Issuu

JULY 2020 VOLUME 1 ISSUE

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Photo by Jory Stiefel

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Pines for BLM Photos by Jory Stiefel @theglassballoon

MASTHEAD Editor-In-Chief

Graphic Design

Photographers

Cover Photo Iman Le Claire

Artists

We are accepting original editorial submissions from photographers. E-mail info@fagragmag.com with the subject “Photo Submission”.

TOMIK DASH ZAK KREVITT MIKAEL SCHULZ SEAN BASIL MCGIVER Contributors

JORY STIEFEL RICH O’BOYLE DR. S koitz

MICHAEL DAMOND ZAK KREVITT

@fagragmag

www.fagragmag.com

CONTENTS 8 LOCKDOWN

by Sean Basil McGover

16 CARRINGTON

TRACT

by Rich Oâ€™Boyle

IT LOUD 18 SAY feat Iman Le Caire 26

UNTITLED by Mikael Schulz

SHRINK RAP: ASK DR. S

FERRY SCHEDULE

45 PARTY PHOTOS

THIS PHOTO AND COVER PHOTO BY ZAK KREVITT

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I can’t be the only one who is struggling with this, but it is so hard to be excited about things these days. For me, it requires effort. It requires quieting the mind. It requires reminders from friends. It requires turning off the news and putting down my cell phone. Before I started writing this I looked back at the Letter From the Editor that I wrote in the digital preview issue of the magazine, and instead of inspiring me, it just made me sad. Because I wrote it in February, I naively narrated how excited I was for a robust summer in Fire Island. I had no idea that a few months later, we’d be boarding the ferry in face masks, or that people would be having discussions within their shares about limiting outside interaction so as not to spread a deadly virus that has taken grip of the world. And to add insult to injury, black lives are still being taken at the hands of the police to the point that the whole world is crying out, STOP KILLING BLACK PEOPLE! Queer people are finally starting to acknowledge that black trans lives being lost to violence is happening and is a problem. Black people are getting more confidence to stand tall in their own lanes and call out racism where they see it. Whether that be in the tech community, in the drag community, in the fashion world... Racism permeates every structure and fabric of our society and there is some major work finally being done to dismantle it. Fire Island is no exception. I recently wrote an article called “A Guide To Being Anti-Racist In Fire Island” on fagragmag.com that, upon release, took on a life of its own. It led me to a number of video chats with black people who have a relationship with the island, and I got to hear about each of their unique experiences. This month's cover girl, Iman Le Caire was one of those people. She is a black trans woman from Egypt who has overcome a lot in her life and in the Pines, and was gracious enough to share her story with the magazine. Sharing the stories, art, photography, and writing of people in the Pines and Cherry Grove was my intention with starting this magazine. One of the artists featured in this issue, Sean Basil McGiver, created his series “Lockdown” while quarantining in the Pines. And we also have a preview of some work by fashion photographer Mikael Schulz.

Although he usually shoots women for the likes of Elle, Harpers Bazaar, and Vogue, this personal project that he’s working on consists of portraits of male bodies and will be featured in a book that will come out this fall. Back in February, when I was writing that first “Letter From The Editor,” my intention for the magazine was for it to be weekly. It would come out every Wednesday in the summer so that when people began their shares on Thursdays, they could get off the ferry, grab an issue from a shop on the harbor, and see everything going on for the week. I had a theme drafted for all 20 issues. Photoshoots lined up. Parties in development. But then the stay-at-home orders began being implemented in NY and around the country, which affected both me and my advertisers. I thought about waiting until next year to launch, but then figured that people still need art. So instead of doing 20 weekly issues, I scaled back to 4 monthly ones. Fire Island has newspapers that are targeted at all of the neighborhoods on the greater island, but nothing specifically for the Pines and Cherry Grove. I wanted to make something that was meant just for us. Something super gay! And also something FREE for people on the island. When it goes out, it will be delivered door-to-door to homes and any shops that will have it. But for right now, this is a labor of love. I have no doubt that Fag Rag will be around for a long time. But if you see value in what we’re providing and want to help give us a boost through this tough time, please go to fagragmag.com/donate. You’ll be supporting art, you’ll be supporting a community business, and you’ll be supporting a black-owned business. Only the second on the island that I’ve heard about. I hope you enjoy the issue. This is just the beginning. There is so much more that I plan on doing with this and look forward to having you along for the ride. Tomik Dash

