pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 18 May 4-10, 2018
Family Portrait: Peter Lee cooks up a party PAGE 23
Saying goodbye to part of our family PAGE 2
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Gender-fluid actor Maggie Johnson takes flight
PAGE 17
Local drag performer allegedly assaulted
PAGE 5
CEO who managed $13.5 billion in assets for Milton Hershey School resigns By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Aloe Vera, a local drag performer, sustained a broken jaw during an assault in South Philadelphia this week. Vera, whose legal name is Anthony Veltre, underwent reparative jaw surgery at Jefferson University Hospital on May 1. On April 30, police arrested Carmelo Villanueva, 34, and charged with aggravated assault and lesser offenses in connection with the assault. Villanueva was released from custody later that day after posting bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 15 in Room 503 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1315 Filbert St. According to a police narrative of the incident, officers responded to the 2000 block of Tasker Street around 10:30 p.m. April 29, where Vera said Villanueva punched her repeatedly in the face and threatened her with a knife. Ben Waxman, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, said Villanueva will be prosecuted to the f u l l e s t ex t e n t possible. “ O bv i o u s l y, this is a serious crime and we’re going to pursue justice in this case as aggressively as possible,” Waxman told PGN. A fundraiser f o r Ve r a w a s CARMELO VILLANUEVA scheduled for May 7 at ICandy Nightclub in Center City, where she has performed. A GoFundMe page also has been established to help raise funds for Vera, who’s expected to be out of work for a significant period of time. n
Philly Black Pride recap
SOCCER SOIRÉE: Members and friends of the Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club celebrated a hometown victory when the Philadelphia Union beat D.C. United 3-2 April 28. The Falcons held a watch party at the Ethical Society to raise money for the Aug. 4-12 Gay Games in Paris. Food, drink and auction items were also donated to offset costs. The organization is also holding free skills classes for any returning or new soccer players interested in friendly competition at home or this summer in France. Classes will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. May 16 and 23 at Edgely Field in Fairmount Park. For more information, go to falcons-soccer.org. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Minority, LGBT media demand Inquirer sensitivity training By Kristen Demilio editor@epgn.com The city’s minority and multicultural publications, including PGN, united this week in calling for the Philadelphia Inquirer to have sensitivity training for their staff. The mobilization was prompted by anInquirer article that questioned a policy by the Sheriff’s Office to place ads in independent news outlets similar to the ones the Inquirer has been publishing. The article, titled “Sheriff sale ads: A bonanza for the politically connected in Philly” ran on April 27. It opened by stating Philadelphia Sheriff Jewell Williams, spends millions of dollars to place ads in “community and niche newspapers … without any legal obligation to do so.” A 1976 law requires that sheriff-sale ads be placed in a “paper of general circulation” as well as a legal publication.
The independent publishers’ group is calling out that law and characterized its use by the Inquirer for financial gain as exploitive. Other publications have had to fight for a piece of that pie, said PGN publisher Mark Segal in a rebuttal of the article. “The law guarantees dollars to flow to the Inquirer, which is designated as one of the ‘papers of general circulation,’ while community papers must prove their worth to participate in these kinds of advertising programs,” Segal wrote on behalf of the Philadelphia Multicultural Newspaper Association. Cathy Hicks, publisher of The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, said that placing sheriff-sale ads in local papers guarantees wider participation in the purchasing of property across the city. “The ads are placed in rotation among the community and ethnic papers, based PAGE 13 on the type of sale
Eric Henry, who served as CEO for the Hershey Trust Company for the past six years, has resigned to pursue “other professional opportunities.” Henry managed $13.5 billion in assets for the Milton Hershey School. A national search is underway for his replacement, according to an April 23 press release announcing Henry’s departure. Henry couldn’t be reached for comment. The Milton Hershey School, in Hershey, serves 2,000 underprivileged youths from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Students live on campus in cottages with assigned house parents. Attendance at the school is free thanks to a trust established by the late chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine in 1909. Thirty-two new student homes are under construction and the student population is expected to increase to 2,300 students within the next four years, according to the school’s web page. Sources of financial support for the school include income from the Hershey Company and Hersheypark amusement center, along with a portfolio of investments and real-estate holdings. In 2016, Adam Dobson, a former Hershey student, filed suit against the school, claiming he suffered from depression that was exacerbated after a house parent allegedly pressured him into viewing a religious-themed anti-LGBT video. Dobson, who is gay, attended the school for several years prior to his expulsion in 2013. He’s requesting an unspecified amount in damages and remedial measures at the school. A jury trial in the Dobson case is scheduled for Jan. 7 at the Ronald Reagan Court House in Harrisburg, with U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner presiding. In an April 30 email, school spokesperson Lisa Scullin defended the school and its hiring practices. PAGE 14
2
PGN LOCAL
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
Resource listings
Michael Petty, a 42-year love story
Legal resources • ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215-592-1513; aclupa.org • AIDS Law Project of PA: 215-587-9377; aidslawpa.org • AIDS Law Project of South Jersey: 856-784-8532; aidslawsnj.org/ • Equality PA: equalitypa. org; 215-731-1447
• Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations — Rue Landau: 215-686-4670 • Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-7603686; ppd.lgbt@gmail.com • SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-920-9537
• Office of LGBT Affairs — Amber Hikes: 215-686-0330; amber.hikes@phila.gov
Community centers • The Attic Youth Center; 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331, atticyouthcenter.org. For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. • LGBT Center at the University of Pennsylvania; 3907 Spruce
St.; 215-898-5044, center@dolphin.upenn.edu.
• Rainbow Room: Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center
Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext. 9065, rainbowroom@ppbucks.org.
• William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220, www.waygay.org.
Health and HIV testing • Action Wellness: 1216 Arch St.; 215981-0088, actionwellness.org
• AIDS Library:
1233 Locust St.; aidslibrary.org/
• AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800-6626080
• Bebashi-Transition to Hope: 1235 Spring Garden St.; 215769-3561; bebashi.org
• COLOURS: coloursorganization.org, 215832-0100 • Congreso de Latinos Unidos;
216 W. Somerset St.; 215-763-8870
• GALAEI: 149 W. Susquehanna Ave.; 267-457-3912, galaei.org. Spanish/ English
• Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad
St.; 215-685-1821
• Mazzoni Center:
1348 Bainbridge St.; 215-563-0652, mazzonicenter.org
• Philadelphia FIGHT: 1233 Locust St.; 215-985-4448, fight.org
• Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center:
1201 Locust St.; 215985-9206
• Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207
Other • Independence Branch Library Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection: 215-685-1633 • Independence Business Alliance; 215-557-0190, IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com
• LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK • PFLAG: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 • Philly Pride Presents: 215-875-9288
Obituary Mike Petty, husband of Philadelphia Gay News longtime office manager Don Pignolet, died April 26 from complications due to open-heart surgery. He was 73 years old. Petty was born in Trenton, N.J., on May 27, 1944, to Mary and Michael Petty. The youngest of four children — and three sisters — Petty grew up in the South Jersey city and had a fondness for local Italian delicacies such as tomato pie. Petty met Pignolet, each man’s first and last partner, at a bar in New Hope on Halloween 1975. A nearby patron spilled a bottle of beer, and the two men struck up a conversation. Pignolet said he knew at first sight that Petty was the one. “He was the light of my life and I was his anchor,” Pignolet said. “We balanced each other out.” A few years later, the pair moved to Philadelphia, living in an apartment off Bainbridge Street. Pignolet helped found the Philadelphia Gay News, and Petty worked as a hairdresser at Dino’s House of Beauty in Rittenhouse Square. Over the years, the two took up a host of hobbies together, such as kite-flying, traveling, gardening and caring for their eight rescued cats. “We saved 35 cats together” over the years, Pignolet said. The couple traveled to New Jersey often, sometimes to the beach and sometimes to the casinos, where Petty took his goodluck charm — a tiny cat keychain. Just two months after the Garden State legalized gay marriage in 2012, the two married in Cape May. Roseanne Williams, a hairdresser at Dino’s who referred to Petty as her “salon husband,” spoke of
his warm nature. He was the person who refilled the coffee, changed the light bulbs and brought his fresh-baked raspberry cookies into the salon for everyone. He cared about people, Williams said. “When he approached the chair, he did it because he knew people were worth it,” she said. Petty knew all the customers by name, greeting them as they came in, sometimes with the offering he most enjoyed baking — warm, soft, sweet-smelling bread. Ciabatta was his specialty. Pignolet, however, favored his husband’s cakes, pies and especially his mushroom pierogies. Pignolet was the chef to complement Petty’s baker, and the two sat down to eat their creations together every night at their candlelit dinner table. “Don was the love of his life, and everyone knew it,” Williams said. W h e n Wi l l i a m s m e t Petty over 26 years ago, she
S eg a l r e c a l l s m e e t i n g Pignolet and Petty in the 1970s, noting that their chemistry was palpable. And it stayed that way: Segal recalls watching the two of them at a PGN event a few years ago, leaning
into each other, knowing they were comfortable. “They knew just what to say to each other,” he said. “They were just in sheer happiness.” Jen Colletta, former PGN editor, still remembers how she felt when she heard of their marriage.
Pignolet was the chef to complement Petty’s baker, and the two sat down to eat their creations together every night at their candlelit dinner table. was working at the salon to support herself and her 2-year-old after she and her husband separated. She described how Petty helped her get through tough moments. “It seems bad today,” Petty told Williams. “But you’re going where you want. And when you get there, it’ll be better tomorrow.” PGN publisher Mark
“Everyone at PGN was so happy and excited for Don and Mike when they finally got to legally tie the knot,” she said. “When I was getting married, they got me a Christmas ornament with an inscription wishing me the same luck and love that they always had, and I treasure that. Theirs was an inspiring love story.” n
We want to know! If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
ANY BANK CAN SAY IT’S A HOMETOWN BANK. ONLY ONE PROVES IT EVERY DAY.
No other bank gives you more reasons to keep your money close to home. We have great rates on Checking, Savings, and CD’s and expeditious approvals on Home Equity Loans and Mortgages. For more information and neighborly answers to your questions, stop by any time or give us a call at 856-858-1100.
NMLS # 677617
Collingswood 1040 Haddon Avenue
Westville 321 Broadway
Residential Lending Division 210 Lake Drive E. • Cherry Hill
856.858.1100
856.456.6544
856.869.3250 Equal Opportunity Lender
Shares of 1st Colonial Bancorp, Inc. common stock are publicly traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol FCOB.
3
4
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
LGBT Senior Supplement
News & Opinion
2 — Obituary 10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Mark My Words Street Talk Positive Thoughts 13 — International News 15 — Media Trail
Columns
8 — Out Law: Changes in transgender discrimination laws 14 — Body U: Summer calls for workout changes
May 18
215-625-8501
17 21 22 23 24 26
Only in
6
— Feature: Second star to the right — Scene in Philly — Q Puzzle — Family Portrait — Comics — Out & About
10
Artists ease their souls after sexual assault with unique gallery event.
PGN 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506
23
Creep of the Week: Yup! He’s back. The Donald makes the creep list for the umpteenth time.
Editor
Kristen Demilio (ext. 215) kristen@epgn.com
Phone: 215-625-8501 Fax: 215-925-6437 E-mail: pgn@epgn.com Web: www.epgn.com
Staff Writer Larry Nichols (ext. 213) larry@epgn.com
Publisher Mark Segal (ext. 204) mark@epgn.com
Writer-at-Large Timothy Cwiek (ext. 208) timothy@epgn.com
~ Laura Sorensen, director of the RHD Morris Home, page 6
Arts & Culture
The LGBT Senior Supplement is coming May 25 DEADLINE TO ADVERTISE:
“We support these individuals as they develop the knowledge, skills and supports necessary to promote sobriety, manage emotional and behavioral difficulties, choose and maintain safe and healthy lifestyles and develop healthy relationships.”
Advertising Sales Joe Bean (ext. 219) joe@epgn.com Kyle Lamb (ext. 201) kyle@epgn.com Prab Sandhu (ext. 212) prab@epgn.com Office Manager/ Classifieds Don Pignolet (ext. 200) don@epgn.com
Andy and Anderson double up, or double down, on their latest collaboration in AC2.
Art Director/ Photographer
Scott A. Drake (ext. 210) scott@epgn.com 267-736-6743 Graphic Artist Sean Dorn (ext. 211) sean@epgn.com
Philadelphia Gay News is a member of: The Associated Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Suburban Newspapers of America
25
This Grace Jones documentary will give you all the dish you want to know.
Copyright © 1976 - 2018 Copyright(s) in all materials in these pages are either owned or licensed by Masco Communications Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliate companies (Philadelphia Gay News, PGN, and it’s WWW sites.) All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission, modification, public display, and public performance of our materials is prohibited without the prior written consent of Masco Communications. To obtain such consent, email pgn@epgn.com Published by Masco Communications Inc. © 1976-2018 Masco Communications Inc. ISSN-0742-5155
National Advertising Rivendell Media: 212-242-6863
The views of PGN are expressed only in the unsigned “Editorial” column. Opinions expressed in bylined columns, stories and letters to the editor are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of PGN. The appearance of names or pictorial representations in PGN does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that named or pictured person or persons.
