Boston Spirit Jan | Feb 2019

JAN | FEB 2019

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Champion of Diversity Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy on team’s major league support

Amazing Grace Church leader’s public transition

Lesbians who Tech

Networking in Boston

Sgt. ‘Pepperland’ Mark Morris salutes The Beatles

Iconic Images Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico at MFA

Living Out Loud Trans poetry slam at Oberon

Winter Wonderlands Gay-friendly getaways

We’re a community of many communities.

Together we celebrate that being yourself is just being human.

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EMPRESSES Forbidden City of China’s

PEabody essex museum THROUGH FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Empresses of China’s Forbidden City is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum; the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and the Palace Museum, Beijing, China.

The exhibition is made possible by generous support from Liu Dan; Henry Luce Foundation; the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Bei Shan Tang Foundation; Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and the Lynch Foundation; Shirley Z. Johnson and Charles Rumph; the Richard C. von Hess Foundation; Anonymous; the AMG Foundation; the Coby Foundation, Ltd.; Eaton Vance; American Friends of the Shanghai Museum; the Blakemore Foundation; Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo; Quan Zhou and Dr. Xiaohua Zhang; Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund; Skinner, Inc.; the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation; Robert N. Shapiro; Sandra Urie and Frank Herron; and Dr. Young Yang Chung. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum. James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes have generously supported additional exhibition programming.

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E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation

Just five stops from Boston’s North Station!

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Drinking Tea from Yinzhen’s Twelve Ladies (detail). Court painters, Beijing, possibly including Zhang Zhen (active late 17th–early 18th century) or his son Zhang Weibang (about 1725–about 1775), Kangxi period, 1709–23, hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, Palace Museum, Gu6458-7/12. © The Palace Museum.

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publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com

From The Publisher 2019.

Here we are. Amazing.

In just a few months, Boston Spirit will turn 14 years old. That was fast! It’s been quite a run. The very first issue of the magazine featured an article on the Goodridge court decision granting marriage equality to Massachusetts residents. Suffice to say, it’s been a pretty incredible 14 years.

Looking ahead at 2019, it would appear as though we have quite the year ahead. Boston Spirit (for the most part) stays out of the national political scene. There are many other media outlets that cover that area and cover it quite well. That said, it is impossible to ignore the fact that 2019 is shaping up to be one of the more incredible years in the political arena…and that is really saying something considering that 2018 was pretty jaw dropping on its own. Thankfully we live in a region, New England, that seems to be bucking the trend and not regressing into the land of hate, ignorance and discrimination. We must remain vigilant to ensure that this remains the case.

In our little cocoon of “Boston Spirit world,” we are very excited about 2019.

We have some amazing new events and issues coming up during the year including our first-ever Boston Spirit 5Gay Fun Run, year two of our recently sold out Drag American Idol, our annual LGBT Executive Networking Night, Summer Sunset Cruise and much more.

The year kicks off with an interview with the CEO of our World Champion Boston Red Sox, Sam Kennedy. Sam and the Red Sox have been inspirational leaders in diversity & inclusion, including their recent support of the Yes on 3 ballot initiative. As you will read, the Red Sox dedication to D&I is more than just a business box to check; it is part of their culture. They really are champions both on an off the field.

So, without further ado, we would like to welcome you to 2019. We hope you continue to enjoy and support Boston Spirit, and we very much look forward to seeing you at our events and all of the other wonderful events in the area that continue to build and strengthen our amazing LGBT community.

David Zimmerman Publisher

2 | BOSTON SPIRIT

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As We go To Press Marking Ayanna Pressley’s name on my ballot last year felt like one of the most consequential votes I have made in my life.

Don’t get me wrong. My vote for John Kerry to oust George W. Bush felt important, as did my votes for Hillary Clinton, both as presidential candidate and for senator, when I was a resident of New York. Other votes, like Yes on 3, also hold great import for me.

In these instances, policy was clearly at stake. I couldn’t fathom further support for the Iraq war and Dick Cheney and the misinformation campaign, the torture, and so on. I couldn’t conceive of rescinding basic protections for my transgender friends.

What’s strange about my feeling for Pressley is that I liked my former Rep. Mike Capuano. And, I believe, with some exceptions, Pressley’s votes will likely be similar to what Capuano would do, were he to have stayed in office.

So if it wasn’t policy, what made my support for Pressley feel so critical?

It’s not her votes. It’s her voice.

Contribute your opinion: editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com

4 | BOSTON SPIRIT

We need her voice at the table. Who she is, where she comes from, who she hangs out with, are different than Capuano. That makes a difference.

This is true for all the out LGBT politicians elected last fall as well.

A political representative may vote the right way, but a non-LGBT rep isn’t likely to make the argument for our interests as compellingly as an out rep will. A stronger voice for what’s important to us as LGBT people, means the possibility of having a stronger message and the ability to convert more votes to your causes.

A David Cicilline, the out US Rep from Rhode Island, will inherently understand the deep importance of getting conversion therapy right more than Michael Capuano or even Ayanna Pressley will.

And, yes, this is identity politics. Identity matters. Black Lives Matter. We need Ayanna Pressley speaking at the legislative table. LGBT people also have deeply experienced, unique, critical interests. We need LGBT representatives in the discussion as well.

In a Democracy, it is essential to equal representation.

There’s been a lot of handwringing over the incredible tossing and turning of our political system over the past couple years.

The good news is that it has activated and swept into office a wave of necessary voices, including from our LGBT community.

It took Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the US Senate, to block a clearly racist judge from being confirmed.

We are a better country because 22 openly LGBT, newly elected and reelected politicians hold public office in New England.

I feel better about 2019 already. I hope you do too. Happy New Year.

James Lopata Editor

WE KNOW JUST THE SPOT.

Look for our very special travel issue this fall with everything you need to plan for your next New England getaway.

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT SALES@BOSTONSPIRITMAGAZINE.COM JAN|FEB 2019 | 5

16

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Ski Bunny

Contents JAN|FEB 2019 | VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 1

Hit List Media-World Maestro Bella Bistro/Venerable Venue Open for Care Ski Bunny From the Blogs Newsmakers | Connecticut Newsmakers | Rhode Island Newsmakers | New Hampshire Newsmakers | Vermont Newsmakers | Maine Senior Spirit Final Frontier

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 23 24 25 26 26

Unity, Diversity, and Purpose

28

20-Year Winning Streak

32

Feature

2018 Word Champion Boston Red Sox CEO talks winning strategy with Boston Spirit

Two decades after its first kick-off, Robert Saurer’s FLAG Flag Football is just getting stronger

44

Winter Wonderlands

6 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Amazing Grace

Lesbians Who Tech

34

Following Her Passion

76

Amazing Grace

36

Divine Providence

78

Rainbow Wave

38

Promoting visibility and inclusion of women, LGBT people, everyone underrepresented in technology

Spotlight

36

Senior Spirit

Rhode Island State Council of Churches Executive Minister Donnie Anderson finds strength and support in a very public transition New England’s newly elected join hundreds of LGBT midterm-election winners taking office locally and in DC

Great gay-friendly getaways are just a day away across New England

44

Culture

With a Little Help from His Friends

68

Iconic Images

71

Elevating Drag

72

Living Out Loud

74

Legendary choreographer Mark Morris hits new heights with witty ‘Pepperland’

‘Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico’ at the MFA includes rare look at Frida Kahlo artifacts Video exhibit at RISD celebrates outcasts and the avant-garde Slam poets Justice Ameer and Chrysanthemum Tran weave words and music at Oberon

74

Following Her Passion

Curt Columbus is still making his mark at Trinity Rep

Calendar

New England Events

Scene

Seasonal

Winter Wonderlands

A love for her art led Angela Russo from photojournalism through fashion to large-format prints of distinction

82

LGBTQ+ Youth Center Grand Opening 83 Yes on 3 Victory Night Party 84 Celebration of Life Thanksgiving Dinner 87 Pie in the Sky 88 Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch 90 World AIDS Day 91 Gay for Good Wagon Assembly/ Toy Drive Decoration 92 Toys for Joys Gift Gala 94

Coda

Nostalgia Survivor

Jill Sobule (‘I Kissed a Girl’) bursts back on the scene with a great new album plus two New England shows

96

Nostalgia Survivor

96

Eyes Over Copley Dr. Patricia Fox, Owner & Optician

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SPOTLIGHT Trending STORY Scott Kearnan

Hit List NEWS, NOTES AND TO-DOS FOR EVERY GAY AGENDA Blemme

Ezra Miller

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED for a hot

Hollywood star in rural Vermont. In a recent interview with “Playboy,” queer actor Ezra Miller, star of the blockbuster “Fantastic Beasts” films, revealed that he actually lives in a polyamorous community on a 95-acre farm in the Green Mountain State. Miller has been making waves lately for crashing red carpets in gender nonconforming (and frequently avantgarde) fashions. The buzzy performer is poised to become one of the few openly LGBTQ actors to conquer the world of superhero flicks: He played DC Comics super-speedy icon The Flash in “Justice League” and will reprise the role for a solo flick that starts filming this year.

TURN UP THE VOLUME on BLEMME, a

rap collective of three fierce, ferociously talented black transgender and queer femmes. The trio’s members hail from three different cities: New York, Los Angeles and Boston, home to member Merci D. They just released an EP, “Vol. 1,” packed with five standout tracks like “Sugar,” a sweet futuristic bounce, and “By the Bay,” a spunky but silky-smooth groove.

The group brings important LGBTQ representation to the hip-hop genre, but is worth discovering for the deft wordplay and head-bopping beats alone. More: soundcloud.com/blemme

STUDY UP on the role that Massachusetts

has played in improving the lives of LGBTQ students in schools. That history is explored in “No Sanctuary: Teachers and the School Reform That Brought Gay Rights to the Masses,” a new book

by Stephen Lane, a high school teacher in Concord, the Bay State town where the country’s first GSA was founded in 1988. Lane dives deep into the people and policies that made the Bay State the

epicenter of the Safe Schools movement nationwide, contextualizes those efforts within the larger fight for LGBTQ rights, and offers insight on how far we’ve come— and how far we have to go.

COOK UP the romantic meals outlined in “A Recipe for Love,” a new “lesbian culinary romance” from author Lucy J. Madison.

Madison, who lives with her wife in coastal Connecticut and Provincetown, just released her latest tome about a 55-year-old retiree who pursues her passions to cooking school, where she meets a mysterious woman who stirs up her interest. Come for the romance, but keep reading for the companion recipes

PUBLISHER David Zimmerman EDITOR IN CHIEF James Lopata MANAGING EDITOR Robert Phelps [rob@bostonspiritmagazine.com] ART DIRECTOR Dean Burchell CONTRIBUTING LIFESTYLE EDITOR Scott Kearnan [lifestyle@bostonspiritmagazine.com] CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR Loren King CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alyssa Gillin, Tom Joyce, Nina Livingstone , Natalie Nonken, Kim Harris Stowell CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Joel Benjamin COVER PHOTO Greg Gorman ON THE WEB [bostonspiritmagazine.com] TALK TO US [feedback@bostonspiritmagazine.com] EDITORIAL CONTACT [editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com] PUBLISHING AND SALES CONTACT [publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com or 781-223-8538] THE FINE PRINT Boston Spirit magazine. A Division of Jake Publishing, LLC Published by Jake Publishing, LLC. Copyright 2004 by Jake Publishing, LLC. All

JAN|FEB 2019 | VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 1

rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written permission of Boston Spirit magazine. Neither the publishers nor the advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found in the magazine. The publishers accept no liability for the accuracy of statements made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person, organization or business in this magazine does not reflect upon one’s sexual orientation in any way.

Boston Spirit Magazine, 398 Columbus Ave. #395, Boston, MA 02116

8 | BOSTON SPIRIT

T:3.556” S:3.556”

Lucy J. Madison

that help readers recreate all the dishes featured in the story.

Madison is one to watch: She also has a film script based on the life of Emily Dickinson in preproduction. More: lucyjmadison.com

WHILE AWAY THE TIME at Idle

Hour, a cool new cocktail bar with a lesbian chef at the helm. Ashley Gaboriault is behind the creative noshes at this retro-tinged hangout in Quincy, Massachusetts, pulling together plates like a pork chop

Ashley Gaboriault

FA R F R O M T H E CO L D. Armin Heining

We make playing indoors easy. Shop, dine and relax, all within our warm walls. Our hotel is connected to over 200 shops and restaurants in Copley Place and the Shops at Prudential Center.

DISCOVER new ways to connect

with your partner through GAY-TANTRA, a three-day workshop coming to Frog Meadow, a clothing optional men’s bed-and-breakfast in southern Vermont. From February 8 to 10, just in time for Valentine’s Day, program founder Armin Heining will lead a retreat designed to help gay men discover new pathways to pleasure through exercises in breath work, meditation and massage that are designed for couples or solo practiitioners looking to connect more deeply with the spiritual side of their sexuality.

More: frogmeadow.com [x]

Within the hotel, enjoy our indoor pool and health club overlooking the Back Bay, catch your favorite team on the big screen in Champions, or just nestle into one of our comfortable beds. We’re the perfect place for a winter escape.

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S:9.875”

WHET YOUR APPETITE for Orfano, a new restaurant from out “Top Chef” alum Tiffani Faison. The spot, whose name is Italian for “orphan,” will take inspiration from the cuisines of the Boot when it opens this summer inside the Pierce Boston, a new 30-floor residential tower in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.

This will be Faison’s fourth restaurant on a single Boylston Street block in the rapidly transforming area: In 2011, she opened the barbecue hangout Sweet Cheeks Q; in 2015, she unleashed Tiger Mama, her Southeast Asian-inflected restaurant; and last year she rolled out Fool’s Errand, a standing-room-only tapas, wine and cocktail bar.

with chili-coffee rub, “Reuben nuggets” of corned beef with Thousand Island dressing, and a fried chicken sandwich with collard greens coleslaw. Funky libations, craft beers and wines wash them down in a space with a casual vintage vibe.

More: idlehourquincy.com

SPOTLIGHT Media STORY Scott Kearnan

Media-World Maestro BAY STATE’S OWN PHILLIP PICARDI MOVES FROM CONDÉ NAST TO HELM OUT MAGAZINE It’s a new day at the country’s major national LGBTQ+ magazine—and a native New Englander is the one charting a course for its future.

Out magazine recently appointed Phillip Picardi editor-in-chief, and the 27-yearold media-world maestro, who Out snatched from heavyweight publisher Condé Nast, is bringing plenty of buzz to the long-running lifestyle publication. Picardi, formerly chief content officer for Teen Vogue, possesses major industry It Factor thanks to his prodigious professional success and presence on industry red carpets, where he’s been photographed with everyone from President Obama to Paris Hilton.

Picardi was a key player in successfully reinvigorating and rebranding Teen Vogue as a smarter, socially conscious and politically engaged magazine in recent years. Condé Nast also named him digital editorial director of Allure, and an impressed Condé queen Anna Wintour eventually gave Picardi her blessing to launch his dream project: Them, a savvy modern publication for a new generation of binary-bucking LGBTQ+ audiences who don’t necessarily see the breadth and diversity of their intersectional identities and stories reflected in the existing media landscape. The Them crowd is young, hip, keen and queer.

[CONTINUES 11]

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That ought to give you some idea of where Picardi now plans to take Out. His goal, he says, is to transition the magazine, which first hit printers in 1992, away from GQstyle fluff and toward digitalfirst directions that are more audaciously political, representative of a multitude of identities, and proudly sex-positive.

“I’d like to make it a queer version of a culture magazine,” says Picardi. “It’s about moving away from specifically men and men’s fashion, and more towards what fashion, beauty, culture and lifestyle mean for our community at large.”

He’s also building a more diverse newsroom to reflect that mission, making notable hires like deputy editor Fran Tirao, formerly of Hello Mr., something of an Out competitor. Picardi can’t talk about specific major stories in the Out pipeline, but he says the cover of its March issue, which will be guest-edited by transgender

Every generation of queer people needs a first point of contact with its community in the media world. For many gay men, Out was that touchstone.

Picardi, who also plans to pump up the brand’s online presence across platforms, believes it can still be a beacon of journalism that cuts through a new era of queer media that is cluttered with Instagram personalities and YouTubers.

“ I’d like to make it a queer version of a culture magazine. It’s about moving away from specifically men and men’s fashion, and more towards what fashion, beauty, culture and lifestyle mean for our community at large. ” Phillip Picardi

activist and media maven Janet Mock, will make the nature of the brand’s bold new identity “crystal clear.”

Picardi says he is pumped to be in an “entrepreneurial”-feeling environment—Out owner Pride Media doesn’t have Condé Nastsized staffs or budgets—helming and revitalizing a legacy brand that played such a big part in his own formative years.

Out was Picardi’s “entrée to digesting magazine”—and his

entrée to glimpses of grown-up gay life—when he first perused a copy at a Borders bookstore shortly after coming out to his traditional Italian-American family in his teenage years.

Those early days weren’t easy, especially since Picardi attended a Catholic high school where, despite his popularity with his peers (he was elected class vice-president), he had to listen to talk of Sodom and Gomorrah from teachers.

“What I saw with Out is something that I saw with Teen Vogue. It has a real brand affinity among a really devoted audience, and yet it wasn’t resonating with its audience in the way that I think it should or talking about all the things that I think it should have in order to connect with a modern and certainly a younger queer generation. I see a lot of opportunity here.”

“I’m really reinvigorated by the idea of tearing things down and rebuilding for a new audience.” [x]

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SPOTLIGHT Nightlife STORY Scott Kearnan

Bella Bistro/Venerable Venue LONG-STANDING LGBT-FRIENDLY BELLA LUNA AND THE MILKY WAY CELEBRATE 25TH ANNIVERSARY It’s been many moons since Bella Luna & the Milky Way first opened in Jamaica Plain. The restaurant-nightspot hybrid just celebrated its 25th anniversary, an eternity in the hospitality biz. But that milestone is even more impressive when you consider that Bella Luna has managed to succeed as one of the area’s most reliably LGBTQfriendly hangouts, a regular host to many queer-focused parties and event series, even in an era when the number of traditional gay bars has dwindled dramatically. (Most recently, Cambridge bar Paradise perished late last year.)

Bella Luna may not fly a rainbow flag out front, and its owners don’t identify as LGBTQ. But make no mistake: The local queer community is celebrated as an integral part of the place’s storied history, and embraced as part of a larger mission rooted in its founder’s passion for community engagement and social advocacy.

“My mom always talked about having a community living room where people could come and gather,” says co-owner Megan Mainzer. Today Mainzer runs

12 | BOSTON SPIRIT

day-to-day operations with Carol Downs, who cofounded Bella Luna with Mainzer’s mother, Kathie.

“Every decision we make as a business is in keeping with that core focus. It affects how we hire, it affects our programming, it affects how we use our space to have fundraisers for nonprofits.”

“Even now, 25 years later, that notion that everyone is welcome is still a radical concept in our country and culture,” adds Downs, who says Bella Luna’s dedication to its original inclusive mission has never wavered.

The story of Bella Luna begins in Hyde Square, where Kathie Mainzer, then founder of a nonprofit called Citizens for Safety, decided to fight the blight of shuttered storefronts by opening her own small business. She partnered with a few similarly passionate pals (Downs and her husband Charlie Rose, plus friend Pierre Apollon), and crowd-funded donations from friends and neighbors.

In November 1993, doors finally opened at Bella Luna at 405 Centre Street. It was a simple, 19-seat pizza and salad shop launched for only about $50,000. But it quickly established itself as a popular gathering spot, and eventually added more seating, a patio, and a beer and wine license.

It was the quintessential family business, says Megan Mainzer, who was waiting tables when she was still a preteen.

In 1999, the restaurant’s owners took over the downstairs space that belonged to JP Bowl, a 10-lane candlepin bowling alley, and established the Milky Way Lounge, a funky spot with a full bar, games, and platform stage for regular live entertainment.

At this point, the multifaceted operation became firmly ensconced as a go-to gathering spot for Jamaica Plain’s large community of artsy queers. The Milky Way hosted performers like All the King’s Men, a drag king troupe, LGBTQ dance parties like Gross Anatomy and series launched by major local promoters like Kristen Porter, whose legendary Dyke Night Productions held monthly soirees at Milky Way for about 15 years.

“We made a conscious effort to pick programming that really reflected that huge

Bella Luna, interior Founders [FROM LEFT] Charlie Rose, Meg and Kathie Mainzer and Carol Downs.

[LEFT]

[FAR LEFT]

part of the Jamaica Plain community,” says Megan Mainzer.

funeral parade that drew hundreds of locals and a speech from Mayor Tom Menino.

In fact, among the spot’s regulars were Hillary and Julie Goodridge, lead plaintiffs in the landmark legal case that made Massachusetts the first state in the country to recognize same-sex marriage. When the Goodridges were married in 2004, they held a reception at the Milky Way, says Downs, making the place a little landmark in modern American history.

Though the new brewery location doesn’t have a bowling component, the restaurantbar has continued to evolve. The dining is better than ever, a mix of eclectic comfort foods, including plenty of gourmet pizzas and creative cocktails. And the space continues to be a hub for local LGBTQ nightlife.

Recurring series include queer dance nights like La Boum and LUV; “If You Can Speak It, You Can Feel It,” a decade-running open mic experience dedicated to LGBTQ communities of color; and Dirty Water Saloon, evenings of queer line dancing.

“I still get emotional just thinking of that day,” says Downs. For a while, there was even a special “Goodridge” pizza on the menu, topped with meatballs, garlic and parmesan.

Bella Luna & the Milky Way’s loyal guests, including its queer clientele, literally followed the venue when, driven out by surging rents, it relocated from Centre Street to a space in the nearby JPNDC Brewery Complex, the same Amory Street setup that houses the Sam Adams brewery and the headquarters of the Keshet, a national LGBTQ Jewish nonprofit. The 2008 move was marked by a joyous New Orleans-style

HaPiness is having a partner along for the ride Harvard Pilgrim is proud to support Boston Spirit Magazine.

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The owners are dedicated to preserving the place as an institution in the Boston area’s LGBTQ scene-especially in a post-Trump era when anxieties in marginalized communities can be particularly pronounced.

“I think there’s more acceptance around Boston, but homophobia is very real and deep and it’s everywhere,” says Downs “Hopefully, we stand out as a beacon and a space and an example of what things should look like everywhere and feel like everywhere.” [x]

SPOTLIGHT Health STORY Scott Kearnan

Open for Care TOP-NOTCH CLINICAL SERVICE AT MGH’S RECENTLY LAUNCHED TRANSGENDER HEALTH PROGRAM Good leadership starts at the top.

