Washington Blade, Volume 55, Issue 41, October 11, 2024 by Washington Blade

Queer Israelis, Palestinians talk war and remembrance, PAGE 14

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In D.C., 28

percent

of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ Advocacy groups, D.C.

agency respond to increase in numbers

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

(Editor’s Note: This article is part of our 2024 contribution to the D.C. Homeless Crisis Reporting Project in collaboration with other local newsrooms. The collective works will be published throughout the week at bit.ly/ DCHCRP.

The LGBTQ operated and LGBTQ supportive homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities in D.C. are operating at full capacity this year as the number of homeless city residents, including LGBTQ homeless residents, continues to increase, according to the latest information available.

The annual 2024 Point-In-Time (PIT) count of homeless people in the District of Columbia conducted in January, shows that 12 percent of the homeless adults and 28 percent of homeless youth between the age of 18 and 24 identify as LGBTQ.

The PIT count shows an overall 14 percent increase in homelessness in the city compared to 2023. This year’s count of a total of 527 LGBTQ homeless people marks an increase over the 349 LGBTQ homeless people counted in 2023 in D.C. and 347 LGBTQ homeless counted in 2022.

Representatives of the LGBTQ organizations that provide services for homeless LGBTQ people have said the actual number of LGBTQ homeless people, especially LGBTQ youth, are most likely significantly higher than the annual PIT counts.

Liz Jaramillo, director of Youth Housing for the D.C. LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL, which provides transitional housing for at least 55 homeless LGBTQ youth through four housing programs, said SMYAL staff members have observed a clear increase in the number of LGBTQ youth facing homelessness or housing insecurity.

She said the increase has been a topic of discussion with other groups providing homeless services for LGBTQ youth as well as with officials from the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS), which provides support and funding for LGBTQ homeless related programs.

“So, I do think there has been an increase,” Jaramillo said. “We see it during our meetings when we are talking with DHS and talking about the need for what the next steps will be for growing LGBTQ housing in general across the city.”

Among other things, Jaramillo and officials with other LGBTQ organizations, including the D.C. LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, are calling on the city to expand its funding for LGBTQ homeless programs to keep up with the need to address the increasing number of LGBTQ homeless people in the city.

SMYAL began its housing program for LGBTQ youth in 2017. It was preceded by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation, which opened the city’s first transitional housing program solely dedicated to LGBTQ youth facing homelessness between the ages of 18 and 24 in 2008. As of 2022, the Alston Foundation had opened two more LGBTQ youth homeless facilities.

Both SMYAL and the Alston Foundation provide a wide range of services for their LGBTQ youth residents in addition to a safe and stable shelter, including food and nutrition services, case management services, mental health counseling, crisis intervention, and employment related skills development and education services.

The two groups also have designated at least one of their housing facilities to offer their LGBTQ residents extended transitional housing for up to six years.

In September of 2021, at the time when the LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby lost its city funding for its own longstanding LGBTQ youth homeless shelter, the Department of Human Services awarded a grant for the opening of a new LGBTQ youth homeless shelter to Covenant House, a nonprofit group that provides homeless youth services nationwide. In 2022, Casa Ruby closed all its operations.

The number of homeless LGBTQ youth is on the rise.

At the time, Covenant House announced the facility would serve as a 24-bed LGBTQ youth shelter called Shine in the city’s Deanwood neighborhood. In response to a request by the Washington Blade for an update on the status of the Shine facility, DHS released a statement saying the facility has been expanded to 30 beds and continues to receive DHS funding.

With most of the LGBTQ-specific homeless facilities in D.C. focusing on youth, the DHS opened the city’s first official shelter for LGBTQ adults in August of 2022 following a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. The 40-person shelter is located at 400 50th St., S.E.

“DHS continues to support LGBTQ adults through its low-barrier shelter, Living Life Alternative,” DHS said this week in its statement to the Blade. The statement says the facility is operated by The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, which refers to itself as TCP, through a DHS Sole Source grant. According to the statement, TCP “sub awards the grant funding” to a company called KBEC Group, Inc., which specializes in providing comprehensive social services and residential living for youth and adults.

“KBEC proactively offers intensive care management services allowing residents to overcome long-standing obstacles preventing them from obtaining and maintaining permanent housing,” the DHS statement says in describing KBEC’s involvement in the LGBTQ adult housing facility.

“These include connections to Behavioral Health Services, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) resources, Supportive Employment Job Training Programs, direct access to health care within the shelter at least once a month, and a comprehensive curriculum of Life Skills to include Finan-

cial Literacy Classes, Music Therapy, Art Therapy Classes, and Group Therapy sessions,” the statement says.

It says the goal of the program associated with the LGBTQ adult shelter is to enable its residents to be able to leave the facility within six months through assistance from programs leading to self-sufficiency.

“KBEC has successfully connected more than 50% of residents to some type of housing subsidy, whether through the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, DHS Housing Vouchers, or Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH),” the statement says.

A least two other non-LGBTQ locally based organizations – the Latin American Youth Center and Sasha Bruce Youthwork – also provide services for homeless LGBTQ youth, including housing services, the two groups state on their website.

Jaramillo, of SMYAL, and Hancie Stokes, SMYAL’s communications director, told the Blade this week that SMYAL and other local LGBTQ organizations continue to advocate for LGBTQ cultural competency training for the staff at non-LGBTQ organizations or private companies that provide LGBTQ-related homeless services.

“We work closely with our community partners to make sure that when a queer young person is matched into their program or placed into their program that they are equipped with basic cultural competency to be able to provide those supportive services to folks,” Stokes said.

“But there is a great need for increased funding for programs like SMYAL and Wanda Alston, which is why we partner with the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition to advocate for more funding on behalf of all LGBTQ+ housing programs,” she told the Blade.

One example of a possible consequence of inadequate cultural competency training surfaced in April of this year when a transgender woman filed a discrimination complaint against a D.C. homeless shelter after it refused to allow her to stay in the women’s section of the shelter, forcing her to stay in the men’s sleeping section.

The complaint was filed against the shelter operated by the Community for Creative Nonviolence at 245 2nd St., N.W., which is one of the city’s largest privately operated shelters. A spokesperson for the shelter did not respond to a phone and email message left by the Blade asking for a response to the complaint.

Transgender rights advocates have said the denial of the placement of a transgender woman in the female section of a place of public accommodation such as a homeless shelter is a violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act’s ban on gender identity discrimination.

Jaramillo and Stokes said SMYAL has responded to yet another growing need for homeless and housing services related to the city’s immigrant community. Shortly after the shutdown of Casa Ruby, Stokes said SMYAL created an LGBTQ youth street outreach program that focuses on Spanish-speaking LGBTQ youth.

“A lot of folks are experiencing homelessness,” Stokes said. “But this is particularly working with queer and trans Spanish-speaking youth who are experiencing homelessness to either get them connected to housing services, health care, legal documentation or legal support, and education,” she said.

“And so, our team goes out to areas like Columbia Heights and other areas where we know a lot of these migrant populations are setting up communities. And this is an outreach directly to them and it builds rapport in the community.”

Gay Episcopal minister to be reinstated 40 years after being defrocked

D.C.’s Rev. Harry Stock calls restoration a ‘miracle’

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The Rev. Harry Stock, who is currently affiliated with D.C.’s LGBTQ-supportive Westminster Presbyterian Church, has invited friends, colleagues, and members of the community to “witness a miracle” on Oct. 26 by attending a ceremony at an Episcopal church in Alexandria, Va., where he will be officially reinstated as an Episcopal priest.

In a Sept. 12 invitation to the ceremony that Stock sent by email, he states that the ceremony will take place 43 years after he was ordained as an Episcopal priest by a bishop in Charleston, W.Va., and 40 years after the same bishop defrocked him from the priesthood because he “declared his love for another man at the altar” in a holy union ceremony.

“As a result of our Holy Union I received a letter from Bishop [Robert] Atkinson informing me that as a result of me declaring my love for another man at the altar he was revoking my Holy Orders and stripping me from the sacred order of priest and that I would no longer be permitted to function as a priest in the Episcopal Church,” Stock says in his message. “My world fell apart,” he wrote.

Stock notes that the Holy Union that led to his being defrocked was with his life partner Mark Kristofik. He said the two have been a couple for 45 years since 1979 and are now married.

Biographical information that Stock provided shows that he received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University in 1969 and completed a study program at the West Virginia Episcopal Diocese School of Religion before receiving

a Master in Divinity Degree in 1978 from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., in 1978.

In the years since being defrocked Stock became known as an esteemed theologian. Beginning a short time after being defrocked, he became pastor in D.C. of a newly formed branch of the LGBTQ-supportive Metropolitan Community Church called the MCC Church of the Disciples, where he served for 21 years. Biographical information he sent to the Washington Blade says in 1991 the nationwide Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches ordained him as a minister.

The biographical write up says Stock later became the founder and president of Scrolls Revealed Ministries for which he traveled over a period of 20 years across the country to churches, colleges, retreats, and conferences facilitating a seminar he created called “Biblical Translation for Gay Liberation: How the Bible Does Not Condemn Homosexuality, An in-Depth Study.”

Stock said Scrolls Revealed Ministries is still active and he currently travels to churches as a guest preacher delivering a teaching sermon called “Homophobia and the Bible: A Deadly Combination.”

With that as a backdrop, Stock tells of the recent developments that brought about his upcoming reinstatement as an Episcopal priest in his email message inviting friends and colleagues to the Oct. 26 ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 228 South Pitt St. in Alexandria.

“Upon learning of my story, The Rt. Reverend Matthew Cowden, VIII, current Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, requested a meeting with me via Zoom and on July 25 of last year we met,” according to Stock’s email message. He said that was followed by an in-person meeting in October of 2023.

“During our meeting Bishop Cowden said something that in my wildest dreams I never expected to hear, by saying, ‘On Behalf of the Episcopal Church, I apologize to you for what the church did to you back in 1984.’”

Stock adds in his message, “I found myself unable to speak and felt liberated, for the first time, from a pain that had plagued me for years. But, Bishiop Cowden didn’t stop there, he went on to say, ‘I also want to make right the mistake that was made those many years ago.’”

According to Stock’s message, “After a year of endeavoring through the Canons of the Episcopal Church and completing Canonical requirements and the joyous consent of the Bishops, and other committees and bodies responsible” – his reinstatement was approved, and the reinstatement ceremony was scheduled for Oct. 26.

