August 5, 2020 :: News & Culture

CO LO R A D O'S LG B TQ M AGA ZINE | F R E E

Can't Be Contained

OCTOBER 3rd DOUBLETREE BY HILTON

DENVERPOWERGALA.COM

CONTENTS AUGUST 5, 2020 VOL44 NO9

JUSTICE FOR ELIJAH MCCLAIN: THE STORY SO FAR TITUSS BURGESS SPILLS THE 'PEENO NOIR' FOR US THIS IS ME+ ARE WE STILL COOL? PHOTO PROJECT SHINES LIGHT ON TOXIC MASCULINITY IN THE POC COMMUNITY HOLLYWOOD’S TRANS INFLUENCER: SCOTT TURNER SCHOFIELD

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Photo by Michael Fusco

ST. PANTHER ON COMING OF AGE, COMING OUT, AND SPEAKING UP

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O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 5

JUSTICE FOR

ELIJAH MCCLAIN

by Keegan Williams

THE STORY SO FAR

T

he summer of 2020 has been one for the books, engulfed in recordhigh temperatures and equally heated conversations around the ongoing coronavirus, political strife, and the upcoming election, riding the wave of continued nationwide, protests against police brutality and a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement.

As we make a dent in the month of August, we steadily approach the one-year anniversary of Elijah McClain’s death, which happened right here in Colorado.

Elijah was a 23-year-old, unarmed, Black man who was apprehended by Aurora police August 24, 2019 after a passerby noticed him wearing a mask (which he wore outside due to his anemia and to help him stay warm), flailing his arms, and listening to music. On the 911 call, the caller indicated he didn’t appear dangerous. When officers stopped him, Elijah told them, “I have a right to go where I am going.”

An officer touched him; Elijah told him that he was going home and urged the officer to respect his boundaries. A struggle ensued, with Elijah thrown to the ground, an officer applying a “carotid control hold” around Elijah’s neck as he urged them to stop and that he was unarmed. To sedate him, medics injected Elijah with ketamine, too much for his body size.

He suffered two heart attacks on the way to the hospital and was pronounced brain dead three days later. Elijah McClain died August 30 after being removed from life support, and none of the officers or medics at the scene have been charged.

It wasn’t until November when police body camera footage was released, though it 6 \\ A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 0

Photo by Veronica L. Holyfield

is difficult to indicate what protocol was followed by officers, as their body cameras all allegedly fell off during the arrest. An officer can be heard in the footage stating Elijah had done nothing illegal prior to the arrest, and Elijah repeatedly asks officers to stop, pleads that his house is nearby, that he has an ID and is unarmed. This is before he vomits, apologizes to the officers, and tells them he cannot breathe correctly. A camera is briefly picked up and pointed at Elijah, then dropped into the grass once more. Around the 15:34-mark, a police officer can be heard saying, “Leave your camera there” as another officer goes to retrieve it.

The autopsy report was released the same month, which notes a combination of factors could have killed Elijah, that he had chronic asthma, and that his physical exertion likely contributed to his death, though indicated it was “unclear if the officers’ actions contributed as well.”

Following the release of the autopsy report, Mari Newman, the lawyer representing the McClain family, rebuted, “Whatever the report says, it’s clear that if the police had not attacked Elijah McClain, he would be alive today. They immediately went hands-on and tackled him. And, of course, the fact that all three of their body cameras fell off is something that we should all be pretty suspicious about. It makes it awfully easy for them to say whatever they want, but what we know is that they attacked him for no reason whatsoever.”

Details around Elijah’s case caught nationwide attention this past June following the death of George Floyd, another unarmed, Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May. Following weeks of Black Lives Matter and police brutality protests in Denver and worldwide, Colorado had the momentum to pass the Law Enforcement Accountability and Integrity Act, which Rep. Leslie Herod had started working on in late 2019 after Elijah’s death.

Among other police reform measures, the bill makes it a duty for officers to intervene if another sworn employee is inappropriately applying force, explicitly outlaws the carotid hold that was used against Elijah, creates a public database to prevent the rehiring of bad officers, and removes qualified immunity for prosecution of law enforcement found to have acted unlawfully.

“Many people are saying they’re going to quit because it’s too much, which I’m fine with, because they’re obviously bad officers,” Herod says. “What we can’t do is bring their babies back, but I can’t prosecute those officers. I can’t actually even put those bad officers in the database that we are creating because we can’t do retroactive work, and obviously I don’t represent Aurora.”

threatened to sic a dog on him for not lying still enough as he was dying.”

Herod continues, “I could write a law tomorrow saying wearing green pants is illegal, but if you wore green pants on Tuesday, I can’t throw you in jail for that, you know? You didn’t actually break the law when you were doing it. Now, I don’t contend that these officers haven’t broken the law, but what I do know is that we’re operating under pre-217 [Law Enforcement Accountability and Integrity Act] language, which gives the officers a lot more flexibility and ability to murder, and I think that needs to be said. Colorado has one of the highest numbers of excessive use-of-force cases in the country. Our laws are way too weak, and it’s time to change that.”