So it heartens Dr. Robert Goldstein, medical director of the Transgender Health Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), whenever he receives an email from hospital president Peter Slavin and sees that now, the top doc at one of America’s most important hospitals includes his gender pronouns in his signature.

It’s a small thing—and yet, a big sign that the values, policies and processes cultivated by the Transgender Health Program have permeated the uppermost echelons, and become part of the cultural fabric, at one of the country’s most esteemed medical institutions.

“The leadership sees that our mission is part of their mission,” says Goldstein.

they often stand at the intersection of so many multifaceted challenges.

Goldstein was instrumental in working with the clinicians and staff in the Department of Medicine to launch the Transgender Health Program in July.

He was spurred, he says, by the same mission that guides all his work in medicine: to care for the vulnerable.

Though he is a cisgender gay man, Goldstein is acutely aware of the obstacles that transgender folks face in receiving comprehensive primary care: He recalls patient stories of being misgendered at the ER, experiencing scattered care and poor communication between providers, and having providers conflate unrelated medical issues with their transgender identity. Also, as an infectious disease specialist and HIV expert, he sees how those obstacles ultimately manifest in health care disparities that adversely impact transgender patients.

“The thing that drives me clinically, and pushes what I do as a doctor, is that I want to help those who are most vulnerable,” says Goldstein. He adds that transgender patients, who face social discrimination, health disparities, and disproportionate risks related to issues like job and housing security, are among the most vulnerable populations precisely because

“It is impossible to be an HIV doctor and not recognize

the alarming disparity that transgender people have in this country,” says Goldstein. About “25 percent of the trans female population is HIV-positive,” says Goldstein, compared to less than 1 percent of the general population. Issues impacting marginalized people, including socioeconomic challenges and difficulty accessing care, play a big part.

That’s why MGH is prioritizing transformations in how it helps transgender patients. During his MGH residency, Goldstein, a member of the hospital’s LGBT Employee Resource Group, helped create primary care guidelines for working with LGBT patients. These best practices also helped build a strong foundation of best practices for the Transgender Health Program to build upon.

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FEBRUARY 8-10 BOCH CENTER SHUBERT THEATRE

PHOTO courtesy Massachusetts General Hospital There are four major components of the program’s multidisciplinary mission: clinical care, education, research and community involvement.

In September, MGH opened a transgender clinic on its main campus, where staff help patients navigate issues like insurance and the coordination of care with specialists, from surgeons to mental health professionals. Staff is constantly being educated on how to create a more welcoming environment (single-stall bathrooms are being converted to all-gender), and learning practical applications of new technologies, like a recent update to the hospital’s records system that more comprehensively captures the medical details and histories of transgender patients.

Goldstein is also interested in identifying gaps in Boston-area surgical care that MGH can help fill—for instance, unmet resources for phalloplasty—and better integrating pediatric and adolescent medicine into adult medicine, to better care for transgender young people during some of the most vulnerable times of life.

on community-based research around transgender issues— for example, the long-term risks and benefits of hormone management—that can better inform work at MGH and other institutions around the country.

“I hope next summer to really plant the seeds of a broader research program that begins to answer some of the questions we need to answer for the trans community,” says Goldstein.

And the program is also taking strong stands in the broader community. “We’ve focused a lot on our local environment and politics,” says Goldstein.

“For instance, the Yes on 3 campaign was obviously a huge issue for us and something we were really committed to supporting.” Following conversations with leadership, the hospital president sent out an email to the hospital and partners offering a full-throated support of the campaign to protect trans rights in Massachusetts.

Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pepperland is a must-see for dance and Beatles fans alike. The music, performed by a live band, intermingles arrangements of six Beatles classics with six Pepper-inspired originals by Ethan Iverson. Don’t miss the fun!

“I think we have definitely changed the minds and attitudes of a lot of people,” says Goldstein. For a still-young program, its work is top-notch. [x]

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JAN|FEB 2019 | 15

12/14/18 4:24 PM

SPOTLIGHT Entertainment STORY Scott Kearnan their penis, they’re not really that together. If you’re meeting one of those straight-identified transvestite chasers, you are their forbidden fantasy world.

Their family or girlfriend can never see you. You’re like, this gold mine they’ve hidden away.

[SPIRIT] Are you excited to go to Vermont? It’s home to your favorite person: Bernie Sanders!

[BUNNY] [Laughs] I certainly

Ski Bunny NYC DRAG CELEB LADY BUNNY HOSTS WINTER RENDEZVOUS SKI WEEK IN WHITE MOUNTAINS From January 23 to 27, the mountain slopes of Stowe, Vermont will once again be host to Winter Rendezvous, the hugely popular gay ski week that always includes a fun-filled array of events to heat up the icy air. This year, DJ dance parties, drag bingo and a live show from legendary icon Lady Bunny are all on the agenda.

Big-haired Lady Bunny is a sequined symbol of NYC nightlife’s drag heritage, forever queen of the Club Kids, and still the same kind of radical rabblerouser that queer culture can’t lose. She’s not shy about skewering political bullshit artists and political correctness, even when it riles her own LGBTQ base. The Wigstock found is a one-person party, but not one to simply spout the party line.

In an interview with “Spirit,” she spilled the tea on Craigslist

hookups, what the Democrats do wrong and her very favorite Vermonter. Here’s a hint: Bernie/Bunny 2020.

[BOSTON SPIRIT] So, will we see

you on the slopes? Do you ski?

[BUNNY] I never ski, unless

it’s on Craigslist.

[SPIRIT] Ha! With the personals gone, you won’t be finding anyone to party with there, anymore.

[BUNNY] When I was on

Craigslist, I was really on Craigslist. I’d be finishing up with one guy and the next would be ringing the doorbell.

I never responded to ads, I only put mine out there.

They would be under T4M, transvestite for man. It led to a regular thing with many guys.

When guys are thinking with

16 | BOSTON SPIRIT

wouldn’t mind meeting him!

Hey, he started a movement.

Even though people are saying we need someone young.

First off, we don’t need to continue swapping between the first black president and the first female president if they are peddling such stale ideas that they lose to Trump. A lot of people vote based on how presidential the candidate is, the other crew votes based on who is the candidate they’d like to have a beer with. Well, I’d like to have a beer with Grace Jones, but I don’t want her near the nuke button. We are so dumb.

Don’t assume just because they’re black or female that they’re going to be working on behalf of most of us.

[SPIRIT] What’s the response like

when you criticize Obama or Hillary in front of LGBTQ audiences?

[BUNNY] I do work in a few

things about Trump, but people aren’t ready to hear about the failings of the Democrats that delivered Trump to us. This might ruffle feathers with Boston readers, but when it comes to quoteunquote progressive leaders like Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker or Kamala Harris— why is it that they have voted repeatedly for Trump’s military budget? If you spend all this time telling me he’s a baby, he’s a monster, he’s a mad man, why would you arm him to the teeth? I guess he’s really not that scary.

[SPIRIT] One thing you’re not is, politically correct.

[BUNNY] Well honey, I got

my start performing for gay audiences or mixed nightclub audiences who were watching a show at one or two in the morning, and they were bombed, and I was bombed, and the more shocking it was the better. So that is my humor. And when the politically correct types get their politics together, we’ve got two parties that both want to bomb the world to smithereens, so you can imagine how awful it is to be called the wrong gender. Now they’re saying “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” should be rejected because it was dealing with bullying. What?

That song is about a reindeer who was bullied, overcame it and saved the day. I identified with that story, and that gaylooking kid who wanted to be a dentist on the Island of Misfit Toys. If you’re such a crybaby that you can’t watch something about bullying with a positive outcome, you better be home-schooled. You’re not ready to take on the world.

[SPIRIT] Do you think queens have lost their edge in a post “Drag Race” world?

[BUNNY] They’re looking for any

endorsement deal. Valentina is in the “Rent” TV remake.

Willam and Shangela are in “A Star Is Born.” They don’t want to do too many things that are going to block them from getting bigger gigs.

Meanwhile, I did my show “Trans-Jester” for three years and had a song about Caitlyn Jenner. I’m not down with her.

Trans people can be anything, and that includes Republican and stupid. But you know, at first I’d say her name and there’d be applause; by the end of the three years, the crowd would boo and hiss. So. [x]

winterrendezvous.com

I DO. I DO. (AND WE DO TOO!) Coming in March — Boston Spirit’s Wedding Issue.

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT SALES@BOSTONSPIRITMAGAZINE.COM JAN|FEB 2019 | 17

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

From the Blogs NEWS HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOSTONSPIRITMAGAZINE.COM

Laverne Cox and George Hastie. PHOTO Christine M. Hurley/ Hurley Event Photography

dbar PHOTO Facebook

NEW HAMPSHIRE TEEN ARRESTED FOR THREATENING CALLS TO GAY BARS A Hampton, New Hampshire teenager was arrested in late November for making two threatening phone calls to popular area gay bars dbar in Dorchester and The Alley Bar downtown over the weekend of November 10–11. Police traced the calls to a landline in Peabody, Massachusetts.

“My manager felt he was crazy on the phone and felt threatened,” dbar owner Brian Piccini told Boston’s WHHD-TV 7. “He called 911 like he’s trained to do, and I feel it was the right decision for the safety and security of everyone around.”

The Seabrook, New Hampshire, police department said in a statement they had arrested the youth, a 16-year-old boy from Hampton, N.H., at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, November 21.

“At the time of his arrest, the suspect was wanted on outstanding warrants sought out of Suffolk County Juvenile Court for Threats with Serious Public Alarm and Civil Rights Violations in connection to that investigation as well as additional warrants stemming from other charges from outside

jurisdictions,” reads a statement from the Boston Police Department.

At the time this issue of Boston Sprit went to press, the boy, whose name the police would not release because of his age, was being held in custody in New Hampshire pending arraignment in Boston.

LAVERNE COX CAMPAIGNS FOR TRANS RIGHTS IN BAY STATE Actress and documentary filmmaker Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”) joined the campaign to uphold transgender rights threatened by the referendum on the November 6 midterm elections in Massachusetts. On November 6, Bay State voters shot the referendum down by 68 to 32 percent.

She urged attendees that by upholding the state’s antidiscrimination laws, “Massachusetts has an opportunity to send a message to [the Trump] administration, has an opportunity to send a message to the rest of the country that this is not who we are as Americans, that this is not who we are as human beings, that we respect the humanity of everyone.”

“It was so exciting to have Laverne Cox come out today to support this important initiative,” BAGLY Executive Director Grace Sterling Stowell told the Rainbow Times. “Her national profile, stature, and respect in the community means so much that she is focusing her attention on our local battle here in Massachusetts, something that affects trans and non-binary people here and ultimately across the country.”

FAST FOOD CHAIN WITH HOMOPHOBIC RECORD EYES BACK BAY BOSTON SITE Chick-fil-A, the Georgia-based fast-food chain whose chief operating officer Dan Cathy

The victory came in no small part because of the public awareness spotlit by highprofile voices like Cox’s, who called on Massachusetts voters to “choose love today, and not fear,” by voting against the referendum.

Cox spoke at a late October campaign event held at the new BAGLY community youth center in downtown Boston.

PHOTO courtesy Wikimedia Commons

18 | BOSTON SPIRIT

has donated some $2 million of corporate earnings to antimarriage equality organizations through his foundation, may be opening a branch in Boston soon.

The contributions—$994,199 to the Marriage and Family Foundation in 2009 and $1,188,380 in 2010 plus more to the Family Research Council (listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center)—prompted Boston’s former Mayor Thomas Menino to do all he legally could to ban the chain from opening a restaurant in Boston in 2012.

Since then, Cathy has publicly stated he’s backed off making donations to hate groups, but his foundation has continued to fund organizations that discriminate against LGBT people. Chick-fil-A remains the darling of radical Christian antimarriage-equality groups, and Cathy has continued to speak in support of these groups, if not directly funding them.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told reporters in mid-November that he’s paying close attention but that he understands the chain has changed its philosophy.

Boston Spirit reached out to the

Mayor’s office, which has not yet responded to our inquiries.

The controversial chain’s most recent store in Massachusetts, its 12th in the state, opened in Methuen this past fall.

And now, according to a recently released Chick-fil-A, Inc. statement, the chain says, “While we are still early in the approval process, we can confirm that we are pursuing a location at 569 Boylston St.” Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, told the Boston Globe, an store opening could be a least a year away due to licensing and meeting with the Back Bay Architectural Commission.

NEW LGBTQ RESOURCE CENTER FOR FALL RIVER A new LGBTQ resource center is on the horizon for Fall River, Massachusetts.

The cofounders of F.R. Pride, attorney Karina Valencia and social services coordinator Nikita Santiago, are hard at work creating the new resource center for their community.

Valencia also serves as a public defender with Fall River’s Committee for Public Counsel Services Defender Division, and Nikita is a care coordinator

at SSTAR, the nonprofit health care and social services agency.

“There’s a lot of great nonprofit work in Fall River, but the fact that there’s no LGBTQ-specific programs and services is what really stood out for us,” Valencia told The Herald News.

Santiago told the Herald that the nearest LGBT services center is the South Coast LGBT Network in New Bedford but that Fall River also has a considerable population of LGBT people who could benefit from similar services in their own neighborhood. Among the services they’re aiming to provide are connections to medical and mental health care providers, youth services, education, social networking and increased visibility.

“Increasing visibility is not about making us stand out, it’s about helping folks feel more comfortable with the fact that in the end, we’re essentially all the same,” said Valencia.

Gearing up for F.R. Pride’s formal launch in June 2019, they’ve initiated fundraising and grant-writing, established a directory of LGBT-friendly businesses, which is available on their website livepridefully. org, and in mid-December held

Brown University School of Public Health a screening of “Boy Erased,” which they say with its storyline showing the harmful effects of gay conversion therapy, would not likely have been shown in their area.

STONEWALL 50 IN GREATER BOSTON AND MASSACHUSETTS 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a defining moment in the history of the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

Boston Pride is planning to raise awareness of this anniversary through exhibitions, public discussions, and other events, acting in collaboration with local community-based organizations. “It is important that, throughout the Greater Boston community, people observe this milestone in our progress toward full equality,” reads a statement from the sub-committee working on the effort.

The sub-committee formed to take the lead in organizing local events that highlight Stonewall and its impact in changing the course of history. In late October, it held its first meeting to brainstorm ideas for commemorating this anniversary.

To learn more about how you can participate, email Stonewall50@bostonpride.org.

Nikita Santiago. PHOTO Facebook

VOTING FOR 2019 BOSTON PRIDE THEME, JAN. 19–FEB. 2 Each year, the LGBTQ community in the Greater Boston area is encouraged to suggest Pride themes and then vote on the finalists.

Nominations for 2019 Boston Pride theme names end on Saturday, January 5, at 11:59 p.m.

Then the Greater Boston public can vote on their preferred theme (from a pareddown selection of themes) between January 19 and February 2 at bostonpride.org.

Once the results are in, you can also check out a list of final candidates and find out more about the winner at bostonspiritmagazine.com

BAY STATE CITIES EARN TOP SCORES ON HRC EQUALITY INDEX Massachusetts cities took the lead again this year in LGBTQ equality on the Human Rights Campaign’s latest Municipal Equality Index survey.

The 2018 “Municipal Equality Index”—the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law and policy—shows that cities across the country, including in Massachusetts, continue to take the lead in supporting LGBTQ people and workers—even in the face of renewed attacks this year by federal and state-level officials across the US. [CONTINUES 20]

JAN|FEB 2019 | 19

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Natalie Nonkin [FROM 19]

Newsmakers | Connecticut Articles from The Constitution State

For LGBTQ Americans, legal protections and benefits vary widely depending on location— states and cities have markedly different laws governing discrimination. Twenty-one states have nondiscrimination laws that include protections for LGBTQ people in employment, and 20 states have laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in places of public accommodation. But cities are leading the way: since the MEI’s debut in 2012, the number of cities earning perfect scores has increased more than sevenfold, and today at least 25 million people live in cities that have more comprehensive, transgender-inclusive nondiscrimination laws than their state.

The average score for cities in Massachusetts is 88 out of 100 points, which falls pretty solidly above the national average of 58.

Boston, Cambridge, Northampton, Salem, Worcester and Provincetown (technically not a city but survey-ranking municipality nonetheless) scored perfect 100s, with Arlington coming in with a very close 98.

For the full results and study, go to assets2.hrc.org; you can also learn more at hrc.org.

BROWN UNIVERSITY HEALTH CARE COST STUDY A new study by researchers at Brown University School of Public Health, “Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults Report Continued Problems Affording Care Despite Coverage Gains,” reveals LGB adults—with insurance and who regularly get check ups—are significantly less

likely than their straight peers to seek medical attention, due to cost of care.

This perplexed Kevin Nguyen, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student at the school, who ran the study and coauthored the report with two Brown professors. In November, Nguyen received the American Public Health Association Medical Care Section Student Paper Award at the APHA ​2018 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

His study was published in the medical journal Health Affairs.

“I started looking at this question because I had read a few studies indicating that following the ACA’s implementation in 2014 and the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, there were comparable rates of uninsurance for LGB adults.

However, insurance is only one step in receiving care—I was curious to see if there were other differences in the access to care and health outcomes,” Nguyen told a Brown University reporter. ” Nguyen is planning to look at further data to see how various health policy debates and changes have impacted the LGB community.

“It really is important to collect sexual orientation data in these nationwide surveys because it allows us to answer questions about access to care and health outcomes,” Nguyen said. “This helps us understand the experiences of certain communities who face very high barriers to care and allows us to monitor whether we’re making improvements or not.” [x]

20 | BOSTON SPIRIT

TRIANGLE COMMUNITY CENTER KICKS OFF NEW YEAR WITH QPOC SOIRÉE Norwalk’s Triangle Community Center is hosting its Queer People of Color Soiree on January 4.

The event gives attendees an opportunity to discuss their experiences and their ideas regarding ways to improve visibility in the community.

Participants can share their thoughts in creative ways such as song writing, story telling, and poetry.

This event is a safe space where members of the QPOC community can feel empowered, supported and uplifted.

They can be heard and can make connections with others in the community, and can talk about how to push through any oppression they may have faced.

For more information about the event and a host of other activities, TCC groups and initiatives, visit ctpridecenter.org.

The Triangle Community Center is home to more than two dozen, free groups that meet weekly, bi-weekly or monthly at the center. Groups include peer support, recovery, older adult daytime programming, crafts, sober social events and youth groups.

FRED ASTAIRE HOSTS DANCING WITH BEARS IN MIDDLETOWN On January 12, Middletown’s Fred Astaire Dance Studio is hosting a “Dancing with the Bears” event. The night of dance lessons will be hosted by none other than Joe KeachLongo, a.k.a. Mr. CT Bear 2018-2019.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies are welcome.

The evening includes a reception with wine and cheese, dance lessons, and of course, plenty of time to socialize.

Attendees will learn dances such as the salsa, foxtrot, and rumba.

“Dancing with the Bears” will raise money to benefit Connecticut’s GLSEN chapter, with tickets costing $25. The event will be held from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Fred Astaire Dance Studio, 19 Tuttle Place in Middletown.

For tickets, also available on eventbrite.com, and more info, go to the Dancing with the Bears page on Facebook.

GLSEN Connecticut, one of 39 accredited chapters of the national organization, works to ensure safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

THE ART OF PROTEST AT NEW HAVEN PRIDE CENTER “The Art of Protest,” Arienne Davey’s exhibit at New Haven Pride Center’s Great Room Gallery, runs through the end of January.

In this dynamic show, Davey examines the fight for equality through her photography as she captures moments from protests.

Her work keeps the background in black and white, while the subject stands out is in vibrant color so as to place importance on, while not losing sight of, the individual— even as we join together to fight for this cause that affects society as a whole.

Davey has been a photographer for over 25 years. After

Dancing with the Bears attending Obama’s inauguration, she was inspired to return to Washington, DC to attend Trump’s inauguration—where she found that the protesters were even more fascinating to photograph than the supporters.

According to the New Haven Pride Center, Davey says she hopes that her work will remind us, for generations to come, that, as Cesar Chavez said, “the people united will never be defeated.”

The exhibition runs through January 31 at the New Haven Pride Center, 84 Orange Street in New Haven, in The Great Room Gallery.

“New Haven Pride,” by Arienne Davey

Visit newhavenpridecenter.org for details.

MEET CONNECTICUT’S 2019 KID GOVERNOR Running on a platform of LGBTQ Youth Safety, fifthgrader Ella Briggs has been elected the 2019 Kid Governor of Connecticut. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, more than 6,400 fifth graders from across the state watched Ella’s video, learned about her threepoint platform and voted her into a one-year term. Ella will be inaugurated at the Old Statehouse in Hartford in January.

Ella’s platform focuses on three platform points to advocate for youth in the LGBTQ community: 1) to promote adoptions for LGBTQ homeless youth, 2) to train teachers on how to work with LGBTQ Youth, and

3) to create youth programs for LGBTQ Youth and their allies.

For more on Kid Governor Briggs, see story on page 38. —RP [x]

Ella Briggs

JAN|FEB 2019 | 21

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Kim Harris Stowell

Newsmakers | Rhode Island This Just in from the Ocean State “sexual orientation,” “transgender” and “affirmed gender.”

In addition, it provides guidance to pediatricians, especially primary-care pediatricians, on the specific needs of transgender and gender-diverse youth, particularly with regard to ways to validate concerns and questions around gender identity.

CICILLINE WINS ‘MOST IMPORTANT MIDTERM CAMPAIGN IN LIFETIME’

Dr. Scout of National LGBT Cancer Network

NATIONAL LGBT CANCER NETWORK LOCATES IN PROVIDENCE The National LGBT Cancer Network, which works to improve the lives of LGBTQ cancer survivors and those at risk, has expanded its NYC presence to Providence. Working under a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the RI-based team will work to expand resources for CDC grantees serving LGBTQ people at risk for tobaccorelated cancers.

The openly gay former Providence mayor David Cicilline swept into another US Congressional term, winning 66.9 percent of the midterm election vote.

“Thank you to every Rhode Islander who took part in this election,” Cicilline said in a statement. “Our democracy only works when people show up and make their voices heard. That’s exactly what has happened today in Rhode Island and in cities and towns across America. This has been the most important midterm campaign in my lifetime. “No matter your political party, I know that all Americans can take pride in the strength of our democracy tonight.

