundbrea in built upon ears of research in archives across Germany including the Federal Archives of Germany (Bundesarchiv Koblenz), accessing newly opened Nazi records.
The museum’s archival research team discovered hundreds of photographs, many of them the booking shots of gay men dragged from their lives in Berlin to prisons and camps. The Holocaust Museum discovered to a degree never before achieved the archival, evidentiary history of more than men arrested for homose ualit one third of whom were convicted and sentenced to prison. Hundreds more were interned in concentration camps to face brutal conditions, torture, and even castration. As recently as 2016, the German parliament, the Bundestag, enacted le islation to compensate the survivin victims of this violence and to e pun e the records of some men ailed because of their crime homose ualit his is the historic and contemporar conte t of hristopher treet a 24
We cannot normalize or ignore what happened in Leipzig. Every other party in Germany has refused to enter into a coalition government with AfD, for good reason. Indeed, we must widen the frame rom erman s f to i tor rban s ide Part in un ar to arine e Pen s ational all in rance to Prime inister eor ia eloni s rothers of tal Part citi ens are strate ic political tar ets of the uropean far ri ht nationalist parties ands off our children the shout in un ar while deletin same se parents names from birth certificates in tal ependin upon the outcome of the comin presidential election the are poised to e port their political strate to the nited tates hat happened in eip i is happenin to wir all of us, and we must be prepared for the right wing to ratchet up its assault on our community.
PETER ROSENSTEIN
is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.
Delaware voters can make history on Nov. 5
Vote Blunt Rochester for Senate, McBride for House, Meyer for governor
On Nov. 5, the people of Delaware have a chance to make history. This election in Delaware is important for so many reasons, including helping to cement the legacy of one of their favorite sons, President Joseph Robinette Biden.
elaware voters can elect the first woman and first frican merican as their United States Senator. Lisa Blunt Rochester will be onl the third frican merican woman to ever be elected to the United States Senate. She is a native Delawarean, and has shown she knows how to get things done. She began her career in public service as an intern, and then a caseworker, for then Congressman Tom Carper (D-Del.), where she helped people during challenging times with their Social Securit benefits disabilit insurance claims R disputes and housin needs. he went on to serve in the cabinets of Delaware governors Carper and Minner, breaking barriers as she served as Secretary of Labor, Deputy Secretary of Health and Social ervices and tate ersonnel irector. he then ran for on ress and made her mark in the House of Representatives leading the charge to lower seniors’ health care costs. he fou ht successfull to pass le islation to brin merican manufacturin obs home fi roads and brid es and e pand internet service to rural elaware. he too a leadin role in creatin safer communities and e pandin access to clean air and water. She will continue that work, and more, when she is in the United States Senate.
Then Delawareans can make history again by electing Sarah McBride as their conressperson. c ride will become the first trans ender person to serve in the nited States Congress. She has worked hard for Delaware in the State Senate, and has a history of accomplishments that shows she will do a great job in Congress. She has earned this office throu h hard wor . he has served her constituents well and will now continue to do that as she also serves the nation. She is a shining representative for the LGBTQ community, but also for all those who for one reason or another, have been marginalized. She is rightfully credited with helping President Biden to move forward on ri hts. he has wor ed hard on a host of issues since first comin out as trans ender at merican niversit where she was elected student bod president. She then worked as an intern in the Obama White House, and worked for the enter for merican ro ress . he was wor in for the uman Ri hts Campaign when she won her state Senate seat. The issues she cares about, and will continue wor on will benefit not onl all elawareans but the entire countr . arah ets thin s done. s a state senator she passed le islation e pandin access to health care, requiring mental health and media literacy education in public schools. he passed the landmar ealth elaware amilies ct providin paid famil and medical leave to wor ers and mar in the lar est e pansion of elaware s social safety net in decades.
c ride nows how to brin people alon with her as she fi hts for ever one s rights, and a better life for all.
