September 20, 2017 :: The Plus Issue

SEP T EMB ER 20, 2017 | O U T FR O NT M AGA ZINE .CO M | F R E E

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The Issue Queer Artists Highlight Androgyny The Shoulders We Stand On Boulder Pride

11 NOVEMBER

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 06, 2017 VOL41 NO17

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8 SAVING LIVES THROUGH EDUCATION 10 COLORADO PARENTS GIVE THEIR TRANSGENDER KIDS A TRUE CHILDHOOD 14 PLACES TO GO IN DENVER (THAT AREN’T QUEER BARS) 18 THE SHOULDERS WE STAND ON: A LOOK AT DEB-ANN THOMSON’S RELENTLESS ADVOCACY 22 COMPTON’S: THREE YEARS BEFORE STONEWALL, TRANS WOMEN FOUGHT BACK 28

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“EPICENE”: QUEER ARTISTS COLLABORATE TO HIGHLIGHT ANDROGYNY 36 THE GANG’S ALL QUEER: THE LIVES OF GAY GANG MEMBERS

44

42 DUELING WITH DEPRESSION: LISTEN TO YOUR SENSES 51 HEINZESIGHT: TIPS BEFORE YOU TRAVEL

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SERVING THE LGBT COMMUNITY OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS SINCE 1976 PHONE 303-477-4000 FAX 303-325-2642 WEB OutFrontOnline.com FACEBOOK /OutFrontColorado TWITTER @OutFrontCO INSTAGRAM /OutFrontColorado

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FOUNDER PHIL PRICE 1954-1993 ADMINISTRATION info@outfrontonline.com JERRY CUNNINGHAM Publisher J.C. MCDONALD Vice President TOPHER LA FLEUR Director of Events and Sponsorship MAGGIE PHILLIPS Operations Manager JEFF JACKSON SWAIM Chief Strategist EDITORIAL editorial@outfrontonline.com RYAN HOWE Editor ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER Digital Content Manager BRENT HEINZE Senior Columnist SARAH FARBMAN Copy Editor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Yvonne Wright, David-Elijah Nahmod, Mike Yost, Louisa Silverman, Brent Heinze ART art@outfrontonline.com DESIGN2PRO Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Charles Broshous, Deirdre Fritz, Eric Magnusson

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LEGAL DIRECTORY

HELP! INSURANCE IS REFUSING TO PAY Colorado operates under a ‘fault’ auto insurance system.

This means that the insurance company of the driver who was to blame for an accident is legally responsible for covering any damages that stem from that crash. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, the big insurance companies refuse to actually pay out wholly valid claims. This can be extremely frustrating for car crash victims. The good news is that you do have options to fight back.

Three things you can do: 1. UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR DENIAL It is critical that you understand the insurer’s reasoning for denial so that you can directly address their concerns. It could be: • A dispute over who’s ‘at-fault’

• A dispute over what is covered by the policy • Alleged misrepresentations or dishonesty by the victim • A dispute over the damages sought in the case 2. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR AN APPEAL To get your claim paid, you will need to take additional action.

To do this effectively, you should carefully prepare an appeal that presents a compelling argument, which is backed up by strong supporting evidence. Accident victims must be sure to obtain all evidence and records related to their crash. For example, if your claim was denied based on a dispute over fault, you need to be sure that you have the accident report in your possession, along with any evidence that can be used to

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prove that the other party was to blame for the wreck. Without adequate evidence to address the insurer’s argument, it will be difficult to get them to reverse their decision.

3. SEEK PROFESSIONAL LEGAL HELP Finally, you should not go through the insurance appeals process all on your own. If an insurer has denied your claim, it is a best practice to work with an aggressive attorney who can help guide you through the process and who can prepare a persuasive appeal. When the insurer gets an official letter from your attorney, that company will know that you mean business and that they cannot take advantage of you.

Contributed by the law firm Bloch & Chapleau, LLC

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The opinions expressed in this article are general in nature. For specific legal advice, please contact an attorney.

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Winterize Your Skin

moisturize hands, body and feet

A message from Colorado dermatologist Richard Asarch

6. Increase the humidity in your home or

S P O N S O R E D CO N T E N T at least in where you sleep

We love living in Colorado, but the extreme climate and high altitude affect our skin in a more intense way than in other regions. Dry skin is a common complaint, especially in the winter season, and many of my patients ask me how to treat this type of skin condition. If you have severe dry skin and associated problems, please schedule a dermatology appointment so that you receive a personalized skin treatment plan. It is always a good idea to schedule a yearly skin check which you could do at the same appointment.

To combat dry and itchy skin during the winter and promote healthy and glowing skin, here are some tips that start with your bathing routine and your environment.

1. When you take showers, keep them short about 3-5 minutes 2. Reduce the water temperature: although a nice hot shower or bath does feel great on a cold winter day, it can abruptly strip the natural oils from your skin 3. Use a moisturizing wash to exfoliate without drying 4. Pat your skin dry instead of wiping it down and leave it slightly damp, then immediately apply hydration—something containing Hyaluronic Acid to your face, neck and décolleté, which encapsulates the water, keeping your skin hydrated. You may also apply to excessively dry spots on your body. I recommend DermaSpa Rx Hydrating B Serum.