LOCAL PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
5
Philly Black Pride wraps up after unveiling fuller rainbow flag By Adriana Fraser PGN Contributor Philly Black Pride celebration inspired a fresh sense of empowerment, awareness and community participation during this year’s festivities with PBP’s first parade and rally for racial equality within the LGBTQ community. The celebration kicked off April 27 with the raising of the Pride flag with the addition of two new colors, black and brown, symbolizing the city’s inclusion of people of color in the LGBTQ community. The revitalized flag was created by the Office of LGBT Affairs’ “More Color, More Pride� campaign. Next came the march, under the rubric “Unchained: A Revolution of Love,� beginning at the Aloft Hotel and ending near City Hall. The parade is the newest addition to the five-day celebration. Mayor Jim Kenney was one of the guest speakers of the Unchained march,
where he affirmed the need for “holding and creating spaces that celebrate identities across a myriad of communities.� Parade leaders urged the allocation of more resources from local government sources for LGBTQ community members affected by homelessness, hunger and income disparities. First-time PBP attendee Donte Holland, 29, said he felt a sense of pride while being a part of the inaugural parade. “Being a black man and a gay man [marching] felt surreal,� Holland said. “It felt good to stand up in my black and gay identity.� Holland, along with the other parade-goers, chanted “I’m proud of my black skin� as they marched with parade organizer Antar Brush, PBP president Le Thomas, and guest speakers Asa Khalif from Black Lives Matter and the executive director of the mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs, Amber Hikes. n
BUILDING BLOCKS: The 2018 Philly Black Pride finished off the weekend with block parties April 29 on 13th Street in front of Woody’s and on Chancellor Street by Franky Bradley’s. The festivities included the first Black Pride Parade on April 25, along with a roundtable conversation on bias and stereotypes, a day of service with the COLOURS Organization and Resources for Human Development and parties around the city. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Intensive Outpatient Services now available at Mazzoni Center
T Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for substance abuse
TO LEARN MORE CONTACT:
Intensive Outpatient Program at Mazzoni Center 215-563-0652, ext 248 or iop@mazzonicenter.org
pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
6
LOCAL PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIRECTORY
Music festival to raise funds for Morris Home, other LGBT charities By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor
The leader in
NON-MEDICAL IN-HOME CARE AND FREE ASSISTED LIVING REFERRAL for more than a decade. • Alzheimer’s & Dementia Patients • Cancer Patients • Bathing • Comfort Care • Companionship
• Dressing • Escort/Transportation • Errands • Grocery Shopping • Grooming • Hourly or Live-in Care
• Incontinence Care • Light Housekeeping • Laundry • Meal Preparation • Medication Reminders • Weekends & Holidays
DPW Approved Aging Waiver Provider in Philadelphia, Bucks and Delaware Counties
Philly • 267-909-9248 Lower Bucks • 267-812-5744 www.abcphillybristol.com
Get Better Fest 5 hits Chestnut Street’s First Unitarian Church this Saturday for an all-ages show featuring Empath, Mannequin Pussy, Big Nothing and more to raise money for local and national LGBTQ organizations. Philadelphia’s Get Better Records, a queer-run independent label founded by Alex Licktenhour, is hosting the event and donating all proceeds to Black & Pink, Morris Home and Project SAFE. Each organization has its own groove, with Black & Pink focusing on supporting LGBTQ prisoners and “free-world” allies; RHD Morris Home supporting trans- and gender-variant individuals through issues of sobriety, emotional and behavioral difficulties in a recovery-oriented environment; and Project SAFE’s advocacy and health support for women working in street economies. “We choose organizations we feel are important to donate to,” said Licktenhour, adding that “our radical politics are always involved in the decision process.” Get Better Records is owned and operated by queer and trans people. The label focuses on releasing bands identifying as queer/ trans and people of color, said
Licktenhour. “Our label is directly tied to the LGBTQ+ audience because we are that audience.” Along with running charitable events such as Get Better, which raises funds for local as well as national concerns (e.g., the families of the victims of the June 2016 shooting of the Pulse Nightclub in Florida), the label’s real work on the ground comes down to providing Philly’s LGBTQ+ crowd a voice. “We try to give a platform to LGBTQ+ folks in Philly in the form of making and selling records and being on a stage with a microphone,” said Licktenhour. Laura Sorensen is the director of the now-seven-year-old RHD Morris Home (named for Nizah Morris, a transgender woman killed in Philadelphia in 2002), one of the event’s beneficiaries. The eight-bed residential drugand alcohol-treatment program serves members of the transgender and gender nonconforming community living with substance use and mental-health disorders. “It is the only program of its kind in the country,” said Sorensen. “We support these individuals as they develop the knowledge, skills and supports necessary to promote sobriety, manage emotional and behavioral difficulties, choose and maintain safe and healthy lifestyles and
develop healthy relationships.” Morris Home provides a safe, trauma-informed recovery environment for individuals whose histories frequently include incarceration, complex trauma and chronic homelessness, said Sorensen. To that end, she said, they need all the money and support they can get. “We’re grateful for community support of our program,” said Sorensen, who pointed out that all funds raised — from Get Better Fest and beyond — go toward covering necessities for people living in Morris Home. “We like to be able to provide our members with hair or wigs, makeup, binders, packers and other gender-affirming items, as well as keeping our clothes closet stocked with necessities such as socks and underwear.” At least some of the funds raised on Saturday will allow Morris Home “to decorate our brand-new yard, designed as a safe sanctuary where we can have group- and individual-therapy sessions outside as well as garden and barbecue,” Sorensen said. All proceeds go directly to the chosen charities, said Licktenhour. “We want to help provide some sort of financial help for these organizations, even if it’s just a few hundred dollars from a tiny label.” n
Artists channel impact of sexual assault through their work By Gary L. Day PGN Contributor A group of artists took to the podium at Channels gallery on April 29 to talk about the impact of sexual assault on their art. The artists spoke to an audience of about 40 community members about their personal stories of sexual assault and took questions afterwards. The event marked the closing night of the “Consent = Compulsory” exhibit to mark Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The exhibit featured works by 10 local artists that focused on sexuality, sexual violence and the ensuing trauma. The artists who were on hand to speak included Juliana Cardena, William Wallace, Marissa Ziobro, Soul Cooke and Chelsea Luster, who was also one of the organizers of the exhibit at Channels, formerly
Most of the artists spoke about sexual violence that impacted them personally, or those close to them, but more importantly, they addressed how the trauma of that violence resonated through their lives and art, if not always directly. Violence can have a subconscious effect, below the surface of one’s thoughts, and that can have an unexpected influence on one’s life and work for a lifetime, the artists agreed. It was lost on neither the artists nor the audience that comedian Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault during Sexual Assault “ONLY 5 Y/O” BY JULIANA Awareness Month. CARDONA, FROM THE EXHIBIT “It’s heartening that someone so “CONSENT = COMPULSORY” prominent is finally being taken Photo courtesy of Channels to task for their behavior,” said Wallace. “Too often men that known as Queeraality. “Channels is dedicated to famous, that influential — they creating and supporting art and get let off the hook. Maybe this entertainment that influences and is a sign that our society is finally inspires inclusivity,” said Luster. changing.” n
LOCAL PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIRECTORY rev. dr. Nadine
Rosechild Sullivan, ph.d.
Spiritual Counseling drsullivan@rosechild.org
MAKING GREAT THINGS HAPPEN IN THE 175TH. LOOK AROUND!
215.704.4264
www.rosechild.org
Spirituality • Sexuality • Relationships • Self-Esteem
John Bishop, Ph.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Individual, Couples, and Family Therapy In New Jersey, Just Over the Bridge
Small businesses can afford special attention in our PGN directories.
304 Newton Ave. Oaklyn, New Jersey 08107
215-341-5645 Most Insurances Accepted
Spaces this size are only $50 per week when you run for a minimum of 8 weeks.
LGBT SMOKE FREE Living proudly. Living longer. For help quitting smoking, visit www.sepatobaccofree.org or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW
STATE REP MIKE O’BRIEN
RepMikeObrien.com Paid for by Citizens to Elect Mike O’Brien
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Project is an initiative of Health Promotion Council.
7
8
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
LEGAL PGN
The turning tide against workplace transgender discrimination Transgender rights are a hot topic in the circuits have expanded Title VII protecnews recently, from Trump’s slapdash ban tion to include discrimination based on on transgender soldiers in the military to transgender status and sexual orientation. the question of whether Title VII of the Although the Fifth Circuit has not yet 1964 Civil Rights Act includes gender addressed this issue, these very recent identity under the umbrella of sex discircuit cases are persuasive … The court crimination. assumes that Wittmer’s status as a transIn February, the Second Circuit Court gender woman places her under the proof Appeals, covering Connecticut, New tections of Title VII.” York and Vermont, ruled that While the case in Texas isn’t discrimination based on sexdefinitive, the Sixth Circuit ual orientation is an actionable Court ruling in Stephens v. form of sex discrimination R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral under Title VII. The decision Homes, Inc., is — for now. was heard by the full panel of The Sixth Circuit, which over13 judges in the case of Zarda sees cases in Michigan, Ohio, v. Altitude Express, Inc., in Kentucky and Tennessee, which Donald Zarda worked in delivered a one-two punch to 2010 until his firing due to his the defense of gender-identity sexual orientation. discrimination cases, not only The panel determined that siding with Stephens, but striksexual orientation is a subing down the funeral-home set of sex discrimination in director’s argument that the three ways: 1) Orientation is Angela Religious Freedom Restoration a subset of sex. To determine Act (RFRA) protected his reliGiampolo gious belief to fire someone for same-sex attraction, one must consider the sex of the perbeing transgender. son whose attraction is being considered. Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman, 2) Discrimination of sexual orientation worked at the funeral home for six years, involves sex stereotyping. Presuming presenting as her birth gender until 2013. someone’s orientation is a fireable offense She sent a letter to the owner of the is to presume same-sex attraction is less funeral home detailing her intention to than opposite-sex attraction, much the undergo sex-reassignment surgery, which same way a woman fired for her gender required her to live and work as her idenis inferior in some way to a man. 3) It tified gender for one year. Upon learning constitutes associational discrimination, of not only Stephens’ transgender status which courts have recognized in cases but her intention to transition to a woman, of racial discrimination. For example, if she was fired. The funeral home’s owner a white man is fired because he is marjustified his decision by stating his belief ried to a black woman, his termination By ruling sexual orientation is deemed racial discrimination. If it is discrimination to target one person in an is a subset of sex discrimiinterracial couple, by correlation, it is sex nation, the 2nd Circuit has discrimination to target one member of a same-sex couple. helped the plaintiffs filing By ruling sexual orientation is a subset transgender discrimination of sex discrimination, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has helped the plaintiffs lawsuits define the argument filing transgender discrimination lawsuits define the argument that gender identity is that gender identity is a a subset of sex, because those same three subset of sex, because those factors apply. same three factors apply. In early April, Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas Lee Rosenthal that the Bible teaches that biological sex held in a federal-court decision that is immutable, and that he would be in the federal employment law protecting violation of his religion if he permitted against sex discrimination applies to Stephens to continue her employment as gender identity. In the case, Wittmer v. a “male dressed as a female.” He further Phillips 66, the plaintiff, Nicole Wittmer, argued that because its activities are relialleged she wasn’t hired by Phillips 66, gious due to the nature of its business, it an energy company, because she’s transwould have put an undue burden on the gender. While Rosenthal ruled against patrons of the funeral home by creating Wittmer overall, he made it clear in his a distraction for a deceased’s loved ones opinion that it wasn’t because the arguand hinder their healing process. ment lacked merit, but because Wittmer Lawyers for the funeral home argued lacked the proof needed to unequivocally not only that Stephens wasn’t protected attribute the reason for not being hired to her transgender status. Rosenthal furunder Title VII, but that by forcing him ther stated: “Within the last year, several to continue her employment, his religious
Out Law
LOCAL PGN
freedom was infringed upon. A lower court found in favor of the funeral home and Stephens appealed to the Sixth Circuit, which overruled the lower court’s decision. The court held that Stephens’ firing was discriminatory under Title VII protections, and that the RFRA arguments didn’t carry sufficient burden on the funeral home. The RFRA protects employers should their religious exercise be burdened. The court defined a difference between “religious exercise” and “religious belief.” The opinion cited discrimination on the basis of being transgender or transitioning status is, by necessity, determined on sex. Furthermore, “it is analytically impossible to fire an employee based on that employee’s status as a transgender person without being motivated, at least in part, by the employee’s sex.” The ruling went on to state that sex stereotyping, long held unlawful under the statute, was implicated by the claim that Stephens’ transgender status was somehow problematic to the funeral homes’ patrons. The court further rejected the assertion concerning customers, stating, “[a] religious claimant cannot rely on customers’ presumed biases to establish a substantial burden under RFRA,” going on to say there was no factual evidence presented by the funeral home that customers would have been distracted or hindered by Stephens presenting as a female employee. The court continued by rejecting the argument that religious freedoms were infringed upon. By tolerating
Stephens’s understanding of her gender identity, the owner of the funeral home wasn’t required to support it; he may have believed he was being forced into engaging in conduct that would have violated his religious beliefs without having truly been engaged in supportive conduct. Providing employment to a transgender woman does not equal support for that woman’s transgender identity or decision to transition through hormone therapy or sex-affirmation surgery. Providing employment to a transgender woman simply means that she is qualified for the funeral director’s responsibilities and duties, the court held. With two federal circuit courts ruling that Title VII provides protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, and a third federal judge ruling the argument has merit even if the particular case didn’t provide proof of discrimination, a trend has been set. If the funeral home appeals the Sixth Circuit’s ruling, the case will go before the Supreme Court before we know it and, for better or worse, it will set precedent that will govern employment rights of the transgender community in the United States. n Angela D. Giampolo, principal of Giampolo Law Group, maintains offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and specializes in LGBT law, family law, business law, real-estate law and civil rights. Her website is www.giampololaw.com, and she maintains a blog at www.phillygaylawyer.com. Reach out to Angela with your legal questions at 215-645-2415 or angela@giampololaw.com.
You can find a copy of PGN at these locations:
Chester County Phoenixville • Artisans Gallery and Cafe, 234 Bridge St. • Steel City, 203 Bridge St. • Spring City • Spring Hollow Golf Club, 2250 Schuylkill Road • West Chester • Chester County Books, 975 Paoli Pike •
Delaware County Chester • AIDS Care Group, 2304 Edgemont Ave. • Widener University, 1 University Place • Glen Mills • Imago Dei MCC, 1223 Middletown Road • Media • Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Suite 115 • Unitarian Universalist Church, 145 W. Rose Tree Road • Sharon Hill • Sharon Hill Medical, 907 Chester Pike • Swarthmore • Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Parrish Hall • Wayne • Central Baptist Church, 106 W. Lancaster Ave. • Stafford Station, Old Eagle School & Crestline roads • Wayne Station, N. Wayne & West Ave. Would you like to be on our distribution list?
epgn.com
@PhillyGayNews
Contact: don@epgn.com or 215-451-6182 ext. 200 for delivery of complimentary copies.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
9
10
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL
Creep of the Week
D’Anne Witkowski
Donald Trump
Editorial
Survival of the fittest This week, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article headlined, “Sheriff sale ads: A bonanza for the politically connected in Philly.” The paper is the city’s second-largest recipient of sheriff’s ads, at $1,613,157, only behind the Legal Intelligencer at $1,812,244 annually. The articled conflated two issues: the private-contractor system by which sheriff’s ads are placed in Philadelphia-area publications, and the fact that minority news organizations receive those same ads. PGN places sheriff’s ads in its pages through a relationship with political operative and ad broker Ken Smuckler. The Inquirer did not disclose its own relationship with Smuckler and his connection to Gerry Lenfest, the Inquirer’s funder. But most important is how the Inquirer exploits a 1976 law for which it lobbied to enhance the paper’s own profits at the expense of minority and LGBT media. The Inquirer benefits from the law, which requires that sheriff’s ads be placed in a general-interest newspaper and a local legal publication. But circulation rates in that general-interest paper have declined over the years and, in its place, smaller news outlets targeting specific populations have filled in the gaps of local, independent journalism, all while remaining profitable (as PGN is). The substance of the Inquirer’s article looking at whether middle brokers are needed to replace ads is undermined by the snarky and dismissive tone the reporters used toward multicultural media outlets. Despite the overwhelming advantages enshrined in the law, the Inquirer’s current survival is sustained not by paying customers, but by Lenfest literally donating The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com to the Institute for Journalism in New Media so that it can receive funding beyond the sheriff’s ads. PGN survives by its journalism. Why can’t the Inquirer? n
Tell us what you think
I was in a coffee shop and the song “Safe If a transgender perand Sound” by Capital Cities started playson serves the couning. I’ve heard it many times and, while try by volunteering it’s good, I’ve never paid much attention to risk life and to it. But I just finished reading Sarah limb, something McBride’s memoir “Tomorrow Will Be the vast majority Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for of Americans will Trans Equality.” In it, this song plays a spe- never and would cial role in her relationship with Andrew never do, then the Cray, the man she would fall in love with. least we can do is The man she would marry. The man she pay for their damn lost four days after their wedding to cancer. healthcare needs, So the song now makes me think of transition surgery included. these two young people finding love in As McBride points out in her book, peoeach other, making a life together and the ple are much more likely to support trans tragedy of that life together being cut so equality if they know a trans person. The terribly short. number of Americans who know someone “Safe and Sound” took on even more has grown a lot in the last few years. But significance because as I was listening to that number is still quite small because the the song, I was reading about the Trump transgender population is quite small. If we administration’s plans to scrap transgender have to wait until every American gets to healthcare protections. know a trans person before full equality is As the Boston Globe so plainly puts it: achieved, we are never going to get there. “The Trump administration says it plans to Which is why cisgender people need roll back a rule issued by former president to advocate for trans people. As anyBarack Obama that prevents doctors, hosone who isn’t a cisgender, heterosexual pitals and health insurance companies from white male knows, having to fight for discriminating against transgender people.” your most basic rights and constantly This is, of course, advocate for your own terrible, cruel and comhumanity is exhausting. There’s this idea the pletely unnecessary. But Unfortunately for transthere’s an added layer gender Americans, they so-called religious of awfulness: One of are the direct target of right has that trans the people instrumental the most powerful peoin crafting the rule propeople drive up health- ple in the country. It’s tecting trans people was not a fair fight by any none other than Andrew care costs with their means, but as long as we Cray. incessant demands for have hateful bigots in You could say this is D.C., trans people are in a good example of “add- transition surgery that an especially dangerous ing insult to injury,” but surgeons are being position. such hateful discriminaThough let me be tion goes beyond insult. forced to perform. clear: Trans people have It will, however, lead always been in danto injury in that it will harm transgender ger. While we’ve witnessed some gains in people, a group so reviled by the Trump recent years, trans people are at a higher administration that every step forward risk of discrimination and violence. Trans toward freedom and equality under Obama, women of color are at an especially high however small, has been met with hostile risk of physical violence and being murpushback. dered. There’s this idea the so-called religious If you support trans equality, you need right has that trans people drive up healthto be more than a silent partner. Speak out care costs with their incessant demands and stand up for trans people. As Martin for transition surgery that surgeons are Luther King Jr. wrote, “Injustice anywhere being forced to perform. That was one of is a threat to justice everywhere.” Putting it the stated reasons behind Trump’s ban on another way, until trans people are safe and transgender soldiers: The country can’t sound, nobody is safe and sound. n afford all these trans troops mooching off D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian the military for health care. Let me just living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been state that: 1) There is nothing the military writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow can’t find money for if they want to; and 2) her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski. Send letters and opinion column submissions to: pgn@epgn.com; PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147; fax: 215-925-6437.