Then to complete the trifecta, Delawareans should elect Matt Meyer as governor. Doing this will ensure they have someone who will lead their state to new heights and accomplishments, and make all Delawareans proud. Meyer has shown, in a long career includin his current position as ount ecutive of ew astle ount that he will make a difference for everyone in Delaware. He has had success in so many areas including building affordable housing, ensuring quality healthcare, and providing new economic opportunities, for all. Meyer has a history of not only tal in the tal but wal in the wal when fi htin for the ri hts of women the communit frican mericans and all minorities. e has been a teacher a diplomat, a businessman and now a politician. He brings a sense of all that is possible to ever position he has held and he will continue to do that as the ne t governor of Delaware.
o ur e ever re istered voter and if ou aren t re istered et hope ou will register today, to vote and help Delaware make history on Nov. 5.
OKTOBERFEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday, September 28th 12-3: Pig Roast
Sunday, September 29th 3-6pm: Live German Folk Music
Sunday, October 6th 12-3: Bavarian Brunch and Live German Folk Music
Sunday, October 12th 12-3: Pig Roast
Sunday, October 13th 3-6pm: Live German Folk Music
Monday, October 14th 2-5pm: Kidstoberfest with Live German Folk Music
Sunday, October 20th 12-3: Bavarian Brunch and Live German Folk Music
is a writer based in the D.C. area. With two poetry books out, he writes for the Blade and the Yale Daily News. He is a transgender man and was featured in National Geographic’s ‘Gender Revolution’ documentary. He serves on the board of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia. Contact him at isaac.amend35@gmail.com or on Instagram at: @literatipapi.
A trans man’s critique of gay culture
Finding my way through being gay is riddled with unwanted difficulty
As a transgender man who sleeps with both men and women, and who occasionally ponders whether I’m a gay man, I’ve found there to be some issues with gay culture. Granted, the culture of gay men varies widely: there are gay men who flaunt gayness at every turn, as they should, in Pride marches and at festivals and Nellie’s. There are gay men who join bowling leagues; there are gay men who play video games all day; there are gay men who work at McKinsey; and then there are gay men like Tim Cook who preside over the entirety of Apple. So gayness comes in all forms, and most forms should be celebrated. But I believe there are still some toxic traits of gay culture.
The first issue with gay men’s culture is its emphasis on superficial beauty norms. Gay culture is obsessed with weight and being skinny, it’s obsessed with looking good — and while there are merits to this — there are also downfalls. Don’t get me wrong: There is nothing I love to see more than a beautiful man, either on Instagram or at my doorstep. But I have seen countless times again gay men struggle with keeping a low weight and the culture’s fixation on skinniness. The result of this fixation on beauty happens when some men only befriend others because they are also beautiful, and when some men ignore others because they are not beautiful enough. Once again, beauty should run rampant; I want gay men to be beautiful at every turn, but their preoccupation with weight can elicit eating disorders and other horrific things.
The second problem I find in gay men’s culture is an obsession with sex, but more specifically, only befriending other men so they can be hookups. The amount of times I have encountered a “friend” who really is only getting close to me for potential sex is too many to number. Because of a fixation on endless sex, there exists a propensity for gay men to develop superficial bonds with other men in exchange for oral favors or penetration. As a result, genuine friendship with a trans man becomes diminished, and any semblance of friendship at all becomes diminished in exchange for the true motive behind the friendship: getting dirty in the sheets. An infatuation with sex secretly kills the culture from inside, because men become less focused on being genuine and bonding with others over nonsexual things.
The third cause for concern I find in gay man’s culture is transphobia. Sometimes transphobia runs rampant among gay men, and sometimes it doesn’t. I have met my fair share of gay men who view me as a man, but then I have talked to some gay men on Grindr who run away at the faintest notion of me telling them I am trans. As a trans man, I actually understand why many men wouldn’t want to have sex with me. I’m not against it, and I don’t find it offensive. But it becomes offensive when these men actively avoid me because I’m trans, and talk down on the trans cause. I have also met my fair share of chasers — men who actively chase sex with me because I am trans, and not for any other reason. These men end up treating me like trash, and dump me at the slightest hint that I don’t want to have sex anymore. These men tend to put trans men in more submissive roles in bed as well.
Overall, I am at odds with gay men’s culture. If I am indeed gay, which is something I am exploring, I am not sure how to be a gay man. Onlookers and friends tell me there are a hundred ways to be gay, but I am increasingly convinced that the only way to be gay is for me to not try to be gay, and to live my life as I have always lived it these past years with the same friends in tow and same hobbies intact.