5. Use an intensive moisturizer at least twice a day for the face, neck and décolleté, and remember to

7. Include beneficial oils in your diet such as omega-3s, if you don’t eat fish or grass fed meats, try supplementing about 1000mg of omega 3s per day. We recommend Nordic Naturals 8. Keep hydrated 9. Always remember to use daily sunscreen, and even your sunscreen may contain a light moisturizer.

10. If your skin is exceptionally itchy or dry to the point of disturbing your sleep, it is time to call your doctor to be sure that another medical issue is not the cause **I recommend using DermaSpaRx Skin Nutrition products, which I developed specifically for Colorado’s high altitude and extreme climate.

If you would like more information- please visit us at www.AsarchCenter.com or call 303-761-7797.

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SAVING

s e v i L H G U O R TH

N O I T A C EDU

T

By Louisa Silverman he effects of cissexism and transphobia can be extremely detrimental and long-lasting, especially when they are imposed on children during the early years of their development. When children are in school, they should be learning about the world and how they fit into it.

Instead, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network found that 75 percent of transgender youth have reported feeling unsafe at school, which seriously affects the GPAs of some and causes others to frequently skip school altogether.

Many reported that their time at school is colored by the struggle to be accepted for who they are

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and how they present themselves to such an extent that some are even punished for wearing the clothes consistent with their gender identity.

When teachers exhibit such discriminatory behavior, students tend to follow suit, and that harassment can lead to mental health issues and financial instability later in life.

These students need support, and they need allies.

Since President Trump overturned the Obama administration’s letter guiding schools to interpret Title IX to include protections against transgender discrimination, gender nonconforming students have one less tool in their toolbox. This is where education can step in, whether it’s peer-to-peer or teacher-to-student.

The Boulder Valley School District has been at the forefront of the movement to bring LGBTQ issues into the classroom. Kindergarten teacher Jenny Magee integrates messages about gender in a natural way through books such as Heather Has Two Mommies and dress-up games that encourage all the students to try on the princess tiara or the construction outfit, whichever they want to wear.

Magee is part of a training program with A Queer Endeavor, an initiative housed in the University of Colorado’s School of Education aimed at “queering the classroom.” They have tiers of training programs, complete with sample lesson plans, that begin with destigmatizing the word “gay” and move toward studying queer historic figures or authors. Some teachers, such as Simone Snead, a high school health teacher in the Boulder Valley School District, have even felt empowered to come out to their students.

Echoing the sentiments of other teachers who came out to their students, Snead noticed that her students felt more comfortable asking her questions and seemed to connect with her more easily.

Similarly, Milwaukee public school teacher Melissa Bollow Tempel took it upon herself to expand her

students’ views in order to help one of her gender nonconforming first graders feel more comfortable.

She was delighted with the open-mindedness that her students brought to the assignments, as only days before they had been questioning why another student “look[ed] like a boy.”

Once Tempel initiated the discussion by pointing out how “boy things” and “girl things” are arbitrary, her students took it from there, excited to bring up examples in their lives of gender nonconformity. It should be noted that the first grade class did not immediately change their behavior, but it was a hopeful beginning to a lesson that must be continued and reinforced.

On the blog Tranarchism, a piece called “Not Your Mom’s Trans 101” very cleverly describes gender as three-dimensional rather than linear, saying “Being trans is not always about falling ‘in between’ binary genders, and as often as not, it’s about being something too expansive for those ideas to have meaning at all.”

And therein lies the beauty and necessity of encouraging children to think about gender in all its iterations and nuances, a way of thinking that is essential to their well-being and the well-being of all of us.

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By Yvonne Wright

A True

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Colorado Parents Give Their Transgender Kids

Childhood

I

“

feel like when I was born, the midwife slipped a man’s suit over me when no one was looking, and I can’t find the zipper to take it off.”

school, the reception was so bad that they moved her to Boulder with only four weeks left of class. This was the first in a string of moves her parents made to advocate for their daughter.

Ruby* is an exceptionally beautiful girl with shoulderlength, wheat colored hair that’s almost as animated as she is. The wind keeps flopping strands of it into a smile that lights up the coffee shop where we sit.

Her earrings are small, gold lightning bolts—appropriate, given her electric personality. And her eyes? A deep hazel carbon copy of her father John’s, who is sitting next to her.

“You go into protection mode,” John said.

Ruby is only 12 years old. She is transgender. And she came out her classmates on her birthday, only one week before our coffee date. Standing in front of her science class, she explained how she was a girl born into a boy’s body.

“They all clapped for her. One kid gave her a high-five,” John says, excitedly interrupting the shorter version his daughter is telling me. He is proud. Very proud. And emotional. He says he wants to make sure others know how accepting children are if the adults around them are supportive.

This is not the reception most transgender children receive. It is a testament to the times, to Ruby’s parents, and to her progressive Boulder, Colorado, school district. According to John, Ruby was previously in a school that borders Boulder’s school district, where the climate was the opposite. When Ruby came out to the teachers and principal at her last

Parents of transgender children usually aren’t prepared for their children coming out. It’s not something most people expect.

For John and his wife, the journey has already been a difficult one.

“For a long time she was distant and distraught,” he said. Even Ruby wasn’t sure why. At one point, he said, she thought she was bisexual. Then she thought she was gay. Then one day, she saw a movie about a transgender girl. “The movie sort of tied everything up in a nice little bow for her.”