“Miracles happen through moments of great beauty, prayer, faith, hope and especially through acts of great love,” Stock’s message continues. “They happen through us and to us, and for me, one is about to manifest itself and turn what I thought was the greatest disappointment in my life into a blessing,” he says in his message.

“I am delighted to share this incredible blessing with you,” his message continues. “And if you are nearby, I would be honored to have you join me for this momentous occasion.” His message says a Champagne reception will take place after the ceremony.

In recent years, Stock has preached and presided over communion services at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In Southwest D.C. in the role of Parish Partner, a title given to ministers who are not officially ordained as Presbyterian ministers. Stock said that upon his reinstatement as an Episcopal priest on Oct. 26, he will continue his role as Parish Partner at Westminster since he still will not be an ordained Presbyterian minister.

He nevertheless said his service at Westminster is important to him and he plans to remain there. He told the Blade that at the age of 83, he considers the West Virginia bishop’s decision to reinstate him as an Episcopal priest to be an act of correcting an injustice.

“What the bishop is doing on Oct. 26 is doing what he calls making right the mistake that was made 40 years ago and validating my ministry,” Stock said.

GOP candidate in Del. House race expresses LGBTQ support

Simpler says trans residents deserve protection from discrimination

By JOE REBERKENNY

Early voting is underway in Delaware and one race that has captivated the LGBTQ community is the 14th District House seat being vacated by longtime ally Pete Schwartzkopf. Claire Snyder-Hall, a lesbian, won the Democratic primary and faces Republican Mike Simpler. But Simpler says the LGBTQ community shouldn’t discount him simply because he’s a Republican.

“I was kind of upset that they would even think of me being a Republican, that I would discriminate against the LGBTQ community in general,” Simpler told the Blade. “It’s kind of upsetting knowing that I’m born and raised here, and I’ve had family members that way. I mean the treasurer of my campaign is a lesbian. It’s just upsetting that people feel that way about the gay community in general.”

Simpler, a lifelong resident of Sussex County and the current president of the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company said that his experience in the role has allowed him to work alongside many different types of people, including members of the LGBTQ community.

“We probably have the most diverse fire company in the state of Delaware, when it comes to the LGBTQ group,” he said. “People need to realize that the LGBTQ [community]

is no different than the rest of the people in the world.”

Simpler also shared with the Blade that he has had firsthand experience with a unique aspect of LGBTQ culture — drag. He dressed up in drag at a fundraiser held at The Pines, a popular gay venue in Rehoboth Beach.

“I was asked to volunteer for a fundraiser, and next thing you know, I find out I’m going to be in drag at The Pines,” Simpler said. “We had a ball! I mean, I had so much fun.”

Not only did Simpler definitively say he supports the LGBTQ community in Delaware, but he added he supports legislative protections for these communities. He pointed out that providing a safe space for marginalized communities is ingrained in American history.

“Protect them,” he said when asked about the potential of supporting pro-transgender legislation amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ state legislation being passed nationwide. “You’ve got to. They’re trying to escape. For example, they’re trying to escape the process like the Jews did, like the Chinese when they came here. They’re trying to move away from an issue where they’re being prosecuted against to somewhere where they can be free and enjoy their life that they want to live.”

In addition to promising LGBTQ support, Simpler says he backs smarter growth in the region by prioritizing better development and efforts to alleviate traffic. He also pledges to attract high-quality jobs to the region.

Simpler faces Synder-Hall in the Nov. 5 general election. Read the Blade’s profile of her, here: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/09/24/claire-snyder-hall-interview/ Early voting is already underway.

Rev. HARRY STOCK (Facebook photo used with permission)

(Image by larich/Bigstock)

D.C. to celebrate LGBTQ History Month

Mayor Bowser says city is proud to be in forefront of progress

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser released a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 8, announcing she and her administration would be celebrating LGBTQ History Month 2024, which takes place each year in October, among other things, by hosting at least three LGBTQ events.

“Washington, D.C. is proud to be in the forefront of LGBTQIA progress,” the mayor said in a press release announcing the city’s support for LGBTQ History Month.

“As we celebrate the history of the LGBTQIA+ community and prepare for World Pride 2025, we stand united in our D.C. values and our dedication to creating a city where everyone can thrive,” she said.

The mayor was referring to D.C. being selected as the host for the LGBTQ World Pride celebration in June 2025, which came about after her administration worked closely with the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C.’s LGBTQ Pride events, in submitting a bid to the international LGBTQ group that selects the host city for World Pride.

“This event will coincide with 50 years of Pride celebrations in D.C., reinforcing the city’s commitment to visibility and economic development for all,” the mayor’s press release says.

It says under Bowser’s leadership, the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs “has become one of the nation’s most well-resourced offices dedicated to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.” It points out that the office “has

awarded over $1.3 million in community grants, provided housing choice vouchers to LGBTQIA+ residents, and hosted a range of impactful events and programs.”

Japer Bowles, the LGBTQ Affairs Office director, says in the mayor’s press release that he is “proud to serve with leadership that empowers our LGBTQIA+ community and acknowledges our contributions to the District and our national movement for human rights.”

Bowles adds in his statement, “This month, we are reflecting on our progress while also shaping our present and building our future. D.C. is the District of Pride, and our community is integral to our D.C. values.”

The three LGBTQ events the press release announced included an online virtual LGBTQIA+ Estate Planning seminar held on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the day the mayor’s press release was issued. LGBTQ Affairs Office official Gaby Vincent said about 15 or 20 people participated in the event, which was facilitated by Rebecca Geller of The Geller Law Group.

The next event planned is a two-day World Pride Workshop scheduled for Monday, Oct. 21, and Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W. “This two-day event will unite government agencies, local businesses, and community leaders to lay the groundwork for an unforgettable celebration,” the mayor’s statement says.

The statement adds, “Whether you’re an ANC Commis-

sioner, business owner, or event organizer, this workshop will help you plan impactful, legal, and licensed events for World Pride 2025.”

The third event announced is the city’s 37th Annual 17th Street High Heel Race scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 29, which takes place on 17th Street between P and R Streets, N.W. The event was initiated by one of the gay bars located on 17th Street as a Halloween costume event, but in recent years, under the Bowser administration, it has been organized by the mayor’s office.

“The Annual 17th Street High Heel Race is a time to celebrate the diversity of D.C.’s LGBTQIA+ community and join thousands of spectators cheer on costumed drag queens, drag kings, and community members as they race down 17th Street, N.W,” the press release says. “Filled with local drag entertainment and much more, you won’t want to miss this lively D.C. tradition!”

Delve Deep Learning harnesses AI to revolutionize public affairs work

LGBTQ-owned D.C. company makes tech accessible for clients

By JOE REBERKENNY

From senior federal officials like White House staffers and lobbyists who need to keep abreast of international and domestic politics, to bookstore owners who need to stay informed on the latest news to provide an engaging and relevant space for customers, the city of Washington depends on the news.

One queer-owned start-up in the nation’s capital has recognized the need for fast and extensive information collection and is working on a solution. The start-up, Delve Deep Learning, is taking steps to make finding all information on any topic as easy as a Google search through the monstrously powerful tool of AI.

Two executives from the new information start-up Delve Deep Learning sat down with the Washington Blade to discuss how their work is attempting to change the way professionals think and work in the capital.

To grasp how Delve is transforming the way Washington operates, it’s essential to first understand what Delve is.

“About 10 years ago, [I] founded Delve,” Jeff Berkowitz, founder and CEO told the Blade. “It is a competitive intelligence and risk advisory firm focused on helping public affairs professionals navigate all the different stakeholders and complex policy issues that they have to deal with.”

Kyle Huwa, Delve’s research manager, offered a simpler explanation of their work: “Delve is a consulting company specializing in public affairs intelligence.”

Delve provides its clients with a monitoring program to keep track of challenges they may face as well as on-demand research tools to help respond to those challenges. Their clients, which range from industry associations to policymakers, use this information to look to the future to find the best path forward using AI.

“Public affairs professionals have the daily and weekly task of staying on top of any number of issues for their clients and their companies,” Huwa said. “From news articles to bills, regulations, press releases, social media posts, from stakeholders. There’s just an overwhelming load of information that they have to process. What we’re doing is taking all of that information, bringing it into one place, and using AI models to really surface the content that is most relevant to what public affairs professionals need to know.”

The “most relevant” information, Huwa explained, widely varies per client. Some uses of Delve include watching the progress of a piece of legislation through a state government, an old forgotten regulation passed by a government organization, or news on current events in another part of the world. Regardless of what they are tracking, Delve wants to make finding what their clients are looking for easier.

The program, Berkowitz explains, was started initially to help its own employees but was soon found to be valuable more broadly.

“The platform really started as an internal tool at Delve,” Berkowitz said. “When Chat GPT 3.5 came along, we started to see the promise of generative AI. It’s the first technology I saw where it can’t replace our team members, but we can train it just like we can team members and make it a real co-pilot for the analysis that public affairs professionals need to do every day.”

It soon became evident that this application could change the way research in public affairs is conducted.

“It really became clear that this was something that every public affairs team needs and that we didn’t necessarily need to be the intermediary between the technology

platform and them,” Berkowitz added. “We could really imbue the AI models with our approach and methodology, and put it directly in their hands.”

This in turn, the duo explained, saved precious time and money for their clients to more effectively research what needed to be done next.

To understand how this saves precious time and money for their clients, Huwa explained how it differs from any general web search.

“Historically you do this with keywords, right?” Huwa said. “You might search in Google with a keyword, but with keywords, you have to really guess exactly the right keywords. Sometimes your search return would be too broad, other times it would be too narrow because you didn’t guess all of the keywords that impacted your issue.

The annual High Heel Race is among events planned to honor LGBTQ History Month this year. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

KYLE HUWA and JEFF BERKOWITZ of Delve Deep Learning

Supreme Court begins fall term with gender affirming care case

Justices rule against Biden admin over emergency abortion question

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

The U.S. Supreme Court’s fall term began on Monday with major cases on the docket including U.S. v Skrmetti, which could decide the fate of 24 state laws banning the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors.

First, however, the justices dealt another blow to the Biden-Harris administration and reproductive rights advocates by leaving in place a lower court order that blocked efforts by the federal government to allow hospitals to terminate pregnancies in medical emergencies.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had issued a guidance instructing healthcare providers to offer abortions in such circumstances, per the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which kicked off litigation over whether the law overrides state abortion restrictions.

