Watermark Issue 25.02: What's Up, Doc?

CeleBrating 25 yearS of

Should I really be on PrEP?

Can that REALLY cause cancer?

Are condoms even important anymore?

Your LGBTQ Life.

Where do I find an LGBTQ-friendly doctor?

Do I see my doctor enough?

Is HPV that big of a deal?

Sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed. Should I tell my doctor?

Do I have anxiety?

What if I have anxiety?

What do I do about anxiety?

tHe venue orlanDo

looKs For a My friends still smoke.

Do I really need to quit?

new Home metro opens

wHat’s

up, Doc?

new Facility in st. pete

We look at some LGBTQ-specific healthcare concerns you should bring up with your doctor

daytona BeaCh • orlando • tampa • St. peterSBurg • ClearWater • SaraSota

ISSUE 26.02 • JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6, 2019 • WATERMARKONLINE.COM

CAROL BURNETT AN EVENING OF LAUGHTER AND REFLECTION WHERE THE AUDIENCE ASKS THE QUESTIONS

Feb 8

Times Union Performing Arts Center Jacksonville

ticketmaster.com 2

Feb 12 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater

rutheckerdhall.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Feb 14

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Sarasota

vanwesel.org

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Feb 18 Dr Phillips Center Orlando

drphillipscenter.org

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

3

Take the STEPS to a happier and healthier you!

HIGH QUALITY TREATMENT FOR YOUR FOOT AND ANKLE TROUBLES.

( 407 ) 423-1234 www.OrlandoFoot.com 18 Locations / Se Habla Español 4

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depArtments 7 // bureAu chief’s desk 8 // centrAl floridA news 10 // tAmpA bAy news 12 // stAte news 15// nAtion & world news 21// tAlking points 43// community cAlendAr 45// tAmpA bAy out + About 47// centrAl fl out + About 48// tAmpA bAy mArketplAce 50// centrAl fl mArketplAce 53// wedding bells/ Announcements 54// lAst pAge

PAGE

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Comfort with the provider is a huge barrier. If someone goes to a doctor and discloses that they have a same-sex partner and they’re given a strange look or asked really inappropriate questions or receive inappropriate comments, that will make them less likely to go and see a doctor unless they get really sick.

—METRO MEDICAL DIRECTOR DR. LUKE jOHNSEN ON STARTING THE CONvERSATION ABOUT LGBTQ HEALTH

on the cover

PAGE lessons And lAughter

37

PAGE WHAT’S UP,

23

DOC?: We look at some

LGBTQ-specific healthcare concerns you should bring up with your doctor.

Illustration by Jake Stevens

scAn Qr code for

wAtermArkonline.com

“Perfect Arrangement” brings America’s gay witch hunt to freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg.

wAtermArk issue 26.02 // jAnuAry 24 - februAry 6, 2019

true blue

tArgeted

trAns of thought

PAGE The search for The Venue’s new home begins as the Ivanhoe shopping complex nears completion.

PAGE Anti-LGBTQ activists want Pasco County Schools to know “the church is watching.”

PAGE

chAnge of pAce

read it online!

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBTQ updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

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10

17

Viewpoint columnist Maia Monet illustrates that trans people aren’t debates.

Out comedian Michele Balan discusses the “Queer Queens of Quomedy” coming to Orlando.

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folloW uS on tWitter and inStagram at @Watermarkonline and like uS on faCeBook. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

5

February 9-10 2019 10 am - 5 pm Veterans Park 5350 31st Ave S Gulfport, Florida

Gulfport Fine Arts Festival 6

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

A boutique art show in historic downtown Gulfport, a charming ‘Olde Florida’ town, within South St Petersburg

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

Central florida

Bureau Chief’S

Jeremy Williams CFL BUREAU CHIEF

Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

T

desk

HE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR IS

a lot like me sitting down to write this column every other issue. As the day approaches I am filled with so many thoughts and ideas; and then, when it actually comes time to do it, I spend far too much time staring into the void trying to clear out the clutter.

That is why my first New Year’s resolution of 2019 is to be more organized. More organized with my thoughts, more organized with my ideas and more organized with my desk. The stacks of papers, magazines and toys (yes, I have toys on my desk) are a bit overwhelming.

New Year’s resolutions have always perplexed me. Growing up I never understood why people waited until the first day of a new year to try and better themselves.

I need to quit smoking or drink

less or get to the gym, but it’s only September, why start now? Then I got older and I realized that going into the holiday season was no time to be giving up your vices. The stress of holiday shoppers, family gatherings and the constant “don’t worry, next year will be the year you meet that special someone” from friends is enough to keep a glass of red wine and a smooth Marlboro red fixed to both hands all season long.

Truth be told I quit smoking seven years ago as a New Year’s

wAtermArk stAff Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer tom@Watermarkonline.com

CFL Bureau Chief: Jeremy Williams • ext. 106 Jeremy@Watermarkonline.com

Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • ext. 110 Rick@Watermarkonline.com

Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • ext. 302 Ryan@Watermarkonline.com

Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • ext. 101 Kathleen@Watermarkonline.com

Multimedia Assistant: Meghan Sweeney • ext. 100 Meghan@Watermarkonline.com

resolution and since then have given in and smoked only four cigarettes. But I’d be lying if I said at least once a day I didn’t pretend a pen on my desk was a smoke that I take a nice, long drag off of.

For the most part, that resolution stuck because of the only true thing that makes a resolution stick for me, fear.

The commercials from the anti-smoking campaign TRUTH caused me to burst into a panic attack anytime I lit up. Well played TRUTH, it worked. Fear is a big motivator for me as I think it probably is for many people.

My other New Year’s resolution, besides being more organized, is to lose weight and get back in shape. This is one I actually started last summer but took a break from during the holiday season for reasons outlined above.

This was another resolution spawned by fear. A bi-annual visit to my doctor’s office earlier in the year was a big wake-up call as my checkup showed I was in the danger zone of having high cholesterol, high blood sugar and sleep apnea. All that coupled with the fact that I already have high blood pressure and HIV left me in a state of fear.

Since then I am down 50 lbs. and I am on the road to a healthier me. That journey is what started me on wanting to write the in-depth that is in this issue. “What’s up, doc?” began as a conversation with my doctor about all the health screenings, issues and concerns I needed to be aware of, not only because I am approaching 40 years old, but also because of my family health history and because I am a gay man.

In this issue’s in-depth, we spoke with several doctors within Central Florida and Tampa Bay about health issues that carry a higher risk for members of the LGBTQ community. We have included cut-out sections in the

Art Director: Jake Stevens • ext. 109 Jake@Watermarkonline.com

Orlando Account Manager: Brianna Rockmore • ext. 105 Brianna@Watermarkonline.com

Creative Assistant/Photographer: Dylan Todd • ext. 102 Dylan@Watermarkonline.com

Senior Tampa Bay Account Manager: Russ Martin • ext. 303 Russ@Watermarkonline.com

Sales Director: Danny Garcia • ext. 108 Danny@Watermarkonline.com

Tampa Bay Account Manager: Anja Saine • ext. 301 Anja@Watermarkonline.com

Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • ext. 103 Sam@Watermarkonline.com

National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. 212-242-6863

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

story that include conversation starters for you and your doctor at your next check up.

In Central Florida news, Blue Star is beginning 2019 with a search for The Venue’s new home and a married couple has been kicked out of their Apopka home possibly because of anti-trans discrimination.

In Tampa Bay news, Metro Tampa Bay has completed its major renovations at its St. Petersburg location and anti-LGBTQ activists are targeting Pasco County schools.

new year’s resolutions have always perplexed me. Growing up I never understood why people waited until the first day of a new year to try and better themselves.

In state news, Tallahassee is showing who is with us as Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried adds LGBTQ protections to her department and who isn’t as incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis excludes LGBTQ people from his non-discrimination executive order.

Our Arts &Entertainment section showcases comedian Michele Balan, who is in Orlando this month for Queer Queens of Quomedy, and the Lavender Scare-themed “Perfect Arrangement,” playing at freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Here’s wishing you a healthier, more organized 2019. May the odds be ever in your favor.

orlAndo office 414 N. Ferncreek Ave. Orlando, FL 32803 TEL: 407-481-2243

tAmpA bAy office 2529 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

contributors MAIA MONET is a photographer at Southern Nights in Orlando and a singer with the band Mad Transit. Page 17

SYLvIE GRIFFITHS

is a proud, minivan-driving mother of four with a degree in behavioral health and Master’s in Business Administration with a nonprofit concentration. She loves art and horror movies. Page 19

AARON DRAKE

is a contributor to Creative Loafing, South Florida Gay News and ManAboutWorld. He loves getting lost in other countries and his German Shepherd. Page 53 sAbrinA AmbrA, nAthAn bruemmer, scottie cAmpbell, miguel fuller, divine grAce, holly kApherr Alejos, jAson leclerc, melody mAiA monet, jerick mediAvillA, greg stemm, dr. steve yAcovelli, michAel wAnzie

photogrAphy briAn becnel, nick cArdello, bruce hArdin, jAmArQus mosley, chris stephenson, lee vAndergrift

distribution lvnlif2 distributing, ken cArrAwAy, vAnessA mArescA-cruz CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher.

Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations.

WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail).

The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication.

WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

Watermark publishing group inc.

7

February 9-10 2019 10 am - 5 pm Veterans Park 5350 31st Ave S Gulfport, Florida

Gulfport Fine Arts Festival 8

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

A boutique art show in historic downtown Gulfport, a charming ‘Olde Florida’ town, within South St Petersburg

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

tampa Bay

Bureau Chief’S

ryan Williams-Jent TB BUREAU CHIEF Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

T

desk

O CELEBRATE THE 25TH YEAR OF

Watermark and my first column of 2019, I want to share an exclusive with readers.

It’s something that you’ve likely never read anywhere else, so feel free to take a moment and mentally prepare because this is big.

Smoking is bad for you.

This may come as a surprise, particularly if you’re a smoker, and many of us in the LGBTQ community are. In fact, studies have shown that LGBTQ adults are two and a half times more likely to smoke than our heterosexual peers.

I experienced that first hand (and helped others experience it secondhand) for years, smoking up until Dec. 17, 2018. As I write this, it’s been one month, five days, twelve hours and some change since

my last cigarette – so long ago that Donald Trump hadn’t even shut down the government yet. (Which, by the way, is more of a threat to our national security than transgender men and women serving in the military.)

As you read this, it will have been even longer since I’ve lit up.

I don’t share that to boast or preach – because I realize every smoker knows it’s bad for them – but rather to hold myself accountable. This

wAtermArk stAff Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer tom@Watermarkonline.com

CFL Bureau Chief: Jeremy Williams • ext. 106 Jeremy@Watermarkonline.com

Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • ext. 110 Rick@Watermarkonline.com

Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • ext. 302 Ryan@Watermarkonline.com

Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • ext. 101 Kathleen@Watermarkonline.com

Multimedia Assistant: Meghan Sweeney • ext. 100 Meghan@Watermarkonline.com

quit is my second and I intend it to be my last.

I never thought I’d smoke in the first place. Who does, I suppose, but as a child I grew up loathing cigarettes. Smoking sections in restaurants were the absolute worst – how was that ever a thing? – and I was constantly in trouble at home for flushing my parents’ packs down the toilet. Like I considered the cigarettes to be, I was kind of a turd.

Still, college had different plans and I eventually lit up. I wanted the extra breaks while I was bartending and I figured I wouldn’t get addicted.

I smoked for over a decade until I quit several years ago for six months, my initial attempt at being smoke free that ended when my father died. The emotional stress was enough of an excuse for me to light up again.

I utilized a range of other excuses to keep smoking, including that I now knew how hard quitting could be, until I was fed up enough with myself to make a change.

That happened in November, when I talked to my doctor for the first time about quitting.

He recommended Chantix. While I’d known several people who were successful with the cessation drug, I’d also known a handful that had horror stories. I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to try it, but I knew I wanted to quit and gave it a shot.

As a gift to myself, I started the drug on my 34th birthday Dec. 3.

I joke that I gave myself the gift of life, but even after this short amount of time I feel so much better. I owed it to myself, my husband and even to our dogs to stick around as long as I can.

While I was ultimately able to quit smoking because I genuinely wanted to, I was able to learn about Chantix and how it could work for me because of the open dialogue I had with my doctor. The importance of that is something we look at in this issue’s cover

Art Director: Jake Stevens • ext. 109 Jake@Watermarkonline.com

Orlando Account Manager: Brianna Rockmore • ext. 105 Brianna@Watermarkonline.com

Creative Assistant/Photographer: Dylan Todd • ext. 102 Dylan@Watermarkonline.com

Senior Tampa Bay Account Manager: Russ Martin • ext. 303 Russ@Watermarkonline.com

Sales Director: Danny Garcia • ext. 108 Danny@Watermarkonline.com

Tampa Bay Account Manager: Anja Saine • ext. 301 Anja@Watermarkonline.com

Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • ext. 103 Sam@Watermarkonline.com

National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. 212-242-6863

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

story, which dives into the many health issues impacting the LGBTQ community.