On July 22, it was first reported that Rosenblatt filed a lawsuit against the City of Aurora and Iterim Chief Wilson, claiming that he was wrongfully denied his request to take his firing to the city’s Independent Review Board. On the July 3 conference, Wilson said it was within her right to deny the review board request and terminate the officers.

Fresh off the heels of the Law Enforcement Accountability and Integrity Act’s passing, police in Colorado made headlines in early July for a different reason: three Aurora police officers were fired after photos resurfaced from October 2019 depicting officers at Elijah McClain’s memorial playfully recreating a chokehold. One of the three officers was fired for his response to the photo being shared, and a fourth officer resigned before punishment could be handed down.

"While the allegations of this internal affairs case are not criminal, it is a crime against humanity and decency.

To even think about doing such a thing is beyond comprehension. It shows a lack of morals, values, integrity, and judgment. I can no longer trust to allow them to wear this badge,” Interim APD Chief Vanessa Wilson said at a July 3 news conference.

The McClain family called it a ‘new low’ and issued a statement after the photos came to light. “This is a department where officers tackled an innocent, young, Black man for no reason, inflicted outrageous force—including two carotid chokeholds—for 15 minutes as he pled for his life, joked when he vomited, and

One of the three officers fired over the photos was Jason Rosenblatt, also one of the officers who restrained McClain before he died. He received the pictures and replied “ha ha,” according to Wilson.

He wasn’t terminated for his role in McClain’s death but on July 3, after the pictures were investigated.

This wasn’t the only time eyes were fixed steadily on Aurora Police and their response to the public outrage around Elijah’s death. A now-viral video depicts the familiar, cell-phone-recorded scene of peaceful protestors interrupted by a heavy, militarized police presence, namely a violin vigil (honoring Elijah as a violinist) on June 27 with a quick pan over to Aurora police entering, armed and marching, toward the crowd which begins to disperse as they descend into the park.

Interim APD Chief Wilson defended the tactics of the officers, some of whom resorted to using pepper spray and batons on protestors subject to a dispersal order adjacent to Aurora police headquarters. She said that police were targeting this small group of agitators when the officers cracked down on the protest, and the intent was to protect those attending the violin vigil.

“We were attacked with rocks, and we had to defend our officers. My officers aren’t sacrificial lambs,” Wilson said during the following virtual city council meeting. She also said they were concerned that protestors would attempt to break into police headquarters to destroy case evidence.

Aurora Councilman Juan Marcano was at the violin vigil and said, “I don’t think any of us felt unsafe until the riot police showed up.”

On July 23, Aurora community leaders and protestors from the June 27 demonstration filed a class-action O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 7

Photo by Justine Johnson lawsuit against APD and its interim chief, saying their response the demonstration was unconstitutional.

Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly had agreed upon an independent investigation of Elijah’s death, though the contract was ultimately terminated, as the investigator had a long career in law enforcement, and Aurora City Council deemed the investigation would be inherently biased.

Working on a state level with a local case, Gov. Jared Polis has limited ability to assist directly, though he announced in early June he was appointing Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate the case and file charges, should his investigation support prosecution.

“All Coloradans should be safe walking home from the convenience store or just being in their own neighborhoods listening to headphones.

Unfortunately, I know that is not how many people—especially young people of color—feel in our state today because I’ve heard it from them 8 \\ A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 0

directly. We need to do a better job, and at a bare minimum, they deserve a thorough review of the case,” Polis says in a statement.

On July 20, Aurora City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for a three-member team with expertise in law enforcement accountability, civil rights, EMT procedures, and use-offorce to carry forward an independent, unbiased investigation.

The investigation will be led by Jonathan Smith of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Washington D.C., a nonprofit law firm that addresses racial and economic inequality within criminal justice. It is a complementary investigation alongside Weiser’s investigation prompted by Polis, focusing more on policy and procedure over criminality.

At time of publication, the other members of the team have not yet been decided on, though Aurora Communications Director Kim Stuart said the investigation will commence

“relatively quickly” and will give the city a clear path on next steps to take on the case upon completion.

Of course, recognizing progress is important, but as we inch into August, we approach a full year since his death without justice for Elijah McClain, and see still the tireless fighting around the country for so many other Black lives cut short at the hands of police with little or no accountability and actionable, systemic change.

Take a drive down Broadway, squint a bit, and you’ll see the barely visible “Black Lives Matter” message painted across the pavement a couple months back. Denver joined dozens of American cities in donning murals that pay tribute to Black lives lost, some cities even changing street names to “Black Lives Matter,” though these acts leave many questioning what our leadership can do that’s actionable in this country for progress beyond these gestures that don’t enforce long-term change against systemic racism and police violence.

The work must continue, though it doesn’t come without its trials.

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A truly independent investigation of his death which pertains to the Aurora city manager, mayor, city attorney, and city council

On July 25, a peaceful demonstration to demand justice for Elijah McClain gradually moved to I-225, blocking off both directions, and the evening took a stark turn, as a blue-green Jeep plowed through the crowd around 7 p.m. Video of the incident shoes protestors quickly bolting to either side of the street to avoid being hit. Shots were fired by a protestor that injured two others, and a third protestor had to jump from a barrier to avoid being hit, sustaining injuries and falling at least 20 feet. The Jeep was taken into police custody, and APD is in contact with the driver and passenger.

