Frontiers Vol. 34, Issue 18

DEC. 24, 2015 - JAN. 6, 2016 | VOL. 34, NO. 18

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

POP YOUR

HIT THE ROAD

CORK

FIVE MUST-VISIT TRAVEL SPOTS FOR YOUR 2016 ITINERARY (P. 29 )

AT ONE OF 19 LOCAL PARTIES ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

WHAT’S NEXT?

HRC’S CHAD GRIFFIN LOOKS AHEAD

(P. 33)

Plus GROUPIE GATHERINGS AN L.A. CONCERT CALENDAR (P. 37)

MODEL CITIZEN TOP MODEL’S FULL FRONTAL (P. 58)

VIDEO VAMP WILLAM BELLI LETS YOUTUBE HAVE IT (P. 39)

(P. 18)

THE

YEAR IN TRANS

A 2015 Timeline of Events » Jake Graf » 21 People Who Rocked the Headlines » Amanda Lepore » Calpernia Addams Sounds Off » Transparent ’s Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst Produce a Revolution

IFC1

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

1

2

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

NOVEMBER JANUARY25, 6, 2016 2015

3

4

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

JANUARY 6, 2016

5

6

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

Contents

DEC. 24, 2015 - JAN. 6, 2016

FEATURES Rhys wears shirt by Sharpe available at Sharpe Suiting, suit by Drykorn available at Choukair, tie by The Tie Factory, cufflinks by Ben Sherman, sunglasses by RetroSuperFuture, shoes by Converse. Zackary wears dress by Nuvula, stylist's own tights, shoes by JustFab, her own earrings

44

2015 in Review: A Year of Transcendence

56

Social Media Superstars

51

Rhys Ernst & Zackary Drucker

ON THE COVER Rhys Ernst and Zackary Drucker photographed exclusively for Frontiers by Gabriel Goldberg, gabrielgoldberg.com. Rhys styled

by Leon Wu, assisted by Kristine Carr, sharpesuiting.com. Zackary styled by Victoria Sanders, vicstyles.com. Hair by Eddie Cook.

Makeup by Cetine Dale.

JANUARY 6, 2016

7

Contents

Download our interactive digital edition with videos, expanded editorial, behind-the-scenes photos and more.

Search for Frontiers magazine on

DEC. 24, 2015 - JAN. 6, 2016

DEPARTMENTS NEWSBOX 13

14 16

18

18 20

Good News, Bad News on Recent Rates of HIV and STIs Flashbulb Watercooler EQCA Reaches Out to Log Cabin Republicans Chad Griffin Looks Ahead at 2016 DateBook

13 33

THE GAY AGENDA 23 24 24 26 26

How to Keith Haring Your Home This Season’s Bargain Boots Ask Drew Droege 3 Champagnes Perfect for NYE Gays We Love: Anthony Carro

TRAVEL 29 30 30 31

23 39

5 Must-Visit Destinations for 2016 A New Way to Sunglass Shop In Search of the World's Best Ziplines Smooth Sipping in Santa Rosa

CALENDAR 33 36 37 37

Where to Ring in 2016 Make Friends on the WB Studio Tour A 2016 L.A. Concert Calendar Eating Out: ROKU

ENTERTAINMENT 39

40 41 42 42

29 58

Willam Belli on the Current State of YouTube Culture Film Reviews Music Reviews Coming to TV Theater Reviews

Frontiers magazine is published by New Frontiers Media Holdings, LLC, 5657 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 470, Los Angeles, CA. 90036, and distributed throughout Southern California. Up to the first three copies of any single issue are free; additional copies are $10 each. Violators caught stealing or destroying issues will be prosecuted under California Penal Code 484. For magazine subscriptions, please call (323) 930- 3220. The contents of Frontiers may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. Letters to the editor, artwork, photography, manuscripts and other correspondence may be submitted to Frontiers at the above address. We cannot acknowledge or return material unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Allow at least three months for processing. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Frontiers is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation or the HIV/AIDS status of such person or organization. Copyright Š 2015, New Frontiers Media Holdings, LLC.

COLUMNS 58 59 60 64

Billy Masters Gossip Gay Palm Springs Gaydar

PEOPLE INDEX Peaches Christ Bradley Cooper Courteney Cox Beth Ditto 8

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

31 20, 60 36 24

Kathy Griffin Rep. Mike Honda Janet Jackson Jennifer Lawrence

42 16 37 40

Dolly Parton Christopher Rice Quentin Tarantino Alaska Thunderfuck

58 13 40 33

JANUARY 6, 2016

11

F RO NT I E R S M E DIA .C OM 5657 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 470, Los Angeles, CA 90036 p: 323.930.3220 | f: 323.857.0560

PUBLISHER

Michael A. Turner Stewart Powell CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ed Baker

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED MEDIA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

NEWS EDITOR

ADVERTISING DIRECTORS

PALM SPRINGS ACCOUNT DIRECTOR

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES

ACCOUNTING

Dustin Tyner Stephan Horbelt Karen Ocamb George Skinner Michelle Aguirre Michael Dardon, Adam Goldberg, Mat Jongsma, Cristian Valencia, Shana Wong, Jacci Ybarra Brad Fuhr Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Merrill Franks, Frank Perez

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Drew Droege

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Michael Anthony, Mike Ciriaco, Peter DelVecchio, Lawrence Ferber, Gossip Gay, Paul Grace, Jim Larkins, Wonho Frank Lee, Dan Loughry, Drew Mackie, Joan Marcus, Billy Masters, James Mills, Matthew Murphy, Chris Roney, Eric Rosen, Patrick Rosenquist, Dominik Rothbard, Craig Schwartz, Kevin Taft, Mark Thompson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS Gabriel Goldberg, Jeremy Lucido, Rolling-Blackouts

A PUBLICLY-TRADED LGBTQ COMPANY STOCK SYMBOL: MMPW

corporate PETER JACKSON

President, COO & Group Executive Publisher Kevin Hopper Vice President l Operations

Maura “Mumball” Lane VP l Sales & Marketing

Dennis Dean Vice President l Creative

Richard Hack Vice President l Content

Michael Turner President l Digital Media Ventures

Jeff Sterling Vice President l Finance

C. Lawrence Rutstein Chairman of the Board

Tim Hart Chief Financial Officer

ROBERT “BOBBY” BLAIR Founder & CEO

/FRONTIERSMAGAZINE

/FRONTIERSMEDIA

/FRONTIERSMAG

/+FRONTIERSMEDIAGROUP

Frontiers is published biweekly, with 40,000 print copies distributed throughout California and Nevada, and an interactive digital version available via Apple Newsstand, Google Play and Amazon. Frontiers is one of five brands owned by the only LGBT publicly traded company, Multimedia Platforms, Inc. (stock symbol: MMPW). Collectively, the Florida Agenda, Frontiers, FunMaps, Guy and Next magazine represent three of America’s most populous LGBT markets and 40 cities across North America, an estimated 7.5 million readers annually. Visit MultimediaPlatformsInc.com for further information.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. PROUD TO BE AFFILIATED WITH

10

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

JANUARY 6, 2016

11

14

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

Burning Down Below?

When it comes to recent rates of HIV and STIs, we have some good news and some bad news

By Karen Ocamb

15% The percentage of positive gonorrhea tests during WeHo’s Pride Testing Week this year (23 out of 158 tests); 8% tested positive for chlamydia, 6% for syphilis

SPEAK OUT

F

or a few hours on Dec. 8, LGBT and HIV/AIDS advocates felt slightly giddy, as if after an interminable period of turbulent seas and storm clouds, a lighthouse beacon cut through the darkness and promised an end to the seemingly never-ending HIV/AIDS crisis.

“This year, 883 HIV tests were administered, and there were zero positive results” from a “blitz” of HIV testing during Pride Week last June, wrote West Hollywood Social Services Manager David M. Giugni in a memo to the mayor and City Councilmembers. “This is the first year that there has been a 0% positivity rate for HIV.” Unfortunately, Giugni added, “the positivity rate for syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are up from the previous year.”

O p e n l y H I V- p o s i t i v e We s t H o l l y w o o d C i t y Councilmember John Duran shouted the “unbelievable” news. “We are going to win this war against AIDS! This is the beginning of the end of the epidemic!” Duran exclaimed to Frontiers.

But then the clarifications began. Jim Key, Chief Marketing Officer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which participated in the Pride Week testing blitz, warned that people should not read too much into the data. “The percentage of people who tested positive for HIV at The SPOT, the Center’s former STD testing location in West Hollywood, was 1%, and it has remained at that level since the Center opened its new testing center, Center-WeHo, on Oct. 20,” Key said in an email.

While the news out of West Hollywood was “encouraging,” the Center’s Director of Health Christopher Brown told KNBC, “In some communities, like with gay and bisexual men, and particularly younger gay and bisexual men of color, we’re not seeing the decreases.”

The city corrected the error. “The corrected data indicates that there were, in fact, 10 HIV-positive results in 883 tests. This represents a positivity rate of 1.1 percent,” bringing it more in line with The Center’s findings. “While the number is not zero, this positivity rate is the lowest rate measured since the annual Pride testing blitz began in 2005. It demonstrates important and encouraging progress in the fight against HIV.” The relatively good news mirrored the news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta that same week. Though HIV diagnoses declined by almost 20% between 2005-2014, “gay and bisexual men are not seeing equal levels of success.”

The statistics varied by race and ethnicity, with diagnoses among white gay and bisexual men decreasing 18%, while diagnoses among Latino gay and bisexual men were up 24%; black gay and bisexual men increased by 22%, with leveling off starting in 2010. Young black gay and bisexual men, ages 13-24, experienced a steep 87% increase, but that trend has leveled off with a 2% decline.

“I’m usually into shorter guys but I’d let Chris Hemsworth do stuff to me that not even my mother would write about.”

Author Christopher Rice (son of Anne Rice) on Twitter, following Hemsworth’s turn as host of Saturday Night Live, to which his mother responded, “And how do you know I won’t write about it?”

JANUARY 6, 2016

13

FLASHBULB continued

WOMEN IN ENTERTAINMENT BREAKFAST, Milk Studios, Dec. 9—The Hollywood Reporter hosted its 24th annual event, honoring Barbra Streisand and celebrating the accomplishments of women in the industry. Clockwise from top left: Niecy Nash, Kathy Griffin, Olivia Wilde with Tyra Banks and Geena Davis, Lena Dunham, Melinda Gates, Chloë Grace Moretz, Diane Warren, Raquel Welch, Streisand, Rita Wilson, Selma Blair with Kris Kardashian, Sarah Silverman

APLA’S TOY BOX PARTY, The Redbury, Dec. 13—For its 20th anniversary, the annual fundraiser collected toys for local families affected by HIV/AIDS. Top, from left: Ryan Black, Toy Box founder Alan Friel (right) with friend, host committee members Andrew Ferrara and Jon Rimer, actress Heather Tom. Bottom: HBO’s Michael Lopez with Eric Lanyard, Kevin James with Cecilia Cabello

SPEAK OUT “What kept me in the closet was the perception that Major League Baseball and pro sports in general aren’t open-minded.”

Erik Braverman, Vice President of Marketing and Broadcastings for the L.A. Dodgers, who came out to Outsports

14

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

KIIS FM’S JINGLE BALL, Staples Center, Dec. 4—The annual pop music-focused concert returned to town featuring a slew of Top 40 performers. From left: Tove Lo, Shawn Mendes, Nick Jonas, Hailee Steinfeld, Joe Jonas (who performed with his new group, DNCE), Selena Gomez, Fifth Harmony (background photo)

BREAKFAST: GETTY IMAGES; TOY BOX: PROJECT PHOTOBOOTH; JINGLE BALL: PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES FOR IHEARTMEDIA

But while the CDC said last month that sexually transmitted infections are increasing “at an alarming rate,” there appears to be much less concern. In 2014, rates of primary and secondary syphilis increased 15.1% in one year among men who have sex with men—who account for 83% of reported cases among men when the sex of the partner is known, the CDC says. Additionally, 51% diagnosed with syphilis in 2014 were also HIV-positive.

On his Facebook page, HIV specialist Dr. Gary Cohen expressed “alarm” at the rise in STDs but cautions against “PrEP-blaming” as a “singular cause” for the increase in sexually transmitted infections.

“It’s my opinion that increasing STIs and decreasing condom use is a result of a complex combination of factors, including a markedly lowered perception of ‘risk’—a generational shift in which sex and death have become unlinked,” Cohen says to Frontiers.

Adding to that complexity, Cohen says, is “the proliferation of hookup apps making more frequent sexual encounters easier, some contribution from the reassurance that PrEP confers (although how much is impossible to know), the misconception that STIs are all ‘benign annoyances’ and completely or easily treatable.”

Cohen also notes that, “ironically,” another contributing factor is the strong pushback from a few vocal PrEP educators/advocates that unfettered sexual activity/’freedom’ without consequence is the ‘new normal’ and is a ‘right’ for a community constrained by latex for so many years.”

In fact, AIDS activists like the late Michael Callen argued that HIV came out of the cesspool swamp of STDs in the late 1970s. On Facebook, Cohen makes an emotional plea to learn from history—when gay men experienced “the awful atmosphere of fear and dread and omnipresent disease/ death” during the AIDS epidemic.

“During those dark days, the math was rather straightforward: No Condom = Possible Death. That equation is now moot. With the distinct exception of all of these STDs,” Cohen wrote. “So here’s my point. Let’s have sex. Enjoy sex again. Promote health. Use PrEP. Use TasP. Endeavor to eliminate HIV from the equation. Keep STDs as rare as possible by being regularly tested, treated when necessary and resisting the temptation to have sex with as many partners as Grindr/Scruff, etc., endlessly serves up. Be smart. Be selective. Be careful.”

And, he adds, “Understand all of the good and bad things that can happen when condoms are removed from the sexual equation. And take personal responsibility for your health and the health of others. We’re in this together.

Godspeed to us all.”

JANUARY 6, 2016

17

WATERCOOLER

Your cheat sheet for intelligent conversation — By Peter DelVecchio

1

LAPD Needs Help with Fatal Hit-and-Run

1

Robert John Ryan, 24, was killed in a hit-and-run on Ivar Avenue between Selma and Hollywood Boulevard around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6.

Ryan, who worked with the L.A. LGBT Center, was found with a bump on his neck and his cell phone and earring stones missing, KTLA reports, leading some to suspect he might have been the victim of a hate crime or mugging before being struck down.

Police are working with City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

“We will remember Robbie as a vivacious person” who “wanted to make it in the entertainment industry,” says L.A. LGBT Center Communications Manager Gil Diaz. Anyone with info should contact West Traffic Division Detectives Garcia or Martin at (213) 473-0234, (877) 527-3247 on weekends.

2

A Big Year for LGBT Golden Globe Nominations

Golden Globe nominations, announced Dec. 10, include a crop of LGBT-themed films and television.

Carol, a lesbian romance starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, received five noms, including Best Director for Todd Haynes. Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander were nominated for their roles in The Danish Girl, based on the life of trans pioneer Lili Elbe in 1920s Copenhagen.

Lily Tomlin received two nominations, one for best actress in a comedy for her role in Grandma— about a lesbian poet dealing with the death of her longtime partner who helps her granddaughter scrape up money for an abortion—and the second for her role opposite Jane Fonda in Netflix series Grace and Frankie.

Amazon’s Transparent was nominated for best TV comedy; Judith Light and Jeffrey Tambor received individual nods for their roles as well.

3

Hillary Clinton Releases Fact Sheet for Her LGBT Agenda

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has released a “fact sheet” entitled “Fighting for Full Equality for LGBT People” laying out what she will do for LGBT people if she becomes president.

Clinton promises to “fight for full federal equality for LGBT Americans” by pushing for passage of the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, continue President Obama’s executive orders on LGBT protections and support efforts to ensure that “sex discrimination” in federal law is interpreted to protect LGBT people.

Clinton did not come out for full marriage equality until April 2015, by which time polls consistently showed majority public support, though she did implement several LGBT policies while Secretary of State.

16

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

4

Robert John Ryan

Log Cabin Republicans Seek Trump Audience

Gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans wants an audience with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, “to discuss throwing the New York billionaire their official endorsement.”

“He is one of the best, if not the best, pro-gay Republican candidates to ever run for the presidency,” Log Cabin president Gregory T. Angelo told Reuters.

Trump has called undocumented Mexican immigrants “rapists” and has urged banning all Muslims from entering the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Trump “tremendous” and “brilliant” at a Dec. 17 press conference.

Angelo also recently defended Trump on MSNBC’s Hardball, saying Trump supports federal non-discrimination measures, has been to a gay wedding and is friends with George Takei.

2

5

3

Hillary Clinton

4

Donald Trump

Beloved Palm Springs Equality California activist George Zander died Dec. 10, the Desert Sun reports. He was 71. His husband, Chris Zander, wrote on Facebook that George died “in loving arms and in very little pain.”

His cause of death has not been released, though he and Chris were the victims of an assault Nov. 1 outside Hunter’s, a popular gay Palm Springs night spot. Zander suffered a hip fracture; whether the attack played any role in his death is as yet unknown.

“This is a tragic loss for all of us at Equality California, and for the desert community as a whole,” Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur said in a statement.

6

5

George Zander

6

Rep. Mike Honda

Palm Springs Activist George Zander Dies

Rep. Honda Introduces ‘Trans Acceptance’ Resolution

U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., introduced a resolution “Expressing Support for Transgender Acceptance” into the House of Representatives on Dec. 11. HR 561, which has 19 co-sponsors, notes that “at least 700,000 adults identify as transgender across our nation,” states that gender identity is innate and recognizes that “at least 21 transgender individuals have been murdered in our nation during 2015, with most being women of color.”

The resolution then asserts that the House recognizes the “systematic and structural challenges” facing trans people and “the need for action to improve safety and opportunity,” and that the House “supports the transgender community and allies through the LGBT Equality Caucus and Transgender Equality Task Force.”

Prospects for the resolution’s passage appear dim in light of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

JANUARY 6, 2016

19

EQCA Reaches Out to Gay Republicans

1

I

t’s been a difficult but productive year for Equality California since retired environmental attorney Rick Zbur assumed leadership last September. Donors are coming back, the budget has jumped from $2 to $4 million and a new sense of collaboration is being fostered between the statewide lobbying organization and grassroots LGBT groups to further advance full equality.