“This is the most important midterm election in our lifetime. In the weeks ahead, I’ll continue doing everything I can to ensure that Democrats take back the House this

According to Deputy Director Dr. Scout, “We are really looking to expand the online knowledge base and toolbox for LGBTQ community members at risk for cancer, living with cancer and policymakers serving us.”

For more, go to cancer-network.org.

HELPING PEDIATRICIANS BETTER TREAT TRANS YOUTH A new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, promising to help transgender and gender-diverse youth as they manage their health care and seek to eliminate stigma and discrimination, was written by Rhode Island’s Dr. Jason Rafferty of Hasbro Children’s and Bradley Hospital.

The new statement will help health care providers across the country, offering definitions of such terms as “gender dysphoria,”

22 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Rhode Island Pride in “Gayest City in USA”

Congressman David Cicilline November so we can create good-paying jobs, lower health care costs, and end the corruption and toxic influence of corporate money in DC and get the government working for the people again.”—RP

PROVIDENCE NAMED GAYEST STATE CAPITAL IN UNITED STATES The City of Providence has been recognized as the gayest state capital in the country by GayCities.com.

More than 125,000 GayCities readers votes have been tallied in its 10th-anniversary edition of Best of Gay Cities 2018 Travel Awards.

According to GayCities.com, Providence beats out Austin, Texas and Denver for the gayest capital. Providence was also ranked as the third most laid-back city for gay people. [x]

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | New Hampshire Headlines from the Granite State

“One of the most common reasons that LGBTQ students do not report incidents of harassment is because they doubt that effective intervention will occur. Narrowing the definition of sexual harassment to only the most severe of cases may have an overly negative effect on LGBT students, many of (whom) are already fearful to report harassment in schools.”

system would let you believe,” Pappas told supporters.

“Pappas won big in Democratic strongholds like Portsmouth, but he also did well in conservative parts of the district. He won in Bedford, for example, and held his own in Derry and Londonderry.”

Gov. Chris Sununu

SUNUNU OPPPOSES NEW FEDERAL SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY Governor Chris Sununu opposed in a late November letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos the secretary’s new federal regulations for school sexual assault and harassment investigations.

The regulations narrow the definition of sexual harassment under Title IX “and what it means for a student to report it, requires schools to respond meaningfully to every report of sexual harassment, and ensures that due process protections are in place for all students,” DeVos had written in a statement.

Sununu and others have found this definition too narrow.

“Of particular concern,” he wrote, “is that the proposal seeks to drastically narrow the definition of sexual harassment to only apply to ‘unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the school’s education program or activity; or sexual assault.’

This means that sexual harassment must be endured until it becomes so significant that the student’s access to education is in jeopardy. Obviously, one goal of any sexual harassment policy in the educational setting should be to guard against abuse escalating to the point that a student believes they have no other option to disrupt or end their educational pursuits.”

Further, “This change could have unintended consequences that negatively impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students,” Sununu stated.

Emily_Fishbaugh

Chris Pappas

US CONGRESSMAN PAPPAS It’s official! New Hampshire voters elected Chris Pappas the first openly gay member of the US Congress in the 2018 Midterm Elections by a solid margin.

“Today voters confirmed that the people of this district, of this state and of this country are so much more kind, more decent and more tolerant than our political system would let you believe,” Pappas told supporters on election night.

Reported New Hampshire Public Radio, “Pappas’ victory came after a hard-fought battle that began with two bitter primary campaigns and a general election that kept voters on edge until late on election night.

“He and [Republican candidate Eddie] Edwards were within a few points of each other for most of the night, but by 11:00 p.m. it was clear, Pappas would help Democrats take control of Congress.

“Today voters confirmed that the people of this district, of this state and of this country are so much more kind, more decent and more tolerant than our political

WINNACUNNET HIGH STUDENT HITS “IT LIST” It’s been an especially great year for 17-yearold Emily Fishbaugh of New Hampshire.

Earlier this year, we reported that Fishbaugh had been selected by the national Advocate magazine for its annual Champions of Pride list.

Now, the happily out (since fourth grade, she says) transgender student from Winnacunnet High School has been named to New Hampshire magazine’s end-of-theyear 2018 “It List.”

Notes the magazine, she “spent the beginning of the year at the Statehouse advocating in support of a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations. Since HB 478 was passed in February, Fishbaugh has been busy speaking on panels around New Hampshire and Massachusetts and at the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teachers Network’s Homecoming Out event in 0ctober.”

“I am an advocate for change and will continue to fight for trans rights. We are beautiful, and we need to focus on the incredible amount of love and support in our community,” Fishbaugh said. [x]

JAN|FEB 2019 | 23

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | Vermont Green Mountain State Update

The report came from the New York Times, which had obtained a memo from the Trump administration that considered imposing its own new legal definition of gender.

“They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now,” President Trump told reporters following the New York Times report. “You know that as well as I do. We’re looking at it very seriously.”

Senator Leahy

The UVM walk-out and a rally were organized by UVM’s Queer Student Union.

RECORD-BREAKING $13.4 MILLION TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES US Senator Patrick Leahy announced in mid-December that a record-breaking $13.4 million is coming to Vermont to support crime victims and services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. This represents a $6 million dollar boost for Vermont nonprofits over the previous fiscal year.

As vice chair of the Senate’s appropriations committee, Leahy played a key role in negotiations. Notably, Leahy was the chief author and sponsor of 2013 legislation that extended domestic violence protections to LGBT and tribal victims.

“Many of the most tragic crime scenes that I responded to as a State’s Attorney were domestic violence cases. The extra funding that I secured to support victims will allow the highly effective network of organizations in Vermont to expand their services.

The disturbing reality is that half of all homicides in Vermont are related to domestic violence. We must move beyond just words and continue to funnel real resources to support victims of crime and to help end the violence that tears at the fabric of all our communities,” Leahy stated.

UVM STUDENTS WALK OUT IN SOLIDARITY WITH TRANSGENDER PEOPLE Hundreds of students at the University of Vermont walked out of classes in late October in a demonstration of solidarity with transgender people in response to the Trump administration’s reported aim to narrowly define gender as a biological and assigned at birth.

24 | BOSTON SPIRIT

“In this country, in particular, gender and sex are two things that are conflated. They are considered to be the same thing and that’s very much not the case,” Jamie Gay told WCAX-3 TV. “It is erasing the lives and experiences of thousands and thousands of Americans, not even touching on those around the rest of the world.”

GUERRILLA QUEER BAR OF BURLINGTON WANTS YOU “Come out wherever you are” is the message to all LGBTQ people interested in gathering for a fun night with a large group of

UVT transgender solidarity rally

Guerrilla Queer Bar of Burlington

“inclusive and affirming queer and trans spectrum people” queer bar takeover.

Guerrilla Queer Bar of Burlington is always looking for more volunteers and LGBTQ fun-seekers to participate in its safe, friendly popular pop-up nights.

All you have to do is go to Guerrilla Queer Bar of Burlington’s Facebook page, go to events and find a link to a brief survey.

There you can let the guerrillas (or more specifically the group moderators) which LBGT-positive space in and around Burlington you’d like the group to commandeer, why there, and whether you think the place is big and equipped enough to accommodate a large group they’re not exactly expecting.

Each meet-up venue isn’t announced until just a few hours before the event, which, of course, is all part of the excitement. (The date is announced in advance, just not the place.)

The Burlington group is part of a nationwide queer bar takeover moment that “embraces the vision that together, united, we are stronger, happier, healthier, and safer. Too often, LGBTQ+ parties and events self-divide based on gender/sex and age; this group is emphatically committed to fostering an inclusive space where LGBTQ+ people of all ages (21+ for most venues, 18+ for some venues), genders and sexual identities are coming together to have fun and our queer and trans people of color (QTPOC) community members feel safe, affirmed, and respected.” [x]

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | Maine

News from the Pine Tree State Gov. Elect Janet Mills

GOV. MILLS STANDS UP FOR TRANS WORKERS’ RIGHTS

“I am proud to earn the support of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that is on the forefront of fighting for full LGBT equality,” Mills told the HRC. “Throughout my career, whether in the Legislature or as Attorney General, I have fought prejudice and discrimination wherever I encountered it. As Governor, I will continue to do the same, striving to ensure that LGBT Mainers are treated with respect and dignity and that Maine is a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place to live for all.”

Before taking office in January, newly elected Governor and former State Attorney General Janet Mills voiced her opposition to former Governor Paul LePage challenge against federal court’s ruling to defend transgender people from workplace discrimination.

LePage signed on to an amicus brief filed with 15 other right-wing officials calling for the US Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision against a Michigan funeral home that fired a transgender employee. The decision could set a precedent against not only laws that protect transgender workers but all protected workers.

“I strongly disagree with Gov. LePage and believe that the law is both clear and right: No person should be fired because of their gender identity or sexual orientation,” Mills said. “As governor, I will fight to ensure that all Maine people are treated fairly and equally and with dignity and respect. Anything less than that is wrong and out of step with Maine values,” Mills told the Bangor Daily News.

Mills has earned top marks from the Human Rights Campaign, which endorsed her gubernatorial run.

“As Attorney General of Maine, Janet Mills has fought tirelessly against discrimination and worked to ensure that all Mainers have an equal opportunity for success,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “A proven leader, Janet is the clear choice for fair-minded voters who want to continue moving Maine forward as a welcoming and inclusive state. HRC is proud to endorse Janet Mills for governor, and we look forward to working closely with her to advance LGBTQ equality.”

Landon Fry on WCSH-TV

TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION IN SPRINGFIELD A Springfield man was forced to file a protection order for himself and his family after his next-door neighbor outed him for being transgender.

According to Portland NBC affiliate WCSHTV, Landon Fry and his family moved to Springfield in December 2017 and by all accounts smoothly and happily became part of the community. Landon volunteered at a church and the fire department. His kids went to the public junior high school.

But things changed the following September, after Fry befriended his next-door neighbor, Michael Hill.

“Fry said his kids are now being asked questions about their father’s gender and being bullied because of it,” reports WCSH. “Fry and his wife, Marsha, met with the principal

and superintendent ‘to see how we can continue to move forward so that way our kids can get a good education and it’s not being constantly diverted because of the situation between two grown men,’ Fry said.”

The pastor at the Springfield Community Church told the family they were no longer welcome. The pastor, Bruce Swan, told News Center Maine, “We have an obligation to almighty God to follow the scriptures” as justification.

“Some days can just be constant blatant discrimination over and over and some days you can fly completely under the radar and not have a problem,” Isabella Ohammon of Maine Trans Net told the television reporter. “The amount of trans people in our state that have reported hate crimes is upward to 80 percent.”

At a court hearing Fry’s neighbor Hill agreed to a nine-month protection from harassment order, and their children are being separated at school and on the school bus. The Penobscot Country Sherriff’s Department and state police worked with Fry to help address the situation.

SUPPORTING LGBT SENIORS IN HANCOCK COUNTY Hospice Volunteers of Hancock County has teamed up with Sage Maine, which provides advocacy and services for LGBT elders, and other community partners to sponsor an organization-certification training that is enhancing service to members of the elder LGBT community.

The training covers “the basics about what LGBT means, stories of LGBT older adults and how their lives are affected by societal attitudes and organizational structures that stigmatize and discriminate against them, and skills/policies that will enhance individual and organizational capacity to work more effectively with LGBT older adults.”

Cosponsors include Downeast Community Partners, Healthy Peninsula, the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center and Friends in Action.

For more on what these partners are doing to support the LGBT community in Hancock Country—and all that Sage Maine is doing throughout the state, visit www. sagemaine.org. [x]

Sage Maine

JAN|FEB 2019 | 25

SPOTLIGHT Community STORY Bob Linscott

Senior Spirit Final Frontier

Gay seniors thriving with their straight peers There has been an important shift towards diversity and inclusion in the elder care world that mirrors a trend in the mainstream sector.

In Massachusetts, more senior centers and elder service providers are undergoing cultural competency training to be more welcoming to LGBT older adults. This marks a huge leap forward in social progress, but it doesn’t pave the way for LGBT older adults to start lining up at the door of their senior center. What holds them back is what those in the field of LGBT Aging, call “the final frontier,” specifically, the inclusion and acceptance of LGBT elders by their heterosexual senior peers.

Many LGBT older adults fear that they will be discriminated, harassed or bullied if they should venture into the spaces dominated by heterosexual seniors. Their concerns are not completely unwarranted. It is their peers who received the same messages decades ago that homosexuality was a sin, immoral and illegal. A recent study in Public Opinion Quarterly found that older Americans are more likely to hold anti-gay views compared to younger populations.

This makes sense because younger generations have been exposed to more diversity and have been much better at navigating the tremendous social change that has occurred in the last 30 years.

Unfortunately, many LGBT older adults never get the chance to test out the waters for themselves, because they perceive they will not be welcome and never venture outside LGBT spaces. But two local gay seniors are paving the way and changing hearts and minds.

Dennis DeMello, 79, and Joseph Carcerano, 75, have been together for 56 years. They met in 1962 when they were 18 and 22.

Dennis said they waited to move in together until Joe turned 21 so his family wouldn’t be upset. And on the morning of his 21st birthday Joe was at Dennis’ doorstep and the two haven’t been apart since. They even spent the last 19 years working together at Bank of Boston before they retired; Joe

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Dennis DeMello [RIGHT] and Joseph Carcerano in 1997 and Dennis in 2000. The couple wanted to stay active and engaged in their retirement, so they started attending some of the LGBT friendly congregate meals.

They would drive to Cambridge one week, Salem another week, then to Jamaica Plain and to Sharon.

Dennis and Joe enjoyed these gatherings but they didn’t enjoy all the driving. Ironically, the Veronica Smith Senior Center was just a couple blocks from their house in Brighton, but they never thought of going there. On a whim, they decided to attend one of the center’s daily luncheons.

They felt welcomed as soon as they walked through the doors. Both men share a similar value of giving back to the community, so by the end of that lunch they met with the staff at Veronica Smith about volunteering. That

was nearly 10 years ago, and the men have been an integral fixture at the senior center ever since.

If you spend any time at Veronica Smith you see how indispensable the couple has become. They are involved with everything.

One minute a staff member is asking one of them to decorate a flyer, the next someone asks them advice on the planning of the center’s holiday party. Veronica Smith Executive Director Cynthia Woolcock says, “Dennis and Joe are the life of the center and that has been true since the first day they walked in here. Everyone loves them, they liven the place up. You can tell when they are not here and the seniors ask, “Where are the boys?” Before they came, no one really spoke to each other or knew anyone’s name. Now the boys have made the

center like a one big family where everyone is on a first name basis.

During the holidays the center is decorated top to bottom, with giant snowmen, bedazzled Christmas trees and festive decorations in every available space. This is all thanks to Dennis and Joe—they bring in every single decoration. In addition to running the luncheon three days a week, Dennis leads a weekly Pokeno card game and teaches a crafting class, and they both help out with all the big events at the center. Joe was even recently asked to join the Veronica Smith board of directors.

Dennis and Joe say the seniors there are all straight and they don’t have any problem with them being gay. “We were accepted the minute we arrived.” Dennis adds they tease him when one of the ladies catches him eating a second doughnut; she waves a finger and says, “I am going to tell your husband.”

One of their favorite memories happened in 2012 when all the seniors surprised the couple with a cake after the two men were officially married on their 50th anniversary.

The couple have made some wonderful friends at Veronica Smith, which has become the social hub of their lives. When Ethos, the Boston elder service provider that sponsors the daily luncheons at Veronica Smith, was launching a new

Dennis and Joe with Veronica Smith Senior Center staff, Executive Director Cynthia Woolcock third from left. Photo by Bob Linscott LGBT-friendly meal site at Goddard House, the boys brought two of their straight female friends to the opening reception.

The women had such a laugh because everyone thought they were a couple.

Woolcock says that she hopes that all the work that Dennis and Joe have done at the center will pay off and more LGBT seniors will start participating in their events, “We are ready and waiting” she says.

And that is also the hope of those of us in the field of LGBT aging. If two LGBT seniors

can “boldly go where no other gay seniors have gone before,” then there is hope that the barriers that have separated these two wonderful communities will start to come down and folks will realize, just like they have done at Veronica Smith, that there is more that unites us than divides us. [x]

Bob Linscott is assistant director of the LGBT Aging Project at The Fenway Institute.

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FEATURE Sport/Business STORY David Zimmerman Sam Kennedy, CEO, Boston Red Sox

“ We have right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats that buy our tickets and sponsor us and support us, so we really don’t want to get into politics. That said, when there are social issues in society that have a direct impact on the operation of the club, our employees and our players, we feel it is important to take a stand. ” Sam Kennedy Red Sox CEO

Unity, Diversity, and Purpose 2018 Word Champion Boston Red Sox CEO talks winning strategy with Boston Spirit When the Red Sox were on the field at Dodger Stadium receiving the World Series trophy this past season, one of the first things that Red Sox owner John Henry mentioned when he was interviewed during the trophy ceremony was diversity. He said that the team showed what “unity, diversity and a sense of purpose” can accomplish. Boston Spirit recently interviewed Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy about the teams winning strategy of inclusion, including a major backing of the “Yes on 3” ballot initiative, a $200,000 donation to Fenway Health

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and ongoing, active support of the LGBT community.

[SPIRIT] It struck me that “diversity” was so prominently included in John Henry’s remarks at the World Series trophy ceremony.

Is that an organizational theme?

[KENNEDY] It really starts with John Henry.

It’s a part of John and Linda Henry’s DNA. It’s in Tom Werner and Mike Gordon’s DNA to promote and discuss and focus on diversity within their personal lives and their professional lives and when it comes to the Red Sox. If you go back to 2002 when we made the deal to acquire

the Red Sox, one of the first issues that John Henry tackled was publicly stating that, while the Red Sox are a great team and a great franchise and beloved around New England, we’ve had a shameful past with respect to being inclusive as an organization whether it was race or sexual orientation. So when we got here there was a mandate to focus on diversity and inclusion in our hiring and our business partners program and to not be afraid to talk about it and to try and make some progress. Now, here we are 17 years later and it was not a surprise to me to hear John talk about the importance of a diverse clubhouse and a group of players coming together from around the world to achieve the highest goal in Major League Baseball. That said, we know we can still do better. This is not simply a box you can check, it has to be in the ethos of the organization.

[SPIRIT] When you look at diversity and inclusion in the corporate world there is typically an executive sponsor or senior leader directing

the mission. You mentioned John Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon, are they the leaders setting the tone for the organization?

[KENNEDY] They are. It’s really throughout Fenway Sports Group. Fenway Sports Group is the parent company of the Red Sox, NESN and Liverpool Football Club. When it comes to the Red Sox, John and Tom and Mike make it a priority that one of our core values is to value inclusion and diversity whether it’s employees on the field or off the field. It comes straight from the top.

[SPIRIT] What are you seeing league wide? Is this

a topic with other teams or the league offices?

[KENNEDY] Major League Baseball (MLB)

Boston’s LGBTQ Welcoming Committee, Fenway Park

deserves a ton of credit. The work the league has done with Billy Bean (MLB Ambassador for Inclusion) is amazing.

Billy is someone I have known for a long time, before he came out and now. When he was hired by MLB one of the most impactful days I have had in the 17 years that I’ve been with the Red Sox was when Billy came to our front office and spoke to the 300-plus people that work here. He told his story about coming out and it was incredibly moving and powerful to hear

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and we respect their decision. That said, our players have all stood for the anthem, maybe that will change in the future. I think there was a feeling in our clubhouse that the message that Colin Kapaernick was sending about the treatment of the African-America community by some police in this country is something that needs to be addressed and the kneeling was not about disrespecting the flag. That’s a very difficult tightrope to walk and has obviously created quite a bit of controversy.

[SPIRIT] The Red Sox were a very visible leader in the recent “Yes on 3” ballot question which focused on protecting the rights of the transgender community. Having a professional sports team stand up for the transgender community is not something that you see very often, if at all. What spurred your involvement in the campaign and the issue?

Pride Night at Fenway Park

what he went through. It really resonated with the folks in our front office. That’s a credit to baseball. We started our Pride Day as part of Pride Week back in 2013, and it has grown over the years and it is something that our employees get really excited about. We have been in the Pride parade for several years now, we have the Pride flag flying at Fenway, and I have actually had employees come to me and ‘come out’ and say how proud they are to work in an organization that supports the community. That’s very meaningful for us.

[SPIRIT] The team has marched in Pride Parades (in 2017 the Red Sox joined the Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and Revolution on a float with Boston Spirit), you have Pride Day at Fenway and recently the team was very involved in supporting the “Yes on 3” campaign, do you ever receive any negative feedback?

[KENNEDY] No. Nothing publicly from any groups or anything like that. I don’t know if anyone is saying anything behind our backs. We’ve had a few comments on social media, Twitter, places like that where people are free to express themselves but not, to my knowledge, about the LGBT community. We have heard that we’re a sports team that panders to different social causes, but I want to be clear that we’re a sports team. We don’t want to be a political organization. We have right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats that buy our tickets and sponsor us and support us, so we really don’t want to get into politics. That said, when there are social issues in society that have a

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direct impact on the operation of the club, our employees and our players, we feel it is important to take a stand. Issues related to being inclusive and accepting, those are huge, whether it is sexual orientation, whether it’s race, those we feel we really must take a stand as an organization because it’s the right thing to do. So far, it’s been extremely positive.

[SPIRIT] Aside from LGBT issues for a moment, one of the major stories in sports last year was when several NFL players decided to take a knee during the national anthem to protest social inequalities. That movement didn’t seem to make its way to major league baseball. Is that something you addressed proactively? If so, what types of steps did you take to discuss the issue?

[KENNEDY] Yes, we really felt we needed to be proactive and when the issue came up.

I have to credit ownership of the team for empowering us to deal with it in a way that we felt was best. We’re guided by our gut, there’s no course you take on how to deal with these issues; you have to go based on human feelings and relationships. So, again, we tried to be very proactive about it and met with our players. John Farrell (former manager of the Red Sox) called a meeting with our players in Cincinnati in September of 2017. We made it very clear to our players that we expect that they will respect the national anthem, stand for the anthem, participate in the anthem ceremony and that was our hope as an organization because that’s what we would like them to do. However, if they felt, for whatever reason, that they want to express themselves we understand that

[KENNEDY] For us it was easy, it’s just a fundamental belief that everyone should feel welcomed and included regardless of how you identify, regardless of your sexual orientation or your gender identity, race or religion. We feel our sport, baseball, is for everybody not just for a certain segment of the population. We are guided by a philosophy that it is really important to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and welcome, especially at Fenway.