No part of this article is meant to disparage gay culture entirely; I have met some amazing queer men in my life, and the editorial board of the Blade is run by lovely, well meaning queer men. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don’t see a way for me to fit into gay culture, which is perfectly alright. I am not deserving of anything or entitled to any kind of special status. I am just a mere person trying to find his way in the world, but finding my way through being gay seems, at the very least, riddled with unwanted difficulty.
Desiree Dik takes on ‘The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula’
Reality show’s new season premieres on Oct. 1
By ERKKI FORSTER
Local drag queen Desiree Dik is among the 12 contestants on the sixth season of the drag competition “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula.”
Dik, who calls herself “the spookiest ghoul of D.C.,” will compete for the title of “The World’s Next Drag Supermonster” in the horror-themed series.
“From being a local girl to going into playing on a TV show is something I can’t explain,” Dik said, reflecting on her experience filming the show in Los Angeles. She teased “spicy drama” between the contestants, but added “the Boulets, the whole cast and production, were so nice. They just made us feel so welcomed, even though they’re trying to torture us.”
In each episode of the show, the Boulet Brothers — a drag artist duo — challenge contestants with creating and performing looks inspired by different themes, from zombies to killer clowns to science fiction. Contestants work on their costumes and makeup alongside each other before performing in front of judges. Those who end up at the bottom must complete “extermination challenges,” such as navigating a laser maze or being buried alive, all while in drag.
This season will feature big-name judges, including drag queen Violet Chachki and actor David Dastmalchian. Dik also revealed that the producers of the horror video game “Dead By Daylight” collaborated with the show. Dik, whose alternative drag performances include “eating hearts and crawling out from under the tables” while dressed as a witch, immediately felt drawn to the show when it first aired in 2016.
“I fell in love with the show because I always felt like my drag was weird. Seeing the show made me feel like, ‘Oh there’s other people who like horror drag and do weird drag,’” she said.
She unsuccessfully auditioned for three seasons until landing a spot as a contestant on her fourth attempt. In D.C., she has been working as the show producer and host at Red Bear Brewery Co, where she produces drag shows that blend games, punk, grunge, comedy, and horror. She also makes it a point to support the next generation of drag performers, giving opportunities on her shows to newcomers.
“I would have liked someone to do that for me,” she said. Dik, who is Peruvian American, discovered her love for drag as a teenager, when she received as a gift a ticket to a drag show at Freddie’s Beach Bar from her friend’s uncles, who had taken her under their wing after she was kicked out of her home for coming out as gay.
Her first performance was at the now-closed Town Danceboutique.
“I think drag was something I enjoyed when I felt like I had nothing and now it’s taken over my whole entire house and life,” she said.
Having performed as a drag queen in D.C. full time since 2014, Dik highlighted the resilience of the city’s drag scene in the face of bar closures and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The fun thing about drag performers is we’re kind of like little roaches, right? Like, you can’t kill us. We’ll walk around, we’ll go somewhere else.”
She brings the same attitude to the efforts to ban drag. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, state legislatures this year have considered 27 bills seeking to ban drag, although most of them failed.
“I think it’s dumb … drag has brought so many people finding themselves,” she said. “We’re not going anywhere, drag is going to keep on going, even if it’s pretty drag, spooky drag, because we’re gonna be pushing the LGBT funness and stupidity and unitedness, and you can’t stop us.”
In the future, Dik envisions touring the country with her own show, using her skill in hosting and producing to feature drag queens from other cities. Winning “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” with its $100,000 cash prize, could help her make that dream a reality. But like everyone else, she will need to wait for the show to air to find out who the winner is.
“The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” premieres on Shudder and AMC+ on Oct. 1.
Desiree Dik performs at Officina’s Halloween Drag Brunch in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
DESIREE DIK (Photo by Katherine Gaines of AmbientEye Photography)
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
ARTURO SANDOVAL
Sunday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m.
Vibrant dance from one of America’s cultural treasures MARK MORRIS
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 and 8 p.m.