One primary reason for Zbur’s success in breathing new life into the moribund EQCA is its new mission to become a full-fledged civil rights organization with an emphasis on intersectionality and social justice. To that end, EQCA—which was the first LGBT organization to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton—gave its first ever shout-out in its recently published 2015 Legislative Scorecard to the California chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans.

EQCA only endorses candidates with 100% scores in votes and vetted positions on full equality. But the new scorecard also reflects improvement.

“Although Republican scores in [the state Assembly and Senate] remain at failing levels, we note the significant achievement of the Log Cabin Republicans California Chapter” in winning official recognition by the state GOP last March, it says.

Additionally, three Republican legislators earned scores near or above 80%, indicating “some modest progress.” The report adds, “we are hopeful that continued engagement of EQCA with the California Log Cabin Republicans will help improve support for equality legislation in the years ahead.”

Zbur emphasizes in a phone interview that he is “appalled”

by Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s xenophobic comments. But in viewing EQCA’s role in the civil rights movement more broadly, he noted that EQCA was also quick to criticize the three gay/bi congressional Democrats who voted to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States on Nov. 19.

“Our goal is always to advance LGBT civil rights, and we need to look for common ground where we can work together to get legislation passed, especially as we move into the next phase of the movement,” Zbur says.

Zbur has met with LCR California’s new Board Chair John Musella, and they are “on the same side” when it comes to “full civil rights for LGBT people,” he says, especially “where there are still holes in nondiscrimination legislation.”

Strong alliances and collaborations will be needed if the anti-LGBT conservative right creates havoc espousing “religious liberty.” —K.O. John Musella (left), with LCR California State Chairman Charles Moran

2

3

LOOKING AHEAD Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin discusses the importance of the upcoming election year, educating American voters and protecting the progress we’ve created thus far

By Karen Ocamb

18

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

HRC’s Chad Griffin, photographed in Los Angeles by Karen Ocamb

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to get to do this,” Chad Griffin says as he sits for a bowl of chicken noodle soup and an hour-long interview at Greenblatt’s Deli on Sunset Boulevard during a recent trip home to Los Angeles. He’s had five hours sleep, having just arrived from the much warmer climates of Washington, D.C., and Texas. “I think so far I’ve been to 30-some-odd states” since starting his term as president of the Human Rights Campaign in the summer of 2012.

Griffin’s enthusiasm and the resources he can muster among HRC’s 1.5 million members and beyond could prove crucial heading into the 2016 election year. Even though a May 2015 Gallup poll found that 60% of respondents supported marriage equality, there has also been an unsettling backlash to LGBT progress, promulgated primarily by the anti-LGBT law firm Liberty Counsel, which seeks to leverage legal job, employment and accommodation discrimination through religious exemptions. Now the forces behind the victory in Houston, Texas—which denied protections for a number of minority groups by reframing the civil rights debate into an ugly fight over transgender people’s access to public bathrooms—are trying the same tactic in other states, including California.

To remedy the glaring dark hole in American fairness, HRC is putting an “incredible amount of effort” into passing the Equality Act. “Despite our progress, life is still really challenging for LGBTQ folks all over this country,” Griffin says.

5% The percentage of voters in the last election who were showed by exit polls to be L, G or B individuals in swing states. It adds up to 6 million voters, a number larger than the margin of victory in nearly all presidential elections

“That it is 2015, we have marriage equality in all 50 states—yet there are no explicit protections that prohibit someone from being fired or evicted from their home or denied a public space.

That’s gotta change, and that is a huge priority.”

The Equality Act was introduced with more original co-sponsors in the House and Senate than any piece of legislation in HRC history, Griffin says, which makes him “optimistic” about its eventual chances at passage.

Additionally, the coalition championing the legislation includes such civil rights heroes as John Lewis in the House, Cory Booker in the Senate and the late Julian Bond, as well as President Obama, women’s groups and such activists as National Urban League President Mark Morial.

“What scares people is sort of the unknown—what is it, what does that mean, what does that do? It very specifically simply adds gender identity and sexual orientation to existing protections, and there are some other areas that it touches on that are not in the Civil Rights Act,” says Griffin.

But the Equality Act has no real chance of passing in the current conservative Republican-dominated Congress, and though there are at least three LGBT-supportive Republicans HRC can usually rely on—Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who has a trans son, and New York Rep. Richard Hanna, who is retiring—no Republicans have been courageous enough to publicly endorse the Equality Act so far. Nonetheless, HRC will be watching the pronouncements—including by Democrats who are not yet on board.

“This has moved far faster than marriage in terms of members supporting it. Our job is to take those who aren’t yet with us and to get them,” Griffin says. However, “If you oppose the Equality Act, you don’t deserve the support of anyone, much less the Human Rights Campaign.”

Hanging like a pall over the Equality Act and all other LGBT legislation and progress is the 2016 election, which Griffin says is “one of the most important elections of our lifetime.” The current cadre of Republicans running for president, he says, “either fundamentally believe that it is the right thing to do to attack and denigrate LGBT people or they think politically it’s in their interest to do so. Both are outrageous.” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, one of the more favored of the 13 Republican presidential candidates, has vowed to repeal all pro-equality executive orders issued by President Obama if elected.

This election, Griffin says, is about “protecting the progress we have achieved,” electing a pro-equality House and Senate and electing a president who “will not only sign the bill but will help lead and get the bill passed.” He says HRC intends to spend considerable resources in educating voters that treating people with equality and dignity is a conservative value—and the politically right thing to do.

“Poll after poll shows that if you are against marriage equality, if you’re against common sense nondiscrimination protections, many of your constituents, including on the Republican side, won’t be with you,” Griffin says.

“I am a political nerd when it comes to these things, and I’m obsessed with the numbers,” he says. “In the last election, exit polls showed that more than five percent of the electorate in swing states identified as L, G or B—I don’t think either of the exit polls ask T—and that is an exit poll

JANUARY 6, 2016

19

SPEAK

OUT

in a swing state where you walk outside and you tell a stranger that you’re gay, lesbian or bisexual. So my view is—worst case—we were five percent of the electorate.”

“That is 6 million voters,” Griffin continues. “We are not talking allies; we’re not talking families; we are only talking us.

That’s 6 million voters. That’s larger than the margin of victory of every presidential election I think since 1984. Obama won by just over 5 million votes.”

Add in people “who love us,” and that’s an electorate that can’t be written off. But HRC is not leaving voter turnout up to chance, opening offices in key battleground states with full-time organizers. “We will invest heavily in turning out the LGBT vote and allies,” Griffin says.

HRC is also partnering with state coalitions in fighting the anti-trans “bathroom bills” springing up around the country. For decades the anti-LGBT forces had a “gay marriage harms children” message that proved to be a good fundraising tool. But, Griffin notes, “We started beating them at their own game. And I mean the big we—the movement, whether it’s national groups, state groups—the big we started beating them at their own game.”

The anti-LGBT forces lost their way but have since regrouped and are “clearly wellfunded.” Now they intend to export their successful campaign in Houston. However, he says, there are lessons to be learned. First, though HRC, ACLU and the Gill Foundation spent a lot of time, money and resources to fight what was an unexpected battle in Houston, other national funders and leaders were not engaged.

Second, with notable exceptions, the business community was largely absent—Griffin expects LGBT and ally employees of those companies will apply pressure the next time. And third, there was no aggressive response to the horrendous anti-trans ads, including challenges to TV stations about essentially putting hate speech on the air.

These ads “said ‘protect our children from these transgender people’ and then they identified them as men who dress up as women to go into restrooms to molest children,” Griffin snarls. “This should not have passed the standards and practices department of any television station. These were not fair

20

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

political ads—they were lies. OK, fine, that happens in political campaigns. But these ads defamed an entire portion of the population in Houston, Texas.”

Griffin says that research is being conducted on what happened in Houston, what worked, what didn’t work and what messages might be effective elsewhere. He points to other efforts to fight back against anti-trans hatred and notes that any messaging needs to have effective trans spokespeople, parents of transgender children and third-party validators such as respected elected officials or law enforcement talking about why such initiatives make bad policy.

“Think about the harm that we don’t read about and that we don’t see of what that campaign did, in terms of how transgender Houstonians are treated day in and day out,” Griffin says.

An effort by the anti-LGBT, Sacramentobased group Privacy for All is underway in California. Dec. 21 was the deadline for the group to submit petitions to place a Houstonlike “bathroom” initiative on the 2016 ballot. The signatures advocating the initiative, entitled “Limits on Use of Facilities in Government Buildings and Business,” would still have to be validated by each county before the initiative is confirmed for the ballot. By the end of the day, both the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and the San Diego County Clerk reported they had not yet received any petitions.

“While we are extremely disappointed, we know that we gave this effort our best and ‘left it all on the field,’” says Privacy for All leader Karen England in an email to supporters. “Please be encouraged that throughout this we’ve educated many new churches on their role in the political arena, equipped churches to share this message with their members, registered new voters and educated the public on this issue.

Though we didn’t reach our ultimate goal, much was accomplished. You can be proud of that. Finally, while none of us wants to think about another initiative drive, we assume that someday a measure like the PPPA will qualify for the ballot not just in California but in other states throughout the country.”

And in that, England may just be right.

“The joke of that scene is to make it the one serious scene of the whole movie. We played it totally real.”

Bradley Cooper speaks with late-night host Seth Meyers about his infamous gay sex scene with Michael Ian Black in the film Wet Hot American Summer. Both actors were reportedly doused with “glistening gel” for the scene.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

continued

DATEBOOK TUE. | JAN. 12

LONG BEACH STATE OF THE CITY

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia will give his second State of the City address at the Long B e a c h Co nve n tio n a n d Entertainment Center at 6 p.m. Those interested are invited to stay after for games, refreshments and photos. stateofthecitylb.com

WED. | JAN. 13

WEHO NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING

A 6 p.m. meeting will be held inside the City Hall Community Conference Room to introduce a new mixed-use project for the French Market and DBA parcels. weho.org

SAT. | JAN. 16

THE SEXUAL HEALTH EXPO

The Sexual Health Expo returns to L.A.’s Hilton Universal City Hotel, combining sexual education with Hollywood style to showcase the best in sexual health and wellness. The event is hosted

by Emily Morse of Sex with Emily fame. Through Jan. 17. sexualhealthexpo.com

SAT. | JAN. 30

MUSEUMS FREE-FOR-ALL DAY

In an effort to brings arts and culture to SoCal, over 20 local museums will be participating in this 11th annual event, opening their doors and inviting visitors to attend their museums free of charge. socalmuseums.org/free

SAT. | APRIL 9

SIMPLY DIVINE

The L.A. LGBT Center’s annual tasting event returns for its 11th year, offering drinks and bites from some of the city’s best and brightest restaurants. Opt for a Club VIP ticket for an extra hour of deliciousness. For more info and to purchase tickets, go to simplydivinela.org

JANUARY 6, 2016

21

24

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

THE

GAY AGENDA

Home by Haring Bring your favorite New York artist’s lively designs into your abode thanks to a new décor collaboration

K

eith Haring’s ouvre of socially conscious graffiti is renowned the world over for its critique of politics, sexuality and war, and now his trademark dancing figures can grace your bathroom wall or backsplash. The Keith Haring Foundation has partnered with Italian manufacturer Ascot Ceramiche on a line of ceramic and floor tiles featuring some of his most significant, recognizable works. Prices start at $13 per tile, with a 16-tile heart mural available for $1,500 through hastingstilebath.com. —Stephan Horbelt

JANUARY 6, 2016

23

THE

GAY

Bargain Boots

AGENDA

Contrast Boots with Grip Sole, $100, available at Zara, 6902 Hollywood Blvd., zara.com

ASK DREW DROEGE Each month, I get literally 3 to 4 questions from desperate fans seeking advice, so I’ve decided to answer a few.

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

LUST The sexy female we’re currently obsessed with is:

Beth Ditto

IT’S PAST TIME TO PUT AWAY the flip-flops. Prepare for the upcoming El Niño onslaught by investing in a pair of boots that will not only keep your toes dry in the soaking wet months ahead (climate experts say perhaps through May, definitely through March) but will also have you looking stylish. This pair of boots—featuring a grip sole, navy blue quilted fabric at the ankle and topstitching detail on the toe cap—are rather reasonably priced and can be effortlessly dressed up with a suit or dressed down with jeans. —S.H.

TIP: As stylish as these polyurethane puppies are, you won’t get the same traction out of these as you would with, say, a pricier pair of leather boots. For the longhaul, we recommend opting for real cow hide, though these are great for a season of wear.

24

UNREQUITED

New Year’s Eve is coming up and I don’t have plans.

Should I go out on the town or have a quiet evening at home? —Dale, Valley Village By all means, please plonk down $300 for a wet filet, creamed potato and a shot of warm Korbel in a plastic flute while you watch your favorite Crystal Waters cover band and push laughter out of your throat to convince yourself that you’re having a wonderful time. Do anything but stay home!

THERE’S A LOT to love (or lust over, as the case may be) when it comes to Beth Ditto. We’ve been fans of the rock band she fronts, Gossip, since its early beginnings in 2000, back when the group specialized in hardhitting guitar rock and screeching (though still on-key) vocals recalling both X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene and a still-with-Ike Tina Turner. (Since the aughts, the band’s move to a major label coincided with a dance-rock revamp that is equally within Ditto’s talents.) We love her so much that she’s graced the cover of Frontiers twice—first in December 2006, solo, and again in May 2013 with her bandmates. This month, Ditto made news by announcing a new plussize clothing line, starting with a limited-edition tee she designed w i t h J e a n P a u l G a u l t i e r.

Retailing for $165 (ouch, Beth), it features Gaultier’s famed bullet bra corset made famous by Madonna’s Blonde Ambition Tour. “This line is by us, for us, period,” says Ditto. God, we love this woman. —S.H.

What are some great game ideas to play at the party before the clock counts down? —Brenda, Costa Mesa Power Outage, Baby Toss, What’s This Meat? and/or just sit around and talk about the dead.

Who should I kiss when the ball drops? —Ron, Ladera Heights

To quote Beverly d’Angelo in Vacation, “Find a bush, Audrey!” Happy New Year!

JANUARY 6, 2016

25

GAYS

THE THE

WE

GAY

AGENDA

Ready to Pop!

3 champagnes at 3 price points, each perfect for ringing in the new year

W

hen choosing a quality bottle of bubbly for New Year’s Eve, the options can be daunting, so we went straight to an expert. Mary Michiels, owner of Almor Wine & Spirits (7855 W. Sunset Blvd., WeHo), knows of three great bottles for people on varying budgets.

[LOW] Domaine Allimant-Laugner Cremant’s D’Alsace Rose, $23 “Domaine Allimant-Laugner produces very fine sparklings. The rosé is by far a wine our customers love. Your taste buds are awakened by fresh strawberry aromas with a wonderful minerality.

It’s easy to drink, with light, creamy bubbles. A fabulous affordable sparkling wine produced in Alsace by the Champenoise method.”

[MIDDLE] Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve & Brut Rosé, $58 & $89 “In 1818, Nicolas Francois Billecart founded the house of Billecart-Salmon, now the oldest continuously family owned and operated house in Champagne. Billecart looks for strong acid structure rather than alcohol as a preservative.

The wines are fresh, clean and supremely elegant.

The rosé is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir grapes. It has a light, elegant flavor and a fresh finish with a taste of raspberry.”

[HIGH] Bollinger La Grande Annee 2005, $140 “This world-famous champagne stands out. It’s James Bond’s favorite, and it bears the Royal Warrant. This 2005 vintage is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. It’s a mature, supple wine with a long, rich finish, with hints of pastry, ripe fruit, candied orange and subtle notes of vanilla— perfect to serve with a fine meal.”

LOVE

BULLDOG BLING EVERY HOME NEEDS a guard dog, and we’ve found one that out-blings them all. Imagined by one of our favorite local design houses, Interior Illusions (interiorillusions home.com, $300), it’s n o t o n ly a b r illia n t centerpiece for your home’s entryway but ser ves another purpose entirely—instead of feasting on treats and table scraps, this barking bank is the perfect place to store your loose change. At eleven inches tall and covered in graphite rhinestones, we know you can’t wait to bring this Frenchie into your home and give him a name—you know, something fitting for a bulldog that moonlights as your personal banker. —S.H.

ANTHONY CARRO The native New Yorker and owner of two L.A. businesses—Candle Delirium and Fight Bike—on his love-hate relationship with the West Coast

“

I’m originally from New York, born in Queens and raised on Long Island.

I always wanted to live in Manhattan, so I applied only to colleges there. I lived in Manhattan until I moved to L.A. the first time, back in 1991. I only stayed one year, as I missed New York and my family. I went back to NYC, worked for a few years in the music industry, then had a midlife crisis at 31, running back to L.A. in 1997. I’ve lived mostly in Hollywood but recently moved closer to West Hollywood, near my businesses, Candle Delirium and Fight Bike.

Candle Delirium opened in 2003. I always wanted my own business, and I had this idea for a cool candle store back in New York about 26 years ago. Not ‘your mama’s candle store’ but something hip, fun and unique.

It didn’t work out, so the idea stuck in my head for all that time. I thought it would be cool to have a one-stop shopping experience where a person could purchase a $2 votive and a $500 Cire Trudon candle in the same place. People think my store is expensive, and it can be, but the beauty is that you can have the same experience spending $5 as someone who spends $5,000. I think that’s why I’ve had so much positive press. We don’t use a publicist but have gotten so much great press from the LA Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal. We also won “Best of the Web”

by Allure and twice were “Best candle Store”

by Los Angeles magazine. It’s not just a place to get candles but a shopping experience.

Fight Bike is a new business started a few months ago. I’ve worked with a fitness trainer for the last 10 years, and I was getting bored. I like the class-based fitness structure, and my trainer came up with this great concept where classes are split up into different workouts for different levels.

You don’t have to go to a class with a friend who’s in much better shape than you and feel inadequate. Everyone does the same class, but with different exercises and at different paces. Everyone gets results, it’s fun and partners and family members can all workout together.

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with L.A. Being a New Yorker, it’s still difficult for me to let go of New York. I’ve done the bicoastal thing for a long time, but that gets tiring. I just recently realized that I don’t have to hate on L.A. to still love New York. It only took me 18 years to realize that! L.A. has given me a very successful business, many great friends and my husband, who I’ve been with for 18 years. So I guess I love that L.A. has given me a great life. The details are not so important anymore.