[SPIRIT] Recently the Boston Red Sox Foundation gave a gift of $200,000 to Fenway Health to be used on an anti-bullying project. How did that come about?

[KENNEDY] I want to be very clear on this because Mike and Christina Gordon will not want to take credit for this idea, but this was an idea that was driven by Mike and Christina. Mike is the president of Fenway Sports Group. They have a Gordon Family Foundation and in the course of discussing things that we could do to support MLB’s Focus on Spirit Day in October, Mike suggested that we partner on an initiative at Fenway Health, right here in our neighborhood doing incredible work. It’s an issue and a cause that Mike and Christina care deeply about.

In talking to our players and people in the front office, one of the most offensive things to all of us in the organization is bullying. For a young person to be dealing with bullying in school or after school, it’s just awful. We learned about Fenway Health’s commitment to helping young people with issues surrounding bullying, especially within the LGBT community, and we thought it was a great way to

“ If you go back to 2002 when we made the deal to acquire the Red Sox, one of the first issues that John Henry tackled was publicly stating that while the Red Sox are a great team and a great franchise and beloved around New England, we’ve had a shameful past with respect to being inclusive as an organization whether it was race or sexual orientation. So when we got here there was a mandate to focus on diversity and inclusion in our hiring and our business partners program and to not be afraid to talk about it and to try and make some progress.” highlight their amazing work. It’s really a credit to Mike and Christina Gordon and consistent with the values of the Red Sox. [SPIRIT] Sports have come along with in the past 10–15 years on issues of diversity and, more specifically, LGBT issues. That said, we do not have any players in the four major sports who are “out.” Why do you think that is?

[KENNEDY] It’s still amazing to me. It’s amazing to me because we have come so far and made such great strides. Yet, no one in MLB, as far as players, has come out. I firmly believe they will, it’s just a matter of time. Frankly, I have felt that

way for a long time and it shows you that there is obviously still some concern within the player community that has kept players from coming out. I have talked to Billy Bean about this, he obviously went through it after his playing days ended. I remember vividly when Steve Buckley, a sports reporter for the Boston Herald [now with The Athletic] came out, I thought to myself “what courage that took,” being a member of the media and so high profile. It will happen, I think it will happen soon, I really do, but I have felt that way for a long time. I know the players

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Sam Kennedy Red Sox CEO

on our roster, they are accepting, they are progressive. It would be an environment where there would be acceptance. If a player in our organization did come out we would do everything we can to support that player, similar to what we have done with our nonplaying employees. I hope we can get to the place where it is a nonissue for any player to come out. [x]

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FEATURE Sports STORY Tom Joyce

20-Year Winning Streak Two decades after its first kick-off, Robert Saurer’s FLAG Flag Football is just getting stronger It started when Robert Saurer put an ad in a newspaper, hoping to find some likeminded individuals to play touch football with. Since then, it has developed into a massive success with over 300 participants per season.

FLAG (Friends Lesbians and Gays) Flag Football enjoyed its 20th year anniversary in 2018 and has grown into a 24-team league which features 14 players per team, giving many the opportunity to get active and meet new people during their spring and fall seasons.

“If there’s one word to describe it: proud,” Saurer, the league’s founder, said.

“I’m proud of what it’s become and done for people’s social existence and lives. I’m proud to see people develop leadership skills as captains and social skills on the board. It’s been a great opportunity for some people and I’m proud they have it.”

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For Saurer, 53, the initial objective was simply finding people to play touch football with and hoping to organize a few teams to play against each other in the city. Growing up, he played pickup sports with his friends but by the time he entered high school, he did not compete in organized sports due to fear of being outed.

During his college years, he played touch football from time to time and started to do so on a more regular basis several years later when he worked for The Boston Globe. He and his co-workers played together but when Saurer came out to his football friends, they were not the most receptive and coming off a breakup, he was getting sick of the bar scene as a way to meet men.

So Saurer took out an ad in Bay Windows, an LGBTQIA newspaper in the city expressing his interest in starting something up. The response, admittedly,

was not great, but he did find a few people interested. Saurer brought some of his friends and the people he found via the ad brought some of their friends which allowed them to play some games against one another.

Gradually, the league has expanded and become an immensely popular way for people to meet one another in the city.

“We made it comfortable for everyone,” he said. “It wasn’t a tryout. It wasn’t a look down your nose at someone who can’t catch the ball. It was: try, learn, laugh, enjoy each other’s company and go out for beers afterwards.”

“We haven’t been particularly successful on the winning national championship side of things,” he added, “but we’re super duper successful in having a league that’s fun and engaging and provides an atmosphere for safe play for all skill sets involved.

Saurer said what stands out about his league compared to other sports leagues in the city is that he makes sure everyone gets to meet new people. In some leagues, people stick with a certain group for several years but in FLAG Flag Football, the

[ABOVE] At FLAG Flag Football’s 20th Anniversary Homecoming. PHOTO courtesy FLAG Flag Football [AT RIGHT AND OPPOSITE] Robert Sauer.

PHOTO Patrick Lentz Photography

teams are redrafted before every season, meaning every season is an opportunity to make new friends.

“You don’t really end up with this cliquey nature where team blue hates team red,” he said. “And the schedule playing on Saturdays where we all finish at the same time helps. The relationship we have with the pub The Blarney is great which helps and I really have to give a lot of credit to the board of the league. The community outreach is absolutely tremendous. We have social affairs who set up karaoke nights, drag shows for benefits, tea parties, you name it.”

Outside of Boston, FLAG Flag Football has enjoyed representation at the national stage in the Gay Bowl. It now features more than 40 teams from around the country and Saurer’s Boston Brawlers took second place in the C Division this past fall--in Gay Bowl XVIII. “It’s really hard when you’re 53, but it’s an honor to represent Boston,” he said. “It’s doubly an honor to be on the field with some of our better talents. It’s

a privilege to be out there. It’s also on a different level. The field size and level of play are much bigger, so you have to pull yourself out of the Boston league and go into the national level of play—which is a little bit of a jump.”

Initially, the Gay Bowl featured just three teams: Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but little by little, it has expanded into a massive event thanks to the internet and players’ connections to flag football players in various cities throughout the country.

On the league’s website, one of the points made on its mission statement is, “through education and the promotion of sport, to refute traditional stereotypes against members of the LGBTQ community, increase diversity and tolerance within athletics, and engender respect and understanding within the larger community.” One major way is by allowing straights to play in the league and not capping how many of them are allowed to compete. Saurer said in doing this, they are able to help grow support for the LGBTQIA community.

“I can think of nothing better than having a straight ally go to work on a Monday morning and telling their friends and co-workers they play in a gay flag football league,” Saurer said. ”That is hugely valuable for us, especially back in the day when society was different. It’s awe inspiring that they’re willing to be a part of us. We’ve really made it for everybody.” [x]

flagflagfootball.com.

JAN|FEB 2019 | 33

FEATURE Business STORY Rob Phelps 1

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Lesbians Who Tech Promoting visibility and inclusion of women, LGBT people, everyone underrepresented in technology In 2018, Massachusetts women were still only making an average of 82 cents on the dollar compared to men—only a little better than that 80-cent national average, according to the American Association of University Women.

Approximately 31.9 percent of Bay State workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are women, compared with 28.8 percent nationwide, according to a recent report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

While Massachusetts may have a slight edge, these numbers are not good.

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Challenging the problem are the Lesbians Who Tech, a national organization with a membership over 40,000 strong, using their power in numbers, experience and talent to network, develop careers and raise awareness—and they’re having some fun doing it.

An upcoming event for the Boston chapter in January, for example, includes a “holidays recovery” happy hour. “We like to keep things light right after the holidays,” says Boston City Director Anastasia Alter.

Along with social networking nights at local hot spots in downtown Boston,

Cambridge and Jamaica Plain—organizers rotate the locations to make the group as accessible as possible to everyone.

Core to the mission is also career development and education through other events including panel discussions, forums and national summits in San Francisco, New York City and London.

The goal, says Alter, is to “bring together women in technology and our allies, and we work together to promote visibility and inclusion of women, LGBT people and people from other backgrounds who are under-represented in technology.”

Last May, the Boston chapter held an event called “Managing Your Personal Brand and Career.” Speakers included Professor Dorie Clark of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and author, and it was moderated by Beth Linker,

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Boston members at San Francisco LWT Summit.

Dorie Clark [RIGHT] and Beth Linker PHOTOS Stephanie LaMont Kasey Labelle and Carolyn Urban.

[FROM LEFT] Kasey Labelle, Carolyn Urban, and Lauren Crocker.

LWT Boston City Directors [FROM LEFT] Anastasia Alter, Sara Munzinger and Kasey Labelle.

senior director of product Management at Acquia.

At a November 2018 “Lesbians Who Tech Roundtable,” hosted by the Wentworth Institute of Technology GSA, panelist included Carolyn Urban, vice president of services and support at Carbon Black, and Lauren Crocker, president of EGH. The discussion was hosted by Kasey Labelle, senior UX front end developer at Epsilon, and Boston City Director. The panelists spoke about the national organization, summits and local events, as well as issues around coming out and being out at work, the importance of community, and workplace challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people that are often overlooked by non-LGBTQ+ people.

“You don’t have to be a lesbian to come to any of our events,” Alter notes. As the national group’s web page says, “If you work to move this mission forward, we want you on our team.”

Alter also stresses the breadth of who’s “in tech.”

“We have software developers, designers, chemical engineers, sales people, people in client development, HR,” she says.

“If you think about the ways technology touches all of us these days, there’s very few businesses that don’t employ technology in one way or another.”

A client development director at SAP Concur who lives in Somerville, Alter came to the group fairly recently, in October 2018. She first heard about Lesbians Who Tech from a friend living in San Francisco, where the organization started. The Boston chapter was holding a networking night at Bella Luna/Milky Way in Jamaica Plain, and she went to it.

“Immediately, I felt right at home,” she said. “It had the things that I love in my personal life and the things that I love in my professional life coming together in real time. It was so exciting, so fun.”

Alter moved to the Boston area in 2000 to attend Montserrat College of Art and fell in love with the area. She grew up in “the Stephen King part of Maine,” she says, half-jokingly. “Not the Portland fun part, but the scary part in the north.” She works from a home office, so she’s always looking to meet new people, network and make friends, she says. “This hit all those things.”

By her second Lesbians Who Tech event, Alter was hooked.

Attendance at the two events, she said, varied between 20 and 40 people, but “what I saw was people reacting in the same way I did. Immediately recognizing themselves in the people around them, having so much to talk about that people you might meet, say, in a bar or see on the subway may not assume you have in common,” she said.

“What I saw at the most recent event was active networking. There were people who came with the express purpose of circulating the jobs they had open at their companies, so they could meet people who were interested and spread the word about open positions,” said Alter.

“Networking—along with career development and education—is one of the most valuable pieces of our events,” said Labelle, the city director who moderated the above-mentioned November panel.

A graduate of Salve Regina University in Newport, Labelle grew up just outside of Providence and first came to Boston in 2012. She started attending local events in 2016 and has since joined the Boston members traveling to the national summits in San Francisco 2016 and 2017 and in New York City in 2017.

“The local events were happening less frequently than I wanted, which is one of the reasons I decided to become a city

director,” Labelle says. “I’ve been a city director for just shy of two years now, starting in March 2017).”

Rounding out the trio of city directors for the Boston chapter is Sara Munzinger, who came to the group in 2016 about six months before Labelle. Munzinger moved to Boston from the Midwest after attending college in Western Massachusetts and a few years of travel. She’s a product owner at Carbon Black, where she works with two teams of software engineers to prioritize, build and release innovative cybersecurity products.

What’s on the horizon Like the national website says, anyone who supports the mission of the group is welcome to come and check out a Boston Lesbians Who Tech event. Folks who want to get even more involved can also volunteer, help out at the gatherings, panels, forums, share fresh ideas, you name it.

Plus the city directors are interested in partnering with more queer-owned, -operated, or otherwise supportive venues to hold events on the horizon.

“We not only want to build communities with tech folks but also drive business and support businesses that exist in our communities that are trying to further the same missions we are,” says Labelle.

Looking to 2019 and beyond the holiday recovery gathering in January, the city directors are planning more monthly gatherings each month except March, when members of the group go to the national summit in San Francisco.

Locally, says Labelle, “we are currently working on organizing a salary renegotiation summit, ideally in April, and longterm plans for a panel on mental health.

Both of these have been in our idea bucket for some time, and we are very happy to start making them real.”

There are several ways to find out more about upcoming LWT events and all the group does. You can go to the LWTBoston Facebook page (where you can also join their private group), connect through LinkedIn at “Lesbians Who Tech + Allies Boston,” find them on Twitter @LWTBoston, or email them at LesbiansWhoTechBoston@gmail.com. You can also look out for their new website, lwtboston.org, to launch by early 2019. [x]

JAN|FEB 2019 | 35

FEATURE Transgender STORY Kim Harris Stowell

Amazing Grace Rhode Island State Council of Churches Executive Minister Donnie Anderson finds strength and support in a very public transition Transitioning is never a breezy process. Beyond any medical or therapeutic interventions, there are the complications of coming out to family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances, and of living in the world. There may even be a spouse, as there was in Rev. Donnie Anderson’s case.

But few are in the position of transitioning while holding a very public position.

As the executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches (RICC), Anderson was as public as they come, a fixture in Rhode Island faith communities and known for her social activism.

36 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Growing up in a strict Methodist home, Donnie Anderson knew she was different, but she didn’t have a word for it. “All the boys who tended toward the feminine, like I did, were labeled as gay,” she says, “but I was not attracted to boys or men. I knew I was not gay.”

Still, she was fascinated with all things female; she remembers at a young age, being drawn to the powder puff in her Aunt Dot’s bedroom. And at nine years old, she approached her mother, saying, “Isn’t it wonderful what God has done? He gave you Paul for Dad, and me for you and Aunt Dot!” Not surprisingly, her mother

responded sternly, saying that there were two teams, and Donnie played for the other team.

“Neither of us knew what we were talking about,” Anderson recalls, smiling.

As she grew up, Anderson experienced periods of dysphoria, and got very good at compartmentalizing as a defense against the dissonance, anxiety and discomfort.

Living as a man, she was ordained as a Baptist minister. She married a woman and fathered two children, all while burying the knowledge that something was not right. Feelings would bubble up occasionally, but she always pushed them back down.

In 2007, Anderson became the executive minister of the RICC, serving as a voice of witness to the tenets of the faith she so loves. Her work represented a commitment to gathering denominations, congregations, faith leaders, and individuals together for dialogue, and to work toward a shared vision of peace and social justice.

It was a culmination of a long, rewarding career, and she clearly fit the bill. But there was still something not right, and there was no reconciling it.

Her dysphoria came to a point of change when, standing in front of the mirror one day, she forced herself to say out loud what she had known in her heart for a while. “Admit it,” she said to her reflection, “you’re a woman.”

Taking control That was some four years ago. At first, she intended to take that knowledge to the grave, but the stress of it began to wreak havoc on her, and she knew she needed to find someone to tell. In her mind, she went through some possible confidants, but realized fairly quickly that she could tell no one before she told her wife. “It was my first step to transitioning,” she recalls.

“I had a plan. I even found Deb a therapist.

But I was so afraid I’d chicken out.” She did tell Deb, who was understandably shocked, but who came around after much discussion (and who is by her side to this day).

Within days, Anderson made an appointment with Dr. Michelle Forcier, who specializes in treating transgender individuals. She agreed to manage Anderson’s transition. “I’ll never forget,” says Anderson, “Dr. Forcier told me one

day that I was the one in control. I started taking hormones that day.”

There was more coming out, to her daughters, a small group of friends and eventually the governing board of the RICC. She penned a letter to them, speaking her truth and asking for a sabbatical during which to begin her transition. To her immense joy and relief, they approved her request and gave her a unanimous vote of confidence. “I was so grateful! It meant the world to be validated in my work, in my ministry. If you cut me, I bleed pastor.”

The state of Rhode Island seems to have gotten behind her quickly as well. “I have always loved Rhode Island,” she says, “but the depth of support I have received here is amazing.” During her sabbatical, she spent time with family and friends, learning and growing more comfortable with the transition. More than anything, she recalls the outpouring of support, with other faith leaders sending her gift cards to Nordstrom and J.Jill.

Rev. Anderson is back now, and focused on many things, not the least of which is transgender rights. She is particularly grateful to those who came before her, the

pioneers who risked everything to transition. Aware that she would not have been able to accomplish this transition even 20 years ago, she is determined to pay forward that debt. Among other things, she is working with the Girl Scouts organization, helping them to address issues around trans scouts.

“I’m helping them to move beyond the binary,” she explains, “as they go forward into this new space with courage, both for the trans youth but also the cis scouts.

Exposure to others, to difference, is so enriching.”

Beyond the binary She also tells her story whenever she can. “I went to a Rhode Island trans wellness conference a while back,” she says. “Attending as an ally, I heard a trans woman tell her story and it helped me in my decision to transition. So I follow her example and tell my story.”

Her privilege is always on her mind too.

“I’ve had so much support,” she says, “and I am aware that others have paid dearly for

being true to themselves. I feel called to do more because of my privilege.”

There is much to do, what with the transphobic resistance—much of it backed by religious groups—becoming more galvanized in recent years. Anderson is painfully aware of the tragic suicide statistics, particularly among trans youth, and sees the anger in the faces of the opposition. “The wrath of man,” she says, quoting the New Testament, “does not achieve the righteousness of God. It breaks my heart to see what is being done to appease a group of people at the expense of innocent people.”

Are there places she’d think twice about going? “I’m not trying to pass,” she affirms.

“I’m just being me. When you’ve been socialized as a man for 70 years, it’s hard to change that overnight. And so, when I am out shopping, for example, with my clerical collar on, I get a lot of looks. There are those who think I am the ultimate perversion. But I know I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am not a mistake, and I have never questioned God’s love for me.” [x]

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FEATURE Politics STORY Rob Phelps

Rainbow Wave

Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus Co-chairs [FROM LEFT] David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Jared Polis of Colorado, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Mark Takano of California. PHOTO courtesy lgbt-polis.gov

New England’s newly elected join hundreds of LGBT midtermelection winners taking office locally and in DC

stepped into their new roles this January for the first time.

These stats come from Victory Fund, the national organization dedicated to electing openly LGBTQ people who can further equality at all levels of government, which also reports that of these newly elected 109 are women, 122 men, 6 transgender women, 3 transgender men, 3 gender nonconforming and 1 intersex. Eightyeight identify as lesbian, 114 as gay, 14 as bisexual, 6 as pansexual, 9 as queer and 13 as “other/unknown.”

While the pundits debate over the size, impact and even the existence of a blue wave in the 2018 midterm elections, the numbers show indisputable evidence of an unprecedented “rainbow wave”— record numbers of openly LGBT candidates elected to take office in 2019.

38 | BOSTON SPIRIT

At least 618 openly LGBT candidates ran for office in 2018 across the country, with 432 making it as far as election night on November 6. Two hundred and forty-four of them won. One hundred and eight of them were incumbents with proven track records of success, while a whopping 136

Here in New England, our regional LGBT incumbents and local leaders made a substantial contribution to these numbers—plus of course the national precedent of Massachusetts voters making the Bay State first in the country to uphold its transgender rights legislation by voting yes on ballot question 3.

Also in Massachusetts, Evan Ross is now a newly elected town council member in Amherst, along with incumbants Maura Healy returning as Bay State attorney general, Sarah Peake as state rep. from Barnstable, Julian Cyr as state senator for the Cape and Islands, and Jack Lewis as state rep. from Middlesex Seventh District.

And while in Vermont, the nation’s first transgender gubernatorial candidate of a major US political party Democrat Christine Hallquist was defeated—this time— newly elected state. rep. Kathleen James from Bennington arrives this month at the state house, along with incumbent rep.

Bill Lippert of Chittendon and incumbent state senators Becca Balint of the Windham District and Debbie Ingram of the Chittendon District.

Altogether, 22 openly gay candidates won seats in New England.

“ LGBTQ political power is growing thanks to the rainbow wave of LGBTQ people who won elected office in November—and this letter is the first sign of us wielding that new power.

Congress can remedy these wrongs and LGBTQ elected officials are determined to add their voice and energize their constituents around these important measures.”

Annise Parker LGBT Victory Institute president and CEO

We’ll be watching them all throughout this new political year. Here’s some of their stories we’re following right out of the gate:

Out of the gate For starters, 152 openly LGBT elected state and local officials have called on the incoming 116th Congress to act on four key initiatives to LGBT equality: 1) to pass the Equality Act to expand nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity; 2) to

reduce HIV/AIDS by forming an advisory commission, advocating a “Getting to Zero” goal and taking proactive measures to address disparities in communities of color; 3) to protect trans people from antitrans Trump administration policies and other measures; and 4) to improve LGBTQ rights globally by supporting asylum claims and ensuring LGBTQ rights is a cornerstone of US foreign policy.

The call comes in a letter, drafted after at a meeting held during the LGBTQ Victory Institute’s International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in December. As this issue of

JAN|FEB 2019 | 39

US Congressman Chris Pappas.

NH State Rep. Gerri Cannon

NH State Rep. Lisa Bunker

NH State Rep. Ryan Fecteau, Speaker of the House Sara Gideon and Rep. Matt Moonen 40 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Conn. Kid Gov. Ella Briggs with WTNH Newscaster Kent Pierce

Boston Spirit went to press in late 2018, officials were still gathering signatures for the letter, which is being delivered in early 2019 as the newly elected Democratic majority arrives in Congress.

“LGBTQ political power is growing thanks to the rainbow wave of LGBTQ people who won elected office in November—and this letter is the first sign of us wielding that new power,” said Annise Parker, Victory Institute president and CEO in a public statement. “Congress can remedy these wrongs and LGBTQ elected officials are determined to add their voice and energize their constituents around these important measures.”

Signing on as of mid-December when this issue went to press: From Massachusetts: State Senator Julian Cyr and Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis.

From Vermont: Reps. Diana Gonzalez and Bill Lippert.

From Maine: Reps. Ryan Fecteau and Lois Reckitt, and State Senator Justin Chenette.

From Rhode Island: Rep.-Elect Rebecca Kislak, Rep. Deborah Ruggiero and State Senator Donna Nesselbush.