A program from “the most successful and influential choreographer alive” (New York Times)
Don’t miss this 10-time GRAMMY Award-winning jazz virtuoso and Kennedy Center Honoree!
VIRGINIA OPERA CARMEN
Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.
This acclaimed company brings Bizet’s passion-filled masterpiece to life
Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day
first gay publication in America was 100 years ago this year—1924’s Friendship & Freedom, produced by Henry Gerber. It was shut down by police after just two issues. Through the years, LGBTQ+ media faced similar censorship and hardships. But 100 years later, there is a chance to revitalize this journalism and make it stronger to face the anti-LGBTQ+ backlash, providing critical coverage of this vital part of the U.S. media landscape.
first year, with one donation, you can support six of the top LGBTQ+ outlets serving our community: n Bay Area Reporter n Dallas Voice n Philadelphia Gay News n Washington Blade n Windy City Times n Tagg Magazine
project is a program of News Is Out, a collaboration of six of the top local LGBTQ+ media across the country, supported by Local Media Foundation, a 501(C)(3) organization.
donations can be made anytime from now until Oct 8th.
CALENDAR |
Friday, September 27
“Center Aging Monthly Luncheon with Yoga and Bingo!” will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Lunch will be held in the climate-controlled atrium at the Reeves Center. Bingo will be hosted by our local Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. For more details, email adam@thedccenter.org
GoGayDC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Social in the City” at 7 p.m. at Courtyard by Marriott Washington at Dupont Circle. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Women in their Twenties and Thirties will be at 8 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social discussion group for queer women in the D.C. area. For more details, visit WiTT’s closed Facebook group.
Trans Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org
Saturday, September 28
GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including Allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Black Lesbian Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This is a peer-led support group devoted to the joys and challenges of being a Black lesbian. For more details, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org
Sunday, September 29
GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Dinner” at 6 p.m. at Federico Ristorante Italiano. Guests are encouraged to come enjoy an evening of Italian-style dining and conversation with other LGBTQ folk. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
AfroCode DC will be at 4 p.m. at Decades DC. This event will be an experience of non-stop music, dancing, and good vibes and a crossover of genres and a fusion of cultures. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite
By TINASHE CHINGARANDE
Monday, September 30
Center Aging: Monday Coffee and Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of their choice. For more details, email justin@thedccenter.org
GoGay DC will host “Out and About in Shirlington LGBTQ+ Community Happy Hour” at 6 p.m. at Palette 22. Get ready for another gathering of members of the LGBTQ community! About 30 LGBTQ folk are expected. Palette 22 offers modern street food spanning the globe served in a bustling art studio and gallery atmosphere. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Tuesday, October 01
Pride on the Patio Events will host “LGBTQ Social Mixer” at 5:30 p.m. at Showroom. Dress is casual, fancy, or comfortable. Guests are encouraged to bring their most authentic self to chat, laugh, and get a little crazy. Admission is free and more details are on Eventbrite. Universal Pride Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. Email andyarias09@gmail.com for more details.
Wednesday, October 02
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
Thursday, October 03
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fairer with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.
Virtual Yoga with Sarah M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breathwork, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.
OUT & ABOUT
Capital Pride to honor LGBTQ heroes
The Capital Pride Alliance, in partnership with Team Rayceen Productions and the 50th anniversary subcommittee of Pride in the Nation’s Capital, will host “An Evening with LGBTQ+ Heroes” on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live. Capital Pride will celebrate 50 years of Pride in D.C. by highlighting the heroes who were recognized at the Capital Pride Honors annual event, formerly called the Heroes Gala. The event will feature some of these honorees who will share their history and thoughts on what Pride means.
Panelists include Earline Budd, legendary community advocate, co-founder of Transgender Health Empowerment and Capital Pride Superhero; June Crenshaw, Co-Chair, 2025 World Pride Steering Committee, Executive Director, Wanda Alston Foundation; Jose Gutierrez, founder of the Latino GLBT History Project, the DC Latino Pride and co-founder of the Rainbow History Project; and Peter Rosenstein, activist, journalist and author “Born this Gay: My Life of Activism, Politics, Travel, and Coming Out.”
For more details, visit Facebook
DC Center brings regular voguing to D.C.
The D.C. Center for the LGBT Community will begin hosting “Vogue Sessions” every Saturday beginning Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m.