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A criminal prosecution of the officers and paramedics involved which pertains to the Adams County District Attorney Dave Young

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Firing the officers involved in Elijah’s death which pertains to the Aurora chief of police

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Change in police practices and a civil remedy in the form of no less than a $35 million settlement, which Elijah’s mother, Sheneen, plans to use to start the McClain Foundation

There is an ongoing investigation, though no arrests have been made.

The three organizers of the event, the Party for Socialism and Liberation - Denver, Frontline Party for Revolutionary Action, and Aurora Copwatch, released a statement the next day, criticizing Aurora police for their treatment of the driver and passenger of the Jeep versus that of Elijah.

“We will continue to stand against the racist and violent Aurora Police Department which harasses and murders Black people with impunity, attacks protestors at will, and aids and abets white supremacist vigilantes that would like to kill those who protest their department. This fight is also a matter of life and death for our community.”

It’s been quite the summer, and clearly, the fight is only just beginning. As Coloradans, there is a special pain in our proximity to Elijah and communities directly affected by his death. The country treads forward, foundationally built on systemic racism, genocide, and slavery that brings us to the year 2020, afflicted by political turmoil during an election year, battling at once COVID-19 and the additional, ongoing pandemic killing so many Black Americans.

“Democrat, Republican, doesn’t matter. We are not prosecuting these bad officers, and people need to start talking about how important the DA race is. Like, those are the kind of things that we need to be doing right now, and any platform that we have, we need to really have a longer conversation about what’s going on—that’s what we need to do,” Herod adds.

To donate to the Elijah McClain Foundation through the GoFundMe started by Elijah’s mother Sheneen McClain: gofundme.com/f/elijah-mcclain To sign the petition to demand Justice for Elijah McClain: change.org/p/adams-county-district-attorney-justice-for-elijahmcclain-48a81830-f891-4b04-ba28-c2625b916b96 For more resources, visit the Justice for Elijah McClain LinkTree: linktr.ee/justiceforelijahmcclain This is an ongoing story. Keep with OUT FRONT for more updates.

Sometimes, the weight of our collective reality feels too heavy to bear, but as we buck up and continue the trek forward, how can we hone in our focus in the fight for Elijah and so many others?

“I think the best thing to do is focus people’s efforts on who can make a difference. There’s not much the governor can do right now, not much I can do but use my voice too, but there’s a lot that the city council, the city attorney, and the mayor can do, and I think that’s where we really need to focus things—and the DA,” Herod says.

While sharing on social media and keeping these conversations going is important, Herod adamantly says it’s important to keep using our voices and holding those in power accountable, but doing it in a strategic and intentional way that matches which leaders have pull in which places.

“If we put pressure on the Mayor of Aurora, the DA, and the folks at city council, we can actually do justice by this family, but we can also use this as momentum to make sure that we’re doing justice by a lot of the families that have been impacted—it’s not just the one.”

The McClain family has several demands to attain Justice for Elijah: O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 9

TITUSS BURGESS SPILLS THE 'PEENO NOIR' FOR US

Photo by Michael Fusco

by Denny Patterson

W

ith work in television, film, theatre, and music, Tituss Burgess has become one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile and dynamic performers who has generated both critical and commercial acclaim. Television audiences first met him when he appeared on the hit NBC series 30 Rock, but it was his role in Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Kimmy’s over-the-top best friend and roommate

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Titus Andromedon that made him a star.

Burgess instantly became a household name and spawned hundreds of GIFs and memes as a result of his exaggerated expressiveness.

with an attitude is certain to bring comfort

Adding to his diverse talents, Burgess released his first piece of music aimed squarely at dance music culture. If you thought “Peeno Noir” and the ultimate Lemonade spoof was fierce, then you must check out “Dance M.F.” This sexy track

anthem.

and escapism to our currently socially distanced souls. Originally intended to spice up this year’s canceled Pride season, “Dance M.F.” became this summer’s Burgess took some time to chat more with OUT FRONT about the new track, playing the iconic character of Titus Andromedon, and some upcoming film and TV projects.

Hello, Tituss! I cannot get enough of your sultry stomper of a track, “Dance M.F.” How has it been received by audiences?

sort of theatrical piece. So, the answer is yes, I will revisit it, just perhaps not in the way that I initially intended the world to consume it.

People have been tweeting at me and sending DMs of them dancing to it and such. I sort of throw things out in the world and try not too hard to pay attention to how well they are doing because I don’t want the space in between—the space that I can’t govern or control, to begin to influence how I felt making it and influence why I made it, to sort of alter the energy that I put into constructing it.

I would like to switch gears and ask a couple questions about the show that launched you into the public spotlight, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. How emotional is it for you now that it’s over?

So, I put it out there, and people who need it, hopefully they find it, and it serves them. I am already drumming up something else to give to the public, because we need fun things to take our minds off of what’s really going on.

This is your first official dance track. What made you want to tackle that genre?

I didn’t set out to write a dance track.