The U.S. Court of appeals for the 5th Circuit had upheld a decision blocking the federal government from enforcing the law via the HHS guidance, and the U.S. Department of Justice subsequently asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

The justices also declined to hear a free speech case in which parents challenged a DOJ memo instructing officials to look into threats against public school officials, which sparked false claims that parents were being labeled “domestic terrorists” for raising objections at school board meetings over, especially, COVID policies and curricula and educational materials addressing matters of race, sexuality, and gender.

Looking to the cases ahead, U.S. v. Skrmetti is “obviously the blockbuster case of the term,” a Supreme Court practitioner and lecturer at the Harvard law school litigation clinic told NPR.

The attorney, Deepak Gupta, said the litigation “ presents fundamental questions about the scope of state power to regulate medical care for minors, and the rights of parents to make medical decisions for your children.”

The ACLU, which represents parties in the case, argues that Tennessee’s gender affirming care ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by allowing puberty blockers and hormone treatments for cisgender patients younger than 18 while prohibiting these interventions for their transgender counterparts.

The organization notes that “ leading medical experts and organizations — such as the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics — oppose these restrictions, which have already forced thousands of families across the country to travel to maintain access to medical care or watch their child suffer without it.”

When passing their bans on gender affirming care, conservative states have cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), which overturned constitutional protections for abortion that were in place

since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.

The ACLU notes “ U.S. v. Skrmetti will be a major test of how far the court is willing to stretch Dobbs to allow states to ban other health care” including other types of reproductive care like IVF and birth control.

Also on the docket in the months ahead are cases that will decide core questions about the government’s ability to regulate “ghost guns,” firearms that are made with build-it-yourself kits available online, and the constitutionality of a Texas law requiring age verification to access pornography.

The latter case drew opposition from liberal and conservative groups that argue it will have a chilling effect on adults who, as NPR wrote, “ would realistically fear extortion, identity theft and even tracking of their habits by the government and others.”

Forfeitures against San Jose State over trans athlete spark controversy

Blaire Fleming at center of a national debate

By GISSELLE PALOMERA

Blaire Fleming is at the center of a national debate over transgender athletes joining gendered sports at the collegiate level, after her team won its fourth match due to forfeiture.

Fleming made headlines earlier this year as her former roommate and team co-captain, Brooke Slusser, filed a class-action lawsuit against her and the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Slusser took to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports to file the class action lawsuit along with other cisgender athletes. They claim that allowing Fleming and other transfemme athletes compete in women’s sports is in violation of Title IX, which does not permit trans athletes to compete against biological women, or use women’s restrooms.

The move to forfeit on account of a trans athlete

sparked controversy and drove the three other universities to forfeit in recent weeks.

San Jose State responded to the latest forfeiture by stating that outing Fleming would have violated school policy.

The NCAA stated that it will “continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships.”

The controversy gained more traction as cisgender, far-right voices joined the conversation.

Riley Gaines, a former competitive swimmer who came in fifth place in a 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship – tying with trans athlete Lia Thomas – took to X to speak on the issue.

In the post, Gaines repeatedly misgenders Fleming,

also adding that it is ‘unfair and dangerous,’ to allow transfemme athletes to compete in women’s sports.

Gaines is one of many far-right athletes who have either tied or lost a match to a trans athlete, then made it their mission to cast trans athletes out of women’s sports.

Equality California’s executive director released a statement regarding the issue.

“Equality California stands with San Jose State University and appreciates their strong support for their student athletes. All students deserve a safe and inclusive environment where they can thrive without fear or anxiety while being themselves,” said executive director Tony Hoang.

The San Jose State women’s volleyball team is scheduled to go against San Diego State on Oct 10.

The Supreme Court’s new term kicked off on Monday. (Photo Credit: Fred Schilling, The Supreme Court of the U.S.)

Israel marks grim anniversary as war continues one year later

Hundreds attend gay IDF soldier’s memorial service

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

(

Editor’s note: Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers will be on assignment in Israel through Oct. 14.)

HERZLIYA, Israel — Hundreds of people on Tuesday attended a memorial service for a gay Israel Defense Force major who was killed while fighting Hamas militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Sagi Golan, 30, was at home in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya with his fiancé, Omer Ohana, when the militant group launched its surprise attack against from the Gaza Strip.

Ohana told the Washington Blade during an interview after the memorial service that Golan woke him up at around 6:30 a.m. after rocket sirens began to sound.

“We ran to the shelter in our house,” he said. “After that we just opened the news and the headline was ‘Hamas terrorist attack in Israel.’”

Ohana said people in the Israeli communities around Gaza were “begging for help.” Golan started to pack his IDF uniforms, and Ohana made him coffee.

“Ten minutes later we were already at the doorstep kissing goodbye,” Ohana recalled. “That was the last time I saw him.”

“I told him not to be a hero,” he said. “He gave me a kiss, he told me we’re getting married in a week, don’t be silly.”

Golan deployed to Be’eri, a kibbutz that is near the border between Israel and Gaza.

He sent Ohana a heart emoji message to him via WhatsApp every hour “just to reassure he’s there.” Golan sent his last message to his fiancé and “to anyone” at 12:18 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2023.

Ohana told the Blade the next three days were “unbearable suffering, searching for Sagi under every rock in Israel, at every hospital emergency room, at every ‘hamal’ (IDF war room.)”

“We went everywhere, we did everything we could to find him,” said Ohana.

An IDF officer three days later “knocked on our door” to notify Sagi’s family that he had been killed. The officer did not speak with Ohana because the IDF did not recognize him as Sagi’s partner.

(The couple had planned to marry — virtually — in Utah on Oct. 14. Israel recognizes same-sex marriages that are legally performed abroad. The couple’s marriage celebration was to have taken place on Oct. 20.)

“I asked for something, and they said I had to request his parents,” Ohana told the Times of Israel. “It made me so angry. I was the one who loved him. But I’m not taken into account. And he wasn’t taken into account.”

The Israeli government says Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival near Re’im, a kibbutz that is a few miles southwest of Be’eri. The Israeli government says the militants also kidnapped more than 200 people on Oct. 7.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7.

The International Criminal Court in May announced it plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said the five men have committed war crimes and crimes against hu-

manity in Gaza and Israel. (A suspected Israeli airstrike on July 31 killed Haniyah while he was in the Iranian capital of Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration.)

Hamas, which the U.S. and Israel have designated a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for an Oct. 1 attack at a Tel Aviv light rail station that left seven people dead and more than a dozen others injured. A Bedouin man on Sunday killed an Israel Border Police officer and injured 10 others when he attacked a bus station in Beersheva in southern Israel.

Reuters on Friday reported the Lebanese Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and elsewhere in the country over the last two weeks have killed more than 2,000 people.

Iran on Oct. 1 launched upwards of 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital a few days earlier killed Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.

Hamas and Hezbollah on Monday launched rockets that triggered sirens in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas. The Houthi rebels in Yemen on Oct. 7 also launched missiles and drones that prompted additional warnings in central Israel.

Israel’s air defense system intercepted almost all of the rockets.

This reporter heard two of the interceptions — the first at around 11 a.m. Israel time (4 a.m. ET) and the second at around 11 p.m. Israel time (4 p.m. ET). The second interception shook the building in which this reporter has been staying.

Ohana was building a bench for children in a garden that Golan planted in Bat Yam, a city that is just south of Tel Aviv, when the first sirens went off.

Ohana, with the support of the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, and other Israeli advocacy groups began to lobby the Knesset to amend the country’s Bereaved Families Law to recognize LGBTQ widows and widowers of fallen servicemembers. Lawmakers last November approved the changes.

“Sagi became a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community in Israel,” Ohana told the Blade. “With Sagi as a symbol, we were able to pass the amendment in the Israeli Knesset.”

“It wasn’t me,” he added. “I couldn’t have done it if Sagi wasn’t becoming a symbol. Having a gay hero in Israel is something new, something new for the community here.”

Aguda Chair Yael Sinai Biblash was among those who attended Golan’s memorial service.

She described the campaign to change the Bereaved Families Law as “a big effort, and a big success.”

“I hope that people understand that if we are equal in death we should be equal in life too,” said Sinai.

LGBTQ Palestinians speak about war in Gaza

Two LGBTQ Palestinians who spoke with the Washington Blade last week condemned Hamas’s surprise attack against southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They also expressed condemnation of the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli government’s policies towards the Palestinians.

Zaheer Subeaux is a queer Palestinian producer, DJ, emcee, and community organizer who lives in California. He is originally from Deir Dibwan, a small city on the West Bank that is a couple miles east of Ramallah, the Palestinian capital.

“Nothing justifies Oct. 7,” Subeaux told the Blade during a Sept. 30 telephone interview. He added the “international community, I think specifically the United States, has this perception that Oct. 7 is this new thing.”

“There’s a very short-lived memory for the American public, and there’s this concept that Palestinians are just creating more trouble,” said Subeaux.

He told the Blade that Jewish settlers before Oct. 7 shot his nephew “just for being on (their) land.” Subeaux said the situation on the West Bank “has been getting worse and worse and worse up until this point, up until October of last year.”

“For a lot of Palestinians who have family back home, this seemed like a proportionate response to an oppressed people,” he said. “For everyone else who’s not paying attention, who allow their tax dollars to continue fund this genocide, for them it’s like, oh, shocking, oh, wow, right out of the blue, because they’re not paying attention to what’s happening.”

“For the rest of us who actually are, this seemed like a completely reasonable thing for a people to feel during a time like this,” added Subeaux. “I don’t think a lot of people have the context for that.”

Hannah Moushabeck is a queer, second-generation Palestinian American who lives in Massachusetts.

Her family is from West Jerusalem. Moushabeck has relatives in Ramallah and in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, and has friends in Gaza with whom she has “been in daily communication.”

“My immediate reactions on Oct. 7 were obviously horror and fear of what’s to come and the violence that happened that day,” she told the Blade on Sept. 30 during a telephone interview.

Moushabeck said it is “not unusual for Palestinians in the diaspora to experience some of this violence happening in our homeland.”

“This is honestly something that’s been going on since well before I was born,” she said. “So, growing up, whenever my parents seemed upset or, Palestinians were being shown in the news, I knew it was likely because they were being killed or involved with some kind of intense violence.”

OMER OHANA looks a pictures of his fiancé, Sagi Golan, a gay IDF major who died fighting Hamas militants in Be’eri, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. (Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

KEVIN NAFF

is editor of the Washington Blade. Reach him at knaff@washblade.com

10 reminders of why we must vote for Harris

A strong LGBTQ turnout could swing election in key states

There are a million reasons to vote for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump but here are 10 of the best. If you’re not feeling the burn about casting your ballot, please remember just how close our last two elections were and how dire the 2016 consequences for the country. Indeed, a strong turnout by LGBTQ and allied voters could prove decisive in some key states.