Looking back, he and Ruby agree she has had these feelings since she was a little girl.

She just didn’t know how to express them.

Ruby’s experience is not unique.

“We work with a lot of children who start transition around the start of puberty.

Before puberty, physical differences between genders are less pronounced, and gender roles can be more fluid,” said Abby Simon, a licensed social worker with the TRUE Center for Gender Diversity at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “There are significant challenges and concerns that come from being transgender, but parents should also know that transition can be an expansive, healing, and beautiful journey. We work with so many young people who are thriving and for whom their gender identity has helped them be more caring, responsible, tolerant, strong, and resourceful.”

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TRUE serves more than 450 patients, who range in age from four to 25 years old. Seattle Children’s Hospital reports that it and Colorado are among only five children’s hospitals in the nation that have clinics dedicated to caring for young people with gender identity concerns.

Dr. Daniel Reirden runs the Colorado TRUE Center. He has more than 15 years of experience working with gender-diverse children, adolescents, and young adults.

“The Center offers an array of services, including medical evaluation and management of puberty-blocking hormones and cross-sex hormones, psychological support, and resources to work with schools,” he said. Reirden said gender confirmation surgeries are not done before the age of 18 and hormone blockers are not only safe, but completely reversible.

Amanda is the mother of an 11-year-old girl who started her transition last year. She said she supports blockers because going through puberty could be very damaging to her daughter’s mental health.

“Imagine being trapped in the wrong body and then all of the sudden those features getting more pronounced... having the ability to basically just put a freeze on puberty is a wonderful option,” she said.

As for parenting, Amanda said, “listen to them. They know how they feel inside.” She has had several conversations with her daughter that confirms for her that this is not a phase or gender experimentation. “Plus,” she said, “her therapist told me no one would put themself through what she was going through with her peers if it was just a phase. They would just stop after seeing people’s reaction.”

Reactions from friends and family can be particularly difficult. Some blame parents for raising gender nonconforming children.

“A kid’s gender identity is not determined by parents or parenting,” said Erik Kluzek, an engineer at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. Both he and his wife said neither of them knew any transgender people when their adult child came out as a transgender woman four years ago. “We figured that it was due to ‘crazy liberal parents’ who wanted the opposite gender child.”

Determined to be the best parents they could be, the couple began researching, meeting other moms and dads, and having in-depth discussions with their own daughter. Kluzek now helps other parents by being on the leadership team of Trans Youth Education and Support (TYES). It is a volunteer peer-parent group designed to help parents throughout Colorado. His advice for parents new to the group?

“Listen to your child and assure them that you love them no matter what. Let your child explore and follow their lead,” he said.

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Peer reactions may be the hardest issue for parents to help their children navigate.

Ruby said many of her friendships were strained before coming out. Friends would often come home with her but end up playing with her brother because she didn’t enjoy the games her boy friends were interested in. Now she feels like she’s on display when she walks down the halls at school.

“Everyone is looking at me. I can see their eyes. They are trying to figure out features I have that make me identifiable,” she said. Ruby hasn’t been bullied, and she’s not afraid of bullies.

“I’m strong,” she said with the kind of bravado reserved for the young. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t vulnerable.

“Sometimes at night, I crawl into the crack between my bed and the wall. It’s my safe place when I have anxiety attacks in the middle of the night,” she confided.

Midnight anxiety attacks are not new to Ruby. But since coming out, her father said they have decreased significantly. John suspects they are decreasing because she doesn’t have to worry anymore about her friends discovering her secret. She also doesn’t need to worry she may lose friends because she didn’t tell them she’s transgender.

It’s a lot of weight to carry on 12-year-old shoulders.

“She’s transitioning, thinking about the rest of her life, and she’s in the middle of school,” John said.

Ruby is a member of a new generation, perhaps the first that, from a young age, has support, accurate information, and access to medical and therapeutic services. As for now, John and his wife are trying to provide her with as much support as necessary.

“Sometimes,” Ruby says, while rolling her eyes, “too much support.”

There is a strong bond here. She and her father talk, interrupting and finishing each other’s sentences. At times, it’s like watching a comedy team. At one point, Ruby gets tired of her father trying to clarify what she is saying and exclaims, “This is my interview, Dad!” Her dad lets her finish as she trails off into an analogy about zombies neither of us can understand.

That doesn’t matter. What does matter is there is a lot of love. And support.

“We need to start with the kids and understand why their life is turning out this way,” John said. “They are teaching us.”

*Only first names and/or pseudonyms were used in this article to protect the children’s privacy.

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Places to Go in Denver (That Aren’t Queer Bars)

I

By Addison Herron-Wheeler t’s said so often it’s almost a bad cliche: Denver is so queer-friendly that you don’t need to go to gay bars to find nightlife, companionship, and a welcoming atmosphere.

While it may be cliche, it’s actually true. Denver has a thriving scene of LGBTQ nightlife spots, but there are also plenty of places where you can meet like-minded individuals and even attend queer events that aren’t designated “gay” spots. Here are a few that you should frequent in the city, whether you are bi+ and looking for something outside the norm, or just looking for a new, queer experience.