Visit Candle Delirium at 7980 Santa Monica Blvd., WeHo, candledelirium.com, and Fight Bike at 423 S. Fairfax Ave., L.A., fightbikefitness.com

26

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

• Residential and Commercial • Full Residential Moves • One-Room Moves • State Moves & Interstate Moves • Storage Moves • Pianos & Safes

• Long Beach and Los Angeles (35 mile radius)

• Local & Long Distance • Expert Packers (minimal, intermediate, full)

• Licensed & Insured 818 VIKINGS (818 845 4647) viking@vikingmovingandrelocation.com moveviking.com

See our reviews on Yelp

JANUARY 6, 2016

27

28

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

[1]

TRAVEL [2]

PACK IT

UP

5 Destinations for 2016 While your travel options are nearly limitless in the new year, these locales should be on your must-visit list, each for different reasons

By Eric Rosen

For those who demand danger and thrills on their travels abroad, there’s no better way to capture those high-adventure moments than by strapping a GoPro to your head. One-upping the extremeaction videography competition once again, the manufacturer has released the HERO4 Black ($500, shop.gopro.com), which captures 4K Ultra HD video and crisp slow motion at up to 240 frames per second. It’s the most advanced GoPro ever—the twice-as-powerful processor, new night photo setting, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth and the fact that it’s waterproof sweeten the deal even more—meaning that vacation footage of you parasailing in Sydney Harbor could practically take home an Oscar.

—Stephan Horbelt

For Delicious Food and Wine: Slovenia You may have visited the vineyards of France, tasted Italy’s olive oil and Austria’s schnitzel, but when it comes to food and wine, one of Europe’s most exciting up-and-coming destinations is Slovenia. The country is tiny, with just two million souls, but it has an amazing variety of landscapes and cultures—including Italian, Austrian, Hungarian and Slavic influences—as well as landscapes that vary from sun-drenched Adriatic coastline to rolling vineyards (be sure to visit Goriska Brda to try the famous orange wines), from pristine Alpine mountains with crystal-clear rivers down which you can whitewater raft to sedate pools like Lake Bled with its dramatic clifftop castle and chapel-crowned island. Schedule stops at country inns like Castillo Gredic and Hisa Franko for relais-style degustation menus, and be sure to spend a couple days in the red-roofed

jewel-box of a capital, Ljubljana [1]. Eat Here: Try street food made by some of the country’s best chefs at the Odprta Kuhna market on Fridays.

Get There Before the Crowds: Cuba This Caribbean nation has been forbidden for the past several decades since its anti-American revolution, but relations between the United States and Cuba have thawed in the past year, and the island is set to relax its visa and entry requirements even further. Plus, American Airlines has launched a new direct charter from LAX to Havana. Of course you should visit the cast-in-amber capital with its pastel buildings and 1950s cars [2], its sweeping seaside malecón and sizzling dance clubs, but be sure to head out to colonial cultural sites as well, like Santiago de Cuba and Trinidad. Drink Here: La Bodeguita del Medio is where you can taste the original mojito.

JANUARY 6, 2016

29

Fans of the hotel chain’s accommodations know what to expect from Ace Pittsburgh’s rooms—industrial textures, bright textiles and old-fashioned music memorabilia

TRAVEL

IN SEARCH OF THE

WORLD’S

BEST Ziplines

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

1

ARENAL VOLCANO PARK

COSTA RICA Zipline for two miles total over the jungle canopy, over Arenal Lake and right past an active volcano (it last erupted in 1984). You have the option of ziplining with Coast Rica Sky Adventures at night or during the day. skyadventures.travel

Thanks to gorgeous beaches, friendly people, delicious food and some of the world’s best nightlife, Rio de Janeiro is a perennially popular destination. But it’s got a little extra caché in 2016 thanks to its playing host for the Olympics, which are set to take place Aug. 5-21. By all means, go on a favela tour and climb up Corcovado Mountain to see the famous Christ the Redeemer statue [3], but schedule in some time for hanging out and making friends at Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and take a samba lesson in the evening, too.Stay Here: You’ll love The Fasano for its rooftop pool and stunning views.

To Be the First to Stay at a New Resort: Lanai What’s old is new again on the secluded (but not inaccessible) Hawaiian island of Lanai. When Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison bought the island (well, 98% of it) in 2012, he decided to make a few changes, including total overhauls of its two Four Seasons resorts. The Four Seasons Lanai (what used to be called Manele Bay) will reopen first [4], and is already accepting reservations for March 1, followed by the Lodge at Koele later in the year. The

hotel will have 217 completely redesigned rooms and suites, all with state-of-the-art features like 75-inch LED TVs (!), as well as a totally renovated spa, a NOBU restaurant on-site, a new lagoon-style freeform pool with waterfalls and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. This is Hawaii like you’ve never experienced it before. Adventure Here: Go off-roading in the upcountry of Lanai with a UTV.

For the Amazing Exchange Rate: Australia It wasn’t so long ago that U.S. and Australian dollars were at parity. But with the Aussie dollar struggling to maintain its value at 70 U.S. cents, 2016 is the perfect time to head down under (especially since our El Niño-drenched winter will be its sunny summer). You could stick around Sydney or Melbourne, but venture farther afield to taste wines in South Australia’s Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, swim with the whale sharks at Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef [5], air boat around the Northern Territory’s Mary River Wetlands, admire the aboriginal paintings in the Kakadu or marvel at the primordial trees and animals in Queensland’s Daintree Forest [6]. Party Here: Sydney Mardi Gras runs Feb, 19 through March 6 this year.

A PLACE IN THE NEW YORK SUN PURCHASING A PAIR OF SHADES from the back of a truck is no weirder than buying a plate lunch, right? Inspired by big cities’ newfound ‘food truck generation,’ SunsTruck is exactly what you’re thinking—a well-appointed, modern sunglasses boutique on wheels that can be found parked at some of New York City’s sunniest spots. Perfect for the SoCal vacationer who finds himself in the city that never sleeps without his trusty sunnies, don’t for a second equate SunsTruck with purchasing a pair out of the back of some hustler’s car. Inside its 14-foot converted 1997 Grumman step van you’ll find stained oak panels highlighted with gradient lighting, and, most importantly, a wide range of chic frames, including vintage styles, its own line of bamboo frames and brands like Marc Jacobs. Find their daily location via Instagram (@ thesunstruck). —S.H. 30

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

2

ZIP LINE ECO TOUR

SANTA CATALINA You don’t have to travel outside of SoCal to go ziplining! You’ll propel down five separate lines, with one of those lines a whopping 1,100 feet long, pushing 40mph.

Bonus: If you’re lucky you’ll spot some of the island’s native wildlife. visitcatalinaisland.com

3

FLIGHT OF THE GIBBON

THAILAND Ziplining is only part of this experience, as you’ll also rappel, river raft, mountain bike and rock climb. Best of all, the money you pay to trek through the Thai jungle actually goes toward protecting it and its endangered animals. treetopasia.com —S.H.

SANTA ROSA: MRNY

For Olympic-Level Excitement: Rio de Janeiro

GOOD TO GO

Clockwise from top: The view from Hyatt Vineyard Creek, Paradise Ridge Winery, Schulz Museum, Church of One Tree in Juilliard Park

Those in the mood for an extravagant vacation can opt for the new Reverie Saigon, located in Ho Chi Minh City’s 39-floor Times Square building.

Every staff member will greet you by name, the mini-bars are free, your floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the Saigon River and the house cars are RollsRoyce Phantom Dragons and Maybachs. thereveriesaigon.com

Smooth Sipping

Loving referred to as “where wine country meets beer city,” Santa Rosa offers up plenty for visitors, from great eats and wineries to wheeled adventures By Mark Thompson

SANTA ROSA: MRNY

I

n Santa Rosa, it’s more than wine. As Josh Silvers, the chef/owner of Jackson’s Bar and Oven states, “We grow and raise everything here. It’s America’s Provence.”

Located in the heart of Sonoma, it’s about an hour north of San Francisco.

Designated one of America’s “5 Best Beer Cities,” you might time your arrival in Santa Rosa for “happy hour” at one of the city’s celebrated breweries—or at Stark’s Steak & Seafood ($$$$$), the retro-chic supper club dating back to 1934. Winner of “Best Happy Hour” for three consecutive years, Stark’s is part of the restaurant group that also includes Willi’s Wine Bar ($$$$$), a classic California roadhouse that’s been a six-time winner of a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

More than two dozen breweries are located in Sonoma, and one of the most popular is Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing Company, which serves Pliny the Younger, previously voted “Best Beer in America”

by Beer Advocate, as well as Pliny the Elder, the award-winning Double India Pale Ale. Neophytes start with the beer sampler of 18, which highlights the brewery’s sours, IPAs and Belgians, accompanied by its signature Pliny Bites (pizza dough with cheddar and jalapeño).

Dozens of Hollywood films have been filmed in Santa Rosa, many featuring the city’s historic Downtown and Railroad Square, which, in 2016, will welcome the return of the passenger train with the new Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) system.

Located on Railroad Street a few blocks from Santa Rosa’s historic heart, the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa ($$$$$) offers a taste of Tuscany with a lushly landscaped property that features an outdoor heated pool and sculpture garden. The gardens of the Hyatt are flanked by the Prince Memorial Greenway, a bike and hiking trail that meanders along Santa Rosa Creek, which makes for an easy stroll to Juilliard Park.

In the nearby burgeoning arts neighborhood, SOFA (South of A Street), you’ll find the highest concentration of art studios in Sonoma, as well as one of the county’s best restaurants, The Spinster Sisters ($$$$$).

The award-winning restaurant has been honored by Wine Enthusiast, as well as Ruth Reichl, and for good reason—local, organic produce infused with Mediterranean flavors is complemented by a deeply knowledgeable (and reasonable) wine list alongside the culinary artistry of executive chef Liza Hinman.

Opened in 2002, the Charles M. Schulz Museum is located two blocks from where the cartoonist worked for more than 40 years creating Charlie Brown and his posse. The museum and research center houses the largest collection of Peanuts strips in the world alongside a recreation of Schulz’s art studio.

The cheerful atmosphere is so infectious that you might feel like dancing alongside Snoopy.

It’s all about the love at Paradise Ridge Winery, known for its two-story LOVE sculpture, originally created for Burning Man in 2007. The 156-acre estate is a favorite for weddings and celebrations.

Founded by a former ski bum, Getaway Adventures guides visitors through the wonders of Northern California wine country via bicycles, kayaks and hiking. On the Santa Rosa Wine Trail Cycle tour, you’ll bike the pastoral backroads on your way to vineyards like Hook & Ladder Winery, which was founded by a San Francisco firefighter whose roots in the Russian River Valley go back to 1970. The amiable staff offers tastings from the 375-acre winery in a room outfitted like a firehouse.

Those looking to soak up the sins of the previous night head to Dierk’s Parkside Cafe ($$$$$), the city’s most popular breakfast joint, which serves no-nonsense comfort cuisine in a no-frills atmosphere that makes you realize that in Santa Rosa it’s all about good food—and, of course, wine and beer.

Binge watch House of Cards and OITNB while tens of thousands of feet in the air as Virgin America’s Airbus 320 aircrafts allow Netflix subscribers to access the site’s content via WiFi. Best of all, the service is free to flyers through March 2, 2016. virginamerica.com Those craving snowy slopes can now hitch a ride on American Airlines’ new nonstop service from LAX to both Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Montrose/Telluride, Colo. Catch a flight to either ski destination daily through Jan. 4 or on Saturdays from January through April 4, perfect for ski season. aa.com —S.H.

COAST TO COAST

ASPEN GAY SKI WEEK

Jan. 17-24 This annual snowy celebration for the gays includes more than a we e k of dinners, après ski events, daily yoga and fitness classes, nightlife excursions, film screenings and even a special comedy night with your favorite catty diva, Bianca del Rio, on Jan. 21. gayskiweek.com

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2016

Jan. 21-31 Industry peeps will swarm Park City, Utah, as one of the world’s biggest film festivals launches its latest slate—72 short films and new projects from actors and directors as diverse as John Krasinski, Todd Solondz, Diego Luna, Maya Rudolph, Ira Sachs and Paul Rudd. sundance.org

MOTHERSHIP DRAG CRUISE

Jan. 31-Feb. 7 SF’s Heklina and Peaches Christ present a drag cruise from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas, featuring special guest Christeene.

Expect a lot of wigs, smudged eyeliner and general debauchery on the high seas. mothershiptomexico. com —S.H.

JANUARY 6, 2016

31

32

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

events

nightlife

theater

exhibits

■ Sat. | Dec. 26 BONKERZ! Precinct

■ Thu. | Dec. 24 TOUCH THURSDAYS The Abbey

As the gay weekend starts on Thursday, Frontiers Media presents a night of dancing, drinking and all-around rabble-rousing before the weekend gets fully underway.

Join us as we people-watch some of the city’s sexiest men and women ... and maybe ogle a go-go dancer or two. abbeyfoodandbar.com ■ Through Feb. 7 CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: KURIOS Dodger Stadium

Time comes to a complete stop, transporting the audience into a fantasy world where everything is possible.

Set in the latter half of the 19th century, reality is quite relative indeed. cirquedusoleil.com ■ Fri. | Dec. 25 MERRY GRUNT-MAS Eagle L.A.

The “big dumb gay party”

by Mario Diaz and Jackie Beat returns for its second installment, featuring music mama DJ Whitney Fierce, puppetmasters Matt Scott and performances by Alaska Thunderfuck, Selene Luna, Sissy Spastik and more. precinctdtla.com ■ Mon. | Dec. 28 DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Local cinemas

Fathom Events partners with BBC Worldwide to ring in the holiday season with two nights of the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas Special, in which Alex Kingston makes a long-awaited return! Through Dec. 29. fathomevents.com ■ Through Dec. 31 HOLIDAY ICE L.A. Live

You’ve been able to ice skate downtown since late November, but come 2016, your opportunity will be gone. Glide beneath the skyscrapers of DTLA among the crowds and chaos of L.A. Live. lalive.com

It’s the Christmas version of the popular raunch-fest that is the monthly party Grunt, featuring DJ Kadett. Stop by after Xmas dinner for a little more ‘X’ action, and don’t forget your ‘high and tight’ haircut, available in the back of the bar. eaglela.com

Part of the Skirball’s familyfriendly programming, attend a screening of the film that introduced you to beloved pig Wilbur and his new eightlegged friend, Charlotte. skirball.org

Ring in 2016 at one of L.A.'s many events, from the bars of DTLA to epic WeHo dance parties By Mike Ciriaco

T

he beauty of New Year’s Eve is that it’s a cosmic re-do. No matter how badly you failed at career goals, romantic endeavors or sexual exploits, 2016 offers 366 untarnished days for you to shrug off the past and succeed at new ambitions. And since you’ll be wiping the slate clean on Jan. 1, you might as well live it up beforehand. Fortunately, L.A. serves up plenty festivities where you can pop your cork.

NYE @ Redline

This NYE, head downtown to watch rapper Cazwell reign as the baddest bicoastal Baby New Year. RSVP for a $50 bar tab now to guarantee you’ll see and hear dirty East Village classics like “Ice Cream Truck.” 131 E. 6th St., DTLA, redlinedtla.com

■ Through Feb. 7 STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS El Capitan Theatre ■ Sat. | Dec. 26 CHARLOTTE’S WEB Skirball Cultural Center

Auld Lang Syne

Hollywood’s legendary theater hosts a special engagement of the highly anticipated new Star Wars film. Guests are treated to an all-new Laser Lightsaber Curtain Show and can explore an exclusive display of costumes and props. elcapitantickets.com

Giorgio’s NYE 2016 at The Standard WeHo

Kick off the evening with a special dinner menu option at Alma (reservation required) followed by a special performance by Joey Arias before you dance the night away! 8300 Sunset Blvd., WeHo, newyearsatgiorgios.nightout.com

NYE at BFD

Mario Diaz and Jonny McGovern trade in party hats and noisemakers for boys, booze and butts at Fubar. It’s your go-to sleaze-hole to watch balls drop this NYE. 7994 Santa Monica Blvd., WeHo, fubarla.com

Bearracuda L.A. NYE at Drwonfly

Feel some fuzz and chase some chub to the sounds of DJs John LePage, Ryan Jones and Mateo Segade. 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd, bearracuda.com

Midnight in Rio at The Abbey

The house that David Cooley built gets carnival crazy with this Rio-themed NYE featuring music by Leonardo Glovibes. Then, pull it together Jan. 1 at the bar’s Hangover Party featuring a Bloody Mary brunch. 692 N. Robertson Blvd., WeHo, theabbeyweho.com/nye2016

Akbar’s 19th Birthday

Celebrate not only the new year but the fact that after 19 years, Akbar is still L.A.’s favorite East Side oasis. Music by DJ Matt. 4356 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, akbarsilverlake.com

Rhondopolis at The Standard DTLA

Worship at the altar of Rhonda as L.A.’s goddess of decadence bestows her NYE bacchanal across 13 floors and four stages.

Pulsate to the polysexual paeans of DJs Hot Chip, Derrick May, Leonardo Glovibes, Goddollars and others. 550 S. Flower St., DTLA, rhondainternational.com

A Pop Rockin’ Celebration at Hilton Universal City

Chris Isaacson presents this star-studded NYE extravaganza with the musical talents JANUARY 6, 2016

33

■ ■ ■ ■

continued

■ Through Jan. 2 SENSES OF TIME LACMA

of Belinda Carlisle, Frenchie Davis, Jake Simpson and more. Purchase a ticket or a package that includes a four-course dinner and pre-show meet-and-greet. 555 Universal Hollywood Dr., Universal City, chrisisaacsonpresents.com

The museum’s current exhibit features the fantastical and political visions of five African artists, including Yinka Shonibare, Sammy Baloji and Theo Eshutu, who presents his Super 8 film Brave New World II. lacma.org ■ Sun. | Jan. 3 ILLUMINAUGHTY Revolver

Sunday nights at WeHo’s popular video bar feature DirtyBurty’s own naughty dancers (for your pleasure, of course), exclusive lap dances in the back and music by Men’s Club Soundsystem’s DJ Barbeau and David Banjela. revolverweho.com

Masterbeat’s NYE at the Mayan

■ Through Jan. 10 THE CHRISTIANS Mark Taper Forum

In this play with a full, live choir, Pastor Paul feels compelled to deliver a new message, though he knows it will shake the foundation of everything he has built. centertheatregroup.com

■ Through Jan. 10 CHILL The Queen Mary

■ Through Jan. 17 BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY Ahmanson Theatre

A deep freeze takes over the Queen Mary for the holidays, as the giant dome that was one home to the Spruce Goose is frozen over and transformed into a giant igloo with largerthan-life ice creations, an ice rink and live entertainment. queenmary.com

Tony winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific) directs this lush new musical based on Robert James Waller’s best-selling novel. It’s the story of a lifechanging, four-day love affair, with some calling it the most romantic show of the year. centertheatregroup.com

SNAP SHOTS ✱

34

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

✱

DJ Joe Gauthreaux will blow 2015 away and ring in 2016 with a bang when he headlines this largest and longestrunning NYE event in the world (the 16th edition).