So let’s review 10 reasons why it’s not only important — but essential — that all LGBTQ and allied voters show up to vote for Kamala Harris.

#10 The opportunity to make history . For the second time in 16 years, America has the exciting chance to make a historic choice for the White House. Kamala Harris would be the fi rst woman and fi rst woman of color to serve as president if elected. It’s not the #1 reason to vote for her but it’s a pretty damn good ancillary benefi t.

#5 To stop Project 2025 in its tracks. We have documented the anti-LGBTQ horrors that await us if Project 2025 becomes the governing blueprint for a second Trump administration. The assaults are too many to recap here so just remember these lines from the document: “The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender awareness, gender-sensitive….out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contracts, grant regulation and piece of legislation that exists.”

Graham and Ted Cruz.) Imagine how much our

#9 The chance to send Trump into oblivion. After eight long years of commanding endless mainstream media attention for his ever-expanding list of racist, sexist, xenophobic, and transphobic attacks, we have the chance to ﬁ nally dispatch ourselves of the toxic Trump. He’s insulted everyone from Gold Star families and the disabled to Meryl Streep and Rosie O’Donnell. That there’s anyone left willing to vote for him is mindboggling. (I’m talking to you Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz.) Imagine how much our collective blood pressure will ease without having to endure wall-to-wall coverage of his every social media post. “Morning Joe” will be hard pressed to continue without Trump to mock but it’s a sacriﬁ ce I’m willing to make.

#8 To preserve trans military service. In his ﬁ rst term, Trump tweeted that trans people were barred from serving their country “in any capacity.” It was a cruel stunt that damaged careers and led to a direct uptick in hate crimes targeting the trans community. There’s no doubt he would reinstate that ban on day one. It’s ironic that Trump goes after brave members of the military given his own “bone spur” excuse to avoid Vietnam. None of his kids has served either, of course. Trump has referred to dead service members as “losers” and “suckers.” That comment alone — corroborated by his chief of staff John Kelly — should be disqualifying.

stood all the naysayers who complain about the U.S. economy,

national abortion ban as they’ve promised to do. If you think this isn’t about you, consider that Roe v. Wade provided the foundation

#4 To protect a woman’s right to control her body. Predictably, women are now dying as a result of Trump’s abortion bans, as reported by ProPublica. And it will only get worse if Trump is re-elected and his congressional allies push through a national abortion ban as they’ve promised to do. If you think this isn’t about you, consider that Roe v. Wade provided the foundation for the Obergefell marriage ruling, which Justices Alito and Thomas have already said should be revisited.

#3 Supreme Court.

#7 To continue growing the economy . I’ve never understood all the naysayers who complain about the U.S. economy, which is envied the world over. No other country emerged from COVID as strong as we did, defying all expert predictions of recession — record stock market numbers, record employment, rapidly declining inﬂ ation and interest rates. The Democrats have never been good at messaging and it’s frustrating that they allow Trump to talk down our economy at every rally without a coherent response. The truth is our economy is strong and Harris’s plans to tax the wealthiest and invest in small businesses has been endorsed by leading economists over Trump’s ridiculous and doomed idea of starting a trade war with China over tariffs. The LGBTQ community is disproportionally entrepreneurial, so Harris’s tax beneﬁ ts for small business owners will boost us tremendously.

#6 To aid Ukraine. The Blade has traveled to Poland and other Eastern European countries to cover the plight of LGBTQ migrants ﬂ eeing Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. Their stories are heartbreaking. We have an obligation to stand by Ukraine along with Western Europe to stop the murderous Putin and preserve democracy. Trump will cave to Putin’s demands that he be allowed to annex large swaths of Ukrainian territory, emboldening the Russian dictator and encouraging further incursions into other neighboring countries.

Thomas will be pressured to retire, giving Trump an unprecedented ﬁ ve picks and a MAGA majority. That’s game over for a generation and the end of

#3 Supreme Court. Speaking of the high court, there is credible speculation that if Trump wins, Alito and Thomas will be pressured to retire, giving Trump an unprecedented ﬁ ve picks and a MAGA majority. That’s game over for a generation and the end of Obergefell marriage equality, Lawrence privacy rights, and more.

#2 To preserve and advance LGBTQ equality. The last 20 years have brought unimaginable progress for LGBTQ rights, from marriage equality to the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to Bostock’s conferring employment protections to most of us, and so much more. There’s more to do, especially given the anti-LGBTQ state laws passed around the country giving rise to book bans, bathroom bans, and dangerous anti-trans healthcare restrictions. A Trump presidency jeopardizes all of our recent gains and puts us back on defense. A Harris presidency ensures we continue to move ahead and gives us a chance to undo some of the recent setbacks.

and dangerous anti-trans healthcare restrictions. A Trump presidency jeopardizes all of our recent

#1 To defend democracy. Trump and J.D. Vance whine a lot about criticism that they are undermining democracy, claiming these accusations are to blame for two recent assassination attempts. For someone who trafﬁ cks in violent rhetoric all the time, it’s a brazen and hypocritical claim. There’s an old saying about living by the sword that Trump should Google. But it’s not hyperbole to suggest that a Trump presidency would represent the end of democracy. He’s already incited an insurrection after badly losing the 2020 election. Trump and Project 2025 promise to gut the federal government, lock up critics and journalists, allow Putin to do “whatever the hell he wants,” privatize critical government functions, ban books and DEI, and even to ban pornography. The list goes on. Yes, it’s the end of American democracy if he wins.

a lot about criticism that they are undermining democracy, claiming these accusations are to blame for two recent assassina-

But this election isn’t just about rejecting Trump. It’s also about embracing the promise of a Harris administration, which would bolster the economy, respect human rights, ﬁ ght for equality, combat climate change, ﬁ x the border, advance gun reform, and promote many other common sense, centrist policies supported by a majority of Americans.

There you have it, a succinct reminder of what’s at stake on Nov. 5. So vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and send a message that character still matters, that America remains a trusted defender of human rights, and that we won’t let a dangerous convicted felon anywhere near the Oval Ofﬁ ce again.

325,000

PETER ROSENSTEIN

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

One year later and no closer to

peace

The world must ﬁnd a way to end this carnage

We are at the ﬁrst anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack launched against Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas. In that attack nearly 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered, many women sexually mutilated, and 251 hostages taken. There are 97 hostages still unaccounted for. We must never forget who began this war on Oct. 7, 2023, and recognize this is a war between Israel and Hamas, not Israel and the Palestinian people.

I am an American Jew whose parents escaped Hitler, and whose grandparents were killed in Auschwitz. While I will never forget, or forgive Hamas, over the past year I have written about how poorly the far-right Israeli government of Israel has responded. They have every right to defend themselves, but it appears many of the deaths of innocent Palestinian women and children, should have been avoided. But Hamas must take responsibility for these deaths as well as Israel. They hide in tunnels beneath hospitals and houses, and in the midst of Palestinian civilians. Both sides have refused to agree to any ceaseﬁre terms. Reality is had Hamas agreed to return the hostages, including 30 Americans, and many from other countries, many of the Palestinian deaths could have been avoided. We don’t even know if the close to 100 hostages they still hold, are

Over the past year the Palestinian people in Gaza have had their lives torn apart. Their homes have been bombed, and thousands of women and children have died. Much of Gaza has been destroyed. Their healthcare system destroyed, and many are starving, living without any power. Once again, let us not forget who began this war. The stated aim of some Hamas leaders when they began the war was to draw Israel into a wider war. While that may now be happening, contrary to what Hamas wanted, Israel is winning it, and the Arab countries surrounding Israel, are not coming to the aid of the Palestinian people.

No one should feel joy in any of this. It means more innocent people are dying every day. Israelis in the north have been evacuated from their homes and many killed, and there isn’t a family in Israel not impacted. The Palestinian people are still suffering and have not rid themselves of Hamas, even though some are now speaking out saying they want to. I am not sure how they can do that. Then the Israeli people have still not rid themselves of Netanyahu, and his right-wing government, and they have better options to do that, and must take them if they ever want lasting peace.

Today we see the terrorist group Hezbollah continue to bomb Israel, and now Israel is expanding its fight in Lebanon. Hezbollah is losing and innocents in Lebanon are losing their homes, and their lives. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is a terrorist group funded by Iran. The legitimate government in Lebanon cannot control them. Iran, which funds terrorist organizations against Israel, has now directly fired a second round of missiles into Israel. They didn’t expect the Arab nations surrounding Israel would come to Israel’s aid the first time, but they did, in some ways to protect themselves from the missiles. The United States, whose ships are stationed off shore, shot down Iranian missiles and Israel’s Iron Dome protected it from major casualties or destruction. Again, if Hamas thought the Arab nations around Israel would come to their aid, they have been proven wrong. If Israel goes after Iran directly, which the United States is officially urging them not to do, the war could spread further. Iranian oil fields and ports are at risk, which will impact the world. Iran has no Iron Dome.

So, after a year, what has Hamas accomplished? What have they done for the Palestinian people? Are the Palestinian people any better off? Clearly not. We have seen Palestinian students here in the United States, and around the world, trying to get universities and corporations to disinvest from Israel, as the BDS movement has tried for years. But there has been practically no impact at all. Investment money has not been withdrawn from Israel, and no country has withdrawn from their treaty with Israel. I spoke out and wrote, as have many Jews over the past year, asking Israel to declare a unilateral ceaseﬁre in the war with Hamas to allow food and medicine to be delivered into Gaza. They haven’t done that, but then Hamas has not agreed to any ceaseﬁre.

I support a two-state solution giving the Palestinian people their own state, which their leaders turned down in 1947 when it was offered by the United Nations. We saw in Israel’s 1948 ‘War for Independence,’ as it was called, the surrounding Arab states did nothing to help the Palestinians, rather fought to take more land for themselves. I believe an eventual two-state solution is the only way the Palestinian people will ever be able to live in peace, and the same for the Israeli people. It will only happen if outside nations join together and guarantee Israel will be secure. If that happens, the rest of the world will have to pledge hundreds of billions of dollars to help a new Palestinian state build a sustainable economy. All of this may be wishful thinking, but it seems to be the only answer to secure a lasting peace.

In the meantime, I join everyone who mourns the lives of the innocents lost this past year, both Israelis and Palestinians, and now those in Lebanon. The world must ﬁnd a way to end this carnage.