Lockdown by Sean Basil McGiver seanbasilmcgiver.art

Pines Pop Up Gallery (next to the General Store)

July 15 - Sept 15

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carrington tract by Rich O’Boyle

Between the two queer communities of Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove is a rugged but well-traveled stretch of wild dunes and scrub called the Carrington Tract. It’s also referred to as The Judy Garland Memorial Park, or more popularly, The Meat Rack. Most visitors and regulars of Fire Island know of this notorious area for it’s twisting rambles where men on the prowl have been known to cruise. It was a hot spot for pickup sex long before the age of Grindr. Back in the 70s and 80s, Cherry Grove was the hotspot for nightlife, and traveling through the Meat Rack was the avenue to get there and back from the Pines. Many found discreet adventure out of the public eye when being openly gay wasn’t so easy. Near the entry to the tract at the far western end of the Pines, stands a shuttered building, the ghost of what used to be The Carrington House. The grounds are littered with broken glass and access is restricted. One of the house’s more famous residents was Truman Capote, who wrote “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” while summering there. 16

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The Carrington House was a hotbed of creativity for mid-century artists. Imagine the witty repartee fueled by gimlets and martinis among the likes of Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, Harper Lee, Capote himself and many other gay and straight fledgling playwrights, actors and artists. How many times had they gazed at the summer sky and rolling waves? How many up and coming artists are inspired by the same today? Ambling through the Meat Rack gives a glimpse of a variety of natural and human impacts; Lightning charred trees, the remains of beetle-invested pines, occasional litter. Through a particularly swampy area frequented by cruising guys, a small bridge has been in use for decades. Once just a few lengths of boards used by guys to navigate through the marsh, and now a more sturdy structure after much-needed TLC. Maybe it was a quick escape route near the Grove entrance when late night trysts were interrupted by flashlights and cat calls from the police. For decades, the Meat Rack has been a bridge of sorts â€“ artistically, physically and metaphorically â€“ between the past and present, gay and straight, men and women, developed and natural. Each generation explores this preserve, as rich in artistic heritage as it is rich with secrets. 17

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Written by Tomik Dash 18 Photography by Zak Krevitt FAGRAGMAG.COM

SAY IT LOUD feat Iman Le Caire

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When it comes to stories about growing up, Iman Le Caire’s sounds like it could have been an origin story in a DC Comics big screen adaptation, where Iman was a martyr turned superhero. A child from Egypt, growing up in an atmosphere of adversity, Iman, then Ayman, had a strict Muslim family and also lived under the oppression of a patriarchal society that did not accept any form of femininity in boys. She had few people to turn to growing up. And after being repeatedly harassed and arrested by the police as a teenager, Iman decided to apply for a student visa in other countries. Although France had turned her down and crushed her dreams of ever being able to move anywhere else, to her surprise, she got accepted into NY Film Academy and she decided to change the trajectory of her life from that day forward. Before moving, while out one day in Egypt she was alerted by a friend that the authorities were looking for her. In those days, when one gay person was arrested, many more would be rounded up without due process. Iman couldn’t take it anymore and scraped up as much money as she could to jump on a plane to New York and never look back. “I was so nervous on the plane, I thought the cops were going to find out where I was and come and take me before we took off. As soon as the plane was in the air I started crying so loud, everyone was asking me if I was okay.” Fast forward to 2009 when Iman was working the front desk at David Barton Gym, where she met the man who would later become her husband, Jean-Manuel Pourquet. Jean-Manuel

slipped Iman his phone number, but she wouldn’t work up the courage to call him for almost 6 months. When she did, they quickly became an item, and in the summer of 2010, JeanManuel brought her out to Fire Island to live with him during the summer while he ran his boutique, Gostoso, that was located on the harbor. “When I moved to the island I was very tortured. My soul was being tortured because I wanted to transition, but no one knew. I feel like there was a clash with myself and people because I did not accept myself. And it was hard for me to understand anyone because I wanted something else, but didn’t know what I wanted,” says Iman. Jean-Manuel said, “Ayman marketed himself as a very masculine man that summer. People were crazy about him. He started working at the store, and very quickly after that, he started running the gym at the pool. Ayman became a personal trainer and the gym manager. He was a muscular guy. But then next summer, she came back as Iman.”