1038 S. Hill St., DTLA, masterbeat.com

Grand Park + The Music Center’s N.Y.E.L.A

Gunning to be L.A.’s answer to the Times Square ball drop, this third annual public event is bigger than ever, encompassing Grand Park, Music Center Plaza and adjacent city streets.

An overarching global theme unites live music with light projections and 3-D animation on iconic DTLA building facades. 200 N. Grand Ave., DTLA, grandparkla.org/nyela

Ho House at Hamburger Mary’s WeHo

The hilarious Wendy Ho hosts this evening of music and drag, co-starring the talented

Lady Red Couture and MC Crumbsnatcher.

8288 Santa Monica Blvd., WeHo, hamburgermarys.com/weho

Bar Mattachine: The Golden Age

Billy Francesca and DJ Victor Rodriguez transform the city’s only gay bar with a true craft cocktail program into a fête worthy of the Gilded Age. 221 W. 7th St., DTLA, facebook. com/BarMattachine

Queen Kong’s Big Gay DTLA NYE Ball at Precinct

When it comes to ball drops, you know you’re in good hands with the Boulet Brothers.

Spend NYE with James St James, Kiki Extravaganza and other iconic hot messes as they ring in the new year with a deviant twist. 357 S. Broadway, DTLA, precinctdtla.com

#BOOM! 2016 Fire & Ice

The West Hollywood Project’s third-annual alcohol- and drug-free New Year’s Eve event brings up to 1,000 partygoers to the WeHo Auditorium with a DJ, dancing, food, games and local performers. 647 N. San Vicente Blvd., WeHo, boom2016.eventbrite.com Find even more local NYE options at FrontiersMedia.com

✱

FATHER FIGURE | FAULTLINE Photos by Rolling-Blackouts

PRESENTS

Hit the Books

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: DEC. 31, 2015

Advertising Deadline

Print and Online Release Date

Dedicated eBlast to Opt-In Subscribers

December 31, 2015

January 7, 2016

January 13, 2016

UPCOMING ISSUES

Health & Fitness

Love & Sex

Spring Fashion

Ad Deadline 1/15/16 Release Date 1/21/16

Ad Deadline 1/29/16 Release Date 2/4/16

Ad Deadline 2/12/16 Release Date 2/18/16

CONTACT: sales@frontiersmedia.com | 323-930-3220

JANUARY 6, 2016

35

■ ■ ■ ■

S N A P SHOTS ✱

✱

✱

QUEEN EDDY | KING EDDY SALOON Photos by Jeremy Lucido

STAGE 48: SCRIPT TO SCREEN Warner Bros. Studios Through Jan. 3 wbstudiotour.com

SPEND THE HOLIDAYS WITH TRUE FRIENDS A new Warner Bros studio tour showcases the beloved holiday moments of NBC's classic sitcom

36

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

ROKU: WONHO FRANK LEE

A

s Chandler Bing might say, “Can people be more in love with Friends?” Over a decade since the iconic NBC sitcom aired its finale, the popularity of the series is still so strong that Warner Bros. Studios is now adding it to the tour of its backlot. Running through Jan. 3, ”Stage 48: Script to Screen” will feature an exhibit showcasing vignettes and memorabilia from Friends’ holiday-themed episodes.

“The creation of this exhibit was motivated by the countless fan base that remembered the holiday episodes and hold them close to their hearts,” says Danny Kahn, Executive Director of Studio Tours. “We wanted to deliver a holiday fantasy for all Friends fans. The show is so phenomenally successful. We have fans that come from all over the world. People have told me that they learned English by listening and watching Friends.

The beloved worldwide audience continues to make the holiday episodes so memorable.”

One such holiday episode featured on the tour is Season 7’s ”The One with the Holiday Armadillo.” In an effort to teach his young son Ben about his Jewish ancestry, Ross Geller (portrayed

by David Schwimmer) dresses up as the Hanukkah Armadillo. In a misguided attempt to help, Ross’s loyal but dim-witted friend Joey Tribbiani (Matt Le Blanc) dons a Superman costume and tries to assist him. Both the Armadillo and Superman costumes will be displayed as part of the exhibit.

More so than Christmas and Hanukkah, Thanksgiving episodes tended to be Friends’ signature holiday episodes. Arguably the most memorable Thanksgiving moment was when Joey stuck his head in a turkey in an attempt to scare his roommate Chandler (Matthew Perry), but ended up stuck. The turkey, also featured in the exhibit, reappears later when Chandler’s girlfriend Monica (Courteney Cox) puts it on her noggin as a way to apologize to her boyfriend, which leads to him declaring his love for her for the first time on the series. It’s this latter scene that still resonates strongly with Kahn.

“I remember when the episode with the turkey on Joey’s head was filmed! When Monica and Chandler kissed for their first time in that episode, we knew it would be special.”

This holiday season, grab your friends and head to Warner Bros. to relive the memorable holidays of your other friends. —M.C.

EATINGOUT SINGING IN THE NEW YEAR

8: O

A Los Angeles concert calendar for the brand-new year

udios .3 om

W

hen it comes to making this year’s resolutions, resolve to hit up more concerts. Los Angeles is the heart of the music industry, so basically any artist worth seeing will pass through here on their tour, if they don’t already live in town. As an early holiday gift, here is a collection of the best LGBT friendly live shows to expect in the coming year. —M.C. Motley Crue Dec. 28-31 | Staples Center Cleanse your palate of holiday saccharinity with a bit of heavy metal, courtesy of Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Mick Mars.

Penguin Prison Feb. 9 | El Rey Theatre Don't miss the sound stylings of Chris Glover, known for high-energy pop tracks.

The Knocks Feb. 13 | El Rey Theatre The DJ duo responsible for "Collect My Love" with Alex Newell comes to L.A. with Cardinox and Sofi Tucker.

Carly Rae Jepsen Feb. 25 | Fonda Theatre Check out the year's best pop album live and in person as part of the Gimmie Love tour.

O-Town Feb. 25 | El Rey Theatre Yep, you read that right—your favorite boy band from the aughts is back.

ROKU: WONHO FRANK LEE

Galantis March 5 | The Wiltern The Swedish electronica duo electrifies K-Town.

Pennywise March 10-12 | Palladium Relive those '90s alternaglory days with this punk rock blast from the past.

Justin Bieber March 20-23 | Staples Center From YouTube sensation to

trainwreck to exhibitionist, check out what the Beibs has in store for us next.

Janet Jackson May 21 | Hollywood Bowl It's Miss Jackson if you’re nasty, and it would definitely be disgusting to miss Janet’s Unbreakable show at the Bowl, even if it does only have one outfit throughout.

The Who May 25 | Staples Center Rock out old-school style for miles and miles and miles.

(Rescheduled from Sept.)

Selena Gomez July 8 | Staples Center Everyone’s favorite pop pygmy princess hits the stage for a one-night-only performance.

Adele Aug. 5-13 | Staples Center Hello, it's her. Our beloved chanteuse is in town for a six-night engagement.

Josh Groban Aug. 26 | Greek Theatre The L.A. native son closes out the summer with his golden larynx.

Black Sabbath Sept. 19 | Hollywood Bowl Halloween comes early with Ozzy Osbourne and the boys.

Dixie Chicks Oct. 10 | Hollywood Bowl Get down with the most liberal country trio this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Teppanyaki Talent Comes to Sunset

Y

40-day dry-aged prime New York strip that ou know Sushi Roku. You know Boa. practically melts in your mouth, served with You know Katana. Now it’s time roasted vegetables and yuzukosho chilito get to know Innovative Dining paste. On the more casual side, the sea Group’s latest concept, ROKU, which takes bass sliders are battered in panko and fried over the former Rivabella space on Sunset. before served with slaw on Hawaiian rolls.

The cuisine here takes its inspiration from The back dining room is a sushi bar the Japanese dining style of teppanyaki, with a la carte and omakase options. But but this is no Benihana. Instead of shrimp this is also a teppanyaki section with four fried rice or soy-doused vegetables, you’ll grills imported from Japan and framed with find Nova Scotia lobster tail with uni butter, custom walnut counters. The signature and center-cut filet mignon garnished with Teppan Experience is sort of like dinner foie gras and truffle, served with sides like and a show, as the chef elaborately prepares kale salad with dried mushroom croutons a variety of vegetables and fried rice as and chili-sesame kabocha squash. well as the prime-grade proteins, including Your first impression upon enteringthe that luscious lobster tail, filet mignon and massive 8,000-square-foot spacewill be of mild Chilean sea bass with sweet Thai chili stepping into a futuristic Zen garden. There sauce. The teppan options are served with are huge windows fronting the street and a variety of sides and exotic dipping sauces, an eye-catching 20-foot custom-painted including miso-mustard, ginmural with backlit glass ger and truffle-chimichurri. panels depicting Japanese That’s a lot of food, but iconography by up-andyou’ll need to save room for coming local street artist desserts like the rich saltedHans Haveron. caramel pot de crème with Seating options abound, caramel sauce and an Oreo from stools at the long front crust, or the piping-hot bar, a lounge-like patio setpumpkin fritters with toasted ting and large round tables hazelnuts and milk chocolate and booths for bigger groups ROKU ice cream. to a communal dining table 9201 Sunset Blvd., WeHo The bar program here where you’re sure to make (310) 278-2060 rokusunset.com offers wine, sake (of course) new friends. Overhead, a and a list of nearly 20 excluskylight is illuminated with $$$$$ sively Japanese beers, but vintage Japanese lanterns to the craft cocktails are the set the mood.

Atmosphere true draw. Among the most Up front in the main dinTeppanyaki meets delicious is the tropical taste ing room, guests can sample Tokyo hotspot of the Pacific Scorpion— cocktails, sushi and small Standout Dishes Svedka Clementine vodka, plates. The salmon sushi Prime New York strip, coconut pineapple, passion roll is wrapped in daikon sea bass sliders fruit, watermelon, guava with shiso and a briny dollop Drinks and lychee, garnished with of Osetra caviar, while the Pacific Scorpion, Old Osaka an orchid. In a more austere tableside toro tartare is a bit Hours vein, the Old Osaka with heartier and will remind you 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mon–Fri, Hibiki Harmony Japanese of Hawaiian poke, though 5:30-10:30 p.m. Sun–Mon, whiskey, sugar and blackit’s served in a delicate rice5:30-11 p.m. Tue–Wed, 5:30-midnight Thu-Sat walnut bitters is a sophisbatter basket and comes ticated update on the Old garnished with more caviar.

Reservations Fashioned. —Eric Rosen The standout main is a Recommended

★★★★★

JANUARY 6, 2016

37

38

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

*********

The best in TV, film, music and more

Fire in the Belli

Hot on the heels of her return to the interwebs, your favorite crass queen has a lot to say about the current state of YouTube culture By Lawrence Ferber

W

illam Belli doesn’t mince words. The deliciously raunchy, Philadelphiaborn drag queen and comedian, who became part of American pop culture through roles in Nip/Tuck (as transsexual Cherry Peck) and the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Belli dishes up ferociously sassy commentary over all kinds of videos in her addictive YouTube webseries, Beatdown.

December saw the launch of a crowdfunded third season (the previous season was financed out of pocket), plus Season 2 of a second webseries, Paint Me Bitch, a tutorial-with-a-twist that sees Belli made over by a star-studded host of makeup artists.

Here the Los Angeles-based Belli—whose wonderfully vulgar songs and videos, like “American Apparel Ad Girls” with Courtney Act and Alaska Thunderfuck and “Boy is a Bottom,” consistently go viral—talks (ahem, reads) about her series, YouTube stars and which drag queen takes the title of filthiest of them all.

FRONTIERS: Who appears in the second season of Paint Me Bitch?

WILLAM BELLI: Bianca Del Rio, Gage ‘Munster’ Hubbard from Syfy’s Face Off, Miss Fame, Rubber Child and anyone else who can paint around a cold sore.

F: How is the third season of Beatdown different from the previous ones?

W: I’m not paying for it anymore. It’s nice to not worry if I have enough money to finish this episode and pay the editor. I get to have fun. I did a Kickstarter, and I usually hate them because I see how they can go badly, like Girls Will Be Girls did one in 2011 for a sequel, and that’s still not out. The Steve Grand album did $100K and didn’t even produce a single. It puts a lot of pressure on the artist to be good when someone else is paying for it. I’m not, like, being paid to do it yet, but I’m covering my costs.

BOBBY BLAIR DOC SET TO AIR WILLAM: PAUL BOULON

H

iding Inside the Baseline, a documentary about gay former tennis star turned coach Bobby Blair, premiered on the Fox College Sports Channel Friday, Dec. 18, and it set to re-air on Saturday, Dec. 26. The documentary chronicles Blair’s experience as a closeted junior and collegiate tennis star and world-ranked player during the ‘80s and ‘90s, in part drawing a contrast to the experiences of LGBT athletes today.

The documentary takes its title from Blair’s coming out memoir of the same name, which was released last February by Making a Difference Publishing.

“Bobby Blair is committed to providing safe and

confidential support for LGBT athletes around the globe and by sharing his own experiences and showing how important it is to live your truth, I know he will make a major impact in the lives of those he reaches,” says Billie Jean King, a fellow LGBT tennis star.

Since the end of his tennis career, Blair has launched Multimedia Platforms Worldwide, the publicly traded LGBT media company behind Florida Agenda, Next and Guy magazines, and which acquired Frontiers Media earlier this year. The company is next set to launch WiRLD.com, which promises to be a global digital media hub for the LGBT community. —Dominic Preston JANUARY 6, 2016

39

film THE BIG SHORT Now showing

*****

Opens Dec. 25

*****

David O. Russell’s Joy, his third outing with Jennifer Lawrence, is a paean to hard -working women (as well as his ongoing examination of dysfunctional families). It’s not as involving as Silver Linings Playbook, nor does it hit the kicky highs of American Hustle. Yet it has a fine, if flawed, lead performance by Lawrence, a showcase supporting turn from Bradley Cooper and Russell’s shaggy sensibility powering through. The family material—usually his forte—doesn’t come together, but everything to do with Joy’s business across the rags-to-riches-torags-to-riches arc does. You feel Lawrence trying too hard here—as the older Joy she’s a little girl dressing up in her mother’s clothes—but the determination and grit of the character is fully in her wheelhouse. —D.L.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Now Showing

*****

It’s been almost 33 years since we’ve last seen the original Star Wars gang, and it’s no surprise that anticipation was at an all-time high. So it’s a relief to be able to say that J.J. Abrams and Disney haven’t failed anyone. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a loving homage to the original series (prequels be gone!) as well as the beginning of a new chapter with exciting characters and a story both fresh and familiar. While it can often feel like a reboot of the original film—with plot points repeated beat by beat—the new cast and banter-filled script bring back the humor, excitement and passion that made us fall in love with this world in the first place. —Kevin Taft 40

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

w

ALSO IN December 25

>> theatres January 1

Concussion

About Ray

Daddy’s Home The Hateful Eight

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

Point Break

Underdogs

The Revenant

PHOTO CREDIT TK

JOY

WILLAM: DAVID PHELPS FOR OCC

F: What is your video selection process like?

W: Videos I find online that are funny or ripe for the picking. I’ll see stupid stuff, or Google stuff, like ‘drag queen falling.’ Anything I want to see. It used to be more tutorial or beautify-based, because the people who hired me for the first season were beauty-based [an online channel called The Stylish], but they went under.

F: Was there a specific inspiration for Beatdown, like Mystery Science Theater 3000? Or have you always been one for making your own commentary?

W: I’m always the person talking to the TV, so I always have something to say.

I have been kicked out of the movies more than once growing up. I was always that kid, and saw MST 3000. I love Tosh.0, and I like stand-up in general. I’m never the quiet one.

F: What about during a movie like Schindler’s List?

W: I’ve never seen that, because I don’t like romantic comedies.

F: Would you like to feature any videos of Donald Trump?

W: I’m not really a politically active person, and I vote for whoever my husband tells me to. I probably won’t be baiting that goat. But I like his wives.

F: Do you ever hear from the people whose videos you feature?

W: Yeah. One girl wasn’t very happy and got all her fans to report all my videos and stuff. Another one got a video pulled because they said it was copyright infringement. It’s basically people who can’t laugh at themselves. Like, shut the fuck up.

F: Now that you’re an official YouTuber, let’s talk about other YouTubers. Who are your favorite personalities these days?

W: I like Mamrie Hart. Superfruit. I guess I should like Todrick Hall, but his stuff seems geared towards kids, and he doesn’t need my views because I’m a friend. I like my friends Courtney and Alaska—they do YouTube with me sometimes—and The Rhodes Bros, who used to live with me. I like Shady Divas. Oh my god, they are the best thing ever. This guy Patti LaHelle and Sienna D’Enema, he does The Golden Shower Girls and Jiz and the Mammograms. I like YouTube a lot. It’s a good place to discover new stuff.

F: What do you think of Tyler Oakley?

W: He’s a YouTube juggernaut, and there’s no reason to make an enemy. Tyler is like GLAAD to me. I’m sure they have a purpose, but they don’t need me.

F: How about Troye Sivan?

W: My assistant put his album on my playlist and I was like, who is this woman?

PHOTO CREDIT TK

Christian Bale has never met a freak he couldn’t play.

His portrayal of Michael Burry, the socially awkward yet visionary highfinancier who predicts the mortgage collapse of 2008 in the very serious comedy The Big Short, is one of his best. Matching him in intensity is Steve Carell as Mark Baum, a kettle of righteous anger searching for the right venue in which to explode (he finds it), and Ryan Gosling’s Jared Vennett, who’s such a deliciously smarmy behind-the-scenes manipulator you can practically smell the douche he uses as hair pomade. Adam McKay, director of the broad comedies Anchorman and Talladega Nights, is masterful here with what, on paper, is impossible material—he neither glorifies nor judges his (mostly) men. Their actions do that well enough for them. —Dan Loughry

music HARVEST THIEVES Rival (Harvest Thieves)

WILLAM: DAVID PHELPS FOR OCC

*****

Turn her off. I don’t want vanilla. The best thing I can say about Tyler Oakley is vanilla. I don’t want vanilla. The three minutes I have in a day are not going to be spent watching vanilla.