Please include a daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, style and space considerations.
OP-ED PGN
When political connections allow discrimination, we fight back For our family at PGN, this has been Did they not reveal their own connections what you might call a mixed couple of with the same people they connected to the weeks. It started with the death of one of minority press? our extended family members, Mike Petty, It had two good outcomes: The minority the husband of Don Pignolet, who has media of the city, along with LGBT media been with this paper since its beginning. and community newspaper publishers, had Naturally our hearts and first their first city-wide meeting. We concerns were with Don. were all united in calling out the It also gave us each a time Inquirer for its bias, its ethics to reflect. As we saw the love regarding this article and its manthey shared, we were able to ner in handling our response. The look into our own relationships Inquirer has agreed to meet with and see joy. Don, the trooper us to discuss these grievances. he has always been, has kept Whether they know it from their up his PGN schedule. It has privileged and politically conbeen heartwarming to watch his nected perch or not, they should fellow staffers comfort him on know that their reputation is on those occasions when he gets the line. a little emotional. It makes us What was even more heartproud to be his family. warming was the reaction from As this was playing out, you, our community. On both these issues, our community the Inquirer took a pot shot at minority and LGBT media. Mark Segal called and emailed offering Don kind words and letting us In part, the article might have know, as something our LGBT Chamber been about the Inquirer’s exploiting a disof Commerce might say, that in all busicriminatory state law along with the PA ness, the fairness to get in the game is what Newspaper Publisher’s Association when real equality is all about. PGN has always they lobbied the state legislature in 1976 fought the good fight, and we appreciate and again in 1986 to give themselves a your support. That may be the most heartmonopoly on government advertising. felt feeling of the week. n The question is, did they use their political influence then? Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s mostIn the story the Inquirer ran this week, award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You that question was never brought up. Did can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ they not ask the needed question? Did MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/ they include quotations out of context? PhilaGayNews.
Mark My Words
Positive Thoughts
JD Davids
The Cranky Queer’s Guide to Chronic Illness Hello. How are you? Yeah, you’re fine, I know. So am I. It’s the kind of fine where it’s the third time in four days that I wake up at 2:30 a.m. And no, it’s not Trump — or not just that. I’m sick, and in physical pain, and my heart is pounding and my mind racing. Given that it’s a familiar routine at this point, I know I’ll lie there for a while trying to remember what the somatic therapist said I could do in these situations. Then, I’ll spend a while trying to do it: Hold one hand at the base of my head and the other on my forehead to reassure my nervous system and contain my anxiety, welcome and reassure the scared parts deep inside me and seek to learn from them rather than to shame or banish them, and … well, I can’t remember the rest at the moment. “At the moment,” at this moment, means 3:34 a.m. After a while, I did remember one of the very best pieces of advice I’ve obtained in the past several years: Just get out of bed and give up trying to sleep.
That caused me to remember another thing I’d forgotten: Standing up is often less painful than lying down by the time it gets to the middle of the night. I thought my joints hurt too much to type, but here I am, working at this IKEA-hacked standing desk to tell you about a project I pledge to move forward as of today: The Cranky Queer’s Guide to Chronic Illness. Care to contribute? Many of my long-term HIV-surviving comrades, cranky or otherwise, are dealing with health consequences from living with HIV before effective treatment was available. And there’s the deep impact of going through and witnessing so much suffering and loss. Now, many people with HIV are facing comorbidities (a.k.a. other problems that fuck up our health and well-being) in their 50s and 60s that aren’t usually seen until people are older. Trauma makes bodies precocious. Others of us, with or without HIV, have a raft of autoimmune or other health problems, some of which may or may not
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
11
Street Talk Are you boycotting Starbucks? "Yes, I'm definitely going to boycott Starbucks. It's been shown that what happened in Philly wasn't Kyle Chvasta an isolated social worker incident. And South Philadelphia Starbucks isn't pro-workers' rights. The pay is bad and people are overworked."
“Yes. I don’t like Starbucks at all. I didn’t like the way they treated those two gentlemen. Starbucks is a public Asa Lee space. They sales representative shouldn’t Germantown have hassled them once the men explained the situation. They had a legitimate reason to be there.”
"Yes. I won't patronize them for the time being. I need to find out more about exactly what happened before John Maresch I would Realtor consider Northeast Philadelphia going back. I love their chocolate-covered espresso beans. They get me all amped up. But those beans are a far cry from being enough reason to go back to that place. At this point, I'm staying away."
"Yes. I've seen the video. It didn't give me an easy feeling. I didn't see anything pleasing that would cause Victori me to go Richardson there again. cell-phone If they make representative some positive Germantown changes, I'd give it a second chance. But for now, I'm boycotting."
respond to expensive medications that can bring another bundle of side effects and insurance headaches along for the ride. Social and economic factors put people in harm’s way when it comes to chronic illness and the consequences of ill health, hitting most hard in communities of color, in immigrant communities and among others who are subject to the most systemic bias and administrative violence (a term spelled out by trans activist Dean Spade in his book “Normal Life” — check it out, if you haven’t already). The authors of the study “Minority Stress and Physical Health Among SexualMinority Individuals” sum it up thusly: “Prejudice-related stressful life events have a unique, deleterious impact on health that persists above and beyond the effect of stressful life events unrelated to prejudice.” Violence and stress are huge for trans people, particularly trans women of color. Although we’re starting to see glimmers of hope for something approaching com-
petent health care for trans people, it’s going to have to address a lot more than gender-related care, given the health consequences of trauma, pervasive stigma, violence and economic marginalization. So, here we are: 4:18 a.m. Now what? Maybe it’s time to bring PISD back. Or we could call ourselves something that adds up to the acronym INFLAME, as these days, it’s recognized that inflammation may be the secret sauce that links us across serostatuses, medical sub-specialties and rejected insurance prior authorizations. I’m OK. I’m actually in a really good situation. In addition to the race and class privilege I carry, I have a flexible job where I can work from home, get paid well and have pretty-good-if-not-great health insurance, as well as other helpful benefits and accommodations. And it’s still really hard. It can be perniciously isolating to be ill. We gain a lot when we are there for each other. We are comparing PAGE 15
12
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
PGN
PGN INQUIRER from page 1
scheduled for that week,” she said in an email. Publishers from news outlets including The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, AL DÍA, and New Mainstream Press, which publishes newspapers in the Asian community, suggested the Inquirer hire a firm to conduct sensitivity training “to instruct anyone who was involved in this article — editors, reporters and management — to deal with their bias toward people who are different, and examine the privilege that seems rooted in their powerful positions,” in a May 2 email to Inquirer editor Stan Wischnowski and Philadelphia Media Network publisher and CEO Terry Egger. Beyond the questions of whether middle parties should be contracted to place ads in Philadelphia papers, including the Inquirer, and whether the ads should run in newspapers at all, reporters Craig McCoy and Jeremy Roebuck characterized the Sheriff’s Office as “aggressively” using community and niche publications “often free with small circulations.” The opposing publishers pointed out “that the latest sheriff annual report notes that the expansion of the ads to minority and multicultural newspapers have provided a windfall for the city’s taxpayers. Before multicultural advertising, the city was averaging about $27 million into the treasury, which has increased to $61 million with multicultural advertising.” Segal also stated those additional funds can now be used for pre-K, police overtime or other city needs. “Advertising with multicultural publications is at a lower rate and with a larger circulation than the daily Inquirer and has generated more income.” “The Inquirer in its article did not state their own connections to political consultant Ken Smuckler, who has worked on a project with the Inquirer’s funder Jerry Lenfest, nor did the article address their own lobbying for the discriminatory law both in 1976 and in 1986,” Segal said. Hicks posed: “If the assumption from the Inquirer is that the sheriff-sale ads only go to those ‘politically connected,’ then what is their position, based on the amount of sheriff-sale ad revenue they receive?” Wischnowski did not reply to a request for comment. n
Out Law
Angela Giampolo
Only in Online and in print every first Friday.
International Kenya President says gay rights aren’t an issue In a manner reminiscent of his response to former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2015, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said cultural beliefs do not consider homosexuality a human right. “I want to be very clear, I will not engage in any subject that is not of any major importance to the people and the Republic of Kenya. This is not an issue of human rights; this is an issue of society, of our own base as a culture and as a people, regardless of which society you come from. This is not acceptable, this is not agreeable,” he said on April 20 in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Kenyatta said his stand on gay rights was not a personal opinion but rather the voice of Kenyans as outlined in the Kenyan Constitution.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
Section 165 of the Kenyan Constitution outlaws same-sex marriages and stipulates a five-year jail sentence for any sexual practices between same-sex partners.
Indonesia’s Aceh canes couples for public shows of affection Indonesia’s deeply conservative Aceh province has publicly caned unmarried couples for showing affection in public as well as two women for prostitution. The canings April 20 are possibly the last to be carried out before large crowds in Aceh after the province’s governor announced earlier this month that the punishments would be moved indoors. The caning last year of two men for gay sex drew international attention to the province’s increasingly harsh implementation of Sharia law. However, some residents of Aceh, the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose the law, are protesting the indoor caning decision. They say it will reduce the deterrent effect. The women accused of prostitution were caned 11 times each. The six people accused of flirtatious behavior received between 11-22 strokes each.
13
China’s Weibo site backtracks on gay censorship after outcry One of China’s top social-networking sites has announced that it will no longer be censoring content related to gay issues after the plan triggered a loud public outcry. Weibo.com was flooded last weekend with the hashtags #I’mGay and #I’mGayNotaPervert after the Twitterlike platform stated that cartoons and short videos with pornographic, violent or gay subject matter would be investigated over a three-month period. The microblogging site, which saw its Nasdaq shares fall on April 13, amended the announcement on April 16, saying, “This cleanup of games and cartoons will no longer target homosexual content.” A spokesman refused to provide further details. While homosexuality is not illegal in China and few Chinese have religious objections to homosexuality, the conservative society’s preference for marriage and childbearing has created barriers for LGBT people. n — compiled by Larry Nichols
14
PGN FITNESS
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
Getting into an exercise routine ahead of summer We have five weeks until June, but have no fear: A lot can happen in that time. Here’s how to get ready for summer: Commit yourself to exercising two-three times a week for about an hour. This can be intimidating for a lot of people because, let’s be real, we are either way too busy shuffling between work and daily responsibilities, or else we think we are busy but are really wasting time doing things that aren’t going to help us reach our goals. Sacrifice an hour of television or an hour of social time (this includes time browsing your social media). Everyone makes time to do the things that are
important to them. I have clients dynamic movements such as who work full-time deadlifting and athletand are also full-time ic-style movements, as students. They commit well as specific weight to their health because training. The same they know the value it way our diets should has in their lives. be balanced, our exerWhat type of exercise regimens should cise regimen should be balanced. It is OK I follow? With a new to separate workouts workout schedule, it by muscle groups, but is time to figure out don’t neglect a range what to do at the gym. of motion and endurRemember, the more ance. If you separate muscle you build, the your workouts by higher your metaboMegan Nino muscle group, dedilism becomes. cate some time to do It’ll be important to some cardio: run, row, have a regimen that implements swim, box or take a class.
Body U
What should I eat? What you eat is probably more essential than the work you put in at the gym. Begin by looking at what you are eating, meal by meal. Speak to a professional about how much you should be eating. Calories are a good way to measure food intake at the beginning of a journey to ideal health status and body goals. The average caloric intake is approximately 10 calories per pound of body weight. If you weigh 140, your minimal intake should be 1,400. If you are exercising, then you would add approximately 200300 calories to your diet, though everyone is different. Try to
Wedding Services Directory
balance out what you’re eating. Choose a high-protein source and good carbs (veggies and fruits are carbs too), and add/ cook with good fats. Also, try to not eat past 8 p.m. You’ll be surprised by how eating late affects our bodies. Stay consistent and watch how your body changes. n Megan Niño is a kinesiologist and personal trainer through her business Vigor Vida Fitness & Wellness. She is an energetic and positive person who prides herself on teaching others to find empowerment in their lives through fitness. She trains her clients out of Optimal Sports Club and offers in-home training in Philadelphia and on the Main Line.
HERSHEY from page 1
“At MHS, we are committed to hiring highly qualified faculty and home-life staff with significant experience in education and child care,” Scullin said. “Sexual orientation is never a factor in assessing a candidate for employment. While staff members have self-identified as LGBTQ, and some of them are married, we do not presently have any same-sex couples serving as house parents.” Criteria for house parents include couples aged 27 or older, married at least three years, with no more than two of their own children, and with legal U.S. work authorization, Scullin said. Applicants must then participate in a series of background and credit checks, intensive interviews and additional visits on campus and at home. “Fewer than 5 percent of applicants are eventually offered a position.” Scullin also explained the lack of an LGBT support group on campus. “In an effort to break down the “We realize that as emotional barri- students develop, they ers which students built before com- may question their sexing to our campus, uality. Discrimination, all student curriculum is built upon intolerance or abuse mutual respect and of any kind by staff or creating a welcoming and inclusive students will not be community,” she tolerated.” said. “We realize that as students develop, they may question their sexuality. Discrimination, intolerance or abuse of any kind by staff or students will not be tolerated.” Additionally, Scullin provided PGN with a policy statement specifying that the school forbids “disparaging others based on sexual orientation, gender identification, or other socially acceptable behavior or appearance.” In 2011, the school allegedly denied admission to an HIV-positive boy based on a faulty understanding of HIV transmission. A federal lawsuit that was filed by the boy’s mother was settled for $700,000 in 2012, according to court papers. The school also was required to pay $15,000 in civil penalties assessed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which investigated the matter and concluded that the school violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The school didn’t admit to any wrongdoing when settling the case. n
PGN ONLINE
Media Trail Bills to curtail LGBT rights are failing in US legislatures The New York Times reports major legislation curtailing gay rights has been completely stymied in state capitols around the country this year. The shift comes amid anxiety by Republican leaders over igniting economic backlash if they are depicted as discriminatory. In the thick of this year’s legislative sessions, LGBT activists were tracking about 120 proposed bills that they viewed as threats to their civil rights. Not one of them has been enacted as many sessions now wind down; only two remain under serious consideration.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
North Carolina, Indiana and Arizona were among the states that faced backlash in recent years over such legislation.
Nemaha Central Unified School District 115 Superintendent Darrel Kohlman declined to comment on the matter. Hill now lives in Palm Springs, Calif.
Kansas teacher moves after receiving threats for being gay
Trial postponed for judge who Priest objects to gay men refused to marry gay people chairing Catholic-school fundraiser
KWCH.com reports a Kansas teacher abandoned his job and home state following months of harassment for being gay. Former Nemaha Valley High School teacher Michael Hill was the target of cyberbullying and received threats by mail after revealing his sexual orientation in October. In the letters, Hill was told that his lifestyle wouldn’t be tolerated by the Seneca community. His car was also vandalized. Hill said the school district allowed him to take a leave of absence, but after seven weeks, asked him to return to class or resign. Hill announced his resignation in a Facebook post with images of the letters he received.