MITCH CRANE

is a former president of Delaware Stonewall PAC and a resident of Lewes, Del.

Delaware’s Simpler absent in LGBTQ ﬁghts

GOP candidate is latest to claim support with no action

I read with interest the article published in the Washington Blade stating that the Republican candidate for Delaware’s 14th Representative District supports LGBTQ rights and specifi cally “legislation protecting transgender people.” I am glad that this lifelong Delawarean and resident of the legislative district with the largest number of LGBTQ people in Delaware is in support of our community. I do not question what is in his heart. I also do not care what is in his heart or the heart of any person seeking or serving in elective offi ce. I care only about what they have done before they decided to seek public offi ce, and what they do once in offi ce.

I served on the board of Delaware Stonewall Democrats and its successor Delaware Stonewall PAC from 2006 to 2021. During that period, I served as either political vice president or president. I was heavily involved with the passage of all LGBTQ legislation in Delaware. That involvement included the passage of Hospital Visitation Rights and anti-discrimination laws in 2009 up to and including the passage of both marriage equality and transgender protections in 2013. I never saw Republican candidate Simpler at any event, fundraiser or lobbying effort for our bills.

It is because Simpler, from a local politically active family, is not known to ever actively support the efforts of our community, a community with a signiﬁ cant number of voters in the district he seeks to represent, that I must question the motives behind his expressing his support in the Blade now. I have not seen such expressions of support in his campaign literature or advertising supporting his candidacy. Delaware, and this area, have had more than their share of ofﬁ ce seekers, of both parties, expressing their support, even love, for the LGBTQ community and then doing NOTHING to advance our rights once elected. I fear Simpler is just the latest. However, there is a clear alternative.

Claire Snyder Hall is the Democratic candidate. She is also a member of the LGBTQ community and, in her personal capacity and during her years as executive director of Common Cause, Delaware, has supported and even lobbied for all the legislation mentioned above. Knowing that, LGBTQ members of the 14th Representative District, and their allies, have no reason to look beyond Claire to ﬁ nd a representative who we know will have our backs — it is her back too. Claire is the former chair of the 14th Representative District Democratic Committee, during my term as chair of the Sussex County Democratic Committee, and she is endorsed by Delaware Stonewall. I thank Simpler for “supporting” our community and transgender rights. However, I support and have contributed to Claire Snyder Hall, who has a track record of helping us achieve those rights.

DWAYNE STEWARD

is executive director of Equality Ohio. He previously served as the director of Inclusive Excellence, Belonging & Accessibility at OSU Wexner Medical Center, and has been published in various publications on the topics of racial justice, sexual health, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Unfair attacks on Springﬁeld Haitians recall our disturbing past Political rhetoric feeds a system

of harm that destroys lives

I am equal parts amazed and baffled by how often history repeats itself in this country.

As I watched the viral popularity of the “eating cats and dogs” moment explode across the globe following the presidential debates on Sept. 10, I couldn’t help but be reminded that this isn’t the first time the American political system has unfairly and inaccurately sacrificed the Haitian community at the altar of political fodder.

In 1982, just a year after the first scientific article was published identifying the AIDS virus, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention named the “4-H’s” as the leading at-risk communities for HIV transmission: “Haitians, Hemophiliacs, Homosexuals and Heroin addicts.” Today the CDC would consider most of these terms culturally inappropriate and would definitely defy anyone labeling an entire racial demographic as a danger to the community for infectious disease transmission.

However, the damage was done. Many politicians, including President Ronald Reagan, were quoted using the “4-H’s” as a tool to perpetuate the misconception that HIV was only affecting a flawed minority. These four profiles for HIV transmission seeped deep into the American consciousness. Rampant discrimination and stigma continues to haunt immigrants of the Black Diaspora, LGBTQ communities and people who use drugs, to this day.

J.D. Vance has mentioned several times to the press that the immigrants “flooding into Springfield” are increasing HIV cases in the area, despite there being no epidemiological data from local or state public health entities to back his claims.

Now, reports of bomb threats and ongoing safety concerns for Haitian people continue to dominate headlines. This rhetoric not only creates dangerous environments for the affected communities, but it also continues to support the codifying of laws that criminalize marginalized communities.

Earlier this year, Equality Ohio released a groundbreaking report in partnership with the Ohio Modernization Movement that showed more than 200 Ohioans between 2014 and 2020 were charged under laws aimed at criminalizing people who are living with HIV or AIDS. A startling 35% of these cases were filed against people who identified as Black, and nearly 1 in 3 were Black men.

Currently there are six laws in Ohio that criminalize HIV using outdated and disproven information that hasn’t been used by the medical field since the early 1990s. Yet, these laws are still being used to over-police and incarcerate marginalized communities.

Political rhetoric doesn’t just feed viral internet entertainment, it also feeds a system of harm that destroys lives and separates families. We should expect more from our public officials. Haitians, and all immigrants, should not have to live in fear because of the old, hateful propaganda spread by the people who should be representing us. Unless or until that changes, we can fight for change in ways large and small – even by thinking twice about the next meme we share.

GREGORY BARRETTA

is a serial entrepreneur overseeing several companies, committed to mentoring, leading, and empowering others to grow.

On National Coming Out Day: No more silent compromises

Rejecting half-truths, embracing the whole me, and redeﬁning my worth

Though I’ve never lived “in the closet” over the years, I realized I hadn’t fully stepped out of it in every aspect of life. While I embraced being out, certain moments hindered my personal and professional growth.

Have you ever let someone assume something about your life, like having a wife or girlfriend, because it was easier than correcting them? Perhaps you thought, “I’m not in the closet, so it doesn’t matter.” But looking back, did it matter?

This question lingered in my mind for far too long. We must ask whether our actions reﬂect who we are or if we’re choosing a more convenient version of ourselves. When someone asked, “Is your girlfriend coming to happy hour?” I wasn’t offended, but I wasn’t being entirely authentic, either.

As a gay man, I found it ﬂattering when people assumed I was straight. Was I accepting it as validation of my masculinity? Perhaps. But over time, I realized that allowing these assumptions to persist wasn’t as harmless as I initially believed.

I’ve been fortunate never to experience the closet. The unwavering support from my family, friends, and colleagues has empowered me to live authentically.

Having a family was, and still is, my guiding light. But by my late 20s, that vision began to fade. By my mid 30s, I saw family life, as a gay man, was a possibility, but I buried myself in building a company. I convinced myself that balancing family and business was unattainable since ﬁnding someone with shared values seemed impossible. But was it?

As an entrepreneur, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of building something from scratch, always embracing challenges. It’s easy when you love what you do. Like building a business, personal growth is shaped by what you choose to invest in and what you attract into your life. Despite my successes, something still felt misaligned. What was I doing wrong?

I remember moments like vendors taking us to after-hours bars or strip clubs. I recall one instance at a national expo when a vendor took us to a female strip club. I’ve never enjoyed strip clubs, gay or straight; I’d instead host a dinner party. Early into the night, someone arranged a lap dance for me, and I jokingly asked if she could switch places with the security guy. We both laughed, but here’s the issue: I never told them why I got up and left, only her. At that moment, did I sell myself short? Would it affect our partnership? I wasn’t in the closet but wasn’t entirely out either.

Another moment came in my 30s when I was learning how to navigate dating. A friend suggested I downplay my career to avoid intimidating potential partners. I agreed initially but eventually asked myself: Why should I downplay my accomplishments to make others comfortable? By minimizing my worth, I wasn’t just being inauthentic; I was undervaluing myself and the hard work I put into it. What was I trying to attract into my life?

As my journey continued, I became increasingly aware of what I was inviting into my life. My personal and professional lives were out of alignment. When I opened an ofﬁce in India, I came out to the local director before signing business documents. Why? Friends and colleagues struggle because their business partners don’t know their authentic selves, and I refused to let this happen. More importantly, I owed being genuine to myself.

Many of us create barriers between our personal and professional lives. While change can be difﬁcult, I needed to align them. We believe we’re not lying because we’re “not in the closet.” But by not fully expressing our authentic selves, we hold ourselves back. For me, dismantling those barriers allowed me to transform what I was attracting into my life, personally and professionally.

Had I not become self-aware, I’d still be stuck in a cycle of inauthenticity, missing out on my full potential. Without changing my mindset, I would have continued letting others’ assumptions deﬁne me and limit my growth. I only began breaking free from that cycle by fully embracing my true self.

Even though I’ve never lived in the closet, I still fear what being this open might bring. But that’s precisely why I need to do it. My personal and professional allies have shown unwavering support, standing by me through everything. To those who have supported me on this journey, thank you, it’s now my turn to support others.

NOVEMBER 5

2024 DC GENERAL ELECTION

EARLY VOTING

Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3

BEACH TOWN ALLURE

DREAM HOME

Full-spectrum funny: an interview with Randy Rainbow

New book ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ delivers the laughs

By GREGG SHAPIRO

Can we all agree that there’s nothing worse than reading a book by a humorist and not laughing? Not even once. Fear not, as gay humorist and performer Randy Rainbow more than exceeded my expectations, as he will yours, with his hilarious new book “Low-Hanging Fruit” (St. Martin’s Press, 2024). If you loved his 2022 memoir “Playing With Myself,” you’ll ﬁnd as much, if not more to love in the new book. His trademark sense of humor from his videos, transfers with ease to the page in the essays. There are multiple laugh-out-loud moments throughout the two-dozen essays. Always a delight to talk to, Randy made time for an interview shortly before the publication of the book.

BLADE: I want to begin by apologizing for putting you on speakerphone so I can get this interview recorded, because I know you are not fond of it as you pointed out in the “And While We’re On the Subject…” essay in your new book.

RANDY RAINBOW: [Laughs] Thank you for paying attention. But yours is a good speakerphone. I would not have known.

BLADE: Your ﬁrst book, “Playing With Myself,” was a memoir and the new book, “Low-Hanging Fruit,” is a humorous essay collection. Did it feel like you were exercising different writing muscles than you did for the ﬁrst book – essays versus memoir?

RAINBOW: It did a little bit. I think I had a little more fun writing this book. Save for the fact that I was shlepping around on tour as I also make well known in the book. That wasn’t fun. To not have the, I hate to say burden, but the responsibility of doing a chronological memoir, really getting everything right and then telling your story. I felt like I was just free to shoot the shit and have a little fun.

BLADE: Were these essays written in one creative burst or over the course of years?

RAINBOW: Over the course of a few months. The second half of my tour is when I started doing it. So, probably about ﬁve to six months.