F: Brendan Jordan?

W: Someone wanted me to collaborate with him! I was like, why? Not on your gay life! What am I supposed to do, babysit? I haven’t watched any of his videos.

He became this thing thanks to being on that news clip, and I was like, OK, good for him making those 15 minutes into 16. But I really like Bretman Rock, this Hawaiian kid who does makeup. I follow him. He does these videos where he says something like, I was late for school because I needed to beat this mug. He’s this unabashed fag, and I love that. I have a lot of animosity towards people who could stay in the closet and pass as straight, because I never could. I never had to come out, which is good. But those kids who are closeted…

F: Might any guest stars join you for a Beatdown episode?

W: I’m doing one this year, and it’s a surprise. He’s one of my favorite comedians, and he’s blonde.

F: Is Sherry Vine a blonde these days? Speaking of, did you see her new music video for the “True Colors” parody song “Truvada”?

W: No, she’s a stupid whore. I love her. I just talked to her this morning. My next song Jackie Beat helped me write. I love the comedians. Sherry and Lady Bunny.

When Bunny reposted my “Vagina Song,“ I was so happy. She’s a fucking skank and hilarious. She told me where to go to suck dick in the afternoon in New York.

I was like, You’re a fucking pig. I love you.

F: What’s happening with your music career, meanwhile?

W: I had a number one Billboard comedy album this year, Shartistry in Motion, and will re-release it with remixes. I have a new song coming out on Christmas. I make new music as I see fit, and sometimes it will be an album and go to number one.

I was in a pretty serious car accident the week my album was about to come out and missed promotional stuff and it still went to number one. I may not have won that game show I was on, but I feel like I won the internet.

F: Speaking of, what lesson did you learn from the Drag Race experience?

W: Game shows are rigged.

Find Willam Belli on YouTube at youtube.com/user/noextrai

PHOTO CREDIT TK

PHOTO CREDIT TK

NEW RELEASES

>> music

Out Now

January

Cage the Elephant Tell Me I’m Pretty

David Bowie Blackstar

Chris Brown Royalty

Megadeth Dystopia

Monica Code Red

Panic! At the Disco Death of a Bachelor

Sometimes there’s a very thin border between Americana and country music.

It’s a line the Austin quintet Harvest Thieves straddles, in well-worn shitkickers no doubt, all over their debut, Rival. The fiddle-heavy “The Lease of PRIME CUTS: These” would appeal to your average “I Killed working-class countrypolitan, while the Laura Palmer” manic Mumford strum of opener “Bob Dylan’s 78th “Peruvian Valium” Hangover” will bring in the alt-rock outliers. (Fans “History Teachers” of Old 97’s and Waco Brothers should definitely pay attention.) Vocalist Corey Reinish is a baritone belter with great presence on the uptempo numbers (nearly all of them) who falters on the one sop to the country ballad (“Talk of Surrender,” it’s called). The rest of the band sounds like they are having a jolly great time. —D.L.

PRINCE

HITnRUN Phase Two (NPG Records)

*****

It hasn’t been easy as a Prince fan in the new millennium. As a live performer he’s still untouchable, yet his records have been hit-or-miss going on twwo decades.

Each new collection is occasioned by prerelease buzz, and then, inevitably, disPRIME CUTS: appointment. (Case in point: this year’s “Baltimore” earlier HITnRUN Phase One.) So it’s nice to say there’s “Stare” a consistency to Phase Two that’s been lacking since “Screwdriver” 2006’s 3121, and that, for the most part, there’s a surfeit of groove that, with Prince, always helps save the day. This being middle-aged groove, there are a load of mid-tempo soul joints, a ballad or two and an ace funk-and-roll track that ain’t no “Let’s Go Crazy” but ain’t bad at all. There’s plenty of life in the old codger yet. —D.L.

TORTOISE

The Catastrophist (Thrill Jockey)

*****

Tortoise return with this seventh album.

Its subtle smooth grooves wash over you in a way that can’t possibly be described as memorable, but perhaps pleasant?

On some of the tracks, particularly the opening title track, the heavy-handed use of vintage synths makes one recall PRIME CUTS: the most grating moments of Disney’s “Gesceap” Electric Light Parade. Elsewhere, fresh, crisp acoustic “At Odds guitars layer into their instrumental meanders beauwith Logic” tifully, providing the perfect soundtrack to a home“Hot Coffee” cooked vegan meal or a scenic drive to the mustache wax store, but it’s when Tortoise tries to incorporate some vocals that things go pear-shaped. Their stodgy cover of David Essex’s “Rock On” (bizarrely sequenced at the top of the album) should be avoided at all costs. —Dominik Rothbard JANUARY 6, 2016

41

tv

By Dominik Rothbard

What Are You Watching New Years Eve?

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY Ahmanson Theatre Through Jan. 17

*****

Despite being based on a fairly cheesy yet phenomenally popular romance novel, The Bridges of Madison County succeeds in being poignant adult entertainment with a spectacular lead performance.

The story of an Italian wife and mother living in 1965 Iowa who falls in love with a rugged stranger sounds like a Harlequin novel. (And let’s be honest, Robert James Waller’s novel is pretty much that.) But when you strip down an already lightweight book to its bare and most honest moments, it somehow works. The score by Jason Robert Brown leans toward the operatic, and while you might not go out humming the songs, there are a few standouts. Lead actress Elizabeth Stanley is a revelation, every bit as good as Kelli O’Hara, who originated the role. The object of her affection, played by Andrew Samonsky, doesn’t fare as well. While he has a beautiful set of pipes, his take on the character is affected. If you can ignore the eye-rolling aspects of the story and relish Stanley’s performance and the wonderful set-design, there are still a few pleasures left in these Bridges.

42

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

THE CHRISTIANS Mark Taper Forum Through Jan. 10

*****

Surprisingly comp el ling, Lucas Hnath’s The Christians is an intensely thought-provoking study of faith and our resistance to evolve within our belief system. Putting the audience smack-dab into a church service, Hnath’s play finds pastor Paul (Andrew Garman) asking his congregation to make a radical change in how they view one of the main tenants of Christianity—hell.

In his eyes, it doesn’t actually exist, and he has biblical proof. This sets off a firestorm of reactions that makes Pastor Paul question what he believes and his reasons for sharing it. Most fascinating is Hnath’s ability to shift perspectives of who we feel is “right” or “wrong” and how he delivers all sides equitably. He proves that devout followers sometimes have a resistance to shift what they’ve always believed, but then asks, “Why do we believe what we do?” With a small cast of terrific actors, you don’t have to be religious to be fascinated by this study of modern religion. The questions are universal, and he presents them without judgment and without easy answers.

IF/THEN: JOAN MARCUS

stage

and ending with something new—New Year’s Game Night with Andy Cohen.

Of course, if you’re classy you’re gonna want to switch over to PBS in time for its New York Philharmonic: New Year’s Eve celebration. Then there’s CNN, who is currently being coy about its plans for the big night, though one hopes the news network will continue its tradition of trotting out Kathy Griffin to annoy Anderson Cooper.

There’s so much to choose from! We suppose you could always set your DVR to record all four, allowing you to stretch New Year’s Eve through to 2016.

BRIDGES: MATTHEW MURPHY; CHRISTIANS: CRAIG SCHWARTZ

EVERYONE KNOWS IT’S NOT WHAT YOU DO on New Year’s Eve but whom you watch, and this year is in no short supply of options. You could always go retro and check ABC’s classic Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years, which obviously doesn’t star Dick Clark anymore. (Now we’ve got Ryan Seacrest to contend with.)

In the mood for something with a little Latin flair? Check out FOX’s Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution. Then there’s NBC, who is going for something a little different this year, starting the night with its traditional Toast to 2015 featuring (a probably blitzed) Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb

hbard

AMERICAN IDOL Jan. 6, FOX They said it would never end, but the 15-season domination of American Idol has finally drawn to a close with this final season premiere. Who will be the next Sanjaya? The new William Hung? Will there ever be a From Justin To Kelly 2? Lest we forget, American Idol brought us Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and a whole host of new ubiquitous celebs, regardless of merit. Other singing competitions can’t claim the same. Check out this American institution while you still can, or switch over to The Voice.

THE BACHELOR Jan. 4, ABC Fans of The Bachelor might recognize Ben Higgins from last season of The Bachelorette, where he worried he was unlovable. Well, he’s about to attempt to confirm this theory on the Season 20 premiere of the wilting reality show.

What about the ladies? We’re glad you asked. We get a “chicken enthusiast” who considers holding chickens to be her most guilty pleasure. When asked what fruit or vegetable one contestant wanted to be, she picked the tomato so she could be “considered as both.” Another contestant was asked which animal she would choose to be if given the choice. She picked the chicken, because “they do whatever they want and lay delicious eggs.” And that’s not even the chicken enthusiast! Good luck, Ben. TELEVISION LONG DIVISION

SET YOUR Thursday, Dec. 24 Temptation Island

Security footage from Black Friday

Chicken Run

The Bachelor

IF/THEN

Pantages Theatre Through Jan. 3

IF/THEN: JOAN MARCUS

BRIDGES: MATTHEW MURPHY; CHRISTIANS: CRAIG SCHWARTZ

*****

Despite a stellar cast and terrific stage design , this Idina Menzel star vehicle suffers from a slew of odd choices. There’s a lot to appreciate in the musical by the writers of the acclaimed Next to Normal, and there are a handful of catchy tunes, including the requisite stand-out ballad. But the story about a 30-something woman (Menzel) who has to make a simple choice between two events—and the resulting paths each of those choices would create—doesn’t fully engross us the way it should have. Menzel is magnetic in a role written for her, and her cast mates (including Rent co-star Anthony Rapp and Tony winner LaChanze) match her scene for scene. But the story is sometimes mundane, sometimes confusing, and the gimmick used to differentiate the two parallel stories doesn’t always work. The show is worth your time if you’re a fan of Menzel, but the book could use a few rewrites to make it a classic rising to the promise of its concept. —Kevin Taft

If you like your Christmas with a heaping helping of weird, check out reality competition Santa’s in the Barn, which is basically “America’s Next Top Santa Claus.” (8 p.m., TruTV) Saturday, Dec. 26 Very little is known about the movie Stalked By My Doctor except that it stars Eric Roberts and has one of the best titles of the year. (8 p.m., Lifetime) Monday, Dec. 28 Tyler Henry is a psychic to the stars on Hollywood Medium, and now you can follow him juggling his celebrity visions with his personal life. Clients include Boy George, Monica Potter, Bella Thorne and Jaime Pressly.

(8 p.m., E!)

Sunday, Jan. 3 Fox gives Seth MacFarlane his fourth animated series. Set in the fictional town of Mexifornia, Bordertown follows two families—one comprised of immigrants, the other with a border agent patriarch. (9:30 p.m., FOX) Monday, Jan. 4 If you caught Superstore and Telenovela in their post-The Voice preview slots, you can now look forward to not laughing at these sitcoms in their actual time slots. Proceed with caution. (8 & 8:30 p.m., NBC) Tuesday, Jan. 5 Zooey Deschanel and the gang return for a new season of adorkableness in a new time slot with New Girl. The veteran sitcom will prop up an entire night of scripted comedies for FOX. (8 p.m., FOX) Wednesday, Jan. 6 Jane Lynch takes a break from hosting Hollywood Game Night to host the 42nd Annual People’s Choice Awards, “the only awards that matter ... because they come from the people.” (9 p.m., CBS) JANUARY 6, 2016

43

A Year of

a Trans cendence As 2015 draws to a close, transgender visibility is at an all-time high. For this “Year in Review” issue, we look at the community’s triumphs and setbacks, tackle the year’s trending trans topics and speak with a few of the men and women who lead the way to ultimate empowerment

44

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

A 2015 TRANS TIMELINE From January through December, it was a year of historic firsts—on television, in print media, out of Washington, D.C., and, most importantly, in the public eye —P.R.

ar

ce

F

rom the president’s 2015 State of the Union address to the continued success of Transparent and, of course, Caitlyn Jenner’s domination of the media, this has been an unprecedented year for trans visibility in America. Trans stories are no longer acceptable as cruel punchlines or shorthand for unknowable oddities. Transgender people have hit the mainstream and, as a result, America is willing to talk about—and listen to—gender-nonconforming people.

But even as Hollywood throws its weight behind a variety of trans narratives—from glossy prestige films to competitive reality T V—progress, as always, has been uneven.

Entertainment has eagerly embraced trans storylines, but that visibility hasn’t necessarily translated into legal protection, widespread acceptance or safer lives for trans men and women.

This year, 23 trans individuals were reportedly murdered—an all-time record. In November, Houston repealed its anti-discrimination ordinance because of a misleading campaign based on fearmongering. Even in New York, a Republican-controlled state Senate has kept a variety of laws designed to protect transgender persons from being passed. One would hope, however, that as we continue to live through what Time magazine famously called the “Transgender Tipping Point,” these setbacks become less common.

The increase in trans visibility has meant that not only are more stories and people are being heard, but also that a wider variety of trans people are gaining a foothold in the public imagination. This summer saw the release of Tangerine, a comedy about two trans women of color as they hunt down a deadbeat boyfriend. Its stars, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, are the first transgender actresses supported by an Academy Award campaign.

Along with I Am Cait, which dominated the cultural conversation over the summer, a few other reality shows focused on trans individuals as well—CBS competition series Big Brother saw its first trans contestant, while TLC aired I Am Jazz, a docuseries about a trans teen in Florida. Taken along with Orange is the New Black’s

continued success, trans stories are becoming more nuanced and representational of the community—they’re now diverse, heartfelt and compassionate. While the conversation about intersections of race, queerness, femininity and masculinity continues to reverberate throughout the LGBT community—and America at large—there is more and more room for those who fall outside of the mainstream.

Despite some high-profile setbacks in the world of politics, increased acceptance has meant discriminating against transgender people is becoming less of a reliable tactic for politicians looking to scare up easy votes. Obama became the first president to mention trans rights in a State of the Union address, while the Department of Veterans Affairs opened its first medical clinic geared toward the needs of transgender service members. In July, the Pentagon announced plans to allow openly trans Americans to serve in the military. The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival—whose exclusion of trans women became a cause célèbre—decided to fold. The White House now has its first transgender staff member. A report by the Williams Institute reveals that every state in America has a groundswell of popular support for transinclusive anti-discrimination laws—more than two-thirds of Americans support such legislation.

A s 2015 comes to a close, next year is looking even brighter for trans visibility. Transparent is up for its second round of Golden Globes, while I Am Cait will return later in 2016. Legally, the Obama administration is working through provisions that would bar health care insurers from refusing to cover trans-related services. More and more companies are adding transition surgery to their insurance plans. More importantly, with Medicaid now covering similar procedures, those who could not afford to transition find the opportunity within reach.

With America becoming more acquainted and understanding of transgender people, there are victories—both small and large—looming ahead. This was a banner year for transgender rights, but there’s still the promise that 2016 will be even more notable. —Patrick Rosenquist

JAN. 11: Transparent wins Best Musical or Comedy Series at the Golden Globes; Jeffrey Tambor takes home an award, too

EARLY JANUARY: Leelah Alcorn’s suicide draws widespread attention, resulting in Cincinnati’s adoption of Leelah’s Law, banning “conversion therapy” for LGBT teens

APRIL 24: Caitlyn Jenner sits down with Diane Sawyer and tells 17 million, “I am a woman”

JAN. 20: Obama highlights trans rights in his State of the Union Address, a historical first

JANUARY 6, 2016

45

A SELF-MADE MAN Graf arrives for our dinner in the Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Capitol Hill wearing blue jeans, a grey scarf and a leather jacket. For a man who’s just gotten a subtle nod from The New York Times for a cameo in his latest venture, The Danish Girl, he’s laid-back and easy to talk to. He’s in town for the White House’s new LGBT initiative “Champions of Change,” for which he’ll take part in a panel with the film’s producers, stars and director Tom Hooper. His eyes light up when he talks—soft, yet wide with intrigue—and he speaks super-fast. “Won’t you have a tequila?”

The casting of a cisgender Eddie Redmayne, who helms the Golden Globe-nominated film about Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, has stirred up some controversy. Of the boycotters, Graf says with a wry smile, “I understand the criticism, by it’s not by any means something that I agree with. We bemoaned our lack of visibility for decades, and like it or not, the visibility for this film could not be any higher. Eddie was gracious and so well-suited for the role. The film’s producers reached out to me in an effort to promote trans inclusion, as it was very important to them, and it shows.”

For Graf, the one-liner that led him to The Danish Girl was a self-proclaimed dream come true. Filming began in February 2015 in Belgium, where producers flew him out and attended to him 24/7, with his very own trailer (a career first), and fittings for wigs and costumes. “All that, for just one line,” Graf chuckles. The one line that made the final cut, he tells me, in a dramatic whisper, is “Hans.”

But before landing his first Hollywood, big-budget production, Graf had been writing and working on his own films. He began life as an actor, taking classes a few nights each week at a local drama school in West London. It wasn’t big or illustrious, he says, but it was run by seasoned, working actors. In the course of four years, Graf has written, directed or starred in five of his own short films, including Brace, which he wrote and co-produced. Among them is his most recent film, Dawn, which features a trans female lead, newcomer Nicole Gibson, and has festival appeal stamped all over it. Another is Chance, starring

Amale Mohamed and Clifford Hume, an award-winning short about love found later in life between older, larger gay men.

“People come up to me and say they’ve never registered with a character more intimately before,” Graf says. He sits taut at the bar with undone cuffs peaking out of his sweater.

“That’s what keeps me motivated.”

Graf’s very first YouTube video, an uplifting short titled “What’s It Like Being Transgender?” was released days ago, in which fitness model Benjamin Melzer and Brighton-based actor Lewis Hancox, among others, open up about coming out, family life and more.

“I wouldn’t say I try outright to write trans parts,” the London-born actor says as our food arrives. “I just write for the most compelling roles, and they tend to be the most interesting to me because I engage with them on a daily basis.”

In an era where Caitlyn Jenner flaunts floor-length Balmain on the glossy pages of Vanity Fair, and where Laverne Cox comes out on top as Glamour’s “Woman of the Year,” will trans men ever achieve the same degree of mainstream notoriety?