The Chicago Tribune reports the trial for suspended Oregon Judge Vance Day, who rose to national prominence after refusing to marry gay couples and was later indicted on separate criminal charges, has been postponed. Marion County Judge Julie Frantz on April 16 granted a motion to move the trial from Day’s home county, where he faces charges of giving guns to a felon. Day’s attorneys requested the change, citing concerns over fairness after media coverage of Day’s case and his marriage stance. Prosecutors had resisted the motion, writing in court documents Day had actively sought media attention. Frantz had said she would wait to rule so she could gauge bias in the jury pool.
POSITIVE from page 11
Eating Out Should Be Fun! Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month
notes on the best ways to navigate lousy urgent-care storefronts when we are too sick to travel an hour to get to the provider for yet another round of antibiotics or when we need to make sure the latest symptoms aren’t truly dangerous. We are sharing strategies for juggling pain meds and the need to function. Sometimes, we’re just
One-hundred jurors were scheduled to arrive for a 14-day trial beginning April 17. A new date has not been set.
The Billings Gazette reports a Montana priest is calling for a boycott of a fundraiser for Billings Central Catholic Schools because two of the event’s co-chairs are gay. Rev. Ryan Erlenbush of Great Falls told his Facebook followers that his alma mater has “lost its way” and wondered why any Christian would attend the May 5 fundraiser. Billings Catholic Schools President Shaun Harrington said Erlenbush didn’t contact them directly and that they had not personally heard any complaints about Travis Heringer and Dan Sutter’s roles as co-chairs of Mayfair 2018. Heringer and Sutter declined to comment. n
bringing each other a snack in person or sending digital compassion and understanding when we’re far from each other. And, sometimes, we’re still fighting like hell for one of us to get the expensive treatment we need that’s been rejected, again, by insurance — or to get it covered when insurance isn’t even an option. I’ve learned some things in all this, and so have you:
— compiled by Larry Nichols We’ve got a lot to talk about; we can help each other through. And, it’s OK to be cranky. n JD Davids is a senior editor and the director of strategic communications at TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO. com. This column is a project of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, TheBody. com and Q Syndicate, the LGBT wire service. Visit their websites: http:// hivplusmag.com, http://positivelyaware.com, http://poz.com and http:// thebody.com for updates on HIV/ AIDS.
LEGAL & PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY When It Comes To Your Money… Experience Counts Serving our LGBT Community for over a decade. • Retirement Income Planning • Investment Management • Estate Planning • Insurance and Annuities
2016 Five Star Wealth Manager Philadelphia Magazine Award details at www.fivestarprofessional.com
Jeremy R. Gussick, MBA Certified finanCial Planner™
856-452-0060 jeremy.gussick@lpl.com
A Registered Investment Advisor Member FINRA/SIPC
PARTNERS IN LAW PARTNERS IN LIFE
AMY F. STEERMAN Attorney at Law
PGN directory ads are terrific way to tell people about your services. Spend as little as $50 a week when you run for a minimum of 8 weeks.
Concentrating in Planning for Lesbian and Gay Couples • Probate • Wills • Living Wills • Powers of Attorney
215-735-1006
MINSTER & FACCIOLO, LLC • WILLS & ESTATES • • DISCRIMINATION • • SMALL BUSINESS • • DIVORCE • • EMPLOYMENT • • REAL ESTATE • • CIVIL ACTIONS • • AUTO ACCIDENTS • • POWER OF ATTORNEY • • PRE-NUP AGREEMENTS•
215-627-8200 PA 302-777-2201 DE 521 S. 2ND ST., PHILA., PA APPT. ALSO AVAIL IN DE & NJ
1900 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 www.amysteerman.com
Advertise your business in our directories for only $25 per week when you run for a minimum of 8 weeks.
15
Email prab@epgn.com or call 215-625-8501 ext. 212 for more info.
16
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
PGN
PHILLY PR IDE ! The 30th anniversary Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival is June 10
PGN’s Pride Issue will be June 8 — Interested advertisers should reserve space by June 1. Call 215-625-8501 for details.
How How will will you you show show your your Pride? Pride?
AC ul t ure rts
FEATURE PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
Comics Family Portrait Out & About Q Puzzle Scene in Philly
Page Page Page Page Page
17
24 23 26 22 21
PAGE 19
Photos: Alex Medvick
Gender-fluid performer takes flight in ‘Starcatcher’ By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Out gender-fluid actor Maggie Johnson is part of the menagerie of performers taking audiences on a trip to Neverland when Theatre Horizon presents “Peter and The Starcatcher” through May 20. “Starcatcher” is musical journey of how a fearless girl inspires an orphan boy to become the legendary Peter Pan. Given the history of the “boy who never grew up” being played by androgynous performers on screen and stage, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Johnson is playing
the role of the boy who would become Peter. But they are not. Johnson plays the role of Ted, one of the orphan Peter’s companions. “It’s always really nice to be able to break the binary as a performer and not feel like you’re limited to female-bodied roles because those might necessarily suit you,” Johnson said about the character they play. “I like Ted and I don’t like Ted because Ted strikes chords in me as a person. Ted is a good way to work out things that I don’t necessarily like about myself.” By coming out, added Johnson, they found their strengths as a performer at a
time when they weren’t sure they wanted to continue acting. “I feel like ever since cutting my hair and coming out as gay and androgynous, it’s all kind of moved the characters closer to me, which can be hard sometimes,” Johnson said. “It’s like, Oh, yay! I get to deal with this thing about myself, that I was avoiding, because it is cutting close and closer to the core of me. In the summer of 2016, I was kind of unhappy at the time just being an actor, and a lot of other things were going on. Over the course of the summer, I took a break from people in my life. In cutting my hair, you’re getting
the full depth of my queerness. I was identifying as bisexual at the time, which felt like, I can be both if you need me to.” Johnson said their sexuality has evolved. “There is a part of me that is like, Maybe one day I could be with a male-bodied partner. But today is not that day.” Johnson said they got into acting on a whim while still in grade school. As they progressed in their career, they found inspiration in performers who consistently pushed the boundaries of the art form. “I wasn’t into acting, but we all had to be in the sixth-grade musical,” they said. “People told me PAGE 18
18
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
Repairs, Renovations and Remodeling
(215) 467-3335 Pa. HIC #026545 Phila. Lic. #17895
“Our” Family Plumber for over 30 years
Eating Out Shoßuld Be Fun! Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month
- and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.
JEFFREY E. GOLDMAN, ATTORNEY AT LAW SPECIALIZING IN PARTNERSHIP AND EMPLOYMENT LAW Proven track record of recovering millions of dollars for wrongfully treated employees!* Experience litigating: • Partnership & business disputes • Non-competes • Executive compensation • Employment discrimination • Real Estate Litigation Jeffrey E. Goldman, Esq. 100 S. Broad St. Suite 1330 Philadelphia, PA 19110
Also handle: • Wills, Living Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney
Jeff.Goldman@verizon.net
*Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Put 18 years of experience to work for you!
STARCATCHER from page 17
I was good afterward.” Johnson said Kate McKinnon in “Ghostbusters” inspired them to cut their hair. In the future, Johnson said, that they would be open to traditionally straight as well as androgynous roles, as long as those roles give them an opportunity to evolve and explore their identity as a performer. “If a role really speaks to me and that person identifies as female, then I have no problem doing that. I love to play roles that are traditionally male-bodied or even roles that are typically androgynous or non-binary.” Johnson admires actors they perceive as truth-tellers, such as Allison Janney and
Jessica Lange; “people who have the complexity of pieces of ourselves that we deny, but we all kind of know we have,” they said. “I strive to tell the truth.” It’s hard to live your truth when one feels it may be wrong, Johnson said. “My goal in acting and in being on this earth is for people to be able to find their own truth. When you see someone else living their own truth, you think, Why can’t I?” n Theatre Horizon presents “Peter and the Starcatcher” through May 20, 401 DeKalb St., Norristown For more information or tickets, call 610-283-2230 or visit http://theatrehorizon.org. For more information on Maggie Johnson, visit www.maggie-johnson.com.
• Cosmetic dentistry • Crowns • Implants • Veneers • Whitening
High quality dental treatment and preventive care
Andrea V. Cronin, DDS Craig T. Wakefield, DDS Proudly serving the LGBT community and PWA for over 25 years. Medical Towers Building • Suite 2306 255 S. 17th St., Philadelphia, Pa 19103 (215) 732-8080 Evening hours available.
PGN
Singer Rainere Martin goes from part-time diva to prima ‘Donna’ By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com The halcyon days of the disco era are set to light up everybody’s inner mirror ball when Friday Night Fever, a tribute concert featuring the New York Bee Gees and Donna Summer tribute singer Rainere Martin, comes Glenside. When we last checked in with Martin, she was doing tribute shows and revues where she impersonated the disco and R&B icon on weekends and when vacation time allowed. Now she says there’s enough demand for her talents as a performer to keep her Donna Summer tribute act going full time. “This is my life right now,” Martin said. “I’m doing this 24/7. I was working a fulltime job when I first started doing Donna and I got laid off last year. For being at a job for 10 years, I thought, Oh my God, what am I going to do? But I looked at it like God gave me a second chance to go after my dream. It was unfortunate that I lost my job but I had this avenue here because the bookings were adding up.” Martin said she caught a break at age 42 getting hired to work with Legends in Concert and “it took off from there.” She has opened for Tavares, The Whispers, The Trammps and The Stylistics over the past six years. “I’m off and running,” she said. One opening gig was fateful: when Martin crossed paths on stage with the New York Bee Gees on their home turf. “In 2015 I was hired to open for the New York Bee Gees at B.B. King’s in New York and they had never heard of me,” Martin said. “After my set, I was in the dressing room. I hear them playing and the lead singer comes and pulls me on stage to do ‘Heaven Knows’ in their set. We’ve been working together ever since.”
Photos: Eugene Walter Coates
Martin said she has put time, energy and resources into getting the look and the feel of a Summer performance just right. “I studied a lot of her live performances to get her mannerisms down,” she said. “I also had the privilege to go see her life story in New York in ‘Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.’ I take a little from every bit, whether it’s reading something she wrote or studying her footage to get her movements down.” “After every show, I have people come up to me with tears in their eyes telling me how I really took them back to that point in time,” Martin said. “When I start my show, I start singing first so people hear me before they see me. When they actually see me in full costume, their mouths are hitting the floor. I do everything to bring that era and that time back to the present. It makes it all worthwhile, all the work and preparation it takes to become Donna. I’ve been doing Donna for six years now. When I get this response it makes it worth what I do to bring her back to life.” n Friday Night Fever, a tribute concert featuring the New York Bee Gees and Rainere Martin, comes to town 8 p.m. May 11 at Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside. For more information or tickets, call 215-572-7650 or visit www.badgirls-donnasummertribute.com.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
2017 Keystone Press Best News Photo scottdrakephotos@gmail.com
19
20
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
PGN
New series “Vida” looks at queer culture in Latinx East L.A.
The
Guide to the Gayborhood
The Philadelphia Gayborhood is roughly centered at Locust and Camac streets. Look for the rainbow street signs at intersections and remember to be aware of your surroundings wherever you go. Boxers
1330 Walnut St. facebook.com/ boxersphl Sports bar with a dozen huge TVs, pool table, brick pizza oven, sports teams specials
<—
*Anzoategui uses the gender pronoun “they” but speaks about Eddy (their character) as “she.”
m
m
Chancellor St.
206 S Quince St. 215.627.1662 Levi/leather men’s bar; pool tables, big-screen sports action; basement dress code
m
m
St. James St.
m Locust St.
Manning St.
m
11th St.
r
m
Quince St.
<—
Latimer St.
12th St.
13th St.
Camac St.
m
r
The Bike Stop
200 S. 12th St. 215.964.9675 tabuphilly.com Sports bar with food and shows upstairs
202 S. 13th St. 215.545.1893 woodysbar.com Mixed crowd Attatched to Walnut St. bars Rosewood and GloBar
Walnut St.
Juniper St.
“Vida” is a terrific new drama series that showcases Latinx lesbian life in Los Angeles. The show, which premieres on Starz, opens with Emma (Mishel Prada) returning to East Los Angeles following the death of her mother, Vida. Emma has not seen her sexpot sister, Lyn (Melissa Barrera), in years, and she didn’t know her mother had married Eddy (the non-binary Ser Anzoategui). As Emma, Lyn and Eddy each inherit a third of the bar Vida owned in the building where she and Eddy lived, the three also inherit the mounting debt. This prompts Emma to consider selling what has become a safe space for Eddy and members of the local queer community. Of course, drama ensues. Anzoategui, in a breakout performance, is especially impressive as the show’s grounded, moral center. Eddy still communicates with the late Vida and — despite her differences with the sisters — has everyone’s best interests at heart. In a recent phone interview, Anzoategui explained how they* came to play Eddy. “The show’s bar is loosely based on a bar in the East Side of L.A. Tanya [Saracho, the series’ creator] is a playwright, and she saw me in a play and contacted me. I could understand Eddy’s suffering, and her love, and the need to connect. We have that need to bring people together in common.” One of the ways Eddy brings people together is by creating a safe space in the bar Vida once owned. “I think the bar is the only place where people who are masculine-presenting, queer and live in the community can go,” said Anzoategui. “You can be homeless or unemployed because of how you present. Eddy would take people in and provide a sense of love they didn’t have. The show asks: How do they live together?”
Eddy tries to bond with Lyn and Emma is through food. Flan in “Vida” is what cheesecake was to “The Golden Girls.” Anzoategui laughed at the comparison and said, “Flan can make any heart melt with one spoon. It’s how Eddy softens up Emma. I grew up with my mom being a flan queen.” They also smoke a cigar in one of the show’s best scenes, where Eddy recalls her late wife. Anzoategui confessed that they had never smoked a cigar before. “I watched a video to see how to look like I’ve done this for a while. They gave me a natural cigar. It was spicy and itchy. I had to scrape my tongue after every take. It was disgusting.” The scene is important because of what Eddy says while smoking. She talks about Vida saving the good stuff in life for later. But Vida never got to share that later with Eddy. Anzoategui explained this concept is a very Latinx thing. “I feel like we save the good stuff in that we hoard. It’s that we fear we won’t have it for later.” One of the things Anzoategui savored in the making “Vida” was working with Rose Troche, the director and cowriter of the classic lesbian film “Go Fish.” “She’s ahead of her time in her execution as a director and what stories are important and how and what and ways of shooting it. She’s directing the sex scene, but it’s done well by a Latina queer woman.” “Vida” is notable for its depiction of queer Latinx women, and the show does not shy away from using Spanish slang like “tortillera” (a pejorative term; an insult to the lesbian community) to stay authentic. The show presents “different experiences of gender, sexual orientation and identification,” said Anzoategui. “There is a lot of machismo/a in the Latina community. Women contribute to it too. It’s a reflection — this is real. Sometimes we’re machisma and racist. Vida’ reflects it back.” n
Tabu
Woody’s
1316 Walnut St. 215.546.8888 Festively lit women-owned bar complete with a “beer” pong table
m
m By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor
Toasted Walnut
m Spruce St.
m
Cypress St.