If you’re not sure how to discuss those issues, we have sections that are easy to cut out if you’re reading in print or are easy to view on your phone if you’re reading online.

Bring the information with you the next time you’re visiting your doctor to get the conversation started – because your health matters.

It certainly matters to Metro Wellness and Community Centers.

In Tampa Bay news, we preview the upcoming grand opening of their renovated, 47,000-square-foot campus. We also check in with Pasco County Schools, currently under assault from anti-LGBTQ activists.

In Central Florida news, the show goes on for The Venue, an LGBTQ-inclusive hotspot searching

I was kind of a turd.

for a new home. We also examine claims of discrimination in Apopka after a transgender woman was evicted from her home.

Discrimination in Tallahassee and in Washington can be found in both state and national headlines this issue. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis excludes LGBTQ protections from his executive order and in D.C., the Supreme Court allows Donald Trump’s transgender military ban to take effect.

After detailing the losses we focus on laughs in Arts & Entertainment. Out comedian Michele Balan dishes on the Orlando stop of “Queer Queens of Quomedy” and we crack open the history books with “Perfect Arrangement” at freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories each issue, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

orlAndo office 414 N. Ferncreek Ave. Orlando, FL 32803 TEL: 407-481-2243

tAmpA bAy office 2529 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

contributors MAIA MONET is a photographer at Southern Nights in Orlando and a singer with the band Mad Transit. Page 17

SYLvIE GRIFFITHS

is a proud, minivan-driving mother of four with a degree in behavioral health and Master’s in Business Administration with a nonprofit concentration. She loves art and horror movies. Page 19

AARON DRAKE

is a contributor to Creative Loafing, South Florida Gay News and ManAboutWorld. He loves getting lost in other countries and his German Shepherd. Page 53 sAbrinA AmbrA, nAthAn bruemmer, scottie cAmpbell, miguel fuller, divine grAce, holly kApherr Alejos, jAson leclerc, melody mAiA monet, jerick mediAvillA, greg stemm, dr. steve yAcovelli, michAel wAnzie

photogrAphy briAn becnel, nick cArdello, bruce hArdin, jAmArQus mosley, chris stephenson, lee vAndergrift

distribution lvnlif2 distributing, ken cArrAwAy, vAnessA mArescA-cruz CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher.

Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations.

WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail).

The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication.

WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

Watermark publishing group inc.

9

central florida news

THE SHOW WILL GO ON:

Blue Star (3rd from L) on stage at The Venue with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (Center) and the cast of VarieTEASE’s “The NOTcracker” in December.

Tiara Kelley, left, and husband Robert Kelly. Photo by Tiara Kelley

Apopka transgender woman evicted, alleges discrimination from housing association Abigail Brashear

A

POPKA, Fla. | A transgender woman of color and her husband were evicted from their mobile home in Apopka this month and claim discrimination from the Homeowners Association was a factor.

Tiara Kelley, 38, and her husband Robert Kelley, bought their Bayshore Chalet North mobile home in September.

The couple bought the mobile home completely in cash, ensuring that their name was on the title of the home, and leased the lot that the mobile home was on with the Chalet North HOA. They had problems from day one, Tiara says. When the Kelleys originally went to sign the lease, Chalet North Community Manager Milagros Jimenez repeatedly asked where Robert’s wife was while Tiara stood next to him.

In addition, when Tiara provided a driver’s license for identification, Jimenez stated the photo didn’t look like her.

“The front ladies ... are scam artists,” Tiara said in a Facebook post. “The whole thing is about as much money as they can get from you, they do not care about their homeowners or anyone else for that matter.”

According to Bayshore’s website, their goal is “to make home ownership a reality for everyone in a friendly community where you will always feel at home.”

The Kelleys received a notice on Jan. 8 that they were in violation of their rent agreement, despite having paid rent on the due date, two days prior. On Jan. 10, a sheriff arrived and kicked them out. The HOA subsequently changed the lock on the mobile home’s doors.

According to Tiara, Jimenez threatened to throw their furniture out onto the side of the road.

“They said they were being gracious for not doing it,” Tiara says.

Tiara and her husband are presently staying in an extended stay hotel in Orlando on Major Boulevard and are being assisted by Miracle of Love, a nonprofit organization.

The couple plan to move to Colorado in about a month, Tiara says.

As of Jan. 22, the Apopka Police Department, Chalet Homes and Jimenez have not responded back to Watermark’s multiple requests for comment.

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Photo by Jeremy Williams

True Blue Orlando’s Blue Star begins the search for The Venue’s new home Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | Central Florida entertainer and local business owner Blue Star announced Jan. 21 that she is looking to relocate The Venue, a theater space in Orlando’s Ivanhoe Village, after more than six years at its current location.

The Venue’s location was part of a multi-acre purchase by Colliers International in 2015. The area is the future site for The Yard at Ivanhoe—a 31,000-square-feet living, dining and retail space expected to open in fall 2019.

“After having discussions with The Yard and having discussions with the city and my investors, we are not building in the space that was going to be designated for us,” Star says. “We are actively looking for a new space and it has to be spectacular and special like The Venue’s current location is.”

When The Yard project was initially announced, it was stated that The Venue would be provided a new space in the same area.

“The Yard worked very closely with us to make sure we were taken care of,” Star says. “It’s just the amount of

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

money it would take monthly for me to run that venue at The Yard, I just wouldn’t be able to do that.”

While it seems a deal could not be reached between The Venue and The Yard, Star says the relationship between the two is still a good one.

“I want to stress that the relationship that The Venue has with The Yard is a very good one and is very strong. They have treated us very well, I support The Yard 100 percent,” she says.

The Venue, which opened in Sept. 2012, helped to revitalize the area and make it an up-and-coming neighborhood in Orlando.

“We made such great noise when we got to Ivanhoe Village because when we got there nobody was really there. I don’t want to discount like Savoy and stuff like that, but as far as on that row , Santiago’s was being built and Jason [Lambert] hadn’t gotten The Hammered Lamb yet, so we were kind of just on our own, us and The Hideaway,” Star says. “We are still trying to figure out how The Yard and The Venue can work it out, but unfortunately because of the popularity of this area now I have

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

basically kicked myself out of my own neighborhood.”

While Star originally launched The Venue to have a space for her own shows, in the years since it opened it has become a home to the Central Florida burlesque community, a safe place for new artists to build their art and a catchall venue for LGBTQ organizations to hold events.

“It’s just an honor and it’s one of the most humbling and rewarding things to see people testing their limits, taking risks and pushing boundaries for the sake of art and healing themselves through art,” Star says.”It really has become that safe place, and I mean that in a plethora of ways, but I never imagined the family that The Venue would build over the years. I’m so grateful for that.”

The Venue will close at that location in Sept. 2019, nearly seven years to the day from when it opened.

In the meantime, Star says she is actively looking for a new home for The Venue.

Regardless of where The Venue will relocate, the main focus is raising enough money to make it happen. Star is still in the early stages of planning but will announce details soon.

“We will probably start a fundraising campaign in February,” Star says. “I’m not sure of the source we will be using yet. Should we go 501(c)(3)? We are just trying to figure out the best route and then [we will be] marching forward.”

JUNE 2019 NYCPRIDE.ORG/2019

PRODUCED BY

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

11

tampa bay news Metro announces grand opening for state-of-the-art health and community center Ryan Williams-Jent

S

T. PETERSBURG | Metro Wellness and Community Centers will welcome the public into its new, state-of-the-art health and community center during a grand opening celebration Feb. 9.

Metro currently offers personalized health and wellness services in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Clearwater and New Port Richey. The organization first began transforming its St. Petersburg location after purchasing the 47,000-square-foot building it called home in partnership with CAN Community Health in 2016. At the time, they utilized only 18,000 square feet of the campus.

“Metro has been Tampa Bay’s premier inclusive healthcare provider for over 25 years,” the organization’s grand opening invitation reads. “Discover our community impact and celebrate the opening of one of the most advanced healthcare facilities in the nation.”

During its expansion, Metro more than doubled the number of exam rooms on site. The facility now features 16 private areas for patients to interact with multiple primary care physicians and specialists. It also offers a laboratory and a pharmacy presented in partnership with Mail Meds, streamlining each patient’s experience.

“You’ll find the comfort of a family doctor while benefiting from Metro’s holistic environment,” the organization advises. “With so many health and wellness resources under one roof, our unique navigation and linkage approach connects your doctor to a network of counselors, case managers and pharmacists in real time.”

Metro will highlight its many offerings during the grand opening celebration via tours of the updated space as staff and clients alike provide personal testimony. Attendees will also be treated to a number of door prizes, games and activities while enjoying a complimentary cookout, hors d’oeuvres and open bar.

Music will be provided by DJ L Mo and Co. as guests congregate in Metro’s new grand hall. The afternoon will also include special performances by the Scott and Patti show as Tampa Bay fan favorite entertainer Matthew McGee hosts the gathering.

“The late Garry Breul first introduced me to Metro over a decade ago,” McGee says. “We’ve raised money and awareness through our Pride shows for almost 20 years!

It seems like the perfect opportunity for me to say thank you again to Metro by helping them celebrate this major accomplishment.”

“While we serve many within our Tampa Bay community, a fast-growing number of our primary care clients are LGBTQ+,” Metro Vice President of Marketing and Communication Brian Bailey adds. “They appreciate our all-inclusive approach to healthcare in a stigma-free environment. This new facility allows us to meet that surging demand.”

Metro’s Grand Opening will be held Feb. 9 from 2-6 p.m. at 3251 3rd Ave. N. in St. Petersburg. Donations will be accepted. For more information, visit metrotampabay.org, call 727-321-3854 or search for “Metro Grand Opening” on Facebook.

12

PASCO POLICYMAKERS: Current Pasco County School Board members Alison Crumbley, Cynthia Armstrong, Allen Altman, Colleen Beaudoin and Megan Harding.

PHOTO VIA PASCO COUNTY SCHOOLS FACEBOOK PAGE

The Church is Watching Anti-LGBTQ activists target Pasco County Schools Ryan Williams-Jent

P

ASCO COUNTY | Anti-LGBTQ activists are targeting Pasco County Schools for the district’s internal efforts to support LGBTQ students, utilizing a 26-page “pastor packet” to mobilize for the “Protect our Children Project” during school board meetings and more.

The project is spearheaded by Terry Kemple, anti-LGBTQ president of the Community Issues Council.

The organization’s website advises its primary method of operation “is conducting small local gatherings of pastors” to protect “the traditional family” and shield “our children from indoctrination in the public schools.”

Kemple, who declined comment for this article, has long been an opponent of LGBTQ equality in Tampa Bay. He is associated with and supported by the Liberty Counsel, deemed an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The group first set its sights on Pasco County Schools last fall, after a teacher objected to a transgender student utilizing a locker room which

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

aligned with their gender identity.

The district drew further ire after Liberty Counsel was alerted that a school psychologist was utilizing a guide designed to assist educators in understanding LGBTQ students.

The “pastor packet” of anti-LGBTQ practices and procedures was last utilized Jan. 15 at a Pasco County school board meeting in New Port Richey. The group circulated flyers ahead of the gathering, instructing attendees to “wear red, white [or] blue,” noting that “it’s time for the church to stand up.”

According to Equality Florida Director of Transgender Equality Gina Duncan, who attended the meeting in support of Pasco’s efforts, “there were roughly 100 people in attendance, most wearing the requested colors.”

She notes that 47 speaker cards were collected and all but three spoke against transgender rights and protections.

“It was difficult to sit there as an out transgender person and listen to all of the falsehoods and hate speech,” Duncan shares, “most of which was framed in Biblical references or false biology. Transgender people

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

were described as abominations, confused, a safety concern, being mentally ill and apparently due to some pre-meeting messaging, many used the term ‘suffering from gender dysphoria’ to describe trans students.’”

The messaging stems from the “pastor packet,” which Watermark has reviewed. It urges participants to “let the board know the church is watching,” in order to “stop them from using the ‘practices guide’ and ‘gender plan.’” It also aims to “replace non-biblically based school board members with Christians.”

Additionally, it asks pastors to encourage members, “including young people,” to come to school board meetings to oppose Pasco County Schools. Participants are instructed to contact school board members via personal visits, phone calls and email.

Duncan, who applauds Pasco County Schools for their vision and care of students of varying gender identities, says that concerned citizens can email the school board to express their support of existing practices.

