DIRECTOR’S NOTE
What a summer we have had! Between an overwhelmingly successful Vintage Pride cruise along the Hudson, a surprise appearance by Melissa Etheridge at Pride, awarding 4 remarkable young people a scholarship to
by
C u rran Streett, Executive Di rector
send them off to College and great ongoing programs and events at the Center almost every day of the week- I feel so lucky to be a part of it all. While the political landscape always keeps us on our toes and stories of violence, bigotry and even homicide directed at our community is heartbreaking, it reminds us of all we have left to do. Over a year after marriage equality became a reality in New York, I still get questions like “Well now that we have marriage, what is left? You can close your doors right?” Honestly, I look forward to the day when our services are truly
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
I am a fan of Wonder Woman. Have been almost my whole life. I was introduced to the Amazon Princess on television, when the live action TV show debuted. Lynda Carter leapt onto into our living rooms and into my heart. I fell in love with her instantly. Fighting for her rights, in her satin tights, and the old red, white, and blue. As many gay boys did in the day, I dressed up like her with my tin foil bracelets and belt and a little rope as my golden lasso. When my little sister was big enough, I dressed her up like Wonder Girl and we fought evil together. (Ironically, my mother is from an island paradise and came to the United States because of an American serviceman. ) Wonder Woman became a symbol to me of femininity and strength, a warrior and an
by
ambassador of peace, a volunteer and a fighter, intelligence and brawn, and an amazing sense of fashion. As I started reading her comic book and watching the Super Friends, I saw how she was an equal amongst her male counterpart super heroes, Superman and Batman. In a landscape of all male characters, she stood above them all as the preeminent female superhero for decades. As I got older and started reading more about the Women’s Movement and feminism, I came to understand just exactly how much of a feminist icon Wonder Woman was. Gloria Steinem made DC Comics return Wonder Woman to her feminist roots and put her on the cover of the first issue of Ms. Magazine. As per her secret origin, Wonder Woman a/k/a Princess Diana was crafted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and brought to life by the Greek goddesses, who endowed her with amazing powers beyond mere mortal men. She lived in peace and harmony on Paradise Island with her Amazon sisters and her mother, the Queen. No man had set foot
unneeded in the community, when creating a corner of the world just ours is obsolete, but we are far from that reality. In truth, I find that we are as vital today as the day the Center doors first opened in 1970. While we have much to celebrate, we also have much to do and can use all the help we can get. Please join us in making our community even more vibrant and supported, either at the AIDS Walk on September 27th or at our Gala on October 24th. I hope you will join us in counting our successes and setting ourselves up for even more!
Mic hael Weid r ic h on their island until Major Steve Trevor crashed landed. A contest was held to select an emissary of peace to return Trevor to “Man’s World”. Diana, in disguise, entered the competition and won, thus becoming Wonder Woman. Until recently, that was Wonder Woman’s origin. This tale has lasted for over 70 years, reinforcing the feminine sensibility of the character. That is until DC Comics rebooted the character and made Zeus her father, having had an affair with Hippolyta. No longer was she endowed with the powers of the Goddess, but of the male god Zeus. For me, that was a betrayal of the character and flushed 75 years of her-story down the drain. In a recent interview with the new artist of the Wonder Woman comic book David Finch, he was quoted as saying he didn’t want to view the character as a feminist. This comment drew tremendous criticism and he later back pedaled and “clarified” his comment. It still rang hollow for me and continued my annoyance with DC Comics and their de-feminization of a feminist icon.
We want to hear from our Community! Letters to the Editor may be sent to Michael Weidrich at mweidrich@capitalpridecenter.org Letters must be 100 words or less and must include name, phone, email.
4