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The Black Box

If you’re looking to dance and get weird with it, The Black Box is ideal for letting loose and meeting some strange friends.

Even if you aren’t familiar with the specific brand of low-key, underground dubstep and drum n’ bass spun at The Box, you can still be wowed by the venue’s thundering sound system and the cool dystopian, black-and-neon, cyberpunk motif. Also, the Black Box Margarita, a jet-black drink filled with tequila and blackberry liqueur, is an excellent ice breaker drink.

While The Black Box isn’t queer-owned or specifically geared towards gay events, proprietor Nicole Cacciavillano is a queer ally stoked about the diversity her bar attracts.

“At The Black Box, it’s all about the music,” she told OUT FRONT. “Denver’s devoted home for underground music is designed to encompass the total sound system experience. The dual-room venue is fully equipped with powerful Basscouch Sound. A haven for artists, audiophiles, and partygoers alike, The Black Box is headquarters for Colorado’s underground music community.”

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Mutiny Information Cafe

Mercury Cafe

Mercury Cafe

If you haven’t been to the Mercury yet, you are missing out on actual magic. The main room and the upstairs are draped in red and white lights, making it seem like you stepped into some sort of ethereal faerie realm rather than a vegetarian-friendly bar in Five Points. There is always a Tarot reader in the main room, and all the drinks are like something out of a Beat novella. They do live music, dance classes, special events, spoken word, and a mean desert.

What makes the Mercury queer-friendly? They host plenty of queer events, most recently the Titwrench LGBTQ and feminist music fest and a show featuring queer band Psychic TV. They also have a mission statement posted on the premises about welcoming all and decrying fascists.

“Everyone is (and always has been) welcome at The Mercury Café. And we love to do weddings,” said Marilyn Megenity, Mercury’s owner.

Hi-Dive

Every city needs a good old fashioned punk dive bar, and Hi-Dive is just that place. They host punk, indie, and metal shows, and are open to genres and folks of all kind. They also post a mission statement about being a safe space and inclusive, and the owners will be quick to tell you that they strive to be a meeting ground for all. On almost any given night, this is the place to grab a quick drink and hear some weird music.

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Hi-Dive

Clocktower Cabaret

If you’re looking to see some queer entertainment outside of the regular gay bar circuit, you can usually find something out-of-the-ordinary going on at the Clocktower Cabaret. This spot is directly under the historic clock tower on the 16th Street Mall and hosts everything from drag and burlesque to comedy and dance performances.

They also serve food and drinks. Some recent events include queer-lesque, a queer-themed burlesque, and Drag Decades featuring Shirley Delta.

Mutiny Information Cafe

Almost directly across from Hi-Dive, Mutiny is a Denver staple of progressive thought and a counterculture hotspot. The bookshop on South Broadway also serves as a coffee shop, occasional show venue, slam poetry hotspot, meetingplace, and quiet work area. With an emphasis on shared radical information and counterculture, and a mission to stock as many records, books, comics, and magazines as possible, Mutiny is about as queer as it gets. Plus, they don’t serve alcohol but stay open late, so if you’re looking for a safe and sober place to spend your time, look no further.

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The Shoulders A Look at Deb-Ann Thomson’s Relentless Advocacy

By Ryan Howe

N

ot long ago, Deb-Ann Thomson was sitting in her office, shredding file after file after file, and stuffing the paper confetti into trash bags. As she purged the cabinets that held files on every patient who had ever came to see her, she flipped through a few and remembered some of the queers who inspired her to become one of our community’s most resilient advocates.

Thomson is a nationally-acclaimed therapist in the queer community who took the struggles that her clients faced and tirelessly fought to change the systemic social issues that restricted them from living healthy, full lives.

Throughout her career, she has taken on the criminal justice system, sat beside AIDS patients during their final moments, travelled the world pushing for trans visibility, and guided queers through many exciting adventures.

For lack of a better term, Deb-Ann Thomson is a badass.

The bags full of thin slivers of paper are filled with stories. She had never thrown away a single file in her decades of working as a therapist. She kept them neatly tucked into her filing cabinets just in case an old patient called and wanted to catch up. But now, as she’s been telling her friends for nearly two years, Thomson is retiring. Although she decided to keep some files dating back 15 years, and that of her very first patient, still

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stored away, shredding decades of her life was emotional but necessary — there’s simply nowhere to move them.

“I really grew close to so many of my patients,” Thomson said. “That made it so easy for me to fight for them.”

Thomson started fighting before she was out of college, which was risky in 1981. Had she come out as a lesbian during her classes, she would have been kicked out of the university. But that didn’t stop her from pushing for queer visibility in her final dissertation. For months, Thomson dug through what data she could find and then delivered an in-depth paper on abuse in lesbian relationships.

When she tried to publish her work, she was laughed out of the biggest gay publishing house of the time.

“No one wanted to print something so negative about our community because we were longing for normality and social acceptance,” she said. “No one was having these conversations. So I did.”

Taking on the Justice System In many of the bags filling her office on that emotional day were stories of relationship violence. Stories where many were afraid to go to the cops out of embarrassment and shame. When her clients were brave enough to contact authorities, the cases were often ignored or dismissed. Today, however, when LGBT victims of

psychologist since 1971, was immediately struck

by Thomson’s determination and dedication. The closer the two grew, the more Randolph realized just how brave her new friend was and admired how she challenged social norms in order to help the community she called her own.