BLADE: The ﬁrst essay “Letter of Resignation” reminded me of Fran Lebowitz…

RAINBOW: I’m so glad.

BLADE: And then, lo and behold, you name-check Fran in the second essay “Gurl, You’re A Karen.” Do you consider her to be an inﬂuence on your work?

RAINBOW: Not directly. I’m a fan of hers. But I just feel sympatico with her for all the obvious reasons. I have a problem with everything [laughs] and being able to be funny and creative about it in this book was very cathartic, I felt.

BLADE: Something similar occurred when I was reading the essay “I Feel Bad About My Balls,” which recalled another humor essayist — Nora Ephron, whom you mention at the conclusion of the piece. Is she an inﬂuence?

RAINBOW: Again, a fan. I wouldn’t say she ever directly inﬂuenced me although I guess since becoming an author myself, I read all of her books, so I love her. But not a direct inﬂuence. I think I listened to her audiobook of

“I Feel Bad About My Neck” and that’s what inspired that chapter.

BLADE: Do you know if Jacob Elordi is aware of his presence in the book?

RAINBOW:I would assume that word has gotten back to him. This is gonna make him!

BLADE: In “Rider? I Hardly Know Her,” you wrote about being on tour as you are about to, once again, embark on a tour throughout October. Do you consider this more of a book tour, as opposed to one of your stage tours?

RAINBOW: It absolutely is. The way it worked out was I’m doing two of my concert shows in Palm Desert. I start my book events here with Harvey Fierstein in New York and then ﬂy to the West Coast and do two musical concerts and then I embark on the rest of my book tour as I make my way back to New York. In that regard, it’s a little less nauseating … taxing.

Yes, although I just ﬁnished an eight-month tour. I’ve only had the summer off, and I ﬁnd myself having to remind myself, “You’re just going for a week, going for a week, and then you come home, and that’s it. I have PTSD from all that travel. I’m not built for it.

BLADE: I’m based in Fort Lauderdale. Are there additional dates in the works, including one in your former home of South Florida?

RAINBOW: That’s where I’m from! That’s where my mother is still located.

BLADE: Yes, we saw you here at the Broward Center, and your mom was there.

RAINBOW: That’s right! No South Florida dates for this tour, but there’s always next year. We’re already planning a few strategically placed tour dates for summer and fall of next year. I’ll deﬁnitely be in Florida then, but you’ll have to wait for it.

BLADE: “Notes From A Litter Box,” written in the voice of your cat Tippi, made me wonder if you’d agree that there has never been a better time than now to be a childless cat person.

RAINBOW: Isn’t it funny? That was the least political chapter in the book, the least controversial chapter, and now it’s all anyone’s talking about. It’s our time! What with Taylor Swift and everything, it’s terriﬁc. I wrote that long before all of this J.D. Vance nonsense, but it certainly has put some wind in our sails. And Tippi’s! Who heard her name and she’s looking for treats. Here you go, dear. In the audiobook, the great actress Pamela Adlon voices Tippi.

BLADE: Could you foresee writing a children’s book about Tippi?

RAINBOW: Well, what can I say? I don’t know how much I’m at liberty to discuss. Fuck it, I’ll discuss it! I did write a children’s book, and I’m saying it to whoever asks me. It comes out next year, and that’s actually what we’re planning the tour around, when it comes out around Pride next year. I won’t get into exactly what it’s about, but I will be revealing that very soon. And Tippi is a major

character in it.

BLADE: Fantastic! As a 10-year resident of Fort Lauderdale, I especially enjoyed your mother’s takedown of DeSantis in “Ladies and Gentlemen…My Mother (the Sequel).” I take it she didn’t need any prodding from you.

RAINBOW: No. No, she did not. I actually asked her ahead of time – we did a little pre-interview like it was “The Tonight Show” – and I asked her about her topics, so she had her DeSantis material all laid out.

BLADE: Would you please tell my husband Rick there’s a right way to load the dishwasher? He won’t listen to me, but he’ll deﬁnitely listen to you.

RAINBOW: I, sadly, do not have a husband, so that is one example that I don’t actually have speciﬁcs on. How does he do it?

BLADE: Just wrong!

RAINBOW: Wrong for you.

BLADE: For example, the silverware is just pell-mell in the rack, instead of being grouped, spoons with spoons, forks with forks, and so on.

RAINBOW: He’s not putting mugs or glassware on the bottom, is he?

BLADE: No, not at all. But the plates should go in the same direction, right?

RAINBOW: Absolutely, yes.

BLADE: Thank you!

RAINBOW: I would get rid of him [laughs].

BLADE: “Low-Hanging Fruit” arrives in advance of Election Day 2024 and includes the “Randy Rainbow For President” and “My Gay Agenda” essays, along with running political commentary, as well as a dig at “Donald Jessica Trump” which you say you couldn’t resist. All kidding aside, please share your thoughts on the 2024 election.

RAINBOW: Oh God, kidding aside? How dare you! I have no thoughts that are not kidding because I have to kid to keep my sanity. It’s literally insane. I’ve left my body over it. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to expect. I try to be positive, but I don’t know what that means anymore. I cannot wait for it to be fucking over!

BLADE: Finally, when it comes to “hot tea,” which you write about in the essay “Do I Hear A Schmaltz?”, may I also recommend Harney & Sons’ “Victorian London Fog?” I’m savoring it as we speak.

RAINBOW: Good one! Thank you! I’m very into Harney and Sons now. I have just a few from their catalog, but that’s the next one I’ll try.

RANDY RAINBOW will discuss his new book on Oct. 20 at Politics & Prose at Sidwell Friends Meeting House. (Photo courtesy Rainbow)

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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

Opera

Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 and 8 p.m.

A program from “the most successful and influential choreographer alive” (New York Times)

ARTURO SANDOVAL

Sunday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.

Don’t miss this 10-time GRAMMY Award-winning jazz virtuoso and Kennedy Center Honoree!

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

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY

Christopher Zimmerman, conductor

Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m.

One of America’s foremost pianists performs Beethoven

CALENDAR |

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, October 11

“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 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 Happy Hour” at 7 p.m. at Puro Gusto. 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 Washington, D.C. area. For more details, visit WiTT’s closed Facebook group.

Saturday, October 12

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & 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.

Vogue Sessions will be at 2 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Sessions is 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. For more details, email dmvkikinights@gmail.com.

Sunday, October 13

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 nonstop music, dancing, and good vibes and a crossover of genres and a fusion of cultures. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Monday, October 14

Center Aging: Monday Coffee & 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.

Tuesday, October 15

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. Bi Roundtable will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is an opportunity for people to gather in order to discuss issues related to bisexuality or as bi individuals in a private setting. Visit Facebook or Meetup for more information.

Wednesday, October 16

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 thedccenter.org/careers.

Thursday,

October 17

Virtual Yoga with Sarah M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.

OUT & ABOUT

Blade to mark 55 years, celebrate Best Of LGBTQ DC

The Washington Blade will celebrate 55 years of delivering LGBTQ news and also the best LGBTQ things in the city on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at Crush Bar. First drink courtesy of Absolut. Must be 21 to attend and the event’s sponsors are ABSOLUT, Crush, and Inﬁnite Legacy. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at bestoﬂgbtqdc.com.

Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride hosts October events

The Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride Foundation is hosting a series of October events, starting with a free documentary, “The New Black,” on Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Branch Towson University in Bel Air, Md. Admission is free; visit ucbpride.com for details and to reserve a spot. There will also be a family-friendly Sunday stroll on Oct. 20, 5-6 p.m. at North Park Loop Trail; meet at the Lock House at 817 Conesteo St. in Havre de Grace, Md.

The Blade’s annual Best Of LGBTQ DC awards party is set for Thursday, Oct. 17 at Crush Bar. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A contemporary take on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Folger

Creating a world that appeals to young audiences

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

In out director Raymond O. Caldwell’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” currently playing at Folger Theatre, the Capulet family are Puerto Rican except for Lord Capulet (Todd Scoffield) who is white with a Southern accent.

Fran Tapia (Lady Capulet), Luz Nicolas (Nurse), and Caro Reyes Rivera (Juliet) all speak Spanish when they are together. Rosa Garay López (Translator and Interpreter) translated certain scenes into Spanish. The Montagues are played by a cast of multiracial and multiethnic actors.

Tapia, a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor, identifies as part of the LGBTQ community. She says, “I am Chilean, Latina, queer and a proud immigrant.”

After receiving her acting degree in Santiago de Chile, Catholic University, Tapia started working professionally as an actor and a dancer with contemporary dance companies.

The newly single actor has been living in D.C. since 2019 and plans to remain based here. Recently, she shared her experiences playing Juliet’s mother in Shakespeare’s story of the starcrossed lovers, a play she first read as a girl in Santiago.

with how she speaks to her. Lady Capulet speaks English when she wants to be formal. Luz brings the comedy. She’s also, a very good dramatic actress.

BLADE : It’s a contemporary take on the Bard’s masterpiece.

TAPIA : It’s super contemporary. Raymond [Caldwell] is looking to create a world that appeals to young audiences. He’s working with so many designers doing projection, lighting, and sound. There are so many surprises for you.

BLADE : Am I right in guessing it’s not set in Verona.

TAPIA : It’s set in a fictionalized Washington, D.C., inspired by the election year. The Capulets are a conservative political family based on nobody in particular. They’re struggling for power through the marriage of their daughter. Unlike the source material, they’re not trying to marry off a teenager. It’s more about preserving a legacy. That’s scary to lose when you’re used to having it.

BLADE : How is working with Raymond? I’ve heard so many good things about him.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Typically, Lady Capulet is portrayed as detached, a woman who can’t even remember her daughter’s age. What’s your spin on the Capulet matriarch?

FRAN TAPIA: From what I’ve read and seen, including productions and films, she’s a woman who has distanced herself from her daughter.

I see the part differently. I want to make it special, to get away from the hard mother. She does care about her husband and daughter. Her expectations are shaped by society more than anything, she has conservative goals, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love her daughter.

BLADE : What else about your Lady Capulet is unique?

TAPIA : First of all, she’s Puerto Rican. She speaks in Spanish and English. She loves to sing. She’s a party girl. She’s a devoted wife and partner in crime with Lord Capulet, sharing both his ambition and devotion to family.

Lady Capulet wants to look pretty and she loves money. And she wants to be blonde, of course. I wear 26-inch blonde extensions for the part. I’m giving so much drama to it. It’s fun and dramatic and over the top.