William Way LGBT Community Writer’s Block Rehab Center 1342 Cypress St. 267.603.6960 A cozy, comfortable bar and lounge perfect for escaping the norm
1315 Spruce St. 215.732.2220 waygay.org A resource for all things LGBT
<— <— West of Broad Street Stir Lounge
1705 Chancellor St. 215.732.2700 stirphilly.com Fun two-bar lounge, DJ in the back, regular poker games and specials
The Attic Youth Center
255 S. 16th St. 215.545.4331 atticyouthcenter.org Safe space and programs for LGBTs age 16-23 weekday afternoons and evenings
Voyeur
Knock
U Bar
ICandy
1221 St. James St. 215.735.5772 voyeurnightclub.com After-hours private club; membership required
1220 Locust St. 215.546.6660 Relaxing corner bar, easy-going crowd, popular for happy hour and window watching
225 S. 12th St. 215.925.1166 knockphilly.com Fine-dining restaurant and bar, outdoor seating (weather permitting), piano in back room
254 S. 12th St. 267.324.3500 clubicandy.com Three floors with a total of six bars; dance floor, lounge and rootop deck.
Tavern on Camac Bar X 255 S. Camac St. Bar and dancefloor
255 S. Camac St. 215.545.8731 Piano lounge with upstairs dance floor; Tavern restaurant below is open late.
Pa. bars close at 2 a.m. unless they have a private-club license. Please drink responsibly.
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
21
22
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
The Philadelphia Gay News won seven Keystone Press Awards this year, an honor that not only recognizes professional excellence, but journalism that “consistently provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers, and faithfully fulfills its First Amendment rights/responsibilities.” The Keystone Press Awards are sponsored by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. PGN earned top honors in Division V for weekly publications with over 10,000 circulation in the categories of editorial, column, news photo and photo essay OP-ED PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Aug. 4-10, 2017
Conversion therapy is child torture
Mark My Words
Transmissions
11
Street Talk
To the entire LGBT community: psychiatry put its hand in with aversion Let’s begin as a community to state the therapy, which uses the Pavlovian dog-like truth without putting lipstick on a pig. training to force us to be heterosexual with Personally, it sickens me when I see somea handful of horrific tortures. There’s the one from GLAAD or HRC on television electric-shock system, some connected to calling conversion therapy genetics, water treatment — “praying the gay away.” That hey, they had it before President is downright as truthful as a Bush — and then there were Donald Trump tweet, and might drugs of various types, some show how we attempt to soften of which stopped people from our message for consumption breathing before an antidote by the mainstream. Or, it might was administered. They lost a hide something very sad: our few on that one, but hey, better own attempt to not accept what dead than a fag. has been done to us as a collecNow comes conversion tive community for years — and therapy. But this one targets that, my friends, is torture. mostly children whose parents We use terms like hate are now trying to “save” them. crimes, pray away the gay … Almost all the types of torture but much that has been done to I’ve listed above have been “cure” LGBT is sheer torture. used in some of these converMark Segal sion camps … and others. ABC And yes, I’m even talking about the water torture. So once again, News investigative reporter let’s go back in recent history to make the Brian Roberts did one of the best onepoints and hopefully get us back on the hour reports on this practice on “20/20.” right track, as we are literally fighting to It showed corporal punishment, imprisonsave children’s lives. ment and lots more. For years, going back even before there I think you get the idea. It’s time to were lobotomies — oh yes, many lobotspeak out strongly. Say it loud, say it omies were performed on LGBT peoclearly: Conversion therapy is child torture. ple — society attempted to try and find n a way to “change” us, making us holy Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning comheterosexuals. When threat of religion mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then and criminal justice began to fail, medical I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & science showed up with lobotomies. Then, Noble or at your favorite bookseller.
Gwendolyn Ann Smith
First place
What foreign land would you like to visit this summer? "Calcutta, India. There's such an amazing culture of spirituality there. I would find that very inspirational. The symbols Ennis Carter and art that executive director I would see Gayborhood in that city would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
"Morocco. It's so rich with history, and I'm a history buff. North Africa has been a hub for world history for a long time. Kitty Heite And I love project organizer MediterranWest Philadelphia ean food."
"Maldives. It's a little island off the coast of Indonesia. Surfing is great there. I love to surf. It's spiritually Benjamin Russell healing. photographer Surfing calms Old City my head down. I can't think of a better place to do it than Maldives."
"The Amalfi Coast in Italy. It's gorgeous. The scenery takes your breath away. There's nothing not to love about it. And it would Amanda Zullo be a relaxing attorney break from Queen Village my two toddlers and our recent Disney cruise in Alaska."
Mark Segal
Column: “Mark My Words: Obama made us cool; Conversion therapy is child torture; Glass half full of progress”
Transition the battlefield No matter how I put this, it feels like an understatement: We are living in increasingly frightening and dangerous times. This is especially true for those of us who are transgender. Sitting in a subcommittee right now in our House of Representatives is HR 2796, aka the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017. I’ve written about this before. It would do nothing less than void protections for transgender people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and “any federal civil-rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” Not apparently interested in waiting for HR 2796 to pass or fail, the Department of Justice — under “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions — has filed a legal brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express claiming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation. While the brief doesn’t mention gender identity specifically, we can guess where Sessions’ DOJ might side. Oddly enough,
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed its own brief, disagreeing with the DOJ. Meanwhile, a move by Congressmember Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) to ban health care for transgender military personnel and their families failed to pass in the House of Representatives, in spite of a pair of odd speeches in support by Congressmembers Steve King (R-Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). King conflated transgender troops to slaves forcibly conscripted and castrated in the Ottoman Empire and suggested that trans folks would join to somehow “game the system” for surgical care. Gohmert tried to draw a comparison between money spent for transgender care and that used to defeat “radical Islam,” as if one would take away from the other. While the Hartzler amendment failed, it apparently was not unnoticed by President Donald Trump, who took to Twitter for one of his now-infamous tweetstorm-cum-policy statements. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to
serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” This is all nonsense. Military leaders responded with surprise, having apparently not been consulted on this policy. What’s more, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford has stood in opposition, stating in a memo that there are “no modifications to the current policy until the president’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidelines.” To date, no such implementation guidelines have arrived. Trump seems somehow unaware that there are already transgender troops in our military. While reported numbers have varied from as little as 250 to as many as 50,000, a study by the Rand Corporation in June 2016 estimated somewhere between 1,320 to 6,630 active-duty trans service members out of a total pool of 1.3-million service members. What’s more, this same
study noted that trans-related health care for these troops would cost somewhere between $2.4-$8.4 million per year. This is a drop in the bucket compared to current military spending. It is also a fifth of spending that the military currently doles out for erectile dysfunction medications to all troops, trans or otherwise. So we have a scattershot policy, dictated via social media without adequate consultation and not tethered in fact. Transgender troops are in no way bankrupting our armed forces, nor is there any evidence of them disrupting the service. Now, plenty have said that Trump’s tweets were nothing more than a distraction, something to steal the spotlight from news of the health-care bill and its failure, the increasingly dysfunctional administration or the continuing Russia probe. Maybe there is some truth to that, but I find myself considering that a distraction ceases to be a distraction when it is harming people. Trump’s insistence on attacking transgender soldiers, while his Department of PAGE 15 Justice and others attack
10
Creep of the Week
Jen Colletta
Editorial
Fluidity of freedom
Editorial: “Yes we can; Fluidity of freedom; pgn Philadelphia Gay News One year later, what have we learned?” Vol. 41 No. 8
Feb. 24 - March 2, 2017
Day in the Life of: digital agency executives CJ and Jolin Bachmann PAGE 9
Morris dispute gets a call for a public hearing
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Tim Cain reopens the “Boys’ Entrance” with latest album
PAGE 2
Guilty plea in Maya Young murder
As Pride Month comes to a close and Independence Day approaches, freedom has been a hot topic. While the word itself often signifies a fundamental, innate tenet upon which this nation was born, recent times have shown just how fluid of a concept freedom is. Two years ago, the LGBT community was celebrating marriage equality becoming the law of the land. Freedom to many at that time meant the ability to finally wed their partners, to join their names on legal documents, to create a family with fewer burdens. But just one year later, 49 people were gunned down at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando. The LGBT community was forced to re-examine the basic freedoms the incident threatened: the ability to be oneself, and associate as a community, without fear of violence or death. Weddings and legal paperwork took an immediate backseat. That back-and-forth seems to have been a recurring theme throughout LGBT history; when one hard-fought victory is won, another can cripple the community. Harvey Milk was elected in a historic move for LGBT representation in government, only to be gunned down. AIDS funding would be boosted in one part of the country and lost in another. A trans woman of color would grace the cover of a national magazine
as record numbers of trans women of color become victims of violence. And LGBT rights flourish under a progressive president only to be quickly yanked back by his successor. Freedom is a contextual concept, one that evolves with our progress and our pitfalls. In times of community successes, freedom may seem to be a finite, attainable goal, while in times of extreme crisis, the freedoms we once coveted may seem luxurious. What that dichotomy shows is that, while little is out of reach, little should be taken for granted. Our country and community are at interesting pinnacles right now; we’ve experienced tremendous gains but also seen the work that has fallen by the wayside. As a country, we’ve rebounded from a crippling recession but many blue-collar workers are suffering the impacts of globalization. As a community, we’ve won marriage equality and many other rights, but our most marginalized — trans individuals, elders, youth — continue to face serious hardships. Embracing our potential should be tempered by acknowledging the many gaps that need to be bridged — and the many more that need to be traversed as the concept of freedom continues its evolution. n
If you’re a school administrator, teacher was doing? Well, or even a whole school district and you under Obama, want to assert your right to discrimithe Education nate against some of your students FOR Department took REASONS, you’re in luck! The Education students’ comDepartment under Betsy DeVos ain’t plaints about gonna stop you. (Unless you’re against serious issues, white Christians probably.) well, seriously, This is especially true if you want to dis- and investigated criminate against transgender students. The whether such Education Department recently dropped complaints were cases in Ohio and elsewhere involving “symptomatic of transgender students being harassed and a broader problem, in part by examining at denied bathroom access, basically saying, least three years of past complaint data.” “This isn’t our problem.” In other words, if a student complains You’ll recall that under Obama, the that he or she was sexually assaulted at Education Department issued guidelines to school, the Education Department felt like schools about how to handle transgender they should probably find out if this was students so that their dignity is respected an isolated incident or a pattern of wider and their right to an education is not tramabuse. pled. But under Trump and DeVos, the Under DeVos’ leadership, however, Education Department ain’t care. they’re so busy trying to find ways to make Needless to say, those who support trans education into a for-profit enterprise that students are alarmed by the department’s they can’t be bothered with systemic civshrugging off the issue. Shannon Minter of il-rights abuses at school. Ugh. Civil rights the National Center for Lesbian Rights told don’t make anybody rich. the Washington Post, “They have just sent Of course, the department claims that a message to schools that it’s open season this whole “don’t-look-into-civil-rightson transgender students.” complaints-too-deeply” policy is to alleIn other words, it’s a pretty clear signal viate a troublesome backlog of cases. And that the Trump administration has zero while it’s true that a backlog of cases is a interest in hearing problem, their solusome transgender tion isn’t to hire the But it’s not just trans kid bitching about personnel needed having to pee in a to get these cases students DeVos wants bucket in the janiexamined. Their tor’s closet or some- to abandon. Civil rights solution is to simply thing. Suck it up, are such a drag, after all. stopIn looking. buttercup, as Trump a press release, supporters like to What do they do besides Sherrilyn Ifill, pressay right before they ident of the NAACP get in the way of privatiz- Legal Defense and head out to protest against Shakespeare. ing America’s education Educational Fund, But it’s not just said the Education trans students system so that rich ass- Department was DeVos wants to abdicating its holes can get richer? abandon. Civil “responsibility to rights are such a protect the rights drag, after all. What do they do besides get and dignity of our nation’s vulnerable chilin the way of privatizing America’s edudren during the most crucial years of their cation system so that rich assholes can get lives, threatening not only to stall progress richer? The Education Department’s Office on racial, gender and sexual-orientation of Civil Rights is so over crybaby civequality in schools, but to undo it altoil-rights wanters. gether.” According to the Washington Post, the As is the plan, of course. MAGA ’til you head of the civil-rights office “has directed puke. n lawyers to narrow the scope of investigations into sexual assault and discriminatory D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian school-discipline policies.” living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow What does this mean and how does it differ from what the Obama administration her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.
If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.
We want to know!
PAGE 5
PAGE 15
First place
In light of National March, organizers reschedule Philly Pride
Trial for alleged murderer of trans woman postponed until December
Scott Drake
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
Photo Story/Essay: “2017 Philadelphia Women’s March” News Photo: “Not their president”
Philly gears up for LGBT conferences
Second place By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
Two LGBT organizations planning conventions in Philadelphia were represented at a local business luncheon Tuesday. PHL Diversity hosted its 11th-annual Business Opportunity Luncheon for professionals to network and learn about new business initiatives for the city. Kim Reed of Reed Development Group moderated a panel with representatives from Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), and the True Colors Fund. GLMA Executive Director Hector Vargas and True Colors Fund Executive Director Gregory Lewis answered questions from Reed about their organizations. GLMA will bring its 35th Annual Conference on LGBT Health Sept. 13-16 to the Doubletree Philadelphia City Center, 237 S. Broad St. During this conference,
Jeremy Rodriguez
GLMA will educate health providers and others on the health needs of LGBT people and their families. Additionally, GLMA will report the latest research impacting LGBT health. Vargas noted this is the first time the organization will host its conference here. “Philadelphia is a great place for us,” he said. “There’s a very vibrant LGBT community here. There’s a health center that focuses on LGBT health — Mazzoni. There’s a lot going on in the political and advocacy sphere around LGBT health both in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania.” Meanwhile, the True Colors Fund will bring its 40 to None Summit to the city in October. No location or exact dates had been finalized by presstime. During this two-day event, individuals addressing LGBT-youth homelessness across the country will meet up for sessions, performances, action-planning breakouts and networking opportunities. PAGE 13 “For us at the True
Investigative Reporting: “Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation”
NORTHERN NETWORKING: City Fitness hosted ConnX Feb. 21 at WeWork at Schmidt’s Commons. The traveling monthly social brings together members and supporters of the Independence Business Alliance, the region’s LGBT chamber of commerce. Guests enjoyed beer and wine and food from SNAP Kitchen while they networked and explored the co-working space at WeWork. Photo: Courtesy of Independence Business Alliance OP-ED PGN
Conversion therapy is child torture To the entire LGBT community: psychiatry put its hand in with aversion Let’s begin as a community to state the therapy, which uses the Pavlovian dog-like truth without putting lipstick on a pig. training to force us to be heterosexual with Personally, it sickens me when I see somea handful of horrific tortures. There’s the one from GLAAD or HRC on television electric-shock system, some connected to calling conversion therapy genetics, water treatment — “praying the gay away.” That hey, they had it before President is downright as truthful as a Bush — and then there were Donald Trump tweet, and might drugs of various types, some show how we attempt to soften of which stopped people from our message for consumption breathing before an antidote by the mainstream. Or, it might was administered. They lost a hide something very sad: our few on that one, but hey, better own attempt to not accept what dead than a fag. has been done to us as a collecNow comes conversion tive community for years — and therapy. But this one targets that, my friends, is torture. mostly children whose parents We use terms like hate are now trying to “save” them. crimes, pray away the gay … Almost all the types of torture but much that has been done to I’ve listed above have been “cure” LGBT is sheer torture. used in some of these converMark Segal sion camps … and others. ABC And yes, I’m even talking about the water torture. So once again, News investigative reporter let’s go back in recent history to make the Brian Roberts did one of the best onepoints and hopefully get us back on the hour reports on this practice on “20/20.” right track, as we are literally fighting to It showed corporal punishment, imprisonsave children’s lives. ment and lots more. For years, going back even before there I think you get the idea. It’s time to were lobotomies — oh yes, many lobotspeak out strongly. Say it loud, say it omies were performed on LGBT peoclearly: Conversion therapy is child torture. ple — society attempted to try and find n a way to “change” us, making us holy Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning comheterosexuals. When threat of religion mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then and criminal justice began to fail, medical I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & science showed up with lobotomies. Then, Noble or at your favorite bookseller.