This is an all-ages vogue session drop-in hosted by DMV Kiki Nights, open to all ages, genders, and experience levels, and will be facilitated each-one-teach-one. No shade, no drama, no categories.
DJ Tony Play starts spinning at 3 p.m. Enter through the U Street facing glass doors and let security know you are going to the DC Center.
For more details, email Danyela June Brown at dmvkikinights@gmail.com
The Capital Pride Alliance will honor LGBTQ+ Heroes on Oct. 1
Broadening space for gender nonconforming singers
Robin McGinness, a transfemme baritone, featured in ‘Cradle Will Rock’
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Robin McGinness, an accomplished Baltimore-based transfemme baritone, knows a lot about music. Also, as a gender nonconforming performer she’s learned how to navigate and carve out a career in opera.
Currently, she is playing Mr. Mister in the IN Series production of “The Cradle Will Rock,” a 1937 Brechtian allegory of corporate greed written and composed by Marc Blitzstein who was openly gay when that wasn’t an easy thing to be.
IN Series, D.C.’s innovative opera theater, which happens to rank high among McGinness’s favorite companies, infuses its take on a seldom seen classic with new energy, humor, melody, and a thirst for justice. The production features a cast of some the area’s best young vocalists and is helmed by Shanara Gabrielle (stage direction) and Emily Baltzer (musical direction).
Growing up in southern New Hampshire, McGinness started off performing in Waldorf school, followed by Vermont’s progressive Putney boarding school, and then Oberlin College where she focused in vocal performance after having been singled out as a well-rounded baritone.
WASHINGTON BLADE : What drew you to IN Series?
ROBIN MCGINNESS : They [out artistic director Timothy Nelson and other company members] were doing work that didn’t take opera too preciously. No kid
gloves. The theater world has large productions collapsed down to smaller audiences. That’s a mode that opera might follow. IN Series was doing things that excited me.
My first show with them was two years ago. I’d just moved back from being a young artist with an opera company in Arizona when IN Series needed someone for “Nightsong of Orpheus.” Truly a wild piece of theater that I loved. Since then, I’ve been talking them up with everyone I meet, and enthusiastically engaging with them when I can.
BLADE: How is it to be transfemme in the opera world?
MCGINNESS: Performing hasn’t always been easy for me. There was a time when my self-image and identity aligned with composing, to produce beautiful complex music behind the scenes and not have to be center of attention.
Coming into my undergrad years, my intention was to pursue music and divorce myself from certain parts of identity including my gender identity that I didn’t think would help my career. But that would change.
I had awareness and had for years but made a choice that being a musician was the most important part of my identity. As I got to the end of undergrad my picture of what success meant had changed and I couldn’t live with this absolutist way of living my life.
BLADE : And how has that worked out?
MCGINNESS: I’ve been trying to break down barriers between the personal and professional sides and try to combine that into something more functional. It can feel dangerous.
Early on when trying to figure out how to present as a female baritone in the opera, the question I got most was won’t that effect your voice? People are more understanding now. And I’m grateful to those who have broadened this space for gender nonconforming singers.
BLADE: Does it take courage?
MCGINNESS: Yes, but I’m not pursuing the same career that I was. I’m interested in performing with IN Series now. I’m not trying to pursue a full-time touring opera career.
It seems that either opera companies wouldn’t want to hire because they feel they couldn’t bring you out to donors or companies would want to hire but for the identity politics of it. Both would be anathema to me.
It’s a ridiculously competitive industry. But I’m building a career in the area where I am now, and it’s going well. With people who know my work and hire me for the work.
BLADE: What can we expect from “The Cradle Will Rock”?
MCGINNESS: If you’re expecting Puccini, it won’t be that. It’s gritty. A lot of spoken dialogue. Closer to spoken theater with some music thrown in than it is an opera.
It pokes out power and dynamics that queer audiences might enjoy seeing be deconstructed, particularly when it’s done in a really smart way.
BLADE: What’s ahead for you?
MCGINNESS : I’m 33. Musically, I’m just hitting my prime so I have some good years of singing ahead of me.