I wrote this with a young lady named Imani Coppola and a guy named Dan Edinberg. I took derived lyrics from a letter that I wrote to myself last winter.

I was going through a particularly dark time, and I do not journal, but I jotted down some thoughts.

I went into the studio with these guys and began to explain the energetic atmosphere that I wanted to create, which translated into what it would sound sonically. I then dumped some of the verbiage into the verses because I thought, ‘I don’t want to just sing all over the place. I want to create. I want to feel like I’m at the bar, the club.’ Sort of 90s, underground club scene party. Once we came up with the sound, it was very clear that this was about to be a dance track, so it happened rather organically.

Last year, you released your EP Saint Tituss, but I heard that you felt like you were unable to give it the attention it deserves. Any plans to revisit it?

I will say this, and this is both related and unrelated: I just started working on a project with a director/ choreographer, and we are going to be looking at the possibility of using a great deal of the music that I have written that by and large have not been consumed by the public. To create some

You know, I joked with Tina[Fey] and said I don’t think Kimmy is ever over [laughs]. I really doubt it. That’s me starting rumors, and that’s not me confirming that she confirmed it because she did not, but when we did a panel, she said she was open to keeping Kimmy universe going. So, I don’t know what this means, but she is open to it.

I don’t know if I feel there is closure because it may still go on.

As an openly gay man, did you have any hesitations accepting the role of a flamboyantly gay character?

No, because she wrote such a fully formed character. They were telling me about the arc, and in many ways, Titus Andromedon is more an everyman than everyone else. He is the epitome of every marginalized group. He’s overweight, which is a no-no in the gay community. He is Black, that is a no-no in America. He is a gay Christian, and that’s a no-no. He can’t get a job because he is all of these things, so he represents everyone.

I also made it a point to make his eccentricities, including his flamboyance, not a key ingredient to who Titus Andromedon was. It was his delusions of grandeur, his inability to consider others, and his fight to be who he was after being repressed and suppressed for so long, coming out so late. It’s all of those things that influence our actions when we do come out later in life.

So, I jumped at the chance of playing that because while I came out at 17,18, there are other things we come out of the closet for, things we don’t talk about. We are always unearthing something within ourselves, so it was easy to tap into, and I was proud to play him and proud to represent more of America.

Do people expect you to be just like Titus Andromendon when they meet you?

When things first started out, the answer was wholeheartedly yes. I think that narrative is shifting, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe because there’s distance now between me and the show when it premiered, but also with my emergence in other areas and movies. People are starting to find me who don’t even know about Kimmy Schmidt. I think in many ways, I’m still a bit of a toddler in this business.

I think that won’t be such a hurdle in the near future.

A film I am very happy that you are involved with is the Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, that is set to release in January.

You play James Cleveland. How did you get involved with this film?

I auditioned! [Laughs] And they gave me the role. I know this man’s music very, very, very intimately. I was the music director of my church at an early age, and my grandmother listened to all of James Cleveland’s albums and sermons. His music has influenced much of how I write, the narratives that I use, and some of the sounds that I use.

Between you and me, I knew I was going to get this part. Like, I am so equipped to do this! And I was having a sh*tty day when it was time for me to go in there and do this, but I got focused, and I used all of that frustration. There was a beautiful monologue I had to deliver, and I just put all of my pain inside that.

I just hope I did the role justice.

Before we wrap up, are there any other projects we should be on the lookout for?

There is something coming down the pipeline from Netflix that I did, and I think the world is going to really enjoy it. It is in the non-scripted space. Season two of Central Park is underway; Season Two of Dishmantled for Quibi will be filmed soon; Respect comes out this winter, and there is a whole bunch of other stuff!

To stay up-to-date with Burgess, follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/TitussBurgess and Instagram @instatituss. To read the full interview, visit outfrontmagazine.com.

O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 1 1

A VIRTUAL FESTIVAL FOR LIFE!

Colorado Health Network has patiently monitored the COVID pandemic situation to determine the best way to approach this year's Festival For Life and 5K Walk/Run: AIDS Walk Colorado. We are excited to announce that we will indeed hold the event this year in a virtual format, and registration is now open!

As a health organization dedicated to serving marginalized identities and people with compromised immune systems, we strongly believe this change will be in the best interest of the health and well-being of our communities. While we recognize

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that going virtual will impact every aspect of this important tradition, we are also confident that the virtual event will provide a fun and meaningful opportunity for connection during this time.

Instead of a one-day, physical gathering, walkers and runners will have the opportunity to complete their 5K virtually over a three-week period.

In addition, we will host a series of fun community Facebook livestream events like Zumba classes and interviews with FFL partner agencies and the co-founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt—Mike Smith.

Long-term Denverites may remember Mike was also the executive director of the LGBT Community Center of Colorado from 1997 to 2001 and chaired Denver Mayor Wellington Webb's LGBT Advisory Council that drafted and advocated for domestic partner rights and transgender rights legislation, which became law in 2002.

Under his leadership, the Center created

Rainbow Alley, one of the nation's first social services programs for runaway or homeless, LGBTQ youth. He also brought PrideFest and the Colorado Legal Initiatives Project under the umbrella of The Center.