“ We must get down to doing the people’s business quickly, and we should start by reforming the way Washington works, lowering the cost of health care and creating an economy that allows everyone to succeed. ” Chris Pappas US Congressman (NH)

From Connecticut: Rep.-Elect Raghib Allie-Brennan.

From New Hampshire: State Rep.-Elect Lisa Bunker, and Reps. Ed Butler and Garrett Muscatel.

Also from New Hampshire New Hampshire’s first openly gay national rep, Chris Pappas, reports to work in Congress this January.

Pappas, previously a New Hampshire Executive Council member and Manchester restaurant co-owner (with his family), beat Republican Eddie Edwards, a former police chief who received an endorsement from President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Among the very first official announcements he made in December was to pledge to vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

“I believe she is best equipped to lead the House at this point in our history,” he said in a statement. “My conversations with her convinced me she will lead with fairness and empower the incoming class to play a significant role in the work ahead.

We must get down to doing the people’s business quickly, and we should start by reforming the way Washington works, lowering the cost of health care and creating an economy that allows everyone to succeed.”

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“ I am honored that my colleagues have put their trust in me to help lead our caucus ahead. I look forward to the work we have to do, and to ensuring that the voices of working Rhode Islanders are heard loud and clear in Washington. ” David Cicilline US Congressman (RI)

Granite State voters also elected two transgender women to the state’s House of Representatives back in November.

Gerri Cannon of Somersworth and Lisa Bunker of Exeter will represent Stafford County District 18 and Rockingham District 18, respectively.

Cannon, a leading transgender rights advocate and member of the local school board, told the Washington Blade, “I’m thrilled to have won because now it gives me an opportunity to help other people. In another way, it proves that a trans person can run for office.”

Bunker, previously the director of the community radio station in Portland and author of the popular young adult novel “Felix Yz,” concurred, telling the Blade she doesn’t believe gender identity especially makes a difference in “being an effective state legislator.” That said, she looks forward to seeing her fellow reps “serve alongside a couple of trans people and see how incredibly normal we are and see us as human,” which will surely make an important difference.

Cannon and Bunker are two of the only three openly transgender women elected to state legislatures. The third is Brianna Titone, representing Colorado’s Denver suburban House District 27.

From Maine For two of its three top leadership positions, the Maine House of Representatives has elected two openly gay reps—Matt Moonen of Portland and Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford—as majority leader and assistant majority leader, respectively.

The pair is working closely with the legislative body’s third top spot—Speaker of the House Sara Gideon.

“This leadership team is strong, dedicated and poised to make great progress for Maine,” Gideon said in a statement.

“We pledge to increase access to affordable and quality health care, to alleviate

42 | BOSTON SPIRIT

the burden of crippling student debt and to finally make the investments that will build the high-paying, sustainable jobs of both today and tomorrow.”

Fecteau, re-elected to his third term, introduced the anti-conversion therapy bill that passed the House earlier this year.

Moonen, who also won re-election, for a fourth term, has also serves as EqualityMaine’s executive director, where he was previously political director from 2007 to 2010.

Moonen’s spouse, Jeremy Kennedy, is Governor-Elect Janet Mills’ chief of staff, having served as her campaign director during the run-up to the midterm elections.

“We have a strong and diverse caucus with a wide range of talent, experience and knowledge,” Moonen said in a statement. “The next two years represent an exciting opportunity to make real progress on the issues that make an impact on Maine people’s daily lives.”

“House Democrats represent people all across Maine, from every walk of life, in parts of the state that are similar in some ways and very different in other ways,” Fecteau said in statement. “Our top priority is to make the future brighter for all of us, not just a few, and I know each and every one of my colleagues is as eager as I am to hit the ground running and address our most pressing issues.”

Congratulations are also in order for Andrew McLean, the openly gay state rep. from Gorham, who is returning to the state house for his fourth term.

From Rhode Island US Congressman David Cicilline, an openly gay co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and former mayor of Providence, has been elected chairman of the Congressional committee on policy and communications by his Democratic peers in the House of Representatives.

Cicilline takes up this new leadership position as the Democrats take the majority in the US House of Representatives in January.

“A few weeks ago, the American people put their trust in the Democratic Party when they gave us control of the U.S. House,” Cicilline stated in his announcement of his new role. “Next January, the hard work begins to deliver on the promises we have made to create good-paying jobs, lower health care costs and end the corruption in Washington.”

“I am honored that my colleagues have put their trust in me to help lead our caucus ahead. I look forward to the work we have to do, and to ensuring that the voices of working Rhode Islanders are heard loud and clear in Washington,” Cicilline said.

The LGBT Equality Caucus, which Cicilline co-chairs with five other prominent openly gay Congresspersons, serves as a resource for Members of Congress, their staff and the public on LGBT issues at the federal level. The Caucus works toward the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence and the improved health and well being for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

Congratulations, too, to newly elected state rep. Rebecca Kislak of the Fourth District.

From Connecticut In Connecticut, Raghib Allie-Brennan challenged his opponent, the incumbent, in a rematch of the previous election and landed his first term representing his hometown of Bethel in the state house.

This time, Allie-Brennan garnered 53 percent of the vote.

And the popular, openly gay comptroller, Kevin Lembo, handily won a third term in office. Endorsed by GLAD, Lembo had briefly considered a run for governor but voters agreed they like him right where he is.

Also making waves in Connecticut is young Ella Briggs, elected 2019 Kid Governor of Connecticut.

Ella ran on a platform of LGBTQ Youth Safety.

While the fifth-grader is still very much of an up-and-comer on the big political stage, her win is a clear bellwether on public perception toward LGBTQ issues.

More than 6,400 fifth graders from across the state watched Ella’s video, learning about her three-point platform before voting her into a one-year term.

Just before Thanksgiving, Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill announced the results in a special broadcast live from the statehouse. Ella is to be inaugurated at the Old Statehouse in Hartford in January.

“Something that really made me want to run is when someone came up to me to tell me they were part of the LGBTQ community but they were too afraid to tell anyone,” she told her fellow classmates at a special school assembly gathered to hear the results.

“I felt my heart break for them,” Ella said.

“I want to help all the kids who feel like that, to feel free to be who they are.”

At Ella’s assembly, member of the Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as family members and state and local officials surprised Ella with guest appearances. For her part, Ella delivered a gracious acceptance speech to her cheering classmates,

“ Something that really made me want to run is when someone came up to me to tell me they were part of the LGBTQ community but they were too afraid to tell anyone. I felt my heart break for them. I want to help all the kids who feel like that, to feel free to be who they are.”

Ella Briggs Connecticut’s Kid Gov.

thanking her voters, classmates, teachers and family (including dogs) for their support and encouragement.

Ella’s platform focuses on three points of advocacy for youth in the LGBTQ community: 1) to promote adoptions for LGBTQ homeless youth, 2) to train teachers on how to work with LGBTQ youth, and 3) to create youth programs for LGBTQ youth and their allies.

During her one-year term, Ella will work with the Connecticut Democracy Center to create videos and resources to help kids take civic action by raising awareness about LGBTQ youth safety. The resources

will be posted on the Connecticut Kid Governor website.

Kid Governor, the award-winning civics education program created for fifth graders by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network, gives youngsters the opportunity to “create a campaign platform around a community issue they want to see changed, run for office, and vote in an election for their state’s Kid Governor! Kid Governors hold their office for a one-year term, giving them time to make a significant impact in their states and communities around the issue they’ve selected,” according to the program’s mission statement. [x]

JAN|FEB 2019 | 43

SEASONAL Travel STORY Scott Kearnan

inter W

Wonderlands Great gay-friendly getaways are just a day away across New England

Easily in reach for a weekend of adventure, these destinations throughout the region should all be on your bucket list of seasonal escapes. Sure, you could hole up at home and hope that the cold weather is going to go away.

But get real: This is New England! There are a few months ahead of frigid days and nights— so make the most of the situation, embrace all the snow-filled fun this time of year can offer, and book a cozy getaway with friends or lovers to a picturesque, LGBTQ-friendly retreat.

We’ve pulled together two very different example itineraries for each New England state: from the western mountains of Massachusetts to the Bay State’s east coast, from the remote woodlands of Vermont to a gay enclave in the southern part of the Green Mountain paradise.

Need ideas on where to stay or what to eat?

We’ve got ’em, plus suggestions on how to spend your weekend away. The rest is up to you. So strap on some ice skates (or skis, or snowshoes) and slide into 2019 with an attitude full of winter-loving wonder.

44 | BOSTON SPIRIT

but casual New American restaurant perfect for splitting small plates like curryspiced fried Brussels sprouts, or meat and cheese boards with accoutrements like garlic jam and cherry compote. Save room for the oyster bar at Eat on North, the fun eatery inside Hotel on North (where the iconic queer band the B-52s have been spotted), and wrap up with a nightcap at Methuselah Bar & Lounge, a Zen-like cocktail bar bedecked with blond woods, where bartenders pour tinctures like the wintry Jack Rose of applejack brandy and house-made grenadine.

Kemble Inn

Massachusetts WEST AND WONDERFUL: WINTER IN THE BERKSHIRES The rolling mountains of Western Massachusetts are notably gay-friendly, known for artsy little communities that are quirky and quaint. Want to make sure you find some LGBTQ-friendly festivities? Check out 4th Friday, Berkshire Queer Night Out, a Facebook group that organizes monthly outings like movie and bowling nights, theater trips, and more.

Stay here: Slip on some suede loafers and unwind by the fireside at the gay-owned Kemble Inn, a classy 1881-built Colonial Revival mansion in Lenox that was originally built for a US secretary of state.

Owner Scott Shortt poured $2 million into renovating the 12,000-square foot estate after he purchased it in 2010, and the results are stunning. Guests enter a foyer with a sparkling crystal chandelier, and relax in guest rooms like the “Art Deco Retreat,” outfitted with Ralph Lauren furnishings, or glamorous “1920s Hollywood in the Berkshires” suite. There’s also a gorgeous piano-equipped parlor with 12-foot high ceilings and a grand fireplace framed by ornate millwork; an on-site restaurant, Table Six, filled with paintings of monarch Elizabeth II; and the “Green Room,” an intimate, emerald-hued bar for warming up with Scotch or a classic cocktail. The property has become a popular spot for

same-sex weddings and even buyouts for groups of LGTBQ friends.

Eat there: Berkshire County has a bounty of great restaurants, but for sheer volume, we’d suggest hitting downtown Pittsfield (the region’s largest city, at 44,000 people) for a crawl through some of the cooler spots. We’d start at Thistle & Mirth, a whiskey- and craft beer-focused hangout with a dive-chic vibe; sip slow while playing the heap of board games stacked by the front window. Next door, you’ll find District Kitchen & Bar, a slick

Do this: You’ve got to take advantage of the region’s arts heritage, and the nationally-known Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is where to start. The fabulous facility, housed inside a complex of former brick factories, features exciting exhibitions: Check out a current survey of the work of Louise Bourgeois, the pioneering large-scale sculpture and installation artist whose edgy, abstract work often speaks to themes of human anatomy and sexuality. The Clark Art Institute, meanwhile, which surrounds its main marble gallery building with picturesque walking trails, is where visitors find shows like “Extreme Nature!” artistic interpretations of natural phenomena alongside fantastical assaults from the cosmos. The nearby Williams College Museum of Art is another mustsee, especially for “Our Love is Bigger Than an AIDS Quilt,” on view through

“The Great Fire at Boston,” by Currier and Ives, Clark Museum JAN|FEB 2019 | 45

“Wall Drawing 692,” by Sol LeWitt, Mass MoCA

46 | BOSTON SPIRIT

“Our Love Is Bigger Than as AIDS Quilt,” by Anicka Yi, Williams College Museum of Art February 3, Korean-born installation artist Anicka Yi’s red room with a massive illuminated dish of hair gel that creates a constantly-changing undulating surface.

Challenging, but fascinating.

EAST AND AWESOME: P’TOWN IN THE OFFSEASON As much as we love steamy summer nights in Provincetown, the outermost crook of Cape Cod is also a spectacular seaside wonderland in winter. Take advantage of much lower hotel rates and

escape for Valentine’s Day romance or any other excuse to canoodle with a warm drink and some crashing waves.

Stay here: The sprawling Crowne Pointe Historic Inn & Spa is a six-building resort anchored by a main building, a painstakingly restored 19th-century sea captain’s manse. The space is rumored to be haunted – in fact, gay paranormal investigator Adam Berry, host of the TLC show “Kindred Spirits,” recently conducted an investigation here. But fear not: You can get rid of those goosebumps sitting by fireplaces or soaking in whirlpool tubs in the

elegantly appointed guest room. The onsite restaurant and lounge offers refined fare like escargot and poached lobster, and you’ll definitely want to soothe your post-holiday stress levels with a treatment at the hotel’s Shui Spa-Exclusively Kiehl’s, a restorative hideaway that is the world’s first hotel spa to offer treatments using exclusively Kieh’s products. Kiehl’s is an 1851-founded company with a history of support for HIV/AIDS organization, raising over $1.4 million for amfAR through sales of select products and the Kiehl’s LifeRide, an annual, week-long motorcycle ride through major American cities.

Eat there: Year-round dining is a rarity in Provincetown, but luckily, some of the best restaurants happen to be those that stay open in the off-season. The Mews Restaurant and Café has hosted some major names in its decades-spanning history, from Elizabeth Taylor to Debra Messing to Grace Jones; join that elite circle of guests with waterfront dining on seafood like almond crusted cod or shellfish fettuccine. A newly emerging icon in P’town is the Canteen, a hip standout launched by journalist-turned-chef Rob Anderson and general manager Loic Rossignon, who live right upstairs from their

Crowne Pointe

JAN|FEB 2019 | 47

Canteen gourmet counter service-style restaurant that slings oyster rolls and grilled cheese sandwiches trussed-up with avocado, mushroom and Russian dressing. Finally, head to the Landing Bistro & Bar, the restaurant inside Pilgrim House Inn, where you can dig in to lemon chicken, lobster mac-and-cheese and other hearty mains; on Friday nights, the spot will be screening episodes of the new season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars,” so you’ll get dinner and a show too.

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Do this: You won’t find boys in bikinis this time of year – but the more cultured side of America’s earliest arts colony is still worth taking in. The Provincetown Public Library hosts events all year long, and January’s lineup includes a weekly Cary Grant Film Festival, free screenings of the classic Hollywood leading man (who supposedly took counted famed costume designer Orry George Kelly as a secret

lover). The Fine Arts Work Center also has plenty going on, rolling out exhibitions by its visual arts fellows throughout January, February and March; discover what these prodigious talents are producing.

And the Provincetown Art Association & Museum (PAAM) just unveiled “Big and Bold,” which collects works that capture the transformative changes in America from the 1960s through 1990s, including the ways in which artists responded to the AIDS crisis.

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Maine HIP AND HAPPENING: PORTLAND Portland, Maine’s largest city, is a picturesque and very progressive enclave within the larger Pine Tree State. And winter is the perfect time to explore the seaside locale. You won’t mind that it’s dusted in white when the Old Port neighborhood offers so much dining, shopping, and nightlife in such a compact footprint.

Stay here: Discover the Chadwick Bed & Breakfast, a charming property owned by husbands Scot and Jason Fuller-Beatty.

The intimate, eco-friendly inn has only four thoughtfully decorated guestrooms, all filled with sumptuous linens, and works with fellow Portland-area business owners — like century-old Haven’s Candies and contemporary floral shop Fiddleheads — to craft indulgent amenities. Clearly these hubby hosts take pride in keeping things personal. And other B&Bs that toss out stale bagels and call it breakfast, the A.M. fare here is quite

famous: especially the pumpkin-spiced waffles covered in vanilla bean cream.

(Need to check out early? They’ll send you home with a breakfast-to-go bag.) The Chadwick all booked up? Fruits, get thee to the Pomegranate Inn, a funky B&B with urbane style and gallery-worthy art by Maine artists, a tapas-focused breakfast program and fireplace-equipped guestrooms outfitted in shabby-chic style.

Eat there: Portland consistently nabs national notice for its food scene, which is fueled by a strong farm-to-table ethos.

In fact, it was most recently named “Restaurant City of the Year” by “Bon Appetit.” Book early to score a seat at Central Provisions, a savvy New American eatery recently nominated for the country’s best new restaurant by the James Beard Foundation, the Oscars of food. Eventide Oyster Co., especially its brown butter lobster roll, is another favorite among in-the-know foodies. The fin fare-focused joint opened a Boston location near Fenway last year, but that’s

a pared-down, counter-service version; it’s worth sailing by the original to see what all the fuss is about. And you’ll want to toss back tipples at the Portland Hunt + Alpine Club, a two-time James Beard semifinalist for outstanding bar program thanks to creative cocktails like the Line of Flight: gin, sherry, tea, egg white and pink peppercorn.

Do this: Like most New England cities, Portland’s gay-specific scene has dwindled in recent years as LGBTQ assimilation becomes more widespread. Progress is great for equal rights, but a real bummer for gay bars. Still, Blackstone’s perseveres.

Portland’s last true-blue gay bar, which was always one of its oldest, is a lo-fi den of cheap beer and dodgy glances, a throwback to more cruise-y days of yore. Tie one on here after enjoying the city’s winter arts scene. Portland Stage Company will put on “The Importance of Being Earnest” by poet and iconic dandy Oscar Wilde, while the Merrill Auditorium welcomes “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, a globe-trotting troupe of dancers that perform classic ballet repertoire totally in drag. On the visual arts side, visit the Portland Museum of Art for “Richard Avedon:

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Camden Snow Bowl

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Portraits, 1952-1970,” which collects some of the famed bisexual photographer’s work for icons like Marilyn Monroe.

CHARMING AND HISTORIC: CAMDEN Though it originally developed as a wealthy summer colony, Camden, an absolutely adorable seaport in Maine’s mid-coast region, is pretty as a postcard in winter. No wonder it was the setting for the Lana Turner film “Peyton Place.”

Filled with options for shopping, the arts and outdoor fun, it’s a perfect four-seasons escape for twosomes.

Stay here: Owned by gay couple Raymond Brunyanszki and Oscar Verest, the Camden Harbour Inn offers peace, tranquility and four-diamond dining. Lovers of elegant surroundings appreciate the Netherlands natives’ style of European luxury, found in tranquil ocean-side rooms decked in cheery yet calming hues of

Hunt and Alpine Club cream and violet. (Truly luxe is the Royal Dutch Suite, with its own Finnish spa.)

Reestablish inner harmony with specialty massages in the spa, dine at Natalie’s, the inn’s impressive restaurant known for its killer cocktail program. There are plenty of romance-minded overnight packages that will make you fall in love with the place – like the “Winter Wonderland” combo that includes hot chocolate, a fivecourse dinner, and gluewein, an Austrian

spiced wine drink served in winter. Maybe one day, you’ll return to take advantage of the inn’s “Maine is for ALL! Lovers” samesex wedding package. In honor of each nuptial, the inn even makes a donation to the HRC. Eat there: Primo is one of the most lauded restaurants in the state, and perhaps one of the region’s best examples

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of true farm-to-table dining. Chef Melissa Kelly sources every ingredient from the restaurant’s own farm, creating a closed circuit that results in outstanding Italianbased cuisine: think hand-rolled spaghetti and seafood, or “backyard chicken” Milanese. Suzuki’s Sushi Bar is beloved by the community for its fantastic Japanese cuisine and eye-catching presentation. The all-women team of chefs, including owner Suzuki Steinberger, a two-time James Beard award nominee, sources seafood straight from the Gulf of Maine. For something totally different, visit the Drouthy Bear, a cozy pub that serves up modern takes on fare you’d find in UK taverns.

Play some board games and partake in the extensive whiskey selection while noshing on Scotch eggs, haggis poutine and more in a convivial setting where you’re sure to make new fast friends.

Do this: One of the coolest (literally and figuratively) spots in town is the Camden Snow Bowl, a unique, community-owned ski area that offers Atlantic Ocean views from the slopes – and affordable day

Line of Flight cocktail, Hunt and Alpine Club passes that start at just $33 for adults.

Besides the 60 acres of skiable terrain, the Snow Bowl is also home to the US National Toboggan Championships in February, but as long as conditions cooperate, the public can ride a slide down the country’s only remaining original, gravity-operated 400-foot-long wooden toboggan chute. For a low-key day, head to nearby Farnsworth Art Museums, a fabulous facility with exciting exhibitions like

New Hampshire RUSTIC AND RELAXED: THE WHITE MOUNTAINS

cottage and dog-friendly farmhouse (perfect for booking as a small group), is adorned in the style of a Victorian country.

“Changing New York: Photographs by Berenice Abbott,” featuring early 20th-century imagery by the lesbian photographer and former assistant to Man Ray. Over at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, visitors will currently find the CMCA Biennial, the state’s longest-running juried competition, which features challenging works across all mediums.

Enjoy picturesque views in close proximity to all the White Mountains have to offer — though we have a feeling you’ll want to spend as much time at the inn as you can, getting to know fellow travelers around the breakfast table or during Highland’s year-long Women’s Concert series, which draws folksy singer-songwriters to the living room every Saturday night for

This winter, come down with a case of cabin fever. Hunker down in the Granite State’s rugged White Mountains, capped

by Mount Washington—the highest peak in the Northeast and one of the windiest spots in the world. You’ll find lots of cozy options for cuddling up after a day enjoying the region’s awesome outdoor activities.

Stay here: Women should head to the so-dubbed “lesbian paradise” that is the Highlands Inn, the perfect place to disconnect from the world and reconnect with someone special. The postcard-pretty 18-room inn, which includes a separate

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Highlands Inn intimate performances. As for the gents?

Go for the Inn at Bowman B&B, where hosts Rich and Jerry are well known for their warmth and hospitality. The indoor

hot tub will keep you toasty too, for that matter.

Eat there: You’re going to want to spend plenty of time playing in the wintry bliss of the White Mountains, so hearty meals will definitely be in order. Start off the day with a trip to Polly’s Pancake Parlor, a longstanding institution; the awesome AM fare includes fluffy flapjacks so famous that you can buy the scratch-made mixes — available in flavors like gingerbread, whole wheat, and oatmeal buttermilk — to take home. The Common Man, meanwhile, puts out a splay of uncommonly great comfort food. The small family of New Hampshire restaurants has a location in Lincoln, the heart of the mountains, where rib-sticking eats like chicken pot pie are enjoyed by a crackling fireplace; don’t forget to take home a bar of their signature white chocolate. And after a day in the great outdoors, you’ll probably be craving a beer from Rek’lis Brewing Company, a mountain hippie-style tap room where guests gather for music and art while sipping craft suds, from smoked porters to full-bodied stouts.