I like my work to be complex, interwoven and layered. In addition to performing, I teach career courses and work in the career office mentoring students at Peabody Institute in Baltimore. All of us who do that here are practicing performers. As long as I have performance work coming in and have money to put bread on the table, I’m happy — way too busy — but happy.
Aubrey Plaza, Hollywood’s most ironic star, delivers one-two punch
‘Agatha All Along,’ ‘My Old Ass’ cement status as major talent
By JOHN PAUL KING
If you’re an Aubrey Plaza fan, this might just be the best time to be alive.
Plaza, whose role in the hit series “Parks and Recreation” catapulted her to fame, graduated to highly regarded indie film roles into a career trajectory that includes an award-winning turn on the second season of HBO’s “White Lotus.” She’s currently placing her edgy stamp on two of the buzziest entertainment options of the season, and in each case her very specific gifts as an actor not only shine through, but add a dimension that both fits and enhances the material – and we’re a hundred percent on board for both of them.
The most high-profile of these is unquestionably a blockbuster event. It’s the anxiously awaited “Agatha All Along,” a spin-off that picks up the story of its witchy title character (Katherine Hahn, in a virtuoso star turn) from the Marvel and Disney Plus limited series “WandaVision” after having been trapped in a “twisted spell” by Emmy-winner Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff – aka the Scarlet Witch – during that show’s finale.
In this case, it’s hard to say much about Plaza’s performance yet – she only appears in one of the two episodes released to date, and her character, while provocative, is still very much an unknown quantity within the larger structure of the show – but it’s clear from her electrifying subtext with co-star Hahn that their relationship will likely be a key to the show’s still-unfolding mysteries, and the presence of “Heartstopper” star Joe Locke (as a gay teen acolyte) only amps up the LGBTQ factor. That’s pretty groundbreaking, considering that both Marvel and Disney have long been accused of pulling their punches when it comes to queer representation in their screen content; and such considerations aside, how can anyone resist a comedically spooky fall show about a coven of questing witches that includes Patti LuPone?
Plaza’s participation in the second vehicle might end up being considerably smaller than what she eventually delivers in “Agatha,” but her two-scene performance in “My Old Ass” leaves a significant enough impression to call her the “anchor” of the film. The sophomore Sundance-lauded feature from filmmaker Megan Park (“The Fallout”), it’s a youthful-but-wise seriocomic coming-of-age tale that blends tongue-in-cheek absurdism with magical realism and a touch of sci-fi fantasy to create a “what if?” scenario with the power to make audiences both laugh out loud and “ugly cry”, and sometimes both at once.
The film stars Canadian actress and singer Maisy Stella (TV’s “Nashville”), making her feature film debut as Elliott, a proudly queer Canadian teen who lives on her family’s cranberry farm near Ontario’s scenic Muskoga Lakes. The story opens on her 18th birthday, as she and her two besties (Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks) go off for a celebratory overnight camping trip – with “magic” mushrooms on the menu to start the party off right, and we don’t mean a microdose. Each of the girls winds up having their own individual trip, but Elliott, who is weeks away from leaving for college and a new life of adult freedom she can’t wait to start, experiences something particularly mind-blowing: a visit from none other than her own future self (Plaza), a 39-year old with a still-unsettled life and a few regrets she
hopes to undo by offering up some advice to 18-year-old Elliott about choices that will soon be coming her way.
No, it’s not inside info about “the next Apple”, as the film’s effortlessly witty screenplay (also by Park) puts it; rather it’s advice not to fall in love with a boy named Chad, something Young Elliott – who self-identifies as “only liking girls” – thinks will be a no-brainer. At least, she does until a day later, when a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White) signs on as an extra summer worker at the family farm. He’s immediately taken with her, and she finds herself responding to his good-natured (and irresistibly charming) flirtation with more enthusiasm than she expects. Desperate to learn more, she attempts to re-forge the time-bending connection with her “Old Ass” before she winds up making the same mistake she’s been warned against in spite of herself.