Mark My Words
Transmissions
Gwendolyn Ann Smith
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Aug. 4-10, 2017
11
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed its own brief, disagreeing with the DOJ. Meanwhile, a move by Congressmember Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) to ban health care for transgender military personnel and their families failed to pass in the House of Representatives, in spite of a pair of odd speeches in support by Congressmembers Steve King (R-Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). King conflated transgender troops to slaves forcibly conscripted and castrated in the Ottoman Empire and suggested that trans folks would join to somehow “game the system” for surgical care. Gohmert tried to draw a comparison between money spent for transgender care and that used to defeat “radical Islam,” as if one would take away from the other. While the Hartzler amendment failed, it apparently was not unnoticed by President Donald Trump, who took to Twitter for one of his now-infamous tweetstorm-cum-policy statements. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to
Vol. 41 No. 18 May 5-11, 2017 Family Portrait: Spotlight on Samy el-Noury
PA Supreme Court says SEPTA not bound by Philly antidiscrimination laws
PAGE 37
PAGE 2
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Celebrations of Philly Black Pride
Fellowship awarded to GALAEI youth-program leader PAGE 8
PAGE 13
State agency: We’ll accept LGBT antibias complaints
Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Under proposed guidance posted on its website April 28, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will investigate LGBTQ-related antibias complaints, despite the lack of an LGBTQ-inclusive statewide antibias law. The guidance notes that Pennsylvania’s antibias law covers sex discrimination, and multiple courts have ruled that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination. However, neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Pennsylvania Supreme PAGE 28
FINAL BOW: At the April 29 “Shut Up & Dance” performance, longtime producing director Ian Hussey announced he was passing the baton for next year’s show to Alexandra Hughes. The annual Pennsylvania Ballet production raised more than $161,000 for MANNA, which provides nutritional meals to the ill. Nearly 1,400 people packed Forrest Theatre for the 25th-anniversary performance. Photo: Scott A. Drake
D.A. candidates address crime, corruption, community By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The race for Philadelphia’s next district attorney is wide open. Seven Democratic contenders will vie for the nomination May 16, with one Republican running unopposed. The primary comes just weeks after current District Attorney Seth Williams was federally indicted on corruption and bribery charges. PGN spoke with all of the candidates about their vision for the District Attorney’s Office, and how the local LGBT community can be incorporated into those plans.
Larry Krasner Throughout his candidacy for district attorney, Larry Krasner has spoken about resisting the Trump administration, ending mass incarceration and standing up for civil-rights. During his 30 years as an attorney, he stood up for organizations such as ACT UP, Black Lives Matter and other organizations relating to LGBT rights, disabled people and immigrants.
PGN: There have already been nine transgender women of color murdered across the nation this year. If elected, what will your office do to combat violence against transgender individuals in Philadelphia, specifically women of color? LK: If and when there are incidents, I will have my supervisors and my prosecutors take those charges incredibly seriously. When I see violence involving a trans victim, to me, a red flag goes up immediately to see if this is a hate crime. I have been there when this Philadelphia Police Department wouldn’t take hate crimes seriously and, to me, that’s unacceptable. You have to have a police department that treats everybody equally and cares about everybody’s issues and that doesn’t consider certain people to be less than human. I think by using the office as a bully pulpit, being as serious as possible about properly prosecuting these cases, working with the police commissioner to
According to documents PGN exclusively obtained, a state commission is investigating Rep. Brian Sims following scrutiny about his travel reimbursements and speaking fees. PGN obtained a copy of an Ethics Complaint Form from a source whose identity we are withholding. The individual filed the complaint with the State Ethics Commission, contending Sims, the first LGBT person elected to the state legislature, violated the state Ethics Act. According to the Ethics Act, “No public official or public employee shall accept an honorarium.” A March 31 letter from the Ethics Commission, signed by Executive Director Robert P. Caruso, that was given to PGN states: “The Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission has initiated a full investigation in relation to the complaint” that the individual filed. Caruso told PGN he was not permitted to comment on the investigation or the complaint. PAGE 28
!
do police trainings around this issue or to make sure the trainings are adequate, I believe we could make a difference and make the situation better for trans people.
Endorsements
District Attorney: Larry Krasner City Controller: Alan Butkovitz
PGN: If elected, will you assist PGN in our ongoing efforts to settle all open-records litigation for access to Nizah Morris records? LK: The short answer is yes. I am a great believer in providing information to the press. However, when you ask a candidate what will you do when you are in office and that candidate doesn’t have all of the information, you’re basically inviting a candidate to make promises that may or may not be appropriate. Every bit of my instincts favors transparency but if I were to find something in the file that the mother or the father of Nizah Morris didn’t want revealed, then that is something I would have to look at. Assuming that the family of Nizah Morris wanted the information revealed and assuming the law permitted it, I would like there to be the maximum amount of transparency and I would like to assist in getting all information out PAGE 19 about that incident.
Superior Court Maria McLaughlin Carolyn Nichols H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. Commonwealth Court Ellen Ceisler Todd Eagan Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Lucretia Clemons Mark Cohen Leon Goodman Shanese Johnson Vikki Kristiansson Zac Shaffer Henry Sias Dan Sulman Stella Tsai Philadelphia Municipal Court Marissa Brumbach George Twardy
Street Talk What foreign land would you like to visit this summer? "Calcutta, India. There's such an amazing culture of spirituality there. I would find that very inspirational. The symbols Ennis Carter and art that executive director I would see Gayborhood in that city would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
"Morocco. It's so rich with history, and I'm a history buff. North Africa has been a hub for world history for a long time. Kitty Heite And I love project organizer MediterranWest Philadelphia ean food."
"Maldives. It's a little island off the coast of Indonesia. Surfing is great there. I love to surf. It's spiritually Benjamin Russell healing. photographer Surfing calms Old City my head down. I can't think of a better place to do it than Maldives."
"The Amalfi Coast in Italy. It's gorgeous. The scenery takes your breath away. There's nothing not to love about it. And it would Amanda Zullo be a relaxing attorney break from Queen Village my two toddlers and our recent Disney cruise in Alaska."
Transition the battlefield No matter how I put this, it feels like an understatement: We are living in increasingly frightening and dangerous times. This is especially true for those of us who are transgender. Sitting in a subcommittee right now in our House of Representatives is HR 2796, aka the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017. I’ve written about this before. It would do nothing less than void protections for transgender people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and “any federal civil-rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” Not apparently interested in waiting for HR 2796 to pass or fail, the Department of Justice — under “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions — has filed a legal brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express claiming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation. While the brief doesn’t mention gender identity specifically, we can guess where Sessions’ DOJ might side. Oddly enough,
pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
!
NOT THEIR PRESIDENT: Hundreds protested in Center City Monday against restrictive policies and positions coming from the new Trump administration. The “Not My Presidents’ Day” march and rally, planned to coincide with the annual federal holiday celebrating American presidents, included remarks from speakers about LGBT rights, health care, immigration, racial justice, women’s rights and more. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Philly Pride Presents confirmed to PGN the organization will reschedule its annual Pride Parade and Festival for the first time in its 29 years. Pride will now be held June 18 at Penn’s Landing so it does not conflict with the Washington D.C. National Pride March on June 11, the local event’s original date. “It’s a decision that had to be made because even some people who work with us are going to go to D.C.,” said the organization’s executive director, Franny Price. “It was a decision that we never wanted to make but it was a decision to save the Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival and OutFest. We did not want to cause a conflict [with] the community [members] who would want to go to the march.” The National Pride March began as a Facebook event that grew to more than 31,000 confirmed guests and more than 109,000 guests designated as “interested.” Price said out of the previous 28 Philadelphia Pride PAGE 13 events, 25 have been held during
serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” This is all nonsense. Military leaders responded with surprise, having apparently not been consulted on this policy. What’s more, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford has stood in opposition, stating in a memo that there are “no modifications to the current policy until the president’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidelines.” To date, no such implementation guidelines have arrived. Trump seems somehow unaware that there are already transgender troops in our military. While reported numbers have varied from as little as 250 to as many as 50,000, a study by the Rand Corporation in June 2016 estimated somewhere between 1,320 to 6,630 active-duty trans service members out of a total pool of 1.3-million service members. What’s more, this same
study noted that trans-related health care for these troops would cost somewhere between $2.4-$8.4 million per year. This is a drop in the bucket compared to current military spending. It is also a fifth of spending that the military currently doles out for erectile dysfunction medications to all troops, trans or otherwise. So we have a scattershot policy, dictated via social media without adequate consultation and not tethered in fact. Transgender troops are in no way bankrupting our armed forces, nor is there any evidence of them disrupting the service. Now, plenty have said that Trump’s tweets were nothing more than a distraction, something to steal the spotlight from news of the health-care bill and its failure, the increasingly dysfunctional administration or the continuing Russia probe. Maybe there is some truth to that, but I find myself considering that a distraction ceases to be a distraction when it is harming people. Trump’s insistence on attacking transgender soldiers, while his Department of PAGE 15 Justice and others attack
Second place Jen Colletta
General News/Weeklies: “Lesbian couple turned away from PA bridal shop” pgn Philadelphia Gay News
LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 18 May 5-11, 2017 Family Portrait: Spotlight on Samy el-Noury
PA Supreme Court says SEPTA not bound by Philly antidiscrimination laws
PAGE 37
PAGE 2
Honorable Mention Jeremy Rodriguez
General News/Weeklies: “City releases Gayborhood racism findings, recommends training”
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Celebrations of Philly Black Pride
Fellowship awarded to GALAEI youth-program leader PAGE 8
PAGE 13
State agency: We’ll accept LGBT antibias complaints
Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Under proposed guidance posted on its website April 28, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will investigate LGBTQ-related antibias complaints, despite the lack of an LGBTQ-inclusive statewide antibias law. The guidance notes that Pennsylvania’s antibias law covers sex discrimination, and multiple courts have ruled that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination. However, neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Pennsylvania Supreme PAGE 28
FINAL BOW: At the April 29 “Shut Up & Dance” performance, longtime producing director Ian Hussey announced he was passing the baton for next year’s show to Alexandra Hughes. The annual Pennsylvania Ballet production raised more than $161,000 for MANNA, which provides nutritional meals to the ill. Nearly 1,400 people packed Forrest Theatre for the 25th-anniversary performance. Photo: Scott A. Drake
D.A. candidates address crime, corruption, community By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The race for Philadelphia’s next district attorney is wide open. Seven Democratic contenders will vie for the nomination May 16, with one Republican running unopposed. The primary comes just weeks after current District Attorney Seth Williams was federally indicted on corruption and bribery charges. PGN spoke with all of the candidates about their vision for the District Attorney’s Office, and how the local LGBT community can be incorporated into those plans.
Larry Krasner Throughout his candidacy for district attorney, Larry Krasner has spoken about resisting the Trump administration, ending mass incarceration and standing up for civil-rights. During his 30 years as an attorney, he stood up for organizations such as ACT UP, Black Lives Matter and other organizations relating to LGBT rights, disabled people and immigrants.
PGN: There have already been nine transgender women of color murdered across the nation this year. If elected, what will your office do to combat violence against transgender individuals in Philadelphia, specifically women of color? LK: If and when there are incidents, I will have my supervisors and my prosecutors take those charges incredibly seriously. When I see violence involving a trans victim, to me, a red flag goes up immediately to see if this is a hate crime. I have been there when this Philadelphia Police Department wouldn’t take hate crimes seriously and, to me, that’s unacceptable. You have to have a police department that treats everybody equally and cares about everybody’s issues and that doesn’t consider certain people to be less than human. I think by using the office as a bully pulpit, being as serious as possible about properly prosecuting these cases, working with the police commissioner to
According to documents PGN exclusively obtained, a state commission is investigating Rep. Brian Sims following scrutiny about his travel reimbursements and speaking fees. PGN obtained a copy of an Ethics Complaint Form from a source whose identity we are withholding. The individual filed the complaint with the State Ethics Commission, contending Sims, the first LGBT person elected to the state legislature, violated the state Ethics Act. According to the Ethics Act, “No public official or public employee shall accept an honorarium.” A March 31 letter from the Ethics Commission, signed by Executive Director Robert P. Caruso, that was given to PGN states: “The Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission has initiated a full investigation in relation to the complaint” that the individual filed. Caruso told PGN he was not permitted to comment on the investigation or the complaint. PAGE 28
do police trainings around this issue or to make sure the trainings are adequate, I believe we could make a difference and make the situation better for trans people. PGN: If elected, will you assist PGN in our ongoing efforts to settle all open-records litigation for access to Nizah Morris records? LK: The short answer is yes. I am a great believer in providing information to the press. However, when you ask a candidate what will you do when you are in office and that candidate doesn’t have all of the information, you’re basically inviting a candidate to make promises that may or may not be appropriate. Every bit of my instincts favors transparency but if I were to find something in the file that the mother or the father of Nizah Morris didn’t want revealed, then that is something I would have to look at. Assuming that the family of Nizah Morris wanted the information revealed and assuming the law permitted it, I would like there to be the maximum amount of transparency and I would like to assist in getting all information out PAGE 19 about that incident.
!
A jury trial for the alleged murderer of trans woman Diamond Williams has been postponed until December. Charles N. Sargent stands accused of stabbing Williams to death with a screwdriver, then dismembering her with an ax, depositing her body parts in a vacant lot in Strawberry Mansion in July 2013. Sargent told police he acted in self-defense after Williams became violent during a sexual encounter. Advocates for Williams dispute that claim. Sargent’s trial was scheduled to begin Feb. 27, but his standby attorney, J. Michael Farrell, recently was convicted of multiPAGE 13 ple felonies in
D’Anne Witkowski
Betsy DeVos
First place LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com June 30-July 6, 2017
!