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Do this: The grand hotel at Omni Mount Washington Resort, originally built as a gilded-age getaway, is still an aweinspiring place to stay. But even if you’re not lodging there, winter activities at the Bretton Woods-side property: old-fashioned horse-drawn sleigh and carriage rides, guided snowshoe tours, tubing rides and snowmobile trails are just a few of the fun-filled options. (Afterwards, melt your well-used muscles at the hotel’s wonderful

Hotel Portsmouth, guest suite

on-site spa.) In nearby Lincoln, Loon Mountain Resort is a similarly spectacular option for skiing and snowboarding, plus special events all winter long: from an “MLK Jr. Weekend” lineup of fireworks, torchlight parades, s’mores parties, to a big hair-filled “80s day” and “Breaking the Boundaries” women’s snowboarding camp. Care for a different kind of adrenaline rush? Check out Alpine Adventures, a year-round destination for zip-lining, treetop adventure courses, and off-roading in the snow.

CUTE AND QUAINT: THE SEACOAST Size isn’t everything. New Hampshire may have the shortest seacoast of any state, but there’s lots of motion in the quaint ocean-side city of Portsmouth.

It’s also home to Seacoast Outright, the region’s LGBTQ organization, and you’ll want to Google “The Outboard,” a biweekly newsletter sharing queer-inclusive events and activities in the area.

Hotel Portsmouth, common space

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Carriage House. PHOTO Brian Samuels.

Stay here: Immerse yourself in local charm at Hotel Portsmouth, part of the Lark Hotels family of fabulous accommodations. (It’s the same team behind the newly-opened AWOL in Provincetown.)

Hotel Portsmouth offers 32 stylish guest rooms inside a 19th-century mansion just steps from the city’s adorable Market Square streets lined with shops and cafes.

Besides Lark’s signature plush beds, guests find generously-sized claw-foot bathtubs perfect for filling with bubbles (while, perhaps, sipping some bubbly), noble and nautical décor elements, and all the creature comforts you’ll want when you want to spend a romantic evening in: including plush bathrobes and 42-inch flat-screen TVs for movie nights. Most of all, Lark’s signature service will ensure the perfect stay in a property that combines the look of a high-end hotel with the charm and personality of a bed and breakfast. Make this the heart of your New Hampshire seacoast stay.

Plan to take care of each other.

A wealth plan that is thoughtfully constructed can help you provide for those you love. True wealth is not only about money. It’s about the relationships, interests and goals that bring you joy ... and what should be at the heart of your wealth plan.

As a Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor with significant experience working with same sex couples and the larger LGBT community, I know every client’s circumstances and resources are unique. By understanding your total life picture, we will work together to build a solid financial plan so you can be more at ease enjoying those things that matter most. Building confidence in your future is my goal.

Michele B. O’Connor Executive Director Senior Portfolio Management Director Financial Advisor 53 State Street, 39th Floor Boston, MA 02109 617-589-3297 www.morganstanleyfa.com/ michele.oconnor michele.b.oconnor@ morganstanley.com

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LGBT008 CRC 2261589 10/18 CS 9380390 10/18

Stawberry Banke Museum

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Eat there: For breakfast or lunch, grab java, pastries, and fresh, from-scratch grub (much of it vegan and gluten-free) at Teatotaller, a café in neighboring Somersworth that describes itself as an “oasis of queer, hipster, coffee, tea and pastry goodness”; the spot recently caused a stir with a roadside billboard featuring a young male model in shortshorts and pink makeup. For dinner, ride over to Row 34, the Portsmouth outpost of an acclaimed seafood restaurant in Boston. Even if you’ve been to the original, you’ll want to check out the mostlyoriginal menu here, where standouts include rigatoni with cherrystones and lump crab, calamari with togarashi aioli, and a raw bar with fantastic crudo and ceviche. If you’re more into turf than surf, Ore Nell’s Barbecue is a brand new hotspot bringing Central Texas-style smoked meats to us Yankees. Dive into perfectly seasoned brisket and Frito pie, plus craft cocktails served in mason jars.

Do this: The Strawbery Banke Museum, a living museum that preserves 37 buildings related to the first European settlement in New Hampshire, closes some of its facilities during the winter — but its outdoor ice skating rink is very much open, and always filled with visitors learning to lace up (skate rentals are available) and practice their figure eights on Puddle Duck Pond; it’s a sweet, charming way to spend an afternoon. Portsmouth also has a great arts and culture scene.

This winter, Music Hall will host the Capitol Steps, a Washington, DC-based troupe of congressional staffers-turnedcomedians who are sure to lampoon the current administration; Seacoast Repertory Theatre, meanwhile, will present the heartwarming, Tony awardwinning hit “Billy Eliot” and a musical adaptation of the 1980s-set film comedy “The Wedding Singer.” For something more subversive, check out the scene at 3S Artspace, which houses a gallery, “taco shop” and performance space for indie music and drag nights, including “Bunny & the Fox,” a series cohosted by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Joslyn Fox.

Highland Lodge

Vermont REMOVED AND ROMANTIC: THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM Visitors flock to Vermont for its natural beauty and solitude; it is, after all, the second-smallest state by population. And the Northeast Kingdom (often abbreviated as NEK), a collection of counties in the upper-right reaches of the state, is the quietest corner of the low-key Green Mountain State. If you want to unplug from Facebook and reconnect with loved ones IRL, go here.

Stay here: The NEK is a sprawling expanse of rolling hills and mountains covered in wintry white — so head to the Highland Lodge, a Caspian Lake-side retreat in the town of Greensboro, that is perfectly situated for exploring the

region. Sitting on 136 acres, the main lodge is actually an 1860s-built farmhouse recently reimagined as a classic New England bed and breakfast, with ten delightfully decorated guest rooms named for luminaries with NEK connections: like the Garbo room (Greta visited here) and the Federico Suite, named for celebrated gay poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. The 10 lodge rooms are complemented by four all-seasons cabins overlooking the lake, outfitted with kitchenettes and vintage gas stoves.

Huddle up in the snuggly house bar, where the menu was originally developed by LGBTQ-owned Blackbird Bar Catering, and the lodge offers a notably inclusive and welcoming atmosphere, even hanging an embroidered “bathrooms for everyone” sign by its front desk.

Eat there: Sure, it may look like an unassuming general store, but Lake Parker

Rabbit Hill

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Country Store hides quite a surprise in the Parker Pie Co., which some say has the best pizza in Vermont. Now a foodie destination, the low-fi pub slings fantastic dough with gourmet toppings, burgers and even freshly-shucked oysters in a craft beer-soaked space with room for comedy nights and live music. For something more formal, hop over to Rabbit Hill Inn, known throughout New England as a fine dining room that serves exquisite (and very seasonal) epicurean delights: think Maine lobster with uni, Wagyu beef duo with chimichurri, and fabulous desserts like apricot orange trifle. But besides brick and mortar restaurants, the NEK is home to many artisan food-makers who do magical things with local ingredients. Discover them at the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center, which brings multiple purveyors under a single roof: like Eden Specialty Cider, Jocelyn and Cinta’s Bake Shop, and other makers of local cheese, maple products and more.

Do this: For the fourth year in a row, Hill Farmstead Brewery was named the best beer in the world by RateBeer, so discover why the limited-production suds have earned that rep with a visit to their Greensboro Bend facility; ‘tis the season to try Twilight of the Idols, a winter porter brewed with coffee and cinnamon aged on vanilla beans. If spirits are more your thing, head to Caledonia Spirits for a distillery tour and tasting of amazing creations like Barr Hill Gin, imbued with raw honey for a luscious floral effect. Burn off that booze skiing at Jay Peak, a popular resort that is also home to an indoor water park — should you decide to descend down La Chute, a 65-foot high waterslide that sends visitors hurtling down at 45 miles per hour. Jay Peak is also an annual destination for OutRyders, a Boston-based gay ski and snowboarding club, which plans a LGBTQ weekend there in March.

COMMUNITYMINDED AND QUIRKY: SOUTHERN VERMONT The area around Brattleboro was an epicenter of the back-to-the-land movement back in the 1960s, and it remains a beautiful, bucolic area with a real bohemian

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Dining at Rabbit Hill

Caledonia Spirits

Caledonia Spirits, Barr Hill Reserve

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Frog Meadow Farm sensibility. There’s a strong gay presence in the region, and if you like your queers with a little crunch and a lot of camaraderie, you’ll find it here.

Stay here: Jump over to Frog Meadow Farm, a country bed and breakfast owned by husbands Dave King and Scott Heller, who first opened their home to guests in 2007. Frog Meadow has a reputation as a gay men’s retreat in gorgeous rural environs, and it’s especially popular with guys interested in exploring intersections of their spiritual and sexual life. Frog Meadow, a quick jaunt from Vermont’s famed gay nude beach at Rock River, frequently hosts workshops led by visiting experts on topics like sexual energy massage; Rhode Island native and viral video star Davey Wavey even chose Frog Meadow to film the videos for his “30 Days of Pleasure” series, a month-long guide for gay men who want to discover new aspects of their sexual being. It’s a perfect getaway for singles and couples looking to feel refreshed and re-centered. Oh, and it’s clothing optional – but don’t worry, the wood-fired outdoor hot tub will keep your buns toasty even in winter.

Eat here: Plump up at Fat Crow, a new addition to Newfane, Vermont from a chef with pedigree from New York City.

The cool, rustic-industrial space offers up an eclectic array of eats — high-quality burgers, barbecue, and more — washed down with local craft beers and served in a room with an eco-friendly attitude: the parking lot even has charging ports for electric cars. Or whet your whistle at Whetstone, a quality tavern with its own on-site brewery right on the Connecticut River in downtown Brattleboro. There, the

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fireplace flickers while guests raise pints, dig in to excellent pub grub, and listen to live music. Fine dining, meanwhile, takes place at Artisan Restaurant inside Four Columns, a delightful park-side inn.

Chef Frederic Kieffer works with local ingredients to create acclaimed menus that change regularly to reflect the best and freshest products – but creamy cauliflower farro risotto and Bolognese with Vermont-raised venison ought to give you an idea of what’s in store.

Do this: Downtown Brattleboro is adorable, home to multiple antique stores, book and vinyl shops, and even storefronts dedicated to cannabis-infused health and beauty products. Leave plenty of time for shopping, but be sure to pencil in the Brattleboro Winter Carnival in February,

Circus Spectacular

a week-long festivity with outdoor fun like snowmobile rides, variety shows, and seasonal movie screenings at the art deco-style Latchis Theatre. And in March, the New England Center for Circus Arts will produce its Gay Night at the Circus Spectacular, a pre-show LGBTQ social mixer followed by an explosion of artistry in aerial dance, vaudeville, and other forms of circus art. (You can try the trapeze yourself at monthly “Flight Nights” too.) And if you want to get in some skiing without having to drive too far north, Stratton Mountain Resort is the place to go in southern Vermont. Besides plenty of mountain sports, the resort hosts live music on weekends and has the adorable “Stratton Village” lined with shops, cafes and a spa.

Stratton Mountain Resort

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Birch. PHOTO Jesse Burke.

Rhode Island URBAN AND RED HOT: PROVIDENCE It may be one-third the size of Boston, but Providence has a happening nightlife scene that much larger cities would envy.

If you’re looking for a winter getaway that is a little more lively than a serene snowbound escape, head to PVD to have a little F-U-N. Stay here: The hip and sexy Dean Hotel is definitely the place to rest your head — or, you know, make use of the intimacy kits that are stocked in each of the 52 guest rooms. Don’t get us wrong, this isn’t some sleazy motel. The Dean is stylishly designed with vintage flair, a buzzy addition to the historic Downcity district that features rain showers (some with views to the bedroom), black bathrobes and fantastic artwork – from European portraiture to contemporary works. The “Dean x Dash” program offers complimentary bike rentals to help you explore the city, and the lobby lounge has a java counter pouring artisan roasts from Providence’s own Bolt Coffee Company. You’ll also find North, a fantastic farm-to-table restaurant; the Magdalenae Room, a cloistered Europeanstyle cocktail bar; and the Boombox, a boisterous karaoke lounge that brings

hotel guests and locals together for a lively nightlife scene.

Eat there: Thanks to the influence of Johnson & Wales University, renowned for its culinary program, Providence has a restaurant scene worthy of any epicure’s attention. Among the standouts is splurge-worthy Birch. The intimate eatery assembles 18 guests around a single huge, U-shaped bar for four-course menus (with optional beverage pairings) of modernmeets-nostalgic American cuisine by chef Ben Sukle, James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Northeast. On the other side of the coin is Ogie’s Trailer Park, an

Milk Money. PHOTO justbeing.beinghonest

awesomely kitschy joint complete with a trailer façade (think: lava lamps and pop art-style prints), a kitchen that turns out unique comfort grub — like char-grilled pork sausage with horseradish cream — and plenty of tiki cocktails. Somewhere in the middle is Milk Money, a rustic-industrial spot lined with reclaimed wood from the 17th-century home of Rhode Island’s first governor, serving shareable, globallyinspired food like baba ganoush with pink peppercorn and suman, hot chicken, and daily-changing deviled eggs.

Do this: Get toasty on a bar crawl through half-a-dozen gay bars. Providence is home to the drag queen-filled Dark Lady and always-purring Alley Cat next door; the fetish culture-friendly Providence Eagle; The Stable, a metropolitan pub; Mirabar, a dance party favorite; and EGO, where

Rough Point. PHOTO Giorgio Galeotti promoters lure major DJs and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars. After your recovery brunch, go shopping at the Arcade, the country’s first enclosed shopping mall, filled with indie boutiques and weekend flea markets, or on Thayer Street, a Brown University-area options for some of the city’s quirkier shops. And there’s always something on stage, whether you opt for a seat at Trinity Rep — where winter shows include “Black Odyssey,” which uses Homer’s Greek epic as a way to explore African-American history — or the Providence Performing Arts Center, where “Cats” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” are all on the immediate agenda.

SEASIDE AND BLUEBLOODED: NEWPORT The Ocean State’s seaside city may be best known for its Gilded Age mansions and sailing culture, but there’s also an exciting LGBTQ scene here — and Newport Out is the local organization promoting the area as a queer destination. Don’t worry: With lodging and dining options that run the gamut, you don’t need to be old money to enjoy Newport.

Stay here: If you can rustle up a posse of pals, make a point to stay at the Architect’s Inn. This 23-room Victorian inn, a quick walk to the excellent Newport Art Museum, was built in 1873 as a residence for renowned architect George C. Mason.

Though there are individual rooms available, today its gay owners focus mostly on large group rentals, including whole-house accommodations, plus three-day “Murder Mystery Weekends” that immerse guests in Newport-themed, interactive whodunits — a fun bonding experience for your nearest and queerest.

If organizing that kind of outing seems a bit ambitious, though, plant yourself (and, ideally, someone special) at Hydrangea House. There’s a romantic vibe to this 10-person gay-friendly inn within walking distance to the Newport mansions. Overnight packages offer the royal treatment by including amenities like champagne, long-stemmed roses and an in-room couples’ massages, and the classically appointed accommodations include the Oak Suite with fireplace, spa tub and steam bath.

Ogie’s Trailer Park

Eat there: Try the prosciutto and poached egg pizza, plus more modern American fare and cocktails, at the new weekend brunch service (including a hip-hop soundtracked Saturday service) at Parlor Bar & Kitchen, an LGBTQfriendly Modern American restaurant and Newport Pride supporter. Or toss back a coconut mojito at the gay-favorite hangout Salvation Café, where bohemianchic décor sprawls throughout an outdoor tiki bar and buzzy dining room serving global cuisine like Mongolian BBQ ribs and sake-steamed clams. For a taste of history, though, you’ll want to gallop by White Horse, which opened in 1673 and bills itself as America’s oldest tavern. The menu also pays homage to New England’s culinary heritage, featuring with dishes like lobster and shellfish stew, seared scallops with roasted corn, and local-caught calamari sautéed with roasted garlic, capers and chorizo.

Do this: If you’re going to visit the famed Newport mansions, may we suggest you prioritize Rough Point, former summer cottage of famed tobacco heiress and AIDS philanthropist Doris Duke. She left her entire fortune to her eponymous charitable foundation and — as seen in the 2006 flick “Bernard and Doris,” starring Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes — her devoted gay butler. Afterwards, outfit your own home by poking through the amazing antiques at The Drawing Room, a gay-owned shop filled with a wide array of museum-quality pieces and curios, plus a room dedicated to gay culture — from LGBTQ-oriented books to homoerotic paintings and reproductions of pre-Columbian pottery. And engage in a bit more retail therapy with a trip to beautiful Bowen’s Wharf, where you can pick up luxury bath and beauty products at Soap and Water or high-end fashions at The Sail Loft, both boutiques owned by husbands Michael Evangelisti and Will DeYoung, Newport Pride sponsors.

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Barracuda Bistro and Bar

Connecticut COOL AND HAPPENING: THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN The home of Yale University (oftnicknamed the “Gay Ivy”) is a fantastic city with a vibrant cultural landscape, an exciting restaurant scene, and an LGBTQ community able to support multiple gay bars — which is not something you can take for granted nowadays. Even if you’re not a Yale alum, you should be smart enough to check it out.

Stay here: Even those of us who never thought we’d want to go back to school would be happy to enroll at the Study at Yale, a smart and sophisticated universityassociated hotel sited in the heart of the school’s art campus. It features guest rooms boasting sumptuous leather seats

Zinc

and signature seersucker robes. The chic lobby bookshelves boast tomes by Yale-affiliated authors, if you’re looking to curl up with a good read, and you’ll find superb dining at Heirloom Restaurant & Lounge, where the menu of “farm and coastal cooking” includes wood-roasted oysters with vinegar onions, butter and hot sauce, or duck breast with wild rice and sunchokes.

For dinner with an even better view, head to the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, located just two blocks from the 1600-seat Shubert Theatre, where the 19th floor restaurant (John Davenport’s) has stellar city views. There’s also a spa offering hydrating facials and hot stone massages.

Eat there: There’s a broad array of dining options in New Haven, but LGBTQ visitors should snap up some of the

Winvian Farm

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green floors; or hang inside the “Helicopter” cottage, sipping champagne and watching a flat screen TV inside a restored 1960s chopper that dominates your own personal hanger.

Creative cocktail at Zinc bites at Barracuda Bistro & Bar. This lesbian-owned Latin restaurant culls Spanish, Colombian and other influences, combines them with American comfort food, and comes up with bright ideas like seafood paella and Peruvian chicken, plus creative cocktails made with fresh juices.

Zinc is another elemental eatery popular with LGBT crowds. The on-trend (but not-too-trendy) restaurant offers modern American dishes alongside one of the city’s best wine lists in a chic setting. (Its more casual sibling, Kitchen Zinc, specializes in artisan pizzas and Italian-oriented bites.) Finally, blow by Three Sheets New Haven. Billing itself as a “friendly neighborhood gastrodive,” Three Sheets is number one for alternative-punk crowds, and you’ll find plenty of queer folks around the pool table, sipping craft beers and digging into funky food.

to Norwalk to check out Troupe429, a LGBTQ hangout and performance space that started as a pop-up party in Hell’s Kitchen. Now it’s a brick-and-mortar bar with nightly events, from “Pool Boy Karaoke” to Latinx dance parties.

Do this: Behold the local gay bars. 168 York Street Café is a historic Yale-area brownstone that holds plenty of surprises.

It’s home to a pretense-free gay bar with, drag shows hosted by attention-stealing queen Robin Banks, plus cheap boozy brunches for recovering from the night before. Or, find a find a new friend at Partners Café. There’s something happening every night at this full-time gay bar. Downstairs has a homey neighborhood feel; upstairs is for dance parties, from “Night,” a delightfully grimy soiree for dark, industrial tunes, to Sapphic Saturdays for women and genderqueer crowds. You can also support the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus by checking out the monthly “Bingomania” events, fast and fabulous drag queen-hosted gay nights held at the Annex Club. And it’s worth the short drive

Stay here: Shortly after Connecticut legalized gay marriage, Winvian Farm hosted the first gay wedding ever featured in “Martha Stewart Weddings” magazine.

It’s a private, meticulously maintained 113-acre property that is as unique as you are, with each luxurious accommodation elaborately designed to reflect a different theme: but don’t worry, we don’t mean the kind of hokey “Caveman Love Dens” you’d find at highway motels that rent by the hour. (Ooh! A vibrating bed and wooly mammoth rugs!) Winvian, which boasts a serene, glassy pond and borders a lush, 4000-acre forest for hiking and horseback riding, is an elegant estate where you can curl up with a good book in the “Library” cottage, with its huge stone fireplace and bookcase-lined balconies; chip around the “Golf” cottage, with its undulating putting

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QUIET AND RESTFUL: THE CONNECTICUT COUNTRYSIDE Maybe rural Connecticut doesn’t sound like the most obvious place for a gay getaway, but if you’re looking for an escape that is low-key yet high-end, you’d be hard-pressed to find better. The region around the Litchfield Hills is an especially picturesque part of the state, and deserves a look if you’re willing to splurge on some peace and tranquility.

Eat there: The elegant, exceptional Mayflower Grace Inn & Spa offers two different but decadent dining experiences. In the main dining room, chef Joshua Bettis prepares Relais & Chateux-level dishes like butter poached lobster with foraged mushrooms, and dover sole with a caviar and lemon butter; in the (comparatively) casual Tap Room, weekend piano music soundtracks noshing on stuffed rainbow trout and sipping on fine Scotch. For a truly unique dining experience, though, grab one of the 20 seats at RSVP French Kitchen, where guests are served a fivecourse dinner decided entirely by the chef, who works just inches away in his open kitchen; it’s BYOB too, so grab a bottle of fine wine on your way over. But not everything in the Constitution State need be high end. For laidback fare, head to At the Corner Restaurant & Pub, a friendly hangout with a café and dining room that offers shareable eats like bourbon BBQ chicken wings and nachos.