The long-held tradition of displaying quilt panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt will continue with a dedication ceremony at the Cheesman Park Pavilion on Friday, August 14 followed by display of panels during the day on Saturday, August 15.

Colorado Health Network thanks the community for your understanding and support of these changes! We are so grateful for your continued support and look forward to being able to meet in person in 2021.

Please visit ColoradoHealthNetwork.org/events for more information on Festival activities along with details on how to register to participate!

THIS IS ME+

By Matt Sewick

relationships with one another. In a growing world of divisiveness, I want us to move our family forward with all walls down.

Photos provided by Matt Sewick

So there I was, bright-eyed and naive to the world as a freshman in college.

A young boy who had never used condoms—a failing in responsibility shared with my older, dominant partners as well as a heteronormative sex education—who went in for his first STD test the day after a fabulous Valentines’ date. Just hours later, as I walked the beloved boardwalk lined with palm trees on campus, I heard my phone ring. The University doctor called me back to her office in a stern voice.

Suddenly, the Arizona sun was glaring down on me, and then everything flashed white. At the age of 18, with my whole world ahead of me, I was diagnosed HIV-positive.

Let me start by introducing myself. Hi there, my name is Matt*. Why the asterisk? For most of my adult life, I’ve felt that getting to know me completely came with one of those annotations as a reference to additional information.

Hence the asterisk, or better suited, a plus sign. And this is where my story begins+. +Read on for more information I’m so fortunate to be alive today, when being gay is mostly accepted and embraced. Heck, my best friend and I both won the 'Prom King' title at rival, suburban high schools—that Netflix pilot just writes itself. I also know I’m very lucky to live in a time where living with HIV doesn’t own me.

however, is not intended as a coming out (as positive) story, but more a stripping-down (see photo) to reveal more of myself to a community that has become my family. In breaking down my own wall, I hope to encourage others to do the same, and I’m not just speaking to those who are positive.

There it is, a much-needed admission to a big part of who I am. This piece,

For, as amazing as our LGBTQ community is, we deserve deeper

The entire weekend was a perpetual buzz in my head. With a constant stream of tears on my cheeks, my mom flew in for the weekend; friends consoled me, and I knew life would carry on without me, and so I went right back to classes on Monday. I powered through.

I didn’t let it define me; why should it, nowadays? It isn’t a death sentence anymore, as it was for millions before me. We now live in a time when modern meds work in just one pill a day, and Undetectable = Untransmittable.

Since the start of the epidemic, more than 38 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses. At the peak in 2004, there were 1.4 million deaths, which was then cut in half to 770,000 in 2018. We have come a long way, but there is still so much more ahead.

Today, you could ask, “Why does it matter to come out as positive?’ That’s exactly what I thought. I carried on through college, my early career, and the entire decade of my 20s only divulging my story to a few. Half of what I told myself was, “It doesn’t matter.

Nobody would care, so why share?”

But the truth was that I was living in a constant state of fear that I could lose everyone forever.

As my diagnosis was such a big part of my story, experiences, and journey to adulthood, my steady silence was O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 1 3

digital interaction with the growing desire for deeper, human connections— personally and professionally. Don’t forget, however, the gay scene is in a bubble co-existing in an entirely separate ecosystem with recycled interactions for partygoers from ages 18 to 88. I’ll admit, life inside the bubble is incredible, and we should feel fortunate to be surrounded by so many like-minded acquaintances, but it has to go deeper.

This modern scene has embraced and revived subcultures from the late 20th century with underground sex parties, fluid sexual experiences, and kink exploration for any desire. The rise of PrEP and open-minded views on drugs and sexual relationships have popularized raves and sex parties again. As someone who self-describes as a partial nudist, I, too, accepted my desires more openly.

breaking me down bit by bit. A decade of constant feelings of inferiority and shame led me to engage in sexually degrading encounters with anonymous partners to fill an inner void, creating a taller wall around me. Looking back, my emotional health had been slowly eroded by this wall I placed between myself and loved ones.

But, the problem was that it was an epic, life-changing event. I switched majors, moved back home from outof-state college, and grew up way too young. Being diagnosed was the single biggest moment that has defined my adulthood, and yet until now, I couldn’t bring myself to share it with the ones closest to me. For someone who has always put others before me, this coming out as positive is simply a declaration of self-care. I need this for myself, to become my whole self, to love my full self.

The Gay Veil In the bubble of social media, we are constantly caught up with what everyone is doing but not exactly who they are. And, as amazing as our community can be, the bubble floats 1 4 \\ A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 0

into real life as well into happy hours, nightclubs, beer busts, and more. I call it ‘The Gay Veil,’ and no, it’s not Netflix’s next dating show for homos.

We often don’t truly know the people sitting right next to us at happy hour other than their social persona and that they last vacationed at Puerto Vallarta’s #GaysforDays. In fact, there are close friends whom I have hung out with for five-plus years, and I don’t even know their day job—now, alcohol has a huge part in that memory loss, but we don’t have time to unpack all that.