Endorsements
District Attorney: Larry Krasner City Controller: Alan Butkovitz Superior Court Maria McLaughlin Carolyn Nichols H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. Commonwealth Court Ellen Ceisler Todd Eagan
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Lucretia Clemons Mark Cohen Leon Goodman Shanese Johnson Vikki Kristiansson Zac Shaffer Henry Sias Dan Sulman Stella Tsai Philadelphia Municipal Court Marissa Brumbach George Twardy
Q Puzzle Undefinable Cynthia Across
1. Express pleasure orally 5. Give the onceover in a gay bar 9. It may be grand, to Glenn Burke 13. Chaplin partner 14. Collette of _The Hours_ 15. Forfeit 16. Just right 17. Very top 18. Cicero’s singular 19. Start of a quote that follows “I don’t define myself” 22. Queen toppers 23. Made a profit of, in Mauresmo’s sport? 24. Web info source 25. MBA subj. 26. More of the quote 31. By mouth 34. The Gay ‘90s, and others 35. Stone of _Easy A_ 39. Revolution opponent 40. ___ in the hay 41. Bellow in the library 42. Homoerotic
tail? 43. Two for Sue Wicks, once 45. AAA way 46. River of Gay Paree 48. Sponsorship 50. End of the quote 55. Responder to “Bite me!”? 56. Cruising 57. Black and white sandwich 59. With respect to 60. Went lickety-split 61. Began like Sheehan, with “off” 62. Precious stones 63. David ___ Pierce 64. To be, in Brest
Down
1. Fly cry 2. Grace to Will, once 3. Where to find some fruit 4. But of course 5. Chat room request 6. Nightclub in a Manilow song 7. One more time 8. Cynthia, who is the source of the quote 9. Marks on your lover’s back
10. Rough house 11. Brody of _The Pianist_ 12. Judy Garland’s “___ My Shadow” 20. Starch source 21. Event for George Frenn 27. Designer Wang 28. Aphrodite’s son 29. Result of four balls 30. Wight, for one 31. Miss among Cole Porter hits 32. Sitcom with Sara Gilbert 33. One way to walk in a Gay Pride March 36. Funny Cho 37. Marlon Brando,
in _The Bounty_ 38. Stein fillers 43. Reno action 44. Eastern philosophy 47. Bernstein’s staff members 49. Ham it up on Broadway 51. Diced meat 52. Catch sight of 53. Robert of _The Brady Bunch_ 54. Go in only partway, at South Beach 55. Job for a rock band 58. It may be Sapphic
PROFILE PGN
Family Portrait
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
23
Suzi Nash
Peter Lee: YouTube chef shares his mother’s secrets for entertaining “The thing about cooking is it’s so interesting to watch. I don’t know why, but if you go to somebody’s house and they’re making something, they usually say interesting things while they’re cooking.” —Christopher Walken “Chopped,” “Top Chef,” “Iron Chef,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Brian Boitano’s Italian Adventure,” “Cupcake Wars” and “Nigella Bites” … Obviously Christopher Walken is not the only one who enjoys watching people cook. This week’s Portrait, Peter Lee, is hoping there’s room for one more among the vast number of food-themed shows. Four of his videos, titled “Let’s Celebrate,” are currently available on Let’s Celebrate TV’s YouTube channel. Here, he talks about he got his chopping chops and what prompted him to share his skills. PGN: What inspired you to launch “Let’s Celebrate”? PL: We entertain constantly. We’re forever having dinner parties and barbecues and gatherings at our house. We really love entertaining and being entertained, but our friends always tell us, “We want to have you over too but we could never do it as well as you do.” So I thought, it’s not that hard, it’s something I could teach everyone. I pass on some of the recipes that my mother and grandmother have handed down to me, as well as new recipes that I’ve created and developed myself. PGN: When you say “we,” who are you referring to? PL: My husband Phil and me. PGN: Nice. How long have you been together? PL: We’ve been together for 18 years. PGN: How did you meet? Do you both work in hospitality? PL: I do digital media and my husband is the IT manager for a civil-engineering firm. We met many years ago on gay.com. PGN: Does that even exist anymore? PL: I don’t know, I don’t think so. That was in 2000. Back in the chatroom days. PGN: Kind of like Twitter now, but not as mean. From whom did you learn your cooking skills? PL: Mostly my mother. She was brilliant. When she was first married, her mother gave her the family recipes handed down through the years. She typed them all onto index cards. She taught me how to cook, and my grandmother taught me how to entertain. PGN: Give me a little taste of each of their personalities. PL: They were very different people.
My grandmother was very cosmopolitan, very high-energy. She worked for Eleanor Roosevelt when they were forming the United Nations, at the very beginning. She was involved in all sorts of things. My mother was also high-energy, just in a different way. She was very strong-willed. It was always, This is how it’s done — her way. PGN: Describe your home life. PL: I have three brothers and a sister, all older. We grew up in a big house with a big yard in South Jersey, where I still live today. We sat down as a family for dinner every night, all five kids and the parents. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, you didn’t have microwaved meals; there was no calling out for pizza; no one could afford that. Sunday-night dinners were a really big deal. That’s something that I still do — Sundaynight dinners are still special for us. PGN: If you were to ask your mother to come over and fix something special, what would you ask her to cook? PL: That’s a tough one. This is going to sound silly but she used to make this thing that she called “open-faced hamburgers.” It was a way to stretch a dollar. She grew up in the Depression when they first married, they were on a serviceman’s salary. One of her skills was how to make delicious meals on a dime. She would take white bread and some seasoned ground beef and cook it under the broiler. It was one of those simple, stupid things that I still think, “Oh, I would love it if Mom could make a tray of those right now.”
school. I got through it. The funny thing is, she and I reconnected 30 years later on Facebook. She sent me a private message with a long, heartfelt apology, saying, “I cannot believe I did that to you. I’ve raised my kids never to do something like that, and I’ve been carrying the guilt for 30 years.” Of course I told her I was well over it, but it was very sweet of her. PGN: A full-circle moment. How was the family about it? PL: My sister and brothers figured it out and told my parents before I ever said anything, and they were fine. My mother’s youngest brother was also gay. In fact, he was one of the first people to die of AIDS in New York City back when they didn’t have a name for it and were still referring to it as a gay cancer. PGN: When did you first start planning the cooking show? PL: About three years ago. We did a few tests shows and when I was doing the intros, I noticed that I kept saying, “Come on in and
PGN: Give an example of one of the stories. PL: My mother was Scottish and the first cooking episode we did was for Scottish shortbread. I told the story of how she could knock out shortbreads in no time mixing the batter with a spoon in one hand, martini in the other, and a Pall Mall gold cigarette dangling from her lips. She was amazing. PGN: I love that visual! And your hubby Phil is one of the producers? PL: Phil is cameraman, producer, director, you name it. Our son does graphic design for us and a good friend wrote the theme song. PGN: Your son? PL: Yes, Phil had three kids when we got together. Our son was only 10 so I was there to raise him. His two daughters were a little older, so they think of me more as a stepdad. After 18 years we now have four grandchildren. PGN: Any hobbies outside the kitchen? PL: I used to sing in an a- cappella group called Cobalt Blue. Phil and I do a lot of camping. We have a big mobile camper that we take out once a month and a perm site at Hillside campground. PGN: Would you ever sleep in a haunted house? PL: I grew up in one. We’d hear people randomly walking down the stairs, all sorts of things. One day I was home alone and the house started messing with me. The smoke alarm kept going off when there was no smoke and continued to do it even after I took the batteries out. Then the doorbell would ring, even when I was standing at the door and could see there was no one at the door … things like that.
PGN: What did you want to be when you grew up and what did you study? PL: I went to culinary school very briefly, but I decided that even though I loved to cook and entertain, the life of a chef just wasn’t for me. So I worked in the library industry for 20 years as a book editor. Now I manage a quality-assurance team for a digital-marketing firm. PGN: When did you come out? PL: I always knew who I was even when I didn’t have words for it. I remember one time Barbara Gittings was on “The Phil Donahue Show.” It was right after the American Psychiatric Association had taken homosexuality off its list of mental disorders. There were a number of gay people on the show and I thought, “Oh! That’s me!” I was figuring what it all meant to me when I was outed my senior year in high school. At the time it was very traumatic, being 17 and having to deal with all the drama that ensued. PGN: How did it happen? PL: One of my friends was saying, “How come you never date anyone?” and I confessed to her that I was gay and that I had a crush on this boy. That was a mistake. She told people, and soon it got around the
PGN: Best cooking show other than yours? PL: “The Barefoot Contessa,” I just love her. let’s celebrate!” We realized that should be the name of the show. It was more in tune with how we live our lives. PGN: Describe a typical episode. PL: We try to keep each episode short, around 10-15 minutes and no more than 20 minutes. Each episode features one recipe, which makes it easy to look up because it’ll be right there in the title. I go through the recipe and you can watch as I cook it and tell some stories along the way.
Photo: Suzi Nash
PGN: What are the plans for the future? PL: My main goal is to inspire people. We move so fast now that one of my messages is that we need to slow down. Take the time out to gather around the table, pull out the good china when it’s not Christmas. Pull it out on a Tuesday. Gather with friends and family and talk. Put the cell phones away and really connect with each other over a meal. n To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email portraits05@aol.com.
24
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
PGN
Food and Drink Directory
LovasH Indian
236 South St Philadelphia, PA 19147 215-925-3881
Restaurant and Bar www.lovashrestaurant.com EAT IN - TAKE OUT - DELIVERY Serving Lunch Open 7 Days a Week
and Dinner
Now Order Online!
The Center City IHOP located at 1320 Walnut St. is now open 24 Hrs on FRIDAY and SATURDAY
THANKS FOR MAKING IT A IHOP DAY
Monday - Thursday: 4pm - 10pm Friday - Sunday: 11:30am - 10:30pm
Spice up your life with
Indian food
TELEVISION PGN
Watch What Happens Now with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor What happens when two out television icons meet up on stage? You can find out May 5, when Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen take part in “An Intimate Evening” at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Neither CNN/CBS newsman Anderson Cooper nor Bravo late-night talk show host and “Real Housewives” franchise producer Cohen plans much when it comes to their unscripted on-stage chats. Then again, both network veterans are used to television; both hard news and raw gossip. The pair cohosted CNN’s most recent live New Year’s Eve affair when Cooper’s usual on-air collaborator, Kathy Griffin, was sidelined by the controversy of dissing Trump with a bloody stump of a head. As pals on stage and off, Cohen said “An Intimate Evening” resulted from friendship and circumstance. PGN: Not to kiss your ass, but you are a titan of the entertainment industry, and proudly out at that. Now, we are an assumedly and presumably advanced society for the most part, but that doesn’t stop the stupidest among us. Do you ever experience at this point in your career any prejudice to you for your sexual preference? AC: If I do, I don’t take it on, you know? I’m fortunate enough to be at a place in my career where I don’t have to take anyone else’s — uh — feelings on. But, sure, in small ways I do. PGN: When was the last time you felt as if someone was throwing shade at you, in business or on a personal level? Or that it truly irked you? AC: Gosh. I believe that there are some interviewers who only barely can get their head around the fact that I’m a gay man and that that’s my thing. God, the last time that it irked me … No, I can’t actually remember. PGN: Are there particular LGBTQ-related issues that most shock you, still, in their non-resolution? AC: I think that anywhere that it is still legal to discriminate against a gay person for any reason, whether it is employment or housing, is baffling to me. PGN: You and Cooper have been touring this “Intimate Evening” for a minute. What are you guys marveling at in private at present? AC: Today, we are talking about the fact that [Cooper] has gotten me into pilates. PGN: Glad to see there’s such substance between you two.
AC: Well, we were talking about Cosby yesterday. It changes every day.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
25
Thinking Queerly
Kristina Furia
PGN: So, what is the thought process between the two of you in bringing what might be a private conversation between friends onto the stage? What is the ºcuratorial focus? AC: I do have a sense of what Anderson’s been up to in his work. For instance, I got on stage with him several weeks ago, and told him that I wanted to know all about his meeting with Stormy Daniels and all these other Trump women he’s been interviewing. We did a thing in Chicago a couple of months ago where he knew that
COHEN AND COOPER SHARE A STAGE I had been shooting a lot of Bravo stuff in a row. If there’s anything interesting to be mined from our respective jobs — or something funny in our personal lives that no one knows about — we mine it. We like to keep each other surprised on stage.
Thinking Queerly explores the psychological and social experiences of being LGBT in America and sheds light on the importance of LGBT community members prioritizing their mental health.
PGN: Has the dynamic between you changed on stage since the tour began? AC: Not really. I believe it will always be like running into the two of us at a bar. PGN: Before you head to Atlantic City, you’re stopping off in Philadelphia for an event with former First Lady Michelle Obama. What’s your take on her? AC: She was a wonderful role model, a great First Lady and someone who continues many of the initiatives that she started when she was in the White House. How cool is that? She doesn’t have to still be doing this. PGN: Philadelphia has the dubious distinction of being the home of your noted worst guest: Amber Rose. What did she get wrong? AC: She just didn’t want to answer any of my shady questions. I actually liked her and have interviewed her since. She just wasn’t up for it. And if you’re not up for shade, we’re not going to get anywhere. n
Only in
MAY 19 KIMMELCENTER.ORG
Online and in print every second Friday.
PROUD SEASON SPONSOR
26
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
Koresh returns to his roots to explore the light in humanity’s soul By Gary L. Day PGN Contributor One of the highlights of Philadelphia’s performance season is when the Koresh Dance Co., presents new work. “Inner Sun” premiered April 26 for a fourday run at Suzanne Roberts Theatre on Broad Street. The work consisted of two separate but related sections entitled “Inner Sun” and “Matters of the Heart,” which company founder and leader Ronen Koresh characterizes as “two sides of the same thematic coin.” Both sections are, in turn, comprised of several shorter vignettes illustrating different aspects of the inner spiritual and emotional lives of people with various connections. Ronen Koresh is a remarkably versatile choreographer equally comfortable utilizing the language both of modern dance and classical ballet. He specializes in emphatic, dramatic choreography set to intense original scores. With these new pieces, he harkened back to his childhood roots in Middle-Eastern folk dancing, when he received his first dance instruction from his mother, a folk dancer in the Yemeni tradition. Koresh held true to form musically, though, by collaborating with local comJOE COLTER poser John Levis. The result was a pulse-pounding score filled with exotic Arabic chords and compelling rhythms that drenched the imagination with dramas of sand dunes and nomads. The dancers were almost always in perfect sync with the music, moving with powerful energy and complexity. The result had the feel, at times, of a primal tribal celebration that had the audience clapping along with the music or whooping aloud in excitement — a rare occurrence for a Philadelphia dance audience, which is usually much more restrained. The dramatic energy was most evident in those pieces featuring the full ensemble, such as the evening’s final section, entitled “Sun Sugar.” With the men clad
only in long flowing skirts and the women in loose jumpsuits, the company members leapt about the stage in powerful and complex patterns as our hearts followed each dancer into the air. The highlight of the evening was not one but two same-sex romantic duets, one featuring Krista Montrone and Vanessa Guinto, the other featuring Joe Cotier and a returning Micah Geyer. It’s not often one sees even a single samesex duet in a MainStage dance performance, much less two. Even beyond the ‘LADIES’ FIRST: The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, the experimental local cabaret troupe, rallies its considerable creative forces to headline the 25thanniversary gala for the Avenue of the Arts, Inc., 6-9 p.m. May 4 at Doubletree Hotel, Broad and Locust Streets. For more information or tickets, visit www. ave-future.eventbrite.com.
Theater & Arts Beautiful Baroque The Philadelphia Orchestra performs with conductor Nicholas McGegan for an intimate performance of Italian-style Baroque and neoclassical music, May 4-5 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Beth Stelling The comedian seen on “Chelsea Lately” and “Conan” performs through May 5 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215496-9001. AND MICAH GEYER IN “MATTERS OF THE HEART” Photo by Pete Checchia novelty, audience members saw expressive choreography that portrayed relationships full of challenge and difficulty, playfulness, devotion and love — equal to anyone’s experience in matters of the human heart. “No matter who we are, where we live or our belief system, all of us have a heart that beats in our bodies and a human spirit that drives our journeys,” Koresh said. Along with composer John Levis and enhanced by the dramatic lighting of Peter Jakubowski, Koresh carried us on that journey, and showed how the light of the inner sun that is the human spirit can illuminate joy. n
while surrounded by madness, through May 19, 4740 Baltimore Ave.; 215921-8243. Design in Revolution: A 1960s Odyssey Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of pop art and psychedelia from the civilrights and anti-war movements, through Sept. 9, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.
Carmen Opera Philadelphia presents the classic story about the irresistible titular Spanish gypsy, through May 6 at Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999.
Jean Shin: Collections Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition by contemporary artist Shin (American, born in South Korea in 1971) in which she transforms everyday objects into dynamic works about connection and belonging, through July 15, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.
Catch-22 Curio Theatre Company presents Joseph Heller’s stage adaptation of his 1961 satirical novel that asks what it means to be sane
Jewels The Pennsylvania Ballet performs George Balanchine’s only evening-length work without a story, May 10-13 at Academy of Music,
Keith Smith at Home Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition spanning five decades of the Rochester-based artist’s mixed-media photographs, prints and books, through July 8, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.
Rachel Rose: Wil-o-Wisp/The Future Fields Commission Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of contemporary video installations that ruminate on our image-saturated culture and histories of the past, through Aug. 19, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.
Magical & Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, A Retrospective The Michener Art Museum presents an exhibition of works by Hurd (1904-84) and Wyeth (190797), important contributors to the arts of both the Philadelphia region and the Southwest, through May 6, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown; 215340- 9800.
Tell Me on a Sunday Walnut Street Theatre presents the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical where it’s the 1980s and a young English girl, full of energy and optimism, arrives in New York ready to find success and love, through June 10 at Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St.; 215574-3550.
240 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999.
Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Out & About Listings, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: listings@epgn.com. Notices cannot be taken over the phone.