Amy Icon, executive director of Transcendence Icon, the world’s first transgender-specific talent agency—and Graf’s manager—believes the tide is already turning, but it’s still a vigorous uphill battle. “Across the board, the T often falls to the wayside when it comes to representative voices of the LGBT front,” she says. “And when we do probe into the albeitcomplex lives of trans characters on TV, as well as in film, it’s a male-to-female-dominated world.”

From blockbuster cameos to leading the charge on masculine trans representation, Graf knows bridging the gap will take time.

But the pap lights flashing at London’s legendary Leicester Square Odeon for the premiere of The Danish Girl feels like a step in the right direction. The time has finally come where a transgender actor can be embraced on the red carpet.

MAY: Serbian-born Andreja Pejic becomes the first trans model profiled by Vogue

46

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

JUNE 5: Sens8 debuts on Netflix, created in part by trans filmmaker Lana Wachowski; Jamie Clayton, a trans woman, plays hacker Nomi Marks

JUNE 11: Orange is the New Black debuts its third season on Netflix

PHOTO CREDIT TK

JUNE 10: Trans TV personality Carmen Carrera marries her longtime partner, Adrian Torres

JUNE 1: Caitlyn Jenner graces the cover of Vanity Fair

PHOTO CREDIT TK

I

n this year’s Alicya Eyo an d S ophy H ollan d film Brace, we’re introduced to lead character Adam, played by Jake Graf, mid-coitus in a nightclub bathroom—his torso pressed against the stall door, fingers clenched on the railing, plastic cups and beer-soaked tissues at his feet. With a devil-may-care attitude and his relationship in tatters, Adam turns to London’s gay nightlife scene. It’s in Charing Cross, drifting in and out of labyrinthine cellars, where he meets Rocky, a handsome stranger from out of town. What transpires is a 23-minute tale of love and deceit that has swept the season’s film festivals, from Outfest in L.A. to InsideOut Toronto, making a sudden celebrity of its lead actor.

This year alone, Graf has hit the covers of FTM, QX and LGBT Weekly—in all his shirtless glory.

GRAF: PAUL GRACE

You’ll soon be seeing a lot more of actor, writer and director Jake Graf, the handsome star of the film Brace who also appeared in The Danish Girl By Chris Roney

DROPPING NAMES 21 trans individuals who made headlines in 2015, from actors and directors to administration heavyweights and a legend who walked on the wild side By Stephan Horbelt

Blanco

Mykki Blanco

Caitlyn Jenner

The controversial rapper made headlines this year when she told The Advocate she was leaving rap to become an investigative journalist (March), came out as HIV-positive (June) and pointed out the media’s lack of recognition of female-to-male trans individuals, calling it a form of cultural misogyny (September).

She’s made missteps (and a few downright fumbles), but as the most visible transgender person in mainstream media today, she’s changed the landscape for all trans men and women.

This activist and author (of the first book by a trans American to become a bestseller) appeared regularly on E!’s I Am Cait as a friend and advisor to Caitlyn Jenner who always gave it straight.

She was responsible for the show’s best zinger when she said to Jenner, “You went to so much trouble to be a woman. Don’t be a stupid one.”

Cox

Candis Cayne She made her way into millions of households this year as the new bestie of Caitlyn Jenner via I Am Cait, though most are clamoring to see the bombshell local actress and performer get a series of her very own.

Laverne Cox

GRAF: PAUL GRACE

Dowling Freedman-Gurspan

Simpson

Woodlawn

In addition to her return to Orange is the New Black, the actress appeared in the Lily Tomlin vehicle Grandma, was announced as a cast member on the upcoming CBS series Doubt and will portray Dr. Frank-N-Furter in next year’s TV adaptation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

PHOTO CREDIT TK

Janae Marie Kroc The world record holder and world champion power lifter, known for creating the “Kroc row” back workout, came out as trans in a very 2015 way—by posting a photo of her “transgender/ genderfluid Alpha male/girly girl lesbian” self on Instagram.

Audrey Middleton The first-ever transgender competitor on reality show powerhouse Big Brother was accepted immediately by her fellow contestants ... until she lost their trust and was sent packing.

Amanda Simpson She has made history more than once—first in 2009 when she was the first trans female appointee to any presidential administration, and again in September when she became the highest ranking trans official in Obama’s administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy.

Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez These two women were the talk of the indie film circuit for their roles in Tangerine. Could they also become the very first trans women nominated for Oscars? We’ll find out on Jan. 14.

Aydian Dowling

The Cast of Transcendent

He made history when he strove to win the title of the Ultimate Men’s Health Guy, and while he didn’t take home the big prize, he still made history when he appeared on a special edition cover that deemed him “the pioneer.”

This reality show, which premiered in September on cable channel Fuse, focuses on the personal and professional lives of five trans women who perform at San Francisco nightclub AsiaSF.

Lili Elbe

We unfortunately lost this Puerto Rican trans actress and Warhol superstar—who appeared in Trash and Women in Revolt and was the inspiration for Lou Reed’s infamous track “Walk on the Wild Side”—on Dec. 6.

She passed away in 1931 but was brought back to life when Eddie Redmayne portrayed one of the first women to undergo sex reassignment surgery in The Danish Girl.

JUNE 30: The Girl Scouts of America accepts trans youth, provoking a conservative backlash

PHOTO CREDIT TK

Silas Howard

This model became the internet’s latest crush in October when he went on YouTube and opened up about his transition and testosterone therapy. Today his Instagram account has over 46,000 followers.

Jennifer Finney Boylan

Cayne

In August, she began a new job at the White House as an Outreach and Recruitment Director in the Presidential Personnel Office. She’s the first trans woman of color to work inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

He came the first trans director hired onto the hit Amazon show Transparent, directing episode 5. “It’s a big deal because it feels like instead of being put into the system that isn’t necessarily integrated, I’m in the room with all these professional, incredibly talented people and they come from a lot of different backgrounds,” he says.

Laith Ashley de la Cruz

de la Cruz

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan

Holly Woodlawn

JULY 10: L.A.-based comedy Tangerine is released to enthusiastic reviews; Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor become the first trans actresses backed by an Oscar campaign

JULY: Trans woman Audrey Middleton competes on CBS’s Big Brother

JULY 13: Pentagon announces plans to allow openly trans Americans to serve in the military

JULY 15: I Am Jazz debuts on TLC

JANUARY 6, 2016

47

A LOOK BACK / A LOOK FORWARD Actress, author and activist Calpernia Addams comments on the year’s watershed moments in trans triumphs and setbacks As told to Stephan Horbelt Hollywood Consulting

The Danish Girl

I moved to Hollywood 13 years ago, and when I started the production company I run with my business partner, our one goal was to improve opportunities in representation for trans people. We consulted on a lot of TV shows, plays, reality shows and things like that, hoping to nurture along this path.

Outsiders usually—in the media, in Hollywood, in popular culture—they go through this cycle where at first they are exotic or scary or monsters and then they go to being clowns, and then they go to being the best friend. One of the stages is the poor, sad thing. Then finally they become their own thing.

When I started consulting, even just a few years ago, we were at an earlier point on that timeline. What I was hoping to do was damage control. Because these movies were going to be made, and they had already decided on the star they wanted, I had to think, What can I contribute? Well, I can at least make Jared Leto the most educated, authentic cisgender male to play this part. I would rather a trans woman have played it, or even a non-trans female, but since that wasn’t going to happen, I tried to do damage control.

We’re finally evolving to the point where we’re seeing trans characters portraying themselves. There are projects cooking right now for certain big trans names. Slowly but surely, the need for the kind of consulting I have done is going to go away, because it won’t be an outsider portraying us; it’ll be us portraying us.

The film had been kicking around for years as a script, and there was a rumor that Nicole Kidman might play the role. At the time I was kind of excited about that; I thought, well, at least it’s a woman playing Lili Elbe, but that never happened. So when the movie resurfaced and I heard Eddie Redmayne was to star in it, I thought, well, par for the course—typical, you know? It’s another non-trans person in this lead role.

I went to see the film and thought it was beautifully shot. It’s about two painters, and it looks painterly and gorgeous. The story is an emotionally affecting story, and all the actors are brilliant at their craft, so I did find myself moved for the character. But I just think fundamentally we’re a little bit past the point where you can keep casting cisgender males as transsexual women.

It strikes a little bit of a wrong note to me. It’s tough, because the movie is beautifully made and beautifully acted, and I think Eddie looks beautiful as Lili. It’s a case where aesthetics and art fell into place but politics are not in sync.

I heard the buzz about Tangerine before I saw the film. Working in Hollywood, both in front of a camera and behind the scenes, one of the biggest stereotypes that caused me to roll my eyes was the transsexual prostitute. It’s almost this defining image of trans people in media—they’re eroticized, they’re other-ized and you can buy them; you can purchase and control them. It’s this image that I’ve tried not to support over the years. But what’s great about Tangerine is it took the transsexual prostitute joke and humanized it.

They used actresses who are actually trans and who were the most human, relatable, touching transsexual prostitutes they could be.

JULY 26: I Am Cait premieres on E!

48

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

SEPT. 3: Obama administration proposes a rule that would bar insurers from discriminating against trans patients

AUG. 18: Raffi Freedman-Gurspan becomes the White House’s first openly trans staff member, serving as recruitment director for Obama’s administration

OCTOBER: I Am Cait is renewed for a second season

PHOTO CREDIT TK

AUG. 4: The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, the transexclusionary feminist gathering, ends its 40-year run

I think the difference between The Danish Girl and Transparent is I feel like there’s a lot more trans involvement in Transparent that actually means something and makes it to the screen; it isn’t just they’re like extras at a party or something. Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst (whom we profile on page 51) have been with the series from the beginning, and I get a sense that their friendship with [the show’s creator] Jill Soloway has continued to open her eyes and educate her even more than she had already experienced with her parent. So I think that has been invaluable.

One thing I will say is that I was a little worried that Transparent had pinned itself into a corner by casting a cisgender male as the trans woman lead, because it was all happening and being put together several years ago, but it just happened to come out when the politics were really changing with Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner and all this stuff. Luckily Jill has been working so hard to bring trans people to the table in this show,

CALPERNIA: JOSE A. GUZMAN COLON

Tangerine

Transparent

PHOTO CREDIT TK

“I

think it definitely is a year that’s built on breakthroughs that have happened in just the previous two years.

Now what we’re seeing is that we’re finally getting normalized, and that is a huge thing,” says Calpernia Addams, one half of Deep Stealth Produc tions , a company formed in 2002 with fellow trans activist Andrea James to consult on trans issues in arts and entertainment. (Addams famously consulted with Jared Leto on his performance in the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club.) In a year filled with ups and downs for the trans community, and more media saturation than ever seen before, we ask Addams—currently working on an acoustic album produced by Patrick Wolf—to weigh in on some of the year’s biggest stories.

because I think it’s probably gonna be difficult to look back on some of these projects and be like, you know, it’s a little embarrassing that there’s a cisgender person playing a trans person.

But I try to see the big picture with Transparent, because it has done so much good in getting trans story lines in mainstream news, on billboards and bringing trans people to the table in Hollywood with real opportunities.

Big Brother A lot depends on what kind of person the contestant is. Is she a hero or a villain? Is she gonna make people laugh and make them wan to be her friend, or god forbid, is she going to do something where she’ll be vilified?

What a trans character is doing on a big reality show, I think, is modeling an achievable dream for trans people. They may think, I could never helm a major motion picture, but I could get on Big Brother. For the country what it’s doing is putting that reality character out there who you think, Wouldn’t it be cool if that was my friend? or, Oh, that’s what it would be like to hang out with that person, or Wow, they really cook meals and eat and go to bed just like I do.

It normalizes and humanizes us and hopefully takes away some of the fear and misconception.

Caitlyn Jenner

CALPERNIA: JOSE A. GUZMAN COLON

I think when she first came out there was almost this unspoken thing in the LGBT community, like, Don’t criticize, don’t ask questions, this is amazing, it’s getting the image out to people, it’s normalizing, it’s reaching an audience of young people who will benefit from that exposure. And I get that. I do see that.

Where questions come into my mind is, can I say that I’m a fan of someone who is a conservative Republican who isn’t sure about gay marriage? I don’t think I can. She invites a lot of questions and a lot of contradictions.

I would not criticize her for wanting to look amazing and do a TV show and all that. But I don’t want to lose the right to question things like politics, to question some of the language that has been used in relation to the trans community from her. I think she is doing an important thing by putting a consumable trans image out there on television, but the Big Brother contestant probably isn’t going to come freighted with these political questions that Caitlyn comes with. So I think she’s a really controversial figure because of that.

I have certainly heard chatter in the community addressing the fact that she got to transition under probably the best possible circumstances in terms of money and access to some of the best surgeons and aestheticians and stylists in the world right here

PHOTO CREDIT TK

PHOTO CREDIT TK

OCTOBER: Laverne Cox is cast as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 2016 reimagining of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

in Hollywood. And that’s true; she is very privileged on that front. Some of that chatter is just jealousy. You know, I’m jealous. [Laughs] Not in a toxic sense, but I’d love to have those things, too.

But with privilege a lot of people feel comes the responsibility to give back and acknowledge that privilege. From what I’ve seen, Caitlyn is trying to do that. She’s making appearances and speaking. But she’s just a human being, and someone in their late 60s from another generation. I’m hoping she gets it right, but we’ll see.

An Increase in Trans Murders in 2015 We have certainly seen those numbers go up, and one of the reasons I think is that, in the past, if a policeman found a trans woman murdered, they would just mark it down as a man murdered. The record-keeping was not there. Often the women did not have the resources or access to the legal system to change their name, their IDs. Nowadays the police are trained. Who can say if they follow the training all the time, as they should, but they are trained to recognize trans identities, and trans people have a lot more opportunity to get their identification updated. So some of the increase in numbers might be that now they are more accurately identifying. It’s actually horrifying, because that means this higher number has always been going on but they just weren’t identifying it. We are still living in fear, and I don’t know what the answer is. It’s gonna take somebody smarter than me in public policy or law.

What’s Next?

From left: Big Brother contestant Audrey Middleton, Transparent’s Jeffrey Tambor, Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez in Tangerine

My focus has always been centered in arts and entertainment. That’s my area of interest and experience. There is a lot of work that has to be done in the legal arena, in the street activism arena, in social services, in medicine, et cetera.

In the world of arts and entertainment, I think what’s gonna come next is we’re probably gonna get a nice, good old-fashioned, simple laugh track allAmerican sitcom starring a trans woman.

And I think it’s gonna be well-written and just sort of across-the-board relatable. It’s gonna blow up and get out there.

I think that’s the next step—to see a trans character in something where it’s not sad or shocking or news—which it will be big news when that happens— but we’re just going to continue to see trans people getting our place at the table and getting more power to represent ourselves in arts and behind the scenes, rather than just being these subjects who are studied and dissected and emulated and then thrown aside.

NOV. 3: Voters repeal Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance. A misleading campaign— highlighting Houstonians’ fears that men will be allowed in women’s bathrooms—hits a nerve

OCT. 22: Circumventing a Republicancontrolled state senate, New York governor Andrew Cuomo signs an executive action to protect trans New Yorkers from discrimination

NOV. 5: The Union for Reform Judaism, the country’s largest Jewish body, announces plans to incorporate and support trans members

NOV. 16: The Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland opens a clinic geared toward trans veterans, the first of its kind

JANUARY 6, 2016

49

THE QUEEN OF CLUBS A candid conversation with Amanda Lepore, the only trans woman who can boast about having her likeness turned into a collectible doll By Stephan Horbelt

W

h o c a n h elp b ut b e fascinated by Amanda Lepore? A fixture in the club scene of ‘90s New York, she has since parlaye d he r so cialite status into an empire that includes modeling (she has notoriously been the muse of David LaChappelle), a recording career and a performance schedule that has her traveling the world over. Here, Lepore, whose memoirs are set for a spring release, opens up about the recent wave of trans visibility, her own transition as a teen and the difficulty she finds relating to the larger transgender community.

Find Amanda Lepore at Pomona’s 340 Nightclub on Friday, Jan. 8, hosting Last Bitch Standing alongside Raven, and on Saturday, Jan. 9, for Stripped: All-Male Revue

FRONTIERS: Amanda, I think you’ve always had the most legendary voicemail recording ever. For those who might not know about it, can you say what it is?

AMANDA LEPORE: I think it’s something about the most expensive body on earth. That’s now. It used to say, “You’ve reached Amanda Lepore, the number one transsexual in the world with a fully functional vagina.” [Laughs] F: You just had a birthday. What kind of trouble did you get into?

AL: Um, I came out of a cake and stuff. It was a lot of fun.

F: You’re the only person I know who can say ‘I just came out of a cake’ so nonchalantly.

AL: [Laughs] Yeah.

F: You’ve always been really open in interviews, and you’ve discussed transitioning at an early age. I think starting at 17, right?

AL: I started hormones when I was 15 but had my sex change at 17.

F: What can you tell me about the people you looked up to as a teen, if those people existed? Were there any women who had transitioned that you were able to springboard questions off of or ask advice of?

AL: Well, I was super young, so I couldn’t really meet them at clubs or anything, you know, but I did see them in the doctor’s office. But I had a habit of being friends with ex-girlfriends of my brother—I had an older brother—and one in particular was really glamorous; she was like a role model for me. She wore a lot of makeup and suggested stuff. I learned a lot about makeup and eye lash curlers, eyebrow shaping and all that stuff. Everything, pretty much.

F: Back in the ‘90s there were so few trans people in the spotlight. You were obviously one of the first. Thinking back to then, did you ever imagine that we’d be where we are today with this whole slew of famous trans men and women in the spotlight?

AL: Yeah, I mean, that really is kind of mind-blowing. Even when I modeled for David LaChapelle, David said, Oh, there’s always one transsexual. Like, it was Christine Jorgensen a long time ago.

Then it was like Renée Richards, I guess. And then it was Candy Darling, and then Tula [Caroline Cossey, the first trans woman to appear in a James Bond film and pose for Playboy]. It’s sort of like different decades when one would be more famous. And now there’s just a million that are famous. [Laughs] I mean, it’s cool.

I think it’s cool that there are so many, because it’s definitely more of a ‘sisters’ kind of thing, like an army.

NOV. 27: The Danish Girl is released to positive reviews

NOV. 20: The 16th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed; 23 trans individuals were killed in 2015, a record high

50

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

F: Obviously 2015 has been such an amazing year for trans visibility, especially in the entertainment industry. How has the recent wave of trans recognition affected you personally?