She can share secrets with the Nurse played by Luz [Nicolas]. There are nuances

TAPIA : Prior to joining the cast, I’d heard from friends that he was good, but I had no idea how good. When I got this part, I gave myself the opportunity to offer my resources like singing. And he’s been super receptive.

Raymond is very clear and bold. Lady Capulet has problems with addiction more intense than I imagined. I won’t specify but we’re diving into all of that. There are so many kinds of addiction including social media for instance. In real life, I’m addicted to Diet Coke as anyone in the cast can tell you.

BLADE : Is Lady Capulet a part you’ve longed to play?

TAPIA : Not really, but under the direction of Raymond I’m loving every second of it. His view of things has given me a lot of freedom that I didn’t expect.

‘Romeo and Juliet’

Through Nov. 10 | Folger Theatre 201 East Capitol St., S.E. | Washington, D.C. 20003 | $20 – $84 | Folger.edu

FRAN TAPIA as Lady Capulet, CARO REYES RIVERA as Juliet, and LUZ NICOLAS as Nurse in William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ directed by Raymond O. Caldwell at the Folger Theatre through Nov. 10. (Photo by Erika Nizborski)

‘Beauty, beauty, look at you!”: 50 years of ‘Female Trouble’

Celebrating John Waters’s lovably grotesque black comedy

By JOHN PAUL KING

It’s funny – and by funny, we mean ironic – how things that were once on the fringes of our culture, experienced by few and appreciated by even fewer, become respectable after they’ve been around for half a century or more. The Blade herself can probably attest to that. Cheap, self-deprecating one-liners aside, there’s something to celebrate about the ability to survive and thrive for decades despite being mostly ignored by the mainstream “tastemakers” of our society – which is why, in honor of the 50th anniversary of its release, we can’t help but take an appreciative look back at John Waters’s arguable masterpiece, “Female Trouble,” which debuted in movie theaters on Oct. 11, 1974 and was promptly dismissed and forgotten by most of American society.

Waters had already made his breakthrough with 1972’s “Pink Flamingos,” which more or less helped the “Midnight Movie” become a counterculture touchstone of the seventies and eighties beyond while making his star (and muse) Glenn Milstead – aka Divine – into an underground sensation. Naturally, expectations for this follow-up were high among his already growing cult following, who were hungry for more of his gleefully transgressive anarchy. But while it certainly delivered what they craved, it would have been hard for any movie to surpass the sensation caused by the latter, which had already broken perhaps the ultimate onscreen taboo by ending with a scene of Divine’s character eating a freshly deposited dollop of dog feces. Though “Female Trouble” offered plenty of its own hilariously shocking (and occasionally revolting) thrills, it had no standout “WTF” moment of its own to “top” that one. Subsequently, the curious mainstream, who were never going to be Waters fans anyway, lost interest.

For his true audience, however, it was anything but a let-down. After all, it featured most of the same outrageous cast members and doubled down on the ferociously radical camp that had made “Flamingos” notorious even among the “straight” (as in “square”) crowd; and while it maintained the bargain basement “guerilla” style the director had perfected throughout his early years of DIY filmmaking in Boston, it nevertheless displayed a savvy for cinematic craft that allowed Waters to both subvert and pay homage to the old-school Hollywood movies his (mostly) queer fans had grown up loving – and making fun of – just like him. It was quickly embraced, joining “Flamingos” on art house double bills across the U.S. and helping the Waters cult to grow until he finally won the favor of the masses with his more socially palatable “Hairspray” in 1988.

Fifty years later, there is little doubt that “Female Trouble” has displaced “Flamingos” as Waters’s quintessential work. Riding high on the heels of the latter, the director had both a bolstered self-confidence and an assured audience awaiting his next film, and he outdid himself by creating an ambitious and breathtakingly grotesque black comedy that frequently feels like we’re watching a crime being committed on film. Ostensibly framed as a “cautionary tale” of “juvenile delinquency,” it follows the life story of Dawn Davenport (Divine), who abandons social conformity once and for all when her parents fail to give her the black cha-cha heeled shoes she wanted for Christmas. Running away from home, she quickly becomes an unwed mother,

leading her to a life of crime as she tries to support her unruly and ungrateful daughter Taffy (Hilary Taylor, later Waters stalwart Mink Stole). Things seem to turn around when she is accepted as a client at the exclusive “Le Lipstique” beauty salon, where owners Donald and Donna Dasher (David Lochery and Mary Vivian Pearce) take a particular interest in her, and marries star hairdresser Gater (Michael Potter) despite the objections of his doting Aunt Ida (Edith Massey), who wants him to “turn Nelly” and avoid the “sick and boring life” of a heterosexual.

From there, Waters’s absurdly melodramatic saga enters the realm of pure lunacy. Dawn’s marriage inevitably fails, and she falls under the influence of the Dashers, who use her as an experiment to prove their theory that “Crime equals Beauty” and get her hooked on shooting up liquid eyeliner; Gater leaves for Detroit to pursue a career in the “auto in-DUS-try”, and his doting Aunt Ida (Edith Massey) disfigures Dawn’s face by dousing it with acid; Taffy goes on a quest to find her deadbeat dad and ends up murdering him before joining the Hare Krishna movement; and things culminate in a murderous nightclub performance by the now-thoroughly deranged Dawn, which earns her a date with the electric chair for the film’s literally “shocking” finale.

It would be easy to rhapsodize over the many now-iconic highlights of “Female Trouble” – some of our favorites are its hilarious early scenes of Dawn’s life as a high school delinquent, the Christmas morning rampage in which she destroys her parents’ living room like Godzilla on a bender in Tokyo, “Bad Seed”-ish Taffy’s torment of her mother via jump rope rhymes and car crash re-enactments on the living room furniture, Aunt Ida’s persistent attempts to set up Gater on a “boy

date,” and the master stroke of double-casting Divine as the low-life mechanic who fathers Taffy and thereby allows him to literally fuck himself onscreen – but every Waters fan has a list of their own.

Likewise, we could take a scholarly approach, and point out the “method” in the madness by highlighting themes or cultural commentaries that might be observed, such as the film’s way of ridiculing the straight world’s view of queer existence by presenting it to them in an over-the-top caricature of their own narrative tropes, or its seeming prescience in spoofing pop culture’s obsession with glamour, beauty, and toxic behavior as entertainment decades before the advent and domination of “reality” TV – but those things have been said many times already, and none of them really have anything to do with why we love it so much.

What we love is the freakishness of it; Waters revealed years after the fact that Divine’s “look” as Dawn Davenport was inspired by a photo from Diane Arbus, whose work served as a testament to the anonymous fringe figures of American culture, but it could be said that all of his characters, in this and in all his early films, might also be drawn from one of her images. It’s that, perhaps, that is the key to its appeal: it’s a movie about “freaks,” made for freaks by someone who is a freak themself. It makes us laugh at all of its excesses simply because they are funny – and the fact that the NONfreaks don’t “get it” just makes them all the funnier.

As Aunt Ida says, “Queers are just better” – and in this case, we mean “queer” as in “different than the boring norm.”

In any case, queer or otherwise, celebrate your freakishness by watching “Female Trouble” in honor of its anniversary this weekend. Whether it’s your umpteenth time or your first, it will be 97 minutes you won’t regret.

The iconic DIVINE (right) in ‘Female Trouble.’ (Image courtesy of Warner Brothers)

OKTOBERFEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

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

DINNER: LUNCH: HH: WED-SUN 3-10PM WED-FRI 11:30-2:30PM WED-FRI 2-6PM

Trump is Still Putin’s Top Man in the U.S.

NicholasF. Benton

FALLSCHURCHNEWS-PRESS

Thisweek bringsus two new blockbuster books: Woo dwar d’s “War,” in whichheoffers the criticalnewinformation that Trump hasengagedin sevenlengthy phonecallswith Putin

Steele’s“Unredacted,”thestoryof withaccounts about thedepths ofPu-

In the1960s, the Soviet KGB did some fascinatingpsychological experiments. Theylearnedthat if youbombardhuman subjectswith fear messages non-stop, intwo monthsor less most of the subjects arecompletely brainwashedtobelieve the false messagetothe point that no amount of clearinformation they are shown tocontrary can change their mind

Weare now at a point where those methods have maturedand beenapplied on a mass scale inthe United States suchthat the world’s foremostdemocratic nation ison the brink of internal demolition.

The Soviet-Russian psychological warfare against the U.S. hasescalatedtoa massivedegree

introduced hereand took the form of anti-establishmentcult proliferation culled fromdisaffected so-called “counterculture” youth reacting againsttheVietnam war andestablishmentreactions against a rising civil rights movement

Broadly speaking, that was theenvironment that interactedin partswithotheranti-establishment currents, suchasorganizedcrime families,that nurturedthecynical NewYork attorney-mobsociopathic crook Roy Cohn’s DonaldTrump project.Cohn,you mayrecall,was Sen.JoeMcCarthy’srighthand man inthe latter’s Red Scareassault on democracy of the early 1950s

So,intheearly 1970s, inthe pretext ofaU.S.-Soviet“detente,” thousands ofviciousSoviet organizedcrime thugs were allowedto migratetothe U.S. under thecover of awidereffortto easethemovement of people.These thugs competed with traditional U.S.-based

organizedcrime groups and inthat institutions,such as theCommunistParty USA, abandonedtheir progressiveagendasand took hard right turns.

In thewake of thecrushingdefeat ofMcGovern in1972,andthe subsequentWatergate drama,they coalescedanti-establishment postureswhile introducingsome of the moreextremeelements of Russianinspiredrisingpostmodernist philosophical, sociological andpsychological currents thatchallenged even some of themost fundamental elements offacts and basic reality.

Among themoreconsequential cultsthat grewin that erawas the political oneassociatedwith theself-styled socialist economist Lyndon LaRouche, knowninthose earlyyears asLyn Marcus.I have

how that operation served, among otherthings, asa testtube case for the kindof ways in which the cultishTrump/MAGA/GOPeffort now has gnarley grip on millions ofAmericans. TheLaRouche factor still existsasagenerally overlookedgo-betweenbetween Moscow andthe MAGA movement and asa tinypro-Trumpcheering section in the U.S.