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When I asked Iman about how people handled her transition she said that it was “Very tough. I was called names. People would stare at me up and down. And I wished they would just respect me like I respected them.” But there are some people in the community who have tremendous respect for her. She was notorious for the fun that ensued in her lounge behind Gostoso. And she has performed at the Pines Party for the past six years. But recent events have led her on a different path. She has been very visible and active within the Black Lives Matter protests and hopes that all of these people taking to the streets will affect something. “I love my trans people. And they have been getting killed, one after [after another, after another] and I could not take it anymore. And then seeing George Floyd, and seeing the knee on his neck while the police officer has his hand in his pocket. If that doesn’t change your life, I don’t know what will! Learning about Layleen Palanco & Nina Pop... and all of these girls that have been slaughtered, you want us to just move on?!” Iman has a memorial that she’s made in her home to honor the trans lives lost to violence (photo on cover). I asked when she was inspired to create it and she responded, “I think it was when I learned of Layleen Polanco. She was a baby you know. She looked like a baby and I saw the officers laughing at her. And it reminded me of when I got arrested and the officers were laughing at me. So people don’t understand why I get so angry, but I felt that trauma. I never chose to be an

activist. It’s the situation that you’re in. If you have any blood left in your body there’s no choice. You either live or you die. You have to lift people up.”

That trauma has led her to advocate for change in places that are important to her too, including Fire Island. Iman started a change.org petition to get the Fire Island Pines Harbor renamed The Marsha P. Johnson Park. As of the end of June, that petition has amassed 1,500 signatures and she says that the Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association has appointed a task force to consider her request. When I asked her what else she hopes that the BLM movement will affect in the Pines, she said “Oh my God. I would like to see black businesses. Black owners. Black kids walking around. Black festivals. Black speakers to come and raise money for black causes. Refugee speakers.” She goes on to say, “People in Fire Island should know that history will judge them if they don’t make change. Because as the tape is rewinding, you can see the history, and it’s unbelievable. You have to be a part of the movement, or you look ridiculous.” I doubt that the little kid in Egypt had any idea of the movement that she’d be a part of today. And unlike most superheroes who have to put on a mask to fight for justice, Iman had to take hers off to become the strong woman that she is today.

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SAY THEI

Black Trans Lives Taken By Vi

2020

Bee Love Slater, 23, Florida

Dustin Parker, 25, Oklahoma Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Puerto Rico Yampi Mendez Arocho, 19, Puerto Rico Monika Diamond, 34, North Carolina Lexi, 33, NYC Johanna Metzger, Maryland Serena Angelique Velazquez Ramos, 32, Puerto Rico Layla Pelaez Sanchez, 21, Puerto Rico Penelope Diaz Ramirez, Puerto Rico Nina Pop, Missouri Helle Jae O’Reagan, 20, Texas Jayne Thomas, 33, Colorado Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, Pennsylvania Tony McDade, Florida

Jamagio Jamar Berryman, 30, Kansas Itali Marlowe, 29, Texas Brianna “BB” Hill, 30, Missouri Layleen Cubilette-Polanco, 27, NYC

2018 Tydi Dansbury, 37, Maryland Keanna Mattel, 35, Michigan Regina Denise Brown, 53, South Carolina Celine Walker, 36, Florida Tonya “Kita” Harvey, 35, New York Phylicia Mitchell, 45, Ohio Amia Tyrae Berryman, 28, Louisiana Sasha Wall, 29, South Carolina