“Let the Pasco County School Board know that you reject the rhetoric of hate and discrimination from right-wing extremists and anti-LGBTQ hate-groups,” she says.

“Let them know that you support a healthy classroom environment that embraces diversity and is welcoming for all students.”

Kemple and his supporters will attend the school board’s next meeting to oppose LGBTQ inclusion on Feb. 5 at 7227 US-41 in Land O’ Lakes. For more information about the meeting or to contact the board, visit Pasco.k12.fl.us/School_Board.

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state news

floridA gov. ron desAntis eXcludes lgbtQ protections from non-discriminAtion eXecutive order

floridA Agriculture commissioner orders lgbtQ protections

Abigail Brashear

T

Wire Report

T

ALLAHASSEE, Fla. | Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is adding sexual orientation and gender identity to her department’s list of workplace protections against discrimination.

The Jan. 18 announcement means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will include LGBTQ employment protections along with those based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age and disability.

“These critical protections both affirm the equality of LGBTQ employees and provide the agency with clear guidance on equitable practices in hiring, firing and management,” wrote Equality Florida in a statement Jan. 18.

It is the first agency to extend protections to transgender employees and applicants.

Fried was sworn in earlier this month and is the only Democrat to hold a statewide office in Florida.

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ALLAHASSEE, Fla. | Gov. Ron DeSantis failed to include LGBTQ protections within an executive order that reaffirmed other existing protections and denied discrimination.

Executive order 1910 was issued hours after DeSantis was sworn into office Jan. 8 and is titled, “Reaffirming Commitment to Diversity in Government.” It repeatedly rejects the idea of discrimination against “age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, marital status or disability,” but fails to mention anything regarding the topic of gender identity or sexuality orientation.

Joe Saunders, senior political director for Equality Florida, said in a press release that he is “deeply” disappointed in this omission, especially after Sen.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Rick Scott, previous governor of Florida, failed to keep his promise of adding protections for the LGBTQ community after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub.

“It’s hard to believe that Gov. DeSantis and his staff are not aware of the LGBTQ community’s call for these protections following the Pulse tragedy and therefore it is hard to interpret this as anything less than a purposeful omission,” said Saunders. “As governors across the country establish these critical protections for LGBTQ families, this order draws a stark contrast. We look forward to a dialogue with Gov. DeSantis about why LGBTQ employees have been omitted from this critical policy and how he plans to make sure that all Floridians, regardless of who they are or who they love, can be protected from discrimination.”

Contrastingly, bipartisan governors across the country are

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

including LGBTQ protections in their executive orders. Governors from Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan have all signed executive orders that include protections of LGBTQ persons.

According to its website, Equality Florida is “the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

Through education, grassroots organizing, coalition building and lobbying, we are changing Florida so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Watermark sent multiple requests for comment to the office of Gov. DeSantis. As of press time, we have not had any response back from the governor’s office.

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

nation+world news

Supreme Court green lights Trump’s transgender military ban Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

T

he U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22 issued stays on lower court orders against President Trump’s transgender military ban, apparently allowing the policy to go into effect.

In orders from the court, the Supreme Court granted stays the U.S. Justice Department requested in two separate cases challenging the ban before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Karnoski v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump.

The stays mean that Trump’s policy against transgender service

will be allowed to go into effect as litigation moves forward.

The orders note U.S. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan would have denied the application for a stay.

(Since at least five justices are required for the Supreme Court to grant a stay, the order suggests Chief Justice John Roberts as well as U.S. Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas agree to grant the stay.)

Shanon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the interpretation of the orders to mean Trump’s policy can go into effect is “unfortunately” correct.

But Minter added the Supreme Court’s stay order is “only

temporary and is in place only until the Ninth Circuit issues its decision and the Court decides whether to accept review of that case.”

Also pending before the court were petitions for certiorari calling for the Supreme Court to review in these cases even before the Ninth Circuit had rendered a decision.

It would be a rare move for the Supreme Court to grant the cases at this stage without decisions yet from the appellate courts.

The orders note the court has yet to take action on those petitions, but if the court eventually agrees to grant a writ of certiorari and hear the cases, the stays will “terminate when the court enters its judgment.”

The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to the Washington Blade’s request to comment on what the Supreme Court orders mean for implementation of the transgender military ban.

Hawaii’s Gabbard apologizes for past LGBTQ statements Wire Report

H

ONOLULU | U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard responded to criticism Jan. 17 about her past work advocating against same-sex rights by apologizing in a video.

The nearly four-minute-long clip, which was shot in her Washington, D.C. backyard, shows Gabbard standing in the snow saying that her views have changed significantly since she made statements that were hurtful to LGBTQ people.

The Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii has apologized for such

statements before. But she has come under renewed criticism since she announced during a CNN interview last week that she would run for president.

Gabbard, 37, campaigned against same-sex marriage with the group Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values when she was a state representative in her 20s. Gabbard’s father, who is now a state senator and was a Honolulu City Councilman, founded the organization to lobby against same-sex marriage.

Gabbard explained in the video that she grew up in a socially conservative household and was

raised to believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But she said she has since formed her own opinions from her life experiences.

“When we deny LGBTQ people the basic rights that exist for every American, we are denying their humanity — denying that they are equal. We are also creating a dangerous environment that breeds discrimination and violence,” she said.

Gabbard added she knows LGBTQ people still face discrimination and fear their rights will be taken away “by people who hold views like I used to.”

participated in a rally where two other candidates showed off a street sign honoring Franco that they had broken.

Witzel has noted that he did not participate in the defacing of the sign and did not mention it in his speech that day. The former judge, a member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s party, ran on promises to crack down on crime, including by using sharpshooters to takeout suspects carrying automatic weapons.

Witzel said investigators were close to solving the Franco case,

the latest of many officials to make claims of progress. To date, nobody has been arrested.

Franco, who was black and a lesbian, crusaded for black and gay causes. Hailing from Mare, one of Rio de Janeiro’s roughest neighborhoods, Franco also frequently criticized police violence. The city’s police force is one of the most lethal in the world.

Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were gunned down in their car in Rio on March 14 after Franco spoke at a meeting on empowering black women.

Sister of slain Brazilian councilwoman calls for justice Wire Report

R

IO DE JANEIRO | The sister of slain Brazilian councilwoman Marielle Franco on Jan. 14 expressed concern about the conservative new governor’s commitment to solving the case.

Ten months to the day since the slaying of Franco and her driver, sister Anielle Franco said Gov. Wilson Witzel’s recent actions as a candidate were “worrisome.”

During last year’s campaign, Witzel

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

in other news Grindr shutters its digital publication Grindr unexpectedly laid off the editorial and social media staff for its digital LGBTQ publication, Into, Jan. 15 in an effort to shift to video content. “This was a difficult decision and one that we do not take lightly. We want to thank these colleagues for all of their contributions to Grindr and our community,” Grindr said in a statement. Into’s staff penned a goodbye letter calling the decision “a tremendous loss for LGBTQ media, journalism, and the world.” Into launched in 2017 as an online LGBT publication aimed at millennials. During its run, it earned a GLAAD nomination and won an award from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Pence defends wife’s job at school that bans gays Vice President Mike Pence says the criticism of Christian education in America should stop. Pence is responding to media reports of his wife returning to teach at a school that says it can refuse to employ gay and lesbian teachers or enroll children with gay or lesbian parents. Karen Pence is teaching at Immanuel Christian School in northern Virginia.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights advocacy group, criticized the move as an example of the Pence’s showing their public service “only extends to some.” But Pence says on the Catholic news network EWTN in an interview that aired Jan. 17 that America has a rich tradition of religious education and that “to see major news organizations attacking Christian education is deeply offensive to us.”

Former Obama LGBTQ liaison named PFLAG executive director A former White House liaison to the LGBT community in the Obama administration has been named the new chief of PFLAG National, the organization announced Jan. 17. Brian Bond, who was the first White House LGBT liaison during the Obama administration, is set to become executive director of PFLAG effective Feb. 1. PFLAG names Bond as executive director after its previous head Jaime Grant left the organization in March 2018 only six months into the job in a move that puzzled some LGBT activists. PFLAG has gone nearly a year without an executive director.

Nashville Police name 1st fulltime LGBTQ community liaison The Metro Nashville Police Department has named its first liaison to the LGBTQ community. Chief Steve Anderson announced Jan. 10 that Officer Catie Poole will serve in the new role. Poole is a five-year Nashville Police veteran who recently was a downtown bicycle officer. Anderson says the new position is part of the department’s ongoing push to build relationships throughout the city. Poole will attend community meetings, respond to people who seek her advice and advocate for Nashville Police members of the LGBTQ community. She will also assure there are places for people to safely report suspected hate crimes to the police.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

viewpoint

Maia Monet

trAns of thought Trans people aren’t debates

O

NE OF THE MORE

mentally and physically exhausting aspects of being transgender is, in fact, not the transition, but the aftermath of living in a world with—and I am being generous here—an imperfect understanding of why we exist.

Ignorance of the reams of scientific data to date that support transgender identities means we are constantly called upon to defend our validity to those without the motivation to self-educate. More exhausting is that there is no safe haven for us even within the LGBTQ+ community, as there appears to be an expectation that trans people must be ready to provide this defense to all cisgender people on command. Of course, engaging in these debates is a losing proposition because it inherently starts from a position of doubt. One where we must entertain that “no” is a possible legitimate answer to the question of “are trans people REALLY who they say they are?”

I was reminded of this over the holidays as a video of a trans woman at a GameStop spread like wildfire across social media. Having been misgendered repeatedly by the staff, she had an epic tantrum that was a cringe-inducing example of what not to do in an age when everyone has a video camera at the ready. As I watched her yell about her displeasure and knock over store merchandise in a video repeatedly posted across my feeds, I braced for the inevitable fallout. Predictably, the first platforms to push the video to viral status were conservative outlets, ever at

the ready to capitalize on any opportunity to cast doubt on the validity of transgender people. However, that simply stoked a fire that was already burning. The true measure of how far we have to go for understanding came in the debates that raged on LGBTQ+ forums.

Not surprisingly, the reactions in my social media to the video were overwhelmingly negative. Truth be told, I wasn’t much of a fan of how this particular trans woman handled the situation either. Such an extreme reaction put the focus on the histrionics and removed the possibility of sympathy for the injustice of the situation.

The trans woman in question admitted to as much on her personal Facebook, stating that she should have been more cognizant of the optics, while also asserting her right to defend herself. She also admitted to anxiety at how the video could be used to discredit the trans community.

She was right to be anxious, as that is exactly what happened.

However, what was particularly galling were the subtle disparaging comments used by some members of the queer community to diminish her claim to womanhood.

In what I can describe only as verbal side-eye, the most common criticism I saw on LGBTQ+-themed groups was that her behavior was not ladylike. I found this quite disheartening given that the comment most often came from cisgender lesbians who, it can be argued, are living embodiments of the rejection of “ladylike” behavior. What is more unladylike than refusing to conform to the traditional societal man-and-woman, baby-producing relationship model? It also didn’t escape my attention that similar behavior by a cisgender woman, caught on video recently in a Ft. Lauderdale airport losing her composure entirely with a JetBlue agent, didn’t meet the same scrutiny in regards to her femininity. Clearly, ladylike used in the context of this trans woman meant more than her behavior, but was

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

instead commentary on the legitimacy of her identity itself.

She wasn’t a woman failing to live up to constructed notions of femininity, like our JetBlue provocateur. The implication was she was failing entirely at being a woman.

As someone who has had many a conversation with

had historically been applied to them by the straight community escaped them.

Arguments such as “If you are going to date a woman that looks like a man, why not just date a man?” Endlessly pointing out the irony is exasperating because, frankly, they should know better. As queer people

I haven’t because it carries with it the implication that being transgender diminishes my femininity. After all, nobody ever asks me when I will drop “lesbian” or “Latina” as modifiers to my womanhood.

The real answer of course is when people no longer even think to debate the validity of

queer people about what it means to be transgender, I can’t say I found the reaction unexpected. I’ve been asked many times by gay people why I transitioned if my attraction remained toward women. My own identity as a woman was being cast into doubt based on the fact that I’m a lesbian.

That they were applying the same heteronormative argument towards me that

we need to remember that, just because something falls outside our realm of personal understanding, doesn’t mean it isn’t valid or worthy of respect.

Isn’t that exactly what we are asking for ourselves from the non-queer community?

I am often asked when I will drop “transgender” and simply identify as a woman. The subtext of the question itself holds part of the answer of why

my identity based on the fact I am transgender. However, as the GameStop video demonstrates, I fear that day is still a long way in the future.

That they were applying the same heteronormative argument towards me that had historically been applied to them by the straight community escaped them.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

Melody Maia Monet is the co-founder of MadSkillsConsulting.com and owns a YouTube channel on lesbian and transgender topics. You can view her videos at YouTube. com/MelodyMaia.