Itwasthe LaRouche publication, TheExecutive Intelligence Review,that brokethenews in 1987that following atripto Moscow, KGB-Putinelements concludedthat Trump would betheir preferred man, theirhighlycompromisedman,inthe U.S. toeventually seek the U.S. presidency

The Trump/MAGA movement remainsfueledand reinforcedby

more directlyaligned with Moscow inthe U.S. today. The Voice of America recently issueda listof

and disinformation operating within America’s political system.The namesreported underthebylineof Drew Pavlou include these: ScottRitter,Tucker Carlson, John Mearsheimer,Jackson Hinkle, Jimmy Dore,Russell Brand, Ray McGovern, HelgaZepp-LaRouche, MaxBlumental, Alastair Crooke, Glenn Greenwald, Danny Haiphorg,ChayBoweg, Adrien Bocquet,Clayton Morris, Eva KareneBartlett, BrianBerlette, DouglasMacGregor, LarryJohnson,RichardSakwa, Jeffrey Sachs, Pepe Escobar,Stanislav Krapivinik, WyattReed, AndrewNapolitano, Sonja Van Den Ende

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Equal Housing Opportunity

Thom Gunn bio explores joys, complexities of modern gay life

‘A Cool Queer Life’ presents author’s humanity, poetic genius

By CHARLES GREEN

A confession: Until reading “Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life,” I hadn’t known much about the accomplished, controversial gay poet’s life or read many of his poems. But this first biography makes me feel like I know him and his large body of work intimately. Michael Nott, coeditor of “The Letters of Thom Gunn,” draws on interviews with friends and family, as well as Gunn’s letters, notebooks, and diaries, to tell the triumphs and tragedies of his life. Born in England in 1929 to journalist parents, when he was 15, he and his younger brother Ander found their mother dead from suicide. He would not discuss this tragic event in his poetry for years, including one of his last poems “My Mother’s Pride.” He published his first book of poems, “Fighting Terms,” while still an undergraduate at Cambridge University.

At Cambridge, Gunn met his life-long partner, Mike Kitay, an American studying theater. Gunn followed Kitay to America, studying poetry under Yvor Winters at Stanford University. At one point, Kitay, doing his military service, was investigated as part of suspicion of homosexuality among his unit. Gunn wrote to friends of his worry both of what might happen to Kitay as well as to himself. While nothing happened, the event reminds us of the precarious state in which gay men lived until recently.

Eventually, they settled in San Francisco, which Gunn loved. Even when he became worldwide famous, he enjoyed the anonymity of the city’s gay bars, where he could pick up men. He taught at UC Berkeley for 40 years, one term every year so he could concentrate on his poetry. His and Kitay’s home was filled with friends and sex partners, usually of Gunn. This arrangement seems common for many gay men of the time, reminiscent of Dan Savage’s idea of “monogamish,” where committed gay couples might have other side partners.

In San Francisco, Gunn discovered leather and drugs, both of which he took to readily. He caused a stir by appearing in his British publisher’s conservative club in leather gear. Toward the end of his life, he became a crystal meth addict, frequently using with other addicts whom he also slept with. In 2004, his housemates found him dead from substance abuse.

He explored leather, drugs, and gay sexuality frequently in his poems. His collection “Moly” (named after the drug in The Odyssey protecting from the witch Circe’s magic), looked at the appeal and downfall of drugs. The Man with Night Sweats, perhaps his most famous collection, dealt with the AIDS epidemic, the painful death of so many friends and lovers. He won the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant afterwards.

The biography presents Gunn in all his humanity, from his poetic genius to his insecurities. After each book came out, he struggled with writer’s block, which led to hookups and drug use. As he aged, he worried about finding “gerontophiles” who would sleep with him. I hope this book encourages readers to discover or revisit his work, filled with the joys and complexities of modern gay life.

‘Thom

Gunn: A Cool Queer Life’

By Michael Nott

c. 2024, Farrar, Straus and Giroux | $40 | 720 pages

LGBTQ groups mark National Hispanic Heritage Month GLAAD screened ‘Dímelo’ at Sept. 20 event in Los Angeles

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Advocacy groups across the country are marking National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles on Sept. 20 hosted a comedy night that featured Danielle Perez, Gabe González, Lorena Russ, and Roz Hernandez. The event, which GLAAD organized, also included a screening of “Dímelo,” a digital series the organization produced with LatiNation that features interviews with Latino comedians.

A press release notes Damian Terriquez, Mimi Davila, Salina EsTitties, and Tony Rodriguez attended the event. GLAAD in a post on its website on Sept. 25 highlighted Essa Noche and other Latino drag queens.

“The art of drag has always been a vibrant expression of resistance, creativity, and identity, particularly within marginalized communities,” reads the post. “Latine drag artists not only embody the resilience and power of their heritage but also elevate queer voices in spaces where their visibility is often limited.”

EsTitties on Sept. 29 hosted Queerceañera, “an inclusive take on the coming-of-age quinceañera tradition throughout Latin America and the United States” the Los Angeles LGBT Center organized.

Celebrate Orgullo, which describes itself as the “first Hispanic and Indigenous LGBTQ+ festival in Greater Miami and Miami Beach,” will take place from Oct. 4-14. Unity Coalition|Coalición Unida, is organizing the events.

“The festival invites you to experience a warm and welcoming ‘wave’ of pride that celebrates what makes us unique while uniting us in a shared spirit of inclusion,” reads a press

release.

GLSEN has posted to its website a list of resources for undocumented students.

“Especially in this political climate, it’s important not only to affirm LGBTQ Latinx identities with positive representation but also to ensure that students know how they’re protected, especially those who are among the most marginalized,” says GLSEN.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Fenway Health in Boston on its website notes National Hispanic Heritage Month “honors and celebrates the vibrant histories, cultures, languages, traditions, values, and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.”

Hispanic Heritage Week began in 1968. It became Nation-

al Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988.

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua mark their respective Independence Days on Sept. 15. Mexico’s Independence Day is on Sept. 16, and Chile’s Independence Day is on Sept. 18. Día de la Raza is Oct. 12.

“Here at Fenway Health, we are grateful every day for the many Latino/a/é staff members, clients, patients, volunteers, and supporters that are part of our community,” said Fenway Health. Their contributions and perspectives help drive Fenway’s mission: To advocate for and deliver innovative, equitable, accessible health care, supportive services, and transformative research and education and to center LGBTQIA+ people, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) individuals, and other underserved communities to enable our local, national, and global neighbors to flourish.”

President Joe Biden in his National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation made a similar point.

“In our country, Latino leaders are striving for the American Dream and helping those around them reach it too,” he said. “From those who have been here for generations to those who have recently arrived, Latinos have pushed our great American experiment forward.”

The proclamation also acknowledges Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman, and other Latino members of his administration.

“I am proud to work with incredible Latino leaders, who are dedicated to bettering our nation every day,” said Biden.

(GLAAD screenshot)

Dominique Jackson at Bunker

Star of “Pose” Dominique Jackson was the special guest at the vogue party “Kunty” on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Bunker.

“Pose” star special guest at LGBTQ nightclub

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Spooky Pride: Thrifty LGBTQ Halloween decor tips for your rental

Because there’s nothing scarier than not being true to who you are

By SCOTT BLOOM

Halloween is the perfect time to show off your creativity and embrace both the spooky and fabulous. For LGBTQ renters, it’s an opportunity to infuse your space with festive flair that reflects both pride and personality — without breaking the bank. Whether you’re hosting friends for a ghoulish gathering or simply decking out your apartment for some solo seasonal fun, we’ve got you covered with budget-friendly, LGBTQ-inspired decorating tips that bring glam, style, and inclusivity to your haunted home.

1. LGBTQ Symbols and Colors. Rainbow-Inspired Decorations: Incorporate rainbow-colored string lights, garlands, and flags into the Halloween decor. This can be paired with classic black and orange Halloween colors to create a unique, inclusive aesthetic.

Pride Pumpkins: Paint pumpkins in rainbow or trans Pride flag colors or carve designs like hearts or symbols of equality to mix Halloween with LGBTQ pride.

2. Drag Queen-Inspired Glam. Glitter and Glam: Draw inspiration from drag queens by adding glamor to Halloween decor. Use metallic streamers, sparkling skulls, and shimmery fabrics for a fabulous touch.

DIY Drag Masks: Create or purchase affordable masks with feathers, sequins, and bold colors for a decorative wall or window display, which can also double as party favors.

3. Inclusive Horror Icons. Iconic Figures: Use LGBTQ-friendly horror icons like Elvira, Divine (from “Pink Flamingos”), or characters from “Rocky Horror Picture Show” in posters or costumes. They add a campy, queer edge to Halloween décor.

DIY Posters or Cutouts: Print out photos or posters of these characters and frame them inexpensively to give your apartment a bold statement piece.

4. Thrifty Decorating Tips. Up-cycled Decor: Thrift stores are a great resource for inexpensive Halloween props — like old frames, candle holders, and vases— spray paint them black or gold for a spooky and chic feel.

DIY Spooky Lanterns: Repurpose mason jars or old glass containers by placing battery-operated LED lights or tea lights inside. Decorate the outside with stickers or painted-on spooky designs like bats, pumpkins, or cobwebs.

Black Lace on a Budget: Drape black lace or fishnet fabric (found cheaply at fabric stores) over tables or lampshades for an eerie, gothic vibe.

5. Queer-Friendly, Sustainable Alternatives. Eco-Friendly LED Lighting: Encourage the use of LED lights in purple, orange, or green. Not only are they energy-efficient, but they’re safer for apartments that may have limitations on open flames or outlets.

Plant-Based, Vegan Candles: For a spooky, cozy vibe, suggest plant-based, cruelty-free candles. Opt for scents like pumpkin spice or cinnamon for a seasonal touch without compromising on values.

6. Community Engagement. Collaborative Building Decor: Suggest organizing a building-wide LGBTQ-friendly Halloween decorating contest where neighbors can share resources and collaborate. This fosters community spirit and makes decorating more fun and budget friendly.

Host a Pumpkin-Carving Party: Recommend throwing a pumpkin-carving event, allowing friends and neighbors to come together for a fun, budget-friendly activity.

Halloween is a time to unleash your creativity, and with these thrifty LGBTQ decorating tips, you can transform your rental apartment into a spooky, Pride-filled haven. From rainbow pumpkins to drag queen glam and up-cycled decor, these ideas prove that you don’t need a huge budget to make a big impact.

So, whether you’re hosting a Halloween party or just want to embrace the spooky season with a queer twist, these decorating tips will help you celebrate with flair and Pride. And remember, Halloween is about having fun, being unapologetically yourself, and expressing your unique identity—because in the end, there’s nothing scarier than not being true to who you are.

SCOTT BLOOM

is owner and Senior Property Manager of Columbia Property Management. For more information and resources, visit ColumbiaPM.com.

Throw a pumpkin-carving party in your building to celebrate the season.

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