On: domestic violence call the police in Colorado, they are met with gender neutral language and well-trained officers—thanks in large part to Thomson.

In the late ‘80s, she took on the criminal justice system so queer people wouldn’t have to face what her clients went through. She won and pushed the system to educate and modify court-ordered programs that would involve different needs for the LGBTQ community.

These programs are still in effect.

“I wasn’t going to back down, but I did it in a very professional way,” Thomson said. “I would stand up, refuse to play games, and demand change. I wasn’t pushy, but I was strong. A lot of people didn’t like that.”

From the start of her career, she has pushed for LGBTQ acceptance along with the visibility of the issues queer people face. But she still made time to help her community outside of the courts.

“She has donated thousands of hours of pro bono work to people in the LGBT community,” Christine Randolph, a clinical psychologist in Denver, said. “I have never met someone so dedicated that community.

She was an extremely compassionate provider, and I couldn’t speak higher of any other provider that I’ve ever worked with.”

Randolph met Thomson as she was taking on the criminal justice system. Randolph, who had been a

“It’s really difficult for her to retire,” Randolph said. “She’s been trying for so many years, but she cares so deeply that she hasn’t been able to. It’s a small example but a strong testament to the woman that she is.”

AIDS, Beepers, and Holding Hands As she made her way further into her files, she stumbled upon more and more of her clients who died of AIDS. Clients who often had no one other than Thomson during their final days. Clients who inspired her to purchase a beeper, which she often slept with, in case of emergencies. Clients who changed her life.

In June, 1981, as Thomson was slaving over her dissertation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), in five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. It was the first official reporting of what became known as the AIDS epidemic.

Eleven years later, AIDS was the number one cause of death in gay males ages 25 to 44. By that time, Thomson had already purchased her beeper and had sat with a few clients when no one else would.

“One time, I went to hospice to visit someone, and when I walked into the room, I was immediately greeted by a small staff of people huddled near the door wearing gloves and masks,” she recalled. “I stormed past them, walked across the room to my friend, grabbed his hand, and rubbed his back. I could see on their faces that they thought I was going to get sick.”

Thomson didn’t back away or unclench her hand from his. She sat there for hours comforting him and telling him that it was okay to “let go” as he fought to stay alive.

“That’s all he needed to hear,” she said. “I was the only one to get close enough to tell him.”

A Soldier for Trans Rights As the bags slowly started to surround the couch that filled her office, she began to encounter the stories of more and more transgender clients who had walked through her door asking for help. Clients who forced OUTFRONTONLINE.COM

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her to push her knowledge of the LGBTQ community.

Clients who had very little information about being trans. Clients who catapulted her into the the world of education and into the limelight.

Back in the late ‘80s, a trans woman came out on Thomson’s couch. It was the first time, to her knowledge, that she had met a trans person. After her new client’s session ended, she immediately called the Gender Identity Center of Colorado, the only organization in Colorado that focused on the needs of the state’s trans community during that time.

Her phone call was not received well. The woman on the other end of the line refused to help her because she thought Thomson, not being trans herself, was not qualified to help the trans community.

“But this person came to me for help, and that’s exactly what I intended to do,” Thomson said. “So, I immersed myself in that community. I talked to advocates. I talked to trans people from all different parts of the nation.

I did my research when there were barely any books or information on this community.”

Before the ‘90s, trans visibility was low; very few transspecific organizations had formed, and the only books released were a handful of memoirs, which started with the 1974 releases of Jan Morris’s Conundrum and Canary Conn’s Canary. The only full-length narrative by a trans man published in the United States prior to the ‘90s was Mario Martino’s 1977 book Emergence: A Transsexual Autobiography.

During the same time that Paris is Burning, Jennie Livingston’s documentary focusing on New York City’s queer ball scene, and Brandon Teena’s violent murder in Nebraska were bringing trans stories into the national spotlight, Thomson was immersing herself in that same community, becoming one of the only people to specialize in trans therapy.

Nearly 10 years after she was denied help from the Gender Identity Center, she was actively helping its staff—as well as educating numerous conferences, universities, employment agencies, and talk and radio shows, not to mention fighting for our trans community in court.

When Karen Scarpella, current executive and clinical director of the Gender Identity Center, came to town in 1998, Thomson was still only one of three trans therapists in Colorado.

“She’s a mentor, and a wonderful, passionate, beautiful woman,” Scarpella said. “She has been out there fighting for trans people and helping them even as she faced backlash. She’s a hero to so many people.”

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The initial skepticism she received for not being trans followed her throughout her career. As she made her way across the country, meeting with activists and sharing her knowledge with the masses, she faced backlash from within the community, forcing her to travel with security—and even they couldn’t protect her from getting choked out at one convention.

“But she never stopped,” Scarpella said. “People forget about the mandates that she was forced to follow in her early years. She was doing what she could to help people, and she was good at it.”

But it never stopped her from advocating into the 2000s, as the trans community was becoming more and more visible. In 2002, both the Transgender Law Center and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project were founded. The following year, The National Center for Transgender Equality were founded.

Thomson kept up with the times.

“By that time, I was already nationally recognized as a trans therapist and advocate, so I was getting all sorts of different calls to sit in on conferences or talk to some major employers,” she said. “I also had my hand in so many different organizations across the nation. I was a busy woman.”