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

viewpoint

sylvie Griffiths

mAmA beArings Self-Love

2

019 IS HERE. IT’S

officially a new year and as I always do, I try to come up with goals to make a new and improved me.

Last year was a mixed bag. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA in my MBA program, had financial success within my salon career and I made amazing connections and new friends.

My nine year-old transgender son started at a new school and is having an amazing second chance at his third grade year—and my other kids are doing well and growing into amazing young adults.

Still, 2018 ended with the loss of my mother to cancer and the end of my marriage, negative events I’ve dwelled on. I miss my mother immensely and I feel lonely most nights since my marriage ended, but to focus on those feelings above the good in my life was not healthy for

relationship is heartbreaking and empowering alike. Some days I feel proud of my choice to be brave and accept being alone after a decade. Other days I want to stay in bed with the covers over my head.

In 2019, I have made the conscious choice to be healthier by loving myself. It sounds so cliche, but to truly love myself I have to put real work in. The days I want to stay in bed I am not going to tell myself I am weak. The days I worry about never finding love again I will try to imagine finding love with the right person. The times the kids are struggling, I will remind myself that they are, like I am, works in progress.

Their successes and failures do not entirely rest on my shoulders. Every day, I will try to love myself and remember my strengths and weaknesses with understanding.

This great “Kumbaya” epiphany did not happen overnight. I am not Zen every day at all. I go to therapy and I take medications for my depression and anxiety. I need help for myself even though I prefer to help others. I looked back on 2018 with a heavy heart after my mother died and my husband moved out. I write about self-care and self-love but was not practicing this for myself. To survive and thrive in 2019, I knew I would need to change my personal health.

I am surviving. I want to grow as a person—mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

What is around the corner is unknown, but for a mini-van

me the ability to tell him that helping with his wedding would be an honor and great sense of happiness to me.

I reminded him that their happiness shows me what I deserve and should hold out for in my next relationship.

None of us are perfect. Most days, I am wondering if the outside world sees what a hot mess I feel I am internally. But that is okay, because I am me

and I’d rather be authentic.

We all need to take care of ourselves.

In 2019, I will not wait for anyone to take care of me.

Exercising, seeing friends, entering into healthy, equal partnerships, taking my medication and just loving myself a little more each day are my personal goals this year for my improved health.

None of us know what the future brings, and I believe each day can hold some small piece of magic if we know how to look for it. On the days where that magic is hidden, I will let myself off the hook to feel what I need to feel. May we all do the same to be wealthy in health all year!

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I write about self-care and self-love but was not practicing this for myself. To survive and thrive in 2019, I knew I would need to change my personal health. me. I used to hate when people would tell me that you’re only dealt as much negativity as you can handle in life when things are rough, but I think I understand it now at the age of 41.

I have four kids and multiple jobs. This alone has been an excuse of mine not to do things socially—“I am too busy,” “The kids need me tonight,” “It’s not in the budget”— and I realized I was staying busy on purpose. I overloaded my schedule each intense day to be exhausted enough to fall asleep each night. I thought I was living each day to the fullest but I was avoiding my life in many ways.

I was hiding from the elements of my life that were not exactly awesome. The slow death of a long-term

driving mom of four that can sound kind of exciting. I have such an amazing circle of friends and being a part of their lives is a gift that I cherish more these days.

A good friend and co-worker is planning his wedding to his fantastic fiancee and he recently apologized to me for talking about his upcoming nuptials. My new perspective and growth gave

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

talking points

8.9%

you said you might be into girls/said you’re going through a phase/Keeping your heart safe/Well, baby, you can bring a friend/she can ride on top your face/While I f*** you straight straight.

—LYRICS FROM THE WEEKEND’S LATEST SINGLE “LOST IN THE FIRE,” WHICH CAUSED CONTROvERSY AFTER BEING PERCEIvED AS HOMOPHOBIC.

of

JAPANESE

PEOPLE (ageS 20-59) polled

INDENTIFY LGBT aS

out aCtor Jonathan Bennett JoinS ‘CeleBrity Big Brother’ SeaSon tWo

G

AY ACTOR AND Tv HOST jONATHAN BENNETT has joined season two of “Celebrity Big Brother.” Bennett, 37, is best known for playing Aaron Samuels, Lindsay Lohan’s love interest, in the 2005 teen comedy “Mean Girls” and for hosting “Cake Wars.” He came out as gay in 2017 and is currently dating TV host James Vaughan. Bennett will be joined by Lindsay’s mother, Dina Lohan, former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, actor Joey Lawrence, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, actor Kato Kaelin, “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss, singer and “Braxton Family Values” star Tamar Braxton, actor/talk show host Tom Green, former WWE star Natalie Eva Marie, Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones and former NFL player Ricky Williams. “Celebrity Big Brother” airs on CBS.

Compared to 7.6% in 2015.

ADDITIONALLY, NEARLY

70% of

RESPONDENTS are familiar W/ the term

LGBT Compared to 37.6% Who reSponded Similarly in 2015.

—SURvEY CONDUCTED BY jAPANESE ADvERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY, DENTSU

‘the favourite,’ ‘poSe’ rake in WinS at dorian aWardS

G

ALECA: THE SOCIETY OF LGBTQ ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS unveiled the winners for its 10th annual Dorian Awards on Jan. 8. “The Favourite” lived up to its name by securing wins for Film of the Year, Screenplay of the Year and Best Film Performance of the Year for lead Olivia Colman. Alfonso Cuaron won Director of the Year for “Roma,” and the film also won Foreign Language Film of the Year. In the television categories, “Pose” led the pack with wins for TV Drama of the Year and LGBTQ TV Show of the Year. Billy Porter also won TV Performance of the Year for “Pose.” GALECA consists of more than 200 LGBTQ entertainment journalists.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

marvel introduCeS mutant drag Queen Shade

F

OR THE FIRST TIME IN MARvEL COMICS HISTORY, there is a drag queen superhero. Shade, a mutant who has the power of teleportation and can create “pocket voids” through her handheld fan, was introduced in the fourth issue of Marvel’s “Iceman” comic. The character was the brain child of out writer Sina Grace and artist Nathan Stockman. Grace told NewNowNext that he drew inspiration for Shade from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestants Shea Couleé, Monét X Change, The Vixen and Dax ExclamationPoint. Shade returned in the fifth issue of “Iceman,” now available, and will appear next in “X-Men: Winter’s End,” which will be released in February.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

david’S Bridal tv ad inCludeS leSBian Couple for firSt time

D

AvID’S BRIDAL INCLUDED A LESBIAN COUPLE for the first time in a television commercial.

The commercial starts off with the narrator reciting the classic wedding rhyme “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” The ad peeks in on different weddings including an interracial lesbian couple sharing their first dance until one bride’s father cuts in. “And above all else… something you,” the narrator adds to the rhyme. David’s Bridal is the largest bridal-store chain in the United States. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year but appears to be trying to revive the brand with a new marketing tactic. See the full commercial at WatermarkOnline.com.

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Should I really be on PrEP?

Can that Y cause cancer?

Are condoms even important anymore?

o I see my tor enough?

My friends still smoke. o I really need to quit?

Is HPV that big of a deal?

Sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed. Should I tell my doctor?

Where do I find an LGBTQ-friendly doctor?

wHat’s

Do I have anxiety?

What if I have anxiety?

What do I do about anxiety?

Is mental health that big of a deal?

up, Doc?

I regulary get tested for HIV, what else would I need?

As you work toward a healthier and happier you in 2019, we look at some LGBTQ-specific healthcare concerns you should bring up with your doctor

M

Jeremy Williams

EMBERS WITHIN THE LGBTQ

community are as diverse as the total population. They cover the entire spectrum of race, sex, gender, age, religion and socioeconomic status; so many of the recommended health screenings and medical evaluations for LGBTQ people are the same as the heterosexual and cisgender communities. However, there are certain health concerns that carry higher risk factors for members of the LGBTQ community.

Because of that, we spoke with LGBTQ-friendly doctors in Central Florida and Tampa Bay about specific community healthcare issues to help you begin the conversation with your primary care physician and get 2019 started off right.

This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or replace your healthcare professional.

Consult your physician for further information.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

aCCeSS to lgBtQ-friendly healthCare Being able to access consistent, qualified and understanding healthcare providers is the first step to a healthier you. One of the biggest obstacles preventing LGBTQ people from accessing regular care, however, is the fear of discrimination from their doctor.

A study from the National LGBTQ Task Force found that

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

more than half of all LGBTQ people have experienced some form of discrimination while seeking medical treatment. Those numbers increase for lesbians, transgender people and people of color.

“I think that comfort with the provider is a huge barrier,” says Dr. Luke Johnsen, medical director for Tampa Bay’s Metro Wellness and Community Centers. “If

Continued on pg. 27 | uu |

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Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

| uu | What’s Up, Doc? from pg.25

link for Patient Resources and select “Find a Provider.”

Sexual health

someone goes to a doctor and discloses An area of healthcare that shows that they have a same-sex partner and higher risk factors for the LGBTQ they’re given a strange look or asked population is in sexual health. really inappropriate questions or Men who have sex with men (MSM) receive inappropriate comments, that account for more than 65 percent will make them less likely to go and see of new HIV infections annually, a doctor unless they get really sick.” according to the Centers for Disease Dr. Johnsen says another reason Control and Prevention (CDC), and LGBTQ people have traditionally transgender women are 49 times more avoided annual visits to a primary care likely to test HIV-positive than the doctor has been lack of insurance. general population.

“Before the [Affordable Care General guidelines from the CDC Act], a lot of LGBTQ people did not recommend anyone who is sexually qualify to be insured active be tested for under their partner’s HIV at least once insurance and so they a year; however, didn’t have coverage depending on or they could not get sexual habits, it is coverage themselves recommended that because of pre-existing certain high risk conditions, so they can’t groups be tested maintain a primary care every three to relationship and just six months. utilize urgent care when “The frequency they are sick.” in testing for HIV Dr. Johnsen and other Sexually recommends Transmitted researching doctors in Infections (STIs) your area to see which will, in general, ones are advertising as depend on how LGBTQ-friendly. sexually active the Libby’s Legacy founder Robyn “One thing I suggest individual is,” says Maynard-Harris. Photo by Jake Stevens for people all the time, if Dr. Rafael Pinero, you are new to the area a well-known or if they are thinking family practice about looking for an LGBTQ-friendly physician in Orlando’s LGBTQ provider for the first time is to community. “Ideally, everyone should go online and look up the GLMA be checked twice a year. If you are directory,” he says. not in a monogamous relationship, GLMA, or Health Professionals you should talk to your doctor about Advancing LGBTQ Equality (formerly going on [Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis known as the Gay and Lesbian Medical (PrEP)], which would require you to be Association) is an international screened for STIs every three months.” organization of more than 1,000 Dr. Pinero emphasized the LGBTQ medical professionals importance of using safe-sex whose focus is to ensure equality in practices—even if you are on PrEP—to healthcare for LGBTQ people. help protect against other STIs. He says “They have a directory online where that it is important to be able to have you can look up your zip code and it an open and honest dialogue with your lists providers that have elected to be doctor about your sex life. listed on the directory who are LGBTQ Dr. David Lyter, an LGBTQ-friendly friendly,” Dr. Johnsen says. general internal medicine physician in Dr. Johnsen also recommends, Tampa, agrees. while in a doctor’s office, looking for “When they go for STIs screenings, signs that point to that practice being they’re given a blood test and a urine LGBTQ-friendly, literally. test, but that does not pick up an “I have given lectures and done oral infection or rectal infection,” Dr. workshops in the past with general Lyter says. “Unless the doctor knows primary care providers where I have to swab in those areas, if somebody encouraged them to post signs in does bottom or perform oral sex, then the waiting room that say ‘We are an often those infections go undetected. all-inclusive practice that welcomes the So being sure that one is open about LGBTQ community.’ That way you don’t one’s sexual preferences and behavior, have to ask, it’s there. Nobody should in order to get the appropriate testing have to ask.” done, is important.”

If you would like to locate the LGBTQ-friendly physicians in your area, visit GLMA.org and click on the Continued on pg. 29 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Start the conversation:

lesbian/Bisexual

women

H

ow often should you see your

primary care physician? What health screenings, evaluations and/or vaccinations should you have? Should you be on any medications?

Don’t ask us! We aren’t real doctors, we only occasionally play one on TV. Just like every fingerprint, snowflake and social media opinion; each person’s individual health concerns are varied and different.

That’s why the only effective healthy game plan for you is one that is constructed between you and your doctor.