To modern gays’ credit, social media has allowed us to ‘friend’ more people than ever before. It’s quite a talent to just know 300 first names, but that friendship pool is getting more diluted by the day. These curated personas and impossibly perfect influencers are tearing down our emotional health one finger tap at a time. We’re sharing more from our last brunch and less of our latest dream or disappointment— providing our followers content without substance.

There are many analysts who have said we have reached a possible peak in

Everyone was acting more positively and openly about sex. However, no one was talking about positive sex, or protection, whatsoever. From my experience, there is a sharp divide of condom use between Americans and much of the world. I get it; it’s hard (pun intended) to talk about protection during the heat of the

moment, especially in an era of PrEP where your risk doesn’t include HIV. And yes, we’ve all been told of the other risks with infections, but that changes nothing in the easy era of barebacking.

In this moment more than ever, we should know that new viruses will come, sometimes in an epidemic or as an antibiotic-resistant STI. I challenge us all to do better. As we’re living through the COVID-19 crisis, feelings rush back to me from the beginning. misinformation, healthcare coverage, the need for closeness. We’ve taken everything from modern medicine to physical touch and unprotected sex for granted in a seemingly invincible universe.

As a sexually active, submissive partner, I do feel I had less of a voice in using a condom. After all, isn’t the thin layer what harms the top’s sex drive or erection? This is why dominant partners need to empower their partner’s voice, because ultimately the bottom absorbs more of the risk.

Reveal Yourself Through all this self-discovery, I met the love of my life seven years ago who was completely accepting as we educated each other throughout the journey. No longer newlyweds, our married life has only pushed our wishes to have more.

More growth individually, together, and with friends and family.

So here I am, 30 years young, attempting to lift the Gay Veil and release all the honest beauty underneath. Phones down for this next bit ...

In an egocentric, digital world, let us create settings where we can get to know the people we love on a more profound level while also allowing opportunities for new faces to enter our sphere of happiness.

For instance, in the last few months, my friends and I have started playing a game of our invention called “Interrogation”—(no handcuffs involved … yet). It’s simple—you take turns asking inquisitive questions for the group to answer such as “favorite hobby from childhood,” “best vacation

spot to date,” or “which sibling you like the best.”’ (I mean, gays do love their drama, right?)

So far, the game has been a great success.

We are slowly understanding each other more fully as imperfect humans.

We have a common thread in the LGBTQ fabric to bring us all together. We are more than a single fiber, and we need to be more open to each other, to heartfelt conversation, but more importantly, to ask others about their past, daily lives, and desires—and then listen intently.

It may have taken me more than a decade, but I've learned to own my past as it defines so much of me and continues to shape me moving forward.

A plus sign next to my name, but no longer blocking my views on the horizon.

So, this is me. I’m Matt+, and I welcome anyone to ask for additional information.

And now I ask, who are you? What makes you tick? We’re all interested to know you+.

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O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 1 5

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Are We Still Cool?

PHOTO PROJECT SHINES LIGHT ON TOXIC MASCULINITY IN THE POC COMMUNITY

By Addison Herron-Wheeler

We can’t escape hearing messages these days about how Black and POC folks, especially Black men, are treated, and nor should we. It’s important to realize that Black and POC men are often in danger just walking down the street or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, one thing that many outside the Black community don’t realize about being a Black man is that there is this constant pressure to act masculine, “tough,” or “hard.” Christina Pittaluga wants to change all that.

“I

joined the Black Actors Guild as an intern when I was a junior in high school, and they kind of introduced me to a lot of other things that made me realize that it wasn't just theatre I was interested in, that I do a lot of different things. I've always been interested in fashion and all kinds of things of that nature, so I've just kind of taken my knowledge from all the different pieces of art and learned, and I'm just like this multimedia artist, director, actor now,” explains Pittaluga, creative director of the Black Actor’s Guild here in Denver.

The Black Actor’s Guild has a lot on its plate, between an in-person and livestreamed, socially distanced performance this August and constant, creative output of art and writing projects. But, Pittaluga had an itch she wanted to scratch when it came to highlighting male femininity and softness within the Black and POC community, so “Are We Still Cool?” was born.

“A lot of times, Black men are expected not to show any emotion at all,” she explains. “When they go through a breakup, it's weird if they're crying and eating ice cream and going through all these feelings and gaining weight from being sad. All those things are just not normalized, so I've always wondered about that because I've had men of color in my life, and I love them so deeply that it's just always been something in the back of my head.”

Mulling on those ideas, combined with her love of art and research, became the catalyst for kicking off this project.

She also wanted to offer something besides the archetypes we still see too much regarding Black men: the sad man, O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 1 7

"IT WAS REALLY ABOUT MARRYING TOGETHER QUEER AND STRAIGHT FOLKS. IT WAS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO COEXIST IN THIS SPACE OF SAFETY AND OF, LIKE, JUST LOVING, KIND, TENDER ENERGY.”

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the downtrodden, the overly strong sex symbol. She was ready for new representation.