PGN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LISTINGS
tale, through May 20, 104 E. State St., Media; 610-8910100. Motel Hell The horror film is screened 9:45 p.m. May 4 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610-917-1228.
GIRLS ROCK READING: Female-fronted hard-rock bands unite with Halestorm and In This Moment to headline a show with Stitched Up Heart. New Year’s Day opens the show, 6:30 p.m. May 10 at The Theater at Santander Arena, 700 Penn St., Reading. For more information or tickets call 610-898-7469.
United We Dance: A Benefit for the ACLU of Pennsylvania Brazilian funk band Philly Bloco performs 8 p.m. May 8 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215222-1400. Up The animated Pixar film is screened 8 p.m. May 7 at The Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215922-6888. Yannick and Hélène The Philadelphia Orchestra performs with conductor Yannick NézetSéguin and pianist Hélène Grimaud, May 10-11 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999.
Music ABBA The Concert The ABBA tribute concert comes to Philly 8 p.m. May 5 at Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick
Ave., Glenside; 215572-7650. Blind Melon The alternative-rock band performs 8 p.m. May 5 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215922-1011. Brain Damage — A Tribute to Pink Floyd The Pink Floyd tribute band performs 8 p.m. May 5 at The Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888. The Yardbirds The classic-rock band performs 8 p.m. May 8 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400. Iron Maidens The all-female tribute to Iron Maiden performs 9 p.m. May 9 at The Foundry Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-3090150. Friday Night Fever The New York Bee Gees and Donna Summer tribute singer Rainere
Martin perform an evening of disco hits, 8 p.m. May 11 at Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215-5727650.
Nightlife Mimi Imfurst Presents Drag Diva Brunch Mimi Imfurst, Bev, Vinchelle, Sutton Fearce and special guests perform 11 a.m.-2 p.m. May 5 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215606-6555. Black (AF) Panther Burlesque Wakanda takes over the stage for some super naughtiness, 9 p.m. May 11 at The Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215922-6888.
Outta Town Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid Media Theatre presents a new musical version of the classic children’s
Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen The two out television personalities interview each other live, 8 p.m. May 5 at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Clint Holmes The Grammy Awardwinning singer performs 8 p.m. May 5 at The Rrazz Room in The Clarion Hotel & Suites, 6426 Lower York Road, New Hope; 888596-1027. Ani DiFranco The out singersongwriter performs 8 p.m. May 8 at The Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del.; 202-730-3331. Brian Regan The comedian performs 8 p.m. May 11 at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Michael McDonald The rock and soul singer and songwriter performs 9 p.m. May 11 at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Can’t Hardly Wait The teen-angst comedy is screened 9:45 p.m. May 11 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. n
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
27
Demystifying Grace Jones in a new documentary By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor Grace Jones, the androgynous singer/ songwriter, supermodel, actress and iconic queer icon, is the subject of the Sophie Fiennes documentary, “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” opening at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse May 4. The film alternates between scenes of Jones performing on stage with observational footage of the icon with her family in Jamaica; at work on her album, “Hurricane” ;and in private moments. Fiennes’ deliberate approach reveals more about the u n c o nve n t i o n a l Jones than a conventional documentary tracing her life and career might. In a recent phone interview, the filmmaker explained how she used songs to punctuate the footage of Jones off stage. “I wanted a shift with her performance — the theatricality, simplicity, and elegance and geography of the stage, since I was going all over the world with her,” Fiennes said. “It was an anchor point to construct the film. I imagined the documentary as a musical, using the structure and form of the song to communicate the narrative.” For example, Jones’ performance of her hit “Love is the Drug” is juxtaposed with her expressing feelings about lacking love. Fiennes added that “Bloodlight and Bami” emerged spontaneously. “I did the sound and camera myself — and I was facilitating the adventure with her, capturing these moments. She’s a consummate performer. She’s not resisting the camera. She knows the stakes. She’s accepting them and agreeing to not be in control. That’s a kind of freedom.” While Jones comes across as a powerful businesswoman — justifiably angry with some career concerns — Fiennes commended her for fighting long and hard to be paid well. “She no fool,” the director said, mimicking Jones demanding, “I want everything the men get.” Fiennes said she only tangled with her subject once during the five years of shooting, during discussions of partnering with the BBC. Jones has an aversion to the “corporate mentality” and feared Fiennes would lose control of the film with thirdparty financiers. “I learned how to argue, hard. Grace
said” — and Fiennes again imitated Jones’ distinctive voice — “‘You’re pretty fierce!’ and I said, ‘Who do you think I learned that from?’” Even when Jones tried to provoke a response out of Fiennes during filming with some vulgar remarks, the director tried to remain unflappable. “I didn’t want to interrupt the moment. I knew giggling
would ruin my shot.” As for what makes Jones so alluring and intriguing, Fiennes recalled seeing her image for the first time on the cover of her “Island Life” album. “As a body-shy 14-year-old, I was thinking: What kind of a woman is that? It was wild to me. This person who is powerful in her nakedness and proud, and has a sense of humor — there were all these different signals.” Fiennes first saw Jones on “The Russell Harty Show,” where Jones was asked which perfume she was wearing. “She said, ‘Body odor,’” Fiennes said, calling the episode “brilliant and transgressive and a catalyst for cutting through autospeak of a chat show. As a woman, she was claiming her smell was something beautiful. She was clever and fascinating in her whole attitude.” Fiennes observed that Jones is someone who “calls the dance herself,” and not one of those women “who line the walls of the room and are asked to dance. She owns her erotic self; she’s not waiting to be desired in the classic sense. She’s part of the collective unconscious in the LGBT community. Aspects of her are frightening to straight men — they must wonder, What will she demand of me?” Such is the power and beauty and brilliance of Grace Jones captured in the film. As for why she made this documentary now, Fiennes responded, “She’s become more fascinating. Grace is bigger now than she ever was.” n
28
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
Classifieds All real-estate advertising is subject to Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability). PGN will not knowingly accept any realestate advertising that is in violation of any applicable law.
PGN does not accept advertising that is unlawful, false, misleading, harmful, threatening, abusive, invasive of another’s privacy, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful or racially or otherwise objectionable, including without limitation material of any kind or nature that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, provincial, national or international law or regulation, or encourage the use of controlled substances.
Real Estate Sale
Notices
VENTNOR, NJ House for sale in Ventnor NJ. 2 story 5 bedroom house, needs some repairs. Priced right. Call 215 468 9166. ________________________________________42-49
Hello we are Dominic and Ayden, we are residence at, LGBTQ home for hope. One of the only LGBTQ Recovery/ Shelter’s for our community in Philadelphia, and we asking people for help with, any kind of donations like, Personal Care Items, Food, Clothing and Linens, and if someone’s time to, help with house repair’s, cleaning, education, etc. Any kind of donation/help would mean so much to not just us but everyone that comes though our door’s. Any questions feel free to contact us for more information, the number where you can contact us are, Noelle 215-867-8885, she is head staff Myself Dominic 267-730-9571, resident ________________________________________42-19
Help Wanted EARN $500 A DAY Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Wants Insurance Agents *Leads, No Cold Calls *Commissions Paid Daily *Agency Training *Life License Required. Call 1-888-713-6020 ________________________________________42-17
Wanted To Buy
For Sale SAWMILLS from only $4397.00 – MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill – Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship! FREE Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills. com 800-567-0404 Ext.300N ________________________________________42-17
FREON R12 WANTED: CERTIFIED BUYER will PAY CA$H for R12 cylinders or cases of cans. (312) 291-9169; www. refrigerantfinders.com ________________________________________42-17
PGN
Adoption HAPPILY MARRIED Couple wishes to adopt a beautiful baby to fill our hearts and provide wonderful opportunities for. Expenses paid. Mark & Eric 919-357-0957. ________________________________________42-17
Legal Notices
pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
City of Philadelphia Public Hearing Notice
Change of Name Notice In the Court of Common Pleas of Phila. County, PA April Term, 2018, No. 1781 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on April 13, 2018, the Petition of Makiyah Ana Graham was filed, praying for a Decree to change Petitioner’s name to Shawn Louis Hazzard. The Court has fixed June 1, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in Room 691, City Hall, Broad & Market Sts., Philadelphia, PA as the time and place for the hearing of said Petition, when and where all persons interested may appear and show cause, if any they have, why the prayer of the said petition should not be granted. Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq., Atty. for Petitioner Jerner & Palmer, P.C. 5401 Wissahickon Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19144 215-843-6000. ________________________________________42-18
Friends Men WM, NE Phila. If you’re looking for hot action, call 215-934-5309. No calls after 11 PM. ________________________________________42-19 WOULD Like to meet men from Puerto Rico and/or of Puerto Rican heritage for friendship and more. 856-547-4163. _____________________________________________42-25 PRINCES OF MY HEART Bruce A., Craig (“Draco”), Matt, Mat, Michael S., Michael F., Troy, Doug, Adam, David, “Little Brucey”, Mikey, Johnathan A., Philip C. and Mark S., Nick & John, Tom & Tony: Please text Ted Gagnon @ 267-966-5469 or email theodoremichael@hotmail.com. 202 Roberts Road. Love Teddy Boy, King of Kings. _____________________________________________42-21
Massage Therapeutic Massage for Discerning Males in Far NE Philly. Rates $60 for (1) Hr and $90 for (1 1⁄2) Hrs. More Information Text Bob at 410-714-0822. ________________________________________42-21
Spring
The Committee on Public Health and Human Services of the Council of the City of Philadelphia will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, May 7, 2018, at 1:00 PM, in Room 400, City Hall, to hear testimony on the following items: 171125
180001
is here!
An Ordinance amending Section 10-602 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Smoking," by adding smoking restrictions at certain bus stops; all under certain terms and conditions.
Take
An Ordinance amending Title 6 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Health Code," by adding a new Chapter 6-310, entitled "Sodium Safety Warning Labeling for Chain Restaurants."
a bite
Immediately following the public hearing, a meeting of the Committee on Public Health and Human Services, open to the public, will be held to consider the action to be taken on the above listed items. Copies of the foregoing items are available in the Office of the Chief Clerk of the Council, Room 402, City Hall.
Michael Decker Chief Clerk
out of it.
Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month
- and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.
PGN
Getting married?
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
29
SERVICES & HOME IMPROVEMENT DIRECTORY family
OwnED — an d — OpERaTED No Salespeople So ® No Commissions out of Your Pocket!
— —
seal roofing complete roofing service ®
CERTIFIED In all TypEs OF ROOFIng flat rubber roofs • coatings • shingles/metal roofs Payment Plan:
1/2 Down after completed, Balance due after first rain. anufacturers Warranties *M C ommercial & Residential * White Energy Efficient Coatings * ownspouts & Gutters * DRoof Inspections * L eak Repairs * * Sidings
I5% OFF
any new roof installation upto $300 | must present ad | cannot be combined
IO% OFF
any roof/GUtter rePair upto $300 | must present ad | cannot be combined
licensed & insured / / 24-hr. emergency service / / Payment Plans available
Contact us Today for a Consultation and Free Estimate!
2i5.533.4066
info@sealroofingteam.net AFRCC_PGN_2x3.975_AD.qxp_Layout 1
Filippone Electrical
OFFICE FURNITURE PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR!
FOR ALL YOUR ELECTRICAL NEEDS
Spring Special
20% off with this ad (must be presented at time of estimate)
215-783-3844 LICENSED AND INSURED Philly Lic #18313 • PA. Lic #053919
www.filipponeelectric.com
NO REASONABLE OFFER REFUSED
720 HYLTON ROAD • PENNSAUKEN, NJ 08110
856.488.5101
www.afrcc.com LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.
1/
30
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
PGN
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
SERVICES & HOME IMPROVEMENT DIRECTORY
John Wissinger Inc.
HARDWOOD FLOORS Old Floors, Sanded & Finished Floors Stained New Floors Laid Steps Scraped (215) 335-4472 (215) 887-2899 Cell: (215) 816-4472 Free Estimates
FILIPPONE GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTING EXPERTS SERVING PHILADELPHIA FOR OVER 75 YEARS
TURNER BROTHERS PLUMBING & HEATING LLC •WATER HEATERS •HEATER REPAIR •CITY VIOLATIONS CORRECTED •ALL UNDERGROUND PLUMBING MENTION PGN TO RECEIVE 10% OFF
MICHAEL TURNER 215-852-0337 BRIAN TURNER 215-800-5072 Turnerbrothersplumbing@gmail.com
FAX 267-686-5072 R.M.P 43653
PA Lisc # PA116613 Philadelphia Lisc #45244 OSHA Lisc # 14-60-1324882
No Job Too Small
Carpentry - Kitchen/Bathroom Hardwood Flooring - Windows Doors - Sheetrock - Plumbing Electrical - Cement - Stucco - Painting
www.summersquality.com
Plumbing • Heating • Air Conditioning • Electrical Contracting •
We’ll Beat Any Written Estimate Financing Options Available %15 Off when this ad is presented at time of estimate, and always for seniors, military and local or state police and fire employees
NJ office: 8569528197 Philly office: 2157833844
Small businesses can afford special attention in our PGN directories. Spaces this size are only $50 per week when you run for a minimum of 8 weeks.
8200 Ridge Ave PhilAdelPhiA PA 19128
215-482-8800 :
email info@summersquality.com
FLORIO HOME REMODELING Creating Fabulous Homes for Over 25 Years Remodeling Professionals
Customizable Kitchens and Bathrooms, Specialize in all Crown Molding, Install Windows and Hardwood Floors, Demolition and Home Clean Out Assistance Doors, Sheetrock, Electric & Plumbing
No Job Too Small - Free Estimates - Our Prices Will Not Be Beat
10% OFF with this ad
Financing Options Available
Call/Email John Florio:
267-972-5928
FlorioHomeRemodelingLLC@gmail.com
31
32
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com May 4-10, 2018
FURNISH YOUR ENTIRE HOME
QUEEN BEDDING SE TS st star artiting ng at at
199.99
$
OR OFFICE for up to
700 OOFF FF %
RETAIL PRICES
Every Day!
Office Chairs
$
now only...
299.99
now only...
399.99
5-PIECE OAK BEDROOM SETS
5-PIECE BLACK BEDROOM SETS
(Dresser, Mirror, Queen Headboard, 2 Nightstands)
(Dresser, Mirror, Queen Headboard, 2 Nightstands)
An AFR® Exclusive!
starting at...
22-PIECE APARTMENT PACKAGE
$
INCLUDED FURNISHINGS:
STARTING AT $24.99
$
Sofa, Loveseat, Cocktail Table, 2 End Tables with 2 Lamps, TV Media Stand, Dining Table with 4 Side Chairs, Headboard, 2 Nightstands with 2 Lamps, Mirror, Dresser, 2 Art Prints
899
.99
Office Desks
STARTING AT $149.99
TV Stands
STARTING AT $19.99
3 PC Occasional Table Sets
NOW ONLY $69.99
Available in Black or Oak!
(Cocktail Table + 2 End Tables)
starting at...
$
99.99
starting at...
5-PIECE DINETTE SETS
299.99
SOFA & LOVESEAT SETS
(Table + 4 Chairs)
Visit Your Local AFR ® Clearance Center & Start Saving Today!
$
Pennsauken, NJ
New Castle, DE
720 Hylton Road Pennsauken, NJ 08110
490 West Basin Road New Castle, DE 19720
856.488.5101
302.323.1682
Mon-Thu 11AM-8PM Fri 9AM-8PM Sat 10AM-6PM Sun 11AM-5PM
Mon-Fri 9AM-8PM Sat 10AM-6PM Sun 11AM-5PM
Like Us On Facebook!
DELIVERY SERVICES
MASSIVE SHOWROOM
PREMIUM STYLES
UNBEATABLE PRICES
New & Previously Rented Furniture *Photos are for advertising purposes only and may not match the condition of current sale merchandise. Prices reflect previously rented merchandise. Other exclusions may apply. See store for details.
EXPERIENCE MORE AT AFRCC.COM