Below are health issues and concerns that, based on CDC and GLMA recommendations, are good questions to start off the conversation with your healthcare team. We have arranged it so lesbian and bisexual women can cut out this section and take it with them to their next doctor’s appointment.

Health screenings:

If you smoke, speak with your doctor about smoking cessation programs and/ or medications. Also, ask about a lung screening to check for adverse effects from smoking, even if you are a former smoker. Tobacco-related health problems can include lung disease, heart disease, high blood pressure and a whole host of other serious problems.

If your blood pressure is normal (less than 120/80), have it checked at least every two years – or more frequently if recommended by your doctor or if you have a family history of high blood pressure. Smoking, frequent alcohol use and/or being overweight can cause high blood pressure.

Cancer screenings: Lesbians and bisexual women are more likely to have risk factors for breast cancer. Along with having a family history of breast cancer, other factors that increase your risk include being overweight, excessive use of alcohol and women who have not had children and haven’t breastfed. The American Cancer Society recommends an annual breast cancer screening with mammograms starting at age 45, with the choice to start as early as age 40. Lesbian and bisexual women should have annual clinical breast exams starting at age 20. They should also begin monthly self-examinations at age 20 as well.

Lesbians and bisexual women have higher risks for certain types of gynecological (GYN) cancers compared to straight women. It is recommended that, starting at age 21, you begin cervical cancer testing by getting a Pap test every three years.

Heart health: Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Smoking and obesity are the biggest risk factors for heart disease among lesbians. All lesbians need yearly medical exams for high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and diabetes. Health care providers can also offer tips on quitting smoking, increasing physical activity and controlling weight.

This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or replace your healthcare professional. The lists do not include all health topics to be discussed with your healthcare provider, simply tips to begin the conversation. Consult your physician for further information.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

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three years starting at age 21, according to the American Cancer | uu | What’s Up, Doc? Society. They can be recommended from pg.27 more frequently by your doctor if abnormalities are found or if you All the doctors we spoke with engage in what they call “high risk emphasize the importance of being sexual behavior.” up-to-date on vaccinations, specifically Breast cancer is the most common the vaccines for Hepatitis A and form of cancer to affect women Hepatitis B among MSM. with some studies showing an “These aren’t vaccines many doctors increase in breast cancer among think about much in the United States lesbian and bisexual women. Robin for the general population,” says Maynard-Harris, founder of Libby’s Dr. Johnsen, “but right now we are Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation, seeing an uptick of Hepatitis A in MSM explained one possible reason of why nationwide.” that is in an interview with Watermark The Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B in Nov. 2017. vaccines are administered by your “Breastfeeding healthcare provider reduces your either as three doses chance of getting over a period of six breast cancer,” months, or three shots Maynard-Harris administered over one said. “Not so many month with the addition lesbians now, but of a booster shot after back in the day one year, according lesbians weren’t to the CDC. having children The most common and weren’t STI in the U.S., across breastfeeding often. all populations, is the Those women are human papillomavirus now in their 40s (HPV). The CDC and 50s, and didn’t estimates that around have children.”

79 million Americans Several other are infected with one of risk factors include the nearly 150 different Dr. Luke Johnson at Metro. being over 40 strands of HPV. Some Photo by Dylan Tood years old, having types can cause health a family history problems including of breast cancer genital warts and cancers, but a vaccine and anyone undergoing hormone is available and recommended for all replacement therapy. men through age 21, and for all women, “This is a risk factor so many doctors MSM and transgender individuals up are not talking about,” Maynard-Harris through age 26. said. “Many of the various types of Check with your primary care breast cancer are estrogen fed, and physician to see which STI vaccines if you already have a family history they recommend for you. and you are transitioning and taking estrogen pills you increase your risk of Cancer breast cancer.”

Cancer is the second leading cause The national LGBT Cancer Network of death in the U.S., behind only heart recommends lesbian, bisexual and disease. Cancer is an undiscriminating transgender women should follow disease that affects all groups of people the same guidelines laid out for across the board; however, some heterosexual, cisgender women. It cancers carry higher risk factors for the is recommended that annual breast LGBTQ community. cancer screening with mammograms As discussed above, HPV affects start at age 45, with the choice to start a large section of the population, as early as age 40, and clinical breast including the LGBTQ community, exams start at age 20. and certain strands carry a chance of developing into cervical, rectal, anal Smoking and oral cancers if left untreated.

LGBTQ adults are two and a half “I think that anyone who has times more likely to use tobacco receptive anal intercourse needs to products than straight adults, according have anal Pap smear,” says Dr. Johnsen. to Tobacco Free Florida.

“There aren’t really established Heart disease is the leading cause of guidelines, probably the guidelines death in the U.S. and smoking is a big somewhat parallel the cervical Pap risk factor for it. Tobacco-related health smear guidelines. So we are aiming to problems can also include lung cancer, screen people for changes in the area, cellular changes and also for HPV.” Pap smears, both of the cervical and Continued on pg. 31 | uu | anal areas, are recommended every

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Start the conversation: gay/Bisexual

men

H

ow often should you see your

primary care physician? What health screenings, evaluations and/or vaccinations should you have?

Should you be on any medications? Don’t ask us! We aren’t real doctors, we only occasionally play one on TV. Just like every fingerprint, snowflake and social media opinion; each person’s individual health concerns are varied and different. That’s why the only effective healthy game plan for you is one that is constructed between you and your doctor.

Below are health issues and concerns that, based on CDC and GLMA recommendations, are good questions to start off the conversation with your healthcare team. We have arranged it so gay and bisexual men can cut out this section and take it with them to their next doctor’s appointment.

Health screenings:

If you smoke, speak with your doctor about smoking cessation programs and/ or medications. Also, ask about a lung screening to check for adverse effects from smoking, even if you are a former smoker. Tobacco-related health problems can include lung disease, heart disease, high blood pressure and a whole host of other serious problems.

Cholesterol screenings are recommended every five years starting at age 20.

If your blood pressure is normal (less than 120/80), have it checked at least every two years – or more frequently if recommended by your doctor or if you have a family history of high blood pressure. Smoking, frequent alcohol use and/or being overweight can cause high blood pressure.

Cancer screenings: Human Papilloma Virus (HVP)—which cause anal and genital warts—may play a role in

the increased rates of anal cancers in gay and bisexual men. Some health professionals now recommend routine screening with anal Pap Smears, similar to the test done for women to detect early cancers. The HPV vaccine is available for men up to age 26.

Prostate, testicular and colon cancer screenings for gay and bisexual men follow the general population guidelines and risk is based on age and family history. Discuss with your healthcare provider your personal need for these screenings. Gay and bisexual men between the ages of 17-40 should conduct monthly testicular cancer self-examinations.

Sexual health tests: Depending on your sexual habits, being tested for HIV is recommended every 3-6 months, but at a minimum at least once a year. Talk with your health care provider about whether PrEP or PEP are appropriate for you based on your HIV status and sexual practices.

Immunization for Hepatitis A Virus and Hepatitis B Virus is recommended for all men who have sex with men. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C Virus. Ask your doctor about having a blood test done to test you for Hepatitis C. If you have Hepatitis C there are new, more effective treatments for that infection.

Screenings for herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia should be conducted at least once a year. It is recommended, along with blood and urine tests, that an oral swab be conducted for those who perform oral sex and a rectal swab be conducted for those who receive anal sex to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia infections that may not show up in blood and/or urine.

This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or replace your healthcare professional. The lists do not include all health topics to be discussed with your healthcare provider, simply tips to begin the conversation. Consult your physician for further information.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

and how you remedy the stresses in your life. | uu | What’s Up, Doc? “In the LGBTQ community, from pg.29 depression and anxiety is very prevalent,” says Dr. Pinero. “I think lung disease, high blood pressure and a that gets complicated when they start whole host of other serious problems. using alcohol and other substances “Basically, you should not smoke to self-treat or self-medicate those at all, period,” says Dr. Pinero. “Also, symptoms, which then becomes another I do not think vaping or those types issue of addiction.” of alternatives to cigarettes are the NAMI reports that an estimated 20 solution because they have still been to 30 percent of LGBTQ people abuse shown that they can carry a risk of substances, compared to about nine cancer, so vaping is not a substitute percent of the general population. 25 for tobacco.” percent of LGBTQ people abuse alcohol, If you smoke, speak with your doctor compared to five-10 percent of the about smoking cessation programs general population. and/or medications that are offered to “Mental health help you quit. screenings are “The most effective important across medication out there is all populations Chantix but depending but I think they on the patient, you have are particularly to be monitored by your important with doctor while on it,” Dr. vulnerable Pinero says. “Now most populations,” says insurances are starting Dr. Johnsen. “I think to cover it, so that’s a a good provider good thing.” should be aware of While Dr. Pinero their patient’s social says no one should be history and support a smoker, he puts extra system and so on, emphasis on anyone even if on the surface taking hormones. they seem ok, because “For members of the things can creep up.” transgender community Dr. Rafael E. Piñero.

All the doctors on hormones, smoking Photo courtesy pinero preventive we spoke with carries the risk of say that a mental developing blood clots health screening for and if you develop blood clots you have depression is recommended during a to be taken off the hormones,” he says. patient’s annual physical and should “A person on hormones should not be be common knowledge for all primary smoking at all, period.” care physicians to conduct. If it isn’t Nicotine replacement therapy done by your doctor, don’t be afraid to (NRT)—such as nicotine gum and ask about it, even if you don’t think you patches— are available through several have depression. local and state organizations for free.

“A lot of people that I see who If you are a former smoker who are complaining about anxiety have smoked for many years and/or smoked a great deal, make sure you are speaking underlying depression, so depression is very important to treat,” says Dr. Pinero. with your doctor about monitoring When it comes to finding the possible health issues that may come up right therapy for an LGBTQ person’s from years of use. mental health, all the doctors we “I’m not sure every insurance spoke with agree that a multi-layered company covers them, but if somebody approach is best. has an excessive smoking history, either “I don’t think that medication alone in the past or currently, then a chest is the right solution to managing x-ray or even sometimes a CT scan can depression,” Dr. Pinero says. “But a be done,” says Dr. Lyter. problem I have encountered is finding the right mental health provider for Mental health the patient. I run into issues where an LGBTQ individuals are almost 3 times LGBTQ person’s insurance will only more likely than others to experience a cover one provider and that provider mental health condition such as major starts in with the bible-thumping and depression or generalized anxiety that is certainly not helpful. I wish we disorder, according to the National had a wider, more affordable network of Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). mental health specialists.”

It is important to not only feel GLMA’s website does include mental comfortable discussing your mental health providers in its directory. Visit health with your primary care doctor, GLMA.org for more information. but to also engage in an open and honest dialogue about how your feeling

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Start the conversation:

transgender people

H

ow often should you see your

primary care physician? What health screenings, evaluations and/or vaccinations should you have?

Should you be on any medications? Don’t ask us! We aren’t real doctors, we only occasionally play one on TV. Just like every fingerprint, snowflake and social media opinion; each person’s individual health concerns are varied and different. That’s why the only effective healthy game plan for you is one that is constructed between you and your doctor.

Below are health issues and concerns that, based on CDC and GLMA recommendations, are good questions to start off the conversation with your healthcare team. We have arranged it so transgender individuals can cut out this section and take it with them to their next doctor’s appointment.

Health history:

It’s important for you to be able to trust your healthcare provider. Tell them about the medicines you have taken and the surgeries you may have had. If your provider knows what has happened with you in the past, they will be better able to give you the best treatment today.

Transgender persons may be at increased risk for heart attack or stroke, not only from hormone use but from high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking or being overweight. Transgender women may fear that their provider may make them stop estrogen if they develop heart trouble, and so they may not report feelings such as chest pain or trouble breathing. Be sure to tell your provider if you do have these feelings.

Hormones: Talk with your provider about hormone treatment.

If you are starting hormones for the first time, ask about the things you need to watch out for while taking these medicines. If you are a transgender woman, ask about estrogen and blood clots, swelling, high or low blood pressure and high blood sugar. If you are a transgender man, ask about the blood tests you will need to be sure your testosterone dose is safe.

Sexual health tests:

Just as with gay and bisexual men, transgender individuals have a higher risk of HIV infection.

Being tested for HIV is recommended every 3-6 months, but at a minimum at least once a year.

Talk with your health care provider about whether PrEP or PEP are appropriate for you based on your HIV status and sexual practices.

Screenings for herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia should be conducted at least once a year. It is recommended, along with blood and urine tests, that an oral swab be conducted for those who perform oral sex and a vaginal and/or rectal swab be conducted for those who receive vaginal and/or anal sex to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia infections that may not show up in blood and/or urine.

Diet, exercise and healthy habits: A healthy diet and a frequent exercise routine are just as important for transgender people as for anyone else. If you are planning to have surgery, your surgeon will want to be sure you are in good physical condition to do well during and after surgery. Talk with your healthcare team about healthy diet and exercise options that fit into your everyday life.