Soon after coming up with the idea, she set to work. Pittaluga herself is queer, as was the rest of the team she worked with, but the idea wasn’t to only feature queer men in the shoot or to market just to the LGBTQ community. She wanted to show straight men, especially straight, men of color, that showing love or affection is OK. “It was really important for there to be a good amount of straight, cis, men of color because those are the ones who are oftentimes will say, ‘Oh, that’s gay,’ you know, even some gay men who are more so ‘masculine’ will say that, or have a problem getting in touch with their feminine side, so it was really about marrying together queer and straight folks. It was about being able to coexist in this space of safety and of, like, just loving, kind, tender energy.”

She was also intentional about the outfits she picked, pairing things like dental grills and white, “wifebeater” tanks with floral patterns,

rhinestones, and gauze. The idea was to demystify and destigmatize Black maleness, but also soften it through the gaze of this new project.

And it was a representation that turned out to be really timely and really needed.

“Literally every, single man I talked to talked about how they’ve been discriminated against and how people seem scared of them or feel like they have to act a certain way to not be intimidating. They also feel like they have to act a certain way to be men, and that’s not the case at all; they are fully capable of being soft beings. It’s OK for them to say to each other, ‘You look beautiful today,’ instead of ‘You’ve got mad swag.’

“Everything is a spectrum, and I really, really would love for the Black and Brown communities to understand that, because we've been so pressured into feeling certain ways and feeling like the men have to be the breadwinners and, like, work super hard and not show emotion; the women cry and they stay home and they cook, and that's across everywhere, not just the POC communities,” she continues.

O U T F R O N T M A G A Z I N E . C O M // 1 9

However, it hasn’t been all love, even from the Black and POC community.

Pittaluga has noticed a lot of older, Black men and women responding negatively to seeing Black men portrayed as feminine, proving the exact point she is 2 0 \\ A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 0

trying to make. At first, the Black Actor’s Guild was deleting negative comments the art received, but Pittaluga wants those to stay up.

“The idea is to start a conversation,” she says. “I hope that more queer

Come See Hype Man by Black Actor’s Guild Hype man is a timely play by Idris Goodwin that follows a white rapper, his Black hype man, and their female DJ. In the wake of a police shooting, they have disagreements on how they should make a statement about police brutality and the unjust killing of another young, Black man.

This play will be live-streamed and performed inhouse with social distancing and mask requirement at The Peoples Building in Aurora August 7 through September 16 produced by The Black Actors Guild and directed by Kevin Quinn Marchman.

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For models and all contributors, visit blackactorsguild.org people of color such as myself get these opportunities to make their voices heard and to talk about topics that are risky, or that kind of get thrown under the table.

The fact that we can make people realize that Black Lives Matter because they see a Black man who's soft and gentle and realize he's a person, that’s huge. I want to continue the conversation, break

down stigmas, and keep spreading love because you never know, you never know what someone's going through, especially a person of color because we carry burdens so well. I want to continue to make space.”

For more info on the installation, check it out at Coffee at the Point this month or visit blackactorsguild.org.

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HOLLYWOOD’S TRANS CER INFLUEN r Scho f ie ld Sco t t Tur ne

by Denny Patterson

T

he lives of transgender people are more visible and present in the entertainment industry than ever, and we have people like Scott Turner Schofield to thank.

Photos by Olivia Hemaratanatorn

An acclaimed educator on trans issues, Schofield facilitates workshops and presentations with extraordinary skill and compassion. In 2002, he founded training and consulting company Speaking of Transgender, through which he has conducted hundreds of gender diversity and inclusion trainings in Hollywood to ensure that trans stories are being authentically told. Schofield currently consults for HBO’s hit series Euphoria, and he will be working on the upcoming reboot of the feature film The Craft.

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Additionally, Schofield is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer. He has toured internationally with his successful, one-man show, Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps, and made television history by being the first out, trans actor to appear on Daytime TV in CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful. He made history once again this year by being the first out, trans man to be nominated for an Emmy in acting for his work in Amazon’s Studio City.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Schofield about his work and breaking down barriers for trans entertainers.

Hi, Scott! I would like to begin by congratulating you on your Emmy nomination for Studio City. Although you did not win, this is very significant because you are the first trans man to receive an Emmy nomination for acting. How does that feel?

In some ways, it’s surprising because it’s 2020. How has this not happened yet? In other ways, it’s exciting because I am a member of a community of trans men who are actors and who are excellent.

So, if this shines a little bit of light on all of us who are doing great work, then all the better. It’s showing that Hollywood is listening.

Hollywood is casting trans actors and giving us the visibility we have been asking for. They are listening and seeing us for the first time, and we can’t lose sight of that.

And this isn’t your first time breaking down walls for trans entertainers. In 2015, you were cast in The Bold and the Beautiful which made you the first openly trans actor to appear on daytime television. Can you recall what was going through your mind when that happened?

I have always been openly trans as an actor, and that has, for a long time, held me back. I had to do solo work because I couldn’t get cast as a transgender actor in shows, plays, or anything. So, there’s always this element of, this is really good for the community; this shows progress. Any visibility for trans people is good. I had to grow up never seeing another person like myself, and that was harmful to me psychologically. It is for all trans people.