While it sounds, in many ways, like the fodder for a fanciful-yet-predictable teenage “rom-dramedy”, Park’s approach aims higher than merely turning its premise into a framework for a love story. Instead, she leans hard into a refreshingly positive depiction of a young woman learning to see life from a wider perspective, to let go of the identifying boundaries she’s set for herself and become more connected with the ebb and flow of time and circumstance that has little regard for such limitations. In many ways, it’s the non-romance-related wisdom imparted by Older Elliott that arguably makes more of an impact on her life, such as learning to appreciate her family and the time she spends with them instead of simply being impatient to leave them behind. Ultimately, though, it’s the dilemma of Chad that sounds at the deepest level, and while spoiling it would be a crime, it’s enough to say that, when all is revealed, the bold and life-affirming message delivered by Park’s disarmingly light-hearted movie is guaranteed to resonate with almost any viewer.
From a queer perspective, it’s important to note that some audiences have taken exception to the film’s depiction of a same-sex attracted person being tempted by an opposite-sex romance, seeing it as a throwback to an oldschool Hollywood formula under which she just needs to “find the right man” to be redeemed from her “deviant” sexuality; yet while such objections might be understandable, “My Old Ass” has also been widely praised for its authentic portrayal of bisexuality – something sorely lacking in a film industry that doesn’t know how to handle it – and its strongly asserted message about the limitations imposed by the labels society wants us to claim for ourselves.
In any case, what makes “My Old Ass” into a truly special film is not the sexuality of its characters – though that’s definitely an important theme – but the open-hearted perspective that informs it. Park makes a point of stressing that life has its own ideas for us, regardless of what we may have planned, and further that true joy might only come from letting go of all our fears and simply embracing the experience of being. There are a great many larger, more “prestigious” movies that have tried to do the same, but few have succeeded with as much raw and unmanufactured certainty as this relatively humble gem – and while it’s definitely Stella’s movie, capturing our empathetic engagement with her from its earliest moments and showcasing her unvarnished naturalism throughout, Plaza is the presence that gives the film its necessary weight, using her two scenes to cement her stature as a talent whose unequivocal stardom is long overdue.
You can catch “Agatha All Along” on Disney Plus, with a new episode dropping each week. “My Old Ass,” given a limited theatrical rollout earlier this month, may still be in some theaters but will likely be available soon via distributor Amazon Prime’s streaming platform.
MAISY STELLA and AUBREY PLAZA in ‘My Old Ass.’
By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
Wanna hand over the clicker?
You don’t want to miss the season premiere of that show you binge-watched over the summer. You’re invested, a fan who can’t wait to see what happens next. You heard that this may be the last season and you’ll be sad, if that’s so. Is it time to start looking for another, newer obsession or will you want to read “The Rainbow Age of Television” by Shayna Maci Warner, and find something old?
Like most kids of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, Shayna Maci Warner spent lots of time glued to a television screen, devouring programming before school, after school, and all summer long. For Warner, that programming eventually led to a revelation. They saw people that looked like them, for which they formed “a personal attachment.”
It was “life-changing.”
It didn’t happen all at once, and some of TV’s “milestones” are forever lost, since broadcasts were live until the 1950s. Shortly after shows were taped and preserved, homosexuality became a “source of worry and blunt fascination” but certain performers carefully presented gently risqué characters and dialogue that nudged and winked at viewers.
Some queer representation appeared in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s when dramas began to feature more gay and lesbian characters, however subtly. It took a while
for “the ‘rest’ of the alphabet” to be represented in a meaningful way and – despite that “Star Trek” and its many versions included gender-diverse characters – it wasn’t until 1996 that an intersex infant was featured on a regular television drama.
Since Ellen DeGeneres came out practically on her namesake TV show and “Will & Grace” became a wild hit, queer representation on TV has ceased to be an unusual thing. And yet, programmers and writers know that caution is still warranted: sometimes, “there can still be hesitation around pushing the envelope and fear that a queer character who burns too brightly just won’t last.”
Quick: name three after-school TV shows that aired when you were in fourth grade. If you can’t do it, one thing’s for certain: you need “The Rainbow Age of Television.”
But get ready for some argument. Author Shayna Maci Warner offers a rabid fan’s look at the best and the worst queer representation had to offer, and you may beg to differ with what they say about various programs. That makes this book a critique, of sorts, but Warner offers plenty of wiggle-room for argument.