Alcohol and hormones may be more dangerous when taken together. Transgender persons who are on hormones should drink only small amounts, if at all. Transgender people are more likely to be smokers than cisgender people. This increases the risk of heart and lung disease, especially in a person taking hormones. If you smoke, speak with your doctor about smoking cessation programs and/or medications that are available.

Injectable silicone administered by non-medical individuals at “pumping parties” is dangerous and should not be used. It is usually not medical grade, may be contaminated and is often injected using a shared needle which increases the risk of getting hepatitis or HIV.

This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or replace your healthcare professional. The lists do not include all health topics to be discussed with your healthcare provider, simply tips to begin the conversation. Consult your physician for further information.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

artS and entertainment

Change of Pace Out comedian

MICHELE BALAN talks

about how her life and times have changed

M

lauren lee

ICHELE BALAN WAS THE

last lesbian comedian left standing on “Last Comic Standing” in 2006, and has appeared on “Where are they Now?,” “Comics Unleashed” and “The Joy Behar Show.”

Life has been constant travel for the self-described “bi-comical” entertainer, as for the past seven years, she has been consistently packing, unpacking and repacking some more for comedy shows on popular cruise ships.

Balan said that every time she was about to quit comedy, something came her way. She worked temporary and bartending jobs and had to overcome many financial and cultural obstacles to get to where she is now. She says she feels lucky to be working every week and making a living doing something she has a passion for, whether that’s performing on cruise ships or for LGBTQ audiences in comedy clubs.

Continued on pg. 35 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

33

34

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

| uu | Change of Pace from pg.33

Balan will appear alongside Poppy Champlin for “Queer Queens of Qomedy” at the Orlando Improv on Feb. 17, a noted change of pace for the comic who will spend most of the next month performing back-to-back shows on cruise ships. Watermark spoke with the entertainer ahead of her landlocked show.

WATERMARK: We spoke in 2006 after you finished “Last Comic Standing.”

How has your life changed since then?

MICHELE BALAN: I got old. I’m tired more, it’s great. That, mostly, and right now—for seven or eight years—I’ve been doing a lot of cruise ships. One after another: Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, I do all the regulars. Every week I’m somewhere doing a ship here, there and everywhere. It’s a lot of packing and traveling. I just got home last night; I was supposed to get home yesterday but spent an extra day on the ship. I leave again on Saturday with three ships in a row. It’s great, but you come home and unpack, go to the doctor and then pack again. In all honesty, it’s a beautiful thing that I’m working.

Are you looking forward to the change of pace with your Orlando show with Poppy?

That’s why I’m excited to do this thing with Poppy. I haven’t done a club in so long. Poppy is phenomenal. She’s a good friend of mine and we haven’t seen each other in years, but I saw her years ago in LA. I do a lot of ships out of Port Canaveral. I haven’t spent time in Orlando, when I was there I liked it though. It’s going to be a lot of fun doing the “Queer Queens of Qomedy.” I haven’t been there in so long and I love the gay audience, I mean I like all audiences—that’s why I say I’m bi-comical.

From your perspective, how have comedy and society changed since you first got into the business?

I’m finding now that on a lot of the regular cruises, I see a lot of gay couples holding hands. As a matter of fact, there were two women ... a dancer and a singer from the cast that got married.

There was a big party on the ship and the two beautiful women

I see a lot of how the world has changed since I was last in Watermark. The world is way more open now, when I see these young girls on cruises holding hands, I do a double take.

—Michele Balan

character or it’ll fail. It’s a whole different world.

How did performing at the local gay bars and comedy clubs back when you started shape you?

I remember I was bartending and I had to quit my corporate career to do this … and the producers of Sally Jessy Raphael were at the bar and they asked if I wanted to do their show. This was before the Ellen thing, and they wanted a lesbian to break the stereotype and I said no. I didn’t want to restrict my career into just doing gay comedy. I started late in life and I’m making a living in comedy. It’s the passion and now I’m here. I guess it’s a success story.

What have been some of the biggest challenges in your career as a comedian?

When it got out that I was gay, every show I got offered was ‘oh we’re doing a gay show,’ or comedy clubs where it was ‘oh we’re doing a woman show.’

Mostly it’s just straight man, straight man, straight man and once in a blue moon they’ll throw a woman in-between. It was like, “I’m a lesbian and I’m sick and can’t come to work today,” that’s the way people saw it. In the long run, they couldn’t hold me anyway. I’m one of the few women comedians on cruise ships. People come up to me and say ‘wow, I haven’t seen a woman comic here,’ and it’s 2019. I’m their girl comic. I’m different; I’m not the same person talking about the same shit as everyone else.

It’s hard being a woman anything, especially a woman comedian.

The hard thing is being a woman and then being older—well you might as well forget it. There’s sexism and ageism working against you. A comedian must have experience. I can talk about Facebook and a rotary phone.

What are some of your favorite topics to cover?

were dressed in white dresses, it was amazing. I see a lot of how the world has changed since I was last in Watermark. The world is way more open now.

When I see these young girls on cruises holding hands, I do a double take. When I was younger, you just didn’t do that. This is unbelievable that gay women and gay men are holding hands and they are just so comfortable now.

Most passengers are completely okay with it. Some are not, I mean, look who our president is.

What was it like when you were younger?

You know, I really am so proud that things have changed. In the old days you couldn’t even see a comedy show at a comedy club, you had to go somewhere in the field hidden behind the trees. I’m

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Jewish and didn’t do tents, but everything was hidden. I certainly hid who I was. I’m more open now, but because I grew up with that, I still have remnants of that time, so it’s still slightly uncomfortable. When you grow up like that it’s hard to change.

When I was young, we didn’t have gay people on TV. Now, every show has to have a gay

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

I do a lot about getting old and I’m very honest. The thing about doing comedy is doing things that mean something to you, not just jokes. When I’m on the cruise ships I make fun of the cruise, I can’t believe they haven’t fired me yet. I make fun of everything on the damn ship. You know what, I complain about everything because I’m Jewish, so I complain that I’m not doing this or that,

Continued on pg. 37 | uu |

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QUEER QUEEN: Standup comedian, and “Last Comic Standing” alum, Michele Balan headlines the “Queer Queens of Quomedy” tour coming to the Orlando Improv Feb. 17. Photo CoUrtesy PoPPy ChamPliN

| uu | Change of Pace from pg.35

the Netflix specials and everything. On the other side I work every week and I’m making a living.

I got to be lucky for what I have and I’m very happy and I don’t want to do anything else.

What reCent eventS have you done Where you thought “WoW, What a Career”?

I had met Camryn [Manheim] when I was on “Last Comic Standing,” and she was a very big fan of mine. She goes, “Michele, I’m a big fan, and I said, “You’re Camryn Manheim.

You love me? I love you!”

Afterward, she was having her 50th birthday party and she wrote to me and said, “Please, I need you to

perform at my party.” I got there and it was a big, big event. I even have a video of it that I use as a promo for my shows. Every celebrity in the world was there and on stage, all these big names on the brochure, and then Michele Balan. I’m sure people were like, “who the fuck is Michele Balan?”

I was so nervous, and I did it, so then I have a video of all these people telling me how phenomenal I am.

What’S next for you?

Well now I’m doing cruises and at first, I didn’t want to do cruises, because that’s where careers go to die. But let me be honest, I have been on ships where I have been absolutely blown away by talent and I go why am I here?

People think cruise ships are dead and I tell them there are so many people

that were on cruise ships.

I have seen the best singers, the best dancers, the best pianists. I’m blown away.

After this year, I’m going to slow down. I may move to Florida, get something inexpensive. I love the gigs, but traveling is tiring.

You don’t see your friends and you have to squeeze so much into the time.

I don’t know how I do it sometimes. One day they’re going to find me dead lying on a pier. I just got home last night, and I go all crazy because I have to do this and that in about five days, so slowing down would be nice.

Michele Balan will perform at “Queer Queens Qomedy” at the Orlando Improv on Feb. 17 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 for general admission. For more information visit TheImprovOrlando.com.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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Group Sales (10+ get a discount): 813.222.1016 or 1047 Events, days, dates, times, performers and prices are subject to change without notice. Handling fees will apply.

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theater

Lessons and Laughter

‘Perfect Arrangement’ brings America’s gay witch hunt to Tampa Bay

(above)

lavender laughs: Stars (L-R) Michael David, Jessie Taylor, Rob Glauz and Megan Therese Rippey have a “Perfect Arrangement.”

Photos courtesy thee photo ninja

A

Ryan Williams-Jent

merica celebrated the rise of

the sitcom in the early 1950s, collectively declaring “I Love Lucy.” But as the country welcomed the golden age of television, fear-mongering politicians in D.C. were only seeing red.

That’s because Sen. Joseph McCarthy had introduced the second Red Scare to the masses, claiming that communists had infiltrated the

U.S. federal government. Perhaps even more dangerous, Republican leadership asserted, were the gay men and lesbians who had done

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

the same—deemed communist sympathizers and security risks susceptible to blackmail due to their homosexuality. Their hatred gave way to the Lavender Scare, a parallel witch hunt and the mass firing of gay and lesbian federal workers in the early 1950s.

It’s within that time period’s love for Lucy and loathing of lavender that Topher Payne’s “Perfect Arrangement” takes place.

The award-winning show, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2015,

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makes its Tampa Bay debut at St. Petersburg’s freeFall Theatre Jan. 26 and runs through Feb. 24.

“It’s 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks,” its synopsis reads. “There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each

Continued on pg. 41 | uu |

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| uu | Lessons and Laughter from pg.39

other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover.”

Bob, married to Millie—and Norma, married to Jim, are respectively portrayed by Michael David, Jessie Taylor, Megan Therese Rippey and Rob Glauz.

Their tale, “inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement,” features “classic sitcom-style laughs” that “give way to provocative drama as two ‘All-American’ couples are forced to stare down the closet door.”

The closet door is both figurative and literal, intentionally so. The couples share a duplex connected by a closet.

“Of course, by no mistake, they pass back and forth between these two units through the closet,” muses freeFall Theatre Artistic Director Eric Davis, also the production’s director. “It leads to a lot of really silly, fun kind of farce in the show, but it also sets up a big cathartic moment that happens near the end of the play.”

The playwright “is really playing off of some of these stylistic things that we associate with the 1950s and performances from the 1950s, especially in TV sitcoms,” he continues. “He bounces back and forth between a style that feels more like a sitcom that’s very heightened; very sort of aware of itself as performance, and then one that feel a little bit more honest.”

That’s part of the reason Davis chose to arrange theatergoers in freeFall’s “avenue” seating configuration, utilized at least once per season. The production will have two audiences facing one another as they watch the play.

“So you’re also watching an audience watch the show,” Davis says. “That does really interesting things in comedy, because you watch someone laugh and it makes you laugh. It can feed the comedy in a really interesting way.” Similarly, it affects the drama. “There are some intimate moments in the piece where it will be intriguing to see the audience watching another audience.”

“What’s really interesting to me is the layering of styles,” Glauz says of playing Jim, “not just taking on the 1950s performance for the outward public but the layers of style for each other that

closet connection: Through no mistake of the playwright’s, stars (L-R) Jessie Taylor, Michael David, Megan Therese Rippey and Rob Glauz play characters living in a duplex connected by a closet. Photo courtesy thee photo ninja.

All comedy should be life or death, that’s what makes it funny. There’s a lot of hope in the play which I like a lot; as difficult as this subject matter becomes, I think there’s a message of striving toward a better life.

—Actor Rob Glauz the characters give. It’s broken down over the course of the play … we see different kinds of performances, not just gay people performing heterosexual for other heterosexual people.”

The actor says he was interested in the stereotypical idea that people have of gay men, especially in comedy. “I think about Jack in ‘Will and Grace’ as an example. At the time it was a way of introducing straight people to gay people in a way that was appealing, palatable and non-threatening,” Glauz says.

“That’s something I’m really interested in seeing how I can twist into the play a little bit,” he continues, “how we can sort of peel that back

as well in the performance.

Jim performs straight, he also performs this idea of gay, for others and for himself. What is underneath that?”

Glauz believes that’s something many in the LGBTQ community eventually come to terms with and can relate to.

“Finding out who they really are underneath what they’ve been performing for their entire lives, that’s a journey that I’m really interested in exploring.”

“The show goes back and forth in various ways,” Davis elaborates, “swinging back and forth between the characters being honest and them lying, really. Even though it’s heightened and sort of a farce in the things they’re covering

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

up and revealing, I think there’s something incredibly relatable to gay people about that—especially to gay people who have at some point in their lives, or in some context of their lives, felt the need to hide who they really were.