2019

Nino Fortson, 36, Georgia

Dana Martin, 31, Alabama

Antash’a English, 38, Florida

Jaazaline Ware, 34, Tennessee

Diamond Stephens, 39, Mississippi

Ashanti Carmon, 27, Maryland

Cathalina Christina James, 24, Florida

Claire Legato, 23, Ohio

Sasha Garden, 27, Florida

Muhlaysia Booker, 23, Texas

Dejanay Stanton, 24, Illinois

Michelle “Tamika” Washington, 40, Pennsylvania

Vontashia Bell, Louisiana

Paris Cameron, 20, Michigan

Shantee Tucker, 20, Pennsylvania

Chynal Lindsey, 26, Texas

Londonn Moore, 20, Florida

Chanel Scurlock, 23, North Carolina

Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier, 31, Illinois

Zoe Spears, 23, Maryland

Jessie Sumlar, 30, Florida

Brooklyn Lindsey, 32, Missouri Denali Berries Stuckey, 29, South Carolina

2017

Tracy Single, 22, Texas Kiki Fantroy, 21, Florida

Jaylow Mcglory, 29, Indiana

Bubba Walker, 55, North Carolina

Brooklyn BreYanna Stevenson, 31, Oklahoma

Pebbles Ladime “Dine” Doe, 24, South Carolina

Brani Seals, 26, Texas

Bailey Reeves, 17, Maryland Bee Love Slater, 23, Florida

Mesha Caldwell, 41, Mississippi

JoJo Striker, 23, Ohio FAGRAGMAG.COM

IR NAMES

iolence Over the Past 5 Years

2015

Jaquarrius Holland, 18, Louisiana Tiara Richmond, 24, Illinois Chyna Gibson, 31, Louisiana Ciara McElveen, 26, Louisiana Alphonsa Watson, 38, Maryland Kenne McFadden, 27, Texas Chay Reed, 28, Florida Sherell Faulkner, 46, North Carolina Ava Le’Ray Barrin, 17, Georgia Ebony Morgan, 28, Virginia Teetee Dangerfield, 32, Georgia Kiwi Herring, 30, Missouri Kashmire Nazier Redd, 28, New York Derricka Banner, 26, North Carolina Candace Towns, 30, Georgia

Papi Edwards, 20, Kentucky Lamia Beard, 30, Virginia Ty Underwood, 24, Texas Yazmin Vash Payne, 33, California Penny Proud, 21, Louisiana Keyshia Blige, 33, Illinois London Kiki Chanel, 21, Pennsylvania Jasmine Collins, 32, Missouri Ashton O’Hara, 25, Michigan India Clark, 25, Florida Shade Schuler, 22, Texas Amber Monroe, 20, Michigan Kandis Capri, 35, Arizona Elisha Walker, 20, North Carolina Keisha Jenkins, 22, Pennsylvania

2016 India Monroe, 29, Virginia Maya Young, 25, Pennsylvania Demarkis Stansberry, 30, Louisiana Kedarie Johnson, 16, Iowa Shante Thompson, 34, Texas Keyonna Blakeney, 22, Maryland Reecey Walker, 32, Kansas Mercedes Successful, 32, Florida Goddess Diamond, Louisiana Deeniquia Dodds, 22, Washington DC Dee Whigham, 23, Mississippi Rae’Lynn Thomas, 28, Ohio T.T. Saffore, late 20’s, Illinois Crystal Edmonds, 32, Maryland Jazz Alford, 30, Alabama Brandi Bledsoe, 32, Ohio Noony Noorwood, 30, Virginia Nino Acox Jackson, Texas Skye Mockabee

Zella Ziona, 21, Maryland

These are just a fraction of the trans lives lost to violence since most cases involving violence against transgender people often goes unreported and/or the victims are misgendered.

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by Mikael Schulz @bookproject_mikael_schulz

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Shrink Rap: Ask Dr. S. ________________

Is there a tactful way to discuss privilege with someone who is trying to use theirs to fuck you? Dear Dr. S, As a younger guy on Fire Island, I inevitably meet several handsome older gentlemen who at first seem like true gentlemen and are very welcoming and willing to invite a guy over in the spirit of neighborliness during the day. Too often however, showing up to the nighttime vibe feels more like arriving as hired entertainment with sexual expectations than showing up as a guest to a new friend. It seems many handsome older gentlemen feel that a smile, an invite and a drink entitles them to sexual service of one kind or another, and as the night goes on and drinks are drunk, it’s not uncommon for the feeling in the room to shift from friendly flirting among neighbors to overt pressure to perform sexual service on the oh so gracious and deserving hosts. So, what’s your advice for best ways to indicate boundaries without seeming unthankful or abrupt? What are some tactful ways to train upwards our more established community members on how it’s appropriate to act these days? Is there a tactful way to discuss privilege with someone who is trying to use theirs to fuck you? Dear Younger Guy: Here’s one of my dreams for humanity, amid the multiple insane challenges we now face: Let’s learn how to flirt. How to give it, how to receive it. How to delight in the ride of mutual pleasure without crashing into the guardrails of cock-teasing or taking advantage. I figure if we can master that, we can handle anything. 36