Do this: If you love antiquing – well, you’re in luck. Head to Jeffrey Tillou Antiques, a three-floor leader in 18thand 19th-century acquisitions, from folk art to furniture; Mill House Antiques is another decades-spanning favorite that fills 17 showrooms with all manner of large and small home décor. Afterwards, raise a toast to your finds at Litchfield Distillery, an acclaimed maker of artisan gin, bourbon, and vodka. The facility offers tastings and tours, but the most unique aspect may be its selection of canned cocktails, ready-to-drink tipples like spiked lemonade. And on the arts and culture side, check out the lineup at Warner Theatre, an art deco-style performing arts center where the glittering marquee always announces excellent lineups. This winter, that includes the long-running lesbian act the Indigo Girls, a presentation of “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later,” a companion to the original piece about the murder of Matthew Shepard, and “The Vagina Monologues.” [x]

At the Corner Restaurant and Pub

JAN|FEB 2019 | 67

CULTURE Dance STORY Loren King

“Pepperland.” PHOTO Gareth Jones

With a Little Help from His Friends Legendary choreographer Mark Morris hits new heights with witty ‘Pepperland’ Dance legend Mark Morris was invited by the city of Liverpool last June to join a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” LP. Of course, Morris, who at this point in his storied career, only does what he wants to do, was skeptical. Attempts at Beatles homages, tributes and recreations usually fall flat or they are complete debacles, such as the 1978 film version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” True to Morris’s artistic sensibility, he agreed to the project—but only on his own terms.

“To ask me, as an American of a certain age, to create the piece in Liverpool was an interesting and surprising idea. I had

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a short time to decide, so I listened to the album again and agreed to take it on, depending on [getting] global rights [to the songs] and an arrangement of the music that isn’t just a recreation because that’s unnecessary,” says Morris.

He immediately brought in friend and frequent collaborator Ethan Iverson, whose rhythmic arrangements put a twist on the familiar Beatles songs. Iverson also composed original material to not only bolster the original Beatles 40-minute LP but to put a fresh spin on it, underscoring the many styles of music from jazz to vaudeville that the Beatles brought to “Sgt. Pepper’s.”

The result, “Pepperland,” is a playful, exuberant reimagining of the songs “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “With a Little Help From My Friends,” “A Day in the Life,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Within You Without You” and “Penny Lane,” seamlessly blended with Iverson’s original pieces, all tailored to Morris’s understanding of classical forms: allegro, scherzo, adagio, and the blues.

Celebrity Series of Boston brings “Pepperland” to the Boch Center Shubert Theatre for three performances, February 8–10. Iverson and Morris will participate in an onstage talk after the February 9 performance.

“We love going to Boston; we want to go more than we do,” says Morris, whose many visits to Massachusetts over the years have including shows at Tanglewood and several commissioned ballets for Boston Ballet.

“ To ask me, as an American of a certain age, to create the piece in Liverpool was an interesting and surprising idea. I had a short time to decide, so I listened to the album again and agreed to take it on ” Mark Morris

“Pepperland” has earned rave reviews as it tours around the country. But for Morris, the toughest test came with its debut in Liverpool, the birthplace of the Beatles. “I had barely finished it the day before; we were still doing final touches on everything. It was a quick turnaround from getting the rights to choreographing it. Everyone in Liverpool is a great expert on all things Beatles so I didn’t know if it would be rejected, accepted or whatever,” he says. “But it was a big hit so that was a relief.”

The most gratifying moment during that first show came as something of a surprise.

“Everyone started clapping along to ‘When I’m Sixty-four.’ Originally, I said [about the Liverpool commission], ‘Why hire me? Why not put on a follow-thebouncing-ball and all the 64-year olds can drink and sing?’ But Ethan did a brilliant thing [for that number],” says Morris.

“It’s an instrumental piece that starts in four-four time and it stays that way, then the accompaniment switches to a six, then a five. It sounds chaotic and people are clapping along; there’s no floor to stand on rhythmically. Ethan’s rationale was: sixtyfour — it is in four, five, six. You can sing along but you can lose your mind.”

In addition to Iverson on piano, “Pepperland”’s unique chamber music

Mark Morris [LEFT] and Ethan Iverson . PHOTO Beowulf Sheehan

ensemble consists of a vocalist (Clinton Curtis), theremin (Rob Schwimmer), soprano sax (Sam Newsome), trombone (Jacob Garchik), organ/harpsichord (Colin Fowler), piano (Ethan Iverson) and percussion (Vinnie Sperrazza).

The delightful eye candy comes in the form of the costumes by Morris’s longtime collaborator Elizabeth Kurtzman who has designed numerous pieces for the Mark Morris Dance Group including Dancing Honeymoon, Sang-Froid, The Argument, Greek to Me, Four Saints in Three Acts, Empire Garden, Visitation, The Muir, Crosswalk, Petrichor and Pure Dance Items, and for the Gotham Opera Company, under Morris’s direction, L’Isola Disabitata.

“I was not interested in a pre-hippie trip down memory lane,” says Morris of the “Pepperland” costumes for his company of male and female dancers who partner with each other in all combinations. “They are distinctly mod and distinctly English cut with saturated colors. They are gorgeous. We made a lot of decisions together because the [clothes] had to be danceable.

I did not want them to be of the time. This is not a nostalgic piece.”

Morris is as famous for his no-bull directness as he is for the innovative choreography that won him legions of admirers in both the mainstream and

avant-garde dance worlds and international accolades for decades. He was labeled “the bad boy of dance” not just for his iconoclastic approach but, one suspects, for his unapologetic boldness in being out, sometimes defiantly so, his entire career.

“I’ve been out as a queer forever. So what? The queer dancers in my company don’t have to carry the cross for queers,” he says.

Back in the ‘80s there was hardly an interview with Morris that failed to mention his sexuality.

“I love ‘self-proclaimed homosexual.’

Come on! I’m sixty-fucking- two,” he says.

“So now you can get married. Hooray for you. You get to keep the house when your husband leaves you.”

Morris’s attitude and his art has always been one step ahead of the moment, so “Pepperland” was never going to be about nostalgia. It was conceived from the start as something entirely new. “If you want to listen to the record, you can get in online easily and listen through your headphones and cry,” he says. “But why would that be interesting?” [x]

celebrityseries.org

JAN|FEB 2019 | 69

“Magnolia con sombrero (Magnolia with Sombrero),” by Graciela Iturbide

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CULTURE Photography STORY Loren King

Iconic Images ‘Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico’ at the MFA includes rare look at Frida Kahlo artifacts Photographer Graciela Iturbide is legendary in her native Mexico and throughout Latin America for striking images that capture the intimacy and expansiveness of Mexico’s cultural, social and geographic landscape during some of its most turbulent years starting in the late 1970s.

Although Iturbide, now 76, is represented in numerous museum collections and has had major exhibitions around the world, including a show in 2007–’08 at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, her work has not been widely exhibited on the East Coast until now.

“Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico,” opening at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts January 19 and on view through May 12, will feature approximately 125 photographs, nearly all in Iturbide’s preferred black-and-white, spanning Iturbide’s five-decades-long career, much of it devoted to understanding and documenting the lives, rituals and customs of indigenous people of Mexico.

The comprehensive exhibition will be of interest to LGBT art enthusiasts not only for Iturbide’s photographs of personal objects belonging to Mexican painter and LGBT icon Frieda Kahlo, but for her rare and astonishing look into the lives of the Muxe (pronounced MOO-Shay), individuals who identify as neither male nor female, who live among the indigenous people of Juchitán, a small town located in the state of Oaxaca. Between 1979 and 1988, Iturbide made a series of visits to Juchitán where she lived among its people and photographed their customs and rituals in the ancient, communal, matriarchal society.

The MFA show includes two photographs of “Magnolia” from Iturbide’s Juchitán series. Both have become iconic images in Mexico and around the world. In one, Magnolia holds a mirror after applying makeup in preparation for the photograph; in “Magnolia with sombrero,” she’s wearing a sombrero as she stares into the camera.

There is another Muxe photograph in the

exhibition, as well as two contact sheets of the Muxe photographs that will be in a display case, according to the exhibit’s curator, Kristen Gersh, who will present a curator talk, “Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico” on January 24 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the MFA’s Remis Auditorium.

Another of Iturbide’s best-known photographs, “Nuestra Señora de Las Iguanas” (“Our Lady of the Iguanas”) also came from her famous photo essay, “Juchitán of the Women (1979–’86).” Iguanas adorn the headdress of a woman whose stoic manner and expression symbolizes this proud matriarchal society. This photograph was prominently featured in a New York Times story in September that cited “Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico” at the MFA as one of “100 not-to-be-missed shows this year.”

Also of particular interest in this collection is “El baño de Frida” (“Frida’s Bathroom”), which depicts the personal belongings in Frida Kahlo’s bathroom at her home, Casa Azul, that had been locked away for 50 years after the artist’s death in 1954. According to Gersh, Kahlo’s husband, artist Diego Riviera, asked that the bathroom remain closed for 15 years after Kahlo’s death. It ended up being closed for 50 years. By the time it was reopened, Riveira had died and the estate wanted to catalogue and make sense of the room’s contents, said Gersh.

Due to her reputation and stature in Mexico, Iturbide was the first person invited to see and photograph the artifacts. From a leg brace and corsets to old dishes and her bathtub, the images capture Kahlo’s daily life as well as her suffering due to her illnesses. One image show Kahlo’s hospital gown covered in paint and blood, since Kahlo continued to paint throughout her frequent hospitalizations.

The exhibition opens with early photographs followed by Iturbide’s photographic essays that focused on three of Mexico’s many indigenous cultures. In 1978, Iturbide was commissioned by the

“Nuestra Señora de las Iguanas (Our Lady of the Iguanas,” by Graciela Iturbide Ethnographic Archive of the National Indigenous Institute of Mexico, which wanted Mexican artists to document Mexico’s underrepresented native cultures, to produce a series of photographs about Mexico’s Seri Indians, a group of fishermen living in the Sonora desert along the Arizona-Mexico border. The result was “Los que viven en la arena” (“Those Who Live in the Sand”). Then, starting in 1979, Iturbide began to photograph the Juchitán people who form part of the Zapotec culture native to Oaxaca. A third series, “La Mixteca,” documents elaborate goatslaughtering rituals in Oaxaca, serving as critical commentary on the exploitation of workers.

In addition to working in her native Mexico, Iturbide has also photographed subjects in Cuba, Germany, India, Madagascar, Hungary, France and the United States.

Other sections in the MFA show highlight Iturbide’s explorations of various aspects and symbols of Mexican culture, including fiestas, death and mortality, and birds and their symbolism. Besides “El baño de Frida,” Iturbide’s most recent photos also relate to Mexico’s cultural and artistic heritage. They feature the Oaxaca Ethnobotanical Gardens, representing plants—mainly cacti—in intensive care.

Drawn primarily from Iturbide’s own collection, “Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico” also includes the MFA’s recent acquisition of 37 works by the artist, as well as loans from museums and private collections throughout the United States and Mexico. [x]

mfa.org

JAN|FEB 2019 | 71

CULTURE Video STORY Loren King “Mrs. Peanut Visits New York”

Elevating Drag Video exhibit at RISD celebrates outcasts and the avant-garde Drag in all its forms—whether campy, flamboyant, subversive, as social commentary or all of this at once—is celebrated in “Bona Drag: An Incomplete History of Drag and Cross-Gender Performance in Film and Video Art (Part 1)” at the RISD Museum in Providence, RI to March 3.

A heady mix of outcast culture and avant garde performance art, the show consists of six short videos from, among others, Charles Atlas and Sasha Velour that play on a loop, running about 30 minutes. It’s not only an important historical compilation but an irreverent, joyous and artistic one.

The show evolved from a conversation between RISD museum director John Smith and Dominic Molon, the Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art. “For both of us, drag is an art form that we appreciate and this is an interesting time for drag in contemporary art. We’re recognizing the potential that drag has to make political commentary and challenge conventions about gender or sexuality,” said Molon, who curated the videos that

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John W. Smith. PHOTO David O’Connor make up “Bona Drag” part one, and is now curating part two, which will open March 5 and run to July.

“Drag’s flamboyant defiance of convention has made it a powerful form of expression for LGBTQIA rights in recent history, most profoundly in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis (which took the lives of numerous artists in this exhibition) and in our current politically divisive climate,” notes Molon in his curator’s statement.

One of the most significant videos in the current show is from renowned video

artist Charles Atlas who often worked with the late Leigh Bowery, the legendary Australian performance artist, fashion designer and nightlife icon who was a frequent model and muse for the English painter Lucian Freud. In Atlas and Bowery’s six-minute video from the early ’90s, “Mrs. Peanut Visits New York,” Bowery struts around Lower Manhattan in an outlandish body suit, a riff on the “Mr. Peanut” advertising image, drawing bemused and confused looks from passersby. It’s an important reminder of the ongoing influence on gay culture of the outlandish Bowery who died in 1994 of AIDS-related complications.

In “Pirate Jenny,” Sasha Velour appears as a cabaret chanteuse performing the Kurt Weill song of the same title and looking like a cross between Joan Crawford and Divine. The nightclub act is cut with a group of punk-camp drag queens walking in the streets, a blend of fashion and performance that culminates in a riot.

The sole female artist in the show, Suzie Silver, is no less a provocateur. Also adopting a performance pose, she becomes Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant singing “Freebird,” cut with a campy sequence of Silver at the Oscars making bawdy sexual lesbian jokes while stars such as Jodie Foster and Barbra Streisand laugh and applaud.

In all these works, the drag performer subverts popular culture by embracing it as an outsider. That’s also true of the longest video in the series, “Psykho III The Musical” (1985) from Mark Oates and Tom Rubnitz, a low-down send-up of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror film “Psycho” complete with musical numbers such as Oates in a Janet Leigh wig fleeing in a car and singing “A Woman on the Loose.” There’s also Rubnitz as the proprietor of the “Oates Motel” singing “A Boy’s Best Friend Is His Mother” while looking through a peephole as his guest takes a shower. The shoestring budget and anarchic spirit of the film is reminiscent of early John Waters movies.

The exhibit puts the modern videos into context with a second screen that features one image: Mario Montez suggestively eating a banana from Andy Warhol’s silent, black-and-white, 16-mm film (transferred to video) “Mario Banana #2” (1964). Molon said the Warhol estate

“ Drag’s flamboyant defiance of convention has made it a powerful form of expression for LGBTQIA rights in recent history, most profoundly in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis (which took the lives of numerous artists in this exhibition) and in our current politically divisive climate.”

Dominic Molon required that the video be shown independently. “Mario Banana” will remain as part of the second installation.

Warhol’s pioneering influence looms over the works, as does the rebellious spirit of Waters’ early films. Drag may still be a revolutionary act, yet the avant-garde style of these videos won’t necessarily appeal to fans of, say, “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The works in this show are not designed to appeal to the masses. Rather, they showcase an eclectic few performance artists who have used drag over the years to express themselves, skewer

popular culture and just have some good old ribald fun.

Part two will feature another video by Atlas, said Molon, and one by acclaimed visual artist and filmmaker Kent Monkman, a Canadian artist of Cree ancestry who identifies as both queer and two-spirit.

According to the artist’s website, Monkman’s “glamorous gender fluid alter-ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle appears in much of his work as a time traveling, shape shifting and supernatural being, who reverses the colonial gaze, upending

O C TO B E R 1 1 – M AY 4

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Dominic Molon. PHOTO Walead Beshty received notions of history and Indigenous people.”

“Bona Drag, Part Two” will feature Monkman’s 2011 video “Mary,” a faux commercial starring Miss Chief Eagle Testickle in her first foot fetish video.

Miss Chief revisits the Prince of Wales’ visit to Montreal in 1860 to challenge the meaning of surrender within Aboriginal treaties with the crown, adding a sexy twist that addresses the relationship of betrayal and treatment aboriginals have had with European colonizers. [x]

risdmuseum.org

CULTURE Poetry STORY Loren King

Justice Ameer and Chrysanthemum Tran

Living Out Loud Slam poets Justice Ameer and Chrysanthemum Tran weave words and music at Oberon Social activism and poetry commingle in the blood of spoken word artist Justice Ameer. “It’s really been through poetry that I came to my trans identity,” says Ameer, the 2017 Providence Grand Slam Champion who began performing while a student at Brown University.

“I came out to a large show at a slam. It’s through my work that I began understanding who I was, and I was developing as I was writing. The poetry allowed me to explore and understand and question myself and come into my

identity,” says Ameer, a New Jersey native who graduated in 2016 and still lives in Providence where she works as an organizer with a focus on trans issues for the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM). Founded in 2001, PrYSM organizes Southeast Asian young people, queer and trans youth of color, and survivors of state violence in Providence and surrounding areas to challenge the structural problems that lead to state, street, and interpersonal violence.

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“Providence is where I started writing and learning how to organize. It is the base of where I discovered who I am,” Ameer says.

Though Ameer majored in Sociology at Brown, she learned organizing skills from the social justice and trans inclusion work she was doing on campus as well was her involvement with poetry slams, which often combine art and activism. “I’ve always seen my activism and poetry as interrelated,” she says. “The organizing work that I do is around helping people find their own voice to express themselves and creating the conditions in which that’s OK so that [people] are able to do that without receiving backlash.”

It was at Brown that Ameer met Chrysanthemum Tran who in 2016 made history by becoming the first transfeminine finalist of the Women of the World Poetry Slam. “Chrysanthemum and I met when we first started writing and we

became part of the Providence Poetry Slam collective. We’ve collaborated for a long time and we’re best friends. I consider her my sister through our shared journeys of [finding] our identities and art together for five or six years now,” says Ameer.

Both are active as performers and coaches with Providence Poetry Slam (ProvSlam), a long running, inclusive group that meets twice a month, organizes events and hosts guest artists. “It’s a beautiful community of incredible artists directed by Charlotte Abotsi, who’s been a real inspiration,” says Ameer. ProvSlam has been around for some 20 years and is one of the few venues that offers both adult and youth slams.

Both poets have developed their craft and voices not just at ProvSlam but also events in Boston and other cities.

Ameer and Tran opened for acclaimed trans slam poet Kit Yan’s “Queer Heartache” at the American Repertory Theater’s

“ It’s about an anthem as

empowerment and as a war cry. So we’ll play with different ideas of that and incorporate music with the poems. We both love music, so there will be some fun things and poems about songs we love; others are about work we’re involved with, and we put it into the context of being trans and me being black and Chrysanthemum being Vietnamese.”

Justice Ameer

Oberon last February. Now, the two friends and colleagues have created and will headline their own show at Oberon, “An Evening with Justice Ameer and Chrysanthemum Tran,” on February 8 and 9.

The Oberon show is called “Anthem” and it grew from their performance of a piece called “I Will Survive,” complete with a nod to the iconic Gloria Gaynor song, that Ameer and Tran performed at Oberon last year.

Their poem, “I Will Survive,” says Ameer, “talks about violence against trans women of color. It’s an ode we do together as a tribute to the trans women of color in our lives and across the world who face violence. Chrysanthemum was thinking of a theme for the new work we’ve created because we want the show to be cohesive and she came up with the idea of ‘gay anthems’” including Gaynor’s song, and others by Cher and Diana Ross.

“It’s about an anthem as empowerment and as a war cry. So we’ll play with different ideas of that and incorporate

music with the poems,” says Ameer. “We both love music, so there will be some fun things and poems about songs we love; others are about work we’re involved with and we put it into the context of being trans and me being black and Chrysanthemum being Vietnamese.”

It’s one thing to expose one’s thoughts and feeling on the page; another to declare them out loud before a crowd.

Ameer sees that kind of truth-telling as essential to self-discovery and to making it safer for others to do the same. “Writing allows me to work my own stuff out but the act of sharing is really being able to make connections and build relationships. Sharing is a healing process,” she says.

“That’s what writing means for me and what it can mean for other people. So I try not to overthink it; I just get up there and share.” [x]

americanrepertorytheater.org

CULTURE Photography STORY Nina Livingstone Angela Russo “Moors,” by Angela Russo [OPPOSITE, RIGHT] “Day Sunset,” by Angela Russo [AT LEFT]

[OPPOSITE, LEFT]

Following Her Passion A love for her art led Angela Russo from photojournalism through fashion to large-format prints of distinction With a Polaroid Swinger and a high school photography class, Angela Russo found her passion, or rather it found her.

By the time she was a high school senior, Russo had mastered three musical instruments and envisioned a career in music.

Then her “true secret dream of becoming a photographer” surfaced.

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“That is where I saw my first Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston images,” she said. “My eldest brother, Joseph, who was an engineer for Kodak gave me a very good 110 film camera. I learned how to print blackand-white images. Then I borrowed a true adjustable 35mm camera. I began

to experiment with double exposures and alternative processes. Right after I graduated high school [in 1974], I went on a cross-country trip. I photographed everything!”

“Unfortunately, there was no place to process the film I shot, so I just collected it in a bag.”

Attending a Boston college, Russo focused on television, putting photography on hold until she graduated. To fill in a gap, she returned to it via night classes.

With undeveloped film still in her bag from her cross-country trip, Russo approached a Boston camera store on Bromfield Street and asked about the chemicals to process it herself. Then she asked about a job. Despite it being 1976, Russo needed the approval of the shop’s male workers before she could be hired.

She got a yes vote, making her its first female employee.

At Stone Camera, Russo maintained her straight persona, even after adding a second job—feature photographer for the Gay Community News. It was 1977.

“I was not ‘out’ to my employers [at the camera store], so I published my work with a pseudonym, Noelle Grays.”

Thankfully, Gay Community News was also on Bromfield Street and Russo took her coffee breaks to race to their newsroom in order to make deadline.

The Bromfield job led Russo to a demanding, but notable, advertising photographer, who made her his assistant.

Russo started at the bottom, moving up to doing her own shoots after hours. Next in line was a freelance photography job with Filene’s Basement.

“I found out what they were looking for and borrowed $3,000 to buy the equipment I needed for a test shoot. It worked and they hired me!”

By 1978, Russo was ready to open her own studio. She was still in her early 20s.

“I didn’t know how I would be able to handle the high rent, [but] I took it,” she said. “I struggled to keep it.”

At 22, Russo ended up buying the studio space, which has remained her home for the past 40 years.

She also had Burberry’s, Lacoste, Clinique and Waterford among other lucrative accounts, “I was really on my way,” she said.

“My advertising photography career rolled along until about the mid-’90s,” she said. It was then that digital imaging entered the market.

“I was not going to quit,” she said, “but professional photography was changing.

I could see that the use of large-format film, which is how I made my living, was in decline and that I had better go back to school and ‘embrace’ digital imaging.”

In 1999, when an accident and surgery confined Russo to her South End home, she saw it as opportunity to sharpen her digital computer skills. Selling her old camera equipment, Russo invested in the digital world.