“I think it’s very relatable and I think it’s also a really funny way to present it,” he says, “one that’s really honest to what’s happening in those dynamics.”

It’s another part of what drew Glauz to the show. “It’s so interesting doing a piece that’s so meaningful and asks these difficult, sometimes dark questions for it to also be this kind of farce,” he says. “In a world that seems hopeless, the question of, ‘Do I make the best of my

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situation because the chances that things are going to change seem so minimal? Ought I to do that, or should I sacrifice my lifestyle in order to make things better for hopefully my grandchildren?’

That resonates with me.”

Davis asserts that “Perfect Arrangement” is “a spoonful of sugar type of show, where the world the characters are living in is life or death for them. It’s whether their lives as they want them to be can go on or whether their lives are destroyed.”

He notes that “strangely, of course, there’s not one documented case of a gay person ever actually being blackmailed for secrets” during the Lavender Scare.

“It was literally a witch hunt in the truest sense,” Davis continues.

“Although the term ‘witch hunt’ has recently been appropriated by a certain orange gentlemen to mean actual crimes that have been committed and are actually being investigated, this was the true sense of the Salem Witch Trials type of witch hunt. They were hunting after something that’s a shadow in the dark.”

It makes the perfect backdrop for the tale because “all comedy should be life or death,” Glauz insists. “That’s what makes it funny. There’s a lot of hope in the play which I like a lot; as difficult as this subject matter becomes, I think there’s a message of striving toward a better life.”

“One of its main themes I think that people take away from it is how to position yourself to be on the right side of history,” Davis adds, calling it relevant today. He says it illustrates “what happens to those who make the sacrifice in the time that something is happening and what history says of them.”

“Love is love, and we see it in many forms in this piece,” he also notes. “This is a wonderful production with incredible actors and a great play that’s so much fun. I think it’s a really special piece and I’m excited for our audience to see it.”

Topher Payne’s “Perfect Arrangement” plays every Wednesday—Sunday at freeFall Theatre Jan. 26-Feb. 24. Talkbacks will follow each Friday night performance (except Jan. 25) and foreword talks with dramaturg Timothy Saunders will take place Feb. 10 and 17. To purchase tickets ranging from $37 to $50 or for more information, visit freefalltheatre.com or call 727-498-5205.

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PROUDLY SERVING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY FOR OVER 20 YEARS

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www.NationsLandscaping.com watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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community calendar

event planner Arts+entertAinment

Central florida

Central florida

7th annual Walk a Mile in Her shoes

Big Bang BooM! Cabaret presents Burlesque After Dark, Jan. 25, The Venue, Orlando. 407-412-6895; BigBangBoomCabaret.com

THURSDAY, FEB. 7, 5-7 P.M. ORANGE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, ORLANDO Strap on a pair of high heels, blinged-out flip flops or whatever fancy footwear gets you moving and walk downtown on Feb. 7 to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

The event is part of the International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. Resources are available to survivors through Harbor House of Central Florida. For more information, visit HarborhHouseFL.com.

bare beeF 1 year anniversary Underwear Party, Jan. 25, Stonewall Bar, Orlando. 407- 3730888; StonewallOrlando.com tlC, Jan. 25, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com/Live/ Locations/Orlando “Ain’t Misbehavin,” Jan. 25 Feb. 23, Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park. 407-645-0145; WinterParkPlayhouse.org 11th annual human trafficking awareness Day and Film Festival, Jan. 26, Calvary Orlando, Orlando.

407-620-6516; GOHTTF.org the Faine house run for hope 5K 2019, Jan. 26, Lake Eola Park, Orlando.

407-522-2288; CHSFL.org miss orlando Universo latina USA Reunion, Jan. 26, Stonewall Bar, Orlando. 407-373-0888; StonewallOrlando.com 80’s Night - orlando’s Ultimate Dance Party, Jan. 26, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com lucinda Williams and Drive-by truckers, Jan. 26, The Plaza Live, Orlando. 407-228-1220; PlazaLiveOrlando.org Marc Anthony, Jan. 27, Amway Center, Orlando. (407) 4407900; AmwayCenter.com Film screening: “at the end of the Day,” Jan. 31, Valencia College East Campus, Orlando.

407-582-2291; ValenciaCollege.edu orlando P3 presents “money Detox” with tammy lally, Feb. 2, Maitland Community Park, Maitland. 321-278-2098; OrlandoP3.com orlando out of the Darkness Walk, Feb. 2, 2420 Lakemont Ave., Baldwin Park. 407-701-2422; AFSP.DonorDrive.com

InterPride POse regional Conference

dynamiC duo Scott Daniel and matthew mcGee bring “The Scott & Patti Show,” presented by Infinity, to the stage at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on Jan. 30. Photo CoUrtesy “the sCott & Patti shoW” FaCebooK PaGe

Penn & teller, Feb. 2, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com/Live/ Locations/Orlando “hamlet,” Feb. 6, Orlando Shakes, Orlando. 407-447-1700; OrlandoShakes.org

tampa Bay Gasparilla Pirate Fest, Jan. 26, Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa. 866-388-4268; GaspaarillaPirateFest.com Community Panel: Implementation of amendment 4, Jan. 26, Enoch D. Davis Center, St. Petersburg.

727-893-7134; StPete.org Free admission on International holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, Florida Holocaust Museum, St. Petersburg. 727-820-0100; FLHolocaustMuseum.org

relay For life of Plant City Fundraiser, Jan. 28, Hamburger Mary’s, Brandon, Tampa. (813) 643-2110; HamburgerMarys.com/Brandon infinity presents “the scott & Patti Show,” Jan. 30, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, St. Petersburg. 727-593-4699; InfinityStPete.org PoZitiVe imPaC+, Jan. 30, Metro Wellness & Community Centers, Tampa. 813-232-3808; LGBTQWelcomeCenter.org Steam Room Stories, Jan. 30, Creative Loafing Tampa, Tampa.

813-739-4800; CLTampa.com “RuPaul’s All Stars” Watch Party, Feb 1, Punky’s Bar and Grill, Saint Petersburg. 727201-4712; PunkysBar.com Neibearhood takeover BeardStock, Feb. 1, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-559-8625; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa

40 years of Ferraro, Feb. 1, Enigma Bar & Lounge, St. Petersburg. 727-235-0867; EnigmaStPete.com 2019 Florida state Fair, Feb. 7-18, Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa. 813-621-7821; FloridaStateFair.com

SaraSota Gay bowling at amF lanes, Jan. 28, AMF Lanes, Sarasota.

941-921-4447; AMF.com

Come Out With Pride (COWP) is excited to welcome Pride organizers and special guests to sunny Orlando!

Join COWP and Interpride for educational workshops, networking opportunities and fabulous social events – all designed to showcase and benefit the various Prides of the Southeast. For more information and to register, visit ComeOutWithPride.com/POSE.

tampa Bay

rainbow Housing Coalition Community Meeting WEDNESDAY, jAN. 30, 7 P.M. KING OF PEACE MCC, ST. PETERSBURG The Rainbow Housing Coalition is holding a community meeting to discuss plans for building affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors in Tampa Bay and they want your input.

Data gathered from these meetings will help future grant and funding opportunities for the community. For more information, call 727-644-6972 or visit the Facebook page for the Rainbow Housing Coalition.

SaraSota

senior lGbtQ loss & Grief support Group, Jan. 29, Sarasota Friendship Centers Library, Sarasota. 941-556-3223; FriendshipCenters.org February G2h2’s lGbtQ Valentine’s Party, Feb. 7, Bath and Racquet Fitness Club, Sarasota.

941-921-6675; G2H2Sarasota.com Ringling Underground, Feb. 7, The Ringling Museum, Sarasota.

941-359-5700; Ringling.org

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

THURSDAY, FEB. 7, 3 P.M.-SUNDAY, FEB. 10, NOON HOLIDAY INN LAKE BUENA vISTA, ORLANDO

suncoast equality Connection THURSDAY, jAN. 31, 5:30-7 P.M. SABAL PALM BANK, SARASOTA Stratton Pollitzer, Equality Florida’s co-founder and deputy director, headlines the Suncoast Equality Connection in Sarasota. The Equality Connection is open to the public and brings together Equality Florida members, staff, and those new to the organization.

Drop in to mingle and enjoy complimentary appetizers and an open bar. RSVP at EQFL.org.

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overheard

tampa Bay out+aBout

paving the Way

W

ATERMARK’S MOST REMARKABLE PEOPLE jOHN AND NANCY DESMOND – community activists known for their work with Tampa Pride, PFLAG and more – have long shared their support for the LGBTQ community throughout Tampa Bay. On most weekends, the duo can be seen on 7th Ave. in Ybor City proclaiming that love, pro-LGBTQ signs in hand across from religious protestors. Now, even if they can’t make it, the protestors will be greeted from below with a paver reading “I love my gay son, PFLAG.” “This has been in the works for a while, and after one failed attempt, the city finally got it right!”

Nancy shared via PFLAG Jan. 18. “This is the corner where the street preachers spew their hate every weekend … We try to be there to provide another voice to LGBTQ+ people simply trying to have a night out in Ybor, but we can’t always show up.

Now, we will always be there right in their space in another form.”

You can check out an image of paver at Facebook. com/PFLAGTampa or in person on 7th Ave.

Community ChampS

T

HE ST. PETERSBURG FREE CLINIC ANNOUNCED Jan. 16 that it has added four new members to its Board of Directors, including two of Tampa Bay’s longtime LGBTQ community advocates.

Founded in 1970, the organization is a not-for-profit human services agency “providing neighbors in need assistance with food, shelter and health care,” the organization shares. They are comprised of programs “that are a beacon of hope for families and individuals who fall through the cracks of existing systems and services.”

Joining its board are Tim McMahon, Jodi Perry, Nadine Smith and David Warner, each of whom “will provide their professional expertise and use their knowledge of the St. Petersburg community to help the advancement of the Free Clinic’s mission.”

Smith, co-founder and CEO of Equality Florida, is one of the Florida Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Women and one of Watermark’s Most Remarkable People. Among her many duties, she also currently serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Florida Advisory Committee.

Warner, currently the editor-in-chief of the duPont Registry Tampa Bay, is a longtime editor and writer known for his work with Creative Loafing. In addition to championing LGBTQ causes throughout the area, he’s also produced arts and literary festivals and volunteered for organizations focused on healthcare.

“We are fortunate to have board members who are dedicated to advancing our mission of changing lives with help and hope,” St. Petersburg Free Clinic Executive Director Beth Houghton shared in a statement. “They generously provide their time, talent and treasure to create a positive impact on our community.”

For more information about the clinic or its services, visit StPetersburgFreeClinic.org.

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#WMFLAMBOYANCE: (L-R) hector Garcia, Marilyn Cuaron and margarita Garcia enjoy Watermark’s photo space at Flamingo Jan. 13. Photo By ryaN Williams-JeNt

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PERFECT PAIR: Director eric Davis (L) and actor rob Glauz discuss freeFall Theatre’s “Perfect Arrangement” with Watermark Jan. 15. Photo By ryaN Williams-JeNt

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STRAz STARz: The Straz Center’s Summer Bohnenkamp and Paul Bilyeu enjoy “100 Days” in the Jaeb Theater Jan. 18. Photo By

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ryaN Williams-JeNt

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PLAY BALL: (L-R) Keith london, Andrew Cohen and Gerre Reynolds welcome sports enthusiasts to the inaugural winter Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ Sports Day at Enigma Jan. 13.

Photo by ryaN Williams-JeNt

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CHECK IT OUT: Metro’s Kirsty Gutierrez (L) and Christian Klimas celebrate the organization’s earnings from SMART Ride 15 at the presentation ceremony in Fort Lauderdale Jan. 13. Photo CoUrtesy ChristiaN Klimas

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TURNT: Punky’s staff and cast strike a pose during the eatery’s third annual charity turnabout Jan. 11. Photo by WaDe

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Williams-JeNt

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SPA DAY: Jim Nixon (L), the team at Woodhouse Spa and luke blankenship relax at 2019’s first Watermark Wednesday Jan. 17. Photo

by DylaN toDD

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DIFF DUDES: (L-R) John Del Vitto, filmmaker eric Casaccio and Mark Warden step and repeat at the opening party for the inaugural Dunedin International Film Festival Jan. 11. Photo CoUrtesy

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eriC CasaCCio

7 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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THE PRIDE OF FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH ICONIC & REIMAGINED

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overheard

Central florida out+aBout

ready, Sette, go!