During her career, Thomson has worked with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Gender Identity Center of Colorado, AntiViolence Programs, PFLAG, Cross-Dressers and Friends, Mid-America Gender Group Information Exchange, International Foundation for Gender Education, Trans-Youth Education and Support, River City Gender Alliance, St. Louis Gender Foundation, Society for the Second Self, and Rainbow Alley.

“That’s in no particular order. I get my decades messed up,” she confessed. “But I’ve yet to forget a patient.

Sometimes, people whom I haven’t seen in over a decade will call, and I will still remember the name of their dog.”

Thomson has stopped taking clients. She’s thrown away the bags of shredded paper, moved out of her old office, and works one day a week for the handful of clients who still come and see her. By the end of the year, she will no longer be renting out the shared office space.

She is officially retiring as a therapist.

“For the longest time, I was one of the most popular people in the room,” Thomson said. “Now, no one knows who I am. It’s my turn to sit back, look at where we are at, know that I helped us get here, and smile.

“But I’ll never stop helping. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

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Compton’s Three Years Before Stonewall, Trans Women Fought Back

C

by David-Elijah Nahmod ompton’s Cafeteria was a greasy spoon, hole-in-the-wall diner in San Francisco.

Decades ago, when transgender women were still called “transsexuals,” “crossdressers,” or “Queens,” Compton’s was their hangout.

Compton’s stood in the heart of the Tenderloin, San Francisco’s skid row district. A neighborhood filled with cheap hotels and cheap bars, it was the one part of town where the city’s trans community of a half century ago could live openly as themselves.

“A lot of people thought we were sick, mental trash,” said Felicia Elizondo, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1974. “Nobody cared whether we lived or died.

Our own families abandoned us and we had nowhere to go.”

Elizondo is the only trans survivor who was interviewed for the 2005 documentary Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria.

There’s no question that the Stonewall Riots were a pivotal moment in Queer history. Stonewall kicked open the doors to LGBT equality. But it should not be forgotten that three years earlier, a group of brave transgender women took a similar stand for themselves. Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria is their story.

“We were murdered, thrown in jail, raped, and thrown out like trash,” she said.

of “the girls” were forced into sex work because no other professions were open to them. They spent their lives looking over their shoulders, wondering when the next beating might come. Compton’s wasn’t just a place where they could sit and schmooze; it was a place where they could check in and let the other girls know that they had survived the night.

But not even Compton’s was completely safe. Fifty years ago, LGBTQ people were, as one prominent gay writer stated, “the people of the demimonde.” He meant people of the half-light, living in the shadows. Equality laws at that time were but a fantasy, and police harassment was a regular occurrence.

One night, three years before the Stonewall Riots broke out in New York City, several police officers walked into Compton’s and ordered the trans patrons to “move on.”

One officer tried to arrest a trans woman who was doing nothing more than drinking a cup of coffee. She threw the coffee into his face.

Almost immediately, other trans women joined in, throwing chairs and smashing windows. The next night they returned to picket Compton’s.

Unfortunately, there are no photos or film of the Compton’s riots, but when filmmaker Susan Stryker, herself a transgender woman, produced Screaming Queens, a number of the Compton’s rioters were still living, and they gladly shared their memories for Stryker’s camera.

In spite of this, Elizondo’s memories of the neighborhood are largely positive. The Tenderloin wasn’t only the first place where she could be herself, it was the first place where she made friends with people who were like her—it was the first time she enjoyed a real sense of community.

One participant in the riots, Amanda St. Jaymes, took Stryker for an on-camera tour of the block where Compton’s once stood. Most movingly, St. Jaymes, who has since passed on, speaks gratefully of the gender reassignment surgery and education, which was paid for by the State of California.

It was a hard life. As Screaming Queens recounts, many

“I got a good job as a secretary,” St. Jaymes said proudly.

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What is TRUVADA for PrEP?

® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) sex partners. is a prescription medicine that is used together ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for infection.

HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat talk openly with your healthcare provider about HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete your sexual health. treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice treat over time. safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: share needles or other items that have body fluids ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. on them.

TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA What is the most important information I without first talking to your healthcare provider, should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get ® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do tested to make sure that you do not already not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the positive, you need to take other medicines with risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not to be HIV-negative. a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become in a person who has recently become harder to treat over time. infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B could have recently become infected with infection.

HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had What are the other possible side effects of a flu-like illness within the last month before TRUVADA for PrEP? starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure.

Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in check your kidneys before and during treatment the neck or groin. with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP ® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic may not keep you from getting HIV-1. acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking healthcare provider right away if you get these TRUVADA for PrEP: symptoms: weakness or being more tired than ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and your healthcare provider right away. vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or ® To further help reduce your risk of getting lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

HIV-1: ® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right your partners. away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for infections. Other infections make it easier several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area for HIV to infect you. pain.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following pages.

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We’re adventurous, not reckless.

We know who we are. And we make choices that fit our lives.

TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA.

® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Learn more at truvada.com

O U T F R O N T O7/26/17 N L I N 5:39 E . CPM OM

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IMPORTANT FACTS

(tru-VAH-dah)

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.

• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected.

Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices.

Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.

• You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

• See the “How to Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information. w

TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection.

TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1.

• To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.

• Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices.

2 6 \\ S E PTVDC0136_PrEP_E_7x9-5_OutFront_Bear_p1.indd TEMBER 20, 2017 3-4

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP" section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

• Bone problems.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.

These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis.

• Have any other medical conditions.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners.

• Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection.

• Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design, TRUVADA, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0136 08/17

O U T F R O N T O7/26/17 N L I N5:39 E . CPM OM

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picene”

By Addison Herron-Wheeler

Queer Artists Collaborate to Highlight Androgyny

Nicole Daniels: Photographer

Some photographers only seek to document or to eke out a living going from assignment to assignment.

Others work more in the role of artist, conceptualizing and cultivating original shoots. Denver local Nicole Daniels, who considers herself an illustrative photographer, falls into the latter category.

Originally slated for a career as a counselor, Nicole Daniels fell into a career as a photographer. While in school to become a counselor, she started taking photos on the side to earn some extra cash, and realized she had the potential to create a career for herself. She now has her own studio, where she takes on work at a reasonable price for members of her community.

Her latest shoot, which she and photo subject and makeup artist Zade Montford thought up together, seeks to highlight the beauty of androgyny and how beauty can operate outside of a gender paradigm.

“I called it ‘Epicene,’” she explained. “I think it’s a prettier word than androgyny, which is kind of a bland word that means in the middle, and I wanted to use a beautiful word that highlights the concept of being in between. Androgynous people are their own, and beautiful, and exciting, and worth getting to know and being part of society. I wanted to reflect that.”

The shoot took place at her home, and Daniels and Montford spent the day trying new poses, playing with props, and even befriending a small bird that came and joined them during the shoot. The result is a stunning series of poses that highlights queer beauty and the space between male and female.

Zade Montford: Makeup and Modeling

While Montford may look the part of a model, he is actually a career makeup artist. Ever since he stole his mom’s credit card in high school and went on a Sephora shopping spree, he was sold on makeup as a life choice. Bored of his advanced art class, he started experimenting with colors and shades and never looked back.

Although he possesses the natural drama of a model, Montford normally prefers to be behind the scenes, making up faces and conceptualizing. Although he appreciates modeling, it isn’t something he would try to do full time.

“If I were able to participate in the model world I would be turned down because I’m short,” he said. “When you think models, you think really tall women with long legs and very thin bodies, or men who are buff and masculine, but I feel like there is a whole other world behind it: there are skinny people; there are bigger people, and I like to highlight these contrasts with my makeup.

Although he identifies as male, Montford embraces his androgyny and loves that he can play with gender and look femme one day and more masculine the next. He was intrigued by the concept behind Daniel’s shoot because he wanted to do makeup and express beauty in a way that didn’t necessarily focus on one gender aesthetic or the other.

You can catch Montford doing drag, being the man behind the makeup for shoots and special events, or working his day job as a manager with Lancome.

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM

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The shoot took place at her home, and Daniels and Montford spent the day trying new poses, playing with props, and even befriending a small bird that came and joined them during the shoot. The result is a stunning series of poses that highlights queer beauty and the space between male and female.

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“I get a lot of funny looks for wearing makeup, especially working in a department store. A lot of men will walk by me and try and figure out if I’m man or woman. Just do you; if you know you’re a good person, do whatever you want that makes you happy.

If you want to wear high heels and makeup, do it.”

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The Lives of Gay Gang Members

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Y

ou felt surprisingly safe.

There you were, in a place that was certainly iffy, but you were totally comfortable there. No danger, no darkness, no problems—and in the new book The Gang’s All Queer by Vanessa R. Panfil, no world you’ve ever seen before, either.

As a white lesbian woman, Vanessa Panfil knows that growing up as a gay teenager is no picnic, but her work in a Columbus, Ohio, LGBTQ center for young adults showed her difficulties beyond her own experience. It was through this work that she developed an interest in gang membership within that community.

She already knew a handful of gay gang members; after she gained their trust, those men introduced her to a web of people who opened their world to her.

When most people think of gangs, the image that comes to mind is one of tattoos and machismo.

Panfil says there are three distinct kinds of gangs: all-gay gangs, of which there aren’t many; heterosexual gangs, in which being gay could be dangerous; and more tolerant, easy-going “hybrid” gangs, in which the mix of gay and straight could be up to half of each.

Panfil points out that most of the men she interviewed were careful to stress that they

were very masculine. She also says that, despite the fact that more than two out of three gay men fought someone else over homophobic harassment, protection from such was not the main reason for joining a gang; the biggest motivators were perceptions of “family” or deep friendship.

While there was a certain amount of crime that comes with gang affiliation—mostly petty theft, selling drugs, and sex, although fierce violence was not unknown—many gay gangs offered encouragement, a more democratic atmosphere, job-seeking help, and educational support, thus acting more like cliques than gangs.

The Gang’s All Queer is a bit on the academic side and probably not on anyone’s relax-in-ahammock-and-read list. But it’s a very interesting take on a world that never makes the headlines.

Not only did author Vanessa R. Panfil have access to a group of men who were willing to tell all, she fully used that access to understand why a gay man would turn to a group that’s stereotypically anti-gay. Her findings allow her to explore larger questions of violence and closeting, as well as the some of the unique challenges faced by those who are black, gay, and in gangs.