AL: I’m so adjusted to this that I almost can’t relate to it so much. I mean, I obviously know I’m transgender and all that, but it’s been such a ... I’m super well-adjusted. I don’t know anything else. I did it when I was a child. I wish it would get to the point where people didn’t think about it, and it’s not a statement, I guess. But I do feel like it’s good that I was really open about it and helped people. I feel great about that, but I wish it wasn’t such an issue.

F: Being such a famous personality in New York, I can only imagine how many new people you’re constantly meeting on a regular basis. Is it a normal occurrence for young people— maybe those who are considering transitioning themselves or those who identify as trans—to come to you for advice?

AL: Yes. A lot of young ones. And a lot of young ones come up to me and tell me how I inspired them and how important I was to them. I get that a lot. I just answer things honestly. Whatever advice I can give them, I give to them, you know?

F: You’ve done so much in different arenas that I’m curious where you feel most comfortable. Is it onstage performing, in the recording studio, working with photographers, hosting parties?

AL: Well, I love to get dressed up, so I’m really good for parties or performing or modeling and those types of things. I put so much into my look. I always liked that. I mean, I don’t know what it’s from, but I just do it. I’m good at that. I think it has to do with being shy. It’s a way of expressing myself visually to get by. Certainly when I first worked in the clubs it was that.

F: Tell me about any projects you have coming down the pipeline.

Is there anything currently in the works?

AL: Well, I’m coming out with a book, so that’s a big thing. I think in the spring it’s released. It’s in the final stages. I think it’s almost ready to print.

F: Do you have a title yet?

AL: I’m not sure. They’re still fumbling around with it.

DEC. 11: The second season of Transparent is released to acclaim

DEC. 7: Transgender Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn passes away at age 69

PRODUCING A REVOLUTION Meet Rhys Ernst and Zackary Drucker, the local multihyphenates who have stamped their approval on some of the year’s biggest trans accomplishments, including the hit Amazon series Transparent Story By Drew Mackie | Photography By Gabriel Goldberg

B

efore Transparent had aired on television, before Amazon had become a major player in the original programming game and before Jeffrey Tambor won his first Emmy for playing the show’s lead role of Maura Pfefferman, there was one night at the Oxwood Inn in Van Nuys.

Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst had arrived at Tambor’s hotel room in Santa Monica. The duo work as associate producers on the hit series,

though that job title fails to fully convey the extent of their involvement in helping to create it, to say nothing of their healthy list of extracurriculars.

On this night, their mission was to help begin Tambor’s education.

“It really was a transformative experience,” recalls Ernst. “We got him some makeup and helped dress him up for the first time. He hadn’t fully manifested Maura until that moment.” In conversation, the two JANUARY 6, 2016

51

often tell stories jointly, picking up narration when one pauses, filling in details to complement what the other has just said, offering the occasional polite correction.

Drucker continues the story. “We walked Jeffrey down to the lobby of the hotel, and it was pretty busy on a Saturday night. And he was Maura,” she says. “And he’s mentioned this often, saying he’ll never forget this moment, because it was his first time experiencing that gaze from people, trying to pass and being unsure.”

Tambor, Drucker, Ernst and the rest of the party eventually met series co-star Judith Light at the Oxwood. “When we got there, some of the girls seemed to have a sense of what was going on,” Ernst says. “News had gotten out that Jeffrey was going to be in the show,” Drucker adds, “and it’s funny to think about this now—even before the pilot, there was already buzz.” Dancing followed, and as fans may have already guessed, this chain of events inspired a similar scene in the second season, which premiered earlier this month on Dec. 11.

As Drucker sees it, having this story woven into Transparent exemplifies what makes the show work—it’s drawn from the lives of many to the point that it can represent a larger trans experience. “The trans community is so incredibly diverse that there’s no one way of rendering it that’s completely right,” Drucker says. “I think that’s why it’s such a ripe opportunity with Maura, because we’re inventing her as an amalgamation of so many different experiences.”

Rhys wears shirt and suit by Sharpe available at Sharpe Suiting, his own tie, cufflinks by Hugo Boss, shoes by Converse and his own. Zackary wears dress by Mario De La Torre, shoes by Zara, earrings by Cutting Edge Archives, her own bracelet

B

eyond their work on Transparent, Drucker and Ernst are probably best known for Relationship, a photographic exhibition that debuted at the 2014 Whitney Biennial and documented intimate moments between the couple during their respective transitions—Drucker from male to female, Ernst from female to male. Drucker is a photographer and performance artist, among other things, and Ernst a filmmaker— again, among other things. Their work, collaborative or independent, focuses on trans issues. Their 2012 art film She Gone Rogue, for example, features them both alongside Vaginal Davis, Flawless Sabrina and late icon Holly Woodlawn.

In 2014, they ended their romantic relationship but have continued as creative partners. “We were sharing an office when that happened,” Ernst says. “There were some difficult times, but we had to push through them, and the larger responsibility was the more important thing.”

One of their chief responsibilities happens to be working on the first hit television series to introduce trans themes to a mainstream audience.

There, they serve a role unlike most Hollywood producers. “It doesn’t have a name,” Ernst says. “It has many names,” corrects Drucker with a laugh.

Their work on the show involves everything from giving writers notes to advising guest directors to hiring trans crew members to “political shepherding.” The two also collaborated on This is Me, the Amazon docu-series that serves as a sort of companion piece to Transparent and that profiles real-life trans individuals. Ernst directs; Drucker appears in it and serves as a supervising producer.

After Ernst met Transparent creator Jill Soloway at Sundance in 2012, they kept in touch, and Soloway reached out to the pair for notes on the initial pilot script. “It was already a solid script,” Drucker says. “We had this feeling that [Soloway] could be the one to create a more mainstream show.”

Ernst recalls some of the notes they first gave on the pilot. “In the first episode, Maura is living pre-transition, and it’s presented as this burden she’s carrying around. … When she’s alone, she takes off this disguise, and there was a question of what she’d be wearing and how she’d relax. I don’t want to totally claim responsibility for this, because it happened organically in the conversation, but I remember us saying, ‘No, it should be a caftan. It’s not femininity on display. She’s unwinding when no one is looking.’”

“In the nitty gritty production details, things come up,” Drucker says of their consulting work on Transparent. “What does the interior of this person’s house look like? And if there’s a trans person on the production design team, they’re able to imbue this kind of range of knowledge of trans spaces instead of just projecting a lot of stereotypes. In Season 1 especially, there was a question of where Maura would be shopping. What department stores would even be selling anything in her size?”

And the job has evolved from there. Part of it, from Ernst’s perspective, is allowing the series to showcase the queer Los Angeles not often seen in television shows. “I think we cast our backyard in Transparent,” he says.

“Basically, if you watch, you’ll see a lot of the community. Renoir has this quote about when you’re creating fiction—leave the window open and let the real world in. And I really think about this a lot in terms of this project.”

Drucker and Ernst actively sought out the community in other ways as well. For example, this past year at L.A. Trans Pride, they arranged a 52

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

booth where attendees could be photographed and have their contact information added to a trans casting database. “We were able to put hundreds of trans people in scenes, and it became this cool exchange,” Ernst says. “We opened a boutique trans casting agency,” jokes Drucker, in reference to the pair’s already long list of duties. (This year’s Trans Pride, by the way, was sponsored by Amazon—a first, and a deal that Drucker and Ernst helped broker.)

Importantly, that outreach to the trans community extends to those behind the camera as well. Drucker credits Soloway with making the decision to hire as many trans people as possible on set—a generous move considering how historically many stop getting considered for Hollywood jobs once their trans identity becomes known.

“L.A. is the only American city where the primary economy is creative, and you have many qualified trans people who have always been in the

periphery,” Drucker says. “We meet so many people who have worked in Hollywood and then transitioned, and then the calls stop coming in.” But a change in consciousness about trans people in the workplace may be beginning in Hollywood. “It feels serendipitous in a lot of ways,” she says.

“This industry has tried to represent people in the past and has gotten it wrong. But it’s shifting toward a new era in which it’s open to including them. And it’s leading other industries in that way.”

O

f course, 2015 wasn’t just a big year for trans people as a result of the continued success of Transparent. Caitlyn Jenner came out as trans and revealed her female identity to the world on the July cover of Vanity Fair, making her the first trans celebrity who was already well-known before transitioning. The E! docu-series I Am Cait profiled Jenner’s journey, and Drucker appeared in six of the eight episodes of

the show’s first season.

While she is contractually unable to discuss the details of her time on the I Am Cait set, Drucker was happy to explain how she became acquainted with the Olympian-turned-reality star-turned-trans reality star. “It was interesting watching her very public lead-up to the transition and the media circus that preceded her actually coming out. I watched that and thought, ‘This person really needs a friend.’”

Drucker sat near representatives from E! at the 2014 Trevor Project gala, and soon enough she was invited to meet with Jenner. Drucker says she feels the experience has been positive for both herself and the trans community. “Caitlyn is an incredibly generous person, and the show she’s created underlined that in a lot of ways. It could have been all about her, but she used the opportunity to spotlight other figures in the trans community,” she says. “Anyone’s first year in a new social position—a new JANUARY 6, 2016

53

PHOTO CREDIT TK

Rhys wears shirt by Sharpe available at Sharpe Suiting, vest and pants

by Drykorn available at Choukair, his own shoes and tie, stylist’s own cufflinks. Zackary wears dress by Little Mistress, jacket by Forever21, shoes by Dolce & Gabbana

54

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

PHOTO CREDIT TK

gender—is transformative, and I think she’s handled it with a lot of grace.”

Pop culture again forefronted trans issues in November with the release of The Danish Girl, the biopic that has Eddie Redmayne starring as Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo sexual reassignment surgery.

Ernst worked as a consultant on the film, speaking with Redmayne and director Tom Hooper, as well as with Focus Features on creating a dialogue about the film. “It’s been amazing to see. For Eddie and Tom, it’s been really transformative,” he says. “They’re allies for life, there’s no question.”

Ernst also was commissioned by Focus to direct We’ve Been Around, a series of five shorts about trans figures in history as a means to further educate viewers. That series debuts mid-January. “This is not a trend,” he says. “Trans people have always been around. That’s one thing I love about trans history—it’s so ‘not known about’ that when you open it up, it’s amazing to see how much is there.”

“I

didn’t think it was possible for 2015 to be bigger than 2014, and it was—much more full-throttle,” says Drucker when asked to speculate about what 2016 may bring to her and Ernst, to pop culture and to the trans community at large.

Drucker is working on a new experimental film, Southern for Pussy, which stars her and her mother. She and Ernst will also be publishing a book titled

Relationship that features the photos from their 2014 project in addition to essays and ephemera not previously seen in any exhibition.

Ernst, meanwhile, is keen on working on an as-of-yet-untitled film that he describes as a middle-aged trans man buddy comedy. He hopes the new year brings the spotlight to trans men, who have so far not received as much representation in media and culture as trans women. “I don’t want it to be a bro fest,” he cautions, explaining that he’s more interested in picking apart the “dorkiness” of constructed masculinity in his work.

Importantly, Drucker and Ernst will be working together in the future.

That’s notable, not just because because they’re a trans woman and trans man joining forces for a greater good, and not just because they happen to be a former couple who is working past a breakup in order to maintain a thriving creative partnership.

Drucker describes the unique nature of their relationship in particularly elegant terms. “We think of ourselves as a microcosm of some of the larger considerations about trans masculinity and trans femininity, and that can be a rich and productive relationship. But it can also be a contentious one.

Instead of abandoning it, which is what most people do at the end of a relationship …” she says, trailing off for a moment.

“We know each other’s strengths,” says Ernst, literally finishing Drucker’s sentence and underscoring why their cooperation is so effective.

JANUARY 6, 2016

55

DIGITAL DIGS I

f Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better“ campaign taught us anything, it’s that social media, and YouTube specifically, is a powerful tool that can be used for the good of the community. These five LGBTs have made names for themselves as stars of the platform, through heartfelt personal stories, the occasional emotional appeal and good old-fashioned entertainment.

DAVEY WAVEY, 31

youtube.com/user/wickydkewl youtube.com/user/daveywaveyraw youtube.com/user/daveywaveyfitness You never know where you’ll find this gay globetrotter, whose travel videos range from Thailand to a recent Spanish vacay, but one thing’s for certain—he’s most likely shirtless. Famous for nakedness, a bubbly sense of humor and plenty of dick jokes, he’s amassed nearly 1.5 million YouTube subscribers on his three channels combined.

TYLER OAKLEY, 26

youtube.com/user/tyleroakley This LGBT powerhouse of YouTube is one of the platform’s most recognized faces, treating his subscribers to new videos every Tuesday and Friday (though like any social media mogul, you’ll also find him on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). His nearly 8 million subscribers have catapulted him to the place of role model status for young LGBTs, and in the past he's been granted opportunities as grand as interviewing First Lady Michelle Obama and working the red carpet of the Grammys. In October he released his first memoir, Binge, followed by the documentary Snervous, which follows Oakley during his sold-out Slumber Party tour of the U.S. and U.K.

GIGI GORGEOUS, 23 youtube.com/user/ gregorygorgeous

With more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube, Gigi is our favorite trans star of social media.

Originally serving makeup tutorial videos as Gregory, she’s since branched out to ambassador deals, cosmetics sponsorships and other avenues where she can be front-and-center, like when she introduced Miley Cyrus’ performance at the MTV VMAs earlier this year. Her videos today range from funny personal stories to Q&As to a recent video with Kylie Jenner called “What’s In My Mouth?“ that has nearly 7 million views and counting.

ARIELLE SCARCELLA, 29

youtube.com/user/ArielleIsHamming Her YouTube output ranges from hilarious skits and comedy videos to vids about "what lesbians do" and a series called “Lesbians Explain!“ in which—you guessed it—lesbians answer all the questions you've ever asked ... and more questions you never wanted answers to. Look for new videos every Sunday, and those looking for some serious one-on-one time with her—in the form of life-coaching—can head to ariellescarcella.com (sessions run $100 for an hour).

56

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

TODRICK HALL, 30

youtube.com/user/todrickhall On the brink of 2 million subscribers, Todrick was able to parlay his unique brand of YouTubing— mashed-up music videos featuring high production value—into his own self-titled MTV series. Those who fly Virgin America are familiar with his work in the form of the airline’s safety video, which he wrote and performs, and—oh yeah—he has choreographed for Beyoncé.

A look at the LGBT stars and celebrities who seem right at home on social media, from the clever content creators of YouTube to Hollywood's must-follow elite of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter By Rob Love

OUR 9 FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA-SAVVY CELEBRITIES GEORGE TAKEI

BETTE MIDLER

facebook.com/georgehtakei

@BetteMidler

The former Star Trek star (who ’came out’ to the world in these very pages of Frontiers) has crafted a second career out of pop culture commentary thanks to a sharp sense of humor and a bit of social media savvy. Takei constantly treats more than 9 million Facebook followers to some of the interwebs’ best memes, lists and news pieces, and while our hearts sunk when Takei admitted the posts don’t always come from his own fingers, we’ve decided to let that slide and bask in their consistent hilarity.

We may not be getting a Hocus Pocus 2 after all (sorry, Kathy Nijimy), but Midler’s insanely en pointe tweets—sparking conversation about everyone from Caitlyn Jenner to The Biebs to Donald Trump—are alone a reason to create a Twitter account (like you didn’t have one already). Where does her wit and affinity for shade come from? We won’t credit all of it to her bawdy bathhouse days of the early ’70s, but if the shoe fits! Let’s hope the Divine Miss M’s taste for letting buffoons have it never dies.

As we get closer and closer to the world’s most fashionable pop star releasing a new album (titled Anti) and going on tour, Rihanna’s Insta profile is full of promo materials. But it’s also filled with some of the sickest photos and short videos you’ve seen in ages, with occasional ’candid onstage shots’ and ’just being real with friends’ photos thrown in for good measure. When all of your posts look like high-fashion ad campaigns, you’re doing something right.

AMY SEDARIS

RIHANNA @badgalriri

SHAKIRA

JOSH GROBAN

facebook.com/shakira

@JoshGroban

Did you know that the Colombian pop singer is the most ’liked’ person on Facebook?

We had no idea, either, so we took it upon ourselves to find out why. While a lot of what she posts pushes her merchandise (perfume, a Candy Crush-reminiscent mobile game) onto the masses, you’re also given insight into her family life, #TBT posts and exclusive performances and videos. I mean, even Mark Zuckerberg likes Shakira’s posts.

Not just a singer with the voice of an angel, this dude Groban has chops! If you’ve ever perked up at one his hilarious cameos (The Office, Muppets Most Wanted, Parks and Rec), you’ll get a kick out of his Twitter feed, full of clever observations and one-liners. Hot tip: check out his feed during the next GOP debate, which he’s live-Tweeted in the past.

You’re welcome.

Fans of Sedaris (who of course portrayed Jerri Blank on the much-loved and died-toosoon Strangers with Candy) are well aware of her love of arts & crafts. Like, she’s a freaking decoupage fiend. Keep up with her crafting ways (mini potholders or dollhouse furniture, anyone?), her pet bunnies and other completely random (sometimes disturbing) but always important photography by following her on Instagram.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

VIN DIESEL

MINDY KALING

facebook.com/VinDiesel

@MindyKaling

It’s not just his bulging biceps (boy, do they bulge) that have 96 million people following the action star on Facebook. While you can expect the occasional sleeveless selfie, you’re also treated to goofy on-set shots and vlogs where he attempts comedy for fans. And let’s not forget Diesel’s pièce de resistance, in which he dances to Beyoncé in his living room like a hyper middle school girl. Yaas, queen!

Take some time from binging The Mindy Project to check out her Twitter feed, where, as one of comedy’s leading ladies, she’s truly in her element. You’ll quickly learn her likes (Harrison Ford, who is “still mega bangable on all planets“) and her peeves (women wearing their coats on the shoulders, “just a way for the man to keep us demure“). We’ve never wanted to be besties with a funny woman so bad.

@imamysedaris

@cristiano

You may have already guessed that our following Ronaldo has nothing to do with a love of soccer (or fútbol, for that matter) and everything to do with our worship of a ripped guy in uniform. In addition to candid shots of him on the field, he offers up the occasional gym selfie (yep, he works out), family moments and ad campaign sneak peeks in which he looks handsome as ever.