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Dr. S. is a clinical-psychologist, former Harvard Medical School academic, serious Buddhist meditator, and Body Electric instructor. Address your questions for Dr. S. to info@fagragmag.com with “Shrink Rap” in the subject line. Flirting is an art. While consent involves clarity (yes, no, not now, not that but this), flirting is a dance of ambiguity. Though there’s many layers to your letter, at some level what you describe is flirting gone funky. And if flirting were not grey-zone enough, add alcohol to the picture, a late night setting, a hefty dollop or two of sex hunger -- that’s a cocktail pre-mixed for disaster, or at least gross mutual misunderstanding. Friendship on the rocks.

when signals point elsewhere. That’s not at all to say that sex (including intergenerational sex) is bad -- it’s just soooo easy to end up there, especially when additionally lubricated with martinis and midnight. Let me generalize from the scene you describe, as the script is replete with possibilities for unskillful behavior. To you younger men -- it is naive and myopic to imagine you might not be an object of desire for older men. Your flirtation wields huge power. You share some responsibility in where this leads -- sorry, but it’s immature to play the “victim” card. And to you older men: Wake up! It is self-serving and unfair to use status, wealth, or social power to take sexual advantage of anyone. Remember how it felt when this happened to you, which it probably did. Strive to do better. It is immature to prioritize shortsighted conquests over mutual consent.

It’s tempting right now to try fitting every interaction into the macro cultural lenses that are so immediately obvious and important -- privilege, race, consent, inequity. Exciting, long-overdue reckonings are afoot -- hooray for that! But queer men (of any age) getting drunk together and ending up having unintended sex? Or older men desiring younger men, and younger men wanting to be admired but not touched? Not much new there. This thorny issue has ensnared queer culture for decades: Younger men might relish mentorship or guidance from older men, and older men might delight in the vitality and zest of youthful companionship, but too often we default to our habit of sex, even

And guys, let’s please be generous with one another about this. If there’s someone here who has never made a sexual decision they regretted in hindsight, I’d like to meet you -- you’d be my first. 37

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Ferry Schedule

Thursday, June 25 until further notice

FIRE ISLAND PINES MONDAY - WEDNESDAY Leave Sayville 5:40am (Monday only, stops in Cherry Grove also), 7am, 10:25am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:10pm Leave Pines 6:25am (Monday only, stops in Cherry Grove also), 7:25am, 11am, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm THURSDAY Leave Sayville 7am, 9:25am, 11:25am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm Leave Pines 7:25am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm

CHERRY GROVE MONDAY - WEDNESDAY Leave Sayville 5:40am (Monday only, stops in the Pines also), 7am, 9:25am, 12:10pm, 3:30pm, 5:20pm Leave Cherry Grove 6:05am (Monday only, stops in the Pines also), 7:25am, 9:50am, 12:40pm, 4pm, 6pm THURSDAY Leave Sayville 7am, 9:25am, 12:10pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm Leave Cherry Grove 7:25am, 9:50am, 12:40pm, 4pm, 6pm

FRIDAY Leave Sayville 8am, 9:25am, 11:25am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm

FRIDAY Leave Sayville 7am, 9:25am, 12:10pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm

Leave Pines 7:25am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm

Leave Cherry Grove 7:25am, 9:50am, 12:40pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm

SATURDAY Leave Sayville 8am, 9:25am, 11:25am, 1:20pm, 3:20pm, 5:20pm, 7:30pm

SATURDAY Leave Sayville 8am, 9:25am, 11:25am, 1:20pm, 3:20pm, 5:20pm, 7:20pm

Leave Pines 8:25pm, 9:55pm, 11:55am, 1:50pm, 3:50pm, 5:50pm, 8pm

Leave Cherry Grove 8:25am, 9:55am, 11:55am, 1:50pm, 3:50pm, 5:50pm, 7:50pm, 10pm

SUNDAY Leave Sayville 9:25am, 11:25am, 1:20pm, 3:20pm, 5:20pm, 6:20pm, 7:20pm

SUNDAY Leave Sayville 9:25 am, 11:25am, 1:20pm, 3:20pm, 5:20pm, 7:20pm, 9:20pm

Leave Pines 9:50am, 11:50am, 1:50pm, 3:50pm, 5:50pm, 6:50pm, 7:50pm

Leave Cherry Grove 9:50am, 11:50am, 1:50pm, 3:50pm, 5:50pm, 7:50pm, 9:50pm 44

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CHERRY

GROVE PRIDE 2020

Photos by koitz gaypinkbook.com

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