B

ACK IN OCTOBER, WE TOLD YOU ABOUT Se7enBites owner Trina Gregory-Propst and wife Va Propst announcing their new Italian restaurant, Sette. At the time no location was “Sette” for the new eatery but that has now changed as Trina and Va announced earlier this month that they will “Sette” up shop at the corner of N. Orange Ave. and Virginia Dr. The location has been home to several restaurants including Nova and, most recently, Stir. No official opening day is “Sette” but Trina and Va plan to have the restaurant opened by April of this year. The restaurant’s name means “seven” in Italian which incorporates the name of the couple’s wildly popular daytime eatery, Se7enBites. Sette will be a dinner-only restaurant and will feature pasta made from scratch, an expanded dessert menu and an array of Italian comfort foods.

Trina and Va’s new restaurant is opening in the Ivanhoe Village, an area of Orlando “Sette” for a huge year. Along with The Yard—a new 31,000 square feet living, dining and shopping complex— opening by year’s end, business owner Jason Lambert announced he will be opening a brand new 24-hour diner next door to his popular bar and restaurant The Hammered Lamb in 2019.

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the Cher ShoW

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T LOOKED AS IF CHER HAD TURNED BACK TIME when she took the stage at the Amway Center in Orlando Jan. 21. The 72-year-old singer not only looks younger than most of the pop stars today but she moved around that stage with an energy that many a quarter of her age couldn’t keep up with. The “Here We Go Again” tour— supporting “Dancing Queen,” Cher’s album of ABBA covers—was more like a Vegas show than your typical concert. The multi-level set, dancers and acrobats would have been the highlights of any mere mortal’s show, but not Cher. Her colorful costumes, big wigs and signature voice (she can still sing with the best of them) made sure everyone in that building knew they came to see her.

The near 90-minute concert featured an even mix of ABBA covers and Cher classics, along with the dancing queen showing off some of her most iconic looks including the leather and fishnets of “If I Could Turn Back Time,” the ringmaster from her film “Burlesque” and her bell-bottom pants of the Sonny & Cher era. If you ever doubted that Cher couldn’t still bring down the house, this tour will make you believe. Cher continues on the North American leg of her tour through May 2019.

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THROWBACK PARTY: (L-R) brianna lee, Scotty Benson, Scott Robert, Vickie Raposa, loc Robertson (aka April Fresh) and Jason James kick it old school at April Fresh’s 80s Wednesday at Parliament House Jan. 9. Photo By DaNNy GarCia

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WATERMARK SOCIAL: Fred Cotto-lewis (L) and Julie Waxman of Two Spirits Health welcome guests for Watermark’s Third Thursday at the Two Spirits office in Orlando Jan. 16. Photo

by DylaN toDD

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DISNEY KIDS: The Rainbow Families of Central Florida meet up at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Jan. 12. Photo By DaNNy GarCia

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GODDESS OF HAPPY: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum thorgy thor is excited to be at Parliament House in Orlando Jan. 19. Photo CoUrtesy

5

PAjAMA PARTY: City Commissioner Patty Sheehan (L) and Clint eastwood show off their amazing PJs at the Pajama Brunch at Maxine’s on Shine in Orlando Jan. 12. Photo

CoUrtesy Chris eastWooD

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MAKING CONNECTIONS: (L-R) John Bentubo, Filomena Gomes and Adam Bernard mingle at the MBA Orlando Business Connect at Field BMW in Winter Park Jan. 9. Photo By

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briaNNa roCKmore

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REPRESENTING: Rep. anna eskamani (L), Rep. Carlos Guillermo smith (R) and supporters prepare to march in the MLK Jr. Parade in downtown Orlando Jan. 19. Photo CoUrtesy Carlos

GUillermo smith

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ANGEL FROM ABOvE: Cher descends from the rafters at the Amway Center for her “Here We Go Again” tour in Orlando Jan. 21.

Photo by Jeremy Williams

ParliameNt hoUse

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

C E N T R A L

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Read It Online!

Head to WatermarkOnline.com and click on the Digital Publications link to a read a digital version of the printed newspaper!

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

53

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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info@orlandoyouthalliance.org www.orlandoyouthalliance.org

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

• Join • Volunteer • Donate

announcements

Wedding BellS

nick Crush and Jason Ruggerio from Lake Helen, Florida

engAgement dAte:

Oct. 22, 2016

wedding dAte:

Dec. 7, 2018

venue:

Pass-A-Grille Beach

colors:

Blue & khaki

wedding song/ Artist:

“The Way you Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra

dj service:

DJ Wayne McKay

cAterer:

Pom Pom Teahouse & Sandwicheria / St. Matthew’s Tavern at the Orlando Beer Garden

wedding goodies:

Chocolate peanut butter brownie cupcakes, apple pie tartlets and homemade strawberry, chocolate raspberry and blueberry lemon Pop-Tarts

officiAnt:

Provided by Tide the Knot Beach Weddings

photogrApher:

Tide the Knot Beach Weddings

Photo by tiDe the KNot beaCh WeDDiNGs

j

ASON RUGGERIO AND

Nick Crush met in November 2011.

“On our first date, after dinner, I took him to a little playground off Mills and that’s where I proposed to him five years later,” Crush shares.

“He later told me that he had been planning it for a while and had planned to propose at an event we were attending at a different time,” Ruggerio says.

“But the night he decided to do it we were at the bar where we met and we had friends with us so he decided the time was right.”

Ruggerio, an attorney, hails from upstate New York. Crush,

who is employed as Operational Risk Liaison for Charles Schwab, was born in North Carolina and moved around as he grew up in a military family; his family is now in Pensacola. The couple currently resides in Lake Helen.

“There was no one time I can point to, but a lot of little things that built up over time,” Crush says. “By the time I decided

congrAtulAtions

Community Cafe celebrated five years and old Key West bar & Grill celebrated four years Jan. 19. the hammered lamb celebrates its sixth anniversary Jan. 29.

to pop the question, I had known for years.”

“I knew that I wanted to be with Nick before we were together,” Ruggerio says.

“When we met he gave me a hug, and even though we were introduced as friends, I knew I wanted to get to know him and I knew I wanted to be kept in his warm, loving, secure and protective arms forever.”

The two were married in a small ceremony in Dec. 2018.

The wedding was organized by Tide the Knot Beach Weddings and held on Pass-A-Grille Beach in St. Petersburg. The couple shared the chairs were adorned with royal blue ribbons. The flowers were tropical with orange and red roses, blue orchids and orange birds of paradise. Ruggerio and Crush walked down an aisle scattered with red and white rose petals to Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight,” played by a saxophonist.

“There were many special moments, but I think my favorite moment was the champagne toast with our families,” Ruggerio says.

They followed up with a cocktail hour and reception on Dec. 9 at The Veranda in Thornton Park in Orlando. The colors were red and white, and it was themed “Mad Tea Party,” with guests invited to wear bowties and fun hats. The couple ditched the traditional wedding cake and went with a variety of goodies made by Ruggerio’s mom Laurie and Kaitlyn “Badvegun” Bailey.

Crush shared his favorite moment from the day, one that no doubt cued even more “awws” from the crowd. It was “during the ceremony, when Thor—our seven-pound Maltese—brought us the rings.”

—Aaron Drake

Tampa Pride and GaYbor icons Carrie West and Mark West Bias celebrate 42 years together on Feb. 3.

locAl birthdAys

Orlando home inspector and art lover Paul Kusic, St. Petersburg performer Rolando Xavier, former Watermark intern Kim Slichter (Jan. 24); Tampa Bay performer Ashley Smith, Tampa Bay guiding light Jan Flowers, ABC7 meteorologist trevor hayes, St. Petersburg realtor and Punky’s proprietor Jim longstreth (Jan. 25); Sarasota photographer Kaje housman, Double M Band’s Mario Jooste, The Garage bartender larry Wolf, Ybor City special events promoter Chucky Ruckus (Jan. 26); CR insurance group agent miguel rullan-Calaf (Jan. 27); Orlando performer ellen Jewell, St. Matthew’s Tavern co-owner matthew Fassl, Orlando thespian tim DeBaun, Faith Arts Village Executive Director Will Benton, Tampa Bay massage therapist Michael Scranton, Tampa Bay bartender Robb Weese, Spooky Empire’s Gina mongelli (Jan. 28); Central Florida photographer Jenna Michele (Jan. 29); Lightning fast jammer haley Perry; Woodhouse Day Spa owner Mark lettelleir, FSU grad and Ocala muse Bill Bondank, Orlando performer Apple teenee (Jan. 30); Orlando drag legend leigh shannon, marketing pro Ken Kundis, WFTV News 9 anchor Jorge estevez, Orlando Gay Chorus singer holly Cowden-Feld, Orlando juggler Dantei Grace (Jan. 31); Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, St. Petersburg massage therapist emily stone, Tampa Softball player thomas hale, Orlando softball hunk Jason hamm, Southern Nights owner rick Kowalczyk, Social on First managing partenr Mark Anthony, Tampa darling Bryan Chant (Feb. 1); Tampa Pride president Carrie West, The Center Orlando board member lee Kirkpatrick (Feb. 2); Enigma Show Director Daphne Ferraro, Gulfport theater addict Rob McCabe, Tampa Pride’s Carrie West, Central Florida community activist Brock Cornelus (Feb. 3); former TIGLFF executive director Margaret Murray, Tampa Sister of Perpetual Indulgence Scott Ryan, St. Petersburg painter David Rule, Orlando doctor Rafael Pinero (Feb. 4); Watermark contributor holly Kapherr Alejos, Orlando Fringe board member Daniel Blumberg (Feb. 5); Fine art photographer Josh Garrick, photographer James “Cannonball” Bennett, former Watermark intern Kathy ruiz, Mistress of the elements Romone Bowens (Feb. 6); Orlando attorney and fabulous cookie maker barbara leach, Orlando fitness guru tony edge, real estate agent eric Puzone (Feb. 7).

do you hAve An Announcement?

send your announcement to editor@Watermarkonline.com

Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? if so, email the details to editor@Watermarkonline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

55

the last page Photo by Dylan Todd

Age: 40

Hometown:

Tarpon Springs, FL

Identifies As: Proud Ally and Advocate

Came Out as an Ally:

1996

Sylvie Griffiths

Autobiography Title:

“My Adventure; Filled with Love”

viewpoint col u mnist

Hobbies:

What kind of writing do you do for Watermark?

Spending time with my four amazing kids, anything related to horror and charitable and creative endeavors.

I write a viewpoint column focusing on special interests. My writing blossomed from being urged by a close friend and mentor to write a blog about my family.

This process led to the connection to Watermark and the rest is serendipity.

When did you develop a passion for writing?

Professional Role Model:

I remember loving writing in elementary school when all my friends were complaining about having to write. I just assumed this was another way I was a nerd, but my true love comes from my mother. She wanted to be a writer professionally, studied literature and imparted her love of reading to me.

Anyone working to spread love, kindness and understanding. On a personal level, I connect with working moms because we really do it all!

What made you want to write for Watermark?

Besides the fact that Watermark gives a voice to those who often aren’t given one, their inclusive and diverse community cherishes those that I personally love and want to protect. My youngest, Jake, is transgender. He was so proud when I began writing for a publication that celebrates and includes him.

What is your favorite thing about writing for Watermark?

My favorite thing about writing for Watermark is the creativity and love that is put into each story, both online and in print. The up-to-date online issues are always in step with current news and the printed versions show so much originality and flavor that documents the community in so many positive ways.

What is the name of your column with Watermark?

“Mama Bearings.”

How did you come up with the name for your Viewpoint column?

My nickname amongst my friends is “Mamabear.” I tried to capture the heart of the column within its name. I think

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

writing has so much power when done from the heart.

What is your favorite LGBTQ Event?

Tampa Pride is my favorite LGBTQ event. I work in Ybor City, and having that setting and our excellent Gaybor area highlighted is why I love this event annually. Last year, Jake was in the parade, representing the EPIC division of Empath Health. He is and was beyond proud.

What is your favorite thing about the local LGBTQ community?

The instant community that comes from acceptance. In life we all struggle for acceptance on many different levels. This community has shown myself and my family nothing but support and love. It shows the strength and care of the local LGBTQ community.

What would you like to see improved in the LGBTQ community?

I would love to see more support and education regarding those who identify as transgender. Clearly, as a proud parent of a transgender son, this is so valuable to our family. More knowledge will promote more understanding and acceptance that this population needs and deserves.

What do you want the Watermark readers to know about you?

I am beyond happy to be a new member of the Watermark family!

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell my younger self to relax and enjoy daily successes instead of worrying about every little thing. This is something I preach constantly with my own kids.

Watermark is the collective product of a team of incredibly hardworking individuals. Over the next series of issues, we’re using this space to introduce each member of our staff and contributors to you. When you see us out and about in the community, stop and say, “Hello.”

We’d love to meet you.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 24 - F eb rua ry 6 , 2019 // Issue 26 .02

57

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