“I started to scan my images via highresolution scanners and began printing on the large format printers I had purchased.”

A new art form was born.

Four years after her accident, another investment would take Russo one step closer to her future. After buying an old house in Provincetown, she brought her printer from Boston. In the beginning, the work she produced was for her new home, but when passersby noticed the pieces

“ I was not going to quit but professional photography was changing. I could see that the use of largeformat film, which is how I made my living, was in decline and that I had better go back to school and ‘embrace’ digital imaging. ” Angela Russo drying on the fence in her back yard, she began to make sales.

Ready to continue moving forward, Russo started looking for gallery space in Provincetown.

“I heard that two women were looking for a third person. One was an impressionist painter in her 80s and the other was a watercolorist and a retired judge. They didn’t know what to make of my work because they hadn’t seen anything like it before but we liked each other and made an agreement,” she said.

It was the Karilon Gallery, located at 447 Commercial St., and Russo’s work began to sell beyond Provincetown and Boston, adding buyers from around the world.

“Even though I have a full studio dedicated to my work in Boston, I am far more productive in Provincetown,” Russo said.

“I feel that the work I am able to produce is endless. This is evidenced by the five different styles that I have created.”

Her most popular pieces are water scenes and sunrises and sunsets.

“Some of my favorite pieces are the foggy, misty seaside images that require skill and timing to capture,” she said. “One of my personal favorites is called ‘Blue Fog Marsh.’ I remember where I was and what I had to do to get it, so I guess you could say I feel that images like that are great achievements in my career.”

What sets Russo’s work apart is her deep knowledge of digital imaging and unique printing. Dye ink, she explained, has an image lifespan of 5 to 7 years. Russo uses a distinctive pigment ink with a wide color range.

“There are no shortcuts for me,” she said.

“This kind of high quality is what I stake my reputation on. It has taken me years to produce what I take pride in showing and selling today.” [x]

russophoto.com

JAN|FEB 2019 | 77

CULTURE Theater STORY Loren King

Divine Providence

Curt Columbus Trinity Square Repertory Company’s production of “Ragtime,” directed by Columbus. PHOTO Mark Turek

Curt Columbus is still making his mark at Trinity Rep

during his first year at Trinity — he headed for Chicago.

“I started out founding a performance art-slash-theater collective with my girlfriend at the time. I no longer do performing art, among the other things I did at that time that I no longer do,” he laughs. He ran a playwrights’ theater called Victory Gardens and taught at the University of Chicago before assuming the post at Steppenwolf.

Columbus has directed many shows at Trinity Rep during his tenure; for a while, he was helming as many as three a year but now he prefers to direct one show each season. “Last year, I had the great gift of doing [the musical] ‘Ragtime’ which was on my bucket list for a long time.” The year before, he staged another ambitious musical, “Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage” by Jason Craig and Dave Malloy which “was a passion project from first time I read it,” he says.

This season, Columbus decided he wanted to stage a Shakespeare play.

“Macbeth,” which runs January 31- March

Curt Columbus remembers what a “big leap of faith” it was for his partner of just three years, Nate Watson, to relocate from Chicago to Providence when Columbus accepted the position as artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Theater in 2005.

But Columbus, who in 2000 had become associate artistic director of Chicago’s prestigious Steppenwolf Theater Company, says he realized during the interview process “the potential that Providence had at that time. … I met people on the board and in the community who had such a vision for what Providence could be and I liked that idea. My husband was in city planning and development before he became a flight attendant twenty years ago so we both saw the possibilities that Providence offered.”

Fast forward 13 years and Trinity Rep shines even brighter as the jewel in the

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crown of Providence’s vibrant downtown arts scene, owing in large part to Columbus’s strengthening of the theater company’s long standing commitment to the community and to education. He also credits Watson, now his husband, for being a “huge part of the growth not just to this theater but our life together in Rhode Island.”

Founded in 1963, Trinity Rep is one of the most successful regional companies in the country; it was awarded the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater Company in 1981. In 2001, a partnership between Trinity Rep and Brown University created the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program for actors and directors. Each season, its eclectic repertoire ranges from world premieres to classics to its much beloved annual staging of “A Christmas Carol.” Columbus arrived at this respected institution with an impressive resume.

After getting a degree in Russian from Yale — Columbus has translated Chekhov’s plays and staged “Cherry Orchard”

” We do all our shows for student audiences and I knew that three-to-five thousand kids will see this show and I wanted to say something to them about honor, about honesty, about a world that has a cost for lying and being dishonorable. I wanted to tell a parable that could give them some moral comfort at a time when I think that’s what everyone needs. ” Curt Columbus 3, marks his fifth production of the work: he had the title role in his first-ever play when he was 12; he’s performed roles in two other productions; and has now twice directed Shakespeare’s tragedy.

His production at Trinity will be both traditional and new. “This will tell you everything: I’ve hired a DJ and it will take place in a nightclub environment.

I’m not setting ‘Macbeth’ in a nightclub, but the audience is there, with lights and sounds and colors and that’s as gay as it’s gonna get,” he laughs. Staging “Macbeth” is rooted in Columbus’s passion for theater’s ability to speak to the here and now and to Trinity’s mission to educate young theater-goers. “Our education program is now literally one of the best in the country, from the crazy little state of Rhode Island,” he says.

“The last Shakespeare I did here was ‘Merchant of Venice.’ I wanted to do that because it’s so complicated and [the play

addresses] issues of race and identity,” says Columbus. He remembers how “destabilized” he felt following the 2016 presidential election and a conversation he had with a friend who taught high school. His friend told him, ‘If you feel destabilized, imagine how a 15-year-old feels,’ recalls Columbus. That’s when he decided on “Macbeth” for this season.

“We do all our shows for student audiences and I knew that three-to-five thousand kids will see this show and I wanted to say something to them about honor, about honesty, about a world that has a cost for lying and being dishonorable. I wanted to tell a parable that could give them some moral comfort at a time when I think that’s what everyone needs,” he says.

“That’s the only reason to produce classic work. I treat every play as a contemporary play; the only reason to do it is to do it right now. There’s no distinction for us between Shakespeare’s world and a new play.”

As a Providence resident, Columbus also appreciates that Trinity Rep is one of the last, long standing resident acting companies in the country with a stable of actors who’ve honed their careers and built lives in the community.

“There’s Timmy Crowe, who will be my Duncan, [currently] onstage as the ghost of Christmas Past who arrived here in 1971,” he says. There’s longtime actor Joe Wilson, Jr., who is active in the local LGBT community and who served as grand marshal of the RI Pride parade.

“That commitment to locally made art is something that is distinct,” says Columbus. “Our resident actors change the community. Providence got better because a bunch of people are committed to make it better.” [x]

trinityrep.org

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Calendar Imperial Sovereign Court of All Connecticut Coronation Ball The Imperial Court System is one of the country’s oldest LGBTQ organizations, made up of dozens of regional chapters that fundraise for worthy local nonprofits. The highlight of every year is the coronation of a new emperor and empress—and it’s the Connecticut court’s turn at this three-day fête that includes drag performances, a gala dinner and ceremony and a Victory Brunch.

This year’s theme is “Night of a Thousand Kilts: What’s Up Yours?” and event proceeds will benefit True Colors Inc., which provides advocacy for LGBTQ youth, and the Jim Collins Foundation, which funds transition surgeries to those greatly in need of financial support.

Celebrate Puerto Rican culture—and honor one of the earliest icons of queer culture—at the third annual Saint Sebastian Festival. Produced by the Theater Offensive, Boston’s pioneering LGBTQ arts organization, the festival will include a community parade, flavorful food and live music performances by diverse artists—like Samantha Love and Eric German & Orchestra— reflecting Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean traditions. There will also be a “live Saint Sebastian body painting installation,” which sounds perfect for an event that pays tribute to a saint famously noted for historically homoerotic depictions by artists.

Saturday, January 19, 5–9

WHERE

HOW

La Fabrica Central, Cambridge

$10 suggested donation

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WHERE

HOW

Hartford/Windsor Marriott , Windsor, CT

$15–$175; ctimperialcourt.org

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: Analogy Trilogy

Saint Sebastian Festival

WHEN

WHEN

Friday–Sunday, February 15–17

Oral histories comprise the foundation for this three-part series of works by the renowned dance company founded by partners in love and art. Each piece tells a different story close to Jones’ heart.

One nods to the life of his mother-in-law, a French Jewish nurse and WWII survivor. Another looks to his nephew, a performer in the ‘90s gay club scene who wound up in the sex industry. The third is inspired by a fictional character from W.G. Sebald’s awardwinning novel “The Emigrant.” Together, these stories tell a single unifying tale about the individual quest for a personal truth.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Thursday–Sunday, February 14–17

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

icaboston.org

Fortune Feimster If you’ve never had the good fortune of seeing Feimster, here’s your chance. The lesbian comedian, best known for her role on “The Mindy Project” and as a roundtable cohost on “Chelsea Lately,” brings her brand of gut-busting humor to Boston for a standup show. Expect Feimster, who most recently starred on the NBC sitcom “Champions,” to work some winning comedy about family, politics and pop culture. Don’t press your luck: Snag tickets now.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Friday, January 11

Wilbur Theatre, Boston

$27, thewilbur.com

First Event It’s nice to be number one. The First Event should know: it’s one of the largest and longest running transgender conferences in the world. And it’s back for another year of workshops, professional training programs, fashion shows, speakers and evening dance parties that will bring together participants from across the country. First Event is presented by Trans Club of New England, one of the region’s major social support organizations for the transgender community.

WHEN

Wednesday–Sunday, January 30–February 3 WHERE

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, Marlboro, MA HOW

firstevent.org

Snowbound Leather Weekend Lace up those boots and beat it to Provincetown for this annual event that unites leather-loving men in a wintry blast of fun.

From the opening night’s fireside “Beer Blast” at Watership Inn to a closing night dance party at A-House, the parties will be plentiful. And you can also hop in to educational workshops hosted by P’town’s famous Full Kit Gear. But the biggest attraction, besides the yearly awarding of Mr. Snowbound honors, will be the friendly guys whose friendships you’ll keep all year round.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Friday–Sunday, February 22–24

Provincetown

matesleatherweekend.com

JAN|FEB 2019 | 81

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King for a Day: Drag King Show As much as we love “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” those crown-snatching queens hardly represent the full spectrum of drag art. Tonight, pay tribute to some of the region’s best (and burgeoning) drag kings and nonbinary performers in a show produced by Kristen Porter Presents, originator of Dyke Night and other LGBTQ nightlife series. Pros like Jayden Jamison KA St. James (Mistah Boston Pride 2017), Lucier Christmas and Ron Binary will share the stage with new graduates from Porter’s four-week King for a Day workshop that gives newbies the chance to hone their makeup, costuming, choreography and more.

Breaking Thru: QTPOC Love Celebration Sometimes it seems like Valentine’s Day is just a Hallmark holiday designed to sell greeting cards and candy. But here’s one special celebration that definitely has its heart in the right place. Breaking Thru is a production of the OUT’hood Series, a Theater Offensive initiative that brings programming to neighborhoods historically underserved

by LGBTQ art. The evening will spotlight local queer and trans artists of color as they bring stories of love to the stage through spoken word, music and other mediums.

WHEN

Saturday, February 9, 8 PM WHERE

Club Café, Boston HOW

$10–$30, brownpapertickets.com

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Thursday, February 14, 7 PM

Midway Café, Jamaica Plain

$5 at door

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus: ‘Cabaret’ You’ve seen the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus take the stage in plenty of large-scale venues. But the group’s annual “Cabaret” puts a more intimate spin on things. Billed as “fun, festive and always a little risqué,” this exciting evening of song gets a bit more up close and personal. The chorus’s finest performers will deliver solo and smallgroup acts in a casual setting. Life is a cabaret, old chum—so come to the cabaret!

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Friday–Sunday, February 22–24

Club Café, Boston

bgmc.org

Jill Sobule Long before Katy Perry was exploiting faux lesbianism for MTV airplay, Jill Sobule turned her 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl” into an unlikely hit from an actually bisexual artist. Since then, Sobule has continued to turn out excellent folk-pop tunes with a sardonic storytelling edge. Her latest album, the excellently reviewed “Nostalgia Kills,” came out just last year—and now she’s bringing her unique sound to Massachusetts’ North Shore. Pucker up for an evening with one of the LGBTQ community’s most lovable musicians.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Friday, February 1

Me & Thee Coffeehouse, Marblehead, MA

$22 advance, $25 at door; brownpapertickets.com

SCENE Grand Opening PHOTOS BAGLY Boston

LGBTQ+ Youth Center Grand Opening Youth Community Center | Boston | October 11, 2018

The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) held the grand opening of its LGBTQ+ youth community center in downtown Boston on National Coming Out Day. The new space, a 5,000+ square-foot storefront in Government Center, is dedicated to addressing the vital needs of LGBTQ+ youth. The center fulfills a decades-long goal—to have a safe place for the LGBTQ+ youth of Greater Boston to call home. With two spacious floors, the center will help meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable members of our community—from on-site health counseling and testing to a floating tech lab and place to make friends.

SCENE Politics PHOTOS Hurley Event Photography

Yes on 3 Victory Night Party Fairmont Copley Plaza | Boston | November 6, 2018

Freedom for All Massachusetts, transgender rights activists and friends of all stripes of the rainbow, gathered on the night of the 2018 midterms election to celebrate as Bay State voters won a historic victory for transgender equality. The landslide defeat of a ballot initiative to repeal basic public accomodations for transgender people in the state was a resounding victory for everyone’s civil rights in Massachusetts and across the United States, as Massachusetts became the first state in the country to uphold transgender protections at the ballot box.

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JAN|FEB 2019 | 85

SCENE Celebration PHOTOS Steve Lord, Steve Dunwell, Mike Basu and Joy Mosenfelder

BIG Award recipient Wilson Valencia with Rob Quinn and Larry Day

2018 Peter Daniel Clark Award recipient Dawn Fukuda and husband Jim

Christopher Richard and Aaron Piracini of Mobile Prevention

Dawn Fukuda, Roseanne Clark and Debbie Fellman

Ed Crane presenting Dawn Fukuda with a pin from Jonathan Scott.

Aaron Piracini leading a moment of silence for Transgender Day of 86 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Celebration of Life Thanksgiving Dinner Hynes Convention Center | Boston | November 20, 2018

Victory Programs’ annual Boston Living Center Celebration of Life Thanksgiving Dinner was a smashing success. Dawn Fukuda was honored with the Peter Daniel Clark Award, and Wilson Valencia the Brenda Bellizeare “BIG” Better It Gets award. Supporting this year’s event were generous donations from volunteers, agency friends, community partners and corporate sponsors including Title Sponsor, Walgreens. The event featured a traditional, sit-down dinner with all the fixings; knockout performances by DJ Ollie, Woza Moya, and World Premier Band; a resource fair of community organizations; and winter care kits, provided by generous partners at Bank of America, Building Impact, United Way, and Temple Beth Avodah.

Verna Turbulance serving guests

Eliot Tatelman greeting guests JAN|FEB 2019 | 87

SCENE Bake Sale PHOTOS Courtesy Community Servings

Pie in the Sky Boston | November 2018

Community Servings’ 26th annual Pie in the Sky Thanksgiving bake sale brought together more than 150 Boston-area chefs, bakers and caterers to create and donate some 22,000 pies, raising $760,000 and counting. The funds support Community Servings’ mission to provide made-from-scratch, medically tailored meals to the critically ill throughout the Commonwealth. This year, more than 650 volunteers participated in distributing, packaging and selling pies at 100 pick-up locations.

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SCENE Celebration PHOTOS Ellie Nguyen

Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch NonProfit Center | Boston | October 20, 2018

It was an afternoon of diverse artistic performances, health education, and remembrance. The 20th annual Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch featured the Afrocentric musical ensemble Zili Misik, Japanese Taiko drumming group Genki Spark, multicultural storytelling collective Red Sage Stories and an Afro-Latina spoken word artist Queen Laura. Attendees enjoyed the taste of vegan Dominican Food by Coco Verde Vegan plus a health education workshop on disparities and cancer risks of LGBTQ women and women of color as well as resource tables from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Facing Cancer Together, Cancer Care Center at Boston Medical Center, and YMCA. The brunch also celebrated the accomplishments of community leaders, including transgender advocate and researcher Erin Ebony, cancer survivor and community activist Dianne Austin and community healers Janhavi Madabushi and Kamaria Weems Carrington of Cultivate: Queer Healing Lab.

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SCENE Observation PHOTOS Joy Mosenfelder and Victory Programs staff

World AIDS Day Copley Square | Boston | December 1, 2018

Peers, Boston Living Center and Victory Programs staff, friends and community leaders gathered just a few blocks down from the Boston Living Center to mark World AIDS Day.

LET’S DANCE!

www.mochadj.com INFO@MOCHADJ.COM

SCENE Volunteering PHOTOS Courtesy Gay for Good Boston

Gay for Good Wagon Assembly/ Toy Drive Decoration Revere Hotel | Boston | December 2018

For nearly a decade, Gay for Good Boston volunteers have been helping the Toys for Joys founders prepare for their annual gift gala. In early December, G4G partnered with Mass Bears and Cubs to build the toy red wagons used as decorations during the gala. The wagons are filled with toys and donated to underprivileged children. G4G also partnered with the Boston Chapter of Proud, John’s Hancock affinity group, to decorate the gala’s venue.

92 | BOSTON SPIRIT

JAN|FEB 2019 | 93

SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Arlan Fonseca Photography

Toys for Joys Gift Gala Revere Hotel | Boston | December 8, 2018

Boston’s premiere holiday toys drive, Toys4Joys, celebrated its 10th annual Gift Gala with its signature seasonal spirits and hors d’oeuvres, and dancing under a stateof-the-art light show. Once again, T4J transformed the hall into a beautiful, festive holiday wonderland, where revelers full of the spirit of the season and loaded with presents for kids in need piled thousands of donated toys high under the holiday tree.

Toys4Joys started as a home party in 2002 with a simple understanding that toys provide joy to children. That simple party has grown into one of the most anticipated events of the holiday season.

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JAN|FEB 2019 | 95

CODA Song STORY Scott Kearnan

Nostalgia Survivor Jill Sobule (‘I Kissed a Girl’) bursts back on the scene with a great new album plus two New England shows Long before Katy Perry went gay-for-radio-play, superior singer-songwriter Jill Sobule turned her smarter, sweeter song “I Kissed a Girl” into an unlikely pop hit in 1995. It was her commercial peak, but Sobule has stayed prolific—and doesn’t dwell on the past. Lucky for us, because her latest album, “Nostalgia Kills,” is a fantastic collection of compelling tunes that processes personal pains, including the loss of her parents and breakdown of a romantic relationship, by looking back only long enough to chart a new path forward.

Sobule, who has written several musicals, is already planning her next projects: like “#Fuck7thGrade,” a onewoman show about “growing up a little weird queer girl in Denver.” With two New England shows on the horizon (Northampton’s Parlor Room on Jan. 31; and Marblehead’s Me & Thee Coffeehouse, Feb. 1), we caught up with this witty, quirky music-world crush.

[SPIRIT] Have you had a chance to spend much time around Boston?

[SOBULE] I had an Aunt Mickey who lived in Arlington. I used to visit her. I called her my procrastinatrix: When I came to visit she would make me get off my phone, off my iPad, and work. She was very disciplined with me. It was fantastic.

[SPIRIT] Why does nostalgia kill?

[SOBULE] Well, we can get

caught up in it. I remember this period where for a week I went down this Internet rabbit hole, looking at old toys, old TV shows, movies from the ‘70s. Then I remembered when my parents would watch the “Lawrence Welk Show” and we’d make fun of them. You don’t want that to be you. [Laughs] And you don’t want to hold on to negative life experiences or old relationships that are no good. I moved back to New York recently. It was a really tough couple of years for me.

I had two parents die, and the end of a relationship. That’s the thing about nostalgia kills: You don’t want to be the old Spanish widow wearing black.

[SPIRIT] I love the song, “The Party’s

Over, Party Girl.” What inspired that?

k.d. lang in concert. PHOTO Matt Duboff Jill Sobule. PHOTO Shervin Lainez

all the characters I write about.

I have a heart for them. And I embody every one of them.

[SPIRIT] Your songs are very personal. But have current politics inspired your writing?

[SOBULE] Before I put out this record I was writing a bunch of political songs. I’m a news junkie. I do write a lot of topical songs, but sometimes you don’t want those on a record.

Right now, I am working on something: I want to do “Schoolhouse Rock!”-type songs but about the most unsexy things: explaining things like the emoluments clause, or gerrymandering or the living wage.

[SPIRIT] “I Kissed a Girl” was pioneering. What did you think when Katy Perry’s song came out?

[SPIRIT] What was it like for you, growing up a queer kid in Colorado?

[SPIRIT] Do you remember the first girl you kissed?

[SOBULE] Growing up when I did, there were no role models. a couple of my peers, and a The only lesbian I knew was couple people in the tabloids, Miss Hathaway from “The who do not feel comfortable Beverly Hillbillies” and this aging. You know that frat boy really unattractive gym teacher who got married but still wants everyone said was gross. I to go out, do cocaine and be a had these feelings, crushes bro? There’s the female version on my girlfriends, and there of that: someone who is still was no place—no Internet, no living in 1994, with those pouty TV shows, really nothing. It fish lips. You know, when you’re was social suicide if someone blacking out your first year of found out you had a crush college, you can get away with on them. My mother had it. In your 40s, it’s not a good this softcore porn magazine, look. But I do have empathy for “Beaver,” that had this series of like, a French boarding school with the schoolgirls and

[SOBULE] I started thinking of

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their young teacher, and they were all in gossamer gowns and pretty, and touching each other’s breasts. And it was like, “Where do I transfer?

How do I get to that school?”

[SOBULE] It was such a huge hit, obviously you’re going to be like, “Why wasn’t mine as big?” It was a touch irritating.

And you know, her A&R guy was my A&R guy. At the same time, the great thing was, there were a lot of 13-year-old girls who, very disappointingly, accidently bought my song.

So I was like, “Yes!”

[SOBULE] Oh yes. It was in Spain, which made it all the more exotic. She was a student from another school. We went to this festival, the whole city shut down and we stayed up all night dancing and drinking sherry.

It was fantastic. Better than meeting at a lesbian bar after softball practice, I guess. [x]

jillsobule.com