Tussling over the finer points of queer programming, though, is only half the fun of reading this book. Microwave a box of pizza snacks or mac-and-cheese, demand “your” sofa seat, and dive into the nostalgia of old TV shows, most of them from the later last century. Yep, your faves are here. It’s like having an oldies channel on paper, and in your hand.
This is a must-have for former kids and current TV addicts who are happy to see themselves represented on TV. If that’s you, who brought the chips? “The Rainbow Age of Television” will just click.
‘The Rainbow Age of Television: An Opinionated History of Queer TV’
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SMYAL Fall Brunch
The LGBTQ youth services organization SMYAL held its annual Fall Brunch at the Marriott Marquis on Saturday, Sept. 21. Jaida Essence Hall of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ performed. Speakers included D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The new kids on the block Homeowners
As interest rates begin to cool off for the fi rst time in a few years, prospective “fi rst time homebuyers” may have their wheels spinning again about whether it’s a good idea to buy a home. Still, the idea of home ownership may feel out of reach for some; historically, the prevalence of homeowners has been low in certain subsets of the population. It wasn’t until the 1900’s that laws were enacted to grant women and people of color equal access to property ownership:
1968: The Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination in home buying, homeownership, and rental real estate based on sex, race, religion, and other protected classes.
1974: The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibited discrimination in consumer credit practices based on sex, marital status, and other factors. This made it easier for women to buy homes by allowing them to apply for loans and credit without a male co-signer.
Even with these laws in place, socioeconomic disparities and lack of access to generational wealth have slowed progress in this area. Generational wealth occurs when resources are passed on to family members when the family homeowner or the head of household
now entering market on own terms
By JOSEPH HUDSON and KATRI HUNTER
passes away. In areas like D.C. this type of asset can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and can be used to pay off student loans, help younger members of the family purchase their fi rst or second homes wherever they live, or be invested in other ways.
While this may have been the key to buying property in the past, people today are pursuing homeownership for themselves and their own means — especially women. Many real estate agents in the D.C. metro area can testify that they are working with individuals who are the fi rst in their family — and often the fi rst woman in their family — to buy a home. The days of waiting until marriage to invest in property are slipping away; these days people marry later, may not stay married, or may choose not to marry at all. “I didn’t consider buying a home at fi rst, because I didn’t really see myself as a “typical” homeowner; I was single and wasn’t sitting on a stockpile of cash,” says Jordyn White, a D.C. resident who bought her fi rst home at 29. “A trusted friend encouraged me to explore fi rst-time homebuyer programs, and I’m glad I did. My monthly mortgage payment is similar to what I would likely pay to rent in the same area, and now I have created a path to generational wealth for my children.”
The rates of homeownership for people of color and women are steadily rising. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey using 2022 census data found that single women owned 58 percent of the nearly 35.2 million homes owned by unmarried Americans, while single men owned 42 percent. Single homeowners have peace of mind in knowing that they own assets by themselves.
Compass real estate agent Katri Hunter has helped many of her clients buy their fi rst home. She reports, “I fi nd more and more that I have single clients that approach me in their early/mid-30’s and say that they thought they would be buying their fi rst property with a signifi cant other and then decided to take things into their own hands … I tell people all the time to consult an estate planner when and if they do decide to get married to discuss pre-marital assets and keeping those in their own name. I think people really take more pride and ownership buying property on their own rather than something they dread.”
Katri Hunter can be reached at katri.hunter@compass.com Joseph Hudson is a referral agent with Metro Referrals. He can be reached at 703-587-0597 or joemike76@gmail.com
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BULLETIN BOARD
ACADEMY OF HOPE
ADULT PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School in Washington, DC is requesting proposals for Project Management Services, including facilities repair and maintenance, space utilization, lease assistance, etc. See full RFP for details and submission information at https://aohdc.org/get-involved/jobs/ Proposals are due 9/30/2024.
ACADEMY OF HOPE
ADULT PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FLOORING CONTRACTOR
The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School in Washington, DC is requesting proposals from flooring contractors. See full RFP for details & submission information at https://aohdc.org/get-involved/jobs/ Proposals are due 10/7/2024.
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ADOPTION, DONOR, SURROGACY
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Catelyn@ModernFamilyFormation.com
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