So, even when that happened, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness. This is going to be so great. This is going to be so good for so many people.’ Also, thinking about The Bold and the Beautiful audience, you know, a primetime audience sort of expects a trans character, but to have an audience where it’s really their first time engaging this and to be able to be that representative, especially with the work that I do as an activist—I knew that it was going to be a good moment. That really matters to me.

In 2018, you were very vocal when Scarlett Johansson received backlash for attempting to play a trans character. Do you believe only trans actors should play trans roles?

If I were trying to go for Scarlett Johansson roles, everyone would think that was ridiculous. So, why isn’t it the same the other way around? I want you to really hear this because the way that this topic has been represented has been false. What’s really going on with transgender actors playing transgender roles is, we wanted transgender actors to even be seen for roles, period. To start by playing ourselves seemed like the most obvious choice.

If you think about it, Eddie Redmayne, Jared Leto, all of these people are getting all this acclaim for playing transgender characters—we weren’t even being let into the room to audition for these roles. That’s really the truth of it. So, we are starting to create an equal playing field, and you’re seeing all of us. You are starting to see that trans people can act. People used to say, 'Well, we don't know anybody.

We can't find anybody.' But you weren’t looking. They’ll say you don’t have credits. How can you have credits if no one was looking for you? So, it’s an employment equity situation, and once we have established a fair and equal playing field where transgender actors are being hired, then we can talk about who can play what role.

You are considered a professional transgender advocate.

How does that compare to other trans advocates, and do you ever get tired of being called that?

I love having a purposeful, helpful calling for a day job. It only annoys me when people think I can’t be both an advocate and an artist. Only 1 percent of artists don’t have a day job, so why should mine define me more than anyone else’s? It uses a lot of the same skills. I am pitching trans inclusion, auditioning for a place inside people’s hearts and minds, and using my storytelling skills to engage people’s empathy. That’s Hollywood as much as it is diversity and inclusion.

What is the biggest misconception about transgender identity?

The biggest and the most harmful is that it’s not real. People will look for any reason to give you as to why it can’t be. It’s your chromosomes; you were harmed; you were sexually abused as a child; you’re just playing make-believe; you’re just trying to get attention.

After 20 years of doing this, I have heard them all. I have heard every, single reason. What’s real in life, in every aspect of life, the only constant is diversity. There is something bigger and more mysterious in everything, everywhere. We may not know why people are transgender; we just know that they are. Fighting that, it doesn’t mean anything about being transgender; it means that you are not willing to look at reality, and that’s your problem.

To stay up-to-date with Schofield, visit scotttschofield.com, or follow him on social media. To read the full interview, visit outfrontmagazine.com.

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ST. PANTHER ON COMING OF AGE, COMING OUT,

by Addison Herron-Wheeler

W

e already know it’s the next generation who is going to save us. They have all the good ideas, the blanket acceptance of our human family, and the drive to mix activism and ethics into everyday 2 6 \\ A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 0

life. Up-and-coming musician St. Panther is no different, and we wanted to get all her musical secrets, so OUT FRONT chatted with her about making music during a pandemic and what she has in store.

How did you first get into music?

I've always been learning instruments all throughout my childhood, so I started playing piano when I was three, and then took piano lessons for some years,

and then migrated to guitar and drum lessons. And then, in terms of producing, I kind of got more serious with producing throughout high school and middle school.

So, like 2012, coming out of high school, I started recording my friends and then started recording myself and my solo projects, and it kind of just built from there.

What do you have in the works right now that you’re focusing on?

Releasing the EP These Days and working on the creative end of videos for the EP. It’s exciting!

Have you had a lot of changes to your musical plans in light of COVID? Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, in terms of videos, we’ve gone through a lot of treatments and changes and tried to find ways to be creative at home and find out how we can create content from where we are. So yeah, a lot of things have shifted to web now with livestreams and a lot of those things in the creative realm.

What are you most looking forward to when you can get out there and play live music again?

Being able to connect with people again; you know, we're all kind of social people as musicians, so I think it's really important to, like, get back out there and see how the music is connecting physically. So, we're doing a lot of that over the web, and I'm really excited to get back out there and play in person.

How do themes about the queer community, social justice, and other important issues show up in your music?

I think they're all from personal experience, so I'm really writing about reflections of experiences that I've had either struggling as myself or coming into myself and kind of putting those stories in my music, just reflections of me growing up queer, feelings that may happen in relationships, and things like that, being a reflection for other people listening to the music and coming into the music with maybe similar identities.

So yeah, I feel like the things I am doing are making a difference, like I did this collaboration with this skate company called

Contenders that was in my area, which is still pretty conservative. So, we partnered together to create that openness within that community since it's still very macho and kind of a boys club. We do small things like that wherever we can and kind of just open the doors a little bit more each time.

Why do you think it’s important now more than ever to have that message in your music ?

We always work with this fluctuation of feeling like we're in a really great place as a whole, like we’re right there with the changes, and then sometimes, we'll experience things that kind of take us a little bit back. So, I think it's good to have a constant precedence for standing for the right things and having equality just be all across the board, for everyone.

I feel like that will continue as my work progresses, just standing for those things and making equality present in our work, the places that we're hired, you know, just creating more opportunities for our community, which is important.

For more info on St. Panther, visit stpanther.com.

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