JANUARY 6, 2016

57

THE WORLD OF BILLY MASTERS From left: Phil Sullivan, Badr Hari, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dolly Parton, Neil Patrick Harris

A CUDDLE REVELATION FROM CRISTIANO RONALDO, NETWORK TV’S UPCOMING MUSICAL SLATE AND TOP MODEL FULL-FRONTAL

Sex with a Soccer Star These days, questions about the sex life of a celebrity only makes them more famous (take note, Tom Cruise). Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is very popular with the gays—a community appreciative of a set of balls, to say nothing of 58

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

an impressive torso. Ronaldo has been spending lots of time with world champion kickboxer Badr Hari. The duo is regularly captured in provocative photos roughhousing in various forms of undress, which I suppose well-built athletic guys are wont to do. Lots of tongues wagged after the Moroccan kickboxer captioned one photo as “Just married Hahahahaha.” The implied hilarity must have gotten lost in translation.

The situation exploded last week on live TV in France. A guest on the show Touche Pas à Mon Sport made a comment that went global in a matter of seconds. Every single report repeated the original account, and nobody bothered to track down the actual video—until now. TV personality Daniel Riolo was making a point that athletes’ off-time activities can have ramifications on the field. While my French is limited to getting directions to a bathroom in The Louvre, let me tell you what he said (the original video is on my site): “What interests me is the implication on the field of perks football players have. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo currently uses a private jet three or four times a week to see his friend in Morocco and to cuddle. That will affect his performance.”

That brought an audible gasp out of several people in the studio, and the French don’t shock easily. After all, this is a country where the funeral of a former president was attended by his wife and mistress! Since these rumors are nothing new, I’m sure Ronaldo isn’t that concerned. He’s previously said, “I’m at ease with my sexuality, so it’s not a problem for me.”

God only knows what language he said that in!

Santa’s Naughty Elf There’s no doubting the audience for Broadway babe Nick Adams. He may make the ladies swoon, but we know it’s the lads he likes. He makes no

secret of that, which only adds to his appeal—as if this perfect specimen of male beauty needed any help in that department. Recently Nick had a few hush-hush meetings with the powers-that-be behind the Magic Mike musical. He’s obviously in peak form, both vocally and vascularly. How fortuitous that he showed off both during The Skivvies holiday show at Joe’s Pub in NYC. He was wearing a onesie and singing I’m a Slave 4 Santa as a naughty elf with an awfully large secret. Oh, yes, the onesie came off and ... well, you can see for yourself on my site. Make sure you’re hydrated before watching.

Ask Billy: The Hunt for Full-Frontal This leads perfectly into our “Ask Billy” question.

David in Michigan asks, “Do you happen to have the nude photo of Phil Sullivan? I hear there was a full-frontal that was removed at the request of his management.”

I had no idea who Phil Sullivan was/is. I must admit, I was not a devotee of the late America’s Next Top Model, except for that brief weekend with Nigel Barker. While Nyle DiMarco won the crown, many fans were taken with Sullivan. I guess I should have at least heard of him, since he’s from the Boston area and, oh yes, has a nude photo floating around.

What a photo it is. If you want to see him lying back, fully aroused, looking slightly like Chewbacca and brandishing a sizable light saber, head to my site.

When even I’m jumping on the Star Wars bandwagon, it’s definitely time to end yet another column. This was a long one, so let me quickly remind you to check out BillyMasters. com, the site that tracks down top models—and bottoms, too. Send your questions to me at Billy@BillyMasters.com, and I promise to get back to you. Until next time, remember, one man’s filth is another man’s bible.

PHOTO CREDIT TK

Network TV’s Musical Slate This time last year, I was the first to reveal that NBC’s next live musical would be The Wiz. So let me be the first to tell you what is being planned for next year. Prior to deciding on The Wiz, the plan for this year was a live version of The Music Man starring Neil Patrick Harris. The powers that be are revisiting that idea and feel that updating the classic show with an ethnically diverse cast could be a winner. But there is another contender in the mix. Since the network also scored huge ratings with the Dolly Parton movie Coat of Many Colors, why not marry the two formats into one ginormous extravaganza? Is America ready for a live version of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas?

It’s not exactly family fare, but ya gotta think outside the box. Another possibility being talked about again is a live version of Annie Get Your Gun starring Parton. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, ABC is getting into the musicals game, having announced plans to remake Dirty Dancing. How quickly people forget the disastrous Dirty Dancing series starring Patrick Cassidy and Melora Hardin. A remake of the musical was originally announced in 2011. Then it was postponed.

Then it was revamped as a TV project. Then it was cancelled. Now it’s back as a three-hour extravaganza led by Abigail Breslin—‘cause we’re all clamoring for that! But, here’s what you haven’t heard: ABC purchased the project as a vehicle for one of their top (and I use that term loosely) talents, Derek Hough, beause nobody puts Derek in a corner!

QUEERSAY

BY GOSSIP GAY

ADVICE! ADVICE! ADVICE!

P

erhaps it’s the retrospection that comes with the holiday season. Maybe it’s the emotions that accompany the heart-wrenching lyrics of the new Adele album. Either way, you guys have been flooding my inbox in search of tried-and-true romantic advice.

While my love life is a hot and messy bag of crazy, regular readers know there’s nothing I crave more than assessing, judging and giving advice to my WeHo brethren. That said, I’d like to highlight a query I received from “Bobby the Berenstain Bear”: “Gossip Gay, help! I don’t know if it’s kosher in this day and age to even be concerned with this, but I think I’m dating a porn star. I mean, I know he’s a porn star; I’m just not sure if I’m dating him or not. He asked me to do the circuit scene with him on New Year’s Eve, and while I’m totally flattered, I’m not sure if I’m comfortable.

He’s great, but his job has got me totally, I don’t know, weirded out? How does a boy deal with this, or am I overreacting?”

Calm down , B B B! We alpha-hottie WeHoans have been there before! Yes, your blind date has a familiar face. You know you know him, but you don’t know how—until you catch a glimpse of his perfectly perched posterior. Your beau-to-be is none other that the star of Acres of Ass 3!

You, my friend, are dating a porn star! It’s a delightfully dirty job, but someone’s got to give those home video hunks a happily ever after, and here are five simple steps as to how: 1. Keep Your Orifice Closed. (I’m talking about your mouth!) There’s no need to inform Aunt Ida of your man’s infamous moniker. Let those not in-the-homoknow get to know him for him and not his big screen assets.

2. As Easy as 1-2-3. Get tested. Regardless of his résumé or occupation, it’s a must for every man. Not only will it put your mind at ease, but it’ll open the door for topics like fidelity, sexual history and, most importantly, PrEP-ared bottom-ability.

3. Separate Business and Pleasure. He doesn’t watch you file expense reports in your cubicle, so don’t visit him on the set of A Midsummer Night’s Wet Dream.

Your man and his sausage are big enough to bring home the bacon alone!

4. Co-Author a Back-Story. It’s tasteless and tacky, but, someday a drunk bar bitch will stumble up and slur, “Aren’t you that power bottom from Poke-My-Hot Ass?” Don’t give him the photo op. Instead, have a bogus backstory to shutdown and shut-up that stupid stranger.

5. Create your Own Code Name. Be fun, be flirty and go undercover! Why not create your own porn name? You do know how, don’t you? Take your first childhood pet for your first name. Take the first street you lived on for your last name.

If you’re craving a middle name, it’s the first boy you ever did the horizontal handshake with. (I’m Butch Caleb Captains! Hot, huh?)

Finally, enjoy the ride! If your boy-toy was a tax accountant, you’d cash in on his expertise come April 15. Well, your hunk earns his dough by flaunting his buffed-out bod, so lay back, let him do what he does best and enjoy the ride, figuratively and literally. Happy holidays, BBB. Let us know how New Year’s Eve goes!

For more Gossip Gay, go to FrontiersMedia.com. Drop me your dirty little secrets at QueerSay@hotmail.com, and don’t worry, I never give up my deep throat!

JANUARY 6, 2016

59

PALM SPRINGS Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper grace the red carpet at last year’s 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival

THE 27TH TIME’S A CHARM The desert’s annual precursor to the Oscars, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, returns in the new year with a robust roster of LGBT must-sees By James F. Mills

C

elebrating nearly 30 years as the third largest film fest in the United States, the Palm Springs International Film Festival arrives with the new year, offering more than 150 films from 60 countries. Dramas, comedies, mysteries, romance, thrillers and documentaries are all on the schedule for the 11-day event, running at various Palm Springs and Cathedral City venues.

Moviegoers will have plenty of LGBT content to choose from, including Oriented, a drama about three Palestinian gay men living in Israel; While You Weren’t Looking, about a South African woman who falls for a gender-fluid woman; Departure, a lush drama about a British teen discovering his sexuality in the midst of his parents’ marriage falling apart; Women He’s Undressed, a documentary about flamboyant costumer OrryKelly; and Viva, a drama about a drag performer’s estranged macho father returning to his life. Frontiers spoke with festival director Darryl Macdonald (pictured below right) about putting together the festival and what LGBT moviegoers can expect.

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Jan. 1-11 psfilmfest.org

60

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

FRONTIERS: PSIFF is seen as the kickoff for the two-month Hollywood Awards season and has become an early predictor of some of the Oscar nominations. How did that come about?

MACDONALD: Our primary aim was always to create a great festival with several distinctive themes or sections that helped set it apart from other events of its kind. Given our dates and proximity to Hollywood, it was only natural that among the themes we’d focus on would be a showcase of the key foreign language Oscar candidates and an awards gala that honored the key artistic contributions, which by definition means honoring talent that could be among the frontrunners for Oscar recognition. The fact that our selections have been so in synch with the eventual list of nominees each year I think has more to do with a savvy selection process and personal taste than anything else. The quality of the show itself has also definitely contributed to the esteem it enjoys.

F: The festival always starts the first weekend in January, but the way the calendar falls, this year’s festival kicks off

on New Year’s Day. Is that going to be a problem?

M: I’d be disingenuous if I said we were eager to open the festival on New Year’s Day this year, but our dates are dictated somewhat by the dates set by the Academy for nomination ballots to be returned. So this year, for the first and hopefully last time, Jan. 1 it is. That said, our advance sales for opening night, series passes and package sales are even stronger than they’ve been in past years, so I don’t anticipate any negative effect.

F: Does the audience primarily come from Palm Springs and the greater Coachella Valley?

M: Actually, our audience is from all over the country, with 70% coming from outside the Coachella Valley. I expect they attend for the same reasons they’ve always attended—a great lineup of films and filmmaking guests.

F: How were this year’s LGBT films selected?

M: Each of the LGBT films we chose this year was selected because programming team members felt passionately about them. While each of them is quite different from the others in tone and technique, collectively they paint a vibrant picture of the contemporary zeitgeist of LGBT life around the globe. Our selection criteria for LGBT films doesn’t differ from what we look for in non-LGBT films—compelling stories that exhibit a distinctive approach to storytelling.

F: How have gay-themed films evolved in the past 25 years?

M: One major difference is that LGBT films are much more diverse now in terms of the stories they tell; 25 years ago, most LGBT films revolved around coming out stories or AIDS or other narrow facets of LGBT life, or involved tragedies connected to the fact that the characters were LGB or T. That’s no longer the case. It’s much more common now to see films in which the characters’ lives aren’t defined simply by the fact they are gay, and to see LGBT films made in a wide variety of genres. We’re also seeing fewer clichéd LGBT characters and more films that simply incorporate them without a character’s sexuality being a key factor in the film’s plot or story.

Thu. | Dec. 31 JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS Aqua Caliente Casino

Ring in 2016 with the “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and former Runaways singer and her band. hotwatercasino.com Sun. | Jan. 3 SEEING THE LIGHT: ILLUMINATING OBJECTS Palm Springs Art Museum

It’s your last chance to see the exhibit examining how light influences our perceptions of objects. psmuseum.org Sun. | Dec. 27 TOMMI ROSE AND THE PLAYGIRLS Toucans Tiki Lounge

This weekly drag revue offers two shows during the holidays, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. toucanstikilounge.com Tue. | Dec. 29 FAITH PRINCE AND JASON GRAAE Purple Room

The two B roadway sensations of fe r a sp e cial cabaret show, titled The Prince and the Showboy.

Performances Dec. 29-30 at 7 p.m. purpleroompalmsprings.com

Tue. | Jan 5 TRIVIA CONTEST Hunters Nightclub

Put all that useless information cluttering your brain to good use.

Trivia nights are every Tuesday and Thursday, starting at 5 p.m. hunterspalmsprings.com Thu. | Jan. 7 BEE GEES AND ABBA TRIBUTES McCallum Theatre

Tribute bands Night Fever and ABBA MANIA perform the hits of their respective bands. Shows Jan. 7-8 at 8 p.m. mccallumtheatre.com

STONEWALL GARDENS OPEN HOUSE Jan. 3 stonewallgardens.com

SHOWING LOVE FOR SENIORS DECEMBER MARKS THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Stonewall Gardens, the first senior assisted living village for the LGBT community in Southern California. Located in the Uptown Palm Springs district at 2150 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Stonewall Gardens celebrates its first anniversary with an open house on Sunday, Jan. 3, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Originally built in the 1950s as a mid-century bungalow-style resort, Stonewall Gardens was renovated and transformed into a 24-unit community with a full-time nurse and 24-hour professional staff to provide “resort-style assisted living” with the dignity and respect that LGBT people deserve. Operated by Northstar Senior Living, Stonewall Gardens is approximately half full.

Several of its current residents moved there from traditional assisted living facilities so they could be open about their sexuality and still get the help they need. Community Relations Director Lauren Kabakoff reports, “More and more people are coming to us for this very reason, and that warms my heart.” —J.F.M. JANUARY 6, 2016

61

MARKETPLACE SERVICES

HOME

Fitness Trainer, Rossano Rea Nearly 20 years experience

BodyMorph, Inc Your Transformation Starts Here (310) 595-4574 bodymorph.net SERVICES

Calligaris at Pomp Home This is the first Calligaris monobrand showroom on the West Coast of the United States featuring the complete collection of Italian furniture, lighting, rugs and accessories. Calligaris boasts one of the largest quick ship programs in North America, offering a huge inventory ready for shipping nationwide as well as special order items shipping out of Italy.

Yan Somoza, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist PSY25253 9171 Wilshire Boulevard. Beverly Hills (323) 347-1277 yansomozaphd@gmail.com SHOPPING

In addition to the Calligaris monobrand showroom, Pomp Home features their second showroom, THE ANNEX, with more Calligaris items, as well as Eilersen, Jesse and rugs and lighting from a variety of vendors. THE ANNEX is also a great place to find clearance items and floor samples.

The showroom is open 11-6 Monday to Saturday and 12-5 on Sundays.

633 North La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 592-3058 pomphome.com

Showtime Clothing

SERVICES

Looking for that special outfit for all those holiday parties that are filling up your calendar? Updating your wardrobe for that new look in the new year?

Come check out our new location and the top European fashions and new fall fashions in-store now.

Open Noon to 10 pm daily 8932 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood CA 90069 (310) 659-1067

Eric B. Fromer Chiropractic, Inc Full Service Chiropractic: Family, Personal Injury, W/C, Diagnostic Testing.

5123 W. Sunset Blvd., #202 Los Angeles, CA. 90027 (323) 962-8520 chirohollywood.com

TO ADVERTISE CALL 323.930.3220 OR VISIT FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

MARKETPLACE

SERVICES

HOME

Jalfaro Design Studio

Interior Design / Home Store • Unique new and handmade home furnishings • Original art work • Vintage ‘finds’ • Unique lighting • Repurposed artisan creations The studio is inviting, casual and great idea space. Stop by and check it out.

Opening Special: 10% off all items with flyer 650 (#R2) S. Spring at 7th Los Angeles, CA, 90014 (213) 840-2895 jalfaro411@yahoo.com

BLADES - Men’s Hair Salon Santa Monica & Larrabee corner Free Parking on Palm 801 Larrabee., Suite 1, West Hollywood, CA 90069 (310) 659-6693 SERVICES

SERVICES

Tim Lyons Law Give yourself peace of mind this holiday season. Let Tim prepare your will, trust and/or healthcare directive. Make sure your wishes are followed and your assets go to those you want and not the state or a relative you have not spoken to in years.

LGBT people must be prepared with the right legal documents. Flat fees available.

Buying or selling your home? Renovating?

Let Tim guide you through the process.

Tim is an experienced attorney working day in and out to help people navigate the legal world so they can focus on their lives.

Find out how his services can help you.

7326 Melrose Avenue (323) 933-0999

SERVICES

HEALTH

Asian + Thai Massage

Vester Chiropractic

Sun Spa Massage 5301 W. Sunset - (323) 465-6529

8543 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 13 West Hollywood, CA 90069 (323) 710-6269 westhollywoodchiropractic.com

2 Locations - 10am-10pm - Visa/MC

LA Thai Massage 1523 N. La Brea - (323) 652-1492

Nails, Waxing and Facial Treatments Opening Special: 20% off all items with ad mention

(424) 265-8465 tim@timlyonslaw.com timlyonslaw.com SERVICES

Nailvana

Customized Chiropractic Wellness Solutions.

Jacob Johnson Return to youth with a customization.

(323) 651-1725

TO ADVERTISE CALL 323.930.3220 OR VISIT FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

GAYDAR

GAYS OF OUR LIVES 2015 has slipped away, leaving behind several hits (and more than a few misses) on our gaydar DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YA

A SLOPPY MERCY F*CK

WE’RE AMBIVALENT

CRUISING OVER THE SPEED LIMIT

HOT & HEAVY

The person most excited

by Lenny Kravitz’s dick slip? Steven Tyler

50 Shades of Grey introduced the hetero world to BD/SM—or as we queers call it, Thursday

Dear Justin, forget Photoshop.

What you need is a fluffer. We can provide refrences.

For the last time, keep your goddamn pudding pop in your pants!

The Birth of Venus millennial-style The Boy Scouts allowed gay youth to join, and the world didn’t stop turning Infallible, no.

Unflappable, yes.

Thanks, Supreme Court!

2015 was the year of the Lyon

Tituss Burgess’ “Peeno Noir,” an ode to black penis

Feast your eyes on Julie Andrews hugging Gaga, aka a homo supernova A fairy tale failure

WTF is with that rat tail, Shia LaBeouf?

Oh, come on, Game of Thrones!

This bitch

64

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM

THE ONE

2

FRONTIERSMEDIA.COM