Even readers who don’t love the more academic feel of this book will ultimately come away with a better knowledge of a world they might not have realized existed. Certainly for scholars, but also for anyone interested in LGBT cultures, The Gang’s All Queer is a pretty safe bet.

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BOULDER PRIDE Photos by Charles Broshous

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BOULDER PRIDE Photos by Charles Broshous

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Dueling with Depression:

By Mike Yost

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A

re you being mindful? Are you even mindful of what it is to be mindful? It can cure depression and anxiety, or so I’m told.

There are a host of websites dedicated to explaining this word. “Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present,” writes mindfulness.org, adding that being mindful avoids being “overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”

Sounds like a good idea, until life kicks you hard in the stomach.

Late last year, I lost a lucrative job without warning, forcing me to scramble for work to pay rent. As a result, I lost my apartment and had to move to a smaller place, only to have my relationship fall to pieces at the same time. Who the hell wants to be mindful of all that?

Wouldn’t being fully present force me to be more aware of an uncertain future, clouded by loss and loneliness?

By working at not thinking of external stressors, I ended up obsessing about external stressors. Some cure, this mindfulness.

But I also wasn’t ready to give up on the idea, either. There’s a grounding technique often used to de-escalate those who are having a panic attack—just focus on the five senses.

It’s pretty amazing if you stop to think about it, the amount of information your body is currently feeding your brain right now, most of which we don’t pay attention to out of necessity. But just stop and take a listen to only one of your senses. Make a mental list of all the things you can hear right now.

What are your ears telling you? Maybe you’re in a bar, and you’re hearing the constant clink of glasses. Bursts of laughter from a group of friends crowded around a small, wobbly table. If you’re in a straight bar, “Hotel California” is probably playing for the third time in the last hour.

As I write these words, I can hear the rush of traffic below my apartment. The loud spinning of a box fan wedged in my window. The collar of my cat as he snakes his way between the legs of the chair I’m sitting in.

The trick, I’ve discovered, is not trying to empty the mind or work at not clinging to all the thoughts relentlessly bouncing off the walls of my mind. All I’m doing is stepping into that running stream of perpetual information the body is pouring into my brain.

I indulge the senses by burning sandalwood incense all day. I linger on the taste of the morning’s coffee still on my tongue. I focus on the feel of a soft cotton shirt rubbing against my shoulders and back.

This technique hasn’t fostered any solutions for the stressors in my life. Being mindful hasn’t cured my feelings of isolation. But by turning my attention to the senses, if only for a few minutes, the immediate becomes an anchor for my mind that feels lost in a sea of violent waves knocking me back and forth.

Mindfulness is a temporary respite until (at some point) the storm clears, so that I can make more sound decisions on how to navigate these storms that so often hide any hopeful, bright horizon.

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PRIDE AND SWAGGER Photos by Charles Broshous

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AIDS WALK Photos by Charles Broshous

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Heinzesight:

Tips Before you Travel

There are many of us that love to get away to exciting destinations. We can check out the sights and be entertained by new hot spots, hidden gems, and some potential new buddies. Despite the exhilaration of visiting an unexplored city, being the new kid on the block or a tourist can also come with some challenges. It should be thrilling but often can be overwhelming or lonely.

Here are some ideas to help ensure you have opportunities to enjoy yourself and get the most out of getting away.

Use Your Resources Along with books and internet sources, take the time to chat with people who have visited those places. Sometimes, the most highly acclaimed sites may also be considered overrated, and you might choose not to waste the effort going there. You only have a limited amount of time, so make the most of it.

Do It With a Local Finding people who know the lay of the land can be very helpful. Not only might they have some fantastic suggestions on where to go and when to get there, but they can also be a wonderful social conduit to introduce you to many other people. We all know how difficult it can be to break into conversations with people in a group. Having a great

ambassador that can introduce you to their buddies can be a real plus.

Log On and Log Out of Your Apps Using technology is a fantastic way to gain information, flirt with someone sexy, or connect with people for a variety of activities. The important thing is to balance time looking at your phone and looking at the beautiful surroundings. Utilize all of your tools to get what you want, but be careful about getting stuck in cyberspace when you could be enjoying the outside world.

Go With the Flow I understand the importance of having a well-planned trip. Spend time scheduling transportation and tickets for those things you really want to experience, but have the flexibility to simply chill out or rearrange plans if an awesome opportunity comes around.

Be Courteous to the Staff This is generally considered to be an extremely important tenet of existing in our society, but it is especially true when visiting a new place. Smile while you’re asking for extra towels and thank the staff for being pleasant. Make it a point to be extra nice to restaurant and shop staff. Not only could you get better service, but staff members can be incredible resources in pointing you in a good direction. You never know who can be beneficial, so be nice to everyone.

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ST .M

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N AL

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T. ES

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Subaru’s 2018 Models Are Arriving

$1680 due • $179/mo. *2018 Subaru Legacy not as pictured

2018 SUBARU LEGACY 2.5I 36 month lease. $179 per month plus tax. $1680 due at signing plus tax. 10,000 miles per year with approved credit. No security deposit required.

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Expires 09/30/2017

Family Owned and Operated for Over 45 years